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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2010 with funding from 
 The Library of Congress 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/commemorativebio03chic 
 
COMMEMORATIVE 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 OF 
 
 HARTFORD COUNTY, 
 
 CONNECTICUT, 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PROMINENT AND REPRESENTATIVE 
 CITIZENS, AND OF MANY OF THE EARLY SETTLED FAMILIES. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 CHICAGO: 
 
 J. H. BEERS & CO. 
 190L 
 
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^^n-^^c^ c^3—^ s^^'t^::^^ 
 
P^'Pil^F'J^CK;. 
 
 THE importance of placing in book form bio^^raphical history of representative citi- 
 zens — both for its immediate worth and for its value to coming generations — is ad- 
 mitted by all thinking people; and within the past decade there has been a grow- 
 ing interest in this commendable means of perpetuating biography and family genealogy. 
 
 That the public is entitled to the privileges afforded by a work of this nature needs 
 no assertion at our hands; for one of our greatest Americans has said that the history of 
 any country resolves itself into the biographies of its stout, earnest and representative citi- 
 zens. This medium, then, serves more than a single purpose; while it perpetuates biogra- 
 phy and family genealogy, it records history, much of which would be preserved in no 
 other way. 
 
 In presenting the Commemorative Biogk.-^phic.^l Record to its patrons, the pub- 
 lishers have to acknowledge, with gratitude, the encouragement and support their enter- 
 prise has received, and the willing assistance rendered in enabling them to surmou'^' 
 many unforeseen obstacles to be met with in the production of a work of this ch 
 In nearly every instance the material composing the sketches was gathered from 
 mediately interested, and then submitted in type-written form for correction an' 
 The volume, which is one of generous amplitude, is placed in the hands of the 
 the belief that it will be found a valuable addition to the library, as well as - 
 contribution to the historical literature of the State of Connecticut. 
 
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BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 IXON, HON. TAAIES. LL. 
 D. (deceased). Among the 
 able and cultured people who 
 made their liome in Hartford, 
 and have gone to tiieir reward 
 after giving society a notably 
 refined and intellectual tone, 
 none took higher rank than 
 did the late United States 
 Senator, James Dixon, and his gifted wife. 
 
 James Dixon was born Aug. 5, 1814, in Enfield, 
 Conn., the youngest son of Hon. William Dixon, a 
 native of Killingly, Conn., who for many years was a 
 prominent and influential citizen of the town. A 
 lawyer by profession, he engaged in practice from 
 1807 to 1825, and attained high rank in his calling. 
 He was a delegate to the convention which formed 
 the State Constitution, held at Hartford in 1818, 
 Gov. Oliver Wolcott presiding. [See "Hollister's 
 History of Connecticut."] In 1831 the town of En- 
 field was made a probate district, and Ephraim P. 
 PrudeP'T became the first probate judge, serving one 
 }tdr, and being followed by ^^'illiam Dixon, who 
 served three years. Mr. Dixon also served his town 
 in the General Assembly. He died in 1835, his 
 wife, formerly Miss Mary Reynolds Field, passing 
 away in 1840. She was descended from Henry 
 ^Vhitfield, of Guilford, Matthew Allyn, and the Rev- 
 olutionary Capt. Newberry. 
 
 James Di.xon, of whom we more particularly 
 write, was graduated from Williams College in 1834. 
 He was class laureate ; member of the Kappa Alpha 
 Society : president of the Adelphic Union ; president 
 of the Philotecnian, 1833, delivered the master's 
 oration in 1837, and was honorary mem'ber of the 
 Phi Beta Kappa Fraternity. In 1862 the degree of 
 LL. D. was conferred on him by Trinity College. 
 After leaving college he commenced the study of 
 law in his father's ofifice, afterward visiting Europe, 
 where, at Paris, he was presented to Louis Philippe, 
 King of France, i\Ir. Dixon being at that time aide 
 to the governor of Connecticut. He was admitted to 
 the bar, and removing to Hartford entered upon the 
 practice of his profession in partnership with Judge 
 
 Ellsworth, at once g'iving promise of eminence at the 
 bar. About this time he became interested in pol- 
 itics and the anti-slavery cause, and his attention was 
 somewhat diverted from -the legal profession. 
 
 In 1837, when only twenty-three years of age, 
 Mr. Dixon was elected from his native town as a 
 member of the State Legislature, at the time being 
 the youngest representative, and was chosen Speaker 
 of that body, in which he also served in 1838, 1844, 
 and 1854. About this time he declined the nomina- 
 tion for governor of Connecticut, though strongly 
 urged to accept it. In 1845 1^^ ^^"^s elected on the 
 Whig ticket to the United States Congress, being 
 also the youngest member in that body, and served 
 from Dec. i, of that year, until ^larch 3, 1849. In 
 1854 he was a candidate for nomination as United 
 States senator, but L. F. S. Foster, of Norwich 
 (who afterwards became his sincere friend), was 
 elected. Two years later he was again a candidate, 
 and was elected by a large majority; when he took 
 his seat he was the youngest member of the Senate, 
 and he served therein until 1869. In 1869 he was 
 appointed by President Johnson minister to Russia, 
 and his acceptance was greatly desired by the Rus- 
 sian legation at Washington, but he declined the 
 office. He was an intimate friend of Abraham Lin- 
 coln, who frequently sent for him for conference, 
 and has even been known to telegraph for him to 
 come to Washington after an adjournment of Con- 
 gress. "Sir. Dixon was also intimate with Charles 
 Sumner, \\'illiam Pitt Fessenden, Horace Greeley 
 and Gen. Grant, who were frequently at his home. 
 An advocate for the cause of liberty, he was a warm 
 friend of the soldiers in the Civil war, and his house 
 was frequently visited by officers of the army and 
 navy, while his wife was untiring in her kindly min- 
 istrations to the wounded in the hospitals. After the 
 war Senator Dixon was opposed to the confiscation 
 of propert}- in the South, being more desirous to see 
 the restoration of the Union. He advocated "State 
 rights" and was in favor of Free Trade. Upon the 
 expiration of his term in the United States Senate 
 he retired into private life, though strongly urged by 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his colleagues in the Senate to accept the position oi 
 minister to Austria. 
 
 Mr. Dixon's health was uniformly good until 
 some time in February, 1873, when he contracted a 
 chill which terminated in a sudden affection of the 
 heart, whicli caused his death March 27, 1873. He 
 was a man of high culture, a graceful writer and 
 able debater, and his fame as an erudite and ac- 
 complished scholar, a ripe lawyer, and close stu- 
 dent of political economy, was not confined to his 
 immediate surroundii.gs, but extended through- 
 out the entire State, and even far beyond its limits. 
 In his death the people of Connecticut reasonably 
 felt that they had lost not alone a much needed ad- 
 viser in State affairs, but also a citizen who, long 
 and often trusted with public interests, was ever 
 true to his best belief and convictions. He was 
 possessed of a fine and sensitive temperament, and 
 his head and face made one of the finest studies 
 ever seen in the Senate chamber of the United States. 
 In his youth a writer ot much merit, his articles 
 were published in the "New England llagazine," 
 the "Southern Literary Messenger," and other 
 journals, while in the files of the Hartford Courant 
 may be found some of his best writings. Socially 
 he was affiliated with the F. & A. M. 
 
 Hon. James Dixon was married to Miss Eliza- 
 beth Lord Cogswell, a descendant in the seventh 
 generation from John Cogswell, who was born in 
 1592, in Westbury Leigh, Wiltshire, England, and 
 came to America in 1635, settling at Ipswich, ]\Ia?s., 
 where he received a large grant of land. The line 
 of Mrs. Dixon's descent was through William, Capt. 
 Jonathan (who held a commission from the King), 
 Jonathan (2), Dr. Nathaniel, and Rev. Dr. Jona- 
 than Cogswell. The last named was born Sept. 3, 
 1782, in Rowley, Mass., a son of Dr. Nathaniel 
 Cogswell, a man of superior education and acquire- 
 ments, a member of the Committee of Safety, and 
 a model of the most remarkable integrity, and of the 
 purest character. The son. Dr. Jonathan Cogswell, 
 was admitted to Harvard College in 1803, and v/as 
 graduated in 1806, among the first scholars of his 
 class. Subsequently he attended Andover Theo- 
 logical Seminary for one year, being associated with 
 the first class that graduated from that institution, 
 in 1810. In October of that year he was ordained 
 to the Gospel ministry, and installed pastor of the 
 Congregational Church in Saco, Maine, and there 
 he labored some eighteen years with great fidelity 
 and marked success (giving largely of his private 
 fortune to the work), resigning in October, 1828. 
 After resting for a year he was in 1829 installed pas- 
 tor over the church in New Britain Parish, Berlin, 
 Conn., where he remained until he was called, in 
 1834, to the chair of Ecclesiastical History in the 
 Theological Institute of Connecticut, at East Wind- 
 sor Hiil, where his fine old Colonial house may yet 
 be seen. On May 13, 1834, he was inaugurated 
 professor of church history in that institution. In 
 1836 he received the degree of S. T. D. from the 
 
 University of New York. Prof. Cogswell contin- 
 ued to fill the chair of Sacred Histor}- in the Theo- 
 logical Institute for ten years, resigning in 1844 — 
 having been appointed executor of his brother's 
 estate, which required his presence in or near New 
 York — and retiring to the city of New Brunswick, 
 N. J., where he resided until his death, which oc- . 
 curred Aug. i, 1864, when he was aged about 
 eighty-two years. He was a man of great physical 
 strength, strikingly handsome, being over six feet 
 tall and enjoying good health to the last. 
 
 Rev. Dr. Cogswell was twice married, in 181 1 
 to Elizabetli Abbot, daughter of Joel and Lydia 
 (Cummings) Abbot, and sister of Commodore Joel 
 Abbot, of the United States navy. She was a lady 
 of high culture, and of most gracious hospital- 
 ity. She died April 30, 1837. Rev. Dr. Cogswell 
 afterward married Jane Eudora Kirkpatrick, daugh- 
 ter of Hon. Andrew Kirkpatrick, chief justice of 
 New Jersey. She passed away in 1864. 
 
 To Senator and Elizabeth L. (Cogswell) Dixon 
 were born two sons and two daughters. The eld- 
 est son served in the Civil war on the staff of Gen. 
 Wright, later, in the cavalry, as aide to Gen. Han- 
 cock. The mother of this family was a lady of 
 large fortune, rare attainments, and great personal 
 attractions. It is said that Hon. Richard Spofford 
 once remarked: "Mrs. Dixon was the most accom- 
 plished lady I have ever seen in Washington." Oth- 
 ers have spoken of her as "beautiful and amiable." 
 Donald G. Mitchell dedicated to her his "Reveries 
 of a Bachelor." She was a personal friend of Mrs. 
 Lincoln, who sent for her after the assassination 
 of the President, and Airs. Dixon went and remained 
 through the night with her. 2\Irs. Dixon died June 
 16, 1871, at the age of forty-nine years, deeply be- 
 lo-s'ed and regretted by all who knew her and ad- 
 mired her for her many A-irtues. 
 
 JAAIES BOLTER, the late venerable president 
 of the Hartford National Bank, rounded out nearly 
 fifty years of continuous service with that institu- 
 tion, twenty-five of which were passed as its execu- 
 tive officer, and he was one of the city's esteemed 
 and respected citizens. 
 
 Mr. Bolter was born June 27, 1815, in North- 
 ampton, Alass., a son of William and Nancy (Pom- 
 eroy) Bolter, natives, the former of Boston (to 
 which city his father had come from the County of 
 Norfolk, England, and there died), and the latter of 
 Northampton, Alass., a daughter of William Pom- 
 eroy, a manufacturer of cloth, ^^'illiam Bolter was 
 by trade both a saddler and harness maker and a 
 carriage maker, but followed the latter as an occu- 
 pation through life. He located in Northampton, 
 where in the days of the old militia he was an en- 
 sign of a company, his commission, which his son 
 held among family treasures, being signed by John 
 Hancock, one of the signers of the Declaration of 
 Independence. Mr. Bolter died in Northampton, 
 in 1841, at the age of seventy-six years, and his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 -wiic Nancy passed away in 1848, at the age of six- 
 ty-eight years. Of their four children, all now 
 ciead, James was the youngest. 
 
 On his maternal side Mr. llolter descended from 
 .an especially distinguished ancestry. His great- 
 grandfather, Lieut. Daniel Pomeroy, and the latter's 
 brother, Gen. Seth Pomeroy, were patriots and ren- 
 dered valuable service in the early days of the Col- 
 ■ony in "times that tried men's souls," both serving 
 from Northampton in the French and Indian war, 
 and both participating in the battle of Lake Georo-e 
 in 1755, where Lieut. Daniel Pomeroy was killed. 
 ■Seth Pomeroy was also at the siege of Louisburg, 
 and the battle of Bunker Hill, and was made a 
 brigadier-general June 22, 1775. Air. Bolter had 
 in his possession copies of letters written in July, 
 1755! ^y Col. Pomeroy, during the French and In- 
 dian war, to the widow of Daniel Pomeroy, in one 
 ■of which he tells her of the killing of her husband. 
 He had also a letter wriiten by his grandmother to 
 ■Col. Pomeroy during the war of the Revolution. 
 These letters are believed to be among the oldest 
 letters connected with those early wars. They were 
 Teproduced in the Springfield Republican in 1875. 
 ■One of these letters sets forth that 156 men were 
 Ikilled at the battle of Lake George. Mr. Bolter 
 Iiad also among his family heirlooms a most quaint 
 deed bearing the date 1713. Col. Seth Pomeroy 
 ■was the grandson of Eltweed Pomeroy (3), who 
 •\vas one of the most prominent men in the early his- 
 tory of Northampton, where he located in 1665. 
 Three brothers, Eltweed (2), Caleb, and Joshua, 
 ■settled in 1636 in Windsor, coming from Devon- 
 shire, England ; two located in Northampton, and 
 ■from the three descended those of the name in the 
 ■town. They were the sons of Eltweed Pome- 
 roy (i), who was descended from a long line 
 'Of English ancestry dating back in unbroken succes- 
 sion to the time of William the Conqueror. Elt- 
 liveed Pomeroy (2) came to this country about 
 1630, settling first in Dorchester, Mass., then re- 
 inoved with Mr. Warham's company to Windsor, 
 'Conn., where Eltweed (3) was born in 1638. 
 
 James Bolter, the subject of this sketch, passed 
 his boyhood and early manhood in Northampton 
 and there received scholastic training in the public 
 and private schools. In early manhood he passed 
 two years at St. Louis, AIo., and with that excep- 
 tion since leaving his native town his long and bus'v 
 life was passed in Hartford. Coming here in 1832 
 he entered the employ of C. H. Northam as a clerk 
 in a grocery, and continued there four years. Then 
 when about twenty-one or twenty-two years of age 
 he went to St. Louis and remained about a year, 
 "but, being unsuccessful, he returned practically pen- 
 niless to Hartford. There he became a partner of 
 Ellery Hills in the wholesale grocerj- business, a 
 ■partnership which continued four years, the btisi- 
 Tiess being carried on under the firm name of Hills 
 ■& Bolter. In 1843 ^^''^ Bolter became associated in 
 the wholesale grocerv business with his fornier em- 
 
 ployer, C. H. Northam, under the firm style of C. 
 H. Northam & Co., with which he continued until 
 i860; on Jan. 14, of that year, Mr. Bolter was made 
 cashier of the Hartford Bank, later re-organized as 
 a national bank with a capital of one million, two 
 hundred thousand dollars. He sustained such re- 
 lations with the bank until he succeeded the late 
 Henry A. I'erkins as its president, July 6, 1874. 
 
 The Hartford National Bank, the oldest in the 
 city, in 1892 celebrated its one hundredth anniver- 
 sary. Its founders were men of exceptional ability 
 and force, which has made the bank a distinctively 
 important factor to the substantial and financial de- 
 velopment of the town. It was the first to begin the 
 practice of fire and marine insurance long before the 
 first local company was chartered. L'nder its wings 
 was gathered the early experience destined, in time, 
 to make Hartford pre-eminent for skill and success 
 in underwriting. Such a galaxy of distinguished 
 men has rarely, if ever, been excelled in a hundred 
 years of any bank's history. The names of John 
 Caldwell, Nathaniel Terry, Joseph Trumbull, Da- 
 vid F. Robinson, Henry A. Perkins and James Bolt- 
 er, would adorn the annals of any community. Tlie 
 bank has had only seven presidents in one hundred 
 and eight years. It was the fifth bank established 
 in the United States. Mr. Bolter's connection with 
 the bank began June jo, 1852, at which tinie he was 
 elected to its board of directors. At his death he 
 was the oldest man in point of service connected 
 with the Hartford Bank, or any other bank in the 
 city, and he was also among the oldest of Hart- 
 ford's residents. He served on the staff of Gov. 
 Joseph Trumbull. In his religious faith he was an 
 Episcopalian, and was one of the trustees of dona- 
 tions and' bequests in the Episcopal Church of the 
 State. 
 
 One of the first steps taken by I\Ir. Bolter on his 
 elevation to the presidency of the bank was to mod- 
 ernize the building, which was made in every way a 
 most substantial and comfortable banking house, 
 worthy of its grand history. During the present ex- 
 ecutive officers' administration of its affairs, the his- 
 torv of the Hartford National Bank has been one of 
 almost phenomenal prosperity, giving it rank among 
 foremost of the banking institutions of the city and 
 .State. Mr. Bolter was held in great esteem by fel- 
 low bankers, and, as stated above, by Hartford peo- 
 ple. He had a remarkable insight into the real con- 
 dition of borrowers that has caused his advice to be 
 widely sought by buyers of paper. He gave timely 
 aid, judiciously rendered to many struggling under 
 the burdens of life, met the duties of citizenship 
 fearlessly to protect public interests ; on occasions 
 showed courage in the rebuke of wrong. He was 
 a man of vivacity, one of cheerfulness, and, pos- 
 sessing as he did a wealth of anecdote, was welcome 
 everywhere. He abounded in repartee, and was the 
 maker of many happy and pointed hits that had al- 
 most as wide a currency as the bills of the bank. 
 In his political affiliations Mr. Bolter was a Demo- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 crat, though not active in that party's affairs. With 
 the exception of service as councilman and alderman 
 we believe he never held public office. He was a di- 
 rector for years in various corporations, among 
 them the National Fire Insurance Co., the Dime 
 Savings ISank, the Hartford County Mutual Fire In- 
 surance Co., and the P. & F. Corbin Co. of New 
 Britain. He was a member of the Hartford Club, 
 of the Colonial Club, of a driving club called, "The 
 Zodiac," and of the Church Club of the State. In 
 early manhood he affiliated with St. John's Lodo'e, 
 F. & A. M., of Hartford. 
 
 On Feb. ii, 1846, Mr. Bolter was married to 
 Mary, born July 7, 1820, daughter of Roswell and 
 Sally Johnson (Stone) Bartholomew, he being one 
 of the prominent citizens of Hartford, and was of 
 the seventh generation from William llartholomew, 
 of Ipswich, jNIass.. who came from England in 
 1634, the line of descent being through William ( 2 ) 
 William (3), Andrew, Andrew (2), Andrew (3). 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Bolter were born children : 
 (i) James, born in 1847, married, in 1881, Ellen 
 A. Brown. They had a daughter, jNIary E., who 
 married Dr. John B. Griggs, of Farmington, Conn , 
 and to them was born a son, Jolm Bolter (iri^gs. 
 (2) Alice E., born 1851. (3) Clara M., born in 
 1854, married, in 1875, John W. Gray, who died in 
 1892. Their children are, Robert, Mary, and Clara. 
 Mrs. Bolter died in July, 1898, aged sevent\--eight 
 years. 
 
 In June, 1900. 'Sir. Bolter went to Bridgeport to 
 attend a diocesan convention, and walked more than 
 usual, becoming very tired, yet hurried home and at- 
 tended a reception in the evening. From this time 
 his strength began to fail, but through all the 
 month of July he continued to go to the bank and 
 attend to his regular duties. On Aug. i he went 
 to the summer home of his daughter, Mrs. Grav, 
 at Weekapaug, R. I., where he remained about 
 three weeks, but, gradually growing weaker, he was 
 brought back to his Hartford home, in a special car, 
 Aug. 20, and on the 6th of Septenrber, following, the 
 end came. 
 
 GEN. \MLLTAM BUEL FRANKLIN, ex- 
 major-general of United States volunteers, and ex- 
 president of the board of managers of the National 
 Home for disabled volunteer soldiers, as well as 
 vice-president of the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspec- 
 tion & Insurance Co., was born in York, Penn., 
 Feb. 27, 1823, a son of Walter S. and Sarah ( Buel) 
 Franklin. 
 
 Walter S. Franklin, who was clerk of the 
 United States House of Representatives at the time 
 of his death, in 1838, was a son of Thomas Franklin, 
 of Philadelphia, who was commissarv of prisoners 
 during the war of the Revolution, and who married 
 ^lary Rhoads. daughter of Samuel Rhodes, a mem- 
 ber from Pennsylvania of the First Continental 
 Congress, altliough the family came from Flushing. 
 L. I. Mrs. "Walter S. Franklin was a daughter of 
 
 Dr. William Buel, of Litchfield, Conn., and a de- 
 scendant of Peter Buel, of Windsor. 
 
 ^Villiam B. Franklin in June, 1839, secured an 
 appointment as cadet in the United States Military 
 Academy at West Point, N. Y., passed through the 
 curriculum, and was brcvetted second lieutenant 
 of topographical engineers in July, 1843. The fol- 
 lowing two years he passed in the service on the 
 western lakes and the Rocky Alountains, and after 
 the third year, passed in the topographical office at 
 \\'ashington, D. C, he was appointed second lieu- 
 tenant, Sept. I, 1846. His first actual experience as. 
 a soldier was had in the Mexican war, and for gal- 
 lant and meritorious conduct at the battle of Buena 
 \'ista he was promoted to first lieutenant Feb. 23, 
 1847. From July, 1848. to January, 1851, he was 
 assistant professor of natural and experimental phi- 
 losophy at the ^lilitary Academy at West Point, 
 and the following two years he was on active duty 
 along the Atlantic, building light-houses on the New 
 Hampshire and Maine coasts. He was commissioned 
 first lieutenant of topographical engineers March 
 3, 1853, and until 1857 was on duty in connec- 
 tion with lighthouse and custom-house engineering. 
 In ^larch, 1857, l^*^ was ajjpointed secretary of the 
 lighthouse board ; in (October of the same year he 
 was commissioned captain of topographical en- 
 gineers: in November, 1859, was appointed superin- 
 tendent of the Capitol and Post Office buildings ;. 
 and in March, 1861, was appointed supervising 
 architect of the Treasury Department at Washing- 
 ton, D. C. 
 
 In the terrible conflict between the North and 
 South Gen. [""ranklin gained undying fame for him- 
 self. Commissioned colonel of the 12th United 
 States Infantry May 14, 1861, he was elevated three 
 days later to the rank of brigadier-general. United 
 States volunteers. In the Manassas campaign, and 
 at the battle of Bull Run, he was in command of a 
 brigade, and until March, 1862, he was in com- 
 mand of divisions about the defense of the Capitol. 
 He also took an honorable part in the Virginia 
 peninsular campaign, and on June 30. 1862, was 
 brevetted brigadier-general of the United States 
 army "for gallant and meritorious conduct" in the 
 battle before Richmond, \'a., and was appointed 
 major-general of volunteers on July 4, 1862. 
 
 In the JMaryland campaign the General was in 
 command of the 6th Army Corps, and in the liat- 
 tle of South Mountain, Sept. 14, 1862, commanded 
 the left wing of tne Arm>- of the Potomac, carrying 
 Crampton's Gap by assault, and gaining a signal 
 victory. He commanded the 6th Corps in the battle 
 of Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862. While on sick leave 
 of absence in the summer of 1864 Gen. Franklin 
 was sent for by Gen. Grant to come to his headquar- 
 ters in front of Petersburg. After spending some 
 days with Gen. Grant, he started to return to his 
 family, then in Portland, Maine. The train on which 
 he started from Baltimore was captured by ]\Iajor 
 Harry Gilmore's party a short distance from Balti- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 more. Some one informed Major Gilmore that Gen. 
 Franklin was on the train, and he was at once taken 
 prisoner and started South by the way of Towson 
 and Green Spring Valley in Baltimore county. 
 During the night he succeeded in making his es- 
 cape, and he wandered for forty-eight hours with- 
 out food, not daring to approach any habitation. 
 At last, almost exhausted, he came to a house and 
 asked for food. It proved to be the home of a Union 
 sympathizer named Bitzer, who received, fed and 
 concealed the General for a time. Word was sent 
 to Baltimore, and a large force of infantry was 
 sent to give him safe conduct to that city. 
 
 Gen. Franklin commanded the left wing of the 
 Army of the Potomac Dec. 13, 1862, when the army 
 was ' so disastrously defeated at Fredericksburg. 
 ■Of that defeat, and the responsibility therefor un- 
 justlv laid on Gen. Franklin, we can best speak by 
 quoting from a paper recently published by Col. 
 Jacob L. Greene, himself a veteran of the Civil 
 war, and an honored resident of Hartford. This 
 paper, with a map specially drawn for the purpose, 
 on which the movements of the troops are traced, 
 was first presented to the Monday Evening Club, 
 and has since been given to the public — a valuable 
 contribution to history and a complete vindication 
 •of Gen. Franklin by one competent to undertake 
 such a task and carry it to completion. In opening 
 Gol. Greene says : 
 
 On the 13th day of December, 1862, the Army of the Poto- 
 mac, under the command of Major-Gen. Ambrose E. Burn- 
 side, fought the battle of Fredericksburar, and met defeat 
 with the loss of over 12,000 men. Four months later the 
 Congressional Committee on the conduct of the war uttered 
 its opinion to the world that Major-Gen. William Buel 
 Franklin was responsible for the loss of that battle in coi- 
 sequence of his disobedience to the orders of Gen. Burnside. 
 Probably no finding ever announced by that remarkable 
 body ever occasioned more surprise; and none was ever 
 more promptly and completely controverted; but it dark- 
 ened the soul and marred the career of the man it falsely 
 and infamously accused. The slow pen of history has 
 cleared up and will ever more surely clear his pure fame, 
 -and his name will stand secure among the posterities. But 
 for us, whose lives have happily touched his through the 
 long years since those eventful days, and to whom his rare 
 intelligence, his dauntless heart and perfect truth and lov- 
 alty are as familiar as the constant stars, it is but a due trib- 
 ute from our friendship and our faith in a manhood that we 
 have never seen fail in any test, to read again the story of 
 that disastrous day, note his part and bearing therein, and 
 the cause and the manner of that cruel and wanton injustice; 
 to learn how it came to be that the true patriot, the trained 
 soldier, devoted to his profession, proud to bear its high ob- 
 ligations and jealous of its honor, who won distinction on 
 every field of action, whose wide knowledge, great skill, 
 clear, sound judgment, and transparent sincerity made him 
 the constant and trusted counsellor of every superior and 
 the reliable lieutenant of every commander, who shared the 
 brunt at Bull Run, who fought the rear-guard battles from 
 the Chickahominy to the James, and held the pass of White 
 Oak Swamp against half Lee's army on the critical day of 
 Glendale, who won at Crampton's Gap " the completest vic- 
 tory gained up to that time by any part of the Army of the 
 Potomac " — to learn how it came to be that this man was 
 accused of that to which his every quality and act gave the 
 absolute lie. 
 
 Continuing Col. Greene describes the battle 
 and actions of the various generals, Burnside's in- 
 
 explicable conduct, etc., the continued confidence 
 between Gens. Burnside and Franklin for several 
 weeks after the battle, Burnside's resignation and 
 the relieving of Gen. Franklin from command, and 
 the hearing by the Congressional Committee, and 
 closes as follows : 
 
 When the committee visited Fredericksburg and P'rank- 
 lin was summoned before it, he asked Burnside if he had 
 given or would give them a copy of the order under which 
 he acted on the i;Jth, considering that all such orders should 
 come from the commander issuing them. General Burnside 
 assured him that he had already furnished the committee 
 with a copy of it, and General Franklin gave his testimony 
 throughout upon the faith of that word and upon the sup- 
 position that in considering his action the committee had 
 before them and in their minds the order which governed 
 him. But in this he was betrayed. Gen. Burnside never 
 gave them the order or any inkling of it. They never heard 
 of it until months afterward, and too late to prevent the 
 utterance of their damnatory judgment of the man whose 
 great opportunity and great purpose greatly planned that 
 order wholly destroyed. 
 
 Four main points stand out distinct and clear: The 
 only proper battlefield at Fredericksburg was the ground on 
 which Franklin and Jackson confronted each other; the- 
 force at Franklin's disposal ought to have been used to 
 adequate and decisive results; his own apprehension of 
 both these facts was perfect, and his accordant scheme of 
 operation was proportioned to both the opportunity anil the 
 resistance; at no point of time or of action was it Gen. 
 Franklin's fault that, despite his urgent entreaty, his force 
 was not allowed to essay its proper task on that day. 
 
 In June, 1863, Gen. Franklin was ordered to the 
 Department of the Gulf, and served in Texas and 
 Louisiana until April, 1864, when he succumbed to 
 a wound received at the battle of Sabine Cross Roads 
 (where two horses were shot under him), and was 
 given his first leave of absence, until November of 
 the same year. From December, 1864. to November, 
 1865, Gen, Franklin was president of the board for 
 retiring disabled officers at Washington, D. C, and 
 in March, 1865, he received additional honor, being 
 brevetted major-general of the United States army. 
 He resigned his commission and retired to private 
 life in November, 1865. In the various trying posi- 
 tions in which Gen. Franklin was placed, he al- 
 ways acquitted himself with honor, and his military 
 record is one of which he has just cause to be 
 proud. 
 
 Selecting Hartford as his future place of resi- 
 dence, the General came to this cit)' in 1865. In 
 November of that year he was chosen vice-presi- 
 dent and general manager of the Colt's Patent Fire 
 Arms Co.. and retained that position until April, 
 1888. In 1868 he was elected president of the board 
 of visitors of the United States Military Academy 
 at West Point; was selected as the most suitable 
 person to act as president of the commission for the 
 erection of the new Connecticut State House in 
 1872-73; was consulting engineer from 1873 to 
 1877, and superintendent of construction from 1877 
 to March, 1880. The magnificent Capitol is now the 
 pride of all the citizens of the State, and it is a re- 
 markable fact that the cost of erection was kept 
 within the appropriations made by the Legislature. 
 In all the details of construction Gen. Franklin's 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 controlling hand could be felt, and his vigilance 
 was never relaxed. 
 
 For fifteen years, from 1872 to 1887, Gen. Frank- 
 lin was a member of the board of water comihis- 
 sioners of Hartford, and here his experience as an 
 engineer was useful on numerous occasions : and at 
 the Centennial Exhibition he was chairman of the 
 committee of judges on Engineering and Archi- 
 tecture. 
 
 Jn 1872 the National Independent Democratic 
 Conventions of New Jersey and Pennsylvania tele- 
 graphed (len. Franklin, asking if he would accept 
 the nomination for President of the United States, 
 to run against Horace Greeley. The General de- 
 clined, stating as his reason that to defeat Greeley 
 the party must stand as a unit, and concentrate its 
 power, in 1876 he was chosen one of the Presiden- 
 tial electors on the Democratic ticket, and took part 
 in the convention which nominated Samuel J. Til- 
 den. From 1877 to 1879 he was adjut.ant-general 
 of the State of Connecticut, and from July, 1880, 
 to 1900, was president of the board of manager.? 
 of the National Flome for disabled soldiers. 
 
 Additional honors awaited him. In June, 1888, 
 he was appointed commissioner-gener.il for the 
 United States at the International Exposition at 
 Paris, France, and in October of the following 
 year he received the appointment of grand officer 
 of the French Legion of Honor, a high compliment, 
 and the only one of the kind to be paid an Ameri- 
 can. His miniature and insignia of the Legion of 
 Honor have been accepted to appear on the "Cnllom 
 Alemorial" now being erected at \\'est Point Acad- 
 emy. A member of the New York Commandery 
 of the Legion of Honor, the General was for several 
 years its commander. He is a member of the Cin- 
 cinnati ; Sons of the American Revolution ; Sons of 
 Colonial Wars ; R. O. Tyler Post, No. 50, Grand 
 Army of the Republic ; and of the Army and Navv 
 Club. He still retains his hold on the business world, 
 and is vice-president of the Hartford Steam Boiler 
 Inspection & Insurance Co. ; a director of the Con- 
 necticut Mutual Life Insurance Co..of the National 
 Fire Insurance Co.. of Hartford, of Colt's Fire 
 Arms Co., and of the Panama Railroad Co., New 
 York. 
 
 That Gen. Franklin attained high rank as an en- 
 gineer is evidenced by his various deserved promo- 
 tions. No man could have risen to the rank of 
 major-general in the Civil war unless he was a born 
 leader of men, and unless he had rare capacity for 
 handling large bodies of troops. Returning to pri- 
 vate life, unless he had executive abilitv of the 
 highest order, combined with a superabundance of 
 practical common sense, no man could be the con- 
 trolling spirit of an immense corporation for over 
 twenty years. Unless he was popular in the truest 
 and best sense of the word, no man could have 
 filled the honorable positions which have been 
 awarded to Gen. Franklin without any seeking on 
 his pari. 
 
 Gen. Franklin was married, July 7, 1852, to 
 Anna L. Clarke, daughter of Matthew St. Clair 
 and Hannah B. Clarke, of \\'ashington, D. C. Mrs. 
 Franklin died July 17, 1900, at the age of seventv- 
 six years, at the home in Hartford, after an illness 
 of about one )'ear. They had no children. 
 
 JOSEPH HARRINGTON KING, the efficient 
 and popular cashier of the American National Bank 
 of Hartford, is one of the well and favorably known 
 bankers of New England. 
 
 'My. King was born July 28, 1855. in East Hart- 
 ford, Conn., son of George Walter and Julia (Burn- 
 ham) King, and grandson of Walter King, who 
 was born Sept. 11, 1780, in Glasgow, Scotland, 
 and died in 1863 in New York Cit)'. In early man- 
 hood he entered the British army, serving as aide. 
 under Sir John Moore. After leaving the army he 
 went to Lancasliire, England, and from there came,, 
 in 1818, to the United Statts. In 1807 he married 
 (,nrstj Mrs. Ann (Hesketh) :\IcCandish, a young- 
 widow with one son, whom he legally adopted, giv- 
 ing him his own name, John McCandish King. To 
 the union came children as follows : James, born Jan. 
 7, 1808; Isabella. July 3, 1810; Alarv Ann, Aug. 
 29, 1812; Sarah, Uct. 3, 1S14; George W., Feb. 
 16, 1817 ; and Jane, .Aug. 23, 1819. The mother died 
 soon after the birth of the youngest child. Air. 
 King, after having been in this country for a time, 
 returned to England, and in 1822 again came to the 
 United States. His second wife, a daughter of Rev. 
 Mr. Robinson, died within a year of marriage. .Af- 
 ter living in .New York City a short time Mr. King 
 removed to Paterson, N. J., where at the home of a 
 friend, .Alexander .Allan, he met Aliss Elizabeth 
 Morse, whom he married (third) Jan. 25, 1825, 
 and who bore him the following children: iVlary J., 
 born Nov. 11, 1825; Elizabeth W., Sept. 2, 1827; 
 Julia S., Oct. 16, 1829: .Anne, Dec. 23, 1831 ; Anna 
 Allan, Sept. 2, 1833: Alenzier ^Morse, Oct. 6, 1836; 
 and ]\Ienzier Anna Morse, Jan. 9, 1840. The mother 
 made her residence with her daughters in New York 
 City, and later in Brookl^-n, where she died in 1884, 
 at the age of eig'hty-nine. 
 
 George \\'. King, the father of our subject, was 
 born Feb. 16, 1817, in Lancashire, England, and 
 was brought to this country by his father, who for a 
 time lived at Paterson, X..].. then in New York Citv. 
 George A\'. learned the jeweler's trade with the fiirnt 
 of Wilmot, Moifit & Curtis, manufacturing jewelers 
 on John street. New York City, and during a period 
 of business depression visited Paterson, N. J., made 
 a trip into Mrginia, and later came to East Hartford, 
 Conn., where he worked with the firm of Messrs. 
 W. & O. Pitkin, silversmiths. He finally established' 
 himself in business upon State street, in Hartford.' 
 continuing his residence in East Hartford, where he 
 had already married. In 1859 he purchased a resi- 
 dence on (iovernor street, where he died in i88i, at 
 the age of sixty-four, and where his wife passed 
 away in 1893, at the age of seventy-three. Their 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 children were : Mary Jane, born July 4. 1843 • James 
 Walter, March 21, 1845: Alice'c' Burnham, Nov. 
 22,1847; Emma Louisa, Jan. 17. 1850; George Burn- 
 ham, Jan. 9, 1853; Joseph Harring-ton (the subject 
 of this sketch ), July 28, 1855 ; Annie Kate. March 3, 
 1858: and Edward Everett, Sept. 5, 1862. 
 
 Joseph H. King passed hi., early school davs in 
 East Hartford, and later attended the public schools 
 of Hartford, graduating from the Hartford Public 
 High School in 1873. He entered the American 
 National Bank as clerk, and by his steady devotion 
 to the business he had chosen for his life work, his 
 ready grasp of ideas, and quick mastery of the in- 
 tricate details of banking, was rapidly promoted 
 through the various grades to the general book- 
 keeper's desk, from wliich, in 1883. upon the resig- 
 nation cf John G. Root as cashier, he was chosen to 
 that office — the then youngest officer of any bank 
 in the city. Genial in manner, careful and conserva- 
 tive in his dealings with all, he has, during his twen- 
 ty-eight years" banking experience, witnessed the 
 growth of the American National Bank from a com- 
 paratively small institution to that of one of the 
 .largest banks in the Capitol City. He is a most com- 
 petent officer, and an obliging gentleman. 
 
 On Oct. 8, 1878. 'Sir. King was married to ^lary 
 E., daughter of Walter A. Loomis. of East Hartford, 
 and to them have been born three children : Edwin 
 Loomis, now with the Travelers Insurance Co. of 
 Hartford, born Aug. 18, 1880; (leorge Walter, born 
 Feb. 8, 1886; and Lester Hazen, born March 11, 
 1887. After his marriage [Nlr. King resided in Hart- 
 ford until, in 1895. '""^ built a handsome Colonial 
 residence upon Arnoldak Road, just south of \'an- 
 derbilt Hill, one of the most attractive and sightly 
 places in that most delightful suburb of Hartford. 
 
 GEORGE W. FO^^'LER (deceased) was for 
 so many years actively identified with public affairs 
 in both the city and town of Hartford, that his name 
 has become well-nigh a household word in the homes 
 of those citizens who recall his public spirit, his 
 fidelity to public trusts, and his whole-souled gener- 
 osity as a man. He was born in Westfield, ^lass.. 
 Oct. 15, 1844, son of Lyman Fowler, and grandson 
 of Roland' Fowler. His mother's maiden name was 
 Louisa \ adikin, and his paternal grandmother was 
 a ]\Iiss Taylor. His great-grandfather. Deacon Fowl- 
 er, married Elizabeth Thayer, daughter of a cler- 
 gyman. Lyman Fowler was a blacksmith by trade, 
 and a man of powerful ph\-sique. as well as of strong 
 mental power, and it seems not improbable that at 
 least a portion of the physical and intellectual 
 strength which George \\'. Fowler exhibited 
 throughout life came to him by natural inheritance. 
 
 George W. Fowler was one of the younger of a 
 family of nine children, and the exigencies of his sit- 
 uation in boyhood forced him early to shift in life 
 for himself. He attended the public schools, and 
 learned the trade of a printer. Even as a youth he 
 manifested quick intelligence, a retentive memory, 
 
 and a capacity for high development. The West- 
 field XciK's Letter and the Springfield Republican 
 were tiie first papers on which he was employed as 
 compositor; and for eight years, beginning in 1864, 
 he worked at the case in the composing room of the 
 Hartford Times. His nature, however, was not one 
 that readily yielded to circumspection, and in 1873 
 he organized the firm of Smith, Fowler & Miller. 
 Subsequently the concern was incorporated under 
 the name of The Fowler & Miller Co., Mr. Fowler 
 becoming its president and retaining that office for 
 many years. Through his exceptionally keen busi- 
 ness sense and his rare executive ability the busi- 
 ness of the concern grew apace, until it developed 
 into one of the leading printing houses of that sec- 
 tion of the State. 
 
 It is, however, through his public, rather than 
 his business, career, that Mr. Fowler was best 
 known in Hartford ; and it is for his acumen, hard 
 work and unswerving loyalty to public duty that he 
 is best remembered. He began his public life as a 
 councilman from the Sixth ward, whicli bailiwick 
 he represented in the aldermanic councils for nine 
 years. His record there — as also thereafter — was 
 one of which his family may well feel proud. In 
 general information he surpassed most of his col- 
 leagues, and his broad comprehension, no less than 
 his unassailable integrity, resulted in the commit- 
 ment to his hands of important trusts. Among 
 these may be mentioned the delicate and difficult 
 task of the revision of the municipal ordinances, 
 in the performance of which he was associated witli 
 John H. Brocklesby and Henry E. Taintor. In 
 
 1894 he was elected tax collector of his town : in 
 
 1895 io'' t'lc '^'ty and town; and in 1897 re-elected 
 by an overwhelming majority. 
 
 Besides being thus prominently identified with 
 the city government. >Ir. Fowler was one of the 
 chief officials of the town. From 1883 to 1895 he 
 was a member of the board of selectmen, being re- 
 peatedly made the head of that important body. 
 With such ability, industry and integrity did he 
 perform the duties of this high office that, during 
 the last three years of his service, he was the nominee 
 of both political parties. It was during the term of 
 his service as selectman that many of the most im- 
 portant reforms in town administration were con- 
 ceived and carried out. A new almshouse was 
 built, and the old site was converted into one of the 
 most attractive sections of the city, the transforma- 
 tion resulting in the increase of the "grand list" for 
 purposes of taxation by $200,000. Air. Fowler was 
 also chairman of the Free Bridge Commission. Al- 
 though a life-long Democrat, and one of his party's 
 local leaders. 'Sir. Fowler enjoyed the confidence a'ld 
 respect of his political opponents. In private life 
 he was always noted for his acute discernment. 
 ready grasp of problems, fidelity to friends, and 
 liberal, though unostentatious, charity. His mind 
 was naturally analytical, and he possessed the rare 
 power of making his knowledge clear to others. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 One of his most pronounced characteristics was his 
 detestation of falsehood, and, above all, of hypocrisy. 
 Sincere himself, he could not brook insincerity in 
 others, and his own love of truth made him intol- 
 erant of liars. He was a man of social instinct 
 and genial temperament, and well loved by his 
 friends ; a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 4, 
 F. & A. M., of Hartford; the B. P. O. E. ; Wau- 
 gunk Tribe, I. O. R. AI. ; and the National Provi- 
 dent Union. He also belonged to the Gentlemen's 
 Driving Club. 
 
 On March 29, 1883, Air. Fowler married AI. 
 Loiuise Rowles, whose father. Judge Rowles, was 
 a man of high repute in Tennessee. Air. Fowler 
 died July 24, 1897, leaving a wife and daughter. 
 
 NELSON HOLLISTER, who died on Alarch 2, 
 1897, was for a long period one of Hartford's prom- 
 inent business men and substantial citizens. He was 
 a picturesque figure on the streets where his flowing 
 pure white hair and beard, clear complexion, and 
 kindly smile attracted general attention. 
 
 Born Feb. 12, 1810, in Andover, Conn., son of 
 Gideon and Mary (Olmstead) Hollister, our sub- 
 ject was a descendant of one of the historic fam- 
 ilies of the Colonial period of New England and 
 Connecticut, and a family of prominence, too, in 
 the history of the State. 
 
 (I) John Hollister, the ancestor of the Ameri- 
 can Holhsters, is believed to have been born in Eng- 
 land in 1612, and to have emigrated to America 
 about 1642, sailing from Bristol, England. His 
 name is of record in Wethersfield, Conn., as early 
 as 1642. He became one of the most prominent 
 men of that town and the Connecticut Colony, and 
 represented the town many times in the Legislature. 
 He married Joanna, daughter of Hon. William 
 Treat, Sr. John Hollister died in 1665. 
 
 From this emigrant ancestor the late Nelson 
 Hollister was a descendant in the seventh genera- 
 tion, his line being through John (2), Thomas, 
 Gideon, Nathaniel and Gideon (2). 
 
 (II) John Hollister (2), son of John the emi- 
 grant, born about 1644 in Wethersfield, married in 
 1667 Sarah, daughter of William Goodrich. Mr. 
 Hollister was one of the leading men of Glastonbury, 
 where he died in 171 1. 
 
 (III) Thomas Hollister, son of John (2), born 
 in 1672 in Wethersfield, married Dorothy, daughter 
 of Joseph Hills, of Glastonbury, and lived and died 
 in that town, passing away in 1741. 
 
 ( I\') Gideon Hollister. • son of Thomas, born 
 in 1699 in Glastonbury, married in 1723 Rachel, 
 daughter of Sergt. Nathaniel Talcott, and settled 
 in the East Parish of Glastonbury. Air. Hollister 
 was a lieutenant in the militia, and a deacon in the 
 church in Glastonbury. He died in 1785. 
 
 (V) Nathaniel Hollister, son of Gideon, born in 
 1731 in Glastonbury, married in 1754 Alabel Alat- 
 son. He died in 1810. 
 
 (\'I) Gideon Hollister (2), son of Nathaniel, 
 
 and the father of Nelson Hollister, born in 1776, in 
 Glastonbury, married Alary Olmstead, of East Hart- 
 ford, and settled in Andover, Conn., where he was 
 a manufacturer of paper, and a valued and respected 
 member of society. He died in 1864. 
 
 Nelson Hollister, the subject proper of this 
 sketch, in youth became engaged, with his father 
 and brothers, in the manufacture of paper. Sub- 
 sequently he removed to Hartford, and in about 
 1840 engaged in business on Front street, as a 
 dealer in paper stock and rags, where he laid the 
 foundation of a large fortune. Late in the 'sixties 
 he disposed of his business and retired. -Vlr. Hol- 
 lister was identified with a number of banks and 
 corporations, among them the old Charter Oak Life 
 Insurance Co., the ^tna Fire Insurance Co., the 
 Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance 
 Co., and the State Bank, in all of which he was a 
 director. He superintended the erection of the large 
 granite building on the corner of Alain and Athe- 
 neum streets, now the property of the ^tna Life 
 Insurance Co. He was the first treasurer of the 
 Hartford & Connecticut \'alley Railroad Co. Fle 
 was president of the Cedar Hill Cemetery Associa- 
 tion, and took an active interest in the cemetery's 
 development. He was an original member and a 
 deacon of the Pearl Street Congregational Church, 
 organized in 1852. Air. Hollister was also a mem- 
 ber of the \'eteran Corps of the Governor's Foot 
 Guard, in which he ever took an active interest. In 
 1894 he v.-as admitted as a member of the Connecti- 
 cut Historical Society. Cp to two years before his 
 death, in spite of his years. Air. Hollister was one of 
 the most active men of Hartford. He was poss- 
 essed of a vigorous constitution and good health, 
 was a great lover of outdoor life and sports, and 
 enjoved seeing pla\'ed the National game of base- 
 ball. 
 
 On Alay 12, 1834, Air. Hollister was married to 
 Edith Sawyer, born Nov. 21, 1815, daughter of Eli- 
 jah R. and Fanny (Spencer) Sawyer, of Windham, 
 Conn. Thev had four children, as follows : ( i ) Ar- 
 thur N. Hollister, born Dec. 28. 1835, died Jan. 18, 
 1897. (2) Erskin B. Hollister, born Alay 4, 1842, 
 died Nov. 21, 1859. ( 3 ) Edith Sawyer Floll'ister, born 
 Alay 15, 1S45, ^'-'as married Alay 13, 1867, to Charles 
 Augustus Robinson. (4) Lucy Sawyer Hollister, 
 born Aug. 3. 1848. married June 14, 1870, Albert 
 H. Olmsted. 
 
 CHARLES H. LA^^'RENCE, secretary of the 
 Phoenix Alutual Life Insurance Co., Hartford, was 
 born Aug. 23. 1845, in New York City, son of 
 John and Sarah (Aloore) Lawrence. He attended 
 the public schools and the Free Academy of his 
 native city, now the College of the City of New 
 York, and then began a business career as a clerk 
 in the New York branch store of Smith & Bourn, 
 of Hartford, Conn. He, changed to the Hartford 
 house in 1866, and remained W'ith Smith & Bourn 
 lurtil Jan. i, 1871, when he entered into an arrange- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 nient with the Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Co., 
 with which company he has since remained unin- 
 terruptedly. Beginning as clerk, he wa.s advanced 
 through succeeding grades, and in 1889 was chosen 
 to the secretaryship of the compan)', his present 
 position. 
 
 In his political views JNIr. Lawrence is a stanch 
 Republican, and as such has served several suc- 
 cessive terms in the common council, and for a 
 number of years represented the Second ward in 
 the board of aldermen, of which he was president. 
 JNI.r. Lawrence has figured quite actively and prom- 
 inenth' in local politics, and has been a member 
 of the Republican State Central Committee. He 
 is a conscientious worker, and has done nuich to 
 elevate the standard of local political influence in 
 all branches of the public service. He is a di- 
 rector in the State Bank, and sustains similar rela- 
 tions with other Hartford corporations. 
 
 On Nov. 26, 1872, Mr. Lawrence was married 
 to Miss Juliette H., daughter of the late Thomas 
 T. Fisher, of Hartford, a successful merchant and 
 stock broker, and a prominent citizen of his day. 
 Two children, a son and a daughter, have blessed 
 tliis union. 
 
 WILLIAM DENISON MORGAN, cashier of 
 the -Etna National Bank, of Hartford, has already 
 made unusual progress along the highway to suc- 
 cess in the business world. He was born Dec. 19, 
 1873, in Brooklyn, N. Y., son of William Gardner 
 JMorgan, and is of the ninth generation in descent 
 from James Morgan. 
 
 (I) James Morgan was born in 1607 in Wales, 
 likely in Llandaiif, Glamorganshire, but later lived 
 in Bristol, England, coming from the latter place 
 to Boston in 1636; to Ro.xbury before 1640; to New 
 London, Conn., in 1650; and to Groton in 1657, 
 dying at the place last named in 1685. He married 
 in 1040 Margery Hill, of Roxbury. From this an- 
 cestor William Gardner Morgan is descended 
 through Capt. John, William, William {2), William 
 Avery, Col. Avery and Nathan Denison Morgan. 
 
 (II) Capt. John Morgan, son of James the emi- 
 grant, born in 1645, married (second) Widow Eliza- 
 beth Williams, daughter of Lieut. -Gov. William 
 Jones, of New Haven, and granddaughter of Gov. 
 Theophilus Eaton. Capt. ?iIorgan moved to Preston, 
 Conn., about 1692, and died in 1712. 
 
 (III) William Morgan, son of Capt. John, born 
 in 1693, married in 1716 Mary, daughter of Capt. 
 James Avery. William Morgan died in 1729, and 
 his wife Mary passed away in 1780. 
 
 ( IV) William IMorgan (2). son of William, 
 born in 1723, married in 1744 Temperance, daugh- 
 ter of .Christopher Avery, of Groton. They resided 
 in Groton, where Mr. ]\lorgan died in 1777, and his 
 widow died in i8or. 
 
 (\") William Avery Morgan, son of William 
 (2), born in 1754, married (fiVst) Lydia, daughter 
 of Nathan Smith, of Groton. Thev settled in 
 
 (iroton, and in 1796 removed to Colchester. Mrs. 
 Morgan died in 1804, and in 1814 Mr. Morgan 
 moved to New London, where lie died in 1842. 
 
 (\I) Col. Avery Morgan, son of William 
 Avery, born in 1781, married in 1802 Jerusha, 
 daughter of Jonathan Gardner, and settled in 
 Bozrah. thence about 1807 removing to Colchester, 
 and later to Hartford, where he died in i860, and 
 his widow in 1861. Col. Morgan was a carpenter, 
 merchant and farmer ; was an officer in the militia ; 
 and served in the State Legislature. 
 
 (\TI) Nathan Denison Morgan, son of Col. 
 Avery, born Oct. 22, 1818, married (first) Mary B. 
 Churchill, born in Portland, Conn., daughter of 
 Capt. Henr}' Churchill, of Portland, and they had 
 seven children, four of wliom are still living: Col. 
 Henry C, of Colchester, a retired United States 
 army officer, now Commissary-General of Connecti- 
 cut ; Matilda, Mrs. Julian W. Merrill, of Bronx- 
 ville, N. Y. ; William Gardner, father of our sub- 
 ject; and James H., who lives in Brooklyn, and is 
 engaged in the insurance business in New York 
 City. ;Mrs. Mary B. Morgan died in 1854, at the 
 age of thirty-two years. Her parents were members 
 of the Episcopal Church at Portland. In 1860 Mr. 
 Morgan married (second) Helen M., daughter of 
 Gen. James Watson Webb, former editor of the 
 Nciv York Courier and Engineer, and United States 
 minister to Brazil. They had two children, one 
 living, Robert Webb Morgan, who is a resident of 
 Bronxville, N. Y., and is engaged in business in 
 New York City. Nathan D. ^lorgan was for some 
 time president of the ^^lanhattan Life Insurance 
 Co., of New York, and after leaving that company 
 organized the North American Insurance Co., of 
 which he was president from 1872 to 1894, when he 
 retired from business. He was also a director of 
 the Farragut Fire Insurance Co., of New York. 
 He passed away in 1897, at the age of seventy- 
 nine years. Mr. Morgan was reputed to have been 
 one of the most accomplished insurance officers in 
 the countr}-. He was a director of the Eye & Ear 
 Infirmarv in Brooklyn. In religious connection he 
 was identified with the Episcopal Church in Brook- 
 l_\'n, being warden of St. Paul's. 
 
 (Vni) William Gardner Morgan, son of 
 Nathan D., born Dec. 23. 1846, was married in 
 1868 to Elizabeth C. Hall, of Portland. Conn., 
 daughter of Joel Hall, president of the Shaler & Hall 
 Quarry Co., and the only survivor of his family 
 of four children. To Mr. and Mrs. ?\Iorgan have 
 been born three children : Elizabeth Hall, \Mlliam 
 Denison, and Samuel St. John, the latter now at- 
 tending Trinity College. William G. ^lorgan 
 spent his early years in Brooklyn. New York and 
 Hartford, and was in the United States Naval 
 Academy at Newport and Annapolis for a time, but 
 in 1S67 he was injured and obliged to resign. He 
 then entered the life insurance business, as a clerk 
 in the North America Life Insurance Co. In 1870 
 he became its actuary, continuing in that position 
 
10 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 until 1874, when he left the company and engaged 
 in manufacturing gas burning goods, and small ar- 
 ticles in New York, until 1879. He then came to 
 Hartford and formed a connection with the /Etna 
 Life Insurance Co., being now editor of the "^tna," 
 and its advertising manager. He also edits the 
 "^■Etna Life Xews, ' entirely for agents, which has 
 a circulation of 3,500 ; and the accident edition of 
 the ■■-Ltna," devoted to accident business, which 
 has a circulation of 35,000. The regular ".■Etna" 
 lias a circulation of 275,000. Mr. Morgan is a Re- 
 publican in politics. Religiously he is a member 
 of Trinity Episcopal Church, to wliich his family 
 also belong. 
 
 \\'i!liam D. 3.Iorgan received his education in 
 Connecticut, attending the common schools and 
 Public High School in Hartford. Li September, 
 1890, he entered the .Etna National Bank as clerk, 
 and worked himself up to the position of discount 
 clerk. In 1899 he was made cashier, being the 
 youngest cashier of a National bank, with one ex- 
 ception, in the United States. Theirs is the finest 
 banking office in the State, and the bank, which 
 was organized in 1857, is the second largest. In 
 1900 Mr. Morgan married Lucile S. Couch, of 
 Providence, R. I., daughter of Albert and Jennie 
 S. Couch, the former a native of Danielson, Conn.; 
 he was in the real-estate business in Providence for 
 many years. ]^Irs. ^Morgan is an only child. Our 
 subject is secretary to the board of directors of 
 the bank. Socially he holds membership in the 
 Bachelors Club: the Hartford Canoe Club; the 
 Farmington Canoe Club ; the Hartford Scientific 
 Society : and the Church Club. He is a member 
 of Trinity Episcopal Church, and is a Republican 
 in politics. • 
 
 HOADLY. The family bearing this name 
 in Hartford, of which Charles Jeremy Hoadly, LL. 
 D., State Librarian, was an honored member, is one 
 of the prominent families of the city whose line in 
 New England extends back over a period of over 
 two hundred and thirty years. 
 
 William Hoadly, the settler, ancestor of by far 
 the greater part of those who Dear the name in this 
 country, was born in about the year 1630 in Eng- 
 land. His name first appears in Saybrook, Conn., in 
 1663. In 1666 he bought the home lot of Rev. 
 Abraham Pierson, of Branford, Conn., when the 
 latter moved to New Jersey. He there conducted 
 his business as a merchant, his shop being next to 
 his dwelling-house. He was a deputy from Bran- 
 ford to the General Court at nine sessions between 
 1678 and 1685, was one of the patentees of the town, 
 Feb. 16, 1685-86. and was one of the selectmen sev- 
 eral years between 1673 and 1690. He died in No- 
 vember or December, 1709, in Branford. He was 
 thrice married, but of his first wife nothing is known. 
 His second wife, whom he wedded about 1686, was 
 Mrs. INIary (BuHard) Farrington (widow of John 
 Farrington, of Dedham, Mass., and daughter of 
 
 William Bullard, of Charlestown, Mass.), who died 
 Mav 12, 1703, in Branford. About 1704 he married 
 (third) in Branford ^Nlrs. Ruth (Bowers) Frisbie, 
 widow of John Frisbie, and daughter of Rev. John 
 and Bridget (Thompson) Bowers, baptized Dec. 
 20, 1657, in New Haven, died April 26, 1736, in 
 Branford. His children by his first marriage were : 
 William, Samuel, John, ^Mary, Elizabeth, Hannah 
 and Abraham. 
 
 Charles Jeremy Hoadly, LL. D., of Hartford, 
 was in the seventh generation from William Hoadly 
 (written by him Hodle), the settler at Saybrook and 
 Branford, the line of his descent being through 
 Samuel, Sanuiel (2), James, Hon. Jeremy, and \\'ill- 
 iam Henry. 
 
 (II) Samuel Hoadley, son of William, died in 
 1714, in Branford, Conn. He wa't killed under a 
 haymow. He married, Alarch 6, 1689, in Branford, 
 Abigail P^arrington, born April 30, 1668, in Ded- 
 ham, Mass., daughter of John and Mary (Bullard) 
 Farrington, died Feb. 26, 1745, in Branford. He 
 became one of the first settlers of Branford, having 
 been granted a parcel of land in 1687, and lived in 
 Hopyard Plain. His children, born in Branford, 
 Conn., were : Abigail, William, Hannah, Samuel, 
 Gideon, Lydia, Benjamin, Daniel and Timothy. 
 
 (III) Samuel Hoadley (2), son of Samuel, born 
 Feb. 20, 1696, in Branford, Conn., married in 1720, 
 in Branford, Lydia Frisbie. daughter of Caleb and 
 Hannah Frisbie, born June i, 1698, in Branford. 
 died there Feb. 6, 1759. Samuel Hoadley lived on 
 his farm. He was very corpulent. His children, 
 born in Branford, were : Abigail, Gideon, Samuel. 
 Ebenezer, Jacob, Lydia, Jerusha and James. 
 
 (I\') James Hoadley. son of Samuel (2), born 
 Feb. 25, 1738, in Branford, died there Feb. 18, 1815. 
 He married, March 3. 1768. in Branford, ]Mrs. Lydia 
 (Buell) Hoadley, widow of Benjamin Hoadley, and 
 daughter of Capt. Samuel and Lydia, (Wilcox) 
 Buell, born in 1740. in Killingworth, Conn., died 
 April 17, 1820. in Hartford, Conn. James Hoadley 
 was a farmer. His children, born in Branford, 
 were : James, Ambrose, Lydia, Jeremy and Reuel. 
 
 (V) Hon. Jeremy Hoadley, son of James, born 
 July 28, 1776, in Branford, died Dec. i, 1847, in 
 Hartford. On July 7, 1798. he married m Guilford, 
 Conn., Harriott Fairchild, daughter of Capt. Asher 
 and Thankful (Hubbard) Fairchild, born July 5. 
 1770, in Guilford, died Sept. 22, 1849, i" Hartford. 
 Jeremy Hoadley lived in Guilford the first three 
 years after his marriage, and moved to Hartford in 
 1806. He was a selectman of the town for over 
 twentv years, was an alderman of the city, and on 
 the death of Mayor Griswold became acting mayor 
 of Hartford from Nov. 2;^. 1835, to April 13, 1836. 
 He was one of the representatives for Hartford in 
 the General Assembly at the sessions of 1822^ 1823, 
 1826, and 1828, and was sheriff of Hartford county 
 from 1828 to 1834, declining re-election. He was 
 chairman of the Whig State Central Committee in 
 the Presidential campaigns of 1826 and 1840. His 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 11 
 
 children were : William H., Frederick H., Harriet 
 S., iNIaria ]., Delia A., and Caroline M., all now de- 
 ceased. 
 
 (VI) William Henry Hoadley, father of Charles 
 J. Hoadly, LL. D., was born July 30, 1800, in Guil- 
 ford, Conn'., and died Aug. 8, 1849, i''^ Hartford. 
 On Dec. 7, 1824, at Simsbury, Conn., he was married 
 to Harriet Louisa Hillyer who was born July 23, 
 1803, in East Granby, Conn., a daughter of Col. An- 
 drew and Lucy (Tudor) Hillyer, and granddaugh- 
 ter of James and Mary (Humphrey) Hillyer. Col. 
 Andre\\'' Hillyer was in the French and Indian war, 
 and served under Lord Amherst in the expedition 
 against Canada. He was with Lord Albemarle 
 imder Putnam, at the taking of Havana, and of 
 fourteen who went from Simsbury only he and 
 one other returned alive. Later he was in the Revo- 
 lutionary war, serving part of each year. He raised 
 a company in Granby, and was present at the "Lex- 
 ington .-vlarm." This Colonel Hillyer was a 
 graduate of Yale College, class of 1770, an Episco- 
 palian in religion, and a Whig in politics. His 
 original intention was to become a missionary. He 
 died at East Granby in 1828. He married Lucy 
 Tudor, a daughter of Elihu Tudor, who was a grad- 
 uate of Yale College, class of 1750, and was a son 
 of Rev. Samuel Tudor. Elihu Tudor was one of the 
 staff of Gen. Wolfe at the storming of the heights 
 of 'Abraham, Quebec, 1759. Later he was with 
 Lord Albemarle, in 1762, at the' taking of Havana. 
 As Col. Andrew Hillyer was with him on these oc- 
 casions it is doubtless true that during these times 
 the acquaintance between them was formed which 
 later resulted in Col. Hillyer marrying the daughter 
 of his old army friend. Gen. Charles Tudor Hill- 
 yer, brother of Mrs. William Hoadley, died in 
 Hartford when over ninety years of age. 
 
 William H. Hoadley resided in Hartford all his 
 life; his wife died Feb. 15, 1895, in the old home at 
 No. 78 Ann street, where she had lived since 1833. 
 Their children were: (i) Mary Robbins Hoadley, 
 born Dec. 22, 1825, died April 29, 1896. 
 
 (2) Charles Jeremy Hg.vdly, born Aug. i, 
 182S, was graduated from Trinitv College in 1851, 
 at the head of his class. He was given the degree 
 of iNI. A., in 1854, received the same degree from 
 Yale College in 1879, and the degree of LL. D. from 
 Trinitv i'n 1889. He read law in Hartford in the 
 office of Henry K. W. Welch, and was admitted to 
 the Bar in 1855, from which time he had charge of 
 the State Library, which, through efficiency, dili- 
 gence and ability in his service of nearly fifty years, 
 was made one of the best collections of Law Reports 
 and Statute Law in the land. He edited the New 
 Haven Colonial Records, 1638-65, two volumes, also 
 Connecticut Colonial Records, 1689-1776, twelve vol- 
 umes ; Connecticut State Records, 1776-1780, two 
 volumes, and was engaged on the third volume when 
 his sight failed. He was one of the commissioners 
 who prepared Vols. V and VI of the Special Laws 
 of Connecticut. He published several short his- 
 
 torical articles, among which were a "Sketch of 
 the Life of Silas Deane," in the Penn Mag. of 
 History, 1877; "Annals of Christ Church, Hart- 
 ford," 1879; "Holidays in Connecticut,'" 1888; the 
 "Public Seal of Connecticut," 1889 ; "Town Repre- 
 sentation in the Lieneral Assembly," 1892 (the last 
 three in the Connecticut Register for those }-earsJ ; 
 "Some Early Post Alortem Examinations in New 
 England," read before* the State Medical Societv, 
 1892. 
 
 Dr. Hoadly was a member of the American 
 Antiquarian Society, an honorary or corresponding 
 member of a dozen or more historical societies, and 
 president of the Connecticut Historical Society, a 
 position he held for five or six years. Some time 
 ago, on account of his failing eyesight, he declined 
 re-election, but the society would not accept his re- 
 fusal, and he retained the position until his death. 
 While an under-graduate of Trinity College he 
 received the President's prize for Latin prose (the 
 first one offered), kept up his Latin, and could to- 
 day, were he living, write a petition in Latin. In the 
 fall of 1899 Dr. Hoadly met with a painful acci- 
 dent, by falling down stairs in his home, which, 
 while not breaking bones, partly incapacitated him 
 for work. He died Oct. 19, 1900. 
 
 (3) Frederick William Hoadley was born Dec. 
 2, 1 83 1. Soon after the death of his father he went 
 to Columbia, S. C, where he read law and was ad- 
 mitted to the Bar. Before the breaking out of the 
 Civil war he removed to Little Rock, Ark., and 
 prior to the -passage of the secession ordinance held 
 a staff' appointment in the militia (judge advocate, 
 with rank of captain). ■ He entered the Confeder- 
 ate service, leaving the State as Captain of an ar- 
 tillery company; was at Memphis (Tenn.), Colum- 
 bus (Ky.), Fort Pillow and Island No. 10 (Tenn.), 
 where most of his company were captured, he nar- 
 rowly escaping. .After this a new artillery regi- 
 ment was formed, called the First Tennessee Heavy 
 Artillery, C. S. A., and he' was made its major. At 
 A^icksburg, Miss., he had command of the \\'ater 
 battery, a big gun called "^^l^istling Dick." and 
 there met his death, in June, 1863, a few days be- 
 fore the place was surrendered. The A'icksburg 
 Dailv Citizen, noticing his death, said: "}^Iajor 
 Hoadley was a man of fine intelligence, untiring in- 
 dustry and zeal in the cause, kind to the men under 
 him and a gentleman in every sense." Gen. Grant, 
 writing to his brother, said : "The Alajor was a great ' 
 favorite of the citizens of A'icksburg." 
 
 (4) James Flenry Hoadley. born Dec. 6. 1833. 
 entered the L'nited States navy in 1859 as captain's 
 clerk, on the "]\Iohawk." and was cruising after 
 slavers on the north of Cuba. He resigned in 1862 
 to take charge of the United States sanitary com- 
 mission in the Department of the South, in which he 
 continued until after the close of the war. He was 
 sent North, and took charge, as superintendent, of 
 a hospital in New York City, called Lincoln Home, 
 a home for crippled soldiers. Since then, until a 
 
12 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 few \eai-s ago, his life has been passed in Broad 
 and \\'all street, New York. 
 
 ( 5 ) George Edward Hoadle_\-, Ijorn June 28, 
 1837, resides in Hartford. 
 
 " (6) Francis Andrew Hoadley, born Oct. 12, 
 1842, is teller of the Hartford Trust Co. 
 
 ( 7 1 Harriet Louise Hoadley, born May 22. 1846, 
 Avas married June 17, 1874, tp Dr. William A. Cor- 
 win. of the United States navy, and has two daugh- 
 ters. He died off Panama, of yellow fever, in 
 jMarch, 1886. She resides in Hartford. 
 
 CHAPMAN. The Chapman family of Hart- 
 ford, of which the late Hon. Charles Richard Chap- 
 man was a worthy descendant, and whose children 
 are among the leading citizens of the city, is one 
 of the olctest and most prominent families of Con- 
 necticut. 
 
 Hon. Charles Richard Chapman was in the 
 seventh generation from the American ancestor of 
 the famih, Robert Chapman, the line of his descent 
 Tjeing through Deacon Nathaniel. Deacon Caleb, 
 Phineas, Judge Asa, and Hon. Charles. 
 
 (I) Robert Chapman, one of the first settlers 
 of Sa}-brook, Conn., in 1635-36, or in the succeeding 
 spring, according to family tradition was born in 
 1616, and came from Hull, England, to Boston in 
 1635. He was for many years commissioner for 
 Savbrook, Conn., and was elected as their deputy 
 to the General Court forty-three times, and assist- 
 ant nin.e times. He settled on a tract of land some 
 two miles west of Savbrook. He was a man of 
 exemplary piety. His parents were Puritans. He 
 married, in 1642, Ann Bliss. He died in 1687. and 
 his wife in 1685. Their children were: John, Rob- 
 ert. Hannah, Nathaniel, Mary and Sarah. 
 
 (H) Deacon Nathaniel Chapman, son of Robert 
 Chapman, born in 1652. married (first) in 1681 
 Mar}' Collins, by whom he had four children, and 
 (second) in 1698 Hannah Bates, by whom he had 
 five children. Deacon Nathaniel Chapman died in 
 1726. His widow, Hannah, died in 1750. He was 
 many vears deacon of the church in Saybrook, and 
 manv times represented the town in the General 
 Court (twenty-four sessions). He was a large land 
 owner. His children by the first wife were: Na- 
 thaniel, Nathaniel (2), Daniel, and John. Those 
 Tdv the second wife were: Mary, Hannah, Phineas, 
 .Caleb and Anne. 
 
 ( HI ) Deacon Caleb Chapman, son of Deacon 
 Nathaniel Chapman, born in 1706, married (first) 
 in 1729 Thankful Lord, (second) in 1749 Abigail 
 Lee, and (third) Widow Hannah Platts. Mr; 
 Chapman served many years as a deacon of the 
 church of Savbrook, and died universally lamented. 
 His children were : Thankful, Phineas, Hannah, 
 Lucretia, Caleb, Elisha, James and Hezekiah. 
 
 (IV) Phineas Chapman, son of Deacon Chap- 
 man, born in 1732, married in 1763 Mary Hillier, 
 l)y whom he had five children : James, John, Asa, 
 Xathaniel and Marv. 
 
 (\') Judge Asa Chapman, son of Phineas Chap- 
 man, born Sept. 2, 1770, was graduated from Yale 
 College in the class of 1792, sharing the highest 
 honors of his class \yhile in college with Hon. Roger 
 J\L Sherman. After graduation he taught for a 
 time in the academy at North Salem, and also at 
 Norwalk. He studied law at Litchfield, Conn., with 
 Hon. Tapping Reeve, was admitted to the Bar in 
 1795, and settled in the practice of law at Newtown, 
 Conn. He was repeatedly elected a representative 
 of that town to the General Assembly, and in 181 7 
 was elected a member of the Governor's Council, 
 comprising at that time twelve members. In 1818 
 he was elected judge of the superior court and court 
 of errors, which office he held until his death, in 
 New Haven, Sept. 25, 1825. He married, at New- 
 town, Conn., Sept. 2, 1798, Miss Mary Perry, 
 daughter of Bennet Perry, M. D., and by her had 
 four children. In 1824 he removed from Newtown 
 to New Haven. His widow died in Brooklyn, L. 
 I., on March 21, 1850. Their children were: 
 Charles, Charlotte, William P., and Henry P. 
 
 (\T) Hon. Charles Chapman, son of Judge Asa 
 Chapman, born at Newtown, Conn., July 21, 1799, 
 studied law with Judge Williams, of Hartford, and 
 subsequently with Judges Reeve and Gould, of 
 Litchfield, and was admitted to the Bar in 1820. On 
 Jan. 3, 182 1, he married Sarah Tomlinson, of New- 
 town, by whom he had three children. Some three 
 years after his marriage he moved to New Haven, 
 where he remained about five years, and thence to 
 Hartford. He enjoyed a very extensive practice, 
 being one of the leading lawyers of Connecticut, 
 and was honored by his fellow citizens with many 
 offices of responsibility and trust. He represented 
 Hartford many times in the State Legislature, and 
 represented his district in the XXIId Congress of 
 the L^nited States. As a story-teller he was unsur- 
 passed. His children were : Frances A., Charlotte 
 and Charles Richard. He died in 1870. 
 
 ( A'll ) Charles Richard Chapman, whose 
 death occurred at his home on Laurel street, Hart- 
 ford, Jan. 25, 1897, was the son of Hon. Charles and 
 Sarah (Tomlinson) Chapman. 
 
 He was born Nov. 23, 1827, in New Haven, and 
 the family moved to Hartford when he was an in- 
 fant. He was graduated from Trinity Cpllege in 
 1847, and belonged to the I. K. A. Society. Hav- 
 ing studied law at Northampton, Mass., and in New 
 York in the office of John Van Buren, son of ex- 
 President Van Buren, he was admitted to the Bar 
 in Hartford in 1850, and practiced law there until 
 1885, when he became postmaster. He was mayor 
 of Hartford for three terms, from 1866 to 1872. 
 In 1857 he represented the city in the State Senate ; 
 represented the city in the House in 1856 and 1872 ; 
 served as city attorney in 1874, 75, 76, and was held 
 in high esteem by all who knew him on account of 
 the uprightness of his character, the geniality of his 
 nature and the faithfulness of his friendships. Many 
 times nominated for office and many times elected, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 la 
 
 he went through every campaign with clean hands 
 and untarnished reputation. He was as fair and 
 just to his opponents as he was faithful to his party 
 and his friends. He was always courteous in his 
 manner and considerate in his speech, and he proved 
 worthy of every trust reposed in him. In poHtics he 
 was a Democrat. 
 
 jNIr. Chapman married, May i, 1855, Mrs. Har- 
 riet (Putnam) Thomas, daughter of Rt. Rev. 
 Thomas Brownell, Episcopal bishop of Connecticut. 
 ;Mrs. Chapman and four children — Airs. Charles 
 Holland, of Eastbourne, England ; Thomas Brownell 
 Chapman, of Hartford, Conn. ; JNIrs. Howard Dudley 
 Bean, of Xew York City, and Robert Holland Chap- 
 man, of Torrington, Conn., — survive him. Thomas 
 Brownell Chapman married Helen Louise, daugh- 
 ter, of William H. Post, and they have one daughter, 
 Priscilla Alden. I\Ir. Chapman is Xew England 
 agent for Holmes, Booth & Hydens, of ^^'aterbury, 
 Conn. Robert H. married Renova M. Walbridge, 
 of Pittsburg, Kansas, aiid they reside in Torrington, 
 Connecticut. 
 
 HOOKER. The name of Hooker was brought 
 into prominent notice in ecclesiastical circles in 
 England by two men who were born in the six- 
 teenth century. Richard Hooker was born in Exeter 
 in 1554. He became a scholar of Corpus Christi Col- 
 lege in 1573; Master of Arts in 1577; Deputy Pro- 
 fessor of Hebrew in 1579; received holy orders in 
 1 581. In the religious discussions of his dav he held 
 to Arminian views, maintaining also the Anglican 
 form of church government. He is chiefly dis- 
 tinguished for his great work on "Ecclesiastical 
 Polity." 
 
 Thomas Hooker, the founder of the Connecti- 
 cut Colony, was born in Marfield, Leicestershire, 
 Tilton parish, in 1586. The American Cvclopedia 
 says that he is supposed to have been a cousin 
 of Richard Hooker. After being graduated at Em- 
 manuel College, Cambridge, he took orders, preached 
 some time in London, and was chosen lecturer at 
 Clemsford in 1626, at St. Mary's Church. He con- 
 tintied there about four years, his preaching draw- 
 ing great crowds, and there was a wide and pro- 
 found impression made by his discourses. People 
 flocked to his ministrations from great distances, 
 some of great quality among them, one of whom 
 v.^as the Earl of Warwick, who afterward sheltered 
 and befriended j\Ir. Hooker's family, when he was 
 forced to flee the country. 
 
 Hooker's labors resulted not only in the visible 
 reformation of morals in Chelmsford, but in stimu- 
 lating to similar endeavors many other ministers 
 of the surrounding region. But he was not long- 
 to remain there, as his preaching was too evan- 
 gelical to please those in authority, and he was si- 
 lenced by Archbishop Laud, and for about two years 
 taught school in Little Baddow. In 1630 he left 
 England for Holland, as he had been cited to ap- 
 pear before the High Commission Court. '\lr. 
 
 Hooker's Chelmsford friends paid the penal sum 
 into the Court. It was we.l he fled, as persecution 
 began to be severe. He remained in Holland until 
 1633, preaching in Amsterdam, Delft and Rotter- 
 dam. That year he came to America, and with hint 
 came his assistant, Rev. Samuel Stone. Some of 
 his friends in England, from the towns of Chelms- 
 ford, Braintree and Colchester, had preceded him. 
 They settled at first at Mt. Wollaston, near Boston, 
 and were known as "Mr. Hooker's Company.'' 
 After the coming of their pastor they removed by 
 order of the court to Newtown, here remaining until 
 1636, when a large portion of them emigrated with 
 their leaders, Hooker and Stone, to the banks of 
 the Connecticut river, and founded the town of 
 Hartford. Hooker was not only a powerful 
 preacher and a religious guide, but is now regarded 
 as the father of the Connecticut Constitution, and 
 consequently of that of the United States. An old 
 sermon of his which has been found within a few 
 years says: "The choice of public magistrates be- 
 longs unto the people by God's own allowance. The 
 foundation of authority is laid in the free consent 
 of the people." John Fiske says of the Connecti- 
 cut Constitution : "It was the first written Consti- 
 tution known to historv that created a government, 
 and it marked the beginning" of American democ- 
 racv, of which Thomas Hooker deserves more than 
 any other man to be called the father. The Govern- 
 ment of the United States is to-day in lineal de- 
 scent more nearly related to that of Connecticut than 
 to any other of the thirteen colonies." There were 
 more than twenty-five books written by !Mr. Hooker 
 published in London ; the most important one for 
 the New England churche." was called "A Survey of 
 the Sum of Chtirch Discipline.'' 
 
 Thomas Hooker and his wife Susan had five 
 children, two sons and three daughters. He died 
 in 1647, aged sixty-one years. His eldest son, John, 
 returned to England, and remained there. His 
 daughter Johanna married Rev. Thomas Shepherd. 
 His son Samuel, who was born in 1633, was grad- 
 uated from Harvard College in 1653, and ordained 
 a minister in' 1657 in Farmington, Conn. He mar- 
 ried in 1658, in New York, Mary ^^'illet. who 
 was born in '1637, daughter of Thomas \\'illet. the 
 first mayor of New York Cit}-. Rev. Samuel Hooker 
 died in 1697. His widow married Rev. Thomas 
 Buckingham. A monument has been erected to her 
 by the Hooker Association, in Norwalk, Conn., also 
 one to Rev. Samuel Hooker, in the old burying- 
 ground in Farmington. He had a large family, 
 nine sons and three daughters. 
 
 John Hooker, son of Rev. Samuel, was born in 
 Farmington in 1664. and spent his life in that town, 
 dying in 1746. ''Fie was five years Speaker of 
 the Lower House, nine years a member of the 
 Upper House, and nine years a judge of the su- 
 perior court." He married Abigail Stanley, of 
 Farmington. daughter of Capt. John Stanley, who 
 was a member of the Lower House and of the Gen- 
 
14 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 eral Court for at least twenty-five years. They had 
 a large family of children. Hezekiah, the eldest 
 son, was born in 1688, left Farmington when a young 
 man, and went to the new town of Woodbury, where 
 he died. He married Abigail Curtis, and they were 
 the parents of ten children. Asahel, who was born 
 in Woodbury in 1736, removed to Bristol, where 
 he bought land and became a successful farmer. 
 He married Sarah Parmalee. Of their six children, 
 Asahel studied divinity and became a minister, 
 and was settled in Norwich, Conn. He was the 
 father of Rev. Edward W. Hooker, D. D., who was 
 professor in the Theological Seminary at East 
 Windsor Hill, and afterward pastor for some time 
 in Newburyport, Mass. Another son of Asahel, of 
 W'oodbury and afterward of Bristol, was Bryan, 
 Avho was born in Woodbury in 1764, and died in 
 Bristol in 1826. He was one of the first woolen 
 manufacturers in Connecticut, and was very suc- 
 cessful in producing fine and serviceable cloth for 
 men's wear. He btiilt a fine house for that time in 
 Bristol on a hill side, with the land sloping down 
 to the bank of the little Pequabuck river, where, not 
 many years before, when the stream was larger, 
 the Tunxis Indians had fished and paddled their 
 light canoes. In 1804 Bryan Hooker married Mrs. 
 Nancy (Lee) Fuller, a daughter of William Lee, 
 of Bristol, and widow of ]Mr. Fuller, who was a 
 teacher in Hartford. She had two children : Rhoda 
 Fuller, who married S. Augustus JMitchell, of Phil- 
 adelphia, the author of manj' school books; and 
 Franklin Fuller, who lived and died in Bristol. To 
 her marriage with Bryan Hooker three children 
 Avere born: Lydia, born in 1805, married Hon. 
 Cvrus P. Smith, mayor of Brooklyn, N. Y. ; Nancy, 
 born in 1809, married William Hill, of Troy, N. 
 Y., and she is now (1900) living in the Hooker home- 
 stead at Bristol, at the advanced age of ninety-one 
 years, supposed to be the oldest living descendant 
 of Thomas Hooker; Bryan Edward is mentioned 
 "below. 
 
 An interesting account of the celebration of Mrs. 
 Nancy (Hooker) Hill's birthday appeared in the 
 Bristol and Hartford papers July 24, 1899 : 
 
 An event of unusual interest occurred in Bristol on 
 Monday, luly 24. It was the ninetieth anniversary of Mrs. 
 Nancy (Hooker) Hill's birthday, and was celebrated in a 
 ■wholly informal manner, but very expressive of the high 
 regard in which Mrs. Hill is held by a host of relatives and 
 family friends far and near, and by her own townspeople. 
 
 No invitations were sent out, but all who remembered 
 the day were glad to testify of their affection and esteem. 
 
 The celebration began on Saturday, with the arrival of 
 letters of congratulation and gifts from distant relatives; 
 ■on Sunday nearer relatives and friends came in person, with 
 gifts and words of good cheer and gratitude. Monday 
 witnessed the arrival of flowers and bonbons and books, 
 and the coming of many friends in town, a veritable recep- 
 tion day, which closed with messages of congratulation by 
 telephone from certain New England towns. 
 
 Mrs. Hill was at her best, and looked younger by twenty 
 years than her age, as she responded most graciously to the 
 greetings and attentions of those who called to see her. She 
 was dressed in a soft gray cloth princess gown, decorated 
 with white lace, the gift of her granddaughter, in which, 
 
 with a white shawl thrown over her shoulders, she received 
 her callers, and looked the ideal picture of a lady who had 
 lived a peaceful and beautiful life of nine decades. 
 
 Born in 18U9, in the same year with Gladstone, Bismarck 
 and Pope Leo XIH, she has outlived all but the last, and 
 nearly every one of her own generation in her native town. 
 Yet, m spite of delicate health and slightly impaired senses, 
 she has been a most interested spectator of the changes which 
 have come to her town and country, and to the world at 
 large. 
 
 Of the many evidences of affection and regard which 
 came to Mrs. Hill on her birthday, one was especially rare 
 as a mark of homage, it was a box of American Beauty 
 roses which came from Philadelphia by special messenger, 
 who left Philadelphia at midnight Sunday, and arrived at 
 Mrs. Hill's door on Monday morning at lO o'clock, deliver- 
 ing his message with the directness and dispatch of the 
 man who carried the letter to Garcia. 
 
 These birthday gifts and attentions to Mrs. Hill are the 
 mere symbols of a constant devotion, called forth by the 
 rare qualities of mind and heart of the recipient, who for 
 nearly a century has preserved the ideals of her youth, and 
 has been an inspiration and a joy to all who have come 
 under her influence. Hence it is only a devotion richly 
 deserved, and bestowed in full and overflowing measure. 
 
 Mrs. Nancy Plooker Hill had one daughter, 
 Adeline Frances, who married George Ripley Bow- 
 man, of Brooklyn, N. Y., a native of Braintree, 
 Mass. Mr. Bowman died in Brooklyn in 1863. 
 He left one child, Clara Lee Bowman, who since 
 her father's death has lived with her mother in the 
 Hooker homestead, with her grandmother. 
 
 Bryan Edward Hooker, the youngest child and 
 only son of Bryan Hooker, was born in Bristol Jan. 
 I, 1813. When a lad of twelve years he was sent to 
 the fine school for boys in Farmmgton, and boarded 
 in the family of Rev. Dr. Porter, the minister of the 
 old town, and father of President Porter, of Yale 
 College. For a year after leaving school he was 
 employed in a store, but early went into the manu- 
 facturing business, as his father had done before 
 him. He won the respect of all in the community 
 by his faithfulness, dignity of manner, kindness and 
 mature judgment. He was active in both town 
 and church matters, and people learned to depend 
 upon him as a wise counselor and friend. In 1840 
 he was sent to the State Legislature by the town 
 of Bristol, and was the youngest member of that 
 body. Mr. Hooker removed in 1844 to Hartford, 
 and engaged in business with Lawson C. Ives, the 
 firm being Ives, Hooker & Co., wool merchants. 
 In business matters Mr. Hooker was well known 
 for his exactness, punctuality and honesty. He 
 connected himself with the First Congregational 
 Church, and was as faithful in church matters as he 
 was in business. Rev. Dr. Hawes, well known in 
 New England as a leading minister, was pastor of 
 the church at that time. He soon found that the 
 young man from Bristol was one on whom he could 
 depend, and in a few years he was chosen a deacon 
 in the church, that office then being expected to 
 continue through life. Among those at that time 
 deacons in the church were men much older than 
 Mr. Hooker, men, indeed, old enough to have been 
 his father, among them Judge Thomas S. Williams 
 and Gov. Ellsworth. Mr. Hooker remained in office 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 15 
 
 twenty-two years, when he resigned on account of 
 partial deafness. He was the tirst to propose that 
 the office of deacon should be temporary, and not 
 for life, and that system was soon established in the 
 church. Mr. Hooker was interested in the Sunday- 
 school", and his classes of young men knew they 
 had a friend whose example, as well as teaching, 
 it was safe to follow. The Sunday-school was then 
 held at nine o'clock a. m., and for man)' years, when 
 well and in town, Mr. Hooker never tailed to be 
 promptly with his class. 
 
 In 1862 Mr. Hooker retired from the firm, with 
 which he had been connected eighteen years, to de- 
 vote himself to the management of the ]3road Brook 
 Woolen jManufacttiring Co., of which he became 
 secretary and treasurer. When he entered upon 
 this undertaking the sittiation was most discourag- 
 ing, the company being heavily in debt, and the 
 stockholders despondent. His ability as a man 
 of business is indicated by the success of the com- 
 pany for more than a quarter of a century under his 
 management. A sturd}- inflexible integrity was the 
 distinctive quality in ^Ir. Hooker, best known to 
 the people of Hartford, and his name frequently 
 fell from the lips of men as a synonym for abso- 
 lute honest}'. All shams and deceit were abhorrent 
 to him. To do his duty was the supreme law of his 
 life. His friends knew him as one who was un- 
 obtrusively thoughtful for the happiness of others, 
 liberal and magnanimous. A difficulty in hearing, 
 which came upon him some years prior to his death, 
 led him to resign from variotis boards of direction, 
 for he believed that directors should direct. Though 
 during the latter part of his life he was unable 
 to hear a sentence in church, he was always in his 
 place at public worship. Politically he was a stanch 
 Republican, and the last time he left his home was to 
 cast his vote for President Harrison. He died Dec. 
 9, 1888, after five weeks' illness of pneumonia. 
 
 'Mr. Hooker was twice married, first to Maria 
 Robbins Williams, of Rocky Hill, a descendant of the 
 Robbing and Wolcott families, and also of Thomas 
 Welles, governor of Connecticut in 1655 and 1658. 
 She died in i860, leaving two daughters : Ellen 
 Frances, who died in 1897; and Mary Williams, 
 who married Joseph G. ^^'oodward in 1879, and 
 died in 1882, leaving one child, Joseph Hooker 
 Woodward, born Alarch 7, 1882. " In 1862 j\Ir. 
 Hooker married Martha Huntington Williams, of 
 Manchester, who was born in East Hartford, daugh- 
 ter of Solomon and :\Iartha ( Bakerj ^\'illiams, for- 
 merly of Lebanon, Connecticut. 
 
 Mrs. Hooker's parents were both descended from 
 the early settlers of Massachusetts and Connecti- 
 cut. Her father, Solomon ^^'illiams, was born in 
 1783, in Lebanon, Conn., and early entered Yale 
 College, but remained not quite two years, being 
 unable to continue on account of severe illness. A 
 weakness of the e3-es and a cough remained with 
 him throughout life, and as he was obliged to lead 
 an outdoor life he for some vears had the care of 
 
 the farm that had belonged to his grandfather, the 
 old minister of that historic town. Eor a few years 
 he was in business with David L. Dodge, afterward 
 of New York, who was engaged in manufacturing 
 in Bozrah, near Lebanon. Later Mr. Williams was 
 in mercantile business, and removed to East Hart- 
 ford, but the last years of his life were spent in 
 Manchester, where (notwithstanding the feeble 
 health which was his lot during most of his life) he 
 lived to the great age of ninety-two years, dying in 
 1875. Solomon \\ illiams was a sun of Thomas 
 Williams, M. D. (a graduate of Yalej, and a grand- 
 son of Rev. Solomon Williams, D. D. (a graduate 
 of Hartford), for fifty years pastor of the church in 
 Lebanon. Gen. William ^\■illiams, one of the 
 Signers of the Declaration of Independence, was 
 also a son of Rev. Solomon Williams, who de- 
 rived his Christian name from his maternal grand^ 
 father. Rev. Solomon Stoddard, D. D., of Xorth- 
 ampton, Mass., a clergyman of great prominence 
 in his day, and grandfather also of the famous di- 
 vine, Jonathan Edwards. Mr. Stoddard's mother 
 was a daughter of Emanuel Downing, who was 
 associated with Gov. Winthrop in the foundation 
 of the Massachusetts Colony. Mr. Stoddard's wife 
 \yas a daughter of the Rev. John ^^'arham, who 
 came from Exeter, England, to Dorchester, Mass., 
 with his church, and removed to Windsor, Conn., 
 in 1636. Rev. Solomon \\'illiams' father. Rev. 
 William Williams (a graduate of Harvard), was 
 pastor at Hatfield, ]\Iass., for fifty-six years, and 
 ! he was a grandson of Robert ^^'illiams, who came 
 to Roxbury, Mass., from Norwich, England, in 
 1638. The wife of Rev. Solomon Williams was 
 j\Iary Porter, a daughter of Judge Samuel Porter, 
 of Hadley, Mass. Rebecca Wells, the wife of Dr. 
 Thomas Williams, was a descendant of Thomas 
 Welles, governor of Connecticut, and through the 
 Ellsworths, her mother's family, she was descended 
 from Elder John White and Elder ^^'illiam Good- 
 win, who came with Rev. Thomas Hooker to Hart- 
 ford in 1636. 
 
 Martha Baker, wife of Solomon ^Mlliams, of 
 Lebanon, was the daughter of Dr. Joseph Baker, 
 who served in the war of the Revolution as a 
 surgeon, and was at the battle of Fort Griswold. 
 His wife, Lucy Devotion, was of French descent. 
 Dr. Balver was descended from Rev. John Rob- 
 inson, of Leyden, and his wife belonged to a Hu- 
 guenot family, her father. Rev. Ebenezer Devotion, 
 of Scotland Parish, Windham, being a great-grand- 
 son of Edward Devotion, who was born at Rochelle, 
 France, in 1621, and came to Boston in 1645, to 
 escape religious persecution, settling in Brookline, 
 jMass. He left a large portion of his propertv to 
 establish free schools. Rev. E. Devotion married 
 Martha Lathrop, a daughter of Col. Simon Lathrop, 
 who commanded one of the Connecticut regiments 
 at the taking of Louisbourg in 1745, and rendered 
 distinguished service both in the field and in council. 
 He was a great-grandson of Rev. John Lathrop, 
 
16 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a clergyman who left the Established Church, 
 preached for one year in London, was imprisoned, 
 and after his release came to Boston. He was an 
 independent thinker, and not agreeing with the 
 Boston ministers went to Barnstable, iViass., and 
 gathered a congregation. No one who united with 
 his church was obliged to sign any creed. He simply 
 professed his faith in God^ and promised that it 
 should be his constant endeavor to obey his com- 
 mandments, to live a pure life, and to walk in love 
 with his brethren. The wife of Gov. Samuel Hunt- 
 ington, one of the Signers of the Declaration of 
 Independence, and governor of Connecticut from 
 1786 to 1796, was a daughter of Rev. E. Devotion, 
 and an aunt of Mrs. Hooker's mother. 
 
 Bryan E. and Martha Hooker had three sons : 
 Edward Williams Hooker, born Oct. 19, 1865 ; Rob- 
 ert Huntington Hooker, April 21, 1867 (died May 
 21, 1874) ; and Thomas Williams Hooker, May 10, 
 1 87 1. Edward Williams Hooker married Nov. 12, 
 1889, JNIary JNlather Turner, daughter of Dr. Charles 
 P. Turner, of Philadelphia, and grandchild of Major 
 Roland JMather. of Hartford. Their children are 
 Rosalie, born Sept. 26, 1892; and Roland Mather, 
 born Sept. 10, 1900. 
 
 BOARDMAN. The name has been one of 
 prominence in New England from the earliest Co- 
 lonial times, and especially has it been historic in 
 Connecticut. It is the purpose here to treat only 
 of the line of ancestry and descendants of the late 
 William Boardman, for many years a prominent 
 citizen of Wethersfield and Hartford, in wdiich latter 
 city still reside some of his children and grand- 
 children, among them William Francis Joseph and 
 Thomas Jefferson Boardman, long identified with 
 the father in the wholesale tea, cofifee and spice 
 house of William Boardman & Sons. 
 
 The name is uniformly spelt Boreman in the 
 Colonial Records of Connecticut, and Boreman or 
 Borman in the early records of Wethersfield. The 
 change from Boreman, or Borman, first appears 
 among the family records in that of Lieut. Richard 
 Bordman, of Newington, in 1707, nearly seventy 
 years after the first appearance of Samuel (i) 
 Boreman in New England, by the addition of the 
 letter "d."' The new form was adopted by most of 
 the name in Wethersfield until 1780, in which year 
 the "a" is first added in the record of Elijah Board- 
 man, son of Israel, of Newington, since which 
 time the name has been spelt as above, Boardman. 
 Instances are found where the same person might 
 have his name spelt in all three ways in succession, 
 as in the case of Lieut. Richard, of Newington, 
 above mentioned, whose birth was recorded as a 
 Borman, liis marriage as a Bordman, and his death 
 on his gravestone as that of Boardman. 
 
 (I) Samuel Boreman, the emigrant ancestor 
 of this branch of the Boardman family, was a son 
 of Christopher and Julian (Carter) Boreman, and 
 was born in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England, and 
 
 baptized there August 20, 161 5. About 1619 he 
 removed with his parents to Claydon, a village near 
 Banbury, where he spent his early life. From indi- 
 cations contained 'in the Journal of John Josselyn, 
 Genl., Mr. Boreman, accompanied by his "servant" 
 (and perhaps by his wife), sailed in the ship "New 
 Supply" from Gravesend, England, for New Eng- 
 land, "April 26, 1638, which anchored in the Bay of 
 Mass., before Boston, July 3d, of the same year."' 
 He first appears as a New England settler in Ips- 
 wich, Mass., where, in a list of inhabitants without 
 date, he is called a cooper, and has land recorded 
 to him Aug. 22, 1639. ^^^ stay in Ipswich was not 
 a long one, yet during this period he owned three 
 dilTerent homesteads. The first of these, which was 
 granted to him b" the town, was situated at the west 
 end of High street. 
 
 In 1641, or during the previous year, he dis- 
 posed of all his property in Ipswich and removed 
 to Wethersfield, Conn. About this time he mar- 
 ried ^lary, daughter of John and Mary Betts, who 
 were living in Claydon in 1627. She afterwards 
 emigrated to New England with the mother, then 
 the "widdoe" Mary Betts, who appears in Hartford 
 soon after the settlement of the town, and received 
 a portion of the first grants of land, being one in 
 the list who had "lotts at the Courtesie of the Town." 
 Pier house lot in 1639-40 was situated at the foot 
 of the present Trumbull street on the East side. 
 She was a school teacher and called "Goody Betts, 
 the school dame." She died before July 19, 1647. ^ 
 
 The earliest record of Samuel Boreman in Weth- 
 ersfield appears in Vol. I, Town Votes, Page 4, viz. : 
 "The eare marke of Sam: Boreman of Wethers- 
 ffielde is the near eare under half-penyed, the off 
 eare whole." This ear mark was used by his de- 
 scendants in Wethersfield as late as 1846. Judge 
 Adams, the Wethersfield historian, considers 
 this entry to have been made in 1640. His 
 first purchase of land^ in Wethersfield, so far as 
 known, was a homestead of three acres, with a 
 barn and cellar, which was recorded April 9, 1645. 
 It was on the east side of Broad street, a little north 
 of Plain Lane and near the great elm now stand- 
 ing there, and is thus entered on the record of the 
 town : "One piece whereon a cellar and a barn 
 standeth, containing three acres more or less. The 
 ends abut against the Broad St. north-west, and the 
 plain south-east, the sides against the house-lot of 
 Mr. Chester north-east and Richard Parke south- 
 west." This lot he sold to John Lattimer before 
 June 22, 1646. 
 
 On November 3, 1659, ^e purchased of i\Ir. 
 Nathaniel Dickinson a homestead which was sit- 
 uated on the southwest corner of Broad street, ex- 
 tending westward along Fletcher Lane (Garden 
 street) to Belle Lane (South Main street) and is 
 described as "one house lot with house thereon 
 Con : 2 acres and a half more or less, -the end abut- 
 ting on Broad Street East, and the long street West, 
 and on the highway North, and the lands of John 
 
c-C^c^^i^ ty^y fi~Ziyr~~c^^^^^^i^i^c^Jt^ 
 
/ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 17 
 
 Kiiborn South." Here he resided the last four- 
 teen years of his life; the house, at times repaired 
 and enlarged, was the home of five generations of 
 the famil}'. The buildings were subsequently used 
 as a tavern, and destroyed by fire March 17, 1827. 
 Samuel Boreman was an extensive land holder, 
 having purchased no less than fifty-five pieces of 
 land, aggregating 755 acres. This was exclusive 
 of one-eighth part in lands of Robert Rose, who had 
 312 acres in one tract on the East side of the river, 
 and other lands on both sides. Samuel Boreman 
 was, granted, by the town, Jan. 2, 1649-50, thirty 
 acres of upland in Stepney (Rocky Hill) bounded 
 East on the river, North on what was later re- 
 served for a ship yard. South by a stream known 
 as Fog Brook, extending westerly up the hill which 
 slopes from the river. This was the first grant of 
 land by the town in that section of Wethersfield. 
 In after years this tract became of great commercial 
 importance. It has often been occupied by stores and 
 warehouses, and at the present time tlie Railroad 
 Station, the Foundry and several ancient residences 
 are located on this site. 
 
 The Indian Chief Turramuggas ( Son of Sachem 
 Sowheag) gave to Mr. Samuel Boreman and Thom- 
 as Edwards jointly, Jan. 26, 1673, out of "respect 
 for them" a tract of land containing 400 acres at 
 Assawasick, in what is now East Glastonbury. This 
 is the earliest deed, next after one grant of land at 
 Beckley quarter, made by the Indians to private in- 
 dividuals in the township. 
 
 Samuel Boreman's name is often found in the 
 records of Wethersfield. He was chosen townsman 
 (Selectman) in 1656-57-58-60-61-62-65-66-69-72 
 and 1673, assessor for two years, rate maker, sur- 
 veyor of highways and constable. He was often 
 appointed to lay out highways, town bounds and in- 
 dividual grants of lands. In church affairs as well, 
 he took a prominent part, serving on committees 
 to "procure a minister," "seat the meeting house," 
 erect a parsonage, to settle differences, etc. He last 
 appears in the Wethersfield Town Records, March 
 26, 1673, where he is the first named of five towns- 
 men to procure a house for the use of the Rev. Mr. 
 Bulkley. His inventory was taken May 2, 1673. 
 We learn from the Records of the Particular Court 
 or Court of Magistrates that Mr. Boreman was a 
 Juror as early as 1646 and filled that office for fif- 
 teen years, in 1660 and 1662 being one of the Grand 
 Jury. 
 
 In the Colonial Records, we find that Samuel 
 Boreman first represented the town of Wethersfield 
 as Deputy to the General Court Oct. i, 1657, that 
 he was elected in all eighteen terms and reported 
 present at thirt3--four sessions. On Oct. 9, 1662, 
 when Connecticut's famous charter, procured in Eng- 
 land from Charles II by Governor Winthrop, was 
 "first publiquely read in audience of ye Freeman and 
 declaired to belong to them and their successors,' 
 "^Ir. Samuel Boreman was present as one of the Dep- 
 uties and he and Sergt. Nott were appointed to notify 
 2 
 
 those in Wethersfield indebted to the country in be- 
 half of Mr. Cullick to provide and prepare payment 
 to enable the country to discharge such sums as 
 should be charged by Governor Winthrop for pro- 
 curing the Charter for the Colony." He was apix)int- 
 ed by the General Court in 1649 Town Sealer of 
 weights and measures, and in 1659 Customs Master 
 of Wethersfield, being the first to hold that office, 
 was selected by the General Court to serve on com- 
 mittees to settle church dift'erences, to lay out the 
 new town of Haddam, including its purchase from 
 the Indians, to lay out the bounds of }iIiddletown 
 and settle its differences with the Indians, to settle 
 estates and to lay out the bounds of the proprietors 
 at Naubuck. "^ir." Samuel Boreman's last appear- 
 ance as Deputy from Wethersfield on record was 
 Oct. 12, 1671, the beginning of a term of the court 
 which expired in April, 1672. He died in April; 
 1673. His widow Alary died in August, 1684, 
 aged about sixty-one years. Children : Isaac, JNIary, 
 Samuel, Joseph, John, Sarah, Daniel, Jonathan, 
 Nathaniel and Martha. Joseph, born March 12, 
 1650, and John, born June 12, 1653, died in 1676, un- 
 married ; their inventories were both taken Feb. 2j, 
 1676-7. In the list of accounts due to John appears 
 "£i2-6s-9d, due from the country,'' which, with the 
 manuscript of Hon. David Sherman Boardman that 
 they "died unmarried in the Army," lead to the belief 
 that they perished in the King Philip war — proba- 
 bly in the Swamp fight, Dec. 19, 1676. The other 
 children lived to marry. 
 
 "Few of the first settlers of Connecticut came 
 here with a better reputation or sustained it more 
 uniformly through life than Mr. Boreman'' [Hin- 
 man page 263] "Samuel Boreman was a leading 
 man in the Colony for nearly thirtv vears" [Hol- 
 lister Vol. I, P. 464]. 
 
 (II) Samuel Boreman, son of Samuel and Mary 
 (Betts) Boreman, was born in Wethersfield, Oct. 
 28, 1648. He married Feb. 8, 1682-3, Sarah Steele, 
 baptized at Faj;mington, Dec. 29, 1656, daughter of 
 Lieut. Samuel and Mary (Boosey) Steele of Weth- 
 ersfield and earlier of Farmington. Air. Boreman 
 was by occupation a cooper and farmer, and one of 
 the principal land owners of the town, having add- 
 ed largely to the share which he received from his 
 father's estate by the purchase of other tracts of land 
 in the South Field, the Great Plain, the West Field 
 and elsewhere. 
 
 In 1677, Samuel Boreman, with three others, re- 
 ceived from the town a grant of land in "Piper Stave 
 Swamp in the present town of Newington with 
 sufficient Pondings and 20 acres of land to each of 
 them forever, for the purpose of erecting a saw- 
 mill, allwise provided the said party, make no sale 
 of bord or timber to any other town, without the 
 consent of ^^'ethersfield townsmen, and to sell bords 
 at home, at five shillings per hundred and at the mill 
 at four shillings per hundred. The mill is to be up 
 and fit for work at or before the last of Septem- 
 ber next ensuing the date hereof [Wethersfiekl 
 
IS 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Town A'otes]. This was the first sawmill built in 
 W'ethersfield. "Clark Samuel Boreman" had a 
 share in the second division of land on the West 
 side of the river, a 52-acre lot in Newington, and 
 lands elsewhere. 
 
 Although not a prominent office holder we find 
 that Mr. Boreman was chosen surveyor of high- 
 ways in 1679. "Sergt. Samuel Boreman" was one 
 of the town collectors for 1683, constable in 1682, 
 one of the Committee to lay out a highway to Fear- 
 ful Swamp in 1687, Lister in 1693 and 1702, and 
 Surveyor in 1694. He occupied his father's home- 
 stead, corner of Broad Street and Fletcher Lane. 
 He died Dec. 23, 1720, "aged 72 y. 2 mo., wanting 
 two days," and his widow, Sarah, died Jan. 23, 
 1732-3. Their children were Mary, Sarah, Hannah, 
 David, Joseph and Josiah. Sarah, Hannah and 
 Josiah died young. Sarah (Steele) Boreman was 
 a descendant of the third generation from John 
 Steele, one of the original proprietors of Hartford, 
 who was born in Essex County, England, and mar- 
 ried at Fairstead, near Braintree, in the above coun- 
 ty, Rachel, sister of John Talcott of Hartford. He 
 emigrated to New England about 1632, and set- 
 tled in Newtown (Cambridge), where he was made 
 a freeman in 1634. He was chosen Deputy to the 
 General Court of Massachusetts in March, 1634, 
 and 2\Iay and September, 1635, and was appointed 
 by that body ]\Iarch 3, 1635-6 one of the Commis- 
 sioners "to govern the people of Connecticut for 
 the space of one year coming." He removed to 
 Hartford in 1635-6, and his homestead was on the 
 east side of ]\Iain Street, a little north of the site 
 now occupied by the Atheneum. Mr. Steele was 
 actively interested in the affairs of his town and 
 colony. He was Secretary of the Colony from 
 1636 to 1639, was often chosen Deputy to the Gen- 
 eral Court between 1637 and 1657, and held the 
 office of Town Clerk of Hartford until his removal 
 to Farmington about 1645, where his wife Rachel 
 died in 1653. He died in Farmington, November 
 25, 1665. Sarah Steele's line of descent was Lieut. 
 Samuel (H). John (I). 
 
 (HI) Joseph Bordman, son of Samuel and Sarah 
 (Steele) Boreman. was born in Wethersfield April 
 6, 1695, married Feb. 17, 1726, Mary, daughter of 
 Joseph Belden, born April 23, 1704, and Hved at the 
 extreme south end of Broad Street, on the west side, 
 in the house erected by his father Samuel (H), 
 and given him by the latter's will in 1720. He was 
 a farmer bv occupation, and in local matters a man 
 of substance and prominent in the affairs of Weth- 
 ersfield. He was commissioned Quarter-master of 
 Captain Josiah Griswold's Troop of Horse, in the 
 Sixth Regiment, May 11, 1749, and Cornet in the 
 same regiment in October, 1751, by the General 
 Court. He was one of the selectmen of the town 
 in 1755, who had charge of the French prisoners 
 quartered there at that time. "It is probable that he 
 did his share of duty in the French campaign dur- 
 insT his term of military service." 
 
 Joseph Bordman was chosen Deputy to the Gen- 
 eral Court from Wethersfield, October, 1754, Jan- 
 uary, 1755, March, 1755, October, 1759, and May 
 1760. He was one of the largest contributors to the 
 fund raised for building the present Congregational 
 church in Wethersfield in 1761. (Corner Stone.) 
 
 His wife Mary died April 30, 1769. He died 
 Jan. 19, 1 771. Their children were Mary, Sarah, 
 Eunice, Hannah, Levi, Rhoda, Samuel and Abi- 
 gail. All lived to marry. Mary (Belden) Bord- 
 man was descended in the fourth generation from 
 Richard Belden, an early settler of Wethersfield. 
 The records concerning him are few. He owned 
 April 7, 1641, eight pieces of land including a 
 homestead situated on the east side of Broad street, 
 on the north corner of Plain Lane. He was chosen 
 town herder IMarch 16, 1646. It was his duty to keep 
 watch over the herd and give immediate warning to 
 the inhabitants of wolves or other dangers threat- 
 ening the stock, his compensation being in "four 
 equal payments." "On fourth in wheat, on fourth 
 in pease, on fourth in barle}', on fourth in Lidian, 
 sound, dry and well drest." That this was not an 
 easy task we may readily infer from tlie fact that, 
 the year following, four herders were elected. He 
 died in 1655, the mventory of his estate was taken 
 Aug. 22d of the same year. Mary (Belden) Bord- 
 man's line of descent is through Joseph (HI), John 
 (H), Richard (I). 
 
 (IV) Levi Bordman, son of Joseph and Mary 
 (Belden) Bordman, was born in Wethersfield, May 
 6, 1739. He married April 23, 1761, Esther Bord- 
 man, born Dec. 22, 1743, daughter of Gamaliel and. 
 Sarah (Sherman) Bordman, of Newington, and 
 great-great-granddaughter of Samuel Boreman, the 
 settler. He died March 22, 1782. Esther, his wid- 
 ow, married (second) Nov. 11, 1784, William War- 
 ner, and died Sept. i, 1797. The children of Levi 
 and Esther were Joseph, Levi, Sarah, Sarah, Simeon 
 and Joseph Simeon — Levi and Joseph Simeon, only, 
 living to maturity. 
 
 Levi Bordman was a prominent man of his day 
 in Wethersfield. He was chosen one of the se- 
 lectmen of Wethersfield in December, 1773, 1774, 
 and 1775, and in this official capacity he certified to 
 the muster roll of Capt. John Chester's Company 
 of one lumdred and fifteen men, at the starting of 
 that body for the relief of Boston, in the Lexing- 
 ton Alarm in April, 1775. In this company were 
 Samuel, Elijah, Return and Samuel Bordman (2d). 
 In 1774 he was one of the contributors to a fund 
 " to relieve and encourage the inhabitants of Boston 
 under their imparaklled suffering in the General 
 Cause of American Liberty." In the year follow- 
 ing he assisted his brother Samuel in erecting a 
 saltpetre manufactory, near the foot of Broad 
 street, in W'ethersfield, and furnished material nec- 
 essary in the manufacture of this article, large quan- 
 tities of which were made for use in the Revolution- 
 ary war. Levi and Samuel Bordman also built and 
 owned the sloop "Ann" (Lemuel Deming, mas- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 19 
 
 ter), which was used to convey a company of sev- 
 enty-two soldiers, under the command of Capt. John 
 Hanmer, from Wethersfield to New York, at the 
 time of the Long Island invasion Aug. 23, 1776. 
 It is a family tradition that Levi Bordman served in 
 the war of the Revolution. The fact that he pos- 
 sessed a full military equipment, including a breast 
 plate marked "L. Bordman," adds not a little to the 
 truth of this tradition. 
 
 During a portion of his life, at least, Levi Bord- 
 man was a school master, and sometimes received 
 pupils at his home for instruction. It is known that 
 he taught the South School in Wethersfield in 1771, 
 and the Broad Street School in 1778. His library 
 included books in the Greek and Latin languages, 
 indicating that he was a man of liberal education. 
 
 Mr. Bordman is said to have lived some years 
 after his marriage in the house of his ancestor, Sam- 
 uel Boreman (I), corner of Broad street and Fletch- 
 er Lane. Included in the inventory of his property 
 was an "old tavern sign," which leads to the conjec- 
 ture that he kept a public house there, for it is known 
 that the building was used for that purpose. It is 
 .believed that Isir. Bordman was keeping this tavern 
 when on September 19, 1765, Stamp-Master Jared 
 Ingersoll, of New Haven, on his way to Hartford, 
 was forced by the "Sons of Liberty," who had gath- 
 ered under the great Elm tree in front of Col. John 
 Chester's house, next adjoining, to enter this tavern, 
 and there sign a written resignation of his office. 
 
 Esther Bordman was helpful to the soldiers dur- 
 ing the War of the Revolution in assisting them to 
 join their regiments, in boarding, washing and 
 mending their clothes, &c. Her line of descent is 
 through Gamaliel (IV), Richard (III), Daniel (II), 
 Samuel (I). 
 
 (V) Joseph Simeon Boardman, son of Levi and 
 Esther (Bordman) Boardman, was born in Wethers- 
 iield, Conn., May 3, 1780. He married July 31, 
 1803, Lucinda, daughter of Joseph and Hannah 
 (Harrison) Canfield, of Salisbury, Conn., born 1786. 
 He was a cordwainer by trade. Early in 1804 he re- 
 moved to Lenox, Mass., where he successfully en- 
 gaged in the business of tanning leather. Late in the 
 following year he retiu-ned to his native town, and 
 for some years lived on the west side of the high- 
 ■\vay leading from Broad street to South Lane, next 
 north of the Appleton Robbins place. In 1816 he 
 purchased his father's old homestead on Broad 
 ■street, where he resided until his death. 
 
 After his return from Lenox he devoted his at- 
 tention somewhat to the shipping business, then of 
 considerable local importance. An examination of 
 liis account books and diaries show him to have 
 laeen very careful and accurate in his business habits. 
 From them, it is learned that he spent a portion of 
 his time at his trade, and that he was also engaged 
 in shipping large quantities of onions, then the staple 
 crop of Wethersfield, to New York, and there selling 
 them on commission. It was while acting as super- 
 cargo on board the sloop "Eliza" (David Moul- 
 
 throp, captain), on her passage to New York, that he 
 lost his life by shipwreck on Long Island Sound on 
 the night of November 13, 1827, all on board being 
 lost. His body was recovered at Huntington, L. 
 I., and buried in Wethersfield. His widow married 
 Sept. 19, 1832, Ezra L'Hommedieu, of Chester, 
 where she died March 6, 1850, and was buried in 
 Wethersfield. 
 
 Mr. Boardman was a gentleman of strong re- 
 ligious convictions. He and his wife became mem- 
 bers of the Congregational Church in 18 16, and 
 throughout their lives were zealous workers in the 
 cause of religion. Mr. Boardman's private diary, 
 from which extracts of considerable length are 
 given in the Boardman Genealogy, is a witness to 
 the earnestness and sincerity of his Christian life. 
 Their children were William, Hannah, Joseph, Jo- 
 seph Canfield and Maria Lucinda. 
 
 Lucinda (Canfield) Boardman was of the sixth 
 generation from Sergt. Thomas Canfield, who was 
 born in England and settled in Milford, Conn., in or 
 before 1646, and was granted a house lot and two 
 acres of land by the town, December 31, 1646. He 
 also received from the town four acres of land for 
 supporting a gate at New Field. He became a mem- 
 ber of the church in Milford, ]\Iarch i, 1656, and 
 was appointed by the General Court May 13, 1669, 
 sergeant of the train band of ^.lilford. He was 
 elected Deputy to the General Court from ]Milford 
 in 1673, 1674 and 1676. He died in 1689. His wife, 
 Phebe Crane, whom he married probably before 
 1650, was perhaps the sister of Benjamin Crane, of 
 Wethersfield. Her will was made July 29, 1690. 
 Lucinda Canfield's line of descent is Joseph (\'), 
 Joel (IV), Thomas (III), Thomas (II), Thom- 
 as (I). 
 
 (VI) William Boardman, son of Joseph Sim- 
 eon and Lucinda (Canfield) Boardman, was born 
 Feb. 25, 1805, in Lenox, Mass., where his father was 
 then for a short time residing. Young Boardman re- 
 ceived his education in the best schools of ^^'eth- 
 ersfield. At the age of sixteen he began learning the 
 printer's trade in the office of the Hartford Tunes, 
 then owned and published by Samuel Bowles and 
 John Francis. In the summer of 1824, when ^Ir. 
 Bowles started the Springfield Republican, ]\Ir. 
 Boardman went with him to Spring-field, the removal 
 being accomplished by placing the press, with all ar- 
 ticles necessary for use in the business, and the 
 household furniture on a flatboat, in which they were 
 poled up the Connecticut river. He boarded in 
 the family of his -employer, and se. up and printed 
 a part of the first issue of the Springfield Republi- 
 can, which has since become one of the leading news- 
 papers of New England. In 1828, in company with 
 William Faulkner, of Norwich, under the firm name 
 of Boardman & Faulkner, he began the publication 
 of the Norwich Republican, of which he was also 
 the editor. This was the second paper in Connecti- 
 cut to support the election of Andrew Jackson for 
 the Presidencv. Ill health obliged Mr. Boardman 
 
20 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to retire from his position after the tirst year. In 
 1830 he published the Tolland Advocate for an asso- 
 ciation of gentlemen in' folland, Conn. In 1832, 
 in company with Alfred Francis, he published the 
 life, writings and opinions of Thomas Jeliferson, 
 written for them by E. L. Rayner, the printing, 
 binding, etc., being all done in Wethersfield. In 
 1834, iVir. Boardman was employed by John Rus- 
 sell, then editor^ and publisher of tlie Hartford 
 Times, as foreman of the establisnment. 
 
 In 1841, in company with John Fox, Mr. Board- 
 man started in Wethersfield, in connection with a 
 successful grocery business, the first manufactory wi 
 New England, outside of Boston, for the roasting, 
 grinding, and packing of coffee and spices for the 
 wholesale trade. This partnership was dissolved 
 in October, 1844, and January I, 1845, Air. Board- 
 man undertook the same business on his own ac- 
 count, which he removed in 1850 to Hartford, lo- 
 cating at No. 12 Central Row, where he associated 
 with himself his son, W . F. J. Boardman, under 
 the firm name of ^^^m. Boardman & Son. Steam 
 power and modern machinery were introduced, and 
 the firm did a large business in several States of 
 the Union, and especially in New York City, where 
 a considerable amount of the goods manufactured 
 were sold. The coffee used at the opening of the 
 Crystal Palace in New York, July 14, 1853, was 
 furnished by them. Probably the first invoice of 
 ground and prepared coft'ee sent to California was 
 from this firm. Still larger accommodations being 
 needed, the store and manufactory were removed, 
 ii-i 1853, from Central Row to what is now No. 
 241 State street. The building was bought and 
 fitted up with a twenty-five horse power engine, and 
 with all the new and improved machinery for the 
 successful carrying on of the business. At this 
 time Mr. Boardman's second son, Thomas J., was ad- 
 mitted to the firm, and its name was changed to W'm. 
 Boardman & Sons. The building, occupied, consist- 
 ed of four stories, with a store-house of two stories 
 in the rear. In 1858, two stories in an adjoining 
 building were leased, and teas were added to the 
 stock in trade. Travelling salesmen were employed, 
 and a large business was done throughout New 
 York, New Hampshire, A'ermont, Massachusetts and 
 Connecticut, thousands of chests being sold yearly. 
 In 1867 the business was removed from No. 241 
 to No. 205 State street, corner of Front, the old 
 store being retained for the manufacturing and stor- 
 age of goods. This added four stories, 30x80 feet, 
 to the space formerly occupied. In 1871, the brown 
 stone building, Nos. 298-306 Asylum street, was 
 erected for the business; it measured 52x100 feet, 
 and was five stories high besides a basement, with 
 the manufactory in the rear of three stories, 30x40 
 feet. The cost was over $100,000, and it was the 
 finest, private building then in the city. The firm 
 removed to it April i, 1872, new machinery being 
 added, making it the most complete manufactorv of 
 its kind in New England. Here they continued to 
 
 do a large and successful business as wholesale 
 dealers and importers of teas, coffees and spices, and 
 as dealers in cigars, tobacco and grocers' sundries. 
 On July 9, 1888, after the death of the senior part- 
 ner, William F. J. Boardman retired from the firm 
 — the business then for a time being carried on by 
 the younger of his two sons, Thomas J., and his son, 
 Howard F., under the old firm name out of respect 
 for its founders. On Jan. i, 1897, the business 
 was incorporated under the name of The Wm. 
 Boardman & Sons Co., of which Thomas J. Board- 
 man is President ; A. H. Brcnson, Secretary, and 
 H. F. Boardman, Treasurer. 
 
 William Boardman was interested in many en- 
 terprises aside from his regular business. He, with 
 the firm, was the builder of several of the finest pri- 
 vate structures in Hartford. He also, in company 
 with others, constructed several vessels of large 
 size, one of which was named the "William Board- 
 man." He was one of the originators of and sub- 
 scribers to The Merrick Thread Co., of Holyoke, 
 Mass., and one of its directors ; also of the Hart- 
 ford and New York Steamboat Co., the Comstock & 
 Ferre Seed Co., Bank of Hartford County (Amer- 
 ican National), Merchants and Manufacturers Bank 
 (First National), Orient Fire Insurance Co., Me- 
 chanics Bank & Building Association, and Hudson 
 River W^ater Power & Paper Co. He was an orig- 
 inal subscriber to the stock of the City Fire Insur- 
 ance Co., Merchants Fire Insurance Co., Phoenix 
 Fire Insurance Co., and Hartford Engineering Co. 
 In 1836, and for several years after, he was secre- 
 tary and director of the Wethersfield Mutual Fire 
 Insurance Co. He also assisted in the formation of 
 many industries, both of a private and public char- 
 acter, and did much to advance the interests of his 
 adopted city. He settled many estates, was a direc- 
 tor in insurance companies, manufacturing cor-' 
 porations, and banks. He was largely interested in 
 proving the feasibility and cheapness of peat as 
 fuel. He was associated with Henry Martin in 
 manufacturing the first power machines for making- 
 brick in this country ; was general agent and mana- 
 ger of the Holbrook School Apparatus Company for 
 the manufacture of instruments showing the revolu- 
 tions of the solar system, and of other instruments 
 connected with the education of children. He was 
 president of the Hartford Associated Coal Company, 
 a company which was formed just after the Civil 
 War, to enable consumers to receive their coal at 
 the cost of mining, etc., which, owing to the general 
 collapse in mercantile values, did not prove a suc- 
 cess. Mr. Boardman filled all these places of trust 
 with honor and fidelity. His advice was often 
 sought in business and other matters, and cheerfully 
 and honestly given. He held other ofifices in earlier 
 life, such as State prison director in 1834, town 
 constable and collector in 1835-36-37, representative 
 in the Legislature from Wethersfield in 1852, where 
 he was on several important committees, and was 
 again appointed State prison director, and also com- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 21 
 
 missioner for Hartford county, by Gov. Thomas 
 H. Seymour. After his removal to Hartford, in 
 1858, he invariably refused public office. He was 
 a life-long Democrat, a firm L'nion man, and a sub- 
 scriber to The Hartford Times from 1820 to 1889. 
 In 1858 he assisted J. AI. Schofield in establishing 
 a Democratic journal, the Hartford Morning Post, 
 now the Hartford Evening Post, Republican in its 
 politics. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity 
 and of the Odd Fellows, and in the latter organiza- 
 tion held the office of Noble Grand. 
 
 "Religiously, Mr. Boardman was a true child 
 of his Puritan ancestry." "To strict integrity, a 
 careful frugality, a true orthodoxy, he joined a 
 clear religious experience.". Both he and his wife 
 were brought' up in the Congregational Church, 
 but in early life became deeply interested in the 
 ^lethodist Episcopal Church, then in its infancy in 
 Wethersfield, where it was at first strongly opposed 
 by many of the townspeople, who adhered to the 
 Congregational denomination. At one time when 
 they were refused the use of the town hall for relig- 
 ious services, Mr. Boardman with others forced the 
 doors in order to hold the meeting. The excite- 
 ment at that time was so great that the "riot" act 
 '^vas read to the assembled crowd by Samuel Galpjn, 
 Esq., of Wethersfield. Mr. Boardman and his wife 
 imited with the M. E. Church in 1838, and remained 
 through life its firm supporters. He helped to re- 
 "build its church edifice, and gave so liberally to the 
 imdertaking that, in gratitude to him, it was named, 
 at its re-dedication, Boardman Chapel. On re- 
 moving to Hartford in 1858, their membership was 
 transferred to the First ]\Iethodist Episcopal Church 
 there, of which Mr. Boardman was elected one of the 
 trustees, and when its new church edifice was erected 
 on Asylum street, he was one of the building com- 
 niittee, giving a large sum for the purpose. When 
 the South Park ]\I. E. Church was organized in 
 1869, in the south part of the city, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Boardman joined the new movement, and wene 
 among the foremost in the enterprise, he being ap- 
 pointed one of the trustees and a member of the 
 building committee. One of the acts of his later li'e 
 was the payment of the niortgage then on the church, 
 thus relieving it of debt, and this on the condition 
 that there should never be another mortgage. He 
 was elected the first Sunday-school superintendent, 
 continuing in that capacity until infirmity and ad- 
 vancing age compelled his resignation. In 1885, 
 after the death of his wife, he built the Boardman 
 ^vlemorial Chapel, adjoining the church, in remem- 
 brance of her. It was dedicated Feb. 23, 1886. 
 
 The liberality of iMr. Boardman was great, and 
 the calls on his charity were many, and freely re- 
 sponded to. By his will he made bequests to the 
 Old People's Home, , The Hartford Hospital. The 
 Larabee Fund, The Charitable Society of Hartford. 
 The Fund for Superannuated Preachers, the Board 
 of Church Extension of the M. E. Church, and to 
 
 the Grant Memorial University of Athens, Ten- 
 nessee. 
 
 On Jan. 3, 1828, ^Ir. Boardman was married to 
 Mary Francis, who was born in Wethersfield, Xov. 
 6, 1803, daughter of Capt. Daniel and Mehitabel 
 (Goodrich) Francis, and granddaughter of Capt. 
 John P"rancis and Capt. Elizur Goodrich, both sol- 
 diers of the Revolution. ^Nlr. Boardman's married 
 life was a long and happy one, extending through 
 more than fifty-six years. His wife was a woman 
 remarkable for her kindness of heart and her whole- 
 souled liberality. She was never happier than when 
 doing something for the help and comfort of others, 
 and her husband took care that she should never 
 lack the means for her benefactions. She was in- 
 terested in all good works, both public and private, 
 and the extent to which she aided them will never 
 be known, for she was unassuming in all her boun- 
 ties. During the Civil war, she took great interest in 
 the condition of the soldiers, and was one of the man- 
 agers of the Soldiers' Aid Association. But it was 
 as the kind and tender wife and mother that -she 
 found her chief happiness, and the best monument 
 and witness to her excellence has been the rever- 
 ent and unforgetting aft'ection of her husband and 
 children. She died Dec. 14, 1884, at the age of 
 eightv-one. Fler line of ancestrv was Daniel (V) 
 John' (IV), John (III), John fll), Robert (I). 
 Mr. Boardman survived his wife for nearly three 
 }-ears, and died November 3, 1887, in his eighty- 
 third year. Their children, all of whom were born 
 in Wethersfield, were : AMlIiam Francis Joseph and 
 Thomas Jefiferson, both mentioned later : Arethusa 
 ]\Iaria and Alpheus Francis, both deceased in early 
 childhood; Mary Lucinda, born in 1841, married, 
 in 1870, George W. Atwood; and Emma Jennette, 
 born in 1846, died in i860. 
 
 (VII) William F. J. Boardmax, of Hartford, 
 Conn., son of William and IMary ( Francis ) Board- 
 man, was born in Wethersfield, Dec. 12, 1828. He 
 was married Jan. 7, 1852, by the Rev. Horace Bush- 
 nell, D. D., in the North Congregational Church in 
 .. Hartford, to Jane Maria Greenleaf , born in Hartford 
 Aug. 9, 1835, youngest daughter of Dr. Charles and 
 Electa (Toocker) Greenleaf. ^Irs. Boardman died 
 Aug. 20, 1899, aged 64 years. "The world was 
 better for her having lived." 
 
 Mr. Boardman received his education in the pub- 
 lic schools of his native town, graduating from the 
 Wethersfield Academy in the Spring of 1846. On 
 leaving school he entered the Coltee and Spice Man- 
 ufactory of his father, in Wethersfield, to learn the 
 business in detail. Four years later, upon the re- 
 moval of the business to Hartford, he was admitted 
 into partnership with his father, under the firm 
 name of William Boardman & Son. In 1853, his 
 brother Thomas J. was admitted a member and the 
 corporate name changed to ^^'illiam Boardman & 
 Sons. This business connection continued with 
 uninterrupted success for thirty-eight years. After 
 
22 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 many years of close application to business, Mr. 
 Boarclman's health became seriously impaired and 
 he found it necessary to take a rest from its cares, 
 at one time going abroad to seek the benefit of travel 
 and change. The result was not entirely success- 
 ful, and, as a matter of physical necessity, he con- 
 cluded, after his return, to abandon all business act- 
 ivity, which he did by selling to his brother his en- 
 tire interest in the old firm, July 9, 1888, after an 
 experience of forty-two years. Mr. Boardman has 
 never sought political office or favor. In 1861 he 
 was chosen a director of the State Bank of Hart- 
 ford, serving in that capacity during the war of the 
 Rebellion, giving to the institution the same con- 
 scientious attention that he did to his own business. 
 In 1863, he was elected a member of the Hartford 
 Common Council from the old Third ward, in which 
 he was a member of the highways committee and 
 chairman of the committee on the horse railroad, 
 then being constructed, also serving on other com- 
 mittees. 
 
 During his business life, Mr. Boardman has been 
 actively engaged in promoting and establishing many 
 business eterprises, among which are the Hartford 
 and New York Steamboat Company, The Merrick 
 Thread Company of Holyoke, Mass., The Hudson 
 River Water Power and Paper Co. of Mechanics- 
 ville, N. Y., as well as many other undertakings in 
 which he shared an equal interest in common with 
 the other members of his firm. He has helped young 
 men to establish themselves in business and assist- 
 ed others in these affairs. He has served on com- 
 missions, settled estates, operated in real estate con- 
 siderably, attended to the construction of some of 
 the best buildings of his adopted city, and has gen- 
 erally led an active life. 
 
 Mr. Boardman was one of the original members 
 of the Putnam Phalanx at its organization in 1859, 
 and still retains his connection with this well known 
 Military Battalion. He-is a life member of the Con- 
 necticut Historical Society, a life member of the 
 Wethersfield Society Library, a member of the Tops- 
 field Historical Society of Massachusetts, the society 
 of the Sons of the American Revolution, and of the 
 Connecticut Society of the Order of the Founders 
 and Patriots of America, through both lines of his 
 ancestry. He was admitted a member at its organ- 
 ization May 9, 1896, and chosen one of its coun- 
 cillors, and later elected Genealogist of the Order. 
 Mr. Boardman has devoted much time and money 
 in collecting and preserving records relating to the 
 Boardman Family, including originals relating to 
 each of his New England ancestors. In 1895 he 
 published "The Boardman Genealogy 1525-1895," a, 
 work of nearly 800 pages. He has also published 
 "The Francis-Goodrich-I3oardman" Genealogy in his 
 line of ancestry. "A memorial to the Memorv of 
 William Boardman and Mary Francis" and a "Com- 
 plete Record of the Wethersfield Inscriptions in the 
 Five Burial Places in that Ancient Town." He has 
 nearly ready for publication, "The Record of the 
 
 Ancestry of William Boardman and Mary Francis, 
 showing their allied lines of descent through forty 
 families who settled in New England prior to 1650, 
 with short biographical sketches of each ancestor." 
 
 Jane Maria (Greenleaf) Boardman was a de- 
 scendant in the' ninth getieration from Capt. Ed- 
 mund Greenleaf, who was born in England, and emi- 
 grated to New England with his family in 1635, and 
 settled in Newbury, Mass. He was one of the first 
 settlers or founders of Newbury, and was granted 
 122 acres in the first division of land there in 
 1635. From all that can be gathered, it is believed 
 that his ancestors were Huguenots. On the parish 
 records of St. Mary's la Tour in Ipswich, County of 
 SufTolk, England, is recorded "Edmund Greenleaf, 
 son of John and Margaret, was baptized January 
 2, 1574." Edmund Greenleaf married Sarah Dole, 
 and by her had nine children whose names appear on 
 the record of St. Mary's la Tour above mentioned, 
 all born in England. Mr. Greenleaf lived near the 
 old town bridge in Newbury, where for some years 
 he kept a tavern. He was admitted a freeman March 
 13, 1639, and on May 22, of the same year, he was 
 "permitted to keep a house of entertainment." He 
 was by trade a silk dyer. About 1650, he moved 
 to Boston where his wife Sarah died January 18, 
 1663. He died there March 24, 1671, aged about 
 ninetv-seven years. In 1637, Capt. Greenleaf com- 
 manded a company which marched against the 
 Indians. On Nov. 5, 1639, he was made ensign 
 of the company at Newbury, and in 1642 lieutenant 
 of Massachusetts Provincial Forces. In 1644 he 
 was an "Ancient and experienced Lieut, under Capt. 
 William Gerrish," was captain in 1644, and head of 
 the Militia under Gerrish, and November 11, 1647, 
 at his own request, was discharged from military 
 service being in the seventy-fourth year of his age. 
 Jane M. (Greenleaf) Boardman's line of descent is 
 Dr. Charles (VIII), Dr. David (VII), David (VI). 
 Dr. Daniel (V), Rev. Daniel (IV), Capt. Stephen 
 (HI), Capt. Stephen (II), Capt. Edmund (I). 
 
 (VII) Thomas Jefferson Boardman, son of 
 William and Mary (Francis) Boardman, was born in 
 Wethersfield, Conn., May 27, 1832, and received his 
 education in the district school and academy of the 
 town, and at the Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, 
 Mass. Having finished his education, he returned 
 to Wethersfield, preferring a business to a pro- 
 fessional life. He began as clerk in a country store 
 in New Britain, remaining till the failure of the con- 
 cern in 1850. He then accepted a position with his 
 father and brother in Hartford, and later, in 1853, 
 he was admitted to the firm. In this he remained 
 a partner till after the death of his father, and the 
 retirement of his brother July g, 1888, when he, 
 with his son, Howard F.. continued the business 
 under the old firm name until Jan. i, 1897. It was 
 then incorporated as The Wm. Boardman & Sons 
 Company, of which he became, and is still Presi- 
 dent, his son, Howard F., being Treasurer, and Ar- 
 thur H. Bronson, Secretary. He is also President of 
 
fe<J^&?^^%) 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 23 
 
 The \Miolesale Grocers Association of Southern 
 New England. 
 
 ]\Ir. Boardman has often been urged to accept 
 pubhc office, but has always declined, preferring to 
 give his entire time and energy to his business. He 
 was brought up a Methodist, but in early life became 
 a convert to the Universalist faith, uniting with that 
 church in 1863. He was long connected with the 
 Sunday-school, as teacher, assistant superintendent, 
 and president of the Teachers' Association, and was 
 for .many years a worker in the church, as a member 
 of its board of trustees and one of its chief support- 
 ers. He was also for many years on the State Mis- 
 sionary Board of the Universalist Church, and 
 trustee for the State of Connecticut in the Univer- 
 salist Publishing House in Boston. He has had an 
 equal interest with his father and brother in the busi- 
 ness ertterprises in which they were concerned. 
 
 Thomas J. Boardman married October 14, 1858, 
 Julia Amanda Ellis, of Hartford, who was born Jan- 
 uary 29, 1838, and died November 24, 1858. He 
 married (second) October 24, 1861, Mary Charlina 
 Ellis, sister of his first wife, born September 11, 
 1843. She died Jan. 16, 1890. He married (third) 
 April 29, 1893, Mary Adah Simpson, daughter of 
 Frederick H. Simpson, of Staten Island, New YorK. 
 Mr. Boardman's children were Howard F., Emma 
 Julia, Minnie Gertrude, William Ellis, Thomas 
 Bradford (born March 9, 1895) and George Fran- 
 cis (born May 31, 1896). He is a member of the 
 Connecticut Historical Society, of the Society of the 
 Sons of the American Revolution, the Connecticut 
 Society of the Order of the Founders and Patriots 
 of America through both lines of his ancestry, and 
 historian of tne last named Society. 
 
 (VHI) William Greenleaf Boardman, only 
 child of William F. J. and Jane Maria (Greenleaf) 
 Boardman, was born in Hartford, Conn., June 29, 
 1853. He married Oct. 29, 1874, Eliza Fowler Root, 
 born May 11, 1853, the daughter of Horatio and Abi- 
 gail Whittier (Hussey) Root, of Hartford, the latter 
 a cousin of the poet John Greenleaf Whittier. Mr. 
 Boardman was educated at Mr. Hart's preparatory 
 school in Farmington, Mr. Hall's Classical Scliool 
 in Ellington, and the Hartford high school. He is 
 a life member of the Connecticut Historical So- 
 ciet)-, a member of the Sons of the American Revo- 
 lution, and a member of The Connecticut Society of 
 the Order of the Founders and Patriots of America. 
 He was formerly connected with the firm of Wm. 
 Boardman & Sons Co., but has been obliged to give 
 up business on account of trouble with his eyes. 
 The children born to William G. Boardman and his 
 wife are : Francis Whittier, born April 6, 1876, 
 died April 5, 1885 : Cedric Root, born Jan. 23, 1886, 
 and Dorothy Root, born April 26, 1889. They reside 
 in Hartford. 
 
 (Vni) Howard Francis Boardman, son of 
 Thomas J. and Mary C. (Ellis) Boardman, was born 
 in Hartford, Conn., Sept. 22, 1862, married Jan. 12, 
 1886, to Catherine Augusta Belcher, born June 16, 
 
 1866, in New York City, daughter of Charles and 
 Katherine (.Slater) Belcher. Howard I", was grad- 
 uated from the Hartford high school in 1880. He 
 is secretary of The Wni. Boardman & Sons Co., and 
 socially a member of the Connecticut Society of the 
 Order of the Founders and Patriots of America. 
 Mr. and Mrs. I'oardman have had two children : 
 Harold Ellis, born Nov. 16, 1890, died the same 
 day; and Mariel Wildes, born iNiay 31, 1893. 
 
 JAMES GOODWIN BATTERSON, ^l. A. 
 Rugged and stable as the granites which first gav-e 
 him fame, finished and polished as tJie marbles 
 which added lustre to strength, complex and diverse 
 as the industries which he promoted — James Good- 
 win Batterson stands sans (<arcil \v. the great number 
 of his personal and business qualities, negative to 
 each other, yet conspicuous in variety and mag- 
 nitude. 
 
 Born in Wintonbury (now Bloomfield), Conn., 
 near Hartford, Feb. 23, 1823, his early lx)yhood was 
 spent at New Preston, among the Litchfield Hills, 
 whither his parents removed when he was an infant. 
 In the pure bracing air of the country, an active 
 outdoor life laid the foundations in youth of a 
 strong, vigorous constitution which sixty years of 
 strenuous business exertions have failed to shake. 
 Here he received a common-school education, fol- 
 lowed by a course in the Western Academy, where 
 he was prepared for college. 
 
 Finding it impossible, however, through lack of 
 means, to carry out this cherished ambition, he re- 
 solved to become self-supporting, and journeyed 
 to Ithaca, N. Y. (a good share of the way on foot), 
 where he signed for a three-years apprenticeship in 
 the printing house of INIack, Andrus & Woodrutif. 
 The idea of a college course still remained, however, 
 and his nights were spent in reading and study, so 
 that he returned at the age of nineteen to Litchfield, 
 where the family then resided, much broadened and 
 strengthened in mind. 
 
 Fortune cast his lot, for a time at least, as a 
 stone-cutter in his father's marble yards. But the 
 active mind of the youth still clamored for knowl- 
 edge, and Judge Origen S. Seymour, a friend of 
 the elder Batterson, becoming interested, took the 
 boy into his law office. A happy year passed, and 
 then the family circumstances demanded that the 
 son again take up the mallet and chisel. 
 
 Thwarted in his ambitions for a professional 
 career, the plucky lad threw all his energies into 
 the stone trade, determined to achieve more than a 
 moderate success. And in this his plans did not 
 miscarry, for five years saw the business so increased 
 that removal to the larger field at Hartford was 
 effected. The line of work also broadened, and to 
 monuments and substructures were added all kinds 
 of cemetery work, tombs, sarcophagi, etc., and the 
 construction of the completed building. Among the 
 earlier work in Hartford may be mentioned the 
 brownstone building of the State Savings Bank 
 on Pearl street, and the marble front home of the 
 
24 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Phcenix National Bank, on Main street. In 1857 
 Mr. Batterson was awarded the contract for the 
 Worth monument, in' New York, which stands at 
 the junction of Fifth avenue and Broadway. From 
 this time on the business grew rapidly until 1875, 
 when it was thought Ijest to organize it into a stock 
 compau}-. 
 
 Accordingly, under a special charter from the 
 Legislature, The New England Granite Works was 
 formed with a capital of $250,000. Quarries were 
 procured under purchase or lease at Canaan, Conn., 
 \\'esterly, R. I., and Concord, N. H., and the work 
 continued to be prosecuLed with great vigor. New 
 and modern apparatus was introduced, which the 
 inventive genius of the man devised and improved 
 until his equipments were far in advance of any 
 other. He perfected a turning lathe for cutting 
 and polishing stone columns, a process previously 
 done b}- hand with clumsy and inaccurate results. 
 In this field he had much to do besides his own work, 
 and personally wrought and polished the granite 
 columns in 'the Capitol at Albany. 
 
 As a contractor and buildei in granite, Mr. Bat- 
 terson established a name second to none in the 
 country. Covering over half a century since the 
 business was first established, there is scarcely a 
 cemetery of repute in the United States that has not 
 its monuments, or a city of size that has not Bat- 
 terson granite in some of its buildings. Represen- 
 tative among the public monuments and statues 
 are the National Soldiers' Monument at •Gettysburg, 
 the portrait statue of Alexander Hamilton in Cen- 
 tral Park, New York, the monument to Brevet 
 Brig.-Gen. Thayer, founder of the West Point Mil- 
 itary Academy, at West Point, the monument at 
 Antietam surmounted by a colossal granite statue of 
 a soldier twenty-one feet in height, the great 
 monument at Galveston, Texas, dedicated to the 
 soldiers who fell in the Texas revolution, the monu- 
 ment in Golden Gate Park. San Francisco, to 
 JNIajor-Gen. Henry W. Halleck, General-in-chief 
 of all the armies of the United States 1863-64, and 
 the Gen. Wool monument at Troy, N. Y., whose 
 sixt3^-foot shaft is in one piece weighing nearly 
 one hundred tons. 
 
 Among the more notable buildings which Mr. 
 Batterson and his company have erected or fur- 
 nished the granite used, are the Connecticut Mutual 
 Life Insurance Co.'s building. Plartford, the Equit- 
 able building (home of the Equitable Life Assur- 
 ance Society), New York, the Masonic Temple, 
 New York, the Mutual Life Insurance Co.'s build- 
 ing, Philadelphia, the City Hall, Providence, and 
 the thirt}--story Park Row building. New York. 
 
 But the Congressional Library Building in 
 ^^"ashington, that massive pile of pure gray Concord 
 granite perfectly matched and grained, the finest 
 granite building in the world, will ever attest to 
 I\Ir. Batterson's pre-eminence as the Man of 
 Granites. Perhaps not less marvelous than the quar- 
 rying of this immense quantity of stone of such even 
 grain and coloring, was the mechanical accuracy 
 
 with which the cutting and fitting was done before 
 leaving the shops at Concord, so that not a shilling- 
 was charged in Washington for refitting at the site. 
 
 Another building of more than National repute 
 is the Connecticut State Capitol at Hartford, for 
 which Mr. Batterson personally was the contractor. 
 Prominently set upon a hill in the midst of Bush- 
 nell Park, with its 500 trees of 150 distinct varie- 
 ties and its rich and rare shrubbery, this handsome 
 building stands forth, its native white marble walls 
 supporting from the center a perfectly proportioned 
 golden dome, bearing aloft 250 feet from the ground 
 a heroic bronze figure of the genius of Connecticut. 
 With this rich setting, and great architectural beau- 
 ty, it has been pronounced by competent critics as 
 "unique among structures of this kind in America." 
 And it has yet another claim to distinction in that 
 it is the first building of the kind to be erected in 
 the L^nited States within the appropriation, for so 
 thoroughly did contractor and commissioners work 
 to their limit that $13,000 of the $2,000,000 appro- 
 priated was returned unexpended. Mr. Batterson's 
 contract covered the entire construction, even to the 
 smallest details. 
 
 Fifteen years of dealing with the harder exterior 
 stones served to show the demand for the more 
 ornamental and decorative marbles, and in i860 
 Mr. Batterson established his steam marble works 
 in New York City. Here in this new field he 
 achieved immediate and increasing success, until 
 to-day these works, under the name of Batterson 
 & Eisele, are without question the largest and best- 
 equipped in the country, furnishing employment 
 for from 500 to 600 men. As examples of this 
 firm's work may be mentioned among pub- 
 lic buildings the marble interiors of the Equita- 
 ble building, the Manhattan Bank building and 
 the Mutual Life building in New York, the 
 City Hall in Providence, R. I., and the Congres- 
 sional Library Building in Washington, D. C. 
 Among the many hotels, noted for their magnificent 
 marble and ornamental stone interiors, which Mr. 
 Batterson and his company have furnished, are the 
 "Waldorf-Astoria" and the "Imperial," New York 
 City, while representative among the private dwell- 
 ings of the "mansion" type are the Cornelius Van- 
 derbilt residence. Fifth avenue. New York, "The 
 JNIarble House" built for W. K. Vanderbilt, at New- 
 port, R. I., and "Biltmore," at Asheville, N. C, for 
 Geoi-ge Vanderbilt. 
 
 But as though laurel-crowned efforts in two 
 great lines of industry were not enough, it remained 
 for Mr. Batterson to originate and organize a new 
 kind of business, in which he has achieved even 
 greater success than in the other two ; for here he 
 blazed a path where none had gone before, and set 
 a pace which tired and made early rivals drop out of 
 the race, and gave later competitors a hopeless task 
 to overcome his lead. While traveling through Eng- 
 land in 1863 Mr. Batterson's attention was attracted 
 to the system of insurance by tickets against acci- 
 dents occurring on railroads, then just coming into 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 25 
 
 "vogue there. Soon after his return he succeeded in 
 persuading a few Hartford gentlemen of means to 
 combine with him in the formation of an accident 
 insurance company. A charter was secured from 
 the Legislature, which was amended in 1864 to in- 
 ■clude all kinds of accident insurance, and the new 
 company was launched on an unknown sea, with 
 no compass to steer by, but with brains and energy 
 at the helm. Two years saw the business increase, 
 and in 1866 a further grant was secured, permitting 
 the transaction of a general life insurance business. 
 
 The early years were beset with the fiercest 
 kind of competition, accident companies springing 
 up like mirshrooms in the night, and in many cases 
 having about the length of life of these fungi. Rail- 
 roads ejected The Travelers to make wav for their 
 own companies, and then retired these in turn when 
 they had met with sufficient reverses. Seventy ac- 
 cident companies were born within two years, none 
 of which now survive. Finally, from this chaotic 
 condition of things, was evolved The Railwav Pas- 
 sengers Assurance Co., being a consolidation of the 
 ticket interests of all the larger accident companies 
 then existing. After a few years of successful 
 struggle this was re-insured by The Travelers as 
 sole legatee, and is now represented in its Ticket 
 Department. 
 
 The first premium received by The Travelers 
 was two cents, representing the charge for insur- 
 ing a Hartford banker on his journey home from 
 the Post Office. A recent premium in the Life De- 
 partment exceeded $50,000, and a still further ex- 
 ample of the growth during these thirty-eight years 
 is in the receipt of applications for $300,000 on a 
 single life, where originally but $10,000 would be 
 considered. But the career of The Travelers In- 
 surance Co. is current history, well known, and 
 needs no exploiting. Lender Mr. Batterson's guid- 
 ance it has grown from nothing to a company with 
 over $30,000,000 assets, and a surplus securit)' to 
 policy holders of $4,500,000. The capital stock has 
 teen increased from $250,000 to $1,000,000, and 
 during these years over $42,000,000 has been re- 
 turned to policy holders, doing an inestimable 
 amount of good. The same energetic but conser- 
 vative man is at the head now as in the beginning, 
 and, besides making it the largest accident insur- 
 ance company in the world, he has brought it to a 
 ■high rank with the leaders in the life field. Justly 
 termed the "Father of Accident Insurance in Amer- 
 ica." Mr. Batterson may also rightly claim the title 
 of "Father of all Accident Insurance," for the Eng- 
 lish idea was merely the suggestion which started 
 him thinking, but the product of that thought in 
 no way resembles the cause. For Yankee inge- 
 nuity and persistence devised, enlarged and con- 
 structed until Old England was forced to come to 
 New England to learn about accident insurance. 
 
 Having organized and developed three great 
 companies, of each of which he has been president 
 since the bes'inning, and whose careers have been 
 prosecuted side by side, simultaneously by this mas- 
 
 ter mind until each has achieved an extraordinary 
 degree of success, it would seem that this man of 
 granites, of marbles, and of insurances were solely 
 a man of business. Jiut lo ! we have also a man of 
 science, of art, of literature, and of public works, 
 for the many other sides are all fully developed in 
 proportion. A student from boyhood, he has be- 
 come a scholar among men, but is alwa\-s the stud- 
 ent, by which one recognizes the scholar. 
 
 One year's study of law furnished the foundation 
 on which he has builded all these years by reading 
 and experience, until to-day he possesses a judicial 
 mind of rare balance, and, although never admitted 
 to practice at the bar, he knows the law thoroughly, 
 and his opinion on all practical questions carries 
 great weight. In no sense pugnacious, Mr. Batterson 
 has the accurate and just powers of discrimination 
 which enable him to fully determine the right or 
 wrong of an issue at the start, and once convinced 
 he has a tenacity of purpose, backed by the strength 
 of unfaltering convictions, which often carry him 
 to the Court of Last Resort before he obtains final 
 justification or technical defeat. 
 
 Another of his early studies which has been of 
 great service is that of geology, which he took up 
 when a mere lad at the instigation of Prof. J. G. 
 Percival, the poet-geologist of Connecticut, for 
 whom he acted as guide during a part of the first 
 geological survey of the State. This subject, to- 
 gether with mineralogy and engineering, as applied 
 to his own industries, has commanded a large share 
 of his attention. On the knowledge gained thereby 
 depends to a certain degree his success as a builder, 
 for he knows not only how best to get the material 
 into place, but also all the qualities and characteris- 
 tics of the material itself, giving him an immense ad- 
 vantage over the man bred as a builder solely from 
 the mechanical standpoint. The winter of 1858-59 
 Mr. Batterson spent in Egypt with. Brunei, the well- 
 known engineer. The geological study of the Xile 
 A'^alley, with particular attention to the unsolved 
 problems in engineering for which Egypt is noted, 
 became ver)' interesting in such compam'. In turn 
 the pyramids, the great ruins at Thebes, Karnak and 
 elsewhere, the tombs, catacombs, obelisks, etc., w^re 
 all studied with profitable results. Aside from the 
 impetus given the engineering instincts under such 
 unusual conditions, Egypt herself became a sub- 
 iect of engrossing interest to Mr. Batterson, which 
 has increased as the years of study have deepened 
 his knowledge, until to-day he stands among the 
 foremost authorities on Egyptology, and is an Hon- 
 orary Secretary of the Egypt Exoloration Fund. 
 
 Returning to the south of Europ;, a geolog- 
 ical study of the Mediterranean basin added much 
 practical information in this line of research, and 
 subsequent study and investigation on his many 
 travels at home and abroad have given him a thor- 
 ough general and technical knowledge of the sub- 
 ject that has been an undoubted factor in his success. 
 At his home in Hartford is a collection of choice 
 minerals, geological specimens and curios, gath- 
 
26 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ered in his peregrinations from Norway to the Nile, 
 carefully classified and arranged, to each of which 
 is attached a concise and interesting story of its 
 discovery and locus. The whole has a high value 
 apart from its absorbing interest. From geology 
 to astronomy is a natural step, and he has delved 
 deep into the hidden mysteries of the latter and its 
 kindred sciences. 
 
 Art is another subject which has always appealed 
 greatly to ]\Ir. Batterson's natural tastes, and has 
 been fostered both by his interest as a student and 
 as a patron. His first trip abroad was as the repre- 
 sentative of certain philanthropically inclined men, 
 for whom he gathered and brought home the works 
 in various stages of completion of his promising 
 young friend Bartholomew, the sculptor, who died 
 at Rome. Having erected a monument over the 
 grave of the deceased, near the historic tomb of \'ir- 
 gil, Mr. Batterson delayed his return several 
 months that he might study the paintings, sculp- 
 tures and language of Italy. As the direct result 
 of this trip the masterpieces of Bartholomew (who 
 in sculpture, with the late Frederic Church in 
 painting, placed Hartford's name to the fore as a 
 progenitor of art) are now among the treasured 
 possessions of the Museum at Philadelphia, and the 
 Wadsworth Atheneum at Hartford. But a result 
 no less far-reaching in its influence was the foster- 
 ing and training of the artistic temperament, in its 
 early impressionable stage, of the agent who exe- 
 cuted this commission, and the few bits in oil picked 
 up on that occasion formed the nucleus of a collec- 
 tion of rare paintings which now has a National 
 reputation. In a large gallery connected with his 
 residence, constructed from original design, with 
 special attention to light and wall-surface, hang a 
 valuable collection of canvases covering a remark- 
 able range of subjects and schools — including the 
 Italian, Dutch, Flemish, Dusseldorf, French, English 
 and Belgian. The Wadsworth Atheneum in Hart- 
 ford has quite a number of paintings from iMr. Bat- 
 terson's collection. Travel and study have added 
 to his reputation as a connoisseur the discrimina- 
 tion and artistic taste of the critic, and the value 
 of his opinion on a canvas is unquestioned. 
 
 But vet another accomplishment of this many- 
 sided man is his marked ability as a linguist. Here 
 we have two almost incompatible qualities, for we 
 find, in the natural mathematician who laid the foun- 
 dations and shaped the career of a great insurance 
 company, a rare knowledge and command not only 
 of his own language, but of the ancient classics and 
 modern foreign tongues as well. This is a remark- 
 able characteristic, for Greek verbs have not as a 
 rule a fondness for the values of x and v in the same 
 brain. A life-study of Greek and Latin has made 
 him one of the devoted scholars of the day in these 
 classics, and for twenty years a member of the 
 Greek Club of New York. A natural philolo.eist, 
 his love for the comparative has developed in Mr. 
 Batterson miore than a superficial knowledge of the 
 modern languages of Europe. 
 
 Sociology and economics have also received a 
 great deal of attention, particularly the relations of 
 capital and labor. Many trips abroad and much 
 travel at home have stimulated the study of general 
 history, both in its local colorings and in relative 
 effects. Modern English, French and American 
 literature have been read and studied, and Mr. Bat- 
 terson's library (one of the finest in the State) is 
 especially rich in works of this class, as well as in 
 the heavier tomes of te.xt and reference. The whole 
 atmosphere of library and den breathes the scholar 
 and student of unusual range of thought. Nor have 
 contemporaneous writings been neglected, so that 
 he is fully informed on the issues of the day, and is 
 in touch with its most advanced thought. 
 
 With his brain a vast storehouse of knowledge, 
 and an intellect flexible and adaptable, but with great 
 powers of concentration and expression, it is little 
 wonder that Air. Batterson has earned fame as a 
 writer, which would overshadow all his other 
 achievements were he to devote himself to it. A 
 lifetime of reading and study has prepared him to 
 write exhaustively upon almost any subject. In 
 style strong and vigorous, every sentence concise 
 and carrying some new thought, expression direct 
 and with but little of the qualifying, the tracings 
 from this pen have an individual flavor character- 
 istic of the man which greatlv enhances their in- 
 trinsic value. His many short contributions on the 
 subject of capital and labor have always commanded 
 attention, and the masterv in handling this complex 
 question has won the respect of both sides by its 
 fairness. Several brochures on taxation have served 
 to set lawmakers to thinking, and in some cases 
 have had a direct effect in the results. His transla- 
 tions from the Iliad have special value in smoothness 
 and beauty of expression, while maintaining the 
 heroic meter and literal meaning of the original. 
 Monetary questions have been discussed from time 
 to time, and in 1896 Mr. Batterson wrote his book 
 on ''Gold and Silver," which was at once recognized 
 by leading authorities as the best concise treatment 
 of the subject ever written. The demand was im- 
 mediate, and called for the printing of large edi- 
 tions, which were used extensively in the sound 
 monev campaign of that election. The majority of 
 Mr. Batterson's writings have appeared in his com- 
 pany paper, The Travelers Record, whose files are 
 rich in contributions on questions of the dav and in- 
 surance economics. A number of poems attest to 
 his versatility as a writer, ranging from the deep- 
 est scientific subjects, treated in heavv technical 
 prose, to the light airy verse, evenly balanced and 
 musical. Among the latter mav be mentioned "The 
 Death of the Bison," "The Trysting Place," and 
 "Lauda Sion," translated from the Mediaeval Latin 
 of St. Thomas Aquinas. 
 
 But a work (now in press) which will live long 
 to redound to the fame of its author is a poem in 
 blank verse on the "Creation." Besides a remark- 
 able display of knowledge in geology, astronomv, 
 evolution, dynamics and the associated sciences, it 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 27 
 
 contains germs of thought far in advance of the age. 
 Expressed now with superlative force and viriHty, 
 and again in the soft accents of simple description, 
 the coloring" of each passage varies that it mav har- 
 monize with its text. But the rhythmic swing of 
 the verse is never lost to sight, and the whole is 
 rounded and finished with a smoothness and polish 
 that makes it of the highest order of literary merit. 
 Add to this his masterly treatment of the subject 
 and the poem will not only attract the litterateur, 
 but the student in science and philosophy. Both 
 Yale and Williams have recognized Mr. Batterson's 
 pre-eminence as a man of letters and conferred upon 
 him the honorary degree of M. A. 
 
 In personal appearance Mr. Batterson is a man 
 of large frame, strong, robust, naturally dignified 
 and of commanding presence. With a wonderful 
 constitution, a lifetime of unceasing labor, during 
 which he has accomplished more than three average 
 men, has left him at the age of seventy-eight scill 
 strong and active. Every week-day finds him be- 
 fore his desk at The Travelers, directing the afifairs 
 of this immense corporation, and often entering 
 into the minutest details. In character honest and 
 just to the last degree, he asks nothing which is not 
 rightfullv his, and takes no advantage over the 
 weaker because of his superior strength. It has 
 been said that "the busiest man has the most leis- 
 ure," and this is true of Mr. Batterson, for in spite 
 of his great and varied interests he is one of the 
 most accessible of men, always finding time to listen 
 to anyone whose business in any way warrants it. 
 Possessing a strong personal magnetism and a gra- 
 cious manner, he puts his interviewer completely at 
 ease, seeming to know how to meet on equal foot- 
 ing men of every station. 
 
 One great factor in his success has been the abil- 
 itv to wholly concentrate his mind on the matter in 
 hand, disposing of it quickly without loss of time 
 in reviewing details already covered. This is only 
 made possible bjr his remarkable memory, and ability 
 to grasp whole ideas at once. But more than all 
 else is his power to find recreation in reading and 
 study, and after a particularly hard and trying day 
 at the office he may be found in his den, "resting" 
 until the small hours of the morning, with a volume 
 of Homer or Horace, of Spenser or Haeckel, before 
 him. With his omnivorous intellect and great as- 
 similative qualities, sixtv years of such evenings 
 have given him his wonderful store of knowledge, 
 always available on almost every subject. He is 
 the true type of the self-made man who has taken 
 pride and pains in that making. 
 
 In religion Mr. Batterson is a Baptist, and his 
 always been a regular attendant and active sup- 
 porter of his church. The Bible has been a study 
 of great interest to him, and his philological ten- 
 dencies have been of very material aid in following 
 the hieher criticisms. 
 
 Politicallv Mr. Batterson is a Republican, having 
 assisted in founding this great party. When the 
 Civil war broke cut he withstood the temptation to 
 
 take the field with the ]:)roniise of rapid promotion 
 held out to him, deciding to do his duty where 
 it seemed to lie, in the direction of affairs at home. 
 As a result to-day he wears no Grand Array button, 
 bears not the title of colonel or general, but no man 
 in battle ever did more for his country than this 
 plain citizen of Connecticut. All through the war, 
 as chairman of the State Central Committee of his 
 party and chairman of the War Committee, he was 
 indefatigable in his endeavors to further the public 
 interests, managing events with a judgment and 
 tact that dispelled jealousies and promoted har- 
 mony. Although Connecticut sent nearly 55,000 
 troops to war, or over 6,000 more than her quota, 
 no less an authority than A]5pleton ( '66) say's polit- 
 ically she was regarded all through that crucial time 
 in our history as a doubtful State. Those were 
 days when Mr. Batterson was here, there, and every- 
 where, organizing and directing, consulting" with 
 his leaders in the various districts, exhorting, en- 
 couraging", and now and then answering calls to 
 Washington for consultation with National heads, 
 his advice being sought even by President Lincoln 
 regarding matters connected with the administra- 
 tion. 
 
 By sheer hard work and personal influence, felt 
 to the corners of the State. Mr. Batterson managed 
 to poll 2.405 majoritv for Lincoln in 1864 out of a 
 total vote exceeding 87,000, one of the largest ever 
 cast in its history. In 1866. when the differences 
 between President Johnson and Congress over the 
 reconstruction of the South became the election 
 issues with the two parties in Connecticut, and the 
 eyes of the Nation were turned toward that little 
 State, General Hawley. the Federal candidate, was 
 elected governor by only 541 majority. Although 
 Buckingham was re-elected governor each year dur-' 
 ing the war, it was only with small majorities, and 
 Republican Congressmen were returned by margins 
 of a few hundred only. The moral effect of the elec- 
 tion of an anti-administration government by loyal 
 old Connecticut, one of the thirteen original States, 
 can scarcely be imagined. A home of rebellion 
 against the National Constitution, and of advocacy 
 of State Rights in the very heart of the solid North, 
 would have struck terror and discouragement into 
 the sorely tried hearts at Washington, and given a 
 new impetus to the efforts of the South. State 
 sovereignty was the issue of the South : State 
 Rights of the Democratic party of Connecticut. 
 
 "j\Ir. Batterson undoubtedly saved the State elec- 
 tions through this trying time, for a man less strong 
 than he in" control of the Republican party would 
 have ensured Democratic success. This mighty 
 service was duly recognized abroad by the great Na- 
 tional leaders. In many other ways he rendered un- 
 told service from 1861 to 1865, assisting greatly in 
 the enlistment, organization and mobilization of 
 troops. In relief work, too, he devoted much time 
 and money. 
 
 Ever since its formation ^Ir. Batterson has been 
 verv active in working for the interests of his party. 
 
28 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 W'lXh a powerful voice, ready wit, and strong argu- 
 mentative ability, he has exerted great power as a 
 political speaker and debater. But with all his serv- 
 ice he will accept no reward or political preferment, 
 and the man who might have attained to the highest 
 State and National honors is a simple citizen of his 
 .native city, viewing politics as a civic duty only. 
 This fact has carried unusual influence with his 
 party leaders. 
 
 In the old town meetings of Hartford, now done 
 away with, Mr. Batterson was a man of unusual 
 influence, and the rooms used to be crowded when 
 it was known that his views on a subject would 
 probably call for a debate. With his splendid pres- 
 ence, quick wit, at times keenly sarcastic, great argu- 
 mentative powers, and the attribute of never recog- 
 nizing defeat, he was more than a match for a score 
 of worthy opponents, and the finest displays of for- 
 ensic ability ever seen in the State took place when 
 some of those long standing contentions were wres- 
 tled with in the open arena of the old town meet- 
 ing. As a lecturer, also, and presiding officer, Air. 
 Batterson has an enviable reputation, and has been 
 in great demand. 
 
 A long life with its varied interests has given 
 him a wide and extensive acquaintance with men in 
 public life, and has enabled him to know intimately 
 and number among his friends those in its highest 
 walks for more than half a century. From humble 
 circumstances he has risen to be a man of large 
 affairs and comfortable estate. 
 
 Although in no sense a club man, the following ■ 
 are a few of his business and societ}- connections : 
 President and director of The Travelers Insurance 
 Co., The New England Granite Works, Batterson 
 & Eisele, New York, director Hartford National 
 ' Bank. Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co., vice-presi- 
 dent ^^'adsworth Atheneum, trustee Brown Univer- 
 sity, member Colonial Club, Connecticut Society 
 Sons of the American Revolution, American Statis- 
 tical Association, Society of Biblical Literature & 
 Exegesis. Hartford Scientific Society, Connecticut 
 Horticultural Society, New England Society of 
 Kew York, American Association for the Ad- 
 vancement of Science, Yale Alumni Association, 
 Hartford Board of Trade, for thirty years Fello\v 
 American Society Civil Engineers, etc. 
 
 In 1 85 1 Mr. Batterson married Eunice E. Good- 
 win, and for forty-six years lived in the enjoyment 
 of domestic happiness that comes to but few people. 
 In 1897 ]\Irs. Batterson died, leaving, besides her 
 husband, two children surviving — Maiy E., wife of 
 Charles Coifing Beach, M. D., of Hartford; and 
 James G., Jr., who resides in New York, as manager 
 of the business of The Travelers Insurance Co., 
 in that city. — E. D. C, 1901. 
 
 FRANCIS AI. BUNCE, Rear Admiral U. S. 
 Navy : a native of Hartford, Conn. ; was born 
 Dec. 25, 1836; is a son of James M. and Frantres 
 A. ( Brace) Bunce. Appointed Acting Midship- 
 iiiaii. May 28, 1852 ; graduated Naval Academy and 
 
 warranted Midshipman, June 10, 1857; "German- 
 tov.m," East India Squadron, 1857-60. Passed Mid- 
 shipman, June 25, i860; "Brooklyn," Gulf Squad- 
 ron, engaged in Chriqui Survey. Master, Oct. 24, 
 i860; '"Macedonian," Gulf Squadron, Jan. 7, 1862. 
 Commissioned Lieutenant from April 11, 1861 ; Ex- 
 ecutive-Officer of "Penobscot," 1862; in that vessel 
 took part in engagement with Rebel batteries at 
 Yorktown, Va. ; was assigned to temporary duty 
 with the army, and had charge of the disembarka- 
 tion of the heavy artillery and mortars for use in 
 the batteries at the investment of that place by Gen- 
 eral McClellan, April, 1862; rejoined "Penobscot," 
 blockading oft' Wilmington, N. C, and took part in 
 several skirmishes with Fort Fisher and batteries 
 about Fort Caswell ; commanded a successful boat 
 expedition up Little river, between North and South 
 Carolina, destroying- several schooners and large 
 quantities of cotton, turpentine and resin, together 
 with extensive salt works ; on capture of "Robert 
 Bruce" by "Penobscot," was placed in charge of 
 her as Prize-Master, andbrought her to New York, 
 Nov. I, 1862; detached from "Penobscot" and or- 
 dered as Executive of "Pawnee," refitting at Phil- 
 adelphia ; served in her in South Atlantic Blockad- 
 ing Squadron Station, Stono River, S. C. Commis- 
 sioned Lieutenant Commander, Jan. 16, 1863; dur- 
 ing winter of 1863 sounded out and buoyed and re- 
 moved obstructions from interior channels from 
 Stono River, S. C, to Morris Island ; acting as aid 
 to General Gilmore, had charge of the embarka- 
 tion and transportation of Gen. George C. Strong's 
 brigade, five regiments, through these channels to 
 Morris Island, and commanded the naval part of 
 this attack, July 10, 1863, resulting in the capture 
 of Morris Island to Fort Wagner : conduct in this 
 afl^air honorably mentioned, report of Commander 
 G. B. Balch and letter of Admiral Dahlgren, to 
 Navy Department ; detached from "Pawnee" and or- 
 dered to monitor "Patapsco;" took part in that 
 monitor in all the actions in which she was engaged 
 during siege of Charleston ; also in night boat at- 
 tack on Fort Sumter, Commander T. H. Stevens; 
 received honorable mention for conduct in that of- 
 ficer's report of same ; wounded by premature ex- 
 plosion of a cartridge, in action, November, 1863 ; 
 detached from "Patapsco" and ordered to "Wabash" 
 for recovery; ordered to monitor "Kaatskill," tem- 
 porary duty, Dec. 8, 1863; returned to "Wabash," 
 Jan. 7, 1864; same month ordered to temporary 
 command of "Weehawken ;'* detached and returned 
 to "Wabash," and ordered on staft' of Admiral Dahl- 
 gren, was given charge of the scouting and picket 
 boats of the squadron before Charleston, until or- 
 dered to command monitor "Lehigh," April 6, 1864; 
 May 14, 1864, detached from South Atlantic Block- 
 ading Sciuadron, and ordered North ; monitor "Dic- 
 tator," Commodore John Rodgers, Sept. 26, 1864; 
 commanded monitor "Monadnock," Sept. 5, 1865 ; 
 took this vessel from Philadelphia to San Fran- 
 cisco, Cal., the first extended sea voyage ever made 
 by a monitor ; received for this service the thanks 
 
v^ /6/^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
u-t^l^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 29 
 
 of the Xavy Department, upon recommendation of 
 Commodore John Rodgers, and was recommended 
 for reward to the President by the Secretary of the 
 Navy; Boston Navy Yard, 1866-9; monitor "Dic- 
 tator," April, 1869; detached Oct. 4, i86y, havnig 
 fitted her for sea service; commanded "Nantasket," 
 Nov. 12, 1869, stationed at St. Domingo; .detached 
 Jtily 20, 1S70; special ordnance duty, at Pittsburg, 
 Penn., 1871. Commissioned Commander, from Nov. 
 7, 1871 ; commanded "Ashuelot," Asiatic Station, 
 1873 ; on duty. Navy Yard, Washington, June, 1875 '> 
 detached, on Light-House duty, July to October, 
 1875; returned to duty, Navy Yard, Washington; 
 during 1877 attended torpedo instruction at New- 
 port, R. I.; Jan. 7, 1879, to July 29, 1881, com- 
 manded "Alarion," Home and South Atlantic Squad- 
 ron ; commanded receiving-ship "Wabash," Navy 
 Yard, Boston, 1882-5. Commissioned Captain, Jan. 
 II, 1883 ; Senior Member of Board on Timber Pres- 
 ervation for Naval Purposes ; commanded "Atlanta," 
 June I, 1886, to Dec. i, 1889; command of Naval 
 Station, New London, Feb. 12, 1890. Appointed 
 by the President as president of a commission to 
 select a suitable site for a dry dock on the shores 
 o^' the Gulf of Mexico, or waters connected there- 
 with, Nov. 22, 1890 ; commission reported and dis- 
 solved, March 9, 1891 ; Senior Member of Board 
 for Examination of Master Mechanics, Foremen, 
 etc., of Navy Yards, April 17, 1891 ; this board 
 later ordered to report on Navy Yard organization, 
 the employment of labor, etc., dissolved Feb. 4, 1892 ; 
 June 30, 1 89 1, ordered to command Naval Train- 
 ing Station, and ship "Richniond," Newport, 
 Rhode Island. 
 
 On Aug. 20, 1894, he was relieved from the 
 command of that station and the "Richmond," and 
 ordered to the Navv Department at Washington as 
 a member of the Board of Inspection and Survey. 
 March i, 1895, commissioned Commodore; March 
 23, 1895, assigned to duty as president of the Naval 
 Examining and Retiring Boards at the Navv De- 
 partment, Washington. June 19, 1895, Commodore 
 Bunce was assigned to the command of the Naval 
 force on the North Atlantic Station, and ordered, 
 June 27, to hoist the flag of Rear Admiral, and to 
 affix that title to his official signature. The U. S. 
 ship "New York" was designated as his flag-ship. 
 He received, March 5, 1897, a letter from Secretary 
 of the Navv. Herbert, on his retirement from of- 
 fice, expressina" his official and personal satisfac- 
 tion with the discharge of the duties assigned to the 
 Admiral during his term of office. Mav I, 1897, 
 he was relieved from the command of the North 
 Atlantic Station and ordered to command the New 
 York Navy Yard and Station. Aug. 17, 1897, or- 
 dered senior member of a Board to report on the 
 requirements of the country as to dry docks, and. 
 on Feb. 19, 1898, was commissioned Rear Admiral. 
 T)tc. 2^, 1808, Admiral Bunce was transferred to 
 the retired list of officers of the U. S. Navy in 
 accordance with the provisions of Section 1444, Re- 
 vised Statute, he then being sixty-two years of age 
 
 and the senior officer on the active list of the of- 
 ficers of the Navy. He continued on duty at the 
 New York Navy Yard until relieved Jan. 14, 1899, 
 when he received from the Secretary of the Navy 
 the following letter : 
 
 Navy Departme.nt, January 12, Ihtiy. 
 My Dear Sir: 
 
 As the time approaches for your retirement, I cannot 
 let the occasion p:iss without expressing my appreciation, 
 not only of the long, distinguished and useful service which 
 you have rendered as an otficer of the United States Navy, 
 but also of the efficient manner in which you have dis- 
 charged the duties of the very responsible post you have 
 held as commandant of the Brooklyn Navy Yard durinif the 
 e.xisting demands of the recent war. I wish to say this .or 
 the Department and personally for myself, and, also, to wish 
 you many happy years to come, feeling sure that if the call 
 of your government .should come at any time, your ripe 
 experience would be at its service. 
 
 \'ery truly yours. 
 
 John D. Long, 
 
 Secretaiy. 
 
 On June 20, 1899, the senate and house of rep- 
 resentatives, Connecticut, passed the following reso- 
 lution, of which an engrossed copy was sent to the 
 Admiral : 
 
 "The country has been deeply indebted to Ad- 
 miral Bunce for his long and successful service in 
 the Navy during the late Civil war. He had as- 
 tonished and delighted, not only the Naval author- 
 ities of the world, but the world of science itself, 
 by his courage and skill in successfully navigating 
 the iron-clad monitor 'Monadnock' around Cape 
 tlorn. 
 
 "At the outbreak of the recent hostilities with 
 Spain he was placed in charge of the principal coast 
 defenses of the country and of its largest maritime 
 interest at its metropolis port. That duty he ful- 
 filled with the wisdom and energy which have char- 
 acterized all his previous history." 
 
 On May 28, 1864, when a Lieutenant com- 
 mander. Rear Admiral Bunce married Mary Eliza 
 Bull, eldest daughter of John W. Bull,.of Hartford, 
 Connecticut. 
 
 CHARLES H. BOLLES. The Bolles familv. 
 which is one of the oldest in the United States, 
 originated in England, and was identified from an- 
 cient times with Bolles Hall, Lincolnshire. 
 
 Sir John Bolles and his son Sir Charles, of 
 Bolles Hall, lived and died in London, England, 
 and Joseph Bolles, a son of the latter, was born in 
 1608, and came to America at an early date, set- 
 tling before 1640 in Maine. John Bolles, the great- 
 great-grandfather of the well-known resident of 
 Hartford whose name heads this sketch, was born 
 in August, 1677. He established Baptist Churches 
 in IMassachusetts and Connecticut, and carried on an 
 earnest struggle of twenty years with the Connecti- 
 cut General Assemblv to obtain a charter for the 
 church in that State. He endured great persecu- 
 tion, but his heroic eflforts resulted in much good. 
 Our subject has a book written by him in 1754, 
 which shows his ■>'•—'- and sets forth his arguments 
 
30 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 against his opponents in a most able and scholarly- 
 style. It was addressed to the elders and members 
 of the church in Connecticut, and to the General 
 Court of that Colony, and was also presented to 
 the General Court at Boston, May 29, 1754. 
 
 Enoch Bolles, our subject's great-grandfather, 
 died Dec. 3, 1800. 
 
 Deacon John Bolles, the next in the line of de- 
 scent, was born an New London, Conn., Feb. 3, 
 1752, and lived in Hartford, in a house located where 
 the Phelps building now stands. For many years 
 he was successfully engaged in mercantile business 
 in Hartford, and he was one of the founders of the 
 First Baptist Church, in which he held the office of 
 deacon. He died March 19, 1830, in Hartford. 
 His first wife, Lydia Tabor, who died June' 19, 
 1816, was the mother of nine children, of whom our 
 subject's father was the youngest. The second wife 
 was Lydia A. Francis, a native of Newington, Conn. 
 [See Dr. Trumbull's memoirs of the First Baptist 
 Church of Hartford.] 
 
 Edw.\rd Bolles, our subject's father, was born 
 in Hartford in 1797, on North Main street, and 
 became the leading wholesale dry-goods merchant 
 of that city. At the time of his retirement, in 1867, 
 he had been in business over fifty years, with Dea- 
 con Albert Day as his partner. He was noted for 
 his sound judgment, being one of the best buyers 
 in New England, and by his sterling qualities of 
 character and quiet, unassuming manners he won 
 a host of friends. He contributed liberally to the 
 support of the Baptist .Church of Hartford, in which 
 he also served for years as clerk, leader of the 
 choir, and player on the bass violin. He died in 
 June, 1882. Li i8ig he was married, at Hartford, 
 to Abigail Rand, who died aged sixty-two years. 
 She was born in South Deerfield, Mass., daughter 
 of Aaron Rand, a farmer in the latter locality, who 
 spent his last years in Hartford, engaged in the 
 bakery business. Our subject was the youngest of 
 nine children, all of whom lived to maturity : Ed- 
 ward John, Eliza Jane, Abigail M., Caroline L., 
 George W., Lucius S., Lydia Ann, William C. (who 
 makes his home in Hartford) and Charles H., all 
 deceased except the two youngest. 
 
 Charles H. Bolles was born Oct. 8, 1836, on 
 Village street, Hartford, and now resides at No. 
 471 Farmington avenue, Hartford. After receiv- 
 ing a common-school education he learned the 
 jeweler's trade, which he followed in Virginia pre- 
 vious to the Civil war. He was regarded as an 
 expert in his line, and continued in active business 
 until his retirement, in 1882. In politics he is a 
 Republican, and he belongs to the Baptist Church, 
 for which his ancestors made so many sacrifices. 
 In 1873 Mr. Bolles married Miss Harriet Knox, 
 who was born in Farmington, Conn., daughter of 
 Walter Knox, and granddaughter of Walter Knox, 
 a native of Hawick, Roxburg-hshire, southern Scot- 
 land, and ,-; prominent citizen and Vv'ealthy land 
 owner of that section, some of his estate having bee 
 a gra .: from the King. He p?|s?€d his life in Scot- 
 
 land, dying at the age of sixty years. Walter 
 Kno.x, Mrs. Bolles' father, came to this country in 
 1S44, and is now living in the West, at the age of 
 eighty-seven. He married Elizabeth Smith, a native 
 of his own birthplace, who died aged sixty-one 
 years. Mrs. Bolles' parents united with the Pres- 
 byterian Church many years ago, and their children 
 were brought up in that faith. They had nine chil- 
 dren, of whom five are living: Jessie, Mrs. Mc- 
 Clintock, of New Britain; Walter; Mrs. Bolles; 
 Anna, wife of Dr. Stark, of Dakota; and Louise, 
 j\lrs. Hammersmith, of Milwaukee. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bolles have had four children, one 
 of whom died in infancy; Harry, a graduate of 
 Williston Seminary, is now employed in Boston; 
 Charles, who attended Lehigh University, is now 
 connected with the Chandler Co., of Ayer, Mass. ; 
 and Elsie is a student in the Hartford Public High 
 School. 
 
 t 
 
 THOMAS OSTROM ENDERS. In the busi- 
 ness circles of Hartford no man stood higher than 
 the late Thomas Ostrom Enders. 
 
 Mr. Enders was born Sept. 21, 1832, in Glen, 
 N. Y., a son of Jacob John and Relief C Ostrom) 
 Enders, natives of New York State. His father 
 was a prominent man, a merchant and farmer. 
 Thomas O. was educated in Glen, and began work 
 on the fann at an early age, continuing until sev- 
 enteen, when he came to Connecticut and secured 
 employment in a factory at Meriden. He also 
 worked for a time as a dry-goods clerk in New 
 Haven, and, being a man of naturally good business 
 ability, he met with considerable success. He be- 
 came interested in the insurance business through 
 Curtis L. North, of Meriden, Conn., the first agent 
 of the ^tna Life, who employed him as a solicitor. 
 Three vears later he removed to New York and en- 
 tered the employ of the Avery Sewing Machine 
 Co. While there he attracted the favorable atten- 
 tion of the secretary of the ^tna Life, and on in- 
 vitation he came to Hartford at the age of twenty- 
 two, and accepted a clerkship in that office. Four 
 years later (1858) he was elected secretary of the 
 company, and served as such until 1872, when he 
 became president. His industry, fidelity to duty, 
 and remarkable aptitude for the insurance busi- 
 ness, contributed largely toward bringing about the 
 great success of tlie company. In building up its 
 interests he sacrificed his health, and in 1879 he re- 
 signed his position of president and rested for two 
 years, although he continued as a director of the 
 company. He took the presidency of the United 
 States Bank of Hartford (then called the United 
 States Trust Co.) lin 1881, at which time it was 
 sufi^ering from old losses, and the stock was quoted 
 at eightv. He remained president until June 16, 
 1891, when he declined re-election. Under the pres- 
 idency of Mr. Enders the bank advanced rapidly, 
 and at the time of his resignation was in per- 
 centage of surplus, value of shares, and ratio of 
 deposits to capital, far in advance of the other banks 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOCRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 31 
 
 of the city. Mr. Enders made his home in West 
 Hartford, and as a Republican represented that 
 town in the General Assembly during the sessions of 
 1S89 and 1891, and served on the committees on 
 Appropriations and Banks, respectively. Without 
 the aid of influence or wealth he rose to a leading 
 Ix)sition among the most prominent business men of 
 the countv. In addition to his connection with the 
 -■Etna Life and the United States Bank he was a 
 director in the .Etna Fire, Hartford Steam Boiler 
 Inspection & Insurance Co., Society for Savings, 
 Dime Savings Bank, Charter Oak Bank, and various 
 other financial institutions. He died June 21, 1894, 
 honored and respected by all who knew him. He 
 v;as a member of a lodge of the Masonic Fraternity, 
 at Hartford. Mr. Enders was a man of wonderful 
 business knowledge and a courteous gentleman, a 
 representative financier. 
 
 Mr. Enders was married Dec. 29, 1858, to Miss 
 Harriet Adelaide Burnham, who was born March 
 12, 1835, and is still living, and who is a lineal 
 descendant of Thomas Burnham. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Enders were born four children, of whom Harry 
 and Harriet Burnham are deceased. The others 
 are : 
 
 (i) Thomas B. Enders, M. D., born May 14, 
 1865, in Hartford, was graduated from the Hart- 
 ford Public High School, and from Yale in the 
 class of '88. He studied medicine in the College 
 of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City, from 
 which institution he was graduated in 1891. Fol- 
 lowing this event he spent two years in the Surgical 
 Division of Bellevue Hospital. He then was en- 
 gaged for one year in private practice in New York, 
 after which (in 1894) he returned to Hartford. Dr. 
 Enders is a member of the Society of the Alumni 
 of Bellevue, and a fellow of the isTew York State 
 Society; also a memlber of the Hartford City and 
 Countv Medical Societies. Dr. Enders married 
 Elizabeth T. Daly, of New York City. 
 
 (2) John Ostrom Enders. born Dec. 3, 1869. 
 in Hartford, was educated in the West Hartford 
 schools and Phillips Exeter Academy. He has been 
 connected with the United States Bank at Hartford 
 since 1888, of which he is now one of the directors. 
 He is also a director of the ^tna Life Insurance 
 Co. In 1899 Mr. Enders served as a representative 
 from West Hartford in the General Assembly. In 
 1895 he married Harriet Whitmore, and thev have 
 two children, John Franklin and Harriet Burnham. 
 
 LEONARD DANIELS, who was a prominent 
 figure in the citv of Hartford for nearlv seventv 
 years, was born March t, 1803, in Medway, Mass., 
 and died in Hartford Jan. 18, 1892. In build he 
 was short, strong and solid, and he descended from 
 old American stock that originated in England. No 
 incidents marked his boyhood save those of his 
 school days, the raising of crops every summer on 
 his father's farm, and for a few seasons the sale 
 of produce in the winter time in Boston, during 
 all of which time he learned what the gframmar 
 
 schools had to teach him, became a strong, vigorous 
 young man, and gained some acc|uaintance with the 
 principles of mercantile pursuits. At the age of 
 twenty-three he removed to Hartford, Conn., arriv- 
 ing Nov. 16, 1826, and there found employment 
 for a time in the sawmill of Ward & Bartholomew, 
 on Sheldon street. When a little later he entered 
 the service of Humphrey & Nichols, in their grist- 
 mill on the north side of Little river, on Wells 
 street, he found the calling whicli pleased him, and 
 thereafter he devoted his life to it. 
 
 About 1830 Mr. Daniels bought a small flour- 
 mill, formerly owned by Burt & Stanley. Mr. 
 Stanley having given 'his property to the South 
 Church, Mr. Daniels brought a la-\vsuit to compel 
 the trustees to sell the property,. and, winning the 
 case, bought the mill, and went into business on 
 his own account. This was the only lawsuit in 
 which he was ever engaged. In 1853 he built a 
 new mill on the south side of Little river, just 
 above the stone bridge, and began business there in 
 1855. One secret of his great success was his 
 promptitude in all business transactions. Another 
 was his clear and sound mind, careful reflection, 
 and close and careful personal attention to every 
 detail. As years rolled on, a growing business com- 
 pelled him repeatedly to enlarge the brick building, 
 known as Daniels' Mill, and the surplus means 
 which its operation brought him gradually grew into 
 a large fortune. After his death the business was 
 left to his nephew, Leonard C. Daniels, and grand- 
 son, Leonard D. Fisk. 
 
 Mr. Daniels was a man of very strong individu- 
 ahty. His face expressetl energv and determina- 
 tion. The vigorous health which originated in a 
 wholesome boyhood never left him, and was pre- 
 served not only by active labor in his business, but 
 by pedestrianism, of which he was fond. He had 
 never been ill except when attacked with measles, 
 at the age of thirty-seven, and, like most men so 
 favored, abhorred the notion of taking medicine. 
 His eyesight became impaired, however, in his later 
 years, and he was blind for tlie last eight years 
 of his life. Three operations were performed, but 
 they did not restore his sight. A remarkable trait 
 was his conciseness of speech. He was not a 
 misanthrope, and certainly not an ignorant man, 
 nor was he averse to pleasant conversation with 
 intimate friends, but he had the reticence char- 
 acteristic of Gen. Grant, and, with the energy and 
 a little of the impatience of a born business man, 
 loved to dispose of an argument, a proposition or a 
 question, in a terse expression, limited sometimes 
 to two or three words. His honesty was proverbial. 
 Even during the period when Connecticut was over- 
 whelmingly Republican, Air. Daniels adhered in- 
 flexibly to his own principles, and was known as 
 an uncompromising Democrat of the old JefFersonian 
 stamp, and not by any means a passive upholder 
 of his party either, because he voted at every election. 
 
 jNIr. Daniels was thrice married, and one daugh- 
 ter, the wife of Augustus L. Ellis, survived him. 
 
I 
 
 1 
 
 ^. 
 
 ^r^-tJi-f 
 
 ^,^ ^ /^^^ 
 
yy^^^-^/^^r^^ 
 
<GxryiM^ ^^=^^^^£^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 83 
 
 manner, while tlie spirit of speculation was rife 
 among managements which knew comparatively 
 nothing of the practical value of risks. His ideas 
 were so far in advance of his time that, while some 
 pitied what they termed his "folly," others doubted 
 whether his mental balance was in correct equipoise. 
 Yet what were then called his "fanciful" and "ab- 
 surd" theories are to-day recognized (with neces- 
 sary modifications) as among the underlying prin- 
 ciples of every sound and well managed company. 
 The great work of the Doctor's life was the or- 
 ganizing, establishing and ntu^turing of the Connec- 
 ticut Alutual Life Insurance Co., and it was he who 
 conceived the plan under which me great success 
 of this company was achieved. In 1846 the com- 
 pany was organized, the Doctor becoming the first 
 secretary, and while that great corporation was 
 struggling in the swaddling bands of infancy he 
 even swept out his own office to save expense. He 
 had carefully studied the matter in all its phases, 
 and not long afterward made a special trip to 
 Europe to investigate the workings of the Old 
 World companies, on his return to America incor- 
 porating with his own plans all the features of 
 value he had found. He wrote the charter of the 
 company, which was adopted practically word for 
 word as composed by him, and fought for two 
 sessions in the Legislature to have it granted. As 
 the company was a "mutual" one it was necessary 
 to obtain a guaranty fund of $50,000 — to guarantee 
 the payment <5f policies during the infancy of the 
 company — a task of far greater magnitude, but at 
 length ten of his friends in Hartford, Simsbury 
 and New York came to his relief by signing notes 
 aggregating that amount, Thomas K. Brace, three 
 of Dr. Phelps' brothers, two of his cousins and an 
 uncle being of the number. Dr. Phelps was ever a 
 tireless worker for the success of the concern, and 
 the "Insurance Monitor" of September, 1868, said : 
 "It i's not too much to say, for it is a well-known 
 and conceded fact that the Connecticut Mutual 
 owes its eminent success and prosperity, in a very 
 large measure, to the skill and labor of Dr. Phelps, 
 its principal manager from its organization to the 
 present time." He regulated and managed its af- 
 fairs in a most able manner, serving as secretary 
 for a time, and later, for a number of year's, as 
 president. Though not the originator of the "mu- 
 tual" system used in insurance he did more than 
 any other man to "elucidate and popularize" it. Just 
 before his death he told his daughter that the com- 
 pany was on such stable footing that without any 
 management it would continue to run for twenty- 
 five years. After his demise the Life Underwriters 
 of Hartford passed resolutions of sympathy and re- 
 gret, etc., and among other things said: "In the 
 death of Dr. Guy R. Phelps the Life LTnderwriters 
 of the United States 'have met with an irreparable 
 loss." The "Insurance Times" of March, 1869, 
 said of him : "A great and good rjian has left us 
 forever. A practical, laborious and eminent philan- 
 3 
 
 thropist, who not only loved his fellow men, but 
 spent the energies of liis life, the gifts of his intel- 
 lect and the goodness of his heart in their behalf, 
 is gone to his haven of eternal peace and reward. 
 His comfort giving and abundant works remain, 
 and the spirit with which he espoused and promoted 
 a sacred cause, and built up a great benevolent in- 
 stitution, having in'spired many others with its 
 kindling sympathy, will be perpetuated and multi- 
 ply on the earth for ages to come." 
 
 On April 17, 1833, at Simsbury, Dr. Phelps was 
 married to Miss Hannah Latimer, who was born in 
 that town June 23, 1801, daughter of Waite and 
 Hannah (Pettibone) Latimer. Their marriage was 
 blessed with four children : Antoinette Randolph, 
 Maria Augusta, Guy Carelton and Guyana Row- 
 land, the tirst named being the only one that at- 
 tained maturity. Miss Antoinette R. Phelps is a 
 resident of Hartford, her home being at No. 72 
 Washington street, in that city. She enjoys the dual 
 distinction of being a member of two of the most 
 honored orders in America, the Daughters of the 
 American Revolution and the Colonial Dames. 
 
 Dr. Phelps was both a Freemason and an Odd 
 Fellow, and was held in high regard by all who 
 knew him, receiving the highest esteem from those 
 who knew him best. As a physician he was care- 
 ful, reflective and conscientious, as a citizen pa- 
 triotic, as a husband and father gentle, loving and 
 true, as a man honest and fearless. He died March 
 18, 1869, after a short attack of typhoid pnetimonia. 
 Until within a few days of his passing away his 
 activity was unimpaired, but a cold contracted 
 through sitting near an open window at a directors' 
 meeting proved the indirect cause of his demise. 
 His wife survived until May 28, 1873, when she, 
 too, fell asleep. Both rest in the cemetery at Sims- 
 bury, where also sleep five generations of both 
 families. 
 
 The Doctor was a reflective reader and a pro- 
 found student, particularly fond of the study of 
 history and the languages, in both of which he 
 was proficient. He was a man fully abreast of the 
 times, thoroughly posted on the current events of 
 the day, and well informed on general subjects. 
 LTntil 1856 he was a Democrat, but after that date 
 voted with the Republican party, though it was his 
 wont to say that he had "never left his party, its 
 name simply changed." His fellow citizens showed 
 their appreciation of his worth by early choosing 
 him a member of the city council, and later elect- 
 ing him an alderman, as well as by sending him to 
 represent them in the Legislature. For years he 
 attended Dr. Horace Bushnell's Church, and was a 
 liberal contributor to its support and to the prosecu- 
 tion of its work; he became a member during his 
 later years. Dr. Phelps was too old to enlist for 
 service in the Rebellion, but was much interested 
 in the cause of liberty, and he volunteered to double 
 the pay of a man who would go to the front as he 
 had no son to send. His grandfather served in 
 
34 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the Revolution, his father in the war of 1812, and 
 he desired to have representation ; accordingly he 
 sent Charles Tennant, who soon became second 
 lieutenant, was wounded at Antietam, recovered, 
 was promoted to captain, and was afterward 
 killed. Dr. Phelps ever after took a deep interest 
 in his family. 
 
 MAJOR-GENERAL JOSEPH ROSWELL 
 HAWLEY, LL. D., lawyer, editor, citizen-soldier 
 and statesman, of Hartford, belongs to that galaxy 
 of great men of New England, the mere mention 
 of whose names has thrilled the country. 
 
 Senator Hawley, though a native of the South, 
 born Oct. 31, 1826, at Stewartsville, N. C, is a 
 product of New England, and in paternal lines is 
 from early Connecticut ancestry. He is of Englis'h- 
 Scotch lineage, and on his father's side is a de- 
 scendant in the eighth generation from Joseph Haw- 
 ley, who came from Parwick, Derbyshire, England, 
 landing near Boston, Mass., in 1629, and became 
 a planter or settler at Stratford, Conn., in about 
 1640. From this Stratford settler Senator Haw- 
 ley's line is through Samuel, Capt. Joseph, Eben- 
 ezer, Ebenezer (2), Asa and Rev. Francis. The 
 last named, the Senator's father, was a native of 
 Farmington, Conn., where his ancestor, Capt. Jo- 
 seph Hawley, had settled about 1700, and early in 
 life went South and engaged in business, but after- 
 ward entered the ministry of the Baptist Church. 
 He married Mary McLeod, a native of North Caro- 
 lina, of Scotch parentage, and the family, in 1837, 
 removed to Connecticut, where the father was an 
 anti-slavery man. 
 
 Joseph R. Hawles' prepared for college at the 
 Hartford Grammar School and the seminary at 
 Cazenovia, N. Y., whither the family removed 
 about 1842. He was graduated at Hamilton Col- 
 lege in 1847, with a high reputation as a speaker 
 and debater. He taught school in the winters, 
 studied law at Cazenovia and Hartford, and be- 
 gan practice in 1850. He immediately became 
 chairman of the Free-Soil State Committee, wrote 
 for the Free-Soil press, and spoke in every can- 
 vass. He stoutly opposed the Know-Nothings, 
 and devoted his energies to the union of all op- 
 ponents of 'slavery. The first meeting for the or- 
 ganization of the Republican party in Connecticut 
 was held in his office, at his call, Feb. 4, 1856. 
 Among those present were the late Hon. Gideon 
 Welles and Hon. John M. Niles. Mr. Hawley gave 
 three months to speaking in the Fremont canvass, 
 in 1856. In February, 1857, he abandoned law 
 practice, and became editor of the Hartford Even- 
 ing Press, the new distinctively Republican paper. 
 His partner was William Faxon, afterward assist- 
 ant secretary of the United States Navy. 
 
 On the outbreak of the Civil war, Mr. Hawley 
 responded to the first call for troops in 1861 by 
 drawing up a form of enlistment, and, assisted by 
 Albert W. Drake, afterward colonel of the loth 
 Conn. Vol. Inf., raising rifle Company A, ist Conn. 
 
 Vol. Inf., which was organized and accepted in 
 twenty-four hours, Mr. Hawley having personally 
 engaged rifles at Sharp's factory. He was mus- 
 tered in April 22, as captain, and is said to have 
 been the first volunteer in the State. Capt. Hawley 
 received special praise for goOid conduct at the bat- 
 tle of Bull Run, from Gen. Erastus D. Keyes, 
 brigade commander. Upon his muster out of the 
 three-months' service, Capt. Hawley directly united 
 with Col. Alfred H. Terry in raising the 7th Conn. 
 Vol. Inf., a three-years' regiment, of which he waS 
 mustered in as lieulenant-colonel Sept. 17, 1861. 
 The regiment went South in the Port Royal expe- 
 dition, and on Hie capture of the forts was the 
 first sent ashore as a garrison. The Seventh was 
 engaged for four montlis in the siege of Fort Pu- 
 laski, and upon the surrender was selected as the 
 garrison. On Jan. 20, 1862, Lieut. -Col. Hawley 
 succeeded Col. Terry, and commandtd the regi- 
 ment in the battles of James Island and Pocotaligo, 
 also in Brannan's expedition to Florida. He went 
 with his regiment to Florida, in January, 1863, and 
 commanded the post of Fernandina, whence in 
 April he undertook an unsuccessful expedition 
 against Charleston. Col. Hawley also commanded a 
 brigade on Morris's Island in the siege of Charleston 
 and the capture of Fort Wagner. In February, 1864, 
 he had a brigade under Gen. Tiuman Seymour in 
 the battle of Olustee, Fla., where the whole national 
 force lost 38 per cent. His regiment was one of the 
 few that was armed with the Spencer breech-load- 
 ing rifle. This weapon, which he procured in the 
 autumn of 1863, proved very effective in the hands 
 of his men. He went to Virginia in April, 1864, 
 having a brigade in Terry's Division, loth Corps, 
 Army of the James, and was in the battles of Dru- 
 ry's Bluft", Deep Run and Derbytown Road, and 
 in various afifairs near Bermuda Hundred- and Deep 
 Bottom. Col. Hawley commanded a division in 
 the fight on New Market Road, and engaged in the 
 siege of Petersburg. In September, 1864, Col. 
 Hawley was made a brigadier-general United 
 States Volunteers, having been repeatedly recom- 
 mended by his immediate superiors. In Novem- 
 ber, 1864, Gen. Hawley commanded a picked bri- 
 gade sent to New York City to keep the peace dur- 
 ing the week of the Presidential election. He suc- 
 ceeded to Gen. Terry's division when Terry was 
 sent to Fort Fisher in January, 1865, afterward 
 ■rejoining him as chief of staft', loth Corps, and, 
 on the capture of Wilmington, was detached by 
 Gen. Schofield to establish a base of supplies there 
 for Sherman's army, and command southeastern 
 North Carolina. In June, he rejoined Gen. Terry 
 as chief of stafif for the department of Virginia, 
 In October, he went home, was breveted major- 
 general Sept. 28, 1865, and was mustered out of 
 the service Jan. 15, 1866. 
 
 The following 'April (1866), Gen. Hawley was 
 elected governor of Connecticut, but he was de- 
 feated in 1867, and then, having united the Press 
 and the Courant, he resumed editorial life, and 
 
JOSEPH R. HAWLET 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 35. 
 
 more vigorously than ever entered the pohtical 
 contests following the war. Gen. Hawley was al- 
 wa}s in demand as a speaker throughout the coun- 
 try. He was president of the National Republi- 
 can Convention in 1868, secretary of the committee 
 on Resolutions in 1872, and chairman of that com- 
 mittee in 1876. He earnestly opposed paper money 
 theories. In November, 1872, he was elected to 
 Jill a vacancy in Congress caused by the death of 
 Julius L. Strong-. Gen. Hawley was re-elected to 
 the XLnid Congress, defeated for the XLIVth and 
 XL\"th, and re-elected to the XLVlth (1879-81). 
 He was elected United States Senator in January, 
 1881, by the unanimous vote of his party, and re- 
 elected in like manner in January, 1887, for the term 
 ending March 4, 1893. -He was re-elected in Jan- 
 uary, 1893, ^"cl again in January, 1899. 
 
 In the House, Gen. Hawley served on the com- 
 mittees on Claims, Banking and Currency, J\Iilitary 
 Affairs and Appropriations ; and in the Senate on the 
 committees on Coast Defenses, Railroads, Printing, 
 and Military Affairs. He was also chairman of a 
 select committee on Warships, and submitted a long 
 and valuable report, the result of careful investiga- 
 tion into steel production and heavy gunmaking in 
 England and the United States. He was chair- 
 man of the committee on Civil Service, and vigor- 
 ously promoted the enactment of civil service reform 
 legislation. 
 
 In the National Republican Convention of 1884 
 the Connecticut delegation unanimously voted for 
 Senator Hawley for President in every ballot. 
 
 Senator Hawley was president of the United 
 States Centennial Commission from its organiza- 
 tion in 1872 until the close of its labors in 1877, 
 gave two years exclusively to the work, was ex- 
 officio member of its committees, and appointed all 
 save the executive. 
 
 Senator Hawley received, in 1875, the degree 
 of LL. D. from Hamilton, and from Yale in 1886. 
 Of the former institution he is a trustee. Religious- 
 ly he is a Congregationalist. Gen. Hawley is an 
 ardent Republican, one of the most acceptable ex- 
 temporaneous orators in the Republic, a believer 
 in universal suffrage, the American people and the 
 ■"American way," would adjust the tariff' so as to 
 benefit native industries, urges the reconstruction 
 of our naval and coast defenses, demands a free 
 ballot and a fair count everywhere, . opposes the 
 tendency to federal centralization, and is a strict 
 constructionist of the constitution in favor of the 
 rights and dignity of the individual States. Sen- 
 ator Hawley is known the country over as a type 
 of the highest, noblest class of American states- 
 men. 
 
 On December 25, 1855, Gen. Hawley was mar- 
 ried to Harriet Ward Foote, of Guilford, who died 
 March 3, 1886. Mrs. Hawley's services at the 
 front during the Civil war in alleviating the dis- 
 tresses of the war have made her name sacred to 
 thousands of soldiers. [Compiled in part from Ap- 
 pleton's "Encyclopsedia of American Biography. J 
 
 GEORGE S. HULL, M. D., of Uristol, was 
 born in iiurlington, Hartford Co., Conn., March 
 31, 1847, a"'! is a son of Sylvanus and Florilla 
 (Clark) Hull, parents of three children: Dr. George 
 S. ; Burton C, born Feb. 22, 1854; and Rowland T., 
 born in May, 1863. 
 
 Sylvanus Hull, the father of the Doctor, was 
 born in North Haven in June, 1820, was of English 
 descent, and a farmer by vocation ; he first married 
 Evaline Pond, by whom he became the father of 
 a daughter Evaline, who married Isaac B. Hart- 
 well, and had four children, Samuel, Susan, Everett 
 and Grace. The father of Sylvanus, Elisaph Hull, 
 was born in North Haven in 1783. was also a farmer, 
 died in 1873, ^'^d ^'s remains lie interred in Burling- 
 ton. The maternal grandfather of the Doctor was 
 Wooster Clark, who was born in Burlington, Junc- 
 26, 1797, married Maria Sparks, and died Aug. 21, 
 1884, the father of the following named children, 
 Neanvin, Florilla, Jane and Sybil. 
 
 George S. Hull's early education was secured 
 in the common schools of his native town, and this 
 was supplemented by a two-years' course in the 
 State Normal at New Britain, and by a preparatory 
 course of study at the Connecticut Literary Insti- 
 tute at Suffiel'd; he next entered Yale Medical 
 School, where he passed one year, and then attended 
 one course of lectures at the College of Physicians 
 and Surgeons, at New York, after which he entered 
 the Homeopathic Medical College of the same city, 
 from which he was graduated in the spring of 1872, 
 and immediately afterward (in Alarch) located in 
 Bristol, where he has built up a good practice. 
 
 On the creation of the office of medical examiner 
 for Bristol, Dr. Hull was appointed to that posi- 
 tion, and still retains it. In 1887 he was elected 
 surgeon of the First Regiment, Connecticut Uni- 
 form Rank, Knights of Pythias, and held the office 
 until 1890, when he was appointed to the same po- 
 sition in the Second Regiment, and a few weeks 
 later received the appointment of assistant surgeon- 
 general on Brig.-Gen. E. F. Durand's staff. Dr. 
 Hull is a membe'r of the Alumni Medical Association 
 of the New York Homeopathic ^Medical College, and 
 of the Connecticut Homeopathic ^ledical Society. 
 He is an enthusiastic believer in the principles ot 
 fraternal organizations. In the spring of 1872 he 
 was made a member of Franklin Lodge, F. & A. .M., 
 at Bristol and early the next vear became a member 
 of the Pequabuck Chapter, No. 32, R. A jM. He 
 then joined, in order, the Doric Councd of New Brit- 
 ain the Washington Commandery of the Knights 
 Templar of Hartford, the Pyramid Temple ot the 
 Mvstic Shrine, of Bridgeport, is a charter member 
 of 'the Mvstic Shrine, Sphinx Temple, of Hartford, 
 and in 1889 became a thirty-second degree Scottish 
 Rite Mason of the Sovereign Consistory of Nor- 
 wich Dr. Hull is likewise a member ot the KmRhts 
 of Pvthias. He was a charter member and the first 
 past chancellor of Ethan Lodge, No 9. ^- «* ^- "^ 
 Bristol, and was the organizer of Hull Company, 
 
36 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 No. 5, of the uniform rank of the same city, which 
 was so named in his honor. In 1888 he was ap- 
 pointed grand master at arms at the grand lodge ses- 
 sion held at Derby (or Ansonia) ; m 1889 he was 
 elected grand prelate ; in 1890, grand vice-chancel- 
 lor at the session held at I'orrington ; and in 1891, 
 grand chancellor at 'the session held at Wallingford. 
 In 1895 he was sent as supreme representative to 
 the supreme lodge session held at Cleveland, and 
 was also representative at the supreme lodge session 
 held at Indianapolis in 1897, and at both places was 
 appointed a member of the Rathbone monumental 
 fund committee, organized for the purpose of erect- 
 ing a monument at Utica, N. Y., and is still a mem- 
 ber. The Doctor is likewise an Odd Fellow in 
 good standing, being a member of Stephen Terry 
 Lodge, No. 59, of Bristol, and a charter member 
 of E. L. Dunbar Encampment, at Bristol. 
 
 Dr. Hull has been a devout member of the Bap- 
 tist Church for thirty years, and for the past ten 
 3'ears has been one of the trustees. In politics he 
 is a Republican, for a number of years has held the 
 office of manager of the town deposit fund, and 
 for eight years has been a member of the school 
 committee from District No. 3. He is extensively 
 interested in several of the industrial pursuits of 
 Bristol, being president of the Codling Manufactur- 
 ing Co., which was incorporated in 1893 ; also presi- 
 dent of the Turner Heating Co., manufacturers of 
 hot air heaters and stoves, and incorporated in 1890, 
 with a capital stock of $50,000, and he is a direc- 
 tor in the Bristol Water Co., having held that office 
 since its organization. Besides the above he is a 
 director of the Dowd Printing Co., of Winsted, 
 Connecticut. 
 
 The first marriage of Dr. Hull took place April 
 2, 1867, when Aliss Sarah Alice Curtiss became his 
 wife. She was born in October, 1846, and died in 
 October, 1884; his second marriage, which occurred 
 June 3, 1886, was to Miss Hattie Antoinette Fenn, 
 who was born Sept. 22, 1857, in Plymouth, a daugh- 
 ter of Lucius A. Fenn, and to this union has been 
 born one son, George W. Hull. 
 
 COL. HENRY KENNEDY (deceased) was 
 one of Hartford's best known business men, and in 
 his life and character he well represented the sturdy 
 pioneer stock from which he came. He was born at 
 Burnside, East TIartford, April 5, 1819. He was 
 the son of Samuel Kennedy, and grandson of John 
 Kennedy. Samuel Kennedy was nine years of age 
 when his father settled in Burnside, and lived to the 
 advanced age of eight3'-two years, and became one 
 of the wealthy land owners of East Hartford and a 
 prominent citizen. In every generation the familv 
 have been noted for the possession of sterling qual- 
 ities of character. 
 
 Col. Kennedy's education was begun in the 
 schools of East Hartford, and among his school- 
 mates was the late Gov. R. D. Hubbard. Col. Ken- 
 nedy left home, at the age of fourteen, and much 
 against the wish of his father, as the Colonel ex- 
 
 pressed it in later years, he carried but a dollar in 
 his pocket and his father's disapproval. He went 
 to Hartford and apprenticed himself to Smith &' 
 Bourn, at such meager wages that he could not 
 properly clothe himself, and in order 10 avoid the 
 jeering of the boys of his acquaintance he would 
 wait until they had returned to their work, and then 
 run as fast as he could to the shop. Such experi- 
 ences early taught him the worth of money, and he 
 became a shrewd and careful financier, as was evi- 
 denced in later years by his successful investment of 
 moneys, both as related to his personal interests and 
 those of others. To illustrate his integrity, when 
 a very young man the late Gov. Hubbard urged upon 
 him the loan of a thousand dollars with which to 
 start in business, the Colonel having no security to^ 
 offer. He served as a supernumerary on the police 
 force, and about i860 was appointed jailer under 
 Sheriff Russell, at the old jail at the junction of Pearl 
 and Jewell streets, where the Y. M. C. A. building 
 now stands. In 1865 he was appointed steward of the 
 American Asylum, which position he held for six- 
 teen years, filling it with marked ability. While at 
 the American Asylum he was appointed conservator 
 of the late Leonard Church. After the death of iVIr. 
 Church he was appointed administrator of his estate^ 
 much to the satisfaction of Mrs. Church, and at her 
 death he benefitted largely from her estate, reward- 
 ing his eft'orts in the handling of the Church proper- 
 ties, which were largely increased under his manage- 
 ment. Through the eft'orts of Col. Kennedy, Mrs. 
 Church was induced to ' present the organ to the 
 First Church of Christ in Hartford, which remains a 
 memorial to herself and her husband. His early 
 experiences at Smith & Bourn's brought him in con- 
 tact with horsemen and their interests, and having 
 an inborn liking for horseflesh he early became 
 identified with trotting interests, which was con- 
 tinued through his life, and vv'as himself an owner of 
 good horse flesh. He was prominently identified with 
 Charter Oak Park and its trotting interests, and a 
 familiar figure at its race meetings lor many years. 
 At the time of the sale of Charter Oak Park it was. 
 purchased by the Colonel, and some time later passed 
 into the hands of prominent turfmen, thus securing 
 its continuance as a race course. When the Gentle- 
 men's Driving Club was formed in 1888 Col. Ken- 
 nedy was elected the first president of the organi- 
 zation. In politics Col. Kennedy was a stanch Re- 
 publican. He united with the Putnam Phalanx in 
 1859. In 1869 he was chosen major, and served as 
 I such until 1873. He was again elected major in 
 1874, holding the position until 1876. Under h'vi 
 command the Phalanx made a trip to Montreal, 
 Canada, in September, 1871. While in that citv he- 
 was presented with a very fine sword by his Pha- 
 lanx friends, as a token of the esteem in which he 
 was held. This sword was always highly cherished 
 by him, and is now in the possession of Mrs. Pitkin. 
 Although the Colonel disliked notoriety and 
 lived a quiet life, he was a man who loved his 
 friends and made them know it. He was interested; 
 
Mi^^&i 
 
 
 
 nj^mMmk ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 :^ 
 
 "p- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 37 
 
 in religious work, having been one of the organizers 
 of the old Fourth Church, to which he gave liberally. 
 For some years previous to his death he and his 
 family attended Christ Church. After leaving the 
 American Asylum he lived for a time on Winthrop 
 street, later removing to the Leonard Church home- 
 stead, corner of Asylum avenue and Garden street, 
 which came into his possession after the death of 
 Mrs. Church, and where he died March 15, 1899. 
 On Feb. 21, 1844, Col. Kennedy married Sarah 
 Jane White, who died Feb. 10, 1875, and on Dec. 
 3,1887, he married Rebecca A. Cady, who died Dec. 
 1, 1898. Col. Kennedy is survived by a brother 
 John Kennedy; and a sister, Mrs. Esther Abbev, 
 and an adopted daughter, Airs. Nellie W. Pitkin, 
 wife of William T. Pitkin, of Hartford, Connecticut. 
 
 SAMUEL M. BRONSON, director and general 
 manager of the National Machine Co., Nos. iii- 
 133 Sheldon street, Hartford, was born April i, 
 1832, in Waterbury, Conn., where his family has 
 long been prominent. His great-grandfather lo- 
 cated there in pioneer times, and became the owner 
 of a large tract of land. 
 
 Amasa Bronson, grandfather of our subject, was 
 born in Waterbury in 1778, and died in 1880, at. 
 the age of one hundred and two years, never hav- 
 ing had a week's sickness. At the time of his death 
 he was the oldest man in the State. He was a farmer, 
 and owned considerable real estate in Waterbury, 
 comprising a part of the business portion of the 
 town, and a part of what is now the "Green." Dur- 
 ing the Revolutionary war he enlisted in the army, 
 but peace was declared before he had an oppor- 
 tunity for active service. He and his wife, Sarah, 
 who lived to the age of ninety-four, were members 
 of the Episcopal Church, and very regular attend- 
 ants. They had a large family of children, all now 
 deceased. 
 
 Julius G. Bronson, our subject's father, was 
 born and reared in Waterbury, and engaged in 
 butchering and farming upon a part of the old 
 homestead. In public affairs he was prominent, 
 holding various offices. His death occurred at the 
 age of fifty-seven. He married Julia Newton, who 
 was born in Waterbury, and died in 1843, aged 
 thirty-three years. She was one of five children of 
 James Newton, who died at the age of forty-three, 
 and his wife, who died aged ninety-two years. Our 
 subject was one of a family of four children, of 
 whom only two are living. His younger brother, 
 Charles H., has always resided in Waterbury, and 
 is now assistant superintendent of the Waterbury 
 Flospital. 
 
 Samuel 'SI. Bronson spent much of his early life 
 in Waterbury, receiving a common-school educa- 
 tion, and at thirteen entered a store as clerk. Soon 
 afterward he went to Waterville to learn the cut- 
 ler's trade, and for four years was engaged in the 
 manufacture of shears and pocket knives. He then 
 went to Hotchkissville, having a contract in the 
 manufacture of shears, and later he becam.e super- 
 
 intendent of the plant, remaining in all lour years. 
 One year he spent in Waterbury, practically out of 
 business on account of poor health, and he then 
 took charge of a mill at Oakville, where he also 
 served as postmaster three years. On resigning 
 he entered the employ of the Adams E.\press Co., 
 making his headquarters in Waterbury, but act- 
 ing as their traveling representative, and taking 
 the place of different agents. Later he removed to 
 New York, and for some time had the express run 
 from New York to Boston, afterward acting in this 
 capacity upon different routes, and finally removed 
 his headquarters to Hartford, from which point 
 he took charge of the inward freight and money 
 department. In 1869 he entered the retail market 
 and grocer}' business, and three years later began 
 the wholesale trade on State street, which he con- 
 tinued up to 1894, being at that time among the 
 oldest and best known wholesale merchants in the 
 city. In 1 89 1 he was one of the organizers of the 
 National Machine Co., together with Charles E. 
 Billings, Silas Chapman, and others. He was elect- 
 ed treasurer in 1893, and secretary in 1894, and 
 held both offices until 1897, when he resigned as 
 secretary, and was made treasurer and general man- 
 ager, which position he still holds. This concern 
 started with only six workmen, and has increased to 
 sixty. They are the sole manufacturers of a special 
 machine or printing press for printing in colors, 
 which is used by the best-known periodicals, such as 
 the "Youth's Companion," "Harper's \\'eekly," and 
 others of this character. They also ship these ma- 
 chines to the most remote parts of the world, not 
 only throughout Continental Europe, but to Aus- 
 tralia, Cuba and even southern Africa. They 
 made a large exhibit at the World's Fair in Paris 
 in 1900, and received the grand prize, notice of 
 which read as follows : 
 
 The National MacMne Co., Hartford, Conn , U. S. A. 
 
 The official Journal of Ihe Republic of France an- 
 nounces that you have been awarded a Grand Prix in the 
 United States Department of Liberal Arts and Chemical 
 Industries. 
 
 A. S. Capf.hart, 
 
 Director. 
 Participant in INIodern Commercial Composing Room, 
 Exhibitors of the Gaily Universal Presses. 
 
 In the Columbian Exposition, in 189^. they oc- 
 cupied a large space, and took all the medals award- 
 ed to machines of this character for superiority of 
 work. In their own plant they use all labor-saving 
 machinery from the latest inventors. 
 
 Mr. Bronson was one of the organizers of the 
 Hartford Merchants Exchange, with which he was 
 connected until he left the wholesale business, serv- 
 ing five years as president. He is a director in the 
 State Savings Bank and was for some time a di- 
 rector in the Fowler & Miller Co., while he has 
 also dealt extensively in real estate for many years. 
 He was one of the charter members of the Hart- 
 
38 
 
 COMMEMORATH'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ford Board of Trade, in which he was a director for 
 many years. 
 
 ivlr. Bronson is a Democrat in politics, and 
 served as a member of the common council in 
 j874-'75, alderman in 1892-93, and commissioner 
 of fisheries in Connecticut for three years. The 
 following shows his activity in Masonic life : He 
 was raised in Federal Lodge, No. 17, Watertown, 
 Conn., February, 1857; affiliated with Pacific Lodge, 
 No. 233, New Vork, 1861 ; affiliated with St. John's 
 Lodge, Hartford, 1866; received chapter degrees 
 in Fythagoras Chapter, Hartford, 1808; received 
 Cryptic degrees in Wolcott Council, No. i, Hart- 
 ford, 1868; knighted in Washington Commandery, 
 No. I, Hartford, April 13, 1869, and elected com- 
 mander in 1880; elected grand commander of Con- 
 necticut in :March, 1897 ; is Past T. P. G. AL, Charter 
 Oak Lodge of Perfection: Past J\L E. S., Prince 
 G. M, Hartford Council, Princes of Jerusalem; 
 Past i\L \'V. and P. M. of Cyrus Goodale Chapter, 
 Rose Croix ; member of the Connecticut Sovereign 
 Consistory; member of the Royal Order of Scot- 
 land ; crowned an honorary member Supreme Coun- 
 cil, in 1884; member of the \'eteran Association 
 of Connecticut. He has held various offices in the 
 diflferent bodies of the York Rite, and is grand 
 chancellor in the council of Deliberation, A. & A. 
 S. Rite, of Connecticut. During his Masonic career, 
 while in the Council, Cryptic Masonry, he was treas- 
 urer for a number of years, and also treasurer of 
 P}-thagoras Chapter, and held the offices in both 
 these bodies. He was one of the organizers of all 
 Scottish Rite Bodies in Hartford, and has held 
 nearly all the offices in these, and in a number of 
 instances served several terms. For eight years 
 past he has been president of the Masonic Mutual 
 jBenefit Association of Connecticut. He was one 
 of the first in organization of the Alasonic Hall 
 Association in 1872, and was secretary and treas- 
 urer of this body until 1897. Of the four Masons 
 in this city to receive the 33d degree he was second, 
 having it conferred upon him in 1884; the remain- 
 ing three are Charles E. Billings, Silas Chapman 
 and John G. Root, of this county, sketches of whom 
 appear elsewhere. 
 
 In 1853 Mr. Bronson married Miss Harriet A. 
 Burnham, a native of South Windsor, and daughter 
 of Lucius A. Burnham, a farmer, who became one 
 of the pioneers of Wisconsin, going there at a time 
 when he had to make the journey with horses. For 
 *eventy-four miles west of Chicago toward his 
 destination there was not a single house, and he was 
 offered land within the limits of the present business 
 portion of Chicago for $6 per acre. He followed 
 farming successfully in Wisconsin for twenty- 
 three years, but later returned to Hartford, where 
 he died aged seventy-four years. His wife, Pamelia 
 (Goodrich), who died aged sixtj^-nine. was a native 
 of Waterbury, Vt., and thev had five children, three 
 of whom are living: John W., of Portland, Oregon; 
 Edward L., of East Hartford ; and Julia A., Mrs. 
 
 Bacon, who resides in Wisconsin. Mrs. Bronson 
 died June 15, 1893, aged sixty-two years. Sev- 
 eral years ago Mr. and Mrs. Bronson became inter- 
 ested' in two little girls. Flora E. and Ada E. Burt, 
 sisters, whom they took into their home and edu- 
 cated. Flora graduated from Madame Draper's 
 famous French Seminary in Hartford, and later 
 married Thomas R. Morrow, a native of Hart- 
 ford, but now one of the leading lawyers of Kan- 
 sas City ; he has recently gained a celebrated case 
 in the United States Sunreme Court, at Washing- 
 ton, D. C. Ada graduated from the Hartford Pub- 
 lic High School, and taught in Hartford for seven 
 years, but since the death of Mrs. Bronson has had 
 charge of the Bronson home. 
 
 PERKINS. The Perkins family of Hartford, 
 of which the eminent lawyers, Enoch Perkins and 
 his son, the late Thomas Clap Perkins, were honored 
 and distinguished members, and of which the lat- 
 ter's son and grandson, Charles E. and Arthur, re- 
 spectively, are prominent in the profession, is one of 
 the oldest families in New England. Charles E. 
 Perkins is in the seventh generation from John 
 Perkins, Sr., the American ancestor, the line of his 
 descent being through Sergt. Jacob, Joseph, 
 Mathew, Enoch and Thomas Clap. 
 
 (I) John Perkins, Sr., as he is called in the 
 records, the immigrant ancestor of many of the 
 family in this country, according to family tradi- 
 tion was born in Newent, Gloucestershire, England, 
 in 1590. He was among the earliest emigrants 
 from the mother country, sailing from Bristol, Eng- 
 land, Dec. I, 1630, in the ship "Lyon," bound for 
 Boston' in America, taking with him his wife and 
 five children. The ship anchored before Boston 
 Feb. 6, 1631. The children of John Perkins and 
 wife Judith were : John, Thomas, Elizabeth, Mary, 
 Jacob and Lydia. He resided in Boston two years, 
 and became one of the leading men of Ipswich, 
 Mass. ; was several times deputy to the General 
 Court, and held other offices of trust. He died in 
 1654, aged sixtv-four years. 
 
 (II) Sergt. Jacob Perkins, son of John, Sr., was 
 born in England in 1624. He was first married about 
 1647, his wife's name being Elizabeth. She died 
 in 1665, and later he married Widow Damaris Rob- 
 inson, of Boston. He died in 1699-1700, and his 
 widow in 1716. Like the sreneral farmer he lived 
 a quiet, imeventful life. His children by Elizabeth 
 were: Elizabeth, John, Judith, Mary, Jacob, Math- 
 ew, Hannah, Joseph and Jabez. 
 
 (III) Joseph Perkins, son of Sergt. Jacob, born 
 June 21, 1664, in Ipswich, Mass., removed in earlv 
 life to Norwich, Conn., and married there, in 1700, 
 Martha, daughter of Joseph and Dorothy Morgan. 
 She was of Preston, Conn., born in 1680, and died 
 in 1754. He died in 1726. In connection with his 
 brother Jabez he purchased a large tract of land — 
 800 or 1,200 acres — in that part of the town of Nor- 
 wich afterward the town of Lisbon, and it was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 39 
 
 known as "Perkins' Crotch." Joseph Perkins was 
 an influential man in both town and church. His 
 children were : EHzabeth, Mary, Joseph, Martha, 
 John, Jerusha, ^lathew, Deborah and Ann. 
 
 (IV) jMathew Perkins, son of Joseph, was born 
 Aug. 31, 1713, in Norwich, Conn., and died in 
 1773. In 1739 he married Hannah, daughter of 
 Samuel and Sarah (Fobes) Bishop. She was 
 born in 1724, and died at Lisbon, Conn., in 
 1809. He owned a farm of 1,000 acres in Hanover 
 Societ)', north part of Lisbon. His children were : 
 Joshua, Hannah, Mathew, Ephraim, Jerusha, Na- 
 than, Susanna, Sarah, Mathew (2), Enoch, Fred- 
 erick and Samuel. 
 
 (V) Enoch Perkins, son of Mathew, was born 
 Aug. 16, 1760, and in 1787 was married to Anna 
 Pitkin, born in 1764, daughter of Timothy and Tem- 
 perance (Clap) Pitkin, of Farmington, Conn. 
 Enoch Perkins was graduated from Yale College in 
 1 781, and studied law with William Channing, of 
 Newport, R. I. He was a tutor in Yak College for 
 two and one-half years, after which, in 1786, he 
 established himself in his profession at Hartford, 
 where he remained in the active discharge of his 
 duties to the end of his life. As a lawyer he was 
 distinguished for a thorough acquaintance with the 
 duties of his profession, and he was, to no common 
 degree, skilled in the forms of legal process, and his 
 services were often called into requisition ; his 
 clients are said never to have suffered by his negli- 
 gence. As a member of the civic society he was 
 ev€r ready to bear his part of public business ; and 
 when appointed to civic offices he executed the duties 
 thereof promptly and efficiently, and his services 
 met with the approbation of the wise and good. In 
 1809 he was appointed attorney for the State of Con- 
 necticut in the county of Hartford, in which office 
 he discharged the duties of public prosecutor with 
 a characteristic regard for moral principle. He 
 was chosen a member of the board of trustees of 
 the Alissionary Society of Connecticut in 1808, and 
 was also trustee of the Hartford grammar school. 
 Mr. Perkins was much esteemed and resorted to as 
 an adviser in cases of difficulty, and for this office 
 he was well qualified. He looked coolly into the 
 intricacies of a subject, and it was rarely that he 
 did not penetrate it to the bottom ; his unbending 
 integrity and honesty of purpose gave to his advice 
 its peculiar value. His life was one of uncommon 
 evenness. 
 
 While a tutor in Yale College Mr. Perkins made 
 a public profession of religion, and through his 
 whole life he was thoroughly and sincerely a Chris- 
 tian ; his religious feeling sprang from clear views 
 of truth. He observed the Sabbath with great 
 strictness, for he loved its holy hours and sacred 
 duties. He died Aug. 28, 1828. His children were 
 Anna, Charlotte. Henrietta, Emilia, Thomas Clap, 
 Henry A. and George W. 
 
 (\T) Thomas Clap Perkins, son of Enoch, and 
 the father of Charles E. Perkins, of Hartford, was 
 
 born July 30, 1798, in iiartfurd, Cunn. ( Jn .\u\-. 
 7, 1827, he married Mary Foot Beecher, daughter of 
 Rev. Lyinan lieecher. D. D. Thomas C. Perkins 
 was graduated from Yale in 1818, taking the salu- 
 tatory, an<l studied law with Hon. Seth P. Staples, 
 of New Haven. He was admitted to the Hartford 
 liar, and soon rose to an influential position among 
 associates whose ability and success rendered it no 
 easy matter for a new and young lawyer to achieve 
 distinction. For a time he was secretary of the 
 Protection Fire Insurance Co. He filled several 
 town offices, and was a number of times a member 
 of the State Senate and House. Elected later in 
 life to the Bench of the Supreme Court, he declined 
 that honor, preferring the business of his profes- 
 sion. He was very learned in the law, had an in- 
 tellect of great exactness and clearness, a sound and 
 instructed judgment and wonderful tenacity of 
 purpose. He excelled both in the preparation of a 
 case and in its conduct, convincing court and jury 
 not so much by eloquence of words as by perspicuity 
 of statement and entire candor of manner. "Thor- 
 oughly learned in the law, he was untiring in his 
 work. Gifted with an extraordinarily retentive 
 memory, and an equally surprising quickness of 
 perception, he made the most of his facts and au- 
 thorities ; and could improvise his points, as trial 
 progressed, without previous knowledge or prep- 
 aration of the case. He had not the winning and 
 persuasive way with a jury that marked Mr. Chap- 
 man, who was frequently associated with him ; he 
 was better before the Court than before the jury. 
 He digested everything he read, and his application 
 of a rule was remarkable. He used his precedents 
 and authorities in such a way as to make them 
 'tell' on the case without lumbering or overloading 
 it. In a consultation his judgment was as valuable 
 as that of the ablest of his associates. As a lawyer, 
 in the stricter sense of the word, he was one of the 
 best of the Hartford Bar. During the latter half 
 of his professional career his practice was very large 
 and lucrative." 
 
 In his private life Islv. Perkins was accustomed 
 to lay aside his severe habits of business, and give 
 himself to the genial pleasure of social intercourse. 
 He was a man "of much wit and humor, and greatly 
 engaged them in others, drawing always for the 
 enter'tainment of his friends uoon a large store 
 of anecdotes and a wide range of reading. He was 
 a man who concealed his charities and avoided a 
 display of sympathy, but a tale of distress never 
 failed to move him, and he eave liberally where his 
 gifts were known only to himself and the receivers. 
 He looked habitually on the brisrht side of life, and 
 never liked to talk of that which was unpleasant 
 or disagreeable. No man was truer or deeper in 
 his attachments, though he sought society in a 
 limited circle of friends. He was a Christian gen- 
 tleman, of the old school of courtesv and kindness. 
 He died, after a short and painful sickness, Oct. 
 11; 1870. 
 
40 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 "The death of j\lr. Perkins deprived the Hart- 
 ford Bar of one of the last of the old fraternity of 
 distinguished lawyers whose names, during the 
 thirty or forty years prior to his death, had given it 
 honorable distinction. Within eighteen months 
 from that time the deaths of Toucey, Chapman 
 and Perkins had occurred. Plungerford and Waldo 
 alone remained of the older members, and the latter 
 practiced chiefly at the Bar of another county. Ells- 
 worth, Parsons and other distinguished lights of 
 the Hartford Bar had died during the few preceding 
 years. Hungerford, at that time the oldest sur- 
 viving associate of the old members of the Hart- 
 ford Bar, and in some respects the most remarkable 
 lawyer whom Connecticut or New England has 
 ever produced, survived our subject at eighty or 
 upwards, and had then of late years entirely with- 
 drawn from active practice. One, who would have 
 won a deservedly wide fame at the i3ar, died in his 
 fresh prime: and the Bar of Hartford county, as 
 well as the community, lost a valuable member in 
 the death of the late Lucius F. Robinson. Air. 
 Perkins' death, like the loss of Mr. Chapman, was 
 particularly felt." 
 
 The quotations preceding are from the Hart- 
 ford press at the time of the death of Mr. Perkins, 
 and those following are from the resolutions of 
 speakers at the Plartford Bar meeting held at that 
 time : 
 
 "As a genial lawyer, conducting causes from 
 their earliest consultation, through their prepara- 
 tions in his office and conflicts at the Bar, to the final 
 engrossment after the last decree of the last tribunal, 
 he was systematic, patient, vigorous and powerful. 
 He was an associate most valuable, an antagonist 
 most powerful. 
 
 "His well-disciplined intellect, his retentive mem- 
 ory, his unequalled self control, and his many years 
 of industrious application to all branches of profes- 
 sional practice, rendered him a bright ornament to 
 that Bar which not even the offered highest judi- 
 ciary honors of our Commonwealth could induce 
 him to forsake, and in whose advance he died, with 
 courage unabated and pulse unwearied." 
 
 "The death of Mr. Perkins was not merely the 
 loss of a great lawyer and of a Christian gentleman, 
 but it would be peculiarly felt by the Hartford 
 County Bar. For the last few years be had been 
 regarcled as the leader of this Bar. Taking a prom- 
 inent part in almost all the important trials, he was 
 always cautious, always honorable, always fair. 
 The influence of his example had had much to do 
 in giving to our Bar its enviable reputation of being 
 ■one of the most honorable and courteous in New 
 England. The younger members, with his daily 
 example before them, were led to know that trick- 
 ery, dishonesty and sharp practice have no place 
 in the qualifications of a great and successful 
 lawyer. Air. Hyde felt sure he expressed the feel- 
 ings of the younger brethren present when he de- 
 clared that to the Hartford County Bar his loss was 
 irreparable." 
 
 Mr. Perkins' children were: (i) Frederick B. 
 Perkins, born Sept. 27, 1828, in Hartford, Conn., 
 married May 21, 1857, Mary Westcott, of Provi- 
 dence, R. I., and a daughter of Henry and Clarissa 
 (Perkins) Westcott. Their children were: Thomas 
 IT. (deceased), Thomas A., Charlotte A., and Julia 
 De W. (deceased). 
 
 (2) Emily B. Perkins, born Nov. 23, 1829, in 
 Hartford, Conn., married Oct. 13, 1852, Rev. Ed- 
 ward Everett Hale, D. D., of Boston, Mass., son 
 of Hon. Nathan Hale. Their children were : Al- 
 exander (deceased) ; Ellen D., born Feb. 11, 1855; 
 Arthur, born Aug. 12, 1859; Charles A. (deceased) ; 
 Edward Fl, born Feb. 18, 1863 ; Philip, born May 
 21, 1865; Herbert, born July 22, 1866; Henry K., 
 born June 6, 1868 (deceased) ; and Robert, born 
 Sept. 5, 1870 (deceased). 
 
 (3) Charles E. Perkins, born March 23, 1832, 
 in Hartford, married, Aug. 29, 1855, Lucy M. 
 Adams, of Boston. He graduated from Williams 
 College, Alassachusetts, in 1853, then studied law 
 with his father in Hartford, and was admitted to the 
 Bar in 1855. Fie has resided in Hartford ever since 
 as a partner with his father while he lived, and after 
 his death alone until 1892, when his son Arthur was 
 admitted to a partnership. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins 
 have had children as follows : Mary R., born July 22, 
 1857, married in 1887 Rev. Sidney D. Hooker, of 
 Dillon, Mont. : Emily H., born Jan. 23, 1861, married 
 in 1888 Howard H. Knapp, of Bridgeport; Arthur, 
 born May 16, 1864, graduated at Yale College in 
 1887, was admitted to the Bar in 1889, and since 
 1892 has practiced law with his father under the 
 firm name of Perkins & Perkins (he married Miss 
 Amy Dennison, of Philadelphia, and has one daugh- 
 ter, Helen Perkins) ; Lucy A. was born Oct. 23, 
 1865 ; and Thomas C. was born May 16, 1873. 
 
 (4) Catherine B. Perkins, born May 3, 1836, 
 married in 1859 William C. Oilman, of New York. 
 She died Nov. 15, 1879. Their children were: 
 Theodora (deceased) ; ]3essie (deceased) ; Hough- 
 ton, born Aug. 8, 1867; and Francis, born Dec. 15, 
 1870. 
 
 ALBERT P. PITKIN (deceased), for many 
 3'ears a leading business man of Hartford, was a rep- 
 resentative of one of the oldest families, tracing his 
 descent from William Pitkin, a pioneer of East 
 Hartford. 
 
 The name has long been identified with a high 
 order of citizenship, and among other members of 
 the family who have attained distinction are Will- 
 iam and Ozias Pitkin, sons of the pioneer, who 
 were among the most noted lawyers and politicians 
 of their time : William Pitkin, governor of the colony 
 from 1766 to 1769; Col. John Pitkin, brother of the 
 governor, who was lieutenant-colonel in 1755 and 
 colonel in 1756, and led his command against Crown 
 Point in 1755 in the expedition under Gen. Lyman; 
 and Col. William Pitkin, son of the governor, who 
 was in 1758 appointed major of the Connecticut 
 forces raised for the expedition against Canada, 
 
^^^^ 
 
 ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 41 
 
 served through the campaign, under Gen. Aber- 
 crombie, and acquired the reputation of a faithful 
 and gallant officer ; during the greater part of the 
 Revolutionary war he was a member of the Council 
 of Siafety. 
 
 William Pitkin, the pioneer, was born in 1633, at 
 Mar^'lebone, near London, England, and came to 
 Hartford in 1659. A year later he began teaching 
 school, being thereto encotiraged by votes and grants 
 of money by the town. He was appointed attorney 
 for the colony in 1664. He bought land on the east 
 side of the river, and was one of the most prominent 
 planters. He bequeathed in his will nearly 800 
 acres of land, after having given his two older sons 
 a portion of it. William Pitkin fillled many public 
 ■offices with ability, and was conspicuous and influ- 
 ential in the affairs of the colony. He annually 
 represented Hartford in the Colonial Assembly for 
 a period of fifteen years, from 1675 to 1690. His 
 sister Martha married Simon Wolcott, and was an- 
 cestress of five governors. He married Hannah 
 Goodwin, only daughter of Hon. Ozias and Alary 
 (Woodward) Goodwin, the progenitors of the 
 Goodwin family in Connecticut. Mr. Goodwin was 
 born in England in 1596,- and came to America 
 with Rev. Thomas Hooker. 
 
 Roger Pitkin, the next in the line of descent, 
 married Hannah Stanley. Jonathan Pitkin married 
 Rebecca Smith. Jonathan Pitkin (2) married Lucy 
 Steele. Ezekiel Pitkin married Euphemia Chap- 
 man. Dennison Pitkin, our subject's father, mar- 
 ried Phoebe Dunham Turner. 
 
 Albert P. Pitkin was born Feb. 27, 1829, at 
 East Hartford, on the original homestead purchased 
 from the Indians in 1684 by William Pitkin, the 
 pioneer. When a young man he went to Hartford 
 and entered the employ of Gilbert & Cowles, tin- 
 ners and furnace makers, of whom he learned his 
 trade. He was afterward employed by the Culvers 
 of New York, the leading furnace manufacturers 
 of the country at - that time. Returning to Hart- 
 ford in 1849, he went into partnership with D. L. 
 Bidwell, under the firm name of Bidwell, Pitkin & 
 Co. In 1858 he formed another co-partnership, with 
 his brother Norman T., for the manufacture of 
 steam goods, etc. At this date the heating of build- 
 ings by steam was but little known. This was the 
 only concern of the kind, of any considerable note, 
 between Boston and New York, and Mr. Pitkin was 
 one of the leading steam engineers in New England. 
 Not long afterward the firm of Pitkin Brothers & 
 Co. was formed, consisting of A. P. Pitkin (senior 
 member), N. T. Pitkin and Charles A. Pitkin, and 
 George C. Root. Mr. Root shortly afterward with- 
 drew from the firm and removed to Detroit, where 
 he died ; C. A. Pitkin also severed his connection 
 with the firm, because of failing health, and is now 
 in Arroyo Grande, Cal. A. P. Pitkin was the di- 
 recting spirit in this firm, whose work stands as 
 high as any of its kind throughout the country. 
 He was for more than forty years a director of the 
 Earmers & Mechanics Bank, having been first ap- 
 
 pointed to the position by the Stale, k'rom 1866 to 
 1871 he was a member of the board of water com- 
 missioners, and was instrumental in securing the es- 
 tablishment of the present system of water supply. 
 He was also instrumental in founding the Hartford 
 Light & Power Co., of which he was a director at 
 the time of his death, and he also took an active 
 interest in the Hartford Board of Trade. He was 
 one of the original members of the Putnam Phal- 
 anx, and was a Freemason of long standing, having 
 taken the thirty-second degree in that fraternity. 
 Mr. Pitkin was a member of the Connecticut His- 
 torical Society, and the author of the Pitkin Geneal- 
 ogy, which was published in 1887, and for which 
 membership in the Harleian Society of Dlackhcath, 
 Kent, England, was conferred upon him. This 
 work, which stands high among the genealogical 
 literature of the day, was a lifelong labor of love 
 with its author, and is an enduring monument to 
 his energy and devotion, especially as it was com- 
 piled in the midst of a life of unusual business ac- 
 tivity. Mr. Pitkin was a liberal supporter of the 
 churches of the town, and had been a regular attend- 
 ant at the First Church for many years. He was a 
 kind, genial, generous man, devotedly attached to 
 his family, and beloved and respected by all who 
 knew him. He was a man of sterling business quali- 
 ties, scrupulously upright, and always careful for 
 the welfare of everyone in his employ. He believed 
 in the right of every man to his freedom in the 
 broadest application of the term, and was a stanch 
 supporter of the Republican party from the time 
 of its formation. His death, which occurred Feb. 
 21, 1892, caused sincere mourning among a wide 
 circle of acquaintances in Hartford and elsewhere, 
 and called forth many tokens of respect and affec- 
 tion. The funeral, which was held at his residence, 
 was largely attended. 
 
 On Nov. 4, 185 1, Mr. Pitkin married Miss Jane 
 Ann Hastings, who was born Dec. 8, 1828, daugh- 
 ter of Capt. Henry and Sarah Ann (Dewey) Hast- 
 ings. Capt. Henry Hastings was a leading citizen 
 ofHartford for many years, and he and his father, 
 Benjamin Hastings, were elected collectors of the 
 taxes of the town and city of Hartford, Conn., for 
 thirty consecutive years. Mrs. Pitkin died Feb. i, 
 1876', leaving three sons: Albert H., of Hartford: 
 Floward S.,"of East Hartford: and William T., of 
 Hartford, all yet living. In 1S89 Mr. Pitkin married 
 Aliss Julia Louise Goodwin, daughter of Horace 
 Ely Goodwin, of Hartford, and she survives him. 
 
 EDWARD H. SMILEY, A. M., for a decade 
 past connected with the Hartford Public High 
 School, and its efficient principal since 1895, is well 
 and favorably known to the educators of New Eng- 
 land, among whom he has taken high rank. 
 
 Born Aug. 17, 1852, in Winslow. Maine, Mr. 
 Smiley is a son of Reuel and Laura (Webber) Smi- 
 lev. who were natives of Sydney and \'assalboro, 
 Maine, respectively, and were farming people of 
 the vicinity of Va'ssalboro, where the former died 
 
42 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 at the age of fifty-nine years. The mother sur- 
 vived hmi many years, attaining the advanced age of 
 eighty-three: Both were identified with the Con- 
 gregational Church of their community, and were 
 most estimable people, and held in higii regard by 
 their acquaintances and friends. 
 
 The boyhood of our subject was passed on the 
 farm, at work, and in attendance at the common 
 school of the neighborhood. At the early age of 
 sixteen he began teaching a district school, and 
 continued so occupied more or less for several 
 years before completing his scholastic education. 
 He furthered his studies in the Coburn Classical 
 Institute, at Waterville, Maine, then entered Colby 
 University, from which he was graduated in 1875, 
 after this event returning to Waterville, Alaine, 
 where a high school had just been opened ; he be- 
 came its first principal, a position he he".d for eight 
 years. Following this, for six years, he was first 
 classical teacher in the Springfield (JMass.) High 
 School. From Springfield he came to Hartford, 
 and in September, 1890, began his relations with 
 the Hartford Public High School as vice-princi- 
 pal, continuing in such position until May, 1895, 
 when he was made principal, since which time he has 
 proven himself the right man in the right place. 
 He is a man of liberal education, thorough, pos- 
 sesses the requisite tact for management and disci- 
 pline, and the ability necessary to the successful 
 teacher and principal that he is, as is evidenced in 
 his work of a decade with the one institution. 
 
 The schools of Hartford from almost the very 
 dawn of its settlement have been of a high order — 
 in keeping with the superior intelligence and high 
 character of the city's founders. The Colonial 
 records of Connecticut show that a Classical School 
 was in existence in Hartford as early as the year 
 1638, and before 1662 ten graduates of Harvard 
 College, from Hartford, had received their prep- 
 aration for college in this school. During that 
 period two sons of Gov. John Winthrop were in 
 Hartford as pupils. Another historic name, that 
 of Gov. Edward Hopkins, is associated with the 
 early schools of Hartford. The high school of the 
 city was established in 1847, under the energetic 
 and untiring efforts of such men as James M. Bunce, 
 Amos M. Collins, D. F. Robinson, Rev. Dr. Bur- 
 gess, Dr. Henry Barnard, and Rev. Dr. Bushnell. 
 The first high school building, a plain three-story 
 brick, was erected in 1847; another was built, in a 
 dift'erent locality, in 1869, and enlarged in 1877. 
 This building was destroyed by fire in 1882, and 
 in May of the same year the first stone of the foun- 
 dation of the present fire-proof structure, built in 
 the secular Gothic style, was erected ; to it in 1896 
 an extension was made, and it stands to-day the 
 largest and best equipped high school building in 
 New England. Among the principals of the school 
 have been Joshua D. Giddings, Thomas K. Beecher, 
 McLauren'F. Cook, Cephas A. Leach, T. W. T. 
 Curtis, Samuel M. Capron, Hiram A. Pratt, Joseph 
 Hall, Charles H. Douglas and Edward H. Smilev. 
 
 In the report of the board of school visitors of 
 the town of Hartford, 1899, it is set forth that: "Our 
 High School, from the standpoint of equipment, 
 teaching, force and far-reaching potentiality, stands 
 to-day, as in the past, amongst the foremost high 
 schools of the country. The Board, the citizens of 
 Hartford, and the thousands of chddren who will 
 enjoy the educational advantages of this school, 
 owe a debt of gratitude to the members of the build- 
 ing committee, and especially to Mr. Charles E. 
 Thompson, the chairman, and Mr. Edward H. 
 Smiley, tne principal of the school, for their intel- 
 ligent and self-sacrificing eft'orts in planning and 
 supervising the erection of this building." In the 
 school there are in attendance some nine hundred 
 pupils, and forty teachers are employed. 
 
 EVERETT JAMES' McKNIGHT, M. D., 
 Harlford, is one of the leading physicians and sur- 
 geons in the county. A native of Connecticut, he 
 was born June 12, 1855, in Ellington, Tolland coun- 
 ts', and traces his ancestry to John McKnight, the 
 emigrant, through James Dixon, Horace and 
 John (2). 
 
 ( I ) John McKnight ( i ) was born about the 
 year 1712, in Scotland, whence when nineteen years 
 of age he came to this country, first locating in New 
 Haven, Conn., where he became a merchant, later 
 moving to Hartford, and finally to Ellington, and 
 here he resided on a farm in the northwest part of 
 the town until his death, in 1785. While on a trip 
 to England for a cargo of goods, he married Je- 
 rusha Crane, an Englishwoman, and by her had six 
 children, as follows: Thomas. (II) John, Mary, Je- 
 ■rusha, Esther and Sarah. The father of these died 
 JMarch 16, 1785, the mother in September, 1783. 
 
 (II) John McKnight, born June 18, 1739, mar- 
 ried (first) Nov. 20, 1762, Charity Abbe, who died 
 in 1798; he married (second) May 27, 1799, Jerusha 
 Kent, born May 25, 1772, died Aug. 11, 1842. He 
 passed away Nov. 12, 1837, the father of thirteen 
 children, as follows: Roxia, born Sept. 8, 1788, 
 married Parley Chapman ; Timothy (twin of Roxia) 
 died Oct. 30, 1788; Horace was born Oct. 23, 1790; 
 Harvey (twin of Horace) died March 10, 1806; 
 Polly, born May 23, 1792, married Flavel Whiton, 
 died June 30, i860; (3hauncey was born Jan. 21, 
 1796; Betsey was born Sept. 12, 1798. Children by 
 second marriage: Charity, born April 15, 1800, mar- 
 ried Jabez Chapman; Jerusha, born June 24, 1802, 
 married Deacon Simon Chapman, and died in Wis- 
 consin Aug. II, 1842; Miranda, born Oct. i, 1804, 
 married Harvey White, and died in Vermont Feb. 
 24, 1843; John, born March 2, 1807, married Sarah 
 M. Abbe ; Sarah, born Jan. 14, 1810, married Helms 
 Terry; and Gilbert, born Nov. 16, 1812, married 
 Roxianna Abbe, and died in Worcester, Massa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 (HI) Horace McKnight was married Nov. 26, 
 1817, to Asenath Kimball, who was born Sept. 27, 
 1795, daughter of Daniel and Miriam (Allworth) 
 Kimball ; he died Dec. 27, 1856, she on Jan. 17, 
 
^ X^^i-tr^^'f^^^;^ ^/^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 43 
 
 1857, the parents of seven children, as follows: 
 Horace Kimball, born Oct. 20, 1818, died June i, 
 1828; Alanson Abbe, a farmer, born March 25, 
 1821, died Oct. 28, 1822; Henry, born Oct. 20, 1823, 
 married Levia P. Chapman, and died Dec. 5, 189O, 
 in Springfield, Mass. (he was a farmer) ; James 
 Dixcn was born Aug. 9, 1826 ; Louisa Asenath, born 
 Jan. 30, 1829, died iVlarch 10, 1832; Frances Ro- 
 selle, born Ma.v 14, 1832, married Joseph Woods, a 
 banker, and died July 17, 1865, in New Haven, 
 Conn. ; and Adrian Kimball, born Nov. 29, 1836, 
 died Oct. i, 1841. The father of this family 
 was a tavern-keeper at Enfield, also a farmer, and a 
 well-known teacher in Hartford county ; he was a 
 .Whig, and a representative in the State Legislature 
 from Ellington, Conn., one term, also serving as 
 selectman, justice of the peace, and school visitor, 
 for many years. He was a member of the Eccle- 
 siastical Society of the Congregational Church. 
 
 (IV) James Dixon McKnight, born Aug. 9, 
 1826, in Enfield, married Oct. 10, 1850, Mary Fi- 
 delia Thompson, who was born May 22, 1827, in 
 East Windsor, daughter of John and Ann (Ells- 
 worth) Thompson, and granddaughter of Ben- 
 jamin Ellsworth, a Revolutionary soldier, who was 
 present at the execution of Major Andre. John 
 Thompson, born in 1798, died in 1874; his wife, 
 born in 1800, died in 1833. Their children were : 
 Sabra Ann, born in 1824, who married Fitch 
 Stoughton, of Vernon ; Mary Fidelia, Mrs. Mc- 
 Knight; Julia Salina, born in 1829, who married 
 Newton Booth, of East Windsor ; Edwin Franklin, 
 born in 1831, who married a Miss Morrell ; Martha 
 Aurelia, born in 1833, who married Allen Pascoe, 
 of East Windsor; Sophronia, born in 1835; Emily 
 Eleanor, born in 1838, who married James B. Stiles, 
 of East Windsor; John, born in 1840; and Elizabeth 
 Mabel, born in 1842, who married a Mr. Newell. 
 Children were born to Mr. and Mrs. McKnight as 
 follows: Mary Louisa, born Aug. 31, 1852, married 
 George Booth, a farmer of Enfield (no children) ; 
 Everett James, our subject, sketch of whom follows ; 
 John Thompson, born May 29, i860, married Julia 
 Kimball, and has three children (he is city engineer 
 of Rockville) ; Nellie Elizabeth, born Sept. 29, 1863, 
 died Aug. 20, 1890, unmarried ; and Howard Horace, 
 born Aug. 13, 1865, is married and has four chil- 
 dren (he manages his father's farm). All the fam- 
 ily unite with the Congregational Church. 
 
 Dr. E. J. McKnight received his earlier educa- 
 tion at Hall's family school in his native town, El- 
 lington, Conn., and his preparation for college was 
 made at the Hopkins Grammar School, in New 
 Haven. From there he went to Yale, entering the 
 class of 1876, in which among others were Arthur 
 Twining Hadley, now president of Yale, William 
 Waldo Hyde and others. While in Yale Dr. Mc- 
 Knight took great interest in athletics, and during 
 his course had much to do with developing interest 
 in football, being one of its early advocates. He 
 was connected with the club in an official capacity 
 during almost his entire course, being: treasurer of 
 
 the organization in his sophomore \'ear, secretary in 
 his junior year, and president in his senior year, 
 personally making most of the arrangements for the 
 first game between Yale and Harvard. After his 
 graduation from the regular course at Yale our 
 subject took one year at Yale Medical School, and 
 then at once proceeded to New York in order to 
 further prepare himself for the medical profession. 
 After three years of hard painstaking study at the 
 College of Physicians and Surgeons he received his 
 degree of M. D., in 1879. At once locating at East 
 Hartford, he for fourteen and one-half years prac- 
 ticed his profession with much acceptance to the 
 people : indeed, it has been truthfully said of him that 
 his success was that of a painstaking physician, who 
 drew to himself the patronage of the very best fam- 
 ilies as well as that of the great masses of the com- 
 munity. His practice having increased so largely 
 in East Hartford, Dr. McKnight opened an office 
 in the Batterson building, on Asylum street, at the 
 corner of High street, Hartford. For several years 
 he remained in that location, and in July, 1897, he 
 came to his present quarters. No. no High street, 
 where he has a very convenient office. 
 
 On Feb. 8, 1881, Dr. JMcKnight was united in 
 marriage with Miss Aletha T. Lindsley, of New 
 Haven, Conn. They have one daughter, Rachel, 
 born Aug. 9, 1889. The Doctor has filled and is 
 now filling a large number of respons'ble profes- 
 sional positions in the societies and with railroads 
 and life insurance companies. He is a member of 
 the City, County and State Medical Societies. In 
 1898, by virtue of his long service as railroad sur- 
 geon for the New England Railroad Co.. he 'was 
 chosen a vice-president of the International Asso- 
 ciation of Railroad Surgeons. In 1899 he became 
 attached to the Hartford Hospital in the very re- 
 sponsible position of orthopedic surgeon, and was 
 later first assistant surgeon in that institution, of 
 which, on the death of Dr. M. Storres. June Q. 
 1900, he was appointed visiting surgeon. He is 
 also consulting surgeon to the Hartford Orphan 
 Asvlum. In November, 1899, our subject became 
 medical director of the Hartford Life Insurance 
 Co., under its new management, a position which 
 he fills with the utmost satisfaction to the company 
 and its policv holders. 
 
 Dr. McKnight represented the town of East 
 Hartford in the General Assembly during the ses- 
 sion of 1893, and was House chairman of the com- 
 mittee on Fisheries and of the committee on Public 
 Health. His professional cares of necessity restrict 
 him from actively participating in affairs of a po- 
 litical character, but he nevertheless has the welfare 
 of the city in mind. He is a man of social leanings, 
 but has been too busy to connect himself with any 
 secret organizations. 
 
 Dr. McKnight is a member of the Yale Akriini 
 Association of the city of Hartford, of the well- 
 known Colonial Club, and of the Twentieth Century 
 Club. He is a great admirer of the ceramic art, 
 and has one of the finest collections in the citv. 
 
u 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL- RECORD. 
 
 HON. ALFRED EDMUND BURR, the 
 founder of The Hartford Daily Times, and for 
 sixty years its editor and publislier, and in whose 
 death, on Jan. 8, 1900, Hartford lost one of its 
 foremost citizens, and the State and Nation one of 
 the forceful and most iniluential molders of public 
 oi)inion through the Press, had the distinction of 
 being the oldest editor in New England, if not in 
 the United States. 
 
 Born iMarch .27, 1815, in Hartford, son of 
 James and Lucretia (Olcott) Burr, the veteran edi- 
 tor was in the fullest sense a Hartford and Con- 
 necticut man, for three of his ancestors were orig- 
 inal proprietors of the town of Hartford some 200 
 and more years ago, and here have lived through 
 all of that period the direct line of his Burr ances- 
 tors. On his paternal side, Benjamin Burr, the 
 founder of the hlartford branch of the family, was 
 one of the founders of the city in 1635, and one of 
 the original proprietors in 1639, and from him 
 Editor Burr was a descendant in the fifth genera- 
 tion, his Kne being through Thomas, Thomas (2), 
 and James Burr. On his mother's side he was a 
 descendant in the seventh generation from Thomas 
 Olcott, one of the original proprietors of Hartford 
 in 1639, who was a merchant, and one of the found- 
 ers of the trade and commerce of the Colony of 
 Connecticut: for generations his descendants were 
 prominent and influential in Hartford. Editor 
 Burr's line from Thomas Olcott is through Samuel, 
 Thomas (2), Joseph, Joseph (2), and Lucretia 
 (Olcott) Burr. 
 
 James Burr, the father of Editor Burr, was 
 engaged in the East India trade near the close of 
 the eighteenth century, when two of his brigs were 
 captured by French privateers, and still another 
 was lost in a gale off the Barbadoes, and to meet 
 his obligations he sold a large and valuable tract 
 of land, upon which the central portion of the city 
 of Cleveland is now situated. This loss rendered 
 him financially unable to support his large family in 
 the manner he desired. 
 
 At the age 'of thirteen Alfred E. Burr entered 
 the employ of George Goodwin & Sons, then the 
 publishers of The Connecticut Cottrant. Young 
 Burr's capability was quickly recognized by the 
 Goodwins, and before he was twenty-one years of 
 age he filled the responsible position of foreman 
 in the office. In 1836 the proprietors of the Cour- 
 ant, who had become much attached to him, and 
 fully appreciated his ability and integrity, proposed 
 to sell him the paper on very unusual and favora- 
 ble terms, an offer that few young men without 
 means would have had the moral courage to decline. 
 The offer was coupled, however, with the condi- 
 tions that he should attend a certain denominational 
 church, and adopt the political faith upheld by the 
 paper. Both of the stipulations were distasteful 
 to Mr. Burr, and he was obliged to reject what 
 was intended as the kindliest of proposals. 
 
 The Hartford Times was then published as a 
 weekly and semi-weekh^ paper. Early in the year 
 
 1838 Jones & Watts, the publishers, failed in busi- 
 ness and suddenly left the city. Soon afterward 
 John M. Niles, Gideon Welles, and one or two 
 others, came into possession of the Times establish- 
 ment. They induced Henry A. Mitchell, then State's 
 attorney for Hartford county, to resign his office 
 and take charge of the Times. He became sole 
 proprietor in May of that year. In November, 
 1S38, Mr. Burr called at the Times office, and in- 
 quired of Mr. Mitchell if he would dispose of a 
 half-interest in the paper. He suggested to the 
 proprietor that the paper cculd be greatly im- 
 proved, mechanically at least, and reiferred to sev- 
 eral existing features in its publication which might 
 be advantageously changed. Gideon Welles was_ 
 present on that occasion, and it was then that he 
 and Mr. Burr formed an acquaintance which rip- 
 er.ed into a lifelong personal friendship. Mr. Welles 
 subsequently admitted to Mr. Burr that he had 
 urged Mr. Mitchell to sell him the half-interest. 
 During a later interview with Mr. Mitchell an agree- 
 ment was entered into, to take effect Jan. i, 1839, 
 at which time Mr. Burr took charge, osiensibly, of 
 the mechanical department of the Times, although, 
 during the following two years, he did considera- 
 ble editorial work, particularly in connection with 
 the news service. Near the close of the year 1840, 
 JNIr. Burr purchased the other half-interest of Mr. 
 JMitchell, and took full possession of the establish- 
 ment on Jan. i, 1841. On March 2, of that year, 
 he began the publication of the Daily Times, as a 
 morning paper. No prospectus ha.d been circulated, 
 but after a brief canvass three hundred subscribers 
 were obtained, and the new daily was issued. But 
 there was a demand for an evening paper, espe- 
 cially from the working men, and about two weeks 
 later Mr. Burr changed the morning to an evening 
 journal. In the course of a year the daily circula- 
 tion reached a thousand copies, and in two years 
 about two thousand. 
 
 Mr. Burr had no working capital at that time, 
 and no one to "back" him. He had given six per 
 cent, notes on purchasing the small plant, which 
 had grown steadily under his management, and it 
 required hard work and the strictest economy to 
 meet the current expenses and pay interest as it 
 became due. But his industry and indomitable will 
 prevailed, and he succeeded in making improve- 
 ments in the paper, and reducing his indebtedness 
 each year until he was clear of debt. His ambi- 
 tion was to make the Times the foremost paper in 
 the State. He spared neither labor nor expense in 
 pushing the paper ahead, often refusing nomina- 
 tions for the highest offices within the gift of the 
 people of the State, preferring to make his paper 
 successful rather than to accept political honors. 
 In lateir years his past labors upon the Times were 
 justly rewarded. The following is extracted from 
 the issue of the Times on the morning of Mr. 
 Burr's death: 
 
 His relations were close with the Democratic leaders of 
 Connecticut during the early years of the daily issue of this 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 45 
 
 paper. His duties brought him in close association with 
 John M. Niles, Gideon Welles, Loren T. Pease, and Thomas 
 H. Seymour. The value of the daily presence of such men 
 at the Tunes office was very great to the young editor, wlio 
 was quietly developing mto a persuasive and influential 
 writer, while maintainmg his close relations with them. 
 These men there discussed the leading questions of the day, 
 and other questions of a world-wide interest. Young Burr 
 had the benefit of almost daily discussions of political ques- 
 tions by those men of strong intellects and firm convictions. 
 It was a rare and peculiar school, and, in the language of 
 Mr. Burr, himself, we "doubt whether any other young man of 
 that day, beginning a career of journalism, had the benefit 
 of a school at all approaching its wide scope of knowledge 
 and clear-headtd grasp of the bread principles of Democ- 
 racy, and the distinction in the intricate political machinery 
 of tlie State and Federal Governments upon which our 
 republic was founded." 
 
 It was under such inspiration as this that Mr. Burr's 
 style as a political writer was formed, and for more than 
 forty-five years nearly everything relating to politics. Na- 
 tional and State, that appeared in the Times came from his 
 hand. He believed the best way to inculcate ideas and 
 principles was for men to meet each other. Hence he was 
 not a polemical writer, and he never issued his editorial 
 projectiles over the heads of those whom he addressed. He 
 neither assumed a lofty intellectual superiority to the men 
 who bought his newspaper from day to day. nor did he make 
 the error of assuming that their stock of ideas was greater 
 than it really was. He wrote and spoke as a plain American 
 man and addressing plain American men, and he early 
 acquired the habit of lucid and terse statement which made 
 the happiest impressions upon the minds of his daily read- 
 ers. In the sharp political controversies which rose prior to 
 and during the Civil war much incisive, biting give-and-take 
 was inevitable, yet bitter antagonisms, even with political 
 opponents, were never to his liking, and he rarely indulged 
 in those acrid personalities which made the columns of the 
 political newspapers in New York such reservoirs of Billings- 
 gate, when Webb, Greeley, Raymond, the elder Bennett, 
 Hugh Hastings, and others of their day, set the pace 
 in the political journalism of the metropolis. Mr. Burr 
 made the Times a Democratic newspaper of the most stead- 
 fast and rock-bound quality, and, standing on that ground, he 
 adhered firmly to his principles when the organization was 
 threatened with disruption by unwise leadership. With all 
 his might he opposed the movement to repeal the Missouri 
 Compromise, and when that unfortunate act led on to the 
 fatal schism of 1860 he stood with the supporters of Breck- 
 enridge and the South, against Stephen A. Douglas and the 
 doctrines of squatter soverei. nty, and was most influential 
 in the large vote Connecticut cast for Breckenridge, as com- 
 pared with other New England States. He believed that 
 the war which broke out in 1861 had been needlessly forced 
 upon the country, and that it might have been averted by a 
 wise spirit of conservatism and adherence to Democratic 
 principles, and so did not swerve from his consistent course, 
 and when another four years rolled around nearly 49 per 
 cent, of the total vote of Connecticut supported the policy 
 advocated by the Times. He stood in the storms of those 
 days like adamant for what he believed to be sound and 
 conservative principles in government, and there is proba- 
 bly no man to-day who will dare to say that his motives at 
 that time were not as pure and as patriotic as when, over 
 thirty years afterward, in the campaign of 1896, the Time.^, 
 with his entire acquiescence, repudiated the heresies which 
 Populists, disguised as Democrats, had thrust into the party 
 platform, and aided with all its influence in defeating the 
 candidate for the Presidency, whose election would have 
 aimed a death-blow at the public credit. 
 
 From the time when Mr. Burr first made the Times'" 
 influence felt as a political newspaper in Connecticut his 
 relation to the organization of the party became an intimate 
 one, and his activity in party work during political cam- 
 paigns was second to that of no other man in the Demo- 
 cratic ranks. For many years no Democratic platform was 
 adopted in Connecticut which was not wholly or in part 
 prepared by him. In campaign after campaign he raised 
 all money that was obtained for party work, never failing 
 himself to be a large contributor. 
 
 Air. IJurr was repeatedly a delegate to Xatioiial 
 Democratic conventions, and on those occasions his 
 influence was not small. In the campaign of 1876 
 he came into intimate relations with Hon. Samuel 
 J. Tilden, and in the election that followed the 
 State of Connecticut was carried for that gentle- 
 man by a plurality of 2,900 over Hayes, and a ma- 
 jority of 1,712 over all. He was a delegate to the 
 convention held at Cincinnati, in 1880, and eight 
 years later was a member of the committee on 
 Resolutions at the Democratic National convention 
 which met at St. Louis and renominated Grover 
 Cleveland, and it was under Mr. Burr"s leadership 
 that the platform reported to the committee de- 
 clared for a "fair and careful revision of our tax 
 laws, with due allowance for the better wages of 
 American and foreign labor." Throughout his 
 whole career Mr. Burr neglected no opportunity 
 to maintain the need of guarding the interests of 
 the laboring man in the framing of tariff laws, and 
 it was his care for the wage earner's interest which 
 contributed in no small degree to the maintenance 
 of the numerical strength in Connecticut. He was 
 never at any time a seeker for political office. Na- 
 tional, State or local, yet he served with great fidel- 
 ity two terms in the Connecticut Legislature, being 
 appointed chairman of the committee on Education, 
 by a Republican speaker. 
 
 Mr. Burr early saw the importance of new 
 manufacturing enterprises to the growth of Hart- 
 ford and the Times, and no man was more active 
 than he in seeking to enlarge the opportunities for 
 highly paid labor in Hartford. He took an active 
 part in aiding Col. Colt in establishing his great 
 plant. He was a member and chairman of the com- 
 missions in 1873 which built the State Capitol, and 
 the enormous work was carried on without exceed- 
 ing the appropriation, and to the accomplishment 
 of this end much wa3 due to his good management 
 and unflinching firmness and vigilance. Again, he 
 was useful to tlie public service as chairman of the 
 committee to sell Hartford's old town farm prop- 
 erty in such a manner as to yield a handsome sum 
 to the city. He was ever a friend and influential 
 supporter' of the Hartford Public High School, 
 and did much to help it when there was great op- 
 position to its plans. He was largely instrumental 
 m carrying through the scheme for Bushnell Park, 
 which was also bitterly opposed. He saw the pos- 
 sibilities of that waste spot and backed the project. 
 He was an original member of the street board of 
 Hartford, appointed in 1872, and served thereon 
 until 1876. To him also is due a large share of 
 the credit for the establishment of the \\'est Hart- 
 ford reservoir svstem. He saw more clearly than 
 others at that time the need of a supply superior 
 to that of the Connecticut river, which even then 
 was contaminated. He was a member of the State 
 board of health from 1877 to 1893, and its presi- 
 dent from 1885. He was a member of the board 
 of pardons from 1883 to 1897. 
 
 As appropriate at this place is given the reso- 
 
40 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lution adopted at a meeting of the Hartford Busi- 
 ness Men's Association at the time of Mr. Burr's 
 death : 
 
 He was recognized for more than half a century as an 
 active promoter, by pen and word, of every enterprise for 
 the welfare and advancement of his native city. He gave 
 his valuable aid in making Hartford the important business 
 center that it is to-day, and he was always toremost by his 
 personal labor and example in forwarding the growth of the 
 city as a municipality and the benefits as individuals. His 
 active participation in many large enterprises, and his con- 
 nection with some of the city's greatest banking, insurance 
 and manufacturing corporations, gave him a close insight 
 into the business life and needs of Hartford, and, knowing 
 them, he was earnest in his labors for the advancement of the 
 people, alike by aid from his private means and the pub- 
 licity and encouragement given in the columns of the news- 
 paper he controlled. 
 
 i\Ir. Burr was active from the outset in the 
 Good Will Club, an organization of boys for their 
 ■advancement and own good, and was instrumental 
 in securing for them the building they occupy, and 
 he was president of the club from its organization, 
 in i8S8, until his death. Air. Burr was always 
 ready to assist any public enterprise that promised 
 well for the people, either by co-operation or money. 
 For a long term of years he was trustee of Unity 
 Church, rie was president of and director in a 
 number of business corporations, among them the 
 Dime Savings Bank, the charter for which he was 
 active in securing in 1870 (he became its first and 
 only presiaent up to the time of his death) ; Spring 
 Grove Cemetery Association ; and the ConnectictU 
 Fire Insurance Co., in which he was a director for 
 nearly thirty years. Mr. Burr was the oldest pol- 
 icy holder in the Connecticut ^Mutual Life Insur- 
 ance Co., his policy being one of the first issued 
 when the company began business, in 1846. 
 
 Through all the long years of Mr. Bttrr's busi- 
 ness career his only business partner in the Times 
 was his brother Franklin L. Burr. 
 
 Some years ago Alfred E. Burr purchased the 
 interest of his brother, who came into the business 
 in 1854, and at the time of the former's withdrawal 
 from the management of the Times he made a 
 deed of the entire establishment to his son, W. O. 
 Burr, who has since been the responsible and actual 
 director of the affairs of the paper. 
 
 A lovelier, kinder, more unselfish and nobler 
 nature has seldom been developed on earth than 
 that of the late Alfred Edmund Burr. Those 
 who knew him best have felt most keenly his loss. 
 At the time of his death all of the corporations 
 with which he was connected and many other or- 
 ganizations in Hartford passed the most praise- 
 worthy resolutions, and in the leading papers of the 
 country appeared editorials setting forth his re- 
 markable personality, high character, influence, and 
 the power he exerted during his long, busy and 
 useful life. 
 
 On April 18, 1841, Mr. Burr was married to 
 Sarah A., daughter of Abner Booth, of Meriden, 
 Conn., and of their three children Edmund L. died 
 ■when three years of age; William Olcott Burr is 
 
 a resident of Hartford, and referred to above ; and 
 Sarah E. is the wife of Dr. James McManus, of 
 Hartford. The mother still survives. 
 
 It is appropriate in this article to refer to Frank- 
 lin L. Burr, who for so many years was associated 
 with his brother in the conduct of the Times, who 
 in his unselfish nature and great good heart never 
 failed to accord due praise for his invaluable ser- 
 vices in the editorial department, and to claim 
 that much of the success of the Times was due to 
 his vigorous and facile pen. The younger brother, 
 Franklin L. Burr, was born Dec. 9, 1827, in Hart- 
 ford, and learned the printer's trade in the Times 
 office, in 1853 he took a position in the office of 
 the solicitor ot the Treasury in Washington, D. C, 
 but after a period returned to Hartford to assist 
 in the editorial department of the Times. He be- 
 came a partner in the business, as referred to in the 
 foregoing. He was enthusiastic in the pursuit of 
 his profession, and his articles along the lines of 
 natural science and astronomy and geology at- 
 tracted much attention, and his reviews of books 
 were long a feature of the paper. The poet Ten- 
 nyson on one occasion wrote him a special letter of 
 thanks for one of his reviews of the poet's works, 
 and complimented him by saying it stood among 
 the best that had been written, on either side of 
 the Atlantic. 
 
 In 1853 Franklin L. liurr was married to Liz- 
 zie Merrow, of Manchester, Conn., and to the union 
 came children as follows : Mary, Frederick W. 
 and Emily, the latter dying when twenty-three, 
 and Frederick when twenty-one. 
 
 Mr. Burr passed away Feb. 5, 1901. One sis- 
 er, Frances E. Burr, who all through life made her 
 home with Alfred E., is now the only survivor of 
 fourteen children — seven boys and seven girls. 
 
 FREDERICK E. BISSELL. The Bissell home- 
 stead in the town of East Windsor has been held in 
 the family name from an early day, having been 
 built just prior to the Revolutionary war, and three 
 generations of the family were born in the same 
 room. Our subject's grandfather was born on the 
 farm, but in another house, and he built the one that 
 is still standing. Four generations have thus been 
 born on the farm. 
 
 Capt. Hezekiah Bissell, the grandfather of our 
 subject, was born and reared on the old farm, and 
 the residence built by him was regarded as a fine 
 building in its day. He was a man of ability aftd in- 
 fluence, and during the Revolutionary war he served 
 as captain of a company which he had assisted in 
 raising. He died at the homestead in 1828, in his 
 ninety-fifth year. 
 
 Hezekiah Bissell (2), our subject's father, was 
 born in the house mentioned above, and resided 
 there throughout his life. He died July 5, 1872, in 
 his eightieth year, and his wife, who&e maiden name 
 was Elizabeth Ellsworth, died Dec. 30, 1871, at the 
 same age. They had six children : Elizabeth E., 
 deceased; Cornelia M., now the wife of Capt 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 47 
 
 Charles Talcott, of Glastonbury; Hezekiah F., de- 
 ceased ; Mary, who ilied in inlancy ; Frederick E., 
 our subject; and Carlos F., deceased. 
 
 Frederick E. Bissell was bom Oct. 15, 1833, in 
 the house built by his grandfather, and grew to 
 manhood at the homestead, becoming familiar with 
 all the details of agricultural work. In 1865 he 
 built a new house, also making other improvements 
 upon the farm, and he now has about fifty acres 
 under cultivation. As a general farmer he is suc- 
 cessful, .and for some years he has been engaged 
 also in tobacco growing and in the dairy business. 
 As a good citizen he takes an active interest in local 
 affairs being one of the leading advisers in the Re- 
 publican organization. Since 1890 he has served as 
 justice of the peace, with credit to himself and sat- 
 isfaction to his fellow citizens. He is a prominent 
 worker in the local Grange, in which he has been 
 gatekeeper, and is now steward, and he and his esti- 
 mable wife are leading members of the Congrega- 
 tional Church at East Windsor. 
 
 On Nov. 17, 1857, Mr. Bissell married Miss 
 Charlotte De.xter, daughter of Edward Dexter, a 
 highly esteemed resident of Broad Brook, and two 
 children have blessed the union: (i) Willie F., a 
 progressive and enterprising agriculturist, resides 
 at the homestead, and relieves his father of the act- 
 ive management and oversight of the farm. (2) 
 Ellen E. married Frank Winn, of Rocky Hill, this 
 count}'. 
 
 CHARLES S. STERN, A. B., M. D., a success- 
 ful physician and surgeon of Hartford, was born 
 July 25, 1868, in Springfield, Mass., of German 
 ancestry. 
 
 The Doctor's great-grandfather, Solomon Stern, 
 born in 1764, settled in Hartford about 1840, with 
 his son Moses, and died there in i860, at the age 
 of ninety-six. Although a weaver by trade, he did 
 not engage in active business after his arrival, as 
 he was already well advanced in years. By his 
 first wife, Julia, he had the following children : 
 Ascher, Aaron, Moses, Myer (a merchant of Hart- 
 ford, and a member of the common council of the 
 city in 1864) and Brina. By his second wife, 
 Yetta, he had Levi, a jeweler and merchant; 
 a daughter, Bienschen ; and Abraham, a prominent 
 merchant of Hartford, who died in 1885. 
 
 Moses Stern was born April 16, 1810, in Hesse, 
 Germany, and died Feb. 7, 1886. By occupation 
 he was a weaver, and he also carried on a small 
 farm. He married Taubschen Bloch, and had nine 
 children : Jacob is mentioned Iselow : Threasa mar- 
 ried Bernard Goodkind ; Julia married Abram 
 Strasburger ; Hannah married Solomon Lorsch ; 
 Jennie married Abram Danzig ; Bertha died aged 
 seventeen or eighteen ; Daniel M. is a wholesale 
 liquor dealer in New York City ; Max D. was a 
 successful business man of New York, and died 
 July 3, 1898: and Ella married Abram Adler, of 
 Rochester, New York. 
 
 Jacob Stern, our suljject's father, was Ijorn in 
 1838, in Hanover, Germany, and came to this coun- 
 try in childhood. When a young man he engaged 
 in the dry-goods business in Springfield, and about 
 1880 he became a traveling salesman for his brothers 
 in New York City, then enjoying a large and pros- 
 perous business. His route covered many sections 
 of New England, and he also had a large trade 
 in New York City and its adjacent towns. During 
 his long connection with the firm, lasting until his 
 death, on F"eb. 9, 1897, his fidelity and integrity 
 were of the highest standard. In politics he was a 
 Democrat, and he took an active interest in military 
 affairs as a member of the first company. Gov- 
 ernor's Foot Guard, being a veteran member at 
 the time of his death. He married Miss Rosa 
 Mayer, who was born in Landau, Bavaria, Ger- 
 many, daughter of Isaac iMayer, and granddaugh- 
 ter of Mayer Halevy. The family was from the 
 province of Alsace-Lorraine, and before coming to 
 the United States Isaac Mayer was a wealthy and 
 prominent banker in that section ; but the revolu- 
 tion in Germany, in 1848, caused him to emigrate 
 to this country. Isaac Mayer married Bella ]\Iass, 
 from Frankfort-on-the-i\Iain, a member of one of 
 the aristocratic or noble families of that section, 
 and the great banker, Chevalier Adolph Bingen, 
 who was knighted by the King of Italy, was her 
 nephew. After coming to this country Isaac ilayer, 
 who was very learned, and a scholar of excep- 
 tionally brilliant attainments in philosophy and the 
 Hebrew law, became a rabbi. He first had a con- 
 gregation in Cincinnati, Ohio, and while there, with 
 the assistance of Dr. Wise, inaugurated the modern 
 reform in the Jewish worship. Later he officiated 
 as rabbi in Rochester, N. Y., and Hartford, Conn., 
 where he was much sought for by scholars of all 
 religions, who appreciated his deep and accurate 
 knowledge of matters which could not be found in 
 books. His later years were spent in New York, 
 where he died Dec. 31, 1897, at the age of eighty- 
 nine years. 
 
 Jacob Stern and his wife had six children : 
 Clotilda married Julius Lewy, of New York ; Mon- 
 roe died aged fourteen years ; Charles Seymour 
 is mentioned below ; Ethel B. married Arnold Le 
 Witter, of New York; Nathan M. is in business 
 in New York City, and Winfred ^l. is a stu- 
 dent. 
 
 Dr. Charles S. Stern attended the public schools 
 of Hartford in boyhood, graduating from the West 
 jMiddle School in 1881. at the age of twelve years 
 and nine months. In 1883, at the end of his second 
 year in the high school, he went to New York 
 with his parents. The following year he entered 
 the College of the City of New York, where the 
 degree of A. B. was conferred upon him in 1888. 
 In this course he had given special attention to 
 studies which would assist him in his chosen pro- 
 fession, and in the fall of 1888 he entered Bellevue 
 Hospital ^Medical College, of New York City. As 
 
48 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 an under-graduate he did much practical work in 
 the Charity' Hospital and Ait. Sinai Hospital, and 
 after graduation was connected with the stall of 
 the Gouverneur Hospital and the German Hos- 
 pital of New York City. In 1893 he engaged in 
 general practice in the city, where for some time 
 he was an inspector in the health department, hav- 
 ing passed the civil service examination. Early in 
 1894 he opened an office in Hartford, where he 
 has built up an extensive practice, his specialty be- 
 ing genito-urinary diseases ; he has charge of the 
 genito-urinary department at the Hartford Dis- 
 pensary. From 1896 to 1898 he was city physi- 
 cian under appointment of the commissioners of 
 charity ; he is one of the police surgeons of the city, 
 is medical inspector for the Board of Health, and 
 he is an active member of the City, County and 
 State Medical Societies. During the war with 
 Spain he was an officer in the Medical Depart- 
 ment, United States Army, and was ordered to 
 Chickamauga Park with the 1st Corps, where he 
 did duty as executive officer of the 1st Division 
 Hospital, and later as acting assistant quarter- 
 master of the 3d Division Hospital. From there he 
 was ordered to Porto Rico, but an illness — typhoid 
 fever, contracted at Chickamauga — of two months 
 prevented him from going until December. He 
 spent four months as post surgeon at San German, 
 Porto Rico, and after a six-months stay on the 
 island left the service, July 10, 1899, resuming his 
 practice in Hartford in September of that year. 
 The Doctor is fond of athletics and music, and is 
 prominent socially as a member of the Hartford 
 Philharmonic Orchestra; of St. John's Lodge, No. 
 4, F. & A. M. ; Hartford Lodge, No. 88, L O. O. 
 F. ; and Midian Encampment, No. 7. In politics 
 he is an independent. He is an active member of 
 the First Company, Governor's Foot Guard, and a 
 member of the Veteran Association of Company 
 K, 1st Conn. V. L, of the Spanish-American 
 war. 
 
 GEORGE LEWIS CHASE, of Hartford, who 
 for a third of a century has been the executive head 
 of the Hartford Fire Insurance Co., one of the 
 leading insurance companies not only of the United 
 States, 'but of the world, and who since boyhood — • 
 for fifty and more years, with the exception of a 
 short interval — has been identified with underwrit- 
 ing, is known throughout the insurance world as an 
 authority in all matters pertaining to the busi- 
 ness. 
 
 Mr. Chase was born Jan. 13, 1828, in the town of 
 Millbury, Worcester Co., Mass., son of Paul Gush- 
 ing and Sarah (Pierce) Chase, and is descended 
 from Aquila Chase, who was also the emigrant an- 
 cestor of the late Hon. Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio, 
 chief justice of the United States. Aquila Chase, 
 born in 1618, was in the fourth generation from 
 Thomas Chase, of Hundrich, Parish of Chesham, 
 England, through Richard and Aquila Chase, Sr. 
 
 Coffin's history of Newbury refers to Aquila (2) 
 as of Cornwall, while George B. Chase, the com- 
 piler of a small work on the Chase genealogy, clearly 
 to himself locates him in Chesham. But in either 
 case he was one of the first settlers and grantees of 
 Hampden, Mass., in 1639 or 1640, and later, in 1646, 
 a settler at Newbury. He married Ann, daughter 
 of John Wheeler of Salisbury, England. Aquila 
 Chase died in 1670. From this first American an- 
 cestor President Chase, of Hartford, is a descendant, 
 in the eighth generation, his line being through 
 Moses, Daniel, jJaniel {2) Paul, Joshua and Paul 
 Gushing. 
 
 Paul Gushing Chase, son of Joshua, was born 
 March 6, 1790, married Dec. 19, 1819, Sarah Pierce, 
 daugher ot Aaron and Hannah Pierce. 
 
 George L. Chase, the subject proper of this re- 
 view, attended the old Millbury Academy, receiv- 
 ing a good English education, and when nineteen 
 began his business career as the agent of the Farm- 
 ers Mutual Fire Insurance Co., of Georgetovvn,, 
 Mass., of which he was subsequently elected a mem- 
 ber of the board of directors. Young Chase had 
 shown himself of good material, a man of quality, 
 effort and energy, and speedily became an efficient 
 canvasser, operating at first through southern Mass- 
 achusetts and eastern Connecticut, and within a 
 short time his agency included four companies trans- 
 acting business on the mutual plan, one of which, 
 the Holyoke Mutual of Salem, is still engaged in 
 successful operations. In 1848 Mr. Chase was ap- 
 pointed traveling agent for the People's Insurance 
 Co., of Worcester, and retained the position until 
 1852, giving great satisfaction. From 1852 until 
 1856 his attention was given to the business of rail- 
 roading. Having in the former year been appointed 
 assistant superintendent of the Central Ohio Rail- 
 way Co., he removed to Ohio, caught hold of the 
 snap, hurry and push there, -exhibited by the then 
 considered Westerners, soon got into the current, 
 and became at home among them. The same c|uali- 
 ties that he had exhibited in his insurance experience 
 brought him deserved recognition and reward in 
 his new field of operations, and he was advanced to 
 the office of general superintendent of the road. 
 He was one of the first representatives who organ- 
 ized the first association of railroad superintendents 
 in the United States, the meeting for the purpose 
 being held at Columbus, Ohio, in 1853. In i860 Mr. 
 Chase resumed the fire insurance business, accept- 
 ing the Western general agency of the New England 
 Fire Insurance Co., of Hartford, a position he held 
 until 1863, in which period he did much effective 
 work in the. line of supervision that brought in- 
 creased business to the company. In 1863 he ac- 
 cepted the appointment of assistant Western gen- 
 eral agent of the Hartford Fire Insurance Co., and 
 here, as in all previous positions he had occupied, 
 Mr. Chase displayed ability of the highest order, 
 attracting from the outset the attention and ap- 
 proval of the board of directors. In 1867 the presi- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 49 
 
 dency of the company was placed at his acceptance, 
 the duties and responsibihties of which hj assumed 
 in June of that year, succeeding in that high office 
 Timothy C. Allyn. And from that time on, through 
 all of the intervening' period of thirty-four years, 
 his management of the company's business and in- 
 terests has been matchless in character, placing him 
 in the foremost rank of fire insurance representa- 
 tives. 
 
 It is not within the province of this article to 
 go into and follow the history of the Hartford Fire, 
 one of the oldest and most successful insurance in- 
 stitutions in the United State ; suffice it to say that it 
 has now a capital of one and one-quarter millions, and 
 in addition to this great sum it has total assets of ii,- 
 180,000, a mighty reserve against which to draw if 
 ever the occasion arises. Ihe net surplus is over 
 $4,458,000, all of which makes the company one of 
 the strongest in the world. The Hartford began 
 its career in the field of underwriting in 1810, a 
 career that has been one unbroken success from that 
 day to this, its charter then authorizing a capital of 
 $150,000. In its business life of ninety years the 
 company has had only five presidents, including the 
 present incumbent, who has exceeded all of them 
 in his length of service, and in this long official 
 period of thirty-four years he has administered the 
 affairs of his office with peculiar acceptance to the 
 directors, the stockholders, and those who have been 
 fortunate enough to hold policies in this great cor- 
 poration. The company has always been in the 
 hands of men who stood high in the confidence of 
 the community. There is hardly a name in the long 
 list of directors which is not known to every one 
 familiar with the business life of Hartford, and the 
 company's prosperity has rested and now rests on 
 the character of its managers. 
 
 When Mr. Chase came to the presidency of the 
 Hartford, the office of the Company was on Main 
 street, and was in very limited quarters. At Mr. 
 Chase's suggestion, the Board of Directors decided 
 to build an office of their own, and purchased a lot 
 on the corner of Trumbull and Pearl streets, on 
 which, under Mr. Chase's supervision, was erected 
 a very handsome, granite building. The new office 
 was finished and occupied by the Company in 1870. 
 Its appointments were up to the times, and every ar- 
 rangement , was made for conducting their large 
 business in an economical and systematic manner. 
 This gave the Hartford the most commodious quar- 
 ters of any insurance company in the city at that 
 time. 
 
 In 1897 the Companv's business had outgrown its 
 accommodations, and the directors decided to enlarge 
 the office building which was done bv the erection 
 of an addition, which gave the Company more than 
 double the room they had before. The business, in 
 the mean time, however, had increased more than 
 fivefold. Their new office is of the most approved 
 type with all the modern improvements for the trans- 
 action of business. 
 
 President Chase was the first to suggest the use 
 
 of the telephone for comnumication between the 
 Hartford, .Etna and Phcenix offices, and, in coiniec- 
 tion with Presidents Hendee and Kellogg, communi- 
 cation was arranged between these tiiree offices 
 by means of telephone wires, and, although the serv- 
 ice was of necessity somewhat imperfect, yet it was 
 found to be a great advantage in comnuniicating 
 between these three offices. Mr. Chase now has in 
 his office the first instrument of this kind, which is 
 a very crude affair. This was the introduction of 
 telephone service in the City of Hartford. Air. 
 Chase was also the first to employ stenographic and 
 typewriter service in the Inisiness. The Hartford 
 have always availed themselves of the best facil- 
 ities that could be secured for the transactimi of 
 their large business. 
 
 The standing of President Chase as an insurance 
 manager was recognized from the very outset by 
 his associates and competitors in the business. In 
 1876 he was elected president of the National 
 Board of Fire Underwriters, and has since served 
 the board as chairman of the committee on Legis- 
 lation and Taxation, in all respects the most import- 
 ant committeeship in the organization. His connec- 
 tion with the national board has been one of com- 
 manding influence and leadership. He is a member 
 of the board of trustees, and one of the vice-pres- 
 idents, of the Society for Savings in Hartford, 
 which is the largest savings bank in the State, and 
 is also a trustee of the Connecticut Trust & Safe 
 Deposit Co., and a director in the American National 
 Bank. Mr. Chase is a leading member of the Hart- 
 ford Board of Trade, and is thoroughly interested 
 in the industrial development and prosperity of the 
 city of which he is so prominent and influential a 
 citizen. 
 
 President Chase has been several times the recip- 
 ient at the hands of his co-workers and friends of 
 handsome gifts. In 1892, on the twenty-fifth anni- 
 versary of his presidency of the Hartford Fire In- 
 surance Co., he was given a silver loving-cup bv his 
 local co-workers, as a testimonial of their admiration 
 and love for him. And again, in June, 1898, the 
 general and special agents of the company, located 
 in various cities throughout the United States, pre- 
 sented him with a $1,000 Jurgensen watch, which 
 is one of the handsomest timepieces that has been 
 manufactured, striking the hours, halves and 
 quarters. 
 
 President Chase's religious connections are with 
 the Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hart- 
 ford, and he has five times been chosen president of 
 the Connecticut Congregational Club, the most im- 
 portant organization connected with the Congre- 
 gational Churches in the State, and wielding the 
 most extended influence. 
 
 On Jan. 8, 1851, Mr. Chase was married to 
 Aliss Calista M. Taft, daughter of Judson Taft. and 
 the union was blessed with three children— one son 
 and two daughters. The former, Charles E. Chase. 
 is the efficient assistant secretary of the company of 
 which his father is president. Fie married Miss 
 
50 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Helen S. Bourse, and they have one daughter. Pres- 
 ident Chase's younger daughter died in 1866. The 
 elder was married, in 1874, to Charles H. Longly, 
 and died in 1893. 
 
 ROSWELL J. CLAPP, successor to Clapp & 
 Son, the well-kuown iron* and steel merchants of 
 Hartford, was born in Hartford June 10, 1871. 
 He comes of a long line of ancestry, and in his 
 office, handsomely framed, is a genealogical chart 
 of the family, giving all the facts connected with 
 them, from the first settler, Rodger, down to 1873. 
 It is a complete and authentic record of the family, 
 and one of which any man might be justly, proud. 
 This chart was prepared by a member of the Clapp 
 family, being done with a steel pen, and is a mar- 
 velous piece of penmanship. 
 
 Rodger Clapp, the pioneer, was born in Devon- 
 shire, England, in 1609, son of Richard Clapp, 
 and came to Dorchester, Mass. Preserved Clapp, 
 son of Rodger, was born in Dorchester in 1643. 
 Thomas Clapp, the next in the line of descent, set- 
 tled in Hartford at an early date. Elijah Clapp, 
 son of Thomas, was born in Hartford. Norman 
 Clapp, of Hartford, was our subject's great-great- 
 grandfather : his great - grandfather was John 
 Clapp, and his grandfather Daniel Clapp. 
 
 Gen. John B. Clapp, our subject's father, was 
 born July 4, 1842, in the town of Wethersfield, and 
 received a common-school and academic educa- 
 tion. He enlisted in the i6th Conn. V. I. July 21, 
 .1862, entering the company of Capt. Henry L. 
 Pasco, of that command. Capt. William H. Lock- 
 wood, of Hartford, was the first lieutenant, and 
 Charles A. Tennant, who was fatally wounded on 
 the Nansemond Alay 3, 1863, was the second lieu- 
 tenant of the company. Gen. Clapp was with the 
 regiment at Antietam Sept. 17, 1862, and displayed 
 marked gallantry on the field. He was at once 
 advanced to the first lieutenancy of Company D, 
 his commission dating from the day of the battle. 
 He received the appointment of adjutant Jan. 9, 
 1863, and at the siege of Plymouth, April 20, 1864, 
 received the brevet rank of captain for gallant and 
 meritorious conduct. The capture of the i6th 
 Regiment at Plymouth resulted in his being im- 
 prisoned by the Rebels for nearly one year, the 
 time being spent at Macon, Savannah, Charleston 
 and Columbia. In March, 1865, he was released 
 on parole at Wilmington, N. C, and he soon after- 
 ward became post adjutant und'er Gen. F. D. Sew- 
 all, at Camp Parole, Annapolis, Md. The war 
 record of Gen. Clapp was an honorable one in all 
 respects. His courage in the field was unques- 
 tioned, and actuated by patriotic impulses he gave 
 himself entirely to the cause which he had espoused. 
 
 After returning from the war the General was 
 appointed to the captaincy of Company F, of Weth- 
 ersfield, 1st .Regiment, and held the position until 
 he was appointed assistant adjutant-general on the 
 staff of Gen. C. H. Prentice, of the ist Brigade. 
 Subsequently he resumed the command of Com- 
 
 pany F. In 1873 he was promoted to lieutenant- 
 colonel of the regiment, and in 1874 became colo- 
 nel, which latter position he retained until 1876. 
 He was appointed brigade inspector in 1878, on 
 the staff of Gen. Stephen R.* Smith. Gen. Charles 
 P. Graham, who succeeded Gen. Smith, renewed 
 the appointment, which was retained by Gen. Clapp 
 until his promotion to the staff of Gov. P. C. Louns- 
 bury as commissary-general. Gen. Clapp was a 
 member of the Veteran City Guard of Hartford, 
 and had been the commandant of the organization. 
 At the time of his death he was a member of the 
 1st Company, Governor's Horse Guard, Hartford, 
 holding the position of adjutant. 
 
 Gen. Clapp served three years in the court of 
 common council in- Hartford, representing the old 
 Second ward. He was a member of the board of 
 fire commissioners nine years, and a member of 
 the commission under the direction of which the 
 Memorial Arch in Bushnell Park was erected. He 
 was also a member of the Camp Field Monument 
 Association, representing, with Col. Frank W. 
 Cheney, the i6th Connecticut in that body. He 
 belonged to the Army and Navy Club of Connecti- 
 cut, to the Society of the Army of the Potomac, 
 and was also a member of Robert O. Tyler Post, 
 G. A. R. Gen. Clapp was the life secretary of the 
 1 6th Regiment Association. In January, 1899, he 
 was elected secretary of the Connecticut Secre- 
 tai-ies' Association, succeeding Judge E. E. Mar- 
 vin, clerk of the United States Court. Gen. Clapp 
 was identified with the Union Prisoners Associa- 
 tion in the State, and was one of the most popular 
 veterans of the Civil war in this section of Con- 
 necticut. He was commandant and foremost in 
 the organization of the Buck Engineer Corps, dur- 
 ing the two campaigns which resulted in the elec- 
 tion of the Hon. John R. Buck to Congress from 
 this district. 
 
 The Masonic career of Gen. Clapp was one of 
 singular interest. He was a member of St. John's 
 Lodge, and received the degree of Knighthood in 
 Washington Commandery, Knights Templar, Nov. 
 10, 1868, being knighted by Gov. Thomas H. Sey- 
 mour; ex-Mayor John G. Root was generalissimo 
 of the commandery at that time. He first became 
 captain-general of the commandery in 1878, and 
 held this position under different eminent com- 
 manders, including two terms under Watson H. 
 Bliss, until 1893, when he started on an unbroken 
 period of service in the office, holdine it up to the 
 hour of his death. He was the recipient of a 
 Knight Templar sword from the commandery in 
 November, 1897, the event being one of excep- 
 tional interest in the order in the city. He was a 
 brilliant officer in the commandery, and won the 
 admiration of his associates, wherever the organi- 
 zation appeared in a public capacity. 
 
 From 1868 Gen. Clapp was engaged in the iron 
 ti-ade, from 1868 until 1880 as a member of the 
 firm of Blodgett & Clapp. In 1880 the Blodgett 
 & Clapp corporation was organized, the partnership 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 51 
 
 being dissolved, and he became secretary and man- 
 ager. In recent years he carried on business un- 
 der the firm name of John ii. Clapp & Son, his 
 only son, Roswell J. Clapp, being identified with 
 iiini. 
 
 Gen. Clapp was married Sept. 17, 1867, to Miss 
 Leila F. Blodgett, of Hartford, daughter ot Kos- 
 well Blodgett, and the wedding took place on the 
 anniversary of the battle of Antietam. The ser- 
 vices were conducted by Rev. William S. Colton, 
 23astor of the Congregational Church in Washing- 
 ton, but the General s pastor in the Wethersfield 
 Church. Mrs. Clapp died at Madison in May, 
 1893. 
 
 Gen. Clapp became a member of the Wethers- 
 field Congregational Church in 1865, after his re- 
 turn from the war. This action was taken with 
 Robert Hale Kellogg, now president of the i6th 
 Regiment, and the General's lifelong friend and 
 associate. The late Judge Elisha Carpenter, of the 
 Supreme Court in this State, joined the church in 
 the same period. As soldier and Knight Templar 
 Gen. Clapp possessed traits of character that greatly 
 endeared him to men. He was held in the sin- 
 cerest regard and friendship in the i6th Connecti- 
 cut, having been on the executive committee of 
 the regimental association from the first, and for 
 3'ears its secretary. He succeeded Major B. F. 
 Blakeslee in the secretaryship, and made the posi- 
 tion one of importance to the veterans of that com- 
 mand. In Washington Commandery he was held 
 in equal admiration and esteem. For years he had 
 been identified with the highest interests of the 
 commandery, serving as captain-general under such 
 members of the order as Past Eminent Command- 
 ers Watson H. Bliss, Stephen Ball, H. LeRoy 
 Woodward, of Springfield, Gen. James H. Jarman, 
 Edward Mahl, A. D. Newton. In 1894 he was at 
 Pittsburg with the commandery, attending the tri- 
 ennial conclave of the order, whose interests were 
 of the highest importance in his life. 
 
 Gen. Clapp was a man of genial impulses, and 
 companionable in all the surroundings and circum- 
 stances of life. His loss will be lelt as a lasting 
 one in all circles, where men met and exchanged 
 courtesies with him. The following is a tribute 
 by a comrade: John B. Clapp was one of those 
 fine Connecticut country boys whose soldierly quali- 
 ties were brought to appreciation and development 
 iDy the Civil war. He had the faculty to organize 
 and lead. Hardly half a year from a country store, 
 be brought the records and accounts of a hastily 
 gotten together regiment, which was precipitated 
 into battle when just armed and not at all instruct- 
 ed, and was almost decimated at the first charge, 
 into order and official semblance, and ably sec- 
 onded Cols. Frank Beach and John H. Burnham 
 in reforming this half demoralized mass into a fine 
 body, whose moral and soldierlv standing became 
 the best. He was an ofircer of dashing appear- 
 ance, full of life and energy, prompt in his de- 
 cisions, and skillful in carrying them out, for he 
 
 carried by winning the co-operation of the men. He 
 was very sympallietic, and the entire regiment 
 heartily loved and trusted him. On several occa- 
 sions m battle he showed marked bravery, and at 
 Plymouth he displayed exceptional heroism. The 
 long captivity in Southern prisons he bore, with 
 the rest of his comrades, courageously and man- 
 fully; and, when the fragments of the regiment 
 were released, he helped form it again into a good 
 military body. 
 
 As adjutant of the 16th Connecticut John B. 
 Clapp's service was eminently brilliant, and of ad- 
 vantage to his cause and country ; and the men of 
 the i6th will always affectionately associate him 
 with the evolution and the war record of their 
 regiment. The memory of his dashing figure and 
 fine mount, and his clear ringing voice, will carry 
 them back to the days of the struggle that made 
 truer and stronger men of all, and gave something 
 to their life that endured beyond it. With his 
 more acute military quality there was true kind- 
 liness, warm sympathy and great justness of ap- 
 preciation. He knew each man of his regiment 
 personally, and knew him all around, so as to ap- 
 preciate him at his best. And thus he proved a 
 leader whose leadership did not expire with his 
 commission, but endured through three decades of 
 civil life. He passed away July 14, 1899, at the 
 home of his son, in Hartford. 
 
 Roswell J. Clapp was married in 1894 to Miss 
 Mabel R. Lawrence, of Worcester, and they have 
 one son, Lawrence John, born in 1896. 
 
 ARTHUR S. CLAPP, advertising agent for 
 Parsons" Theater, Hartford, was born in Hartford 
 March 25, 1858, a son of Caleb Clapp, born in North 
 Hampton, Mass., whose father was born in North 
 Hampton, May 3, 1787, and died Feb. 22, 1843. He 
 was a lifelong farmer of prominence in North 
 Hampton. His wife, Maria J. (Hooker), was born 
 in Milford, Conn., Nov. 20, 1793, and they reared 
 fifteen children, only one of whom, Harriet, is now 
 living, a resident of Chicago. Roger Clapp, the first 
 settler of the Clapp family in America, came to 
 Xantasket in September, 1630. 
 
 Caleb Clapp, father of Arthur S.. was reared in 
 North Hampton, where he learned the tailor's trade. 
 Then coming to Hartford he became proprietor of 
 the "City Hotel," which he conducted for a number 
 of vears, or up to the time of his death. He was a 
 well-known man, took a prominent par': in the affairs 
 of the city, was a Republican in politics, and served 
 as a member of the city council. Socially he was 
 affiliated with the I. O. O. F., but was in no sense 
 of the word a "lodge man," preferring the quietude 
 of his own home. For many years he was interested 
 with Mr. Sharp in the livery business, and was also 
 interested in the Shelby Iron Alines, in Alabama. 
 He married Sarah M. Sexton, born in North Hamp- 
 ton, Mass., Jan. 27, 1822, a daughter of Phineas 
 Sexton, born in September, 1771, who was a man 
 of prominence, a shoemaker by trade, and spent 
 
52 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his life in Nortli Hampton. He married Phoebe 
 Thompson, born Dec. 30, 1770. Mrs. Ciapp had a 
 brother in the Mexican war. Ten children, all 
 sons, were born to Caleb Clapp and his wife, 
 Arthur S. being the youngest, and three are yet 
 living: Allen C, with E. C. Kibbe, wholesale gro- 
 cers; Henry P., in San Francisco; and Arthur S. 
 The mother died at the age of seventy-seven, on 
 Oct. 18, 1899. The parents were members of the 
 Pearl Street Congregational L hurch, in which the 
 father took an active interest. At the time of his 
 death he was among the oldest busuiess men of Hart- 
 ford, having come here in 1854. 
 
 Arthur S. Clapp spent his early years at home, 
 was educated in the common schools, and then 
 learned the drug trade. In 1886 he went to Colorado, 
 remained a year, and returned East. For a time he 
 was employed by Charles F. Adams, and in 1896 he 
 accepted a position with Parsons" i heater as adver- 
 tising agent, in which incumbency he has since con- 
 tinued. He is a member of the Industrial League 
 of the Fourth Church,and in politics is a Republican. 
 On Sept. 27, 1900, Mr. Clapp married Nettie Studa- 
 baker, of Lucerne, Mo., born in 1863 in Adams 
 county, Indiana. 
 
 Howard S. Clapp, brother of Arthur S., was 
 born in Middletown, Conn., Oct. 21, 1848, attended 
 the common and higli schools, and later graduated, 
 when only eighteen j'ears of age, from Yale Col- 
 lege. He then entered the Berkeley Divinity School, 
 after graduating from which he was called to the 
 pastorate of Trinity Church at Wethersfield, being 
 their first pastor. Later he went to Philadelphia, 
 then to St. Paul, Minn., and for a number of years 
 supplied various churches. He died in Hartford, 
 Oct. 16, 1898. Another brother, William, was a 
 druggist in Hartford, having learned the business 
 with Talcott Brothers, and later for a number of 
 years conducted the City Hotel Drug Store; he 
 died Sept. 21, 1884. 
 
 DAVID CLARK, of Hartford, was the son of 
 Amasa and Eleanor (Fuller) Clark, of Hampton, 
 Conn., and was born in that town Oct. 12, 1806. 
 He was of full Revolutionary descent. 
 
 Mr. Clark married ' Miss Julia M. Ross, of 
 Chaplin, Conn., Oct. 12, 1827. He came to Hart- 
 ford in April, 1832, and died Oct. 8, 1889. His 
 wife died June 7, 1892. We cannot do better for 
 this sketch than to give the following tribute to 
 Mr. Clark by his long-time friend, Judge D. W. 
 Pardee : 
 
 "By the death of Mr. David Clark a remarka- 
 ble man has been taken from the visible life of 
 Hartford. Physically he was a fine specimen of 
 the men whose youth is passed upon the hill-coun- 
 try farm, and who therefore are so strong that 
 they came to fourscore years. His stalwart frame, 
 supporting a sound head, made him a noticeable 
 figure in any company. He changed early from 
 the farm to the counting-house. As a merchant he 
 was of untiring industry. If at any time losses 
 
 came upon him, he still held his courage ; and his 
 determination to succeed made him victor at last. 
 And his is the rare honor due to one who pays 
 debts collectible no otherwise than in the court of 
 conscience. 
 
 "He closed his business as a merchant in mid- 
 dle manhood, although in health and in success. 
 From time to time he secured to himself and to 
 his family the pleasure and culture to be gained 
 from wide travel at home and abroad. Meantime, 
 his fortune increased. But he was watchful, per- 
 sistent and untiring in giving of the increase, in 
 sums large and small, in manifold ways and in 
 numberless instances. Not only this, but he gave 
 of his time, his strength, his knowledge; gave will- 
 ingly of himself — charity in the highest form. 
 By the law of his being he was hospitable. Few 
 home doors in this city opened so easily, so widely, 
 or so frequently as did his. There was the ever 
 ready place at his board for friend or stranger. 
 
 "Having released himself from the cares o£ 
 active business, he resumed as a diversion the oc- 
 cupation of his early life. He improved a farm. 
 Many will remember that in person he brought o£ 
 its products to their doors as gifts; and all will 
 remember that at last, in loving memory of a son, 
 he gave the farm to the uses of the sick and home- 
 less. The faculties of his mind were with him in 
 strength to the last, even his exceptionally reten- 
 tive memory, which enabled him to marshal in their 
 order many even of the minor events in his life 
 and assign to each its appropriate day, and month, 
 and year. So of his body: he ever had that great 
 possession, abounding health. Passing fourscore, 
 yet the rising sun would sometimes find him by 
 the stream with rod and fly ; and sometimes on 
 the frosted hillside waiting for the cry of the hound. 
 
 "In his business, in his recreation, in his home, 
 and among men, he put much into his life, and 
 drew much out of it — drew not only for himself, 
 but for others as well. Many have lost a friend, 
 indeed." 
 
 FRANCIS HENRY RICHARDS, mechan- 
 ician, engineer and inventor of Hartford and New 
 York City, with residence in the former city, is a 
 native of the town of New Hartford, Litchfield coun- 
 ty. Conn., a county from which have gone out into 
 the world many men who have achieved distinction 
 and fame. 
 
 Born Oct. 20, 1850, Mr. Richards is the son of 
 Henry and Maria (Whiting) Richards, and is of 
 noble lineage. On his father's side he is a descend- 
 ant in the ninth generation from (I) Thomas Rich- 
 ards, who was at Hartford in about 1637, and whose 
 name is given in the Memorial History of Hartford 
 County, edited by the late Dr. Trumbull, as one 
 of the original proprietors of Hartford in 1639. 
 Our subject's line of descent from this first Ameri- 
 can ancestor is through John, Thomas (2), Tliomas 
 (3), Dr. Samuel, Capt. Aaron, Marquis and Henry 
 Richards. 
 
^^^'^ ^^--^^f^yi 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 53 
 
 (II) John Richards, son of Thomas the emigrant, 
 born in 163 1, married Lydia Stocking, and settled 
 on tlie homestead in Hartford. 
 
 (III) Tliomas Richards, son of John, born in 
 1666, married, in 1691, Mary, daugliter of Deacon 
 Benjamin Parsons, of Springtield, Mass., and suc- 
 ceeded his father on the homestead. He was deacon 
 of the First Cliurch for forty-three years, and was 
 very well known in Hartford and vicinity. 
 
 (IV) Thomas Richards, son of Thomas (above), 
 born 1694, married, in 1717, Abigail Turner, of 
 Hartford, and resided in Southington. 
 
 (V) Dr. Samuel Richards, son of Thomas 
 (above), born in 1726, in Hartford, married Lydia 
 Buck. When he was one year old his parents moved 
 to Southington. Samuel Richards rose to honorable 
 ■distinction in the profession, practicing in Newing- 
 ton, Canaan, and New Hartford, dying in Plainville 
 in 1793. He served in the Continental army. 
 
 (VI) Capt. Aaron Richards, son of Dr. Samuel, 
 born in 1749 in Newington, married (first), in 
 1778, Dorcas Adams. He purchased land in New 
 Hartford, first in 1776, settled and passed his days 
 in the town, dying in 1831. 
 
 (VII) Marquis Richards, son of Capt. Aaron, 
 born in 1793, married, in 1822, Polly Carpenter, and 
 they resided on the old homestead in New Hartford. 
 
 (VIII) Henry Richards, son of Marquis, and 
 the father of Francis Henry Richards, of Hartford, 
 was born Sept. 13, 1824, in New Hartford. He 
 ■was married in October, 1847, to Maria S. Whiting, 
 daughter of Dr. John Whiting, and to the union 
 -were born Francis H., Oct. 20, 1850; Hubert P., 
 Sept. 2, 1852; and Rosa M., Aug. 2, 1854, who died 
 in New Britain in 1872, when in her eighteenth 
 year. 
 
 On his mother's side Francis H. Richards, our 
 subject, is a direct descendant from Jilaj. Wm. Whit- 
 ing, who came to New England not more than a dec- 
 ade after the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers, his 
 name being identified as early as 1632-33 with Lords 
 Say and Brooke in the purchase of Piscataqua, and 
 lie retained his interest in that enterprise through life. 
 Tilaj. Whiting was also engaged in a patent for lands 
 at Swampscott with Say and Brooke. He was one 
 of the committee who for the first time sat with the 
 court of magistrates in 1637. Maj. Wliiting was one 
 of the original proprietors of Hartford in 1639, and 
 was one of the most efficient promoters of trade and 
 commerce of the town. A merchant of wealth and 
 a man of education, he had dealings with the people 
 of A'irginia and Piscataqua, and had a trading post 
 at the Delaware river and at Westfield. He was 
 ■treasurer of Connecticut from 1641 until his death 
 in 1647, and was a justice of the peace from 1642 
 -until his death. Joseph Whiting, a son of the Major, 
 ■settled in Westfield, but returned to Hartford about 
 1675, and was treasurer of Connecticut for thirty- 
 nine years, from 1678 to 1717, when he was suc- 
 ceeded to the office by his son Col. John Whiting, 
 who held it for thirtv-two years. As mieht be ex- 
 
 pected, the families into which these early Whitings 
 married were of the first of New England. Joseph 
 Whiting's first wife, Mary, was a daughter rf John 
 I'ynchon, and granddaughter of William Pynchon, 
 one of the founders of Springfield, Alass., whose 
 wife, Ann, was a daughter of Hon. George 
 Wyllys ; and his second wife, Anna, a daughter of 
 Col. John Allyn. Col. John Whiting married Jeru- 
 sha, daughter of Richard, and granddaughter of 
 Thomas Lord, one of the first settlers of Hartford. 
 
 F"rancis Henry Richards, the subject proper of 
 this review, passed a part of his time during his 
 early youth on the old homestead founded by his 
 great-grandfather, Capt. Aaron Richards, in New 
 Hartford during the period of the Revolution, and 
 which in large part continues to be held by the fam- 
 ily. Our subject's early training in the English 
 branches and letters was held in the neighborhood 
 district school, and at a private school in New Hart- 
 ford. Descended from a race of farmer-mechanics, 
 he exemplified in a marked degree that self-reliant 
 spirit of the early pioneers, who never hesitated to 
 attempt what needed to be done. What better 
 training-school ever existed than the old-time New 
 England homestead, with its ample fields and build- 
 ings, and the shop where the husbandman and his 
 boys worked the farm together in the summer, and 
 in the winter carried on the manufacture of all that 
 the farm and home required ? 
 
 Inheriting inventive genius from his ancestors, 
 who taught and practiced the theory that a mechanic 
 should always be able to make his own tools, young 
 Richards, at the age of fifteen, began inventing and 
 building machinery, and from that time to" the pres- 
 ent he has been actively engaged in the development 
 of mechanical industries. In 1865 his father and 
 family removed to New Britain, where its head was 
 in charge of the Machinery department of the Stan- 
 ley Rule & Level Works, an establishment with 
 which he still retains his connection. In these fac- 
 tories the son began his career under the tutorship 
 of his father, who himselfwas an ingenious mechanic 
 and inventor. Already the son had shown great 
 adaptability for new ideas in mechanics, and it was 
 but a short time after he went to work in 
 the plant named when he was found ex- 
 perimenting with the construction of machin- 
 erv of his own devising. By systematic study 
 and application extending over a period of eight 
 years, he acquired a practical and theoretical knowl- 
 edge of the machine-building trades, including wood- 
 working, forging, and the allied branches. He came 
 to Hartford in 1882, and until 1886 he was connected 
 with the great manufacturing concern of Pratt & 
 Whitney. Bv this time his frequent tours for the 
 observation of machinery and manufactures, and his 
 knowledge of mechanics and experience as an inven- 
 tor, together with a thorough study of patent law. 
 well fitted him for its practice as well as made him 
 an expert engineer : and from that time to this he has 
 given much of his time in these lines, having an 
 
54 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 office first in Hartford, then in both Hartford and 
 New York. 
 
 Mr. Richards has brought out numerous inven- 
 tions of labor-saving machines, the most of which 
 are now in successful operation. In 1873 he invented 
 and patented the fundamental features of the air- 
 cushion door-spring that have since come into such 
 general use. He has taken out in all upward of six 
 hundred patents on various inventions. Outside of 
 these he has invented many valuable machines and 
 devices for which he never applied for patents. 
 Among liis patented articles may be mentioned the 
 Richards Envelope machine, which prints, folds, 
 gums, counts and bands automatically 8.000 letter 
 envelopes per day, a new automatic weighing ma- 
 chine, manufactured by the Pratt & Whitney Com-* 
 pany, which machine by reason of its marked superi- 
 ority promises speedily to come into general use 
 for a wide range of purposes. 
 
 During the long experience of Mr. Richards in 
 manufacturing lines in which he has worked in 
 every capacity from apprentice to supervising en- 
 gitieer and proprietor, he has become a most skilled 
 and reliable mechanical engineer, and is so generally 
 recognized. In his business affairs he has been re- 
 markably successful, and achieved that reward and 
 prominence his efforts and ability and genius have 
 merited. He is mainly engaged in the development 
 and patenting of mechanical improvements and in- 
 ventions. He is the consulting engineer and advi- 
 ser for several of the most proriiinent manufacturers 
 of the United States. He is also an expert patent 
 solicitor. 
 
 On Oct. 15, 1887, Mr. Richards was married to 
 Mrs. Clara V. Dole {nee Blasdale), of Springfield, 
 Mass., a lady of English birth, daughter of Samuel 
 Blasdale, a prominent expert and designer who came 
 to the United States in 1854. Mrs. Richards is said 
 to be a descendant of Thomas Parr, who lived to 
 the great age of 152 years, and whose memorial in- 
 scription is on a slab in the floor of Westminster 
 Abbey, London. 
 
 Mr. Richards is a member of the American So- 
 ciety of Mechanical Engineers, of the Civil Engi- 
 neers Club, Cleveland, Ohio, of the Engineers Club 
 of New York City, and of the American Association 
 of Inventors and Manufacturers, having been pres- 
 ident of the latter since January, 1897, when he suc- 
 ceeded Dr. Richard J. Catling, the inventor of the 
 Catling gun. Mr. Richards is in fellowship with 
 the local Masonic and Odd Fellows organizations, 
 and has held office in the Putnam Phalanx. In the 
 Masonic order he is identified with Washington 
 Commandery, No. I, Knights Templar: also with 
 Scottish Rite bodies up to the 32nd degree. In pol-, 
 itics he is a Republican. His religious affiliations 
 and those of his wife are with the Church of the 
 Redeemer (Universalist) of Hartford. 
 
 Of late years Mr. Richards, at the request of 
 some members of the press, has written editorials 
 on topics with which his great familiarity has ren- 
 
 dered his opinions a most valuable guide to public 
 opinion. One of these editorials upon silver ap- 
 peared in the fall of 1897, and attracted wide atten- 
 tion and favorable comment though its writer was 
 not then known. 
 
 COLLINS. The Collins family of Hartford^ 
 who are the descendants of Hon. Amos Morris Col- 
 lins and his children, is one of the Colonial fam- 
 ilies of New England, a number of whose descend- 
 ants have been among the leading and influential cit- 
 izens and business men of Hartford. 
 
 Hon. Amos Morris Collins was in the seventli 
 generation from John Collins (2), the American an- 
 cestor, the line of his descent being through John 
 (3), Jdlm (4), Daniel, William and William (2). 
 
 John Collins, the first of the family of whom 
 there is any known record, lived in London, and ia 
 Brampton, County of Suffolk, England, where he 
 died and was buried. His wife was Abigail, daugh- 
 ter of Thomas Rose, of Exmouth, Devonshire, Eng- 
 land. She was buried at Braintree, County of Essex. 
 Their children were : Edward, John, Daniel, Samuel 
 and Abigail. 
 
 (I) John Collins (2), son of John Collins, came 
 to New England prior to 1640, living in Boston 
 and Braintree, Mass., prior to that date. He was 
 born in England about 1616. He married in Eng- 
 land, prior to 1640, Susannah ■. He was admit- 
 ted to the Church in Boston in 1640, and that year 
 was made a "freeman." He was an active and prom- 
 inent business man in the Massachusetts Colony. He 
 was a member of the Honourable Artillery Company 
 of Boston. His children were : John, Susannah, 
 Thomas and Elizabeth. 
 
 (II) John Collins (3), son of John Collins (2), 
 was born about 1640 in Boston. He married (first), 
 in 1662, Mary Trowbridge, who died in 1667, and he 
 married (second), in 1669, Widow Kingsworth, or 
 sister of Henry Kingsworth. John died at Guilford. 
 Conn., in 1704. He was one of the patentees of 
 the town of Guilford, and "townsman" and school 
 teacher as late as 1702. He taught a grammar 
 school there in 1682. His children, all by Mary 
 Trowbridge, were : Mary, John and Robert. 
 
 (HI) John Collins (4), son of John Collins (3),. 
 born in 1665 in Saybrook, Conn., died in 1751. He 
 married, in 1691, Ann Leete, a granddaughter of 
 Governor William Leete. She died in 1724. Their 
 children were: Ann, Mary, John, Timothy, Timo- 
 thy (2), Daniel, Susannah, Samuel, Mercy, Oliver, 
 Avis and Eunice. 
 
 (IV) Daniel Collins, son of John Collins (4). 
 born in 1701 at Guilford, Conn., married in 1725 
 Lois Cornwall, of Long Island, a daughter of Will- 
 iam Cornwall, of Hartford and Middletown. She 
 was born at Middletown in 1702. Their children 
 were: Anne, William, Lorrain, Freelove, Avis, Dan- 
 iel, Zeriah, Demetrius, Augustus and Ruth. 
 
 (V) William Collins, son of Daniel Collins, born 
 in 1728, died in 1775. He married, in 1758, Ruth 
 Cook, daughter of Aaron Cook, of Wallingford^ 
 
„y/^/m:,,C^^^€X^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 55 
 
 Conn. She was born in 1738, and died in 1790. 
 Their children were: Lorrain, WilHam, Aaron C, 
 Daniel, Samuel, Ruth and Lucy. 
 
 (VT) William Collins (2), son of William Col- 
 lins, born in 1760, died in 1849. He married, in 
 1783, Esther jMorris, at JMorris Point, near New 
 Haven, Conn., where she was born in 1763. In 1783 
 they located in Litchfield, Conn., and in 1822 moved 
 to Illinois. She died at Collinsville, 111., in 1834. 
 Their children were : Eliza, William M., Amos Mor- 
 ris, Alraira, Augustus, Anson, Michael, Maria, Will- 
 iam and Frederick, ^\'hen a lad of seventeen 
 William Collins enlisted for service in the war of 
 the Revolution. He was a private in a company 
 commanded by Capt. Humphrey, the regiment being 
 under the command of Col. Jonathan Meigs. Later, 
 in 1779, he served with his uncle, Augustus Collins, 
 Vv-ho was a major, serving as brigade major under 
 Brig.-Gen. Ward. William was a deacon in the 
 Church at Litchfield, Conn., while Lyman Beecher 
 was pastor. 
 
 (MI) Amos :\Iorris Collins, third child of Will- 
 iam Collins (2) and Esther Morris, was born March 
 30, 1788, in Litchfield, Conn. His father, a deacon 
 in Dr. L3-man Beecher's Church, was a man of rec- 
 ognized Puritan stamp. His mother was a descend- 
 ant in a direct line from Thomas Morris, of the 
 County of Essex, England. The Morris families of 
 Connecticut and Massachusetts are without doubt 
 descended from the Morris family of Roydon Parish, 
 County of Essex, England. C3n April 30, 181 1, 
 Mr. Collins was married to ]SIary Lyman, only 
 daughter of Col. Moses Lyman, of Goshen, Conn. 
 Their children were: William L., Morris, Erastus, 
 Charles, Edward, Maria E., Henry and Mary F. In 
 1810 Mr. Collins established himself in mercantile 
 business in Blandford, Mass. In a few years he 
 had turned into new channels the industry of that 
 and large portions of the surrounding towns. The 
 impulse which he eave was felt long after his death. 
 
 In 1819 Mr. Collins removed with his family to 
 Hartford, Conn. He and his wife united at once, 
 by letter, with the First Church of Hartford, then 
 under the pastorate of Rey. Dr. Hawes. Of the 
 historic North Church Mr. Collins was one of the 
 founders. He was chosen one of the deacons at the 
 time of its organization in 1824, and retained the 
 office until his death. 
 
 In 1827 Mr. Collins erected the building which 
 at the time of his death was occupied by Collins 
 Brothers & Company, in Asylum street. It is a 
 scarcely credible fact that the idea of going so far 
 out of the way was generally considered ridiculous, 
 and sagacious men who survived Mr. Collins ac- 
 knowledge that thev thought he had surely made a 
 very great mistake. He retired from the mercantile 
 business in 1842, leaving it in charge of his sons. 
 
 Mr. Collins' benevolence was systematic, as well 
 as bountiful. For about twenty years before his 
 death he had taken the resolve not to lay up prop- 
 erty. '"All the great societies of Christian benefi- 
 cence were aided by his bounty. In this manner he 
 
 took the rewards of his beneficence into his own life, 
 and grew by the Christly measures of his charities." 
 He had always been to a marked degree actively in- 
 terested in the general welfare of Hartford, and 
 vigorously aided plans for its improvement and 
 prosperity. At the time of the proposed extension 
 into the Farmington valley of the Hartford & Prov- 
 idence railroad he was chairman of the committee on 
 subscriptions. He himself became as large a stock- 
 holder as his means would permit, and personally 
 superintended many of the labors incidental to the 
 extension of the road. 'Sir. Collins was a member of 
 the common council for several years ; was elected 
 mayor in 1843, re-elected in '1845, and declined a 
 third term which was pressed upon him. At the 
 proposed erection of the Hartford High school he 
 was appointed chairman of the building committee, 
 and with a few others contributed liberally. .-\t its 
 formation he became in great measure personallv re- 
 sponsible for its success. Mr. Collins was a zealous 
 and working friend of the temperance cause, known 
 as such from 1826. In its behalf he made excellent 
 speeches in very nearly every neighborhood in a 
 large circuit around Hartford. He was early an 
 anti-sla\'^ry man, the unpopularity of a good cause 
 seeming to him a very good reason for helping it. 
 The Free-Soilers once or twice ran him for Con- 
 gress. In religious matters Mr. Collins had decided 
 views, and he could clearly and strongly express 
 them. He was firm, enthusiastic, and also well bal- 
 anced and just. After his death, which occurred 
 Nov. 10, 1858, his pastor Rev. Dr. Bushnell. said 
 of him: "Deacon A. M. Collins was one of the few 
 men or Christians who require to be noted as spec- 
 ialties. He was among the land-mark characters 
 of our city, and a man so positive in every sphere of 
 action or counsel that the voidwhich is made by his 
 death will be deeply felt, and for a long time to come. 
 
 ■'There is almost nothing here that has not some- 
 how felt his power, nothing good which has not 
 somehow profited by his beneficence. Banks, saving 
 institutions, railroads, the singular anomaly of a 
 large wholesale dry-goods trade which distinguishes 
 Hartford as an inland city, the city councils and im- 
 provements, the city Missions and Sunday-schools, 
 the Asylum for the Dumb, the Retreat for the In- 
 sane, the High School, the Almshouse, three at least 
 of the churches, almost evernhing public, in fact, 
 has his counsel, impulse, character, beneficence, and 
 what is more, if possible, his real work, incorporated 
 in it. Whole sections of the city are changed by him. 
 
 "But the Church was dearest to him of all * '■' * 
 There was never a better man to support and steady 
 a Christian pastor * * * I loved him as a friend, as 
 what brother did not? I took him for my best coun- 
 sel, I leaned upon him as a prop. Who can estimate 
 the value of such a man ?" 
 
 In the troubles that later befell the Church, aris- 
 ing from the charges of heresy concerning. its pas- 
 tor, ;Mr. Collins with two others of its members were 
 among the first to foresee the course to be pursued. 
 In a paper addressed by him to the Hartford Cen- 
 
56 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tral Association, Mr. Collins said : "We think it 
 necessarj' * * * to take the position of an independent 
 Church * * * and have therefore withdrawn from 
 our connection with the Consociation with which we 
 united in our infancy." 
 
 The following extract is from the tribute paid 
 to -\lr. Collins by Hon. Joseph R. Hawley in the 
 Hartford Evening Press, of which he was editor at 
 that time: "Positively, it is precisely true, and no 
 unmeaning eulogy, if we say that the symmetry and 
 strength of his physical man harmonized with his 
 tine proportions as a Christian merchant, citizen, 
 friend and neighbor. He was such an outgrowth of 
 New England hills, schools and churches as we can 
 point to with pride." 
 
 (_ I ) William Lyman Collins, eldest son of Amos 
 Morris Collins, was born at Blandford, Mass., Feb. 
 10, 1812. For about thirty-five years he was con- 
 nected with the mercantile interests of Hartford, 
 first with the firm his father founded as A. JM. Col- 
 lins & Sons, and later as Collins Brothers & Com- 
 pany. This firm was among the most prudent and 
 reliable in New England, and so much confidence 
 was reposed in it that, after the Civil war broke 
 out, when banks and bankers were looked upon 
 with suspicion, the house of Collins Brothers & 
 Company was oft'ered large sums of money, with- 
 out security, by its correspondents. Mr. Collins 
 was for many years a director in the City Gas 
 Light Company, also in the Merchants Lisurance 
 Company, a member of the managing board of the 
 Retreat, and was for a long time connected with 
 the Society of Savings. The Park was one of his 
 favorite projects, to which, as chairman of the 
 Park Commissioners for a number of years, he 
 gave his watchful attention, and Hartford is large- 
 ly indebted to his refined tastes and persevering, 
 industry for the plans and laying out of this orna- 
 ment to the city. He was one of the first pro- 
 jectors of the Hartford & Wethersfield Horse rail- 
 road. The Cedar Hill cemetery was another 
 enterprise in which he felt deep interest, and 
 the West End improvements were more due 
 to him than to any other citizen. He was 
 one of the foremost in establishing the Asy- 
 lum Hill Congregational Church. In Mr. Col- 
 lins" death, which occurred in Chicago, Nov. 15, 
 1865, the city lost one of its most enterprising and 
 public-spirited citizens. Mr. Collins was unosten- 
 tatious, and the public at large could not know 
 him as he was known and respected by business 
 men who were constantlv brought in contact with 
 him. He was modest in all things, and purely un- 
 selfish in all. His opinions were decided and sel- 
 dom at fault. He delighted in liberal works, in 
 encouraging all deserving charities, and no indi- 
 vidual case which called for assistance, and was 
 known to be worthy, was ever turned off unre- 
 lieved. 
 
 On Nov. 14, 1835, Mr. Collins married Harriet 
 Pierson, daughter of Dr. Aaron Pierson, of 
 Orange, N. J. She died Jan. 15, 1871. To this 
 
 union were born children as follows : Edward Pier- 
 son, deceased; Mary Lyman, deceased; Ellen; 
 Frances, widow of Dr. William H. Palmer, of 
 Cleveland, Ohio, who died June 19, 1871 ; Will- 
 iam Pierson, deceased; and Alice, who on April 
 28, 1 88 1, married Samuel Gurley Dunham, son of 
 Austin Dunham. Their children: Ethel Collins, 
 Alice Elizabeth, Sarah Root, Frances Collins, 
 x'Vustin and Beatrice Lyman. 
 
 (2) Morris Collins was born Oct. 18, 1813, and 
 died March 19, 1873. On Nov. 4, 1852, he mar- 
 ried Martha Wickes Blatchford, daughter of Rev. 
 John Blatchford, of Quincy, 111., and their chil- 
 dren were : John Blatchford ; Frances Wickes, 
 Amos Morris, Martha Blatchford, Alice Blatchford, 
 and Richard Ely,. For his second wife Morris Col- 
 lins wedded Hannah Adams, and they had one child, 
 Henry Adams, born Feb. 6, 1866, who died Aug. 19, 
 1867. 
 
 (3) Erastus Collins, son of Amos Morris Col- 
 lins, and father of Atwood Collins, was born 
 Feb. 10, 181 5. in Blandford, Mass. He came 
 to Hartford with his father's family in 1819, 
 and for years was associated with his father 
 in the business described above. He was a prom- 
 inent and trusted man in Hartford interests. He 
 was a director of the ^Etna Insurance Company, 
 and as chairman of its building committee he su- 
 perintended the construction of the present fine 
 brown-stone structure of that company on Main 
 street, north of the yEtna Life building. He was 
 also director and vice-president of the Hartford 
 Hospital ; a director of the American School at 
 Hartford for the Deaf ; an active and valuable 
 
 i school visitor; one of the projectors of the Hart- 
 ford & Wethersfield Horse Railway Company; a 
 projector of the noble Cedar Hill cemetery, and 
 a leader in the Young Men's Institute (now the 
 Hartford Library). For two winters before his 
 death he was especially active in philanthropic 
 work. Mr. Collins was a true Christian; in his 
 own unostentatious waj' he lived the life he pro- 
 fessed. His religious profession, made in his early 
 youth, was in the old North Congregational 
 Church (now, in another locality, the Park 
 Church), in 1830 — about the time Dr. Spring was 
 succeeded by Dr. Bushnell, we think, and having 
 united with that Church he remained in it until the 
 organization, in 1852, of the Pearl Street Church. 
 He became interested therein, and was one of the 
 founders. • He became, when the As3'lum Hill 
 Church was founded, not merely a member, but 
 one of its leading supporters, contributing at one 
 time largely toward the extinguishment of the 
 debt. It is to such men as he, and Roland Mather, 
 that the Church has been indebted for much of 
 its prosperity. Mr. Collins built up an admirable 
 character in Hartford. It was a life work, but it 
 is one which wins appreciation, when fellow citizens 
 can view such a character through a long perspec- 
 tive of philanthropic enterprises and abounding 
 good deeds. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 57 
 
 Mr. Collins was first a clerk, and later asso- 
 ciated with his father in the business of the great 
 house which afterward became his own. That 
 house took, among other accounts, that of the well- 
 known Sprague prints. Later, on the failure of 
 the A. & W. Sprague Mfg. Co., Collins & Fenn, 
 by a special arrangement, took all the product of 
 the Sprague mills. This ai'rangement proved a 
 safe and profitable one for the Hartford house, 
 and, giving as it did the entire Sprague account to 
 the Hartford house of Collins & Fenn, largely in- 
 creased the business of the commission house. 
 j\lr. Collins was a cautious man, in business as in 
 everything else. He went into no business trans- 
 action without fully considering it from all points 
 of view. He owned real-estate in Hartford, on the 
 south side of Asylum street, between Main and 
 Trumbull, and land on Asylum avenue, Atwood 
 and Collins streets. He was also a large owner 
 of gas stock and horse-railway shares, and other 
 local securities. Toward the close of 1876 Mr. 
 Collins retired from the active business of the 
 house, with which he was so long connected, and 
 afterward devoted his time largel)^ to philanthropic 
 enterprises. 
 
 On Jan. 26, 1848, Mr. Collins was married to 
 jNIary Atwood, daughter of the late John M. At- 
 wood, of Philadelphia. She died March 31, 1874, 
 he on April 8, 1880. Their children were: (i) 
 Henrietta A. was married Feb. 17, 1876, to Daniel 
 Robinson Howe, and their children are Edmund 
 D., Henrietta C, and Marjorie F. (2) Atwood, 
 married on June 9, 1880, Mary B. Brace. Their 
 children are Gertrude, Frederick S., Elinor B., 
 j\Iarion A. and Emily B. (3) Caroline Lyman, 
 married, on March 9, 1886, Dr. Charles Whitney 
 Page, superintendent of Middletown Hospital, and 
 their children are Atwood C, Charles W., Jr., and 
 Ruth Whitney. (4) William Erastus is referred 
 to below. 
 
 (4) Charles Collins, born April 2, 1817, was 
 married Sept. i, 1840, to INIary Hall Terry, daugh- 
 ter of Eliphalet Terry, of Hartford ; she died in 
 1900; their children are: Lydia Coit married Will- 
 iam Piatt Ketcham. Charles Terry married Mary 
 Abby W^ood; children, Charles, Clarence Lyman, 
 Mary Terry and Arthur Morris. Clarence Lyman 
 married Mary Louise Clark ; have one daughter, 
 Edith. Arthur Morris died Jan. 3, 1861. Louise 
 Terry married William Allen Butler, Jr. 
 
 (5) Edward Collins, born Nov. 15, 1820, passed 
 away Aug. 4, 1822. (6) Maria Elizabeth Collins was 
 married May 13, 1846, to Rev. Caleb Strong, who 
 died Jan. 3, 1847. (7) Henry Collins, born Jan. 7, 
 1827, died Aug. 22, 1828. (8) Mary Frances Col- 
 lins. 
 
 ^^^illiam Erastus Collins, son of Erastus Collins, 
 was born Oct. 10, 1859. In 1880 he graduated from 
 the Hartford Public High School, and in 1884 from 
 A\'illiams College, after which he became connected 
 with the editorial staff of the Hartford Courant. He 
 was an ambitious and brilliant journalist, and his 
 
 colleagues upon the newspaper state that '"he pos- 
 sessed industry, zeal, a real love of work, clever wit 
 and an individual style, with a high ideal of journal- 
 istic work, and was living up to it. He had read 
 freel)-, traveled widely, and his range of information 
 was large and his culture genuine. He had a home- 
 loving nature, deeply devoted to his family, and the 
 evident happiness of his domestic life was proverbial 
 among his friends." He was an active member of 
 the Congregational Church. His active, noble, manly 
 and unselfish life was suddenly finished May 20, 
 1893. On May 5, 1886, Mr. Collins married, at In- 
 dianapolis, Eva Lee Steele, and they had one daugh- 
 ter, Ruth Lee. 
 
 HON. EDWARD WILLIAMS TWICHELL 
 was born in the town of Southington Nov. 5, 1839, 
 and is a descendant of Joseph Twichell, the com- 
 mon ancestor of all who bear the name in this coun- 
 try. 
 
 Joseph Twichell came from England about 1630, 
 and located in Dorchester, Mass., where he was ad- 
 mitted as a freeman May 14, 1634. He probably 
 died there. His son Benjamin removed from Dor- 
 chester to Bogiston about 1663, and purchased 100 
 acres of land in what is now Sherborn, Mass. Soon 
 after this he moved to Lancaster, same State, where 
 he is supposed to have died, or was killed by the In- 
 dians. His son, Abiele Twichell, was born in No- 
 vember, 1663, and was the father of Benoni Twich- 
 ell, who was born about 1684, and was one of the 
 thirty original grantees of Oxford, Mass. In 1722 
 and 1723 he was styled an inn-holder on the Oxford 
 records, and between 1720 and 1740 was largely 
 engaged in the transfer of real estate in Oxford and 
 vicinitv. In. 1727 he purchased 100 acres of land in 
 Woodstock, Conn., with a mansion in Oxford which 
 he had previously owned, and in 1740 became pro- 
 prietor of lands in Poquiog (now Athol), Mass. 
 He is supposed to have died in Killingly (now 
 Thompson), Conn. On April 18, 1705, he married 
 Hannah Allen. Their son, Joseph Twichell, mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Thompson. Among their children 
 was Isaac Twichell, who was born in Oxford, Alass., 
 and about 1767 located in Southington, Conn., where 
 he died Feb. 10, 1776. Isaac Twichell married De- 
 borah Alcox, and they were the parents of Joseph 
 Twichell, grandfather of our subject, who was born 
 in Wolcott, Hartford county, July 15, 1769, and died 
 March 14, 1824. He first married Electa, daughter 
 of Simeon Hopkins, of Wolcott, and for his second 
 wife he married Phebe, daughter of Joseph and 
 Phebe (Hall) Atkins. The latter was the grand- 
 mother of our subject. She died Dec. 5, 1823. 
 
 Our subject's father, Edward Twichell, was born 
 in Wolcott Sept. 5, 1810, and was there reared and 
 educated. In early manhood he located in Plants- 
 ville, where he learned the tanner's and currier's 
 trade with Timothy Higgins ; later, in partnership 
 with his preceptor, he engaged in that business, 
 and, branching out, also engaged in the manufacture 
 
58 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of leather belting. Retiring from that business in 
 1850, Mr. Twichell embarked in the manufacture of 
 carriage hardware with Henry D. Smith, under the 
 firm name of H. D. Smith & Co., and was interested 
 in that business up to the time of his death, in the 
 spring of 1861. He married Selina D. Carter, a 
 daughter of Reuben Carter, of Wolcott, and to them 
 were born three children who reached years of ma- 
 turity: Joseph Hopkins, a Congregational minister, 
 who has been pastor of the Asylum Hill Congrega- 
 tional Church of Hartford since its organization, in 
 1865; Edward W., our subject; and Sarah J., wife 
 of Edmund A. Ware. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of our subject were 
 passed in Plantsville, and after attending the public 
 schools for some time he was a student at Lewis 
 Academy. From the age of seventeen to twenty 
 years, after completing his education, he engaged in 
 mercantile business in Laporte, Ind., but since 1861 
 he has been connected with H. D. Smith & Co., of 
 Southington, first as shipping clerk, then as book- 
 keeper, and, since 1865, as treasurer of the com- 
 pany. He is also a stockholder in and vice-president 
 of the Southington Bank, and has been actively 
 identified with the business life of the town. 
 
 On Oct. 18, 1866, Mr. Twichell was united in 
 marriage with Mrs. Sarah Louise Harrison, a 
 daughter of Martin and Sally (Moore) Frisbie, of 
 Southington. They have one son, Reuben Carter, 
 who was born Nov. 25, 1877, and graduated from 
 Yale, a member of the class of 1900. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Twichell is a Repub- 
 lican, and he has served as assessor of his town for 
 two years, and represented it in the State Legislature 
 during the session of 1880. Fraternally he belongs 
 to Friendship Lodge, No. 33, F. & A. M., of South- 
 ington, of which his grandfather was also a member. 
 He is an active and prominent member of the Plants- 
 ville Congregational Church, of which he has been 
 clerk since its organization in i866. He is a man 
 of excellent business and executive ability, is public- 
 spirited and enterprising", and is quite popular in 
 both business and social circles. 
 
 GEN. LUCIUS A. BARBOUR, of Hartford, 
 president of the Willimantic Linen Co., and one of 
 the prominent men of Connecticut, is a descendant 
 on both sides from families who have been conspic- 
 uous in the history of New England for over two 
 and a half centuries. 
 
 Gen. Bai-bour on his paternal side is in the eighth 
 generation from Thomas Barber, the emigrant an- 
 cestor, the line of his descent being through Lieut. 
 Thomas, Samuel, John, John (2), John (3), and 
 Lucius Barbour ; and on his maternal side he is in 
 the ninth generation from Robert Day, one of the 
 original proprietors of Hartford, the line of his 
 descent being through Thomas, Samuel, Josiah, 
 Gideon, Ambrose, Albert and Harriet Louise Day. 
 
 (I) Thomas Barber (spelled Barber, Barbor, 
 Barbar, and Barbour, as variouslv written through 
 the probate records ; the spelling Barbour was 
 
 adopted by Henry, of this branch of the family), 
 the iirst of the name in New England, came to 
 Windsor, Conn., in 1635, at the age of twenty-one,, 
 with the Saltonstall party, under Francis Stiles. 
 He was a soldier from Windsor in the Pequot fight,. 
 and is mentioned in Adason's narrative. He married 
 Oct. 7, 1640, and died Sept. 11, 1662. His wife, 
 Jane, died Sept. 10, 1662. 
 
 (II) Lieut. Thomas Barber, son of Thomas, 
 born July 14, 1644, married Dec. 13, 1660, Mary 
 Phelps, born March 2, 1644, daughter of William 
 Phelps, the emigrant, of Windsor, and his second 
 wife, Mary (Dover). He removed to Simsbury, 
 where he built the first meeting-house. He died 
 May ID, 1713. She died in 1687. 
 
 (III) Samuel Barber, son of Lieut. Thomas, 
 born May 17, 1673, married Dec. 17, 1712, Sarah, 
 Holcomb, born in 1691, daughter of Nathaniel Hol- 
 comb and Mary (Bliss). He died Dec. 18, 1725, 
 and she died in 1787, at the age of ninety-six. She 
 removed from the old parish to West Simsbury in 
 1738 with her four sons, Samuel, Thomas, Jona- 
 than and John, and her daughters, Mercy and Sarah, 
 the sons settling on the best lands in the Center 
 School District. This family were among the ear- 
 liest and most conspicuous settlers of West Sims- 
 bury. 
 
 (IV) John Barber, son of Samuel, born Dec. 
 4, 1719, married Jan. 22, 1746-47, Lydia Reed, 
 born Nov. 18, 1726, daughter of Jacob Reed and 
 Mary (Hill). He died in 1799, and his widow- 
 died in 1806. 
 
 (V) John Barber (2), son of John, born Nov. 
 29, 1749, married in 1773 Elizabeth Case, born 
 April 20, 1752, daughter of Capt. Josiah Case and 
 Esther (Higley). He died Nov. 3, 1825. She 
 died May 26, 181 7. 
 
 (VI) John Barbour (3), son of John, born 
 Feb. 18, 1782, married (first) Oct. 13, 1803, De- 
 light Griswold Case, born Oct. 15, 1783, daughter 
 of Elisha Case and Delight (Griswold). She died 
 April 13, 181 1, and he married (second) June 15, 
 1812, Fanny Hunt, born Aug. 30, 1792, daughter 
 of George Hunt and Jemima (HolHster). He died 
 Nov. 24, 1865, Mrs. Barbour on Nov. 6, 1858. 
 
 (VII) Lucius Barbour, son of John (3), born 
 July 26, 1805, in Canton, Conn., married April 23, 
 1840, Harriet Louise Day, born Feb. 2, 1821, daugh- 
 ter of Deacon Albert Day and Harriet (Chapin). 
 He died Feb. 10, 1873, she on Sept. 26, 1886. When 
 about twelve or fourteen years of age he accom- 
 panied his parents to Western New York, on their 
 removal to that State. For a number of years suc- 
 ceeding his majority he was traveling in the South 
 and West, where he was engaged in business and 
 investing in Western land, particularly in the State 
 of Indiana. He finally located in Madison, Ind., 
 of our city, and a man so positive in every sphere of 
 and engaged in the wholesale dry-goods business. 
 Subsequently he became interested in similar busi- 
 ness at Cincinnati, Ohio. Along in the middle 
 'forties he removed to Hartford, Conn., and ever 
 
J/Uhn^.o Jf^ 'yuaiJTM^' 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 59 
 
 afterward made that city his home, vet as a silent 
 partner retained his interests in the business houses 
 at Madison and Cincinnati. He possessed excellent 
 business habits and abilit}-. and in his undertakings 
 prospered greatly. He was an upright man and a 
 Christian gentleman, and was greatly esteemed and 
 respecttd by the community in which lie lived. 
 He was a deacon in the Second Congregational 
 Church of Hartford from 1858 to 1865, and in the 
 First Church of the same denomination and city 
 from 1869 until his death. He was a trustee of 
 the Congregational Seminary ; and a director of the 
 American Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, and of 
 the Charter Oak Bank. 
 
 Lucius A. Barbour, son of Lucius Barbour, and 
 the subject proper of this sketch, was born Jan. 26, 
 1846, at Madison, Ind., and in infancy was brought 
 to Hartford, Conn., by his parents, on their return 
 to that city. Here his youth was passed in attend- 
 ance in the public schools of the cit}', he being grad- 
 uated from the high school in 1864. Later he 
 became teller in the Charter Oak Bank, holding 
 the position until 1870, when he resigned for the 
 purpose of a contemplated two years' tour of travel 
 in Europe. From boyhood young Barbour evinced 
 a taste for military affairs, and it is perhaps in this 
 line that he has been the most widely known 
 throughout the State and New England. However, 
 his business career has been equally brilliant. He 
 •enlisted Sept. 9, 1865, becoming a private in the 
 Hartford City Guard, then aJttached to the First 
 Regiment as Battery D. His military advancements 
 were rapid, and received wide notice in the State, 
 and he proved himself worthy of the promotions, 
 his instincts and tastes entitling him to military 
 leadership from the outset. He resigned from the 
 •Guard in 1871, but returned some years later, when, 
 in February, 1875, he was chosen major of the 
 First Regiment. He was elected lieutenant-colonel 
 Dec. 29, 1876, and on June 26, 1878, was advanced 
 to the command of the regiment. Col. Barbour 
 was in command of the First at the Yorktown 
 Centennial in 1881, and won a national reputation 
 b)f the splendid efficiency and discipline which his 
 organization displayed. Li connection with the 
 Yorktown Centennial the command visited Charles- 
 ton, S. C, and gained the highest military praise. 
 Archibald Forbes, the celebrated London war cor- 
 respondent, paid a high tribute to Col. Barbour's 
 command. The Colonel was one of the most pop- 
 ular officers connected with the National Guard, 
 and his selection later as adutant-general of the 
 State met with universal satisfaction throughout 
 Connecticut. He resigned the colonelcy of the First 
 Nov. 12, 1884. His political affiliations have been 
 with the Republican party. He was a member of 
 the House of Representatives in 1879, serving as 
 the colleague of the late Hon. Henry C. Robinson, 
 and his legislative career was in keeping with the 
 course which he had followed in other callings of 
 life, and added to his reputation and popularity. 
 Gen. Barbour was prominently identified with 
 
 Battle I'lag Day, being a member of the legislative 
 committee which had the arrangements in charge. 
 As a distinguished representative of the National 
 Guard the General is honored throughout Con- 
 necticut. Since 1884 he has been treasurer and 
 president of the Willimantic Linen Co. of the city 
 whose name it bears. He has the reputation of be- 
 ing one of the ablest business managers in the 
 Capitol City. His religious connections are with 
 the First Congregational Church of Hartford. 
 
 On Feb. 8, 1877, at Brooklyn, N. Y., Gen. Bar- 
 bour was married to Miss Harriet E., born Dec. 2, 
 1849, daughter of Alfred Smith Barnes and Har- 
 riet Elizabeth (Burr), Mr. Barnes being of the 
 well-known publishing house of A. S. Barnes & 
 Co., of New York City. Mrs. Barbour died at 
 Hartford, Conn., Nov. 8, 1899, universally beloved 
 and lamented. Her children are : Lucius Barnes, 
 of Yale College, class of 1900; and Harriet Burr. 
 
 The genealogy of the Day family in Gen. Bar- 
 bour's line is as follows : 
 
 (I) Robert Day came to Boston from Ipswich, 
 County of Suffolk, England, in the "Elizabeth," 
 in 1634, and became one of the original proprietors 
 of Hartford, Conn. He married Editha Stebbins. 
 
 (H) Thomas Da^-, son of Robert, the immigrant, 
 married Oct. 27, 1659, Sarah Cooper, daughter of 
 Lieut. Thomas Cooper, who was killed by the In- 
 dians at the burning of Springfield, Mass. He 
 removed to Springfield, Mass., in 1658, and was the 
 ancestor of the Day family in that State. 
 
 (III) Samuel Day, son of .Thomas, born in 
 1671, married in 1697 Mary (Marah) Dumbleton, 
 daughter of John Dumbleton and Lydia (Leonard). 
 
 (IV) Josiah Day, son of Samuel, born in 1701, 
 married in 1731 Elizabeth Bliss, daughter of Pele- 
 tiah Bliss and Elizabeth (Hitchcock), and resided 
 in West Springtield, Massachusetts. 
 
 (V) Gideon Day, son of Josiah, born in 1733, 
 married in 1762 Elizabeth Duncan, daughter of 
 Samuel Duncan and Sarah (Ingram). They re- 
 sided in West Springfield, and later removed to 
 Westfield, Massachusetts. 
 
 (VI) Ambrose Day, son of Gideon, born in 
 1767, married in 1791 Mary Ely, daughter of Na- 
 than Elv and Silence (^Morgan). 
 
 (Vli) Albert Day, son of Ambrose, born in 
 1797, married in 1819 Harriet Chapin, daughter of 
 Frederick Chapin and Roxalany (Lamb), of Chico- 
 pee. Mr. Day was a prominent business man of 
 Hartford, of "the firm of A. & C. Day, and Day, 
 Griswold & Co. He was a brother of the late Cal- 
 vin Dav. He was lieutenant-governor of Connec- 
 ticut, 1856-57. His children, besides Mrs. Lucius 
 Barbour, were: Albert F. and Charles G. 
 
 ROGER SA:\IUEL NEWELL. This well- 
 known attorney of Bristol, now serving as Judge 
 of Probate and Judge of the Town Court, is a 
 member of one of the pioneer families of Connecti- 
 cut, being a descendant of Thomas Newell, a na- 
 tive of Herefordshire, England, who came to Con- 
 
€0 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 necticut about 1640, locating at Farmington, and 
 of Elder William Brewster, who came in the "May- 
 flower."' Thomas Newell married Rebecca Olm- 
 stead, and among their children was a son Samuel. 
 
 Samuel Newell, the next in the line of descent, 
 was an ensign in the militia. He married Mary 
 Hart, and had one son Samuel, born in 1686. 
 
 Samuel Newell married Sarah Norton, and had 
 a son Isaac, born in 171 1. 
 
 Isaac Newell married Rachel Pomeroy, and had 
 a son Simeon, born in 1748. 
 
 Simeon Newell was a captain in the Revolu- 
 tionary army, and a member of the Society of the 
 Cincinnati, his original certificate being now in the 
 possession of our subject. He married Mercy 
 Hooker, and had a son Roger S. Newell, of Farm- 
 ington, Connecticut. 
 
 Roger S. Newell, our subject's grandfather, 
 married Naomi Hawley, and had the following 
 children: Samuel P., the father of our subject; 
 Ceorge, deceased; Henry, deceased, formerly a 
 judge of the supreine court of California; Edward 
 E., a resident of Bristol, Conn. ; and Cornelia H., 
 wife of Charles H. Chapin, of Springfield, Mass., 
 lately deceased. 
 
 Samuel P. Newell was born Nov. 16, 1823, in 
 Farmington, Conn., where he acquired his elemen- 
 tary education. Later he took a course in Yale 
 CTniversity, and read law in the office of John 
 Hooker, Esq., of Hartford, Conn. He was ad- 
 mitted to the Bar in 1848, and shortly afterward 
 removed to Bristol, where he practiced his pro- 
 fession during the remainder of his life. He served 
 as judge of probate. United States revenue col- 
 lector for the district, and held other important 
 public offices, and was also a director of the Na- 
 tional Bank, the Savings Bank, and the Bristol 
 Water Co. Politically he affiliated with the Re- 
 publican party. He died Jan. 2, 1888, widely hon- 
 ored for his useful and well-spent life. On Oct. 
 10, 1854, he married Miss Martha Judd Brewster, 
 ■of Bristol, Conn., who survives him and still re- 
 .sides in Bristol. Five children were born to them, 
 •of whom our subject was the youngest, (i) Eliza- 
 ■beth N. married John J. Jennings, and died Oct. 
 
 17, 1888, leaving two sons, Newell and John J., Jr., 
 -vvho reside in Bristol. (2) Cordelia N., widow of 
 Harry W. Barnes, resides in Bristol. (3) Anita 
 died in childhood. (4) Mary B. married Frederick 
 B. Scudder, of New York City. 
 
 Roger Samuel Newell was bron in Bristol, Oct. 
 
 18, 1867, and received his academic education in 
 the public schools of that town and of Hartford. 
 He graduated from the Hartford Public High 
 School in 1886, from Yale University in 1889, and 
 from Yale Law School in 1891. He then read law 
 in the office of John J. Jennings, Esq., of Bristol, 
 and in 1891 was admitted to the Bar, after which 
 lie continuously practiced his chosen profession as 
 a partner with his preceptor until the latter's death, 
 April I, 1900. He was the first clerk of the bor- 
 
 ough of Bristol, in 1895 was elected judge of the 
 town court, and in 1896 was elected judge of pro- 
 bate, to succeed Elbert E. Thorpe, on the latter's 
 decease. Socially he and his family are prominent, 
 and he is a member of Franklin Lodge, No. 56, F. 
 & A. M., and Pequabuck Chapter, R. A. M. In pol- 
 itics he is a Republican, and in religious bfelief a 
 Congregationalist. 
 
 Mr. Newell was married in Bristol, Sept. 25, 
 1895, to Miss Adaline Birge, daughter of Senator 
 John and Mary A. (Root) Birge. 
 
 GEN. JAMES T. PRATT (deceased. Long 
 prominent in the business life of Hartford and in the 
 public affairs of the State, Gen. Pratt was one of 
 the best-known men in Connecticut politics. 
 
 A son of Capt. John Pratt, of Middletown, he 
 was born in 1802, in that part of the town from 
 which Cromwell has since been formed. As a boy 
 he came to Hartford, and served as a clerk first in 
 the dry-goods store of J. B. Hosmer, and later in 
 that of Robert Watkinson. About 1824 young Pratt 
 started in the jobbing and commission business, the 
 pioneer of this branch of the dry-goods business, 
 which has since grown to such proportions. He was 
 associated with E. G. Howe and Rowland Mather, 
 the firm name for a time being Pratt, Howe & 
 Mather, and afterward becoming Howe, Mather & 
 Co. Young Pratt was full of life, and a natural 
 leader. In a private letter he wrote two years be- 
 fore his death, regretting his inability to attend the 
 Foot Guard reception to the governor, he thus ex- 
 pressed himself: "I joined the Horse Guard about 
 1820, and attended the 'Election Ball' of that year; 
 danced with Miss Boardman, of New Milford, a 
 a sister of the late Hon. William W. Boardman, of 
 New Haven, a ladv of rare accomplishments. At that 
 time Daniel Buck commanded the Horse, and Richard 
 Goodwin the Foot. I was chosen commander of the 
 Horse on the 4th of Jul}, 1826, the fiftieth anniver- 
 sar}^ of American Independence. The late Maj. James 
 Goodwin (father of the Rev. Fi'ancis Goodwin) 
 succeeded me in command of the company. His 
 brother, Jonathan Goodwin, commanded the Foot 
 at the same time. There is not a man living who 
 was a member of the Horse when I enlisted or when 
 I was elected Major. The world moves." Young 
 Pratt served as major of the Horse Guard from 
 1826 to 1829; in 1834 he was elected major of the 
 First Regiment of Cavalry; in 1836 he was colonel 
 of the regiment ; from 1837 to 1839 he was brig- 
 adier-general commanding the first brigade ; from 
 1839 to 1846 he was major-general commanding the 
 first division; and in 1846-47 quartermaster-gen- 
 eral. His service with the State troops in various 
 positions covered a period of more than a quarter of 
 a century, and, largely owing to his efforts, the mil- 
 itary force of the State was greatly increased in 
 efficiency. There was no other man living at the 
 time of Gen. Pratt's death who had given as much 
 unselfish labor to this important part of the State's 
 service. 
 
a^t^yt^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 61 
 
 Before finishing his niihtary service Gen. Pratt 
 had acquired a fortune sufficient for his wants, and 
 about this time he retired from business and pur- 
 chased a farm in Rocky Hill, known as the John 
 William place. Always a Democrat of the old- 
 fashioned Jacksonian type, he was sure, with his 
 temperament, to take an active interest in politics. 
 He represented Rocky Hill in the Legislature in 
 1847, 1848 and 1850,- and again in 1857 and 1862. 
 In 1852 he served in the Senate, representing the 
 old First District. He was a very frequent dele- 
 gate to Democratic State Conventions, and with his 
 white overcoat and his impetuous manner, both of 
 which he retained as long as he lived, became a con- 
 spicuous and influential figure. He was a represen- 
 tative from his district in the XXXHId Congress 
 (1853-55), andi in 1858 and 1859 was the Demo- 
 cratic candidate for governoi, being defeated by 
 Gov. Buckingham. He confidently expected to be 
 nominated in i860, but in the meantime his old-time 
 friend and companion, Thomas H. Seymour, for 
 whom he had done very many acts of kindness and 
 friendship, returned from the Russian mission, and 
 was at once suggested as the man to be nominated 
 in the emergency. Gen. Pratt at once wrote him, 
 offering to withdraw in his favor from a canvass in 
 the convention. Col. Seymour politely and pos- 
 itively declined to accept the sacrifice (says Dr. 
 Rufus W. Griswold in his "History of Rocky Hill"), 
 and wrote Gen. Pratt that he would not be a candi- 
 date under any circumstances. Nevertheless Sey- 
 mour was nominated and accepted. This put an end 
 for years at least, to an old friendship, for the Gen- 
 eral was as strong in his prejudices as in his friend- 
 ships. The same convention which nominated Sey- 
 mour elected Pratt a delegate to the National Con- 
 vention of Charleston. This was at the time when 
 the secession conspiracy was just beginning to lift 
 its head. Gen. Pratt represented the old-type Dem- 
 ocrat, who looked upon the Free-Soilers as imprac- 
 ticable cranks, and upon the Abolitionists as sons 
 of Belial. He regarded slavery as a human patri- 
 archal institution, which had always existed, and he 
 regarded those at the North who were making a 
 crusade against it as disturbers of the peace. But 
 he was a Union man to the core, and, when he found 
 the Charleston convention dividing upon lines look- 
 ing toward disunion, he did not hesitate a moment, 
 but planted himself fair and square on the Union 
 side. When it came to the question of breaking with 
 the Southern wing — or rather head — of the party, 
 or of lending countenance to the infamous work 
 of the conspirators. Gen. Pratt's views were not un- 
 certain. He voted for Douglas, and when threat- 
 ened treason became a reality in the secession move- 
 ment he became one of the foremost leaders of the 
 war Democrats of the State. Rufus W. Griswold, a 
 long-time friend and neighbor of Gen. Pratt, writes 
 especially of this period of his life : "I was much 
 with Gen. Pratt at this time, and more fully in his 
 confidence than any other person. I recall manv 
 long talks with him between the adjournment of 
 
 the convention at Charleston and its meeting again 
 at Baltimore, and especially just before the re-as- 
 sembling, when it was concluded that, as lovers of 
 the common weal rather than as partisans, the patri- 
 otic Democrat had gone as far in support of the de- 
 mands of the South as could be rationally expected, 
 and that when more was demanded it could not be 
 granted. Thereafter there was no more earnest 
 supporter of the Union cause than this old Jack- 
 sonian Democrat." Elected to the House of Repre- 
 sentatives in 1862, he no longer recorded himself 
 a Democrat but a "Union" man, and for ten years 
 he acted more with the Republicans than with the 
 Democrats. Afterward, when in 1870 and 1871 he 
 represented Wethersfield in the Legislature, he 
 styled himself in politics an "Old-school Democrat." 
 Recognizing his fidelity to the "Union," as well as 
 his standing as a Democrat, Gov. Buckingham ap- 
 pointed him a delegate to the Peace Convention 
 which was held at Baltimore, with the vain hope 
 of preventing actual conflict. 
 
 Some twenty years before his death Gen. Pratt 
 removed from Rocky Hill to Wethersfield, where 
 he afterward enjoyed a serene old age, taking an 
 active interest in public affairs until near the end of 
 life. Personally he was a firm friend, and a stanch 
 but always open enemj'. Pie was positive and opin- 
 ionated, somewhat emphatic in expressing his views, 
 especially if opposed or contradicted. But he was 
 thoroughly honest, earnestly patriotic, straight- 
 forward in all his courses, generous to the poor, lib- 
 eral and public-spirited. He was probably the most 
 prolific letter-writer in the State, corresponding with 
 almost every one of any prominence in either party. 
 And he was nearly as forcible in his manner of ex- 
 pressing himself on paper as in the convention or 
 legislative hall. Fraternally he was a member of 
 the F. & A. M., St. John's Lodge, No. 4, Plartford. 
 He died April 11, 1887, and was buried at Indian 
 Hill, JMiddletown. 
 
 On Nov. 29, 1840, Gen. Pratt was married to 
 Lutitia Juliette Hollister, of South Glastonbury, 
 Conn., and children as follows were born to this 
 union: James Elijah, deceased in infancy; Laura 
 Louise, also deceased; James Timothy, sketch of 
 whom follows ; Elizabeth C, widow of Ernest Dem- 
 ing, late of Middletown ; Ellen W^oodward, living 
 in Hartford ; Fanny AVendell, deceased ; and John, 
 connected with the Neiv York Herald^ with resi- 
 dence in New York City. 
 
 James T. Pratt was born in Rocky Hill, Conn., 
 in 1 85 1, and there passed the earlier years of his life, 
 his education being received mainly at St. Paul's 
 school, Brookfield. For five years thereafter he 
 clerked for Wetherby, Kncus & Pelton, dry-goods 
 merchants, Hartford, passing the subsequent five 
 years in the railway mail service. Returning to 
 Hartford, twenty-one years ago, Mr. Pratt engaged 
 in the undertaking business with W. R. Morgan, 
 the firm being Morgan & Pratt, and upon the retire- 
 ment of Mr. ^Morgan from the business Mr. Pratt 
 conducted the concern alone for some eighteen 
 
62 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 montlis, since when the style of the firm has been 
 Pratt i& Johnson. 
 
 In 1894, in Wethersfield, Conn., j\lr. Pratt was 
 married to Miss Mary L., daughter of Dr. Abner 
 S. Warner, of that town, and they have two chil- 
 dren: James T., Jr.; and Lucia Elizabeth. In his 
 fraternal associations Mr. Pratt is a Thirty-second 
 degree Mason, and a member of the Shrine; is 
 also affiliated with the I. O. O. F., Connecticut 
 Lodge, No. 93 ; and with the K. of P., Washington 
 Lodge, No. 15. 
 
 CONE FAMILY of Hartford. This family is 
 an old and prominent one in Connecticut, and sev- 
 eral members thereof, closely related to the late 
 William R., Sylvanus F., and Deacon Joseph E. 
 Cone, of Hartford, have figured in the professional 
 and mercantile history of that city through two- 
 thirds of a century. 
 
 The American ancestor of this branch of the 
 family was Daniel Cone, who, with three of his 
 sons — Daniel, Jared and Stephen — came in 165 1 to 
 this country from Edinburgh, Scotland, the voyage 
 being made in the ship '"John and Sarah." ihey 
 located first in Massachusetts (where was born another 
 son, Caleb), thence in 1657 removing to Haddam, 
 Conn. From there they came in 1685 to East Had- 
 dam, which locality became the permanent home 
 of many of their descendants. Daniel Cone, Sr., 
 was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and died in Had- 
 dam, Conn., Oct. 24, 1706. He was one of the 
 original twenty-eight who for twenty-eight red 
 coats bought from the Indians what is now the 
 county of Middlesex. His second wife was the 
 widow of Richard Walkley, of Haddam. 
 
 Slyvanus Franklin Cone, father of the late Jo- 
 seph Henry Cone and Col. William E. Cone, who 
 for many years as partners carried on successfully 
 a first-class hardware business on Asylum street, 
 Hartford, where it has since been continued under 
 the old firm name by Col. Cone, was born Aug. 
 24, 1813, in East Haddam, Conn., a son of Joseph 
 W. and Mehitabel S. (Swan) Cone, who died March 
 4, 1848, aged seventy-three, and Sept. 11, 1849, 
 aged seventy-one, respectively, both being buried in 
 the cemetery at West Hartford Center. Sylvanus 
 F. Cone came to Hartford in 1835, and passed the 
 rest of his lifetime in that city, where he was a 
 useful, honored and respected citizen. He always 
 took a warm interest in pviblic affairs, rarely if 
 ever failing to exercise his rights as a citizen. For 
 many years he was a member of the board of 
 selectmen of the town, also served as assessor, and 
 filled other offices of trust, always performing his 
 duties wdth scrupulous fidelity. He was possessed 
 of a most genial and kindly disposition, retaining 
 "his youthful feelings and appearance to a wonder- 
 ful degree to the very last. He died on June 30, 
 1879, esteemed and Ijeloved by a large circle of 
 friends and acquaintances. His first wife, formerly 
 Miss Sarah A. Miller, to whom he was married 
 
 in April, 1835, passed away Aug. 28, 1849. Their 
 children were as follows : Joseph H. (a sketch of 
 whom follows), Sarah A., and Augusta M., all 
 three deceased ; Augustus F., a resident of Toledo, 
 Ohio; William E., in Hartford; and Helen M., 
 deceased. For his second wife Slyvanus F. Cone 
 married Dec. 11, 1850, Delia M. Barnard, of Hart- 
 ford, and two children graced their union: Ella 
 Barnard, wife of Charles W. Pratt, a sketch of 
 whom follows : and John Barnard. 
 
 Joseph Henry Cone, who died at his home in 
 Hartford July 7, 1892, was born in 1836, in the 
 old Cone homestead on Farmington avenue, Hart- 
 ford, and was a lifelong resident of that city. He 
 was educated at the public schools, and at West 
 Hartford Academy, a famous school half a century 
 ago. Early in life he entered the hardware store 
 of George M. Way & Co., there learning the busi- 
 ness. In 1861 he entered into partnership with the 
 late Roderick Terry, the firm name being Terry & 
 Cone. When Mr. Terry retired the firm became J. 
 H. & W. E. Cone by the admission of Mr. Cone's 
 brother. Col. William E. Cone. In 1872 they pur- 
 chased and remodeled the building at Nos. 87-89 
 Asylum street, which the firm occupied, and where 
 they afterward remained. 
 
 Joseph FI. Cone never held public office, al- 
 thougU he was always prominent in business life. 
 He was a man of rather retiring disposition, much 
 attached to his family, by whom he was regarded 
 as an affectionate husband and kind, indulgent 
 ■parent. Nearly two years prior to his death he re- 
 tired from the active business of the firm of which 
 he was a member, although still retaining his in- 
 terest in the same. He married Martha I. Mix, 
 daughter of the late John G. and Clarissa (Isham) 
 Mix, of Hartford, and she and her son, Henry F., 
 and two daughters, Clara M. and Lillian C, sur- 
 vive. 
 
 Charles W. Pratt, of Hartford, is a direct de- 
 scendant in the eighth generation from Lieut. Will- 
 iam Pratt, who, with Rev. Thomas Hooker, was one 
 of the first settlers of Hartford, tracing his line of 
 ancestry through Charles A., William A., Deacon 
 Timothy, Timothy, Isaac, and John to Lieut. Will- 
 iam, the first settler. 
 
 (I) Lieut. William Pratt came to Newtown, 
 Mass., in 1633, thence moving to Hartford, Conn. 
 In June, 1636, he married Miss Elizabeth Clark, 
 daughter of John Clark, of Saybrook, Conn. He 
 was deputy at the General Court for twenty-three 
 sessions. He died in 1678. 
 
 (II) Ensign John Pratt, eldest son of the above, 
 was born Feb. 20, 1644. He married June 8, 
 1668, Sarah Jones, daughter of Thomas Jones, of 
 Guilford, Conn. He was a large land owner in 
 Saybrook, and also in Hebron, Conn. He was a 
 blacksmith by trade, and a man of prominence, and 
 for several terms was the representative of his town 
 in the Legislature. He died in 1726. 
 
 (III) Isaac Pratt, son of John, was born June 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 68 
 
 16, 1677, and died in 1733. He married Mary 
 Taylor. 
 
 (1\') Timothy Pratt, son of Isaac, was born 
 Jan. 20, 1713. He married Sarah Parl<er. 
 
 (V) Deacon Timoth)' Pratt, son of Timothy, 
 was born Oct. 17, 1748. In 1775 he married Sarah 
 Shipman. For many years lie was a deacon of the 
 Congregational Church at Saybrook, and he was 
 an exemplary Christian, tic died Sept. 12, 1823; 
 ^Irs. Pratt died Jan. 2, 1817. 
 
 (VT) William Augi.stus Pratt, son of Deacon 
 Timothy', was born Oct. 9, 1791, and was a car- 
 penter and builder at Saybrook. On Dec. 2, 1817, 
 ne married Sarah Lynde. He died i\Iarch 3, 1850, 
 she on Feb. 13, 1840. Issue; Elizabeth, Sarah, 
 William, Lynde, Charles Augustus, and John Heber. 
 
 (VII) Charles Augustus Pratt, son of William 
 Augustus, was born Alarch 21, 1826, and has all 
 his life been a carpenter and builder in Saybrook, 
 Conn. On April i, 1849, h^ married Mary E. 
 Randall and children as follows have come to 
 them: Sarah Elizabeth, born Jan. 6, 1850, married 
 to John Rankin, of Saybrook ; Charles William, 
 born Dec. 8, 1851 ; Isabella, May 29, 1853; George 
 Augustus, Oct. 3, 1855 (resides in Hartford) ; Mary 
 Amelia, Jan. 6, 1859, married to K. N. Bill; Ed- 
 ward Burt, May 4, 1861 ; and Frank Sterling, Oct. 
 3, 1867. 
 
 (VIII) Charles W. Pratt spent his early school 
 days in Saybrook, and at the early age of ten 
 years became the mail carrier for that village, which 
 position he filled four years. When fifteen he began 
 •clerking for Augustus Bushnell, at Westbrook, 
 Conn., remaining with him some three years; at 
 the age of eighteen he came to Hartford to fill the 
 position of clerk in the old "Bee Hive" store. In 
 1887 he engaged in the ladies' dress and cloak busi- 
 ness in partnership with a Mr. Sage, under the 
 firm name of Pratt & Sage, which continued a 
 couple of years, and since 1889 the firm name has 
 "been C. W. Pratt. 
 
 On Sept. 10, 1879, J^^r. Pratt was married to 
 Ella Barnard Cone, daughter of Slyvester F. 
 Cone, as above, and children as follows have graced 
 their union: Charles Franklin, born Sept. 10, 1880; 
 and Warren Cone, born Jan. 31, 1888. 
 
 JAMES CHURCH PRATT, a well-known 
 resident of West Hartford, whoste home is at No. 
 700 Farmington avenue, was born in Hartford 
 INIarch 17, 1838, and traces his ancestry back to 
 John and Elizabeth Pratt, the progenitors of the 
 family in America. (II) John Pratt, their son, 
 married Hepsibah Wyatt, a daughtier of John Wy- 
 att, and died in 1687. (Ill) John Pratt, the third 
 of that name, was born May 17, 1661, and married 
 Hannah Sanford. (IV) William Pratt, born in 
 1691, married Amy Pinney, and died Jan. 16, 1753. 
 fV) Joseph Pratt, born in 1742, was married in 
 1767 to Susannah Caldwell, and died Oct. 14, 
 1814. 
 
 (\'I) Josleph Pratt, born in Hartford June 6, 
 1779, was the grandfather of our subject. He was 
 a Democrat in politics, and served as postmaster 
 of Hartford at one time. He died in Opelousas, 
 La., iMarch 6, 1852. On Dec. 10, 1802, he was mar- 
 ried to Fanny Wadsworth, and after her death he 
 married Charlotte Wadsworth, Dec. 6, 1839. He had 
 thirteen children: Susan Ann, born Oct. 19, 1803, 
 married Timothy Allyn, and diedin 1888; Algernon 
 Sidne}-, born May 30, 1805, died Feb. 28, 1809; 
 Esther, born May 13, 1807, died March 4, 1809; 
 Mary, born 1808, died in 1809; Edward, born Jan. 
 18, 1810, died Oct. 31, 1810; Joseph, the father of 
 our subject, was next in the family; Harriet, born 
 Nov. 16, 1814, married Moses Cook, and died in 
 1862; John G., born March 31, 1817, married (first) 
 Adella B. King, and ( second) Mary Ann Hall, and 
 died in 1866; Mary Esther, born Se'pt. 6, 1819, died 
 in 1887; Frances, born Sept. 3, 1821, died in March, 
 1826; Edward, born Aug. 15, 1824, died Aug. 24, 
 1850; Ellen Frances, born Feb. 15, 1826, died Feb. 
 4, 1848; and Jeremiah, born in 1828, died the same 
 year. 
 
 (VII) Joseph Pratt, father of our subject, was 
 born in Hartford, Nov. 8, 181 1, and was educated 
 in the schools of that city. On attaining man's 
 estate he engaged in farming in the town of Hart- 
 ford, until forty years of age, when he became in- 
 terested in the lumber' business for one year. He 
 took cjuite a prominent and influential part in public 
 affairs; was a member of the city council, street 
 superintendent for a year, and also chief of the 
 fire department. After the Civil war he affiliated 
 with the Republican party. He married Abigail 
 Prior Church, who was born Oct. 12, 1812, a 
 daughter of James Church. Only one child was 
 born of this union, James Church Pratt. 
 
 (A^III) James C. Pratt spent his early boyhood 
 at the farm on Windsor avenue, until eight years 
 of age, when he accompanied his parents on their 
 removal to Hartford, and there attended public 
 school until sixteen years of age, when, his health 
 failing, he went to Louisiana to visit his grand- 
 mother and an uncle, who lived there, in the hope 
 of regaining his strength. He made his home there 
 until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he entered 
 the Confederate service, and for a time served as 
 captain of a compan}' in a Louisiana regiment. He 
 was taken prisoner in the fall of 1863, and in March, 
 1864, returned to the home of his childhood at 
 Hartford, a paroled prisoner of war. After the 
 close of the war he remained at home with his par- 
 ents, and later engaged in mercantile business, con- 
 tinuing the same for about ten years, when he re- 
 tired. He became a member of the Governor's 
 Foot Guards in 1867, and has retained his member- 
 ship, being now with one exception the oldest in 
 active service. He was promoted from private 
 through all the grades to captain, and now. at the 
 age of sixtv-two. is carrying a musket. He has been 
 a" resident' of West Hartford for the past twelve 
 
64 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years, and is numbered among its best and most 
 highly respected citizens. 
 
 In Norwich, Conn., ]Mr. Pratt was united in 
 marriage with ]\Iiss Jennie A. Peck, and to them 
 were born five children : {i) Joseph died at the age 
 of twenty-one months. (2) Carrie S. is the wife of 
 George ri. Barton, who is engaged in the insurance 
 business in Hartford, representing the National Fire 
 Insurance Co., and they have three children, Beat- 
 rice, Agnes, and Russell. (3) Joseph Hyde married 
 j\Iiss j\Iary Dicus Bayley ; he is now engaged as 
 government surveyor in the geological survey of 
 North Carolina. (4) Esther is the wife of Rev. J. 
 Howard Gaylord. (5) Anna Louise is still at home. 
 
 CHARLES FREDERICK SCHUMACHER, 
 one of the enterprising and successful business men 
 of Hartford, was born Feb. 11, 1857, in \Vaterbury, 
 Conn., son of John N. and Catherine (jNIartzel) 
 Schumacher, both natives of Germany. 
 
 The family originated in the province of Meck- 
 lenburg, Germany, and our subject's grandfather, 
 John S. Schumacher, was born there. John N. 
 Schumacher, father of our subject, was born in 
 Mecklenburg Dec. 29, 1830, and learned the black- 
 smith's trade in his youth, but later became a pat- 
 tern-maker. In 185 1 he came to the United States, 
 and after spending six months in New York City 
 located at Waterbury, remaining until 1861. He 
 then spent about six months in Europe, and on his 
 return settled in Torrington, Conn., entering the 
 employ of the Turner, Seymour & Judd Manu- 
 facturing Co., with whom he learned the pattern- 
 maker's trade. In this line of work he became an 
 expert, and, as one of the most valued workmen 
 in the establishment, he had charge of the pattern 
 department for many years. After twent3'-four 
 years', residence at Torrington he removed to Bris- 
 tol, retiring from active business. Politically he 
 has always affiliated with the Republican party, and 
 he 'is a member of the German Lutheran Church, 
 and of the Knights of Pythias. His estimable wife, 
 Catherine Martzel, a native of Alsace-Lorraine, 
 Germany, died Jan. 12, 1899, leaving one son,Charles 
 Frederick. 
 
 Charles Frederick Schumacher's education was 
 begun in a district school near his early home, and 
 later he attended Torrington Academy. When four- 
 teen years old he found employment in a needle 
 shop, and during the following year he began learn- 
 ing the pattern-maker's trade with his father, serv- 
 ing the usual apprenticeship of three years. After 
 working tvv'o years in the Malleable Iron Works, at 
 Union City, he bought a portable steam sawmill 
 which he operated for three years, and for a year 
 and a half he was employed as a pattern-maker in 
 the Sessions Foundry, at Bristol. Removing to 
 Bridgeport, later, he worked as pattern-maker for 
 Eaton, Cole & Burnham, for a time, and then he 
 went to Waterbury to take charge of the pattern de- 
 partment of the AVaterbury Malleable Iron Co., re- 
 maining two years, when the firm was dissolved. 
 
 In 1889 he located in Plartford, entering the employ 
 of the Pratt & Cady Co., and in about six months 
 was made foreman of their works. He continued 
 with this company two years, and has since been 
 engaged in the real-estate business, having pur- 
 chased 400 feet of land on Putnam street, Hartford,, 
 where he built nine brick houses, including three 
 tenement houses. The venture has proved success- 
 ful, and after selling four of the houses he still 
 retains five, which he rents. Mr. Schumacher is 
 independent in politics, and socially is connected 
 with the Knights of Pythias, having united with the 
 lodge at Waterbury. Few men have made their 
 way to success through greater discouragements 
 than he, and in his prosperity he believes in enjoy- 
 ing the good things of life, having made a trip to 
 Germany in 1896. 
 
 Mr. Schumacher married Miss Josephine Ober- 
 hauser, daughter of Jacques Oberhauser, of Muntz- 
 thal, Germany, and they have one child, Dora. 
 
 SAMUEL S. CHAMBERLIN, senior partner 
 in the firm of Chamberlin & Shaughnessy, of Hart- 
 ford, was born in that city Dec. 10, 1868, and is now 
 one of the substantial business men of the place. 
 
 Mr. Chamberlin was educated in the public 
 schools of Hartford. He first worked for Greeley, 
 in the clothing business, and then entered t.ie em- 
 ploy of Horsfall & Rothschild, with whom he re- 
 mained aboult twelve years. In May, 1897, he 
 formed a partnership with D. J. Shaugfhnessy, and 
 purchased the business of E. J. Smith, dealer in 
 gents' furnishing goods. In this venture they 
 have met with marked success, the business being 
 now the largest in that line in the city, and the 
 energy and sound business judgment displayed 
 promise well for the future. Politically our subject 
 has always been a Republican, and his popularity is 
 shown b)' the fact that when a candidate for council- 
 man in the First ward he came within thirty-five 
 votes of overcoming the normal Democratic majoi'- 
 ity of 700. He is a member of Hartford Lodge, 
 No. 19, B. P. O. E., and takes an active interest 
 in the work of the societ}^ being now Esteemed 
 Leading Knight. 
 
 On Oct. 26, 1897, Mr. Chamberlin marr'ied Mrs. 
 Louise Fox, nee Thomas, daughter of J. B. Thomas, 
 a well-known resident of Hartford. They have 
 one son, Albert S., born July 15, 1899, and Mr. 
 Chamberlin has also adopted Harold Fox, a son of 
 his wife by her first marriage. 
 
 GEN. GRIFFIN ALEXANDER STEDMAN, 
 that gallant and distinguished citizen, soldier and 
 noble man, of whom Hartford is so justly proud and 
 not less the nation, and whose conspicuous services 
 during the years of the Civil war are perpetuated in 
 an imposing statue in the capital city, descended 
 from patriotic New England stock of English origin, 
 whose ancestors came early to the New World. 
 
 Gen. Stedman was born Jan. 6, 1838, in Hart- 
 ford, Conn., son of Griffin A. and Mary ApOwen 
 
G-RIFFIH A. STEDHAH 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 65 
 
 (Shields) Steclman, he a native of Hartfonl, and 
 jhe of Philadelphia, descending from old substan- 
 tial families there, one of which, on her mother's 
 side, was the Jackson family. The paternal grand- 
 father of Gen. Stedman, who also bore the name of 
 Griffin, was a native of Hampton, Conn., and was 
 there engaged, and afterward in Hartford, in the 
 lumber business, the old famih^ homestead in Hart- 
 ford being located on Morgan street. He was one 
 of the prominent men of Hartford of his dav ; was 
 very active in religious work, identified with Christ 
 Episcopal Church, and assisted in building the pres- 
 ent church ediiice that stands on thi corner of 
 Main and Church streets. He died at the age of 
 seventy years. Gen. Stedman's father ^vas also 
 active and prominent in the councils of Christ Kpis- 
 copal Church. He was major in the old Governor's 
 Foot Guard, a military organization of historic 
 origin and of considerable local note, and also had 
 a brother, Edmund Stedman, who served in that 
 organization in the same rank. This Edmund Sted- 
 man was the father of the New i^ork gentleman of 
 the same name known widely as a poet and critic. 
 From the inscriptions on the tombstones marking 
 the graves of the parents of Gen. Stedman it is 
 learned that his father was born in 1810 and died 
 in 1883, and that his mother was born in 1815 and 
 died in 1877. The children born to this couple 
 were Marv Ada. now Mrs. Charles W. Johnson, of 
 Hartford; Griffin Alexander, our subject; Eliza- 
 beth Shields ; Robert Shields, now a practicing phy- 
 sician in New York ; Ernest Gordon, now a lawyer 
 of New York ; and Edmund ApOwen. 
 
 Gen. Griffin A. Stedman, the subject proper of 
 this sketch, passed his youth and early manhood lin 
 his native city. His education was received in 
 the schools of which Hartford is so justly proud, 
 he graduating from Trinitv College June, 1859. He 
 began reading law in Philadelphia, entering the 
 office of S. H. Perkins, a leading lawyer of that 
 city. When the attack on Sumter was made he at 
 once joined the Washington Greys of that city, but 
 on learning that Col. Colt, of Hartford, was rais- 
 ing a regiment for the Fourteenth U. S. Infantry, 
 he exchanged to that command in May, 1861, jtist 
 as it was taking up its quarters on the very grounds 
 which are now marked by this 3'oung hero's statue. 
 
 Realizing amid all the excitement and enthusi- 
 asm -of the time how poorly we were prepared for 
 the struggle, that war was a science, that numbers 
 and bravery could not win battles unless directed by 
 intelligence and skill, young Stedman devoted him- 
 self with untiring energy to acquire a knowledge of 
 his new calling. He early showed such aptitude 
 and ability as to attract the attention of Alajor 
 Baker of the regular army, in charge of the instruc- 
 tion of the battalion, who recommended him for a 
 commission. 
 
 The enterprise of Col. Colt was not successful, 
 
 the battalion was disbanded and the Fifth regiment 
 
 of Connecticut ^^olunteers was called for by the 
 
 governor, who in recognition of Stedman's qualifi- 
 5 
 
 cations commissioned him as captain of Company 
 I. He left Hartford July 2y, 1861, with tlie regi- 
 ment which was assigned to duty under Gen. Banks 
 in the department of the Shenandoah. Tlie regi- 
 ment was at once called upon to make a series of 
 long and rapid marches up and down the Potomac 
 to cover threatened points, earning for itself the 
 designation of "foot cavalry," and becoming thor- 
 oughly acquainted with guard and out-post duty in 
 face of the enemy; Stedman availed himself with 
 alacrity of these opportunities for improvement, 
 and so impressed Col. Ferry with his ability that he 
 was selected to command a detachment sent across 
 the Potomac to cover the retreat of our forces after 
 the disaster at Ball's Bluff. He received great 
 credit for the effective manner in which lie per- 
 formed this ssrvice. It is a difficult and delicate 
 mission, and seldom accomplished without sacrific- 
 ing a portion of the picket line on withdrawal. 
 Stedman withdrew the picket line himself, and 
 brought back every man. 
 
 In November, 1861, Capt. Stedman was pro- 
 moted to be major of the Eleventh, and served with 
 the regiment under Burnside in the expedition to 
 North Carolina, taking part in the capture of New 
 Haven and the different affairs of the campaign. 
 On June 11, 1862, he was promoted to lieutenant- 
 colonel, and returned with the regiment to the 
 Army of the Potomac, in time for the Antietam cam- 
 paign. The regiment formed the advance guard in 
 entering Frederick City, and was engaged at South 
 ^Nloturtain. In the battle of Antietam Stedman had 
 command of the right wing of the regiment in the 
 attack on the Stone Bridge, and, after the death of 
 the gallant Kingsburj', led in the charge by which 
 it was captured. Here he was severely wounded, 
 but refused to leave the field until the regiment 
 was relieved. 
 
 On Sept. 25, of that year, Stedman was made 
 colonel, and was in command at the battle of Fred- 
 ericksburg. Shortly afterward he was ordered to 
 Newport News, then in March. 1863, to Suffolk, 
 where he took an active part in the defense dur- 
 ing its investment by Longstreet. In June he par- 
 ticipated in the demonstration on Richmond, and 
 during the rest of the summer and fall was in gar- 
 rison at Gloucester Point and Yorktown. In Jan- 
 uary, 1864, the regiment re-enlisted, and on its re- 
 turn to the front was assigned to the Eighteenth 
 corps ; was engaged in the aft'air at Swift's Creek, 
 May 9, and in the battle of Drury's Bluff', on the 
 i6th, where he lost nearly two hundred men. In ■ 
 the latter part of May, Stedman succeeded to the 
 command of the brigade, and went with Gen. Smith's 
 corps to the Army of the Potomac in time to join 
 in the bloody assault upon the enemy's line at Cold 
 Harbor. On June 15 he was present at the cap- 
 ture of a portion of the defenses of Petersburg, and 
 subsequently was engaged in the investment of that 
 place. On August 5. just at the end of the at- 
 tack which had been repulsed, and while talking with 
 Gen. Ames he received his death wound. Repeat- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ediy recommended for promotion by his division 
 and corps commanders for personal gallantry and 
 effective service while leading his brigade, his com- 
 mission as general reached him as his life was ebb- 
 ing away. 
 
 Such in brief outline was the career of one of 
 Connecticut's best and bravest sons. His country 
 called, he gave her all he had, his life. The details 
 that would round out the study of his service are 
 woven in the records of the Fifth and Eleventh 
 Connecticut regiments, and of his later commands. 
 These records tell of many a well-fought field, of 
 patient endurance, of weary march, of defeat and 
 victory, and all illumined with the spirit of pa- 
 triotic devotion and self-sacrifice. 
 
 Gen. Stedman was possessed in a high degree 
 of the qualities which mark the successful com- 
 mander. Cool and collected he was always master 
 of himself and of the situation, and inspired a con- 
 fidence in those under him that was unbounded. 
 Ever ready for any service, never complaining, al- 
 ways setting an example of cheerful obedience to 
 orders, and always exacting strict compliance with 
 his own without in any degree being a martinet. 
 By force of his personality he exerted an influence 
 that was irresistible. He governed not so much bv 
 fear of punishment as by creating an ideal of duty 
 which made every man feel the honor of the regi- 
 ment was in his keeping, and that failure on his part 
 would bring discredit on the command. Those 
 who knew Stedman best loved him best. There was 
 an indescribable something in his bearing and man- 
 jier by which you realized that you had met a man. 
 He was strong of heart and true of purpose, and 
 withal tender as a woman, self-reliant, but always 
 considerate of others. "Whom the Gods love die 
 young." Lives are not like leaseholds measured by 
 a term of years, achievement laughs to scorn 
 the reaper death. If Stedman's years were few 
 the}^ sufficed to bring him honor and renown.. He 
 left a memory without a stain. He died for others. 
 [The foregoing personal sketch of Gen. Stedman 
 is in main taken from the oration of Col. W. S. 
 Cogswell, delivered at the unveiling of the Sted- 
 man monument at Hartford Oct. 4, 1900.] 
 
 The shot that gave Gen. Stedman his mortal 
 wound passed through his stomach. He lived until 
 the following morning, dying Aug. 6, 1864. Gen. 
 Ames, in announcing to Gen. Ord the fact of the 
 receiving of the mortal wound, stated that he had 
 lost one of the finest soldiers in the anny. Gen. 
 Stedman's remains were sent under escort to New 
 London, Conn., the summer home of the famih^, 
 and Aug. 13, 1864, his body was temporarily in- 
 terred, with military honors, lin Cedar Grove ceme- 
 tery in that city. On Aug. 20, 1875, his remains 
 were removed from New London to Hartford, and 
 reburied in the family lot in Cedar Hill cemetery, 
 where they now repose, a handsome and elaborately 
 carved sarcophagus of military desiarn marking his 
 L'ist resting place. On the base of the tomb appears 
 the highly appropriate inscription: "Brave, just, 
 
 generous and pure, without fear and without re- 
 proach." 
 
 On what is known as Campfield, in the southern 
 part of the city of Hartford, there has just been 
 erected by the Campfield Monument Association 
 what is designated as The Campfield Monument. 
 Campfield was made historic during the Civil war 
 by its being the camping place and mustering-in 
 point of many Connecticut regiments. To mark this 
 field and commemorate the memories that cluster 
 about it this monument was erected by the associa- 
 tion, who likewise determined upon having it sur- 
 mounted bv a portrait statue of some typical Con- 
 necticut volunteer, one whose military history was 
 linked with the field, and it was unanimously decided 
 upon that of Gen. Griffin A. Stedman. "The Com- 
 mittee in charge has crowned the pedestal on which 
 are inscribed the names of the regiments that were 
 here mustered into service with a statue in bronze 
 of one who was, in fullest measure, a typ; of the 
 citizen soldier of the Republic. Of one who rep- 
 resented in marked degree the patriotism, courage, 
 determination, intelKgence, and self-sacrifice that 
 animated the great army by which the nation was 
 preserved." The monument was unveiled Oct. 
 4, 1900. 
 
 JOHNSON. The Johnson family of Hartford, 
 of which the late Gen. Nathan Johnson and descend- 
 ants, among whom is Charles W. Johnson, yet a res- 
 ident of the cit}^ and family, and who in turn with 
 his father has been identified with the legal profes- 
 sion and courts of the county and State throughout 
 the last century, is one among the oldest of New 
 England families, and also one of prominence. 
 
 William Johnson, the emigrant ancestor, sup- 
 posed to have come from Heonehill, a parish near 
 Canterbury, County of Essex, England, left Lon- 
 don, England, in 1634, at the age of thirty-two, for 
 America and settled in Charlestown, Mass., where 
 he had three and one-half acres of land laid out to 
 him in that same year, 1634. He and his wife 
 Elizabeth were admitted to the church in Charles- 
 town in 1635, and in March of that same year he 
 was made a freeman. His death occurred between 
 1677 and 1678, when he was seventy-six years of 
 age. 
 
 From this emigrant ancestor Charles W. John- 
 son, of Hartford, is a descendant in the seventh 
 generation, his line being through Jonathan, Will- 
 iam (2), Isaac, Elisha and Gen. Nathan Johnson. 
 
 (II) Jonathan Johnscn, son of William, the em- 
 igrant, born in 1641, settled in Marlboro, Mass., 
 in 1662, where he had some thirty acres of land as- 
 signed to him. He married Oct. 14, 1663. Mary, 
 born in 1644, daughter of Richard and Ann Newton, 
 of Marlboro (the first marriage recorded in the 
 town). Jonathan was for several years the school- 
 master, and was the first master in the first school- 
 house erected in the town, in 1700. Lie served as 
 selectman, and died in 1712 ;, his widow JMary passed 
 away in 1728. The handwriting of Jonathan John- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (57 
 
 son, samples of which exist in deeds and other doc- 
 uments, indicates a man of education, marked indi- 
 viduaht}- and force of character. He wrote his 
 will but a few days before his death at the age of 
 seventy-one, yet the bold, clear-cut letters would do 
 credit to a professional penman. 
 
 (III) \V'illiam Johnson (2), son of Jonathan, 
 born Dec. 15, 1665, married (first), about 1688, 
 Plannah Larkin, who died in 1696, and (second) 
 about 1699 wedded Hannah Rider. Mr. Johnson 
 was chosen moderator of the first business town 
 meeting-,, and took a prominent part in town afifairs 
 for many years, representing the town in General 
 Court, was constable and frequently served on im- 
 portant committees, and from 1706-08, held the office 
 of highway surveyor for Marlborough. He had a 
 sawmill and gristmill in 1733. His death occurred 
 in Southborough in 1754, when aged eighty-eight 
 years. His widow died in 1757, when aged sev- 
 enty-nine 3-ears. 
 
 (IV) Isaac Johnson, son of William (2), boin 
 in 1713, married, in 1733 or '35, Rachel Thomas, 
 •daughter of Joseph Thomas (son of Rowland 
 Thomas, of Springfield, and Sarah, daughter of 
 Deacon Samuel Chapin) and Mary, first wife (?), 
 or Elizabeth, second wife (?). Isaac was select- 
 man in Southborough in 1761 and 1771. After 
 having lived together as man and wife for sixty 
 years, Mrs. Johnson died in 1794, aged eighty-four 
 years, and Mr. Johnson in 1801, aged eighty-eight 
 3'ears. 
 
 (V) Elisha Johnson, sen of Isaac, born July i, 
 1753, married (first), in 1774, Abigail Newton, who 
 died in 1776, and (second) he wedded, in 1778, 
 Sarah Perry, daughter of Nathan (Josiah, John (2), 
 John) and Hannah Fiske (Thomas, William, John, 
 Nathaniel, the progenitor). Mrs. Sarah (Perry) 
 Johnson died in 1847, and Elisha Johnson passed 
 away in 1832, aged seventy-nine years. Under the 
 lieading of "Southboro in the Revolution" in a pam- 
 phlet from edition of Historical Sketches of that 
 town by Deacon Peter Fav, it is stated that "South- 
 boro evinced a noble patriotism in the Revolutionary 
 war, sending a large number of minute-men to the 
 opening conflict," and in the company of Capt. Jo- 
 siah Fay, which on Nov. 8, 1774, was ordered "to 
 appear in the Common training field bv the Meet- 
 ing House in said Southboro with their fire arms 
 complete on the Ninth Day of this Instant Novem- 
 ber att eight of the Clock in the fournoon of Said 
 Day then and thair Remain and Obay further or- 
 ders," Elisha Johnson's name appears as a member 
 of this company. 
 
 (VI) Gen. Nathan Johnson, son of Elisha, and 
 the father of Charles W, Johnson, of Flartford, was 
 born Aug. 24, 1779, and was married in August, 
 1818, to Sarah Butler Merrill, born Feb. i, 1796, 
 died Dec. 3, 1888, in Hartford, a daughter of Heze- 
 Iciah and Catherine (Collier) Merrill, of Hartford, 
 and to the union were born children as follows : 
 Elizabeth Sadler, born in i8ig, married Rev. Will- 
 lam E. Dixon, and died in 1861 ; Sarah Butler, born 
 
 in 1821; Harriet N., born in 1822; Emily .Merrill, 
 born Nov. 26, 1824, married James H. Holcombe, 
 of Hartford; Nathan I'erry, born in 1827, died in 
 1858; Laura, born in 1829; Charles \V., born in 
 1831; and Catherine, born in 1834, died in 1835. 
 
 (Hezekiah Merrill, in the foregoing, was the son 
 of Capt. Hezekiah, who was in the fourth genera- 
 tion from Nathaniel, the firjt settler, through John 
 and Deacon Daniel Merrill ; and Catherine Collier 
 was the daughter of Capt. Hezekiah Collier (2), 
 who was in the fourth generation from Joseph Col- 
 lier, the settler, through Joseph (2) and Capt. Heze- 
 kiah ( I ) , and she was also the great-granddaughter 
 of Capt. Joseph Wadsworth, of Charter Oak fame. 
 Hezekiah Merrill (2) was appointed cashier of the 
 old Hartford Bank, the first bank of the place, at 
 its organization June 16, 1792, and served as such 
 ofiicer until 1799 when he declined re-appointment. 
 At an early period he had been an apothecary and 
 bookseller at the sign of the "Unicorn and Mortar," 
 a few rods south of the Court House, and subse- 
 quently a merchant. He served as city treasurer 
 from the time Hartford was incorporated as a city 
 in 1784, until his death July 18, 1801. Mr. ^klerril'l 
 was the brother-in-law of Maj. Joseph Caldwell, the 
 first president of the old Hartford Bank). 
 
 Gen. Nathan Johnson received a liberal educa- 
 tion, graduating at Yale College in the class of 1802, 
 and on the death of his father, by a bequest, fell 
 into possession of an equal share of the latter's 
 library. He was prepared for the legal profession 
 in the office of Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth, in 
 whose family he lived for some years, and from 
 1808 to 1852 practiced law in Hartford, Conn. He 
 was prominent in militarjr affairs, served as a lieu- 
 tenant in the war of 1812, and from 1816 to 1820 
 we find him serving as colonel of the 2nd Regiment 
 of Light Artillery, and from 1820 to 1828 as brig- 
 adier-general of the artillery of the State. He also 
 served as quartermaster general of the State. In 
 those early days some notable general trainings of 
 •;he First JBrigade took place in Hartford, Wethers- 
 field, Windsor and East Hartford, and there were 
 also military displays on special occasions. In 1817 
 three artillery companies under the command of 
 Gen. Johnson, along with other companies of the 
 militia, were received in Flartford by President 
 James Monroe. In 1824, on the occasion of Gen. 
 La Favette's visit to Hartford, some 1,200 sol- 
 diers, artillery, cavalry and infantry, under the com- 
 mand of Gen. Johnson escorted him with credit to 
 the city. The visit of La Fayette was a long-re- 
 membered holiday in Hartford, on which day nearly 
 one hundred soldiers and officers of the Revolution 
 were present and greeted the distinguished French- 
 man with emotion, one of the features of the day 
 being the parade under Gen. Johnson. Again in 
 1833 President Jackson and Vice-President A'an 
 Buren were similarly escorted by the militia. 
 
 General Johnson was also prominent in his pro- 
 fession and in civic public aft'airs For sixteen vears 
 he was town treasurer. Fie was clerk of the House 
 
68 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of Representatives of Connecticut in 1820, 1821 
 and 1822. In 1823 he was a member of the House, 
 and from 1825 to 1829, inclusive, of the Senate. 
 At about this time he was Fellow of Yale College, 
 the corporation of Yale then consisting of the Gov- 
 ernor of Connecticut, the Lieutenant-Governor and 
 six senior Senators, besides the minister. At one 
 time when his (the Democratic) party was in 
 power, the General was offered the position and 
 hig'h honor of United States Senator, but with his 
 large family- and the salary- of the position being- 
 only $3,500 per year he felt he could not give up 
 the law practice, and so declined that great honor. 
 In 1827 Harvard conferred upon him the honorary 
 degree of M. A. Gen. Johnson died at Hartford 
 Oct. 12, 1852, aged seventy-two years. 
 
 (VH) Charles William Johnson, yet of Hart- 
 ford, son of Gen. Nathan Johnson, was born Oct. 
 7, 1831, in Hartford, where his life has been passed 
 as an esteemed and respected citizen. He was here 
 educated and prepared for the legal profession and 
 was engaged in active practice of the law until the 
 latter part of the 'sixties, or early "seventies, when 
 he for a time became assistant clerk and soon after- 
 ward clerk of the Supreme and Superior Courts 
 at Hartford, and most intelligently and efficiently 
 thereafter until 1897 performed the duties of such 
 office. In his earlier years and prime, Mr. John- 
 son was possessed of a brilliant mind and attracted 
 to him socially the lights of the Hartford Bar, the 
 most prominent of whom were his admirers and 
 warm personal friends. His wit and sayings went 
 the "rounds" and were not a little the subject of 
 most favorable comment. 
 
 In 1870 jNIr. Johnson was married to ^Nlary A. 
 Stedman, daughter of the late Griffin A. and Mary 
 Ap Owen (Shields) Stedman, of Hartford, and 
 sister of the late Gen. Griffin A. Stedman, who fell 
 at Petersburg, \a., during the Civil war, and a 
 statue of whom now adorns the Capital city. >To 
 this marriage were born two daughters, jNIabel and 
 Eleanor. 
 
 BULKELEY. Hon. Alorgan Gardner and Hon. 
 William Henry Bulkeley, ex-governor and ex-lieu- 
 tenant-governor, respectively, of Connecticut, and 
 Mrs. Leverett Brainard, of Hartford, children of 
 the late Hon. Eliphalet Adams Bulkeley, are de- 
 scendants of an old and honorable family of New 
 England, being in the eighth generation from Rev. 
 Peter Bulkeley. through Rev. Gershom, Rev. John, 
 Hon. John, Eliphalet, John C. and Hon. Eliphalet 
 Adams. 
 
 (I) Rev. Peter Bulkeley, B. D., one of the origi- 
 nators and first pastor of the church of Concord, 
 Mass., and identified with tlie town in all its inter- 
 ests, was of the ninth generation from Robert Bulk- 
 eley, Esq., one of the English barons who in the 
 reign of King John was lord of the manor of Bulk- 
 eley, in the County Palatine of Chester. Peter re- 
 ceived a learned and religious education, suited to 
 his distinguished rank, under the direction of his 
 
 lather. Rev. Edward Bulkeley, D. D. He arrived 
 in Cambridge, Mass., 1634 or 1635. After a 
 laborious and useful life at Concord he died March 
 7, 1659, in his seventy-seventh year. He was twice 
 married, having by his second wife, Grace Chit- 
 wood, four children, one of whom, Gershom, was 
 the next in the line we are tracing. 
 
 (II) Rev. Gershom Bulkeley, son of Rev. Peter 
 Bulkeley, the Puritan settler of Concord, Mass., 
 born in 1636, was graduated from Harvard College 
 in 1655. In 1659 he married Sarah Chauncey, 
 daughter of President Chauncey, of Harvard, the 
 emigrant ancestor of the name. She died in 1669. 
 In 1661 Mr. Bulkeley located at New London, Conn., 
 as the second minister of the church in that place. 
 He was installed pastor of the church in Wethers- 
 field, in 1667, and continued pastor there ten years. 
 He then devoted himself to the practice of medicine 
 and surgery. He was appointed by the General 
 Court in 1675, surgeon to the army that had been 
 raised against the Indians. While in this service 
 he was attacked by the Indians, and received a se- 
 vere wound in the thigh. As a clergyman he stood 
 at the head of the profession, and he ranked among 
 the first in medical science. Soon after devoting 
 himself to the practice of medicine he located on the 
 east side of the river, in what is now Glastonbury, 
 and became quite a landowner. He died at Wethers- 
 field in 1713. His children were Catherine, Doro- 
 thy, Charles, Peter, Edward and John. 
 
 (III) Rev. John Bulkeley, son of Rev. Gershom 
 and Sarah (Chauncey) Bulkeley, married Patience 
 Prentice, daughter of John and Sarah Prentice, in 
 1701, and was the father of twelve children. He 
 was graduated from Harvard College in 1699, 
 studied divinity, was ordained as pastor of the 
 church in Colchester, Conn., in 1703, and took a 
 high rank among the clergymen of his time. His 
 children were : Sarah, one who died unmarried, 
 John, Dorothy, Gershom, Charles, Peter, Patience, 
 Oliver, Lucy, Irene and Joseph. 
 
 (IV) Hon. John Bulkeley, son of Rev. John and 
 Patience (Prentice) Bulkeley, born April 19, 1705, 
 was graduated from Yale College in 1725, studied 
 law, and became pminent in his profession. In 1753 
 he was elected an assistant, and onward for a period 
 of ten years he was judge of probate, and held many 
 important offices of trust. He was twice married, 
 first, in 1738, to Mary Gardner, who died in 1750, 
 and second, in 1751, to Abigail Hastings. He was 
 colonel of militia. He died in 1753. His children 
 by his first marriage were : Lydia, Mary, John, Mary 
 (2), Eliphalet, Lucy and (Tharles. 
 
 (V) Eliphalet Bulkeley, son of Hon. John and 
 Mary (Gardner) Bulkeley, born Aug. 8, 1746, mar- 
 ried Anna Bulkeley, of New London, in 1767. Their 
 children were: Lydia A., Mary A., John C, Pa- 
 tience, Jonathan, 'Pettis, Eliphalet, Sarah, Fanny, 
 Orlando and Julia. 
 
 (VI) John Charles Bulkeley, son of Eliphalet 
 and Anna Bulkeley, born Aug. 8, 1772, married 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 G9 
 
 Sally Taintor in 1798, and to the marriage were born 
 children as follows : Charles E., John T., and Eli- 
 jjhalet Adams. 
 
 (VII) Hon. Eliphalet Adams Bulkelcy, son of 
 John Charles and Sally (Taintor) lUilkeley, born 
 Jan. 20, 1803, in Colchester, Conn., married Lydia 
 S. Morgan, of Colchester, March 31, 1830, and died 
 Feb. 13, 1872, in Hartford. Judge Bulkeley was 
 graduated from Yale College in the class of 1824, 
 and after his graduation studied law in the office of 
 William I'. Williams,, in Lebanon, Conn. In about 
 1830 he removed to East Haddam, Conn. He prac- 
 ticed law in that place, and was a'so president of the 
 East Haddam Bank. He represented the town in 
 the General Assembly, and was twice a member of 
 the Senate from the Nineteenth district. In 1847 
 lie removed to Hartford, and filled the office of school 
 fund comissioner. For several years he held offi- 
 cial positions, and besides was a leading stockholder 
 in verv many profitable business enterprises, out of 
 ■which he accumulated a handsome fortune. 
 
 Judge Bulkeley's habits of life were very regu- 
 lar. He was especially prompt in all his engage- 
 ments, making it a duty to be present at meetings 
 ■where his presence was expected. It is said of him 
 that for eighteen years he had never failed, until 
 during his last sickness, to attend and preside over 
 the meetings of the Pearl Street Ecclesiastical So- 
 ciety, to which he belonged. When he lived in 
 Church street his regularitv of attendance at school 
 meetings in the First district was a matter of remark, 
 and afterward he was equally punctual at all meet- 
 ings of the South district, at all gatherings, whether 
 religious, political or otherwise, in which he took 
 an interest. He was a leading man in politics. In 
 1857 he was elected with Nathaniel Shipman to the 
 Legislature from Hartford, and was chosen Speaker 
 of the House of Representatives by the LTnion Re- 
 publicans. He was originally a Whig, and joined 
 the Republican party at its formation. In the practice 
 of law in Hartford he formed a partnership with 
 Judge Henry Perkins, the firm being Bulkeley & 
 Perkins. His later years were devoted to the busi- 
 ness of life insurance. He was the first president 
 of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co., 
 which he assisted in organizing, and subsequently, 
 in 1850, he organized the ^Etna Life Co., taking its 
 presidency at the start and holding it to the time 
 of his death. He was largelv interested in all the 
 ^^tna moneyed corporations, banking and insurance 
 (fire and Ifle). and was also a director in the Will- 
 imantic Linen Co. and other concerns. His regular- 
 ity and promptness were not exceeded by any other 
 citizen, probably, and he was especially faithful in 
 all his political obligations. It was not enough that 
 he should vote on election day, but he urged others 
 to do so. He never neglected his duty as a citizen. 
 
 One marked characteristic of the man was h's 
 ■\vonderfullv retentive memory as to individuals 
 and dates. His knowledge in this respect enabled 
 liini to give with surprising accuracy many genea- 
 
 logical facts relating to families whose own mem- 
 bers were in ignorance. Few men have lived in the 
 State who have possessed such general information 
 with regard to individual associations. In other re- 
 spects his knowled.gc was quite extensive, accurate 
 and valuable. Judge Bulkeley was survived by his 
 wife and three children. Mrs. Bulkeley died Aug. 
 9, 1895. Their children were: (i) Mary Morgan 
 Bulkeley, born Oct. 21, 1831, died June 20, 1835. 
 
 (2) Charles Edwin Bulkeley, lx)rn Dec. 16, 1835, 
 was graduated from Yale College in 1856, studied 
 law, and practiced at Hartford. He served as a cap- 
 tain of artillery in the Union army in the Civil war, 
 dying in the service in December, 1864, while in 
 command of Battery Gareschc, near Washington, 
 D. C. 
 
 (3) Hon. Morgan Gardner Bulkeley, ex-gov- 
 ernor, and president of the ,^tna Life Insnrancc 
 Co., of Hartford, was born Dec. 26, 1837, in East 
 Haddam, Conn. He became a resident of Hart- 
 ford in 1846, and received his education in its 
 public schools. In 1851 he began his business ca- 
 reer with the ,^tna Co., sweeping out the office 
 for $1 a week. Later that year he became a bundle- 
 boy in a mercantile house in Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 Through his own efi"orts he became successively 
 salesman, confidential clerk and finally partner, with- 
 in seven years, in the dry-goods firm of H. P. Mor- 
 gan & Co. At the beginning of the Civil war he be- 
 came a private soldier in the 13th N. Y. \'. I., and 
 served in the Army of the Potomac under Gen. 
 Mansfield, at Suffolk, Va., during McClellan's Pen- 
 insular Campaign. Since kis father's death, in 1872, 
 he has made his home in Hartford, in which city 
 he has been most active and useful as a business man 
 and citizen. He was the principal factor in organiz- 
 ing the United States Bank, of which he was made 
 the first pres'dent, and which now. after a long and 
 successful career, is among the largest and most 
 substantial banks in Hartford. He succeeded 
 Thomas O. Enders to the presidency of the ALnvd. 
 Life Insurance Co., and to him credit is due for the 
 great success that has come to that institution, 
 in this connection it is interesting to note that dur- 
 ing the company's existence a Bulkeley has always 
 been president with the exception of JNIr. Enders' 
 seven-year term, and it has always been under the 
 direction of members of the Bulkeley family. 
 
 Mr. Bulkeley having a love for politics, his 
 abilities were early recognized by his fellow citizens, 
 whom he served as councilman, alderman, and, for 
 eight consecutive years, as mayor of Hartford. 
 He displayed rare executive ability in managing 
 the affairs' of the city, and the fact that he had 
 made municipal problems a study doubtless ac- 
 counts for the satisfaction his services in these vari- 
 ous incumbencies gave. He exercised watchful 
 care over income and expenditure, and advocated 
 onlv such measures as would advance the interests 
 of the municipality, irrespective of partisan con- 
 siderations. He did much during his incumbency 
 
70 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of the mayor's office for the ameHoration of the 
 distressed, and the comfort and pleasure of the 
 working classes, by organizing free excursions on 
 the river and to the sea, his salary as mayor being 
 more than disbursed in this way every year. His 
 availability for higher honors was soon observed by 
 his friends, and his candidacy for the gubernatorial 
 office was urged, which resulted in his name being 
 presented before the Republican State Convention 
 in the fall of 1886, but it was finally withdrawn 
 by his advice in favor of Mr. Lounsbury. At the 
 State Convention of his party in August, 1888, 
 Morgan G. Bulkeley was nominated for governor 
 by acclamation, the choice was approved at the 
 polls, and in the following January he was inaug;- 
 urated, and took his seat in the gubernatorial chair. 
 The vigorous administration which followed was 
 characteristic of the man, and will be remembered 
 as among the most notable in the history of the 
 Commonwealth. At the State election in Novem- 
 ber, 1890, a peculiar situation of affairs occurred, 
 and amid the trying scenes Gov. Bulkeley won 
 fresh honors for himself. It was the first State 
 election under the new ballot law, and results were 
 declared by town officers which were not accepted 
 as conclusive by the Senate, to whom the election 
 statistics were returnable under questions of guber- 
 natorial succession. Under the constitution it be- 
 came Gov. Bulkeley's duty to continue to exercise 
 the functions of his office for two additional years, 
 The circumstances attending his second term as the 
 official head of the State were delicate and some- 
 times vexing in the e.xtreme. That he bore every 
 test most creditably is the highest praise that could 
 be awarded. When the General Assembly failed 
 to pass the usual and necessary appropriation bills, 
 he, as president of the ^tna Co., advanced the 
 hundreds of thousands of dollars necessary to con- 
 tinue the atfairs of the State until provision was 
 made, and his condiict in this and numerous other 
 trying situations won the hearty approval of all. 
 In 1896, at the convention in St. Louis which 
 nominated McKinley for President, Mr. Bulkeley 
 received the largest vote ever given to a Connecti- 
 cut man for a National office. It goes without 
 saying that he is one of the most prominent figures 
 in the State, and he is especially devoted to the wel- 
 fare and interests of Hartford. Socially he is con- 
 nected with various societies, and is president of 
 the Connecticut Society of Sons of the Revolution, 
 Connecticut Society of Foreign Wars, and Con- 
 necticut Society of the War of 1812; he is also a 
 member of the Mayflower Society, the Society of 
 Colonial Wars, the Grand Army of the Republic, and 
 the Mass. Commandery of the Loyal Legion. Gov. 
 Bulkeley enjoys wide reputation in the life and ac- 
 cident insurance world as a man combining, in rare 
 degree, progressiveness and conservatism. The 
 success which has followed his management of the 
 JEtna's affairs demonstrates his keen perception 
 and skill. He is also connected with a number 
 
 of corporations and financial institutions in Hart- 
 ford, among them the ^tna National and United 
 States Banks, in each of which he is a director. 
 Mr. Bulkeley married Miss Fannie Houghton, 
 
 (4) Hon. William Henry Bulkeley, a 
 capitalist, ex-lieutenant-governor and merchant, 
 Hartford, was born March 2, 1840, in East Had- 
 dam, Conn., and came to Hartford six or seven 
 years later with' his father, who then established his 
 home in the city. The boy received his education 
 in the public schools of Hartford, in which he made 
 an admirable record for scholarship. His business 
 career was begun with the company with which he 
 has so long been connected, for he succeeded his 
 brother, JN'lorgan G., in the humble capacity, and 
 at the same salary, above referred to. When six- 
 teen years of age he commenced mercantile life with 
 an old dry-goods firm of Hartford, becoming a 
 clerk. In the spring of 1857 he became engaged 
 in the dry-goods business in Brooklyn, N. Y., with 
 H. P. Alorgan & Co. Later he began the dry-goods 
 business in that city for himself, continuing it suc- 
 cessfully on Fulton street for some six years. On 
 the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion young 
 Bulkeley was one of the first to respond to his 
 country's call. At the time Fort Sumter was fired 
 upon he was a member of Company G, 13th Regi- 
 ment, N. Y. N. G., the Brooklyn City Guard, and 
 advanced to the front April 19, 1861, the organiza- 
 tion being in the service for four months. In 1862 
 Mr. Bulkeley organized Company G, 56th Regi- 
 ment, N. Y. N. G., and was made its captain. He 
 was with his command through the Pennsylvania 
 Crisis of 1863, being in Gen. "Baldy" Smith's divis- 
 ion. During the New York draft riots the regi- 
 ment was ordered home, after which it was dis- 
 banded, its time of service having expired. 
 
 Capt. Bulkeley returned to Hartford, and en- 
 gaged in the lithographing business, organizing the 
 Kellogg & Bulkeley Co., lithographers, of Hartford, 
 of which for many years he has been president. 
 Immediately on his return to Hartford he was 
 elected a director of the ^Etna Life Insurance Co., 
 was also vice-president of the same in 1877-79, ^''^^ 
 is at present auditor, which office he has held many- 
 years. He has had more to do with the success of 
 the company than any other man who has not held 
 an executive office. Gen. Bulkeley has borne a very 
 close relation to the company in an advisory ca- 
 pacity for the past quarter of a century, and his 
 business judgment has proved invaluable in the 
 direction of its policy. He has been and still is 
 prominently connected with a number of the bank- 
 ing, insurance and other corporations of Hartford, 
 among which are the United States Bank, of which 
 he is vice-president and a director, the American 
 National Bank, of which he is a director, and the 
 Kellogg & Bulkeley Co. In 1878 he purchased the 
 "Bee Hive," a famous dry-goods establishment, 
 which he managed for years with great success. 
 He has been honored with official position, and has 
 
ri^/L^yLAyf ^ ^.^A^tA^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 71 
 
 had large experience in city and State politics. 
 He served his fellow citizens for five years in the 
 common council of Hartford, acting a portion of 
 the time as vice-president and president of the 
 board. He also served as one of the street com- 
 missioners of the city for some seven or eight years, 
 in which he proved a very efficient member. ' Air. 
 Bulkeley was commissary-general of the State, 
 commissioner of Connecticut to the Yorktown Cen- 
 tennial Celebration, and was elected to the office of 
 lieutenant-governor of Connecticut on the ticket with 
 Gov. Bigelow, serving with credit through 1881 and 
 1882. He made a good presiding officer of the Sen- 
 ate. In 1882 he was a Republican candidate for gov- 
 ernor, and in the exciting time which followed the 
 election conducted himself in a manner which elic- 
 ited favorable comment in the press all over the 
 country. He is an active member of Robert O. 
 Tyler Post, G. A. R., of Hartford, and of the Army 
 and Xavy Club of Connecticut. In religious con- 
 nection he is a member of the Pearl Street Congre- 
 gational Church, and contributes generously to the 
 charities of Hartford. 
 
 On Sept. 18, 1863, Mr. Bulkeley married Emma 
 Gurney, daughter of Melvin and Letitia Gurney, 
 and they have had six children : ( i ) Mary Morgan, 
 -wife of E. S. Van Zile, the author; (2) William 
 Eliphalet Adams, cashier of the .^tna Life Insurance 
 Co; (3) Grace Chetwood, wife of David A'an- 
 Shaack; (4) John Charles, of Hartford; (5) Sally 
 Taintor, wife of Richard McCauley, of Detroit, 
 Mich.; and (6) Richard Beaumarais, of Hartford. 
 
 (5) Mary Jerusha Morgan, born Sept. 27, 1843, 
 married Hon. Leverett Brainard, president of the 
 Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co., of Hartford, and 
 ex-mayor of the city. 
 
 (6) Eliphalet Adams Bulkeley, born July 11, 
 1S47, died Dec. 17, 1848. 
 
 ' HON. CHARLES HULL CLARK, of the firm 
 of Clark Bros. & Co., manufacturers of bolts and 
 hardware specialties, Milldale, has become an im- 
 portant factor in the business circles of Southington, 
 and by the exercise of his ability has not only ad- 
 vanced his individual prosperity, but has materially 
 contributed to the welfare of his native town. 
 
 Mr. Clark was born in Southington, Oct. 23, 1832, 
 a son of Theodosius and Chloe (Clark) Clark. On 
 the paternal side he traces his ancestry back to James 
 Clark, originally of England, who located in New 
 Haven, in 1638, and was one of the company con- 
 sisting of Gov. Eaton and others who met in a Mr. 
 Newman's barn June 4, 1639, to form a civil com- 
 pact. In 1669 he removed to Stratford, Conn. His 
 son, Ebenezer Clark, the first of the family to locate 
 in Wallingford, was born Nov. 29, 1651, and was 
 married i\Iay 6, 1678, to Sarah, daughter of James 
 Peck. Their son, Stephen Clark, was born Dec. 
 7, 1696, married Lydia (or Ruth) Hotchkiss, and 
 died Nov. i, 1770. He was the father of Aniasa 
 Clark, who was born Nov. 25, 1753, and was mar- 
 
 ried Dec. 28, 1785, to Lydia Hull, daughter of 
 Deacon Zephaniah Hull, of Cheshire. He engaged 
 in farming in Cheshire, and died Dec. 30, 1833. 
 
 Theociosius Clark, the father of our subject, was 
 born in Cheshire Oct. 22, 1788, and spent his early 
 life on a farm. At the age of eighteen years he 
 commenced teaching in a district school in his native 
 town, and in 1810 he came to Southington to teach 
 in the Plantsville District. In 181 1 and 1812 he 
 taught at what is now Plainville, and in Farmington 
 in 1813 and 1814, while for several years following 
 he taught in the districts in the southern part of 
 Southington. In 1824 he was a techer in the South 
 End District. This was the first year that grammar 
 was taught in the town, the school commissioners 
 requiring it. Mr. Clark was entirely ignorant of 
 grammar, but he took the study in hand, and with 
 much labor was enabled to carry his class through 
 the book. In connection with teaching he also fol- 
 lowed farming. During the seasons of 1826 and 
 1827 he was commissary at Suffieid, while the canal 
 was being constructed around Enfield Falls. In 1819 
 he united with the First Congregational Church of 
 Southington, in 1834 was elected deacon, which office 
 he held until 1865, and was also superintendent o£ 
 the Sabbath-school for some years. He died July 
 2j, 1865, honored and respected by all who knew 
 him. On Oct. 26, 1816, he married Chloe Clark, 
 who passed away April 5, 1848. Their children were 
 Harriet,, wife of Hezekiah C. Cummings ; Francis 
 J. ; William J. ; Henry H. ; and Charles H. 
 
 Seth Clark, our subject's maternal grandfather, 
 was born in Middletown, Conn., July 11, 1768. and 
 was married Nov. 16, 1789, to Chloe Bailey, who 
 was born in Haddam, Conn., Feb. 19, 1771, a daugh- 
 ter o"f Benjamin Bailey, of that place. Soon after 
 their marriage Seth Clark and wife removed to 
 Southington, where she died July 17, 1834, and he 
 passed away Jan. 27, 1851. His father, Joseph 
 Clark, was l>orn Sept. 15, 1720, and died in Middle- 
 town Aug. 22, 1778. On June 2, 1752, he married 
 Joanna Fairchild, who was born Sept. 21, 1727, and 
 "died Nov. 26, 1793. 
 
 Our subject passed his boyhood and youth in his 
 native town, and was educated in the common 
 schols and Lewis Academy. In 1852 he began his 
 business career as a mechanic in the nut and bolt 
 shop of his brother, at ten cents per hour, and was 
 thus employed until he attained his majority, when 
 he was admitted into the firm as a partner. _ In 
 1854, with his two elder brothers, under the hrni 
 name of W. J. Clark & Co., he embarked in the 
 manufacture of bolts and carriage hardware, and 
 was superintendent of the plant until 1862, when he 
 laid aside all personal interests to enter the service 
 of his country during her hour of peril. On Aug. 5, 
 1862, he enlisted in Company E,20th Conn. V. I., and 
 was made quartermaster sergeant of the regiment. 
 He remained in active service until 1864, and dur- 
 ing the last years was on the stafi" of Col. James 
 Wood, who commanded the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Divi- 
 
72 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 sion, 20th Army Corps, in front of Atlanta. During 
 this period he foraged over the territory in Tennes- 
 see where his father had peddled clocks and notions 
 forty years before. On his return home he resumed 
 active work in the factory of W. J. Clark & Co. In 
 1871, on the retirement of the senior member 
 of the firm, the name was changed to Clark Bros. & 
 Co., and as such business has since been successfully 
 carried on. C)ur subject continued to superintend 
 the work until 1882, and is still a member of the 
 company. He is also a director in both the South- 
 ington National Bank and the Savings Bank, also 
 in the Southington Cutlery Co. 
 
 On August 21, 1862, Mr. Clark was united in 
 marriage with ]\Iiss Mary E. Dickerman, a daugh- 
 ter of Samuel and Rebecca (Gale) Dickerman, of 
 Guilford, Conn. Religiously he is a member of 
 the Plantsville Congregational Church, and socially 
 is connected with Trumbull Post, No. 16, G. A. R., 
 anil the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is 
 a stanch supporter of the Republican party and its 
 principles, and has frequently been called upon to 
 serve as a member of the board of assessors and 
 board of relief in his town. He was also elected 
 to the State Legislature in 1895, and re-elected to 
 the same office in 1899. As a citizen, soldier and 
 business man, he stands high in the public esteem, 
 and his life of usefulness has given to the younger 
 men of the town an example well worthy of emula- 
 tion. His genial manner has made him many 
 friends, and wherever known he is held in high 
 regard. 
 
 CHARLES HOPKINS CLARK was born in 
 Hartford, April i, 1848, son of Ezra (Jr.) and ^lary 
 (Hopkins) Clark. He was educated in the Hart- 
 ford public schools, except between i860 and 1865, 
 when he was living in New York, and attended the 
 grammar schools of that city and whnt was then 
 the Free Academv. Returning to Flartford in 1865, 
 he entered the Hartford Public High School, and, 
 graduating from there in 1867, entered Yale, where 
 he was graduated in 1871. A few weeks later he 
 went to work upon the Hartford Co 11 rant, at fiirst 
 imder temporary engagement, and he has been con- 
 nected with that journal ever since. In 1887 he was 
 admitted to the nrm_ of Hawlev, Goodrich & Co., 
 then publishing the Conrant. and later, when a cor- 
 poration was formed, he was chosen vice-president 
 of the Hartford Courant Co. He has been in 
 editorial charge of the Conrant since the death of 
 Stephen A. Hubbard, in 1890. Mr. Clark is a 
 director in the Connecticut j\lutual Life Insiu-ance 
 Co., and the Collins Co.. and is connected with 
 various philanthropic institutions of Hartford, be- 
 ing treasurer of the Wadsworth Atheneum, the 
 Hartord Public Library, and the Trustees of the 
 Good Will Club, and a trustee of the Watkinson 
 Library of Reference. He is a member of the Cen- 
 turv and the U^niversitv Clubs of New York, and 
 of the Colonial Club of Hartford. 
 
 In 1873 Mr. Clark was married to Miss Ellen 
 
 Root, daughter of the late E. K. Root, who was at 
 his death president of the Colt's Patent Fire Arms 
 Co. She died in February, 1895, leaving two chil- 
 dren, Horace B. Clark (Yale 98) and Mary Hop- 
 kins Clark. In November, 1899, Mr. Clark mar- 
 ried Miss Matilda C. Root, sister of his first wife. 
 
 HON. EZRA CLARK, a familiar figure for 
 many years on the streets and in the civic life of 
 Hartford, died in that city Sept. 26, 1896. He 
 was born in Brattle^boro, Vt., Sept. 12, 1813, but 
 became a resident of Hartford when six years of 
 age. His father, Ezra Clark, was a partner of the 
 iron and steel firm of David Watkinson & Co., and 
 the son, who for many years was Ezra Clark, Jr., 
 was taken into the partnership when twenty-one 
 years of age. The firm was, in succession, David 
 Watkinson & Co., Clark, Gill & Co., Ezra Clark 
 & Co., and Clark & Co., and is now L. L. Ens- 
 worth & Son. 
 
 Mr. Clark's business record included member- 
 ship in the board of directors of the Exchange Bank 
 and the presidencv of the National Screw Co., of 
 Hartford, which under his management became a 
 great success, and was subsequently sold out to the 
 American Screw Co., of Providence. In 1857, by 
 reason of endorsing the business paper of friends, 
 he failed financiallv, but he recovered from this, 
 and returning to Hartford paid his creditors one 
 hundred cents on the dollar, with interest. Mr. 
 Clark held many public offices, having been, at one 
 time or another, councilman, alderman, judge of 
 the city court, chairman of the North District 
 school committee, citv and town auditor, president 
 of the Young Men's Institute, president of the 
 Spring Grove Cemeterv Association, and president 
 of the Board of Water Commissioners. He rep- 
 resented the Hartford Disti'ict in the XXXIA^th and 
 XXXVth Congresses. His most important work 
 in Hartford was in connection with the Water 
 Board, of which he was for many years a member. 
 Under his presidency a great share of the work 
 of building the reservoirs and equipping the city 
 with mains was accomplished. He also laid out 
 the Reservoir Park, connecting the various ponds 
 bv a driveway through the woods ; and the large 
 Tumbledown Brook Reservoir was planned and 
 built by him. 
 
 In October, 1841, Mr. Clark was marrie:! to 
 Mary Hopkins, daughter of Daniel P. Flopkins and 
 JMarv Whiting, both of Hartford. She dieri in 
 1866, leaving three children: Frances, now Mrs. 
 Albert L. Butler ; Charles Hopkins Clark, editor of 
 the Conrant. and Howard M. Clark, who was cash- 
 ier of the LTnited States Bank, and died in 1894. 
 
 CAPT. TIMOTHY BOARDMAN ROBIN- 
 SON is one of the sturdy strong settlers of New 
 England whose ancestors for several generations 
 were born and reared in the State of Connecticut. 
 He was born at a time that made it necessarv to risk 
 his life' for our country at that happy, promising age 
 
^-LiA^^THq^CccU /%WO 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 when he had begun to reahze the full measure of 
 liappiness which was revealed in the earlj- years of 
 manhood. Fortune, however, favored him to a very 
 full extent in his service in the war, and, while he 
 was taken a prisoner several times, he returned to 
 his home and friends withottt having been woimded 
 or overcome by serious illness. If heredity may be 
 credited with the transmission of virtuous traits from 
 one generation to another, Capt. Timothy B. Robin- 
 son is indebted to his ancestors on both sides for a 
 tendency toward those sterling C|ualities which, 
 when developed, are bound to succeed in the face 
 of the most trying obstacles. 
 
 Capt. David Robinson, his great-grandfather, 
 was born in Glastonbury, Conn., in 174 J. He was 
 married twice, his first wife, jNIary, d}'ing Dec. 25, 
 1801 ; his second wife, Marion, died June 20, 1856. 
 Capt. Robinson served in the Revolutionary war, 
 where he probably received his title. He was the 
 father of seven children, as follows : Mary Anni, 
 born Feb. 5, 1770; Lieodiah, Aug. 25, 1772; James, 
 May 28, 1774; David, Jr., Nov., 1778; Shadrach, 
 July 15, 1781 ; Timothy, Feb. 6, 1784; William, 
 June 24, 1788. 
 
 Shadrach Robinson was born in Glastonbury 
 Conn. He was a sea-faring man. On June 13, 1802, 
 he married Eunice Tennant, who was born Oct. 17, 
 1 78 1, and their marriage was blessed with four chil- 
 dren : Leverett, born April 8, T803 (died April 21, 
 1835); Azel T., March 31, 1807 (died Sept. 26, 
 j880).; Loretta, Feb. 26, 1809; and Lester, Dec. 
 •9, 1810. 
 
 Azel Tennant Robinson, our subject's father, v. as 
 also born in Glastonbury, Conn., on the date pre- 
 viously named, and died in Bristol Sept. 26, 1886. 
 He was a woodworker b}- trade, working on clock 
 cases and small furniture, v.^as a very industrious 
 man, and his efforts were rewarded by the success 
 in life which earnest application and intelligent pur- 
 suit merit. He came to B."i"^tol and worked in the 
 clock factories, having been connected with the 
 Jerome Clock Co., the Union Clock Co. (in which he 
 was a stockholder), and tne George A Jones Clock 
 Co., respectively. During the latter part of his life 
 he was engaged for a number of vears in making 
 door screens: Azel T. Robinson was a strong Spir- 
 ittialist. He was a member of Franklin Lodge, 
 Xo. 56, F". & A. M., and served as treasurer of same 
 for over twenty-five years. In politics he originally 
 A\-as a Whig, and later became a Democrat. On 
 JMay 3, 1832, Mr. Robinson was married to Miss 
 Harriet Stratton, who was born in Glastonbury 
 -March i, 1808, and their marriage was blessed with 
 the following children: Charles Azel, born June 7, 
 1833, died Aug. 20, 1833; Timothv Boardman is 
 our subject: Eunice Tennant, born Jttne 22, 1836, 
 ■died ]\Iay 19, 1876, unmarried; Harriet, born Aug. 
 26, 1839, is married and lives in California : Lev- 
 erett, born Jan. 20, 1843, died. Jan. i, i860: Henry 
 Azel, born Jan. 2, 1845, tl>ed Aug. 21, 1864 (he was 
 3. brave lad, and his life was sacrificed for his coun- 
 
 try in the war of the Rebellion, as he was captured 
 and starved to death in Anderson ville prison) ; 
 Mary, born Dec. 19, 1846, is married, and resides in 
 lirooklyn, N. Y. ; Alice Kate, born Sept. 13, 1849, 
 is the wife of H. B. Cook, the shoe man of llristol ; 
 Frederick Arthur, ])()ni Dec. 20, 1852, died .\Iav 19, 
 1880. 
 
 Capt. Timothy Boardman Robinson, our subject, 
 was born in Cromwell, Conn., July 18, 1834. He 
 attended the schools of his native town until he was 
 eight years of age, when his parents removed to 
 Bristol, where he continued his education until his 
 sixteenth year, and then attended the Berlin Acad- 
 emy for one term. With this common-sense, prac- 
 tical foundation of learning he began the struggle 
 for life, entering the employ of his father, who was 
 a member of the firm of Case & Robinson, then en- 
 gaged in manufacturing cofifee-mill boxes. At this 
 occupation he remained for about two years, and then 
 worked in the spring factory of Edward L. Dunbar 
 for two or three years. Subsequently, in company 
 with two others, under the firm name of Herring & 
 Co., he engaged in the manufacture of sash and dials. 
 This business relation lasted for about three years, 
 and was succeeded by the Bristol Hardware Co., 
 who purchased- tne aforesaid plant and retained our 
 subject in their employ under contract for two years. 
 At the expiration of this time the business was 
 again sold out, to the E. N. Welch ]\Ianufacturing 
 Co., by whom our subject was again retained under 
 contract for about three years, when he enlisted in 
 the war. After the war he engaged with H. Hark- 
 ness in the manufacture of ice scrapers, continuing 
 this business for about six months, when it was sold 
 out to Landers, Frary & Clark, of Xew Britain. 
 After this Mr. Robinson acted as foreman in the 
 shear factory of the Inventors Manufacturing Co., 
 S. Valentine, manager, where he remained for about 
 three years. He then resigned in order to accept 
 the position of foreman in the clock factory of 
 George Jones, which business relation continued for 
 twenty years without interruption. Following this 
 he entered the employ of Plumb & Allen, of Terr)-- 
 ville, who had purchased the Jones factory, acting 
 for the firm as foreman in the Jones shop in Bris- 
 tol, making mechanical toys of all kinds. Our sub- 
 ject then went to work for the Horton iManufactur- 
 ing Co. for about six months, and subsequently en- 
 gaged with the New Departure Bell Co., with which 
 firm he remained until 1898. In that year he re- 
 signed to accept the position of general superin- 
 tendent of the Liberty Bell Co., which position he 
 now holds. 
 
 On Aug. 24, 1862, Capt. Robinson enlisted in 
 Company K, i6th Conn. \'. I., and came out a cap- 
 tain. He was a prisoner in Macon, Ga., Charleston 
 and Columbia, S. C, escaping from the latter. He 
 was never woimded. He was in the battle of An- 
 tietam, and was mustered out Aug. 25, 1865. In 
 politics our subject is a stanch Republican, though 
 he has never sought office. Socially he is a member 
 
74 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of Franklin Lodge, No. 56, F. & A. jNI. ; of the 
 Royal Arcanum, of which he is vice-regent ; and of 
 George W. Thompson Post, No. 13, G. A. R., of 
 which he is past commander. 
 
 On Oct. 31, 1855, Capt. Robinson was united in 
 marriage with Sophia Wells Waters, who was 
 born ]\Iarch 20, 1836, a daughter of Lora and Laura 
 (Churchill) Waters, of Bristol. Five children 
 have blessed their union, as follows, (i) Lora Azel, 
 born Aug. 3, 1856, died Sept. 18, 1856. (2) Lora 
 Waters,' born Oct. 2, 1857, was married March 11, 
 1885, to Annie Shepard, of Bristol, and they have 
 had children — Pauline, born Dec. 26, 1885 ; Archer 
 Waters, born Aug. 12, .1887 (died Aug. 15, 1887) ; 
 Lyle Wells, born Alay i, 1889; Kendall, born in 1894 
 (died in 1895) ; and Wells Hall, born Sept. 15, 
 1895. Lora Waters Robinson is a graduate of the 
 Philadelphia Dental College, and is now practicing 
 dentistry in Buffalo, N. Y. (3) Archer Waters 
 was born Oct. 12, 1859, and died Sept. 8, i860. (4) 
 Belle Waters, born June 12, 1861, married Edward 
 B. Gaylord, of Winsted, June 12, 1884. (5) Grace 
 Waters, born Sept. 14, 1871, died May 29, 1872. 
 Capt. and Mrs. Robinson attend the Congregational 
 Church, of which Mrs. Robinson is. an active and 
 devout member. The life of Capt. Robinson has 
 been one of continued activity. Through all the 
 fluctuations and vicissitudes following the war he 
 has maintained not only an unruffled disposition, 
 but he has acquired broader views of all matters 
 pertaining to the welfare of his country and of 
 humanity. 
 
 CHARLES LEM LINCOLN, a manufacturer 
 and prominent business man and citizen of Hart- 
 ford, where for fifty years and more he has been 
 engaged in the manufacturing of castings and ma- 
 chinery, and closely identified with the growth of 
 the city, is a representative of a sturdy New Eng- 
 land family of the Colonial period. 
 
 Mr. Lincoln was born March 12, 1825, in Dor- 
 chester, jNIass., son of Levi and Malinda (JN'Iiles) 
 Lincoln, and is a descendant in the eighth genera- 
 tion from Thomas Lincoln, who was born in Eng- 
 land _about 1603, came to New England in 1635, 
 and located in Hingham, on Massachusetts Bay, 
 but removed to Taunton prior to 1650, and estab- 
 lished a gristmill on Mill river. He brought with 
 him from England two or three children. He lived 
 to be eighty or upward years of age. 
 
 From this first American ancestor our subject's 
 hne of descent is through Thomas (2), Thomas 
 (3), Nathaniel, Nathaniel (2), Stephen and Levi 
 Lincoln. 
 
 (U) Thomas Lincoln (2), son of Thomas the 
 emigrant, likely born in England, baptized in 1637- 
 38, married Mary, daughter of Jonah Austin, who 
 was a husbandman and died about 1694. He early 
 in life became a resident of Taunton, Massachu- 
 setts. 
 
 (HI) Thomas Lincoln (3), son of Thomas (2), 
 
 born in 1656, in Taunton, married Mary, daughter 
 of Richard Stacy. He took part in the Indian 
 troubles in the time of King Philip's war. 
 
 (IV) Nathaniel Lincoln, son of Thomas (3), 
 born about 1684, married Alice, daughter of Capt. 
 John Andrews. He was a sergeant in the militia, 
 and was engaged in milling with his father-in-law, 
 at a point three miles west of Taunton. 
 
 (V) Nathaniel Lincoln (2), son of Nathaniel, 
 born in 1725, in Taunton, married in 1743. Eliza- 
 beth, daughter of Increase Robinson, Jr. Prior to 
 1750 he removed to Rehoboth, Mass., and to Brain- 
 tree, in the same State about 1759, dying in Attle- 
 boro. 
 
 (VI) Stephen Lincoln, son of Nathaniel (2), 
 born in 175 1, 'in Rehoboth, Mass., married in Oak- 
 ham, Mass., in 1779, Lydia, daug'hter of Lieut. Eben- 
 ezer Foster. He removed from Rehoboth to Brain- 
 tree and later located in Oakham. He was a soldier 
 of the Revolution, serving in the Rhode Island cam- 
 paign. He was occupied in farming, and in con- 
 nection with his farming operations also carried 
 on a tannery. He held several public offices ; he 
 died in 1840. 
 
 Levi Lincoln, son of Stephen, and the father of 
 the subject of this sketch, was born in 1790, in 
 Oakham, Mass., and was married in Rutland, ^lass., 
 July 9, 1816, to Malinda Miles, daughter of Bar- 
 zilla and Sarah (Reed) J\Iiles, of Rutland. She 
 was born July 7, 1795, and died in Hartford, Conn., 
 April 12, 1883. Mr. Lincoln died in Hartford 
 Jan. 31, 1868. Their children were: George S., 
 Sarah K., Charles L., Mary E. and Theodore AI. 
 
 Charles Levi Lincoln married in Hartford, Conn., 
 Aug. 31, 1847, Olivia M. Brewster, born July 21, 
 1826, in Coventry, Conn., daughter of Silas and 
 Wealth}' (Richardson) Brewster, and their children 
 were: (i) Carrie Augusta, born Aug. 15, 1854, 
 was married in Hartford to Edwin P. Taylor, born 
 in that city Aug. 20, 1840, son of Edwin and Nancy 
 Jane (Kinney) Taylor, and they had five children, 
 four of whom are living : Charles Lincoln, born 
 Sept. 10, 1875, is in the employ of the Lincoln Com- 
 pany ; Edwin P. and Caroline B. and Morgan Wells ; 
 Rowland K. is deceased. (2) Charles Payson, borii 
 May 21, 1851, was married in Southbridge, Mass., 
 Nov. 20, 1878, to Margaret Sanders, born in Cromp- 
 ton, R. I., Feb. 24, 1854, daughter of James and 
 Margaret (Henrjr) Sanders; he is secretary of The 
 Lincoln Co., and is one of the trustees of the Pratt 
 Street Savings Bank. (3) Frank Howard, born 
 March 4, 1855, died in Hartford, Dec. 16, i860. 
 (4) Theodore M., born April- 4, 1858, is treasurer of 
 the Lincoln Co., a director of the Hartford City 
 Bank, and has served as member of the city council ; 
 he was married in Pawtucket, R. I.,\May 11, 1881, 
 to Alice M. Horton, of that city, bom Sept. 16, 
 i860, and they have Lad three children: Alice H., 
 Theodore B. (deceased), and Minerva B. (5) 
 Fannie Maria, born Nov. 11, 1861, was m::rried 
 in Hartford to Dr. Robert Hamill, born in Oak Hall, 
 

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 ^^^^^HBb 
 
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 ^^H"'^ 
 
 ^^^I^^^^H 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Peon., j\Iay 24, 1855, son of Robert and Margaret 
 E. (Lyon) Hainill. of Philadelphia, and tliey have 
 two children : Robert L. and Francis L. ; the Doctor 
 studied for the medical profession at Lafayette 
 College, graduated from the Pennsylvania Univers- 
 ity of Medicine, and is now practicing medicine in 
 Summit, N. J. (6) Elizabeth Brewster, born May 
 8, 1868, resides in Hartford. 
 
 Charles L. Lincoln, our subject, was admitted to 
 the firm of George S. Lincoln & Co., in 1846, and 
 through all of the intervening jears between that 
 period and this, he has been continuously engaged 
 in the manufacture of castings and machinery. His 
 brother George, the senior member of the firni; 
 retired from the business in 1885, since which time 
 Charles L. Lincoln has continued the business with 
 his sons Charles P. and Theodore AL, under the 
 name of The Lincoln Company. 
 
 Mr. Lincoln is a good business man, possessed of 
 sound judgment, and is a good manager, which 
 qualities, together with integrity and fair dealing, 
 liave brought him success. He is a substantial citi- 
 zen of Hartford, and has carried through his long 
 business career with this people their esteem and 
 respect. He is a director of the PlartforJ Street 
 Railway Co., an incorporator and trustee of the 
 ]\Iechanics Savings Bank, and a member of the 
 Connecticut Historical Society. 
 
 The firm of George S. Lincoln & Co., which 
 as now incorporated The Lincoln Companj', proprie- 
 tors of the Phcenix Iron Works, was established in 
 1834 by the late Levi Lincoln, and has thus been 
 in existence about two-thirds of a century, during 
 ■which period the business has grown from com- 
 parative insignificance to one of the largest, as it is 
 the oldest, of its class in the State. On the death 
 of Levi Lincoln the business was so arranged that 
 his sons George S. and Charles L. (who h^d been 
 associated with their father some fifteen years) suc- 
 ceeded, and the firm of George S. Lincoln & Co. has 
 since been one of the best known in New England. 
 They make a specialty of the latest designs of archi- 
 tectural iron work, consisting in part of building 
 fronts, columns, lintels, girders, vaults, etc., besides 
 large quantities of machinists' tools and other arti- 
 cles, employment being given to an average of nearly 
 160 hands. George S. Lincoln, who died April 2, 
 1894, was well-known throughout the New Eng- 
 land States, and ranked among the ablest business 
 men of the day, while in Hartford, the city of his 
 adoption, at the same time holding place among the 
 leading citizens, representative manufacturers and 
 promoters of its best interests. The same remarks 
 are in every sense applicable to Charles L. Lincoln. 
 
 EBENEZER ROBERTS, whose death oc- 
 curred ^March 7, 1896, w^as one of the best-known 
 business men in Hartford, where his career was a 
 most honorable one. 
 
 Born Oct. 28, 1819, in Westfield, Conn., ]\Ir. 
 Roberts was a son of Enoch Cornwall Roberts, and 
 a grandson of Ebenezer Roberts, who was an officer 
 
 in the war of the Revolution, was with Washing- 
 ton at New York, in the battle of Trenton, and also 
 at Yorktown. The lineage is traced to Samuel 
 Roberts, who appeared in ^Nliddletown, Conn., dur- 
 ing the seventeenth century, and died there in 1739. 
 In 1 69 1 he married ^lercy Blake. Ebenezer Rob- 
 erts' great-great-grandmother, Sarah Bulkeley, was 
 a daughter of Edward Bulkeley, one of the found- 
 ers of the Society of the Cincinnati, and through 
 her he is a descendant of Rev. Gershom and Rev. 
 Peter Bulkeley. Rev. Gershom Bulkeley graduated 
 from Harvard College in 1665, was minister at 
 New London in 1661, and at Wethersfield in 1666. 
 Mr. Roberts was also a descendant of Charles 
 Chauncey, the second president of Harvard College. 
 
 At the age of fifteen years our subject entered the 
 employ of the well-known firm of H. & \\'. Keney, 
 and the same qualities that maintained his success 
 later began to show themselves there, securing for 
 him prompt recognition as a yoimg man of promise 
 and rapid advancement. In 1855 he was taken into 
 partnership, and, though .the old name of H. & W. 
 Keney remained over the door, the firm was changed 
 to Keneys, Roberts & J. N. Goodwin, and later, at 
 Mr. Goodwin's death, to Keneys & Roberts, contin- 
 uing thus until the death of Walter Keney. After 
 that it was Keney, Roberts & Co., and after the 
 death of Henry Keney it became Roberts, Tucker & 
 Goodwin. This is the oldest of the wholesale gro- 
 cery houses in the State, and has been one of the 
 most successful business concerns in Connecticut. 
 The Keneys and Air. Roberts each accumulated a 
 large fortune ; and at the same time the house 
 established a name for integrity, sc^uare dealing 
 and public spirit that made people regard it as one 
 of Hartford's especial business honors. 
 
 J\Ir. Roberts was well known to the citizens of 
 Hartford for his kindly manner and sterling busi- 
 ness qualities, and his ever ready hand to assist in 
 worthy objects for the public good. He was a di- 
 rector pf the Hartford National Bank, the Travel- 
 ers Insurance Co., the National Fire Insurance Co.^ 
 the Collins Co., the Smythe Manufacturing Co., 
 and the Anchor JMills Paper Co., of Windsor 
 Locks, and a trustee of the will of the late Henry 
 Keney. He neither sought nor held office. As a 
 member of the Park Congregational Church, he 
 was a constant attendant at its services, having been 
 a member of that society when it was known as the 
 North Congregational Church. 
 
 On Jan'. 18, 1843, Air. Roberts was married to 
 Clarissa, daughter of Bela and Clarissa Root Ban- 
 croft, of Granville, Alass. She died Jan. 12, 1883, 
 One daughter, Florence Clarissa, wife of Col. Will- 
 iam C. Skinner, of Flartford (a sketch of whom 
 follows ) , survived the father. 
 
 WiLLi.\M Converse Skinner was born Jan. 
 26, 1855, in Alalone, N. Y., a son of Calvin and 
 John Porter (Blodgett) Skinner, and comes of good 
 old English stock. In descent he is of the eighth 
 generation from John Alden, and is in direct line 
 
76 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 from Calvin Skinner, of Woodstock, Conn., who 
 served honorably in the war for independence. 
 
 The early education of J\Ir. Skinner was re- 
 -ceived in the common and high schools of his native 
 town ; then, in 1872, he entered Trinity College, 
 Hartford, and was graduated from that institution 
 in the class of '76. Having first decided on the 
 profession of law for his life work, he attended a 
 law school in Albany, N. Y., for one year. Con- 
 cluding, however, to take up commercial business 
 instead, he, in 1882, became a member of the firm 
 of Dwight, Skinner & Co., wool merchants, and so 
 ■continued until May, 1899. 
 
 ]\Ir. Skinner was a colonel on Gov. Morgan G. 
 Bulkeley's staff, serving as such during the entire 
 four years of that Governor's administration. So- 
 cially he is a member of the Hartford Club, of the 
 Sons of the American Revolution and the Colonial 
 Wars, and of the Mayflower Society. In politics 
 lie has always been a Republican, ever taking an 
 active interest in the welfare of his party, but so far 
 Jias studiously declined office. He is a director of 
 the Connecticut iMutual Life Insurance Co., of the 
 Hartford Fire Insurance Co., the Phcenix National 
 Bank, the Fidelity Co.,, the Society for Savings, 
 the Smythe Manufacturing Co., and president of 
 the Anchor Mills Paper Co. 
 
 On Oct. 20, 1880, Mr. Skinner married Flor- 
 ■ence Clarissa, daughter of the late Ebenezer Rob- 
 €rts, of Hartford, and three children grace this 
 union: Marjorie Roberts, born Aug. 6, 1881 ; Rob- 
 erts Keney, born Oct. i, 1886; and William Con- 
 verse, Jr., born Dec. 2^, 1889. Mrs. Skinner is a 
 member of the Colonial Dames, and correspond- 
 ing secretary of the D. A. R. 
 
 EDGAR CHAPIN LIXX, president of the 
 Connecticut Building and Loan Association, Hart- 
 ford, is a native of the Western Reserve, or "New 
 Connecticut," Ohio, born in Richmond May 29, 
 1861. 
 
 ISir. Linn is descended from some of the older 
 families that removed to the Western Reserve in an 
 •early day from Connecticut, A'ermont and New Jer- 
 -sey, his parents being Dr. and Mrs. Ezra (Buell) 
 Linn. His great-great-grandfather, Joseph Linn, 
 .served as adjutant in the Second Regiment of Mil- 
 itia of Sussex coimty, N. J., during the war for 
 independence. On his father's side Mr. Linn is 
 descended from William Buell, who was one of 
 the company that came to New England in 1630 
 with Rev. John Warham, and first settled at Dor- 
 chester, Mass. Subsequently he removed to Wind- 
 sor, Conn. This William Buell is said to have been 
 the common ancestor to all of the American Buells. 
 Flis name is on the first distribution of lands in 
 Windsor, Conn., in 1639. He died in 1681. His 
 two sons were Samuel and Peter. Samuel married 
 Deborah Griswold, and settled in the town of Kil- 
 lingworth. Conn. Peter married Martha Coggens. 
 
 [A resume of the Buell family is given farther on 
 m this sketch.] 
 
 Edgar C. Linn attended the common schools 
 in Richmond until his fourteenth year, and in the 
 meantime, with his parents' permission, he under- 
 took to earn, and succeeded in earning, sufficient 
 money to carry him through a two-)'ears' course 
 at the academy in Austinburg, Ohio. He then en- 
 tered a general store at Conneaut, Ohio, as clerk, 
 at $100 per annum, and remained there five years, 
 becoming head clerk of the establishment. Here 
 he earned the money to pay for his expenses for 
 two years in Allegheny College, Meadville, Penn. 
 After leaving college he returned to his former 
 position in the general store at Conneaut, where 
 he remained another year, and then, in 1884, em- 
 barked in the retail shoe business for himself. 
 
 In 1887 Mr. Linn retired from the shoe busi- 
 ness and became identified with that of the Build- 
 ing and Loan Association in the same town, con- 
 tinuing therein until 1895, during which period 
 by careful study he became thoroughly versed in 
 its workings. In 1895 he came to Connecticut, 
 associated himself with the directorate of the Con- 
 necticut Building and Loan Association, and aided 
 in its organization. Mr. Linn became the associa- 
 tion's first secretary, a position he filled with great 
 efficiency and very acceptably until his election to 
 the presidency, in February, 1901. In connection 
 with the secretaryship Mr. Linn served as treasurer 
 of the association, having been appointed in 1896 
 acting treasurer, and shortly thereafter was regu- 
 larly elected. 
 
 in June, 1884, Mr. Linn was married to Miss 
 Harriet Hawley, daughter of Gideon Hawley, of 
 Conneaut, Ohio, and to them were born five chil- 
 dren, three of whom are still living: Robert H., 
 Elizabeth H. and Chapin C. The family residence, 
 a commodious and sightly one, is located on Farm- 
 ington avenue, West Hartford. 
 
 Buell Family. First generation. William 
 Buell, or Bewelle, or Beville, was born at Ches- 
 terton, in Huntingdonshire, England, about 1610, 
 came to Arnerica about 1630, settled at Dorchester, 
 Mass., and about 1635 removed to Windsor, Conn., 
 where he died Nov. 23, 1681. "William Buell and 
 wife, in 1650, were indicted in Plymouth Colony 
 as Baptists." [Bayliss 11. 211.] Married at Wind- 
 sor, Conn., Nov. 18, 1640, to Mary [name 
 
 not known], who- died Sept. 2, 1684. Eight chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Second generation. Samuel Buell, first child 
 of William Buell, born at Windsoi", Conn., Sept. 
 2, 1641, removed to Killingworth, Conn., 1664, 
 where he died July 11, 1720. Married at Wind- 
 sor, Conn., Nov. 13 or 18, 1662, to Deborah Gris- 
 v\'old, daughter of Edward Griswold, who came 
 from England in 1639, and settled at Windsor. 
 Twelve children. 
 
 Third generation. Deacon John Buell, of Kil- 
 
% 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lingworth, Conn., fifth child of Samuel Buell, born 
 Feb. 17, 1671, removed to Lebanon, Conn., 1695, 
 and in 1721 was pioneer to Litchfield, Conn., where 
 he died April 9, 1746. Married at Windsor, Conn., 
 Nov. 20, 1695, to Mary Loomis. Thirteen chil- 
 dren. In the West Burying Ground, at Litch- 
 field, Conn., this inscription appears on an old 
 gravestone : "Here lies the body of Mrs. Mary, 
 wife of Deacon John Buell. She died Nove. 4, 
 1768, aged 90, having had 13 children; 101 grand- 
 children ; 274 great-grandchddren ; and 22 great- 
 great-gr'andchiklren. 336 survived her." 
 
 Fourth generation. John Buell, of Lebanon, 
 Conn., second child of John Buell, of Killingworth, 
 born Feb. i, 1699, died at Lebanon [no date] 
 JMarried at Lebanon May 19, 1726, to Freedom 
 Strong. Nine children. 
 
 Fifth generation. Abraham Buell, fourth child 
 of John Buell, born at Lebanon, Feb. 19, 1734; re- 
 moved to Litchfield, Conn., thence to Groton, Conn. 
 (N. H. ?), 1773, where he died about 1815. Mar- 
 ried in Litchfield, Conn., to Sarah Stone, May 20, 
 1759. Nine children. 
 
 Sixth generation. Ezra Buell, fifth child of 
 Abraham Buell, born at Litchfield, Sept. 18, 1769, 
 went with his father to Groton, N. H., in 1773. 
 Resided in Hanover, N. H., 1790 to 1800; removed 
 to Kinsman, Ohio, 1810; afterwa.rd removed to 
 Hartstown, Penn., where he died Nov. 16, 1865. 
 He was a teacher most of the time for sixty years, 
 teaching the first school where Dartmouth Col- 
 lege now stands ; voted at every Presidential elec- 
 tion from Washington's second term to Lincoln's 
 second term. He was married at Deerfield, N. H., 
 1794, to Dorothy Sanborn, of Deerfield. Four 
 children. 
 
 Seventh generation. Theodate Buell, born at 
 Groton, N. H., May 29, 1801. She removed to 
 North Shenango, Penn., and then married Andrew 
 Linn, Feb. 5, 1818. 
 
 EightJi generation. Dr. Ezra Buell Linn, third 
 child of Theodate Buell-Linn, born Nov. 6, 1822, 
 at Espyville, Pennsylvania. 
 
 Ninth generation. E. C. Linn, third child of 
 Dr. E. B. Linn, born May 29, 1861. 
 
 GEN. JAMES H. J ARM AN, special agent for 
 the Connecticut Mutual Insurance Co., of Hartford, 
 is a native of Connecticut, born June 18, 1849, '" 
 New Haven, and is descended from stalwart New 
 England ancestry. 
 
 William S. Jarman, grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, married JNIiss Eliza Elford, of London, Eng- 
 land. He was a prominent citizen of New Haven, 
 Conn., a deacon in the North Congxegational 
 Church, and a school teacher by profession, liv- 
 ing to the advanced age of eighty-four years. 
 
 William S. Jarman, father of the General, was 
 born in New Haven, Conn., received his educa- 
 tion, in New Haven, and commenced mercantile 
 business as a clerk, in course ©f time establish- 
 ing the "Bee Hive" Drv Goods Store in New Haven, 
 
 Cunn., which he conducted with success for many 
 years, dying at the age of seventy. He married - 
 (for his second wife) Emma M. Morrell, and by 
 her had six children, only two of whom are now 
 living; William S. (in Burnside, Conn.) and James 
 H. riie mother was called from earth in 1852, 
 when our subject was a small boy. The latter 
 received a liberal education at the public and private 
 schools of his native State, and was prepared for 
 college, intending to enter Yale, but circumstances 
 prevented and he entered a fire-insurance office in 
 New Haven. In 1870 he commenced a clerkship 
 in the office of the Connecticut Mutual Life In- 
 surance Co. in Hartford, where he has since re- 
 mained, for years having had charge of the "New 
 Business" department. In 1885 he was appointed 
 special agent, and has written up an excellent line 
 of business. He is a director of the International 
 Power X'ehicle Co., of New York. 
 
 Our subject is a Republican in politics, and 
 has served in various offices of trust, such as coun- 
 cilman (1895) from the old Second ward; on the 
 school board two terms of three years each, and 
 president of same three years. Fie is a member of 
 the South Congregational Church, and was presi- 
 dent (1898-99) of the Y'oung People's Association 
 of that society. He is on the board of managers 
 of the Y. J\I. C. A., and member of the State com- 
 mittee of same. He is also on the board of man- 
 agers of the Hartford Free Dispensary. While in 
 New Haven he joined the militia, serving in the 
 New Haven Gra}s, but on account of removal was 
 discharged. In 1879, after coming to Hartford, he 
 assisted Col. Charles E. Thompson in the formation 
 of Company K, ist Regiment, Conn. N. G., of 
 which company he was made sergeant, declining a 
 lieutenancy; his military record since then is as 
 follows: Second Lieutenant, Feb. 19, 1883; First 
 Lieutenant April 29, 1886; IMajor and Brigade I. 
 R. P., Conn. N. G., July 3, 1888; resigned, :May 
 12, 1890 ; Paymaster-General for State of Connecti- 
 cut, Jan. 9, 1895, on the staft of Gov. Cofiin. 
 
 In fraternal affiliations Gen. Jarman is a mem- 
 ber of the F. & A. I\I., St. John's Lodge, No. 4, 
 and was secretary of Washington Lodge, Windsor, 
 two years ; is a member of Wolcott Council, No. 
 I, R. & S. j\l.; Pythagoras Chapter, No. 17, R. 
 A. ;M. ; Washington Commandery No. i, K. T. 
 (being now past commander) ; Sphinx Temple, A. 
 A. O. N., ^lystic Shrine, of whicn he was one of 
 the organizers, and is second officer; is also T. P. 
 Grand Master of Charter Oak Lodge of Perfection, 
 Scottish Rite; an officer of Hartford Council, 
 Princes of Jerusalem ; and is a thirt}--second degree 
 Freemason. The General is an honorary member 
 of the Hartford City Guard ; charter member of the 
 Republican Club of Hartford; charter member of 
 the Twentieth Century Club; member of the Hart- 
 ford Masonic Club; charter member of the Hart- 
 ford Golf Club : and member of the executive com- 
 mittee of the Woodmont Golf Club. 
 
78 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In 1871 Gen. Jarman was married to Harriet 
 C. Cliipman, of New Haven, daugliter of William 
 Chipman, a contractor and builder of that city, 
 and they have had four children, one of whom, 
 Francis Townsend Jarman, died in infancy, and 
 three are living as follows : Florence Eleanor ; Edith 
 Hedges, wife of Clarence Ward Hatch, secretary 
 of the International Power Vehicle Co., of New 
 York; and Frederick Townsend, who was educated 
 at public and high school, of which latter he is a 
 graduate, and is now attending Yale College, class 
 of 1902, being in the Sheffield Scientific Depart- 
 ment. Mrs. Jarman is a descendant of Capt. Na- 
 thaniel Turner, of the New Haven Colony, who 
 was one of the twelve "chosen for foundation work 
 of the church" in 1639, and "Captaine" in 1640. 
 Gen. Jarman is a grand-nephew of Thomas Jar- 
 man, "author of the celebrated law work entitled 
 "Jarman on Wills," which holds an honored place 
 in law libraries. 
 
 PETER DONAHUE, who died at his home in 
 Hartford, March i, 1900, was born in County An- 
 trim, Ireland, June 22, 1842. For more than forty 
 years he was engaged in the grocery business in 
 Hartford, where he was much esteemed for his ster- 
 ling qualities of mind and heart. He first estab- 
 lished a store at No. 232 Front street, and in 1893 
 removed to No. 307 Park street, the business being 
 conducted there until his death. Mr. Donahue was 
 active politically in Hartford, representing the old 
 Sixth ward as councilman for two terms. He was a 
 man of large charit}', and many a poor family will 
 miss him. Fle belonged to several fraternal organ- 
 izations, including the Ancient Order of Hiber- 
 nians ; Charter Oak Council, Knights of Columbus ; 
 and the Emerald Society, and he was a devout and 
 consistent member of the Church of the Immaculate 
 Conception. He had five sisters living in this coun- 
 try: Mrs. Bernard McCaffrey and Mrs. John Gib- 
 bins, of Hartford; Mrs. Mary Atchison, of South 
 Dakota; Mrs. John Trainor, of Moodus; and Mrs. 
 James Carr, of Naugatuck. 
 
 In October, 1878, Mr. Donahue was married 
 in Hartford to Miss Nora O'Neil, who survives 
 him. They had three children: John, aged twenty 
 years, who succeeded his father in business ; Mar- 
 garet, aged eighteen; and Stephen, aged sixteen. 
 
 HERBERT CALVIN PARSONS, proprietor 
 ■of "Parsons Theater," Hartford, is a native of Con- 
 necticut, born Nov. 4, 1854, in East Windsor, a son 
 of Calvin G. and Elizabeth (Chapman) Parsons. 
 
 Calvin G. Parsons was born in East Windsor, 
 Conn., in 1825, and died in 1891, at the age of 
 sixt}--six years. In politics he was a Republican, 
 and for many years was first selectman in Windsor ; 
 during the war of the Rebellion he was an enroll- 
 ing officer, having the enlisting of men for the Union 
 army, and altogether was a prominent man, taking 
 ■an active part in all the affairs of his day and time. 
 
 He married Elizabeth Chapman, born in Ellington, 
 Conn., a daughter of Jabez Chapman, also of El- 
 lington nativity, where he passed his entire life, a 
 long one, in agricultural pursuits. To Calvin G. 
 and Elizabeth Parsons were born four children, 
 three of whom are yet living : Hattie, wife of Henry 
 Tschummie, residing in Broadbrook, Hartford 
 county; Carrie, wife of George Crane, superintend- 
 ent of a mill in Glastonbury; and Herbert C, our 
 subject. The parents were members of the Con- 
 gregational Church. 
 
 Herbert C. Parsons received his education at 
 the common schools of East Windsor, and passed 
 his early manhood in farming in that town where 
 for five years he was collector of taxes. He has had 
 an extensive and varied experience. In 1872 he 
 started from Jacksonville, Fla., as an assistant to 
 George H. Decostio ; next accepted a position as ad- 
 vance agent for Dan Rice's "Paris Pavilion" Circus, 
 which he filled with flattering success. Some two 
 years later he purchased the "Broad Brook Hotel," 
 and in 1893 we find him in Bridgeport, a partner to 
 C. L. Davis, in the Alvin Joslyn show, which he 
 later disposed of to become part owner of the Park 
 City Theater, in that city, and in 1896 he built and 
 opened his theater in Hartford. It is beautifully 
 decorated and elegantly furnished, and is through- 
 out a thoroughly modern playhouse, the equal of 
 those in the larger cities, and the public has showa 
 its appreciation by a very liberal patronage. 
 
 Not only is Mr. Parsons a thorough business 
 man, but he is possessed of fine social qualities, and 
 is a member of a number of fraternal organizations, 
 having passed through the various degrees of Ma- 
 sonry. He is a member of Oriental Lodge, No. 
 Ill, Adoniram Chapter, Rockville Council, Wash- 
 ington Commandery, and Pyramid Temple of the 
 Mystic Shrine ; of the Hartford lodge of Elks ; and 
 of Elm Court, Foresters, of Broad Brook. In poli- 
 tics he has always been a Republican. Mr. Par- 
 sons married Carrie G. Simpson, daughter of 
 Harvey and Mirah Simpson, of Portland, Conn. ; 
 they have one daughter, Maud M., born .in 1880. 
 
 HENRY C. JUDD, senior member of H. C. 
 Judd & Root, wool merchants, Hartford, was born 
 of good old English stock, April 12, 1827, in North- 
 ampton, Mass., but has resided the greater part of 
 his life in Hartford, Connecticut. 
 
 Thomas Judd, the first ancestor of the family 
 in America, came from England in 1633 or 1634, 
 and settled in Cambridge, Mass., later, in 1636, be- 
 coming one of the original settlers of Hartford, lo- 
 cating next to the Wyllys lot, which was dis- 
 tinguished bv the fact that upon it once stood the 
 celebrated Charter Oak. He was one of the first 
 settlers of Farmington, where be removed in 1644; 
 he was a member of the General Court, this body 
 then being known as the House of Deputies, and 
 served from 1648 at dift'erent times up to 1679 — 
 seventeen terms in all. He was a member of 
 
commLu.orative biographical record. 
 
 79 
 
 Tlimas Hooker's church, one of its seven pillars 
 at its organization, and was a deacon of this church. 
 He was one of the original proprietors of the town 
 of Farmington, which included some five or six 
 towns, thence removed to Northampton, Mass., 
 where he was a selectman and held other offices of 
 trust. He died Nov. 12, 1688, at the age of about 
 eighty years. 
 
 Jonathan Judd, great-grandfather of Henry C, 
 was born in the town of Middletown, Conn., a son 
 of Benjamin J. Judd, who was the fourth son of 
 Deacon Thomas Judd, who lived at Lexington. 
 Jonathan Judd had his home for a time in Glaston- 
 bury, whence he removed, in 17 16, to Middletown, 
 and there died Aug. 28, 1725, at the early age of 
 thirty-seven years. 
 
 Solomon Judd, son of Jonathan, and the grand- 
 father of Henry C, was born in Coventry, Conn., 
 Sept. 21, 1758, and was a soldier in the Revolu- 
 tionary war, and died in South Coventry, April 
 21, 1 85 1, aged ninety-two years. By his wife Anna 
 (, Carpenter), who died Jan. 29, 1847, he had six 
 children. 
 
 John F. Judd, son of Solomon and Anna Judd, 
 and the father of our subject, was born Sept. 6, 
 1798, in South Coventry, Conn., and for some years 
 made his home in Northampton, Mass., removing 
 tinally to Hartford, where he spent the rest of his 
 life, dying at the age of eighty-five years. In 1850 
 he embarked in the wool business, and followed 
 same successfully imtil his death. He was an in- 
 fiuential member of the iM. E. Church, and one of its 
 trustees ; was a director of several public institu- 
 tions, and altogether was a very prominent man. 
 i\Ir. Judd married Olive Fuller, who was born in 
 A\"indham, Conn., and six children came to their 
 union, two of whom are yet living: Henry C. ; and 
 Edwin D., a retired army officer residing in Hart- 
 ford. The mother of these passed away in 1851, at 
 the age of forty-eight years. 
 
 Henry C. Judd, whose name introduces this 
 sketch, received his education in part at the com- 
 mon and high schools, in part at a private school, 
 and at the age of twenty-one began business with 
 his father, becoming a partner in the concern, and 
 he is now the oldest wool merchant in Hartford. 
 At different times he has had five partners, and the 
 present house of H. C. Judd & Root is not only 
 one of the oldest in the United States, but one of 
 the largest in the wool trade. The firm buys wool 
 all over the United States, importing largely from 
 foreign countries, and as Mr. Judd has traveled ex- 
 *tensively in the interests of the business, he is known 
 by every large owner of sheep throughout the Union. 
 The present firm consists of Henry C. Judd, Judson 
 H. Root, Edwin D. Judd. James H. Bidwell and 
 Edwin Y. Judd. In 1883 "they built the Judd & 
 Root block, corner of High and Allyn streets. 'in 
 Hartford, one of the finest in the city, it being 
 140x100 feet, six stories high. 
 
 On Sept. 6, 1853, Henry C. Judd was united in 
 
 marriage with Mary P. Young, a native of Jewett 
 City, Conn., and six children have graced their 
 union, four of whom are now living: (i) Edwin 
 Y., a member of the firm; (2) Emma, wife of Will- 
 iam H. Deming, of the Connecticut Mutual Life 
 Insurance Co.; (3) Jennie B., wife of Leonard D. 
 Fisk, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere ; (4) 
 Fred E., who married a Miss Roberts, of Hart- 
 ford, and is now living in Pendleton, Oregon. The 
 family attend the services of the Park Congrega- 
 tional Church ; in politics Mr. Judd is a Republican. 
 Fie is a director in the Hartford National Bank, 
 the National Fire Insurance Co., of Hartford, the 
 ..-Etna Nut Co., of Southington, Conn., and Landers, 
 Frary & Clark, of New Britain, Conn, while for 
 some years he has been chairman of the ^^'est Hart- 
 ford School Board. 
 
 The home of' the family is one of the very finest 
 and most luxurious in the city of Hartford, fur- 
 nished as it is in the most elegant manner, wherein 
 comfort, refinement and artistic taste are the ne plus 
 ultra. In the music room stands a fine pipe organ, 
 run by a water motor, and here the eldest son, who 
 is an organist of no mean merit, finds solace and 
 recreation of the most soul-inspiring kind. Around 
 the walls of this room are numerous electric lights, 
 that produce variegated hues, at the the will of the 
 performer at the organ, without leaving the key- 
 board, presenting in its entirety the suggestion of 
 oriental inspiration. The furniture of some of the 
 rooms is hand-carved, and of rare design, dating 
 back to the sixteenth century. Throughout the en- 
 tire residence there are evidences of the refined 
 taste of the owner, and the handiwork of master 
 artists. Both Mr. and Mrs. Judd are most genial, 
 hospitable people, ever ready to welcome their 
 friends. 
 
 JOHN F. WHAPLES, of the firm of J. F. 
 Whaples & Son, contractors and builders, No. 2 
 Olmsted street. East Hartford, Hartford county, 
 Connecticut. 
 
 JOFIN C. WEBSTER, who for nearly forty 
 years has been most widely and favorably known 
 in insurance circles, twenty years of which period 
 he served as vice-president of the ^tna Life In- 
 surance Co., of Hartford, and who at this writing 
 is the company's general agent in New York City, 
 was born JNIay 24, 1839, at Kingfield, INIaine. 
 
 Mr. Webster received a thorough English edu- 
 cation, completing the course at the Concord (N. 
 H.) high school. He learned the printer's trade at 
 Concord, and before he was twenty-one was at the 
 head of one of the largest newspaper offices in that 
 citv. In the spring of 1864 he became identified 
 with the business of life insurance, becoming the 
 general agent of the .-lltna Life for the States of 
 New Hampshire and A'ermont. In that position 
 from the very start he showed marked adantation 
 for the business, and advanced rapidly. He re- 
 
80 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ceived the appointment, in 1873, of superintendeui 
 of agencies tor the ^tna, and removed to Hart- 
 ford, Conn. In July, 1879, he was elected vice- 
 president, a position he occupied in the most effi- 
 cient and able manner. For fifteen years Mr. 
 Webster edited "The yEtna," a journal devoted ex- 
 clusively to the interests of the ^tna Life, pub- 
 lished quarterly. His writings have commanded 
 wide attention in insurance cnxles, giving the pa- 
 per and company a standing that could have been 
 attained in no other way. Mr. Webster organized 
 the accident department of the ^tna Life, and 
 continued in charge of it until his retirement from 
 the vice-presidency, in 1899. He also organized 
 the y-Etna Indemnity Co., and was its first president. 
 He served seventeen years as trustee of the Hart- 
 ford Trust Co. 
 
 Mr. Webster was one of the founders of the 
 Hartford County Horticultural Society, and was its 
 first president. This society was subsequently in- 
 corporated by the Legislature as the Connecticut 
 Horticultural Society. Mr. Webster, in his political 
 views, is a Republican. While he has steadily de- 
 clined public office and position, he regards public 
 aiTairs with great interest, and is one of the most 
 patriotic and public-spirited of citizens. He has 
 done a great deal toward the development and pros- 
 perity of that section of the town of West Hart- 
 ford where he resides. 
 
 Mr. Webster has been twice married. His first 
 wife, who was Miss Sarah B. Norton, of Kingfield, 
 Maine, died in 1868; by this marriage he had one 
 child, a son, who died in infancy. His second 
 wife, who was Mrs. Mary E. L. Abbott, of Con- 
 cord, N. H., is still living. 
 
 HON. GEORGE PAYNE McLEAN, for 
 years a member of the law firm of Sperry & ]\Ic- 
 Lean, of Hartford, and now Governor of Con- 
 necticut, comes of Puritan stock. 
 
 Born Oct. 7, 1857, in the town of Simsbury, 
 son of Dudley Bestor and iNIary (Payne) McLean, 
 the Governor on his mother's side is descended 
 from Gov. Bradford, who came to New England 
 in the "Mayflower," and on his father's side from 
 the ancient and illustrious Loomis family, who for 
 generations lived in what is now Tolland county, 
 which section was for years the home of the earlier 
 McLeans, and in whose history a number figured 
 prominently. From the McLeans, of that part of 
 the old town of Boston more recently Vernon, 
 Gov. McLean is in the fifth generation from Allen 
 McLean, who, in 1744, married Mary Loomis, the 
 line of his descent being through Capt. Alexander, 
 Rev. Allen and Dudley Bestor McLean. 
 
 (II) Capt. Alexander McLean, son of Allen, 
 born 1747, married, in 1768, Joanna Smith, and 
 died in 1806.. 
 
 (III) Rev. Allen McLean, born June 20, 1781, 
 in what is now the town of Vernon, Conn., mar- 
 ried (first), Tune 21, 1810, Sarah Pratt, who died 
 in 1831, and (second), in 1833, wedded Nancy Mor- 
 
 Rev. McLean, according- 
 
 gan, who died in i860, 
 
 to h'is own statement, was reared by good Christian 
 parents, rigid in morals and discipline. He was 
 graduated from Yale College in 1805, and after one 
 year passed in divinity study in New Haven he 
 furthered his studies in that line in the familv of 
 Rev. Hooker, in Goshen. He was ordained and set- 
 tled as pastor over the Congregational Church in 
 Simsbury, and remained in such relations over fifty 
 years, during the last eleven of which he was totally 
 blind, but ever resigned and cheerful. In is the- 
 ology he was in harmony with Dwight and Edwards 
 and the Holy Scriptures, always honest and straight- 
 forward in his religious opinions. He was a strong- 
 advocate of temperance. He died in 1861, greatly 
 beloved by the people he had served so long. 
 
 Dudley B. McLean, son of Rev. Allen, and the 
 father of Gov. McLean, b.orn Fe'b. 12, 1821, mar- 
 ried Sept. 16, 1846, Mary Payne. Mr. McLean 
 was a man of intelligence and worth in Simsbury, 
 where he was by occitpation a farmer. 
 
 George Payne McLean, the subject proper of this 
 sketch, was reared on a farm, worked in the farming- 
 season, and attended the district school in the 
 winters. At the age of fifteen he entered the Hart- 
 ford Public Hig'h School, iin his Junior year was 
 chosen editor of the school paper, and, in his Senior 
 year, as class orator. He was graduated in 1877, 
 and then began the work of life as a reporter on 
 The Hartford Post. In 1879 he left journalism and 
 entered as a student the law office of the late Hon. 
 Henry C. Robinson, of Hartford, and while studying- 
 law continued to support himself by keeping books 
 for Trinity College. He was admitted to the Bar 
 in 1882, and commenced practice in Hartford, where 
 he has since continued. In one sense he has re- 
 tained his identity with Simsbury, and represented 
 that town in the General Assemloly of Connecticut 
 in the sessions of 18S3 and 1884, and was State 
 senator from his district in 1886. As a legislator 
 his fidelity and ability made him prominent and in- 
 fluential. He was especially active in his advocacy 
 of the bill creating the Board of Pardons, and of 
 what was known as the "Short Haul bill." Mr. 
 Robinson, in whose office Mr. McLean had remained 
 as a practitioner after his admission to the Bar, 
 was the chief attorney for the railroad corporations 
 in the sharp contest which they made against the 
 passage of that bill ; but Mr. McLean believed the 
 bill to be right and for the welfare of the people, 
 and so he favored it. The Speaker of the House 
 of Representatives in the session of 1884 was that 
 able and high-minded citizen of New Haven, Hon. 
 Henry B. Harrison, who, when he became governor 
 in 1887, remembered so well the fine quality of Mr. 
 IvIcLean's legislative work that he appointed_ him, 
 although then only twenty-nine years old, a member 
 C'f the'Commission to perform the delicate and im- 
 portant duty of revising the Statutes of the State, 
 his associates on the Commission being Judges James 
 A. Hovey, Augustus H. Fenn, and R. Jay_ Walsh. 
 He was nominated for Secretary of State in 1890, 
 
^ 
 
 t€ 
 
 /^C^^^t^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 81 
 
 ihe election for State officers that year resulting in 
 what is known as the "dead-lock." In i8y2 upon rec- 
 ommendation of the entire Connecticut Congress- 
 sional delegation, President Harrison appointed him 
 United States Attorney for the District of Connecti- 
 cut. He filled that ofhce four years, and filled it so 
 well that he won for the government every criminal 
 case that was tried, and every civil case for the State 
 Comptroller four years, and for the State Treas- 
 urer two. years. 
 
 At the State Republican Convention held at 
 New Haven on Sept. 6, 1900, IN'lr. ^IcLean was 
 made the nominee of that party for Governor of 
 Connecticut, by being placed in nomination by the 
 distinguished lawyer and orator, Hon. Joseph L. 
 Barbour, of Hartford. In the election which fol- 
 lowed in November, Mr. ]\lcLean was elected by 
 something like 11,000 majority, and was inaugur- 
 ated Governor of Connecticut Jan. 9, 1901. 
 
 "To jNIr. McLean for his tact, forbearance, court- 
 esy and gentlemanlv bearing all through the un- 
 comfortable days of a trying campaign much credit 
 is due. His course under the fire directed upon 
 him commanded respect, and made for him friends. 
 His administration will be brilliant and a credit to 
 the State as well as to himself." 
 
 Gov. McLean's first message is considered as al- 
 together out of the ordinary — a brilliant State paper, 
 one in which there is not a dull or superfluous word, 
 while it is full of ideas. In it he has said what he 
 thinks, and has dodged nothing. The sources of its 
 real strength are courage, wisdom and foresight. 
 It is a paper that will mark, not to say make, an 
 epoch in Connecticut history. Gov. McLean's ver- 
 satility of gifts as an orator has often been illus- 
 trated before critical audiences, and on more than 
 one occasion he has received distinguished compli- 
 ments from eminent sources, of which he would be 
 justified in feeling proud. 
 
 LIEUT.-GOA'. GEORGE GRISWOLD SILL, 
 well and favorably known, not only throughout the 
 length and breadth of Hartford county, but largely 
 throughout the State of Connecticut and adjoining 
 States, comes of an honored and honorable New 
 England family, of English descent. He is a de- 
 scendant in the seventh generation from John Sill, 
 his line beng through Capt. Joseph, Joseph, John 
 (2), John (2,). and Henry 
 
 (I) John Sill about the year 1637 emigrated 
 from Lyme, England, to Cambridge, JNIass. (II) 
 Capt. Joseph, of Lyme, after 1675. (Ill) Joseph 
 (2). (IV) John (2). (V) John (3), son of. John 
 (2), born at Silltown (Lyme), Conn., in 1744, 
 married (first) Alary Anderson, of Windsor: mar- 
 ried (second) in 1785 Elizabeth, daughter of George 
 Griswold, of Lyme. John Sill (3) settled in Wind- 
 sor about 1775. and died there in 1827. 
 
 (AT) Henry Sill (father of our subject), son 
 of John (3), born Aug. 2^. 1786, in Windsor, 
 married in Alay, 1809, Almeda Alarshall, of Wind- 
 
 6 
 
 sor, and their children were: (i) Henry G., born 
 in 1810, died in 1835; (2) Eliza A., born in 1814, 
 died in 1859; (3) John M., born in 1816, died in 
 1834: (4j Julia, born in 1819, married Samuel 
 Mather, and died in 1885; (5) William R., born in 
 1822, married JNIary G. Edgar, and is a prominent 
 man at LaCrosse, Wis., a civil engineer of note; [G) 
 Emily, born in 1824, married E. S. Alford, of 
 Windsor, and died in 1865; (7) Alar)- A., 
 born in 1827, married O. R. Holcomb, of 
 \\'indsor; (8) George Griswold, our subject, was 
 born Oct. 26, 1829; and (9) Jane H., born in 1833, 
 died in 1859. Ihe father of this family was a life- 
 long farmer, also followed surveying; he was a lay 
 judge of the probate court, a man of prominence 
 in Windsor, and held all the offices of the town ; set- 
 tled a large number of estates, and transacted a 
 great deal of legal business. He died July 21, 1870, 
 at the age of eighty-four years, highly respected and 
 greatly esteemed by all. His wife was a lineal de- 
 scendant of Capt. Samuel Alarshall, who was killed 
 in a fight with the Narragansett Indians in 1675. 
 She was called from earth in October, 1858, at the 
 age of seventy-two, a member of the Episcopal 
 Church. 
 
 George G. Sill, of whom we write, was educat- 
 ed at Ellington Academy, and prepared for college 
 by private tuition ; graduated in 1852 from Yale 
 College with the degree of A. B. ; attended lectures 
 for a year in Yale Law School, and afterward be- 
 came a student in the law office of the late Gov. 
 Richard D. Hubbard, at Hartford. In 1854 he was 
 admitted to the Bar, and has since continued in the 
 active practice of his profession. For over forty 
 years he has been a prominent member of the Bench 
 and Bar, and for more than half a century has taken 
 an active part in the court, social and political affairs 
 of the county. For forty odd years he has beert 
 a justice of the peace, for many years a prosecuting 
 grand juror, and a side judge of the Hartford City 
 Court, while from 1871 to 1873 he was recorder, or 
 judge, of the same court. Among the many cases 
 that have been tried by him none, perhaps, is of 
 more general interest than the celebrated '"Fox 
 will"' case. 
 
 During the Civil war Air. Sill was especially- 
 active in the L'nion cause, and it was in his office 
 that the first company of Connecticut volunteers was 
 formed. Until 1872 he had been an active and 
 prominent Republican, but in that year, under the 
 leadership of Horace Greeley, he became a liberal 
 Republican, believing that a more conciliatory policv 
 should be pursued toward the Southern States. In 
 1872 he voted for Greeley. He has been a delegate 
 to a number of county conventions, and has de- 
 livered many platform addresses, being noted for 
 his success as a public speaker. 
 
 In 1873 Air. Sill was nominated for lieutenant- 
 governor on the ticket headed by Charles R. Inger- 
 soll. of New Haven, and was elected by a hand- 
 some majority; in 1874-75-76 he was re-elected to 
 
82 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the same office. In 1882 he was elected to the Gen- 
 eral Assembly as representative from Hartford, and 
 was the Democratic nominee for Speaker of the 
 House. In March, 1888, he was nominated, by 
 President Cleveland, as United States district attor- 
 ney for the District of Connecticut, and his appoint- 
 ment was conlirmed by the Senate. In 1859 he was 
 a member of the Fremont Club ; in 1S60 was a mem- 
 ber of the Lincoln Club, and upon the occasion 
 of Lincoln's visit to Hartford he introduced him 
 to the people of the city. In municipal affairs he 
 served three years in the Hartford common council, 
 part of the time as alderman. In commercial and 
 financial circles he has always been prominent, and 
 is identified with some of the most important finan- 
 cial and commercial concerns of Hartford and 
 vicinity. 
 
 On Dec. 18, 1861, our subject married, at Rock- 
 ville, Conn., Mrs. JNIary J. ( Preston j Peek, a native 
 of New York, -widow of De Witt C. Peek, of that 
 cit)', and daughter of Esek J. Preston, a flour and 
 coal merchant in Hartford, and at one time connected 
 with William H. Imlay. Children as follows were 
 born to this union: (i) George Eliot, born in 1862, 
 and who died in 1896, was a prominent lawyer in 
 Hartford. (2) Grace P., born in 1865, died April 
 14, 1893. (3) Ellen B., born in 1866, married Hubert 
 Kip Wood, of Cleveland, Ohio, an inventor, and 
 now superintendent of a factory "at Windsor for 
 making shells for the government. (4) William 
 Raymond, born in 1869, was a prominent editor and 
 newspaper man "out west," and is now on the staff 
 of the Nezij York Evening World ; he recently re- 
 ported for that paper the celebrated "Molineux" 
 trial, which lasted some ten weeks ; he married Cora 
 Ankins. The mother of this family died April 
 13, 1894, at the age of sixty-nine years. The fam- 
 ily attend the services of Trinity Episcopal Church, 
 Hartford. 
 
 Although having now reached the allotted age 
 of man, our subject is still actively engaged in the 
 arduous pursuits of his profession, and of the men, 
 wdio, by personal eft'ort and application, have done 
 much to make the city of Hartford what it is to- 
 day, none are more deserving of the highest encom- 
 iums of praise than Lieut. -Gov. Sill. 
 
 NATHAN LOOMIS BIRGE, deceased. For 
 more than 250 years the Birge family has re- 
 sided in Hartford county, and during these two and 
 one-half centuries its members have been promi- 
 nent as farmers, manufacturers and business men, 
 as well as in public life and in the church. 
 
 The earliest member to settle within the present 
 county limits was Richard Birge, one of Windsor's 
 pioneers, who came from Dorchester, Mass., with 
 Rev. John Warham, of whose church he was a 
 member. The early records — in which the family 
 name is variously spelt Burge, Birdge, Birydge and 
 Birge — show him to have been an extensive land 
 owner as early as 1640. In addition to a home 
 
 lot in the settlement of Windsor, he had. acquired 
 title to sixteen acres "beyond the second pine plane," 
 on the west side of the mill brook, besides eight 
 acres south of the mill brook, eight and one-fourth 
 acres on the side of "Pine Hill," and many other 
 parcels of land, on both sides of the river, the deeds 
 antedating 1646. Most of this was afterward 
 owned by his son Daniel. Among his grantors 
 were Nathan Gillett (in 1644) and James Eno (in 
 1647). Richard, Sr., was Richard, Jr., in 1649. 
 He was a large farmer, but of his personal traits 
 of character very little can be told. That he was 
 a God-fearing man, and a devout Puritan, is shown 
 by his connection with Rev. Mr. Warham ; and that 
 he was prudent, careful and successful is evidenced 
 by his continued acquisition of wealth. 
 
 On Oct. 5, 1641, Richard Birge married Eliza- 
 beth, a daughter of Hon. William Gaylord, and 
 their children were: John, born in 1642, died in 
 1643; Daniel, born Nov. 24, 1644; Elizabeth, born 
 July 28, 1646, died in infancy; Jeremiah, boi'n May 
 6, 1648; John (2), born Jan. 14, 1649; ^^d Joseph, 
 born Nov. 2, 1651, died in July, 1705. Richard 
 Birge died in 165 1, and his widow became the wife 
 of Thomas Haskins, of Windsor. Jeremiah, the 
 third son of Richard, entered into an agreement 
 with his step-father to the effect that he would 
 serve him faithfully and well until he reached the 
 age of twenty-one, the consideration to be the con- 
 veyance to him by Haskins of a stipulated piece of 
 land ; it being also provided that, in the event of 
 the death of Jeremiah before attaining his majority, 
 his brother John should serve the unexpired term. 
 The elder brother died at the age of twenty years 
 and six months, and the younger son, on completing 
 the contract, received the reward agreed upon. 
 
 The death of Jeremiah left two sons of Rich- 
 ard Birge yet living : Daniel and John. Daniel, 
 who was propounded for a freeman in May, 1670, 
 married, Nov. 5, 1668, Deborah Holcomb, by whom 
 he was the father of three sons and six daughters : 
 Elizabeth, born April 25, 1670 (died in infancy) ; 
 Deborah, Nov. 26, 1671 ; ElizalDeth (2), Feb. 3, 
 1674; Mary, Dec. 25, 1677 (married before her 
 father's death); Daniel, Sept. 6, 1680; Abigail, 
 1684; John, 1690; Cornelius, July 30, 1694 (died in 
 1697) ; and Esther, 1697. Daniel Birge died Jan. 
 26, 1697-98, his wife surviving Him. 
 
 It is, however, with the younger branch of the 
 family, that of which John Birge, son of Richard, 
 was the founder, that this biography is more par- 
 ticularly concerned, since it is to this that the late 
 Nathan L. Birge belonged. John Birge, who, as 
 has been said, was born Jan. 14, 1649, married 
 Hannah Watson (or Wratson) March 28, 1678, and 
 died Dec. 2, 1697, Four children were born to 
 them: John, Jr., Feb. 4, 1679; Hannah, June 17, 
 1682; Jeremiah, Sept. 22, 1686; and Marv, Sept. 
 9, 1688. 
 
 Jeremiah Birge, the second son and third child 
 of John Birge, Sr., married Mary Griswold, of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 83 
 
 Windsor, in i/iS, and was the fatlier of children 
 as follows: Jeremiah, born Dec. 23, 1719; Mary, 
 Aug. 23, 1721 ; John, April 25, 1723 ; Ann, Oct. 28,. 
 172b; Teletiah, Sept. 8, 1728; Hannah, March 18, 
 1730; Mindwell, March 24, 1732; and Lucia, Sept. 
 23, 1736. Jeremiah, Sr., the father, died in 1775. 
 
 John Birge, known as Capt. Birge, because of 
 his military rank, married Mary Kellogg, who bore 
 liim six children: Mary, Oct. 31, 1752; John, March 
 15. i753o Simeon, Dec. 26, 1756; Isaac; Roswell'; 
 Anna. 
 
 John Birge, the second child, was the grand- 
 father of Nathan L. Birge. The place of his birth 
 cannot be, fixed with absolute certainty, but is be- 
 lieved to have been Torrington. On March 23, 
 1779, he married Lydia Hopkins, of Canaan, and 
 to this union six children were born : Polly, Feb. 
 22, 1781 ; Aranda, Sept. 17, 1782; John, May 4, 
 17S5 ; Chester, July 23, 17S8 ; Hopkins ; and Marella, 
 Dec. 27, 1797. After the death of his first wife 
 he married, on Feb. 5, 1824, Lucy, the third of a 
 family of twelve children born to Ebenezer Good- 
 win, of New Hartford. She died in February, 1858, 
 without issue. 
 
 John Birge, second son of John, above, and the 
 father of Nathan Loomis, was born at Torrington. 
 After leaving school he learned the trade of a 
 carpenter and builder, and assisted in the erection 
 of Harwinton church. About 1800 he removed to 
 Bristol, where he settled on a farm near the old 
 North burying-ground, and adjoining the "Gad 
 Lewis" farm, and at the same time began business 
 as a manufacturer. His first venture in that line 
 was in the building of wagons, in which he was 
 very successful. He had a natural fondness and 
 aptitude for agricultural pursuits, taking a deep 
 interest therein until the time of his death. He 
 was a man of sound, practical sense, which he 
 brought to bear upon the affairs of everyday life, 
 and of excellent judgment, and to these two Cjualities 
 his success in life may be largely attributed. 
 
 After conducting the business of wagon making 
 for several years, Mr. Birge purchased a patent 
 covering the right to manufacture rolling-pinion 
 eight-day clocks. He was already the owner of 
 a building in which to install a plant, having pre- 
 viously bought the old woolen-mill, in the eastern 
 part of the town, upon a portion of the site of 
 ■which stand the works of the present Codling 
 Manufacturing Co. Here, in connection with a 
 partner, he began the manufacture of clocks, the 
 firm being Birge & Mallory. Their goods met with 
 a ready and large sale from the very inception of 
 the enterprise, and gained for Mr. Birge a reputa- 
 tion throughout the United States and in Europe. 
 Peddlers were sent through the South and West ; 
 the domestic demand steadily increased, while the 
 export trade assumed very considerable propor- 
 tions : and even to this day not a few of his clocks 
 may be found in Bristol homes, ticking away the 
 hours with the regularity and accuracy of more 
 
 modern and more costly timepieces. Some of these 
 clocks have been running over sixty-five \ears in 
 the South and West. Mr. Birge continued in this 
 line of biusiness until within a few years of his 
 demise, when he retired, having accumulated a 
 moderate fortune. At one time he owned and ran 
 for a number of years the stage route between 
 Bristol and Piartford. Pte was a man of prominence 
 in the community; a public-spirited citizen, always 
 ready to contribute money or time toward the ad- 
 vancement of the general welfare. He served as 
 a soldier during the war of 1812, carrying a cap- 
 tain's commission, and adding luster to the family 
 name. He took a deep and active interest in po- 
 litical affairs, and was prominent in the councils 
 of the "Old-line" Whig party. His fellow towns- 
 men, appreciating his capability, integrity and fear- 
 lessness, honored him by electing him to several 
 offices of responsibility and trust. 
 
 From early life Mr. Birge was an earnest worker 
 for the advancement of religion, freely contribut- 
 ing of his wealth, and unselfishly devoting his best 
 personal eff'orts to the cause of his Master. And 
 in this connection it may be added, that this spirit 
 of generosity toward the church, and this readiness 
 to aid in the dissemination of Gospel truth, yet 
 remain characteristics of his descendants. He en- 
 tered into rest June 6, 1862, at tlie age of seventy- 
 seven, full of years and of good works, trusted and 
 honored by all who knew him, and most of all by 
 those who knew him best. Li 1810 he was married 
 to Miss Betsey Loomis, who was born at Torring- 
 ford in 1786, a daughter of Brigadier Loomis. 
 
 Nathan Loomis Birge, son of John, was born 
 on his father's farm in Bristol Aug. 7, 1823. After 
 graduating from the high school of his native town, 
 at the age of sixteen, he prepared for Yale Col- 
 lege at the Berlin Academy and at Deacon Hart's 
 school, Farmington, and then matriculated at Yale 
 College ; but after passing through the Sophomore 
 year he found himself compelled to abandon his 
 studies on account of impaired eyesight. He was, 
 nevertheless, able to accept a position as teacher 
 in the old Pearl Street Academy, in Albany, N. 
 Y., which he filled with marked ability for two 
 years, having as man}' as ninety bo}"s, whom he 
 instructed in the higher ^Mathematics, and in the 
 Languages. Some of those who were under his 
 pedagogic care at this period afterward attained 
 National, if not world-wide, celebrity, among them 
 being a son of William H. Seward, Gen. IMassey, 
 and Rev. Morgan L. Dix, of New York. After 
 severing his connection with the Academy ^Ir. 
 Birge entered the office of Stevens & Cagger, at 
 Albany, where for a time he read law. The legal 
 profession, however, did not commend itself to his 
 favor, and going to New York he became a part- 
 ner in a wholesale dry-goods house. The firm 
 was shortly after dissolved, owing to the death 
 of one of the partners, and he began to think of 
 engaging in business as a manufacturer. At this 
 
84 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 juncture his father, whose trade with Great Britain 
 and the continent of Europe had grown to such 
 dimensions as to require the presence of a repre- 
 sentative abroad, offered him the position of Lon- 
 don agent, which he accepted. His management 
 of the business entrusted to his charge was em- 
 inently successful, and in 1848 he returned. 
 
 At that period of his life Mr. Birge was im- 
 bued with a young man's fondness for change of 
 scene, and the predilection for adventure which 
 often accompanies a daring, courageous spirit, as 
 one of its attributes. He joined a party of traders, 
 bound for what was then the "Far West." Sep- 
 arating himself at once from the comforts and the 
 restramts of civilization, he followed the course of 
 the Arkansas river, buying sk-ins and furs from the 
 aboriginal sons of the forest in exchange for mer- 
 chandise of a miscellaneous sort. He had a regular 
 trading store, and always got along very well with 
 the Indians. The life was hard, yet it possessed the 
 charm of novelty, and the venture proved a finan- 
 cial success. The following year occurred the epi- 
 demic of the California gold fever, and ]\Ir. Birge 
 proved an easy victim. His journey to the gold 
 fields (actual and prospective) occupied seven 
 months, and was attended by a constant recur- 
 rence of privations and sufferings, which might 
 well have caused a weaker or less resolute man to 
 drop by the way. There were no bridges across 
 any of the rivers, and he and his party were com- 
 pelled to swim every river they same to ; ten times 
 they swam the Colorado river, ferrying their per- 
 sonal possessions across on lightly constructed rafts. 
 During the entire trip they were more or less among 
 hostile Indians, and parties in front of jNIr. Birge's 
 train were cut off", as well as those following, while 
 other parties were completely annihilated. Only 
 one man attached to his train was lost, although 
 they had almost daily skirmishes with the hostile 
 Indians, who would attack them at every oppor- 
 tunity. 
 
 On reaching San Francisco, well-nigh destitute 
 of ready money, Mr. Birge found even the most 
 ordinary necessaries of life commanding prices too 
 exorbitant for him to pay. Under these circum- 
 stances, he accepted the invitation of a friend to 
 pass the coming winter in Hawaii. Early in the 
 succeeding spring he returned to California, and 
 after one summer spent in the mining camps he 
 resolutely set his face toward Bristol. After his 
 return he made the home of his childhood the home 
 of middle life and old age, identifying himself 
 with all its public interests, and always keenlv syva- 
 pathetic with every project which tended for its 
 real betterment. 
 
 Soon after his return, in 1850, Mr. Birge found- 
 ed the Bristol Knitting Mill, locating his plant in 
 the northern part of the town, in a large factory 
 building which had been erected by Benjamin Ray, 
 in 1845. Several changes in the personnel of the 
 firm occurred during the succeeding years, Mr. 
 
 Birge finally becoming sole owner, and managing 
 the Dusmess alone uncJ 1882, on beb. 10 cf which 
 year the mill was destroyed by fire. A new and 
 more complete one was immediately erected, and in 
 operation before the fall of the same year, the main 
 buildmg alone being 165x35 feet, and four stories 
 high. About this time he admitted his son John into 
 partnership. In 1893 a younger son, George, was 
 :aken into the firm, and after that time the business 
 was ccaiducted uiider the firm name of N. L. Birge 
 & Sons, untd the death of Mr. Birge, Oct. 29, 1899, 
 when it was changed to the N. L,. Birge & Sons 
 Co. The enterprise prospered from the beginning, 
 and has proved very profitable. The firm's new 
 mill is one of the best ec^uipped, best constructed 
 and best managed in New England, and gives em- 
 ployment to more than one hundred hands. All 
 descriptions of knit underwear are manufactured 
 here, and the superior quality and fine finish of the 
 output creates for it a steady demand throughout 
 the country, the tr.ide universally considering the 
 firm's goods as among the best on the market. The 
 New York office and salesroom of the house is 
 at 346 Broadway. The policy of the firm toward 
 its 'employes has been a liberal one, and the wages 
 paid have always been equal to the highest, and 
 sometimes in excess of those paid by other concerns 
 in the same line. 
 
 For many years Mr. Birge was prominently iden- 
 tified with the public affairs of Bristol. In 1888 
 he was chosen a member of the school board, and 
 filled that position at the time of his death. It was 
 during these eleven years (1890-91) that the hand- 
 some, new, high school building was erected. He 
 was one of the incorporators of the Bristol Na- 
 tional Bank, and was for many years its vice-presi- 
 dent, having declined its presidency, which was 
 offered him after the death of John H. Sessions. 
 He was also a director of the Bristol Savings Bank, 
 and vice-president of the Bristol Water Co. A 
 member of the Congregational Church, he was a 
 remarkably regular attendant upon its services, 
 rarely missing a Sunday during a period of forty- 
 one years, and he contributed freely toward its sup- 
 port and the advancement of its work. In fact, 
 he regarded his wealth as a trust to be administered 
 for the benefit of religion and humanity. His purse 
 strings were never drawn against a call for a worthy 
 charity, public or private, while the amount of his 
 personal benefactions to the needy, unostentatiously 
 bestowed, is known only to Him who said, "let not 
 your left hand know what your right hand doeth." 
 He was universally beloved and his kind smile and 
 cheer}' word seemed to spread light and comfort as 
 he went about his daily vocations. His home was an 
 ideal one, in every sense. His residence was, prob- 
 ably, the most costly in Bristol, having involved an 
 outlay of $50,000, and standing in the midst of 
 extensive grounds, the beautiful arrangement and 
 adornment of which told of the wealth and artistic 
 tastes. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 85 
 
 ¥ov several years before his death, Air. Liirge's 
 health was not good, yet he fought against illness 
 with the same courage and grit which had sustained 
 him during his seven months of hardship while 
 crossing the mountains and plains of the "Far 
 \\'est.'' A serious disorder of the heart manifested 
 itself, however, in October, 1899, and on the twen- 
 ty-ninth of that month he passed away, aged sev- 
 enty-six years. He was a very bright, able man, 
 and coukl speak French and Spanish fluently, as 
 well as the Cherokee Indian language. 
 
 JMr. Birge was married, Alay 19, 1852, to Ade- 
 line, a daughter of Samuel B. Smith, of Bristol, 
 who survived him. He was the father of three sons 
 and one daughter : John, the eldest, was born Aug. 
 -5- 1853- Ellen Smith, now the widow of Charles 
 W'ightman, was born Aug. 12, 1855; George 
 Wallace, on June 8, 1870; and Frederick Morton, 
 on Dec. 2, i860. The last named died in 1862. 
 
 Hon. Johx Birge, the eldest son of Nathan 
 Loomis Birge, was educated in the Bristol com- 
 mon schools, and at the academy at Lake Forest, 
 111. His preference was for a business life, he hav- 
 ing inherited his father's love of an active life, as 
 well as his capacity for affairs. On leaving Lake 
 Forest he returned home, and after receiving a 
 thorough commercial training in his father's mill, 
 and under his affectionate, careful guidance, he 
 was admitted into partnership in 1882, as has al- 
 ready been told. When his father died he was 
 elected to fill the vacancy on the board of directors 
 of the First National Bank. He takes a lively and 
 active interest in local. State and National politics, 
 and is a firm believer in the necessitjr of maintain- 
 ing a high standard of purity in the conduct of 
 political affairs. He has represented the Fourth 
 district upon the Republican State Central Com- 
 mittee, a post for which his keen judgment of men, 
 and his readiness in devising and adapting measures 
 for the securing of a given end eminently qualify 
 him. He has also been chairman of the town com- 
 mittee for several terms. Mr. Birge believes in 
 the "young men's movement," and was several years 
 chairman of the Young Men's Republican Club, 
 which is affiliated with the State League. In 1894 
 he was elected to the State Senate from the Fourth 
 Senatorial district, sitting in that body during the 
 session of 1895-96. 
 
 Senator Birge comes of old Puritan stock, trac- 
 ing his ancestrv back to families which came from 
 England either on the "Alayflower" or on vessels 
 arriving at about the same time. His line of descent 
 from Richard Birge, a pioneer settler of Windsor, 
 has been already given. He also traces his lineage 
 back on his maternal side, through nine generations, 
 to Rev. Thomas Hooker, the originator of the Xew 
 England system of town and municipal government, 
 and the first settler and minister at Hartford, in 
 1636; is also a descendant, in the eighth genera- 
 tion, of William Smith, an early settler of Hunt- 
 ington, L. I. : and, in the ninth generation, of 
 
 George Smith, a member of the New Haven Colony 
 of 1638, as well as of Theophilus Smith, a captain 
 in the war of the Revolution. Another ancestor, 
 Samuel Terry, made and put in place the great 
 wooden clock in the steeple of the Congregational 
 church of Bristol. 
 
 On June 22, 1874, Hon. John Birge married 
 Miss M. Antoinette Root, a daughter of Samuel E. 
 Root, of Bristol. She died April 25, 1891, leav- 
 ing four children : Adeline, the eldest, born Aug. 
 16, 1875, is the wife of Judge Roger S. Newell, 
 of Bristol. Nathan Root, the second child and first 
 son, born June 16, 1877, enlisted in the First Con- 
 necticut Light Artillery, Battery A, known as the 
 "Yale Battery," for two years, and served through- 
 out the Spanish war, after the close of which he 
 was mustered out, in September, 1898; he belongs 
 to the class of 1900, Worcester Polytechnic Insti- 
 tute. The two younger children, Alarguerite. born 
 April 22, 1886, and John Kingsley, born Alarch 4, 
 1888, are at home. On Feb. i, 1893, Senator Birge 
 married Matilda Louise, a daughter of John Sayles 
 Smith, of Windham. Of this marriage there has 
 been no issue. 
 
 George Wallace Birge, the second and youngest 
 living son of Nathan L. Birge, born June 8, 1870, 
 graduated from the Bristol high school in 1888, and 
 two years later from Huntsinger's Business College, 
 at Hartford. He finally became a partner with his 
 father and brother John. On Oct. 19, 1898, he 
 married Aliss Eva M. Thorpe, a daughter of W. 
 W. Thorpe, of Bristol. They have one child, 
 Rachel, born Sept. 8, 1899. 
 
 HENRY C. DANIELS, better known as "Dan- 
 iels the Printer," the third oldest disciple of Guten- 
 berg now living in the city of Hartford, and probab- 
 ly one of the best known citizens in the State, is a 
 native of same, born Oct. 11, 1851, in the town of 
 Manchester. 
 
 Darius Daniels, his grandfather, was a promi- 
 nent farmer in his daj-, for manv years a resident 
 of Andover, Conn., whence he came to Hartford 
 county, for some time making his home with his 
 son Charles, in East Hartford, and thence remov- 
 ing to Plainville, Conn., where he passed the rest 
 of his days at the home of a daughter, dying in 
 1870, at the age of eighty-one years. Bv his wife. 
 Mary (Rathbun), he had seven children, five of 
 whom are yet living : Charles S., in \\'ethersfield ; 
 Aaron AI., sketch of whom follows: Harriet (Mrs. 
 Kennedy), living in Burnside, Hartford county; 
 Joseph R., also in Burnside; and Elizabeth (Mrs. 
 William Spencer), a resident of Plainville. Conn. 
 The mother of this family died in Plainville in 
 1880, at the age of ninety-two years. 
 
 Aaron M. Daniels, father of Henrv C, was born 
 March 7, 1819, in Springfield, Alass., coming in 
 boyhood to Hartford, where his life has been main- 
 ly passed. For some time he was in the patenting 
 business, and issued a number of valuable patents; 
 
86 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 also- engaged in insurance writing, in both of which 
 lines he made a success. In 1843 he married Maria 
 G. Ensworth, born in Andover, Conn., daughter of 
 Jeremiah Ensworth, of the same nativit}-, and Sophia 
 (Kennedy), a native of Burnside, Conn., who had 
 a family of five children, all now deceased ; the 
 mother passed away at the age of seventy-five years. 
 To Aaron M. and i\Iaria G. Daniels were born three 
 children, two of whom are yet living: Sarah J. and 
 Henry C. (our subject). Sarah J. has been twice 
 married, first time to Alfred D. Hart, who died in 
 1869, at the age of thirty, and by whom he had one 
 son, Alfred D., who married Carrie E. Sperry, and 
 by her had five children, Iver S., Ethel R., Jennie, 
 Eva B., and Alfred. Mrs. Hart subsequently wedded 
 Dwight North, late of Hartford, to whom she bore 
 two sons, Dwight and Horace. Mr. North passed 
 away in 1S90. Mrs. Aaron M. Daniels died in 
 1896, at the age of seventy-five years, a member 
 of the JNI. E. Church, as is also her husband. 
 
 Henry C. Daniels, the subject proper of these 
 lines, received a liberal education at the common 
 schools of Hartford, and at the age of thirteen years 
 commenced learning the trade of printer in the office 
 of William C. Hutchings, of Hartford, following 
 same as a journeyman for some time, including 
 three years in New Haven. Removing thence to 
 Worcester, he there carried on a printing busi- 
 ness two years, after which he returned to Hart- 
 ford, and in that city has since continued to make 
 his home. About fourteen years ago Mr. Daniels 
 established his present business, at No. 284 Asylum 
 street, and by close attention to his work, fair deal- 
 ing, and courteous treatment of his patrons, has 
 met with well-merited success. 
 
 On Oct. 14, 1874, Mr. Daniels was married to 
 Mary E. Kempton, who was born in New Haven, 
 a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William S. Kempton, 
 an old family of that locality, and two children, 
 Henry Christie and George, both now , deceased, 
 were born of this union. In politics Mr. Daniels is 
 a Democrat. SociaUy he is a rnjember of Summit 
 Lodge, I. O. O. F. ;'of Jewell Council, No. 8, Jr. 
 O. U. A. M. ; of Charter Oak Commandery, No. 26, 
 O. U. A. M.; Charter Oak Council, No. 3, O. U. 
 A. M. ; the Royal Society of Good Fellows ; and of 
 Hubbard Escort, and in'allof these he has taken 
 an active interest, his words of council having much 
 weight in their councils. 
 
 As an attest to Mr. Daniels' wide popularity, 
 perhaps nothing more fitting could be cited than the 
 signal victory he achieved in the Washington Trip 
 Contest of the Hartford Post, in January, 1900. 
 We quote from the Post : 'Tn that competition the 
 candidate receiving the largest vote was given a 
 week's trip to Washington at the expense of the 
 paper, dating from Alarch 4th, the anniversary of 
 McKinley's inauguration, until the nth inst. This 
 trip also included the successful candidate's wife. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Daniels won the contest, they having 
 a grand total vote in the preliminary and final com- 
 
 petition of 32,250. The total vote throughout the 
 State was 134,898. Mr. and Mrs. Daniels went to 
 Washington, saw all the sights, and shook hands 
 with the President." 
 
 FREDERICK HENRY WILLIAMS, M. D., 
 a leading physician of Bristol, has met with remarka- 
 ble success in the treatment of disease, and his 
 practice extends all through western Connecticut 
 and the Connecticut Valley. He was born in 1846^ 
 in Pleasant Valley, Barkhamsted, Conn., of good 
 Colonial ancestry, two of his great-grandfathers 
 having fought in the Revolutionary army. An. 
 abstract from his genealogical record is as follows : 
 
 Paternal side. — (I) Capt. George Barbour, 
 born 161 5, and who settled in Dedham, Mass., about 
 1635, was a paternal ancestor eight removes. A 
 female descendant, in the fourth generation, mar- 
 ried a Havens; her daughter (V) Mehitable Ha- 
 vens married Hezekiah Whitney ; his daughter 
 
 (VI) Juliette Whitney married Jesse Williams;. 
 
 (VII) Orville Williams married Minerva Gillett. 
 Williaiiis — (I) Jesse Williams married Lois Col- 
 lins at Rocky Hill, Conn. Jesse (2) married Ju- 
 liette Whitney. (Ill) Orville married Minerva 
 Gillette. 
 
 Maternal side. — (I) Rene Cosset, born in 
 Paris, France, 1-690, married in 1716, in New Ha- 
 ven, Conn., Ruth Porter, daughter of Dr. John 
 Porter. (II) Rene, born 1722, married Phoebe 
 Hilyer, of Granby. (HI) Rosene Cosset, born 
 1759, married Abel Adams, a Revolutionary sol- 
 dier. (IV) Lurana Adams married Almon Gil- 
 let. (V) Minerva Gillett married Dr. Orville 
 Williams. (VI) Frederick H. Williams. Adams. 
 — (I) Lieut. George Adams early in 1600 married, 
 in London, England, a dau<?hter of Conrad Street- 
 holt. (II) George Adams was in Watertown, 
 Alass., in 1645. (Ill) Daniel, born 1659, married 
 Mary Phelps in Simsbury. (IV) Joseph, born 
 1685, married Mary Case. (V) Matthew, born 
 1724, married Susanah Eno. (VI) Abel, born 
 1756, married Rosene Cosset (above). Gillett. — 
 (I) Joseph Gillett married Elizabeth Hayes, Sims- 
 bury, 1740. (II) Benoni Gillett, born 1762, mar- 
 ried Penelope Hubbard; he was a Revolutionary 
 soldier. (Ill) Almon married Lurana Adams. 
 Dr. Williams' parents died before he reached 
 the age of ten years, and since that time he has 
 made his own way -n the world. His early life 
 was mainly spent in Granby, Conn., and he after- 
 ward went' to Hartford to pursue his studies. When 
 nearly ready to enter a medical college in 1869 
 he suddenly lost his hearing. This was a severe 
 blow to the young man, but he persevered in his 
 efforts to obtain an education, supporting himself 
 in the meantime by working in printing offices 
 and drug stores until 1874, when he was examined 
 and given a diploma by the Censors of the Connecti- 
 cut Botanico MedicafSociety, and in 1880 received 
 another from the Connecticut Eclectic Association. 
 
^ ^' Jruic^-t^v^ A0 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 87 
 
 He is a member of tlie National Eclectic Associa- 
 tion, and has always had a large practice, especially 
 in obscure and chronic cases. Dr. Williams mar- 
 ried, in 1885, Janetta E. Hart, of Pleasant Valley, 
 Conn., and has one daughter, Frances Hart, born 
 in 1886. 
 
 The Doctor has not devoted himself exclusively 
 to the study of medicine, but is an ardent student 
 of scientific subjects of all kinds, especially surface 
 geology, .anthropology and archaeology. He has 
 one of the finest pre-historic archaeological col- 
 lections in the State, if not in New England. He 
 has published "Prehistoric Remains of the Farm- 
 ington Valley." He takes a deep interest in all 
 things pertaining to the welfare of Bristol, and was 
 the first to propose the formation of the Bristol 
 Historical Societ}-. In politics he is a stanch Gold 
 Democrat, and at all times he has been a firm be- 
 liever in human liberty, being strongly opposed to 
 all forms of oppression, either personal or muni- 
 cipal. 
 
 In literary matters Dr. Williams has always 
 taken a deep interest, and he is himself a writer of 
 both power and ability. During the long course 
 of years since he was deprived of his hearing he 
 has been an cmniverous reader, besides taking up 
 the study of various languages. Bishop Berkeley 
 once said of President Johnson, of Kings College 
 (now Columbia), that he could write in Latin, 
 think in Hebrew and speak in Greek. This same 
 statement would almost be true in the case of Dr. 
 Williams ; for, besides having an intimate knowledge 
 of Latin, he can read French, German, Spanish 
 and Swedish. Much of his reading of foreign au- 
 thors is done in the language in which they wrote. 
 As a writer he has contributed occasionally to medi- 
 cal magazines and newspapers in the form of essays 
 on scientific and other subjects, which have attracted 
 considerable attention. He is a keen student of 
 men and affairs, and his knowledge of political 
 parties, their candidates, principles and motives, 
 is not surpassed in this locality. He wields a 
 scathing pen in questions where he considers that 
 ignorance is triumphing over the fundamental 
 principles of religious or political thought. As a 
 historical student Dr. Williams has few peers 
 among the laity, for in the course of his reading he 
 has paid special attention to the history of this and 
 other nations. There are few phases of American 
 or European history with which he is not familiar. 
 His historical sketches are chiefl}' of a local nature 
 and uncollected : but they show uncommon power 
 of discernment in analyzing chronological data, and 
 preparing it for popular reading. As a poet Dr. 
 W'illiams has much talent, although he has pub- 
 lished very little. His style is spirited, flowing 
 and graceful ; his versification almost always very 
 smooth and harmonious. In spicv pungency of 
 satire and a certain elegance and grace of manner 
 without an approach to stiffness or formality, he 
 has few rivals among amateur verse makers. His 
 poetical productions are the delight of his friends, 
 
 as they would be to the reading public, if his mod- 
 esty permitted their publication. — [Frederick Cal- 
 vin Norton.] 
 
 HON. ROBERT ANSEL POTTER, a promi- 
 nent resident and real-estate dealer of Bristol, was 
 born in Thomaston, Conn., Jan. 29, 1840, son of 
 Tertius D. and Esther B. (Frisbie) Potter. 
 
 Our subject's father, Tertius Daniel Potter, born 
 Sept. 25, 1793, also in Thomaston, was a very thrifty 
 farmer, and owner of one of the largest farms in 
 his part of the State. Fie was the Whig repre- 
 sentative in the State Legislature from Thomas- 
 ton in 1837 and 1838. He was one of the deacons 
 of the Congregational Church in Plymouth, Conn., 
 near Thomaston, and was one of the original pro- 
 moters of the church at the latter place, becoming 
 a deacon when it was there established, and so 
 continued until seventy-five years old, when he 
 resigned. Pie died Jan. 10, 1891, in Thomaston. 
 Mr. Potter married Miss Esther Barnes Frisbie, 
 who was born in Bristol in 1S05. 
 
 Hon. Robert Ansel Potter was born and reared 
 on a farra, and received his earlv education in the 
 Thomaston common schools, which he attended un- 
 til sixteen years old, later attending Williston .Sem- 
 inary, Easthampton, Mass., until nineteen, at which 
 age he graduated. For one term he taught school 
 at Terryville. Fie then went to New Haven, and 
 for a year and a half kept books for David W. 
 Buckingham, a grocer. Mr. Potter then started 
 for the West, with the expectation of locating 
 there, but in the meanwhile the Civil war broke 
 forth, and he returned to his native town. 
 
 In June, 1862, Mr. Potter enlisted, at Thomas- 
 ton, in Company D, 19th Conn. V. L, which, after 
 being mutsered in, was changed to the 2d Conn. 
 H. A. Mr. Potter took part in the battle of Cold 
 Harbor, and then in all the engagements around 
 Petersburg-, Va., was with Gen. Phil Sheridan all 
 through the Shenandoah Valley campaign, and later 
 with the Army of the Potomac, and finally was 
 present at the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee. 
 His only casualty was a slight wound sustained 
 at Cold Harbor, but a more serious afHiction was an 
 attack of chills and fever, the effects of which clung 
 to him long after the war had ceased. When he 
 first started out he was commissioned second lieu- 
 tenant, and he was mustered out in September, 1865, 
 with the rank of captain. 
 
 After returning from the war, Capt. Potter went 
 to St. Louis, Mo., where he and his brother, Luther 
 H. Potter, embarked in the commission business 
 for two years. They then sold out, as the sickness 
 engendered in the army compelled the Captain to 
 return to the East. For two years he was employed 
 as bookkeeper at New Haven, Conn., by Cornelius 
 Pierpont, treasurer of the Street Railway Com- 
 pany and also a grocer. In 1S69 he came to Bristol, 
 and for about two years was superintendent of Joel 
 H. Root's factory, for making brass hinges for 
 
88 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 cabinets, boxes, etc., then becoming secretary of 
 the Bristol Saw Co. for six _vears, when the company 
 sold out. For about three years thereafter Mr. 
 Potter was engaged in the real-estate business, dur- 
 ing which time he laid out several streets and built 
 many houses ; he also traveled a year for the Alden 
 Emery Co., of Boston, as salesman. In 1883 he 
 bought a farm at Plainville, and for seven years 
 gave most of his attention to raising fine stock, 
 in 1890 settling in Bristol, where he has ever since 
 been doing a leading real-estate business. 
 
 In politics Mr. Potter is a thorough Republican, 
 and has long held the confidence of his party. While 
 in Plainville he was first selectman of the town two 
 years, justice of the peace several years, and chair- 
 man of the school board a number of terms. In 
 1889 he represented that town in the State Legis- 
 lature. In 1 89 1 he was elected chairman of the 
 Republican town committee of Bristol. In 1892 
 and 1893 he was tax collector for the town of Bris- 
 tol, and in 1895 was elected by the Legislature as 
 commissioner for four years. In 1894 he was elect- 
 ed a member of the Republican State Central Com- 
 mittee, serving until 1898, and again elected in 1900, 
 being now a member. 
 
 On May 18, 1869, was celebrated the marriage 
 of Capt. Robert A. Potter with jNIiss Lucy Man- 
 ville, of Great Barrington, Mass., who was born 
 Sept. II, 1844, and is a daughter of Linus and 
 Diantha (Sage) Manville. On Oct. 16, 1873, this 
 marriage was crowned by the birth of a daughter, 
 Louise Manville Potter, who is a graduate of the 
 Plainville high school, and still has her home under 
 the parental roof. The family attend the Congre- 
 gational Church, of which Mr. Potter was a deacon 
 during his residence in PlainVille, and a deacon in 
 Bristol, also, as well as treasurer of the Bristol 
 Congregational Society. 
 
 2\Ir. Potter has always felt a deep interest in 
 agriculture, and especially in dairying. For two 
 years — 1893 and 1894 — ^lie was president of the 
 Connecticut Dairymen's Association, and at the 
 World's Fair in Chicago had charge of Connecti- 
 cut's dairy exhibits. Capt Potter is a riiember of 
 Newton F. Manross Post, No. 54, G. A. R., of 
 Forestville, of which he is post commander ; 
 is also a member of the Hartford Club : and Frank- 
 lin Lodge, No. 56, A. F. & A. M., of Bristol. 
 
 SAMUEL NELSON KELLOGG. The Kel- 
 logg family is of old Colonial stock, and the sub- 
 ject of this sketch, a well-known resident of Hart- 
 ford, is in the seventh generation in descent from 
 Lieut. Joseph Kellogg, an officer in King Philip's 
 war. 
 
 (I) The name of Lieut. Joseph Kellogg appears 
 in the records of Farmington for 1651. In 1659 
 he removed to Boston, purchasing a home on Rox- 
 bury road, now Washington street, and later he 
 settled in Hadley, Mass., where he died about 1707; 
 his homestead there is in a good state of preserva- 
 
 tion. He was prominent in public affairs, serving 
 many terms as selectman of Hadley, and in 1676, 
 during King Philip's war, he was in command as 
 lieutenant at the "Falls fight," South Hadley Falls, 
 Mass. His first wife, Joanna, died Sept. 14, 1666, 
 and on May 9, 1667, he married Miss Abigail Terry, 
 daughter of Stephen Terry, of Windsor, Con- 
 necticut. 
 
 (II) Deacon Samuel Kellogg was born in Had- 
 ley, Mass., Sept. 28, 1662, and died in Hartford 
 in 1717. In the records of one of the Hartford 
 churches, for March 17, 1695, he is named as dea- 
 con, and in 1713 he was among the twenty-nine 
 members of the Second Church who founded a 
 church in the west division of Hartford. On Sept. 
 22, 1687, he married Sarah Merrill, daughter of 
 Deacon John Merrill, and granddaughter of Na- 
 thaniel Merrill. Her mother, Sarah Watson, was a 
 daughter of John Watson, of Hartford. 
 
 (III) Capt. Isaac Kellogg was born in Hart- 
 ford in 1696, and died in New Hartford July 3, 
 1787. In 1742 he removed to New Hartford, and 
 was regarded as one of the founders of the town, 
 being a deacon in the church and a leader in public 
 afl'airs. As a magistrate he showed much ability, 
 and in 1795 he served as justice of the peace, being 
 the first justice of the town (he held this office in 
 both Hartford and Litchfield counties, serving in all 
 twenty-eight terms), which he represented as dep- 
 uty for twenty-five terms. In 1744 he was chosen 
 captain of the ist Company of Militia at New 
 Hartford. On Dec. 26, 1717, he married Mary 
 Webster, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Judd) 
 Webster, granddaughter of Lieut. Robert and Su- 
 sanna (Treat) Webster, and great-granddaughter 
 of Gov. John Webster. Susanna Treat was a sis- 
 ter of Gov. Robert Treat, and daughter of Hon. 
 Richard Treat, patentee of the Connecticut Char- 
 ter, 1662. 
 
 (IV) Samuel Kellogg, born in Hartford Nov. 
 15, 1 718, died in Poultney, Vt., about 1770. In 
 1742 he made his home in Enfield, where he en- 
 gaged in manufacturing. Four of his sons — Eben- 
 ezer, Leverett, Helmont and Samuel — served in the 
 Revolutionary army, and one of them, Leverett, 
 was captured at Fort Ticonderoga in 1776, at the 
 age of twenty-three years, and while a prisoner 
 was starved to death. On July 8, 1741, Samuel 
 Kellogg married Mary Steele, daughter of Eben- 
 ezer and Melatiah (Bradford) Steele, and of the 
 fourth generation in descent from Gov. William 
 Bradford, who came to America in the "May- 
 flower" in 1620; she was of the third generation 
 from William Bradford, Jr., deputy-governor of the 
 Plymouth Colony. 
 
 (V) Ebenezer Kellogg, born in Enfield, Conn., 
 Sept. 6, 1751, died in New Hartford July 17, 1843. 
 He served in the Revolutionary war, and for many 
 years engaged in manufacturing. On Dec. 9, 
 1779, he married Molly Bissell, daughter of Joel 
 and Mercy (Bishop) Bissell, granddaughter of 
 Lieut. Isaac Bissell, of Litchfield, Conn., and a de- 
 
SAMUEL H. KELLOGG 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 scendant of Capt. John Bissell, of Windsor, an 
 officer in King Philip's war. 
 
 (\"I) George Comfort Kellogg, born in New 
 Hartford March 17, 1788, died in New Hartford 
 April 19, 1847. He was president of the New 
 Hartford Manufacturing Co., and an inventor of 
 machinery some of which came into practical and 
 profitable use. He was also active in local politics, 
 and served in the Legislature. On Dec. 3, 1818, 
 he married Clarissa Brown, daughter of Sanford 
 and Hannah (Parsons) Brown, granddaughter of 
 Daniel Brown, Jr., and great-granddaughter of 
 Daniel Brown, of Sandisfield, jNIass. Sanford 
 Brown served in the war of 1812, and was badly 
 wounded. 
 
 (Yll) Samuel Nelson Kellogg was' born in 
 New Hartford, Conn., Nov. 21, 1820, and was edu- 
 cated in the common and high schools. He re- 
 moved to Hartford in 1837, and entered the em- 
 ploy of A. M. Collins & Sons, wholesale dry-goods 
 dealers, remaining three years. In 1841 he went to 
 St. Louis, where he was a partner in the wholesale 
 dry-goods house of Collins & Kellogg until the 
 beginning of the Civil war. From 1864 to 1870 
 he was a member of the firm of J. V. Farwell & 
 Co., Chicago, but since the great fire of 1871 he 
 has lived retired, first in New Haven, Conn., in 
 1876 returning to Hartford. 
 
 On Sept. 5, 1850, 'Sir. Kellogg, married Helen, 
 daughter of Noah and Sophronia (Parsons) 
 Cooiey, and they have two children, Charles C. 
 and Helen Elizabeth. In politics Mr. Kellogg is 
 a Republican, and he and his family attend the 
 Center Church. 
 
 EVELYN L. THORP, blacksmith, Milldale, 
 town of Southington, Hartford County, Connecticut. 
 
 WILLIAM BRO S^^IITH, counsel for the Trav- 
 elers Insurance Co., Hartford, with the legal busi- 
 ness of which he has been connected since January, 
 1895, has been identified with a number of large 
 corporations and insurance companies in that ca- 
 pacity during his successful professional career of 
 a quarter of a century. 
 
 Mr. Bro Smith was born Nov. 8, 1854, in New 
 York City, where his early life was passed. His 
 preparatory education was gained in the public 
 schools and the schools of the Christian Brothers, 
 in that city, and he studied law with Beach & Be- 
 man and J- S. L. Cummins, being admitted to the 
 New York Bar in February, 1876, since when he 
 has been engaged in active practice. For the first 
 four years he devoted himself to general law work, 
 but his energies have for the most part been di- 
 rected to insurance and corporation law. as counsel 
 for a number of corporations and insurance organi- 
 zations. In Januarv, 1895, he came to Hartford, to 
 assume a connection with the law department of the 
 Travelers Insurance Co., which he has ever since 
 maintained, and in igoo was made counsel — his 
 present incumbency. He is now a member of the 
 
 Hartford County Bar. Mr. Bro Smith has been 
 director in various corporations in New York and 
 New Jersey. His political affiliations are with the 
 Democratic partv. in the work of which he took an 
 active interest while in New York City. 
 
 RICHARD J. GOODMAN, a member of the 
 legal profession in Hartford, comes of a family 
 which has long been one of the most respected in 
 New England, and his father was for a number of 
 years a prominent business man of Hartford. 
 
 Richard Goodman, the first of the 'family of 
 which we have record, came from England with the 
 Plymouth Bay Colony, located first in Cambridge, 
 and came to Hartford with P.ev. Mr. Hooker, be- 
 ing one of the first settlers. Later he removed to 
 Hadley, Mass., where he was killed by the Indians 
 April I, 1676. 
 
 The next in line of descent, also named Richard, 
 was born ]\Iarch 23, 1663, in Hadley, Mass., and 
 came to Hartford, where he died Alay 14, 1730. 
 
 Timothy Goodman, son of Richard (2), was born 
 Sept. 22, 1706, in West Hartford, and died March 
 12, 1786. He married Johanna Wadsworth, 
 granddaughter of Capt. Joseph Wadsworth, of 
 Charter Oak fame. 
 
 Richard Goodman, son of Timothy, was born 
 April 10, 1748, in W2st Hartford, and died in 
 May, 1834. He served in the Revolution, being a 
 member of Capt. Seymour's Company. 
 
 Aaron Goodman, son of Richard, was born in 
 \A'est Hartford, July 20, 1773, and died Alarch 28, 
 1832, in Hartford. He married Alma Cossitt, who 
 lived to the advanced age of eighty-nine years. 
 They had a large family, all now deceased, of whom 
 are mentioned : Edward, who was a practicing law- 
 ver 'in Hartford for many years ; Julia ; Almira ; 
 and Aaron Cossitt, father of our subject. 
 
 Aaron Cossitt Goodman was born April 23. 1822, 
 in West Hartford, and there passed his early life, 
 acquiring his education in the public schools. He 
 commenced active life at the early age of thirteen 
 years, in 1835 becoming a clerk in Sumner's book 
 store. Hartford. In 1841 he went to Philadelphia, 
 to take a position in the house opened there by A. S. 
 Barnes & Co., btit returned to Hartford the year fol- 
 lowing and went into partnership with his former 
 employer, under the firm name of Sumner & Good- 
 man. Buying his partner out in 1848. he contin- 
 ued the business alone vmtil 1852, when he em- 
 barked in the paper business in New York City. 
 Mr. Goodman was one of the original stockholders 
 and directors of the Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance 
 Co.. of Hartford, and became president thereof in 
 1875, having- returned to that city in 1873 and se- 
 cured the controlling interest in its stock. He con- 
 tinued in that position until 1889, in which year the 
 company was reorganized and he sold out, dissolv- 
 ing his connection with the concern. From that 
 time until his death Mr. Goodman lived quietly, 
 interesting himself in various public and private 
 
90 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 charities. He was a member of Trinity Church. 
 Fraternally he affiliated with the I. O. O. F. and the 
 F. & A. M., in the latter connection holding member- 
 ship in St. John's Lodge. During his earlier man- 
 hood he belonged to the fire department, serving in 
 the old Sack and Bucket Company; and was cap- 
 tain of the Hartford Light Guard, formerly the 
 Buckingham Rifles, and served on the staff of Gen. 
 Frank Bacon. Mr. Goodman died July 29, 1899. 
 
 Aaron C. Goodman married Miss Annie M, 
 Johnston, a native of New York City, daughter of 
 Robert R. and jNIary Sears (Hatch) Johnston. Mr. 
 Johnston died at the age of seventy-four, in West- 
 field, N. J. The Johnstons are thought to be de- 
 scended from Dr. John Johnston, who came to this 
 country from Scotland in 1685, and settled at Perth 
 Amboy, N. J. Mrs. Mary S. Johnston was also 
 descended from an old family, one of her ancestors 
 being John Alden, of the "Mayflower." Of the chil- 
 dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Aaron C. Goodman four 
 are living: Annie G., who married Rev. John F. 
 Plumb, of St. John's Church, New Milford ; Emilie, 
 who married Rev. Richard Wright, of Windsor 
 Locks ; Mary A. ; and Richard J. Edward died in 
 1872. in Brooklyn, New York. 
 
 Richard J. Goodman was born March 23, 1875, 
 in Hartford. After attending the common schools 
 and the Hartford Public High School he entered 
 the Academic Department of Yale University, from 
 which he graduated in 1896, and in 1899 graduated 
 from the Yale Law School, being admitted to prac- 
 tice in January of that year. 
 
 THOMAS F. KANE, A. B., M. D., one of 
 Hartford's able and successful physicians, was born 
 in that city Feb. 23, 1863, and his large practice has 
 been gained among those who have known him from 
 childhood. 
 
 Like many of our most enterprising citizens he 
 is of Irish descent, the family having originated in 
 County Clare, Ireland. His grand'father, Daniel 
 Kane, was a tenant farmer in County Clare, till- 
 ing a larger estate than the average, 'and wielded 
 a decided influence in local affairs. Of his children 
 only one son, Patrick, lived to adult age. 
 
 Patrick Kane, our subject's father" was born 
 in County Clare, received a good education for his 
 time in the National schools of his native place, and 
 became a farmer. In 1846 he crossed the Atlan- 
 tic, landing at St. John, N. B. In 1847 he located 
 at Hartford, where his remaining years were spent 
 as a laborer, his death occurring in 1867. He was 
 a man of good natural abilities, and his honest, up- 
 right character won him the respect of all who knew 
 him. In religious faith he was a Catholic, and 
 after his removal to Hartford he became a member 
 of St. Peter's Church, with which his family is still 
 identified. He married Bridget Spellacy, who is 
 now living in Hartford, at the age of seventy-three, 
 and they had four children: Mary, who has been 
 a teacher in the South school of Hartford for twen- 
 ty-two years ; Margaret Matilda, a teacher in Brown 
 
 school district for eighteen years; Thomas F., our 
 subject; and Miss Nellie, who is at home. Mrs. 
 Kane is a woman of strong character, and when left 
 a widow with four children to support she bravely 
 met the task, giving them all excellent educational 
 advantages. She was born in County Clare, Ire- 
 land, and was the first of her family to come to 
 America. As time passed she sent for others, and 
 finally, in 1846, her father, James Spellacy, sailed 
 from Limerick to complete the family circle here. 
 By occupation James Spellacy was a farmer, and 
 after coming to America located on a farm. 
 
 Thomas F. Kane first attended the South school 
 in Hartford, and after a few years' study in the high 
 school went to Worcester, Mass., in 1880, to enter 
 the College of the Holy Cross. He completed the 
 classical course in 1884, receiving the degree of 
 A. B., and in the fall of the same year entered the 
 Medical Department of Harvard College, where 
 he remained two years. The last year of his course 
 was spent in Bellevue Hospital Medical College, 
 New York City, and on graduating, in 1887, he 
 established himself in general practice at Hartford. 
 He has never had a partner, and his success has 
 been gained solely on his own merits, as shown in 
 the effective treatment of disease. He is a member 
 of the City, County, and State Medical Societies, and 
 is a memlDer of the executive committee of the city 
 organization. Sociall)' the Doctor is connected 
 with the Knights of Columbus, and he is prominent 
 in municipal affairs, although not especially inter- 
 ested in the political questions of the day. In 
 1891 and 1897 he was elected a member of the board 
 of school visitors, for terms of three years, and in 
 1893 he was appointed a health commissioner by 
 Mayor Hayden, in this work proving so invalua- 
 ble that he has since served continuously, having 
 been re-appointed in 1896 and 1899. In the spring 
 of 1900 he was elected president of the board of 
 health. 
 
 FREDERICK R. LOYDON, Connecticut State 
 Agent for the Travelers Insurance Co., Hartford, 
 has, in his connection with various leading com- 
 panies, become well and favorably known in in- 
 surance circles in that city. He is of good American 
 stock, being descended on the maternal side from 
 the Backus family, one of the oldest in Connecti- 
 cut, and his father served honorably in both the 
 Mexican and Civil wars, being in the army at the 
 time of his death. 
 
 Mr. Loydon was born Aug. 6, 1861, in Cuba, 
 Alleganv Co., N. Y., son of Marshall Marvin and 
 Mary Melinda (Backus) Loydon. Marshall ]\L 
 Loydon was born Sept. 29, 1820, in Boston, Mass., 
 where he spent his early I'ife, and learned the tailor's 
 trade. 
 
 On Sept. 21, 1840, he enlisted, at Utica, N. Y., 
 in the United States service, and remained in the 
 army five years, being discharged Sept. 21, 1845, 
 at the expiration of his term of service, at Fort 
 Marion, Fla., as a private of Company E, 8th 
 
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 91 
 
 United States Infantry. He saw service in the 
 Indian and Mexican wars under Gen. Noble. Mr. 
 Loydon resided in various places, in Canada, Chi- 
 cago, 111., Hartford, Conn., and finally removed to 
 New York State, settling in the western part. On 
 ]\Iay I, 1861, he enlisted from Cuba for service in 
 the Civil war, raising one of the first companies 
 in western New York State, at the first call for 
 troops. At the time he held the rank of second 
 lieutenant in the 64th Regiment, 30th Brigade, 8th 
 Division, New York State Militia, his commission 
 being dated Aug. 6, 1858. On his enlistment he was 
 made captain in the 23d N. Y. V. I., with which 
 he served six months, when he resigned. Re-enlist- 
 ing, he was on Aug. 27, 1862, appointed first lieu- 
 tenant in the 136th N. Y. V. I., having raised an- 
 other company, with which he served in all its 
 skirmishes and engagements until his resignation, 
 when he returned to Cuba. N. Y. Removins;- to 
 Mayville, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., he there raised an- 
 other company at the close of 1863, entering the 
 service with same Jan. 6, 1864, on which date he 
 was made captain of Company L, 15th N. Y. V. 
 C. He was in the battle of Newmarket, and shortly 
 afterward came home on sick leave, and he died 
 within two weeks, of typhoid fever, Oct. 5, 1864. 
 His letters, explaining all his movements, are still 
 in the possession of his son, our subject. Mr. 
 Loydon was actively engaged in many battles and 
 actions of various degrees of importance, and won 
 an enviable record for bravery and honor. He was 
 a great reader, and a man of intelligence, and was 
 universally respected. 
 
 On Nov. 5, 1857, Mr. Loydon married Mary 
 -\Ielinda Backus, and five children blessed their 
 union, all of whom survive : Charles N. ; Josephine 
 Clark, I\Irs. J. George Young, of Hartford ; Mar- 
 shall M., of New York; Frederick R., whose name 
 introduces this sketch ; and Albert H., who is with 
 the Daniels W\\\ Co., Hartford. After the death of 
 her husband Mrs. -Loydon removed to Albion, N. 
 Y.. residing there until 1874, since when she has 
 made her home in Hartford. She is a member of 
 the South Congregational Church. 
 
 The Backus F.vmily, to which !\Irs. 3.[arv Isl. 
 Loydon belongs, was founded in America by William 
 BackuSj^of Saybrook, Conn., 1638, he being the com- 
 raCTTancestors of the Norwich and Windham county 
 famihes. In iSfeo he removed to Norwich as one of 
 the original proprietors of the place ; was made 
 a freeman in 1663, and died in 1664. 
 
 (II) William Backus (2), son of William of 
 Saybrook, was also an original proprietor of Nor- 
 wich, Conn., and one of its most enterprising set- 
 tlers. He became one of the original proprietors of 
 AA'indham : was one of the sixteen Norwich lega- 
 tees of Joshua L^ncas, from which estate he re- 
 ceived three shares of 1,000 acres eacli. He mar- 
 ried Elizabeth, daughter of \A'illiam Pratt, of Say- 
 brook. She died in 1730, and Mr. Backus about 
 1720. 
 
 (III) Samuel Backus, son of William (2), 
 born in 1693, married in 1 719 .Sarah Gard, and lived 
 in Windham. 
 
 (IV) Nathaniel Backus, of Windham, son of 
 Samuel, born in 1728, married in 1753 Elizabeth, 
 daughter of Robert Hebard. She died in 1813, 
 aged eighty-three years. 
 
 (V) Luther Backup, son of Nathaniel, born 
 about 1772, was married three times, and was the 
 father of twenty-one children, the largest family, it 
 is believed, ever raised in Windham. His third wife 
 was Melinda Lyman. Mr. Backus died in 1855. 
 
 fVI) Henry Backus, son of Luther, married in ij^ 
 1819 Susanna D. Sawyer, daughter of Daniel and 
 Susanna (Dennison) Sawyer. Mr. Backus died in 
 1841. Nine children were born to this marriage: 
 Julia A., Albert H., Christopher A., Huldah M., 
 Eliza E., Luther F., Mary M., Chester H., and 
 George A. Four still survive: Eliza E.. Mrs. 
 George Severance, of Hudson, Iowa ; Chester H. ; 
 George A. ; and Mary M.. Mrs. Loydon, who was 
 born Dec. 3, 1830, in Windham, Connecticut. 
 
 Frederick R. Loydon received his education 
 at Albion, N. Y.. and Hartford, attending school 
 up to the age of fourteen, when he became a cash 
 boy in the drv-goods store of Hichborn & Foster, re- 
 maining with them one year. For the next six 
 months he was a telegraph, messenger boy, and then 
 became cashier in Capt. Sluyter's coffee-house in 
 Market street, holding that position one year, after 
 which he accepted similar employment in Fred 
 Kingsley's market, on Asylum street, where he also 
 discharged the duties of bookkeeper. Here he re- 
 mained six years, at the end of which time he en- 
 tered the actuary's department of the Connecticut 
 Mutual Life Insurance Co., serving there six years, 
 and subsequently four years in the bond and mort- 
 gage department, resigning in July, 1892, when he 
 became State agent of the United States JMutual 
 Accident Association of New York. On Jan. 12, 
 1895, Mr. Loydon engaged with the Travelers as 
 District Agent, continuing thus until i\Iarch. 1807, 
 when he was appointed to the position he still holds, 
 that of State Agent. ]\Ir. Lovdon has attained the 
 thirty-second degree in the IMasonic fraternity, be- 
 ing a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 4, F. & A. 
 M. ; Wolcott Council. R. & S. M. ; Pythagoras 
 Chapter, R. A. M. : Washington Commandery, K. 
 T. ; Scottish Rite Masons : and a charter member of 
 Sphinx Temple, Mvstic Shrine. 
 
 On Sept. 16. 1886, IMr. Loydon married Miss 
 Marv L. Reillv, a native of Hartford, and thev have 
 had three children : Marv Elizabeth and Frederick 
 R.. Jr., survive; Urania Josephine, the second, died 
 when eleven days old. Mrs. Loydon is one of the 
 ten children born to Christopher and Elizabeth 
 rWeldon) Reillv. five of whom are still living: 
 Elizabeth, J\Irs. AA''arren S. Tavlor; Annie J.: Chris- 
 topher J., who is in the Klondike: John F., an 
 electrician at the Connecticut State Prison : and 
 Mary L., Mrs. Loydon, who is the youngest. The 
 
92 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 father, who was a contractor and builder for many 
 years, died at the age of sixty-five. Xhe mother is 
 still living. 
 
 HEXRY STANWOOD ATWOOD is one of 
 the progressive citizens of Hartford, a man of 
 wealth, and one whose success in life is the result 
 of his own assiduous efforts, guided by native 
 shrewdness and sound judgment. 
 
 The family to which our subject belongs traces 
 its descent to Dr. Thomas Atwood, who was one 
 of Cromwell's captains of horse during what is com- 
 monh' spoken of by English historians as the First 
 Civil war, taking part in the four great battles of 
 that struggle, including the fierce engagement at 
 Marston Moor, July 2, 1644. The old soldier set- 
 tled at Plymouth in 1647, and died at Wethersfield, 
 Conn., in 1682. At the age of fifty-nine he married 
 a lady whom he had seen as a babe in the cradle, at 
 the first homestead at which he had stopped after 
 landing in the New World. He was the father of 
 four children, of whom the youngest, Josiah, was the 
 great-great-grandfather of Henry S. Atwood. Jo- 
 siah Atwood was born Oct. 4, 1673, and died Jan. 
 I/' 1753- He was the first of the family to settle 
 in the Connecticut Colony. He was engaged in the 
 West India trade, and the loss of a vessel with its 
 cargo so affected his fortune that he was obliged to 
 surrender to his creditors the manor house which 
 he had inherited from his father. His son, Ashur, 
 was born Dec. 27, 1729, and died April 21, 1808. 
 Ezekiel Atwood, son of Ashur, and grandfather of 
 Henry S., was born Aug. 19, 1764, and married Han- 
 nah Francis, bom March 22, 1770. They were the 
 parents of three children: Josiah, born April 26, 
 1794; Sarah, March 11, 1798 (married Rev. 
 Henrv Stanwood, of Ivalamazoo, Mich.) ; and 
 Francis, Aug. 27, 1803. 
 
 Francis Atwood, father of Henry S., married 
 Eunice E. White, Jan. 14, 1840. Her father, Sam- 
 xiel White, served his country as a soldier in two 
 wars, at the age of fifteen ^^ears enlisting in the Rev- 
 olutionary army ; he was then so short that he 
 stod on tiptoe in order to comply with the military 
 requirements as to height. Returning home, he 
 married, at Granby, and later fought in the war of 
 1812. His second marriage was to a Miss East- 
 man (daughter of Squire Eastman), who was the 
 grandmother of Henry S. Francis Atwood was 
 the father of three sons : Herman W., Oliver E., 
 and Henry Stanwood. Herman W., born Nov. 
 22, 1840, was a prominent druggist in New York 
 City, his store being located at No. 846 Broadway ; 
 "he died Oct. 22, 1897. Oliver E. was born Sept. 
 14, 1843, and died Feb. 11, 1888, at Chicago, Illi- 
 nois. 
 
 Henry S. Atwood was born June i, 1847. He 
 was educated in the public schools, and at the 
 Bryant & Stratton Commercial College, in Hart- 
 iord. When eighteen years old he went to New 
 York, to begin a mercantile career, but within a 
 year his father's failing health necessitated his re- 
 
 turn home, and in 1866 he took charge of the 
 farm, which embraced 150 acres. On attaining his 
 majority he bought the property, assuming an in- 
 debtedness of $21,000. For so young a man, with- 
 out financial resources, such a burden would appear 
 to be stupendous. But he had inherited from his 
 Revolutionary grandsire a courage and hardihood 
 equal to the task. He was young, strong, both 
 physically and mentally, of resolute will and earnest 
 perseverance; why should he hesitate? The result 
 more than justified his confidence in himself. 
 Within a few years his debt had become merely a 
 memory, and his pluck and industry, joined to sa- 
 gacity, had placed him on the high road to success. 
 For some five years he was engaged in the whole- 
 sale milk business, his annual sales aggregating 
 $5,000. Dealing in cattle formed one of his chief 
 interests for fifteen years, his purchases being made 
 chiefly in New York and Connecticut, and not in- 
 frequently amounting to eighty head in a day. He 
 has also been interested in buying and selling fine 
 horses, and, to a limited extent, in breeding the 
 same, sometimes selling a team for as much as 
 $2,000. 
 
 Mr. Atwood has from time to time disposed of 
 portions of his original farm, yet his present hold- 
 ings amount to seventy-five acres of valuable land. 
 The story of such lives as his are full of interest, 
 and to young men such narratives convey at once 
 a lesson and an encouragement. Self-made in the 
 best sense of that term, which is too often employed 
 to explain or apologize for a life of selfishness and 
 greed, - he has built his fortune, stone by stone, 
 through industrjr and integrity, and in the construc- 
 tion of the edifice has never lost sight of his duties 
 to his fellows. He has not yet passed middle life, 
 and Hartford may hope for much from the public 
 spirit and philanthrophy of such men as he. A 
 Republican in politics, Mr. Atwood has never cared 
 to take a prominent part in political affairs, al- 
 though in 1899 he consented to represent the Eighth 
 ward in the city council. An evidence of the es- 
 teem in which he is held by his neighbors and fel- 
 low citizens is afforded by the fact that he was 
 elected by a majority of 553, polling a larger vote 
 than had been cast for an aldermanic candidate in 
 many j^ears. He has always cherished a deep inter- 
 est in popular education, and is treasurer of the 
 Southwestern school district. He is a member of 
 Wyllys Lodge, No. 99, F. & A. M., of West Hart- 
 ford, and attends the services of the South Congre- 
 gational Church. 
 
 Mr. Atwood married Hattie M. Brewer, who 
 was born in Unionville, Conn., a daughter of 
 Joshua B. Brewer. They have had three children: 
 Louise E., born Julv 27, 1887 : Florence, born 
 Nov. 25, 1892, who died March 19, 1895; and Shir- 
 ley, born March .31, 1896. 
 
 HON. JOHN W. THAYER (deceased), son 
 of Caleb and Patience (Phillips) Thayer, and father 
 of George B. Thayer, of Hartford, was born at 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Sterling-, Conn., Dec. 5, 1819. His ancestral line 
 is traced through Caleb, Reuben, Joseph, Ephraim 
 and Shadrach to Thomas Thayer, a native of 
 Thornbury, England, who came to America in 1630, 
 settling on a large farm in Braintree, Massachusetts. 
 After receiving a common- school education John 
 W. Thayer began the trade of wool sorter, and, 
 after working at one or two other places, finally took 
 a contract at Waterford, Mass. Here he was mar- 
 ried, April 2, 1843 (which event will be fully spoken 
 of farther 'on), and the next day he and his bride 
 started overland for Rockville, Conn., where he had 
 entered into a business arrangement with the New 
 England Co., one of the woolen manufacturing con- 
 cerns of that place. The journey occupied two days, 
 undertaken in a sleigh, but ending on wheels. From 
 the position of wool sorter Mr. Thayer soon rose 
 to be superintendent of the New England Co., filling 
 that position successfully several years. In i860 
 he bought the Ellington Mills, situated on the Hock- 
 anum river, about two miles west of Rockville, to- 
 gether with the tenements connected with the mill, 
 and about fifty acres of land. He soon built a num- 
 ber of cottages for his employes, beautified the vil- 
 lage in many ways, and named it "Windermere," 
 from Lake \Vindermere, in the lake regions of Eng- 
 land. 
 
 In July, 1861, while the mill was running day 
 and night, making army blankets, the two upper 
 stories of the five were destroyed by fire, involving 
 a heavy loss upon the company, and a few years 
 later the picker house was destroyed by fire ; yet, 
 notwithstanding these and other reverses, his man- 
 agement of the concern was so successful that his 
 stock in the \\'indermere ^\'oolen Co. was at one 
 time worth $100,000. 
 
 Col. Thayer early took an interest in military 
 affairs. In 1856 he was appointed adjutant of the 
 Fifth Regiment, State Militia. In 1857 he was 
 chosen major, in 1858 lieutenant-colonel, and in 
 i860 was elected colonel of the same regiment, the 
 last two commissions being signed by William A. 
 Buckingham, afterward the "War Governor" of 
 Connecticut. 
 
 In politics Col. Thayer was a Republican from 
 the first. In 1855 he was elected to the House of 
 Representatives from Rockville as a Know-Noth- 
 ing. In 1865 he was again elected to the House, 
 this time from the town of Ellington, a Democratic 
 stronghold. In 1871 he was nominated for the 
 Senate from the Twentieth district, heretofore a 
 Democratic one, and, after a lively contest, was 
 elected by a majority of forty. He also held many 
 minor town offices. 
 
 Our subject was a great lover of music, studying 
 it thoroughly. He taught singing in his native 
 town, in Waterford and in Rockville, and led the 
 choir of the Second Congregational Church of the 
 latter place for seventeen consecutive years. He 
 was also captain of Talcott's Fifth Regiment Band 
 for many years. 
 
 In 1872, after several years of struggle against 
 certain adverse circumstances connected with the 
 Windermere Woolen Mills, Col. Thayer sold out his 
 interest in the same to a Boston commission house, 
 and in the following spring returned to Rockville. 
 The long continued mental strain, however, resulted 
 in nervous prostration, and treatment in the Con- 
 necticut Hospital for the Insane at Middletown was 
 thought advisable. In a few months he had re- 
 covered completely, and was appointed supervisor 
 of the institution.' In a short time he was niadc 
 clerk, a position requiring the financial oversight 
 of a community of 1,500 people, and involving the 
 outlay of $1,000 per day, and this position he re- 
 tained until his death. The hold which he gained 
 upon the aft'ections of the physicians and attendants 
 of the institution was shown by their setting apart 
 a day, after his death, for planting trees about the 
 beautiful grounds in memory of him. The land- 
 scape garclening around the institution was the re- 
 sult of his fine taste and oversight. He also in- 
 stituted a system of outdoor exercise for the pa- 
 tients, which resulted in much good to them, and 
 caused the board of trustees officially to commend 
 it in their reports. Col. Thayer died March 19, 
 1889, and lies buried in Grove Hill cemetery, at 
 Rockville. 
 
 Col. Thayer, in his business relations, was the 
 soul of honor, and in public affairs a leading "spirit 
 in the community. In his acquaintances he conde- 
 scended to men of lov; degree, and in the bonds of 
 friendship drew others to him with lifelong attach- 
 ments. He hated hypocrisy in every form, and 
 strove to be esteemed himself only for what he was. 
 Pope was his favorite author. He early accepted 
 the conclusions arrived at in Darwin's "Origin of 
 Species." In his home he was kind and affectionate, 
 though of a highly sensitive temperament, indul- 
 gent, and ever planning to make that home a happy 
 one. 
 
 On April 2, 1843, in the Freewill Baptist Church, 
 Waterford, Mass., Col. John W. Thayer was mar- 
 ried to Adaline Burton, daughter of Raymond and 
 Deborah (Sayles) Burton. Rev. M. Burlingame 
 performing the ceremony. Three children were born 
 of this union, as follows: (i) Adelbert P.. born 
 Aug. 5, 1846, is associated with the Tiiiics-Rcpub- 
 lican in :Marshalltown, Iowa. On June 9, 1870, he 
 married Annie J. \Miiton, born Feb. 4, 1849, at 
 Charleston, Mass., and six children were born to 
 them, their names and dates of birth being: John 
 W., March 26, 1871 ; George F., Oct. 23. 1872: 
 Minnie R., April 17, 1874; Nelhe G., Nov. 14. 1876: 
 Lillian E., March 7, 1879 (died Oct. 7, 1879) : and 
 Kent, June 2, 1881 (died Oct. 29, 188 1). (2) Flo- 
 rine, born Feb. 14, 1851, married Col. McCray, a 
 sketch of whom appears farther on. (3) George 
 Burton, born May 13, 1853, sketch of whom imme- 
 diately follows. 
 
 George Burton Tii.wer, son of the late Col. 
 Thayer, received a liberal education at the public 
 
94 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 schools of Rockville and Ellington, Conn., after 
 which for several years he had charge of the com- 
 pany grocery store at Windermere, and purchased 
 another at Vernon Depot. In 1886 he came to Hart- 
 ford to accept a position as reporter on the Evening 
 Post, and later on the Hartford Courant, which po- 
 sitions he filled until 1894. At the age of forty- 
 three years he commenced the study of law at Yale 
 Law School, graduating in the class of '97, and 
 then took a post-graduate course in the same 
 institution. 
 
 In May, 1898, Mr. Thayer left with Company K, 
 First Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, and was mus- 
 tered out six months later, at the close of the Span- 
 ish-American war. Being a direct descendant of 
 Col. John Sayles and Capt. Jeremiah Irons, who 
 served in the Revolutionary war, he is a member of 
 the Sons of the American Revolution, which so- 
 ciety presented him with a gold medal in recogni- 
 tion of his patriotic services during the war with 
 Spain ; he is also a member of the Connecticut His- 
 torical Society. Mr. Thayer is the author of several 
 works, including "Pedal and Path," "Thayer and 
 Burton Ancestry," and a "History of Company K, 
 First Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, during the 
 Spanish-American War." 
 
 On Feb. 28, 1881, George B. Thayer was mar- 
 ried, at Danielsville, Conn., to ]\Iiss Kate W. Til- 
 linghast, and one child, Charles Tillinghast, born 
 May 14, 1882, has come to this union. 
 
 COL. WILLIAM B. McCRAY, whose death 
 occurred in Hartford on Jan. 22, 1899, had been 
 for years a prominent insurance man in Hartford, 
 and had also been prominently connected with the 
 National Guard. In his business, social and mili- 
 tary associations he was exceedingly well liked by 
 his associates. 
 
 Col. McCray was born in Ellington, Conn., Dec. 
 16, 1852, a son of Henry and Roxanna (Kimball) 
 AlcCray, who were born at Ellington. Col. McCray 
 spent most of his life in business in Hartford, where 
 he made a reputation for high character and hon- 
 esty. He was a member of the insurance firm of 
 Kimball. & McCray, formerly C. C. Kimball & Co. 
 His connection with the National Guard began Feb. 
 I, 1872, when he was appointed commissary-ser- 
 geant on the non-commissioned staff of the First 
 Regiment. On March 27, same year, he was ap- 
 pointed, by Col. Hamilton, adjutant of the regiment, 
 with the rank of first lieutenant, which position he 
 resigned Feb. 17, 1874. On Aug. 23, 1878, he was 
 appointed, by Col. Barbour, paymaster of the regi- 
 ment, with the rank of first lieutenant, in which 
 position he remained until 1884, when he resigned. 
 Upon his own application he was placed on the re- 
 tired list of the Connecticut National Guard, Oct. 
 29, 1895. On Dec. 8, 1897, he was made colonel 
 and aide-de-camp on the staii" of Gov. Cooke. Col. 
 McCray had a happy and genial temperament, was 
 fond of the society of his friends, and attracted 
 
 them to him in large numbers. His death was sin- 
 cerely regretted by all who knew him. 
 
 "After days and nights of weary, patient wait- 
 ing, without murmur or complaint, conscious that 
 the summons to depart could not long be delayed, 
 the soul of William B. McCray has taken its flight. 
 Just before the church bells began ringing on a 
 beautiful Sunday morning, when the noisy wheels of 
 industry were still, and the hustling, busy world v/as 
 resting" — could there be a more fitting time to die? 
 Those who were acquainted with Col. McCray will 
 miss his genial companionship and rare humor. It 
 is not our purpose to attempt to eulogize him. To 
 those who knew him it would be unnecessary. To 
 all, it may be said, he made the rough places in life 
 easier to travel over for those who had the good for- 
 tune to be in his companionship. He was a bene- 
 factor of humanity, in that he carried sunshine with 
 him and dispelled shadow by his genial disposition. 
 Many a social gathering, especially among his mili- 
 tary friends, has enjoyed his witty sayings and quick 
 repartee. He was a host as an entertainer, and had 
 the rare ability of being able to laugh heartily him- 
 self. He enjoyed the society of his friends, but 
 nothing was so dear to him as his life companion 
 and his home. He was a devoted husband, and his 
 bereaved widow will have the heartfelt sympathy 
 of a very large circle of friends. — A. L. G." He 
 left considerable estate, among his bequests being 
 one to the Hartford Hospital, for the benefit of 
 friendless women. 
 
 On March 3, 1874, at Rockville, Conn., Col. 
 McCray was married to Miss Florine Thayer, daugh- 
 ter of the late Col. John W. Thayer, and she sur- 
 vived him but seven weeks. There are no children. 
 Mrs. McCrav was author of "The Life- Work of the 
 Author of 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,'" "Wheels and 
 Whims," and "Environment." 
 
 JOHN E. HIGGINS (deceased), for many 
 years the capable and popular city and town clerk, 
 also registrar of vital statistics, Hartford, was a 
 native of Connecticut, born June 19, 1844, in New 
 London, where he received a substantial public- 
 school education. 
 
 Edward Higgins, his father, born in Ireland, 
 was a quarryman by occupation, and came to Port- 
 land, Conn., where he worked for several years in 
 the quarry there, and passed the rest of his days, 
 dying at the age of seventy-one years. He mar- 
 ried 'Mary McDoland, also a native of Ireland, and 
 by her had six children, three of whom are living: 
 Elizabeth, widow of Patrick Lawler, of Middle- 
 town; Mary, widow of James Murphy, of Middle- 
 town ; and Margaret. The mother was called from 
 earth at the age of sixty-six, and her parents both 
 died at advanced years, the father at the age of 
 seventy-nine, the mother when seventy-three. 
 
 John E. Higgins was a small boy when the 
 family moved from New London to Portland, 
 Conn., and he there received his education at the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 95 
 
 public schools, the present State Secretary Clark 
 being his teacher. At the outbreak of the Civil 
 war iMr. Higgins was a teacher in the Portland 
 public schools, having received his appointment 
 through jNir. Clark, but this position he resigned 
 to enlist, in 1862, as musician, in the 3rd United 
 States Artillery, serving under Maj.-Gen. John A. 
 Dicks and Gen. Burbank. At the expiration of 
 three years, in August, 1865, he received an hon- 
 orable discharge and returned to Portland. In 
 the following month he came to Hartford, and en- 
 tered Colt's Armory as an employe, remaining un- 
 til 1874, in which year he was elected to the office 
 of city clerk and registrar of vital statistics for 
 Hartford, which incumbency he filled continuously 
 (with exception of the year 1880) until 1895, 
 when a severe attack of rheumatism* compelled 
 him to confine himself to his room, which he never 
 after left, for the thre'e years preceding his death 
 being a helpless invalid, unable to take a single 
 step; although a terrible sufferer, he retained 
 his sunny disposition to the end, which came Dec. 
 10, 1900. His career as city and town clerk and 
 registrar was one of marked succfess, giving emi- 
 nent satisfaction to all concerned. In fact, while 
 a pronounced Democrat, his career as a public offi- 
 cial was so characterized by devotion to the inter- 
 ests of the community at large, without regard to 
 party lines, that he received the enthusiastic sup- 
 port of all, without rlegard to politics. 
 
 Socially Mr. Higgins was a prominent member 
 of Robert O. Tyler Post, G. A. R., and took an 
 active part in the noted veteran assemblages and 
 demonstrations that have taken placle in Hartford 
 since the war of the Rebellion. He was also a 
 member of Green Cross Council, Knights of Co- 
 lumbus, and of the Hartford Lodge of Elks. For 
 s'everal years he was affiliated with the Sons of St. 
 Patrick. As a musician he was a member of Colt's 
 Band, in which he played the euphonium and slide 
 trombone ; was president of the band several years, 
 and at thie'time of his death was the oldest living 
 member, having joined in 1868 and played until 
 1890. During this time, among the scores of pa- 
 rades in which this band took part, that of the 
 National Convention of Hand Engine Companies, 
 held in Philadelphia, was the larglest. Colt's Band 
 in this parade waited for seven hours in their place 
 before they had an opportunity to fall in line, al- 
 lowing 210 bands to pass. Of the members of the 
 baud present on that occasion, only two are now 
 living. For twenty-five years Mr. Higgins was a 
 member and attendant of St. Peter's Catholic 
 Church, at the time of his decease being connected 
 with the Cathedral Parish. 
 
 On Aug. 16, 1873, Mr. Higgins was married 
 to Adella E. Collins, of Springfield, daughter of 
 James D. and Julia Collins, the former of whom 
 was employed during the Civil war as a barrel 
 rifl'er, having had a contract with the Sharp's Gun 
 Co., at Hartford, later w^ith the Colt Co. He af- 
 
 terward went to England, and after eighteen months 
 employment there with the firm of F. Firth & Sons 
 returned to Hartford ; h'e is now a resident of 
 Springfield, Mass. j\lrs. Higgins, who is his only 
 child, is an excellent musician, and a fine performer 
 on the pianoforte. 
 
 JOHN FAIRMAN (deceased) was for more 
 than a half century a prominent and influential busi- 
 ness man of Hartford. He belonged to that old 
 school of merchants wdiich was grounded in the 
 principles of rectitude, fair dealing and intimate re- 
 lationship with local public, political and social af- 
 fairs. He was most highly esteemed, and died at a 
 ripe age, leaving as a heritage an unblemished repu- 
 tation, and the imperishable impress of a strong and 
 well-beloved character. 
 
 Mr. Fairman was of the sixth generation of an 
 early New England family, founded in 1674 by 
 John Fairman, son of Ebenezer Fairman, who mi- 
 grated from Birmingham, England, and settled in 
 Killingly, Conn. John Fairman (I) had one son, 
 John Fairman (II), wdio, in 171 5, married Hannah 
 Spalding. Jonathan Fairman (III), son of John 
 and Hannah (Spalding) Fairman, was born March 
 13, 1721, and married Nov. 5, 1743, Mary Nancy 
 Ware. Jonathan Fairman (IV), son of Jonathan 
 and Mary Nancy (Ware) Fairman, was born July 
 10, 1744. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Jona- 
 than Cady, and became a resident of Stafford 
 Springs, Conn. Fle had three sons, Jonathan C, 
 Chester and Simon. Jonathan C. Fairman (V), 
 son of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Cady) Fairman, 
 was born in 1783, and died in 1816. He married 
 Elizabeth Turner, and to them were born five chil- 
 dren, Joseph, Eliza, jNIary, Clarissa, and John (our 
 subject). 
 
 John Fairman, our subject, was born Aug. 10, 
 1814, in Hartford, Conn. Orphaned by the death of 
 his father two years later, he was placed in care of 
 an uncle at Haverhill, N. H., with whom he remained 
 during his early boyhood. He then went to Brook- 
 lyn, N. Y., and learned the shoemaker's trade with 
 his brother Joseph. At the age of twenty-one he re- 
 turned to Hartford, and there began a career w-hich 
 was terminated only bv his recent death. He began 
 as a clerk for Isaac Hill, and was later a salesman 
 for C. S. Ensign. In partnership with George Hol- 
 brook he purchased the Ensign store, and established 
 the boot and shoe house of Fairman & Holbrook, 
 which later became Fairman & Miller. It was 
 located on the site of the present Sage-Allen build- 
 ing. Thence the business was removed to the block 
 north of the First Baptist church. Fairman & 
 IMiller w-ere succeeded bv Fairman & Henry, and 
 after the retirement of jNIr. Henry Mr. Fairman 
 assumed entire control, continuing uninterruptedly 
 until his retirement from business in 1893, at the 
 age of nearly eighty years. He died April 19, 1899. 
 
 Mr. Fairman was a director of the Dime Sav- 
 ings Bank, and for manv vears was a trustee of the 
 
98 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 First Methodist Church. He was an old member 
 of the First Company, Governor's Foot Guards, 
 serving under Major John C. Parsons. He was a 
 Repubhcan in politics, and about 1883 represented 
 the old Seventh ward in the council board. As a 
 business man and neighbor he was one of the most 
 honorable and kindly of men, living an upright 
 Christian life. He married for his first wife Char- 
 lotte Parsons, daughter of Chester and Phebe Par- 
 sons. She died April 22, 1882. For his second wife 
 he married, Oct. 7, 1885, Emma Fuller Bissell. 
 
 Henry M. Fairman, son of John and Charlotte 
 (Parsons) Fairman, was married June 16, 1869, to 
 Charlotte Woodward. 
 
 EBEN H. STOCKER, secretary of the Billings 
 & Spencer Co., Hartford, and well known among 
 the business men of that city, was born April 23, 
 1846, in Hartland, Vt., where the family was prom- 
 inent, his father and grandfather having been among 
 the most useful residents of that town in their day. 
 
 The first of the family to come to America was 
 a non-conformist clergyman of Scotland, who lo- 
 cated originally in Massachusetts, his descendants 
 removing thence to Vermont. Eben Stocker, grand- 
 father of our subject, was born in Hopkinton, Mass., 
 where he passed his early life, and was a farmer 
 by occupation. Removing from his native place 
 to Hartland, Windsor Co., Vt., he there passed the 
 remainder of his days, attaining the advanced age 
 of eighty-five years. He took a prominent part 
 in the public affairs of his adopted town, was a 
 stanch Democrat in political opinion, and was a 
 deacon in the Congregational Church. By his 
 first wife, Abagail Kimball, like himself a native of 
 Hopkinton, Eben Stocker had nine children, all now 
 deceased. She died at the age of forty years. 
 
 Eben M. Stocker, son of Eben andAbagail (Kim- 
 ball) Stocker, was born in Windsor, Vt., and was 
 a child when the family removed to Hartland, where 
 he was reared. His education was acquired in the 
 common schools. He engaged in mercantile pur- 
 suits, conducting the largest store in the town, 
 and also took a prominent part in public affairs, 
 serving thirty years as town clerk, and representing 
 his town in the State Legislature for several terms. 
 His long-continued service is sufficient evidence of 
 his efficiency and trustworthiness, and he was re- 
 spected by those who knew him in every relation 
 of life. Mr. Stocker spent four years in California. 
 He married Lucia D. Lull, wlio was born in Hart- 
 land, daughter of Timothy and Susanna (Delano) 
 Lull, and three children were born to them, of whom 
 our subject is now the only survivor. Mr. Stocker 
 died at the age of sevent3'-eight, Mrs. Stocker at 
 the age of sixty. She was a member of the Uni- 
 versalist Church. Her father, Timothy Lull, was 
 the first settler in Hartland, going up the river 
 from Charlestown in a canoe. His family consisted 
 of six children, only one of whom is now living. 
 Almond, a resident of California. 
 
 Eben H. Stacker spent his early years in Hart- 
 land and Windsor, and received his education in 
 the public schools. He has been a resident of Hart- 
 ford since 1872, when he came to take the position 
 of bookkeeper with the concern with which he has 
 ever since been connected. In 1876 he was made 
 secretary, in which incumbency he is still retained, 
 and he is also a director in that larg^ concern. Mr. 
 Stocker is also connected with the C. Billings j\lfg. 
 Co., of which he is secretary and a director. Though 
 a public-spirited citizen, business absorbs too much 
 of his time to allow him to interest himself as act- 
 ively in politics as his immediate ancestors have 
 done. He is independent in sentiment. 
 
 In 1870 Mr. Stocker married Miss Jennie Hey- 
 wood, who was born in ^Vindsor, Vt., daughter 
 of \\'illard and Emily Heywood, who had a family 
 of nine children, five now living-; Mrs. A. G. 
 Couch, of Amherst, Mass. ; Mrs. Lucia Spauiding, 
 of Lancaster, Mass.; Eleazer, who. is in the West; 
 Mrs. Eda Jones ; and Henry, of Windsor, Vt. Mr. 
 Heywood, who was a well and favorably known 
 man in his town, died at the age of eighty-two, his 
 wife at the age of sixty-eight. i\Irs. Jennie Stocker 
 died in 1881, at the early age of twenty-eight, leav- 
 ing one son, Frank H., who is now engaged in the 
 practice of medicine. He received his preparatory 
 education in the public schools, his professional 
 training in the New York Homeopathic Medical 
 College, New York Citv, from which he graduated, 
 the youngest in the class, taking the second three- 
 years prize. For his second wife our subject mar- 
 ried Lucy M. Birge, a native of East Hartford, 
 daughter of Edward and Esther Birge, farming 
 people ; her father is deceased. 
 
 GEORGE ROBERTS (deceased). In the 
 death of this gentleman, on March 25, 1878, at his 
 residence in Lafayette street, Hartford, there de- 
 parted from life a prominent business man, trusted 
 and honored by the community with which he had so 
 long been identified. 
 
 William Roberts, son of Catherine Leete and 
 a J\Ir. "Robards," came to East Hartford from 
 Middletown, Conn., lived near the foot of Smith's 
 Lane, on the Meadow Hill, south of the present 
 "Bridge Road" — the main street at that time fol- 
 lowing- this "Meadow Bank." He marfied Dorothy 
 Forbes, who was a daughter of Capt. James Forbes, 
 the progenitor of the Forbes family in East Hart- 
 ford, and from him she received six acres of land 
 on which William Roberts built his dwelling. The 
 children born to William and Dorothy were: Dor- 
 othv was baptized in the South Church at Hart- 
 ford, in 1687; Deborah was baptized in the First 
 Church in April, 1690 ;\Mlliam, baptized in the same 
 church in 1695, married Deborah Spencei-, and died 
 in 1726, leaving a son, ^A'illiam ; Benjamin, baptized 
 Alarch 8, 1698, died Feb. 14, 1774; Joseph, baptized 
 Aug. II, 1700; Mary, baptized JNIay 31, 1702: and 
 Samuel, baptized Dec. 24,1704, married Sarah Hills, 
 
o 
 
 ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 07 
 
 ilauglitcr oi EljL'iiczcr Hills, Sr. William Roberts, 
 the father, died probably in 1735. 
 
 Benjamin Roberts, of the seeond generation in 
 East Hartford, married Sept. 26, 1730, Doroth}- Pit- 
 kin, who was born in 1705, a daughter of Natlianiel 
 and Hester (HosmcrJ Ritkin. Nathaniel was a son 
 of William Ritkin, the founder of the family in East 
 Hartford. Mrs. Dorothy (I'itkin) Roberts died 
 Oct. 5, 1737, and July 13, 1739, J\Ir. Roberts mar- 
 ried Jerusha Rratt, who was a descendant of John 
 Pratt, who came to Hartford with the tlooker part)' 
 in 1C35. The children of the first marriage were: 
 Dorothy, who was born Jan. 23, 1734, was married 
 to Lemuel Kingsbury, of Andover ; Susannah, born 
 in 1736, died in 1804, unmarried. To the second 
 marriage, with Jerusha Pratt, were born : Jerusha 
 and Catherine (twinsj, April 24, 1740, the former of 
 whom was married to Jonathan Stanley (who was 
 for eighteen years town clerk and town treasurer), 
 the latter to Jonathan Hubbard, ancestor of Gov. 
 Hubbard; Benjamin, born Nov. 15, 1741, was a 
 farmer in the south part of East Hartford, and 
 married ]3orothy Goodwin ; Sarah, born April 13, 
 1743, was married to Joseph Hurlburt; ]\Iary, born 
 Jan. 18, 1745, married Timothy Eorbes; William, 
 born Jan. 19, 1746, married Abigail Stanley; Na- 
 thaniel, born Dec. 24, 1750, married Annie New- 
 comb ; George was born Nov. 22, 1752 ; Abigail, born 
 in 1756, was married to John Norton, and died Nov. 
 12, 1775; and Lemuel, born in 1760, died in 1775. 
 Benjamin Roberts was a merchant trader, and 
 the owner of several vessels, among them the "Sam- 
 uel," the "Martha" and the "Porrige," which traded 
 M'ith the West Indies and at New London, bring- 
 ing home cargoes of merchandise, which were stored 
 in his house and cellar, strongly built for the pur- 
 pose. Pie was a large land owner. 
 
 George Roberts, of the third generation, was 
 born Nov. 22, 1752, at East Hartford, and was a 
 successful farmer and business man. He served in 
 Capt. Jonathan ^^■ells' company. Col. Erastus Wol- 
 cott's regiment, during the Revolutionary war, and 
 was at Boston from December, 1775, until February, 
 1776. He also served in several town offices, was 
 elected selectman in 1820 and served two years. He 
 married Jerusha ^Villiams, who was born May 20, 
 1757, a tlaughter of Timothy and Ruth (Pitkin) 
 W^ilHams, the latter being a daugliter of Ozias, 
 who was a son of the first William Pitkin, the 
 founder of the family. The children born to 
 George and Jerusha Roberts were: Jerusha, who 
 was born in 1782, died July 7, 1798; Clarissa, born 
 I\Iay 4, 1783, married Dr. Edward Pitkin, and 
 died Jan. 28, 1864; Ozias was born Aug. 10, 1785; 
 George, born May 28, 1789, died in Hartford, Nov. 
 10, 1808; Alven, born Aug. 16, 1791, died aged 
 twenty-seven on April 9, 1818; Esther, born 
 July 4, 1793, married James Bidwell, and died in 
 Manchester, Jan. 9, 1822; Lucretia, born Nov. 10, 
 I795- was married to Dr. W. Coolev, and died in 
 East Hartford IMarch 31, 1821 ; and Martin, born 
 Oct. 14, 1799, a well-known and promising yoimg 
 7 
 
 man, died April 17, 1821, in New York City, whither 
 he had gone to purchase goods for the purpose of 
 starting in business at Hartford. Mrs. Jerusha 
 (Williams) Roberts died Nov. 22, 18 17. George 
 Roberts married, for his second wife, Airs. Lucretia 
 ( Meaumont) Abbc)-, widow of Jeduthan Abbey, but 
 to this seeond marriage no children were born. Mr. 
 Roberts died Oct. 4, 1824. 
 
 Hon. Capt Ozias Roberts, of the fourth genera- 
 tion, and the only son of George and Jerusha Rob- 
 erts to reach full manhood, was born Aug. 10, 
 1785, in the house wdiere he died. Pic received the 
 usual education furnished by the schools of that 
 time and was endowed with a naturally strong intel- 
 lect. He was possessed of a daring spirit, and was 
 fond of adventtire, and when a young man went to 
 sea, trade being then carried on between the West 
 Indies and Hartford direct. During the war of 
 1812 he shipped with Capt. Josiah Griswold, of 
 Wethersfield, on board the privateer "Blockade." 
 The vessel was fitted out on the Connecticut river, 
 was owned by Thomas Belden and others, and car- 
 ried six guns. After cruising for some time with 
 but little success the "Blockade" was captured by a 
 British brig-of-war, was run into the Bermudas, 
 and the crew confined on a prison-ship. Ozias 
 Roberts, however, and Dr. William Coole\-, of Man- 
 chester (surgeon of the "Blockade"), managed to 
 escape to the shore, and were secreted by a negro 
 until they could find an opportunity to return in 
 safety to their respective homes. For some time 
 thereafter Oz'ias continued to follow the sea, event- 
 ually became the captain of a vessel piving in the 
 West Indies trade, but at the death of his father re- 
 turned to Connecticut and managed the estate until 
 his death, Feb. 8, 1868, his remains being interred 
 in the Center cemetery. 
 
 Ozias Roberts was three times married. Plis 
 first wife, jNIartha Treat (daughter of Joseph Treat, 
 of East Hartford, and Martha Adams, of \\'ethers- 
 field), died Jan. 3, 1809, at the age of twenty-one 
 years, the mother of two children : JNIary Ann.' who 
 was married to Deacon Horace Williams Alarch 10, 
 1831, and died April 3, 1848, at the age of forty- 
 one 3'ears ; and Martha, who was born Dec. 23. 1808, 
 in East Hartford. The second wife of Ozias Rob- 
 erts was Harriet Treat, a sister of jNIartha Treat, 
 his first wife. jNIrs. Plarriet (Treat) Roberts died 
 July 19, 1822, aged thirty-two years, the mother of 
 the following children : George is our subject : Jane 
 Treat, born Dec. 10, 181 1, married Edward Good- 
 win, and was the mother of J. O. Goodwin, of East 
 Hartford; Harriet, born Oct. 11, 1814, married 
 Aaron Olmstead in 1835, at East fiartford, and died 
 Nov. 19, 1875, leaving the following named chil- 
 dren — Horace B., Arthur G., A. Fred, and Charles 
 H. ; Ira T. Avas born Feb. 10, 1817; and Jerusha, 
 born March 15, 1819, was married to Alfred Kil- 
 bourne. 
 
 The third wife of Ozias Roberts was Nancy 
 Comstock. whom he married March 26, 1823. 
 Nancy (Comstock) Roberts was born July 4, 1802, 
 
98 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in East Hartford, and was a daughter of Perez and 
 Abigail (Raymond) Conistock, of the Comstock and 
 Raymond famiHes of Montville, Conn. The chil- 
 dren of this marriage were : Esther Bidwell, born 
 May 25, 1824, married Albert Comstock Raymond, 
 a native of Montville, Conn., who built the Raymond 
 Library at East Hartford, in which town she died 
 in September, 1883 ; Luther Martin, born Nov. 18, 
 1826, was by nature a seaman, died March 21, 1847, 
 on board a ship of which he was second mate, and 
 was buried in Vera Cruz, Mexico ; Juliette, born July 
 23, 1829, was married to John B. Smith, of East 
 Hartford, now of Berlin, Conn., and died Oct. i, 
 1857, in East Hartford; Arthur, born Jan. 14, 1831, 
 died Jan. 23, 1833; Emma and Ellen, born Oct. 15, 
 1835, died respectively April 2, 1856, and April 26, 
 i860, unmarried; Elizabeth Bradford, born March 
 21, 1838, is now Mrs. Henry A. Street, of New 
 Haven ; Arthur Ozias, born Feb. 22, 1840, was a 
 master's mate during the Civil war (he is unmar- 
 ried) ; Frances L., born Aug. 23, 1846, takes great 
 interest in genealogy, and to her the publishers of 
 this work are indebted for many facts relating to 
 the Roberts family ; she is the present registrar of 
 Martha Pitkin Wolcott Chapter, D. A. R., at East 
 Hartford. Nancy Comstock Roberts died Jan. 
 17, 1859. 
 
 Ozias Roberts, the father of these families of 
 children, left to them a name honored for integrity 
 and uprightness in business affairs. In politics he 
 was a Democrat previous to the formation of the 
 Republican party, and long before the formation of 
 the Republican party was an uncompromising Abo- 
 litionist, and employed runaway slave labor. He 
 served as State senator, and, for four terms after 
 1828, as a member of the House of Representatives. 
 In 1838 he was elected town treasurer, and served 
 two terms, and was for many years custodian of 
 school funds. His rare good judgment was highly 
 prized by his neighbors, who frequently consulted 
 him on business matters, and he settled many es- 
 tates, to the great saving of money to those most 
 interested. Although not a church member, he real- 
 ized the value of churches, and liberally aided in 
 their support, was a member of the Ecclesiastical 
 Society and often one of the committee, and reared 
 his children to respect the Sabbath rigidly. Fra- 
 ternally he was a Royal Arch Mason. 
 
 It was not until he had quit the sea that Mr. 
 Roberts gave his attention to agriculture, in which 
 he met with a decided success. At one time he 
 owned and conducted the ferry at East Hartford. 
 Two years prior to his death he had a fall, in his 
 dooryard, from the efifects of which he never fully 
 recovered, being thereafter confined to his room, 
 Init he managed his affairs until the end. He was a 
 man of strong convictions, and for forty years was 
 a leader among men in East Hartford. He was a 
 strict disciplinarian, and although his children were 
 numerous he reared them to positions of usefulness, 
 and it may be added that Hon. Richard D. Hub- 
 bard, ex-governor of Connecticut, and one of her 
 
 brightest legal lights, was a ward and cousin of 
 l\Ir. Roberts, and passed his youthful days on the 
 latter's farm. 
 
 Ozias Roberts never lost the charm that made 
 his home the abode of enjoyment and true hospi- 
 tality, and his dwelling in East Hartford, in his 
 day, was the scene of more gatherings than any 
 other in the town. Thanksgiving Day and Elec- 
 tion Day were always observed with bountiful 
 cheer, and the members of the family were invaria- 
 bly present on these occasions, beside innumerable 
 friends and visitors, and the home, indeed, was one 
 of the most popular known in its day ; all who ever 
 visited it fully enjoyed themselves, and came away 
 widi undisguised admiration and praise of its unre- 
 served hospitality. 
 
 George Roberts, the subject proper of these 
 lines, was born in 1810 in East Hartford, and lived 
 with his father upon a farm until seventeen years 
 of age, when he went to Hartford and entered the 
 grocery store of Thomas K. Brace as clerk, serving 
 in that capacity until the age of twent}'-one. He 
 then went to New York, and entered the large dry- 
 goods house of Fitch, Goodwin & Co., continuing 
 with that firm for two years, and remaining on duty 
 through the great cholera epidemic of that time, 
 when but few had the courage to stay in the city. In 
 1833 he returned to Hartford, and was soon there- 
 after chosen State director in the Phoenix Bank. 
 He also entered into business with Charles H. 
 Northam, carrying on a wholesale grocery businsss 
 under the firm name of Northam & Roberts. In 
 1836 he entered into co-partnership with Philip G. 
 Ripley and Edwin G. Ripley, under the firm name 
 of Ripley, Roberts & Co., and conducted an exten- 
 sive iron business some three or four years. 
 
 About 1840 Mr. Roberts again went to New 
 York, forming a partnership with G. Spencer (James 
 i\L Bunce, of Hartford, being a special partner in the 
 firm), and was for several years in successful busi- 
 ness in that city. He was one of the business men 
 \vho organized the JXIetropolitan Bank of New York. 
 In 1853 he retired to a farm in South Windsor. 
 In 1854 he was chosen treasurer of the Hartford 
 Carpet Co., which owned extensive mills at Thomp- 
 sonville and Tariffville ; in 1856, on the retirement 
 of Hon. T. -M. Allyn, he was elected president and 
 treasurer of the company, and continued to fill these 
 important positions for twenty-two years, or until 
 his death. One of the prominent officials of the 
 company, with whom he was most closely associ- 
 ated, said that in all that time there was never an 
 luipleasant word from Mr. Roberts, who was al- 
 ways even-tempered, genial and kind. He was care- 
 ful and sagacious, and managed the financial affairs 
 of the great corporation with much jirudence and 
 skill. He was also president of the Woven Wire 
 Mattress Co., a director in the Phoeni.K National 
 Bank, the ^Stna Fire Insurance Co., the Connecti- 
 cut Trust and Safe Deposit Co., and (for twenty 
 years) the Hartford Gas Co. His judgment was 
 excellent, and his incessant fidelitv and devotion re- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 S9 
 
 markable, in fact, in all the relations of life he was 
 iin excellent and highl_\- esteemed man. He was 
 possessed of unusual executive ability, which, with 
 the strict integrity which had always characteri/.L-. 
 Jiis business lite, made him an exceedingly valuable 
 man in the many business corporations with which 
 he was connectetl. Naturally modest and retiring, 
 he was vet social, withal, and possessed of a vein of 
 quiet humor that made him an exceedingly agreea- 
 ble companion. He was a close observer of na- 
 tional atfairs, was sound and well-grounded on all 
 important questions of political economy, was an 
 earnest Republican, and a stanch supporter of the 
 Union cause during the war of the Rebellion. He 
 was a member of Center Churcii, and a man 
 -whose religious convictions pervaded his whole so- 
 cial and business life. He was a manly type of the 
 upright Christian gentlemen, who, in business, poli- 
 tics, religious and social life, have shaped the char-'^ 
 -acter of Xew Englantl institutions and communities 
 •during the present century. 
 
 i\lr. Roberts was twice married, on Oct. 19, 1836, 
 to Louisa Stewart, daughter of Capt. Allen Stewart. 
 To this iniion came one daughter, Louisa Stewart, 
 who died at the age of about eleven 3'ears. For his 
 second wife JNIr. Roberts wedded Elvira Evans, who 
 was born Julv 12, 1812, and they had children as 
 follows : Martha married Edward C. Ritchie, of 
 i'lrooklyn ; j\Iary married George C. Perkins, of 
 Hartford, son of Henry A. and Sarah Perkins ; 
 <;eorge married Ida Hamilton, of Hartford (he suc- 
 ceeded his father as president of the Hartford Car- 
 pet Co.) ; Jane L. married George D. Holton, of 
 Chicago, 111.; Sarah died when three years of age 
 Henry married Carrie E. Smith, daughter of Isaac 
 AX'. Smith, of Bridgeport, Conn, (he is president of 
 the Woven Wire jNIattress Co., of Hartford). 
 
 We give a brief record of Mrs. Roberts' ances- 
 try : In the year 1639 two brothers by the name of 
 Taylor came to this country from England. One of 
 them soon after took ship to return : the vessel was 
 never heard of after leaving Xew York. John Tay- 
 lor, the other brother, settled at Windsor, Conn. 
 He married a widow, and a son, John, was born of 
 this marriage in 1641. Te married Thankful Wood- 
 ward Dec. 18, 1662. He was killed by tli,e Indians 
 :at New Haven, JMay 13, 1704. Thomas, his son, 
 was born Nov. 4, 1680, and married Thankful 
 Hawkes Aug. 31, 1715. He was active in the French 
 and Indian wars, was wounded at Deerfield, and 
 was drowned in the Connecticut river Aug. 31, 171 7- 
 His son Thomas was born in 1717, and married 
 Sarah Merriman. There is no record of her death, 
 Init record of his marrying Sarah Stebbins, in 1755. 
 She died Sept. 11, 1809. While on a march from 
 Xorthtield to Fort Dunimer, July 14, 1748, in com- 
 mand of seventeen men. Sergt. Thomas Taylor was 
 attacked by one hundred French aivl Indians, taken 
 lirisoner, carried to Canada, and afterward ex- 
 changed, and leturned home Sept. 17, of the same 
 year. The government of the Province voted him 
 1^0 for his bravery in action. The record says he 
 
 lost a I'rench gun worth £18, and a jjair of leather 
 breeches worth iio. Sergt. Taylor was acquainted 
 with the Indians who were with the French when 
 he was taken captive. Two of them, one on either 
 side, seated Sergt. Taylor on a log, and one of the 
 Indians said, "Thomas, me kill you." The Sergeant 
 said, "Why kill me?" The Indian said, "You kill 
 my brother." The Sergeant said, "But he shot at 
 me first." The Indian dropped his head a moment, 
 then said, "Yes, Thomas, that's so. ^le no kill you." 
 He died March 24, 1778. His son, Hollis Taylor, 
 was born in 1758. Thankful Taylor, daughter of 
 Hollis Taylor, was born April 20, 1791, and on May 
 20, 1810, married Jason Evans, who was born April 
 19, 1786, and died Oct. 29, 1823. 
 
 HERBERT H. WHITE, secretary and director 
 of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co., Hart- 
 ford, has been connected with various lines of enter- 
 prise which have helped to make that city famous. 
 and as a representative successful business man is 
 ■entitled to honorable mention in this volume. 
 
 Mr. White was born July 3, 1858, in Hartford, 
 son of Francis A. and Cornelia (Humphrey) White, 
 who had a family of eight children, four now liv- 
 ing, nan'ely : Herbert H. ; Harry W. ; Howard C, 
 of California; and Clara, of Hartford. The fa- 
 ther passed away May 28, 1884, the mother Aug. 
 30, 1898. He was a native of Massachusetts, but 
 spent the greater part of his life in Hartford, where 
 he was engaged as a contractor and builder. Her- 
 bert H. White grew to manhood in his native city, 
 and in February, 1874, entered the employ of the 
 Hartford Trust Co., with whom he remained sev- 
 eral years. In April, 1878, he entered the Phoenix 
 Bank, with which he was connected over twenty 
 years, winning promotion by his own efforts until 
 he attained the responsible position of assistant 
 cashier of that institution. For four years he was 
 one of the auditors of the Connecticut Mutual Life 
 Insurance Co., and in January, 1899, the directors 
 of the compan\- were unanimous in electing him 
 a director, in the place made vacant by the death 
 of E. M. Biuice. He was also unanimously elected 
 secretary, as Mr. Bunce's successor, and has since 
 filled that position with characteristic ability. Being 
 thoroughly familiar with the internal affairs of the 
 company. Mr. White's fitness for his important office 
 was quickly recognized by all who knew him and his 
 election was looked upon as an evidence of the con- 
 servative policy of that great concern. The insured 
 must depend much upon the officers of the company 
 in which they insure, and the choice of Mr. White 
 carries into a younger generation the assurance 
 that the Connecticut ^lutual will continue to be 
 managed by men who have a full sense of the moral 
 responsibilities of their trust, and the Inisiness 
 ability and personal integrity to conduct its aft"airs. 
 
 However, it is not alone in business circles tjiat 
 Mr. White is regarded as one of the most success- 
 ful and promising men of his age in the city. He 
 
 C. 
 
100 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 served efficiently as a member of the city council 
 for six 3'ears, beginning with 1893, was president 
 of the councd in 1896, and alderman trom the 
 Tenth ward 1897-1899, during which period he 
 acted as chairman of the Ordinance committee. In 
 February, 1900, he was elected president of the 
 Colonial Club of Hartford. 
 
 On Oct. 20, 1886, Mr. White married Miss Ella 
 F. Kinne, of Richfield Springs, N. Y., and they 
 have had one child, J\iarian H., now (1900} eleven 
 years of age. 
 
 CASE. The family of this name, from which 
 descended the late Hon. Jairus Case, M. D., of 
 Granby, whose surviving son is Hon. William Cul- 
 len Case, of the law firm of Case, Bryant & Case, of 
 Hartford, is one of the old and prominent families 
 of Windsor and Simsbury, William C. Case being 
 in the seventh generation from John Case, the 
 American ancestor. His line of descent is through 
 John (2j, John (3), Capt. John, Levi and Dr. 
 Jairus. 
 
 (I) John Case married (first) about 1657 Sarah, 
 daughter of William Spencer, of Hartford, Conn. 
 He resided in Windsor, Conn., until the .spring of 
 
 1669, when he removed to Massacoe (now Sims- 
 bury), Conn., and settled in Weatogue. His wife 
 died Nov. 3, 1691, aged fifty-five, and he married 
 (second) Elizabeth, widow of Nathaniel Loomis, of 
 Windsor. Mr. Case was appointed constable for 
 Massacoe, by the General Court, Oct. 14, 1669, be- 
 ing the first person that ever held office at that place. 
 He represented his town at the General Court in; 
 
 1670, and several times afterward. He died at 
 Simsbury Feb. 21, 1703-04. His widow, Elizabeth 
 Case, died at Windsor July 23, 1728, aged ninety. 
 His children by Sarah were : Elizabeth, Mary, John, 
 William Samuel, Richard, Bartholomew, Joseph, 
 Sarah and Abigail. 
 
 (II) John Case (2), eldest son of John, born 
 Nov. 5, 1662, settled in Simsbury. , He married 
 (first") in 1684 Marv, daughter of Thomas Olcott, 
 Jr., of Hartford, Conn. She died in 1685, and he 
 married (second) in 1693 Sarah, daughter of Joshua 
 Holcomb, of Simsbury. John Case died in 1733. 
 One child, John, born to the first marriage, tiled m 
 infancy. The children born to the second marriage 
 •were : John, Daniel, JNIary, Jonathan, Sarah and 
 Hannah. 
 
 (HI) John Case (3), son of John (2), born 
 Aug. 22, 1694, married in 1716-17 Abigail, daughter 
 of Lieut. Samuel Humphrey. He settled in Sims- 
 bury, and died in 1752. His children were: John, 
 Norah, Charles, Abigail, Mary, Lucy, Martha, Job 
 and Lydia. 
 
 (IV) Capt. John Case, son of John (3), born 
 Feb. 19, 1 71 8- 1 9, married in 1745 Sarah, daughter 
 of Samuel Barber. She was born April i, 1722. 
 They resided in Simsbury. Capt. Case died in 1776, 
 and his widow died in 1805. Their children were: 
 John, Giles, Seth, Sarah, Asa, Mary, Giles, George, 
 Levi, Judah and Abigail. 
 
 (\') Levi Case, son of Capt. John, born Dec. 14, 
 1760, married Polly, daughter of Hon. Daniel Hum- 
 phrey, of Simsbury, who was in the fifth generation 
 trom Michael Humphrey, the American ancestor of 
 the family, Windsor, Conn., 1643, in line tlirougli 
 Sergt. John, Deacon John and Deacon Michael. 
 Polly (Humphreyj Case was born March 18, 1764, 
 and died Jan. 19, 1849, ""^ Hartland, Conn. Levi 
 Case died in Simsbury April 23, 1802. After his 
 death, by her exertions, the widow reared and edu- 
 cated her children to positions of influence and use- 
 fulness. 1 heir children were : Poll)' married Elizur 
 Benjamin, of Plartland ; x\gnes married Dr. Josiali 
 W. Case, of Canton; Persis married Hiram Sanford,. 
 of Barkhamsted; Levi P. married Harriet Jones, of 
 Barkhamsted ; and Jairus, M. D. 
 
 (\'I) Hon. Jairus Case, ]\I. D., son of Levi, and 
 the father of Hon. AMlliam Cullen Case, was born 
 March 20, 1802, at Simsbury, Conn. He attended 
 the public schools at Hartland, to which point the 
 family removed in his boyhood, and subsequently 
 was graduated from the medical department of Yale 
 College, and located in the practice of his profes- 
 sion at Granby, where he continued to live through- 
 out life. He built up a large practice, was success- 
 ful in his profession, and accumulated considerable 
 property. Politically he was a Democrat, and as 
 such represented his district in the State Senate one 
 term, elected in 1868. He was identified with the 
 Congregational Church at Granb}', and held the es- 
 teem and confidence of the community. He was a 
 man of good judgment, practical, and ranked high 
 in the profession. He died at Granby, Conn., Dec. 
 ■30, 1874. 
 
 On Oct. 5, 1830, Dr. Case was married to Miss 
 Mary T., daughter of Hon. Silas Higley, of Gran- 
 by, Conn., and the union was blessed with two chil- 
 dren : John, born April 15, 1832, became a lawyer, 
 and died March i, 1890; William Cullen is referred 
 to farther on. The mother of these children 
 born Feb. 22, 1808, and died Feb. 6, 1887. 
 
 Hon. Silas Higley, the father of Mrs. Mary T. 
 Case, descended from one of the early and promi- 
 nent families of Windsor (Conn.) and Simsbury, 
 his line of descent being from Capt. John Higley, 
 through Brewster, Joseph and Ozias. 
 
 Capt. John Higley, the American ancestor, was 
 born in 1649, at Frimle}', Surrey, England, and 
 emigrated to America in 1666, locating at Windsor, 
 Conn., where, in 1671, he married Hannah Drake. 
 
 Brewster Higley, son of Capt. John, born in 
 1680, in Windsor, Conn., married in 1709 Esther 
 Holcombe, of Simsbury. 
 
 Joseph Higley, son of Brewster, born in 1715, 
 in Simsbury, married (second) about 1740 Sarali 
 Case. 
 
 Ozias Higley, born in 1748, in Simsbury, married 
 ]\Iartha Gillette in 1772. 
 
 Hon. Silas Higley, son of Ozias, was born in 
 1780, in Granby, and was married to Melissa Hayes," 
 he died June 21, 1853. His wife Melissa died ^lay 
 16, 1856, aged seventy-four. His children were: 
 
i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 101 
 
 ^lary T. (Airs. Dr. Case), Juhu Jay, \\'illiam \\'. 
 and Julia Al. Silas Higlcy was a lawyer by pro- 
 fession, for upwards of forty years practiced in 
 Jlartford county, and for many years was on the 
 bench. "He was honoraljly identified with the 
 ijTowth, organization and management of the lead- 
 ing interests of the town." The public records show 
 that few citizens were more prominent. Socially 
 and intellectually, bv ISench and IJar, and from a 
 legal standpoint, he was acknowledged everywhere 
 as one of the foremost antl distinguished men of 
 Hartford county. 
 
 !\ II) Hon. \\'illiam Cullen Case, son of Hon. 
 Jairus Case, AI. D., was born Feb. 17, 1836, at 
 (_iranl)y. Conn. He was prepared for college at the 
 Connecticut Literary Institute, Suffield, and was 
 grailuated from Yale College in 1857. He took a 
 law course in Yale, and furthered his studies under 
 the direction of Rockwell & Colt, at Pittsfield, 
 Alass. He was admitted to the Bar in New Haven 
 in 1S60, and has since been engaged in active prac- 
 tice. He has maintained an oftice in New Haven 
 since 1874, but since 1889 he has been more thor- 
 oughly identified with Hartford. He is the senior 
 member of the firm of Case, liryant & Case. Mr. 
 Case has b\' no means confined himself to criminal 
 practice, yet that branch of his business has been 
 extensive and singularly successful. "It is probable 
 that no other lawyer now at the Connecticut Bar 
 lias engaged in the defens; of so many capital cases ; 
 and these include the defense of Allen for the kill- 
 ing of'Shipman at the State's prison, of the jNIalleys 
 in the so-called "Jennie Cramer' case, of Conant for 
 the shooting of AlcClellan, and many others almost 
 as prominent in the criminal annals of the State for 
 the past twenty-five years. I'.ut although he has 
 achieved much distinction for his masterlv handling 
 ■of tile class of cases to which these belong, by far 
 tlie greater part of his practice has been in the civil 
 Ijranches of his profession, and here his successful 
 qualities as a lawyer are no less marked. Perhaps 
 310 case ever tried in Connecticut has aroused more 
 .general interest or called for greater legal ability in 
 its management than the recent contest over the 
 4;'overnorsliip and other State offices. This contro- 
 A-ersy, which began in the Legislature in 1891, and 
 reached the courts under the popular name of the 
 'Quo Warranto Cases,' was, owing to its political 
 character, one of peculiar bitterness, and involved 
 soliie of the most important questions that have yet 
 lieen the subject of litigation in Connecticut. Mr. 
 Case's ability and his wonderfully exhaustive study 
 of the case largely contributed to the final success 
 of the Republican party, which he represented, to- 
 gether with Mr. Henrv C. Robinson and Mr. Charles 
 J. Cole." 
 
 Mr. Case is a powerful and effective speaker, 
 ■with a habit of expression original and striking, and 
 in his writings he is master of a terse and vigorous 
 ■style. He is possessed of fine literary tastes and 
 instincts, and is a man of wide reading. He has 
 great capacity for hard work, and is always busy. 
 
 He is a painstaking lawyer in the preparation of fiis 
 cases, and his conduct of a case in court is marked 
 by a skill that shows singular power of concentra- 
 tion and a shrewd forecasting of the possibilities. 
 He is able in his treatment of witnesses, strong in 
 the presentation of testimony, and he has the rare 
 gift of orderly and concise arrangement in argu- 
 ment. In his political views Mr. Case is a Repub- 
 lican, and from 1869 to 1884 he was many times a 
 member of the House of Representatives, and was 
 Speaker of that body in 1881. 
 
 In 1862 Mr. Case was married to Miss Margaret 
 Turnbull, of Tariffville, Conn., and the union was 
 blessed with two chiklren : William S., born June 
 27, 1864, who is mentioned elsewhere; and Iheo- 
 dore G., now a student in Trinitv College. 
 
 HON. CHAUNCEY E\'ELYN ENO, one of 
 Simsbur}-'s most respected retired agriculturists, is 
 a native of Hartford county, born in Simsbury Dec. 
 27, 181 5, and descends from one of the first settlers 
 in the State. 
 
 James Eno, the progenitor of the Connecticut 
 famil}-, came from England, and located in Windsor, 
 Harttord count}', in 1648. There he married, for 
 his first wife, Hannah Bidwell, a daughter of Rich- 
 ard Bidwell, born Oct. 22, 1634, died Oct. 7, 1657. 
 For his second wife he married, in August, 1658, 
 Elizabeth, widow of Thomas Holcomb, of Wind- 
 sor; she died Oct. 7, 1679. To the first marriage 
 were born three children: Sarah, born in June, 1649, 
 was (first) married April 11, 1667, to Benajah 
 Holcomb, son of Thomas Holcomb, bom June 23, 
 1644, and for her second husband married Samuel 
 Phelps; her death took place in April, 1732. James 
 (2) was born Oct. 30, 1651. John, born Dec. 2, 
 1654, married the widow of James Eggleston. 
 
 James Eno (2) served in the war against the 
 Indian King Philip. He married, Dec. 26, 1678, 
 Abigail, daughter of Samuel and Abigail (Hol- 
 comb) Bissell, who was born July 6, 1661, and died 
 April 19, 1728, the mother of nine children: James 
 was born Sept. 23, 1679; Ann, born April 10, 1682, 
 died June 10, 1760, was married April 6, 1699, to 
 Joseph, son of John and Sarah (Spencer) Case, of 
 Hartford (Joseph and Ann Case settled in Sims- 
 bury, and she. became the mother of Rev. Benajah 
 Case, who graduated from Yale in 1732) ; \\'illiam 
 was born Jan. 15, 1684; Abigail, born Alarch i, 
 1687, was married to Samuel Phelps in 1707; Mary, 
 born AIa\- 5, 1691, died Sept. 15, 1697; John was 
 born Jan. 5, 1693: Samuel, July 7, 1696; Susannah, 
 May 16, 1699; and David, Aug. 12, 1702. 
 
 David Eno, son of James (2), was born in 
 Simsbury, and on j\larch 20, 1723, married ^Mary 
 Gillett, who was born Feb. 29, 1702. and died Nov. 
 2T), 1760; she was a daughter of Nathaniel (3) in 
 -descent from Nathaniel Gillett, -who came from Eng- 
 land in 1634. David Eno died in the Cape Breton 
 campaign, in June, 1745. and his remains were in- 
 terred at Simsbury. To David and Alary (Gillett) 
 
102 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Eno, were born six children : David, born Aug. 14, 
 1727, who became a lieutenant in the Colonial 
 troops; Mary B. ; Roger (Gen.), born in 1729, who 
 died Oct. 6, 1808; ]\iercy, born in 1734, who died 
 March 3, 1806 (she was married in 1754 to John, 
 son of John and Sarah (Lee) Langdon) ; Ann, born 
 Sept. 14, 1735; and Jonathan (Capt.), born in De- 
 cember, 1739, who died Dec. 5, 1813. 
 
 Capt. Jonathan Eno, a native of Simsbury, was 
 a farmer. He served as a soldier in the Revolu- 
 tionary war. He married Mary Goodrich Hart, 
 daughter of Elijah and Abigail (Goodrich) Hart, 
 natives of Xew Britain, and a descendant of Stephen 
 Hart, of Cambridge, Mass. Mrs. Eno was born 
 Dec. 28, 1744, and died Oct. 8, 1834, the mother 
 of nine children: Mary, born Dec. 21, 1764, was 
 married to Elijah Tuller, of Simsbury, April 30, 
 1782; Rhoda, born Aug. 12, 1766, married Daniel 
 Phelps: Jonathan was born ]\larch 15, 1769; Lu- 
 cretia, born Feb. 13, 1771, was married to Granville 
 G. Humphrey: Elizabeth, born Aug. 9, 1773, -was 
 married Dec. 12, 1793, to Alexander Phelps, and 
 died in 1868, aged ninety-five years and eight 
 weeks; Cynthia, born May 28, 1778, was married 
 to Hezekiah Case; Salmon was born Dec. 13, 1779; 
 Chauncey was born Dec. 19, 1782; and Abigail, 
 born Feb. 28, 1785, was married Oct. 2, 1805, to 
 John \'iets, son of Dr. Alexander \'iets, the latter 
 a son of a German physician who came from New 
 York to Simsbury in 1730, and was ancestor of the 
 Eight Rev. Alexander \'iets. Bishop of Massa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 Chauncey Eno, father of our subject, was born 
 Dec. 19, 1782, and was all his life a farmer in 
 Simsbury. He was a Deacon of the church, and 
 quite a prominent citizen. On Nov. 4, 1807, he 
 married Amarilla, daughter of Fithen and Amarilla 
 ( Humphrey ) Case, and she bore him the following- 
 named children: Elizur Hart, born Nov. 7, 1809, 
 married May 24, 1848, Sarah Elizabeth Tuller, and 
 died Jan. 16, 1883. Cordelia, born June 3, 1812, 
 was married Dec. 3, 1839, to Watson Wilcox, who 
 died Feb. 15, 1879, leaving her with two children — 
 Addie, born Jan. 9, 1841 : and Lewis W., born July 
 15, 1842, who died Oct. 15, 1853. Chauncey Evelyn, 
 the third child, born Dec. 27, 1815, is the subject 
 of this sketch. The fourth child, Jennette Amarilla, 
 bom ^lay 8, 1818, was married April 15, 1839, to 
 Rufus Tuller, and died Feb. 13, 1889, the mother 
 of three children — Nellie \^, born July 26, 1840, 
 and married Dec. 25, 1866, to Joseph A. Beecher; 
 Fanny A., born Jan. 21, 1844, who died May 10, 
 1871 ; and Chauncey Evelyn, born Jan. 20, 1846, 
 married to Jennie Curtiss. The fifth child of Chaun- 
 cey Eno, Josiah William, born Feb. 23, 1820, mar- 
 ried Louisa Glassell, of A'irginia, and died in Plym- 
 outh, Penn., in 1895, the father of two children — 
 William Glassell and Jennette, the latter the wife 
 of Palmer Campbell, of Hoboken, N. J. Chauncey 
 Eno, the father of the above family, was a repre- 
 sentative in the General Assembly in 1828, and a 
 
 justice of the peace in Simsbury in 1834. He was. 
 noted for his upright character and temperate hab- 
 its, was a true Christian, a good husband and kind 
 father, a bright example to his fellow men, and was 
 blessed with the love of all. His death took place 
 Jan. 13, 1845. 
 
 Chauncey Evelyn Eno was educated primarily 
 in a district school, and later became a student at 
 Amherst (Mass.) College. He was reared to farm- 
 ing, and followed that vocation in Simsbury until 
 1878, when he removed to Weatogue and settled 
 on the farm of his father-in-law, Richard Bacon,, 
 where he continued his calling until within the past 
 few years, when he retired to pass the remainder 
 of his years in peace and C|uiet. 
 
 Mr. Eno has been twice married, his first wife 
 having been Harriet Goodwin, who was born Feb. 
 19, 1821, and whom he married Sept. 30, 1840. She 
 wa a daughter of James (ioodwin, a native of 
 Bloomfield, and she died Oct. 2y, 1856, the mother- 
 of two children: Harriet A., born March 6, 1846, 
 was married to Rufus F. Bond ; and Lewis Good- 
 win, born March 23, 185 1, married Annie Bradley. 
 The second marriage of i\'Ir. Eno took place Oct. 
 27, 1858. to Miss Maria Bacon, a native of Sims- 
 bury. and a daughter of Richard Bacon, and to 
 this union have also been born two children : Rich- 
 ard Bacon, April 4, i860, and Mar)- C, Nov. 13, 
 1864. The latter, unmarried, is a lady of refine- 
 ment, well-read, and a fine conversationalist : she 
 is a n-iember of Abigail Phelps Chapter, Daughters 
 of the Revolution, at Simsbury. Mrs. Eno is a lady 
 of marked intelligence and sweet disposition, and 
 though for the past thirteen years afiflicted with 
 blindness bears her deprivation of sight with Chris- 
 tian patience and commendable fortitude. 
 
 RrcH.\RD Bacon Eno, son of the subject of this 
 sketch, received a sound district-school education, 
 and is engaged in farming, stock raising and dairy- 
 ing on the farm at Weatogue. Fie is one of the 
 most enterprising and progressive young agricult- 
 urists of the town of Simsbury, besides being the 
 operator of the Mount Philip Farm, having the 
 largest dairy in the town : he is a director in the 
 Connecticut Dairymen's Association. He is one of 
 the most popular men in Simsljurx', and commands 
 the respect of all who know him, as he is industrious, 
 temperate, afifable in demeanor, and naturally a gen- 
 tleman. He is a member of the Sons of the Amer- 
 ican Revolution, uniting with the chapter at Hart- 
 ford. Mr. Eno was superintendent of the Con- 
 gregational Sunday-school for eight years. 
 
 Richard Bacon, father of Mrs. Eno, was a de- 
 scendant of Connecticut ancestry. He was born in 
 Wethersfield Oct. 11, 1785, a son of Richard Bacon,, 
 and a brother of George Bacon, who became very 
 prominent in the city of New York, as Richard 
 was at Hartford, where he was first engaged in the 
 West India trade, and later, with his brother 
 George and others, in the copper mines at Copper 
 Hill, town of East Granbv, Hartford county, which 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 103 
 
 business took him to Europe — principally to Swan- 
 sea, England. While in that country, in 1845, 'i'^ 
 interested several capitalists in the manufacture 
 of safet}--fuses for blasting rock. A factory was 
 first established for this purpose at Weatogue, and 
 conducted under the firm name of JJacon, Bickford 
 & Co., being the first concern of the kind in Amer- 
 ica. iVIr. Bacon also owned a large farm, where 
 he passed his declining years. 
 
 Mr. Bacon married, Jan. 12, 1813, Laura Gris- 
 wold Humphrey, who was born Sept. 18, 1787, and 
 died Nov. 18, 1859. To this union came seven chil- 
 dren : Richard, born March 20, 1814, died unmar- 
 ried Dec. 30, 1837; Harriet Humphrey, born Sept. 
 18, 1815, also died unmarried; Laura Elizabeth, 
 born Oct. i, 1819, died in 1869; JMoses Tryon, born 
 Jan. 2"/, 1822, died unmarried Aug. 17, 1843; 
 Charles, born Feb. 14, 1824, married Anna Putnam, 
 great-granddaughter of Gen. Israel Putnam ; Maria, 
 born Dec. 14, 1825, became the wife of Chaunce_\- 
 E. Eno, our subject ; and Philip was born April S, 
 1827. 
 
 Hon. Chauncev E. Eno was first a Whig, and 
 became a Republican on the disintegration of the 
 old party. He has represented his district in the 
 General Assembly one term, although he did not 
 seek the office, and he has always done good and 
 active work for his party. He is a man of the 
 strictest honor, and a devout member of the Con- 
 gregational Church, and no man in Simsbury town 
 is more highly esteemed. 
 
 ARCHIBALD ASHLEY WELCH, actuary of 
 the Phoenix Life Insurance Co., Hartford, comes of 
 a famil}- which has long been prominently identified 
 with the leading residents of Mansfield, Tolland 
 Co., Conn., especially in professional circles. Rev. 
 Daniel Welch (a graduate of Yale) and Rev. Moses 
 Cook Welch, the latter a native of IMansfield, 
 great-great-grandfather and great-grandfather, re- 
 spectively, of our subject, were both ministers of 
 the Gospel, located at Mansfield. 
 
 Dr. Archibald Welch, grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Mansfield, but moved to Wethers- 
 field, Hartford county. He completed his educa- 
 tion at Yale, receiving his degree from that Univer- 
 sity, and was a well-known physician and prominent 
 resident of Wethersfield. He was one of those killed 
 on the train — bearing manv of the prominent phy- 
 sicians of this section — which went through the 
 draw at Norwalk in 1853. Dr. Welch married Miss 
 Cynthia Hyde, of Tolland county, and they had five 
 children, one of whom, ]\Ioses, graduated at Yale, 
 and took his grandfather's pulpit at Mansfield for a 
 time, later removing to Plartford. 
 
 Henry K. W. Welch, father of our subject, was 
 born in Mansfield, moved to W^ethersfield, and, like 
 his ancestors, was liberally educated, graduating 
 from Yale and later studving law. Later he was a 
 partner of Judge Nathaniel Shipman, now of the 
 United States court, and he attained high standing 
 
 and honor in his profession. Actively interesed in 
 the public aflfairs of his day, and especially in local 
 progress, he was chosen to various positions of 
 trust, represented his town in the State Legislature, 
 and was member and chairman of the high schtjol 
 committee of the town. He was a director in the old 
 Continental Insurance Co. Mr. Welch married Su- 
 san L. Goodwin, who was born in Hartford, where 
 the "Allyn House" now stands, daughter of Edward 
 and Eliza (Sheldon) Goodwin, who had three chil- 
 dren. She belongs to a well-known family of the 
 city, her father having been one of the early proprie- 
 tors of the Hartford Coiirant. Five children were 
 born to this union : Archibald A., whose name intro- 
 duces this sketch ; Edward G., who died in 1894. in 
 Chicago; Frances G., widow of Bernard T. Will- 
 iams; Henry K. W., secretary of the J. B. Williams 
 Co., of Glastonbury; and Lewis S., of New Haven, 
 who is a graduate of Yale, and editor of the "Yale 
 Alumni Weekly." The father of this family died at 
 the age of fifty. The mother survives, making her 
 home in Hartford. She is a member of the Con- 
 gregational Church, to which her husband also be- 
 longed. 
 
 Archibald A. Welch was born Oct. 6, 1859, in 
 Hartford, where he has always had his home. Dur- 
 ing his boyhood he attended the North school, and 
 later the Hartford Public High School, from which 
 he was graduated in 1878. Matriculating at Yale, 
 he continued his studies in that institution to the end 
 of the Junior year, leaving to enter the service of 
 the Travelers Insurance Co., in the actuary's office. 
 He remained with that concern until 1890. when he 
 took the position of actuary with the Phoeni.x ^lutual 
 Life Insurance Co., with which he has since con- 
 tinued. In 1891 he completed his college course, 
 receiving the degree of A. B. from Yale. He is a 
 member of the Actuarial Society of America ; chair- 
 man of the high school committee ; secretary of the 
 American School for the Deaf, Hartford ; and a 
 member of the Farmington Avenue Congregational 
 Church. 
 
 In 1884 Mr. Welch married ^liss Ellen Bunce, 
 who was born in Hartford, daughter of James M. 
 and Elizabeth (Chester) Bunce, the latter a native 
 of Wethersfield. Mr. Bunce was a wholesale .grocer 
 of Hartford, vice-president of the Hartford, Provi- 
 dence & Fishkill railroad, and a prominent resident 
 of Hartford. 
 
 JA:MES H. OSBORNE, ^L D. (deceased), 
 was not only prominent as the acknowledged lead- 
 ing medical practitioner of Southington, but dur- 
 ing his long residence in the town identified himself 
 with every interest for local improvement and 
 benefit. 
 
 The Doctor was born in Bridgeport. Conn., 
 July 12, 1845, received his early f'ducation at Fair- 
 field (N. Y.) Academy, and his medical training 
 at the New York Homeopathic Medical College, 
 graduating from the latter as valedictorian of the 
 
104 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 class of 1867. During his long and varied expe- 
 rience as an active practitioner he built up an en- 
 viable practice, uid gained a high standing as a 
 profound thinker and man of broad intelligence, 
 which he used for the general good. His profession 
 naturally absorbed the greater part of his attention, 
 but he was deepl}' interested in scientific questions of 
 every nature, as well as current events, and his 
 opinions always commanded ixspect. He was well 
 known in his neighborhood as an interesting and 
 enthusiastic speaker on any sulaject which he cham- 
 pioned, and was popular among his fellow citizens 
 of all classes. Local public affairs always had their 
 share of his attention, especially those pertaining to 
 the mental and physical well-being of his towns- 
 people, and the cause of education and improvements 
 of the town schools always received his hearty sup- 
 port. The Doctor was secretary of the board of 
 school visitors for twenty-one years, for thirteen 
 years chief of the fire department, and for twenty- 
 four years health officer. He was a director in the 
 South ington Savings Bank. 
 
 Fraternally Dr. Osborne was well known, affil- 
 iating with Friendship Lodge, No. 33, F. & A. M., 
 of which he was past master ; Triune Chapter, R. A. 
 M., of which he was past high priest; and Temple 
 Council, Xo. 32, of which he was T. I. M. His 
 death, on Jan. 7, 1901, was the result of an apoplec- 
 tic shock occurring three days before. He left a 
 wife, Annie (Finch) Osborne. 
 
 CHARLES H. NORTHAM, a member of the 
 well-known firm of Smith, Northam & Co., grain 
 dealers at Nos. 127-129 State street, Hartford, was 
 born ^larch 9, 1842, in Washington. R. L, son of 
 Hanford IMcKee Northam. The family is of En- 
 glish origin, and its members have been noted for 
 the qualities which go to the making of good citi- 
 zenship, and have usually been active workers in 
 the Congregational Church. 
 
 Jonathan Northam (our subject's great-grand- 
 father), born Aug. 29, 1725, married Anna Mack 
 Williams in April, 1754, and resided in Colchester, 
 Conn., until 1796, being one of the pioneers of the 
 place, and a leading member of the Congregational 
 Church. Charles Northam (the grandfather of our 
 subject) was born July 18, 1768, and followed agri- 
 culture in Westchester, Conn., for many years in 
 connection with manufacturing. He died there in 
 March, 1852. His wife, Sally Harvey, who was 
 born at East Haddam, Conn., July 27, 1771, died 
 jNIarch 7, i860, at the Westchester homestead. 
 Thev were married Nov. 18, 1795, and had five 
 children: Charles H., born Dec. 21, 1797, died Nov. 
 12, 1881 ; Hanford McKee, our subject's father, is 
 mentioned below; Sally M., born July 17, 1804, 
 married George T. Loomis, a leading farmer of 
 Bolton, Conn., and died Oct. 28, 1879; Robert C, 
 born June 9, 1807, married Nancy Emmons, and 
 died Dec. 27, 1885 (he was a prominent agricultur- 
 ist of Westchester, owning one of the largest farms 
 
 in the locality, and was much esteemed in the com- 
 munity) ; Emeline Eliza, born April 15, 1813, died 
 May 5, 1886, was married (first) March 27, 1865, 
 to Daniel Whiteman, and (second) Feb. 10, 1881, 
 wedded Enos Nickerson, of Rhode Island, both now 
 deceased. 
 
 Hanford JNIcKee Northam (our subject's father) 
 was born Aug. 18, 1800, near Colchester, Conn., and 
 after completing a common-school course became a 
 teacher. He located first in Norwich, and then in 
 Suffield, where he conducted a farm. In 1868 he 
 removed to East Hartford, where he died Nov. i, 
 i88t), at the age of eighty-six years. He became 
 one of the successful farmers of East Hartford, and 
 for some time made a specialty of raising tobacco. 
 His judgment was sound, and, as his education and 
 progressive spirit made him a power in the locality, 
 he was prominent in politics as a Republican, and 
 in religious work as a member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church. On June 2, 1841, Mr. Northam mar- 
 ried, in Coventry, R. I., Marcy Howland Chaoe, by 
 whom he had two children, Charles H. and Miss 
 Helen R., the latter a highly educated lady, resid- 
 ing on the old homestead in East Hartford; she is 
 a leader in church and social affairs in that locality. 
 Our subject's mother, who was a woman of quiet 
 disposition and a noble character, was born in Rhode 
 Island March i, 1813, and died Feb. 6, 1894. Her 
 father, Russell W. Chace, who lived to the age of 
 eighty years, was a wealthy cotton manufacturer of 
 ^^'ashington, R. I., employing a large number of 
 workmen. Fler mother, Phda Green, was born 
 iNIarch 17, 1778, daughter of Gideon Green, of Co- 
 ventry, R. I., who was of the same stock as Gen. 
 Nathaniel Green, of Revolutionary fame (born July 
 27, 1742), Gideon Green married Marcy Howland, 
 daughter of Daniel Howland, of Rhode Island. 
 Russell W. and Phila Green Chace were at one time 
 Presbyterians, but in later life the}^ united with the 
 Congregational Church. They had three children : 
 Daniel, William and Marcy Howland. Daniel was 
 in business with his father, and took charge of the 
 estate at the latter's death. William went to Cali- 
 fornia in 1849, and remained in the gold fields ten 
 years, making a success of his venture. Later he 
 engaged in business with his brother, continuing 
 until his retirement from active cares. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the common schools 
 of his native place and in the Connecticut Literary- 
 Institute at Suffield, Conn. When seventeen he left 
 home to make his own way in the world, and in 1859 
 he settled in Hartford, where he was first employed 
 by his uncle, C. H. Northam, in the cotton and wool 
 business. After six months he became a clerk for 
 Jerome & Redfield, wholesale grocers, vyith whom 
 "he spent three years. In 1864 he went into business 
 for himself, as a member of the firm of Bradfoni 
 Northam & Co., wholesale flour, grain and feed 
 dealers, and in 1866 the name was changed to Smith, 
 Northam & Robinson. In 1882 Mr. Robinson with- 
 drew, the others continuing as Smith, Northam & 
 
m^ 
 
 
 ^H^^l 
 
 
 r 
 
 
 JL 
 
 p ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^~ ^m'0^ 
 
 f 
 
 1 i 
 
 TMil 
 
 
 ^E 
 
 /(^ '^^ ,yiy\y\^^Oy^^^^^^\^^\^\^ 
 
6. 
 
 C/. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 105 
 
 Co. until the death of ]Mr. Smith, in January, 1897. 
 The business was then reorganized under the same 
 uame, and at present our subject's partner is Eniclyn 
 \'. ]\[itchelL The business is the oldest and best 
 known in the State, and has been most successful. 
 The firm has built four large warehouses and two 
 elevators, and the largest grain mill in New Eng- 
 land. They occupy over two acres of ground, and 
 the capacity of the mill is 6,000 bushels of corn 
 <lailv; the, four warehouses will hold 200 carloads 
 of tlour and feed, and the two elevators 200,000 
 bushels of bulk grain. Their trade, w'hich is larger 
 than any other house outside of Boston and New 
 York, extends all over New England, and they con- 
 stantly keep grain of all kinds in transit, in addition 
 to the stock kept on hand at the mill and warehouses. 
 ;Mr. Northam is also connected with other corporate 
 interests where his ability and shrewd insight are 
 valued, being a director in the American National 
 Bank, the Phoenix Eire Insurance Co., the Broad 
 Brook Co., the New Haven Steamboat Co., the Loan 
 & Guarantee Co., and the Society for Savings. He 
 is a Republican in politics, and has served in the 
 common council two terms. In 1890 he declined 
 election as alderman, but was appointed street com- 
 missioner, and by reappointments served ten years, 
 being president of the board for eight years. He is 
 not a member of any secret society, finding his 
 greatest pleasure in spending his evenings in the 
 home circle, but he and his family are popular so- 
 cially, and all are active members of the South Con- 
 gTcgational Church. 
 
 In 1876 Jklr. Northam built his present beautiful 
 residence at No. 12 Charter Oak I'lace, one of the 
 finest homes in the city. On Sept. 22, 1870, he was 
 married to Miss Hattie L. Tii¥any, who was born in 
 Hartford, near her present home. They have had 
 five children : Arline, Edwin Tiffany, Russell Chace, 
 Katherine Tift'any, and Carl Harvey. ' All were edu- 
 cated in the South school and the Hartford Public 
 High School. Miss Arline is a graduate of La Salle 
 Seminary, Auburndale, Mass. Edwin T. and Rus- 
 sell C. graduated from the Peekskill Military Acad- 
 ciuy, at Peekskill, N. Y. Carl Harvey belongs to 
 the class of 1904, ^^'esleyan L'niversity, Middle- 
 town, Conn. Russell C. Northam is in business 
 with his father. He was married Dec. 14, 1899, to 
 ]\Iiss Jane E. Hyde, daughter of Salisbury and 
 Elizabeth Hyde, of Hartford. 
 
 HON. EDWIN D. TIFFANY (deceased), 
 one of the founders and for many years a member 
 of what subsequentlv became the business house of 
 the Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co., Hartford, and 
 widely known as one of the city's substantial men 
 and prominent citizens, was up to the time of his 
 death, April 12, 1890, when lie was aged eighty 
 years, a connecting link in the city's history be- 
 tween 1830 and 1890. 
 
 ^Ir. Tift'any was born Dec. 5. 1810, in the town 
 of Sturbridge, \\'orcestcr Co., ]\Iass., son of Jona- 
 
 than and Experience (Chamberlain) Tift'any, the 
 father born July 20, 1782, in Attleboro, Mass.; the 
 mother on June 18, 1789, in Pomfret, Conn. They 
 were married Dec. 20, 1807, in Woodstock, Conn., 
 lived for a period in Sturbridge, and later located 
 in Hartford, Conn., where they were esteemed and 
 respected citizens. Mr. Tiffany died Dec. 12, 1865, 
 his wife on July 31, 1861. Of their other six chil- 
 dren three only are living: Palmer C, one of the 
 successful men that went to California in 1849, is 
 now a retired business man of ]Mt. Pleasant, Iowa; 
 Lucian is a retired merchant living in Hartford; 
 Susan E. is the widow of John R. Youngs, late of 
 Hartford. 
 
 Edwin D. Tift'any began learning the printer'.? 
 trade in his native town in 1827. and in 1S30 located 
 in Hartford, where his long, honorable, useful and 
 successful life was passed. In the January number 
 of the "Connecticut Quarterly," 1896, there ap- 
 peared an article, under the head of "A Typographi-' 
 cal Galaxy," in which such men as Philemon Can- 
 field, John Russell, William Boardman. James 
 Lockwood, Corydon A. Alford, Alfred E. Burr, 
 Elihu Geer, John W. Stedman, Edwin D. Tift'any, 
 William Faxon and Charles Tuller were referred 
 to, and from it we take the following concerning 
 the life of our subject: 
 
 ' The publication of the Neio Englund Weel-ly lieneic was 
 begun at Hartford in 1828 by Hanmer & Phelps. George D. 
 Prentice was its first editor. In 18;:i0 Edwin D. Tiffany, a 
 young man of twenty, from Sturbridge, Mass., obtained 
 employment in the composing-room. He began work as 
 a " half journeyman," in the printer's parlance of the time. 
 In the same year iVIr. Prentice left the Mevieir, going to Ken- 
 tucky to write the life of Henry Clay, and, subsequently, 
 became editor of the LuiiisfH/f JouriKtl, which supported 
 Clay for the Presidency. Mr. Prentice had been among thq 
 first to recognize the ability of John G. Whittier {then about 
 twenty-three), and to prophesy his renown. It was through 
 Prentice's influence that his successor on the i?«c;V(P was none 
 other than the young Quaker piet, Whittier — who, while in 
 Hartford, was extremely homesick — was of a retiring disposi- 
 tion, and spent nearly all his evenings in the " sanctum." He 
 frequently invited young Tiffany to come in and chat with 
 him, and the poet-editor and printer became warm friends. 
 In after years those conversations in Whittier's sanctum 
 were often referred toby Mr. Tiffany as among the happiest 
 mcidents of his life. 
 
 An experience of two years in the office of one of the 
 most popular newspapers in New England naturally stimu- 
 lated a taste for journalism, and in 1832 Mr. Tiffany re- 
 turned to Massachusetts and conducted a weekly paper 
 in Southbridge for twelve months, a period quite long enough 
 to satisfy him that the field was an unsuitable one for his 
 more matured ideas and growing ambition. Returning to 
 Hartford, he worked for a time as journeyman on the Anti 
 Masonic Intell/f/eiice, and later for Philem.m Canfield. 
 
 A few years before his death Mr. Tiffany, in a private 
 conversation, told some of his experiences as a pressman, 
 and gave the history of his first business venture in Hartford. 
 Any reader who knew him intimately can imagine with 
 what dry drollery and quaint humor he related the story. 
 
 " J. Hubbard Wells was a Hartford printer. His father, 
 John I. Wells, the Quaker, was the inventor of the Wells 
 press. When the father died, Hubbard continued the busi- 
 ness, and added book printing to it by desire of many local 
 book publishers. 
 
 " Speaking of presses — the first I worked on was a 
 Ramage, the kind Ben Franklin used to struggle with. I 
 had some experience with a Wells press next in the office 
 
106 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 where I began my trade. Philemon Canfield used the 
 Brattleboro' presses; they made more noise than forty 
 steamboats. 
 
 " David F. Robinson, the father of the Hon. Henry C. 
 Robinson, was a pubh'sher who gave Hubbard Wells a great 
 deal of work. P". J. Huntington was another good customer. 
 I was a pressman at the Wells establishment. Every inch 
 of room in the building was utilized. Some of the presses 
 were close up under the roof. It was so hot there in sum- 
 mer that the rollers melted. That was where I worked at 
 first. Afterward Mr. Wells took a room down by the bridge 
 and I worked there. Then the whole establishment was 
 brought together in Catlin's building on the corner of 
 Main and Asylum streets. It was there that I was made 
 foreman of the pressroom. Very soon that office became 
 too small, and we moved into the Mitchell building, where 
 the Cmirnnt building now stands. 
 
 "Not long alterward Mr. Wells had an opportunity to 
 purchase a large printing establishment in Cincinnati, and 
 he urged me to go in with somebody and buy him out. Well, 
 to make a long story short, Newton Case and I went into 
 partnership — that was in 183fi— the firm name being Case, 
 Tiffany & Co., and bought the Wells establishment, paying 
 all the cash we could raise, Mr. Wells trusting us lor the 
 'balance of tht amount due. Alanson D. Waters was soon 
 taken into the firm, retiring two years later, when Leander 
 
 C. Burnham was admitted and his name tacked on after 
 Tiffany's. Burnham died in 1848, when the original firm 
 name was resumed. In 18o9 we were able to purchase the 
 largest establishment in the State, Philemon Canfield's. 
 We consolidated the two establishments in the old jail build- 
 ing on the corner of Pearl and Trumbull streets, and thus, 
 without knowing it, founded the prest-nt Case, Lockwood & 
 Brainard Co. I expect there will always be a printing office 
 on that corner." 
 
 The first Hartford Directory (183o) was printed by Case, 
 Tiffany & Co., for Melzar Gardner. Curiously enough Mr. 
 Tiffany's name only appears in the imprint upon the title- 
 page. Mr. Tiffany retired from the firm in 1857. Afterward 
 he was for three years president of the Merchants and 
 Manufacturers Bank of Hartford. Upon the organization of 
 the First National Bank, in 1864, he was made its president, 
 and continued to fill that office until 1876. From that date 
 Mr. Tiffany was occupied wholly with private business mat- 
 ters until his death. He died suddenly April 12, 1890, aged 
 eighty years. Throughout his fourscore years of life Edwin 
 
 D. Tiffany was an industrious worker, unostentatious in his 
 ways, possessed of a rare fund of humor, and a true New 
 Englander. 
 
 Ill 1877 ilr. Tiffany began the business of sell- 
 ing farm mortgages, and later, with Charles H. 
 Smith, formed the firm of C. H. Smith & Co., and 
 in their offices, in the ^Etna building, Mr. Tiffany 
 was seen every day up to the time of his death. He 
 was at different times connected with other corpora- 
 tions, including that of the Connecticut Mutual Life 
 Insurance Co., in which he was a director. He ac- 
 quired a handsome property. Mr. Tiffany was 
 twice a representative in the General Assembly of 
 the State from Haitford, in 1855 and 1859. His 
 religious connections were with the South Congre- 
 gational Church at Hartford, with which he united 
 in 1838, and of which he remained an honored mem- 
 ber for fifty-two years. In former years he filled 
 positions of trust and responsibility in the church, 
 and ever contributed to the peace and welfare of 
 both it and society. He was a member of the Con- 
 necticut Historical Society from its organization. 
 
 On Sept. 19, 1838, Mr. Tiffany was married to 
 Julia A. Camp, born Feb. 28, 1809, daughter of 
 Capt. Samuel and Tabitha (Seymour) Camp, and 
 one of a large family of children, all of whom arc 
 
 now deceased. Capt. Samuel Camp was born i:^ 
 1770, and died Dec. 3, 1833, and Tabitha, his wife 
 was born May i, 1780, and died Nov. 2, 1871, at th| 
 advanced age of ninety-one years. 
 
 To jNIr. and Mrs. Ed^win D. Tiffany were born' 
 six children, only two of whom survive : George 
 Morton, of St. Louis; and liattie L., now the wife 
 of Charles H. Northani, a prominent business man 
 of Hartford. The mother passed away March 9, 
 1886, and, as stated above, the father on April 12, 
 1 890. The deceased children were : Julia Esther, 
 wlio died Aug. 5, 1845 • Edwin Palmer, who died 
 Dec. 21, 1891 ; Robert Franklin, w'ho died Aug. 3, 
 1849; and Emma Francis, who was the wife of 
 Charles Stanton Gillette, who succeeded Mr. Tiffan)^ 
 as president of the First National Bank, and held 
 the position until his death, Jan. 10, 1887, he and his 
 wife dying within three days of each other (they 
 left five children : Hattie ; Charles Howard, who 
 married Marion, daughter of Col. George Pope; 
 Norman ; Henry Camp ; and Emma Tiffany Gil- 
 lette). 
 
 EDWIN TAYLOR, a venerable and highly re- 
 spected citizen of Hartford, passed away at his 
 home in that city May 11, 1888, in his eighty-first 
 year. 
 
 3ilr. Taylor was born Oct. 6, 1807, in Glaston- 
 bury, Conn., and was of a well-known family. His 
 father, Samuel Taylor, was born in England in 1777, 
 and came to America in early manhood with his 
 brother Joseph to meet his uncle Benjamin, who was 
 a merchant in New York. Samuel Taylor landed 
 at Portland, Conn., where he followed the tailor's 
 trade for a time, but in 1800 he settled in South 
 Glastonbury and engaged in business as a contract- 
 ing sail-maker, vessel building being then carried 
 on extensively along the Connecticut river. He took 
 an active interest in church matters, and "read 
 service" for many years in the Episcopal Church in 
 South Glastonbury, where a memorial portrait of 
 him is now on the walls. He married Sarah Pem- 
 berton, of Portland, and they had children as fol- 
 lows : (i) Benjamin is mentioned more fully below. 
 
 (2) Sophia, born March 7, 1801, died unmarried. 
 
 (3) George, born April 26, 1803, married Eunice 
 Harris. He was a sailor, and lived and died in 
 South Glastonbury. (4) Eliza was born Aug. 6, 
 1805. (5) Edwin, our subject's father, is men- 
 tioned more fully farther on. (6) Hannah, born 
 Feb. 17, 1810, married Edwin Miller, a farmer in 
 Glastonbury. (7) Sallie Ann, born May 15, 1812, 
 married Gideon Kinne, a mason and farmer in Glas- 
 tonbury. (8) Francis, born Nov. 2, 1814, married 
 Lucretia Miner, of Quiambog, Stonington, Conn. 
 He was a cooper by trade, but is now engaged in 
 farming in South Glastonbury. (9) Joseph, borji 
 Jan. II, 1818, married (first) a Miss Dashiell and 
 (second) Mary Metz. He is an Episcopal clergy- 
 man, living in South Plainfield, N. J. ( 10) Mary, 
 born Aug. 20, 1820, died unmarried. (11) Martha, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 107 
 
 born July ii, 1823, married Henry S. Parsdns, of 
 New Haven, who now resides in Xorthamplon, 
 jNlass. She is deceased. 
 
 Edwin Taylor spent his early years in Glaston- 
 hury, and in about 1830 went to Hartford to en- 
 gage in mercantile business with his brother, Ben- 
 jamin Taylor, who was living in Glastonbury at 
 the time of Edwin Taylor's death, at the advanced 
 age of eighty-nine years. They opened a store at 
 the foot of State street, in a building erected by 
 Edwin Taylor in 1833, which has been used of 
 late years as a railroad station by the \'alley Railroad 
 Co. At that time there was no railroad, and mer- 
 chandise was brought to Hartford by water, the 
 steamljoats stopping at the foot of State street. 
 In 1835 Edwin Taylor went into the lumber and 
 planing business, succeeding Bristol & Wheaton, 
 at Dutch Point ; not long afterward the firm became 
 Preston & Ta}dor, the members being Esek J. and 
 Zephaniah Preston and Edwin Taylor. At a later 
 period the connection was dissolved, and Mr. Tay- 
 lor, with his brother Benjamin, under the firm 
 name of 1!. & E. Taylor, kept that well-known 
 yard and mill until April 16, 1849, when fire de- 
 stroyed the mill and part of the stock on hand. 
 In the same spring the new mill was built, and Ed- 
 win Tavlor started again with Edwin Spencer, then 
 cashier of the Connecticut River Bank. The business 
 prospered, but Mr. Spencer died in the fall of that 
 year, and James Bartholomew bought his interest, 
 and continued for five years, the firm name being 
 E. Taylor & Co. In 1854 Samuel Taylor bought the 
 Bartholomew interest, and the firm name became 
 E. Taylor & Son, as it has since remained, although 
 Edwin P. Taylor succeeded to his father's interest 
 in Alay, 1888. In i86j they moved to the jDresent 
 site. Edwin Taylor was in business for fifty-eight 
 years, and for fifty-two years of that long period he 
 was in the lumber trade. 
 
 In 1832 Mr. Taylor married ]\Iiss Nancy J. 
 Kinne, of Glastonbury, a daughter of Aaron and 
 Amelia (Hale) Kinne, and sister of Gideon and 
 Aaron Kinne. Her father was a graduate of Yale 
 College, and a teacher by occupation. She died 
 in October, 1887, after fifty-five years of married 
 life. Nine children were born to them, three of 
 ■whom survived the father: Samuel, born x\pril 26, 
 1833 : Edwin P., born Avig. 20, 1849 • ^""^l Julia, wife 
 of Dr. Roland G. Curtin, of Philadelphia. Edwin 
 Taylor was a Republican in politics, and earlier a 
 ^^'hig. He took no active part in public affairs, al- 
 though he was a member of the council for one 
 term. He was a man of medium stature and mild, 
 con.servative temperament, and was highly esteemed 
 and respected bv all who knew him. At one time 
 he was a member of Christ Church, Hartford, and 
 helped to found St. John's Church, of which he was 
 warden for many years. 
 
 S.\MUEL T.WLQR was educated in the Hopkins 
 gr; ';Ool of Hartford, and entered upon 
 
 bu! ,s a clerk for Watkinson & Bartholo- 
 
 mew. Later he held a similar position with Col- 
 lins Bros., wholesale dry-goods merchants, and in. 
 1854 he was admitted to partnership with his fa- 
 ther. Eor the last quarter of a century he has been 
 the executive head of the firm, and their continued 
 prosperity shows his ability and enterprise. He is 
 regarded as one of the most careful and pains- 
 taking financiers in Hartford, is president of 
 the State Savings I'-ank, and since 1875 has 
 been one of the directors of the American 
 National Bank of that city. He has always 
 been a Republican, and in 1855 was a member of 
 the council. He is an active worker in the Church 
 of the Good Shepherd (Episcopal), and is serving 
 as trustee of the following: The Church Scholar- 
 ship Society, Eisher Memorial Eund, and the Church 
 Club. Sociallv he holds membership with the Hart- 
 ford Club, Hartford Republican Club, Hartford His- 
 torical Society, and the Hartford Sons of the Amer- 
 ican Revolution. He married (first) Miss Laura 
 Louise Lester, daughter of Chauncy Lester, and 
 the\- had one daughter, Ada Louise Taylor. This 
 wife died in June," 1870, and Mr. Taylor later mar- 
 ried Mary Amelia Curtin, of Bellefonte, Penn., who 
 died Oct. 11, 1887, leaving one daughter, Mary 
 Curtin Taylor. 
 
 Bexj.v'min T.vvlor, brother 'of Edwin Taylor, 
 mentioned above, was born in Portland, Conn., Jan, 
 18, 1799, and removed with his parents to South. 
 Glastonbury during boyhood. He received a good 
 education for that da\-, and when a young man 
 went to Hartford and engaged in mercantile pur- 
 suits on State street, near the river. In 1830 he sold 
 out on account of failing health, and removed to 
 North Glastonbury, where he maintained a general 
 store and conducted the post office for over thirty 
 vears. He erected the building now occupied by his 
 step-grandson, George E. Corbitt, and for a time h's 
 sons "assisted him there. He' then rented the store 
 to Edwin H. Andrews, who was there a short time, 
 but Mr. Taylor afterward took charge, and with his 
 sons managed the business until his death. He 
 died April 29, 1890, at the age of ninety-one years,, 
 and was buried in South Glastonbury. He was mar- 
 ried (first), Nov. 3. 1824. to Mary Ann Hale, and 
 (second) on Nov. 25, 1862, to Mary Tinker Clark, 
 His eight children were all b_\- the first marriage, as 
 follows: (I) Charles, born Sept. 11, 1825, is men- 
 tioned below. (2) Marv Ann, born Nov. 9, 1827, 
 died Alay 10, 1828. ( 3 )' Mary Jane, born April 14. 
 1829, married EHas W. Hale, now of Towanda, 
 Penn. (4) John Hale, born Sept. 19, 1831. died 
 Aug. 30, 1858. married Maria Tuttle, of New Haven, 
 and had two children, John H., his son, being one of 
 the firm of Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, of New 
 Haven. (5) Alfred, born April 14, 1835, died April 
 9, 1856. (6) Benjamin, born April 6, 1838, and 
 died Jan. 24. 1873, served in the Cnited States army 
 during the Civil war : he married Emma Chamber- 
 lain, of Hartford. (7) \\'iniam, born April 4, 1841. 
 died March 2^, 1871. He married Kate Davies, and 
 
108 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 settled in Glastonbun-. He was educated for the 
 Universalist ministn-, but never officiated. (8) 
 James Francis, born Dec. 4, 1846, died Oct. 12, 1869, 
 married Ada Gilljert, and lived in Glastonbury until 
 his death. 
 
 Benjamin Taylor was a strong Democrat, as 
 were his children. He held nearly all the local of- 
 fices, and served the town in the Legislature in 
 1868 or '69. He never bought a vote in his life, and 
 was known as a very honest, upright man in all his 
 dealings. He was of medium stature, and of a very 
 pleasant disposition. He v/as a very conscientious 
 man, and the latter years of his life he spent in read- 
 ing the Bible and writing on the subjects therein. 
 He retained every faculty until his death, was well 
 posted on nearly all important topics, being a great 
 reader; was also a fine penman, and when over 
 eig^hty years old wrote as well as any young- man. 
 
 Gharles Taylor, son of Benjamin Taylor, was 
 born in Hartford, and removed to Glastonbury 
 with the family in 1830. He attended the district 
 schools of the town, and after leaving school clerked 
 in his father's store for a time. He then went to 
 St. Cloud, Minn., with his brother John, and started 
 a store, but later he engaged in the lumber business. 
 In 1 87 1 he returned to Glastonbury, and after the 
 death of his brother, William, he took charge of the 
 store, and continued in business until his death, 
 which occurred Dec. 15, 1895. He was first married 
 to Jane Talcott, by whom he had no children, and 
 later to Mrs. Harriet Corbitt (nee Lee), widow of 
 George Corbitt, who was wounded at Antietam and 
 died in 1862, two months after the battle. Mrs. 
 Taylor had one son bv her first marriage, George 
 Frederick Corbitt, born July 4. i860, and now man- 
 aging the store. He married Rebecca Kieth, and has 
 one son, Charles L. Corbitt, born Feb. 8, 1885, who 
 is a talented musician, and is now attending Hunt- 
 singer's Business College. 
 
 Politically Charl.^s Taylor was a Democrat, but 
 never held office, preferring to spend the moments 
 free from business in his home. "The family attends 
 the Congregational Church, of which Mrs. Taylor is 
 a member. 
 
 HIRAM BISSELL. a leading contractor and 
 builder of Hartford, with office at No. 83 Wads- 
 worth street, was born Aug. 12, i8ig, in Glaston- 
 burv, Hartford county, where the family is well 
 known. 
 
 Chester Bissell, his father, was a native of East 
 W^indsor, this county, but spent his life chiefly jn 
 Glastonbury, dying there at the age of sixty-five 
 years. For many years he followed farming in con- 
 nection with boating and shad fishing on the" Connec- 
 ticut river. He married Prudence Trvon, a native of 
 Glastonbury, and a daughter of William Tryon, 
 -who engaged for many years in the manufacture of 
 shingles by hand, and attained a good old age, our 
 subject remembering him well. The mother, who 
 died aged ninety-three years, was one of a family 
 
 of six children, and the same number brightened 
 her own home. 
 
 Fliram Bissell, who is now tlie only survivor 
 of the family, removed to Hartford in 1836, and 
 learned the trade of mason with Eldridge Andrews, 
 a prominent builder of that time. Lie worked foiiT 
 years to learn the trade, receiving- $25, $30, $35 and 
 $40 per year, respectively, and then began con- 
 tracting in a small way, being in partnership with 
 H. R. Tryon for a short time. He continued alone 
 for a number of years, and then his brother Sylves- Mj 
 ter joined him, but for some years past he has been ^ 
 alone. He is the oldest contractor in the city, wliich 
 he has seen grow from a city of 7,000, including 
 West Hartford, to its present population of over 
 80,000. He has built hundreds of dwellings, and 
 a large number of the prominent business blocks 
 and churches in the city, whole or in part. Among 
 these we may mention the south part of the Times 
 building, the Putnam, Charter Oak, Connecticut Mu- 
 tual, post office. State capitol, the Marble block, the 
 Methodist church, the Memorial Arch, and many 
 other structures. In 1899 he built the Universalist 
 Church building on Main street, a four-story build- 
 ing with a church in the rear and offices on the ' 
 other floors, and in i860 built the church in the rear 
 of that. His reputation as an expert workman also 
 extends beyond local limitations. At one time Mr. 
 Bissell was interested in the real estate business, 
 and put up numerous buildings for sale, and for 
 many years be was a director in the Merchants and 
 the Kational Fire Insurance Cos., and in the State 
 Savings Bank, Cedar Hill cemetery, and a life di- 
 rector of the Hartford Hospital. He was elected 
 water commissioner in 1854, re-elected in 1855, and 
 during his second term was made president, in 
 w'hich capacity he continued for seventeen years, 
 retiring in 1873. He saw the entire system of wa- 
 ter works put in, being the projector of the gravita- 
 tion method. 
 
 In 1844 Mr. Bissell married JNIiss Nancy Shel- 
 don, a native of Hartford, and a daughter of Sam- 
 uel Sheldon, a well-known farmer of that locality. 
 Of their four children two are living: (i) Belle 
 married J. G. Lane, of Hartford, and has two 
 daughters, Emma and Bertha. (2) Ella married 
 F. S. Carev, of the Hartford Courant, and has two 
 children, Hiram Bissell and Harold D. Mrs. Bissell 
 died in 1863, and on Sept. 14, 1865, Mr. Bissell mar- 
 ried Mrs. Elizabeth Barnard, widow of Dorus C. 
 Barnard, by whom she had three children, one of 
 whom is living, Dorus Clark Barnard, of Hartford. 
 
 Mr. Bissell is a Democrat, but in local elections 
 votes for the best man. He has been nominated 
 to office, but has refused to accept. He and his 
 family are prominent socially, and he has been a 
 member of the F. & A. M. for many years, and was 
 formerly a member of the I. O. O. F. He and his 
 wife are both members of the Universalist society, 
 and for many years he has served on the society 
 committee. 
 
. ^^^^>l^<:K^y-zyAM^<:^<^^'^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 109 
 
 MORRIS. The family of this name, of which 
 the late Jonathan Flynt iMorris, of Hartford, was 
 an honored nicniber, and of which his nephew, Jolm 
 Emery IMorris, secretary of the Travelers Insurance 
 Co., of Hartford, is also a member, is one of the old 
 and prominent Colonial families of New England. 
 Jonathan Elynt Morris was in the seventh genera- 
 tion from Edward Morris, of Waltham, Holy Cross 
 Abbey, County of Essex, England, who first settled 
 in this country at Roxbury, Alass., the line of his 
 descent being through Deacon Edward, Lieut. Ed- 
 ward, Isaac, Edward and Edward. 
 
 (I) Lieut. Edward Morris, the American ances- 
 tor, was a son of Thomas and Grissie (Hewsone) 
 Morris, of Waltham, Holy Cross Abbey, County of 
 Essex, England, and was born in August, 1630. 
 The earliest record of him in America is at Rox- 
 bury, Mass., in 1652. He married Grace Bett, Nov. 
 20, 1655. He was a man of prominence and influ- 
 ence, and served in many public capacities, among 
 them as constable, selectman, and lor nine years, 
 from 1678 to 1686, as deputy to the General Court. 
 He became in 1686 a settler of Woodstock, then in 
 Massachusetts, but now in Connecticut, and died 
 Sept. 14, 1690. His wife died June 6, 1705, at Rox- 
 bury. Their children, all born in Roxbury, were : 
 Isaac, Edward, Grace, Ebenezer, Elizabeth, Mar- 
 garet, Samuel and Martha. 
 
 (II) Deacon Edward Morris, son of Lieut. Ed- 
 ward, born in March, 1658-59, married INIa}'' 24, 
 1683, Elizabeth, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth 
 (Johnson) Bowen, of Roxbury. He moved to 
 \Voodstock after his father's death, and seems to 
 have taken his place in public affairs ; he was select- 
 man the greater part of the time from 1691 to 1722, 
 was assessor, town auditor, surveyor, etc. He 
 was a deacon in the church for many years. He 
 died Aug. 29, 1727, and his wife died Nov. 20, 
 1743. Their children were : Elizabeth, Elizabeth (2), 
 Edward, Grace, Abigail, Susanna and Prudence. 
 
 (III) Lieut. Edward Morris, son of Deacon Ed- 
 ward, born Nov. 9, 1688, in Roxbury, married Jan. 
 12, 1715, Bithia'h Peake, daughter of Jonathan (Jr.) 
 and Hannah (Leavens) Peake, of Roxbury. He 
 served as surveyor, constable and selectman of 
 Woodstock for years. He died Aug. 12, 1769. His 
 children were : Elizabeth, Hannah, Edward, Grace, 
 Bithia, Isaac, Asa, Eunice, J\Iartha, Mary, Jona- 
 than, Priscilla, Dorothy and Hannah. 
 
 (IV) Isaac Morris, son of Lieut. Edward, born 
 March 26, 1725, on Woodstock Llill, married (pub- 
 lished) Oct. 18, 1748, Sarah Chafifee, of Woodstock 
 daughter of Joseph and Hannah (May) Chafifee, 
 formerly of Ijarrington, Mass. Isaac Morris was 
 a farmer. In 1761 he moved to Springfield, Mass., 
 and settled in that part of the town then known as 
 Wales, later the South Parish of Wilbraham, and 
 now the town of Hampden. He died Jan. 10, 1778, 
 and his widow afterward married Hon. John Bliss, 
 whom she survived, and died April 27, 1818, aged 
 eight3--nine years. Their children were: Plannah, 
 
 Darius, Jsaac, Josepli, Edward, Elizabeth, Sarah, 
 Eunice, Chester, Ebenezer, Elizabeth (2j, and 
 I'Iphraim. 
 
 (\'j lulward Morris, son of Isaac, born Dec. 12, 
 i75(), in Woodstock, married March 28, 1782, Lucy, 
 daughter of Hon. John Bliss, of Wilbraham, a de- 
 scendant of Thomas Bliss, of Hartford, Conn., 1639. 
 Edward Morris served in the war of the Revolution, 
 principally in the army of Canada, and with him his 
 brother Joseph, who lost his life in the war. Ed- 
 ward was a farmer. He died April 29, 1801, his 
 wife on April 15, 1836. Their children were: Oli- 
 ver B., Edward, Isaac, John 11. , Lucy, Abby, Thirza, 
 Richard D., L)dia, and Edward A. 
 
 (VI) Edward Morris, son of Edward, born July 
 21, 1784, at the Bliss-AIorris homestead in Suutli 
 Wilbraham, Mass., married (first) May 15, 1S06, 
 Sally, daughter of Jonathan and Mercy (Leonard) 
 Flynt, of Wilbraham. She was born in Greenwich, 
 Mass., Sept. 10, 1784, and died in South Wilbraham 
 June 24, 1807. Edward }\Iorris married (second) 
 June 27, 1808, Mercy Elynt (sister of Sally 1. She 
 was born Aug. i, 1788, in ;\Ionson, Mass., and died 
 there Aug. 17, 1831. Mr. Morris was a merchant 
 in South Wilbraham, and later in Belchertown. He 
 afterward retired to a farm known as "the Kent- 
 field place," and still later removed to another farm 
 near Belchertown, and on Aug. 16, 1824, while bath- 
 ing in Swift river, was seized with cramps and 
 drowned. During the war of 1812 he was a quar- 
 termaster in the 1st Brigade, 4th Division, Massa- 
 chusetts Militia. Plimself and wife were members 
 of the Congregational Church. In politics ]\Ir. IMor- 
 ris was a Federalist. He was a member of the Ma- 
 sonic fraternity. While residing in Wilbraham he 
 served as constable, surveyor, collector, etc. 
 His children, all by i\Iercy except the first 
 named, were : Edward Flynt, born March 24, 
 1807, died Feb. 14, 1S30; Sally Flynt, born June 
 19, 1810, married Daniel D. Chaffee; Charles was 
 born June 6, 1812; George Flynt, IMay 6, 1814; 
 Maria Melissa, Nov. 2, 1816; Henry, Feb. 25, 1S19; 
 and Jonathan Flynt, March 20, 1822. 
 
 Jonathan Flynt, the father of the wives of Edward 
 IMorris, was born Nov. 13, 1747, in Windham, Conn., 
 and died in Monson, IMass., Nov. 6, 1814. He was 
 a descendant of Thomas Flynt, of Salem, IMass., 
 1640. On June 18, 1782, he married Mercy, daugh- 
 ter of Ensign Ezra Leonard, of Hardwick, IMass., a 
 descendant of Solomon Leonard, of Duxbury, IMass., 
 1637. Jonathan Flynt was a clothier, and had mills 
 in Flardwick, Greenwich, ^lonson and ^^'ilbraham, 
 His wife was born in Flardwick Sept. 18, 1751, and 
 died in Monson, Jan. 4, 1823. 
 
 .(VII) Jonathan Flynt IMorris, whose death oc- 
 curred at his residence on Farmington avenue, 
 Hartford, Jan. 30, 1899, was the former president of 
 the Charter Oak National Bank, and for many 
 years a prominent citizen of Hartford. IMr. IMorris 
 was born at "the Kentfield Place" in Belchertown. 
 I\Iass., March 20, 1822, and was the fifth son of 
 
110 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Edward Morris. His father died when he was two 
 years old, and he Hved with his maternal uncle, 
 i^ufus Flynt, of Monson, Mass., until 1836. He 
 then went to New York City, where he attended 
 school and filled various clerkships until 1843, when 
 he went to sea as supercargo of a vessel in the 
 Haytian trade, and for the four succeeding years 
 was connected with commercial establishments at 
 Port de Paix and Gonaives, in the Island of Hayti. 
 In the autumn of 1847 he was much reduced in 
 health by an attack of yellow fever, which was fol- 
 lowed by relapse, and being obliged to seek a change 
 of climate returned to New England. After recov- 
 ering his health he entered the employ of the West- 
 ern railroad, now the Boston & Albany, at Spring- 
 field, in the cashier's office, where he remained until 
 1850, when he was offered and accepted the position 
 of teller in the Tolland County Bank, of Tolland, 
 Conn. On Sept. 13, 1853, Mr. Morris was chosen 
 cashier of the Charter Oak Bank, of Hartford, and 
 in 1879 he was chosen president of the bank, which 
 had become the Charter Oak National Bank. He 
 remained president until 1893, when he retired from 
 that office, having been officially connected with the 
 bank exactly forty years, but retained a position on 
 the board of directors. Mr. Morris was a trustee 
 ■of the Society for Savings, director in the National 
 Fire Insurance Co., treasurer of the Hartford The- 
 ological Seminary, and of the Connecticut Histor- 
 ical Society. He was also trustee for many import- 
 ant and large estates, which demanded much of his 
 time. In business Mr. Morris was regarded as a 
 man of the highest integrity and honor, conservative 
 .and well-grounded in his business beliefs and 
 habits. 
 
 ]\Ir. ]\Iorris was an ardent Republican, and was 
 one of nine men who met in Hartford Feb. 4, 1856, 
 to take steps toward the formation of the Republi- 
 ■can party in Connecticut. Only two of those pres- 
 ent survive him. Senator Joseph R. Hawley and 
 Judge Nathaniel Shipman. He was a close student 
 of historical matters, and took a lively interest in 
 the establishment of "Flag Day" as a legal holiday, 
 and gathered a large amount of facts about the stars 
 and stripes, which he embodied in a pamphlet. He 
 was intensely interested in genealogy, carried on 
 much original research, and was regarded as an 
 authority on the histor}' and genealogy of Connecti- 
 cut families. He was one of the originators of 
 the Connecticut Society, . Sons of the American 
 Revolution, and a member of the Order of Founders 
 and Patriots, and took the liveliest interest in all 
 patriotic organizations. Mr. ]\Iorris was one of 
 the most genial men, overflowing with a fund of 
 information which could be relied upon, and he 
 counted his friends and acquaintances by hundreds, 
 although he was of a retiring, quiet nature. He 
 was a member of the Asylum Hill Congregational 
 Church. 
 
 On May 8, 1855, I\Ir. Morris was married to 
 Harriet, youngest daughter of Samuel and Alpha 
 
 (Gillett) Hills, of Springfield, Mass. She died 
 March 3, 1879, leaving two daughters: Anna, born 
 Jan. 24, 1856, wife of Prof. Alfred Tyler Perry 
 (former professor and librarian of the Hartford 
 Theological Seminary, now (1900) president of 
 Mariette (Ohio) College), to whom she was mar- 
 ried April 13, 1887; and Alice, born Nov. 18, 1858, 
 wife of Rev. Dr. Charles Smith Mills, of Cleveland, 
 Ohio, to whom she was married June 17, 1885. 
 
 (VTI) Capt. Henry Morris, fourth son of Ed^ 
 ward, and the father of John Emery Morris, sec4 
 retary of the Travelers Insurance Co. of HartfordJ 
 was born Feb. 25, 1819, in Belchertown, Mass| 
 On the death of the father, when Henry was five 
 years of age, 'he went with his mother, and younger^ 
 brother to live with his maternal uncle, Rufus Flynt, 
 in Monson, and afterward with his grandmother 
 in Wilbraham. At the age of ten years he went 
 to live with his uncle Richard Morris, in Spring-1 
 field, Mass., and later for a time he was in the bookl 
 store of G. & C. Merriam, the well-known pub-l 
 lishers of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. In| 
 183s he shipped as a cabin boy on the ship "Vesper,"' 
 Capt. Hunt, bound for Belfast, Ireland. Later b 
 made voyages to the Gulf of Mexico, Europe, Soutj 
 America, and the West Indies, during which 1: 
 passed through every grade of seamanship, until; 
 at the age of twenty years, he became a shipmaster, 
 He was a thorough seaman, and fond of his pro- 
 fession. He made navigation his study from the 
 day he first went to sea. Capt. Hunt said that 
 "Henry Morris knew more about navigation at six- 
 teen than half the mates that ever sailed." He was 
 a seaman for several voyages on the barque "Isaac 
 Ellis," Capt. John H. Spring. His last voyage on 
 the "Isaac Ellis" was from New York to the Med- 
 iterranean sea and to Monte Video, South America, 
 and back to New York. Capt. Morris was a skill- 
 ful navigator, and had the full confidence of his 
 employers. He was a gentleman in his ways and 
 manners, uniformly kind and courteous, and was 
 liked and beloved by all who knew him. He had 
 established a high character, and was indeed a 
 model man. Had he lived, and continued in his 
 profession, he would have reached a high position 
 and obtained a wide fame, but he was cut off from 
 life just at the age of twenty-five. His first com- 
 mand was the schooner "Julia Ann," in the New 
 York and Haytian trade, making voyages to Port 
 au Prince. He was part owner of the "Julia Ann," 
 but left it in July, 1843, to engage in trade for 
 himself. He chartered and made four voyages as 
 supercargo with the schooner "Mary Bright," Capt. 
 Bright, commanding, on the last of which, in March, 
 1844, the vessel was lost with all on board. Capt. 
 Morris was in the "William Neilson," at Port au 
 Prince, at the time of the great earthquake in Hayti, 
 May 7, 1842, in which so many towns were ruined 
 and so many lives were lost, and was the first to 
 bring the news to the United States. 
 
 On Aug. 23, 1842, Capt. Morris was married 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 IIL 
 
 to Harriet, daughter of Daniel and Harriet (Bliss) 
 Bontccou, of S])ring-field, Mass. She was born Oet. 
 ■9, 1818, at Spring-field, ?\lass., and was a descentlant 
 of Pierre lionteeou, a Huguenot refugee from 
 France to New York in 1684. After the death of 
 her husband Mrs. Morris remained a widow until 
 Dec. I, 1859. when she married Charles Morris, a 
 brother of Capt. Henry Morris. She died at Keese- 
 ville, N. Y., Jan. 28, 1872, and was buried there. 
 Capt. Morris' only child is John Emery iMorris. 
 
 (Vni) 'JoH.x E.MiCKV Morris, secretary of the 
 Travelers Insurance Co., Hartford, son of Capt. 
 Henry Morris, and nephew of the late Jonathan 
 Flynt Morris, of Hartford, was born Nov. 30. 
 1843, at Springfield, Mass., and in the spring of 
 i860 settled in Hartford, where he was employed 
 in the Charter Dak Bank, of which his uncle was 
 then cashier. He enlisted Sept. 20, 1862, and served 
 as corporal in Company B, 22d Conn. \'. L, until 
 discharged, July 7, 1863. He entered the service 
 of the Travelers Insurance Co. July 6, 1864, was 
 elected assistant secretary in May, 1874, and secre- 
 tary July 5, 1898. He is also a member of the 
 board of directors, and is his uncle's successor in 
 the directory of the Charter Oak National Bank. 
 Air. Alorris has devoted much of his leisure time 
 to genealogical investigations, and has compiled and 
 published a number of books and pamphlets on that 
 subject. He is a member of the Connecticut His- 
 torical Societv, succeeding his tuicle, Jonathan Flynt 
 IMorris, as its treasurer : a member of the Connecti- 
 cut Society, the Sons of the American Revolution ; 
 a charter member of the Order of Foimders and 
 I'atriots of America : and a member of the Hugue- 
 not Society of America. 
 
 SIt. Morris married, ]\Iay 15, 1867, Mary P., 
 tlaughter of Festus C. and Sarah King (Lincoln), 
 I'elt, of New York, a descendant of George Felt, 
 of Charlestown, Mass., 1633. She was born in 
 New York City Jan. i, 1848, and is a granddaugh- 
 ter of the late Levi Lincoln, of Hartford, a descend- 
 ant of Thomas Lincoln, the miller, of Taunton, 
 Alass., 1650. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Morris 
 are: (i) Henry Lincoln, born Feb. 6, 1868, was 
 married in Stockbridge, Mass., Oct. 6, 1891, to 
 Lucy Hurlbut Karrick, and they have one child, 
 Edward Karrick JNIorris, born in New York City 
 Jan. 25, 1897. Mr. ]\Iorris is historian of the Em- 
 pire State Society of the Sons of the American 
 Revolution, and an incorporator and founder of 
 the Order of Founders and Patriots of America. 
 He is engaged in business in New York City, and 
 resides in Flushing, L. I. (2) Edward Bontecou, 
 born Aug. 16, 1875, a graduate of the Sheffield 
 Scientific School, of Yale LTniversity, is emploved in 
 the Actuarial Department of the Travelers Insur- 
 ance Co. (3) John Felt, born Oct. 29, 1S77, is con- 
 nected with the Hartford Trust Company. 
 
 CHARLES G. STONE, Home Office Agent 
 of the Travelers Insurance Co. of Hartford, and in 
 other connections a prominent resident of that city, 
 
 M: 
 
 1860, in 
 
 is a native of Connecticut, b 
 Xaugatuck, 
 
 .Mban M. Stone, grandfather of our sul)ject. 
 was a descendant of Hugh Stone, who emigrated to 
 this country from England in alaout 1655, and set- 
 tled in Warwick, R. 1. Mr. Stone's grandfather, 
 Jol) Mattison, was a Revolutionary soldier, and 
 his widow received a ])ension for his services. Mr. 
 Stone was a prominent man in Hartford county in 
 his day, for many \-ears holding the position of 
 agent for the North Manchester Mills. Later he 
 removed to Providence, R. I., where he engaged 
 in the wholesale paper trade, building up a large 
 business. Fie married Mary Adams Morse, daugh- 
 ter of Charles Morse, of Coventry, R. 1,, whose 
 ancestor, William Morse, emigrated to this coun- 
 try in 1635, and settled in Newbury, Mass. Mary 
 Adams Stone was a descendant of Henry Adams, 
 who emigrated to New England in 1634, and set- 
 tled in liraintree, Mass. Henry Adams was the fa- 
 ther of Lieut. Henry Adams, of the Ancient and 
 Honorable Artillery of Boston, who was killed liy 
 the Indians at the burning of Medfield in 1676. 
 Other descendants from Henry Adams were John 
 Adams and John Ouincy Adams, Presidents of the 
 L'nited States ; Samuel Adams, the patriot signer of 
 the Declaration of Independence ; Charles Francis 
 Adams ; and many other men of note. Mr. and INIrs. 
 Stone had a large family, of whom but two survive : 
 James B., the father of our subject: and Sarah A., 
 Airs. Disbrow, of Providence, R. I. Mr. Stone 
 passed away at the age of seventy-nine, his wife 
 at the age of seventy-six. They were identified 
 with the Congregational Church. 
 
 James B. Stone was reared in North Alanches- 
 ter, but his active life was passed in Hartford, 
 where he became a well-known business man, en- 
 gaging in the wholesale and retail paper trade up to 
 1892; at the time of his retirement he was the old- 
 est paper merchant in the city. He is a Republican 
 in politics, and prominent in social life, having affil- 
 iated with the Alasons for many years ; he is a vet- 
 eran of the City Guard, of which he was long an act- 
 ive member. Mr. Stone is equally well known in 
 musical circles, having played tlie organ many 
 years in the Asylum Hill Congregational Church, 
 and later in the Asylum Avenue Baptist Church. 
 He and his wife attend the Congregational Church. 
 James B. Stone married Miss Julia A. Greene, 
 and two children were born to them : Cliarles G. 
 and Lillian A. The daughter married Dr. H. E. 
 Rice, of Springfield, Mass., a prominent physician 
 and surgeon of that city. Airs. Stone is a native 
 of Warwick, R. I., and one of the eight children 
 of Christopher Greene, a prominent citizen of ^\'ar- 
 wick. Airs. Julia A. (Greene) Stone is a descen<l- 
 ant of John Greene, surgeon, who came from Wilt- 
 shire, England, and settled in about 1636 in War- 
 wick, R. I., where he died in 1658. Other descend- 
 ants from John Green are Gen. Nathaniel Green, the 
 celebrated Revolutionary general : John Green, dep- 
 uty governor of Rhode Island, who died in 1708; 
 
112 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 William Green, governor of Rhode Island, who 
 died in 1758; ^^'illiam Green {2) governor of 
 Rhode Island, wlio died in 1809; Hon. Ray Green, 
 member United States Senate 1794 to 1797; Will- 
 iam Green, lientenant-governor of Rhode Island in 
 1871 ; Brig.-Gen. George Sears Green, who attained 
 great prominence dnring the Civil war, and his 
 son, Gen. Francis Vinton Green, celebrated for the 
 services rendered his country during the late Span- 
 ish war, and for his prominence in the Republican 
 party in New York. 
 
 Charles G. Stone spent his early years in Hart- 
 ford, attending the district schools and the Hart- 
 ford Public High School, from which latter he was 
 graduated at the age of seventeen years. Until twen- 
 ty years old he was employed in a wholesale harness 
 house, and then entered the employ of the Travelers 
 Insurance Co., as mail clerk. iTom this humble 
 position he worked his way upward until, in 1885, 
 he was sent to St. Paul, Minn., to learn the agency 
 work, remaining there one year. Soon after his 
 return he was appointed Home Office Agent at 
 Hartford, which position he has ever since retained. 
 j\lr. Stone is prominent in the social and public in- 
 terests of Hartford, having been elected to the 
 common council board from the Fourth ward for 
 three years — 1898 to 1901 — being now first coun- 
 cilman; from 1897 he has served efficiently as chair- 
 man of the Northwest school district. His political 
 support is given to the Republican party. He is 
 State secretary of the Connecticut Society, Sons of 
 the American Revolution ; member of the Connecti- 
 cut Historical Society ; the Connecticut Horticult- 
 ural Society ; the Hartford Yacht Club ; the Weeka- 
 paugh Golf Club; and, in religious connection, of 
 the Asylum Hill Congregational Church, being also 
 a teacher in the Sunday-school and a member of 
 the Teachers Club. 
 
 In 1 893 Mr. Stone married Miss Bessie C. Rath- 
 bun, and they have had one child, Kathleen. Mrs. 
 Stone's father, Julius G. Rathbun, is agent of the 
 National Life Insurance Co., of Vermont, a well 
 known and prominent citizen of Hartford. His 
 family consisted of four children, three of whom 
 are living: Helen, Fred D., and Bessie C. (Mrs. 
 Stone). 
 
 HORACE MANN ANDREWS, senior member 
 of the mercantile and manufacturing firm of An- 
 drews & Peck, and for many years prominently 
 connected with the city government of Hartford, 
 was born in Essex, Mass., Jan. 10, 1849. His 
 grandfather married Martha Lufkin, of Essex. 
 
 Joseph Andrews, father of our subject, was 
 born in Essex, in 1804, in that part of the town 
 wdiich was once a part of old Chebacco. The 
 only educational advantages open to him were a 
 few months each year in district schools, and very 
 meager home training. His learning from books 
 was chiefly self-acquired ; yet such was his inborn 
 love of study, that even under these discouraging 
 
 conditions he became an excellent mathematician 
 and a man of broad general knowledge. When a 
 },-oung man he worked as a surveyor, in which pur- 
 suit he was successful because of his thorough fa- 
 miliarity with his task, and his rigid integrity, 
 which latter trait, indeed, was one of Mr. Andrews' 
 most pronounced characteristics through life. He 
 was thoroughly intolerant of anything that was un- 
 just or mean. In later years he became a farmer 
 and shipbuilder. His farm was situated on But- 
 ler's Pomt, in the town of Essex, and he was super- 
 intendent in several of the ship}'ards, was regarded 
 as ail expert "liner," and supervised the modeling 
 and construction of some of the largest craft floated, 
 from the yards of Essex, always an important cen- 
 ter for this industry. The outbreak of the Rebel- 
 lion stirred his patriotic pulse to the depths. He 
 tendered his services to the government in the ca- 
 pacity in which he felt he could be most useful, and 
 was assigned to duty in the navy yard at Charles- 
 town, where he was placed in charge of a large 
 force of men. Here his technical skill, no less than 
 his natural executive ability, trained by previous 
 experience, insured success, and won for him the 
 genuine, profound respect of the officers who were 
 his superiors. It is difficult to speak too highly of 
 the character of Joseph Andrews, whose keen intel- wL 
 lect and rugged honestjr stamped him as a true son ' 
 of New England. His perceptions were quick and 
 clear, his memory strong and retentive ; his charity 
 quiet, )'-et all embracing; his resolution firm. And 
 to these traits he joined an originality and individ- 
 uality of character with a high moral purpose which 
 commanded and enforced respect. He passed from 
 earth in 1888, his wife three years before. Her 
 maiden name was Hannah Knowlton, and she was 
 the daughter of Moses Knowlton, who married Ab- 
 igad Pulcifer, of West Gloucester, Mass. Mr. 
 Knowlton's uncle, Gen. Knowlton, was a gallant 
 officer in the Colonial army in 1776, and served 
 with distinction at Bunker Hill. The children born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Andrews were eight in number: 
 Joseph W., Francis Marion, Susan Eliza, Horatio ^ 
 Nelson, Maryline, Elias Calvin, Hannah Maria,j 
 and Horace Mann. 
 
 Horace M. Andrews obtained his early educa-j 
 tion chiefly in the district schools of Essex, although 
 his training was rounded out by one year in a com- 
 mercial school at Boston. His scholastic trainings 
 fairly good for the times, he has since improved by 
 well-directed reading. During the early years of 
 his life, while not in school, he was enabled to 
 gather some knowledge of business, working in the 
 principal store of his native town, it being his chief 
 desire to make himself useful even at gratuitous 
 service, rather than pass his time in idleness. Though 
 by no means averse to boyish sports, many of the 
 half-holidays of Wednesdays and Saturdays found 
 him assisting in the ship yards of his native town, 
 familiarizing himself with the tools, which a few 
 years later he became adept in handling. The first 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 113 
 
 mechanical training which he received was as a shoe- 
 maker. He was partially initiated into the mys- 
 teries of the trade in his native tow'n. although in a 
 rather irregular sort of a way. Before he was 
 seventeen years old, however, he left home to serve 
 a regular apprenticeship in the building business 
 with Bennett Grifhn, of Gloucester, Alass. After 
 serving his apprenticeship, and during dull seasons 
 in the building business, he would engage in cler- 
 ical work, whenever an opening presented itself, 
 always looking for a step in advance and self-im- 
 provement. Ofttimes, while engaged at his trade 
 during the day, his services were sought by various 
 merchants to help out during the evenings of the 
 busy season, which experiences were helps in fit- 
 ting him for the busv life to which he has attained. 
 The mathematical and mechanical bent of his 
 father had doubtless descended to him through her- 
 edity, and in 1870 he came to Hartford and began 
 work as a stair builder. A natural aptitude soon 
 led to proficiency. Two years later he went to 
 Haverhill, Mass., where he engaged in that line of 
 business on his own account, and for eleven months 
 succeeded well. In 1873, the commercial panic 
 having caused great depression in business, he re- 
 ceived and accepted an offer to return to Hartford 
 where he passed the next two years working at his 
 trade. In 1875 he began manufacturing in a 
 small way at Plainville, Conn., having a Mr. Crane 
 as partner. The firm of Crane & Andrews, sash, 
 door and blind makers, continued in existence for 
 five years. At the end of that period, with the 
 strong competition and resulting low prices, the 
 firm was dissolved by mutual consent. Mr. An- 
 drews had inherited pluck and resolution from his 
 father, and he at once opened a small shop in 
 Hartford employing only one workman. He was 
 endowed, however, with business capability of a 
 high order, which onlv awaited opportunity for its 
 development and demonstration. In 1880, Mr. Peck 
 of Waterburv (now his associate in business) solic- 
 ited his services as a traveling salesman, and for 
 four years he followed this vocation with marked 
 success. In 1884 was formed the firm of Andrews & 
 Peck, w^hose sash, door and blind factory in Hartford, 
 employing fiftv hands, with office and store Nos. 
 88 to 94 Market street, is one of her recognized and 
 growing industrial enterprises. In addition to man- 
 aging successfully a large business at home, Mr. 
 Andrews was one of the promoters and organizers 
 of the Big Rapids Door & Blind Mfg. Co.. whose 
 plant was located at Big- Rapids, Mich. He is a 
 member of the board of directors, and his partner, 
 Mr. Peck, is treasurer of the companv. This com- 
 pany employed nearlv one hundred men with a large 
 daily output of sash, doors, blinds and window 
 frames, chiefly for Eastern trade. In June. 1900, 
 their works were entirely destro}'ed by fire, entail- 
 ing a heavy loss, but, nothing daunted, steps were 
 at once taken to rebuild. Such success as that which 
 has attended Mr. Andrews, who has wrested com- 
 
 8 
 
 petence from poverty and actual triumph from seem- 
 ing defeat, is remarkable, yet the fundamental 
 causes are not far to seek. To tireless industry he 
 has joined scrupulous integrity, and in the manage- 
 ment of his affairs he has shown sagacity and 
 judgment. 
 
 Mr. Andrews' political affiliations have always 
 been with the Republican party, yet partisan alle- 
 giance has never interfered with that broad intel- 
 ligent public spirit which he has always manifested. 
 He is a member of the Republican Town Commit- 
 tee, and, by virtue of that membership, chairman of 
 the Fourth ward, in which he resides. For two 
 years he represented the old First ward in the city 
 council, and after the re-districting of Hartford 
 by Legislative enactment sat for four years in the 
 Board of Aldermen as the representative of the 
 Fourth ward. For two vears he was president of 
 the Board, and therefore acting mayor during that 
 period. On leaving the city's legislative board in 
 1898, he was tendered a position on the Board of 
 Street Commissioners. This post for reasons of 
 a personal and business nature he was loath to ac- 
 cept, yet he finally sank selfishness in the considera- 
 tion of public duty. To the intelligent adminis- 
 tration of the municipal government he has devoted 
 much careful thought. He was a very active mem- 
 ber of a committe to devise and create a Board of 
 Public Works for Hartford, and while the scheme 
 failed of adoption in its entirety, its salient features 
 have been engrafted upon the municipal code. His 
 fellow citizens hold him in deservedly hig'n esteem, 
 a fact which is attested to by the numerous calls 
 on him for public service. 
 
 Mr. Andrews is a member of Frederick Lodge, 
 No. 14, F. & A. M. and is ardently devoted to the 
 interests of the fraternity. In religious faith he is 
 an Adventist, a member of the Advent Christian 
 Church, chairman of the Society's Committee and 
 Board of Trustees,' and for ten years w-as superin- 
 tendent of its Sunday-school. He is also a director 
 in the Spring Grove Cemetery Association and a 
 member of its executive committee. 
 
 Mr. Andrews has been twice married. On De- 
 cember 21, 1871, he married Alice I. Scoville, a 
 native of Bakersville, Litchfield Co., Conn., and a 
 daughter of William W. and Frances (Harris) Sco- 
 ville. She bore him a daughter, Frances, now the 
 \vife of William M. Kinsman, of Hartford. Mrs. 
 Andrews died Jan. 7, 1894, and on April 20, 1897, 
 he married Eva R. Woodward, daughter of Will- 
 iam and Abigail (Smith) Woodward. She was 
 for twenty-two years a successful teacher in the 
 public schools of Hartford. 
 
 EDGAR F. BURNHAM. The Burnham fam- 
 ily, of wdiom this gentleman is a worthy representa- 
 tive, originated in England, and the ancestors of 
 the American branch came to this country in Co- 
 lonial times. Our subject traces his line of descent 
 as follow's : 
 
114 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (I) Deacon John Burnham, Sr., of Chebacco 
 (Ipswich), Alass., born in England in 1618, died 
 IS'ov. 5, 1694. He came to Chebacco in 1635 ; joined 
 the Pequot expedition in 1637, and in 1639 was 
 granted land for his services as a soldier. He was 
 a deacon in the church, and owner of a large tract 
 of land. B}' his wife, Mary, he had four children : 
 John, Josiah, Anna and Elizabeth. 
 
 (H) Josiah Burnham, born May 9, 1662, died 
 Oct. 25, 1692; married July 12, 1687, Abigail Var- 
 ney, and had issue : Josiah, Jacob and Ebenezer. 
 
 (HI) Ebenezer Burnham, born Dec. 23, 1691, 
 moved to Hampton, Windham Co., Conn., and died 
 March 10, 1746. By his wife, Dorothy, he had 
 issue: Joshua, Ebenezer, Joseph, Andrew, Isaac and 
 Dorothy. 
 
 (I\') Isaac Burnham, born in 1730, died Oct. 
 14, 1807; married Alarch 22, 1747, Eunice Elolt, 
 who was born in 1732, a daughter of Zebediah 
 Holt, and died Feb. 16, 1776. Issue : Jacob, Sarah, 
 Joseph, Eunice, Clarissa, Roswell, Isaac and Try- 
 phena. 
 
 (V) Roswell Burnham, born Nov. 15, 1761, 
 died March 29. 1S30; married (first) Oct. 23, 1783, 
 Esther Child, (second) Betsy Babcock, and (third) 
 Sarah Preston. Issue by first marriage: Lucy, 
 Jotham, Chester ; issue by second marriage : Stephen 
 and Esther. 
 
 (\'l) Chester Burnham, born in 1790, in Ash- 
 ford, Conn., was a large farmer in the town of 
 Willington, Tolland Co., Conn., and died in Ash- 
 ford at the age of seventy years. He married Mary 
 Holt, who was born in the town of Willington, 
 daughter of Elijah Holt, and nine children were 
 born to them, three of whom are yet living: Esther, 
 widow of Harvey Merrick, late of Willington (she 
 now makes her home in Bristol, Conn.) ; Jane, 
 widow of Dr. Otis, late of Ellenville, N. Y., where 
 she now lives ; and Chester D. The father died in 
 i860, the mother in 1854; both were members of the 
 Congregational Church at Willington. 
 
 (VH) Chester Dwight Burnham, son of Chester, 
 and father of Edgar F., was born Nov. 13, 1819, 
 in the town of Willington, Tolland Co., Conn., and 
 is a prominent dealer in granite and marble in Hart- 
 ford. He received his education in part at the 
 schools of the neighborhood of his place of birth, 
 and then entered the stove and tinware business. 
 In this he continued some six years, after which he 
 was engaged in different lines up to 1865, in which 
 year he came to Hartford and opened out his pres- 
 ent business, which, as will be seen, he has now car- 
 ried on about thirty-six years, over thirty at his 
 present location. He has an extensive plant, and 
 turns out a vast amount of work, including all kinds 
 of monuments, many of the very finest to be found 
 in the cemeteries round about having come from his 
 establishment. 
 
 On May 27, 1844, Chester Dwight Burnham 
 was married to Jane E. Burnham, of Hampton, 
 Conn., daughter of Adonijah and Abigail (Fuller) 
 
 Burnham, and also a descendant of (I) Deacon 
 John Burnham through Josiah, Ebenezer, and An- 
 drew. Adonijah Burnham, who was a lifelong 
 farmer, and connected with one of the leading fam- 
 ilies of the county, died at the age of iifty-six; 
 his wife, who was born at Hampton, and was also 
 allied to a prominent family, passed away at the 
 age of eighty-four years. They were members of 
 the Congregational Church, i'our children were 
 born to this honored couple, as follows : Chester D., 
 born Sept. i, 1845, who died in infancy; Herbert 
 D., Oct. 27, 1846; Edgar F., sketch of whom fol- 
 lows-j-and Ida J., Dec. 15, 1855. The mother died 
 in 1891, at the age of seventy-two years. The chil- 
 dren were all educated in Willimantic, and gradu- 
 ated from the high school there. Ida J., who is still 
 at home, graduated in music under an able teacher, 
 and has successfully taught the "divine art" for the 
 past twenty years. Both sons are prominent in the 
 affairs of the city, have served in the council, and 
 are memibers of the F. & A. M. and the I. O. O. F. 
 The father is a Republican in politics, and served 
 as assessor of Willimantic two years. He is a 
 director of the Spring Grove cemetery. The family 
 are all members of the Fourth Congregational 
 Church, and the daughter has for a long time been 
 actively connected with the Sunday-school. 
 
 (VIII) Edgar F. Burnham was born Aug. 27, 
 1849, i" Willimantic, whence he came to Hartford 
 in February, 1865. Here for two and one-half years 
 he clerked for James Gemmill, in the clothing busi- 
 ness, and the firm of Gemmill, Clark & Co. was 
 then formed. This arrangement coiitinued until 
 April I, 1 87 1, at which time John Gemmill and 
 Mr. Burnham formed a partnership, under the firm 
 name of Gemmill, Burnham & Co., and carried on 
 business at the stand now occupied by Wooley's 
 hardware store, until 1882, in that year erecting 
 their present commodious emporium. 
 
 In 1879 Edgar F. Burnham was married in Hart- 
 ford to Alice B. Foster, daughter of Ralph Foster. 
 They have no children. Mr. Burnham is a Republi- 
 can, in politics, and has served as councilman from 
 the old Seventh ward one year, and been alderman 
 four years. Socially he is a member of the F. & 
 A. M., St. John's Lodge, No. 4: Pythagoras Chap- 
 ter, No. 4; Wolcott Council, No. i; Washington 
 Commandery No. i ; and belongs to the Scottish 
 Rite and Thirty-second degree : is also affiliated 
 with Sphinx Temple, Mystic Shrine, and with other 
 orders. 
 
 JOHN G. PARSONS, who died March i, 1890, 
 at his home in Hartford, was one of the leading 
 residents of that city, and he and his estimable 
 wife became associated, helpfullv many years ago 
 with various philanthropic and reform movements 
 which have tended to promote the welfare of the 
 community. 
 
 Mr. Parsons was born June 2, 1821, in Wind- 
 sor, Conn., of good New England stock, and his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 116 
 
 life was spent entirelx- in this section. His father, 
 Erastus Parsons, was horn in the same town June 
 .30, 1782, and was married in 1808, to Clarissa 
 Jjronson, who was born Sept. 14, 1785, and died 
 Feb. 20, 1835. They had seven children, none of 
 whom are now living. The father died Aug. 6, 
 1827. For many years he and his wife were identi- 
 fied with the Congregational Church of Windsor. 
 
 John G. Parsons was but a child when his fa- 
 ther died, antl when fifteen years old he left Wind- 
 sor to learn the book-binder's trade in Hartfoixl 
 with Brown & Drake, a leading firm on Main street. 
 After becoming proficient in the art he was ad- 
 mitted to partnership, the firm being known later 
 as Drake & Parsons. They carried on a general 
 book-binding business, and the firm was also con- 
 nected with the publishing house of Bliss & Co. 
 for about thirty years, becoming one of the most 
 .successful business enterprises of the city. Mr. 
 Parsons was interested in political questions and 
 in the purity of the ballot, but refused to take office 
 when urged to do so by his co-workers in the Re- 
 jpublican party. At the time of his death he had 
 been connected for fifty years with the volunteer 
 fire department, where he was extremely popular, 
 and rose through the various ranks to be assistant 
 engineer, and later chief engineer of the depart- 
 ment. In August, 1849, while serving as assistant 
 engineer, he was presented with a silver speaking 
 trumpet, a beautiful token of respect. For several 
 years he was chairman of the school board, and his 
 time and means were freely given to the further re- 
 ligious work. He was a stanch advocate of tem- 
 perance principles. For many years he was an 
 active member of the Order of Rechabites. 
 
 On May 5, 1844, Mr. Parsons married Miss 
 Betsey M. Knox, who survives him, and resides in 
 her pleasant home at Xo. 146 Windsor avenue, 
 Hartford. They had two children : Alice, who died 
 Aug. 25, 1849, aged four years; and John Knox, 
 who died April 4, 1892, aged thirty years. The 
 son was educated in the Hartford schools, and on 
 leaving high school he learned the gold beater's 
 trade of James H. Ashmead & Son. After about 
 five years in that business he entered the hardware 
 business, but sold out a few years afterward on ac- 
 count of ill health. He finally became interested in 
 the hotel business, and after engaging in that busi- 
 ness three years at Lake Dunmore, Vt., commenced 
 the erection of a large hotel, with six cottages there, 
 costing $100,000, and accommodating 300 guests; it 
 was completed by his mother after his early death, 
 which cut short a most promising career, as he had 
 gained a high reputation. For some years before 
 his death he spent his winters in San Antonio. He 
 married Miss Nellie Frisbee, and had one child, 
 Bessie, but both wife and child are dead. 
 
 ]\Irs. Parsons is a descendant of an old Colonial 
 family, and her paternal great-grandfather, Archi- 
 Imld Knox, was born in Scotland in 1713, and died 
 in Ashford, Conn., in 1762. His son, Samuel Knox, 
 
 had twelve children, four of whom died in infancy, 
 the others being: Joel, Phebe, Samuel, David, 
 Elisha, Elijah, Amariah and Susannah. Samuel 
 Knox, Jr., father of I\lrs. Parsons, was born Aug. 
 10, 1780, and was a prominent agriculturist of Man- 
 chester, whither he came when a young man, and 
 learned his trade. He died Oct. 13, 1836. In 1800 
 he married Lydia Benton, born June 17, 1780, a re- 
 markablv gifted woman, who attained the ad- 
 vanced age of ninety-one years, dying March 12, 
 1 87 1. She was a granddaughter of John Benton, 
 of East Hartford. The Benton family is well known 
 in Manchester, and Joseph Benton, Mrs. Parson's 
 maternal grandfather, was a man of marked char- 
 acter and ability, and wielded much influence in his 
 community. He married ( first j Anna Symonds, 
 and they had five children : Joseph, who married 
 Jerusha Loomis, and had five children; Anna, who 
 died aged sixteen years; Mary, who married Xoah 
 Keeney, of- Manchester, and had three children, 
 Horace, Betsey, and Mary (Mrs. Keeney, who is 
 the only one of the family now living, is eighty- 
 five years old, and has a liome with her daughter 
 in Boston); Lydia, Mrs. Knox; and Persis, who 
 died aged twenty-three years. Joseph Benton's 
 second wife was Elizabeth Bryant. Samuel and 
 Lydia Knox had ten children, of whom Mrs. Par- 
 sons is the only survivor, five of the children dying 
 when voung, and five living to mature age. Maria 
 died March 5, 1831. David P. died March 8, 1861. 
 Mary, wife of John Fuller, died March 4, 1870. 
 Chester J. died June 21, 1877. Chauncey B. died 
 March 3, 1887. Mrs. Parsons' three brothers were 
 prominent residents of Manchester, Chester being 
 an agriculturist and fur dealer. Chauncey Knox was 
 a liveryman and hotelkeeper, and was deputy sherift' 
 for many years; he was an earnest worker in the 
 temperance cause. David P. Knox was a member 
 of the Hartford Union Mining & Trading Co., and 
 went out on the "Henry Lee" in 1849 to seek gold 
 in the California fields, sailing around Cape Horn. 
 There he broke down in health and returned to 
 Hartford. After a short time he went to South 
 Carolina, and there engaged in business, which he 
 later had to abandon on account of ill health, and 
 returning to Hartford he died at the home of his 
 sister, Mrs. Parsons, jNIarch 8, 1861. 
 
 Mrs. Parsons traveled extensively with her son. 
 She was reared among the best surroundings, be- 
 came interested in religious work at an early age, 
 and since her removal to Hartford has been a mem- 
 ber of the Fourth Congregational Church, in which 
 her husband was a leading worker. For many years 
 she has been assistant superintendent in the Sun- 
 day-school. Her sympathetic aid has also been given 
 to the temperance cause, in which she has done 
 much active work, having been president of the local 
 W. C. T. U. for eight years. She has for many 
 years entertained in her hospitable home various 
 temperance speakers: it has been a home for John 
 B. Gough, Miss Frances Willard, Col. Bain, of Ken- 
 
116 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tucky, and many others. Since her husband's death 
 Mrs. Parsons has been a director in the American 
 Pubhshing House, Hartford. She is also a mem- 
 ber of the Board of Temple Trustees, Chicago. 
 
 FREDERICK P. ^lAHL, late a prominent busi- 
 ness man of Hartford, whose death occurred June 
 23, 1897, when he was accidentally drowned in the 
 Connecticut river, was one of the city's extensive 
 builders and operators in real estate. 
 
 Mr. Mahl was born May 5, 1846, in Germany, 
 son of Benjamin and Elizabeth Mahl, who came to 
 America when Frederick was six years of age, the 
 family stopping first for a time in New York. 
 From the metropolis the parents removed to Nor- 
 wich, Conn., where most of their children were 
 born and educated, and where the father died in 
 i860. I'he mother still survives, at the advanced 
 age of eighty-seven years. 
 
 Frederick P. jNIahl received his schooling m 
 the Broadway public school at Norwich. The fa- 
 ther dying when Frederick was but fourteen years 
 of age, the son was earl\- thrown upon his own re- 
 sources. He learned the plumber's trade, and in 
 1869 came to Hartford and engaged in the plumb- 
 ing business with his brother, ex-Alderman George 
 Mahl, under the firm name of Mahl Brothers. The 
 business was conducted bj- the two brothers until 
 1874, when George Mahl bought his brother's inter- 
 est, and has since had the control and management 
 of the business. Soon after disposing of his in- 
 terest in the concern Frederick P. Mahl engaged 
 in building and real-estate enterprises, and from 
 that time on throughout life conducted large inter- 
 ests in that line. He was one of the most exten- 
 sive builders of Hartford, and erected over two 
 hundred and fifty houses in the city, building large- 
 ly in the western portions. Some two years beto.'e 
 his death he opened iMahl avenue, and was intend- 
 ing to complete the operations on that thorough- 
 fare in the fall following his death. He erected 
 more than thirty houses ou the avenue, and had a 
 half dozen or more in mind for the autumn, which 
 would have completed the work originally laid 
 out. 
 
 Mr. Mahl was a man of clear business percep- 
 tions, and was a shrewd manager of property inter- 
 ests. He possessed marked ability, and his judg- 
 ment of men and affairs was invariably sound and 
 decisive. He was a broad-minded and large- 
 hearted man, enterprising and public-spirited. And 
 he was, too, a self-made man, self-reliant and self- 
 dependent, his achievements in life being due entire- 
 ly to his own efforts. He was fond of reading, 
 read much, and became self-discipnned. A Repub- 
 lican in political sentiment, he had no political aspi- 
 rations. He was not personally associated with 
 political activity in Hartford, having devoted all 
 his time to business, in which he was remarkably 
 successful. But Mr. Mahl was interested in pub- 
 lic affairs, and felt deeply concerned in local gov- 
 
 ernment, kept abreast of public progress, and was 
 found invariably on the side of municipal and 
 school district nnprovement. He was one of the 
 large property holders present some weeks before 
 his death, at the meeting of the Arsenal school dis- 
 trict, and expressed his approval of the project 
 looking toward the rebuilding of the school edifice. 
 He wanted to &ee the district in possession o£ 
 the best educational apparatus and facilities. 
 
 The loss of Mr. JNIahl will long be felt in Hart- 
 ford, owing to his enterprise and public spirit, and 
 his prominence in real-estate operations. The ave- 
 nue which he built up, and which was named in 
 his honor, will permanently identify his name with. 
 Hartford. Socially J\lr. Mahl was a member of 
 St. John's Lodge,' F. & A. J\I., at Hartford. He- 
 was a great lover of horses, and held membership 
 in the Gentlemen's Driving Club of Hartford. He 
 was also very fond of the water, and in season took 
 frequent sails in his yacht, the "Marion." He was 
 en route homeward from a trip by water to New 
 London, and was getting into a small boat which . 
 was being towed behind the yacht, when he was 
 accidentally drowned. 
 
 Mr. Mahl was twice married, first to Miss ^lary 
 Hamilton, of Hartford, and to them were born 
 children as follows: Marion, Benjamin, Stephen J., 
 Edward M., Olive K. and Robert E. The mother 
 of these children died in 1885, and in July, 1S95, 
 INIr. Mahl was married to Mrs. Arabelle L. Hall,, 
 daughter of the late Capt. William Bates, of New 
 Haven, Conn. By her first marriage Mrs. Mahl 
 had two daughters, Annie and Bessie. They live 
 unostentatiously on the avenue which will ever be 
 commemorative of Mr. Mahl, and one could not 
 fail to be impressed with the refinement and happi- 
 ness, and feel the restfulness, of that quiet home. 
 
 HOLCOMBE. The family of this name is one 
 of the oldest and most distinguished in southern 
 New England, including as it does such eminent 
 men as Amasa Holcombe, the scientist ; Chester 
 Holcombe, the diplomatist ; Rev. Frederick Hol- 
 combe, the celebrated divine, and one of the found- 
 ers of Trinity College, Hartford ; and a number of 
 others who have achieved distinction in professional, 
 militarjr and civil life. 
 
 That branch of the family which it is the pur- 
 poe of this article to especially treat of, in the per- 
 sons of the families of the late James Huggins 
 Holcombe, and his son, John Marshall Holcombe,. 
 now president of the Fidelity Co., of Hartford, and 
 vice-president of the Phcenix Mutual Life Insurance 
 Co., of the same city, is descended from Thomas 
 Holcombe, who was ear^r at Dorchester, Mass., and 
 was there made a freeman in 1635. In 1638 he re- 
 moved to Windsor, Conn. He was one of the rep- 
 resentatives from Windsor and Hartford in the 
 body of men that framed the Constitution of the 
 Colonv of Connecticut. 
 
 John Marshall Holcombe, of Hartford, is a de- 
 
cJ^^.'P^aJ/ 
 
lit, 
 Co 
 
 
 ■ I' 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 117 
 
 scendant in the nintli generation from this Thomas 
 Holcombe, his hne being through Lieut. Nathaniel, 
 Sergt. Nathaniel, Lieut. David, Reuben, Phineas, 
 Phineas {2), and James Huggins Holcombe. 
 Among the men of prominence who have been allied 
 with the Holcombe family, and were the ancestors 
 of John M. Holcombe, were : John \\'ebster, gov- 
 ernor of Connecticut ; Deacon Samuel Chapin, one 
 of the founders of Springtield, Mass. ; Hon. Will- 
 iam Phelps, one of the commissioners appointed by 
 the [Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1636 to govern the 
 people of Connecticut, governor's assistant, member 
 of the Council of the Pequot war, 1637, and mem- 
 ber of the council which framed the Constitution, 
 1639; Capt. Joseph Wadsworth, who concealed the 
 Charter of Connecticut in the famous "Charter 
 Oak;" and Gen. Nathan Johnson, an officer in the 
 war of 1812, wdio was one of the most prominent 
 lawyers in the State, was quartermaster-general, 
 and for manjf years State senator, and was univer- 
 sally respected and beloved. Three of Mr. Hoi- 
 combe's ancestors served in the war of the Revolu- 
 tion, while others appear in history as prominent 
 and influential factors of their time. 
 
 1 H ) Lieut, Nathaniel Holcombe, son of Thomas, 
 of \\'indsor, born in 1648, married in 1670 Mary 
 Bliss, daughter of Thomas, one of the original pro- 
 prietors of Plartford. His widow and family later 
 settled in Springfield. Lieut. Nathaniel Holcombe 
 ■was representative from Simsbury to the General 
 Court in 1703 and several successive years. 
 
 ( HI) Sergt. Nathaniel Holcombe, son of Na- 
 thaniel, born in 1673, married Nov. i, 1695, Mar- 
 tha, daughter of Peter and Martha (Coggans) 
 Buel. He was representative from Simsbury to the 
 General Court. 
 
 ( IV) Lieut. David Holcombe, son of Sergt. 
 Xathaniel, born in 1696, married ^larch i, 1722, 
 ?ilabel, daughter of David Buttolph, of Simsbury. 
 
 (\") Reuben Holcombe, son of Lieut. David, 
 born in 1725, married Susanna, daughter of Sam- 
 uel and Elizabeth (Wilcoxon) Hayes, of Granby, 
 Connecticut. 
 
 (\T) Phineas Holcombe, son of Reuben, bcrn 
 in 1759, died in 1833. He married April 26, 1781, 
 Elizabeth, daughter of Jonah and Mary (Rideout) 
 ]\Ioore. He served in the Revolutionary war. 
 
 (ATI) Phineas Holcombe (2), son of Phineas, 
 liorn Julv 5, 1783, married Oct. 21, 1805. Nancy 
 Smith Huggins, daughter of James and Nancy 
 ( Smith) Huggins. Phineas Holcombe died Oct. 30, 
 1814. 
 
 ( \TII) James Huggins Holcombe, son of 
 Phineas (2), and the father of John M. Holcombe, 
 ■was born Aug. 31, 1806. in New Hartford, Conn. 
 He was prepared for the law, began practice in 
 Hartford in 1833, and there remained engaged in 
 liis professional duties until his removal in after 
 years to Italy, where for many years he made his 
 iiome. He died Nov. 18, 1889, in Positano, Italy. 
 He was married April 23, 1844, to Emily Merrill 
 
 Johnson, daughter of Gen. Nathan and Sarah 
 (^lerrillj Johnson, of Hartford, Conn., and to the 
 union were born five children, two of whom sur- 
 vive : James Winthrop, a resident of Italy (Europe) ; 
 and John Marshall, referred to below. 
 
 JoH.v M.\R.sii.\Li, HoLCO.MUE, SOU of Jamcs H., 
 was born in Hartford June 8, 184S, in the house 
 which he now occupies. After preparing for col- 
 lege in the Hartford Public High School, he en- 
 tered Yale, from which he was graduated in the 
 class of '69, with the degree of A. B., and three 
 years later he received the degree of A. M. In 
 1871 he becanie actuary of the Insurance Depart- 
 ment of the State of Connecticut. In 1874 he was 
 made assistant secretary of the Phoenix Mutual Life 
 Insurance Co., ■was promoted to the secretaryship 
 in 1875, and retained that position* until elected to 
 the vice-presidency of the company, in 1889, which 
 relation he has since sustained. 'Sir. Holcombe's 
 political affiliations are with the Republican party, 
 in which he is active and influential. In. 1883 he 
 was a member of the common council, and in 1885 
 a member of the board of aldermen, elected from 
 the Second ward, serving as president in both 
 branches. He has served as commissioner on the 
 board of health of Hartford, of which board he 
 was the originator. Mr. Holcombe has business 
 connections with a number of corporations in Hart- 
 ford, among them being the Phoenix Mutual Life 
 Insurance Co., of which he has been vice-president 
 since 1889, and the Fidelity Co., of which he has 
 been president since 1897, as a director in the Amer- 
 ican National Bank, the Mechanics Savings Bank, 
 and the Connecticut Fire Insurance Co. His re- 
 ligious connections are with the First Church of 
 Christ (Center Congregational Church) of Hart- 
 ford, the oldest church organization in Connecticut. 
 J\Ir. Holcombe has been secretary, vice-president and 
 president of the Yale Alumni Association of Hart- 
 ford ; is a member of the Sons of the American 
 Revolution, Society of Colonial Wars, Society of 
 Colonial CJovernors and War of 1812; of the Co- 
 lonial Club of Hartford, the L^niversity Club of 
 New York, and the Actuarial Society of America. 
 He is also a director in the Retreat for the Insane 
 at Hartford. I\Ir. Holcombe has contributed articles 
 on life insurance and financial subjects to the "North 
 American Review" and other publications. 
 
 On Jan. 29, 1873, Mr. Holcombe was married 
 to Miss Emily Seymour Goodwin, of Brooklyn, N. 
 Y., who is prominent in Hartford social life, and 
 whose fine work in various lines has given her 
 prominence throughout New England. To this 
 union have come children as follows : Harold Good- 
 win, Emily ^^larguerite, and John ^larshall. Jr. 
 
 Mrs. Holcombe, too, is a descendant of one of 
 the earliest and most prominent families of New 
 England. She is in the eighth generation from 
 Ozias Goodwin, one of the first settlers of Hart- 
 ford, Conn., her line being through Nathaniel, 
 Deacon John, Deacon John (2), Joseph, Hezekiah 
 
118 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and Edwin Olmstead Godwin. Of these, Nathaniel 
 Goodwin married (first) Sarah Cowles and (sec- 
 ond) EHzabeth Pratt. Deacon John Goodwin's 
 first wife was Sarali, his second being Mary Hosmer 
 Olmstead, daughter of Stephen Hosmer. Deacon 
 John Goodwin {2) married Dorothy Pitkin, daugh- 
 ter of Caleb and Dorothy (Hill) Pitkin. Joseph 
 Goodwin married Hannah Olmstead, daughter of 
 Jonathan and Hannah Meakin Olmstead. Hezekiah 
 Goodwin married Emily, daughter of Deacon Eliab 
 and Dorcas (\Villiamsj Pratt. 
 
 Edwin Olmstead Goodwin, father of Mrs. Emily 
 S. Holcombe, was born Nov. 23, 1819, in East 
 Hartford, and on Sept. 13, 1848, was married to 
 Harriet Brown Pomeroy. He studied law, and 
 was admitted to the Bar in Hartford. The science 
 of life insurance early attracted his earnest atten- 
 tion, and aroused his enthusiasm in this field of 
 labor. He was one of the incorporators of the 
 Connecticut IMutual Life Insurance Co. in 1846, 
 and gave the name to that renowned corporation. 
 He resided in Brooklyn, N. Y., from 1857 until his 
 death, which occurred Nov. 25, 1882. 
 
 Mrs. Holcombe organized Ruth Wyllys Chap- 
 ter, Daughters of the American Revolution, , of 
 Hartford, in 1892, and was its first regent, which 
 office she still occupies. The chapter, by unanimous 
 vote, removed the term limit from this office as 
 long as jMrs. Holcombe would remain. In the 
 chapter's patriotic movement to save the ancient 
 and historic burying-ground of Hartford Mrs. Hol- 
 combe has accomplished a great public improve- 
 ment : she it was who conceived a plan for the widen- 
 ing of Gold street — to remove the row of disrepu- 
 table tenement houses would not only convert a 
 dirty and disgraceful alley into a fine street, but 
 would secure to the historic cemetery cleanliness, 
 light and a conspicuous position in the center of 
 the city. A similar work, though much less ex- 
 tensive, had been previously attempted, resulting, 
 however, in complete failure. Mrs. Holcombe re- 
 ceived the cordial support of the chapter, official 
 boards, and the public, and contributions were gen- 
 erously made. However, delays occurred, and ap- 
 peals from propert}' assessments were made to the 
 courts. At this period of discouragement Mrs. Hol- 
 combe alone seemed imbued with the spirit of 
 hope, and her faith never faltered. Many people 
 felt it to be but the optimistic dream of an en- 
 thusiastic leader, but Mrs. Holcombe has overcome 
 all obstacles, and carried through this formidable 
 undertaking with a sagacity, diplomacy and bril- 
 liancy of execution which have won her the thanks 
 of the citizens of Hartford and a position of promi- 
 nence in the State. She was the central figure at the 
 celebration of the event at the grounds, on June 
 17, 1899, on which occasion she — as regent of Ruth 
 Wyllys Chapter and the originator of the plan by 
 which the object was accomplished — delivered an 
 eloquent address in presenting to the mayor of the 
 city the deeds of certain parcels of land. She was 
 
 presented with a loving cup by Mrs. William H, 
 Palmer, vice-regent, in behalf of the members of 
 Ruth W_\dlys Chapter. At a banquet given on the 
 evening- of that day, by the historic Putnam Phalanx, 
 one of the speakers said: "If there is a society in 
 Connecticut that deserves to be honored the Daugh- 
 ters of the American Revolution is that society, and 
 if there is a woman who should feel happy to-night 
 ?ilrs. John M. Holcombe is that woman." Gen. 
 Hawley suggested a toast to JNlrs. Holcombe, and 
 all present rose. 
 
 From a speech delivered by Thomas Weaver, 
 of Plartford, in February, 1900, at Willimantic, 
 before the members of Anne Wood Elderkin Chap- 
 ter, of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 
 referring to the work of the Ruth Wyllys Chapter, 
 of Hartford, is extracted the following: 
 
 "You are aware of the main fact that Rutli 
 Wyllys Chapter has succeeded in making the way 
 clear, clean and wholesome, and opening to the 
 light of publicity the ancient burning-ground at 
 Hartford, where lie the bodies of Thomas Hooker 
 and his band of sturdy supporters, who fixed upon 
 the Nation the idea that government of the people 
 shall be by the consent of the people ; but few of 
 you can know the largeness of that undertaking, 
 the difficulties that were overcome at every for- 
 ward step, and the untiring energy of the regent 
 of that chapter, Mrs. John M. Holcombe, relent- 
 lessly pursuing the object she had in view. If any 
 man of my knowledge in Hartford had undertaken 
 the task, there would have been nothing left of 
 him but the foot-prints of those who had stepped 
 upon him. This daughter of the American Revolu- 
 tion had the dynamic force of good patriotic ances- 
 tors in her veins, and official boards and public men 
 and court committees and obdurate property owners 
 all bowed to the persuasiveness of Mrs. Holcombe — • 
 one of the greatest improvements that Hartford has 
 known for years was accomplished." 
 
 Mrs. Holcombe is one of the charter members 
 of the Society of Colonial Dames, and at this time 
 is historian of the society ; was elected a member of 
 the first board of managers, and re-elected as soon as 
 eligible after expiration of the first term, consecutive 
 terms being prohibited l:)y the rules of the societ} . 
 From a long list of Colonial ancestors Mrs. Hol- 
 combe entered the society on ten named, among them 
 being John Webster, governor of Connecticut ; 
 Roger Conant, first governor of Massachusetts ; 
 Attorney-General William Pitkin ; Hon. Capt. Caleb 
 Stanley ; Capt. William Ely. 
 
 HON. GEORGE AIERRIMAN, retired drug- 
 gist of Bristol, and an ex-soldier of the Civil war, 
 is native here, and was born June 3, 1844. 
 
 The Merriman family is one of the oldest and 
 best known in Bristol. The first of the family in 
 this country was Capt. Nathaniel Merriman, one 
 of the founders, of Wallingford, Conn. The first 
 in Bristol, Dr. Titus Merriman, was born in Wall- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 119 
 
 ingford Aug. 27, 176S, ami came here about 1792. 
 He was one of the first members of the Hartford 
 County ]\Iedical Society. Tlie first deed of land 
 recorded to him was in 1794. Soon afterward he 
 built the house now owned and occupied by his 
 grandson, Titus E. JNIerriman. His first wife, the 
 mother of all his children, was Polly, daughter of 
 Isaiah Thompson. Three of his sons arrived at 
 the age of maturity : Henry E., George and Eli 
 Todd', the latter choosing the medical profession, 
 which he followed until his death; he moved to 
 Texas in 1848. 
 
 George ]\Ierriman, son of Dr. Titus, inherited 
 a large portion of his father's estate. He married 
 Ann Peck. He was the founder of the drug busi- 
 ness in Bristol, opening his store on the North side 
 in 1825, and according to the custom of the times 
 it was a general store, including dry goods, gro- 
 ceries and drugs, the latter part of the business hav- 
 ing been continued by the family from that time. 
 Here for years was the post office. Later the gen- 
 eral store was given up, and the drug store opened 
 at the stand where it was so long and successfully 
 conducted by the sons, George and Theodore, under 
 the name of ^Merriman Brothers. Titus E. Merri- 
 man, eldest son of George, Sr., was born in Bristol, 
 Sept. 19, 1833; George, the second son, is the sub- 
 ject proper of this sketch ; Theodore D., the young- 
 est son, will be mentioned more fully below. 
 
 Titus E. Alerriman was educated principally in 
 the district school in Bristol, and later attended 
 Bristol Academy, taught by Prof. Barnes, after 
 which he attended Prof. Baker's Academy, at Col- 
 linsville, whence he was graduated in 1852, at the 
 age of nineteen. He entered his father's drug store 
 on the North side. Bristol, and a year later went to 
 California, where he had. several claims, and ex- 
 perienced many ups and downs until his return to 
 Bristol in 1866. He fully intended to return to the 
 West, but. with the exception of a flying visit 
 thither, he has remained in Bristol ever since. On 
 returning from California, in 1866, Mr. Merriman 
 opened a grocery store on the North side, and later 
 removed to the Seymour block, where now stand 
 the abutments of the New York, New Haven 
 and Hartford railroad trestle over Main street.- 
 Here he was burned out during the 'seventies. He 
 next opened a grocery in the Gridley block on 
 North Main street, and sold this out to W. H. Scott 
 & Co., of Terryville, who have since closed it. J\Jr. 
 }ilerriman then retired for about two years, and 
 in the spring of 1894 embarked in the harness and 
 saddlery trade at No. 21, North !Main street, carry- 
 ing besides a full line of trunks, valises, traveling 
 bags, etc. In 1869 he was married to Miss Amer 
 S. Nettleton, who died the same year, without issue. 
 On Oct. 4, 1871, Mr. Merriman married Miss Alar- 
 garet A. Upson, daughter of Israel Upson, of 
 Waterbury. No children have been born of this 
 union. ]\Ir. and Mrs. ^Merriman are members of the 
 Congregational Church, in the ladies' societies of 
 
 which Mrs. Merriman takes an active part. In pol- 
 itics Mr. Merriman takes but little mterest, but 
 has affiliated with the Republican party since its 
 foundation, and while in California he voted for 
 John C. Fremont, that party's first candidate for the 
 i'residency. 
 
 Hon. George ^^lerriman, the subject proper of 
 these lines, was educated in the common schools 
 of Bristol, and at the Pavilion school in Hartford. 
 At the age of seventeen years he left school, and 
 at eighteen, July 2t,, 1862, he enlisted in Company 
 K, i6th Conn. \'. I., and was at the battle of An- 
 tietam ; later, when the "k'ighting Sixteenth'" was 
 attached to the Department of North Carolina, the 
 larger part of the regiment was captured, but Mr. 
 Merriman luckily escaped. He was put on a de- 
 tachment to guard Rebel prisoners near Sandusky, 
 Ohio, and was finally discharged at Cincinnati, Aug. 
 29, 1865. On returning from the army Mr. Merri- 
 man began his business life in the drug store of 
 his father, and after the death of the latter retained 
 an interest in the establishment, under the firm name 
 of Merriman Brothers, until 1889. when he re- 
 tired. 
 
 J\lr. ]\Ierriman married Oct. 2, 1S67, Miss Mary 
 J. Barnes, who was born May 2, 1844, and is a 
 daughter of Lucas and Clarinda (Tousey) Barnes, 
 of Bristol ; no children have blessed this union. 
 Mr. Merriman is a stanch Republican, but has never 
 sought an office, although he has been elected to 
 several town offices, for which he refused to qualify ; 
 however, he consented to represent Bristol in the 
 General Assembly in 1888 and 1889, and was a mem- 
 ber of the Railroad committee, one of the most im- 
 portant in the House. Fraternallv he is a member of 
 Franklin Lodge, No. 56, F. & A. :M.. of Bristol; 
 of G. W. Thompson Post, No. 13, G. A. R., of 
 which he is past post commander ( Mrs. Merriman 
 is past president of the W. R. C. of the same name, 
 and past department president of Connecticut) ; 
 and of Ethan Lodge, No. 9, K. of P., of which 
 he is past chancellor commander ; he was the first 
 captain of Hull Division, Uniformed Rank, No. 5, 
 K. of P., but resigned when he visited Montana, 
 where he has extensive silver and copper interests. 
 ]\Ir. and Mrs. Merriman are devout members of 
 the Congregational Church, and are active in all 
 work that tends to promote the moral welfare of the 
 communit}'. 
 
 Theodore D. Alerriman. youngest son of George 
 Alerriman, Sr., was born in Bristol Nov. 14, 1845, 
 and was educated in a private school taught by 
 Rev. Air. Tufts, at Alonson. Alass., after quitting 
 which he entered his father's drug store, where 
 with the exception, of an extended trip through 
 California with his sons, in 1894, he continued to 
 hold the business — having bought out his brother 
 George in 1887 — until January i, 1897, when he re- 
 tired. His death took place the third day of Alarch 
 following. Theodore D. Alerriman was married 
 Oct. 15, 1879, to Airs. Julia (Alacy) Gaul, daughter 
 
120 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE^ BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of Hiram and Ann (Hall) ]\Iacy, and widow of 
 William D. Gaul, of Hudson, N. Y. To this union 
 were born two children : George j\lacy, Nov. 20, 
 1880, and • Theodore Hall, April 16, 1882, both 
 graduates of Bristol High School, and now students 
 at Yak-. iNIr. Merriman was a member of the F. 
 & A. y.i. lodge of Bristol, also of the Royal Ar- 
 canum. He was a stanch Republican, but took no 
 active part in party matters, as he was of a modest, 
 unassuming disposition, and better satisfied with the 
 society of his many personal friends in sociel in- 
 tercourse, rather than the excitement of the "mad- 
 ding crowd." 
 
 FREEMAN SEYMOUR (deceased). The 
 Sevmour family of Hartford county, with its allied 
 connections, has been one of prominence in the city 
 of Hartford, county, dud Stale from early times. 
 To its early history reference is made elsewhere. 
 
 Our subject, late of Hartford, where he had been 
 prominent as a citizen and business man, .engaged 
 extensively in farming, was burn Oct. 28, 1820, in 
 the house on Fairfield avenue now occupied by 
 his widow, and which was built by his father, who 
 also bore the name ol Freeman. The latter was also 
 a man of prominence, and an extensiv:; farmer, 
 taking an active interest in all the affairs of the day, 
 and his opinions and judgment were sought and 
 respected. He married Margaret Clark, whose 
 father, too, was an extensive farmer and man of 
 prominence, and lived on the corner of Webster 
 and \\'ashington streets. Freeman Seymour, the 
 elder, died at the age of eighty-three, and his wife 
 lived to the age of over eighty years. Both were 
 members of the South Congregational Church of 
 Hartford. Their four children are all now de- 
 ceased, Freeman being the last to die. 
 
 Freeman Seymour, our subject, was reared on 
 the homestead, and received a good common- 
 school education. He passed his life largely occu- 
 pied in rural pursuits, engaging in tobacco grow- 
 ing and dairying, and was a man of intelligence 
 and influence in the communit}-. His political af- 
 filiations in his earlier life were with the Whig 
 party, and in after years with the Republican 
 party. He was a member of the Harrison Vet- 
 eran's. Throughout his life he took an active in- 
 terest in public questions and in measures calcu- 
 lated to advance the interests of his native city. 
 Mr. Seymour was married three times, his third 
 wife, to whom he was married in 1880, being for- 
 merlv Alary O. Smith. To the second marriage 
 was born one son. Freeman P., who is now a resi- 
 dent of Hartford, and in the employ of the Pope 
 Bicycle Works. Mr. Se}-mour died in 1897, aged 
 seventy-seven years. 
 
 JMrs. Mary O. (Smith) Seymour, the widow 
 of our subject, was born in Enfield, Conn., daugh- 
 ter of Hon. John M. Smith, and granddaughter of 
 Thomas Smith, both natives of Scotland and men 
 of liberal education. Thomas Smith was a weaver 
 by occupation, and on coming to America located 
 
 in Enfield, Conn., where he was occupied in the 
 business of carpet-weaving. Later he went- to 
 \'ermont, but alter a time returned to Enfield, 
 and there died when fifty years of age. He had 
 married Margaret Woodrow, who was born in 
 Kilmarnock, Scotland, and they had four children. 
 The mother died at the age of seventy-six. The 
 family in their religious belief were Presbyterians. 
 John M. Smith passed his later life in Vermont. 
 Politically he was a Republican, and rose to con- 
 siderable prominence in public affairs, serving 
 two vears as a member of the General Assembly 
 of \'ermont. He married Jane Boyd, who was a 
 native of the same place as himself, and to them 
 were born three children: Jeanette; Mary O. ; and 
 Robert, who is station agent at Greensboro, Vt. 
 Mrs. Seymour's mother died when about thirty- 
 two years of age, and her father lived to be sev- 
 enty. 
 
 Airs. Seymour was reared and educated in Ver- 
 niont. She began teaching in the district schools 
 when cjuite young-, continued this vocation for a 
 number of years, finally coming to Hartford, and 
 here taught in the grammar grades of the South 
 school until her marriage. Since Mr. Seymour's 
 death the widow and son have lived in the home- 
 stead, and have begun the work of developing the 
 farm into a residence section of the city. She is a 
 member of the Congregational Church, the same 
 church her husband attended from his. youth. 
 
 FRED R. BILL. Associated in business with 
 his brother, Dwight H. Bill, the subject of this 
 sketch, is senior member of the firm of Bill Bros., 
 car men of No. 46 Ann street, Flartford, a firm 
 which has existed for many years, and is known 
 extensively throughout New England. It is per- 
 haps the oldest and best equipped in the New Eng- 
 land States, and possesses most excellent facilities 
 for moving furniture, machinery, hoisting safes, and 
 performing similar service. The firm keeps about 
 forty-five horses, and employs regularly from fifty 
 to sixty men. 
 
 The business was started a generation ago by 
 Francis P. Bill, the father of our subject, with whom 
 at various times were associated each of his five 
 brothers, and the firm thus won its way to recog- 
 nition through undergoing frequent changes of per- 
 sonnel. Francis P. Bill, the father, was born in 
 Chaplin, Conn., in 1823, son of Roswell and Olive 
 (Ross) Bill. Roswell Bill was a school teacher. 
 He had a large family, of whom three survive : Ed- 
 win S., of Hartford; Alvin H., of Hartford; and 
 Caroline, widow of Martin S. Preston, of WJH- 
 imantic, Conn. Francis Bill spent his boyhood in 
 Chaplin, where he received a good common-school 
 education, and where for a time he taught school. 
 He, however, possessed an active temperament, and, 
 coming to Hartford, entered the trucking business 
 at the bottom of the ladder, driving for Smith & 
 Blodgett for $1 per day He then engaged for a 
 time in railroad work, but soon returned to truck- 
 
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 -^Trtq ^sfS'L 
 
 ^ 
 
 yt^e.i^^^'T^ai^^ 
 
 -yo^^ CJ zA^-' 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ '/-fff-ers S/Sa. CAu 
 
 'c-aye- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 121 
 
 ing, and with his brother founded the firm of Bill 
 Bros., now the oldest in the city. Later he went 
 West, and for nine years engaged extensively in 
 farming in Illinois. Returning to Hartford, he re- 
 entered the trucking business with his brothers, 
 continuing it. up to 1872. He then removed to En- 
 field, but nine years later, in 1881, the firm of Bill 
 Bros, again included him as an. active member, a 
 business relationship which continued until the 
 death of Mr. Bill, in 1894, at the age of seventy-one 
 3'ears. He was at one time one of the oldest and 
 best known business men of the city. In politics 
 he was a Republican. He married Sarah A. North, 
 a native of Berlin, daughter of John and Harriet 
 (Cheney) North, representatives of two of the 
 oldest and best known families of Connecticut. 
 John North was a farmer and blacksmith of Berlin. 
 Of the children of Francis P. and Sarah A. Bill two 
 survive, Fred R. and Dwight H. 
 
 Fred R. Bill was born in Amboy, 111., Sept. 15, 
 1863. When two years old he was brought to Hart- 
 ford, Conn., by his parents, and at eight removed 
 with them to Enfield, attending the schools until 
 he was sixteen years old, when, with his parents, 
 he again became a resident of Hartford. He at- 
 tended the high school at Hartford, and began his 
 life work in the office of Bill Bros., when his fa- 
 ther again purchased an interest in the business. 
 Under the present management the business has 
 been greatly extended. To it Mr. Bill has added 
 a six-story storage warehouse, and has also had 
 constructed a number of massive furniture vans, 
 and otherwise increased the facilities of the firm 
 for the prompt and safe removal of goods. A fea- 
 ture to which prominence has lately been given 
 is the packing of household goods, shipment to any 
 point in the New England States, and subsequent 
 unpacking, the firm assuming entire charge from 
 point of shipment to destination. 
 
 In 1890 Mr. Bill married Miss Minnie Warner, 
 who was born in Manchester, daughter of A. W. 
 and Jane (Witherill) Warner. Her father is a 
 machinist and expert tool maker of Manchester. 
 To Fred R. and Minnie Bill have been born three 
 children, Francis Putnam, Ruth and Dorothy. 
 Mr. Bill is an officer of the Governor's Foot Guard, 
 having enlisted in 1884, and was promoted suc- 
 cessively to sergeant, lieutenant and captain, now 
 serving his second year with the latter rank. He 
 is also a member of the I. O. O. F., and w-as one 
 of the organizers of the Gentlemen's Driving Club. 
 In politics Mr. Bill is a Republican. The family 
 is widely known in social circles, and its dis- 
 tinguished family affiliations make it typically rep- 
 resentative of the past as well as the present in the 
 social life of Hartford. 
 
 Dwight H. Bill, the business partner and 
 brother of Fred R., possesses the same aptitude for 
 work and successful achievement. He has been 
 a resident of Hartford for many -vears, and is wide- 
 Iv known in business and social circles. He is a 
 
 member of Hartford Lodge, No. 88, F. & A. M., 
 of Hartford; Lodge No. ly. B. P. O. E. ; and an 
 ex-member of the Hartford City Guard. 
 
 FRANK SMITH J]ROWX (deceased) was 
 one of the founders of Brown, Thomson & Co., a 
 well-known business firm of Hartford, and for many 
 years was a leading resident of tliat city. 
 
 ]\Ir. Brown was born Nov. 2, 1832, in West 
 Boylston, Mass., and was educated there and at the 
 academy in Shelburne Falls, -Mass. Before 
 he was of age he made a trip to Cali- 
 fornia, and while there he became interested in vari- 
 ous mining and general business enterprises. On 
 his return to the East he spent several years as an 
 office clerk for Hogg, Brown & Taylor, of Boston, 
 his brother being a member of the firm. During the 
 Civil war he enlisted in a Massachusetts regiment, 
 and on being mustered out he returned to Boston. 
 In 1865 he located in Hartford and organized the 
 firm of Brown, Thomson & Co. For a time they 
 occupied the southern part of the present Boston 
 Branch Store, No. 260 Main street, but the busi- 
 ness soon became too large for the place, and the 
 entire building was taken, the firm buying out C. 
 H. Smith's business. At that time the name was 
 changed to Brown, Thomson & JNIcWhirter, but 
 since Mr. McWhirter's retirement in 1878 the origi- 
 nal name has been used. In 1877 the business again 
 became cramped for room, and was removed to the 
 present store, in the Cheney building. J\Ir. Brown 
 was interested in different business ventures at times 
 his influence and advice being factors in their success 
 and he was a director of the Phcenix National Bank. 
 About 1890 he and James Thomson built the '"Lin- 
 den," in Main street, Hartford, but failing health 
 compelled Mr. Brown to relinquish business cares, 
 which he did Jan. i, 1891, and he went to California, 
 where he died Oct. i, 1893. Finding the climate 
 beneficial, he decided to make his home at Pasadena, 
 where he built a beautiful residence, but he never 
 occupied it, his death having occurred about the time 
 the furniture was to have been sent from his pleas- 
 ant home in Wethersfield, Conn. Islv. Brown was a 
 Republican in politics, and before purchasing his 
 home in W^ethersfield was active in municipal affairs 
 in Hartford, representing the Third ward in the 
 board of aldermen, in 1878 and 1879. He was a 
 leading worker in the Baptist Church, and the first 
 president of the Hartford Y. AI. C. A. His wife, 
 formerly Miss Anna McDuft'ee, of Rochester, N. 
 H., is now a resident of Pasadena, Cal. They had 
 three children : George McDuft'ee, who is mentioned 
 more fully below ; Emma Hanson, a native of Hart- 
 ford, who married John G. Lyman, of New York 
 City; and Annie Adams, who was born in Hartford, 
 and now resides in Pasadena. 
 
 George M. Brown was born Nov. 9, 1864, in 
 Boston, Mass., and his early education was obtained 
 in Hartford. In 1884 he 'went into the store, but 
 he retired in 1893 to look after his extensive prop- 
 
122 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 erty interests in Hartford. He has also been en- 
 gaged in installing electrical and mechanical plants, 
 including some of the largest in this section, and is 
 regarded as an expert on all electrical matters. Mr. 
 Brown was married in Hartford to jNliss Delorius 
 Chamberlain, daughter of Gen. Samuel E. Chamber- 
 lain, of Barre, Mass., who served in the Mexican 
 Avar, and in the Civil war as colonel in the ist Mas- 
 sachusetts Cavalry. Two children have blessed this 
 union : Chamberlain Brown and Lyman. 
 
 AUSTIN L. PECK, of the lumber company 
 bearing his name, and of the firm of Andrews & 
 Peck, of Hartford, and a veteran of the Civil war, 
 is one of the substantial men of the Capital City, 
 and a descendant of one of the old and prominent 
 families of New England. 
 
 The Connecticut Pecks are descendants of 
 Joseph Peck, of Milford, Deacon William Peck 
 and Henrv Peck, of New Haven, and Deacon 
 Paul Peck, of Hartford, each of whom became 
 the progenitor of a numerous race. CJf these, Jo- 
 seph Peck, who was the ancestor of the Newtown 
 branch of the family, the one to which the subject 
 of this sketch belongs, resided first at New Haven, 
 Conn. His name does not appear on the records 
 until about 1643, although he is generally sup- 
 posed' to have resided there earlier, and to 'have 
 been the brother of Henry, who settled there in 
 1638, with whom he seems to have resided or been 
 associated, and with whom he probably came over 
 to this country. He left New Haven in or about 
 1649, and settled in IMilford, Conn., where he be- 
 came a member of the church in 1652. He mar- 
 (first) i\Irs. Alice Burwell, and (second) Miss 
 Marie Richards. He died in 1700-01. 
 
 Fom this Joseph Peck, of Milford, Austin L. 
 Peck, our subject, is a descendant in the eighth 
 generation, his line of descent being through Jo- 
 seph (2), Ephraim. Henry, Capt. Zalmon.Ezekiel 
 and Zalmon S. Peck. 
 
 (H) Joseph Peck (2), son of Joseph, of Mil- 
 ford, baptized in 1653, niarried in 1678-79 Marj' 
 Camp. He settled in Milford, and there died. 
 
 (HI) Ephraim Peck, son of Joseph (2), bap- 
 tized in 1692, married in 1716 Sarah Ford, of Mil- 
 ford. He removed from Milford to Newtown, 
 Conn., where he died in 1760. 
 
 (IV) Henry Peck, son of Ephraim, born in 
 1719. mairried (first) in 1755 Ann Smith, and 
 (second) in 1765 wedded Hannah Leavenworth. 
 He resided in Newtown. 
 
 (\) Capt. Zalmon Peck, son of Henry, born 
 in 1758, married (first) Zilpha Hard and (second) 
 Mrs. Sarah Booth. He resided in Newtown, 
 where he died in 1812. He was a soldier in the 
 Revolution. 
 
 (VI) Ezekiel Peck, son of Capt. Zalmon, born 
 in 1786, married (first) Sarah A. Johnson, and 
 (second) in 1818 wedded Mis. Betsey Briscoe. 
 He was a soldier in the war of 1812. The tomb- 
 stones of the four generations of Zalmon S. Peck 
 
 (still living) are all in perfect condition in the 
 family burial lot in the cemeterjr at Newtown, 
 Connecticut. 
 
 (\TI) Zalmon S. Peck, son of Ezekiel, and 
 father of Austin L. Peck, of Hartfoid, was born 
 May 22, 1812, in Newtown, Conn. During the 
 Civil war he served as the enrolling and drafting 
 officer of the town. He was made postmaster 
 of the town under President Lincoln's first term, 
 and held the position for twenty-six years, being- 
 out for two years (from 1867 to 1869) under the 
 Johnson administration. During his active years 
 Mr. Peck v/as one of the prominent public men of 
 the town. Time seems to have dealt kindly with 
 him, as he is still quite active and remarkably 
 well preserved. He is an interesting conversa- 
 tionalist. In 1833 he was married to Polly J. Lum, 
 and they had children as follows : Sarah A., born 
 in 1834, is deceased; Henry S., bom Sept. i, 
 1838, is secretary and treasurer of the Brass City 
 Lumber Co., Waterburv, Conn., of. which city he 
 is a prominent business man and citizen; Austin 
 L., born June 3, 1844, is referred to in the follow- 
 ing: and Mary F. was born June 10, 1854. 
 
 (VIII) Austin L. Peck, the subject proper of 
 this sketch, is a native of Newtown, Conn., where 
 he passed his boyhood attending the public schools 
 of the town and the Newtown Academy. During 
 the Civil war, Aug. 25, 1862, he enlisted as a 
 private soldier in Company C, 23d Conn. V. I. 
 The 23d Regiment was recruited in Fairfield and 
 New Haven counties during August and Septem- 
 ber, 1862, and it was musteied into the United 
 States service at Camp Terry, New Haven, Conn., 
 Nov. 14, 1862, with C. E. L. Holmes, colonel ; 
 Charles W. Worden, lieutenant-colonel; David H. 
 [Miller, major; and Julius Sanford, captain of our 
 subject's company. The regiment left the State 
 Nov. 17, and joined Gen. Banks at Camp Buck- 
 ingham, L. I., and it served in the independent 
 command of Gen. Franz Sigel. It was sent to the 
 defenses of New Orleans, Department of the 
 Gulf. From December, 1862, it was a part of the 
 2d Brigade, 2d Division, 19th Army Corps; and 
 from June, 1863, it was stationed at Post of Bra- 
 sheai". District of La Fourche, 19th Army Corps and 
 Defenses of New Orleans, and Department of the 
 Gulf from May, 1863. Young Peck shared the 
 experiences of the command, and returned with 
 an honorable army record. He was mustered in 
 as corporal Nov. 14, 1862, and was taken prisoner 
 at Bayou Boueff, La., June 23, 1863 ; was paroled 
 July 3, of that year, and was mustered out Aug, 
 31, 1863. After his discharge from the service 
 he began an active business career, which he has 
 continued from that time to this, and his efforts 
 and undertakings have been crowned with the suc- 
 cess they have merited. 
 
 In January, 1864, Mr. Peck moved to Water- 
 bury, and became a clerk in the general merchan- 
 dising store of Benedict, Merriman & Co. Later,, 
 in 1865, he entered the employ of the Hartford,. 
 
\ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 123 
 
 Providence & Fishkill railroad, as freight clerk 
 at Hartford, and was soon promoted to agent of 
 this company in charge of their Waterbury sta- 
 tion. Early in i86g he entered into the lumber 
 business with Chester Curtiss, and in 1870 dis- 
 solved that partnership, immediately entering the 
 same business alone on Meadow street, that city. 
 In 1887 he removed to Plartford, and has since 
 resided there. He retained his business in Water- 
 bury until 1898, when he organized the Brass City 
 Lumber Co., retaining a large interest, and be- 
 coming its president. In 1883 he organized the 
 Big Rapids Door & Blind Mfg. Co., of Water- 
 bury, Conn., and located the mill plant at Big 
 Rapids, Mich. : was its largest stockholder and 
 treasurer of the company, which was in active 
 operation up to June 14, 1900, at which date the 
 plant was totally destroyed by fire. He organized 
 the Capital City Lumber Co. of Hartford in 1895, 
 becoming its first president, but later sold his in- 
 terest therein ; is at present an active partner in the 
 firm of Andrews & Peck, .of Hartford, and is a 
 man of means and prominence, not only in Hart- 
 ford, but throughout the State. While in New- 
 town our subject attended the Presbyterian Church. 
 On Feb. 20, 1867, Mr. Peck was married to 
 Susan AL, daughter of Horatio Root, of Hartford, 
 and the union has been blessed with children as 
 follows : ( I ) Edward A. Peck, born in Waterbury 
 in June. 1868, is a resident of Saybrook, Conn. 
 He married Cora Hall, and their children are Helen 
 Josephene, born in Holyoke, Mass., March 20, 1890; 
 Frederick Hall, born in Hartford jN'Iay 13, 1894; 
 Susan Elizabeth, born in Hartford Sept. 20, 1896; 
 and Wallace Horatio, born in Hartford Feb. 2, 
 1900. (2) Harry H. Peck was born Feb. 7, 1870, 
 in Waterbury, Conn. He attended the Waterbury 
 High School, Phillip's Classical School, and in 
 1886 was graduated from the Cheshire Academy. 
 After returning from school he was bookkeeper 
 for the firm of Andrews & Peck for two years. 
 In the fall of 1888 he traveled through the 'West 
 in the interests of the Big Rapids Door & Blind 
 ^Manufactory, visiting Denver, Chicago and Big 
 Rapids, Mich. In the spring of 1889 he again 
 went West, remaining in Denver some eight 
 months, and that fall he went to Chicago, remain- 
 ing there until Jan. 6-, 1890, at which time he was 
 married to Miss Alice W. Grow, daughter of Caro- 
 line Grow, of that city. From January, 1890, to 
 the fall of that year, Mr. Peck located at Win- 
 ooski, Vt.. and following this he returned to Hart- 
 ford, where he was made manager of the Hartford 
 Sash, Door & Blind Co., with headquarters at No. 
 554 Main street. This company was sold on Feb. 
 I, 1894, to Andrews & Peck. After this sale he 
 became treasurer of the Capital City Lumber Co., 
 remaining as such from 1894 to Sept. 14, 1895. 
 At the latter date he started in business for himself 
 at No. 32 Church street. Mr. Peck is treasurer of 
 the Gentlemen's Driving Club of Hartford, a po- 
 sition he has held since Feb. 5, 1900. He is a mem- 
 
 ber of B. H. Webb Council, No. 702, Royal Ar- 
 canum. Mrs. Peck died May 7, 1897, and left 
 children as follows: H. Windsor, born Nov. 21, 
 1890; Everett Laurence, born Oct. 21, 1892; 
 and Alice W., born .\pril 20, 1897. (3) Theo- 
 dore Peck was born March 15, 1875, in Wa- 
 terbury, and was educated at the Hartford Public 
 High School. He was in the employ of his father 
 until 1896, when he went to Africa in the employ 
 of the Royal Gold Alining Co. Leaving there he 
 returned to Hartford, and is at present residing 
 there. He is unmarried. 
 
 FRANK W. HA\'ENS, agency supervisor for 
 the Hartford Life Insurance Co., Hartford, was 
 born in Wethersfield, Conn.. Dec. 2, 1845, a son of 
 Hiram and Mary Welles Havens. 
 
 Hiram Plavens was a manufacturer during the 
 first half of the century, and was engaged in ship- 
 building at Wethersfield, Conn., when that industry 
 was a prominent feature of that place. His wife 
 was a daughter of William and Mary (Welles) 
 Adams, of Wethersfield, the latter being a daughter 
 of Elijah Welles, an honorable and honored soldier 
 of the Revolution, who served in Capt. Hezekiah 
 Welles' company in Boston, January, 1776, and aft- 
 erward at the battles on Long Island under Wash- 
 ington. Through this line our subject traces his 
 ancestry direct to Gov. Thomas Welles, one of the 
 first governors of the Connecticut Colony. Mrs. 
 Alary W. Havens died in November, 1876, aged 
 sixtv-four. Hiram Havens died ten years later, in 
 November, 1886, aged eighty-three. 
 
 Frank W. Ha\^ens was two \-ears old when his 
 parents moved to Hartford, and here, with the 
 exception of some seven years spent in Manchester, 
 Conn., he has since resided. He was educated at 
 the schools of the city, and by private tuition, then 
 read law in the office of Johnson & AlcAIanus, but 
 owing to ill health did not apply for admission to 
 the Bar. Afterward he engaged in manufacturing, 
 later conducting an insurance agency under the 
 firm name of Nevers & Havens, representing some 
 of the largest companies in the country. In 1887 
 he became connected with the Hartford Life In- 
 surance Co., as editor and manager of the literary 
 department, but since 1898 he has held the position 
 of agency supervisor, an incumbency he fills with 
 characteristic fidelity and abilit}'. 
 
 Mr. Havens is prominent in the Alasonic frater- 
 nity of the State, having been a member thereof 
 since 1881, in which year he joined Alanchester 
 Lodge, No. 73. He is a 32d degree Alason, a mem- 
 ber of' Norwich Consistory; has passed the several 
 chairs of the Grand Lodge; in January, 1898, was 
 elected Grand JNIaster of Alasons in "Connecticut ; 
 and has been president of the Hartford Alasonic 
 Club since its formation. In church relationship 
 Mr. Havens is a Congregationalist ; in politics he is 
 a stanch Republican. 
 
 On May 18, 1870, Air. Havens married Eliza 
 
124 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Brainerd, daughter of Martin B. Brainerd, of Had- 
 dam, this State, and they have two children : Frank 
 S. Havens, Ph. D., Yale, '96, now secretary and gen- 
 eral manager of the New York Silk Conditioning 
 Works, New York City ; and JNIary C. C. Havens. 
 INlrs. Havens' father, Martin B. Brainerd, was born 
 in Haddam, and died in 1899, aged eighty-nine. 
 His wife, Mary (Baldwin) Brainerd, born in Mans- 
 field, this State, is still living, now (1901J aged 
 eighty-seven. 
 
 EMERY DOWNING, deceased. For almost 
 a half century prior to his death, in 1893, the sub- 
 ject of this sketch was one of the most prominent 
 truckmen of Hartford. He was a man of excel- 
 lent judgment, and possessed a rare degree of en- 
 ergy. Succeeding to a large business, he conduct- 
 ed it most successfully, and his interest is still re- 
 tained by his widow. 
 
 Mr. Downing was born in Hampton, Conn., 
 May 21, 1828, son of Emery and Lora (Parish) 
 Downing, both also born in Hampto.i. The father 
 Avas reared on the ancestral farm, and became a 
 farmer and butcher, spending most of his life in 
 the village of Scotland, where he died at the age 
 of seventy-seven, his widow surviving to the age 
 of seventy-eight. To them were born Diantha; 
 Emery -wwl Emily (twins) ; Serena; Eliza; Henry; 
 Lydia, who married Edwin S. Bill, of Hartford ; 
 and INIarv, who married George W. Bill, also of 
 Hartford. The parents were members of the Uni- 
 versalist Church. 
 
 Emery Downing, our subject, received a good 
 education, and was reared on a farm until twenty- 
 one vears of age, when he came to Hartford, and 
 beg'an work for Mason Smith, one of the early 
 truckmen of Hartford, who later became his fa- 
 ther-in-law. Mr. Downing was admitted to a part- 
 nership, and later purchased the business, which 
 he followed up to his death, Jan. 26, 1893, having- 
 been at that time forty-five years in active busi- 
 ness, the oldest in the city and among its best- 
 known citizens. He managed a very large trade, 
 which he had built up in a most successful man- 
 ner, doing the work for many of the large con- 
 cerns of Hartford, and was a man highly respected 
 and esteemed by all who knew him. A few years 
 previous to his death he admitted into partnership 
 D. C. Perkins, who had been his bookkeeper for 
 several vears, and who now carries on the busi- 
 ness under the old firm name of Downing & Per- 
 kins. In politics Mr. Downing was a Democrat. 
 He filled various local offices, and served for sev- 
 eral vears on the board of common council. He 
 was a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 4, A. F. & 
 A. JNI., for many years, of the Governor's Foot 
 Guard for a number of years, and later of the 
 A'eteran Corps. He was also a member of the 
 Governor's Horse Guard, and in social circles held 
 a wide and influential acquaintanceship. 
 
 In 1852 Mr. Downing married Henrietta 
 
 Smith, a native of Hartford. Her father, Mason 
 Smith, was born in Marshfield, Vt., and her grand- 
 father, Joshua Smith, in Woodstock, Vt., whence 
 he removed to INIarshfield when a child, and there 
 spent his life, dying at the age of eighty. He was 
 an extensive farmer. His wife, KeLura, was born 
 in Glastonbur}-, and lived to a good old age. Joshua 
 and Ivetura Smith were members of the Presby- 
 terian Church. They had a family of six chil- 
 dren, all of whom are now dead. Mason Smith 
 was a farmer up to the age of twenty-one, and was 
 educated in Vermont. He married Lydia Moore, 
 a native of A'ermont, and came to Hartford with 
 a horse and sleigh, starting as a pioneer in the 
 trucking business about 1830. This he continued 
 successfulh', in later years selling out to Mr. 
 Downing and retiring to a farm at Blue Hills, 
 near Flartford, where he died at the age of sev- 
 enty-seven years. His wife died at the age of 
 fifty-six. At the time of his retirement Mason 
 Smith was the oldest truckman in the city, and 
 had an extensive acquaintance with Hartford 
 business men. To Mason and Lydia (Moore) 
 Smith were born seven children, three of whom 
 are now living: Henrietta (Mrs. Downing) is the 
 eldest ; Julietta married Jerome Walker, of Water- 
 bury, Conn. ; and Ellen L., who married John S. 
 Stannard, of Hartford. Mason Smith and his wife 
 were members of the Universalist Church. 
 
 To Emery and Henrietta Downing was born 
 one daughter, Jennie, v/ho married George A. 
 Evans, formerly with the Adams Express Co., but 
 now manager of the various electric express lines 
 in and about Hartford, having charge of the ex- 
 press cars which run over the tracks of the street 
 railway company. Mrs. Evans has two daughters, 
 Annie and Henrietta J. Annie married Dr. Rich- 
 ard P. Lyman, a veterinary surgeon of note in 
 Hartford, who was educated at Amherst, at the 
 Agricultural College, and in the veterinary depart- 
 ment of Harvard. He is a member of the Veter- 
 inary Association of Connecticut, of which he is 
 secretary. Mrs. Lyman has one child, Bertha 
 Downing. These four generations, Mrs. Down- 
 ing, her daughter, granddaughter and great-grand- 
 daughter, all reside in Flartford. 
 
 JAMES W.' ELDRIDGE, a large real-estate 
 dealer and owner, also engaged in the insurance busi- 
 
 ness in Hartford, office No. 868 Main street, was 
 born in Mount Carmel, 111., July 4, 1841, and is a 
 lineal descendant of Elder William Brewster, who 
 came to the country in the "Mayflower." Charles 
 W. Eldridge, father of James W., was born in New 
 London, Conn. ; William, the grandfather, also in 
 New London; Charles (2), the great grandfather, 
 in Groton, Nov. 14, 1720; Daniel, the great-great- 
 grandfather, in England. The last named was 
 among the early settlers at Groton. He was one 
 of three brothers who came to this country, one of 
 whom married a daughter of Pocahontas. 
 
 Charles Eldridge (2), the great-grandfather, was 
 
EMERY DOWHIHG 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 125 
 
 severel)' wounded at Fort Griswold, battle of Grotoii 
 Heights. There is a monument in the burj-ing- 
 ground at the head of Mystic river, from which 
 the following inscription is taken : "This monument, 
 sacred to the memory of the late Charles Eldridge, 
 Esq. He was an Ensign in the Revolution, and 
 was wounded in the knee. While lying on the 
 field was attacked by two British soldiers and run 
 through with a bayonet, and, although left for dead, 
 crawled to cover; later bribing a British soldier by 
 giving him his gold watch to obtain him nourishment 
 and take him to a place of safety." He had formerly 
 kept a store in Groton, but that was burned by the 
 British. He died Nov. 20, 1798. A full account of 
 his war record is found in the work "Battle of Gro- 
 ton Heights," published in 1882 by Jabez Allen. 
 
 Grandfather William Eldridge was born Dec. 14, 
 1769. He was a merchant in Groton and New 
 London, where he continued in business for many 
 years, shipping goods to the West Indies. Later he 
 spent some years in Tolland county, where he was a 
 town official, extensive land owner and prominent 
 man. He was also what was known as one of the 
 "fire commissioners," appointed by the United States 
 government, to apportion lands set apart in north- 
 ern Ohio, called "The Fire Lands," which were given 
 to reimburse those who had suffered by the burning 
 of New London by the British, under the auspices 
 of the traitor Arnold, and assisted in laying out the 
 same. James W. Eldridge has his diary, showing 
 where he with two others started from New London 
 with a chaise and saddle horse, and went first to New 
 York, then to Pennsylvania, then to northern Ohio, 
 back to Albany, and then to Hartford. He later 
 went to JNIount Carmel, 111., and was the owner of 
 some 12,000 acres of land, the greater part of which 
 was in northern Ohio, and he gave the village (now 
 the city) of Cleveland, Ohio, twenty village lots, to 
 be used as aburying-ground,m.ost of which has since 
 been "appropriated" — the beautiful Euclid avenue 
 being one of the streets laid out through this gift 
 land. Mr. Eldridge first married Elizabeth Avery, 
 who was born Sept. 14, 1794. She had two chil- 
 dren, Francis A. and Charles W., and died Dec. 12, 
 1816. The second wife, Pauline (Lee), born Jul> 
 ^S; 1787, had three children, Richard H., Gloriana 
 H. and Ellen P., all now deceased. She died Oct. 
 II, 1854. Mr. and Mrs. Eldridge were formerly 
 members of the Congregational Church, but later at- 
 tended the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 Charles W^ Eldridge, father of our subject, was 
 born in New London, Conn., Nov. 9, 181 1, passed his 
 earlier years in Tolland county, and was educated 
 in the select schools. He began work as a clerk in 
 Hartford, in a dry-goods store, and, later, learned 
 the painting of miniatures on ivory, chiefly portraits 
 of the celebrated men and women of that day. This 
 he began in 1828 and traveled through the various 
 cities, such as New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, 
 Chicago, Nashville, Cleveland and New Orleans, 
 spending several weeks in each. Our subject has 
 
 a diary, kept by his father at that time, which shows 
 the number and names of the persons whose minia- 
 tures he painted, in each of these cities. In New 
 York Cit)-, on his first visit, he painted fifty-six; in 
 Springfield, Alass., nearly one hundred; in Balti- 
 more, in 1834, he painted ninety-eight. In Decem- 
 ber of the same year, he located in New York, where 
 he remained until October, 1836, during which time 
 he painted miniatures of 250 people. He also vis- 
 ited Louisville, Ky., in fact all the great cities of 
 the United States. He had as a partner James 
 Parker, the firm being known as Parker & Eldridge. 
 They were celebrated throughout all the States of 
 the Union, and were artists of high degree. Our 
 subject has portraits painted in those early days by 
 his father, which are to-day as perfect as when com- 
 pleted. Scores of letters still remain to show the 
 satisfaction which they gave their patrons, and of the 
 great superiority of their work. 
 
 The father returned to Hartford in 1865, where 
 he went into the shoe business for the benefit of his 
 son, and was a resident of that city until his death, 
 which occurred Jan. 10, 1883. Charles Eldridge's 
 second wife, Hannah (Mitchell), born Dec. 18, 1813, 
 is still living in Hartford, with faculties remark- 
 ably preserved. Frances E. (Parker), mother of 
 James Eldridge, was born in Sag Harbor, Long 
 Island, N. Y., May 5, 1819, a daughter of Capt. 
 William Parker, a sea captain of that town, who 
 spent his life largely on the water, making his home 
 in Sag Harbor, where he died. Our subject's mother 
 had ten children, he being the only one living. She 
 died Feb. 13, 1847. The parents of our subject were 
 members of the Congregational Church. 
 
 James Eldridge spent his earl)- years in Illinois, 
 until the age of twelve, and was up to that time edu- 
 cated in the common schools. He then came East to 
 Ellington, Conn., to attend the famous select school 
 of Edwin Hall, 1852-1855, after which he made his 
 home with his father, on Long Island, N. Y., until 
 enlistment in 1862, as a private in Company A, 127th 
 N. Y. V. I., of which he was soon made a corporal, 
 and then promoted to sergeant. He served two years 
 in this regiment, and in 1864 was discharged to ac- 
 cept promotion as second lieutenant in the 23d 
 United States Colored Troops, commanding his com- 
 pany. He was further promoted to regimental 
 quarter-master; first lieutenant in April, 1865; re- 
 ceived a furlough on account of physical disability, 
 and went north for treatment, and while undergoing 
 same the war ended, he receiving his honorable dis- 
 charge "on account of close of the war." ^Ir. 
 Eldridge served nearly three years, and was under 
 fire three hundred days, being attached to various 
 army corps, including the 4th, 7th, 9th loth, nth 
 and 25th, commanded by Gens. Keyes, Banks, Gil- 
 more, Weitzel, and others. His regiments partici- 
 pated in many battles and skirmishes, including the 
 siege of Suffolk, \^a., siege of Charleston, S. C, bat- 
 tles about Richmond, Petersburg, and others. He 
 is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, 
 
126 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Loyal Legion, Army and Navy Club of Connecticut, 
 Connecticut Sons of the American Revolution and 
 other patriotic societies. 
 
 Alter leaving the service Air. Eldridge came to 
 Hartford, and entered the employ of F. A. Brown, 
 in what was known as the "Chartex- Oak Coal Co.," 
 which continued for a short time. Mr. Eldridge's 
 father having bought out the "Boston Shoe Store," 
 our subject left the coal business and joined him, 
 conducting the business successfullv some fifteen 
 years. 1 hen, on account of failing health, he sold 
 out his interest in 1880, and later entered the real- 
 estate business, which he has since continued, being 
 now one of the largest dealers in the city. The fine 
 residence in which jMr. Eldridge lives, on Wethers- 
 fiekl avenue, opposite ^Mrs. Colt's residence, "Arms- 
 mere,'- was purchased by him and remodeled, and is 
 one of the finest homes on the avenue. 
 
 James W. Eldridge has been four times married, 
 (first) Oct. 29, 1867, to Ellen A. St. John, born in 
 Woodbury, N. J., who died Feb. 26, 1872. For his 
 second wife he married Ada E. Hight, born in New- 
 port, Maine, by whom he has one child, Annie F., 
 living at home (she is an artist of rare taste, but was 
 compelled to give up her studies on account of 
 weak eyesight) ; her mother died Feb. 5, 1879. For 
 his third wife Mr. Eldridge married Emma Ells- 
 worth, a great-granddaug'hter of Chief Justice Ol- 
 iver Ellsworth. She was born in Connecticut, and 
 died March 24, 1880, and for his fourth wife, he 
 wedded Lillie L. Hamilton, born in Sacramento, 
 Cal., a daughter of Lorenzo Hamilton, a resident of 
 Hartford, where he was a prominent man for many 
 years, and was a charter member of the Young- 
 Men's Listitute or Atheneum. Afterward he went to 
 Sacramento, Cal., where he died. The family at- 
 tend the Center Congregational Church, and in pol- 
 itics Mr. Eldridge is a Republican. 
 
 Mr. Eldridge has been for many years celebrated 
 as a collector of original war relics and curios. In 
 his beautiful home he has two rooms 30 feet long 
 by 20 feet wide, which are especially adapted to his 
 jDurpose, and which have been fitted up at great ex- 
 pense. Here, tastefully arranged, are thousands of 
 valuable war relics, each of which has a history, and 
 collected at an expense of thousands of dollars, from 
 all parts of the country. Pages would be inade- 
 quate to describe them. Here are to be seen the first 
 flag carried by the first regiment to take part in any 
 battle in defense of the Union ; the first Confederate 
 "Stars and Bars" flag to cross the Potomac river 
 which was made in Washington, D. C, by Confed- 
 erate voung ladies, and was taken across Long 
 Bridge the morning that A-^irginia seceded ; the 
 first solid shot fired in the war of the Rebellion ; and 
 a part of the first shell that exploded in Fort Sum- 
 ter : a right hand gauntlet glove of T. J. (Stonewall) 
 Jackson, the famous Confederate general ; a chair 
 from the home of Jefferson Davis, and saddle used 
 by him ; the famous sword of John Brown ; a wreath 
 made from the hair of forty generals who took part 
 
 in the war of the Rebellion, including that of Gen. 
 Grant ; revolver carried by Gen. Grant throughout 
 the war; uniforms, sabres, drums, canteens, haver- 
 sacks, knapsacks, bugles, pistols, guns carried by 
 different officers and men, each telling its own story^ 
 the authenticity of each article being guaranteed by 
 sworn affidavits from persons of character and relia- 
 bility. I'he collection is undoubtedly the largest in 
 the United States. In addition to this Mr. Eldridge 
 has a collection of autographs, numbering into the 
 thousands. He also has the finest historical collec- 
 tion of Confederate money in the world, including 
 all issues of every denomination, and a majority of 
 the serial numbers, issued by the so-called Confed- 
 erate States ; a war library given up to literature, 
 of the war of the Rebellion, of over five thousand 
 volumes ; and manuscript official letter books and 
 files, pertaining to the Rebellion, covering over a 
 thousand pages of matter, all of which he is pleased 
 to exhibit to those who are interested and apprecia- 
 tive, and especially to classes of school children, who 
 often visit his rooms — his object being lessons in 
 patriotism for the young. 
 
 EDWARD EVERETT HURLBURT, of Hart- 
 ford, Conn., is of the eighth generation in descent 
 from Thomas Hurlbut, his pioneer ancestor in the 
 New World, tracing his line of descent through 
 Joseph O., Luman, Joseph, John, Thomas, and Ste- 
 phen to Thomas Hurlbut. As will be seen, the 
 name was originally Hurlbut, and our subject's fa- 
 ther was the first to write it Hurlburt, which spell- 
 ing has since been adopted by all the family. 
 
 (I) Thomas Hurlbut, a blacksmith by trade, 
 came to America in 1635, settling first at Saybrook, 
 and after the Pequot war (in which he was a soldier 
 under Lion Gardiner) locating at Wethersfield, 
 Conn. He was a prominent man, both politically 
 and socially, in that town. His wife's name was 
 Sarah. 
 
 (II) Stephen Hurlbut, born in Wethersfield, 
 Conn., about 1649, was by trade a mechanic. His 
 wife's name was Dorothy. 
 
 (HI) Thomas Hurlbut, born in Wethersfield, 
 Conn., Jan. 23, 1680, a farmer by occupation, mar- 
 ried Jan. II, 1705, Rebecca Meekins. He died April 
 10, 1761. 
 
 (IV) Lieut. John Hurlbut, a farmer, born in 
 Wethersfield, Conn., Oct. i, 1710, settled in Hart- 
 ford, Conn., on the east side of the river. He mar- 
 ried (first) Feb. 2, 1738, Mary Ann Cowles, who 
 died Aug. 31, 1739. He married (second) Oct. i, 
 1741, Mabel Loomis. He died April 21, 1778. 
 
 (V) Joseph Hurlbut, born in Hartford, in May, 
 1744, married Sarah Roberts, and died Sept. 21, 
 1796. 
 
 (VI) Luman Hurlbut, born Oct. 14, 1788, mar- 
 ried Mary Olmstead, and died May 20, 1865. 
 
 (VII) Joseph Olmsted Hurlburt, born July 31, 
 1822, married Oct. 30, 1844, Amelia Almira, daugh- 
 ter of Horace and Almira Hills, of East Hartford, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 127 
 
 Conn. Issue: (i) Ellen Amelia, 'born Sept. 13, 
 1846, married George W. Roberts and had four 
 children — (a) Helen M., born July 31, i86g; (b) 
 George H., born March 25, 1874, who died Feb. 10, 
 1877; (c) Alfred E., born March 5, 1878; and 
 (d) George W., born Oct. 9, 1886. (2) Henry Win- 
 throp, born Feb. 13, 1851, died June 7, 1884. His 
 children — (a) Anna Louise, born Aug. 21, 1874; 
 (b) Mabel, born in 1875, who died same year; (c) 
 Nellie JMary, born Nov. 2, 1877, who was married 
 April 25, 1900, to Clarence Edgar Whitney; and 
 (d) Florence, born in 1881, who died in 1884. (3) 
 Mary Louise was born March 28, 1857. (4) Kath- 
 arine Maria was born Feib. 5, 1861. (5) Edward 
 Everett, a sketch of whom follows. Joseph O. 
 Hurlburt, the father of this family, received his 
 education in East Hartford, and for several years 
 taught in the old North school, Hartford. During 
 the last twenty years of his life he was principal of 
 the Wethersfield high school, and he died March 
 18, 1899. He was a member of the County and 
 State Teachers Association. 
 
 Edward Everett Hurlburt, whose name opens 
 this sketch, was born July 31, 1863, in Hartford, 
 where lie obtained his education. At the age of six- 
 teen years he entered the employ of Botsford & Li- 
 graham, beef and provision merchants, Hartford, 
 and with them remained five years, or until he was 
 twenty-one years old, at which time he commenced 
 business on his own account on Spruce street, Hart- 
 ford. In 1899 he removed to Hoadlev Place, and 
 in 1900 incorporated the business as "The Connec- 
 ticut Beef Co.," which enjoys a wide and increasing 
 trade. 
 
 In 1884 Edward E. Hurlburt was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Susan Elizabeth Stone, of Hartford, 
 daughter of Charles Stone, of Ashland, 111., and 
 three children have been born to them : Ruth Ame- 
 lia. Jan. 22, 1886; Marjorie Stone, Mav 31, 1887; 
 and Harry Olmstead, Sept. 25, 1889. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hurlburt are members of the Episcopal Church ; 
 socially he is affiliated with the F. & A. M. and 
 Royal Arcanum; in politics he is a Republican. 
 
 JAAIES MONROE GRANT, retired, one of the 
 prominent well-to-do citizens of Hartford, was born 
 at Ashford, Windham Co., Conn., Mav 27, 1820, and 
 comes of patriotic Revolutionary stock. 
 
 Hamilton Grant, his father, was born in Pomfret, 
 Conn., a son of John Grant, who was killed in the 
 \\'yoming massacre. Hamilton in early manhood 
 was a school teacher, later in life following agricul- 
 tural pursuits. During the Revolutionary war he 
 enlisted in the patriot army, and fought in the bat- 
 tle of Bunker Hill tmder Capt. Knowlton, at the con- 
 clusion of the war returning to the paths of peace, 
 and during the rest of his davs making his home in 
 Ashford, Conn. He tliere married Lucy Williams, 
 of Groton, Conn., and bv her had nine children, two 
 of whom are yet living: Minerva (Mrs. Snow), liv- 
 in Willimantic, Conn ; and James Monroe, our 
 
 subject. The father died in 1823, the mother in 
 1865. 
 
 James M. Grant, whose name opens this sketch, 
 received his education ii: the schools of Ashford, 
 Mansfield and Willington, all in Connecticut, and 
 worked on farms till he was eighteen years of age, 
 when he engaged in the silk business in Willington, 
 remaining there four years ; then was overseer for 
 Storr's Silk Mill, in Gurleyville, Tolland county, 
 two years ; after which he was with Cheney Bros., 
 in Manchester for several years, and then was em- 
 plo}'ed as overseer of silk mills in Manchester and 
 Hartford. For over forty-two years he operated a 
 silk mill in company with Mr. Sourby in Northamp- 
 ton, Mass., also one in Bridgeport with Williams & 
 Johnson, but for about the past sixteen years he has 
 lived retired, having secured a competency from his 
 patents on reeling silk and on an equalizer as well 
 as on other devices pertaining to that trade. 
 
 Mr. Grant has been twice married, first time, in 
 1850, in Manchester, Conn., to Julia Inglesby, by 
 whom he had no children. For his second wife he 
 wedded, in 1872, in Sprmg-field, Ahce Wheeler, by 
 whom he has two children : ( i) James ^I., Jr., who 
 married Jane Eliza Grant, and has two children, 
 Tbelma A-^iola and Flamilton ]\Ionroe; and (2) Alice 
 \'iola, who wedded Frank E. Ray, and has one 
 child, Doris Grant. 
 
 In religious faith the family are identified with 
 the Episcopal Church. In politics Mr. Grant is a 
 Republican, and, socially, is a member of the Sons 
 of the American Revolution and of the Governor's 
 Foot Guard. For a man of his years he is remark- 
 ablv well preserved, enjoying good health, with 
 faculties unimpaired, and of late years he has de- 
 voted his time to the improvement of his real-estate 
 holdings. Mr. Grant has a wide circle of friends 
 and acquaintances, whose esteem and respect he 
 justiv merits. 
 
 WILLIAM COTTER (deceased) was one of the 
 well-known business men of Hartford, Avhere he con- 
 ducted a successful livery business for more than a 
 quarter of a century. His stables, known as the 
 Buckingham stables, are still among the largest in 
 the city, and the business is carried on by his sons, 
 Daniel and Thomas, with every prospect of contin- 
 ued prosperity. 
 
 Mr. Cotter was born Sept. 22. 1852, in Portland, 
 Conn., and was one of a family of nine children, of 
 whom only one is now living. His father, Thomas 
 Cotter, a farmer bv occupation, became blind as a re- 
 sult of overwork, and now makes his home with his 
 daughter, Mrs. Lawrence Shay, of East Haddani. 
 Our subject's educational advantages were such as 
 fell to the lot of the poor farmer bov, and he left 
 home and school at an early age. With the well- 
 known Frederick Russell, one of the largest invest- 
 ors in the Portland Brown Stone Co., our subject 
 remained in the capacity of coachman for nearly 
 ten vears. At the age of twenty-four years he re- 
 
128 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 moved to Hartford, and engaged in the livery busi- 
 ness on frinity street, opposite the Capitol, continu- 
 ing about fifteen years. In June, 1889, he located at 
 Ko. 19, Buckingham street, remodeling the barn 
 there. Mr. Cotter was a intense lover of good 
 horses, and one of the best judges of good horse- 
 flesh in the city. For sixteen years he drove L\Tnan 
 B. Jewell, of the Jewell Belting Co., keeping the 
 horses at his stables, and driving them whenever 
 Mr. Jewell needed him. He had taken Mr. Jewell 
 through every section of the county, while out on 
 hunting trips, and possessed the fullest confidence 
 and appreciation of that gentleman, who, in speak- 
 ing of him, said Mr. Cotter was one of the truest and 
 most upright men whom he had ever known. Mr. 
 Cotter's death occurred Aug. 24, 1899, and his re- 
 mains were interred in Blue Hills cemetery, Hart- 
 ford. The latter months of his illness he was con- 
 fined to the house, although he directed his business 
 almost to the last. He was a quiet man, and at- 
 tended strictly to 'his business, belonging to no socie- 
 ties. He was of a sociable disposition, however, and 
 made many friends, not a few of whom dropped in 
 upon him in his last illness to brighten his hours of 
 confinement. He never discussed politics, and was 
 not an ofiice seeker ; he with his family was long 
 identified with St. Peter's Catholic Church at 
 Hartford. 
 
 On Nov. 14, 1875, J^J^i"- Cotter was married to 
 Miss Mary FitzGibbons, who was born in Ireland, 
 daughter of Daniel and Johanna (Crowley) Fitz- 
 Gibbons. Her father died in Ireland when she was 
 quite young, and she came to America at an early 
 age, locating in jMassachusetts. Four children were 
 born to this union : Daniel F., Thomas "W., Mazie 
 and Josephine, all at home. 
 
 WALTER COLLYER FAXON, assistant 
 secretary of the ^tna Life Insurance Co., was 
 born in Hartford July 18, i8.s6, son of Hiram and 
 Margaret Maria (Collyer) Faxon. His ancestry- 
 is traced -back to the "Mayflower" Pilgrims, he 
 being a lineal descendant of Gov. William Brad- 
 ford, through the Adams, Collins, Terry and Ol- 
 cott families, and from Richard W^arren, through 
 the Church and Olcott families. Other names of 
 noted "persons to be found anions' his ancestry are 
 those of Francis Elliott, John Whitman, Edmund 
 Hobart, Rev. Solomon Stoddard, Rev. John Ware- 
 ham, John Pantry, John Norton, John Stanley, 
 George Stocking, William Sprague. Anthony 
 Eams, Thomas Bunce and Thomas Wells. 
 
 After being graduated at the Hartford Public 
 High School, in April, 1874, Mr. Faxon entered the 
 emplojr of the Travelers Insurance Co., where dur- 
 ing a period of nearly seventeen years he received 
 the training and insight into the accident business 
 which has contributed so materially toward fitting 
 him for the position he now occupies. When the 
 accident department of the .^tna Life Insurance 
 Co. was decided upon, i\Ir. Faxon was selected as 
 the man especially qualified to assist in its organi- 
 
 zation, and he entered the employ of that company 
 Jan. I, 1891, on which date the first accident policy 
 was issued to the president of the company, ex- 
 Gov. Morgan G. Bulkeley. Policy number one is 
 still in force. In the first year ihe gross premium 
 receipts of the company in its accident department 
 were less than $40,000. In its tenth "year, just 
 closed, they exceed $1,100,000, a most remarkable 
 growth for the first ten years of a business of that 
 nature. During the first years of his connection 
 with the ^tna Life Mr. Faxon held a clerical po- 
 sition; in 1895 the office of assistant secretary in 
 the accident department was created, and he was 
 appointed to it. How successfully he has filled 
 the position is demonstrated by the rapid growth 
 of the business, in which his energies and ambi- 
 tions are all concentrated. 
 
 Mr. Faxon is a member of the Order of Found- 
 ers and Patriots of America, and is a councillor 
 general of the General Court of the order, having 
 been elected to that office Nov. 23, 1900. 
 
 On May 23, 1877, Walter C. Faxon was mar- 
 ried to Nellie A. White, born in Somers, Conn., 
 June 25, 1857, a daughter of Josiah and Hannah 
 (Pease) White. She is a lineal descendant of 
 Elder John White, and among her early ancestry 
 are to be found the names of Robert Dunbar, 
 John Gardner, Edmund Hobart, Edward Wilder, 
 Samuel Tower, Rev. Thomas Wally, George Rus- 
 sell, Matthew Gushing, Thomas Thaxter, Aaron 
 Cook, Rev. Ephraim Hewitt, Gov. John Webster, 
 John Marsh, John Ells, Robert Pease and John 
 Emery. Among those of Mrs. Faxon's ancestors 
 who served in the Revolutionary war may be men- 
 tioned the following: Stephen Pease, Justin Ash- 
 ley, Corp. Abel Gushing, Joseph Ashley, Thomas 
 Wilder, Col. David Gushing, Josiah Pierce, Eben- 
 ezer White, Robert Garnett and Samuel Church, 
 the honored names appearing in eight different an- 
 cestral lines. Mrs. Faxon has made extensive re- 
 searches in genealogy, holds a life membership in 
 the Sons of the American Revolution, and is also 
 an active member of the Daughters of the Ameri- 
 can Revolution. 
 
 (I) Thomas Faxon, the first ancestor of Wal- 
 ter C. Faxon in America, was born in England 
 about 1601, and came to America before 1647. first 
 locating at Dedham, Mass., later settling in Brain- 
 tree, where he died Nov. 23, 1680. A very promi- 
 nent man in his day, he transacted a large amount 
 of public business. His wife, Joane, died some 
 time between 1663 and 1670. 
 
 (II) Richard Faxon, son of Thomas, the emi- 
 grant, born in England in 1630, died Dec. 20, 
 1674. He married Elizabeth (Hubbard (?), born 
 m 1633, who died Aug. 9, 1704, at the age of sev- 
 enty-one. 
 
 (III) Thomas Faxon, son of Richard, was born 
 in Braintree, Mass., Aug. 2, 1662, and was a pros- 
 perous farmer. He died in 1690, his remains be- 
 ing interred in Weymouth, Mass. He married 
 Mary Blanchard, born Dec. i, 1662. 
 
ac, 
 son 
 
 in 11 
 fielt; 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 129 
 
 \y\) Richard Faxon, son of Thomas, was 
 born in Braintree, ]\iass., Sept. 4, 1686, and died 
 JNIay 5, 1768. On Dec. 29, 1709, he married Ann 
 Erackett, born July 18, 1687, who died Oct. 16, 
 1769. 
 
 ^\ ) Thomas Faxon, son of Richard, was born 
 in iSramtree, l\iass., Oct. 29, 1710, and died in 
 1801. He married (first) Sept. 22, 1746, Eliza- 
 beth Hobart, who died April 5, 1752. 
 
 (\T) Ebenezer Faxon, son of Thomas, and 
 great-grandfather of Walter C, was born in 
 Braintree, JNlass., Dec. 12, 1749, and Jan. 6, 1772, 
 came to West Hartford, where he carried on the 
 manufactm"e of eartlienware, and died Jan. 11, 
 181 1. On Feb. 8, 1776, he married Eleanor \\'hit- 
 man, born in 1755, died Nov. 30, 1827. 
 
 (Vn) Elihu Faxon, son of Ebenezer, and 
 grandfather of Walter C, was born in West Hart- 
 ford Nov. 6, 1779, and died June 30, 1847. On 
 July 8, 1807, he married Elizabeth Olcott, born 
 April 22, 1784, a daughter of James and Lucy 
 (Terry) Olcott. She died Dec. 21, 1854. 
 
 (Vni) Hiram Faxon, son of Elihu, and father 
 of Walter C, was born Aug. 11, 1817, in Nassau, 
 N. Y., whence he removed to Buffalo, afterward 
 to Brooklyn, N. Y., and then to Hartford, Conn., 
 where he died Oct. 30, 1883. On March 31, 1842, 
 he married Margaret jNIaria Collyer, born Oct. 2, 
 1822, who died Jan. 12, i860. She was a daugh- 
 ter of William and Margaret (Power) Collyer, of 
 Marblehead, JNIass., and granddaughter of Isaac 
 and Sarah (Courtis) Collyer, of Marblehead, the 
 former of whom was a lieutenant in the Revolu- 
 tionary army. 
 
 FRANCIS HENRY SPENCER, member of the 
 widely-known firm of George F. Spencer & Co., 
 carmen, Hartford, of which he is also manager, 
 is a native of Connecticut, born Sept. i, 1870, in Suf- 
 field. He is a member of one of the oldest and most 
 highly honored families of New England, being a 
 lineal descendant of 
 
 (I) Thomas Spencer, who with his wife came 
 to Hartford in the company of Thomas Hooker. He 
 was representative to the General Court, and had a 
 grant of land given him for his services. 
 
 (II) Samuel Spencer, son of the above, moved 
 to Windham (now Scotland), Connecticut. 
 
 (HI) John Spencer, son of Samuel, born in 
 Windham, died a violent death during the raising of 
 a church, and is buried in Scotland. He had five 
 sons in the Revolutionary war. 
 
 (IV) Jonathan Spencer, son of John, born in 
 ^Vindham, was one of those who "turned out" at 
 the "Lexington Alarm." He married a Miss 
 Brown, of Brooklyn, Connecticut. 
 
 (V) Ichabod Spencer, son of the above, born in 
 Scotland, Conn., in July, 1781, passed the greater 
 part of his life there in agricultural pursuits, dving 
 in May, 1853. He was twice married, first to Hen- 
 rietta Babcock, by whom he had children as fol- 
 lows : Lucius, deceased; George D., a sketch of 
 
 9 
 
 whom follows; Mary E., wife of Zadock Babcock, 
 of South Windham; and Joseph B., of Windham. 
 To the second marriage came the following : Charles 
 E., of Lebanon, Conn. ; and Frederick, deceased. 
 
 (\T) George D. Spencer, grandfather of I'ran- 
 cis H., was born January 26, 1813, in Lisbon (now 
 Sprague), Conn., and was there reared and edu- 
 cated. For several years he clerked in stores in 
 Lebanon, Norwich and Hartford, after which he 
 went into the grocery business on his own account 
 at Hampton, and later, from 1847 1864, in Leb- 
 anon. He spent the latter years of his life at the 
 home of his son George F., in Deep River, dying in 
 1885,. at the age of seventy-two years. Politically 
 he was first a Whig, afterward a Republican, and 
 in 1854 he represented Lebanon in the Legislature; 
 was also town clerk and judge of probate for many 
 years, being altogether a very prominent man. He 
 was a member of the Baptist Church, in which he 
 served as trustee and treasurer. In Hampton, 
 Conn., in June, 1839, George D. Spencer married 
 Martha Maria Spalding, of that place, born in De- 
 cember, 1815, who died in May, 1883, a daughter of 
 Francis and Martha (Hilbrook) Spalding, of Can- 
 terbur}". Conn. Children as follows were born to 
 this union: George F. (sketch of whom follows) 
 and Dwight S. The latter born in 1851, died 
 March 9, 1883 ; at the time of his decease he was a 
 member of the firm of Spencer Bros., of Deep River. 
 A short time after his decease the father also died, 
 and three days later the mother, too, was called 
 from earth. 
 
 (VH) George F. Spencer, father of Francis 
 H., was born Jan. 18, 1842, in Hampton, Conn., was 
 reared in Lebanon, and there attended the common 
 schools and Lebanon Academy. For four }ears he 
 was steward and collector of the Connecticut Lit- 
 erary Institute, at Suffield, Conn. At the age of 
 twenty-three he embarked in a general merchandise 
 business in South Windham, then, after a couple of 
 years, in December, 1875, moved to Deep River, 
 where he bought out the store of Griswold & Smith, 
 and carried same on in company with his brother 
 Dwight until the latter's death. Since then he has 
 been alone in the business, which is widely known. 
 He is also engaged in the coal business. In April, 
 1896, along with his son Francis H., he commenced 
 the trucking business in Hartford, which \vill be 
 mentioned more fully farther on. 
 
 George F. Spencer has been twice married, first 
 time in 1868, to jNlartha Champlin, born in Lebanon, 
 a daughter of Robert Champlin, a shipbuilder there, 
 who married Lucretia Bailey and had two children : 
 ;Martha (]Mrs. G. F. Spencer) and Henry (in Chi- 
 cago). The father died at the age of seventy-four, 
 the mother when eighty-four. Two children were 
 born to George F. and Martha Spencer; Francis H., 
 our subject; and Arthur C, a lawyer in Portland, 
 Oregon, born Oct. 17, 1872. The mother died in 
 Suffield, Conn., in 1872, at the age of thirty-two 
 years, a consistent member of the Baptist Church. 
 
130 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 On Jan. i, 1875, for his second wife, George F. 
 Spencer wedded Esther Linsley, daughter of John 
 S. Linsley, of Northford, Conn., and children as 
 follows came to this union : Martha L., born Oct. 
 28, 1875; George D., Aug. 22, 1878; Benjamin H., 
 JSFov. -9, 1885; Charles S., Oct. 26, 1887; and Es- 
 ther, Nov. 28, 1889. 
 
 In his political preferences George F. Spencer 
 is a Republican, and for sixteen years — from 1880 
 to 1896 — was chairman of the Republican town 
 committee. In 1884 he was a representative of his 
 town in the Legislature, and served on the Buck- 
 ingham Statue (special) committee; in 1893 he 
 again represented the town, and was on the com- 
 mittees on Humane Institutions, Judicial Nomina- 
 tions, and Health. For over fifteen }-ears he was a 
 member of the school board, ser\-ing much of the 
 time as chairman; since 1893 has been a member 
 of the State Board of Charters; and is a director 
 of the Deep River National Bank, and the W'illiman- 
 tic Savings Bank. An influential member of the 
 Baptist Church, he is a deacon in same, and, taken 
 all in all, he is one of the most prominent men in 
 Middlesex county. 
 
 Francis H. Spencer, the subject proper of these 
 line, passed the earlier years of his life in Lebanon 
 .and Deep River, from the high school of which lat- 
 ter place he graduated, subsequently attending Ver- 
 mont Academy, at Saxtons River, Yt., from which 
 institution he was graduated in 1890. Subsequent 
 to this he took a special course at Colgate Univer- 
 sity, Hamilton, N. Y., and then for a time took up 
 'his residence in Deep River. In 1896 he came to 
 Hartford and joined his father in the trucking busi- 
 ness, buying out Webb & Shield, the firm being now 
 known as George F. Spencer & Co., Francis H. 
 beine- manager. The concern is one of the best 
 known and largest in that line in the countr}', and 
 enjovs a wide patronage. 
 
 In 1894, at Brattleboro, Vt., Francis H. Spencer 
 was married to Abbie Fuller, born in Brattleboro, 
 daughter of George W. Fuller, and niece of the late 
 Gov. L. K. Fuller, of A^ermont. Her father was 
 superintendent of the Estey Organ Co., and is still 
 living in A'ermont. He married Zylphy Phippen, a 
 ■native of Cambridgeport, Vt., and three children 
 were born to them: Walter G., who is in Brattle- 
 boro, Vt. ; Albert M., in JSIinneapolis, ]\Iinn, ; and 
 Abbie E. (Mrs. Spencer). To our subject and 
 his wife has been born one son, Walter F. In pol- 
 'itics Mr. Spencer is a Republican; in 1889 was 
 elected member of the common council ; in 1890 was 
 re-elected, and same year was made president 
 thereof. Sociallv he is affiliated with the F. & A. 
 M., and the Royal Arcanum. In religious faith he 
 and his wife are members of the First Baptist 
 Church. As a citizen he is wide-awake and pro- 
 gressive, and the circle of his friends is limited only 
 by the circle of his acquaintances, which is very 
 large, while his name is synonymous with honora- 
 ble dealing. 
 
 ELISHAMA BRANDEGKE, M. D. On 
 Feb. 17, 1884, there passed away, at his home in 
 Berlin, a well-beloved phvsician, whose many years 
 of faithful toil in his profession had made his name 
 a household word in that community. Nor had 
 his influence and his efforts been confined to pro- 
 fessional lines onlv, for in all the varied activities 
 of our common life he had taken a helpful part as 
 a loyal citizen, devoting his abilities to the cause of 
 progress. Dr. Brandegee was a man whose death 
 brought a loss to all classes, and the following brief 
 account of one so esteemed will be read with un- 
 usual interest. 
 
 The Doctor was born in the old Brandegee 
 homestead on Berlin street Jan. 14, 1814, and be- 
 longed to an old Connecticut family of English 
 origin. His great-grandfather, Jacob Brandegee, 
 was born at Nine Partners in 1729; his mother bore 
 the maiden name of Brock. He was engaged in 
 the West India trade, running vessels from Rocky 
 Hill, Conn., and died at sea March 25, 1765. On 
 Oct. II, 1752, he married Abigail Dunham, of 
 Hartford, who was born in 1737, and died in 1825. 
 
 Capt. Elishama Brandegee, the Doctor's grand- 
 father, was born in Christian Lane, Berlin, April 
 17, 1754, and was a sea captain, also engaged in 
 the West India trade and in merchandising in Ber- 
 hn, where, he died Feb. 26, 1832. During the Rev- 
 o'utionary war. May 5, 1775, he enlisted in the 2d 
 Company, 2d Connecticut Regiment, under Capt. 
 Wyllys. He was recruited in Middlesex county, 
 and participated in the battle of Bunker Hill, after 
 which he was detached and joined Capt. Hanchett's 
 company, Sept. i, 1775. He took part in the assault 
 on Quebec Dec. 31, 1775, and was with Gens. 
 Arnold and ^lontgomery at Montreal. After the 
 assault on Quebec he was taken prisoner. The 
 2d regiment was organized under Col. Wyllys as a 
 Continental regiment. Capt. Brandegee was mar- 
 ried, March 10, 1778, to Mrs. Lucy (Plumb) Wes- 
 ton, of -Middletown, who died Feb. i, 1827, and the 
 remains of both were interred in the South bury- 
 ing-grcund, Berlin. 
 
 Elishama Brandegee, father of our -subject, was 
 born in Berlin Nov, 5, 1784. He conducted a store 
 on Berlin street, near where Brandegee Hall now 
 stands, and also engaged in the manufacture of 
 thread. He was a man of excellent ability, and was 
 quite prominent in business affairs. He married 
 Emily Stocking, who was born in Cromwell, Conn., 
 Nov. 29, 1793. The Stocking family was founded 
 in ^Massachusetts in 1633, and three years later one 
 of its representatives, Geoi'ge Stocking, came to 
 Hartford with Rev, Thomas Hooker. In 1650 they 
 were among the first settlers of Middletown, Conn,, 
 and Samuel Stocking was the first deacon of the 
 first church at that place. 
 
 The primary education of Dr. Brandegee was 
 obtained in the Cheshire Academy, and later he was 
 a student in the Simeon Hart Academy, of Farm- 
 inoton. He attended Yale College, from which he 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 131 
 
 was graduated in 1833 ; was graduated from the 
 .Medical Department of that institution, and subsc- 
 <iueiitly attended lectures at a medical school in 
 'Castleton, \'t., from which he was also graduated. 
 For two or three years he was engaged in practice 
 in St. Louis, J\Io., but at the end of that time re- 
 turned home on account of his father's ill health, 
 and from 1841 up to within eight weeks of his death 
 he was actively engaged in practice in Berlin. He 
 was one of the ablest representatives of the medical 
 fraternity in that locality, and enjoyed a large and 
 lucrative practice, which extended throughout Ber- 
 lin, East Berlin, Westfield, Newington, Rocky Hill, 
 JSfew Britain, Becklev and Kensington. 
 
 On April 2S, 1841, Dr. Brandegee was united 
 in marriage with Miss Florence Stith, of Peters- 
 .burg, Va.,, who was born in Florence, Italy, Nov. 
 ■8, 1822, a daughter of Maj. Townshend and Cath- 
 erine (Potter) Stith. Her father was a soldier of 
 the Mexican war, and was minister to Tunis under 
 President Monroe. To the Doctor and his wife 
 were born the following children: Townshend 
 Stith, who was a member of the ist Conn. V. I. 
 ■during the Civil war, married Katharine Layne, 
 .and is now living in San Diego, Cal. ; he is a civil 
 engineer by profession, but is devoting his time to 
 Ijotany. Charles, a member of the 5th New York 
 -Zouaves during the Civil war, married .Mabel Dag- 
 gett, and formerly lived in the West, but now 
 makes his home in Farmington, Conn., where he is 
 .serving as town clerk ; he has one child, Hilda. 
 Florence Stith resides with her mother in Berlin. 
 Robert Boiling married Susan Lord, and has one 
 -child, Robert Lord ; he is an artist, having studied 
 in Paris, and now has a studio in Farmington. 
 Fmily Stocking and Katharine live at home with 
 their mother. Henry Melville died in Helena, 
 jMont., at the age of thirty-seven vears, and his re- 
 mains were interred in the South burying-grcund, 
 Berlin. Edith A'ictorina died at the age of six 
 years. Horace Stocking died at the age of four 
 and a half years. Arthur Latimer is a florist oi 
 J3erHn. Edward Newton is in the real-estate busi- 
 .ness in Helena, IMontana. 
 
 In 1850 Dr. Brandegee took up his residence in 
 the house where his death occurred. This place 
 was built by his father for the teachers of the 
 Worthington Academy, which at that time was 
 -quite a flourishing educational institution ; later the 
 hiouse was sold, and the Doctor purchased it from 
 Joseph Booth. He remodeled the same, and it is 
 to-day one of the most pleasant homes on Berlin 
 .■street. He always took an active interest in edu- 
 cational matters, was a friend to the public schools, 
 and was very instrumental in establishing the Ber- 
 lin Library. He was a great student, and devoted 
 ■considerable time to the study of nature, making 
 a specialty of botany and the analvzation of trees, 
 flowers, etc. Politically he was a stanch Repub- 
 lican, and filled the offices of assessor and treas- 
 iirer of the schools of Berlin. Althousrh of a modest 
 
 and retiring disposition, he made many warm 
 friends, and was highly respected by all who knew 
 him. He was a consistent and faithful member of 
 the Congregational Church of Berlin, of which his 
 estimable wife is also a member. 
 
 GEORGE TERWILLIGER FINCH, M. D., 
 is one of the leading physicians and prominent resi- 
 dents of Thompsonville. He has much natural abil- 
 ity, but is withal a close student, and believes thor- 
 oughly in the maxim "there is no excellence with- 
 out labor." His devotion to the duties of his pro- 
 fession, therefore, combined with a comprehensive 
 understanding of the principles of the . science of 
 medicine, has made him a most successful and able 
 practitioner, one whose prominence is well de- 
 served. 
 
 Dr. Finch was born in Penn Yan, N. Y., June 
 28, 1854, a son of Martin J. and Alary E. (Craven 1 
 Finch, who were natives of Ohio and New York. 
 respectively, and of English ancestry. The paternal 
 grandfather, Martin Finch, was a pioneer farmer 
 of Muskingum county, Ohio, and the maternal 
 grandfather, James Craven, was an early settler of 
 Yates county, N. Y. The father, Martin J. Finch. 
 was a resident of Elmira, N. Y., from 1858. For 
 twenty-eight years he was a traveling salesman 
 for the Downer Oil Company of New York City, 
 and was engaged in the oil business on his own 
 account in Elmira for several years. He died in 
 August, 1899, at the age of eighty-two. 
 
 Dr. Finch accompanied his parents on their re- 
 moval to Elmira, and in the public schools of that 
 city he began his education. Subsec|uently he at- 
 tended the Elmira Free Academy and Hobart Col- 
 lege, Geneva, N. Y., graduating from the latter in 
 1875. The same year he commenced the study of 
 medicine in the office of Dr. J. K. Stanchfield, of 
 Elmira, and was graduated from Bellevue Hospital 
 Medical College, New York City, in 1878. Im- 
 mediately afterward he was appointed house sur- 
 geon of Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Conn., and 
 later house physician, remaining there until June. 
 1879, when he located in Thompsonville. He has 
 since been in the active and successful practice of 
 his profession at that place. 
 
 Dr. Finch has been twice married, his first wife 
 having been Fannie R. Allen, a daughter of Horace 
 B. and Mary A. (Bancroft) Allen, of Enfiekl. 
 Hartford county. Two sons were born of that 
 union: JMartin A. and George C. The Doctor's 
 present wife was, in her maidenhood. Aliss Ida M. 
 Young, a daughter of Winfield E. and Alary 
 (Welsh) Youns:, of Aliddletown. Conn. Dr. and 
 Mrs. Finch are members of the Episcopal Church, 
 and fraternally he belongs to the F. & A. AL, the 
 Ancient Order of Foresters, the Connecticut State 
 Medical Society, and the Hartford Aledical Society. 
 He casts his ballot with the Republican party, an-! 
 in 1895 he represented the town of Enfield in the 
 State Legislature. For sixteen years he has been 
 
132 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a member of the Thompsonville district committee, 
 acting visitor for fifteen years, and is the present 
 health officer of the town. 
 
 ALBERT D. GRISWOLD (deceased) was a 
 native of the town of Wethersfield, as was his fa- 
 ther, Capt. Francis, and his grandfather, Caleb. 
 Francis Griswold, who was a sailor, married Sarah 
 Pierce Deming, of the same place. He was the 
 father of ten children, of whom Albert D. was third 
 in the order of birth, the names of the other nine 
 being Francis, Sarah, Robert B., Louise C, Teresa 
 C, Robert P.. Ella, Martha and Florine. 
 
 Albert D. Griswold lived in the town of Weth- 
 ersfield until he attained his majority, when he went 
 to Ashland, Minn., where he carried on business 
 as a lumber dealer and proprietor of a sawmill. 
 Jn 1859, becoming dissatisfied with the business 
 outlook, he returned to his native place, and ac- 
 cepted a position as overseer on the farm of the 
 Robbins Seed Co. In their employ he remained 
 for two years, then in 1869 went to Rocky Hill, 
 where he bought a farm, upon which one of his 
 sons, W. F., now lives, and where he made his home 
 until his death, in 1889. 
 
 C^n April 26, 1856, Mr. Griswold married Miss 
 Mary A. Wells, of Wethersfield, who bore him nine 
 children. Some brief mention of this numerous 
 f amilv cannot fail to be of interest. ( i ) The eldest, 
 ]\Jary E., was educated in the public and high 
 schools of Hartford, and for twenty-two years has 
 been a school teacher. During most of this time 
 she has been -employed in the schools of Hartford 
 county, and for six years past has taught at Alan- 
 chester. Her devotion to her profession has led 
 her to keep full}- abreast with every onward and 
 upward movement inaugurated by the leading ed- 
 ucators of the country, and she has attained an en- 
 viable reputation in the profession which she has 
 chosen for her life work. ( 2 ) W. F. Griswold, 
 whose biographical sketch appears elsewhere, was 
 the second child and eldest son. (3) Emma L. is 
 deceased. (4) Florine is the wife of Henry L. 
 A'ibberts, of Manchester. ( 5 ) Hattie is now the 
 wife of James W. Williams, ticket agent for the 
 New York, New Haven- & Hartford R. R. at New 
 Britain ; they are the parents of three children, 
 James G., Harold A. and Horace. (6) Sarah L. 
 married George W. Best, of Wethersfield, a night 
 watchman in the State penitentiarv at that place : 
 they have one child, Donald D. (7) Albert A. 
 died in 1876, and (8) Jesse D. is a teacher in the 
 public schools of Hartford, having graduated from 
 the State Normal institution at New Britain, (g) 
 Everett C. is an insurance man, and makes his home 
 with his mother at Rockv Hill. 
 
 ]\Ir. Griswold, while never seeking office, was 
 the recipient of man}- proffered honors from his 
 fellow townsmen in the way of election to posi- 
 tions of responsibility and trust. Besides having 
 been selectman of Rocky Hill, he represented his 
 
 town in the Legislature during the session of 1883. 
 For twenty-two years he served as school visitor,, 
 and for many terms filled the oflice of justice of the 
 peace, in which position his unswervmg integrity 
 and keen common sense rendered him particula.rljr 
 acceptable to honest litigants and a terror to evil- 
 doers. In politics he was a Democrat, and in his. 
 general convictions liberal and broad-minded. He 
 was public-spirited, and always ready to aid in the 
 promotion of any enterprise looking toward the 
 benefit of the town of his residence. It was from, 
 an impulse of this sort that he became one of the 
 founders of the Rocky Hill Library Association. 
 
 LESTER GOODENOUGH (deceased), wha 
 for over sixty years was an honored resident of 
 Bristol, was well known and highly esteemed, not 
 only as a successful business man, but as a good, 
 useful, loyal citizen. 
 
 Levi Goodenough, his grandfather, was born 
 in Maiden, Mass., Jan. 30, 1772, and died Jan. 31, 
 1858, in Peacham, Vt. He was thrice married, 
 first time, April 2, 1793, to Betsey Walker, who 
 was born April 16, 1776, and died April 30, 1816, 
 the mother of children as follows : ( i ) Ephraim 
 was the father of our subject. (2) Ashbel, born 
 Jan. II, 1795, died Dec. 3, 1874; he married Nancy 
 Carter. (3) Levi, Jr., born March 31, 1798, died. 
 Nov. 3, 1878. (4) Betsey, born Feb. 3, 1800, died 
 Aug. 29, 1844. (5) Phebe was born April 23, 
 1802. (6) Sally, born July 22, 1804, died May 30, 
 1870; she married John Harvey, of Barnet, Vt. 
 
 (7) Hiram, born July 8, 1807, died Jan. 15, 1811. 
 
 (8) Almira, born March 29, 1809, married a Mr. 
 Maine, of Ohio. (9) Walker, born Feb. 15, 1812, 
 died Jan. 15, 1814. (10) Warner W., born Nov.. 
 12, 1814, married Sarah J. Davis, of 'Plainfield, 
 Yt. For his second wife Levi Goodenough mar- 
 ried, Dec. 19, 1816, Clarissa Way, who was born 
 Nov. 25, 1783, and died Sept. 23, 1830, leaving 
 three children: Harriet, born March 28, 1818; 
 Daniel, Nov. 11, 1820; and Alma, Oct. 6, 1822. 
 For his third wife Levi Goodenough wedded, Jan. 
 29, 1835, Ruth Walker, who died March 8, 1844, 
 without issue. 
 
 Ephraim Goodenough, son of the above, and fa- 
 ther of the late Lester Goodenough, was born Nov. 
 19' 1793- in Peacham, Vt., and died April 6, 1873, 
 in Bristol, Conn. In early life he was a carpenter, 
 and also followed the trade of wheelwright. He 
 was a consistent meinber of the M. E. Church, 
 and in politics was a Republican. On Dec. 17, 
 18 18, Ephraim Goodenough married Martha E. 
 Ladd, who was born Sept. 13, 1794, in Peacham, 
 Vt.. a daughter of Thing and EHzabeth (Jimson) 
 Ladd. She died Jan. 26, 1838, at Burling^ton, 
 Conn., the mother of children as follows: (i) 
 Lester, the subject proper of this sketch. (2) 
 A'iola Eliza, born Dec. 19, 182 1. married Ranslaer 
 Raynesford. of Alford, Mass., and died June 22, 
 1876, at West Hartford, Conn. (3) Orlando,. 
 
o 
 
 ^-ir-i'i 
 
 r/^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 133 
 
 born Feb. 17, 1824, died in Burlington. Dec. 4, 
 1844, unmarried. (4) Rodney, born jNIay 13, 
 1827, died Jan. 2/, 1880, in Dallas, Oregon : he 
 was a sea captain, and went to California in 1849. 
 (5) Waldo, born Feb. 28, 1832, in Bristol, is a 
 printer in Leavenworth, Kansas. 
 
 Lester Goodenough, whose name opens this 
 memoir, was born Sept. 18, 1820, in Burlington, 
 Conn., and died Dec. 26, 1898. in Bristol. He re- 
 ceived, his education in the common schools of Bur- 
 lington and the Bristol Academy. J\lr. Good- 
 enough served an apprenticeship of three years, 
 in \\ higville, with E. K. Jones at wood clock- 
 turning, and in 1837, at the age of seventeen years, 
 he came to Bristol, where he was employed for six 
 vears by Chauncey Boardman in finishing clocks, 
 and then went into business for himself, making 
 clock trimmings. In this he continued some three 
 or four years, at the end of which time he formed 
 a partnership with Asahel Hooker, in the brass 
 foundry business, the co-partnership existing" until 
 JSlr. Flooker's death, in 1865. Mr. Goodenough 
 continued the business alone until 1897, in which 
 3-ear he took his son Charles R. into partnership, 
 under the firm name of Lester Goodenough & 
 Son, which so continued until the death of the 
 senior partner, since which time Charles R. has 
 conducted the business alone. 
 
 Mr. Goodenough was elected president of the 
 Coddling jMfg. Co. when it was reorganized in 1895, 
 and was holdingthat position at the time of hisdeath ; 
 and was one of the original incorporators of the Bris- 
 tol Savings Bank, being a director and one of the 
 loaning committee. In politics he was a lifelong Re- 
 publican, and for twenty-five years his name was 
 on the town ticket of his party for one or more 
 offices. He served as assessor and manager of the 
 town deposit fund, was also auditor of the town, 
 and for twenty-five years was treasurer of the Sec- 
 ond school district of Bristol. While not a mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church, he was a mem- 
 "ber of the Ecclesiastical Society until the church 
 became incorporated, and he always regularly at- 
 tended the Church services. Socially Mr. Good- 
 enough was a Freemason of many years' standing, 
 liaving united with Franklin Lodge, No. 56, F. & 
 A. M., Oct. 23, 1854. He served the lodge faith- 
 fully in various capacities, including that of grand 
 master, and was also past high priest of Pequa- 
 buck Chapter, No. 32, R. A. M. In all the rela- 
 tions of life no one in Bristol enjoyed a larger 
 measure of confidence and respect than did Lester 
 Goodenough. 
 
 Mr. Goodenough was twice married, (first) 
 June 7, 1848, to Harriet jNIaria Champion, who 
 was born Feb. 18, 1820, in Winsted, Conn., a 
 daughter of Nathan and Mercy (Bevin) Cham- 
 pion. She died in Bristol Sept. 21, 1870, the mother 
 ■of five children: (i) Henry Bird, born Aug. 14, 
 1851, in Bristol, Conn., is in the insurance busi- 
 ness in New Britain. He married Nov. 16, 1881, 
 Mattie (Cowles) Pratt, daughter of Loren and 
 
 Martha (Smith) Cowles, of Hartford; no issue. 
 (2) Ellen Hooker, born Aug. 7, 1853, died Oct. 5, 
 1855. (3) Sarah Champion was born .March 21, 
 1857. (4) Charles Rodnev Goodenough, born 
 Jan. 4, i860, was educated in the common schools 
 of Bristol and in New Britain Seminary. When 
 twenty years of age he entered his father's shop 
 and learned the trade, later becoming a partner, 
 and since his father's death he has conducted the 
 business under the same name, although he is sole 
 proprietor. He is a member of the Knights of 
 Pythias, and in politics is a Republican. He was 
 married July 26, 1896, to Hattie B. Shubert, who 
 was born Sept. 9, 1873, a daughter of Theodore 
 and Mary Shubert, of Bristol. They have one 
 child, Olive Pearl, born July 24, 1897. (5) Har- 
 riet Maria, born June 19, 1862, was married June 
 25, 1891, to Charles W. Edgerton, traveling sales- 
 man for the Penfield Saw \\ orks, of Bristol ; they 
 have one child, Lester Goodenough, born April 
 17, 1899. For his second wife our subject wedded, 
 on June 26, 1872, Lucinda Norton Champion (cis- 
 ter to his first wife), who was born ^Nlarch 23, 
 1822, and died March 31, 1894. 
 
 CADWELL. The Cadwells were of Scotch 
 descent. Thev were manufacturers in the north 
 of Scotland. Thomas Cadwell came to this coun- 
 try previous to 1630, and was first heard of at Dor- 
 chester, Mass. In 1652 he lived on the corner of 
 Front and Grove streets, Hartford. He was a 
 respectable farmer and constable of the town. !Mar- 
 ried, 1658, Widow Elizabeth, daughter of Deacon 
 Edwj.rd Stebbins. He came to Hartford with Rev. 
 Thomas Hooker. His name among others is seen 
 upon the shaft in the old Center Church burying- 
 ground erected to commemorate the first male mem- 
 bers of Hooker's first church, established in 
 Hartford, Conn., year 1635. The children were 
 ten in number: Edward, Thomas, Samuel, Eliza- 
 beth, Mary, IMatthew (born Oct. 5, i668j, Hannah, 
 Abigal, Mehitable, William. His will, probated 
 in Hartford Feb. 4, 1694. found in \'ol. IX, Probate 
 Records. 
 
 Matthew Cadwell married Abigal Beckly. daugh- 
 ter of John Beckly, New Haven, Conn., 1695. He 
 was buried in the Center burying-ground, and the 
 following- is upon his stone: "Here lieth ye body 
 of Mr. Matthew Cadwell, Sen. who died April ye 
 22, 1719 in ye 51 year of his age." The children 
 were: Matthew (born 1696), John, Abel, Daniel 
 and Abigal. 
 
 Matthew (II) married Esther Burnham, 1720. 
 The children were : Amelia, born 17 — . and Matthew, 
 born 1724. He moved to ^^'est Hartford, and is 
 buried there. In Hinman's "Early Puritans, Conn. 
 Settlers," in speaking of the Cadwells. it says: 
 "They were good men and prominent in church 
 and town and men of means." 
 
 Matthew (III) married Elizabeth Hubbard, 
 1747. The children were: Matthew, born 1748; 
 
134 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Elizabeth, born 1750; Anna, born 1752; Pelatiah, 
 born 1754; Huldah, born 1756; Theodore, born Dec. 
 24, 1759; and John, born 1760. He moved to 
 Bloomtield, and with his wife is buried in the old 
 Center burying-ground. 
 
 Theodore Cadwell was in the army of the Revo- 
 lution, enlisted at Simsbur)- in Capt. Prior's com- 
 pany, Erastus W'olcott's regiment. He married 
 Huldah Case, and removed to Johnstown, N. Y. 
 The children were: Theodore (born in 1782), 
 Allyn and Orin. 
 
 Theodore Cadwell, Jr., married Roxy Parsons 
 Oct. 25, 1804. He resided in Bloomfield and was 
 a prominent business man, and one of the largest 
 builders and contractors in those days, building the 
 First Congregational church in Manchester, the 
 Congregational church in North Preston, and the 
 First Congregational church that was built in Can- 
 ada ; also public buildings in Hartford, and most of 
 the best houses in the tovi'n of Bloomfield, and was 
 still a young man when called away from this earth. 
 Children of Theodore (H): Roxy, born 1805; 
 Lavina, born 1808; Huldah, born 1810; Esther, 
 born 1812; Theodore Case, born Dec. 2, 1813; 
 Mary, born 1815; Jeanette, born 1824; and Ed- 
 ward, born 1825. 
 
 Theodore C. Cadwell was born in the town of 
 Bloomfield Dec. 2, 1813. Was reared a farmer, 
 and on Sept. 2, 1835, was united in marriage with 
 Miss Julia A. Cornish, who was a daughter of 
 Harry Cornish, and was born May 18, 1813. Theo- 
 dore C. passed the major part of his life on a farm, 
 was an active and progressive man, held a commis- 
 sion as first lieutenant in the Horse Guards, and 
 in politics was first a Whig and later a Republican, 
 holding many of the ofiices in the gift of the town. 
 He passed away, a highly respected citizen and a 
 member of the Congregational Church, May 28, 
 i860, having lost his wife Sept. 29, 1851. To this 
 marriage were born : Henry C. and George. The 
 latter was born Jan. 7, 1840, and Oct. 24, i860, mar- 
 ried Miss Maria Hubbard, who bore him two chil- 
 dren, viz. : George T., born Jan. 17, 1862, now a 
 resident of Hartford ; and Elith M., now the wife 
 of a Mr. Goddard.' George Cadwell passed away 
 July 6, 1878. 
 
 Henry Cornish Cadwell, a most highly re- 
 spected farmer of Bloomfield, was born on his pres- 
 ent homestead June 29, 1836, was educated in the 
 Bloomfield schools and in the Williston Seminary, 
 at East Hampton, Mass., and was engaged with his 
 father in farming until the latter's death. 
 
 Henry C. Cadwell married in East Granby, 
 Conn.. June 22, 1857, jN'Iiss Harriet L. Pinney, 
 daughter of Luther Pinney, and to this marriage 
 have been born three children,viz. :Julia Emma, born 
 March 28, 1858, is married to Wilbur H. Gaines, 
 and is the mother of four children, born as follows — • 
 LeRoy Cadwell, Aug. 17, 1880; Lena May, June 
 26, 1882; Harrv W., Aug. 25, 1884; and Charles 
 W'., Dec. 28, 1888. The second child of Henry 
 
 C. and Harriet L. Cadwell is Hattie Cornish, borra 
 Dec. 6, 1862, and now resides in Hartford, Conn> 
 The third is Katherine Henri, of Bloomfield, born, 
 June 24, 1 87 1. 
 
 In their religious faith the Cadwell family are 
 Congregationalists. They enjoy to the full the 
 esteem of their neighbors, wherever located. Henry 
 C. Cadwell is a member of and a deacon in the 
 Congregational Church, a Republican in politics,,, 
 has served as town assessor, member of the Board 
 of Relief, member of the School Board, and the 
 superintendent of the schools, and is classed among- 
 the most skillful and progressive agriculturists of 
 the town of Bloomfield. 
 
 FRANICLIN HOLDEN MAYBERRY, M. D., 
 of Burnside, is ranked among the most successful 
 medical practitioners in the State, especially in the 
 treatment of typhoid fever, in which, it is probable, 
 he is excelled by few in New England. He was- 
 born in the town of Casco, Cumberland Co., Maine, 
 April 8, 1862, a son of Edward and Clara (Hol- 
 den) Mayberry,' and descends from good old Co- 
 lonial stock, both paternally and maternally, the 
 Holden family being of Massachusetts nativity, and 
 his grandfather, Edward Holden, married a Miss 
 Bolton, of the same State. 
 
 Capt. Richard Mayberry, great-grandfather of 
 the Doctor, was a first lieutenant in Capt. Samuel 
 Kniglit's company during the Revolutionary war, 
 and later was captain of the Fifth Company, 
 Eleventh Regiment, Massachusetts troops, and par- 
 ticipated in the battles of Fort Ticonderoga, Hub- 
 bardtown, Stillwater and Saratoga ; was present 
 at the surrender of Gen. Burgoyne, shared in the 
 hardships of the inclement winter at Valley Forge,, 
 and also took part in the battle of Monmouth, June 
 28, 1778, the last battle of note at the North dur- 
 ing the Revolution. William Mayberry, father of 
 Capt. Richard, was a pioneer of Maine, and one 
 of the sixty Colonists to whom grants of land were 
 made Jan. 17, 1735, at W'indham, being one of the 
 first to settle in the State. 
 
 Edward Mayberry, the Doctor's grandfather, 
 was the first of the family to locate at Casco, where 
 he became prominent as a lumberman. Our sub- 
 ject's parents passed all their days in the village,,, 
 and were classed among its most substantial citi- 
 zens. Edward Mayberry, his father, was a cousin 
 of M. E. Ingalls, the well-known president of the 
 "Big Four" railroad system, and of the Norfolk &: 
 Western Railroad 'Co.. two Holden sisters being' 
 their mothers. Of the three children born to Ed- 
 ward and Clara Mayberry, Franklin H. is the only- 
 son ; his elder sister, Harriet, is now the wife of 
 George W. Mills, of Weeping Water, Cass Co.,. 
 Neb., and his younger sister, Abby. is the widow 
 of Franklin Edwards, and a resident of the same 
 village. 
 
 Dr. F. H. Mayberry received his elementary- 
 education in the public schools cf b's native tcvn. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 135 
 
 next attended the Bridgton Academy, in tlie same 
 county, four years, and then entered Bowdoin Col- 
 lege in the class of 1880. He then entered upon 
 the study of medicine under Dr. Cobb, of Casco, 
 and later under Prof. Tinkham, of Burlington, 
 \'t. : then entered the University of Vermont, from 
 the IMedical Department of which he graduated in 
 1885, and at once located in Hartford, Conn., where, 
 for three years, he served as second assistant physi- 
 cian at, the Retreat, and for the three years follow- 
 ing was assistant superintendent of the same in- 
 stitution. 
 
 In 1891 Dr. Mayberry settled in Burnside. where 
 his success has been so flattering and so lucrative 
 that he has become a "fixture." His village, as 
 well as his country practice, is constantly on the 
 increase, and this phenomenal success is due en- 
 tirely to his professional skill and merits, as he 
 located here unheralded, and his extraordinary man- 
 agement of cases of typhoid fe^•er, one of the most 
 virulent disorders that "flesh is heir to," as well 
 as one of the most difficult to control, and one of 
 the most prevalent, has made his name famous in 
 much more than a local sense. 
 
 In politics the Doctor is a sound Republican, 
 and as an evidence of his popularity and value as 
 a citizen, as measured by the residents of the town 
 of East Hartford, it may be mentioned that he was 
 elected, the first year of his residence here, a mem- 
 ber of the school board, of which office he is still 
 a valuable and active incumbent; in 1895 he was 
 elected to the State Legislature, after the shortest 
 residence in the district of any of his predecessors, 
 and his voice is still potent in the councils of his 
 party. Fraternally he is a member of Orient Lodge, 
 No. 62, F. & A. M., of Hartford : of Lafayene 
 Council, O. V-. A. M., of East Hartford: of the 
 Foresters, of the same town : was a charter mem- 
 ber of the Knights of Pythias Lodge, also at East 
 Hartford, and is still an active member of the 
 latter. 
 
 The Doctor was most happily married. ^.lav 19, 
 1890, to Miss Elizabeth Alaher, daughter cf Alex- 
 ander Maher, of Hartford, and this union has 
 been crowned by the birth of one child, Dorothy 
 H. The Doctor and wife are socially among the 
 most respected residents of the town, and their 
 financial standing is all that could be desired. 
 
 JARED FREDERICK BRAINARD (de- 
 ceased), for man}- years a prominent farmer of 
 Enfield, was born in that town Alarch 9. 181 8. a 
 son of Jared and Mary (Pierce) Brainard, and a 
 lineal descendant in the seventh generation from 
 Daniel Brainard, a native of England, who at the 
 age of eight years was broiight to Hartford. Conn., 
 where he was reared to manhood, and who about 
 1662 settled in Haddam, Conn. The paternal grand- 
 parents of our subject were Frederick and Anna 
 (Brainard) Brainard: Frederick was a son of Ezra 
 and Jerusha (Snow) Bi'ainard : Ezra, a son of 
 
 Josiah and Hannah (Spencer) Brainard; Josiah, 
 a son of \\'illiam and Sarah (Bidwell) Brainard; 
 and William, a son of Daniel and Hannah (Spen- 
 cer) Brainard, the founders of the family in Amer- 
 ica. Hannah, the wife of Daniel I^rainard, was a 
 daughter of Gen. Spencer, of Lynn, I^Iassachusetts. 
 
 The maternal grandparents of our subject were 
 John and Lucy (Snow) Pierce; John was a son of 
 Ebenezer and ]\Iary (Stowe) Pierce; Ebenezer. a 
 son of Ebenezer and INIary Pierce ; and Ebenezer, a 
 son of John and Deborah (Converse) Pierce, of 
 Woburn, Massachusetts. 
 
 Jared Frederick Brainard, our subject, was 
 reared to manhood on the old homestead at Brain- 
 ardsville, where he spent his entire life. He re- 
 ceived a common-school and an acailemical educa- 
 tion, and was a successful farmer. He took an 
 active part in clnnxh aft'airs, being a member of 
 the First Congregational Church of Enfield, and a 
 life member of the Home Missionary Society of that 
 town. For many years he taught the Young .Men's 
 Bible Class in the Sabbath-school. He was mar- 
 ried. Sept. 14, i8j12, to Jane R. Baird, daughter 
 of Thomas and Sarah (Eddy) Baird, of Auburn,. 
 Mass., who bore him six children: Sarah J. (Mrs. 
 Henry H. Chilson), Frederick, Ogden T., Laura 
 M. ('Mrs. Frank G. Burt), Nellie A. (now Mrs. 
 Fred A. Belden) and Howard N. 'Sir. Brainard 
 died April 19, 1892, and his wife on Aug. 14, 1S86. 
 
 HON. DAMS EMERY LANE, D. D. S., one 
 of the oldest, most experienced and popular dentists 
 of Hartford, whose skill has placed him at the head 
 of his profession is a native of Wayne, Kennebec 
 Co., IMaine, born Nov. 25, 1842, a son of Davis 
 A'errel and Nancy (Bodge) Lane, natives of the 
 same State. 
 
 Peter Lane, father of Davis Aerrel Lane, and 
 grandfather of the Doctor, was a farmer, and lived 
 in Leeds, Androscoggin county. He was twice mar- 
 ried, and to his first union the father of the Doctor 
 was born. Peter Lane passed his entire life at Leeds, 
 and there his mortal remains were interred. 
 
 Davis A'. Lane, the father of the Doctor, was 
 born in Leeds in 1800, and after a due attendance 
 at school entered a woolen-mill, and became very 
 skillful as a manufacture of woolen goods. Later 
 he engaged in farming in Wayne, Kennebec county, 
 and still later removed from ilaine to Long Island, 
 N. Y., where he passed the remainder of his life 
 in Huntington, dying in 1887. To his marriage, 
 with Nancy Bodge, were born three children : Al- 
 mira, who was married to Dr. F. \A'. Burgess, of 
 Huntington, L. I.; Davis E., the subject of this 
 sketch ; and Olive, wife of Jonas A'elsor, also of 
 Huntington. Nancy (Bodge) Lan ; was born in 
 Fayette. Kennebec Co., Maine, and was one of the 
 thirteen children born to John Bodge, a potter. 
 
 Davis Emery Lane was educated primarily in- 
 the district schools, and finished his literary course 
 in the A^'ayne high school. In September, 1862, he 
 
136 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 enlisted in Company G, Twenty-fourth Maine Vol- 
 unteers, under Capt. E. Lewis Sturtivant and Col. 
 George M. Atwooci, went from Maine to New 
 Orleans, La., and wis in service on the Mississippi 
 river at Port Hudson, where he remained until the 
 surrender. The term of his enlistment having ex- 
 pired, he, with the regiment, then returned to his 
 native State. For two years he lived in Portland, 
 Maine, where he was engaged in mercantile trade. 
 In 1868 he took up the study of dentistry, and, after 
 the completion of its course, practiced for a while 
 at Huntington, L. L, N. Y. In 1872 he came to 
 Hartford, Conn., and located on Pratt street, where 
 he has been actively engaged since, and has built 
 up a very extensive practice. 
 
 In 1873 -Dr- Lane married Miss Adrienne E. 
 Howard, a native of Huntington, L. I., and daugh- 
 ter of Farnum L. and Emeline Howard. Seven 
 children have been born to this marriage, of whom 
 five are no wliving; Harrold died in infancy, and 
 Davis E., Jr., died in 1888. Those living are: Emily 
 M. ; Farnum Howard, an organist of abil■it)^ and 
 teacher of music ; Homer Bodge : Jessie A. ; and 
 Robert Irving — all living with their parents. 
 
 In 1882 Dr. Lane removed his family to East 
 Hartford, but retained his business office in the cit\-. 
 Being a stanch Republican, he took great interest in 
 local party affairs, became very popular, and in 
 1888 was elected to represent his district in the 
 State Legislature, in which he served greatly to 
 his honor and credit. He has also been a member 
 of the school committee for several years, and quite 
 prominent in the aft'airs of the village generally. 
 
 The Doctor is a member of Orient Lodge, No. 
 67, F. & A. AL, and of D. C. Rodman Post, No. 
 65, G. A. R. In religion he and his family are 
 Lnitarians, and regularly attend the house of wor- 
 ship of the Lhiitarian Society, to the support of 
 which they freely contribute financially. Besides 
 his professional eminence the Doctor holds a high 
 position in the social circles of both Hartford and 
 East Hartford, and with his amiable wife and chil- 
 dren enjoys the esteem of his neighbors to a very 
 marked degree. Since 1888 he has been a member 
 of the board of trustees of the Raymond Library, 
 East Hartford, was several years vice-president, and 
 in May, 1899, on the death of H. R. Hayden, he was 
 elected president of the board. 
 
 HON. LEWIS SPERRY, of the law firm of 
 Sperry & McLean, Hartford, and former member 
 of Congress from the First Connecticut District, 
 has taken high rank in the legal profession of the 
 State. 
 
 Mr. .Sperry was born Jan. 23, 1848, on East 
 Windsor Hill, in the town of South Windsor, the 
 sixth child and second son of Daniel Gilbert and 
 Harriet Frances (Pelton) Sperry, the father, a 
 farmer, born at Sperrys Farms, Woodbridge, Conn., 
 a descendant in the sixth generation from Richard 
 Sperry. Richard Sperry was of the Colony of 
 New Haven as early as 1643, coming as agent for 
 
 the Earl of Warwick, and was granted a tract of 
 land, in what is now the town of Woodbridge, 
 Conn., which is still known as Sperrys Farms. 
 Other paternal ancestors of our subject in the New 
 Haven Colonv were Jilatthew Gilbert Todd, Cooper 
 Heaton (or Eaton), Wilmot and Carrington. 
 
 Harriet Frances Pelton, our subject's mother, 
 was a daughter of James and Sophia (Gaylord) Pel- 
 ton, and a descendant of Deacon William Gaylord, 
 !\Iatthew Grant, Daniel Clark, Humphrey Prior, 
 John Drake, Benedictus Alvord, Thomas Moore, 
 and John Osborn, of Windsor; was also descended 
 from ihc Edwards family of Hartford, the Lathrops 
 of Norwich, and the Peases of Enfield, Conn. 
 James Pelton was descended from John Pelton of 
 Boston, 1634, and from Margaret Thompson, a 
 Scotch widow with nine children, who sailed from 
 Ireland in 1718, in the fleet of five ships commanded 
 by Capt. Temple, bound for Boston. Nine of Lewis 
 Sperry 's ancestors arrived in New England later 
 than 1730, all became at once land owners in the 
 various towns which they chose for their homes, 
 and all were farmers, whatever other occupation 
 they may have joined with their agricultural pur- 
 suits. In every war, from the Pequot to the Civil, 
 some ancestor or near relative fought on the win- 
 ning side. 
 
 Lawyer Sperry's boyhood was passed on the 
 farm in the Connecticut Valley, where beauty of 
 scene and fertility of soil frees the farmer from 
 many of the hardships and privations which per- 
 tain to that occupation in more remote or barren 
 regions. He attended both public and private 
 schools in the neighborhood. At the age of thir- 
 teen he was sent to New Haven, and was a member 
 of the family and school of the well-known teacher, 
 Sidney A. Thomas. Later he entered Monsou 
 (Alass.) Academy, graduating in 1869, and spent 
 the succeeding four years in Amherst. He was 
 popular in college, was editor of the "Amherst 
 Student," and an active member of the debating 
 societies, but never at that time or since has he 
 joined any secret society. He perhaps gave more 
 time to the study and practice of debate and oratory 
 than to the reg'ular studies of the college course, 
 and won several prizes as a speaker and debater, 
 and the first '"Hardy prize" at his graduation, in 
 1873. After this event he immediately entered the 
 law office of Waldo, Hubbard & Hyde, in Hartford, 
 Connecticut. 
 
 Daily intercourse with such men as Judge Loren 
 P. Waldo, Gov. Richard D. Hubbard, and Alvan P. 
 Hyde, could but give noble ideas of life to any 
 youth coming under their influence, and here young 
 Sperry could see exemplified each day the highest 
 requirements in the study of law, and its most hon- 
 orable application when practiced as a profession. 
 Admitted to the Hartford County Bar in 1875, 
 Mr. Sperry the following year joined with ex- 
 Lieut. -Gov. George G. Sill in renting the chambers 
 at No. 345 Main street, and between Mr. Sill and 
 Mr. Sperry began a friendship which time has only 
 
I 
 
 ^^^E' 
 
 "^^"Wm ^^1 
 
 ^^^H^ 
 
 ""^M ^^1 
 
 1 
 
 m 
 
 y ■ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 137 
 
 deepened. Here might be noted a strong trait in 
 the character of Lewis Sperry : In his liome, among 
 his pla_vmates in the district school, at college, and 
 with those whom he oftenest meets in the practice 
 of his profession, he has formed deep and abiding 
 friendships, which evince no variableness or shadow 
 of turning. Since his entrance into public life Mr. 
 Sperry, so far from forgetting his earlier friends, 
 ajDpears to feel for them a tender regard, as for 
 those who did not come with political popularity 
 and will not depart with it. In 1876 he represented 
 his native town in the Legislature, and was a mem- 
 ber of the committee on Education. When the 
 new coroner law went into elifect, in 1883, he was 
 appointed coroner for Hartford county, and had 
 the cHfficult task of applying a law without prece- 
 dents to guide him. The most notable case \xhich 
 came under his care while holding this office, was 
 the explosion of the boilers in the "Park Central 
 Hotel." The coroner's finding, and his courage and 
 good judgment in holding the responsible parties 
 guilty in this accident, were noted by the New York 
 and Boston papers, and editorial comment termed 
 his a "model report." The capacity he showed for 
 the administration of public affairs led to his selec- 
 tion as a candidate for Congress, and after his nom- 
 ination, in 1890, his career can be culled from the 
 public prints. After the election the "Amherst 
 .Student" took pride in saying: "Hon. Lewis Sperry 
 {'72i) will represent the First Connecticut District 
 in the Llld Congress, having defeated Simonds, 
 (Rep.) by 708. Mr. Sperry's popularity is shown 
 from the fact that two 3-ears ago Simonds carried 
 the district by 813, making a gam for Mr. Sperry 
 of 1.521. Hartford Citv, where Mr. Sperry prac- 
 tices law, was carried by him by 1,112, being the 
 largest majority ever given a Congressional candi- 
 date. Amherst's new Congressman, while in Am- 
 lierst captured many prizes, including the first 
 ^Hardy.' " 
 
 The Sl'riiigficld Republican of Nov. 9, 1890. 
 remarked : "It is seldom that a candidate of either 
 party has been complimented so highly by the votes 
 of his political opponents in the profession as has 
 Lewis Sperry. He will not be so showy a man as 
 Mr. Simonds, but he will be a hard worker, which 
 is his natural habit." 
 
 For a Congressman spending his first winter at 
 the National Capital JMr. Sperry had his full share 
 of official social life. His renomination was a 
 foregone conclusion, and the Democratic Congres- 
 sional Convention simply carried out the wishes of 
 his constituents, in making him a candidate for a 
 second term. His speech in accepting the nomina- 
 tion showed a thoughtful consideration for the in- 
 terests of the district. No Democrat has ever been 
 elected in this district in a Presidential year, and no 
 Congressman ever succeeded himself. With the 
 chances apparently against him, and the district 
 almost a tie between Mr. Harrison and Mr. Cleve- 
 land, Mr. Sperry won by the handsome majority 
 ■of 340. Party lines were closely drawn in the rest 
 
 of the district, but his personal following in Hart- 
 ford carried the day. -Mr. Sperry was a member 
 of the committee on Banking and Currency, charged 
 with the investigation of the question of increasing 
 the National Bank Association, and on Aug. 2, 
 1893, made one of the best speeches for the repeal 
 of the Sherman Act which had been heard in the 
 House since it met in extraordinary session. He 
 was looked upon as the leader of the party in oppo- 
 sition to the Wilson Bill. This position he main- 
 tained, and was one of the seventeen Democrats who 
 voted against the Bill. A storm of censure raged 
 throughout the newspapers, and he was vehemently 
 called upon to resign. His course was approved 
 by the Republican papers, and the Xczi' York Sun, 
 and he was editorially defended l3\' the veteran leader 
 of the Democratic party in Connecticut, the Hart- 
 ford Times. Mr. Sperry had the brain and nerve 
 to see his way clear, and to stand firmly by his own 
 convictions. Such a man in either party in Con- 
 gress wins respect. Declining a renomination, Mr. 
 Sperry returned to the practice of law in Hartford, 
 forming in October, 1895, the law rtrm of Sperry 
 & McLean, of which he has since been senior part- 
 ner. In religious sympathies Mr. Sperry is a Con- 
 gregationalist. 
 
 On Nov. 7, 1878, Mr. Sperry was married to 
 Miss Elizabeth Ellsworth Wood, daughter of the 
 late Dr. William Wood, the naturalist, of East 
 Windsor Hill, Conn. Two children were born to 
 them : Ellsworth and Mary E. From an obituary 
 notice published in one of the Hartford papers at 
 the time of Mrs. Sperry's death, is extracted the 
 following : 
 
 "By the death, Friday night, of Mrs. Elizabeth 
 Ellsworth Sperry, at East ^\'indsor Hill, the com- 
 munity loses a woman of rare qualities, of estima- 
 ble character, and one who was highly esteemed 
 in the circles in which she moved. J\Irs. Sperry 
 suffered a surgical operation about six months ago. 
 Since then she has failed steadily, and for three 
 months past has been confined to her apartment. 
 
 "Mrs. Sperry was a native of East Windsor Hill, 
 born in 1849, ^"d daughter of Dr. William Wood, 
 the noted ornithologist. She attended the Green- 
 wood Academy, at Brattleboro. A't., and in 1878 
 was united to Mr. Sperry by Rev. j\Ir. Bowman, 
 now of East Hartford. She was a valued member 
 of the Congregational Church of South Windsor. 
 Mrs. Sperry took an active interest in the aff'airs 
 of the Daughters of the American Revolution, as 
 her ancestry included such distinguished men as 
 Chief Justice Ellsworth and Oliver Wolcott. Mrs. 
 Sperry was a memljer of ^lartha Pitkin Chapter, D. 
 A. R.; of East Hartford." 
 
 ROBERT CASE (deceased) was for many 
 years a leading agriculturist of North Canton, and 
 while his life was free from all competition for 
 worldly honors he won and retained the respect of 
 all who knew him. 
 
 Mr. Case was born in North Canton in 1805, and 
 
138 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 came of a well-known family. Sergt. Richard Case 
 came to this section at an early day with his wife, 
 Mercy Holcomb, and settled in West Simsbury, 
 upon a farm. Simeon Case, son of John, and the 
 grandfather of onr subject, was born in West Sims- 
 burv in 173Q, and in 1759 located in what is now 
 West Granby, where he owned a large tract of land, 
 and was engaged for many years in general farming, 
 stock raising and grain growing. He died there in 
 1823. He married Mary Case,who was born in 1739, 
 daughter of Amos Case, and died in 1826. They 
 had eleven children, as follows: Simeon (1756- 
 1819) married Phcebe Burr; Ashbel (1762-1816) 
 married Polly Frazier ; Titus (1764-1816) married 
 Amy Reed; Obed (1765-1849) married Rachel Em- 
 mons; Eliphalet ( 1770-1847) married Rachel Case, 
 who died in 1813: Mary (1771-1821); Alexander 
 (1774-1824) married !Mindwell Case, who died in 
 1830; Francis ( 1777- 1845) married Jemima Case; 
 Robert is mentioned more fully below ; Peter ; and 
 Elizabeth married Reuben Russell. 
 
 Robert Case, Sr., our subject's father, was born 
 in 1780, in what is now West Granby, and followed 
 farming throughout liis life. He was an excellent 
 citizen, was active in local politics in connection with 
 the Whig party, and in religious work as a member 
 of the Episcopal Church. He married (first) 
 Clarissa Case, who was born in 1784, daughter of 
 Darius and Mary (Giddings) Case, and grand- 
 daughter of Xoah Case. She died in 1827, and he 
 subsequently married Mrs. Martha (Cooley) Reed, 
 a widow. By the first marriage there were ten 
 children: Robert, our subject; Ambrose; Jared ; 
 Walter ; Ruth : Savilla ; Louise ; Clarissa ; Pluma 
 and Temperance. The only child of the second 
 marriage, Sidney P., is now a farmer in North 
 Canton. 
 
 Our subject received a common-school educa- 
 tion, and when a young man engaged in farming on 
 a tract of land now owned by his sons Ansel and 
 Warren. He made many improvements upon the 
 place, and was a successful farmer, his attention 
 having been given to stock raising, dairying and 
 tobacco growing with good results. He was a man 
 of temperate habits, industrious and thrifty, and 
 for manv years was a prominent member of the 
 Methodist Church at Washington Hill. In politics 
 he 'was a Republican, but he did not seek official 
 honors. He died in 1852, his remains being in- 
 terred in the North Canton cemetery. His wife, 
 Catherine Case, was born in the town of Canton, 
 a daughter of Alexander and Mindwell (Case) 
 Case, and a granddaughter of Simeon Case, our 
 subject's grandfather. She died in 1878, leaving 
 the memory of a worthy life as wife and mother. 
 Of their seven children, (i) Ansel is engaged in 
 tobacco growing at the homestead, and is one of the 
 successful farmers of the locality; (2) Trumbull 
 died in 1852; (3) }iliss Julia A. is at home; (4) 
 Warren is in partnership with Ansel on the home- 
 stead, and is an enterprising and industrious farm- 
 
 er, and a highly esteemed citizen; (5) Louisa (de- 
 ceased ) married Sherman Messenger, of Canton : 
 (6) John W. is mentioned more fully below; (7) 
 Martha is the second wife of Sherman Messenger. 
 John W. Case was born Jan. 23, 1842, and 
 after receiving a district-school education engaged 
 in farming at the homestead. In 1871 he bought 
 his present farm of 140 acres in North Canton, 
 which he has improved extensively. He is a gen- 
 eral farmer, but has been successful in tobacco 
 growing, dairying and the raising of stock. His 
 industry, honesty and frugality are family char- 
 acteristics, and he is regarded as one of the sub- 
 stantial citizens of his town. Politically he is a 
 Republican, and in religion he holds liberal views. 
 Mr. Case married Miss Alice Barber, a native of 
 New* Hartford, and a daughter of Noak Barber. 
 Thev have three children: Albert W., Rachel C. 
 and Alice E. 
 
 JOSEPH LANGDON, for more than fifty 
 vears a drv-goods merchant of Hartford, was de- 
 scended from an excellent Connecticut family, whose 
 first settlement in America appears to have been 
 made in Wethersfield about 1640. 
 
 Reuben Langdon, his father, was born in 1777 
 in Farmington, married in 1803 Patience, daughter 
 of Hon. Sylvester Gilbert, of Hebron, and was for 
 some years engaged in business in New London, 
 but removed to Hartford about 181 7. There he 
 established the dry-goods business, which tmder 
 various managers has continued and increased to 
 this da\', and is now known by the firm name of C. 
 S. Hills & Co. Later he became treasurer of the 
 Society for Savings, popularlv known as the Pratt 
 Street Bank, and was finallv succeeded in his store 
 by the subject of this sketch. His death occurred 
 in Hartford in 1849. 
 
 Joseph Langdon was born in New London, 
 Conn., July 20, 181 1, removed with his parents to 
 Hartford when a child, was educated in the public 
 schools of that city, and on Jan. i, 1835, married 
 JMary Ann, daughter of Thomas Mather, of West- 
 field, Mass. After her death he married, June 5, 
 1874, Mrs. Nancy Sheldon, daughter of Capt. 
 Gideon Hubbard, of the coasting service. Mrs. 
 Langdon, who is still a resident of Hartford, had 
 by her first marriage one son, Charles R. Sheldon, 
 who was for several years bookkeeper for Mr. Lang- 
 don, and died at the age of forty. Mr. Langdon 
 also had one son by his first marriage, Edward 
 Mather, who died at the age of twelve years. His 
 own death occurred June 3, 1895, as the result of a 
 trolley car accident. Mr. Langdon was a merchant 
 of the old school, conservative in his methods, un- 
 swervingly honest and upright in every transaction, 
 and successful in acquiring a competency for the 
 quiet years of his later life. For many years he 
 was Vice-President of the Society for Savings. 
 During the long period of his career he watched, 
 ivith affectionate regard, the growth and improve- 
 
^xs\4\\S\ 
 
 N 
 
 *^^F 
 
 aIkmJ^A ^t 
 
 ■f^^O^olm^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 139- 
 
 nicnt of the city -where he hved, enjoying" the pleas- 
 ure of seeing its population and importance increase 
 more than sevenfold. He was a Republican as to 
 his political views, and, though not strongly parti- 
 san, took none the less an earnest interest in the con- 
 duct of the affairs of the State and Nation. He had 
 no desire for, and never sought, public official posi- 
 tions. He was a member of the Park Congrega- 
 tional Church and a regular attendant upon its serv- 
 ices. In early life he was an officer of the First 
 Company, Governor's Foot Guards, .retaining his 
 membership in the Veteran Corps and his enthu- 
 siasm for the company to the end of his life. Mr. 
 Langdon was a good man, quietly benevolent toward 
 the needy, a generous supporter of ever^r good cause, 
 and a citizen who enjoyed the respect and high es- 
 teem of his fellow men. 
 
 THOMAS SMITH O'CONNELL, M. D. As 
 the years glide away new men constantly appear 
 upon the scene of human activities in every branch 
 of professional and business life, and by the innate 
 forces of superior worth and ability win speedy 
 renown and recognition. Dr. Thomas S. O'Connell 
 is a comparatively young man, yet his career in the 
 few brief vears of his practice in East Hartford 
 has been brilliantly successful. He has an almost 
 unbroken record of complete success in his profes- 
 sion, winning for him one of the largest practices 
 in the East Side towns, while his unfailing courtesy, 
 his quiet good fellowship, and his liberality of 
 mind and opinion, combine to make him one of the 
 most popular young men of East Hartford. 
 
 The Doctor was born at Colchester, Conn., Dec. 
 15, 1866. the fifth child and second son of Michael 
 and Annie (Smith) O'Connell, the former a native 
 of County Kerry, and the latter of County Cork, 
 Ireland. The father migrated to America as a poor 
 and friendless lad in 1848. He found employment 
 and for a time worked at Colchester, then m 1854 
 went to Montreal. Canada, where he met and mar- 
 ried Annie Smith. He supported his family by his 
 labor, and in many respects is a remarkable man. 
 With scant educational opportunities in his youth, 
 his mental activities awakened later in life, and by 
 reading and original thought he has given evi- 
 dence of much more than ordinarv ability. Fie has 
 been a man of the best habits, strictly temperate, 
 one to whom the vices of intoxicating drink and 
 tobacco in all its forms were wholly unknown. 
 Though not exempt from the provocations of anger, 
 he never used profanity ; none of his sons ever 
 heard an oath fall from his lips. About 1865 
 ^Michael O'Connell returned with his family to 
 Colchestei', Conn., where he was employed in the 
 Colchester Rubber Works. Both he and his wife 
 are living, at the ages of seventy and sixty-five 
 years respectively. 
 
 Dr. O'Connell obtained his earlv education in 
 the public schools of his native tov.-n. He then be- 
 came a student in Bacon Academv, one of the finest 
 
 high schools in Connecticut, on graduating from 
 which, in 1885, he taught school in Colchester, 
 and for four years he was employed as a teacher 
 in the public schools of his native town. He has 
 always been interested in the common schools, and 
 has practical knowledge of their virtues and their 
 faults. For some years he was chairman of the 
 committee for one of the district schools in Col- 
 chester. Early in his school days he developed an 
 inclination for the profession of medicine, and later, 
 in 1889, he passed his examinations for admission; 
 to the Baltimore College of Physicians and Sur- 
 geons. Among his studies he took particular in- 
 terest in anatomy, physiology and chemistry, and 
 in his junior year he obtained the position of as- 
 sistant demonstrator of chemistry. In April, 1892, 
 he graduated, among the first ten in a class of 143. 
 
 Dr. O'Connell possesses a talent for music, and 
 his ability as a violinist w-as a source of revenue. 
 Fie gave lessons on the violin, and the money 
 thus earned assisted materially in defraying the 
 expenses of his education, which was paid for 
 wholly from his own savings. 
 
 In August, 1892, Dr. O'Connell located at East 
 Hartford. He was a complete stranger, but his 
 progress in his profession was rapid from the start. 
 At first he relieved Dr. ^IcKnight of the care of 
 distant patients, and won almost immediately favor- 
 able notice. In 1893 he joined the State and County 
 Medical Societies, and in January. 1894. he be- 
 came an associate member of the City Society. His 
 medical library is an exceptionally fine one. For 
 some years he has been making a specialty of ob- 
 stetrics, and he has a constantly mcreasing practice, 
 one which is built up solely on his merits as a 
 physician. 
 
 ' Among the fraternities the Doctor is a member 
 and examining physician of Xutmeg Lodge, A. O. 
 U. W. ; surgeon and examining physician for the 
 First Division, Ancient Order of Hibernians: ex- 
 amining physician for Semaphore Lodge, Xo. 551, 
 of the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen : and ex- 
 amining physician for the Brotherhood of Loco- 
 motive Firemen. Fie is a regular attendant at St. 
 Mary's Church. 
 
 In politics the Doctor is attached to straight 
 Jeffersonian principles. In 1893 he was chosen, on 
 the Democratic town ticket, a member of the board 
 of school visitors, a position which he has held ever 
 since. For a number of years he has been a mem- 
 ber of the High School committee of East Hart- 
 ford. 
 
 In October, 1896, the Doctor was married, at 
 East Flartford. to Miss Xellie M. Flynn, a native 
 of East Hartford, and a daugnter of Dominick 
 Flynn, which union has been blesjed with two chil- 
 dren : Thomas \^'ard, born May 5, 1898; and ^Nlary 
 Elizabeth, born Alarch 14. 1900. 
 
 As a citizen Dr. O'Connell stands among the 
 foremost in the community, his deep and abiding in- 
 terest in all worthy public causes making l..m one 
 
140 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of those natural leaders to which the community in 
 which he lives turns almost instinctively for counsel 
 and advice. He is popular among all classes of men, 
 and his few years of active life have in them much 
 l^romise for the future. 
 
 JOSEPH EDWARD ROOT, B. S., M. D., of 
 Hartford, where his standing in the profession and 
 in citizenship is high, has descended in several 
 lines from not only some of the earliest families to 
 come to New England, but some of the most con- 
 spicuous in its history — from families that have 
 given to this section men eminent and illustrious. 
 
 Dr. Root was born !March 4, 1854, in Green- 
 wich, j\Iass., a son of Hon. Thomas Pitkin and 
 Seraph ]\'Iarsh (Haynes) Root, and is a lineal de- 
 -scendant on his mother's side from John Hayaes, 
 a man of education and letters from Hertfordshire, 
 England, who came to New England with Rev. 
 Thomas Hooker and company in the ship "Griffin" 
 in 1633, and in 1637 settled in Hartford, of which 
 he was one of the original proprietors, and was 
 chosen the first Governor of Connecticut in 1639. 
 Also in that line Dr. Root, through his grandmo- 
 ther, Betsey (Marsh) Haynes, wife of Reuben 
 (she being- a daughter of Lucy (Putnam) and Ty- 
 ler Marsh ) , is a lineal descendant of John Marsh, 
 an English emigrant who settled at Salem, Mass., 
 as early as 1637, and of John Putnam, who was 
 the ancestor of Gen. Israel Putnam, of Revolu- 
 tionar}' fame, John, the emigrant, coming from 
 Aston Abbotts, Buckinghamshire, England, in 1634, 
 settling" in Salem. From these two ancestors Dr. 
 Root's line is, respectively, through Zachariah, 
 Ebenezer, Ebenezer (2), Lieut. Caleb (a patriot of 
 the Revolution), Tyler and Betsey Marsh; and 
 through John (2), Eleazer, Jeptha, Fuller and Lucy 
 Putnam. 
 
 On his father's side Dr. Root is descended from 
 John Root, the son of John of Badby, Nottingham- 
 shire, England, where the son was born in 1608. 
 He came early to New England, and was one of 
 the first settlers of Fannington in 1640, which 
 point was settled by persons mainly from Boston, 
 Newtown and Roxbury. Soon after his location 
 John Root married Mary, daughter of Thomas aiid 
 Frances Kilbourne ; she was born in 1619 at Wood 
 Ditton, England, and came to New England in the 
 ship 'Tncrease" in 1635. 
 
 From this emigrant ancestor Dr. Root is a de- 
 scendant in the eighth generation, his line being 
 through Thomas, Timothy, Timothy (2), Joseph, 
 Capt. John and Thomas Pitkin Root. 
 
 (H) Thomas Root, son of John the emigrant, 
 born about 1648, in Farmington, married (second) 
 in 1675 Mary Spencer, and moved to Westfield, 
 Mass. He died in 1709. 
 
 (HL) Timothy Root, son of Thomas, born in 
 1685, married, in 1710, Sarah Pease, daughter of 
 John, of Enfield, Conn., and went from Westfield 
 to Enfield, and thence, in about 1713, to Somers, 
 •Conn., as one of the first settlers of the town. 
 
 (IV) Timothy Root (2), son of Timothy, 
 born in 1719, in Somers, married Jemima, daugh- 
 ter of Josiah Wood, of Somers, and they were 
 most excellent citizens and Christian people of that 
 community. 
 
 (V) Joseph Root, son of Timothy (2), born in 
 1753, in Somers, married Elizabeth, daughter of 
 Deacon Joshua Pomeroy. Mr. Root served for a 
 period of four years in the war of the Revolution, 
 was at the battle of Bunker Hill, at the siege of 
 Charlestown, and at the scene of Gen. Burgoyne's 
 surrender. 
 
 (VT) Capt. John Root, son of Joseph, born in 
 1789, in Somers, Conn., married, in 1816, Lucy, 
 daughter of Deacon Samuel Reynolds, of Somers, 
 Conn., and settled in Greenwich, Mass. He died 
 in 1855. 
 
 Hon. Thomas Pitkin Root, son of Capt. John, 
 and the father of Dr. Root, of Hartford, was born 
 July 8, 1824, in Greenwich, Mass. He was mar- 
 ried, in 1851, to Seraph (Marsh) Haynes, daugh- 
 ter of Reuben and Betsey (Marsh) Haynes, of 
 Greenwich, Mass., and to the union were born 
 children as follows : Francis Pitkin Root, born 
 Feb. 13, 1852; Joseph Edward Root, born March 
 4, 1854; William, who died when young; and 
 Charles Samuel Root, born March 18, i860. 
 Thomas Pitkin Root has been for many years a 
 prominent citizen of Barre, Mass. He has served 
 two terms in each branch of the Massachusetts 
 Legislature — the House of Representatives and the 
 Senate ; for many years he has been a deacon in 
 the Congregational Church. 
 
 Dr. Root, of Hartford, is descended from Rev. 
 Dr. Peter Reynolds and Rev. Dr. Stephen Will- 
 iams, through his grandmother, Lucy (Reynolds) 
 Root, born 1789, daughter of Deacon Samuel and 
 Marv (Pitkin) Reynolds, and the granddaughter 
 of Samuel Reynolds, M. D., and Martha (Will- 
 iams) Reynolds, the latter couple being a son and 
 daughter, respectively, of Rev. Dr. Peter Rey- 
 nolds and Rev. Dr. Stephen Williams, who were 
 contemporaries in the ministry. Rev. Dr. Peter 
 Reynolds was the second minister in Enfield, 
 Conn., and a descendant from Capt. Nathaniel, 
 who came from England in about 1644; while 
 Rev. Dr. Stephen A¥illiams, born in 1693, was a 
 son of Rev. John Williams, of Deerfield, a de- 
 scendant in the third generation from Robert, of 
 Roxbury, who came probably from Norwich, 
 England, about 1638. This Williams family was 
 one of historic note in New England annals. Rev. 
 John and family were of the number taken pris- 
 oner in February, 1704, at Deerfield, Mass., dur- 
 ing the French and Indian war, several of the chil- 
 dren being killed and the father and son taken to 
 Canada and kept captives— the father until 1706, 
 and the son until 1705. Rev. Dr. Stephen Will- 
 iams at the time of his captivity was but a lad. 
 After his release he was a graduate from Harvard, 
 and served in several campaigns as chaplain in the 
 army ; was at the capture of Louisburg, and was 
 
"I I 
 I 
 I 
 d 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 141 
 
 ^vith Col. Ephraini ^^'illiams at the battle of Lake 
 George in September, 1755, when Col. Williams 
 was killed. 1 he I'itkins, too, of this line of Dr. 
 Root's ancestors, were a historic and illustrious 
 family. Mary Pitkin, above, descended from Hon. 
 William Pitkin, the progenitor of the American 
 family, who came from England in 1659, and from 
 1675 to 1690 was a member of the Colonial As- 
 sembly from Hartford, and who, earlier, was 
 prosecutor for the Colony, attorney general and 
 treasurer successively. Marj^ Pitkin's line was 
 through ^^'illiam (2) (who for twenty-six years 
 was in the General Assembly, and also chief jus- 
 tice of the Supreme Court of Connecticut), Col. 
 Thomas and Thomas Pitkin. 
 
 Dr. Joseph Edward Root, the subject proper 
 of this sketch, received his primary and early 
 school training in the public schools of Barre, 
 Mass., attending from i860 to 1868 District School 
 No. 8, and the four succeeding years the Barre 
 High School. In 1876 he received the degree of 
 B. S. from the ^lassachusetts College at Amherst, 
 and in the same year a like degree from Boston 
 University. He studied medicine at the College 
 of Physicians and Surgeons of New York, grad- 
 uating therefrom in 1883. While at Amherst he 
 was one of the Farnsworth Prize speakers in his 
 Freshman and Sophomore years, and a commence- 
 ment speaker at graduation. His boyhood was 
 passed on the Hillside farm at Barre, Mass. Dur- 
 ing his college course he taught school for two 
 winters at Barre Plains, and after his graduation 
 he entered Dr. Brown's Institute at Barre, remain- 
 ing until the spring of 1879, when he was engaged 
 at the Walnut Hill Asyium in Hartford, Conn. 
 On receiving his medical diploma from the Col- 
 lege of Physicians and Surgeons of New York, in 
 1883, he was made assistant physician at the Re- 
 treat for the Insane in Hartford, and there re- 
 mained until Aug. 20, 1884, at which time he be- 
 gan the general practice of medicine in that city, 
 which has continued to the present with deserved 
 success. During these years Dr. Root has been a 
 very busy man, and figured conspicuously in many 
 societies and organizations pertaining to his field 
 of labor. In 1884 he assisted in reorganizing the 
 Hartford Dispensary, of which since its reorgani- 
 zation he has been secretary and treasurer ; has 
 also been chief of the department of general medi- 
 cine and nervous diseases at the dispensary. He 
 was appointed on many commissions of import- 
 ance by Govs. Harrison and jMorris during their 
 administrations. From 1889 to 1894 he was a 
 delegate for the Connecticut Medical Society to 
 the meetings of the American Medical Associa- 
 tion, and as such attended the meetings held re- 
 spectively at Newport, R. I., Washington, D. C, 
 Milwaukee. Wis., and San Francisco, Cal. In 
 April, 1891, he was elected secretary of the Hart- 
 ford County Medical Association, which office he 
 held until April, 1894. During his term of office 
 much of the responsibility pertaining to the Cen- 
 
 tennial Celebration of the Association devolvctl 
 upon him, and he also delivered the historical ad- 
 chess. In 1896 he was appointed surgeon on .Maj. 
 Warren's statf of the First Company, Governor's 
 Horse Guard, and now holds that rank. In 1895 
 he was elected a member of the board of physi- 
 cians and surgeons to the ^^lasonic Home at \Val- 
 lingford. Conn. ; in 1896 was made its president, 
 which office he has since held, and in 1897 was 
 chosen chairman of the Building committee tor the 
 new Masonic Hospital. Dr. Root was appointed 
 medical examiner for the Alutual Reserve Life In- 
 surance Co., of New York, in 1890; of the 2^Iassa- 
 chusetts Alutual Life, in 1894; of the "Home Cir- 
 cle," in 1895; and of the Fidelity Insurance Co. in 
 1898, and still retains these relations. Dr. Root 
 is a member of the Hartford (.City) County and 
 State Medical Societies, and of the American Med- 
 ical Association. He was chosen secretar\- of the 
 Hartford (City) Medical Society in January. 1900, 
 and is still serving in that position. Dr. Root was 
 chosen, in 1900, a delegate from the Connecticut 
 ^Medical Society to the thirteenth International Med- 
 ical Congress held in Paris, France, which he at- 
 tended, as also to the sixty-eighth Annual meeting of 
 the British Medical Association at Ipswich, England. 
 In 1898 he was elected surgeon to the Putnam Pha- 
 lanx of Hartford. Dr. Root is one of the surgical 
 staff of St. Francis Hospital as Orthopedic Sur- 
 geon, and Orthopedic Surgeon to the Home for In- 
 curables at Newington, Conn. ; He is also on the ad- 
 visory board of the Connecticut Institute for the 
 Blind. He is a member of the Hartford Scien- 
 tific Society. In April, 1900, under ^layor Har- 
 bison's administration, he was made one of the 
 health commissioners of Hartford. 
 
 Socially Dr. Root is prominent in various clubs 
 and organizations. He is a member of the Sons 
 of the American Revolution, and of the Masonic 
 Club. He is both a York and Scottish Rite Alason, 
 and is a member of the following bodies : St. John's 
 Lodge, No. 4, Washington Commahdery No. i, 
 Charter Oak Lodge of Perfection, Princes of Jeru- 
 salem, Rose Croix, and Connecticut Consistory, 
 Thirty-second Degree, and of Sphinx Temple of 
 the Mystic Shrine. His religious connections are 
 \yith the Farmington Avenue Congregational 
 Church. 
 
 Dr. Root has found time, outside of his extended 
 professional duties and busy life, to devote his at- 
 tention to literature, and his works have given him a 
 wide and well-deserved prominence. Among his 
 works are : "Early Discover}- of America by the 
 Norseman," "Hunting Trips in the Rocky ^foun- 
 tains" [lecture], and the following treatises: "Epil- 
 epsy," "Essay on Electricitv in Nervous Diseases," 
 "Arteritis of the Brain," "Hygiene of School Life," 
 "Electricity in Diseases of \\'omen," "Hip Joint 
 Disease," and "Centennial History of the Hartford 
 County Medical Association." 
 
 Dr. Root's political affiliations are with the Re- 
 publican party, and though greatly interested in 
 
142 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 public questions and the success of his part}- he -:as 
 -declined to be a candidate for any political office. 
 On March 4, 1885, Dr. Root was married to 
 Ella Goodman Moseley, of Hartford. Their daugh- 
 ter, Seraph Dorothy Rowell Root, was born J\'0v. 
 JO, 1897. 
 
 A. W. HOWARD, 'M. D., a prominent and suc- 
 .cessful physician and surgeon of VVethersfield, was 
 born in Providence, R. I., Nov. 25, 1867, and is a 
 .son of Amasa and Annie (Simmons) Howard, the 
 former a native of Woodstock, Conn., the latter of 
 Worcester, Massachusetts. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of our subject also 
 .bore the name of Amasa Howard. The father was 
 an ordained minister of the Baptist Church, and at 
 ■dili'erent times was pastor of churches in Worces- 
 ter (Mass.), Providence (R. I.), and Hartford 
 (Conn.). He was also chaplain of the State prison 
 .at Wethersfield for ten years, and at that place he 
 ■died in 1887, his remains being' interred in Cedar 
 Hill cemetery. His wife, a lady of culture and re- 
 finement, is still living-, and continues to make her 
 home in Wethersfield. To them were born four 
 -children : John C, now a resident of Omaha, Neb. ; 
 ■\Iary, at home with her mother; A. W., our subject; 
 .and Fanny, at home. 
 
 Dr. Howard was educated at the South school 
 of Hartford and at the Hartford Public High 
 School, graduating from the latter in 1887. He then 
 entered the Medical University of New York, where 
 he pursued a three-years' course, and was graduated 
 in 1890. He then spent some time in the Chambers 
 Street Hospital, New York City, where be gained 
 •a good practical knowledge of the profession which 
 Jie had chosen as a life work, and in the fall of 
 1890 opened an office in Wethersfield. His skill 
 and ability soon won recognition, and he has suc- 
 ceeded in building up an excellent practice in Weth- 
 ersfield, Newington and Rocky Hill. In connection 
 with his private practice he also acts as examiner 
 for the Hartford Life, the Phcenix, Mutual, Metro- 
 politan and Waterbur}' industrial Insurance Com- 
 panies. He is a progressive physician, and an hon- 
 ored member of the Hartford County Medical So- 
 ciety, and the Connecticut State Medical Society; 
 also belongs to Hartford Lodge, F. & A. M., and to 
 the Wethersfield Grange. Although not a member 
 ■of any religious denomination he attends the Bap- 
 tist Church ; politically he affiliates with the Republi- 
 •can party. The Doctor not only stands high in pro- 
 fessional circles, but is also quite popular socially. 
 In 1894 Dr. Howard was united in marriage with 
 Miss Hannah Standish, a daughter of James 
 Standish. and to them has been born one child, 
 Mildred Standish. 
 
 HON. RANDOLPH W. COWLES (deceased) 
 ■^vas a well-known contractor and builder of South- 
 ington, of whose skill many notable examples are to 
 lie seen in that section of the county. Thoroughly 
 
 reliable in all things, the quality of his work was a 
 convincing test of his own personal worth, and the 
 same admirable trait was shown in his conscientious 
 discharge of the duties of dift'erent positions of 
 trust and responsibility to which he was chosen. 
 
 Mr. Cowles was born in Southington JNIarch i, 
 1838, a son of Henr)- and Lydia (Thorp) Cowles. 
 His maternal grandfather was Elisha Thorp. The 
 father was born in Southington Jan. i, 1805, and was 
 married Aug. 29, 1827. He made his home in the 
 southwest part of the town, and there his death oc- 
 curred. His children were : George ; William ; 
 Laura A. ; Lucretia, wife of Lewis L. Avery ; Emma 
 A., wife of George F. Lewis; Randolph W. ; Vic- 
 toria C. ; Emily L. ; Elinora ; and Charlotte, wife 
 of Squire Robinson. 
 
 Ihe paternal grandparents of our subject were 
 George Washington and Amy (Adkins) Cowles. 
 The former, born in Southington in December, 1775, 
 became a resident of the JMarion District of that 
 town, where he died May 6, 1828. His father, Jo- 
 siah Cowles, was born in Farmington Nov. 20, 1716, 
 and was married Nov. 11, 1739, to Jemima Dickin- 
 son. Soon afterward he located in what is now 
 Southington. His first wife died Oct. 19, 174 — , 
 and Nov. 22, 1748, he wedded Mary Scott, daughter 
 of Samuel and Mary (Pynchon) Scott, of Southing- 
 ton, and the great-grandmother of our subject. 
 Josiah Cowles was the father of eighteen children. 
 He was a leading man in church and society, held 
 several important town offices, and the military rank 
 of captain. He died June 6, 1793. His father, 
 Thomas Cowles, was born in Farmington Feb. 4, 
 1685, and was married Jan. 6, 1714, to Martha, 
 eldest daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Greeman) 
 Judd, of Farmington. He resided in Farmington, 
 on the place given him by his father, later known 
 as the Dr. Carrington place, and there he died March 
 II, 1756. He was a son of Samuel and Rachel 
 (Porter) Cowles, and a grandson of Samuel and 
 Abigail (Stanley) Cowles. The father of Samuel 
 Cowles, Sr., was John Cole (or Cowles), one of 
 the first settlers of Hartford, who about 1640 re- 
 moved to Farmington, where he engaged in farm- 
 ing; he served as deputy from Farmington to the 
 General Court in 1653 and 1654. In 1662 he re- 
 moved to Hadley, Mass., where he died in Septem- 
 ber, 1675. 
 
 Randolph W. Cowles, subject of this review, was 
 reared in Southington, and in early manhood learned 
 the carpenter's trade, but prior to the Civil war 
 worked as a pattern-maker in the old Plant shop 
 at Plantsville. On Aug. 8, 1862, he enlisted, be- 
 coming a private in Company E, 20th Conn. V. I., 
 participated in all of the engagements of his regi- 
 ment, was with Sherman on his celebrated march 
 to the sea, and was honorably discharged from the 
 service June 13, 1865. On his return home he em- 
 barked in business for himself as a contractor and 
 builder, which vocation he continued to successfully 
 follow until his death, March 28, 1899. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 143 
 
 On Feb. i, 1870, i\Ir. Cowles was united in 
 marriage with Miss Elvira Wlieeler, daugliter of 
 Obadiah and Lucy Ann (Guernsey) Wheeler, of 
 IMiddlebury, Conn., and by that union five children 
 were born, all of whom are still living: Edith, wife 
 of Merton Holcomb ; Eleanor ; Irving W. ; Annie 
 E. ; and Harriet L. Mr. Cowles was an active and 
 prominent member ol the Second Baptist Church 
 of Plantsville, of which he was a deacon for many 
 years, and fraternally was a member of Friendship 
 Lodge, 'No. 33, F. & A. M., of Southington; and 
 Trumbull Post, No. 16, G. A. R. His polftical 
 support was always given to the men and measures 
 of the Republican party, and he most acceptably 
 served as burgess several terms, as assessor sixteen 
 years, and represented Southington in the Legisla- 
 ture two terms. 
 
 ELI WELLS STODDARD (deceased) was a 
 highly esteemed citizen of Wethersfield, and a 
 worthy representative of one of its honored pio- 
 neer families. 
 
 John Stoddard, the progenitor of the family in 
 America, was one of the first settlers of Wethers- 
 field, where he owned and operated a tract of land, 
 and served as sergeant in a military company. He 
 died in Westfield, in December, 1664. In 1642 
 he wedded Mary Foote, who was born in England 
 in 1623, a daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth 
 (Deming) Foote. After his death the widow mar- 
 ried John Goodrich, of Wethersfield, who died in 
 1680, and for her third husband she married Lieut. 
 Thomas Tracey, of Norwich, Conn., who died Nov. 
 7, 1685. By the first marriage there were six chil- 
 dren: Mary, born Alarch 12, 1643, was married, 
 Dec. 10, 1663, to Joseph Wright, son of Thomas 
 Wright, of Wethersfield; John, born April 12, 1646, 
 was married May 26, 1674, to Elizabeth Curtis, 
 daughter of Thomas Curtis : Caleb and Joshua 
 (twins) were born Sept. 12, 1648, and the former died 
 when a young man, while the latter was married, 
 Aug. 15, 1680, to Bethia Smith, daughter of Rich- 
 ard Smith ; Mercy, born in November, 1652, was 
 married March 10, 1685, to Joseph Wright, whose 
 first wife was her sister ; and Nathaniel, the young- 
 est of the family, is mentioned below. 
 
 (II) Nathaniel Stoddard, born in March, 1660, 
 was twice married, and by his first wife had one 
 son, Nathaniel, born Jan. 17, 1692, who was mar- 
 ried, Sept. 26, 1728, to Sarah Buck, born March 25, 
 1701, a daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Butler) 
 Buck. They lived in Newington, Hartford county, 
 where he died Aug. 15, 1756, his wife Nov. 4, 1757. 
 For his second wife, Nathaniel Stoddard, Sr., mar- 
 ried Eunice Standish, daughter. of Thomas Standish. 
 He died Feb. 9, 1714, and she departed this life Aug. 
 5. 1716. They had three children: Abigail, born 
 Nov. II, 1697, was married, Feb. 12, 1719, to John 
 Francis, who was born in Wethersfield. Oct. 12, 
 1684, a son of John and ]\Iercy Francis; Thomas is 
 mentioned below; and Joshua, born March 4, 1703, 
 
 was married, March 
 
 to Martha Deming, 
 
 and died in Wethersfield, AIa\- 7, 1770. 
 
 ( iii) riionias Stoddard, born Juiy 29, 1699, was 
 united in marriage, Dec. 18, 1735, with Mary Camp, 
 who was born Oct. 25, 1713, and died Aug. 26, 
 1775 ; he passed away Aug. 26, 1772. In their fam- 
 ily were eight children: (i) Elislia, born Aug. 20, 
 ^7i^> was married June 6, 1776, to Dorothy Will- 
 ard, who was born Sept. 2j, 1741, a daughter of 
 Daniel \\'illard. Fie died July 2, 1790, and she 
 on April 11, 1826. He was a deacon of the church. 
 
 (2) Eli, born Feb. 24, 1739, was a soldier of the 
 Revolutionary war. On Feb. 8, 1770, he married 
 Abigail At wood, who was born Aug. 28, 1747, a 
 daughter of Oliver and Dorothy (Curtis) Atwood. 
 
 (3) Rebecca, born Sept. 8, 1740, was married, Nov. 
 25, 1762, to William Wells, Jr., and lived in New- 
 ington. (4) Benjamin, born Feb. 2, 1743, died May 
 18, 1808. (5) Eunice, born Aug. 22, 1745, was mar- 
 ried, Dec. 2, 1764, to Abel Andrus, a Revolutionary 
 soldier, who was born ]\lay 6, 1735, and she died 
 Jan. 23, 1785. (6) Epaphras, the next in order of 
 birth, is mentioned below. ( 7 ) Lydia, born Aug. 8, 
 1750, was married Nov. 14, 1771, to Aaron Deming. 
 (8) Rhoda, born Oct. 30, 1754, was married, Jan. 
 4, lyyc), to Levi Curtis, and lived in Lenox, ilassa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 (I\') Epaphras Stoddard, born Jan. 22, 1748, 
 spent his life as a farmer in Wethersfield, where he 
 died May 18, 1792, his remains being interred there. 
 On Nov. 25, 1773, he was united in marriage with 
 ]Mary Wells, a daughter of Ichabod and Abigail 
 (Bigelow) Wells. She was born iNIarch 24, 1753, 
 and died Sept. 10, 1825. By this union the follow- 
 ing children were born: ^Mary, born March i, 1776, 
 died Sept. 26, 1776; Mary, born Nov. 11, 1778, was 
 married, Dec. 9, 1803. to \Wlliam Goodrich, of 
 \\''ethersfield, who died July 14, 1830, while she died 
 Aug. 16, 1858; Eli, the father of our subject, is 
 mentioned below; ]\Iella, born June 15, 1783, died 
 April 29, 1787; Huldah, born Z\Iay 26, 1785, was 
 married, Jan. 22, 1809, to Sylvester Butler; Mella, 
 born Aug. i, 1787, died unmarried, I\Iay 6, i858, 
 and Harriet, born Oct. i, 1790, died unmarried, Oct. 
 25, 1863. 
 
 (\ ) Eli Stoddard, born Aug. 11, 1781, spent 
 his entire life on the old homestead in Wethersfield, 
 where he died Sept. i, 1822. On Nov. 13, 1820, he 
 wedded Mary Ferre, of Agawam, ]Mass., who was 
 born in Hartford, Conn., Aug. 30, 1787, a daughter 
 of IMoses and Jerusha (Easton) Ferre. Slie was 
 again married, JMay 3, 1835, her second husband be- 
 ing George Francis, who was born Sept. 14, 1775, 
 and died Nov. 21, 1858. She died Feb. 4, 1866. 
 Our subject was the only child by the first marriage. 
 (VI) Eli Wells Stoddard was born in ^^'ethers- 
 fiekl, Jan. 2, 1822. Throughout his active business 
 life he followed the occupation of farming, and in 
 I his labors met with well-merited success. On March 
 I 15. 1843. fie was united in marriage with Miss 
 ' ^lartha Francis, who was born June 18, 1S19, a 
 
144 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 daughter of George and Sally (Butler) Francis, 
 and to them was born, Oct. 25, 1845, one daughter, 
 Mary Francis. The mother and daughter still live 
 on the old homestead in Wethersfield. Mr. Stod- 
 dard died in 1884, and was laid to rest in Wethers- 
 field cemetery. In religious views he was liberal, 
 and in political sentiment he was a Democrat. He 
 was temperate in his habits, always lived up to the 
 golden rule, and merited and received the confidence 
 and respect of all who knew him. 
 
 WILLARD IRA ALLING possesses a well- 
 rounded character which has enabled him to fill 
 with credit to himself and with satisfaction to the 
 community in which he lives any position to which 
 he has been appointed or elected. He has demon- 
 strated a high degree of business ability, and pos- 
 sesses that industry and integrity which command 
 universal respect and insure success. 
 
 Mr. Ailing is a direct descendant from Roger 
 Allen (Ailing), his emigrant ancestor, who came 
 from the County of Bedford, England, and finally 
 settled in New Haven, in 1639. His ancestors (tra- 
 dition says) were the Athelings (contracted Ailing 
 and Allen), who located in the north of England 
 about the sixth century. Roger Allen (Ailing) 
 was one of the original settlers and earl}' land hold- 
 ers in the Colony of New Haven. He was given 
 a desirable and eligible location in the original lay- 
 out in 1 64 1, his residence being at the present corner 
 of Church and George streets. He was received 
 into the First or Centre Church in 1641. Gov. 
 Theophilus Eaton took the oath of allegiance and 
 fidelity, and then administered it to many more, and 
 among them was Roger Allen (Ailing). He was 
 an active business man, and held many offices of 
 trust ; was a custom house officer ; a sergeant in the 
 first military company ; and the first and only elected 
 treasurer of the Colony of New Haven until he be- 
 came ineligible, bv being chosen a deacon in the 
 First or Centre Church, in 1669, which office he 
 held until his death, on Sept. 27, 1674. In 1654, 
 when Rev. John Davenport proposed to apply to 
 Gov. Hopkins and the General Court for the estab- 
 lishment of the first grammar and college school in 
 the Colony of New Haven, Roger Allen was the 
 first to respond and say he would send his son 
 there. Several donations were soon after received, 
 and in 1659 the General Court instituted the first 
 grammar school in the Colony, at Saybrook, after- 
 ward, in 1701, organized as Yale College. 
 
 John Allen (Ailing), son of Roger, was treas- 
 urer of Yale College from 1702 tmtil his death, in 
 1 71 7. In 1683 he was secretary to the General 
 Court of Connecticut, with Robert Treat, gover- 
 nor, and Samuel Bishop, deputy governor. -He was 
 elected to the Assembly or General Coitrt for twen- 
 ty years, and his name appears as Allen until 1701,. 
 when it is written Ailing, although his name ap- 
 pears as Ailing at an earlier date. At the election 
 of May 12, 1709, when Gurdon Saltonstall was re- 
 elected governor, and Nathan Gould deputy gover- 
 
 nor, he was elected one of the magistrates or "Gov- 
 ernor's Council," to which office he was re-elected 
 for several years, and from 1704 to 1714 he was 
 judge of county courts, and held other offices of 
 trust. His descendants were of a type New Eng- 
 land is proud to claim as peculiarly its own — men 
 who make the most of their surroundings, who join 
 honesty to thrift, who love liberality as they scorn 
 extravagance, and they have contributed their share 
 toward gaining those priceless treasures, freedom 
 and independence, several of the descendants having 
 served all through the Revolutionar}' war and the 
 war of 1812 in civil and military capacity. 
 
 Sergt. Samuel Allen (Ailing), son of John, born 
 Sept. 7, 1645, married, Oct. 24, 1667, Elizabeth 
 Winston, of the old Cecil (Churchill-Marlborough) 
 families. 
 
 Capt. Caleb Allen (Ailing), son of Samuel, mar- 
 ried March 19, 1718, Hannah Bishop. 
 
 Capt. Charles Ailing, son of Caleb, born in^ 
 1729, married Hannah Dorman Jan. 17, 1753- He 
 was a man of military attainments, was in the en- 
 gagement at the invasion of New Haven by the 
 British, July 5, 1779, and testifies as follows: 
 
 I, Charles Ailing, of New Haven, of lawful age, testify,, 
 and say, tfiat I saw, examined and assisted in burying Capt. 
 John Gilbert, Asa Todd and Joseph Dorman. That Capt. 
 John Gilbert was shot through the knee and then appeared 
 to be killed with a club as his head was very much bruised, 
 and a Club Bloody lay by him. That no wound appeared 
 upon Asa Todd, except he was pierced with a Bayonet, 
 one through the head and twice through the Body. That 
 Joseph Dorman had his Thigh Broken just above the Knee,, 
 but it appeared tome, to have been done with a stone, which 
 lay by him Bloody, and that he was pierced with Bayonets,, 
 once through the head and once through the Body, but no 
 other wounds. 
 
 Charles Alling, 
 Sworn to before Samuel Bishop, Jr., Justice of the Peace. 
 
 Abraham Alling, the great-grandfather of our 
 subject, was born May 14, 1754, and married Abi- 
 gail Dorman about 1778. He was selectman of 
 his town for many years, and became one of the 
 best-known. Connecticut Congregational ministers 
 of a century ago. He was the first pastor of the 
 Congregational Church at Whitneyville, serving 
 continuously from 1795 to 1822. He was ordained 
 Oct. 19, 1797, and was dismissed in 1822, at his 
 own request ; his register shows that he solemnized 
 324 marriages. He died July 24, 1836, aged 
 eighty-two, and with his wife is buried in Hamden 
 cemetery. 
 
 Ezra Alling, son of Abraham, born July 13, 
 1799, married Eliza Warner May 25, 1820. He 
 was a well-known agriculturist of Hamden and 
 North Haven. He and his wife are buried in Ham- 
 den cemetery. 
 
 Charles Noyes Ailing, son of Ezra, was born at 
 Hamden, Feb. 22, 1822, learned the carriage maker's 
 trade, and for many years was a successful carriage 
 maker. About 185 1 he removed to Berlin, where 
 he owned and operated the largest carriage factory 
 in the town, and became quite well-to-do. In 1848 
 he married Delia Angeline Baldwin, her mother 
 
TirJI^J J ML^ 
 

 ■^1' 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 145 
 
 being Rhoda Welles, of the well-known Welles 
 famii}- of Wethcrsfield. Both parents of our sub- 
 ject are buried in West Lane cemetery, Berlin. In 
 politics Charles N. Ailing was a Republican, lie 
 served as justice of the peace, was on the board of 
 relief and grand jury for a number of years, and 
 filled various other minor offices. He was one of 
 the founders and an active member of the First 
 jNlethodist Episcopal Church at Kensington, and 
 one of the trustees until his c'eath, Oct. 8, 1887, at 
 the age 'of sixty-five years. 
 
 Willard ira Ailing, our subject, was born at 
 Berlin, near his present residence in Kensington, 
 March 27, 1855. His early education was re- 
 ceived in the schools of Berlin, and supplemented 
 by a course in the schools of New Britain. Re- 
 turning to Berlin, he remained with his father two 
 j'icars, then took a special course at the carriage 
 maker's trade with the well-known carriage builders 
 of Plainville, remaining there about two years. 
 Mr. Ailing soon after took charge of his father's 
 shops, and on his own account engaged in the man- 
 ufacture of carriages, which he continued for about 
 twenty years, becoming c^uite well-to-do, and re- 
 tiring in 1893. Since that time he has been engaged 
 in the real-estate business and in the management 
 of his several properties in Berlin, Kensington and 
 New Britain. 
 
 Mr. Ailing married, Dec. 5, 1877, Harriet Eliza- 
 beth Upson, who was born Nov. 6, 1857, daughter 
 of Isaac and Elizabeth Drusilla (Allyn) Upson, 
 both of whom are now deceased, and are buried in 
 West Lane cemetery, Berlin. To our subject have 
 come the following children: Benjamin Willard, 
 born Nov. 7, 1879, now a student at Dartmouth 
 College; George Baldwin, born Aug. 23, 1882, a 
 student in the New Britain high school ; Marshall 
 Louis, born Aug. 6, 1884, a student at the New 
 Britain high school ; one son that died at the age of 
 seven months ;I>ulah Elizabeth, born Nov. 9, 1890, 
 a pupil of the New Britain schools ; Lauretta Delia, 
 born Jan. 25, 1894, attending the Berlin schools; 
 and Esther, born Sept. i, 1896. In politics Mr. 
 Ailing is a Republican. He has represented his 
 town at various Congressional, County and Pro- 
 bate conventions, and has held various other town 
 offices ; at present he is one of the members of the 
 Republican executive committee, and one of the 
 auditors of the town accounts, and president of the 
 West Lane Cemetery Association. He is a member 
 of the local Grange, and served as secretary of the 
 organization for two years. He is an attendant of 
 the Congregational Church at Kensington, of which 
 Mrs. Ailing is a member. Mr. Ailing is recognized 
 as one of the influential residents of Berlin, and is 
 one of its most active and progressive citizens. 
 
 HENRY HAYDEN OSBORNE (deceased), in 
 his day a well-knowi:uand highly esteemed farmer 
 of Haydens Station, ?Mwn of Windsor, was truly 
 
 a remarkable man. 
 
 hen nearing his eightieth 
 
 birthday he was as»active as one thirty years 
 10 . ,( • 
 
 younger, though he was dependent upon his own re- 
 sources for a livelihood since a child of three years, 
 and had worked hard in all kinds of weather and 
 under very tlifficult circumstances, being knocked 
 around from place to place, where he worked at 
 various occupations, but princijjally farming. 
 
 Mr. Osborne was born in the town of Windsor, 
 Aug. 21, 1819, a son of Harry and Keziah (Hayden) 
 Osborne. 1 he father was a native of East Windsor 
 and as a young man came to Windsor, where he 
 married, his wife being a representative of the old 
 Hayden family of that town. She died when our 
 subject was but four years old, and the father, who 
 was employed throughout life as a farm hand in 
 Windsor, passed away when less than fifty years of 
 age. Of their four children, Julia married and spent 
 her last years in Hartford, where her death occur- 
 red; and two daughters died in infancy. 
 
 H. H. Osborne, the only survivor of this fam- 
 ily, was "put out" with a farmer at the age of three 
 years, and had to make his own way in the world, 
 working a:t first as chore boy for his board and 
 clothes. His educational privileges were limited to 
 a short attendance at the schools in the vicinity of 
 Haydens Station. At the age of eleven years he 
 went to Suffield, and later worked at various places 
 for dift"erent men. On Oct. 2, 1865, he married 
 ]Miss Jane E. Hatheway, of Suffield, a daughter of 
 Lucius and ]\Iaria (Stanley) Hatheway. She was 
 born Feb. 11, 1831. In 1866 Mr. Osborne returned 
 to \Vindsor, and worked on the farm of Ephrann 
 A. Judson, at Haydens Station, who at his death 
 gave to our subject the place for taking care of him. 
 
 Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Os- 
 borne, nameh" Louise H., an estimable young lady 
 who resides at home ; and Francis H., an employe of 
 the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad- 
 Co., who is also living at home. The latter married 
 Nettie L. Ashwell, and has two children : Frank H. 
 and Harry Frederick. 
 
 In the course of his life ]\Ir. Osborne met with 
 many serious accidents, including broken ribs and 
 arms, an injured leg and other painful injuries^ but 
 notwithstanding these he, in his old age, was still 
 well preserved and very active and energetic. Po- 
 litically he was a Democrat, but took little interest 
 in politics, seldom voting except at Presidential 
 elections. Mr. Osborne died July 31, 1899, within 
 three weeks of his eightieth birthday, and after an 
 illness of only three days. 
 
 JOHN E. IMARTIN, A. B., M. D., has brought 
 thorough preparation to the practice of medichie. 
 He combines with his professional knowledge of the 
 healing art a remarkable devotion to his chosen 
 profession which has made him eminently successful 
 in practice and one of the recognized leaders of the 
 medical fraternity in New Britain. 
 
 The Doctor's father, jMichael Martin, was born 
 in County Kerry, Ireland, son of a farmer and 
 cattleman. When twelve years of age he emigrated 
 
146 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to America and settled at New York, after some time 
 moving to Connecticut, and afterwards to Massa- 
 chusetts. Sometime during the 'fifties he returned to 
 Connecticut and etabHshed himself at Uncasville, 
 where for many years he was engaged in a manu- 
 facturing industr)-. In 1867 he moved to California, 
 and for two years engaged in mining. On his re- 
 turn East he located at Montville, thence removing 
 to Bristol, where he has since lived. Michael Martin 
 is a self-made man, possessed of good native ability, 
 and has prospered well in life. In his political 
 opinion he is a Democrat, but not active in party af- 
 fairs, and he is a member of the Catholic Church. 
 He married Ellen Gartland, of County Monaghan, 
 Ireland, and of their four children Margaret is dead ; 
 James owns and manages a hotel at Niles, Cal. ; 
 Mary married Michael Connors, and resides at 
 Bristol, Conn. The mother died in 1886. Michael 
 Martin had one brother, Thomas Martin, a wealthy 
 and successful ranchman of Niles, Alameda Co., 
 Cal., now deceased. 
 
 John E. Martin, whose name introduces this 
 sketch, and the youngest child of his parents, was 
 born Dec. 11, 1866, at Uncasville, New London 
 Co., Conn. He received a good academic education 
 in the high schools of Bristol and Hartford, and 
 upon the completion of his studies there entered St. 
 Laurent College, a branch of Notre Dame, located 
 five miles from Montreal, Canada, and remained a 
 student for several years. He then attended St. 
 Joseph College, at Bardstown, Ky., completing the 
 collegiate course and receiving the degree of A. B. 
 in 1889. At the college he was regarded as a 
 thorough student, and was remarkable for his elo- 
 cutionary powers. He next entered the office of 
 Dr. Horton at Bristol, Conn., and a year later ma- 
 triculated at the University of New York, whence he 
 was graduated in April, 1892. He began his pro- 
 fessional career at Winsted, Conn., in April, 1892. 
 In Februarjf, 1893, he removed to New Britain, in 
 which city he has since practiced continuously. He 
 has a numerous clientele, drawn from a radius of 
 ten miles around, and has built up one of the best 
 practices in the city. He is visiting physician and 
 surgeon for the New Britain General Hospital; is 
 a member of the City Medical Society, belongs to the 
 Allopathic school of medicine, and devotes a consid- 
 erable share of his time to surger}', in which branch 
 he has been very successful. In politics the Doctor 
 is a Democrat, but he is not strongly partisan, though 
 his elocutionary gifts fit him eminently for a public 
 speaker. He is a member of the Knights of Colum- 
 bus, the Foresters of America and the K. O. T. M., 
 and has taken an active interest in fraternal work. 
 He is a man of broad culture, has traveled exten- 
 sively, is a thorough business man, and a successful 
 practitioner. 
 
 Dr. Martin married, on Juy 17, 1894, Margaret 
 J. Wheeler, daughter of Simon Wheeler, a native 
 of King's County, Ireland, and one of the oldest and 
 most respected residents of West Winsted, Conn. 
 
 She is a graduate of the West Winsted High 
 School, also of the New Britain Normal School, and 
 in the \Vinsted schools was regarded as a most bril- 
 liant pupil. She was a teacher in the public schools 
 of her native town prior to her marriage, takmg 
 high rank in her profession. To Dr. and Mrs. 
 Martin have been born four children, Eleanor, Ra- 
 mona, Edward, and Margaret. 
 
 PHILIP NORTON. The family of the late 
 Philip Norton of Kensington is descended from 
 Le Sieur de Norville, who came from Normandy to 
 England in September, 1066. Through seven gen- 
 erations the patronymic continued in its French 
 form, although in time Sieur became the plain Eng- 
 lish Sir. A son of the first English progenitor mar- 
 ried into the family of Barr, and one of liis sons into 
 that of Dalba Monte. Other matrimonial connec- 
 tions in the direct line of descent were with the fam- 
 ilies of NeWitt of Ruby, Dampre Count, Sir John 
 Headoroke and a Basingbroke. It was at this period 
 that the family name was changed to Norton, the 
 first of the de Norvilles to take tne Saxon form be- 
 ing Sir John Norton, who married Anne, a daugh- 
 ter of Lord De Grey, of Ruthm. His son and 
 grandson both bore the Christian name of John, and 
 both were residents of Sharpenhow, Bedfordshire, 
 England. John (2) was twice married, his second 
 wite (from whom the Connecticut Nortons are de- 
 scended) having been Jane, a daughter of John 
 Cooper. She bore her husband three sons and one 
 daughter. One of the sons, Richard Norton, be- 
 came the husband of Margery Wingar, also of 
 Sharpenhow. Their son, William, was also twice 
 married, his first wife being Margaret, a daughter 
 of William Flarris, and his second Dennis Chitsmley. 
 
 The first of the family to emigrate from England 
 to America were the two brothers, Thomas and 
 Francis, sons of William. Of these the first named 
 was the great-great-great-grandfather of Philip 
 Norton. He landed at Boston and removed to Guil- 
 ford, Conn., June i, 1639, he and his wife, Grace, 
 being among the first settlers of that town. He died 
 there in 1648. 
 
 Thomas Norton had a son named Thomas, a 
 resident of Saybrook, who was the great-great- 
 grandfather of Philip. Next in the line of descent 
 is Thomas (3), who also lived in Saybrook, where 
 he reared a large family. His son jedediah Nor- 
 ton, the grandfather of Philip, came from Sa)'brook 
 to Wallingford (now Meriden). In time he became 
 a large owner of realty, making his home in Berlin 
 on a large tract of land which he purchased, situated 
 on the main road between Hartford and New Haven, 
 some two miles south of what is now Worthington 
 village, and about a mile north of the boundary line 
 between Berlin and Meriden, which also separates 
 the counties of Hartford and New Haven. He was 
 twice married. His first wife was Eunice Cowles, 
 of Meriden, by whom he had two children. In 1746, 
 after her death, he was united with Achsah, a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 147 
 
 dnugfliter of Isaac Norton, who was a son of Thomas 
 ^'urton (3J, mentioned above. 
 
 Isaac Aorton, the maternal great-grandfather 
 of Philip Norton, was born in Farmington in 1680, 
 and died in 1763. He was the husband of Eliza- 
 Leth Galpin, of Stafford, whom he married in 1707. 
 He was known as Ensign and Lieutenant Norton, 
 was a merchant of \\'orthington (_now Berlin), and 
 one of the wealthiest citizens of the town. He was 
 famed for his piet}', and was held in high esteem. 
 Achsah was born June 10, 1721, and died Aug. 8, 
 1805. halving borne her husband eight children. He 
 and his family were among the first members of the 
 Congregational Cliurch, and he was the donor of 
 the first organ which the society ever owned, and 
 one of the first two imported into America, and 
 which was destroyed by fire in the burning of the 
 church building. Jedediah's son Samuel, the fa- 
 ther of the late Philip Norton, was born Sept. 30, 
 1759, in that part of Farmington which is now Ber- 
 lin, the place of his birth being the present home- 
 stead, still owned and occupied by decendants of 
 the Norton name. In November, 1775, when a 
 mere boy of sixteen years, he enlisted in the Con- 
 tinental army, re-enlisting in ]\Iay and July, 1777, 
 and again in July, 1779. He was present at the 
 siege of Boston, and took part in the battle of 
 Bunker Hill. He also served with the New Haven 
 coast guard, aided in repelling the British invasion 
 of that town, and passed through the war without 
 a wound. He was also a delegate from Berlin to the 
 Constitutional Convention in 1818. On Jan. 22, 
 1789, he married Phoebe Edwards, who was born 
 Feb. 19, 1770, in JMeriden, wdiich w'as then a part of 
 \\'allingford. Ten children were born to them, 
 none of whom are living. Samuel Norton was an 
 exceedingly prosperous farmer, also a sagacious in- 
 vestor in stocks and other securities, and was con- 
 sidered, in his day, a very wealthy man. He died 
 Oct. 27, 1832. His wife survived him for many 
 years, and both now rest in the South burying- 
 groimd at Berlin. 
 
 Philip Norton was born iXIarch 2, 1801, in 
 Berlin. His school days ended, he followed a cus- 
 tom then ver}' common among }'oung men in that 
 section of the State, and started on a trip through 
 the South, peddling tinware made in his native town. 
 On his return home he settled down to the life of a 
 farmer. He was a public-spirited citizen, and al- 
 ways aided anv enterprise likely to benefit the town. 
 In politics he was a Democrat, and in religious affili- 
 ations a Universalist, although the Society of that 
 creed in Berlin was dissolved before his death. 
 
 Mr. Norton was married, ]\.Iarch 28, 1835, to 
 Elizabeth Newberry, who was born May 31, 181 o, 
 in Wethersfield, the daughter of Benjamin and 
 2\Iartha (Dickinson) Newberry. The Newberry 
 • family was one of the most prominent Colonial 
 families of Windsor. The children of this mar- 
 riage were three sons and four daughters : Samuel, 
 ihe eldest, lives in San Francisco : John married 
 
 Ann Jeanie P'ortl, of Picrlin, wliere he resides and 
 is prominent in town affairs; Henrietta is the wife 
 of i<. A. Moore, postmaster of Kensington ; George 
 Benjamin is connected with the wholesale paper 
 warehouse of C. B. Hewitt & Bros., of New York; 
 The remaining children live together in the family 
 homestead, one of the most picturesque places in the 
 town. Mr. Norton passed away in 1880, at his res- 
 idence in Berlin, and was laid to rest in Berlin cem- 
 etery. 
 
 HENRY MARTYN ROB BINS (deceased) 
 was for many years one of the honored and esteemed 
 citizens of Newington, a man whose well-spent and 
 charitable lite commanded the respect of all with 
 whom he was brought in contact. 
 
 A native of Connecticut, Mr. Robbins was born 
 Aug. 10, 1839, on the old homestead, at Newing- 
 ton, Hartford county, in the house where his widow 
 now makes her home. E'nni Robbins, his father, 
 was born on the adjoining farm (the one on which 
 Mrs. F. J. Warner now lives), married Sarah Dun- 
 ham, and died when about seventy years of age. 
 He was a son of Unni, who was a son of Unni, 
 whose father was the first of the family in the United 
 States, coming from England and settling in New- 
 ington. The ancestors were all farmers by occupa- 
 tion, honorable and industrious men, and good citi- 
 zens. 
 
 Our subject received a liberal education, in part 
 at the Newington public schools, and in part at 
 Newington Academy, subsequently continuing his 
 studies at Cheshire and Harlem, and in the meantime 
 gaining considerable experience in agriculture on 
 the home farm. At about the age of eighteen years 
 he went to New York Cit}', where he clerked for a 
 time, and later took up his residence in Hartford, 
 in that city carrying on a furniture business in part- 
 nership with Mr. Robbins and Mr. ^^'inship, under 
 the firm name of Robbins & \Mnship. At the end 
 of about four years Mr. Robbins, on account of the 
 death of his father, withdrew from the concern, re- 
 turned home and assumed exclusive control of the 
 farm, and passed the remauider of his life there, 
 dying Dec. 27, 1898. His home was built by Tim- 
 othy Stanley, and bought by his father, Unni Rob- 
 bins. Besides engaging in general farming, our 
 subject dealt largely in tobacco, growing consider- 
 able quantities each year. He was thoroughly 
 public-spirited, widely known and generally re- 
 spected, perhaps more so than any other man in 
 2\ ewington and vicinity, and was prominent and gen- 
 erous in all public affairs. He was mainly instru- 
 mental in getting the electric street-car line estab- 
 lished between Newington and New Britain, giving 
 right of way through some two miles of land, be- 
 sides giving financial aid and lending his influence 
 in securing money donations for the same purpose. 
 He also gave to the town a lot on Main street, 
 whereon to build a library, if the town should so 
 wish. At his death he left five thousand dollars 
 
148 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to the Ecclesiastical Society (Congregational 
 Church), and one thousand dollars to the Children's 
 Home. 
 
 On May 19, 1875, Mr. Robbins was united in 
 marriage with Miss Sarah Frances Kellogg, who 
 was born Oct. 4, 1851, in North Carolina, one of the 
 family of five chndren of Martin and Patience 
 (Gordon) Kellogg, both now deceased, the father 
 being buried in iNewington, the mother in North 
 Carohna. Mr. Kellogg was born in the town of 
 Newington, Hartford county, where he received his 
 earlier education, subsequently taking a course at 
 Yale College, where he was graduated, and soon 
 -afterward going to North Carolina, where he estab- 
 lished a scnool tor boys. He married and continued 
 to reside there, but died in Hartford, where he had 
 come for treatment during his last illness. 
 
 Mr. Robbins, as is also his widow, was a mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church, toward which he 
 was very liberal ot his means, and he was also con- 
 nected with the Grange. A stanch Democrat, he 
 Avas firm in his political creed, but never obtrusive 
 or radical; in 1876-77 (one term) he served in the 
 Legislature with credit and ability, and for some 
 fourteen or fifteen )'ears he was a selectman of the 
 town. During the war of the Rebellion he sent a 
 substitute, and in many other ways proved his loyalty 
 to the cause of the Union. His public and private 
 life were alike above reproach, and his widow, a 
 most estimable lady, fully shares in the high regard 
 accorded her husband. 
 
 PIERRE DESNOYERS PELTIER, M, D., of 
 Hartford, founder of the Farmington \ alley San- 
 atoriurti, at Collinsville, and a physician of distinc- 
 tion in the profession, has descended from an his- 
 toric ancestry. 
 
 Dr. Peltier was born Nov. 15, 1835, in Fort Gra- 
 tiot, Mich., son of Charles and Emily (Parmely) 
 Peltier, and a lineal descendant of Michael Pelletier, 
 Sieur de la Prade, Seigneur de Gentilly ; and of 
 Francois Pelletier, who was one of the founders of 
 Detroit. Charles Peltier, the grandfather of our 
 subject, was a soldier in the war of 1812, serving 
 as an adjutant:, he was later post trader at Fort 
 Wayne, Ind., and was killed by the Indians. 
 
 Charles Peltier (2), our subject's father, was 
 an historic character in the early history of Micni- 
 gan. He was post trader at Fort Gratiot, and af- 
 terward for a number of years comptroller and jus- 
 tice of the peace in Detroit. Mrs. Emily (Parmely) 
 Peltier, the mother of our subject, after the death 
 of her husband was again married, to Simri Col- 
 lins, and under the name of Emily Parmely Collins 
 is widely known as a woman suffragist and writer 
 on economics. Her father, James Parmely, was a 
 patriot of the Revolution. 
 
 Our subject's education was received at Mace- 
 don (N. Y.) Academy and in the University of 
 Michigan. He was graduated from the Medical 
 Department of Buffalo University in i860, which 
 
 conferred upon him the degree of M. D., then for a 
 period was engaged in hospital practice, developing 
 a taste and aptitude for surgery. On Aug. 11, 1862, 
 he was commissioned assistant surgeon ot the 126th 
 N. Y. \'. I., and during the summer of 1864 served 
 as post surgeon at Martinsburg, W. \'a. While at 
 this point it was within the province of Surgeon 
 Peltier to render to his country most valuable aid, 
 which was greatly appreciated by the commanding- 
 general through a letter of acknowledgment. This 
 service was in the line of imparting information, to 
 Gen. Averill, of a proposed Rebel raid which en- 
 dangered his command of capture. In a history of 
 the regiment of which Dr. Peltier was surgeon it 
 is stated that: "Surgeon Peltier had the full confi- 
 dence of the officers and men under his charge, as 
 well as of his medical associates, by his skill and 
 success as a physician and surgeon, and endeared 
 himself to all by his uniform kindness, his genial 
 and social qualities as a gentleman, and by his un- 
 failing fund of wit and humor, that never required 
 a victim." At the close of the war Dr. Peltier 
 located at Clifton Springs, N. Y., and later at 
 Cornwall-on-the-Hudson, practicing there until 
 1871, when he located in Hartford, Conn.; he has, 
 by his ability, energy, obliging disposition and en- 
 gaging manners, built up a large, lucrative prac- 
 tice, and attained high rank in the profession. 
 
 Dr. Peltier, from close observation and study 
 through years of experience and contact with the 
 world, became impressed with the desire of estab- 
 lishing a retreat for persons suffering with nervous 
 and chronic diseases, believing that in so doing he 
 would accomplish what in time would be greatly 
 appreciated by the thousands of men and women 
 throughout the country so afflicted, and that such 
 an institution would redound to his honor. In this 
 age of hurry and bustle the average business man 
 is so interested in the success of his enterprise that 
 the strain, with little or no relaxation, sooner or 
 later breaks him down, and he finds himself a ner- 
 vous wreck. Such diseases require expert treat- 
 ment, and in a place of Ciuiet, where the patient can 
 have an entire change of scenery, with inviting, 
 cheering and restful surroundings. Carrying out 
 his ideas in the line indicated, Dr. Peltier has estab- 
 lished the Farmington A'alley Sanatorium at an ideal 
 country seat, Collinsville, near Hartford, and beau- 
 tifully located on the Farmington river, where the 
 surroundings are just such as are desired. The re- 
 treat or home itself is handsome and cheerful, it 
 being newly furnished throughout ; spacious veran- 
 das are on the first and second stories, and the home 
 pleasant in general. Beautiful drives are on all 
 sides through the grounds, which are well studded 
 with trees and shrubbery. A bountiful supply of 
 pure spring water is at hand, while the air of the 
 New England climate is invigorating. Here also.- 
 Dr. Peltier has gathered about him a staff' of compe- 
 tent physicians and surgeons who have acquired a 
 reputation for themselves, and the Sanatorium is 
 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 149 
 
 rapidly coming into notice, and has a promising 
 future. 
 
 Dr. Peltier has been medical director of the Na- 
 tional Life Association of Hartford, and for a 
 dozen or more years has been president of the Board 
 of L'nited States Pension Examiners for Hartford. 
 He is now and has been smce its organization a 
 member of Robert O. Tyler Post, G. A. R., at 
 Hartford. At the reunion of the 126th N. Y. V. 
 1., at Gett}-sburg, Penn., he delivered the address 
 commemorative of the occasion. The Doctor is a 
 member of the Army of the Potomac, the Army 
 and Navy Club, a thu-ty-seccnd degree JMason, and 
 a member of other fraternal organizations. He is 
 also a member of the American Association of Or- 
 ificial Surgery, of the American Institute of Home- 
 opathy, and was also president of the State Homeo- 
 pathic Association of Connecticut. 
 
 On Aug. 16, 1859, ^^- Reltier was married to 
 ilaria Reed, who is a great-granddaughter of 
 George Reed, a soldier of the Revolution, and is a 
 descendant of Joseph Mygatt, one of the first settlers 
 (and one of the founders of the Center Congrega- 
 tional Church) of Hartford. The three children 
 born to this union are Florence Perry, P'rank Hast- 
 ings Hamilton Peltier, Al. D., and Frederick Des- 
 noyers Peltier, of New York City. 
 
 HOX. DAXIEL EDWARD BRADLEY. 
 Prominent among the energetic, enterprising and 
 successful business men of Berlin, Hartford county, 
 is the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch. 
 He possesses tmtiring energy, is quick of perception, 
 forms his plans readily, and is determined in their 
 execution ; and his close application to business and 
 his excellent management have brought to him the 
 prosperity which is to-day his. 
 
 Mr. Bradley was born in East Jaffrey, N. H., 
 ]\Iay 16, i86i, a son of Dr. Oscar Holmes Bradley, 
 who was born in Louisville, Ky., in 1826, and has 
 been engaged in the practice of medicine for many 
 years. The mother of our subject, who bore the 
 maiden name of Julia Ann Spaulding, was born in 
 1 83 1, a daughter of Daniel and Lucmda (Perkins) 
 Spaulding, natives of Fitzwilliam, N. H. The 
 paternal grandfather, Jeremiah Bradley, married 
 ^Margaret Holmes, of Londonderry, N. H., and 
 they died and were buried at South Royalston, 
 ^Massachusetts. 
 
 Daniel E. Bradley, subject of this sketch, spent 
 his boyhood and youth at home, and was graduated 
 from the public schools of Jaffrey, N. H. At the 
 age of eighteen years he entered Darmouth College, 
 where he pursued both a scientific and civil engi- 
 neering course. After his graduation he had charge 
 of the Hoosac ttmnel and Wilmington railroad .as 
 chief engineer, with headquarters at Readsboro, Vt., 
 having become connected with that road during va- 
 cations, and with this company he remained until 
 October. 1883. The following two years he was as- 
 sistant engineer for the Boston Bridge Works, and 
 
 for the same length of time had charge of the draft- 
 ing department lor the Berlin Iron Bridge Co., at 
 East Berlin, Conn. On resigning that position he 
 went to St. Albans, \'t., where he served as mana- 
 ger and treasurer for the X'crmont Construction Co. 
 tor two \'ears, and was then elected vice-president, 
 which office he held for the same length of time. 
 That firm did general contracting and bridge work. 
 When he resigned that position he returned to East 
 Berlin, -Conn., and was manager of the high>vay 
 bridge department of the BerUn Iron Bridge Co. 
 until 1898, when he was made manager of the con- 
 tracting department, and now has full charge of 
 making all contracts, etc. Mr. Bradley has proved 
 a most efficient man for the place, and under his 
 able management the business of the company has 
 steadily increased. 
 
 On Dec. 31, 1883, Mr. Bradley married Miss 
 Anna Samson, who was born in Roxbury, \"t.. May 
 3, 1862, a daughter of Charles and Margaret Sam- 
 son. Her father died a number of years ago. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Bradley have become the parents of four 
 children: Lucile Katherine, born May 27, 1887, is 
 now attending the Worthington private school in 
 Berlin; Marguerite Julia, born April 16, 1889, is a 
 pupil in the same private school ; Ruth, born June 7, 
 1891, died Oct. 13, 1893; and Edith Narcissa, born 
 Sept. II, 1893, is attending Miss Roys' private 
 school in Berlin. 
 
 In 1894 Mr. Bradley erected, on Worthington 
 avenue, Berlin, a very beautiful residence with all 
 modern improvements. At this hospitable home the 
 many friends of the family delight to congregate. 
 Politically Mr. Bradley is a stanch Democrat, and 
 on the party ticket was elected to the State Legis- 
 lature in 1897. Although Berlin township gave 
 President McKinley a majority of 251 votes, Mr. 
 Bradlev defeated the Republican candidate, M. E. 
 Jacobs, by 68 votes, a fact which plainly indicates 
 his personal popularity, and the confidence and trust 
 reposed in him by his fellow citizens. He is a prom- 
 inent member of the New Britain Club, of New 
 Britain, ConiT. ; the Engineers Club, of New York; 
 the Country Club, of Farmington, Conn. ; the Ameri- 
 can Society of Civil Engineers ; and is a member of 
 the executive committee of the Connecticut Civil 
 Engineers Association. He is prominent in both 
 business and social circles, and is one of the best- 
 known men of his community. 
 
 ALLEN A. ROBBINS (deceased'). The Rob- 
 bins family for four generations has been promi- 
 nently identified with the history and development 
 of Rocky Hill. In all this time there has never been 
 one of this historic name who has failed to take an 
 active part in the official administration of public 
 aft'airs in this locality. The earliest member of the 
 familv of whom any record has been preserved was 
 one John Robbins, who built the red brick home- 
 stead which is still standing upon the Robbins farm. 
 He was the great-grandfather of Allen .A... and the 
 
1£0 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 grandfather of Allen (ij, who was the son of Jacob, 
 great-great-grandson of the original John Robbins, 
 gentleman. 
 
 Jacob Robbins, grandfather of our subject, was 
 first married to Chloe Williams, who bore him three 
 children : Elias, Silas, and Allen ( who is referred 
 to below). The mother of these children died, and 
 he then married Eunice Webster, by whom he be- 
 came the father of five children : Austin, Moses, 
 Chloe, Silas and Eunice. 
 
 Allen Robbins, father of our subject, was born 
 about the year 1779, on the old homestead, and was 
 an eminently successful farmer. He married 
 Amelia Bulkley, and to their union came the fol- 
 lowing children: Thomas, born October, 1806, died 
 at Rocky Hill in 1894; Chloe W., born Jan. 9, 1808, 
 married Frederick Marsh, and died in June, 1898; 
 Mary A., born in July, 1810, died in May, 1890; 
 Allen A., our subject, born in 1816, died Oct. 7, 
 1900 : Abigail W., born in 1819, married Rev. Joshua 
 Maynard, and died in May, 1847; Emily W., born 
 Jan. 9, 1822, became the wife of Robert Sugden, of 
 Rocky Hill. The father died at his home ni 1852, 
 the mother on Oct. 4, 1847. 
 
 Allen A. Robbins received his early training 
 upon his father's farm, and it did not greatlj- vary 
 from that obtained by most farmers' lads in the 
 early days of Connecticut history. He remained on 
 this farm until after his marriage, in 1840, to Abby 
 Ann Goodrich. In the same year he went with his 
 wife to live upon the farm of her grandfather, and 
 there remained some six years, or until the death of 
 his wife, which occurred Aug. 4, 1846. Shortly 
 afterward he returned to his father's home, where 
 he remained until November, 1898, when he made 
 his home with his daughter. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Robbins were born two children: (i) Thomas H., 
 born in November, 1841, is a graduate of Yale 
 University, having received his degree in 1868. He 
 served in the war of the Rebellion in Company H, 
 25th Conn. V. L, and distinguished himself re- 
 peatedly by acts of personal bravery. . He is a civil 
 engineer by profession, and a resident of Oklahoma 
 Territory. (2jAnnie A., born July 15, 1845, is the 
 wife of William G. Robbins, a farmer and also the 
 town clerk of Rocky Hill, and they have had six 
 children. 
 
 Allen A. Robbins spent the greater part of his 
 life upon the farm, and his career may be said to 
 have been devoid of any events of striking interest ; 
 yet his unassailable integrity, his unvarying fidelity 
 to truth, and his genial, kindly disposition, endeared 
 him to all with whom he came in contact. For many 
 years he was chosen bv his townspeople as selectman, 
 the duties of which office he discharged with the same 
 fidelity with which he entered upon every task that 
 fell across his wa_\'. When a youth of twenty years 
 he became a member of the State militia, and rose 
 to the rank of captain of his company. He was a 
 devout and consistent member of the Congregational 
 Church, and a liberal contributor to its support and 
 
 work. It is of such men as Mr. Robbins, quiet, un- 
 assuming and trustworthy, that New England may 
 well be proud. 
 
 HON. WILLIS HENRY UPSON, treasurer 
 and secretary of the Berlin Savings Bank, and who 
 for years has been successfully engaged in mercan- 
 tile pursuits at Kensington (Berlin), has descended 
 from one of the early substantial families of New 
 England. 
 
 Mr. LIpson was born March 29, 1858, in Berlin, 
 son of William and Mary (Hart) Upson, and grand- 
 son of Thomas Upson, whose ancestors were from 
 Massachusetts. Thomas L^pson was a thrifty 
 farmer in the town of ^^'olcott, and owned consid- 
 erable land. He married Jerusha Upson. William 
 Upson, our subject's father, was born July 2, 1825, 
 in Wolcott, Conn., in which town he was partially 
 reared and schooled, the family moving when Will- 
 iam was thirteen to Kensington. On reaching man- 
 hood he was married to Mary, daughter of Samuel 
 and Lucy (Dickinson) Hart, of Berlin, both of 
 whom are now deceased, and their remains rest in 
 the Kensington cemetery. Mr. Upson has con- 
 tinued to reside in Kensington, and covering the long- 
 period of sixty and more years he has been a useful 
 man in the community and a good citizen. He was 
 a Whig in the days of that party, and on its disso- 
 lution allied himself with the Republican party, 
 and has since strongly advocated its principles. He 
 has ever taken a deep interest in matters pertaining 
 to the good of the community, and the best interests 
 of the town. He has not aspired to office, yet has 
 held several, among them that of selectman and a 
 member of the board of relief. He was one of the 
 charter members of the Grange, and active in its 
 interests during the existence of the local organi- 
 zation. Since 1870 he has been a deacon in the 
 Congregational Church. His first wife died June 
 30, 1871, and Feb. 23, 1874, he married (second) 
 Aurelia, daughter of Isaac Hough, a tanner of 
 Wolcott. She died Aug. 18, 1898, since which 
 period the husband has made his home with his 
 son Arthur, in Kensington. The children born -to 
 the first marriage of William Upson are as fol- 
 lows : (i) Willis H., our subject, is mentioned at 
 length farther on. (2) Lucy J., born JMarch 26, 
 i860, married Jan. 4, 1887, Charles \\"oodward 
 Gary, a merchant of ]\Iontevallo, Ala. (3) Arthur 
 W., born June 25, 1863, married Oct. 3, 1889, 
 Miss Alice E. Peck, who was born Jan. 8, 1865, 
 daughter of Langdon J. and Hannah (Kenney) 
 Peck, of Kensington. Arthur L'pson is now practic- 
 ing law with F. L. Flungerford, of New Britain. 
 His children are Claire P., born Feb. 6, 1891 ; 
 Everett L., born June 19, 1892; and Stewart Ar- 
 thur, bom May 10, 1894. (4) Alice C, born June 
 9,, 1868, married Sept. 17, 1890, Sidney M. Cowles, 
 who is in the retail meat business in Kensington ; 
 his children are: Helen M. born July 13, 1891 ; 
 and Edward U., born Nov. 11, 1892. (5) Mary 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 155 
 
 represents per annum four times the original 
 output. 
 
 During his ten years' residence in Portland, 
 from 1878 to 1888, Mr. Hall was prominent in the 
 interests of the town. He was elected president of 
 the Shaler & Hall Quarry Co. in 1884, and refused 
 nominations to both branches of the State Legis- 
 lature, tendered him by the dominant party. In 
 1888 his business, which had been carried on under 
 a partnership, was organized as a corporation, Mr. 
 Hall retaining his proprietary interest, and holding 
 the position of treasurer. About this time the con- 
 tinuous ill health of R. W. H. Jarvis, president of 
 the Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Co., 
 and his consequent retirement from active manage- 
 ment in the concern, together with the general de- 
 pression of its business, and the resignation of Gen. 
 William B. Franklin, determined its board of di- 
 rectors to offer to Mr. Hall the position of gen- 
 eral manager of the corporation. An arrange- 
 ment was made satisfactor}' to both parties, and 
 Mr. Hall entered upon the duties of his office with 
 the business acumen and untiring zeal and energy 
 " so characteristic of him. Although Mr. Jarvis re- 
 tained the presidency, it was understood, owing to 
 his condition of health, that he was to be relieved 
 of all the responsibility and care attaching to the 
 office. Caldwell H. Colt, the vice-president, was 
 absent from Hartford the greater portion of the 
 time, so that almost from the beginning of hi? 
 connection with the corporation the entire direc- 
 tion of afifairs, both within the manutactory and 
 in its relations with the business world at large, 
 devolved upon Mr. Hall. The directors, soon as- 
 sured of his ample capability and worth', support- 
 ed him loyally in the changes he advocatecl, and 
 under his vigorous direction the company has been 
 strengthened at home and abroad. In 1890 he wa.s 
 elected vice-president and treasurer. 
 
 During his residence of twelve years in Hart- 
 ford, Mr. Hall's geniality and business ability have 
 received a flattering recognition on the part of its 
 citizens. He has declined nomination to munici- 
 pal office, but from 1890 to 1896 served on the city 
 board of water commissioners. He was State sen- 
 ator from the First District of Hartford in 1895- 
 96. His political affiliations are with the Demo- 
 cratic party, and in 1896 and 1900 he supported 
 the gold wing of that party. He is a director in 
 several of Hartford's corporations, namely: The 
 Phoenix Fire Insurance Co., the Phoenix Mutual 
 Life Insurance Co., the Hartford National Bank, 
 and the Dime Savings Bank, and was one of the 
 organizers of the Board of Trade, and a member 
 of its first board of directors. He is also a direc- 
 tor in the Neptune Meter Co. of New York. He 
 enjoys membership in the Hartford Club, the ^lan- 
 hattan Club, the Engineers' Club and the New 
 York Yacht. Club, of New York City, and the 
 JNIetropoIitan Club of Washington ; is a member 
 of the Sons of the American Revolution, also of 
 
 the '"^Mayflower" Society, and is a ^lason of the 
 thirty-second degree. 
 
 On Feb. 9, 1870, Mr. Hall was married to Miss 
 Sarah G. Loomis, of New York, who is descended 
 on her father's side from Quaker stock, and from 
 the Hopkinses of Rhode Island. Her ancestor, 
 Stephen Hopkins, was a very prominent citizen of 
 that honored Commonwealth during the Revolu- 
 tionary period. He was chief justice of both the 
 court of common pleas and the superior court, 
 governor of Rhode Island, and Speaker of the 
 House of Representatives. He was twice elected 
 to the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, and 
 was one of the Signers of the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence. Their union has been blessed with the 
 birth of four children, two of whom survive : Clar- 
 ence Loines and Miss Grace Loines. 
 
 Mr. Hall has always been a member of the 
 Episcopal Church, and is now senior warden of 
 the parish of the Good Shepherd in the city of his 
 residence. He is loyally faithful to the interests 
 he represents, whether of a public or private char- 
 acter, and has steadfastly declined calls to a wider 
 field for the display of his energies with promise 
 of a more lucrative employment. 
 
 ALVA WEST SPAULDING. The Spaulding 
 family is of Puritan stock, and the subject of this 
 biography, a well-known resident of Hartford, is of 
 the eighth generation of the family in this country, 
 tracing his descent from Edward Spaulding, an 
 early settler in Braintree, ^Massachusetts. 
 
 the name was formerly spelled Spalden or Sparl- 
 den, but after passing through the mutations to 
 which so manv family names are subject it has been 
 spelled Spaulding almost entirely from the first 
 record we have of it in America. The Spaulding 
 genealogy has this to say of the family : "As a race 
 they are possessed of great physical vigor, and for 
 most part are tillers of tlie soil. There are, however, 
 many successful and wealthv men of business among 
 them. About fifty have graduated at dift'erent col- 
 leges, and about forty have graduated from different 
 schools of law, medicine, science and theology. The 
 piactice of medicine has been the leading preference, 
 next to this the ministry, and then the law." The 
 family has also taken an active part in the civic and 
 military history of the country. Edward Spauld- 
 ing, mentioned above, came to Massachusetts among 
 the first colonists, probably between 1630 and 1633, 
 his name appearing first in the records of Braintree. 
 He and his wife, Z^Iargaret, had three children : John, 
 Edward and Grace. 
 
 John Spaulding, born in 1633, died in 1721. He 
 was a tiller of the soil, and a soldier under Capt. 
 Manning in King Philip's war. On ]\Iay 18, 1658, 
 he married Hannah Hale, and they had the following 
 children: John, Eunice, Edward, Haimah. Samuel, 
 Deborah, Toseph and Timothy. 
 
 lohn Spaulding (2), born Feb. 15, 1659, was 
 married first to Ann Ballord, of Anaover, Mass., 
 
156 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Sept. 21, 1681. Late in life he removed to Plain- 
 field, Conn., with his children, who were named as 
 follows: Anna, Samuel, Jonathan, Deborah and 
 Eleazer (twins). Dinah and William. 
 
 Eleazer Spaulding, born Aug. 13, 1690, married 
 Abigail Kingsbury, daughter of James Kingsbury, 
 Xov. 17, 1712. He resided in Plainfield, Conn., and 
 their eight children were born there : Dorcas, Eunice, 
 Anna, Hezekiah, Fennel. Eleazer, Timothy and 
 David. 
 
 David Spaulding, of Plainfield. Conn. [see Plain- 
 field Records], was bom Dec. 25, 1731, and died 
 Aug. 23, 1803. He married Elizabeth Barrett, who 
 was born Oct. 28. 1736, daughter of Joseph and 
 Lydia Barrett. Their children were Barzilla, Milli- 
 cent, Abigail, Eunice, Phineas, Simon, Alva and 
 Elisha. 
 
 Barzilla Spaulding, our subject's grandfather, 
 was born April 11, 1757, and resided many years 
 in Plainfield, N. H. He was a private and drummer 
 boy in the Connecticut militia in the Revolutionary 
 war, and drew a pension. He married Elizabeth 
 Spaulding, a daughter of John Spaulding, and a 
 descendant of Edward, the line beinp- traced through 
 John, Ephraim, Edward, Benjamin and Edward. 
 They had ten children : Jared, Annah, Elizabeth, 
 Levi, Ozias, Alvah, John, Lucinda, Annah (who 
 married a Mr. Sinclair and moved West), and Eli- 
 zabeth (who married Joseph Coll, and also moved 
 ^^■est). 
 
 Alvah Spaulding, our subject's father, was born 
 in A'ermont, in 1794. He died July 29, 1837, aged 
 forty-three, and liis wife, Emma Cooke, died Jan. 
 9, 1837, aged forty-one. They had a large family 
 of children, as follows : Emma, who died July 28, 
 1843, aged twenty-five: Fannv B., who married 
 Horace Darling, of Morristown. \'t. : Mary, who 
 died Dec. 2, 1841, aged nineteen : Alva W. ; Harriet, 
 born July 25, 183 1, who married Stephen R. Law- 
 rence, of New Britain, Conn. : Dudley, who died 
 !May 8, 1831, aged four years ; Betsey, who died Jan. 
 12. 1S50, aged sixteen; Celinda, who died in girl- 
 hood ; and William Azro, who resided in New Brit- 
 am, Conn., and had three children. 
 
 Alva West Spaulding was born ]\Iarch i, 1825, 
 in Morristown, Lamoille Co., Vt., and was educated 
 in the common schools of that State, attending until 
 he reached the age of eighteen. Having lost his par- 
 ents during his boyhood, he was early thrown upon 
 his own resources, and about 1847 he located in New 
 Britain, having gone there to take a span of horses 
 for Charles M. Lewis. On his arrival he had but 
 twenty-five cents in his pocket, but soon found em- 
 ployment with George Hart, father of William Hart, 
 and for a number of years worked for him in differ- 
 ent capacities, eventually taking entire charge of 
 the livery business. At first his wages were $14 per 
 month, but they were gradually increased to $35. 
 With the aid of Mr. Hart he bought a livery busi- 
 ness of Mr. Woodworth, made needed changes for 
 an enlarged trade, and the venture proved entirely 
 
 successful. He continued in the livery business 
 until early in the 'eighties, a period of over thirty 
 years, and had as partners Horace Bailey, Fred Sey- 
 mcur, son of Deacon Orson S. Seymour, and later 
 Merrill Roberts. Politically he was first a Whig, 
 but became a Republican on the organization of 
 that party, and his fellow citizens have frequently 
 called him into official life. For some years he was 
 constable in New Britain, and for ten years he served 
 as deputy sheriff under Sherifi^ Westell Russell. In 
 1870 he represented New Britain in the Legisla- 
 ture, his colleague being Timothy W. Stanley, and 
 did efficient work, especially on committees. He 
 also held oflSce as chief of police for ten years, pre- 
 ceding Washington L. Morgan, and in 1881 the 
 RepulDlican nomination for sheriflr' was forced upon 
 him by his friends, resulting in his election by a 
 handsome majority. He served two terms of three 
 years and one term of four years, retiring in 1891. 
 In the meantime he removed to Hartford, and had 
 charge of the Hartford county jail, and about 1889 
 he became interested in the firm of C. C. Fuller & 
 Co., furniture dealers, of which he is still a member. 
 In religious faith he is a Congregationalist, having 
 first united with the Center Church at New Britain, 
 and since his removal to Hartford he attends the 
 Windsor Avenue Church. At one time he belonged 
 to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, but is not 
 now affiliated. 
 
 On Sept. 4, 1854, Mr. Spaulding was married 
 to Miss Josephine A. Beckley, of Berlin, who was 
 born Oct. 26, 1838, daughter of Horace Beckley. 
 They have had no children, but have adopted a son, 
 Clinton Edgar, a child of Mrs. Spaulding's brother, 
 Edgar Beckley. 
 
 DART FAMILY. The name is variously 
 spelled Dart, Darte and Dort, but the first form is 
 the generally accepted one, the second appearing 
 only in old English records, and the third being 
 the Dutch or German form. 
 
 The earliest mention we find of the name in 
 New England records is at New London, whence 
 members of the family seem to have gone to Bol- 
 ton, Middletown, Chatham, Hebron, Windham • 
 and Stratford, Conn., and to Gilsum and Surry, 
 New Flampshire. 
 
 (I) Richard Dart, of New London, married in 
 1664, his wife's name being Bethia. He died Sept. 
 24, 1724, aged eighty-nine years. Children: (i) 
 Dinah, born Jan. 13, 1665; (2) Daniel, May 3, 
 1666; (3) Richard, May 7, 1667; (4) Roger, Nov. 
 22, 1670; (s) Ebenezer, Feb. 18, 1673; (6) Ann, 
 Feb. 14, 1675; (7) Bethia, July 30, 1677; (8j 
 Elizabeth, Dec. 15, 1679; (9) Sarah, lune 10, 
 1681 : and (10) Mary, 1685. 
 
 (II) Daniel Dart, of New London, born May 
 3, 1666, married Aug. 4, 1686, Elizabeth, eldest 
 daup-hter of William Douglas, and removed to 
 Bolton about 1716. Children: (i) Thomas, born 
 July 8, 1687; (2) Elizabeth, Oct. 14. 1689; (3) 
 
(^^^<^-^i2y^-^ ^a^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 151 
 
 Hart, born April 15, 1871, married in October, 
 1895, Howard J. Pratt, of Hartford, who is con- 
 nected with the Sage & Allen store of that city. 
 
 Our subject's boyhood was mainly passed in the 
 towns of Berlin and New Britain : he attended the 
 common schools of the former, and the Camp school 
 in New Britain. After his school davs were over 
 he began his business career as a clerk in the 
 shipping-room of the gas-fitting department of the 
 Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Co., of Meri- 
 den. Conn. After some four years" service with this 
 company he became assistant paymaster at the Ken- 
 sington branch of the Peck, Stow & W'ilcox Co., 
 and served as such for two years. Following this 
 he engaged in the mercantile business, and was 
 appointed postmaster at Kensington in 1888, re- 
 taining this position eight years. He is now lo- 
 cated in the new building, having erected near 
 the station a large three-story block in which he 
 established his present mercantile business. Since 
 1888 Mr. Upson has been treasurer and secretary 
 of the Berlin Savings Bank, an institution that was 
 incorporated in 1873, and of which William Bulke- 
 ley is now the president. Mr. Upson is also a di- 
 rector of the institution. Our subject is one of the 
 substantial citizens and successful business men 
 of Berlin. His public spirit and enterprise are evi- 
 denced in his elegant business block, referred to in 
 the foregoing. In his political views he is a Re- 
 publican, and as such has been active and influential ; 
 he is a member of the board of relief in Berlin ; 
 in 1895 he was a representative from his town in 
 the State Legislature. Fraternally he is a member 
 of the Royal Arcanum Lodge, Xo. 1105, New 
 Britain. 
 
 On May 23, 1883, at Wolcott, Conn., Air. Upson 
 was married to Miss Clara Eliza ^Varner, who was 
 born Dec. 24, 1859, daughter of Erastus and Eliza 
 J. Warner, of Wolcott, the latter of whom died in 
 Kensington, in 1899, and is buried in Plymouth, 
 Conn. The children born to our subject and his 
 wife are as follows : Harold Warner, born March 
 19, 1886; Warren William, Nov. 22, 1887; and 
 Lura Hart, July 16, 1891. The parents are mem- 
 bers of the Kensington Congregational Church, and 
 the father has for years been treasurer and clerk 
 of the Ecclesiastical Society. Both take an active 
 part in church work, and are among its liberal 
 supporters. 
 
 EDWIN BISHOP HIBBARD, who passed 
 away March 17, 1877, is well remembered by the 
 older and many of the younger residents of Man- 
 chester, Hartford county, as a citizen who always 
 had the interests of his community at heart, and as 
 a man of high moral character and recognized worth. 
 He was the pioneer merchant in the town, and. rising 
 by his own etTorts to a place among the substantial 
 busines' men of this section, ranked among its self- 
 made men, and was honored and esteemed wherever 
 known. 
 
 Islw Hibbard was born in jNIarch, 1819, in the 
 town of Hebron, Tolland Co., Conn., son of Walter 
 and Lucinda (Jones) Hibbard. Walter Hibbard ' 
 was a drum major in the war of 1812; by trade he 
 was a stone mason. When our subject was a boy 
 the family removed to New York Slate, and, return- 
 ing to Connecticut after a few years" residence there, 
 settled in ^Marlboro, Tolland county. Edwin B. 
 Hibbard received his education in the common 
 schools, and began work at the tinner"s trade, which 
 he followed until he reached his majority, after 
 which, for about a year, he sold silverware thronglr 
 the country, hoping to benefit his health, which was 
 very poor. In about 1841 he started a tin shop at 
 Marlboro, remaining there until 1847, i" which year 
 he came to Alanchester to do some work on the fac- 
 tory of the old Union Manufacturing Co., roofing, 
 etc. When the job was completed, and having de- 
 cided to settle here, he opened a shop in the vicinity ' 
 of the mill, in time adding hardware, stoves, etc., 
 and in 1848 erecting a small store where his son is ' 
 now engaged in business. The place was enlarged 
 from time to time as the increasing trade required, 
 and for a number of years he sold hardware, stoves, 
 etc., there, subsequently renting the store to Alex- 
 ander ilitchell and still later to William McCormick 
 and to L. S. Emmons ; it is now ocupied by Hibbard 
 & Stannard. Early in the "fifties he also built a store 
 in South [Manchester, which he conducted a few 
 years and then sold out. After renting his hardware 
 store ]\Ir. Hibbard handled sewing machines and 
 musical instruments, pianos, organs, etc., until his 
 death, and he was also engaged 'in the same line in 
 Providence, R. I., as a member of the firm of Hib- 
 bard & Hawkins, which later became Hawkins Bros. 
 He was always successful in his enterprises, giving 
 them the careful attention which is necessary in any 
 line, and exercising sound judgment in all his trans- 
 actions. 
 
 Though never a politician or office seeker, Mr. 
 Hibbard was nevertheless a most active citizen. All 
 matters pertaining to his town received his careful 
 attention, and, if deserving, his strongest influence, 
 for he cculd always be depended upon to give his 
 support to any undertaking which he thought would 
 benefit the community. He was identified with the 
 improvement and growth of Manchester from its 
 earliest days, for he came to the town when it could 
 boast of but one store, that of the Union Manufac- 
 turing Co. When the New York & New Haven 
 railroad was built through Manchester Mr. Hibbard, 
 Loren Carpenter and William Jones purchased the 
 land in I\Ianchester on which the depot stands, and 
 presented it to the company, thereby securing to the 
 people of the town a depot site centrally located and 
 convenient. Mr. Hibbard was also for many years 
 identified with religious interests in the town, being 
 a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with 
 which he united when sixteen years of age,_ and 
 he served efficiently as- steward and trustee of the 
 
 Snript-i- at V ra.i,-l-.^'ct^r "HIc ^r,\■,^■,.-.\ .-„o^,-l- .vac 
 
152 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 g-iven to the Republican part_v. He was universally 
 respected by his fellow men as a deservedly success- 
 ful self-made man, and his death was sincerely 
 mourned throughout this section. His remains rest 
 in the Buckland cemetery. 
 
 j\lr. Hibbard was married, Dec. 31, 1848, to ^Nliss 
 Elizabeth E. Emmons, who was born Nov. 29, 1829, 
 in Haddam, Conn., daughter of AVilliam and Han- 
 nah (Ely) Emmons, and granddaughter of Daniel 
 Emmons, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
 war. Mr. and Mrs. Hibbard became the parents of 
 .Join- children: Albert, Josephine, Philena and Will- 
 iam, c,^ whom William is now the only survivor. 
 He is enga7pd in the hardware business in company 
 with Mr. Stannard at his father's old store. In 
 1839 Mr. Hibbard erected the house in which his 
 wioow and son now live. 
 
 REV. MICHAEL E. RODDAX. From a 
 worldly point of view "the secret of success is con- 
 centration." The highest ideals are attained only 
 after years of patient toil always tending toward 
 the same focus. But who can measure the success 
 of a life devoted, from childhood, to the one all ab- 
 sorbing purpose of the uplifting of mankind? 
 
 Michael B. Roddan v;as born Dec. 15, 1833, 
 in Boston, Mass., and at the early age of fourteen 
 entered Le Petit Seminaire, at Quebec, to enter 
 upon his studies for the priesthood. Later he at- 
 tended Holy Cross College, at Worcester, and then 
 completed his course at Le Grande Seminaire, Mont- 
 real. LTpon the completion of his studies in that in- 
 stitution, he was ordained for the Hartford diocese 
 by Mgr. Cique. 
 
 St. Patrick's Church, Hartford, was the first 
 scene of the vcung priest's labors, and he served 
 under the wise guidance of Rev. James Hughes, 
 priest in charge. From there he went to Water- 
 'ijury, to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, 
 as assistant to the Rev. Thomas Hendricken, after- 
 ward bishop of Providence. In 1863 Bristol be- 
 came a parish, and Bishop McFarland appointed 
 Father Roddan to care for it. So earnestly did he 
 devote himself to the task of building up the new 
 Ijarish, that at the end of three years his health had 
 failed and he was obliged to seek a change of cli- 
 mate. For four years he remained in Greenville, 
 R. T., and was then recalled to Bristol, where he has 
 since continued his work without interruption. 
 For more than thirt\' years his flock has known 
 him and, knowing him well, has given him the 
 warm affection his fostering care has engendered, 
 and the community outside the Roman Catholic 
 Church respect him for his high character and 
 fine attainments. 
 
 HON. WILLIAM li. COWLES is a prominent 
 representative of the business interests of Plants- 
 ville, where he carries on operations as a liveryman, 
 merchant and dealer in coal. He is a man of keen 
 perception, of great sagacity, and unbounded en- 
 
 1850. 
 
 terprise, and to these characteristics may be attrib- 
 uted his success. 
 
 Mr. Cowles was born in Southington March 19, 
 His father, Charles Augustus Cowles, was 
 born Jan. 1, 1808, and was married Sept. 24, 1839, 
 tr. ]\Irs. Delia \'. (Stedman) Bradley, widow of 
 Charles Bradley. The children born to them were 
 Charles B. : Frederick A. ; Jane L., wife of Royal C. 
 Mix; Walter A. ; William H. ; Julia A., wife of Al- 
 fred X. Parmalee; and Fanny M. The father ac- 
 quired a competence in trade in the South, became a 
 large land owner in the vicinity of Plantsville, Conn., 
 ancl wa-s- -extensively engaged in farming. He died 
 in Plantsville, June 6, 1873. 
 
 Addison Cowles, the paternal grandfather of our 
 subject, was born in Southington, Feb. 17, 1770, and 
 was married, Feb. 24, 1800, to Phebe, daughter of 
 Dr. Jesse Cole. He lived in Plantsville Center, 
 where his wife died March 13, 1824, aged forty-six 
 years, and his death occurred Feb. 23, 1828. His 
 father, Ashbel Cowles, was born in Southington 
 Sept. 29, 1740, and was married April 29, 1769, to 
 Rhoda Lee. daughter of Jared and Rhoda (Judd) 
 Lee. He lived west of Plantsville cemetery. He 
 was an extensive reader, possessed a very retentive 
 memory, and was well versed in historical facts and 
 dates. He held several offices, serving as constable 
 for years, first selectman in 1792, and also held the 
 military rank of captain. He died Sept. 19, 1815. 
 He was a son of Josiah Cowles, who was born in 
 Farmington Xov. 20, 1716, and was married X'ov. 
 II' 1739. to Jemima Dickinson. Soon afterward he 
 located in what is now the town of Southington, 
 where he bought land extensively. His wife died 
 Oct. 19, 1746, and he was again married, X^ov. 22, 
 1748, his second union being- with Mary, daugh- 
 ter of Samuel and Mary (Pynchon) Scott, of 
 Southington. He was a man of great en- 
 ergy of character, took a leading part in church and 
 societ}^ matters, held several important town offices, 
 and held the military rank of captain. He was the 
 father of eighteen children, and his descendants are 
 numerous and scattered. Josiah Cowles died June 6, 
 1793. His father. Thomas Cowles, was iDorn in 
 Farmington Feb. 4, 1686, and was mairied Jan. 6, 
 1 7 14. to Martha Judd, eldest daughter of Thomas 
 and Sarah (Freeman) Judd, of Waterbury. He 
 resided in Farmington, where he died March 11, 
 1751. His father, Samuel Cowles, was born in 
 I'arniington ^larch 17, 1661, and was married May 
 12. 16S5, to Rachel Porter. He lived in Farming- 
 ton until about 1716, when he removed to Kensing- 
 ton, v,here he died Oct. 14, 1748. He was a son of 
 Samuel Cowles, who was born in 1639, and was mar- 
 ried Feb. 14, 1660, to Abigail, daughter of Timothy 
 Stanley, of Hartford. They made their home in 
 Parmington, and he was one of the eighty-four pro- 
 prietors of that town in 1672. He died April 17, 
 1691. His father, John Cole, was one of the first 
 settlers of Hartford, but soon after 1640 he located 
 in Farmington, and while residing there was induced 
 
-'NW 
 
k 
 
 mt 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 153 
 
 to change his name to Cowles, in order to avoid the 
 inconvenience of being taken at times for another 
 John Cole, living in the same place. From that time 
 the descendants of his eldest son, Samuel, have 
 spelled the name Cowles. John Cole was a farmer, 
 and a deputy to the General Court in 1653 and 1654. 
 In 1662 he removed to Hadlev. Mass., where he died 
 
 in September. 1675. He married Hannah , 
 
 "who died in Hartford, March 6, 1683, aged seventy 
 years. 
 
 The 'subject of this sketcli passed his boyhood 
 in Plantsville, where he attended the common schools, 
 and later he was a student in the Amenia (N. Y.) 
 Academy. Since 1876 he has been engaged in the 
 coal, livery and truck business in Plantsville, and 
 now enjoys an excellent trade. His political sup- 
 port is always given to the men and measures of the 
 Democratic party, and he has been called upon to 
 serve as a member of the board of selectmen of 
 Southington, and also represented the town in the 
 State Legislature. -Fraternally he is a member of 
 the Knights of Pythias. On Sept. 21, 1881, Mr. 
 Cowles was united in marriage with Miss Mary K. 
 jMessenger, a daughter of John and Mary (Schupp) 
 ^lessenger, of New York, and to them have been 
 Iiorn two children, Clarence A. and Harold L. 
 
 STEPHEN F. CHURCHILL (deceased) was 
 born Sept. 10, 185 1, in the town of Wethersfield, 
 Hartforcl county, son of Justus and Abigail ( Harris ) 
 Churchill, and was reared upon his father's farm, 
 V here he remained until he attained the age of 
 twenty-one. 
 
 l)n Jan. i^, 1873, JMr. Churchill was united in 
 marriage to Miss Ella F. Williams, and to their 
 union were born two children : Frank W., and Mabel, 
 both of whom are at present living at home with 
 their mother. Our subject was noted for his untir- 
 ing industry, and it was commonly said that he for 
 many years performed more work than any other 
 man in the town of Rocky Hill. In addition to his 
 general farm work he was extensively engaged in 
 the making and sale of dairy products, besides being 
 one of the few successful tobacco growers in the 
 town. Each year he cultivated from five to seven 
 acres of this crop. 
 
 F'olitically JMr. Churchill was a Republican, but 
 never an office-seeker. In religious connection he 
 was a devout Congregationalist. He died Nov. 5, 
 1892. leaving a large estate, and was most deeply 
 mourned by those who knew him best. Since his 
 demise his widow has continued to live upon the 
 farm, where she was born and married, and where 
 she has spent the greater part of a life full of ac- 
 tivity and usefulness. 
 
 ^Irs. Churchill is a descendant of one of the old 
 families of the county, who have for three genera- 
 tions occupied the old homestead farm where she 
 now resides. Her grandfather, Washington W^ill- 
 iams. was a native of Rocky Hill, as was also her 
 father, Moses Williams, who was born Dec. 13, 1819, 
 
 and was a man held in high esteem by his neighbors 
 and friends. In Octoljer, 1841, he married Abigail 
 Smith, a native of Rocky Hill, and their union was 
 blessed with the following children : Henry C, who 
 resides in New Britain : Catharine, who died at the 
 age of five years: Ella F., the wife of our subject; 
 and Margaret, who died in 1870. Closes Williams 
 ahva}-s lived on the old homestead, with the excep- 
 tion of one year when he made his home in Middle^ 
 town. Conn. In politics he was a stanch Republi- 
 can, and was held in high regard by the people 
 among whom he lived and by those who knew him 
 Ijest. For twenty _\-ears he served ^s first selectman 
 of Rocky Hill, being frequently re-elected without 
 any political opposition. He was a faithful member 
 of the Congregational Church for sixty years, and 
 an exceedingly liberal contributor toward its main- 
 tenance and work. 
 
 In 1891 Mrs. Churchill's parents celebrated their 
 golden wedding, and si.x years later, on Dec. 26, 
 1897, her mother entered into rest, her father fol- 
 lowing her (who had been his helpmate and the 
 partner of his jovs and griefs for more than half a 
 century), Jan. 8, 1898, a little more than a year 
 later. 
 
 HON. VIRGIL EATON METS. a farmer of 
 East Granby, is of the sixth generation in de- 
 scent from Dr. John Viets. He is the owner of the 
 homestead of his great-great-grandfather, Capt. 
 John A'iets, which farm property is situated in East 
 Granby, opposite the Old Newgate Prison. 
 
 HON, THO?\IAS KIJNIBERLY BRACE (de- 
 ceased), who through a long lifetime was one of the 
 conspicuous characters in the business life of the 
 city of Hartford, was descended from an early and 
 prominent Connecticut family. 
 
 Stephen Brace, the emigrant ancestor of the 
 familv, came from London, England, and settled 
 in Hartford, Conn. From this ancestor our sub- 
 ject was in the fifth generation. Lieut. Jonathan 
 Brace, the grandfather of Thomas K., settled in 
 Harwinton, Litchfield Co., Conn., in 1733, where 
 his son, Jonathan Brace, the father of Thomas K., 
 was born Nov. 12, 1754. The latter was graduated 
 from Yale College in 1779, studied law, and ac- 
 quired a large practice in central \'ermont, but re- 
 turned to Connecticut, and after residing for a time 
 in Glastonbury took up his abode in Hartford, in 
 1794. He was in public life forty-two years, less 
 from choice than from the solicitation of his fellow 
 citizens. 
 
 Thomas K. Brace, our subject proper, was born 
 Oct. 16, 1779, and was graduated from Yale Col- 
 lege in 1801. He located in Hartford, where he 
 built up the wholesale grocery house of T. K. Brace 
 & Co. He was mayor of the city from 1840 to 
 1843, and in the latter year consented to run for 
 Congress on the Whig ticket, but was beaten by 
 Col. Thomas H. Sevmour. IMr. Brace was nomi- 
 
154 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 nated for a subsequent term, but declined in favor 
 of James Dixon, who was elected. Mr. Brace, who 
 was the real father of the enterprise, was chosen 
 the first president of the yEtna Fire Insurance Co. 
 of Hartford on its organization, in 1819, but owing 
 to pecuniary embarrassment resigned in the fall 
 of the same year. In March, 1S21, he was again 
 chosen president, and sustained such relations to 
 the company until in 1857, when, warned by the> 
 infirmities of age, he resigned. "Mr. Brace be- 
 longed to the safe and trusty order of men to whom 
 others instinctively turn for guidance." He died 
 June 14, i860, when in the eighty-first year of 
 his age. 
 
 On Aug. 25, 1807, Thomas K. Brace married 
 Lucy Mather, and they had a large family, of whom 
 Thomas K., Jr., was born Oct. 14, 1825, in Hart- 
 ford. On Jan. 18, 1S53, he married Mary Jane 
 Buel, daughter of Samuel and Minerva (Wad- 
 hams) Buel ; the Buels were early settlers of Litch- 
 field county. To this union were born four daugh- 
 ters : Mary Buel, wife of Atwood Collins; Emily 
 Maria, residing in Hartford ; Julia Wadhams ; and 
 Lucy Mather, widow of Joshua Wilson Allen, re- 
 siding in Hartford. ^Mrs. Allen has three children, 
 two sons and one daughter. Thomas K. Brace, 
 Jr., was identified with the ^tna Co., and was 
 secretary when he resigned because of ill health. 
 He died' in !March, 1890, his wife, March 21, 1884. 
 
 HON. JOHN HENRY HALL, of Hartford, 
 vice-president and treasurer of Colt's Patent Fire 
 Arms Manufacturing- Co., was born in Portland, 
 Conn., March 24. 1849. 
 
 Mr. Hall is a descendant in the ninth genera- 
 tion of John Hall, born in the County of Kent, Eng- 
 land, in 1584, who came to this country and settled 
 in Roxbury, Mass., in 1633. In September of the 
 same year he, with John Oldham and two others, 
 explored the region bordering the Connecticut river, 
 and their report, dated Jan. 20, 1634, led to mi- 
 grations from Dorchester to Wethersfield, and from 
 Cambridge to Hartford. ' In the year 1635, it is 
 recorded, he was made "freeman" in Boston. In 
 1636 he joined the Hooker and Stone colony, and 
 went to Hartford, removing his familv thither in 
 1639. He owned and occupied as his place of res- 
 idence a tract of six acres west of the New York, 
 New Haven & Hartford railroad, and now known 
 as the Sigourney (or Catlin) Place. In 1650 he 
 moved to Middletown (then called Mettabesick), 
 being one of the original purchasers of land from 
 the Indians. Samuef Hall, of the third generation 
 i^ this country, in 1719 moved to East M^iddletown 
 (afterward known as Chatham, and now as Port- 
 land), and down to the present generation the fam- 
 ily nas continued to reside there. 
 
 Alfred Hall, of the eighth generation, father 
 of the subject of this sketch, entered Washington 
 (now Trinity) College the first day the bell rang 
 for prayers, and his eldest son, Samuel, was the first 
 
 son of a graduate to enter the same college. After 
 his graduation Alfred Hall selected the law as his 
 profession, and completed the course of study at 
 the Harvard Law School. At the request of his 
 father, however, he then returned to Portland, and 
 engaged with him in the direction of the affairs of 
 the brown-stone quarry, known as the Shaler & 
 Hall Quarry Co., organized during the Revolu- 
 tionary war by Nathaniel Shaler and Samuel Hall,, 
 the latter being the father of Alfred, and grandfather 
 of John H. Hall. The following advertisement,, 
 taken from the Middlctozvn Gazette or Federal Ad- 
 I'crtiscr, published in Middletown, Oct. 13, 1781, 
 save in its quaint spelling, would satisfy to-day in 
 its energetic promise : 
 
 The Free Stone Quarry at Chatham (known by the name 
 of Johnson's Quarry), is now worked under the direction of 
 Shaler and Hall, who will supply the stone at the Shortest 
 Notice, and at the lowest prices either in the Rough or fin- 
 ished, and in such Dimensions as may be required. They 
 will contract to furnish any quantity, for public or private 
 Buildings, Flags, Grave Stones or Monuments, and deliver 
 them at any Port in North America, (.jrders directed 1 post- 
 paid) to Shaler and Hall at the Quarry, Chatham, will have 
 due attention. 
 
 October 13th, 1781. 
 
 Alfred Hall succeeded his father in the pres- 
 idency of the Quarry Co., and for many years took 
 an active interest in its affairs. The position is and 
 has been for some time past held by John H. Hall,, 
 who by his energy and progressive management has 
 revolutionized its working, introducing machinery 
 up-to-date, keeping it abreast with the times, and 
 causing it to enter uoon a new era of prosperity. In 
 1896 he formed a new company, called the Brain- 
 erd, Shaler & Hall Quarry Co., which bought the 
 Shaler & Hall Quarry Co. and the Brainerd Quarry 
 Compan)r. 
 
 John H. Hall attended the public school in Port- 
 land, went thence to Chase's school, in Middletown,. 
 and completed his course of study at the Episcopal 
 Academy of Connecticut, at Cheshire. He pre- 
 ferred business to a professional career, and entered 
 into the einploy of Sturgis, Bennet & Co., Nos. 125 
 and 127 Front street, New York, at the time the 
 largest importers of tea and coft'ee in the United 
 States, where he remained five years, enjoying rapid 
 promotion, attaining at the age of nineteen to the 
 charge of foreign and insurance departments. In 
 December, 1877, he returned to Portland with his 
 family, having purchased a large interest in the 
 Pickering Governor — at that time in a very de- 
 pressed condition — under the firm name of T. R. 
 Pickering & Co. Owing to his tireless energy and 
 wise business management the enterprise became a 
 rapid success. In five. years from the time of his 
 association with the firm, the manufacture and sale 
 increased from lessjhan five hundred a year to five 
 thousand. Successful in his competition on this 
 side of the water, he engaged in competition with 
 English manufacturers, and the sale of the Pickerr 
 ing Governor to Great Britain and her colonies now 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 157 
 
 Daniel, Aug. 31, 1691 ; (4) John, Dec. 2, 1693; 
 (,5j .Maria, I\ov. 13, 1695; (0_) iibenezer, Alay 
 10, 1698; {J) Abiah, Dec. 2, 1701 ; (8) Lidia, 
 Nov. 4, 1703; (9) Samuel, Dec. 12, 1705; (loj 
 Jabez, .March 12, 1708; and (11} Ruth, Aug. 26, 
 1711. 
 
 (lllj Daniel Dart, born Aug. 31, 1691, mar- 
 ried April 13, 1719, Jemima, uaughter of Abel 
 Shayler. [For brief record of the Shayler family 
 see farther on.] Daniel Dart died Feb. 19, 1791, 
 at Boltop. 
 
 (1\') Jonathan Dart, born Jan. 10, 1733, mar- 
 ried June 16, 1755, Lucy Whitney, of Canaan. 
 He was admitted to Bolton Church May 28, 1758. 
 Children: (ij Timothy, born Nov. 15, 1756; (2) 
 Jonathan, Oct. 8, 1758; (3) Lucy, Oct. 27, 1760; 
 U) Asahel, Sept. 30, 17(32; (5; Levi, July 25, 
 1764; (6j Abiel, April 7, 1766; (7) Aaron, Jan. 
 12, 1768; (8j Daniel, baptized Dec. 30, 1769; (9) 
 Amos, baptized Sept. i, 1771, died March 19, 1778; 
 (10) Mabel, baptized Dec. 19, 1773; and (11) 
 Joshua, baptized Aug. 10, 1777. 
 
 (V) Aaron Dart, born Jan. 12, 1768, in Bol- 
 ton, Conn., resided in what is now the town of 
 West Hartford, where he was an extensive farmer. 
 He married Sarah Shayler, and had a large family, 
 of whom are named: (i) Chester, born March 5, 
 1790; (2) Avis, born June 10, 1792; (3) Phoebe; 
 
 (4) Sarah; (5) Edmund, born March 10, 1797; 
 
 (6) Harriet; (7) Philinda; (8) Hiram. 
 
 (_\T) Edmund Dart, father of Joseph Dart, 
 the subject proper of this sketch, was born March 
 10, 1797, in Tolland, Conn., where he passed his 
 early school days. In Hartford he married Mary 
 Ann Bartram Withenbury, a native of Hartforcl, 
 Ixirn of English descent, and a daughter of Benja- 
 min W'ithenbury. The children born to this union 
 were as follows: (ij Benjamin lives in East Hart- 
 ford; (2) Marie (deceased) married E. R. Hall, 
 of Chicopee, Mass.; (3) Caroline married Leon- 
 ard Buckland ; (4) Edmund lives in Hartford ; 
 
 (5) William and (6) James are both deceased; 
 
 (7) Mary J. is a resident of Hartford; (8) Joseph 
 is the subject proper of this sketch; (9) Freder- 
 ick is deceased ; ( 10) Franklin is an inmate of the 
 Soldiers" Home at Xoroton, Conn. ; ( 1 1 ) Robert lives 
 in Newington, Conn.; and (12) Lillian married N. 
 L. Hope, of Hartford, and they have one child, 
 Bessie, married to F. W. Wakefield, of Meriden, 
 Conn. The father of this family, who was a life- 
 long farmer of Hartford and West Hartford, died 
 March 8, 1861. 
 
 Shayler Family. (I) Thomas Shayler in 
 1673 married Alice, widow of Thomas Brooks, 
 and daughter of Gerard Spencer, of Haddam. 
 He died at sea in 1692, while on a voyage to the 
 West Indies. (II) 2\bel Shayler, son of Thomas, 
 was born in Haddam, Conn., and became an early 
 settler of Bolton; was admitted to Church in 1725. 
 (Ill) Jemima Shayler, daughter of Abel, married 
 Daniel Dart April 13, 1719, as above recorded. 
 
 (VII) Joseph Dart, son of Edmund and Mary 
 
 A. B. (Wiilicnbury) Dart, and the subject proper 
 of this biography, was born Aug. 5, 1839, in W est 
 Harttord, near the old Wadsworth Tavern. His 
 education was received partly at the schools of 
 West J^artford, and partly at those of Hartford. 
 After la\ing aside his books he took up the steam- 
 boat business, in both the South and West, and 
 sailed up the Mississippi on the last trip before 
 the blockade of the river about the connnencement 
 of the war of the Rebellion. During that struggle 
 he was in the picture-frame business in liartford, 
 after which we find him for several years, or until 
 1874, associated with his father-in-law in the man- 
 ufacture of cotton tv/ines in South Woodstock, 
 Conn., and Oxford, Mass. On giving up this in- 
 dustry Mr. Dart removed to New York and em- 
 barked in the cotton-goods commission business, 
 engaging in same for some nineteen years, part of 
 the time selling goods "on the road." In the 
 spring of 1893 he returned to Hartford, where he 
 has since been engaged in stock farming and im- 
 proving his real estate, in connection with which 
 latter it may be mentioned that he opened man\- 
 streets on his own propert}-. 
 
 On Sept. 18, 1862, iMr. Dart married Adelaide 
 A. Warner, of South Woodstock, Windham Co., 
 Conn., and three children have been born to them : 
 (i) Alice Louise, born Oct. 21, 1864, is the wife 
 of Charles J. Goft", designer for the Butterick Pat- 
 tern Co., of Brooklyn, N, Y.; they have one child, 
 Edith. (2) P^red W., born Sept. '2, 1872, married 
 Claribel Ashton, and they have one son, Harold 
 Ashton. Fred W. was for a few years in the em- 
 ploy of C. P. Rogers, manufacturers of iron bed- 
 steads. New York City, and later was associated 
 in business with his father; he is now a member of 
 the West End Land Co., of Hartford. (3) Willie 
 J. died in infancy. The parents of this family are 
 members of the Baptist Church. In politics Air. 
 Dart is a Republican; socially he is a Freemason, 
 and was identified with lodges in Oxford, jMass.. 
 and New York City. He is looked upon as one of 
 the substantial business men of the county, and is 
 extremely popular. 
 
 DR. CHARLES SWEET. The Sweet famil>- 
 is one of the oldest in New England, and the sul:>- 
 ject of this memoir, for many years a prominent sur- 
 geon of Hartford and Lebanon, traced his descent 
 through five generations to James Sweet, son of 
 Isaac and Mary Sweet, of Wales. 
 
 James Sweet came to America in 1630, and set- 
 tled in Salem, Mass., at what is now known as 
 Sweet's Cove, and afterward removed to North 
 Kingston, R. I., where members of the family were 
 living in 1882. As far back as their history can 
 be obtained, and tradition leading us still farther, 
 we find that they have always been accredited with 
 a capacity or an ability in an eminent degree for 
 bone-setting, though uneducated in any department 
 of surgery, and as we follow along down the gene- 
 
158 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 alogical line we find members of the family that have 
 become especiall}' eminent in the practice of this art. 
 
 Dr. John Sweet, grandfather of Dr. Charles 
 Sweet, gained a wide-spread reputation during the 
 Revolution by his successful practice among the 
 officers and men of both the French and American 
 armies, though not himself in the government serv- 
 ice. His son Benoni, father of Charles Sweet, had 
 for a few vears followed in the footsteps of his fa- 
 ther, but removing to Lebanon, Conn., in 1793, 
 he determined not to practice bone-setting more, 
 'but to give his whole attention to farming. This 
 resolution, however, he was unable to carry out, 
 for a dislocated shoulder in his own neighborhood 
 ■which baffled the surgeons forced him again into 
 the practice of this, his legitimate and natural call- 
 ing, which he never afterward abandoned during 
 active life. He died Aug. 26, 1840, at the age of 
 eighty years, after an honored and useful life. 
 Before leaving Kingston he married Sarah Champ- 
 iin, and had one child. The rest of the family were 
 born in Lebanon : Susannah, Thomas, Benoni, 
 'Stephen, Sally, Mary, Lydia, Hannah, Lucy and 
 Charles, all now deceased. Thomas died at the age 
 of nineteen : Benoni, Jr., practiced bone-setting at 
 Guilford ; Stephen at Franklin ; Sally for a time 
 at Willimantic ; and Charles for many years at the 
 old homestead and later at Lebanon Centre. 
 
 Dr. Charles Sweet was born Dec. 20, 181 1, and 
 •died at Lebanon Dec. 22, 1896. The history of 
 New London county, published in 1882, from which 
 we have obtained the facts given above, says of 
 him : "He commenced the practice of bone-setting 
 as young as sixteen years of age, and for nearlv 
 forty years he maintained offices in Hartford and 
 New London, Conn., and at Springfield, Mass., 
 each of which he visited one day each month, 
 successfully treating all kinds of bone dislocations, 
 fractures and diseases. The greater part of his 
 time was devoted to this calling, in which he mani- 
 fested an intuitive perception truly surprising. In 
 the intervals he carried on farming to some extent 
 more for a pasttime than for pecuniary profit. xAt 
 an early age he married Eliza W. Throop, of his 
 native town. Of their children : Sophia, born 
 March 18, 1835, died March 29, 1898; Sarah E., 
 born April 7, 1837, died March, 1886; Maria F., 
 born Nov. 28, 1838; Marietta, born Oct. 24, 1840, 
 ■died Sept. 9, 1873; Charles J., born Jan. i, 1845, 
 died Oct. 18, 1893; J. Henry T., born Nov. 4, 
 1848. Their mother died Feb. 14, i860, at the early 
 age of forty- four years." Charles, Jr., was located 
 near the old home, and practiced with his father. 
 J. Henry T. is in practice in Hartford, where he 
 has gained an enviable reputation. Dr. Sweet mar- 
 ried, for his second wife, Sarah Elizabeth Williams, 
 of Alystic, Conn. By this marriage he had three 
 children: Bessie, born Nov. 28, 1869; F. Benoni, 
 M. D., born Oct. 7, 1870, graduated at Yale Medi- 
 cal School in the class of 1893, and is now practic- 
 ing in Springfield, Mass.; and George H., born 
 
 June 3, 1875, died June 25, 1894. Bessie died Jan- 
 uan- ID, 1870, and their mother departed this life 
 after having been married about nineteen years. 
 His third wife was Laura A. Anderson, of Clinton, 
 Conn., whose years ran parallel with his own. The 
 Doctor was always of the strictest temperate habits, 
 and his life the life of a Christian both by pro • 
 fession and practice, in which he ever had the 
 fullest co-operation of his three respective wives. 
 
 Dr. J. Henry T. Sweet, son of Dr. Charles, 
 was born and reared in Lebanon, and was given a 
 good English education in the common schools of 
 that locality and in the Bowles school in Ellington, 
 which he attended for about three years. He 
 studied anatomy under Prof. Hinkley, while a boy 
 riding with his father, and as a young man he 
 ran his father's institution for remedial purposes 
 in their line of treatment. This institution had an 
 average of from eighteen to thirty patients month- 
 ly during the three years the Doctor was in charge. 
 His certificate to practice "surgery and medicine 
 connected therewith" was granted by the State 
 medieval board in New Haven, Dr. Lindsley being 
 the president of the board. On Nov. 4, 1874, the 
 Doctor opened rn office in Hartford and removed 
 the institution there, the latter being continued by 
 him three years. He also maintained a treatment 
 room in Hartford, locating first on Main street, 
 near the South Green, for three years, and after 
 six years on Trumbull street he went to North 
 Main street, near Trumbull ; in April, 1887, he re- 
 moved to Blue Flills avenue. From the beginning 
 he has had a most successful practice, and it has 
 grown continuously, extending at present through 
 New London, Windham, Litchfield and Hartford 
 counties, and up and down the river more or less. 
 The Doctor has been a Republican all his life, and 
 has taken an active part in school matters. He 
 was formerly a member of the F. & A. M. in 
 Columbia, but the lodge having gone out of ex- 
 istence he is not now affiliated. He is fond of 
 reading, but is a thinker as well, and in practice 
 original in his methods, his individuality being per- 
 haps one of the main factors in his success. He 
 takes ideas from every source, and has the power 
 of elucidation to an unusual degree, while his me- 
 chanical tact is unusual. 
 
 Dr. Sweet married Miss Sally J. Boyd, of North 
 Garden, Va., and has four children: Jennie E., 
 born March 31, 1876, who married Karl Bishop, 
 and has one son, Richard Sweet Bishop, born April 
 27, 1898; Nellie P., born March 22, 1878; Lucy, 
 born March 27, 1880; and John Henry T., Jr., Nov. 
 27, 1884. 
 
 WILLL\M WOLCOTT ROBERTS, deceased. 
 The subject of this memoir, for many years a prom- 
 inent citizen of Hartford, was born Nov. 6, 1813, 
 at Newington, the son of Abner and Sally (Wol- 
 cott) Roberts. 
 
 Abner Roberts died in 1814, leaving several chil- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 159 
 
 <lren. Our subject's mother died in 1821, when he 
 was but seven }ears old, and he was bound out to 
 ?ilar:in Kellogg, of Xewington, Conn., with whom 
 he remained about six years. He then went to 
 Hartford, where he found employment in a gro- 
 cery and liquor store on the corner of Main and 
 Pratt streets ; but as the liquor business was dis- 
 tasteful he soon left the place, and learned the car- 
 penter's trade. In a few years he built up a good 
 business for himself as a cabinet maker, and later 
 added a furniture and undertaking branch, his shop 
 then beilig located on Pratt street, opposite the 
 Bank of the Society for Savings. He conceived 
 a number of successful inventions, and was the 
 pioneer undertaker to manufacture coffins, and keep 
 them in stock for immediate delivery, the custom 
 having been to make them to order after death. 
 His tasty hearse, drawn by a fine four-in-hand team, 
 attracted much attention ; it was the first in Hart- 
 ford to have glass sides, and brought him busi- 
 ness from the best class of people ; during the war 
 he buried many of the generals and other prominent 
 soldiers from this section. He frequently was 
 called away from this vicinity to officiate at State 
 funerals. His skill as a cabinetmaker won him a 
 high reputation; he made many fine cases of rose- 
 wood for Col. Samuel Colt, to contain revolvers 
 which were presented to the crowned heads of 
 Europe. 
 
 In 1866, Mr. Roberts built the Roberts Block, 
 on Main street, tne ground, 65x110 feet, having 
 been purchased for $54,000, then considered an 
 enormous price. He planned and directed the 
 building. In 1869 he drew the plans for and erected 
 the Hartford Opera House, at that time the finest 
 theatre in New England, outside of Boston. Hav- 
 ing seen so much of the dark side of life, inci- 
 dent to his undertaking business, he said that he 
 "was going to try to amuse the people," and for 
 many years under his management it was a most 
 popular play house, and even now on an average 
 about ten thousand people enter through its portals 
 each week of the theatrical season. After twenty 
 years management he turned the theater over to a 
 lessee, but his business affairs were transacted by 
 himself alone until his death. He died at the age 
 of eighty-four, on May 23, 1898. 
 
 While eminently successful in business, he held 
 progressive views of life and kept well abreast of 
 the times, reading the best literature and taking- 
 deep interest in politics as a member of the Repub- 
 lican party. He was particularly fond of good 
 horses, and until reaching the advanced age of 
 seventy-five was an ardent sportsman. By nature 
 he was retiring, and, his friendship was prized by 
 his associates. Earh^ in life he was identified with 
 the Fourth Congregational Church of Hartford, 
 and although he ceased to attend church in later 
 years he maintained the strictest rules of Sabbath 
 observance, his teams never being taken out on that 
 dav. 
 
 Mr. Roberts' first wife, Sarah Ann Chapman, 
 was a daughter of Orrin Chapman, of Glaston- 
 bury, and a descendant of Robert Chapman, the 
 settler, who came to Saybrook in pioneer times and 
 whose descendants lined the banks of the Con- 
 necticut river. By this marriage he had one daugh- 
 ter, Sarah Augusta, who was born Jan. 8, 1834, on 
 A'illage street, in Hartford, and died May 15, 1883. 
 She married James A. Williams, and had five chil- 
 dren, of whom only one is now living, Harry Rob- 
 erts \Villiams. By his second marriage, to Jane 
 Abby, of Enfield, Mr. Roberts had two children : 
 \\'illiam H. Roberts, now living in Hartford, and 
 Carrie (now deceased), who was the wife of S. 
 X. Ryder, of Plainville, Connecticut. 
 
 James A. Williams, born in Rocky Hill, on June 
 9, 1833, has been successfully engaged in the dry- 
 goods business since early manhood, having started 
 in Hartford with a brother. Later he went to New 
 York, but returned to Hartford, and he is now lo- 
 cated on Asylum street. For some time previous 
 to beginning business for himself he was associated 
 with BoUes & Sexton, Weatherby Knouse & Pelton, 
 and then with William X. Pelton & Co., being now 
 alone. 
 
 Harry R. \\'illlvms, one of Hartford's suc- 
 cuessful professional men, was born in that city 
 Oct. 18, 1861, and received his education in its 
 public schools. During his Junior year in the high 
 school he gave up his books for a time to take a posi- 
 tion with the Travelers Insurance Co. In 1883 he 
 began the study of patent law with Simonds & 
 Burdett. In 1887 he engaged in practice for him- 
 self, and his speedy success furnishes a convincing 
 evidence of his ability and skill. From the Rob- 
 erts line of ancestry he inherited marked aptitude in 
 scientific and mechanical matters, which lead him 
 to take natural interest in patents for inventions, in 
 matters pertaining to which he is considered an e.K- 
 pert. In connection with this work he has traveled 
 all over this country; has crossed the Atlantic six 
 times ; and has made various trips to our neighbor- 
 ing islands. He and his family are well known so- 
 cially ; he is a member of the Asylum Avenue Bap- 
 tist Church ; St. John's Lodge, Xo. 4. F. & A. 'Si. ; 
 the Knickerbocker Athletic Club, of Xew York ; the 
 ]\Iegantic Fish and Game Club of ^Maine, with 
 headquarters in Boston ; and at one time was a mem- 
 ber of Company K, 1st Regiment, C. X'. G. In 
 1888, he married jNIiss Allie Barnum Stone, daugh- 
 ter of Rev. George iM. Stone, of the Asylum Avenue 
 Baptist Church. She died Feb. 12, 1889, leaving 
 one son, Harold, who died in August, 1889. Mr. 
 \Villiams afterward married ]^Iiss Harriet Beard 
 Holley, daughter of Samuel C. HoUey, of Danbury, 
 and they have three daughters, Beatrice, Lois and 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 JA?\IES S. TRYOX (deceased) was by birth 
 and training eminently fitted for the prominent and 
 useful position which through life he held in the 
 
160 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 business and financial world. As banker he was 
 for many years intimately acquainted with the 
 growth and iDrosperity of Hartford county, and 
 in fostering and developing its best institutions he 
 was a power for good in the influential community 
 in which he lived. 
 
 2\Ir. Tryon was born in Fayetteville, N. C, Nov. 
 7, 1820, son of Thomas and Emily (Root) Tryon, 
 and grandson of Moses Tyron, a prominent and 
 \vell-known naval officer, commander of the flag- 
 ship "Hartford." Thomas Tryon, father of our 
 subject, was a native of VVethersfield, Conn., and 
 became a West Indian merchant. He met an un- 
 timely death from yellow fever while at sea, about 
 1833. His wife, Emily (Root), of Hartford, was a 
 descendant of Judge Jesse Root. 
 
 James Seymour Tryon, our subject, spent his 
 boyhood days at Brookhn, N. Y., and there at- 
 tended school. At the age of fourteen he com- 
 menced his business career as a clerk in the bank 
 of James Seymour, of Auburn,' N. Y. A few years 
 later he began the study of law at Rochester, N. Y., 
 and in due time W'as admitted to the Bar. For a 
 time he practiced at Rochester, but his tastes were 
 for business rather than a professional career, and 
 in 1848 he returned to Auburn, N. Y., to become 
 cashier in the bank above mentioned. From 1850 
 until 1857 he was connected with a bank in Roches- 
 ter, N. Y., and in 1857 he came to Hartford as cash- 
 ier of the Merchants & Manufacturers Bank, which 
 later, through his efforts, was re-organized as the 
 First National Bank of Hartford. Mr. Tryon re- 
 mained officially connected with the First National 
 Bank for sixteen years. In 1873 he went to New 
 York, and there entering the banking business con- 
 tinued for several years, maintaining his residence 
 in Hartford, at No. 991 Asylum street, from 1861 
 till his death. ]\Ir. Tryon was for many years in- 
 terested in the manufacture of book-stitching ma- 
 chines, as secretary and treasurer of the Smythe 
 ^Manufacturing Co. He was deeply interested in 
 church work, and was instrumental in the organi- 
 zation of the Asylum Hill Congregational Church, 
 of Asylum avenue. 
 
 Mr. Tryon was married, in Moscow, N. Y., in 
 1848, to i\Iiss Eliza Horsford, daughter of Hon. 
 Jedediah Horsford, of Moscow, who had come to 
 western New York many years before, as a mis- 
 sionary to the Indians. He served several terms as 
 Lnited States Senator. To our subject and wife 
 were born three children : ( i ) James Seymour, who 
 married ]\Iiss jNIary Vincent Harrington, of New 
 Bedford, JNIass., resides at Providence, R. I., and has 
 two children. Dorothy and Henry; (2) Mary mar- 
 ried George F. Stone, an instructor in the American 
 School for the Deaf at Hartford, and has three 
 children, Janet, Rachel and Mary; (3) Thomas is 
 an architect of New York. Mr. Tryon died Jan. 
 6, 1895, completing his allotted three score years 
 and ten, and presenting in his earnest and successful 
 career a type of the best American manhood. 
 
 IR\TNG DE LOSS BLANCHARD, M. D., 
 city physician of Hartford, was born Jan. 30, 1874, 
 at Foster, R. I., son of Rev. Albert D. Blanchard, 
 and grandson of William Penn Blanchard, of 
 Rhode Island. Rev. Albert D. Blanchard, an hon- 
 ored clergyman of the Baptist Church, was born 
 in Rhode island, and his wife, Mary C. Burroughs, 
 was a native of Newport, same State. 
 
 Dr. Irving D. Blanchard began his education 
 in the schools of Foster, R. I., and graduated from 
 the high school, and the Presbyterian Academy at 
 Salida, Colo. In August, 1894, he returned East 
 to enter the Medical Department of Yale Univer- 
 sity, and in 1897 the degree of M. D. was conferred 
 upon him by that institution. In the fall of the 
 same year he entered the New York Hospatal, 
 corner of F"ifteenth street and Fifth avenue, re- 
 maining there a short time, and after some expe- 
 rience in the Bridgeport Flospital he went to the 
 Hartford Hospital, Jan. i, 1898, as assistant phy- 
 sician, assistant surgeon, house surgeon, and house 
 physician. On Jan. i, 1900, he engaged in active 
 practice at No. 241 Main street, Hartford, and the 
 appointment to his present post as city physician 
 was made on the 15th of that month. Politically 
 the Doctor is a Republican. He is a member of 
 the Hartford County Medical Society, and of the 
 Hartford City Medical Society. 
 
 HON JAMES RISING (deceased). The fer- 
 tile lands of this region have made our rural com- 
 munities the home of a superior class of agricultur- 
 ists, progressive, enterprising and thrifty, of which 
 the subject of this sketch, a well-known resident of 
 West Suffield, was an excellent example. 
 
 For several generations the Rising family have 
 been prominent in that locality, the first of the name 
 to settle there being James Rising, who was born 
 in England about 161 7, and came to America in 
 1635. This worthy pioneer resided in Massachu- 
 setts for some years, being a student in Harvard 
 College in 1646, but after his marriage, in 1657, 
 to his first wife, Elizabeth Hinsdale, he spent a short 
 time in the Bermuda Islands. On his return he 
 made his home in Salem, Mass., in 1668 he came to 
 Windsor, Conn., and in 1679 he settled in Suffield, 
 where he died about nine years later. During thefirst 
 year of his stay in Windsor his first wife died, and 
 in 1673 he married Martha Bartlett, a widow, who 
 died in 1674. By occupation he was a farmer, and 
 his descendants ha\^e largely followed the same pur- 
 suit. Of his two sons, John and James, the younger, 
 died unmarried, so that the present representatives 
 of the family in this county are all descendants of 
 John. 
 
 John Rising was a farmer in Suffield, his home- 
 stead being located on High street, and for many 
 years he was a leading citizen of the town, his. death 
 occurring in 1720. He was twice married, and 
 had eighteen children. 
 
 James Rising, our subject's grandfather, was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 161 
 
 born in West Suffield, at what is now known as 
 Rising's Corners, and his life was spent there. He 
 owned a large amount of land, and was extensively 
 engaged in farming and stock raising", while as a 
 citizen he was held in high respect. He and his 
 wife, Asenath King, died at the homestead many 
 years ago, and their remains were interred in the 
 cemetery adjoining the Baptist Church at Zion's 
 Hill. They had five children: Isaac; Alfred; Ase- 
 nath, who married Milton Cornish; Julius, who 
 died in West Suffield ; and Emaline, wife of Rowland 
 Phelps. 
 
 Alfred Rising, our subject's father, was born 
 and reared on the old homestead. For some years 
 in early manhood he operated a farm of 125 acres 
 in Southwick, Hampden Co., Mass., lying near the 
 line of Suffield and belonging to the family estate. 
 He became one of the pioneer tobacco growers of 
 that neighborhood, and after his return to West 
 Suffield he continued that line of business in con- 
 nection with stock raising and general farming. 
 He was a man of high character, being especially 
 noted for his strictly temperate habits, and while 
 he was very liberal in his religious views he fol- 
 lowed the golden rule in his daily life. In his 
 early veai-s he was a Democrat, but the issues which 
 culminated in the Rebellion led him into the Re- 
 publican party, his vote being cast for Abraham 
 Lincoln for President. He died at his farm in 
 West Suffield, July 4, 1879, and was buried at Zion 
 Hill beside his wife, Marcia King, who passed away 
 in August, 1862. She was a daughter of Ashel 
 King, of West Suffield, and was a devout and con- 
 sistent member of the Baptist Church. This worthy 
 couple had three children, our subject being the 
 youngest, (i) Lovatus, a resident of Southwick, 
 Mass., married Phoebe Lewis, of Suffield, and their 
 only son, Lewis A., of Southwick, who died jNIarch 
 28, 1900, married Abbie Leonard, and had three 
 children — Abbot L., Jame A. and William. (2) 
 Amoret, widow of Henry C. Phelon, resides in West 
 Suffield. 
 
 Hon. James Rising was born July 28, 1827, at 
 Suffield, and his early education was limited to the 
 district schools of that town. He always resided at 
 the homestead, and after the death of his parents 
 took sole charge of the farm, making a specialty of 
 stock raising, dairying and the growing of tobacco, 
 while he also dealt in the latter commodity to some 
 extent. He passed away at his home Sept. 24, 1899. 
 Politically he was a Republican, but of liberal ten- 
 dencies, having supported Greeley in 1872. For 
 five years he was assessor in West Suffield and 
 served in other local offices, including those of grand 
 juror and member of the board of relief. In 1882 
 he was elected to the Legislature, and during his 
 term of service he devoted to his duties the industry 
 and sound judgment which brought him success in 
 private business. In 1858 he married Miss Har- 
 riet M. Davis, a daughter of Ambrose and Cynthia 
 (Pomeroy) Davis, well-known residents of West 
 11 
 
 Suffield. The home was one in which culture and 
 refinement were apparent, both Mr. and Mrs. Rising 
 being fond of the best in art and literature, giving 
 their influence freely to the promotion of various 
 movements for the general weltare, and Mrs. Rising 
 was prominent in religious work as a member of 
 the Ijaptist Church. She passed away Aug. 8, 
 1900, at her home. While our subject was noted for 
 his honesty and uprightness, and saw the good in 
 the underlying principles of all religious faith, he 
 was not connected with any Church. Of the two 
 children who blessed his marriage, (1) James A. 
 died at the age of eighteen years, in 1878. (2) 
 Frank W. is a graduate of the Connecticut Literary 
 Institute, at Suffield, and has already made a fine 
 reputation as a business man, being a packer and 
 dealer in tobacco, and a successful grower of peaches 
 and small fruits, to which a portion of the home- 
 stead is devoted. He was elected to represent his 
 town in the Legislature of 1901. On Oct. 19, 1887, 
 he married j\Iiss Minnie A. Kno-x, of West Sufifield, 
 and has two childdren, Grace E. and Hawley Knox. 
 
 The Knox family is of Scottish descent, the line 
 being tr,aced back to Malcolm I, of Scotland, and 
 John Knox, the great reformer, was of the same 
 stock. The coat of arms bears the motto: Moveo 
 ct Propitior. William Knox, the first of the fam- 
 ily to come to this country, was born in Glasgow, 
 Scotland, and on his arrival in America located first 
 in Hardwick, Mass., and later in Blandford, that 
 State, being one of the earliest settlers there. He 
 cleared a farm in the wilderness, building a log 
 cabin, and as time passed he built a fine dwelling- 
 house, which is still standing. In religious faith 
 he was a Presbyterian, and throughout his life he 
 held strictly to the doctrines and practices of that 
 Church. He died at Blandford, where his remains 
 now rest. His wife was a Miss Ferguson, and 
 they had ten children, their six sons being farmers 
 by occupation: William and Samuel, who were. both 
 captains in the Revolutionary army ; John, men- 
 tioned more fully below; Nathaniel, who was a 
 teamster in the Revolutionary forces ; David ; James ; 
 Molly, who married William Stuart ; Elizabeth, who 
 married a Mr. Fleming; Eleanor, who married a 
 Air. Crook; and Eunice, who married a Mr. Thrall. 
 
 John Knox, great-grandfather of J\Irs. Frank 
 Rising, was born Jan. 13, 1759, and served in the 
 Revolutionary army as ensign. When a young man 
 he removed to St. Lawrence county, N. Y., and 
 settled at Russell, where he was engaged in farming 
 during the remainder of his life. He was a Feder- 
 alist in his political views, and a devout member of 
 the Presbyterian Church. He was married in 
 Blandford to Miss Anna Gunn, a native of Pittsfield, 
 Mass., and a descendant of an old Welsh family. 
 She was also a Presbyterian, and died in Russell, 
 leaving the memory of a useful Christian life. To 
 this union nine children were born : Henry ; Gerry ; 
 John ; Russell ; Chester ; Harvey ; Clarissa, who 
 married Moses Bradley; Harriet, who married Cal- 
 
162 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 vin Hill ; and Philomela, who married a JNIr. 
 Clark. 
 
 Henry Knox, grandfather of Mrs. Frank Rising, 
 was born in 1786, in Blandford, Mass., and re- 
 moved to New York State with his parents while 
 still in his 'teens. When a young man he returned 
 to Blandford, where he bought 190 acres of land, 
 on which he made valuable improvements. He fol- 
 lowed farming there until his death, which occurred 
 in July, 1853, ^""i was much esteemed as a citizen, 
 being a leading member of the Episcopal Church. 
 He married Miss Charlotte Blair, a native of Bland- 
 ford, of Scottish descent, who died in 1846. Her 
 father, Adam Blair, served as a soldier in the Revo- 
 lutionary army under Capt. Ferguson. Two chil- 
 dren were born of this union : ]\Iary Ann (deceased) , 
 formerly the wife of Thomas Herrick; and Hiram 
 Henr}-, father of Mrs. Frank W. Rising., 
 
 Hiram Henry Knox was born in Blandford Jan. 
 27, 1825, and received a limited education in the 
 district schools, which he attended during the winter 
 months. As he was a keen observer and a constant 
 reader, he became a well-informed man, being es- 
 pecial}" interested in ancient and modern history. 
 In earlv manhood he engaged in farming at Bland- 
 ford on a tract of 230 acres, where he made substan- 
 tial improvements and remained until 1865. He 
 then sold out and bought the place known as the 
 Charles M. Owen farm, a tract of seventy-five acres, 
 on which he has built barns and tobacco sheds, and 
 where for the past thirty-five years he has been 
 engaged in tobacco growing, stock raising and gen- 
 eral farming. He is an excellent citizen, and com- 
 mands the respect of the communit}'. On April 27, 
 1847, he was married in Blandford to Miss Ophelia 
 Black, a native of Becket, JNIass., and a daughter of 
 Curtis and Lucina (Herrick) Black. Her grand- 
 father, George Black, was a soldier in the Revolu- 
 tionary war. Of the two children born to this union, 
 Curtis died in infancy. Minnie A., wife of Frank 
 W. Rising, was educated in the public schools, and 
 graduated from the Connecticut Literary Institute, 
 and was teacher of drawing and painting at Mc- 
 Lean's Seminary, Simsbury, for two years previous 
 to her marriage. She is a lady of fine mental gifts 
 and culture, and has shown decided talent in both 
 painting and music. 
 
 ISAAC De FORREST BLINN, proprietor of 
 the "JMaple Crest" poultry yard, at East Hartford, 
 and member of the firm of I. N. Blinn & Son, wood 
 and lumber dealers, as well as extensive property 
 owners, of the same town, was born in Vernon, 
 Tolland Co., Conn., Oct. 25, 1866, and is a son of 
 Isaac N. and Jane (Fish) Blinn. 
 
 Isaac N. Blinn was born in Newington, Hartford 
 county. May 23, 1837, and is a son of James and 
 Annie ( Butler) Blinn, the former of Newington and 
 the latter of Wethersfield. James Blinn was a life- 
 long farmer, and was a son of Elisha Blinn, who 
 was killed by being thrown from a cart, the team 
 
 of oxen running away. He left his son, James^ a 
 handsome farm. To James and Annie Blinn were 
 born eight children: James B., a molder, who died 
 in Bridgeport, Conn. ; Adelia, widow of Frederick 
 Little, of Somers; Edward, of \'ernon; Chauncey, 
 of Rocky Hill ; Isaac N. ; Fanny, of Vernon; Agnes 
 and Charles H., also of Vernon. James Blinn was 
 a large man, weighed 230 pounds, and had always 
 lived in Newington until his removal to Vernon, 
 where his sad and tragic death took place when he 
 was eighty-five years of age, his wife dying at the 
 age of eighty-seven. He had been a Democrat in 
 politics up to the outbreak of the Civil war, when 
 his faith in that party was shattered, and he became 
 a stanch Republican. 
 
 Isaac N. Blinn attended the Newington Acad- 
 emy until seventeen years of age, and then entered 
 the South school in Hartford, where he finished 
 his education. Notwithstanding the fact that he 
 was born without a left hand, he could, when a boy, 
 milk cows, pitch hay, cradle and mow, and his ability 
 to do other kinds of work equally well was indeed 
 remarkable, if not almost incredible. Mr. Blinn 
 was reared as a farmer, as may well be inferred from 
 the foregoing remarks, and moved from Newing- 
 ton to Vernon with his parents, with whom he re- 
 mained until twenty years old. He then, with his 
 brother Chauncey, built a sawmill and gristmill on 
 his father's farm, known as the "King Farm" and 
 on a brook having the Indian name Tangirousin. 
 This brook runs into the Hockanum. For three 
 years the two brothers ran the mill together. Then 
 Isaac N. continued the business alone. 
 
 In 1865 Mr. Blinn went to Parkville to run a 
 blacksmith and wagon shop. Some time later he 
 took a position in the sash and blind factory^ of 
 Richard Joslyn, in South Manchester. In 1879 Tie 
 built a sawmill on the Hackmatack road, south of 
 that village. Two years later this was burned down, 
 and in 1882 he built on its site an iron foundry, 
 which he operated for three years, having among 
 his work nearly all of the casting for the Cheney 
 Bros. In 1885 Mr. Blinn located in North Man- 
 chester, resuming the sawmill business tuider the 
 firm name of I. N. Blinn & Son, which he has since 
 followed. They bought the Stone property, ad- 
 joining the Childs elevator, in 1888. In 189 1 they 
 removed to Burnside, buying twenty-eight acres 
 of woodland of Charles R. Forbes, in the tract north 
 of the Woodland mill, and clearing this purchase 
 and several acres adjoining. On this land they 
 built a house, now owned by L. R. Clark. 
 
 It was in 1891 that Mr. Blinn built a sawmill 
 on the site of his present mill. This was burned 
 in May, 1893. The fire which consumed it was 
 the first one occurring after the formation of the 
 Center Hose Company, No. i, and is accordingly 
 memorable among the volunteer firemen of the town. 
 Immediately after the fire Mr. Blinn built his present 
 mill. This structure is of brick in the portions ad- 
 joining the boilers and engines, and in the remaining 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lea 
 
 portion of wood. It houses two boilers, one of 35 
 and the second of 70 horse-power, and one portable 
 engine, running the sawmill and the planing mill 
 which adjoins the sawmill, and is a two-story build- 
 ing of wood containing appliances for turning out 
 all kinds of planing. For hauling logs to the mill 
 Mr. Blinn keeps nine horses and two three-horse 
 stretchers. 
 
 Isaac N. Blinn and his son laid out Blinn street in 
 East Hartford, and erected all the houses thereon. 
 Indeed, wherever they have lived they have built 
 dwellings and mills, and their sound judgment has 
 been proven by the fact that they have always 
 realized a profit in disposing of their improved 
 property. In East Hartford the firm of I. N. Blinn 
 & Son has transformed a veritable swamp into beau- 
 tiful yards, surrounding pleasant homes, showing 
 what push and enterprise can do. 
 
 On Nov. I, 1864, Isaac N. Blinn married Aliss 
 Jane Fish, who was born in Manchester Aug. 7, 
 1841, and is a daughter of Henry M. and Samantha 
 (Keeney) Fish, who were the parents of tVi^o chil- 
 dren : Jane, Mrs. Blinn; and Alfonso H., a joiner. 
 The ancestors of Mrs. Blinn were old-time residents 
 of Manchester, and Keeney street, of that town, 
 was named in honor of the maternal side of her 
 family. Mrs. Blinn was primarily educated in the 
 Manchester district school, was later graduated from 
 the high school at Meriden, and is a lady of rare ac- 
 complishments, well-fitted to be the mate of her 
 enterprising husband, whom she has materially aided 
 in his remarkable business career through her sage 
 advice. Her father was called from earth at the 
 age of seventy-four years, and her mother at sev- 
 enty-six. Three children crowned the union of 
 Isaac N. Blinn and wife: Isaac DeForrest, the sub- 
 ject of this sketch ; Leroy, who was born in 1867, 
 and died in 1868 ; and Henry Dayton, who was 
 born in 1870, and died in 1885. 
 
 Mr. Blinn is a member of Lodge No. 2, Knis^hts 
 of the Maccabees, of Manchester, and for three 
 years he was the lodge's chaplain. ,He is also a 
 member of the East Hartford Grange, and he be- 
 longs to the Center Congregational Church, of which 
 his wife is also a member. In politics he is a Re- 
 publican, though prior to the war he was Democra- 
 tic. He has attended various conventions as a del- 
 egate, and in temperance work he is actively inter- 
 eF ed, being a strictly temperate man and one who 
 has never used tobacco. He is still very active and 
 in^'iTsfious, and with the little assistance he re- 
 ceived at the start of his business life as a part 
 P'-oprietor of a mill run by waterpower, he has made 
 himself one of the largest holders of improved real 
 estate in the county. 
 
 Isaac DpForrest Blinn, in his childhood days, at- 
 tended th" schools of the district in which his par- 
 ents at d'fferent times resided, and at the age of 
 sixteen v^ars finished his education at the Cheney 
 graded school, in South Manchester. He was early 
 (.^„:.,^,- f, ^ oractical knowledge of business by his 
 
 father, who taught him, also, to remain at home, 
 which he did, and eventually became his father's 
 partner in business, as is indicated in the foregoing 
 paragraphs. But from early childhood he was an 
 ardent poultry fancier, and often expressed a desire 
 to enter into poultry raising. This desire was not 
 favorably regarded by his father, but later on, in 
 1S81, he started the business on a small scale, and his 
 management of and success in this indvistry has 
 been so phenomenal that a somewhat lengthy ac- 
 count of it is here permissible, if not necessary. He 
 started in the business in a small way nineteen years 
 ago, on a village lot in South Manchester, with the 
 White and Barred Plymouth Rocks, Silver Wyan- 
 dottes and White Leghorns. In one season he 
 cleared $50 on twelve hens. He then bought one 
 and one-quarter acres of land on Hackmatack street, 
 in South Manchester, and put up a poultry house 
 135 feet long, with enclosed yards, keeping 200 
 fowls. He sold out at a good price, and in 1889 
 moved to North Manchester, later to Woodand. 
 Here he purchased twenty-two acres of forest land, 
 which he cleared, and put up a poultry house 150 
 feet long, with a brooder house 40 feet long, pipe 
 system and hot water. Here he kept 250 fowls. 
 
 In the spring of 1891 Mr. Blinn moved to his 
 present location, the "Maple Crest" poultry farm on 
 Pitkin street. East Hartford, and last spring bought 
 an additional ten acres of meadow. The poultry- 
 house is 275 feet long. As we enter the door we 
 pass through the cooking and feed room, where are 
 root and vegetable cutters, a bonemill, and an Em- 
 pire State cooker. The feed bin overhead holds 
 2,500 pounds of grain, and is divided into com- 
 partments for the various kinds. An alley-way 
 three feet wide extends the length of the building, 
 opening into the pens, which are 12x9 feet. There 
 is an unique device for feeding soft food, the drink- 
 ing fountains supply two pens at a time and the eggs 
 are gathered from the alley without entering the 
 pens. Over the cooking room is the salesroom, 
 where breeding birds are kept in separate compart- 
 ments. In the basement are kept the roots and 
 vegetables, and there is a winter scratching room for 
 each pen. In this building are 700 fowls. 
 
 Another 100 feet will be built on, thus enabling 
 Mr. Blinn to realize his ambition in having room for 
 1,000 fowls. Long sloping yards extend from each 
 pen to the meadow. Here are portable houses 5x7 
 feet, on sleds, which are moved to fresh ground often 
 to accommodate the growing chicks. One thousand 
 five hundred have been raised this season. The in- 
 cubator house, one story and basement, contains six 
 Cyohers hatchers, 360-egg capacity each. Here are 
 kept the eggs gathered each day, each egg being 
 neatly stam"ped\vith the day of delivery. All the 
 eggs are disposed of to private customers in Hart- 
 ford, a cart being run to that citv once a week. 
 Chicks are hatched out ten months of the year to sup- 
 ply the demand for broilers. There are several 
 out-door brooders of Mr. Blinn's own manufacture. 
 
16 i 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and more are being built. ^lanj^ hundreds of 
 feet of wire fencing are used to fence in the 
 many yards. 
 
 liggs for hatching- are sold and shipped to cus- 
 tomers m all the States and distant points in Canada. 
 Mr. Blinn showed two white Plymouth Rock cock- 
 erels at the great Madison Scjuare Garden exhibition 
 last winter, one "Snowfiake, " taking second prize, 
 and the other taking fifth, in a class of twenty birds. 
 He has recently retused an offer of $50 for "'Snow- 
 flake.' He has also exhibited his strains all over 
 New England, and has invariably carried off a 
 prize. 
 
 1. DeForrest Blinn was joined in matrimony June 
 22, 1892, with Aliss Ella L. Forbes, a native of 
 Hockanum, and daughter of Stephen Forbes, de- 
 ceased, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere. 
 To this felicitous union have been born two chil- 
 dren, of whom the first-born, Clarence D. F., died 
 when eighteen months old; and Harold Newton, 
 the survivor, is a bright and intelligent child, who 
 gives promise, if spared, of becoming a credit to any 
 community m which his future lot may be cast. 
 
 AMLFRED HOPKINS NETTLETON, inven- 
 tor, promoter and retired manufacturer of Bristol, 
 was born in Waterbury, Conn., June 2, 1825. At an 
 early age he removed with his parents, Garry and 
 Mary I\ettleton, to Bristol. Upon finishing his edii- 
 cation, in the schools of his adopted town, he entered 
 the employ of Brewster & Ingraham, clock manu- 
 facturers, for one year. Soon afterward, at about 
 the age of twenty, taking a contract and employing 
 a number of men. 
 
 \'ery ambitious to be himself a manufacturer, 
 Mr. Nettletou began the making of certain parts 
 of clocks, such as those regulating the striking, 
 called "Lockwork," also arbors, pinion wires, and 
 other smaller clock devices. For these purposes he 
 perfected automatic machines, for which he secured 
 patents in this country, but unfortunately not in 
 Europe, and, as evidence of the value of these in- 
 ventions, they have been copied, and precisely the 
 same machinery is being used at present by Euro- 
 pean clockmakers. These inventions were greatly 
 labor-saving, and gave the product great perfection 
 over the old methods, and by them Mr. Nettleton 
 for years supplied nearly all the large clockmakers 
 of this country with special parts, in the manufac- 
 ture of which about one thousand pounds of spe- 
 cial wire were used per day, equipping some five 
 thousand clocks. He continued actively in this busi- 
 ness for some twenty-five years, employing at times 
 from thirty to fifty workmen. He also manufac- 
 tured, during this time, ladies' fans, sewing ma- 
 chines, hemmers and binders, toys, and other small 
 wares. He also engaged in the manufacture of the 
 famous "Ten Dollar Sewing Machine," at Brat- 
 tleboro, Vt., in company with Charles Raymond, 
 the inventor of this, the first practical and best 
 cheap sewing machine made in this country. After 
 
 a few years, and with this business well established 
 and successful, he sold his interests to his partner, 
 Mr. Raymond. 
 
 By reason of failing health, Mr. Nettleton was 
 obliged to give up his important business in Bris- 
 tol, selling out to George A. Jones in 1871. Since 
 that time he has occupied himself in looking after 
 his business interests in general, and in frequent 
 travels over the country, and especially to the South, 
 seeking renewed health. During all his active busi- 
 ness life, though a very busy man under the ex- 
 actions of his own special lines of business, he was 
 sought as a promoter and leader in other business 
 enterprises. He was president for twelve years of 
 the Bristol Saw Co., a director of the National 
 Water Wheel Co., and president of the American 
 Coal Barge Co. of New Haven, owning the most 
 rapid coal filling and emptying process ever in- 
 vented. He is aiso one of tue two surviving original 
 directors of the Bristol National Bank. 
 
 The quality and scope of Mr. Nettleton's busi- 
 ness abilities and successes can have no better sum- 
 ming up than to say that, beginning as a poor boy 
 and day laborer, he never had a penny of financial 
 assistance, except as a young man, a hundred dol- 
 lars from a kindly aunt. And further, to mention 
 the way in which he met and passed, successfully, 
 a most critical epoch in his business career. This 
 was about 1855-1857, a period of hard times and 
 panic, in which clock manufacturers were severely 
 stricken, and many failed. With large sums due 
 him, and his own obligations to meet, he weathered 
 the storm by what was hardly less than a stroke 
 of genius. Foreseeing the darkening clouds, he 
 burned to make contracts with jewelers, paper 
 makers, and other manufacturers of salable wares, 
 to take his orders upon the clockmakers, he in re- 
 turn taking miscellaneous goods, and changing the 
 same into cash wherever he could find a market. 
 The crisis called for foresight, skill and high cour- 
 age, and these master equalities were rewarded, 
 bringing him safely through what seemed certain 
 bankruptcy. 
 
 Mr. Nettleton has ever been interested and active 
 in spheres other than the merely business and 
 financial. Politically he has ever been an ardent 
 Republican, and for several years was a member of 
 the Republican League of New Haven, and a nom- 
 inee of his party in 1866 for the Legislature, as 
 town representative. During the Civil war he gave 
 evidence of earnest loyalty; though unable to bear 
 arms himself on account of ill health, he pledged 
 a hundred dollars to each of his employes who 
 might choose to enlist, and several did so, receiving 
 this bounty. And while not a participant himself 
 in the great struggle, he mourns the death of his 
 only brother, George E., a soldier of the i6th 
 Connecticut Regiment, who died as a result of the 
 hardships he suffered at Andersonville. After the 
 terrible day at Antietam Mr. Nettleton hurried to 
 the battlefield, passing through most eventful ex- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1G5 
 
 periences in his endeavors to aid the suffering 
 soldiers from his town and State. 
 
 Mr. Nettleton became a member of the First 
 Congregational Church of Bristol in 1871, ever 
 interested in its welfare, and at times serving it in 
 an official position. He is a member of Franklin 
 Lodge, No. 56, F. & A. JM., of Bristol, having a 
 longer membership in it than any one living, and in 
 its earlier existence serving it as treasurer. He has 
 always had an alert interest and progressive spirit 
 in community and social life. This is interestingly 
 illustrated in the notable Bristol Brass Band, the 
 first of its kind in the town. When a young man of 
 nineteen he, with S. B. Jerome and the hearty co- 
 operation of a choice body of young men, organized 
 the band and orchestra that attained cpiite a celeb- 
 rity under the instruction of Signor Salvator Rosa, 
 of New York. 
 
 Personally, jNlr. Nettleton is easilv one of ''Na- 
 ture's gentlemen." A man of gentle dignity, un- 
 assuming, affable, and naturally kind and generous, 
 as fortune came to him, manv have been the institu- 
 tions and persons that have found in him a thought- 
 ful and generous benefactor. His relations with the 
 many employes of his active business life were ever 
 friendly and cordial, many remaining with him for 
 years. 
 
 On June 9, 1847, Mr. Nettleton married Miss 
 Harriet Newell Tuttle, of Bristol, his strong 
 helper, his devoted wife, and a lady of exceptional 
 intelligence and refinement. Mrs. Nettleton died 
 May 4, 1896, and had she survived another year they 
 would have celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of 
 their most happy union. 
 
 By a long and honorable business career, by 
 his thoughtful interest in other persons and things, 
 and by his genial social qualities, Mr. Nettleton has 
 well earned the confidence and high esteem of his 
 fellow townsmen and all who know him. 
 
 JOHN B. LEWIS, M. D., medical director and 
 adjuster of the Travelers Insurance Co., Hartford, 
 himself a patriot and soldier of distinction in the 
 Civil war, has descended from a family of patriots 
 and soldiers. 
 
 Eleazer Lewis, his great-grandfather, was a sol- 
 dier of the war of the Revolution, Benjamin Lewis, 
 his grandfather, a soldier of the war of 1812, and 
 John Lewis, his father, a teacher at West Point. 
 Our subject was born March 10, 1832, in Suffolk 
 count}^ N. Y., and received his education in Powell- 
 ton Seminary, at Newburgh, N. Y. He was gradu- 
 ated March 10, 1853, on his twenty-first birthday, 
 from the University Medical College of New York 
 City. Shortly threafter he located in the practice in 
 Vernon, Conn., having formed a business partner- 
 ship with Dr. Alden Skinner, and here for several 
 years he had a full share of that laborious practice 
 of medicine and surgery which falls to the lot of an 
 energetic countrv doctor. 
 
 Soon after the breaking out of the Civil war 
 
 Dr. Lewis, July 3, 1861, was conmiissioned surgeon 
 of the 5th Conn. V. I. In the spring of 1862 he was 
 commissioned brigade surgeon, United States Vol- 
 unteers, by the President, and ordered to report 
 to Maj.-Gcn. Banks, Department of the Shenandoah, 
 and was assigned to the 2nd Brigade, Shield's Di- 
 vision. Soon afterward he was made medical di- 
 rector of the division, and remained in service in that 
 capacity up to the time when the division was in- 
 corporated with Gen. McClellan's Army, at Harri- 
 son's Landing, when he was assigned to temporary 
 duty. The invasion of Maryland by Gen. Lee oc- 
 curred soon afterward, and Sept. 15, 1862, while in 
 charge of a field hospital, he received orders to pro- 
 ceed without delay to the headquarters of Gen Mc- 
 Clellan and report to Surgeon Letterman, where, 
 during Sept. 17 and 18, he was on duty at the battle 
 of Antietam. Some days later he was assigned sur- 
 geon in charge of the United States General Hos- 
 pital, No. 6, at Frederick, Md., and was in charge of 
 this hospital until its discontinuance, in February 
 following. By command of Maj.-Gen. Schenck, 
 Middle Department, Feb. 18, 1863, Dr. Lewis was 
 assigned surgeon in charge of the United States 
 General Hospital at Cumberland, Md., upon which 
 duty he remained until after the close of the war. 
 While in charge of the hospital he also served for a 
 time as medical director of the Department of West 
 Virginia, and in such official position, in company 
 with Maj.-Gen. Crook, commanding, visited and in- 
 spected the military posts and hospitals within the 
 department. In his field service Dr. Lewis was pres- 
 ent in thirteen battles and skirmishes, and during 
 the same period was many times in charge of field 
 hospitals. In 1865 he was commissioned, by the 
 President, brevet lieutenant-colonel, L^nited States 
 Volunteers. He was retained in the service after 
 the close of the war in order that he might have 
 charge of the sale of the large property belonging to 
 the government which had been used for hospital 
 purposes at Cumberland, and when he had com- 
 pleted these duties he forwarded a written request 
 to be mustered out "at the earliest date consistent 
 with the interests of the service." By special orders 
 from the W'ar Department, Oct. 7, 1865, he was 
 "honorablv discharged out of the service of the 
 L^nited States." 
 
 After his discharge from the service Dr. Lewis 
 resumed the practice of medicine, residing for some 
 three years at Rockville, and then removed to Hart- 
 ford. After a few months spent in Europe he en- 
 tered, in 1869, the service of the Travelers Insurance 
 Co., of Hartford, as medical director for that com- 
 pany and in charge of its claim department. He has 
 since devoted his time and talents to the medical 
 department of the Travelers, writing meanwhile nu- 
 merous papers on historical, medical and medico- 
 legal subjects. 
 
 On June 13, 1855, Dr. Lewis married ]\Iiss Mary 
 K., daughter of Hon. J. N. E. Mann, of Dedham, 
 Mass., and to this union three children were born. 
 
166 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 one son and two daughters; Dr. William J. Lewis, 
 the son, was for years consulting surgeon for the 
 Travelers Co., and is now in practice in New York 
 City. 
 
 TAI.COTT. The family Talcott was originally 
 of Warwickshire, England. The Arms — Ar. on a 
 pale Sa. three roses of the field. Crest — a demi- 
 griffin, erased. Ar. gorged with a collar Sa., 
 charged with three roses of the first. Motto — 
 
 VIRTUS SOLA NOBILITAS. 
 
 (I) John^ Talcott, a descendant from the War- 
 wickshire family, was living in Colchester, County 
 
 Essex, previous to 1558. He married (first) 
 
 Wells, who died, her husband and three children sur- 
 viving. John Talcott died in Colchester about i 
 Nov., 1606, survived by his wife and her six chil- 
 dren. His will, dated 24 Sept., 1606, was admitted 
 to probate 12 Nov., 1606. His bequests indicate a 
 large estate — "to his grandchild John Talcoat, the 
 son of my son John Talcoat, late of Brantree, the 
 sum of £40 good and lawful money to be paid unto 
 himself by myn executors at the age of 20 years if 
 he lyve so long." 
 
 John Taylcoat. 
 
 (H) John- Talcott, son of John' and Wells, 
 
 was born (probablv) in Colchester, previous to 
 1558. Married Anne, daughter of William Skinner. 
 He died early in 1604, and before the decease of his 
 father, John\ his wife, one son and five daughters 
 surviving. His will, 1604, Anne, his wife, being 
 sole executrix and residuary legatee: "I John Tail- 
 coat of Braintree in the countie Essex, England, 
 gives his homestead to his wife Anne, during her 
 life, and after her decease to his son John Tailcoat. 
 He gives to dau. Rachel Tailcoat, John Taylcot, my 
 Sonne, and to Anne Tailcot, Marie Tailcot. Grace 
 Tailcot and Sara Tailcot my daughters, fortie 
 poundes apeece of lawful money of England." 
 
 John Tailcot. 
 Witness: Marke ]\Iott, 
 
 Erasmus Sparhawke, 
 
 James Sparhawke. 
 
 (HI) John= Talcott, son of John= and Anne Skin- 
 ner, his wife, was born in Braintree, County Essex, 
 England. He married Dorothy, daughter (probably) 
 of Mark Mott, Esq., and Frances Gutter, his wife, 
 of Braintree. Issue : Mary and John, born in Eng- 
 land ; and Samuel, born in New England. John 
 Talcott was an only son, and was left a minor by 
 the death of his father in 1604. No other family 
 of this name ever emigrated to this country. He 
 came, with others of Rev. Thomas Hooker's com- 
 pany, to Boston, in the ship "Lion," Capt. Mason, 
 which sailed from England 22 Time, i63'2, and ar- 
 rived there 16 Sept., 1632. This company first 
 settled in Newtown (now Cambridge), near Boston. 
 John Talcott was admitted a freeman by the General 
 Court at Boston, 6 Nov., 1632; was a representa- 
 tive in the General Court 14 May, 1634; was chosen 
 
 one of the selectmen of Newtown 4 Feb., 1634. He 
 was the fifth greatest proprietor of houses and lands 
 out of eighty townsmen, 1634. When the party of 
 Mr. Hooker decided to come to Hartford, John 
 Talcott sold all his possessions i May, 1636, to 
 Nicholas Dan forth. The year before be sent Nich- 
 olas Clark, the carpenter, to build him a house, which 
 stood where North church now stands, better known 
 as Dr. Bushnells church. He became one of the 
 distinguished "Founders of Hartford," in the Col- 
 ony of Connecticut ; one of the chief magistrates ; a 
 member of the General Court for many years ; and 
 was styled the worshipful Mr. John Talcott. His 
 will, dated 3 March, 1659-60, proven 3 March, 1660- 
 61, inventoried £1708-04-04: "I give and doe give 
 and bequefe unto my sonne ;Samevvellall my housing 
 and house lotts lying in Wethersfield ; both of medow 
 swamp ; land upland with all my rights thereunto 
 belonging now in the ockupation of John Belden, or 
 Enoch Buck, or any other, both on the east, and 
 west side of the river forever to injov himselve, and 
 Ayers. provided that he marry, and leave no issue 
 of his body lawfully begoten when he depart this 
 life that then his wife shall only posese it during her 
 naterall livfe and then the land and housing to re- 
 turne to the eldest sonne then living of my sonn 
 John to injoy after my sonn John his death." Mrs. 
 Dorothy (Mott) Talcott died February, 1669-70. 
 
 ( IV ) Capt. Samuel Talcott, the second son of the 
 worshipful Mr. John Talcott' and Dorothy, his wife, 
 was Ixjrn probablv in Newtown (now Cambridge), 
 Mass., about 1634 or 1635. He married Hannah, 
 daughter of Hon. Elizur Holyoke and Mary Pyn- 
 chon, his wife, 7 Nov., 1661. She died in Wethers- 
 field 7 Feb., 1677-78, leaving a family of eight chil- 
 dren — six sons and two daughters. He was the 
 scholar of the family, a graduate of Harvard Col- 
 lege, 1658; a freeman, 1662; 1669 to 1684 commis- 
 sioner from Wethersfield : from 1670 to 1684 deputy 
 to the General Court ; secretary October session, 
 1684. On 16 May, 1676, he was appointed one of 
 a standing committee to order such measures and 
 dispose of such affairs as shall be necessary to attend 
 to in the intervals of the General Court. 12 May, 
 1677, he was lieutenant in the Wethersfield train 
 band; 14 Oct., 1679, lieutenant of troop; 16 Oct., 
 1681, captain of troop of Hartford county. From 
 1683, except during the Andross administration, he 
 was an Assistant till his death, 11 Nov., 1691. His. 
 will was dated 22 April, 1691 ; inventoried £2181- 
 01-06; taken 21 Dec, 1691. His will was presented 
 in court 23 Jan., 1661-62, having no witness, "and 
 his hand being so well known he having wright it 
 all with his own hand the court accepted of it to- 
 gether with the inventorv." 
 
 (A-^) Cornet Samuel Talcott, son of Capt. Sam- 
 uel Talcott and Hannah Holyoke, his wife, was born 
 in Wethersfield in 1662, and married Mary, daugh- 
 ter of William and Mary Ellery. He died in Weth- 
 ersfield 28 Aoril, 1698. His estate was inventoried 
 at £774-02. Children : Samuel, age two years ; Anne, 
 
lieJ 
 
r^/^^'^'^'^CW^^^^^'^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 167 
 
 seven years ; and Mary, eight months. Adnis. to 
 Mary, the reUct and widow. 
 
 (\'I) Ensign Samuel Talcott. son of Cornet 
 Samuel Talcott, born in 1696, married 5 Dec, 1723, 
 Thankful! Belding. He died 6 ^lay, 1739. Estate 
 inventoried at £39 12- 18-01, taken 3 July, 1739. 
 Adms. to Thankful! Talcott, widow. 
 
 (VII) Ebenezer Talcott, son of Samuel Talcott 
 and Thankfull Belding, born 1731, died 25 Aug., 
 1795, aged sixty-four years. Sarah, daughter of 
 John Talcott, his wife, died 13 April, 1801, aged 
 sixty-eight. Children : Samuel died young, un- 
 married. Ebenezer, a sailor, was lost at sea. Sam- 
 uel, born 6 Feb., 1758, married Mary (Molly) Hurl- 
 but 25 Dec, 1788; he died 23 Dec, 1794, M. thirty- 
 six years. Josiah, a sailor, was drowned in the 
 Connecticut river. John, a sailor, was lost at sea 
 near Saybrook, coming from the West Indies. Sarah 
 married Capt. James Treat, of Wethersfield. Will- 
 iam, born 7 Nov., 1771, married Amelia Hanmer, 
 31 July, 1800; he died 28 June, 1813, aged forty- 
 tv/o years. Mary died unmarried. Joseph married 
 Anna Boardman in 1803; he died 17 June, 1832. 
 
 (VIII) Deacon William Talcott, son of Eben- 
 ezer Talcott and Sarah, daughter of John Talcott, 
 born 7 Nov., 1771, married 31 July, 1800, and died 
 28 June, 1813, aged forty-two years. His wife, 
 Amelia, daughter of Frt^ncis Hanmer, of \\'ethers- 
 field, born 18 Dec, 1775, died 4 Sept., 1837, aged 
 sixty-two years. Children : Amelia, born 6 July, 
 1801, married David Hills, of East Hartford; she 
 died 3 April, 1847, aged forty-six years. Celia, born 
 I Feb., 1804, married Henry Robbins, of Wethers- 
 field, and died in 1886, aged eighty-two years. 
 William, born 22 Sept., 1806, married Eliza H. Har- 
 ris 12 May, 1830, and died 14 March, 1886, aged 
 eighty years. Sarah Treat, born 21 July, 1809, mar- 
 ried John Loveland, and died 3 Dec, 1873, aged 
 sixty-fcur years. Francis H., born 19 April, 1812, 
 died 2 Dec, 1854, at Brattleboro, \'t., aged forty- 
 two years. William Talcott was deacon of the First 
 Congregational Church in \\'ethersfield. A drug- 
 gist by occupation. 
 
 (IX) William Talcott, son of Deacon William 
 Talcott and Amelia Hanmer, his wife, born 22 Sept., 
 1806, married 12 May, 1830, Eliza H., daughter of 
 Thomas Harris, of Wethersfield, born 10 April, 
 1806, died 31 March, 1883, aged seventy-seven 
 years. He died 14 March, 1886, aged eightv years. 
 Children: William Hanmer, born 17 Feb., 1831, 
 married Charlotte F., daughter of Charles Church, 
 of Hartford. Francis Hanmer, born 3 March, 
 1833, married Ellen Sophia, daughter of Nathaniel 
 Prudden, of Hartford, 16 June. 1856. No issue. 
 He died 30 Oct., 1893, aged sixty years. Thomas 
 Harris, born 23 May, 1835, is a resident of New 
 York City. Elizabeth Amelia, born 3 Feb.. 1838, 
 was married 23 Nov., 1864, to James T. Smith, born 
 4 May, 1833. Marshall Decatur, born 3 Oct., 1840, 
 married Alice Benedict, of Marshall, Mich. Dewitt 
 Clinton, born 3 June, 1842, died 25 Aug., 1886, with- 
 
 out issue, aged forty-four years. Cecelia Augusta, 
 born 8 Nov., 1845, married George Smith, of W'eth- 
 ersfield. Harriet Ella was lx)rn 3 Alarch, 1849. 
 William Talcott, father of this family, was born antl 
 reared in Wethersfield. By occupation he was a 
 builder of houses. He and his wife celebrated their 
 golden weding May 12, 1880, all their children sur- 
 viving. He was a representative to the State Legis- 
 lature in 1847, and was Colonel of the ist Regiment, 
 National Guard. 
 
 (X) Major Willi.vm Haxmer Talcott, 
 born in Wethersfield 17 Feb., 1831, married 
 5 Nov., 1861, Charlote F., daughter of Charles 
 Church, of Hartford, born 31 Jan., 1836. Issue: 
 Charles Church, born 15 Aug., 1862, died 28 June, 
 1866, aged four years. William Church Talcott, 
 the second son of ]\Iajor William H. Talcott, was 
 born 21 Feb., 1872. IMajor William Hanmer Tal- 
 cott, son of Col. William Talcott, of Wethersfield, 
 was educated in the town schools of Wethersfield, 
 leaving there in 1848. He served an apprenticeship 
 of four years with Allen S. Stillman, to learn the 
 trade of book-binding in Hartford. After this 
 service he was employed at wages by Edmund Hunt, 
 or others, until i860, when he bought the bindery 
 of Horace E. Goodwin, and began business for him- 
 self. Ten years later he bought the bindery of 
 his former master, Capt. Allen S. Stillman, which 
 was established in 1798, it being the oldest in the 
 State. His brother Francis was in partnershij) from 
 1870 until his death, in 1893. This successful busi- 
 ness of forty years has resulted in a wide and favor- 
 able acquaintance. With his active business life 
 he has found time for other service : Two years ;n the 
 city council, three terms on the board of aldermen 
 (never missed a meeting and but once its opening). 
 The Major is a Democrat in politics ; an active mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Church : a trustee of the Y. M. 
 C. A. ; a member of the executive committee of the 
 Connecticut Bible Society ; a menber of Trumbull 
 Council, National Provident Union ; a councillor in 
 the Order of the Founders and Patriots of America ; 
 major commanding in 1S78-79 the Fiist Company, 
 Governor's Foot Guards, chartered 10 Oct. 1771 ; 
 and a member of the Connecticut Historical So- 
 ciety. 
 
 The Major has some interesting family papers 
 in his possession, among them being a Colonial writ 
 that has been passed down in the family for over 
 130 years, coming to cur subject with the papers 
 of his father, who in turn received it from his fa- 
 ther. It was issued 19 Nov., 1769, in favor of Jo- 
 seph Talcott, who was treasurer of the Colony of 
 Connecticut from 1756 to 1769, and was a son of 
 Gov. Joseph Talcott, who was :-t the head of the 
 Colonial government for seventeen years from 1725. 
 Joseph Talcott had received judgment against Sil- 
 vanus Phelps, of Hebron, for £8-10-05. not includ- 
 ing the costs of the court, amounting to 8s.. 6d.. the 
 judgfment being obtained before John Ledyard. of 
 Hartford. The constable who served the writ was 
 
168 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Samuel Gilbert, Jr., of Hebron, then a part of Hart- 
 ford county, and the document bears his signature. 
 In want of mone}-, goods or chattels, satisfying the 
 judgment, the sheriff of the town was commanded 
 to take the body of the said Silvanus and him com- 
 mit unto the keeper of the gaol in Hartford, in the 
 county aforesaid, within the said prison, who is like- 
 wise hereby commanded to receive the said Silvanus, 
 and him safely to keep until he pay unto the said 
 Joseph the full sums above mentioned. The Major 
 also has the commission of Ensign Samuel Talcott 
 to command the trained band, dated Hartford lo 
 May, 1735, and signed Joseph Talcott, Gov. of Con- 
 necticut Colony, by his Honour's Command, Geo. 
 Wyllys, Sec. 
 
 John Talcott and his son-in-law, William Wads- 
 worth, seized the Charter of Connecticut given by 
 Charles II, and secreted it in the oak tree in Hart- 
 ford afterward known as the Charter Oak. 
 
 Golden Wedding — Fiftieth anniversary of 
 the marriage of Col. William Talcott and wife. — 
 1830-1880. There was an exceedinglv pleasant gath- 
 ering at the residence . of Col. and Mrs. William 
 Talcott, of Wethersfield, on Wednesday evening, it 
 being the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage. 
 Their eight children were all present with 
 their families, viz. : IMajor William H. Talcott and 
 wife and son ; Francis H. Talcott, wife and daugh- 
 ter, of Hartford; Thomas H. Talcott (unmarried), 
 of New York; Mrs. James T. Smith, husband and 
 children, of Wethersfield ; Marshall D. Talcott, wife 
 and daugliter, of Chicago; Dewitt C. Talcott and 
 wife, of New York; and Misses Cecelia A. and 
 Harriet E. Talcott, of Wethersfield. There were 
 also present a sister of the Colonel, Mrs. Henry 
 Robbins, and Miss Jane Harris, sister of Mrs. Tal- 
 cott, both of Wethersfield, besides a large number 
 of relatives. The only regret of Col. Talcott and 
 family was that their residence was not sufficientlv 
 large so that they could have invited every relative 
 and friend of the family to join with them on this 
 festal occasion. The reception room was prettily 
 trimmed with flowers and running vines. Between 
 the two windows was the monogram "T-H" on a 
 golden shield, made of flowers, and on the curtains 
 of the two windows were 1830-1880, also made of 
 flowers. William Talcott and Miss Eliza Harris 
 were married by Rev. Dr. Tennev, then pastor of the 
 Congregational Church of Wethersfield, 12 May, 
 1830. There are several notable things of interest 
 connected with this occasion. The contracting 
 parties were born in the same year ( 1806). No mem- 
 ber of the family has been removed by death. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Talcott have lived in the same house 
 nearly fifty years, a house erected on ground that 
 has always been held by the Talcott family ; and this 
 anniversary not only comes on the same day of the 
 month of their marriage, but the same day of the 
 week. A written invitation to the wedding was ex- 
 hibited Wednesda}' evening, which reads as 
 follows ; 
 
 Wethersfield, May 10, 1830. 
 William Talcott's compliments to Mr. John Loveland, 
 requesting the favor of his company at Mr. Thomas Harris's 
 on Wednesday evening, at 7 o'clock. 
 Yours, etc., 
 
 William Talcott. 
 
 After some time had been passed in social inter- 
 course, the assembly was called to order by Major 
 William H. Talcott, the children standing near the 
 parents in a group, when Major Talcott addressed 
 his father and mother in well fitting words, thank- 
 ing them for their kindness to their children through 
 these years, and expressing the love and regard 
 which they have for them, and in closing presented a 
 purse of gold to the parents. Col. Talcott, although 
 taken entirely by surprise, said that he had no word.^ 
 at command which could express his feelings. It 
 was more to him to meet with his dear eight chil- 
 dren upon that occasion, and to feel that they had 
 never brought a stain upon the family, than gold. 
 Major Talcott then called upon his pastor. Rev. C. 
 C. Lasby, of the North Methodist Church, Hart- 
 ford, who read a specially appropriate poem. 
 
 The reading of the poem was followed by ex- 
 ceedingly appropriate remarks by Rev. W. W. An- 
 drews, of Wethersfield, Rev. Howard S. Clapp, pas- 
 tor of the Episcopal Church, Wethersfield, and Rev. 
 Amasa Howard, of the Baptist Church, in which 
 the kindest sentiments were expressed. Congratu- 
 latory letters v/ere received from several friends from 
 abroad, expressing regret at not being able to be 
 present, as follows: From Gen. James T. Pratt, of 
 Wethersfield, who was detained by sickness ; 'Mrs. 
 J. W. Brockway, of Elmira, N. Y. ; Capt. Ed. W. 
 Kirk Talcott, of Morgan Park, 111. ; Rev. A. C. 
 Washburn, of Syracuse, N. Y. ; L. A. Talcott, of 
 Chicago, 111. ; and Samuel Broadbent, of Philadel- 
 phia. On the invitations to this anniversary it was 
 written "no presents," notwithstanding which there 
 were many valuable presents given, and the elegant 
 collation served by Habenstein was beyond criti- 
 cism, consisting of chicken and lobster salads, fric- 
 assee and escalloped oysters, creams and ices in 
 fancy forms, jellies, charlotte de russe, loaf cake, 
 angel cake, fancy ornamented cake, mottos, confec- 
 tionery, fruits, cofTee, lemonade, etc. The tables 
 looked elegantly trimmed with flowers and orna- 
 mented with a new set of china of rich design, which 
 was used upon this occasion for the first time. The 
 refreshments were served in a large tent in the yard, 
 which' was a novelty and was much enjoyed. 
 Through the courtesy of President Goodrich, of the 
 Wethersfield horse railroad, two special cars were 
 furnished to convey the Hartford guests home, 
 where they arrived at i a. m. 
 
 William Church Talcott, the second son of Major 
 William H.. Talcott, born 21 Feb., 1872, entered at 
 an early age the city Arsenal school, from which, at 
 the age of fifteen years, he entered the Hartford 
 Public High School, his object and purpose being 
 to acquire a business education. He gave one 
 year's time and study at that school, at the age of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1G9 
 
 sixteen }-ears enteruig Wilbraha:n Academy, Wil- 
 braham, Mass., from which institution he graihiated 
 after one year, receiving his dij^lonia. He then, in 
 the pursuit of his original plan, engaged with his 
 father and uncle (firm of William H. Talcott & 
 Bro.) to learn the business of book-binding. His 
 untimely death occurred 19, Dec, 1892. He was a 
 member of the North Methodist Church and Sun- 
 day-school : was librarian for a number of years ; 
 an usher in the church ; and a member of the 
 Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, 
 having held the office of secretary and treasurer. 
 He was a member of the Y. M. C. A., and of the 
 Y'oung Men's Athletic Association. The funeral of 
 Willie C. Talcott, the only son of Major William H. 
 Talcott and Mrs. Talcott, took place 23 Dec, 1892. 
 Prayers were said at the house, after which services 
 were held at the church at 2 :30 p. m. The pastor, 
 Rev. H. O. Judd, officiated, assisted by Rev. J. E. 
 Holmes, of Seymour, Rev. David C. Dov/ney, of 
 Stamford (former pastor of this church), Rev. A. 
 H. Meade, of Meriden, and Rev. John Cromlish. 
 During the services the flag a^ the Arsenal school 
 Avas at half-mast out of respect to his memory. Ex- 
 tended obituary notices appeared in all the Hartford 
 daily papers, Courant, Times, Evening Post, Tele- 
 gram, and Globe (weekly). The large attendance 
 of friends from far and near, with beautiful floral 
 •ofiferings, gave evidence of the sympathy and respect 
 toward the bereaved parents, and love for the young- 
 man whose short earthly life now ended had been 
 so full in noble aspirations and generous activities. 
 
 JOHN A. CRILLY, adjuster for the Hartford 
 Street Railway Co., former county commissioner, 
 alderman, present member of the common council, 
 and a politician of local note and influence, is one 
 of the well and favorably known men and charac- 
 ters of the Capital City, in which he has figured 
 ■conspicuously for more than a third of a century. 
 
 Mr. Criliy was born April 22, 1847, in Pike 
 River, Canada, son of William and Martha (Mc- 
 Cormick) Criliy, natives of Ireland, the father born 
 Jan. 18, 1805, and the mother March 8, 1807. 
 They were married in Ireland, and in 1836 came to 
 Canada, locating in Pike River, where he was occu- 
 . pied through life as a wheelwright. Both were 
 members of the M. E. Church. Mr. Criliy died Jan. 
 9, 1887, and she on July 17, 1886. Their children 
 were as follows: Thomas, born May 8, 1836; Mary, 
 born July 29, 1838, who married Allen Hageboom, 
 of Canada; William, born July 18, 1840; Sarah J., 
 iDorn Aug. 12, 1842, who married Henry Spears, of 
 Pike River; James, born Oct. 3, 1844; John A. and 
 Martha, twins, born April 22, 1847 ; and Robert, 
 born June 6, 1849, who died Dec. 10, 1852. 
 
 John A. Criliy passed his boyhood in the place 
 of his birth, remaining at home until about fifteen 
 years of age, and attending the common schools of 
 the place. After this for a time he was employed 
 at farm work, and when fourteen years of age, in 
 1861, he came to Hartford, in which city he in 1865 
 
 became employed in the blacksmith shop of the 
 Hartford Street Railway Co. At that time horses 
 only were used as motive power. Shortly after en- 
 tering the services of this company Mr. Criliy be- 
 came foreman of the stables, and had charge of the 
 outgoing and incoming teams, and also the care of 
 the yard. Later, his ability in various lines was rec- 
 ognized, and he became acting superintendent, and 
 materially aided President Goodrich in much of the 
 company's general business. He had the employing 
 and discharging of men, and matters pertaining to 
 their affairs. At the time of the change from 
 horse-power to electricity, Mr. Criliy was entrusted 
 with the sale of the horses. He continued in the 
 position of acting superintendent until 1895, by 
 which time the road had so enlarged that the office 
 of adjuster was created, and from our subject's ac- 
 quaintance and thorough knowledge of the business 
 affairs of the company he was made that officer. He 
 has the adjusting of all claims for damages against 
 the company, a position requiring a peculiar fitness, 
 which Mr. Criliy seems to possess, as he has suc- 
 ceeded admirably in all matters of the kind which 
 have come to issue since the creation of the office. 
 With but few exceptions he has settled all claims 
 made, and in each of these exceptions a verdict has 
 been obtained for the company;, in this he has no 
 doubt saved the company mucla money, and his ad- 
 judication of these claims have always been most 
 satisfactory to all parties concerned. 
 
 Mr. Criliy 's political affiliations have been with 
 the Republican party, and in its councils he has 
 figured not a little. Genial, social, and possessed 
 of tact, he is popular, and a good mixer of men — a 
 make-up of the kind that makes a good political 
 leader. He has long been before the public, his fel- 
 low citizens of Hartford having frequently elected 
 him to offices of trust, honor and responsibility, and 
 as often has he discharged the duties of the same in 
 a manner most satisfactory to them and to his own 
 credit. He has served six years continuously in 
 the common council of Flartford, to which he was 
 re-elected in 1900, and eight years as a member of 
 the board of aldermen, and at this time is the oldest 
 member in point of service. \\'ith one exception 
 Mr. Criliy has served longer in that body or as 
 alderman than any other man now living in the 
 city, serving under Mayors Joseph Sprague, (Gov.) 
 Bulkelev, (Gen.) Dwight, John G. Root and Alex- 
 ander Harbison. He was three years a selectman, 
 a position he resigned to take that of county com- 
 missioner, which office he held for tv.-o years. For 
 twenty years Mr. Criliy has been chairman of the 
 Fourtli 'Ward Republican Committee, and he has 
 also served occasionally on the ward and town 
 committees. 
 
 Socially, too, Mr. Criliy is prominent and in- 
 fluential, being a member of St. John's Lodge, F & 
 ^ M.: Pythagoras Chapter; Wolcott Council; 
 Washington Commandery, No. i. K. T. : Sphmx 
 Temple, Mvstic Shrine; Hartford Lodge, No. 82, 
 I. O. O. F.', in which he has passed all the chairs 
 
170 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and is past noble grand; Midian Encampment, in 
 which he has held a number of official positions; 
 the Knights of Pythias ; the B. P. O. E. ; the An- 
 cient Order of United Workmen ; and B. H. Webb 
 Council, No. 702, Royal Arcanum. He is also a 
 member of Putnam Phalanx. Mr. Crilly was one 
 of three who took medals for twenty-five years of 
 continuous service in the Odd Fellows fraternity. 
 
 On May 22, 1879, Mr. Crilly was married to 
 Louisa A., daughter of Capt. John and Antoinette 
 (Goodrich) Smith, and the union has been blessed 
 with children as follows : John A., Jr., born June 
 13, 1885 ; Martha A., who died when ten months 
 old ; and Mabel Smith, who died when eight months 
 old. 
 
 Capt. John Smith was a farmer and river man. 
 He had a family of three children : William E. ; 
 Louisa A. ; and Isabella, who married Capt. San- 
 ford A. Griswold, of Hartford. The father and 
 mother are now both deceased, she living to be 
 sixty-nine years old. William Smith, the grand- 
 father of Mrs. Crilly, was a native of Wethers- 
 field, Conn., born March 17, 1782, son of James 
 and Sarah (Hanmer) Smith. His father was one 
 of the early settlers of Wethersfield, and planted 
 (or set out) the twig from which has grown the 
 giant elm tree on Broad street, Wethersfield. 
 William Smith married Hukla W^oodhouse, a daugh- 
 ter of Samuel and Abigail Woodhouse, the former 
 a Revolutionary soldier ; his widow drew a pension. 
 
 GEORGE ^L AVAY. There are few of the 
 older generation of Hartford's residents who do 
 not remembr George Al. Way, and many are in- 
 debted to his cool head, sagacious judgment and 
 far-seeing business foresight for advice, freely and 
 cheerfully rendered, which has redounded to their 
 pecuniary profit. His career, viewed from a busi- 
 ness standpoint, was eminently successful, inas- 
 much as he began life penniless, and died owning 
 a large fortune. 
 
 Mr. Way came to Hartford in 1831, a young 
 man of twenty-three years, having been born in 
 Colchester, Xew London county, Nov. 12, 1808, 
 son of William and Demice (Packwood) Way. 
 His father was a farmer, and by trade a plane 
 maker, and the young man was "trained in both 
 pursuits. His educational advantages were good 
 for the period, his attendance at the district schools 
 bemg supplemented by a course at Bacon Acade- 
 my, then a famous school, where he was a class- 
 mate of many men who afterward became eminent, 
 among them the late Lyman Trumbull, erstwhile 
 senator from Illinois. These opportunities were 
 not thrown away upon a youth of his talent and 
 aptitude. The habits of study and observation 
 formed in boyhood remamed with him through life, 
 and until he passed into the unseen world he never 
 failed to note and weigh current events. His first 
 employment in Hartford was as clerk for Leonard 
 Kennedy (afterward his father-in-law), whose store 
 stood upon the site where he himself afterward 
 
 carried on business for many years, and which is 
 now occupied by his sons. Even then lie dispb.y^d 
 that tenacity of purpose and power of self-control 
 which, in his after life, was so conspicuous. He 
 received from Mr. Kenned}^ for his first year's 
 work $600. By dint of rigid economy he was able 
 to carry this sum home intact, and offer it to his 
 motheir. Finding that it was not needed in the do- 
 mestic econoni)', he brought it back with him to 
 Hartford ; and this small amount, deposited in the 
 Phoeni.x Bank, constituted the financial nucleus of 
 his fortune. The word financial is used advisedly, 
 since he owned a more productive capital, in the 
 form of hard sense, quick perception and tireless 
 energy. In 1840 he acquired an interest in the 
 business, which after a few years passed wholly 
 under his control. In commercial life he seemed 
 incapable of fatigue. Always the first at the store 
 in the morning, he was the last to leave at night, 
 devoting his evenings to the inspection of his books 
 of account, a task which not infrequently extended 
 far into the night. How the business developed, 
 under his watchful, judicious supervision, consti- 
 tutes a part of Hartford's commercial history. No 
 detail was too trivial to fix his notice ; and it is said 
 of his memory that he was able to tell — among 
 nearly 3,000 accounts — on which side the balance 
 stood on each account and to fix that balance to a 
 nicety. The extent of his business necessitated carry- 
 ing a large stock, filling not only his store on Mam 
 street, but also the rear buildings and additional 
 warerooms on Kinsley street. In addition to the capi- 
 tal invested in his business he had large and valuable 
 holdings in real estate, besides being a stockholder 
 in various solid, dividend-paying corporations. 
 He owned farms in Bloomfield, on Talcott Moun- 
 tain, in Windsor, and in other localities, having 
 probably over 700 acres of valuable land in Hart- 
 ford county alone. Although unassuming, and 
 modest in dress, demeanor and mode of life, he 
 was a man of powerful personality, rarely failing 
 to exert an influence over those with whom he 
 came in contact. His mental grasp was broad and 
 firm, and capable of comprehending and fathoming 
 schemes of vast magnitude. Among Jiis warmest 
 personal friends were E. M. Reed, superintendent 
 of the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad, 
 who was wont to consult him on matters of grave 
 import ; and the prominent merchants, Henry Keney, 
 Charles Brainard (president of the State Bank), 
 James Goodwin, and Robert Buell, the latter a 
 merchant tailor, and later an extensive stock bro- 
 ker. These gentlemen frequently gathered in each 
 other's offices, remaining often late into the night. 
 Mr. Way died at his home on Windsor avenue Oct. 
 5, 1882, some two years after the death of his wife. 
 May 21, 1880, leaving an estate valued at over half 
 a million dollars. In his early life he was a Whig, 
 and in later years a Republican, although never 
 taking an active part in politics. In religious faith 
 he was a Congregationalist, being an attendant at 
 the Central Church, of which Rev. Dr. Hawes was 
 
£x,n0e /m.O^, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 171 
 
 pastor. He was a lover of fine horses and Alder- 
 ney cows, of which he owned a large number. His 
 wife, Miriam F. (Kennedy), was born March i8, 
 1804. She bore her husband three sons : Samuel 
 L., born July 13, 1833; George L., May 21, 1835; 
 and William K., May 19, 1837. The youngest died 
 Jan. 18, 1887. 
 
 George L. Way was educated in the district and 
 high schools of Hartford, having among his precep- 
 tors Rev. Thomas K. Beecher. After graduation he 
 entered the store of his father, whose wish was 
 that he should become a merchant. In September, 
 1862, he enlisted in Company I, 22d Conn. V. I., 
 serving about ten months. On his return home 
 he became associated with his father, in the capa- 
 city of confidential manager, which relation sub- 
 sisted until the demise of the latter. Since that 
 event he has devoted his time to the management 
 of his own extensive business interests. 
 
 On June 15, 1876, Mr. Way married Miss Sarah 
 Jane Smith, a daughter of James Smith, of Hart- 
 ford. Five children have been born to them : A. 
 Sidney, Henry P., Leonard D., Howard D., and 
 Helen C. Mr. Way attends the Universalist 
 Chiirch. 
 
 DANIEL ANSON MARKHAM, who has been 
 engaged in the successful practice of law in Hart- 
 ford for the past sixteen years, and has also become 
 well known in the city in other connections, was born 
 Dec. 29, 1854, in Chatham, Middlesex Co., Conn., 
 and comes of a family long established in this State. 
 His great-grandfather, John Markham, was ,?. sol- 
 dier in the Revolution. Hiram Markham, son of 
 John, had a son Daniel Niles, who married Mary 
 Skinner, and resides in Chatham. They were the 
 parents of our subject. 
 
 Daniel A. Markham prepared for college under 
 private tutors, was graduated from Wesleyan Uni- 
 versity, I-'iddletown, Conn., with the class of 1897, 
 and subsequently studied law in Middletown with 
 Arthur B. Calef and D. W. Northrop. In 1882 he 
 was admitted to the Bar in Middlesex county, but 
 since 1884 he has followed his profession in Hart- 
 ford, where he has won high rank among the mem- 
 bers of his profession and as a citizen. The resi- 
 dents of his adopted city gave substantial evidence 
 of their appreciation of his worth and confidence in 
 his ability by electing Mr. Markham, a few years 
 after his settlement in Hartford, to the position of 
 recorder in the city court, in which he served from 
 1891 to 1893. His able discharge of all the duties 
 connected with that incumbency elicited the ap- 
 proval of all concerned. Mr. Markham's reputation 
 as a legal adviser is of the highest. 
 
 In 1889 Mr. Markham married Miss Grace 
 Goodrich, daughter of Samuel G. and Annie ( But- 
 ler) Goodrich, and three children have been born 
 to them, as follows: Daniel Goodrich,- Dec. 12, 1890; 
 Margaret, Jan. 21, 1893 (died Dec. 9, 1895) ; and 
 John Anson, Nov. 15, 1894. 
 
 ROGER WELLES was born at Newington 
 March 7, 1829, the sixth child and second son of 
 Roger and Electa (Stanley] Welles. Mr. Welles 
 attended the district school and the academy in 
 Newington, also the academies at Madison, Conn., 
 and East Hartford, and later Williston Seminary, at 
 East Hampton, Mass., where he fitted for college. He 
 taught a district school in the Belden district in West 
 Hartford during the winter of 1846-47, and "board- 
 ed round." In 1847 he entered Yale College, and 
 graduated in the class of 185 1, after which he en- 
 tered his name as a student in the law office of his 
 uncle. Judge Martin Welles, in Hartford, some part 
 of (the time being occupied in teaching in Madison 
 and his native town. He was admitted to the Bar 
 in October, 1854, and had a desk in the law office 
 of Judge Francis Parsons. He was appointed en- 
 grossing clerk of the Legislature at its May session, 
 185s, and acted as reporter for the Hartford 
 Courant of the doings of the House of Representa- 
 tives during that session, Thomas M. Day, Esq., 
 being the editor of the Courant at that time. In Sep- 
 ^tember of that year he went to St. Paul, Minn., anf[ 
 entered into a law partnership with William P. 
 Murray, Esq., of that ciity. In the fall of 1856 he 
 was taken sick with remittent fever, and, being ad- 
 vised to have a change of climate as the best medi- 
 cine, he returned home for the winter of 1856-57. 
 In the spring of 1857 he went back to Minnesota 
 with restored health, locating at Henderson, Sibley 
 county, where the United States Land Office had 
 just been established, and entered into partnership 
 with Martin J. Severance, Esq., practicing law 
 mostly before the land office. On June 16, 1858, 
 he married, at Prairie du Chien, \Vis., Mercy D. 
 Aiken, daughter of Lemuel S. and Sarah (Coffin) 
 Aiken, of Fairhaven, Mass. They have seven chil- 
 dren, as follows: (i) Martin, born April 15, 1859, 
 graduated at Yale in 1882, and is now doing busi- 
 ness in New York City; on June 12, 1888, he mar- 
 ried Mary Amelia Patton, and they have three chil- 
 dren. (2) Mary Crowell, born Nov. i, i860, grad- 
 uated at Smith College, Northampton, ^Nlass., in 
 1883, and is now an instructor there. (3) Roger,, 
 born Dec. 7, 1862, graduated at the Annapolis Naval 
 Academy in 1886, and is now a lieutenant in the 
 Navy. (4) Sarah Aiken, born Dec. 2, 1864, died 
 Nov. 3, 1870. (5) Edwin Stanley, born Sept. 5, 
 1866, graduated at the Berkeley Divinity School, at 
 Middletown, in 1892. (6) Lemuel Aiken, born 
 Nov. 18, 1870, graduated at Yale in 1893, and is 
 now a lawyer in New York City. (7) Grace 
 Mather, born May 12, 1874, graduated at Miss 
 Burnham's School, Northampton, Mass., in 1893, and 
 on Sept. 3, 1895. married H. Leonard Beadle: they 
 have one son. 
 
 In the spring of i860 j\Ir. Welles returned to 
 Connecticut and entered into partnership with Judge 
 Martin Welles, who died Jan. 18, i863._ He was 
 chosen a representative from the town of \\"ethers- 
 field in 1864 and 1871, and during the session of the 
 
172 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 legislature in the latter year secured the passage of 
 an Act incorporating Newington, which had before 
 been a parish in the town of Wethersfield, as a 
 new town. On June i, 1874, he entered into part- 
 nership with Hon. William W. Eaton and his son, 
 in law practice, continuing thus for several years. 
 On iMay i, 1889, he was appointed financial clerk 
 of the United States Patent Office at Washington, 
 D. C, where he continued until Sepit. i, 1891, when 
 he was transferred at his own request to the office 
 of the Assistant Attorney-General in the Interior 
 Department, remaining till* he resigned, July i, 
 1893. He has since practiced his profession in Hart- 
 ford. 
 
 Mr. Welles became a member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church in Newington May 3, 1868, and was 
 clerk of the Ecclesiastical Society from Nov. 5. 
 1867, to Oct. 24, 1887 : superintendent of the Sun- 
 day-school from Dec. 31, 1868, to Jan. 4, 1873. He 
 published the Church and Society Records in the 
 "Annals of Newington," in 1874. Various town 
 offices, as those of selectman, assessor, justice of the 
 peace and grand juror, have been held by him. 
 For several years he was chairman of the committee 
 of the Hartford County Bar,, for the examination 
 of candidates for admission to the Bar, until he 
 resigned, in 1889. 
 
 WILLIAM A. CROSBY was born in East 
 Glastonbury, May 20, 1846, and was educated in 
 the common schools and \\'ilbraham (Alass.) 
 Academy, finishing a't the age of eighteen. 
 
 The name Crosby means "town of the Cross." 
 The termination "by" in English towns is a Danish 
 form of burgh, bury br borough. The towns so 
 called are found in great numbers where the Danes 
 formed their settlements, principallv along the sea 
 coasts of northern England. Undoubtedly the 
 first of the Crosl^y family to com© to America was 
 Snnon, who, when twenty-six. years of age came 
 to_ this country in the "Susan and Ellyn," with his 
 wife Ann, aged twenty-five years, and their voung 
 son Thomas. He became a freeman in Cambridge', 
 Mass.. in 1636, later was one of the selectmen,' 
 and died in 1639. He was a wealthy man, and 
 undoubtedly brought 'considerable money with him 
 to America. He left three children. His widow 
 afterward married Rev. William Thompson, of 
 Braintree. 
 
 Edwin Crosby, the father of our subject, was 
 born in Ellington, Conn., in 1816, and was left 
 an orphan at the tender age of two and one-half 
 years. Being deprived of his parents at such an 
 early age, much of the family history has been 
 lost. He made his home with an uncle upon a 
 farm in Ellington until fourteen years of age, dur- 
 ing which time he attended school only a few'short 
 months in the winter, but he was a very studious 
 "boy, ^ and much of his education ' was obtained by 
 reading in the evenings after his day's work was 
 •done. At the age of fourteen he left the home of 
 
 his uncle to make his own way in the world, and 
 went to Rockville, where he was employed in the 
 dye department of the woolen mills for some time. 
 He then came to East Glastonbury to accept the 
 position of superintendent in the mills owned by 
 Sereno Hubbard, and in that capacity was connected 
 with the mills until the death of Mr. Hubbard, 
 when he purchased an interest in the business and 
 became a silent partner. Subsequently the firm 
 bought the Eagle Mills, in Eagleville (now Addi- 
 son), Conn., and for two years they conducted 
 both, the finishing of the product of the old mill 
 being done in Eagleville. The mills at East Glas- 
 tonbury were then known as the Roaring Brook 
 Mills. Financial reverses overtook the company, 
 and the mills in Eagleville were sold. They began 
 anew in East Glastonbury, but it required some 
 months before matters were properly adjusted. 
 Later Mr. Crosby assumed full control of the mills, 
 which he ran with profit, and continued in active 
 business until 1884, when he was succeeded by his 
 sons, Alembert O. and Lincoln E., but poor health 
 obliged the latter to retire from business shortly 
 afterward. The father died April 12, 1888, after 
 a gradual decline of about ten years, and was 
 buried in East Glastonbury cemetery. He was a 
 man of medium height and weight. A faithful 
 member of the East Glastonbury Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church, he was very active in all its afifairs, and 
 was a large contributor to same. He served as 
 class-leader and superintendent of the Sunday- 
 school for a number of years, and whether the 
 weather was good or bad he was always in his pew 
 on the Sabbath-day. He was very domestic in his 
 habits, and was a lover of home and family. As a 
 business man he was very thoroug'h in his under- 
 takings, was frank and open, and kind to his em- 
 ployes, many of whom had been in his employ for 
 several vears, and made a great effort to please 
 him. He was a man of strict integrity, was a con- 
 stant reader, and broad-minded and liberal in his 
 views. If he had had better educational advant- 
 ages in youth he would undoubtedly have become 
 a very prominent man. He was a stanch supporter 
 first of the Whig and later of the Republican 
 party, and represented Glastonbury in the State 
 Legis'ature. 
 
 For his' first wife Edwin Crosbv married Al- 
 truda Andrews, a native of Glastonbury, and a 
 daughter of David and Honorra ( Sparks ) Andrews. 
 She died Dec. 5. 1843, leaving two children: (i) 
 Lincoln E., born April 10, 1840, died Aug. 25, 1890 
 (he married Sarah E. Strong, and they had four 
 children, Edwin Hugh, who married Ethel L. Clark, 
 and is engaged in the newspaper business in Glas- 
 tonbury ; Grace A.; Eva A.; and Florence V.); 
 (2) Adario, born July 4, 1843, died Feb. 22, 1894 
 (he wedded Mary Cory, and they had one daugh- 
 ter, Cora, now the wife of a Mr. Webb, of Holyoke, 
 Mass.). For his second wife Mr. Crosby married 
 a sister of his first, Harriet Andrews, who was born 
 
^t 
 
 ^^^ 
 
4 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 173 
 
 Oct. 7, 1826, and died Jan. 5, 1899. Slie was a 
 good Christian motlier, and a kind and loving neigh- 
 bor. By the second union there were tliree children : 
 William A. ; Alenibert O., a sketch of whom appears 
 elsewhere ; and Ada, now Mrs. David Gordon, of 
 Hazardville, Conn., who cared for her mother in her 
 declining years. 
 
 William A. Crosby commenced work with T. 
 Steele & Co., of Hartford, and learned the jeweler's 
 trade, remaining about eight years in all. In 1868- 
 6c) he was in the jewelrj^ business in Chicago, work- 
 ing for A. H. Miller & Co. In 1869, after return- 
 iiip- from Chicago, he was employed in the. office of 
 E. Crosbv & Sons as bookkeeper in their Hartford 
 olifice, whicli position he filled some five years. After 
 withdrawing from that position he went into the 
 jewelry business in Holyoke, 2\Iass., and there was 
 associated with him his brother Adario, doing busi- 
 ness under the firm name of William A. Crosby & 
 Co. Two years later W. A. Crosby sold his interest 
 in the business to his brother Adario, who afterward 
 carried on the business alone. In 1881 W. A. Crosby 
 entered the insurance business in the city of Hart- 
 ford, continuing same some nine years, and in 1890 
 he came to East Glastonbury and entered the Crosby 
 Manufacturing Co., in which he is a stockholder. 
 He acts as inspector and shipping clerk. Mr. Crosby 
 is a Republican, but he has no taste for political 
 life. Fraternally he belongs to the Masonic Order, 
 holding membership in Lafayette Lodge, Hartford. 
 
 On Sept. 2, 1869, ]Mr. Crosby married Miss 
 Alice I. Rodda, who was born April 25, 1850, daugh- 
 ter of James and Harriet (Thomas) Rodda, and 
 they have had one son, Albert W., born Nov. 13, 
 1870, who was educated in the Hartford Public 
 High School and the Xew York Dental College, 
 receiving the degree of D. D. S. from the latter. 
 He is now practicing his profession in New London, 
 Conn. He married ]\Iiss Isabel Seldon Darrow, of 
 New London. 
 
 WILLIAil :M. HUDSON. M. D. The Hudson 
 family has been prominently identified with Hart- 
 ford for several generations, and Barzillai Hudson, 
 the great-grandfather of the well-known physician 
 whose name opens this sketch, was at one time ed- 
 itor of the Hartford Courant. Barzillai Hudson 
 came from Bridgewater, Mass, and married for his 
 second wife Hannah Watson, the owner of the 
 Courant. By his first wife. ]\Iargaret Seymour, 
 daughter of Gov. Zebuloii Seymour, he had one son, 
 William. She was buried in Hartford cemetery. 
 
 William Hudson, our subject's grandfather, died 
 at the age of thirty-nine years. He married Mary 
 Skinner, and had two sons: Barzillai; and William, 
 our subject's father. Barzillai Hudson was born in 
 Hartford Feb. 28, 1794, and died March 28, 1871, 
 in his seventy-eighth year. He spent his boyhood 
 days in Hartford, and engaeed in the furniture and 
 auctioneer business with his brother on Main street, 
 opposite Pratt, under the firm name of B. & W. 
 Hudson. He was the first president of the Phoenix 
 
 Life Insurance Co., and was active in public life, 
 being director of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum at 
 the time of his death,, and for many years served 
 as alderman. Pie was a member of the Center 
 Church. He was married in Hartford to Eliza 
 \\ oodbridge, daughter of Ward Woodbridge, of 
 Hartford, and they made their home in a pleasant 
 residence on Pratt street. They had ten children, 
 eight of whom reached maturity : \\'ard Wood- 
 bridge, who died in 1864; -Mary Woodbridge and 
 Alfred, both deceased; Charles, who died in 1897; 
 Eliza, widow of Mr. Pirie, of -Milwaukee ; Frank, de- 
 ceased ; Julia E., a resident of Hartford; and Gren- 
 ville j\i., who lias been connected with the Phceni.x; 
 Life Insurance Co. for thirty years. 
 
 William Hudson (2j, our subject's father, was 
 born in 1803, and died in 1879. For some time he 
 was engaged in the printing business as a meniuer 
 of the firm of Hudson & Skinner, his office being 
 opposite Center Church, and later he and his brother 
 formed the partnership mentioned above. Fie was 
 a member of the Governor's Foot Guard at one time, 
 and as a citizen was highly esteemed. Fie married 
 Anna Miller, a native of Bloomfield, daughter of 
 Rev. William Fow.ler Milter, of that town, and they 
 had the following children : \Villiam Miller, our 
 subject; Anna Jane, who married F. W. Russell, 
 of Hartford, and died in 1895 ; and Regina ]Miller, 
 who married Leverett B. Englesby. 
 
 William M. Hudson spent his early years in 
 Hartford, and was one of the first students to com- 
 plete a course in the Public Fligh School of that city, 
 where he graduated in 1849. The same year he en- 
 tered Yale College, taking the academic course, and 
 graduating in 1853, and in 1855 he was graduated 
 from Jefferson ]\Iedical College, Philadelphia. He 
 then studied for two years in Paris, and in 1857 
 began practice in New York City. For some time 
 he was connected with the Northern Dispensary. 
 In 1862 he was appointed, by Surgeon-General 
 Hammond, acting assistant surgeon, U. S. A. ^^'hile 
 he was in the service his family removed to Hart- 
 ford, and after his return from the army he prac- 
 ticed there until 1869, when he was appointed fish 
 commissioner. This office he held for twenty-five 
 years, and from 1881 to 1891 he was a member of 
 the shell-fish commission. He is a stockholder in 
 the New Y'ork, New Haven & Hartford railroad, 
 and has been for twenty years stockholders' auditor 
 of same. He was the first treasurer of the Colonial 
 Club, and is now one of the vice-presidents of the 
 American School for the Deaf, and vice-president 
 of the Cercle Francais. For many years his influ- 
 ence was recognized as a potent factor in municipal 
 affairs. He is chairman of the executive commit- 
 tee of the Republican Club, and served two years 
 in the board of aldermen and five years in the com- 
 mon council, of which he was president for a time. 
 He was also a member of the City, County and State 
 j\Iedical Societies. 
 
 Dr. Hudson was married in Philadelphia ^lay 
 
174 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 4, 1858, to Miss Ellen Hieskell Bryan, and they have 
 three children: William M., Jr., resides in New 
 York City; Frances Bryan .married William M. 
 Storrs, and resides on Columbia street, Hartford ; 
 Regina Miller married Frederick P. Holt, of the 
 Hartford Trust Co., and they have one son, Lucius 
 Hudson Holt, who is a member of the class of 1902, 
 Yale University. 
 
 JAMES H. BREWSTER, manager at Hartford 
 of the United States branch of the Scottish Union 
 and National, and the Lion Fire Insurance Co., 
 of London, England, was born in Coventry, Tolland 
 Co., Conn., Dec. 24, 1845, ^-^d descends from one 
 of the most ancient of New England families, as will 
 be seen by the family tree at the close of this article. 
 
 James H. Brewster was educated in Coventry 
 and Hartford, and after leaving school clerked for 
 two years in Pease & Foster's store, in the latter 
 cit}^ In 1867 he entered the office of the Connecti- 
 cut Fire Insurance Co., of Hartford, and manifested 
 so great an aptness for the business that he was ad- 
 vanced rapidly, and in 1873 had reached the position 
 of assistant secretary. On Nov. i, 1880, when the 
 late Martin Bennett was Appointed to the position 
 now held by Mr. Brewster as manager of the United 
 States branch of the Scottish Union and National, 
 the latter became assistant to the former, and on the 
 death of Mr. Bennett succeeded, Jan. i, 1900, to the 
 management, the two gentlemen having been asso- 
 ciated together in the insurance business for up- 
 ward of thirty years. 
 
 The ten generations of the Brewster family in 
 America are traced to England as far back as 1560, 
 and may be given as follows : 
 
 (I) Elder William Brewster was born at Scroo- 
 by, England, about 1560, and the history of his life 
 in connection with the "Mayflower" and the Ply- 
 mouth Colony is too well known to need repetition 
 here. 
 
 (II) Jonathan Brewster, also born at Scrooby, 
 married Lucretia Oldham, resided for a time with 
 the Pilgrims in Holland, and in 1621 came with his 
 family in the "Fortune" to Plymouth, Massachu- 
 setts. 
 
 (III) Benjamin Brewster, born in Duxbury, 
 Mass., in 1633, moved to Pequot (now New Lon- 
 don), Conn., in 1648, and in February, 1659, mar- 
 ried Ann Dart. In 1668 he was chosen deputy to 
 the General Court, in 1673 was appointed lieutenant 
 in the New London county military forces, and was 
 later promoted captain. In 1686 he was again ap- 
 pointed deputy to the General Court. 
 
 (IV) William Brewster, born in March, 1669, 
 in Norwich, Conn., married Jan. 8, 1692, Elizabeth 
 Reed, who died March 11, 1692; his second wife 
 was named Patience. About 1701 he removed to 
 Lebanon, Conn., where he died on his faim Aug. 
 II, 1728. 
 
 (V) Peter Brewster, born in Lebanon Feb. 17, 
 1706, married Feb. 18, 1730, Mary, daughter of 
 
 Stephen and Elizabeth Lee; she was born Dec. 19, 
 1713, and died Sept. 17, 1784. About 1737 Peter 
 Brewster removed to Coventry, Conn., having pur- 
 chased of David Lee, Aug. 27, of the same year, a 
 farm in the North parish of that town. Peter 
 Brewster was a hatter by trade, and undoubtedly 
 also a farmer. On Nov. 30, 1786, when over sev- 
 enty-nine years of age, he married for his second 
 wife Miriam Barnard. He died in January, 1802, 
 and she in 181 8. 
 
 (VI) Jacob Brewster, born in Coventry, Conn., 
 in 1742, married Delia, daughter of Stephen and De- 
 liverance (Rust) Taylor. She was born May 23, 
 1750, and died Oct. 20, 1835. The death of Jacob' 
 took place March 31, 1823. 
 
 (VII) Shubael Brewster, born April 14, 1769, 
 married April 24, 1704, Asenath, daughter of Noah 
 and Submit (Cooke) Porter, for his first wife. She 
 was born July 8, 1766, and died May 21, 1814. For 
 his second wife Shubael married Cynthia Wing 
 Kingsbur}', who died March 27, 1856. He died 
 June 17, 1862. 
 
 (A^III) Henry Augustus Brewster, born in Cov- 
 entry, Conn., July 23, 1817, married Fannie S. 
 Badger Dec. 10, 1844. 
 
 (IX) James H. Brewster, whose name opens 
 this article, and whose nativity has been mentioned, 
 married in Brooklyn, N. Y., Mary E. Folts. 
 
 (X) James H. Brewster, Jr., born June 7, 1882, 
 is now ( 1900) a member of the Freshman class in 
 Yale University, New Haven. 
 
 PHILO W. NEWTON has been successfully 
 engaged in the drug business in Hartford for over 
 a quarter of a century, and in that and various con- 
 nections is well known in the city, of which he is a 
 native, born Dec. 10, 1849. He is a son of Philo 
 S. Newton, grandson of Daniel Newton, and great- 
 grandson of Solomon Newton. 
 
 Philo S. Newton was born in Shrewsbury, Mass., 
 and there engaged in the gunsmith's business until 
 1840, when he removed to Hartford, Conn., and em- 
 barked in the same line. Here he passed the re- 
 mainder of his daj^s. He married a Miss Pelton, 
 of Wethersfield, Conn., and they had a family of 
 two children : Anna C, Mrs. Hawley, of Hartford ; 
 and Philo W., whose name introduces these lines. 
 
 Philo W. Newton was reared and educated in the 
 city of his birth, attending the public schools during 
 his boyhood, and in 1866 took up the vocation in 
 which he has since been engaged, being with Wood- 
 ruff & Curtiss, at the corner of Charter Oak and 
 Main streets, until 1868. In that year he entered 
 the employ of E. S. Sykes & Co., the "Allyn House" 
 drug store, corner of Asylum and Trumbull streets, 
 with whom in 1872 he entered into partnership, the 
 firm becoming Sykes & Newton. This partnership 
 ended in 1885, since when Mr. Newton has con- 
 ducted the business alone, enjoying a profitable 
 patronage. He has, by strict attention to the wants 
 of his customers, courtesy and reliability, gained an 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lib 
 
 enviable reputation, and his success has been well 
 deserved, having been won by hard work and con- 
 stant devotion to the demands of his business. Mr. 
 Newton is a member of the City, State and Amer- 
 ican Pharmaceutical Associations, is a member of 
 the Hartford Business Men's Asociation, and is 
 also well known in social organizations, being a 
 member of Lafayette Lodge, No. loo, A. F. & A. 
 I\L, of which he is now a past master; of Wash- 
 ington Commandery, Knights Templar, of which 
 he is past commander; and of Sphinx Temple, 
 Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. For many years he 
 was a member of the C. N. G., serving for eleven 
 years as hospital steward of the First Regiment, 
 and he is a member of the Hartford City Veteran 
 Guard. 
 
 Mr. Newton was married in 1890, in Worcester, 
 JSIass., to Mrs. Angelia (Holden) Thompson, a na- 
 tive of Worcester, Massachusetts. 
 
 CHARLES EDWARD HUNGERFORD, fore- 
 man in the case department of the E. Ingraham 
 Co.'s works in Bristol, is a native of that city, born 
 Aug. 4, 1845. 
 
 The Hungerfords are of English origin, and 
 trace their ancestry back to Sir Thomas Hun- 
 gerford, who was in 1377 the first regular Speaker 
 of the House of Commons. He died in 1398. 
 James Smithson was a son of Hugh Smithson, the 
 first Duke of Northumberland, and his mother was 
 J\larv Hungerford. He never married, and wiKed 
 all his property to his nephew, Henry Hugerford, 
 if he had issue, "either legitimate or illegitimate." 
 Otherwise it was to goto the LTnited States, to found 
 an institution for the diftusion of knowledge, to be 
 called the Smithsonian Listitution. Hence the ori- 
 gin of the famous institution located in Washington, 
 D. C. The amount given was over $500,000. In 
 England there are two almshouses, existing at the 
 present time, which were endowed and founded by 
 the Hungerfords before 1450. 
 
 (I) Thomas Hungerford, the first of the family 
 in the New World, doubtless came to this country as 
 a mariner. In 1639 he owned a three-cornered lot 
 of an acre, with a house thereon, in Hartford, Conn. 
 In 1 65 1 he moved to Pequot, now New London, 
 Conn,, and shortly afterward cleared the land where 
 the fort now stands. He died in 1663, leaving 
 three children: two by his first wife — Thomas, aged 
 about fifteen years ; Sarah, nine years ; and Hannah, 
 born ;\Iay i, 1659. 
 
 (II) Thomas Hungerford had children as fol- 
 lows : Thomas, John, Green, Elizabeth, Susanna, 
 Sarah and Mary. He died between Jan. 11 and 
 Feb. 5, 1713-14, aged sixty-five or sixty-six years. 
 
 (III) Thomas Hungerford, of Haddam, Conn., 
 married Elizabeth Smith, and they had children: 
 Hannah, Thomas, Benjamin, Elizabeth, John, David 
 and Samuel. 
 
 (IV) Capt. John Hungerford, born March 4, 
 171 8, was married Dec. 27, 1739, to Deborah Hun- 
 
 gerford, daughter of j(jhn Hungerford. She died 
 before March 6, 1745, as on that date he married 
 Lucy, his second wife, who died Feb. 10, 1798, aged 
 seventy-seven years. By the first union there were 
 two children : Levi and Thomas. To the second 
 marriage were born: Oliver, Uriah, Amasa, Deb- 
 orah, John, Lucy, Elizabeth, Huldah and L)-dia. 
 Capt. liugerford was (juite prominent in military 
 affairs. In 1751-52 he moved to Farmingtun, and 
 in May, 1754, was appointed, by the Assembly, en- 
 sign in the Sixth Company, or "train-band," of that 
 town. In May, 1757, he was appointed lieutenant of 
 the "train-band" in the parish of New Cambridge, 
 now Bristol (formerly in the town of Farmington), 
 and in May, 1758, the Assembly appointed him cap- 
 tain of the same. The same month the Assembly 
 appointed him captain in the army, in the First 
 Regiment. He died in Southington Dec. 24, 1787, 
 and his remains lie in the old cemetery at Plain- 
 ville, Hartford county. The epitaph on his grave- 
 stone is as follows : 
 
 Behold and see as you pass by, 
 As you are now, so once was I, 
 As I am now, so you must be, 
 Prepare lor death and follow me. 
 
 {Y) Thomas Hungerford, born July 19, 1742, 
 died in 1810. Fle served as a captain in the Revo- 
 lutionary war. On Oct. 29, 1764, he married (first) 
 Naomy Moody, born in 1746, who died in 1769. 
 His second wife was Elizabeth ^Mathews, who died 
 in February, 1819. The children born to the first 
 marriage were Chloe, Sabra and Zenos. To the sec- 
 ond union came : Cynthia, one that died in infancy, 
 Street, Sylvia, Evits, Elavil, Levinah, Alma, Street, 
 Sheldon and Naomi. 
 
 (VI) Evits Hungerford, grandfather of Charles 
 E., was born in the town of Bristol, Conn., Oct. 
 29, 1777, and was a lifelong farmer in that locality. 
 He was also a blacksmith, and worked at the trade 
 for years. In politics he was an ardent Democrat, in 
 religious faith a consistent Methodist, and the first 
 piece of timber taken from his land was used in the 
 building- of the Methodist church in Bristol. He 
 was a charter member of Franklin Lodge, F. & A. 
 M. On Sept. 23, 1810, he married Annah Peck, of 
 Burlington. Conn., born Sept. 14, 1789, and chil- 
 dren as follows were born to them : Leander G. 
 (a sketch of whom follows), \\'illiam Ellis, Rev. 
 Charles Lyman (he died in 1845, i''' Brookh^n, where 
 he was a ]\Iethodist preacher), Louisa Amy, and 
 Caroline Sally. The father of these died Sept. 17, 
 1867, the mother June 20, 1881. 
 
 (VII) Leander Grandison Hungerford, father 
 of Charles E., was born July 12, 181 1, in the town 
 of Bristol, Conn., and died there Dec. 2, 1853. He 
 was a general "trucker," dealt in wood, and also 
 during a part of his life was engaged in farming, 
 and became quite well-to-do. He was an Old-line 
 Whig, and an active member of the ^Methodist 
 Church. On April 13, 1836, Leander G. Hungerford 
 
176 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was married to Jennett Jones, of Bristol, and they 
 liad torn- children: (ij Sarah, born Dec. 3, 1837, 
 married (tirstj Lyman Webster, of Harwinton, 
 Conn., and (seconaj Wallace Blakeslee, of Bristol, 
 Conn.; she now lives in Hartford. (2J William 
 Ellis, born in 1839, died in 1841. (3) Chaides E. 
 is our subject. (^4) Henry Wells, born May 20, 
 1847, a sketch ot whom appears elsewhere. The 
 mother of these died Oct. 7, 1848, and on Feb. 10, 
 1849, the father married Jennett Andros, who was 
 born in Farmington, Conn., July 9, 1817, and died 
 in 1891, the mother of one child, Annah J., born 
 May 13, 1852, who was married May 13, 1868, and 
 died April 18, 1884, in ^tlichigan. 
 
 Charles E. Hungerford, the subject proper of 
 these lines, received a common-school education, and 
 at the age of fifteen commenced working on his 
 grandfatUer's farm, where he remained until he was 
 seventeen years of age ; then for ten years found 
 emplo)'ment on various farms in the neighborhood 
 of Bristol, after which, in 1872, he entered the em- 
 ploy of the E. Ingraham Co., for some eighteen 
 months working in various departments ; was engi- 
 neer for eleven years, after which he was appointed 
 to his present position, that of foreman of the block- 
 ing up or sawing division of the case department 
 in the works, having under him about twenty-five 
 hands. 
 
 On May 15, 1870, Charles E. Hungerford was 
 married to Ida Adaliza Stone, born April 14, 1849, 
 in Bristol, Conn., a daughter of Horace and Eme- 
 line (Bristol) Stone, and one son, Henry Edward, 
 was born to them Xov. 3, 1872; he graduated from 
 the Medical School of Yale University in 1898, and 
 is now practicing medicine in Waterbury, Conn. 
 On March 27, 1899, he married Shirley Serviss, 
 of Grass Lake, ^Michigan. 
 
 Mr. and ]Mrs. Charles E. Hungerford are mem- 
 bers of Prospect ^I. E. Church, and Mrs. Hunger- 
 ford is identified with the Ladies Aid Society. In 
 politics Mr. Hungerford is a Republican, and so- 
 cially is respected and esteemed by all who know 
 him. 
 
 HON. ALE.MBERT O. CROSBY, now chief 
 manager of the Crosby JNIanufacturing Co., of East 
 Glastonbury, makers of woolen goods, is one of the 
 leading citizens and prominent men of Glastonbur}', 
 and is also well known and influential throughout 
 the State. 
 
 Mr. Crosby is descended on both sides from 
 among the earlier emigrants to come to New Eng- 
 land. Simon Crosby, the founder of the Crosbys in 
 the United States, JDom in 1609, in England, came 
 to America when twenty-six years of age, in the 
 "Susan and Ellyn," with his wife, Ann, and their 
 young son Thomas. Simon became a freeman in 
 Cambridge, ]\Iass., in 1636. His death occurred in 
 1639. 
 
 From this emigrant ancestor our subject is a de- 
 scendant in the ninth generation, his line being 
 
 through Thomas, Simon (2), Samuel, Increase, 
 Capt. Benjamin, Benjamin (2) and Edwin Crosby. 
 
 Edwin Crosby, the father of our subject, was 
 born in Ellington, Conn., in 1816, and was left an 
 orphan at the tender age of two and a half years. 
 Tie made his home with an uncle upon a farm in 
 Ellington until fourteen years of age, during which 
 time he attended school only a few short months 
 in the winter, but he was a very studious boy, and 
 much of his education was obtained by reading in 
 the evenings after his day's work was done. At 
 the age of fourteen he left the home of his uncle to 
 make his own way in the world, and went to Rock- 
 ville, where he was lemployed in the dye department 
 of the woolen mills there for some time. He then 
 came to Glastonbury, where he was employed in the 
 Eagle Mills. Later on, in connection with Sereno 
 Hubbard, he purchased mill property in East Glas- 
 tonbur}-, and they were engaged together in the 
 manufacture of cotton and woolen goods until the 
 death of Mr. Hubbard. Thereafter, associated with, 
 his son, Lincoln E. Crosby, Mr. Crosby continued 
 in active business until 1884, when he was succeeded 
 bv his sons Alembert O. and Lincoln E. In the 
 meantime the senior Crosby had come into possession 
 of the Eagle Mills, and built another. Lincoln E. 
 Crosby, owing to poor health, was obliged to re- 
 tire in 1888. The business in 1881 passed into the 
 hands of a joint-stock company, and has since been 
 so operated. 
 
 Edwin Crosby, after a gradual decline of some 
 ten years, died April 12, 1888, and was buried in 
 the East Glastonbury cemetery. He was a man of 
 medium height and weight ; was a faithful member 
 of the East Glastonbury Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, was very active in all its affairs, and was 
 a large contributor to its support. He served as 
 class -leader and superintendent of the Sunday- 
 school for a number of years, and whether the 
 weather was good or bad he was always in his- 
 pew on the Sabbath day. He was very domestic 
 in his habits, and was a lover of home and family. 
 As a business man he was very thorough in his un- 
 dertakings, was frank and open, and kind to his 
 employes, many of whom had been in his employ 
 for many years, and made a great effort to please 
 him. He was a man of strict integrity, was a con- 
 stant reader, and broad-minded and liberal in his 
 views. He was a stanch supporter first of the Whig" 
 and later of the Republican party, and represented 
 Glastonbury in the State Legislature. 
 
 Edwin Crosby married (first) Altruda Andrews, 
 a native of Glastonbury, and a daughter of David 
 and Honorra (Sparks) Andrews. She died Dec. 
 5, 1843, leaving two children: (i) Lincoln E., 
 born April 10, 1841, died Aug. 25, 1890. He mar- 
 ried Sarah Strong, and they had lour children — • 
 Edwin Hugh, who married Ethel Clark, and is en- 
 gaged in the newspaper business in Glastonbury; 
 Grace ; Eva A. ; and Florence. (2) Adario E., born 
 July 4, 1843, died Feb. 22, 1894. He married Mary 
 Cory, and they had one daughter, Cora, now the- 
 

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 ^^Kl'-fjJL-'JtS^'iS. *■ .^/j.'d.-t-i^tii 
 
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 177 
 
 wife of Ernest We'bb, of liolyoke, Mass. Edwin 
 Crosby married (second) Harriet Andrews, a sister 
 of his first wife. She was born Oct. 7, 1826, and 
 died Jan. 3, 1899. She was a good Christian mother, 
 and a kind and loving neighbor. To the second 
 union were born three children : ( i ) William A. 
 married Alice I. Rodda, and lives in Glastonbury. 
 Tliey had one child, Albert W., now a dentist of 
 Xew London, Conn. (2) Alembert O., our subject, 
 is next in the order of birth. (3J Ada married, Nov. 
 14. 1899, 'David Gordon, a prominent manufacturer 
 of Hazardville, Conn., and is a resident of Hazard- 
 ville, Conn. She cared for her mother in her de- 
 clining years. 
 
 Alembert O. Crosby, our subject proper, was 
 born April 24, 1848, and was educated in the dis- 
 trict scliools of Glaston'bur}' and at Wilbraham 
 Academy, Wilbraham, Mass., completing the course 
 there in 1866. As his father had determined his 
 knowledge of cloth manufacturing should be secured 
 bv practical experience he went to Windsor, Conn., 
 after leaving school, and entered William W. Bil- 
 lings' factory, where he was employed about three 
 years. Lat-er he worked in factories at Meriden, 
 \\'aterbury and Rockville, and then returned to 
 East Glastonbury, but ill health obliged him to 
 give up work for a few years. In 1876 he entered 
 his father's mill, where he was employed as boss 
 weaver, engineer and machinist until 1880, when he 
 became superintendent, and held that position until 
 1888, in addition to being one of the proprietors 
 from 1881. In 1888 he quit mill \york, and has 
 since served as head manager of the company. The 
 Crosby Mills were built in 1840, by the Roaring 
 Brook Manufacturing- Co., for making cotton and 
 woolen goods, and William C. Sparks was agent 
 until its dissolution, in 18^7, when the mill passed 
 into the hands of Edwin Crosby and Sereno Hub- 
 bard, and was operated by them during the period 
 of the Civil war with great profit, having been con- 
 siderably enlarged. After the death of Mr. Hub- 
 bard it passed to E. Crosbv & Sons, now the Crosby 
 ^Manufacturing Co. Steam power has been put in, 
 as well as the latest and best machiner}^, and a very 
 excellent quality of goods is made. The place has 
 been greatly improved by the enterprise and putlic 
 spirit of its proprietors. They employ a large num- 
 ber of men, and have done much to promote the 
 prosperity of the village. In addition to his busi- 
 ness propertv our subject owns a number of dwell- 
 ing houses in East Glastonbury. 
 
 In 1876 Mr. Crosby was united in marriage 
 with Miss Abbie M. Bunce, a native of South Man- 
 chester, and a daughter of Charles and Aurelia 
 ( Strickland ) Bunce. Thev had two children : 
 Azella, who was bom in 1879, and died Dec. 20, 
 t886; and Lysle, who was born in 1880, and died 
 Dec. 28, 1886. 
 
 As a Republican Mr. Crosby has taken an active 
 
 and prominent part in political affairs; in 1891 he 
 
 was a representative to the State Legislature, and 
 
 served on the Fishery committee; and in 1895 was 
 
 12 
 
 a member of the Senate, and served on the Military 
 and Forfeited Rights committees. While he was 
 serving as Senator the much discussed East Hart- 
 ford Bridge Bill was passed, and the location of the 
 bridge was in his district. There was much opposi- 
 tion to the bill, and as he favored it, and was ap- 
 pointed one of the commissioners, he made a num- 
 ber of enemies at that lime, but time proved the 
 good results of his attitude, and in 1899 he was 
 chosen bridge commissioner by his town (Glaston- 
 bury) by a unanimous vote. His advice is often 
 sought on matters of public inportance, and he takes 
 an active part in furthering any enterprises for the 
 good of his town and community. He is a mem- 
 ber of the East Glastonbury Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, a leader and large supporter of the same. 
 He is a good business man, of sound judgment and 
 strict integrity, is plain and outspoken, and quite 
 popular in the community where he has so long made 
 his home. 
 
 On his mother's side our subject is a descendant 
 of John Andrews, one of the earl}- settlers of what 
 is now Hartford count}'. He and his wife were 
 born (supposedly) in the County of Essex, Eng- 
 land. Mr. Andrews was made a freeman in Hart- 
 ford in 1658; he was one of the eighty-four pro- 
 prietors of Farmington, Conn., in 1672. He was 
 a farmer by occupation, and a plain though intel- 
 ligent gentleman. He and his wife became members 
 ot the Congregational Church in 1654. He died in 
 1681, and his widow in 1694. From this emigrant 
 ancestor our subject's line of descent is through 
 John, Stephen, Charles, David, David (2) and Har- 
 riet (Andrews) Crosby. 
 
 GEX. ALEXANDER HARBISOX, mayor of 
 the city of Hartford, stands prominent among the 
 best known politicians and business men of the State 
 of Connecticut. He is a native of the North of Ire- 
 land, born I\Iarch 31, 1842, in County Armagh. 
 
 Robert Harbison, father of our subject, also of 
 County Armagh nativity, was a free land holder, 
 and followed farming until coming to this country, 
 together with his wife and seven children, and 
 settling in Hartford Aug. 26, 1849. Here he died 
 exactly three years later — Aug. 26, 1852 — at the 
 age of fifty-four j-ears. He married !Mary Ander- 
 ♦ son, of the same locality he himself came from, and 
 they had a family of eight children, seven of whom 
 reached maturity, six yet living : Jane, immarried ; 
 Hugh, who for many years was secretary and treas- 
 urer of Colt's Armory, up to 1894, when he re- 
 signed, and is now living retired ; William, who died 
 in the South, where he was a physician of prom- 
 inence, actively engaged in the practice of his pro- 
 fession for many years; John P., president of the 
 Hartford Gas Co., with which he has been connected 
 some forty years, having risen from the office of 
 clerk ; Alexander ; Lizzie, who married Thomas 
 Evans, secretary of the Hartford Gas Co. ; and 
 Robert, an attoi'nej- at law in Boston, and manager 
 for Massachusetts of the legal business of the Trav- 
 
178 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL 'RECORD. 
 
 ■elers Insurance Co., of Hartford. The parents of 
 this family were members of the Presbyterian 
 Church. I'he mother died in 1885, at the age of 
 seventy. 
 
 Alexander Harbison, ovir subject, came to this 
 •country when a boy, and has been a resident of Hart- 
 ford for half a century. He received his education 
 in the common schools and in the Hartford Public 
 High School, then took a jjosition with A. L. Sisson, 
 proprietor of the Union Market, and remained with 
 him up to 1 861, in that year resigning in order to 
 ■establish the grocery firm of Harbison Brothers, his 
 brother Hugh becoming his partner. This business 
 they successfully conducted for twenty years, or 
 until 1 88 1, when, owing to the serious mjuries our 
 subject received through a runaway horse, they 
 sold out the business, at that time the largest in the 
 citv, giving employment to ten clerks, and tor a num- 
 ber of years doing a trade of $150,000 per annum. 
 After recovery from his accident, our subject for 
 three years engaged extensively in real-estate and 
 building transactions. In 1886 he took the general 
 .agency, for the State of Connecticut, of the New 
 \ ork Life Insurance Co., which he has since con- 
 ducted, doing a large business, and having a num- 
 ber of agents in different parts of the State. 
 
 Gen. Harbison's political career has been a re- 
 markable one. For the past thirtj'-five years he 
 has taken an active part in the National campaigns, 
 and is thoroughly posted on all the great issues of 
 the day. In social lines he has met all the Presidents 
 from Lincoln down to the present time, was a close 
 friend of Garfield, and well acquainted with the 
 •others. As regards municipal offices, he was 
 •elected alderman in 1870, and served until 1874, 
 -during the last two years being president and acting 
 mayor. Later he served in the common council 
 four years, and' for two years was its president; 
 was ten years on the State central committee ; was 
 candidate for mayor in 1876, during the celebrated 
 State contest, in which there were two other candi- 
 dates — Judge Hammersly and Joseph H. Sprague ; 
 and in 1896 was again candidate for mayor. In 1878 
 he was candidate for senator against Charles M. 
 Pond, and was defeated by but a small majority, 
 after a contest lasting three days reducing the ma- 
 jority of Mr. Pond some 1,500 votes. In 1900 he 
 was nominated for mayor, against Hon. William' 
 Waldo Hyde, and was elected by a majority of about 
 3,500. carrying ever}^ ward in the city. His admin- 
 istration bids fair to be one of the most satisfactory, 
 to all parties, of any mayor who has been elected to 
 the office for many years. He gives more time to 
 the office than did any of his predecessors, and looks 
 -carefully after the interests of the city. He is ac- 
 'Cessible at all times, to ever}' one, regardless of 
 :station, and his frank, courteous and affable manner 
 makes him a universal favorite. 
 
 Gen. Harbison has taken a great interest in Na- 
 tional Guard matters, having joined the Hartford 
 Citv Guard in i860, and was an active member up to 
 1870, since which time he has been a member of the 
 
 veteran corps. He was appointed quartermaster- 
 general of tile State, on the staff of Gov. Bigelow, 
 and during his acUmnistration in this office purchaseci 
 the camp ground at Niantic. He also purchased 
 the first State Armory, having drafted the bill for 
 both of these appropriations, and was instrumental 
 in securing its passage through the Legislature. 
 The General is also a member of the Putnam Pha- 
 lanx, and has for a number of years been paymaster 
 on the staff, being now among the oldest members, 
 in point of service, of that organization. 
 
 Our subject has been connected with the turf for 
 a number of years, being secretary of Charter Oak 
 Park for five years, and president six years. This 
 is one of the most celebrated tracks in the New Eng- 
 land States, if not in the country. From the judge's 
 stand here for twelve years he started the horses at 
 the fall meetings, and he has acted as judge and 
 starter at the different National circuit meetings, also 
 upon the tracks of the different associations from 
 Maine to Kentucky, and moreover has started the 
 major part of all the great races that have been 
 trotted in the United States for the past twenty 
 years. He is well known in this capacity, has at- 
 tended four congresses, and drafted a large portion 
 of the rules governing the racing track, which rules 
 are now being used. 
 
 Socially Gen. Harbison is a member of St. John's 
 Lodge, F. & A. M. ; Pythagoras Chapter; and Wol- 
 cott Council; and has been also member for over 
 twenty years of Connecticut Lodge, I. O. O. F. ; and 
 of Hartford Lodge of Elks, of which he is past ex- 
 alted ruler and now district deputy of the State of 
 Connecticut. He was a charter member of AVan- 
 gunk Tribe, Order of Red Men, and held all the 
 offices, including that of sachem of the tribe; and 
 is a charter member of Cutler Lodge, K. of P. 
 Highly respected by all in both business and social 
 affairs. Mayor Llai'bison is a man of whom the 
 citizens of Hartford may trulj' feel proud. 
 
 HON. EDWARD BUTLER DUNBAR, of 
 Bristol, is a native of that borough, born Nov. i, 
 1842, and is the head of the extensive factory con- 
 ducted by Dunbar Brothers. He descends from 
 one of the oldest Scotch-American families in New 
 England, a full recountal of whose line of descent 
 will be made at the close of this biography, in or- 
 der that the living members of the family may 
 have precedence, or, at least, the living and those 
 but recently deceased. 
 
 Edward Lucius Dunb.vr, father of Edward 
 Butler Dunbar, was born April 23, 1815, in Spring- 
 ville, Penn., of Connecticut parents, and shortly 
 after birth was brought by them to their native 
 State, in which he grew to manhood, and May 3, 
 1840, married J\Iiss Julia Warner, a daughter of 
 Joel and Lucinda Warner, and a native of Farm- 
 ington. To this marriage were born six children, 
 all of whom are still living, viz. : Winthrop W., 
 Edward B., William A., Mrs. W. W. Thorpe, Mrs. 
 L. A. Sanford, and Mrs. George W. Mitchell. 
 
^ x^ 
 
 OOC- 
 
 'cLr/lul (M. MAmJt/I^ ^Zli^^ 
 
 Q)..C^M.J<^\ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 179 
 
 Edward L. Dunbar carl\- engaged in the man- 
 ufacture of clock springs and clock trim- 
 mings, after settling at Bristol, Conn. He was a 
 man of strict integrity, as well as of great public 
 .spirit and enterprise, erected several dwellings, and 
 while connected with the late Wallace Barnes in 
 the manufacture of hoop-skirts and crinoline steel, 
 in 1858, erected the present town hall, which for 
 many years went under the name of Crinoline Hall. 
 It was .through his influence that, in 1853, by a 
 subscription on the part of the business men, a 
 hand fire-engine was secured, and this was the nu- 
 cletis of the present efficient fire department. In 
 politics Mr. Dunbar was a stanch Democrat, rep- 
 resenting Bristol in the Lower House of the Gen- 
 eral Assembly in 1862, and died an honored and 
 respected man, Aug. 7, 1872, his wife surviving 
 him until May 29, 1886. The six children alluded 
 to above were born in the following order : Win- 
 throp Warner, Feb. 25, 1841 ; Edward Butler, the 
 subject; William Augustus, April 5, 1844; Alice, 
 March 28, 1847, married to W. W. Thorpe ; Julia, 
 April 18, 1849, married to Leverett A. Sanford, of 
 Bristol, July 3, 1878; and Eva, Nov. 4, 1852, mar- 
 ried to George W. Mitchell, of Bristol. 
 
 Edward Butler Dunb.vr, whose name opens 
 this series of biographies as applied to the Dunbar 
 family, after passing through the common schools 
 of Bristol, Conn., took a further course of instruc- 
 tion in the Williston Seminary, at Easthampton, 
 Mass., and in the spring of i860, before reaching 
 the age of eighteen years, left for New York City, 
 to assist the late William F. Tompkins in the man- 
 agement of the hoop-skirt factory of Dunbar & 
 Barnes, who employed from fiftv to seventy-five 
 hands in that branch of their business. Two ye^s 
 later, on the retirement of Mr. Tompkins to en- 
 .gage in other enterprises, young Dunbar was given 
 entire charge of the vast concern, and conducted 
 it with admirable discretion for about three years, 
 when fickle fashion ignored crinoline or hoop- 
 skirts, and the business was abandoned. After 
 having thus passed five years in New York, Mr. 
 Dunbar returned to Bristol, and has here since been 
 engaged in the manufacture of clock and other 
 small springs, as a member of the firm of Dunbar 
 Brothers. The business was originated by the fa- 
 ther of the present members of the firm, the pro- 
 cess being primitive, the hands numbering half a 
 •dozen, and the product being correspondingly lim- 
 ited. By the introduction of machinery, the firm 
 later turned out from 5,000 to 8,000 clock Springs 
 per day ; but still another change took place, as 
 clock-makers revolutionized their methods of con- 
 struction, and Dunbar Brothers made a similar 
 move, and now devote their attention to the pro- 
 duction of small springs onlv, of which they turn 
 out millions annually. 
 
 Politicalhr Mr. Dunbar is a Democrat, and for 
 many years has been a very heart}" worker for his 
 i">arty's interests, and prominent in its councils. He 
 has always held a supreme interest in public edu- 
 
 cation, and from the establishment of the high 
 school in Bristol has been chairman of its co n- 
 mittee, and takes great pride in it as the best school 
 in the State. He has held many other positions 
 of public trust, and in all cases has executed their 
 duties scrupulousl}-, and to the ur.disguised satis- 
 faction of liis fellow citizens. In 1809 and 1881 
 he represented Bristol in the State Eegislature, 
 and was elected State senator in 18S5, Irom the 
 Fourth district, and re-elected in 1887, thus serv- 
 ing two consecutive terms, or until 1889. Having 
 been a workingman himself, he still possesses a 
 warm sympathy for the laboring classes, and while 
 in the Senate was one of the most earnest advo- 
 cates of the weekl}- payment law, and of the child 
 labor law, in favor of both of vvhich he made for- 
 cible and eloquent speeches. In 1890 he was men- 
 tioned, and not infrequently, as a most desirable 
 candidate for Congress, but he most peremptorily 
 declined to permit his name to be used in that con- 
 nection. j\lr. Dunbar has been registrar of elec- 
 tions from the First district for twenty-six years 
 consecutively. He is president of the board of fire 
 commissioners of Bristol, and has been for the 
 past twenty years; when he was chairman the de- 
 partment had onl}- hand machines, but it now has 
 two steam engines. In 1891, when the Free Pub- 
 lic Library was first proposed, Air. Dunbar, with 
 others, at once took hold of the scheme, to place it 
 on a firm foundation, and was chosen president of 
 the organization, which position he still retains. 
 
 3ilr. Dunbar has also devoted a share of his 
 time to financial affairs, having been a director of 
 the Bristol National Bank since its foundation in 
 1875, lie ^"fl ^V. H. Nettleton being the only sur- 
 vivmg members of the original board ; he is like- 
 wise a vice-president and director in the Bristol 
 Savings Bank, and has served in these capacities 
 since 1889. He is president of the Bristol Board 
 of Trade, through the influence of which several 
 factories have been located in the borough. Mr. 
 Dunbar is a member of ihe Congregational Church, 
 and has served on the Society's committee six 
 years — four as chairman. For four years, be- 
 tween 1886 and 1890, he was president of the .Bris- 
 tol Young ]\Ien's Christian Association, and ear- 
 nestly worked for the benefit of the organization 
 in general, and the welfare of the younger mem- 
 bers especially : he is also a member of Reliance 
 Council, No. 753, Royal Arcanum. 
 
 The marriage of Hon. Edward Butler Dunbar 
 took place Dec. 23, 1875, to Miss Alice Giddings, 
 who w-as born July 8, 1854, and is a daughter of 
 Watson Giddings, the well-known carriage-maker 
 of Bristol. Of the three children that crowned 
 this marriage, the eldest, Mamie Eva, born Dec. 
 17. 1877. flied Jan. 18. 1881 : Alarguerite Louise, 
 born June 28, 1880, was graduated with honors 
 from "the Bristol high school in 1898, left Hadem 
 Hall. V.^indsor, in 1899. and is now attending the 
 Gardner, a special school for young ladies, in New 
 York: Edward Giddings, born Alay 20, 1889, is 
 
180 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 attending the Bristol schools for the present. Mr. 
 Dunbar and his family, it is needless to add, are 
 among the most honored of the residents of Bris- 
 tol. They make their home in a dwelling erected 
 more than half a century ago by Chauncey Jerome, 
 the famous clockmaker. Nine years since Mr. 
 Dunbar remodeled this dwelling, added to it every 
 modern improvement, and converted it into one of 
 the most imposing and charming mansions in Con- 
 necticut, as well as one of the most refined and 
 felicitous of homes. 
 
 WiNTHKOP W-\RNER DcNR.VR, the elder bro- 
 ther of Hon. Edward B. Dunbar, whose biography, 
 for business reasons, is given the precedence, was 
 born in Bristol Feb. 25, 1841. Until seventeen 
 years of age he attended the schools of his bor- 
 ough, and then entered his father's factory. After 
 the death of the venerated parent he united with 
 his brothers, Edward B. and William A., in found- 
 ing the firm of Dunbar Brothers, mention of which 
 has already been made in full. 
 
 On May 3, 1862, Mr. Dunbar was happily 
 united in marriage with Miss Sarah Anna Wheeler, 
 born June 3, 1840, to Oliver Lepenwell and Lydia 
 Almira (Button) Wheeler, natives of Griswold, 
 Conn. To this marriage were born : Charles Ed- 
 ward, of whom an extended sketch will be given 
 later on; Alice May, born April 13, 1868, who is 
 married to Carl Virgil Mason, a dealer in real es- 
 tate ; Beatrice Estelle, born June 22, 1874, died 
 Aug. 29, of the same year. In politics ^^'inthrop 
 W. Dunbar is decidedly Democratic in his pro- 
 clivities, but has always rejected the many oppor- 
 tunities ■ for holding public office that have been 
 tendered him. In his fraternal relations he is a 
 member of Stephen Terry Lodge, No. 59, I. O. O. 
 F., of Bristol ; a member of E. L. Dunbar Encamp- 
 ment, No. 32, I. O. O. F. ; also of the Royal Ar- 
 canum :. and religiouslv he and his wife are devout 
 members of the Congregational Church. 
 
 Carl Virgil Mason was born Nov. 23, 1863, in 
 Unionville, Conn., a son of Charles L. and Frances 
 
 E. (Goodwin) Mason, the former of whom de- 
 scended from Capt. John Mason, deputy governor 
 of Connecticut, who, with his men, exterminated 
 the Pequot Indians near Norwich. Carl V. Mason 
 was educated in Unionville, and in 1883 came to 
 Bristol and engaged in the real-estate business, 
 which he still conducts at No. 5 North Main 
 sti'eet. His marriage with Alice Ma)' Dunbar took 
 place May 3. 1888, and to this union have been 
 born: Florence Frances, Julv 14. i88q, and 'Anna 
 Dunbar, June 11, 1893. In politics Mr. Mason is 
 a Republican, and fraternally is a member of Pe- 
 nuabuck Lodge, No. 48, I. O. O. F. ; E. L. Dunbar 
 Encampment, No. 32 : Franklin Lodge, No. 56, 
 
 F. & A. yi. : Pequabuck Chapter, No. 34, R. A. 
 M. : Doric Council. No. 24, of New Britain : Ethan 
 T:odge, No. o, K. of P., of Bristol; and Sphinx 
 Temole, of Hfirtford. 
 
 Charles Edwarj) Dunbar, son of Winthrop 
 Warner and Sarah Anna (Wheeler) Dunbar, was 
 
 born in Bristol Nov. 18, 1865, and was educated 
 in the common schools there, later attending. Wil- 
 liston Seminary, Easthampton, Mass., and in 1887 
 he was graduated from Hannum's Business Col- 
 lege, at Hartford. He was then appointed to his 
 present position of superintendent. 
 
 On July 2, 1889, Charles E. Dunbar married 
 Miss Elizabeth Bulkley Nott, a native of Bristol, 
 and a daughter of William and Mary (Smith) 
 Nott, and on July 26, 1891, there was born to this 
 marriage Winthrop William Dunbar. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Dunbar are members of the Congregational 
 Church, in the faith of which they are rearing 
 their son. Fraternally Charles E. Dunbar is a 
 member of Ethan Lodge, No. 9, and of Hull Co. 
 L^niformed Rank, No. 5, Knights of Pythias, both 
 of Bristol ; he is also a member of Stephen Terry 
 Lodge, No. 59, I. O. O. F., of the same borough ; 
 and of D. O .K. K., Hira Temple, No. 90, of New 
 Britain. In politics he is a Democrat, but is not 
 offensively partisan. 
 
 Hon. William A. Dunbar, the third child 
 born to Edward Lucius and Julia (Warner) Dun- 
 bar, and whose birth took place in Bristol April 5, 
 1844, received the ordinary common-school edu- 
 cation, and at sixteen years of age went to Water- 
 bury, where he served an apprenticeship at the 
 machinist's trade under Charles W. Johnson. Re- 
 turning to Bristol, he entered the employ of Dun- 
 bar & Barnes, with whom he remained until the 
 dissolution of the firm, in 1864. He then filled a 
 contract for making valise frames for Albert Ses- 
 sions, which occupied him about a year and a half, 
 after which he entered the employ of his father, 
 with whom he remained until the latter's death, in 
 1872. He and his brothers, Edward B. and Win- 
 throp W., then founded the firm, of Dunbar Bro- 
 thers, and in this firm he held a partnership until 
 1890, when ill health compelled him to withdraw, 
 since when he has not been actively engaged in. 
 any business. 
 
 Primarily Mr. Dunbar was in politics a Demo- 
 crat, and continued thus until 1896, when he cast 
 his vote with the Republicans, but in the meantime- 
 had done 3'eoman"s service for the Democracy, be- 
 ing chairman of the Democratic town committee 
 from 1876 to 1880; in 1879 he represented the 
 town of Bristol in the State Legislature for one 
 year ; has been assessor of the towi;, and a member 
 and clerk of the board of relief — with the excep- 
 tion of a few 3'ears — since 1877; from 1884 to 1895 
 he was deputy registrar of voters under his bro- 
 ther, Edward B. ; he was a member and chairman' 
 of the board of school visitors three years, from 
 1894 to 1896; from 1889 until 1901, except for a 
 break of two years, was district tax collector for 
 district No. i ; and has been chairman of the board 
 of borough assessors for the past two years. JXIr. 
 Dunbar has also served as chief engineer of the 
 fire department and as foreman of the Uncas en- 
 gine companv ; he is an incorporator of the Bris- 
 tol Savings Bank ; was also an incorporator and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 181 
 
 was largely instrumental in promoting the con- 
 stiuction of the present admirable waterworks 
 system of the town, superintending the plant until 
 completed ; he is now a director and vice-president 
 of the water company ; and is public-spirited in 
 all things. 
 
 William A. Dunbar was united in marriage 
 <-)ct. 4, 1865, with Miss Josie Hooker Sharpless, 
 who was born Jan. 9, 1845, a daughter of Stephen 
 and Huldah Sharpless, of Rochester, N. Y. The 
 marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Dunbar has been blessed 
 with three children, born in the following order : 
 Nettie Louise, Aug. 16, 1866; Edward Louie, Nov. 
 I, 1869; and William Howard, May 23, 1875. Of 
 these, Nettie Louise was married Aug. 20, 1885, 
 to Dennis Andrew Upson, of Lmionville, Conn. ; 
 he is purchasing agent for the L^pson Nut Co., of 
 Cleveland, Ohio ; to this marriage have been born 
 two children — Hazel, April 14, 1887, and Doris 
 Adel, July 13, 1894. Edward Louie married Oct. 
 21, 1896, Miss Josie Adelaide Case, daughter of 
 Joel T. Case, of Bristol, and has one son — Joseph 
 Edward, born April i, 1898. He is mentioned 
 below. William Howard is a clerk in J. R. Mitch- 
 ell & Son's store in Bristol, and resides with his 
 parents. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias. 
 William A. Dunbar and wife are members of the 
 Congregational Church, and live in close accoid- 
 ance with its tenets and teachings. In 1888 Mr. 
 Dunbar erected his present fine residence on Main 
 street, and here he and his family enjoy the genial 
 society of a large and devoted circle of friends. 
 
 Edward Louie Dunbar, son of William A. Dun- 
 bar, attended the Bristol common schools until 
 eighteen years of age, after which he took a two- 
 3'ears commercial course in the Bristol high school. 
 He then passed a few months in the office of D. B. 
 Judd & Co., later becoming assistant bookkeeper 
 in the Bristol National Bank, and in a few years, 
 in 1888, was promoted to his present position of 
 bookkeeper. Mr. Dunbar also holds the agency of 
 four insurance companies, viz. : The Connecticut 
 Fire Lisurance Co., of Hartford ; the Firemen's 
 Fund Insurance Co., of San Francisco ; the In- 
 surance Co. of North America, of Philadelphia ; 
 and the Liverpool & London & Globe Insurance 
 Co., of Liverpool, England. He also represents 
 the ^tna Indemnity Co.. of Hartford. Frater- 
 nally Edward L. Dunbar is a member of Franklin 
 Lodge, No. 56, F. & A. M., of which he was senior 
 deacon one year. He is also chaplain of the P. ^^'. 
 L. S. Club, a social organization at Bristol. In 
 politics he is independent. 
 
 The family name of Dunbar, it is claimed, is 
 derived from that of the ancient Scottish city so 
 well known to history. In 1630 Robert Dunbar, 
 the first of the family to appear in America, was 
 
 liorn in Scotland, married Rose , and in 
 
 1655 settled in Hingham, Mass. It was the gen- 
 eral opinion that he brought monev enough with 
 him to begin life in the new country without em- 
 barrassment, as for vears there were but two men 
 
 in the place that paid a higher tax than he. It was 
 also the current belief that Robert Dunbar was a 
 descendant of George, Earl Dunbar, in the regu- 
 lar line. From a history given of one of the par- 
 ent stock, Dunbar of Grange Hill, it appears that 
 Ninian Dunbar was born in I575_, and it is proba- 
 ble, though not certain, that Robert was a son of 
 Ninian, as it was well known that Ninian, founder 
 of the Dunbar family of Grange Hill, had a son 
 whom he named Robert. Where Robert was mar- 
 ried, or what his wife's surname was, is not known. 
 He died Oct. 5, 1693, and his wife Nov. 10, 1700, 
 the parents of eight children, viz. : John, born 
 Dec. I, 1657; Mary, born Oct. 25, 1660 (married 
 Isaac Harris) ; Joseph, born March 13, 1662; 
 James, born June i, 1664 (married Jane Harris) ; 
 Robert, Jr., born Sept. 6, 1666; Peter, born Nov. 
 I, 1668; Joshua, born Oct. 6, 1670 (married Han- 
 nah Hatch Sept. 21, 1699) ; and Hannah — all born 
 in Hingham, Massachusetts. 
 
 John Dunbar, son of Robert, above mentioned, 
 married Mattithiah Aldridge July 4, 1679. This 
 lady, his first wife, was a daughter of George and 
 Catherine Aldridge, of Dorchester, Mass., and 
 mention is made by the town clerk that John Dun- 
 bar and family stopped in Hingham, }ilass.. May 
 16, 1697, whence they removed the same or the 
 following year to New Haven, Conn. Three chil- 
 dren were born to John and his first wife, viz. : 
 Susanna, Lydia and John. The second marriage 
 of John Dunbar took place July 24. 1700. to Eliza- 
 beth Beecher, of New Haven, and to this marriage 
 were born seven children, as follows: Elizabeth, 
 March 27, 1701, married March 12, 1730, to a Mr. 
 Schubert, a painter ; James and Joseph, June 28, 
 1703, both of whom died young; Joseph (2), Oct. 
 9, 1704; James, April 30, 1708; Lydia, Oct. i, 
 1714, married to Ebenezer Hull Aug. 31, i743» 
 and Ebenezer, born Nov. 9. 1718. After the death 
 of the father of these children his second wife, at 
 her decease, willed all her property to her own 
 offspring, and cut off altogether the children of 
 John Dunbar by his first marriage. 
 
 John Dunbar, son of John and Mattithiah Dun- 
 bar married Elizabeth Fenn June 14. 1716. She 
 was bom April 29, 1692. and was a daughter of 
 Edward and JMary (Thorpe) Fenn. who were mar- 
 ried Nov. 15. 1688. John Dunbar died May 13, 
 1746, and Airs. Dunbar died in 1751. the parents 
 of seven children, viz.: Mary, born Sept. 26. 1717; 
 Sarah, Feb. 7, 1719; Edward. April 9, 1722, mar- 
 ried Hannah Curtiss April 7. 1743; John, Sept. 
 28, 1724: Samuel, Dec. 18. 1726; Elizabeth. May 
 5. 1729; and Hannah, April 20, 1733, 
 
 John Dunbar, the son of John and Elizabeth 
 (Fenn) Dunbar, was born in "Wallingford, Conn., 
 and to his marriage with Temperance Hall, who 
 was born in the same town April 16. 1727, si.xteen 
 children were brought into the world, of whom 
 the names of fourteen are still on record, viz, : 
 IMiles; Moses, who married Phoebe Jerome ^lay 
 30, I7'")4: Diniah ; Joel: Jolm : Aaron: Joel (2); 
 
182 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Lucina, who married Thomas Welcher Painter ; 
 John (2j ; Charity; Ada, who died April 12, 1812; 
 Mollie; David and Jonathan, born May 26, 1770, 
 on which last-named date the mother passed away, 
 and her remains were interred beside those of her 
 husband at Plymputh ; he had been one of three 
 commissaries in Waterburv chosen to furnish sup- 
 plies to the Continental army. 
 
 Miles Dunbar, great-grandfather of Hon. Ed- 
 ward B. Dunbar, was born probably in Walling- 
 ford or Plymouth, but removed to Oblong, N. \ ., 
 prior to 1818, as he is known to have drawn a 
 pension in that State. He married May i, 1779, 
 Tryphose Butler, who was born in \\''aAerbu,r)-, 
 Conn., May 15, 1759, and was a daughter of Isaac 
 and Rebecca Butler. To Mr. and Mrs. Miles Dun- 
 bar were born eight children, viz. : Isaiah, Clar- 
 issa, John, Lucretia, Butler, Jenas, Calvin, and Miles, 
 Jr. Miles, the father, was a fife-major during the 
 Revolutionary war, having enlisted March 31, 
 1777, at \\ aterbury. Conn., and serving until dis- 
 charged March 30, 1780, in New York. He had 
 become overtaxed at the battle of Monmouth, and 
 on his way home was taken sick at Newton, his 
 expenses being paid by the State, which State, as 
 has been mentioned, also pensioned him in 1818. 
 After the war he studied law with Esquire Butler, 
 his brother-in-law, at Pl}-mouth, and followed that 
 vocation the remainder of his life. In 1776 he 
 joined the Congregational Church at Plymouth, 
 and died in that faith in 18 — . 
 
 Butler Dunbar, grandfather of Hon. Edward 
 Butler Dunbar, was born in Plymouth, Conn., Feb. 
 I, 1791, and married Miss Lucina Painter, daugh- 
 ter of Thomas \\'elcher and Lucina (Dunbar) 
 Painter — the latter a sister of his father, Allies 
 Dunbar. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. But- 
 ler Dunbar were Edward Lucius, of whom full 
 mention has already been made ; William Butler, 
 born in Bristol, Conn., June 28, 181 1, who marr.ed 
 Mary Morrill in January, 1836; and Emily, who 
 was married to Charles Lindley, of Waterbury. 
 
 Butler Dvmbar was a musician in the war of 
 1812 tmder John Buckingham, and later was in 
 the clock business with Titus Merriam. He was 
 still quite young', however, when he removed to the 
 West and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He 
 was an earnest worker in the Congregational 
 Church in the W'est, and long before his death, 
 which occurred Oct. 18, 1868, in Monroe town- 
 ship, Mahaska Co., Iowa, he bore the honorable 
 title of "Father Dunbar." 
 
 CAPT. RICHARD GRIMES. In the early 
 history of Wethersfield, long prior to the Revolu- 
 tionary period, and during the war, as well as sub- 
 sequently, that locality was the scene of maritime 
 traffic and business. At the shipyard by the cove 
 (located in what is now the town of Wethersfield) 
 were built many vessels, and a number were there 
 manned with guns for privateering during the Revo- 
 lution, and many too w-ere the able masters and sea- 
 
 men who commanded them. Among the vessels- 
 and commanders of the period were the privateers- 
 "Revenge" and "Drake;" the sloop "Hero," com- 
 manded by Justus Riley, Sr., an old West Indian, 
 trader, as were also his sons, Justin and Roswell; 
 Ozias Goodwin, of the schooner "Humbird ;" and 
 Joseph Combs, of the schooner "Experiment"; Capt. 
 Samuel Stillman, of the brig "Jason," and hi& 
 brother Capt. AUyn Stillman, who "did a large trans- 
 portation business for the State, and imported most 
 of the salt and some of the supplies for the war. 
 There, too, was Capt. Tryon, afterward an officer 
 in the Cnited States navy, and Capt. William Gris- 
 wold, of Rocky Hill, then a part of Wethersfield, 
 who owned the big "Minerva," built at the place, 
 and which had the reputation of being the stanch- 
 est vessel in the Colony, which vessel in 1775 was 
 chartered, an armament put upon her, and she 
 served as a vessel of war in State and naval service. 
 
 Born a few years later, just following the active 
 scenes of the Revolution, while yet the deeds of 
 daring and adventure of these heroes of th; war 
 were fresh in the minds and the talk of their elders, 
 and almost in the Rocky Hill shipyard, where no 
 doubt the prowess and the fashion of the war ships 
 was the topic of frequent discussion in their bear- 
 ing, as they played over and through the timbers 
 framing the later ships, and picked oakum while 
 thev listened to the "yarns" of the rope-makers in 
 the rope-walk, or were hiding in the sail loft, it 
 is not to be wondered at that the Grimes boj^s im- 
 bibed a taste for the sea, and sought its broad bosom 
 for occupation and home. 
 
 "Capt. Dick," as Richard Grimes, the subject of 
 this sketch, was familiarly called by all who knew 
 him on shipboard, was born in 1789 in the then 
 thriving village of Stepnev, a district or suburb 
 of Wethersfield, which for some time promised to 
 be the head of navigation when the large vessels 
 produced in its shipyard found difficulty in going' 
 higher up the Connecticut river. Indeed, it has 
 been said that but for the obstinacy of Capt. Dick's 
 grandfather, who, owning the major part of the 
 river front in Stepney, refused to sell the same, 
 even Hartford might have had a rival in this now 
 obscure town, set off from A¥ethersfield m 1726 
 as the parish of Stepnev: in 1826, by legal enact- 
 ment, it received the less desirable cognomen of 
 Rocky Hill — a name always a misnomer when 
 we consider the various villages on the river, whose 
 rocks made the one stone hill of this town appear 
 very poor and small, even when its tons of granite 
 towered in all their pristine but sod-covered gran- 
 deur ; and since lovers of good roads have bought 
 and crushed up the major part of this one "right 
 to the title" the name is more incongruous and 
 unwelcome than ever. Nevertheless, Rocky Hill 
 now stands, a peaceful, restful and picturesque 
 village, on the left bank of the Connecticut river. 
 But the birthplace of Capt. Dick — the little house 
 where his nine brothers and sisters and himself 
 were born^has given way before the march of 
 
^ 
 
 r/ Ct^-^ 
 
 /lcoAa/7'^(Z' :.y ■y'^^yy.ecJ 
 
'■9^. '^Aa'P^lc-^le' '^i . ^5W??z.<f-<i/' 
 
 .y..v£'>. 
 
 
IBiM 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 183 
 
 improvement. A railroad covers the ground where 
 it stood, and made the first attack on the name 
 "hill," skirting the base some miles, and at the 
 same time erasing the major part of the old rope- 
 walk and shipyard, where for many years ships 
 large and , small were built and subsecjuently 
 manned and mastered by the citizens of Stepney 
 and Glastonbury. 
 
 Shipbuilding, the fitting and outfitting of the 
 same, made for these two places lively and work- 
 a-day times. Business of all kinds flourished be- 
 cause of the maritime value of men and products. 
 -Most young men from both places followed the 
 sea, or wanted to, and their outfits, their ships, 
 and the cargoes they brought back furnished 
 raisoii d'etre for the several stores that then clothed 
 the river bank at Rocky Hill (then Stepney) and 
 did a brisk business in sail-cloth, paints, oils, sati- 
 nets, velvets and silks, many, perhaps most, of all 
 these things, and surely all the two if not the 
 three last, imported in those days. It is not many 
 years, when one sits down to think about it, that 
 American ladies have been able to deck them- 
 selves in American silks, and in the days of which 
 we are thinking gentlemen had the monopoly of 
 fashion plates and imported furbelows. These 
 were the days when men wore pumps and silver 
 buckles, if they were plain, every-day nabobs; if 
 they were grand gentlemen and rich these buckles 
 must be of gold, and jeweled, and, instead of plain 
 linen, cambric ruffles hemmed with stitches that 
 would put to shame the finest machine work, and 
 pleated with a nicety few "patent pleaters" can 
 equal, but all done by the fingers of mother, wife, 
 or sweetheart, that perhaps had also fashioned — 
 from the flax "raised at home," then spun into 
 thread and woven into linen, finally bleached on 
 the home lot. as ever}' previous process had been 
 done, and the dainty rufiles (these imported) — 
 the' linen shirt, each stitch taken by hand, that 
 should grace the satin "wescoat," velvet small- 
 clothes and swallow-tail blue coat, which, with silk 
 stockings — black for usual, white for the very fre- 
 quent balls — must set ofif the figure of every self- 
 respecting sailor when in port. How well the 
 writer remembers hearing from an old citizen of 
 Hartford a description of the garb of the subject 
 of this sketch, when the narrator, then a boy, and 
 native of Rocky Hill also, like all the boys far and 
 near, rushing to greet each incoming ship, would 
 go to the river to meet the brig "Marshall," Capt. 
 Dick, commander. Said he, "How mv eyes would 
 stand out when Capt. Dick appeared in the full 
 .glory of blue coat and brass buttons, a shirt frill 
 four inches wide, and full enough to fill in the 
 entire 'wescut' front. I tell you, the ladies in 
 those da}s could sew, and Capt. Dick's wife could 
 pleat ruffles. With black velvet knee breeches, 
 buckles at the knees, silk stockings to meet 'em 
 and patent leather pumps, buckles on them, too, 
 well, I just thought that next to general training- 
 being captain of a ship was the greatest thing on 
 
 earth. Well, that style of dress would do more 
 for a man than any other that was ever adopted." 
 .\.nd who that has seen it doesn't agree with this 
 criticism.^ I'.ut the picture as drawn of Capt. Dick 
 seems fanciful. Only as a grim old sea-dog did 
 the writer know him. .\. man of no frills, linen, 
 cambric or otherwise. Hut this was in the latlcf 
 years of his life, which were passed in the State 
 of Texas as a cattle raiser, where, although he did 
 not personally take any part in the business, until 
 he had passed the half-century mark, it was said 
 he would ride horses which younger men hesitated 
 to mount. His theory was, it would "puzzle a 
 mustang to pitch harder than a jolly-boat, and 
 anybody- who had ritlden the last for a lifetime 
 ought not to give in to the bucking of a pony." 
 Not so easy to get boat and saddle in to line did it 
 appear to one of the Captain's Mexican employes ; 
 crossing one of the treacherous creeks of his adopt- 
 ed State, a frightened horse necessitated going 
 up stream a little way, and pointing to a "dug out" 
 (an apology, for a skifi^, made from a hollow log) 
 Jesus (pronounced Hasoos) was dispatched to the 
 work. Willing, but with hesitation, the Mexican 
 picked up his oar, and under direction undertook 
 to paddle up stream, but the boat persisted in mak- 
 ing better headway stern-way, one should say 
 down stream, as impelled by the tide : having suc- 
 ceeded with his best effort only in turning round 
 a couple of times the [Mexican landed a few^ rods 
 below where he embarked, smilingly remarking, 
 "Ale no use't ride dis kind boss, me not like him." 
 And the Captain, as much amused, executed his or- 
 ders himself. 
 
 Used at all times to mixing with all kinds and 
 conditions of men, the Captain had the happy fac- 
 ulty of securing the friendly service of his em- 
 ployes, and rarely was called upon to exercise the 
 grim quality which his square lower jaw and deep- 
 set eyes indicated, the quality which all men who are 
 called upon to govern other men must possess, and 
 which nowhere is moreJmperative than in the life 
 of a ship's commander. Capt. Dick was just a 
 sailor. He claimed for himself nothing more. To 
 the end of his sea-faring life he was accustomed 
 to taking "regular watch," indeed to the end of his 
 life. The dozen or more years spent ashore, when 
 steam had taken the pleasure and profit out of 
 sailing craft, he still maintained the old habits ot 
 the sea as far as circumstances would permit. His 
 Texas house was on a peninsula, the bay within 
 ten rods of it on one side, and the Atlantic ocean, 
 for nearly half a century his "usual place of busi- 
 ness," within sight on the other side : and almost 
 any morning at 2 o'clock he could be seen at his 
 bedroom w-indow, with a spy-glass which had been 
 his close companion since he was a boy across his 
 knee or searching the horizon for a possible .sail. 
 There is no doubt the Captain was heart and soul 
 a sailor. He loved the sea, and it was said of him 
 by an East Hartford captain, himself a sailor of 
 note and a man who had made name and fortune 
 
184 
 
 COMMEMOR'ATTVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 at sea, that Capt. Dick was "one of the best cap- 
 tains who ever crossed the Atlantic, a man respected 
 by aU who knew him as thorough master of his 
 business, excelled in seamanship by none ; equalled 
 b_y few ; and an example to all for faithfulness to 
 the duty of the hour, and for his morality." Higher 
 praise could hardly be given, and it is of special 
 value, coming from a noble man, in the same pro- 
 fession, who was a lifelong acquaintance and knew 
 well whereof he spoke. Of special value too be- 
 cause of the experience which led up to such po- 
 sition and character. Capt. Dick started in to 
 make this record when he was ten years of age. 
 It was by no means to be supposed that he had at 
 that time any special goal in view beyond gratify- 
 ing the independence and courage which seem to 
 have been born in him, and which were evidenced 
 in all the acts and theories of his life. Deeds came 
 before plans and theories it would seem through 
 all his life pattern. It is not to hold this method 
 up for emulation, any more than one would coun- 
 sel all boys to run away from home, that these facts 
 are noted, but to show that given the old-fashioned 
 New England grit and steady perseverance, a good 
 life, a strong life, and one worthy of imitation 
 may grow out of even a bad beginning. A very 
 bad beginning we should each feel it, to look back 
 upon it with personal realization of its hardships. 
 The Captain's own comment upon it, "Whoever 
 begins life as second officer in the calaboose doesn't 
 need to inquire about the hardships of life," per- 
 haps needs interpreting to landsmen, and means 
 that the boy who fills that post, "cook's mate" 
 (which is the very lowest place a boy can have on 
 board a vessel), gets all the hard knocks every 
 one above him may feel like bestowing and is lia- 
 ble to get little else, unless he be of such a daring 
 and determined nature that he can fight his own 
 battles and command respect even in the hearts of 
 such as have little deference for anything save 
 brute force and manifest power. If earth affords 
 a literal Hell it should be found by a friendless boy 
 who starts out as a stowaway in an ordinary mer- 
 chantman of the days when Capt. Dick so tempted 
 fate. Those were the days of cat-o'-nine-tails and 
 belaying pins _ as forms of "moral suasion," the 
 days when even the indentin"ed sailor had no rights 
 the -officers were bound to respect, and the captain 
 was an autocrat. The merchant service was re- 
 cruited from the slums of all nations, and usually 
 the cook was "less than the least of all of these ;" 
 himself the butt and plaything of the entire crew, 
 more than likelv a superstitious savage or a half- 
 breed cut-throat, his gentle ministrations (?) would 
 not be likely to be in the nature of a word of en- 
 couragement for a homesick boy. The Captain 
 never was reminiscent of those days, and the im- 
 agination leaves little to be desired of detail. When 
 asked what started him to sea so early his replv 
 was, "Reckon I thought there were mouths enough 
 at home to feed without mine." There were ten 
 or eleven children. The records, save as births and 
 
 deaths are storied in the old burying-ground, are 
 scattered, and by no means well authenticated. 
 
 In the village graveyard the fact is indicated 
 on the old moss-covered tombstones that the 
 Grimeses, though now nearly all gone from the 
 community, for a number of generations dwelt in 
 the town. Among these inscriptions are Alexander 
 Grimes, died March 25, 1840, aged ninety-six 
 years, and Mrs. Mary Grimes, wife of Alexander 
 Grimes, and daughter of Capt. Richard Dunn, of 
 Newport, R. I., died Feb. 26, 1823, aged seventy- 
 five years. This couple were the parents of Capt. 
 Richard Grimes, their other children (record partly 
 from tombstones) being Hannah, who married 
 Harvey Dickinson, and died Sept. i, 1831, aged 
 sixty-two years (she was born in 1769) ; Polly, who 
 died' Jan. 3, 1843, aged sixty-six, married Elizur 
 Dickerson, who was born in 1772, and died May 
 8, 1848; Nathan died in 1796, at Lana Vaux, aged 
 twenty-two years ; Samuel died at Point Peter in 
 1794, aged seventeen years ; Henry died at An- 
 tigua in 1803, aged nineteen years ; Sophronia died 
 unmarried Aug. 29, 1861, at the age of eighty- 
 one (she was born in 1780) ; William, who married 
 Mary Jagger, was lost at sea in 1819, aged thirty- 
 seven years ; Roderick, born Oct. 3, 1786, died 
 Nov. 25, 1861, married Mary Ann Church, who 
 was born Sept. 21, 1793, and died Feb. 29, 1872. 
 Roderick was the only one of the sons to remain 
 to do business in Rocky Hill, where he was a mer- 
 chant, became the first representative of that town 
 in 1844, after its separation from the town of 
 Wethersfield, and died there in 1861, aged sev- 
 enty-five years. Of the sons, all except the young- 
 est, Roderick, and the eldest, Alexander, led a 
 sea-faring life, three dying in the West Indies 
 from yellow fever, while another, Capt. William 
 Grimes, lost his life on the sea, no tidings of him 
 or the vessel on which he sailed ever having been 
 received. This was one of the brigs "Marshall," 
 of which Capt. Richard Grimes lost three. That 
 is to say, three brigs each bearing the name of 
 "Marshall" (the name of a favorite nephew, the 
 eldest son of his brother Roderick) were, by vari- 
 ous means, lost to Capt. Dick, although in all his 
 long experience as a navigator he never met with 
 an}' very serious wreck. Capt. AVilliam's loss, one 
 of those dreadful mysteries the sea will never 
 divulge, was doubly pathetic because he took his 
 brother's place, and doing so lost his life. It may 
 have been by fire, the ship may have foundered, 
 or, most harrowing thought of all, but very pos- 
 sible to the time, it may have fallen into the hands 
 of pirates. For those were days when more than 
 the ordinary terrors of the sea menaced the navi- 
 gator. Capt. William was the favorite brother of 
 Capt. Dick, and the uncertainty of his fate for 
 many years darkened the life of this brother in 
 whose place he died. Capt. Dick had fitted out 
 his vessel, and exoected to command her himself, 
 but his brother offered to take his place (some 
 matter of business making it expedient that Capt. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 185 
 
 Dick remainj, and so sailed to his doom. Inas- 
 Jiiucli as Capt. Dick was the youngest of all those 
 who followed the sea and had been the means of 
 ■their all adopting that vocation, and in so doing- 
 all met their death, the fact that he continued to 
 go to sea himself, and replaced the brig "Mar- 
 shall" with another of the same name, proves that 
 he lacked one specific attribute of a sailor, that is, 
 superstition. 
 
 Of the Captain's elder brother Alexander noth- 
 ing seems to be known at the present time. A 
 
 famil}' tradition says "he married one Sarah , 
 
 and lived at home with his parents until his wife 
 and himself died," whether in young manhood or 
 later there is no available record. The father, Alex- 
 ander, was a shoemaker by trade, but is said to have 
 been not at" all enamored of the calling, and aside 
 from the care of his hereditary acres (by this time 
 not numerous) spent most of his time arguing 
 against Calvinism, and that at a period when not to 
 believe in infant damnation was proof of innate de- 
 pravity sufficient to insure the condemnation of 
 the unbelie\-er. Anyhow, "Daddy Grimes," as he 
 was called, was nevertheless a close student of the 
 Bible, and while he differed with the orthodoxy of 
 his day and was denounced by it, he could make 
 his arguments felt. Airs. Alexander Grimes, the 
 Captain's mother, comes down in history as just 
 a plain farmer's wife, devoted to her family, and it 
 would seem that her kindly life and gentle influ- 
 ence were the restraining powers that went out 
 with her roving son to make of him the honest man 
 that all men respected. "A self-made man" he 
 surely was. beginning his career at ten. 
 
 Starting for himself in the world at an age 
 Avhen fortune's curled darlings are being led about 
 b}' a nursemaid, dressed in kilts, and onlv expected 
 to keep their kid slippers neat, Capt. Dick set up 
 "business for himself, minus any slippers at all, his 
 capital — entire stock in trade — one shirt and a pair 
 of breeks. The ten-year-old bov without shoes, 
 hat, coat or even handkerchief began to paddle 
 his o^vn canoe, and for three years was not heard 
 from. That he lived, prospered and made good 
 use of his time is proven in the fact that at twenty- 
 one he was master and owner of a brig. Eleven 
 years is a short time to master a business, accumu- 
 late a capital, and get to the top of one's trade. 
 E\'en with, capital, influence and regular training 
 it might be called good business to get from the 
 ■ship's gallev to captain's office at twentv-one. But 
 to do that without aid from anyone, either of money 
 •or power, and better still to get there with a char- 
 acter of solid worth, makes the barefooted renegade 
 well worthy of consideration. Had he gone out 
 ■strengthened by the safeguards of religious home 
 influence, had he been old enough to have gained 
 the solidit}- which a good education gives, or even 
 bad the trend of the times been then, as now, to- 
 ward refinement even in a sailor's duty, it would 
 be more easy to look for good results even in the 
 life of a barefooted stowawav. Or was there in 
 
 the rugged truthfulness of that day a helpful in- 
 tluence which the superficiality of later conventions 
 does not reach.' Ihis boy going cut from home 
 alone, withinit any uf life's "conveniences," thrown 
 intu the vilest association, with next to no educa- 
 tion, learns . geography by personal contact, im- 
 bibes history as a part of his business, acquires a 
 more than ordinary education in learning his trade, 
 and fits himself for association with the best class 
 of peiiple. His daughter has in her possession a 
 water-color painting ui the Captam, taken at a 
 dinner in Liverpool in 1818 by John Elihu (?), 
 while the Captain was not yet thirty. There were 
 present people of his own and other crafts who 
 were men of import, among them an artist, and 
 the picture was painted on a wager regarding the 
 celerity with which it could be done. But what 
 brought the runaway into such company ? It is 
 not the natural end of the truant to turn up master 
 of his trade ; nor does the lad who runs away from 
 school and home gain an entree to cultivated cir- 
 cles merely by crossing a few oceans and twenty 
 years' service on shipboard. This boy carried al- 
 ways a tender memory of his mother, and when 
 he died, at sixty-nine }ears of age, there was along- 
 side the gold compass some one had given him in 
 memory of valued service, and a few other treas- 
 ures, a poor little Didi-bag made of coarse blue 
 serge; it was the choicest thing there, his mother 
 made 'it for him while he was yet a young man. 
 His mother was one of the strong truthful women 
 so common to her time, self-reliant and independ- 
 ent. So was the Captain. It mattered little to him 
 what other possessions a man might have did he 
 lack manly independence. Always ready to help 
 the unfortunate, he had no sympathy with the in- 
 dolence and weakness that asks for unearned 
 money, and no respect for the man willing to be 
 supported in idleness. 
 
 Capt. Grimes in the prime of life did a large 
 business in passenger traffic and freight — usually, 
 but not always commanding his own vessels. At 
 the time he mastered navigation steam was proba- 
 bly unthought of. For many years he carried pas- 
 sengers and merchandise between Xew York and 
 Liverpool and London, but as master and owner 
 of his own ships he took his course where profit 
 and choice called. Three times he circumnavigated 
 the earth, and affirmed that he entered every port 
 on the face of the globe a white man had ever vis- 
 ited, and, he almost believed, some where no ship 
 but his own had ever ventured. He was years in 
 the V.'est India trade in the last years of the eight- 
 eenth and beginning of the nineteenth century. 
 When he was first attracted to Texas does not ap- 
 pear, but it is evident he knew the country early, 
 a number of his land grants having been from the 
 Spanish government. And in 1837, with his wife 
 and infant daughter, he removed to the Republic 
 of Texas. The brig in which he sailed (supposed- 
 ly the "Driver") was the only vessel of twenty- 
 seven, leaving Xew York at the same time, that 
 
186 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was ever lieard of again. An unusualh' long and 
 severe Equinoctial storm kept the Captain on deck 
 most of the time for seven da3's, and four days 
 and nights he stood at the helm, never once taking 
 his hand off it in that time, his only nourishment 
 alternate coffee and \vhiske\-. To understand the 
 full measure of the work done one should know the 
 style of the ungainly steering tackle of those early 
 days, which would tr_\- the strength of an ordinary 
 man even in fair weather. 
 
 The Captain was of medium height, very strong, 
 with no superfluous flesh. He cculd be a very 
 martinet did occasion require. Insubordination 
 once sent a man flying overboard in mid--\tlantic 
 ocean by impact with the Captain's fist, and, when 
 the fellow did not, or could not, swim, over went 
 the Captain to the rescue, so goes the testimony 
 of a "hand" who claimed to have been present. Yet 
 his last dollar could be had by a shipmate in trou- 
 ble, and it is told of him that during an epidemic 
 of yellow fever in the Indies he went to the hospital 
 with his crew and helped nurse every one of them 
 througlj tl:e disease, losing none. Three times he 
 went through the scourge himself. Once in the 
 isolation of his first Texas home cholera found its 
 way into one family, contracted through some vis- 
 iting child. It took the three little ones of the 
 family : the parents were worn out. ever.yone else 
 fled. The Captain dug the graves and buried the 
 three httle victims, deaf to threats and entreaties 
 of such as warned him that he was exposing him- 
 self and others in so doing, his only reply being, 
 "I don't deserve to live if I can neglect others in such 
 strait." In the war of 1812, privateering off the 
 coast of France, his vessel and effects were taken, 
 himself and crew landed on a desolate coast with 
 nothing but the scanty supply of clothing they wore, 
 and not all together at that. Three years of wan- 
 dering, hardship and privations followed ere he 
 could work his way back to home and a new start. 
 But all these reverses only meant "Begin again." 
 He was comparatively an old man when convinced 
 that a new fortune could not be made at sea with- 
 out help of steam, and feeling himself too old to 
 learn steam navigation he left the water, and gave 
 his time to landed interests and stock in the Lone 
 Star State. He had for a long time, while still in 
 maritime employ, been interested in the growth 
 and advantages of Texas, but did not move his 
 family there until 1837. It is a family tradition 
 that Capt. Grimes was one of the original three 
 hundred settlers that received a headright upon the 
 Stephen F. Austin proposal of grant laid before 
 the governor in 1821, which, however, was super- 
 seded by a colonization law by the Republic of 
 Texas, by the provisions of which each family re- 
 ceived not less than one labor (about 177 acres) 
 or more than one sitio (about 4,428 acres') of land, 
 according as the occupation of the head was faim- 
 irig or stock raising. Capt. Grimes' name does not 
 appear on the list of the names of the "old three 
 hundred." The three hundred families were all or 
 
 nearly all in Texas before the close of the summer 
 of 1824, and while the work of issuing titles was 
 not entirely completed before 1827 nearly all titles 
 were issued immediately after Aug. 24, 1824. 
 From the fact of the non-appearance of Capt. 
 Grimes' name on the original list it may be that he 
 came by a headright through some subsequent 
 grant. At any rate, he was a pioneer of the Lone 
 Star State, and got his headright fast enough of a 
 league and labor of land on the Caranchua river, 
 so called because it watered the home country of 
 the Indian tribe of that name, familiarly known 
 as "Crdnks." They were a specially violent and 
 vicious people in their palmy days. 
 
 Capt. Grimes became the owner by purchase 
 long before this time of thousands of acres of land 
 in the State, and from 1837 made Texas his home, 
 though he did not abandon sea-going and his 
 maritime business until about 1843, 3-t that time 
 turning his attention entirely to cattle and sheep 
 raising. In 1848 his only son joined him in the 
 business, and a few years later, a cyclone having 
 destroyed the sheep industry entirely and deci- 
 mated their stock of cattle, they began the shipping 
 of cattle to New Orleans, while they still continued 
 to increase their own herds. Later still the busi- 
 ness was improved by driving cattle to Kansas 
 and ^Missouri. The Captain was a warm personal 
 friend and an ardent admirer and supporter of 
 Gen. Sam Houston. He had no taste for public 
 life or for politics, though he never shrank from 
 any obligation that he felt good citizenship in that 
 line of duty implied, and regularly made his eigh- 
 ty-mile trip on horseback to and from the county 
 seat to deposit his vote as a Democrat. His was a 
 strong, forceful character, and though stern when 
 occasion demanded sternness, and late in life of a 
 rough exterior, beneath it was always a warm, 
 kind and sympathetic heart that prompted many 
 generous acts and deeds of kindness. The habit 
 of the new country in which he made his home 
 was always to "remember the stranger within thy 
 gates." The Captain had located himself midway 
 between two post towns, twenty miles from each, 
 and it was no unusual thing for him to entertain 
 gratuitously twent3'-five people weekly; indeed, it 
 was often said no one from the L^nited States or 
 Europe ever entered eastern Texas without stop- 
 ping overnight with him. This tallied exactly with 
 the Captain's pleasure, as he always practiced the 
 doctrine he preached to his children never to turn 
 the wayfarer hungr}' from the door. He remem- 
 bered the days he wandered in France, hungry, a 
 stranger in a foreign land. The cases were hardly 
 parallel, only that one is nearly as badly oft' twenty 
 or forty miles out of reach of a hotel as he would 
 be without the means to pay his way within one. 
 The Captain y\'as a kind and indulgent man in 
 his family, and while not rich at the time of his 
 death, which occurred in .-Vpril, 1898, at his home 
 in Tres Palacios, Matagorda Co., Texas — he left 
 enough property to provide well for his wife and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 187 
 
 daughter, and lielped his son qnitc as generously 
 during their business relations of more than a dec- 
 ade. Cattle raising in its early stages, though 
 always a sure and reasonably profitaljle business, 
 was not especially hicrative until shipping was 
 added thereto. The younger Grimes, \\ illiam 
 Bradford, was a man of decided push and energy, 
 who with youth and ambition to aid him made of 
 the Grimes combination a valuable business. The 
 son is still living, but now resides in Kansas ; find- 
 ing it to his business advantage to do so, he fol- 
 lowed his cattle to the growing West, removing 
 his family to Kansas City, where for many years 
 he was a prominent man in business circles. His 
 children have nearljf all located in the West, though 
 born in Texas. 
 
 Capt. Grimes married, when about thirty-five, 
 JMiss Charlotte Bradford, of Rockv Hill, and to 
 them were born two children, William Bradford and 
 Frances Charlotte Bradford. The mother of these 
 was a forceful character, just the kind of woman 
 for the wife of so daimtless a seaman, whose sit- 
 uation for so many years left her alone with the 
 care of the family, being of that sturdv tvpe of 
 New England womanhood that in times of doubt 
 and fear and danger was equal to the occasion, 
 through the strength and fearlessness of her char- 
 aceter. It might be possible to add to the interest 
 of these pages by giving incidents in her pioneer 
 life in Texas, when this gentle woman, accustomed 
 heretofore only to the quiet pleasures of a lively 
 township, or the more brilliant attractions of Xew 
 \ ork and other cities, found herself hobnobbing 
 with a French family on one side and a plain 
 American — otherwise squaw, papoose and "big 
 chief" — on the other, with ahvays the chance of no 
 neighbors at all within twenty miles or more. 
 Suffice it to say that from 1837 to 1842 Airs. Grimes 
 lived in Texas with only her infantile daughter as 
 permanent family, and a fluctuating neighborhood 
 never large, and had the courage to return there to 
 take up her permanent home in 1847, ^t the call of 
 domestic expediency. Then the Indians were 
 gone, her children were both with her and well 
 grown, and the presence of a favorite sister as 
 stanch as herself made a difference in life on the 
 frontier. But under the best of circumstances life 
 in a new country calL for courage and the highest 
 character. These belonged to Mrs. Grimes in full 
 measure. 
 
 Going back to the village record in the ceme- 
 tery for further history, we find that William Brad- 
 ford died Sept. 21, 1824, aged sixty-four, and' that 
 his wife Elizabeth Sears died Oct. 13, 1828, aged 
 seventy-one years. These were the parents of Airs. 
 Charlotte (Bradford) Grimes, their other children 
 (record from the tombstones) being: Betsey mar- 
 ried Ralph Bulklev, and died in 1876, in her nine- 
 tv-fifth year; William married Eliza Price, of New 
 York, and died in 1865; Nancy married Dr. Syl- 
 vester Bulkley, and died in 1872, aafed eighty-six 
 years: George died at Fayetteville, N. C, in 1846, 
 
 aged fifty-eight years: Horace married Susan , 
 
 and died at Fayetteville, N. C, in 1824: l-"anny 
 died in Texas in 1862, aged sixty-nine years; and 
 Sophia married Charles II. Hill, and died in .\'ew 
 York in 1841, aged forty years. 
 
 William ISrauford, the father of -Mrs. Capt. 
 Grimes and the children just named, was married 
 probably in (ilastonbury, as his first child was born 
 there in 1782, when the father was twenty-two 
 )ears of age. In about J 783 he came to Kocky 
 Hill, and Ijuilt the house now occupied l)y Mrs. 
 Fanny Grimes Camp (his only surviving grand- 
 daughter), in which house the rest of his chil- 
 dren were born. It stands high above the Con- 
 necticut river, overlooking its lovely valley, and 
 three immense poplar trees, planted in front of it 
 by Mr. Bradford in the same year, have been these 
 almost 130 years a landmark ])ointed out to the 
 travelers by boat up and down the river. The 
 house has always been in the fannly, and occupied 
 by some member of it. .Mr. Bradford said when 
 building it it should ahva\s furnish a refuge for 
 his daughters, and singularly enough nearly all of 
 them returned to it as widows and died where they 
 were liorn. In 1871 Mrs. Cam]) purchased the 
 place from the aunt then owning it, and gave it to 
 her mother, who died there in 1887, in the same 
 room in which she was born ( as was also her 
 daughter), and in her ninetieth year. Air. Brad- 
 ford engaged in mercantile Inisiness, and in connec- 
 tion with his eldest son, whom he established in 
 business in Xew York City, he was an imuorter 
 of fine goods, and left what was in those days a 
 very good property to his daughters ; having es- 
 tablished his sons in business, he said they could 
 take care of themselves — results proved him a true 
 prophet. Mr. Bradford was of Puritan stock, be- 
 ing a descendant in the seventh generation from the 
 illustrious ^\"illiam Bradford, who came over from 
 England in the " Mayflower" in 1620, his grand- 
 daughter in the ninth generation. Mrs. Camp has 
 a pair of shears said to have come over with him. 
 He was governor of the Colony of Plymouth, 
 Mass., from 1621 to 1657, excepting five years, 
 v,-hich honor he declined for that period. The gov- 
 ernor was born about 1589, at Austerfield. Eng- 
 land, and died in Plymouth, New England, in 
 1659. His second wife, whom he married in 
 1623, was Mrs. Alice Southworth, iicc Carpenter. 
 The line of William Bradford's descent was through 
 six ^^'illiams, he being the seventh of the name in 
 direct line. 
 
 Ill) V.'illiam Bradford (2). son of Gov. Brad- 
 ford, born in 1624, married (first) Alice Richards, 
 of ^^'eymouth. He was a ]:)rominent man in the 
 Colony', and held several jmblic trusts, among them 
 that of denutv-governor for eight or ten years. 
 
 (HI) William Bradford (3), son of William 
 (2). bom in \C^S5- uiarried in 1679 Rebecca Bart- 
 lett. 
 
 (I\'l ^^'illianl Bradford 1 4). son of William 
 (3), married in 1713 Elizabeth Finney. 
 
188 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (V) William Bradford (5), son of William 
 (4), was bora in the year 172O. 
 
 (\'I) William Bradford (6j, son of William 
 
 (5j- 
 
 (\ II) Of the immediate family of \\ illiam 
 (7j: Of his brothers and sisters there seems to 
 be no valid record, the present generation having 
 only a vague hearsay that relates to one sister 
 drowned coming from Boston in a small sailing 
 vessel, and one brothei, a Doctor, driven almost 
 deranged by the loss of this only sister and never 
 married. The tragedy seems to have left \Mlliam 
 Bradford of Rocky Hill almost without interest 
 in his immediate ancestors, or the family without 
 any record back of their own time. The substan- 
 tial old homestead seems capable of fulfilling its 
 mission as family home for as many generations 
 as it has already housed. It is now owned and 
 occupied by Capt. Grimes' daughter. Though born 
 in New England, she was reared in the South, and 
 during the Civil war, though then on a visit at the 
 North, she had still a warm place in her heart for 
 her friends at the South, and true to her convic- 
 tions, believing the South to be in the right, and 
 strongly in sympathy with the cause she had made 
 her own, gave orders to place in the field in de- 
 fense of her adopted State "Fanny Grimes' " sub- 
 stitute. Reared amid scenes of pioneer life in 
 Texas, and a woman of observation, Mrs. Camp 
 (she having married in 1876 J. William Camp, of 
 Bristol, Conn.) is full of reminiscence and incident, 
 an interesting and pleasant conversationalist. She 
 has inherited of the characteristics of her parents, 
 is of a generous nature, and has the reputation of 
 doing deeds of charity in a c[uiet, modest manner. 
 She has no children, and is the last representative 
 of either Grimes or Bradford family left in Rocky 
 Hill, thcugh, as befoi^e mentioned, William Brad- 
 ford Grimes is still hving, at Great Bend, Kans. 
 In 1855 he married ]\Iaria Louise Robbins (the 
 eldest daughter of Philemon Robbins, of Hartford, 
 Conn.), who died in 1876, leaving a large family 
 of children. \\'illiam B. Grimes married for his 
 second wife iNIrs. Irene Poole, of Texas, who died 
 in 1895. 
 
 After the death of Capt. Grimes, in 1857, his 
 widow and daughter remained at their Texas 
 liome until i860, when they. returned to Mrs. Grimes' 
 earlv home in Connecticut, and being quarantined 
 \iy the war eventually became possessors of the 
 same. 
 
 FRANK ALEXANDER THOMPSON, who 
 for nearly a third of a century has been efficiently 
 and successfully connected with the Phcenix Mu- 
 tual Life Insurance Co., and for years as the com- 
 pany's general agent for the State of Connecticut, 
 is well and favorably known throughout the State, 
 -and has attained a deserved prominence in insur- 
 ance circles. 
 
 Born Feb. 12, 1848. on Market street, in Hart- 
 ford, son of Alexander and Amanda (Crane) 
 
 Thompson, our subject is a representative of sev- 
 eral ot the old families of Connecticut, among thehi 
 the illustrious and historic Wolcott family of 
 VVmdsor, which gave to the State three governors. 
 Henry Wolcott, the progenitor of the Windsor 
 family, came to New England along with Rev. 
 Warham and company in 1630, and that year was 
 one of the first freemen of Boston. He removed 
 to Dorchester m 1635, and later to Windsor, Conn, 
 in 1637 he was chosen a deputy to the CJeneral 
 Court of Connecticut, and in 1643 to the House of 
 -Magistrates (Senate), and continued to be re- 
 turned to that body the remainder of his life. He 
 died in 1655. From this ancestor Mr. Thompson, 
 of this review, through his grandmother, Betsey 
 (Wolcott) Thompson, is in the ninth generation, his 
 line being through Simon, Lieut. Henry (whose 
 brother, Hon. Roger Wolcott, was governor of the 
 Colony of Connecticut in 1750), Henry (2), Capt. 
 Simon (who commanded a company in 1776 un- 
 der Gen. Prescott at the battle of Long Island 
 under Gen. Washington), Peter (who served in his 
 father's company), Betsey (Wolcott) Thompson 
 and Alexander Ihompson. 
 
 On his father's side our subject is of Scottish 
 origin. There is a family tradition that William 
 and Margaret Thompson, with seven sons and 
 two daughters, left Scotland for America in 1716, 
 but for some reason tarried for a year in County 
 Derry, Ireland, where William, the father, died, 
 enjoining his. family, in his dying hours, to carry 
 out their original plan of settling in America. Prob- 
 ably about 1 71 8 the widow and her children sailed 
 for New England. Her children were : William, 
 Mariam, Samuel, James, Robert, Joseph, John, 
 Hugh and Ruth. The family settled in Windsor, 
 and the mother died in 1752, aged eighty-six 
 years, and is buried at Ellington. From this source 
 came Benoni Thomoson, the grandfather of our 
 subject. He was born in April, 1789, married 
 Betsey Wolcott, who was born Sept. 17, 1788. 
 Benoni died in 1807, and his wife passed away 
 Aug. 23, 1874, 
 
 Alexander Thomoson, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was born Jan. 31, 1808, in Old Windsor, now 
 East Windsor, where he passed his early life in 
 work on the farm, and attending school. Later 
 he followed school teaching, but he finally removed 
 to Hartford, where he was engaged in the manu- 
 facture of brooms, brushes, etc., on Morgan street. 
 He and his wife were consistent members of the 
 old First Church, Dr. Bushnell's, and were highly 
 respected by all who knew them. He was married 
 in East Windsor May i, 1832, to Miss Amanda 
 Crane, a daughter of Chauncey Crane. She died 
 May 12, 1889, and his death occurred Feb. 10, 
 1854. Nine children were born to them: Dan 
 Orvilla Thompson, born March 30, 1833, died Sept. 
 3, 1861 ; Mary Elizabeth (Thompson) Case, born 
 March 20, 1835 : William Earl Thompson, born 
 Feb. 27, 1837, is a publisher in Milwaukee, Wis. ; 
 Julia A. Thompson, born Nov. 17, 1839, died Dec. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 189 
 
 15, 1840; Anna Cecilia (Tlionipson) Marsh, born 
 Dec. 19, 1841; James Alexander Thompson, born 
 Feb. 10, 1843, died Oct. 14, 1843; Susan Adelaide 
 ( Thompson j ]Marsh, born Oct. 29, 1845; Frank 
 Alexander Thompson, born Feb. 12, 1848; and 
 Lizzie Amanda Thompson, born Jan. 12, 1850, 
 died Feb. 8, 1854. Of these, JNIary Elizabeth mar- 
 ried Ariel J. Case (Simsbury Case stock), who 
 went out as a private with the 16th Conn. V. I. in 
 the Civil war, and returned as a lieutenant. Anna 
 Cecilia 'is the widow of Capt. Wolcott Pascol 
 jNIarsh, and resides in Ontario, Cal. ; Capt. Marsh 
 went out as a private under Capt. (later Gen.) 
 Haw ley, in the First Conn. Vols., three-months 
 men, returned, re-enlisted in the 8th Conn. V. I., 
 and returned as captain of a company in that regi- 
 ment. Susan Adelaide is the wife of Edward \V. 
 JNIarsh, of Hartford. 
 
 Frank A. Thompson, our subject, during his 
 boyhood and youth attended the public schools of 
 Hartford, and also Bryant & Stratton Business 
 College. After his graduation he followed book- 
 keeping for five years, and then accepted a clerk- 
 ship under the general agent of the Phoenix Mutual 
 Life Insurance Co. of Hartford. Later he succeeded 
 to the Connecticut general agency, and has been con- 
 nected with the Phoenix Co. since 1870, his labors in 
 their behalf being justly appreciated. On April 23, 
 1894, he moved to West Hartford, having purchased 
 the Oilman farm, but in June of that year he bought 
 the Cone farm from J. D. Browne, and has since re- 
 sided there. It is a well-improved and valuable farm 
 of 102 acres, and he has met with excellent success 
 in its management. Previous to coming to West 
 Hartford he had lived in Hartford, and from North 
 2\Iarket street, in the eastern part of the city, he had 
 moved to Asylum avenue in 1872. 
 
 iNIr. Thompson first married }iliss Lydia R. 
 Warner, a native of Burlington, A't., and a daughter 
 of Samuel Clark Warner. She died in March, 
 1886. By that union four children were born, all 
 of whom died in infancy except Raymond Clark 
 Thompson, now living, born Feb. 24, 1886. For his 
 second wife Mr. Thompson married ]\Iiss Anna Imo- 
 gene Cate, of Bridgeport, Conn., a daughter of Ste- 
 phen Mead Cate and Annie Rogers Ca'te, the latter 
 being a daughter of Simeon S. Rogers, one of the 
 founders of the Meriden Britannia Co. One child 
 blesses this union: Ruth Crane Thompson, born 
 Oct. 2, 1891. 
 
 ^Ir. Thompson has taken quite a leading part 
 m local political affairs, and represented the old Sec- 
 ond ward in the city council of Hartford in 1891, 1892 
 and 1893. He has been secretary of the Connecticut 
 Life Underwriters Association since Feb. 2, 1892, 
 and is widely and favorably known. He is a mem- 
 ber of Custer Council, Xo. 85, and is also a prom- 
 ment member of the Asylum Avenue Baptist Church, 
 of which he has been society clerk since 1879. 
 
 Mrs. Amanda (Crane)" Thompson, our subject's 
 mother, was a descendant in the seventh genera- 
 tion from (I) Benjamin Crane, who was at Wethers 
 
 field. Conn., as early as 1655, whither he had likely 
 come from a parisii in Massachusetts. He had 
 assigned to him Ijy the town two and one-half acres 
 of land. He married, in 1655, Mary, daughter of 
 William and Sarah (Charles) Backus, and carried 
 on tanning just below the village. From this tirst 
 American ancestor of the family Mrs. Amanda 
 (Crane) Thompson's line is chrough Lieut. Jona- 
 than, John, Hczekiah, David and Chauncey Crane. 
 
 (li) Lieut. Jonathan Crane, son of Benjamin the 
 settler, born in 1658, married, in 1678, Deborah, 
 daughter of Francis Griswold. Lieut. Crane was 
 among the early settlers of Windham, Conn., and a 
 man of prominence. He is referred to as of Wind- 
 ham, Norwich and Lebanon. It is said that he erected 
 the first sawmill in the town of Windham, was ap- 
 pointed a lieutenant in 1703, was a deputy to the 
 General Court fifteen limes between 1701 and 1722. 
 He had been one of the petitioners for the formation 
 of that town, and in 1691 was chosen the first 
 townsman. 
 
 (Ill), John Crane, son of Lieut. Jonathan, born 
 in 1687, married (first) Sarah Spencer, at Wind- 
 ham. She died in 1715, and he married (second), 
 in 1716, Prudence Belding, and lived near Fort Hill. 
 In 1735 he was called "of Coventry." 
 
 (IV) Hezekiah Crane, son of John, born in 1721, 
 married, in 1746, Rachel Rockwell. He was called 
 "of Windsor," but purchased land in Bolton in 
 1750 and moved there about that time. He died in 
 1805, aged eighty-four years, and she in 1809, aged 
 eighty-three years. 
 
 (V) David Crane, son of Hezekiah. born Oct. 
 I, 1748, married (first) Theodocia Pitkin, and (sec- 
 ond) Jan. 7, 1779, Jerusha Smith, of Ellington, 
 daughter of David, one of the first settlers of East 
 Windsor. }>Ir. Crane was a carpenter and builder 
 as well as a farmer. He served in the war of the 
 Revolution. He lived to be about ninety-two years 
 old, dying in Scantic Parish in 1841. 
 
 (VI) Chauncey Crane, son of David, born in 
 1783, married Oct. 18, 1809, Phcebe Gustin. She 
 died Feb. 25, 1849, and he on Jan. 24, 1864. 
 
 (VII) Amanda (Crane) Thompson, daughter of 
 Chauncey, born IMay 20, 18 12. 
 
 TAMES NEWBERRY GOODWIN (de- 
 ceased), for many years a member ot the firm ot 
 Kenevs. Roberts & Goodwin, wholesale _ grocers, 
 was of the seventh generation in direct fine from 
 Ozias and ^larv (Woodward) Goodwin, ot brain- 
 tree England. 'who in 1639 became residents ot 
 Hartford. His line of ancestry is traced through 
 (VI) Jonathan, (V) James, (IV) Jonathan, (HI) 
 Ozias, (II) Nathaniel to (I) Ozias, the pioneer. 
 
 Jonathan Goodwin, father of James N., was born 
 Dec 23, 1799, at the homestead on the Albany road, 
 near Hartford. Conn. Hon. James G. Batterson 
 savs of him: "His education was of the common 
 schools and the select and private school of_ John J. 
 White, a teacher of considerable distinction in Hart- 
 ford during the early years of the present century. 
 
li)0 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In early manhood Mr. Goodwin employed his winters 
 in teaching, but his principal occupation through 
 life was that of a farmer. His farm on Albany ave- 
 nue came to him from his father in 1827. 
 
 "When quite young he became interested in mil- 
 itary affairs, and in May, 1818, enlisted as a private 
 in the First Company, Governor's Foot Guard. He 
 was promoted to be captain in 1828, and to major in 
 1830. He was representative to the Legislature in 
 1836, assessor in 1838, and from 1846 to 1862; on 
 the board of Relief, 1840, '43-44-45 ; selectman 1842 
 to 1852: and member of High school committee in 
 1849. He was one of the incorporators of the 
 Hartford Hospital, and director of the Farmers and 
 Mechanics Bank. In politics he was a \\'hig and 
 Republican; in religion a Unitarian." 
 
 On June 7, 1826, at East Windsor, Conn., Jona- 
 than Goodwin was married to Clarinda Newberry, 
 who was born Jan. i, 1800, a daughter of John and 
 Elizabeth (Ellsworth) Xewberry, and three children 
 were born to them : Eunice Elizabeth, born April 6, 
 1827, married James G. Batterson ; James Xewberry, 
 the subject proper of these lines; and Jonathan (de- 
 ceased), born March 11, 1840, married j\lary Rip- 
 lev. The father died Oct. 8, 1877, the mother on 
 IM'ay 5. 1866. 
 
 James N. Goodwin was born at Hartford. Sept. 
 29, 1833, and died at Newport, R. I., ]\Iarch 30,1867. 
 He married, Oct. 21, 1857, Fannie Rebecca Batter- 
 son, daughter of Simeon Seeley and ^Melissa (Rob- 
 erts) Batterson, the latter of whom is a sister of 
 Hon. James G. Batterson, of Hartford. Mr. and 
 ;Mrs. Goodwin had one daughter, Lucy Jeannette, 
 born July 29, 1858, died Dec. 24, 1863. Like 
 many others of the family, Air. Goodwin was for 
 several years connected with the First Company 
 of the Governor's Foot Guard. In politics he was 
 a Republican. 
 
 ROBERT ORRIN CLARK, one of the most 
 substantial and highly-respected citizens of the town 
 of Berlin, Hartford county, is a scion of patriotic 
 stock. , 
 
 Air. Clark's great-grandfathers were soldiers in 
 the Revolution, serving throughout the war for in- 
 dependence. His grandfather, Daniel Clark, was a 
 native of Higganum, Conn., and from that place 
 removed to Philadelphia, of which city he remained 
 a resident until his death, which occurred two years 
 later ; he was buried there. He was a tinner by 
 trade. During the war of 1812 he was made a 
 prisoner by a British man-of-war, while aboard a 
 merchant vessel. The captors made use of the most 
 brutal measures in their treatment of the prisoners. 
 Daniel Clark was chained by the leg to another vic- 
 tim of English cruelty, the irons cutting so deep 
 into the flesh and muscle that it was found neces- 
 sary to amputate the left limb directly below the 
 knee. He married Ruth Strickland, of Glastonbury, 
 daughter of Asa Simeon Shrickland, who was a 
 soldier in the Revolutionary war. To this union 
 were born six children, of whom Orrin Cole, bom 
 
 Sept. 21, 1823, in the western part of the town of 
 Meriden, was the father of Robert Orrin. 
 
 Orrin C. Clark was but six years old when his 
 father removed to Philadelphia, and was but eight 
 when the latter died. The mother died in Berlin, 
 where she was buried. After the father's death 
 Mrs. Daniel Clark returned with her children to 
 Connecticut, making her home at Cromwell. Her 
 struggles were more than ordinarly severe. Ne- 
 cessity forced her to bind out her son, Orrin C, but 
 she soon withdrew him from his employer's charge 
 because of ill treatment. Being obliged to find other 
 employment the boy worked for five years as a 
 farm liand for Burge Marion, of Rocky Hill. On 
 leaving the farm he went to Berlin, where for 
 some eighteen months he worked at turning out 
 German-silver spoons for Col. William Bulkeley, at 
 the latter's shops. The next five years he passed 
 upon the farm of Russell Clark, of Berlin, and at 
 the end of that period found employment in the 
 screw shop of Crocker & Ives, at Meriden. Within 
 a little less than a year he returned to Berlin, to 
 enter the employ of the Roys & Wilcox Co. His 
 connection with that concern extended over a period 
 of forty years, during a considerable portion of 
 which time he was a contractor, his special line of 
 work being brass-polishing. In 1894, after a life- 
 time spent in hard, honest work, he retired to enjoy 
 a well-earned, richly-merited rest. While yet very 
 }'oung he' severely overtaxed his muscular system 
 through lifting a sack of corn, the weight of which 
 was beyond his strength. The result was an affec- 
 tion of the nervous system from which he never re- 
 covered. Before the birth of the Republican party 
 he was a stanch Whig, and later a supporter of 
 Lincoln. 
 
 On Jan. 18, 1849, Mr. Clark was married to 
 Amelia Belden, of Cromwell. For nearly fifty years 
 she sustained to nim the relations of a loving, faith- 
 ful helpmeet. She entered into rest Sept. 15, 1898, 
 and sleeps in the Wilcox cemetery, in East Berlin. 
 She was the mother of four children: Helen 
 Amelia, Georgiana Laura, Robert Orrin and Flor- 
 ence Alav. The eldest daughter is the widow of 
 George W. Cook, at one time an employe of the 
 Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co. Airs. Cook now makes 
 her home with her father. The second daughter, 
 Georgiana Laura, is also a widow, and lives at home. 
 Her husband, Herbert Andrews, was an engineer 
 for the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co. Robert Orrin, 
 the third child and onl}' son is the subject of the 
 present memoir. The youngest daughter, Florence 
 Alay, lives at home. The two elder daughter, fol- 
 lowing the path trodden by both parents, are mem- 
 bers of the Congregational Church, while the young- 
 est, following her own earnest convictions, has 
 united with the Methodist Church. Zaccheus Stowe, 
 maternal grandfather of A'lrs. Amelia (Belden) 
 Clark, was a soldier in the Revolution. 
 
 Robert Orrin Clark was born in East Berlin 
 Oct. 29, i860. His school days ended when he 
 reached the age of sixteen years, when he entered 
 
np.efa^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 191 
 
 the shops of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., under 
 the imniecHate instruction and supervision of his fa- 
 ther. He remained in connection with that concern 
 for about ten years, during 'a part of that time 
 acting as a contractor. Since quitting that firm 
 he has been engaged in business as a building con- 
 tractor, in whi:h line of trade his success has been 
 well-nigh marvelous. He was the pioneer in his 
 line in that locality, and through hard work, close 
 attention to business and unswerving integrity he 
 has not only accumulated a handsome competence, 
 but has also earned the sincere respect and unques- 
 tioning- confidence of his fellow citizens. So thor- 
 oughly is his work done, and so conscientious is he 
 in the fulfillment of his undertakings, that there 
 have been less than a half-dozen buildings erected 
 in East Berlin since he engaged in business of 
 which he has not made the excavations and laid 
 the foimdations, liesides setting the fundamental 
 brick work. He has also been contractor for the 
 erection and completion of a large number of 
 private residences, and not a few public buildings. 
 Among the finest private dwellings which he has 
 built may be mentioned his own home, A\'hich in 
 point of perfection of finish and completeness of 
 modern improvement is unsurpassed b}' any in the 
 town. He erected the Catholic church, and laid the 
 foundation for the Episcopal house of worship, and 
 has put up many buildings in Berlin, Cromwell and 
 other towns, among them being Mechanics' Hall, 
 on Berlin street. He is a large propertv owner in 
 East Berlin, among his holdings being Clark's Hall, 
 built by himself, and the only public hall in the 
 town. He emplovs about forty men, and uses about 
 thirty horses. With the exception of the Iron 
 Bridge and the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Cos. he is 
 the largest employer of labor in East Berlin. In 
 addition to his business as a builder and contractor 
 he is interested in sundry ventures of comparatively 
 minor importance. Some eighteen years ago he 
 opened a livery stable, with but one horse for hire ; 
 he still conducts the stable, but on a very different 
 scale, and in connection therewith manages an 
 agency for several makes of wagons, sleighs, etc. 
 He also owns and operates a portable stone crusher, 
 and has for the past five vears sawed aljout i ,000,000 
 feet of lumber annually in a portable steam saw- 
 mill, besides shipping- considerable quantities of 
 ■\vhite oak and hickorv to various points in the 
 State. 
 
 In his political sympathies ^Vlr. Clark is an out- 
 SDoken Republican. He is a member of Pequot 
 Council, No. 24, of the Senior O. U. A. M., of 
 Berlin, and a charter member of Mattabessett 
 Lodge, No. 25, K. P.. of East Berlin. He also 
 belongs to R. 6. Clark Co. Lodge, of the Uniformed 
 Rank, K. P., which he was instrumental in organiz- 
 ing-. 
 
 On Oct. 22, t884.. INlr. Clark was married to 
 Miss Etta Frances Belden. of Rockv Hill. ]\Irs. 
 Clark was born Aug. t. i860, daughter of Perry 
 and Maria (Taylor) Belden. One son and one 
 
 daughter have been born of tlie u:iion: Harold 
 Robert, Aug. 31, 188;^, and Ruth, Aug. 14, 1894. 
 '1 he son is attending school at New Britain. Both 
 Mr. and Mrs. Chirk are attendants of the Methodist 
 Church. 
 
 The foregoing sketch of the life and business 
 career of Mr. Clark demonstrates his tireless energj' 
 and his remarkable business capacity. Starting in 
 life without the adventitious aid of inherited wealth, 
 he has climbed the ladder of success round by 
 rouiul, through his own pertinacity, pluck and 
 courage. His disposition is genial and generous, 
 and his friends are many, while his life as a man 
 and a citizen is beyond reproach. 
 
 GEORGE WEXTLLX XECBAUER. an ex- 
 tensive manufacturer and business man of Bris- 
 tol, was born in Bavaria, Germany, Dec. 17. 1848, 
 a son of George and Elizaljeth ( Kauft'man) Neu- 
 bauer. 
 
 George Neubauer, who was liorn I'el). 11, 181 1, 
 was reared a cabinetmaker, and followed his trade 
 until 1842, when his brother died of cholera, through 
 which event he fell heir to a large farm, on which 
 the brother had conducted a thriving tavern. On 
 taking possession of the estate, he also assumed 
 charge of the tavern, which he continued to con- 
 duct with profit. On Feb. 7, 1834, he had married 
 Miss Elizabeth Kauffman, who was born Feb. 10, 
 1816. and with her passed a happy married life 
 until his death, Dec. 30, 1874. She survived until 
 September, 1892, and the remains of both are now 
 resting cjuietlv side bv side in their native Bavaria 
 — a land they had never forsaken. 
 
 John Neubauer, father of George, and grand- 
 father of our subject, carried on a tavern and cul- 
 tivated this same farm, which for generations had 
 been in the hands of the family. He married Eliza- 
 beth Warner, and died in 183 1, at the age of fifty- 
 six years. His death was due to an accident, he 
 having fallen from his house steps. 
 
 George W. Neubauer at the early age of thir- 
 teen years sailed from Hamburg for .America, hav- 
 ing an uncle in New Haven, Conn., with whom 
 he knew he would find a warm welcome, and being 
 desirous of testing life on republican soil, .\fter 
 his arrival here his father was anxious for his re- 
 turn, but the surroundings at home were not quite 
 as satisfactory as here, and he decided to remain. 
 For the first ten months after hi^ arrival here 
 young Neubauer worked for a John Brooks, ami 
 then apprenticed himself to wood-carving at a 
 compensation of $3 per week the first year : $4 for 
 the second ; $5 for the tliird. and became an expert. 
 He then followed his trade in New Haven as a 
 journeyman for about seven years. 
 
 In May, 1867. I\Ir. Neubauer came to Bristol 
 as head wood carver for J. H. Sessions, but three 
 years later went into the same business on his own 
 account on Main street. Having secured special 
 work in clock case carving, he a year later moved 
 to more commodious quarters and added bureau 
 
192 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 drawer handles to his industry, employing twenty- 
 seven men. Until 1893, when machinery took the 
 place of hand work, he did all the clock carving 
 for the Ingraham Co. and the E. N. Welch j\lann- 
 facturing Co., and invented several machines him- 
 self for making handles. 
 
 Another enterprise had in the meantime been 
 undertaken by Mr. Neubauer. In 1887 he added a 
 leather washer factory to his establishment, in 
 which he cut up leather costing $100 per day for 
 over three years, but this branch of his business 
 he sold to the Searles Manufacturing Co., of New- 
 ark, N. J. In 1890 Mr. Neubauer became a stock- 
 holder in, and in 1892 secretary, treasurer and gen- 
 eral manager of the Turner Heater Co., which 
 complicated and responsible position he still retains. 
 The specialty of this company is the manufacture 
 of fine furnaces of all kinds, in which specialty it 
 secured the first prize over all competitors at the re- 
 cent mechanics fair at Boston. The capital stock 
 of this company is $50,000, and the quality of its 
 product has never been excelled. Mr. NeUbauer is 
 also a director in the Bristol Press Co., publishers 
 of the newsy and very influential journal bearing 
 that name. 
 
 In politics Mr. Neubauer is a stanch Republi- 
 can, and has served as burgess of Bristol for three 
 years, has been chairman of the street committee, 
 and also of the police committee. He is a member 
 of the Royal Arcanum. 
 
 On Dec. 23, 1871, Mr. Neubauer was most 
 happily joined in marriage with Miss Carrie Emi- 
 lie Sessions, a daughter of John H. Sessons, of 
 Bristol, and this union was graced Feb. 5, 1876, 
 with a son. William Ludwig, who was married 
 Dec. 8, 1897, to Miss Bessie O. Rouse. 
 
 JONAS COOLIDGE HILLS, the subject of 
 this' sketch, has always resided at Hartford, where 
 he was born Oct. 18, 1851. His father, Ellei-y Hills, 
 was a native of that part of East Hartford called 
 Hillstown, and was a direct descendant from Will- 
 iam Hills, who was shot by the Narragansett In- 
 dians, and also from William Hills, who in 1653 
 was appointed to train the men ''on the east side," 
 that fact being the first indication of a permanent 
 settlement on the east side of the Connecticut river 
 at Hartford. Other or'iginal proprietors, twelve of 
 whose names are upon the monument in the old 
 historic burial ground in this city, are among his 
 ancestors. Ellery Hills was favorably known for 
 more than fifty vears among the merchants of his 
 day, and left a reputation for strict honesty and 
 integrit}^ 
 
 From his mother, who was Nancy Coolidge, a 
 daughter of Jonas Coolidge and Lois (Harris) 
 Coolidge, of Springfield, Mass., Mr. Hills is also 
 of Colonial ancestry, claiming descent from AVill- 
 iam Pynchon, t'he founder of Roxbury and Spring- 
 field, Mass., Gov. George Wyllys of Connecticut, 
 and others. 
 
 The early education which our subject received 
 was in the common schools, but being of a feeble 
 
 constitution he was tniable to endure the discipline: 
 and routine of school life, and was placed under 
 private instructors. Contending" with ill health, he 
 has never actively engaged in bitsiness, which gave 
 him abundant leisure for reading, thought and in- 
 vestigation, keeping pace with t'he advanced de- 
 velopment of his special studies. His collection of 
 coins and medals gathered during many years of 
 research, both in this and in foreign lands, is es- 
 pecially rich in military and war decorations, and 
 classed among the finest in this country. 
 
 Mr. Hills married in 1896 Miss Elsie M. 
 Sessions; of Hampden, formerly South Wilbraham,. 
 Mass., a daughter of Hon. William R. Sessions and 
 
 Elsie Walker (Cunningham) Sessions. 
 
 Mr 
 
 Sessions is a prominent man in that vicinity ; he 
 enlisted in the Civil war, has served as a memlDer of 
 the Legislature and Senate, and for twelve years- 
 was secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of 
 Agriculture. 
 
 In religion ^Mr. Hills is a Congregationalist, in. 
 politics a Republican. He has attained a high posi- 
 tion in the Masonic Fraternity, all the degrees, in- 
 cluding the thirty-second, having been conferred, 
 upon him. He is also a member of Washington Com- 
 mandery, No. i, Knights Templar. He was for 
 a time in the Connecticut National Guard, Com- 
 pany K, 1st Regiment. He is a member of the 
 Sons of the American Revolution, of the Connecti- 
 cut Historical .Society, and of the American Nu- 
 mismatic and Arch^ological Society of New York. 
 Both in public and private life he has evinced those 
 virtues that have earned for him the esteem of the 
 community in which he dwells. 
 
 HON. JOHN GILBERT ROOT, president of 
 the Farmers & Mechanics National Bank. Hartford, 
 is of the seventh generation in direct descent from 
 John Root, the Puritan, through Thomas, En- 
 sign Joseph, Deacon Joseph, Silas and Col. Silas 
 Root. 
 
 (I) John Root, the Puritan ancestor, emigrated 
 from Badb}^, Northamptonshire, England, and was- 
 one of the first settlers of Farmington, Conn., in 
 1640. He married Mary Kilbourn. 
 
 (II) Thomas, son of John, was born in 1648, 
 in Farmington, Conn., and in 1675 married his sec- 
 ond wife, Mary Spencer. He removed to AVest- 
 ficld, Massachusetts. 
 
 (HI) Ensign Joseph Root, son of Thomas, born 
 in 1688, married Sarah . He lived in West- 
 field, Massachusetts. 
 
 (IV) Deacon Joseph Root, son of Ensign Jo- 
 seph, was born in 1715, at Westfield, and was mar- 
 ried in 1743 to Ann Bancroft. He made his home 
 in Westfield, Massachusetts. 
 
 (V) Silas Root, son of Deacon Joseph, was born 
 in 1759, at Westfield, and was married (first) in 
 1791 to Amelia, daughter of Joseph Root, of 
 Northampton, Mass. Pie lived in Westfield. 
 
 (VI) Col. Silas Root, son of Silas and Amelia 
 (Root) Root, and the father of Hon. John Gilbert 
 Root, of Hartford, was born March 28, 1795, in 
 
#-■ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 W6 
 
 Westfield, Mass., where he made his permanent 
 home. He was married (first) on Jan. 24, 1822, 
 to Lucy Fowler, daughter of Justus and Abigail 
 (Gilbert) Fowler. She was born Jan. 23, 1803, and 
 died at Westfield March 11, 1853. Col. Root was 
 married (second) on Jan. 4, 1855, to Mrs. Merilla 
 B. Chapman. The children born of the first mar- 
 riage were: Lucy A., who married Patrick H. 
 Boies, and died in 1858; Lewis F. ; and John G. 
 
 Hon. John Gilbert Root was born April 20, 1835, 
 at Westfield, Mass., and after receiving an academic 
 education began h's business career in a bank at 
 Westfield, in 185 1. He went to Hartford, Conn., 
 in 1855, to take a position in the Bank of Hartford 
 County, which later became the American National 
 Bank, and he remained with the institution until 
 1883, with the exception of a year and a half when 
 he was treasurer of the Hartford Trust Company. 
 He was chosen cashier of the bank in 1871, a posi- 
 tion he retained until elected president of the Farm- 
 ers & Mechanics National Bank, Dec. 19, 1883, 
 which relation he has since sustained. 
 
 During the Civil war Mr. Root entered the 
 United States service as captain of Company B, 
 22nd Conn. V. L, being mustered into the service 
 Sept. 20, 1862. His command formed a part of the 
 Army of the Potomac. He shared the fortunes of 
 the regiment, and bore an honorable part throughout 
 the term of his service, being mustered out July 
 7, 1863. Since his return to civil life Capt. Root 
 has been one of the leading members of Robert O. 
 T3'ler Post, G. A. R., of Hartford. For years he 
 has been one of the trustees of the post fund, and 
 still serves in that capacity. He also held for years 
 an honorable place in the Hartford City Guard, and 
 has been an influential member of the Veteran Asso- 
 ciation. He is connected with the highest order 
 of Masonry in the State, having held the position 
 of grand treasurer of the grand lodge for years. 
 In the 'eighties it fell to his lot to deliver the oration 
 in Cedar Hill cemetery, when the handsome monu- 
 ment in honor of Thomas H. Seymour, the most 
 chivalric of Knights Templar, was dedicated, and it 
 is not necessary to say that the address was in keep- 
 ing with the occasion, and i^eflected permanent credit 
 on the one who delivered it. In 1888 he was elected 
 mayor of Hartford, and served the city as an able and 
 conscientious chief magistrate, his administration 
 having been one of marked success; the review of 
 his career as mayor increased the great public re- 
 spect that had previously been felt for him. Mr. 
 Root took a very active interest in the ist Company 
 of the Governor's Foot Guard. He is a member of 
 the Connecticut river and highway district commis- 
 sion, a commission of considerable importance, 
 which has the recommending of a new bridge over 
 the Connecticut river, and the approaches and high- 
 ways leading thereto. He has also held a number of 
 other important positions in connection with the 
 city, among which may be mentioned his four-years' 
 service on the committee of the high school, and 
 
 13 
 
 at present he is vice-president and trustee of the 
 Mechanics Savings Bank, trustee in the Security 
 Company of Hartford, and is president, treasurer 
 and a director of the Spring Grove Cemetery Asso- 
 ciation. These are but a few of the many important 
 positions held by Mr. Root, which go to show his 
 appreciation by the community, and the active inter- 
 est which he has taken in the affairs of the city. 
 In all of the positions of civic and military life 
 Mayor Root has been the ideal representative of 
 good feeling and manliness. His social qualities 
 have made him an admirable companion, there being 
 no more delightful comrade in the great Masonic 
 Fraternity in Connecticut than he. His upright- 
 ness of character, genial and wholesome manners, 
 and frankness of intercourse with men, have at- 
 tracted hosts of men to his friendship. 
 
 GEORGE CYPRIAN JARVIS, M. D., of Hart- 
 ford. The Jarvis family of England were origin- 
 ally from Normandy. Their seat in England is at 
 Bretagne, and the first of the name found was 
 Jean Gervais, who lived about 1400. Both in this 
 country and in Europe the name of Jarvis has been 
 enrolled in almost all the learned professions and 
 pursuits in life. It has given dignity to the Bench; 
 it has graced the professions of medicine and sur- 
 gery ; it has adorned the pulpit and stage ; it has 
 entwined its garlands of poetry with music and 
 painting, and it has thundered its deeds of daring 
 over the ocean wave and among the distant islands 
 of the sea. Such names as Bishop Jarvis, Rev. 
 Samuel F. Jarvis, D. D., LL. D., Drs. Charles, 
 Leonard, George O. and George C. Jarvis, have 
 graced the ministry and the medical profession. 
 
 Dr. George C. Jarvis, subject of this review, is 
 in the sixth generation from William Jarvis, a 
 farmer of Huntington, L. I., whose death occurred 
 about 1740. His wife's name was Esther. From 
 this William Jarvis our subject's line of descent is 
 through Capt. Samuel, John, John (2) and Dr. 
 George O. Jarvis. 
 
 (II) Capt. Samuel Jarvis, son of \\ illiam, bom 
 in 1698, married Naomi Brush, and resided in Nor- 
 walk. Conn., where he died in 1779. 
 
 (III) John Jarvis, son of Capt. Samuel, born in 
 1725, married, in 1751, Catherine Raymond, and 
 lived in Norwalk. He passed away in 1778. 
 
 (IV) John Jarvis (2), son of John, born in 
 1753, married (second) in 1779, Elizabeth Boulte. 
 He lived in Norwalk, and died there in 1824. 
 
 (V) Dr. George Oglevie Jarvis, son of John 
 (2), and the father of our subject, was born July 
 14, 1795, in New Canaan, Conn. ,He became a 
 thorough English scholar, and was an educator in 
 youth and early manhood. He studied medicine 
 with Dr. T. S. Wetmore, of Winchester, Conn., and 
 was licensed to practice in 1817, settling first in 
 Torrington, Conn. After two years' practice there 
 he removed to Colebrook, remaining until 1840, and 
 thence to Portland, where he resided and was sue- 
 
196 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 developed the ripe manhood manifested in the life 
 of William Walker Carter. When nineteen years 
 old his father gave him his time, and he went to 
 Hartford and entered the employ of G. W. Bar- 
 tholomew, at Polkville (now Edgewobd), at cabinet 
 work when twenty-one. In 1838 he went West, 
 collecting for William Case, the famous clock manu- 
 facturer of Canton. The absence of the rapid trans- 
 portation facilities of the present day called into 
 requisition the use of a horse to carry the young 
 collector from place to place, and the healthful exer- 
 cise of riding horseback did much to strengthen his 
 physical constitution. 
 
 Returning, in 1841, Mr. Carter was married to 
 Miss Clarissa Barnes, of Southampton, Mass., 
 daughter of Amos and Esther Danks Barnes, July 
 20, of the same year. Mr. and Mrs. Carter went 
 to housekeeping the following year on North Main 
 street, Bristol. They joined the Methodist Church 
 soon after the old church was built, where the Ad- 
 vent church now stands, and when the new church 
 was built they took a letter and joined the Advent 
 Church, continuing to worship in the old edifice, 
 which was bought by Mr. Carter, Lawson Wood- 
 ing and H. A. Warner, Mr. Carter paying for more 
 than half of the church, which they opened to the 
 Advent people. He took an active interest in the 
 affairs of the church, to which he contributed lib- 
 erally. 
 
 In 1891 Mr. and Mrs. Carter's golden wedding 
 was celebrated at their Sachem's Head cottage, by 
 their neighbors and friends. Mr. Carter died at 
 his cottage home Aug. 23, 1893, at the age of sev- 
 enty-seven years. The remains were brought to 
 Bristol for interment. His widow is still living 
 at the home, where she has resided for over fifty 
 years, and is now in her eighty-seventh year, hav- 
 ing been born Aug. 18, 1814. l\Irs. Carter is a very 
 devout member of the Advent Christian Church. 
 The marriage was without issue. 
 
 Mr. Carter engaged in the clock business until 
 1870. He worked at clock-making for Chauncey 
 Boardman, the E. Ingraham Co., J. C. Brown, of 
 Forestville, and Chauncey Jerome, in Ansonia, and 
 in 1865 was associated with his brother, Luther Car- 
 ter, making calendar clocks, in the building now used 
 as a tenement, on the lot at the corner of North 
 Main and North streets. This enterprise for about 
 five years was very prosperous, and he acquired a 
 good property. During the last twenty years of 
 his life he was not engaged in active business be- 
 yond caring for his investments. Mr. Carter was 
 a very thoughtful man in every way. Aside from 
 his clock business, he found time to attend to many 
 enterprises for the good of humanity and the pub- 
 lic weal. He was one of the incorporators of the 
 Bristol Savings Bank, filled the position of vice- 
 president, and was also a member of the board of 
 trustees. His business push and executive ability 
 were recognized by hfs townsmen in his election 
 to the office of first selectman for several years, in 
 
 which he rendered valuable service in the manage- 
 ment of public affairs. In politics Mr. Carter was. 
 a stanch Democrat until after the Civil war, when he 
 became a liberal thinker. He was a member of the 
 Odd Fellows. He was broadminded in all matters 
 pertaining to the welfare of his country and human- 
 ity, and gave liberally to everything of a deserving 
 nature. 
 
 HON. JAMES NICHOLS, of Hartford, presi- 
 dent of the National Fire Insurance Co., is of the 
 eighth generation from Francis Nichols, through 
 Isaac, Richard, Nathaniel, Theophilus, Capt. James 
 and Isaac. 
 
 (I) Francis Nichols married Anne, daughter of 
 Barnabas Wines, of Southold, L. I. [Orcott's "His- 
 tory of Stratford."] He appeared in Stratford, 
 Conn., in 1639, with four children: Isaac, Caleb, 
 John, and a daughter. 
 
 (II) Isaac Nichols, son of Francis, also became 
 identified with Stratford. He was several times 
 deputy to the General Court. His wife's name was 
 Mary. 
 
 (III) Isaac Nichols, son of Isaac, was born in 
 1654, and died in 1680. The maiden name of his 
 wife, Margaret, was probably Washburn, as the son 
 of a Mr. Washburn speaks of her as aunt ; however, 
 it is possible her sister may have married his fa- 
 ther. 
 
 (IV) Richard Nichols, son of Isaac, born Nov> 
 26, 1678, in Stratford, married June 3, 1702, Com- 
 fort Sherman, daughter of Theophilus Sherman, of 
 Wethersfield. 
 
 (V) Nathaniel Nichols, son of Richard, born 
 April 8, 1707, married Ann Booth, who was born 
 in 1 710, daughter of Jonathan and Hester (Galpin) 
 Booth, and died in 1780. 
 
 (VI) Theophilus Nichols, son of Nathaniel, 
 born in 1748, married in 1771 Sarah Meeker, who 
 was born in 1753, daughter of David and Hannah 
 (Hill) Meeker, the latter born in 1729. Mr. Nichols 
 settled in Newtown, Conn. Mrs. Nichols died in 
 1852. 
 
 (VII) Capt. James Nichols, son of Theophilus, 
 born Sept. 9, 1775, married Lucy Beach, born Feb. 
 22, 1780, daughter of John Beach (3). Capt. "Jim" 
 Nichols, as he was familiarly called, was a large 
 land owner and a good farmer, dealing largely in 
 cattle. He was one of the most prominent farmers 
 of his day in Newtown, a man of good judgment, 
 and served as selectman, though in no sense an 
 officeseeker. He was a Whig in his political views, 
 and, religiously, a member of the Episcopal Church. 
 He is often called on in the settlement of estates. 
 
 (VIII) Isaac Nichols, son of Capt. James 
 Nichols, and the father of President James Nichols, 
 of Hartford, was born April 19, 1802, in Newtown, 
 and died there Sept. 7, 1853. He was married 
 (first) in 1827 to Betsey Piatt, daughter of Moses 
 and Anna (Judson) Piatt. She was born in 1798, 
 and died Oct. 6, 1835. He married (second) March 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 197 
 
 20, 1838, Louisa Bartlett, daughter of John and 
 Sarali (Bennett) Bartlett. She was born April 4, 
 1812, and died Oct. 21, 1894. Mr. Nichols was 
 reared at the old Nichols homestead which was just 
 south of the present Beers Sherman place. In his 
 «arly life for some years he was engaged in busi- 
 ness at Bridgeport, associated with Gideon Thomp- 
 son. Along in the latter part of the 'thirties he re- 
 turned to the homestead, and there farmed the rest 
 of his life. He was a good substantial farmer and 
 citizen. He did not care for official position, and 
 was not active in public affairs. In politics he was 
 a Whig, and in his religious views an Episcopalian. 
 His children were Henry, born May 8, 1829; James, 
 Dec. 25, 1830; William, Feb. 11, 1833; Mary B., 
 Oct. 3, 1835; Augusta, Feb. 22, 1839; Sarah, May 
 29, 1840; Margaret, March 20, 1842; Beach, Feb. 
 8, 1844; Louisa B., Sept. 7, 1845; William, Aug. 
 18, 1847; Arthur, April 2, 1849; and Grace Nov. 
 26, 1851. 
 
 James Nichols, son of Isaac, of Newtown, Conn., 
 was born December 25, 1830, in Newtown, where 
 his boyhood was passed on his father's farm in at- 
 tendance at the district schools, at work on the farm, 
 and in teaching, until his twenty-first, year. He was 
 prepared for the Bar under the direction of the late 
 Amos S. Treat, and was admitted to the Bar in the 
 spring of 1854, at Danbury, Conn. He commenced 
 the practice of law at Thompsonville, but removed to 
 Hartford within a few months, and was appointed 
 assistant clerk of the Hartford county superior court. 
 In 1 86 1 he was elected judge of probate in the Hart- 
 ford district, wihich embraced the towns of Hartford, 
 Windsor Locks, East Hartford and Glastonbury. 
 The office was one of great importance, and required 
 exceptional ability for the discharge of its duties. 
 Judge Nichols . won the admiration of all parties 
 on account of the successful way in which the ju- 
 dicial work of the office was performed. In 1867 
 lie became the adjuster and special agent of the 
 Merchants Insurance Co. of Hartford, and was 
 rapidly promoted by the board of directors. From 
 the* outset he manifested exceptional adaptability 
 for the insurance business. At the time of the great 
 Chicago fire, in 1871, Judge Nichols was secretary 
 of the Merchants, and a manager of recognized 
 standing in the insurance community. The Mer- 
 -chants was not able to recover from the great disas- 
 ter at Chicago, and surrendered its charter. The 
 National Fire Insurance Co., which had been incor- 
 porated in May, 1869, organized in 1871 with the 
 late Mark Howard as president, and Judge Nichols 
 as secretary. On the death of President Howard, 
 in 1887, the Judge succeeded to the presidency, his 
 standing as a most capable insurance manager en- 
 titling him to that promotion. Under the able and 
 judicious management of Judge Nichols the Na- 
 tional has made great progress, and has the reputa- 
 tion of being one of the ablest and most carefully 
 conducted insurance companies in New England. 
 Under his presidency the assets of the company in- 
 
 creased from $1,969,907, Jan. i, 1887, to $4,551." 
 283,55, J^"- '• 190O1 and its business from 1887 to 
 1900 from $569,256 to $2,187,750. 
 
 Judge Nichols was very prominently brought 
 before the fire underwriters of this country in con- 
 nection with the famous Bennett Brothers' case, 
 in Syracuse, he being chairman of a committee con- 
 sisting of himself, Richard D. AUiger and Daniel 
 C. Osman, who had the case in charge. In this case 
 over $120,000 insurance was involved, twenty-three 
 companies were interested, and over $350,000 loss 
 was claimed by the assured. The assured assigned 
 his property to the creditors, among whom were 
 sixty-three of the leading mercantile firms of New 
 York, whose debts were to be collected from the 
 insurance. These sixty-three creditors assumed an 
 active part in the prosecution of the claim, using 
 freely their influence as merchants and insurers to 
 compel payment, signing individually a memorial to 
 the companies interested urging the settlement of 
 the claim independent of the committee, and in many 
 instances withdrawing their patronage from the 
 companies interested. The assured also distributed 
 circulars throughout the country abusing the com- 
 mittee, and demanding that the policies of the com- 
 panies contesting the claim be refused by the insur- 
 ing public. Notwithstanding the great pressure 
 brought upon the companies to settle the loss not one 
 company yielded, but all firmly sustained the com- 
 mittee, aiid, after a long and severely contested 
 trial of thirty days' actual session in court, the case 
 was won by the companies, a large amount of money 
 saved, a villainous fraud exposed, and the perpe- 
 trators punished. 
 
 Judge Nichols is president of the ^lechanics 
 & traders Fire Insurance Co.. of New Orleans; 
 vice-president of the Charter Oak National Bank; 
 a director in the Phoenix Life Insurance Co. ; a 
 trustee in the Society for Savings; a director in 
 the iEtna Indemnity Co. : and in the Pratt & Cady 
 Co. Politically his affiliations have always been 
 with the Republican party. Ilis religious cornections 
 are with the Park Congregational Church of Hart- 
 ford, of which he has been a member for many 
 years. He has served his ward as a member of the 
 common council. He is a Mason, identified with St. 
 John's Lodge, of Hartford. The life of Judge Nich- 
 ols has been one of great success and honor, and 
 he is held in the highest esteem in Hartford, of 
 which he has been a resident since the summer 
 
 of 1854. 
 
 On July 9, 1861, ^Ir. Nichols was married to 
 Isabella" M. Starkweather, daughter of Nathan and 
 Cvnthia (Loomis) Starkweather, of Hartford. She 
 was born Aug. 5, 1842, and died Oct. 9, 1895. Three 
 children came to this marriage : James L., born 
 Feb. 20, 1863, died June 29, 187!. Isabella, born 
 Oct. 23, 1874, died June 28, 1875. Helen C, born 
 Dec. 24, 1870, married Dec. 24, 1890, Harry A. 
 ■Smith, of Rochester, N. Y., now of Hartford, as- 
 sistant secretary of the National Fire Insurance 
 
198 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Co. ; they have one son, James N., born Oct. 2, 
 1891, and one daughter, Harriet H., born Jan. 
 6, 1895. 
 
 SAMUEL D. CHAMBERLIN. The Cham- 
 beriin family is one of the oldest in this section, and 
 traces descent from one of three brothers who came 
 from England at an earl)' date, landing in Boston. 
 
 The first of the name of whom we have definite 
 record was Jacob Chamberlin, who was born in 
 Newton, Mass., in 1673, and the subject of this 
 sketch, a well-known business man of Hartford, is 
 of the sixth generation from this ancestor. 
 
 (H) Jason Chamberlin, son of Jacob, known 
 as Col. Jason, was born in Newton, Mass., Feb. 26, 
 1701. He inherited the homestead, and after his 
 marriage, to Hannah Clark, settled at Holliston, 
 Mass. About 1770 he removed to Sandisfield, 
 Berkshire Co., Mass. Being a man of more than 
 ordinary ability he took a leading part in public 
 affairs wherever he resided, and he represented 
 Holliston in the convention that adopted the Federal 
 Constitution, and was often sent to the General 
 Court. His interest in the political questions of his 
 day was keen, and he always acted with the parties 
 opposed to the Constitution and administration of 
 John Adams. 
 
 (HI) Samuel Chamberlin, son of Col. Jason, 
 was born at Holliston, Mass., July 18, 1732, and 
 during the darkest period of the Revolutionary war 
 he enlisted from the town of Sandisfield in Col. 
 Ashley's regiment, his muster returns being dated 
 at Valley Forge, Jan. 25, 1778. 
 
 (IV) Samuel Clark Chamberlin was born at 
 Holliston May 25, 1765, and died Nov. 30, 1835, 
 in Colebrook, Conn. On Sept. 7, 1796, he married, 
 for his second wife, Anna Conklin, who was born 
 Oct. 30, 1772, and died May 2, 1846. By this mar- 
 riage he had seven children, as follows : Abiram, 
 born Oct. 2, 1797, died Oct. 14, 1871, in New 
 Britain; Mary, born Sept. 20, 1799, died Aug. 14, 
 1861, in Hartford; Elvira, iDorn Sept. 14, 1801, 
 died July i, 1838, in New Hartford; Rebecca, born 
 Aug. 28, 1804, died Nov. 17, 1886, in Hartford; 
 Hiram, born April 2, 1809, died Sept. 2, 1876; 
 Samuel Strong, born Sept. 25, 181 1, died Jan. 24, 
 1898, at Hartford; Melvina, born Sept. 5, 1815, died 
 Aug. 17, 1843, in New Britain. 
 
 (V) Samuel S. Chamberlin was born Sept. 25, 
 181 1, in Colebrook, Conn., and was reared in Berk- 
 hire county, Mass., receiving a district-school edu- 
 cation, which he supplemented by reading and ob- 
 servation. He was an excellent business man, 
 straightforward and possessing sound judgment, 
 and with the exception of a few months had no 
 partners in his .enterprises. As a young man he 
 was employed by the Messrs. Bartelle, grocers, in 
 Norfolk, and in 1835 he established a retail gro- 
 cery and meat business at No. 179 State street, 
 Hartford, which was afterward developed into the 
 present wholesale business in provisions, salt fish and 
 
 grass seeds. He was the first to make "dried beef," 
 and this became a leading feature in his trade. Al- 
 though he went to Hartford empty-handed he ac- 
 cumulated a fine etate, and in 1873 he retired, leav- 
 ing the business to his son, Samuel D. Chamberlin, 
 who admitted to the firm, in August, 1897, his two 
 sons, Frank D. and Albert S. In politics he was a 
 Republican, as are all the members of the family, 
 and for sixty years he was a faithful reader of the 
 Coiirant, but he never took an active share in par- 
 tisan work. He was a member of the South Con- 
 gregational Church, Hartford. On Oct. 11, 1835, 
 Mr. Chamberlin married Mary Etta Doolittle, born 
 June I, 1812, daughter of Ezra Doolittle, Esq., of 
 Riverton, Conn., and a member of one of the most 
 prominent families of that place. She died March 
 16, 1885, and he married (second) Mrs. Harriet 
 Elizabeth Filley, who survives him. He left four 
 children, all by the first marriage : Miss Ellen E. ; 
 Mrs. L. B. Merriam; Samuel D. ; and Laura M., 
 wife of Rev. George S. Dodge, of Worcester, Massa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 (VI) Samuel Doolittle Chamberlin was born 
 Feb. 6, 1843, in Hartford, where he received a 
 public-school education, and he also attended school 
 in Ellington for two years. He left school at the 
 age of seventeen, and in 1861 enlisted at Hartford 
 in Company A, 1st Conn. V. I., for three months. 
 At the expiration of this term he re-enlisted, in the 
 i6th Conn. V. I., was made orderly sergeant, and 
 later served as second lieutenant of Company G, and 
 first lieutenant of Company B ; was with the regi- 
 ment about a year and a half, and then resigned 
 to enter the quartermaster's department. He was 
 in the battle of Bull Run and the Virginia campaign, 
 and took part in the hard fighting at Antietam, 
 Fredericksburg, and the siege of Suffolk. After 
 the war he came home and engaged in business with 
 his father, and since the latter's retirement in 1875 
 has conducted the store. He has a large trade in 
 provisions, salt fish and grass seeds, extending 
 throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode 
 Island. Mr. Chamberlin has always followed a 
 conservative course in business, its wisdom being 
 shown by his success. He is a Republican in poli- 
 tics, but has not taken an ardent part in public 
 affairs, and socially he is identified with the B. P. 
 O. E., and with Robert O. Tyler Post, G. A. R. 
 On Aug. 24, 1862, he was married to Sarah E. 
 Quintard, daughter of Henry Harrison and Clarissa 
 (Grant) Quintard, the former of South Norwalk, 
 the latter of Ashford, Conn. Mr. Quintard was iden- 
 tified with the Jewel Belting Co. all his active life. 
 Mr. Chamberlin has children as follows : Frank D. ; 
 Albert S. ; Samuel S., who is in the gents' furnish- 
 ing business ; George Burton C, who is in the boot 
 and shoe business ; Mary E. ; and Harry H., who is 
 employed in the shipping department at Pope's fac- 
 tory. The last named was in the Spanish war, in 
 1898, serving with Company K, ist Conn. Vols. 
 On Dec. 28, 1892, Frank D. married Adelaide White, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 19& 
 
 of Hartford, and they have one son, Samuel D., born 
 Jan. 27 1895. On Oct. 26, 1897, Samuel S. mar- 
 ried Mrs. Louise (Thomas) Fox, and they have one 
 son, Albert S., born July 15, 1899. Mary E. mar- 
 ried Charles E. Hubbard. 
 
 THEODORE WIRTH, the efficient and enter- 
 prising superintendent of the park system of the 
 city of Hartford, was born Nov. 30, 1863, at Win- 
 terthur, Canton Zurich, Switzerland, and belongs to 
 an old and respected family of that Canton. In 
 fact, genealogically, he can trace his ancestors back 
 to the year 1446, and he is a descendant of Burgo- 
 master Hans Wirth, of Stamheim, who, together 
 with his son, Johannes, a priest of the new Zwingli 
 Protestant Church, was beheaded by the Catholics in 
 1523, at Baden, Canton Aargau. 
 
 Conrad Wirth, the grandfather of our subject, 
 was a life-long resident of the Canton, and by occu- 
 pation was a veterinary surgeon. Conrad Wirth, 
 Jr., our subject's father, was born in 1827 in Stam- 
 heim, same Canton, and on graduating from the 
 seminary at Kusnacht, at twenty years of age, be- 
 came a successful teacher, retiring in April, 1898. 
 During his fifty years of professional work he 
 taught in three places only, and for thirty-six years 
 he was connected with the schools of Winterthur, a 
 place of 20,000 inhabitants. He was married in 
 Flawyl, Canton St. Gall, to Miss Martha Wiget, a 
 native of that Canton, and they had four children, 
 all of whom are living : Elsie resides at Flawyl ; 
 Theodore, our subject, was second in the order of 
 birth ; Rudolph, who succeeded his father as a 
 teacher at Winterthur, married Elsie Merk, and has 
 one child, Martha; Martha married Godfried 
 Schmid, chief engineer of the Canton of Zurich, and 
 resides in Zollikon, near the city of Zurich. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the schools of his 
 native town, which were famous for their excellence, 
 and he speaks three languages, German, French and 
 English. In 1878 he was graduated from the high 
 school, and entered upon an apprenticeship as a gen- 
 eral gardener at Flawyl in one of the largest horti- 
 cultural establishments in Switzerland. On com- 
 pleting his term he spent one winter in an elective 
 course in engineering, at the Polytechnic school at 
 Winterthur, and for one year he was engaged in 
 that line of work in ■ Switzerland. In 1883 he 
 went to London, England, where he was employed 
 as a landscape gardener and general decorator, and 
 in 1885 he went to Paris where he worked for two 
 years on private estates and in the well-known bot- 
 anical garden, the Jardin des Plantes. He returned 
 to Switzerland in 1887, and in the following year 
 came to America, landing in Nev^r York City. His 
 ability and skill secured him employment within 
 three or four weeks as a gardener in Central Park, 
 where he remained until 1890, and later he re-en- 
 tered the service of the New York park commis- 
 sioners and assisted in the construction of Morning- 
 side Park, imder the direction of general foreman of 
 
 construction, James I'rancis Huss, a native of 
 Switzerland. While there he rose to the position 
 of assistant foreman, and for some time had charge 
 of Morningside Park, but was finally discharged, 
 with hundreds of others, on account of a change of 
 administration. Mr. Wirth then engaged in work 
 on his own account, la\ing out private places, con- 
 tinuing thus from 1892 to 1896, and during that 
 time he worked chiefly on Long Island and in 
 other portions of New York State. With Samuel 
 Parsons, Jr., he did some planting at the State Res- 
 ervation at Niagara Falls. In 1896 he was ap- 
 pointed superintendent of parks of the city of Hart- 
 ford, and under him many improvements have been 
 made. He executed the plans furnished him by 
 Olmsted Brothers, landscai>e architects, for Pope, 
 South and Riverside Parks, and designed and ex- 
 ecuted the plans for Elizabeth Park. Mr. Wirth 
 says this profession is his life, and in this devotion 
 may be seen the secret of his success. He has not 
 been active in politics, and is now an independent, 
 although formerly a Democrat. He is a member of 
 the Royal Arcanum and the I. O. O. F., and of the 
 Zwingli Protestant Church. 
 
 In 1895 JNIr. Wirth married Miss Leonie Alex- 
 andrine Mense, an American, born of French par- 
 entage, and they have two sons, Theodore Rudolph 
 and Conrad Louis. 
 
 HON. JOHN W. COOGAN, M. A., attorney 
 at law, Hartford, was born June 3, 1855, in \\'ind- 
 sor Locks, Hartford county, a son of James Coogan. 
 who was born in Ireland. Flis grandfather, Daniel 
 Coogan, also born in Ireland, came to America, and 
 followed his trade of paper-maker in this country. 
 He died in Windsor Locks at the age of ninety-six 
 years. 
 
 James Coogan, father of John ^^'., was one of 
 a number of children, Julia, who married [Matthew 
 Lester, of Windsor, being the only one now living. 
 James Coogan was a paper-maker by trade, and 
 became superintendent of a paper-mill in Windsor 
 Locks. He afterward started a store which he car- 
 ried on for many vears, until he retired, and he died 
 at the age of seventy years. He was a man of 
 prominence in his town, holding all the town offices 
 which he would accept, and in iS(>5 was sent to the 
 Legislature, being the first Catholic to fill this posi- 
 tion in the State of Connecticut : was on the board 
 of selectmen at Windsor Locks for many years, and 
 took an active part in the political affairs of his town 
 all his life. He married Eliza (Byrne), who was 
 born in Ireland, and eight children were born to 
 them, seven of whom are living: Edward D., in 
 Windsor Locks; James T., in Windsor Locks; 
 Timothy C, a resident of San Francisco, 
 Cal. ; Joseph A., also in Windsor Locks; 
 Elizabeth, who married James B. Benson, of Wind- 
 sor Locks ; John W. ; and Mary J., a Sister of 
 Mercy, known in the order as Sister M. Laurentia. 
 The mother of these died at the age of forty-nine. 
 
200 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Coogan were members of the Catho- 
 lic Church, in which they took an active part and in- 
 terest. Of the above mentioned, Timotliy C. is an 
 attorney at law, now in San Francisco, Cal. He 
 held various town offices at Windsor Locks during 
 his early professional life, and has served three 
 terms in the Connecticut State Senate, being the 
 first Catholic to hold that office in Connecticut. Of 
 the other brothers all but Joseph A. have been mem- 
 bers of the State Legislature : all have been promi- 
 nently connected with town offices. Joseph A. has 
 been a practicing physician for a number of years, 
 in Hartford and in his native town of Windsor 
 Locks. 
 
 John W. Coogan passed his early years in Wind- 
 sor Locks, and was educated in the public schools 
 and St. John's College, at Fordham, N. Y., where 
 he graduated in 1876, with the degree of A. B. ; 
 in 1878 he received the degree of M. A. He then 
 took up the study of law with his brother, Timothy 
 C, later entered Yale Law School, where he gradu- 
 ated in 1879, and immediately began the practice in 
 Hartford which he has since continued, for twenty- 
 one years. He is one of the oldest lawyers in 
 practice in the city, and has tried a large number 
 of celebrated cases, in which he has been very suc- 
 cessful. Like his brothers, he has been active along 
 political lines. He was prosecuting attorney for 
 the city for two years; grand juror for a number of 
 3'ears, in which office he is still serving; has also 
 been a delegate to a large number of State and 
 cotmty conventions, and served in the Legislature in 
 
 1882. At the present time he is a member of the 
 board of street commissioners, having been ap- 
 pointed in 1900 to serve three years. In the fall of 
 1900 he was a candidate on the Democratic ticket 
 for Presidential elector from the State of Connecti- 
 cut. 
 
 Mr. Coogan was married, in 1898, to Susan O. 
 Nolan, who was born in Albany, a daughter of 
 Murtha Nolan, of that city. To this union has 
 been born one child, John Nolan Coogan. Mr. 
 Coogan made his home in Windsor Locks up to 
 
 1883, when he came to Hartford to live. He has 
 one of the largest law libraries in the State. So- 
 cially he is a member of the Knights of Columbus, 
 having been grand knight of Charter Oak Council, 
 No. 19; and is also a member of the B. P. O. E., 
 in which he held the position of exalted ruler, and 
 has been one of the grand trustees of the order : he is 
 affiliated with several other organizations. While 
 in the legislature he was a member of the commit- 
 tee on Cities and Boroughs. The family attend the 
 Catholic church, in which all have taken an active 
 part. Mr. Coogan is a man of most courteous man- 
 ner, and has hosts of friends in Hartford. 
 
 BENJAMIN BLISS (deceased). The founders 
 of the Bliss family were among the early settlers of 
 Connecticut and Massachusetts colonies, and the 
 subject of this memoir, for many years a leading 
 
 business man of Hartford, Conn., traced his descent 
 from Thomas Bliss, Belstone parish, Devonshire, 
 England, of whom little is known outside the facts 
 that he was "a wealthy landowner, and that he be- 
 longed to the class who were stigmatized as Puri- 
 tans." He was born between 1550-60, it is pre- 
 sumed. His death probably occurred about the time 
 of his sons' emigration to America — 1635-40. 
 
 A son of this Thomas Bliss, of Belstone, also 
 named Thomas, was born somewhere between 1580 
 and 1585. He was married in England, about 1612- 
 15, to Margaret Lawrence. They had ten children: 
 Ann, Mary, Thomas, Nathaniel, Lawrence, and 
 Samuel, who were born in England; and Sarah, 
 Elizabeth, Hannah, and John, who were born prob- 
 ably in America. Owing to religious persecution 
 Thomas Bliss left for America in the autumn of 
 1635, and soon after his arrival at Boston he lo- 
 cated temporarily in Braintree, Mass., eventually 
 settling in Hartford, Conn., being one of the origi- 
 nal land proprietors there. He was either with 
 Thomas Hooker on his arrival in Hartford, or 
 reached there shortly afterward, undoubtedly at- 
 tracted to the same place because of similar views 
 and interests. Trinity street in that city is one 
 of its original streets, and it was known as Bliss 
 street until 1855. It was probably named after 
 Thomas Bliss or his immediate descendants. Thomas 
 Bliss died in 1640. 
 
 Lawrence Bliss, of Springfield, Mass. (son of 
 Thomas Bliss and Margaret Lawrence, of Hartford, 
 Conn.), came to America with his father in 1635. 
 On Oct. 25, 1654, he was married in Springfield, 
 Mass., to Lydia, daughter of Deacon Samuel and 
 Margaret Wright. He died in 1676. His children 
 were Lydia, Sarah, Samuel, Sarah (2), Samuel (2), 
 Hannah, Sarah (3), William, and Pelatiah. 
 
 Pelatiah Bliss, of Springfield, Mass. (son of 
 Lawrence Bliss and Lydia Wright) , was born Aug. 
 19, 1674, and died in 1747. His home was on the 
 present site of the Chicopee Bank. On April 21, 
 1698, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Luke and 
 Sarah Hitchcock, who was born in 1679, and died 
 March 28, 1756. Their children were Jonathan, 
 Pelatiah, Elizabeth, Thankful, William, Luke, 
 Sarah, Caleb and Moses. 
 
 Deacon Caleb Bliss, of West Springfield, Mass. 
 (son of Pelatiah Bliss and Elizabeth Hitchcock, of 
 Springfield, Mass.), was born Feb. 16, 1717, and 
 was married in 1740, to Editha, daughter of Ebenezer 
 and Mercy Day, of West Springfield. She was born 
 Aug. 20, 171 5. Deacon Bliss died May 22, 1758, 
 and on Dec. 20, 1759, his widow became the second 
 wife of Deacon Jonathan White, of West Spring- 
 field, Mass., and of Middletown, Conn., She died 
 Feb. 4, 1797- The children by the first marriage 
 were Editha, Editha(2), Elizabeth, Abel, William, 
 Pelatiah, Caleb, William (2), and Editha (3). 
 
 Caleb Bliss, of West Springfield, Mass. (son of 
 Deacon Caleb Bliss and Editha Day, of Spring-field), 
 was born Aug. 12, 1750, and died Dec. 15, 1825. 
 
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 201 
 
 He was married Oct. 31, 1776, to Ilannali Van- 
 Horn. She was born Aug. 19, 1750, and died April 
 J5, 1831. Tlieir cliildren were Anne, Genubatli, 
 Elijali, Elijah (2), and Caleb. 
 
 Elijah Bliss (son of Caleb Bliss and Hannah 
 Van Horn), was born at West Springfield, Mass., 
 Feb. 19, 1783, and died there April 15, 1854. By 
 occupation he was a shoemaker, and he also carried 
 on farming in a small way. On Oct. 31, 1804, he 
 married Lucy Van Horn, who was born May 30, 
 1785, the daughter of Derrick and Rachel Van- 
 Horn of West Springfield. She died March 19, 
 1863. They had the following children : Edward, 
 Lucy, iMarietta, Nancy, Elijah, Benjamin, and 
 Catherine. 
 
 Benjamin Bliss was born Sept. 21, 1820, in West 
 Springfield, Mass., and died Oct. 3, 1896, in Hart- 
 ford, Conn. He received a common-school edu- 
 cation, which was supplemented in later years by 
 reading and by extensive travel both in this coun- 
 try and in Europe. Having his own way to make 
 in the world, he left home at the age of eighteen, and 
 went to Hartford, arriving there Sept. 21, 1838, the 
 anniversai-y of his birth. He first entered the em- 
 ploy of H. L. Miller, and afterward that of C. F. 
 Collins, both dry-goods merchants. While with Mr. 
 Collins young Bliss conceived the idea of putting 
 in a show-case in which to place on sale knives, 
 razors, and similar goods. He obtained his em- 
 ployer's consent to carry out this scheme, and he 
 made in this way the money that gave him his start 
 in life. Subsequently he began business with Jo- 
 seph Delliber, the firm-name being Delliber & Bliss. 
 The store of the firm was where the Hartford 
 Opera House now stands. At the end of three years 
 Mr. Delliber's interest was purchased by Mr. Bliss, 
 and in 1855 he also purchased the property at the 
 ■corner of Main and Pratt streets, and established 
 at this point one of the largest stores, in its day, 
 in the city. He remained there until Feb. i, 1882, 
 when his health became so impaired that it pre- 
 vented his longer continuance in business. Prior 
 to this time the late Hudson Andrews, of Hartford, 
 and H. H. Woodhouse, now of New York City, were 
 identified with him in managing the operations of 
 the house. He was succeeded, however, by his son, 
 the late Edward L. Bliss. The business passed 
 into the hands of Cook & Hills several years ago, 
 and it is now controlled by C. S. Hills & Co. The 
 corner block belongs to the estate left by Mr. Bliss, 
 "but the transactions of the house have not been iden- 
 tified in any way with the Bliss family for years. 
 
 Mr. Benjamin Bliss was one of the directors of 
 the National Fire Insurance Company, under Pres- 
 ident Mark Howard, and retained the position so 
 long as the condition of his health permitted. He 
 was more or less interested in many of the insurance 
 companies and other financial institutions of the 
 ■city, and for a time was director in the Merchants 
 Insurance Company. He was a capable and clear- 
 headed business man, and built up a large and pros- 
 
 perous trade, and for years after the Civil war the 
 out-of-town business of the house probably exceed- 
 ed that of any other of the dry-goods concerns in 
 
 the city. 
 
 Mr. Bliss was the soul of integrity, and his deal- 
 ings were universally recognized as upright and 
 honorable. He was reared a Congregationalist, 
 but became a member of the South Baptist Church, 
 holding the position of chairman of the church 
 society for nine years. He was the dispenser of 
 many personal charities that were known only to 
 himself and the recipients of his benefactions. At 
 one time he was a member of the Governor's Foot 
 Guard in Hartford, and held an honorable discharge 
 from that service. In politics he was first a Whig, 
 later a Republican, and during the Civil war his 
 loyal support was given the government. 
 
 His home life was most enjoyable to a man of 
 his domestic and sociable nature. On April 2, 
 1846, he married Miss Abbie Goodrich Woodhouse, 
 of Wethersfield, Conn., who was born Oct. 10, 
 1823. She survives him with three of their five chil- 
 dren: Miss Alice Goodrich, Frederick Spencer, and 
 Miss Grace Edith. The elder son, Edward Lang- 
 don, was born Feb. 24, 1852, and died April 30, 
 1895. Lizzie Cordis, who was born Sept. 11, 1856, 
 died Jan. 4, i860. 
 
 Edward L. Bliss was educated at the Hartford 
 High School, and at the Cheshire Military Acad- 
 emy, which was then conducted by the Rev. Dr. 
 Horton. He began business with his father soon 
 after completing his studies. Subsequently he was 
 admitted to partnership, and the business was con- 
 ducted, for a number of years, under the firm-name 
 of Benjamin Bliss & Company. The son assumed 
 the entire charge of the business after the retirement 
 of the founder, and, after managing it successfully 
 for about nine years, he sold it, Jan. i, 1891, to 
 Messrs. Cook & Hills. The deceased was an able 
 business man, careful and conservative, and under- 
 stood perfectly the administration of property inter- 
 ests. He traveled extensively in Europe and 
 througout this country, and he was thoroughly in- 
 formed concerning public interests ; but he was of a 
 retiring disposition, not seeking in any way identi- 
 fication with military and fraternal orders. He was 
 an attendant at the Asylum Avenue Baptist Church, 
 and in his business career he was a member of the 
 Hartford Board of Trade. 
 
 Elijah Bliss, brother of the late Benjamin Bliss, 
 and the last of the seven children of the family of 
 Elijah Bliss and Lucy \'an Horn, of Wesv Spring- 
 field, Mass., died at' the home of his son, Frank 
 Edward Bliss, No. 21, Holland Park, West Lon- 
 don, England, Sept. 11, 1899, in his eighty-third 
 year. He will be remembered by the older residents 
 of Hartford, where he was engaged in the retail 
 dry-goods business on jMain street in the early 
 'forties. He married Mary Beebe Case, of Flart- 
 ford, a granddaughter of the late Manna Case. 
 Thev were members of the First Baptist Church, 
 
202 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of Hartford, for a time, and afterward they removed 
 to Brooklyn, N. Y., where Mr. Bhss was deacon of 
 the Pierrepont Street Baptist Church for many 
 years. He was engaged in active business in New 
 York City until his declining health caused him to 
 retire from business ; and he made his home with 
 his son, his only surviving child, who is manager of 
 the Anglo-American Oil Company in London, Eng- 
 land. 
 
 Mr. Elijah Bliss's wife and four younger chil- 
 dren died several years ago in Brooklyn. Besides 
 his son he left four young grandsons. The inter- 
 ment was at the cemetery at Mortlake, England. 
 
 Abbie Goodrich Woodhouse, wife of Benjamin 
 Bliss, is a descendant of Joseph Woodhouse, of 
 Hertfordshire, England. He came to America, with 
 his two sisters, in 1710, and settled in Wethersfield, 
 Conn., where he married Dorothy Buck. Their 
 children were William, Anne, Hannah, John, Sarah, 
 Samuel, Phebe, Daniel, and Elizabeth. The mother 
 of these children died Oct. 18, 1771, the father on 
 Aug. I, 1774. Their son Samuel, born Oct. i, 1728, 
 married Thankful Blinn, and their children were 
 Samuel, Sarah, William, Prudence, Patience, Eliza- 
 beth, Humphrey, and Solomon. 
 
 SamuelWoodhouse (son of Samuel Woodhouse 
 and Thankful Blinn), was born Dec. 23, 1756. He 
 married Abigail Goodrich, born 1759. Their chil- 
 dren were Samuel, George, Sylvester, Henry, Solo- 
 mon, Huldah, Nancy, Mary and Abigail. He 
 served in the war of the Revolution, as a private, 
 for the period of fifteen months. He first entered 
 the service in Wethersfield, Conn., in January, 1776, 
 and was discharged finally in the year 1780. The 
 following are mentioned as officers under whom he 
 rendered service; Capt. Chester Wells, Col. Sears, 
 Col. John Chester, Col. Thomas Belden. Capt. 
 Charles Churchill, Capt. Benoni Smith, Col. John 
 Belden, and Capt. John Welles. He died Sept. 6, 
 1834, and his wife "died Oct. 27, 1851. 
 
 Solomon Woodhouse (son of Samuel Wood- 
 house and Abigail Goodrich) was born in Weth- 
 ersfield, Conn., on Aug. 30, 1798, and died there 
 May 19, 1853. He married Lura Adams, of Weth- 
 ersfield (daughter of Joseph Adams and Mary 
 Hatch Dix), January 30, 1821. She was born Aug. 
 ID, 1800, and died Feb. 25, 1888. Their children 
 were Mary Hatch, Abbie Goodrich, Lura Ann, 
 George B. — who left home in November, 1847, for 
 California, at the time of the "gold fever," and 
 probably died there ; but two letters were received 
 from him after his arrival in California — William 
 Henry, Elizabeth Butler, Elvira Maria, Henry W., 
 Edward Gardner and Herbert Hayden. 
 
 HON. LINUS B. PLIMPTON, president of 
 the Plimpton Manufacturing Co., State senator, and 
 former police commissioner, Hartford, has de- 
 scended from ancestry conspicuous in the history of 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Capt. John Plimpton, the first of the family in 
 
 this country of whom a record is found, was at 
 Dedham, Mass., in 1642, later removed to Medfield, 
 and still later to Deerfield, where he was chief of 
 military affairs in King Philip's war. During that 
 war he was captured by the Indians and killed, one 
 version of his death being that he was burned at 
 the stake. He enlisted in the Ancient and Honor- 
 able Artillery Company of Massachusetts, in 1644. 
 
 Oliver Plimpton was a native and resident of 
 Southbridge, Mass., and in that town became a man 
 of considerable prominence. For many years he 
 served as a justice of the peace, and was collector of 
 the town. He served as quartermaster of a regi- 
 ment in 1787. Several of liis old warrants, bearing 
 the signatures of different governors, are still in 
 the possession of the family, his grandson, Linus B. 
 Plimpton, having one, which is signed by John Han- 
 cock, a signer of the Declaration of Independence., 
 He married Lydia Fisk, a native of Southbridge, 
 who lived to be ninety years of age. He died aged 
 seventy-four years. They reared eight children,, 
 of whom Chauncy Plimpton, father of Linus B., 
 was a native of Southbridge, Mass. He died at the 
 age of forty. He married Celesta Bacon, a native 
 of Charlton, Mass., a daughter of Daniel Bacon, a 
 farmer and schoolmaster, and a man prominent in 
 church affairs, for years leading the choir of hia 
 own church. 
 
 Linus B. Plimpton was born June 28, 1830, in 
 the town of Southbridge, Mass., and there attended 
 the common schools of his neighborhood. Later 
 he received a thorough mercantile training, partly 
 in his native town, at Springfield, Mass., and at 
 Rockville, Conn. In 1865 he came to Hartford^ 
 formed a partnership, and established the business- 
 of manufacturing envelopes, this firm, L. B. Plimp- 
 ton & Co., however, lasting but a short time. In 
 1873 the Plimpton Manufacturing Co. was organ- 
 ized with L. B. Plimpton as president and general 
 manager. The following year the new company 
 entered the lists as bidders for making stamped 
 envelopes for the government, and were successful 
 in securing the prize. Many obstacles were thrown 
 in their way by parties long interested in the suc- 
 cessive quadrennial contracts, but all were over- 
 come, and improvements so numerous and radical 
 have since been made, in appliances for doing the 
 work, that inventions protected by patents have 
 since enabled the company to underbid all competi- 
 tors. The Morgan Envelope Co., of Springfield,, 
 Mass., joined the Plimpton Co., in the first contract 
 with the government, and the association has con- 
 tinued till the present time. This branch of the 
 work has always been conducted in a separate build- 
 ing, and, so far as accounts and details are con- 
 cerned, kept entirely by itself. 
 
 In 1886, to meet the growing demands of the 
 general trade, the company built on Pearl street, 
 a factory for their own exclusive use. It is con- 
 structed of brick, with stone trimming, and has 
 four floors above the basement, each containing 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 203 
 
 17,000 square , feet. It is lighted by electricity, 
 furnished with automatic fire extinguishers, and 
 thoroughly provided with modern appliances for the 
 convenient and economical dispatch of business. The 
 first floor above the street is used for offices, for 
 the jobbing trade, and for the storage of stock; the 
 second contains a complete equipment for job print- 
 ing on a large scale; the third and fourth are prin ■ 
 cipally devoted to the manufacture of envelopes, 
 the annual product ranging above 550,000,000, and 
 in part to the manufacture of envelope machinery, 
 all that used by the firm being produced on the 
 premises. On the upper floor also are made paper 
 boxes in great quantities. The basement is largely 
 given up to the storage of stock. A statement of 
 naked facts can convey no adequate conception of the 
 perfection of the labor-saving contrivances in use, or 
 of the ingenuity and toil expended in their evolu- 
 tion from the crude germs of thirty-four years ago. 
 The blanks placed in bulk upon the table of the 
 machine are picked up one by one by fingers that 
 never tire, gummed, folded, impressed with the 
 printed request to return to the writer (and at the 
 government works with postage stamp also) counted 
 in packages of twenty-five each, and delivered at 
 the outlet ready for boxing. With intelligence 
 seemingly human, and with more than human exact- 
 ness and endurance, the marvelous combinations of 
 ■wood and iron fulfill their daily round, never mak- 
 ing a miscount, and rarely, even for an instant, 
 failing to turn out perfect work. Most of the im- 
 provements, which render the present machine so 
 precise and effective, have been wrought out under 
 the suggestions and directions of the officers of the 
 company, and are protected by patents. It has 
 been the constant aim to do nothing by hand that 
 could be done equally well or better by machinery, 
 and to tolerate no imperfection of method remedi- 
 able by inventive skill. 
 
 When designed, in 1886, the factory on Pearl 
 street, it was supposed by the managers, would furn- 
 ish ample accommodations for the general trade for 
 a long time to come, but so rapidly did the business 
 extend that in several years every floor was crowded 
 and the margin for elbow room became uncomfort- 
 ably narrow. The cost of plain paper stock an- 
 nually consumed in both departments exceeds half 
 a million of dollars. At the New York office of 
 the company. No. 312 Broadway, may be found a 
 complete exhibit of all lines of goods produced by 
 them. Either there or by correspondence with the 
 main office at Hartford the public can obtain infor- 
 mation with regard to prices and specialties. Since 
 the transfer of the manufacture of United States 
 stamped envelopes to Hartford, in 1874, the annual 
 product has risen from 150,000,000 to 650,000,000. 
 The work, under the immediate supervision of 
 Maro S. Chapman, is carried on in a building by it- 
 self, entirely separate from the rest of the business, 
 while the Post Office Department has an agent of 
 its own under the same roof to look after its inter- 
 
 ests, and to superintend ihe siiipment of the goods 
 to postoffices throughout the country on orders from 
 Washington. 
 
 Owing to the invaluable inventions made and 
 patented by the former contractors, though the pro- 
 duction, meantime, of the best grade of letter size 
 envelopes has nearly trebled, the price, exclusive of 
 the value of the postage, fell from $3.20 per thousand 
 in 1874, to $1.20 in lyoo. The dift'crence of ?2 per 
 thousand on the then selling price, saved by the 
 ingenuity of Hartford brains and the efficiency of 
 Hartford management, inures wholly to the benefit 
 of the American people. The officers of the com- 
 pany are L. B. Plimpton, president ; M. S. Chapman, 
 vice-president; Frederick Plimpton, treasurer; and 
 James M. Plimpton, secretary. 
 
 Our subject has affiliated with the Republican 
 party, and in the public affairs of the city and county 
 has been quite active and influential. He served 
 one term in the common council, and during the 
 administration of Mayor Bulkeley was appointed 
 police commissioner, filling such office with ability 
 and dignity for six years. In 1896 he was elected to 
 the State Senate, and two years later was re-elected 
 to that body, and his services have been valuable 
 alike to 'the District and the State. He served as 
 chairman of the committee on Insurance lx)th terms. 
 In the spring of 1900 Senator Plimpton was chosen 
 a delegate at large, to represent Hartford and Tol- 
 land counties in the National Republican Convention 
 held in Philadelphia in June of that year, and was 
 chosen by the Connecticut delegation as their chair- 
 man. His nominations as senator and delegate 
 were unanimous. He has served in the past as an 
 alternate delegate with Gov. Bulkeley to two dift'er- 
 ent conventions. 
 
 In May, 1861, Senator Plimpton was married 
 to Clara Hubbard, a native of Coventry, and a 
 daughter of Selah H. Hubbard, a farmer of that 
 town, who lived to the advanced age of eighty-five 
 years. To this marriage were born: Julia, who mar- 
 ried Arthur H. Bradley, now of the Phcenix Fire 
 Insurance Co. of Hartford; Mary L. ; and Grace 
 L. The mother of these children died in 1885, at 
 the age of fifty years. 
 
 JOSEPH PARSONS TUTTLE, member of the 
 widely known law firm in Hartford of Bill & 
 Tuttle, is a native of Connecticut, born June_i2, 
 1865, in Unionville, town of Farmington, Hartford 
 county, and is a son of Nelson J. and Antoinette 
 Clara (Parsons) Tuttle. 
 
 The Tuttle family, of which our subject is a 
 member, is one of the oldest in New England, the 
 line of his descent being through. Nelson. Joseph, 
 Joseph, Joseph, Noah, Joseph and Joseph, to Will- 
 iam the emigrant. 
 
 (I) William Tuttle, with his wife Elizabeth and 
 familv, came to the New \\'orId from England in 
 the sliip •' Planter," in 1635, settling in New Haven, 
 Conn. At the time of sailing he gave his age as 
 
204 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 twenty-six. He was a man of courage, enterprise, 
 intelligence, probity and piety, and the equal, social- 
 ly, of any of the colonists. The names of his chil- 
 dren are as follows : John, Hannah, Thomas, Jona- 
 than, David, Joseph, Sarah, Elizabeth, Simon, Ben- 
 jamin, Mercy and Nathaniel. 
 
 (H) Joseph Tuttle, baptized in New Haven, 
 1640, married in 1667 Hannah, daughter of Capt. 
 Thomas Munson. He died in 1690, and his widow 
 married Nathan Bradley. Joseph Tuttle's children 
 were : Joseph, Samuel, Stephen, Joanna, Timothy, 
 Susanna, Elizabeth, Hannah (i) and Hannah (2). 
 
 (HI) Joseph Tuttle, born in 1668, married in 
 Milford, Conn., in 1691, Elizabeth, daughter of 
 Thomas Sanford. Mr. Tuttle was prominent and 
 active in local affairs. His children were : Jo- 
 seph, Noah, Catherine, Elizabeth and Thankful. 
 
 (IV) Noah Tuttle, born Oct. 12, 1694, married 
 Dec. I, 1720, Rachel Hoadley, who died April 7, 
 1749. His children were: Lydia, Timothy, Desire, 
 Elizabeth, Desire (2), Joseph, Rachel and Abigail. 
 
 (V) Joseph Tuttle, born July 18, 1734, married, 
 in 1761, Mary, daughter of Daniel and Abi- 
 gail (Denison) Granger, of Suffield, Conn. He lived 
 on that part of the paternal estate now known as 
 the Townsend farm, and his house and barn were 
 burned by the British during the Revolution. After 
 the war he built a large double house, commanding 
 a beautiful view of the city, harbor and Sound. 
 In 1799 he removed to Durham, Conn. His chil- 
 dren were : Josiah, i\Iary, Daniel, Joseph, Asahel, 
 John and Timothy. 
 
 (VI) Joseph Tuttle, grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, born July 4, 1769, bought his father's place in 
 East Haven. In the war of 1812 he enlisted in the 
 Sixth Company, Connecticut State Troops, under 
 Capt. John Butler. He died in Durham, Conn., 
 Jan. 16, 1857. On Dec. 25, 1820, he married Mar- 
 garet Coe, and after her death wedded Phebe 
 Smith. Children by first wife: Elijah C, Eliza M., 
 and Margaret ; children by second wife : Daniel, 
 Timothy and Joseph Nelson, better known as Nel- 
 son J., as he writes his name. 
 
 (VII) Nelson J. Tuttle, father of our subject, 
 ■born Aug. 5, 1836, married Antoinette Clara Par- 
 .sons, of Unionville, Conn., and a brief record of 
 their children is as follows : Joseph Parsons was 
 born June 12, 1865. George Martin, born June 3, 
 1867, died Jan. 21, 1869. Antoinette Frances, was 
 born Oct. i, 1883. Mr. Tuttle has been a life-long 
 Democrat, and was prominent in political and town 
 affairs for many years, serving as judge of pro- 
 bate for six years. In 1886 he removed to Hartford, 
 where he was engaged in the carriage business for 
 several years, until 1898, when he retired from ac- 
 tive life. 
 
 Joseph P. Tuttle, the subject proper of this re- 
 view, received his education at the common and 
 high schools of his native town, after which he en- 
 tered Yale College, graduating from that institution 
 in 1889. While in college he studied law, and 
 
 upon his graduation, in 1889, passed the examination 
 for the Senior class of the Yale Law School, re- 
 mained there a short time, and then entered the law 
 office of Judge William F. Henney, at Hartford. 
 On Jan. 6, 1891, he was admitted to the Bar at Hart- 
 ford ; was a member of the city council from April, 
 1891, to April, 1894, being president of the lower 
 board from 1893 to 1894; for two years, from 1893, 
 he was clerk of the city police court at Hartford and 
 Dec. I, 1893, the present firm of Bill & Tuttle 
 was formed. 
 
 On March 21, 1894, Mr. Tuttle was united in 
 marriage with Edith A., daughter of Walter S. and 
 Adelaide (Phelps) Mather, and two children have 
 graced this tmion : Reubena and Marion. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Tuttle in religious faith are members of the 
 Congregational Church; in politics he is a Demo- 
 crat ; and socially he is affiliated with the following 
 societies : Hartford Lodge, No. 88, A. F. & A. M. ; 
 Washington Commandery, Knights Templar ; Con- 
 necticut Consistory, 32d degree; and the Knights 
 of Pythias. 
 
 HARVY GODARD, who was born in Granby, 
 Hartford Co., Conn., March 15, 1823, was the 
 eldest son of Oren and Minerva (Holcomb) God- 
 ard. In company with his brothers and sisters he 
 attended the district school located over a mile from 
 the Godard homestead. Here he received what 
 book-learning it was his lot to receive, and then en- 
 tered the employ of "Miles & Oren Godard" — his 
 grandfather and father — in the lumber business and 
 upon the farm. 
 
 Although his father was a tanner and shoemaker 
 by trade, and devoted most of his time to the same, 
 he was also a large land owner, and in company with 
 his father — Uncle Miles — carried on what at that 
 time was an extensive lumber business. It was from 
 the Godard sawmill that shingles were supplied for 
 miles around. It is said that at one time every 
 building in the village of Tariffville was shingled 
 with shingles sawed at this mill, and that Windsor 
 was also well supplied. 
 
 While the sawmill formed the principal business, 
 the gristmill and cider-mill were by no means idle. 
 Beng a "custom mill," the farmers came from miles 
 around, bringing their grain to be ground, and 
 their opinions to be strengthened or abandoned, for 
 here was the scene of many warm debates. Until 
 recent years the "Craig mills" were the center of 
 great activity. 
 
 Mr. Godard, as a son and grandson, inherited 
 large tracts of land and added others until he be- 
 came, probably, the largest holder of farms and 
 woodland in his section. He not only raised the 
 tisual crops of that locality, but occupying the home- 
 stead he continued to run the sawmill, gristmill and 
 cider-mill. He was widely known as a distiller of 
 pure cider brandy, which he manufactured by the 
 same process and in the same place as his fathers 
 before him. His ciixle of friends and acquaintances 
 
^^^/^iiA^t^t^ji^fC^s-A^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 205 
 
 was further enlarged in 1875, when at the organi- 
 zation of the State Grange in Danbury that year he 
 was elected the first master of that body, which office 
 he held until 1879, when he declined re-election. 
 
 As master of the Connecticut State Grange Mr. 
 and Mrs. Godard represented Connecticut in the 
 National Grange, wliich convened at Louisville, Ky., 
 in 1875 (at which time she was elected Worthy 
 Pomona of that body), at Chicago in 1876, Cin- 
 cinnati in 1877, Richmond in 1S78, and Boston in 
 1879. Having also been elected the first master of 
 Granby Grange, No. 5, he was continuously re- 
 elected until January, 1893, when he felt he must 
 positively decline to serve longer in that capacity. 
 He remained, however, an ardent believer in and 
 supporter of the principles and meetings of the 
 Grange, from its introduction into Connecticut until 
 his death twenty-one years later. 
 
 Mr. Godard was a man of sterling integrity, 
 holding the principle that a man's, word should be 
 as good as his bond. Although a member of no 
 church, he was liberal in his views and saw good in 
 all. He was a man extremely temperate in his 
 habits, never using tobacco in any form, and con- 
 fining his drink to cold water. 
 
 Being a man of generous and social nature, his 
 large farmhouse became headquarters for his nu- 
 merous friends and acquaintances, who came to hunt 
 and fish upon the large tracts of land which he 
 owned. While always a busy man, he was never 
 too busy to welcome an acquaintance in health, to 
 visit him in time of sickness, or to assist in laying 
 him to rest. He was a Royal Arch Mason, and a 
 strong believer in the principles of the fraternity. 
 In politics he was a lifelong Democrat of the Jeil'er- 
 sonian order, and for forty years or more was a 
 familiar figure in the political conventions of his 
 party. In 1873 he represented his tovin in the Gen- 
 eral Assembly. 
 
 Mr. Godard was a man of strong physique and 
 great activity, never knowing what it was to be 
 sick until attacked by La Grippe in December, 1895, 
 which resulted three weeks later in his sudden death, 
 on Jan. 8, 1896. Surrounded by his family, he ex- 
 pired in the room in whch he was born seventy- 
 three years before. His first sickness was his last. 
 
 On J\lay 2, 1858, Mr. Godard married Miss 
 Sabra Lavinia Beach, also of Granby, daughter of 
 Oliver and Lavinia Mercy (Case) Beach, and a di- 
 rect descendant of John Case, of Windsor and 
 Simsbury, and William Spencer, of Hartford. Five 
 sons, Oren Harvy, Porter Beach, George Seymour, 
 Fred Munyon and Oliver Clifton, surviving him ; 
 his only daughter, Grace IMinerva, having died in 
 1878, in the fourth year of her age. Porter, who 
 graduated from Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham, in 
 1884, Yale University, 18S9, and Yale Law School, 
 1 89 1, is an attorney in Kansas City, Mo., where he is 
 secretary of the Kansas City Bar Association. 
 George, who also graduated at ^^'ilbraham, 1S86, 
 graduated from Wesleyan University in 1892, re- 
 
 ceiving the degree of A. B., and from Yale Divinity 
 School in 1895, receiving the degree of B. D., is 
 State Librarian at the Cai)itol, Hartford. Fred, 
 who also attended school at Wilbraham, graduated 
 from Yale Business College, New Haven, and is now 
 in the United States Internal Keveinie service. 
 Oren, who graduated at the Laslman Business Col- 
 lege, I'oughkeopsie, X. V., and Oliver, who attend- 
 ed McLean Seminary, Simsljury, Dean Academy, 
 Franklin, Mass., and graduated from Yale Business 
 College, New Haven, remain in Granby, engaged 
 in the lumber business and farming. 
 
 The following genealogical notes were compiled 
 from records in the possession of the family. (I) 
 The earliest Godard, Gozard, Gosard, Goddard, Goz- 
 zard or Gossard mentioned in the records of 
 ancient Windsor, which formerly included the sec- 
 tion now known as Granby, was Daniel Gozzard, 
 who is mentioned as being in Hartford in 1646. i— 
 
 (II) On Aug. 23, 1693, the estate of Nicholas 
 Gozard, of Windsor and Simsbury, is inventoried at 
 £206. The widow, Elizabeth, was appointed ad- 
 ministratrix. She and her three children — Nathan- 
 iel, aged sixteen, Elizabeth, aged twenty-one, and 
 John, aged eleven years — were the heirs. 
 
 (Ill) John Gosard, son of Nicholas and Eliza- 
 beth Gozard, was born in 1682. By his will, made 
 June 23, 1755, and proven June 30, 1760 (before 
 John Owen, justice of peace, at Simsbury and now 
 on file at Hartford probate office), his property w'as 
 left to "my beloved wife" and his eleven children, 
 viz.: Aaron, b. May 16, 1708, d. Dec, 1776; John, 
 b. 1710, d. Sept. I, 1805; Abel; Ezra; Elizabeth; 
 Sarah, b. 1716 ( ?) ; Abigail, b. Oct. 22, 1717 (?) ; 
 Israel, b. Jan. 4, 1719 ( ?) ; Margaret, b. May 25, 
 1724 ( ?) ; and Ebenezer and Thankful, b. Aug. 13, 
 1726 (?). 
 
 (IV) Aaron Gozard, son of John Gosard, of 
 Simsbur)^, b. May 16, 1708, m. Mary Huxley in 
 Simsbury July 20, 1737. A son Moses was b. May 
 26, 1746. 
 
 (V) Moses Godard, b. Alay 26, 1746, in Granby, 
 son of Aaron and Mary (Huxley) Gozard, d. April 
 II, 1832, in Granby. In December, 1768 ( ?), he ni. 
 Keziah Hayes, b. in 1748, daughter of Daniel Hayes, 
 Granby. Children: Keziah, b. !March 11, 1770, d. 
 April 27, 1796, in Granby; Moses, Jr., b. Feb. 21, 
 1772, d. March 27, 1813 (on May 28, 1799, he m. 
 Aphia Gossard (?)) ; Zedediah, b. Aug. 2, 1774., d. 
 Aug. 6, 1774, in Granby; Submit, b. Dec. 19, 1775, 
 d. Oct. 30, 1835 (on Nov. 11, 1802, she m. Alexander 
 Cossitt) ; Miles is mentioned below; Orrin, b. Dec. 
 22, 1780, d. ]\Iarch 7, 1798, in Granby; Ruddy, b. 
 April 17, 1783, d. March 7, 181 1 (married) ; Elias, 
 b. June 23, 1785, d. June 27, 1785, in Granby; Ich- 
 abod, b. Feb. 6, 1790, d. Feb. 10, 1790, in Granby; 
 James, b. Dec. 6, 1792, d. April 11, 1815; Mercy, b. 
 Aug. 4, 1795, d. Alarch 7, 1818 (she m. John or 
 Joseph Fox). All were born in Granby. 
 
 (VI) Miles Godard, b. June 2, 1778, in Granby, 
 son of Moses and Keziah (Hayes) Godard, d. 
 
206 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 March 23, 1856, in Granby. On May 28, 1799, he m. 
 Cleopatria Dibble, b. in 1782, d. April 6, 1847. Chil- 
 dren, all born in Granby : Oren is mentioned below ; 
 Nancy, b. April 5, 1803, d. Aug. 19, 1882 (on March 
 20, 1828, she m. Solomon Gaines) ; Flora, b. Nov. 
 12, 1806, d. March 24, 1878, in Granby (on Nov. 
 4, 1830, she m. Forest Reed, son of Abner Reed and 
 Mary Spring) ; Cleo. d. Jan. 24, 1840, in Granville, 
 Mass. (in February, 1828, she m. Rowland Barlow, 
 son of Edmund Barlow and Tabitha Banci-oft) ; Mi- 
 randa m. Moses Watrous, of Greene, Broome Co., 
 New York. 
 
 (VII) Oren Godard, b. Oct. 18, 1800, in Granby, 
 son of Miles and "Cleo" (Dibble) Godard, d. at 
 Granby May 15, 1857. On Dec. 3, 1821, he m. Min- 
 erva Holcomb, b. May 11, 1803, daughter of Amasa 
 Holcomb, d. Dec. 23, 1881. Children,- all born in 
 Granby ; Harvy is mentioned below ; Nelson, b. 
 Jan. 19, 1825, d. Sept. 20, 1888, at Granville, Mass. 
 (on May 2, 1858, he m. Jarusia De Etta Clark, 
 daughter of Simon Clark and Hanna Remington) ; 
 Amelia, b. June 9, 1827, d. Aug. 14, 1848, in Camp- 
 bellsville, Ky., unmarried; Almira, b. Oct. 7, 1829, 
 d. April 8, 1852, in Granby (in February, 1846, she 
 m. Abner Lord Otis) ; Jane, b. March 17, 1832, m. 
 Aug. 17, 1851, Joel Leroy Root, son of James Root 
 and Sally Webster ; Anson, b. Aug. 29, 1836, d. Jan. 
 19, 1879, in Granby, unmarried; Miles, b. March 
 23, 1845, d. Jan. 26, 1887, in Granby (on Oct. 22, 
 1867, he m. Clara Rosetta Thompson, daughter of 
 Joseph Thompson and Sara Celesta Shepard) ; Oren, 
 Jr., b. Aug. 29, 1848, d. Nov. 2, 1852, in Granby. 
 
 (VIIIj Harvy Godard, b. March 15, 1823, in 
 Granby, son of Oren and Minerva (Holcomb) 
 Godard, d. Jan. 8, 1896, in Granby. On May 2, 
 1858, he m. Sabra Lavinia Beach, b. May 17, 1838, 
 daughter of Oliver and Lavinia Mercy (Case) 
 Beach. Children, all born in Granby : Oren Harvy is 
 mentioned below; Porter Beach, b. June 6, 1861, m. 
 June 30, 1897, Eleanor May Howd, b. Jan. 12, 1865, 
 daughter of Charles Edmund and Elvira Maria 
 (Parker) Howd, of New Haven; George Seymour 
 is mentioned below; Fred Munyon, b. Sept. 11, 1868, 
 m. June 15, 1898, Jean Templeton Steele, b. Dee. 
 18, 1876, daughter of Robert and Mary (Dunn) 
 Steele, of Warehouse Point, Conn. ; Oliver Clifton, 
 b. Sept. 17, 1871, m. March 28, 1894, Stella Hep- 
 sibah Jewett, b. Jan. 28, 1872, daughter of Frederick 
 Janor and Mary Elizabeth (Cooley) Jewett, of 
 Granby, Conn. ; Grace Minerva, b. Sept. 29, 1874, d. 
 July 2, 1878, in Granby. 
 
 (IX) Oren Harvy Godard, b. July 12, 1859, in 
 Granby, son of Harvy and Sabra L. (Beach) 
 Godard, was m. Oct. 20, 1887, to Lena Belle White, 
 of Canton, Conn., b. June 11, 1865, daughter of Ed- 
 win Norton and Ann Lucelia (Case) White. Chil- 
 dren, all born in Granby: Harvy Edwin, b. Sept. i, 
 1888; Grace Minerva, b. Oct. 7, 1890; Ensworth 
 Merrill, b. Sept. 10, 1892; Jewell White, b. Nov. 20, 
 1893 : ]\Iiles Fred, b. April 30, 1895 ; Oren Beach, b. 
 Jan. 18, 1897. 
 
 (IX) George Seymour Godard, b. June 17, 1865, 
 in Granby, son of Fiarvy and Sabra Lavinia (Beach) 
 Godard, was m. June 23, 1897, to Kate Estelle 
 Dewey, b. May 21, 1863, daughter of Watson and 
 Ellen Jane (Beebe) Dewey. They have one child: 
 George Dewey, b. Aug. 8, 1899, in Hartford. 
 
 WILLIAM BRADDOCK CLARK, president of 
 the ^tna Insurance Co., Hartford, is a descendant 
 in the seventh generation from John Clark, of Farm- 
 ington. Conn., the line of his descent being through 
 Matthew, John (2), Abel, John (3), and Abel N. 
 
 (I) John Clark settled in Farmington, Conn., 
 prior to 1657, and was made a freeman in May, 
 1664. He held various public offices. 
 
 (II) Matthew Clark, son of John, of Farming- 
 ton, was born prior to 1674, and was married 
 about 1704 to Ruth, daughter of John and Mary 
 (Hawkins) Judd. 
 
 (III) John (^ark (2), son of Matthew, born in 
 1712, was married in 1742 to Elizabeth, daughter of 
 Capt. John and Elizabeth (Hawkins) Newell. They 
 lived in New Britain. 
 
 (IV) Abel Clark, son of John (2), was born in 
 1750, and was married in 1774 to Abigail, daughter 
 of James and Hannah (Andrews) Judd. He was 
 one of the seventy signers of an agreement made 
 Sept. 3, 1774, "to be in readiness and duly equipped 
 with arms and ammunition to proceed to Boston for 
 the relief of our distressed and besieged brethren 
 there." He died in 1824, and the remains of him- 
 self and wife rest at New Britain, where they had 
 made their home. 
 
 (V) John Clark (3), son of Abel, was born in 
 1787, and died in 1835. In 1812 he married Pru- 
 dence, daughter of Joshua and Prudence (Curtiss) 
 Woodruff. He resided in the old house of his 
 father and grandfather, in the Stanley Quarter, New 
 Britain. IJuring the war of 1812 he served as 
 corporal of Capt. Dean Deming's Company, in Col. 
 Brainard's Regiment. 
 
 (VI) Abel N. Clark, son of John (3), and the 
 father of William B. Clark, of Hartford, was born 
 June 12, 1819, in New Britain, Conn., and at an 
 early age came to Hartford, where for some years 
 he was engaged in mercantile business. He then 
 entered the office of the Courant, which at the time 
 was under the control of John L. Bos well, as book- 
 keeper and general business manager, and for some 
 twenty years, up to the time of his death, he was 
 closely identified with the interests of the office. 
 His industry was one of the prominent traits in 
 his character, and his fidelity to every trust and every 
 duty was another. He was a great worker in his 
 party in a quiet and unobtrusive way. He was one 
 of the most respected citizens of Hartford, and one 
 of the most generally known newspaper men in the 
 country. On April 27, 1840, he married Emily I. 
 Braddock, born Dec. 7, 1821, daughter of John and 
 Emily (Wells) Braddock, and to them were born 
 children as follows : William B., June 29, 1841 ; 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 207 
 
 r 
 
 Charles Le Roy, Feb. ii, 1843; Clara E., May 27, 
 1847 (died in 1848), and George N., Nov. 12, 1851. 
 
 (\'II) President William B. Clark, son of the 
 late Abel N. Clark, was born June 2y, 1841, in 
 Hartford. He first attended the North school, and 
 then the New Bristol High School, and returning 
 to Hartford completed his studies at the N. L. Gal- 
 lup College Green School. After this he passed a 
 year in the office of the Hartford Courant, and in 
 1857 he became a member of the clerical corps of 
 the Phoenix Fire Insurance Co. On Aug. 27, 
 1863, he was elected secretary, and he remained 
 with the company until Dec. i, 1867, when he was 
 elected assistant secretary of the ^tna Insurance 
 Co. The latter position he retained under Presi- 
 dent Hendee through a period of nearly twent)-- 
 one years, and under his guidance young Clark be- 
 came familiar with the vast detail connected with 
 the /Etna's business, and was regarded by his chief 
 with the utmost trust and confidence. The demise 
 of President Hendee, Sept. 4, 1888, necessitated a 
 number of changes in the administration of the 
 company, and ]\Ir. Clark was advanced to the vice- 
 presidency Sept. 26, 1888, receiving the unanimous 
 vote of the board of directors for the position. As 
 vice-president of the compan}' his course was char- 
 acterized by ability and judgment of the highest 
 order, entitling him to a foremost place among in- 
 surance managers in New England. After the 
 death of President Goodnow, Nov. 19, 1892, Mr. 
 Clark succeeded to the presidency of the company, 
 and on his election the Hartford Courant said : 
 "The election of president of the ^tna Fire In- 
 surance is an event not only of interest but of im- 
 portance to Hartford. The standing of all our 
 fire companies is admirable, and they rank among 
 the first in the country. And the ^tna is the larg- 
 est, not only of these, but of all in the United States. 
 It stands there with its more than ten millions of 
 assets and its record of $70,000,000 already paid out 
 for losses, as the great fire company of America. 
 It is, therefore, of large importance to know who 
 will manage it in the future, and there will be uni- 
 veral satisfaction that the directors have chosen 
 William B. Clark as president and executive head 
 of this great concern. Mr. Clark is a native of 
 Hartford, and has been just a quarter of a century 
 with the jEtna. He knows it and he knows its 
 business. A man of character, decision, experience 
 and judgment, he is especially qualified for the re- 
 sponsible duties that fall to him, and the Courant 
 congratulates both the old company and the new 
 president." President Clark, though in the prime 
 of life, in term of service is the oldest insurance 
 official in Hartford, and even from early manhood 
 has been recognized through the countrv as one of 
 the most competent men in the profession. 
 
 Mr. Clark was chosen a director of the City 
 Bank Jan. 14, 1879; ^ director in the Travelers In- 
 surance Co., July 6, 1875; trustee in the Mechanics 
 Saving Bank, July 18, 1883; and a director of the 
 
 Retreat for the .Insane, April 10, 1890; .^tna In- 
 denmity Co., elected April 12, 1897; vice-president 
 Republican Club, elected March 2, 1897; director 
 Cedar Hill cemetery, elected Dec. 3, 1891 ; trustee 
 Society for Savings, elected Jan. 0, 1891 ; the F"i- 
 delity Co., elected Feb. 9, 1898; First National 
 Bank, elected Jan. 9, 1900; president National Board 
 of Fire Underwriters, 1896-97; and a member of 
 the corporation of the Hartford Hospital. On April 
 5, 1880, he was elected a member of the board of 
 aldermen from the Third ward, and served two years 
 in that position. He was the aldermanic chairman 
 of the Ordinance committee, the mayor holding the 
 chairmanship ex-ofHcio. At the conclusion of his 
 term of alderman he was appointed a member of the 
 board of water commissioners, and held the office a 
 decade or more, being regarded as one of the ablest 
 members of that commission. His political affilia- 
 tions have always been with the Republican party, 
 and on JNIarch 2, 1897, he was chosen vice-president 
 of the local Republican Club He takes some pride 
 in the fact that he was one of the original "Wide- 
 Awakes," becoming an active participant in that 
 noted organization before he had reached his ma- 
 jority. His religious connections are with the First 
 Baptist Church of Hartford, and for thirty years 
 or more he has been clerk of the society and so- 
 ciety's committee. He is also a member of the 
 Connecticut Historical Society, and since Oct. 3, 
 1899, has been president of the \^eteran Foot Guard 
 Corps. 
 
 On ?*Iay 13, 1863, Mr. Clark was married to 
 Caroline H. Robbins, born March 22, 1844, daughter 
 of Philemon F. and Emily Strickland Robbins. 
 Five children have been born to them, as follows : 
 (i) William R., born July 10, 1865, died April 3, 
 1879; (2) Charlotte B., Wn Jan. 10, 1868; (3) 
 Alice Robbins, born Jan. 21, 1870; (4) Frederick 
 W., born Dec. 5, 1873, died Aug. 8, 1875; (5) Caro- 
 line Emily, born Dec. 18, 1883. 
 
 HON. JOHN B. WTNDSOR, late a well-known 
 manufacturer and business man of Hartford, was 
 born in Wolverhampton, England, ]March 5, 1827, 
 was educated at Eton public schools, and at the 
 age of twenty-one years came to the United States. 
 Here he entered upon the vocation of teaching as 
 a temporary means of earning his expenses, and 
 in his profession made his mark, in both Pennsyl- 
 vania and Kentucky. 
 
 In i860 ^Ir. Windsor came to Connecticut and 
 located at Windsor Locks, where he became treas- 
 urer of the Farist & Windsor Steel Co., president 
 of the Windsor Locks Savings Bank, and senior 
 warden and treasurer of St. Paul's Church, from its 
 organization until his removal to Hartford, in 1877; 
 he also held the office of treasurer of the Farist Steel 
 Co. after its removal to Bridgeport. As a Repub- 
 lican, Mr. W^indsor was elected to the State As- 
 sembly in 1876, and was the first representative of 
 his party to be sent from Windsor Locks. Notwith- 
 
208 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 standing the fact that Mr. Windsor had large cares 
 of his own he was frequently called upon to care 
 for and manage estates under wills and through 
 other sources, so reliant were the people upon his 
 sound judgment and unswerving integrity, and in 
 the fulhllment of these duties he disappointed no 
 one. He was a director in the United States Bank, 
 was president of the Hartford Steam Co. at the 
 time of his death, and a vestryman of St. John's 
 Church at Hartford, in which city he resided sev- 
 enteen years, having purchased a dwelling at No. 
 72 Main street. At this home his lamented death 
 took place April 10, 1887, when he was aged sixty 
 years. He left to mourn his departiu-e his widow, 
 now a resident of Bridgeport, Conn., who before 
 marriage was Miss Harriet Farist, a sister of Joel 
 Farist, of Bridgeport, and two children : Grace W., 
 widow of T. B. Persee ; and George, secretary and 
 treasurer of the Farist Steel Co., of Bridgeport. 
 
 Mr. Windsor was very fond of books, and 
 spent a small fortune in their purchase. He was re- 
 fined and intelligent, was a pious and useful citi- 
 zen, a devoted husband, domestic in habits and tastes, 
 and was a kind and indulgent father. His decease 
 will long be mourned by his neighbors and business 
 acquaintances, who held him in their highest re- 
 gard, and in unfeigned esteem and respect. 
 
 Theophilus B. Persee, Jr., deceased husband 
 of Grace (Windsor) Persee (daughter of the late 
 Hon. John B. Windsor), and ex-alderman of the 
 Third ward of Hartford, was born in Johnstown, 
 N. Y., Dec. 4, 1844, and was of Irish descent, com- 
 ing from one of the best families in the western 
 part of the Emerald Isle. His grandfather was a 
 man of original and profound thought, had great 
 confidence in a constitutional form of government, 
 and had considerable correspondence with Gen. 
 Washington on this topic, and these letters from 
 Washington are still in the Persee family in Ire- 
 land. 
 
 T. B. Persee, Sr., the father of Alderman Per- 
 see, was engaged in the paper business in Windsor 
 Locks for a number of years, as a member of the 
 firm of Persee & Brooks. Subsequently he gave up 
 the manufacturing of paper and engaged in the 
 grocery business in that town. The son succeeded 
 to the trade, and conducted it personally until his 
 removal to Hartford. In 1874 Mr. Persee was a 
 member of the General Assembly, representing the 
 -town of Windsor Locks in the House, and was iden- 
 tified with the legislation of the session in a most 
 creditable manner. 
 
 Theophilus B. Persee, Jr., was elected a member 
 of the board of aldermen from the Third ward in 
 1894, being the colleague of ex-Alderman Patrick 
 McGovern. He was chairman of the committee on 
 Water Works, and also of the Claims committee. 
 In the Court of Common Council he was watchful 
 concerning public expenditures, and attended with 
 marked fidelity to the duties devolving upon him. 
 Mr. Persee was deeply interested in public ques- 
 
 tions. He was in favor of the city owning the gas. 
 plant, and advanced the idea with intelligence and 
 persistency. He was also greatly interested in prob- 
 lems pertaining to the revaluation of taxable prop- 
 erty in the city. During the past two years he de- 
 voted much time to the preparation of a work con- 
 cerning the life and works of Thomas Paine. It 
 is now in the hands of a New York publisher. He- 
 made an exhaustive study of Thomas Paine, and the 
 result of his inquiries will placd the noted thinker 
 of a century ago in better light with the reading: 
 and thinking public. Ex-Alderman Theophilus B. 
 Persee died at his home. No. 41 Capitol avenue, at 
 2 o'clock on the morning of Jan. 4, 1900, after a. 
 week's confinement to the house. His health had 
 been impaired for three years, and he had consulted. 
 Dr. M. M. Johnson, who diagnosed his trouble as 
 chronic, caused by obstruction of the gall duct. 
 At Mr. Persee's request Dr. Johnson accompanied 
 him to New York, where two specialists were con- 
 sulted, and pronounced the diagnosis of the Hart- 
 ford surgeon as correct. Ten days afterward an 
 operation was performed, from which the patient 
 rallied. Heart failure developed a day or two later,, 
 however, and the patient rapidly sunk until his 
 death. 
 
 Mr. Persee was a communicant of St. John's- 
 Church, and one of its vestrymen. He was mar- 
 ried June 24, 1876, in Windsor Locks, to Miss 
 Grace Windsor, daughter of the late Hon. John B> 
 Windsor. She survives him with two children, 
 John Windsor Persee, who is engaged in business 
 in Bridgeport ; and Miss Mary Marguerita Persee, 
 who graduated from the Hartford Public High 
 School, class of 1899, classical course. One brother 
 and two sisters also survive the deceased. They are 
 Henry S. Persee, of Denver, Col. ; Mrs. Anna Car- 
 michael, of Johnstown, N. Y. ; and Mrs.Mattie Van 
 Vlett, of Chicago. Mr. Persee was a man of high 
 personal instinct and uprightness of character. He 
 was a friend of good government, and his citizenship 
 was deserving of emulation. He was a man of wide 
 intelligence and reading, was a student of history, 
 and kept abreast with public interests and progress. 
 
 MR. AND MRS. ERASTUS H. CROSBY. The 
 late Erastus Hubbard Crosby, who was for many 
 years a leading citizen of Hartford, was born May 
 3, 1809, at Montpelier, Vt., of good New England 
 ancestry. Among his forefathers were many men 
 of high standing, Rev. Thomas Hooker, the first to 
 preach a sermon in Connecticut being among them. 
 
 When our subject was three years old his father, 
 William Crosby, removed from Montpelier to West 
 Flartford, locating at Crosby's Corners, where his 
 death occurred in 183 1. Erastus H. Crosby was, 
 therefore, reared in this section, receiving a common- 
 school education, and for some time he taught 
 school in West Hartford, Bloomfield and Wethers- 
 field. Later he clerked in a wholesale grocery 
 house in Boston, and then went to Savannah, Ga., to- 
 
-^;^^/^ ^^^<^rz^. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 209 
 
 engage in mercantile business. For sonic time he was 
 in business witli a brotlier and brother-in-law in Al- 
 abama. In 1849 he went to De Soto Parish, La., to 
 engage in the business of cotton and corn growing 
 on an extensive scale, in 1867 returning to Hart- 
 ford to spend his remaining years. For some time 
 he was president of the Hartford Life & Annuity 
 Co., now the Hartford Life Insurance Co., and while 
 filling that position was made president of the First 
 National Bank. This position he held nine years, 
 and his resignation marked the close of his active 
 business career, his death occurring in West Hart- 
 ford Dec. 3, 1885. He was greatly attached to Hart- 
 ford, and was a stockholder in ditferent corporations 
 in the city, including the Phoenix Fire Insurance 
 Co., in which he was a director. He was a man of 
 'wonderful powers of perception as a financier, and 
 did a great deal of advising, his counsel being 
 sought by people of the highest standing in the 
 business world. He was of a generous and benev- 
 olent disposition, honored by all who knew him, 
 and, socially, he and his wife were much esteemed. 
 On March 14, 1867, Mr. Crosby married Miss 
 Isabella V. McCormack, who was born in New 
 York City, on Crosby street, and is now living at 
 her pleasant home. No. 785 Asylum avenue, Hart- 
 ford, made sacred by the memories of their long 
 married life. She is a member of the Asylum Hill 
 Congregational Church, to which Mr. Crosby also 
 belonged, and to which he gave liberally, and for 
 years her active aid has been given to the work of 
 the Ladies Society, the Children's Aid Society, and 
 other philanthropic organizations. 
 
 JOSEPH AUSTIN KILBOURN, M. D., a 
 leading medical practitioners of Hartford, is a 
 native of Connecticut, born Nov. i, i860, in Glas- 
 tonbury, Hartford county, and is a member of an 
 honored old New England family. 
 
 (I) Thomas Kilbourn, the common ancestor of 
 all the Kilbourns in this country, was born in 1578 
 at Wood Ditton, Cambridgeshire, England. His 
 wife's name was Frances. On April 15, 1635, with 
 a portion of his family, he set sail on the ship "In- 
 crease" for America, settling in Wethersfield, Conn., 
 where he died in 1639. He was a member of the 
 Church of England. 
 
 (II) John Kilbourn (son of the above), bap- 
 tized at Wood Ditton, England, Sept. 29, 1624, was 
 ten years old when he came with his parents to 
 Wethersfield. In 1650 he married Naomi, who died 
 Oct. I, 1659, the mother of three children : John, 
 Thomas and Naomi. For his second wife he mar- 
 ried Sarah Bronson. He died April 9, 1703, and in 
 his death Wethersfield lost a man very prominent 
 in the military and political affairs of the locality 
 in the far-away beginning of American civilization. 
 
 (III) John Kilbourn (son of the above), born 
 Feb. 15, 1651, in Wethersfield, Conn., died Nov. 25, 
 171 1. He married March 4, 1673, Susannah, daugh- 
 ter of William Hills. He settled in Glastonbury, 
 
 14 
 
 Conn,.; was salesman 1C93-1708; constable, 1696- 
 1705; and grand juror, 1695, 1700 and 1703. His 
 first wife died in October, 1701, and for his second 
 wife he wedded. May 12, 1702, Elizabeth, daughter 
 of John IMitchell, of Hartford. 
 
 (IV) Abraham Kilbourn (son of the above, and 
 the great-great-grandfather of Dr. Joseph A. Kil- 
 bourn) was born Aug. 25, 1691, in Glastonbury, 
 Conn., and died in 1770. He was constable of that 
 town some seven years ; lister, seven years ; town 
 treasurer, three years ; selectman, eighteen years ; 
 representative, 1721, 1730 and 1756. He was thrice 
 married, first time June 5, 1712, to Sarah, daugh- 
 ter of John Mitchell, of Hartford. She died Oct. 
 3, 1719, the mother of children as follows: Mitchell, 
 Abraham, and Elizabeth. For his second wife he 
 wedded Mary, daughter i f Samuel Tudor, of Wind- 
 sor, Conn. She died Aug. 5, 1751, and for his third 
 wife he married Abigail House. 
 
 (V) Joseph Kilbourn (son of the above, and the 
 great-grandfather of Dr. Kilbourn j was born Jan. 
 14, 1723, in Glastonbury, Conn., and died June 11, 
 1790. He was a lister, 1748-1759; surveyor, 1752, 
 1762 and 1770. On March i, 1744, he married 
 Mary, daughter of Joseph HoUister, and children as 
 follows were born to them : Mary, Ann, Abigail, 
 Nancy, Mabel, Abraham and Joseph. 
 
 (VI) Joseph Kilbourn (son of the above, and 
 the grandfather of Dr. Kilbourn) was bom April 
 I, 1765, in Glastonbury, Conn., and died May 14, 
 1851. He was twice married, first time April 4, 
 1793) to Hannah, daughter of Philip Sellew. She 
 died Jan. 23, 1826, and he married (second) May 
 22, 1832, Onnor House. Children born to Joseph 
 Kilbourn: Austin, Sophia, Ogden, Eliza and 
 Horace. 
 
 (VII) Horace Kilbourn (son of the above, and 
 the father of Dr. Kilbourn) was born Nov. 11, 
 1809, in Glastonbury, Conn., and died in 1868. He 
 was a farmer by occupation. In 1858 he married 
 Mary Young, and by her had children as follows : 
 Joseph A., John and Rosella. 
 
 (VIII) Joseph A. Kilbourn (son of the above), 
 the subject proper of this sketch, passed his earlier 
 school days in California, and at the age of fifteen 
 years entered St. John's College, Fordliam, N. Y. 
 For some time afterward he was in business in Hart- 
 ford, Conn., as general agent for the Alanhattan 
 Life Insurance Co. In 1894 he commenced the 
 study of medicine at the College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons, Baltimore, Md., graduating therefrom in 
 April, 1897, after which he attended lectures at 
 Sloane Maternity Hospital, New York. In 1897 
 he commenced the practice of medicine in Hartford, 
 and has met with well-merited success. He is a 
 member of the State, County and City Medical So- 
 cieties, and is affiliated with the A. O. U. W., the 
 Degree of Honor, and the Maccabees. 
 
 In Hartford, Jan. 6, 1884, Dr. Kilbourn was 
 united in marriage with Sarah A. Dooley, daugh- 
 ter of Timothy Dooley, of that city, and six chil- 
 
210 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 dren have been born to them, their names and dates 
 of birth being as foUows : Horace Ogden, June 17, 
 1885; Joseph, Oct. 8, 1887; Austin, April 5, 1889; 
 Jonathan, Jan. 2, 1891 ; Orrin Paul, Sept. 3, 1893 ; 
 and Constance Mary, Nov. 29, 1895. 
 
 REV. JOHN TAYLOR HUNTINGTON, 
 rector of St. James' Protestant Episcopal Church, 
 Hartford, is a native of Connecticut, born Jan. 30, 
 1830, at New Milford, of old English ancestry, who 
 in early times settled in Norwich, Conn., and the 
 first of whom in this country was one of the sign- 
 ers of thfe Declaration of Independence. 
 
 Our subject's paternal great-great-grandfather, 
 great-grandfather, grandfather and father were 
 all named Enoch. The great-grandfather was pas- 
 tor of a church in Middletown, Conn., for fifty vears, 
 being one of the oldest in the State. The grand- 
 father was a criminal lawyer of note in Middletown. 
 The father was born at Middletown, received his 
 education there and at Yale College, and subse- 
 quently became rector of the Episcopal Church in 
 New Milford, remaining in that incumbency twenty- 
 two years. He died at the advanced age of sev- 
 enty-five, leaving the record of a hard-working, 
 faithful laborer in the JNIaster's vineyard. He mar- 
 ried a Miss Taylor, niece of Nathaniel Taylor, of 
 Yale College, and seven children were born to them, 
 five of whom are yet living: John T., our subject; 
 Samuel G. ; Sophia, wife of Theodore D. Beardsley, 
 of Bridgeport ; Mary G., wife of Rev. James E. 
 Cooley; and Sarah, living with our subject. The 
 mother died in 1895, at the age of eighty-eight 
 3^ears. 
 
 The subject proper of this sketch received a 
 liberal education, in part at the common and high 
 schools of New Milford, in part at Trinity College, 
 Hartford, from which latter institution he gradu- 
 ated in 1850, taking the Valedictory. In 1853 he 
 graduated from the General Theological Seminary, 
 New York. His first labor in the church was as 
 assistant minister of St. James' Episcopal Church, 
 Philadelphia, where he served three years in that 
 capacity; from 1856 to 1862 he was first rector of 
 St. John's, New Haven, Conn; from 1863 to 1864 
 was rector of the Episcopal Church at Great Bar- 
 rington. Mr. Huntington then, in 1864, accepted 
 the professorship of Greek in Trinity College, Hart- 
 ford, and in the following year organized a Sun- 
 day-school which developed into the Church of the 
 Incarnation, but retired from that incumbency in 
 1870. Eight years later, in February, 1878, he was 
 recalled to the rectorship, and about the same time 
 resigned the chair of Greek in Trinity College, in 
 order that he might the better be enabled to devote 
 his entire time to church work, though no salary is 
 attached to the function. Mr. Huntington is the 
 third rector, and is justly proud of the church which 
 is the outgrowth of the Sunday-school organized in 
 1866, by himself (when he was professor in the 
 college), assisted by a band of students as teachers. 
 
 Its original name "Church of the Icarnation," was 
 changed in 1878 for convenience sake to "St. James' 
 Church," a new parish having been organized. The 
 congregation, which is numerous, embracing as it 
 does some 300 families, is composed largely of peo- 
 ple living in the tenement houses. Mr. Huntington 
 is the second oldest pastor in the city, and the only 
 one to organize his own church. In addition to his 
 regular clerical duties, he enjoys missionary work; 
 has always preached on Sunda)'s ; was in charge of 
 Christ Church, Hartford, three years ; and had 
 charge of Christ Church West Hartford, three years ; 
 and has a thriving Sunday-chool, of which he is su- 
 perintendent, with some twenty assistants, his daugh- 
 ter Charlotte being among the number. In addi- 
 tion to all this he is president of the Children's Aid 
 Society of the State of Connecticut. 
 
 In 1856, at Norwich, Rev. John T. Huntington 
 was united in marriage with Elizabeth T. Williams, 
 of Norwich, Conn., daughter of Erastus and Eliza- 
 beth (Tracy) Williams, the former of whom, a 
 woolen manufacturer, died at the age of seventy-six 
 years ; the latter, who was a daughter of Col. Elisha 
 Tracy, passed away when fifty-six years old. They 
 had two children, both now deceased. To Rev. 
 and Mrs. Huntington were born four children, two 
 of whom are yet living : ( i ) Harwood, a graduate 
 of Trinity College, Hartford, now a lawyer in New 
 York; and (2) Charlotte E., living at home. The 
 mother of these was called from earth in 1887, at 
 the age of fifty-four years. Mr. Huntington is a 
 member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. Faith- 
 ful to that duty which lies nearest, his exhortations 
 to right living are more efifective than any mere 
 glittering eloquence could be, the quiet but powerful 
 force of example adding weight to precept. 
 
 MAJOR EDWARD V. PRESTON, Superin- 
 tendent of Agencies of the Travelers Insurance Co., 
 of Hartford, is a member of one of the oldest fam- 
 ilies of New England. The name v/as made con- 
 spicuous for patriotism during the Revolution, 
 twenty-five of its representatives having served in 
 the army, as shown on the list of Revolutionary 
 soldiers published by Connecticut. 
 
 The immediate ancestors of our subject were 
 eaily settlers in Tolland county, Conn., and his 
 great-grandfather, grandfather and father were 
 residents of the town of Willington, Tolland Co., 
 Conn., all successively residing in the old Preston 
 homestead, where our subject was born, he being 
 of the fourth generation there. The first of the 
 name in this coimtry, Roger Preston, was born in 
 1614, and in 1635 his name is recorded as a resident 
 in Ipswich, Mass., but in 1659 or 1660 he removed 
 to Salem, Mass. He died Jan. 20, 1666, and his 
 widow, Martha, was married, May 21, ]666, to 
 Nicholas Holt. Soon after her second marriage she 
 and her husband removed to Andover, Mass., taking 
 two of her sons, Samuel and Jacob Preston, and 
 leaving another, Thomas Preston, in Salem. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 211 
 
 (IIj Samuel Preston, born in Ipswich about 
 1 65 1, was about fifteen years old at the time of the 
 removal to Andover. On May 27, 1671, he mar- 
 ried Susannah Gutterson, who died Dec. 29, 1710. 
 
 (III) Jacob Preston, with two brothers, John 
 and Benjamin, was in Windham, Conn., in 1723- 
 
 24, and united with the church of Canada Parisli, 
 Windham village, about that time. He was mar- 
 ried, on June 2, 1702, in Andover, to Sarah Wil- 
 son, and had a son, Benjamin. 
 
 (IV) Benjamin Preston, the ancestor of the 
 Willington Prestons, was born on the 20th of April 
 or May, 1705, and was married. May 5, 1727, to 
 Deborah Holt, of Canada Parish, Windham Co., 
 Conn. He and his wife died the same hour, Nov. 
 26, 1784, and were buried in the same grave, at 
 Willington, Connecticut. 
 
 (V) Darius Preston was born at Willington 
 Hollow in 1731, and died there May 30, 1821, aged 
 ninety years. On Nov. 15, 1759, he married Han- 
 nah Fisk, who died Jan. 12, 1813, aged seventy-two. 
 They had eleven children, as follows: (i) Han- 
 nah was born Aug. 23, 1760. (2) A son, unnamed, 
 died twenty-four hours after birth. (3) Sarah was 
 born March 3, 1764. (4) Timothy Nye died in 
 Trov, N. Y. ; he had five children, who died in 
 Richfield, Otsego Co., N. Y. (5) Darius,. Jr., was 
 born Dec. 18, 1766, married Naomi Hibbard, and 
 died April i, 1845, aged seventy-eight, in Hanover, 
 Luzerne Co., Penn. (6) Joshua was born Sept. 
 
 25, 1768, and died Nov. i, 181 1 ; he married Sarah 
 Plolt Hampton, and had two children, Florenda and 
 Austin. (7) Jerusha was born June 18, 1770, died 
 July 13, 1792. (8) Chloe was born Feb. 11, 1772, 
 married Luke Fenton, and died at Corinth, N. Y., 
 June 9, 1841, leaving three children, Weltha, Luke 
 and Orrin. (9) Eunice was born July 16, 1778, 
 married Elijah Nye, and died Oct. 17, 1807, leaving 
 four children, Polly, Jerusha, Crocker and Phebe. 
 (10) Deborah married Abel Johnson, and died Oct. 
 14, 1857. (11) Amos is next in the line of de- 
 scent. 
 
 (VI) Amos Preston was born Feb. 8, 1782, and 
 died Oct. 6, 1864. On Sept. 4, 1804, he married 
 Martha ("Patty") Taylor, who was born Feb. 8, 
 1782, and died Dec. 7, i860. Her father, Thomas 
 Taylor, died April 5, 181 5, aged si.xty-three years. 
 Amos and Martha Preston had the following chil- 
 dren : (i) Almira was born Aug. 6, 1805. (2) 
 Salina was born Dec. 22, 1806, at Richfield, N. Y., 
 was married. March 23, 1829, to Origen Hall, and 
 had one daughter, Justina. (3) Sylvester T. was 
 born Aug. 5, 1808, was married, Sept. 16, 1833, to 
 Fear Glazier, and had four children, Charles T., 
 Helen M., Herbert G. and Francis Wayland. (4) 
 Florenda was born Feb. 19, 1810. (5) Olivia was 
 born Oct. 5, 181 1. (6) Joshua was born July 15, 
 1813. 
 
 (VII) Joshua Preston, born July 15, 1813, in 
 Willington Hollow, died March 18, 1900, at his 
 home in the Goodwin building, Haynes street, Hart- 
 
 ford. As a boy he learned tlie tanner's trade, his 
 father and other members of the family being inter- 
 ested in that business, and in 1S57 he went to Hart- 
 ford, where he held for the next ten years a re- 
 sponsible ]xjsition with P. Jewell & Sons, the pred- 
 ecessors of the Jewell Belting Co. In 1879 he re- 
 moved to Chicago to take a similar position with 
 his son, the late Capt. E. B. Preston, but he re- 
 turned to Hartford in 1895 to live with his daugh- 
 ter, Mrs. W. Chapin Hunt, with whom he had 
 made his home. Mr. Preston had been in feeble 
 health, and was somewhat afi^ected by the death, 
 the previous week, of his son-in-law, Capt. W. 
 Chapin Hunt. Joshua Preston passed the greater 
 part of his life in the vicinity of Willington. He 
 built and occupied the house at the "Hollow" now 
 owned by G. W. Ide, and was for many years fore- 
 man at the tannery there, owned and carried on by 
 his eldest brother, the late Hon. S. T. Preston. 
 For a time he lived in Westford, being the pro- 
 prietor of the hotel in the village, and also of Lin- 
 coln tannery. He was for many years a mem- 
 ber of the Baptist Church in Willington, and was 
 a decided Democrat in his political views. His 
 strong temperance principles, which were early es- 
 poused, and his independent way of thought and 
 action, as well as his indift'erence to office holding, 
 prevented his receiving any particular honors from 
 his party, then often in power in the town. He 
 was fond of music, and was a rival of the late 
 Hon. L. P. Waldo, in Tolland, in the way of play- 
 ing on the double-bass viol in the church of which 
 he was a member. 
 
 On March 3, 1835, Joshua Preston was mar- 
 ried, by Rev. Horace A. Wilcox, to Caroline El- 
 dredge, daughter of Ariel and Betsey (Dimock) 
 Eldredge. She was born Feb. 6, 1816, in Willing- 
 ton, and died April 27, 1882, in Chicago, III, her 
 remains being taken to Hartford and interred in 
 Cedar Hill cemetery. They had seven children, four 
 of whom are living: (i) Burtren D. Preston, born 
 in Willington Hollow Jan. 28, 1836, died Nov. 13, 
 1898, and was buried at Colchester, Conn. He was 
 married, Jan. 7, 1863, at Colchester, Conn., to E. 
 Elizabeth Latham, who was born in Lebanon, Conn., 
 April 3, 1834, daughter of Deacon Amos S. Latham, 
 of Colchester. One son, Bertie, was born to them 
 July 2, 1868, in Colchester, and died there July 27,, 
 1868. (2) Major Edward V. Preston is mentioned 
 more fully below. (3) Albert B. Preston, born 
 Feb. 10, 1842, in Westford, Conn., was married, at 
 Meriden, Conn., IMay 10, 1871, by Rev. O. T. Walk- 
 er, to Martha B. Lewis, who was born in Hartford 
 March 27, 1840, the daughter of Walter Lewis. (4) 
 Capt. Everett B. Preston, born in Willington Hol- 
 low Sept. 12, 1843, died in Chicago, 111., April 27. 
 1895. He was married, at Hartford, Dec. 6, 1865, 
 by R. Turnbull, D. D., to Ellen H. Allen, who was 
 born in Hartford March 20, 1843. daughter ■ of 
 William G. Allen. They had two children— Ellen 
 Allen, born Sept. 5, 1870, at Chicago, III, died 
 
212 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 July 6, 1871, and was buried in Hartford; Alar- 
 guerite was born June 17, 1874, in Chicago. (5) 
 Estelle R. Preston, born at Willington Hollow Dec. 
 
 29, 1847, was married, in the First Baptist church 
 of 'Hartford, Oct. 7, i86q, by Dr. N. J. Burton, to 
 Capt. William Chapin Hunt, a son of William Clark 
 Hunt, of Coventry, Conn. Capt. Hunt was born in 
 Coventry, Conn., April 22, 1839, and died March 
 15, 1900. (6) Justina H. Preston, born in Willing- 
 ton Hollow Sept. 12, 1849, died in Hartford April 
 
 30, 1881. She was married, in Hartford, Oct. 6, 
 1870, by R. Turnbull, D. D., to Gen. Wallace T. 
 Fenn, who was born in New Haven Dec. 30, 1848, 
 son of Apollos Fenn, of Hartford. They had two 
 children, of whom Charles Wallace Fenn, born Dec. 
 18, 1871, in Hartford, was married, Oct. 23, 1895, 
 in Wethersfield, Conn., to Carolyn E. Dix; Fred- 
 erick P. Fenn, born July 3, 1876, in Hartford, was 
 married, Sept. 27, 1899, at Wethersfield, Conn., to 
 Charlotte May Daniels, of Hartford, born Dec. 13, 
 1877- (7) George E. Preston, born in Willington 
 FTollow Dec. 12, 185 1, was married, in Ann Arbor, 
 Mich., Oct. II, 1877, by Rev. George Duffield, to 
 Minnie E. Parish, who' was born at Manitowoc, 
 Wis., June 23, 1856, daughter of Isaac H. Parish, 
 of Grand Rapids, Mich. They had three children, 
 all born in Chicago, Ih. : Bessie E., Jan. 13, 1879; 
 Howard Eldredge, Dec. 24, 1883; and Robert 
 Duane, Aug. 13, 1886. 
 
 (Vni) Major Edward V. Preston was born 
 June I, 1837, in Willington Hollow, and removed to 
 Flartford in 1850, to engage in mercantile pursuits. 
 At the outbreak of the Civil war he was a member 
 of the firm of Griswold, Griffin & Co., but on April 
 22, 1861, he volunteered temporary assistance as a 
 clerk in the adjutant-general's office under Gen. J. 
 D. Williams. In July Col. Orris S. Ferry of the 5th 
 Connecticut, who was the organizer, requested the 
 appointment of Mr. Preston as quartermaster of 
 the command. On July 17 he received the appoint- 
 ment, being given the rank of first lieutenant 
 and regimental quartermaster, and he was mus- 
 tered into the United States Volunteer serv- 
 ice July 23. In September, 1861, he was de- 
 tailed by Col. Dudley Donnelly, and afterward by 
 Gens. G. H. Gordon and A. S. Williams, to be 
 acting assistant quartermaster of the ist Brigg.de, 
 Gen. Bank's division, and retained the position until 
 Jan. I, 1862, when he returned to his old place in 
 the 5th Connecticut. In March, 1862, Lieut. Pres- 
 ton was detailed as an aide-de-camp on the staff of 
 Gen. Ferry, who had received a brigadier's commis- 
 sion. During a part of the time until Feb. 19, 1863, 
 he was acting assistant quartermaster of the division. 
 On that date he was commissioned by Pre?sident Lin- 
 coln as "additional pavmaster. United States Vol- 
 unteers, with the rank of major," and this position 
 he held until July 31, 1865, when he was honorably 
 discharged by the Secretary of War. Millions of 
 dollars passed through Major Preston's hands dur- 
 ing the war, and his account squared to a cent in 
 
 the final settlement with the Government. After 
 the close of the war Major Preston at once entered 
 the service of the Travelers Insurance Co., of Hart- 
 ford, and after working two years as special agent 
 was appointed superintendent of agencies, a position 
 which he has since held continuously. The duties 
 of this office require executive ability of a high- 
 order, and in discharging them he has visited every 
 section of the United States, Canada and Mexico.. 
 His career from the outset has been one of honor 
 and integrity, and he is regarded throughout the 
 country with the utmost esteem and respect. 
 
 Major Preston is a member of the Veteran As- 
 sociation of the 5th Connecticut, and of Robert O. 
 Tyler Post, G. A. R. He is one of the trustees 
 of the $10,000 fund owned by the, post. He is a 
 member and president of the board of trustees of 
 the Connecticut Literary Institution, at Suffield, and 
 has been a member of the board of the Baptist 
 State Convention, and secretary, treasurer and presi- 
 dent of the Baptist Social Union of the State. He 
 has been treasurer for twenty-nine years of the 
 Asylum Avenue Baptist Society in Hartford. In 
 1898 he was elected president of the Connecticut 
 branch of the American Forestry Association. He 
 is a strong Republican in politics, and has served 
 in the common council and as alderman from the 
 Second (how Tenth) ward. 
 
 On Sept. 9, 1863, Major Preston was married to 
 Clara M., daughter of the late John G. Litchfield, 
 of Hartford, and to them have been born two chil- 
 dren: Harry Edward, born Sept. 27, 1864, at Hart- 
 ford, died April 7, 1893, at San Antonio, Texas; 
 he was for a few years an emplove of the Travelers 
 Co. Evelyn Wallace was born April 9, 1867. 
 
 Among" Major Pi^eston's most cherished posses- 
 sions are the original conveyance of the old home- 
 stead and tannery at the Hollow from Lemuel Ol- 
 cott to Darius Preston, consideration £75, dated 
 Jan. 2, 1771, "the eleventh year of the reign of 
 George HI," and acknowledged before Abner Par- 
 ker, justice of peace, Hartford, and the original 
 subscription-Mst for a town library in Willington, 
 dated Feb. 6, 1800, both turned over to him by his 
 cousin, Charles T. Preston, Esq., of Willington. 
 Rev. Hubbell Loomis, father of Prof. Loomis, of 
 Yale College, is among the signers. Another price- 
 less relic is the powder-horn that once belonged tO' 
 Darius Preston, bearing the date 1771. 
 
 Major Preston is descended in the maternal line 
 from the Eldredge and Hinckley families, long 
 prominent in New England. Ariel Eldredge, his 
 grandfather, was born April 28, 1791, and died 
 Sept. 15, 1849 (according to a letter of Henry El- 
 dredge, of New York, dated April 20, 1894) ; his 
 wife, Betsey Dimock, was born Jan. 29, 1795, and 
 died in March, 1873- Her father, Shubael Dimock, 
 was born Oct. 4, 1757, married Jan. 23, 1789, died 
 March 8, 1828; her mother, Elizabeth Wright, born 
 July 31, 1769, died Aug. 10, 1837. From Mrs. 
 Jeremiah Haley, of Hartford, the following account 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 213 
 
 of the children of Ariel Eldredge and wife was 
 obtained: (i) Caroline, born Feb. 6, 1816, married 
 Joshua Preston. (2) Ira Dimock, born March 19, 
 1818, died Oct. 17, 1841 (copied from gravestone). 
 (3) Wealthy Jane, born June 4, 1820, married John 
 Henry Holmes in October, 1841, and died in April, 
 185 1. They had two children — Julia Isadore, born 
 in February, 1845, married a J\Ir. Dilworth ; and a 
 .son, unnamed, died in childhood. (4) Elizabeth, 
 born April 3, 1822, died April 21, 1851. On Sept. 
 •25> 1839, she married Lucius Fisk, who was born 
 in 1813, and died April i, 1874. They had five chil- 
 dren — Theodore D., born Sept. 29, 1840; Jane Eliz- 
 abeth, Oct. 30, 1841 ; Eugene D., Jan. 14, 1844; 
 Emily Ann, Aug. 21, 1849 '< ^i^d Ella Lavonne, April 
 7, 1852 (died Aug. 14, 1864). (5) Sophronia, born 
 April 8, 1826, died Oct. 15, 1859, in London, On- 
 tario. On April 28, 185 1, she married Norman 
 Holt, son of Gen. Origen Holt, member of Congress, 
 of Willington. (6) Phebe R., born Jan. 13, 1829, 
 died March 4, 1865, at Willimantic. (7) William W., 
 ■born Jan. 14, 1832, died July 12, 1854, aged twenty- 
 two. (8) Henry, born June 16, 1835, is still living. 
 
 The following was supplied by Judge Leonard 
 Morse, items taken from a book belonging to 
 Thomas S. Weaver, of Hartford, compiled by his 
 father : 
 
 "Elder Thomas Dimmock was of Dorchester, 
 1635; selectman that year; freeman. May 25, 1636. 
 Hingham, 1638; Scituate, 1639. Removed to Barn- 
 stable May, 1639 ; one of the grantees. Ordaining 
 elder of Mr. Lathrop's church Aug. 7, 1659. His 
 wife was Ann (Hammond?), who was living in 
 1683. Children: (I) Timothy. (H) Mehitable 
 married Richard Child. (HI) Shubael married 
 Joanna Borsley, daughter of John Borsley, of Barn- 
 stable. Shubael died in Mansfield, Conn., Oct. 29, 
 1732, aged eighty-eight years. He resided in the 
 fortification house built by his father, which stood 
 near the present house of jNIr. Isaac Davis, in Barn- 
 stable. It was a two-story building about twenty 
 feet square, the lower story of stone, and the upper 
 of wood. This house was taken down about 1800. 
 The children of Deacon Shubael Dimock (or Dim- 
 mock) and his wife, Joanna Borsley, were: (i) 
 Capt. Thomas, born in Barnstable April, 1664, was 
 captain of a company of soldiers, and was killed 
 Sept. 9, 1697, in an engagement with Eastern In- 
 dians and French; his wife, Desire, survived him 
 with five children; she afterward married John 
 Thacher, Jr., of Yarmouth. (2) John, born 1666, 
 married Elizabeth Lumbard, and had nine children. 
 (3) Timothy was born March, 1668. (4) Shubael 
 was born February, 1673, married Tabitha Lathrop, 
 and had five children. (5) Joseph, born September, 
 1675, was married to Lydia, daughter of Deacon 
 John Fuller, and had eight children, born in Barn- 
 stable. (6) Mehitable, of whom no record is given. 
 (7) Benjamin was born March, 1680, removed 
 to INIansfield with his father. (8) Joanna was born 
 March, 1682, and removed to Mansfield. (9) 
 
 Thankful was born November, 1684, and removed 
 to iMansfield." The name Dimock is variously 
 spelled in this country, but Dimock is the most 
 modern. It originates from Dymoke, in England. 
 "The History of the Ancient and Noble Family of 
 JNIarmion (or Dymoke) ; their singular office of 
 King's Champion, etc.," by Sir T. C. Banks, was 
 published in 1817, is very rare, and contains the 
 full pedigree of the Dymoke family. See Scott's 
 "]Marmion" also. 
 
 The Hinckley-Eldredge descent is given as fol- 
 lows : "HINCKLEY appears to be an ancient name 
 in England. There is a town called Hinckley in 
 the County of Leicester, about one hundred miles 
 northeast from London. Jolm dc Hinkele was high- 
 sheriff of Staflordshirc in the first, second, third 
 and fourth years of the reign of Edward III (1327- 
 1330) [Shaw's Staft'ordshire, page 35]. John 
 Hinckley, esquire, is mentioned in the will of Hugh, 
 earl of Stafford, in 1385. Arms in Burke's "General 
 Armory:" "Per pale indented, argent and gules. 
 Crest: On a ducal coronet, or, a star of twelve 
 points, proper." It is not known whether the fam- 
 ily here is entitled to those arms or not. 
 
 Samuel Hinckley, of Tenterden,,Kent, England, 
 came to. New England with his wife Sarah and four 
 children in the ship "Hercules," of Sandwich, 
 which sailed about March, 1634. He first set- 
 tled in Scituate, and by the early records it 
 appears that his wife joined the church there 
 Aug. 16, 1635. He removed with his fam- 
 ily to Barnstable in 1639 [From "History of 
 the Hinckley Family," pamphlet, in Connecticut His- 
 torical Society]. According to another account he 
 was one of those who accompanied JSIr. Lothrop 
 to Boston in the "Griffin," arriving Sept. 18, 1634. 
 Some of the first settlers of Scituate and Barn- 
 stable were men of education and easy fortune, 
 who had left homes altogether enviable, save in the 
 single circumstance of the abridgement of their re- 
 ligious liberty. The "men of Kent" are duly cele- 
 brated in English history as men of gallantry, loyal- 
 ty and courtly manners. A'asall, Hatherly, Cud worth, 
 Tilden, Hinckley, and others, had been accustomed 
 to the elegancies of life in England. They were 
 men eminently qualified for transacting not only the 
 municipal concerns of the settf^ients. but for taking 
 an active and prominent part in the government of 
 the colony. [Moore's "Governors of New Plymouth 
 and Massachusetts Bay," published 1848.] 
 
 From Josiah Hinckley; Wollaston, :Mass., the 
 following has been obtained : "He was quite prom- 
 inent in" the affairs of the town, and was a large 
 land-holder. His wife, Sarah, whom he married in 
 England, died in Barnstable Aug:. 18, 1656. He 
 married a second wife, Bridget Bodfish, of Sand- 
 wich, widow of Robert Bodfish. He died in Barn- 
 stable Oct. 31, 1662, age not known, his widow 
 surviving. His will was dated Oct. 8, 1662. Of 
 his children, the four first named were born in Eng- 
 land, the three following in Scituate, the others in 
 
214 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Barnstable: (i) (Gov.) Thomas married (first) 
 Mary Richards, and (second) Mar}' (Smith) 
 Glover. (2) Susanna married Rev. John Smith. 
 (3) Sarah married Elder Henry Cobb. (4) Mary 
 married James Haughton. (5) Elizabeth, baptized 
 Sept. 6, 1635, married Elisha Parker, who settled 
 in New Jersey, and was an ancestor of the late 
 Hon. Joel Parker, of that State, a governor and 
 United States Senator, and of Courtlandt Parker, 
 the eminent lawyer. (6) Samuel was buried March 
 22, 1645, at Barnstable, aged three years. (7) A 
 daughter, unnamed, was buried July 8, 1640, at 
 Barnstable. (8) and (9) Twins, unnamed, were 
 buried Feb. 6, 1640, and March 19, 1640, at Barn- 
 stable, respectively. (10) Samuel (2) was born 
 July 24, 1642, and married (first) Mary Goodspeed, 
 daughter of Roger Goodspeed, and (second) Mary 
 Fitz-Randolph. (11) John, born May 24, 1644, 
 is mentioned more fully below. 
 
 "Gov. Thomas Hinckley was born in 1621, and 
 came to New England soon after his father and 
 mother had made a settlement at Barnstable. The 
 mere recital of the various public duties he was 
 called upon to perform, some of which were the 
 most arduous and responsible, as well as the high- 
 est in the government, is sufficient to show that he 
 was a man of more than ordinary ability and in- 
 fluence. In 1645 he was elected a deputy from 
 Barnstable, and he was again elected in 1648, and 
 at several subsequent periods. In 1658, when Mr. 
 Cudworth and Mr. Hatherly, two of the most ex- 
 cellent men in the Colony, were proscribed and 
 driven from office, on account of their opposition 
 to the rash measures against the Quakers, Mr. 
 Hinckley, falling into the popular current, was 
 chosen one of the assistants, and continued in that 
 office by successive re-elections until the year 1681. 
 At the election of 1680 Mr. Hinckley was especially 
 designated as deputy governor in consequence of 
 the ill health of Gov. Winslow, and the extreme age 
 of Mr. Alden, who, as first assistant, would have 
 succeeded to the chair when vacant. In June, 1681, 
 following the death of Josiah Winslow, Mr. Hinck- 
 ley was chosen governor, in which office (except for 
 the short period of the rule of Andros, when he 
 was a counsellor) he was continued until the sep- 
 arate existence of the Colony of New Haven was 
 teraiinated by its incorporation with Massachusetts, 
 imder the charter of 1692. Upon that event he was 
 named one of the counsellors of the province of 
 Massachusetts, under the new charter." [Moore's 
 "Governors of New Plymouth," etc.] 
 
 (II) John Hinckley, son of Samuel and Sarah 
 Hinckley, was born in Barnstable May 24, 1644, 
 was baptized May 26, same year, by Rev. John 
 Lothrop, and died in Barnstable Dec. 7, 1709, aged 
 sixty-five years, six months and thirteen days. "En- 
 sign" John was married (first), in Barnstable, in 
 July, 1668, to Bethiah Lothrop, daughter of Thomas 
 Lothrop, of Barnstable, and granddaughter of Rev. 
 John Lothrop. She was born in Barnstable July 
 
 23, 1649, baptized July 23, 1649, by her grandfather. 
 Rev. John, and died in Barnstable July 10, 1697, 
 aged forty-eight years. "Thomas Lothrop was born 
 in England, probably at Egerton, Kent, about 1621. 
 At about the age of thirteen he came with his fa- 
 ther. Rev. John, to Scituate, Mass., and removed to 
 Barnstable, Mass., about 1639. He married Sarah, 
 daughter of William Learned, and widow of Thomas 
 Ewer. His fifth child, Bethiah, born July 23, 1649, 
 was married to John Hinckley, a son of Samuel." 
 ["The Lothrop Family."] 
 
 Rev. Mr. Lothrop was educated at Oxford, as 
 appears from Wood's Athenae Oxoniensis. Four 
 sons came with him from England : Thomas, who 
 settled at Eastham, where his son Thomas was born 
 in 1640; Samuel, at Norwich or New London, 
 Conn.; Joseph, at Barnstable; and Benjamin, at 
 Charlestown, Mass. Barnabas and John were boin 
 in this country, and settled at Barnstable. Rev. 
 Mr. Lothrop died in Barnstable Nov. 8, 1653. His. 
 descendants are numerous. 
 
 John Hinckley married (second), in Barnstable, 
 Nov. 24, 1697, Mary Goodspeed, widow of Benja- 
 min Goodspeed, of Barnstable, and daughter of John 
 and Hannah (Linnell) Davis, of Barnstable. She 
 was born in Barnstable Jan. 3, 1653. His children 
 were all b}' his first wife, and all born in Barn- 
 stable: (i) Sarah was born in 1669; (2) Samuel, 
 born Feb. 2, 1670, married Mary Lothrop; (3) 
 Bethia, born March, 1673, died unmarried ; (4) 
 Hannah, born May 15, 1675, married Benjamin 
 Lewis; (5) Jonathan, born Feb. 15, 1677, married 
 Elizabeth Edwards, in Hartford; (6) Ichabod, born 
 Aug. 28, 1680, is mentioned below; (7) Gershom, 
 born April 2, 1682, married Mary Buel in Lebanon, 
 Conn, (ancestor of N. G. Hinckley, of Hartford) ; 
 (8) Mercy died unmarried; (9) Mary married 
 John Crocker; (10) Abigail was living in 1718 
 (further record of her uncertain) ; (11) Job mar- 
 ried Hannah Lombard. "Ensign" John was one of 
 the substantial citizens of Barnstable, a large land- 
 holder ; four of his five sons settled in Connecticut — 
 Samuel in Stonington, Jonathan in Hartford, Icha- 
 bod in Tolland, and Gershom in Lebanon. 
 
 (Ill) Ichabod Hinckley was born in Barnstable 
 Aug. 28, 1680, and died in Tolland, Conn., May 
 10, 1768, aged nearly eighty-eight years. He was 
 married (first), in Barnstable, Jan. 5, 1702, to Mary 
 Goodspeed, daughter of Benjamin and Mary 
 (Davis) Goodspeed, of Barnstable. She was. born 
 in Barnstable Jan. 10, 1677-78, and died in Barn- 
 stable Oct. I, 1 719, aged thirty-two. On Aug. 3, 
 1 72 1, in Sandwich, Mass., Ichabod Hinckle}' mar- 
 ried, for his second wife, Mary Bassett. B}' the 
 first marriage he had eight children : ( i ) Mary, 
 born May 27, 1704, died March 2, 1718:. (2) Ben- 
 jamin, born June 19, 1707, is mentioned below; 
 (3) David, born March i, 1709, died in Tolland 
 in 1796, unmarried; (4) John, born Jan. 4, 1710-11, 
 died probably in infancy; (5) John, born March 
 7, 1712, married Susannah Harris; (6) Ebenezer, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 215 
 
 born July 7, 1714, d'ied young, and is mentioned 
 in his father's will; (7) Thankful, born Aug. i, 
 1716, died young; (8) Mary, born Sept. 26, 1718, 
 married Dr. Sanuiel Cobb, of Tolland. The chil- 
 dren by the second marriage were: (9) Thankful, 
 born Dec. 2, 1723, married (first) Jonathan Hatch, 
 and (second) George Nye; and (10) Mercy, born 
 Nov. 22, 1726, probably died young, as she is not 
 mentioned in her father's will. 
 
 On Dec. 3. 1730, Ichabod Hinckley, being then 
 a resident of Barnstable, bought 390 acres of land 
 of Josiah Goodrich, the land being partly in Tolland 
 and partly in Willington, Conn., an adjoining town. 
 In 1732 he removed from Barnstable to Tolland, 
 with all his family. He was selectman of Tolland 
 for several years. His will is dated Nov. 18, 1757. 
 and probated Feb. i, 1774. 
 
 (IV) Benjamin Hinckley, born in Barnstable 
 June 19, 1707, died in Willington, Conn., Oct. 11, 
 1749, aged forty-two years. He was married, in 
 Tolland, Nov. 6, 1733, to Deborah Palmer, of Wind- 
 ham, Conn. Mr. Hinckley was admitted a towns- 
 man in Willington Dec. 17, 1735, and by occupa- 
 tion was a farmer. He and liis wife had children 
 as follows: (i) (Capt.) Ichabod, mentioned more 
 fully farther on; (2) Betty, born Jan. 24, 1737; 
 (3) Mary, born Dec. 11, 1738; (4) Anne, born May 
 14, 1740, died Oct. 9, I249; (S) Deborah, born 
 Oct. 23, 1743; (6) Benjamin, Jr., born March 18, 
 1745, died Sept. 19. 1747; and (7) David, born 
 Oct. 29, 1747, died Dec. 16, 1747. 
 
 (V) Capt. Ichabod Hinckley, son of Benjamin 
 Hinckley, of Willington, Conn., was born in Will- 
 ington Oct. 13, 173.5, and died Feb. 23, 1807, aged 
 seventy-one years, four months and ten days, in 
 Tolland, Conn. In the "Early History of Tolland," 
 by Judge Lorin P. Waldo, we find the following: 
 "He was a captain in the Continental army, and per- 
 formed several tours of duty, besides being other- 
 wise very active in the Revolutionary contest. He 
 was twice a member of the General Assembly, and 
 fourteen years a selectman. People who remembered 
 him spoke with admiration of his integrity' and abil- 
 ity as a selectman, and of the dignity with which 
 he used to preside in town meetinp's.'' His first 
 wife, Mary, died in Willington Jan. 8, 1769, aged 
 thirty-seven years. He was married (second), in 
 Tolland, Dec. 12, 1769, to Hannah Kingsbury, 
 daughter of Deacon Nathaniel Kingsbury, of Tol- 
 land. She was born in Tolland, and died there 
 INIarch 8, 1823, aged eighty-five years. Capt. Icha- 
 bod and his second wife are buried in Tolland, and 
 each have memorial stones. The children by the 
 first wife were: (i) Hannah, born April 23, 1756, 
 died Alay 20, 1756; (2) Anna, born May 9, 1758; 
 
 (3) Bethia, born Dec. 10, 1759, mentioned below; 
 
 (4) Temperance, born Aug. 25, 1762, died Oct. 
 17, 1762 ; (5) Ichabod, Jr.. born Sept. 19, 1763, mar- 
 ried Jerusha Thompson; (6) Benjamin, born Dec. 
 27, 1765, died Aug. i, 1780; (7) Daniel, born 
 ilarch 17, 1768, died April 22, 1768. By his sec- 
 
 ond marriage were four children: (8) Mary, born 
 Nov. 20, 1770; (9) Hannah, born March 16, 1772; 
 (10) Sarah, born Nov. 15, 1773, died Dec. 28, 18C0, 
 unmarried; (11) Deborah, born March 15, 1775- 
 These children were all born in Tolland except the 
 first, who was born in Willington. 
 
 The following is from the "Roster of Revolu- 
 tionary Soldiers of Connecticut:" 
 
 In the " Lexington Alarm " List, April 19, 1775. 
 from the town of willington: 
 Zoeth Eklredge, 10 days service. 
 David Hinckley, 17 days, etc. (Page 25.) 
 
 FROM THE TOWN OF TOLLAND. 
 
 Ichabod Hinckley, Adjutant, 8 days in service. 
 Edward Dimock, 2'i days in service. (Page I'd.) 
 
 Continental Regi.ments. 
 
 Edward Dimock, in oth Regiment. 
 David Hinckley, in 2d Regiment, Col. .Spencer's. (Page 48.) 
 
 Third Battalion, Wadsworth's Brigade, Col. Sage, 1776. 
 Ichabod Hinckley, 1st Lieut, of 6th Company. 
 
 (This battalion was raised June, '76, to reinforce Wash- 
 ington in New York, served in New York City and on Long 
 Island, caught in the retreat from the city, and Sept. 
 15 suffered some loss. Engaged in the Battle of White 
 Plains, October 28. Time expired December 25, '76.) (Page 
 398.) 
 
 Captain Ichabod Hinckley. Commissioned (Capt.) Jan. 
 1,1777; also paymaster as below; retired by consolidation 
 January 1, 1781. In service from '76. (Page 158.) 
 
 Second regiment of " Connecticut Line,'' formation of 
 1777-81. Paymaster Ichabod Hinckley, of Tolland, appointed 
 June 16, '78; also Regimental Clothier, April 1, "iO. See 
 " Captains." 
 
 (\T) Bethia Hinckley, daughter of Capt. Iclia- 
 bod Hinckley, of Tolland, was born in Tolland 
 Dec. 10, 1759, and was married, in Willington, 
 Conn., Oct. 16, 1779, to Zoeth Eldredge, who is 
 doubtless the Eldredge mentioned above as being 
 in the Lexington Alarm. She died June 17, 1850, 
 at Willington. Their ten children were born in 
 Tolland, as follows: (i) Ichabod Eldredge, born 
 June 22, 1780; (2) Zoeth, Jr., April i, 1782: (3) 
 Elizabeth, Mav 23. 1784 (died Oct. 2, 1802) ; (4) 
 Polly, June 29', 1786; (5) Persis, Dec. 3, 1788; (6) 
 Rial' (Ariel), April 28, 1791 (married Betsey Dim- 
 ock) ; (7) Ahira, Alarch 25, 1794; (8) Olive. Nov. 
 19, 1796; (9) Sophronia, Dec. 11, 1799; (10) Juli- 
 anna, May 22, 1802. 
 
 Major Preston traces his descent in the Hunt- 
 ington line as follows: (I) Deacon Joseph Hunt- 
 ington married Rebecca Adgate. (li) Sarah Hunt- 
 ington married Ebenezer Wright. (Ill) Eleazer 
 Wright married Anna Marsh. (IV) Elizabeth 
 Wright married Capt. Shubael Dimock. (\*) Bet- 
 sey Dimock married Ariel Eldredge. 
 
 " The \\'right descent is as follows: (I) Lieut. 
 Abel ^^'right. of Springfield, married Martha, daugh- 
 ter of Samuel Kicherell, of Hartford. (II) Ensign 
 Abel Wright, of Lebanon, Conn., married Rebecca, 
 daughter of Samuel Terry, of Springfield. (Ill) 
 Ebenezer Wright, of Lebanon, Conn., born Feb. 
 22, 1701, married, in 1728 (as second wife), Sarah 
 
216 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Huntington (above). (IV) Eleazer Wright, of 
 Mansfield, Conn., born April 12, 1741, married 
 Anna Marsh, daughter of Joseph Marsh, of Wind- 
 ham, April 25, 1765. (V) Elizabeth Wright, of 
 Mansfield, born July 31, 1769, married Capt. Shu- 
 bael Dimock (third) Jan. 22 or 23, 1789, he born 
 Oct. 4, 1757. (VI) Betsey Dimock, of Mansfield, 
 born Jan. 29, 1795, married Ariel Eldredge. 
 
 STEPHEN BALL (deceased), who died at his 
 home in Hartford Feb. 20, 1900, was for many years 
 prominent in business and social life, and worthily 
 represented an honored pioneer family. He was 
 born Oct. 20, 1839, in New Haven, Conn., son of 
 John Scott Ball, and was of the seventh generation 
 in direct descent from Allen Ball and his wife 
 Dorothy. 
 
 (II) The line of descent was continued in this 
 generation through Sergt. John and Sarah (Glover) 
 Ball. 
 
 (III) Ensign John Ball, son of Sergt. John, mar- 
 ried Mar}' Tuttle. 
 
 (IV) Deacon Stephen Ball married Abigail At- 
 water. He was among the early settlers at New 
 Haven, and for maity 3'ears was deacon of the Cen- 
 ter Church. He became the owner of land upon 
 which the Yale College buildings now stand, and 
 his homestead occupied the site of the present Art 
 Building. 
 
 (V) Col. Stephen Ball married Nabby Scott, 
 a daughter of John and Lucretia (Warner) Scott. 
 He lived in the trying times of the Revolutionary 
 war, and his grandson, our subject, was fond of re- 
 lating the manner in which he at one time foiled the 
 enemy. As deacon of the church he had charge of 
 the communion service, and when British raiders 
 were searching the house he had a young daughter 
 stand on a ledge in the chimney of the fireplace with 
 the service, which thus escaped observation. 
 
 (VI) John Scott Ball, our subject's father, was 
 a merchant in New Haven. He married Laura 
 Ann Miller, who is still living at New Haven, at the 
 advanced age of eighty years. 
 
 (VII) Stephen Ball, the subject proper of this 
 review, was sent when six years old to the Glenden- 
 ning school at Stamford, a private school of much 
 importance at that time. After a few years of 
 study there he returned to New Haven, and gradu- 
 ated from the Hill House High School. After grad 
 uating, and when seventeen years of age, he entered 
 the employ of the Townsend Savings Bank, and was 
 there until 1861, when, at the age of twenty-two, he 
 enlisted for the war in Company I, 12th Conn. V. I. 
 On account of his popularity he was made second 
 lieutenant, but after serving about a year in the 
 1 2th he went into the signal corps, and remained 
 there until mustered out, at the close of the war. 
 
 . Just before enlisting Mr. Ball married Ellen Vir- 
 ginia Bradley, of Southington, who survives him. 
 After the war Mr. and Mrs. Ball went to New Or- 
 leans, where he was in the government employ, being 
 
 in the quartermaster's department about three years. 
 At that time Gen. George R. Davis, general manager 
 of the World's Fair, was in the same service, and 
 the two became warm friends. While in New Or- 
 leans Mr. and Mrs. Ball lost an infant son. In 1867 
 they removed to Hartford, Mr. Ball entering the em- 
 ploy of the State Savings Bank, but remaining only 
 a short time. In 1867 he became identified with the 
 affairs of the Hartford Life & Annuity Co., which 
 had been chartered the previous year, and was still 
 in an unsettled condition as to its business plans. 
 Mr. Ball, although a 3'oung man, instituted several 
 forms of life insurance which were immediately 
 adopted, and attracted attention for their stability 
 and cheapness, combined with a systematic rate of 
 premiums. He was elected actuary, a position 
 which he held for two years, until advanced to the 
 position of assistant secretary. This office he held 
 for several years, or until 1874, when he was elected 
 secretary, succeeding James P. Taylor, now presi- 
 dent of the Charter Oak National Bank, and he con- 
 tinued in this office until in April, 1897, he resigned 
 to accept the presidency of the National Life As- 
 sociation, which he held until the Company closed 
 its existence, about a year and a half later. 
 
 During Mr. Ball's connection with the Hartford 
 Life & Annuity Co., the concern underwent several 
 changes of business plans, including the adoption of 
 the safety fund system of assessment insurance, 
 which gained unbounded popularity during his 
 regime. This plan was introduced by Henry P. 
 Duclos, a well-known insurance man of Burlington, 
 Vt. The system was brought to the attention of 
 Mr. Ball, who, after careful investigation, found it 
 fitted for the needs of the concern, and it was 
 adopted by the company Jan. 20, 1880. Through the 
 persevering efforts of Mr. Ball the company ad- 
 vanced rapidly in the insurance world, and for sev- 
 eral years held the distinction of being the largest 
 life assessment company in the country. Mr. Ball's 
 reputation for honesty, integrity and determination 
 of purpose, and his advanced ideas of life under- 
 writing, Yv^ere recognized throughout the country. 
 The company soon outgrew its quarters in the brown 
 stone building in the rear of No. 230 Asylum street, 
 and several additions were erected, hut the business 
 of the concern so increased ihat the present impos- 
 ing structure was erected in 1896. After resigning 
 his position with the company, in April, of the fol- 
 lowing year, Mr. Ball was unanimously elected pres- 
 ident of the National Life Association. He found 
 this concern in a not over prosperous condition, and 
 worked incessantly to build it up and put it on a 
 firm basis, but in spite of his efforts the company 
 was forced to wind up its affairs. 
 
 Mr. Ball's interest in military affairs never 
 waned, and he was one of the committee on the State 
 monument which was dedicated at Winchester, Va., ■ 
 Oct. 19, 1896. Past Department Commander Will- 
 iam Berry, of this city, who died here a number of 
 years ago, was an officer with Mr. Ball, and the com- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 217 
 
 pany was under the command of Capt. John W. De- 
 Porest, the novelist. His associate officers in the 
 regiment, now Hving-. inchide Gen. L. A. Dickin- 
 son, of the yEtna Insurance Co. ; Capt. James E. 
 Smith, of the Hartford Fire; and Ex-Mayor Hen- 
 tirick, of New Haven. Mr. Ball was a member of 
 Robert O. Tyler Post, G. A. R., and belonged to the 
 Loyal Legion in Boston. He was widely known 
 throughout the State on account of his iMasonic 
 associations. He was a member and past master of 
 Lafayette Lodge, No. loo, A. F. & A. M., and was 
 one of the past eminent commanders of Washington 
 Commandery, No. i, Knights Templar; was also 
 a thirty-second degree Mason, and was identified 
 with Pyramid Shrine, of Bridgeport, and later with 
 Sphinx Shrine of this city. His funeral services, 
 held at St. James' Church, Hartford, were conducted 
 by eight past commanders of \\'ashington Com- 
 mandery, No. I, K. T., assisted by the rector, Rev. 
 J. T. Huntington. 
 
 On Oct. 26, 1861, Mr. Ball married Miss Ellen 
 V. Bradley (daughter of Charles and Delia Stedman 
 Bradley), of Southington, who, with one son, Fred- 
 erick W. Ball, born Aug. 26, 1867, at Southington, 
 survives him. Mrs. Ball is the half-sister of Walter 
 A. Cowles, who was formerly the assistant secre- 
 tary of the Hartford Life & Annuity Co., and of 
 Mrs. Julia A. Parmalee, Mrs. R. Calvin Mix and 
 Miss Fanny Maud Cowles, of this city. William 
 H. Cowles and Charles B. Cowles, of Plantsville, 
 are also half brothers of Mrs. Ball. 
 
 Mr. Ball had a summer residence in Plantsville, 
 and spent some time there each year, on the Cowles 
 Tiomestead, which he owned and improved at con- 
 siderable expense. He enjoyed the country thor- 
 oughly, and was a great admirer of its scenes and in- 
 terests, being a great lover of nature, and it could be 
 trulv said of him that he was of that class who find 
 "tongues in trees, books in the running brooks. 
 Sermons in stones, and good in everything." 
 The personal life of Mr. Ball was deserving of 
 the greatest emulation, as his kindness of heart and 
 depth of sympathy made him the friend of 
 thousands. 
 
 JOSHUA NEWELL OA^ATT. who is now 
 practically living a retired life in \Y(tst Hartford, 
 was for many years prominently identified with the 
 newspaper interests of this section of the country. 
 He was born in Washington. Litchfield Co., Conn., 
 Oct. 27, 1832, a son of John and Caroline (i\Iason) 
 Oviatt, lifelong residents of that county, where the 
 father followed the occupation of farming, and died 
 at the age of ninety-two years. Our subject's ma- 
 ternal grandfather, Elisha Mason, of Revolutionary 
 fame, lived to be one hundred years old. The 
 Mason family was one of the oldest in Litchfield 
 county. John Oviatt was instrumental in founding 
 the town of Morris, and was a deacon in the Con- 
 gregational Church at that place for many years. 
 He also represented the town in the State Legis- 
 
 lature, and served as selectman with credit to him- 
 self and to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. 
 In politics he was a Whig. He had four children : 
 Elizabeth, who married R. G. Reynolds, who died in 
 Boston, Mass. ; J\lrs. Harriet Clark, of Medina, 
 Ohio; Joshua N., our subject; and Mrs. Fannie 
 De Wolf, of Marion, Indiana. 
 
 Joshua N. Oviatt was reared and educated in 
 Morris, Conn. His identification with the "art pre- 
 servative of all the arts" dates back to the time 
 when, at the age of fifteen years, he entered the 
 office of the IVaterbury American. Subsequently 
 he was connected with the Springfield Republican 
 for nine years, and in 1865 established the Ne^a 
 Britain Record, at that time the only paper pub- 
 Ished in New Britain, Conn. He was editor and 
 proprietor of that journal until 1882, when he sev- 
 ered his connection with it on account of ill health, 
 and removed to West Hartford, where he has since 
 lived retired. 
 
 While a resident of Springfield, Mass., Mr. 
 Oviatt was married, in 1862, to Miss Martha A. 
 McNary, a daughter of Samuel McXary, of that 
 city, arid to them were born two children: Annie 
 McNary, a stenographer in Hartford ; and Edward 
 Mason.' During the Spanish-American war the 
 son enlisted in Company K, 1st Conn. V. I.; he is 
 now in New York engaged in business. At the time 
 of his enlistment he was employed in the office of 
 the Hartford Post. Father and son are both mem- 
 bers of Wyllys Lodge, No. 99, F. & A. :M., and the 
 former also belongs to Giddings Chapter, R. A. M., 
 and to the Grange. He affiliates with_ the Repub- 
 ilcan party, and is serving as grand juror of the 
 town at the present time. He has been a deacon 
 in the Congregational Church for many years, and 
 in his dailv walk has shown himself to be consistent 
 with the belief which he professes, being generous 
 and charitable in answering the appeals of the dis- 
 tressed. 
 
 IRA MILES STANDISH (deceased), who 
 during life was one of Wethersfield's most re- 
 spected citizens and prominent agriculturists, was 
 born on the old Standish homestead in Jordan 
 Lane, Wethersfield, July 5, 1832, and was a son 
 of James and Cynthia (Wells) Standish. Ex- 
 tended mention is made of the family elsewhere, 
 in connection with the sketch of James Standish. 
 
 Our subject received a district-school education, 
 and grew to manhood on the home farm, where he 
 spent his entire life engaged in general farming, 
 dairying and stock raising. After the death of his 
 father he took charge of the place, upon which he 
 made many useful and valuable improvements, and 
 which he 'successfully operated until he. too, was 
 called to his final rest. He was industrious, pains- 
 taking and energetic, and generally carried forward 
 to successful completion whatever he undertook. 
 
 In Wethersfield Mr. Standish was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Sarah Warner, a native of that 
 
218 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 place, and a daughter of Levi Warner. (A full 
 sketch of the Warner family may also be found 
 elsewhere). She was an earnest Christian, a mem- 
 ber of the Episcopal Church, a good wife and 
 loving mother. She died July 6, 1891, her husband 
 on Dec. 30, 1895, and the remains of both were in- 
 terred in the Cedar Hill cemetery. He was liberal 
 in his religious views, and domestic in his tastes. 
 Politically he always supported the Democratic 
 party, but he never cared for the honors or emolu- 
 ments of public office. His well-spent life com- 
 mended him to the confidence of all with wliom 
 he came in contact, and gained for him the respect 
 and good-will of the entire community. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Standish were born five chil- 
 dren : ( I ) Annie Isabelle died when fourteen 
 years of age. (2) Alice Louise married Stephen 
 Lockwood, a house carpenter, who died in 1894, 
 leaving one child, Ethel Rose, a bright girl, who is 
 now attending the Wethersfield high school. (3) 
 Mary Seymour was a school teacher prior to her 
 marriage to Charles A. Parker, a barber of Weth- 
 ersfield. (4) Bertha May, a lady of refinement and 
 good business ability, resides on the old homestead. 
 On Nov. 14, 189Q, she married John F. Mcintosh, 
 who is engaged on the Hartford Post. She is a 
 member of the Wethersfield Grange. ( 5 ) Sarah 
 Rosalia is the wife of Leon C. Leach, of Elling- 
 ton, Conn., and they have two children : Leon 
 Standish and Arline Rose, 
 
 SPENCER LEE FLOWER. When after years 
 of long aftd earnest labor in some honorable field of 
 business a man puts aside all cares to spend his re- 
 maining years in the enjoyment of the fruits of his 
 former toil, it is certainl)^ a well-deserved reward 
 of his former industry. . 
 
 " How blest is he who crowns in shades like these 
 • A youth of labor with an age of ease." 
 
 wrote the poet, and the world everywhere 
 recognizes the justice of a season of rest following 
 an active period of business life. Mr. Flower is 
 now living retired at his pleasant home on Fern 
 street, West Hartford, and his history is one that_ 
 shows the accomplishment of well-directed labor. 
 
 Our subject was born in West Springfield, Mass., 
 Aug. 7, 1 81 5, and comes from a long-lived race, 
 his grandfather, Timothy Flower, being ninety-two 
 years of age at the time of his death. Not know- 
 ing the date of birth of our subject, one would hardly 
 guess him to be over seventy years of age at the 
 present time. His parents, Spencer and Rosanna 
 (Mclntyre) Flower, were lifelong residents of West 
 Springfield, where the father was engaged in wagon 
 manufacturing and blacksmithing. In their family 
 were eight children : Hannah, who died at the age of 
 ninety years ; Julia, a resident of Iowa ; Nancy, who 
 died in 1882; Spencer Lee, our subject; Cornelius, 
 who died in 1888; Homer, deceased; Henry, a resi- 
 dent of Iowa ; and Lester, deceased. 
 
 Our subject accjuired his education in the schools 
 of West Springfield, Mass., and remained in his 
 native town until fifteen years of age, when he came 
 to Hartford and clerked in the general mercantile 
 store of Nathaniel Eggleston for about ten years. 
 He then formed a partnership with John G. Litch- 
 field and engaged in the grocery business on Asylum 
 street, under the firm name of Litchfield & Flower. 
 When Mr. Litchfield retired W. P. Williams becaine 
 junior member of the firm of Flower & Williams, 
 and he was in turn succeeded by E. H. Hills, the 
 name being then changed to Flower & Hills. In 
 1875 ^I''- Flower retired from the business, which 
 is still conducted under the firm style of Hills & Co. 
 For thirty-six years Mr. Flower resided on Pleas- 
 ant street, Hartford, but in 1890 he erected his 
 present residence on Fern street, West Hartford, 
 into which he moved in 1891. 
 
 For his first wife Mr. Flower married Miss Har- 
 riet, daughter of Dr. Charles Greenleaf, a former 
 well-known dentist of Hartford, and to them were 
 born three children : Charles, who died at the age 
 of twenty-three years ; Harriet, who died at the 
 age of twenty-two; and Charles, who died in in- 
 fancy. In Thompsonville, Conn., he was again mar- 
 ried, in_ November, 1883, his second union being 
 with Mrs. Louise (Terry) Price. 
 
 Since 1843 ^^- Flower has been an active and 
 prominent member of the Fourth Church of Hart- 
 ford, and served as its librarian for eighteen years, 
 and treasurer for thirteen years. He is a member of 
 the Governor's Foot Guard Veteran Corps, also a 
 member of the Harrison Veterans of 1840. His in- 
 fluence is always found on the side of right, and in 
 many respects his life is well worthy of emulation.- 
 In political sentiment he is a Republican. 
 
 WILLIAM ROGERS (deceased), in his day 
 a man of energy and sterling business principles, 
 widely known throughout this section, especially in 
 the silver trade, was a native of Connecticut, born 
 in Hartford, Nov. 15, 1833. 
 
 William Rogers, father of our subject, was a 
 member of the original world-renowned firm of 
 Rogers Bros., manufacturers of silverware, and the 
 first in Hartford. Later he removed to Meriden, 
 whee he conducted business for a time, and then re- 
 turned to Hartford, residing there up to the time of 
 his death, Feb. 17, 1873. He was a successful busi- 
 ness man, and one of the most prominent and best 
 known in the city. In 1831 he married Nancy Wil- 
 son, by whom he had a large family, and who died 
 at the age of seventy years. [Further facts in regard 
 to William Rogers, Sr., will be found in the sketch 
 of F. Willson Rogers.] 
 
 William Rogers, whose name introduces these 
 lines, received his education at the common schools 
 of Hartford, and at the age of sixteen commenced 
 to learn the trade of silversmith under his father's 
 direction. He then took a position in the establish- 
 ment as shipping clerk, aiid continued with his fa- 
 
7 
 
 ei-^*^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 219 
 
 ther up to the latter's death, when he took eharge of 
 the business, and conducted same until his decease. 
 For several years he was also connected with the 
 firm of Simpson, Hall & Miller, of Meriden, and had 
 control of the output of the goods in a branch known 
 as "flat ware." He died June 21, 1897, at the age 
 of sixt-four years, leaving a widow and one son. 
 
 On October 29, 1866, Mr. Rogers married Lucy 
 J. Ramsey, who was born in Hartford, a daughter of 
 Jonathan and Lucy M. (Briggs) Ramsey, the for- 
 mer for many years one of the leading musicians of 
 that city. One son, Frederick William, was born of 
 this union. Mrs. Rogers has inherited her father's 
 musical talent, being an accomplished vocalist, and 
 has sung in the leading churches of Hartford for 
 over a quarter of a century, taking the part of first 
 soprano. 
 
 GEORGE H. MITCHELL, late secretary and 
 treasurer of the E. N. Welch Manufacturing Co., 
 at Forestville, with which corporation his active 
 business career of forty years was passed, was one 
 of the town's substantial men and infjuential 
 citizens. 
 
 Mr. Mitchell was born Nov. 12, 1835, in the 
 town of Bristol, descending on both sides from an 
 historic ancestry. William Mitchell, his great- 
 grandfather, was a native of Scotland, born in 1748, 
 and when a young man came to this country, locat- 
 ing in Bristol. This was prior to the war of the 
 Revolution. He espoused the cause of the Colonies, 
 and fought in the Continental army in that historic 
 struggle. He reared a large family, several of the 
 sons becoming men of great force of character, 
 who in turn transmitted their qualities to their 
 children, some of whom became men of mark, of 
 State and National reputation. S. Augustus 
 Mitchell, the geographer, was a son of William 
 Mitchell, the emigrant ; another son of William, 
 and the grandfather of our subject, was Hon. George 
 Mitchell, of Bristol, a man of prominence and in- 
 fluence in the town, who represented the district in 
 the State Senate, and was conspicuously identified 
 with the town's history. This George Mitchell's 
 son, George H. Mitchell, brings us down to the fa- 
 ther of the subject of this sketch. 
 
 On his mother's side, she being formerly Miss 
 Lurene, daughter of Hon. Ira Hooker (who served 
 five terms in the General Assembly of the State), 
 our subject is a lineal descendant of Rev. Thomas 
 Hooker, an historic character and divine of the 
 Colonial period of New England and Connecticut ; 
 and also from Capt. Thomas Willet, one of the 
 "Pilgrim Fathers," a magistrate and captain of 
 militia at Plymouth, a participant in the capture of 
 New Amsterdam from the Dutch in 1664, and the 
 first mayor of New York City under English rule. 
 
 George H. Mitchell, our subject proper, was 
 reared and educated in Bristol, where he attended 
 the public schools. He was early thrown upon his 
 own resources, which developed self-reliance and 
 
 inspired confidence and ambition. When a young 
 man, in 1858, he was married to H. Donsilla, (laugh- 
 ter of the late Hon. Elisha N. Welch, of Bristol, 
 became at once interested in the E. \. Welch Manu- 
 facturing Co., at Forestville, and remained through 
 life an active official of that corporation. He was 
 long its secretary and treasurer, and on the death 
 of Mr. Welch, in 1887, became its active manager, 
 and so remained until his own death, which oc- 
 curred March 6, 1896. The plant is one of the 
 leading clock manufacturing concerns in the coun- 
 try, and for upward of forty years has made clocks 
 for the home and foreign market. The entire plant 
 now includes five separate factories, located in 
 the village of Forestville. The duties of Mr. Mitch- 
 ell through all of the years of his connection with 
 it were arduous, but were ever ably, efficiently and 
 satisfactorily performed. 
 
 Mr. Mitchell was a musician of high order, 
 music being his forte, and as an organist, singer 
 and leader of a church choir he had few equals, as 
 the thousands who listened to Mitchell's Quintette 
 in the Park Church and the Pearl Street Church 
 of Hartford will remember. Through his own 
 unremitting efforts and study he was entitled to 
 great credit for his musical ability. To him music 
 was truly the art of arts, and in the realm of the 
 noblest music he had genius. His early taste led 
 him to the violin and brass instruments, and to 
 the arrangement and composition of classical band 
 music. But those who knew him and felt his 
 musical power will remember him for the remark- 
 ably spiritual conception which he had of sacred 
 music. Whether presiding at the organ or lead- 
 ing his unique and well-known Quintette, he had the 
 faculty of producing a beautiful combination of 
 harmony, wherein were blended pathos and supplir 
 cation, penitence and joy, hope and tears, worship 
 and praise. In the sphere of church music he \vas 
 the leading spirit in Hartford for twenty-five years. 
 He stood alone as master of Quintette music. His 
 spacious music room at his beautiful home in Forest- 
 ville was well stored, at the time of his death, with 
 his choice and unpublished musical compositions, 
 and they remain as he left them. He shrank from 
 publication, for to him music was art. If his work 
 as a musician does not survive on the printed page, 
 it will survive in the souls of those who drew from 
 him the inspiration of their musical careers. Dur- 
 ing the last two years of his life he had charge of a 
 Quintette in the Bristol Baptist Church, of which he 
 was a member. In his earlier life he led the music 
 of the church for a number of years. He was a 
 man whose soul was responsive to all that was beau- 
 tiful. While by scrupulous choice he kept the circle 
 of his intimate friendship limited, he easily won 
 and held friends. He was generally liked by all 
 who came in contact with him. though to some he 
 seemed almost imperious in temperament, but those 
 nearest him knew how tender his heart really was. 
 Mr. Mitchell's funeral was largely attended, and 
 
220 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the services were impressive ; included in the music 
 was a dirge composed by the deceased, and 
 rendered by J. Willard Parsons, of New Britain. 
 When, in 1862, tlie news reached Forestville of 
 the battle of Antietam, and the death of Capt. Man- 
 ross, the brilliant Yale professor, and favorite of his 
 native village and town, and that the body would 
 be brought to Bristol for interment, Mr. Mitchell 
 in one night composed the dirge which was used 
 at that time. This dirge was used a number of 
 times at the funerals of soldiers, but as it -was never 
 printed it gradually fell into disuse. Mr. Mitchell 
 left a widow and two children. 
 
 GOODWIN BROTHERS are extensive manu- 
 facturers of pottery ware at Elmwood, Hartford 
 Co., Connecticut. 
 
 Of all trades that of the potter is perhaps the 
 oldest. Among all people, from the earliest dawn of 
 time until the present day, vessels have been fash- 
 ioned from clay and burned in the fire, and are con- 
 tinually being found in many countries as records 
 of people long: since forgotten. Without the ar- 
 ticles fashioned of clay that have been discovered in 
 ancient lands, and that have been for ages waiting 
 the historian, all knowledge of many races of men 
 would have been forever lost. The useful character 
 of the products has always made the potter's trade 
 one of the most honorable of callings, while its con- 
 tributions to the history of past ages have gained it 
 almost a reverence among scientists. Not only does 
 the antiquity of pottery command attention, but the 
 further fact that during all the centuries that have 
 passed, since the habitation of the globe until within 
 a few years, the mode of production has been prac- 
 tically the same. The potters of the days of the 
 Pharaohs, those earlier, and those of the present 
 time, have used the same methods, the same imple- 
 ments, the same tools, and the same power for the 
 manufacture of their wares, with little or no change 
 except in form or decoration. In tracing the early 
 history of the industry in Connecticut, we find that 
 the enterprise known as Goodwin Brothers Pottery 
 Co. was instituted as early as 1832 by the late Har- 
 vey Goodwin, the father of the present ofircers of 
 the company. From 1832 until 1872 flower pots 
 were the principal products of the works. At the 
 latter date, however, Harvey Goodwin's three sons 
 became identified with the enterprise, and from that 
 time on it may be said to have taken on its greatest 
 activity, and developed into the largest and most im- 
 portant estabhshment of the kind in th- country. 
 The plant is conveniently situated on the line of the 
 New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad, with 
 which it is connected by side tracks, and contains an 
 inexhaustible supply of what is said to be the finest 
 clay in the country for the class of goods turned 
 out, and the company furnish employment to sev- 
 enty-five workmen. The products, which are manu- 
 factured under most favorable conditions, are the 
 standard of excellence, and of a particularly high 
 
 order of merit, and comprise flower pots of all 
 kinds, shapes and sizes, handsomely decorated jar- 
 dinieres, lamps, cuspidors, tUTibrella stands, lawn 
 vases, hanging baskets, novelties in money banks, 
 jugs, mantel vases, and a wide range of useful and 
 ornamental articles in small vases, etc. These goods 
 are supplied to the trade in all parts of the United 
 States, a branch office being maintained at No. 55 
 Park Place, New York, and also one in Chicago. 
 The officers of the company are H. B. Goodwin, 
 president; W. E. Goodwin, secretary; and N. E. 
 Goodwin, treasurer. 
 
 The Goodwin Brothers trace their ancestry back 
 to (I) Ozias Goodwin, who became a resident of 
 Hartford in 1639, and died before April, 1683. Pie 
 wedded Mary Woodward, daughter of Robert 
 Woodward, of Braintree, England. They had three 
 children : William, born in 1629 ; Nathaniel, born 
 in 1637; and Hannah, born in 1639. 
 
 (II) William Goodwin, the eldest of this fam- 
 ily, was made a freeman May 21, 1657, was a chim- 
 ney viewer in 1662, 1665 and 1671, and died Oct. 
 15, 1689. He had three children: Susannah, Will- 
 iam and Nathaniel. 
 
 (III) Nathaniel Goodwin, son of William, was 
 a shoemaker, and was deacon of the First Church 
 in Hartford from March, 1734, to 1847. He mar- 
 ried Mehitable Porter, who was born Sept. 15, 1673, 
 a daughter of Samuel and Hannah (Stanley) Por- 
 ter, of Hadley, Mass. She died Feb. 6, 1726, and his 
 death occurred in November, 1747. Their children 
 were Mehitable, Hezekiah, Benedicta, Isaac, Abra- 
 ham, Stephen, Eleazer, Joanna, Ruth, Alice and 
 Nathaniel. 
 
 (IV) Isaac Goodwin, son of Nathaniel, was 
 baptized Nov. 10, 1695. He resided in West Hart- 
 ford, and was grand juror in 1741 and selectman in 
 1742. He married (first) Hannah Morgan, who 
 was born Nov. 24, 1703, a daughter of Thomas and 
 Rachel Morgan, and (second) Ruth Gaylord, who 
 was born Oct. 18, 1704, a daughter of William and 
 Hope Gaylord, of Hartford. He died Aug. 15, 
 1766, and his second wife died in May, 1773. The 
 names and dates of birth of his children, so far as 
 known, are: Sarah, Jan. 29, 1721 ; Mehitable, March 
 30, 1723 ; Anna, May 16, 1725 ; Morgan, Feb. 4, 
 1728; DeHverance; Isaac, April, 1733; Uriah, May 
 II, 173s; Ebenezer, Oct. 30, 1737; and Ebenezer 
 (2) May 29, 1743. Only the last named was by 
 the second marriage. 
 
 (A^) Ebenezer Goodwin was born in New Hart- 
 ford May 29, 1743, and in 1762 he received from his 
 grandfather, William Gaylord, fifty-seven acres of 
 land in the town of New Hartford, Litchfield Co., 
 Conn., whither he removed, becoming one of its 
 leading citizens. He was a member of the commit- 
 tee of inspection in 1775 and 1776; and a member 
 of the Ecclesiastical Society from 1780 to 1796. He 
 married Anne Webster, daughter of Isaac Webster, 
 of West Hartford. He died May 18, 1810, and she 
 died Jan. 8, 1835. They had twelve children, names 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 221 
 
 and dates of birth being as follows : Ruth, June 3, 
 
 1764; Ebenezer, June 10, 1766; Lucy, July 18, 1768; 
 James, Sept. 4, 1770; Seth, Aug. 12, 1772; William, 
 Jan. 5, 1775; William (2J Oct. 15, 1776; Norman, 
 Jan. 16, 1778; Pitts, Jan. 28, 1779; Horace, Feb. 
 12, 1781 ; Polly, Oct. 8, 1782; and Amanda, Oct. 
 
 IS, 1783- 
 
 (VI) Pitts Goodwin, born Jan. 28, 1779, in 
 New Hartford, was the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject. He followed farming in that town during his 
 active business career, and with two exceptions slept 
 in the same room every night throughout life, tie 
 sang in the church choir for over sixty years. In 
 1801 he married Miriam Gilbert, a daughter of 
 Joseph Gilbert, of Litchfield. She died Dec. 11, 
 1821, and on Dec. 25, 1822, he married Jerusha 
 Fyler, a daughter of Ulysses Fyler, of Torrington, 
 Conn. He died Aug. 2, 1864, and she departed this 
 life Aug. 2, 1875. All of his children were by the 
 first marriage, namely: Harvey, father of our sub- 
 ject; Nancy, born Nov. 4, 1804; IMiriam W., born 
 March 5, 1806; Urania, born in 1808; Sherman, 
 born Feb. 23, 1810; and Joseph, born in 1812. 
 
 (VH) Harvey Goodwin was born in New 
 Hartford Aug. 17, 1802, and in that town was 
 reared and educated. In 1823 he removed to Tor- 
 ringford, where he engaged in farming and brick- 
 making until 1827, when he came to West Hartford, 
 Flartford county. Here he worked in a brickyard 
 for a time, and in 1832 erected a pottery in Elmwood 
 and engaged in the manufacture of glazed earthen- 
 ware until 1872, when he transferred the business 
 to his sons. On March 18, 1832, he was tmited in 
 marriage with Miss Mary Sedgwick, who was born 
 Jan. 31, 1806, a daughter of Timothy and Lucy 
 (Braman) Sedgwick, of West Hartford, and died 
 April 18, 1843. By that union there were two chil- 
 dren : Ann Amelia, born May 5, 1834, who married 
 Samuel P. Burnham ; and Lucy Sedgwick, born 
 Sept. 25, 1836, who died Aug. 5, 1840. Mr. Good- 
 win was again married, Feb. 2, 1845, his second 
 imion being with Miss Frances Adelia Elmore, who 
 was born jMarch 31, 18 14, a daughter of Moses and 
 Eunice (Burnham) Elmore, of South Windsor, 
 Conn. To them were born four children : Harvey 
 Burdett, Nov. 30, 1845; Wilbur Elmore, July 17, 
 1847; Newell Elton, Aug. 25, 1849; and Clarence 
 B., Jan. 6, 1853. The father was an earnest member 
 of the Congregational Church, his second wife of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and they were high- 
 ly respected and esteemed by all who knew them. 
 He died June 11, 1895, and she passed away Nov. 
 8, 1897. Mr. Goodwin was ever a temperate man, 
 and, although he lived to be past ninety, retained his 
 faculties to an unusual degree, his eyesight being es- 
 pecially remarkable. He voted for Jackson for 
 President. 
 
 (VIII) H. BuRDETTE GooDWix, president of the 
 pottery company, was educated in the schools of 
 West Hartford and Hartford, and when a small boy 
 commenced working for his father in the pottery. 
 
 He is a member of Wyllys Lodge, No. 99, F. & A. 
 M. On June ID, 1885, he married iMiss Annie 
 Bramley, who was born in Alfreton, Derbyshire, 
 England, Oct. 4, 1862, a daughter of John B. and 
 Martha (JepsonJ Bramley, and they have five chil- 
 dren: Frances Catherine, born June 12, 1886; Wal- 
 lace Burdette, June 17, 1889; Harvey, Sept. 5, 1890; 
 Margaret Argyle, Aug. 8, 1894; and Shirley Bram- 
 ley, Nov. 6, 1899. 
 
 (IX) Wilbur E. Goodwin was born in Elm- 
 wood, has spent his entire life there, and was edu- 
 cated in the district schools and a business college of 
 Hartford. After completing his education he 
 worked for his father until 1872 when the three elder 
 sons formed the firm of Goodwin Brothers, and 
 have since been successfully engaged in the pottery 
 business. They are now at the head of one of the 
 most important industries of the country, and are 
 numbered among its most enterprising and progres- 
 sive business men. Our subject takes quite an active 
 and prominent part in public affairs, and has been 
 called upon to serve in many town offices. He was 
 for several years a selectman ; has been a member 
 of the school board many years, and postmaster at 
 Elmwood since 1873. Since attaining his majority 
 he has been a member of Wyllys Lodge, No. 99, F. 
 & A. M., and in social as well as business circles he 
 is quite popular. ]\Ir. Goodwin was married, in 
 Hartford, Sept. 24, 1874, to ^Nliss Ella J. Waters, a 
 daughter of Henry \\'aters, and to them were born 
 four children, namely: Maud Elmore, Oct. 27, 
 1875; Herman Wilbur, Oct. 24, 1877 (died March 
 17, 1878) ; Rov Wilbur, July 5, 1880; and Florence 
 Ella, April 30', 1886. 
 
 CORNELIUS WASHINGTON PECK, an 
 honored and highly-respected citizen of Kensing- 
 ton, who is now living retired from active labor, 
 was born there, on the old homestead in district 
 No. 2, Feb. 22, 1820. The family residence, built 
 many years ago, remained standing until 1872, when 
 it was torn down and replaced by a more modern 
 structure, into which our subject moved May 20, 
 of that year. On April i, 1897,- his home was burned 
 to the ground, and the fire is supposed to have been 
 of an incendiary nature, as it started Under the 
 woodshed. Since then he has found a pleasant 
 home with his daughter, iNIrs. Hutchison. 
 
 Mr. Peck is of English descent, and is a de- 
 scendant of Deacon Paul Peck, who is supposed to 
 have been born in the County of Essex, England, in 
 1608, and to have come to this country on the ship 
 "Defense," in 1635. He remained probably in Bos- 
 ton, jNIass., or that vicinity until 1636, when he 
 came to Hartford with Rev. Thomas Hooker and 
 his friends. His name is in the list of proprietors 
 of Hartford in 1639, and from the records of the 
 town it appears that he became one of the leading 
 men. His residence is said to have been upon what 
 is now Washington street, not far from Trinity 
 College, the site "of which is still called the Peck lot 
 
222 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 b_v the old residents there. He was a deacon in 
 the' Congregational Church from 1681 until his 
 death, which occurred Dec. 23, 1695. His will, 
 which is upon the probate records, was dated June 
 25, 1695, and proved Jan. 15, 1696. It is quite 
 lengthy, and is of interest in its details and de- 
 scription of his property. His inventory amounted 
 to ^536, 5 shillings. 
 
 Samuel Peck, the great-great-grandfather of our 
 subject, who settled in Middletown (now Berlin), 
 Hartford county, married, March 6, 1701, Abigail 
 Collier, daughter -of Joseph Collier. She died Oct. 
 28, 1742, and he died Dec. 9, 1765. The great- 
 grandfather was Samuel Peck, a resident of Ber- 
 lin, where he died Aug. 25, 1784. He was married, 
 Jan. 10, 1725, to Thankful Winchell, who died Jan. 
 
 6, 1762. The grandfather, who also bore the name 
 of Samuel Peck, made his home in Berlin, where 
 he died July 18, 1802. He was first married, March 
 3, 1757, to Ruth Hopkins; his second wife, Sarah, 
 he married March 31, 1773; and for his third wife 
 he wedded Abigail Lattimer, Dec. 7, 1775. 
 
 Edward Peck, father of our subject, was born 
 Nov. 21, 1776, and died March 11, 1834. His first 
 wife, Sarah Langdon, he married March 23, 1802, 
 and on Aug. 8, 1816, he married Polly Williams, 
 mother of our subject. Edward Peck was a car- 
 penter and cabinetmaker by trade, and was quite 
 extensively engaged in the manufacture of coffins. 
 He was a very early riser and hard worker. He 
 was a good-natured man, always jovial and kind- 
 hearted, but was very strict with his sons. He 
 attended the Congregational Church very regularly, 
 but the mother of our subject was a member of the 
 Baptist Church of New Britain. 
 
 Cornelius W. Peck pursued his studies in the 
 Fourth District school of Kensington, and was 
 reared to agricultural pursuits upon the home farm, 
 comprising sixty acres, which was divided between 
 the four sons on the death of the father, when our 
 subject, now the only survivor, was fourteen years 
 of age. His brother Asah.el operated the farm for 
 one year, and then each took his own share. About 
 1845 our subject went South, and for four years 
 traveled through North and South Carolina, selling 
 dry goods, 'clocks, shoes, tinware, etc. In younger 
 years he was very strong, and up to the time he' 
 was seventy years of age he could hold 355 pounds 
 on his legs while in a sitting position, his feet not 
 resting on anything, and could jump up and strike 
 his feet together three times without an effort ! 
 
 On March 22, 1848, Mr. Peck was united in 
 marriage with Miss Lucy Ann Hale, of South 
 Glastonbury, Conn., who though rather delicate was 
 always a great worker, and. proved to her husband 
 a faithful helpmeet. She was born Aug. 24, 1827, 
 a daughter of Josiah and Fannie Maria (Bidwell) 
 Hale, and died Nov. 16, 1896. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Peck were born two children, namely: (i) Ellen 
 Mary Peck, born Feb. 5, 1849, 'was married, April 
 
 7, 1870, to Levi Ward Hutchinson, who at that time 
 
 was a joiner and housebuilder of Meriden, but at 
 present is engaged in farming. He was born in 
 East Orange, Vt., Aug. 20, 1832, and at one time 
 was a large land owner in that State. Mis parents, 
 Jerry and Sallie (Ward) Hutchinson, are both now 
 deceased, the former dying June 20, 1887, at the 
 age of eighty-nine years, the latter in January, 1887, 
 at the age of eighty-four. Their remains were in- 
 terred in East Orange, Vt. Levi W, and Ellen M. 
 (Peck) Hutchinson have one son, Walter Frank- 
 lin, born May 14, 1871. He is a fine workman at the 
 printer's trade, being a master of the "art pre- 
 servative of all the arts," but is at present running 
 a "bicycle rest" in Kensington. On Sept. 20, 1898, 
 he was married to Miss Lulu Tunnell, who was born 
 Jan. 30, 1874, in Pulaski, Tenn., a daughter of Mar- 
 cus and Mary Tunnell. (2) Edward Josiah Peck, 
 only son of our subject, was born May i, 1851, and 
 engaged in business as a joiner and carpenter for 
 several years, but is now employed in the Wilcox 
 & White organ factory, of Meriden. He married 
 Ellen Priscilla Stevens, a daughter of Henry Ste- 
 vens, of Westfield, Mass., and to them have come 
 two children — Harriet Lucy, who was born Feb. 4, 
 1882, and died Nov. 10, 1888; and Henry Cornelius, 
 born May 12, 1890. 
 
 Mr. Peck is a consistent Christian gentleman, 
 is of a pleasant, genial and hospitable nature, always 
 ready for a joke, and has a host of warm friends 
 who esteem him highly for his sterling worth. Po- 
 litically he is an uncompromising Democrat, and 
 since attaining his majority has supported every 
 Presidential candidate of his party with the excep- 
 tion of Horace Greeley. He has served as juryman, 
 but has never sought or accepted any political posi- 
 tion, though several have been offered him. He 
 has always been very exacting in all business mat- 
 ters, and his integrity is above question. 
 
 WILLIAM SCOVILLE CASE, now serving 
 his fourth year as judge of the Court of Common 
 Pleas, Hartford county, was born Jime 27, 1863, in 
 Tariffville, this county, son of William C. Case, 
 who is mentioned (with a record of the Case family) 
 more fully elsewhere. 
 
 Our subject prepared for college at Hopkins' 
 Grammar School, New Haven, from which he was 
 graduated in 1881, and in 1885 he completed a 
 course at Yale College, which conferred the B. A. 
 degree on him. While in college he was a member 
 of the Scroll and Key and the Psi Upsilon Frater- 
 nity. Immediately after graduation he commenced 
 the study of law in his father's office, at New Haven, 
 and in November, 1887, was admitted to the Hart- 
 ford County Bar. During the legislative sessions 
 of 1887 and 1889 the Judge held the position of clerk 
 of bills, and on Oct. 15, 1891, he was appointed, by 
 Commissioner Simonds, law clerk at the United 
 States Patent Office, where he remained until April 
 I, 1893. On July I, 1897, he was appointed by 
 the General Assembly for a term of four years, and 
 

 ^^T^^^H 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 nr. 
 
 (IaMJUX ^^WZ. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 223 
 
 entered upon the duties of his present incumbency, 
 in discharging- which he has won an enviable stand- 
 ing in the legal profession of the county. Judge 
 Case has literary inclinations, and has ])ublislied a 
 short novel, entitled "Forward House." He also 
 wrote the history of Granby for J. Hammond Trum- 
 bull's "INlemorial History of Hartford County." 
 
 On April 8, 1891, our subject was married to 
 Miss Elizabeth Nichols, daughter of Nathan and 
 Elizabeth^ (Rodmanj Nichols, of Salem, Mass., and 
 two children have blessed this union : William 
 Nichols, born Jan. 20, 1892, who died June 28 
 1892; and Mary, born Jan. 19, 1895. 
 
 DANIEL C. GRISWOLD (deceased) was born 
 in Bristol, Hartford county, although the greater 
 portion of his useful life of fifty-five years was 
 passed at Rocky Hill, his parents having removed 
 to that town when he was a child of twelve years. 
 He was the eldest of five children of Albro and Flor- 
 illa (Cook) Griswold, and was born May 31, 1836. 
 Of this family one daughter is yet living, Catherine, 
 who married Horace William. Another daughter, 
 Adeline, became the wife of Noble Lord, of He- 
 bron, Conn. Albro Griswold, on coming to Rocky 
 Hill, purchased the farm now occupied by Horace 
 Williams, where Daniel C. lived until his marriage. 
 
 Daniel C. Griswold received his education at the 
 district schools near his father's home, and at the 
 public schools of Hartford. He was married Jan. 
 
 15, 1862, to Mary Rose Williams, and at once went 
 with his wife to live on the farm of his father-in- 
 law, continuing to reside there until his death, Dec. 
 
 16, 1891. 
 
 At the outbreak of the Civil war Mr. Griswold's 
 patriotism was earnest and sincere, and before six- 
 teen months were over he felt impelled to offer his 
 services to the cause of his country. Accordingly, 
 on Aug. 8, 1862, he bade adieu to his bride of seven 
 months and enlisted in Company C, i6th Conn. V. I. 
 for a term of three years. He participated in the 
 siege of Suffolk, ancl in the battles of Fredericks- 
 burg, Edenton Road, Nansamond, Antietam and 
 Plymouth, being captured April 20, 1864, in the 
 engagement at Plymouth, and taken to Anderson- 
 ville prison, where he remained until Sept. 12 ; he 
 was then taken to Florence and Charleston, being 
 confined for nearly ten months. At the close of the 
 war he returned home, where he passed the remain- 
 der of his days. He was highly esteemed by his 
 fellow townsmen, who elected him to serve them as 
 assessor and selectman. In politics he was a Repub- 
 lican, and in religious belief a Congregationalist, 
 having been a devout member of the church of that 
 faith at Rocky Hill for many years. 
 
 Mrs. Daniel C. Griswold was born June 2, 1838, 
 in the town of Rocky Hill, on the same farm and in 
 the same house in which she now resides, daughter 
 of Andrew and Mary Caroline (Hickok) Williams, 
 the former of whom was a successful farmer and an 
 extensive land owner. Andrew Williams, son of 
 
 William and Sarah Williams, was born in Rocky 
 Hill, March 30, 1785, one of ten children, spent his 
 life in Rocky Flill and died Dec. 12, 1839. He 
 married Mary Caroline Hickok, and two children 
 were born to them: William Cooley, and Mary 
 Rose, both living, the son making his home in 
 Catskill, N. Y. To Mr. and Mrs. Daniel C. Gris- 
 wold were born two children, of whom Charles C, 
 the first-born, died in infancy. The younger, Mary 
 Williams, was married April 6, 1893, to William 
 M. Ashwell, of West Rocky Flill, who died Sept, i, 
 1896, leaving one daughter, Josephine Mae, two 
 years old, and an infant son, Miles. Mrs. Griswold 
 adopted her cousin, Harriet Frances Hickok, when 
 she was a mere child of three years. On reaching 
 womanhood Miss Griswold married, Sept. 5, 1888, 
 E. Elmer Lord, of Portland, Conn. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lord have one child, i\Iary Rose, and the family 
 make their home with Mrs. Griswold. 
 
 OLIVER CURTIS ROSE was, until his de- 
 cease, on May 30, 1899, a successful farmer and 
 tobacco grower of West Suffield. He was born 
 there Nov. 26, 1839, on the farm he owned and 
 occupied. The family is of English origin, and 
 entitled to a coat of arms, bearing the motto "Tunc 
 Cede Malis," of which Mr. Rose, the subject of this 
 biography, possessed an authentic plate. 
 
 Gad Rose, grandfather of Oliver Curtis Rose, 
 was a lineal descendant of that branch of the Rose 
 family who early colonized New England, and was 
 born in Granville, Mass., where he was reared to 
 manhood. However, he was still a young man 
 when he came to Suffield, Conn., where he married 
 Caroline Hale, a member of one of the oldest Suf- 
 field families. He settled on the -old Hale home- 
 stead, made many improvements, and here passed 
 the remainder of his life, engaged in farming, stock 
 raising and dairying. In politics he was a \\ big, 
 took an active part in the war of the Revolution, 
 and died in the faith of the Congregational Church, 
 honored by all who knew him. The children born 
 to Gad and Caroline ( Hale ) Rose were ten in 
 number: Gad, Justus, Barlow, Oliver, Curtis, 
 Beulah (who was married to Charles Dennison), 
 Annorah (married to Oliver Phelps), Caroline 
 (married to Dr. King), Diadema (who died single), 
 and Dianthe (who married Whaddeus Lyman). 
 Both parents died on the home, in the same faitli. 
 and their remains were interred in the West Suf- 
 field cemetery. 
 
 Curtis Rose, father of our subject, was born 
 on the old Hale farm. He was given the privileges 
 of the common schools for a short time, and being 
 very studious became a well-read man through self- 
 application. At an early age he was apprenticed at 
 shoemaking to Deacon C. Dennison, with whom he 
 passed seven years, but after completing his ap- 
 prenticeship he never worked at the trade. His 
 tendency being toward "trade," he started out on 
 the road, peddling Yankee "notions," cigars, etc., 
 
224 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and, whenever an opportunity offered, bought and 
 sold produce, and was very successful in this pur- 
 suit. He finally settled down to farming in West 
 Suffield, and died on his farm in 1876. He was 
 temperate in his habits, as well as domestic, upright 
 in all his dealings, and, although a stanch Repub- 
 lican, he was never an office seeker. Although he 
 was quite liberal in his views on religion, he was a 
 true Christian, and was greatly respected by all 
 with whom he ever had any acquaintance. 
 
 Mr. Rose was married, in West Suffield, to Miss 
 Julia Warner, daughter of Eli Warner, and this 
 union was blessed with seven children, viz. : Edwin, 
 who died young; Jennette, wife of Benjamin Hath- 
 away, of Stamford, Conn.; Caroline C., who was 
 married to John P. Ingraham, both now deceased; 
 Emaline E., wife of George E. Scofield, also of 
 Stamford; Rosaline, wife of Richard S. Johnson, 
 both of whom died in Alabama; Oliver Curtis, the 
 subject of this sketch; and Charles J., an insurance 
 man of New York City. The mother of this fam- 
 ily expired in 1894, a truly good Christian lady, 
 and her mortal remains were interred beside those 
 of her husband. 
 
 Oliver Curtis Rose was educated in the district 
 schools of his native town, and also at the Connecti- 
 cut Literary Institute, of Suffield. At the age of 
 nineteen years he commenced teaching, and for six 
 years followed this profession, afterward engaging 
 in the cultivation of his natal farm. Here he largely 
 grew tobacco, and also did some general farming 
 and dairying. He made improvements on the place 
 to the extent of $8,000, and in 1890 erected one of 
 the finest dwellings in West Suffield, fitting it with 
 modern improvements and conveniences, and ele- 
 gantly furnishing it, although he retained several 
 articles of rare old furniture that have been in the 
 Rose family for generations. 
 
 In politics Mr. Rose was a Republican, and 
 served as selectman of the town. He also filled 
 the office of assessor, and other minor positions, 
 although he performed these services as a matter of 
 duty and not for the sake of emolument. While a 
 strong advocate of the principles of Republicanism, 
 his idea was that the party should seek the proper 
 men to fill the public offices, and that the individ- 
 ual should not seek the positions for the sake of 
 reward and prominence. Mr. Rose was himself 
 unostentatious, but well-read and refined, and pro- 
 gressive and enterprising in the conduct of his per- 
 sonal affairs. Fraternally he was a member of the 
 F. & A. M. lodge at Suffield, and in his religious 
 views was advanced and liberal. 
 
 In 1866 Oliver C. Rose was united in matri- 
 mony, in Southwick, Mass., with Miss Ellen Emily 
 Rising, a native of that town, daughter of Alvin 
 and Emily L. (Sackett) Rising, and this union 
 was blessed by the birth of one child, Alice Louise, 
 whose education was acquired in the district schools 
 of Suffield, at the New Britain high school, and at 
 Smith College, in Northampton, Mass., of which 
 
 latter she is a graduate. She is a young lady of 
 rare culture and charming disposition, and is the 
 present assistant librarian at Forbe's Library^ 
 Northampton. Mrs. Rose is likewise refined, cul- 
 tured and genial in disposition, and enjoys the un- 
 feigned respect of the entire community of the town, 
 of Suffield, as did also her husband. 
 
 JOSEPH EDWARDS GOODRICH, deceased. 
 The Goodrich patronymic has been subject to vari- 
 ous changes and modifications. The genealogist 
 finds that the name in England was originally God- 
 ric. The American branch of the family has de- 
 scended from two brothers, William and John Good- 
 rich, who were early settlers in Wethersfield, Conn.,, 
 our subject being of the sixth generation from. 
 William Goodrich through the following: (I) 
 William, (II) David, (III) Jeremiah, (IV) Jere- 
 miah, (V) Joseph, and (VI) J. Edwards, our sub- 
 ject. 
 
 (I) William Goodrich was born at Bury St. 
 Edmunds, County of Suffolk, England, and came 
 to America with his brother John. He settled at 
 Wethersfield, Conn., and became a prominent citi- 
 zen of that town. In 1648 he married Sarah Marion^ 
 daughter of Matthew Marion, of Hartford, and she 
 bore him nine children. He died in 1676. His widow 
 married Capt. William Curtis, of Stratford, Conn.,. 
 and died in 1702. 
 
 (II) Col. David Goodrich, son of William, was. 
 born in Wethersfield May 4, 1667, and^died June 
 23, 1755- For his first wife he married Hannah. 
 Wright, and, for his second, wedded Prudence 
 Churchill, and by both marriages had seventeen, 
 children. 
 
 (III) Jeremiah Goodrich was born Sept. 9,. 
 1709, and resided through life at Wethersfield. On 
 July 6, 1732, he married Ruth, daughter of Thomas 
 Kimberly, and she bore him four daughters, Ruth. 
 Prudence, Sarah and Mary, and one son, Jeremiah. 
 He died March 8, 1792. 
 
 (IV) Jeremiah Goodrich was born in 1742. 
 For his first wife he married Hepzibah Edwards,. 
 and, for his second, wedded Rebecca Hollister, 
 daughter of Amos Hollister, of Glastonbury. She 
 was born in 1757, and died June 12, 1833. The chil- 
 dren of Jeremiah Goodrich, by both marriages, were 
 Ruth, Jeremiah, Sarah, Prudence, Elizabeth, Joseph, 
 David, John, Benjamin and Ralph. He died in 
 1823. 
 
 (V) Joseph Goodrich, the father of our subject, 
 son of Jeremiah and Hepzibah (Edwards) Good- 
 rich, was born July 28, 1781, and died Feb. 7, 1852. 
 He was a farmer by occupation and resided at 
 Portland, where he was highly esteemed as a citi- 
 zen and influential in local affairs. He was a prom- 
 inent member of the Congregational Church. On 
 Feb. 18, 1805, he married Miss Susan Stevens. His. 
 children who lived to adult age were as follows: 
 J. Edwards, our subject; William, who removed to- 
 Arkansas, where he became prominent, and was 
 
^'^S'"^^'^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 225 
 
 for many years government land agent, returning in 
 later life to Portland, Conn., where he died ; Charles, 
 who went West in early life, and died, leaving no 
 children; Dolly, who married Rev. S. G. W. Ran- 
 kin, the noted Abolitionist ; Hepziljah, who married 
 Osman Sellew, of the wealthy and extensive mer- 
 cantile firm of Sellew & Co., Cincinnati, Ohio; Re- 
 becca, widow of William Lowry, a contractor, who. 
 now lives at Ripley, Ohio; and Sarah A., who mar- 
 ried Oswin Welles, and died in Glastonbury. 
 
 J. Edwards Goodrich, our subject, was born at 
 Portland, Conn., Nov. 9, 1807. In his youth he 
 received a good education, attended Colchester 
 Academy, and taught school for a time. While 
 teacher in District No. 2, Glastonbury, he met his 
 future wife, Miss Nancy Welles, whom he married 
 at Glastonbury May 14, 1834. She was born Sept. 
 6, 181 1, daughter of Leonard and Sally (Sellew) 
 Welles. They began housekeeping at Portland, 
 where he engaged extensively in farming until, in 
 about 1868, he removed to Glastonbury, and there 
 lived in the old Welles homestead until his death, 
 which occurred Oct. 8, 1879. The latter years of his 
 life were marked by ill health. His wife survived to 
 her eighty-first year, passing away Dec. 30, 1891. 
 Perhaps no citizen of his town was more thoroughly 
 liked or respected than Deacon Goodrich, as he was 
 familiarly known. He was of genial disposition and 
 fond of a joke, but preserved his dignity, and was 
 an earnest worker for the development and progress 
 of the community in which he lived. In Portland 
 he was a deacon in the First Congregational Church 
 and foimder of its Sabbath-school, of which he 
 was superintendent for twenty-five years. He filled 
 various local offices, serving as justice of the peace, 
 tax collector, 'etc. He was a close student of his- 
 tory, and was well informed upon general and cur- 
 rent topics. Having prospered in business affairs, 
 he lived comfortably, and" had a fair competence 
 for his days. 
 
 Mr. Goodrich reared an excellent family : Ed- 
 ward Everts, the eldest, is a banker at Fairbury, 
 Neb., and a prominent man of means. P. H., the 
 second, is mentioned farther on. Sarah died at the 
 age of eighteen years. Maria died aged twenty-one 
 years. Alice M. resides at Glastonbury. 
 
 JARVIS WARREN CASE, a retired carriage 
 manufacturer and honored citizen of West Suffield, 
 is a native of Hartford county, born Sept. 2, 1823, 
 near New Gate prison, in what was then Granby, but 
 is now East Granby town. He is a representative 
 of one of the oldest and most highly respected fam- 
 ilies of the county, his grandfather being Major 
 Benjamin Case, who was born in what is now the 
 town of Bloomfield, Hartford county, became an ex- 
 tensive land owner, and there spent his entire life. 
 He died Aug. 22, 1818, and was buried in the 
 Bloomfield cemetery. He was a member of the 
 Episcopal Church, a Democrat in politics, and served 
 as major in the State militia for many years. He 
 
 15 
 
 married Miss Elizabeth Allyn, who was of English 
 descent, and at her death her remains were also in- 
 terred in Bloomfield cemetery. In their family were 
 six children : Laura ; Warren ; Eunice ; A. Benjamin ; 
 Eliza, wife of Charles Church, of Hartford ; and 
 Timothy. 
 
 Warren Case, our subject's father, was born on 
 the home farm in the town of Bloomfield, April 4, 
 1791. During the war of 1812 he enlisted in Capt. 
 Isaac Phelp's company, and was in active service 
 seventy-three days. He was appointed sergeant at 
 the New Gate prison, in Granby town, and served in 
 that capacity for ten years. After his marriage he 
 came to West Suffield and purchased a small farm, 
 on which he spent the remainder of his life with the 
 exception of one year when keeper at the prison in 
 Wethersfield, Conn. He carried the mail between 
 Hartford and Suffield for over twenty years, was a 
 stanch Democrat in politics, and was a well-known 
 and highly respected man. He was a consistent 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, took 
 an active part in church and Sunday-school work, 
 serving as class-leader for twenty years, and as 
 teacher in the Sunday-school, and his home was 
 often used for religious meetings. He was one of 
 the organizers of the jMethodist Church in West 
 Suffield. Near Newgate, in the town of East 
 Granby, he married jNIiss Nancy A. Viets, who was 
 born July 3, 1801, a daughter of Luke Viets. Our 
 subject is the eldest of the seven children born to 
 this worthy couple, the others being as follows : 
 Henry L., born June 13, 1826, died Feb. 10, 1S97; 
 Catharine E., born Nov. 4, 1828, married Francis 
 Lucas, of Hartford, and is yet living; ]\Iary Jane, 
 born Jan. 27, 1830, married David H. Hubbard, of 
 New York, and died soon after marriage ; Martha 
 C, born June 5, 1832, and Caroline L., born May 
 24, 1834, both died young; and Dewitt Clinton, 
 born July 22, 1841, married Emma J. Johnson, of 
 Middletown, by whom he has three children, \\"ar- 
 ren Lester, Ada Ellen and Vivian Rachel. The 
 father died April 26, 1872, the mother on April 4, 
 1884, and both were laid to rest in the West Suffield 
 cemetery. She, too, was a faithful member of the 
 Methodist Church. 
 
 During his boyhood Jarvis W. Case attended the 
 district schools near his home, and at the age of 
 seventeen went to Springfield, Mass., where he spent 
 four years and a half in learning the wheelwright's 
 and carriage maker's trades. He then worked for a 
 short time with William Thompson, in East Granby, 
 and in 1S46 embarked in business on his own ac- 
 count in Suffield, where he soon succeeded in build- 
 ing up an excellent trade. For over half a centur\' 
 he continued to actively engage in the manufacture 
 of carriages, wagons, buggies, etc., and generally 
 had in his employ about fifteen hands. As he pros- 
 pered in business, he is now enabled to lay aside 
 active labor and enjoy a well-earned rest. He re- 
 tired from business in i8q6, on account of ill health. 
 
 In Warnertown, SuflSeld, Mr. Case was mar- 
 
226 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE, BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ried in 1855, to Miss Ellen M. Warner, a native of 
 that place, and a representative of a prominent pio- 
 neer family of the town. Her father, Curtis War- 
 ner, was born on the old homestead in Warnertown, 
 and, receiving a good education in the district 
 schools, he successfully engaged in teaching for 
 several terms. When a young man he also peddled 
 tinware and Yankee notions in Connecticut, Massa- 
 chusetts and New York, but after his marriage set- 
 tled down to farming, buying a tract of 150 acres of 
 land known as the Trumbull farm, upon which he 
 spent the remainder of his life, engaged principally 
 in dairying, stock raising, general farming and to- 
 bacco growng. He made many improvements upon 
 his place, and was quite successful in his business 
 undertakings. In Worthington, Mass., he was 
 united in marriage with Miss Permelia Cushman, 
 a native of Southwick, that State, and a daughter 
 of Silas Cushman. They became the parents of 
 three children: Charles C, deceased; Francis N., a 
 resident of West Suffield ; and Ellen M., wife of our 
 subject. The father died on the home farm in 
 1856, the mother at the home of Mrs. Case in 1884, 
 and their remains were interred in West Suffield 
 cemetery. They were sincere Christians arfd faith- 
 ful members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 and in politics Mr. Warner was an Old-line Whig. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Case have a family of four chil- 
 dren: Geraldine, wife of James P. Van Gelder, a 
 cigar manufacturer of West Suffield; Bertha P., 
 wife of James C. Terrett, a cigar maker of Suffield ; 
 L. Mabel, at home ; and Hartley C, who is still in 
 school. The Democratic party has always found 
 in Mr. Case a stanch supporter of its principles^ and 
 for two terms he ably represented Suffield town in 
 the State Legislature. He has also served as select- 
 man of the town for four years, and has filled the 
 office of justice of the peace and other local positions 
 in a most creditable and acceptable manner. After 
 a long life of toil, he is calmly resting from his la- 
 bors, and is spending the evening of his life pleas- 
 antly at his home in West Suffield, surrounded by 
 the love, respect and esteem of his family and a 
 large circle of friends and acquaintances. 
 
 HON. JOHN COATS, A.' M., Probate Judge 
 of New Britain, has held that responsible position 
 for six years. 
 
 Mr. Coats was born May 9, 1842, in North 
 Stonington, Conn., and in both paternal and ma- 
 ternal lines is descended from pioneer settlers of 
 that town. John Coats, his great-grandfather, was 
 a leading citizen of that locality in his time, and 
 his old homestead has been held in the family ever 
 since its allotment from the wild land, passing by 
 will or inheritance from one generation to another. 
 John Coats married Anna Gray, daughter of Ed- 
 ward and Elizabeth (Peabody) Gray, of the same 
 locality, the old homesteads of the Coats, Gray and 
 Peabody famihes being ad'jacent properties. 
 Through Elizabeth Peabody our subject traces his 
 
 descent from John and Priscilla (Mullins) Alden, 
 of "Mayflower" fame, upon whose romantic his- 
 tory Longfellow based his poem, "The Courtship 
 of Miles Standish." Elizabeth Peabody was a 
 daughter of William Peabody, Jr., and his wife 
 Judith, and a granddaughter of William Peabody, 
 Sr., and his wife Elizabeth Alden, daughter of 
 John and Priscilla. 
 
 David Coats, our subject's grandfather was a 
 farmer by occupation, and spent -his entire life on 
 the old Coats homestead. He had six children, as 
 follows : John C, a farmer, who lived through life 
 on the old Coats homestead; Ansel, the father of 
 our subject; David, a merchant of North Stoning- 
 ton, who died comparatively early in life; Asher, 
 who died at North Stonington ; Lucy, who mar- 
 ried a Mr. Wheeler; and Clarissa, who remained 
 unmarried. 
 
 Ansel Coats became in early manhood a mer- 
 chant at the village of Milltown, in North Stoning- 
 ton, Conn., and was also engaged in manufacturing 
 at Great Barrington, Mass., and at Milltown, Conn. 
 He was a captain of militia, and during the war 
 of 1812 participated in the defence of Stonington. 
 He married Eunice Randall, daughter of Col. Will- 
 iam Randall, who was an officer in the war of 1812, 
 in command of militia at North Stonington, Conn. 
 For many years Ansel Coats served as selectman 
 at North Stonington, and, though a man of few 
 words and retiring disposition, his good judgment 
 and ability were generally recognized, and he was 
 frequently called upon for advice. Among other 
 services rendered by him was the frec[uent drawing 
 of wills. He was a regular and consistent member 
 of the Baptist Church, and at his death, in 
 the spring of 1861, he was universally mourned. 
 His children were as follows : Asher, born in 
 1826, is now a merchant of Binghamton, N. Y. ; 
 William Randall, born in 1830, served in the 
 2ist Conn. V. L, during the Civil war, and died 
 about 1880; Roswell Randall, born in 1834, is now 
 a merchant and banker at Binghamton, N. Y. ; 
 George F., born in 1841, is now a farmer and in- 
 surance man of North Stonington, and was elected 
 to the Connecticut House of Representatives in 
 1895 and re-elected in 1897; John, subject of this 
 sketch, was the youngest member of the family. 
 It is remarkable that these five brothers were uni- 
 formly successful, all becoming substantial and 
 prominent men of their respective towns. 
 
 Plon. John Coats received his early education 
 in the common and private schools of North Ston- 
 ington, and at the Connecticut Literary Institute, 
 Suffield, completed a college preparatory course. 
 He entered Yale College, and was graduated from 
 that institution A. B. in 1868, receiving his A. M. 
 in 1871. For a year he taught school at the Con- 
 necticut Literary Institute, then read law in Hart- 
 ford and at Columbia College, where he graduated 
 LL. B. in 1 87 1, and was admitted to the Hartford 
 Bar the same year. He located the same year at 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 227 
 
 'Chicago, 111., and was there during the great fire 
 of that year. He returned to Connecticut in 1872, 
 to become principal of the high school at Hazanl- 
 ville, a position which he relinquished within twelve 
 months to become vice-principal and instructor in 
 Latin at Suffield. Here he remained until 1877, 
 when, after a short vacation, he entered upon the 
 duties of principal of the high school at Windsor 
 Locks, Conn.; he resigned this position in 1881 to 
 commence in the same town the practice of law. 
 Four years later he removed his office from Wind- 
 sor Locks to New Britain, where he still maintains 
 a lucrative and successful practice. 
 
 Mr. Coats was a member of Company G, 22d 
 Conn. V. I., and was honorably discharged in June, 
 1863, after nine months' service. He is now a 
 jnember of the G. A. R., and of various prominent 
 fraternal, political and religious organizations. He 
 was a member of the Windsor Locks school board 
 for three years, and was representative in the Con- 
 necticut General Assembly for Windsor Locks in 
 1884, serving on the Judiciary committee. He has 
 also served acceptably as a member of the Common 
 Council of New Britain, and associate judge of the 
 city court, and since 1895 has been judge of the 
 probate court, Berlin district. While Judge Coats 
 is a man- of great force of character, one whose 
 wide experience and thorough mental equipment 
 have fitted him for a place of influence and prom- 
 inence in the community, he is esteemed as well 
 for his upright bearing and many admirable per- 
 sonal qualities. He was married, June 2, 1871, to 
 Josephine L. Walker, daughter of Rev. William C. 
 Walker, of Hartford, Conn. They have no children. 
 
 JAMES HENRY CHARLTON (deceased) 
 was one of the prominent and highly respected citi- 
 zens of East Windsor Hill, and as a merchant he 
 was actively identified with its business interests in 
 early life. 
 
 A native of Hartford county, Mr. Charlton was 
 born Nov. 22, 1815, in the town of South AVindsor, 
 in the house where his widow now resides. His 
 father, Jesse Charlton, was born in Norwich, Conn., 
 Jan. 2, 1778, and when a young man came to East 
 Windsor Hill, where he opened a shop and engaged 
 in merchant tailoring for many years. Here he also 
 served as justice of the peace for some years, and 
 as deputy sheriff. He was a devout Christian, and 
 an active member of the First Congregational 
 Church of the town. He died March 11, 1859, 
 honored and respected by all who knew him. On 
 Nov. 2, 1809, he married Miss Rebecca M. Thomas, 
 of Hartford, and to them were born three children : 
 Elizabeth, who was born April 29, 181 1, and mar- 
 ried (first) Charles Gleason and (second) Ira 
 Tracy; Edward S., who was born Jan. 21, 1813; 
 and James H., our subject. The wife and mother 
 died Feb. 13, 1829, and the father again married, 
 March 24, 1830, his second union being with Miss 
 Harriet Jones. 
 
 Reared in East Windsor Hill, James H. Charl- 
 ton was educated in the common school and academy 
 of that place. When a young man he went to Hart- 
 ford, where he clerked in a store for two years and 
 acquired an excellent knowledge of business meth- 
 ods, which proved of great benefit to him in lator 
 years. On his return to his native town he pur- 
 chased the store of Eli Haskell, in partnership with 
 his father, and engaged in mercantile business until 
 1857. From that time on until his death he was not 
 actively engaged in any l)uincss, but lived retired. 
 
 Mr. Charlton was married, April 30, 1845, to 
 Miss Elvira Moseley Hale, a native of Glastonbury, 
 Conn., of which town her father, Julius Hale, was 
 also a native. She was a descendant of the Rev. 
 Thomas Potwin, the first Congregational minister 
 of East Windsor, he being her great-grandfather. 
 She died Nov. 21, 1853, and on May 17, 1855, Mr. 
 Charlton married her sister, Miss Julia E. Hale, 
 who is living on the old homestead in East Windsor 
 Hill. There were no children by either marriage, 
 but they adopted two : Augustus H. ; and Anna M , 
 now the widow of Charles J. Rockwell, by whom she 
 had three children, Julia C, Frederick K. and Mar- 
 guerite, all residing with Mrs. Charlton. 
 
 The Republican party always found in Mr. 
 Charlton a stanch supporter of its principles, and 
 for many years he most ably and acceptably served 
 as postmaster at East Windsor Hill. He was widely 
 and favorably known, and his death, which occurred 
 Aug. 16, 1878, was deeply mourned. 
 
 ALBERT JACKSON LESTER, a property 
 holder of East Hartford Meadow, descends from 
 ancestry who have for generations been residents of 
 the town of East Hartford, in the vicinity of Silver 
 Lane, and was born in East Hartford Meadow, 
 Sept. 13, 1824, a son of Chauncey and Abigail 
 (Wood) Lester. 
 
 Chauncey Lester was born in 1798, on Silver 
 street, and was a son of Isaac Lester, who married 
 Miss Risley. Isaac was a shoemaker, and also car- 
 ried on farming on Silver street ; his children, seven 
 in number, were : Harry, Austin, Chauncey, 
 Isaac, Eliza, Sarah, and Ann. Chauncey learned 
 the trade of carpenter and builder under Capt. 
 Crocker, at Hartford, and afterward worked at the 
 South during the winter seasons, and in the sum- 
 mers at the North, chiefly in East Hartford, and 
 was an excellent mechanic. In politics he was a 
 Democrat, and worked hard for the success of his 
 party. In religion he was a Baptist, but in his latter 
 years was not very active in church work : never- 
 theless he was always pious and upright. He was a 
 large man, weighed about 275 pounds, and lived 
 to reach the advanced age of eighty-three years. 
 His wife, who was born in South Windsor, died at 
 the age of sixty-seven years, and the remains of 
 both were interred in the East Hartford cemeten.'. 
 Their children, seven in number, were: Albert J.. 
 our subject; George F., who went to Sacramento 
 
228 
 
 COMMEMOKATTFE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 county, Cal, in 1852, and still lives there, retired; 
 Louisa, who was married to Samuel Taylor,and died 
 in Hartford; Isaac Lee, who was a shoemaker and 
 died in East Hartford; Julia, who is still single; 
 Andrew M. ; and Julius M., of East Hartford. 
 
 Albert J. Lester attended the district schools, 
 which were inferior in his early days to those of 
 the present, and among his earliest teachers were 
 Dr. Loomis, Mr. Atwood and Miss Wells. Later 
 he attended a. private school taught by Salmon 
 Phelps, and so ended his school days. At the age 
 of sixteen years he began learning the tailor's trade 
 under Erastus Goodwin, of Hartford, served an 
 apprenticeship of five years for his board and 
 clothes, and then worked as a journeyman in Hart- 
 ford until 1849, when he went to California. 
 "Around the Horn in '49," a narrative issued in 
 1898, and written by Rev. L. J. Hall, chaplain of 
 the Connecticut State Prison, describes the voyage 
 of the "Henry Lee" from New York to San Fran- 
 cisco, and this was the voyage made by Mr. Lester. 
 
 While in California Mr. Lester was engaged in 
 mining for some years during the winter months, 
 but having "taken up" some government land he 
 passed the summer months in clearing and improv- 
 ing it. Later he devoted all his attention to gar- 
 dening, and successfully raised vegetables which 
 met with a ready sale at a remunerative price; he 
 also carried on general farming and stock raising. 
 In 1886 he returned to Connecticut, has since re- 
 sided in -East Hartford Meadow, and has erected 
 a number of houses for renting. 
 
 In politics Mr. Lester was first a Democrat, but 
 for reasons sufficient and cogent to himself saw 
 fit to change his views, and is now a stalwart Re- 
 publican. He has never been willing to 'fill office, 
 much less seek it, but always aids his party in se- 
 curing victory at the polls. He has led a life of 
 morality and temperance, and has never used to- 
 bacco in any form. Mr. Lester has never married. 
 He is emphatically a self-made man from a business 
 point of view, but notwithstanding his success in 
 life is devoid of ostentation, and his plain, even- 
 going walk through life has won for him the de- 
 served respect of all his fellow townspeople. 
 
 P. H. GOODRICH, deceased. In every com- 
 munity, large or small, there are a few men who 
 by their force of character are intuitively recognized 
 as leaders, men who are successful in their business 
 undertakings, generous and fair in their relations 
 with others, and who p.;rceive and warmly advo- 
 cate those measures which insure the public well- 
 being. In the thriving town of Glastonbury there is 
 no name better known than that of the deceased 
 gentleman, whose name appears at the opening of 
 this sketch, and who was a distinguished repre- 
 sentative of an honored family. He was intimately 
 associated with those enterprises through which the 
 town has attained a higher and broader life. He 
 aided or led in every good movement for the public 
 
 good, and as merchant, manufacturer, tobacco 
 grower, packer and buyer, etc., as well as popular 
 and eminent citizen, he was prominent in its ma- 
 terial growth. 
 
 Mr. Goodrich was born in Portland, Conn., May 
 27, 1840. He attended the district schools, and 
 during one winter was a student in a private school 
 conducted in the old church by a Mr. Quimby. 
 Later he attended Chase's school, at Middletown,. 
 where he completed his education. In 1858 he went 
 to Champaign, 111., and purchased a new farm, where 
 he engaged in stock raising and farming for two- 
 years. While in Illinois he cast his first vote, for 
 Abraham Lincoln. Disposing of his farm he re- 
 turned to Portland, Conn., and in August, 1862, 
 enlisted in Company D, 20th Conn. V. I., under 
 Capt. Parker. He saw active service throughout the 
 remainder of the Civil war, his regiment proceeding: 
 at once to Capitol Hill, Washington, and thence ta 
 Arlington, where it was drilled. The winter of 
 1862-63 was spent in Virginia. Chancellorsville 
 was the first general engagement where the 20th 
 Connecticut received its "baptism of fire." Company 
 D held an exposed position, and three orderlies were 
 killed while conveying orders to the company to- 
 fall back. Mr. Goodrich was at Gettysburg, his- 
 regiment being a part of the 12th Army Corps, 
 Gen. Slocum reaching the memorable struggle on 
 the afternoon of the first day. He remained with 
 the regiment until the spring of 1864, when as an 
 invalid he was left in a hospital before Atlanta. 
 In the fall of that year he proceeded with his com- 
 mand to the sea. On March 19, 1865, he received 
 a ball through his left foot, and was sent from the 
 field hospital to the hospital at Newbern, N. C, was- 
 placed on the transport "Northern Light," and was 
 off Newbern when Sherman's dispatch boat an- 
 nounced the surrender of Lee — the grand news 
 which evoked the intensest enthusiasm among the 
 crippled men. Proceeding to New York in the 
 transport our subject was honorably discharged 
 from the service in June, 1865. He entered the army 
 as a private, was at once made corporal, and was 
 subsequently promoted to sergeant and later to or- 
 derly sergeant. 
 
 For a year or two after Mr. Goodrich's return 
 North his foot was so disabled that he could do 
 little work. In 1867 he went to Champaign county, 
 111., where he was in business with his brother. Re- 
 turning to Connecticut he entered the service of his 
 uncle, Frederick Welles, of Glastonbury, who was 
 engaged in the tobacco business, and when the uncle 
 retired Mr. Goodrich, with Charles F. Tag & Son, 
 of New York, continued the buying and packing of 
 tobacco in and around Glastonbury. Later the firm 
 dissolved, and he conducted the business individual- 
 ly until 1893, when he leased his tobacco building 
 and retired. 
 
 In 1894 Mr. Goodrich was a prime mover in the 
 organization of the Riverside Paper Manufacturing 
 Co., of Glastonbury, of which he is now president 
 
J^^^^-^^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 229 
 
 and treasurer. He was also one of the organizers 
 of the Eagle Sterling Co., which later removed else- 
 where, the Riverside Paper Manufacturing Co. then 
 ■occupying the vacated plant. The product is bind- 
 ers' board and trunk board. Mr. Goodrich was 
 vice-president and director of the Goodrich Bros. 
 Banking Co., of Fairbury, Neb., an institution that 
 has never lost any money for its eastern investors, 
 and president of the Glastonbury Steam Boat 
 Wharf Co. 
 
 On Oct. 14, 1869, Mr. Goodrich married Miss 
 Helen E. Wells, and to this union have been born 
 eight children, all living: Arthur B., born March 
 ■S. 1873, graduated from Mt. Hermon College in 
 1894, and was a student at Amherst for one year, 
 leaving school to take his present position, that of 
 superintendent of the Riverside Paper Manufactur- 
 ing Co. ; Leslie W., of Hartford, born April 3, 1874, 
 completed two years' study in the scientific depart- 
 ment of Cornell, and took special work in Yale ; 
 Sarah M. is a graduate of the Glastonbury Acad- 
 ■emy; Joseph E., of Hartford, born April 12, 1879, 
 is a graduate of Williston Seminary, class of '98; 
 Ralph S., Bertha H., Henry C. and Ethel J. are at- 
 tending school. 
 
 In politics Mr. Goodrich was a Republican. 
 When a young man, in Portland, he was elected 
 justice of the peace. In Glastonbury he was first 
 selectman for four years, and for the same length 
 of time was auditor. In 1884 and in 1897 he repre- 
 sented the town in the Legislature, each term serv- 
 ing on the Military committee. Himself and wife 
 were prominent and active members of the Congre- 
 gational Church, which just prior to his decease he 
 served as a member of its investment committee. 
 He was a member of the St. James Cemetery Asso- 
 ciation, at Glastonbury. Socially he held- active 
 membership in Tyler Post, No. 50, G. A. R., at Hart- 
 ford. 
 
 Mr. Goodrich as a business man was eminently 
 successful. He was one of the best-known citizens 
 of the town, and his opinions were often sought and 
 given great weight in matters of both personal and 
 public welfare. Possessing a ripe judgment he was 
 conservative in his opinions, but his vision was 
 broad and extended to all sides of .a question in 
 issue. In manner Mr. Goodrich was approachable 
 and unostentatious ; his integrity was unquestioned, 
 and his character was an exemplar of the best type 
 of American citizenship. His health had been fail- 
 ing for several months, and he died Sept. 20, 1900, 
 less than a week after being confined to the house. 
 
 JOHN HUMPHREY SESSIONS, in whose 
 ■death at Bristol, Sept. 10, 1899, the community lost 
 one of its most valued citizens, was a native of 
 Connecticut, born March 17, 1828, in Burlington, 
 Hartford county. 
 
 The Sessions family, with which our subject 
 was connected, had its origin in Wantage, Berk- 
 shire, England, which place was visited in 1889 by 
 
 a member of the Connecticut line, who found none 
 of the family there. However, in the adjoining 
 county of Gloucester there is a family by the name 
 of Sessions, which, there is little doubt, came from 
 the same stock — in fact, it was the only one of the 
 name to be found in England. The head of this 
 Gloucestershire family, Hon. J. Sessions, at the age 
 of eighty years was mayor of the city of Gloucester, 
 and his three sons were associated with him in a 
 large manufacturing business in both Gloucester 
 and Cardiff (Wales), the style of the firm being J. 
 Sessions & Sons. There is also a daughter who 
 is actively engaged in benevolent and reformatory 
 work, while the mother established and built a 
 "Home for the Fallen," which ^ managed and 
 cared for by members of the family. They all be- 
 long to the "Society of Friends," and Frederick 
 Sessions, although at the head of a large business, 
 gives his entire time, without salary, to reformatory 
 work, lecturing and organizing Sunday-schools, and 
 Temperance and other beneficent societies. 
 
 The crest of the English Sessions family is a 
 griffin's head. This mythological creature was 
 sacred to the sun, and, according to tradition, kept 
 guard over hidden treasures. It is emblematical of 
 watchfulness, courage, perseverance and rapidity 
 of execution — characteristics of the Sessions family 
 to the present day. 
 
 The first of the family of whom we have record, 
 in this country, was (I) Alexander Sessions, born 
 about 1645, and was living in Andover, Alass., in 
 1669, at the age of twenty-four years, as in a depo- 
 sition he made dated Jan. 27, 1669, he called him- 
 self "aged tv/enty-four years." He died in An- 
 dover, Mass., Feb. 26, 1688-89. He married April 
 24, 1672, Elizabeth, daughter of John Spofford, of 
 Rowley, Mass., who after his death, married a Mr. 
 Low. Alexander Sessions and his wife were mem- 
 bers of the church in Andover in 16SS and until 
 their decease. Alexander Sessions was a freeman 
 of Andover, in 1677; was also one of the proprie- 
 tors of the to\vn, as appears by a vote, naming the 
 proprietors, about that time. He died in Andover 
 Feb. 18, 1688-89. His name was originally spelt 
 "Alexsander Seshins," or "Sutchins." His will was 
 admitted to probate March 8, 1696-97. and inven- 
 toried £119, which was attested by his widow, who 
 was named as administrator. Their children, living 
 in 1697, were as follows: (i) Elizabeth, born in 
 1673, married July 18, 1694, Richard Carrier. (2) 
 John, born Oct. 4, 1674, was living June 16, 1 705, 
 as records of Andover show. (3) Alexander, born 
 Oct. 3, 1676. (4) Timothy, born April 14, 1678, 
 was living in 1696-97. (5) Samuel, sketch of whom 
 follows. (6) Nathaniel, born Aug. 8, 1681, married 
 
 Hannah . He settled in Pomfret, Conn., 
 
 before October, 1765, where he died in March, 1771, 
 aged ninety-one 3'ears ; his wife died same year. 
 (7) Josiah, born May 2, 1684, died Dec. 30, 1724, 
 in Bradford. He married in September. 1725. .-\nna 
 , whose mother was Widow Mary Cole. 
 
230 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (8) Joseph, born March 28, 1686, was living in 
 Pomfret, Conn., in 1713, and alive in 1752. (9) 
 Abial, born about 1688, married before April, 1752, 
 Dorman, and living in York count}^ Maine, 
 
 (II) Samuel, born March 8, 1680, in Andover, 
 Mass., on what was known at that time as "Ses- 
 sion's Hill," was a husbandman, and . accumulated 
 considerable property which was inherited by his 
 children. He was drowned at Boxford, Mass., 
 Dec. 6, 1750. By his wife Mary (Cox or Cock) 
 he had children as follows : ( i ) Sarah, born in 
 1708-09, died Jan. 7, 1709. (2) Samuel, a sketch of 
 whom follows. (3) Timothy, born probably in 171 1 
 as he died in November, 1763, aged fifty-two years. 
 He married in November, 1738, Abigail Black, of 
 Boxford. (4) One born Aug. 17, 1712,, died in in- 
 fancy. (5) Mary, born Sept. 7, 1714, died July 19, 
 1736. (6) David, bom Jan. 25, 1718, died in his 
 country's service at Crown Point, Dec. 29, 1756. He 
 married Mary Lancksford, Dec. 29, 1743. 
 
 (III) Samuel, born in 1710, died April 24, 1746. 
 He married Jan. 8, 1739, Hannah Gray, daughter 
 of Henry Gra}', who came from England, married 
 Mary Blunt, and died in 1755. Samuel Sessions 
 was a husbandman, and owned large tracts of land 
 in Andover, Mass. His children were : ( i ) Sarah, 
 born in Andover, Nov. 6, 1740, married previous 
 to July 14, 1760, Michael Gillson, and settled in 
 Westminster, Vt., before June 24, 1763. She died 
 Nov. I, 1815. (2) John, a sketch of whom follows. 
 
 (IV) John Sessions, born in Boxford, Mass., 
 June 9, 1742, died in Westminster, Vt., May i, 
 1820. He married Nov. 17, 1763, Ann Warstley, 
 born in 1740 in Dedham, Mass., and died Oct. 12, 
 1820. He was a farmer, deacon of the church, jus- 
 tice of the peace, and much respected ; was for two 
 years a member of the first Continental Congress, 
 and was first judge of the county court; also mem- 
 ber of New York Legislature for four years under 
 the elder Governor Clinton. Children : ( i ) Ann, 
 born July 20, 1765, married David Foster. (2) 
 John, sketch of whom follows. (3) Samuel, born 
 June 25, 1773, married June 17, 1817, Mrs. Gray; 
 he died of fever Jan. 9, 1826. 
 
 (V) John Sessions, born July 30, 1768, in West- 
 minster, Vt., married Oct. 16, 1793, Lucinda Wash- 
 burn, born May 14, 1770, and died March 11, 1820. 
 He was a farmer, and highly respected as a citizen. 
 He died in Lunenburg, Vt., Jan. 25, 1852, the father 
 of seven children, as follows : ( i ) John, born Sept. 
 29, 179s, married Feb. i, 1825, Eliza Winne, born 
 Jan. 20, 1798. He was a Congregational minister. 
 
 (2) Lucinda, born March 23, 1797, married Nov. 
 29, 1827, Miss Maria Case; she died Dec. 22, 1866. 
 
 (3) Calvin, a sketch of whom follows. (4) Joseph 
 W., born June 30, 1801, married Oct. 17, 1833, 
 Mary Sewell Dunning, of Brunswick, Maine, daugh- 
 ter of Samuel Dunning. Joseph W. Sessions was 
 a Congi-egational minister. (5) Orpha, born Feb. 
 18, 1803, and died in 1872, married April 25, 1824, 
 Charles Ames, of Lunenburg, Vt. (6) Samuel, 
 
 born March 23, 1805, married Caroline Bird, o£ 
 Buffalo, N. Y. He was a Congregational minister.. 
 (7J Ann Maria, born March 13, 1808, married Oct_ 
 29, 1828, A. G. Red way, of Jefferson county. New 
 York. 
 
 (VI) Calvin Sessions, born in Westminster,, 
 Vt., Jan. 10, 1799, married Lydia Beckwith, Jan. 
 I, 1822. She was born Nov. 20, 1796, a daughter 
 of Abner Beckwith, who was born in Lyme, Conn.,, 
 in 1771. He died in Burlington, Conn., May 10, 
 1868. Polly (Flumphrey), his wife, was born in 
 Burlington, Conn., and died there April 10, 1800. 
 Calvin Sessions died in Burlington, Conn., Nov. 
 9, i860; his wife Lydia passed away in Bristol,, 
 Conn., July 9, 1870. 
 
 Calvin Sessions was a clothier by trade, and in 
 his younger days, in Burlington, operated a factory 
 of his own. He was captain of the militia company 
 in Burlington. In religion he was a stanch sup- 
 porter of the Congregational Church of Burlington. 
 A brief record of the children born to him and his 
 wife were as follows: (i) A son, born at Burling- 
 ton, Conn., Oct. 27, 1822, died in infancy. (2) 
 Catherine Maria, born in Burlington, Oct. 27, 1823,. 
 married Nov. 19, 1842, Samuel LeRoy Beldon, of 
 Burlington. She died Aug. 22, 1893, at Bristol. 
 (3) Adeline Eliza, born in Burlington, March 27,. 
 1825, married Nov. 14, 1845, Erastus Stanley Bacon, 
 who was born April 23, 1820, and died Sept. 20, 
 1864, while being removed from Andersonville 
 prison pen to Charleston, S. C. He was a mem- 
 ber of the 7th Reg. Conn. Vol. She died in May, 
 1882, at Bristol. (4) Samuel Washburn, born in 
 Burlington, Oct. 31, 1826, married Jan. 2, 1850, 
 Nancy Frisbie, of Southington, Conn., who was 
 born Aug. i, 1824. He is a member of the bolt, 
 etc., manufacturing firm of Lamson & Sessions, 
 Cleveland, Ohio. (5) John Humphrey, a. sketch of 
 whom follows. (6) Albert Gridley, born in Bur- 
 lington, March 28, 1831, died there June 8, 1832. 
 (7) Lydia Beckwith, born in Burlington, Conn., 
 Aug. II, 1832, married May 6, 1852, Samuel Miller 
 Lamson, born Jan. i, 1826, in Sheffield, Mass., son 
 of Isaac and Celina Lamson, of Burlington, Conn. 
 He is a farmer in Burlington. (8) Albert Joseph-, 
 born in Burlington, Conn., June 11, 1834, married 
 Oct. 2, 1853, Ellen Lucinda Castle, born in Union- 
 ville. Conn., July 14, 1836, a daughter of Joel and 
 Mary (Fenton) Castle. Joel Castle was born in 
 Harwinton, Conn., March 10, 1813; Mary Fenton 
 was bom in Plymouth, Conn., April 9, 18x5, and 
 died July 11, 1856. Albert Joseph Sessions died 
 in Cleveland, Ohio, June 25, 1870; his widow now 
 lives in Bristol, Conn. (9) Fannie Lucinda, born 
 in Burlington, Conn., April 21, 1836, married May 
 17, 1856, Isaac Porter Lamson, son of Isaac and 
 Celina Lamson, and born in Mount Washington, 
 Mass., Sept. 2, 1832. They live in Cleveland, Ohio, 
 where he is a manufacturer, the firm name being 
 The Lamson & Sessions Co. (10) Willard Foster,, 
 born in Burlington, Conn., July 5, 1838, married 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 281 
 
 Feb. 29, 1872, Julia Pettibonc, of Burlington. He 
 is a farmer in the town of Bristol, near Lewis' 
 Corners. 
 
 (VII) John Humphrey Sessions, born March 
 17, 1828, in Burlington, Conn., was married April 
 2J, 1848, to Miss Emily Bunnell, born in Burling- 
 ton, Jan. 30, 1828, a daughter of Allen and Rhoda 
 (Atwater) Bunnell, also of Burlington. Allen Bun- 
 nell was born there Feb. 7, 1802, and died at Bris- 
 tol; Rhoda (Atwood) Bunnell was born in Bristol, 
 Conn., Nov. 16, 1800, and died at Bristol. Children 
 born to John Humphrey and Emily (Bunnell) Ses- 
 sions were as follows: (i) John Henry, a sketch of 
 whom appears farther on. (2) Carrie Emily, born 
 in Bristol, Dec. 15, 1854, married Dec. 24, 1871, 
 George W. Neubauer, of Bristol. (3) William 
 Edwin, a sketch of whom appears farther on. The 
 mother is yet living. 
 
 John Humphrey Sessions received a common- 
 school education such as the district schools afforded 
 in his boyhood days, and at an early age began 
 to work in the wood-turning establishment of A. 
 L. & \V. Winston, Polkville, a suburb of Bristol, 
 where he learned the trade. In course of time, that 
 firm having made an assignment to Mr. Sessions, 
 he in 1858 went into partnership with Henry A. 
 Warner, under the firm name of Warner & Ses- 
 sions. The venture proving a success, he in 1869 
 removed the business to the center of the town. 
 
 Soon after locating in Bristol, his brother Albert 
 J. died and left a trunk-hardware business, which 
 Mr. Sessions purchased, and at once threw all his 
 characteristic energy into it. This was about 1870, 
 and the success of his undertaking was apparent 
 from the start, for he made money rapidly, ex- 
 tended the business and soon had it on a footing 
 where it was considered one of the most prosper- 
 ous manufacturing establishments in Bristol. Mr. 
 Sessions's eldest son, J. Henry Sessions, was ad- 
 mitted to partnership and, later, another son, W. 
 E. Sessions, the firm being known as J. H. Sessions 
 & Sons. They make a general line of trunk hard- 
 ware, which has a well-known reputation. In 
 1879 J\Ir. Sessions bought the property owned by 
 the Bristol Foundry Co., on Laurel street, and to- 
 gether with his son William E. formed the Sessions 
 Foundry Co. This business, like the others that 
 Mr. Sessions undertook, was a success from the 
 first, and in 1895 the firm built a new foundry plant 
 on Farmington avenue. They moved into it in 
 1896, and at the celebration in honor of the event, 
 leading manufacturers from Connecticut and else- 
 where were present to inspect the plant. 
 
 All his life Mr. Sessions was identified with 
 important concerns of the town. In 1875 he was 
 one of the founders of the Bristol Xational Bank, 
 and was elected its first president, a position he 
 held up to the time of his decease — almost a quarter 
 of a century. Another of his enterprises was the 
 Bristol Water Co., of which he was president at 
 the time of his death ; was one of the organizers 
 
 and original stockholders of the Bristol Electric 
 Light Co., and was president thereof until it merged 
 into the Bristol and Plainvillc Tramway Co. ; was 
 a stockholder in the Bristol Press Publishing Co., 
 and a director of and stockholder in various other 
 corporations in Bristol. 
 
 "Besides being a most important factor in finan- 
 cial life of the town, he was no less a potent force 
 in its moral and religious life ; for he heartily co- 
 operated in every movement for good. The causes 
 of education, temperance and religion always found 
 in him a faithful and sympathetic friend. A large- 
 hearted, broad-minded, philanthropic citizen, his 
 benefactions to deserving objects were both princely 
 and numerous. The story of his conversion is in- 
 teresting. \\'hile a resident of Polkville, in the 
 late autumn of 1857, Mr. Sessions was converted 
 while attending a meeting in the school house of 
 that district. He was interested in religious mat- 
 ters henceforth, and led a conscientious Christian 
 life. On New Year's Day, 1858, a religious meet- 
 ing was held in the Polkville school house, at which 
 was present Rev. Air. Simpson, the Methodist pas- 
 tor in Bristol. The meeting was so interesting that 
 those present suggested to Air. Simpson that he 
 return one year from that date and hold another 
 meeting of a similar character. The next year the 
 meeting was held, and Mr. Simpson was present. 
 Then followed a remarkable record. For forty 
 consecutive years on New Year's Day Rev. Mr. 
 Simpson, together with Air. Sessions and other 
 friends and neighbors, was present to hold the meet- 
 ing. Air. Sessions would charter omnibuses, invite 
 former pastors to Bristol, and then go to Polkville 
 to hold the meeting in the little school house. 
 
 "Air. Sessions became a member of the Alethod- 
 ist Church, and to him more than any other man that 
 society is indebted for the prominent place it occu- 
 pies among the churches of this Conference. The 
 old Alethodist church on West street was a frame 
 structure, and was sold to the Advents in 1879, it 
 not being large enough to accommodate the con- 
 gregation. Air. Sessions was instrumental in 
 securing the present site for the nev\' church on 
 Sumner street, and it was his energy and money 
 that went far in building the edifice which was dedi- 
 cated in 1879. Eleven years later that church be- 
 came too small and the church was enlarged, and it 
 was again found that the edifice must be enlarged. 
 John H. Sessions then came forward, as he had 
 twice before, procured plans, and erected as a gift 
 to the society a church constructed of granite and 
 redstone, one of the finest Alethodist churches in 
 the State and one of the finest in the Conference. 
 Air. Sessions's two sons gave the upholstery and 
 the large pipe organ to the church. The present 
 church was presented by Air. Sessions to the so- 
 ciety in 1894, and was dedicated by the venerable 
 Bishop Foster. Air. Sessions gave largely to de- 
 serving individuals and organizations, and did a 
 vast amount of good work in a quiet way, which 
 
232 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was only known by those who were intimately con- 
 nected with him." 
 
 Mr. Sessions was a trustee of Wesleyan Acad- 
 emy, Wilbraham, Mass., also a trustee of Wesleyan 
 University, Middletown, Conn., and in May, 1896, 
 he was chosen a delegate from the New York East 
 Conference to the General Conference of the 
 Methodist Episcopal denomination, which met in 
 Cleveland, Ohio. Taken all in all he was, probably, 
 the most prominent layman of the Methodist Church 
 in the State of Connecticut, and was a well-known 
 figure in the important deliberations of the leaders 
 of that society. 
 
 After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Sessions 
 lived in Polkville for some time, removing in May, 
 1869, to Bristol Center, where, on High street, lie 
 built an elegant and commodious residence, and here 
 he continued to live up to his decease. On April 
 28, 1898, Mr. and Mrs. Sessions celebrated the 
 golden anniversary of their marriage. Mr. Ses- 
 sions's later illness began in January, 1899, though 
 for }''ears he had suffered from diabetes. The best 
 medical treatment served to prolong his life, and on 
 the 1st of July, that year, he felt well enough to 
 go to his favorite resort, Edgewood, Alexandria 
 Bay, among the Thousand Islands, in the St. Law- 
 rence river, returning to Bristol about a week before 
 he was called to his_ rest. Rev. C. H. Buck, D. D., 
 his pastor, delivered an eloquent and appreciated 
 tribute to the memory of Mr. Sessions, before a 
 large audience of representative business men, 
 manufacturers and professional men, as well as the 
 regular attendants gathered in Prospect Methodist 
 Church, Bristol, on the Sunday following the 
 funeral. We are indebted to a local paper for the 
 following interesting report of same : 
 
 The scripture lessons were chnsen with special refer- 
 ence to the subject and the second of one verse only was 
 very apt; it was: "Mark the perfect man and behold the up- 
 right, for the end of that man is peace." 'The text was tak- 
 en from Jeremiah, ix: 12, '/Death has come up into our win- 
 dows, and has entered into our palaces.'' Some of the 
 thoughts that Dr. Buck gave utterance to were, that from a 
 true life, one that has lived as God intended it to be lived, an 
 influence for good went abroad even as the sun's rays go all 
 over the world. We do not realize all that a man is and 
 what he has done for us until death removes him. This, said 
 the speaker, is the experience of the church to-day, in re- 
 gard to that noble man who was carried to his last resting 
 place on the hillside, Wednesday of last week. 
 
 The speaker told of the sun's rays breaking; through 
 the clouds to cast one last bright beam over the coffin as it was 
 being lowered to its final resting place. 
 
 He said that the majority, outside the immediate family 
 circle, knew but little of his real greatness, broadness, gen- 
 tleness and tenderness. When the ordinary man dies the 
 world moves on and pays no heed to the fact. It is only 
 when a truly great man dies that we stop to think of his ex- 
 cellence and worth. 
 
 The man in whose memory this address is made was one 
 who will be missed more and more in the community. By 
 his departure a great light is gone from earth to shine in 
 Heaven. "How is the strong staff broken! It teaches that 
 death is no respecter of persons, all must die; Sampson, 
 strong as he was; Solomon, in all his glory; Grant, the great 
 
 military genius; Beecher, the great pulpit orator, all had to 
 pay their debt to nature.' 
 
 The speaker referred to the death of a good man as a 
 great mystery. He said it might be reasonable to expect 
 that the useless and vicious man should be removed, but 
 with this man it was "high noon" in his chance to do good 
 work. The lessons to be drawn from such a man are, first: 
 that God is absolutely independent of man or men in doing 
 his work. The work does not cease when a workman is re- 
 moved. Such events as this have two sides: the earthly, all 
 dark, and the Heavenly, very bright. 
 
 There is no mystery in Heaven why such men as the 
 deceased are taken away. The great and good die that 
 others may have a chance to do their work. Moses went up 
 into the mount to die, and was succeeded by Joshua, the 
 great military leader of the Jews; David passed away to be 
 succeeded by Solomon, the wise man. 
 
 The good die, but God has others to do their work. The 
 death of certain men seems to accomplish more than they 
 could do while living. .Stephen was stoned to death, but out 
 of that came the great St. Paul. It is seeing the liber- 
 ator die that often encourages others to be up and doing. 
 The memory of a life very frequently does more for men 
 than that life itself, while it is being lived. The life of the 
 good stimulates faith. Under these circumstances it will 
 be seen that such a death is not an irreparable loss. 
 
 Dr. Buck was pastor of the church in Stamford at the 
 time that Hon. Oliver Hoyt died. He was superindent of the 
 Sunday-school, an active worker in the church, and a li'oeral 
 giver of money to the cause that he loved. It was predicted 
 that the revenues of the church would fall off. Instead of 
 that they actually increased, and the work of the church and 
 Sunday-school went on as before. 
 
 The poet speaks truly when he says there is no death, 
 only a change, and our friend still lives and is looking on at 
 our work with the same interest that he did when he was 
 with us. The influence of Mr. Sessions was felt outside Bris- . 
 tol, as the many letters and telegrams of condolence received 
 by the family show. His career should stand out before the 
 young men and boys of the town as a model. 
 
 Reference was made to his early struggles to raise him- 
 self from poverty and to succeed in life. He had rare busi- 
 ness sagacity. The speaker referred to being stationed in 
 Bristol thirty-two years ago, and being here at the time when 
 Mr. Sessions moved his business from Polkville to Bristol. 
 When he made up his mind to move, it was not altogether 
 certain that he would come to Bristol. Other places were 
 considered as well, but greatly to the advantage of Bristol, 
 his choice finally settled on this place. Deceased loved Bris- 
 tol and its institutions. 
 
 Reference was made to the bank, water works and elec- 
 tric plant, and what he did to make them all the success-that 
 that they are. The speaker was riding with Mr. Sessions 
 one day when they met a man reputed to be rich, and some 
 remark was made about his wealth. "Yes," said Mr. Sess- 
 ions, "he is wealthy, but he invests it so that the assessors can- 
 not find it." He was a man of business integrity, and vs'as 
 recognized by his business friends as a thoroughly honest 
 man. 
 
 Of his beneficence there was more than the general 
 public was aware of. At his conversion, in 1857, he became 
 a changed man, and all his ambitions and efforts were stimu- 
 lated. He believed that the more he gave the more he 
 would have. After making one of his princely donations to 
 church or church work, he once made the remark that he 
 believed it paid to be liberal, as business had been much bet- 
 ter than he had any right to expect, after making that last 
 gift. He was interested in his church life and church work, 
 but was never critical of others. As a committee to secure 
 pastors tiis aim was to secure men who would be helpful and 
 satisfactory to the people, and he was known to pass over the 
 minister of his choice because he did not think he would 
 please the people. Dr. Buck said that alter a pastorate ex- 
 tending over eleven years he could say that Mr. Sessions 
 never attempted, in any way, to influence a single utterance 
 of his, and that all the pastors stationed in Bristol for thirty- 
 five years could say the same thing. While he never attempt- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 233 
 
 «d to dictate to a pastor, he did have an opinion of his own, 
 and that opinion was the same for pastor and people alike. 
 The pastor said, that in his judgment the Inve of that man's 
 heart for his church and people, passetl all understanding; 
 it was with him night and day and was a strong one. 
 
 He spoke of his purchase, years ago, of a lot in the cem- 
 etery, and said he might have raised a costly monument, 
 but instead, chose to erect the church which will ever 
 stand as a monument to his generosity. His hearers were 
 told, by Dr. Buck, to point their children in the future to the 
 church as his monument. 
 
 Reference was made to his- long illness, borne without a 
 murmur, although all his life he had been an active man. 
 Until he returned from the Thousand Islands he had hopes 
 of recovery, but then, apparently, he gave up; but there was 
 never a murmur. 
 
 The address was listened to with the closest attention 
 by an audience that completely filled the large church. 
 
 (VIII) John Henry Sessions, eldest son of 
 John Humphrey Sessions, was born Feb. 26, 1S49, 
 in Polkville, a suburb of Bristol, Conn., and received 
 a liberal education at the schools of the latter place. 
 
 In 1873 (as already related) he was admitted 
 to the firm of J. H. Sessions & Son, trunk-hard- 
 ware manufacturers, and since his father's death 
 he has admitted his son, Albert Leslie, the firm 
 name remaining as of old. He has been a director 
 of the Bristol Water Co. since its organization, 
 and at the death of his father was made president 
 of same, which incumbency he still holds ; is a di- 
 rector in the re-organized E. N. Welch Mfg. Co., 
 of Forestville, Conn. ; was also one of the incor- 
 porators of the Bristol Press Publishing Co., and 
 has been vice-president of same since its organiza- 
 tion. On the death of his father he was elected to 
 his present position of vice-president of the Bristol 
 National Bank. 
 
 JMr. Sessions, though a stanch Republican, takes 
 no active part in politics. In 1881 he was appointed 
 a member of the board of fire commissioners of 
 Bristol, and in 1883 was elected its secretary, a 
 position he still most acceptably fills. 
 
 On May 19, 1869, John Henry Sessions was 
 married to Miss Maria Francena Woodford, who 
 was born Sept. 8, 1848, a daughter of Ephraim 
 Woodford, of West Avon, Conn., and one son has 
 been born to them, Albert Leslie, born Jan. 5, 1872, 
 married Feb. 7, 1894, to Miss Leila Belle Beach, 
 born July 30, 1872, at Bristol, a daughter of Henry 
 L. Beach, of Bristol, and the names and dates of 
 birth of the children born to this union are : Paul 
 Beach, Nov. 19, 1895; Ruth Juliette, May 14, 1897; 
 and John Henry, July 12, 1898. Albert L. received 
 his earlier education in the schools of Bristol, after- 
 ward attending Wilbraham (Mass.) Academy, and 
 also the Sheffield Scientific School, from which he 
 graduated in 1892. As above related he is asso- 
 ciated with his father in the J. H. Sessions & Son, 
 trunk-hardware business, of which he is general 
 manager. 
 
 (VIII) William Edwin Sessions, second son 
 of John Humphre}^ Sessions, was born in Bristol, 
 Conn., Feb. 18, 1857, was educated in the common 
 schools of the town, and graduated from Hartford 
 
 High School. After his school days he spent a year 
 or two in the office of J. H. Sessions & Son, as 
 bookkeeper, and in 1879, being then but twenty-two 
 years of age, he entered into the management of the 
 foundry which his father had just bought, and has 
 been in active charge ever since. 
 
 W. E. Sessions gives much attention to the ad- 
 vancement of Christianity, following closely in the 
 footsteps of his father. In politics he is a stanch, 
 loyal Republican, although not active in the affairs 
 of the party, and he was elected on that ticket to 
 the first board of burgesses in Bristol (1892). 
 V/hile strictly attending to business, he has yet 
 found time, much time, to devote to church matters. 
 Mount Hope chapel was built through his instru- 
 mentality, and nearly every Sabbath he is to be 
 found at his post of duty as superintendent of the 
 Sunday-school. 
 
 On June 12, 1878, William Edwin Sessions 
 was married to Miss Emily D. Brown, who was 
 born at Ellington, Conn., April 2, 1857, and two 
 children have come of their union : Joseph Brown, 
 born Nov. 11, 1881 ; and William Kenneth, born 
 Feb. 21, 1886. 
 
 As will readily be inferred from what has just 
 been written, the Sessions families of both America 
 and England have devoted a great amount of time, 
 and generously donated a large portion of their 
 wealth, to the advancement of Christianity, and 
 the two sons of the late John Humphrey Sessions 
 are, in this regard, worthy sons of a worthy sire, 
 not only inheriting but cultivating the noble quali- 
 ties of the father. When the latter presented the 
 i church edifice to the Methodist society, the sons 
 showed their sympathy with his generous benefac- 
 tion by giving, the one the elegant upholstery and 
 carpets, the other the inagnificent organ. 
 
 The Sessions Foundry Co.'s model and exten- 
 sive plant in Bristol is a noteworthv addition to the 
 great manufacturing enterprise of New England. 
 While the equipinent and magnitude of the works 
 are iinpressive, it is the energy and actuating spirit 
 of the owners that appeal most strongly to the pub- 
 lic. The Sessions Foundry Co. have given substan- 
 tial evidence that they are in touch and sympathy 
 with progressive ideas. When erecting their new 
 works the firm provided in an unusual degree the 
 best arrangements and appliances, healthful sanitary 
 conditions, such as good ventilation, ample heating, 
 abundance of light, pure water, besides many per- 
 sonal conveniences, while care has been taken that 
 not a trace of gloominess is to be seen about the 
 entire plant — in brief, it is without doubt one of 
 the most complete foundries in the L'nited States, 
 and steady employment is found all the year round 
 for several hundred workmen. When John H, 
 and W. E. Sessions bought the business, the capital 
 stock was less than $10,000, and only some dozen 
 or so hands employed on the premises. From this 
 comparatively small beginning has evolved the 
 present large business, whose success, it must be 
 
234 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 told, is largely due to the energy, sagaciousness 
 and competence of the manager, William E. Ses- 
 sions. 
 
 CHARLES ETHAN BILLINGS, president 
 and general manager of the Billings & Spencer Co., 
 Hartford, is regarded as one of the foremost busi- 
 ness men of the city, and as a pioneer along a new 
 line of manufacturing development he has won a 
 high place in the industrial world. 
 
 Mr. Billings is the product of a thorough-going 
 steady New England ancestry, of that sturdy type 
 so characteristic of the section. Mention of the 
 family is found in Savage's "Genealogical List of 
 New England Settlers before 1690;"' Hinman's 
 "Puritan Settlers of Connecticut;" "History- of 
 Hadley, Mass.;" "History of Hatfield, Mass.;" 
 Hampshire County "Gazeteer;" Town Records of 
 Hadley, Mass. ; Town Records of Hatfield, Mass. ; 
 the "History of Northfield, Mass. ;" State Papers, 
 New Hampshire, Vol. XXVI. 
 
 (I) Richard Billings, the first of the family of 
 whom we have any record, was granted six acres of 
 land in the division of the river in 1640, at Hart- 
 ford. He signed a contract with Gov. Webster and 
 others to remove and settle Hadley, Mass., in 1659, 
 which he perfoi-med, and he died at Hadley Nov. 
 I3> 1673. [Hinman's "Puritan Settlers of Connecti- 
 cut."] His wife, Margery, died Dec. 5, 1679, leav- 
 ing one son, Samuel. 
 
 (II) Samuel Billings was in Hadley, or more 
 especialy in that part thereof which was on the 
 western side of the Connecticut river,, and which 
 became Hatfield, living there with his parents. In 
 1661 he married Sarah, daughter of Richard Fel- 
 lows. He died in Hadley, Feb. i, 1678. 
 
 (III) Samuel Billings, son of Samuel, born in 
 Hatfield, Mass., Jan. 8, 1665, married (first) Nov. 
 18, 1686, Hannah Wright, who died Nov. 18, 1687. 
 In 1691 he married widow Rebecca Miller. He 
 had children: Samuel, Zecheriah, Benjamin, and 
 Joseph, all born in Hatfield. 
 
 (IV) Joseph Billings, born in Hatfield, Mass., 
 Nov. 15, 1700, was reported in the "History of 
 Northfield, Mass.," as one of a company organized 
 to fight Indians. He married, Jan. 7, 1726, Eliza- 
 beth, widow of Joseph Kellogg, lived in Hatfield, 
 and died about 1783. 
 
 (V) Joseph Billings, Jr., was, with his father, 
 Joseph, and his father's brothers, Benjamin, Zec- 
 eriah and Samuel, and with his own cousin, Ben- 
 jamin, Jr., among a company of about seventy men 
 who, in or about the year 1763, petitioned the gov- 
 ernor of New Ham.pshire, Benning Wentworth, as 
 the agent of the King, George III, for a grant of 
 land. On Aug. 17, 1763, these men vv^ere granted a 
 royal charter of 23,040 acres of land, or six square 
 miles, to be divided into seventy equal shares for 
 the petitioners, located upon the borders of Lake 
 Champlain, and to be incorporated into a town by 
 name of Swanton, yielding and paying therefor, for 
 
 the space of ten years from Dec. 25, 1763, annually,, 
 if demanded, the rent of one ear of Indian corn,, 
 also one shilling to be paid annually forever, by 
 each proprietor, for every hundred acres he owns,, 
 settles or possesses. This charter is a remarkably 
 interesting document, beginning: "George the 
 Third — By grace of God, of Great Britain, France 
 ' and Ireland, King, defender of the Faith, etc.," 
 and ending: "By His Excellency's Command, B. 
 Wentworth, Province of N. H., Aug. 17, 1763." 
 The names signed to this charter, as grantees, in- 
 clude those of the four brothers, Joseph, Benjamin, 
 Zecheriah and Samuel Billings, Joseph Billings, Jr., 
 Benjamin Billings, Jr., also Asa, David, Silos and 
 Samuel Billings. Joseph, Jr., was possibly later of 
 Windsor, Vt. ; no Billings was ever an original 
 land holder in Windsor. 
 
 (VI) Rufus Billings, of Windsor, Vt., son of 
 Joseph, Jr., was the grandfather of our subject. 
 
 (VII) Ethan F. Billings, father of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Windsor Jan. 27, 1807, and died 
 Sept. II, 1848. He was by trade and occupation a 
 blacksmith, of a very practical turn of mind. He 
 married Clarissa M. Marsh, a daughter of James 
 Marsh, of Rockingham, Vermont. 
 
 Charles E. Billings was born Dec. 5, 1835, in. 
 Wethersfield, Vt., and his parents moving to Wind- 
 sor, same State, when he was small, the son received 
 an English education in the common schools of the 
 village. In 1852, when seventeen years of age, he 
 was apprenticed for three years to the Robbins & 
 Lawrence Co., machinists and gun-makers at Wind- 
 sor. By the terms of the indenture the mother agreed 
 to provide for her son at her own expense board, 
 lodging, clothing, etc., and the company agreed to- 
 instruct him in the art and trade of a machinist, 
 and to pay him for his services fifty, fifty-five and 
 sixty cents per day for the first, second and third 
 years, respectively. Along in the middle 'fifties he 
 came to Hartford, Conn., and in June, 1856, began 
 employment with the Colt's Arms Co., working as 
 a die-sinker in the forging department. Here he first 
 gained an insight into that line of business with 
 which his future life was to be identified. The drop 
 hammer then in use was quite complicated, and ex- 
 pensive to keep in repair, and the young machinist 
 soon became of the opinion that certain parts of the 
 work could be accomphshed in an easier way. In 
 1862 he began employment in the gun factories 
 of E. Remington & Sons, in Utica, N. Y., where 
 he formulated his ideas gained from experience and 
 observation in the Colt's Armory, and built up, 
 though with doubts of his employers, a plant for 
 drop forgings which increased the efficiency of labor 
 forty-fold in the production of various parts of their 
 pistols. Here he devised a new method of forcing 
 the metal into the frame, which saved the company 
 $50,000 on their contracts. Returning to Hart- 
 ford in 1865, he was for the next three years acting 
 superintendent of the manufacturing department of 
 the Weed Sewing Machine Co. Here he introduced. 
 
J > 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 235 
 
 drop haniincrs for forging several parts of the ma- 
 chine, notably the shuttles, which before had been 
 made in several pieces, brazed together. In 1867 
 Mr. Billings patented his invention for forging 
 them from a single piece of bar steel, running four 
 pairs of dies for the operation. This process re- 
 duced the cost of shuttles one-half, and has been 
 universally adopted. His present company has 
 made upwards of four millions of them. After a 
 short absence in Amherst, Mass, at the close of his 
 term with the Weed Co., Mr. Billings, in 1869, set- 
 tled down permanently and became a fixture at 
 Hartford, and at this time, associated with C. ]\I. 
 Spencer, organized the Roper Sporting Arms Co., 
 which at the very outset experienced severe re- 
 verses in the manufacture of the Roper sporting 
 gun. Mr. Billings then organized the Billings & 
 Spencer Co., which in 1870 took up drop forgings 
 as a specialty, and soon advanced to a commanding 
 position. 
 
 Mr. Billings' life work has been in main given 
 to the development of the business of drop forg- 
 ings. He early saw the great saving of labor to 
 be effected, as well as the improvement which could 
 be made in numerous small parts of machines. 
 Starting from the crude efforts of several persons 
 who preceded him in that line, he has brought the 
 art up to its present high standard. By his methods 
 bars of iron, steel, bronze or copper can be trans- 
 formed into pieces of irregular shape and size with 
 rapidity and precision. The dies are made from 
 blocks of the best bar steel, and in these are cut the 
 form of the article to be forged, one-half of the 
 thickness in the lower and the other half in the 
 upper die, and both parts are then hardened to the 
 proper temper. One die is fastened to the base, 
 and its counterpart to the hammer of the drop. 
 Where the shape to be produced is unusually com- 
 plicated, a series of dies is used, and red hot bars 
 are subjected to the blows of the hammer until 
 the desired figure is reached. Guided by the up- 
 rights of powerful frames, hammers weighing from 
 three hundred to three thousand pounds fall from 
 one to six feet, and a few rapid blows complete 
 this part of the process. The forgings are then 
 passed on to other rooms, to be finished and polished. 
 At this time the company operate sixty drop ham- 
 mers. 
 
 While passing through the Edison Electric 
 Works in 1886 Mr. Billings noted the existing 
 method of making commutator bars. These are 
 "L"-shaped pieces of copper set at an angle to each 
 other. Horizontal bars, thin and wedge-like, sep- 
 arated by some non-conducting substance, are placed 
 side by side around the shaft of the dynamo and 
 bound firmly together. Electricity is generated by 
 the friction of, metallic brushes revolving at high 
 speed against the edges of the bars. These bars 
 were then made in two pieces, tmited by pins and 
 solder, and, as the current was partly broken, the 
 best results could not be obtained. I\Ir. Billings 
 
 here saw an opportunity, and returning home he 
 cut the dies, and in less tiian three weeks sent to 
 the Edison Co. an invoice of bars forged in a single 
 piece from pure copper, and having a homogeneous 
 molecular structure throughout. The material is 
 of the greatest possible density. By this invention 
 of Mr. Billings the cost of bars was greatly dimin- 
 ished, and their efficiency increased in like degree. 
 A good proof of their success is tiie fact that they 
 almost immediately sprang into favor with the elec- 
 tric companies. 
 
 The catalogue of the Billings & Spencer Co. 
 embraces a large variety of standard articles, made 
 of sizes to suit the trade, and carried in stock. It 
 includes screw-plates, dies, reamers, wrenches, 
 ratchet-drills, lathe-dogs, clamps, lathe tools, com- 
 bination pliers admitting a wide range of adjust- 
 ment, vises, surface guages, sewing machine shut- 
 tles, thumb-screws, pistol frames and barrels, 
 breech-loading shot-guns, solid eye lx)lts, carbon 
 tongs, magazine screw-drivers, spinning rings, and 
 similar articles, many being the invention of Mr. 
 Billings himself. His adjustable [xjcket wrench, grad- 
 uated to one-thirty-second of an inch, is specially 
 suited to the bicycle, and one million have been sold. 
 Manufacturers of electrical apparatus, sewing ma- 
 chines, gas fittings, guns, pistols, pumps, and other 
 standard goods, have many pieces which enter into 
 their product forged here at the works of the 
 Billings & Spencer Co. The company has made 
 frequent enlargements in the endeavor to keep up 
 with the demand for its goods. In 1889 they built 
 a new forge room, 40x90 feet, and the next year 
 continued it to Lawrence street with an "L," 40 feet 
 square, for a repair shop. At the same time the ca- 
 pacity of the steam plant was doubled. In the sum- 
 mer of 1892 they broke ground for a new building, 
 which extends 228 feet on Lawrence and 170 feet 
 on Russ street, with a breadth of 40 feet. Two 
 stories of brick rest on a brown-stone basement. At 
 the corner, where the offices are located, the struc- 
 ture rises to three stories, surmounted by a tower. 
 Everywhere in the new construction careful pro- 
 vision has been made for the comfort and health 
 of the occupants ; the forge rooms are very high, 
 and ventilated under the roof. The offices are high, 
 spacious, and finished in hard woods. Besides 
 these, nearlv every season brings less conspicuous 
 additions. At the close of 1896 the floor space ex- 
 ceeded 8 1, GOO square feet. 
 
 The appliances in use have been so modified 
 and improved by the patented inventions of Mr. 
 Billings tliat other concerns, requiring drop ham- 
 mers as part of their outfit, come hither for their 
 equipment. The company make and keep on hand 
 a full line. The rapid growth of electric traction, 
 and the demand for safe and durable equipment, 
 led the company to enter this field also, and they 
 are now furnishing a full line of drop forged ma- 
 terial. This company is up-to-date in every par- 
 ticular, and uses the utmost care in every depart- 
 
236 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ment of the great works. Their dies are stored in 
 fire-proof brick vaults, warmed sufficiently by steam 
 to prevent rust, and separated by a safe distance 
 from the other buildings. The manufactured stock 
 is also stored in another fire-proof vault, similarly 
 kept dry and warm. 
 
 An all-pervasive force in the development of this 
 great business and enterprise has been the inventive 
 talent of Mr. Billings. The drop forging business 
 owes much to his genius and persistency. His suc- 
 cess as a manager of industries is phenomenal. 
 He is president of the National Machine Co., of 
 Hartford ; of the C. E. Billings Manufacturing Co., 
 of Rocky Hill, Conn. ; vice-president of the Ameri- 
 can Specialty Co., of Hartford; trustee of the 
 Hartford Trust Co. and the State Savings Banks, 
 and a director of the Hartford Board of Trade. 
 For a half dozen or more years he has been a 
 member of the board of fire commissioners, and is 
 now president of the board. He is not only a man 
 of much local prominence, but is also well known 
 throughout the country. On Oct. 2, 1895, he was: 
 elected president of the American Society of Me- 
 chanical Engineers, to complete the unexpired term 
 of E. F. C. Davis, who was accidentally killed. Of 
 this society Mr. Billings was at the time serving as 
 senior vice-president. The society now numbers 
 two thousand members, including many of the best 
 mechanical engineers in America and Europe. At 
 one time Mr. Billings was identified with the Na- 
 tional Guard of Connecticut, being a member of the 
 1st Regiment. He has served in both branches 
 of the city government, and while in the council 
 was chairman of the Ordinance committee. He 
 was an alderman for four years. Politically he is 
 a Republican. He is a prominent representative of 
 the Masonic Fraternity, having received all of the 
 York and Scottish degrees, and is a Past Grand 
 Commander, Knights Templar, of Connecticut, his 
 local membership being with Washington Com- 
 mandery. His religious connections are with the 
 Second Congregational Church at Hartford. He 
 is a member of the Hartford Club, the Home Mar- 
 ket Club of Boston, and the American Protective 
 Tariff League, of New York. 
 
 Mr. Billings has been twice married. His first 
 wife was Frances M., daughter of .Willard Hey- 
 wood, and to their union came two children Fred- 
 eric C., and Harry E., the latter deceased. Fred- 
 eric C. is associated with his father in business, as 
 superintendent of the Billings & Spencer Co. Our 
 subject was married (second) to Eva C. Holt, by 
 whom he has had two children, Lucius FI. and 
 Mary E. 
 
 FREDERICK SPENCER BROWN (de- 
 ceased). Until his death, a few years ago, the sub- 
 ject of this sketch was for a long term of years one 
 of Hartford's most representative business men. 
 His interests were directed mainly to tobacco, but 
 his nature was broad and public-spirited, and in 
 
 various political and social relations he evinced a 
 deep concern for the public weal and the progress 
 of society. He was born in East Hartford, Conn,, 
 Feb. 5, 1822, son of John and Cynthia (Fuller) 
 Brown. His mother was a native of Deerfield, 
 Mass. John Brown became a. member of the book 
 firm of Hammersley & Co., as traveling agent. To 
 himself and wife were born five children : Louise, 
 who married Mr. Darrow; Susan, who. married Will- 
 iam Holt; Cynthia, wife of Mr. Buck; Frederick 
 Spencer, our subject; and John, all now deceased. 
 
 Frederick S. Brown spent his early school days 
 in Hartford and Boston. When a young man he 
 went to New Orleans, and there became interested 
 in the tobacco trade. Returning to Hartford, he 
 formed a business connection with Daniel Seymour, 
 wholesale tobacco dealer, and shortly before the 
 Civil war he opened at Hartford an office for him- 
 self under the "American Hotel," his store-house 
 being located on Dutch Point. His business in- 
 creased rapidl)^, and for many years he was a prom- 
 inent factor in the trade. 
 
 Mr. Brown also became prominent in local and 
 State politics. For seventeen years be was town 
 and city collector, and at one time was chairman 
 of the Democratic State Committee. He served as 
 chairman of the Park Commissioners, and in that 
 capacity planted in Bushnell Park acorns from the 
 "Charter Oak." For several years he was chair- 
 man of the board of street commissioners. His 
 tastes were studious, and in many of the natural 
 sciences he gained wide proficiency. He was es- 
 pecially •'ond of botany, and had a beautiful col- 
 lection of pictures of the native trees of Hartford 
 county. He kept on file many of the leading period- 
 icals of his day. He was a member of the Hart- 
 ford Club, and served as its treasurer. 
 
 In 1843 J^^r. Brown married Miss Almera O. 
 Treat, daughter of William and Emily (Brown) 
 Treat, of East Hartford. Mr. Brown died May 
 6, 1894. His wife surviving until Aug. 23, 1899. 
 Their only child Kitty Louise, is the wife of J. H. 
 Morse, who is a charity commissioner of Hartford 
 and president of The Morse Society of America. 
 
 ADNA HART (deceased), through the long 
 years of his identification with Hartford county, 
 enjoyed the highest respect of his fellow citizens by 
 reason of his strict integrity and sterling worth. 
 His devotion to the public welfare made him a 
 valued factor- in public life, and by his death the 
 community was deprived of one of its best citizens. 
 
 Mr. Hart was born in the town of Avon, Hart- 
 ford county, in 1790, and was a representative of 
 one of its oldest families, being a descendant of 
 (i) Stephen Hart, who was born in Braintree, Eng- 
 land, in 1605, and came to Hartford with the Hooker 
 colony in 1635. He died in Farmington in 1632. 
 From him our subject traced his ancestr}' through 
 (II) Stephen Hart, Jr., who died in Farmington in 
 1689. (Ill) Thomas Hart, the next in direct de- 
 
y(.t.uc, ij,/3^t^y^^i'''^^^- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 287 
 
 scent, was born in 1666, and died in 1727. He 
 married Elizabeth Judd, a daughter of John and 
 Mary (Hawkins) Judd. (IV J James Hart, a son 
 of Thomas, was born in Avon in 1707, and mar- 
 ried Thankful North, daughter of Thomas and 
 Hannah (Woodford) North. (V) Elnathan, son 
 of James, and a resident of Avon, was born in 
 1735, and died in 1831. He married Ruth Judd, 
 daughter of Joseph and Ruth (Thompson) Judd. 
 (VI) Linus O. Hart, son of Elnathan, was the 
 father of our subject. He spent his entire life in 
 Avon, engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was 
 born in 1761, and died in 1810. He wedded Miss 
 ]\Iary Ann Wilcox. 
 
 (VTI) Adna Hart was reared and educated in 
 Avon, whence at the age of twenty he removed to 
 East Farms, in the town of Farmington, where he 
 passed the rest of his life, dying there in 1871. He, 
 too, followed the occupation of farming. As a 
 prominent and influential citizen of his community 
 he was called upon to serve in many town offices. 
 Religiously he was a faithful member of the Con- 
 gregational Church. In Farmington he was mar- 
 ried, by Rev. Dr. Noah Porter, to Miss Lucy Wood- 
 ruff, a daughter of Solomon and Chestina (Curtiss) 
 Woodruff, and to them were born five children : 
 (i) Dolly (now deceased) married George M. 
 Hale, of New Haven, and one child, Henrietta H., 
 was born to them. She is the wife of George 
 Morrell, and they have one son, George Hale. (2) 
 Newton Hart, a bachelor, for many years a well- 
 known resident of Farmington, now ot West Hart- 
 ford, was born in the East Farms District of Farm- 
 ington, Jan II, 1821, and began his education there, 
 later attending the Farmington Academy, then u.i- 
 der the direction of John Hooker, and still later the 
 academj' in Southinglon. He engaged in business 
 as a tallow chandler with his father until taking up 
 farming on the old homestead, which he continued 
 until 1874, living there seventy- four years, and held 
 many town offices in Farmington. He was a mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church of that town, 
 and one of its most highly respected citizens. On 
 Jan. II, 1901, this hale and hearty gentleman will 
 be an octogenarian. (3) Clarissa, born May 29, 
 1825, married D. E. Stoddard, and three children 
 were born to them — Mary, now Mrs. F. L. Tuttle, 
 who has four children, Albert, Ed}'the, Clara and 
 Frank ; Charles, married to F. A. Frost, who has 
 two children, Claude and Lela; and Nettie, Mrs. 
 W. L. Nichols. (4) Lucy, born March 28, 1827, 
 married Blinn Francis, who was born March 10, 
 1824, and died Nov. 5, 1895, and nine children 
 were born to them, as follows — (a) Julia married 
 Henry Butler, of \\^est Hartford, and they have 
 one son, Joseph Henry, (b) Laura is deceased, 
 (c) Mary Jane ("Jennie") married Niles C. Beck- 
 with, and five children were born to them, William 
 M., Annie, Emily, Edward and Hiram. Of these, 
 Annie married Frederick Dosh, of Wyoming, Minn., 
 and had one son. Earl Francis, now deceased, (d) 
 
 Henry, a civil engineer, and superintendent for an 
 asphalt paving company of Providence, R. I., mar- 
 ried Emily Pettis, and has two children, Carl and 
 Paul, (e) John, a resident of Southington, mar- 
 ried Minnie B. Harris, and had seven children, 
 Emma, Addie, Willie, Frederick, Harry, Howard 
 and Charles, (f) George Blinn, engineer in charge 
 of the construction of the Boston depot, married 
 Florence Louise Green, and has one child, George 
 Blinn, Jr. (g) Hattie Lillian, single, is a resident 
 of West Hartford, (h) Frank is deceased, (i) 
 Lucy Alberta married Henry D. Atwater, of Plants- 
 ville, Conn._, and they have four children. Ruby 
 Louise, Esther Lillian, Florence JMay and Kirtland 
 Francis. (5) Mary Hart, the youngest child of 
 our subject, married Xevvton Peck, a farmer of 
 Farmington, and they have two sons, Edward 
 (married to Carrie A. Hall) and Albert N. (un- 
 married). 
 
 ANTON BANTLY (deceased), an honest, in- 
 dustrious and successful farmer and respected citi- 
 zen of Hockanum during his long residence in 
 the town of East Hartford, was born in Witten- 
 berg, Germany, June 13, 1833. His father, John 
 Bantly, was a farmer, and had a large family, of 
 whom one daughter, married to John [March, is 
 living in Hockanum; one son, John, resides in Bos- 
 ton, Massachusetts. 
 
 Anton Bantly received the usual compulsory 
 German education, left school at the age of four- 
 teen years, and worked out for about one cent per 
 day and board. At the age of nineteen he sailed 
 from Havre for New York, and landed after a 
 rough voyage, with ninety cents in his pocket. For 
 a short time he was employed by a farmer on Long 
 Island, cutting turnip tops, then by some means 
 reached the Connecticut shore, and on a cold day, 
 with two companions, started to walk to Hartford, 
 sleeping in sheds at night, and arriving in the city 
 on a Sunday morning. Mr. Bantly searched the 
 town to find a German, to whom he could im- 
 part the fact that he was hungry, and finally found 
 a Mr. Miller, near the bridge, who fed him and 
 his companions and sheltered them over night. 
 Next m.orning he pointed out the way to Naubuc, 
 where the boys found work in the polishing depart- 
 ment of the Curtis factory, but at the end of a 
 couple of months were defrauded of their wages 
 by the contractor. Anton Bantly was next em- 
 ployed in a brickj'ard by a Mr. Wright, who paid 
 him $80 a year, and presented him with $5 bonus 
 for faithfulness. 
 
 In 1854 Anton Bantly married IMary Smith, 
 who died Jan. 2, 1863, the mother of four children: 
 John, born April 8, 1856, married Amelia Ruoff 
 June 9, 1881, and is now living in South ^lan- 
 chester; Annie, born Dec. 23, 1857, died Dec. 5, 
 1865 ; Emma, born Nov. 22, 1859, was married to 
 Oscar Arnurius Dec. 11, 1879, and is now living 
 in Windsor; Minnie, born June 30, 1861, was mar- 
 
238 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ried to Watson Goslee Nov. 15, 1882, and now re- 
 sides in South Mancliester. 
 
 On Feb. 6, 1864^ Mr. Bantly married Christina 
 Geiger, who was born in Wittenberg, Germany, 
 March 5, 1838, a daughter of Jacob and Margaret 
 (Kittleberger) Geiger,. and this union was blessed 
 with seven children : Anton, born Oct. 23, 1864, 
 died Feb. 21, 1887; Lillie, born Feb. 25, 1866, was 
 married to Frank Swift Nov. 26, 1896, and died 
 in Hartford Aug. 5, 1899; Francis, born Feb. i, 
 i86g, married Lizzie Wolfort April 5, 1893, and is 
 living in Glastonbury ; Jacob, born May 5, 1872, 
 married Marian Hall Oct. 12, 1898, and is also liv- 
 ing in Glastonbury ; William, born July 23, 1873, 
 married Mamie Hodge Oct. 14, 1896, and they are 
 living on the homestead ; Esther, born J an. 1 1 , 
 1880, lives with her mother ; and Annie, born March 
 25, 1882, died Feb. 5, 1883. 
 
 After his first marriage Mr. Bantly lived on the 
 farm now occupied by Mrs. John March ; it was 
 on that farm his first wife died, and while still liv- 
 ing there he married Christina Geiger, who sur- 
 vives him. When he sold his farm to John March 
 he purchased the "Talcott Brothers farm," in Man- 
 chester ; but as he was offered the position of. over- 
 seer on the "Cheney Brothers farm" he moved 
 thereto, and there lived about ten years, the pro- 
 prietors, in the meantime, building a dwelling for 
 him. On account of failing health he at this time 
 came to East Hartford and purchased the Winslow 
 place, consisting of eighty acres, made many im- 
 provements, and engaged in tobacco growing until 
 his lamented death, which occurred Aug. 31, 1897. 
 Politicaly he was a Democrat. He was an excellent 
 business man, and successful in all his undertak- 
 ings — thoughtful as well as provident and sa- 
 gacious. 
 
 DAVID NELSON CAMP, M. A., educator, 
 was born in Durham, Conn., Oct. 3, 1820, son of 
 Elah and Orit (Lee) Camp. On his father's side 
 he was a descendant of Nicholas Camp, of Nasing, 
 Essex county, England, and, on his mother's side, 
 of Theophilus Eaton, the first governor of the 
 New Haven Colony. 
 
 From 1840 to 1850 Mr. Camp taught in public 
 schools and academies, and in the latter year was 
 made professor in the Connecticut State Normal 
 School. He became associate principal in 1855, and 
 principal and State Superintendent of Schools in 
 1857, holding the latter position until 1866, when 
 he resigned on account of ill health and with the 
 intention of devoting some time to visiting several 
 of the principal educational institutions of Europe. 
 He visited the more important universities, col- 
 leges and training schools in England, Scotland 
 and Ireland, and several on the continent. While 
 in Paris he was appointed professor in St. John's 
 College, in Maryland. After a year's service in this 
 position he resigned to engage in work witn Dr. 
 Henry Barnard in the Bureau of Education at 
 
 Washington, and subsequently was engaged in lit- 
 erary and educational work in Connecticut. Mr. 
 Camp's work as an educator extends over forty 
 years, interrupted twice by ill health, and was 
 finally relinquished on the advice of his physicians. 
 He is the author of the "American Year Book," 
 the "History of New Britain," and several school 
 text books and maps. 
 
 Mr. Camp was chosen alderman of the citv of 
 New Britain in 1872, serving until 1876, and was 
 mayor in 1877-1879. He was also a member of the 
 General Assembly in 1879, in which he served as 
 chairman of the committee on Education. He was 
 secretary of the National Teachers' Association in 
 1864, and was president of the Connecticut State 
 Teachers' Association several 3'ears ; has been 
 auditor of the Missionary Society of Connecticut 
 since 1882, and auditor of the National Council 
 of Congregational Churches since 1883. He is 
 president of the Adkins Printing Company, the 
 Skinner Chuck Company, and vice-president of the 
 New Britain National Bank. He was president 
 of the Connecticut State Temperance Union for 
 ten years, and is a member of the American Board 
 of Foreign Missions, the American Missionary As- 
 sociation, American Bible Society, Congregational 
 Home Missionar}' Society, Connecticut Missionary 
 Society, Connecticut Humane Society, Connecticut 
 Bible Society, Connecticut Historical Society, and 
 Connecticut Congregational Club. 
 
 Mr. Camp married, June 25, 1844, Sarah Ada- 
 line Howd. They had two children : Ellen R. Camp 
 and Mrs. Emma Camp Rogers. 
 
 EDWARD BLAIR WATKINSON (deceased) 
 was in his day one of the most prominent business 
 men and successful financiers in the city of Hart- 
 ford, where he was born, on Prospect street, Feb. 
 24, 1813, a son of Edward Watkinson. He died in 
 Hartford March 21, 1884. 
 
 Mr. Watkinson passed his school days in Hart- 
 ford and in Mount Pleasant Classical Institute, at 
 Amherst, Mass. After leaving school his first ex- 
 perience was as a clerk in the wholesale house with 
 his father and uncles. He then went to New York 
 and engaged ir^ business, remaining only a few years, 
 however, when he returned to Hartford and entered 
 the employ of the Collins Co., _ on State street. 
 About 1844 he became agent and manager for the 
 Union Manufacturing Col, whose mills were in 
 Manchester and Marlborough, Conn. In 1871 he 
 was made chairman of the building committee in 
 the construction of the Connecticut Mutual Life 
 Insurance Co.'s immense and costly edifice. He 
 left the Union Manufacturing Co. in the fall of 
 187 1, and became president of the Connecticut 
 Trust and Safe Deposit Co., an office he held until 
 his death, and on the death of Samuel Collins he 
 became president of the Collins Co., an office he 
 likewise held at his demise. He was also vice-presi- 
 dent of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co., 
 
$dwivf^Kfh¥cMj^^^A^fvO 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 239 
 
 a director in the Hartford Fire Insurance Co., a 
 director in the Farmers & Alechanics liank, a trus- 
 tee of the American School at Hartford for the Deaf, 
 and a member of the State Historical Society. 
 
 At a special meeting of the directors of the 
 Collins Co., held in Hartford March 22, 1884, the 
 following memorial was imanimously adopted : 
 
 On the morning oF March 21, 1884, Edward B. Watkin- 
 son died at his residence in Hartford, aged seventy-one 
 years. For nearly lilty years he had been more or less 
 identified with this company. 
 
 He was 'secretary from April, 1844, to October, 1848. He 
 became a director in 1865, and has been a member of the 
 executive committee of the board of directors since 18(57. 
 He was elected president June 14, 1871, upon the de.ith of 
 the founder of the company, Mr. Samuel W. Collins, and on 
 February 10, 1874, upon the decease of Mr. Elisha Colt, the 
 treasurership was added to his duties. At the time of his 
 death, unexpected and untimely, he was the representative 
 and head of this company, and had acceptably filled a large 
 place in its afiiairs. 
 
 His experience as a manufacturer was of utmost value. 
 His judgment was sound. He was prudent and cautious, 
 and at the same time progressive. He never feared to take 
 his full share of responsibility. His relations with the direc- 
 tors and executive officers of the company have always been 
 peculiarly pleasant and agreeable. He always carried him- 
 self with modesty and dignity. No disagreement or jar has 
 occurred to mar the intercourse of many years. And now 
 that he has gone, it becomes impressive what the loss is, not 
 only to this company, but to the community at large, and 
 this record is entered upon the minutes as a slight recogni- 
 tion of his devotion to duty and loyalty to trusts, his unsullied 
 reputation and blameless life. 
 
 At a special meeting of the board of trustees 
 of the Connecticut Trust & Safe Deposit Co., of 
 Hartford, held March 22, 1884, a similar tribute of 
 respect was passed unanimousl)', couched in the 
 following language : 
 
 By the death of its president, Edward B.Watkinson, 
 this company is deprived of one who has been its principal 
 manager from its incorporation, and whose watchful care of 
 its industries, and whose strict integrity, and whose k'nd and 
 quiet ways of dealing with its patrons, have contributed 
 largely to its success. 
 
 As a board of trustees we mourn a companion to whom 
 we were attached by warm feelings of personal regard, and 
 for whose clear judgment we hold unqualified respect. 
 
 Having thus depicted in a feeble and inadequate 
 manner the business career of one of the most pro- 
 gressive and successful of Hartford's native-born 
 citizens, it becomes necessary to make some allusion 
 to his domestic affairs. At about the age of twenty- 
 one years Mr. Watkinson married ^Nliss Jane E. 
 Abernethy, a daughter of Dr. Andrew Abernethy, 
 of Harwinton, Conn. She died childless in 1874. The 
 second marriage of Mr. Watkinson occurred Oct. 
 18, 1876, to Miss Louise Stone, daughter of Rev. 
 Collins Stone, of Hartford, and principal of the 
 American School for the Deaf for many years. To 
 this happy union were born three children : Helen, 
 Grace and Mary, the last named of whom died 
 June 18, 1898. In the death of Mr. Watkinson Hart- 
 ford lost one of its worthiest citizens, whose place 
 can never be satisfactorily filled. 
 
 HENRY B. HALE, editor of The Weekly Ga- 
 zette, Fast Hartford, was born in that town .\ov. 
 18, 1864, a son of Jason F. and Sarah J. Hale. 
 His mother is also a native of the town, ami his 
 father was one of the famous Hale family of Glas- 
 tonbury. Jason F. Hale was for seventeen years 
 a bookkeeper for the Colt's Patent Firearms Co., 
 but when iiigh prices were being jjaid for tobacco 
 he resigned his jrosition and began cultivating the 
 weed, which industry he continued until his death, 
 in 1879. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was educated in the 
 common schools of his town, passed through the 
 Brown school of Hartford, and afterward attended 
 a private school. Being a young man full of am- 
 bition and energy, he desired to learn a trade for 
 the foundation of life, and entered the factory of 
 the Pratt & Whitney Co., where he stayed his full 
 time, learning the machinist's trade. On the com- 
 pletion of his apprenticeship at the factory he was 
 given a position on one of liartford's leading 
 dailies, and for a year worked under different de- 
 partments of the paper, serving in various positions 
 from reporter to assistant business manager. In 
 1885 he started The Weekly Gazette, in East Hart- 
 ford, and published it for five large towns with a 
 population of over twenty thousand people. He 
 opened a little office in one corner of a room at 
 his residence, and a year later moved to quarters in 
 a small room, 8x15, over a drug store on Main 
 street, where he remained for another year. From 
 there he moved to a new building, occupying a 
 floor in the Garvan block for ten years. From 1898 
 he has been established in his own building, on 
 Rector street, in the immediate center of the town, 
 where he has a finely fitted printerv. His efforts 
 have been crowned with success from the very 
 first issue, which shows that constant labor has been 
 exercised in bringing the paper to the front as 
 one of the leading country weeklies of his State. 
 j\lr. Hale is a prominent member of the Con- 
 necticut Editorial Association, having been its vice- 
 president, also auditor, and held various positions 
 as committeeman for the association. In 1892 he 
 was sent to California by the association, as dele- 
 gate. In 1897 he was re-appointed delegate, to 
 Galveston, Texas (from which place he went on to 
 the City of Mexico), and in 1900 was also chosen 
 to attend the National Editorial Convention, held 
 at New Orleans, La. All these he attended. He 
 was appointed to go to the conventions in Denver, 
 Colo., and Portland, Ore., but being unable to at- 
 tend sent his alternates. Mr. Hale belongs to no 
 secret society. He is a member of the First Con- 
 gregational Church, and auditor of the Ecclesi- 
 astical Society. He is a member of the Raymond 
 Library Association. Fle is auditor of the borough 
 of Fenwick, a summer resort, where, with his fam- 
 ily, he occupies his cottage four months in the year. 
 Mr. Hale is active in all local enterprises. He was 
 the promoter of the work of getting a water supply 
 
240 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 system in his town, and was foremost in bringing 
 about the macadamizing of the roads and other im- 
 provements. When fifteen years of age he entered 
 on his musical career, and for several years studied 
 under well-known instructors. At one time he had 
 one of the leading orchestras, and he also organized 
 and taught the local band of his town. In politics 
 he is a Republican, having always voted that ticket. 
 Our subject married Miss Celia Hayden, eldest 
 aaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry R. Hayden, her 
 father being editor of The Weekly Underivriter, 
 of New York. The wedding was celebrated in 
 St. John's Church, East Hartford, in September, 
 1884. To this union have been born five children: 
 Marjory, Sept. 18, 1892; Warren, March 21, 1894; 
 Louise, Oct. 13, 1896; Lois, May 28, 1898; and 
 Gregory, Aug. 17, 1900. 
 
 DEACON JARVIS P. HARRINGTON (de- 
 ceased) was one of the best known citizens of Col- 
 linsville, where he was in mercantile business for 
 thirty-three years, and, although living retired at 
 the time of his death, he took an active interest 
 in all that concerned the welfare of the town. In- 
 telligent, practical and cultured, his opinion had 
 weight among his fellow townsmen, and his in- 
 fluence was a factor in the success of many pro- 
 gressive movements in the community. 
 
 Mr. Harrington was born April 22, 1833, in 
 Simsbury, this county, where his family is well 
 known. Elisha Harrington, his father, was a na-' 
 tive and lifelong resident of Simsbury, his death 
 occurring there in 1850. By occupation he was 
 a carpenter, and as a citizen he was much respected. 
 He married Miss Caroline Barnes, of New Hart- 
 ford, daughter of Isaac Barnes, who was for many 
 years a prominent resident of Litchfield county. 
 After his death she returned with her children to 
 the home of her parents, but her last years were 
 spent in Collinsville. She was a devout member 
 of the Congregational Church, and was a woman 
 of superior qualities of mind and heart, her little 
 family having been reared by her to lives of use- 
 fulness and honor. Our subject was the eldest of 
 four children, the others being Henry E., a resident 
 of Hartford; Cyrus B., who died in the army; and 
 Hulbert W., a merchant in Collinsville. 
 
 Jarvis P. Harrington began his education in the 
 schools of Simsbury, and after his mother's removal 
 to New Hartford he attended school there for sev- 
 eral winters. He assisted his grandfather upon the 
 farm for several years, and while still in his 'teens 
 was employed as a clerk by Mr. Curtis, with whom 
 he remained three years. At the age of twenty 
 years he went to Mankato, Minn., where he took 
 up a large tract of government land, and during 
 his three-years' residence there he took an active 
 part in the development of the place, giving some 
 time to practical educational work as a teacher. 
 On his return to Collinsville he engaged in mer- 
 cantile business with his brother Henry E. ; later he 
 was in partnership with Mr. Hart, and then with 
 
 Mr. Hotchkiss, under the firm name of J. P. Har- 
 rington & Co. He built the Harrington block in 
 Collinsville, a fine structure costing $14,000, and 
 he had large real-estate interests at Providence, R. 
 I., but his investments in western lands proved un- 
 profitable. His home is a beautiful one, the hand- 
 some residence being on a small farm near the vil- 
 lage of Collinsville, and he and his wife were lead- 
 ers in the social life of the community. For more 
 than forty years Mr. Harrington was identified with 
 the Congregational Church, and for eight years 
 served as deacon and clerk. In politics he was a 
 Republican, although he affiliated with the Demo- 
 cratic party until 1889, and for some time held the 
 office of assessor. Pie traveled extensively, and 
 in 1881 visited Europe, stopping at the principal 
 points of interest in England, Scotland, Ireland, 
 France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Italy, Turkey, 
 and Russia, and was one of the few men who have 
 gone to the top of the crater of Mount Vesuvius. 
 Mr. Harrington's first wife, Cornelia TuUer^ 
 was a native of West Simsbury, where her brother,. 
 Oliver C. Tuller, now resides, and was a daughter 
 of Jeremiah and Luranna (Phelps) Tuller. Her 
 death occurred in 187Q, and her remains were in- 
 terred in Simsbury. They had one daughter. Hat- 
 tie, who died when eight years of age. Deacon 
 Harrington was married, in 1883, at Port Jervis,. 
 N. Y., to Miss Emma L. Meade, daughter of Isaac 
 Meade, a leading citizen of that place. He passed 
 av^^ay Aug. 6, 1900, and was buried in Simsbury 
 cemetery. 
 
 HIRAM C. THOMPSON, a prominent res- 
 ident of Bristol, is successfully engaged in the man- 
 ufacture o'f clock movements, water, gas and elec- 
 tric meter registers, etc., at No. 22 Federal street. 
 He resides at No. 26 Elm street. 
 
 Mr. Thompson is a member of an old Connect- 
 icut family, and was born in Bristol, Oct. 25, 1830. 
 Asa Thompson (i), his grandfather, was a native 
 of Cheshire, and married Sarah Cook, of the same 
 town, a daughter of Capt. Ephraim Cook, who won 
 his title by service in the Revolutionary war. They 
 were married during that conflict, and at its close 
 Mr. Thompson went to sea. He died from yellow 
 fever about 1800, on board a ship at New York. 
 He and his wife had the following children: (i) 
 Jairus married Abigail Brooks, of Burlington, and 
 had three children — Marella, who married Henry 
 Roberts; Louise, who married Harvey Root; and 
 Albert, who was accidentally shot at the age of 
 seventeen years. (2) Silas was married twice, first 
 to Mary Castle, by whom he had one child, Edwin 
 C, who married Eliza May, and had two children, 
 Julia and Agnes, both of whom died unmarried. 
 By his second wife, Rosanna Royce, he had tliree 
 children — Edward died unmarried ; Sarah married 
 Oliver A. Beckwith, and had two children, Oliver 
 and Corinna ; Charles W. married a lady named 
 Pliggenbotham, and one son, Charles, survives him. 
 (3) Lois married Freeman Plumb, of Cheshire,. 
 
1!7Ul'&}y^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 241 
 
 Cunn,, and had one daughter, IHora, who married 
 WilHam Hotchkiss ; they, had one daughter, who 
 married a j\ir. Tultle. (4j \si\, our suljjeet's fatlier, 
 is mentioned below. (5) Benoni married Polly 
 Belden, of Rocky Hill, and had six children — 
 George married Lucy Miner; Norris married Betsey 
 F"erdon :, Elizabeth married Edward Ganisby ; Julia 
 married John Adams; Jane married John Adams, 
 and had two children ; Albert also married. 
 
 The Roberts family have been identified with 
 Bristol from an early day, and Jabez Roberts or 
 Robbards, our subject's great-grandfather, was boni 
 there March 5, 1725, and died Aug. 27, 1780, after 
 many years of active business life as a tanner and 
 shoemaker. H-e and his wife Abigail Stone, had 
 children: Molly, born Oct. 19, 1746; David, born 
 April 28, 1749; Thankful, born March 28, 1751 ; 
 Abigail, born Dec. 13, 1753; Jabez, our subject's 
 grandfather; and Daniel, born June 9, 1763. jabez 
 Roberts was born Dec. 29, 1759, and died Feb. 20, 
 1833. He married Charlotte Wood, and had three 
 children, of whom Emily, our subject's mother, was 
 the voungest. ( i ) Electa married David Root, and 
 had two children — (a) Edward married Lydia Yale, 
 and had two children, Jane and Mary;, (b) Maria 
 married David Carrington, and had one child, 
 Sophia, who married Charles Warren, of Farming- 
 ton. (2) Polly married Abel Root, and had five chil- 
 dren — (a) Sylvester married Mary Ann Hurlburt; 
 (b) Emily, Jaorn in 1816, died July 9, 1886, tin- 
 married; (c) George resides in Indiana; (d) Mary 
 died young; (e) Robert married a Mrs. Hotchkiss, 
 and died leaving one son, Howard. 
 
 Asa Thompson (2), our subject's father, was 
 born in Cheshire, April i, 1792, and received a 
 common-school education only, much of his time 
 previous to his sixteenth year having been spent in 
 working among farmers of the neighborhood. Be- 
 fore he reached his majority he went to Pennsyl- 
 vania to sell japanned ware, and later he sold clocks 
 in Maryland and Virginia. Returning to Connecti- 
 cut, he engaged in the lumber business at Plain- 
 ville, then called Bristol Basin, but he made his home 
 in Bristol. In 1836 he sold out to Harmenus M. 
 Welch, of New Haven, and engaged in the manu- 
 facture of carriages at Bristol, in company with 
 others. The firm succumbed to the panic of 1837, 
 and Mr. Thompson then joined Chauncey Jerome, 
 William L. Gilbert, James G. Peck, and others, in 
 the manufacture of thirty-hour brass clocks. About 
 1840 the business was sold to Mr. Jerome, and the 
 plant was burned about 1843. Mr. Thompson next 
 became interested in the manufacture of screws, in 
 partnership with Noble Jerome, Henry A. Pond and 
 others, but the business proved unprofitable owing to 
 the revenue tariff of 1846. From that time Mr. 
 Thompson lived in retirement, and his death oc- 
 curred Sept. 15, 1854. He was a member of the 
 Congregational Church, and an active worker in 
 the Whig party. He served as selectman for two or 
 three terms, and was also chosen grand juror at 
 
 16 
 
 limes. His wife, Emily Roberts, was lx)rn r)ct. 6, 
 1796, and died Aug. 25, 1881. Of their five chil- 
 dren, two, Henry Roberts and Jliram C, lived to 
 maturity, the others dying in infancy. Henry Rob- 
 erts Thompson, who died in Bristol, Nov. 20, 1868, 
 was married June 2, 1851, to (ieorgianna E. Will- 
 iams, daughter of Walter \Villianis, and had one 
 son, James Henry, who married and settled in Cal- 
 ifornia. 
 
 Hiram C. Thompson was educated in the com- 
 mon schools and the academy at Bristol, and at the 
 age of thirteen began to learn the clock maker's 
 trade. For thirteen years he was employed as fore- 
 man in his present factory, then owned by Xoah 
 Pomeroy, and in 1878 he purchased the business. 
 Politically he is a strong Republican, having been a 
 member of the first Republican committee of his 
 town. In religious faith he is a Congregatioualist. 
 He has been a member of the Y. M. C. A. since 
 1872, and has been continuously in oflfice in the 
 local society, and for three or four years he was a 
 member of the State committee. Mr. Thompsorr 
 married first Miss Sarah A. Richards, and second 
 Mrs. Julia B. Gray, daughter of Cyrus and Hannah 
 Perry, of Bristol, and widow of Ilorace Gray, who 
 was killed wdiile fighting with Gen. Hawley"s divis- 
 ion in the assault upon Fort Wagner. Mr. Thomp- 
 son has two daughters, by his first marriage : ( O 
 Nellie married James R. Cairns, of Hartford, and had 
 four children: Harry, Edward T., Bessie and Ada. 
 (2) Addie married Otto F. Strunz, representative 
 from Bristol in the State Legislature, by whom she 
 had one child, Hermina, who died at the age of two 
 and one-half years. 
 
 HENRY E. DIAIOCK stands prominent among 
 the business men of New Britain, both for the rise 
 he has made in life by his own unaided efforts, 
 and for the value of his citizenship to the com- 
 munity in which he lives. He was born in Chester, 
 Mass., Oct. 27, 1845, a son of Harvey Dimock, 
 who was a native of Huntington, Massachusetts. 
 
 Harvey Dimock was a son of Thomas Dimock. 
 In early life he was employed in cotton and woolen 
 mills, and later, acquiring a farm of one hundred 
 acres, he led an agricultural life for the remainder 
 of his days. He was a careful, prudent, thorough- 
 going man, who had inherited nothing, and owed 
 only to himself the modest success which he at- 
 tained. He was not active in politics, but sup- 
 ported the Whig party and, afterward, the Republi- 
 can. In religious faith he was a member of the 
 Congregational Church, and he was a man whose 
 example it was safe to follow. He lived to the ex- 
 treme old age of ninety-four years, in this respect 
 keeping up the reputation of the family for longev- 
 ity ; his brother Horace lived to the age of eighty- 
 seven ; his brother Aaron passed his eightieth year ; 
 his brother Lyman lived to a ripe old age. and his 
 sister Lucy lived to marry two husbands — Har- 
 wood and ■Moses Hannom. Harvev Dimock mar- 
 
242 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ried Caroline Elder, of Chester, Mass., who died Sep- 
 tember, 1899, at the age of ninety-four years. To this 
 union were born three children : Augustus, a grain 
 dealer at East Hampton : Abbie Lucinda, who mar- 
 ried Charles Upham ; and Henry E., the subject of 
 this sketch. 
 
 Henry E. Diniock attended the schools of Hunt- 
 ington village, later became a pupil in private 
 schools, receiving a good academic training, and 
 did not leave school until he was eighteen years of 
 age. He was in service for one year during the 
 Civil war, enlisting in August, 1862, in Company 
 F, Forty-sixth Mass. A^. I., was at Kensington, 
 Goldsboro and White Hall, and was mustered out 
 in August, 1863. He then acquired the trade of 
 wood-turning, serving an apprenticeship of three 
 years in Chester, Mass. Not content with the nar- 
 row .borders of his trade, he branched out in vari- 
 ous lines of work in wood, and became an expert 
 in the use of all kinds of wood-working machines. 
 He was always interested in architectural work, 
 and even after his marriage he received instruc- 
 tion in this, his favorite study. He remained a 
 journeyman in Chester for about ten years, and 
 followed his trade in Hartford for a similar period, 
 worked for three years in Bridgeport, and for seven 
 years in Westfield, Mass. From Hartford Mr. 
 Dimock came in October, 1882, to New Britain, 
 where he purchased the New Britain Variety 
 Works from Charles Woods and converted it into 
 a regular planing-mill, which he named the New 
 Britain Planing & Moulding Works. When he 
 took charge of these works j\Ir. Dimock did all 
 the work himself, built up his own trade, and so 
 substantially that he now employs regularly about 
 ten men in his factory. He is a self-made man, 
 and the training he has received in his progress 
 upward has made him a most valuable business 
 man. 
 
 In politics Mr. Dimock is a Republican, deeply 
 interested in party affairs. He is now alderman in 
 New Britain from the First ward, and formerly 
 represented the Fourth ward in the same capacity. 
 He is chairman of the committee on Streets, one of 
 the most important committees, and of the com- 
 mittee on Buildings and Encroachments. Frater- 
 nally he is one of the most prominent Freemasons 
 in the city, belonging to Harmony Lodge, No. 20, 
 Giddings Chapter, No. 25, Washington Command- 
 ery. No. i, and Sphinx Temple, No. 2. He has 
 filled all the chairs in the Chapter. 
 
 Mr. Dimock married Miss Mary A. Smith, of 
 Chester, daughter of Enos Smith, and they have 
 two children: Carrie M., now the wife of E. M. 
 Ezekiel, of Springfield, Mass., and Fred W., who 
 is with his father. Mr. Dimock and his family at- 
 tend the Baptist Church. 
 
 HENRY C. RICE, a progressive and enter- 
 prising agriculturist of Southington, was born in 
 Cheshire, New Haven Co., this State, June 27, 1835, 
 
 a son of Lemuel and Maria (Andrews) Rice. The 
 paternal grandfather, Amos Rice, was a native of 
 Vermont, and from that State came to Cheshire, 
 where his last days were passed. The maternal 
 grandfather, Abel Andrews, was a farmer and old 
 resident of Cheshire. He married Roxanna . 
 
 The subject of this sketch grew to manhood in 
 his native town, and obtained his education prin- 
 cipally in its public schools, though he attended the 
 high school at Mt. Carniel for one term. He began 
 his business career as a shop hand on government 
 work, in the shops of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co;, 
 of Southington, Where he was employed for three 
 years. The following two years he spent in 
 Cheshire, but since 1867 he has been a resident of 
 Southington, working as a blacksmith for the lead- 
 ing manufacturers of carriage hardware, bolts, etc., 
 until 1889, when he retired from that business, and 
 has since engaged in farming. 
 
 On Sept. 30, 1859, Mr. Rice married Miss Caro- 
 line Royce, a daughter of Lewis and Caroline 
 (Preston) Royce, of Cheshire, and to them have 
 been born two children : Carrie M., now the wife 
 of Dwight H. Bennett ; and George, who married 
 Lena Miller, of Waterbury. In his political affilia- 
 tions Mr. Rice is a Republican, and in his religious 
 views he is a Baptist. He is one of the leading and 
 popular citizens of his community, and wherever 
 known is held in high regard. 
 
 JUDGE FRANCIS PARSONS, who was born 
 at Amherst, Mass., Feb. 16, 1795, and died March 
 9, 1861, at Hartford, was the son of David Par- 
 sons, a clergyman of Amherst, and his mother was 
 a sister of Chief Justice Thomas S. Williams. 
 Judge Parsons was graduated witn honors at Yale 
 in 1816, studied law with Judge Williams, and was 
 his partner for several years. He was several times 
 a member of the Legislature, and was once ap- 
 pointed Commissioner of the School Fund, but de- 
 clined the office. For six years he occupied the 
 Bench as judge of the County Court. His wife, 
 Clarissa, the daughter of William Brown, a lawyer 
 of Guilford and Hartford, was born April 6, 1798, 
 and died March 16, 1866. 
 
 "For nearly thirty years I have known Judge 
 Parsons only as a friend. I knew him ever as an un- 
 compromisingly honest man. To our shame be it 
 said that it has been remarked that he was too 
 honest and uncompromising to be a favorite of 
 political parties. He never could allow his name 
 to be used where there was the remotest chance 
 of any sacrifice of self-respect. He never did a 
 mean act; being thoroughly honest, he never per- 
 mitted himself to doubt the honesty of others. I 
 knew him as a philanthropist — a quiet and unob- 
 trusive man. Many a sufferino- family has been 
 relieved by receiving necessaries and delicacies 
 from him that never knew the donor. I knew him 
 as an enterprising public-spirited citizen, ready to 
 aid with his time and money in every good work. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 243 
 
 I knew him as a humble Christian man, placino- 
 Jiis hupe and trust not in his own merits, Ijui in tiie 
 ■Savior of the world as his comfort through life and 
 in the hour just passed. I desire to bear my testi- 
 ■mony to his many great virtues. We shall remember 
 him as the noblest work of God, a strictly honest 
 man." [Remarks of William R. Cone, at meet- 
 ing of the Bar.] 
 
 He sought no display, but pursued tlie even 
 tenor of his way, a sound lawyer, and a very high- 
 Jy respected and useful Christian citizen. Among all 
 his name was the very synonym of integrity. Large 
 amounts of trust funds passed through his hands, 
 and he had the confidence of business men in many 
 important transactions. He was universally con- 
 sidered an eminently safe adviser, sound lawyer, 
 and honest man. He was an unostentatious man, 
 whose virtues were best appreciatea by those who 
 knew him best. 
 
 ;\I--\joR John C. P.vrsons. In the death of 
 ]\Iajor Parsons, at Hartford, on March ii, i8y8, 
 there passed away one of the city's most respected 
 and useful citizens. 
 
 ^Nlajor Parsons was born June 3, 1832, in Hart- 
 ford, of distinguished Connecticut parentage, a son 
 of Judge Francis Parsons, of the Yale class of 1816, 
 and his wife, Clarissa (Brown), a daughter of 
 William Brown, of Yale, 1774. Major Parson's 
 boyhood was spent in Hartford, and in 1850 he en- 
 tered Yale, in the class of 1854. Two years later 
 impaired health demanded a period of rest, which 
 he took, and then returned to the college in the class 
 of 1855, with which he was graduated. His family 
 history, as well as his own inclinations, led him to 
 the study of law, and after a course at the Harvard 
 Law School he was admitted to the Bar in January, 
 1858, and entered the office of his great-uncle, the 
 distinguished Connecticut chief justice, Thomas S. 
 Williams. Mr. Parson's tastes seldom led him to 
 the more forensic branches of legal practice. His 
 work was largely that of administration and advice ; 
 though he never shrank from any public presenta- 
 tion of legal questions to which his duties called him. 
 
 i\Iajor Parsons was never ambitious for office, 
 but he had the respect and confidence of his fellow 
 citizens always, and many offices of trust were filled 
 by him! The title by which he was familiarly known 
 was derived from his service as major of the first 
 Company of the Governor's Foot Guards, an organ- 
 ization with which he was associated for many years. 
 He was long identified with the interests of the 
 Brown school. He was president of the association 
 for the care of the ancient graveyard behind the 
 Center church, belonging to the town, where sleep 
 so many of those whose names are honored in the 
 Colonial history of Hartford, and he took an active 
 interest in the efforts of the Daughters of the Amer- 
 ican Revolution to adorn and render it attractive. 
 For eight years (1872 to 1880) he was president of 
 the Board of Street Commissoners. At the time of 
 his decease he was president of the Society for Sav- 
 
 ings, an office which he had held since 1894; and he 
 was a director in the National L.xchange Bank, the 
 Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Co., the Connecti- 
 cut Fire Insurance Co., and the Security Co., of 
 which latter organization he was president from 
 1894 to 1896. He was and had been for many years 
 a director of the American Asylum for the Deaf 
 and Dumb, now the American School for the Deaf. 
 He was a trustee of the Perkins estate, and of that 
 of the late Lieut. -Gov. Julius Catlin. As one of the 
 two trustees of the latter property he erected the 
 building on the corner of Main and Asylum streets 
 recently occupied by George O. Sawyer. At one 
 time he was a trustee of the Industrial School for 
 Girls at Middletown. W'ith the First Church he 
 was most intimately associated. Brought up in it 
 under the ministry of Dr. Hawes, he was attached 
 to it with an affection dating from boyhood, and 
 which never waned. He was conspicuous in all 
 the concerns of the First Ecclesiastical Society, and 
 was long a member of its committee. Few actions 
 have been taken by that society for more than a 
 generation past without his active participation or 
 his counsel. His services and his benefactions to the 
 interest of the church of his affections were self- 
 sacrificing and continuous. It was characteristic 
 of his modest self-distrust, however, that though 
 always interested in the spiritual welfare of the 
 church, he did not make a public profession of his 
 religious faith till 1881, when he and his son united 
 with its membership on the same day. He felt a 
 personal sense of pride and possession in its ancient 
 house of worship, evidenced during the last four 
 or five years by its adornment with a beautiful 
 window, representative of the Angel of the Resur- 
 rection, and commemorative of Major John Cald- 
 well, whose name he bore. ]\[ore recently he placed 
 two tablets on its walls, one in memory of Dr. 
 Hawes, the pastor of his youth, and the other in 
 honor of Chief Justice \\'illiams. 
 
 A paper by Major Parsons, on the "Early Topo- 
 graphy of Hartford," was read at the celebration of 
 the 250th anniversary of the founding of the First 
 Church in 1883. and was printed in the volume re- 
 counting the commemorative exercises on that oc- 
 casion. Several years ago he prepared a paper on 
 the "Duties and Responsibilities of Directors and 
 Trustees of Financial Institutions," which was iss- 
 ued in a privately printed edition. 
 
 Few men have been more missed from Hartford 
 than Major Parsons. A lifelong resident, he loved 
 the citv and was interested in all that made for its 
 advancement. His kindly nature showed itself not 
 merely in an abundant hospitalitv to his friends, 
 but in constant interest in all of his acquaintances 
 who were in illness or suffering. He was unwearied 
 in his willingness to sacrifice time in helping those 
 who were in need, whether they had any claim upon 
 him or not. Plis repute for high character, intcg- 
 ritv and absolute honesty of purpose and of act 
 brought to him much unrequited labor, for he was 
 
244 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 consulted constantly by those in need of business 
 and legal advice who had no one to whom they could 
 naturally turn, and such aid as was in his power 
 was always ungrudgingly given. He was a most 
 public-spirited citizen. Probably no man in the his- 
 tory of Hartford was more ready to do his part by 
 pecuniary contribution or by personal aid in help- 
 ing on any cause which seemed to him likely to ben- 
 efit any portion of the community. He could always 
 be depended upon to carry his portion of the civic 
 load, however burdensome the task might be. But 
 to his personal acquaintances his death was much 
 more than the passing away of a public-spirited 
 member of the community. It was the loss of a 
 singularly unselfish and loyal friend and helper, of a 
 warm-hearted neighbor, of a companion of high pur- 
 pose and stainless life, of a Christian whose place 
 must be with the good here or hereafter. 
 
 On April 7, 1870, Major Parsons was married 
 to Mary McClellan, daughter of Dr. Samuel ]\Ic- 
 Clellan, of Philadephia, and a granddaughter of 
 Rev. Dr. Ezra Stiles Ely, a noted Presbyterian 
 clergyman. She died in January, 1871. One son, 
 Francis Parsons, a lawyer of Hartford, survives. 
 
 Francis Parsons, the only son of the late Major 
 John C. Parsons, of Hartford, was born in that 
 city Jan. 13, 1871, and there received his elemen- 
 tary' education. He was graduated from Yale in 
 1893. During the succeeding two years he was 
 engaged in newspaper work on the Hartford Cour- 
 ant. In 1895 he entered Yale Law School, from 
 which he was graduated two years later, and ad- 
 mitted to practice at the Connectictft Bar. In De- 
 cember, 1898, he was appointed assistant cjuarter- 
 master-general on the stafif of Gov. Lounsbury, 
 with the rank of colonel. He has succeeded his 
 father as director and trustee of several financial 
 and charitable institutions of Hartford. 
 
 RICHARD SEYMOUR, a venerable and highly 
 respected resident of Hartford, was born in that 
 city July 24, 1823, of an honored pioneer family. 
 
 The first of the name to locate in this section 
 was Richard Seymour, our subject's great-grand- 
 father, who became one of the early farmers of 
 Rocky Hill, this county, and also operated a stone 
 quarry at that point. He lived to a good old age. 
 Richard Seymour (2), our subject's grandfather, 
 was born in Hartford, and for many years conducted 
 the quarry mentioned. His death occurred in mid- 
 dle age, from the effects of a fall from a rock. In 
 1784 he married Rachel Lamb, who lived to ad- 
 vanced age, and they had a family of thirteen chil- 
 dren, ten of whom grew to maturity. They were 
 reared in the Congregational faith. 
 
 Richard Seymour (3), our subject's father, was 
 born in Hartford in 1788, and followed the ances- 
 tral occupations of quarrying and farming, being the 
 owner of a large tract of land at Rocky Hill. He 
 died in 1840, aged fifty-two years. His wife, 
 Amanda Foote, who died in 1820,'' at the age of sev- 
 
 enty-four, was born in Canton, Conn., daug'hter of 
 Abraham Foote, a well-known agriculturist of Can- 
 ton and Farmington. She was one of a large fam- 
 ily of children, and was a descendant of Nathaniel 
 Foote, the pioneer of Wethersfield. Eleven chil- 
 dren were born to Richard and Amanda Seymour, 
 nine of whom lived to adult age, and four are still 
 living: Cynthia married the late William Collins, a 
 farmer of South Windsor; Eliza married Alden 
 Giddings, of Romeo, Mich. ; Richard is next in the 
 order of birth; Delia married (first) Leonard jack- 
 son, of Cleveland, Ohio, and (second) Henry Gott, 
 of Spencerport, New York. 
 
 Richard Seymour remained at home during his 
 youth, and attended the grammar school of Hart- 
 ford. After the death of his father he bought the 
 farm in partnership with his brother, but later went 
 West for a year. On his return he engaged in the 
 market business in Hartford, continuing thus about 
 twenty years. In 1861 he purchased his present 
 homestead at No. 31 Park street, and on retiring 
 from the market, in 1884, he devoted his attention 
 to agricultural pursuits and the care of his extensive 
 tract of land. He also owns two houses in Hartford. 
 
 Mr. Seymour was married in 1857 to Miss 
 Lucy Robbins, a native of Wethersfield, and a mem- 
 ber of one of the oldest families of that town. 
 Robert Robbins, her great-grandfather, was a pio- 
 neer farmer there, and her grandfather, Robert 
 Robbins, and father, Josiah Robbins, were both born 
 there. Her grandmother, whose maiden name was 
 Cynthia Wood, was born on Block Island, and lived 
 to be one hundred years old, while a daughter lived 
 to the age of one hundred and five. The grand- 
 mother saw some of the troublous times of the Rev- 
 olutionary war, and among the interesting stories of 
 that period which she told in old age was one of an 
 encounter with some British soldiers whom She 
 threatened to scald with some hot soap. Josiah 
 Robbins was a blacksmith by trade, but his later 
 years were spent in farming at Berlin, his death oc- 
 curring when he was eighty-two years of age. He 
 married Harriet Crane, a native of Sandisfield, 
 Mass., who died the following year, also, aged 
 eighty-two. Her father, Elijah Crane, Mrs. Sey- 
 mour's grandfather, was an early settler at Sandis- 
 field, whence he removed to Wethersfield and then 
 to Massachusetts, wjiere he died. Josiah and Har- 
 riet Robbins had five children, two of whom are 
 living : Lucy and Fanny. Our subject's only daugh- 
 ter, Hattie, died when twenty-four years of age. 
 His only son, Edward G., is cashier in a bank at 
 Germania, Kossuth Co., Iowa, has traveled exten- 
 sively over the West, including Montana and Wash- 
 ington, and for some time was among the great 
 ranchmen in the cattle business. He has also been 
 in the grain business, and has a farm of 600 acres 
 in Kossuth county, Iowa. He is esteemed as a pro- 
 gressive citizen, and has held many offices in his 
 township. 
 
 Mr. Seymour is a Republican in politics, and has. 
 
/[/(^Oi^d. wU. 
 
 -e-y^7-« 
 
 iyt4/^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 245 
 
 been a member of the Congregational Cluireli since 
 fourteen years of age. He has been a regular at- 
 tendant of the South Church at Hartford, and his 
 wife has been a teacher for many years in the infant 
 department of the Sunday-school. Mrs. Seymour 
 also taught in the day schools of Wethersficld, 
 Greenwich and Hartford, having prepared for the 
 work at the Normal school in New Britain. 
 
 CHARLES FREDERIC COFFING (de- 
 ceased), 'a former well-known and highly-esteemed 
 citizen of West Hartford, was born in Great Bar- 
 rington, Mass., March ii, 1841, and traced his 
 ancestry back to Sir Richard Coffin, Knight, who 
 went from Normandy to England with William the 
 Conqueror. It was the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject who added "g" to the family name, making it 
 Coffing. 
 
 The first of the famil)- to come to America was 
 Tristram Coffin, who was born in England in 1605, 
 one of the six children of Peter and Joan (Thimber) 
 Coffin. He died in 1627-28. His grandparents 
 were Nicholas and Joan Coffin, the former of whom 
 died in 1613. Tristram Coffin was about fifty-five 
 years of age when he came to the New World. He 
 married Dionis Stephens, and died in Nantucket, 
 R. I. (II) Tristram Coffin, Jr., born in England in 
 1632, married Judith Greenleaf, daughter of Ed- 
 mund Greenleaf, and widow of Henry Somerby, and 
 died in Newbury, Mass., in 1704. (HI) Stephen 
 Coffin, born in Newbury, Mass., Aug. 18, 1665, 
 married Sarah Atkinson. (IV) Daniel Coffin, born 
 in Newbury, September, 1700, married Lj-dia Moul- 
 ton. (V) Isaac Coffin married Anna Churchill, 
 of Long Island. (YI) Isaac Coffin, born in 
 Fishkill, N. Y., was married Feb. 8, 1770, to Sarah 
 Nichols, who was born Feb. 23, 1751. (A'TI) John 
 Churchill Coffing, born in Derby, Conn., Oct. 
 6, 1776. He married (first) Jerusha Fitch, daugh- 
 ter of Hezekiah and Jerus'ha (Burr) Fitch, and 
 granddaughter of Gov. Thomas Fitch. By her he 
 .had 
 
 (\TII) Charles Fitch Coffing, born April 5, 
 181 2. He made his home in Great Barrington, 
 ]\Iass., where for many years he was extensively 
 engaged in farming. In 1863 he moved to West 
 Hartford, where he continued to follow farming 
 imtil his death, in August, 1865. He married 
 Catherine Eldndge, who died May 9, 1883. Thev 
 had three children : John, who was killed in the 
 Civil war ; Charles Frederic ; and Josephine, who 
 married J. Watson Beach, of Hartford. 
 
 (IX) Charles Frederic Coffing, whose name in- 
 troduces this sketch, was reared and educated in 
 Great Barrington, Mass., and after attaining man's 
 estate followed farming on the home place until 
 1864, when he joined the family in West Hartford. 
 During his residence here he operated the farm 
 which his father had purchased, and as an agricult- 
 urist he met with excellent success, becoming one of 
 the most prosperous citizens of his community. He 
 
 died Jul\- 30, 1887, and was laid to rest in the ceme- 
 tery at Great Barrington, Massachusetts. 
 
 Mr. Coffing married, in West Hartford, March 
 5, 1867, Miss Julia Hall Perkins, a daughter of 
 Luther liarris and Harriet (Hall) Perkins. Her 
 father, a native of Hartford, and a graduate of 
 Trinity College, died when she was only a year old. 
 He was a civil engineer by profession, and was 
 a partner of Nicholas Harris in the wholesale gro- 
 cery business in liartford. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Coffing was born one daughter, (X) Catherine 
 Harriet, who married Oct. 8, 1895. Charles Ed- 
 ward Beach (son of Charles Mason Beach), by 
 whom she had two sons, Charles Frederic, boin 
 Oct. II, 1896, and Thomas Coffing, born Oct. 16, 
 1899. She died Alarch 2, 1900. 
 
 JOHN WARREN DANFORTH (deceased) 
 who was for over thirty years a well-known whole- 
 sale grocer on State street, Hartford, was a native 
 of the State of Yermont, and descended from a 
 long line of Massachusetts ancestry, the founder 
 of the American family having been Nicholas Dan- 
 forth, one of the early settlers of Boston. 
 
 John W. Danfortli, our subject, was born in 
 Wethersfield, Windsor Co., Yt., in 1812, a son of 
 Joseph and Lydia (Cox) Dan forth, the former of 
 whom was a farmer. Our subject passed his early 
 school days in his native town, and assisted in the 
 cultivation of the home farm until he was twenty- 
 two years old, after which he spent some time in 
 Tolland county. Conn., and Buffalo, N. Y. About 
 1839 or 1840 he came to Hartford and engaged in 
 the wholesale grocer}' trade, as mentioned above, 
 in which he met with uninterrupted success tnitil 
 called away by death, in August, 1875, Hartford 
 thus losing one of its most useful and substantial 
 citizens, its board of alderman a wise and able mem- 
 ber, and the Masonic Fraternit}- a most worthy 
 brother. 
 
 Mr. Danforth was married in Plymouth, Lu- 
 zerne Co., Penn., Jan. 26, 1847, to ■Mary Gay lord, 
 daughter of Henderson and Bethia (Nesbitt) Gay- 
 lord, and a descendant of an old and highly re- 
 pected Connecticut family, of whom further men- 
 tion will shortly be made. To this union were 
 born three children : JNIary is the wife of Charles 
 A. Pease, a grain and feed merchant on Main 
 street, Hartford. Ella lives at home. Joseph 
 \\'arren is a member of the firm of Simpson, Hen- 
 dee & Co., of New York City, who do a wholesale 
 grain business; he married Maud (Hough) Wells, 
 and they have one child, John A\'arren; they reside 
 in East Orange, New Jersey. 
 
 The old Gaylord family, of which ^.Irs. Mary 
 Danforth is a descendant, is traced back to \\'illiam 
 Gaylord, who came from England about 1630. 
 Y'alter, the next head of a family, married Mary, 
 daughter of Deacon Stebbins, of Hartford, Conn. 
 Joseph, of the third generation, married Sarah Stan- 
 lev. John, of the fourth, married Elizabeth Hickox. 
 
246 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Joseph, of the fifth, the great-great-grandfather of 
 Mrs. Danforth, was born in what was then Farming- 
 ton, Conn., but Hved the greater part of his life in 
 WaUingford and Bristol, dying in Bristol. Charles, 
 of the sixth generation, born in WaUingford, Conn., 
 married Hannah Andrus, and died while serving 
 in the Revolutionary war, July 5, 1777. Of the 
 seventh generation was Charles Eleazer Gaylord, 
 M. D., of Wyoming Valley, Penn., a native of 
 Bristol, Conn. Of the eighth was Henderson Gay- 
 lord, and of the ninth is Mrs. Mary G. Danforth, 
 ■ widow of the subject of this sketch. 
 
 Among the ancestors of Mrs. Danforth may 
 also be mentioned Thomas Scott, John Stanley, 
 Edwin Stebbins, the Hickoxes and Riches, all very 
 prominent people in both Pennsylvania and Con- 
 necticut. ]\Irs. Danforth still has her home in 
 Hartford. 
 
 JASPER HYDE BOLTON, Jr., retired, with 
 residence in Hartford, is a native of Connecticut, 
 born Oct. 13, 1842, in Stafford, Tolland county, 
 and is of Scottish descent on the paternal side. ' 
 
 Thomas Bolton, his grandfather, a native of 
 Scotland, came to Stafford in 1825, and there man- 
 aged and superintended an ore mill the rest of his 
 life, dying at the age of seventy years. He mar- 
 ried Mary Alcott, born in Vermont, near Rutland, 
 one of a family of three children to reach maturity ; 
 she died in 1862, at the patriarchal age of ninety 
 years, a firm adherent of the orthodox faith. 
 
 Jasper Hyde Bolton, Sr., father of Jasper, Jr., 
 was born in Stafford, Conn., was educated there in 
 the common schools, and at the age of seventeen 
 years became a teacher. For a time he worked 
 on the farm of J. Hyde (the richest man in Con- 
 necticut, in his day, and a prominent man in Staf- 
 ford), and this continued until Mr. Bolton was 
 twenty-five years old, at which time he commenced 
 working in a machine shop, his duty being the mak- 
 ing of cylinders for wool-carding machines. Later, 
 for three years, he manufactured shoes in Stafford, 
 and then commenced the manufacture of cotton 
 warps, a business he followed up to 1863. Li that 
 year he came to Hartford and embarked in the 
 wholesale liquor business ; but at the end of three 
 years he abandoned it, and along with our subject 
 carried on a restaurant business on Asylum street 
 for four years, in 1880 becoming the proprietor of 
 the "Park Central Hotel," where the "Hotel Hart- 
 ford" now stands, being associated in business with 
 his son, Jasper H., Jr., some six years. He then 
 retired from active life, passing his remaining days 
 at the present home of his son, Jasper H., Jr., and 
 dying there in July, 1896, at the age of seventy- 
 five years. In politics he was a Whig and Re- 
 publican, and for eight years was postmaster at 
 Stafford, town clerk, deputy sheriff, and sheriff for 
 eight years, also represented his town in both 
 houses. He was a very prominent and highly re- 
 spected man, a fine orator, and enjoyed the respect 
 
 and esteem of a wide circle of friends. In religiouis- 
 faith he and his wife were both members of the 
 Universalist Church. ' In 1841 he married Anna 
 Maria Smith, who was born in Stafford, a daugh- 
 ter of Minor Smith, a well-known farmer. To this 
 union were born four children, our subject being 
 the eldest and the only one now living. 
 
 Jasper H. Bolton, Jr., whose name opens this 
 sketch, made his home in Stafford until 1862, receiv- 
 ing his literar}' education at the common schools of 
 the locality, after which he attended the military 
 academy at Worcester, Mass., and the Eastman 
 Business College, at Pougfikeepsie, N. Y. While 
 at the Military Academy, he was major of the 
 Highland Cadets. On Aug. 11, 1862, he enlisted 
 in the navy under Farragut, serving first on the 
 "Connecticut," then on the gunboat "Westfield." 
 In Januar)', 1863, he was gunner's mate, acting as 
 gunner, and was serving aboard a vessel that was 
 blown up, narrowly escaping with his life ; later 
 was on the "Honduras," then on the man-of-war 
 "Brooklyn" under Commodore Bell, serving as ship's 
 yeoman until after the battle of Mobile. While 
 serving on the "Westfield," he participated in the 
 battle of Galveston, Texas. After the affair at 
 Mobile he was discharged as ship's yeoman, and 
 returned to Stafford ; thence after a few months 
 went to Jackson, Mich., remaining there four years,, 
 and then located in Hartford and commenced the 
 hotel and restaurant business ; later entered the 
 Post Office Department service, serving three years 
 on a train, after which he held the position of mail- 
 ing clerk in the Hartford post office seven years 
 and two months, resigning at the end of that time. 
 We next find him in the capacity of the genial and 
 courteous landlord of the "Park Central Hotel," 
 which he conducted until 1887, when he retired. 
 In his day he has done a great deal of catering — 
 feeding 10,800 on Battle Flag Day, 8,400 on Buck- 
 ingham's Day, and 5,200 on Grant's Day. 
 
 In November, 1864, Mr. Bolton married Emily 
 R. Niles, born in Windsor, Conn., a daughter of 
 Lucas H. and Henrietta W. Niles, who were the 
 parents of four children, only one of whom is now 
 living. The mother, who was born in Stafford, and 
 is now eighty-six years of age, makes her home 
 with our subject. Mr. Niles, who was a woolen 
 manufacturer, spent some years in Windsor, later 
 making his home in Rockville, where he died in 
 1884. In politics Mr. Bolton is a Republican, but 
 has never aspired to office. Socially he has been 
 a member of the Michigan Lodge, No. 50, A. F. 
 & A. M., of Jackson, Mich., since 1864 ; is affiliated 
 with the Improved Order of Red Men, No. i, of 
 Hartford; also with the G. A. R., Robert O. Tyler 
 Post, No. 50, in which he has held all the offices, 
 and is a member of the Army and Navy Club. 
 He has dealt considerably in real estate, and owns 
 twenty-two acres of highly valuable land, besides 
 an elegant residence at No. 457 Wethersfield avenue, 
 Hartford. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 L'47 
 
 HON. FRANCIS H. PARKER, a prominent 
 lawyer of Hartford, and eldest son of Ozias H. 
 and Maria M. (Ayer) Parker, was born in East 
 Haddam, Conn., Sept. 23, 1850. His father, a 
 farmer in the town where he now lives, and his 
 mother were also born in East Haddam. They had 
 live children, all living: Francis PL; tlenry C. is a 
 farmer and miller in East Haddam; Thomas Lyon, 
 a druggist at Deep River, Conn., has served in the 
 General Assembly, and is now postmaster; Lucy M. 
 was educated in Wilbraham Academy, Mass., and 
 for many years has taught in the public schools of 
 Plartford ; and Sarah L. is living with the fathei , 
 the mother having died in 1897, aged sixty-eight 
 years. 
 
 Ozias H. Parker, father of the above named 
 children, and the youngest son of Elial and Pru- 
 dence (Avery) Parker, was born in East Haddam, 
 Nov. 13, 1823, and is still living in the house in 
 which he was born. He represented his native 
 town in the General Assembly in the years 1851, 
 1854, 1857, s^d 1877, and served as selectman for 
 many years, beginning in 1863. In 1877 he de- 
 clined an appointment tendered him by Gov. Rich- 
 ard D. Hubbard, as a member of a commission to 
 revise the pauper laws of the State. He is at pres- 
 ent one of the trustees of the town library, and a 
 director in the local creamery company. 
 
 Francis H. Parker graduated at Wesleyan Uni- 
 versity in the class of '74, and at Yale College, law 
 department, in the class of '76. In the fall of that 
 year he began, and has since continued, the prac- 
 tice of law in Hartford, though continuing to re- 
 side in East Haddam until 1885, since which time 
 he has resided in the Capital City. While a resi- 
 dent of East Haddam, Mr. Parker represented 
 that town in the General Assembly in the years 
 1878 and 1880, and was a delegate to several State 
 conventions. From 1887 to 1891, and from 1894 
 to 1895, he served as prosecuting attorney for the 
 city of Hartford, but in 1894 was defeated as can- 
 didate for the State Senate. In August, 1898, Mr. 
 Parker was appointed referee in bankruptcy for the 
 county of Hartford, and held the office until March 
 31, 1900, when he resigned to accept the office of 
 United States attorney for the district of Con- 
 necticut, to which office he was appointed by Presi- 
 dent McKinley. Mr. Parker has always taken an 
 active interest in the political party with which he 
 affiliates, and for four years, from 1896 to 1900, 
 served as chairman of the Republican town and 
 city committee. 
 
 Early in 1898 Mr. Parker was appointed trustee 
 of the Connecticut School for Boys at Meriden, and 
 in 1889 was elected president of the board of trus- 
 tees, which position he still holds. Mr. Parker 
 takes a lively interest in historical matters, especially 
 as related to his own State, and since 1886 has been 
 a member of the Connecticut Historical Society, 
 and is chairman of its library committee. 
 
 ]\Ir. Parker is a descendant in the seventh gen- 
 
 eration from \\'illiam Parker, a proprietor of Hart- 
 ford, and Margery, his wife, who in 1645, iimiie- 
 diately after the Fenwick session, removed to Say- 
 brook. His great-grandfatlier, John Parker, born 
 Feb. 14, 1732, in that part of ancient Saybrook, 
 now constituting the town of Essex, removed to 
 East Haddam about 1760, married Sarah I'uller, 
 the daughter of Capt. Ephraim and Sarah (Beck- 
 with) Fuller, of that town, and served in the Revo- 
 lutionary war. 
 
 Through his great-grandmother, Sarah (Fuller) 
 Parker, Mr. Parker is descended from six passengers 
 in the "Mayflower." In the line of his grandmother, 
 Prudence (Avery) Parker, he is descended from 
 Capt. James Avery, Thomas Stanton, Thomas Lord, 
 Robert Parke, John Elderkin, W'illiam Fowler. Ed- 
 mund Tapp, Richard Bushnell, John Drake, Thomas 
 Leflingwell, and other early settlers of the Connecti- 
 cut and New Haven Colonies. In the line of his 
 mother, the daughter of Hubert and Susa!ina( Lyon ) 
 Aver, and granddaughter of Josiah Lyon, a solditr 
 of the Revolution, and Mercy Andrews, his wife, 
 he is descended from William Lyon, of Kcx- 
 bury, John Plastings, of Braintree, Richard Humph- 
 rey, of Cambridge, ^lass., as well as from William 
 Andrews, John Kirby, \\'illiam Comstock, John 
 Stebbins, and many other early Connecticut settlers. 
 
 Mr. Parker is a member of the college fra- 
 ternity, Phi Beta Kappa, of the Sons of the Revo- 
 lution, of the Hartford Public Library Association, 
 and of the Hartford County Bar Association. 
 Among the large number of cases in which he has 
 been engaged, perhaps the one of most public in- 
 terest was that of Henry L. Goodwin against the 
 town of East Hartford, in which Mr. Goodwin 
 sought an injunction to prevent the treasurer of that 
 town paying an order of $5,000, which had been 
 illegally drawn, in payment for services in lobby- 
 ing a ijill through the Legislature imposing upon 
 the State of Connecticut the expense of maintaining 
 a free bridge across the Connecticut river, the ex- 
 pense previously having been borne by a number of 
 towns. Mr. Parker was retained by Mr. Goodwin, 
 and was successful in the superior and supreme 
 courts, but later an attempt was made to procure 
 the passage of an act through the Legislature au- 
 thorizing the town of East Hartford to pay the 
 order, and Mr. Parker appearing before that body, 
 conducted the case to a successful issue. 
 
 Mr. Parker was married, Dec. 9, 1891, to ^Irs. 
 Adelaide (Leeds) Fowler, of New London; they 
 have no children. 
 
 F. WILLSOX ROGERS, Hartford, State Man- 
 ager of the Massachusetts Mutual Insurance Com- 
 panv, of Springfield, Mass., is a native of Connec- 
 tictit, born Dec. 11, 1851, in the city of Hartford. 
 
 William Rogers, his father, was born in Hart- 
 ford, May 13, 1801, a son of Asa, who was born in 
 New Salem, Conn., in 1756, and came to Hartford 
 about 1801, following famiing there. He married 
 
248 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Hannah Harris, and had a family of eight children, 
 all now deceased. William was reared on the home 
 farm, and when old enough commenced to learn the 
 trade of a jeweler, afterward carrying on that line 
 cf business in partnership with Joseph Church, the 
 firm being organized in 1825, and their store located 
 on Ferry street, Hartford. At the end of ten years 
 the copartnership was dissolved, Mr. Rogers remov- 
 ing to No. 6 State and continuing the business until 
 1862, in which year he sold out to his son, William 
 Rogers, Jr. 
 
 While in business on State street he experi- 
 mented in silver plating, and he was the first to put 
 the process of electroplating into practical and com- 
 mercial use. Through his individual skill and abil- 
 ity the art was perfected. In fact, he was the first 
 to manufacture plated ware in this country, and the 
 first to apply for a patent on sectional plate. He 
 carried on the silver-plating industry alone until 
 1847, ill which year was organized the celebrated 
 firm of Roger Bros., which still enjoys a world- 
 wide reputation. In course of time they occupied 
 the old jail building as a factory, on Pearl street, 
 later building where now stands the factory of the 
 Jewel Belting Co. Here they continued up to 1862, 
 at which time they closed out, and made a contract 
 with the Meriden Brittania Co., to manufacture 
 their goods under a royalty, William Rogers filling 
 the position of superintendent of that department 
 to his death, which occurred in 1873, when he was 
 aged seventy-three years. This factory employs a 
 force of 1,000 men. 
 
 In 1828 William Rogers was married to Parthe- 
 nia Tyler, who died Jan. 3, 1831, without issue. On 
 Dec. 7, 1831, he was married to Nancy Wilson, who 
 was born at Golden Bridge, N. Y., a daughter of 
 Nehemiah Wilson. To this union were born eight 
 children, seven of whom are living : Ellen F., wife 
 of John H. Brace, of Syracuse, N. Y. ; Lucy W., 
 widow of the late Dennis Sage, of East Milton, 
 Mass. ; Mary E., wife of James S. Belden, of Hart- 
 ford, Conn. ; Sarah A., married to Joseph A. Wool- 
 ley, of Hartford, Conn. ; Georgina C, wife of Isaac 
 H. Coe, of Hartford; Isabella J., wife of Stephen 
 Raymond, of Rochester, N. Y. ; and F. Willson, 
 mentioned below. The mother of these died in 
 1876, at the age of sixty-five years. The parents 
 were both members of the M. E. Church, and for 
 many years the father was superintendent of the 
 Sunday-school of that denomination in Hartford. 
 
 F. Willson Rogers, who is now the only male 
 representative of the old-time house of Rogers Bros., 
 received his education at the common and high 
 schools of Hartford, after which he served an ap- 
 prenticeship to the trade of jeweler with Ira H. 
 Town, at Montpelier, A't., at the end of four years 
 returnng to Hartford. Here for two and one-half 
 years he was in the employ of C. H. Case, jeweler, 
 then embarking in the silverware business, being sec- 
 retary and director of the William Rogers Manufac- 
 turing Co. for twelve years. Mr. Rogers then en- 
 
 tered the insurance business as solicitor, working 
 his way up to the position of general manager of 
 Connecticut, for the Massachusetts Mutual Insur- 
 an.ce Co., of Springfield, Alass., having charge of all 
 agents in that State. 
 
 On Dec. 31, 1879, F. Willson Rogers was united 
 in marriage with Lizzie E. Haff, who was born in 
 New London, Conn., a daughter of the late Joel 
 Hafif, a well-knov/n hatter of Hartford, where he died 
 in 1886, at the age of sixty-eight years. Mr. Haff 
 married Elizabeth Marble, of East Hartford, and 
 they had two children, Lizzie E. (Mrs. F. W. 
 Rogers) ; and Joel P., also a resident of Hartford. 
 The mother died in 1880 at the age of fifty-eight 
 }^ears. To Mr. and Mrs. Rogers have been born 
 four children, Erie, Harold, William I., and Grace I. 
 
 In politics Mr. Rogers is a Repubhcan; socially 
 he is a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 4, F. & 
 A. M., of Hartford, in which he has held all the 
 offices, being now past master ; also a member of the 
 Masonic Club, and is a member of the Royal Ar- 
 canum, having been secretary of that society some 
 four and one-half years. At one time he was a di- 
 rector in the Rogers Manufacturing Co. The fam- 
 ily attend the services of the Baptist Church. Taken 
 ail in all, Mr. Rogers is one of the busiest men in 
 Hartford, and one of the most highly respected cit- 
 izens of the county, a worthy son of a worthy 
 father. 
 
 HON. ELISHA NILES WELCH, late of For- 
 estville, in the town of Bristol, in which he passed 
 sixty years of a most active, useful and successful 
 business life, was one of the foremost manufactur- 
 ers in New England. 
 
 Mr. Welch was born Feb. 7, 1809, in East Hamp- 
 ton Society or Parish, of the town of Chatham, 
 Conn., son of sturdy New England people who 
 reared a number of children to become useful men 
 and women, several of the sons becoming eminent 
 business men, whose careers reflected great credit 
 to the name they bore. One of these, the late Hon. 
 Harmanus M. Welch, was one of New Haven's fore- 
 most citizens and business men, a man of great 
 force of character, who achieved honor and amassed 
 over a million dollars. 
 
 During our subject's boyhood his father's fam- 
 ily removed to Bristol, where the father became en- 
 gaged in the foundry business, and with him young 
 Elisha worked until reaching his majority. This 
 happened on a Sabbath, and the following Monday 
 his career as a business man on his own account 
 began, as an associate with his father. The output 
 of the foundry was chiefly clock weights, and not 
 very extensive either, the business laeing hardly 
 large enougdi to entitle it to the term. Their facili- 
 ties were exceedingly limited. The blast for their 
 cupola was produced b}^ an ordinary blacksmith's 
 bellows, v/orked by hand, and the cupola itself is 
 still humorously spoken of by the old residents of 
 Bristol as a "porridge pot." The weights were sold 
 
£7fa.iif£^ G^a^Z/utms c - 
 
 &: . / :' 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 249 
 
 1o clockmakers, and payment takun in finished 
 clocks, wliich were disposed of to snch cnstomers 
 as tlicv coukl find, some of them being; carried to 
 Philadelphia by the junior member of the firm. ( )ld 
 iron was not infrequently taken in exchange. Such 
 was the beginning of the boy, Elislia N. Welch, 
 seventy years ago. Starting in this humble way, but 
 imbued with a laudable ambition for a successful 
 business career, the young man applied himself, and 
 .as the years came and went the business grew, other 
 branches being added to it, until he was on the high- 
 way to success and fame, reaching that goal which 
 so many strive for but fall short of. 
 
 As the years sped on changes came, the father 
 dropped out and others came in. For many years, as 
 a partner in the foundry and machine business, our 
 subject had associated with him the late Harvey 
 Gray, and as a firm these gentlemen did much work 
 for the Bristol Copper IVlining Co. ]\Ir. Welch 
 Avithdrew from the business about 1856, Mr. Gray 
 •continuing to carry it on until he was burned out, 
 a year or two later. As a result of the panic of 
 1857 the clock business of J- C. Brown, at Forest- 
 ville, came into the hands of ]\Ir. ^^'elch, who had 
 previously, in 1854, bought the home of Elisha Man- 
 ross, and earlier than that his factory, also. He now 
 became a resident of that village, and organized the 
 E. N. Welch Manufacturing Co., of which he him- 
 self was made president. Under his leadership the 
 business was pushed vigorously, and the company 
 went on, with a constantly increasing volume of 
 business, without any material changes except in 
 connection with the firm of Welch, Spring & Co., 
 until 1881, when a brick factoty building was erected 
 on the opposite side of the street from the old 
 Brown shops, 40x110 feet, and two stories high, 
 which is known as the brick "movement shop." 
 It is occupied in the manufacture of the finer grades 
 of movements which the company produces, both 
 marine and pendulum. The entire plant of the 
 company now includes five separate factories, at the 
 village of Forestville. This company has had a most 
 successful career, and is to-day one of the largest 
 clock concerns in the country. Mr. Welch remained 
 its president until his death. 
 
 Mr. Welch also founded, in 1850, the Bristol 
 Brass & Clock Co., which, too, has been a great 
 financial success. Of this company he became presi- 
 dent in 185 1, and so remained until his death. In 
 1857 the company purchased its silver department, 
 succeeding the Holmes S: Tuttle Manufacturing- 
 Co., and in 1868 its lamp department, succeeding 
 George W. Brown .& Co. The branches of the 
 company's business are : A rolling-mill for the man- 
 ufacture of sheet brass, located between Bristol & 
 Forestville: a lamp burner factory at Forestville; 
 and a spoon and fork factory at Bristol. 
 
 ]Mr. -Welch was also the principal stockholder in 
 the Bristol ^Manufacturing Co., which was one of 
 ■the oldest establishments in Biristol, organized in 
 1837, for the manufacture of satinet. Later the 
 
 company was reorganized, and its attention given 
 to making knit underwear, in whicli it has ever 
 since been successfully engaged. Of this concern 
 Mr. \\'elch was president at the time of iiis death, 
 and for many years before. Besides being jiresident 
 and the leading spirit in these three large institu- 
 tions Mr. Welch was a large stockliokler in manu- 
 facturing establishments in Waterbury, Xew 
 Britain, Plainville and other places. He was also 
 one of the five stockholders of the First National 
 Bank in Xew Haven, of which his brother, Hon. 
 FI. M. ^^"elch, was president, each of the five stock- 
 holders putting in $50,000 at the organization of the 
 bank. Mr. Welch was also a director in the Bristol 
 National Bank, and in the Travelers and National 
 Insurance Cos. of Flartford. He held stock in Mon- 
 tana mines. His financial success was very great, 
 his estate at the time of his death being estimated 
 at three millions of dollars. 
 
 Mr. Welch was a man of great industry and 
 business sagacity. His was a steadfast course. He 
 chose his life work, and the principles that were 
 to guide it. then adhered to them with undeviating 
 tenacity. The same was true of his religious life. 
 While vet a young man he made up his mind that 
 he must live in relations of filial oI)edience toward 
 God, and this was the beginning of his religious 
 experience. He took his position fairly, openly, and 
 before men, casting his lot with the people of God, 
 and never swerved from his position. It was this 
 fixedness of purpose in a chosen course that as much 
 as anything contributed to his great success. He 
 had almost superhuman energy, with which he mas- 
 tered the vast details of an extensive business, keep- 
 ing all well in hand, in spite of disease and the in- 
 firmities of age, up to the very morning of the day 
 on which he died. 
 
 The heights by great men won and kept 
 Were not attained by sudden flight; 
 
 But they while their companions slept 
 Were toiling upward in the night. 
 
 Steadv work has in it an element of self-denial; 
 that sturdy virtue that puts aside to learn that it may 
 grasp the greater good; that says No! to the crav- 
 ings of appetite and the pleadings of ease and in- 
 dulgence, that it may carry out the higher behests of 
 the soul. 
 
 Mr. Welch reared monuments to his life work 
 in and about the town of his adoption, raised the 
 town to a high rank, doubled it in value of its pro- 
 ductive industries by the impetus given to its half- 
 score of industries, and made possible the score of 
 comfortable homes surrounding them. The hand 
 that so wrought was no feeble hand. During the 
 sixty years of his active, busy aud useful life in 
 Bris'toi j\Ir. Welch made his forceful character fe'.t, 
 and left his impress upon the community. 
 
 J\Ir. Welch's religious affiliations were with the 
 Baptist Church at Biristol, of which church he was 
 a liberal supporter, aiding greatly in the building of 
 the new church edifice. Politically he was a Demo- 
 
250 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 crat, and he took an active interest in political and 
 public affairs. He represented the town in the 
 Legislature in 1863, and again in 1881, and in 1883 
 and 1884 was in the Senate from the Fourth Dis- 
 trict. 
 
 In 1829 Mr. Welch was married to Miss Jane 
 Bulkley, of Bristol. She died in 1873, and he was 
 later married to Mrs. Sophia F. Knowles, of Canan- 
 daigua, N. Y. His children were : Mrs. Frederick 
 Stanley, of New Britain, now deceased ; Drusilla, 
 who married George H. Mitchell, of Bristol ; Helen 
 M., who married Andrew F. Atkins, of Bristol ; and 
 James H. Welch, born in 1840, who succeeded his 
 father to the presidency of the E. N. Welch Manu- 
 facturing Co., and has since sustained such rela- 
 tions to the company, and is also president of the 
 Bristol Brass & Clock Co. Elisha N. Welch died at 
 his home in Forestville in August, 1887. 
 
 ANDREW FULLER ATKINS, whose death 
 occurred May 9, 1893, at his Hartford home, was 
 for many years one of Bristol's foremost citizens and 
 business men, a man, too, that was beloved by a wide 
 acquaintance, and whose loss seemed an irreparable 
 one to the community in which he had been so uni- 
 versally esteemed and respected. 
 
 From the inscriptions on the family monument 
 in West cemetery, Bristol, it is learned that Rev. 
 Irenus Atkins was born Nov. 15, 1792, and died 
 April 19, 1882; and that Eunice Beckwith, his wife, 
 was born Feb. 20, 1791, and died Feb. 25, 1877. 
 These were the parents of our subject. While Rev. 
 Mr. Atkins was a regularly ordained minister, and 
 served as the regular pastor for a period of the 
 Baptist Church in Southington, Conn., and preached 
 more or less through life, he was a business man and 
 manufacturer of Bristol for many j'ears, a man, too, 
 of considerable force of character, and a useful citi- 
 zen, and both he and his wife were hig-hly respected 
 members of society. The manufacturing company 
 of which Rev. Mr. Atkins was a member kept a gen- 
 eral store in Bristol, and he was in charge of it. 
 
 Andrew F. Atkins was born Oct. 28, 1828, in 
 the town of Bristol, where, and at Southington, his 
 boyhood was passe'd. He attended the common 
 schools of those towns, and for a period the Con- 
 necticut Literary Institute, at Suffield. After leav- 
 ing school he went into the store with his father, 
 in Bristol, and soon showed a fondness for business 
 and developed an ability that became more marked 
 as opportunities enlarged. From the very start, 
 such was his engaging manner and courtesy, he won 
 the esteem and friendship of all with whom he had 
 to deal. In 185 1 Mr. Atkins left the business of 
 his father to enter upon the duties of secretary and 
 treasurer of the Bristol Brass & Clock Co., an office 
 to which he had been chosen Dec. 27, of that year, 
 and one which he filled with marked ability and 
 great acceptance tmtil his death — a period of forty 
 and more years ; on the death of E. N. Welch, in 
 1887, he succeeded to the presidency, and continued 
 
 therein up to the time of his death. Their works- 
 were, perhaps, the most extensive in this section. 
 The branches of the business were a rolling mill for 
 the manufacture of sheet brass, located between 
 Bristol and Forestville; a lamp burner factory at 
 Forestville ; and a spoon and fork factory at Bristol. 
 The management of these three large branches of 
 business involved no small amount of labor on the 
 part of Mr. Atkins. The concern prospered under 
 his administration. Mr. Atkins on the death of E. 
 N. Welch was trustee of that gentleman's large es- 
 tate. Mr. Atkins possessed excellent abilitv and 
 sound judgment, and his foresight and enterprise 
 were often displayed in his busmess career. Person- 
 ally he was a genial, whole-souled fellow, a man 
 whom everybody liked and respected. The poorest 
 shophand in his employ was certain that he had a 
 friend in the president of the company, who had the 
 happy faculty of putting everybody about him and 
 the works at ease. He was a man, too, of decided 
 views, yet tolerant and kindly in his judgment of 
 others. He had no taste for public life, never seeking 
 office or notoriety, or distinction of any kind. He was 
 both enterprising and public-spirited, and ever mani- 
 fested a deep interest in the welfare of Bristol. 
 "Brightwood," his delightful summer home in Bris- 
 tol, stands as a monument to liis taste and public 
 spirit. He also had a residence in Hartford, where 
 he made his winter home. 
 
 Mr. Atkin's religious affiliations were with the 
 Baptist Church of Bristol, of which he had been 
 an influential member since 1850. He was a true 
 man, manly in the whole tone and fibre of his 
 character, one whose integrity, honesty, charity and 
 patience were great. He was manly in his bearing, 
 in his deportment, and in the sentiments which he 
 cherished. His character and life were such as to 
 bear the closest inspection. 
 
 On May 6, 1849, Mr. Atkins was married to 
 Helen M. Welch, daughter of the late Hon. Elisha 
 N. Welch, of Bristol, who, with one daughter, sur- 
 vives him. 
 
 MAJOR WILLIAM J. WOOD (deceased) in 
 his day was one of the most progressive citizens of 
 Hartford, of which city he was a resident from 
 1873 until his death, Oct. 25, 1885. A native of 
 New Jersey, born March 28, 1836, in Rockaway, 
 Morris county, he was a son of Freeman and i\Iary 
 Burwell (Jackson) Wood, the former of whom was 
 a prominent iron manufacturer of Rockaway. 
 
 Mr. Wood received a preparatory education at 
 Flushing, Long Island, and was graduated from 
 Princeton College in 1856. He then took up the 
 study of law, was admitted to the Bar, June 9, 
 1859, and practiced in New Jersey, until 1862, in 
 which year he served in the State Legislature. In 
 1863 Mr. Wood enlisted in the Union army, serving 
 in various capacities throughout the war, with 
 marked ability, both on Gen. Gilmore's staff and 
 as disbursing officer at Hilton Head, South Caro- 
 
AHDREW F. ATKIHS 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 251 
 
 lina. He was subsequently stationed at Hartford 
 and Boston for the payment of discharj^cd New 
 England volunteers. At the close of the struggle, 
 in 1865, he entered the iron business in Troy, 
 N. Y., in connection with Corning, Winslow & 
 Co., and two years later was appointed vice-presi- 
 dent and manager of the Collins Company at Col- 
 linsville. Conn. While with the firm in Troy he, 
 in company with Alexander Hollcy and others, was 
 instrumental in introducing the Bessenier steel rails 
 for railro'ad use. In 1884, bn the death of E. B. 
 Watkinson, Mr. Wood was made president of the 
 Collins' Company, and continued in that position 
 until his death. Before closing his business record 
 it should be mentioned here that at one time he was 
 cashier of the Iron Bank of Rockaway, N. J., and 
 in 1859 served as clerk of that town. 
 
 In 1873 Mr. Wood moved to Hartford, and 
 passed the rest of his life there, at his home No. 
 675 Asylum avenue. He filled many offices of 
 trust in the city, among them being those of presi- 
 dent of the Connecticut Trust & Safe Deposit Co. ; 
 director of the National Exchange Bank; of the 
 Connecticut Fire Insurance Co. ; of the American 
 School for the Deaf, and vice- president of the Hart- 
 ford Library Asociation. In addition to his varied 
 engagements he yet found time to aid in the re- 
 ligious and social development of the community, 
 was a member of Asylum Hill Congregational 
 Church, and by his kindness of heart, and ofttimes 
 opportune advice, exerted a great influence over the 
 young men with whom he came in contact. His 
 fidelity to all the trusts imposed upon him, together 
 with hard work and indefatigable zeal in everything 
 he undertook, no doubt hastened the illness which 
 cut off in the prime of life a man of sterling prin- 
 ciple, and highly respected by all. In politics he took 
 great interest, and was a close frieud of Gen. Haw- 
 ley. In art, and in the development of the iron 
 and steel industry, he was deeply interested, and 
 one of the best metallurgists in this section, often 
 being quoted as an authority, and was about to 
 publish a work on the subject at the time of his 
 death. 
 
 In 1866, Mr. Wood married Frances P. Howe, 
 daughter of Edmund G. Howe, for many years a 
 prominent resident of Hartford, and at one time 
 president of the National Exchange Bank. Major 
 Wood's wife and one daughter survive him. 
 
 SYLVESTER WOODHOUSE (deceased), 
 who during life was one of the best known citizens 
 of Wethersfield and a prominent business man, was 
 born on the old Woodhouse homestead in that town, 
 and baptized in the Congregational Church March 
 23, 1794. His parents were Samuel and Abigail 
 (Goodrich) Woodhouse. [Further mention of the 
 family is given in the sketch of Samuel Woodhouse, 
 elsewhere.] 
 
 In his native town Sylvester Woodhouse grew 
 to manhood, and in early life aided his father in the 
 
 o])cralion of ilie home farm. He was a self-edu- 
 cated man, one who through his own eft'orts ob- 
 tained a good practical knowledge of men and 
 affairs. He became extensively interested in the 
 produce business, shijjping and carrying produce 
 to New York and other markets, and in that under- 
 taking was emincntl)- successful. Endowed by 
 nature with a sound judgment and an accurate dis- 
 criminating mind, he feared not that laborious atten- 
 tion to the details of business so necessary to achieve 
 success, and .this essential quality was ever guided 
 by a sense of moral right which would tolerate the 
 employment only of those means that would bear 
 the most rigid examination, by a fairness of inten- 
 tion that neither sought nor required disguise. Jn 
 daily life and action he was ever genial and affable, 
 and made many warm friends. Politically he was a 
 Whig. He died in Wethersfield, Aug. 27, 1838, 
 and there his remains were interred. 
 
 On Jan. 31, 1819. Mr. Woodhouse was united in 
 marriage with Miss Sarah Harris, who was born D(.c. 
 ^Si 1797, and died in Wethersfield in November, 
 
 1828. Five children were born of this union: (i) 
 Charlotte was married, Dec. 24, 1845, to Winthrop 
 Buck, of Wethersfield, and died Jan. 15, 1896. (2) 
 Sarah Harris lives on the old homestead in Wethers- 
 field. (3) Celia M. married (first) a Mr. Watson, 
 and (second) a Mr. English. (4) Delia resides with 
 her sister on the old homestead. (5) Jane is the wife 
 of Z. B. Brockway, of Elmira, New York. 
 
 The Harris family was founded in Wethersfield 
 by Thomas Harris, who, it is believed, sailed from 
 New London, Conn., with his brother, John, and 
 landed at Middletown, where they traded their boat 
 for land in Wethersfield. They located on what is 
 now known as Harris Hill. Thomas was married 
 Dec. 28, 1729, to Ann Nott, who was born July 29, 
 1699, a daughter of John and Patience (Miller) 
 Nott. Their son, Thomas Harris, was born in 
 Wethersfield May 7, 1742, and there engaged in 
 farming throughout his active business life. He 
 died Dec. 27, 1774, and was buried in Wethersfield 
 cemetery. On July 26, 1770, he married Abigail 
 Robbins, who was born April 29, 1749, a daughter 
 of Joshua and Mary (Welles) Robbins. She was 
 again married, March 25, 1778, her second husband 
 being Dr. Josiah Hart, who was graduated from 
 Yale College in 1762, and was a surgeon in the Rev- 
 olutionary war. She died Aug. 8, 1796, and the 
 Doctor afterward removed to Marietta, Ohio, where 
 he died in August, 1812. Thomas Harris, a son of 
 Thomas and Abigail (Robbins) Harris, was born 
 Feb. 8, 1 77 1, and throughout life engaged in agri- 
 cultural pursuits upon the home farm, where he 
 died Feb. 2, 1829. He was one of the prominent 
 citizens of the community in which he lived, and was 
 highly respected by all who knew him. On Feb. 
 8, 1797, he was married in Wethersfield to Sarah 
 Crane, a daughter of Hezekiah and Mary (Dix) 
 Crane. She was born May 7, 1772, and died Feb. 7, 
 
 1829, her remains being interred with her husband's 
 
252 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in the old cemetery of Wethersfield. Their daugh- 
 ter Sarah, born Dec. 25, 1797, was married Jan. 21, 
 1819, to Sylvester Woodhciise, our subject, as al- 
 ready related. 
 
 RUFUS RISING (deceased) was for many 
 years a leading agriculturist of West Suffield, Hart- 
 ford county, and by his high character and upright 
 life won the lasting esteem of all who knew him. 
 
 Mr. Rising was born Sept. 11, 1797, in that lo- 
 cality, and belonged to one of the honored pioneer 
 families of the town, being a lineal descendant of 
 James Rising", a native of London, England, born 
 about 1617, who came to America at the age of 
 eighteen, locating in 1635 in Massachusetts. In 
 1646 this worthy pioneer was enrolled as a student 
 in Harvard College, and after his marriage, in 1657, 
 to Elizabeth Hinsdale, of Medfield, Mass., a daughter 
 of Robert Hinsdale, he made a trip to the Bermuda 
 Islands. After a brief stay he returned to Massa- 
 chusetts and settled at Salem, in 1668 coming to 
 Windsor, this county, and in 1679 making his per- 
 manent home upon a farm in Suffield, where he died 
 in 1688. His first wife died in Windsor in 1669, 
 and in 1673 he married INIartha Bartlett, a widow, 
 who died in 1674. He had two sons, John and 
 James, the latter dying unmarried. 
 
 John Rising resided upon a farm on High street, 
 Suffield, was a prominent citizen in his day, and died 
 Dec. II, 1720. By his two marriages he became the 
 father of eighteen children, his descendants being 
 now numerous in Sufiield. 
 
 Samuel Rising, the father of our subject, was a 
 native of West Suiifield, and became a prosperous 
 farmer there. As a citizen he was highly respected, 
 and for many years he and his estimable wife, Sarah 
 King, were active members of the Baptist Church 
 at Zion's Hill, their remains being now at rest in the 
 cemetery adjoining that church. They had eight 
 children: King, Aretus, Rufus, Lester, Henry, Em- 
 aline (who married David Phelon), Alvin and 
 David. 
 
 Our subject received a district-school education 
 in his youth, and was reared to farm life, much of 
 his time in boyhood being spent at the home of 
 Jonathan Pomeroy, of Suffield. As a 3roung man 
 he took charge of his father's old homestead, a fine 
 farm of ninety acres, which he operated until his 
 death. He was successful in his management, being 
 industrious and thrifty, and acquired a comfortable 
 competence. While he at no time sought political 
 prominence, he took an intelligent interest in the 
 ■questions of the time, first as a Whig and later as a 
 Republican. In religious belief he was broad- 
 minded and liberal, and in his daily life he showed 
 moderation and self-control, being strictly temper- 
 ate from boyhood. His death occurred April 6, 
 1876, at the homestead, and was regarded as a loss 
 throughout the community. He married Miss Se- 
 lucia Phelon, daughter of Isaac Phelon, and she sur- 
 vived him but a few years, dying in 1884, both 
 
 being buried in West Suffield. Mrs. Rising was a 
 devout member of the Baptist Church, and the mem- 
 ory of her useful life and Christian influence will 
 long be cherished. Their only child. Miss Lucia 
 Al. Rising, still resides at the homestead, and her 
 culture and refinement make her a favorite in a 
 select social circle. Her kindliness of heart is man- 
 ifested in her wide, though unostentatious, char- 
 ities, her abundant means enabling her to follow 
 her generous impulses when a case of need comes 
 to her notice. 
 
 NOAH POMEROY (deceased) was born in 
 Somers, Conn., Dec. 20, 1819, and died in San 
 Francisco, Cal., June 9, 1896, but "To live in hearts 
 we leave behind is not to die," and such a man was 
 Noah Pomeroy, whose well-spent life and manly 
 character of themselves erected to his memory a 
 monument of love perpetual. 
 
 Mr. Pomeroy descended from a line of ances- 
 try equal in every respect to that of any family in 
 New England, and was of the sixth generation from 
 Eltweed Pomeroy, who came from England to 
 America in 1630, under the auspices of Gov. Win- 
 throp, and landed at Nantucket, Mass., in March, 
 but soon removed to Dorchester, where he at once 
 took part in public affairs. On Oct. 22, 1633, when 
 the town government was established, he was se- 
 lected chairman of the board. In 1638, with his 
 family and many others from England, Eltweed 
 Pomeroy removed to Windsor, Conn., where he 
 owned two houses — one on the Palisade and one on 
 the Sandbank road. 
 
 Joseph Pomeroy, born 1652, the twelfth child of 
 Eltweed, and great-great-grandfather of .Noah, our 
 subject, was one of the eight original owners of 
 Colchester, Conn., under grant from the Crown. 
 He was a farmer, contractor and builder, and a 
 man of affairs generally. He married Hannah 
 Lyman, daug*hter of Richard Lyman, of Northamp- 
 ton, Massachusetts. 
 
 Noah Pomeroy, great-grandfather of our subject, 
 was the twelfth child, born to Joseph, had his first 
 residence in Coventry, Conn., and moved to Somers 
 in 1752, when he was fifty-two years old. He was 
 a farmer, and owned much land in the eastern part 
 of the town, most of which is still in the possession 
 of the Pomeroy family. He married Elizabeth 
 Sterling, of Lyme, Conn., and the remains of both 
 lie interred in the old Center (or North) cemetery 
 at Somers. 
 
 John Pomeroy, grandfather of our subject, was 
 a farmer in Somers. 
 
 Hiram Pomeroy, father of our subject, was also 
 a farmer of Somers, a distiller, and a manufacturer 
 of barrels, and did a very large business, as is 
 shown by his voluminous account books. He owned 
 the first pleasure carriage in Somers, and was re- 
 garded as a man of substance and of excellent 
 judgment, but of few words. 
 
 Noah Pomeroy, the subject proper of this 
 
f/X^ /^:><^^^^u?^^^--^>'-z^j 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 258 
 
 lueiiioir, was the twelfth in a family of thirteen 
 chiklren — seven suns and six daughters — Itwelve 
 of whom reached years of maturity, lie located in 
 Bristol, Conn., early in the 'forties, and for a while 
 worked for his brother, Chauncey Pomeroy, in 
 Forestville, and afterward in different shops in 
 Bristol. In 1849 he purchased the Chauncey Ives 
 property, in Bristol, commenced business for him- 
 self, and conicinued therein until Nov. 20, 1878, 
 when he sold out to Jri. C. Thompson, and in 1889 
 disposed • of all his Bristol property to the same 
 gentleman. He had already purchased a residence 
 in the city of Hartford, in 1865, and made his home 
 there that year. In 1844 he married Jane Parker, 
 who survives him, and they had a happy married 
 life of fifty-two years. 
 
 Levi Parker, Airs. Pomeroy"s father, was a na- 
 tive of the town of Wolcott, New Haven county, 
 and spent his entire life in that county and Hartford, 
 being a merchant by occupation. He died about 
 1836, at the age of about forty years. jNIr. Parker 
 married Miss Polly Peck, a native of the town of 
 Burlington, Plartford county, and she survived him 
 many years, dying in 1894, at the home of her 
 daughter, in Hartford, aged ninety years. They 
 had but two children: Jane (Mrs. Pomeroy), and 
 George H. The father was a Freemason. George 
 H. Parker became a manufacturer, and for a few 
 years was a partner of Noah Pomero}- in the manu- 
 facture of clocks in Bristol. But after a few years 
 he retired, and later moved to California, where he 
 died in 1894, a man of wealth. His death was the 
 result of an injury. 
 
 I\Ir. Pomeroy's home was his refuge and his 
 haven of rest. He did not care to leave it for 
 public duties or for the applause of his fellow citi- 
 zens, but was well infonned on all public affairs, 
 and performed the duties of citizenship with the 
 conscientious feeling which pervaded all his actions. 
 His name was a s}'nonym of honest}-, well known to 
 all men w-ith whom he had dealings. He regarded 
 his word as sacred as his bond, and, with the same 
 exaction that he demanded that which was his, he 
 freely accorded what belonged to others. His kind- 
 ness toward his employes was most marked, and the 
 tributes of those who were associated with him 
 as fellow laborers and employes through many years 
 are freely given. He valued his good name and 
 that of his wife, and, rather to defend this than to 
 obtain iinancial results from a lawsuit into which he 
 was cruelly drawn, he conscientiously crossed the 
 continent to remove the wicked aspersions thrown 
 against him. 
 
 Mr. Pomeroy was a generous giver, which fact 
 was known only to those who were the recipients 
 of his many favors, excepting through other sources 
 than himself. His name never headed subscrip- 
 tion lists, nor was it quoted among those who were 
 public givers. In his giving it could be well saia 
 that "his right hand knew not what his left hand 
 
 did."' No impecunious and worthy relative who 
 needed his aid, or faithful employe, or meriting ser- 
 vant, or deserving friend, or suffering unfortunate 
 one, appealed to him in vain, and many were his 
 benefactions to those of which the world at large 
 knew not. His domestic life was the highest type 
 of marital relation. After a half century of assu- 
 ciatiun with his faithful wife his interest in her 
 health and happiness was most manfest on every oc- 
 casion, and the little courtesies of life, so frequently 
 overlooked in the advanced years of manhood, were 
 as ever present in him as in the lover. His love 
 was fully reciprocated by his devoted helpmate, 
 whose ministrations to his comfort knew no lagging, 
 and her watchfulness of his health, enfeebled 
 through many years, ceased only when human hands 
 could do no more. He bore his ill health uncom- 
 plainingly, and died as he lived, a quiet and peace- 
 ful man, and his life drifted out as the candle sinks 
 dimly and slowly in the socket. 
 
 A strange Providence took Mr. Pomeroy far 
 from home, to die amid strangers, and even amung 
 them, during his brief sickness, his gentle and un- 
 complaining ways attracted friends to him. His 
 remains, borne back across the continent to the hpme 
 of his boyhood, manhood and old age, were placid 
 at rest in the beautiful city of the dead at Hartford, 
 covered with flowers of aff'ection, contributed by 
 kind friends and neighbors and those who knew 
 him best, and in a quiet and simple manner, con- 
 genial to his tastes. 
 
 In politics Noah Pomeroy was a strong Repub- 
 lican, and much interested in the success of his party. 
 Educational matters absorbed much of his atten- 
 tion, particularly the educating of the colored people 
 of the South. He was an unusually thoughtful 
 man, and, like his father, a "man of excellent judg- 
 ment and few words." It w-as a favorite saying 
 with him that one would never be sorry "for what 
 he had not said," and he measured the full force 
 and eft'ect of his every utterance. He was a great 
 lover of books, especially biographical and histor- 
 ical works, and an admirer of the artistic, which he 
 was capable of appreciating in all things. Thus 
 lived and died a devoted husband and exemplarv 
 citizen, and a man who made the world better for 
 having lived in it. 
 
 Since her husband's death Mrs. Pomeroy has 
 continued to make her home in Hartford. She is a 
 woman -remarkabl\- well preserved, both mentally 
 and physically, and manages all her own business 
 affairs with a skill and shrewdness not excelled by 
 a man. She is generous, hospitable and sociable, 
 and enjoys the highest esteem of her many friends. 
 
 HON. LEWIS G. ENO, Representative from 
 the Simsbury District in the Connecticut General 
 Assembly of 1899, is a member of one of the most 
 prominent families of the town, was born March 
 2T„ 1 85 1, and is a son of Chancey E. and Harriet 
 
254 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (Goodwin) Eno, of whom a biography is given else- 
 where. ]SIatemally he traces his descent direct from 
 ■Ozias Goodwin, one of the first settlers of Hartford, 
 Conn., the line being as follows : 
 
 Ozias Goodwin was born in England in 1596, 
 and married Mary Woodward. William, son of 
 Ozias, was also born in England, the date being 
 1629. Nathaniel, son of William, came to America 
 with his parents in the ship "Susanna;" he 
 marred Mehitable Porter Stephen, son of Na- 
 thaniel, was born in 1701, and married June 
 27, 1727, Sarah Gillett. Joseph, son of Ste- 
 phen, was born Dec. 28, 1736, and married Rosanna 
 Gillett. James, son of Joseph, was born Jan. 25, 
 1777, and married Candace Bird, who was born in 
 Simsbury, Conn, June 26, 1783, and was a daugh- 
 ter of Dr. Jonathan and Amy (Humphrey) Bird, 
 tlie former of whom was a surgeon in the Revolu- 
 tionary army ; James Goodwin was a farmer in the 
 town of Simsbury, and in 1819 served in the State 
 Legislature; he died Oct. 17, 1828, his widow on 
 Majr 16, 1864. The children of James and Candace 
 Goodwin were as follows : Candace Fanny, born 
 Feb. 22, 1803, died March i, 1804; Fanny Rosanna, 
 born June 25, 1804, married a Mr. Kingsbury, a 
 I'resbyterian minister, who was stationed at Dan- 
 ville, 111., for a number of years ; Edward Bird, born 
 Oct. 2, 1811, married Flora Case; Helen May, born 
 July 6, 1815, died unmarried Aug. 13, 1842; Har- 
 riet, our subject's mother, was born Feb. 19, 1821; 
 and Sarah C, born Feb. 14, 1824, married Oct. 29, 
 1845, Salmon Chester Eno. 
 
 Lewis G. Eno was educated in the district schools 
 of his native town and of Winchester, also at Wil- 
 braham Academy and at the Connecticut Literary 
 Institute, at Suffield. He was reared to manhood 
 on his father's farm, attending school in the winter 
 seasons, and working hard in the summer time. 
 He has resided in Simsbury all his life. His mar- 
 riage took place in June, 1879, to Miss Anna Brad- 
 ley, a daughter of Justin and Caroline (Humphrey) 
 Bradley, and three children have been born to them, 
 the eldest of whom, Annette, died when five years 
 old, and Caroline and Harriet are still under the 
 parental roof. His wife and daughters are mem- 
 loers of the Congregational Church, Mrs. Eno be- 
 longing to the Home and Foreign Missionary So- 
 cieties. 
 
 For a number of years prior to 1898 Mr. Eno 
 had charge of the estate and country home of the 
 late millionaire, Amos R. Eno, at Simsbury, and 
 since that date has been superintendent of the farm- 
 ing interests attached to the estate of that gentleman, 
 proving a painstaking and competent steward. 
 
 In politics Mr. Eno has ever been a stanch Re- 
 publican, and he has worked hard for the triumph 
 of his party at the polls. The esteem in which he 
 is held was made manifest in the remarkable vote 
 by which he was elected, without solicitation on his 
 part, to the State Legislature, in which body he is 
 
 a member of the committee on Roads, Rivers and 
 Bridges. He is unostentatious, but an agreeable 
 companion, and has hosts of friends all over the 
 county. 
 
 JAMES CORBIN JACKSON, M. D., whose 
 death ocurred in 1882, had been for many years a 
 conspicuous character in the profession at Hartford. 
 He for a longer period, and, perhaps, with greater 
 zeal, had devoted himself to the renovation of the 
 State Medical Society than any of his contempora- 
 ries. 
 
 Dr. Jackson was born Aug. 22, 1818, at Cornish, 
 N. H., son of Elizuer and Lois (Corbin) Jackson. 
 An acquaintance in "Alen and Events" thus referred 
 to his life: 
 
 "He was a most enjoyable man, always in good 
 spirits, with an undercurrent of humor, quaintness 
 and brusqueness of speech which at once attracted 
 the attention of his listeners. Whoever came in 
 contact with him was put at ease by his cordial man- 
 ner and his readiness to engage in conversation upon 
 any subject, either of special or general interest. 
 Apparently he was never in a hurry, always ready 
 to stop on the street to talk with a friend, often at 
 the expense of punctuality, the risk of a late dinner, 
 and work to be continued well into the night. Dr. 
 Jackson came to this city soon after the formation 
 of our society, and after the fees had been raised 
 from seventy-five cents to a dollar a visit. This 
 act, although just on account of the increased ex- 
 pense of living, was unpopular, and many endeav- 
 ored to prevent newcomers from joining the soci- 
 ety and adopting its fees. But he, in accordance 
 with his usual good sense and judgment, cast his 
 lot with his fellows, who were endeavoring to ele- 
 vate the standard of the profession. We always 
 expected to see him at our society gatherings, and 
 he often took part in its literary exercises, and was 
 among the foremost in promoting its social side. 
 As a speaker, he was deliberate, his methods were 
 logical, and his conclusions forcible. In him we 
 had a good representative to the State Society. He 
 was treasurer from 1863 to 1876, having taken the 
 position when the accounts were in a most disorderly 
 state and the publications were of very little value. 
 The des.rability of the continuance of the society 
 was by some a question. Dr. Jackson recognized the 
 condition of affairs, and entered upon the task of 
 improving this state of things with all tl\e earn- 
 estness he possessed. He insisted upon the collec- 
 tion of taxes ; labored to obtain more papers to be 
 read at the annual meetings ; he inspired new in- 
 terest among its members, and by his efforts brought 
 a balance to the treasury, and helped to make the 
 publications worthy of the society. The most im- 
 portant paper which he published had for its sub- 
 ject, 'Logic Applied to Medical Science.' It was 
 prepared with great care, was full of thought and 
 suggestions. He urged that the reasoning faculties 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 255 
 
 shduld be used in all the departments of medicine, 
 and that sufficient data sliuuld be obtained before 
 the drawing of conclusions. 
 
 '"Dr. Jackson had a very large practice, and at 
 -one time did more obstetrical work than any other 
 physician in the city. It has been said that his 
 active interest in politics during the war caused dis- 
 satisfaction among some of his patients, which led 
 them to leave him. However that may be, he al- 
 way retained a good practice. Pleasant in his 
 manner's and intelligent in his work, he received the 
 patronage of the public which he merited. His 
 medical associates always found him ready to lend 
 a hand, and give good advice after a deliberate con- 
 sideration of the facts. He was one of the early and 
 earnest workers in the Hartford Hospital. He 
 was shrewd in detecting those who entered its walls 
 at public expense without sufficient reason, as many 
 did after the war for the sake of obtaining a home. 
 It is related of him that while making the rounds of 
 the wards one day he found a man who often came 
 in for the simplest ailment, and would stay as long- 
 as possible. This time his trouble was a cold in 
 the head. The Doctor thought he had little reason 
 for being there, and said to the interne, T would put 
 an all consummate big blister on his stomach.' Upon 
 making his visits upon a subsequent day he noticed 
 the man, and asked him how he was getting along. 
 'All right,' said the man, 'but this is the first time 
 that I ever heard of blistering the oelly for a cold 
 in the head.' 
 
 ■'Dr. Jackson was a public-spirited man, and 
 many important trusts were confided to him, in 
 which he served with fidelity and to the great satis- 
 faction of all interested. He was not a mere office 
 holder, but gave his time and best efforts to every 
 position which he accepted. He was useful all his 
 life, steadily and constantly occupied, trusted, re- 
 spected and honored by his fellow citizens." 
 
 On Dec. i8, 1878, Dr. Jackson wedded Helen 
 Lyman, daughter of Sylvester S. and Lucinda (Gay- 
 lord) Lyman, of Hartford. He died Feb. 7, 1882. 
 
 EDWARD O. ELMER, AI. D., a successful 
 physician of Hartford, was born July 2, 1867, in 
 West Hartford, and is a member of an old and 
 ■ highly esteemed family of that locality. 
 
 Oliver S. Elmer, the grandfather of our subject, 
 was born in 1800, in West Hartford, and followed 
 fai"ming for many years, his death occurring there 
 in 1883. He married Mary Ann Welles, of West 
 Hartford, Connecticut. 
 
 Hiram Welles Elmer, father of our subject, was 
 torn in West Hartford in 1S35, and after receiving 
 a common-school education engaged in farming, 
 which he has continued in connection with other 
 interests. For twenty-six years he was employed 
 in the freight department of the New York & New 
 England railroad ; for five years by the New York, 
 New Haven & Hartford railroad ; and at present is 
 •with the Hartford Rubber Works Co. His patriot- 
 
 ism was shown by three years of service in the Civil 
 war, and he is a leading member of Robert O. Tyler 
 J'ost, i\o. 6, G. A. K., of Flartford. In April, 
 1858, he was married in West Hartford to Miss 
 Cynthia Elizabeth Tuttle, daughter of Elam Tuttlc, 
 and their home is at No. 61 brands avenue, Hart- 
 ford. They have had ten children : Herbert Tut- 
 tle, now employed in the New York & New Haven 
 freight office; George IL, who died at the age of 
 fourteen years ; Edward Oliver and Ella Mary, 
 twins, the latter of whom married Charles W. Elli- 
 son, of Bridgeport, Conn. ; Joseph O., a contractor 
 with Landers, Frary & Clark, of New Britain; Will- 
 iam Henry, who died at the age of seven years; 
 Alfred G., now employed by the Hartford Rubber 
 Works Co. ; Jennie G., a kindergarten teacher in 
 Hartford ; Emma B., at present studying music in 
 New York City ; and Walter F., with the Lion Fire 
 Insurance Co. 
 
 Dr. Edward O. Elmer received a common-school 
 education in Hartford, and is a graduate of the old 
 South school. When fifteen years old he was em- 
 ployed by Mr. Stoughton, a druggist of Parksville. 
 with whom he remained nine years, and during that 
 time he began the study of medicine. In 1894 he 
 was graduated from the College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons, in Baltimore, Md., and for four months 
 he was in practice in Bridgeport, with an office on 
 East Main street, but he now resides in Hartford, 
 at No. 805 Park street, and has a large general 
 practice in Parkville and Elmwood. He is a member 
 of the City, County and State Medical Societies, 
 and of the American Medical Association, and is 
 also identified with the N. E. O. P. and the Pilgrim 
 Fathers. Dr. Elmer was married in Hartford to 
 Miss Carrie Louise Rowley, daughter of \\'illiam 
 Rowley, a well-known resident of that city. 
 
 JOHN F. DO^^'LING, }>I. D. This well-known 
 ph}sician and surgeon of Hartford was born July 
 8, 1857, in Meriden, New Haven Co., Conn., son of 
 Peter Dowling. 
 
 The family is of Irish origin, and Dennis Dow- 
 ling, our subject's grandfather, was a native of 
 Maryborough, Queens County, Ireland, but spent 
 the last twenty }-ears of his life in America. By 
 occupation he was a farmer, and he passed away 
 in Aliddletown, Conn., at the advanced age of eighty- 
 seven years. 
 
 Peter Dowling, father of Dr. Dowling, was also 
 born in Queens County, Ireland, in 1830. He came 
 to America, in 1847, 3^"^ located at ^leriden, Conn., 
 being one of the first Irish residents of that place. 
 He has been engaged in farming all his life, and 
 is much respected among the people of the town. 
 He is one of the oldest members of St. Rose's 
 Church, at Meriden. He was married, at Walling- 
 ford. Conn., to j\Iiss Elizabeth Moran, a native of 
 Westmeath, Ireland, who died March 17, 1886. 
 Thev had two children : John Francis and Eliza- 
 beth M. 
 
256 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Dr. John F. Dowling spent his early bo)'hood 
 days on the home farm in iVIeriden, Conn., while 
 attending the public schools and Meriden Academy. 
 He learned the silversmith's trade, and was em- 
 ployed by the Wilcox Silver Plate Co. several years, 
 but in 1884 went to Chicago, 111., where he studied 
 Latin and chemistry. In 1886 he went to Hart- 
 ford and began the study of medicine with Dr. 
 J. J. Morrissey, at No. 3(33^ Church street, and a 
 year later he entered the Cniversity of the City of 
 New York. He graduated from Long Island Col- 
 lege Hospital on March 13, 1890, and in April, 
 1890, he began practice in fhompsonville. Conn., 
 meeting with success from the start. He was the 
 first health officer of the town of Enfield, under 
 the law requiring that such officers be physicians, 
 and his interest in local progress was shown by serv- 
 ice as a member of the school board of that town. 
 On Dec. i, 1895, he sold his practice to Dr. Rear- 
 don and removed to Hartford, buying the house 
 of Dr. Morrissey. Dr. Dowling is a member of the 
 City, County and State Medical Societies, and one 
 of the staff of St. Francis' Hospital, and fraternally 
 is connected with the Foresters, Knights of Co- 
 lumbus, and Ancient Order of Hibernians. 
 
 On April 14, 1896, the Doctor was married, at 
 Hazardville, Conn., to Miss Margaret J. Leary, a 
 graduate of the Normal School at New Britain, and 
 formerly principal of the grammar school in Thomp- 
 sonville. They have one son, Leo Jerome, born 
 Feb. 18, 1898. 
 
 JOHN BERNARD BOUCHER, :M. D., one of 
 Hartford's successful physicians, was born July 18, 
 1864, in East Windsor, Conn., son of John M. 
 Boucher. 
 
 The family is of French origin, but John M. 
 Boucher was born in County Cork, Ireland. He 
 came to America at the age of eighteen years, and 
 has since been engaged in farming and tobacco- 
 growing in East Windsor. In 1857 he was married 
 in Windsor Locks to Miss Mary Halloran, a native 
 of County Cork, Ireland, who died in 1889. Of 
 their eight children, ( i ) Ellen married the late John 
 Smyth, of Enfield, Conn., and had seven children, 
 six now living, Thomas, Henry, George, Francis, 
 Charles, Richard, and Raymond (deceased). (2) 
 Miss Joanna L. resides in East Windsor. (3) 
 Thomas Francis, who was formerly employed in the 
 State Arsenal at Hartford, died in April, 1897. (4) 
 John Bernard is mentioned more fully below. (5) 
 Richard P., who graduated from the Baltimore 
 Medical College in 1896, is now practicing in 
 Providence, R. I. (6) William Edward received the 
 degree of D. D. S. from the Baltimore College of 
 Dental Surgery, and is practicing in Hartford. (7) 
 James Joseph is studying medicine in the College 
 of Physicians and Surgeons, Baltimore. (8) Fran- 
 cis is the station agent at Melrose, Connecticut. 
 
 John B. Boucher first attended school in East 
 Windsor, and at the age of fourteen entered the 
 
 high school in Enfield, Conn., where he completed 
 the course under Prof. Cooley. JrLavmg learned te- 
 legraphy, he took a position as operator and statioix 
 agent at East Windsor, remaining three years, and 
 spent the next four years in similar work at l\Iel- 
 rose. Conn. He then went to Plainville, Conn., and 
 spent three months as ticket agent and operator,, 
 and six months as agent, after which he was em- 
 ployed by the Consolidated railroad, as a clerk in the 
 freight department of the terminal station in New 
 York City. His abilities won him speedy promo- 
 tion, and after seven months he became second 
 clerk in the office. In September, 1890, he entered, 
 the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Balti- 
 more, where he completed the full graded course in 
 April, 1894, in a class of 106, receiving the second, 
 gold medal for highest standing in medical studies 
 throughout the four years. During the last year 
 he was assistant in the City Hospital, and after his 
 graduation he served three months as resident phy- 
 sician in the same hospital. On June i, 1894, Dr. 
 Boucher located in Hartford, where he has built up- 
 a large general practice, and his work as a surgeon 
 has won him a high reputation. In the summer of 
 1899 he visited Europe, and did post-graduate work, 
 in Berlin, Vienna, and Berne, Switzerland. He is 
 a surgeon on the staff of St. Francis Hospital, 
 Hartford, and an active member of the City, County^ 
 and State Medical Societies, and of the American) 
 Medical Association. In June, 1898, he attended, 
 the meeting of the latter society in Denver, as a 
 delegate. Socially he is identified with Nutmeg, 
 Tent, No. 15, K. O. T. M. Dr. Boucher has re- 
 cently purchased the residence of ex-Mayor Will- 
 iam Waldo Hyde, on Charter Oak avenue, Hart- 
 ford, which he has had remodeled into a beautiful 
 home. It is adjacent to the Charter Oak Tree 
 Monument. 
 
 On June 20, 1900, the Doctor married Miss Marie 
 Louise Kennedy, of New Haven, Conn., daughter 
 of the late John J. Kennedy, ex-president of the- 
 Branford Lock Works. 
 
 WATSON GIDDINGS, the well-known car- 
 riage manufacturer of Bristol, was born on a farm, 
 in East Hartland, Hartford cotmty. Conn., April 
 4, 1830, of remote Scottish ancestry, and of New 
 England descent since 1635. 
 
 The name of Giddings, according to some au- 
 thors, is derived from Gideon, the Hebrew for 
 "brave soldier;" from Gideon, also, came Giddy, 
 Giddies, Gibbon, and Geddes. There are several 
 places in Scotland named after this family, as, for 
 instance, Geddeston, Geddes Hill, Geddeswell, etc. 
 The Geddes family, of Rachan, in Peebleshire, have 
 possessed their estate for 1,300 years, and the manor 
 of Geddings, which lies within the two parishes 
 of Broxbourne and Great Amwell, doubtless de- 
 rived its name from Edmund Geddings, who in 
 1334 was granted the right of Free Warren. There 
 are, in America, but few families of the name that 
 
/^^fe^^ 
 
 ^^t'^C,^^'?^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 257 
 
 do not trace their line to tieorge antl Jane Gicklings, 
 descendants of tlie Scotch family named ahove, ancl 
 who came to this country in 1635. That (ieorge 
 Giddings was a man of means and ])osition is evi- 
 denced by the fact that he brought servants with 
 him. The record of the family in America will there- 
 fore run as follows : 
 
 (I) George and Jane (Tuttle) Giddings, aged 
 respectively twenty-five and twenty xears, came 
 trom England in 1635, and settled in the town of 
 lyswich, 'about twenty-five miles from Lioston, 
 Mass., with their three servants. There came with 
 them a companion, Sir Henry X'ane, the fourth 
 governor of Massachusetts, who in 1662 suffered 
 martyrdom for bis zeal in the cause of religion. 
 George Giddings was born in 1608, and died June 
 I, 1676, the father of eiglit children: Thomas, born 
 in 1638, first married Slary Goodhue; his second 
 wife was named Elizabeth. John, born in 1639, is 
 mentioned below. James, born in 1641, married 
 Elizabeth Andrews. Samuel, born in 1645, ^^^^ mar- 
 ried Hannah Martin ; his second wife was named 
 EHzabeth. Joseph Collins married Susannah Rindge. 
 Sarah. Mary married Samuel Pearce. George. 
 
 (II) John Giddings, who was born in 1639, 
 had a commonage granted him in 1667; was a 
 commoner in 1678; a lieutenant of militia; and 
 w-as also a deputy to the General Court in 1683, 
 1684 and 1685. On Feb. 20, 1690, his estate was 
 inventoried at £269 15s. lod. ; his death took place 
 ^larch 3, 1691, and the estate was partitioned March 
 29, 1692. After his death his widow, Sarah, mar- 
 ried Henry Herrick, of Beverly, and she died in 
 Gloucester. To the marriage of John and Sarah 
 Giddings were born ten children : George, born in 
 1664, (first) married Slarv Skamp and (second) 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Perkins ; Elizabeth was first mar- 
 ried, Dec. 16, 1685, to Mark Haskell, and later to 
 John Dennison, of Ipswich ; Jane married Nov. 
 26, 1691, Joseph Haradine (she had no children) ; 
 Sarah, born in 1672, married John Haraden, who 
 died Nov. 11, 1724, the father of several children; 
 John was born in 1665 ; Job, born in 1677, married 
 Sarah Andrews, became the father of three chil- 
 dren, and died Feb. 27. 1708; Solomon, born in 
 1679, niarried Margery Goodhue; Joshua, born in 
 1681, married Abigail, was the father of five chil- 
 dren (three of whom died young), and was prob- 
 ably lost at sea in 1716; Thomas, born in 1683, mar- 
 ried Sarah Butler; ]\'Iary, born in 1686, was mar- 
 ried to Benjamin York. 
 
 (HI) Thomas Giddings, born in Ipswich, Mass., 
 in 1683, removed to Gloucester in 1710, and pur- 
 chased of Benjamin Lufkin a house which he sold 
 jMay 22, 1721. About 1722 he came to Connecticut 
 and settled in Lyme, near Beaver Brook, New Lon- 
 don countv, purchased land, and continued so to do 
 for several years consecutively. In 1708 he mar- 
 ried Sarah Butler, and to this union were born five 
 children : Job married Sarah Rathbone ; Joseph, 
 born in 1714, (first) married Eunice Andrus and 
 
 17 
 
 (second) Elizabeth ilungcrford; John niarried 
 Susannah Tozor ; Joshua, born in 1719, niarried Jane ^ 
 Reed; and Thomas, born in 172^ niarried Mary 
 Coult. 
 
 (1\ ) Jo.shua (iiddiiigs was born in 1719 and 
 died l-'eb. 4, 1807. He removed probaljly from Lyme 
 to Hartland, Conn., about 1723. The last deed 
 recorded in Lyme is to Ensign Jas])er. and is dated 
 '" 1/75- the consideration being £1,500. The fol- 
 lowing record in Lyme was made June 5. 1746: 
 "Joshua Giddings" ear mark for all sorts of creatures 
 is a swallow-tail in the left, or a cross on the right 
 ear, with a half-penny on each side of the same." 
 h is said that he went to Hartland when quite a 
 }ouiig- man. built a log house in the southwestern 
 part of the town, and for a while slept on a bed of 
 leaves. The foundation and chimney of tlie cabin 
 are yet standing, and a large tree grows from the 
 cellar. The records also show that he held office 
 year after year, and that he was admitted to the 
 Congregational Church Feb. 5, 1769. To his mar- 
 riage with Jane Reed, whose death took place April 
 II, 1803, when she was aged seventy-nine years, 
 were born the following children : Elisha married 
 April 22, 1776, Susannah Perkins, who died I'eb. 
 7, I777i aged twenty-four years, he dying the same 
 year at the age of thirty-one; Benjamin, who was 
 born in 1753, married Affiah Holcomb : John, born 
 Nov. 9, 1754, married Achsa Palmer; Joshua, torn 
 in 1756, (first) married Submit Jones and (second) 
 Elizabeth Pease; Sarah was married Feb. 18, 1784. 
 to Angus AIcLoud, and had one son, .\ngus. who 
 married August 31. 1809, Clarissa Beeman. of Hart- 
 land, and became the father of six children : Deb- 
 orah was married Oct. 27, 1768, to Jedediah Bush- 
 nell, of Hartland; Jane died March 11, 1777. at the 
 age of fifteen years : Niles, born in 1760, married 
 Naomi Hale; Chloe was married Sept. 26, 1789, 
 to Moses Brockway, of Hartland ; Ruth was married 
 Nov. 18, 1770. to Jonathan Couch, of Simsbury, 
 and in October, 1775. was a widow with three chil- 
 dren. 
 
 ( \' ) Benjamin Giddings, who was born at Lyme 
 in 1753. died in 1830 in Hartland, Conn., whither he 
 was brought in infancy by his father. He married 
 Affiah Holcomb, who died in 1830. at the age of 
 seventy-seven years, and to this union were Irorn 
 ten children: Almon married Lottie Miller, and 
 settled in Michigan; Salmon, born March 2. 1782. 
 married Almira Collins; Zeriuah, born in 1784. was 
 married Aug. 31, 1807, to Jonathan Tuttle, of Bark- 
 hamsted. Litchfield Co., Conn, (in 1810 they re- 
 moved to Ohio and purchased 100 acres of land 
 in Williamsfield, and there she passed away May 3, 
 1871. ?\Ir. Tuttle was a justice of the peace twenty- 
 one years, county commissioner twelve years, and 
 representative in the Legislature one year, and died 
 in June. 1864) ; Julia, born in 1791, was niarried to 
 Ezra Mack ; Lorrain married Desdemona Cowdry ; 
 Harriet, born in 1795. married ^^'illianl H. Tisdale, 
 and died Dec. 10. 1831, leaving one son; Benjamin, 
 
258 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 born Jan. 12, 1801, married Amoret Bushnell ; Affie 
 was married JNIay 30, 1820, to Dr. Josiah Banning, 
 and died Sept. 28, 1832, aged thirty-four years 
 (tlie Doctor afterward married Edith Cowdry, and 
 died in 1848) ; Lowly was the next child; and Har- 
 riet, the youngest, married a Mr. Tisdale. Benjamin 
 Giddings, the father of the above named family, was 
 always a busy man in the affairs of his town, and 
 was also a valiant soldier in the war of the Revolu- 
 tion, suffering extremeb- in the severe winter of 
 1780-81. In June, 1781, he was appointed a "com- 
 mittee to hire all the soldiers for the army and bring 
 on the men that counted for the town of Hartland, 
 and had not joined." 
 
 (VI) Benjamin Giddings was born in Hartland, 
 Conn., Jan. 12, 1801, was a prominent merchant, 
 and for many years was postmaster; he was also a 
 representative in the State Legislature, a selectman, 
 a justice of the peace, and commissioner of the su- 
 perior court of Hartford county until age disquali- 
 fied him. He married Amoret Bushnell, who was 
 born Feb. 8. 1804, and was a daughter of Rev. Asa 
 Bushnell, of Hartland. Benjamin Giddings died 
 Feb. 20, 1874, and his widow passed away Oct. 
 26, 1881. Their children were nine in number: 
 Philo B., born Jan. 25, 1823, died in Montrose, Va., 
 Dec. 6, 1857: Fidelia H., born May 19, 1824, mar- 
 ried Henrv J. Gates, of Hartland, in November, 
 1842; ]\Iilo J., born April 2, 1828, was married July 
 4, 1849, to Eugenia P. Miller, and resided in Avoca, 
 Iowa, later going to McPherson, Kans., where he 
 died in May. 1900; Watson, the next in order of 
 birth, is the subject of this sketch; Almira, born 
 Nov. 30, 1 83 1, was married Sept. 27, 1858, to Hoyt 
 M. Hayes, of Hampsted ; Mary E., born Oct. 5, 
 1833, was married to Nelson D. Sanford, of Hart- 
 land, Feb. 8, 1855, and died in New Haven April 
 10, 1871 ; Eliza A., born April 14, 1836, was married 
 to Cyrus Cook, of Lexington, Ohio, July 3, i860, 
 and' died Sept. 8, 1877, in Albion, Iowa; Almena 
 A'., born April 14, 1838, married Ralph H. Park, 
 and was accidentally killed Nov. 13, 1891 (she is 
 mentioned below) ; and Salmon B., born July 14, 
 1847, married Aurelia M. Emmons. 
 
 (VII) Watson Giddings, the subject proper of 
 this sketch, and the seventh of the American gen- 
 erations, was born April 4, 1830. He attended the 
 common schools of East Hartland till seventeen 
 rears of age, and after relinquishing his studies 
 worked five years -for his brother-in-law, Henry J. 
 Gates, in East Hartland, although his own father 
 was in good circumstances. He then opened a black- 
 smith shop in Barkhamsted, Conn., which he con- 
 ducted for ten years, and then sold to Henry Perry, 
 went to New Hartford, and worked one year for R. 
 H. Wheeler, later forming a partnership with this 
 gentleman under the firm style of Wheeler & Gid- 
 dings. A year subsequently he bought Mr. Wheel- 
 er's interest, and carried on the business alone about 
 two years ; he then disposed of the plant to Henry 
 M. Gates, and bought the Walter Stickney shop. 
 
 in Winsted, which he ran about eighteen months 
 and then sold to the Winsted Carnage Co., with 
 which he invested all his capital. About six months 
 later this company failed, financially ruining Mr. 
 Giddings, who then went to Lewis, Iowa, where 
 he worked at his trade for T. J. Allen for a year 
 and a half, at the end of that time returning to Con- 
 necticut and purchasing William Monk's shop, in 
 Terrj-ville, which he conducted three years and 
 then sold to a Mr. Steele. In 1874 Mr. Giddings 
 located in Bristol, and opened a small shop on the 
 corner of North Main and Center streets, which he 
 has since converted into the most commodious and 
 best equipped carriage factory in the town, and he 
 employs from five to fifteen men, according to his 
 volume of business. In June, 1886, he admitted, as 
 a partner in the concern, his son Frederick Watson, 
 the firni style being Watson Giddings & Son. They 
 carry on general blacksmithing and carriage mak- 
 ing, and are still located on the original corner. 
 
 Watson Giddings (first) married, Jan. 6, 1853, 
 Miss Adeliza Case, who was born Oct. 4, 1833, and 
 was a daughter of Owen Case, of Barkhamsted. 
 She died July 21, 1891, the mother of the following 
 children: Alice Eliza, born July 8, 1854, married 
 E. B. Dunbar, of Bristol; Mary Addie, born April 
 6, 1856, was married May 31, 1877, to Samuel D. 
 Newell, of Bristol, and to this union has been 
 born four children, of whom only oiie, Alice Mae, 
 survives. Frederick Watson is mentioned below. 
 Charles Samuel, born Aug. 4, 1862, died Dec. 19, 
 1882. Twins died in infancy. The second marriage 
 of Mr. Giddings took place Sept. 12, 1892, when 
 Emma S. Loomis, who was born Oct. 4, 1843, a 
 daughter of Amos Loomis, of Norwich, Conn., be- 
 came his bride. 
 
 In politics Watson Giddings was a Republican 
 until the formation of the Prohibition party, when 
 he united therewith, and has ever since been an 
 active worker in its ranks. In 1861 he was elected 
 by the Republicans a member of the State Legisla- 
 ture from Barkhamsted, served one term, and also 
 served one term on the board of selectmen of the 
 same town. For one year, shortly after coming to 
 Bristol, he served on the school committee of Dis- 
 trict No. I, and in 1896 was elected a member of 
 the board of burgesses of Bristol, now serving his 
 second term ; he has also been chairman of the 
 sewer committee of the town ever since his election 
 as burgess. He is president of the West Cemetery 
 Association, is a trustee of the Prospect M. E. 
 Church, and in 1878 was made a member of Frank- 
 lin Lodge, No. 56, F. & A. M., of which he has 
 been treasurer since joining, and he and his wife 
 are members of the Order of the Eastern Star. Mrs. 
 Emma S. Giddings is likewise a member of Pros- 
 pect M. E. Church, and a member of the Ladies 
 Aid Society, of which she has been president. 
 
 Frederick Watson Giddings, son and business 
 partner of Watson Giddings, was born March 28, 
 i860, attended the common schools of Bristol until 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 2o9 
 
 sixteen years old, then learned blacksmithing- and 
 carriage making under his father, and now attends 
 to the finances of the concern. On June 5, i8yo, 
 he was united in marriage witli Aliss Cora M. llarl, 
 who was born Dec. 25, 1869, a daughter of Harvilla 
 J. Hart, of Bristol, and to this marriage have been 
 born two children, Watson Hart, June 24, 1893; 
 and Susie, July 19, 1897. Mr. Giddings is a mem- 
 ber of Stephen Terry Lodge, No. 59, I. O. O. F., 
 and of the Prospect M. E. Church, and in politics 
 is a Republican. 
 
 j\Irs. Almena A. (Giddings) Park, sister of our 
 subject, was a writer of some note ; her noni de 
 plume was "Allie Wellington." Her poems have 
 been published in book form, under the title of "JMy 
 Welcome Beyond, and other Poems," and the poem 
 named, which her brother considers the best of the 
 ■collection, is herewith given : 
 
 iMY WELCOME BEYOND. 
 
 VV ho will greet me first in Heaven, 
 
 When that blissful realm I gain; 
 When the hands have ceased from toiling, 
 
 And the heart has ceased from pain; 
 When the last farewell is spoken, 
 
 Severed the last tender tie. 
 And I know how sweet, how solemn, 
 
 And how blest it is to die? 
 
 As my barque glides o'er the waters 
 
 Of that cold and silent stream, 
 I shall see the domes of temples 
 
 In the distance brightly gleam; 
 Temples of that beauteous city 
 
 From all blight and sorrow free; 
 Who adown its golden portal 
 
 First will haste to welcome" me? 
 
 Ah, whose eyes will watch my coming 
 
 From that other, fairer shore? 
 Whose the voice I first shall listen 
 
 That shall teach me heavenly lore? 
 When my feet shall press the mystic 
 
 Borders of that better land, 
 Whose face greet my wondering vision? 
 
 Whose shall clasp the spirit hand? 
 
 Who shall greet me first in Heaven? 
 
 Oft the earnest thought will rise, 
 Musing on the unknown glories 
 
 Of that home beyond the skies; 
 Who will be my spirit's mentor? 
 
 Will it be some seraph bright? 
 Or an angel from the countless 
 
 Myriads of that home of light? 
 
 No, not these — for they have never 
 
 Gladdened here my mortal view; 
 But the dear ones gone before us, 
 
 They — the loved, the tried, the true; 
 They who walked with us life's pathway, 
 
 To its joys and griefs were given; 
 They who loved us best in Earthland, 
 
 Be \he first to greet in Heaven I 
 
 ARTEMAS ELIJAH HART, secretary and 
 treasurer of The Society for Savings, Hartford, 
 is of the ninth generation in descent from 
 
 (I) Stephen Hart, who was born about 1605, in 
 Braintree, County of Essex, England, and came to 
 ]Massachusetts Bay about the year 1632. Deacon 
 
 Hart and his first wife were consistent members 
 of the church in l'"armington. Conn., in 1652. He 
 had been a deacon of Rev. Thomas Hooker's church 
 at Cambridge, Mass., and, when his pastor formed 
 a colony at Hartford, Conn., he became a leading 
 member of the new comnumity, holding the office 
 of deacon in the church, and taking an active part 
 in the progressive movements of his day. In 1672 
 he was one of the eighty-four proprietors of the 
 town of Fannington, jn which he was prominent, 
 both socially and politically. In 1635 he was one 
 of the original proprietors of Hartford. His liouse 
 lot was on the west side of what is now Front 
 street, near where Morgan street crosses it, and 
 there is a tradition that the town was called from 
 the ford he discovered and used in crossing the 
 Connecticut river at low water, and so, from "Hart's 
 ford," it soon came to be called and written "Hart- 
 ford." He died in Alarch, 1682. 
 
 (II) Thomas Hart, youngest of the children of 
 Deacon Stephen Hart, was born in 1644. He mar- 
 ried Ruth, daughter of Anthony Hawkins, of Farm- 
 ington. She was born Oct. 24, 1649, at Windsor, 
 Conn. Thomas Hart was a captain in the militia, 
 1695; deputy to the General Court, 1690 to 1706; 
 speaker, 1700 to 1706; justice, 1698 to 1706. John 
 Hooker and he were the two prominent men of the 
 town. 
 
 (HI) Deacon Thomas Hart, second son of 
 Capt. Thomas Hart, was born in April, 1680, at 
 Farmington, Conn., and Dec. 17, 1702, married 
 Mary, daughter of John Thompson, of Farming- 
 ton. He removed to Kensington, Conn., and be- 
 came the most prominent man in that society. His 
 first wife died in October, 1763, and Jan. 11, 1764, 
 at the age of eighty-four, he married ^Irs. Eliza- 
 beth Morton, widow of Isaac ^lorton, of Berlin, 
 Conn. He died Jan. 29, 1773, aged ninety-three 
 years. 
 
 (IV) Deacon Elijah Hart, of New Britain, 
 Conn., third son of Deacon Thomas Hart, was born 
 June 18, 171 1, at Kensington, Conn., and became a 
 lifelong farmer. On Dec. 26, 1734, he married Abi- 
 gail Goodrich, who was born Dec. 14, 17 14, a 
 daughter of Allen Goodrich. He located in New 
 Britain, and he and his wife became constituent 
 members of the First Church organized there, April 
 19, 1758. He died Aug. 3, 1772; his widow passed 
 away in Simsbury, Conn., at the home of her daugli- 
 ter, Mrs. Eno, Jan. 21, 1809, in her ninety-fifth 
 year. 
 
 (\') Deacon Elijah Hart, son of the above, and 
 great-great-grandfather of Artemas Elijah Hart, 
 was born Sept. 26, 1735, in Kensington, Conn. 
 With his parents he became a constituent member 
 of the church in New Britain, 1758, and led the 
 singing therein. He was of strictly Puritanical 
 habits, a farmer by occupation, and possessor of 
 considerable property. On May 11, 1757, he mar- 
 ried Sarah, daughter of Ebenezer Gilbert. He died 
 Dec. 10, 1800, his wife on Sept. 22, 1809. 
 
260 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL' RECORD. 
 
 (VI) Deacon Elijah Hart, son of .the above, 
 and great-grandfather of Artemas Elijah Hart, 
 was born ]\lay 7, 1759, at New Britain, Conn. He 
 was a large farmer, and an extensive manufacturer 
 of cornmeal for the West Indies trade. On jNIarch 
 18, 1778, he enlisted in the Revolutionary army 
 for three years, and was present at the surrender 
 of Burgoyne. He married Dec. 21, 1780, Anna 
 Andrews, who was born Sept. 6, 1760, a daughter 
 of Hezekiah Andrews. Deacon Hart died from the 
 effect of a bee's sting, Aug. 4, 1827, his widow 
 passing away Dec. 2, 1835. 
 
 (Vil) Jesse Hart, son of the above, and grand- 
 father of Artemas E. Hart, was born in New Brit- 
 ain, Conn., April 20, 1789, and became a respected 
 citizen of that town. For many years he was en- 
 gaged in business there as a. blacksmith, having 
 learned the trade under Orrin Lee, in Hartford. On 
 April 5, 1810, he married Lucina Cowdry, who was 
 born Sept. 17, 1788, a daughter of Asa Cowdry, of 
 Hartford, Conn., and they had two children : Arte- 
 mas Ensign, a sketch of whom follows ; and Lucina, 
 born Dec. 3, 1821, who married John H. Goodwin, 
 and died in Paris, France, in the spring of 1885. 
 Jesse Hart died in New Britain Feb. 21, 1825. 
 
 (VIII) Artemas Ensign Hart, father of our 
 subject, was born Feb. 11, 1812, in New Britain, 
 Conn., and was reared at the old homestead, which 
 occupied the site of the present "Hotel Russwin." 
 He built a home in New Britain, on Washington 
 street, which was used as the Episcopal parsonage. 
 He was a man of retiring and unpretentious nature, 
 and a devout member of the Congregational Church, 
 his excellent qualities of character making him a 
 valued citizen. By occupation he was a jeweler, 
 and after carrying on that trade for some 
 years at New Britain he removed to Hartford, and 
 later to West Hartford, where he died in 1884, his 
 remains being taken to New Britain for interment. 
 On Aug. 24, 1836, he married Ann Elizabeth Clark, 
 who was born Dec. 7, 1816, a daughter of Abel and 
 Catherine (Eckerst) Clark, of Litchfield, Conn., 
 well-known residents of that section. Children as 
 follows were born to Artemas E. and Ann E. Hart : 
 Virginia Veeder, now. Mrs. Charles J. Smith, of 
 Hartford; Charles R. (deceased), a sketch of whom 
 appears elsewhere; Artemas Elijah, our subject; 
 Lucina, who died in infancy; Ann Elizabeth, who 
 married (first) Charles Mackin, of New York, and 
 (second) Alfred Huber, of Paris, France; Henry 
 L., deceased; and Joseph C, now residing in Lon- 
 don, England. 
 
 Artemas E. Hart, the subject proper of this 
 biography, was born June 20, 1842, in New Britain, 
 Conn., and received his education at the high school 
 in New Britain, and at Edward Hall's boarding 
 school, in Ellington, Conn. For a time he clerked 
 in the drug store of W. H. Coggswell, at Rockville, 
 Conn., who also kept the post office there, our sub- 
 ject assisting him. In i860 Mr. Hart came to 
 Hartford, and after clerking for some months in 
 
 the dry-goods store of H. E. Mather became clerk 
 m The Society for Savings, where from step to step 
 he advanced in the cash department until reachnig 
 his present responsible position, that of secretary 
 and treasurer. 
 
 On Oct. 12, 1865, Mr. Hart was united in mar- 
 riage with Katherine A. O. Litclifield, of Hartford, 
 born Sept. 29, 1845, ^1^"^ four children have been 
 born to them, their names and dates of birth being 
 as follows : Elizabeth Katherine, Jan. 19, 1867, is 
 now the wife of Liarmon S. Graves,, of the firm of 
 Lester & Graves, attorneys, of New York City; 
 Alida May, May 9, 1870, died March 8, 1873; 
 Sarah Litchfield, Feb. 16, 1872, is now the wife of 
 Ogle Taylor Paine, formerly of Troy, now of New 
 Rochelle, N. Y. ; and Harold Gross, Nov. 6, 1882, 
 is a student in Philip's Academy, Andover, Alassa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 Mr. Hart is a member of the Sons of the Amer- 
 ican Revolution, of the Colonial Club, of Hartford, 
 and also of the Laurentian Club, of Montreal. 
 Canada. He is active in both church and- school 
 work, and for many years was treasurer of Park 
 Congregational Church; was treasurer of the Sec- 
 ond North school district, and is now a member of 
 the West Middle school committee. For fifteen 
 years he has been director of the State Bank. In 
 politics he is independent, and he is justly regarded 
 as a man of integrity, and as a useful citizen, well 
 worth)' of the esteem in which he is held. 
 
 HENRY JACOB ZWEYGARTT (deceased),, 
 who was for many years a leading tobacco dealer 
 of Hartford, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany,. 
 Nov. 22, 1831. He was educated in his native land, 
 having been sent away from home to school at the 
 age of eight years, and a thorough foundation was- 
 laid for his success in mercantile life b}" a seven- 
 years apprenticeship as' a salesman. 
 
 In August, 1851, at the age of twenty, Mr. 
 Zweygartt came to America, and after spending 
 some time in New York City, Philadelphia, Penn., 
 and Meriden, Conn., located in Hartford. In 1856 
 he had a cigar store on Temple street between 
 Market and Front streets, and on selling out the 
 business he started a similar store on Asylum street, 
 where he employed five or six hands. Previous to 
 the Civil war Mr. Zweygartt went South for the 
 benefit of his health, and settled in New Orleans, 
 but he came North to escape being drafted for the 
 Confederate army, and again located in Hartford. 
 In 1864 or 1865 he opened a cigar store in Ely's 
 block, but he did not long continue in the cigar 
 trade, giving it up for .the leaf tobacco business, 
 in which branch of trade he was very successful. 
 The name of Zweygartt is a household word in the 
 tobacco trade all over the United States, and dealers 
 came to like his packing so well that all that was 
 necessary for them to know was that Mr. Zweygartt 
 packed the tobacco. His office and warehouse were 
 at No. 221 State street, and in all he was in the 
 
^j/' 
 
 €-^-Z-^ J^ • pj-^^-^ZAi^ > 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 261 
 
 leaf tobacco business for about thirty years. He 
 died Jan. 23, 1897, and among the tributes of re- 
 spect was the following, passed at a special meeting 
 of the leaf tobacco trade held in the city of Hart- 
 ford Jan. 25, 1897, -the resolutions being unani- 
 mously passed: 
 
 "Whereas, Death has again visited our midst 
 and has taken away our esteemed fellow merchant, 
 Henry J. Zweygartt, 
 
 "Resolved, That the Hartford Leaf Tobacco 
 Trade has lost one of its most honorable and val- 
 uable members, and many of us have also lost a per- 
 sonal friend, one of the kind whom it would do to 
 anchor by in time of storms, and this sentiment 
 will be echoed around many a hearthstone where 
 luxury has not lived, but where the charity of 
 Henry J. Zweygartt was well known. We deeply 
 mourn the loss of our fellow merchant. In token 
 of our appreciation of our merchant's worth and 
 many sterhng qualities as a merchant, friend and 
 citizen, and our deep regret at his death, be it 
 
 "Resolved, That this trade deeply sympathizes 
 with his family in this hour of trouble and offers its 
 sincere condolence. 
 
 "Resolved, That we pay sad tribute to his mem- 
 ory by closing our respective places of business and 
 attending his funeral, and also that an engrossed 
 copy of these resolutions be forwarded to the family 
 of our departed friend, and published in our trade 
 journals and daily papers." 
 
 [Signed] George Lee, J. W. Bissell and W. F. 
 Fuller. 
 
 ]Mr. Zweygartt was quiet and unassuming in 
 his manners, but was nevertheless firm in the sup- 
 port of his convictions, and his judgment was valued 
 by his fellow townsmen. From Jan. i, 1895, until 
 June 15, 1896, he served as one of the Republican 
 selectmen of the town of Hartford, retiring only 
 a short time before his death, which occurred on 
 Jan. 23, 1897. He and his family became prominent 
 in social life, and he was one of the oldest members 
 of St. John's Lodge, No. 4, F. & A. M., having 
 joined the Fraternity in 1867. 
 
 In 1870 Mr. Zweygartt was married, in Derby. 
 Conn., to Miss Melissa I. Candee, daughter of 
 Samuel L. Candee, a well-known manufacturer of 
 surgical instruments in that town. Five children 
 have blessed the union: Edna M., deceased ; ]\Iinnie 
 C, wife of Harry Allen Howland ; Mary E., who 
 married Edwin H. Heminway ; and Henry J., Jr., 
 and Linda I., both residing in Hartford; 
 
 ELLEN HAMMOND GLADWIN, M. D., 
 who has practiced her profession in the city of 
 Hartford since 1873, has been deservedly success- 
 ful in her chosen calling, and is recognized through- 
 out Hartford county as an able physician and 
 talented woman. 
 
 Dr. Gladwin is of English extraction, and Lieut. 
 Col. Peter Hammond, her first paternal ancestor 
 of whom we have anv definite record, was one of 
 
 the King's Chancellors in England. Her great- 
 grandfather, Josiah Hammond, was a native of 
 Windham, Conn. His son, Asahcl Hammond, was 
 a farmer in Hampton, Conn., for a number of years, 
 and spent the later years of his life in Brooklyn, 
 Conn. He married a Miss l3ctsey Robinson, a de- 
 scentlant of John Robinson, of Le\dcn, and a 
 tlaughter of Josluia Robinson, a Revokitionary 
 soldier. Their son, Justin Hammond, was born in 
 Hampton, Conn., and received a thorough educa- 
 tion, graduating from Brown University in the 
 classical course, and later from Harvard Medical 
 School. For fifty years he was a prominent and 
 successful practitioner in Killingly, Conn., having 
 commenced practice with lii.s father-in-law. Dr. 
 Fenner Peckham, of East Killingly. He married 
 Susan Peckham, and three of the children born to 
 this union took up their father's profession : Henry 
 L., of Killingly ; .Susan Field, of Boston, and our 
 subject. Dr. Hammond was active in the public 
 affairs of his day and place, and represented Kill- 
 ingly in the State Legislature in 1836 and 1871. 
 He died in 1873. 
 
 Ellen Hammond Gladwin was born in Killingly, 
 and there received her early education, which was 
 supplemented with study at the academy of East 
 Greenwich (R. I.) and Mt. Ho'.yoke Seminary. 
 Her medical studies were pursued at the Woman's 
 ]Medical College of the New York Infirmary, in 
 New York City, from which institution she was 
 graduated with the class of 1872. and she subse- 
 quently took her father's practice for a year, in 
 1873 locating in Hartford, where she has since been 
 located. Dr. Gladwin is a member of the City, 
 County and State jMedical Societies. 
 
 In 1880 our subject was married, in Hartford, 
 to Sidney M. Gladwin, a native of East Haddam, 
 Conn., who comes from one of the oldest families 
 of that locality. Excepting a few years' residence 
 in New York, during which period he served in the 
 Civil war, he has been identified with Hartford from 
 the age of seventeen years, when he came to the city 
 with Hillyer & Bunce, wool merchants, remain- 
 ing with that firm and with Dwight, Skinner & 
 Co., their successors, over twenty-five years. He 
 is now associated in business with Drayton Hillyer 
 and William C. Skinner. The Gladwin home is 
 at No. 705 Asylum avenue, Hartford. 
 
 :MIL0 LEON NORTON, journalist and poet, 
 was born April 23, 1849, •" Bristol, where he still 
 resides, although his birthplace was a farm outside 
 the built-up portion of the borough. He is of the 
 eighth generation in America, and the family can 
 be traced to England and France by undisputable 
 documentary evidence, covering a period of over 
 800 years. 
 
 Leonard Andrews Norton, father of Milo L., 
 was born Aug. 9, 1813, and died July 16, 1895; 
 his life career is given in full in the biography of 
 ]\I. H. Norton, on another page. To each of the 
 
262 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 paternal ancestors is given, in order of birth, a 
 separate paragraph, as follows : 
 
 Asahel Hinman Norton was born in 1778, in 
 what was known as New Cambridge, now Bristol, 
 Conn., and became a^ stone-cutter. On Oct. 10, 
 1803, he married Rene Sperry, who was born July 
 3, 1783. Their children were Asahel Hinman, Jr., 
 born Aug. 2, 1804, who married Mary Byington 
 April 2, 1822; she died March 21, 1861, in Hart- 
 ford, and he on Sept. 23, 1871. The second child, 
 Leonard Andrews, was the father of subject. The 
 third, Salome Gaylord, born Sept. 12, 1818, died 
 May 19, 1845. Jerry, the fourth, died in infancy. 
 Asahel H. Norton, the father of this family, was 
 at first a Congregationalist, but later became a 
 Baptist. He was injured in a forest fire, was an in- 
 valid for a number of years, and died Sept. 15, 
 1836. 
 
 Aaron Norton was born in Durham, Conn., in 
 1749, and died July zy, 1832. He married Rhoda 
 Hinman, a native of Goshen, Conn., who was born 
 1745, and died May 10, 1812, the mother of six 
 children ; Truman, Rhoda, Asahel Hinman, Ches- 
 ter, Samuel, and Aaron. Aaron owned several 
 hundred acres of land in Bristol, more, probably, 
 than any other man of his day. 
 
 Isaac Norton, born in Durham in 171 1, died in 
 January, 1793. He was a farmer, and one of 
 the first settlers of Bristol, having come here about 
 1760. He married Mary Rockwell, of Windsor, 
 who was born Nov. 23, 1719, and died in 1809, 
 the mother of the following named children : Abi- 
 gail, Mary, Lydia, Silvanus, Anna, Isaac, Jr., 
 Aaron, Joel and Zipporah. 
 
 Joseph Norton was born in Saybrook, Conn., 
 Nov. 6, 1 68 1, was a farmer, married Deborah 
 Crittenden, and died in Durham in 1756, the fa- 
 ther of children as follows, all born in Saybrook : 
 Deborah, Joseph, Isaac, Joel and Thomas. The 
 mother died in Durham in 1756. 
 
 Thomas Norton, Jr., was born in England in 
 1626, came to Guilford, Conn., with his father in 
 1639, removed to Saybrook in 1661, and married 
 Elizabeth Mason May 8, 1671. She died at Say- 
 brook Jan. 31, 1699. The children of Thomas 
 (Jr.) and Elizabeth (Mason) Norton were: Eliz- 
 alDeth (who died in infancy), Thomas, Elizabeth, 
 Joseph and Samuel (twins), Abigail and Ebenezer 
 (twins), and John. 
 
 Thomas Norton, Sr., was born in 1582, near 
 Guildford in Surrey, England, came to Guilford, 
 Conn., from Ockley, England, in 1639, was the first 
 town miller, and died in 1648. To his marriage 
 with Grace Wells, in 1625, were born four chil- 
 dren : Thomas, Jr., John, Grace and Mary. Of 
 these, Grace was the first to be married in Guil- 
 ford Colony, accepting for her husband William 
 Seward, who had charge of the military forces in 
 the New Haven Colony. 
 
 The father of Thomas Norton, Sr., was Rich- 
 ard Norton. The family descended from John Nor- 
 
 ton, of Sharpenhoe, Bedfordshire, England, was- 
 quite prominent, and was allotted an estate by 
 King Henry VIII. 
 
 The main line of Mr. Norton's family belongs 
 to the English peerage, his ancestors coming from 
 Normandy with William the Conciuerer. They are 
 allied by marriage to the royal family of France, 
 and to the Saxon kings. The title of the present 
 member of the peerage is Lord Grantley. The 
 original French name of the family was Norville, 
 that being Norman-French for North town, ab- 
 breviated to Norton. 
 
 Milo Leon Norton, the subject proper of this 
 article, received his preliminary education in the 
 common schools of Bristol, which he attended until 
 fourteen years of age ; then attended a higher grade- 
 class in East Haven one year, and next entered the 
 Eastman Business College at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., 
 from which he graduated in 1867. He then served 
 an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade in New 
 Britain, worked thereat about three years, and in 
 1872 became bookkeeeper for A. R. Warner & Co., 
 grocers, in 1873 buying out that firm ; he sold out 
 the following year. 
 
 Mr. Norton had always had a taste for literature 
 and a natural gift for writing — not exactly what 
 is known as cacoethcs scribendi, but a genuine 
 talent for descriptive and didactive literary com- 
 position. He had already been a correspondent for 
 and contributor to several magazines and news- 
 papers, and in 1874 fully entered upon the field 
 of journalism by becoming editor of the Water- 
 bitry Index, a position he vacated the following 
 year, and for several months was connected with 
 the Republican, of Meriden. His connection ex- 
 tended that year also to the Hartford Post and one 
 or two other papers. In 1876 Mr. Norton launched 
 the new A I first-class clipper-built newspaper, the 
 Bristol Gasette, upon the sea of journalism, and 
 successfully breasted the storms of adversity and 
 steered clear of its shoals and shallows for three 
 years, when he relinquished the helm. Since then 
 he has continued to pursue his course as contrib- 
 utor to and correspondent of sundry magazines 
 and newspapers, principally published in New York,, 
 Boston, Hartford, New Havei., Waterbury, and 
 various other parts of New England. He has for 
 several years been especially identified with the 
 "Connecticut Magazine," to which he has contrili- 
 uted a number of poems and prose compositions 
 far in excess of mediocrity. He still continues his 
 literary labors, although he had charge of the old 
 homestead on Fall Mountain from 1881 until 1B97,, 
 when it was sold, and he built for himself an ele- 
 gant home at No. 26 Upson avenue, Bristol, where 
 he now resides. 
 
 Milo L. Norton was married, Nov. 24, 1870, 
 to Emma Lillian Dayton, who was born June 17, 
 1842, in Buckinghamshire, England, and this mar- 
 riage has been graced with two children : ( i ) 
 Addie Martha, born June 20, 1872, was married. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 268 
 
 May 1, i8y5, to llerbcri J. Atwodd, who is engaged 
 in the ice business in JJristol ; they have liad two 
 children, Ralph Herbert, born May 14, 1897, and 
 Leslie Milo, born Nov. 8, 1900. (2) Dewey Milo, 
 born April 6, 1874, is now employed at H. J. Mills" 
 paper-box factory. The family attend the Meth- 
 odist Church, and in politics Mr. Norton is inde- 
 pendent, but his proclivities are Democratic. He 
 has been clerk and treasurer of school district No. 
 12, and has always taken an active part in educa- 
 tional a'ffairs. Fraternally Mr. ^.Norton is a mem- 
 ber of Ethan Lodge, No. 9, K. of P., of Bristol ; 
 of the Pilgrim Fathers, of whose society he is sec- 
 retary; and has been a past lecturer and secretary 
 of the Grange. 
 
 It is related of Thomas Norton, of Sharpenhoe, 
 England, that he was the first man to write a 
 tragedy in the English language ; that it was en- 
 titled Gorboduc, the name of a suppositional king, 
 was written for the Christmas exercises before 
 Queen Elizabeth in 1561, and that Norton was as- 
 sisted in its construction by Thomas Sackville, 
 afterward Lord Buckherst, a fellov.' student at In- 
 ner Temple, London — Norton writing the first 
 three acts and Sackville the last two. Thomas 
 Norton also translated the Psalms into English 
 metre. 
 
 CALEB METCALF HOLBROOK, deceased. 
 The Holbrook family is one of the oldest in New 
 England, and in the history of the town of Milford, 
 Mass., we find the following: "Our Holbrooks 
 are believed to be descendants of Thomas Holbrook, 
 through Thomas (2), whose residence was in 
 Scituate, Weymouth and Braintree, prior to 1653. 
 When Thomas made his will, July 25, 1695, he 
 gave his son Peter 'all that estate of lands and 
 meadows in Mendon' which he purchased of his 
 brother William. Peter settled in Mendon and was 
 known as Deacon Peter. He died in 171 2, and 
 willed his real estate, mostly in what became Bell- 
 ingham, to his children." 
 
 The subject of this memoir, who was numbered 
 for years among the representative citizens of 
 Hartford, was of the eighth generation in descent 
 from Thomas ( i ) , the line being traced as fol- 
 lows : Thomas (2); Peter; Eliphalet, born Jan. 
 27, 1695, who married Johanna Rockwood : Eb- 
 enezer, born June 3, 17 17, who married Keziah 
 White; Ziba, born Aug. 8, 1752, who married Re- 
 becca Kimball; and Joel, our subject's father. 
 
 Joel Holbrook was born July 11, 1792, and made 
 his home in Milford, Conn., for some time, en- 
 gaging in farming and the manufacture of straw 
 bonnets. Later he removed to Hartford, where he 
 died in 1871. His wife, Roxanna Howes, died in 
 1882. They had three children, of whom (i) Caleb 
 M., our subject, was the eldest. (2) Abigail mar- 
 ried Gardner P. Barber (of the firm of Hunt, Hol- 
 brook & Barber), who died in 1879. (3) George 
 Albert was for manv years a member of the firm of 
 
 Clark & Iliilbrouk, shoe manufacturers of Hart- 
 ford. He ilied in Deceml)er, 1889, leaving two 
 daughters, Ellen (Goodrich, now Mrs. Dr. Calvin 
 F. Barber, of Jirouklyn; and May Abbie II.. wIid 
 married Arthur S. Jiyde. 
 
 Caleb iVletealf Holbrook was born Nov. 29, 
 1822, in Alilford, Mass., and died Jan. 10. 1896, 
 at Hartford.- He was educated in Shelburne Falls, 
 Mass., and at the age of twenty-two removed to 
 Hartford, but later went to Cincinnati, Ohio. The 
 gold excitement of 1849 '^'"^l 1'''" to the Pacific 
 slope, the voyage being made by way of Cape 
 Florn in the ship "Henry Lee," and in passing the 
 Florn a gale was encountered that lasted thirteen 
 days, sweeijing the vessel 400 miles from the course. 
 The trip from New York to San Francisco lasted 
 207 da\s, and the distance from the Golden (iate 
 to Sacramento was made in an open boat. Mr. 
 Holbrook spent fourteen months in the mines, and 
 was absent three years. He came back with about 
 $2,500, the nucleus of his future fortune, and in 
 1852, after forming a partnership with Milo Hunt, 
 he engaged in the manufacture of boots and shoes 
 and in the leather Inisiness. The Urm of Hunt & 
 Holbrook subsequently became Hunt, Holbrook & 
 Barber, continuing under that name until the death 
 of Mr. Barber, in 1879, when a return was made 
 to the original name. The factory was located on 
 Union Place, opposite the station, and Mr. Hol- 
 brook gave personal direction to the business until 
 his death, the mechanical details being under his 
 especial charge. He was also a director of the 
 Travelers Insurance Co. for twenty-five years, and 
 became one of the best-known lousiness men of the 
 city. He attended the First Baptist Church, to 
 which he contributed regularly, and was a public- 
 spirited man, taking nnich interest in the welfare 
 of his city. He was quite a traveler, having gone 
 abroad three times, and his broad information and 
 high character made his friendship sought by the 
 best. In politics he was a Republican, and for 
 three years he served in the common council of 
 Hartfo'rd. 
 
 In January, 1854. ^Ir. Flolbrook married Fanny 
 Hollister, of Hartford, and liiey had one son. George, 
 born in December, 1854, who died aged nine 
 months. The mother died in i8;4. and in 1859 
 Mr. Holbrook married Elizabeth Crocker Nelson, 
 by whom he had four children : ( i ) Frank Nel- 
 son, born Nov. 7, i860, who died May 26. 1874; 
 (2) Grace Hawes, born Aug. 24, 1863, who mar- 
 ried Henry C. White, of Hartford, and has two 
 sons — John Holbrook, born April 10, 1890. and 
 Nelson Cook, born June 11, 1900; (3) Minnie H., 
 born in 1865, who died in infancy; and (4) Annie 
 Metcalf H.. born Oct. 12, 1868. who died Oct. 
 13- ^893- '^irs. Elizabeth C. Flolbrook died June 
 7, 1873, and our subject was married, in January, 
 1875, to Anna E. Nelson, sister of his second wife. 
 She survived him, and died April 20. 1898. 
 
 The Nelson fanuly is of pioneer stock, the first 
 
264 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of the line in this country having been WilHam 
 Nelson, who was married, in 1640, to Martha Ford. 
 The Fords came over in the ship "Fortune," and 
 Martha Ford was born in 1621, the first white 
 female child born in New England. William Nel- 
 son, the next in the line of descent, was born in 
 1645, in Middleboro, Mass., and married Ruth 
 Foxel, born in 1640. Thomas N. Nelson, son of 
 William, was married, in 1676, to Hope Higgins. 
 Lieut. Thomas Nelson, son of Thomas N., mar- 
 ried Judith Pierce. Thomas Nelson, son of Lieut. 
 Thomas, Avas a resident of West Middleboro, j\Iass. 
 Rev. Stephen S. Nelson, son of Thomas, married 
 Emelia Rivers, and had a son Stephen R. Stephen 
 R. Nelson married Elizabeth Crocker, and was the 
 father of the second and third wives of our subject. 
 
 JAMES H. NAYLOR, M. D., one. of Hart- 
 ford's successful physicians, was born Aug. 3, 1869, 
 at Schuylerville, Saratoga Co., N. Y. He comes 
 of good New England ancestry, and his father, a 
 native of Vermont, was for many years a well- 
 known business man of Schuylerville. The mother, 
 whose maiden name was Elizabeth Wood, was born 
 in AA'arren county. New York. 
 
 Dr. Naylor completed a course in the high 
 school of his native place, and after two years in 
 the academic department of the University of Ver- 
 mont entered the Medical Department of that in- 
 stitution. On graduating, in 1895, he became house 
 surgeon and physician in the haitford Hospital, 
 his two years of service giving him invaluable 
 training, and in 1897 he began general practice in 
 Hartford. He is a member of the City, County 
 and State Medical Societies, and socially is prom- 
 inent as a member of Sphinx Temple, Order of the 
 Mystic Shrine, and other ]\Iasonic societies ; the 
 L O. O. F. ; the Knights of Pythias; the Ancient 
 Order of United Workmen ; and the Phi Chi Fra- 
 ternitv. 
 
 ERASTUS ELY CASE, M. D., a well-known 
 physician of Flartford for twenty-five years, is a 
 lineal^ descendant of John Case, the first settler 
 of Simsbury in this county, and a grandson of 
 Noah and Olive Case, both of whom were born 
 and lived throughout their lives in Granby. 
 
 Norton Case, the Doctor's father, was born 
 Dec. 26, 181 5, in Granby, where he spent his boy- 
 hood, and was a lifelong farmer in Canton and 
 East Granby. He was honorable in all his deal- 
 ings, and highly respected. He represented East 
 Granby in the State Legislature, besides filling at 
 different times the most responsible offices in Can- 
 ton and East Granby, a record which in itself speaks 
 for his trustworthiness and efficiency. Li Canton 
 he married Miss Eliza Case (born May 21, 1815; 
 died Sept. 22, 1859), daughter of Anson and Rachel 
 Case, and they had two children : Anson Miles and 
 Erastus Ely. The former married Miss Lucia A. 
 Case, of Canton, by whom he had one son, Winthrop 
 
 Tracy, now a civil engineer in the employ of the 
 city of Boston, and died at the age of forty. Nor- 
 ton Case died Oct. 6, 1899, at the age of eighty- 
 three, surviving his first wife over forty years. In 
 October, i860, he contracted a second marriage, 
 with Miss Charlotte E. Case, who survives him. 
 
 Erastus Ely Case was born May 28, 1847, i" 
 Canton Centre, where he received his early educa- 
 tion, later attending Williston Seminary, East- 
 hampton, Mass., whence he was graduated in 1868. 
 In 1872 he completed the classical course in Yale 
 College, and in 1874 he graduated from the New 
 York Homeopathic Medical College, the following 
 year commencing practice in Hartford, where he 
 has ever since been located. Dr. Case has, by his 
 skill and ability, secured a large and lucrative prac- 
 tice. He is a member of the Dunham Medical Club, 
 of Hartford, the Connecticut Homeopathic Medical 
 Society, of which he was president in 1888-89, the 
 American Institute of Homeopathy, and the Inter- 
 national Hahnemannian Association, of which lat- 
 ter he is now (1900-1901) president. Fraternally 
 he is a Knight Templar, a member of Washington 
 Commandery, No. i, of Hartford. Since his first 
 establishment in Hartford he has been a member 
 of, and much of the time an office-bearer in, the 
 Fourth Congregational Church. 
 
 On Oct. 14, 1874, the Doctor was united in 
 marriage with Miss Sarah Maria Griswold, born 
 in East Granb}^ Aug. 29, 1846, daughter of James 
 M. Griswold, a native of Windsor, and three chil- 
 dren blessed this union, namelj^: Flerbert Monroe, 
 born Sept. 28, 1875, graduated from the Massa- 
 chusetts Institute of Technology in 1899, now an 
 electrical engineer with the General Electric Co., 
 Schenectady, N. Y. ; Helen Eliza, born Nov. 15, 
 1876; and Clarence Norton, born Sept. 29, 1880, 
 now a student at the Connecticut Agricultural Col- 
 lege. The mother of these passed away Jan. 15, 
 1883, and on Feb. 24, 1886, Dr. Case wedded, in 
 Hartford, Mrs. Emorette Holcomb. They have had 
 one child, Everett Erastus, born Sept. 9, 1888. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY POST (deceased), mer- 
 chant and philanthrophist, whose death in 1899 cast 
 a gloom over the city of Hartford, traced his line 
 of descent from Stephen Post, an English gentle- 
 man, who was born in Chelmsford, County of 
 Essex. 
 
 This American progenitor of the family crossed 
 the ocean, with his wife and four children, in the 
 ship "Griffin," in September, 1633, landing in Bos- 
 ton. He was a devout Puritan, and was one of 
 the devoted flock which Rev. Mr. Hooker led 
 through the wilderness in June, 1636, to found 
 the new colony of Connecticut, his name being 
 inscribed on the monument erected by the citizens 
 of Hartford in honor of the city's founders in the 
 ancient burying-ground of Center Church. ]\Ir. 
 Post, however, did not remain in Hartford, re- 
 moving to Saybrook, where he built a house at a 
 
^^e-^^lfi_ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 265 
 
 place called Oyster River, some two miles from 
 the fort. There he died Aug. 16, 1659. his wife, 
 Eleanor, surviving him until Nov. 13, 1670. To 
 Stephen and Eleanor Post were born three sons 
 and one daughter: John, 1626; Thomas, 1628; 
 Abraham, 1629: and Catherine, 1631. All were 
 born in England. 
 
 Abraham Post, the third son, was the great- 
 great-grcat-grand father of the gentleman whose 
 life forms the subject of this memoir. He was the 
 father of ten children, all born in Saybrook: 
 Stephen (2), Dec. 3, 1664: Ann, ]\Iay 4, 1667; 
 Abraham (2), June Q, 1669; James, IMarch 14, 
 1671 ; Esther, Dec. 14, 1672; Daniel. Nov. 28, 
 1673: Gordon, May 29, 1676: Joseph. Feb. 6, 1678; 
 Mary. Feb. 21, 1680; and Eleanor Feb. 10. 1682. 
 Of this large family the eldest. Stephen, was the 
 next in line of descent toward William H. In 
 1708 he removed from Saybrook tliat he might se- 
 cure his share of a tract of land nine miles square 
 donated by an Indian named Uncas. a ]\Iohegan 
 sachem, to a partv of whites from Saybrook who 
 had rescued him from a fort on the Thames river, 
 in which he was besieged. The portion allotted to 
 Stephen Post was some 4,000 acres. His name ap- 
 pears as one of the signers of a petition presented 
 to the General Assembly in 1707. praxing for the 
 establishment of a township named Hebron, and he 
 appears by the early records extant to have been 
 one of the new town's most respected citizens, noted 
 for his exact justness and his firm decision of char- 
 acter. His first home was a log cabin, and stood 
 on what is known as Post's Hill, now in Columbia 
 town, but at that time forming a part of Hebron. 
 On June 14, 1692, he married Hannah Hosmer, 
 who died in Hebron Jan. 25, 175 1. He followed 
 her to the grave May 16, 1752. They were the 
 parents of five sons and five daughters, whose 
 names and the dates of whose births are as follows : 
 Hannah. March 29, 1693; Stephen Sept. 8, 1695; 
 Mary. March 13, 1697; Hester, :\Iay 16, 1699; 
 Thomas (in later life a deacon), Feb. 10, 1701 ; 
 Gideon. Feb. 10, 1703; Phineas, Dec. 2, 1704; 
 Sxbil, Oct. 10, 1706: Dorothy, Jan. 29, 1708; Israel 
 (who was also made a deacon). May 13. 1709. 
 The fourth son and seventh child, Phineas, was the 
 great-grandfather of William H. Post. He married 
 Anna Post, a distant relative, who bore him four 
 children: Phineas (2), Jan. 3, 1743; Anna, 1744; 
 Amy. 1746; and Lucy, 1748. 
 
 Phineas Post (2), the next in the descending line, 
 married Sybil Barber. They were the parents of 
 eleven children: Elihu, born Aug. 10, 1775; 
 Phineas (3), Aug. 24, 1777; Bela, Aug. 28, 1779: 
 Sybil, Feb. 13, 1782; Abner, Nov. i. 1783; Anna, 
 Sept. 6, 1785; Dudley Barber, Nov. 27, 1788; 
 Erastus, Aug. 17, 1791 ; Augustus. Julv 26, 1793; 
 Ralph. Jan. 3, 1795; and Charles, July '2, 1798. 
 
 Augustus Post, the ninth child of Phineas (2), 
 and the father of the late \\'illiam H. Post, was 
 married to Betsev Gordon Strong. Their children. 
 
 all born in Hebron, were seven in number: Sybil 
 Rebecca, Lydia Elizabeth, Charles Augustus, Mary 
 Gardner, Amos Strong, William Henry and Mary 
 Amelia. The eldest daughter, Sybil Rebecca, was 
 born Aug. 26, 1819, and on Nov. 25, 1843. became 
 the wife of Gurdon Young Robertson, of Colum- 
 bia, Conn. Lydia E., born April 15, 182 1, married 
 Norman Henry Clark, of Columbia, on Dec. 7, 
 1848. Charles Augustus was born Sept. 21, 1822, 
 and was united to Lucy Ann Bill, of Columbia, 
 Oct. 24, 1850. Mary G., born April 25, 1825, died 
 Sept. 25, 1842. Amos Strong was born Nov. 24, 
 1827, took up his residence in Hartford, became 
 a merchant, and was a member of the firm of Tal- 
 cott & Post at the time of his death. Sept. 24. 1857. 
 Mary Amelia was born July 8, 1844, nearly two 
 years after the death of her sister. Marv- Gardner: 
 on Alav 23. 1866. she married Daniel T. Fuller, and 
 died Sept. 20, 1888. 
 
 William Henry Post, was born April i, 1833. 
 He attended the common schools until he, reached 
 the age of sixteen years, when he entered a store in 
 Hebron as a clerk. He manifested a marked apti- 
 tude for business, and after a year his brother, 
 Amos S., then a partner in the drv-goods firm of 
 Talcott & Post, took him into his establishment at 
 Hartford, located at the corner of Main and Pratt 
 streets. He found mercantile life congenial, and 
 from the day on which he entered his brother's 
 service until his death he was conspicuously iden- 
 tified with the city's commercial and financial in- 
 terests. He succeeded his brother as a member of 
 the firm on Jan. i. 1858, and so continued until his 
 dissolution, in 1S81. In the spring of that year he 
 founded the house of William H. Post & Co., the 
 junior member of the firm being E. S. Yergason, 
 who had been associated with him in the old con- 
 cern. For several years business was conducted 
 on Main street, but when, a few years ago, the 
 William H. Post Carpet Co. was organized, new 
 quarters were found in the Goodwin building, at 
 the intersection of Asylum and Haynes streets. 
 The success of the business proved unexpected and 
 unusual, and an enlargement of the premises oc- 
 cupied was found necessary. ]\Ir. Post's guiding 
 hand was ever at the helm ; and to his quick, keen 
 perception, watchful care and sagacious foresight 
 the singular success of the enterprise is largely due. 
 In addition to his mercantile business ^Ir. Post was 
 prominently identified with various other corporate 
 financial interests. He was for several years a 
 director of the Connecticut General Life and the 
 Phoenix Life Cos., as well as a director in the Hart- 
 ford National Bank, and one of the auditors of the 
 Society for Savings. 
 
 In private as in business life Mr. Post was 
 widely known, universally esteemed and unhesi- 
 tatingly trusted. His circle of acquaintances ex- 
 tended far beyond the city whose development and 
 prosperity were so dear to him. He was cultured 
 in his tastes, and in manners showed the courtesy 
 
266 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 which comes only from the true instinct of a gen- 
 tleman. He was always affable, and equally easy 
 of approach by the millionaire in broadcloth or the 
 artisan in overalls or fustian. His domestic life 
 was ideally happ)', and his home was a social center 
 of refinement and culture. He was a member of 
 St. John's Lodge, F. & A. M., and active in pro- 
 moting the interests of the Governor's Foot Guards, 
 being always prominent at the governor's recep- 
 tions given by that organization. In religious be- 
 lief he was a Congregationalist. He was long con- 
 nected with the Park Church, and was for many 
 years an active member of both church ahd society 
 committees, as well as always a generous contrib- 
 utor toward its support and the propagation of its 
 work. 
 
 As a citizen Mr. Post was public-spirited and 
 liberal, yet perhaps his most salient characteristics 
 were generosity and charity, in the exercise of 
 which virtues few, if any, riien in Hartford excelled 
 him. Few suspected the extent of his private ben- 
 efactions, and none but himself and his Master 
 knew the number of pensioners upon his individual 
 bounty. He was the first to whom the promoters 
 of any wisely planned, well-directed charitable en- 
 terprise looked for aid, and few appealed to either 
 his sympathy or his purse in vain, tlis generosity 
 did not overlook his old home in Tolland county, 
 and the handsome font in the Congregational 
 church at Columbia is his memorial to his parents. 
 He also contributed most liberally toward the Sun- 
 day-school library, which was then virtuall_v the 
 circulating library of the town. To Colt's Band he 
 was accustomed to donate generously, and in ac- 
 knowledgment thereof that organization annually 
 serenaded him at his home on some evening in 
 June. Children and animals he dearly loved, and 
 they in turn loved him. Such traits as these show 
 the tenderness of his heart, his capability for affec- 
 tion, and his nobility of soul. 
 
 Mr. Post's death occurred at his residence, No. 
 706 Prospect avenue, on Friday, Jan. 13, 1899. ^^ 
 had long been suft'ering from a complication of 
 disorders, which had so far undermined his health 
 that when attacked by grippe he failed rapidly, 
 passing away after a short illness. His demise 
 was deeply mourned, not only by the many warm 
 friends whom he had attracted to himself by the 
 geniality and gentleness of his disposition and his 
 sincerity of heart, but also by the poor who lost in 
 him a counselor and benefactor, and by Hartford 
 citizens at large, who mourned that a man of such 
 generous public spirit and blameless life had been 
 taken from their midst. 
 
 Mr. Post was married Sept. 7, 1857, to Miss 
 Helen Maria Denslow, of Hartford, daughter of 
 William Judd Denslow, a descendant of Nicholas 
 Denslow, of Windsor. Mrs. Post and their four 
 children survive him. Their eldest daughter, Helen 
 Louise, was born April 5, i860, rnd on June 5, 
 1889, married Thomas Brownell Chapman, of Hart- 
 
 ford. Alice Maria, born Dec. 27, 1863, is now Mrs. 
 Frederick Everest Haight, of Brooklyn, having- 
 been married Oct. 24, 1888. William Strong, born 
 Feb. 25, 1868, is now the president of the William 
 H. Post Co. The youngest daughter. Miss Anne 
 Wilson Post, was born Nov. 15, 1878, and lives at 
 home. 
 
 MICHAEL C. NEEDHAM, whose death oc- 
 curred in 1876, in Hartford, was for a period. of 
 twenty-five years one of the substantial and useful 
 citizens of that city. 
 
 Mr. Needham was born in September, 1832, in 
 Mullinahone, County Tipperary, Ireland, and there 
 received his school training. When a young man 
 he came to the United States, locating at Spring- 
 field, Mass., where as boss carpenter he was em- 
 ployed for three years in buiklino- railroad cars. 
 He came to Hartford in 1851, and at once took 
 a lively interest in the welfare and growth of the 
 city, and, possessed of energy and industry, and 
 being a good financier and manager, soon forged 
 his way to the front and became one of the enter- 
 prising and public-spirited business men of that 
 period. He engaged in work as r. carpenter, and 
 in 1859 erected a block of buildings on Front street. 
 He became engaged in the wholesale liquor busi- 
 ness on that street. In 1867 he purchased what 
 was known as the Olcott property, on the corner 
 of Main and North Main streets, and elegantly re- 
 built the Main street front, comprising about ninety 
 feet. This property is now known as Needham's 
 corner. After fitting up this block he engaged in 
 the tea. business, and also kept a shoe store on the 
 same street. He continued in active business up 
 to the time of his death, and attained a prominent 
 position among the business firms of the city, and 
 from his strictly upright life and honorable deal- 
 ings commanded the respect of all classes. ]\Ir. 
 Needham was fond of good horses, and generally 
 had the- finest turnouts of that day in Hartford. 
 He was generous, and gave liberally to every good 
 work of charity, and did his giving without dis-' 
 criminating as to religion or creed. He gave $500 
 to the building of St. Patrick's church, and after 
 the building was destroyed by fire obtained a sub- 
 scription of $14,000 for its rebuilding. He gave 
 liberally toward the building of the cathedral at 
 Hartford; was always a friend to those in need, 
 and to the Catholic Church especially he was very 
 generous. His political affiliations were with the 
 Democratic party, in whose councils he was prom- 
 inent, and by whom he was once offered the nom- 
 ination for mayor, which he declined. 
 
 On April 24, 1854, Mr. Needham was married 
 to Ellen Donavan, of Fethard, County Tipperary, 
 Ireland, who for twenty-three years after her iius- 
 band's death carried on the business. She died 
 July 30, 1899. In 1897 she had erected the finest 
 monument in St. Patrick's cemetery. Twelve chil-, 
 dren were born to this couple, three of whom only 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 2(57 
 
 are now living: (i) William F. is a musician in 
 Colt's Band, of Hartford. He married Ada 
 Schmeltz, and they have had children as follows : 
 William, Nellie, Ada, and George (deceased). (2) 
 John A. is a resident of Hartford. (3) GiiouGE A. 
 is also a resident of Hartford, and since the mother's 
 death has looked after and managed the estate. 
 He married Kathryn, daughter of Patrick Alurphy, 
 of Hartford, and one son, George A., Jr., was horn 
 to them Nov. 24, 1900. 
 
 CHARLES H. ROBINS, city auditor of Hart- 
 ford, had an extended business experience prior to 
 his first election in 1894 to the important public office 
 mentioned above. His recognized talents in com- 
 mercial affairs are supplemented by an engaging 
 personalitv, which has won for him an unusually 
 large number of personal friends. His father. was 
 in his day also a prominent and most highly es- 
 teemed citizen of Hartford. J\Ir. Robbins is a mem- 
 ber of one of the old and leading families of Con- 
 necticut. He is of the eig-hth generation in lineal 
 descent from Nicholas Robbins, who in 1638 was 
 a resident of Duxbury, Mass., and died there in 
 1650. In his will, probated Feb. 9, 1651, are men- 
 tioned as his children, John, Alary, Hannah and 
 Rebecca. 
 
 (11) John Robbins, son of Nicholas, settled in 
 Bridgewater, Conn., and there in 1667 was born his 
 son Jeduthan. 
 
 (HI) Jeduthan Robbins, son of John, removed 
 to Plympton, and there died in 1726. His eight 
 children were Jeduthan, John, Persis, Hannah, 
 Elizabeth, Abigail, i\Iehitabel and Lemuel. 
 
 (lY) Lemuel Robbins, son of Jeduthan, was 
 born in 1726. He married Esther Dunham, and for 
 some time resided at Bridgewater. Later he re- 
 moved to Sutton, Mass., where his son Ephraim 
 was born, and afterward to Townsend, now Poult- 
 ney, Vt., witli his son AVilliam, where he was killed 
 by the falling of a tree in 1786, aged sixty years. 
 His children were : ( i ) Lemuel, who married Rachel 
 Bass, and died in Augusta, N. Y., March 3, 1842; 
 (2) John, who married Olive Knight; (3) Ephraim, 
 born IMarch 7, 1752; and (4) William. 
 
 (V) Ephraim Robins spelled his name with one 
 "b." and all his descendants have adopted that or- 
 thography. He married Abigail Caulkins May 2, 
 1771, and died in Hartford, Conn., June 30, 1829. 
 His eleven children were as follows: (i) A daugh- 
 ter died in infancy; (2) Diantha, born April 22, 
 1774, died at Hartford Julv 25, 1856; (3) Emelia, 
 born Feb. 26, 1776, married Rev. S. S. Nelson, and 
 died at Amherst, INIasl, in 1854; (4) Abigail, born 
 Aug. 10, 1778, married Rev. William Collier, and 
 died at Charlestown, Mass., Sept. 19, 1813: (5) 
 Clarissa, born May 26, 1780, died at Hartford, Conn., 
 Mav 18, 1801 ; (6) Sallie, born April 23, 1782, mar- 
 ried Francis AVilby, of Boston, and died July 21, 
 1832: (7) Ephraim, Jr., born March 9, 1784, mar- 
 ried (first) Rebecca S. Burr, of Hartford, (second) 
 
 Eliza H. llurnct, of Xew Jersey, and (third) Jane 
 Hussey, of liallimorc; (8) Gurdon was the grand- 
 father of our subject; (9) a son died in infancy; 
 (10) Joseph Skiffc, l)orn Feb. 16, 1791, died at 
 Hartford March 26, 181 5; (11) John Newton, born 
 Jan. 6, 1797, married Clarissa Ann Gaw, of Provi- 
 dence, K. 1.. and died :il Cincinnati, Ohio, I'eb. 9, 
 1823. 
 
 ( VI) Gurdon Robins, grandfather of our subject, 
 was born at Windsor, Conn., Feb. 6, 1786, and was- 
 married Oct. 7, 1809, to Julia Savage, of Middle- 
 town, Conn, h'or a number of years he was engaged 
 in the ministry at Hartford as pastor of the North 
 Baptist Church. He was also engaged in the book 
 publishing business, publishing among other works 
 "Peter Parley's Tales." He also published the 
 "Christian Secretary," now published at Hartford. 
 To Gurdon and Julia (Savage) Robins were born 
 children as follows: (i) Julia Ann, born July 11, 
 1810, died Feb. 6, 1816; (2) Charles Dodd, born 
 at Hartford Nov. 21, 181 1, died March 13. 181 5; 
 (3) Gurdon, Jr., father of our subject, was born 
 Nov. 7, 1813; (4) Julia Savage, born at Hartford, 
 Jan. II, 1816, married for her first husband Sept. 
 15, 1835, Justus R. Fortune, of Connecticut, and for 
 her second husband, April 28, 1874, Charles J. Mar- 
 tin, of New York. Gurdon Robins, Sr.,'died at 
 Hartford Feb. 4, 1864. 
 
 (VII) Gurdon Robins, the father of Charles H., 
 was for a number of years engaged in the book 
 publishing business at Hartford. Later he traveled 
 for several large book publishers of New York, and 
 when the Civil war opened he went to the front as 
 quartermaster of the i6th Conn. V. I. He remained 
 in service until captured at Plymouth, N. C. He 
 spent nine months in Libby prison and Anderson- 
 ville, and when exchanged his health was so shat- 
 tered that his life was despaired of. Returningto 
 Hartford he became paymaster for the \\'oodruff & 
 Beach Iron Works, which position he filled for many 
 vears. Mr. Robins first married Miss Harriet Jer- 
 usha Williams, of Norwich, Conn., May 16, 1840, 
 and to them were born two children : George. Savage, 
 who died in infancy; and Robert Williams, who is 
 commandant's clerk in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. 
 On April 25, 1849, 'Sir. Robins married Aliss Mary 
 Jane Redfield, of Essex, Conn, and to them were 
 born children as follows: Mary M., who married W. 
 W. Stillman, superintendent of charities; Julia A., 
 who married Frank D. Munger, superintendent of 
 the registry department in the post office ; and 
 Charles H., our subject. 
 
 The father, Gurdon Robins, was elected clerk of 
 Hartford April i, 1872. He served as town clerk 
 a number of years and was councilman from the old 
 Fourth ward. In politics he was a stanch Republi- 
 can. He was always interested in public affairs, but 
 was not a politician. He was unusuallv popular 
 among his fellow citizens, and was continually in 
 office "until no longer able to execute its duties. He 
 was prominent in the fraternal orders, a thirty- 
 
268 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 second-degree Mason, and an Odd Fellow. His 
 death occurred May 23, 1883. 
 
 Charles H. Robins, our subject, was born July 
 9, 1859, at Essex, Conn. He was educated in the 
 South school of Hartford and in the Public High 
 School of the city, attending the latter through the 
 first two years of its course. ]\Ir. Robins then en- 
 tered the post office at Hartford, where he remained 
 four years as assistant stamp clerk. Serving a year 
 as assistant postmaster at Meriden, he returned to 
 the Hartford post office department, and was for 
 four years relief clerk. In 1885 Mr. Robins re- 
 signed that position to become bookkeeper at Port- 
 land, Conn., in the United States Stamping Works 
 and with the Portland Stamping Works, acquiring 
 in time full charge of the office. In 1888 he re- 
 turned to Hartford to become bookkeeper for the 
 Dwight State Machine Co. While there he was ap- 
 pointed record clerk in the Internal Revenue Office 
 under Collector John I. Hutchinson. He was pro- 
 moted to deputy collector, and spent four years in 
 the office, being outside deputy and having charge 
 of twenty-one towns, including Hartford. In 
 March, 1894, Mr. Robins resigned his office, and the 
 following month he was elected city auditor on the 
 Republican ticket, receiving the largest vote on the 
 ticket. He was re-elected in 1896, and again in 
 1898, and in 1900 was placed on both tickets, polling 
 at each election the largest vote of all the candidates. 
 These votes were the visible evidences of his wide 
 popularity. Besides his deep interest in public af- 
 fairs Air. Robins has been closely identified with the 
 fraternity life of Hartford. He is a charter member 
 of Lincoln Lodge, K. of P., and is now past chan- 
 cellor, also president of the endowment rank of that 
 order. He has been since 1883 a member of Hart- 
 ford Lodge, No. 19, B. P. O. E., in 1895 he became 
 a member of the Putnam Phalanx, and is associated 
 with the A. O. U. W., the Order of the Maccabees, 
 and the Hartford Yacht Club. 
 
 Mr. Robins married Miss Jennie Williams, 
 daughter of Henry G. Williams, of Portland, Conn., 
 Nov. 5,. 1 890, and to them was born a daughter, 
 Ethel Williams, on Nov. 3, 1895. 
 
 DAVID CRARY, Sr., M. D., for many years a 
 leader in the medical fraternity of Hartford, was 
 born April 18, 1806, in Wallingford, Vt., son of Elias 
 and Elizabeth Crary, well-to-do agriculturists of that 
 locality. He was the youngest of a family of seven 
 children, and one of his sisters married Dr. John 
 Fox, of Wallingford. 
 
 After the usual district-school course Dr. Crary 
 attended the high school in Potsdam, N. Y., and on 
 graduating began teaching school in Danby, Vt. His 
 medical studies were begun with his brother-in-law. 
 Dr. Fox, who was one of the noted physicians of 
 that section with a large and lucrative practice. In 
 1834 Dr. Crary graduated from the Medical Col- 
 lege at Castleton, Vt., and afterward practiced in 
 Dorset, that State, for about two years. Longing 
 
 for a larger field of usefulness he removed to Hart- 
 ford in 1838, and became associated with Dr. Rem- 
 ington, who then had a very large practice, particu- 
 larl)' in the treatment of malignant tumors. His as- 
 sociate died soon after, and Dr. Crary succeeded 
 him, acqtiiring in a short time a large practice, in 
 which he made a specialty of obstetrics. He was in 
 the active practice of his profession for fifty years, 
 until his retirement in 1885^ and had assisted at the 
 birth of over 3,000 children. 
 
 In 1861 Dr. Crary returned to Wallingford, Vt., 
 where he remained — farming, fishing and hunting— 
 until 1867, when he returned to Hartford and re- 
 sumed his profession. He took much interest in 
 ornithology, and upon his removal to Wallingford 
 disposed of what was probably the largest private 
 collection of birds in the State at that time. It in- 
 cluded several hundred specimens, many rare to this 
 latitude. At the first administration of nitrous oxide 
 to a patient in Hartford Dr. Crary assisted Dr. Sam- 
 uel Beresford and Dr. Horace Welles, the patient 
 being a woman who had a tumor removed. He is 
 also credited with the first operation for tracheotomy 
 in Hartford. Summoned to a child suffocating with 
 membranous croup he opened the trachea with, a 
 lancet and held the wound open until assistance ar- 
 rived, the operation resulting in the child's recovery. 
 
 In politics Dr. Crary was a Democrat, and he 
 took a keen interest in public afl^airs. When he rep- 
 resented the First ward in the council he was chair- 
 man of the Fire committee, and he was president of 
 the board of school visitors for nine years in the 
 'eighties. For many years he was on the medical 
 staff of the hospital, when it was located in the 
 building on the corner of Maple and Retreat avenues, 
 and he was a member of the Hartford County and 
 the State Medical Societies. Dr. Crary was sur- 
 geon for the Hartford Light Guard when it was 
 commanded by Gov. Seymour. For many years he 
 was president of the Hartford Fox Club. 
 
 On Jan. 14, 1836, Dr. Crary married Susan Har- 
 ris, of Windham, Vt., who died Nov. 2, 1849. On 
 March 12, 185 1, he married a second wife, Martha 
 Tryon, who died Dec. 11, 1893. He died April 16, 
 1894, and is buried in the old cemetery. By the 
 first marriage he had six children, three of whom 
 died in infancy: David Crary, Jr., is mentioned more 
 fully below; Frank, born Aug. 12, 1845, settled in 
 Michigan ; and Susan, born Nov. 2, 1849, died in 
 1868, aged eighteen years. By the second mar- 
 riage there were two children : Louis, who died in 
 1890; and Edwin, born July 28, 1854, now a drug- 
 gist in Hartford. 
 
 David Crary, Jr., one of "the leading physicians 
 of Hartford, was born in that city April 26, 1842. 
 After receiving a public-school education he clerked 
 four years in a drug store in Rutland, Vt., and later 
 he began the study of medicine with his father as 
 preceptor. In 1869 lie was graduated from the 
 Medical Department of Yale College, and in the 
 same year became associated with his father, the 
 
X) Cuy*.^^ oC^ /\£:> 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 269 
 
 partiUTsliii) lasting until the latter's retirement in 
 1885. He lias since practiced alone, and at present 
 is the phj'sician at the count}' jad. lie is a member 
 of the American Medical Associatioh ; the Yale 
 Alumni Association and the Yale Medical Alunuii 
 Association ; and the State, County and City Medical 
 Societies. In 1900 the Doctor took a trip to Europe, 
 visiting the Paris Exposition, Switzerland, Germany, 
 Holland and England. 
 
 HON. 'CHARLES E. MORRIS, a well-known 
 and popuar citizen of Whigville, Burlington, is 
 now serving as a member of the State Legislature. 
 His lite record is well worthy of emulation, and 
 contains many valuable lessons of incentive, show- 
 ing the possibilities which are open to young men 
 who wish to improve every opporttmity for ad- 
 vancement. 
 
 Mr. Alorris was born in Torrington, Conn., Aug. 
 2, 1848, a son of Emorj' i\Iorris, a native of Con- 
 necticut, and a grandson of Lanson Morris. The 
 father received a district-school education, and 
 throughout life followed the occupaion of a machin- 
 ist. Politically he was a Republican, and religiously 
 was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 He died in Torrington, Conn., and was buried there. 
 He married Miss Sarah A. J\Iills, by whom he had 
 three children: Albert A., a resident of Coggon, 
 Iowa; Charles E., our subject; and Mary A., who 
 died at the age of nineteen years. For her second 
 husband the mother married Darius Peck. She, 
 too, was a faithful member of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church. She died in Iowa, and her remains 
 were interred there. 
 
 Charles E. Morris received only a district-school 
 education during his boyhood, and at a very early 
 age began the battle of life for himself as a farm 
 hand. When fourteen he commenced working in 
 Torrington for the Union Hardware Co. for eighteen 
 dollars per month, remaining there until nineteen 
 years of age, and then came to Whigville, to the 
 employ of Mr. Peck, Mr. Jones and Smith Brothers, 
 as a wood turner for about twenty-five years. He 
 then turned his attention to farming on the Peck 
 farm in Whigville — a tract of 114 acres — on which 
 he has made extensive improvements, including the 
 erection of a fine barn. Here he is successfully en- 
 gaged in general farming and dair3'ing, keeping the 
 best Jersey stock for the latter purpose. In Bur- 
 lington Mr. Alorris was married, in 1869, to Miss 
 Anna E. Barker, who was born there, a daughter 
 of Emory Barker, and is a ladv of talent and char- 
 acter. To this marriage have been born three chil- 
 dren : Belle, now the wife of Jay Mills, of Central 
 City, Iowa; Clifford, who died at the age of six 
 months ; and Ruth, at home. 
 
 Mr. Morris is an enterprising man of progres- 
 sive ideas, and is honored and respected by all who 
 know him. He is a prominent representative of the 
 Republican party and a stanch supporter of its 
 principles. He has most creditably served as grand 
 
 juror, is now a selectman and a member of the 
 district school committee, and was also elected to the 
 State Legislature in 1898 by a fair majority, which 
 speaks well for his popularity and the confidence 
 reposed in him by his fellow citizens, as the town is 
 Democratic, lie is a prominent member of the 
 Whigville (jrangc, and with his family holds mem- 
 bership in the Congregational Church. 
 
 HUNTINGTON. The Hartford familv of this 
 name, of which the late Hon. Samuel H. Hunting- 
 ton was the head, and a distinguished son now is 
 Col. Robert W. Huntington, of the United States 
 Marine Corps, lately promoted for meritorious serv- 
 ice in the war with Spain, and whose son, Robert 
 \V. Huntington, Jr., is secretary and actuary of the 
 Connecticut General Life Insurance Co., of Hart- 
 ford, is one of the oldest and most prominent fam- 
 ilies of Connecticut. 
 
 Judge Samuel H. Huntington was in the sev- 
 enth generation from the American ancestor of the 
 family, Simon Huntington, the line of his descent 
 being through Christopher, John, John (2j, John 
 (3j, and Hon. Hezekiah. 
 
 (I) Simon Huntington, the Puritan emigrant, 
 was born in England, probably, Margaret Baret, of 
 Norwich, or its vicinity, in England. He died on a 
 voyage to this country, in 1633. Tradition has 
 ascribed to him a family consisting of wife, -Mar- 
 garet, and three sons, Christopher, Simon and Sam- 
 uel, and has placed his leaving England in 1639 or 
 1640, and made the landing of his family at Sav- 
 brook, Connecticut. 
 
 (II) Christopher Huntington, son of Simon, the 
 emigrant, probably accompanied his mother to 
 Windsor, Conn., where he must have spent his 
 youth. In 1652 he married there Ruth, daughter 
 of William Rockwell. He probably moved in 1654 
 to Saybrook, and in the spring of 1660 he joined 
 a colony and aided in founding the town of Nor- 
 wich, Conn., being one of the patentees of the town 
 in 1685. He died in 1691. His children were: 
 Christopher, Ruth, Ruth (2), Christopher (2), 
 Thomas, John, Susannah, Lydia and Ann. 
 
 (III) John Huntington, son of Christopher, was 
 born in 1666, in Norwich, Conn., and died in 1696. 
 He married in 1686 Abigail, born in 1667. daugh- 
 ter of Samuel Lathrop, son of Rev. John Lathrop, 
 the first minister of Scituate, Mass. Their children 
 were : Abigail, John, John (2), Hannah and Martha. 
 
 (IV) John Huntington (2), son of John, was 
 born in 1691, in Norwich, and died in 1737. He 
 married in 1723 Thankful Warner, of ^^■indham, 
 who died in 1739. Early in the settlement of Tol- 
 land he removed to that town. His children were: 
 John, Thankful, Samuel, Andrew, Abigail and De- 
 borah. 
 
 (V) John Huntington (3), son of John (2). 
 born in 1726, in Tolland, was accidentally killed in 
 1774. He married Mehetabel Steele, born in 1733. 
 He was a farmer, and lived in Tolland. His chil- 
 
270 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 dren were : John, Thankful, Mehetabel, Elisha, Will- 
 iam, Hezekiah, Deborah, Samuel, Abigail, Ruth, 
 Thankful (2) and Maria. 
 
 {VI) Hon. Hezekiah Huntington, son of John 
 (3), and father of Judge Samuel H. Huntington, 
 was born Dec. 30, 1759, in Tolland. He studied 
 law with Gideon Granger, of Suffiekl, and with John 
 Trumbull, afterward judge of the superior court, 
 and was admitted to the Bar at Hartford in 1789. 
 He established himself in tJie practice of law 
 .at SufHeld in 1790, and soon attained eminence 
 in his profession. In 1806 he was appointed, 
 by Jefferson, attorney for Connecticut, and he held 
 this office until 1829. While residing in Suffield 
 he represented the town in the General Assembly 
 of the State in several sessions of the Legislature, 
 from Alay, 1802, to October, 1805. In 1801 he had 
 been appointed one of the commissioners under the 
 bankrupt law of the United States, and held the 
 office about two years. In 181 3 he removed to Hart- 
 ford, where he continued to reside until his death, 
 Avhich occurred in Middletown, Conn., May 27, 1842. 
 Mr. Huntington was marked for his great ability, 
 which made him deservedly popular. While in Suf- 
 field, Oct. 5, 1788, he married Susan Kent, who was 
 born Sept. 20, 1768. Their children were: Henry 
 W., Julia A., Horace A., Samuel H., Hezekiah, 
 Susan L., and Francis J. 
 
 (VII) Hon. Samuel Howard Huntington, son 
 of Hon. Hezekiah, was born Dec. 14, 1793, in Suf- 
 field, Conn. He was graduated from Yale in 1818, 
 and after being admitted to the Bar entered upon the 
 practice of law in the city of Hartford, where his 
 father was then a successftU lawyer and district at- 
 torney. He married, Oct. 25, 1825, Catherine H., 
 daughter of George Brinley, of Boston. She died 
 July 21, 1832, at the age of twenty-six years and 
 five months. For his second wife he married, 
 October 19, 1835, Sarah Blair, daughter of Rob- 
 ert Watkinson. He always lived in Hartford, 
 where from the very start of his business life 
 he was a successful man and an honored citizen. 
 In 1829 he was clerk of the State Senate. He was 
 for many years warden of Trinity Church. He 
 was judge of the county court, and on the establish- 
 ment of the court of claims, in Washington, D. C, 
 he was elected as one worthy the trust to be reposed 
 in its chief clerk. He died at his residence in Sum- 
 ner street, Hartford, on Feb. 4, 1880, at the ad- 
 vanced age of eighty-six years. "He had been a man 
 of remarkably vigorous health through his long life ; 
 an upright man of good habits and warm hospitality, 
 a consistent and earnest Episcopalian through life. 
 At the age of eighty-five he walked erect, and his 
 .step was lighter than most men of yovmger years. 
 Several weeks before his death he wrote an article 
 published in the Times, suggesting that the question 
 of the Asylum street railway crossing might be 
 solved by a track on the west of Asylum Hill, near 
 Woodland street, meeting the roadbed of the Con- 
 necticut Western road. Though his health and 
 
 strength had been failing for a year before his 
 death the article showed that his mind was still 
 clear." 
 
 The death of Mr. Huntington's second wife oc- 
 curred April 26, 1876. To this marriage were born 
 children as follows : 
 
 (i) Catherine B. Huntington was born Jan. i, 
 
 1837- 
 
 (2) Maria C. Huntington was born De.c 27, 
 1838. 
 
 (3) Robert W. Huntington, of the United 
 States Marine Corps, was born Dec. 3, 1840, in Hart- 
 ford, Conn. On the breaking out of the Civil war 
 he was a Freshman in Trinity College, but on the 
 call of his country he enlisted in Gen. Hawley's 
 Company, ist Conn. V. I., and served in the army 
 until September, 1861, when he was appointed a 
 lieutenant in the Marine Corps. He has been in 
 the service continuously from that time to the fall 
 of 1899. On June 21, 1864, he was promoted to 
 the rank of captain. He was senior Marine Corps 
 officer -at Samoa, and was on board the "Trenton." 
 After the destruction of the ships in the hurricane 
 there of 1887, he was in command of the marine 
 forces on shore, which forces laid out the encamp- 
 ment, administered discipline, etc. On Oct. 24, 1889, 
 Capt. Huntington was promoted to major, and Feb, 
 2, 1897, he became lieutenant-colonel. During the 
 late war with Spain Col. Huntington was in charge 
 of a battalion about 650 strong. They sailed on the 
 "Panther," and were encamped in Florida for some 
 time before starting for Cuba. Immediately on 
 reaching Guantanamo Bay, they were landed on 
 Friday, June 10, under cover of a warship, and all 
 day Saturday and until Sunday forenoon the Span- 
 ish forces on land kept up a bushwhacking fight, 
 killing four men and wounding several others. En- 
 trenchments, however, were thrown up, in spite of 
 the opposition of the enemy, their attack lasting a 
 week, and being made chiefly at night. The landing 
 was of great value, and little Camp McCalla, as 
 it was named, became famous in American history. 
 The brave effort of the men was one of the heroic 
 events of the Cuban campaign. One of the results 
 of the landing was to secure for the blockading 
 squadron a safe anchoraee and a smoother sheet of 
 water for coaling. It was an important move, and 
 was executed with judgment and skill. For merito- 
 rious service Col. Huntington was recently promoted 
 to the rank of colonel, the next highest in the marine 
 corps. He was retired from active service Jan. 10, 
 1900. 
 
 In November, 1865, Col. Huntington was mar- 
 ried to Jane Lathrop Trumbull, great-granddaugh- 
 ter of Jonathan Trumbull. She died on March 3, 
 1868, leaving two sons. In 1879 Col. Huntington 
 married Elizabeth S. Whipple, daughter of Gen. 
 Amiel Whipple, who was killed at the battle of An- 
 tietam. The Colonel's sons are : Robert W. Hunt- 
 ington, Jr., secretary and actuary of the Connecti- 
 cut General Life Insurance Co., Hartford ; and Rev. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 271 
 
 Daniel Trumbull lluntinylon, now a missionary in 
 China. 
 
 (,4) Samuel Huntington was born Dec. 17, 1842, 
 and resides at Plainfield, New Jersey. 
 
 (5j Henry Huntington was born March 27, 
 1S44. 
 
 (6) Sarah B and {y ) Elizabeth A. Huntington 
 (now Airs. Charles |. Cole J, were born Nov. 30, 
 1S47. 
 
 EDWARD FENN GAYLORD, the heaviest 
 land owner in Bristol and Burlington, Conn., own- 
 ing o\'er Soo acres and residing on a 129-acre tract 
 on I'eaceable street, Bristol, was born July 31, 1848, 
 in Syracuse, N. Y. He is a son of William Lewis 
 and Xancy (Fenn) Gaylord, and a brother of j\Iar- 
 vin Lewis Gaylord, in whose biographj' may be 
 found the lineage of the Gaylord family from Eng- 
 land's tirst pilgrim of the name to the j^resent gen- 
 eration. 
 
 Edward F. Gaylord was eight years of age 
 when the family removed from New York State 
 to Kansas, where he was first sent to school ; but 
 his privileges there were limited, as in 1861 his 
 widowed mother and her two sons returned to 
 Connecticut, of which State she was a native, and 
 settled in Burlington. Here Edward F. found bet- 
 ter opportunities for securing an education, and 
 attended school until he was sixteen years old, when 
 he apprenticed himself for five years at wood-turn- 
 ing with Lewis M. Jones, of Burlington. At the 
 conclusion of his term of apprenticeship he went on 
 the road to handle a patent broiler for a York 
 (Penn.) firm, and canvassed Ohio, Pennsylvania, 
 West Virginia and Connecticut one year ; during 
 the following year he was employed at wood-turn- 
 ing in the Stanley Rule & Level Works at New 
 Britain. He then bought the farm of 129 acres 
 on Peaceable street, Bristol, on which he now makes 
 his home. He pays but little attention to farming, 
 devoting his immense estate of over 800 acres to 
 other purposes. He has a large dairy and whole- 
 sales his milk to another party ; he also deals in 
 grain and feed of all kinds, and employs all the 
 year round, a force of from fifteen to fifty men in 
 his difl^erent lines of business. He has a contract 
 for sprinkling the streets of Bristol, and formerly 
 had a contract for keeping in repair eightv miles 
 of road in the town. Besides his wood business, 
 which is a secondary consideration, he owns and 
 operates a portable sawmill, which he runs the year 
 round. He also deals in horses, buying and selling. 
 
 Mr. Gaylord w^as united in marriage Sept. 15, 
 1869, with Miss jNIartha Caroline Tuttle. daughter 
 of Luther L. and Martha (Lowery) Tuttle, of 
 Bristol, and a very interesting familv of three chil- 
 dren has been born to them : Luther Lewis, born ! 
 ^larch 7, 1873, married Feb. 15, 1899, j\Iiss Edna ' 
 Lewis, of Farmington, and is now living in Hart- 
 ford, where he is confidential clerk for'the Cape- 
 well HorSenail Co. ; Charles Edward, born Oct. 
 
 31, 1876, who has charge of all his father's machin- 
 ery, married .Miss May Lydia Stone, of Burling- 
 ton, Jan. 26, 1899, and has one child, Margerie 
 Alay; Jennie Martha, born Alarch 9, 1884, is at- 
 tending the Bristol high school, class of 1901. 
 Aliliough not strictly a farmer, Edward 1-enn 
 Gaylord takes a deep interest in agricultural pur- 
 suits. For two years he was president of the Bris- 
 tol Agricultural Society; has acted as chief mar- 
 shal of the Bristol Fair Association, and has had 
 the management of the horse exhibit at the Fair. 
 He is a member of Whigville Grange, No. 48, of 
 Burlington, of which he has served several years as 
 master; is a member of Pomona Grange, of which 
 he is the past overseer and present master, and his 
 wife is also a member of the P. of H. Mr. Gaylord 
 and his family are devout members of the Prospect 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and in politics he has 
 always been an active Republican. 
 
 FRANKLIN BENJAMIN BYINGTON, who 
 is living in retirement on South street, near the cor- 
 ner of Main, Bristol, was born in Wolcott, New 
 Flaven Co., Conn., June 7, 1840, a son of Noah 
 Heni"}' and Parley (Perkins) Byington. 
 
 Noah Byington, grandfather of Franklin B., 
 lived in that part of Bristol town now known as 
 Edgewood, was a surveyor, and owned the property 
 now known as the Muzzy farm. He was twice mar- 
 ried, and by his first wife, whose name is not now 
 known, he had two children, Welles and Charles. 
 By his second union, with Ruth Manross, of Bristol, 
 he also had two children, Noah Henry, father of our 
 subject, and Franklin B., wdio died young. Welles 
 was a tinner, and had a shop in Bristol for many 
 years ; he was a deacon in the Congregational 
 Church. Charles, who was a physician, practiced 
 first in Bristol, then for a number of 3'ears in New 
 Haven, where he died at the age of sixty-two. 
 
 Noah Henry Byington, born in Bristol in Sep- 
 tember, 1810, graduated from Yale Medical School, 
 practiced in ^Volcott sixteen years, and then in 
 Southington until his death, Dec. 29, 1878. He 
 died in the faith of the Congregational Church. 
 He was a thirty-second degree IMason, a member 
 of Washington Commandery, Hartford. To his 
 marriage with Miss Parley Perkins, who was born 
 Oct. 23, 1817, a daughter of Green Perkins, of Wol- 
 cott, were born two children : Charles Henry, Feb. 
 12, 1838, a mechanic, who died in Southington Jan. 
 12, 1865; and Franklin B. The mother died in 
 New Haven, April 7, 1891. INIr. Byington was a 
 Democrat, and active in politics, serving a number 
 of years as first selectman of his town, which he 
 represented two terms in the State Legislature. 
 
 Franklin B. Byington attended school in \\'o\- 
 cott until eight years old. Li April, 1849. the fam- 
 ilv removed to Southington, where he finished his 
 education, graduating from Lewis Academy in 
 June, 1857. In the following July he entered 
 Bradlev & Woodruff's drug store, in the same town. 
 
272 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and remained until 1861, when he entered the dis- 
 pensar}' of the liospital at New Haven, where he 
 spent the years 1862 and 1863; he then went into 
 Peck & Smith's general store, as clerk for two 
 years, and next went to Plainfield, N. J., where he 
 and a Mr. Lewis formed a partnership in the 
 dry-goods trade, under the style of Lewis & By- 
 ington ; two years later Mr. Lewis bought out 
 Mr. Byington's interest. 
 
 Mr. Bymgton now returned to Southington and 
 started in the coal, wood and lumber trade, in 
 partnership with Dennis Bristol, under the style 
 of J. D. Bristol & Co., which was maintained about 
 four years, when our subject sold his interest to 
 Air. Bristol. Mr. Byington next accepted a posi- 
 tion with the ..Etna Nut Co., of Southington, in 
 which he had charge of the yard and freight for 
 six years, resigning in 1878, since when he has 
 lived in retirement. In 1881 he located in New 
 Haven, where he lived until 1892, when he came 
 to Bristol and erected his present modern home. 
 He is a stockholder in the /Etna Nut Co., and the 
 Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., both of Southington. 
 
 Mr. Bvington is affiliated with Franklin Lodge, 
 No. 56, F. & A. M., of Bristol, and he and his 
 wife are members of Dwight Place Congregational 
 Church at New Haven. In politics he was formerly 
 a Democrat, but was always in favor of the gold 
 standard for redemption money. 
 
 On May 6, 1868, Mr. Byington was married to 
 Miss Maria Theresa Thorpe, who was born .Dec. 
 14, 1841, a daughter of Lauren and Katherine 
 (Byington) Thorpe, of Southington. They have 
 had no children. 
 
 ADDISON LEWIS CLARK (deceased) was 
 born at Webster, Mass., Dec. 4, 1832. He came 
 of stanch Revolutionary stock, his grandfather hav- 
 ing been Asahel Clark, who served as a patriot 
 soldier in 1776. 
 
 Asahel Clark was born at Woodstock, Conn., and 
 was one of the gallant devoted band of raw recruits 
 who marched to the defense of Boston in April, 
 1775, participating in the battle of Bunker Hill. He 
 afterward served under Gen. Israel Putnam, suffer- 
 ed in the camp at Peekskill, N.Y. ; followed McPher- 
 son into Pennsylvania, took part at Germantown, 
 and underwent the horrors of the winter at Val- 
 ley Forge. 
 
 • Lathrop Clark, father of our subject, was born at 
 Woodstock, Conn., Aug. 12, 1787, and died Nov. 16, 
 1856. On Oct. 22, 1814, he married Lucy Perrin, 
 who was born April 22, 1796, and they became the 
 parents of ten children, of whom Addison L. was the 
 youngest. The others, in order of birth were : War- 
 ren, born Sept. 9, 1815, died in 1896; Asahel D.,born 
 July 23,1817, died March 16, 1867; Charles L.,bor:i 
 Feb. 27, i8i9,died in 1893; Eden P., born May 19, 
 1821 ; Francis W.,born Feb. 5,1823; Abiah L.,born 
 May 25, 1824, died June 25, 1879; Lucy A., born 
 May 25, 1826, died March 4, 1830; Otis, born June 
 
 I, 1828, and Lucy A. (2), born July 16, 1830. The 
 mother of these dying in 1834, Mr. Clark, two years 
 later, married Miss Sarah Childs, bv which union 
 there were two children : George M., born March 
 22, 1837, and John W., born April 25, 1839. Of this 
 large family of thirteen children only Lucy A. sur- 
 vives. She is the wife of Lebbeus Bissell, treasurer 
 of the Savings Bank of Rockville, Connecticut. 
 
 C~)ur subject's father was in very moderate cir- 
 cumstances, and when the boy was but twelve years 
 old he was glad to go to Woodstock, Conn., his fa- 
 ther's old home, and secure work with a farmer. 
 Deacon Lyon, for his board and clothes. Subse- 
 quently he retiu-ned to Webster (Mass.), and ob- 
 tained a situation in the Slater Woolen Mills. 
 From there he drifted to Winsted, Conn., and later 
 to Rockville, alternating between the three points 
 without special motive. Finalh' he went ■ to Nor- 
 wich where his skill and fidelity earned him promo- 
 tion to the post of superintendent, and it was while 
 there that he married, for his first wife, Miss Julia 
 Andrews, b^^ whom he had two children : Addison 
 L. (deceased), and Josephine (Mrs. Cooper Robe- 
 son, of Springfield). Leaving Norwich he settled 
 at Philmont, N. Y., where he began the manufacture 
 of cashmeres, remaining there s-everal years, when 
 he went to North Conway, Mass., still carrying oni 
 the manufacture of woolens. In 1871 he estab-J 
 lished himself at Manchester, purchasing the oldjj 
 Keeney Mills at Manchester Green. This prop- 
 ertv was destroyed by fire, and Mr. Clark erected a 
 new and greatly improved mill upon the same 
 site, operated by the Glastonbury Knitting Co.,: 
 of which concern he -was the president. The cor- 
 poration owned three plants, the other two being 
 located 'in .the village of Addison (so named in his 
 honor), and in the town of Glastonbur}'. Under 
 the energetic guidance and skillful business man- 
 agement of Mr. Clark these properties were so 
 successfully developed that they became the most 
 valuable mills in Hartford county. 
 
 In politics our subject was a Republican. He 
 was self-made in the best sense of that term; and 
 self-educated as well, his early scholastic advantages ; 
 being such as he could obtain at a district school be- 
 fore reaching the age of twelve years. Later he at- 
 tended a business college for a time, acquiring al 
 knowledge of bookkeeping, etc. At his death, Jan. ' 
 20, 1896, he left an estate valued at $200,000, accu- 
 mulated through his own hard work, sound judg-J 
 ment and constant probity. After the death of his! 
 first wife Mr. Clark married, Jan. 5, 1883, Missj 
 Luella T. Talcott, of East Flartford, Conn. One| 
 child was born to this marriage but died in infancy., 
 Mrs. Clark survives him, and resides in Hartford.] 
 
 CALVIN WILLIAM JACQUES, M. D., who 
 passed away March 21, 1891, at his home in the 
 town of ]\Ianchester, was engaged in the active prac- 
 tice of his profession there for almost a half century, 
 and his memory will long be cherished throughout 
 
 I 
 
i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 573 
 
 tliat section of Hartford county by the many who 
 learned to love and honor him during his lung and 
 useful career. 
 
 Dr. Jacques was, as his name would suggest, of 
 r'rench ancestry in the paternal line, his great-grand- 
 father, who was a native of France, coming to this 
 country with LaFayette, of whom he was a rela- 
 tive, and in whose service he was an officer. His 
 wife was an English lady. Amos Jacques, the 
 Doctor's grandfather, was born in Newport, R. 1., 
 and married Freelove Westcott, an American lady. 
 Amos Jacques, father of Calvin W., was born in 
 Sterling, Windham Co., Conn., in the eastern part 
 of the State, and became a man of means, owning 
 a large estate at his native place. He moved to a 
 farm in the vicinity of Rockville, Tolland Co., Conn. 
 He married Miss Mary Kenyon, of Plainfield, Conn., 
 and they became the parents of four children : Cal- 
 vin William, Adonirum Judson, John J. and Nar- 
 cissa E. The last-named became the wife of Dr. 
 Isaac Sperry, and now resides in Waterbury, Con- 
 necticut. 
 
 Calvin W. Jacques was born March 24, 1822, at 
 Tolland, Conn., and was reared on a farm. He 
 attended the common schools, also the academies at 
 Plainfield and Westfield, and when but sixteen years 
 old commenced teaching, meanwhile continuing his 
 studies. Beginning preparation for his profession 
 when quite young, he read first with a doctor of 
 New Haven, and later in the office of Dr. Johnson, 
 of Hartford, with whom he practiced for a short 
 time after graduating. In 1844 he came to the 
 town of Manchester, locating at Buckland's Cor- 
 ners, and here continuing in the active duties of his 
 calling up to the time of his decease, remarking n 
 his deathbed that he was dying "in the harness." 
 From the start he met with most encouraging suc- 
 cess, and during his later years his practice was so 
 large that he was obliged to devote his entire time 
 to its demands, relinquishing pleasures and other 
 activities which he also enjoyed in order to give 
 proper attention to his numerous patients. His re- 
 mains were interred in the Buckland cemetery, his 
 brethren of the Masonic Fraternity taking charge 
 of the funeral services. Dr. Jacques was not a 
 member of any church, but attended services, and 
 contributed generously to church work and religious 
 enterprises. With an intelligent and progressive 
 comprehension of the needs of the community, he 
 was a valuable citizen, and was honored with elec- 
 tion to the State Legislature, in which he served 
 ably and faithfully. Since Manchester became a 
 town only three Democrats have attained that dig- 
 nity, the other two being Ralph Cheney and Francis 
 W. Cowles. 
 
 At Buckland Dr. Jacques formed the acquain- 
 tance of Miss Anna Griswold Buckland, whom he 
 married about a year after settling there, and in 
 1847 he built the main part of the beautiful residence 
 now occupied by his widow and in which they made 
 their permanent home. During their earlier mar- 
 is 
 
 ricd life Dr. and Mrs. Jacques traveled extensively 
 tliroughout the United States ; but his increasing 
 practice kept him closely at liome for a number of 
 years prior to his decease. 
 
 Mrs. Anna Griswold (Buckland) Jacques was 
 born in the town of Manchester, daughter of Tudor 
 and Annie (Griswold) Buckland, and, as her mother 
 died a few days after her birth and her father five 
 months later, she was reared by her maternal grand- 
 parents, Daniel W. and Esther (Case) Griswold. 
 She attended the public and private school of her 
 native place, and Miss Bulkeley's private school on 
 Temple street, Hartford. 
 
 The Griswold family is descended from George 
 Griswold, called, in his epitaph, Armiger of Kenil- 
 worth, in Warwickshire, England, and for several 
 years during the life of his father, Francis Gris- 
 wold, was described as of Lyme, in Dorsetshire, 
 where he was married. Of the ancestors of George 
 Griswold several were members of Parliament, and 
 one, Philip Griswold, was honorably distinguished 
 in arms in the reigns of Flenry V and VI. 
 
 The sons of George Griswold with a single ex- 
 ception removed to New England. Edward, 
 whose name appears to have been changed from 
 Francis, was one of the first settlers at Windsor in 
 1633. Matthew Griswold also established himself 
 originally at the same place. Edward Griswold, the 
 first settler, was the father of George Griswold. 
 The latter was the father of Daniel Griswold, who 
 married Mindwell, daughter of Nathaniel Bissel, 
 Feb. 3, 1680. Daniel Griswold was the father of 
 Daniel, Jr., who married Sarah White in 1716. 
 Daniel Griswold, Jr., was the father of White Gris- 
 wold, born in Manchester, Oct. 22, 1727, who mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Cheney. White Griswold was a 
 soldier in the Revolutionary war, and the following 
 is a copy of a letter written by him at Fort George, 
 to a friend. A few words are illegible, owing 
 to the fading of the ink or to the creases made in 
 folding the letter, which after much wear in open- 
 ing and refolding has become almost worn through 
 in places. 
 
 Sir: 
 
 Fort Gforge, Aug. 10, ITTt;. 
 
 Although at a great distance from you yet I have an op- 
 portunity which I gladly embrace to lei you know something 
 of my circumstances since I came from home. But where 
 and how to begin I am at a loss, for the time is short in which 
 I have to write, therefore * * * must he short. I have been 
 into Canada as far as the 3 Rivers, 90 miles above Quebec, 
 which is 278 from this place, and on the march have under- 
 went an unknown ordeal, both by fatigue and want of pro- 
 visions, also by the small pox, so that we have undergone 
 almost everything but death. Rut thanks be to God I and 
 my son are in comfortable circumstances at present, for 
 which I desire I may ever be sensible of God's goodness to 
 us, and walk answerable to mercies received, for which I 
 desire your prayers that I may so do and be returned to my 
 family and friends in due time, with a sense of His goodness 
 to me; and that I may ever set God as present before my 
 eyes, that I may not sin against Him. I and Asa [his son] 
 are both at work at Fort George at the joiner's business, in 
 which I hope we shall continue, but it is uncertain how it 
 will be, for we know not but we shall be called from this 
 
274 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 place in a short time, and to what business is uncertain. As 
 to news, I have not much to write, for we don't know much 
 about the affairs of the army at Fort George. It is very 
 sickly and a * * * time. There are some days nearly 20 men 
 buried, and I believe not a day but sundry men are buried. 
 To view the hospital and see the dead earned to the grave 
 (if rightly so considered) is, I believe, the most melancholy 
 place and time that was ever in America. For this it be- 
 comes the innhabitants ot the land to humble themselves 
 before God, who is able to avert the judgment which we feel, 
 and turn from sin to Him by true and unfeigned repentance 
 and implore His forgiving love and that he would return in 
 mercy to us and graut the pardon of alh sin, which is the 
 cause of all evils which we feel. Our business for some 
 days past has been making coffins. The dead have been 
 chiefly buried without till Thursday, the 8th of August, we 
 made S, Friday 8, and Saturday 8; all but one were used as 
 soun as they were made, and 1 don't see but it is likely to 
 continue, as in time past. I counted the graves Saturday 
 night, the 10th of August, and there were 180 graves, and 
 sundry have two bodies in them, and 'tis not more than 
 thirty days since the first was buried there. I can at pres- 
 ent give no more intelligence, but, as 1 said before, I believe 
 there is not a more melancholy place in America than this, 
 if rightly so considered, although death is so frequent 'tis 
 minded among the greater part of the soldiers no more than 
 among a herd of cattle, which makes it the more doleful to 
 behold. I shall conclude with wishing you and all friends 
 health and peace, both in time and eternity. This from your 
 ' sincere friend and humble servant. White Griswold. 
 P. S., Sir: I don't * * * by not mentioning in particular 
 and by name ■ ** son and daughter, but desire you would 
 give my most kind regards to them, and let them know by 
 the above lines the situation we are in, for as I told you be- 
 fore we are well and live well at present. In writing to you 
 'tis the same as though I wrote to each of them in particular, 
 so fare ye well. 
 
 White Griswold died a British prisoner at Phil- 
 adelphia. His son, Daniel White Griswold, ma- 
 ternal grandfather of Mrs. Jacques, was a native 
 of the town of Manchester, and was an extensive 
 farmer and landowner near Buckland's Corners, in 
 that town, where his daughter, Annie, Mrs. Jacques' 
 mother, was born. On the paternal side, Mrs. 
 Jacques is a granddaughter of Capt. Peter Buckland. 
 
 WILLIAM ALMERON TERRY, retired, with 
 residence in Bristol, is a native of that town, born 
 Oct. 14, 1828, and is a descendant of English an- 
 cestry several generations removed. 
 
 Samuel Terry, great-great-great-great-great- 
 grandfather of our subject, was born in 1633-34 in 
 or near Barnet, England. He came to America to 
 serve one William P3'nchon, who got into difficulties 
 with the authorities in England on account of cer- 
 tain theological views set forth by him in a pam- 
 phlet he published, and consequently had to leave 
 his native land never to return. On Jan. 7, 1654- 
 55, the town of Springfield granted to Samuel Terry 
 ten acres of land in "Chickkuppee Plain," on condi- 
 tion that he remain in the town five years. In 1664 
 he was granted land at Enfield, Conn. He was by 
 trade a linen weaver, and was also something of a 
 fanner. He served as constable, also as surveyor 
 of highways, and served on the boundary committee. 
 While discharging his duties on that committee he 
 had the pleasure of meeting his son, Samuel, who 
 was a member of th^ same committee from Enfield. 
 
 On Jan. 3, 1660-61, he married Ann Lobdell, and 
 their children, all born in Springfield, Mass., were 
 as follows : ( i ) Sainuel, sketch of whom follows. 
 (2) Ephraim, born Aug. 26, 1663, died in Spring- 
 field, Mass., July 15, 1670, being drowned in the 
 river. (3) Thomas, born March 6, 1664-65, was 
 living July 23, 1743; he married (first) in Spring- 
 field, April 21, 1687, Mary Cooley, born June 29, 
 1659, died Dec. 16, 1720; he married (second) May 
 18, 1722, Widow Mary Meacham, of Enfield; he 
 married (third) March 22, 1735-36, Widow Han- 
 nah Chapin. By occupation Thomas Terry was a 
 farmer and weaver ; was a selectinan of the town of 
 Springfield, and often held minor offices. (4) Mary, 
 born July, 1667, and died prior to Aug. 10, 1731, 
 married Nov. 5, 1690, Jeremiah Horton, Jr. ; they 
 lived in Springfield. (5) Rebecca (i), boni July 
 25, 1669, died Aug. 18, 1670. (6) A daughter was 
 bonr'and died Dec. 12, 1670. (7) Ephraim, born 
 Feb. 3, 1671-72, and died in Lebanon, Conn., Dec. 
 7, 1760, married July 25, 1695, Hannah Eggleston; 
 he was a farmer by occupation and was a deacon 
 of the church at Windsor. (8) Rebecca (2), born 
 Dec. 5, 1673, and died June 2, 1745, married Sept. 
 
 17, 1 69 1, Abel Wright, a large land owner and man 
 of affairs in Lebanon, Conn. (9) Elizabeth, born 
 March 25, 1677, died April 2, 1677. (10) Ann 
 (date of birth unknown) married Jan. 11, 1693, 
 John Bliss, of Lebanon, Conn. Of these, 
 
 Samuel Terry, great-great-great-great-grand- 
 father of our subject, was born July 18, 1661, in 
 Enfield, Conn., and died there Jan. 2, 1730-31. He 
 married (first) May 17, 1682, Hannah Morgan, born 
 April II, 1656, died Jan. 17, 1696-97; married (sec- 
 ond) in Wethersfield, Conn., Jan. 4, 1697-98, Mar- 
 tha, widow of Benjamin Crane, Jr., who was born 
 about 1666, and died in Enfield May 29, 1743. Sam- 
 uel Terry settled in Enfield about 1683, and was a 
 farmer; at times held such local offices as constable 
 and selectman, and several times served as ensign 
 in the local militia, in which he becaiue a captain 
 in 1 716. He was a tnan of exemplary piety, prom- 
 inent in the church, and is styled "gentleman" in 
 the public record of his appointment as adminis- 
 trator to his father's estate. A brief record of his 
 children, all of whom were born in Enfield, is as 
 follows. By first marriage: (i) Hannah, born Nov. 
 
 18, 1684, married William Bement, March 3, 1706- 
 7. (2) Samuel, born March 26, 1690. (3) Rebecca, 
 born Nov. 15, 1692, married John Pasco, Jan. 5, 
 1712-13. (4-5) Twin sons, born June 6, died' Feb. 
 13, 1694-5. (6) Ebenezer, born March 31, 1696, died 
 Aug. 2, 1780, married Mary Helms, who was bor 
 1702, died April 5, 1764. He was a physician, 
 man of wealth and prominence and represented th 
 town of Enfield in the Legislature. Sanuiel Terry' 
 children by second marriage: (i) Benjamin, born 
 Oct. 13, 1698, died Feb. 20, 1795, married March 
 29, 1721, Hannah Pease; he was a blacksmith in 
 Enfield. (2) Ephraim, sketch of whom follows. ■ (3) 
 Jacob, born Feb. 20, 1703-04, died April 23, 1779, 
 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 275 
 
 married May 7, 1730, Mary Pease; he was a farmer 
 of Enfield. (4) Martha, born Feb. 18, 1705-06, 
 •ched March, 1705-06. (5) Jonathan, born Nov. 17, 
 1707, died Sept. 15, 1793, niarrietl in 1738 Sarah 
 I'ease. By trade he was a l)lacksniilh in Enfield; 
 in tile later years of his life he joined the society 
 known as Shakers, in Enfield. (6) Isaac, born 
 April 17, 1713, died Oct. 21, 1782, married in 
 Springfield, Alass., July 18, 1734, Margaret Down- 
 ing; he followed shoemaking in Enfield. Of these, 
 Ephraiim Terry, great-great-great-grandfather 
 of our subject, was born in Enfield Oct. 24, 1701, 
 and died there Oct. 14, 1783. He was a tanner in 
 Enfield, and a major in the militia. He married 
 Sept. 13, 1722-23, Ann (daughter of Rev. Na- 
 thaniel and Alice (Adams) Collins), who was 
 born Dec. 20, 1702, and died Sept. 10, 1778. She 
 was the great-great-granddaughter of Gov. Will- 
 iam Bradford, of Plymouth Colony, who came from 
 England in the "Mayflower." Their children, all 
 born in Enfield: (i) Mary, born Jan. i, 1723-24, 
 married Nov. 29, 1739, Ebenezer Pease. (2) Sam- 
 uel, sketch of whom follows. (3) Ephraim, born 
 j\lay 3, 1728, died Dec. 20, 1807, married Dec. 30, 
 1756, Martha Olmstead ; he was a farmer in En- 
 field. (4) Nathaniel, born June 3, 1730, died Feb. 
 
 20, 1792, married Abiah Dwight. He was a cap- 
 tain in the militia, and on the day following the 
 news of the battle of Lexington he set out for Bos- 
 ton with fifty-nine men ; he was afterward pro- 
 moted to Colonel; his home was in Enfield. (5) 
 Anne, born Aug. 17, 1732, died in Westfield, Mass., 
 Oct. 5, 1764, married in 1750 John Kellogg, and 
 lived in Westfield. (6) Lucy, born June 22, 1734, 
 died Dec. 16, 181 1, is said to have married, about 
 1759. Daniel Dwight, a physician and surgeon. (7) 
 Elijah, born Aug. 4, 1736, died Nov. 7, 1707, mar- 
 ried Feb. 19, 1762, Sarah Parsons; they made their 
 liome in Enfield. (8) Alice, born Aug. 23, 1738, died 
 Sept. 10, 1743. (9) Sybil, born Aug. 8, 1740, died 
 June 26, 1775. married Dec. 10, 1761, Nathaniel 
 Chapin ; they lived in Enfield. ( 10) Eliphalet, born 
 Dec. 24, 1742, died Nov. 2, 1812, married Dec. 3, 
 1765, Mary Hall; he was a lawyer in Enfield, a 
 deacon in the Congregational Church, and held 
 various town offices. Of these, 
 
 Samuel Terry, great-great-grandfather of our 
 subject, was born Oct. 18, 1725, in Enfield, Conn., 
 and died there May 8, 1798. He was an innkeeper 
 in Enfield. He married in Westfield, Mass., April 
 
 21, 1748, Mary, daughter of Samuel and Rachel 
 (Ashley) Kellogg, who was born Oct. 24, 1730, 
 and died Feb. 11, 1801. Their children, all born 
 in Enfield, were as follows: (i) Samuel, sketch of 
 whom follows. (2) Alice, born June 26, 1752, died 
 March 22. 1830, was married Dec. 23, 1773. to 
 Lemuel Kingsbury, of Tolland, Conn. (3) Mary, 
 born April 7, 1754, died Jan. 4. 1808, married Aug. 
 15, 1774, David Shaw, of East Windsor, Conn. (4) 
 Asapli, born Nov. 15, 1756, died May to, 1839, mar- 
 ried (first) July 21, 1778, Penelope McGregory, 
 
 who was born about the year 1758, and died March 
 30, i8i8. He married (second) March 25, 1822, 
 Nancy Atwell, of Montville, Conn., born May 22, 
 1793, died June 8, 1875. Asaph Terry was a farmer 
 by occupation, a colonel in the militia, and served 
 in the Revolutionary war. (5j Rhoda Ann, born 
 May II, 1759, died Dec. 12, 1783, was married May 
 II, 1778, to Thaddeus Billings, Jr., of Longmeadow, 
 Mass., where he was a lieutenant in the militia. (0) 
 Levi, born March 30, 1761, died in New London, 
 March 27, 1779, was a soldier in the Federal army. 
 (7) Solomon, born Oct. 31, 1763, died May 25, 
 1839, married (first) Aug. 31, 1788, Plannah I'ease, 
 who was born Nov. 29, 1770, and died March 5, 
 1808; he married (second) Sept. 6, 1810, Margaret 
 Pease, who was born July 2, 1776, and died Sept. 
 7, 1851 ; he lived in Enfield. (8) Sybil, born May 23, 
 1769, died in May, 1844, was married (first) March 
 23, 1785, to Nathaniel Billings: she later married 
 Simeon Pease, who was born Feb. 7, 1758. ami died 
 in 1847; they lived in Enfield. (9) Ezekiel. born 
 March i, 1775, died in Monson, JNIass., April 7, 
 1829, married, in 1795, j\Iary Griswold ; he was a 
 Baptist minister, hymn writer and printer. They 
 made their home in Monson, Mass. Of these. 
 
 Samuel Terry, great-grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born July 29, 1750, in Enfield, Conn., and 
 died in South Windsor, Conn., Nov. 11, 1838. He 
 was a farmer and tanner in East Windsor (now 
 South Windsor). He married (first) Dec. 16, 
 1 77 1, Huldah, daughter of Silas and Hannah (Mor- 
 ton) Burnham, who was born April 30. 1752, and 
 died May 18, 1809; he married (second) Dorcas 
 Buckland, who was born in 1759. and died Aug. 
 4, 1834. A brief record of his children, all born 
 in South Windsor, is as follows: (i) Eli. born 
 April 13, 1772, died in Terry ville, Conn., Feb. 24, 
 1852, married (first) March 12, 1795, Eunice, 
 daughter of James and Eunice (Dutton) Warner, 
 of Plymouth^ Conn., born May 31, 1773, died in 
 Plymouth Dec. 15, 1839. He married (second) in 
 Oct. 1840, Mrs. Harriet Ann Peck, daughter of 
 Philip and Anna (Adams) Pond, of Torrington, 
 Conn., and widow of Ozias Peck, of Plymouth. 
 She was born May 10, 1804. and died in Torring- 
 ton Aug. 22, 185 1. Eli was a clockmaker by trade, 
 and the" first in this country to make clocks in large 
 quantities. For a time he lived in Plymouth, Conn., 
 his later years being passed in the village of Terr\- 
 ville, which was named after him. (2) Samuel, a 
 sketch of whom follows. (3) Silas, born Dec. 15. 
 1775. died Nov. 21, 181 1, married Chloe, daughter 
 of Oliver and ]\Iary C. (Foster) Grant, born in 
 Wapping, Conn., May 15, 1786, died in Hartford in 
 March, 1874: he was a farmer in South Windsor. 
 (4) Huldah, born in South Windsor ^lay 4. 1778, 
 died in Enfield, Sept. 11, 1831, married Lemuel 
 Kingsbury, Jr.; he was a farmer in Enfield. (5) 
 Lucy, bom Sept. 26, 1780, died in West Hartfnnl 
 Dec. 6, 1861, married Dyer, son of Joseph. Jr.. and 
 Sybil (Stoughton) Newberry; he was a farmer in 
 
276 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 South Windsor. (6) Anne, born Feb. 7, 1783, died 
 Dec. 26, 1784. (7) Naomi, born Sept. 2V, 1787, 
 died in Hartford, Dec. i, 1869, was married in May, 
 1813, to William, son of John and Lydia (Sumner) 
 Strong, born July 24, 1785, died Nov. 10, 1841 ; he 
 was a leather merchant in Hartford. (8) Horace, 
 born Nov. 9, 1789, died in Plymouth Aug. i, 1840, 
 married Sally Ward, born in 1795, died Aug. 4, 
 1870; he was a clock maker in Plymouth. (9) Clar- 
 issa, born Oct. 15, 1793, died in Westfield, Mass., 
 May 6, 1873, married Oct. 27, 1818, Elisha Galpin, 
 son of Amzi and Rosetta (Warner) Talmadge, 
 born in Ptymouth Feb. 16, 1794, died July 28, 1835. 
 He was a maker of and dealer in saddlery goods 
 in Westfield. ("lo) Joseph, born in South Windsor, 
 Oct. 3, 1797, died in Hartford Oct. 25, 1875, mar- 
 ried in South Windsor Oct. 8, 1821, Mary Mather, 
 daughter of John Field and Mary (Mather) 
 lutch ; she was born in South Windsor Sept. 3, 
 1802. Joseph was formerly in the leather busi- 
 ness, was quite an architect, but in his later life was 
 a farmer. He lived in Hartford. Of these, 
 
 Samuel Terry, grandfather of our subject, was 
 born Jan. 24, 1774, in South Windsor, Conn., 
 whence he removed to Bristol, and established the 
 Terry Clock factory, which he conducted for a 
 great many years, his son Theodore and a Mr. An- 
 drews, under the firm name of Terry & z'\ndrews, 
 then taking hold of the business. Samuel Terry 
 after this change commenced the manufacture of 
 large tower clocks, one of which is to be seen in the 
 tower of the Congregational church of Bristol. In 
 this line of business he continued until his death 
 May 4, 1853. He was formerly in the clock busi- 
 ness with his brother Eli, at Terryville, and then 
 came to Bristol, as above related. 
 
 Samuel Terry married Esther Gillett, who was 
 born Feb. 7, 1775, and died in Bristol. Their chil- 
 dren, all born in South Windsor, Conn., were as 
 follows : ( I ) Samuel Steele, sketch of whom fol- 
 lows. (2) William, born June 13, 1800, died in Dec, 
 1822, married Dec. 24, 1821, Nancy Harris. (3) 
 Esther G., born Sept. 19, 1801. (4) Ralph Ensign, 
 born March 4, 1804, married Oct. 9, 1844, Ruth 
 Lewis, daughter of William and Julia A. (Bots- 
 ford) Hubbell, born April 14, 1820, died May 12, 
 1872; he was a clock maker in Bristol. (5) John 
 Burnham, born May 7, 1806, died in Brooklyn, N. 
 Y., March 14, 1870, married (first) June 16, 1828, 
 Amanda Joanna, daughter of David and Lois (Sut- 
 liff) Warner, and (second) Mrs. Hannah (Clapp) 
 Burnham, widow of Leander Burnham ; he was a 
 dentist in Hartford, Conn., afterward in Brooklyn, 
 N. Y. (6) Theodore, born Aug. 5, 1808, died in 
 New Flaven, June 18, 1881, married Juliette, daugh- 
 ter of Philo and Sarah (or Sally) Pierce. He was 
 a clockmaker in Bristol and Ansonia, Conn., later 
 engaging in the oil business in Pennsylvania; for 
 a time he made his home in Hartford, but his last 
 days were spent in New Haven. (7) Hannah Mor- 
 ton, born April 12, 1810, died May 20, 1841, was 
 
 married to Samuel B. Smith. (8) Edward, born 
 March 4, 1812, died Aug. 22, 1866, married March 
 25, 1833, Anne Lewis. (9) Milo, born March 9,. 
 1814, married (first) Oct. 22, 1834, Cynthia iSIose- 
 ly, of Westfield, Mass., and (second) Mrs. Abigail 
 Murphy, a widow. (10) Franklin Kellogg, born 
 Nov. 15, 181 5, died Dec. 10, 1855, married Mary 
 Jane, daughter of Joseph D. Huntmgton, of West- 
 field, Mass. For a time he was a lawyer in Albany, 
 N. Y., but finally removed to the West. Of these, 
 
 Samuel Steele Terry, father of our subject, was 
 born May 29, 1798, in South Windsor, Conn., and 
 died April 10, 1867, in Ansonia. He was a con- 
 tractor in the wheel and pinion department of the 
 clock shops of Terry & Andrews, in Bristol, which 
 concern had been started by Samuel Terry, a 
 brother of Eli Terry, after whom the village of 
 Terryville was named. Samuel S. Terry removed 
 to Ansonia, where the clock shop was also removed 
 in 1850, and the factory, after one or two changes', 
 finally merged into what is now known as the 
 Ansonia Clock Co. 
 
 On Nov. 28, 1827, Samuel S. Terry was mar- 
 ried to Mary S. Stoughton, who was born Oct. 6, 
 1801, in East Windsor, Conn., a daughter of Shem 
 Stoughton, and died in Bristol Nov. 15, 1842. He 
 married (second) May 8, 1844, Mrs. Mary Mer- M 
 riam, daughter of Amandeus Botsford, and widow ■■ 
 of Anson Merriam. There were no children by this 
 marriage. Children by first marriage, all born in 
 Bristol, were as follows: (i) William Almeron, 
 sketch of whom follows. (2) Charles Bryant, born 
 Feb. 13, 1830, died in Bristol in Sept. 1849. (3) 
 Samuel Hart, born June 19, 1834, married Jan. 8, 
 1858, Elizabeth Amanda Smith, and now hves in 
 New Haven. (4) Albert Taylor, born Aug. 15, 
 1836, died in Bristol May 26, 1839. (5) Mary Eliza- 
 beth, born April 21, 1839. (6) Edgar Stoughton, 
 born Oct. 24, 1842. The parents of this family 
 were both members of the Congregational Church, 
 and in politics the father was first a Whig, later a 
 Republican. They are buried in Compounce 
 cemetery. 
 
 William A. Terry, the subject proper of these 
 lines, received an education, in part at the Bristol 
 common schools, in part at the academy in that 
 place, leaving school at the age of fifteen. He then 
 commenced his life work under his father in the 
 clock shop, and remained there until the latter's 
 removal to Ansonia along with the shop. Our sub- 
 ject then went to Atkins & Ives Co., as a clock- 
 maker, but at the end of a year left there and 
 commenced work with Terry, Downs & Co. (the 
 senior member of the firm being his uncle, Ralph 
 Ensign Terry), and there remained some two years. 
 His next experience was in the melodeon factory 
 of Herrald J. Potter, as tuner of the instruments, 
 in what is now known as the "saw shop," and there 
 continued a number of years. Becoming interested 
 in the new collodion process of photograplu', Mr. 
 Terry hired John Churchill's gallery, and worked 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 277 
 
 on anibrotypes and photographs as well as in the 
 nielodeon factory, for two years or more, after- 
 ward moving to Sigourney's building, and giving 
 his whole time to the business. Then, during other 
 two years, he went to Ansonia throe days each 
 week, to tune the melodeons made by Page, Pot- 
 ter & Co., now known as the Sterling Co., piano 
 makers. In 1872 he erected the gallery and build- 
 ing on the corner of Laurel and North Main 
 streets, and soon afterward a greenhouse on West 
 street, adding the florist's business to that of dealer 
 in pictures, pianos, organs, and sewing machines. 
 There he continued in the photographic art until 
 about fifteen years ago, since when he has not been 
 actively engaged in any line of business. For sev- 
 eral years, until the art of photography began to 
 improve, he had to make his own chemicals and 
 paraphernalia. 
 
 On April 8, 1850, J\Ir. Terry married ^liss Es- 
 ther Amelia Ball, a daughter of Amzi and Hannah 
 (Royce) Ball, of Bristol, Conn., and children have 
 been born to them as follows : A daughter, born in 
 1851, died same year; a son born in 1852, died same 
 year : Elizabeth, born July 12, 1853, married Bur- 
 dette A. Peck, of Bristol, and has three children ; 
 ^^'illiam Bryant, born Jan. 28, 1855, is a florist and 
 dealer in musical implements, picture frames, etc. ; 
 Carrie Louise, bornjuly 2, 1856, married James G. 
 Beckwith, of Bristol, an engineer in the Sessions 
 foundry, and they have two children ; and Charles, 
 born Sept. 5, 1867, married Cora Fenn, of Ply- 
 mouth, Conn., and they live in Plymouth with their 
 two children. Mr. and Mrs. Terry, the parents of 
 this family, attend the services of the Congrega- 
 tional Church, and in politics he has always been 
 a stanch Republican, though no aspirant for office. 
 
 'Sir. Terry, during the time he was in the clock- 
 making business, was the author of several inven- 
 tions, and among them may be mentioned a cal- 
 endar clock, which was manufactured by the An- 
 sonia Clock Co. It could be set by moving the 
 hands, while others had to be set by moving one 
 day at a time. The model of it in the Patent Office, 
 Washington, D. C, would calculate leap year cor- 
 rectly for inore than three thousand years, leaving 
 out leap year at the end of every fourth century. 
 He also invented several processes in photography ; 
 moreover, he has spent some time in experimenting, 
 with no inconsiderable success, in lenses. For the 
 past fifteen years he has done considerable investi- 
 gating as a naturalist, and microscopist, making a 
 special study of ferns, algje, diatoms and desmids, 
 of which he has a large collection, and has con- 
 tributed several articles to the various microscop- 
 ical and scientific journals. 
 
 He is well known to scientists of the world as 
 an expert in collecting, preparing and mounting 
 diatoms, of which he has a large collection, and also 
 a discoverer of new and rare species, several of 
 which have been given his name by leading scien- 
 tists in honor of his discoverv of them, and manv 
 
 others he has liinisulf named, lie published a 
 scries of articles in the "Am. Mic. Journal" on the 
 "Diatoms of the Connecticut shore," and he has 
 discovered and investigated eleven different fossil 
 deposits of diatoms in Bristol. One of the new 
 species he discovered in Bristol has never yet been 
 found anywhere else, and another is found only in 
 New Britain. 
 
 THOAIAS DAVISOX CROTHERS, AI. D., 
 president of Walnut Lodge Hospital, Hartford, 
 former assistant superintendent and physician of 
 the New York State Inebriate As_\lum, and also 
 former superintendent of Walnut Hill .Vsylum, 
 Hartford, has given the greater part of his life 
 to the study of inebriety, a specialty in which he 
 has gained distinction throughout both this country 
 and the Old World. 
 
 Dr. Crothers was born Sept. 12, 1842, in West 
 Charlton, Saratoga Co., N. Y., son of Robert and 
 Harriet E. (Smith) Crothers. Robert Crothers 
 was a direct descendant of a noted family of sur- 
 geons, who have been prominent in Edinburgh, 
 Scotland, for over a century, as teachers in the 
 University of that city; while Harriet E. (Smith) 
 Crothers came from the Holmes family, of Stoning- 
 ton. Conn., and the Smiths of Westchester, N. Y., 
 both of which branches were prominently repre- 
 sented in the French and Revolutionary wars. 
 
 Dr. Crothers, our subject, prepared for college 
 at Fort Edward (N. Y.) Seminary, and previous to 
 his entrance taught school in both New York and 
 New Jersey. In 1865 he was graduated from the 
 Albany (N. Y.) Medical College, and a year later 
 entered the Ira Harris (United States J Military 
 Hospital as a cadet. During the same year he took 
 a post-graduate course at the Long Island Hospital 
 and at Bellevue College, and then made his way to 
 Galway, N. Y., where he began to practice his pro- 
 fession in 1866. In 1870 he removed to Albany, 
 N. Y., and from 1873 to 1875 'le \^'^s clinical assist- 
 ant and lecturer in the Albany (N. Y.) Medical 
 College, while from 1872 to 1874 he was on the 
 editorial staff of the "Medical and Surgical Report- 
 er,"of Philadelphia. In 1875 li^ ^^'^s appointed assist- 
 ant superintendent and physician of the New York 
 Inebriate Asylum, Binghamton, N. Y., and in 1878 
 was made superintendent of the Walnut Hill Asy- 
 lum, at Hartford, Conn. In 1875 he was elected 
 secretary of the American Association for the Study 
 and Cure of Inebriates, which position he holds to 
 the present time, and the ensuing year he was ap- 
 pointed editor of the "Journal of Inebriety," a po- 
 sition he also still continues to fill. On Nov. 21, 
 1900, Dr. Crothers was elected professor of dis- 
 eases of the brain and nervous system in the Xeiv 
 York School of Clinical Medicine. 
 
 In 1880 Dr. Crothers organized the Walnut 
 Lodge Hospital, a private corporation for the medi- 
 cal treatment of alcohol and opium inebriates, of 
 which he has since been president. In 1890 he was 
 
278 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 elected secretary of the American Temperance As- 
 sociation and editor of tlie "Bulletin" published by 
 this society. Dr. Crothers is identified with many 
 home and foreign organizations of prominence in 
 the medical world, being a member of the British 
 Medical Association ; the French Society for Psy- 
 chological Research ; the English Psychical Society ; 
 the Belgium Society of Mental Medicine; and an 
 honorary member of the Russian Society of Mental 
 Science; the American Association; and others. 
 
 In 1887 Dr. Crothers was one of the American 
 delegates to the International Congress for the study 
 of inebriety at London, England. The British 
 Society tendered him a public dinner on that oc- 
 casion, and he was honored with many other testi- 
 monials of respect and appreciation. For many 
 3'ears the Doctor has been a voluminous writer and 
 lecturer on different phases of inebriety, and his 
 views have been the subject of much interest and 
 controversy. In 1888 and 1889 he delivered a 
 course of lectures before the students of the Al- 
 bany (N. Y.) Medical College and the Vermont 
 Universit)', at Burlington, Vt., and in 1893 he edited 
 the work on "Diseases of Inebriety," which was 
 published bv Treat & Co., of New York. Like all 
 other pioneers Dr. Crothers has a large circle of 
 ardent admirers among scientific men, as well as 
 bitter detractors. His conduct of the "Journal of 
 of Inebriety" has given it a national reputation 
 among the scientific periodicals of the day, and his 
 private hospital has attracted wide-spread attention 
 and patients from all over the county. In 1899 
 he was made vice-president of the International 
 Congress, an organization against the abuse of 
 alcohol, held at Paris in April of that year. On 
 June 16, 1900, he delivered the historical address 
 of the medical study of the alcoholic question be- 
 fore the World's Temperance Congress at London, 
 England. 
 
 In 1875 Dr. Crothers married Mrs. S. B. Ryse- 
 dorph, of Albany, New York. 
 
 EDGAR CLARENCE COWLES, M. D. The 
 Cowles family is one of the oldest in this country, 
 and the subject of this biography, a successful 
 physician at Hartford, is of the seventh generation 
 of actual residents within our borders. He traces 
 his descent from John Cowles, an Englishman, who 
 came to Massachusetts in 1636, and settled in Farm- 
 ington, this county, in 1640. 
 
 (II) Isaac Cowles, son of the pioneer, was born 
 in 1675, and died in 1756. 
 
 (III) James Cowles, born in 1723, died in 1789. 
 
 (IV) Jeremiah Cowles was born in 1774- ^-^d 
 died in 1834. He married Abigail Woodruff. 
 
 (V) James Woodruff Cowles was born in Farm- 
 ington, and always lived in the old homestead. He 
 died in 1868. In politics he was a Republican, and 
 at one time served as town constable. He was also 
 interested in religious work as a member of the 
 Congregational Church. He married Amelia A. 
 
 Hills, daughter of Sylvester Hills, and they had six 
 children: Edgar Phillip, our subject's father;, 
 Frances Mary, deceased ; Emily Dickinson, who 
 married James W. Moore, of Cleveland, Ohio ; 
 Charlotte A., deceased ; Gustavus ; and Arthur, a 
 resident of Des Moines, Iowa. 
 
 (VI) Edgar Phillip Cowles was born in Farm- 
 ington July 17, 1840, and died in Hartford June 
 3, 1891. During the Civil war he rendered valu- 
 able aid in the mustering office at Hartford under 
 Gen. Pease, and in the field as a member of Com- 
 pany B, 22nd Conn. V. I. On June 6, 1866, he be- 
 came treasurer of the Case, Lockwood & Brainard 
 Co. At one time he was clerk in the "United States 
 Hotel." Later he gave much attention to finance; 
 as a director of the First National Bank of Hart- 
 ford, and for many years he managed the estate 
 of Newton Case, of Hartford. He was married in 
 Farmington, Conn., to Miss Eunice M. Slater,. 
 daughter of Norris Slater, a well-known citizen,, 
 and they had two children: Gertrude (who was 
 born June 26, 1869, and died Sept. 27, 1869) and 
 Edgar Clarence. 
 
 (VII) Dr. Edgar C. Cowles was born in Hart- 
 ford Sept. I, 1875, and his education was begun in 
 the local schools. He attended the Connecticut 
 Literary Institute, Sufiield, for two years, and in 
 1894 entered the Medical Department of Boston 
 University. His medical course was continued at 
 the Cleveland University of Medicme and Surgery^ 
 where he was graduated March 22, 1897 ; at the 
 New York Polyclinic Medical School and Hos- 
 pital, where he did special work in operative sur- 
 gery and gynecology in 1897-98; at the Lying-in- 
 Hospital ; and the Mothers and Babes Hospital, 
 New York. From July, 1899, to February, 1900,. 
 he was in charge of the Hartford Dispensary, and 
 his success points to a bright professional future. 
 He is now medical examiner for Hartford Lodge, 
 New England Order of Protection. The Doctor is 
 a member of the Dunham Medical Society, the Con- 
 necticut Homeopathic Medical Society, and the 
 United Order of the Golden Cross, being medical 
 examiner for the last named. 
 
 SILAS K. MONTGOMERY, postmaster of 
 Bristol from the spring of 1885 until the spring of 
 1898, was born in Warren, Knox Co., Maine, Oct. 
 7, 1845. He attended the common school until 
 fifteen years of age, then the Warren Academy for 
 two years, after which he took a course in Bryant 
 & Stratton's Business College, at Portland, Maine, 
 frorti which he graduated in 1868. His first busi- 
 ness engagement was as bookkeeper for Ellsworth 
 & Bidwell, at Windsor, Conn., with whom he re- 
 mained for three years ; he next was employed for 
 five years at Watertown, Conn., by Myron McNiel, 
 dealer in general merchandise, drugs and medicines. 
 He then built a drug store for himself, which he 
 conducted five years, sold out to Edward Ensign, of 
 Watertown, and came to Bristol in 1881, buj'ing the 
 
C^c/^CXA^ C^Z^OLyU^lAyayC (~i^-C4^AAL,^ /If .J)^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 William Reynolds drug store on North Main street, 
 in the "Gridley House" block, which he sold a year 
 and a half later to William C. Hillard. 
 
 Mr. 2ilontgomery is a Democrat in politics. He 
 served on the board of assessors of Bristol for three 
 years, and at the same time conducted a real-estate 
 business. At the end of that time he was appointed 
 (^ during a recess of Congress) postmaster by Presi- 
 dent Cleveland, for one year, and when Congress 
 re-convened, in March, iS86, he was appointed for 
 four years, in 1890 receiving appointment to the 
 same ofitice by President Harrison for another term 
 of four years. In 1894, after the re-election of 
 Grover Cleveland to the Presidency, he was by 
 him re-appointed for four years, and served until 
 April I, 1898, since when he has passed consider- 
 able time in travel. 
 
 The fact of Mr. Z\Iontgomery's retaining his 
 position as postmaster for so many years is highly 
 creditable in itself, but his management of the post 
 office is still more so. \\'hen he was first appointed, 
 the office was of the third class, but by the time of 
 his retirement he had worked it up to second class, 
 with three clerks paid by the Government, and a 
 free delivery. In 1895, the location of the office 
 w'as changed, and a larger office secured. He 
 worked persistently to secure free delivery, and 
 met with his triumph July 16, 1897. It has proven 
 to be of vast benefit and convenience to the town's 
 people, who have never ceased to appreciate ]\Ir. 
 ^lontgomery's enterprise and energy. 
 
 ^Ir. ]\Iontgomery has been very public-spirited; 
 has built quite a number of houses in the town, 
 and was influential in causing the streets to be 
 named and houses numbered. He was a director 
 in the Turner Heater Co., which was started in 
 Bristol in 1891, and was its secretary and treasurer 
 from that date until 1894, when he resigned ; he was 
 also instrumental in forming the Bristol Press Co., 
 publishers of the journal bearing the same name, 
 and was its secretary and a director for several years, 
 but withdrew on account of pressure of other busi- 
 ness. 
 
 Although nominally a Democrat, Mr. !Mont- 
 gomery is liberal in his political views, and not at 
 all dogmatic or bigoted as to party doctrine or 
 principle, basing his individual political action more 
 upon effecting the election of good and competent 
 
 »men to public office than to the securing of a party 
 victory. In 1897 he was elected on the Democratic 
 ticket, borough assessor, and served one year. Fra- 
 ternally he is a member of Pequabuck Chapter, No. 
 32, Royal Arch Masons, of Bristol, and of the Royal 
 Arcanum, No. 753. 
 
 !Mr. ^Montgomery was joined in marriage Jan. 
 -7> 1875, with Miss Mar}- E. Allyn, daughter of 
 Charles N. and Hulda (Baldwin) Allyn, of Water- 
 town, but no children have been born to this union. 
 He and his wife are members of the Congregational 
 Church, of wdiich he w-as for a time the treasurer 
 and collector. Thev now reside in their new home 
 
 on High street, to which they removed in 1S98. 
 Besides this place Mr. Montgomery owns a cot- 
 tage at Sachem's Head; he passes his winters in 
 Florida. 
 
 Mr. Montgomery traces his lineage direct to 
 Roger, Count de Montgomerie, of Normandy, 
 France, prior to the year 900, and of the thirty- 
 second generation back in the dim vista of the past. 
 Beginning with our subject (i), an effort will be 
 made to follow the line in retrogressive order to its 
 initial number (XXXII). 
 
 (II) Philip Montgomery, born June I, 1797, in 
 Warren, Maine, married Olive Faulkner, who bore 
 him ten children : Capt. John E. ; William H^; Jabez 
 K. ; James S. ; Olive Jane ; Eliza Ann ; Nancy M ; 
 Lewis O. ; Benjamin F. ; and Silas K. (the subject 
 of this sketch). Philip Montgomerj' was a ship- 
 builder, following that business from 1825, and 
 retiring in 1858; he spent the remainder of his 
 life on his farm. He was a very conscientious Ba])- 
 tist, in which faith he died in 1890, his wife having 
 gone before, in 1887. 
 
 (III) John ^iontgomery, born in \\"arren, 
 Maine, Oct. 4, 1763, married in 1796 Julia Ann 
 Howard, of \\'aldoboro, Maine, and died June 16, 
 1854, the father of ten children: Philip; Cather- 
 ine ; Flugh ; Caleb : Abbie ; George ; Lewis ; Eliza- 
 beth ; Rebecca ; and Percy. 
 
 (IV) Robert Montgomery was born in Middle- 
 boro, Alass., and was baptized July 13, 1738, by 
 Rev. John ]\Iorehead, of the Scotch Presbyterian 
 Church of Boston. He was m the service at the 
 taking of Quebec (Canada), in 1759. He mar- 
 ried Elizabeth, daughter of Boice and Katherine 
 (Kellyhoen) Cooper, who was born at Pemaquid, 
 Lincoln Co., Z^Iaine, Maich 15, 1740, and died at 
 Warren, Maine, [March 13, 1834. Robert ]\Iont- 
 gomery died Dec. 26, 1822, To them were also 
 born ten children : John, Lydia, Mary, Eliza- 
 beth, AMlliam, Hugh, Margaret, Catherine, Sarah, 
 and Robert. 
 
 (V) John Alontgomery, it is said, was born in 
 Scotland, and there lived until taken to the North 
 of Ireland by his parents, at the age of seven years. 
 \Mien about twelve or fourteen years old he was 
 brought to America bv William Strobridge, his 
 guardian. The inscription on John ^lontgomery's 
 tomb stone shows that he was born in 1708. He 
 married ^lary Strobridge, daughter of \\"illiam 
 Strobridge, Jan. 30, 1735, in ]\Iiddleboro, Mass. 
 John Montgomery was a blacksmith. He was a 
 strictly upright man, one of the twelve elders of 
 Rev. John I\Iorehead's Church, which was organ- 
 ized in 1729, each elder having a special supervision 
 over a portion of the members, who were scattered 
 about in various parts of New England. Elder 
 ^vfontgomen' went once a year to Boston, to rep- 
 resent his own charge or report upon it. His grave- 
 stone, in Thompson Hill cemetery, at Lakeville, 
 formerly the \\'est parish of ^[iddleboro, Mass., 
 bears the following inscription : '"Elder John ^lont- 
 
280 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 gomeiy. Died October 19, 1787, in his eightietli 
 year." By it is another stone, on whicli is in- 
 scribed :_ ''Mary Strobridge, wife of Elder John 
 Montgomery. Died May 16, 1790." The children 
 born to John and Mary (Strobridge) Montgomery, 
 twelve in number, were named as follows : Mary, 
 Robert, Margaret, Isabel, John, Willia, Thomas, 
 Hugh, Samuel, Hugh, Jean, and Rebecca. 
 
 (AT) William Montgomery, son of Hugh of 
 Brigend, settled in New Jersey in 1701 or 1702. 
 
 (VH) Hugh Montgomery, of Brigend, son of 
 John, died in 1710. 
 
 (Vni) John Montgomery, of Brigend, was a 
 son of William. 
 
 (IX) William Montgomery, of Brigend, was a 
 son of Sir Niel, of Lainshaw, and died in 1652. 
 
 (X) Sir Niel Montgomery, of Lainshaw (3), 
 son of Sir Niel, died prior to 162 1. 
 
 (XI) Sir Niel Montgomery, of Lainshaw (2), 
 married the heiress of Lord Lyle. 
 
 (XII) Sir Niel Montgomery, of Lainshaw (i), 
 son of Hugh, first Earl of Egiinton, was killed at 
 Irvine in 1547. 
 
 (XIII) Hugh Montgomer}', first Earl of Egiin- 
 tpn, so created by James IV in 1507-08, was a son 
 of Alexander, second Lord of Montgomerie, and 
 died in 1545. 
 
 (XIVJ Alexander, second Lord of Montgom- 
 erie, son of Alexander, Master of Montgomerie, 
 died ante 1434. 
 
 (XV) Alexander, Master of Montgomerie, died 
 before his father, the first Lord of Montgomerie, 
 in 1452. ■ 
 
 (XVI) Alexander, first Lord of Montgomerie, 
 so created by James II in 1448-49, was a son of 
 Sir John, of Ardrossan, and died between 1461 and 
 1465.^ 
 
 (XATI) Sir John, of Ardrossan, Knight, was a 
 son of Sir John, of Eaglesham, and died ante 1429, 
 Dominus ejusdem. 
 
 (XVIII) Sir John, of Eaglesham and East- 
 wood (3), Knight, son of Sir Alexander, and 
 afterward Sir John of Egiinton and Ardrossan, on 
 his marriage with Elizabeth, daughter and heirfess 
 of Sir Hugh of Egiinton, died in 1398. 
 
 (XIX) Sir Alexander, of Eaglesham, son of 
 Sir lohn, was Knighted by Robert Bruce, and died 
 in 1388. 
 
 (XX) Sir John, of Eaglesham and Eastwood 
 (2), Knight, son of Sir John, died in 1316. 
 
 (XXI) Sir John, of Eaglesham and Eastwood 
 (i). Knight, son of Sir Alan, of Eaglesham, died 
 about 1285. 
 
 (XXII) Sir Alan, of Eaglesham, Knight, was 
 a son of Sir John, of Eaglesham and Thornton, 
 Knight. 
 
 (XXIII) Sir John, of Eaglesham and Thorn- 
 ton, Knight, was a son of Robert. 
 
 (XXIV) Robert, of Eaglesham and Thornton, 
 called Mac Cymbric, or "Son of the Welshman," 
 Philip, died in 1180. 
 
 (XXV) Philip, born at Pembroke Castle about 
 iioi, son of Arnulph, and known as the "Welsh- 
 man," came from Normandy to Scotland about 
 1 1 13 with David I, and inherited a fair estate in 
 Renfrewshire. He married Margaret, daughter of 
 Cospatrick, second Earl of Dunbar and March. 
 
 (XXVI) Arnulph, son of Roger, and Earl of 
 Pembroke, was attainted and banished from the 
 Kingdom in 1102. He married Lafracoth, daugh- 
 ter of the King of Munster, and died in 11 19. 
 
 (XXVII) Roger, Count of Montgomerie and 
 Count of Exmes, son of Hugh, came to England 
 with William the Conquerer in 1066, and com- 
 manded the vanguard at the battle of Hastings. 
 He was created Earl of Shrewsbury, Arundel and 
 Chichester ; died and was buried at Shrewsbury in 
 1094. _ ^ 
 
 (XXVIII) Hugh, Count de Montgomerie, son 
 of William, married Josephine, daughter of Tou- 
 rode, Dire de Pont Andemer, by his first wife, Weva, 
 sister of Gunnor, wife of Richard II, Duke of Nor- 
 mandy. 
 
 (XXIX) William, Count de Montgomerie, was 
 a son of Roger. 
 
 (XXX) Roger, Count de Montgomerie, was 
 also a son of Roger. 
 
 (XXXI) Roger, Count de Montgomerie, was 
 the son of Roger, the progenitor of the family as 
 for as can be traced, and 
 
 (XXXII) Roger, Count de Montgomerie, held 
 sway in Normandy prior to 900. 
 
 HENRY WARD, who in his lifetime was a 
 prominent business man of Bristol, was a native of 
 England, born April 29, 1834, in Cornwall. Thomas 
 Ward, his father, a carpenter by trade, came to the 
 LTnited States from Cornwall with his family, and 
 made his permanent New World home in Bristol, 
 Conn., where he worked in the copper mines. In 
 England he married Anna Rodda, by whom he had 
 five children — three sons and two daughters. The 
 parents both died in Bristol. 
 
 Henry Ward was a young lad when the family 
 emigrated to America. He received his education 
 in the common schools of Pennsylvania, where the 
 family first settled, and thence in early majihood 
 went to California to "seek his fortune," but owing 
 to the sickness of his parents he soon returned East, 
 going to Bristol, whither the family had meantime 
 returned. Later he again set out for the "New 
 Eldorado," this time remaining several years, at 
 the end of which time we once more find him in 
 Bristol, whither he returned in order to be with his 
 parents during their declining days. He com- 
 menced the grocery business in Bristol with Titus 
 E. Merriman, the style of the firm being Ward & 
 Merriman, which partnership after some years was 
 dissolved. Removing to the South Side, Bristol, 
 Mr. Ward embarked in a similar line of business, 
 associating with him Thomas Barnes, and so con- 
 tinued some few years, the copartnership being then 
 
HEHRY WARD 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 281 
 
 dissolved. Our subject's next VL-iilurc was in llic 
 art, piano and organ line, as a member of the lirm 
 of Pentield & West; but in course of time selling 
 out to them he again entered the grocery trade, this 
 time without any partner, his store being on Main 
 street. In this he continued until his health failed, 
 and he was obliged to sell out and retire from active 
 work. This was in 1880, and two years afterward, 
 on Nov. 16, 1882, he passed from earth. 
 
 On Oct. 28, 1869, Henry Ward was united in 
 marriage with Estelle Wooding, daughter of Alvia 
 and Sophronia (Gaylord) Wooding, and the chil- 
 dren of this union are as follows : ( i ) Cherrie A., 
 born Dec. 8, 187 1, is cashier in A. J. Muzzy's store 
 in Bristol. (2) ]\Iabelle I., born April 2, 1876, 
 was married Aug. 4, 1896, to Richard H. Beamish, 
 ■bookkeeper in the Bristol National Bank, and has 
 had two children, Priscilla, born March 11, 1897; 
 and Richard Ward, born April 17, 1899 (died Feb. 
 20, 1900). (3) Thomas H., born Aug. 13, 1877, is 
 still at home with his widowed mother. 
 
 iMr. Ward in religious faith was a member of 
 the Congregational Church, as is also his widow. 
 Socially he was affiliated with Pequabuck Chapter, 
 R. A. JM., and he and his wife were both members 
 of the Eastern Star. While in California he was 
 identified with the I. O. O. F. In politics he was a 
 stanch Republican, and for some years he served as 
 sealer of weights and measures. His death was 
 deeply and sincerely mourned, for all who knew him 
 'had for him the highest regard. His widow con- 
 tinues to live in Bristol, where she has numerous 
 friends, and is highly respected for her many vir- 
 tues. 
 
 Alvia Wooding was born jNIarch 18, 1808, in 
 Hamden, Conn., son of Javin Wooding, and was 
 a blacksmith by trade, in later life a farmer. He 
 died June 16, 1896. In politics he was a Republi- 
 can. He was a captain in the State militia, and was 
 always called captain. His religious connection 
 was with the Congregational Church. Mr. Wood- 
 ing married Sophronia Gaylord, who was born at 
 Bristol Aug. 23, 1810, and died Aug. 26, 1874. 
 Her father, Seth Gaylord, was born July 30, 1785, 
 at Bristol, and died July 17, 1829; her mother, 
 Clarissa Truesdell Gaylord, was born in Bristol 
 Oct. 6, 1787, and died' Aug. 11, 1882. 
 
 THE E. INGRAHAM COMPANY. No work 
 of this character would be complete without at least 
 an extended allusion to, if not description of, the 
 time honored establishment conducted by this en- 
 terprising firm, but the limited scope of this volume 
 precludes more than a brief history of the industry, 
 and further on a biographical record of its found- 
 ers and present proprietors. 
 
 The E. Ingraham Company was founded by 
 Flias Ingraham, who was born in Marlborough, 
 Conn.. Nov. i, 1805. From 1827 to 1835 he made 
 clock cases under contract for various parties, and 
 in the latter year bought a shop with water priv- 
 
 ilege, where one of the present factories now stands, 
 and commenced making cases on his own account. 
 This he continued alone until 1843. in which year 
 he formed a partnershij) with Elislia C. Brewster 
 under the iirm name of Brewster & Ingraham. 
 This firm was succeeded in 1848 by E. A. Inga- 
 ham, who continued the business until 1855, in 
 which vear the ])lant was entirelv distro\ed bv 
 lire. 
 
 Two years later Elias Ingraham rented the 
 shop now occupied by the Turner Heater Co., and 
 in 1859 formed a co-partnership with Edward In- 
 graham, his son, which was continued until 1881. 
 In that )ear a joint-stock com]jany was formed, 
 comprising Elias Ingraham, Edward Ingraham, 
 and the three sons of Edward Ingraham — Walter 
 A., William S., and Irving E. Since the re-organ- 
 ization of the concern in 1881, the growth of the 
 company and its business has been phenomenal. 
 Practically a new plant, with many times the facil- 
 ities of the old plant, has been created ; a large brick 
 factory, 400 feet long and four stories high, has 
 been erected while a number of subordinate build- 
 ings still in use have been doubled in capacity. 
 
 Elias Ingraham died in August, 1885, and Ed- 
 ward Ingraham in August, 1892. The officers of 
 the company and its managers at the present are 
 Walter A. Ingraham, president; Irving E. Ingra- 
 ham, vice-president, and W'illiam S. Ingraham, sec- 
 retary and treasurer. From the beginning, the 
 product of this company has w'on a distinct rep- 
 utation which has always been maintained. 
 
 The entire plant is equipped with the most 
 modern improved machinery oljtainable, and the 
 company is enabled thereby, with the assistance 
 of a large corps of skilled workmen, to manufacture 
 goods so economically, that it can and does most 
 successfully compete with the manufacturers of 
 the world, and Ingraham clocks are to be found in 
 every quarter of the globe. It has always been 
 said that no jobber in clocks, whether an agent of 
 a particular manufactory, or otherwise, could 
 aft'ord to be without the E. Ingraham goods. This 
 reputation has ben secured by careful and exact 
 workmanship and honorable dealings. It has been 
 largely possible to maintain this reputation by 
 reason of the policy adopted from the first by this 
 company. 
 
 The operatives very generally own their ow-n 
 homes, and are men of substance respected in the 
 community. Many of them occupy, and have 
 always occupied, positions of trust and honor in 
 the church, society and borough. The company 
 and its members have always been counted on as 
 in favor of every enterprise for the upbuilding of 
 the welfare of the town and its people, and the same 
 disposition seems naturally to emanate to a great 
 degree from the employes. 
 
 Biographically speaking, a succinct account of 
 the birth and early business career of the founder 
 of the company under consideration, Elias Ingra- 
 
282 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ham, has been given at the opening of this article, 
 and of his deceased son, Edward Ingraham, a 
 former partner, it may suffice to say that he was 
 born April 30, 1830. 
 
 Walter Andrew Ingraham, now president of 
 this company, and son of Edward (deceased), was 
 born in Bristol March 23, 1855, and was married 
 July 24, 1878, to Miss Amelia Fenn, daughter of 
 Mrs. Ann Fenn, of Plymouth, Conn. To this mar- 
 riage were born Morton Elias, Feb. 5, 1880; Ches- 
 ter Euclid, Aug. 27, 1881 ; Irving, Jan. 20, 1888, 
 and Harold, Nov. 21, 1894. 
 
 William Shurtleff Ingraham, the present 
 secretary and treasurer of the company, was born 
 April 25, 1857, and on Oct. 11, 1881, married Miss 
 Grace E. Seymour, daughter of Henry A. Sey- 
 mour, of Bristol. Three children have been born 
 to this union: Faith Allen, April 30, 1886; Edward, 
 Dec. 20, 1888, and Dvidley Seymour, Aug. 13, 1890. 
 
 HENRY ERASMUS PATTEN (deceased). 
 For many years Mr. Patten was one of Hartford's 
 leading and influential citizens, and one of the 
 prominent manufacturers and business men of the 
 county. His death caused a violent shock to the 
 community, and was deeply mourned. His father 
 was Noah Patton, and his mother, before marriage, 
 was Mary A.in Case. 
 
 Mr. Patten was born in West Stafford, Conn., 
 May 4, 1835, and completed his early education at 
 the Wilbraham and Westfield Academies. In 1862 
 he came to Hartford, where he began his commercial 
 career as a bookkeeper in George Smith's dye works. 
 In this position he developed such technical skill 
 and such innate ability for grasping financial prob- 
 lems that he was soon tendered, and accepted, the 
 post of manager. In 1873 he found himself in a 
 position where he could buy the plant, then a rather 
 small affair, employing only twelve men. To the 
 management of the business thus inaugurated he 
 brought native intelligence, hard common sense, and 
 a limited experience. Under his wise guidance 
 and fostering care the dye works grew until they 
 employed forty men, and ranked second among the 
 New England plants of the same sort. Perhaps 
 the most substantial evidence of his good business 
 judgment is to be found in the fact that the concern 
 has patrons throughout all the eastern States, the 
 center of the country's textile manufactures, where 
 value ranks before volume. 
 
 Mr. Patten was a man of fine literary taste, and 
 a voracious, though discriminating, reader. He 
 was an earnest student of history, yet never bigoted 
 in his conclusions. Regarding his success it may 
 be said to have been achieved wholly by himself, 
 since he came to Hartford empty-handed. But un- 
 derlying his seeming poverty he possessed resolu- 
 tion, industry and integrity. His attention to busi- 
 ness was assiduous until failing health forced him 
 to spend his winters in the South. Death came to 
 him suddenly and peacefully. On Aug. 11, 1899, 
 
 he was stricken with apoplexy, and for two weeks 
 steadily sank, being conscious only at intervals. 
 He passed away on the 29th of that month. It 
 seemed not inapproprite that a death apparently 
 so painless should succeed a life so well spent. He 
 was buried at tilie home of his childhood. West 
 Stafford, Rev. Magee Pratt officiating, and the pall- 
 bearers being from the several Masonic bodies with 
 which Mr. Patten had been associated. While not 
 a professed member of any church, he attended the 
 services of the Pearl Street Congregational Church, 
 and contributed liberally to its support and the ad- 
 vancement of its work. His charity was broad, 
 comprehensive and unostentatious ; and his deal- 
 ing wih his fellow men as well as his daily life were 
 governed by his unalterable devotion to the prin- 
 ciples of the Golden Rule. 
 
 In politics Mr. Patten was a Republican, and 
 represented what was originally known as the Third 
 ward in the lower branch of the city council through 
 several terms. He was genial and social by both 
 instinct and habit, easily making friends, and rarely 
 losing one. His tastes were domestic, however, 
 and the hours which he was able to redeem from the 
 exacting cares of a constantly growing business 
 were mainly spent by his own fireside, surrounded 
 by the members of his family, whom he lo\-ed so 
 well. 
 
 Mr. Patten attained the thirty-second degree 
 in Masonry. He was a member of St. John's Loi.lge, 
 which he joined Sept. 18, 1858; was made a Knight 
 Templar in Washington Commandery, Feb. 15, 1859 > 
 and five years later became a member of Charter 
 Oak Lodge, of Perfection. He was at one time tyler 
 of the grand lodge. Masons of Connecticut, and 
 was a charter member of Sphinx Temple, Nobles of 
 the Mystic Shrine. He also belonged to Hartford 
 Lodge, B. P. O. E. 
 
 Mr. Patten was married, June 30, 1892, to !Mrs. 
 Hannah (Quintard) Crowe. She is a granddaugh- 
 ter of James Quintard, a soldier in the war for in- 
 dependence, and a daughter of Henry H. Quintard, 
 formerly of South Norwalk, but later of Hartford, 
 who was one of the first members of the Sons of 
 the Revolution in the last named city. Her mother, 
 Clarissa Grant, was a daughter of Hamilton Grant, 
 also a Revolutionary soldier, whose autograph may 
 be seen in the Anthenseum. Mrs. Patten survives 
 her husband, as do also his sister, Miss M. Celinda 
 Patten, of Hartford, and two brothers, Francis and 
 Calvin, of Stafford. 
 
 JAMES LOCKWOOD, whose death occurred 
 in his home at Hartford on Jan. 16, 1888, filled a 
 large place in the business life of the city for a 
 great number of years, and won the warm friendship 
 and hearty esteem of all of the many who had 
 business relations with him. His famil)' is of pio- 
 neer stock, and he was of the seventh generation in 
 descent from Robert Lockwood, who came from 
 England about 1630, and settled in Watertown, 
 
«^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGI^APHICAL RECORD. 
 
 283 
 
 Mass. About 1646 he removed to Fairfield, Conn., 
 where he died in 1658. 
 
 Ephraim Lockvvood, born Dec. i, 1641, in Water- 
 town, accompanied his father to Connecticut, and 
 later made his permanent home in Norwalk. On 
 June 8, 1665, he married Mercy Sention, and the)' 
 had ten children, of whom James, known as Lieut. 
 James, was the seventh. 
 
 Lieut. James Lockwood was born April 21, 
 1683, in, Norwalk, Conn., and became prominent in 
 public affairs, serving as a representative in the 
 General Assembly from 1721 to 1751, inclusive. 
 On Oct. 23, 1707, he married Lydia Smith, daugh- 
 ter of Samuel and Rachel (Marvin) Smith, of Nor- 
 walk, and granddaughter of Matthew and Eliza- 
 beth Marvin, of Hartford. They had seven chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Rev. James Lockwood, the next in the line of 
 descent, was born at Norwalk Dec. 20, 17 14, and 
 died at Wethersfield, Conn., July 20, 1772, in the 
 fifty-eighth year of his age^ and the thirty-fourth 
 of his ministry. He graduated from Yale College 
 in T/7,^. and was chosen to a position in the same 
 institution two years afterward, serving" one year. 
 He accepted the call to Wethersfield, and was or- 
 dained minister of the First Church in February, 
 1739. Later he was offered the presidency of the 
 College of New Jersey, made vacant by the death of 
 Jonathan Edwards, but he declined. In 1760 he 
 was chosen a fellow of Yale College, and remained 
 such until his death. In 1766 the presidency of Yale 
 College was offered to him, but he declined this also, 
 the reason being the strong attachment of the people 
 of his charge and his unwillingness to separate from 
 them. On Nov. 4, 1742, he married Mrs. Mary 
 Dickinson, and they had twelve children, of whom 
 Moses was fifth. 
 
 IMoses Lockwood was born Sept. 26, 1749, at 
 Wethersfield, Conn., and served in the Revolution- 
 ary war as sergeant in Col. John Durkee's regi- 
 ment. On Sept. 9, 1773, he was married to Sarah 
 Bunce, and they liad three children : Sarah, Sam- 
 uel and William Bunce. 
 
 Capt. Samuel Lockwood, the next in the line 
 of descent, was born Jan. 31, 1781, in Wethersfield, 
 Conn. He was a sea captain, and died of yellow 
 fever in the West Indies. On Sept. 12, 1810, he 
 married Eunice Crane, daughter of Abraham and 
 ]\Iary Robbins Crane, and they had the following 
 children: James, born Oct. 25, 1813; Nancv L., 
 born March 13, 1815, who married Arnold Bailey; 
 and Henry L., born June i, 1818, who married Re- 
 becca E. Griswold. 
 
 James Lockwood was born in Wethersfield, and 
 when only eleven years old demonstrated his busi- 
 ness capacity by taking charge of the farm there. 
 He used to knit his own socks. The executive 
 ability and independent spirit displayed by him in 
 early life were potent factors in his later success, 
 making him a natural leader. He was still a mere 
 boy when he went to Hartford, to learn the printer's 
 
 trade in the office of the printing house of J. Hub- 
 bard Wells, then the leading printer of the State. 
 Young Lockwood was for some time a carrier for 
 the "New England Weekly Review," and a copy 
 of the carrier's address, written by John G. Whit- 
 tier, and distributed by "James Lockwood, car- 
 rier," on Jan. i, 1831, was a birthday present to- 
 Mr. Lockwood from Marcus A. Casey some ten 
 years before Mr. Lockwood's death. In those days 
 it was the custom for subscribers to give the car- 
 rier a present for his faithful service in delivering 
 the paper every Saturday morning. The "New 
 England Weekly Review" was started on March 
 17, 1828, by Lord & Hammer, and was continued 
 till 1844. George D. Prentice was its first editor, 
 and John G. Whittier its second, he holding the 
 position two years. On Dec. 29, 1876, Mr. Whit- 
 tier wrote the following letter to JNIr. Lockwood : 
 "Dear Friend : I have received from the Case,. 
 Lockwood & Brainard Company, per Mr. A. M. 
 Casey, the beautifully illustrated sketch of that com- 
 pany's office and binder}-, with a letter referring 
 to my residence in Hartford, and my own reminis- 
 cences of the 'Hammer & Phelps' printing office, 
 and the 'N. E. Review.' I remember writing the 
 'Address' for thee, and regret that I have not a copy 
 of it though I have an incomplete file of the Re- 
 view at Ambury. 
 
 "I am very glad to hear of the prosperity of the 
 'Carrier' and with all good wishes of the season, 
 I am very truly thy old friend of the 'N. E. Review.' " 
 Becoming a journeyman Mr. Lockwood worked 
 at his trade a short time before 1836, when the 
 firm of Case, Tiffany & Co. was formed, and bought 
 out J. Hubbard Wells, and he soon had quite a 
 responsible place with Case, Tift'any & Co. Soon 
 the firm grew from a book office to a combined 
 book and job office. At that time J^Ir. Lockwood 
 was foreman of the press room, gave out the work, 
 estimated on jobs, and covered the work now separ- 
 ated and in the hand of half a dozen foremen. In 
 1853 he became a member of the firm, and upon the 
 formation of the corporation known as the Case, 
 Lockwood & Brainard Co., was elected vice-presi- 
 dent, and held that office till his death. He was a 
 most indefatigable worker, the executive head of 
 the plant. All through his long business life he was 
 at work from seven o'clock in the morning until the 
 noon hour, and stayed at his office till closing time. 
 He worked thus up to the Saturday evening before 
 the Sunday upon which he was afflicted by a para- 
 lytic stroke that terminated in his death the fol- 
 lowing W'ednesday. Fie was a man of sterling 
 integrity and unblemished reputation, and was 
 strictly temperate in his habits. For a number of 
 years before his death he had been a member of 
 the Asylum Avenue Baptist Church, to which he 
 gave liberally, and at the time of his death he was- 
 a deacon. In early life he was an Odd Fellow. 
 Politically he was first a Whig and later a Repub- 
 lican, and during the war he was a stanch supporter 
 
284 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of the Government. At one time he served as 
 alderman from the old Second ward of Hartford. 
 It was very creditable to Mr. Lockwood that he 
 raised himself by industry and integrity from the 
 poition of a carrier bo}' to that of a journeyman 
 printer, and from that station to a partner of the 
 firm, with a third interest in one of the best-known 
 establishments in New England — its capital (in 
 1888) being $400,000. Mr. Lockwood departed 
 this life at the age of seventy-four, and he leaves 
 an unsullied name. His children may well be 
 gratified in the excellent record he left of an hon- 
 orable and well-spent life. 
 
 On Oct. 25, 1836, Mr. Lockwood married Char- 
 lotte Hull Chamberlin, who was born March 20, 
 1818, in Hartford, and died Aug. 15, 1873, a daugh- 
 ter of Reuben J. and Sally (Fox) Chamberlin. 
 They had children as follows : William H., born 
 Oct. 2, 1837; Franklin Samuel, born Oct. 2, 1837, 
 died Jan. 8, 1842; Henrietta Charlotte, born May 
 15, 1843, married Charles A. Pitkin; Jennie Alvord, 
 born April 28, 1858, married Fred C. Rockwell, of 
 Hartford. 
 
 Capt. William H. Lockwood, the eldest son 
 of James Lockwood, began his career at the case 
 when seventeen years of age, and afterward was 
 promoted to the press-room, running Adams book 
 presses and R. Hoe presses under the eye of his 
 father, who was then foreman. It was in 1856 
 that Case, Lockwood & Co. prevaded upon him to 
 go to New York City to learn the electrotyping 
 business, which he did. He was located with the 
 late Mr. Filmer, on Fulton street. New York, re- 
 maining there until his enlistment in Company A, 
 i6th Conn. V. I. He returned to Hartford within 
 three years and bought the electrotyping plant of 
 Case, Lockwood & Co., which has borne his name 
 since that time, having been in the same building 
 for about forty-three years. Webster's dictionary 
 plates were at that time stereotyped, but later Mr. 
 Lockwood copper-faced all of them. He is now 
 ably assisted in carrying on his large business by his 
 two sons. He was made director in the Case, Lock- 
 wood & Brainard Co., upon the death of his father, 
 in 1888, and is a member of the United Typothetje. 
 Mr. Lockwood spent two years in the army and 
 was in the battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg. 
 He went into the service as first-lieutenant of Com- 
 pany A, and was promoted on Sept 17, 1862, to 
 the rank of captain of Company K, i6th Conn. V. 
 I., because of meritorious service in the field. He 
 also served some time as a member of the City 
 Guards. He has a library of about 400 volumes 
 on the Civil war — probably one of the largest in the 
 county. Socially he is a member of Wyllis Lodge, 
 No. 99, F. & A. M.,.of West Hartford, and of 
 Robert O. Tyler Post, G. A. R. 
 
 On Aug. 24, 1862, Capt. Lockwood married 
 (first) Miss Augusta Victoria Pascoe, daughter of 
 Lester Pascoe, and a sister of Major Henry L. Pas- 
 coe. She died Oct. 23, 1882, and on Feb. 18, 1890, 
 
 he married (second) Emma Augusta McClory, 
 daughter of Henry and Emily Augusta Brainard 
 McClory, her father being an attorney of Chicago. 
 He had six children, all born to the first marriage, 
 viz. : Frank P., who is also associated with his 
 father in business; Henrietta H., wife of Archie 
 H. Bronson, quartermaster of the ist Connecticut 
 Regiment in the Spanish-American war, and now 
 a member of the firm of William Boardman & Son 
 Co., of Hartford ; James L., who is associated with 
 his father in business ; Bertha C, who married 
 Arthur Towne, now with the Dime Savings Bank 
 of Hartford; Henry P., born Nov. 27, 1863, who 
 died March 22, 1865 ; and Jessamine C, born Sept. 
 9, 1876, who died July 23, 1877. 
 
 MARCUS MORTON JOHNSON, B. Ph., M. 
 D., proprietor of the Woodland Sanatorium at Hart- 
 ford, is one of the best-known physicians and sur- 
 geons of Connecticut. He is a native of Malone, 
 N. Y., born April 21, 1844. 
 
 The Doctor's paternal and maternal ancestry are 
 distinguished for noble qualities of heart and brkin. 
 In the paternal line he traces his ancestry for five 
 generations to Sir John Johnson, Sr., a sea captain 
 ■on an English vessel, who later in life settled in 
 Connecticut. His son, John Johnson, Jr., settled in 
 Rutland, Vt., where many of his descendants still 
 reside. He married Mehitable Sperry, who lived 
 to the great age of 102 years, and perished in a 
 fire, in 1836. Silas Johnson, son of John Johnston, 
 Jr., and the grandfather of Dr. Johnson, was a man 
 of much force of character. He moved from Rut- 
 land, Vt., to Malone, N. Y., being a pioneer of that 
 town. Marvin L. Johnson, son of Silas Johnson, 
 is the Doctor's father. He married Polly Chapman. 
 Dr. Johnson's maternal ancestral line is traced 
 through seven generations to a Dean of Canterbury, 
 England. The Chapmans were early settlers of 
 Norwich, Conn., where his maternal great-grand- 
 father, Joshua Chapman, was born in I7S5- I'^ 
 1775, he enlisted in the Revolutionary army in Capt. 
 Chapin's Company. His son, Joshua Chapman, Jr., 
 the maternal grandfather of the Doctor, was an 
 early settler of Malone, N. Y. The Doctor's ances- 
 tors are noted for their longevity, the maternal 
 grandfather having lived to be eighty-two years, 
 old, and his wife dying at the age of eighty-four. 
 The Doctor's mother is now ninety years of age, and 
 is well preserved, both ph)'sically and mentally, at- 
 tends church on Sunday, and always remembers the 
 text. 
 
 Marcus M. Johnson received his early education, 
 preparatory to entering college, at Franklin x\cad- 
 emy, Malone, N. Y., and was graduated from Brown 
 University in 1870, with the degree of B. Ph. He 
 then became instructor in Mathematics and the 
 Sciences in the Connecticut Literary Institute, Suf- 
 field. Conn., for five years, and is officially connected 
 with that institution now. He received his medical 
 degree from the University of New York, where 
 
^-^^-^ >r /^^^L.-^— /yy^M'l^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 285 
 
 he graduated with honor, receiving the "Valentine 
 Mott Gokl Medal," the highest award for excellence 
 in anatomy and dissections. The following year he 
 was house surgeon in the llartfiird Hospital, lie 
 then pursued his studies abroad for two years. 
 Among the eminent surgeons from whom he re- 
 ceived instructions were Thomas Keith, of Edin- 
 burgh, whom he assisted in six ovariotomies, Sir 
 Joseph Lister, of London, and Billroth, of \'ienna. 
 In Berlin he received especial instructions in gyne- 
 cology from JNlartin, and in operative surgery under 
 Von Langenbeck. From 1880 until the present 
 time he has resided in Hartford, Conn., and prac- 
 ticed medicine, making advanced surgery the special 
 line of work with which his name has long been 
 identified. In the practice of medicine he is fully 
 abreast of the times, and as a surgeon his name 
 will never be forgotten. Dr. Johnson had not long 
 been a resident of Hartford when the city was 
 visited (1882) by a great epidemic of diphtheria, 
 200 men, women and children dying during the year. 
 The Doctor was the first in Hartford to use the 
 bichloride of mercury treatment in this disease, by 
 which he attained a degree of success not equalled 
 by the anti-toxin of to-day. The quickness with 
 which Dr. Johnson saw the inefficiency of the old 
 treatment and adopted the new, together with severe 
 professional opposition, formed an amusing episode 
 in his professional career. 
 
 Dr. Johnson's medical training, at home and 
 abroad, especially under Sir Joseph Lister, taught 
 him that the best interest of the patient could not 
 be subserved by operations from house to house. 
 He therefore erected, at 122 Woodland street, Hart- 
 ford, one of the finest sanatoriums of the East, one 
 of the most complete institutions of the kind it has 
 been the writer's privilege to visit. Extreme clean- 
 liness is paramount throughout the building. The 
 operating room is perfect in every detail, containing 
 all the necessary appurtenances to aid in making 
 successful operations. The rays of light cast from 
 three large windows and a skylight give the opera- 
 tor a fine opportunity to do his work, ^^'hen ne- 
 cessity demands an operation at night a cluster of 
 five strong electric lamps is suspended over the 
 operating table, which does the same service, while, 
 by a cord an electric light searcher is himg to be used 
 when the occasion demands. The institution is 
 equipped with all the latest devices for the treatment 
 with massage and electricity, and has a corps of 
 nurses capable of rendering the best possilile care 
 to the patients. 
 
 No mention of Dr. Johnson's professional career 
 would be complete without referring to his perfect 
 mastery of his special line of work, surgery, he hav- 
 ing opened the abdominal cavity eight hundred 
 times, with a high percentage of recoveries. As a 
 surgeon he is cool, painstaking and skillful, with 
 remarkable success. He is a rapid operator, with 
 such an acute touch, amounting almost to seeing, 
 that he strongly favors making the short incision 
 
 in many of his abdominal sections, three of which 
 operations were witnessed by the writer, and. re- 
 sulted in the complete recovery of the patients. On 
 July 29, 1899, Dr. Johnson operated on an infant, 
 nineteen days old, for strangulated inguinal hernia, 
 at St. Francis Hospital, Hanford, Conn. Ihe stran- 
 gulation had existed about thirty-five hours. The 
 mother stated that the child was born prematurely, 
 and weighed five pounds at its birth. It is prob- 
 ably the youngest un record on whom this operation 
 has ever been performed — at least, it comes within 
 nineteen days of being the youngest. The infant 
 made an excellent recovery. 
 
 Dr. Johnson has contributed and read before 
 the various medical societies several papers, viz. : 
 "Diphtheria, Its Flistory, Etiology and Treatment," 
 Connecticut State Medical Society, May 20, 1892; 
 "The Technique of Removing the Appendi.x \ er- 
 miformis, with a Report of One Hundred Consecu- 
 tive Cases, with Two Deaths," read in the section 
 on Surgery and Anatomy at the Forty-seventh An- 
 nual Meeting of the American Medical Association, 
 held at Atlanta, Ga., May 5-8, 1896: "Treatment of 
 f^us Cases in Operating for Appendicitis," Connec- 
 ticut Medical Society, 1897; "Ventral Hernia After 
 Appendictomy," presented to the section on Sur- 
 gery and Anatomy at the Forty-ninth Annual Meet- 
 ing of the American ^ledical Association, held at 
 Denver, Colo., June 7-10, 1898; "Flistory of the 
 First Twenty-three Cases of Gastrostomy, with a 
 Successful Case by the Writer," Connecticut Medi- 
 cal Society, May, 1899; "Report on the Progress of 
 Surgery," Connecticut Medical Society, May, 1899; 
 "Etiology of Hernia of the Ovary ; with the Relation 
 of Two Cases," Hartford Aledical Society, June 16, 
 1899; "Gastrostomy;" "Improved Technique for 
 Cure of A'entral Hernia," read at the Fifcv-first 
 Annual fleeting of the American ^ledical Associ- 
 ation, at Atlantic City, N. J., June 5-8, 1900; "His- 
 tory and Treatment of a Unique Injury of the Face," 
 read before the Connecticut Medical Society, iMay, 
 1900. Dr. Johnson is a member of the American 
 ]Medical Association, of the City, County and State 
 Medical Societies, and a surgeon to St. Francis 
 Hospital. He is a fellow of the New York Academy 
 of Medicine, a member of the Connecticut Sons of 
 the American Revolution, and a Knight Templar. 
 
 On Feb. 14, 1884, Dr. Johnson was married to 
 Mrs. Helen Lyman Jackson, a cultured and estim- 
 able lady. They have two interesting children, 
 Helen Gaylord, born Feb. 22, 1885; and Ethel 
 Chapman, born Aug. 23, 1889. 
 
 GEORCrE BEACH (deceased). During the 
 first half of the present century Mr. Beach figured 
 conspicuously in the business aflfairs of Hartford, 
 and especially in its financial circles. In his death. 
 May 3, i860, the community lost one of its valued 
 citizens and useful men. He descended from an 
 old and prominent family of Litchfield county. 
 
 Mr. Beach was a native of Litchfield. Litchfield 
 
286 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Co., Conn., and was born Nov. 29, 1788. He first 
 entered business life in the firm of Pierce & Beach, 
 ■who were engaged in the West Indies trade. On 
 September 3, 1814, he was elected cashier of the 
 Phoenix Bank, at its organization. He served as 
 cashier until September 8, 1837, when he was 
 elected president, and served as such until April 5, 
 i860, when he resigned owing to infirmities. At 
 the first organization of the bank the disturbance 
 of the currency caused by the war with England 
 led the bank to issue a quantity of bills for frac- 
 tional parts of a dollar. These bills the vice-pres- 
 ident of the bank and the directors were authorized 
 to sign, but with that exception Mr. Beach, either 
 as cashier or president, signed all that had been 
 issued by the bank, and its circulation sometimes 
 rose above a million. Undoubtedlv, at that time, 
 no man in the vicinity ever signed so many bills. 
 
 As a banker Mr. Beach was always the friend 
 of the young mechanics, tradesmen and merchants 
 endeavoring to gain a foothold, whose small loans 
 he was disposed to favor, and the directors often 
 3'ielded to his urgency in such matters. He was 
 steadily and systematically benevolent, but was 
 particularly opposed to signing his name to sub- 
 scriptions, always preferring to write "cash." He 
 believed in dispensing his charities while living. 
 P'rom early life an active Episcopalian, a member 
 of Christ Church, his religious offerings took that 
 direction generally, but not exclusively. He gave 
 the land for St. Paul's Church. The Widow's 
 Home, which he built and maintained, was a most 
 sensible charity — a large house sub-divided into 
 neat tenements, which he let gratuitously to de- 
 serving widows who had no home, and he was 
 careful on this point. Mr. Beach was a business 
 man and a gentleman of the old school. More- 
 over, he was a most useful citizen and a Christian. 
 
 Mr. Beach was three times married. He had 
 seventeen children, thirteen of whom were sons 
 (and three of whom survive him), one being J. 
 Watson, whose sketch appears farther on. Harriet 
 Bradley, the first wife of George Beach, was born 
 June 27, 1792, and died July 10, 1826. Maria 
 Nichols, the second wife, was born May 10, 1799, 
 and died Nov. 15, 1845. His third wife was the 
 widow of E. W. Bull. 
 
 Henry Bruce Beach, son of George and Har- 
 riet (Bradley) Beach, was born Nov. 3, 1817. He 
 spent his early school days in Hartford and Granby, 
 and at the age of sixteen years went to sea in a 
 sealing vessel, sailing for two years. He was then 
 in a country store at Cazenovia, N. Y., for two years. 
 In 1839 he began keeping books for •Beach & Co. 
 In 1842 he went into the iron business as agent for 
 Truman Hanks, his father-in-law. In 1844 he 
 bought out the interest of Truman Hanks, 
 and with Samuel Woodruff formed the firm of 
 "Woodruff & Beach Iron Works." In 1870 this 
 firm went out of existence. In 1871 the firm of 
 H. B. Beach & Son was organized. Mr. Beach 
 
 was married first to Mary Hanks, daughter of 
 Truman Hanks. Their only child was Henry 
 Ledlie, born July 13, 1839. For his second wife 
 Henry B. Beach married Mrs. Frances A. Tomlin- 
 son {nee Barnard), and for his third wife George- 
 anna Smith, granddaughter of Commodore Rodg- 
 ers, and grandniece of Commodores O. H. and M. 
 C. Perry. 
 
 Henry L. Beach, son of Henry B. and Mary 
 (Hanks) Beach, attended military academy at West 
 Haven, Hamden, and Litchfield, Conn., and began 
 his business career in 1859. In 1862 he enlisted 
 in Company I, i6th Conn V. I., was commissioned 
 lieutenant of Company G, in August, 1862, and 
 was promoted to captain Sept. 17, 1862. He parti- 
 cipated in the battle of Antietam and in other en- 
 gagements, and was mustered out in 1864. He is 
 a member of Robert L. Tyler Post, No. 50, Hart- 
 ford. He was married at Cincinnati to Miss Mary 
 Bence Crane, who died in 1891, leaving no children. 
 
 J. Watson Beach^ whose death occurred at his 
 home in Hartford on March 16, 1887, was born 
 Dec. 28, 1823, ninth child and seventh son of George 
 Beach. J. Watson Beach was for a long period a 
 member of the firm of Beach & Co., widely known 
 as a large importing house, whose colors and dye 
 stuffs are known to all the manufacturers of New 
 England. Their daily cable dispatches went to all 
 countries. Mr. Beach was also president of the 
 Weed Sewing Machine Co., a former president of 
 the Mercantile Bank, in which he was a director 
 at the time of his death, and he was also a director 
 of the Machine Screw Co., vice-president and di- 
 rector of the Western Automatic Screw Co., secre- 
 tary of the Grove Works, and director of the Broad 
 Brook Manufacturing Co. No better known figure 
 than that of Mr. Beach, with his tall and manly 
 form and handsome face, was ever seen on Hart- 
 ford streets. He had hosts of friends and ac- 
 quaintances who knew and liked him for his large- 
 heartedness, and good character and disposition. 
 His genial nature and general intelligence made 
 him a favorite everywhere, and not least of all in 
 Hartford society circles. He was interested in 
 chemistry, and was a thoroughly well-informed 
 man on nearly all subjects. 
 
 J. W. Beach left a widow, Josephine E. Coffing, 
 and five children, namely: Mrs. George H. Day, 
 of Hartford; Dr. Charles C. Beach, of Hartford; 
 George W., of Beach, Treiber & Co., Boston, Mass. ; 
 Mrs. P. H. Ingalls, wife of a Hartford physician; 
 and Richard J., of Boston, Mass. 
 
 Dr. Charles C. Beach, son of J. Watson and 
 Josephine E. (Coffing) Beach, attended boarding 
 school in Berkshire county, Mass., and the public 
 schools of Hartford. He graduated from Yale Sci- 
 entific School in 1877, when he became a member 
 of the Delta Fraternity. He graduated from the 
 College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1882, and 
 was for a time house physician in St. Luke's Hos- 
 pital, New York City. He then continued his med- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 287 
 
 icai studies in Berlin and \^icnna, and in 1885 be- 
 gan jiractice in Hartford, Conn. Dr. Beach mar- 
 ried Mary E. Batterson, daughter of Hon. James G. 
 ]!atlerson, of Hartford. The\- liave four children, 
 namely: Got)dwin Batterson; 'Joseiih Watson; 
 Charles lirailford; and Elizabeth Cioodwin. 
 
 HON. IRA NICHOLS BEVANS, a retired 
 business man and traveling salesman now residing 
 in Bristol, was born in Trumbull, Fairfield Co., 
 Conn., July 5, 1825, and is a son of Timothy V. 
 and Samantha (Herd) Bevans. 
 
 Timothy \'. Bevans, born in Stratford, Conn., 
 was a son of a sea captain with five children, and 
 was himself a sea captain in early life, but in his 
 later years became a. farmer in Trumbull and Mon- 
 roe. Fairfield county. In politics he was first a 
 Whig, afterward a Republican, and in religion was 
 an Episcopalian, in which faith he died at the age 
 of ninety-three years ; his wife died at the age of 
 sixty-five years. To their marriage were born 
 nine children : Julia, who was married to Cyrus 
 Botsford, died in Humphreysville, Conn. ; Russell 
 R., a hatter, died in Danbury ; Charles, first a shoe- 
 maker, later a farmer, died in Trumbull ; Lucy Ann, 
 who was married to Samuel French, also died in 
 Trumbull ; David, who was a carriagemaker, died in 
 New Haven; John, a carpenter and joiner, lives in 
 Bethel, Conn. ; Samantha married Louis French, 
 who died in Bridgeport, where she still lives; -Ira 
 X. is the subject of this sketch; Susan N. (now 
 3ilrs. Knapp), resides in New York City. 
 
 Ira Nichols Bevans was educated in Monroe, 
 Fairfield county, to which town his parents removed 
 when he was quite young. At the age of fifteen 
 3"ears he quit school and clerked for eight or ten 
 months in the grocery store of William Ross, who 
 failed. Young Bevans then went to Sandy Hook, 
 where he clerked for W'illiam C. Clark one year, 
 and then returned to ]Monroe, where for a year he 
 farmed for James Drew, and the following two 
 years he passed at home with his father. For a 
 limited period he superintended the cotton factory 
 of F. M. Cargill, at Monroe. He then worked as 
 a shoemaker in Trumbull two or three years for 
 Sanmel French, his brother-in-law. ]\Ir. Bevans 
 now married, to which important event further al- 
 lusion will be made, and removed to Bethel, enter- 
 ing into partnership with George Cole in the manu- 
 facture of fine boots for Nathan Seeley, who had 
 a large store in ^lontgomery, Ala. This partner- 
 ship was continued for two years, when Mr. 
 Bevans purchased the business and conducted it on 
 his sole account two years longer, when he sold out 
 and went to Waterbur}-. There he worked in a 
 cotton factory for five years, then took charge of 
 the company's boarding house, and also superin- 
 tended a part of the company's mill for another 
 year. The next enterprise of Mr. Bevans was a 
 trip to Texas, where he passed four years selling 
 
 cotton gins, and also traveled through other "cot- 
 ton States," and for eight years sold agencies for 
 \arious gins. In April, 1861, he returned to the 
 North, and for some time remained in I'lymoulh, 
 Conn., where his family then resided. For a few 
 months he and his brother were employed in mak- 
 ing army accoutrements — knapsacks, haversacks, 
 etc., at Hartford, and in the spring of 1862, in com- 
 pany with Eli Terry, bought the clock spring busi- 
 ness of the Cook Axle Co., of Winsted, and brought 
 it to Terry ville, but in 1865 he sold his share lu 
 ]\lr. Terry and went to New Orleans, where for 
 six months he was engaged in selling machinery 
 of all kinds. On returning to Plymouth, Conn., 
 he passed a short time with his family, and then 
 accepted the foremanship of the tempering depart- 
 ment of I. Strouse & Co.'s corset factory in New 
 Flaven, but a year later (1868) went to Thomas- 
 ton, Conn., and assumed charge of the spring de- 
 partment of the Seth Thomas Clock Co., and this 
 position he held for twenty-two years, perfecting 
 a number of different springs while so employed. 
 
 In 1890 Air. Bevans came to Bristol, and as 
 the E. Ingraham Co. had begun to make their own 
 springs, he was placed in charge of that depart- 
 ment, and held charge until 1895, when he was 
 taken ill and retired, turning over to his son, Walter 
 E., his position with the Ingraham Company. 
 
 Ira N. Bevans was first married to Miss Har- 
 riet Evaline Wiard. a native of Wolcott, and a 
 daughter of Solomon Wiard. She died in 1853, 
 the mother of one child, \\'alter E., who succeed- 
 ed his father in the Ingraham Companv. Walter 
 E. has been twice married ; his first wife, Jennie 
 Humphreyville, was divorced, and he afterward 
 wedded Mrs. Evaline Scarrett. For his second 
 wife our subject wedded j\Irs. Louise Rouell 
 Blakeslee, of Thomaston, to which marriage there 
 has been no issue. In politics Mr. Bevans is a 
 Republican, and in 1885 he represented Plymouth 
 in the State Legislature, having led his party at 
 the polls by forty-two votes. He was also on the 
 board of relief and a grand juror. In Terryville 
 he was likewise on the board of relief. In 1894 
 he was warden of Bristol, being the second to 
 fill that ofifice, but illness necessitated his resigna- 
 tion before the expiration of his term. 
 
 Fraternally Mr. Bevans is a member of Union 
 Lodge, No. 96, F. & A. M., and Granite Chapter, 
 No. 42, F. & A. M., of Thomaston. He formerlv 
 was treasurer of Bristol Grange, No. 116. P. of H., 
 of which his wife is also a member, and thev are 
 both members of the Order of the Eastern Star, 
 of which she was associate matron and secretary 
 at Thomaston. Mr. and Airs. Bevans are consist- 
 ent members of the Episcopal Church, of which 
 he is past vestryman. Altogether he has lived a 
 most active and useful life, notwithstanding the 
 fact that he has for some years been an invalid, 
 and for two vears was confined to his room, but 
 
288 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 from this attack he has happily recuperated, and 
 stands again among his fellow men, honored and 
 respected. 
 
 PHINEAS HENRY INGALLS, A. M., M. D., 
 one of the most distinguished ph3'sicians of Hart- 
 ford, was born April i8, 1856, in the little town of 
 Gorham, Maine, about ten miles from Portland, 
 jNJaine. His ancestry is of the old New England stock, 
 and he is of the seventh generation from Edmund 
 Ingalls, who came from Lincolnshire, England, in 
 1629, and settled in Andover, Massachusetts. 
 
 The Hartford Post in a recent sketch gives the 
 following data : "The Doctor's grandfather, Phineas 
 Ingalls, was born in Massachusetts, but he formed 
 one of the band which went to Maine soon after the 
 Revolutionary war, in which he fought, and was one 
 of the founders of Bridgton, in that State. His 
 son, the father of the present bearer of the name, 
 was also Phineas Ingalls, and he became a leading 
 physician in Gorham and vicinity in 1820." Dr. 
 Ingalls' mother was a daughter of Samuel Elder, a 
 prosperous farmer of Gorham, Maine, and on her 
 side he is a lineal descendant from Josias Cook, 
 who came over in the "Mayflower." 
 
 The early life of Dr. Ingalls was spent in his 
 native town, and at the public schools of Portland, 
 Maine. He entered Bowdoin College, graduating 
 with the degree of A. B. in 1877, and receiving 
 the degree, of A. M. in 1885. No doubt he inherited 
 a liking for the medical profession from his father. 
 At any rate he decided, about this time, to become 
 a physician, and at once began the study of medi- 
 cine at Portland, Maine, with Dr. S. H. Tewks- 
 bury and Dr. Charles W. Bray. He attended, two 
 courses of lectures at the Maine Medical School, 
 and took a three-years' course at the College of 
 Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. He was 
 graduated there in 1880, and his first practical serv- 
 ice was entered upon immediately after that at the 
 Woman's Hospital in New York City, where he 
 served as house surgeon and gained a wide and 
 serviceable experience. Here he remained until No- 
 vember, 1881, when he returned to Portland, Maine, 
 and engaged in work there until March, 1882, when 
 he came to Hartford. For three years he was lo- 
 cated on Elm street, and there he established the nu- 
 cleus of the large practice which he now enjoys. 
 At the end of that period he came to No. 112 High 
 street, where he has since remained. Dr. Ingalls 
 makes a specialty of diseases peculiar to women, and 
 his practice is largely in operations and consulta- 
 tion work in Hartford and adjoining towns. It is 
 probably the largest gynecological practice enjoyed 
 by any physician in Connecticut. 
 
 In 1891 Dr. Ingalls performed the operation 
 that, without doubt, did more to make his name 
 prominent in connection with this branch of surgical 
 work than any previous or subsequent performance. 
 At that time he accomplished successfully the very 
 difficult and dangerous operation known to the 
 
 medical world as C^esarean Section. It is rarely 
 attempted, and is resorted to onl)^ in the most des- 
 perate cases. A coolness and nerve is required 
 which few practitioners, especially among the 
 younger members of the profession, can command. 
 In this case Dr. Ingalls was entirely successful. 
 The case attracted a great deal of attention, and 
 was extensively commented upon in the newspapers. 
 In 1884 Dr. Ingalls was appointed visiting 
 gjmecologist at the Hartford Hospital, and entered 
 with enthusiasm into that branch of the work there. 
 He began to perform operations in the abdominal 
 cavity which before that time had been unfortunate 
 in their results in this city. By careful attention 
 to technique, and the finer details of the work, he 
 soon brought that department at the hospital to a 
 point where its work in this particular line will 
 compare favorably with that of any hospital in the 
 country. Most of his work is surgical, and he 
 performs an average of about two hundred opera- 
 tions per year. In 1899, after the death of Dr. 
 Campbell, Dr. Ingalls was appointed medical ex- 
 aminer of the ^Etna Insurance Company. 
 
 Dr. Ingalls has shown much public spirit, and 
 was appointed by Mayor Erainard to the board of 
 police commissioners, where he served with faith- 
 fulness and abilitv. He was chairman of the build- 
 ing committee which has in charge the erection of 
 the new police station. It was largely through his 
 efforts that this building was started, and he takes 
 a deep personal interest in its construction. 
 
 In 1883, after he had been in this city about a year,, 
 the Doctor joined the First Regiment as assistant 
 surgeon, and became very much interested in the 
 welfare of the local militia. In 1885 he was made 
 adjutant, and in 1890 he was appointed on Gen. 
 Watson's staff as brigade inspector. During these 
 years he was enthusiastic in military affairs, enter- 
 ing into its interests with his characteristic energy, 
 and rendering valuable service to the State. He 
 resigned in 1892 only because of the weight of other 
 duties, especially in connection with his increasing 
 practice. Dr. Ingalls finds time to respond to the 
 demands of many phases of social life. He is a 
 member of the Hartford Club, the Country Club, 
 the Republican Club, the Hartford Golf Club, the 
 Colonial Club, the Sons of the American Revolu- 
 tion, and the Society of Colonial Wars ; also the 
 Church Club of Connecticut. He is a member 
 and prominent supporter of Christ Church. Dr. 
 Ingalls is a member 'of the City, County and State 
 Medical Societies, but, perhaps, his greatest dis- 
 tinction in this direction is his membership in the 
 American Gynecologist Society, an association of 
 specialists limited to a membership of one hundred. 
 He was elected to this society in 1890, and is the 
 only member in this State. He is a member of the 
 Board of Censors of the Hartford Medical Society, 
 and of the Alumni Association of the Woman's 
 Hospital of New York City. Among his more im- 
 portant medical papers is one on "Non-Surgica! 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 289 
 
 Treatment of Anteflexion," puhlished in the "New 
 ^'urk Medical Journal" March 2/, i88C); essay, 
 "Damages of i'arlurition and Their Repair," pro- 
 ceedings Conecticut Medical Society, i880; disserta- 
 tion, "Uterine Cancer," proceedings Conneciicut 
 Medical Society, i88y; "Sloughing I'^iljroids of the 
 Uterus," proceedings American Uynecological So- 
 ciety, 1891 ; "Successful Case of C;esarean Sec- 
 tion," "American Journal of Oustetrics," August, 
 189J. Dr. Ingalls takes little recreation, but is 
 very fond of traveling, and during the month of 
 August he allows himself full intlulgence in this 
 pleasure. This, however, is chiefly an economic 
 measure, adopted in order to better meet the un- 
 usual requirements and exhausting demands of a 
 physician's life. 
 
 Un May 13, 1S85, Dr. Ingalls was married to 
 Miss Mary Helen Jieach, daughter of the late J. 
 Watson Beach, and to their union has been born 
 one child, who died in infancy. 
 
 HON. GEORGE WASHINGTON HODGE, 
 special agent of the American Real Estate Company 
 of New York City, former State treasurer, State 
 senator and representative, and for many years a 
 manufacturer of Windsor, this county, is one of 
 the substantial citizens and useful men of Hartford 
 county. 
 
 Mr. Hodge was born in Seymour, Conn., July 
 5. 1845, son of George L. and Hannah J\I. (Pelton) 
 Hodge. Rev. \\'illiam Hodge, our subject's grand- 
 father, a Baptist minister, came to this country in 
 1823, from Scotland, with his family of eight chil- 
 dren, and lived in Long Island and Connecticut. 
 Mr. Hodge's maternal grandparents were settlers 
 of western Alassachusetts, moving from there to 
 central New York. They were connected with the 
 I'eltons of the early settlement of Saybrook and 
 East Windsor, Connecticut. 
 
 George W. Hodge was educated in the public 
 schools, the Connecticut Literary Institute, at Suf- 
 field, Conn., and the Eastman Business College, at 
 Poughkeepsie, N. Y. After leaving school, at the 
 age of eighteen, he learned the business of paper- 
 making in the mills of his father, at Rainbow, 
 Conn. In August, 1865, he was married to Miss 
 Jennie A. Clark, of Tivoli, N. Y., and in 1866 be- 
 came a member of the firm of Hodge, Son & Co., 
 thus continuing until 1874, when he retired; in 1876 
 he purchased a one-third interest with House & 
 Co., manufacturers of press paper; in 1882 he pur- 
 chased the interest of one partner and in 1890 of 
 the other. 
 
 Mr. Hodge is known as one of the enterprising, 
 I'ublic-spirited and progressive men of his town, 
 and has been prominent in town, county and State 
 affairs. He is a representative New England gen- 
 tleman, and is highly esteemed and respected wher- 
 ever known. He was selectman of the town of 
 Windsor from 1876 to 1881, a member of the 
 Connecticut House of Representatives, 1881, 1882: 
 
 19 
 
 member of the State Senate from the Tiiird Dis- 
 trict, i88y and 1890; and treasurer of the State of 
 L'onnecticut, 1895-1896. He has alwa\s been a 
 Republican. He is a Ereemason, a member of the 
 Ro\-al Arcanum, and of the Republican Club of 
 Hartford. When a lad of twelve years lie joined 
 the Baptist Church, and has been connected with 
 that body ever since. He was one of the leading 
 agencies in the organization of the churcli and in 
 building the house of worship and parsonage, at 
 Rainbow, hfs place of residence. Since Oct. i, 
 1897, he has been special agent of the American 
 Real Estate Company of New York City. 
 
 NELSON GERSHOM HINCKLEW One 
 does not have to carry his investigations far in the 
 history of the New England States to find that the 
 Hinckley family has been prominent in its develop- 
 ment and upbuilding, and a most worthy repre- 
 sentative of this family is the subject of this sketch. 
 
 Mr. Hinckley traces his ancestry back to about 
 the year 1600, and to the County of Kent, England, 
 where John Lothrop was pastor of a parish in Eger- 
 ton. He (John) embraced the faith of the Puritans, 
 but subsequently adopted the views of Robinson, at 
 Leyden. In 1623 he renounced his orders in the 
 Church of England, and removed to London, fol- 
 lowed by some of his parishioners, among whom 
 was (I) Samuel Hinckley. In January, 1O24, Mr. 
 Lothrop became second pastor of the first Congre- 
 gational church gathered in London on the plan of 
 Robinson, at Leyden. They held their meetings 
 privately, in Blackfriars, but in April, 1632. were 
 discovered by the pursuivant of Archbishop Laud, 
 were apprehended, and eighteen only escaped. Mr. 
 Lothrop, with twenty-four others, was imprisoned 
 two years, some in the "Clink," some in "New 
 Prison," and some in the "Gate House," when all 
 but himself were liberated. He petitioned King 
 Charles I, and was set at liberty in April, 1634, on 
 condition of departing from the kingdom. Accord- 
 ingly he in 1634 came to Boston in the ship "Griffin," 
 with about thirty of his people, settled in Scituate, 
 and afterward removed to Barnstable. 
 
 Samuel Hinckley was one of those who, in 1635, 
 in the ship "Hercules," followed Mr. Lothrop to 
 Boston and Scituate. In 1637 he was admitted a 
 freeman, and removed to Barnstable in 1639. 
 IMoore, in his "Lives of the Governors of Plymouth 
 Colony," says: "Some of the first settlers of Barn- 
 stable were men of education and easy fortunes, 
 who had left homes enviable, save in the single 
 circumstance of the abridgement of religious liberty. 
 The '^len of Kent' are duly celebrated in English 
 history as men of gallantry, loyalty and courtlv man- 
 ners. Vassal, Hatherly, Cudworth, Tilden. Hinck- 
 ley and others had been accustomed to the elegances 
 of life in England. They were men eminently quali- 
 fied not only for transacting municipal concerns, 
 but for taking an active and leading part in the gov- 
 ernment of the colonv." 
 
290 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Thomas Hinckley, son of Samuel, was the last 
 governor of Plymouth Colony. He was chosen one 
 of the assistants in 1658, and continued in office 
 until 1 681. In that year, following the death of 
 Josias Winslow, he was chosen governor of New 
 Plymouth Colony, and continued in that office (ex- 
 cept during the short period of the rule of Andross, 
 when he was councillor) by successive re-elections 
 until the Colony was incorporated with Massachu- 
 setts under the charter of 1692 — a period of eleven 
 years. 
 
 While governor, Mr. Hinckley made an early 
 effort, if not the earliest effort made in this coun- 
 try, to establish and promote a system of free 
 schools, and when the first school was established by 
 law in 1672 he was "steward" of the income set 
 apart for its support, and remained its faithful and 
 consistent champion. It was said of him that in 
 his religious views he resembled the rigid Gov. 
 Prince, rather than the tolerant Winslow. A law 
 was passed while he was governor, sometimes called 
 ''Hinckley's law," which provided that "if any ne- 
 glect the worship of God in the place where he lives, 
 and set up a worship contrary to God and the allow- 
 ances of this government, to the profanation of 
 God's holy day, he shall pay ten shillings." Gov. 
 Plinckley took a deep interest in the propogation of 
 the Gospel among the Indians, and in securing a 
 competent support for ministers of religion. 
 
 (11) John Hinckley, son of Samuel, born in 
 Barnstable May 24, 1644, called "Ensign John," 
 took an active interest in the government and mili- 
 tary defense of the Colony. He married Bethia 
 Lothrop, granddaughter of Rev. John Lothrop, and 
 died at the age of sixty-five. 
 
 (HI) Gershom Hinckley, son of Ensign John, 
 was born in Barnstable April 2, 1682. In the year 
 1 712 he removed to Lebanon, Conn., where he had 
 purchased lands, and became a prosperous farmer. 
 He married Mary Buel, of Lebanon, and reared a 
 large family. He died in December, 1774, aged 
 ninety-two, and she passed away Feb. 23, same year, 
 aged eighty-five, the mother of fourteen children. 
 They were reared and educated in that patriotic town 
 during the stern and stirring times that preceded 
 the Revolutionary war, and were contemporary with 
 the famous "Brother Jonathan" Trumbull. It ap- 
 pears from the "State Records of Revolutionary 
 Soldiers" that many of his descendants took an ac- 
 tive part in that great struggle. 
 
 (I\^) John Hinckley, son of Gershom, of Leb- 
 anon, was born Feb. 10, 1729, and finally settled in 
 East Hampton, Connecticut. 
 
 (V) Gershom Hinckley, grandfather of Nelson 
 G., was born in 1754, and removed to Thetford, 
 Yt., where he was a prominent man in the town, 
 and deacon in the First Congregational Church for 
 twenty-six years, until his death. 
 
 (VI) Asahel Hinckley, father of Nelson G., was 
 born Feb. 11, 1794, in Thetford, Vt., and came to 
 Hartford in 1810. He was a printer by trade, and 
 
 worked in the office of The Hartford Courant at a 
 period when the "art preservative of all the arts" 
 was very different from what it now is. He not 
 only set up the type, but was also accustomed to 
 "pull" the entire edition of the paper on a hand 
 press, and ink the form with the old-fashioned 
 "balls." In 1820 he commenced the dry-goods and 
 millinery business on Main street, near Church ; his 
 store for many years was known in Hartford as the 
 leading one in that line. In 1854 his son Nelson G. 
 succeeded to the business. 
 
 On Sept. 7, 1817, Asahel Hinckley married 
 Philinda Skinner, of Bolton, Conn., daughter of 
 Eldad and Maria (Sackett) Skinner. Eldad Skin-, 
 ner's father, Asahel Skinner, married Sarah Trum- 
 bull, daughter of Benjamin and Mary (Brown) 
 Trumbull, and sister of Rev. Benjamin Trumbull, 
 D. D., the famous historian. Benjamin, Sr., father 
 of Sarah Trumbull, was a son of Benoni Trumbull, 
 brother of Joseph, who was the father of the famous 
 "Brother Jonathan" Trumbull. Children were born 
 to (VI) Asahel and Philinda Hinckley as follows: 
 Sarah Maria, Oct. 25, 1818, died April 20, 1892 
 (she married Lorenzo Lane, of Chicopee, Mass.) ; 
 Nelson G. is mentioned below ; Jane Elizabeth, Oct. 
 19, 1822, died Jan. i, 1898 (she married Oliver 
 Woodhouse) ; Arthur Tappan is mentioned below. 
 Asahel Hinckley died July 23, 1844; Philinda, his 
 wife, died Aug. 24, 1870. 
 
 Capt. Arthur T. Hinckley was born in Flartford 
 Feb. 9, 1830, and passed his early life in that city. 
 In 1854 he was appointed (by Col. N. G. Hinckley, 
 quartermaster-general) armorer at the 'State arsenal, 
 holding that position until 1862, and in many ways 
 proving his eminent fitness therefor. In 1861, at the 
 first call for volunteers in the Civil war, he took en- 
 listment papers from Adjt.-Gen. Williams, and, 
 making his headquarters at the armory of the old 
 Hartford Light Guard, in a few days recruited a frill 
 company — Company A, ist Regiment Conn. V. I. — 
 which was accepted at midnight, the adjutant-gen- 
 eral keeping his office open for that purpose, and 
 was the first company raised for the war accepted 
 by the State. Mr. Hinckley was elected lieutenant, 
 and went into camp at New Haven with the com- 
 mand, but before muster-in he resigned and returned 
 to his position at the State arsenal, at the instance 
 of Quartermaster-General Hatheway and the earnest 
 personal request of Gov. Buckingham, who re- 
 marked that "at this critical time he would be of 
 more service there than at the fi-ont." After re- 
 maining another year at the arsenal he was, on July 
 9, 1862, authorized by Adjt.-Gen. Williams to enlist 
 another company for the Federal service. He opened 
 an office, and recruited a full company, of which he 
 was elected captain, and which was mustered in Nov. 
 II, 1862, as Company B, 25th Conn. V. I., Col. G. 
 P. Bissell. The regiment saw active service, and 
 Capt. Hinckley participated in Gen. Banks' expedi- 
 tion to New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Port Hud- 
 son, he and his company receiving the highest com- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 291 
 
 mendation in that campaign. He returned with the 
 regiment to Hartford, was mustered out and hon- 
 orably discharged. However, it soon became ap- 
 parent that the Captain's general health was im- 
 paired, and a chronic disease developed which 
 eventually caused his death. As his health required 
 constant medical aid, he chose to avail himself of 
 the benefits to be had at the National Soldiers' Home 
 at Hampton, Va. He died Oct. 30, 1888, and was 
 laid to rest in the National Cemetery at Hampton. 
 
 (\ Hj Nelson Gershom Hinckley, the subject 
 proper of these lines, was born Aug. 20, 1820, in 
 Hartford, Conn., and has always resided in that city. 
 In 1S54, as above stated, he succeeded to his father's 
 dry-goods and millinery business, and continued 
 same until 1875, in which year he retired, the es- 
 tablishment having retained the same name for over 
 half a century. 
 
 On Sept. 19, 1849, Nelson Gershom Hinckley 
 was married in New Hartford, Conn., to Minerva 
 Rossiter Hotchkiss, who was born at New Hart- 
 ford June 3, 1826, and is a direct descendant of 
 John INIarsh, a first settler of Hartford ; of Gov. 
 Webster, the fifth governor of the Connecticut Col- 
 ony ; and of Joseph Wadsworth, of "Charter Oak" 
 fame. To this union was born, Sept. 28, 1850, one 
 son, Howard Nelson, who on Nov. 2, 1871, married 
 Belle Eliza, daughter of Dwight Slate, of Hart- 
 ford, and five children have been born to them, 
 their names and dates of birth being as follows : 
 Harriet Rossiter, May 19, 1874 (she married Nov. 
 2, 1898, Ferdinand Favor Norris, of Dedham, 
 ]vlass.j ; Clara Belle, Sept. 17, 1879; Robert Horace, 
 JNIarch 28, 1882; Lena Howard, Dec. 29, 1885; and 
 Samuel Dwight. May 13, 1888 (died Jan. 23, 1891). 
 
 Nelson G. Hinckley has for many years been 
 prominently identified with military and civic so- 
 cieties. In 1840 he was a member of the First 
 Company, of Governor's Foot Guard, in 1845 was 
 elected captain, and was also captain of the Veteran 
 Association ; in 1864 was commissioned a lieutenant 
 in the Putnam Phalanx, under Major Allyn. In 
 1854 he was appointed, by the General Assembly, 
 quartermaster-general of the State, on the staff of 
 Gov. Dutton ; and in 1876 was tendered the office 
 of division quartermaster, on the staff of Brig.-Gen. 
 Guyer. He was foreman of one of the old volunteer 
 fire companies, and a member of the Board of Fire 
 Department ; in 1880 was elected president of the 
 Firemen's Benevolent Society, in which incumbency 
 he remained until 1899. He was elected a member 
 of the city council for four successive years (1878- 
 82), and a member of the board of relief of the 
 town for five years in succession, 1880 to 1884, both 
 inclusive. 
 
 Fraternally J\Ir. Hinckley is one of the prominent 
 Freemasons in the State, and his connection with the 
 craft has been distinguished for rare enthusiasm 
 throughout. The followine is a brief record of his 
 career in Masonry : Initiated in St. John's Lodge, 
 No. 4, Jan. 18, i860; worshipful master, 1865; 
 
 treasurer of the lodge from 1872 to 1887, when he 
 was again elected worshipful master ; was exalted to 
 the degree of Royal Arch Mason, in Pythagoras 
 Chapter, No. 17, Feb. i, 1862; elected high priest 
 in 1869; was elected one of the trustees of the 
 Grand Chapter of Connecticut in 1870, and has held 
 that office until the present time. In May, 1870, he 
 was elected one of the trustees of the Grand Lodge 
 of Connecticut, and has held that position thirty 
 years (still serving), acting as chairman, having 
 custody of the funds of -the Grand Lodge of Con- 
 necticut, and also the funds of the Masonic Charity 
 Foundation until the incorporation of the Masonic 
 Flome at Wallingford. He was received and greet- 
 ed in Wolcott Council, No. i, at Hartford, Nov. 
 12, 1863, but never served that body in a working 
 capacity, his interest centering more in the lodge and 
 chapter. 
 
 Mr. Hinckley is a typical representative of the 
 good old school, and, in his bearing among men, 
 and his companions and associates, he retains many 
 of the qualities which distinguished his early an- 
 cestors as men of gallantry, loyalty and courtesy, 
 and he holds the respect of those who know hi:n 
 for his thorough manhood, dignity of character, 
 honesty of purpose, and gentlemanly bearing. In 
 his business or Masonic relations he has always been 
 distinguished for method, persistence, and a uniform 
 correctness in all things ; while in private life he is 
 held in high esteem and regard. 
 
 HENRY HAAB, chief engineer for the Bristol 
 Brass & Clock Co., Bristol, is a native of Switzer- 
 land, born Sept. 18, 1859. 
 
 John Haab, father of our subject, was also a na- 
 tive of Switzerland, where for many years he was 
 overseer in a silk factory ; he was also at one time 
 an officer of high rank in the Swiss army. By his 
 wife Magdalene (Keller) he had two sons: Henry, 
 our subject; and John, the younger, who died when 
 quite young. The parents are both deceased, the fa- 
 ther dying when Henry was a young lad. The 
 widowed mother came to the United States the 
 year before her son's emigration, and lived with 
 relatives in Ansonia, Connecticut. 
 
 Our subject received his early education in his 
 native land. At the age of sixteen years he com- 
 menced working on a farm, in which line of industry 
 he continued until coming to America, in 1872. 
 Sailing from Bremen, Germany, he landed in due 
 course at New York, whence he at once proceeded 
 to Ansonia, Conn., and here found employment in 
 Wallace and Son's factory, in the lamp department. 
 After one year there he passed the next twelve 
 months or so in the employ of John Gardner, also 
 in Ansonia. making clock dials, and then moved to 
 Bristol, where for some six years he worked for 
 S. E. Root, manufacturer of clock dials. Our sub- 
 ject's health becoming now somewhat impaired, he 
 commenced the study of medicine under the pre- 
 ceptorship of Dr. Fred H. Williams ; but after three 
 
292 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years he took his present position, that of chief en- 
 gineer for the Bristol Brass & Clock Co., having 
 charge of the entire steam plant. Mr. Haab is the 
 patentee of a number of useful inventions, among 
 them the Haab rotary engine, which is in successful 
 operation. He is now completing the jNIechanical 
 Electrical course with the Technical Correspondence 
 Schools of Scranton, Pennsylvania. 
 
 On July 13, 1884, Henry Haab was married to 
 Miss Catherine E. Johns, of Terryville, Conn., 
 daughter of William Johns. Mr. and Mrs. Haab 
 have no family. They are members of the Congre- 
 gational Church, and in politics Mr. Haab is a Re- 
 publican. Socially he is a Freemason, member of 
 Pequabuck Chapter, No. 32, R. A. M., the highest 
 degree obtainable in Bristol. He is regarded as an 
 industrious, honorable citizen, well worthy of the 
 high regard in which he is held. 
 
 BURTON ARD HART (deceased) was bom 
 on Chippin Hill, town of Bristol, Conn., April 16, 
 1836, and was a son of Ard Hart. He was edu- 
 cated in the common schools of Bristol, which he 
 attended until about twelve years of age. He then 
 began work in Noah Pomeroy's clock factory, walk- 
 ing from and to Chippin Hill morning and night, 
 and was indeed a lad of great endurance and in- 
 dustry. Several years later, after quitting Mr. 
 Pomeroy, he went to Terryville, worked there sev- 
 eral years, and then worked in New Britain duruig 
 the period of the Civil war, for Russell & Erwin. 
 He next worked for the Welch Manufacturing Co. 
 in Forestville, learned the iron-molding trade and 
 also brass turning, and went to Waterbury and 
 worked three years for Benedict & Burnham, clock 
 manufacturers. He then returned to Bristol and 
 opened the North Side grocery, on North street, 
 and this he most successfully conducted until 1893, 
 when he retired from active business pursuits and 
 devoted his entire attention to the supervision of 
 his real-estate interests, until his death Ma)- 31, 
 
 1895. 
 , Mr. Hart married (first) Emily Curtiss, of 
 Harwinton, Conn., who died two years later, and 
 for his second wife Mr. Hart married Miss Eliza- 
 beth Cowles, who was born Jan. 20, 1845, the ac- 
 complished daughter of Kirtland and Marv (Dem- 
 ing) Cowles, of Wethersfield, Conn. This felicitous 
 union was graced with four children: Horace Bur- 
 ton, born Aug. i, 1869; Alice Cowles, born Aug. 2, 
 1871 ; Wilbur Stacy, born July 21, 1873; and Oliver 
 Monroe, born Oct. 7, 1876. These children were all 
 educated in the Bristol schools, and all are at home 
 with their mother. 
 
 Burton Ard Hart did not belong to any of the 
 secret orders, as he was perfectly contented with the 
 companionship of his adored wife and children. He 
 was of a most lovable disposition and charitable m 
 the extreme. Kind, modest and unassuming, he 
 never crossed any one, made many friends and 
 probably never had an enemy. In politics he was 
 
 by conviction a Republican, but as his business and 
 family affairs absorbed all his attention, and as he 
 was more interested in their prosperity than in that 
 of office seekers, he gave party atfairs a wide berth. 
 He was a member of the Prospect M. E Church, 
 and lived strictly up to its tenets, and of this church 
 his widow is also a devout member. He possessed 
 no evil habits whatever, was totally abstinent as to 
 the use of spirituous liquor and tobacco, and be- 
 stowed in charity the sums that many squander in 
 these so-called luxuries. His death was generally 
 deplored, but by no one more deeply than by his 
 estimable wife and children. 
 
 JOHN SIMPKINS BUTLER, M. D., whose 
 death occurred in Plartford, May 21, 1890, was at 
 that time one of the city's oldest citizens, the oldest 
 graduate of Yale College in Hartford, and a gentle- 
 man of wide reputation and prominence, whose 
 friends were many. 
 
 Dr. Butler's ancestors were among the early and 
 prominent settlers of Hartford. Steven Butler, a 
 nonconformist English clergyman, was the father of 
 Richard Butler, whose name appears on the records 
 of the Puritan Colony of Cambridge, Mass., in 
 1632. Pie was one of the company who came 
 through the wilderness in 1636 and formed the set- 
 tlement in Hartford, and several of the. family were 
 buried in the Center Church burying-grounds. 
 Hartford. One hundred and fifty years later, Daniel 
 Butler, a direct descendant of Richard Butler, and 
 the father of our subject, removed from Hartford 
 to Northampton, Mass., and became a merchant 
 there. 
 
 On his maternal side our subject is a great- 
 great-grandson of John Kneeland, of Boston, sup- 
 posed to be of Scottish origin, and who was a man 
 of wealth and mark. Beginning as a stonemason, he 
 built the old "Hancock -House" and the old South 
 church, of which society he was one of the original 
 members. He acquired much real estate. Kneeland 
 street, Boston, was named in his honor. Samuel 
 Kneeland, son of John, printed the first Bible in 
 Boston, in 1749. William, another son of John 
 Kneeland, was a physician of note, and at one time 
 president of the Massachusetts State Medical So- 
 ciety. William Kneeland's daughter, Mehitabel, was 
 married to Deacon John Simpkins, of old North 
 Church, Boston, and the grandfather of Dr. John 
 Simpkins Butler. 
 
 Dr. John Simpkins Butler, our subject, was born 
 Oct. 12, 1803, in Northampton, Mass. He was- 
 graduated from Yale College in 1825, and immcdi- 
 atelj^ commenced the study of medicine with a pli>'- 
 sician in his native place. Pie attended one course 
 of lectures at the Harvard Medical School, Cam- 
 bridge, Mass. His second course was taken at Jef- 
 ferson Medical College, Philadelphia, 'from which 
 institution he received his medical degree in 1828, 
 the father and uncle of Gen. George B. McClellan 
 being among his professors. In 1829 he opened 
 
BURTOH A. HART 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 293 
 
 an office in Wcircestcr, ]\Iass., for the practice of 
 sjeneral medicine. He remained there ten years, 
 when, on the opening of the Boston Hos])ital for 
 the Insane, he was elected its superintendent. After 
 three years' service in that institution he gave up 
 liis position on account of political interference, and 
 resumed the general practice of medicine in the 
 city of Boston ; and within a feA\- months of this 
 ■change he was elected superintendent of the Con- 
 necticut Retreat for the Insane, at Hartford, and in 
 1843 took up his residence in that city. For nearly 
 thirty vears he was the superintendent of the In- 
 sane Retreat, managing its affairs with skill, and 
 watching over its interests with ceaseless vigilance. 
 Having brought the Retreat to a commanding po- 
 sition, as respects its surroundings, architectural ap- 
 pearance and internal arrangements, and its finan- 
 cial and professional standing, he resigned his office, 
 Oct. 19, 1872. His biographer says: "For thirty 
 vears of continuous service he kept the institution 
 in the front rank of contemporary progress." From 
 that time on until his death, he continued to reside 
 in Hartford, leading anything but an idle life. He 
 had acted as expert and consulting physician in dis- 
 eases of the brain and nervous system. Fie took an 
 active interest and a large part in establishing the 
 Connecticut State Board of Health, which has ren- 
 dered most efficient public service. For the first 
 ten vears he was its president. Fie wrote the first 
 annual address of the board — a valuable paper on 
 "State Protective Medicine." He also wrote a num- 
 ber of articles for medical journals, and in 1886 
 published a small work on "The Curability of In- 
 sanit}-."" and "The Individualized Treatment of the 
 InsariC." 
 
 Dr. Butler kept up his reading and retained an 
 active interest in all questions concerning public 
 welfare, noting with delight ever)' indication of 
 progress in the treatment of insanity. His special 
 interest in insanity commenced in 1833, while he 
 was in Worcester. He became so deeply interested 
 in a poor crazy Welshman, under treatment at the 
 Worcester Insane Hospital, that his subsequent pro- 
 fessional life was comparatively changed by this 
 circumstance. He was urged to take up the specialty 
 — insanity — as a life work by the noted Dr. Samuel 
 Woodward, the superintendent, who discovered in 
 Dr. Butler those rare qualities of mind and heart 
 which so eminently fitted him for the peculiar duties 
 of such a practice. Dr. Butler was fortunate in 
 having as friends and patrons Dr. Woodward, of 
 the \\"orcester Hospital, and Dr. Ives, the first su- 
 perintendent of the Hartford Retreat, two noted 
 examples of the ideal superintendent ; yet in treating 
 the patients Dr. Butler's application of principles was 
 decidedly original. His power sprang from a rare 
 combination of ]iersonal endowments and qualities. 
 He was a man of sound judgment, and of tlie broad- 
 est sympathy. lie had a retentive memory and a fer- 
 tile imagination, was industrious, persistent, en- 
 thusiastic, and a shrewd interpreter of human na- 
 
 ture. He exhibited unusual tact, and possessed that 
 fortunate personality called magnetism. In treat- 
 ing insanity, his chosen field of labor, which he de- 
 lighted to cultivate, he achieved marked distinction. 
 He took a high social and professional position in 
 the community in which he lived. His honors were 
 not few. He was one of the thirteen who or- 
 ganized the Association of Medical Superintend- 
 ents in 18-I4; was eight vears its vice-president, and 
 president of the Association in tlie years 1870, 187 1 
 and 1872. He was an honorary member of the 
 Medico-Psychological Society of Great Britain, and 
 was connected with many other organizations of 
 similar nature. He was influential in establishing the 
 Hospital for the Insane in Middletown. In the early 
 years of the Hartford Medical Society he frequent- 
 ly attended its meetings. He was so broad in his 
 views, so free from prejudice, so considerate of 
 others, so earnest in his search for truth, that what- 
 ever he said commanded the utmost attention, and 
 when the subjects of discussion were in his special 
 realm his words were received as authority. 
 
 On account of his extensive experience Dr. But- 
 ler was often called in council and as an expert in 
 court. His fine presence, his knowledge of the sub- 
 ject, and clear statement in court, commanded the 
 attention of both judge and jury, and, what was 
 more to the point, he could match the case in hand 
 by similar ones, and his own experience was author- 
 ity for his testimony ; and well it might be, for thou- 
 sands of cases had been under his care. One writer, 
 in referring to his connection with the Retreat for 
 the Insane, said : 
 
 "Dr. Butler's large sympathies, insight into hu- 
 man nature and rare tact with his patients led them 
 to consider him as their personal friend : he thus 
 gained their confidence and brought sunshine into 
 their hearts. His charming personality, courtesy 
 and enthusiasm for his work so impressed the 
 friends of his patients that they were anxious to 
 leave them under his charge. It is stated in our rec- 
 ords that he was well adapted for his specialty from 
 his natural powers of kindness, good nature and 
 self-command; he was so judicious that he could 
 give a fitting answer to a complaining patient : he 
 was so considerate that he was anxious to serve 
 others rather than himself." 
 
 Dr. Butler was nearly six feet in height, with 
 light complexion, pleasant bluish-gray eyes, and a 
 benevolent face. He possessed native refinement, 
 winning manners, frankness and a gentlemanly 
 bearing. He was generally beloved for his many 
 amiable qualities ; he was fond of society, with a 
 mind well stored with interesting and instructive 
 information. One of his pupils said of him: "His 
 interests were always enthusiasms." He was genial 
 and courteous, earnest and sincere. He had a pleas- 
 ant humor, and was always ready with a merry 
 conceit, a quaint saying, or an apt anecdote. He 
 was in his happiest mood when surrounded by his 
 family and his intimate friends, and the last vears 
 
294 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of his life were brightened and cheered bj^ his grand- 
 children, and his correspondence with those who 
 were residing for a time in London was most enter- 
 taining and instructive. 
 
 On Oct. 4, 1832, Dr. Butler was married to Miss 
 Cordelia Williams, daughter of Eliphalet G. Will- 
 iams, of Boston, Mass., who was cashier of the 
 City Bank of Boston and was the last selectman of 
 that city. To Dr. and Mrs. Butler were born five 
 children: Charles P., who died in 1887, and is sur- 
 vived by a son, Dr. John S. Butler, of New York 
 City; Annie W., now Mrs. Samuel G. Goodrich, 
 of Hartford; Flora, who died in infancy; Major 
 J. H. Butler, of Hartford ; and Frank W., of Ridge- 
 field, Connecticut. 
 
 Major J. H. Butler, son of Dr. John S. Butler, 
 was born at Worcester Oct. 15, 1838. His educa- 
 tion was obtained in Hartford. On May 22, 1861, 
 he was appointed, in the regular United States army 
 service, second-lieutenant of the 2d United States 
 Artillery. He was wounded in the cavalry skirmish 
 near Culpeper, Va., Nov. 8, 1863, his battery at that 
 time being with Merritt's Reserve Brigade. In con- 
 sequence of wounds Major Butler suffered amputa- 
 tion of the left foot and ankle, and was off duty a 
 year. He was then placed on mustering and disburs- 
 ing duty, and was placed on the retired list in Feb- 
 ruary, 1865. On Jan. 22, 1867, he was appointed 
 captain of the 42d Infantry, and in May, 1870, re- 
 tired as captain of Light Artillery. Lie was brevet- 
 ted captain and major during the war. Returning 
 to Hartford, he was for ten years connected with 
 the Hartford, Providence & Fishkill railroad, 
 subsequently with the New York, New Haven & 
 Hartford railroad, in the New York City office, for a 
 year and a half. He was interested in manufactur- 
 ing pursuits in Hartford for several years. Socially 
 Major Butler is a member of the Society of the 
 Army of the Potomac. 
 
 On May 30, 1867, the Major was married to 
 Ida de Mariategue Fatio, daughter of Capt. Louis 
 Fatio, midshipman in the British navy, subsequently 
 captain in the United States navy, and later captain 
 in the revenue service. She died Nov. 30, 1873, and 
 on Dec. 7, 1898, Major Butler married for his second 
 wife Miss Mabelle Sturges, of Chicago. His chil- 
 dren (all born to the first marriage) are: Ida, born 
 March 18, 1868, of Hartford; John, born Jan. 21, 
 
 1870, of Indianapolis, Ind. ; Louis F., born July 23, 
 
 1871, of Hartford; and Miriam, born Feb. 14. 1873, 
 wife of Dr. Courtland J. Allen, of Providence, 
 Rhode Island. 
 
 PICKETT. The family of this name, from 
 which descended Hon. James Andrew Pickett, late 
 a prominent citizen and manufacturer of New Brit- 
 ain, was early at Danbury, Conn. From "Orcott's 
 History of Stratford and Bridgeport" it is learned 
 that James Pickett, son of John Pickett and Mar- 
 garet, his wife, was residing in Danburv in 1690, 
 and from him probably descended those of the 
 
 name at that place and New Milford and Sherman, 
 Conn. John Pickett, referred to, was in Salem, 
 Mass., in 1648, and in Stratford in 1650. Dr. 
 Thomas Pickett from Danbury settled in New 
 Milford, Conn., and married Miss Miriam Mallery 
 in 1716. He died in 1774, his widow in 1776. 
 
 Hon. James Andrew Pickett, of New Britain, 
 was in the sixth generation from Dr. Thomas 
 Pickett, the line of his descent being through 
 Daniel, Daniel (2), Daniel A. and Albert. 
 
 (II) Daniel Pickett, son of Dr. Thomas Pick- 
 ett, born Aug. 23, 1719, married, Sept. 16, 1741, 
 Margaret Beardsley. 
 
 (III) Daniel Pickett (2), son of Daniel Pickett, 
 born Aug. 27, 1742, married, Nov. 5, 1767, Sarah 
 Comstock. 
 
 (IV) Daniel A. Pickett, son of Daniel Pickett 
 (2), born Jan. 22, 1769, was twice married, first 
 to Anna Wanzer. For his second wife he married 
 Betsey Seelye, of Sherman, Conn. His children 
 were : Oliver W., Albert and Asa, all by his first 
 wife. 
 
 (V) Albert Pickett, son of Daniel A. and Anna 
 (Wanzer) Pickett, born April 9, 1801, married, 
 Jan. 6, 1825, Mary Rebecca Roberts, and their chil- 
 dren were: James Andrew, who is referred to 
 farther on; and Jane Anna, born Nov. 17, 1S32, 
 who married, Nov. 18, 1868, John Noble Tread- 
 well, and to the union was born one daughter, 
 Mary Roberts. 
 
 James Andrew Pickett, son of Albert Pick- 
 ett, was born March 9, 1829, in New Milford, 
 Litchfield Co., Conn., and his education was ob- 
 tained in the public schools of his native place 
 and in private schools in Bridgeport, Conn. When 
 a young man he located, in 185 1, in New Britain, 
 to fill the position of bookkeeper for the A. North 
 & Son Saddlery Hardware Manufacturing Co. 
 Several years later (1855), in company with L. 
 F. Judd, he purchased a half-interest in the estab- 
 lishment now known as the North & Judd ]\Ianu- 
 facturing Co., of which he served as treasurer for 
 twenty years. From that period Mr. Pickett was 
 closely and prominently identified with the growth 
 and development of his adopted city and vicinity, 
 and was variously connected with the city's largest 
 and most successful corporations — financial and 
 otherwise. In 1876 he was elected president of the 
 Landers, Frary & Clark Manufacturing Co., and 
 was repeatedly re-elected to the same office until 
 his resignation, in 1889, and during all that period JL 
 his wise conduct of the affairs of that large cor- T 
 poration was most economical, successful and satis- 
 factory. A man of excellent business ability and 
 judgment, with that energy and close application 
 to business that are chai"acteristic of the man, he 
 made the concerns with which he was identified 
 move. From 1878 to 1891 Mr. Pickett was presi- 
 dent of the Union Manufacturing Co., of New 
 Britain. He was also for many years vice-presi- 
 dent and a director of the Shelby Iron Works, in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 295 
 
 Alabama, and for many years was a director and 
 vice-president of the New Britain National Bank; 
 also served as a director of the Mechanics National 
 Bank, the Russell & Erwin Alanufacturing Co., 
 the American Hosiery Co., the Stanley Rule & 
 Level Co., the Union r^Ianufacturing Co., and the 
 New Britain Savings Bank. So well and success- 
 fully did Mr. I'ickett manage his own affairs and 
 those of the many corporations with which he was 
 connected that his fellow citizens frequently called 
 him to fill public positions of trust, honor and re- 
 sponsibility. For a number of years he was elected 
 town assessor, and city auditor in 1871 and 1872. 
 On the adoption of the system of sewerage by the 
 city he was appointed one of the sewer commis- 
 sioners, and held the office from 1874 to 1882, in- 
 clusive. In 1883, 1884 and 1885 he was elected 
 and served as mayor of New Britain, giving the 
 city an excellent administration. In 1884 he rep- 
 resented the town in the General Assembly, and in 
 that body served as chairman on the part of the 
 House of Representatives of the committee on In- 
 surance. In his religious views he was a Congre- 
 gationalist, identified with the First Church in New 
 Britain, to which and to its charities he was a 
 liberal contributor. As has been intimated in the 
 foregoing, Mr. Pickett was one of the leading busi- 
 ness men and citizens of New Britain, whose citi- 
 zens justly appreciated his worth. Through his 
 knowledge of business, and insight into the needs 
 of the city and town, he in all the various posi- 
 tions contributed much to the welfare and nros- 
 perity of the place. Mr. Pickett passed away Nov. 
 27, 1900, at his hofiie on Summer street, after an 
 illness of several weeks, deeply mourned in the 
 community where he had his home for nearly half 
 a century. 
 
 On Sept. 9, 1857, 'Mr. Pickett was married to 
 Caroline E. Stanley, of New Britain. She died 
 at Bermuda April 11, 1877. He married (second) 
 Nov. 13, 1878, Miss Emma C. Lawrence. The 
 first union was blessed with one daughter, Anna 
 M., who married S. Willis Rockwell, of Enfield, 
 Conn. There were no children bv the second mar- 
 
 DEACON ASAHEL BROCKETT, late of 
 Bristol, was born in Wolcott, Conn., Aug. 8, 1820, 
 and died in Bristol Sept. 26, 1882. After a suc- 
 cinct account has been given of the parents of the 
 subject and their families, attention will be turned 
 to his genealogy, after which his personal history 
 will be given in detail. 
 
 Ransel Brockett, father of Asahel, was born in 
 Wolcott, Conn., June 14, 1793. He was reared a 
 farmer, was very active in the politics of his day, 
 but more particularly was he active in church cir- 
 cles, being likewise a deacon. He married, Nov. 
 25, 1818, Miss Mabel Truesdell, who was born 
 Jan. 7, 1798, a daughter of Joel and ^lehitabel 
 (Bradley) Truesdell. She died" March 8, 1844, the 
 
 mother of two sons : -Vsahel, the subject of this 
 sketch; and Calvin, born April 14, 1822. The latter 
 married Jane Plumb, and died in McHenry, 111., 
 Jan. 30, 1848. The son of Calvin, named Calvin 
 B. Brockett, is now a resident of Bristol, Con- 
 necticut. 
 
 Sir John Brockett, of Brockett Ilall, Hertford- 
 shire, England, the owner of a large estate and an 
 adherent of Charles I, was the progenitor of the 
 Brockett family of New England, and was the 
 seventh antecedent of the subject. 
 
 John Brockett, son of Sir John, was born in 
 England, in 1609, where he married, where his first 
 born child was christened, and whence he came soon 
 afterward to America, where his death took place in 
 1689. Plis children numbered eight, and were born 
 in the following order: John, who was christened 
 in England (as alluded to above) Jan. 21, 1643, 
 and died in New England in November, 1720. Be 
 Fruitful and Benjamin, born Feb. 23, 1645; Mary, 
 Sept. 25, 1646; Silence, Jan. 4, 1648; Abigail, .March 
 10, 1650; Samuel, Jan. 14, 1651, and Jabez, Oct. 
 24, 1654. 
 
 Samuel Brockett, of the above named chililren, 
 was married May 23, 1682, to Sarah Bradley, and 
 their si.x children were as follows: Samuel, born 
 Feb. 15, 1683; Daniel, born Sept. 30, 1684; John, 
 born Nov. 8, 1685, married Huldah Ells ilarch 1, 
 171 1 ; Joseph, born Oct. 8, 1688; Josiah, July 25, 
 1691 ; Alice, April 23, 1693. The dates of death of 
 the parents are unknown. 
 
 Samuel Brockett, the eldest of the family of chil- 
 dren mentioned last above was married in 1699, 
 to Rachel Brown, and became the father of five chil- 
 dren : Titus, born June 28, 1700, died July 29, 1773 ; 
 Sarah, born Aug. 26, 1702; Isaac, Sept. 3, 1705; 
 Rachel, March 22, 1708, and Samuel, born Jure 21, 
 1714, died Aug. 27, 1796. 
 
 Samuel Brockett, the youngest of the above 
 named family, was born in Wallingford, Conn., 
 whence he removed to \\'olcott. He married Ruth 
 Bradley, who was born in 1718, and who bore him 
 eight children : Samuel ; Eunice, who was born in 
 1745, and died Dec. 22, 1820; Zuar ; Zenas, born 
 July 27,, 1752, and died Oct. 30, 1828; Joel; Rach 1, 
 born Jan. 23, 1755, died in October, 1776: Amos, 
 born April 10, 1757, died July 10, 1826; and Benja- 
 min, born Nov. 22, died in March, 1842. The 
 mother of this family passed away April 12, 1780, 
 and the father died in Wolcott Aug. 27, 1796. 
 
 Zuar Brockett, son of Samuel, and grandfather 
 of Asahel Brockett, the subject of this biography, 
 was born April 4, 1747. He was a farmer, a promi- 
 nent deacon in the Baptist Church, and came from 
 Wolcott to Bristol for the reason that there was no 
 congregation of Baptists in the former place. He 
 married, Nov. 6, 1744, Miss Abigail Smith, who 
 was born Oct. 18, 1757, and of this union were 
 born eight children: Mindwell, born Sept. 5. 1775, 
 died Sept. 22, 1838: Rachel, born Dec. 21, 1777, 
 died j\Iay 20, 1844; Titus, born Nov. 25, 1779, mar- 
 
296 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ried Sarah Peck, and died March 21, 1857; Ziba; 
 Abigail, born March 3, 1784, married Marcus Mer- 
 riman, and died Jan. 20, 1839; Asahel, born June 
 26, 1786, died June 2, 1814; Lucy, born May 27, 
 1789; Ransel, father of our subject, died Jan. 25, 
 1S43. Zuar, the father of the family, died Sept. 17, 
 1834. Of Ransel Brockett, son of Zuar and father 
 of Asahel, mention is made in full at the opening of 
 this article. 
 
 Asahel Brockett, at the age of ten years, removed 
 with his parents to Bristol. Here the remainder of 
 his life was spent, with the exception of two years' 
 residence in Illinois and one in Newark, N. J. 
 An attack of chills and fever compelled him to leave 
 Illinois, but the malarial poison was in his system, 
 and, combined with typhoid fever, caused his death 
 Sept. 26, 1882. 
 
 On March 24, 1844, Mr. Brockett was married 
 to Mariett Bradley, who was Dorn in Bristol Nov. 
 5, 1824, a daughter of Timothy and Hila (Alcott) 
 Bradley; Mrs. Mariett Brockett survived until Aug. 
 13, 1897. Of this marriage were born three daugh- 
 ters : Ellen Frances, Mabel Truesdell and Calista 
 Vinton; of these, Ellen Frances, born July 17, 1849, 
 was married Api-il 15, 1873, to Emerson Francis 
 Judson, by whom she became the mother of three 
 children: Walter Brockett, born June 17, 1874; 
 VVilmer Asahel, born Aug. 27, 1876, died March 
 28, 1880; and Freddie, born Nov. 13, 1878, died 
 Aug. 16, 1879. Mabel Truesdell, born March i, 
 1861, resides in Bristol with her younger sister, 
 Mrs. Holley. Calista A'inton, born July 20, 1865, 
 was married June 10, 1896, to Julian R. Holley, 
 secretary and treasurer of the Bristol Brass & 
 Clock Co., and of whom a full record is given else- 
 where. Of this marriage two children have been 
 born : Julian Laurence, Aug. 25, 1898; and Margaret 
 Storrs, Oct. 31, 1899. 
 
 In 1842 Mr. Brockett became a member of the 
 Baptist Church, and in 1853 was chosen one of its 
 deacons. He was prominently identified with all 
 its interests, covering a period of forty years. In 
 politics he was a Democrat, ■and by his party many 
 times called to positions of responsibility and trust, 
 ably serving his town as assessor, road commis- 
 sioner, first selectman and judge of probate. He 
 was one of the founders of both the Bristol Savings 
 Bank and the Bristol National Bank, and a direc- 
 tor from the organization to the time of his death. 
 He administered on many estates of deceased per- 
 sons with comprehensive and just appreciation of 
 all interests. 
 
 His universal courtesy, sound judgment, and 
 rare executive ability won for him the affection, 
 esteem and confidence of all with whom he came in 
 contact. His life and character honor the name he 
 "bore. 
 
 PHILIP JOSEPH DOUGHERTY, a military 
 veteran, who died at his residence in Hartford 
 Dec. 29, 1899, was born in that city in August, 
 
 1847. His education was completed in the Hartford 
 Public High School, and on July 29, 1863, he en- 
 listed in Company K, ist Connecticut Heavy Ar- 
 tillery, with which he served until mustered out, 
 Sept. 25, 1865, making a most honorable record. 
 He was promoted to corporal for gallant service, and 
 was clerk of Company K. 
 
 After the close of the war Mr. Dougherty was 
 employed for a time as yard master for the Provi- 
 dence, Hartford & Fishkill railroad, but later he 
 became associated in the grocery business with his 
 father, on Spruce street, Hartford, and at the death 
 of the latter he inherited the bulk of the estate of 
 half a million. ITe was prominent socially, his 
 genial nature attracting a host of friends, and was 
 identified with several organizations, including the 
 Gentlemen's Driving Club and Robert O. Tyler 
 Post, G. A. R. In religious faith he was a Catholic, 
 and he gave liberally to the support of the church 
 and various philanthropies, the poor obtaining ready 
 aid from him. Politically he was a Democrat. On 
 Oct. 24, 1876, Mr. Dougherty married Miss Bridget 
 Allman, daughter of Timothy c-nd Johannah (Slat- 
 tery) Allman, of Waterbury, Conn., and a native 
 of Ireland. She survives him v/ith one daughter, 
 Miss Nellie C. Dougherty, who was educated in Mt. 
 St. Joseph's Convent, Hartford, and at Woodside 
 Seminary, graduating from the latter in 1897, in the 
 classical course. 
 
 Philip Dougherty, father of our subject, was 
 born in County Donegal, Ireland, and in 1836, at 
 the age of twenty-eight years, came to Hartford with 
 his wife. Hartford then had a population of only 
 7,000 people, and very few workmen had regular 
 employment, the majority being obliged to pick up 
 odd jobs where they could. That prospect did not 
 please Mr. Dougherty, and by his faithfulness in 
 the discharge of his duties he finally secured a per- 
 manent place with Humphrey & Seyms, who kept a 
 grocery in the building just south of the Center 
 church, and a soap house on the banks of the Park 
 river. He did not remain with Humphrey & Se3ans 
 a great while, leaving them to enter R. Nevers & 
 Co.'s copper-plate establishment, on Main street, and 
 while there he bought a Western farm, paying for 
 it by working overtime. He next bought a house 
 and lot on Imlay street, where he lived until com- 
 pelled to move on account of the laying out of Bush- 
 nell Park. He sold his land to the city and bought 
 a row of cottages on Spruce street, and in 1848 he 
 started in the grocery business there' for himself. 
 Three large brick blocks now occupy the site of his 
 original purchase, his successful management of 
 these and other ventures winning him a reputation 
 as one of the shrewdest real-estate buvers in Hart- 
 ford. He was married in Ireland to Ellen Given, 
 who died in i86.q. and the had the following 
 children: John, a builder in Hartford; Philip J., 
 our subject; Sarah, a resident of Montreal, Canada; 
 Robert, a business man in St. Louis, Mo. ; Charles, 
 of Hartford; and Hugh, who died in California. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 297 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 CHARLES EDMUJSfD STEELl-.. A. B. 
 'J"hous;li Mr. Steele at tlie outset of liis niinistry 
 was oliligcd to g'ive up a professional life on ac- 
 count of his health, he has been actively engaged in 
 religious aiYairs. In a business way he has been 
 connected with his brothers in market gardening, 
 fruit farming, and the development of their real 
 estate. More than to these, his life has been de- 
 voted to the upbuilding of society, to the cause 
 of temperance, and to the various associated efforts 
 for the moral improvement of mankind. 
 
 ^Ir. Steele was born in New Britain Nov. 29, 
 1S47. in one of the historic old houses of the town. 
 His ancestry has been prominent and influential 
 in the early history of Connecticut. John Steele, the 
 progenitor of the familv in America, was a native 
 of the Countv of Essex, England, who came to 
 New England about 1631-32, and settled in New 
 Town (now Cambridge), Mass. He was one of 
 the first pioneers of Connecticut, leading the ad- 
 vance guard in 1635, the year before Thomas Hook- 
 er came down. His home was just north of the 
 Athenreum building in Hartford. John Steele was 
 one of the leading spirits in the enterprising little 
 cffilony, and was a man of education as well as 
 executive ability, was the first secretary of the 
 Hartford Colony, and served for many years as a 
 magistrate. In 1654 he was clerk of Farmington 
 town. His first wife, Rachel, died in 1653, and 
 for his second he married IMercy, widow of Rich- 
 ard Seymour. John Steele died in 1665. 
 
 (II) Samuel Steele, son of the above, was born 
 in England in 1626-27, and when a child came to 
 America with his father's family. He attained 
 prominence in Colonial affairs, and was deputv 
 to the General Assembly in 1668, 1669, and from 
 1672 to 1677 inclusive. In General Court, May 9, 
 1672, he received a grant for 200 acres of land. 
 He married Mary, daughter of Hon. James Boosey, 
 a prominent resident of Wethersfield. Samuel 
 Steele died Aug. 15, 1685, his wife surviving at 
 Farmington until 1702. 
 
 ( ni 1 James Steele, son of Samuel Steele, was 
 "born Aug. 31, 1644. For many years he was a 
 mercliant at Wethersfield, and he was the captain 
 of the train-band at that place. Fle married, July 
 19, 1687, Anna, daughter of Capt. Samuel Wells. 
 She was born in 1668, and died in 1739. James 
 Steele died in 1713. 
 
 (I\") Dr. Joseph Steele, son of James Steele, 
 was born Sept. 27, 1690. He studied medicine, 
 located south of the Palisade fort at Berlin, in 
 a portion of Farmington town, and was one of 
 the most skillful and best-known practitioners in 
 Hartford county. He was also quite active in 
 church work. lie married, Feb. 16, 1715, Eliza- 
 beth, daughter of John HoUister, of Glastonbury, 
 and died in 1750. leaving five sons and five daugh- 
 ters. 
 
 (A") Ebenezer Steele, son of Dr. Joseph Steele, 
 •was born May 18, 1727. He married Sarah ^lid- 
 
 dlcton, and in larl)- life lived at Wethersfield, later 
 on Osgood Hill, New liritain, where he died Jan. 
 21, 1821. He served for a time in the Revolu- 
 ti(jnary army. Hir widow died March 6, 1823, 
 seventy-five years after her marriage. During her 
 lifetime she had 278 descendants, as follows: Thir- 
 teen children, seventy grandchildren, 171 great- 
 grandchildren, and twenty-four great-great-grand- 
 children. 
 
 (VI) Ebenezer Steele, Jr., son of Ebenezer 
 Steele, was the grandfather of our subject. He 
 was born in New Britain in 1749, was a farmer 
 by occupation, and lived in the Horse Plain Dis- 
 trict of New Britain. His first wife was Lucy 
 Wright, and his second Hannah Brewer, by whom 
 he had eight children. Of these, Hannah married 
 Elias Curtis, of Mexico, N. Y. ; Annie married 
 Judd Eggleston, of Westfield, Mass. ; Eliza, in 
 1826, married Roswell Hart, and removed to Mich- 
 igan; Edmund was the father of our subject; and 
 Amna, who was born in 1808, married Peter Miller, 
 of Troy, N. Y. Ebenezer Steele, Jr., died in 1812. 
 
 (\TI) Edmund Steele was born in the Horse 
 Plain District, New Britain, Oct. 9, 1804. He be- 
 gan life for himself as a farm hand, and then 
 entered the factory of Alvin North, in whose em- 
 ploy he remained for about twenty years. In 1842 
 he purchased for $4,500 a farm of about sixty 
 acres, known as the Seth Lewis farm, formerly 
 the Capt. Belden farm, and there he engaged with 
 his son in general farming. On Oct. 10, 1831, he 
 married Lucy Newell, who was born in Farming- 
 ton Oct. II, 1810. 
 
 The original progenitor of the Newell family 
 in Connecticut was Thomas Newell, who settled in 
 liartford soon after the Colony was established, 
 and later in Farmington. He is said to have mi- 
 grated from Hertfordshire, England, and his wife's 
 name was Rebecca Olmstead, Samuel Newell (2), 
 son of Thomas and Rebecca Newell, was baptized 
 Dec. 5, 1660, and in 1685 married Mary Hart. 
 Isaac Newell (3), son of Samuel and Mary Newell, 
 was born Feb. 10, 1686, and married, Aug. 8, 
 1710, Sarah Norton, of Farmington, granddaugh- 
 ter of John Norton, the first settler at Farmington. 
 Isaac Newell (4), son of Isaac and Sarah Newell, 
 bom Aug. II, 1711, married Rachel, daughter of 
 John and Rachel Pomeroy, of Northampton, ]\Iass. ; 
 she was a woman of remarkable religious character, 
 joining the Church when very young, and cherish- 
 ing through life the memory of Jonathan Edwards. 
 She died Sept. 16, 1776, in the fiftv-fourth year of 
 her age. For his second wife Isaac Newell mar- 
 ried Rhoda (Andrews) Warren, who was born 
 May 6, 1728, daughter of Caleb Andrews, of New- 
 ington, and was the widow of Elisha Warren. 
 Isaac Newell lived in the north part of Southing- 
 ton, in the vicinitv of what is now known as New- 
 ell's Corners. He held the military rank of lieu- 
 tenant. He died Jan. 3, 1793, his widow surviv- 
 ing until Oct. 20, 1823. Isaac P. Newell (5), son 
 
298 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of Isaac and Rachel Newell, was born Jan. 21, 
 1753. He served in the Revolutionary war. He 
 married Mary Warren, and lived at Newell's Cor- 
 ners, where he died Dec. 24, 1831, aged seventy- 
 nine years; his wife died June 4, 1835, aged sev- 
 enty-five years. Quartus P. Newell (6), son of 
 Isaac P. and Mary Newell, was born Jan. 2, 1781, 
 in Southington, and on Feb. 28, 1805, married 
 Lucy Foote, born Jan. 6, 1783, daughter of Capt. 
 Robert and Rachel (Lewis) Foote, of Southington. 
 Quartus P. Newell died May 24, 1873, aged ninety- 
 two years; his wife passed away March 20, 1853, 
 aged • seventy years. The children of Quartus P. 
 and Lucy Newell were as follows : Sophia, born 
 March 27, 1806, died Oct. 29, 1826; Lydia, born 
 Feb. 12, 1809; Lucy, mother of our subject, born 
 Oct. II, 1810; Jeannette, baptized Mav 22, 1814, 
 died Nov. 14, 1835 ; and Jane, baptized Oct. 6, 
 1816. 
 
 Edmund Steele and wife were charter members 
 of the South Congregational ChurcU, organized in 
 1842. He was a constant attendant at church serv- 
 ices, possessed strong convictions, and was in all 
 respects a man of character. He was a man of 
 strict integrity, and he accumulated a competence 
 which he bequeathed to his children. Though in- 
 terested in public affairs, he did not actively en- 
 gage in politics. He died Aug. 15, 1879, his wife 
 ■passing away in February, 1878. To Edmund and 
 Lucy Steele were born four sons — Dwight Newell, 
 Frederick Newton, Walter Pomeroy and Charles 
 Edmund, (i) Dwight Newell Steele, born Aug. 
 3, 1832, married Sarah Hartson, of Meriden, and 
 with his brothers Frederick and Walter started the 
 market gardening industry at New Britain. He 
 died Aug. 28, 1875, his wife on Oct. 25, 1879. 
 They had one son, Howard Merritt, born Aug. 24, 
 1872, who was married, in 1893, to Minnie Rhodes, 
 and is now engaged in the livery and express busi- 
 ness. (2) Frederick Newton Steele was born June 
 7. 1837. and is engaged in the fruit preserving 
 business ; in 1879 he married Lydia Bowman, of 
 Manchester, Vt., and they have two children — 
 Henry Bowman and Herbert. (3) Walter Pom- 
 eroy Steele was born July 24, 1844, and on Sept. 
 29, 1876, married Ida Bristol Steele, of Branfoxd, 
 Conn. ; they have one child, Dwight W., now a 
 student of the New Britain high school. 
 
 Charles Edmund Steele, the subject of this 
 sketch, received his preparatory education in the 
 New Britain high school, under the tutelage of 
 John H. Peck, graduating in 1867 with the honors 
 of valedictorian. In the autumn of the same year 
 he entered the Freshman class of Yale College, and 
 four years later he received his diploma, with the 
 degree of A. B. In 1872 he entered Andover 
 Theological Seminary, from which he was grad- 
 uated in 1875. The subject of his address was 
 "The Doctrinal Basis of Christian Union." Re- 
 turning home for a year Rev. Mr. Steele during 
 that time assisted in a series of great revival serv- 
 
 ices in New Britain. He was chairman of the 
 union committee, and had a year of most profitable 
 work, after which he went to Vermont, and was 
 engaged as a supply of the Winooski Congrega- 
 tional Church, near Burlington. His health fail- 
 ing, he was obliged with great reluctance to aban- 
 don this pastoral work, though not intending to 
 permanently leave the ministerial service. Coming 
 home, he sought the return of health by becom- 
 ing a member of the firm of Steele Brothers, and 
 engaging extensively in market gardening. In ad- 
 dition Mr. Steele has during the past five or six 
 years been extensivel}' engaged in the real-estate 
 business. He has been very active in church and a 
 temperance work. For many years he has been a 
 Bible-class teacher, and served on many church 
 committees, is an active and influential member of 
 the Y. M. C. A., and has assisted in raising build- 
 ing funds for the Y. M. C. A., the Salvation Army 
 and the Swedish Congregational Church. He is 
 affiliated with the temperance societies, and from 
 his boyhood days he has been, like his father be- 
 fore him, an active and courageous advocate of 
 temperance. In the Prohibition party he cast his 
 first vote for Clinton B. Fisk, of New York, for 
 president, in 1888. He has been active in the oarty 
 councils, in 1896 was its candidate for lieutenant- 
 governor, and in 1898 and again in 1900 for gov- 
 ernor. 
 
 Mr. Steele was married, Sept. 24, 1885, to 
 Emma Blue, of Clinton, N. Y., daughter of John 
 C. Blue, of North Gage, Oneida Co., N. Y. 'The 
 marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Steele has been blessed 
 with one child, Mabel, born Feb. 28, 1891. 
 
 LESLIE COLLINS SEYMOUR. Energy 
 and enterprise, directed by sound judgment, make 
 a combination which will command success in any 
 line of efTort, and the career of the subject of this 
 biography, a prominent resident of Windsor Locks, 
 would indicate that he possesses these admirable 
 qualities in full measure. His success reflects the 
 more credit upon him because of the fact that he 
 has gained it through his own mentj, having begun 
 "at the foot of the ladder," and the story of his life 
 will, for the same reason, afford encouragement to 
 many an aspiring youth. 
 
 Mr. Seymour was born March 13, 1849, • i^^ 
 Southwick, Mass., and is of good New England an- 
 cestry. William Collins Seymour, his father, was 
 a native of East Granville, Mass., but removed in 
 1859 to Suffield, Conn., where he followed farming 
 for many years, his death occurring April 15, 1880, 
 at the age of sixty-seven years. He married Miss 
 Essie Dooley, a native of Ireland, who is still living. 
 Of their five children, (i) The eldest, Henry W., 
 married Miss Lillie La Verge, and died Dec. iQs 
 1877, leaving one son, Albert Henry, now a resident 
 of ITartford, Conn.; (2) Leslie C. is mentioned 
 more fully below; (3) Cordelia M. ; (4) Edward 
 S., and (5) Mary Emma reside in Suffield. 
 
 I 
 
doA^At yS je£ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 299' 
 
 Leslie C. Se_\-inour remained under the parental 
 roof until he reached the age of seventeen, his edu- 
 cation being obtained in the schools of Southwick 
 and Suffield. He learned the carpenter's trade 
 with John C. JNIeade, and for seven years was em- 
 ployed by him in the towns of Suffield, Windsor and 
 Hartford. Since that time he has been engaged in 
 contracting and building, and for the past eighteen 
 years his s.ummcrs have been spent in overseeing 
 work on the canal. He has also been extensively 
 interested in the timber business, and at present he 
 is successfully engaged in tobacco growing. 
 
 ]vlr. Seymour was married in Windsor Locks 
 to JMiss Alice E. JNIoran, daughter of Harrison 
 and Jane E. Moran, and since June, 1873, ^^ has 
 made his home in that pleasant village. He and 
 his estimable wife are much esteemed socially, and 
 for twenty-eight years he has been an active mem- 
 ber of Apollo Lodge, No. 55, A. P. & A. AL, of 
 Suffield. He has always taken a keen interest in 
 political questions, is a zealous supporter of Dem- 
 ocratic principles, and is influential in the coimcils 
 of his party, ^^'hile not an office-seeker he ac- 
 cepted the nomination, in the fall of 1899, for the 
 office of first selectman, and was elected with a 
 handsome majority, running far ahead of his party 
 ticket. In the fall of 1900 he was re-elected tirst 
 selectman with a handsome majority. 
 
 JOSEPH HALL, late principal emeritus of the 
 Hartford Public High School, whose death oc- 
 curred from heart failure on June 10, 1896, was 
 born at Ashfield, ^lass., in 1828. 
 
 ■Mr. Hall was descended from old New Eng- 
 land stock. He was of the eighth generation in 
 descent from Gov. Thomas Prince and his wife, 
 Patience Brewster, and of the ninth generation 
 from Elder William Brewster, of the "Alayflower." 
 Until he was twenty years old his time was spent 
 upon his father's farm, and he had an occasional 
 term in Sanderson Academy. In 1849 -^J-''- Hall 
 entered Shelburne Falls Academy. He matriculated 
 at Williams College in the class of 1855, but owing 
 to ill health he was unable to complete the course. 
 After leaving Williams he spent three years in the 
 South. Later he taught a year and a half in the 
 academv at Shelburne Falls. From there he was 
 called to the Connecticut Literary Institute, at Suf- 
 field, where he taught for five years. In i860 he 
 received the degree of A. M. from Brown Uni- 
 versity, and in 1873 the same degree from Trinity 
 College. In 1872 he was appointed State chemist 
 by Gov. Marshall Jewell, and was re-appointed by 
 subsequent governors of the Stale. He served ten 
 years as one of the city commissioners ; three years 
 on the board of water commissioners ; four years 
 on the health board ; and in April, 1889, was ap- 
 pointed for a full term on the oark commission. 
 
 Mr. Hall had been identified with the high 
 school from September, 1863. until his death. 
 From that time until the death of principal Samuel 
 
 M. Capron, Jan. 4, 1874, he was vice-prineipal. Fie 
 succeeded Mr. Capron as principal, and held the 
 position until Xov. 8, 1893, and from that time 
 un until his death he was principal emeritus. Of 
 the graduates of the school, 1,041 received diplomas 
 bearing his signature as principal. 
 
 Mr. Hall was a member of St. John's Lodge,, 
 F. & A. M., and he belonged to the Masonic Mu- 
 tual Relief Association. lie was a member of 
 Trinity Church. He was an upright and influential 
 citizen, and left upon the world the impress of his 
 marked character and personalitv. Mr. Hall mar- 
 ried Aliss Orvilla Bassett, of Ashfield, Mass., who 
 survives him. 
 
 Dr. Joseph B.\rnard FIall, the only child of 
 Joseph and Orvilla Hall, was born in Hartford 
 Sept. 29, 1868. He graduated from the Hartford 
 Public School with the class of 1887, from Shef- 
 field Scientific School with the class of 1890, and 
 from the Medical Department of Yale with the 
 class of 1892. He is a member of the Theta Delta 
 Chi I-^aternity, and of St. John's Lodge, I'. & A. 
 M. Dr. Hall studied two years in the Hartford 
 Hospital, and for a few months in Johns HopKuis- 
 Hospital, Baltimore, JNld. Fie was clerk of the , 
 board of health and register of vital statistics at 
 the time of his father's death, and was recently 
 appointed medical director of the Hartford Life 
 Insurance Co., leaving that to accept the position o£ 
 assistant medical director of the Connecticut Mu- 
 tual Life. He is visiting physician of the Old 
 Peoples Home, and a member of the City, County 
 and State Medical Societies. 
 
 STEPHEN GOODRICH (deceased). The 
 Goodrich family is of pioneer stock, and the subject 
 of this memoir, for many years an honored resident 
 of Hartford, was a representative of the seventh 
 generation in this country. 
 
 (I) The first of the name to come to America 
 was William Goodrich, an Englishman, who ap- 
 pears on the records as a deputy from Wethersfield, 
 May 15, 1662. He was married, in 1648, to Sarah- 
 Jila'rvin, and had nine children: William, Sarah, 
 Mary, John, Elizabeth, ^^■illiam, Abigail, Ephraim, 
 and David. 
 
 (llj John Goodrich, born May 20, 1653, died 
 Sept. 5, 1730. He resided in Wethersfield, and was- 
 married March 28, 1678, to Rebecca Allen. They 
 had nine children : Sarah, Rebecca, Mary, Samuel, 
 Abigail, John, Allyn, Ann and Jacob. 
 
 (III) Jacob Goodrich, born Nov. 27, 1694, died- 
 May II, 1746. He made his home in Wethersfield 
 and Windsor. On Sept. 12, 1717, he married Bene- 
 dict Goodwin, and they had seven children, as fol- 
 lows : Hannah, Rebecca, Elijah, Ruth, Stephen, 
 Sarah and Jacob. 
 
 (IV) Stephen Goodrich, born Jan. 21, 1731, died 
 Aug. 19, 1758. He was married, Jan. 3, 1754, to- 
 Rachel Gillett, and made his home in \\"indsor. 
 He had two sons : Jacob, born Feb. 5, 1755, who died 
 
800 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and 
 
 while serving in tlie Revolutionary army 
 .Stephen. 
 
 (V; Stephen Goodrich, born Alarch 29, 1757, 
 -died Aug. 18, 1825. He served in the Revolutionary 
 war, and made his home in later life in Simsbury. 
 On Dec. 25, 1781, he married Lydia Terry, and they 
 had nine children: Jacob, Lydia, Huldah, Stephen 
 G., Ghauncey, Wealthy, George, Nathan and Sal- 
 ,mon. 
 
 (YI) Nathan Goodrich, father of our subject, 
 was born Aug. 10, 1801, and became a farmer in 
 .Simsbury, where he died Sept. 4, 1842. On Jan. 
 I, 1822, he married Sevilla Bristol, and they had 
 SIX children: Lucius, born June 21, 1823, married 
 Martha A. Ensign. He was prominent in public 
 ■affairs, serving as sheriff of Hartford county, pro- 
 vost marshal of this district during the Civil war; 
 county commissioner; and member of the State 
 -central committee. Juliette, born June 10, 1824, 
 died June 29, 1826. Juliette, born April 9, 1826, 
 died Jan. 26, 1861. A daughter, born Aug. 19, 1834, 
 died Aug. 22, 1834. Stephen is mentioned more 
 fully below. Nathan Harrison, born Feb. 19, 1841, 
 died Sept. 17, 1842. 
 
 (A'Hj Stephen Goodrich was born in Simsbury 
 April 13, 1836, and died April 2, 1893. He received 
 a common-school education in his native town, and 
 for a few terms attended, the Connecticut Literary 
 Institute, Suffield, and, in 1852, went to Hartford 
 to prepare for business life, beginning as a clerk in 
 the same store which he afterward owned and 
 operated for many years. He became one of the 
 best-known druggists in the State, and occupied the 
 highest positions attainable in that vocation, having 
 been one of the founders of the Connecticut Phar- 
 maceutical Association, and one of the first presi- 
 dents of the organization. He was also influential 
 in the movement resulting in the organization of the 
 State Board of Pharmacy, and held the place of 
 commissioner for three years, the appointment be- 
 ing an executive one. As commissioner his work 
 was invaluable to the druggists of Connecticut, as 
 he insisted on a higher standard of examinations, 
 and was instrumental in elevating the scholarship 
 and attainments of the profession throughout the 
 State. In politics he was a stanch Republican, and 
 he served in both branches of the common council, 
 and was for eight years a member of the board of 
 police commissioners. His career as a member of 
 the city government was one of great credit and suc- 
 cess, his influence in both boards being recognized 
 as that of a man of unfaltering personal integrity 
 and sound judgment. On the police board his work 
 was equally important and valuable to the city, as 
 his resolute demands for the best service resulted 
 in an improvement in the efficiency and morale of 
 the department. In 18S9 he was appointed bank 
 commissioner by Gov. Bulkeley, for the term of four 
 vears, and the appointment was confirmed by the 
 State with a unanimity that reflected the utmost 
 credit upon the standing of Mr. Goodrich as a citi- 
 
 zen. The office of bank commissioner is one of the 
 most important in the State, requiring exceptional 
 adaptation and judgment in the incumbent, and 
 Mr. Goodrich fully demonstrated his fitness for the 
 position. He was a Scottish Rite Mason, and be- 
 longed to St. John's Lodge, F. & A. M. The fam- 
 ily is identified with Park Church, Hartford, and 
 holds an enviable social position. 
 
 Mr. Goodrich was married Oct. 16, 1862, to 
 Alice Grey Kellogg, of East Hartford, and they 
 had one child, Grace, born May 9, 1866, who was 
 married Oct. 3, 1888, to Capt. William B. Dwight, 
 and has two children, Dorothy, born July 8, 1896; 
 and Beatrice, born Sept. 17, 1899. Mrs. Goodrich 
 is a daughter of William Kellogg, a prominent resi- 
 dent of East Hartford, who was born at Hebron, 
 Conn., June 2, 1793, and died Nov. 18, 1861. He 
 was married Feb. 10, 1820, to Sarah H. Jones, who 
 was born in East Hartford June 15, 1800, and 
 died Aug. 20, 1873, and they had thirteen children, 
 four of whom are now (1900) living: Rodney; 
 Mrs. E. K. Morgan ; George C, in California ; and 
 Mrs. Goodrich. 
 
 EVERETT THOMAS and FREDERICK 
 EDWARD STANLEY, prominent and influential 
 citizens of West Hartford, belong to one of the 
 oldest and most highly respected New England 
 families, being able to trace tlieir ancestry back to 
 John Stanley, a native of England, who embarked 
 on a vessel bound for New England m_ 1634 or 
 1635, but died on the passage, leaving three chil- 
 dren, with an estate of £116. They were John, 
 who is mentioned below; Ruth, born in 1629, who 
 married Isaac Moore ; and a child, who was bom 
 and died in 1634. 
 
 (II) John Stanley was born in England in 1624, 
 and in 1636 came to Hartford, Conn., with his uncle 
 Thomas Stanley, who was his guardian until he at- 
 tained his majority. At the age of thirteen he went 
 on an expedition against the Pequot Indians. On 
 Dec. 5, 1645, he married Sarah, daughter of Thomas 
 and Anna Scott, of Hartford, and then located in 
 Farmington, this county, where he was appointed 
 by- his townsmen to nearly every office; he was 
 deputy to the General Court for thirty-seven years ; 
 lieutenant and captain in King Philip's war; con- 
 stable in 1654; sergeant in 1669; ensign in 1674. 
 His first wife died June 6. 1661, and for his second 
 'wife he married Sarah Stoddard. His death oc- 
 curred Dec. 19, 1706. By the first union there were 
 six children: John, born Nov. 4, 1647, is men- 
 tioned below: Thomas, born Nov. i, 1649, married 
 Anna Peck; Sarah, born Feb. 18, 1651, married Jo- 
 seph Gaylord; Timothy, born May 17, 1654, mar- 
 ried Mary Strong; Elizabeth, born April i, 1657, 
 died in infancy; Isaac was born Sept. 22, 1660. 
 There were two children by the second marriage : 
 Abigail, born July 25, 1669, married John Hooker; 
 and Elizabeth, born Nov. 28, 1672, married Johii 
 Wadsworth. 
 
&/c.re<^ ^j^, 
 
i 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 3U1 
 
 (III) John Stanley, Iwrn in Hartford Nov. 
 4, 1647, iiii^Je his home in Farniington for some 
 years, and about 1678 removed to the new settle- 
 ment at Waterbury, where he became one of the 
 foremost citizens. He was the lirst recorder of 
 the town, being then only one among the early prop- 
 rietors who was fully qualified for the otifice. He 
 was sergeant in the Waterbury "train band'' in 
 April, 1682, and was made lieutenant in October, 
 1689. He was the second representative in the 
 Assembl}-. In 1695 he returned to Farniington, 
 where he was made a deacon of the church, and 
 afterward served in that capacity. He was also 
 chosen justice of the peace for Hartford county, 
 in 1704. Oi;i Nov. 18, 1669, he married Esther, 
 daughter of Thomas Newell, of Farmington. He 
 died May 16, 1729, and her death occurred Jan. 
 29, 1740. They had nine children: Esther, born 
 Sept. 2, 1672, died April 11, 1676; John, born April 
 9, 1675, died Aug. 12, 1676; Samuel, born June 7, 
 1677, is mentioned below; Nathaniel, born Sept. 25, 
 1679, married Sarah Smith; John, born Feb. 17. 
 1682, married (first) H. Porter, and (second) Mary 
 Wright; Thomas was born in February, 1684; Sa- 
 rah was born July 4, 1686; Timothy, born June 6, 
 1689, married JMartha Smith ; and Ruth. 
 
 (IV) Samuel Stanley, born June 7, 1677, lived 
 on the old homestead of his father in Waterbury, 
 the title to the place being still in the latter's name 
 after his return to Farmington. Samuel Stanley was 
 a carpenter and millwright, and at different fimes re- 
 sided in Wallingford, Earmington and Durham. He 
 was a townsman in 1704 and 1705 ; was a member of 
 the school committee ; served as collector of taxes ; 
 and in other local offices. He was married, July 
 15, 1702, to Elizabeth, daughter of Abraham Bron- 
 son, of Lyme, Conn., and died in 1747. In their 
 family were eleven children: Samuel, born in- 1703, 
 the next in direct descent to our subjects; Abraham, 
 born April 11, 1705, who married Prudence Finney; 
 John, who married Hannah Ives ; Esther ; Ebenezer 
 and Anna, twins, born March 5, 1713; Elizabeth, 
 born March 8, 1714, (who died the same year) ; 
 Elizabeth (2), born JNIarch 13, 1715; Asa, born in 
 1717, who died before 1730; Josiah, born Aug. 10, 
 1717, who married Mary Allies ; and Ruth born lulv 
 19, 1719. 
 
 (V) Samuel Stanley, born in 1703, made his 
 home in West Hartford, where he died in Septem- 
 ber, 1769. He was first married, Sept. 20, 1727, 
 to Anne Brace, who died in March. 1764, and in 
 1766 he wedded Lois Abernathy of Farmington. 
 His children were as follows: Anne, born July 6, 
 1728, married Elias Willard; Samuel, born Jan.' 11, 
 1730, died in infancy; Samuel, born Jan. 24, 1731, 
 married Joanna Goodman ; Amaziah, born Feb. 18, 
 I733> is mentioned below ; Amos, born Aug. 26, 
 1739, married Zeviah Gray; and Desire, born July 
 31. 1743. married Thomas Steele. 
 
 (VI) Amaziah Stanley, born in West Hartford, 
 Feb. 18, 1733, died Feb. 8, 1790. On Dec. 16, 1756, 
 
 he married Elizabeth W'oodrutT, who died July 8, 
 1768, leaving one son, Noadiah, who was born June 
 22, 1760, and married Hannah King. Amaziah 
 Stanley suljsequenily married Mary Flower, daugh- 
 ter of Francis Flower. She died Oct. 30, 1822. By 
 the second union there were six children : Elizabeth, 
 born June 10, 1770, married Ezekiel Kellogg; .\ma- 
 ziah, Dorn Aug. 24, 1771, married Hannali Good- 
 win; Truman, baptized Alarch 29, 1778, was the 
 grandfather ot our subject; Oliver, born in June, 
 1781, married (firstj Mary Goodrich, and (secondj 
 Elvira Chapin ; Abraham, born July 25, 1783, died 
 in 1789; and Eunice, born in October, 1786, mar- 
 ried Hezekiah Seldon. 
 
 (VTl)- Truman Stanley was born Feb. 7, 1778, 
 and was baptized in West Hartford March 29, 1778. 
 He became an extensive land owner in that town, 
 and in connection with farming worked at the stone 
 mason's trade. He was a Whig in politics, and a 
 Congregationalist in religious belief. On Sept. 30, 
 1S04, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary 
 Ann Braman, who died July 26, 1867, and his death 
 occurred Sept. g, i860. They had six children : Will- 
 iam, born i\Iarch 11, 1S06, who married Elizabeth 
 Moore; Eliza, born Nov. 20, 1808; Laura, born in 
 1812, who died Alarch 8, of that year; Edward, born 
 June 6, 1814, the fattier of our subject; Henry, born 
 April 27, 1817, who married Sarah W. Lee; and 
 Ann, born Jan. 18, 1825, who married George W. 
 Robbins. 
 
 (Vill) Edward Stanley was born in West Hart- 
 ford June 6, 1814, and was baptized Nov. 15, 1817. 
 Throughout the greater part of his life he engaged 
 in farming in ^\est Hartford, and was one of the 
 most prominent and influential citizens of his com- 
 munity, serving as the first representative of the 
 town in the State Legislature ; as selectman for 
 twenty-five years; and first selectman for fifteen 
 years. Politically he was a stanch Republican, and 
 religiously both he and his wife were earnest and 
 consistent members of the Congregational Church. 
 He was married June 26, 1840, to Aliss Susan Smith 
 (Selden), a daughter of John and Hannah (Hurl- 
 burt) Selden. Fie died April 25, 1S84, and his wife 
 passed away Alarch 12, 1888. In their family were 
 five children : William Mortimer, born in March, 
 1841, died Sept. 28, 1852; Everett Thomas," born 
 Jan. 17, 1846, is mentioned below; Mary Ida. born 
 Feb. 6, 1849, died Sept. 12, 1852; Frederick Ed- 
 ward, born Aug. 31, 1853, is also mentionctl more 
 fully below; and Helen Annetta, born Aug. 11, 
 1854, was married Oct. 12, 1882, to John '\l. 
 Foote, Jr. 
 
 (IX) Everett Thomas Stanley spent his boyhood 
 and youth in West Hartford, and was provided with 
 good educational advantages, attending first the dis- 
 trict schools of the town, later the old ^^'est Hart- 
 ford Academy, Barnhart's private school, at Moores- 
 town, N. J., and a business college at Hartford. 
 Throughout his business career he has followed 
 farming in West Flartford with marked success, and 
 
W2 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 for fifteen years was also engaged in the milk busi- 
 ness. He is an ardent supporter of the Republican 
 jparty and of its principles, and his fellow citizens, 
 xecognizing his worth and ability, have called upon 
 him to serve as first selectman for the past fourteen 
 years. Mr. Stanley was first married, in West Hart- 
 ford, to Miss Julia Flagg, who died Dec. 2, 1873, 
 and later he was again married, in Hartford, his 
 second union being with Miss Fannie Elizabeth 
 Baker, by whom he has one daughter, Mary Baker. 
 (IX) Frederick Edward Stanley was born at his 
 -present residence in West Hartford Aug. 31, 1S53, 
 -and attended the West District school and the Cen- 
 ter school of the town. He remained on the old 
 homestead, and, like his brother, he has met with 
 excellent success in his farming operations. On 
 June 4, 1884, in Hartford, he married Miss Rowena 
 Annetta Clark, a Jaua'hter of Henry Stiles and Lucy 
 (Fowler) Clark, of South Windsor. The brothers 
 .are both wide-awake and enterprising business men, 
 .and are widely and favorably known. 
 
 ANER SPERRY, of Hartford. *The subject 
 .of this sketch was born in the town of Russia, 
 Herkimer Co., N. Y., Feb. 5, 1812. For a great 
 many years he was active in business in Hartford 
 and well known throughout the city and county. 
 He practically retired years ago, and has since 
 devoted his attention to the settlement of estates. 
 His erect form is still a familiar figure on the 
 streets of Hartford, and although he is nearly 
 eighty-nine years of age- his step is firm and his 
 •eye bright. He has personally prepared a sketch 
 of his life, which is printed verbatim below, and 
 will be read by his acquaintances with greater 
 relish than anything the editor could offer" in its 
 place. 
 
 Mr. Sperry writes: "My father and mother 
 went from New Haven to Russia, N. Y., in the 
 jear 1800, and settled on a farm in the v/ilderness. 
 They had one daughter, Laura. They constructed 
 a log house, in which they lived several years, but 
 the family increased and a larger house was re- 
 quired. It was built at the foot of a small hill, 
 of logs, and in this house I was born. I take great 
 pleasure in visiting the spot where the old log 
 house stood, and looking at the little babbling brook 
 near liy, -where I have taken so much comfort in 
 wading in the water, building dams, and after 
 school filling my fish basket with speckled trout, or 
 picking twelve quarts of blackberries and carrying 
 them to "the corner' one and a half miles awav. 
 I could generally get two cents per quart, but if 
 the market was dull Esq. Frink would take them 
 .and give me a yard of cotton cloth that was worth 
 ■one York shilling. My mother could always find 
 use for it, as I had five sisters and two brothers. 
 The school house was one and a half miles away, 
 and I did not spend much time there. Father was 
 
 •sTaken Irom " The Popular Biographies of Connecticut." 
 
 a tailor, and spent most of the winters in 'whipping 
 the cat,' and that left the chores and wood chopping 
 for me to do. The old bay mare 'Cub' was a great 
 help to me in getting up the wood, and she also 
 took us to mill and to meeting. We had about 
 three acres of orchard, and I remember the names 
 of nearly every tree. Father built a frame barn, and 
 one of our neighbors had a frame house. He died 
 one da}', and father bought the house for $50, and 
 the neighbors that had oxen came and moved the 
 house to our place, and we dug a cellar under it, 
 and that made us a very good home. It was a 
 hard struggle for our parents to clear up the land 
 and raise so large a family. We were all brought 
 up in the Methodist faith and the fear of hell was 
 before our eyes, but I 'did not see it.' Our ad- 
 vantages for knowing what was in the future were 
 very limited. . The answer to any and all questions 
 was 'faith.' Our farm was very hilly, and it made 
 lots of hard work. The soil was good, however. 
 A brook ran through the south part of it, and a 
 spring supplied the north part ; we had' a good 
 sugar bush. Our neighbors were kind and agree- 
 able. I took lots of comfort in attending singing 
 school. 
 
 "At the age of si.xteen years I left home in the 
 fall and went to live with John Graves, and did 
 chores for my board and went to school. Per- 
 haps some of the sixteen-year-old boys of the pres- 
 ent day would like to know what chores I had to 
 do. Well, the first was to get out of bed at four 
 o'clock A. M., dress and go to the barn and milk 
 six cows, feed forty cows, two oxen and five horses, 
 then go to another barn and feed twenty calves and 
 forty sheep ; then go to a hay stack half a mile 
 away and feed five colts, shovel away the snow, 
 and cut a hole in the ice for them to drink ; feed 
 six hogs — all of which must be done before day- 
 light. Who can guess how much hay has been 
 handled? Now breakfast is ready. After eating 
 in a hurry, the cows are all turned out to water, 
 and put back if storm}', horses led out to water, 
 and all of the stables cleaned out; now comes 
 wood sawing and filling the woodbox in the kitchen ; 
 and then I am now ready for school. At twelve 
 I must hurry home and feed all the cattle and get 
 back to school for the afternoon. As soon as it 
 is closed I am seen running home to do the chores, 
 which are not finished until about eight o'clock ; 
 then when supper is over I am soon between the 
 sheets. This is repeated every day until spring ar- 
 rives. I then go to work for $7 per month. This 
 is followed up for five years. I then arrive at 
 the age of twenty-one. During niv boyhood, when 
 at home, my father gave me a small patch of ground 
 on which I raised watermelons, and sold them at 
 general trainings, and picked up a little money of 
 my own. At seventeen I enlisted in the artillery 
 under David Joy. Dr. Walter Booth commanded 
 the company afterward, and our general trainings 
 were held at Herkimer. F. E. Spinner was col- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 303 
 
 onel, lie who was afterward United States treas- 
 urer. On tlie 26th uf July, 1830, I was appointed 
 corjxiral of the company, and received my warrant 
 from Col. Spinner on that day. ( )ur uniform was 
 blue, trimmed with gilt braid, bell crowned ca])s 
 made of patent leather and brass trimmed, with 
 tall red feather, sword and belt. 
 
 "When 1 reached twenty-one I was sick of 
 farming, and decided to look for some other busi- 
 ness. Father said, 'If you will stay here and take 
 care of me and mother, when we get through you 
 shall have all that is left.' I thanked him for his 
 very kind and generous offer, and said to him, 
 "You have worked all your life so far and got to- 
 gether a farm of fifty acres, and it is well stocked 
 and worth about $1,500. No, 1 shall decline the 
 offer for two reasons : First, I have brothers and 
 sisters, and would not take it all ; second, I think I 
 can do better.' I was then twentv-one, and had 
 thirty dollars in my pocket. I left Russia about 
 the 4th of April, 1833, for Xew Haven, by stage; 
 could not get work, and my thirty dollars was re- 
 duced to one dollar and seventy-five cents. Left 
 Xew Haven at 8 .\. m., arrived in Hartford at 4 
 r. M.,, having walked thirty-six miles; applied at 
 the Retreat for work without success ; went to Mr. 
 John's house near by, and staid over night; told 
 him my situation, and he gave me my supper, 
 lodging and breakfast, and it was valued higher 
 than any gift that I ever received. Next morn- 
 ing went over to the Retreat and obtained a situa- 
 tion ; was employed in the house six months ; then 
 went outside and drove the team seven and one- 
 half years. My stay there was very pleasant and 
 agreeable. I had fifteen dollars per month for two 
 years, and twenty dollars per month for six years, 
 and the managers made me a present of fifty dol- 
 lars when I left. Dr. Todd was superintendent 
 and Phineas Talcott steward when I went there, 
 and Dr. Brigham was superintendent and Virgil 
 Cornish steward when I left. The boys there 
 wanted to use their money faster than thev earned 
 it, and I lent them money every month at a large 
 interest. I saved my mone}' and the big interest 
 helped me out. I spent but very little. I attended 
 dancing school two winters. The first thousand 
 dollars that I earned I put into the grocery trade 
 with a partner, who managed the business two 
 years, and then left with all the funds. I left the 
 Retreat in the spring of 1841, and manufactured 
 
 root beer for five months ; cleared 
 
 ^/D- 
 
 Then I 
 
 formed a co-partnership with Frederick F. Taylor, 
 and we bought out Solomon Smith's livery stable, 
 price $2,500. I had $2,200, and Mr. Taylor had 
 $300. We were located on Front street. J^Ir. 
 Sinith still owned the office, which we afterward 
 bought for S700. Then we bought of Christopher 
 Colt a barn for $1,200: then Dought of Criftin 
 Stedman a house on Talcott street for $1,500; then 
 sold the whole to Daniel Buck for an advance of 
 $500. We bought of William Kellogg a barn, cor- 
 
 ner of Front and Talcott streets, for $4,000, and 
 on this ground I built my first home, a neat little 
 house of four rooms. Aug. 18, 1844, I was mar- 
 ried to Nancy B. Miller, of East Hampton, N. Y., 
 who was six years younger than myself. We were 
 married at the ?iIethodist church. 1 played the 
 bass viol there for five years. I think Nancy was 
 the best housekeeper in the wide world. We lived 
 together thirty-nine years. She died Aug. 31, 1883. 
 
 "Mr. Taylor and myself bought, in the spring 
 of 1847, the old Goodwin livery stable in the rear 
 of the Exchange Bank, State street, for $13,200. 
 Mr. Taylor's health failed in 1850, and I bought 
 him out and paid him $8,000. 1 continued the 
 business until 1859. i had ten hacks and twenty- 
 five single teams, and generally kept fifty horses, 
 and attended to most of the funerals. 1 employed 
 fifteen men, and had a large run of business ; kept 
 :uy own books. I\ly hacks cost generally from 
 $1,200 to $1,500. I had one tnat cost $2,000, and 
 Mrs. Sigourney had the first ride in it. I lost over 
 fifty horses, the value of which was at least $10,000. 
 My barn was burned, and the loss over insurance 
 was $8,000. I gave George K. Reed $5,000; Airs. 
 Sharp's family, $2,300; George W. Loveland, 
 $3,100; Frederick S. Sperry, $300; Philena Fith- 
 ian, $250; Polla Osborn, $2,500; and many other 
 smaller gifts;, also S. A. L., $2,200. Lost by en- 
 dorsements and otherwise over $20,000. The ag- 
 gregate amount of losses and gifts, $40,000. The 
 interest added to this amount would at this time 
 make the whole amount considerably over $100,000. 
 
 "I bought ten hacks here, three in New Haven, 
 thirty-five in Bridgeport. My livery property 
 would generally inventory about $30,000. When 
 I commenced the business, our capital being but 
 $2,500, I was obliged to have some credits, and 
 Robert- Buell endorsed for me. He was on mv 
 paper most of the time. I gave him what riding 
 he wanted, wdiich amounted to about $100 per rear. 
 I have been interested in the hack business outside 
 of my own business with James Girin, ]\Ir. Boying- 
 ton, Mr. Briggs, John White, E. P. Cottrell, James 
 Tehan, C. B. Boardman, George Goyt. T. A. Cham- 
 Ijerlin and Merrick P'reeman. I finally wound up 
 by selling out to Freeman. I took a house of him 
 on Pleasant street, and lived there one year; then 
 changed that for a farm on W mdsor avenue. In 
 the spring of i860 I bought my house on Ann 
 street. During 1859 and i860 I was out of busi- 
 ness, and it was the two hardest years" work that 
 I have ever done. At that time Hewett & Rogers 
 failed in the livery business, and theirs was the 
 first estate that I ever settled, but I have followed 
 the business ever since, and mv list numbers now 
 175; my fees will amount to about $17,000. \\'hen 
 I first started out to take care of myself, the main 
 object was to provide for myself a good home. 
 I had denied myself many good things in my 
 youth that would have been ple.sant to enjoy, but 
 by so doing I have accomplished my object. I 
 
304 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 have got my long desired good home, akhough in 
 getting it i have passed through many storms ; 
 but the storms are over and the sun shines bright. ' 
 Mr. Sperry is one of a family of eight — three sons 
 and five daughters. The daughters are all deceased, 
 Aurilla, Mrs. Reed, who was the last to pass away, 
 dying Aug. 2, 1900, at Taunton, Mass., aged ninety- 
 five years. One of the sons is dead. Major F. 
 S. Sperry, the youngest of the family, born in 
 1825, is now living in Syracuse, New York. 
 
 Since the above sketch was prepared Mr. Sperry 
 was married. May 6, 1891, to Mrs. Emily J. House, 
 of Kartford. He has been an active member of 
 the Sons of Temperance for many years, and was 
 one of the promoters and supporters of the temper- 
 ance paper printed and published by Rev. B. E. 
 Hale. He spent two years as an active worker in 
 Hose Company No. 2, and two years with Hose 
 Company No. 3, on Front street, and when the 
 old-time firemen organized a Veterans Associa- 
 tion, about 1890, he was one of the leaders in the 
 project. The association has since built a fine 
 building in Hartford. In politics Mr. Sperry is a 
 Repubican, formerly a Whig, and at one time he 
 served on a vigilance committee of that party with 
 Gideon Welles, the well-known statesman. 
 
 DANIEL PHILLIPS. Among the representa- 
 tive men of Hartford county, none, perhaps, is re- 
 garded with as much respect and veneration as the 
 gentleman whose name here appears. For sixty 
 years he has been a resident of the city, with whose 
 rise and progress his life has been so closely inter- 
 woven. 
 
 Mr. Phillips is of the sixth generation in de-' 
 scent from (i) Rev. George Phillips, the first min- 
 ister of Watertown, Mass., who was a native of 
 England, born in Rainham, County of Norfolk, in 
 1593; came to America in 1630 along with Gov. 
 Winthrop and others ; was at Salem, but soon lo- 
 cated at Watertown, Massachusetts. 
 
 (II) Theophilus Phillips, son of George* and 
 Elizabeth, born in 1636, married (second) Mary 
 Bennet ; resided in Watertown, Massachusetts. 
 
 (III) Joseph Phillips, son of Theophilus, born 
 in 1702, in Watertown, married (first) Ruth Towne, 
 and settled at Oxford (now Auburn), Worcester 
 Co., Mass., there owning several tracts of land, the 
 old homestead. remaining in the family some ninety 
 years. 
 
 (IV) Lieut. Israel Phillips, son of Joseph and 
 Ruth, born in August, 1737, in Oxford (now Au- 
 burn), was a soldier in the French war in 1758; 
 married Huldah Towne; he died Feb, 28, 1800. 
 
 (V) Daniel Phillips, son of Lieut. Israel, born 
 March i, 177L1, in Auburn, Mass.. was a farmer in 
 Charlton, Mass., moving there in 1.800; married 
 (first) in 1798 Hannah Small; married (second) in 
 1800 Jemima Dennis; married (third) Abigail Dres- 
 ser, of Charlton, born Aug. 17, 1775, daughter of 
 Asa and Abigail (Wheelock) Dresser. This wife 
 
 died April 7, 1816, and Daniel Phillips married 
 (fourth) in 1816 Lucy Harwood. Children by first 
 marriage : Curtis, Clarissa and Austin ; children by 
 third marriage; Daniel (our subject), Abigail, 
 Moses D. and Austin T. All the children were born, 
 in Charlton, Mass. Of the above, Moses D. Phil- 
 lips went to Boston and engaged in the book-pub- 
 lishing business with Mr. Sampson, the firm becom- 
 ing Phillips & Sampson, and together they built up 
 the largest business of that nature in the New Eng- 
 land States. The father, who was a farmer in Charl- 
 ton, died March 27, 1848 ; he and his wife were mem- 
 bers of the Congregational Church. 
 
 Daniel Phillips, whose name appears at the open- 
 ing of this sketch, was born July 2, 1809, in Charl- 
 ton, Mass., and remained at home until he was 
 twenty years of age. Pie then, in 1829, went to 
 Westboro, and engaged in butchering and in other 
 lines of business until 1837, when he went to Bos- 
 ton for one year. Returning to Westboro, he re- 
 mained there until October, 1841, when he moved 
 to Hartford, Conn., and has been a resident of that 
 city ever since. In 1842 he established the ex- 
 press business in Hartford, commencing as a mes- 
 senger, carrying packages by hand to the various 
 residences, then purchasing a wagon, and conduct- 
 ing the business up to 1854 under the name of Phil- 
 lips & Co. In that year he united his business with 
 several other (then existing) companies, under the 
 name of the Adams Express Co., in which concern 
 he became a director, and of which he was the agent 
 in Hartford up to 1870. In addition to all this, our 
 subject was identified with the manufacture of pig. 
 iron in Alabama, which has for many years been con- 
 ducted in the town of Shelby. 
 
 A Republican in politics for over a half century, 
 Mr. Phillips was one of the signers of the first Re- 
 publican mass meeting held in Connecticut, and 
 which resulted in the formation of that party in the 
 State. He was a member of the celebrated Plarri- 
 son Club. In 1854 he represented Hartford in the 
 General Assembly, the Assembly then meeting in 
 New Haven. In 1859 he served the city on the 
 board of aldermen ; was on the water board for sev- 
 eral years ; and was one of the building committee 
 that had charge of the erection of the Charter Oak 
 Fire Insurance Co.'s handsome building. 
 
 Mr. Phillips has been either a director or a trus- 
 tee of each of the following companies and asso- 
 ciations : Hartford Savings Bank & Building Asso- 
 ciation; City Fire Insurance Co.; Charter Oak Life .Jj 
 Insurance Co. ; Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection & f 
 Insurance Co. ; Orient Fire Insurance Co. ; Ameri- 
 can National Bank ; Mechanics Savings Bank ; Na- 
 tional Screw Co. ; Weed Sewing Machine Co, ; 
 Willimantic Linen Co. ; Theological Institute of Con- 
 necticut; Hartford Female Seminary; Hartford 
 Branch of the American Tract Society; and Cedar 
 Hill Cemetery. 
 
 On April 6, 1836, Mr. Phillips married Mary 'M. 
 Forbush, of Westbofo, Mass., born Feb. 10, 1812,. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 805 
 
 and five children were born to them, their names and 
 dates of birth, etc., being as foUows : Alary Helen, 
 1838, died in 1843; Daniel Austin, 1840, died in 
 1861 ; Henry Curtis, 1843, died in 1882 ; Alice Maria, 
 1848, died in 1865; and Charles Willie, 1852, died 
 in 1870. The mother of these departed this life 
 Feb. 29, 1896. For many years she and her hus- 
 band were members of Dr. iiushneirs (and, later, 
 Dr. Lamson's) Church (the Center Congregational 
 Church), ever taking an active part in church mat- 
 ters. In 1870 Air. Phillips built his present elegant 
 residence. No. i Farmington avenue, which is one 
 of the finest homes in that part of the city. He well 
 remembers Hartford when it included West Hart- 
 ford, and when the population was only 11,000, 
 while to-day there are about 80,000 inhabitants. 
 There is no one now left in the city who was doing 
 business when Air. Phillips first entered the place, 
 sixty years ago, and he stands like a stalwart oak 
 whose neighbors have long since succumbed to the 
 passing storm. After the death of Airs. Phillips 
 Rev. Lewis W; Hicks, son of Air. Phillips' only sis- 
 ter, came from his pastorate in Wellesley, Alass., to 
 care for his uncle in his declining years. Air. Flicks 
 is a graduate of Yale College, class of 1870, and of 
 Hartford Theological Seminary, is one of the editors 
 of the "Hartford Seminary Record," and also a trus- 
 tee of the Seminary. 
 
 JOSEPH HENRY DESAIARAIS, M. D., of 
 No. 58 Prospect street, Bristol, was born in Alont- 
 real, Canada, Nov. 10, 1864. His father, Flenry 
 Desmarais, also a native of Canada, was born in 
 1817, son of a Canadian machinist, and was him- 
 self a machinist. Henry Desmarais married Aliss 
 Ursule Alace, who bore him three children : Philo- 
 mene, now married and living in Alontreal ; Peter, 
 in the drug business in Holyoke, Alass. ; and Dr. 
 Joseph H., the subject of this sketch. The father 
 of these children died in 1895, in Canada, and the 
 mother died in Wagantuck, Conn., Sept. 24, 1900. 
 
 Joseph H. Desmarais, now a rapidly rising young 
 physician, attended the common schools of Alont- 
 real until fifteen years of age, and then entered 
 Chambley College, from which he was graduated in 
 1883. He ne.xt entered upon the study of medicine 
 in the oflFice of Dr. G. Jannotte, a well-known phy- 
 sician of Alontreal, studied assiduously until Oc- 
 tober, 1884, and then entered the University of 
 Victoria, in the same city, from the Aledical Depart- 
 ment of which he was graduated in 1888. He then 
 went to New York Citv, studied one year in Bellevue 
 Hospital Aledical College, receiving his diploma, 
 and in 1890 went to West Warren, Alass., where 
 he practiced a year. He then took a post-graduate 
 course of one year, and for eighteen months follow- 
 ing had a very fair practice in Palmer, Alass. He 
 was recalled to New York as an assistant in Dr. 
 A. C. Carpenter's Sanitarium for diseases of 
 women, and held the position until December, 1898, in 
 the meantime taking several private post-graduate 
 20 
 
 courses in the New York Post Graduate Aledical 
 School. Thence he came to Bristol, where his 
 ability and experience have gained him a lucrative 
 practice that will be likely to hold him here the re- 
 mainder of his years. 
 
 Dr. Desmarais first married Aliss Julia Lillie 
 Burney, a native of Indian Orchard, Alass., who 
 bore him one child, Arthur Henry, who still lives 
 with his father. The Doctor's second marriage took 
 place Jan. i, 1899, to Aliss Louisa Henrietta Stein, 
 of Winona, Alinnesota. 
 
 Although the Doctor was naturalized in New 
 York, he has not yet affiliateed with any political 
 party. His constantly growing practice distracts his 
 attention from politics, and medicine is the absorb- 
 ing topic of his thoughts. The Doctor and his wife 
 stand very high socially. Professionally Dr. Des- 
 marais has brought himself to the front through 
 his individual merits and abilities, and has never 
 depended upon extraneous assistance in making his 
 progress through the world, and such as he are the 
 men to be depended on under all circumstances. 
 
 AlORGAN. The name of Alorgan has been a 
 synonvm for confidence in business circles and in 
 the finances of the world for upward of half a 
 century, and members of the family, who were 
 given that confidence and achieved so great a stand- 
 ing in both this and the Od World, sprang from 
 New England stock, were born or had their bo>-- 
 hood and early business home in Hartford, the capi- 
 tal of the Commonwealth, where now repose the dust 
 of some of them, among them that of Junius Spen- 
 cer Alorgan, the famous London banker. 
 
 In Alarch, 1636, James Alorgan and two younger 
 brothers, John and Allies, sailed from Bristol, Eng- 
 land, and arrived in Boston, Alass., in April fol- 
 lowing. James Alorgan, who was born in Wales 
 in 1607, first settled in Roxbury, Alass. Flis father, 
 so savs tradition, was William of Llandaff, Gla- 
 morganshire, Wales. The family appear to have 
 removed from Llandafi" to Bristol, England, prob- 
 ably a few years prior to 1636. John Morgan set- 
 tled in Virginia, so says tradition, and Allies, born 
 in 161 5, on his arrival at Boston, or soon after, 
 joined a part)- of emigrants, mostly from Roxbury, 
 of whom Col. William Pyncheon was at the head, 
 and founded the settlement of Springfield, Alassa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 (I) James Alorgan was born in Wales in 1607, 
 and died in 1685. Fie was distinguished in pub- 
 lic enterprises, and nine times chosen a member of 
 the Colonial Assembly. In 1640 he married Alar- 
 gery Hill, of Roxbury, Alass. His children, all 
 except the youngest probably born in Roxbury, 
 were : Hamar, James, John, Joseph, Abraham, and 
 a daughter that died unnamed. 
 
 (II) Capt. John Alorgan, son of James, born in 
 1645, married (first) in 1665 Rachel Dymond, 
 daughter of John, and (second) ^^'idow Ehzabeth 
 Williams, daughter of Lieut. -Gov. William Jones, 
 
306 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of New Haven, and a granddaughter of Theophiltis 
 Eaton. Capt. John Morgan died in Preston in 
 1712. He was a prominent pubHc man, was Indian 
 Commissioner and adviser, deputy to tire General 
 Court in 1690 from New London, and in 1693-94 
 from Preston. The children by Rachel were : John, 
 Samuel, Isaac, Plannah, Mercy, Sarah and James. 
 The children by Elizabeth were: Elizabeth, Will- 
 iam, Rachel, Andrew, Margery, Joseph, Theophilus 
 and Mar)-. 
 
 (III) William Morgan, son of Capt. John, born in 
 1693, married, in 1716, Mary Avery, daughter of 
 Capt. James Avery, Jr., of Groton ; William died in 
 1729, and his wife Mary died in 1780. Their chil- 
 dren were: Mary, Elizabeth, Margaret, William, 
 Deborah and Prudence. 
 
 (IV) Capt. William Morgan, son of William, 
 born in 1723, married in 1744 Temperance Avery, 
 daughter of Col. Christopher Avery, and great- 
 granddaughter of Capt. James Avery (I), of Groton, 
 .and died there in 1777 ; Temperance, his wife, died in 
 1801. Their children were: William, Christopher, 
 Temperance, William Avery, Israel, Mary, Simeon, 
 Prudence, Rebecca and Jacob. 
 
 (V) Capt. William Avery Morgan, son of Capt. 
 William, and the father of Nathaniel H. Morgan, 
 was a sergeant in the Colonial army in the war of the 
 Revolution, and was present at the battle of Bunker 
 Hill. He was born in 1754, and married (first) in 
 1776 Lydia Smith, daughter of Samuel Smith, of 
 Groton. She died in 1804, and he married (second) 
 in 1804 Sarah Harris, daughter of Capt. Nathaniel 
 Harris, of Colchester. Capt. Morgan settled in 
 Groton, where eleven of his children were born, 
 then in 1796 moved to Colchester (now Salem), 
 and, again, to Lebanon, in 1814, and died there in 
 1842. Sarah, his widow, a woman of rare mental 
 endowments, died in Hartford in 1855. There were 
 born to Capt. Morgan seventeen children — thirteen 
 to the first and four to the second marriage — all of 
 whom except two lived to mature age and became 
 heads of families. The children by Lydia were : 
 William, Griswold, Avery, Jasper, Lydia, Nathan, 
 Betsey, Denison, Nancy, Phoebe, Lucy Rebecca and 
 Charlotte ; those by Sarah were : Nathaniel Harris, 
 Sarah M., Griswold and Harriet. 
 
 From the preceding sketches of a number of the 
 Hartford and New England Morgans, with the 
 genealogy of the family, it will be seen that the 
 Morgans from the very beginning of the settlement 
 of New England took an active and leading part in 
 business and public affairs, and from generation to 
 ■generation have maintained those positions. 
 
 Nathaniel Harris i\Iorgan was born June 8, 1805, 
 in Salem, Conn., and at the age of eight years went 
 with his parents to Lebanon. In later youth he 
 became a sailor ; was commander of a vessel at 
 twent)--one, and for some years thereafter was in 
 the West India trade; later on for some years he 
 was engaged in merchandising. In 1830 he lo- 
 cated in Hartford, and for many years was in the 
 
 public service of the city, serving in several positions 
 of trust and honor, among them those of alderman, 
 city sheriff, judge of city court, first selectman, 
 school superintendent, city warden, twelve years. 
 On the organization of the Phcenix Insurance Co. 
 Mr. iMorgan was chosen the first president. He 
 served as State commissioner on tax laws and taxa- 
 tion ; was president of the board of trustees of the 
 tiartford Home. He was a man of ability, and most 
 ably and satisfactorily performed the duties of the 
 numerous positions placed in his keeping. In his 
 earlier years he contributed largely to the columns 
 of the "New England Review," when the journal 
 was edited by George D. Prentice and, later, by the 
 poet John G. Whittier. Mr. Morgan was possessed 
 of a philosophical turn of mind, was fluent in con- 
 versation, well versed in passing events and the lit- 
 erature of the past. He was the author of the 
 genealogy of the Morgan family published in 1869, 
 also of the genealogy of the Harris family, m 
 1878, besides a history of the town of Lebanon, and 
 as a citizen he was highly esteemed.- He died July 
 12, 1881. 
 
 On May 4, 1830, Mr. Morgan was married to 
 Harriet E. Saxton, born Nov. 19, 1807, a daughter 
 of Nathaniel and Fanny (Chamberlin) Saxton, of 
 Lebanon, Conn. To this marriage were born chil- 
 dren as follows : Nathaniel Saxton, referred to far- 
 ther on ; Harriet E., who died April 28, 1863 ; and 
 Mary H., who married Dr. S. B. St. John, of Hart- 
 ford, a sketch of whom follows. 
 
 Nathaniel Saxton Morgan, son of Nathaniel 
 Harris Morgan, was born Feb. 15, 1833, in Hart- 
 ford, Conn. At the age of sixteen years he began 
 life as a sailor, and during the Civil war he served 
 in the United States navy, making an admirable 
 record. He was Executive officer and, after- 
 wards. Commander of the U. S. ship "Relief," Ex- 
 ecutive Officer of the U. S. steamship "Tacony" at 
 the bombardment and recapture of Plymouth, N. 
 C, Oct. 31, 1864, and also at the famous bom- 
 bardment and capture of Fort Fisher, Dec. 24-25, 
 1864, and Jan. 13-14-15, 1865. Subsequently he was 
 commander of the U. S. steamship "Ascutney." 
 He died in April, 1893. On July 25, 1858, he mar- 
 ried Emma E. Kellogg, daughter of Capt. Will- 
 iam Kellogg, of East Hartford, Conn., and their 
 children were as follows : William H., died July 
 23, 1879; Nathaniel K. ; and Chencey H., died 
 March 2, 1864. 
 
 Samuel Benedict St. JohNj M. D., Hartford, 
 is a native of Ohio, born July 24, 1845, in Hudson, 
 Summit county, of historic Revolutionary stock. 
 His mother's grandfather, Brig.-Gen. Joseph Pearse 
 Palmer, was one of the "Indians" that held the 
 famous "Boston tea party," and was a son of Maj.- 
 Gen. Joseph Palmer. His father's grandfather was 
 also an officer of the Revolution, and was at one 
 time imprisoned on the British ships at Brooklyn. 
 
 Samuel St. John, father of Samirel B., was prom- 
 inentlv identified with earlv collegiate education 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 307 
 
 in the Western Reserve, where he was a professor, 
 also in the Cleveland Alcdical College, and in the 
 College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York. 
 He married Amelia Palmer Cranch Curtis, and had 
 children as follows : Walter, Eliza. Samuel and 
 George. The father of these dietl m -187O, the 
 mother in 1856. 
 
 Dr. Samuel Pcnedict St. John received his earlier 
 education in part at the public schools of Cleveland, 
 Ohio, an^ New Canaan, Conn. ; then attended Yale 
 College, where he was graduated in the class of '66, 
 and after a course at the Columbia College of Physi- 
 cians and Surgeons, i\ew York, was, in 1870, gradu- 
 ated with the degree of M. D. He had considerable 
 experience as an interne in various New York hos- 
 pitals, and subsequently, from 1872 to 1874, took 
 a course at each of the following institutions in 
 Europe : the University of Berlin, the University 
 ■ of \ ienna, and the eye hospitals of Paris and Lon- 
 don, in order to fit himself thoroughlv for his profes- 
 sion. The early positions he held, durnig his period 
 of study, are a fair indication of his ability : He v^^as 
 house surgeon in the Manhattan Eye and Ear Hos- 
 pital, New York, in 1869; house surgeon at Bellevtie 
 -Medical Hospital, in 1870; and assistant demon- 
 strator of Anatomy and instructor of Chemistry at 
 ■the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, 
 in 1871. 
 
 Dr. St. John's official positions have been man)- : 
 From 1883 to 1888 he was secretary of the Connec- 
 ticut State Medical Society; since 1888 he has been 
 secretary of the American Ophthalmological So- 
 ciety ; since 1896 Ophthalmic and Aural surgeon to 
 the Hartford Hospital ; and since 1897 consulting- 
 surgeon to St. Francis Hospital. 
 
 Dr. St. John is a member of the following : Con- 
 . necticut State Medical Society, Hartford County 
 I Medical Society, Hartford Medical Society, New 
 York Ophthalmological Society, New England 
 Ophthalmological Society, New York Academy of 
 Medicine, American Ophthalmological Society, 
 American Otological Society, and of the Colonial 
 Club of Hartford, and County Club of Farming- 
 ton. He is a member of the board of directors of 
 the Flartford Public Library, also for fifteen years 
 a director of its predecessor, the Subscription Li- 
 brary, and was the first president of the present 
 library. 
 
 It will thus be seen that, by the above named 
 connections with his profession, and with the social 
 and other life of Hartford and Connecticut, gener- 
 ally, the Doctor's activity has been, and is, honorable 
 and highly appreciated. 
 
 In 1882 Dr. Samuel B. St. John married Mary 
 Harris Morgan, as above related. They have two 
 daughters : Elsa Morgan and Helen Curtis. 
 
 EDWARD PRINDLE WOOD^\■ARD, M. D.. 
 one of the oldest and most experienced practicing 
 physicians of Bristol, was born in Litchfield, Conn., 
 Feb. 5, 1837, and comes from a family of medical 
 
 professional men. His grandfather, Reuben Sher- 
 man Woodward, was a ph)sician, and practiced 
 principally in Watertown, Litchfield county ; he 
 stood six feet two inches in height, was of a modest, 
 retiring disposition, a man of sound judgment, and 
 of great skill in practice. His death took place when 
 Dr. Edward P. Woodward was nine years old. 
 
 Dr. Asa Curtis Woodward, father of Dr. Ed- 
 ward P. Woodward, was born in Watertown June 
 20, 1812, and married Miss Amanda Warner, who 
 was born June 14, 1812, in Plymouth, Conn., daugh- 
 ter of Eliel Warner, a farmer, and died Dec. 29, 
 1889. Dr. Asa C. Woodward was an active and 
 ardent Jefl'ersonian Democrat, but never seemed to 
 be ambitious for the holding of office, working for 
 the success of his party for principle's sake only. 
 He was one of the most successful physicians of his 
 day, and died, a greatlv respected citizen, j\Iay 30, 
 1882, his remains now lying at rest in Bethany. 
 To his marriage with Amanda Warner were born 
 five children, of whom four are still living, as fol- 
 lows : George W., a farmer residing on the old 
 homestead in Bethany, v\'ho married Margaret 
 Sperry, and has one daughter, Lydia A. ; Dr. Ed- 
 ward P.; Rosette Amanda, w-ho made it her life 
 work to care for her mother; and Kate Emeline, 
 who married Frederick H. Brown, senior partner 
 of the wholesale and retail firm of Brown & Dur- 
 ham, of New Haven. 
 
 Dr. Edward P. Woodward began his attendance 
 at school at a very early age, as he was a pupil in 
 the Litchfield common schools at the time his parents 
 removed to Bethany, when he was but seven years 
 of age. After a due preparatory course of study 
 under that competent and prominent physician, his 
 own father, he entered the Boston University of 
 Medicine, and later Yale Medical College, graduat- 
 ing from the latter in January, i860. For the two 
 years following he practiced in Cheshire, Conn., and 
 established an excellent reputation for so young a 
 practitioner ; but he found that field too limited for 
 his purpose and removed to Bethany, where his 
 skill was speedily recognized, and a list of patients 
 secured that clung to him until April i, 1S68, when 
 he came to Bristol ; here he now stands as the recog- 
 nized head of the profession. 
 
 Dr. Woodward has been four times married. 
 His first bride was Dolly Eliza Sperry, of Bethany, 
 who died July 4, 1864, the mother of two children : 
 Belle Eliza, who was married to \\'illiam T. San- 
 ford, of ^^'aterbury, and bore him one child, Grace 
 Woodward. Sept. 30, 1889; and Hattie Rose, who is 
 a teacher in the public school of Hartford. The sec- 
 ond marriage of the Doctor was to ^liss Antoinette 
 Bassett, wlio died six weeks after the wedding. 
 The Doctor later married Miss Mary Ann Atwood. 
 daughter of Burr B. Atwood, of \\'oodbury, and to 
 this union was born one child, Edna 'Slay, who was 
 niarried Aug. 15, 1900, to Dr. Benjamin Bissell Rob- 
 bins, born in Natal. South Africa, Feb. 8. 1870. The 
 fourth marriage of the Doctor was to Mrs. Henriette 
 
308 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Frances (Clarke) Ellis, widow of William H. Ellis, 
 of Middlebury, Vermont. 
 
 In politics Dr. Woodward is a Democrat, and 
 on the adoption of the charter of Bristol borough 
 was elected the first warden, and was re-elected the 
 following spring, a singular instance of personal 
 popularity, as he was from the beginning an out- 
 spoken opponent of the adoption of the charter. 
 In his fraternal relations the Doctor is a member 
 of Phoenix Lodge, No. 50, I. O. U. F., of New 
 Britain; also of Franklin Lodge, No. 56, Knights 
 Templar, F. & A. M., of Bristol; Blue Lodge; and 
 Washington Commandery, No. i, of Hartford. Re- 
 ligiously he is a member of Trinity Episcopal 
 Church. 
 
 Dr. Woodward is a man of strong convictions, 
 and is outspoken in his opinions, but never engen- 
 ders bitterness, as he is afiEable and polite, arguing 
 for the sake of truth only, and not for the sake of 
 having his own way, let him think himself ever so 
 near the right, and the world would be much better 
 off if other disputants would follow his example 
 in this respect. 
 
 ELWOOD S. ELA, founder and publisher of 
 The Manchester Herald, was born in Decatur, 111., 
 July 2, 1859. He is of New England stock, his 
 father, a native of Maine, having gone to what was 
 then the far West as a iVIethodist circuit rider. 
 
 Soon after our subject's birth his mother died, 
 and with his father he returned to New England. 
 He was educated at Wilbraham x\cademy and Wes- 
 leyan University. Before leaving college he began 
 newspaper work, and after serving an apprentice- 
 ship on daily papers for about two years, established 
 The Manchester Herald in December, 1881. He 
 has remained at its head continuously until the pres- 
 ent time. In October, 1893, the paper was made a 
 semi-weekly. 
 
 Mr. Ela was married Dec. 21, 1882, to Jennie 
 Chapman, daughter of Maro S. Chapman, of Man- 
 chester. They have two daughters. Mr. Ela has 
 been a member of the Connecticut Editorial Asso- 
 ciation from its organization, has served as its presi- 
 dent, and for several years has been its secretary 
 and treasurer. He is. a member of the Masons and 
 Odd Fellows. 
 
 JOHN H. CHAMBERLIN. The Chamberlin 
 family originated in Scotland, but the branch to 
 which belongs the subject of this sketch, a well- 
 known business man of Hartford, has been identified 
 with Connecticut from poineer times. Reuben 
 Chamberlin, our subject's grandfather, was born in 
 Woodstock, and it is believed that his father came 
 from Scotland. By occupation Reuben Chamber- 
 lin was a cooper, and he lived in a house in an open 
 lot near the present intersection of Buckingham and 
 John streets, Hartford. 
 
 The late Nelson H. Chamberlin, our subject's 
 father, was born Aug. 27, 1813, in the house men- 
 
 tioned, and at that time there were no streets laid out 
 in the vicinity. At the age of fifteen he began work- 
 ing for a Mr. Bliss, who owned a tannery standing 
 where Elm street now passes through Bushnell 
 Park. One of the largest elm trees in the park was 
 formerly in the back yard of the tannery. Being 
 unusually strong physically the young employe took 
 an active part in all the work of the place, and al- 
 though much of his time was spent in driving a team 
 he also served a regular apprenticeship to the tan- 
 ner's trade. He frequently drove to Granby with a 
 four-horse team, and remained for several days, 
 gathering tan bark from the farmers to bring to the 
 tannery, and he also drove to New York after loads 
 of hides. After he closed his engagement with Mr. 
 Bliss he worked for the firm of Talcott & Skin- 
 ner, but they failed, leaving him a horse valued at 
 $80. Mr. Lee, of the firm of Lee & Butler, asked 
 him what he was going to do with the animal, and 
 suggested that he might do the teaming for the firm 
 and such other teaming as he could find. This gave 
 Mr. Chamberlin an idea, and he began the teaminqj 
 business on his own account, continuing to do the 
 work for the firm of which Mr. Lee was the heail 
 (now T. Sisson & Co.) until his death. Mr. Cham- 
 berlin also carried on an express business and gen- 
 eral trucking on the New Haven turnpike, between 
 Hartford and New Haven, and he is said to have . 
 brought the first load of lumber that ever came I') 
 Hartford from New York. He brought the glass 
 for the house where Mr. Butler lived, opposite the 
 Linden, and among the amusing stories which he de- 
 lighted in telling was an account of his tipping over 
 with a load of axes, weighing about 200 pounds ta 
 the case, which he had to reload. His business en- 
 larged as the city grew, keeping six horses busy, and 
 at the time of his death it was the oldest teaming^ 
 business in the city. While his business ability was 
 of a high order, Mr. Chamberlin made his success 
 in life without a shadow of dishonesty, and through- 
 out the community he was respected and honored 
 for his sterling qualities of character. Of him it 
 was said by one who knew him intimajielv many 
 years : "I would take the word of Nelson H. Cham- 
 berlin as quickly as I would the word of anv man 
 in the city of Hartford." 
 
 Prior to the Civil war Mr. Chamberlin was a 
 Democrat, and later affiliated with the Republican 
 party, but the struggle for official place never tempt- 
 ed him to leave his business interests. He was a reg- 
 ular attendant of the South Baptist Church, and was 
 prominent in musical circles, having played in local 
 bands for forty years. He was one of the founders- 
 of the old Plartford Band, under the direction of a 
 leader named Hamilton, playing the trumpet. He 
 afterward played in Colt's Band, of which he was 
 an honorary member at his death. He was a bass 
 drummer for the Putnam Phalanx when it made its 
 first parade. Mr. Chamberlin died Oct. 6, iSog, at 
 the age of eighty-six years. 
 
 N. H. Chamberlin married (first) Miss Eliza- 
 
 I 
 
Cy^^-^^^An ^ (^z^^.,.ty^-:^^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 309 
 
 fceth Knox, who died in iS6i, and his second wife 
 formerly Miss Sarah Terry, survives him. By his 
 first marriage he had nine children : Charles E. ; 
 Henry A.; iMary, deceased; Henrietta (Mrs. Sted- 
 man, of Chicago) ; Ella (Mrs. J. T. King) ; Jose- 
 phine (Mrs. Donley); Georgiana, widow of Hor- 
 ace Larkum ; Lilian A. (^Irs. Worthington) ; and 
 Nellie (^Irs. George Root). By the second mar- 
 riage there were three children : John ; Lottie, wife of 
 ^^'illiam G. Butler; and Grace, now the wife of 
 P'rank W. Barnard. Mr. Chamberlin had a number 
 of grantlchildren. Of his brothers one survives, Al- 
 vin W. Chamberlin, of Hartford ; and two of the 
 sisters are still living, Mrs. Sarrdi Clark and Airs. 
 Harriet Cross. Three sisters have died : Mrs. Lock- 
 wood, wife of the late James Lockwood, of the Case, 
 Lockwood, Brainard Co.; Mrs. Puffer; and Mrs. 
 Elizabeth Tatro. 
 
 John H. Chamberlin was born Dec. 24, 1864, 
 in Hartford, and was educated in the old South 
 School. When abut sixteen 3-ears old he began to 
 learn the bookbinder's trade, but as close confinement 
 disagreed with him his father took him into his busi- 
 ness. As a business man he has gained an excellent 
 reputation for ability, and in social life he is de- 
 servetlly popular. He is a member of Lafayette 
 Lodge, Xo. 100, A. F. & A. M. ; Pythagoras Chap- 
 ter, "Xo. 17, R. A. M. ; Wolcott Council No. i; 
 Washington Commandery Xo. i, Knights Templar; 
 and also of Sphinx Temple, Mystic Shrine, and has 
 taken a keen interest in the work of the order. His 
 fondness for reading enables him to keep well in- 
 formed on the topics of the day, and in politics he 
 approves of the doctrines of the Republican party, 
 although he votes independently on local issues. 
 
 \\"ARREN ROWLEY, one of the oldest and 
 most highly respected residents of Hartford, and for 
 the past twelve years or so living retired, is a native 
 of Xew York State, born Feb. 6, 1818, in Smithville, 
 Chenango county, and is a descendant of Thomas 
 Rowley, the original immigrant ancestor. 
 
 Job Rowley (2), his father, was born in Bloom- 
 field. Hartford Co., Conn., in 1787, a son of Job 
 Rowley ( i ) , aso a native of Bloomfield, a farmer 
 by occupation, who died in 1821. Job (2) received 
 his education in Bloomfield, and became a carpen- 
 ter and joiner by trade, which he made his life work. 
 Li Enfield, Conn., he married Ruth Hale, then re- 
 moved to Smithville, N. Y., but on account of ill- 
 health returned to Bloomfield, and. in 1821 settled 
 finally in Hartford, where he passed the rest of his 
 days, dying in 1857; his wife died at the patriarchal 
 age of ninety-three years. Five children were born 
 to them : Warren, our subject ; Mary Ann, Chauncey 
 Hale, and Clarissa, all three deceased : and Mary 
 Ann. wife of Aaron Parsons, of Plainville, Con- 
 necticut. 
 
 Warren Rowley, whose name introduces these 
 lines, was a three-year-old Ijov when his parents 
 took np their residence in Hartford, and there he re- 
 
 ceived his education. \Vhen okl enough he com- 
 menced clerking in the grocery store of J. G. Eggles- 
 ton, and after seven years was admitted into part- 
 nership with him, which continued six years, lie 
 then for seven years engaged in the grocery bu.-^i- 
 ness, at the corner of Main and Trumbull streets, 
 at the end of which time he sold out and for a brief 
 period was retired from business. In 1856 he was 
 appointed town agent under the Maine law, and 
 in 1876 he was appointed superintendent of Spring 
 Grove cemetery, a position he held for some eleven 
 years. For the past twelve years he has lived a re- 
 tired life at his home. No. 41 Windsor avenue, which 
 he had bought in the spring of 1850. 
 
 This house is one of the oldest m that part of the 
 city, and there is an affectionate inscription, written 
 evidently with a diamond, on a pane of glass that 
 was in one of the attic windows for more than a 
 century, showing that the old edifice, in the years 
 prior to the Revolution, was the scene of more than 
 one happy memory. This tell-tale inscription was 
 cut in 1773, and reads as follows: "Anne Bunce. 
 Since I must go, 'tis my lot. Pray let me not regret. 
 The pleasures of Hartford I do reluctantly resign, 
 since 1 must leave my dear Anne behind: 1773." 
 On another pane of glass, in the same attic, was the 
 name of "Anne Bunce," cut also with a diamond, 
 by that lady, in 1792. The old attic windows were 
 blown in a few years ago by a tornado, breaking 
 these two precious panes mto fragments, which were 
 preserved, however, and restored as complete as pos- 
 sible by Edward \\'. Rowley, son of Warren Rowley. 
 There is an old legend that Washington once dined 
 in this house during the Revolutionary war ; also 
 it is said, that the first carpet used in Hartford was 
 laid in that house. Jilrs. Lydia Bull, a lineal descend- 
 ant of Capt. Thomas Bull, who settled in Hartford 
 in 1736, was married in this house. It was owned at 
 one time by j\Iajor Alichael Olcott, who was at the 
 head of the Governor's Foot Guards in 1810, and 
 who died there Alay 11, 1829. The property de- 
 cended to his heirs, and (as above narrated), in 
 1850, to Michael Olcott Barry, of Boston. There 
 was a time over 100 years ago when the house was 
 used as a girls' school. 
 
 In 1840 Warren Rowley was united in marriage 
 in Windsor, Conn., with Miss Julia Drake, of that 
 town, a daughter of David Drake, and one son was 
 born to this union : Edward W., born June 28, 1845, 
 who was twice married, (first) to Fanny, daughter 
 of Samuel Mather, of Windsor, and (second) to 
 Lillie, daughter of John S. Graham ; he has one 
 son, \\'arren Drake. Mrs. Julia (Drake) Rowley 
 died Nov. i, 1891, and her remains were interred 
 in Spring Grove cemetery. I\Ir. Rowley was made 
 a ]Mason in St. John's Lodge, No. 4, F. & A. M., of 
 Hartford, in 1866, and still retains membership in 
 same ; he has been a member of Pythagoras Chapter, 
 No. 17, R. A. M., for upwards of twenty years. 
 
 In the early part of this sketch we have inci- 
 dentallv referred to Thomas Rowlev, "the original 
 
810 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 immigrant ancestor" of Mr. Rowley, our subject, 
 and the latter has in his possession an old relic that 
 belonged to him, in the shape of a powder-horn 
 and charger that were brought to this country in 
 1656, by said Thomas Rowley, who settled in Wind- 
 sor. On the bottom of the powder-horn are carved 
 his initials, "T. R." 
 
 MILES BARBER PRESTON, ex-mayor of 
 Hartford, and one of the leading residents of that 
 city, was born in Simsbury, this county. May 9, 
 1850, son of Truman W. Preston, of that town. 
 His mother, whose maiden name was Marj' Etta 
 Brong, was a native of Addison, N. Y., and died 
 a few years ago at Culpeper, Va. Truman W. 
 Preston returned North after the death of his 
 wife, and died in Hartford April 17, 1896. 
 
 Our subject was mainly educated in the public 
 schools, completing his studies in the private school 
 of the late Rev. O. S. Taylor, in Simsbury. His 
 father was, during this period, town clerk of Sims- 
 bury, this fact in itself opening to him the best 
 opportunities for obtaining a satisfactory educa- 
 tion. At an early age Mr. Preston exhibited a 
 decided taste for ornamental painting, and his busi- 
 ness career has been shaped in the main by that 
 fact. His father was the proprietor and mana- 
 ger of a carriage shop, and the ornamental work 
 in painting offered special attraction to the son. 
 He learned the trade, and at the age of nineteen 
 removed to Hartford, engaging in the railroad 
 shops of the New York & Hartford road. In 1870 
 he accepted a position of responsibility in the works 
 of John Markham, at Pleasant Valley, in Barkham- 
 sted, being placed in charge of the painting depart- 
 ment, and remaining there three years. In 1873 
 he returned to Hartford and entered the employ 
 of the Highland Line, New York, New Haven 
 & Hartford road, as an ornamental painter. After 
 spending five years in the company's shops he de- 
 cided to engage in business for himself, and in 
 1878 bought out the place owned by Theodore 
 Thorpe, Jr., at the corner of Pearl and Trumbull 
 streets. Benjamin W. Kenyon was admitted to 
 partnership with him, the firm being Preston & 
 Kem'on, and they have developed a business of large 
 proportions. They unquestionably have the largest 
 amount of sign work of any house in New Eng- 
 land outside of Boston. The Presidential cam- 
 paign of 1880 opened an interesting and profitable 
 field of work, as the new campaign banner became 
 an indispensable adjunct of the canvass, and Mr. 
 Preston caught the idea and developed an admirable 
 specialty in connection with it. In 18S1 house 
 painting was added to the firm's business, employ- 
 ing a considerable corps of workmen. The Bon- 
 ner-Preston Co., which conducts one of the largest 
 decorative trades in the city, was established Feb. 
 4, 1889, its place of business being in the Hills 
 block, opposite Exchange corner. The house car- 
 ries a large stock of artists' materials, also an ex- 
 
 tensive line of photographic supplies, and they de- 
 vote special attention to wall papers and decora- 
 tions, and altogether employ a force of fifty hands. 
 Mr. Preston is an active participant in both of these 
 firms, being one of the busiest managers in the 
 city. 
 
 Our subject was one of the founders and vice- 
 president of the Hubbard Escort, the best political 
 organization in this locality. He has been a mem- 
 ber of the Putnam Phalanx for twelve years, and 
 at present occupies the position of quartermaster 
 on the staff of Major O. H. Blanchard. He is a 
 member of Amos Beecher Lodge, F. & A. M., of 
 New Hartford, and belongs to the higher orders 
 of Masonry in Hartford, being a member of Wol- 
 cott Council, Pythagoras Chapter, and Washington 
 Commander}^, K. T. He is past chancellor ofWash- 
 ington Lodge, K. P., and is a member of Hartford 
 Lodge, B. P. O. E., and of Trumbull Council Nation- 
 al Provident Union. His political career has been 
 as honorable as it has been successful. For a num- 
 ber of years he was chairman of the Democratic 
 committee in the First ward of Hartford, and al- 
 though the precinct is a Republican stronghold it 
 gave Mr. Preston a majority of forty-one for sher- 
 iff in November, 1890. He was not a resident of 
 the ward at the time, and had not been for a con- 
 siderable period, but the tribute was a recognition 
 of his manliness and integrity of character, and 
 was the more gratifying as it was spontaneous and 
 unsought. Mr. Preston was one ot the East Hart- 
 ford bridge commissioners at the time it was 
 transferred to the towns of Hartford, East Hart- 
 ford, Manchester, Glastonbury and East Windsor. 
 During the administration of President Cleveland 
 he held the responsible position of deputy United 
 States marshal in this State, receiving the appoint- 
 ment from Marshal N. D. Bates, of Norwich, who 
 made him chief deputy. It was in this incumbency 
 that Sheriff Preston's best official work was exe- 
 cuted. He showed marked ability for his duties, and 
 performed them with exceptional success. When 
 he retired from the deputy's office in 1890 it was 
 with the knowledge that he had won and received 
 the fullest approval of the public. His nomina- 
 tion for sheriff added strength to the Democratic 
 ticket from the outset, and his election was by the 
 largest majority of any candidate on the general 
 'ticket. In April, 1896, Mr. Preston was elected 
 mayor of Hartford, was re-elected in April, 1898, 
 and was tendered a unanimous nomination in 
 April, 1900: but the death of his business asso- 
 ciate, J. D. Bonner, having brought the entire care 
 of the Bonner-Preston Co. upon him, made it im- 
 possible for him to accept further public official 
 position. During his term as mayor the improve- 
 ments in Flartford were many and noted, as a 
 largely increased expenditure of monies for im- 
 proved pavements, police quarters, high schools and 
 parks was met without increasing the tax rate, by 
 a thorough and healthy reassessment of property. 
 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 311 
 
 increasing the grand list over ten million dollars. 
 j\lr. Preston is a member of the First Methodist 
 Church in this city, and is connected with the 
 Y. M. C. A. 
 
 Mr. Preston's first wife. Miss Plallie II. Sey- 
 mour, daughter of ex-Sherifif O. D. Seymour, of 
 Ilartford, died sixteen years ago, and the two chil- 
 dren of this marriage died in infancy. On Feb. 
 26, 1890, Mr. Preston married Miss Nellie 
 F. Dole., of Springfield, Mass., step-daughter of 
 Francis H. Pichards, of Hartford, the patent ex- 
 pert and mechanical engineer. The rapid prog- 
 ress which Sheriff Preston has attained during the 
 past twelve years, in both business and politics, has 
 been the result of personal merit. Fie is pro- 
 foundly interested in the measures and reforms that 
 have been instituted for the advancement of work- 
 ing men. and his sympathies and counsel will in- 
 variably be in favor of improving their condition. 
 
 FION. DWIGHT LOOMIS, LL. D., an em- 
 inent lawyer and judge of Hartford, who for up- 
 ward of forty years has made his home at Rock- 
 ville, Tolland Co., Conn., has descended from one 
 of the old and prominent families of the State. 
 
 Joseph Loomis, of Windsor, Conn., born in 
 England about 1616, came to the New World with 
 his father, Joseph Loomis, a woolen-draper in 
 Braintree, County of Essex, England, in 1638. The 
 father became one of the first settlers of Windsor. 
 Joseph Loomis, Jr., married (first) in 1646 Sarah 
 Hill, who died in 1653, and he married (second) 
 in 1659 Mary Chauncey. He died in 1687. Hon. 
 Dwight Loomis is a descendant in the seventh gen- 
 eration from Joseph Loomis (2), the line of his 
 descent being through Joseph Loomis (3), Joseph 
 (4), Benoni, Benoni (2), and Capt. Elam Loomis. 
 
 (II) Joseph Loomis (3), son of Joseph (2), 
 born in 1649, married (first) in 1681 Lydia, daugh- 
 ter of John Drake. She died in 1702, and he mar- 
 ried (second) in 1702-03 Abigail Birge. He re- 
 moved to East Windsor in 1700, and died in 1715. 
 
 (III) Joseph Loomis (4), son of Joseph (3), 
 born in 1684, married in 1708 Sarah Bissel, and 
 lived in Lebanon as late as 1733. 
 
 (IV) Benoni Loomis, son of Joseph (4), of 
 Lebanon, born in 1715. married in 1735 Flannah 
 Woodward, who died in 1786. He died in 1789. 
 
 (V) Benoni Loomis (2), son of Benoni, of 
 Lebanon, born in 1749, married (first) in 1781 
 Grace Parsons, who died in 1801, and (second) Es- 
 ther Crocker, who died in 1817. Fle died in 181 1. 
 
 (\T) Capt. Elam Loomis, son of Benoni, of 
 Lebanon, born Aug. 3, 1783, married Feb. 27, 1812, 
 Mary Pinneo, a daughter of James Pinneo, of 
 French ancestry. She was born in Hanover. N. 
 H., and died April 12. 1866. Capt. Loomis died 
 Sept. II, 1855. The children of Capt. Elam and 
 jNIary (Pinneo) Loomis were: Ormend P., born 
 April 22, 1813, died Oct. 6, 1830 : Mary, born Sept. 
 19, 1815, died Aug. 21, 1857; Aurelia, born Jan. 
 
 19, 1819, died June 13, 1851; Dwight is referred 
 to farther on; and Emily, born Jan. 22, 1827. died 
 Dec. 31, 1862. 
 
 Hon. Dwight Lfiomis, son of Capt. Elam 
 Loomis, was born July 27, 1821, in Columbia, Tol- 
 land Co., Conn. He attended the common schools 
 of his native village, then a few terms at the Mon- 
 son and Amherst (Mass.) Academies, the circum- 
 stances of his father not warranting a college 
 course. There existed in the youth of young 
 Loomis a flourishing literary and debating society 
 in his native town, the advantages of which he 
 eagerly improved, and in the exercise of which 
 he frequently exhibited those rare qualities of mind 
 which afterward made him so eminent and suc- 
 cessful. After leaving school he taught for a num- 
 ber of years, meeting with marked success. He 
 was more than onlinarily endowed with the faculty 
 of imparting knowledge to others, and inspiring 
 them with laudable ambition. Having decided upon 
 the profession of law, young Loomis in the spring 
 of 1844 began its study, untler the direction of John 
 H. Brockway, of Ellington, Conn. Later he at- 
 tended Yale Law School, at New Flaven, from 
 which he was graduated in 1847, «i''"l '^^"^^ admitted 
 to the Bar of his native county. In the autumn 
 of that year he began practice at Rockville, as an 
 associate of his preceptor, who was then a leading 
 lawyer and politician of Tolland county. The young 
 lawyer had been a hard student, loved the law, and 
 started out admirably well equipped and fitted for 
 the profession which he in later years so richly 
 adorned. 
 
 Mr. Loomis was the first lawyer to establish 
 himself at Rockville. His quiet and pacific ways. 
 coupled with his ability and untiring energy and 
 industry, soon won the confidence of the people, 
 and placed him in command of a large practice, 
 in which he had remarkable success. As the years 
 passed he grew in popularity, and his fellow citi- 
 zens elected him to the General Assembly of the 
 State in 185 1. Here he earned distinction as a 
 legislator, and as a speaker and parliamentarian. 
 He was in s\'mpathy with the movement that op- 
 posed the repeal of the Missouri Compromise and 
 the extension of slavery int6 free territory, and 
 was sent as a delegate from his State to the Na- 
 tional Convention held in Philadelphia in 1856, 
 at which the Republican party was organized. He 
 was elected to the State Senate from the Twenty- 
 first District in 1857, and became chairman of the 
 judiciary committee of the two Houses, a position 
 of the highest honor and responsibility, reserved 
 for those only whose legal attainments, efficiency 
 and personal worth befit them for its arduous du- 
 ties. Mr. Loomis had taken aii active part in the 
 State in the Presidential canvass, w-here he won 
 on the stump new laurels and a more extended 
 acquaintance, and in 1859 he was elected to the 
 XXXVIth Congress from the First Congressional 
 District — a district that was considered bv his 
 
812 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 party a doubtful one. So great wa his popularity 
 that, notwithstanding this and the fact that a 
 disappointed aspirant for the nomination took the 
 field as an independent candidate, Mr. Loomis was 
 triumphantly elected, and served so efficiently and 
 faithfully that he was unanimousl}' re-nommated 
 by his party and returned as representative to the 
 XXXVIIth Congress, having been re-elected by 
 an increased majority. His Congressional career 
 covered a stirring and important epoch in the his- 
 tory of this county — that of the closing years of 
 Buchanan's administration and the opening years 
 of President Lincoln's. - During this period the 
 labors of the patriots in the National Congress 
 were heavy with responsibility, and to their credit 
 it must be said that they were unfluiching in their 
 devotion to duty, and heroic in their defiance of 
 treason and rebellion. Mr. Loomis bore his full 
 share in introducing, advocating and supporting 
 the patriotic measures rendered necessary by se- 
 cession and armed rebellion. He was a member 
 and chairman of the committee on Expenditures in 
 the Treasury Department, and also a member of 
 the very important committee on Elections. As 
 a member his record was faultless. Seldom absent, 
 very rarely missing a vote, strong in debate, highly 
 esteemed by his associates, and honored in all his 
 social relations, the power and beneficence of his 
 influence were fully felt and recognized. 
 
 La the spring oL 1864 the eminent legal attain- 
 ments and high character of I\L-. Loomis were 
 honored by his election as a judge of the Superior 
 Court of Connecticut, for a term of eight years, 
 and in 1872 he was re-elected to the same high 
 office, for another term. In the spring of 1875 he 
 was elected associate justice of the Supreme Court 
 of the State, and served as such until he reached 
 the constitutional limit of age ; upon his retirement, 
 in 1891, he was appointed by the General Assembly 
 to be State referee. "As a judge he gave the 
 most unbounded satisfaction. His mental and 
 temperamental qualities admirably adapted him to 
 the Bench. With acute perceptive and analvtic 
 faculties, a good memory, rare powers of discrim- 
 ination, a full measure of forbearance, patience and 
 courtesy, with suitable firmness and dignity, and no 
 pretension or pride of opinion, and withal an hon- 
 esty and integrity and a conscientious and inflexible 
 fidelity to the duties of his position, rendered him 
 a model judge — one of the best upon the Bench, 
 and one who universally commanded the highest 
 esteem." Judge Loomis was one of the committee 
 to whom the Legislature referred the matters in 
 dispute between the State, Yale University and 
 the Storr's Agricultural School. It is to his credit 
 to state that his political and judicial preferment 
 came to him unsought, and without effort on his 
 part. His high honors have been reached through 
 the force of his personal merits. The degree of LL. 
 D. was conferred upon him bv Yale University 
 in 1896. Associated with J. Gilbert Calhoun, of 
 
 the Hartford Bar, he edited "The Judicial and 
 Civil History of Connecticut," published in 1895. 
 On Nov. 26, 1848, Judge Loomis was married 
 to Mary E., daughter of Josiah Bissell Bill, and 
 sister of Judge Benezet Hough Bill, of Rockville. 
 She was born Feb. 14, 1822, in Susquehanna coun- 
 ty, Penn., and died June i, 1864. Judge Loomis 
 married for his second wife Jennie E. Kendall, born 
 July 10, 1841, who died March 6, 1876. His only 
 child, Jennie Grace Loomis, was born Oct. 21, 
 1874. 
 
 THOMAS H. BISSELL, residing at No. 95 
 Ann street, Hartford, was born March 23, 1819, in 
 South Windsor, Conn., where his family has been 
 continuously represented since 1635. 
 
 The originator of the family in America was one 
 John Bissell, a French Huguenot, who came to this 
 country from England. Pie was the first man to set- 
 tle on the east side of the Connecticut river, oppo- 
 site Windsor, and for many years he and his descend- 
 ants held the ferry right in the old hand ferry which 
 bears their name, and which still plies back and forth 
 between Windsor and East Windsor Hill. The Bis- 
 sell family has always been highly respected and 
 somewhat prominent in the State. It boasts of two 
 governors, one of Connecticut and one of Illinois, a 
 judge, and other public men. 
 
 Jerijah Bissell, our subject's grandfather, was 
 born in East Windsor, Conn., and was a farmer 
 there for many years, dying at the age of ninety-five. 
 His wife, Lydia Bartlett, who lived to the age of 
 eighty-one, was also born in East Windsor. They 
 had three sons — Jerijah, Thomas, and Asahel — and 
 three daughters. The two elder sons served in the 
 Revolution, the former for three years, the latter 
 for six months, Thomas serving under three dif- 
 ferent captains, and being stationed in Rhode Isl- 
 and and on the Hudson, where he tried to sink the 
 English fleet with shots from his" musket. 
 
 Thomas Bissell, our subject's father, was born 
 in what is now South Windsor (then East Wind- 
 sor), and be and his younger brother remained on 
 the old homestead. The brother removed later to 
 Amherst, Mass., and Thomas Bissell conducted the 
 farm alone until his retirement on account of ad- 
 vanced age. He lived to be ninety-eight years of 
 age, and to the last was vigorous and well-pre- 
 served. His life was exceptionally pure, and it is 
 said that he never made an enemy. His farm of 
 300 acres was the largest in the town, and he owned 
 two stores on Morgan street in Hartford. For many 
 years he was active in local politics, and also in relig- 
 ious work, being a member of the Episcopal Church. 
 Mr. Bissell married twice, his second wife being 
 Eleanor Mills, and two children were born of this 
 marriage: Eleanor Porter, who became the wife of 
 Josiah S. Rice, and died leaving no children; and 
 Thomas H., the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Bis- 
 sel attained the age of eighty years. She was one 
 of several children of Roswell Mills, a wealthy real- 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 813 
 
 •estate owner and prominent citizen in South Wind- 
 sor (then East Windsor), who served many years 
 as justice of the peace. He lived to be eighty years 
 of age. 
 
 Tlie Mills family, of which Mrs. Eleanor Bissell 
 was a member, is of Holland-Dutch origin. The 
 founder of the family was Peter V'an-de-Molyn, 
 ■who in 1650 came from Amsterdam, Holland, to 
 New York, and removed to Windsor, Conn. His 
 father. Sir Peter Van de Molyn, disinherited him. 
 The name meant "man of the mill," and the de- 
 scendants assumed the name of Mills. JN'Irs. Bissell 
 traced her descent through Peter (3), Peter (4), 
 and Roswell. 
 
 Our subject remained at home until he reached 
 the age of fourteen, when he began his business 
 career as clerk for a brother-in-law in one of his 
 father's stores in Plartford. At this time nearly all 
 the houses in the city were east of Trumbull street, 
 and there was but one place of amusement. For 
 the first year he received no wages, but during the 
 second he received $12 per month and board, and 
 at sixteen he bought a quarter-interest in the busi- 
 ness, having been given $1,000 by his father. At 
 eighteen he became a half-owner in the store, re- 
 taining his interest until he reached Ijis majority. 
 Returning to the farm, he conducted it imtil his fa- 
 ther's death, in 1855, increasing its products more 
 than three-fold, and greatly improving the property. 
 In 1855 he began a real-estate business in Hartford, 
 and after the death of his mother, in i860, he made 
 his home there. His operations in real estate have 
 extended to a nimiber of the western and north- 
 western States, as well as to several towns in the 
 State of Connecticut, and he has now been forty- 
 eight years in the real-estate line; he also conducts 
 a loaning business, and has made many successful 
 loans for others in the West. He is one of the old- 
 est business men in the city. 
 
 On Oct. 28, 1867, Mr. Bissell married Miss 
 Josephine Davis, daughter of Rev. Samuel and Mary 
 (Partridge) Davis, the former a Universalist min- 
 ister, who preached many years in Pennsylvania, 
 Ohio, ^Massachusetts and "Vermont, and spent his 
 last years in Hartford. He was a grandson of 
 John Davis, who lived in Shirley, Mass. John 
 Davis was a soldier in the French and Indian wars, 
 and took part in the expedition to Louisburg. He 
 also went through the Revolution, being one of 
 the minute-men. He was ploughing in the field 
 at Shirley when he heard of the battle of Lexington, 
 and leaving his oxen and plough in the furrow, like 
 Israel Putnam, started for Boston. He was at Val- 
 ley Forge. His brother, Capt. Isaac Davis, of 
 Acton, Mass., who is mentioned in all histories of 
 the war, was in command of the company of Amer- 
 icans who took part in the skirmish at Concord 
 Bridge preceding the battle of Concord, and was 
 the first man to fall, thus being one of the earliest 
 martyrs of the Revolution. Jonas Rice, great- 
 :grandfather of Mrs. Bissell, was a native of Sud- 
 
 bury, and a man of prominence in his time. He was 
 the first settler of Worcester, Mass., settling there 
 in 1713, was justice of the court of common pleas 
 in 1753, and held many other puljlic offices. The 
 Partridge family was descended from Henry 
 Adams, who came from England in 1632, as were 
 also Samuel Adams, John Adams and John Quincy 
 Adams, 
 
 Our subject has two children, Arthur Thomas 
 and Mary Eleanor, the latter a graduate of the 
 Hartford Public High School and Smith College. 
 Mrs. Bissell died in 1897, aged nearly sixty years. 
 
 In politics Mr. Bissell is independent, lie took 
 a prominent part in local afl'airs during his resi- 
 dence in South Windsor, serving as justice of the 
 peace and notary public for many years. In 1855 
 he was in the Legislature, and voted for a Bill to 
 allow public amusements which had previously been 
 prohibited by law. His interest in public questions 
 has led him to be a frequent attendant of caucuses 
 and conventions. His prompt assistance has always 
 been given to the various progressive movements 
 in the community, but he has taken special interest 
 in giving a helping hand to ambitious young men, 
 many of whom are now in prosperous circumstances. 
 Mr. Bissell is an active member of the Sons of the 
 American Revolution. He attends the Unitarian 
 Church, but his daughter is a LTniversalist, and 
 takes an active part in the work of that church. 
 
 WALLACE PI. MILLER, the able and enter- 
 prising editor of the Bristol Press, has had charge 
 of the paper since December, 1893, and under his 
 skillful management it has made marked progress. 
 
 The Press was founded March 9, 1871, with a 
 subscription list of about 200, and in less than one 
 year, through the efficient work of C. H. Riggs, 
 manager at that time, it was jEound necessary to 
 remove into larger quarters and greatly increase 
 its facilities. Through the panic of 1873, when 
 financial straits led many journalistic ventures to 
 an untimely end, notwithstanding all the discour- 
 aging emergencies, the Press climbed steadilv up- 
 ward. After seventeen years of continuous labor 
 Editor Riggs retired, and in 1888 Editor C. S. 
 Haviland, of the Southington Phoenix, and Thomas 
 H. Duncan purchased the property, Mr. Duncan 
 becoming editor and manager. This partnership 
 continued until 1891, at which time the Bristol 
 Press Publishing Co. was organized and incor- 
 porated with a capital of $10,000. This corpora- 
 tion is composed of a number of Bristol's most 
 prominent business men, its officers being O. F. 
 Strunz, president and treasurer; J. H. Sessions, 
 vice-president ; W. H. Miller, secretary, editor and 
 manager. George A. Beers is connected with the 
 news editing, Francis Trevelyan Aliller is the liter- 
 ary editor and book rex'iewer. 
 
 Editor W. H. ^filler was born April 3, i860, 
 iii East Plartford. son of Elijah H. and Janette E. 
 (Hull) ^liller. His education was acquired in tlie 
 
314 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 public schools of East Hartford, and in the high 
 schools of Manchester, N. H., and other places. 
 He learned the printer's trade in the office of the 
 Register, at Torrington, Conn., and for twenty- 
 three years has been continuously engaged in news- 
 paper work, having served on newspaper staffs in 
 Cleveland, Ohio, Kansas City, Mo., Hartford, New 
 Haven and New Britain, Conn., before taking his 
 present position as editor and manager of the Bristol 
 Press. 
 
 Mr. Miller was married in Springfield, Mass., 
 Aug. 12, 1877, to Louise W. Thomas, daughter of 
 George H. and Mary Thomas, of Springfield. So- 
 cially he and his wife are much esteemed, and he 
 is an active meniber of E. L. Dunbar Encamp- 
 ment, No. 32, of Bristol, and the Knights of 
 Pythias. In politics he is an independent Repub- 
 lican. 
 
 JOHN CLAFLIN BARKER, one of the most 
 prominent and populuar citizen of Hartford, well 
 known as a promoter and dealer in real estate, as 
 well as carrying on farming, is well worthy, by vir- 
 tue of his practical patriotism in connection with the 
 Campfield monument, of prominent place within the 
 pages of this work. 
 
 Mr. Barker is a native of Kirkland, Scotland, 
 born Oct. 24, 1823, a son of Alexander Barker, Jr., 
 and a grandson of Alexander Barker, Sr., who was 
 an active business man in Methel, Scotland, where 
 Alexander, Jr., was born. The latter was a weaver 
 by trade, making the fabric called '"duck" from 
 which the lighter sails for ships are made. In 1835, 
 he came to America, settling in Vermont, being one 
 of the earlier pioneers of that part of the State, 
 where he followed agricultural pursuits the rest 
 of his days, dying at the age of seventy-five years. 
 By his wife Grace (Lockard), also a native of the 
 "Land of Burns," and who died at the age of 
 sixty-one, he had a family of seven children, all of 
 whom are now deceased except the subject of this 
 sketch. The parents were members of the Presby- 
 terian Church. 
 
 John C. Barker was twelve years of age when he 
 came with the family to this country, and up to 
 the age of twenty years he worked on a farm in 
 Vermont, coming then to Hartford. Here he 
 readily found employment in Col. Ward's lumber 
 yard and sawmill, remaining there for the long 
 period of thirty years, during a considerable por- 
 tion of which time he was foreman of both the 
 yard and mill. In 1873 he commenced a similar 
 line of business on his own account, buying and 
 selling lumber, in connection with which he also 
 carried on an extensive trade in -produce, buying 
 in Vermont, New Plampshire and Canada, his of- 
 fice being on Governor street, Hartford. In 1890, 
 however, he retired from both these industries, and 
 has since devoted his time to the real-estate business 
 as well as farming. 
 
 In 1859 ^'-^r- Barker was married- to Jennie 
 
 Wallace Hendry, who was born in Ryegate, Vt., 
 daughter of Thomas and Mary (Lindsay) Hendry, 
 prominent farmers in that State, and three chil- 
 dren have been born of this union : ( i ) John Tenny, 
 a leading dentist of New Haven county, practic- 
 ing in Wallingford; he married a Miss Hubbard, 
 and they have one child, Eric. (2) Grace, wife of 
 Dr. Waite, of Hartford. (3) William Hendry, a 
 patent expert and patent attorney of Hartford. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Barker are members of the South 
 Baptist Church ; in politics he is a Republican. He 
 owns one of the finest residences in Wethersfield 
 avenue, where he formerly owned twenty-two acres 
 of land, which he had divided up into building 
 lots. 
 
 In 1872 Mr. Barker gave to the trustees of the 
 Campfield Monument Association the lot in Hart- 
 ford, in the center of which now stands the monu- 
 ment erected to the memory of Gen Steadman and 
 the Hartford county soldiers who participated in the 
 war of the Rebellion, and toward the erection of 
 which monument Mr. Barker also gave so much 
 of his influence. The funds for the patriotic work 
 came in the main from the regiments, and friends 
 of the members of those regiments, that were en'- 
 camped on^the grounds (Mr. Barker's farm) on 
 Campfield avenue during the Civil war days, one 
 object of the monument being a commemoration 
 of that fact. The dedication took place Oct. 4, 
 1900, with a monster parade, stirring addresses be- 
 ing delivered bv the Governor of the State and 
 others. It may not be out of place here to mention 
 that, while Mr. Barker operated a sawmill in his 
 younger days, he it was who sawed up the historic 
 "Charter Oak" tree. He is a genial -whole-souled 
 man, having ever in view the advancement of his 
 adopted city and county, and the furtherance of all 
 movements tending toward the happiness and pros- 
 perity of the people at large. 
 
 HON. NOBLE EMERSON PIERCE, who is 
 associated in the practice of law with Hon. Marcus 
 H. Holcomb, under the firm name of Holcomb & 
 Pierce, at No. 213 Main street, Bristol, and in the 
 Sage-Allen Building, at No. 902 Main street, Hart- 
 ford, was born in Bristol, July 31, 1S54, and de- 
 scends from an old Bristol family, whose ancient 
 homesteadi now occupied by his father, Julius E. 
 Pierce, is still one of the most noticeable land- 
 marks of the town. This unique and anticjue build- 
 ing mav be partially described here, and its history 
 given before recording the biography proper of the 
 subject of this sketch. 
 
 The building is an oblong structure, two sti-iries 
 high, is surmounted with three chimrteys, and is- 
 built in three sections in a straight line, on King- 
 street. The middle third of the house was built 
 by Ebenezer Barnes in 1728; later the north third 
 and the south third were added to provide accom- 
 modations for a son and daughter, respectively, on 
 their marriage; the exact date of these additions 
 
^^7n ^ .^ ,^^f^ — 
 
I 
 
 4 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 315 
 
 is not known. Amos IJarncs sokl the propcrt)- to 
 Al:)rahani I'icrcc, of Southbury, Nov. 29, 1797. 
 Upon !iis death it descended to his son, Noble A. 
 Pierce, and upon his death it descended to his 
 children — ^Irs. Jared Goodrich, of Plainville, Mrs. 
 H. M. Welch, of New Haven (both now deceased), 
 E. N. Pierce, of Plainville, and Julius E. Pierce — 
 E. N. Pierce and Airs. Welch having since con- 
 veyed their share to their brother, Julius E. The 
 place has therefore been in the Pierce family for 
 a century, and Mr. Pierce's grand-children are the 
 fifth generation of the family that have slumbered 
 beneath its giant rafters. 
 
 The original purchase ran about half a mile 
 east of the homestead, and as far west as the old 
 Episcopal cemetery, near the school house in district 
 No. I ; it also included three-fourths of a mill 
 "seat," the whole of a gristmill, and the tools and 
 implements thereto belonging, one-half of a saw- 
 mill and implements, the whole of the south side 
 of the river, ;hree-fourths of the dam, and pondage 
 privilege. This dam was located about two rods 
 westerly of the present stone dam of the Bristol 
 Brass & Clock Co. The consideration paid for 
 the whole property was fourteen hundred (1,400) 
 pounds. 
 
 Abraham Pierce was accompanied by his sons, 
 Calvin, Philo, and Noble. Philo married Sally 
 Norton, and built the house now owned by James 
 Kane, standing between the Pierce homestead and 
 the bank of the river ; he afterward removed to the 
 Norton homestead, belonging to his wife's family, 
 which stood very nearly on the same site as the 
 present residence of Edward Pierce, his grandson, 
 near Lake Compounce. 
 
 From the time of the purchase bv the Pierces 
 until about 1835 the place was kept as a tavern. 
 The road from Bristol to Forestville is modern, 
 but the north and south road that passes directly 
 in front of the house, a few rods of which are used 
 by the Bristol and Forestville road, is an old 
 Queen's highway, and was the great thoroughfare 
 for the cartage of grain from northern Connecti- 
 cut and Alassachusetts to New Haven, for ship- 
 ment by vessel to the West Indies. The Pierce 
 tavern was about a day's journey from New Haven, 
 and much patronized by the teamsters, who made 
 it their last stopping-place for the night before reach- 
 ing the city, an J the first stopping-place lor the 
 night on their way home. 
 
 Julius Emerson Pierce, father of Senator Noble 
 E. Pierce, was born in the old Pierce mansion, 
 in Bristol, Jan. 18, 1825. He was educated in the 
 common schools of his native town, and after leav- 
 ing these institutions of learning took charge of his 
 father's farm, which was very large compared with 
 the farms of the present day. On j\lay 30, 1849, 
 he married Miss Huldah Botsford, who was born 
 Nov. 5, 1822, and is a daughter of Amadeus and 
 Huldah (Merriam) Botsford. of Kensington, 
 Berlin town, Hartford Co., Conn. To this mar- 
 
 riage have been burn two children: Noble E., the 
 subject of this sketch, is tiie elder. Annie So- 
 phronia, born Feb. 6, 1859, was married May 2, 
 1888, to Frank A. Haviland, of East Boston, Mass., 
 born Alarch 10, 1862, a son of John B. Haviland. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Haviland have had two children, 
 Julius Edward, born June 15, 1889, who died July 
 7 1898; and Calvin Pierce, born Oct. 2^, i8t;3. 
 Mr. Haviland is a member of the Order of the 
 Sons of \'eterans; of Ethan Lodge, No. 9, Knights 
 of Pythias ; of the Knights of Khorrasson ; and of 
 the Royal Arcan^um ; in jxjlitics he is a Republican, 
 and in religion both he and his wife are Baptists. 
 Julius E. Pierce and wife are members of the 
 Baptist church, and in politics Mr. Pierce is a 
 Democrat, but has always declined accepting ofifice 
 when proffered. 
 
 Noble Abram Pierce, father of Julius E. Pierce, 
 and son of Abraham Pierce (who died in 1803), 
 came to Bristol in 1797, and there passed the re- 
 mainder of his days, d\ing Oct. 29, 1834. It was 
 Abraham who purchased and brought into the fam- 
 ily the old mansion on King street, built in 1728. 
 and described at the opening of this memoir. Al- 
 though a farmer by vocation Noble A. Pierce also 
 engaged in making horn cobs and inkstands. In 
 1809 he married Miss Lvdia Gridley, who was 
 born in 1783, and died in 1874, at the advanced age 
 of ninety-one years, and was the mother of four 
 children. In politics Noble A. Pierce w^as a Demo- 
 crat when there \vere only eleven Democrats in the 
 town of Bristol ; in religion he was a Baptist, and 
 a member of the building committee of his church. 
 Deacon John Pierce, antecedent of Abraham, set- 
 tled in Wethersfield, Conn., in 1731, but removed 
 to Woodbury a few years later. 
 
 Hon. Noble E. Pierce, whose birthplace was the 
 ancient mansion already alluded to, was primarily 
 educated in the common schools of Bristol and at 
 the Connecticut Literary Institute, at Sufheld. He 
 was graduated from the Connecticut State Normal 
 School in 1873, from the Albany (New York) 
 Law School in !May, 1876, and was admitted to 
 the Bar at Albany Alay 18, of the same year. Dur- 
 ing 1873-74-75 Mr. Pierce taught the low'er ^Middle" 
 school at Ansonia, and read law with Judge \. 
 Plunger during the same period. ]Mr. Pierce be- 
 gan the practice of law at Angelica, N. Y., in 1876, 
 and remained there until May, 1878, when he came 
 to Connecticut and was admitted to the Bar at 
 Hartford. He has been connected with the school 
 board of Bristol since 1887, and was chairman of 
 district committee No. i ; was treasurer of Hart- 
 ford county from 1893 to 1895 ; and was a member 
 of the Connecticut State Senate from the Fourth 
 District from 1891 to 1895. This inchnlcd the 
 memorable dead-lock session of 1891-92. In both 
 sessions he was the Democratic leader. As justice 
 of the peace of Hartford county Mr. Pierce ad- 
 ministered the oath of ofifice to Gov. Morris and 
 his associates, and during the two years that fol- 
 
316 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lowed he was the recognized mouthpiece of the 
 Democratic side of the Senate. In the session of 
 1893 he was chairman of the committee on Cities 
 and Boroughs, which committee, after six weeks 
 of pubhc hearings, reported the General Street Rail- 
 way Law of 1893. Th^ work of sifting the vari- 
 ous suggestions offered, and the draftmg of the 
 bill, were left almost entirely to Senator Pierce. 
 The committee considered one hundred and fifty- 
 three applications for street railway charters, and 
 during the session the charter of almost every city 
 iii the State was either completely revised or ma- 
 terially amended. As chairman of the committee 
 Mr. Pierce gave careful attention to each of these 
 applications, and in many cases rewrote and revised 
 them. 
 
 Senator Pierce is well and favorably known as 
 a campaign orator. He stumped New York State 
 in the Tilden campaign against Hayes in 1876, 
 .and stumped Connecticut in every subsequent Pres- 
 idential contest, with the exception of the last. 
 Mr. Pierce is a member of Franklin Lodge, No. 
 56, Free and Accepted Masons ; Pequabuck Chap- 
 ter, No. 32, Royal Arch Masons, of Bristol; and 
 of Clark Commandery, No. 7, Knights Templar, 
 of Waterbury. He is also a member of Ethan 
 Lodge, No. 9, Knights of Pythias, of Bristol. 
 
 Senator Pierce first married, July 16, 1879, ^'liss 
 Hattie Ivendall, of Angelica, N. Y., daughter of 
 Z. A. Kendall. She died Oct. 26, 1895, and Sen- 
 ator Pierce later married Miss Ettie Merriam, of 
 Washington, N. C, daughter of Capt. James E. 
 Merriam. To the first marriage were born : Ger- 
 trude, Dec. 24, 1883; and Kendall, May 26, 1888. 
 Mr. Pierce is a director in the Free Public Library 
 of Bristol ; he was instrumental in organizing the 
 Bristol Electric Light Co., 1886, and was a director 
 until it was consolidated with the B. & P. T. Co., 
 of which he was first president, and is now vice- 
 president ; he is also a director in the same com- 
 pany, and is a director in and treasurer of the 
 Hartford & Torrington Tramway Co. He was also 
 instrumental in securing the charter for the bor- 
 ough of Bristol, and in securing the high school 
 for the town. 
 
 JOEL WILLARD UPSON descended from 
 one of the old families of New England, and traced 
 his line of descent from Thomas Upson, of the 
 fifth generation back, and one of the original pro- 
 prietors of Farmington, Conn. Thomas Upson 
 married Elizabeth Fuller in 1646, and died July 19, 
 1655, the father of the following children : Thomas, 
 who died in Saybrook, whither he had moved ; 
 Stephen ; Mary ; Hannah ; and Elizabeth, who died 
 July 20, 1655. 
 
 Stephen Upson, son of the above-named 
 Thomas, born in 1650, was married Dec. 29, 1682, 
 to Mary, daughter of John Lee, Sr., of Farming- 
 ton. Stephen was a surveyoi^. In 1679 he removed 
 to Waterbury, where he became a school commis- 
 
 sioner ; grand juryman ; three times a deputy to 
 the General Court (in 1710, 1712 and 1729) ; and 
 a sergeant in 171 5 and 1729, and he had a seat 
 with the veterans in the new meeting-house. He 
 lost his wife Feb. 15, 1715-16, and his own death 
 took place Nov. 5, 1735. Their children were: 
 Mary, born Nov. 5, 1683, married to Richard 
 Welton; Stephen, born Sept. 30, 1686; Elizabeth, 
 born Feb. 14, 1689-90, married Thomas Bronson; 
 Thomas, born March i, 1692-93; Hannah, born 
 March 16, 1695, first married Thomas Richards, 
 and later wedded John Bronson ; Tabitha, born 
 March 11, 1698, married John Scovill, Jr.; John, 
 born Dec. 13, 1702; and Thankful, born March 14, 
 1706-07, married James Blakeslee. 
 
 Thomas Upson, son of Stephen, married Rachel, 
 daughter of Deacon Thomas Judd, of Waterbury. 
 In 1732-33 he removed to Farmington, afterward 
 Southington, now southeastern Wolcott, and died 
 Sept. 29, 1761, the father of the following family: 
 Thomas, born Dec. 20, 1719; Mary and John 
 (twins), born Jan. 21, 1721 (Mary married Josiah 
 Newell, of Southington, and John died in 1741) ; 
 Josiah, born Jan. 28, 1724-25; Asa, born Nov. 30, 
 1728; Timothy, born Oct. 8, 1731; Amos, born 
 March 17, 1734; Samuel, born March 8, 1737; and 
 Freeman, born July 24, 1739, (died in 1750}. 
 
 Timothy Upson, 'son of Thomas, married De- 
 light Norton March 25, 1755. He was a farmer, 
 and lived in Southington. He was a member of 
 the Congregational Church, and was a more than 
 ordinarily good man. He died Sept. 4, 1799, at 
 the age of sixty-eight years, while his widow sur- 
 vived him until Feb. 24, 1828, when she passed 
 away at the extreme old age of ninety-four. Their 
 children were: Tryphena, born Sept. i, 1756, was 
 married to Stephen Carter ; Freelove, born March 
 22, 1759, maiTied James Smith, of Southington; 
 Sarah, born June 20, 1761, married Dr. Samuel 
 Towner, and removed to Vermont ; Ashbel, born 
 March 19, 1764; Timothy, born Sept. 21, 1766; 
 Delight, born March 11, 1769, married Moses Todd, 
 and removed to Vermilion, Ohio ; Seth, born June 
 21, 1771 ; Martin, born March 29, 1774, died Feb. 
 7, 1777; Selah, born May 20, 1776; and Freeman, 
 born June 16, 178 1. , 
 
 Selah Upson, son of Timothy, was married in 
 October, 1802, to Martha, daughter of David Hitch- 
 cock, of Southington. At this time he came to Wol- 
 cott, where he built a house upon a portion of his 
 father's farm. Here he continued to live until his 
 death, which occurred June 3, 1854, his wife sur- 
 viving until Dec. 31, 1863. They were both faith- 
 ful members of the Congregational Church. Mr. 
 Upson was a man of few words, but possessed of 
 strong character and good judgment, and was 
 much relied upon in church and town affairs. Their 
 children were: Sabrina, born Aug. 2X, 1804, mar- 
 ried Chester Thorpe, of Southington, Feb. 9, 1825 ; 
 Martha, born Aug. 28, 1807, was married to Mark 
 Tuttle, of Wolcott, April 12, 1827; Henry Doolit- 
 
^'^. 
 
 h'9^>ly' 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 817 
 
 tie, born Oct. 5, 1809, married Polly Tuttle, of 
 VVolcott; Emily, born June 24, 1814, died June 28, 
 1815; Emily JNlaria, born April 16, 1817, died Sept. 
 13, 1865; Miles Sclah, born Dec. 6, 1820, married 
 Mary Hough ; and Joel Willard. 
 
 Joel Willard Upson was born in Wolcott Jan. 
 10, 1823. He was a farmer by vocation, and also 
 a dealer in wood and timber. In politics he was a 
 Republican, but would never consent to accept pub- 
 lic office.- Always interested in educational affairs, 
 he occasionally served on the school committee. 
 He was a member of the Congregational Church 
 (of which his wife was also a faithful adherent), 
 and a quiet, unassuming man, universally respected 
 for his sterling integrity and many excellent per- 
 sonal merits. Early in life he developed energy 
 and business ability, as well as caution, and what- 
 ever he undertook in a business line was carried 
 through with success. Quick to discern and appre- 
 ciate superior merits in others, he was seldom 
 deceived in the character of those with whom he 
 came in contact, and almost never placed confi- 
 dence in those unworthy of it. He was a man of 
 refined taste, and all things of beauty, both in na- 
 ture and in art, appealed strongly to his sensiliili- 
 ties. He never belonged to a club or secret order, 
 and was ever to be found in the midst of the family 
 circle when the business of the day was ended. 
 In 1876 he sold his farm in Wolcott, where the 
 active years of his life had been spent, and moved 
 to Bristol, remaining there until his death. 
 
 Mr. Upson was happily joined in marriage 
 Oct. 4, 1855, with Miss Eleanor Gaylord, who was 
 born Jan. 4, 1831, and was a daughter of Jesse 
 and Lois (Alcott) Gaylord, of Bristol, and a lineal 
 descendant of Deacon William Gaylord, who came 
 from Exeter, England, to Dorchester, l\Iass., in the 
 spring of 1630. Deacon William Gaylord was de- 
 scended from a family of Huguenots who left Nor- 
 mandy for Western iingland in 1530-51. Mrs. Up- 
 son died Sept. 18, 1885, and Mr. Upson followed 
 her to the grave Aug. 31, 1891. To this couple were 
 born six children, of whom but two are living, 
 Lena J. and Ella A. Upson, both residents of Bristol. 
 
 JOHN WINSLOW, justice of the peace, assis- 
 tant prosecuting attorney, and eminent as a lawyer 
 of Bristol, was born in Dublin, Ireland, Oct. 31, 
 1844, and is a son of John and Eliza (Devlin) 
 Winslow, natives of County Tyrone. 
 
 John Winslow, the father, was born Sept. 19, 
 1806, learned the business of carpet cutter and 
 fitter, and July 31, 1833, married Miss Devlin, who 
 bore liim ten children, the eldest of whom, Sarah, 
 was born July 8, 1834; then followed, in order, 
 Robert. Eliza, William and Thomas (twins that 
 died in infancy), William Thomas, John (subject), 
 Olivia, Eliza and Jane — the youngest born Sept. 
 20, 1852. In June, 1856, the family came to Amer- 
 ica, landing in New York, went thence to Canada 
 ^^ est, and located in what is now known as Thorold, 
 
 Welland county, where the father kept a hotel until 
 i860, at which time he came with his family to New 
 Hartford, Litchfield Co., Conn., and went to work 
 in the Greenwood Co.'s cotton factory. During the 
 last years of his life he resided first with a daughter 
 in New Ila\'cn, then with his son John in Bristol, 
 and died at the home of his youngest daughter in 
 Middlebury, Feb. 6, 1891, aged eighty-four. 
 
 John Winslow, the subject of this sketch, at- 
 tended the National (or public) schools of his na- 
 tive city of Dublin until the departure of the family 
 for America, when he was twelve years of age. At 
 Thorold his studies were continued until he was 
 fourteen years old, and he then worked for a year 
 in a printing office. On the removal of the family 
 to New Hartford, Conn., our subject worked about 
 two years in the Greenwood cotton factory with his 
 father, then went to Tariffville and worked for the 
 Hartford Carpet Co. until its factory was destroyed 
 by fire, in June, 1867, and during this interval mas- 
 tered the machinist's trade. After this confiagra- 
 tion Mr. Winslow was obliged to seek new quarters, 
 and went to New Haven, there working as a ma- 
 chinist until 1874, when he came to Bristol, worked 
 for S. Emerson Root, at the same trade, for three 
 years, for Everett Horton four years, and two years 
 for the Bristol Brass & Clock Co. His first venture 
 in business on his own account was the opening of 
 a repair shop on Root's Island, in partnership with 
 Roswell Attsins, under the firm name of Winslow 
 & Attsins, and this was continued until 1887, when 
 Mr. W^inslow sold out. 
 
 ]Mr. Winslow now began the study of law under 
 Senator Noble E. Pierce, and in February, 1889, 
 was admitted to the Bar at Hartford. He at once 
 formed a partnership with his former preceptor, and 
 the firm of Pierce & Winslow were very prosperous 
 until August, 1893, when the partnership was dis- 
 solved, and ^Ir. Winslow went into business for 
 himself, in Bristol, wdiere he has since had a phe- 
 nomenally good practice. In politics Mr. Wins- 
 low is a stanch Republican. He was elected a 
 justice of the peace in 1889, and has ever since 
 filled that office; he was clerk of the borough of 
 Bristol for two years, and is also a member of the 
 Republican town committee; on ]\Iarch 21. 1895, 
 he was appointed assistant prosecuting attorney, 
 by Judge Roger S. Newell, when the office was 
 created, and retained the position till he had a 
 stroke of apoplexy, June 24, 1900. Fraternally 
 Mr. Winslow is a member of Franklin Lodge, 
 No. 56, F. & A. M., of which he is a past worship- 
 ful master. 
 
 Mr. Winslow has been twice married. On Miy 
 3, 1868, he was united in marriage with Miss Clara 
 Pomeroy, of New Haven, who was born in 1839, 
 and died Oct. 24, 1875, 'he mother of two chil- 
 dren: Emma Eliza, born Feb. i. 1869, now teach- 
 ing school in Hartford ; and John Pomeroy. born 
 Oct. 7, 1871, now employed by the Eagle Lock 
 Co., of Terr\-ville, Litchfield county. The second 
 
318 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 marriage of Mr. Winslow took place April 8, 1877, 
 when Miss Esther Matthews, of Bristol, a daugh- 
 ter of David Matthews, and born in 1836, became 
 his wife. Ihat Mr. Winslow is a gentleman who 
 through his innate talents has risen unaided to his 
 present eminent position is too palpable a proposi- 
 tion to admit of discussion. 
 
 SIDNEY ELBRIDGE CLARKE, who has been 
 identified with the legal profession in Hartford for 
 nearly twenty years, was born Feb. 16, 1851, in 
 Peterboro, N. H., son of Eldridge W. and Sarah 
 P. (Chamberlin) Clarke. 
 
 Mr. Clarke received his primary education in 
 the district schools of Peterboro, later attended the 
 public schools of Hartford, Conn., and the Hart- 
 ford Public High School. In 1881 he graduated 
 from Yale Law School, and the same year was ad- 
 mitted to the Bar in New Haven county, and he 
 began practice at Hartford Sept. i, 1881, having 
 continued there ever since with unvarying success. 
 Mr. Clarke has been quite prominent in the public 
 affairs of the city, having served in the Court of 
 Common Council from the Fifth ward in 1884, as 
 member of the board of school visitors in West 
 Hartford for three years, and from 1884 to 1897 
 as member of that board in Hartford, being sec- 
 retary of same for three years. His services have 
 ever been characterized by the highest efficiency 
 and fidelity to duty. 
 
 On May 19, 1893, Mr. Clarke was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Mary Moore Robinson, daughter 
 of Thomas and Margaret (Moore) Robinson, of 
 Middletown, Conn., and they have one child, Ar- 
 thur Robinson, born June 15, 1895. Mr. Clarke 
 is a member of Wyllys Lodge, No. 99, F. & A. M., 
 West Hartford, and has attained the thirty-second 
 degree in the Fraternity, being also a member of the 
 Mystic Shrine ; he also united with Crescent Lodge, 
 Knights of Pythias, and with the Independent 
 Order of Odd Fellows. His political allegiance is 
 given to the Democratic party. 
 
 LUCIUS H. UTLEY. For over one hundred 
 years the home at No. 55 Blue Hills avenue, Hart- 
 ford, has been occupied by the Utley family, and 
 there the head of the present family, Lucius H. 
 Utley, was born Sept. 25, 1828, a son of Henry 
 Utley, who was a;lso born in the same house. The 
 family are but the third generation from the founder 
 in this section. Joseph Utley came here 'from 
 Rhode Island in the early days; he was a minister 
 and circuit rider, and also founded the Baptist 
 Church at Albany, N. Y., to which place he rode 
 for services. All New England knew Elder Utley, 
 and when he died it was to leave to his family an 
 imtarnished reputation and the memory of a sainted 
 life. His wife was Temperance Horton, a native 
 of Gilead, Conn., who bore him three children, all 
 long since deceased. 
 
 Henry Utley was a tanner, and carried on busi- 
 
 ness for many years in a large tannery that stood 
 on the old homestead. He spent his entire life here, 
 and died, in 1861, in a house adjoining the present 
 one, when he was aged sixt3'-six years. In poli- 
 tics he was a Republican. He married Mary 
 Baker, a native of Brooklyn, Conn., and a daugh- 
 ter of Parde Baker, who came from Brooklyn to 
 Hartford in 1814, and purchased a farm near the 
 Utley homestead, also engaging as a brick manu- 
 facturer; he died at the age of eighty years. Mrs. 
 Mary (Baker) Utley became the mother of seven 
 children, three of whom are living: Lucy, who 
 married Anson Mills, of Bloomfield ; Elizabeth, who 
 married Charles L. Tuttle ; and Lucius H., our sub- 
 ject. The mother died in 1867, at the age of sixty- 
 five years. Henry Utley and his family were all 
 members of the Baptist Church. 
 
 Lucius H. Utley passed his early years at home, 
 and received such preliminary education as the city 
 schools afforded, later attending an academy at 
 Biift'alo. On his return from school he assisted his 
 father in farming until the latter's death, when 
 our subject bought out the other heirs, and now 
 owns the entire homestead, consisting of sixty-five 
 acres. He raises quite a large quantity of tobacco, 
 and is now running a retail milk route, keeping 
 thirty-five cows, for the most part Jerseys. For a 
 number of years he engaged in buying cattle through 
 the New England States, and has in every way 
 proven himself a fine business man, meeting with 
 good success in every line he has undertaken. 
 
 In 1854 Mr. Utley was united in marriage with 
 Miss Sarah J. House, of Hartford, Conn., a daugh- 
 ter of Truman B. and Sarah (Hubbard) House, the 
 fonner of whom was a carpenter, and when 
 Mrs. Utley was a child brought his family from 
 Glastonbury to Hartford, where he learned his 
 trade; he then located in Wes-tfield, Mass., later 
 returning to Hartford. His death occurred in New 
 Britain in 1875, when he was aged sixty-eight years. 
 In every respect he was a self-made man, and his 
 fortune, which at the beginning of his career was 
 but fifty cents, at its' close was $40,000. Sarah 
 (Hubbard) House was a native of Glastonbury, a 
 daughter of Ira and Anna (Stratton) Hubbard, the 
 former of whom was a son of Jonathan Hubbard, 
 an early settler of Glastonbury, and was a cabinet 
 maker by trade. Mrs. Anna (Stratton) Hubbard 
 was a native of Glastonbury, and became the mother 
 of six children. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Utley have become the parents 
 of four children, as follows : Charles H., a farmer, 
 married Lilly Blake, and has three children, Maud, 
 Lucius and Blake ; Martin T. is at home with his 
 father; Herbert S., at home, has charge of the milk 
 route ; Mary L. was educated in the Connecticut 
 schools and in Hatfield Female Seminary, in which 
 latter institution she remained five years, and is 
 a highly cultured young lady. In politics Mr. Utley 
 is an ardent Republican, and takes an active part 
 in all progressive movements. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 319 
 
 CHARLES E. (jILBERT, assistant secretary of 
 the -Etna Life Insurance Co., of Hartford, is de- 
 bcended from an old Connecticut family. 
 
 (1) Jonathan Gilbert, a remote ancestor, was 
 a citizen of Hartford in 1645, ^'^d died there in 
 1682, at the age of sixty-four. He was a leader 
 on occasions of danger and importance ; was at 
 various times collector of the customs, marshal of 
 the colony, representative in the General Court, and 
 negotiator- with troublesome Indians. His tomb- 
 stone now stands in the rear of the Center Congre- 
 gational church in Hartford. 
 
 (,H) Samuel Gilbert (i), son of Jonathan, was 
 one of the proprietors to whom patents were grant- 
 ed on the organization of the town of Colchester, 
 about iCkjS, and he passed the rest of his life there, 
 dying in 1733. 
 
 (HI) Samuel Gilbert (2), son of the above, 
 settled in Gilead, Conn., and was a member of the 
 Society's commit'tee of that parish at its organiza- 
 tion, in 1748. 
 
 (IV) Samuel Gilbert (3) also lived in Gilead, 
 Conn. He held a number of military offices, 
 among others being captain of a company in the 
 3rd Regiment, raised to go against Crown Point in 
 1755. He died in 1774, and is said to have left an 
 estate worth i6,ooo. 
 
 (V) Samuel Gilbert (4) was a resident of 
 Hebron, Conn. He was lieutenaiu in the 12th Con- 
 necticut Regiment in 1775, was Judge of the court 
 of common pleas for a period of twenty-one years, 
 and deputy to the General Assembly during four 
 sessions of that body. 
 
 (VI) Peyton Randolph Gilbert, son of Samuel 
 (4), resided in Gilead, where he was a farmer by 
 occupation. He served in the House of Represent- 
 atives, and in the State Senate. 
 
 (VII) Edwin Randolph Gilbert, eldest son of 
 Peyton R., was born Feb. 10, 1808, in Gilead, town 
 of Hebron, and attended the public schools of his 
 native town and the jNIondon (Mass.) Academy. 
 He was graduated from Yale in 1829, and from 
 Yale Theological Seminary in 1832, immediately 
 becoming pastor of the Congregational Church in 
 the town of \\'allingford. Conn., and retaining that 
 office forty-one years. 
 
 ■ (\"III) Charles E. Gilbert, the subject proper 
 
 \ of this sketch, was born Nov. 8, 1836, in the town 
 of ^^'a^ingford, receiving his education in the 
 schools of that town and at Farmington, Conn. At 
 an early age he entered the store of Joseph Langdon, 
 in Hartford, as clerk. Later he removed to the 
 city of New York, being employed in a wholesale 
 <lry-goods house. Returning to Connecticut, he 
 I was in 1864 and 1865 occupied in the office of the 
 ; United States military commandant and chief mus- 
 I tering officer for Connecticut and Rhode Island. In 
 1868 he was appointed cashier of the ^Etna Life 
 Insurance Co. of Hartford; later was made assist- 
 ant secretary, and has ever since performed the du- 
 ties of tliat office. His political affiliations are with 
 
 the Republican party. He has been a member of the 
 State militia and of the Governor's Foot Guard, 
 and has served as adjutant of the latter. He mar- 
 ried X'irginia E., dauglUer of Aaron G. Crane, a 
 merchant of New York City. Their children are: 
 Albert Waldron, an electrician and mechanical en- 
 gineer, now superintendent of construction in the 
 employ of the Electric Vehicle Co. of New York ; 
 Edwin Randolph, general manager of the Chicago 
 Electric Traction Co. ; and C. Allan, a prominent 
 illustrator, residing in New York City. 
 
 MARCENA HITCHCOCK, who departed this 
 life Jan. 18, 1900, left behind him a record for use- 
 fulness and progressiveness second to none in the 
 county. 
 
 Mr. ITitchcock was born June 19, 1832, in Leb- 
 anon, N. Y., of an old New England family, which 
 originated with three brothers who came from Eng- 
 land in early times, settling in Massachusetts. 
 Joseph Hitchcock, grandfather of our subject, was 
 born in ^Massachusetts, whence he moved to New 
 York, becoming one of the early settlers of Leb- 
 anon, where he followed agricultural pursuits. 
 Samuel Hitchcock, father of Marcena, was born in 
 Lebanon, was a carpenter by trade, and died in 
 Madison, N. Y., at the age of sixty-six years. 
 By his wife. Prudence (Groves), he had three chil- 
 dren, only one of whom is now living — Joseph W., 
 of Lebanon. The mother of these passed away at 
 the age of eighty years. 
 
 Marcena Hitchcock, the subject proper of this 
 iTiemoir, passed his earlier years in New York State, 
 receiving his education at the common schools, and 
 being a natural-born mechanic, he decided to make 
 that'trade his life work. Accordingly, at the age 
 of twenty-one. he went to L'tica, N. Y., and there 
 worked as a machinist five years ; thence moved; to 
 Philadelphia, and for a time was employed in the 
 Sharp & Hankins Armory. In 1S66 he came to 
 Hartford, and here followed his trade in the Weed 
 Sewing Machine Works, later, for the long period 
 of eighteen years, being with the Pope ^lanufac- 
 turing Co., and ranking among the oldest of the 
 "contractors" with that firm. He was afterwards 
 with Henry Billings. In 1883 was organized the 
 Billings & Hitchcock Knit Goods business, in Hart- 
 ford, Mr. Billings, however, soon afterward selling 
 out to i\Ir. Curtiss, the firm name then becoming 
 the Hitchcock & Curtiss Co., with Mr. Hitchcock 
 ar president, which position he was holding at the 
 time of his decease. Death claimed him at tlie 
 very height of his prosperity, and after he had seen 
 the industrv grow from its infancy, employing a 
 couple of girls, to its present magnitude, equipped 
 with modern machinery, and giving employment 
 to some sixty hands. The product of the factory, 
 woolen and stockinet goods, was steadily increased, 
 mainly by Mr. Hitchcock's capable management, 
 skill, and perseverance. His widow now holds 
 stock in the factorv. He was, without exception. 
 
320 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the oldest and most successful machinist in the 
 city, and his place will be hard to fill. He built the 
 residence still occupied by ]\'Irs. Hitchcock, also the 
 factory near by, on Broad street. In politics he was 
 a Republican, but invariably declined office of any 
 nature. Socially he was a member of the Knights 
 of Pythias. 
 
 In 1858 Marcena Hitchcock was married to Julia 
 E. Read, born in New York State, a daughter of 
 George B. and Mary Jane (West) Read (the for- 
 mer a native of Jewett City, Conn.), and grand- 
 daughter of James Read, who was a cotton manu- 
 facturer at Lebanon, N. Y., there operating a cot- 
 ton mill for some years. From Lebanon James 
 Read removed to New Hartford, N. Y., where he 
 passed the rest of his days, dying in 1866, at the 
 age of seventy years, a Democrat in politics, and a 
 member of the F. & A. JM. He married Eunice 
 Bunce, by whom he had seven children. She died 
 in 1866, a member of the Universalist Church, while 
 her husband was a Baptist. 
 
 George B. Read, father of Mrs. Hitchcock, in 
 early life moved from Lebanon to New Hartford, 
 N. Y., and there attended a private school. By 
 ttade he was a mechanic, which he followed for a 
 long time in Utica, N. Y., being an expert in rifling 
 guns. He died at Jefferson, N. Y., at the age of 
 stventy-nine years. In 1836 he married Mary Jane 
 West, who was born in Rome, N. Y., Jan. 31, 1816, 
 a daughter of Joseph West, a native of Massachu- 
 setts, but who spent the greater part of his life in 
 Rome, N. Y., as an agriculturist. He married 
 Mary Hawley, a native of Vermont, and by her had 
 six children, three of whom are living: Mary Jane 
 (Mrs. G. B. Read), Benjamin and Phoebe. The 
 mother of these died at Black River, N. Y., at the 
 patriarchal age of ninety-eight years. At one time 
 there were two representatives of five generations 
 of this family living. To Mr. and Mrs. George B. 
 Read were born five children, all yet living, as is 
 also the mother. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Marcena Hitchcock became the 
 parents of two children : ( i ) Lewis D. is in San 
 Francisco, .Cal., in the employ of a typewriter syn- 
 dicate; he married M. A. Barr. (2) Ahce W. is the 
 wife of Harry F. Orcott, a civil engineer, at pres- 
 ent residing in London, England; they have two 
 children, Arthur H. and Marcena. Mr. Hitchcock 
 always attended the Universalist Church, which 
 his family also attend. 
 
 REV. EDWARD PAYSON HAMMOND, M. 
 A., the evangelist of Hartford, who has preached 
 to hundreds of thousands of people in this and 
 foreign lands, and through whose words thousands 
 have been led to a better life, probably to-day has 
 no superior in the art of reaching souls and bring- 
 ing them to Christ. 
 
 Born Sept. i, 1831, in Ellington, Tolland Co., 
 Conn., son of Elijah and Esther (Griswold) Flam- 
 mond, the evangelist has descended from a sturdy 
 
 New England ancestry of the Puritan type, through, 
 whose veins coursed some of the best blood that 
 came to the colonies. Thomas Hammond, the first 
 American ancestor of the family, came to this coun- 
 try, locating at Hingham, Mass., in 1635 ; while 
 George Griswold, from whom the evangelist de- 
 scended on his mother's side, came from Kenil- 
 worth, Warwickshire, England, in the early set- 
 tlement of the Colony of Connecticut, and became 
 the progenitor of some of the most distinguished 
 men of New England, among them being Matthew 
 Griswold, governor of Connecticut from 1784 to 
 1786; and Roger Griswold, governor of the State 
 in 181 1, who died in office. 
 
 At the age of seven years young Hammond ac- 
 companied his parents to the town of Vernon, Conn., 
 they having removed thither at the time, and there 
 he made his home until some years ago, when he 
 settled in Hartford, in which city he and his wife 
 are now passing the evening of life. Mr. Ham- 
 mond passed the years of his boyhood and youth 
 among the hills of Vernon. Fie attended school in 
 Southington, where he was converted in answer to 
 the prayers of his God-fearing parents. Later he 
 completed his academic preparation in Phillip's 
 Academy, at Andover, Mass. Immediately after his 
 conversion he began active efforts to win souls for 
 the Master, holding meetings with other students 
 in the neighboring villages. In 1854 he entered 
 Williams College, from which he was graduated in 
 1858. During his college course, and without 
 neglecting his studies, he seemed to have but one 
 end in view, that of saving souls, and bent all the 
 force of his nature in that direction. Following 
 his graduation he entered Union Theological Sem- 
 
 inary, at New York. In 1859 he went abroad, ex- 
 pecting to be gone a few months only, but an over- 
 ruling Providence directed him to the Free Church 
 College at Edinburgh, Scotland, whither he went 
 for study. There his desire for spiritual work was 
 irrepressible, and he was sent by Dr. L. W. Alex- 
 ander to Musselburgh to labor with that people, , 
 the Doctor saying in substance as he went, "if you 
 can save this church you can succeed anywhere." 
 He introduced American melodies and inquiry meet- 
 ings, among both children and adults, as he preached 
 the uplifted Christ. The blessino-s attending his . 
 work M'ere marvelous. He was approved and 
 sought after bv such eminent men as Rev. William 
 Arnot, D. D., and Rev. IToratius Boner, D. D., the 
 former saying of him, 'T should fear to offend- 
 the Lord if I did not acknowledge his servant." 
 
 After addressing immense multitudes, conduct- 
 ing evangelistic work in Scotland, and preaching 
 through an interpreter in Italy, Mr. Hammond re- 
 turned, after an absence of two years, to America. 
 The fame of God's blessings upon his labors in 
 Scotland preceded him, as he began evangelistic 
 work in Boston in September, 1861, after which 
 came invitations from Portland, Maine, and other 
 New England points. Fie accomplished a great 
 
^^^/^^Vv^Z^-^^-^^z^-^Z^z^g^^^^?^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 321 
 
 work in Lewiston, which extended to Bowdoin Col- 
 lege. In 1862 Mr. Hammond labored with great 
 results in Canada, addressing audiences of three 
 thousand in Montreal. He also visited New York 
 City, speaking in Dr. Hatfield's Church, among the 
 converts being a sporting man who became a power 
 in reaching and influencing men of his own class. 
 In the year 1863 Mr. Hammond was ordained as an 
 evangelist by the Presbytery of New York, and 
 with that bod\- he has ever since been connected. 
 P"rom this time on through the 'sixties he labored 
 with great earnestness all over this country. At the 
 invitation of Drs. Theodore Cuyler and Buddington, 
 of Brooklyn, he conducted meetings in that city for 
 a period of four weeks, holding three meetings 
 daily, and with much blessing. As a result of his 
 meetings in Utica and Rochester, N. Y., six hun- 
 dred were converted in the former, and a thousand 
 from the Sabbath-school alone added to the churches 
 in the latter, Dr. Shaw regarding the work as the 
 greatest that city had ever enjoyed. Mr. Ham- 
 mond held meetings in Boston, at Auburn, Law- 
 rence and Bridgeport, winning many souls in each 
 place. In Newark, N. J., in 1S64, that city, as the 
 result of his efforts, w-itnessed its greatest revival, 
 upward of 1,300 having been added to the churches 
 from the Sabbath-schools. It was at this time that 
 the hymn "Jesus of Nazareth Passeth By," which 
 is descriptive of the scene then witnessed, was 
 composed by Miss Campbell. This same year his 
 labors in Buffalo, Chicago and St. Paul were 
 crowned with conversions, and in Chicago Mr. 
 Hammond and IMr. !Moody worked together. Again 
 in 1865 he had much blessing in New Jersey towns. 
 That same year he was in Detroit and Ann Arbor, 
 and during a stay of ten weeks in Philadelphia, 
 where at times the Academy of Music was rented 
 at an expense of $1/5 per night, several thousand 
 souls were added to the churches. He also did 
 good work that year in Binghamton and Elmira, 
 New York. 
 
 Early in 1866 Mr. Hammond conducted meet- 
 ings at Towanda. Penn., Corning and Hornellsville, 
 N. Y. At Erie, in that year, many united with 
 the churches. Peoria, 111., it was estimated, re- 
 ceived a thousand converts, and Springfield and 
 vicinity three thousand, as the result of J^Ir. Ham- 
 mond's efforts. Among these, at Peoria, were 
 thirty-seven out of sixty-three inmates of the jail. 
 As a result of his preaching for one week at Girard, 
 Penn.. tlie membership of the churches w-as doubled. 
 
 After his marriage, in ^May, 1866, to Miss Eliza 
 Overton, of Towanda, Penn., Mr. Hammond went 
 abroad with his w-ife, visiting, among other places 
 of interest, Palestine, Egypt, and the scenes of his 
 earlier triumphs in Scotland, "ilr. Moody, then 
 paying his first visit to London, stated that' he be- 
 lieved not less than fifty thousand had been added 
 to the churches in the United States up to that 
 time — 1867 — through the instrumcntalitv of ^Ir. 
 Hammond." In 1868 Gen. Booth ascribed to Air. 
 21 
 
 Hammond the influence by which he was induced 
 to enter upon his great career, and many ministers 
 have given him the credit of having led them into 
 the ministry. Early in 1869 Mr. Hammond re- 
 turned to America, and for a second time labored 
 in Rochester, where there were several thousand- 
 converts. Later he passed four weeks in Indianap- 
 olis, and six in Cincinnati, the result of his labors 
 in the latter city and vicinity being estimated at 
 five thousand converts. Following this, in 1870 and 
 1871, Evansville, Ind., Milwaukee, Wis., Provi- 
 dence, R. I., Brooklyn, N. Y., Newark, N. J.. Leav- 
 enworth, Lawrence, Topeka, Atchison and other 
 Kansas towns, were the scenes of his labors, and 
 large additions to the churches followed. After 
 a great work in 1874 in St. Louis he, with twenty- 
 one workers, made a trip to Galveston and other 
 points in Texas and the Indian Territory. He 
 went a second time to the Pacific coast in 1874-75, 
 and his labors through California and Washington 
 Territory were attended with a e'rcat outpouring of 
 the Holy Spirit. His travels extended into British 
 Columbia and Alaska. In the great Western cam- 
 paign of those years from seven thousand to nine 
 thousand united with the churches. 
 
 Returning to the East, Mr. Hammond labored! 
 with great results in Washington, D. C, in 1875,. 
 and also at Harrisburg, Penn., and through the- 
 Cumberland A'alley. The principal scenes of his 
 labors in 1877 ^nd 1878 were Yonkers and Roches- 
 ter, N. Y. (third time), Parkersburg. W. Va.,. 
 iMarietta. Zanesville, Columbus and Delaware. Ohio,, 
 and Joplin, Mo. In 1879 he visited and did good 
 work in Allegheny. Edinboro, Cambridge and South 
 Pittsburg. In 1881 he visited the South, including' 
 the cities of Nashville and Memphis, Tenn. He 
 labored in Cambridgeport, Boston, Middleboro and 
 Newark (third time), in Brooklyn Tabernacle (N. 
 Y.), and in the Bermuda Islands. In 1883 he passed 
 much time in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and west- 
 ern New York. 
 
 The foregoing summary of the record of Evan- 
 gelist Hammond is condensed from "The Reaper 
 and The Harvest," 550 pages, edited by Rev. P. C. 
 Hadley. which includes the record from 1862 to 
 ^^77 given by Rev. Dr. Charles L. Thompson, of 
 New York. 
 
 During the winter of 1890-91 Air. Hammond 
 did evangelistic work in Washington. D. C, and the 
 previous winter he was in the mining districts of 
 Colorado — two fields in as strong a contrast as can 
 well be imagined, but neither without a harvest. 
 He has been abroad three different times — alto- 
 gether seven and a half years — and through the in- 
 fluence of his work in London, in which citv he 
 passed sixteen weeks in 1867. the "Children's Spe- 
 cial Service Mission" was inaugurated, which So- 
 ciety now publishes books and leaflets in fiftv dif- 
 ferent languages. Fle held meetings in Norwav 
 and Sweden, and he and Mrs. Hammond were in- 
 vited by Queen Sophia to her palace. 
 
322 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 From the writings of Dr. 
 
 C. E. Babb, one of 
 the editors of the Herald and Presbyter, is extracted 
 the following: "While a student at Edinburgh he 
 Avas invited to hold meetings in a vacant church 
 six miles distant. Here he labored so earnestly and 
 wisely that there was a great religious awakening ; 
 hundreds were converted ; ministers in Edinburgh, 
 Glasgow, Aberdeen and other cities heard of this 
 revival ; they recognized in the youthful evangelist 
 a man called of God to a special work ; they in- 
 vited him to their pulpits ; thousands and tens of 
 thousands who never entered the churches were 
 drawn to these meetings, and many of them be- 
 came Christians. After laboring thus two years in 
 Scotland, going only where the ministers and 
 churches invited him, not setting himself up as 
 a leader, but yielding to the urgencv of the ablest 
 and best men of the land, that he should use the 
 gifts with which God had endowed him, he re- 
 turned to his native land. He did not announce 
 himself as an evangelist, or seek conspicuous fields 
 of labor ; but accepted first the invitations that came 
 to him to aid ministers in hard and comparatively 
 obscure localities. God was always with him, as 
 in Scotland. Wherever he went the people thronged 
 to hear him, and multitudes were brought to Christ. 
 After five years of evangelistic labor in New Eng- 
 land and the far West Mr. Hammond again went 
 abroad. He spent many months holding meetings 
 in England, Scotland and Ireland, and on the Con- 
 tinent. He preached daily for sixteen weeks in 
 London to large audiences, part of the time in 
 Spurgeon's tabernacle, which was full night after 
 night. 
 
 "Since Mr. Hammond's return from Europe 
 the second time, he has held meetings in towns and 
 cities from Minneapolis, in Minnesota, to Galves- 
 ton, Texas, and from the shores of Lake Erie to 
 Denver. He has gone to none of these places with- 
 out special invitation. Wherever he has been the 
 various evangelical churches have been drawn to- 
 gether in brotherly love and cordial co-operation. 
 In everv place there have been conversions, not only 
 of the children, but of men and women, not a few 
 of whom had previously been notoriously wicked. 
 The converts, with fev/ exceptions, are faithful and 
 useful members of the churches. One of the most 
 successful of Mr. Hammond's meetings was that 
 in St. Louis. The largest halls in the city were 
 crowded day after day, and one of the pastors has 
 recentlv stated that over five thousand persons were 
 added to the churches of St. Louis as the result of 
 these special services.'' 
 
 The late Dr. Goodell, in speaking of the work 
 in St. Louis, said : "Over two hundred union 
 meetings have been held, those in the morning al- 
 ways crowded, as well as those in the evening. 
 From the first the work has continued silent, deep 
 and powerful, and entirely free from any excess. 
 The prayer of yesterday is answered to-day. The 
 doctrines of the cross are uttered, and straight- 
 
 way the soul cries out, "What shall I do to be 
 saved ?' 
 
 "A business man is strongly entrenched in world- 
 liness to-day; tomorrow he says, 'Sir, we would 
 see Jesus ;' and the next day he has sought his 
 neighbor. All past enmity is reconciled, and they 
 are kneeling together at the foot of the cross. How 
 soon God, by his power, can change the whole 
 moral aspect of a community, and direct into new 
 channels the currents of thought and feeling and 
 activity ! Every Christian here feels that surpris- 
 ing advance, which must be permanent, has been 
 made in the spiritual tone of this city. I was pres- 
 ent at the great Opera House last night, and saw 
 the four thousand, five hundred people gathered 
 there listening with rapt and tearful interest, hour 
 after hour, to the plainest Gospel truths from the 
 lips of Mr. Hammond, whom God has made a 
 pillar of light and power in all this work." 
 
 Of the first four of his nine weeks in San Fran- 
 cisco Mr. Crosby, a fellow townsman, thus wrote 
 to the Rockville (Conn.) Journal: "1 suppose I 
 shall not exceed the truth in stating that since ar- 
 riving in San Francisco Mr. Hammond has held 
 one hundred services, and spoken to fully one hun- 
 dred thousand people. I am not informed of the 
 number of conversions, but know they reach into 
 the thousands, and include among the number Jews, 
 infidels, heathens, harlots, backshders, business men, 
 California street brokers, and children in large 
 numbers, and, judging from the tone of the papers, 
 some of the reporters must have been somewhat 
 softened, if not changed. In fact, it has been a 
 general revival of religion among all classes and 
 conditions of men. Mr. Hammond has been blessed 
 abundantly, and he gives the whole glory to Christ ; 
 this seems to be his prevailing thought, 'Jetus does 
 it all'" 
 
 Rev. I. W. Hathaway, D. D., of New York, a 
 conservative minister in the Presbyterian Church, 
 at a meeting in Jersey City, in the Rev. J. L. Scud- 
 der's church, said that he believed that Mr. Ham- 
 mond had, during his long career as an evangelist, 
 been the agent under God of leading more souls to 
 Christ than any other person now present on the 
 face of the globe. "I say this," he repeated, "de- 
 liberately, and, I believe, intelligently, not except- 
 ing Mr. Moody or any evangelist, and if you will 
 fall in with his plans, and support him with your 
 prayers and efforts, you may have a rich blessing 
 from God here." 
 
 From his comfortable home, in the beautiful 
 city of Hartford, Evangelist Hammond still goes 
 forth with abiding strength on his soul-saving mis- 
 sion. He visited Charleston, S. C early in tb.e 
 year igoo, and from the News and Courier of that 
 city the following estimate of the elements of his 
 success are taken : 
 
 His place as a preacher. The cross of Christ is most 
 distinctly outlined in his own mind, and is, therefore, vividly 
 presented to his hearers. The substance of his sermons is^ 
 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 323 
 
 Tuin through sin and present full redL-mption throush Christ, 
 who was " wounded tor our transgn-ssions and bruisi-il tor 
 our iniquities." Tlie siibstituticm ol Christ in the snincr's 
 place, the full satisfaction lo Divine justice, the full justifi- 
 cation of the sinner in God's sight on account of the Savior's 
 work, and the believer's privilege to live ever in the light of 
 conscious acceptance with God, are the notes that he is 
 never weary of ringing in the people's ears. His powers of 
 illustration are remarkable. He is eminently successful in 
 picturing before his audience whatever scene he is trying to 
 impress on their minds. The attention of children, there- 
 fore, never flags, and his influence over them, through vivid 
 picturing of the plan of salvation, has been greatly bles.sed 
 alike to their instruction and salvation. The criticism that 
 might be founded on his too great urgency in bringing children 
 to an announcement of a decision for Christ is largely shorn of 
 its strength by the fact that he is as careful to make them in- 
 telligent as he is to make them decided. He gives them a 
 reason for the hope that he would have them entertain, ft 
 is his custom in separating the young converts from the 
 audience to have the pastors examine them asto the grounds 
 of their faith in Christ. Brief as this examination must tie, 
 he solemnly and distinctly urges that it is to be pointedly 
 made, and as clearly warns the children against the profes- 
 sion of a love for Christ for wliich they cannot give some 
 simple and Scriptural reason. His preaching, then, whether 
 to children or adults, consists in a clear, well-detined and 
 well-illustrated statement of the central doctrine of the 
 cross. His system of truth is cast in Biblical rather than 
 technical or theological forms. The personality of Jesus; 
 the Fatherhood of God, calling for confidence and filial love; 
 the joyfulness of Christ's service, and the certainty of its 
 re-wards in a real Heaven of endless progress and endless 
 work — these truths come from his lips with the freshness 
 and force which only a deep conviction of them can give 
 His manner of preaching is in harmony with the matter of 
 it. Buoyant, almost boyish, with a certain physical exuber- 
 ance, with a fine commingling of joyfulness and seriousness, 
 he commends his religion as something that will give relish 
 to this life as well as blessedness to the next. He is no 
 ascetic, removed from the people and shading their thoughts 
 with pictures of religious gloom. He brings a dash of Chris- 
 tian sunlight and a breath of free Christian courage and 
 hope with every sermon. Add to this his earnestness, which 
 never weakens; his directness of purpose, which never 
 swerves, and he is before us as an evangelist a large measure 
 of whose success is in his loyalty to the truth, his sense of its 
 power, his wisdom in presenting it, and his e.irnestness in 
 enforcing it as the very word of God— the diarter of Chris- 
 tian liberty and the guide to a happy Chiristian life and 
 work. 
 
 Another element of success is in his generalship. He 
 has singular tact in setting people to work. Many of our 
 later evangelists are gifted in this direction. Indeed, the 
 spirit of the time points to this as one of the coming meth- 
 ods. It was announced by Wesley long ago; "AUatitand 
 always at it." It was announced by Paul much longer ago 
 in his appeals to personal devotion. All great evangelists 
 are enthusiasts. Mr. Hammond owes much to a natural en- 
 thusiasm of mind. In any calling he would have been ardent, 
 impulsive, enthusiastic. 'This state of mind, sanctified by 
 grace, becomes mighty in religion. It discounts or deni-'S dis- 
 couragements, it transfigures hope, and in its beautiful light 
 turns it into success. It bridges streams and levels moun- 
 tains and batters down walls. It enables man to make the 
 most of himself, the most of his opportunities, the most of 
 the grace of God. It pictures above the clouds the ideal 
 result of the battle begun below. * * * 
 
 Mr. Hammond has written probably a hundred 
 books and tracts, among them beintj: The "Con- 
 version of Children." Jesus the Wax, Sketches of 
 Palestine, The Better Life and How to Find It, 
 Roger's Travels, "Stories for Children," "Gems of 
 Praise," etc. 
 
 Tlie following, from Rev. F. B. Mver, pastor 
 •of Christ Church, London, was published in the 
 
 "London Christian." He was the successor of Dr. 
 Xewman Hall. 
 
 When a young clerk in London, in a city counting house, 
 I was attracted to the service which Rev. E. Payson Ham- 
 mon<l was holding in the chapel of the venerated BajUist 
 Noel. I could ])ick out the seat to-day where I sat, and 1 
 can never forget the effect produced upon me. It was the 
 first breath of revival spirit which had ever swept across iny 
 heart, and it strangely touched me. The hymns have lin- 
 gered in my memory, and the scenes of children gathering 
 around that noble form are vivid as I write. Since then I 
 have eagerly read every scrap of news of .Mr. Ham- 
 mond's work as he lias carried the tidings of the Gosjiel to 
 the East and to the West, stirring with his words vast multi- 
 tudes of men. I am increasingly enamored of the work 
 among children. They have not to unlearn those habits of 
 doubts and misconception which hinder so many from 
 accepting the Gospel. It is natural for them to trust One 
 whom they can't see, to give him their choicest treasures, to 
 conform themselves to his sweet life. None but those who 
 have worked among children could creditthe readiness with 
 which they receive the Gospel. When they have received 
 it they are frank in confessing, and so are eager to win 
 others to Him whom they find so dear. There is everything 
 in our Saviour to charm and attract children, and His dear 
 Gospel does not present difficulties to their simple faith. 
 The Lord told us to become as little children that we might 
 enter His Kingdom. Truly, then, little children themselves 
 have not far to go; " only a step to Jesus." 
 
 With these thoughts in my heart, I was thoroughly 
 aroused when I saw that Mr. Hammond was again to visit Eng- 
 land. I had become pastor of a church with two thousand 
 young people under its care and with splendid school premises, 
 and I felt that I would spare no effort to induce him to visit 
 us. I knew how eagerly his services would be caught up, 
 but I never rested till I got a favorable reply. Even though 
 I had but a short notice we were able to give him large 
 audiences of children, in addition to the general services for 
 adults. Mr. Hammond has a wonderful influence over chil- 
 dren. I have wondered where the secret lay. His stories 
 are wonderful, but others could tell them. His hymns are 
 sweet, but others could sing them. His methods are good, 
 but others can employ them. And yet, when all this is put 
 together, a marvelous effect is produced. I think his prin- 
 cipal power consists in the presentation of the sufferings of 
 Christ for sinful men, given with d rect dependence on the 
 Holy Spirit. It is impossible to judge of the effect of an 
 address during the meeting. Sometimes, when it would 
 seem as if no special impression had been made, yet seat 
 after seat is full of children, anxious to know how to give 
 their hearts to Christ. 
 
 One little boy, when bidden to go home by a worker 
 who thought him too young to understand, burst into tears 
 and said he was waiting for some one to speak to him about 
 Jesus Christ. Others who went away under deep conviction, 
 came again and again, until some evening their faces would 
 beam with new found joy. And there were many cases in 
 which they brought their little friends to get the blessing 
 which they themselves had received. In my young Chris- 
 tians' class, which was swollen by large accessions of dear 
 young converts, scores of hands were held up by those who 
 had the delight of leading their companions to Christ. Tes- 
 timonials have come in to me from parents and teachers. In 
 some cases the whole of the class has been brought to Jesus. 
 There is hardly one in which there are not cases of deep 
 impression and conversion. The altered lives at home are 
 sweet testimonies to the genuiness of the work done. I am 
 more than satisfied with the results. The teachers urge me 
 to hold an after meeting at the close of the Sunday-school 
 each Sunday afternoon, that the fire may not die down, and 
 that the oil may not stay for the want of vessels to store it. 
 
 After a week of these blessed services Mr. Hammond 
 passed on to the other churches, where similar results have 
 accrued. (Between four and five hundred have given in 
 their names, professing to be converted.) At the close of 
 one of the services a teacher was found at the end of a pew 
 bathed in tears, because she feared that her class of young 
 
§24 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ladies was going away unsaved. Sureiy tears like these are 
 dear to Him who wept over those whom He would fain 
 have gathered under the wmgs of His love. Nor were they 
 without effect, for they awakened a deep concern m her 
 scholars' hearts, who hnally yielded to the love of Christ. 
 I know many Cl?iristians whose hearts have been quickened 
 by work among the children, and who will never cease to 
 thank God that Mr. Hammond was ever led to visit England. 
 From what 1 have seen of Mr. Hammond and his work I 
 almost grudge him to ordinary evangelistic services. He 
 has great power over a large mixed audience. But this is a 
 field which is trodden by so many stalwart reapers. I should 
 like him to go up and down through England and America 
 gathering large multitudes of children and people for the Sa- 
 viour. Surely the results of such a campaign could never be 
 estimated. It's benefits would be found in thousands of homes 
 and churches for the next generation, and might furnish 
 hosts of ministers, evangelists and missionaries for the 
 Church of Christ. It seems to me that no work would bring 
 wider or quicker returns, for it is possible in the same time 
 to win about ten children for every individual adult. I 
 would not write thus if Mr. Hammond were constantly work- 
 ing on the feelings or upon the fears of the children. The 
 appeal is made to their love and to their sense of what He 
 deserves from them, who bore their sins in His body on the 
 tree. 
 
 Mr. Hammond is a gentleman of marked per- 
 sonality. He has a nervous temperament, with 
 quick observation, keen perception, and intuitive 
 judgment. Physically, as well as mentally, he is 
 alert and active, possesses a thoroughly vigorous 
 constitution, with pleasing and impressive features. 
 He is esteemed, at home and abroad, no less for 
 his high personal traits than for his distinguished 
 services in the advancement of Christianity through- 
 out the world. 
 
 MRS. ELIZA (OVERTON) HAMMOND, of 
 Hartford. "In May, 1866, Rev. Edward P. Ham- 
 mond was married to Miss Eliza Overton, of 
 Towanda, Penn., who still retains the grace and 
 personal charm for which her maternal ancestry of 
 Revolutionary time were famous." 
 
 Mrs. Hammond, who is a native of Towanda, 
 Penn., is the daughter of the late Edward Overton, 
 one of the foremost lawyers of Pennsylvania, and 
 of Eliza Clymer, among whose ancestry are some 
 of the most distinguished names in American his- 
 tory, including such men as Hon. George Clymer, 
 Hon. Thomas Willing, Hon. Reese Meredith, and 
 Hon. Samuel Carpenter. 
 
 Edward Overton, the father of our subject, was 
 ■born Dec. 30, 1795, in Clitheroe, Lancashire, Eng- 
 land. He received a good English and classical 
 education, and was prepared to commence the study 
 of law, entering the office of his uncle, Giles Bleas- 
 dale, a very eminent English lawyer, wdio took a 
 great interest in the welfare of his nephew. Be- 
 fore the expiration of the five years for which time 
 he was articled to his uncle, he came to America, 
 settling first in Wilkes Barre, Penn. He was there 
 examined by a committee of the best legal talent 
 of the district, and, ■'hough not twenty-one years 
 of age, was admitted to practice at the Court of 
 Common Pleas of the State, showing at that time 
 that he was possessed of a natural legal acumen 
 
 and a sound knowledge of law. When twenty- 
 five years of age he began practice. He located ii:i 
 Towanda, where he resided until his .death. He 
 was soon admitted to the Supreme Court, and rose 
 rapidly to a foremast rank as an attorney. He was 
 actively engaged in the practice of law for more 
 than fifty years, and at the time of his death was 
 the oldest member of the local Bar. Probably the 
 proudest success of his long brilliant career lay in 
 the fact that his character for honor and honesty 
 was absolutely above suspicion. In his old age he 
 was surrounded by all the accessories of culture and 
 refinement that his earlier education and tastes fitted 
 him to enjoy. He also understood the "giving 
 which does not impoverish," and his hand was 
 ever open to relieve the poor and suffering. Soon 
 after locating" at Towanda he united with the Pres- 
 byterian Church of that place, a.nd to the church and 
 schools was munificent in aid, as well as to any 
 enterprise that had for its object the elevation of 
 society. In 1818 Mr. Overton was married to Eliza, 
 daughter of Henry Clymer, of Philadelphia. 
 
 The genealogy of Mrs. Eliza (Overton) Ham- 
 mond in maternal lines is as follows: She. is a 
 descendant in the sixth generation from Richard 
 Clymer, a native of Bristol, and a shipping mer- 
 chant, who came to this country from England, 
 the line of her descent being through Christopher, 
 George, Henry and Eliza Clymer. 
 
 (Ill) George Clymer was born June 11, 1739- 
 One writer has said: "George Clymer was one 
 of the men who made the success of the Revolu- 
 tion possible, without the display which made many 
 men more prominent. From the first shot fired at 
 Bunker Hill, to the final adoption of the Constitu- 
 tion, he was indefatigable in his efforts for his 
 country's good. Unlike many men who gained fame 
 in these tim^s, Clvmer was a man of wealth, with 
 a prominent social position, and with nothing to gain 
 by revolution save the glory of his country's inde- 
 pendence. He did not urge the war, and earnestly 
 hoped for a peaceful adjustment of the dift'erence, 
 but, once commenced, he eagerly sought means of 
 aiding the struggle to victory, and at one time 
 pledged his entire fortune to the support of the army, 
 when the weak-kneed Continental Congress would 
 have gladly abandoned everything" for an assurance 
 of personal bodily safety. Clymer was prominent in 
 the convention called to adopt a constitution, and sat 
 in the first Congress. He once said his guidin,g 
 political text was: 'A representative of the people 
 should think for his constituents, and not with his 
 constituents.' He was the founder and first presi- 
 dent of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 
 and a director and large investor in the Bank of the 
 United States." His wife, Elizabeth Meredith, was 
 the daughter of Reese Meredith, and granddaughter 
 of Reese Meredith, the latter and his wife, J\[. 
 Wynne, coming to this country from Wales. Reese 
 Meredith (2) was born in Leominster, Hereford- 
 shire, Great Britain, in 1 708. He married Martha 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 825 
 
 C. Carpenter, and resided in Pennsylvania from 
 1729 to 1709. He died Nov. 14, 1778, at Phila- 
 delphia, in the winter of 1777-7^ he gave £5,000 
 to feed and clothe the perishing and starving 
 soldiers at \'alley Forge. He was the first person 
 to introduce Gen. (then Col.j Washington into 
 Philadelphia society. [Smith's "Lloyd and Carpen- 
 ter Lineage," Family AIss.] 
 
 Thomas Willing was the son of Charles and 
 Ann (Shippen) Willing, and grandson of Thomas 
 and Anne (Harrison) Willing, and was born in 
 Philadelphia Dec. 19, 1731. Fie married Ann Mc- 
 Call. Thomas \Villing was to have been one of 
 the signers of the Declaration of Lidepcndence, and 
 in the picture of Trumbull he is seen seated by Rob- 
 ert Morris ; and in the names given his appears. 
 Anne Willing and her sisters, daughters of Thomas 
 Willing (2), were the belles of Continental Phila- 
 delphia. Royalty even bowed before them, for when 
 Louis Philipne was an exile in this country 
 he went to Mr. Willing to ask his permis- 
 sion to address himself to his daughter Abby. 
 The fatlier rather bluntly assured him that, "if you 
 are one day restored to your kingdom and your 
 'crown, you are much too great a match for her; 
 if you are not, she is much too great a match 
 for you." Washington was a great admirer of Anne 
 Willing, and under her guidance made his advent 
 into Philadelphia society. Stuart's famous paint- 
 ing of the General was made for her. After 'ner 
 daughter became Lady Ashburton, she had a posi- 
 tion in London quite as prominent as she had for- 
 merly enjoyed in Philadelphia, and the house of 
 Baring obtained its enormous American following 
 largely through her influence. Through the Will- 
 ings our subject is connected with Mrs. John Jacob 
 Astor, of New York, and through the Willings 
 and Clymers with the family of the late Thomas 
 Bayard, former Secretary of State. Suie traces her 
 ancestry through the Willing family back twenty- 
 two generations to Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, 
 and she has papers showing the lineage in detail. 
 Mrs. Eliza (Overton) Hammond, our subject 
 proper, was liberally educated. She has passed 
 nearly five years in Europe, and has stood in the 
 presence of Royalty. She accompanied Mr. Ham- 
 mond to Alaska. In "The Reaper and the Harvest," 
 a large volume giving an account of Mr. Ham- 
 mond's work, frequent allusion is made to her 
 assistance. 
 
 CHARLES BOARDMAN SMITH. In a 
 brief sketch of any living citizen it is difficult to do 
 him exact justice, not so much, however, from lack 
 of space or words to set forth the familiar and pass- 
 ing events of his personal historv, as from the 
 want of the perfect and rounded conception of his 
 whole life, which grows, ripens, developing like 
 fruit, to disclose its true and best flavor only when 
 ic is mellowed by time. Daily contact with the man 
 so familiarizes us with his many virtues that we 
 
 ordinarily overlook them, and commonly underes- 
 timate their ixjssessor. Nevertheless, while the man 
 l^asses away his deeds of virtue live on, and will in 
 due time bear fruit, and do him the justice which 
 the i>en fails to record. 
 
 -Mr. Smith was a native of the city of Hartford, 
 born July 31. 181 1, a son of Normand and Mary 
 (Boardman) Smith, who were of English descent. 
 He received his education at Lenox, Mass., and at 
 the age of twenty-two went to New Orleans, where 
 he embarked in business as a member of the firm 
 of Smith, Hubbard & Co., which was established in 
 1816, as a branch of the Hartford house, the latter 
 having been started in 1794 by Normand Smith, 
 the father of our subject. 
 
 From an article published in the Hartford 
 Coumiit of Dec. 5, 1894, we quote the following: 
 "In the Connecticut Courant of Aug. 11, 1794, the 
 following advertisement appeared : 
 
 NORMAND SMITH. 
 
 Six rods north of the Court House, most respectfully 
 informs ttie public, and his friends in particular, that he 
 carries on the saddlery business in all its branches. Also 
 makes Horseman's caps, Holsters, &c. He would in par- 
 ticular inform the ladies that he can furnish them Side Sad- 
 dles, made in the newest fashion calculated both for ease and 
 beauty. 
 
 Those who will please favor him with their custom may 
 depend on having their work done with neatness, fidelity 
 and dispatch, and on most reasonable terms by their humble 
 servant, 
 
 Normand Smith. 
 
 Hartford, August i), 1794. 
 
 "This brings out a striking pecularity of the 
 house, the fact that over one hundred years of its 
 existence was spanned by two generations, father 
 and son. It is doubtful if another such instance 
 can be chronicled in the country. Since that be- 
 ginning by Normand Smith the business of the firm 
 has continued uninterruptedly, and to-day enjoys 
 the distinction of being the oldest house of its line 
 in the country, and the oldest house in any line 
 in the city of Hartford. The style of the firin has 
 been successively: Normand Smith, 1794; Siuith, 
 Sheldon & Bigelow, 1818: Smith & Bigelow, 1822; 
 N. & T. Smith. 1824: N. 6t T. Smith & Co.. 1825; 
 Smith & Co., 1830: T. Smith & Co., 1835." 
 
 Charles B. Smith returned to Hartford from 
 New Orleans, in 1835, and began a long and suc- 
 cessful business career in the firm of T. Smith & Co.. 
 which afterward became Smith, Bourn & Co., of 
 which he was the senior partner. In 1870 he with- 
 drew from the New Orleans house of Smith & 
 Brother, as the firm was there called ; but prior to 
 this he had opened a branch of the Hartford house 
 in New York under the firm name of T. Smith & 
 Co., which is now located at No. 40 Warren street, 
 the firm becoming C. B. Smith & Co., now Smith. 
 Worthington & Co. Benjamin A. Bourn, of the firm 
 of Smith, Bourn & Co., died in November. 1897. 
 and Jan. i, 1900. tlic parttiership existing under that 
 name was discontinued, Mr. Smith and Olcott B. 
 
S26 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Colton taking the business, and entering into a co- 
 partnership as successors to Smith, Bourn & Co., 
 at the same time retaining the old-time name of 
 the house. Mr. Smith, who had been in business 
 continuously for sixty-seven years, maintained 
 through life an unimpaired credit for himself and 
 his firm, standing- in honorable repute among the 
 business houses of the country. 
 
 Mr. Smith was twice married, the first time 
 Nov. 5, 1844, to Miss Frances M. Humphrey, 
 daughter of Lemuel Humphrey, of Hartford, and 
 after her decease he wedded, Oct. 3, 1855, Miss 
 Eliza A. Thayer, daughter of Deacon Lucius F. 
 .and Lydia (Ellsworth) Thayer, of Westfield, Mass., 
 the former of whom died in 1843, at the age 
 of. forty-six years, and the. latter, a native of East 
 Windsor, Hartford county, died at the age of 
 eighty-three years. Of the six children born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Thayer, five are yet living, namely : 
 Mrs. Andrew T. Hale, of Minneapolis, Minn. ; Mrs. 
 Samuel S. Sprague, of Providence, R. I. ; Mrs. 
 Chester D. Davison, of Hartford ; Mrs. Charles B. 
 Smith, of Hartford ; and Lucius F., on the old fam- 
 ily home in Westfield, Mass. One daughter survives 
 Mr. Smith, Mrs. Frances Eliza Miller, wife of Ira 
 Miller, of Westfield, Mass. They have four children 
 — Charles Boardman, James R., Preston T., and 
 Susan E. Two sisters and two brothers of Mr. 
 .Smith also survive him: Mrs. Caroline A. Morris, 
 of Binghamton, N. Y. ; Miss Mary Ann, of Hart- 
 ford ; Morris W. anrl J. Trumbull, both of New 
 York, and all are now well advanced in life. Two 
 brothers. Deacon Thomas Smith, formerly of Hart- 
 ford, and Rev. James Allwood Smith, formerly of 
 Unionville, Conn., died in 1882, while another 
 brother. Surgeon Andrew Kingsbury Smith, of the 
 United States army, who was retired with the rank 
 of Colonel in February, 1890, died in August, 1899. 
 The family was originally a numerous one, com- 
 prising as it did fifteen children, Charles B., of 
 whom we write, being ninth in the order of birth. 
 
 Charles B. Smith died Feb. 5, 1900, after a 
 twelve-days' illness from "la grippe," and his la- 
 mented death removed a notable figure from the 
 ■city of Hartford, where for man_v- years he was 
 known as a man of great executive ability, and 
 where his work was in every way a memorable one. 
 He was one of the most successful business men in 
 Hartford, and by his employes, one and all, he was 
 much beloved and held in great reverence, his fu- 
 neral being attended by many of them, as well as 
 ty a large number of mourning friends and rela- 
 tives. In 1875 he erected the handsome family 
 residence at No. 66 Forest street, one of the finest 
 in Hartford. 
 
 In church matters Mr. Smith was the oldest 
 member of any society in Hartford, having been 
 connected originally with the Pearl Street Congre- 
 gational Church, and later, from 1866 to the time 
 of his decease, with the Asylum Hill Congrega- 
 tional Church. In politics he was an ardent Re- 
 
 publican, but at no time an office seeker, declining' 
 all positions that might call him from the activ- 
 ities of his chosen field. Years ago, in Hartford, 
 he was identified with the Governor's Foot Guard, 
 and for a long time was an honored member of the 
 Board of Trade. Mr. Smith was buried in Cedar 
 Hill cemetery, Hartford. 
 
 HENRY J. EATON, chief of the fire depart- 
 ment of Hartford, was born in that city Oct. 10, 
 1 83 1, of good Colonial stock. His ancestors were 
 early settlers in Tolland county, Conn., and his 
 grandfather, Solomon Eaton, a Revolutionary sol- 
 dier, was a farmer there. This worthy patriot served 
 three years as a dragoon and two in the infantry, 
 and notwithstanding the fact that he was shot 
 through the hips at the battle of Monmouth, he lived 
 to the advanced age of eighty-six, our subject hav- 
 ing seen him once, in 1841. He had five sons : 
 Jasper; Zared, who was a baker in Hartford in 
 1812 and up to 1853; Ralph; Luther, father of ex- 
 Senator W. Eaton ; and Alamander. 
 
 Alamander Eaton, our subject's father, was born 
 and reared on the old homestead m Tolland. In 
 1 816 he went to Hartford, where he was employed 
 some time by William H. Imlay (a miller, who 
 ground flour for local customers) and Henry Hud- 
 son, and later worked on a farm. He died in Hart- 
 ford aged seventy-three years. By his first marriage 
 he had three children : Luther, George and Eliza- 
 beth. His second wife, whose maiden name was 
 Mary Ann Williams, died in 1880 at the age of 
 eighty-four. She was a member of Dr. Hawes' 
 Church, the pastor being one of the well-known 
 preachers of the locality in his time, and our sub- 
 ject was christened there in 1836. Mrs. Eaton was 
 one of the family of nine children of William A. 
 Williams, who served four years in the Revolu- 
 tionary warr Mr. and Mrs. Eaton had three chil- 
 dren : George, deceased ; Mary Ann, widow of 
 James Sperry ; and Henry J., our subject. 
 
 Henr}^ J. Eaton's education was begun in the 
 public schools of Hartford, but the most valuable 
 portion is that which has been gained by observa- 
 tion and private study.' When eleven 3'ears old he 
 left home, and spent some time in West Hartford, 
 but on Dec. 3, 1848, he returned to Hartford to take 
 a position as a gold beater with Ashmead & Hurl- 
 but. In 1864 the firm dissolved, and he continued 
 until 1870 with Ashmead, the length of his service 
 indicating something of his ability and the appre- 
 ciation of his employers. From April i, 1861, to 
 October, 1868, Mr. Eaton was sexton of Christ 
 Church. His connection with the Hartford fire de- J 
 partment began on Saturday, April 5, 1851, as a ■ 
 fireman with Protection Engine Company, No. i, 
 and in April, 1853, he enlisted with damper Engine 
 No. 4. On April i, 1854, he returned to No. i, 
 being selected assistant foreman. He was elected 
 foreman in June, 1854, and re-elected in 1855, but 
 in 1856 he retired "to the ranks," where he served 
 
{^j^^^:2y6^r7^L^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 327 
 
 until June 5, 1858, ihc date of his election as fifth 
 assistant engineer of the Hartford fire department. 
 At the time there were six hand engines, two hose 
 companies, independent of engines, one sack and 
 bucket company, and one hook and ladder company. 
 Each engine com])any had fortv regulars and ten 
 voliuiteers ; each hose company ten regulars and 
 ten volunteers ; anil the hook and ladder and sack 
 and bucket companies each forty regulars and ten 
 volunteers. The company drew $210 from the city, 
 and an appropriation from the common council 
 gave them $12 per quarter additional, "for refresh- 
 ments." Mr. Eaton served as fifth assistant until 
 i860, when he was elected fourth assistant, and 
 two years later he became second assistant, which 
 position he held from July i, i8C)2, to June, 1864. 
 He was then elected first assistant engineer, and 
 ■on Dec. i, 1864, when the department was placed 
 upon a paid basis, he was elected first assistant 
 •engineer. 
 
 In 1868 Mr. Eaton was elected chief. At that 
 time they had four steamers, and one hook and 
 ladder company and two hose companies aside from 
 those attached to the steamer. On Jan. i, 1872, 
 ■engine Company No. 5 was organized, with a 
 steamer and hose carriage, and a house built for 
 them. On April i, 1873. engine company I\'o. 6 
 was organized, and in 1882 one of the hose compa- 
 nies was disbanded, the other the same time being 
 equipped with horses. On Jan. i, 1896, engine 
 companies X"os. 7 and 8 were put into service, each 
 ■with thirteen men. The hose wagon with horses 
 •was changed to a chemical engine in November, 
 1896, its station being at the headquarters on Pearl 
 ■street. It is known as the Halloway chemical No. 
 9, and has two tanks of fiftv gallons each. On ^larch 
 I, 1876, a propeller was given to engine company 
 Ko. 3, with a force of fourteen men instead of 
 thirteen. In 1879 company No. 4 was given a pro- 
 peller, and in August, 1889, No. 3 was given charge 
 of the great engine "Jumbo," a horseless machine 
 -weighing 17,000 pounds, and carrying 100 gallons 
 of water and 700 pounds of coal. It can throw 
 1,200 gallons per minute, being one of the largest 
 in the countrv, and is capable of going at the rate 
 of twenty miles an hour under its own steam. In 
 December. 1899, the working force of No. 3 was 
 reduced to eight men, all paid. The department has 
 two truck companies in one house, in December, 
 1899, organized into paid companies, fifteen men 
 altogether, under full (jay. The department also 
 lias two combination hose wagons carrying two 
 •chemcal tanks of thirty-five gallons capacity each, 
 and a 1,000 foot hose — No. 10, which is kept at 
 Bond street, and No. 11, stationed in Parkville ; 
 they employ four paid men. During the official life 
 of the chief seven houses have been built, the head- 
 quarters having been erected in 1870 on the site 
 of one built in 1837, and used for the sack and 
 "bucket company. Mr. Eaton has served as chief 
 longer than any other man in this country, and 
 
 has given deep thouglit to the problems connected 
 vsith the work of fighting the fire fiend. In 1896 
 he represented the Hartford fire department at the 
 International Tournament in London, England, and 
 visited may cities on the continent, studying the 
 practical workines of various systems. In politics 
 Mr. Eaton is a Democrat, but votes for the best 
 men in local elections. Socially he and his family 
 are much esteemed, and he belongs to St. John's 
 Lodge No. 4, F. & A. M., and was in 1854 a mem- 
 ber of Hyperion Lodge, I. O. O. F., which was 
 disbanded in 1855. 
 
 On April 14, 1856, Mr. Eaton married Miss 
 Lurana Haynes, who died aged forty-eight years, 
 and in 1884 he formed a second union, with Mrs. 
 Caroline (Aldridge) Ramsden, a native of Oxford, 
 England. P.y his first marriage he had thirteen chil- 
 dren, only one of whom survives, Nellie H., who 
 married the late Thomas R. Laughton, and has three 
 children. By the second marriage he has one daugh- 
 ter, Alice, now attending school in Hartford. 
 
 LEMUEL T. FRISBIE, who was for inany 
 years a prominent business man of Hartford, was 
 born Feb. 7, 1824, in Pdoomfield, Conn., of an ex- 
 cellent familv long identified with agricultural pur- 
 suits. His father, Enoch Frisbie, followed farming 
 in Bloomfield and Berlin, and later removed to 
 Springfield, Mass., where he died at th; age of 
 sixtv-six years. The mother, whose maiden name 
 was' Eliza Taylor, was born in England. This wor- 
 thy couple had seven children, of whom two are 
 living: Thomas; and Sarah, who married Franklin 
 F. Smith, of West Springfield, Massachusetts. 
 
 Lemuel T. Frisbie was reared among the whole- 
 some influences of farm life, and his education was 
 obtained chiefly in the common schools of Bloom- 
 field, and at the Connecticut Literary Institute. Suf- 
 field. He was engaged in the meat business in 
 \Mndsor for some time, and in 1865 removed to 
 Hartford, where he purchased the business of Mr. 
 Cowles, a dealer in hides and tallow and manu- 
 facturer of tallow candles. For a number of years 
 he had a partner, Eber Gridley, but on his death 
 'Mr. Frisbie continued the business alone. In 1881 
 his son, Charles G., became a partner, under the 
 firm name of L. T. Frisbie & Son. The son died 
 Nov. 21. 1893, and the father passed away Dec. 3. 
 of that vear, their death being deeply mourned 
 among a wide circle of acquaintances. At the time 
 of his death i\lr. Frisbie was among the oldest busi- 
 ness men in the city, and in the course of his long 
 career he had become interested in various enter- 
 prises, notably the P.oard of Trade. He built a 
 number of houses in Windsor, where he resided for 
 a time after his marriage, but in 1874 the family re- 
 moved to Hartford, and his widow now occupies 
 their pleasant residence at Xo. 800 .Asylum avenue. 
 Mr. Frisbie was a Republican in politics, and served 
 at one time on the common council of Hartford. 
 He was identified with the Y. M. C. A., and with the 
 
S28 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Asylum Hill Church, in which he held various 
 important offices, including that of chairman of the 
 society's committee. 
 
 On April 6, 1848, Mr. Frisbie married Miss 
 Caroline E. Gillette, a native of Windsor, and a 
 descendant of Cornelius Gillette, who came from 
 England in 1635, and settled in Dorchester, Mass. 
 Her grandfather, Daniel Gillette, a Revolutionary 
 soldier, and a deacon in the Congregational Church, 
 followed farming in Windsor, where he died in 1824. 
 By his first wife he had four children, and by his 
 second wife he had three. Oliver S. Gillette, father 
 of Mrs. Frisbie, was born and reared in Windsor, 
 and was engaged throughout his active career in 
 operating a sawmill and gristmill, in conn^-ction 
 with farming. He died aged forty-five years, in 
 the midst of a promising career. His first wife, 
 Eliza Pickett, a native of Suffield, died July 18, 1829, 
 aged thirty-two years, and of their three daughters 
 JNIrs. Frisbie is now the only survivor. By his sec- 
 ond wife, Sarah Belden, he had two chilclren, both 
 now deceased. 
 
 jN'Irs. Frisbie and her family hold an enviable 
 position in social life, and they have been among 
 the most active supporters of the Asylum Avenue 
 Church. She was reared in the Congregational 
 faith, her parents having been members of the 
 church, and her sympathy and aid are freely given 
 to any worthy cause. Of her four children only 
 one is living, Ella Tajdor, who was married, Oct. 
 14, 1874, to George H. Woolley, junior member of 
 the firm of George W." Woolley & Son. the well- 
 known casket manufacturers of Hartford. Mr. 
 Woolley was born and reared in that city, and for 
 some time was connected with the banking inter- 
 ests there and in the West before engaging in busir 
 ness with his father. Mr. and Mrs. Woolley reside 
 with Mrs. Frisbie, and their four children, Arthur 
 Gillette, G. Clarence, Fred F. and Carolyn M., 
 make the old home bright. 
 
 Charles G. Frisbie (mentioned above), who died 
 aged forty years, was a successful business man, 
 taking the leading part in the work ,of the firm in 
 later years, and for some vears he was a- member 
 of the Board of Trade. He married Miss Isabelle 
 Wells, and thev had three sons, Leonard W., 
 Charles and Robert. 
 
 SANFORD F. BRONSON. Among the best 
 known successful business men, connected with in- 
 surance circles in the New England States, may be 
 mentioned the subject of this sketch, general agent 
 in the State of Connecticut for the Hartford Life 
 Insurance Co., with office in the Home Co.'s build- 
 ing, corner of Am and As3dum streets, Flartford. 
 He was born in St. Albans, Vt., Sept. 29, 1839, a 
 son of William H. Bronson, who was born in 
 North Hero, Vt., and a grandson of Lyman Bron- 
 son, a native of Litchfield, Connecticut. 
 
 The ancestor of this family was one of three 
 brothers who came from Scotland to this country, 
 
 locating in Connecticut. The great-grandfather of 
 our subject removed to Vermont, where his son 
 Lyman (grandfather of Sanford F.) spent his life 
 in agricultural pursuits, dying at the advanced age of 
 eighty-six years. He was a man of ability and in- 
 telligence, and occupied a place of prominence in the 
 town where he resided, being a justice of the peace, 
 also holding other offices of- trust, and transacting' ■_ 
 a large amount of business for the people of the *j 
 town, where he was most highly respected. He 
 married Jeannette Strong, who was born on North 
 Island, Vt., and represented an early family of that 
 State. Seven children were born to this union, all 
 of whom lived to advanced ages : David, Uriah, 
 Esther, Carlisle, Polly, Hannah, and William H., 
 who is the only survivor. Of this family, two daugh- 
 ters, Esther and Carlisle, died in the same week, 
 Esther at the age of ninety-eight, and Carlisle when \ 
 ninety-six. The mother of these died at the age of j 
 ninety-two. She was a member of the M. E. Church, 
 as was also her husband. He was a member of 
 a militia company that fought at the battle of 
 Plattsburg. 
 
 William H. Bronson was reared on the old farm, 
 and educated in the common schools. Later learn- 
 ing the trade of tanner and currier, he worked at 
 same for some years as a journeyman at St. Al- 
 bans, after which he purchased a farm which he 
 carried on for a number of years, and where he now 
 lives retired. He is a man of prominence in the 
 town, and at one time was a captain in the local 
 militia. He is a Republican, and, while holding no 
 office, has always taken an active interest in political 
 matters, and is a man well informed upon all issues 
 of the day. Although over ninety years of age he 
 enjoys good health, and spends his summers with 
 his son Sanford F., at his beautiful cottage at Nian- 
 tic, Connecticut. 
 
 Throughout the section in which he lives the 
 name of "Capt." Bronson is a household word, 
 and he enjoys the highest respect and esteem of the 
 entire community. 
 
 AVilliam H. Bronson married Harriet Smith, 
 who was born in St. Albans, Vt., a daughter of 
 Josiah Smith, a farmer, and a model man of that 
 section, where he was a pioneer and one of the 
 most successful agriculturists. He died there at 
 the age of sixty-eight. His wife, Sarah (Whitte- 
 more), also represented a verv earlv family. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Smith reared a family of six children, two 
 of whom, Jackson and Lucius, are still living at 
 St. Albans, Vt. Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Bronson had 
 six children, five of whom grew up, and three are 
 still living: Sanford F. ; Sarah J. (Mrs. Brigham), 
 who resides near her father ; and Edwin, residing- 
 with his father on the homestead. George, the eld- 
 est of the famly, was a magnetic healer, and per- 
 formed some wonderful cures, among them being 
 that of a case of paralysis of the arm and hand of 
 our subject's wife, which he restored to its originaJ 
 functions. Indeed he was celebrated throughout 
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^PV^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^I 
 
 
 HHN'^^^I 
 
 ^r^r#A -^^M 
 
 
 Bjj^^^B'^',. ^:' ^^^^^^^^^■ 
 
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^V ^^^^^ '' ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^1 
 
 k 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ?i> 
 
 all that region on account of his marvelous success. 
 He tlied at the age of fifty-eight. \\ . Elbert, the 
 younger brother, who always lived on the farm, 
 died at the age of twenty-one. The mother passed 
 away aged seventy-seven ; she was a member of 
 the AI. E. Church, as is her husband. 
 
 Sanford E. Bronson, the subject of this sketch, 
 spent his early years in A'ermont, was educated in 
 the common and high schools, entered upon a mer- 
 cantile career, and later became a salesman upon the 
 road, for a Boston firm, in 1879 J\Ir. Bronson came 
 to Hartford, where he took an office in the Hartford 
 Life Insurance Co.'s building, and for the next 
 three vears, through energetic work, laid the foun- 
 dation for his present extensive business. During 
 this time he averaged $1,000 per day, writing 
 $1,000,000 worth of business in three years, a record 
 that has never been reached by any agent, and as a 
 reward for his success he was made general agent 
 for the company and given the State of Connecticut 
 as a field, with full power to employ such agents as 
 he might see fit, and handle the territory according 
 to his own ideas. He asked no salary from the 
 company, having faith in his own ability to the ex- 
 tent that he believed ne could, upon a reasonable 
 coinmission, make a success for both himself and the 
 company. This point he has demonstrated beyond 
 all cpiestion of doubt, and durino- the twenty years 
 now closing (1900) he has written, together with 
 the assistance of an able corps of agents, $20,000,- 
 000 of business, or an average of $1,000,000 for each 
 year, and has in force to-day over $14,000,000. 
 For manv years he did the largest amount of busi- 
 ness of any general agent connected with this com- 
 pany. He has under him a force of over fifty men, 
 manv of whom have been trained by himself per- 
 sonalh', which is the secret of their success. Of 
 the officers of this companv he is the oldest, and he 
 has seen five presidents at the head of that insti- 
 tution, including the present one. 
 
 On Sept. 18, 1864, ]\rr. Bronson married Jane 
 AMlbur. who was born in Lawrenceville, St. Law- 
 rence Co.. X. Y., a daughter of Erastus AA'ilbur, a 
 prominent farmer of that town, who died at the 
 age of over eight v years. His wife died young, 
 ^Irs. Bronson being left an orphan when two years 
 old, and she then made her home with T. P. Phelps 
 up to the time of his death. He owned a farm of 
 800 acres, near where she was born, and after his 
 death our subject purchased it, and it is now one 
 of the finest farms in the State of \'ermont : upon it 
 are kept some sixty head of cattle and a number 
 of horses. ]\Irs. Bronson personally superintends 
 this farm, doing most of the buying and selling, and, 
 together with her son. giving the general directions 
 in regard to its cultivation. 
 
 To ^Ir. and Mrs. Bronson have been born three 
 children : ( i ) Hattie A. married Harry A. Thomp- 
 son, and by him had three children. William E. and 
 Sanford, now lieing educated in the Cheshire 2^Iili- 
 tary School, and Sadie. After Mr. Thompson's 
 
 death, which occurred in 1889. Mrs. Thompson niar- 
 rieil I-"rank M. Fuller, who is emijloyed in Mr. 1 Iron- 
 son's oflice. (2) Sadie died at the age of nineteen. 
 (3) Henry S., who was educated in the common and 
 high schools, married Anna l'". Haynes, of Xiantic, 
 and thev are now witli Mrs. Bronson on the farm. 
 In politics Mr. Bronson is a Republican. l)ul has 
 declined all offices. He takes a great interest in the 
 L'nitarian Church, is one of the trustees of the chiuxh 
 fund, and was one of the agitators of the movements 
 which resulted in this society erecting the present 
 magnificent block on Pratt street, Hartford, known 
 as the Cnity block. He is a member of the F. & 
 A. M. An extensive reader, he is thoroughly 
 I)osted on all the topics of the day ; of affable manner, 
 and genial nature, he has won for himself a host of 
 friends : and by close application to business, believ- 
 ing firmly in the principles of life insurance, he has 
 succeeded to a degree far in advance of most men. 
 Beginning as he did at the bottom of the ladder, 
 his example is indeed one well worthy of emulation. 
 
 JAMES F. HOLDEX. the courteous and popu- 
 lar postmaster at Forestville. Hartford county, is a 
 native of Connecticut, having been born Feb. 21, 
 1857, in Terryville, in Litchfield county. 
 
 Felix Holden, the father of our subject, was 
 born in County Cavan. Ireland, August 12. 18,^2. a 
 son of Owen and Catherine (Riley) Holden, both 
 also natives of Ireland, the former of whom died 
 there, the latter coming to .\merica and passing- the 
 rest of her days in Bristol. Their son Felix, when a 
 voung man, came to America, settling in Connecti- 
 cut, and for over fifty years he has been an honored 
 resident of Bristol. For twenty years he was em- 
 ployed by the Bristol Brass & Clock Co.. as en- 
 gineer and watchman, and lie is now engaged in 
 farming. Mr. Holden married Jane Farley, born 
 Oct. 12, 1837, daughter of Philip Farley, who emi- 
 grated to America from Ireland, and spent the rest 
 of his life in Bristol, Conn., where for many years 
 he was employed in the copper mines. To Felix and 
 Jane (Farley) Holden came children as follows: 
 Catherine }»Iarie. born Julv 21, 1855, is the wife of 
 P. T. Martin, of Bristol : James Francis is our sub- 
 ject: Felix Joseph, born Xov. 11, 1859, is a cigar- 
 maker by trade, and resides at home : Marv Eliza- 
 beth, born Jan. 30. i86r. was married. Oct. 15, 
 1885, to Arthur T. Roach, of Bristol, who is em- 
 ployed by the Bristol Brass & Clock Co. : Jennette 
 Cecelia, born Dec. 20, 1863. is assistant in the post 
 office at Forestville : Margaret Teresa, born .\pril 
 10, 1865, is a saleswoman in Fo.x's store, in Hart- 
 ford: Annie Emma was born Feb. 28, 1867: John 
 William, born Aug. 15, 1869. is an ehctroplater 
 with the E. Tngraham Co. : Benedict Michael was 
 born Feb. 17, 1872 (he demonstrated his patriot- 
 ism by his services in the late war with Spain, at 
 the close of the Spanish war again e'llisted. in 
 Company G, 27th U. S. \'ols., going to the Philip- 
 pines ; he was promoted to sergeant-major). 
 
S30 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 James F. Holden, the subject proper of this 
 sketch, received his education in the pubHc schools 
 of Bristol, whither his parents had removed when he 
 was but three years of age. After leaving school 
 he worked in the trimming department of the E. 
 N. Welch Manufacturing Co., for four and one- 
 lialf years. He then went to work for the Bristol 
 Brass & Clock Co., on press work and blanking-out 
 work, continuing thus for about two years, when 
 lie was made foreman of the finishing department. 
 That position he held ten years, having under him 
 iisuallv about forty hands. In 1885 he resigned and 
 took the appointment of postmaster at Forestville, 
 and at the same time embarked in the grocery and 
 provision business, conducting same until 1889, when 
 he resigned and sold out his business to Samuel 
 H. Wink. Returning to his former position of fore- 
 man of the burner shop of the Bristol Brass & 
 ■Clock Co., he held the same until 1893, when he was 
 again appointed postmaster, and bought his business 
 ■back. He has since filled that position with his 
 characteristic ability, care and urbanity. When 
 first appointed he was the youngest postmaster in 
 the State. In political faith he is a Democrat, but 
 lie does not take a very active part in political af- 
 fairs, and never sought office of any kind. Mr. 
 Holden is a charter member of Palos Council, No. 
 35, Knights of Columbus, of Bristol, of which he 
 lias been trustee since its organization ; and he is a 
 charter member of Court Forest, No. 40, Foresters 
 of America, of Bristol, of which he is past chief 
 ranger, and was financial secretary for four years. 
 In religious connection he and his wife are members 
 of St. ]Matthew's Roman Catholic Church, of For- 
 estville, of which he is sexton. 
 
 On May 15, 1883, .Mr. Holden was married, in 
 Bristol, Conn., to J\Iargaret Gillen, born May 2, 
 1857, daughter of James and Ann Gillen, and they 
 liave one son, William Cyril, Dorn Feb. 9, 1884. 
 
 HON. WILLIAM HENRY WATROUS. pres- 
 ident and treasurer of the William Rogers Manu- 
 facturing Co., of Hartford, and several other con- 
 cerns, is a native of that city, bom July 18, 1841. 
 Mr. Watrous is a son of Rufus and Julia A. (Rog- 
 ers) Watrous, and had almost attained his majority 
 when he responded to his cotmtry's call and vol- 
 imteered his services to aid in crushing out .the 
 Rebellion, but of this episode in his life further 
 mention will be made later on. 
 
 In youth William H. Watrous had but limited 
 opportunities for an education, but for a short time 
 lie managed to attend the Arsenal school, then 
 taught by Mrs. M. M. Perrv, and for one year at- 
 tended the Hartford Public High School. In 1855, 
 at the early age of fourteen years, he began learn- 
 ing electro-plating in the factory of his uncles, Asa 
 H., Simeon S. and William Rogers ; they were the 
 originators of this industry in America, and, under 
 the firm name of Rogers Brothers, in 1846, had 
 :started in a small way in Hartford, at the foot of 
 
 Trumbull street, on the site now occupied by the 
 Jewell Belting Co. In 1859 he was in the employ 
 of Rogers, Smith & Co., on Mechanic street, and 
 while with that firm came the echo of the shot at 
 Fort Sumter which boomed around the world. On 
 the call for men by President Lincoln, for the de- 
 fense of the Union, young Watrous was among the 
 first to respond among the 3'outh of Hartford, and 
 April 18, 1861, he enlisted in rifle Company A, then 
 under the command of the present United States 
 Senator Joseph R. Hawley, and filled out his term 
 of enlistment. 
 
 On Sept. 2, 1862, Mr. Watrous again entered 
 the volunteer .service, and was mustered in as .first 
 sergeant of Company B, 24th Conn. V. I. After 
 seeing some minor service, the 24th joined Gen. 
 Banks' expedition, and on April 14, 1863, took part 
 in the engagement at Irish Bend, La. ; on May 24 
 the regiment was in advance as skirmishers to the 
 rear of Port Hudson, drove the enemy from his 
 rifle-pits, held its position all night within 400 
 yards of the Rebel earthworks, and lost but one 
 man killed and three wounded. On May 25 five 
 companies from the 24tli engaged in skirmishing, 
 and lost two men. On May 27 the sharpshooters 
 were called in, and the regiment moved, with its 
 division, to the support of Gen. Weitzel's storming 
 column. On May 31 the 24th was detailed to sup- 
 port batteries on the right. On June i the- 24th 
 was before Port Hudson, with the reserve of the 
 right wing, until the morning of the 14th, the day ■ 
 of the second assault, in which the regiment played 
 a conspicuous part. The duty assigned it was for 
 the men to sling their rifles, and each man to carry 
 two thirty-pound gunny-bags of cotton, with which 
 to fill the ditch, making a bridge for the charging 
 column to pass over, and to advance with the charge. 
 The murderous fire from the enemy's works caused 
 a failure of the part assigned the advance regi- 
 ments, which had been detailed as sharpshooters and 
 bearers of hand grenades ; but under a galling 
 direct and cross fire "the 24th regiment thrust their 
 cotton bags before them and rushed to the crest 
 of a little hill within fifty yards of the enemy's 
 works, piled up their cotton bags, forming a tem- 
 porary breastwork, and held it ; and of the regi- 
 ments that advanced across the plateau in the morn- 
 ing the 24th was the only one able to maintain 
 its position." The construction of this light breast- 
 work was the means of saving the lives of many 
 of the retreating soldiers of the advance regiments, 
 who found shelter behind its line. Seven men of 
 the 24th were killed and several wounded. "Under 
 the cover of darkness an earthwork was thrown up. 
 So quietly was it done than Gen. Grover thought 
 the Rebels had erected a new redoubt, and ordered 
 a battery to shell it out, but fortunately the mis- 
 take was discovered." This line, which was a val- ■ 
 uable strategic point for further operations, and ™ 
 from which a zig-zag" approach was dug close up 
 to the enemy's ditch, and a mine forty-two feet 
 
 J 
 
»«**>ii^ 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 331 
 
 long tiiiinclecl uiulcr the enemy's works, was held 
 by the regiment until the surrender, July 8, a period 
 of twenty-five days. This service was very severe 
 tipon the men, who lived in burrows and were ex- 
 posed to the broiling heat of a Louisiana midsum- 
 jiier sun, and so few in numbers (less than loo men, 
 on. account of casualties and sickness) that one-half 
 of the regiment was on duty each twenty-four hours, 
 and was constantly under fire. "After the sur- 
 render the 24th was complimented by the 1st Mis- 
 sissippi Confederate Regiment for its coolness and 
 perseverance," also by Gen. Banks, who ordered 
 Port Hudson inscribed upon its colors. The regi- 
 ment was musteied out Oct. 2, 1863, young Watrous 
 with the rank of lieutenant. 
 
 In 1865, while Lieut. Watrous was in the em- 
 ploy of William Rogers, at Hartford, that gentle- 
 man organized the ^Villiam Rogers Manufacturing 
 Co., at the corner of Front and Grove streets, and 
 in i868 the Lieutenant was transferred to Water- 
 bury and placed in charge of Rogers Brothers' plat- 
 ing department. In 1870 he returned to Hartford, 
 and, in company with his uncle, Asa H. Rogers, 
 founded the Rogers Cutlery Co., on Asylum street, 
 commencing with two employes only. Soon after- 
 ward Mr. Rogers withdrew, and the business was 
 removed to the rear of the Fotirth church, on North 
 street. In 1879 Mr. Watrous purchased one-half 
 the stock of the ^^'illiam Rogers Manufacturing 
 Co., and moved the stock of the Rogers Cutlery 
 Co. into their factory, at the corner of Front and 
 Grove streets, and Mr. \vatrous became president, 
 treasurer and general manager of the two com- 
 panies, which positions he still retains. 
 
 In 1887 Mr. \\'atrous purchased the Kohn silk 
 mill property, on ^larket street, and transferred the 
 Rogers companies to their present quarters. Thev 
 now employ 150 hands, and sell goods valued at 
 over $600,000 per annum. In 1889 Mr. Watrous 
 made a contract with the proprietors of a factory 
 in Taunton, Mass., to manufacture hollow-ware, 
 and now over 100 hands are kept busy making 
 blanks for the Rogers companies. In 1890 he bought 
 the Wickersham property, in Ncrwich, Conn., and 
 began the manufacture of solid steel-handle knives, 
 carvers, fruit-knives, etc., and in this industry over 
 100 hands are employed, who turn out 2,000 dozen 
 of the various articles each week. 
 
 In 1896 the Eagle Sterling Co.. of Glastonbury, 
 Conn., was formed, for the making of pure silver 
 ware, and Mr. Watrous was made its president. 
 The same year the Watrous Manufacturing Co., of 
 Wallingford, was organized, for the making of 
 nickel-silver spoons and forks, and of this com- 
 pany jNIr. Watrous is also president. On Nov. iq, 
 i8q8, the various companies in which Air. Watrous 
 is interested entered into an agreement with and be- 
 came part of the International Si'ver Co., which 
 was incorporated at that time with a capital of 
 $20,000,000. This company includes sixteen of the 
 largest silver-plate concerns in the country, and its 
 
 output is valued far into the millions. Mr. Watrous 
 was elected a director of this, and manager of its 
 Hartford branch. 
 
 In the summer of 1899, one of the companies in 
 which Mr, Watrous was interested having had 
 some slight difficulty in obtaining the finest class of 
 casting for its product, he, together with <jther 
 representative business men of Hartford, including 
 Mr. Carleton, who was for many years connected 
 with the Pratt & Whitney Co., founded what is 
 known as the Carleton Iron Foundry, and erected 
 a new building for the finest grade of iron casting. 
 This concern employs about 100 men, and is in a 
 flourishing condition. He is also interested in the 
 Des Jardins type justifying machine, and is a di- 
 rector in the Connecticut River Banking Co. 
 
 The various extensive business concerns in 
 which Mr. Watrous holds so controlling an interest, 
 as will have readily been seen, employ several hun- 
 dred hands or assistants, and their sales are in excess 
 of a million dollars per annum. The secret of the 
 unvarying success of these vast industries rests in 
 the strict business integrity of Mr. Watrous, the 
 unvarying quality of his products, his practical me- 
 chanical knowledge, his daily personal supervision 
 of every detail of manufacture, the placing on the 
 market of a better quality of goods than those of 
 his competitors for the same money, and the esteem 
 he has won from his employes through the solicita- 
 tion he has for their welfare, and who, many of 
 them, have been constantly in his employ for years. 
 
 In politics Hon. William Henry Watrous is a 
 stanch Republican. In 1894 and 1895 lie <^l'd yeo- 
 man service as a member of the Hartford board 
 of aldermen, and in 1895 and 1896 was a repre- 
 sentative of the city in the General Assembly of the 
 State, but the great strain imposed upon him by 
 multifarious business duties precludes his participa- 
 tion in political affairs as a rule, otherwise he would 
 be heard from in more advanced ptiblic positions, 
 as he is extremely popular with his party, as well 
 as with the public in general. Fraternally Mr. 
 ^^^atrous is a' Mason of high degree under the Scot- 
 tish Rites, up to and including the thirty-second : 
 is at present a member of Pyramid Temple, Mystic 
 Shrine, of Bridgeport; Washington Commandery, 
 K. T., of Hartford, as well as the blue lodge: and 
 is likewise a member of Robert O. Tyler Post. G. 
 A. R.. of Hartford : the Army and Navy Club ; and 
 the Hartford Yacht Club, of which he was com- 
 modore in 1895 and 1896. 
 
 Of the family relations of Commodore Watrous 
 it will suffice to say that his mother was a sister 
 of \\'illiam Rogers, who was born in Hartford, and 
 had a family of thirteen children. Of these, George, 
 the eldest, is with Mr. Watrous as foreman of the 
 repairing department ; Simeon is the foreman of 
 the Rogers & Hamilton Co., plating department. 
 Waterburv, Conn.; Edgar R. is with our subject 
 in the plating department ; an elder brother, Charles, 
 was also a silver plater, and with the Silver Plate 
 
332 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Cutlery Co., of Derby, Conn. ; one sister, Arabella, 
 is the widow of William Boardman, and now re- 
 sides in Hartford. The mother of Mr. Watrous 
 died at the age of seventy-eight, in 1881 ; his fa- 
 ther, Rufus Watrous, born in Hartford, was a farm- 
 er all his life, and was- killed by the cars in 1853, 
 when fifty-four years of age. Grandfather Watrous 
 was born in Hartford, where the family were among 
 the early settlers, and was also a farmer. His wife 
 was Abigail Cadwell. 
 
 Hon. William Henry Watrous married, m i860, 
 Miss Sarah F. Hurd, of Essex, Conn., who was 
 called awav in 1891, and in 1893 he took for his 
 second helpmeet Agnes E. McFadyen, of Hart- 
 ford. The family attend the M. E. Church, of 
 which Mr. Watrous is a trustee. To comment on 
 the phenomenal career of Mr. Watrous would be 
 the work of supererogation. 
 
 BARTHOLOMEW. To mention the family 
 name Bartholomew in Bristol is to recall in the 
 minds of its residents one of the oldest and most 
 substantial families in the history of New England, 
 a family that traces its ancestry back to_ the begin- 
 ning of the seventeenth century when, in the year 
 1634, the three brothers, William, Henry and Rich- 
 ard Bartholomew, in the company of Rev. John 
 Lothrop and others, left the mother country for 
 America, arriving in Boston Sept. 16, 1634. This 
 family name has been preserved in integrity and up- 
 rightness, and to-day we find the seventh genera- 
 tion substantially represented by Harry Shelton 
 Bartholomew, the subject of this sketch. 
 
 That these three brothers, who transplanted the 
 family from England to America, stood high in the 
 estimation of the people is evidenced by the fact 
 that William, at the age of thirty-two or thirty-three 
 years, in 1635, was appointed to the General Court, 
 and several times thereafter. While in the General 
 Court he was associated with Michael Easton, who 
 was afterward governor of Rhode Island for five 
 years. Later William Bartholomew served as town 
 clerk at Ipswich, and was one of the- seven chosen 
 men of the town. He was also deputy with his 
 brother, Henrv, of Salem, and in 1651 he was chosen 
 on a committee. In England he married Ann Lord, 
 a sister of Robert Lord, and their marriage was 
 blessed with two sons and one daughter, as fol- 
 lows: Mary married Major Daiviel Dennison Dec. 
 24, 16.S2; Joseph, born about 1638, resided in Lon- 
 don, England, in 1693: William, born in 1640-41, 
 died in the spring- of 1697, in Branford. Conn. 
 Mr. and Mrs. William Bartholomew were devout 
 and active members of the Congregational Church. 
 Mr. Bartholomew was clerk of the Congregational 
 Church of Ipswich for over thirty years. It is sup- 
 posed that William and his brother were disowned 
 for religious dissension, and came to America to es- 
 tablish themselves in life and perpetuate the family 
 name, (i) William died Jan. 18, 16S0, at the age 
 
 of seventy-eight years. His wife died Jan. 29, 
 1682-83. 
 
 (II j William Bartholomew, as stated above, 
 was born in Ipswich in 1640-41, and died in the 
 spring of 1697, at Branford. On Dec. 17, 1663, 
 he was married to Mary Johnson, who was born 
 April 24, 1642, daughter of Capt. Isaac and Eliza- 
 beth (Porter) Johnson, and was living in Branford 
 in 1705. William learned the carpenter's trade, 
 and was engaged very extensively as a carpenter 
 and millwright. The Old South Mills, in Salem, 
 were built by him and his uncle Henry. He was 
 a man brave in times of war, and when, in 1678, 
 the Hatfield Indian Raid occurred, he acquitted him- 
 self with such valor that he received his title of 
 lieutenant. In 1679 he was given twenty acres of 
 land in Branford, conditioned that he would take 
 up his residence in that town and build a gristmill. 
 In 1681 he Was given authority by the town to set 
 up a sawmill on the great river; later he was ap- 
 pointed surve3'or of the town. Nine children were 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. William Bartholomew, as 
 follows: Isaac, born Nov. i, 1664, died Oct. 25, 
 1727. William, born Oct. 16, 1666, died in 1697, 
 without issue. Mary, born Oct. 26, 1668, died before 
 1697. Andrew, born Dec. 11, 1670, died about 
 1755. Abigail, born Dec. 8, 1672, died Jan. 15, 
 1732; she was stolen by the Indians Sept. 19, 
 1677, and was ransomed May 23, 1678. Elizabeth 
 was born March 15, 1674. Benjamin, about 1677. 
 John, about 1679. Joseph, about 1-682. 
 
 (Ill) Isaac Bartholomew was born in Roxbury, 
 Mass., and died in Branford. He was a farmer, 
 and most highly esteemed by all who knew him. 
 About 1694 he married Rebecca, daughter of John 
 Frisbie : she was born Nov. 14, 1679, and died in 
 May, 1738. Children were born to this marriage 
 as follows : William, born about 1695, was living 
 in Litchfield in 1765. Mary, born about 1697, re- 
 sided in New Haven. Isaac, born Nov. 18, 1699, 
 died Aug. 25, 1750. Rebecca, born April 18, 1702, 
 married Daniel Collins, of New Haven, where she 
 resided. Elizabeth, born April 12, 1704, married 
 Nathaniel Barnes, of Branford, and resided in Plym- 
 outh, Conn. Ebenezer, born June 10, 1706,^ died 
 before 1727. Abraham, born June 28, 1708, died in 
 Farming-ton, Conn. Josiah, born Jan. 18, 1710, 
 died Feb. 12, 1777. Abigail married William Rog- 
 ers, of New Haven, in 1729. Freelove married 
 Abel Curtis Nov. 14, 1741. Jerusha, born Jan. 13, 
 1722-23, married Daniel Finch, of New Haven. 
 
 (IV) Abraham Bartholomew was born in Bran- 
 ford, Conn., followed the vocation of his father, 
 and became a very extensive farmer in Branford, 
 where he resided until he was forty-six years of 
 age. In 1754 he took possession of extensive pur- 
 chases of land with improvements in Farmington, 
 some of which are now included within the limits 
 of the town of Burlington, where he resided. Later 
 he removed to the house since known as "Bartemy 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 333 
 
 Tavern," situated on Peaceable street, near and 
 south of the line between the present towns of 
 Bristol and Burlington, lie kept the first tavern and 
 store in that section. Although about seventy years 
 of age, he enlisted in the Kevolutionary war, he 
 and his grandson Abraham joining Sheldon's Dra- 
 goons, and served two years. On June i8, 1730, 
 he married Hannah, daughter of Daniel Page; she 
 died Oct. 25, 1770. Eight children were born to 
 them, as follows: Hannah, born May 9, 1731, mar- 
 ried Elihu Smith, of Farmington. Abraham, born 
 Jan. 2'&, 1732-33, died in 177O. Jacob, born Jan. 9, 
 1736-37, died Oct. 29, 1805. Lydia, born Feb. 18, 
 1738-39, married Joseph Hefi'ord, of Farmington. 
 Wary was born July 19, 1741. John, born April 15, 
 
 1744, died in 1776. Thankful, born March 24, 
 
 1745, married Elisha Bell, of Southington, who 
 later resided in Granby, Conn., and in Nicholson, 
 Penn., respcctivelv. Patience was born May 19, 
 1748. 
 
 (V) Jacob Bartholomew was born in Branford, 
 Conn., was a tiller of the soil, and in addition con- 
 ducted other business enterprises successfully, and 
 served his country well in times of peace and war. 
 Fie became a tanner by trade, and carried on his 
 business at the Edward Barnes place, on Peace- 
 able street. In turn he became proprietor of "Bar- 
 temy Tavern," with which was connected a store. 
 At the organization of the town of Bristol, in 1785, 
 he was elected its first treasurer and surveyor of 
 highways. He served the town in several other 
 capacities, and also served in the Revolutionary 
 war. While nursing his brother John, who, as a 
 Revolutionary soldier, died on board the Govern- 
 ment hospital ship in New York harbor^ he con- 
 tracted a fever which affected his health, and he 
 died Oct. 29, 1805. He was of good size and form, 
 and had formerly enjoyed fine health. Jacob Bar- 
 tholomew married Sarah, daughter of Squire Heze- 
 kiah and Sarah (Newell) Gridley; she was born 
 Feb. 21, 1738, and died April 10, 1801. This mar- 
 riage was blessed with twelve children, as follows : 
 ]\Iercy, born July 28, 1762, died March 24. 1834, 
 married Ambrose Hart Aug. 2, 1782. Lenma, 
 born Feb. 27, 1764, died in 1813, unmarried. Sarah, 
 born Feb. 6, 1766, died Sept. 22, 1846, married 
 (first) Feb. i, 1782, John Winston, of Bristol, and 
 (second) Elihu Norton, of Bristol. Jacob, born 
 Jan. 29, 1768, died Dec. 19, 1843. Rosanna, born 
 June 2. 1770, married Asahel Cowles ; no issue. 
 Ama, born March 9, 1772, died in 1822, married 
 John Beckwith, of Bristol, Conn. Eli, born Jan. 
 7, 1774, died Sept. 29, 1801, in Norfolk, Va. ; he 
 was a merchant in Hartford. Asa, born March 25, 
 1776, died Oct. 31, 1864. Mary, born July i, 1778, 
 married Luther Tuttle. Gad, iDorn April 10, 1780, 
 died April 16, 1780. Nancy, born Feb. 2, 1782, 
 died in Farmington, Ohio, May 16. 1852, married 
 Dennis Lewis. Gad, born May 7, 1783, died in 185 1, 
 married Phcebe, daughter of William Stone, of 
 Harwinton, Conn., on May 23, 1804. 
 
 (VI) Asa Bartholomew, son of Jacob, was 
 born in "Bartemy Tavern." He became a very ener- 
 getic and succe.ssful business man. In 1805 he re- 
 moved to Pleasant Valley, N. Y., where he kept 
 a tavern until September, 1807, when he returned 
 to Bristol and purchased a farm of 360 acres in 
 Edgewood, which he conducted with very great 
 success. On Sept. 10, 1801, he was married to Miss 
 Charity Shelton, a daughter of Isaac Wells and 
 Martha .Shelton, the latter of whom was a lineal 
 descendant of Henry Wakeley, the first lawyer of 
 record in the Connecticut Colony, and whose grand- 
 nwther was a granddaughter of Lieut. John Hub- 
 bell (famed in the early Indian wars) and William 
 Thompson (of New ITaven) ; and numbered among 
 her father's grandfathers were Gov. Thomas Welles, 
 of Connecticut, Hon. Richard Treat, and Francis 
 Nickols, of Stratford, the latter a brother of the first 
 governor of New York under the Duke of York. 
 Mrs. Bartholomew died in Bristol Sept. 15, 1S59, 
 and J\Ir. Bartholomew also died there. Asa Bar- 
 tholomew was of an uncommonly independent and 
 yet approachable nature. He was shrewd and hon- 
 est. His opinions were original, and franklv ex- 
 pressed, but they were always founded upon good 
 common sense, and carried great weight in the 
 communit}'-. He never favored or cared to hold 
 office. Possessed of a very genial, social nature, 
 in his latter years he was most pleasantlv known, 
 by old and young, as "Uncle Asa Bartholomew." 
 His marriage was blessed with eight children, as 
 follows: Emily, born Jan. i, 1804, died 'Slz.y 16, 
 1877, married Rensselaer L^pson, of Bristol. George 
 Welles, born June I9,_ 1805, died May 7. 1897. Har- 
 ry Shelton, born June 3, 1807, died Oct. 7, 1827. 
 Pablina, born June 18, 1S09, died Feb. 9. 1894, 
 married Alvin Ferry Alpress. Jennette, born Marcii 
 31, 181 1, married Eli Titus Merriman, M. D., of 
 Bristol. Asa, born Feb. i, 1815, died C3ct. 7, 1896. 
 Nancy Maria, born Dec. 22, 1818, died May 8, 
 1880, married Alanson Winston. Jane Charity. Ix^rn 
 Feb. 22, 1821, died Jan. 28, 1888, married Welling- 
 ton Winston. Of this family, Asa Bartholomew, Jr., 
 more than any of the other children, resembled 
 his father in mental strength and character. He 
 was educated in the common schools of Bristol 
 and afterward devoted his time to farming, and 
 later in life he dealt very extensively in blooded 
 stock. He was acknowledged to be a very fine judge 
 of horses, and at one time he was veterinary sur- 
 geon of the Street Railway Co. of New York 
 City. For a few years he also carried on the butch- 
 ering and meat business in Bristol, which to him 
 was an unprofitable undertaking. Like his ances- 
 tors he was very prominent in Bristol, alwavs mak- 
 ing his home here. He never aspired to pul>lic of- 
 fices, but took a special interest in all matters per- 
 taining to the improvement of the town. A man 
 of very decided views, especially in politics, he 
 never feared to express his opinion, whatever other 
 people might think. Fle was a good neighbor and 
 
334 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 citizen. On Nov. lo, 1836, he married Mary Lydia 
 Birge, who was born Feb. 9, 1818, and died April 
 7, 1888, having been his partner in life for nearly 
 fifty-two years. Their family consisted of fotir chil- 
 dren : Harriet A., born Feb. 17, 1839, died Jan. 23, 
 1893. Nathan L., born Nov. 17, 1841, married Aug. 
 22, 1892, Airs. Sarah Emily (Reynolds) Newcomb. 
 John B., born Dec. 11, 1845, married Virginia A. 
 McElwe Feb. 12, 1880. Mary, born July 16, 1850, 
 died Dec. 27, 1853. Nathan L. Bartholomew is 
 cashier of the First National Bank, Albany, Texas. 
 John B. Bartholomew is a member of the board of 
 administration of the Southwestern Traffic Asso- 
 ciation, St. Louis. Asa Bartholomew, Jr., lived to 
 the age of eighty-one years. 
 
 George Welles Bartholomew, father of our sub- 
 ject, the eldest son of Asa and Charity (Shelton). 
 Bartholomew, was born June 19, 1805, and died 
 Ma}- 7, 1897, aged ninet)'-two years. He was mar- 
 ried in Bristol Jan. 14, 1829, to Miss Angeline 
 Ives, daughter of Deacon Charles Grandison Ives, 
 of Bristol. She died March 13, 1861. His second 
 wife was Mrs. Julia A. (Marvin) Cole, of Tol- 
 land, Conn., who died May 2, 1896. They resided 
 in that part of Bristol now called Edgewood, the 
 site of his father's extensive farm, where his child- 
 hood was spent. When about eighteen years of age 
 he engaged in peddling, visiting in that occupation 
 Alabama and Mississippi. The manufacture of 
 clocks, in company with his cousin, Eli Barthol- 
 omew, was begun in 1828. The business was con- 
 tinued by himself alone until 1840; then it was 
 superseded by the development of the .table cutlery 
 business. He made cabinet furniture in company 
 with his brother-in-law, A. F. Alpress, between 
 1834 and 1840. In 1836 he obtained a lease of land 
 about one mile north of his home, and with Harvey 
 and Erastus Case opened the Bristol copper mine, 
 liis share of which he sold for a good sum to An- 
 drew Miller, in about one 3'ear. Becoming interested 
 in the discover)'- of gold in California in the fall 
 of 1848, he started for the "New Eldorado" in Feb- 
 ruary, 1849, in company with a small party of 
 friends, seven in all, and remained there until 
 1853, visiting Bristol in 1851.. Soon after his re- 
 turn to Bristol he formed a partnership with his 
 elder son for the manufacture of hardware, which 
 continued under the firm name of G. W. & H. S. 
 Bartholomew until the destruction of their factory 
 "by fire, in 1884, when he retired from business. 
 
 Mr. Bartholomew was one of the seventy-eight 
 candidates admitted to the Congregational Church 
 May 27, 1 82 1, and was a member of the Sunday- 
 school organized in 1818. He was a Democrat in 
 politics, and served his town in the offices of judge 
 of probate, selectman ten years, justice of the peace 
 forty j'ears, and twice as representative in the State 
 Legislature, 1836 and 1866. Socially he was a 
 member of the F. & A. M. and of the I. O. O. F. 
 Of his eight children four lived to mature years, 
 Harry Shelton, Jane Estelle, Angeline Ives, and 
 
 George Welles, Jr. Mrs. Angeline I. (Barthol- 
 omew) Marvin died at her home, Columbus, Ohio, 
 Aug. 28, 1893. 
 
 (VII) Harry Shelton Bartholomew, the 
 eldest son of George Welles and Angeline (Ives) 
 Bartholomew, was born in Bristol March 14, 1832. 
 He received his early education in the local schools, 
 and at the age of fourteen was a student at Deacon 
 Simeon Hart's school for boys in Farmington. 
 Doiring the time that his father was in California 
 he assumed the responsibilities of the family for 
 thr^ee years, and at the age of twenty he also went 
 to California, visiting the gold mines nearly two 
 years. During the following year, December, 1855, 
 the business enterprise of his life was established 
 in the formation of the manufacturing company of 
 G. W. & H. S. Bartholomew, which continued 
 until 1884, since which time he has had no partner. 
 Mr. Bartholomew is a very energetic man, and 
 his great activity and reliability have won for him 
 the confidence and affection of all acquaintances. 
 In addition to his business duties he has devoted 
 much time to educational and philanthropic works ; 
 also to inventions, in which line his specialty is bit- 
 braces. He is a natural-born machinist, has taken 
 out sixteen patents on various inventions of his 
 own in the bit line, and in the production of bit- 
 braces is acknowledged to be a competitor of the 
 longest standing in the country. ■ 
 
 Mr. Bartholomew has occupied many positions ~ 
 of trust and responsibility. He is at present a 
 director of the First National Bank of Bristol, in 
 which capacity he has acted for twenty-three years, 
 and is president of the Buckeye Portland Cement 
 Co., Bellefontaine, Ohio, in which company he pur- 
 chased a half interest in 1891. He has also served on 
 the school board of his town. Socially he is a 
 thirty-second degree Freemason, and in politics is 
 a Republican. On June 20, i860, Mr. Bartholomew 
 was married, in Burlington, to Miss Sabra A. Peck, 
 daughter of Capt. Joseph Samuel Peck, son of Seth, 
 of Joseph, of Ebenezer, of Benjamin, of Henry, 
 from England, a member of the Davenport com- 
 pany of colonists in New Haven, Conn., 1638. Capt. 
 J. S. Peck's mother, Hannah Ailing (or Allen), 
 was a direct descendant of Roger Ailing, first treas- 
 urer of the New Haven Colony, until made Deacon 
 in the First or Center Church, which office he held 
 until his death, in 1674. He was also collector of 
 "The College Corne," the tax for the suoport of 
 Harvard College. Mrs. Sabra A. (Peck) Bartholo- 
 mew is through her mother, Rosetta (Fenn) Peck, 
 a descendant of Benjamin Fenn, Rev. Peter Pru- 
 den (first minister of the Gospel in Milford, Conn.), 
 Joseph Judson, and Nathan Gold (of Stratford). 
 
 (II) Benjamin Peck, son of Henry, married 
 Mary Sperry, whose father. Richard Sperry, har- 
 bored the regicides. (Ill) Ebenezer Peck was first 
 clerk of the first church in Woodbridge. Conn., 
 1742. He married Hannah, daughter of Joshua 
 Hotchkiss, and a descendant of William Tuttle, 
 
OlU'^d^rd^^ 
 
 '^T^UUl^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 335 
 
 carlv of New Haven. (1\') Joseph Peck married 
 Keziah Lines, a grandilanghter of Ralpli Lines, 
 who lived near Ricliard Sperry at West Rock, or 
 "Sperrv's Larnis." {\ ) Seth I'eck was under Capt. 
 JJenedict Arnold at the engagement of Compo Llill, 
 when Lien. Tryon was returning from burnmg the 
 military supplies at Danbury, 1777. He removed 
 soon afterward from New Haven to Bristol, Conn., 
 where are now living some of his posterity. 
 
 The children born to JNIr. and jNIrs. IJartholo- 
 inew are Alice J\L, a graduate of the Alaplewood 
 Institute, Pittstield, Mass. ; Harry Ives, a graduate 
 of Yale, 1894; Joseph Peck, a graduate of Worces- 
 ter Polytechnic Institute, 1899. Mr. and Mrs. Bar- 
 tholomew and family worship in the Congrega- 
 tional Church, of which Mr. Bartholomew has been 
 a member since I\Iay 2, 1858. He served nineteen 
 \ears as superintendent of the Sunday-school, and 
 lias been seventeen years a deacon, and was largely 
 instrumental in securing the addition of church par- 
 lors and Sunday-school rooms during his superin- 
 tendency. Mr. Bartholomew has a summer home at 
 Sachem's Head, Guilford, Conn., where he spends 
 about three months each year with his family. 
 
 JACOB KNOUS (deceased) was for over thirty 
 years a successful merchant of Hartford, where his 
 death occurred Oct. 22, 1897, after a long illness 
 from valvular disease of the heart. He was born 
 Feb. 9, 1835, at Valley Forge, Penn., of Quaker 
 parentage, and the family, which is of German ori- 
 gin, has long been identified with that locality. 
 
 Jacob Knous, our subject's grandfather, was a 
 farmer at Valley Forge, his home being near the 
 Barren Hill church, where LaFayette's army was 
 ([uartered. He married Elizabeth Linnensheet, a 
 daughter of John Linnensheet. She was of Quaker 
 ancestry, and was "read out of meeting'' because 
 she married out of the Society, but she remained a 
 faithful believer in the Quaker faith, and always 
 wore the Quaker dress. Samuel Knous, our subject's 
 lather, was born at the old homestead, and became 
 an expert inspector of firearms, being appointed to 
 service under the government at Ilion, N. Y., and 
 at Springfield, Mass. After many years in Spring- 
 field he accepted a position in Colt's Armory, at 
 Hartford, in 1851, which he held until some j'ears 
 previous to his death, at the age of ninety years. He 
 married ^liss Ann Bartel, of Roxborough, Penn., 
 and they had a family of six children, of whom the 
 following are living: John, for many years a super- 
 intendent of Weed's factory, and a prominent citi- 
 zen of Hartford ; Mrs. Benjamin Hannis, of Spring- 
 field. Mass. ; Mrs. Ellen A. Barrows, widow of 
 Edwin G. Barrows, of Hartford : Mrs. John Dit- 
 mars. of New York; and Frank F.. of New Haven. 
 
 Mr. Knous settled in Hartford in 1854, being 
 then connected with the Bee Hive dry-goods store, 
 conducted by Starr & Burkett. In 1857 he entered 
 the employ of C. S. Weatherby, who carried on a 
 drv-goods store at the corner of ^lain and ^Morgan 
 
 streets, and soon after the firm of Williams & 
 Knous was organized, .Mr. Weatherby going to 
 New York. The firm was a very successful one, 
 Mr. Knous l)eing noted for his energy and business 
 acumen. He was very popular and companionable, 
 and greatly liked by all who had business tran- 
 sactions with him, and his trade was large. In 
 1862 the firm had changed to C. S. Weatherby & 
 Co., and occupied one of the stores in the Hills block ; 
 afterward the firm name was Weatherby, Knous 
 & Pelton. At the opening of the Cheney building 
 the firm had dissolved, and i\Ir. Knous formed a 
 partnership with the late John S. .Ives, under the 
 name of Knous & Ives, and the Bee Hive was re- 
 juvenated, the southerly corner of the new build- 
 mg having been erected on the site of the old Bee 
 Hive. He was engaged in business at that stand 
 for many years, until he retired, since which time 
 he had not been much about the city, owing to 
 physical infirmities. 
 
 Mr. Knous was for thirty years a vestryman of 
 St. John's Episcopal Church, and was active in its 
 affairs. He was also a member of St. John's Lodge, 
 No. 4, F. & A. M. His patriotism was shown during 
 the Civil war in many ways, and he gave generous 
 assistance in raising troops. 
 
 In 1862 Mr. Knous married Miss Caroline B. 
 Shultas, who survives him, residing at their old 
 home. No. 633 Prospect avenue. She is a daughter 
 of the late James B. Shultas, mention of whom is 
 made below. Three children also survive: (i) 
 Mrs. William H. Burtenshaw resides in Detroit, 
 Mich., where her husband is secretary of the Michi- 
 gan Carbon Works. (2) Mrs. Lewis D. Parker re- 
 sides in Hartford. Mr. Parker is president of the 
 Hartford Rubber Works. They have three chil- 
 dren, JNIargery Sweet, Truman Wooster, and Lewis 
 Pond. 'Mr. JParker's father, the Rev. Dr. Edwin 
 Pond Parker, has been for forty years pastor of 
 the South Congregational Church of Hartford. (31 
 i\Irs. Beecher M. Crouse has one daughter, Caroline 
 Shultas. J\Ir. Crouse is a prominent resident of 
 Utica, N. Y., a member of one of the old fam- 
 ilies of that section, a director in various banks and 
 other corporations, and is largely interested in 
 mining and milling at Victor, Colorado. 
 
 James Babcock Shultas was born in Hartford, 
 Oct. 6, 1805, a son of John Shultas, of Dutch an- 
 cestry, who came to this country in his youth, and 
 before removing to Hartford lived in Albany, N. 
 Y. Early in life James B. Shultas was engaged 
 in mercantile business on State Street. In 1840, in 
 connection with ]\Iaj. James Goodwin, he purchased 
 the "United States Hotel." and at the time of his 
 death owned a half interest in that property. He 
 assumed the management of the hotel for a short 
 period after its purchase, but withdrew from the 
 enterprise in the end in order to attend to other in- 
 terests. In 1850 and 1851 he was a member of the 
 council board from the Fifth ward, and in 1852 
 was elected a member of the board of aldermen. 
 
8S6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 During these years he took an active part in munic- 
 ipal politics, and was identified with the progress of 
 the city. In 1856 he was re-elected to the council 
 board, and held the position of chairman of the com- 
 mittee on Highways and Sewers. He also served 
 as street commissioner, and exercised sole control 
 in matters relating" to the management of the city 
 thoroughfares. His administration of the duties 
 of the office was always wise and judicious, and en- 
 titled him to the approval of his fellow-citizens. 
 
 In i860, during the mayoralty of Henry C. Dem- 
 ing, Mr. Shultas was a member of the board of po- 
 lice commissioners. For a number of 3'ears he was 
 attached to the old volunteer lire department, being 
 associated with Allyn S. Stillman, Gen. William 
 Hayden, and others interested in the discipline and 
 success, the esprit de corps of the' department. At 
 the time of his death Mr. Shultas was treasurer of 
 the Firemen's Benevolent Society, having succeed- 
 ed the late Allyn S. Stillman in that office. He had 
 also been a member of the Putnam Phalanx, and held 
 the office of major in that command from 1862 to 
 1864, succeeding Major Stillman. In 1875 he was 
 elected president of the Hartford County Mutual 
 Fire Insurance Co. For half a century Mr. Shultas 
 was an active and public-spirited citizen. He was 
 a man of fine personal appearance, and was always 
 genial and pleasant, enjoying social life, and enter- 
 ing heartily into all innocent amusements and rec- 
 reations. At his death, Sept. 13, 1880, he left a 
 large estate. Mr. Shultas married Mary Ann, 
 daughter of Truman Sweet, an influential business 
 man in his da}^ The only surviving child of this 
 union is Caroline B., widow of Jacob Knous, of 
 Hartford. A son, Charles Carroll Shultas, died in 
 New York July 18, 1870; he had prepared for the 
 legal profession, and was admitted to the Bar at the 
 same time with the Hon. Henry C. Robinson, Hon. 
 John R. Buck, and others, but when the Civil war 
 broke out he left his practice and marched away 
 as captain of Company H, 22nd Conn. V. I. After 
 the war he married Isabel, daughter of Charles Fow- 
 ler, of New York, by whom he had one son, Charles 
 Fowler Shultas, of New York, who died Dec. 26, 
 1899. 
 
 Truman Sweet, son of Palmer and Lucy (Bid- 
 well) Sweet, was born at Farmington, Conn., April 
 19' 1775- In 1806 he began life as a stage driver 
 between New Haven and Hartford. The mail was 
 then carried three times a week ; the regular run- 
 ning time from New York to Boston was four days, 
 which was considered quick traveling in those days. 
 In 1810 he purchased the stage route between Suf- 
 field, Conn., and Wilbraham, Mass., and by so doing 
 became the first owner of lines of stages running 
 north from Hartford on both sides of the river. 
 The steamer "Massachusetts," built by the inventor, 
 Blanchard, was constructed for Mr. Sweet and Ches- 
 ter W. Chapin, of Springfield, another old-time 
 whip. This boat ran between Hartford and Spring- 
 field. Mr. Sweet continued with boats and stages 
 
 until bought off by the railroad company, when he- 
 retired, and devoted himself to farming, purchas- 
 ing a fine property on Albany avenue, now included 
 in the plans for Keney park. Of the strictest integ- 
 rity, he amassed a considerable property. Mr. 
 Sweet was a man of singularly regular habits, his 
 love of order developing itself in a very striking 
 manner. He never suffered himself to betray anger,, 
 and probably had not an enemy in the world. He 
 died peacefully in 1864, at the age of nearly ninety 
 years, possessing full control of his mental faculties- 
 to the last hour of his life. In 1809 Mr. Sweet mar- 
 ried Miss Mary Glover, and they became the par- 
 ents of two children: Caroline, who married Nor- 
 man Boardman, of New York ; and Mary Ann, who. 
 married James B. Shultas, of Hartford. 
 
 AMOS L. CARLETON. There are scattered 
 through New England, and perhaps more plenti- 
 fully in Connecticut than in sister States, a large 
 number of prominent manufactories that possess an 
 individuality as distinct as that of their founders ; 
 that represent some valuable idea carried into suc- 
 cessful operation by a master mind ; that stand for 
 what is foremost and best in American manu- 
 facture. In Hartford the name of the Carleton 
 Foundry Co. is typical of the finest grade of cast- 
 ings, and the company owes its name to a success- 
 ful business man who has thoroughly mastered his 
 trade, who has risen to eminence by the exercise 
 of the native forces within him, and who has assisted, 
 in founding a manufactory that is one of the rec- 
 ognized industrial forces of the times. 
 
 Amos L. Carleton, treasurer and general man- 
 ager of the Carleton Foundry Co., of Hartford, 
 Conn., was born in Derry, N. H., Aug. 13, 1847, 
 son of Amos M. and Anna E. (Hanson) Carleton, 
 grandson of David Carleton, a lifelong farmer of 
 New Hampshire, and great-grandson of David 
 Carleton. The great-grandfather was born March 
 4, 1704, and was a farmer by occupation. Fle mar- 
 ried Flannah Daniels, by whom" he had four chil- 
 dren, a"nd lived to a good old age. David Carleton, 
 the grandfather, married Ruth Stevens in 1773, and 
 six children were born to them. The father lived to 
 the age of eighty years, the mother surviving to 
 almost one hundred years of age. Both were mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal CLurch. 
 
 Amos M. Carleton, the father of our subject, 
 was reared on a farm, and remained at home Until 
 twenty-one years of age. Then for a time he con- 
 ducted the hotel at Derry, N. H. Selling out, ha 
 started a general store, carrying a stock of shoes, 
 groceries, harness, etc., and buying all kinds of 
 country produce. He conducted this business for 
 some 3'ears, then sold out and removed to Chicopee 
 Falls, Mass. He had for some time previous studied 
 veterinai'y surgery, and had also practiced extensive- 
 ly, with success. In 1859 he removed to a farm 
 at Bernardston, Mass., where he spent some years,, 
 then settled at Winchester, N. H., where he spent 
 
c^^^^^^^^ ^.^ayiAyt^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 387 
 
 the rest of his life, dying at the age of seventy- 
 two years. He achieved distinction in military cir- 
 cles, having begun as a private in the militia, was 
 commissioned captain, and later brevetted colonel. 
 He was familiarly known as "Caut. ' Carleton, and 
 took a great interest in military matters. He and 
 his wife attended the Alethodist Episcopal Church. 
 Anna E. Hanson, the mother of our subject, was 
 born in New Hampshire. To Amos M. and Anna 
 E. Carletpn were born seven children, five of whom 
 are living. The mother died at the age of sixty- 
 seven years. 
 
 Amos L. Carleton, our sul:)jcct, spent the early 
 years of his life, or until he was eighteen, at home, 
 and was educated in the common schools and at 
 Powers Institute, Bernardston, Mass. He learned 
 his trade, that of iron molder, at Colerain, where 
 he remained three years, and later followed his trade 
 at Southington, Conn., then at Worcester, Mass. 
 Returning to Colerain, he remained there for a 
 time, then went to Fitchburg, Mass., where he 
 worked four years. Proceeding to Shelburne Falls, 
 he there began the foundry business for himself. 
 Later he sold out to the Millers Falls Co., and 
 going to Millers Falls took charge of the Millers 
 Falls Co. foundry, having under him twenty-five 
 men. Remaining tliree years, he then went to Spring- 
 field, Mass., where he entered the employ of Wright 
 & Emmerson, as foreman, for one year. He next took 
 charge of the foundry department of the \Vasson 
 Car Co., at Brightwood, near Springfield, one of 
 the largest manufacturers of passenger and freight 
 cars in the United States, having under him sev- 
 enty-five men. After three years' experience there 
 Mr. Carleton accepted the position of superintend- 
 ent with the G. F. Warner Alanufacturing Co., New 
 Haven, Conn., having charge of the entire works, 
 Ijoth machine shop and foundry, employing 150 
 men. There he remained three years, at the expira- 
 tion of which time he came to Hartford, Conn., ac- 
 cepting a position with the Pratt & Whitney Man- 
 ufacturing Co., one of the largest concerns in ihe 
 New England States. He was superintendent of 
 the foundry department, having entire charge, em- 
 ploying and discharging all men, and was with this 
 company for eleven years, resigning to accept a 
 better position. For the last three "years he has 
 acted as expert, general superintendent and man- 
 ager for various companies, going first to the Ben- 
 jamin Altha & Illingsworth Steel Foundry, which 
 he assisted in placing on a permanent basis, and 
 later to Dunkirk, N. Y., where he was with the 
 Brooks Locomotive \\'orks, getting their foundry 
 in running order. Returning to New Haven, he as- 
 sisted G. F. ^\'arner ?ilfg. Co. on a government 
 contract, then began drawing the plans for the pres- 
 ent buildings of the Carleton Foundry Co., where 
 he is now located. The company owns a tract of 
 seven acres of land. 
 
 The Carleton Foundry Co. is an incorporated 
 stock company. William H. Watrous is the presi- 
 
 £2 
 
 dent ; Bernard S. Carleton, vice-president and as- 
 sistant treasurer; our subject, trea.surer and general 
 manager; and L. Clinton Carleton. secretary. Tiiey 
 manufacture a line of fine castings, intended for the 
 best grade of work, employing expert molders for 
 this purpose, the force numlx;ring about 100 men. 
 The foundry is located on Faience street, on the 
 direct line of the New York, New Haven & Hart- 
 ford railroad. The wide acquaintance and reputa- 
 tion of Mr. Carleton is a sufficient guarantee of the 
 success of this enterprise. He has patented a prcj- 
 cess for melting iron, by the introduction of steam, 
 converting it into hydrogen and oxygen gas, and is 
 one of the patentees of the chainless bicycle, which 
 was purchased by the Pope Manufacturing Co. 
 
 Mr. Carleton was married, in 1867, to Gertrude 
 Maxam, who was born in Westfiekl, Mass., daugli- 
 ter of Samuel N. and ^largaret (Peck) Maxam. 
 Samuel Maxam was a foundry owner in Colerain, 
 where he was in business for some years. He died 
 at the age of seventy. Of his four children two are 
 living. 
 
 To ]\Ir. and Airs. Carleton were born three chil- 
 dren, two of whom, L. Clinton and Bernard S.. are 
 living. L. Clinton is a first-class molder, secretary 
 of the company, and has general supervision oyer 
 the mechanical' part of the work ; Bernard S. is 
 with the /Etna Life Insurance Co., 'being second 
 in rank in the renewal department. 
 
 Amos L. Carleton is a member of Hartford 
 Lodge, F. & A. M., and was formerly a member of 
 Hamden Lodge, I. O. O. F. His son Bernard S. is a 
 member of St. John's Lodge, F. & A. ]\I., and L. 
 Clinton is a member of the order of United American 
 Mechanics. All are Republicans in politics. 
 
 PATRICK H. CONDON, who, ft)r nearly a 
 third of a century, has been one of the genial whole- 
 souled citizens of Bristol, as well as one of the 
 town's substantial business men, now the efficient 
 first selectman of the town and vice-president of the 
 Journal Publishing Co., is a native of Ireland, 
 born :\Iarch 10, 1853, in County Limerick. 
 
 Mr. Condon is a son of John and Catherine 
 (Hogan) Condon, who were born in Ireland, where 
 the father was a farmer in easy circumstances, and 
 where his death occurred in about 1872. The 
 mother, with some of the children, after settling 
 up the estate, came to America, in 1875, locating 
 in- I'nionville, Conn., her present place of resi- 
 dence. Her children were Alary, who became the 
 wife of Alichael Bridgeman, of Unionville, and died 
 in 1898 ; John H., who is engaged in the cutlery 
 business in Unionville : Patrick H..- our subject : 
 Bridget, the wife of Alichael Hanrahan, of Union- 
 ville; Richard H., a resident of Farmington, now 
 a selectman, who was formerly a representative 
 from the town in the State Legislature : and Mar- 
 garet, who married Peter Rourke, of Unionville. 
 
 Up to the time of coming to America, at the age 
 of seventeen, our subject attended the schools of his 
 
838 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 locality, and after his arrival cast his lot for a 
 period at Greenfield, Mass., working for two years 
 in the cutlery establishment of J. H. Russell & 
 Co. From Greenfield he came to Unionville, Conn., 
 and here learned the trade of an iron molder in the 
 foundry of Cottrel & Bogart. After two years' 
 employment with this concern it was moved to 
 Plainville, and young Condon went thither with it. 
 After a two-years' stay at Plainville he, came to 
 Bristol, which place has since been the scene of his 
 labors and triumphs. On coming to Bristol he be- 
 gan work with the Sessions Foundry Co., and later 
 on was made foreman of the establishment. 'This 
 position he resigned in 1888 to go into business for 
 himself, starting on a small scale a livery business, 
 which he still conducts. Through his tact and 
 good business qualities, together with his industri- 
 ous habits and excellent management, his business 
 has developed into one of considerable size and suc- 
 cess. He also deals extensively in horses, and carries 
 on a general trucking business, in which he has had 
 some large contracts outside of Bristol, a notable 
 one being the distributing of the heavy iron pipe 
 across the county from Roaring Brook to Shuttle 
 Meadow reservoir. The political affiliations of 
 Mr. Condon are with the Democratic party, and 
 locally he is influential in its councils. Socially in- 
 clined, and a good mixer of men, he is popular, 
 and stands high as a citizen. He has served his 
 fellow townsmen for two terms as burgess of the 
 town; in 1899 was chosen first selectman, and was 
 re-elected in 1900 with a majority of 482, running 
 some 485 votes ahead of his ticket, a substantial 
 evidence of his popularity ; he is now most satisfac- 
 torily performing the duties of that office. On the 
 death of T. H. Keirns he succeeded that gentleman 
 in the vice-presidency of the Journal Publishing 
 Co. He is a member of various orders and frater- 
 nities, among them the T. A. B., which society he 
 v/as instrumental in founding, and of which he is 
 now a trustee; the A. O. U. W. lodge at Bristol; 
 the Knights of Columbus, of which he is a trustee ; 
 the tribe of the Order of Red Men at Bristol; the 
 Order of Foresters of America ; the Hibernian So- 
 .ciety ; and the Heptasophs. He is also a trustee 
 of the Catholic Benevolent Legion. 
 
 On Jan. 31, 1877, our subject was married to 
 Miss Mary McDonald, of Plainville, daughter of 
 Peter McDonald, and to this union have come chil- 
 dren as follows: John E., born in 1878, was grad- 
 uated from the Bristol high school and from Hunt- 
 singer's Business College, Hartford; George, born 
 Jan. 8, 1886, is at home; Agnes died in infancy. 
 The family a're members of St. Joseph's Roman 
 Catholic Church of Bristol. 
 
 GEORGE OLNEY BROTT, member of the 
 well-known able firm of Bennett & Brott, attorneys 
 at law, Hartford, is a native of the State of Miss- 
 issippi, born March 4, 1867. 
 
 George F. Brott, his father, was born in Canas- 
 
 tota, N. Y., and received his education there. While 
 quite 3'oung he showed considerable talent as a me- 
 chanic, and for many years has given his attention 
 to inventions and patents, of which he has a lar§e 
 number; he has also been extensively engaged in 
 promoting and developing large tracts of real 
 estate. He now makes his home in Washington, 
 D. C. He married Lucy E. Olney, daughter of 
 Jeremiah Olney, who was born Aug. i, 1817, in 
 Thompson, Windham Co., Conn., a son of Heze- 
 kiah Olney, one of the early settlers of that 
 locality, where he followed farming, as well as 
 being a manufacturer of hats, and also a merchant, 
 for several years conducting a store. 
 
 Jeremiah Olney, our subject's maternal grand- 
 father, received his education in Thompson, and 
 for many years, or until 1881, kept a large general 
 store there. A Republican in politics, he has held 
 all the town officers, having been town clerk, treas- 
 urer, selectman, postmaster for several years, as- 
 sessor, representative in 1852, 1874, 1875, and from 
 1863 to 1873 collector of internal revenue. In 
 i88i he was appointed commissioner of the school 
 fund of the State, a position he held up to 1S94, 
 and he has since been living retired. For many 
 years he was a justice of the peace. In addition to 
 holding the above mentioned offices, he has served 
 as delegate to a large number of State conventions, 
 and in 1880 was a delegate to the National con- 
 vention which nominated Garfield. In 1876 he 
 was nominated for state treasurer on the Repub- 
 lican ticket, but, although well supported at the 
 polls, failed to secure election. He has also been 
 pi-ominently identified with the business interests of 
 Thompson, Windham county ; for twenty-six con- 
 tinuous years was president of the National Bank 
 there, and is one of its oldest officers. Although 
 now eighty-three years of age he is still hale and 
 vigorous, and his opinions regarding questions of 
 finance or politics are considered of the best. In 
 1891 he purchased a fine residence at No. 117 
 Washington street, Hartford, where he resides 
 from September to June, the summer months being 
 passed at his old home in Thompson. Mr. Olney 
 has been twice married, first time to Almira F. 
 Jacobs, of Thompson, by whom he had children as 
 follows: John E., in Norfolk, Neb.; Martha E. 
 (Mrs. Nichols) ; Lucy E., mother of George O. 
 Brott (she died when he was six months old) ; 
 Charles E., living retired in Thompson ; and Fran- 
 cis L. The mother of these died in 1856, and in 
 1858 Mr. Olney for his second wife wedded Emily 
 Matthewson, of Pomfret, Conn., who is still living. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Olney are members of the Congre- 
 gational Church of Thompson, and when in Hart- 
 ford they attend the South Church. 
 
 George O. Brott, the subject proper of this 
 sketch, received his earlier education at the public 
 schools of Thompson, Windham county, subse- 
 quently preparing himself for college at Dean Acad- 
 emy, Franklin, Mass.; then entered Yale College, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 369 
 
 yracluating therefrom in 1888, after which he at- 
 leiuled Ci)himl)ia Law School two years. In May, 
 1890, he was admitted to the Uar, and at once com- 
 menced the practice of law in New York City, re- 
 maining there until 1894, in that year coming to 
 1 lartford and forming a law partnership with Judge 
 lulward B. Bennett, a prominent member of the 
 1 lartford County Bar, which co-partnership has 
 since continued. 
 
 In politics Air. Brott is a Republican, and since 
 coming to Hartford has been connected with the 
 Republican committee of the Eighth ward, in which 
 connection, as chairman, he in 1900 succeeded in 
 influencing the delegates at the caucus to cast their 
 ^■oles for the nomination of Mayor Harbison, the 
 votes in that ward deciding the nomination in his 
 favor. Mr. Brott has served on the board of alder- 
 men and common council, and in 1898 he ran for 
 judge of the city court, but failed by three votes to 
 secure the office; in 1896 he was elected a justice 
 of the peace, which incumbency he has since held. 
 
 Socially Mr. Brott is a member of the F. & A. 
 M., Lafayette Lodge, No. 100, Hartford, formerly 
 affiliated with St. Nicholas Lodge, New York, of 
 which he was secretary ; member of Wolcott Coun- 
 cil, R. & S. M.; of Pythagoras Chapter, No. 17, R. 
 A. M., in which he has passed all the chairs ; of the 
 K. O. T. M.; of Cutler Lodge, No. 5, K. of P.; of 
 Putnam Phalanx; of the Republican and Masonic 
 Clubs ; and of the Hartford Base Ball Club, of 
 which he is vice-president. 
 
 On Dec. 23, 1896, George O. Brott was united 
 in marriage with Carrie M. Mills, who was born 
 in Thompson, \^'indham Co., Conn., a daughter of 
 Andrew and Maria (Perry) Mills, the former of 
 \vhom is a farmer of prominence in that locality, 
 the latter born in Monson, Mass. To our subject 
 and wife has been born one child, Jeremiah. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Brott are members of tne Congregational 
 Church at Thompson, and attend the South Church 
 in Hartford. They reside at the home of his grand- 
 father. No. 117 Washington street, Hartford. 
 
 JOEL L. ENGLISH. As secretary of the 
 -Etna Life Insurance Co., an institution than which 
 none in the United States is better known, the sub- 
 ject of this sketch is regarded by the profession in 
 which his life work has been found as one of its 
 most acomplished members. 
 
 Mr. English was born in Woodstock. AT., Oct. 
 I, 1843, son of Henrv W. and Eliza A. English, 
 and grandson of Joel English. The grandfather 
 was born Dec. 9, 1766, in Andover, Tolland Co., 
 Conn., and when about twelve years old, his father 
 'having died, went to live with Benjamin Burtch, 
 in A\"oodstock, \'t. As he became older he was set 
 to 'tending Strong & Burtch's mill, on the North 
 branch. In early manhood he married Tryphena 
 Strong, who was born Jan. 12, 1770. in Hartford, 
 At., daughter of Benjamin Strong. In 1789 ]\Ir. 
 English bought 100 acres of land on the West 
 
 branch. About that time Simon Davis, Jr., set up 
 a gristmill on land near by, and, in connection witli 
 Daniel Fuller, a sawmill, also. In 1793 ]\Ir. Eng- 
 lish bought the sawmill, and two years later Ben- 
 nett & English bought the gristmill. The mills 
 were then enlarged and improved, and from tiiis 
 time the place came to be known as English Mills. 
 Joel English died Dec. 19, 1852, his wife on Dec. 
 28, 1846. They had eight children, five son.-; and 
 three daughters : Benajah ; Richard ; Charles ; Henry 
 W., the father of our subject ; William S. ; Sarah, 
 who married Jacob Boyce, of Woodstck, Vt. ; Free- 
 dom, who married Lysander Raymond ; and Mary, 
 who married Flosea X'aughan. 
 
 Henry W. English, the father of our subject, 
 was born Jan. 27, 1805. He resided in Woodstock, 
 Vt., and was an honorable and upright man of ex- 
 cellent spirit, esteemed by all as a most valuable 
 citizen. He held important town offices and posi- 
 tions of trust, and was a justice of the peace for 
 over forty years. He married Eliza A. Steele, anil 
 to them were born six children, three of whom are 
 still living: Charles H., of Woodstock; Joel L., our 
 subject ; and Chloe T., who married Charles Adains, 
 of Peacham, Vt. The father died April 2, 1887, aged 
 eighty-two years, and the mother lived to be se\- 
 ent3--six. They attended the Christian Church, in 
 Woodstock, of which Joel English, the grandfather 
 of our subject, had been a deacon. 
 
 Joel L. English was born at Woodstock. Yx., 
 Oct. I, 1843, was educated in the schools of Wood- 
 stock and Randolph, and in 1867 began the work 
 in which he has had an honorable and distinguishefi 
 career, entering the service of the .Etna Life In- 
 surance Co., at Hartford, Conn., as a stenogra- 
 pher and general clerk to the secretary. This 
 position he held for five years, and in 1872 was 
 elected to the position of secretary of the company, 
 which he has held uninterruptedly ever since. In 
 the service of this one company he has since devoted 
 the business energies of his life, in the performance 
 of a ceaseless round of duties which, while lacking 
 in dramatic incident, have established for him a 
 record of high order. The business of the company 
 has increased very largely in the past thirty years. 
 now employing in the home office about one hun- 
 dred clerks, and two assistant secretaries. ]\Ir. 
 English has been longer in the service of the com- 
 pany than any who are now employed in the office 
 with one exception. The company is the largest in 
 New England, writing the greatest amount of busi- 
 ness, and one of the oldest and best known in the 
 United States. It has been doing business for over 
 fifty years. 
 
 In 1878 Mr. English married ]Mabel B. Plimji- 
 ton, who was born in Hartford, a daughter of A. 
 S. Plimpton, formerly a prominent hotel-keeper in 
 this city, who later built the "Plimpton House" at 
 Watch Hill, and conducted it for a nunilier of sea- 
 sons, also managing the "Dixon House" at A\'ester- 
 1\ , R. I., and being well known both in that State 
 
S40 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and in Connecticut. He died at the age of seventy. 
 Mr. Plimpton married Lucinda F. Bacon, who was 
 born in Norwich, and is still living, making her 
 home Vvfith our subject. Mrs. English is an only 
 child, and to her and Mr. English has been born one 
 son, Robert B., now in school. In politics Mr. Eng- 
 lish is a Republican. He attends St. John's Epis- 
 copal Church. 
 
 JOHN W. GRAY (deceased), formerly a lead- 
 ing business man of Hartford, was born in that 
 city March 19, 1851, of an old and honored New 
 England family. 
 
 For over 200 years the Gray family has been 
 identified with this section, and our subject is 
 of the seventh generation in descent from 
 Ebenezer Gray, a pioneer of Hartford. Col. Eben- 
 ezer Gray, his great-grandfather, was an officer 
 in the Revolutionary war, and a prominent citizen of 
 Hartford in his time, and Samuel Gray, the grand- 
 father, was also a resident of the city. John S. 
 Gray, the father of our subject, was born in Hart- 
 ford, and engaged in business there as a dealer in 
 crockery and hardware. He died in June, 1899, 
 aged eighty-three. His estimable wife, Mary Wat- 
 kinson, who survives him, was born in Hartford,, 
 daughter of Robert Watkinson, an Englishman, and 
 for many years has been a member of Trinity 
 Church. They had three children, of whom two 
 are living: Annie, now widow of Rev. Jolin H. 
 Barbour, D. D., of the Berkeley Divinity School, 
 in Middletown; and Miss Ellen Watkinson Gray, 
 who resides with her mother. 
 
 The subject of this memoir was reared in Hart- 
 ford, and, on completing a high-school course, en- 
 tered Trinity College, from which he was gradu- 
 ated in 1872. The next year he spent in the hard- 
 ware - business with Tracy & Tarbox, with whom 
 his father was associated as silent partner, the busi- 
 ness- having been long established. In 1874 he 
 bought out the Goodyear rubber store, and started 
 a factory, to make goods for mechanical purposes. 
 There he conceived. the idea of making whole solid 
 bicycle tires without joints, this giving a trend to 
 his business career, and after a time began making 
 pneumatic tires, much against the wishes of his 
 friends. He made a success of the venture, and 
 supplied the Pope Mfg. Co. with. tires during his 
 life, his business growing so rapidly that at the 
 time of his death he was regarded as one of the 
 most successful men in the city. Had he lived he 
 would doubtless have been one of the most noted 
 business men of the day, as the business founded 
 by him is now worth millions. He had a large 
 factory where the Pope Mfg. Co.'s tire department 
 is now located, and employed a large force of men. 
 He sold largely to other manufacturing concerns, 
 also making a lai'ge solid tire which he had put 
 upon the stages of Philadelphia, becoming the 
 founder of that industry. Mr. Gray passed away 
 June I, 1892, aged fortj^-one years, at his home. No. 
 
 22 Niles street, Hartford. The plant was sub- 
 sequently sold by Mrs. Gray to the Pope Mfg. Co.^ 
 and since then it has been part of that great cor- 
 poration. Mr. Gray was a Republican in politics. 
 Socially he was a favorite in the best circles, and, as 
 he was a fine player, his musical gifts were a source 
 of pleasure at home and elsewhere. 
 
 On April 8, 1875, Mr. Gray married Miss Clara 
 M. Bolter, a native of Hartford, and three chil- 
 dren were born to them : Robert Watkinson, a grad- 
 uate of Trinity College; Mary Bartholomew; and 
 Clara Gray. Mrs. Gray is a descendant of one of 
 the oldest families in America, on the maternal 
 side being of the eighth generation from William 
 Bartholomew of Ipswich, Mass., who came from 
 England in 1634. On her father's side she traces 
 descent from two families of special distinction, 
 each possessing a coat of arms. Her father, the 
 late James Bolter, was a well-known banker of 
 Flartford, and her maternal grandfather, Roswell 
 Bartholomew, was a member of the firm of Ward 
 & Bartholomew, silversmiths, one of the earliest 
 manufacturing firms in the city. Mrs. Gray and 
 her children are highly esteemed in social life, and 
 attend Trinity Episcopal Church, of which she is 
 an active member. 
 
 CLINTON S. LOVELAND. Generations of 
 good business qualifications have fitted the subject 
 of this sketch for eminence in the commercial world. 
 As manufacturer and as farmer he has led a suc- 
 cessful and useful life, and his high standing as a 
 citizen has won him recognition by his fellow citi- 
 zens. He is now serving as first selectman 01 the 
 town of Glastonbury. 
 
 Mr. Loveland is a representative of an old Con- 
 necticut family. Elizur Loveland, his great-great- 
 grandfather, was a soldier in the Revolution, having 
 fought at the battle of Long Island, and survived 
 that struggle. Francis Loveland, the great-grand- 
 father of our subject, was a lifelong farmer of Glas- 
 tonbury. His son, Joshua Loveland, was a black- 
 smith, farmer, shoemaker, and general mechanic, 
 and possessed that genius of invention and enter- 
 prise which is making New England the workshop 
 of the world. He remained through life a resident 
 of East Glastonbury. He married Rachel Hills, a 
 native of Glastonbury, and to them were born three 
 children: Chester, father of our subject; Watson, 
 a farmer of East Glastonbury, who married Laana 
 Bly, a native of Marlboro; and John, who married 
 Lucretia Covell, of Glastonbuiy. The last named 
 enlisted in i860 in the loth Conn. V. I., and was 
 killed at Proctor's Creek, Va., May 16, 1864. ' 
 
 Chester Loveland, the father of our subject, was 
 born Sept. 30, 1820, and died Aug. 29, 1881. Dur- . 
 ing his earlier years he followed the trade of mason | 
 and builder, and prospered to a marked degree, but 
 for the last fifteen years of his life he was engaged [ 
 in the manufacture of paper, in partnership with I 
 John R. Buck, a Congressman, of Hartford. The I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 341 
 
 /aclory, recently destroyed by lire, was located at 
 I'.ast t'llastonbiirv. He niarrieil Irene R. Loveland, 
 horn I'^eb. 17, 1823, daughter of Sylvester and Ruth 
 (Rileyj Loveland, the latter a descendant of an old 
 and prominent family of Glastonbury and Wethers- 
 fielil. Her father was a soldier in the war of 1812. 
 To Chester and Irene R. Loveland was born one 
 child, Clinton S., our subject. 
 
 Clinton S. Loveland was born in East Glaston- 
 bury Noy. 23, 1S47. Receivinj^f a good common- 
 school education, he completed, in 1870, a course of 
 study in the academy at Wil'braham, Mass., under 
 the instruction of Dr. Cook, one of his many class- 
 mates being- Senator Crosby, of Glastonbury. Re- 
 turning home, he engaged in farming for ten years, 
 and then entered his father's paper mill, of which he 
 liecame superintendent, in which res]3onsiblc position 
 he continued until 1898. In that year he purchased 
 what was known as the John Keeney place, and 
 there erected the handsome and commodious mod- 
 ern residence v,-hich he now occupies. Besides this 
 beautiful place, which comprises fourteen acres, he 
 owns several tine farms in East Glastonbury, con- 
 taining in all some 200 acres. Mr. Loveland was 
 married, June 13, 1877, to iliss Hannah Wier, who 
 was born in Glastonbury, daughter of Henry O. and 
 Diantha (Goodale) Wier, well-known and highly 
 esteemed residents of the city. The union of our 
 subject and wife has been blessed with five chil- 
 dren: Ella W.. born Sept. 2, 1878, is a graduate 
 of a Hartford Business College, and is a bookkeeper 
 in that city: Chester A., born Sept. 19, 1880, is a 
 student at ?Iuntsinger"s Business College, Hart- 
 ford ; Alice C). was born ilarch 16, 1883 ;, Henry C, 
 Oct. 13, 1888; and Ruth, Nov. 15, 1802. 
 
 In politics Mr. Loveland is a Republican. In 
 1895 he was elected to the State Legislature to rep- 
 resent his town, and in 1898 was chosen first select- 
 man, to succeed Henry Potter, holding the office 
 for three years ; he has filled both legislative po- 
 sitions most acceptably to his constituents. Mr. 
 Loveland is genial in manner and disposition, and 
 counts many among his close friends. He possesses 
 good business qualifications and sound judgment, is 
 a leader in his town, and ranks high as a citizen. 
 He is a member of Washington Lodge, No. 61, I. 
 O. O. F., and of the Putnam Phalanx, a very pop- 
 ular organization, and his family are members of 
 the IMethodist Episcopal Church of East Glaston- 
 bury. 
 
 Jx\MES L. DOYLE, proprietor and publisher of 
 the Nezv Britain Daily Record, was born in Nor- 
 wich, Conn., June 24, 1855, and was educated in 
 the public schools of that town. Upon leaving 
 school he entered the office of the Nonvich Adver- 
 tiser, where by successive steps he acquired a train- 
 ing in newspaper work and a knowledge of the print- 
 ing business. Leaving Norwich, he was with the 
 Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co., of Hartford, for 
 twelve years in the office and as their traveling rep- 
 
 resentative. For two years he managed a printing 
 and photo-engraving establishment in Xew York. 
 
 In March, 1898, Mr. Doyle, together with .Mr. 
 Bacon, purchased the Record, which had then been 
 established forty years as a weekl\- newspaper. The 
 job plant was purchased at the same time. In 1890 
 Mr. Doyle became the sole owner, and two years 
 later established the Daily Record, which has grown 
 in popularity and influence under his management. 
 It's success, and that of the job i^rinting business, 
 can perhaps best be measured by pointing to the fact 
 that the Record has recently been removed to its 
 own building, a commodious brick structure, 
 equipped with new presses and machinery to meet 
 the increased demands of the business. This build- 
 ing and plant are accounted among the best adajned 
 in the State to the newspaper and job printing busi- 
 ness. 
 
 j\lr. Doyle is an excellent business man, care- 
 ful, shrewd and accurate always, and an able writer, 
 fully informed on all matters of public concern. 
 In politics he has always been a Republican, and 
 the principles of that party are faithfully advo- 
 cated in the columns of the Record. 
 
 LYMAN. The family of the late Christopher 
 C. Lyman, of Hartford, descended from one of the 
 early New England emigrants, who became one of 
 the first settlers of Hartford, Connecticut. 
 
 Theodore Lyman, of Hartford, the only sur- 
 vivor of the children of Christopher C. Lyman, is 
 of the seventh generation from Richard Lyman, 
 the American ancestor of the family, the line of his 
 descent being through Lieut. John, John, Elias, 
 Elias (2), Gains and Christopher C. 
 
 (I) Richard Lyman, from the County of Essex, 
 England, in August, 163 1, embarked with his wife 
 and children in the ship "Lion" for New England, 
 sailing from Bristol. Richard Lyman first became 
 a settler, in Charlestown, J\Iass. He became a free- 
 man June II, 1635, and ofi Oct. 15 of the same 
 year joined the party of persons who proceeded to 
 settle Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield. Conn 
 He was one of the fiist settlers of Hartford. He 
 died in August, 1640. His widow, Sarah, died soon 
 afterward. His children named in the will were: 
 Richard, Robert, Sarah, John and Fillis. 
 
 (II) Lieut. John Lyman, son of Richard Ly- 
 man, born in 1623, in the County of Essex, Eng- 
 land, came to New England with h's father, and 
 married in 1654, Dorcas, daughter of John Plumb, 
 of Branford, Conn. He settled in Northampton, 
 Mass., where he resided until his death, in. i6go. 
 He was in command of the Northampton soldiers 
 in the famous Falls fight above Deerfield, May 18, 
 1676. His children were: Elizabeth, Sarah, John, 
 Moses, Dorothy, Mary, Experience, Joseph, Ben- 
 jamin and Caleb. 
 
 (III) John Lyman, son of Lieut. John L}-man, 
 born in 1660, in Northanipton, Mass., married in 
 1687 ]\Iindwell Pomeroy, born in 1666, daughter o£ 
 
312 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mary Woodford Sheldon, of Northampton, and 
 widow of John Pomeroy. She died in 1735. John 
 Lyman Hved in the part of town called South Farms, 
 and kept a public house near Smith's Ferry. He died 
 in 1740. His ( hildren were : Mindwell, Dorcas, 
 Hannah, John, Esther, Gideon, Elizabeth, Phineas, 
 Elias and Gad. 
 
 (IV) Elias Lyman, son of John Lyman, born 
 in 1710, at South Farms, married in 1736 Hannah 
 Allen, daughter of Deacon Samuel Allen, of North- 
 ampton. She was born in 1714, and died in 17 — . 
 ]-"lias Lyman was among those who were called out 
 for the defense of Bennington in the Revolutionary 
 war. He succeeded his father in his business as a 
 farmer and keeper of a public house. He died in 
 1790. His children were : Hannah, Rachel, Elias, 
 Joel, Elizabeth, Sarah Mindwell and Jonathan. 
 
 (V) Elias Lyman (2), son of Elias Lyman, born 
 in 1740 at South Farms, married in 1764 Hannah 
 Clapp, daughter of Jonathan Clapp, of Easthampton. 
 She was born in 1742, and died in 1813. Elias 
 Lyman built a house about a mile north of his fa- 
 ther's, not far from Rock Ferry, where all of his 
 children were born. He was a farmer, and kept a 
 public house. He died in 181 6. His children 
 were : Justin, Elias, Gaius, Elizabeth, Hannah, 
 Asahel, Simeon, Rachel and Job. 
 
 (Vi) Gaius Lyman, son of Elias Lyman (2), 
 born Nov. 24, 1769, married on Jan. 18, 1797, Sub- 
 mit Field, daughter of Deacon Joseph Field, of 
 Sunderland, Mass. She was born June 17, 1774, 
 and died in Hartford April 27, 1846. Gaius Lyman 
 succeeded his brother Justin in the occupation of 
 the Rock House for several years. Li 1804 he 
 moved to Hartford, Conn. He traded in lumber and 
 West Indies goods. He died in Hartford, Jan. 4, 
 1845. His children were: Elhanan Winchester, 
 Christopher C, Orra A., Julia E., Emma S., Jane 
 R., Hannah S., and Theodore. 
 
 (VII) Christopher Columbus Lyman, son of 
 Gaius, was born Dec. '28, 1800, in Northampton, 
 Mass., and married on Sept. 6, 1830, at Bennington, 
 A^t., Cecelia Breakenridge. She died in Hartford, 
 Conn., Feb. 20, 1870. Their children were : Ce- 
 cilia, born in 1831, died Aug. i, 1832; Theodore, 
 born Jan. 4, 1834; Cecelia (2), born Oct. 14, 1837, 
 died March 24, 1842; and Mary, born Sept. 30, 
 1842, died April 21, 1844. 
 
 The late Christopher C. Lyman, whose death 
 occurred at his home in Hartford on May 28, 1883, 
 had been a resident of the city for upward of fifty 
 3'ears. He was for a period engaged in the lumber 
 business, but in 1835, on the reorganization of the 
 Hartford Fire Insurance Co., became assistant sec- 
 retary thereof, and faithfully performed his duties 
 as such until 1878 — a period of forty-three years. 
 He declined all opportunities of promotion and re- 
 quests to hold a higher position, though he was a 
 director of the company and the largest individual 
 stockholder. Mr. Lyman lived in a quiet and unos- 
 tentatious way, but was of a most charitable nature. 
 
 and always gave very liberally to a great many 
 good objects, and did it, as he did everything else, 
 in a most quiet way. He was possessed of musical 
 tastes, and was a man of much musical culture. 
 He was a thorough student in the culture of 
 music, and the musical library which he collected 
 was said to have been the finest, at the time of his 
 death, in the State. He, himself, composed a number 
 of hymn tunes, but never any more elaborate work. 
 He was a Christian gentleman, whom everybody 
 respected. He left a record of a blameless life, and 
 a reputation for integrity and uprightness such as 
 few men acquire. 
 
 (VIII) Theodore Lyman, son of Christopher C. 
 Lyman, has been a real-estate lawj^er in Hartford, 
 where he was born Jan. 4, 1834, and where his busy 
 and useful life thus far has been passed. He was 
 graduated from the Hartford Public High School 
 m 1 85 1, and from Yale College in 1855. lie studied 
 law under the direction of Thomas C. and Charles- 
 E. Perkins, of Hartford, and was admitted to the 
 Bar in that city June 26, 1859. On Jan. 22, 1886, 
 Mr. Lyman was married, at Arlington, Mass., to- 
 Laura M., daughter of George T. Sherman. Their 
 children are as follows: Helen, born Nov. 8, 1888; 
 Richard Sherman, born Jan. 29, 1891 ; Bertha, boni 
 Oct. 22, 1892; Esther, born March 12, 1894. 
 
 ALBERT L. POPE. For many years the mak- 
 ing of Columbia and Hartford bicycles has been 
 one of Flartford's leading industries, and the great 
 factories devoted to this purpose comprise the larg- 
 est cycle-manufacturing plant in the world. 
 
 The Pope Manufacturing Co., now known as 
 the Columbia department of the American Bicycle 
 Co., was organized in 1877, and from small be- 
 ginnings its business has grown to vast propor- 
 tions. Albert L. Pope became manager of this 
 great industrial establishment in 1899, his advance- 
 ment to the position affording striking proof of the 
 fact that men need no longer grow old in order 
 to qualify for responsible business positions. 
 
 Mr. Pope is a son of Col. Albert A. Pope, found- 
 er of the bic3'Cle industry in America. If his par- 
 entage afforded him any unusual opportunities for 
 business success, it may be noted that they were of 
 a kind which he never could have made the most 
 of had he not himself possessed exceptional ability. 
 
 Albert L. Pope was born in Newton, Mass., in 
 1872. After being educated at Phillips Academy, 
 Exeter, N. H., he expressed strong preference for 
 a business career, and spent a year at the Columbia 
 factories in Hartford, thoroughly familiarizing him- 
 self with the details of manufacturing and office 
 work, and during this period he entered the works 
 daily at seven in the morning, remaining until si.x 
 at night. This course of training gave him prac- 
 tical experience in every department of factory and 
 office. He afterward traveled in the interest of the 
 company, and made a thorough study of every 
 branch of the selling system. In 1894 he was ap- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 343 
 
 pointed manager of the Pope Conipan}'s JJoston 
 branch, controlhng the territor)- inckided in the 
 States of Maine, Aew Hampshire and eastern Mas- 
 sachusetts. In this position he was uniformly suc- 
 cessful, and in 1897 ^^ '^^'^s made secretary of the 
 Tope Alanufacturing Co., and took up liis perman- 
 ent residence m the city of Hartford. That he most 
 ably filled the position as secretary is evidenced by 
 the fact that he was sifbsequently promoted to his 
 present position. 
 
 Mr. Pope was for nine years prominently con- 
 nected with militar}- affairs in Massachusetts and 
 Connecticut. For three years previous to 1896 he 
 was provost-sergeant on the First Brigade Staff' of 
 the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, and later was 
 captain on the staff" of Brig.-Gen. Alatthews, com- 
 manding the First Brigade, ^Massachusetts National 
 Guard. In 1898, during the Spanish war, JNIr. Pope 
 was at Alarblehead in camp with the brigade, which 
 was not, however, called into active service. After 
 his removal to Hartford J\Ir. Pope, during 1898 and 
 1899, served as quartermaster of the First Regi- 
 ment, Connecticut National Guard. 
 
 For several years Mr. Pope was a member of the 
 Algonquin Club of Boston, and also a member of 
 the Boston Athletic Association, the Massachusetts 
 Bicycle Club of Boston, the Corinthian Yacht Club 
 of Alarblehead, and the Hull Yacht Club of Hull, 
 of which latter organization he was rear commo- 
 dore. In 1899 he built the stanch steam-yacht "Co- 
 lumbia," well known among the pleasure craft of 
 the Connecticut river. Long Island Sound and ad- 
 joining waters. 
 
 SUMNER FAJNIILY. The principal family of 
 the name of Sumner in Connecticut is traced back 
 to (I) Roger Sumner, of Bicester, Oxfordshire, 
 England, who married Nov. 2, 1601, Joane Frank- 
 lin, and died Dec. 3, 1608. Their only child was 
 
 (II) William Sumner, born at Bicester, 1605, 
 married Oct. 22, 1625, Mary West, came to New 
 England in 1636, and settled at Dorchester, Mass. 
 He was selectman for more than twenty years, and 
 was deputy to the General Court 1658, 1666-70-72- 
 78-81-83-86. His wife died June 7, 1676, and he 
 on Dec. 9, 1688. Issue : William, Joane, Rogers, 
 George, Samuel, and Increase. Of these, 
 
 (III) William Sumner, born at Bicester, mar- 
 ried Elizabeth, daughter of Augustine Clement, of 
 Dorchester. He was a mariner; moved to Boston 
 where he died in February, 1675. J^is widow died 
 before 1687. 
 
 (IV) Clement Sumner, the next youngest in a 
 family of ten children, was born at Boston Sept. 6, 
 1671 ; married JNIay iS, 1698, Margaret Harris; 
 lived at Boston. 
 
 (V) William Sumner, the eldest of seven chil- 
 dren, was born ]\Iarch 18, 1699, at Boston ; married 
 Oct. II, 1 72 1. Hannah, daughter of Thomas Hunt. 
 of Lebanon. Conn. He was a physician, and lived 
 at Hebron, Conn. In 1767 he moved to Claremont, 
 
 X. II., where he died -March 4, 177^; shj passed 
 away April 2, 1781. 
 
 (VI) Reuben Sumner, the third of nine chil- 
 dren, born at Ilebron, Conn., May 29, 1727, married 
 March 6, 1754, Elizabeth Mack, at Hebron, Conn. 
 He died Aprd 2, 1807, she on July 10, 1805. 
 
 {Vll) Rev. Henry Peterson Sumner, a .Metho- 
 dist preacher, the ninth in a family of eleven chil- 
 dren, born June 10, 1773, married Oct. 11, 1796, 
 Jerusha, daughter of Solomon Perrin, of Hebron. 
 She died Feb. 4, 1798; he married (secondj Sept. 
 II, 1798, Mary S., daughter of Timothy Goslee, of 
 Glastonbury, Conn. He died Jan. 18, 1838; his 
 widow died at Bolton, Conn., July 9, 1875. 
 
 (VIII) John Wesley Sumner, eighth in a family 
 of twelve children, was born at Hebron. Conn., 
 Sept. 16, 1812. He resided at Bolton, of which 
 town he was a representative in 1877-78. On Nov. 
 23, 1836, he married Mary, daughter of George 
 Gleason, and a brief record of their children is as 
 follows: Henry Peterson, born at Hebron, Conn., 
 Jan. 21, 1838, died at Bolton, Conn., Aug. 29, 1873. 
 Alary Elizabeth, JNIay 23, 1840, -May 24, 1840. 
 George Gleason, a sketch of whom follows. Mary 
 Ella, born at Canton, Conn., April 24, 1848. mar- 
 ried Feb. 8, 1871, J. L. \\hite, of Bolton, and died 
 Oct. 6, 1876. Frank Chester, the youngest, a sketch 
 of whom follows. 
 
 George Gleasox Sumner, born Jan. 14, 1841, 
 at Bolton, Conn., attended the district schools of the 
 place until fourteen years of age, and was then sent 
 to the Bartlett High School at New London. After 
 studying there a year and a half he became teacher 
 of the district school in Andover, after which he 
 went to W"illiston Seminary, there to fit himself for 
 a college course. Ill health, however, compelled 
 him to relinquish his plans for securinof a university 
 education,. and the next four years he spent upon 
 the farm in Bolton, working in tne summer time 
 and teaching in winter. During this period he was 
 town clerk for three years, probate clerk and acting 
 school visitor. 
 
 In 1864 Mr. Sumner began the study of law 
 with Flon. David S. Calhoun, in Manchester, after- 
 ward removed to Hartford, and entered the law 
 office of Waldo & Hyde, and in 1866 he was ad- 
 mitted to the Bar. In 1867 he was elected a rep- 
 resentative from the town of Bolton to the General 
 Assembly. The same year he removed his residence 
 to Hartford: in 1868 was elected an alderman from 
 the Fifth ward, and served four years. He was city 
 ' attorney for one term, associate judge of the city 
 court, police commissioner for three years, and re- 
 corder of the city court for four years. In 1873-74 
 he was chairman of the Democratic State Central 
 Committee. In 1877 he was a candidate for the 
 State Senate from the First District, and received a 
 certificate of election, but was compelled to relinquish 
 the position after a contest. In the year following 
 he was elected mayor of the city of Hartford. In 
 1883 he was elected lieutenant-governor of the State. 
 
B44 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In 1887-88 he served as State senator from the 
 First District. 
 
 In October, 1870, George G. Sumner married 
 Miss JuHa E., daughter of Hon. David Galhip, of 
 Plainfield, Conn., and two children came of this 
 union: William Gallup, born Dec. 5, 1871, died ni 
 Jan., 1873; and Ella Gallup, born in March, 1875, 
 died young. The mother of these was called from 
 earth March 2, 1875. 
 
 Frank Chester Sumner, born June 8, 1850, 
 at Canton, Conn., received his education at the 
 pubic schools of Bolton, Conn., and the Hartford 
 High School. At the age of seventeen years he en- 
 tered the employ of the Hartford Trust Co., as 
 messenger, and rose by degrees until reaching his 
 present responsible position, that of secretary- 
 treasurer. He is a director of the State Prison, of 
 the Pratt & Whitney Co., and of the Gray Telephone 
 Pay Station; a trustee of the Mechanics Savings 
 Bank; and has served as a jury commissioner; also 
 as a member of the board of health twelve years, up 
 to 1900. 
 
 On June 17, 1896, Frank C. Sumner was united 
 in marriage with Miss Mary L. Catlin, daughter 
 of George S. and Adelaide L. (Catlin) Catlin, and 
 a granddaughter of Hon. George S. Catlin. 
 
 HENRY FREDERICK SMITH. Mr. Smith, 
 who was for nearly thirtv years identified with the 
 wholesale grocery trade of Hartford, and has been 
 for thirteen years connected with the municipal gov- 
 ernment of the city, was born July 12, 1853, in the 
 city of Weimar, in the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Wei- 
 mar-Eisenach, Germany. 
 
 Robert H Smith, father of our subject, is one 
 of the most influential German residents of Hart- 
 ford, no less because of his native intelligence and 
 superior education than on account of his genial 
 disposition and his sterling moral worth. As a 
 young man he learned 'the trade of a file maker in 
 Germany, where he was born Sept. 10, 1828. While 
 yet a young man he married Elizabeth Krumpholz, 
 whose father was a large forge owner, and a man 
 of some wealth in the Fatherland. Their first child, 
 Henry F., was born July 12, 1853, and while he 
 was yet an infant of six weeks the young parents 
 emigrated to America. In 1854 Robert H. Smith, 
 with his wife and child, settled in Hartford, where 
 he formed a partnership with James W. Arthur, to 
 carry on the business of file makers and general 
 locksmiths. Early in the 'si.xties he embarked in 
 business by himself, manufacturing files, and usually 
 employing from six to eight men in his shop at 
 No. 129 Front street. He soon acquired a well- 
 deserved reputation for turning out superior work, 
 and business was prosperous with him until ill 
 health compelled his retirement from active pur- 
 suits in the early 'eighties. He was always a stanch 
 Republican ; also took an interest in fraternal so- 
 ciety work. He was a charter member of the Ger- 
 man Independent Aid Society, and the first chan- 
 
 cellor commander of Herman Lodge, No. 16, K. 
 P., and is an active member of Hartford Lodge, F. 
 & A. M., and other Masonic bodies. Both he and 
 his wife were confirmed in the Lutheran Church 
 in childhood. Mrs. Smith, mother of Henry F., 
 died Oct. i, 1886. She bore her husband four chil- 
 dren, of whom, as has been said, Henry was the 
 first born. The others in order of birth were Cath- 
 erine, born Feb. 20, 1855, married George A. Prut- 
 ting, Jr., and died in Mav, 1889; Rose, born Oct. 
 29, 1857, is the wife of Dr. Charles W. Brunner, of 
 BrQoldyn, N. Y. ; Marie, born March 4, 1866, mar- 
 ried George A. Prutting, after the death of her eld- 
 est sister, Catherine. 
 
 Henry F. Smith received his early education in 
 the German-English school on Temple street, and at 
 the old Centre school. His father, however, wished 
 him to study in the schools of his native land, and 
 in July, 1865, the boy (then only twelve years old) 
 was sent to Germany, where he became .an inmate of 
 the household of an uncle at Weimar. This uncle 
 was a man of prominence ; a paymaster in the Ducal 
 army at that time ; and afterward holding the same 
 post in the Imperial army of Germanv. For three 
 years young Henry F. was a pupil in the Real ( Pre- 
 paratory) school, an institution which fitted its stu- 
 dents for entrance to the universities, but in Jul)', 
 1868, he returned to the parental roof-tree in Hart- 
 ford. On Oct. 8 of that year he entered the em- 
 ploy of Foster & Co., wholesale grocers, and the 
 story of his connection with that concern affords a 
 key to the secret of his success in life. He showed 
 such innate ability, quick perception, ready grasp 
 of emergencies, industr}^ and fidelity, that he rapidly 
 rose from the humble rank of office boy to a com- 
 manding position, after serving as bookkeeper, sales- 
 man and buyer. For twent3'-seven years and three 
 months he remained with the firm, resigning Jan. 
 I, 1896. 
 
 It is in his career as a public man, however, 
 that Mr. Smith has been especiallv conspicuous. In 
 1886, and again in 1887, the Republicans of the 
 Fourth ward, elected him to represent them in the 
 common council board. He served on several im- 
 portant committees, among them those on Amuse-1 
 ments and Claims. In 1891 he was the unsuccess- 
 ful Republican nominee for the office of town clerk, 
 being defeated by his Democratic ooponent, John E. 
 Higgins, by 1,388 majority, the total vote f)olled 
 being 7,702. Two years later he again locked po- 
 litical horns with the same antagonist, and was 
 again defeated, although the majority was reduced 
 to twenty-eight, in a total vote of 5,800. In the 
 spring of 1894 the same gentlemen were opposing 
 candidates for the office of city clerk of Hartford, 
 Mr. Smith being chosen by a majority of 882. In 
 1895 he was once more a successful candidate, and 
 in 1896 (the offices of town clerk and city clerk hav- 
 ing been consolidated) he was elected to the dual 
 position by a majority of 735, for the period of two 
 years. So satisfactorily did he fill this position that 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 345 
 
 Jic was honored, in i8y8 and icjoo, b}- being made 
 the nominee of both pohtieal parties, receiving all 
 but thirty-seven out of a total of 9,487 votes cast, 
 and twenty-seven out of 10,348 votes, respectively. 
 
 -Mr. Smith is actively and prominently identified 
 with many fraternal, social, athletic and benevolent 
 organizations. He is a member of Charter Oak 
 Lodge, No. 2, 1. O. O. F., and Miriam Lodge, 
 Daughters of Rebekah ; he is a charter member of 
 Lincoln. Lodge, No. 55, K. 1'., has always stood 
 high in its councils, having been Master of Finance 
 from 1894 to 1897, and is now a member of the 
 board of trustees ; is president of the P}'thian Build- 
 ing Association. He has attained high rank as a 
 Mason, being a member of Lafayette Lodge, No. 
 100, A. F. & A. M.; Pythagoras Chapter, No. 17, 
 R. A. M. ; Wolcott Council, No. i, Washington 
 Commandery, No. I, K. T., and Sphinx Temple, A. 
 A. O. N. M. S. He also belongs to Teutonia Lodge, 
 No. 9, Sons of Herman ; Charter Uak Tent, No. 27, 
 K. O. T. J\L ; is a social member of the Alodern 
 A\'oodmen ; the Hartford Saengerbund ; the Hartfonl 
 Alaennerchor : the Hartford Turnerbund ; the Hart- 
 ford Rifle Club ; the Republican Club ; and of the 
 . Board of Trade. He has also taken a deep interest 
 in the Connecticut National Guard, of which he 
 has long been a tried member and efficient officer. 
 He connected himself with that body in 1872, join- 
 ing Company A, ist Regiment, rose from the ranks 
 to be first lieutenant, and resigned in 1891. Five 
 years later he became a member of Putnam Phalanx, 
 aiid since Feb. 22, 1898, has been adjutant of the 
 organization, holding rank of captain. 
 
 In October, 1876, Mr. Smith was married to 
 Miss Rose Bihl, of East Hartford. Their only child, 
 Ernest \N., was born Dec. 9, 1879, and died Oct. 
 14, 1884. 
 
 JOSEPH R. ANDREWS. The Andrews fam- 
 ily has long been prominent in this section, and the 
 ancestors of the subject of this sketch, a leading busi- 
 ness man of New Britain, were early settlers there, 
 a portion of the city being built upon the old home- 
 stead. 
 
 The first of the family of whom we have record, 
 John and Mary Andrews, early settled in Hartford 
 county, probably about 1640, he being one of the 
 eighty-four proprietors of the ancient town of 
 Tunxis, named afterward "Farmington." Tunxis 
 was then as much the name of a tribe of Indians as 
 it was of the river and land they occupied and 
 ■claimed as proprietors. 
 
 Daniel Andrews, third son of John and Marv, the 
 settlers, was born ]\Iay 27, 1649. He lived in Farm- 
 ington, Conn., in 1672 was recognized as one of the 
 eighty-four proprietors, and received a division of 
 the lands on his £44 taxable estate. He united with 
 the church at Farmington May 24, 1692. He died 
 April 13. 1731. in his eighty-second year. His name 
 occasionally appears on the town records as engaged 
 in public business; was one of the '•townsmeii" 
 
 1696 and later; was often employed in the .settle- 
 ment of estates, etc. He was a large land-holder, as 
 appears from the land records at I'arniington. 
 
 John Andrews, son of Daniel, of Farmington, 
 born June 10, 1680, lived in the town of Wethers- 
 field, Conn., but belonged to Kensington Parish. 
 He died June 16, 1740, aged sixty years. He wa^, 
 called Sergt. John. 
 
 Moses Andrews, second son of Sergt. John, of 
 Wethersfield, and great-great-grandfather of our 
 subject, born May 12, 1722, at Wethersfield, near 
 the line of Farmington, married Nov. 10, 1748, 
 Lydia, daughter of Joseph Root. She was a woman 
 of great Christian meekness and patience. She fit- 
 ted out for the army of the Revolution six of her 
 nine sons, by her own industry, spinning the yarn 
 and then making the garments. She died July 6, 
 1806, in her eighty-first year. ^Nloses Andrews was 
 chosen one of the standing committee of the church 
 of which he and his wife were members. He was a 
 carpenter by trade, and was greatly respected. Like 
 his father he had the military title of sergeant. 
 
 Joseph Andrews, our subject's great-grandfather, 
 and son of Sergt. Moses, of New Britain, was born 
 Dec. 23, 1751, and died Nov. 23, 1831, aged eighty 
 years. He learned the carpenter's trade from his 
 father, was also a farmer at the homestead, was a 
 large land-holder, and built the house recently oc- 
 cupied by our subject's father, at No. 62 Burritt 
 street. New Britain, that street being on the bound- 
 ary line of the farm. He was a thorough farmer 
 and good mechanic. He married Feb. 6, 1777, 
 Lydia Judd. He was in the Revolutionary war. 
 
 Joseph Andrews, Jr., grandfather of our subject, 
 and son of Joseph and Lydia Andrews, of New 
 Britain, was born Jan. 4, 1791. On Jan. 9, 1817, 
 he married Clarissa, daughter of Deacon John Os- 
 good, of New Britain, and lived at the old home of 
 his father, north of West Main street, about one 
 mile from the village. He died June 19, 1824, aged 
 thirty-three years. They had two children, John 
 H. and Clarissa ; Clarissa married Samuel W. Steele, 
 and died Aug. 13, 1840. 
 
 John H. Andrew^s, the father of our subject, 
 was born Aug. 27. 1819, at the home of his grand- 
 father, Joseph, and was educated in the schools of 
 that locality. While a boy he went to ^^"ethersfield 
 to gain a knowledge of the grocery business with 
 Samuel J. Andrews. He inherited part of the old 
 Andrews homestead of his father and grandfather, 
 about one mile west of the village, and leaving the 
 grocery business he settled thereon and engaged in 
 general farming and tobacco culture. He added 
 largely to the estate, having at one time at least 250 
 acres, including pasture lands, while in the home- 
 stead proper he had one hundred acres. The growth 
 of the city in that direction led to the selling of 
 many residence lots, but the greater portion of the 
 land is still retained. He was always regarded as 
 exceptionally industrious and thrifty, and his judg- 
 ment was considered excellent in business matters 
 
346 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and in public affairs. At the time the new Baptist 
 church was built he served as trustee, and his influ- 
 ence was given to various progressive movements. 
 He passed away Jan. 30, 1899, aged seventy-nine 
 years. In early life he was a Democrat, but later 
 he became an mdependent and then a Republican. 
 Mr. Andrews married Julia A. Church, a daughter 
 of James and Hulda (Barnes) Church, of Haddam, 
 Conn., and the following children were born to them : 
 Hattie married Anson F. Fowler, of North Guilford, 
 Conn., and died in December, 1880; Georgianna, is 
 the widow of Charles M. Church, late of Nev/ Brit- 
 ain, who died Oct. i, 1900; Jennie died Aug. 14, 
 1870; James E. is a farmer and market gardener 
 on Burritt street. New Britain; Joseph R. is our 
 subject; John G. resides in New Britain; and Annie 
 married F. H. Johnston, of New Britain. 
 
 Joseph R. Andrews was born June 26, 1856, at 
 New Britain, and in boyhood attended the public 
 schools of the place, leaving the high school during 
 the second year of the course. In the summer of 
 1876 he was employed temporarily in the local post 
 office, while the regular clerks were taking a va- 
 cation, and then, after a few months spcat in as- 
 sisting in the work of the farm, he became associ- 
 ated in business with his father and brother James, 
 who were carrying on an extensive trade in dressing 
 cattle for retail dealers. For four years our sub- 
 ject had charge of this business. The great packers 
 of Chicago were then extending their business op- 
 erations, the first to establish a branch house in New 
 Britain being Gustavus F. and Edwin C. Swift, and 
 Mr. Andrews, seeing the inevitable tendency of the 
 movement, formed a partnership with them in 1881 
 which has ever since continued successfully, un- 
 der the firm name of Andrews, Swift & Co. He 
 has been active in municipal affairs, for four years 
 has been a member of the board ot police commis- 
 sioners, being chairman at the present time, and 
 was instrumental in securing the introduction of 
 the Gamewell police signal system in 1898. He is 
 also chairman of the joint board of police and fire 
 commissioners, for the erection of the new police 
 and fire building on Commercial street. On Aug. 
 9, 1890, he enlisted in Company I, ist Regiment 
 Connecticut National Guard, and at the second meet- 
 ing thereafter, Aug. 15, 1890, was elected second 
 lieutenant. On Jan. 25, 1891, he was chosen first- 
 lieutenant, and Dec. i, 1892, captain of Company E, 
 serving until March, 1896, when, at his request, he 
 was placed on the retired list. He and his family are 
 prominent in the best social circles "of the locality. 
 He is a member of the Baptist Church, and has 
 been a trustee of the same for a number of years.. 
 He is identified with the New Britain Club; the 
 New England Order of Protection ; the Royal Ar- 
 canurn; Centennial Lodge, No. 118, F. & A. M., in 
 which he is senior warden ; Giddings Chapter, R. 
 A. M. ; Doric Council, R. & S. M., of New Britain ; 
 Washington Commandery, No. i, K. T. ; and Sphinx 
 Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Hartford. 
 
 ALVA E. ABRAMS, M. D., a prominent and- 
 successful physician of Hartford, where for fifteen, 
 and more years he has been closely and favorably 
 identified with the medical profession, is a descend- 
 ant of New York and Connecticut ancestry. 
 
 J. Danforth Abrams, the father of Dr. Abrams,. 
 and son of Elnathan and Anna (Strong) Abrams, 
 who were farming people of Duanesburg, N. Y., 
 where the former died in 1861, was born in 1836, 
 at Duanesburg, and was there reared and passed, 
 the greater part of his life, engaged in agricultural 
 pursuits. During the Civil war he enlisted and 
 served in Company I, 137th N. Y. V. I., and lost his- 
 life, dying in 1865 at Fortress Mcm-oe,,Va. He had ''. 
 married Miss Susan, daughter of Elijah and Har- 
 riet (Eentley) Ladd, and a sister of George W. 
 Ladd, of Bloomfield, Conn., and to the marriage were 
 born two sons: Alva E., our subject; and Elijah, 
 D., a farmer and dairyman of the town of West 
 Flartford. 
 
 Alva E. Abrams was born June 28, 1856, at. 
 Duanesburg", N. Y., and in the schools of that place 
 received his elementary education. He was pre- 
 pared for college at Little Falls, N. Y., then pur- 
 sued the scientific course of study, to the Junior 
 year, at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. Follow- 
 ing this he taught school two years in New York 
 State, and began the study of medicine at Duanes- 
 burg. He studied at the New York University 
 Medical College, was graduated from the Albany 
 (N. Y.) Medical College in 1881, and for a time' 
 following his graduation was connected professioQ- 
 ally with St. Peter's Hospital, at Albany, N. Y. 
 Then for two years he was engaged in practice at 
 Duanesburg. In 1884 Dr. Abrams came to Hart- 
 ford, Conn., where he became associated in practice 
 with Dr. J. A. Stevens, with whom he remained three 
 years, then removed to Collinsville, Conn., remain- 
 ing one year. On the death of Dr. Stevens, in 1887, 
 our subject returned to Hartford and took up that 
 doctor's practice, and from that time to this he has 
 been a most busy and active man, not only profes- 
 sionally but also in all lines of citizenship. Of 
 studious habits and ambitious to excell. Dr. Abrams 
 has kept abreast of the times in all Hues that have 
 tended to the advancement of his profession, and 
 by his close attention to his professional duties and 
 good management he has been successful in build- 
 ing up an extensive practice. He is a member of 
 the City Medical Society, of the County Medical 
 Society^ and of the State Society. He is also a 
 member of the American Medical Association, and' 
 of the American Laryngological, Rhinological and 
 Otological Society. In 1897 he was a delegate to 
 the International Medical Congress which met at 
 Moscow, Russia. He is a member of the Hartford 
 Scientific Society, and of the Twentieth Century 
 Club; is medical examiner for the Royal Arcanum,, 
 the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co., of Philadel- 
 phia, and the John Hancock Society of Massachu- 
 setts. He is identified with the Park Congrega- 
 
^^ £^ C^^-^^TZ 
 
 7Z444>S 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 347 
 
 tional Cluircli of Ilarlford, in which society lie is a 
 deacon. 
 
 Un July 26, 1S77, Dr. Abranis was married to 
 Miss Jessie, daughter of Rev. D. Cook and 
 Enpheniia (Murray) Davis, of Brooklyn, N. Y., 
 and to the union have come children as follows : 
 ]\labcl, Effie and Jessie. 
 
 CHARLES KING, for nearl}' sevcntv years a 
 respected resident of Hartford, where he has lived 
 retired from active business life for the past eight 
 or nine years, is a native of Massachusetts, born May 
 8, 1825, at Chicopee, of stalwart New England 
 stock. 
 
 (I) \\'illiam King, the first of this family 
 known, lived in Devonshire, England. He had two 
 sons, James and William, who came to America, 
 James settling in Ipswich, Mass., William some- 
 where in the South. 
 
 (II) James King, born in England in 1652, came 
 to this country in 1678, and died in Suffield, Conn., 
 in 1717; he married Elizabeth Euller March 23, 
 1674. 
 
 (III) Benjamin King, great-great-grandfather 
 of our subject, was born Nov. 20, 1683, and died 
 in 1733, at Stafford, Conn. He was a farmer; his 
 wife was Remember Elall. 
 
 (IV) Benjamin King, son of the above, born 
 in 1 717, in Enfield, died in 1776; married, in 1741, 
 Sarah Pease. 
 
 (V) Nahum King, son of the above, and the 
 grandfather of our subject, was born in 1757, and 
 died in 1812 in Enfield, Conn. By occupation he 
 was a wagon maker and blacksmith. In 1779, in 
 Enfield, Conn., he married Sarah Bugbee. 
 
 (VI) Seth King, son of the above, and the father 
 of our subject, was born March 7, 1798, in Enfield, 
 Conn., and spent his early school days there. On 
 Feb. 9, 1824, at Hartford, Vt., he married Miss 
 Marcia Bugbee, daughter of Jonathan Bugbee. For 
 a year or two Seth King clerked in Chicopee, Mass., 
 and then engaged in business at Wentworth, N. H. 
 In 1832 he moved to Hartford, Conn., and here for 
 forty years was connected with the ^tna Fire In- 
 surance Co., from which for ten years he received a 
 pension. He and his wife both died at Hartford, 
 he on Jan. 3, 1882, she on Dec. 12, 1862. They were 
 the parents of children as foIlov»'s : Charles, the sub- 
 ject proper of this memoir ; Sarah Bugbee, born in 
 1827, died in 1828 in Wentworth, N. H. ; Henry, 
 born in 1830, died in i84( ; James, born in 1832, 
 died in 1872; Edward, born in 1836, residing in 
 Chica£;"o: William Henry, born in 1840, secretarv of 
 the ^tna Fire Insurance Co., of Hartford ; and 
 Seth Bugbee, born in 1842, now a resident of Hart- 
 ford. 
 
 Charles King, whose name introduces these 
 lines, received his education at the First district 
 school of Hartford, now known as the Brown 
 school, and at tne age of fifteen years entered the 
 employ of Smith, Bourn & Co., merchants and manu- 
 
 facturers of Hartford, with whom he remained, in 
 the capacity of clerk, and, later, as jjartncr, some 
 thirty years. In 1872 he engaged in the stove busi- 
 ness in Hartford, in a store located next 10 the 
 Fourth church, and this he successfully carried on 
 for twenty years, retiring in 1892 from active busi- 
 ness, on account of his health. 
 
 On June 17, 1850, Charles King was married, in 
 Windsor, Conn., by Rev. T. E. Leete, to Maria C. 
 Olmstead, who was born in Enfield, Conn.,' daugh- 
 ter of Norton and Clarissa Maria (Allen) Ulmstead, 
 both of Enfield, and granddaughter of George Allen 
 (VI). To this union children as follows were 
 born: Emma Alaria, Charles, George Allen (who 
 died Nov. 17, 1900), Sarah Adelaide (wife of 
 Isaac Bragaw, of Hartford), and Louis Henry (who 
 died in 1888, at the age of twenty-one years). 
 
 George Allen, son of Closes (\ ). was born Oct. 
 24, 1770, and died in Enfield Sept. i, 1833. He 
 married, March i, 1793, Betsey Rich, of Haddam, 
 Conn., who was born March 6, 1778, and died in En- 
 field Nov. 6, 1864; her father was a sea captaifi. 
 To this union were born five children, whose names- 
 and dates of birth are as follows : George, Dec. 1 1 , 
 1795; Betsey, Feb. 16, 1798; Norman, Oct. 18, 
 1800; Flenry, Jan. 15, 1803; and Clarissa Maria, 
 Aug. 5, 1812, who became the wife of Norton 
 Olmstead, father of Airs. King. Norton Olmstead 
 was a son of Joseph and Dorothy (Terry) Olmstead ; 
 resided most of his life in Enfield, was engaged in 
 the hatting business in Windsor, Conn., but died 
 in Hartford. 
 
 On June 17, 1900, Air. and Airs. Charles King 
 gave a reception at their home on Windsor avenue, 
 the occasion being the fiftieth anniversary of their 
 wedding. This interesting event was, in addition to 
 other ceremonies, fittingly celebrated by the baptism 
 of their youngest grandchild. Air. and Airs. King 
 have been connected with the Windsor Avenue Con- 
 gregational Church since its formation, and he has 
 served as deacon thereof for the past twenty-six 
 years. Their numerous friends wish them many 
 years of health and happiness, and a long continu- 
 ance of the high regard and esteem in which thcv are 
 held. 
 
 JOSEPFI BUTHS, collector and appraiser of 
 the State Savings Bank of Hartford, was born June 
 2, 1858, at Kcenigstein, near Frankfort-on-the-AIain, 
 Germany. 
 
 Air. Buths comes of excellent family, and his 
 father, Anton Buths, a native of Bibrich on the 
 Rhine, was a well-known lawyer at Kcenigstein. 
 He was clerk in the courts for about eighteen vears, 
 and his long and faithful work on the records re- 
 ceived high conmtendation. In religious faith he 
 was a Protestant. He died aged forty-four years, 
 and his wife, Eva Colloseus, died in 1891. when 
 fifty-five years of age. She was born at Kcenig- 
 stein, and was one of the family of eleven children of 
 Joseph Colloseus, a wealth}- hotel-keeper at Kcenig- 
 
34S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 stein, who held the position of postmaster for fifty 
 years, and also kept about sixty horses for supply- 
 ing various stage lines. He lived to the ripe old 
 age of seventy-nine. 
 
 Our subject spent his early days in Germany, 
 and after receiving a grammar and high-school edu- 
 cation entered the railway mail and telegraph ser- 
 vice, where be continued ten years. At the age of 
 twenty-three he came to America, locating in Hart- 
 ford, where his ability and energy speedily won him 
 a prominent place in business circles. About 1881 
 he started in the State Savings Bank, and he now 
 has charge of all the collecting and appraising, much 
 of his time being given to collections and appraising 
 for court purposes ; he is an expert in his line. The 
 bank does a loaning business of over $2,000,000 on 
 real estate, and Mr. Buths has dealt in land to 
 some extent, and has built ten houses for sale or 
 lease. 
 
 In 1883 Mr. Buths married Miss Louise R. 
 Stamm, who was born in Hartford, one of the four 
 daughters of John and Rosina Stamm. Her father 
 was a well-known tailor, having been in business 
 in Hartford for many 3'ears. Mrs. Buths died in 
 1893, aged thirty-seven years. Two of her sisters 
 are living: Emilie, wife of Max H. Peiler, assistant 
 actuary of the ^tna Life Lisurance Co. of Hart- 
 ford; and Mrs. William A. Smith, of Brooklyn, N. 
 Y. Mr. and Mrs. Buths had two children ; Anna 
 Eva and Louis S., both living at home and attending 
 the high school. 
 
 Our subject is a Democrat in politics, and was 
 in the common council in 1890-91 ; was alderman in 
 1892-93 ; was appointed member of the board of 
 street commissioners in 1893; re-appointed in 1896; 
 and re-appointed again in 1899, to serve until 1902. 
 At present he is the second oldest in the board of 
 commissioners, and its president. He has been ac- 
 tive in school interests, serving four years on the 
 ■committee of the Washington school district. For 
 nine years he was a member of the board of direc- 
 tors of the Hartford Building & Loan Association 
 previous to his resignation in 1899, ^^d fo'" five years 
 he has been a member of the board of fire under- 
 writers. He is treasurer of the Hubbard Escort, a 
 political association, and has held the same office in 
 Lafayette Lodge, F. & A. M., for five years. He 
 is a member of Pythagoras Chapter; of Washing- 
 ton Commandery, in which he is now guard; and 
 also belongs to Sphinx Temple, Mystic Shrine, at 
 Hartford. He is an active member of the First 
 LTniversalist Church of Hartford, to which his wife 
 also belonged, and is a member of the church com- 
 mittee. 
 
 ADDISON HARVEY BRAINERD, a prom- 
 inent farmer of Enfield, was born June i, 1857, on 
 the Brainerd homestead, where he now resides, a 
 son of Harvey Pierce and Mary Lavinia (Brain- 
 erd) Brainerd, and on both paternal and maternal 
 sides is descended from Daniel Brainerd, who about 
 
 1648, at the age of eight years, was brought by the 
 Wyllys family from England to Hartford, Conn., 
 and was there reared to manhood. He spent most 
 of his life in Haddam, Conn., vifhere he settled about 
 1662. He married Hannah Spencer, daughter of 
 Garrard Spencer, of Lynn, Massachusetts. 
 
 Our subject's paternal grandparents were Jared 
 and Mary (Pierce) Brainerd, and he traces his an- 
 cestrjf back through Frederick and Anna (Brain- 
 erd) Brainerd ; Ezra and Jerusha (Snow) Brainerd; 
 Josiah and Hannah (Spencer) Brainerd; William 
 and Sai"ah (Bidwell) Brainerd; to Daniel Brainerd, 
 the progenitor of the family in America, who came 
 to Flartford about 1648. 
 
 The maternal grandparents of our subject were 
 Ansel (Jr.) and Olivia (Shaler) Brainerd; and the 
 line is traced back through Ansel (Sr.) and Han- 
 nah (Dart) Brainerd; Josiah and Lois (Flurlburt) 
 Brainerd: Josiah and Hannah (Soencer) Brainerd; 
 William and Sarah (Bidwell) Brainerd; to Daniel 
 and Hannah (Spencer) Brainerd, the original an- 
 cestors in America. 
 
 Flarvey P. Brainerd, the father of our subject, 
 was born and reared on the Brainerd homestead in 
 Enfield, where he lived almost all his life, a success- 
 ful farmer. Always fond of his books, it was his 
 ambition in youth to obtain a college education, and 
 he prepared himself accordingly, but too close appli- 
 cation injured his health, and he was obliged to 
 give up the project. Going South, he remained some 
 time, teaching school, and regained his health to a 
 marked degree, though not sufficiently to warrant 
 him in resuming his studies, so he settled down to 
 farm life at the old home. Having taken up farm- 
 ing, he devoted himself to that calling with an en- 
 ergy and earnestness that was in itself assurance of 
 success, and his farm became one of the best cul- 
 tivated and most productive in Enfield. The old 
 house was replaced by one of modern architecture. 
 He was a thorough business man, scrupulously hon- 
 est and careful in all his dealings, and was most 
 respected where best known. Mr. Brainerd's fam- 
 ily consisted of five children, but only three grew 
 to maturitv: Mary O. (Mrs. Edwin D. French), 
 Addison H. (our subject), and Helen E., the daugh- 
 ters residing in New York City. Harvey P. Brain- 
 erd took an active part in church affairs, and was 
 for many years a deacon in the First Congregational 
 Church of Enfield, which he joined in 1841. His 
 strong, clear mind was plainly shown in his thor- 
 ough knowledge of the Bible, and the great pleas- 
 ure he took in listening to a deep Scriptural dis- 
 course. Mr. Brainerd died April 28, 1889, aged 
 sixty-eight years, his death being brought on by 
 enlargement of the heart ; he was confined to the 
 house but a few days. His widow passed away 
 March 23, 1897, after an illness of several weeks, 
 and both were sincerely mourned by all their neigh- 
 bors and friends in the communitv. Mrs. Brainerd 
 was a native of Haddam, and came to Enfield after 
 her marriage. She proved a devoted wife and a 
 
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COMMEMORATiyE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 851 
 
 -of the bench dcparlniciit of the fouiidr}', having 
 charge of 120 moulders and as nian_\- hands in other 
 departments; has also for a number of jears been 
 paymaster of the entire foundry. In politics he is 
 a Republican ; in religious faith he attends the ser- 
 vices of the iJaptist Church, of which his wife is a 
 member; sociall)' he is alhliated with Stephen Terry 
 Lodge, No. 5y, i. U. U. i"., in which he has passed 
 the chairs. 
 
 On Dec. 4, 1889, Arthur F. Woodford was mar- 
 ried to Florence Wood, who was born Oct. 28, 
 1868, in Winsted, a daughter of Gilbert and Sarah 
 J. (Reynolds) Wood, of Winsted, Conn., and two 
 children have been born to them : JMaud, Feb. 3, 
 1894, and Charlotte, Jur.e 26, 1896, the former of 
 whom died when three days old. 
 
 MRS. CORNELIA (SAVAGE) CHASE was 
 born in Hartford Dec. 25, 1821, daughter of Jesse 
 and ^laria (Gridley) Savage. Jesse Savage was 
 born in Upper Middletown, Conn., April 21, 1790, 
 and later came to Hartford where he was prominent 
 in business circles as a wholesale grocer for many 
 years, and until his retirement. He was con- 
 temporary with Col. Northam, Solomon Porter, and 
 the Keeney Bros., merchants of prominence in Hart- 
 ford. He died at Hartford March 31, 1855, aged 
 si.xty-five years. He lived in the present home of 
 Airs. Chase, his daughter, for many years, and was 
 among the oldest residents of Hartford. He was 
 one of the first directors of the /Etna Insurance 
 Co., a very intelligent man, of sound judgment, and 
 upright and honest to a marked degree. He was 
 interested in all of the affairs of the city, and as- 
 sisted liberally with his time and money in every 
 measure for its advancement. He was a ready 
 speaker, his voice was very melodious and pleasant 
 to listen to, and he was considered one of the best 
 debaters in this part of the country. 
 
 Josiah Savage, father of Jesse, and grandfather 
 of Mrs. Chase, was born in LTpper JNIiddletown, and 
 with a brother established an extensive business 
 as dealer in West India goods, in which they were 
 the pioneers. They ran a line of vessels to the West 
 Indies, carrying goods from New England which 
 they exchanged for products there. Josiah Savage 
 spent his life mainly in Upper Middletown (now 
 Cromwell), where he was a man of prominence. 
 In addition to his West India trade, he had a large 
 .gun factory at Staddle Hill, near Middletown, the 
 firm, Savage & North, manufacturing guns for the 
 government under large contracts. After his death 
 it was carried on by a son, Edward, who is now de- 
 ceased. 
 
 Isaac Gridley, the maternal grandfather of j\Irs. 
 Chase, was a graduate of Yale College, class of 
 1773, and was a classmate and roommate of Nathan 
 Hale, the martyr spy in the Revolutionarv war. 
 Mr. Gridley settled in what is now the village of 
 Cromwell, and married Elizabeth Smith, a descend- 
 ant of Rev. Joseph Smith, the first pastor of the 
 
 North Society. He wa? a schoolmaster, business 
 man, and "Esquire" of the Upper Houses. Maria 
 Gridley, the mother of Mrs. Chase, was born in Up- 
 per Aiiddletown, Coim., Oct. 0, 1793. Her only 
 brother. Dr. Timothy Gridley, was a physician of 
 prominence in Amherst, Alass., where he spent his 
 life. He was on the staff of Gov. Andrews. He 
 married a daughter of Gen. Mattoon, who was as- 
 sociated with Gen. Washington in the Revolution- 
 ary war. 
 
 To Jesse and Maria (Gridley) Savage were born 
 three children : Samuel Gridley, who was born Aug. 
 4, 1817, and died Oct. 27, 1864; Maria L., born 
 Sept. 24, 1819, who died Oct. 14, 1891 ; and Cor- 
 nelia, now J\Irs. Chose. The mother died March 
 19, 1877. Samuel G. Savage, brother of Mrs. 
 Chase, succeeded his father, and carried on the busi- 
 ness until he was compelled to give it up on account 
 of failing health. He was a most exemplary man, 
 of noble and generous impulses, ever ready to lend a 
 helping hand to any worthy person. As a business 
 man he was strictly honest, a thorough judge of 
 goods, and an expert judge of the value of teas, 
 and ranked as one of the first merchants of the city. 
 
 j\Irs. Chase is a member of the First Baptist 
 Church of Springfield, Alass. She is highly es- 
 teemed for her many estimable qualities, and includes 
 among her personal friends many of the old families 
 of Hartford, her native city. 
 
 JoTHAM Gould Chasl;, deceased husband of 
 Mrs. Cornelia (Savage) Chase, won notable distinc- 
 tion as a business man and Christian gentleman 
 He was born in Anson, Elaine, Alarch 30, 1816, 
 son of Jotham and Alary (Gould) Chase, and 
 spent the early years of his life in his native State 
 At the age of twenty-one he w-ent to Boston, Mass.. 
 where he eng.iged in mercantile business, and also 
 won recognition as a singer of considerable ability. 
 He became a member of the Handel and Haydn 
 Society of Boston, and also sang in the First Bap- 
 tist Church. Removing to Springfield, Mass., he 
 there engaged in the dry-goods business with his 
 cousin, Edwa.rd Wilson, under the firm name oi 
 Wilson & Chase. After some years this partnership 
 was dissolved and Mr. Chase engaged in the lumbei 
 business whicli he followed thirty-seven years. He 
 built up a large and profitable trade, and established 
 a branch office and mill for the manufacture of sash, 
 doors, etc., at Hartford, upon the advice and solici- 
 tation of Philip Ripley, who was at that time mayor 
 of the city. After a few years he gave up this to 
 devote all his time and energies to his business in 
 Springfield, where he remained until his death, at 
 the age of sixty-eight vears. He served a term in 
 the city council of Springfield, and took an active 
 interests in church aft'airs, holding the office of 
 deacon of the First Baptist Church of Springfield, 
 and was also director of the choir for many years 
 Fie was a singer of marked force and sweetness, and 
 was deepy interested in the art of music. 
 
 On April 29, 1846, at Saco, Maine, Mr. Chase 
 
852 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was married to Miss Sarah C. S. G., daughter of 
 James and Ehzabeth (Brown) Thornton. To this 
 , marriage was born, at Springfield, Mass., Feb. 22, 
 1847, a son, James Brown Thornton Chase. Mrs. 
 Chase died at Springfield, Mass., March 10, 1847. 
 On May 28, 1850, at Hartford, Conn., Mr. Chase 
 married Cornelia,, youngest daughter of Jesse and 
 Maria (Gridley) Savage, who survives him, and 
 resides at No. 76 Church street, Hartford, Conn. By 
 this marriage there were no children, but they 
 adopted three daughters : Jessie Maria, who was 
 born Nov. 25, 1859, and died April 29, 1863; Ada 
 (sister of Jessie M.), born Dec. 14, 1858, now the 
 wife of Henry T. Hillman, of Holyoke, Mass. ; and 
 Cora J., born May 22, 1856, who married Bert G. 
 Thompson, of Willimantic, Conn., and has three 
 children, Cornelia, Harold and Sarah E. 
 
 James Brown Thornton Chase, son of Jotham 
 G. Chase, by his first marriage, was reared in Spring- 
 field, Mass., and prepared for college under the 
 tuition of Rev. S. F Smith, author of "America," 
 at Newton Center, Mass. He entered Brown Uni- 
 versity, but at the outbreak of the Civil war entered 
 service, in the Union army, as first lieutenant, and 
 later received promotion to the rank of captain, 
 when not yet eighteen year.s of age. After the war 
 he returned to Brown University, and later en- 
 gaged in the insurance business. He has been 
 twice married. On May i, 1870, at Providence, 
 R. I., he wedded Annie E. L. Allyn, by whom he 
 had two daughters : Sarah, who is the wife of 
 Charles Lawton, of Newport, R. I., and the mother 
 of three children; and Jessie, unmarried. His sec- 
 ond marriage was to Mrs. Eleanor F. Pervear, by 
 whom he has one son, Jotham, born June 28, 1889, 
 who is an unexceptionally bright and scholarly 
 j^outh. Mr. Chase resides in Springfield, Mass., 
 and is superintendent of agencies for the Union 
 Mutual Life Insurance Co., of Portland, Maine. . 
 
 MANROSS. The first of the Connecticut fam- 
 ily of this name was Nehemiah Montrose, who came 
 from Scotland, his native country, in company with 
 a gentleman and lady unknown, and settled at Leb- 
 anon, Conn. He had to flee from that country to 
 America on account of religious persecution. Ac- 
 cording to tradition he was of the famous Grahams 
 of Montrose. The name became changed from 
 Montrose to Montross,' Monrose, Monross and Man- 
 ross. The majority of the families have kept the 
 name Manross over 175 years. The name seems 
 to belong so distinctly to this family that they have 
 never heard of one, who knew his antecedents, that 
 was not related to them. From Lebanon Nehemiah 
 Manross moved, in 1728, to Bristol (then called New 
 Cambridge) with five sons^(i) Nehemiah, (2) 
 Elijah, (3) Ehsha, (4) Samuel and (5) Bishop — • 
 and two daughters. Nehemiah, the father of these, 
 was a large land holder. (2) Elijah, his second 
 son, died in Vermont. .He was twice married, but 
 the family by the second wife was lost sight of, as 
 
 his son by the first wife thought he was dead for 
 forty years; then he visited him onoe. (3) Elisha, 
 who was chosen deacon, was twiee, married, Martha, 
 his first wife, dying in 1789, aged fifty-five. His 
 second wife was Abigail Chalker. He died in 1810,. 
 aged eighty-three years. Of his children are men- 
 tioned Rush (who married Noah Byington May 21,, 
 1806), Martha, Anna (who married Dana Carring- 
 ton in September, 181 1), Hannah and Jerusha. (4) 
 Samuel, of Bristol, the fourth son of Nehemiah,, 
 had two sons, Samuel and Timothy (Baptismal Reg. 
 Nov. 12, 1753). Samuel, Sr., started for Farming- 
 ton Center, and was never again heard from ; he is- 
 supposed to have been killed bv the Indians. (5) 
 Bishop, of Southington, the youngest son of Nehe- 
 miah, died in 1774 at Burlington, Conn. He was 
 in the French war. He had two sons : John, born 
 Feb. 20, 1757; Theodore, born Jan. 6, 1760; and a 
 daughter, Sybil. 
 
 Col. Elijah Manross, son of (2) Elijah, by the 
 first wife, was born in 1761, and died in 1832, his 
 remains being interred in the Downs cemetery. On 
 April 22, 1777, he enlisted in Bacon's company, 4th 
 Regiment "Connecticut Line," under Col. Durkee, 
 and participated in the battle of Germantown, also- 
 the defense of Fort Mifflin, wintered at Valley 
 Forge, encamped at White Plains, was with the 
 main army on both sides of the Hudson, and served 
 till the close of the struggle, being then honorably 
 discharged. His name appears on page 316, "Con- 
 necticut Regiments," as fife-major under Capt. War- 
 ren, of Middletown, Col. J. Durkee, ist Reg. Conn. 
 Line formation, 1781 to 1783, inclusive. On page 
 635 of same record his name appears as "Col. 
 Elijah Montrose," on page 666 as "Elijah Monrose," 
 while on pages 41 and 184 as "EHjah Munroe." In 
 the same records are found the names of some twelve 
 descendants of the family, who served in the Revo- 
 lutionary war, from 1776 to 1781, inclusive. These 
 names were more or less changed by carelessness. 
 Those who served and were known to be brothers 
 and cousins were spelled Manross, Montrose, Manroe, 
 Monroe, Manroze, Manrow, Monro, Munro, Mun- 
 roe,,' Monross, Manros. There is a receipt on record of " 
 one Ashel Manross, dated Jan. 24, 1734, in favor of 
 his~ uncle, Elisha Manross, according to his grand- 
 father Nehemiah Manross' will. Col. Elijah Man- 
 ross was, in 1775, made drum-major, and he served 
 seven years, but on the death of his brother Elisha 
 he came home ; he married Martha, daughter of 
 Deacon Elisha Manross, Sr. He was a member of 
 the Congregational Church. Martha died in Decem- 
 ber, 1854, aged ninety-three. 
 
 Theodore Manross, son of Bishop Manross (fifth 
 son of Nehemiah), was born Jan. 6, 1760, in South- 
 ington, Conn., and died at Clinton, N. Y., in Au- 
 gust, 1825. He was a farmer, also learned the car- 
 penter's trade, and was one of the contractors on 
 the historical Farmington meeting-house. On April 
 22, 1777, he enlisted in Mattock's Company. 8th 
 Regiment, and was discharged Jan. i, 1778. On' 
 
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 yk^,i^(:^^^^^.^c^L^ 
 
 i2-^^t^t-<^^:^-^ 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 B53 
 
 July I, 1780, he enlisted in the 5th Regiment, Con- 
 necticut Line, wintered at N'alley Forge, took part 
 in the engagements at Gerniantown, Monmouth, 
 Stony Point and "Connecticut X'illagc," and was 
 discharged Dec. 2, 1780. W hen (juite a young man 
 he wanted to celebrate the "h'ourth," and as there 
 was no cannon in liristol he rode to New Haven 
 and back — a distance of sixty miles — in one night, 
 returning with a cannon to fire off at daybreak. 
 Theodore iManross married Martha White, daugh- 
 ter of Jedediah and Barbara (Wilcox) White, and 
 a descendant of Elder John White, who came over 
 in the ship "Lyon," one of the first settlers of Con- 
 necticut. Children, all born in Clinton, N. Y., of 
 Theodore and Martha Manross : Daniel, a soldier, 
 disappeared about the time of the war of 1812; 
 Sarah, wife of William Lambert; John, a sketch of 
 whom follows ; Rachel, wife of Charles Foster, of 
 Stockbridge; and ]\Iary, Eli, and David, who died 
 unmarried. Mrs. Martha (White) Manross died 
 in 1847. 
 
 John Manross, son of Theodore, was a lawyer 
 of considerable prominence, having been admitted 
 to the Bar at Denton, Md. ; he also practiced law 
 twenty-five years at Hillsdale, Mich. He married 
 Mary Ellen Wooters, of Hillsboro, Md., born Aug. 
 17, 1815, and they had three children, two of whom 
 died in infancy, Gertrude Camelia Altisidora De- 
 quiones, now Mrs. Eli Manross, being the only 
 daughter. John Manross, Esq., assisted in putting 
 down the National Turner insurrection in Virginia. 
 He was killed in a railroad accident at Stockbridge, 
 N. Y., Oct. I, 1870. Mary E. (Wooters) [Manross 
 died at Frederick, Md., June i, 1895. 
 
 Capt. Elisha Manross, only son of Col. Elijah 
 and Alartha Manross, was born May 11, 1792, in 
 Bristol, Conn., and when he was yet a young man 
 became the pioneer manufacturer, in America, of 
 brass clocks, with which industry he was prom- 
 inently identified, and he made the first jeweled clock 
 that was manufactured in America. He was a 
 stanch Whig, though not particularly active in pol- 
 itics, while in church matters he was deacon in and 
 an ardent supporter of the Congregational Church. 
 He was captain of a company in the war of 1812, 
 and marched with 100 men from Bristol to Fort 
 Killingly, to perform guard duty, and later was 
 captain of an artillery company in Bristol. 
 
 On Jan. 29, 1821, Capt. Elisha Manross mar- 
 ried Maria Cowles Norton, who was born Oct. 17, 
 1799, and died Aug. 16, 1867. They had eight sons 
 and one daughter, and of the sons three served iti 
 Connecticut regiments during the war of the Re- 
 hellion — Capt. Newton S., Sergt. Eli and John- — • 
 as will be fully mentioned in their respective 
 sketches. Capt. Elisha Manross died Sept. 27, 1856. 
 He built a beautiful house on the site of the old 
 homestead of his father, also a large manufactory 
 and boarding house. Fie owned extensive lands in 
 Forestville, and his descendants still hold some of 
 
 23 
 
 the lands, and houses that he erected. A record of 
 the nine children is as follows: 
 
 (1) Robert Elisha Manross, born Jan. 3, 1822, 
 married, May 11, 1841, Lucy Cowles Hendrick, 
 born June 24, 1823, died Sept. 26, 1895, a memljcr 
 of the Congregational Church; he died Feb. 17, 
 1853. iliey li^"^! tl'"''^'-' c-hildren: (i) Mary Clem- 
 entine, born Feb. 21, 1842, married John Bacon 
 Wood, by whom she had one daughter, Grace Man- 
 ross Wood; (2) Arthur E. died when about eight- 
 een months old; and (3) Robert Elisha, born Feb. 
 17, 1852, is a coal merchant, residing at New Haven. 
 Fie married Carrie Ives, by whom he had four chil- 
 dren—Bessie, born March 10, 1880; Kittie, Jan. 16,. 
 1883; Marion, Sept. 28, 1884; and Newton, Oct. 
 6, 1887. 
 
 (H) Martha Angeline Manross, born July 25, 
 1S23, was educated at \\'iilliston Seminary, East- 
 hampton, Alass. She married John Bradley, born 
 in 1821, who died in 1862, and they had two chil- 
 dren : ( I ) Warren Ives, born [March 20, 1847, 'l'^'"' 
 in August, 1868; he was well and favorably known 
 under the noin de plume of "Glance Gaylord." and 
 was the author of many good works. He won the 
 prize of $300 out of seventy competitors, for the 
 book entitled "Culm Rock." He never married. ( 2 ) 
 Oliver Burritt, born March 13. 1852, died May 28,. 
 1884, unmarried. 
 
 (Ill) Capt. Newton Spalding Manross, son of 
 El'isha Manross, was born June 20, 1825, in Bristol, 
 Conn., and was killed Sept. 17, 1862, at the battle 
 of Antietam, while leading his company into ac- 
 tion, the country thereby losing a man of learning 
 and varied accomplishments. In his youth he was 
 an ingenious mechanic, showed a great aptness for 
 study, and graduated at Yale College in the class of 
 '50. In early manhood he went to Europe, at- 
 tended lectures in Germany, made very rapid prog- 
 ress, and had the degree of Doctor of Philosoi)hy 
 conferred on him. On his return to this country he 
 devoted himself to mineralogy, and published some 
 able dissertations. He invented a machine for cut- 
 ting crystals from calc-spar, and, his tastes and 
 attainments having taken such a scientific direction, 
 he became connected with a mining company in 
 New York, who sent him to Central America and 
 New [Mexico in order to prosecute elaborate ex- 
 plorations in those countries. 
 
 In 1861 Dr. [Manross, his fame as a man of 
 science having Ijeen established, was appointed to 
 the position of Professor of Chemistry and Botany 
 in Amherst College, where he met with abundant 
 success and became highly popular. Returning to 
 Bristol during a vacation, he delivered a stirring 
 patriotic speech to bis fellow citizens, who there- 
 upon besought him to lead them to the field of 
 strife that thev might help to preserve the Union. 
 To this he consented, remarking to his wife, ''You' 
 can better afford to have a country without a hus- 
 band than a husband without a countrv." Pre- 
 
854 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ferring service with his own people, he refused the 
 post of major of a Massachusetts regiiment, and ac- 
 cepted that of captain of Company K, i6th Conn. 
 \'. I. He was killed at the battle of Antietam, 
 while bravely leading on his men to "death or glory," 
 being struck in the side by a cannon-ball which 
 pp.ssed under his arm, so that internal hemorrhage 
 resulted. A powerful anodyne v/as administered, 
 and he soon became unconscious, death releasing 
 hdm just as he murmured the words, "Oh! my poor 
 wife." His successor in command of the company 
 said some time afterward to the colonel: "Those 
 boys care more for Manross' old shoes than for the 
 best man of the regiment." Prof. James A. Dana 
 said of him : "His death brings a great loss to the 
 scientific world," and Prof. B. Silliman, Jr., wrote 
 of him : "As an explorer Dr. Manross possessed 
 remarkable qualifications. To a rugged constitu- 
 tion and great powers of endurance he united 
 great coolness, a quiet but undaunted demeanor, the 
 courage of a hero, and unyielding perseverance. 
 Had he lived — but what need is there of conjecture 
 now? The world will never know its loss, but his 
 friends will never forget theirs." The G. A. R. 
 post of the town was named after him, and his com- 
 pany erected a monument to his memory. 
 
 On Nov. 25, 1857, Capt. N. S. Manross mar- 
 ried Charlotte Royce, born in Bristol Jan. 3, 1836, 
 and they had one daughter, Lottie Maria, born Dec. 
 .27, i860, who married James D. Ivimball, and they 
 aiow reside at Orange, Mass. She taught five years 
 in the Sandwich Islands before her marriage. They 
 have five children: Charlotte Manross, born Jan. 
 2.0, 1890; James Richard, Oct. 13, 1891 ; Newton 
 Manross, April 23, 1894; William Lincoln, Feb. 12, 
 J896; and Parker Barton, April 15, 1897. Mrs. 
 Charlotte Manross remarried, becoming the wife of 
 Prof. Ordway, of Massachusetts. She died Dec. 
 5, 1874. 
 
 (IV) Elijah Manross, son of Capt. Elisha and 
 Maria Cowles Norton Manross, was born June 19, 
 1827, in Bristol, Conn., at the common schools of 
 which place he received a liberal education, which 
 was supplemented by a two-years course of study 
 at Williston Seminary, Easthampton, Mass. On 
 leaving school he learned the business of clockmak- 
 ing under his father, who about that time was mak- 
 ing a specialty of the manufacture of marine clocks. 
 After the death of his father, in 1856, he continued 
 the business until 1867, in which year, owing to 
 ill health, he was obliged to retire and give himself 
 over to absolute rest. After careful treatment, in- 
 .clnding a year and a half passed in the wilds of the 
 Adirondacks, he regained his strength and health. 
 For several seasons he was engaged in the wool and 
 fur business in partnership with Orin Brown, of 
 Forestville, and during the past few years he has 
 ■employed his time in the factory of his son Fred- 
 ■.erick N., making hair springs. 
 
 In politics Elijah Manross is a stanch Repub- 
 lican, has acted with that party since its formation. 
 
 and for three years was a member of the Repub- 
 lican town committee. Pie has filled several offices 
 of honor and trust, the gift of the people: In 1880 
 and 1882 he was elected as representative in the 
 State Legislature from Bristol; also served as jus- 
 tice of the peace one term ; and has been constable 
 continuously since 1882. For the past fifteen years, 
 in order to have outdoor work, he has been sexton 
 of the Forestville cemeterv. 
 
 On Nov. 2, 1848, Elijah Manross was married 
 to Ellen Sophronia Woodrufif, who was born Sept. 
 21, 1828, a daughter of John B. and Mary F. 
 (Neale) Woodruff, of Southington, Conn., and 
 tliree children were born to them, as follows : ( i ) 
 Martha Angeline, born Aug. i, 1850, married, Oct. 
 29, 1869, Albert M. Sigourney, of Bristol, born 
 Aug. I, 1850. She died Feb. 7, 1898, leaving a 
 daughter, Belle Manross, Sigourney, who is a fine 
 violinist, and is in Europe, studying under the mas- 
 ters, at the present time. (2) Mary Lanette, born 
 Dec. 27, 1854, married, Feb. 19, 1878, George A. 
 Burr, born Sept. 15, 1854, and they have one son, 
 Edward Manross Burr, born at Bristol Dec. 14, 
 1879. (3) Frederick Newton is fully spoken of 
 below. 
 
 (V) Charles Hayden Manross, born July 30, 
 1829, was educated at Williston Seminary, East- 
 hampton, Mass. On Nov. 25, 1851, he married 
 Charlotte E. Norton, who was born in Southington 
 May 30, 1 83 1, daughter of Harmon Norton, of 
 Southington, Conn. He was a clock manufacturer 
 in the employ of Manross Brothers until his death, 
 May 3, 1861. His first wife died Nov. 20, 1858, and 
 he subsequently married Hannah Norton, of Bris- 
 tol. Two children survived him: (i) Edward A., 
 born Nov. 22, 1852, on Nov. 17, 1881, married 
 Laura M. Pratt, of Waterbury, who was born Dec. 
 I, 185s, at Mott Haven, N. Y., and they have four 
 children — Newton Cook, born May 2, 1884, at 
 Waterbury; Susan Piatt, born May 30, 1886, at 
 Waterbury ; Lottie May, born Julv 28, 1888, at Bris- 
 tol ; and Martha Dickerman, born Jan. 18, 1891, 
 at Bristol. (2) Grace E., born Sept. 14, 1855, is 
 residing in Bristol. 
 
 (VI) John Manross died at the age of six 
 months. 
 
 (VII) Eli (Sergt.) Manross, born Aug. 30, 
 1833, was a clock manufacturer, of the firm of Man- 
 ross Brothers. He also invented the compass jewel, 
 competing with foreign manufacturers in altering 
 and repairing compass jewels from all parts of the 
 world. On Sept. 9, 1858, he married Gertrude 
 Camelia Altisidora Dequiones Manross, born July 
 21, 1834, a daughter of John and Mary Ellen 
 (Wooters) Manross, of Denton, Md., and they have 
 had four children : ( i ) Archie Wooters, born July 
 24, 1859, died May 12, 1863: (2) Adelaide Scott, 
 born June 23, 1861, died May 19, 1863; (3) Rev. 
 William Doane is mentioned below: and (4) Maud 
 Camille, born Aug. 6, 1869, graduated from the 
 Baltimore high school, and finished her studies at the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 S55 
 
 Xew England Conservatory of Music. She married, 
 Sept. 12, 1893, W'illiam North Dunce, superintendent 
 of the Hartford \\'oven Wire Alattress & Iron lied 
 Co., born Oct. 31, 1805, a son of Thomas and -Mary 
 Jjunce, of Berlin, Hartford county, and they had one 
 son, Graeme Montrose, who died in infaiiey. Mrs. 
 Manross is a graduate of the Clinton (N. Y.) Col- 
 legiate Institute, and taught in the public schools 
 ol-' Utica (N. Y.), New York City, and also in the 
 Normal schools of that city. She then accepted 
 a professorship in St. Mary's Hall, New Jersey, 
 where she taught vocal and instrumental music. 
 She sang at Trinity Church and Chapel, and was a 
 member of the JNlendelssohn Union in New York 
 several years, and was one of the most prominent 
 alto singers in that city in 1853-54. For several 
 \'ears she taught vocal music in the West Middle 
 District school, Hartford, was a member of the 
 L'eethoven Societ}", and had private classes in various 
 ])arts of Hartford county ; also taught in California, 
 fourteen years in Baltimore, and seven in Frederick, 
 ]\Id. Mrs. Manross now lives in East Berlin. Rev. 
 William Doane Manross and Maud C. (Manross) 
 Bunce are the youngest of their generation, and are 
 <lescended through intermarriages from Elijah, 
 Elisha and Theodore Manross, sons of Nehemiah 
 ( I ) . Sergt. Eli Manross was an expert fisher- 
 man, trout being his specialty. He was the cham- 
 pion bowler for the States of Connecticut and Mas- 
 sachusetts in the game of wicket, in the year of 
 1858. 
 
 Sergt. Eli Manross was the first man to enlist 
 from the town of Bristol (1861), first as a member 
 of Col. Colt's regiment of selected men (of certain 
 height, weight, etc.). The Colonel having had some 
 "difference" with the administration, the regiment 
 was disbanded, but nearly all the members, includ- 
 ing Sergt. Manross, re-enlisted, this time in the 
 5th Conn. V. I. Sergt. Manross was wounded at 
 Chancellorsville in 1863. He also fell from exhaus- 
 tion at the battle of Dallas, in 1864. After the Civil 
 war he purchased the homestead, "Manross Place," 
 but failing in health was soon after obliged to sell 
 out and travel. After spending six months in the 
 Adirondacks his physician ordered him to Cali- 
 fornia, where he died Jan. 19, 1872, at San Mateo. 
 He was buried by proxv at St. Matthew's Episcopal 
 Church. Six months later the remains were sent 
 to Forestville (Bristol), to rest beside his family. 
 
 Rev. William Doane ]\Ianross, son of Sergt. Eli 
 ]^Ianross, was born Nov. 19, 1865, in Bristol, and 
 ■educated in part at the public schools of Baltimore, 
 Aid., afterward studying the classics under the pre- 
 ceptorship of Rev. Dr. Lewis De Lew. He was a 
 "born soldier; was identified with the Sons of Vet- 
 erans at Baltimore, Garfield Camp, No. i, for thir- 
 teen years; served in the 5th Regiment, ^Maryland 
 State Militia, three years; also in the ist Maryland 
 six years ; and ranked as sergeant when his regiment 
 was assisting in suppressing the riots at Frostburg. 
 He became professor of violin and orchestral music. 
 
 also teacher of military tactics, at Manlius, N. Y., 
 where he was promoted to a captaincy on the col- 
 onel's staff. Finally choosing the church for iiis 
 life work, he was prejiared for ordination bv Rex. 
 Dr. Babcock, of Alanlms, and graduated from St. 
 Andrew's Divinity School, Syracuse, N. Y., under 
 Rev. William Dexter Wilson, D. D. He was or- 
 dained deacon, then priest, by Bishop Frederic Dan 
 Huntington, of Central, N. Y., and was given charge 
 of the Church of the Good Shcnherd, at Onondaga 
 Castle, N. Y., where he has done noble work among 
 the Six Nations Indians for the past four years. He 
 has just been called (Dec. i, 1900) to St. Mary's 
 Hall, Rosebud Agency, S. Dak., where he will be 
 superintendent, and his wife will be the matron. 
 Rev. William Manross will also have to travel ex- 
 tensively among the Sioux, doing mission work un- 
 der Bishop Hare. When Mr. Manross was a youth 
 he traveled considerably on account of his delicate 
 health, among other places visiting the East Indies 
 in a merchant vessel, and when near the island of 
 Java, just at the time of the terrible volcanic erup- 
 tion there, they found themselves sailing over An- 
 gler Point with dead human bodies and lava floating 
 by, and covering the ship's deck. His next voyage 
 was to Australia, during which a mutiny broke out 
 among the ship's crew, causing twelve of the sea- 
 men and one of the mates to be put in irons. The 
 captain, first mate and one boy ( W . D. jManross ) 
 managed the vessel a whole week, until they suc- 
 ceeded in getting a fresh crew, when they sailed 
 for the Philippine Islands. There Mr. Alanross 
 visited beautiful caves filled with the most wonder- 
 ful stalactites conceivable, and was kindly treated 
 by the natives. Rev. Mr. Manross was married, 
 June 16, 1897, to Martha Elizabeth W'ilson, of Syra- 
 cuse, N. Y., and they had one son, John Graham, 
 who died in infancy. 
 
 (VIII) John Manross, born April 5, 1837, 
 was married Nov. 12, i860, to I-ena Gale, who 
 was born IMay 22, 1839, at Wayne, Maine, and the}- 
 had one daughter, Juanita, born Jan. 29, 1862, who 
 died Dec. 9, 1884. John Manross- was a clocks 
 maker, a famous hunter, and a noted ball player. 
 He served as a private in Company I, 2d Conn. 
 Heavy Artillery, during the war of the Rebellion, 
 and was disabled at Cold Harbor. He died Oct. 
 24, 1865, from the effects of exposure, which devel- 
 oped scrofula on the brain. He was a born soldier, 
 and a remarkably brave man. 
 
 (IX) Henry IManross, born i\Iarch 19, 1839, 
 was a clock maker, and died unmarried Dec. 14, 
 1862. He was a champion ball player and success- 
 ful fisherman. 
 
 There was also an adopted daughter, Cora 
 Marguerite Reynolds, born in Farmington, Conn., 
 and reared in the Manross family. 
 
 Frederick Newton I\I.\nross was born Sept. 
 28, 1857, in Bristol, Conn., and received a liberal 
 education at the common schools of the place, la\- 
 ing aside his books at the age of sixteen years. 
 
356 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 At that time he entered the employ of S. E. Root, 
 at clockmaking, with whom he remained about 
 three years, and then for thirteen years was en- 
 gaged in tile clock factory of the E. N. Welch Man- 
 ufacturing Co., Forestville, where he had a contract 
 for some ten years in the timing and adjusting de- 
 IDartment. Resigning his position here, Mr. Man- 
 ross commenced the manufacture of hair springs, 
 in Bristol, in which he has since successfully con- 
 tinued, having within the past few years built it 
 up to a thoroughly good paying business, now 
 giving employment to about ten hands. In 1894 
 he formed a partnership with Henry W. Porter, 
 in the manufacture of clock trimmings and special 
 train work, which concern was in 1899 converted 
 into a joint-stock company, with Mr. Manross as 
 secretarj'-treasurer. 
 
 Socially Mr. Manross is affiliated with the F. 
 & A. M., Franklin Lodge, No. 56, of Bristol ; Ste- 
 phen Terry Lodge, No. 59, L O. C3. F., of Bristol; 
 Improved Order of Red Men, Compounce Tribe, 
 No. 15, of Bristol ; and is a member of the Colt Gun 
 Club, of Hartford, of which he was captain of the 
 team one year. In politics he is a stanch Republi- 
 can, and has served on the board of selectmen since 
 1896. On Nov. 6, 1900, he was elected, on the 
 Republican ticket. State representative from the 
 town of Bristol. Together with his family he at- 
 tends the services of the Congregational Church. 
 
 On June 24, 1876, Frederick N. Manross mar- 
 ried Sylvia Esther Smith, who was born Aug. 17, 
 1857, a daughter of Andrew and Jerusha (Thomp- 
 son) Smith, of Bethlehem, Litchfield county, and 
 they have two children : ( i ) Arthur Newton, born 
 March 26, 1878, graduated from the Bristol high 
 school in 1896, and is now an electrician in the 
 employ of his father. On May 16, 1900, he mar- 
 ried Delia Tuttle, 'daughter of Eliada S. Tuttle, 
 of Bristol, and they have one son, Paul Newton, 
 born Dec. 6, 1900, who is the first ot the seventh 
 .generation, and is twice descended from Nehemiah 
 Manross. The line has been unbroken, in regard to 
 the town of Bristol, not one of the seven genera- 
 tions in direct line having moved from the town. 
 (2) Robert Hayden, born Aug. 22, 1885, grad- 
 uated from the Bristol common schools in 1900, 
 and is now attending Huntsinger's Business Col- 
 lege. 
 
 GEORGE W. WATROUS, superintendent of 
 the jobbing department of the William Rogers 
 Manufacturing Co., Hartford, also secretary of the 
 company, is a native of the city, born Sept. 23, 1828. 
 
 For generations the Watrous family have resided 
 in Hartford and vicinity, the more remote ancestor 
 having come from England in the early stages of 
 the settlement of New England. Jonathan Wat- 
 rous, our subject's grandfather, and Rufus Watrous, 
 his father, were both born in and remained residents 
 of Hartford, and were occupied in agricultural pur- 
 suits, the father giving a great deal of attention to 
 
 the raising of vegetables for the city markets. The 
 grandfather married Abigail Cadwell. Rufus- 
 VVatrous married Julia A. Rogers, a daughter of 
 the late Asa Rogers and his wife Nancy, who reared, 
 a famil}' of eleven children, all now deceased. Asa 
 Rogers was the first in this country to engage in the 
 platmg business (1844), and his name and fame, 
 along with that of his brothers and sons, in the line 
 of Sliver plating are known far and wide. Rufus 
 Watrous lost his life when fifty-four years of age, 
 by a moving train of cars, having been run over and 
 killed. 0± the thirteen children born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Rufus Watrous the following named are yet 
 living: George W., William H., Henry, Simeon,, 
 Edgar, and Arabella, nearly all of whom are identi- 
 fied with the silver-plating business. The mother 
 of these children died in 1881, aged seventy-eight 
 years. She and her husband were members of the 
 M. E. Church. 
 
 George W. Watrous, our subject, attended the 
 public schools of Hartford, and when his school 
 days were over he learned the art of making coin 
 silver, an occupation he was engaged in until 1864.. 
 For the next ten years he was employed in a nut 
 shop at Unionville, Conn. In 1878 he entered the' 
 employ of the William Rogers Manufacturing Co., 
 of Hartford, as an assistant in the plating depart- 
 ment, of which he was made foreman three years 
 later. In 1889 he was made superintendent of the 
 cutlery works at Norwich, a branch of the Hartford 
 concern, where he remained until 1896, and then re- 
 turned to Hartford. During his stay at Norwich 
 Mr. Watrous had under his care 125 men. He 
 thoroughly understands all branches of the plating- 
 business, has good executive ability, and has per- 
 formed valuable service for his employers for a 
 long period, being now the oldest man in the service 
 of the company among upwards of 100 men. Since 
 1896 he has been superintendent of the jobbing de- 
 partment, which in 1899 did over $800,000 worth 
 of business. Mr. Watrous is an obliging and kindly 
 disposed man, considerate of his men, and popular 
 among them. For many years he has been the sec- 
 retary of the Rogers Manufacturing Co. In his po- 
 litical views he is independent, voting generally for 
 the man he believes the best for the place, regard- 
 less of politics. 
 
 In 1850 Mr. Watrous was married (first) to 
 Hannah H. Andrews, of Farmington, Conn., who 
 died in 1874, and later he married Mary G. Deming, 
 of Hartford. To the first marriage were born chil- 
 dren as follows : Ada married Walter Hart, who 
 is now employed in the cutlery works, at Unionville, 
 Conn., and they have two children, Mabel and 
 Walter A., the latter a dentist in that place. Oliver 
 is practicing dentistry in Middletown. 
 
 BENJAMIN MYRICK DESJARDINS, a man 
 of genius, whose inventions at this time are filling a 
 large space in scientific journals, and a mechanical 
 engineer and manufacturer of his own devices, at 
 
^!^«A«***<•/^^/Vt4^<^*'^'v'>^-t-^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 357 
 
 llarlfurd, is of l'"rcnch origin in botli paternal 
 and nialernal lines. 
 
 Uorn in Tyre, Mich., Oct. lo, 1858, ]\Ir. Des- 
 Jiirdins is a son of Gregoir and Alar)- (^Trudeauj 
 Uesjardins, and grandson of Zacharie Desjardins, 
 who was a farmer by occupation, at Sainle Therese 
 de Jilainville, Oucbec. He was prominent among 
 the early French settlers, statesmanlike and deter- 
 mined ; he lived during the disturbed period when 
 many of the Catholics were becoming Protestants, 
 sympathizing with the latter. Gregoir Desjardins, 
 having joined the Protestant Church, and being of 
 a quiet and retiring disposition, left his native home 
 in Canada and became a pioneer in the yet unde- 
 veloped country at Tyre, Mich., where the little 
 farmhouse with its artistic garden and walks 
 showed many traces of taste and ingenuity. He was 
 a man of good intelligence, read a great deal, was 
 a lover of art and of nature, and possessed consid- 
 erable mechanical ability. He Uved to be seventy 
 years of age, d_\ing" in 1888. Pie had a remarkable 
 family, was married three times, and by the third 
 wife, the mother of our subject, had thirteen chil- 
 dren, nine of whom are still living. Of the fifty 
 grandchildren belonging to the family only one 
 has died of disease, and one was drowned. Of the 
 children of Gregoir Desjardins, Samuel E. is a 
 prominent architect at Cincinnati, Ohio, of the firm 
 of Desjardins & ITayward. Paul is a Methodist 
 minister at Owosso, Mich. Philomene is the wife 
 of L. E. Rivard, who until recently has been con- 
 ducting a French-American newspaper at Spring- 
 field, IMass. Joseph ]\1. is a farmer of Tyre, Mich. 
 John Z. is a blacksmith at Tyre. James is an in- 
 surance agent at Cincinnati, Ohio. Ernest T. H. 
 is a traveling salesman, residing at Bad Axe, Mich. 
 Persis (deceased) was the wife of James AI. White. 
 Mary is the wife of James Shepherd, and is a 
 resident of Tyre, Mich. Harriet L. married Will- 
 iam H. Carey, who is engaged in the grain and 
 coal business at Bad Axe, and near them, with a 
 granddaughter, Cjuietly away from the confusion of 
 a large family, the mother, now aged eighty years, 
 has her home. 
 
 Benjamin M. Desjardins remained at home 
 tmtil seventeen, his earlv instruction being received 
 partly from his mother and older brothers, and 
 partly at the Tyre and other public schools, which 
 at that time were very poor. In 1875 he left home, 
 going to Kalamazoo to work his way through col- 
 lege. In that place he formed the acquaintance of 
 Senator Burrows, in whose family he lived for a 
 number of years, having the use of his private 
 library, and here he carried on a series of mechan- 
 ical studies in addition to his regular college work. 
 During the years he attended college he was vari- 
 ously occupied, largely doing newspaper work as a 
 means of paying his way. It was while connected 
 with one of the Kalamazoo daily papers that he 
 became impressed with the tediousness by which 
 t}-pe was set by hand, as compared with that now 
 
 perfected condition of the machinery by means of 
 which a daily newspaper is pruiluced. 
 
 in the early winter of 1882 the thought of 
 setting type by machmery began to mature. The 
 idea of a tyi>e-sclting and justifying machine be- 
 came Mr. Desjardins' dream, he litte knowing that 
 other inventors had successfully labored for years 
 to accomplish the same purixjse. From this time 
 on his life became a struggle, with the one object in 
 view. His college work was neglected and finally 
 abandoned, and every eflfort directed toward the ac- 
 complishment of the one bent of his mind. In his 
 early struggles he had associated with him for a 
 period George W. O'Hara, an electrician ; and Her- 
 bert S. Wilson, a mechanic and draftsman, this trio 
 forming the first details of construction, young Des- 
 jardins furnishing the ideas while the others en- 
 deavored to give them shape. Much of the early 
 work of our subject and his associates was per- 
 formed during spare hours and evenings, but finally 
 all lost their positions through giving too luuch 
 time to the construction of the machine. 
 
 Stopping for a time to work long enough to ac- 
 cumulate money to maintain him while he worked 
 at the problem, j\Ir. Desjardins was variously en- 
 gaged. He purchased a steam laundry at Kalama- 
 zoo, and in the course of a brief period he had as 
 many as three dififerent partners. He next compiled 
 a directory of that city and county (1883), which 
 included a map and history of the city and adjacent 
 country, it being one of the most complete works 
 in that line ever prepared in that part of Michigan. 
 This he sold to publishers, and with the proceeds 
 of the sale, together with those from the laundrv 
 enterprise, he renewed work on his invention. His 
 capital, however, proved insufficient, and w-as soon 
 exhausted, and he again took a position on the 
 Kalamazoo Gazette, ever giving his spare moments 
 to the construction of the machine. Later, becoming 
 ambitious to further his education, he again en- 
 tered college, and for a time pursued his studies, 
 after which he traveled through Ohio, Indiana 
 and Kentucky. 
 
 In Louisville he succeeded in interesting in 
 his project Dr. W. L. Breyfogle, former president 
 of the Monon route; R. W. IMeredith, of the Cour- 
 ier Journal; and E. A. Maginness, secretary of the 
 exposition then held there. These parties, becoming 
 conversant with the extreme difficulties which oth- 
 er inventors had met in this line, were led to give up 
 the enterprise, and Air. Desjardins, returning to 
 Kalamazoo,' again became employed on the Gazette 
 of that city. Persistent, however, in his effort to 
 complete and perfect his invention, he went to 
 Chicago in the fall of 1884 and opened an office 
 for drafting and designing machinery. Plis ability 
 as an expert was soon recognized. He became 
 secretary of the Inventors Association of the State 
 of Illinois, and was variously occupied and con- 
 sulted on important mechanical subjects, and wlien, 
 a few years later, he was sent to Xew York by 
 
858 
 
 COMMEMDRATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 capitalists to report on a new process and ma- 
 chinery for producing illustrations, he advised the 
 company against the new project, foretelling the 
 success of the half-tone plate, then coming into 
 iise. With financial assistance from the late Sen- 
 ator Frank B. Stockbridge he succeeded in con- 
 structing a fair experimental machine at the Chi- 
 cago model works, and later with a partner opened 
 a model shop, but as previously failure to produce 
 a perfected machine awaited him, and he was forced 
 to abandon for a time his work in this direction 
 of his ambition. 
 
 Following this experience Mr. Desjardins be- 
 came employed on the Chicago Inter Ocean, and later 
 on the Mail, having charge of a section of the ad- 
 vertising department of the paper. He remained 
 with the Mail two 3'ears, during which period he de- 
 voted some time to the furtherance of his invention, 
 getting out a model of a new and improved machine. 
 He next traveled for a time for the "Farm, Field and 
 Fireside" of that city, and in 1887 he began the con- 
 struction of a machine that would set, justify and 
 distribute not less than 20,000 ems per hour. By 
 this time he had succeeded in interesting in his enter- 
 prise William H. Rand, the founder of Rand, Mc- 
 Nally & Co., who furnished the capital to build this 
 machine. On Nov. 30, 1891, our subject met with 
 another backset, his work and place of operations, 
 with all the machinery, being destroyed by fire. 
 The same strange impulse that had driven him on in 
 the earlier stages of his struggle still buoyed him 
 up at this critical moment, and although hindered 
 by fire and adverse financial circumstances, and the 
 discouragement of friends, who were fearful of his 
 ever reaching the goal, he stuck persistently to the 
 pursuit of the object of his Kfe, and after eighteen 
 years of labor, anxiety and trial he succeeded where 
 all others failed. He has now the satisfaction of 
 seeing his efforts crowned with success after a 
 struggle with adverse circumstances that would 
 have overwhelmed a less determined nature. 
 
 Mr. Rand continued to stand at the back of the 
 persistent inventor, and in 1892 the latter came to 
 Hartford, and there he began to found a system for 
 a stock company, issuing certificates, agreeing to 
 furnish stock in the company when organized, and 
 this way raising the first $10,000 used in the busi- 
 ness. His first machine here was built in 1893-94, 
 in Manchester. Following this two machines were 
 constructed at the Dwight Slate Machine Co., of 
 Hartford, the last one being the original model of 
 his new type-justifying machine attachment for 
 type-setting machines, a description of which is 
 given herewith. Mr. Desjardins has a number of 
 valuable inventions, and in 1898 he began v/ork on 
 a type-writer adding machine, an attachment that 
 can be used upon any ordinary typewriter, and 
 which by the adjustment of a lever, correctly adds 
 any invoice or example as it is written on the ma- 
 chine. In 1899 he began the invention of the Des- 
 jardins computing scale and cash register combined. 
 
 This scale, when properly set, will figure the cost 
 of any number of pounds or fractions, at any given 
 price per pound, and will register and display the 
 exact amount of cash paid for the purchase. 
 
 The Desjardins Type Justifier Co., of which 
 our subject is president, is capitalized at $500,000; 
 and the Desjardins Computing Register Co., of 
 which he is vice-president, at $100,000. The fol- 
 lowing description of the new type-justifying ma- 
 chine of Mr. Desjardins appeared in a Boston 
 trade journal of Aug. 15, 1896: 
 
 The main feature of the new justifier consists 
 of a mathematical instrument of an almost unlimited 
 power. This instrument is made of a very few 
 pieces. It rests directly upon the assembled line, 
 and automaticalljr indicates to tl e machine what 
 sizes and how many spaces to employ. The balance 
 of the process is simple. The column is published 
 lengthwise a distance equal to the thickness of one 
 line at a time, and the end line is separated and trans- 
 ferred into an easy position for the automatic mech- 
 anism to get rid of the original spaces and insert the 
 new ones. In so doing, the lead which was origi- 
 nally inserted to prevent the loose, uneven ends from 
 becoming mixed is removed and disposed of. The 
 original spaces which are inserted between the words 
 to indicate to the machine where the new ones belong 
 are properly distributed into rows, ready to be used 
 again. After the spaces have all been inserted into 
 their respective places between the words, the line 
 moves sideways a short distance, and finds itself 
 transferred into the receiving galley. The great dis- 
 tinguishing feature of the new machine is the fact 
 that in one sweep it absolutely eliminates two onmi- 
 present features of justification. First, it does noth- 
 ing but absolutely correct work. Second, it does this 
 work without any expense whatever. The correc- 
 tions, including the changes and transpositions, are 
 all made in the galley before the lines are justified. 
 V\^hen this is done, all the foreman has to do is to 
 clamp the galley into position, and go about his 
 other work until the automatic indicator informs him 
 that the machine has justified its column or that it 
 requires temporary attention from some other cause. 
 The justifier deals with three spaces only, and has 
 apparently very little to do. The enormous capacity 
 of the measuring device, which instantly determines 
 one out of five thousand possible requirements, is a 
 peculiarity of the invention, and does not involve 
 complication or delicacy of parts. The machine is 
 compact and easy to manufacture, and will be within 
 the immediate means of all classes of printing estab- 
 lishments, small and large. The mechanism is such 
 that it can be readily understood and cared for by 
 any printer of ordinary intelligence. 
 
 The other departments of printing are looked 
 upon as fully abreast with the age. The great dailies, 
 with their large editions are whirled into existence 
 by the hundreds of thousands of copies, so that with- 
 in an hour after the great rolls of white paper are 
 given to the machine the finished publications are 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 §5f) 
 
 scattered broadcast over the countr_v. The art of 
 quick and cheap engraving has l>eeii brought to 
 such a degree of perfection that intelhgence in tlie 
 form of pictures — permeates all classes of publica- 
 tions. While these and hundreds of other improve- 
 ments were taking place, typesetting machines have 
 been kept off the market because they have not been 
 able to justify their lines. 
 
 Mr. Desjardins' automatic type-justifier, with 
 the various changes which he has designed to suit 
 the various conditions of printing offices, can be 
 readily adapted for all classes of work. The pres- 
 ent machine was built to handle newspaper columns 
 a little over two inches in width. Another machine 
 will be made adjustable for book lines, varying from 
 two to five inches in length. The third machine will 
 be of special design adapted to the present typeset- 
 ting machines, and so constructed that it will sim- 
 ply cut the lines and deposit them on the galley, ready 
 for the corrections and changes. When the time ap- 
 proaches to close the form, and it is necessary to 
 rush the matter, instead of putting it through two 
 machines, by the setting of a lever the lines will pass 
 through the special justifier, and the spaces inserted 
 as fast as they are being set. In this way the matter 
 can be set carefully and transferred directly from the 
 typesetting machine to the form. These three de- 
 signs will do away with all of the present difficulties, 
 and will place the setting of movable type on a par 
 with the other departments of printing. 
 
 The following reference to the improved device 
 in question of Mr. Desjardins is extracted from 
 an article which appeared in the Hartford Post of 
 March lo, 1900: 
 
 The machine will space type and justify as rap- 
 idly as the most exnert operator can manipulate the 
 keys of a typesetting machine and the w'ork is 
 smoother and more accurate than can be done by 
 hand. Mr. Desjardins' invention is the first which 
 has been produced to justify movable type. Type- 
 setting machines, of which there are many different 
 kinds, were all lacking in this very important feature. 
 The linotype, which casts a line from molten metal, 
 has a justifying attachment and is in general use in 
 large newspaper offices. But there has always been 
 a demand for a machine that would justify movable 
 type automatically, and after struggling with the 
 problem for eighteen years Mr. Desjardins has suc- 
 ceeded in perfecting it to stand the test of usage. 
 The invention is arranged to be attached to any 
 typesetting machine and is designed especiallv to be 
 used in connection with the Thorne type-setter, the 
 combination being compact and can be operated as 
 rapidly as an ordinary typewriter. The Desjar- 
 dins justifier is so constructed that it takes the type 
 from the Thorne machine as it is formed into lines, 
 being attached to the frame on the right side. The 
 work of the justifier begins after the type has left 
 the channels and has reached a point at the right side 
 of the key board. Here they are stacked up into 
 words by the movements of a little star gear, the 
 
 words being separated by thin brass spaces which 
 have been substituted fur the ordinary type metal 
 slugs. These separators are slightly longer than the 
 type and are fitted with pronged ends. They serve 
 only a temporary use and in the course of type 
 through the machine they give place to the gradu- 
 ated type metal spaces which perform the final work 
 of justifying and are very similar in ajjpearance to 
 ordinary spaces. As the letters are stacked up by 
 the star until they form nearly a line of type of the 
 width of the ordinary newspaper column or whatever 
 width is desired, a bell strikes, announcing that the 
 line will hold but a few more letters. The operator 
 completes the word and touches the line lever, which 
 starts the machine. The line is first lifted into a 
 second channel, which is swung slightly to one side. 
 This leaves it under the nieasuriiu'' bar of the com- 
 puting device. Another part of the computing de- 
 vice was previously adjusted by the playing of 
 spaces in the line. This device is now provided 
 with a distance corresponding to the measured line 
 and another part is set according to the numlier of 
 spaces. It now performs the mechanical operation 
 of dividing the one by the other, the quotient with its 
 remainder being the combination of spaces needed. 
 The line of type is next moved over an open space. 
 where the first word is pushed down into a mova- 
 ble channel, the brass separator being momentarily 
 retained in the line of type, which prevents it froni 
 moving down more than the length of the first word. 
 The first word then runs backward and a type metal 
 space of the proper thickness for justifying is 
 knocked down on top of it and takes the place of tlie 
 brass separator which in turn dr^^ps out of the ma- 
 chine into a receptacle at the side, to be used again 
 when needed. The first word now runs forward 
 and the second word is pushed down on top of it 
 and both move backward to receive the second jus- 
 tifying type metal space and allow the second brass 
 separator to follow the first into the receptacle and 
 so on with each word in detail until the line of type 
 is refitted with a new set of justifying spaces, and 
 is pushed forward into a receiving galley, where it 
 will be found that the last line of type is exactly the 
 same length as the others previously set. The pro- 
 cess of justifying a line of type is strictly automatic 
 and occupies onlv about ten seconds and the justifier 
 may be speeded higher if necessarv. b.ut in ordinarv 
 work the machine as adjusted will outstrip the 
 swiftest operator, so that by the time the second 
 line has been set, the justifier is waiting to receive 
 it and repeat the process. 
 
 On Aug. t, 1889, while residing at Evanston, 
 111., Air. Desjardins was married to Cora \"iola 
 Snyder, of that citv who was born in ]\TcHenry. 111., 
 daughter of Herman Snyder, a nr.tive of Hudson. N. 
 Y.. and Harriet J. (Smith) Snyder, a native of Cam- 
 bridge, Vt. Our subject and his wife reside at West 
 Hartford on a prominent elevation overlooking the 
 city of Hartford and the valley of the Connecticut, 
 and with them Mrs. Snvder makes her home. Thev 
 
860 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 are members of the West Hai-tford Baptist Church, 
 where he is prominentl)' connected witli the manage- 
 ment, and Mrs. Desjardins, being a fine performer 
 on tlie piano, lias charge of the music for the ser- 
 vices, and of the Sabbath-scliool, of whicli Mr. Des- 
 jardins is superintendent. 
 
 GEORGE DENNIS BRISTOL, a resident of 
 Southington, Hartford county, was born in that 
 town Feb. 2, 1859, a son of Julius Dennis and Enie- 
 line (Cook) Bristol, and is the only survivor of the 
 once large family of Bristols. 
 
 Julius D. Bristol was also Ixsrn in Southington, 
 Feb. 10, 1826, and died Aug. 29, 1884, at Denver, 
 Colo., his remains being brought East and interred 
 in the family lot in South End cemetery. In early 
 life be followed the occupation of farming, but later 
 engaged in manufacturing, merchandising, contract- 
 ing and building, was also interested in the coal, 
 lime, cement, tile and lumber business, and at one 
 time carried on a bolt shop and a paper mill in South 
 End, Southington, and later in Southington village. 
 He was instrumental in the building up of that town, 
 and he himself erected man}' buildings there. Mr. 
 Bristol was a man of far more than ordinar\- busi- 
 ness abilit}', and carried forward to successful com- 
 pletion whatever he undertook. Enterprising, pro- 
 gressive and public-spirited, he laid out and im- 
 proved what is now Eden avenue, Southington, 
 doing much to beautify it, and also a portion of 
 Liberty street, fomierly known as Yankee street. 
 Fie was twice married, his first wife, the mother of 
 our subject, being a daughter of Robert and Emeline 
 { Clark) Cook, of Southington, and a granddaughter 
 of Martin and Lucinda (Webster) Cook. Martin 
 Cook was born Aug. 9, 1767, and was a son of Na- 
 thaniel Cook, who was born Sept. 25, 1735, and was 
 married March 8, 1754, to Martha Scott, daughter 
 of Samuel and Mary ( Pynchon) Scott, of Southing- 
 ton. Nathaniel Cook died Nov. 27, 1822. His 
 father, Robert Cook, was born in 1703, and was 
 married Nov. 19, 1729, to Hannah Hunn, a daughter 
 of Nathaniel and Martha Hunn. He was a son of 
 Robert Cook, Sr., who is supposed to have been 
 born in Ireland in 1671, was an early settler of 
 Southington, and a warm friend of Rev. Jeremiah 
 Curtiss during the exciting controvers'ies of his 
 ministry. By his first wife Julius D. Bristol 
 liad two children who grew to maturity : Seymour 
 Julius, born Aug. 17, 1850, who died in Boston Dec. 
 I, 1878; and George Dennis, our subject. For his 
 second wife he married Martha Amelia Perkins, 
 who bore him one son, Julius Perkins, deceased. 
 
 Julius Bristol (generally known as Capt. Bris- 
 tol, having been at one time captain of militia in the 
 town), the paternal grandfather of our subject, was 
 born in Hamden, Conn., Aug. 11, 1793, and married 
 Sally, daughter of Allen and Sarah (Webster) 
 Barnes. She died Nov. 19, 1848, and for his sec- 
 ond wife he married Mrs. Fanny (Langdon) Hitch- 
 cock. He lived in South End, where he was en- 
 
 gaged in farming and manufacturing, being at one 
 time president of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., 
 fomierly the Peck-Smith Co., and subsequently re- 
 moved to Southington, where he laid out and im- 
 proved Bristol street, setting out the trees that now 
 shade it. He remained there until his death. He 
 was a prominent Freemason, and a most progres- 
 sive and highly-respected citizen. His father, 
 George Augustus Bristol, was born July 27, 1762, 
 lived in Southington, and was married Feb. 3, 1785, 
 to Mary De Forest Hawley, of that town. For his 
 second wife he married Abigail Munson. He died 
 Aug. 28, 18 1 3. 
 
 George D. Bristol, whose name introduces this 
 sketch, grew to manhood in Southington, and pur- 
 sued his studies in the public schools and Lewis 
 Academy. For several years he v/as successfully 
 engaged in the grocery, fruity news business, etc., 
 but is now living at his pleasant home on Bristol 
 street, engaged in real-estate business, etc., enjo)'- 
 ing the society of his family and many friends, in 
 the midst of all the comforts that go to make life 
 worth the living. 
 
 On Nov. 16, 1882, Mr. Bristol was united in 
 marriage with Miss Amy T. Douglass, a daughter 
 of Reuben H. and Zeruah (Miles) Douglass, of 
 Southington, and to them has been born one daugh- 
 ter, Gladys A. Z. Fraternally Mr. Bristol is an 
 honored member of the Masonic fraternity, the Inde- 
 pendent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of 
 Pythias, and the Improved Order of Red Men, 
 and politically he is a Republican. 
 
 WILLIS P. CORBIN. Mr. Corbin is a son of 
 Hezekiah Healey Corbin, a grandson of Philip Cor- 
 bin, Jr., and a great-grandson of Philip Corbin, who 
 was, throughout his entire life, a farmer of the 
 town of Union. 
 
 Philip Corbin married a Miss Healey, and from 
 this union sprang Philip, Jr., who also devoted him- 
 self to agriculture. Earl}? in life he lived in Willing- 
 ton and other towns in the State, but his later years 
 were passed at West Hartford. In his business 
 he was both thrifty and successful, the two attri- 
 butes being, perhaps, connected in the relation of 
 cause and efl:ect. His fellow townsmen regarded 
 him as one of their "solid" men. He had a natural 
 bent toward military maneuvers, and on "train- 
 ing days" always served as captain. On Nov. 29, 
 1820, he married Lois Chaft'ee, who was born Sept. 
 24, 1798, and was the daughter of Abner Chaffee 
 and Judith Walker. They were the parents of 
 eleven children, named and born as follows : Heze- 
 kiah, Nov. 29, 1821 ; Waldo, Sept. 26, 1823 ; Philip, 
 Oct. 26, 1824; Lois, Oct. 5, 1826; Frank, June 26, 
 1828; Anna J., Jan. 22, 1830; William, Sept. 9, 
 1831 ; Andrew, June 10, 1833; George S., June 22, 
 1836; Roby Jeannette, Sept. 5, 1838; and Elbert A., 
 Oct. 17, 1843. . . 
 
 The following imperfect sketch of the life of 
 Hezekiah H. Corbin is taken from the columns of 
 
I V 
 
i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 361 
 
 a local paper: "Hezekiah Healey Corbin was, in 
 the true sense of the word, one of the pioneers of 
 New JJritain. Unly a few }ears of his life were 
 spent at his home in Union, wliere he was born. 
 With liis father's family he removed to West liarl- 
 ford, and from there he came to New Britain, in 
 the early 'forties. It was about this same time that 
 his brothers, P. and F. Corbin, came to New Brit- 
 ain and established the industry which has since 
 grown to be the largest plant of its kind in the city. 
 For a number of years Hezekiah H. Corbin worked 
 in his brothers' factory, and later was in the employ 
 of Landers, Frary & Clark. It was in 1866 that he 
 entered into partnership with T. W. Loomis, in the 
 manufacture of paper boxes, the concern occupying 
 the quarters in the Loomis building now used by 
 the Independent. After a partnership continuing 
 for about a year, Air. Corbin started a factory of 
 his own, associating with himself his son, Frank E. 
 Corbin. It was in 1872 that the main shop, later 
 •occupied by the firm of H. H. Corbin & Son, was 
 erected, and in 1880 large additions were built. 
 Until 1890, ]Mr. Corbin was in partnership with his 
 son, Frank E. Corbin, but in that year he bought out 
 the entire business, and his other son, Willis P. Cor- 
 bin, succeeded to his brother's interest. 
 
 "Mr. Corbin, like all others of his family, was 
 for from wealthy when he came to this city (New 
 Britain). But he was not lacking in the enterprise 
 which has ever characterized the whole famih'. By 
 steadv application to business, native shrewdness 
 and fair dealing, he succeeded in building up a good 
 business, and has made a competency for himself. 
 
 "Tklr. Corbin was well known throughout the 
 State as a leader in the Adventist Church. He and 
 H. D. Sharp were the principal organizers of the 
 Advent Church of New Britain, and have been 
 prominently connected with the society since its 
 first meeting; and at the time of his death Mr. Cor- 
 bin was one of the deacons." 
 
 The sketch of Hezekiah H. Corbin which has 
 been above quoted may be supplemented by a brief 
 summary of other salient events in his life, and a 
 brief account of his prominent characteristics. He 
 was educated in the common schools and in the high 
 school of West Hartford, and from his youth up he 
 was a voracious reader of the best authors. On 
 all topics of current interest he kept himself well 
 informed, and in Biblical lore lie was thoroughly 
 versed. On Feb. 16, 1844, i" ^^'i^ington, he was 
 married to Maria B. Ryder, a daughter of Byas and 
 Abigail (Eldridgej Ryder, and born in Westford 
 Jan. 9, 1825. Four children were born to them, a 
 brief record of whom is as follows : The eldest, 
 Mary Jane, was born at Willington June 13, 1845 ; 
 she married ^^'ilbur F. Rogers, of Aleriden, of the 
 firm of C. Rogers & Bros. The second child was 
 Frank Eugene, who was born at Hartford Dec. 13, 
 1849. Homer ]Montross was the third, born at 
 Hamden, Ohio, Aug. 13, 1852, and died Oct. 12, 
 i^5.v ^^'i^is p. Corbin, whose name appears at 
 
 the opening of this memoir, was the youngest child, 
 and was born at New Britain Feb. 20, 1856. 
 
 In tracing back the genealogy of the Corbin 
 family, it is of interest to note that the earliest 
 American progenitor in reference to whom any in- 
 formation is obtainable was Clement Corbin, who 
 was a resident of Brookline, a suburb of ISoston, 
 jNIass., in 1637. He is said to have been born in 
 i6i6, and to have removed to Woodstock, Wynd- 
 ham Co., Conn., in 1687. It is also reported that 
 he was the first settler in that section of the State. 
 He married Dorcas Buckminster, and his son 
 James, who was one of the early progenitors of the 
 Corbin famil}-, was born March 31^ 1668. His 
 son Philip, born Jan. 5, 1708, married Dorothy 
 Barts on Jan. 13, 1731. Their son Lemuel wis 
 born Feb. 19, 1739-40, and married Rebecca Davis. 
 He died May 7, 1825, at Dudley, Massachusetts. 
 
 \\'illis P. Corbin was educated in the schools of 
 New Britain and Meriden, and was also a student 
 under the personal instruction of Prof. Camp. While 
 his early education was not of the character given 
 to pupils at the scientific schools of the present day, 
 it formed an ample ground work for the training 
 necessary to a successful business career. On leav- 
 ing school, he entered the employ of his father, who 
 as has been already said, was a successful manu- 
 facturer of paper boxes. At the time that he began 
 work at the factory the firm name was H. H. Cor- 
 bin & Son, the partners in the concern being his 
 father and his brother, Frank E. Corbin. It was 
 a fundamental principle with his father that none 
 of his sons should be entrusted with the charge of 
 even an unimportant part of his business tmtil he had 
 demonstrated his ability to succeed. Accordingly, 
 young Willis after beginning work was forced to 
 perform all sorts of toil until he became tlioroughly 
 versed in every detail of the business. In Feb- 
 ruar}', 1890, Frank E. Corbin withdrew from the 
 firm, and was succeeded by his younger brother, 
 Willis P. The name of the firm continued as H. H. 
 Corbin & Son, and gradually the management of 
 'the business rested more and more upon the shoul- 
 ders of the younger partner. Since Nov. 5, 1897, he 
 has had entire control of the plant, in the manage- 
 ment of which he has alwa3's displayed a rarely 
 sound business judgment. Since the death of his 
 father Nov. 6, 1897, he has largely increased the 
 productive capacity of the factory, and at the pres- 
 ent time employs about sixty hands. The Corbins 
 were the pioneers of this line of mechanical in- 
 dustry in New Britain, and to-day the^' are the 
 largest manufacturers in this section of the country, 
 supplying firms at New Britain, Meriden, Bristol, 
 Southington, and other towns in Connecticut. 
 
 Politically Mr. Corbin has always been a Re- 
 publican, although never an active party worker. 
 Fie is a member of the American Benefit Societ)-, 
 of New Britain, and in his religious belief is as 
 ardent in his support of the Adventist doctrines, 
 as was also his father. He married ]Miss Alice E. M. 
 
 I 
 
S62 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ville, a daughter of James Ville, of New Britain, 
 whose family is of English descent, and who is a 
 manufacturer of carriages, his place of business 
 being on Arch street. Mr. and Mrs. Corbin are the 
 parents of five children : Fred W., Howard R., 
 Harry M., Mildred M., and Gertrude A. 
 
 HON. EMERSON ALFORD, who for several 
 years prior to his decease lived retired in Plain- 
 ville, was a well-known and highly respected citi- 
 zen of that town. He was born near Front Royal, 
 Va., Dec. 28, 1825, but belonged to an old Con- 
 necticut family, his parents being Daniel M. and 
 Emira (Mills) Alford, natives of Avon and Can- 
 ton, Hartford county, respectively. His paternal 
 grandfather, Samuel Alford, was born in Granby, 
 this county, but spent most of his life in the town 
 of Avon, where he followed the occupation of farm- 
 ing, and where he served as constable for many 
 years. He had a family of six children: Roxie, 
 wife of Truman Woodford; Dorinda, wife of James 
 Blackwell; Lucy, wife of Henry Humphrey; Jane, 
 wife of Henry Stockbridge ; Daniel M. ; and Samuel. 
 
 In early manhood the father of our subject was 
 a trader in the South, and lived for several years 
 in Virginia. Returning to Hartford county. Conn., 
 he purchased a farm in Avon about 1829, and 
 made his home there until called from this life, in 
 August, 1873, at the age of seventy-seven years. 
 He married Miss Emira Mills, a daughter of Joel 
 and Anna (Russell) Mills, of Canton, this county, 
 and to this union the following children were born : 
 Rollin, who was killed by lightning in Illinois; 
 Juliette, wife of Andrew Chidsey ; Emerson, our 
 subject: Ephraim A.; Louisa, Mrs. Albert An- 
 drews; Lucy A., wife of Asa Hoskins ; Sarah J., 
 wife of Anthony J. Mallory; and Franklin M. 
 
 Emerson Alford was four years of age when 
 his parents returned to Connecticut, and he grew 
 to manhood in Avon, receiving a limited education 
 in the common schools. He remained on his fa- 
 ther's farm until eighteen years of age, and then 
 worked as a farm hand for six months. Subse- 
 quently he was employed as a peddler for a time, 
 and at the age of twenty located in Collinsville, 
 where he worked in an axe factory for ten years, 
 being inspector in the grinding department the 
 last five years of that time. In i860 he purchased 
 a farm in Simsbury which he successfully con- 
 ducted until 1888, when he retired from active labor 
 and moved to New Britain. After residing there 
 for two and a half years he came to Plainville, in 
 1890, and here made his home until his death. May 
 ID, 1899. 
 
 On April 23, 1851, Mr. Alford was united in 
 marriage with Miss Sarah M. Pratt, a daughter 
 of Jeremiah and Celia (Merriman^i Pratt, of Green- 
 field, Mass., and to them were born five children: 
 Clara J., Ephraim B. (deceased), Ralph E., Frank 
 J. and Leon P. Mr. Alford was one of the lead- 
 ing and influential members of the Methodist Epis- 
 
 copal Church of Plainville, and at the time of his- 
 decease was serving as president of its board of 
 trustees. He was a stalwart supporter of the Dem- 
 ocratic party, and represented Simsbury in the 
 State Legislature in 1886-87. After a useful and 
 honorable career, he could well afford to lay aside 
 business cares and live in ease and retirement. 
 
 FRANK M. JOHNSON, artistic photographer,. 
 No. 1039 Main street, Hartford, and a highly es- 
 teemed citizen, comes of an old and prominent Con- 
 necticut family of English descent. He is a great- 
 grandson of Isaac Johnson, who married Audrey 
 Latham, whose descent was from the Hon. Lewis 
 Latham (falconer to his Majesty King Charles I),, 
 born 1555, and died 1655. The Earl of Latham was 
 a descendant of the same ancestor, as was also Sir 
 Thomas Latham, whose daughter and heiress mar- 
 ried Sir John Stanley, from whom are descended the 
 Stanleys, Earls of Derby. The late Judge Elisha 
 Johnson, at one time practicing law in Hartford, 
 was a great-uncle of the subject of this sketch. 
 
 Frank M. Johnson is a native of Connecticut, 
 born Nov. 2, 1872, in New Haven, a son of Correll 
 W. and Eliza S. (Shepard) Johnson, the former a 
 native of Winsted, Conn., and the latter a daughter 
 of Noah Shepard, whose grandfather, John Shepard, 
 came from England, and was in his day a promi- 
 nent resident of Portland, Conn., where he died. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Correll W. Johnson were born six 
 children, four of whom are yet living. When 
 Frank M. was five years old the family removed to 
 Hartford, and there, with the exception of a short 
 sojourn near Boston, Mass., he has since made his 
 home. His education was received at the Hart- 
 foid public schools, supplemented by a course at 
 Hannum & Steadman's (now Morse's) Business 
 College, where he was graduated as a bookkeeper 
 in i8go. When twelve years old he began work in 
 the photograph gallery of Hart J. Rodgers, in Hart- 
 ford, in order to learn the business, and continued 
 there, in various capacities, some ten years. Hav- 
 ing- a natural taste for the photographic art, he de- 
 voted himself earnestly to making himself proficient 
 in all the details, and soon became master of the 
 entire business. In 1895 he severed his connection 
 with Mr. Rodgers, to accept the position of man- 
 ager of a large art studio at Milford, (a suburb of 
 Boston), Mass., and there he had entire control for 
 some six months, at the end of which time, having 
 received flattering offers from a couple of galleries 
 in Hartford, he was induced to return to that city. 
 
 In 1895 Mr. Johnson formed a partnership with 
 his old preceptor in the art, Mr. Rodgers, under 
 the firm name of Rodgers & Johnson, which con- 
 tinued about eighteen months, when, in the spring of 
 1898, he bought out his partner's interests, taking- 
 entire charge of the business. It has since been 
 known as the F. M. Johnson Studio, and all kinds 
 of skillful and modern photographic work are done. 
 Mr. Johnson keeps fully abreast of the times, and iu 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 3G3 
 
 his show case ma}- always be found specimens of 
 artistic work excelled by no other gallery in the 
 city. 
 
 Mr. Johnson is a member of the New England 
 Photographers Association. He is prominently 
 identitied with the Fourth Congregational Church, 
 and for the past six years has been a teacher in the 
 Sunday-school at Warburton Chapel, on Temple 
 street, while for seven or eight years he has been a 
 member and active in the Voung Alen's Christian 
 Association. Being a single man, his home on 
 Pliny street, which he purchased in March, 1900, 
 is cared for by his mother. 
 
 \\'ILLA]\I PORTER. The Porter, family is 
 of English origin, and has a coat of arms, which is 
 thus described: Sable, three church bells, argent; 
 canton, ermine. INlotto, Vigilantia et Virtus. 
 
 The line of descent is traced from William de 
 la Port, a Roman knight who went to England with 
 William the Conqueror, and is as follows: (II) 
 Ralph de la Port. (Ill) Robert de la Port. (IV) 
 Hugh de la Port married a daughter of William 
 Russell. (V) John Porter, of Markham, England, 
 married a daughter if Mr. Gardiner, of Bishops 
 Norton, Lincolnshire, England. (VI) John Porter. 
 (VII) Augustine Porter, of Belton. (VIII) John 
 Porter. (IX) William Porter, of Wryhall. (X) 
 John Porter, the founder of the family in this coun- 
 try, was born in 1590, and came to New England 
 in 1633 with his wife Rose, and about 1635 settled 
 at Windsor, Conn., becoming one of the founders 
 of the place. (XI) Samuel Porter, born in Eng- 
 land in 1626. (XII) Samuel Porter, born in 1660. 
 (XIII) Eleazer Porter. (XIV) Eleazer Porter, born 
 in 1728. (XV) William Porter, born in 1763, a 
 merchant, farmer and physician, died in Hadley, 
 Mass., about 1848. He married (first) Lois East- 
 man and (second) Charlotte Williams, and by his 
 first marriage had two sons, John and William. 
 (XVI) William Porter was born in Hadley, Mass., 
 Nov. 14, 1792, and was graduated from Williams 
 College in 1813. He became a leading attorney of 
 Lee, Mass., and was prominent in public life, serv- 
 ing in both Houses of the State Legislature. He 
 died in Lee Feb. 11, 1853, and his wife, jMary Ann 
 Quincy, died Dec. 2, 1835. They had four chil- 
 dren : William, who has been a professor in Beloit 
 College, Beloit, Wis., for nearly fifty years ; Sam- 
 uel Quincy, a resident of Unionville, Conn. ; Char- 
 lotte, who died aged thirteen years ; and ]\Iary 
 Weld, widow of Franklin Chamberlain, sketch of 
 whom follows. 
 
 William Porter was born in Lee, Mass., Jan. 
 10, 1820, and prepared for college in his native 
 town. In 1839, at the age of nineteen, he graduated 
 from Williams College, and being in delicate health 
 was sent on a sailing-vessel to Florida, where he 
 remained seven years. He studied theology at the 
 L^nion Theological Seminary, in New York, and in 
 1854 went West to take the position of professor of 
 
 Latin in Beloit College, Beloit, \\"\s., which he has- 
 since held. On July 13, 1854, he married Ellen 
 Gertrude, youngest daughter of Laertes Chapin,. 
 of Hartford, Conn., a sister of President 
 Aaron L. Chapin, of Beloit College. They have 
 children as follows : ( i ) William, J r., is mentioned 
 below. (2) Frank Chamberlin, a professor in Yale 
 Universit}-, married Delia L)inan, and has two sons, 
 Lyman and William (Juincy. (3; James died in 
 infancy. (4) Mary (Jumcy resides in Beloit, Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 WiLLi.vM PoRTEK, Jr., M. D., Spent his early 
 school days at Beloit, VVis., and for three years was 
 connected with the paper-mill business at Dalton, 
 i\lass. On graduating from the Chicago JMedical 
 College, in 1882, he spent two years m study in 
 Paris and Vienna. In 1884 he began practice in 
 Hartford, Conn. He is a member of the State,. 
 County and City JMedical Societies, and visiting 
 physician at the Hartford Hospital. Dr. I'orter 
 married ]Mrs. Fannie Pease Hall, and they have one 
 daughter, Margaret Chapin Porter. 
 
 Chapin. Ellen Gertrude Chapin, wife of \\'ill- 
 iam Porter, Sr., and mother of Dr. \\'illiam Porter, 
 Jr., of Hartford, and Prof. Frank C. Porter, of Yale 
 University, New Haven, was born JNIarch 15, 1831, 
 in Hartford, Conn., the youngest of ten children. 
 She was a descendant in the seventh generation of 
 Deacon Samuel Chapin, who settled at Springfield, 
 Mass., with his family in 1642, and on Oct. 10, 
 1652, was appointed one of the magistrates of that 
 town. He \vas a useful and highly esteemed citi- 
 zen. Fie died Nov. 11, 1675, ^^d his wife, Cecily^ 
 passed away Feb. 8, 1683. 
 
 (II) Jepheth Chapin, born in 1642, was at the 
 great iight at Turner's Falls I\Iay 18, 1676. On 
 July 22, 1664, he married Abilenah Cooley, who 
 died Nov. 17, 1710, and on May 31, 171 1, he wedded 
 Dorothy Root, of Enfield, Conn. He died Feb. 30, 
 1712. 
 
 (III) Deacon David Chapin was born Nov. 16, 
 1682, and died July 8, 1772. On Nov. 12, 1705, he 
 married Sarah Stebbins, daughter of Joseph Steb- 
 bins. She died Feb. 6, 1726. His second wife, 
 JMindwell Holton, died Oct. 21, 1758. He was- 
 first clerk of Chicopee parish, and one of the first 
 deacons in that parish. 
 
 (IV) Deacon Edward Chapin, born Feb. 16, 
 1724, married July 6, 1752, Eunice, daughter of 
 William and Mary Colton, of Longmeadow. He 
 died Jan. 6, 1800. 
 
 (V) Aaron Chapin was born April 20, 1753, and 
 died Dec. 25, 1838. On Sept. 11, 1777, he mar- 
 ried Mary, daughter of Zebulon King, of East Wind- 
 sor, Conn., and his death occurred Feb. 21, 1829. 
 He w^as a deacon of the First Congregational Church 
 in Hartford, Conn. In early life he followed the 
 occupation of a cabinet maker, but in later years 
 was a watch repairer and cleaner. 
 
 (VI) Laertes Chapin, father of iNIrs. William 
 Porter, Sr., was born Aug. 21, 1778. in Hartford,. 
 
SM 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Conn., and died Oct. 30. 1847. On Nov. 12, 1809, 
 he was married to Susanna Merriclc, daughter of 
 Gad Merricl-:, of Franklin, N. Y. She died Sept. 
 
 g, 1811, and he then married, on , 18 — , Laura 
 
 Colton, of Hartford, Conn. She died Sept. 18, 
 1854. He followed the occupation of cabinet mak- 
 ing, and resided in Hartford until within two years 
 of his death, when he removed to East Hartford, 
 Conn. He was an honest, industrious man, and a 
 faithful, consistent Christian. 
 
 Franklin Chamberlin (deceased) was one of 
 the most prominent lawyers of Hartford, where he 
 ■died Sept. 10, 1896, at the age of seventy-five years. 
 He was born April 14, 1821, in Dalton, Berkshire 
 Co., Mass., son of Joseph and Catherine (Holden) 
 Chamberlin. In the county of his nativity he had 
 the advantages of the best schools of that day, and 
 was ready to encer college as a Sophomore when he 
 was sixteen 3'ears old, but owing to the moderate 
 circumstances of his parents he abandoned the hope 
 of a college course, and was for some years engaged 
 in business and teaching. His mind and tastes were 
 strongly inclined to law, and in 1842 he entered 
 the office of the late William Porter, of Lee, Mass., 
 as a student. Li 1S44 li£ was graduated from the 
 Harvard Law School, was admitted to the Bar in 
 Massachusetts in 1845, and was at once invited to 
 .a partnership with Mr. Porter, at Lee. From 1854 
 to i860 he was in practice at Springfield, Mass. 
 About i860 he removed to Hartford, where he 
 soon established himself in practice with Hon. Ezra 
 Hall, the partnership continuing until the death of 
 the former partner. In 1874 the firm was enlarged 
 by the addition of Edward S. White, and later be- 
 came Chamberlin, White & Mills. Hiram R. Mills 
 is the successor of the firm. In 1865 Mr. Cham- 
 berlin was a member of the Connecticut House of 
 Representatives. 
 
 On Sept. 3, 1845, Mr. Chamberlin was married 
 to Mary Weld Porter, daughter of William and 
 Mary Ann (Ouincy) Porter. 
 
 FREDERICK BULKELEY EDWARDS, a 
 well-known and popular druggist of Hartford, is 
 a native of Connecticut, born Oct. 14, 1850, in 
 Wethersfield, Hartford county. 
 
 Abel Edwards, his grandfather, was born in 
 Middletown, Conn., and became a cooper by trade. 
 He inherited a large fortune from his father, 
 Churchill Edwards, who was a resident of Middle- 
 town, Conn., and whose genealogv appears else- 
 where. Abel Edwards married Betsey Marsh, 
 daughter of Capt. John Marsh, of Rocky Hill, 
 Hartford county. 
 
 Walter Edwards, father of Frederick B., was 
 born in the town of Cromwell, Middlesex Co., 
 Conn., whence at the age of fourteen years he 
 removed to New Britain, and there served an ap- 
 prenticeship at the joiner's trade. For twelve years 
 he traveled throughout the Southern States, but the 
 greater part of his business life was passed in 
 
 Hartford. After retiring from a.tive life he spent 
 the remainder of his days in the town of Wethers- 
 field, dying there May 30, 1874, and his remains 
 were interred in Cedar Hill cemetery. 
 
 In 1843 Walter Edwards was married, in Weh- 
 ersfield, to Jane Bulkeley, daughter of Fredei ": 
 and Nancy (Riley) Bulkeley, the latter of whom 
 was a daughter of Capt. John Riley, who com- 
 manded a company during the Revolutionary war. 
 To this union were born children as follows : Fan- 
 nie, born in Springfield, Mass., died at the age of 
 three years; Elizabeth, born in Hartford, married 
 Edward M. Francis, and had two children, Evert 
 M. and Bernice; Frederick Bulkeley, our subject, 
 comes next ; and Frank, a farmer, died in the town 
 of Cromwell, Middlesex county. The mother of 
 this family died in Cromwell in 1891. 
 
 Frederick B. Edwards, the subject proper of 
 these lines, received his earlier education at the 
 schools in Wethersfield, later attending the Hart- 
 ford Public High School, from which institution 
 he graduated in 1867. At the age of seventeen 
 years he began clerking for S. G. Moses & Co., 
 later Stephen Goodrich & Co., druggists (1867-71), 
 and for two years (1872-73) he was with Williams 
 & House. On Nov. i, 1873, he began business as 
 druggist on Farmington avenue, Hartford, buying 
 out the store of Williams & House, and has- since 
 continued an ever-increasing and prosperous busi- 
 ness. 
 
 Mr. Edwards has been twice married, first time 
 in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1882, to Nellie L. Dunbar 
 Granger, a native of Suffield, Conn., who died three 
 years after marriage. For his second wife he 
 wedded, in Hartford, Conn., in 1886, Agnes Van 
 Ness Mandeville, who descended from Holland- 
 Dutch ancestry, of New Jersey. One child, Fred- 
 erick B., Jr., was born to this union Sept. 30, 1887. 
 
 Mr. Edwards in social relationship is a member 
 of the Sons of the American Revolution ; of the 
 F. & A. M., St. John's Lodge (since 1878) : of 
 the State Pharmaceutical Association and the 
 American Pharmaceutical Association ; and at one 
 time he was identified with the old Governor's Foot 
 Guard. He is popular and well liked, and enjoys 
 the esteem of a large circle of friends. 
 
 ELI GOODRICH (deceased) was a son of 
 Goushay Goodrich, who was born in Rocky Hill 
 July 21, 1775, and died Apil 11. 1839. The latter 
 married Mary Bulkley, who was born Feb. 28, 
 1777, and died Jan. 23, 1859, and they became the 
 parents of seven children : Walter B., born May 19, 
 1802, died Aug. 3, 1869; Olive was born Nov. 4, 
 1803; George N., born Feb. 2, 1806, died May 16, 
 1833 ; Martha E., born in October. 1808, died April 
 30, 185 1 ; Eli was fifth in the family; Jerusha, born 
 April 21, 1814, died Nov. 3, 1873; and -Solomon, 
 born June 16, 1818, died Dec. i, 1834. 
 
 Eli Goodrich was born upon his father's farm in 
 Rocky Hill Feb. 2, 1811, and prssed his early boy- 
 
ELI GOODRICH 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 305 
 
 hood there. While' yet a mere lad he was appren- 
 ticed to the shoemaker's trade, at which he worked 
 for many years. Retnrning tu the farm upon which 
 he had been born, he began the life of a farmer, at 
 the same time conducting a shoemaker's shop in 
 connection therewith, and continued thus until 
 1873, when he gave up active business and removed 
 to the home which he occupied at the time of his 
 death, May 24, 1882, and where his widow still 
 lives. H,e was a Republican in politics, and in re- 
 hgious faith a Congregationalist, both himself and 
 his wife being members of the church of that de- 
 nomination at Rocky Hill. 
 
 Air. Goodrich's success in life may be said to 
 have been due entirely to his own unaided efforts. 
 Obliged to work while a mere boy of tender years, 
 he exhibited a determination, courage and perse- 
 verance which characterized him through life. He 
 was self-educated and wholly self-made, yet such 
 was the force of character which he possessed that 
 he not onlv surmounted the obstacles in his path, 
 but gained the heartv respect of his neighbors and 
 fellow townsmen. 
 
 Mr. Goodrich was married Oct. 9, 1839, to 
 JNIiss Emeline E. Butler, daughter of William Sage 
 Butler, of Rocky Hill, and to this marriage were 
 born two children, the elder of whom, Mary B., is 
 now Mrs. Walter Goodrich, of Philadelphia, and 
 l:as two children, Clarence and Grace M. Susan is 
 the widow of Daniel B. Lord, a Congregational min- 
 ister, of West Hartford, who left five children, May 
 B., Bertha E., Arthur G., Grace and Ruth \'. 
 
 William S. Butler was one of a family of four 
 children, Horace, Merritt, Anna and William S. 
 The parents dying when they were quite young, 
 tiiey were reared by their grandmother Butler. 
 William S. became a sea-faring man, following that 
 mode of life for many years, and finally losing his 
 lite by the sinking of a sailing-vessel, while on his 
 passage to the West Indies. He married Mary Ed- 
 wards, a native of Rocky Hill town, who bore her 
 husband two children, Mrs. Goodrich being the 
 elder; M'illiam S. died in 1879. Airs. Butler died 
 April 6; 1893, at the extraordinary age of ninet\-- 
 four years. Mrs. Goodrich herself is an octogena- 
 rian,, having been born Alarch 14, 1819, in Rockv 
 Hill. She bears her years, however, liglitly, and 
 seems to have inherited the longevity which was so 
 marked in the case of her mother. 
 
 GEORGE NE\^ERS, the efficient and popular 
 clerk of the board of street commissioners of Hart- 
 ford, was born Jan. 4. 1839, in Buffalo, N. Y.. and 
 is descended from an excellent family of New Eng- 
 land stock. 
 
 Roderick Nevers, our subject's father, was born 
 April 30, 1808, in Springfield, Alass., and was 
 reared at Long Meadow, Mass., at the home of a 
 farmer named Colton. He became a plate printer 
 by trade, and when a young man went to Buffalo, 
 but in 1842 he returned to Springfield, and later 
 
 settled in Hartford, this county, engaging in busi- 
 ness on his own account. He formed a partnership, 
 the firm being known as Case & .severs, and con- 
 tinued in business until 1884, first on State street, 
 then on Central Row, anil afterward in the Case, 
 Lockwood & Brainard Co. building. As a busi- 
 ness man and citizen he was highly respected, while 
 for many years before his death, which occurred 
 Aug. I J, 1888, he was a member of the Center 
 Congregational Church. His wife, Melissa Sykes, 
 who" died Sept. 23, 1897, aged eighty-five years, 
 was born in Hartford April 7, 1812, daughter of 
 John and Lovisa Liswell Sykes. They had six 
 children : Edward ; George ; Anna Melissa, who 
 married Joel R. Holcomb ; Sarah Jane (deceased), 
 who married Edgar G. Whittlesey, of Hartford; 
 Roderick, Jr.; and Ella, who died at the age of 
 four years. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the schools of the 
 South district of Hartford, and in the high school, 
 where he attended two years. When nearly fifteen 
 years old he entered a freight office at New Haven, 
 as clerk, and a year later he took a similar posi- 
 tion in the general freight office of the Hartford & 
 New Haven railroad at Hartford. In 1864 he be- 
 came a bookkeeper in the office of the Charter Oak 
 Insurance Co., and in 1868 its secretary, remaining 
 until 1872, the year after the Chicago fire, the com- 
 pany being then dissolved. After spending a short 
 time as clerk in the Atlas Insurance Co.'s office he 
 was employed as chief clerk in the agency office of 
 the Scottish Union and Lion Eire Insurance Cos. for 
 some years, but in 1886 he was elected to his pres- 
 ent position, as clerk of the board of street com- 
 missioners, succeeding George Ellis. The duties 
 of the office have nearly doubled during his term, 
 requiring much ability in the organization of de- 
 tails, and he is regarded as a most valuable man for 
 the place. Politically he is a Democrat, but he 
 takes no active part in the work of the party. He 
 attends the Center Congregational Church, and is 
 a member of various fraternal societies, including 
 the F. & A. AL, Hartford Lodge, Xo. 88, at Hart- 
 ford ; Pythagoras Chapter ; Wolcott Council ; ^^"ash- 
 ington Commandery ; Connecticut Sovereign Con- 
 sistory, S. P. R. S., 32d degree ; and is a charter 
 member of the Sphinx Temple, A. A. O. N. AI. S.. 
 of Hartford. He is also a member of Hartford 
 Lodge, No. 19, B. P. O. E. 
 
 In 1865 Air. Nevers married Aliss Julia S. Hos- 
 mer, daughter of John B. Hosmer, a well-known 
 resident of Willimantic. She died April 24. 1897, 
 leaving two children : Jessie I., who married PIu- 
 bert D. Tracy, of Hartford, a bookkeeper in the 
 office of the ^tna Life Insurance Co.'s oiifice : and 
 Hattie H., wife of Elisha Hart Pember, of the 
 same city, now employed as a hardware salesman. 
 
 JOHN ALLEX', one of the progressive and 
 public-spirited citizens of Hartford, was born I'eb. 
 6. 1 83 1, in N^ew York City, son of Joshua and 
 
^66 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Nancy (Knox) Allen. He comes of good Scottish 
 ancestry, his family having been prominent in the 
 meighborhood of Londonderry, County Donegal, Ire- 
 land, for several generations. Robert Allen, our 
 subject's grandfather, was a leading citizen there, 
 and carried on farming on an extensive scale, being- 
 one of the principal landholders of the district. 
 His wife, Margaret Russell, who lived to the age 
 of ninety-two years, is said to have been connected 
 with the family of Lord John Russell. 
 
 Joshua Allen, father of our subject, was born 
 in Ireland in 1787, and, as the eldest son, inherited 
 the homestead under the law of primogeniture. 
 -After the death of his first wife, who left no chil- 
 dren, he disposed of the estate, and in 1825 came 
 to America, locating first in New York City, where 
 he married Miss Nancy Knox, a descendant of 
 John Knox, the reformer. Wishing to resume 
 farming as an occupation, he came to Hartford in 
 1832 and rented a large farm on what is now known 
 as Lord's Hill, and a year or two afterward bought 
 a large farm in the southern part of the city, west 
 of Washington street, a large part of which locality 
 is now covered with residences. Mr. Allen gave 
 close attention to business, and his mental and 
 moral qualities commanded the respect of the com- 
 munity. He held strong views on the subject of 
 temperance, refusing to keep in his employ any one 
 who used intoxicating liquors, and politically he 
 was a stanch Republican. In religious faith he was 
 a Presbyterian (Covenanter), and for many years 
 a member of the Center Church of Hartford. He 
 ■died in 1868, aged eighty-one years. His first wife, 
 Margaret Scott, died a few months after their mar- 
 riage. His second wife, Nancy Knox, died in 
 1868. They had five children: Samuel; John; 
 Robert, who died when seven years of age; Mary, 
 •wife of John Hunter; and Nancy, who married in 
 i860 and died in 1895. 
 
 The Knox family is from Strabane, County 
 Tyrone, Ireland, and of excellent stock. Samuel 
 Knox, father of Mrs. Nancy (Knox) Allen, made 
 his home with her, and lived to the advanced age 
 of ninety-six years. He had two brothers who 
 came to this country early in the century, and one 
 settled in Tennessee, and it is believed founded 
 the city of Knoxville. The other was named Will- 
 iam, and it is probable that he was the Lieut. Will- 
 iam Knox who is interred in the old cemetery in 
 the rear of Center church. 
 
 During his boyhood our subject attended the 
 'Common schools of Hartford, and at an early age 
 he became associated with his father in business. 
 As the citv developed, and the farm became of 
 -value for building purposes, he opened up a num- 
 ''ber of streets, and for some time his attention has 
 been devoted to real estate. He was interested in 
 liaving Trinity College removed from Bushnell 
 Park, and gave $5,000 toward the building at the 
 present location, near his home. His influence is 
 a helpful factor in many enterprises. He has been 
 
 trustee of the Hartford Theological Seminary for 
 over fifteen years ; was chairman of the executive 
 committee when the Case Memorial Library was 
 built; and in 1896 was elected treasurer of the 
 seminary. Politically he is a Republican, and he 
 has served several years in the common council, 
 also as police commissioner and water commis- 
 sioner, and in other local offices. In religious con- 
 nection he is a member of Center Church, and has 
 held office as deacon and member of the society 
 committee for some years. 
 
 In i860 Mr. Allen married Miss Mary Bonner, 
 daughter of Andrew Bonner, also of Scottish an- 
 cestry, and they have had four children : Mary 
 Bonner and Isabella Jane died in infancy. Joshua 
 Wilson, born in 1864, was a graduate of Yale Col- 
 lege, class of '88. In 1891 he married Lucy Mather 
 Brace, daughter of Thomas K. Brace, of Hartford, 
 and they had three children, Russell, Julia Brace 
 and Franklin. He was elected trustee of the Hart- 
 ford Theological Seminary in 1896, and was as- 
 sistant treasurer of the institution at the time of 
 his death, in 1897. Alice Margaret was married, in 
 189s, to I. K. Hamilton, Jr., a graduate of Trinity 
 College, class of '94, formerly of Chicago, but 
 now of Marinette, Wisconsin. 
 
 J. SCRUGHAM QUIN, familiarly known 
 among his hosts of friends and acquaintances as 
 "The Man with a Signature," and as "The Light- 
 ning Ticket Seller," is one of the best known figures 
 in Hartford, of which fair city he has been a resi- 
 dent for upward of a third of a century, intimately 
 associated with railway travel. 
 
 Mr. Ouin is a native of New York City, born 
 Oct. 24, 1838, a son of Dr. James M. Quin, a dis- 
 tinguished physician, also of New York nativity, 
 born in 1806, in a house on the corner of Barclay 
 and Church streets. He was a student of Colum- 
 bia College, from which he was graduated with all 
 the honors, after a contest with some of the most 
 brilliant minds of the day. He was afterward pro- 
 fessor of Latin and Greek at the college, and was 
 pronounced by the late Dr. Anthon as second only 
 to himself in the knowledge of those languages. 
 Subsequently he studied mjedicine with Dr. Hosack, 
 but after practicing Allopathy for several years he 
 became a convert to the doctrines of Hahnemann. 
 The desire to thoroughly master the principles of 
 Plomeopathy led him to the study of German, and 
 subsequently of the French language, in both of 
 which he became singularly proficient. His career 
 was closely associated with the development of one 
 great science. Homeopathy, and of the kindred arts 
 of music and painting. 
 
 As a physician Dr. Quin had a widespread pop- 
 ularity, based upon success resulting from profound 
 knowledge ; his specialties, being those of the throat 
 and chest, necessarily brought him in contact with 
 many of the eminent vocal artists of the day, and 
 as he could discourse fluently, not only in the pre- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 867 
 
 viously mentioned languages, but also in Italian and 
 Spanish, his office, at limes, was a sort of polyglot 
 institute, of which he was the professor. He was 
 himself an accomplished musician, and a good 
 amateur performer on the violin. Mozart's Requiem 
 was first performed in this country at the old house 
 in Ilarclay street, and it is generally believed that 
 the violin quartettes of Haydn, Mozart and 
 Beethoven were played first in America by himself 
 and his friends. His library of instrumental classics 
 comprised nearly all the choice work extant. He 
 was an acute critic of music and painting, and was 
 a generous and judicious patron of both. He was 
 of a quick, genial and liberal nature ; in his pro- 
 fession rapid, discerning and decided, he rarely 
 failed of success. 
 
 About 1835 Dr. James ]\I. Quin was married to 
 Sarah Scrugham, who was born in Windsor, Vt., 
 of English ancestry, and was the eldest daughter of 
 William Waburton and Eleanor (Burnett) Scrug- 
 ham. Her father was born in Dublin, and educated 
 at Trinity College, that city. He descended from 
 Bishop William ^^'"aburton, of the Church of Eng- 
 land. Mrs. Ouin's mother, Eleanor Burnet, was an 
 Englishwoman, a descendant of Bishop Burnet. 
 Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Scrugham 
 came to America, and after three years of travel 
 located, in 1812, in New York, where he was for 
 many years a merchant on Front street. They were 
 attendants of St. Paul's Church. Of the children 
 born to Dr. Quin, the gentleman whose name in- 
 troduces this article was the only one to reach 
 maturity. Dr. Quin died in 1868, at his country 
 residence, Morrisania, N. Y., at the age of sixty- 
 two vears, and his wife passed away Sept. 2, 1888, 
 aged seventy-seven. 
 
 "Bv the death of Dr. Quin science lost a shin- 
 ing light and art a true, kind and admiring dis- 
 ciple, while the followers of art lost a friend whose 
 heart was ever open to sympathy, and whose purse 
 was never closed in the hour of need. His death 
 caused unfeigned sorrow among a wide and varied 
 circle, for few men had so many warm friends." 
 The funeral services" at St. Stephen's church, in 
 Xew York, were magnificently performed, and a 
 vast number of the eminent of all professions as- 
 sembled to do honor to the occasion. The cere- 
 monies were under the direction of Max Maretzek 
 (the Doctor having been the latter's physician and 
 confidential friend^, and included the services of 
 all the stars of the Italian opera troupe, who sang 
 the requiem mass, and Rossini's "Stabat ]\Iater." 
 The late George W. Morgan, the eminent organist, 
 played a portion of the service. 
 
 J. Scrugham Quin in early life moved from 
 Xew York to Springfield, ]\Iass', where he received 
 his education, being a schoolmate of Hon. William 
 C. Whitney, ex-secretarv of the United States Navy, 
 and there for upward of fifteen years he made his 
 home. For a time he was bookkeeper for the 
 Springfield Arms Co. In 1863 he removed to Wil- 
 
 mington, Del., where he secured a clerkship in the 
 mechanical department of the Philadelphia, Wil- 
 mington & Baltimore railroad. After a few months 
 he returned to Springfield, to accept a position in 
 the revolver department of the American Machine 
 Works, where he remainetl until the close of the 
 Civil war, and the completion of the government 
 contract. 
 
 On June 5, 1865, Mr. Quin entered the service 
 of the "Consolidated" road, then known as the 
 New liaven, Hartford & Springfield railroad, run- 
 ning only between those points, his first position 
 being as timekeeper and rodman at the erection of 
 the iron bridge over the Connecticut river at Ware- 
 house Point, under the direction of James Laurie, 
 C. E., who had constructed the bridge in England, 
 and shipped it to this country in sections. Upon 
 the completion of this work, in March, 1866, Mr. 
 Quin was transferred to the office of the motive 
 power department, in Hartford, as timekeeper and 
 accountant. He was subsequently appointed assist- 
 ant in the ticket office, attending the early morning 
 trains, and at the same time keeping up his work 
 in the mechanical department. At this time he was 
 working eighteen hours a day and enjoying it, and 
 for several years thereafter his hours were from 
 7 p. M. to 6:30 A. M. In July, 1882, W. A. Baker 
 retired from the position of ticket agent, and Mr. 
 Quin was appointed to succeed him. He is now 
 the foui-th oldest employed on the New York, New 
 Haven & Hartford railroad, has seen its business 
 increase from four trains a day to over fifty, and 
 has now three assistants in his office. 
 
 From this long railroad service ^Ir. Quin has 
 an extensive acquaintance with the traveling pub- 
 lic. In years past he justly achieved fame as the 
 most rapid ticket seller "east of the Rocky Alount- 
 ains," and the sobriquet "The Lightning Ticket Sel- 
 ler" was given to him by "Tom" Reed, on the oc- 
 casion of one of his (Reed's) visits to Hartford. 
 The name applied, and has stuck. Air. Quin's 
 greatest record in the line of rapid ticket selling 
 was on Labor Day, 1890, when he sold 3,800 tickets 
 in one hour's time. The bits of pastboard made 
 a pile eight feet high, and he passed out the tickets 
 at the rate of over sixty a minute. 
 
 Mr. Quin has found time in his busy life to 
 obtain recreation of the most pleasant kind. He 
 has always had a fondness for newspaper work, 
 and for seventeen years was correspondent of the 
 "New York Dramatic News." For several years 
 he was the Hartford correspondent of the "Spring- 
 field Homestead," when that paper was under the 
 management of the late Edward H. Phelps. Mr. 
 Phelps and Mr. Quin were lifelong friends, be- 
 ginning back in the 'sixties, when Mr. Phelps was 
 an organist in Springfield, and Mr. Quin was a 
 student on the cornet. In music Mr. Quin has 
 found great pleasure. He formerly officiated to a 
 limited" extent as organist in church service. He 
 has published an original Te Deum, and several 
 
368 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 songs which have met with favor. He is an en- 
 thusiast in brass band work, being an lionorary 
 member of Colt's band, and lie enjoys the acquaint- 
 ance of many of the famous directors and musical 
 people who have attained success. "The Darling 
 I have Lost" and "Flossie's Lullaby'' are two of his 
 songs which have been much complimented. 
 
 Mr. Quin has been a member of the F. & A. 
 M. since 1866, having been initiated in Hartford 
 Lodge, No. 88, and he is now a thirty-second- 
 degree Mason ; is affiliated with Wolcott Council, 
 No. i; with Pythagoras Chapter, No. 17; and with 
 Washington Commandery, No. i, the oldest com- 
 mandery in the United States. In nearly all the 
 Masonic bodies with which he has been connected 
 he has filled the position of organist. Mr. Quin 
 is also a member of the I. O. O. F., of the K. 
 of P., and of the Press Club, of Hartford, of 
 which he was a charter member and the first treas- 
 . urer. In politics he is an ardent Republican. 
 
 In Springfield, Mass., Oct. 23, 1862, J. Scrug- 
 ham Quin was united in marriage with Jane Eliz- 
 abeth Pierce, daughter of Lusha and Hannah 
 (Sherman) Pierce, of that city, the former of whom 
 was a steel forger by occupation. Three children 
 have come to this union : Sadie S. De Witt, C. 
 P. and Louis C, the two latter being in the service 
 of the United States Government at Washington, 
 D. C. 
 
 EVERETT HORTON, a v/ell-known manu- 
 facturer of Bristol, is a native of the town, born 
 Jan. 14, 1836, of good old New England ancestry. 
 
 Samuel Horton, father of our subject, born in 
 1810, died Jan. 12, 1842, of typhoid fever. He 
 was a clockmaker, and for several years worked 
 for Chauncey Jerome, with whom he learned his 
 trade. He was a stanch Democrat to the last. He 
 married Patty Gaylord, born Oct. 2, 1805, daugh- 
 ter of Lot Gaylord, and their children were as fol- 
 lows : (i) Algernon, born in 1834, died in Feb- 
 ruary, 1898, in California, whither he had gone 
 in 1852, and followed mining for a time, later 
 engaging in the wool and hide business, and still 
 later becoming a butcher. (2) Everett and (3) 
 Eveline (twins), born Jan. 14, 1836, are both liv- 
 ing in Bristol. (4) Harriet, born in 1838, is the 
 wife of Alonzo Rood, of Bristol. The mother of 
 this family, now aged ninety-four, makes her home 
 with our subject. 
 
 Everett Horton, whose name opens this sketch, 
 in his early boyhood attended the West Street dis- 
 trict school in Bristol, leaving same when ten years 
 old to enter Edward L. Dunbar's factory, where 
 he worked till the age of fourteen, during sum- 
 mers, attending school winters. Fie then for one 
 season studied at the Winsted (Litchfield county) 
 high school, and, returning to Bristol, for the next 
 ten or twelve years was engaged in making clock 
 trimmings, pendulum balls, etc., in Edward L. Dun- 
 
 bar's factory, and when they commenced in the- 
 crinoline business he built the looms for the factory. 
 His next position was with Landers, Frary & Clark,, 
 of New Britain, on machine work for some twelve 
 months. In the meantime, in 1858, he went by way 
 of the Isthmus of Panama to California, where: 
 he had a claim given him by his brother. Return- 
 ing to Connecticut, he went to work in New Brit- 
 ain for Landers, Frary & Clark. After this he 
 was foreman of the machine room for seven years 
 dn the factory of S. Emerson Root. In 1870 he 
 built a factory on Oak street, where he made all. 
 kinds of small machinery, especially clock ma- 
 chinery, as well as dies, punches, etc., which he 
 shipped to various parts of the country. In i880' 
 he sold all his tools and commenced work for the 
 New Haven Clock Co., New Haven, as foreman of 
 the machine department, holding that position some 
 five years, during which he took out as many as 
 twenty patents for them. Once more taking up his 
 residence in Bristol, he re-opened his small machine 
 shop, and has since very successfully conducted 
 same. In 1887 he invented the famous "Bristol 
 fishing rod," which he patented in the United 
 States and Canada, and which he manufactured 
 for three years, in 1888 selling out to the Horton 
 Mfg. Co., of Bristol, to-day one of the leading 
 industries of the town. This rod is made of fine 
 steel, jointed, and in many sizes. 
 
 Mr. Horton was united in marriage with Al- 
 mira C. Atwater, daughter of George Atwater, of 
 Bristol. Their children are Frederick and Bertha. 
 Frederick is employed in the New Departure Bell 
 Co.'s works in Bristol; he married Anna Cady, of 
 Brookfield, Mo., and they have one child, Louise. 
 Bertha married Frank S. Judd, of Bristol; their 
 children are Flerbert, Frederick and Harold. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Everett Horton have a comfortable resi- 
 dence on Oak street, near his factory. 
 
 Our subject is a Democrat, but is too busy a 
 man to take much active interest in politics, yet 
 he always does his part toward the promotion of 
 enterprises for the social, educational and moral 
 welfare of the community. 
 
 NORRIS PECK DUNHAM, one of the few oc- 
 togenarians of Berlin, and an honored and highly- 
 esteemed citizen of that town, is now retired from 
 the labors of a long and active life, and is spending 
 his declining days in the midst of ease and plenty 
 in the house where he was born June 25, 1819, it 
 being built by his father the year previous. 
 
 Barnabus Dunham, our subject's grandfather, 
 spent his entire life in Berlin, and died when our 
 subject was about six years old. The father, Will- 
 iam Dunham, was also a lifelong resident of Berlin, 
 born near the Norton homestead, in Kensington. 
 He was a very hard-working man, and accumulated 
 considerable property. He died when our subject 
 was six years of age. He married Miss Nancy- 
 
vAVv-t^^ >'i:^«^'vt^»CL 
 
I 
 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 869 
 
 ]'uck. tlaughter of rVnios J'cck, and to Ihciii were 
 born six children, Xorris 1'. !)cin,i;' llic onl\- one now 
 living. 
 
 Lhn snbjcct was reared on the home farm, and 
 obtained his education in the common schools of 
 Berlin and the Berlin Academy. After leaving 
 school he devoted his time and attention to the work 
 of the farm, and at the age of sixteen took entire 
 charge of the place, as his two brothers had gone 
 South, where they owned and carried on a general 
 store and plantation. He still owns the old home- 
 stead, and has aliout 200 acres of land, under a high 
 state of cultivation, all of which he now rents to 
 other parties, who operate it. A thorough and sys- 
 tematic farmer, he met with success in his labors, i 
 and is to-day one of the most substantial and pros- 
 perous citizens of his community, as well as one of '. 
 its most highly respected residents. Like his father, 
 he has ever been a stanch supporter of the Demo- 
 cratic party, but has never cared for the honors or 
 emoluments of public office. The good condition 
 of the roads of Berlin is due practically to his ener- 
 gies, and as a public-spirited citizen he gives his 
 support to every enterprise for the public good. He 
 attends the Congregational Church, and contributes 
 to its support. Mr. Dtuiham is unpiarried. 
 
 HORATIO C. AND AMERICUS J. CLAY- 
 TON, constituting the well-known firm of Clayton 
 Bros., Bristol, are able and successful business men 
 and have been prominently identified with the hard- 
 ware trade for many years. 
 
 Horatio C. was born Feb. 11, 1851, at Cheap- 
 side, near Greenfield, Mass., and Americus J. was 
 born at Conway, Mass., Nov. 3, 1852. They were 
 sons of the late William Clayton and his wife, 
 Mary (Turner). William Clayton, who was one 
 of the leading citizens of Bristol in his day, was 
 born April 19, 1820, in Sheffield, England, where 
 in boyhood he learned the details of cutlery manu- 
 facturing. In 1850 he came to America and settled 
 in Conway, Mass., engaging in the manufacture of 
 cutlery with John Russell & Co., with whom he 
 remained seventeen years. He then removed to 
 Bristol and established a cutlery factory which did 
 not prove( successful, but afterward, in company 
 with his sons W^illiam, Jr., Horatio C, Americus 
 J. and Francis T. he founded the present hard- 
 ware manufacturing business on Union Hill undec 
 the firm name of William Clayton & Sons. Since 
 the death of Mr. Clayton, in 1883, the business has 
 been continuel under the name of Clayton Brothers. 
 William Clayton and his wife had fourteen chil- 
 dren, five of whom died in infancy — two in Eng- 
 land and three in America, (i) William died in 
 1884, leaving a widow and one daughter, Hattie, 
 wife of John Ryan, of Bristol. (2) Sarah mar- 
 ried William Reynolds (an apothecary at Forest- 
 ville), and resides at Bristol; they have one child 
 living. (3) Henry married Fanny E. Peck, and has 
 had seven children, one being deceased. (4) 
 
 24 
 
 Horatio C. married Mrs. Matilda Ibbes, widow of 
 (ieorge Ibbes, of New Jersey. (5) Americus mar- 
 ried (first) Amy Holt, who died March 23. 1887, 
 without issue. By his second wife, Viola M. (Han- 
 nuni), he had six children, Waller H., Viola L. 
 and Tuttney A., all three deceased ; Mary Thorpe ; 
 William H. ; and Ruth O., deceased. (6) Francis 
 T. married Amelia Reynolds, and has one son, 
 Frederick; they reside in Bridgeport. (7) Mary 
 Ann married l-i-ichard L. I'rothero, and died in 1882, 
 leaving one son, Horatio. (8) Frank married 
 Clara Turner, and died in 1898. (9) Lillie mar- 
 ried James McKernan, and has one daughter, 
 Alice. 
 
 Horatio C. and Americus J. Clayton spent their 
 early lives in Greenfield, where they attended the 
 public schools, and as boys they became familiar 
 with the manufacture of hardware in their father's 
 factory. 
 
 CHARLES E. PARKER, of the firm of Kim- 
 ball & Parker, general and local fire insurance 
 agents, Hartford, is a native of that citv, born 
 Feb. 18, 1865. 
 
 James E. Parker, father of our subject, died 
 when the latter was a child. He married ^Irs. 
 Mary A. Bulkely, a widow, who was born in Glas- 
 tonbury, Conn., and is now living in Hartford. 
 By her second husband she had one other child, 
 Arthur H. Parker, who is in the bicycle business 
 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. 
 
 Charles E. Parker received his education in the 
 South school, in his native city, and the Hartford 
 Public High School, and on laying aside his books, 
 at the age of fifteen, entered the employ of C. C. 
 Kimball & Co., as an office boy, at $100 per annum. 
 He applied himself diligently to business, striving 
 to do everything in his power to make himself use- 
 ful to his employers, was promoted to bookkeeper, 
 and by diligent effort was in time further promoted 
 to the position of confidential man of the office. 
 This latter incumbency he held up to January, 
 1899, when he was admitted to partnership, the firm 
 name becoming Kimball & Parker. It was for- 
 merlv Kimball & McCray, Col. McCray on his 
 death being succeeded in the partnership by our 
 subject. j\Ir. Parker has now been twenty years in 
 the office, probablv has a longer experience in the 
 insurance line than any other man of his age. and is, 
 undoulitedly, for so young" a man, one of the most 
 prominent in the State. The firm of Kimball & 
 Parker represents a number of the largest com- 
 panies in the world, among them being the Queen, 
 the Imperial, the Northern, and many other lead- 
 ing insurance companies of the country, and they 
 are the managers of the New England depart- 
 ment of the Insurance Company of North Amer- 
 ica. Thev occupy the entire second floor of the 
 First National Bank building, facing city hall and 
 post office, and have the finest offices of any private 
 insurance company in the New England States. 
 
370 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 They employ some 350 agents, and the reports from 
 all of these come directly to this office ; all policies 
 are written here, all losses adjusted, and all financial 
 business transacted. They have undoubted!}' the 
 largest general 'agency in the New England States. 
 Since J\Ir. Parker's connection with this concern it 
 has constantly grown to its present enormous pro- 
 portions. 
 
 On Nov. 27, 1893, Mr. Parker was married to 
 Miss Ida M. Abbe, a native of Bristol, Conn., and 
 daughter of L. G. Abbe, of Hartford, and three 
 children have graced their union : Charles Ernest, 
 Blanche K. and Grenville M. The family home is 
 at No. 14 Whitney street. Politically our subject 
 is a Republican, but he always reserves to himself 
 the right to vote independently, especially in local 
 matters. At the executive session of the board of 
 alderman, held Monday evening, Nov. 27, 1899, a 
 communication was read from Mayor Preston, nom- 
 inating Mr. Parker for fire commissioner, to fill out 
 the term of the late John D. Bonner, to April i, 
 1900. The nomination was confirmed unanimously. 
 It came to him entirely unsolicited, as he did not 
 even know that the mayor had thought of his name 
 until he received a communication from his honor 
 asking him if he would accept the position. Mayor 
 Preston realized the desirability of having the in- 
 surance interests of the city represented on the 
 board of fire commissioners, and it was with this 
 object in view, and knowing the personal fitness of 
 Mr. Parker for the position, that he desired to 
 nominate him. Upon the advent into office of 
 Mayor Harbison, in 1900, Mr. Parker was re-ap- 
 pointed to this same board for three years, and 
 of all the appointees of the former mayor he was 
 the only member of any board to be re-appointed, 
 thus showing the efficiency with which he had filled 
 this, his first political position. He is a young: 
 business man of high character and conspicuous 
 ability. Socially he is a member of Hartford 
 Lodg'e. F. & A.M.; of the Colonial Club; and re- 
 ligiously of the First M. E. Church, of which latter 
 he is trustee and treasurer. 
 
 Mr. Parker's present standing demonstrates 
 what pluck, perseverance and close application to 
 business may accomplish. Starting at the bottom 
 round of the ladder, in competition with other 
 boys and young men, all of whom were seniors in 
 the office of the concern of which he is now partner, 
 he has by merit alone reached the position he so 
 ablv fills. Truly such an example is well worthy 
 of emulation. Of an agreeable disposition, frank, 
 open and straightforward, he has hosts of friends, 
 and no man of his age is more favorably known than 
 Charles E. Parker. 
 
 EDMUND B. DILLINGHAM. In the busi- 
 ness and religious circles of Hartford no man is 
 better known than E. B. Dillingham, the courteous 
 proprietor of Dillingham's Newspaper Advertis- 
 ing Agency, located at No. 709 Main street. 
 
 Mr. Dillingham was born in West Bridgewater, 
 Mass., Sept. 30, 1836, but his home during child- 
 hood and mature years was Fall River, Mass., 
 where he received his early education in the com- 
 mon schools ; later he attended the academy at 
 Myricksville, Mass. Accepting a position as clerk, 
 he followed that vocation until 1861, when he be- 
 came connected with the office of the provost mar- 
 shal at New Bedford, Mass., of the First Congres- 
 sional District, as assistant marshal and enrolling 
 officer, having charge of the enlisting of men for 
 and from Fall River in the military service, under 
 the several calls from the President.. From 1861 
 to 1865 he was United States special agent, assist- 
 ant provost marshal, with headquarters at Fall 
 River. Removing to Rockville, Conn., in 1867, he 
 there accepted the superintendency of the Rose Silk 
 Co., in which he was a stockholder, retaining the 
 position until 1868. In 1870 he came to Hartford, 
 and there became the pioneer of the newspaper 
 advertising business in Connecticut and the New 
 England States, adding the real-estate and fire-in- 
 surance business thereto. 
 
 Beginning in a small way, Mr. Dillingham has 
 by persistent energy and application made this the 
 largest business of its kind in the New England 
 States, and has achieved an enviable reputation for 
 upright business principles, doing business through 
 his agency with all the leading papers within a 
 radius of hundreds of miles, including New York, 
 Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and many other 
 of the large cities. The name Dillingham is in- 
 separably connected with, and familiarly known to, 
 all the great newspapers throughout the New Eng- 
 land and Middle States. The large life and fire in- 
 surance companies of Hartford do a large propor- 
 tion of their advertising through Mr. Dillingham's 
 agency. Not only has he brought this business to 
 its present enormous proportions, but he has also 
 been actively engaged in real estate, buying and 
 selling for himself and others upon an extensive 
 scale. He has also given a great deal of time and 
 energy to religious work, and has acted as temporary 
 supply for the pulpits of nearly every country 
 church within twenty miles of Hartford, giving his 
 services, in all instances, gratuitously. In 1877 he 
 was elected a member of the State executive com- 
 mittee of the Y. M. C. A. of Connecticut, and 
 held that position' for many years, in this capacity 
 attending every international convention as a dele- 
 gate from the Y. M. C. A. for over a quarter of 
 a century, and he is widelv known in that connec- 
 tion. He was also a member of the board of trus- 
 tees for the magnificent Y. M. C. A. building which 
 was erected at the corner of Pearl and Ford streets, 
 and is one of the finest of its kind in the State, 
 admired by every one. He had the privilege of 
 personally soliciting and accepting a check, for $30,- 
 000, from the late Gen. Charles T. Hillyer, which 
 was used in purchasing the lot on which the build- 
 ing now stands. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 371 
 
 Mr. Dillingham is a member of the Connecti- 
 cut Congregational Clul). lie has been chaplain 
 uf the Hartford county jail for over twenty years, 
 and was also a member of the city mission board. 
 In every rpligious movement which has taken place 
 in the city of Hartford for the past quarter of a 
 century he has taken a deep personal interest, and 
 assisted by every means in his power. JJuring D. 
 L. Moody's evangelistic work in the winters of 
 1878 and 1879 he acted as chief usher, and per- 
 sonally Superintended the seating of the vast crowds 
 who came to hear that noted preacher. He had 
 general supervision of everything pertaining to tne 
 success of those meetings. 
 
 ]\Ir. Dillingham affiliates with the Republican 
 party, and in the political affairs of the city he 
 takes a profound interest. In 1887 he was elected 
 by a large majority councilman from the Seventh 
 ward in Hartford, and was re-elected in 1888, 1889 
 and 1890, winning the satisfaction and commenda- 
 tion of his townspeople in the fulfillment "of his 
 tluties in this office. 
 
 In i860 Mr. Dillingham married Miss Josephine 
 A. Potter, daughter of the late Henry Potter, of 
 Fall River, Mass. To Mr. and Mrs. Dillingham 
 have been born two children, Charles B. and Mabel 
 B., the former of whom was on the reportorial 
 staff of the Hartford city dailies, was later chief 
 editor of a paper in Spokane Falls, Wash., then 
 private secretary to Hon. Watson C. Squire, United 
 States Senator, and for the past few years has been 
 associated in business with Charles B. Frohman, 
 with whom he is at present traveling in Europe. 
 The family attend the Farmington Avenue Con- 
 gregational Church. 
 
 Mr. Dillingham is a close student of men and 
 aft'airs, and has proven a successful business man. 
 Courteous and polite, he has won a host of friends 
 throughout Hartford and Hartford county, and can 
 truly be said to be a representative of its best in- 
 terests, socially, religiously and commercially. 
 
 SAMUEL ANDREWS WELDON, senior 
 member of the widely and favorably known firm 
 of S. A. Weldon & Son, dealers in hardware, Bris- 
 tol, is a native of Connecticut, born March 22, 
 1 83 1, in New Britain, Hartford county. 
 
 Luther Weldon, grandfather of our subject, was 
 born in 1764 in Wallingford, Conn., and most of 
 his life was devoted to agricultural pursuits. He 
 married Jerusha Hurlburt, who was born I^Iarch 
 22, 1767, in Wallingford, and by this union there 
 were seven sons: Oliver, Samuel H., Hart (born 
 June 7, 181 1, died at Torrington, Conn., Aug. 16, 
 iSgs). Aaron, two who died in infancy, and Walter. 
 
 Samuel Hurlburt Weldon. father of Samuel A., 
 was born Feb. 3. 1799, in Argvle, N. Y., and 
 throughout life followed the trade of wagonmaker, 
 for several years conducting a wagon shop in New 
 Britain, and later working for various firms. On 
 Oct. 15, 1823, he married Sally Bartholomew An- 
 
 drews, daughter of Ursula Andrews. Slie died 
 Sept. 17, 1837, aged thirty-five years, and he then 
 wedded Sarah M. Keach, of VVethersfield, Conn., 
 who passed from earth Aug. 3, 1847. Subsequently, 
 on Feb. 3, 1848, Mr. Weldon wedded Mrs. Alary 
 Gridley, widow of Waller Gridlcy, and daughter 
 of Roswell Hunter; she was born Sept. 3, 1802, at 
 Ncwington, Conn., and died Feb. 9, 1870. Mr. 
 Weldon died of apoplexy Feb. 5, 1872, at his resi- 
 dence by the Black Rock, in Southwest District. 
 His children were as follows : By first wife — Caro- 
 hne, born Nov. 26, 1824, married Elias Barnes, of 
 Bristol, Conn. Eli Everest, born Aug. 8, 1826, 
 married Mrs. Delia Fuller, a widow. George, born 
 Aug. 19, 1829, is a house painter in Torrington, 
 Conn.; he married, Nov. 25, 1869, Juliette Bently, 
 of Goshen, Conn. Samuel A. is our subject. Sarah 
 E., born April 2, 1833, married Thomas F. Hart, 
 of Bristol, after whose decease she wedded Henry 
 Wright, now also deceased. Alunroe, born Oct. 
 5, 1834, married Catherine E. Buckley, of West 
 Hartford. Mary Ann, born June 30, 1836, married 
 Francis Goodale, and after his decease wedded 
 Elisha Williams. By second wife — Washington, 
 born Jan. 31, 1841, died March 7, 1841. Oliver 
 Hurlburt was born April 18, 1842. Walter Au- 
 gustus, born June 8, 1844, died Feb. 21, 1853, at 
 Newbern, N. C, while serving in Companv D, 46th 
 Conn V. L 
 
 Samuel A. Weldon, whose name introduces these 
 lines, received a liberal common-school education 
 during the winter seasons, in summer time, till he 
 Vv'as sixteen years old, working for four years on 
 the farm of Francis Hart, in New Britain. He 
 then went to work in his father's shop, making 
 harness, and so continued until he was eighteen 
 years of age, at which time he worked for about 
 one year with Russell & Erwin and Oliver Judd. 
 At the age of nineteen he commenced to learn the 
 trades of painting and upholstering with Nathaniel 
 Dickinson, carriage manufacturer. New Britain, con- 
 tinuing until 1856; then worked for Horton & 
 Noble one year, after which he formed a partner- 
 ship with Franklin Graham, under the firm name 
 of Graham & Weldon, carriagemakers. This ar- 
 rangement continued until 1869, when our subject 
 sold his interest to Air. Graham, who has since con- 
 tinued the business alone. Mr. Weldon then re- 
 moved to Bristol, and by way of a change, his health 
 being not very good, engaged during one summer 
 in the raising of poultry, after which he commenced 
 in the carriagemaking business for his own account, 
 and being a thoroughlv practical mechanic did an 
 excellenttrade until 1882, when he closed up_ his 
 shop. His next experience was in the carriage 
 factor\- of Watson Giddings, and for some five 
 years was there engaged on his own account in 
 painting and finishing carriages, at the end of that 
 time retiring from the business. In 1S78. along 
 with his son, he bought the Clark Davis hardware 
 store, located on North Main street, where the Cen- 
 
372 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tral meat market is now located. In 1871 they re- 
 moved from here to the Gridley block, a new struc- 
 ture, where the store has since been successfully 
 conducted, the style of the firm being S. A. Weldon 
 & Son. 
 
 On Dec. 27, 1855, Samuel A. Weldon was united 
 in marriage with Susan Frances Smith, who was 
 born in Prospect, Conn., March 26, 1835, a daugh- 
 ter of Isaac George and Marilla (Hotchkiss) Smith, 
 of Waterbury, Conn. One son has blessed this union, 
 Mortimer Emory, born April 17, 1858, in New 
 Britain, Conn., who was married, Nov. 18, 1885, 
 to Nellie Baldwin Sweet, of Brooklyn, N. Y. Their 
 children are Arline Chichester, born Feb. 17, 1887; 
 and Chichester Percival, born June 21, iSgi. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. S. A. Weldon are members of 
 the Congregational Chiuxh of Bristol, but were 
 formerly identified with the Center Church, New 
 Britain, and Mrs. Weldon is a member of the 
 Foreign and Home Missionary Societies, and has 
 always been a member of the Sunday-school, either 
 as a teacher or pupil ; she is at present a member of 
 the Bible class. In politics Mr. Weldon is a Re- 
 publican, but takes no special interest in the affairs 
 of the partv. He owns a very fine cottage at Madi- 
 son, Conn., on Long Island Sound, where he and 
 his wife usually spend their summers. Mr. Wel- 
 don is always true to the duties of both public and 
 private life, and is a gentleman of genuine worth. 
 
 EDWARD CHANNING ALLEN, the leading 
 merchant of Hazardville, and one of its" most wide- 
 awake and progressive citizens, was born in the vil- 
 lage of Scitico, town of Enfield, Dec. 4, 1853, a son 
 of George E. and Nancy A. (French) Allen, natives 
 of Scitico and East Windsor, Conn., respectively. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of our subject, George 
 Allen, was a native of Enfield, Hartford Co., Conn., 
 and by occuption was a shoemaker and grocer. His 
 wife bore the maiden name of Mary Coy. The ma- 
 ternal grandfather, Daniel French, was a farmer of 
 East Windsor, Hartford county. George E. Allen, 
 father of our subject, who was a clergyman of the 
 Universalist Church, had charge of a congregation 
 in Poquonock for fourteen years, and also preached 
 in Somers and other towns in the vicinity. Fie also 
 bought and sold horses and cattle quite extensively, 
 and was widel)' and favorably known. He died in 
 Scitico in 1867, at the age of fortv-two years. Of 
 his four children, two are still living: Mary Eliza- 
 beth, wife of Eli G. Stiles, of Melrose, Conn. ; and 
 Edward C, our subject. 
 
 Edward C. Allen was reared in Scitico, and re- 
 ceived a common-school education. At the age of 
 sixteen he began his business career as clerk in a tea 
 store in Springfield, Mass., where he remained over a 
 year, and then became a dealer in organs and sewing 
 machines, following that business for several years. 
 In 1875 he accepted a position rs clerk and book- 
 keeper in a general store at Hazardville, and served 
 in that capacity until 1881, when, with A. W. Gowdy, 
 
 he embarked in general merchandising, under the 
 firm name of Allen & Gowdy. This partnership 
 existed one year, at the end of which time Mr. Allen 
 purchased Mr. Gowdy's interest. He has since con- 
 ducted a successful business alone, and now has the 
 principal store in Hazardville. His patronage comes 
 from a large territory, and his establishment wou'.d 
 do credit to a much larger place than Hazardville. 
 Mr. Allen is methodical and systematic in business, 
 and the plans which he has pursued commend them- 
 selves to the judgment and respect of all. 
 
 Mr. Allen was married, Sept. 12, 1888, to Miss 
 Ella C. Pitkin, a daughter of Evelyn and Esther 
 (Stiles) Pitkin, of South Windsor, and they have 
 two children : George Edward and Herbert VValden. 
 Socially Mr. Allen affiliates with the Order of United 
 American Mechanics, and politically he is identified 
 with the Republican party. That his fellow citi- 
 zens place in him the utmost confidence is shown by 
 the fact that he has been often called upon to settle 
 estates. He is popular, progressive and enterpris- 
 ing, and has been elected fire commissioner, mem- 
 ber of the board of relief, and a member of the 
 school board. 
 
 JEWELL. The Jewell family of Hartford, 
 whose present representatives are the children and 
 grandchildren of the late Pliny Jewell, the founder 
 of the great leather industry which has given the 
 name and city of Hartford a world-wide reputa- 
 tion, and one member of which family — the late 
 Hon. Marshall Jewell — has added fame to the family 
 and city, is an old New England one, the residence 
 in America reaching back to 1639, when there lived 
 in Boston, Mass., one Thomas Jewell, the American 
 ancestor of the family. He came from England 
 about the year mentioned. Joseph Jewell, son of 
 Thomas Jewell, lived at Charlestown, Mass., and 
 owned the ferrv between that place and Boston. 
 The family gradually scattered through the New 
 England States, after the shifting New England 
 icustom. For generations the ancestors of the Hart- 
 ford branch of the family lived at Winchester, New 
 Hampshire. 
 
 Pliny Jewell, whose death occurred in his resi- 
 dence on Washing-ton street, Hartford, Aug. 28, 
 1869, was through a long period of years identified 
 with the business of his adopted city. He was born 
 Sept. 27, 1-797, in Winchester, N. H. His father 
 and grandfather were tanners, and the son was bred 
 to that business. He worked in the tannery in the 
 summer, and attended and taught school in the win- 
 ter, having had the advantage of study at a country 
 academy. He remained in Winchester, working" at 
 his trade, and carrying on the general business of 
 tanning, until he moved to Hartford, Conn., in 1845. 
 He continued in the leather business in Hartford, 
 with little interruption, from 1845 until his retire- 
 ment from the prosperous firm of P. Jewell & Sons, 
 three years prior to his death. 
 
 Mr. Jewell was a man of great strength of will. 
 
^ ^, ^Z£/^^ 
 
 -->T- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 878 
 
 ■force of character and decided convictions. In his 
 religious opinions, which were always warm and 
 active, he was a strict Calvinist. His connection in 
 Hartford was with the South Congregational 
 Church until not- long before his death, when he 
 united with the Center Church. He was secretary 
 and treasurer of the Windsor Theological Seminary, 
 and was very active in procuring its removal to 
 Hartford. Mr. Jewell had always been a great reader 
 of bookie, delighting especially in the study of Eng- 
 lish and French history and biography. We doubt 
 if there was any man in New England, not profes- 
 sionally educated, so thoroughly conversant with 
 English history as he was, and lie knew American 
 history, particularly that of politics, fully and ac- 
 curately. He never forgot what he once read. Nor 
 was his study confined to history ; it extended to 
 Old English literature as well, as an example of 
 which we recall his familiarity with Shakespeare ; he 
 had studied plays with reference to ascertaining 
 what characters were historical and what fictitious, 
 and had written at length concerning them. He 
 left very voluminous notes upon English history, 
 and particularly criticisms upon the men and women 
 who figure most prominently in it. tie had this re- 
 course, too rare among business men, in his ad- 
 vanced years, and when he had relinquished the care 
 of active business in a great part to his sons. He 
 had a good, strong, analytical mind, and liked to 
 sift questions of historical evidence, and unravel in- 
 tricacies of character. He was not a mere reader 
 of history, but he studied the philosophy of it, the 
 motives and animus of the characters who figure in 
 it, and the action and re-action of events upon 
 actors in the great drama. He talked well on such 
 subjects, showing always a memory tenacious of 
 facts and a clear grasp of principles. He had a 
 fondness for rare books upon the subject in which he 
 was interested, though he was not a collector. It 
 thus happened that he had no sense of nothing to 
 do in life when his active business life was over ; for 
 he had a world in the past which was always fresh 
 to him. We mention this trait in his character be- 
 cause it is uncommon to see a man who was not 
 liberally educated, and was for a good part of his 
 life a working man, with a taste for books and his- 
 torical studies so developed as to be a great pleasure 
 of his life, always and especially when wealth had 
 brought the leisure for enjoyment. 
 
 IMr. Jewell took an active part in politics in New 
 Hampshire as a Webster and Clay Whig (to which 
 party he was faithful until he cast his vote for Fre- 
 mont in 1856), and he was quite prominent, being 
 a member of the State Legislature, and active on 
 committees. Indeed, he was the leading man of the 
 town, in business, politics, and in all Church matters, 
 and greatly respected for his probity and sagacity. 
 
 On Sept. 19, 1819, Mr. Jewell was married to 
 Miss Emily Alexander, of \\'inchester. N. H. She 
 was born JFeb. 12, 1801, and died ^larch 19, 1889. 
 Of the ten children born to this marriage two died 
 
 in infancy; and Arthur died in 1848, aged fourteen 
 years. The seven children living to mature age 
 were : 
 
 (i) Charlotte A. Jewell, born Sept. 20, 1836, 
 is still living in Hartford. 
 
 (2) Maria Jewell, born Oct. 14, 1821, mar- 
 ried J. E. Coleman, and died in Paris, France, 
 on June 26, 1878. She was graduated at Mount 
 Hol^oke Seminary, and for some years was a 
 teacher in the Hartford Female Seminary. She was 
 a prominent worker in the local charities of Hart- 
 ford, and was at the time of her death president 
 of the Woman's Home on Church street. For a 
 long time she was the superintendent of the infant 
 class in the Sabbath-school at the Asylum Hill Con- 
 gregational Church. She was an energetic and use- 
 ful woman, and an amateur artist of marked abilit)'. 
 Mr. Coleman, her husband, was a native of Ohio, 
 and came to Hartford some years prior to the Civil 
 war, becoming associated in business with the 
 Jewells. In 1870 he went to New York, and there 
 died on Sept. 2, 1890. 
 
 (3) Hon. l\larshall Jewell was born Oct. 20, 
 1825, in Winchester, X. H. After receiving a com- 
 mon-school education, at the age of eighteen, he 
 went into the service of John Cummings & Son, 
 of Woburn, Mass., tanners, and mastered that trade. 
 In about 1847 he turned his attention to telegraphy, 
 working at same, first in Rochester, X. Y., then 
 at Akron, Ohio, where he had charge of an office. 
 Later he went South, where he was engaged in con- 
 structing lines between Louisville and New Orleans. 
 He had charge of offices in various parts of the 
 South. In January, 1850, he returned to the leather 
 business and went into partnership with his father, 
 as P. Jewell & Son, in the manufacture of leather 
 belting. By improved processes, and by business 
 skill and intelligent management, they soon found 
 themselves in possession of a business of very large 
 proportions. P. Jewell & Son, which afterward be- 
 came P. Jewell & Sons, lias for many years been one 
 of the foremost manufacturing concerns of Hart- 
 ford or of the State, and its business relations have 
 spread all over this country and through Europe. 
 Marshall Jewell spent much of his time between 
 1852 and 1857 in traveling through the country, 
 extending the business of the firm and watching its 
 interests. In 1859 and i860 he was in Europe en- 
 gaged in extending his business there, which has 
 since become one of great magnitude abroad as well 
 as at home. In 1865, '66 and '67 he was in Europe 
 again, made the Nile journey, and also traveled 
 through the Holy Land. He attended the Paris 
 Exposition in 1867. Mr. Jewell remained all his life 
 an active member of the firm of P. Jewell & Sons, 
 which included in the late years of Marshall's life 
 all the surviving Jewell brothers — Pliny, Lyman B. 
 and Charles A.- — as well as himself. Marshall 
 Jewell was one of the incorporators of the Phcenix 
 Fire Insurance Co. of Hartford, and from its be- 
 ginning was one of the active directors in its notable 
 
374 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 successful career. He was also from its beginning 
 a director of the Travelers Life Insurance Co., and 
 |from 1855 until his death he was a director in the 
 Hartford Bank. He was connected also with a 
 number of other corporations, some of which were 
 out of the city. He was part owner of the Hartford 
 Evening Post, was president of the Jewell Pin Co., 
 of Hartford, and president of the United States 
 Telegraph Association. 
 
 Mr. Jewell first took an active part in politics 
 in 1867, being in that year the Republican candidate 
 for State senator from the First District, and ran 
 well ahead of his ticket, although sharing the Re- 
 publican defeat of that year. The vigor and skill 
 exhibited by him in this campaign, and as chairman 
 of the local Republican committee, so favorably im- 
 pressed the Republicans of Hartford county that 
 they presented his name to the next State conven- 
 tion, and in 1868 he was nominated for governor, 
 but was unsuccessful, Gov. English being re-elected. 
 The following year (1869) Mr. Jewell was vic- 
 torious over Mr. English, and also in 1871, these 
 gentlemen being pitted against each other for four 
 consecutive years. In 1872 Gov. Jewell was elected 
 for a third term, carrying the State by twenty-eight 
 majority over the Hon. Richard D. Hubbard. As 
 governor of the State Mr. Jewell proved a faithful, 
 intelligent, and clear-headed executive officer. His 
 (messages showed that he had carefully studied the 
 .various interests of the State, and his recommenda- 
 itions were practical and judicious. He had the sat- 
 isfaction of seeing a number of valuable recom- 
 mendations approved by the General Assembly and 
 the people. 
 
 Gov. Jewell retired from the office in May, 1873, 
 and the following month, much to his own surprise, 
 was nominated by President Grant as minister to 
 St. Petersburg, and in July he sailed for Europe 
 with his family. Mr. Jewell, although entirely new 
 to diplomatic work, proved a very satisfactory and 
 useful minister. After one year's residence at the 
 Court of the Czar Mr. Jewell was invited home 
 by President Grant to take the position of Post- 
 master-general, made vacant by the retirement of 
 Mr. Cresswell. In his management of the post office 
 department of the nation Mr. Jewell exhibited the 
 same traits of character which marked his business 
 career through life, energy, systematic attention 
 to details, and strict integrity. He did much toward 
 rooting out the pernicious system of fraudulent 
 contracts and straw bids, and initiated the fast-mail 
 service between New York and Chicago. He was 
 also instrumental in securing a common postal sys- 
 tem between the United States and Canada. In 
 Jul}', 1876, Mr. Jewell resigned from the cabinet and 
 afterward remained in private life, busily engaged 
 in caring for the many interests with which he was 
 so actively identified. In 1879 and again in 1881 
 Mr. Jewell was a candidate for the United States 
 Senate, and on the former occasion lacked but a 
 few votes of receiving the Republican nomination. 
 
 In 1880 he was chosen chairman of the Republican 
 National Committee, and worked earnestly in that 
 campaign. He remained chairman of the committee 
 until his death. For twenty years Mr. Jewell had 
 been an earnest worker for Republican success, 
 and during the four Presidential campaigns pre- 
 ceding his death went actively into campaign work, 
 addressing political meetings in diflrerent parts of the 
 •country. As a public speaker Gov. Jewell was easy 
 and natural, using chiefly the conversational style. 
 He probably had never attempted to make a public 
 speech until after his nomination for governor. 
 During the campaigns of 1876 and 1880 he ad- 
 dressed some of the largest meetings held in the 
 country, in New York, New England, and the West. 
 
 Gov. Jewell's personal appearance was striking. 
 He was a stout man, something below the average 
 height perhaps, with fine silver-gray hair, a singu- 
 larly friendly and genial expression, a pleasant 
 voice, and a thoroughly cordial manner, so easy 
 withal as to make those whom he met feel at ease 
 also. He was a member of the Congregational 
 Church. 
 
 In October, 1852, Gov. Jewell was married to 
 Esther Dickerson, of Newburgh, N. Y., and to the 
 marriage were born two daughters, the widow of 
 Arthur M. Dodge, ,of New York, and Mrs. Will- 
 jam H. Strong, of Detroit. The mother of these 
 ■children, born June 6, 1832, died Feb. 26, 1883. 
 She was a woman of many social graces and in- 
 tellectual gifts, was a student and a reader, and a 
 person of quick and clear perceptions, which gave 
 her remarkable conversational powers. As the trus- 
 tee of Gov. Jewell's hospitable home in Hartford 
 and in Washington, and during his residence abroad, 
 she entertained very many guests and made many 
 friends. 
 
 (4) Pliny Jewell, president of the Jewell Belt- 
 ing Co., was born Sept. i, 1823, at Winchester, N. 
 H. He was reared and trained in the business of 
 his father, and with him and his brothers shared 
 in the developing of its interests at Hartford. The 
 firm, after the father's death, continued under the 
 old stlye of P. Jewell & Sons until its organization 
 as a joint-stock company in 1883. There have been 
 developed from the original industry the Jewell 
 Belt Hook Co., the Jewell Pad Co., and the Jewell 
 Pin Co., Pliny Jewell being a stckholder in and 
 president of all these corporations. He is also a 
 director of the Hartford National Bank and the 
 Travelers' Insurance Co., and a trustee in the ITart- 
 ford Trust Co. His whole active life has been 
 spent in the leather business, with all the details 
 of which he is intelligently familiar, and in which 
 he has been very successful. In politics Mr. Jewell 
 js a Republican. He was one of the original or- 
 ganizers of the party in Connecticut, and has since 
 been prominently identified with it. He is identified 
 with the Pearl Street Congregational Church ; is a 
 member of the Hartford Club ; and has served as 
 vice-president of the Board of Trade. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 875 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 On Sept. 5, 1845. Mr. Jewell was married to 
 Miss Caroline J-iradbury, and to the marriage have 
 come two children: Edward, born Jan. 26, 1847, 
 now of Boston, Mass. ; and Emily M., now Airs. 
 Walter Sanford, of Hartford. 
 
 (5) Hon. Harvey Jewell, late of Boston, Mass., 
 whose death occurred in December, 1881, was a 
 leading man in the affairs of iMassachusetts. He 
 w-as a law partner of ex-Governor Gaston, and was 
 on the 'Alabama Claims Court in Washington, D. 
 C. For several successive years he was speaker of 
 the House of Representatives of Massachusetts. 
 
 (6) Lyman B. Jewell, vice-president of the 
 Jewell Belting Co., was born Aug. 29, 1827, in 
 \\'inchester, N. H. He there received a common- 
 school education in the district schools, attending 
 until fifteen years of age. Some years after attain- 
 /ing his majority he became engaged in the dry- 
 goods commission business, which he followed in 
 New York and Boston from 1856 to 1872. He 
 moved to Hartford in 1873, and joined his brothers 
 in the firm of P. Jewell & Sons, which is now the 
 Jewell Belting Co., of wdiich he is vice-president and 
 a director, and is also similarly officially connected 
 with the other three corporations developed from 
 the Belting Co. Mr. Jewell is treasurer of the De- 
 troit Leather Co. He is a director in the Phcenix 
 Insurance Co., the American National Bank, and 
 the Southern New England Telephone Co., and a 
 member of the Hartford Club. Politically he is a 
 Republican, in religion an Episcopalian. 
 
 In January, 1856, Mr. Jewell was married to 
 j\liss Charlotte Williams, of Boston. 
 
 (7) Charles A. Jewell w-as born ]\Iarch 29, 
 1841, in AVinchester, N. H. Coming to Hartford 
 with the family in 1845, when only four years of 
 age, he was here educated in the public schools and 
 high school of the city. He then entered the leather 
 business of P. Jewell & Sons, first as a clerk and ap- 
 prentice, and subsequently as a partner. During 
 the first year of the Civil war he entered the Union 
 army as adjutant of the Twenty-second Conn. Vol. 
 Inf., and served until the expiration of his term of 
 enlistment. Since the organization of the Jewell 
 Belting Co. as a joint-stock company, in 1883, Mr. 
 Jewell has been its treasurer. He is also treasurer 
 of the Jewell Pin Co. ; and is officially connected 
 with other corporations bearing the Jewell name. 
 He is a director in the City Bank, has served official- 
 ly in the Hartford Chemical Co., and is vice-presi- 
 dent of the Hosmer Hall Choral Union. ]\Ir. 
 Jewell is active in all religious work, being a mem- 
 ber of Center Congregational Church, and for years 
 he was the' superintendent of its Sabbath-school. For 
 fourteen or more years he has been president of 
 the Y. M. C. A. of Hartford, also served as vice-/ 
 president, and has long been one of the chief pro- 
 moters of its religious activities, as well as one of 
 its most liberal benefactors. The association is 
 largely indebted to his prudent councils and wise 
 direction, as well as his personal influence, for its 
 
 high standing before the public, and the compara- 
 tively prosperous condition of its finances. In his 
 political views he is a ReiJublican. He is a member 
 of the Loyal Legion. 
 
 In 1867 Mr. Jewell was married to Miss Julia 
 W. Brown, daughter of Roswell Brown, of Hart- 
 ford. 
 
 JUDGE ALBERT CARROLL BILL, Judge 
 of the Police Court of Hartford, and member of the 
 firm of Bill & Tuttle, whose elegant offices _ are 
 located in the First National Bank building, State 
 street, opposite the post ofiice, was born in Hartford 
 Sept. 29, 1863. His father, Charles C. Bill, was 
 born in Chaplin, Windham Co., Conn., July 9, 1829. 
 His grandfather, Roswell Bill, was also born in 
 Chaplin, Conn. His great-grandfather, Capt. Ros- 
 well Bill, served as a captain in the Revolutionary 
 army. He was born in Groton, and spent his early 
 life as a farmer in Chaplin, where he died Oct. 30, 
 1830, aged seventy-seven years. He married Re- 
 becca Burgess, cousin of Gen. Putnam. 
 
 Roswell Bill, grandfather of our subject, was 
 a school teacher in Chaplin and surrounding towns, 
 was a man of prominence, holding the office of jus- 
 tice of the peace, and taught schoo^ for thirty-two 
 winters in succession. He died in Chaplin Oct. 17, 
 1S66, at the age of sixty-seven years. He married 
 Olive Ross, born in 1800, died June 13, 1S70, and 
 they had seven sons and two daughters, all but 
 one of whom grew up and came to Hartford, where 
 jhey became well known and prominent people. 
 The mother of these was a member of the Congre- 
 gational Church. 
 
 Charles C. Bill, father of Judge Albert C. after 
 receiving a common-school education, came to Hart- 
 ford in 1847, a"'J entered the employ of Roswell 
 Blodgett. At twenty-one years of age he was taken 
 into partnership, but after a few years he sold out 
 his interest and, together wdth his two brothers, 
 Francis P. and Edwin S., formed the present firm 
 of Bill Brothers, in which he remained until i860, 
 w-hen he established and conducted an omnibus 
 route from South Green to the North cemetery. 
 This he carried on for a few years, until his health 
 became impaired, wdien he sold out and purchased 
 a farm at Blue Hills, Hartford, which he con- 
 ducted four years ; then going to New Britain, re- 
 mained there' six years, after which he removed to 
 Enfield, Conn., where he remained until 1881. He 
 then returned to Hartford, and again took an in- 
 terest with his brothers in the trucking business, 
 and here he continued until his death, April 16, 
 1889. Although taking an active interest in the 
 affairs of his day, he refused various political offices, 
 though for a time he served as assessor for the 
 town of Enfield. He married Julia A. Emerson, born 
 in Enfield in 1835, a daughter of Simeon Emerson, 
 who was born in Thompson, Conn., and was a 
 farmer there, later removing to Enfield, where he 
 married a daughter of Capt. Burbank. :Mr. Emer- 
 
876 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 son died at the age of seventy-seven, his wife in 
 i860. Mrs. Bill was one of nine children, four of 
 whom are yet living : Mrs. David Robinson, of 
 Windsor (a widow); James H., in Enfield; and 
 Harriet E., wife of Ethan Sykes. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Charles C. Bill had two children : Albert C. and Jen- 
 nie L. The parents were attendants of the Pearl 
 Street Church. 
 
 Judge Albert C. Bill was educated in the En- 
 field and Hartford high schools, and studied law 
 at Hartford with Hon. Charles H. Briscoe. He 
 was admitted to the Bar at Hartford May 21, 1885 ; 
 was clerk of the Probate Court from 1887 to 1889; 
 clerk of the City Police Court of Hartford from 
 1889 to 1893; associate judge of the City Police 
 Court from April, 1893, to April, 1895, and judge 
 of the Police Court since April, 1895. From 1890 
 to 1892 he was councilman from the old Fourth 
 ward of the same city. [The preceding is taken 
 from the Civil and Judicial History of Connecti- 
 cut.] The Judge has been connected with the Po- 
 lice Court, as judge, associate judge, and clerk, 
 longer than any of his predecessors, and since he 
 first came on the Bench the number of cases has 
 increased over five hundred per year. In the year 
 1899 he tried two thousand cases. The firm of Bill 
 & Tuttle was organized in 1893 for the transaction 
 of general law business. Their ofiice is located in 
 one of the finest blocks in the city, and they occupy 
 six rooms. 
 
 Judge Bill is a Republican in politics. He was 
 a member of the Republican town committee in 
 1892-93, also chairman of the Republican commit- 
 tee of the old Fourth ward, and for several years 
 took an active part in politics, but since going on 
 the Bench, in 1893, he has kept entirely out of poli- 
 tics. He has received three appointments to the 
 Bench, and his present term expires in 1901. 
 
 On Oct. 29, 1889, Judge Albert C. Bill married 
 Bessie M. Collins, who was born in. South Windsor, 
 Conn., a daughter of William A., and Nellie (Phil- 
 lips) Collins, the former of whom was a farmer 
 of prominence. They had three children, two of 
 whom are living: Mrs. Bill and Helena M. To 
 Judge Bill and his wife have been born four chil- 
 dren: Charles Carroll, Gladys Collins, Albert Sey- 
 mour and Julia Emerson. The family attend the 
 South Congregational Church. 
 
 Judge Bill is a member of LaFavette Lodge, 
 F. & A. M. ; Pythagoras Chapter, R. A. M. ; Wol- 
 cott Council, R. & S. M. ; and Washington Com- 
 mandery, Knights Templar ; also of Charter Oak 
 Lodge, L O. O. F. (trustee of this lodge at one 
 time); Hartford Lodge, B. P. O. E. ; Wadsworth 
 Lodge, A. O. U. W. ; and of the Hartford County 
 Bar Association. 'The Judge has also a grand mili- 
 itary record. On Dec. i, 1884, he enlisted in the 
 1st Company, Governor's Foot Guard, was shortly 
 afterward appointed corporal, from which he was 
 appointed fourth sergeant, and then in 1891 elected 
 to ensign in the company. On July 31, 1891, he 
 
 was appointed adjutant upon the staff of Major E. 
 PL Hyde ; elected from the rank of ensign to that 
 of third lieutenant of the company, Nov. 27, 1891, 
 also holding the position of adjutant. On May 18, 
 1893, he was promoted from third lieutenant to 
 second lieutenant; on Nov. 23, 1896, he resigned 
 :this position, and Aug. 13, 1897, he was, by request, 
 placed upon the retired list, where he still remains 
 as a retired officer. He was awarded the "Eleven 
 Year Service Medal," and also the prize drill bar 
 of this organization. On Oct. 25, 1897, he enlisted 
 in Company F, ist Regiment, Connecticut National 
 Guard, known as the "Hartford City Guard," and 
 on April 16, 1898, he was appointed commissary 
 sergeant on the non-commissioned staff of Col. Bur- 
 dette. On May 4, 1898, he was, by his own request, 
 ;transf erred back to the city guard, and on May 15, 
 1899, was appointed cjuartermaster-sergeant by Col. 
 Burdette, on the non-commissioned staiif. Here he 
 femained until June 23, 1899, when he was ap- 
 pointed paymaster, with the rank of first lieutenant, 
 on the staii' of Col. Edward Schulze (Col. Burdette 
 having resigned), commanding 1st Regiment, Con- 
 necticut National Guard. On July 22, 1899, he 
 was promoted from paymaster to quartermaster, on 
 •the staff of Col. Schulze, with the same rank, which 
 position he still holds. 
 
 HON. ELISHA MORTON GRANGER, the 
 present representative from the town of East Wind- 
 sor in the State Legislature, is a man whose career 
 shows unusual ability and sagacity, not only in busi- 
 ness lines but in public aft'airs, and in addition to 
 being a successful agriculturist and one of the largest 
 cattle dealers in the State he is a recognized leader 
 in the Republican organization in his locality. 
 
 Mr. Granger was born April 9, 1856, in the vil- 
 lage of East Windsor, where his family have been 
 prominent for many years. Francis H. Granger, 
 his father, was a native of East Windsor, and made 
 his home there, his death occurring in 1868. Pie 
 married Miss Elizabeth E. Morton, and they had 
 nine children, of whom two died in infancy. Of the 
 others, Frank E. died in 1874: Elisha M., our sub- 
 ject, was second in the order of birth; H. D. resides 
 in East Hartford; George G. died in 1893; William 
 E. conducts a meat market in Broad Brook ; Mary 
 E. married Francis Pierce, of South Windsor ; and 
 Miss Mabel E. resides at Wapping, Connecticut. 
 
 As our subject was only twelve years old when 
 his father died he began to realize the responsibili- 
 ties of life earlier than most boys. He remained 
 with his widowed mother at the old Morton home- 
 stead until he reached the age of twenty-one, when 
 he went to Junction City, Kans., and engaged in 
 business as a cattle dealer, making purchases in dif- 
 ferent parts of Texas, Colorado and Kansas, and 
 shipping herds to the Eastern markets. After seven 
 years he returned home, and became interested in 
 the meat business at Broad Brook in partnership 
 with his brother, William E., the firm dealing also 
 
^e//r'(^<f^<^ 
 
i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 377 
 
 in cattle to some extent. In 1894 he sold his inter- 
 est to his brother, and devoted his attention to deal- 
 ing in horses and cattle, which he still continues. In 
 i8y6 he bought the Jabez .Mien farm, of 100 acres, 
 located on Melrose street, two miles north of Broad 
 llrook; soon afterwartl he added the Lunian Allen 
 farm, of 160 acres, where he has since resided, and 
 later the Seth Allen place, containing 125 acres. 
 These tracts adjoin his homestead, and he now has 
 one of the largest and most valuable estates in the 
 town. His farm is the headquarters for his cattle 
 business, from 150 to 200 head being kept there all 
 the time, and he is also engaged in general farming 
 and tobacco growing. As an ardent Republican he 
 is active in local politics, and in 1892 he was elected 
 first selectman of East Windsor, his colleagues 
 being Henry W. Allen and George A. Ellis : he has 
 since served a second term with Frank Thompson 
 .and George A. Ellis, and a third term with jNIr. 
 Ellis and Henry W. Allen. His able services con- 
 firmed the confidence of his fellow citizens in his 
 fidelity to the public welfare, and in 1898 he was 
 chosen to the Legislature. 
 
 On Nov. 5, 1890, Mr. Granger married Miss 
 Susan Vining, daughter of Mortimer J. Vining, a 
 well-known citizen of East Windsor, and they have 
 tv.'o children, Dorothy and Elisha M., Jr. 
 
 ROSWELL ELODGETT, of Hartford, is de- 
 scended from (I) Thomas Blodgett, of Cambridge, 
 England, who came from London in the good ship 
 "Increase," in 1635, with his wife Susanna, aged 
 thirty-seven, and their two children : Daniel, aged 
 four, and Samuel, aged one and one-half years. 
 Thomas was made a freeman March 3, 1636, in or 
 near Boston. 
 
 (II) Samuel Blodgett was in Woburn in 1664. 
 
 (III) Thomas Blodgett, of .W^oburn, was a son 
 of Samuel. 
 
 (IV) Benoni Blodgett, son of Thomas, came to 
 Windsor from \Voburn. He was born in 1694, and 
 died Feb. 4, 1773. He married Abigail Booth. 
 
 (V) Josiah Blodgett, son of Benoni, was born 
 ■in 1724, and died April 25, 1768. On Jan. 1.5, 1746, 
 he married Abigail Rood, who was born in 1720, 
 and died June 16, 1776. 
 
 (VI) Roswell Blodgett, son of the above, was 
 born in Windsor Oct. 8, 1749, and died JN'Iay 28, 
 1781. He married April 25, 1770, Hainiah Bart- 
 lett, who was born Xov. 18, 1746, and died Jan. 19, 
 T813. 
 
 (\TI) Joseph B. Blodgett, son of Roswell, was 
 born in Windsor Dec. 3, 1780, and died Dec. 27, 
 1827. He married Dec. 31, 1801, Rhoda Loomis, 
 who was born in ^^'indsor Dec. 16, 1769, and died 
 Oct. 29, 1844. Joseph B. Blodgett was a farmer 
 in Tolland county, and also kept a hotel. 
 
 (Ill) Roswell Blodgett, subject of this biog- 
 raphy, son of Joseph B., was born in East Windsor 
 IMarch 29, 1807, one of a family of six children, all 
 now deceased. He was reared on a farm in ^^'indsor, 
 
 and worked for a time at stone cutting in Bolton, 
 after which he learned the brick making trade at 
 Glastonbury. From there, at the age of twcntj'-two 
 vcars, he removed to Hartford, where he embarked 
 in the trucking business, for several years, being at 
 the head of the transportation line between Hartford 
 and New Haven, the business of which at that time 
 was all done by teams. In this he continued until his 
 retirement from active life. He was financially in- 
 interested in the iron business of Blodgett & Clapp, 
 besides in other enterprises : was a director of the 
 .\merican National Hank, of the Charter Oak Life 
 Insurance Co., and of the Pratt & Whitney Co. In 
 politics he was a Republican, and he served in 
 various local offices of honor and trust, such as 
 assessor of ta.ves, in the common council, on the 
 central school committee, and as a member of No. 
 5 Engine Company. In religious faith he was a 
 Universalist. 
 
 On Nov. 26, 183s, Roswell Blodgett married 
 Frances Church, who was born in Hartford, a 
 daughter of James Church, a rope maker, who was 
 a son of Caleli, and a descendant of Richard Church, 
 one of the first settlers of Hartford ; they were 
 farmers, owning land in or near the old Pavilion 
 grounds. Mr. and Mrs. Blodgett had seven chil- 
 dren, onlv three of whom are living: Airs. Francis; 
 Jane Frances, wife of Milton Santee, of Los An- 
 geles, Cal. ; and Roswell F., who is secretary of the 
 Pratt & Whitney Co. Mrs. Frances (Church) 
 Blodgett was tenth in the order of birth in a family 
 of fourteen children, of whom are still livng Abner 
 (at the home of a daughter) and Mrs. Stillman 
 Niles, both of Hartford.' 
 
 JAMES ULYSSES TAINTOR. formerly sec- 
 retary of the Orient Insurance Co. of Hartford, is 
 in the eighth generation from Capt. Charles Taintor, 
 ■the founder of the family in this country, the line 
 of his descent being through Micael, Micaiell, 
 Micael, Capt. Charles, Capt. Newhall and Ralph 
 S. Taintor. The Taintor family is of Welsh origin, 
 and the Lord family, with which Mr. Taintor is 
 connected maternally, is of Scottish extraction. 
 Both families are of Pilgrim, rather than Puritan, 
 tendencies. 
 
 (I) Charles Taintor was in Fairfield, Conn., in 
 1643; also son Micael, and daughter. His wife's 
 name is unknown. 
 
 (II) Micael Taintor, an early settler of Bran- 
 ford, Conn., was made a freeman in 1668; he was 
 a leader in his community, and was frequently 
 chosen to positions of honor and trust. His wife's 
 name was Elizabeth, but her family name is un- 
 known. 
 
 fill) Micaiell Taintor, son of Micael, born 
 in October, 1652, in Branford, married (first) April 
 3, 1679, Mary, daughter of Thomas and Hannah 
 Loomis, of Windsor, Conn. On Aug. 26. 1697. 
 he married (second) Alabel Olmstead. widow of 
 Daniel Butler. Air. Taintor was a member of the 
 
878 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 General Assembly from Colchester twenty-six ses- 
 sions, and town clerk from its settlement until his 
 death, in 1730. He was formerly of Branford, then 
 of Windsor, and became one of the first settlers of 
 Colchester. 
 
 _ (IV) Micael Taintor, born Sept. 6, 1680, at 
 Windsor, married in December, 1712, Eunice Foote, 
 of Wethersfield. He died in 1771. 
 
 (V) Capt. Charles Taintor, son of Micael, born 
 in February, 1722-23, married in August, 1766, 
 Mary Skinner, daughter of Rev. Thomas Skinner, 
 of Westchester. He died in 1807 and she in 1822. 
 He and his son, Capt. Newhall, were strong, in- 
 fluential and honored citizens in the communities in 
 which they lived, were leaders in public life, and 
 frequently chosen to positions of honor, influence 
 and trust. 
 
 (VI) Capt. Newhall Taintor, son of Capt. 
 Charles, born in July, 1782, at Colchester, Conn., 
 married in January, 1809, Ruth Smith, of Middle 
 Haddam, Conn. She was a descendant of Rev. 
 Ralph Smith, who in Colonial history is mentioned 
 as having preached before Gov. Winthrop and Gov. 
 Bradford on the occasion of an important confer- 
 ence between notable representatives of the Massa- 
 chusetts and Plymouth Colonies. 
 
 (VII) Ralph Smith Taintor was born Nov. 16, 
 181 1, in Colchester, Conn. In June, 1834, he was 
 married to Phcebe Higgins Lord, of Lyme, Conn., 
 a descendant of Thomas Lord, who was one of the 
 original proprietors of Hartford, and from whose 
 family the section of the city familiarly known as 
 "Lord's Hill" received its name. To this marriage 
 were born children as follows: Joseph Lord, born 
 Sept. 21, 1835, was graduated from Yale in i860; he 
 married in 1862 Isabella Comstock, of Avon, N. 
 Y. Ralph Smith, born Sept. 25, 1837, married 
 Sept. 3, 1862, Isabella Bryan, of Avon. N. Y. 
 Phoebe Lord, born in June, 1839, married March 
 5, 1862, Edward L. Gates, of Colchester, Conn. 
 Charles Newhall, born Nov. 28, 1840, was graduated 
 from Yale in 1865; he married April 23, 1872, 
 Georgiana S. Holden, of New York City. James 
 U. is the subject of this sketch. Edward Michael, 
 born Aug. 17, 1846, married Aug. 26, 1868, Anna 
 Belle McKinstry, of New London, Conn. Judah 
 Lord was born May 30, 1848. Ruth Smith, born 
 May 8, 1850, married Nov. 16, 1872, E. Wolcott 
 Welles, of Wethersfield, Conn. Mr. Taintor was 
 a member of the State Senate in 1S57. He died 
 Oct. 22, 1892. 
 
 James Ulysses Taintor, son of Ralph Smith 
 Taintor, was born Oct. 23, 1844, in the town of 
 Pornfret, Conn. In his fourth year his father's 
 family moved to Colchester, Conn., whfre his boy- 
 hood was passed. He attended the neighborhood 
 district school, and later was prepared for college at 
 Bacon Academy, Colchester. Entering Yale College 
 in the fall of 1862, he was graduated in the class 
 of '66. In the summer of 1865, the year prior to 
 his graduation, he had the unique honor for a school 
 
 boy of having been elected and serving as assistant 
 clerk of the Connecticut House of Representatives. 
 Young Taintor was clerk of the House the follow- 
 ing year, and in 1868 he served as clerk of the 
 Senate. For a period in 1869 he was interested in a. 
 fire insurance agency in Meriden, Conn., and in 
 July of the same year he became adjuster of losses 
 for the Phoenix Insurance Co. of Hartford, con- 
 .tinuing in that position until the autumn of 1881, 
 at which time he was called to the home office of 
 that company, in the service of which he remained, 
 until June, 1888. At that date he was made sec- 
 retary of the Orient Insurance Co., and continued 
 to sustain such relations with the company until 
 its ownership changed, July i, 1900. 
 
 Mr. Taintor is an earnest Republican in his 
 political affiliations, and at times he has taken an ac- 
 tive part in the affairs of the party. He was a 
 member of the City Street Commission from 1888 
 to 1894. 
 
 On Sept. 16, 1868, Mr. Taintor was married to 
 Catherine A., daughter of Rev. John V. and Au- 
 gusta M. Ballard, of Colchester, Conn. She di d 
 Sept. 5, 1875. On Oct. 23, 1878, he married Isa- 
 belle Spencer, of Hartford, Conn. His two children 
 are : James Spencer and Nelson Case. Mr. Taintor 
 has been a member of the Masonic Fraternity since 
 1866. He is also a member of the Sons of Amer- 
 ican Revolution, and of the Hartford and Republi- 
 can Clubs. Since 1869 he has resided at Ha;^ford. 
 
 HORACE SPENCER (deceased), ^^^s one of 
 the most respected citizens of West Suifi/feld, and by 
 his upright, honorable life maintained well the rep- 
 utation of a family which has long been held in- 
 high esteem in this section. 
 
 Mr. Spencer's ancestors settled in New England 
 at an early da}^, and Thomas Spencer, cur subject's 
 grandfather, was a lifelong resident of Haddam, 
 Conn. Lancen Spencer, our subject's father, was a 
 native of Haddam, Conn., but came to this country 
 in early manhood, locating in the town of Suffield,. 
 near Risings Corners, where he acquired a large 
 tract of land. By occupation he was a farmer, and., 
 he also followed the wheelwright's trade for manv 
 years. His honestv and good judgment made hini 
 respected in the community, and he was chosen to 
 represent his town in the State Legislature. In pol- 
 itics he was a stanch Democrat. His wife, Cynthia 
 Rising, was a native of West Suffie.u, and a daughter 
 of Joel and Ruth Rising, well-known residents of 
 that locality. Three children brightened his home : 
 Gelson ; Horace; and Caroline M., who married 
 Thomas Warner. 
 
 Our subject was mainly self-educated, having- 
 attended district school only in his youth, and his 
 intelligence was seen in his excellent understanding 
 of the general current events of the day. He was - 
 reared to farm work, and after his mother's death 
 he and his brother Gelson operated the homestead 
 in partnership for a number of years. Gelson died 
 
HORACE SPEHCER 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 379 
 
 unmarried, and our subject continual the manage- 
 ment of the estate alone, foUowini;- general farming, 
 and giving especial attention to dairying and tobacco 
 culture. From time to time he made substantial 
 improvements, so that it is now a valuable and at- 
 tractive farm, and at his death in 1898, he left it to 
 •his sister, Mrs. Warner. In religious views he was 
 liberal, and his temperate habits and strictly hon- 
 orable business methods made him a model citizen. 
 He was married in Southwick, Mass., to Miss Jane 
 Granger, a native of that town, and a woman of de- 
 vout Christian faith and life. She died some years 
 before him, and their remains now rest in a ceme- 
 tery in West Sufficld. 
 
 Ttioji.vs Warner (deceased) was for many 
 years a leading citizen of Rocky Hill, and the 
 following brief account of his life and family will be 
 of general interest. His father, John Warner, was 
 a prominent agriculturist of the town, and his family 
 is one of the oldest in that vicinity. Born and reared 
 on a farm, Thomas Warner devoted his attention 
 to agricultural work, and his fine farm in Rocky 
 Hill, near the M'ethersfield line, was kept in an ex- 
 cellent state of cultivation under his management. 
 Politically he was a Democrat, but he did not seek 
 ofifice. His death occurred in 18S0, and his remains 
 were interred in Rocky Hill cemetery. In 1859 he 
 married INIiss Caroline M. Spencer, who survives 
 him, and still resides at the homestead in Rocky 
 Hill. She is an active member of the JNIethodist 
 Episcopal Church, and is much esteemed for her 
 fine mental ability and womanly qualities of char- 
 acter. Of their five children (i) Charles G., who 
 operates the Spencer homestead in West Suffield. 
 married a iliss Harman, of Warnertown, West Suf- 
 field ; (2) John A., a resident of Feeding Hills, 
 Mass., married a Miss Hedges; (3) Frank C. is a 
 farmer in Rocky Hill ; (4) William, who conducts 
 the homestead in Rocky Hill, married Miss Julia 
 Downs (their children are Albert Francis and 
 Thomas) ; (5) George L., a resident of Southwick, 
 Mass., married a ]Miss Dibble, of that town. 
 
 CHARLES A. RENNACKER, one of the en- 
 terprising and successful merchants of Hartford, 
 though yet a young man has taken high rank in the 
 clothing and furnishing business of the city. In 
 six years" time, by new and sound business prin- 
 ciples, he has built up one of the most prosperous 
 clothing concerns in the State, and his store, on 
 the southwest corner of Asylum and Trumbvli 
 streets, is known as one of strictly honorable and 
 reliable dealing. 
 
 IMr. Rennacker was born in Chicago, 111., in 
 1864, and at the early age of twelve years was 
 obliged to commence work, his education being 
 mainly obtained in the hard school of business ex- 
 perience. For a time he was an employe of Will- 
 oughby, Hill & Co., the clothiers in Chicago who 
 originated the "one-price square dealing" motto, by 
 wdiich their great business was built up, and here 
 
 Mr. Rennacker got an insight into business possi- 
 bilities that proved an inspiration. Later he be- 
 came a buyer for the I'utnam clothing house, also 
 of Chicago, making frequent trips to j5oslon. New 
 York and other Eastern cities, and making many 
 acquaintances there. Liking the East, and stop- 
 ping at Hartford on one of his trips, he became in- 
 terested in "The Hub Clothing Store," and made an 
 offer for a part interest, which was accepted. Thi.-^ 
 was the origin of the firm of Rennacker & Co., of 
 whch Miner, Beal & Co., of Boston, were silent 
 partners. Six years ago our subject removed from 
 Chicago to Hartford, and has been a resident of 
 that tlourishing city ever since. In July, 1899, Mr. 
 Rennacker purchas'ed the interest of his partners, 
 becoming sole proprietor, and he has succeeded in 
 gaining and maintaining the good-will of the gen- 
 eral public, in fact, he has been remarkably suc- 
 cessful, and the future doubtless contains much 
 greater successes for him — as square dealing brings 
 its own reward. 
 
 Mr. Rennacker is a man of genial spirit and 
 friendly ways, possessed of a generous heart and 
 kind impulses; his clerks are his friends, and ex- 
 cursions, holiday and athletic tourneys have been 
 much encouraged by him. He organized and main- 
 Itained a base-ball nine, whose games will long_ be 
 remembered, in which connection it must not be for- 
 gotten that he was also one of the foremost in advo- 
 cating the welcome summer half-holidays. In a word, 
 Mr. Rennacker is ever ready to assist in any enter- 
 prise that will benefit the people of his adopted city. 
 The push of the Western business man's methods, 
 seasoned with the sound conservatism of the East — 
 Jiogether they form a combination against which no 
 incorporation, however strong, can hope to win. 
 
 On August II, 1887, I^Ir. Rennacker was mar- 
 ried to Minnie B., daughter of James H. and Fanny 
 Joslyn, of Kenosha, Wis., and they have three chil- 
 dren: Mabel J., born July 8, 1888; Clarence A., 
 born Jan. 7, 1892; and H. Everett, born July 2, 
 
 1897- 
 
 Fraternally Mv. Rennacker is a member ot St. 
 
 John's Lodge, No. 4, A. F. & A. M. ; Pythagoras 
 Chapter, No. 17, R. A. M. ; ^^'olcott Council, No. 
 I, R. & S. M. ; Washington Commandery. No. 
 I, Knights Templar: and Sphinx Temple, A. A. 
 O N. M. S. ; he is also a charter member of Sum- 
 mit Lodge, I. O. O. F. : member of B. H. Webb 
 Council, No. 702, Royal Arcanum; of the Knights 
 of Pythias, having been a charter member of Cutler 
 Lodge, K. P. ; of Chicago Council, National Union ; 
 and of the Hartford Yacht Club. 
 
 EDWIN CHARLES BISHOP. That man suc- 
 ceeds who thoroughly knows his business, believes 
 in it, and works unceasingly in its extension. Mr. 
 Bishop is a well-known manufacturer of ladders at 
 Hartford. From his father he learned all the details 
 relating to the business, and is enthusiastically de- 
 voted to it. Since he has assumed full management 
 
880 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of the works he is probably the best-known ladder 
 manufacturer in the United States. 
 
 Mr. Bishop was born in Boston, Mass., March 
 28, i860, son of Carlos E. Bishop, who is a native 
 of Stanstead, Quebec. Our subject spent his early 
 years .with his father, residing; in Boston and Provi- 
 dence, and then coming with his parents to Hart- 
 ford, where he was educated in the grammar school, 
 'later entering a business college in Stanstead, 
 Province of Quebec, where he took a commercial 
 course. Returning to Hartford he acquired, under 
 ithe direction of his father, a knowledge of the prac- 
 itical side of the manufacture of ladders. Then, 
 ;taking a wagon, he acted in the capacity of sales- 
 man, driving over all the various routes covered by 
 'the eight wagons of the father, taking the places 
 of the different men and becoming acquainted with 
 the many customers throughout the New England 
 States, and also in the State of New York.. This 
 commercial work he followed some fifteen years, 
 visiting during that time nearly every town of any 
 ■importance in these States. In 1888 he purchased 
 a half interest in the business and became manager, 
 )m which position, associated with his father, he 
 continued until 1892, since which time he has con- 
 ducted the business individually. His trade has in- 
 creased greatly, and he is now running fifteen 
 wagons, keeping two additional salesmen, who travel 
 upon the road and take orders from the wholesale 
 trade. He has a trade extending all over the United 
 States, has made a number of mprovements in the 
 ladders, has taken out several patents, and ranks as 
 one of the foremost manufacturers of Hartford. 
 
 Mr. Bishop married, in 1885, Mary E. Pelton, 
 a native of Somers, Conn., daughter of Asa Pelton, 
 a prominent farmer in that locality. In politics Mr. 
 Bishop is a stanch Republican. 
 
 HON. SAMUEL QUINCY PORTER, an hon- 
 ored and highly esteemed citizen of Unionville, be- 
 longs to a prominent old English family whose coat 
 of arms were: Sable, three church bells, argent; 
 canton, ermines ; motto — Vigilantia et Virtus. 
 
 i\Ir. Porter traces his ancestrv back to William 
 de la Port, also called William de la Grande, a 
 Roman Knight, who went to England at the time 
 of the Conquest in the train of William the Con- 
 queror. From him the line is traced through the 
 following: (II) Ralph de la Port; (III) Robert de 
 la Port; (IV) Hugh de la Port, who married a 
 daughter of William Russell: (V) John Porter, of 
 Markham, England, who married a daughter of 
 Gardiner, of Bishop Norton; (VI) John Porter: 
 (VII) Augustine Porter, of Belton, who mar- 
 ried a daughter of Smvthe ; (VIII) John 
 Porter: (IX) William Porter, of Wryhall, 
 who married Jane Bussey; (X) John Porter, 
 the founder of the family in the New World, who 
 was born in 1500, and in 1633, with his wife Rose, 
 -came to New England, two years later l^ecoming 
 one of the founders of Windsor, Conn.; (XI) Sam- 
 
 uel Porter, born in England in 1626, who married 
 Hannah, daughter of Thomas Stanley, of Hartford, 
 and in 1659 removed to Hadley, Mass., where he 
 died in 1689; (XII) Samuel Porter, born in 1660, 
 who married Joanna Cooke, of Hadley, Feb. 22, 
 1683; (XIII) Eleazer Porter, born Feb. 28, 1698, 
 who married Sarah Pitkin; (XIV) Eleazer Porter,, 
 born June 27, 1728, who married Susannah, daugh- 
 ter of Rev. Jonathan Edwards, of Northampton, 
 Mass.; (XV) William Porter, born Dec. 9, 1763, a 
 merchant, farmer and physician, who died in old 
 Hadley, Mass., about 1868. The latter first married 
 Lois Eastman, by whom he had two children: John 
 and William (the father of our subject). For his 
 second wife he married Charlotte Williams. 
 
 (XVI) William Porter was born in Hadley, 
 Mass., Nov. 14, 1792, and was graduated at Will- 
 iams College in 1813. He became a prominent and 
 successful attorney of Lee, Mass., and from 1844 
 until 1852 was district attorney for the four west- 
 ern counties of that State. He also became an im- 
 portant factor in public affairs, and was a member of 
 the Lower Plouse and State Senate of Massachusetts. 
 In politics he was a Whig. He died in Lee, Feb. 
 II, 1853, and his wife, Mary Ann Quincy, daughter 
 of Samuel Quincy,, of Lenox, Mass., died Dec. 2, 
 1835. They had four children: William, born Jan. 
 10, 1820, has been a professor in Beloit College, 
 Beloit, Wis., for the past fifty years; Dr. William 
 Porter, Jr., of Hartford, Conn., and Prof. Frank C. 
 Porter, of the Divinity School at New Haven, Conn., 
 are his sons. Samuel Quincy, our subject, is next 
 in the family. Charlotte, born in 1823, died in 
 183S. Mary Weld, born March 2, 1824, married 
 Frank Chamberlain. 
 
 (XVII) Samuel Q. Porter, orr subject, was born 
 in Lee, Mass., May 31, 1821, and his early school 
 days were passed at that place and at old Hadley, 
 Mass. When a young man he clerked in a grocery 
 store in Lee, and later engaged in general mercantile 
 business there for four years. In 1847 hs came to 
 Linionville, Conn., and later with William Platner 
 engaged in the manufacture of fine writing paper, 
 under the firm name of Platner & Porter. In 1853 
 the style was changed to the Platner & Porter Manu- 
 facturing Co., and our subject remained a member of 
 the firm until 1877, when he retired from the busi- 
 ness. The mill is still operated under the old name, 
 but by different owners. 
 
 Besides the ancestors alreadv mentioned, Mr. 
 Porter is of the seventh generation in descent from 
 Thomas Hooker, W^illiam Westwood, Thomas 
 Stanley, Timothy Stanley and Ozias Goodwin. 
 
 On May 31, 1848, Mr. Porter was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Maria Plulbert, of Lee, Mass., by 
 whom he had two children: (i) Mary Weld is now 
 the wife of William P. Beardsley, of Auburn, N. 
 Y., and they have two children, Alice Taylor and 
 Glover. (2) William died in infancy. Mr. Porter 
 was again married, in Farmington, Conn., in i86r, 
 his second union being with Miss Frances A. Smith, 
 
i 
 
 CCAyiA^^Z^J CTr^U^r- 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 381 
 
 and to them were born six children : Samuel Q., Jr., 
 a resident of iowa, who is married and has one son, 
 James .\hvood ; Kale liulbert, wlio died in infancy; 
 Elizabeth yuinc)- ; lienry ilulbert, a resident of 
 iSievv York City; b" ranees Aiorgan, who died in in- 
 fancy ; and Lucy G. 
 
 Public-spirited and progressive, Mr. Porter has 
 taken a very active part in ihe improvement of his 
 town, and most of the hnc shade trees of the village 
 were set 'out by him man)- years ago. He has also 
 been prominently identified with public affairs. In 
 i860 he was a member of the convention, held at 
 Chicago, that nominated Lincoln, and he was an in- 
 fluential member of the State Legislature in 1869, 
 1870, 1881, 1882 and 1899. He also served as 
 savings bank commissioner in 1881 and 1882. After 
 a useful and honorable career he can well aft'ord to 
 lay aside all business cares and spend his declining 
 years in ease and retirement. 
 
 REV. GEORGE AL\RVIN STONE, D. D.i 
 pastor of the Asylum Avenue Baptist Church, of 
 Hartford, has filled the pulpit of that church for 
 more than twenty-one years, and his strong per- 
 sonality has deeply impressed itself upon the relig- 
 ious history of Connecticut. He is a native of Ohio, 
 born Dec. 10, 1834, at Strongville, in the Western 
 Reserve, and the grandson of an early emigrant 
 from \'erniont. 
 
 Ebenezer and Anah (Ferry) Stone, the paternal 
 grandparents of our subject, migrated with their 
 family from the old farm in Vermont to Ohio in 
 1823, and became pioneers in the Western Reserve. 
 The family came originally from Somersetshire, 
 England, and the progenitor of the family in Ainerica 
 settled at Cambridge, JNIass., soon after the Pilgrims 
 came over. Li religious belie*' Ebenezer and Anah 
 Stone had been members of the Congregational 
 Church, but after their settlement in Ohio joined 
 the Episcopal Church. They had a family of four 
 sons. Both lived to a good old age, Ebenezer to 
 the age of eighty, and his wife, who was a native 
 of Connecticut, to the age of seventy-five. 
 
 Marvin E. Stone, the father of our subject, was 
 born at Hinesburg, Vt., and in 1823 migrated with 
 his parents to Ohio. He married Hannah West, 
 and to them were born nine children, of whom 
 George Marvin, our subject, was the eldest. Mr. 
 Stone followed farming at Strongville, Ohio, up to 
 the time of his death, which resulted, at the age of 
 seventy-five years, from an accident caused by a 
 horse running away. 
 
 The early settlers in Ohio v/ere men of integrity 
 and moral fiber. Thev came very largely from Con- 
 necticut, and the old familiar names of Hartford 
 were reproduced' in and about Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. 
 Stone's earliest recollections are connected with the 
 felling of great forest trees, and the burning of 
 great piles of wood to clear the ground for sowing 
 wheat. Hartford was often mentioned in the fam- 
 ily, for in that citv dwelt the man who held the mort- 
 
 gage on the home farm. This mortgage clouded 
 iJr. .Stone's early life, and it was a da)- of jubilee 
 when the last payment was made. 
 
 At the age of fifteen. Dr. Stone began life for 
 himself in the city of Cleveland. Plis first occupa- 
 tion was that of selling papers, and here it may be 
 said parenthetically, that Dr. Stone has a soft spot 
 in his heart for the newsboys. At the Post dinner 
 in Piartford to these young merchants, he was an 
 interested spectator, one of the few who could ap- 
 preciate their feelings. When si-xteen years of age, 
 Dr. Stone was at work in the office of The True 
 Democrat, now the Cleveland Leader, and at 
 eighteen he had become one of its local editors. The 
 taste for a journalistic career, acquired thus early, 
 has never deserted the reverend gentleman, and he 
 has done a great deal of writing for the religious 
 and secular press since that time. 
 
 The True Democrat was intensely anti-slavery 
 in its political complexion, and the young editor 
 found himself very much interested in the stirring 
 political events of that period, being connected with 
 such men as Joseph Medill and Alfred Cowles. In 
 the campaign of 1852, he made a number of ad- 
 dresses for Hale and Julian, the Free-Soil nominees. 
 While engaged in newspaper life, he joined the Sec- 
 ond Baptist Church in Cleveland, and soon after de- 
 cided to devote his life to the ministry. He had no 
 funds with which to gain the required education, 
 and decided to engage m school teaching for a time. 
 Hearing- of an opeiiing in Kentucky, he went there 
 and applied for the position. This section was in 
 the slavery district, and the young man soon realized 
 what a mistake he had made. The school committee, 
 in examining- him. asked him what his record was, 
 and when he replied that he came from the North the 
 information was received in silence and with dark- 
 ened faces. "How are you on the main issue?" was 
 the ne.xt question, but the examination luckily went 
 no further that day. At night in his bed Dr. Stone 
 began to examine his own record in the light of 
 the events of that day, and the fact that he had been 
 prominently identified with an anti-slavery paper, 
 and made addresses in Ohio for the Free-Soil can- 
 didates, came to him with all its significance and pos- 
 sible danger. He decided that the "record" need 
 never be completed before that examining board of 
 school committeemen. In the morning he told his 
 landlady that he would go up to Lexington to attend 
 to sonie business there, and started at once. He 
 visited Henry Cla)'s grave, which was then a fresh 
 one. From Lexington he took the train for Paris, 
 Ky., arriving there penniless, but determined to 
 reach the Ohio border as soon as possible. He was 
 given food and shelter b)- a kind-hearted innkeeper, 
 who long ago received every penny that was due 
 her, and Dr. Stone arrived safely on Ohio soil. In 
 recalling this incident, he says that the fact that he 
 was once homeless and friendless, without a penny 
 to purchase the necessities of life, has ever since 
 given him synipathv for tramps. No one who has 
 
382 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 never experienced this sensation, can fully appre- 
 ciate what it means. 
 
 Dr. Stone soon found an opportunity to enter 
 Williston Seminary at East Hampton, Mass., and 
 later entered Madison (now Colgate) University, at 
 Hamilton, N. Y., where he graduated in 1858, with 
 the degree of A. B. He studied for the ministry at 
 the Hamilton Theological Seminary, and was soon 
 after called to Danbury, Corm., where he preached 
 as a student. He was ordained there m September, 
 i860, Dr. Turnbull, of Hartford, preachmg the 
 sermon. He contmued at Danbury for seven years, 
 having a most successful pastorate, but ill health 
 jcompelled him to give it up, and in September, 
 1867, he removed to Minnesota, becoming pastor of 
 ihe First Baptist Church of Wmona, where he re- 
 mained two years and a half. 
 
 In 1870 Dr. Stone was called to the Jefferson 
 .Street Baptist Church in Milwaukee, Wis., and in 
 1872 he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity 
 from the Chicago University. After a pastorate 
 in Milwaukee of three years and a half, he returned 
 to the East, and settled with the Baptist Church . in 
 Tarrytown-on-the-Hudson, N. Y., in September, 
 1873. In June, 1879, accepted a call to the Asylum 
 Avenue Baptist Church in Hartford, where he has 
 remained ever since, a record which is exceeded by 
 only one Baptist minister in the State. Since he 
 came to Hartford, Dr. Stone has been called to three 
 other churches, once to Norwich, once to Washing- 
 ton, D. C, and once to Minneapolis, to succeed the 
 Rev. Dr. H. C. Mabie, now the secretary of the 
 Baptist Missionary Union. Before deciding 
 whether to accept or decline this call, Dr. Stone went 
 to Minneapolis to look over the field. In a sermon 
 preached there the Doctor referred to his attach- 
 ment at Hartford, saying that for eleven years he 
 had served his congregation there, that his dead 
 were there, and that strong associations tended to 
 bind him to that locality. He decided later to re- 
 main at Hartford, to the great satisfaction of his 
 congregation. 
 
 Dr. Stone's long pastorate at Hartford has been 
 an eminently successful one. That he is highly 
 esteemed and beloved by his congregation is too 
 well-known to need mention. Since his pastorate 
 began, the church has been enlarged to twice its 
 former size, and is one of the most pleasant in the 
 city. The present membership is over 250, and 
 the records of the church show a steadv growth 
 since Dr. Stone's installation. In term of service he 
 is third among all the pastors of the city. 
 
 It is not alone as a pastor and clergyman that 
 Dr. Stone is known. His marked literary tastes and 
 abilities have given him prominence as a writer, 
 toth in prose and in poetry. He is fond of travel, 
 and has utilized the results of his observations in 
 lecttu'es and letters to the Press, which have attracted 
 wide attention. He has contributed quite frequent- 
 ly to the Press. Dr. Stone has made a number of 
 visits to Europe, and has made researches in Egypt 
 
 and the Holy Land. In 1866 he went to Alaska, 
 gathering intormation about that then little known 
 country, which has proved very valuable. His lec- 
 tures on Alaska have been repeated thirteen times in 
 Hartford, Boston and elsewhere. 
 
 In 1884 Dr. Stone made a journey tnrough the 
 Yellowstone National Park, and what he saw there 
 has been told in an interesting manner in the Hart- 
 ford Post and in magazines. His letters from 
 Europe to the Nezv Yoru Examiner, and his "Vaca- 
 tion four in Alaska," which appeared in the same 
 paper, attracted much attention. A recent series 
 of letters in the Examiner, entitled "From Ocean 
 to Ocean," giving his observations on a tour across 
 the continent, were also read with interest. 
 
 Perhaps Dr. Stone is as well known as an author 
 in connection with his book "Public Uses of the 
 Bible" as in any other way. This is a study of 
 Biblical elocution, and was published as the result 
 of the writer's experiences and discoveries, after 
 many years of public reading of the Holy Scriptures. 
 The book has been very favorably commented on, 
 by eminent authorities, and is now used as a text- 
 book in some :nstitutions of learning. Dr. Stone 
 has delivered many very able sermons. Two of the 
 most interesting, "Reason for Our Faith" and "The 
 Historical Facts Expressed in Baptism," have been 
 cordially received. 
 
 Atronomy is one of the sciences in which the 
 Doctor is deeply interested, and an illustrated maga- 
 zine article entitled "A Night at the Lick Observa- 
 tory," has been read by many. "The Legend of 
 Winona," from his pen, attracted very favorable 
 mention, and "The White City," reprinted below, is 
 considered a gem in its way, being perhaps the best 
 thing written by him. 
 
 THE WHITE CITY. 
 
 The inland sea was shimmering in the light 
 Of morn. Soft-veiled and mystically fair, 
 
 Lake wand creations to enchanted sight, 
 Turret and cope seemed hung in air. 
 
 The murmur and joy of people came 
 
 At noon. Within the palaces they see 
 
 Fabric and wheel, and art's wide fame, 
 The parliament of man made free. 
 
 What genii wrought to form this glow 
 
 At night ? The constellations of the sky 
 
 Have rained their fiery orbs below, 
 
 Relighting lamps that shone on high. 
 
 Dr. Stone has delivered many lectures and public 
 addresses. One of the best of these was his Me- 
 morial Day address before the Grand Army vet- 
 erans, at the Foot Guard armory, several years ago. 
 In 1896, when the Cleveland (Ohio) delegation was 
 entertained at Hartford, Dr. Stone delivered an 
 address which was particularly pleasing. Dr. Stone 
 is one of the board of trustees of the Connecticut 
 Literary Institute, at Suffiedl ; he was president of 
 the Pastors' Conference of Connecticut for two 
 years, and is one of tne trustees of the State Con- 
 vention Board of Missions of the Baptist Church. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 383 
 
 Jn 1883 and 1884 he was chaplain of the Connecti- 
 cut House of Representatives. 
 
 Jn 1801 Dr. Stone married Miss -M)!)!!.- 1j. Seeley, 
 <laiij;liter 01 Deacon Aailian ^eclcy of liie Danljury 
 Church. She l)clongs to the same family of whicli 
 President Seeley of Smith College is a member, 
 ilrs. Stone is one of three children, two of whom 
 are living. Her brother, E. S. Seeley, is a partner 
 in the firm of Taylor & Seeley, well-known hat 
 nianufacturers of xN'evv York. Her parents were 
 nicnibers of the I baptist Church, in which the fatlier 
 was a deacon for many years, a very venerable 
 man, who has always taken a very active part in 
 church matters. Mrs. Stone's work outside of the 
 church has been very extensive. She is closely 
 identified with numerous charitable, benevolent and 
 missionary enterprises. She has been president of 
 the I\IcAll mission auxiliary in the city, and was for 
 eighteen years secretary of the Women's Christian 
 Association in Hartford, of which she is now vice- 
 president. 
 
 Dr. and j\Irs. Stone have one son, Wilbur M. 
 Stone, who studied in a private school in Tarrytown, 
 N. Y. After coming to Hartford he served an ap- 
 prenticeship in the machine department of tlie Pratt 
 & Whitney works, and then studied mechanical en- 
 gineering. He also spent one year at Stevens In- 
 stitute, Hoboken, N. J. He is now holding a re- 
 sponsible position with F. H. Richards, of New York, 
 as a mechanical engineer. He married (firsfl Miss 
 Carrie Watson, who died shortly after marriage. 
 For his second wife he wedded Lillian Newton, of 
 Hartford, by whom he has three children : Malcolm, 
 Pauline and Kenneth. 
 
 Dr. Stone is one of the members of the Board of 
 Trustees of the New York Ministers' Home, repre- 
 senting the State of Connecticut on this board. He 
 has delivered a great number of addresses before dif' 
 ferent associations upon a large variety of subjects. 
 For many years he has been closely identified with 
 Bible reading throughout this State. 
 
 That Dr. Stone fills a very large place in the city 
 is evident. Perhaps no better estimate of his char- 
 acter and usefulness may be had, than that pub- 
 lished in the New York Herald some time ago. It 
 said in part: "His counsel is generally sought in all 
 local and State moral and educational and religious 
 work, and he is ever at the front in all movements 
 for the good of men, holding positions in all the 
 important State boards of the denomination. In 
 the pulpit he is a forceful preacher, and his utter- 
 ances are marked by the sweetness of spirit, the 
 breadth of view, of one who loves his fellow men." 
 
 SILAS CHAPMAN (deceased), who for many 
 years held a leading place among the merchants of 
 Hartford, was born in that city June 28, 1815, son 
 of Silas and Betsey Crosby (Alurphy") Chapman. 
 
 During his early life Mr. Chapman made his 
 home in the family of J. W. Dimock. with whom he 
 learned the details of tlie merchant tailor's business. 
 
 On Jan. i, 1837, he bought a half-interest in Mr. 
 Dimock's business, but the partnership was dis- 
 solved in 1843, ''"'1 on Jan. i, 1844, he became as- 
 sociated with J-".. W. Williams, under the firm name 
 of Chapman & Williams. They dissolved partner- 
 ship on Jan. 1, 1848, and at the close of that year 
 the following paragraph was recorded in Mr. Chap- 
 man's note book: "The year 1848 was the first year 
 1 did business alone and under my own manage- 
 ment, and the profits resulting show pretty conclu- 
 sively that the ship of co-partnership has been to me 
 for eleven 3ears past a profitless bark to sail in." 
 INIr. Chapman's taste and skill in his business ren- 
 dered his establishment one of the most popular of 
 its kind in the city among fashionable young men 
 of that day. In 1854 a pulmonary attack accom- 
 panied by hemorrhage came near proving fatal, and 
 compelled him to abandon his business, which was 
 bought by William H. Kelsey. After his recovery 
 he became secretary of the board of water commis- 
 sioners, and proved an active, excellent and useful 
 officer. His urbanity and cheerfulness made his 
 company pleasant, while his known integrity gave 
 him the confidence of all classes of citizens. .\Ir. 
 Chapman was for nearly forty years a leading 
 member of the First Baptist Church, and his death, 
 Nov. 14, 1876, was a great loss to the society. 
 
 On Jan. 3, 1838, j\Ir. Chapman married Maria 
 F., daughter of Edwin and Octavia (Clark) Pitkin. 
 She was born Dec. 14, 1815, and died July 7, 1893, 
 leaving one son, Silas Chapman, Jr. 
 
 SiL.\s Chap.m.vx, Jr., was born in Hartford Sept. 
 2, 1845, ^i''d is the third in direct line of descent 
 to bear the name. He completed a course in the 
 Hartford High School, and in 1863 began his busi- 
 ness career as an office boy with the North American 
 Fire Insurance Co. In 1868 he was appointed local 
 agent at Hartford for the Firemen's Fund Insurance 
 Co., of San Francisco, and when the North Ameri- 
 can was closed out, in 1871, he had a fair agency 
 business established. It was largely through his 
 efTorts that so much of the stock of the Firemen's 
 Fund (some $200,000) was placed in Hartford. 
 In the fall of 1892 j\lr. Chapman purchased the 
 agency business of B. R. Allen, which included the 
 agency of the Hartford and the Royal Insurance 
 Companies. For many years he occupied offices 
 in the building on the corner of Asylum and Trum- 
 bull streets, where the office of the North American 
 was located, but about thirteen years ago he took 
 the north basement office in the Hartford Fire In- 
 surance Co.'s building, and in 1892 he removed to 
 the south basement, which was formerly occupied 
 by Mr. Allen. Mr. Chapman is a gentleman of 
 culture and refined taste, and has traveled exten- 
 sively in this country and elsewhere. He is promi- 
 nent in Masonic circles, having attained the thirty- 
 third degree in Scottish Rite Masonry. He is a 
 member of ^^'ashington Commandery, K. T.. and 
 master of Hartford Council, Princes of Jerusalem. 
 He is also active in religious work, has been clerk of 
 
384 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the First Baptist Society in Hartford since 1873, 
 and was librarian for twenty years in the Sunday- 
 schooL Being an ardent disciple of old Izaak 
 Walton, he has been a regular visitor in the Rangley 
 Lake region for many seasons, and where, with a 
 company of chosen friends in his favorite pastime, 
 he is one of the most companionable of men. In 
 business he is reticent, clear-headed and penetrating 
 to the last detail, and his selection by President 
 Chase of the Hartford for the most influential 
 agency in the company is an expression of confidence 
 of the highest value. Mr. Chapman is a director in 
 the Charter Oak National Bank of Hartford; the 
 Billings & Spencer Co., one of the largest manu- 
 facturing concerns in Hartford ; the Middlesex 
 County Mutual Fire Insurance Co., and several other 
 manufacturing corporations. 
 
 The Pitkin family, which is of Puritan stock, 
 has been represented in every generation in this 
 country b}^ able and upright men. In this line 
 Silas Chapman, Jr., traces his descent as follows : 
 Edwin Pitkin, his maternal grandfather, was for 
 nearly forty j^ears superintendent of the harness 
 and saddlery business of Smith & Bourne, Hartford. 
 
 Col. John Pitkin, his great-great-grandfather, led 
 his command against Crown Point in 1755. He was 
 an incorporator of the town of East Hartford in 
 1785, and deacon of the Third Church of Hartford 
 from 1752 to 1790. 
 
 William Pitkin (2) was a member of the coun- 
 cil of the colony for twenty-six years. He also 
 served as judge of the county, probate and superior 
 courts, and in 1713 became chief justice of the su- 
 preme court. 
 
 William Pitkin, the head of the family, was an 
 Englishman, and came to America with Rev. 
 Thomas Hooker in 1639. On Oct. 9, 1662, he was 
 appointed prosecutor for the Connecticut Colony, 
 and in 1664 he received an appointment from the 
 King as attorney-general. From 1675 to 1690 he 
 was a representative in the General Assembly, and 
 in 1676 he served as treasurer of the colony. 
 
 Silas Chapman, Jr., was married Dec. 10, 1868, 
 to Julia A. Camp, who was born in Windsor, Conn., 
 Aug. 13, 1848. 
 
 JOHN B. POYER, M. D. The subject of this 
 sketch has attested the strength of inherited traits. 
 Descended from men of unusual force of character 
 and position in the world, circumstances over which 
 he had no control threw him, while preparing for 
 his professional life, upon his own resources. Un- 
 shaken in purpose or determination by the whirling 
 eddies that crossed his pathway of life, he returned 
 as soon as the currents could be mastered to his 
 original plan, completed his education, and has given 
 to the people of New Britain one of its most success- 
 ful medical practitioners. 
 
 Dr. Foyer's ancestors were millers. Flis great- 
 grandfather, Joseph Foyer, was a business man of 
 extensive means in Canada, near the New Hampshire 
 
 and Vermont State lines, engaging in mercantile 
 pursuits, and owning a number of mills. Fie mar- 
 ried a Miss Gregory. His son, Joseph Foyer, Jr.,. 
 the grandfather of our subject, was a man of like 
 character. He was progressive, and possessed the 
 courage of his convictions, originating many of the 
 industries and new methods of business which chang- 
 ing conditions necessitated. Joseph Foyer, Jr., mar- 
 ried Mary Adams, and they had three children : M 
 Joseph, a large farmer of Holyoke, Mass.; Matilda; H 
 and John B., father of Dr. Foyer. 
 
 John B. Foyer was born in New Hampshire, 
 near the Vermont line, in 1806. Like his father and 
 grandfather he became a miller, and followed the 
 business for a number of years. He was also en- 
 gaged in farming in New Hampshire and in Can- 
 ada, and later in life he removed to West Hartford, 
 Conn., where he owned a farm of 600 acres, being the 
 largest land owner in the town. For some time he 
 was the overseer of Mr. Davenport's farm,, which 
 he subsequently worked on shares, finally purchasing 
 the place. He prospered in rich measure until 1873,. 
 when he lost his large property through his kindness 
 in assuming large financial liability for others. He 
 was a self-made man, having by his own efforts ac- 
 quired the property thus sacrificed by his generos- 
 ity. In politics he was a Republican, in religious 
 faith a Catholic. He married a Miss Charbonneau, 
 of New Hampshire, daughter of Charles Charbon- 
 neau, a French-Canadian, and to them were born ten 
 children who grew to adult age, as follows : Saliiia, 
 wife of Cleophas La Point ; Henry, who is mentioned 
 below; Arkaugh, who married (first) a Mr. Four- 
 chette, and later a Mr. Cautermanche ; Rosalie, who 
 died at the age of twenty-three years ; Philomene, 
 who married (first) Baptiste Solomon, and later 
 George Robinson ; William, who was killed at the 
 battle of the Wilderness ; Vitoline, who died at the 
 age of eighteen years ; Matilda, wife of Charles 
 Brennison ; Sophia, who married Cleophas La 
 Point; and John B., subject of these lines. The fa- 
 ther died in 1893, the mother in 1888. Henrv 
 Foyer enlisted in the L^nion army in 1861, becoming 
 a private in a Connecticut regiment, and served until 
 Lee's surrender, being with two Connecticut regi- 
 ments, a New York regiment, and a New Jersey 
 regiment. Though wounded three times he re- 
 mained continuously in the service, and rose to the- 
 rank of major, acting for one j^ear as drilling officer 
 on Blackwell's Island, New York. His name is on 
 the monument in Central Park, New Britain. 
 
 John B. Foyer was born in West Hartford July 
 II, 1859. He spent his boyhood at West Hartford 
 and New Britain, and was a student in the grammar 
 school at New Britain at the age of fourteen years 
 when the change came in his father's fortune. For 
 a. time school books had to be laid aside to make way 
 for hard work upon the farm for three or four years. 
 Then, at the age of eighteen, he entered the private 
 school of Prof. Camp, and spent some time prepar- 
 atory to entrance examination for Yale College, . 
 
\U^ if^-f^'-^'i^r?^-^. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 885 
 
 meanwhile reading m'cdicine at the office of Dr. 
 Cummings. He matriculated at Yale in the fall of 
 1879, '^"'^ remained two years, when circumstances 
 again required a suspension in his education. 
 From the spring of 1881 until iVugust, 1885, he con- 
 ducted a tea store at New Britain in partnership 
 with Mr. Stewart, under the name of the Union Tea 
 Co. In the fall of 1885 Mr. Poyer entered the 
 Senior class at Dartmouth College, and was grad- 
 uated with the class of 1886. He subsequently went 
 to Chicago, remaining for six months in the Cook 
 County Hospital, after which he spent a year at 
 Leipsic, Germany, attending lectures and clinics, 
 and taking a post-graduate course. Dr. Poyer had 
 thus given himself a splendid and thorough prepara- 
 tion for the practice which Jie began at New Britain 
 in 1888. At the expiration of seven years he was 
 obliged, on account of ill health, to abandon practice 
 for a time, but he has since resumed the exacting 
 and conscientious duties of his profession. For 
 four years he has been city physician, and he has 
 now a wide and lucrative practice. 
 
 In politics Dr. Poyer is independent. Frater- 
 nally he is a member of Harmony Lodge, No. 20, 
 F. & A. M. He married Mary Drury, daughter of 
 John Drury, and they have one son, John B., Jr. 
 
 GEORGE A. BINGHAM, supervisor of bridges 
 for the New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail- 
 road Co., has an office at Hartford, and takes charge 
 of the work between Hartford and New Haven, 
 Saybrook and Hartford, and Waterbury and Middle- 
 town — 1 50 miles in all. 
 
 Mr. Bingham was born July 9, 1840, in Andover, 
 Conn., where his family has long been well known. 
 George O. Bingham, Sr., the father of our subject, 
 was born and reared in Andover, and was engaged 
 in farming there for many years, dying at the ad- 
 vanced age of eighty. He and his wife were prom- 
 inent members of the Baptist Church in Andover. 
 He married Jerusha C. Capen, a native of Boston, 
 and one of the large family of Joseph Capen, a 
 butcher of that city, and his wife Betsey Wadsworth, 
 who was born in Hartford. Our subject's mother 
 died when eighty years of age, leaving one child, 
 George A. Bingham. 
 
 Mr. Bingham remained in his native place until 
 he attained his majority, his time during youth be- 
 ing spent in farm work and at the carpenter's trade. 
 In 1863 he located at Hartford and took a position 
 in Colt's Armory, the Civil war making the demand 
 upon them great. On April 20, 1870, he entered the 
 employ of the New York, New Haven & Hartford 
 Railroad Co., as a carpenter, later became foreman, 
 and in 1895 was promoted to his present position. 
 He has now been with the company over thirty years, 
 a sufficient evidence of his ability and trustworthi- 
 ness. In all he has 250 bridges to oversee, some of 
 them 2,000 feet long, and a number of men con- 
 stantly carrying on this work under his direction. 
 He builds the car houses, and makes the canopy tops 
 
 £5 
 
 for bridges. The road is supplied with Banjo 
 switch signals, which arc made in the shop under 
 his oversight, and afterward placed on the line by 
 him. 
 
 In 1866 Mr. Bingham married Miss Jennie A. 
 Loomis, a native of Andover, Conn., by whom he 
 had one child, Grace J. in 1884 he married, for 
 his second wife, Louisa M. Sexton. In politics he is 
 a Republican, but he does not aspire to office, and he 
 and his wife are prominent members of the Metho- 
 dist Episcopal Church. 
 
 STERLING BUNNELL, manufacturer of ex- 
 tracts, etc., in Bristol, is a native of that town, born 
 Sept. 12, 1841. [For ancestry, see sketch of Charles 
 R. Bunnell, elsewhere.] 
 
 Allen Bunnell, his father, was born Feb. 7, 
 1802, in Burlington, Conn., received his education 
 there, and learned the trade of carriage maker. 
 When a young man he removed to Bristol, and car- 
 ried on a carriage shop in Divinity street. Fie died 
 May 20, 1873, in what is known as Edgewood, Bris- 
 tol. On Feb. 8, 1826, he married Rhoda Atwater, 
 who was born Nov. 16, 1800, daughter of Lucius 
 Atwater, and died July 20, 1879, in Bristol. Their 
 children: (i) Caroline, born Jan. 13, 1827, married 
 Franklin Steele, of Bristol, and died Dec. 9, 189S. 
 (2) Emily, born Jan. 30, 1828, married John H. 
 Sessions, of Bristol. (3) Charles R., sketch of whom 
 appears elsewhere. (4) Susannah, born Sept. 16, 
 1832, married Edward Porter, of Bristol. (5) 
 Rhoda, born June 23, 1835, died May 3, 1836. (6) 
 Thomas, sketch of whom appears elsewhere. (7) 
 Sterling, subject of this sketch. The father of this 
 family was one of the first Abolitionists, and was 
 one of the seven men of Bristol who at one time 
 held the controlling power in the town. He was a 
 very strong Union man, and equally aggressive on 
 the temperance subject. 
 
 Sterling Bunnell was four years old when his 
 parents removed to Burlington (Whigville), and 
 here he received his education. Leaving school at 
 the age of sixteen, he commenced work in the fac- 
 tory of Warner & Sessions, wood turners, Polkville 
 (now Edgewood, Bristol), whence at the end of a 
 year he went to New Britain and entered the employ 
 of the Stanley Rule & Level Co., wood turning for 
 some two years, or until his enlistment, in August, 
 1861, in Company G, 6th>Conn. V. I., in which he 
 was sworn in Sept. 3, following. The first engage- 
 ment of consequence in which he participated was 
 the capture of Hilton Head or Port Royal, and after 
 several months skirmishing he was present at the 
 taking of Pulaski, Ga., April 10, 1862; Pocataligo, 
 S. C, Oct. 22, 1862; capture of Morris Island; and 
 the charge on Fort Wagner, May 6, 1864. His 
 regiment entered Virginia, and was engaged in the 
 battles of Bermuda Hundred, Chester Station and 
 Drury Bluffs. On May 20, 1864, while taking part 
 in the charge on a battery above Bermuda Hundred, 
 our subject was struck on the head, just above the 
 
§86 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 right temple, by a minie ball, which rendered him 
 miconscious, and has since affected his nervous sys- 
 tem. After coming to himself he thought it best 
 to retreat carefully, or he might be seen and shot 
 at again, but the Rebels had vacated the position. 
 From the field hospital he was taken to a larger hos- 
 pital, in an army ambulance, with two others, each 
 of whom had lost a leg. The horses were balky, and 
 the corduroy roads bad, the vehicle was overturned, 
 and one of the men died. At Hampton Hospital 
 our subject was kept on low diet, until he felt he 
 should starve, and succeeded in getting a few meals 
 that were not intended for him. But he wanted 
 to come North, and as a boat load went every week 
 he put on quite a determined air to be allowed to 
 be put on the list. His father, being anxious to 
 get him home, went to Hampton, getting there just 
 in time to come on the same boat with him, and this 
 ■circumstance save his life, which otherwise would 
 have been sacrificed, for the crowded boat ordinarily 
 .afforded no comfortable quarters. His father hired 
 a stateroom, and there he was cared for, and when 
 the artery uncapped he could be attended to in time ; 
 again in New York it uncapped, and very much re- 
 duced his strength. In New Haven gangrene set 
 in, and ate off the artery, and he made up his mind 
 it was not much use \.o try to recover. But pure 
 blood and good care, and a will, carried the day. 
 However, he is minus quite a large piece of the 
 bone of his skull, and the wound is never fully 
 healed before it breaks out, a sore spot in another 
 place showing a diseased skull. He was under 
 . treatment at New Haven hospital from June 4 till 
 Aug. 10, 1864, on which day he was released on a 
 thirty-days' furlough. On Sept. 3, same year, he 
 was mustered out of the service at New Haven, 
 with a pension for his services and wound. He 
 endured an operation for trepanning, July 3, 1864. 
 Returning to the paths of peace, Mr. IBunnell in 
 December, 1864, went to work for Warner & Ses- 
 sions, in Polkville, and there remained three years, 
 afterward purchasing and operating a small farm 
 in Staft'ord district. In April, 1868, getting the 
 Western fever, he sold his farm, and with his father- 
 in-law, Mr. Maltby, and his brother-in-law, Mr. 
 Porter went to Missouri to grow up with the coun- 
 try, then filling up with Eastern people. They took 
 up railroad land, built houses, and in June their 
 families went out to occupy their new homes. It 
 proved, however, an unsuccessful venture. Fever 
 and ague were prevalent, and Mr. Bunnell finding 
 his wound would not stand the heat of the sun, 
 could not do farm work successfully, so he returned 
 to Connecticut with his family in September, 1871, 
 •and again tried shop work, entering the employ of 
 'G. W. & H. S. Bartholomew, working on bit-stocks. 
 In the fall of 1874 he went to Forestville, as night- 
 watchman for the Welch & Spring clock factory. 
 Resigning in the spring he returned to Polkville. 
 In the spring of 1876, he made arrangements to op- 
 ■erate a milk route, rented a farm of Asahel Mix, and 
 
 was very successful, securing a large route of 
 good customers. On account of ill health he sold 
 out after three years to Elbert Manchester, who 
 still carries on the business. Mr. Bunnell then 
 moved to town, and was engaged with Dr. Williams 
 for the winter. In 1880 he went to work at turn- 
 ing for George Neubauer. In 1884 he took a position 
 as night watchman at N. L. Birge & Son's knitting- 
 factory, but not liking this he took his team and 
 commenced peddling hardware, extracts, etc. After 
 six months he decided to manufacture his own 
 goods, studied up the extract business, and pre- 
 pared a compound, called Extract Composition, 
 which has become quite popular, and is a necessary 
 family medicine. He carries on a wholesale and 
 i-etail trade, with agents working in several towns. 
 His extracts are acknowledged to be the best on the 
 market. 
 
 On June 28, 1864, while in the hospital at New 
 Haven, Mr. Bunnell was united in marriage with 
 Emile Cordelia Maltby, daughter of Ephraim and 
 Cynthia (Mix) Maltby, of Bristol. She went to 
 the hospital to care for him, as he needed a constant 
 attendant, there being danger of the artery uncap- 
 ping, as it had done twice before he reached New 
 Haven, and close watching was the only safety. 
 To the credit of Knight Hospital let it be said he 
 had most skillful and kind treatment. The children 
 that have blessed this union are as follows : ( i ) 
 Charles Allen, born June 6, 1865, died Jan. 23, 
 1867. (2) Ida May, born Jan. 8, 1867, is living at 
 home. (3) Carrie Edith, born July 16, 1870, mar- 
 ried Charles Woodward, of East Berlin, and their 
 children are Edith Rose and Sterling Charles. (4) 
 Julia Atwater, born Sept. 16, 1876, is teaching 
 school at Wallingford, Conn. (5) Bessie AUena, 
 born Aug. 22, 1878, married Charles Hendry, of 
 Bristol, and their children are Emilie Jean and Al- 
 lena May. (6) Alice Pearl, born March 10, 1884, 
 died Aug. 17, 1884. 
 
 Mrs. Bunnell is a member of the Advent Chris- 
 tian Church, and a most estimable lady. Mr. Bun- 
 nell is a Republican, but takes no special interest in 
 political matters. Socially he is a Freemason, and 
 at one time was a member of the G. A. R. post at 
 Bristol. He is a wide-awake, industrious man, and 
 deservedly enjoys the esteem and respect of the com- 
 munity at large. 
 
 ALFRED T. RICHARDS. Among those who, 
 while not to the manor born, have made themselves 
 an enviable reputation for close application to busi- 
 ness, coupled with integrity and strict honesty, may 
 be mentioned the name of Alfred T. Richards, gen- 
 eral agent for the Connecticut Mutual Life Insur- 
 ance Co., located at No. 783 Main street, Hartford. 
 
 Mr. Richards was born in Pembroke, South 
 Wales, Aug. 28, 1843, was educated in the counti-y 
 schools of his native town, and, at an early age, a 
 strolling gypsy, who had wandered into that section, 
 predicted that he would "go to America and become 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 3S7 
 
 weallliy." He received from his parents a careful 
 religious training, his mother impressing upon his 
 mind the importance of a strict adherence to the 
 truth, and living a God-fearing life, which perhaps 
 laid the corner-stone for his future career. Coming 
 to America, he, for a time, was a resident of St. 
 Croix, New Brunswick, where he held the office of 
 postmaster, and was highly esteemed and respected 
 by the people of that place. In 1871 he came to 
 Hartford and engaged in mercantile pursuits, being 
 business representative of the firm of Keney & 
 Roberts. With keen foresight he had seen what 
 he believed would be a future in the insurance busi- 
 ness, and after some years spent in mercantile life 
 he took a position as general agent for Connecticut 
 for the Connecticut J\Iutual Life Insurance Co., with 
 headquarters at the home office, and for twenty 
 years has labored most earnestly and successfully 
 to build up a large and solid business for that com- 
 pany. His efforts have been amply repaid, and 
 there is to-day probably no better known man in 
 insurance circles than Alfred T. Richards; and, it 
 g-oes without saying, that he is regarded very highly 
 by the company he represents. He is also con- 
 nected with the Connecticut Life Underwriters As- 
 sociation, of which he was the first president. 
 
 ]\Ir. Richards is a Republican, and, while he 
 has held no office, has taken a deep interest in politi- 
 cal matters. In religious faith he is a member of 
 the Asylum Avenue Congregational Church, in all 
 the affairs of which he takes a great personal inter- 
 est, and has assisted very materially, and is now serv- 
 ing his second term as Deacon. 
 
 In 1871 Mr. Richards married Miss Laura R. 
 Johnson, a lady of rare accomplishments, and a 
 graduate of Mt. Holyoke Seminary. She was born 
 in Hadley, JMass., a daughter of Stephen Johnson, 
 a farmer in that town. On her mother's side Mrs. 
 Richards is a descendant of the Lyman family, 
 which has been for a number of generations one of 
 the prominent families of Hadley. The mother 
 died at the age of sixty years, and the father when 
 eighty-four. They had five children, four of whom 
 are living. Mrs. Richards is a member of the Mt. 
 ■ Holyoke Alumnje Association of Hartford. Five 
 children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Richards, 
 three of whom are living: Edith K., Alfred Ernest 
 and Kathryn R. Both daughters are graduates of 
 the Hartford Public High School and Normal School 
 at New Britain. Edith taught in the kindergarten 
 department of the West Middle school for six years. 
 Kathryn is now engaged as teacher in the kinder- 
 garten department of the Lakeville (Conn.) school 
 The son is a Yale man, having graduated in 1898, 
 and is now professor of history and literature at the 
 Gilbert Academy, East Winsted, Connecticut. 
 
 ^Ir. Richards is a member of the Twentieth Cent- 
 tu-y Club (having entered the first year of its organ- 
 ization) and of the Hartford Library Association. 
 He is a man of excellent tastes and a great reader, 
 being conversant with the writings of the best au- 
 
 thors of the day, such as Carlyle, Ruskin, Emerson, 
 and others, and he has made a number of addresses 
 upon different subjects, of a most interesting char- 
 acter. He is a very pleasant and affable gentle- 
 man, and has hosts of friends in the social, religious 
 and commercial circles of Hartford. 
 
 Mr. Richards has been a great traveler, having 
 made four trips abroad, one of the most extensive 
 of which was in 1899, when, accompanied by his 
 daughter Edith, he visited England, Scotland, and 
 Wales, and several other foreign countries. 
 
 Henry Richards, father of Alfred T., was born 
 in Wales, where he was a farmer all his life, resid- 
 ing in the County of Pembroke, and died at the 
 age of sixty-two. He was a man of sound judg- 
 ment and sterling principles, and was highly re- 
 spected. Jane (Stevens) Richards, mother of Al- 
 fred T., was born in England, and comes of a long 
 line of ancestry celebrated for their indomitable 
 pluck and perseverance, and from his mother our 
 subject inherits these sterling qualities. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Richards had eleven children, five of whom are 
 living, Alfred T. being the only one in America, 
 The mother lived to be over ninety years of age, re- 
 taining all her faculties up to the time of her death, 
 
 P. C. ROYCE may claim to be a thorough 
 American. Robert Royce, the first of the name in 
 this country, came from England, in 1631, to Boston. 
 Mass. In 1634 he was made a freeman of that 
 Commonwealth. He was included with the number 
 disarmed in Boston, in 1637, for adherence to the 
 opinions of the parties of Hutchinson and Wheel- 
 wright. In 1644 he settled in Stratford, just west 
 of New Haven, and in 1657 went to New Lon- 
 don, of which place he was one of the founders. 
 One of his sons was one of the founders of Norwich. 
 Later in life, he, with several of his sons, went to 
 W^allingford. 
 
 Our subject's father, ]\Iiles Royce, was born in 
 Bristol, this county, in 1806. His father died when 
 he was quite young, and he went, with an older 
 brother to western New York, then on the frontier 
 In 1834 he went, by way of the Great Lakes, to 
 Chicago, then a frontier trading post, located in a 
 swamp at the mouth of the Chicago river. His 
 business was that of manufacturing agricultural im- 
 plements. Desiring to reach high land and timber 
 he located at Walker's Grove, now Plainfield, forty 
 miles southwest of Chicago. Miles Royce married 
 Sarah Goodhue Gilman, who was born in Salem. 
 Mass., in 1808. Her father moved to ]Mereditli 
 village, on Lake W'innipiseogee, N. H., where she 
 grew to womanhood. In 1834 she accompanied an 
 uncle to the West, going there as a pioneer mission- 
 ary teacher. Two years later she married Mr. 
 Royce. In that new country they endured all the 
 deprivations and hardships incident to the life of 
 the earh^ pioneers. 
 
 Mr. Royce well remembers his first visit to 
 Chicago — when he was a boy nine years of age— 
 
888 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and the looks of the city at that time. There was 
 not a single paved street in the city. Two streets 
 had planks laid crosswise to keep loaded teams from 
 sinking out of sight in the soft mud of what was 
 practically a swamp. Mr. Royce saw the city grow 
 to great proportions, and was resident therein when 
 the great fire of 1871 blotted out the business sec- 
 tion of the city and a large portion of its residences. 
 Mr. Royce obtained his education in the village 
 academy and Knox College, Galesburg, 111., from 
 which institution he was graduated in the class of 
 i860, and for some years was engaged in teaching, 
 having charge of the city schools of Joliet, 111. Be- 
 coming dissatisfied with the income from the larg- 
 est and best school in the county, he decided to de- 
 vote his energies to other pursuits. He entered the 
 insurance business in Joliet, and for some years 
 was a local agent in that place, moving in the spring 
 of .1871 to Chicago, where he was connected with 
 the Merchants Insurance Co. of Chicago, bank- 
 rupted in the great fire. In 1872 he entered the em- 
 ploy of the Hartford Fire Insurance Co. in its west- 
 ern department, and remained there until 1876, 
 when he removed to Philadelphia, having accented 
 the position of secretary of the Girard Fire & Marine 
 Insurance Co., of that city. In the summer of 
 1881, having been elected assistant secretary of the 
 Hartford Fire Insurance Co., he removed to this 
 city, which has since been his home. In 1886 he 
 became secretary of the company, which incumbency 
 he has since filled. 
 
 With no taste for political life, Mr. Royce be- 
 lieves that certain duties are demanded of every cit- 
 izen. When, therefore, he was asked by his neigh- 
 bors and friends to represent his ward in the city 
 council, he consented to serve. For four years he 
 was a member of the council board, and during the 
 last year its president. He then served two years 
 on the board of aldermen. He has also served one 
 term upon the board of school visitors. 
 
 CHRISTOPHER MINER SPENCER, a 
 manufacturer, inventor and veritable mechanical 
 genius, of Hartford, 'whose name is connected with 
 the Spencer firearms, drop forgings, automatic 
 screw, and turret machines, known the world over, 
 is a native of Connecticut, where his ancestors have 
 figured since the dawn of its settlement. 
 
 Mr. Spencer was born June 20, 1833, in the 
 town of Manchester, son of Ogden and Asenath 
 (Hollister) Spencer, and grandson of Silas Spencer. 
 The grandfather was occupied in farming in South 
 Manchester, and lived to a ripe old age. 
 
 On his mother's side Mr. Spencer is a descend- 
 ant in the seventh generation from Lieut. John 
 Hollister, the first American ancestor of the fainily, 
 the line of his descent being through John (2), 
 Thomas, Thomas (2), Josiah and Asenath Hol- 
 lister. 
 
 (I) John Hollister, the emigrant, is said to have 
 been born in 1612, in England, and to have im- 
 
 migrated to America about 1642. He was one o£ 
 the most pronjinent and influential men of Weth- 
 ersfield. Conn., where he located, his name being; 
 on record there in 1642, and of the Colony of Con- 
 necticut. He married Joanna, daughter of Hon. 
 Richard- Treat. 
 
 (II) John Hollister (2), son of Lieut. John, the 
 emigrant, born about 1644, in Wethersfield, married 
 in 1667 Sarah Goodrich. He was one of the lead- 
 ing men in Glastonbury. 
 
 (Ill Thomas Hollister, son of John (2), was 
 born in 1672 in Wethersfield, and married Dorothy, 
 daughter of Joseph Hills, of Glastonbury, where 
 Thomas Hollister lived and died. 
 
 (IV) Thomas Hollister (2), son of Thomas, 
 born in 1707 in Glastonbury, married in 1734 Abi- 
 gail, daughter of Sergt. Nathaniel Talcott, of that 
 town. 
 
 (V) Josiah Hollister, son of Thomas (2), born 
 in 1756, in Glastonbury, married (second) Asenath, 
 daughter of Israel Sweetland, of South Manchester, 
 Conn. Mr. Hollister settled in what is now South 
 Manchester. He was a patriot of the Revolution, 
 serving under Gen. Washington, and used to enter- 
 tain his descendants with stories of his commander, 
 and especially of Lady Washington, for whom he 
 once made a wardrobe, which gave her great satis- 
 faction, but him still more, as he never tired of tell- 
 ing of it. Mr. Hollister was tall, straight, active, 
 strong and ambitious. He enjoyed vigorous health 
 until he was past seventy, and retained a considera- 
 ble degree of strength and his sight, hearing and 
 memory until his death, Sept. 8, 1849, when in his 
 ninety-fourth year. 
 
 (VI) Asenath (Hollister) Spencer. 
 
 Ogden Spencer, the father of the subject of this 
 sketch, was born March 16, 1801, in South Manches- 
 ter, Conn. He became by occupation a woolen man- 
 ufacturer, and carried on the business extensively. 
 Later in life he was in business with his son Chris- 
 topher M., in South Manchester, where they were 
 engaged in the manufacture of Spencer rifle models. 
 Ogden Spencer in his political views was a Demo- 
 crat, and ever manifested a deep interest in public 
 afl'airs, but though active never aspired to or held 
 office. He was independent in his views. Both 
 himself and wife were identified with the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, of which he was a trustee. On 
 May 7, 1823, he was married to Asenath Hollister, 
 born June 21, 1801, in South Manchester, daughter 
 of Josiah and Asenath (Sweetland) Hollister. Mr. 
 Spencer died in Hartford in 1882, and his wife 
 passed away in 1883. To them were born children 
 as follows : Harriet H., born Dec. 8, 1824, died Jan, 
 28, 1825 ; Harriet A., born July i, 1826, died un- 
 married March 18, 1844; Aaron O., born Dec. 26, 
 1828, married Lavantia, daughter of Dr. Perry, of 
 South Manchester; Celia C, born March 15, 1831, 
 married Clinton D. Perry; Christopher M. is re- 
 ferred to farther on ; Wilber F., born April 26, 1835, 
 married Mary Bennett ; Mary J., born July 18, 1837,, 
 

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 889 
 
 •married Judson Strong; and Emma F., born June 
 20, 1 84 1, married George Herriott. All are now 
 deceased excepting Christopher M., Celia, Alary J. 
 iind Emma, who reside in Hartford. 
 
 Christopher Miner Spencer, son of the late Og- 
 jden and Asenath (Hollister) Spencer, and the sub- 
 ject proper of this sketch, at the age of twelve, in 
 1845, went to live with his grandfather Hollister, 
 then ninety years of age, a patriot of the Revolution, 
 and there the youth first developed a fondness for 
 mechanical work. The grandfather had on the 
 place an old foot-Iathc, upon which the boy passed 
 most of his spare time. From early childhood he 
 had a passion for firearms, and the first gun he 
 owned was his grandfather's old musket, a relic 
 of the Revolution, which the boy improved by saw- 
 ing off the barrel with an old case knife, converted 
 into a saw by hacking it on the edge of an axe, lit- 
 tle dreaming while remodeling the old flint-lock that 
 this branch of mechanical work was to form so large 
 a part of his life work. He left his grandfather's 
 farm in 1847 2"^ went to work in Cheney's silk mill. 
 South Manchester, and in 1848 entered upon an 
 eight-months apprenticeship in the machine shop of 
 Sanuiel Loomis, at Manchester Centre. During the 
 winter following he went to school, and in the spring 
 iDCgan another eight-months apprenticeship with Mr. 
 Loomis, at the end of which time he entered the 
 employ of Cheney Brothers, as journeyman ma- 
 chinist, remaining there some three years. During 
 this period he made a good deal of experimental 
 machinery under the supervision of Frank Cheney, 
 whose kindly interest in the young man's mechanical 
 ingenuity led him into the line of invention. In 
 1853, desiring to become better acquainted with 
 the methods of diiTerent shops, he went to Roches- 
 ter, N. Y., working six months in making machin- 
 ists' tools, and six months in locomotive repairing. 
 Returning to Hartford, Conn., he worked one year 
 in the repair shops of the Colt Fire Arms Co., where 
 he first conceived the idea of impiovements in re- 
 peating firearms. Later he became superintendent 
 of the machine shop of Chenev Brothers, and while 
 with them obtained his first patent on an automatic 
 silk-winding machine, which they regarded as a 
 great achievement, and manufactured a large num- 
 "ber of them, paying him a royalty. J\Ir. Spencer 
 exhibited the device to the Willimantic Linen Co., 
 and in company with Hezekiah Conant, who was 
 then in that company's employ, perfected a ma- 
 chine that was adopted by the company for their 
 entire system of thread-winding. 
 
 For several years previous to that time Mr. 
 Spencer had been at work during spare hours in the 
 hne of firearms, and through the means of his fa- 
 ther he was enabled to perfect a model, and obtained, 
 in i860, a patent on the "Spencer seven-shooter,'' 
 in return for which the father was given a half- 
 interest in all profits to be derived from the patent. 
 Charles Cheney, of Cheney Brothers, became inter- 
 «sted in the patent, and at the outbreak of the Re- 
 
 bellion a company was organized to manufacture 
 the gun for war purposes. In company with Mr. 
 Cheney Mr. Spencer went to Washington with a 
 sample of the gun, which resulted in an order from 
 the Navy Department for 1,000 guns. The Cheney 
 Brothers then purchased the patent, paying for it 
 a sum of money and a royalty on every gun man- 
 ufactured. This first lot of guns sold to the Gov- 
 ernment was used in arming some of the Massa- 
 chusetts,' Connecticut and Michigan volunteers, who 
 soon had ample occasion to put the new arms to 
 practical use, the effective result of which is now 
 a matter of history. In the meantime the Cheney 
 Brothers, along with some Boston parlies, organized 
 the Spencer Repeating Rifle Co., and prepared to 
 manufacture the Spencer rifle at Boston, on a large 
 scale. The war department soon gave an order for 
 10,000 of the rifles, and from that time the de- 
 mand for the new gun v,'as so great that the com- 
 pany was taxed to its utmost limit, making about 
 200,000 guns. Mr. Spencer became superintendent 
 of the Boston company. In August, 1862, he went 
 to Washington, taking with him a rifle for pres- 
 entation to President Lincoln, who was greatly in- 
 terested in it, and gave Mr. Spencer a very cordial 
 reception. A practical test was made by Mr. Lin- 
 coln on the grounds below the White House, the 
 target being a rough board with a black bull's eye 
 two inches in diameter. Mr. Lincoln fired the gun 
 ofl:-hand, doing good work, and the target was. 
 preserved by Mr. Spencer, who afterward sent it 
 to the Historical Rooms at Springfield, 111., where 
 it is supposed to be at this time. 
 
 Mr. Spencer took several trips in the interest 
 of the company, visiting the armies in the field, 
 and instructing the soldiers in the use of the gun. 
 In 1863 he was at the headquarters of the Army 
 of the Cumberland, where he met Gen. Rosecrans 
 and Col. Wilder, of the 17th Ind. \'. I., command- 
 ing the 1st Brigade ilounted Infantry, which at 
 the Colonel's request was furnished v/ith the gun. 
 From Murfreesboro Mr. Spencer went by way of 
 Louisville and Nashville to Cairo, thence down the 
 Mississippi to the mouth of the Yazoo, just above 
 Vicksburg, where our gunboats under the command 
 of Commodore Foote were co-operating with Gen. 
 Grant in the siege of Vicksburg. His trip down 
 the Mississippi was made on a government dispatch 
 boat, he having been provided with letters from the 
 Navy Department granting him every facility for 
 access to the gunboats, which were all provided with 
 Spencer rifles. He reached \'icksburg four days 
 before the fleet ran the batteries, remained there 
 one day, meeting Gen. Grant on board Commodore 
 Foote's flagship, and gave an exhibition of the 
 rifle. Returning to Boston, he gave his time to 
 the further improvement of the gun u.ntil the close 
 of the war, when the demand for the gun ceased. 
 
 From the Boston factory Mr. Spencer went to 
 Amherst, Mass., where, in company with Henry F. 
 Hills, of that place, he formed the Roper Repeat- 
 
390 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ing Arms Co., and engaged in making the Roper 
 shotgun, patented by S. H. Roper, of Boston. This 
 venture was not a success, and in it Mr. Spencer 
 lost about all the money he had. In 1869, in com- 
 pany with his father, he purchased the entire plant 
 and moved the machinery to Hartford, where, with 
 Charles E. Billings, under the name of the Billings 
 & Spencer Co., they began the manufacture of drop 
 forgings, sewing machine shuttles, etc. This com- 
 pany is still in existence, and is one of the most 
 successful and flourishing enterprises in Hartford. 
 Mr. Spencer is a stockholder and director in the 
 Billings & Spencer Co. at this time. 
 
 At the end of the last gun venture Mr. Spencer, 
 turned his attention to the turret machine and 
 made it automatic. He was the first to comprehend 
 clearly the vast savings in machine-part production 
 which are rendered possible by converting the semi- 
 automatic turret machine into a full automatic tool, 
 capable of producing almost any shape of small 
 metal piece, without human intervention beyond the 
 placing of a bar of metal within reach of the feed- 
 ing mechanism of the machine. The practical re- 
 sult of this invention was to largely reduce the 
 cost of manufacture, one man being required to 
 attend to from ten to fifteen machines, instead of 
 one to each machine, as before. Having obtained 
 his patent, and severing active connection with the 
 Billings & Spencer Co., he determined to com- 
 mence the manufacture of screws automatically as 
 a new enterprise, and in 1874 set the first ma- 
 chine at work. New machines were added as fast 
 as they could be made, but his business increased 
 faster than his ability to fill orders. George A. 
 Fairfield, then superintendent of the Weed Sewing 
 Machine Co., became interested in the new enter- 
 prise, with others, and in 1876 v/as formed the 
 Hartford Machine Screw Co., with a capital of 
 $40,000, of which Mr. Spencer was superintendent. 
 Three years later the business had so developed as 
 to result in the formation of one of the largest 
 business enterprises in the city of Hartford, with 
 a plant valued at $400,000. The field of this busi- 
 ness was so large that in 1882 a company was or- 
 ganized and established at Elyria, Ohio, to operate 
 the machine in the Western States. Mr. Spencer 
 was now on the high road to wealth when he was 
 unlucky enough to conceive the idea of the "trom- 
 bone" shotgun, the most rapid-fire sporting gun 
 known. He sold out the Hartford Screw Co., and 
 in 1882, in connection with his old friend, S. H. 
 Roper, of Boston, obtained joint patents as a re- 
 sult of their mutual study and experience on the 
 Spencer repeating shotgun. Their system was also 
 adapted to the military rifle, and their model was 
 subjected to severe practical tests, before a board 
 appointed by the Secretary of War under an ap- 
 propriation of Congress for the inspection of re- 
 peating arms. The result was most satisfactory in 
 every respect — a complete success for the rifle, a 
 rapidity of firing being attained cf eighty-six shots 
 
 in two minutes, or more than double that of the 
 old Spencer seven-shooter. In 1883 a company 
 was formed for their manufacture, of which Mr. 
 Spencer was treasurer and general manager. It 
 was known as the Spencer Arms Co., and had a 
 capital of $400,000, with works located at Wind- 
 sor, Conn. In 1883 Mr. Spencer, in company with 
 the president, L. A. Bartlett, and another, visited 
 Europe, and exhibited the rifle to the military au- 
 thorities of England, France, Germany, Austria^ 
 Italy and Denmark with uniform success. This 
 venture, however, failed in the end of success, and 
 by it Mr. Spencer lost heavily. 
 
 This enterprise over with, we again find Mr.- 
 Spencer turning his attention to the automatic screw 
 machine. In an article which appeared in the No- 
 vember, 1899, number of the "Engineering Mag- 
 azine," prepared by Henry Roland, under the head 
 of "The Revolution in Machine Shop Practice and 
 the Development of the Automatic Screw Ma- 
 chine," Mr. Spencer's identity therewith is treated 
 fully, and his name coupled with those of Maudslay 
 and Stone — the former bringing out the slide rest, 
 which is the foundation of the toolmaker's art, and 
 which placed the English toolmakers for about half 
 a century in advance of all others, leading the 
 world in 1845 ! ^"d the latter being the first to 
 comprehend the advantages of applying to Mauds- 
 lay's slide rest a revolving head carrying a number 
 of metal-working tools, and capable of being either 
 revolved or locked to the slide at the will of the 
 operator. Stone thus making the first great step 
 in advance in machine shop tools after Maudslay's 
 introduction of the slide rest; he took out patents 
 on the turret machine in about 1858. "The mag- 
 nificent economical result of the full automatic tur- 
 ret machines, now seen busily engaged in the pro- 
 duction of small machine parts without a single 
 workman in sight, is due to the work of Maudslay, 
 supplemented by that of Stone, and placed beyond' 
 the hindrance of human intervention by Spencer. 
 From Maudslay to Stone covered a period of nearly 
 fifty years, and from Stone to the final completion 
 of Spencer's work, now only put fairly on the mar- 
 ket, nearly fifty years more were consumed, so that 
 it may be said, with tolerable accuracy, that a 
 whole century of observation and effort, on the 
 part of by far the best and most intelligent me- 
 chanics ever known in the historv of the human 
 race, has been consumed in perfecting the slide 
 rest and utilizing the full scope of its powers." 
 
 To show Mr. Spencer's connection with the au- 
 tomatic turret machine and its use, we quote the 
 following from the article referred to in the fore- 
 going : "Mr. Spencer produced a double-turret ma- 
 chine which can make almost any small machine 
 part, of generally circular outline, without human 
 intervention. In the operation of the semi-auto- 
 matic turret machine the workman has to move 
 the turret-conveying slide toward and away from 
 the work-carrying spindle varying distances at 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 891 
 
 varving rates of travel, and to move the cross slide 
 ill various directions. The full-automatic machine 
 must, of course, make approximately the same mo- 
 tions, and these motions vary in sequence and ex- 
 tent for every different piece made. These motions 
 of the machine parts must he given, in the full- 
 automatic machine, by means of cams placed on a 
 shaft which makes one revolution during the pro- 
 duction of each piece of work, and at tirst sight 
 the fullrautomatic turret machine would seem im- 
 jwssible because of the vast number and cost of 
 the different sets of cams required to adapt the ma- 
 chine to anything like general use. Spencer met 
 this seemingly insurmountable obstacle by invent- 
 ing a blank cam cylinder of large diameter, to which 
 small pieces of plain iron bais of rectangular section 
 could be screwed in any desired position, so as to 
 constitute an endless succession of different cams, 
 suited to produce any required movements of the 
 turret machine members, at no cost beyond the 
 small expenditure of time required to 'set up' the 
 cam strips on the cam cylinder. The importance 
 of this form of cam was wholly overlooked b}- the 
 patent attorney who prepared Spencer's application 
 for patent on the automatic screw machine, and so 
 was never covered by any claim whatever. The 
 universal cam was, and is, however, one of the 
 most important of all the inventions ever made in 
 metal-cutting machines, and deserves to rank with 
 ?*Iaudslay's slide rest and Stone's adaptation of the 
 turret to the general requirements of machine part 
 production. Here then, at last, three-quarters of 
 a century after Maudslay had shown that a lathe 
 could hold and guide its own cutting tools bettjr 
 than anv workman would hold them, Spencer 
 produced the lathe which could take a bar of 
 stock and work it up into small machine parts 
 whoUv without human intervention. Parkhurst, of 
 Middietown, Conn., had in the Pratt & Whitney 
 shops applied the hand-operated push collet to 
 feeding and holding rods in the turret machine. 
 Spencer took the draw-back collet for the same 
 purpose, both the draw-back collet and the push col- 
 let for holding work in rotating tool spindles being 
 before known as the Parkhurst invention. With 
 the collet for holding the bar of stock in the live 
 spindle and the protean cam, the full-automatic 
 screw machine became a universal tool, of as gen- 
 eral application to the production of machine parts 
 as the lathe, planer or drilling machine, and made 
 more, better and cheaper work than was ever be- 
 fore possible. This was seemingly the end of the 
 possibilities of machine production in small work. 
 
 "The full-automatic turret machine was not, 
 however, the limit of the possibilities of the metal- 
 working lathe when viewed bv a mind as compre- 
 hensive as Spencer's. His final inventions in turret 
 machines reached the superlative degree of the 
 double turret screw machine which has vastly 
 greater powers than the single turret machine. The 
 
 single turret lathe can do everything that the most 
 skillful turner can do — a piece chucked in the live 
 spindle and running "in the air,' as the shop ex- 
 pression has it. A piece of metal so held lias its 
 sides and outer end fully exposed, and tiiese may 
 be given any desired shape, without removing the 
 work from the chuck. Jiut many pieces require 
 cuts to be made on the third .surface, which is not: 
 accessible, being inside the chuck of the live 
 spindle, or otherwise supporting the piece as it is 
 worked. To meet this case Spencer introduced a sec- 
 ond chucking spindle, opposed to the live spindle, 
 and capable of moving toward the live spindle, and 
 grasping a jjiece of partly completed work while 
 yet hekl by the live spindle, and, when the work 
 is released from the live spindle, this second chuck- 
 carrying spindle is made to move backward away 
 from the live spindle, carrying the incompleted 
 piece to a new location, where it can be fully com- 
 pleted by tools carried in the double turret. Thus 
 a screw which requires a slotted head may have its 
 thread, body and head formed while chucked in the 
 live spindle; its second spindle comes forward and 
 surrounds and grasps the screw up to the head, 
 and as soon as the screw is cut off from the bar 
 held in the live spindle, the second spindle travels 
 backward and stops in such a position that tools 
 carried by the second turret can shave and slot 
 the screw head, or bore a cross-hole through it and 
 drill and tap the head to form a combined screw 
 and binding post, for electrical work, for example. 
 Thus it produces completed on a wholly automatic 
 machine pieces which could only be made by two, 
 three and four operations on as many different 
 machines by the first practice known before Spen- 
 cer's magnificent inventions, which have great 
 powers of cost reduction coupled with the surpris- 
 ing simplicity of construction which is the Hall- 
 mark of genius." Mr. Spencer is identified with 
 the Spencer Automatic Screw Co., formed by him 
 in the early years of his development of the useful 
 turret machine. He is now perfecting what gives 
 great promise of being one of the most modern and 
 complete steam motor carriages in the market. 
 
 In June, i860, Mr. Spencer was married to 
 Theodora Peck, who died without issue Xov. 7, 
 1881, and he married, July 3, 1883, Georgette Tay- 
 lor Rogers, of Norwich, Conn., born there Oct. 2, 
 1859, «^ daughter of George W. and Fanny L. (Tav- 
 lor) Rogers, who were born in Orleans, Mass. To 
 the second marriage of Mr. Spencer have come Ves- 
 ta, born at Windsor, Conn., Aug. 5, 1884; Roger M., 
 born Sept. 8, 1886; Luzette T.. born Jan. 31, 1889, 
 who died Dec. 29, 1894: and Percival H., born 
 April 30, .1897. 
 
 WILLIAM JOSEPH TRACY, one of the beit 
 known meat dealers in Bristol, was born in that 
 borough in the homestead on Curtis street, Xov. 
 16, 1869. 
 
 James Tracy, father of \\'illiam J., was born in 
 
392 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 County Westmeath, Ireland, April 12, 1839, and 
 assisted his father on tlie home farm until he came 
 to America. On April 8, 1857, he landed in New 
 York, and thence came direct to Bristol, Conn., 
 where he worked in various factories until 1868, 
 in that year being employed as engineer by N. L. 
 Birge, with whom he remained for twenty-seven 
 years or until 1895, when he started a meat and 
 vegetable stand on Curtis street. 
 
 James Tracy first married. May 7, i860, Marga- 
 ret Burke, who died in July, 1863. Mr. Tracy's 
 second marriage took place May 5, 1865, to Kath- 
 erine Baggett, who was born in Limerick, Ireland, 
 April 7, 1843. The children born to Mr. Tracy by 
 his first wife were three in number, viz. : Ellen and 
 Marv (twins), born Jan. 11, 1861, and of these 
 Ellen died Feb. 22, 1861, and Mary on March 10, 
 1885; Annie, born May 19, 1863, died Dec. 13, 
 1863. The second marriage of Mr. Tracy has been 
 blessed with ten children, viz. : James, born March 
 21, 1866, is employed in J. H. Sessions & Son's fac- 
 tory; John, born March 27, 1867, died April 10, 
 1867; Margaret, born July 18, 1868, is married to 
 David M. Barry, of Bristol; William Joseph is the 
 subject; Lucy, 'born Sept. 26, 1871 ; Thomas, born 
 June 2, 1873, graduated from Yale College with 
 honors in 1896, and is now in Chicago, 111. ; Cather- 
 ine, born Jan. 2, 1877, is a teacher in the Chippin 
 Hill school ; Agnes, born Aug. 19, 1878, was a mem- 
 ber of St. Joseph's Catholic Church choir, and died 
 April 13, 1897; Ellen, born April 21, 1880, is still 
 at home ; and Edward, born March 24, 1883, is em- 
 ploved by the E. Ingraham Co. James Tracy and his 
 family are devout members of St. Joseph's Catholic 
 Church, and in politics he is a Democrat. 
 
 Michael Tracy, father of James, was born in 
 County Westmeath, Ireland, and was a farmer. He 
 married Mary Moore, and had a family of six sons 
 and one daughter. John Tracy, father of Michael, 
 was also a "farmer. He married Mary Gannon, 
 and had a family of five children. 
 
 William Joseph Tracy attended the common 
 schools of Bristol until fifteen years old, then en- 
 tered the anploy of the E. Ingraham Clock Co., and 
 learned and worked at gilding for nine years, when 
 that class of work was discontinued by the company 
 as no longer in vogue. Mr. Tracy then formed a 
 partnership with James Hefferman in the meat trade 
 on Laurel street, under the firm name of Tracy & 
 Hefferman ; but ten months later the firm dissolved 
 and Mr. Tracy started alone, in the same line, on 
 Curtis street, where his father now carries on the 
 trade, W^illiam J. having relinquished it at the close 
 of ten months. William J. Tracy next entered the 
 'employ of H. E. Kilborne & Co. as clerk, and at 
 the end of two years bought out the firm. He still 
 conducts the business on North Main street, at the 
 ■old stand, and has the largest, best equipped and 
 most prosperous shop in the town. 
 
 Mr. Tracy was joined in matrimony June 12, 
 •1895, with Miss Ellen B. Lacey, who was born in 
 
 Palmer, Mass., _April 19, 1873, a daughter of John 
 Lacey, and this marriage has been blessed with 
 two children: William, born April 17, 1897; and 
 Francis, born April 2, 1900. The family reside at 
 No. 282 Summer street, where Mr. Tracy erected 
 his modern dwelling in 1896. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Tracy are members of St. Joseph's 
 Catholic Church, to the support of which they liber- 
 ally contribute. He is a member of the A. O. U. 
 W., and of the Y. M. T. A. and B., of which he was 
 one of the organizers and the first president, hold- 
 ing the office for three years. At the last conven- 
 tion of this association, held in 1899, he was elected 
 county director, but resigned after six months ser- 
 vice, though he still retains his position as trustee 
 of the society, an office he has held ever since its 
 organization. He is likewise a member of the 
 A. O. H., of Bristol. 
 
 Mr. Tracy is a stanch Democrat, and served as 
 constable from 1893 to 1896; was also a member of 
 the board of burgesses from May, 1897, to May, 
 1899, and during that period was a member of the 
 committees on Sewers and Buildings. He has for 
 years been a member of the Democratic Town Com- 
 mittee. In 1899 he served on the grand jury of the 
 Superior Court of Hartford. He is very popular 
 as a citizen and party man, and he and his wife 
 enjoy the respect of all who know them. 
 
 SENATOR ELIZUR STILLMAN GOOD- 
 RICH, president of the Hartford Street Railway 
 Co., and of the Hartford & New York Transporta- 
 tion Co., and a director in the City Bank, descends 
 from one of the oldest of New England families, 
 which is traced to William Goodrich, who was born 
 in England, probably in or near Bury St. Ed- 
 munds, County of Suffolk, was the first of the name 
 to come to America, and married, in 1648, Sarah, 
 daughter of Matthew Marvin, of Hartford. He 
 was admitted as a freeman of the Colony of Con- 
 necticut in 1656, served as deputy to the General 
 Court at Hartford from Wethersfield in 1662, and 
 was also one of the grand jurors. He died in 
 1676, and through one of his sons — John, William, 
 Ephraim or David — the subject of this sketch is in 
 the seventh generation. 
 
 From an article on this family prepared by 
 Hon. Grant Goodrich, of Chicago, 111., it appears 
 that it had an existence in Great Britain long prior 
 to the Norman Conquest, as the ruins of Goodrich 
 Castle, which stands on a commanding eminence 
 near the southeastern extremity of Herefordshire, 
 clearly indicated Saxon construction as to its 
 "keep," the surrounding works being Norman. It 
 is also shown by Doomsday Book ( 1066) that land- 
 holders bearing the name of Goodrich were numer- 
 ous in the county alluded to. 
 
 Elizur S. Goodrich, the subject proper of this 
 sketch, was born in Wethersfield, Conn., Dec. 28, 
 1834, a son of Elizur and Jerusha (Stillman) Good- 
 rich, natives of the same town. The parents have 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 393 
 
 jjassed avva\', ami the tombstones that mark their 
 last resting place show that the father died Feb. 
 lo, 1854, at the age of fift\-six years, and that 
 the mother died Jan. 2, 1835, aged thirty-one. 
 
 Elizur S. Goodrich received his elementary edu- 
 cation in the public schools of his native town, 
 and this was supplemented by further study at 
 AV'illiston Seminary, Easthampton, Mass. While 
 yet a boy he entered the office of the chief engineer 
 of the Hartford, Providence & Fishkill railroad, a 
 portion of the road being at the time in the course of 
 construction. He served this company in various 
 capacities ten or more years, and left it only when 
 ■oftered charge of the Hartford & W'etherstield horse 
 railway, now the Hartford Street Railway, which 
 was placed in operation in 1863. In 1864 he was 
 made president of the company, and through the 
 "long fight" in which he was the victor he was the 
 direct manager of the company's affairs. With the 
 growth of the business of the road the duties of 
 the president became more arduous, and JNIr. Good- 
 rich is to-day at the head of a system which is con- 
 sidered by railroad authorities as possibly the best 
 in the country, horses having been discarded and 
 electricity substituted as the motive power in 1894. 
 At this date the company had two lines only ; it 
 now covers the principal streets, connects with a 
 number of the adjoining towns, has about eighty 
 miles of read, runs from 150 to 200 cars, and em- 
 ploys about 450 men. 
 
 Mr. Goodrich is also at the head of the Hart- 
 ford & New York Transportation Co., which runs 
 a line of steamers between the two cities, and carries 
 all the freight conveyed by water. Of this com- 
 pany he became president in 1885, when it was 
 practically bankrupt, and with wonderful foresight 
 and business tact has placed it on a solid, paying 
 basis, having discarded the old out-of-date boats 
 and built others of modern construction, equal if 
 not superior to any that run on Long Island Sound. 
 Among the old boats disposed of was the once 
 favorite "Hartford," wdiich was disposed of to the 
 Government during an emergency, and replaced 
 by the modern, unexcelled steamer of the same 
 name. The probability is that much of Mr. Good- 
 rich's practical business ability is hereditary, as his 
 father was a civil engineer, surveyed the roads, 
 and otherwise assisted in the construction of the 
 steam railroad lines in the earlv days in Connecti- 
 ciit. and inculcated habits of methodical thought 
 into the mind of his only son, the subject of this 
 sketch. 
 
 Hon. Elizur S. Goodrich has affiliated with the 
 Republican party ever since its formation, and has 
 exerted much influence in its councils, besides aiding 
 in its success at the polls. Although he has never 
 sought a favor from the party, the party has more 
 than once sought his services. In 1895 he repre- 
 sented the town of Wethersfield in the General 
 Assembly, and in that bodv served on the committee 
 on Incorporations and on the Judiciary committee. 
 
 In 1897 he was elected senator from the Second 
 district, and during that session was chairman of 
 the committee on Cities and iJorougiis; and so ably 
 and admirably did he execute the functions of his 
 high office that he was re-elected to the same body 
 at the termination of his term, in 1899. Mr. 
 Goodrich stands very high as a Alason. He was 
 "made" in St. John's Lodge, but later became a 
 charter member of Lafayette Lodge, and is also a 
 member of the chapter and council, and of Wash- 
 ington Commandery. 
 
 On (Jet. 19, 1859, Elizur S. Goodrich was united 
 in marriage with Miss Mary A. Hanmer, and this 
 union has been graced with two children, James R. 
 and Mabel E. James R. is filling the position of 
 purchasing agent for the street railway company, 
 and is a gentleman of fine executive abilit}' ; he 
 married Miss Elizabeth Judd, of Holyoke, Alass., 
 and to them have been born two children, James 
 S. and William J. The daughter, Mabel E., is 
 married to George H. Gilman, a lawyer of promi- 
 nence in Hartford. 
 
 Senator Goodrich is a true American, of the 
 self-made type, and is the embodiment of industry, 
 energy and abilit}', through which alone he has 
 risen to his present high standing in the business, 
 political and social world. He has always kept his 
 home in A\'ethersfield, although for )-ears he has 
 maintained a residence in Hartford, which he oc- 
 cupies part of each year, and at either home there 
 is always extended, during its occupancy, a gener- 
 ous and refined hospitality to a large circle of warm 
 and sincere friends of the family. 
 
 RUFUS ALBERT SANFORD was born in 
 Bristol Sept. 9, 1841, son of David A. and Lois 
 Susannah (Norton) Sanford, mention of wdiom is 
 made elsewhere. 
 
 Our subject was but three years old when taken 
 by his parents to Wolcott, where he attended school 
 until seventeen years old. He then commenced 
 learning the carpenter's trade at Plymouth, with 
 Oliver Bailey, stayed there six or eight months, 
 went thence to ]\Ieriden, and within ten months 
 finished learning under Jones & Hull. In the 
 spring of 1865 he came to Bristol and worked about 
 six months for Case and Hall, contractors, when 
 this firm dissolved, and Mr. Sanford continued 
 in the employ of Elber Case six months longer. 
 Mr. Sanford now began doing contract work for 
 himself, was most successful, erected a large num- 
 ber of fine dwellings in the borough, and continued 
 in the business until 1883, but during three years of 
 this time worked as a journeyman for David ^^^ 
 Hall. In 1883 he went to the Dunbar Brothers, as 
 their carpenter, and is still in their employ, and 
 while there has added to his mechanical knowledge, 
 learning the machinist's trade. 
 
 Mr. Sanford is eminent as a !\Iason, having at- 
 tained the thirty-second degree, and is a member of 
 Sphinx Temple, ^Mystic Shrine, of Hartford. His 
 
394 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 wife was a member of one of the auxiliary lodges, 
 but resigned on account of ill health. Mr. Sanford 
 is also a member of Pequabuck Lodge, I. O. O. F., 
 in which he was formerly treasurer ; is a member of 
 Ethan Lodge, No. 9, K. of P. ; and was formerly a 
 member of the American Mechanics and of the Im- 
 proved Order of Red Men. 
 
 Rufus A. Sanford was joined in wedlock June 
 20, 1866, to Sarah Jane Nettleton, who was born 
 Oct. 28, 1841, a daughter of Garry and Mary (Bron- 
 son) Nettleton, of Bristol, and passed away June 
 23, 1900. Two children came to bless this union, 
 but 'both were most untimely called away : Fred- 
 erick George, born July 31, 1867, died Dec. 14, 1880; 
 and Anar Eliza, born Dec. 17, 1885, died the same 
 day. Mrs. Sanford was a devout member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, which they attended 
 regularly a number of years, being most highly es- 
 teemed by the congregation, as well as by all their 
 neighbors. Mr. Sanford is a Republican in politics, 
 but, although very popular, has led too busy a life 
 to spare any time in intermeddling with party af- 
 fairs or in office seeking. 
 
 CHARLES C. GOODRICH, manager of the 
 Hartford & New York Transportation Co., Hart- 
 ford, is an example of a man who early chose some 
 branch of business, and by sticking to it and ex- 
 hibiting diligence and ability therein has risen to 
 prominence and success. For thirty years Mr. 
 Goodrich has been engaged in marine commerce, 
 and for twenty years since its organization has 
 been manager of the above named company, which 
 under his oversight has developed into an important 
 and successful industry, transporting passengers 
 and freight by water between New York and all 
 points on the Connecticut river intermediate be- 
 tween New York and Hartford. Mr. Goodrich has 
 given his whole time, strength and interest to this 
 business, and the story of his life is the history of 
 the company he has helped to create. 
 
 Mr. Goodrich was born Julv 30, 1845, in Weth- 
 ersfield. Conn., son of Joshua and Mary A. (Wells) 
 Goodrich, also natives of Wethersfield. They were 
 farming people, and lived lives such as to com- 
 mend them to the community, by whom they were 
 held in esteem and respect. Mr. Goodrich died 
 when aged sixt}' years, and Mrs. Goodrich passed 
 away aged sixty-eight. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the South grammar 
 school, Hartford, and in Williston Academy, East- 
 hampton, Mass., and began his business career as 
 a seed grower in Portland, Conn. He next went 
 to New York, where, associated with his brother, 
 F. W. Goodrich, for six years, he was engaged in 
 freighting, and during that period was called upon 
 to supervise the freighting business of M. R. 
 Brazos, on Long Island Sound, Mr. Brazos being at 
 that time one of the prominent vessel owners of the 
 East. This circumstance finally led to our sub- 
 ject's going to Hartford, he having during such 
 
 connection gone thither, on the death of Mr. Brazos, 
 to close up some of his business affairs. Later Mr. 
 Goodrich reorganized the old company with which 
 Mr. Brazos had been connected with some fifteen 
 boats, and out of the reorganization finally came, 
 through the manipulation of our subject, the Hart- 
 ford & New York Transportation Co., the present 
 officers of which are : Hon. E. S. Goodrich, presi- 
 dent ; Charles C. Goodrich, manager ;, and E. B. 
 Williams, superintendent. The first few years" of 
 the company's existence were attended with disas- 
 ter, heav}' losses occurring by the destruction of a 
 number of boats, but through wise and judicious 
 management the company was held together and 
 its business placed on a paying basis. In 1896 the 
 company added to their fleet the twin-screw steelr 
 propeller "Hartford," of modern build, and in 1898 
 another boat, the "Middletown,'' built on the same 
 principle. One year later, during the Spanish- 
 American war, the first of these was sold to the 
 L^nited States Government for a hospital ship ; and 
 to take the place of it the company built another 
 boat, a fac-simile of the '"Middletown," both of 
 which ply regularl)' over the line traveled by the 
 company. These boats are especially adapted for 
 navigation in shoal water, and have a light draft. 
 Their tonnage is about fifteen hundred each, with 
 stateroom and berth capacity for about four hun- 
 dred passengers; these quarters are comfortably 
 fitted up, are kept scrupulously clean and inviting, 
 and in a thoroughly sanitary condition. This line 
 of boats is one of the best plying the waters of the 
 Sound. During the summer months these boats are 
 crowded to their fullest capacit5^ 
 
 Our subject has been connected with this com- 
 pany twenty-six years, and aside from his official 
 position as general manager he is a director of the 
 compan)^ ; and of all of its force of officers and em- 
 ployes he is the oldest in point of service. During 
 all these years Mr. Goodrich has labored faithfully 
 and abl};- toward the upbuilding and advancement 
 of the company's interests, and to his credit it can 
 be said that his efforts have not been in vain. The 
 business of the company has constantly grown ; in 
 1880 it purchased the ship yard and marine rail- 
 way formerly- belonging to M. Q. Darton, at Dutch 
 Point, and since then it has built many barges and 
 tugs, some fifteen in all. The company now has 
 thirty tugs, barges and steamboats, comprising a 
 fleet valued at $600,000, and in addition possesses 
 real estate to the amount of $200,000, which in- 
 cludes docks, ways, etc., at Hartford, Middletown 
 and elsewhere. Our subject gives his personal at- 
 tention to nearly every detail connected with the 
 business of this large fleet of the couipany, and it is 
 needless to say that his adaptation to his charge, 
 together with his long years of service and experi- 
 ence in this line, make him 'a most valuable ad- 
 junct to the company in the way of an able and 
 judicious manager. He has business interests else- 
 where, among them at Middletown, where his 
 
I 
 
! 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 395 
 
 brother I'rederick W., is vice-president of the Mid- 
 dletown Coal Company, one of the most successful 
 corporations in its line of business in the State; of 
 this company our subject is a director and also 
 manager. 
 
 In 1875 Charles C. Goodrich was married to 
 Beulah, daughter of Calvin i\lurray, a shipbuilder 
 of Guilford, Conn., in which town the daughter 
 was born, being one of four children, three of 
 whom survive. To our subject and his wife has 
 come one child, Raymond M., who is now engaged 
 with his father in same line of business. 
 
 EUGENE B. WILLIAMS, the efficient super- 
 intendent of the Hartford & New York Transpor- 
 tation Co., the main offices of which are at Hart- 
 ford, and with two exceptions the oldest in point 
 of time of the compan)''s many employes, his service 
 covering a period of nearly a quarter of a century, 
 has descended on both sides from an early New 
 England ancestry. 
 
 Born Jan. 5, 1858, in Haddam, Conn., ]\Ir. 
 Williams is a son of Capt. Ezra H. Williams, and 
 grandson of Elijah Williams, who was born in 
 Colchester, this State, and who by trade and occu- 
 pation through life was a blacksmith. Elijah 
 Williams married Mehetabel Dickinson, a native 
 of Haddam, which place for years has been the 
 home of the family, the ancestry of which in New 
 England is traced back to Nathaniel Dickinson, one 
 of the first settlers of Wethersfield, Conn., in 1637. 
 To their marriage were born eight children, two 
 of whom, Capt. W. S. Williams, of Hartford, and 
 Mrs. Nancy Hayden, of Haddam, survive. Both 
 grandparents were identified with the M. E. Church ; 
 he died about 1838, she in 1863. 
 
 Capt. Ezra H. Williams was born Nov. 9, 1827, 
 in Haddam, where he passed his boyhood up to 
 twelve years of age, receiving the rudiments of an 
 education in the public schools of the town. At 
 that early age he started out in life for himself, 
 as a sailor on a coasting vessel, and by his force of 
 character and ambition forged his way through the 
 successive steps to that of master or captain of a 
 vessel. He was engaged in the coasting trade on 
 the sound and ocean, sailing sometimes from Hart- 
 ford as far south as Charleston, S. C, up to 
 1866. In 1872 a barge line was formed, and of it 
 Capt. Williams became president, a position he held 
 until 1877, the line then being merged into the 
 Hartford Transportation Co. Of this company he 
 was made president, and held the office from that 
 time on until his death. Capt. W'illiams was one of 
 the incorporators of the Dredging Co., and its 
 president. This company was for many years a 
 good paying concern. As a seafaring man he stood 
 high, and was popular in the sound and ocean trade. 
 He was careful and judicious, a man of honor and 
 integrity, which, together with his tact and thorough 
 knowledge of men and the trade, inspired confi- 
 dence. His long experience and practical knowl- 
 
 edge of seafaring life ami business made him a 
 master of it. lie had loaded and unloaded and 
 handled all kinds and sizes of water craft, from the 
 old sailing vessel to the most modern steamship. 
 At one time he had under his management some 
 twenty-five vessels, liis acquaintance with sea- 
 faring men and the business extended from Maine 
 to Florida, and he enjoyed among them a deserved 
 popularity. In point of service he was one of the 
 oldest men engaged in the coast trade, and did much 
 to originate and develop the line of steamboats of 
 the Hartford Transportation Co., which has since 
 been so successfully operated, i'robably no other 
 one man did more to advance the interest of that 
 company during the years that he was connected 
 with it than Capt. Williams. The Captain was a 
 member of the Masonic fraternity. 
 
 On Jan. 16, 1854, Capt. Williams was married 
 to jNIary Dickinson, born in Haddam, daughter of 
 Capt. Nehemiah and Julia (Sabinj Dickinson, and 
 to the marriage were born : Eugene B., Grace E., 
 and Julia S., all residing with the mother. Capt. 
 Dickinson (also a descendant of Nathaniel Dickm- 
 son, the pioneer), was engaged in the coasting trade, 
 and was at one time the master of a vessel engaged 
 in the West India trade. He died in 1841, when 
 comparatively a young man. Mrs. Julia (Sabinj 
 Dickinson, who was a native of Colchester, lived to 
 be eighty-four. Of the nine children born to her- 
 self and husband only three are now living, Mrs. 
 Williams being the youngest ; the others are : Julia 
 (Mrs. Capt. David C. Russell, of Haddam) and 
 Eveline (Mrs. Austin S. Clark, also of Haddam). 
 Eight of the nine lived to mature age; two died in 
 1900, one at the age of eighty-six, and the other at 
 eighty-five. 
 
 Eugene B. Williams, the subject proper of this 
 sketch, passed his early boyhood in his native town 
 and attended its schools, completing his education 
 in the public schools of Hartford, to which city he 
 was taken at the early age of nine years. At nine- 
 teen he began a seafaring life under the direction of 
 his father, with whom he was associated in the 
 latter's' varied experiences on the river, sound and 
 ocean, and under his watchful eye was thoroughly 
 experienced in the service and well-equipped for the 
 duties which his present position has brought upon 
 him. He passed through all of the grades from an 
 ordinary sailor to engineer, and served on botli 
 sailing and steam boats. He became familiar with 
 all branches of the coasting business, which is of 
 great advantage to him in his present position. 
 Leaving the water in 1887, after a decade of service 
 with the present company, our subject came ashore, 
 and was acting superintendent up to 1892, in which 
 year he was made superintendent of the company, 
 an office for which he was most admirably quali- 
 fied, and the duties of which he has most efficiently 
 and satisfactorily performed. The magnitude of 
 the company's business may be judged from the 
 sketches of its manager and president, appearing 
 
396 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 elsewhere. Our subject is an affable, genial fellow, 
 sociable and popular. He is a member of Charter 
 Oak Lodge, No. 2, I. O. O. F., at Hartford. His 
 political affiliations are with the Republican party. 
 
 AMOS WHITNEY, president of the Pratt & 
 Whitney Co., Hartford, is justly ranked as foremost 
 among- the representative, self-made men of the 
 community, and the city is greatly indebted to him 
 for his share in building up in its midst a gigantic 
 industrial establishment, which has made a name 
 and reputation for Hartford in nearly every civi- 
 lized land on the globe, and which is so closely 
 identified with the material prosperity of the city. 
 His personality has been a most potent one here for 
 fifty years — a half century — and his identity through 
 all these years with this great plant, the welfare of 
 which in turn has been so materially connected with 
 that of the community, places him in the front rank 
 of the city's prominent men. 
 
 Mr. Whitney was born Oct. 8, 1832, at Bidde- 
 ford, Maine, son of Aaron and Rebecca (Perkins) 
 Whitney, whose ancestors were among the early 
 and prominent settlers of New England. John 
 Whitney, the emigrant ancestor of this branch of 
 the Whitney family, was born in 1589, and resided 
 from 1619 to January, 1623-24, at Isleworth-on- 
 the-Thames. His wife, Elinor, with children ac- 
 companied him to America in 1635. They settled 
 in Watertown, in the Massachusetts Colony, soon 
 after their arrival. Mr. Whitney was an important 
 ];-ian in the communit}', and held various public 
 ;ar.ices. He died in 1673. From this emigrant 
 f^-'icestor Amos Whitney, of the Pratt & Whitney 
 Qi., Hartford, is a descendant in the eighth gener- 
 ^llon, the line of his descent being through Jona- 
 than, Jonathan (2), Daniel, Lieut. Levi, Aaron and 
 Aaron (2). 
 
 (H) Jonathan Whitney, son of John, the emi- 
 ..grant, born in England in 1634, married in 1656, in 
 Watertown, Lydia, daughter of Lewis Jones. He 
 was admitted as an inhabitant in Sherborn in 1679, 
 and there died in 1702. 
 
 (IH) Jonathan Whitney (2), son of Jonathan, 
 born in 1658, married Sarah Hapgood. He lived 
 in Sherborn, Watertown, and Concord, where he 
 died in 1735. He served in Iving Philip's war. 
 
 (IV) 'Daniel Whitney, son of Jonathan (2), 
 born in 1710, in Sudbury, married in 1739 Thank- 
 ful, daughter of Elnathan and Mercy (Rice) Allen, 
 of Sudbury. He resided in Shrewsbury, Massa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 (V) Lieut. Leyi Whitney, son of Daniel, born 
 in 1739, married (first), in 1764, Rebecca Clark. 
 During the war of the Revolution Mr. Whitney 
 was an officer in the commissary department, with 
 rank of lieutenant. He possesed much mechanical 
 ingenuity, and was a manufacturer of agricultural 
 tools. ITe resided in Townsend and Shrewsbury, 
 -Mass. He died in 1809. 
 
 (VI) Aaron Whitney, son of Lieut. Levi, born 
 in 1772 in Townsend, Mass., married (first) in 
 1797 Phebe Dunklee, who was born in 1778, and 
 died in 1800. Mr. Whitney was a blacksmith by 
 trade, and in 1812 was the postmaster at Amherst, 
 Mass. His shop was burned in 1815, and in 1819 
 be removed to Calais, Maine. For some years he 
 was a prominent citizen of Amherst. He died in 
 
 1845- 
 
 (VII) Aaron Whitney (2), son of Aaron, and 
 the father of Amos Whitney, of Hartford, was born 
 Dec. 15, 1801, in Amherst. He was married at 
 Biddeford, Maine, to Rebecca Perkins, who was 
 born in March, 1809, and they resided at Bidde- 
 for.d, Maine, and other points, and finally at Hart- 
 ford, Conn. He was a machinist by trade and occu- 
 pation, and died in January, 1866. His family 
 consisted of six children, three sons and three daugh- 
 ters. 
 
 The rudiments of his education the subject of 
 this sketch acquired in the vihage schools in Bidde- 
 ford and Saccarappa, Maine, and Exeter, N. H., his 
 parents removing when Amos was eight years of 
 age to Saccarappa, and four years later to Exeter, 
 where he saw the last of the school room two years 
 later, at which period the family had taken up a 
 home at Lawrence, Mass. Here he was apprenticed, 
 before he was fourteen, to the machinist's trade 
 with the Essex Machine Co., and thoroughly mas- 
 tered the trade. The sliop in which he worked was 
 a very large one for those days, devoted to the mak- 
 ing of cotton machinery, locomotives and machinists' 
 tools. His apprenticeship of three years and one 
 year as a journeyman were served on the latter 
 work. At the end of the fourth year he followed 
 his father to Colt's pistol factory at Hartford, Conn., 
 where both father and son were working as machin- 
 ists in September, 1850. It maj' be noted here 
 that among the Whitneys for generations there had 
 been many skilled mechanics. Aaron Whitney was 
 an expert locksmith and machinist, and no doubt 
 the son, our subject, inherited from him his taste 
 in a mechanical line and also the father's pro- 
 nounced skill. Eli Whitne}^ of cotton-gin fame, 
 as well as of firearms note, was a descendant of the 
 same remote ancestor as is Amos. 
 
 In 1852 Francis A. Pratt, now of the Pratt & 
 Whitney Co., came to Hartford to take a position 
 in the pistol factory of Col. Colt, where he was em- 
 ployed until 1854, when he accepted the position 
 of superintendent of the Phoenix Iron Works, and 
 about this time or a little previously young Whit- 
 ney went to the same works, which were then con- 
 ducted by Levi Lincoln and his two sons. These 
 two young machinists — Pratt and Whitney — were 
 closely associated as superintendent and contractor 
 at the Phoenix Iron Works, and although remain- 
 ing with the firm until 1864, in the summer of 
 i860 rented a room on Potter street, and began 
 doing some work on their own account in manu- 
 
C-i>'^>^iA^ ' 64/ y-t-tyc^z 
 
 ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 auT 
 
 facturing a little machine called a "spooler," for 
 the Willimaiitic Linen Co., who owned the device 
 for winding thread — the Conant patent. This was 
 the beginning of the great I'ralL & Whitney Co. 
 of to-day. The following l'"ebruary from their 
 start these gentlemen were burned out, but a month 
 later saw them again settled for business in what 
 was then the Woods building, in the rear of the 
 Times office, wliere they continued to spread through 
 one room 'after another till all the available space 
 was outgrown bv the expansion of the business. 
 In 1862 Messrs. I'ratt & Whitney took into partner- 
 ship iMonroe Stannard, of New Britain, each con- 
 tributing $1,200, and the association has smce re- 
 mained unbroken. One of the chief products of 
 the early firm was a milling machine, designed by 
 Mr. Pratt. Since then there have been nearly 7,000 
 of these machines made by the company, distributed 
 to all parts of the world. The design of the ma- 
 chine is substantially the same to-day as that of 
 nearly forty years ago. Mr. Stannard, on coming 
 into the firm, assumed charge of the running of the 
 shop, but the business so increased that Messrs. 
 Pratt & Whitney found it necessary to give up their 
 positions in the Phoenix Iron Works and devote their 
 whole time to their own business. In 1865 the firm 
 erected the first building on the present site, which 
 was readv for occupancy the following JMarch. From 
 time to time others have been added, till the plant 
 now occupies about five and one-half acres of floor 
 room, equipped throughout with the most approved 
 appliances for protection against fire, for the comfort 
 of the employes, and for the convenient and eco- 
 nomical dispatch of work. The property lies on 
 both sides of the Park river, with the tracks of the 
 Consolidated and of the New England railway ^j on 
 the northern border, about one-fourt'.i of a mile 
 from the passenger station. 
 
 Beginning with the manufacture of machine 
 tools, gun tools, and tools for the makers of sewing 
 machines, the firm has gradually extended its lines, 
 till a partial catalogue of its products fills hundreds 
 of pages. The invention of the typewriter and 
 the bicycle materially enlarged the demand for tools. 
 Since the advent of these industries the company 
 has largely supplied manufacturers throughout the 
 country with appliances for doing work. Here, in 
 applied mechanics, the resources of science and art 
 have been long and conscientiously devoted to the 
 task of embodying the ideal in the real. In 1866 
 Roswell F. Blodgett and Seth W. Bishop were ad- 
 mitted to an equal interest with the other members 
 in the partnership. Owing to the constant in- 
 crease in the business it became necessary to organ- 
 ize a joint-stock company. The net assets of 
 $3,600, in 1862, had grown during four years to 
 $75,000, and the next three years they made and 
 put into the business a clean profit of $100,000. In 
 July, 1869, the Pratt & Whitney Co. was formed, 
 with a capital of $350,000. From that day to 
 this but $150,000 in cash has been put into the 
 
 business — the rest of the increase of capital has 
 been earned. A stock 'dividend was declared a few 
 jears later, and the capital was increased to $500,- 
 000 (to $400,000 in 1873 and to $500,000 in 1875J, 
 where it remained until i8y3, when the company was 
 reorganized with a ca[)ital of $3,000,000, two-thirds 
 in preferred stock and one-third in common stock, 
 figures which were based upon the company's as- 
 sets and earning power. The company has em- 
 ployed as many as 1,180 hands, and manufactures 
 a larger variety of machines than any concern in the 
 world. When^ the company was reorganized in 
 1893 the limit of production for a year was $1,118,- 
 000. With the same business activity now the es- 
 tablishment could produce in the same period goods 
 to the value of $2,000,000. 
 
 In 1882 what is known as the west building was 
 erected. In 1887 the company completed, on the 
 east side of Fowler street, an addition of four stor- 
 ies, containing 44,000 square feet of floorage. In 
 1891 they erected, on the south side of the Park 
 river, a building 295 feet x 45 feet, two stories above 
 the basement, for the exclusive use of the small 
 tool department. In 1895 they built a forge shop 
 165 feet x 50 feet, and lengthened the original shop 
 about 18 feet, for the enlargement of the offices and 
 stores above. There are now over 233,000 square 
 feet of floorage. 
 
 Back as far as 1870 Mr. Pratt visited Berlin, 
 and after an absence of six weeks returned to Hart- 
 ford with orders from the German Government for 
 gun machinery to the value of $350,000. Within 
 the next three years he made three trips to Berlin, 
 taking orders and delivering to the government 
 goods worth over one and a quarter million dol- 
 lars. Since 1888 the company has made over four 
 hundred Hotchkiss guns, mostly to form the second- 
 ary batteries of our new war vessels. 
 
 Through all these years, and up to the spring of 
 1898, Mr. Whitney, our subject, was superinten- 
 dent of the works, and was vice-president after 
 1893. In March, 1898, he became president. For 
 over forty years Messrs. Pratt & Whitney, brought 
 together casually at first, have toiled in harmonious 
 intimacy to the profit of each other and to the 
 wider benefit of those who have trusted them — a 
 rare instance of such business and social relations. 
 Mr. Whitney has always been an indefatigable 
 worker, and has probably put in more than ten 
 hours' work for every day since he was fourteen 
 years old. From the organization of the firm until 
 1883 he never had more than one or two days" vaca- 
 tion in a year. He has ever kept in close touch with 
 his men, and there is to-day the same bond of s}Tn- 
 pathy and loyalty between them that existed forty 
 years ago. Every man in the shop feels this. One 
 of them remarked : 
 
 "Mr. Whitney is a kind-hearted man, of gener- 
 ous impulses. He is very popular with all of the 
 men here, and all feel a very strong allegiance to 
 him. Whatever he promises he will do. He is 
 
398 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 perfectly straight-forward in his dealings with his 
 men, and there is no need of a contract with him, 
 if his word has been passed." 
 
 Mr. Whitney has given his life to business, has 
 no tastes or inclinations for public preferinent, i^nd 
 has declined to participate in political affairs. He is 
 a stanch Republican, and does his duty as a citi- 
 zen in this line, always taking a great deal of in- 
 terest in party questions and matters. He is a 
 man of decidedly domestic tastes, and enjoys his 
 beautiful home on the corner of Whitney street 
 and Farmington avenue. For thirty years past he 
 has traveled for his company nearly one-third of the 
 time, and is in very close touch with the hundreds 
 of customers of the great concern. He is a director 
 in the Pratt & Cady Co. ; is president of and a di- 
 rector in the Gray Pay Station Telephone Co. ; also 
 a director in the Co-operative Savings Bank. 
 
 On Sept. 8, 1856, Mr. Whitney was married at 
 Hartford to Miss Laura Johnson, who was born 
 Nov. 9, 1837, and the union has been blessed with 
 children as follows : Nellie H., born in i860, died 
 in 1865 ; Nettie L. ; and Clarence Edgar. The lat- 
 ter studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- 
 nology, later passed through a similar training in 
 the shop and in the office of the company, and re- 
 signed in March, 1896, to organize and manage the 
 Whitney Manufacturing Co., which within a year 
 was employing over one hundred hands. 
 
 CHARLES ROLLIN BUNNELL, proprietor 
 of a prosperous wood-turning establishment in Bris- 
 tol, is a native of Connecticut, born in Burlington 
 Feb. 27, 1829. The name was originally spelled 
 Bunel, then Bunnel and, later, Bunnell. 
 
 Hezekiah Bunnell, great-great-grandfather of 
 our subject, was born in 1702 in Cheshire, Conn., 
 whence he moved to Burlington, Hartford county. 
 He married Esther Plumb, and they had seven sons. 
 Hezekiah took up an extensive tract of land in 
 Burlington, and when he died. May 25, 1764, he 
 willed to each of his sons a large farm. The 
 mother passed from earth Dec. 20, 1768. 
 
 Nathaniel Bunnell, great-grandfather of our 
 subject, was born in 1733, and was frozen to death 
 Dec. 15, 1759, a severe snowstorm overtaking him 
 while he was out deer hunting. In 1756 he married 
 Thankful Spencer, who was born in 1735, and died 
 Jan. 25, 1817. The}' had three children. 
 
 Nathaniel Bunnell, grandfather of our subject, 
 was born May 20, 1758, and died Aug. 22, 1828. 
 He was a farmer by occupation, and in connection 
 was also a basketmaker, which was a profitable in- 
 dustry in those days. He served in the Revolu- 
 tionary war. Twice married, his second wife was 
 Rhoda (Bates), born Oct. 5, 1761, and died July 
 29, 1852. Their children: (i) Dinah, born Dec. 
 12, 1795, died April 23, 1875, married Royal 
 Grover. (2) Laura, born March 24, 1798, died 
 Aug. 27, 1828. (3) Phileta, born Feb. 10, 1800, 
 died Nov. 15, 181 5. (4) Allen, born Feb. 7, 1802, 
 
 died May 20, 1873. (5) Susannah, born Oct. 27, 
 1804, died in 1834. (6) Thomas, born Nov. 9, 
 1806, died Feb. 11, 1895. Of these, 
 
 Allen Bunnell, father of our subject, was born 
 in Burlington, Conn., received his education there 
 and learned the trade of carriagemaker. When a 
 young man he removed to Bristol, and carried on a 
 carriage shop in Divinity street. He died May 20, 
 1873, in what is known as Edgewood, Bristol. On 
 Feb. 8, 1826, he married Rhoda Atwater, who was 
 born Nov. 16, 1800, in Bristol, a daughter of Lucius 
 Atwater. She died July 20, 1879, in Bristol. Their 
 children: (i) Caroline, born Jan. 13, 1827, mar- 
 ried Franklin Steele, of Bristol, and died Dec. 9, 
 1898. (2) Emily, born Jan. 30, 1828, married 
 John H. Sessions, of Bristol. (3) Charles R., sub- 
 ject of this sketch. (4) Susannah, born Sept. 16, 
 1832, married Edward Porter, of Bristol. (5) 
 Rhoda, born June 23, 1835, died May 3, 1836. (6) 
 Thomas, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere. (7) 
 Sterling, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere. 
 The father of this family was one of the first 
 Abolitionists, and was one of the seven men of 
 Bristol who at one time held the controlling power 
 in the town. Fie burned a keg of powder all by 
 himself when his three boys were at the front, cele- 
 brating the freedom of the slaves. He was a very 
 strong Union man, and equally aggressive on the 
 temperance subject. 
 
 When Charles R. Bunnell was a child of two 
 years his parents removed to Bristol, and here he 
 received his education, leaving the West Street 
 School at the age of thirteen years: He then went 
 to Whigville, and learned the trade of wood turner 
 with Ira T. Neal, who was conducting a wa'gon 
 and sled factory in that village. After a year 
 there he returned to Bristol, and for one year 
 worked for Cummings & Burdick, turning handles ; 
 thence returned to Whigville, and took a contract 
 with Thomas and David Lowrey, turning parts for 
 baby carriages, etc., one year; thence went to 
 Unionville and worked for Winston & Tolles, 
 makers of furniture knobs, remaining about one 
 year. Our subject then once more located at Whig- 
 ville, and again worked for the Lowreys, about six 
 months, at the end of which time he returned to 
 Edgewood (Bristol), and for about two years 
 worked for A. L. & W. Winston. From Edge- 
 wood he went to Ansonia, and here worked one 
 year at his trade, turning clock trimmings for Car- 
 ter & Williams, who had a contract with the Jerome 
 Clock Co. About this time Mr. Bunnell took it 
 into his head to try his fortune in California, but 
 on reaching the Isthmus of Panama was taken sick 
 while waiting to get farther. He sojourned there 
 a few weeks, and then returned to Connecticut, and 
 once more locating in Edgewood went to work for 
 the Winstons, remaining one year. From there he 
 went to E. K. Jones' establishment, in Whig-ville, 
 continuing about three years. In 1855 he went to 
 Illinois, and applied himself to farming one sum- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 899 
 
 mcr ; then returned and entered the employ of Gen. 
 John N. Bunnell, at L'nionville, inrning silk spools. 
 After about a year there he took a contract with 
 a large furniture factory at L'nionville to do their 
 turning for about one year; then went to work for 
 the Stanley Rule & Level Co., of New Britain, 
 remaining with that firm sonic four years, or until 
 1862. 
 
 In that year, on Aug. 6, he enlisted in Company 
 F, 14th Conn. \'. L He particijjaled in the bat- 
 tles of Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellors- 
 ville, in which latter engagement he was wounded 
 in the right hand, necessitating his being confined 
 for three months in Carver tlospital, in Washing- 
 ton, D. C. ; on Aug. 17, 1863, he was discharged 
 •on account of disability. After returning from 
 the army (which, by the way, he had joined in 
 order to save his father, aged sixty years, from 
 going to the front), he again worked for the Stan- 
 ley Rule & Level Co., in New Britain, as a con- 
 tiactor, remaining two years at wood turning. 
 
 In 1865 our subject and his brother Thomas, 
 who had just returned from the war, embarked in 
 the wood-turning business in Whigville, and con- 
 tinued in partnership one year, at the end of which 
 t.me Charles bought out his brother's share, car- 
 ried on the business alone for a few months, and 
 then took into partnership J. B. Smith, the firm 
 becoming Bunnell & Smith and so remaining some 
 fourteen years, our subject then selling out to 
 Brother Friend Smith, and the business was then 
 • carried on under the firm name of Smith Bros. 
 Removing to Bristol, Mr. Bunnell took his son-in- 
 law, Lester L. Lowrey, into partuership in a wood- 
 turning business on Park street, but Mr. Lowrey 
 returned to Burlington after one year, and our 
 subject has since continued the business alone. It 
 is now located on Wolcott street, and its specialties 
 are tool handles and small turning. 
 
 On June 3, 1849, Mr. Bunnell was united in 
 marriage with Annis JNIaria Bowen, who was born 
 May 21, 1829, in Sheffield, Mass., a daughter of 
 Chester (a veteran of the war of 1812) and Lucinda 
 (Ford) Bowen, and granddaughter of Joseph 
 Bowen, who received a wound at the battle of Bun- 
 ker Hill, for which he enjoyed a pension. The 
 •children born to ]\Ir. and ^Irs. Bunnell were as 
 follows: (i) Emily Jane, born Aug. 21, 1850. was 
 married May 22, 1884, to Jerome Lewis Gillette, a 
 photographer of Atlanta, Ga. Their children : 
 Lillian May, born Sept. 11, 1885; and Clinton 
 Jerome, born Nov. 23, 1890. (2) Lillian, born 
 Sept. 9, 1854. was married June 3, 1874, to Lester 
 Lewis Lowrey, a wood turner of Burlington. Their 
 •children: Charles Romeo, born Aug. 16, 1S77, died 
 Feb. 13, 1883; Edwin ^^■aite. born Jan. 14, 18S2; 
 Annis Bowen and Eniilv Bunnell (twins), born 
 March 24, 1889 (Emily B. died Aug. 14, 1889'); 
 and Rollin Bunnell, born Dec. 22, 1893. (3) Ida 
 JMay. born Oct. 18, 1856, died Aug. 16. 1862. 
 
 ^Ir. and Mrs. Bunnell attend the services of 
 
 the Prospect M. E. Church, she being a member 
 tlicreof; politically he is a Republican, ^\'hile liv- 
 ing in Whigville his friends in Burlington, un- 
 solicited by him, ran him for representative, and, 
 although the town is strongly Democratic, he came 
 within a few votes of being elected. Socially he 
 i.s a member of Gilbert W. Thompson Post, No. 13, 
 G. A. R., at Bristol. Mr. Bunnell has always been 
 an active man, public spirited and liberal, and ha.'J 
 been prosperous in business affairs. 
 
 A notable and delightful event was the double 
 wedding anniversary held on June 3, 1899, at the 
 home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Bunnell, on 
 Divinity street. It was their own golden wedding 
 and also the silver wedding of their daughter 
 (Lillian) and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Lester L. 
 Lowrey, of Whigville, who were married at her 
 parents' silver wedding anniversary. During the 
 afternoon and evening many relatives and friends 
 called to offer congratulations. Both parties re- 
 ceived many useful and valuable presents. 
 
 HENRY FREDERICK LIART. Mr. Hart is 
 by birth a native of the Duchy of Oldenburg, hav- 
 ing first opened his eyes there on Sept. 18, 1845. 
 
 George Hart, his father, was born in Bavaria, 
 but emigrated to this country when young Henry 
 was but five years old, bringing his family with 
 h'ni. The elder Flart was by occupation a cutler, 
 having learned his trade in Germany. He was a 
 well-educated man and an extensive and observing 
 traveler; in religious belief he was a Lutheran. On 
 coming to the United States, in 1850, he located 
 in New York, in which city he carried on the manu- 
 facture of cutlery for twenty years, his place of 
 business being on Duane street. He was a skillful 
 artisan, and his business prospered, from eight to 
 ten men being usually in his employ. About 1865 
 he retired, and a year afterward died. His widow, 
 Catherine, survived him until 1897, when she. too, 
 passed away, at Meriden, Conn., having reached 
 the ripe age of eighty-nine years. Three sons were 
 liorn to them : Gustavus, who resided in ^^leriden ; 
 Albert, who lived and died in Hartford, and now 
 rests in the old cemetery there ; and Henry Fred-- 
 erick. 
 
 Henry F. Hart was educated in the public 
 schools of New York City. He was an apt pupil, 
 and at the age of fourteen had completed the 
 curriculum prescribed for graduation, and in 1859 
 began work in his father's shop. When President 
 rJncoln. in 1861, issued his first call for volunteers, 
 the lad had not seen his sixteenth birthday ; yet, his 
 father's consent having been obtained, he promptly 
 enlisted for two years in the 25th N. Y. V. I. He 
 saw some severe fighting, but returned home with- 
 out a wound. Among the engagements in which 
 he participated were the hotly contested struggle 
 at Hanover C. H., Va.. the "seven days' battle" 
 before Richmond, Antietam and South Mountain. 
 .■\fter being mustered out. in July, 1863, he en- 
 
•400 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tered upon an apprenticeship to the machinist's 
 trade, and by the time he had attained his ma- 
 jority he had become a journeyman. He learned 
 his trade in New York, but in 1867 went from that 
 city to Meriden, Conn., where he entered the employ 
 of the Wilcox Silver Plating Co. as a tool maker. 
 From that establishment he went to the works of the 
 Charles Parker Co., where he held a similar posi- 
 tion. With that concern he remained for twelve 
 years, becoming foreman of the tool-making room, 
 and in September, 1879, removed to Hartford. For 
 three or four months he worked in the tool room of 
 the William Rogers Manufacturing Co., when he 
 became a stockholder in the Cromwell Plate Co., and 
 was given charge of the tool room. Perceiving, 
 within a few months, that the company was on the 
 verge of failure, he returned to the William Rogers 
 Co. He was given charge of the machine burnish- 
 jng department, and has held that position from that 
 time to the present, discharging the difficult and re- 
 sponsible duties attaching thereto with an intelli- 
 gence and fidelity which have at once reflected credit 
 upon himself and redounded to the advantages of his 
 employers. At present he has under his personal 
 control more than thirty employes. Mr. Hart's suc- 
 cess in business, while not phenomenal, has been pro- 
 nounced. Beginning life without financial capital 
 or the aid of influential friends, he has won his way 
 upward through laudable ambition and the scrupu- 
 lously faithful performance of every task committed 
 to his hands. On the educational foundation laid 
 in the grammar schools of New York he has built pa- 
 tiently, wisely and well ; yet his capacity for broadly 
 grasping affairs, his knowledge of men and compre- 
 hension of the fundamental principles of business 
 have been gained in the broader school of practical 
 experience and through actual contact with the 
 world. 
 
 Politically Mr. Hart is a Republican, and from 
 his early manhood has been an ardent worker for 
 the party's success, although never blindly and higot- 
 edly partisan. While living in Meriden he was ap- 
 pointed deputy registrar of election, and since mak- 
 ing his home in Hartford he has stood high in Re- 
 publican councils, being well qualified therefor by 
 keen insight and executive capability of a high order. 
 For four years he was a member of the committee 
 for the Third ward, and for a year served as chair- 
 man. From 1896 to 1898 he served as councilman, 
 and in 1899 was elected alderman from the ward, 
 being now senior alderman and chairman of the 
 committee on public buildings. He was made a Free 
 Mason at Meriden, becoming a member of Center 
 Lodge No. 97, F. & A. M., in 1871, and filling the 
 office of junior warden when he left that city. He is 
 also an active and honored member of the G. A. R., 
 in whose welfare he has always taken a deep interest. 
 He is affiliated with Tyler Post, No. 50, of which he 
 is past commander and is at present senior vice de- 
 partment commander, Department of Connecticut, 
 G. A. R. 
 
 In 1867 Mr. Hart married Miss Bertha Bold, of' 
 New York City, whose birthplace was in Germany. 
 Seven sons have blessed their union : Charles Henry, 
 Henry L., Otis J., Lewis M., Albert B., William 
 and Raymond. The eldest two are tool makers ; 
 Otis J. holds a position in the office of the city col- 
 lector; Lewis M. is a druggist; Albert B. is a letter 
 carrier ; and the two younger children are attending 
 school. The family attend the services of the Wind- 
 sor Avenue Congregational Church. 
 
 SIDNEY ALBERT KENT was descended fronr 
 the Kents of Northern Connecticut, who from the 
 days of the earliest settlement of the Connecticut 
 River Valley were in private and civic life among, 
 the most substantial and influential citizens. Dur- 
 ing the French and Indian wars they were found 
 fighting under Gen. Phineas Lyman, and for over 
 two hundred years the name appears among the 
 responsible and trusted officials of the town of Suf- 
 field. 
 
 The history of the family in Suffield begins with 
 Sergt. Samuel Kent, who left Brookfield in 1675, 
 Springfield in 1676, and as a permanent settler in 
 Suffield had accorded to him by the town a house 
 lot, containing sixty acres, on Feather street, twelve 
 rods wide, and running back to Muddy brook. In 
 1681 he was made a freeman. In 1679 he also pro- 
 cured a grant, for his son Samuel, of forty §.cres, and 
 in 1682 a house lot on High street, adjoining his own. 
 Sergt. Kent was chosen a member of the first board 
 of selectmen, and re-elected in 1683-85-87. He went 
 from Gloucester to Springfield, where he died Feb. 
 2, 1691. He made a will giving his estate to his 
 sons Samuel and John [See Probate Court Records 
 in Springfield, Book A of Lands] . He had several 
 children. 
 
 Samuel Kent (2), born Oct. 26, 1661, married 
 on Oct. 22, 1683, Priscilla Hunter, who died March 
 7, 1694-95. He died May 31, 1740. They had sev- 
 eral children, of whom, 
 
 Samuel Kent (3), born Dec. 6, 1685, died Dec. 
 24, 1763. He kept the town school for the year 
 ending March, 1710, his salary being 27 pounds 
 sterling. In lieu of cash he received sixty acres of 
 land, thirty-six of which now form the homestead 
 of Harvey Smith, corner of Sheldon street and 
 Taintor Hill road. On Dec. 28, 1710, he married 
 Esther Phihps, and had a large family. 
 
 Deacon Amos Kent, son of Samuel (3), was born 
 Oct. 16, 1713, and died April 28, 1805. He lived 
 in West Suffield, on the same farm afterward in- 
 herited by Sidney A. Kent. On Sept. 15, 1743, he 
 married Sarah Austin, who died Aug. 16, 1804, 
 aged eighty-nine years. Their children were : Amos, 
 Benajah, Sarah and Lucina. 
 
 Benajah Kent, son of Deacon Amos, was born 
 July 21, 1746, and died June 15, 1821. He was ■ 
 twice married, first to Elizabeth Brigham, who died 
 Feb. 17, 1794, the mother of two children. On 
 Aug. 22, 1799, he married (second) Hannah , 
 
4 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 401 
 
 Hanchett, who died April 4, 1813. The names and 
 dates of birth of their children are: Albert, June 
 20, 1800 (died March 10, 1853) ; Edwin, Dec. 6, 
 1801 ; Celia and Sidney (twins), Sept. 24, 1803 
 (Sidney died July 15, 1827); Sanuiel, Nov. 11, 
 1805. Of these, 
 
 Albert Kent married Sept. 21, 1825, Lucinda 
 Gillett, of Suffield, who died April 27, 1855; he 
 died A'larch 10, 1853. Their children: Caroline Lu- 
 cinda, born May 25, 1827, married Anson Cooley, 
 of Granby, Conn. ; next a son was born Jan. 14, 
 1829, who died Feb. 17, 1829; Albert Emmett, born 
 Sept. I, 1830, married July 28, 1857, Adeline E. 
 Button; Eliza Ann, born Jan. 25, 1833, married 
 Oct. 6, 1855, James C. Savage; Sidney Albert was 
 born July 16, 1834; and Elmore A., born Oct. 21, 
 1836, married June 30, 1870, Mary A. tlolman. 
 
 Sidney A. Kent was born near Suffield, Conn., 
 on the West Suffield road, in the same house in 
 which he died on the morning of April i, 1900. 
 As above stated, he was a son of Albert and Lu- 
 cinda (Gillett) Kent. He received his education at 
 the Connecticut Literary Listitute, completing his 
 studies there in the early 'fifties. The intense and 
 successful business career of Mr. Kent began when, 
 as a boy, he went to Chicago. He took a position as 
 clerk in a general trading store in 1855. His elder 
 brother, Albert E., had gone to that city, and after 
 having been admitted to the Bar gave up the prac- 
 tice of law for commerce. Both Albert and Sidney 
 had inherited business instincts, and had learned 
 much of trading in their home on the Connecticut 
 river. In 1856 they entered into a general com- 
 mission business under the firm name of A. E. Kent 
 & Co., at first dealing chiefly in furs, hides and 
 grain, and exporting all sorts of Western produce 
 to New York. Their attention was called to the 
 profits to be derived from cutting up and packing 
 the dressed hogs shipped by farmers to Chicago 
 during the winter. From a small beginning, when 
 1,000 hogs were bought and turned over to a prac- 
 tical packer to make the experiment, grew a great 
 packing business, and the firm fairly took the lead 
 in developing this industry, meanwhile following 
 the grain business into its later development on the 
 Board of Trade. Success came from indefatigable 
 industry and keenness of vision, joined to absolute 
 confidence in the grow^th of the Mississippi Valley, 
 with Chicago as its metropolis. Ill health led to 
 the retirement of Albert E. Kent, and the business 
 fell to the sole management of Sidney, who carried 
 it on to a consolidation known as the Chicago Pack- 
 ing & Provision Co., in which he long retained a 
 large interest. 
 
 Mr. Kent was one of the organizers of the Corn 
 Exchange Bank, of which he was vice-president 
 and president ; he was also director in the Metro- 
 politan Bank and Northern Trust Bank. Fie was 
 one of the incorporators of the Union Stock Yards 
 & Transit Co. of Chicago, as well as a stockholder 
 and director in many other large enterprises in 
 
 Chicago, being always trusted for the wonderful 
 correctness of his business judgment. He was noted 
 as a man of the fewest possible words. His im- 
 pressions were usually correct, and he was prepared 
 to stand back of them, but he never argued a point 
 involving his decision, and seemed to have an in- 
 tuitive knowledge of men and grasp of affairs. 
 
 The list of Mr. Kent's public benefactions would 
 be too long to recount. There was hardly a charity 
 in Chicago to which he did not subscribe, and no 
 one can ever know the approximate of what he 
 modestly gave to relieve private want. Air. Kent 
 was one of the first contributors to the University 
 of Chicago. The beautiful and splendidly equipped 
 Chemical Laboratory bearing his name will stand 
 as a monument in the city where his busy days were 
 spent. Latterly spending much time at the old home- 
 stead in Suffield, he felt that, having taken from 
 that soil the inheritance that made him successful 
 in the world, he owed much to the old place, and 
 built the Kent I\Iemorial Library as a monument to 
 his parents. It is an interesting fact that the site 
 is one which was by the town allotted to . Samuel 
 Kent, an ancestor, by the town of Suffield in 1669. 
 Together with the building were given 10,000 vol- 
 umes and an endowment fund of $25,600 for main- 
 tenance. 
 
 On Sept. 28, 1864, Mv. Kent married Aliss Stella 
 A. Lincoln, of Washington, D. C, daughter of Con- 
 gressman W. S. Lincoln, of Newark Valley, N. Y., 
 and two children were born to them : Helen Lincoln, 
 Jan. 30, 1867, now the wife of Dr. A. F. Alorris, 
 of New York ; and Stella Alberta, Oct. 8, 1869, now 
 the wife of Hugh S. LeGare, of Washington, D. C. 
 
 It was as a keen and far-sighted business man 
 that Mr. Kent was best known to the world. His 
 gentleness and kindness, the sympathy that he al- 
 ways had for the unfortunate, are known only to 
 the circle of his friends, for, with all the force of 
 his mind and will, there never was a less ostentatious 
 or more modest personality. Such is a brief sketch 
 of one of the strong men of our country. No bare 
 historical outline can present the qualities that en- 
 deared this rare gentleman to those who knew him 
 well. 
 
 ALFRED C. J. \MLLIA.MS. In the fur trade 
 of New England there are few if any names bettei 
 known than that of Williams. For a quarter of a 
 century it has been a prominent factor in the trade 
 of Connecticut, and as now represented by the sub- 
 ject of this sketch maintains past prestige and is 
 widening the scope of its influence. The particular 
 trade to which reference is here made was founded 
 by Alfred Williams, the father of our subject. He 
 was a skilled furrier and a successful business man. 
 
 George FI. Williams, the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was a lifelong resident of London, England. 
 He married Ann Cottrel, a native of London, and 
 to them were born six children, all of whom are 
 now deceased. The grandfather was a collector for 
 
402 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Sir Henry Meux's brewery. Himself and wife were 
 members of the Episcopal Church, and both lived 
 ,to a good old age. 
 
 Alfred Williams, the father of our subject, 
 spent his early years in London, his native city, and 
 there learned the furrier's trade. He became an 
 expert workman, and vvas for many years connected 
 with the house of G. Smith & Son, one of the most 
 prominent in the city of London and still engaged 
 jn business there. In 1857 he migrated to New 
 York, where he secured a position with John 
 Ruszits, a prominent furrier of that city. He re- 
 mained with him until 1859, when he came to Hart- 
 ford, accepting a position with Strong & Woodruff, 
 the largest concern in the city. He was foreman of 
 ■their fur department for sixteen years, with the 
 exception of three years, when he was manager of 
 the manufacturing department of Kingsbury, Ab- 
 bott, Gay & Co., of is'ew York. In 1875 he re- 
 turned to Hartford and began business for himself 
 at No. 345 Main street, where he established a 
 manufactory, and for some years did the work of 
 Elsworth Strong, C. R. Dix, R. G. Watrous, James 
 Daniels, and Priest & Daniels. This work he con- 
 tinued for a. number of years, during which time 
 he laid the foundation for a retail trade, and in 
 1890 he gave up the wholesale trade, devoting" his 
 entire attention to the- retail business. In 1880 he 
 moved to the present location, Nos. 99 to loi Pratt 
 street, a large three-story building, on the first floor 
 of which are his large show rooms, where are kept 
 the finest grades of goods. The storage department 
 is on the second floor, the manufactory occupying 
 the upper floor. The thorough manner in which 
 Alfred Williams learned his trade, and his later 
 experience with the large concerns, for whom he did 
 enormous quantities of work, placed him in the first 
 ranks of the men in his trade, and widened his repu- 
 tation as an expert in fur trade. Probably no man in 
 America was a better judge of skins, and of the 
 proper methods of their treatment to bring them to 
 the highest state of perfection. His knowledge 
 in this respect was sought far and wide. His spe- 
 cialty was in the manufacture of seal-skin garments, 
 which were unsurpassed in quality. He was recog- 
 nized among the leading business men of Hartford, 
 where his active life was mainly spent, and where 
 he died in 1891, at sixty-two years of age. 
 
 At the time of his death Mr. Williams was 
 warden of Grace Episcopal Church, in Windsor, 
 of which he had been a member for many years, 
 during nearly all of which time he had held son-- 
 official position. He was a member of St. John's 
 Lodge, F. & A. M., No. 4; and of Magnolia Lodge, 
 I. O. O. F., of Brooklyn, N. Y. He was also a mem- 
 ber of the Governor's Foot Guard for many years, 
 and in all of these organizations he took an active 
 interest. He was a Republican in politics, but in- 
 variably declined office. 
 
 Alfred Williams married Martha A. Farley, who 
 was born in London, the daughter of Joseph Far- 
 
 Jey, a steel-plate polisher by trade, who also held 
 the very responsible position of chief bell ringer of 
 London, in which capacity he was famous. He 
 died at the age of sixty years. To Alfred and Mar- 
 tha A. Williams were born seven children, five of 
 whom are living: Mrs. George H. Williams, of 
 Windsor; Alfred C. J., our subject; Emily, who 
 married Charles A. Gray ; Annie, who married 
 Frank W. Barber in Windsor; and Frances, who 
 married Fred B. Bower, of Manchester, N. H. The 
 mother died in Hartford at the age of thirty-six 
 years. She was a member of St. Thomas' Episcopal 
 Church. The father for his second wife married 
 Emeline A. Tompkins, who was born in Litchfield, 
 Conn. By this marriage there was one son, Harry 
 B., who is now engaged in the insurance business 
 in Hartford. The widow survives and retains an 
 interest in the business founded by her husband. 
 
 Alfred C. J. Williams, our subject, was born 
 in London, England, Dec. 9, 1855, and when an in- 
 fant was brought by his parents to America. He 
 spent his early years with his father, was educated 
 in the common and grammar schools of New York 
 and Hartford, learned the furrier's trade under the 
 direction of his father, and although he had sev- 
 eral flattering offers from other large houses, he 
 preferred to remain with his father. In 1889 he 
 entered the store as salesman, and shortly after was 
 made a partner, the firm name changing to Alfred 
 Williams & Son, under which it is still known. This 
 partnership continued up to the time of the father's 
 death, since which time our subject has managed 
 the business alone. Alfred Williams & Son were 
 the only exclusive furriers in Connecticut until re- 
 cently. They employ the most competent workmen 
 in the manufacturing of their goods. They carry a 
 full line of fur goods, and their trade is not confined 
 to Hartford, but reaches out to all adjoining cities 
 and towns, in which they are well and favorably 
 known. The firm is recognized as one that can be 
 depended upon, so that any article purchased will be 
 found as represented. The judgment of Mr. Will- 
 iams, like that of his father, is the very best, and no 
 customer regrets following it in the matter of quality 
 of goods selected. The seal-skin trade established 
 by Alfred Williams, has been continued by our 
 subject, and the store is headquarters for that line 
 of merchandise in all this part of Connecticut. He 
 has ably sustained the enviable reputation estab- 
 lished by his father. During the past quarter of a 
 century they have exhibited their goods at vari- 
 ous State fairs, and upon each and every occasion 
 have taken the first prizes or medals offered for the 
 best quality of goods in their line. 
 
 Mr. Williams married, in 1882, Millie K. Bond, 
 a native of Hartford, the only child of Lafayette 
 K. Bond, a cabinet maker in Hartford for many 
 years. To our subject and wife has been born one 
 son, Raymond S. Mr. Williams is a Republican in 
 politics, but, like his father, declines all offices. He 
 is a member of St. John's Lodge, F. & A. M., and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 403 
 
 lias held all the offices. He is past master, and upon 
 the expiration of his term of office, in 1889, he re- 
 ceived a magnificent ])ast master's jewel, as a mark 
 of the respect and esteem in which he was held 
 by his fellow officers and nienihers of the lodge, 
 anil for tlie thoroughly competent manner in which 
 he had discharged the tluties of the office. He is 
 also a memlier of Pxthagoras Chapter, and of Wol- 
 cott Council, No. i, of which he is at present thrice 
 illustrious master, having filled also a number of 
 other chairs. He is a member of \\'ashington Com- 
 mandery, Xo. I, and of the Scottish Kite bodies up 
 to and including tiie thirty-second degree. He is a 
 member of Connecticut Lodge, I. O. O. F., and 
 of the Encampment, in both of which he has taken 
 an active interest, and held a number of offices. He 
 is also a member of the Royal Arcanum, the An- 
 cient Order of United Workmen, and the Order of 
 Heptasophs. For twenty-four years he was a mem- 
 ber of the Governor's Foot Guard, and was fourth 
 sergeant under Maj. Kinney, under whom he ob- 
 tained his discharge in 1890. After leaving the 
 Foot Guard he joined the veteran corps, and was 
 elected captain, serving two years; he was then 
 elected major, and served four years. During this 
 time he was instrumental in having the corps adopt 
 the present uniform, one of the handsomest of any 
 veteran organization in the State. For six years 
 he also served as treasurer. 
 
 Mr. \\'illiams is a vocalist, and for nearly twenty 
 years has been connected with the musical interests 
 of Hartford. For seventeen years of this time he 
 has sung in the Christ Church choir. He has also 
 sung in a number of concerts, and has organized 
 various quartets, which have appeared before the 
 public on manv occasions. He has also assisted 
 musically in the various lodges with which he is 
 connected. He plays a brass instrument in the 
 Sphinx Temple Band, of which order he is a char- 
 ter member. He is a member of the board of trus- 
 tees of Connecticut Lodge, L O. O. F., and is also 
 a trustee of \\'olcott Council. Himself and wife 
 are members of Christ Episcopal Church. 
 
 THEODORE SHLT.ERT, an ex-soldier of the 
 Civil war, and a greatlv respected resident of Bris- 
 tol, was born in Germany Mav 21, 1836, and is now 
 a trusted employe of the E. Ingraham Clock Com- 
 pany. 
 
 George Leonard Shubert, father of Theodore, 
 was born Sept. 4, 1803, in Alainbernheim, and was 
 a public-school teacher or over fiftv years. On 
 Aug. 21, 1830, he married Magdeline Eigelman, who 
 was liorn Aug. 18,. 181 1, and died in Germany, 
 in 1884, the mother of the following named chil- 
 <lren : Amelia F., born July 31, 1S31. is married to 
 Andrew Winter, and is livin? in Waterbury, Conn. : 
 Lizzie, born Jan. 8, 1833, is the wife of' :\[ichael 
 Alyers, of Wisconsin : .Augusta, born in August, 
 T834, died in October, 1842: Theodore, our subject, 
 is next in the order of birth : Carl F. ^^■., born Sept. 
 
 19, 1838, was a member of the "fighting" i6th Conn. 
 \'. 1., and died in the Andersonville prison pen Sept. 
 29, 1864: Maria 11., born Jan. i. 1840, is the widow 
 of Michael Kunzenmun, and is a resident of Xcw 
 ^'ork City; Ernestine, Iwrn April 8, 1841. is the 
 widow of I-'rank I'arhisius, and lives in Winona, 
 Minn. : Eugenia, born in Octcjber, 1842, is married to 
 I'rancis Iverber and lives in (iermany; Ernest L., 
 born Oct. 31, 1843, married IJabetta Ridder, and 
 still remains in Germany ; Emma, born in 1848, 
 also lives in Germany ; Daniel F., born Feb. 28, 
 1849, flied March 31, 1850; and Rosalie, born April 
 10, 1852, is li\'ing in Lacrosse, Wis. The f::ther of 
 this faniilv died May 22, 1869. 
 
 Lawrence Shubert, grandfather of Theodore, was 
 born in 1740, and died in 1817. He was the leader 
 of an orchastra of twelve or fifteen musicians, taught 
 music in all its branches, and fre(|uently plaved be- 
 fore the King and at court balls. He was twice 
 married, first (o a Miss Tittle; his second wife, who 
 was our subject's grandmother, died in 1850, at the 
 age of eighty-three years and eight montlis. Her 
 children were George Leonard, mentioned a1>ove : 
 and Amelia, who was born in 181 1, and died in 1889. 
 Theodore Shubert, our subject, was educated in 
 Germany, studying the last three \-ears in the Insti- 
 tute of Technology, from which he graduated at the 
 age of fourteen years, and then served an apprentice- 
 ship of three vears with a confectioner. Sailing from 
 Hamburg on the ship '"Diamond" he landed in Xew 
 York June 23, 1853, and thence came immediately to 
 Bristol. For three months he worked on the farm of 
 Orrin Ives, then returned to Xew York and worked 
 at his trade until March i, 1854, when he came back 
 to Bristol and worked in the press room of Xoah 
 Pomeroy's clock factorv until his enlistment, Aug. 
 24, 1861. in Company A, 7th Conn. ^'. I., being the 
 first man to enlist .in that company at Hartford: at 
 New Haven he was made a corporal. At the battle 
 of James Island, June 16, 1862, Mr. Shubert lost 
 his right eye. which was struck liy a fragment of an 
 exploding shell. He was mustered out in Decem- 
 l)er, 1862, and Jan. 24, 1864, enlisted as Inigler in 
 Company A, 1st Connecticut Cavalry. X'ear Eame's 
 Station, \'a.. July 29, 18^4, a rifle ball passed 
 through his right foot. Among the battles in which 
 he took a part were Hilton Head. Fort Pulaski, 
 James Island, the A\'ilderness, I-'rederickslnirg, Yel- 
 low Tavern, Petersburg, Cold Harbor and Stony 
 Creek, but these are not recorded Jiere in chronolog- 
 ical order. He was mustered out ^iay 27, 1865. at 
 the general hospital in Xew Haven, where he had 
 been taken for treatment of the wound in his foot. 
 After his honorable discharge and muster out 
 from the service Mr. Shubert returned to Bristol, 
 Xovember i. 1865. He was employed in tlie press 
 room of the E. Ingraliam clock factory for a few 
 months, and tlien took a contract in the same depart- 
 ment, whicji he still holds, employing seven men. 
 The marriage of Mr. Shubert to Mary .Ann Xich- 
 las took place Oct. 30, 1858. She was born in Ger- 
 
404 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 many March 31, 1837, and died in Bristol Feb. 22, 
 1900, her remains being interred in tlie West ceme- 
 tery. To their marriage were born nine children in 
 the following order ; George Leonard, born Aug. 28, 
 1859, died Dec. 13, 1877. Theodore, Jr., born July 
 21, 1 86 1, married Ella Cleveland, of Harwinton, 
 Dec. 25, 1885, and to this union was born one child, 
 Elsie. Daniel F., born July 8, 1863, was married 
 in October, 1886, to Emma Pohlman, of Burlington, 
 who has borne him one daughter, Ethel, born Aug. 
 I, 1890; Daniel F. is working with his father at the 
 Ingraham clock factor)-. Amelia F., born Nov. 25, 
 1867, was married, May 20, 1891, to Peter Reiser, of 
 New Haven, who is employed by R. J. Duffy, draper 
 and tailor of Hartford ; no children have been born 
 to this union. Irving E., born Feb. 10, 1870, is em- 
 ployed with his father in the Ingraham factory; he 
 was married Jan. i, 1895, to Lena Snyder, of Ter- 
 ryville; to this marriage one child, Irving T., was 
 born Sept. 2, 1896. Edward, born June 22, 1872, 
 died Jan. 7, 1873. Hattie B., born Sept. 9, 1873, 
 was married July 25, 1896, to Charles R. Good- 
 enough, of Bristol, and is the mother of one child, 
 Olive Pearl, born July 24, 1897. Ernest L., born 
 Sept. 14, 1875, is bookkeeper for Charles P. Good- 
 enough. George E., born Feb. 4, 1883, is employed 
 with his father. 
 
 Mr. Shubert is a member of the Prospect ]M. E. 
 Church, of which his wife was also a faithful, mem- 
 ber, and in the faith of which she passed away. He 
 is also a member of the New England Order of Pro- 
 tection No. 12, of Bristol, and of G. W. Thompson 
 Post No. 13, G. A. R. In politics hs is a very 
 earnest Republican but has never sought office, al- 
 though he is an unusually popular citizen. 
 
 logg family has long been proniinent in this State, 
 and the subject of this biography, a leading phy- 
 sician of Hartford, is a descendant in the seventh 
 generation from Lieut. Joseph Kellogg, who served 
 in King Philip's war, and was in command as 
 lieutenant at the "Falls Fight," South Hadley Falls, 
 Mass. His name first appears at Farmington in 
 1651, and in 1659 he removed to Boston, purchas- 
 ing a home on Roxbury road, now Washington 
 street. Later he removed to Hadley, Mass., and 
 for some time was selectman of that town. He died 
 about 1707- and his home in Hadley is now in a 
 good state of preservation. On May 9, 1657, he 
 married Abigail, daughter of Stephen Terry, of 
 Windsor, Conn., and by her had twenty children, of 
 whom Nathaniel was the twelfth. 
 
 (II) Nathaniel Kellogg, born Oct. 8, 1669, at 
 Hadley. Mass., removed to Amherst in 1739. He 
 died Oct. 30, 1750, -aged eighty-one years. On 
 June 28, 1692, he married Sarah, daughter of Sam- 
 uel Boltwood, and thev had nine children, of whom 
 Ephraim was the eighth. 
 
 (III) Ephraim Kellogg, born Aug. 2, 1709, died 
 March 16, 1777. In 1741 he was married to Dor- 
 
 othy, daughter of Samuel Hawley, of Amherst, 
 and had six children, of whom Martin was the 
 second. 
 
 (IV) Martin Kellogg, born in 1744, died in 
 1827. He married Hannah, daughter of Zacheus 
 Crocker, of Shutesbury, Mass., and they had ten 
 children, of whom Bela was the sixth. 
 
 (V) Bela Kellogg, born Aug. 24, 1780, gradu- 
 ated from Williams College in 1800, and studied 
 theology with Rev. Nathaniel Emmons, of Frank- 
 lin. He was ordained at Brookfield, Conn., in 1813, 
 dismissed in 1817, .and in 1819 became first pastor 
 of the church at Avon. He was obliged to give 
 up work on account of ill health, and died April 30, 
 1831. On June 6, 1805, he married Lydia Candee, 
 who was born in West Haven Nov. i, 1778, and 
 died in Avon Dec. 3, 1843. 
 
 (A'T) Bela Crocker Kellogg, born at W'est 
 Haven, Conn., April 27, 181 1, died Sept. 30, 1S92, 
 at Avon. His early boyhood was spent in Avon, 
 and he learned the harness trade in Hartford in 
 company with the late Henry Keney and Charles 
 B. Smith, all being apprentices of Thomas Smith 
 & Co. He then engaged in mercantile business at 
 Avon, and for some years was a leading citizen of 
 that place, and an active worker in the Congrega- 
 tional Church. He served twenty-tive years as 
 postmaster, and was also justice of the peace and 
 town clerk. In politics he was first a Whig and 
 later a Republican. On Oct. 15, 1839, he married 
 Mary, daughter of Rev. John Bartlett, pastor of the 
 Congreeational Church at Bloomfield, and West 
 Avon, Conn. She is descended from twelve of the 
 "Mayflower" Pilgrims, including John and Pris- 
 cilla Aldeh, Elder William and Mary Brewster, 
 and John and Elizabeth Howland. Seven children 
 were born to them : Edward W. : Charles A., a resi- 
 dent of Carthage,- Mo. ; Wallace B., deceased ; 
 William H. and Jane B., residents of Hartford: 
 Marv B., deceased, who married Yung Wing; and 
 Francis B., M. D.', who resides in Los Angeles, 
 California. 
 
 ( VH) Edward Wilberforce Kellogg, M. D., was 
 born in Avon Nov. 29, 1840, son of Bela C. and 
 Mary (Bartlett) Kellogg. His education was ob- 
 tained in the public schools of Philadelphia, and in 
 the high school at Collinsville, Conn. He studied 
 medicine for two years with the late Dr. Isaac 
 G. Porter, of New London, and then took courses 
 of lectures at Bellevue Hospital Medical College and 
 at the New York Homeopathic Medical College, re- 
 ceiving his degree from the latter institution in 
 1867. He settled in Danbury the year of his gradu- 
 ation, but removed in the same year to Southington, 
 where he remained until May, 1871, and has since 
 been in practice in Hartford. He served for three 
 years during the Civil war as hospital steward in 
 the medical department of the regular army, often 
 performing the duties of assistant surgeon, and his 
 commission, bearing the signature of Gen. \J. S. 
 Grant, is a highly valued souvenir of that cxperi- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 405 
 
 ence. He has also served respectively as treasurer, 
 vice-president and president of the Connecticut 
 Homeopathic JMedical Society, and is now president 
 of the Alumni Association of the New York Homeo- 
 pathic Medical College and Hospital. He is a 
 juember of the society of Sons of the Revolution, 
 the Army and Navy Club, and the Connecticut His- 
 torical Society. In politics he is a Republican. 
 
 On JMarch 7, 1S07, the Doctor was married to 
 ]\Iiss Hilah A. Dart, of New London, and they have 
 had three children: Edward Russell Kellogg, M. 
 D., a physician in Chicago, 111., married Esther, 
 daughter of Alexander H. Allyn, of Delavan, Wis., 
 and granddaughter of the late ex-Mayor Timothy 
 M. Allyn, of Hartford; they have one daughter, 
 Ruth Hilah. Arthur Bartlett Kellogg, M. D., a 
 graduate of the Medical Department of the Univer- 
 sity of New York, and of the New York Homeo- 
 pathic Medical College, served two years on the 
 surgical stafT of Bellevue Hospital, and has been 
 in practice in Hartford since 1898; he married Cori- 
 bel, daughter of ex-Lieut. -Gov. William H. Ven- 
 able, of Georgia. Robert Belden Kellogg, the 
 youngest son, is a student at the Riverview Military 
 Academy, Poughkeepsie, New York. 
 
 CHARLES H. SMITH, a well-known broker 
 at No. 49 Pearl street, Hartford, is the youngest of 
 live sons, and was born Oct. 27, 1828, at East Lyme, 
 Conn. His parents, Elisha and Mary (Gorton) 
 Smith, were natives of East Lyme, and were mar- 
 ried Dec. 26, 1808. The genealogy of this branch 
 of the Smith family is traced back two hundred and 
 fifty years on the Western continent, from Boston 
 and Lancaster, !Mass., and Saybrook, Conn., to 
 Richard Smith, one of the original proprietors of 
 Lyme, Conn., and from whom the subject of this 
 sketch is descended. Facts that have been obtained 
 by patient research show much to make all bearing 
 the name feel justly proud of their Colonial an- 
 cestry. 
 
 On the maternal side the record is complete to 
 the famous Samuel Gorton, who arrived in this 
 country in 1637. He was one of the "most striking 
 and picturesque" men that figure in early New 
 England history. "Frozen out of Boston, banished 
 from Plymouth, driven by contentions from Prov- 
 idence and Pawtuxet," he acted an important part 
 in the history of the Commonwealth of Rhode 
 Island, and was one of the founders of the town of 
 Warwick. Some of the family, about 171 7, re- 
 moved to New London county, Conn., from whom 
 ]\Iary Gorton traced her line of ancestry. 
 
 Charles H. Smith attended the district school 
 of his native town until he was fourteen years old, 
 at which time he was sent to Westfield, Mass., to be 
 imder the supervision of his brother, the Rev. Will- 
 iam Angus Smith, who was twenty years his senior. 
 Acting upon his brother's advice he entered the 
 Westfield Academy, where for two years he was a 
 diligent and successful student. Lack of means 
 
 compelling him to abandon his academic instruction, 
 and to depend upon his own exertions for support, 
 he at the age of si.xteen came to Hartford, and be- 
 came errand-boy in the employ of another brother, 
 John Gorton Smith, and from him received his com- 
 mercial training. John Gorton Smith commenced 
 his business life in Hartford in 1838, when nineteen 
 years old, and many of the well-known dry-goods 
 merchants of a later date served their clerkship at 
 the "Long Brick Store" under his tutelage. When 
 he removed to New York City in 185 1, the errand 
 boy, who had advanced by steady gradations, was 
 able to purchase the business, which was located on 
 Main street, near Pearl street, and at present oc- 
 cupied by the "Boston Branch Grocery." He re- 
 tired from the dry-good trade in 1871, Brown, 
 Thompson & Co. buying his stock of goods. After 
 a rest of a few years, Mr. Smith engaged in general 
 brokerage business, handling stocks, bonds and 
 Western securities. In 1894 he retired from active 
 business life. 
 
 In 1852, Charles H. Smith was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Harriet E. Hills, whose father, 
 Howell R. Hills, was a wholesale dealer in boots 
 and shoes for many years. ]\Irs. Harriet E. Smith 
 died in 1855, and in 1861 Mr. Smith wedded Miss 
 Jane T. Hills, daughter of Ellery Hills, a promi- 
 nent merchant in Hartford for over fifty years. He 
 has one grandchild, Robert Kemble Smith, the son 
 of Charles Howell Smith, who died in 1894, aged 
 forty-one years. Charles Howell Smith was secre- 
 tary and treasurer of the Valley railroad, and later 
 was engaged in the brokerage business with his 
 father; he married Miss Kate Kemble, of Paw Paw, 
 Mich., and resided in Hartford. 
 
 Mr. Smith is a director in the Connecticut Trust 
 Co. and the Phoenix Fire Insurance Co., vice-presi- 
 dent of the Smyth Manufacturing Co., and has been 
 connected with other enterprises in the past. Since 
 1844 he has been identified with the business inter- 
 ests of Hartford, and as one of the oldest citizens 
 he has watched its growth from 9,000 to 80,000 
 inhabitants. In politics he is a Republican; in re- 
 ligion a Congregationalist. His indomitable energy 
 and perseverance and strict integrity in meeting his 
 business engagements have won for him the respect 
 of the business public, and all with whom he is as- 
 sociated. 
 
 LEVIAT S. KNOEK, a prominent, wide-awake 
 wholesale and retail merchant of Hartford, is a 
 native of that city, born Aug. 7, 1863, a son of 
 Joseph L. Knock, who for several years was a well- 
 known business man in Hartford. 
 
 Joseph L. Knock was born in Amsterdam, Hol- 
 land, a son of a real-estate dealer in that city, who 
 was a m.an of prominence, well and favorably 
 known, and who died at the patriarchal age of 
 ninety-two years. Our subject's grandmother died 
 when his father was a child. She had six children, 
 one of whom is yet living in Amsterdam, and one of 
 
406 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 her sons was wealthy, leaving when he died 100,000 
 guilders to his wife, and, at her death, to an orphan 
 asylum. Joseph L. learned the trade of tailor, and 
 so apt was he that when only thirteen years of age 
 he could make a suit of clothes. In 1850 he came 
 to America, settling in Hartford, where he fol- 
 lowed his trade, being employed by Mr. Goodhart, 
 then doing business in Morgan street. Having 
 saved his wages, he commenced a new line of busi- 
 ness, that of peddler, dealing in chinaware and bric- 
 a-brac chiefly. From the profits of this business he 
 started a small clothing store, and later established 
 a loan business, also investing in real estate. Being 
 a shrewd buyer, his investments proved highly valu- 
 able, and by dint of tact and perseverance he ac- 
 cumulated a large property. He was -in business 
 forty-three years, and at the time of his death was 
 among the oldest merchants of Hartford. By his 
 wife, Hanna (Blodes), who was born in Germany, 
 near Lissa, he had seven children, five of whom 
 grew to maturity, and four are living, viz. : Hulda 
 married Mark Sherrick, who is in the fur business 
 in New York; Celia married H. P. Levy, a jeweler 
 in Hartford; Leviat S., our subject, comes next; 
 Adeline being the youngest. The father died May 
 I, 1893, aged sixty-six years, the mother on March 
 23, 1895. They were members of the Reformed 
 Jewish Church. Gilbert D., another son, was for 
 thirteen years head cashier for A. Hollander, cloth- 
 ier, Hartford, and later was in business with our 
 subject. He was a man of prominence, serving in 
 the city council, and taking an active part in the 
 affairs of the place. Socially he was a member 
 of the I. O. O. F., of the L O. B. B., and of the 
 Hubbard Escort. 
 
 Leviat S. Knock, whose name introduces this 
 sketch, received his education in the common and 
 high schools, graduating in the class of '82. He 
 commenced his life work as clerk for his father, 
 finally becoming manager, and, later, on the death 
 of his father, succeeding to the business. Li the 
 meantime, from 1880 to 1883 he represented "on 
 the road" a New York house, in the fur business, 
 traveling all over the United States, and visiting 
 every city from Maine to California. Upon taking 
 charge of the business of his father as manager, 
 he introduced into it many new methods, and in 
 addition to clothing, he added a large stock of dia- 
 monds, jewelry, hardware, bicycles, bicycle supplies, 
 and sporting goods, musical instruments, electric 
 supplies, etc. Upon the death of his mother, he was 
 appointed administrator of the estate which 
 amounted to some $60,000. In the spring of 1900 
 he remodeled the entire store, taking out a partition, 
 and now has a place of business sixty-seven feet 
 deep and twenty-two feet wide, stocked with goods, 
 and where he employs six clerks. 
 
 Mr. Knock is a Democrat in politics ; served three 
 terms on the council, being re-elected twice in suc- 
 cession. He drafted the present Pawnbroker Laws 
 for the buying and selling of all kinds of jewelry, 
 
 bicycles, junk, iron, and everything of this descrip- 
 tion, which laws were passed by the Legislature in 
 1894, and adopted at that time. He is a man of a. 
 rare degree of intelligence. Socially he is a member 
 of St. John's Lodge, F. & A. M. ; of the B. P. O. E. 
 and K, of P., and has held a number of offices in 
 these. At the time of the trip of the B. P. O. E. 
 lodge to St. Louis, to the National Convention June 
 17, 1889, he was chairman of the Ways and Means- 
 committee. During the summer of 1900 he visited 
 the Paris Exposition, and incidentally the follow- 
 ing countries : England, Holland, Belgium, Ger- 
 many, France, Scotland and Ireland. 
 
 HENRY CLAY BURGESS, a wholesale and ' 
 retail coal dealer in Hartford, with yards at Tunnel. 
 No. 15, Albany avenue, was born Oct. 25, 1831, in 
 Richfield, New York. 
 
 Mr. Burgess' ancestors were early settlers at 
 Plainfield, Conn., and his grandfather, Capt. Nathan 
 Burgess, who was born in that town, passed his- 
 active years there, engaged in farming, his death 
 occurring at the age of forty-six. Henry Burgess,, 
 our subject's father, was born and reared in Plain- 
 field, and removed to West Winfield, N. Y., in 1821,, 
 and to Hartford in January, 1833. He engaged ini 
 the lumber business there, and followed same over 
 a quarter of a century, continuing until his death, 
 in 1859, at the age of fifty-eight years. He was a 
 Whig in politics, and served in the common council. 
 In religious faith he was a Baptist, and his upright, 
 character won for him a large circle of friends in; 
 Hartford and vicinity. He married Nancy Goff^ 
 a native of Rehoboth, Mass., who removed to Plain- 
 field in her girlhood, later to West Winfield, N. Y., 
 and died in Hartford, aged sixty-three. Her uncle,. 
 Nathan Goff, was a Revolutionary soldier. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Burgess had five children, three of whom 
 are living: Cornelia E., Anna M., and Henry Clay.. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the common schools- 
 of Hartford, and at an early age began to gain a 
 practical knowledge of his father's business, to 
 which he was admitted as a partner and finally suc- 
 ceeded at his father's death. After carrying it on 
 alone for some years he took charge of William S. 
 White's lumber yard, continuing same eighteen 
 years. He has since been in business for himself, 
 a period of about twelve years, and under his abld 
 management his trade has constantly increased, 
 being now one of the largest in the city. In 1864 
 he married Julia E. Williams, of Manchester, whose 
 father. Dr. Williams, was a prominent physician 
 there for many years. She was one of four chil- 
 dren, two of whom are still living, A. W. C. Will- 
 iams, of Hartford, Conn., and Clarence Williams,, 
 of Cheshire. Mrs. Burgess died in 1889, aged 
 fifty-three years. She was for many years a mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church. Our subject is 
 a Republican in politics, and a member of Hartford 
 Lodge, No. 88, F. & A. M., the Knights of Pythias, 
 the American Mechanics, and a number of insurance 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 407 
 
 organizations. He has held all the offices in the 
 K. of P., and is treasurer at the present time. In 
 religious connection he belongs to the Baptist 
 Church, and has taken considerable interest in the 
 church and Sunday-school, holding offices in both. 
 
 WILLIAjM henry NOTT, a retired con- 
 tractor and builder residing in Bristol and an ex- 
 hero of t}:e Civil war, was born in Rocky Hill, 
 Conn., Feb. 12, 1844, and is a son of John and 
 Elizabeth (Blinn) Nott, deceased. 
 
 John Nott, a native of Wethersfield, was a son 
 of William Nott, who commanded the sloop "Guil- 
 ford" in the Revolutionary war, resided in Wethers- 
 field, and was the father of three children : John 
 (a shoemaker by trade, who worked principally in 
 Rocky Hill and East Berlin), Oliver, and W'illiam 
 Henry Nott. John, father of our subject, served 
 in the war of 1812, and died in Rocky Hill about 
 1857, having lost his wife about the year 1847. 
 He was a member of the Baptist Church, and in 
 politics was a Republican, but was never an office- 
 holder. To his marriage with Elizabeth Blinn, of 
 Rocky Hill, were born seven children : Julius, born 
 June II, 1819; Edward, of Bristol; Maria, married 
 to Gurdon Goodrich, of Rocky Hill, died in Miles 
 City, Mont. ; jNIarshall, married to Mary Ann Whit- 
 man, is a farmer living in Griswoldville, Conn. ; 
 Selah W., who first married Mellie Hayes and later 
 wedded Mary Hastings, is employed by Pratt & 
 Whitney (lives at No. 18 Grand street, Plartford) ; 
 Emeline is married to William Whitman, of West 
 Hartford; and \Mlliam H. is the subject of this 
 sketch. 
 
 William H. Nott attended the common schools 
 of Rocky Hill until he was eleven years old, then 
 went to Wethersfield, lived in the family of Levi 
 Churchill, had the privilege of attending school in 
 the winter season until 1857, and then came to 
 Bristol to learn the carpenter's trade under his 
 brother Edward, with whom he remained until he 
 responded to the call to arms in defense of the in- 
 tegrity of the Union. At Hartford, Aug. 24, 1862, 
 he was enrolled a member of Company K, Sixteenth 
 C. V. I., and was immediately sent to the front. 
 He took part in the actions at Antietam, Fredericks- 
 burg, Suffolk, Providence Church Road, Edenton 
 Road, Va., and at Plymouth, N. C, where he was 
 captured bv the enemy and confined in the loath- 
 some pen at Anderson ville from April 20, 1864, un- 
 til September. Thence he was transferred to 
 Charleston, S. C, with the first squad was placed 
 in the exposed hospital of that beleaguered city, was 
 confined one month, and was thence transferred to 
 Florence, S. C, where he was exchanged Dec. 11, 
 1S64, and sent to Annapolis, Md. He was there 
 granted a furlough of thirty days to come home 
 to vote, and on rejoining his regiment happened 
 to be on board the gunboat "Massachusetts" when 
 it collided with and sank the "Black Diamond" 
 in the Potomac river. At the conclusion of hos- 
 
 tilities, the 131 survivors of the "Fighting Six- 
 teenth" C. \'. 1. were honorably mustered out at 
 Hartford June 24, 1865, Mr. Nott with the rank 
 of first sergeant, and was one of the four that was 
 discharged as a regiment left of his company. 
 
 Mr. Nott now resumed work at his trade with 
 his brother Edward in Bristol, and remained with 
 him until 1868, when he went to llartford, worked 
 for West & Lapaugh and for Charles Loomis for 
 four years; then went to Middletown and did busi- 
 ness as a contractor and builder two years ; returned 
 to Bristol and again worked with his brother two 
 years, and then embarked in contracting and build- 
 ing on his own account. In this he met with abund- 
 ant success, filling contracts for the building of the 
 Baptist church, the Gridley hotel, the elegant dwell- 
 ing of George W. Mitchell on Bellevue avenue, and 
 many other fine dwellings. In 1883 he relinquished 
 building, having secured a contract for the sawing 
 and planing for the E. Ingraham Co., which he held 
 until 1887, when he secured a similar contract with 
 E. N. Welch & Co., which he faithfully carried out 
 until failing health caused him to withdraw in 1892, 
 since which date he has not been actively engaged 
 in any business. 
 
 William H. Nott was united in marriage Feb. 
 14, 1866, with I^Iiss Mary Bulkeley Smith, daugh- 
 ter of Benjamin Smith, of Rocky Hill. This union 
 has been blessed with two children : Alary Day, 
 born Dec. 9, 1866, was married Oct. 20, 1S86, to 
 Harry C. Wright, of Bristol, who is employed in 
 the movement department of the K. Ingraham Co., 
 and to this union was born Aug. 7, 1887, one child, 
 Guv JMaynard, now attending public school ; Eliza- 
 beth Bulkeley Nott, born Aug. 29, 1869 ,in Hart- 
 ford, was married July 2, 1889, to Charles E. Dun- 
 bar, whose life record appears elsewhere, and to 
 them also was born June 26, 1891, one child, Win- 
 throp William Nott Dunbar. 
 
 Air. Nott was formerly a member of G. W. 
 Thompson Post, No. 13, G. A. R., and was its 
 junior vice-commander and also its chaplain; he is 
 a member of Ethan Lodge, No. 9, K. of P., in which 
 he has passed all the chairs and has filled the office 
 of past chancellor commander; he was likewise a 
 member of Hull Battalion, No. 5, Uniform Rank, 
 K. of P., but resigned on account of ill health. In 
 politics he is a stanch Republican, but would never 
 accept a nomination for office. He and family are 
 faithful members of the Congregational Church : 
 socially they stand as high and are as well respected 
 as any in Bristol. 
 
 JOSEPH HENRY ^^"ARD, at present in the 
 real-estate business in Bristol, is a native of that 
 borough, born there ,Oct. 20, 1849, ^ son of ^^'ill- 
 iam and Mary W'ard. 
 
 William Ward was born in England, was a 
 miner by vocation, and came to America in August, 
 1846. He settled in Bristol, and at once engaged 
 in mining copper near by, the mines at that time 
 
408 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 being very prolific in that metal, but in 1849 went to 
 California, and he has been employed in many mines 
 in all parts of the country where mines were to be 
 developed, and was mining in North Carolina when 
 the Civil war broke out; but he always recognized 
 Bristol, Conn., as his home. His vast experience 
 as a miner usually secured for him dominant posi- 
 tions, and at one time he was superintendent of the 
 nickel mines in Torrington, Conn. He was a man 
 of diligence, and cared much more for his vocation 
 and travel than he did for society. 
 
 Joseph H. Ward, one of the eight children born 
 to William Ward, received his elementary education 
 in the common schools of Bristol, and later attended 
 Bryant & Stratton's Business College at Hartford, 
 from which he graduated in 1869. Shortly after- 
 ward he bought the livery establishment of George 
 C. Gridley, opposite the railroad depot ; twenty-three 
 years later he sold this stand to S. D. Bull '& Co., 
 and it is now conducted by C. S. Barnes & Co. Mr. 
 Ward next went to Durango, Colo., where he was 
 appointed general manager for the San Juan Coal 
 Mining Co., held the position four years, then re- 
 signed and returned to Bristol, where he is now 
 engaged in real-estate business and in caring for 
 extensive interests in various business concerns, 
 being one of the original stockholders and directors 
 in the Electric Light Co., and interested in several 
 other of the larger stock companies of the town. 
 
 On June 25, 1877, Mr. Ward married Miss 
 Clara May Burwell, daughter of John and Clara 
 Burwell, of New Hartford, and this marriage has 
 been graced with four children : George Burwell, 
 now a student of Yale College, class of 1902 (he 
 was a member of the base-ball team of 1899, and 
 this year (1900) is a member of the Varsity foot- 
 ball squad) ; Alice May, attending the Miss Burn- 
 ham preparatory school in Northampton ; Bertha 
 S., attending the Bristol schools ; and Flavia Allen. 
 In politics Mr. Ward is a Democrat, and while in 
 Colorado he was a Bryan delegate to the State con- 
 vention. Socially he is a member of the Roj^al 
 Arcanum. Besides his fine home in Bristol he owns 
 a cottage at Sachem's Head, where he spends the 
 summers with his family. 
 
 HON. ALMON BLAKE PHELPS, who is now 
 representing the town of East Granby, in the State 
 Legislature, is one of the leading and influential cit- 
 izens of that locality, and a recognized leader in the 
 ranks of the Republican party there. 
 
 Mr. Phelps was born in Sarahsville, Noble Co., 
 Ohio, Nov. 26, 1866, but is a representative of one 
 of the oldest and most honored families of Hartford 
 county, Conn. His great-grandfather. Job Phelps, 
 was born April 20, 1750, in the town of Suffield, 
 this county, and there spent his entire life as a 
 farmer. He was a land owner and a very highly re- 
 spected citizen of his community. Li his native 
 town he was married, July 3, 1777, to Miss Charity 
 Moore, who was born Aug. 29, 1748, and died Feb. 
 
 22, 1827, while his death occurred Oct. 2, 1820, and 
 
 the remains of both were interred in Suffield. Their 
 children were as follows : Job, born Oct. 7, 1779, 
 was drowned Sept. 15, 1792; Jabez Moore, our sub- 
 ject's grandfather, was next in order of birth; 
 Drayton, born Sept. 20, 1784, died May 27, 1854; 
 Jason, born March 31, 1787, died March 6, 1858; 
 and Charity, born Jan. 14, 1791, married (first). 
 Chandler Owen, and (second) Ransom Hayden. 
 
 Jabez Moore Phelps, our subject's grandfather, 
 was born May 20, 1782, and received only a 
 country-school education. He always made his 
 home in the town of Suffield, and throughout life 
 followed the occupation of farming, to which he had 
 been reared. In his political affiliations he was a 
 Whig, and in religious connection he was a member 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with which his 
 family were also identified. He died May 8, 1848, 
 honored and respected by all who knew him, and 
 was buried in the town of Suffield. On Jan. I, 1805, 
 he married Rebecca Hamilton, who was born in 
 Tolland, Conn., Dec. 7, 1777, and died April 13, 
 1858. She, too, was a member of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, and was a most estimable lady. In 
 their family were four children: Almon, born Sept. 
 19, 1805, died Oct. 15, 1885; Canfield, the father of 
 our subject, was next in the order of birth; Rebecca, 
 born July 29, 1814, died unmarried Oct. 23, 1885; 
 and Drayton, born Aug. 23 1816, was married Oct. 
 19, 185 1, to Charlotte Dibijle, of Southwick, Mass*" 
 who is still living (his death occurrred March 30, 
 1893. By occupation he was a farmer). 
 
 Canfield Phelps was born July 7, 181 1, in the 
 town of Suffield, studied civil engineering and was a 
 well-educated man. When a young man he traveled 
 all through the South as a collector for a clock com- 
 panjr in Connecticut, and later went West, locating 
 for a time in Sarahsville, Noble Co., Ohio, where he 
 engaged in the real-estate and stock business, and 
 also in civil engineering. Subsequently he was in- 
 terested in the manufacture of lumber in Defiance 
 county, that State, and was the first man in the 
 county to erect and own a portable sawmill. For 
 some time he was extensively engaged in the 
 lumber business there, and after his removal to Ed- 
 gerton, Williams Co., Ohio, continued in the same 
 enterprise. He became one of the foremost citizens 
 of Edgerton, held the offices of justice of the peace, 
 tax collector and other local positions, and took a 
 deep interest in the cause of education, doing much 
 to advance the interests of the pub'ic schools, and 
 died at that place, Nov, 5, 1871, being buried in the 
 cemetery there. He was an upright and honorable 
 man, very popular in business and social circles, and 
 was a stanch supporter of the Republican party and 
 its principles. He married (first) Nancy Gilkinson, 
 and to them was born one son, Orsen, who died 
 young. After the death of this wife he wedded 
 Miss Mary Holley, by whom he had four children, 
 the oldest of whom died in infancy, the others being: 
 Almon B., our subject; Drayton, a resident of 
 
c:>^v*^-^ /?, ^f^c^. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 409 
 
 Williams county, Oliio; and Lucy R., the wife of 
 iuhvin Store. For her second husband, the motlier 
 married John Battershell (now deceased), and she is 
 still living in Williams county, Ohio. 
 
 Alnion B. I'helps accompanied his parents on 
 their removal to Detiance county, Ohio, and later to 
 Edgerton, where he attended schools. In Williams 
 county he remained until he was sixteen years of 
 age, when, he came east to the birthplace of his fa- 
 ther, and lived wjth his uncle Drayton Phelps, at 
 Copper Hill, town of East Granby, Hartford Co., 
 Conn., for five years. Elaving saved a little money, 
 he in 1889 purchased a tract of land near the Cop- 
 per Hill Methodist Episcopal church, known as the 
 Frederick Stevens farm. This comprises ninety 
 acres, on which he has since successfully engaged in 
 general farming, dairying and tobacco growing. 
 He is a very enterprising, energetic man, noted for 
 his industry and business like propensities, and is 
 very popular among his associates and friends. 
 
 In 1889, in the town of Granby, Mr. Phelps was 
 united in marriage with Miss Florence M. Viets, 
 who was born there Feb. 18, 1868, a daughter of 
 Julius G. and Mary P. (Gillett) Viets, of Granby, 
 and a niece of Virgil E. A'iets, of Newgate. To 
 them were born two children: Nellie and Mary 
 Viets. The mother, who was a faithful member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church, died in August, 
 1897, and was laid to rest in the Copper Hill ceme- 
 tery. She was an affectionate wife and mother, 
 and her decease was a sad blow to the sorrowing 
 husband. 
 
 Since attaining his majority, Mr. Phelps has 
 taken an active part in political affairs, as a sup- 
 porter of the Republican party, and has done all in 
 his power to promote its interests. He has served 
 as selectman of the town of East Granby, to the en- 
 tire satisfaction of all concerned, and in the fall of 
 1898 was elected to the State Legislature. He is 
 proving a most efficient man for the place, and in 
 all the relations of life has proved an earnest, hon- 
 est, upright man, and a citizen of whom anv com- 
 munity might be justly proud. He has held' nearly 
 all the local offices in his town, including those of 
 school director and assessor, and has discharged his 
 various duties with a promptness and fidelity wor- 
 thy of all commendation. 
 
 ^ HENRY FRANKLIN CORNING has become 
 widely known in business circles as a dealer in all 
 kinds_ of leather goods, at No. 83 Asylum street, 
 Hartford. It is true that he became interested in 
 a business already established, but in controlling and 
 enlarging such an enterprise many a man ofeven 
 considerable resolute purpose, courage and industrv 
 •would have failed; and he has demonstrated the 
 truth of the saying that success is not the result of 
 genius, but the outcome of a clear judgment and 
 experience. 
 
 A native of Hartford, Mr. Corning was born 
 July 28, 1849, and is a son of Henrv Corning, who 
 
 was born in Hartford Aug. 12, 1818. The paternal 
 grandparents of our subject were Henry and JCliza- 
 beth (KappcUj Corning. The father was reared 
 and educated in Hartford, and for about fourteen 
 years after reaching manhood he was engaged in 
 the dry-goods business in New York City. He is 
 now living retired, having in February, 1900, with- 
 drawn from the firm of 11. F. Corning & Co., of 
 which our subject is senior member. He has been 
 a lifelong Democrat, and for many years has been 
 senior warden of St. John's Church and Trinity 
 Church. As a business man and citizen he has made 
 an enviable reputation, and is deserving of honor- 
 able mention in a work of this character. At Christ 
 Church, Hartford, on Alay 4, 1847, he was married 
 to Miss Mary Jane, daughter of Ralph Goodwin, 
 and to them were born four children : Henry 
 Franklin, our subject; Mary Elizabeth Kappelf; 
 Carrie, who died in Hartford, in 1892; and Jennie, 
 who died in childhood. 
 
 Flenry Franklin Corning was educated at board- 
 ing schools in Windham and Cheshire, Conn., and on 
 Feb. 22, 1865, entered the employ of Corning Broth- 
 ers as clerk, since which time he has been connected 
 with the business, of which he is now at the head. 
 This business was established by his grandfather, 
 Ralph Goodwin, in i8i2, and carried on by him until 
 1858, when he was succeeded by Henrv Corning 
 and his brother Franklin, who conducted it under 
 the firm style of Corning Brothers. In 1874 our 
 subject was admitted to partnership, and the name 
 changed to H. F. Corning & Co. At different times 
 during its existence business has been conducted 
 on Church street, Kingsley, Central Row, Main 
 street and Asylum street. They at present occupv 
 the building at No. 83 Asylum street, and carrv a 
 complete line of horse goods, trunks, bags, pocket 
 books and leather findings. By fair and honorable 
 dealing, and by keeping a first-class stock, they have 
 built up an excellent trade. 
 
 Mr. Corning was married, Nov. 12, 1873, in 
 Trinity Church, Hartford, to Aliss Z\Iary Ellen 
 Keney, daughter of Aaron Keney. 
 
 ALLEN T. BUNNELL, a well-known farmer 
 and respected citizen of Bristol, is a native of Ohio, 
 born Oct. 19, 1836, in Geneva [For ancestral data, 
 see sketch of Charles R. Bunnell elsewhere]. N'a- 
 thaniel Bunnell, grandfather of Allen T., was born 
 May 20. 1758, and died Aug. 22, 1828. He was a 
 farmer by occupation, also a basket maker. At 
 the age of twenty years he went to New London, 
 Conn., enlisted in the Continental armv, and was 
 present at the burning of the place by Arnold. He 
 was twice married, and by his second wife, Rhoda 
 Bates (born Oct. 5, 1761, died July 29, 1852), he 
 had children as follows : Dinah, Laura, Phileta, Al- 
 len, Susannah, and Thomas. Of these, 
 
 Thomas Butmell, father of Allen T., was born 
 in Burlington, Conn., Nov. 9, 1806, and died Feb. 
 11, 1895. In 1827, he came to Terrjn-ille, Conn., 
 
410 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and for a time taught in the old red school house, 
 later taking up the business of teaming freight, 
 the goods consigned to him coming through the old 
 canal to Plainville, from there being distributed 
 through the country. His teaming experience dates 
 from the year 1843, when he drove to Hartford 
 every other day for freight, on the intervening days 
 making a trip to Plainville, and this he continued 
 in until 1855 when the railroad made its appearance 
 in that region. Mr. Bunnell then commenced 
 teaming between Terry ville and Thomaston, from 
 1855 to 1887 carrying loads of merchandise over 
 the hills of Litchfield county. In addition to the 
 regular freight business mentioned, he for many 
 years, in company with his son Allen T., did all the 
 teaming for the manufacturers of Terryville, in- 
 cluding the Eagle Lock Co. (for nearly twenty 
 years), also Andrew Terry & Co.'s foundry (for 
 several years), whereby, as will readily be seen, 
 his life became closely interwoven with the busi- 
 ness history of the community, in which he was 
 highly esteemed. In 1853 he returned to Geneva, 
 Ohio, and for seven years followed farming, then 
 again came to Bristol. 
 
 In 1830 Thomas Bunnell married Pamelia Bun- 
 rell, of Plymouth, Conn., who died in July, 1864, 
 the mother of children as follows : ( i ) Miss Olive, 
 a resident of Terryville. (2) Sophronia, wife of 
 James Andrews, of Terryville ; she died in Bristol. 
 (3) Allen T., our subject. (4) Angeline, wife of 
 Amos Jacques, of Geneva; she died in Geneva. (5) 
 Romanta (not married) died in Terryville. (6) 
 Albert, who has been twice married, has his home 
 in Terryville. (7-8) Two children died in infancy. 
 Allen T. Bunnell, whose name introduces this 
 sketch, was five years old when his parents re- 
 moved to Terryville, and here he received his 
 schooling. At the a^e of fifteen he commenced asT 
 sisting his father in the trucking business, and so 
 continued a couple of years or until the family re- 
 turned to Geneva, Ohio, where for the following 
 seven years or so he assisted his father on the 
 farm. Once more locating in Bristol, later remov- 
 ing to Plainville, he in about a year returned to 
 Terryville, and commenced the trucking business 
 in company with his father, remaining so engaged 
 some eighteen years. At the end of that time, in 
 1877, he removed to Bristol, making his home on 
 Wolcott street, and engaging in trucking and farm- 
 ing. From 1879 to 1895 he did trucking only, in 
 the latter year retiring altogether from that line, 
 since when he has been exclusively engaged in 
 farming. As a truckman he did work for the Ses- 
 sions Foundry Co. as well as the merchants of i^e 
 place. 
 
 On March 5, 1859, our subject was married to 
 Miss Sarah Maria Norton, who was born Dec. 24, 
 1840, a daughter of Porter Norton, of Bristol, and 
 children as follows have been born to them : ( i ) 
 Jennie Antoinette, born Jan. 18, 1861, is living at 
 home. (2) Mary Pamelia, born Aug. 6, 1863, mar- 
 
 ried March 27, 1885, Charles Hart, of Unionville,. 
 and they have one child, Howard Allen, born Jan. 
 6, 1886. (3) Florence Allen, born Jan. 19, 1S66, is- 
 hving at home. (4) Grace Sarah, born July i, 1868, 
 died June 20, 1895 ; she married, July i, 1886,- 
 Henry Fairclough, of Wolcott, Conn. ; their chil- 
 dren: Ruby May, born Oct. 10, 1888; Pauline Bun- 
 nell, born Nov. 6, 1890; Florence Grace, born May 
 9, 1893 ; and Sarah Grace, bom April 26, 1895, died 
 Aug. II, 1895. (5j Charles Romanta, born July 22, 
 1872, married Melora Beardsley, of Plainville, Feb. 
 19, 189s, and is a resident of Forestville, Conn. ; 
 their children: AUene, born June 9, 1897; and War- 
 ren Russell,, born July 15, 1899. (6) Alice Gert- 
 rude, born Sept. 21, 1879, married Nov. 8, 1899, 
 Flerbert Barnum, who is employed by the New 
 Departure Bell Co., of Bristol. (7) Bernice Lydia,. 
 born May 12, 1882. 
 
 Mr. Bunnell 'and all his family are members of 
 the Advent Christian Church, of which he has been, 
 a trustee since 1890. In politics he is a Republi- 
 can, but takes no active interest in the affairs of the 
 party. A man of energy, he believes in making a 
 success of his life work, and so far has deservedly 
 prospered in all his undertakings. 
 
 NELSON AUGUSTUS MOORE, a well- 
 known and prominent artist of Kensington, was born 
 there in 1824, at the old homestead owned by his 
 grandfather probably 150 years agoj the family res- 
 idence is still standing, and has recently been re- 
 modeled. 
 
 Mr. Moore is a lineal descendant of Deacon John 
 Moore, the progenitor of- the family in America, 
 who came from England in 1630 on the "Mary and 
 John," the same vessel on which the Edwards family 
 and the ancestors of Gen. Grant also emigrated to. 
 the United States. Deacon Moore first landed at 
 .Dorchester, Mass., and in company with Rev. Mr. 
 Warham came to Windsor, Conn., in 1635 — the 
 same year that John Hooker and his company set- 
 tled in Hartford. The Moores have nearly all been 
 of a light and florid complexion, and rather tall. 
 John Moore (2), a son of Deacon Moore, and a 
 farmer by occupation, was born in Windsor, and 
 married Hannah Goft'. Their son, John Moore (3), 
 was born in Windsor, and in 1693 married Abigail 
 Strong, a representative of one of the largest and 
 most distinguished families in America. Their 
 son, John Moore (4), was also born in Windsor, 
 was a farmer by occupation, and was married Dec. 
 2, 1724, to Miss Abigail Stoughton. Roswell Moore, 
 son of this worthy couple, was also a native of Wind- 
 sor, and at an early day moved to Southington, 
 Conn., where he followed agricultural pursuits. He 
 married Desire Dunham, of that place, and their 
 son, Roswell Moore (2), was born there. He was a 
 farmer and manufacturer. He married Lovina 
 Philips, and they had thirteen children. For four- 
 teen consecutive years he represented Southington 
 in the State Legislature, and his son-in-law. Gen. 
 
'Vc--'?^ ^ ^/^-t-j^ 
 
( 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 411 
 
 Graimis, represented the same town for that length 
 of time. 
 
 Koswell •Moore (3), the father of our subject, 
 was born in Southington June 28, 1793, and was 
 there married Oct. 14, 1823, to Miss Lucy Allen, 
 whose father was an expert engraver on gold and 
 copper, and also a worker in gold. Later Mr. 
 I^loore, who was a manufacturer, came to lierlin in 
 order to secure better water power. He held sev- 
 eral local offices of honor and trust in Berlin, includ- 
 ing that of justice of the peace, and as a member 
 of the Connecticut Light Lifantry, in which he held 
 the offices of captain and adjutant, he took an active 
 interest in military affairs. He was religiously in- 
 clined, a consistent member of the Congregational 
 Church, in which he served as deacon, and a strong 
 temperance man. He was well liked by every one. 
 In his family were three children, of whom our sub- 
 ject is the eldest; Ellen Eliza, born Dec. 30, 1828, 
 in Kensington, graduated from JNIt. Holyoke Sem- 
 inary when i\Iary Lj^on, the founder, \was principal, 
 and died Nov. 14, i860. Roswell Allen, born Sept. 
 2, 1832, is a manufacturer in Kensington. La early 
 life he was in business with his father, under the 
 firm name of R. Moore & Sons, who were the first to 
 make and succesfullv introduce hydraulic cement 
 as an article of commerce into the markets of this 
 country. 
 
 As the father was a man of some means he was 
 anxious that our subject should take a collegiate 
 course at Yale, but, though the latter received what 
 was then considered a liberal education, he neg- 
 lected to avail himself of the higher advantages 
 oft'ered by his father, which fact he has in later life 
 often regretted. Between the ages of eighteen and 
 twenty-five years much of his time wa-} spent in the 
 mills, and he became able to do almost anything in 
 the line of mechanical work. The year 1846 he 
 spent in the railroad service, which was 'hen in its 
 infancy, holding the position of local agent at the 
 Berlin station, on the New Haven & Hartford rail- 
 road, which then had its termini at those two cities. 
 
 During all these years Mr. Moore found more 
 or less time to gratify his taste for drawing and 
 I'-uinting, and while at the Berlin station he main- 
 tained a studio in the attic of the little depot, where 
 he painted a few portraits for his friends, gratui- 
 tously. Of these it might be said that they liore a 
 resemblance to their subjects. Although he always 
 had a love for pictures, his first impulse to paint was 
 when a portrait painter (the father of the present 
 State labor commissioner, S. iNI. Hotchkiss) invited 
 him to assist in painting by candle-light a portrait, 
 or a studv for one, of a little girl who had met with 
 a fatal accident. His "assistance" was that of hold- 
 ing the light, and watching the progress of the study. 
 This was when he was eighteen years of age. After 
 that he embraced every opportunity to practice in a 
 crude way the art of painting. On leaving the serv- 
 ice of the railroad company he decided to study in 
 New York, and entered the studio of Thomas S. 
 
 Cumniings, now the only survivor of thcjse w!io or- 
 ganized the National Academy, of which Mr. Cum- 
 niings was treasurer, and afterward vice-president. 
 Later Air. Moore entered the studio of U. Hunt- 
 ington, now and for many years the president of the 
 Academy. On his return from New York he con- 
 tinued to practice his art at his home in Kensington, 
 and soon his love for natural scenery drew- him from 
 portrait and figure painting to that of landscapes, 
 to which he has since devoted his attention with 
 great assiduity. Few artists have spent as nuich 
 time in out-of-door study, in painstaking fidelity to 
 nature, as Mr. Moore. His sketches comprise a 
 great variety of subjects, including all seasons of the 
 year, and have won favorable mention from those 
 having a high appreciation of art. 
 
 About thirty years ago Mr. Aloore erected his 
 present residence, near the ancestral mansion above 
 referred to, and to its natural beauty of situation he 
 has since with the aid of nature and' art, added such 
 adornments as to entitle it now to be considered one 
 of the most picturesque homes in New England. 
 Many of his summers have been spent at Lake 
 George, and prior to building his present residence 
 in Kensington he lived for several years in Hart- 
 ford, wdiere he has since spent four years, in order 
 to give his children better educational advantages. 
 He has also spent much time in New York City, 
 where at one time he had a studio in the Y. JNL C. 
 A. building. 
 
 On Jan. 25, 1853, Air. Moore was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Ann Alaria Pickett, who was born 
 in Litchfield, Conn., June 3, 1832, a daughter of Hon. 
 Alanson Jasper and Marietta (Smith) Pickett, the 
 former a successful manufacturer and merchant of 
 Litchfield. The children born to our subject and his 
 wife are as follows : ( i ) Edwin Augustus, born Aug. 
 24, 1858, is also an artist, and has reached a high 
 degree of success as a figure and animal painter, to 
 which department of art his attention has been 
 chiefly devoted. He makes his home with his fa- 
 ther. (2) Ellen Maria, bom Dec. 4, 1S61, and also 
 at home, has made quite a success in miniature 
 painting on ivory, and in water colors. (3) Ethel- 
 bert Allen, born Nov. 30, 1864, is superintendent of 
 the Stanley Works, of New Britain, Conn. He 
 was married June 18. iSgi, to Martha Elizabeth 
 Hart, only daughter of William H. Hart, president 
 of the Stanley Works, and they have two children 
 — Barbara, born April 13, 1892; and Allen, born 
 Sept. 23, 1896. (4) A. J. Pickett, born May 3, 1S67, 
 was married Oct. 14, 1892, to Mrs. Grace Robbins 
 Stanley, and makes his home in New York. 
 
 Air. Aloore's ability as an artist has been justly 
 appreciated by some of the best art critics in this 
 country, and the "Connecticut Alagazine"' of Feb- 
 ruary. 1899, reproduced his painting "The Hang- 
 ing Hills of Aleriden." The art critic of the De- 
 troit Free Press truthfully said that his painting of 
 water was so natural that one could drown in it. 
 In making a sketch Ire studies carefully every point 
 
412 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in the picture, even to the atmospheric effects. His 
 canvases have been exhibited in the Academy more 
 or less for the past twenty-five years, and he is a 
 member of the Art Guild of New York. He has 
 painted to order for many leading and wealthy men, 
 and his works are scattered throughout the world, 
 several being owned by gentlemen in Japan, who are 
 acknowledged as critics as well as connoisseurs of 
 art. As a landscape artist he has an enviable repu- 
 tation, and among his patrons are some of the most 
 noted picture buyers in the country. When Gen. 
 Grant made his trip around the world Mr. Moore 
 had an opportunity to visit Japan, as Yashida Kion- 
 ara, the Japanese minister to the United States, 
 wanted him to paint a picture of Fujima, the sacred 
 mountain of the Japane:se, for the emperor of Japan. 
 Politically Mr. Moore was first a Whig, and he 
 is now a stanch Republican. He and his wife hold 
 membership in the Congregational Church, to which 
 they contrilDute liberally, and she also belongs to the 
 Ladies Aid and Missionary Societies. They are 
 very pleasant, hospitable people, and their friends 
 are always sure of a hearty welcome at their home. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON DARLIN, of East 
 Hartford, is one of the heaviest tax-payers of that 
 town, and is, more than any other one man, entitled 
 to the credit of improving and building up East 
 Hartford Meadow, where his handsome residence is 
 located. The town does not furnish any better ex- 
 ample of a self-made man, or one whose success 
 is so completely the result of business foresight and 
 management. He was born in the town of Rupert, 
 Vt., Feb. 13, 1825, a son of Reuben and Hannah 
 (Scripture) Darlin. 
 
 Reuben Darlin was during his early years a 
 cooper, but the greater part of his life was passed 
 in farming. He was twice married, his first wife 
 heing Hannah Scripture, who bore him all his 
 children, and died at the age of sixty years. His 
 life was prolonged to over eighty years, and he died 
 in Dorset, Vermont. 
 
 George W. Darlin was next to the youngest of 
 seven children born to his parents, and he and his 
 hrother Josiah were the only two to come to Con- 
 necticut. George W. is the only survivor of the 
 family. He was educated, as he tersely expresses 
 it, "between the plow and harrow," but had district- 
 school advantages for a limited period, and these 
 were supplemented by a brief attendance at a dis- 
 trict school in Southwick, Mass. At a very early 
 age he began life's battle for himself, and was still 
 in his middle 'teens when he bought his minority 
 from his father for $100 — quite a large sum for a 
 hoy to have saved from his small earnings, by 
 working around a hotel in Rupert. About 1841 
 he left Vermont with a drover, to assist in driving 
 cattle to West Hartford, Conn., and when the drove 
 reached its destination young Darlin found em- 
 ployment with such leading farmers as Henry Whit- 
 ing, Morgan Goodwin and Henry Phelps. He 
 
 next secured a position at the Retreat in Hartford, 
 which was then under the administration of Dr. 
 Brigham. Here he was employed two terms, and in 
 1846 came to East Hartford and began business as 
 
 a general merchant in what was known as the 
 "Red Store," for which he paid a rental of $50 per 
 annum. There he did a very prosperous trade un- 
 til 1862, when his increased business necesitated 
 his removal to more commodious quarters, and he 
 found what he wanted on the opposite side of the 
 street, where he did an immense trade until his 
 retirement. May 16, 1891, from mercantile business. 
 For one year, during his early residence in East 
 Hartford Meadow, he conducted a hotel, and al- 
 though he made it profitable and popular, being 
 naturally of . a pleasant and genial disposition, the 
 business was not altogether to his taste, and more 
 important interests demanded all his attention — the 
 superintendency of his now extensive tenement 
 property. As a merchant he had been phenomen- 
 ally successful, and invested his profits in real estate, 
 which he improved with convenient and substantial 
 buildings, and he now owns about twenty-five, in- 
 cluding the two largest business and tenement blocks 
 in East Hartford Meadow; thus he has been the 
 chief promoter of the growth and prosperity of the 
 village. His treatment of his half-hundred tenants 
 is most humane, and some of these have been his 
 tenants for more than twenty years. He never 
 raises their rents, nor resorts to drastic measures 
 to enforce payment, attends to his property person- 
 ally, makes collections himself, remedies all defects 
 of which any complaint may be made, is personally 
 acquainted with each tenant, and for many has 
 granted substantial favors; by all he is held in the 
 highest esteem, and is regarded by many with un- 
 disguised affection. 
 
 Mr. Darlin married Martha Marcy, who was 
 born in Ashford, Conn., and died July 21, 1888, at 
 the age of sixty-two years, and her remains were 
 interred at East Hartford. George E. Darlin, the 
 only child of George W. and Martha (Marcy) Dar- 
 lin, was born Oct. 19, 1855, and in 1878 married 
 Miss Minnie L. Avery, a native of Durham, Conn., 
 and a daughter of Ichabod Avery. To this happy 
 union one child, Mabel, was born May i, 1894. 
 George E. Darlin is assistant postmaster at East 
 Hartford Meadow, under his father, who was ap- 
 pointed postmaster in 1889, and still holds the office. 
 He is also a valuable assistant to his father in hand- 
 ling the details of his real-estate and tenement mat- 
 ters, and is one of the best-known residents of the 
 town. 
 
 In politics George W. Darlin is a Democrat, and 
 has always been active in aid of his party's success 
 at the polls and in advancing its principles. While 
 not an office seeker he has been sought for to fill 
 office, and has been selected for some very respon- 
 sible positions. For six or seven years was a mem- 
 ber of the board of relief; is the present treasurer 
 of the /Etna Hose Company at East Hartford 
 
^^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ■418 
 
 Meadow ; is treasurer uf the Meadow District 
 scliool fund ; and is also one of the oldest Masons 
 belonging to Orient Lodge, No. 62, at East Hart- 
 ford, liven at his comparatively advanced age, 
 Mr. Darlin gives his personal attention to all liis 
 business, including the management of the traffic 
 of the Hartford Coal Co. at East Hartford Meadow, 
 assisted only by his son. 
 
 As a self-made man, in the business sense of the 
 term, i\lr. Darlin is unique, and in East Hartford 
 town is the sole example — having risen from the 
 poorest of boys to the richest of men, and that, too, 
 with but very limited education at his start in busi- 
 ness life. His methods as a business man were 
 based upon the strictest adherence to honesty, 
 backed by a liberalitv unusual among mercantile 
 men. His foresight amounted almost to prescience, 
 as it was never known to be at fault. He erected 
 house after house while wiseacres smiled and shook 
 their heads, and ventured predictions that they 
 would never be tenanted ; but Mr. Darlin knew bet- 
 ter, and of mistakes there were none. Unostenta- 
 tious and unpretentious, he holds the "even tenor 
 of his way," advancing daily the progress of the 
 village, respected and honored by all who know him 
 — and who does not? — and known everywhere as 
 the "Father of East Hartford ^ileadow." 
 
 EDWIX- BILLIXGS SMEAD, who has been 
 principal of the Watkinson Farm School, Hartford, 
 ever since its establishment, in 1884, has been no 
 small factor in the success of that worthy institu- 
 tion. 
 
 Mr. Smead comes of excellent New England 
 ancestry, being a direct descendant of John Joyce, 
 who was born in London (England), and died 
 there about 1736 or 1737. He was high sheriff of 
 Bridgetown, in the Barbadoes, from which place his 
 son William migrated with his mother, and settled 
 in I\Iiddletown. Conn., soon afterward. Our sub- 
 ject is also a direct descendant of Stephen Bishop, 
 of Guilford, Conn. ; and of Ebenezer Billings, son 
 of Rev. Edward Billings, a Congregationalist, the 
 first settled riiinister at Greenfield, Mass. Widow 
 Judith Denman married a Smead about 1634, and 
 was in Dorchester, ^Nlass., in 1636. She was a sister 
 of Israel Stoughton. Her son William, born in 
 1635, was made a freeman at Xortliampton in 1660, 
 and married Elizabeth Lawrence, of Hingham, 
 Mass., who was killed bv the Indians on a forced 
 march to Canada, in 1704. He died prior to 1704. 
 Ebenezer Smead. born in 1675, married Esther Cat- 
 Hn. Jonathan Smead. born in 1707, of the fourth 
 generation, married Mehitable Nims. Jonathan 
 ."-^mead, born in 1735. married Rosanna Patterson. 
 He was a soldier in the French and Indian war, 
 and exploited considerably at Crown Point, N. Y. 
 Jonathan Smead, born in 1773, married Lucy Pur- 
 ple, and was a resident of Greenfield, Mass. Jona- 
 than Smead, father of our subject, was born April 
 8, 1812. and on Oct. 25. 1835, niarried Lucy B. 
 
 -Vdams, of West Haven, \'t. He passed awav Jan. 
 21, 1866. 
 
 Edwin ]>. Smead was born in Greenfield, -Mass., 
 June 19, 1849, ^"^ was reared in his native place, 
 there receiving his early education. He atleniled 
 high school, and later the Massachusetts Agricult- 
 ural College, from which he was graduated in 
 1871, with the first class. I'or some time follow- 
 ing he was engaged as a civil engineer in the South, 
 working also on the State Line & Juniata railroad 
 (narrow-gauge) of Pcnns\-lvania, and after the 
 financial panic of 1872 he was engaged in the coal 
 business with Diggs Bros., and later in the fiour 
 and grain business with Busley & Co., in Baltimore, 
 Aid. In 1884, upon the recommendation of his 
 alma mater, JMr. Smead was made i)rinci])al of the 
 Watkinson Farm School, of Hartford, and his con- 
 tinued connection with same through all the suc- 
 ceeding years speaks highly for the satisfaction his 
 services have given. '1 he outlining of the ceurse 
 to be pursued has lieen under his direction, and 
 he has given that and all other matters which come 
 under his supervision the most careful attention 
 and study. Mr. Smead was married Xov. 12, 1874, 
 in Baltimore, Md., to Aliss .Annie Whitney, of the 
 island of Bermuda, and after her decease, Jan 25, 
 1876, he married, on Oct. 30, 1878, her sister, .Miss 
 Roselvina Whitney. 
 
 The Watkinson Farm School was established 
 in 1884 by the will of the late David Watkinson, 
 this school and the Reference Library in Hartford 
 sharing equally his residuary estate. It was char- 
 tered in Alay, 1862, and the object is the proper 
 paternal care of boys who from their home sur- 
 roundings obviously need employment and inspira- 
 tion to develop citizenship. The new buildings are 
 on the "Handicroft Farm," at Albany and Bloom- 
 field avenues. Engaged with Mr. Smead. the prin- 
 cipal, are Selden W. Hayes, assistant, and a corps 
 of efficient instructors. The trustees are Daniel R. 
 Howe, George E. Taintor, Dr. G. P. Davis, Fran- 
 cis Goodwin , D. H. Wells, F. W. Cheney. X. Ship- 
 man, A. C. Dunham, Jacob L. Greene. Charles M. 
 Beach. P. C. Royce. C. H. Clark, L. F. Robinson, 
 C. B. Brewster, F. Parsons. Henry Barnard, who 
 died the past year, was also a trustee. 
 
 i 
 
 HIRAM ROBERTS :\nLLS. The -Mills tam- 
 ily in Connecticut, of which the subject of' this 
 sketch is a representative, is of ancient and hon- 
 orable Dutch origin. Early in the se\-cnteenth cen- 
 tury knighthoocl was conferred upon Sir Peter 
 M outers \'an der Meulen. of Amsterdam, in recog- 
 nition of his distinguished services to the public 
 in the improvement of the dykes and canals. 
 
 (II) Peter Van der Meulen. his eldest son, 
 born in Flolland in 1622, emigrated to .\merica 
 from Leyden, where he was studving for the min- 
 istry in the university of that city. .About 1^)50 
 he joined the refugees who had come to .America 
 from England for conscience sake, and he thus 
 
414 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 aroused the displeasure of his father, who disin- 
 herited him. In Colonial Record, Vol. I, it is stated 
 that, by his own request, his name was changed to 
 Peter Mills, Van der Aleulen being in Dutch "the 
 man of the mills." He married (first) Dorkas 
 Messenger, of Windsor, who was born Sept. 23, 
 1650, and died May 18, 1688. For his second 
 wife he married Jane Warren, of Hartford, Dec. 
 10, 1691. He died April 17, 1710. He owned a 
 lot in Haddam, Conn., before Xov. 30, 1669. As 
 a tailor he is frecjuently mentioned in the manu- 
 script of Rev. Timothy Edward, of East Windsor. 
 He settled in Windsor, near the present eastern 
 part of Bloomfield, east of the residence of Anson 
 A. Mills, and near the confines of Windsor Plains. 
 His children were Peter, Return (July 12, 1689), 
 Dorcas, and Ebenezer (Feb. 8, 1687).' 
 
 (HI) Peter Mills married, July 24, 1692, Joanna 
 Porter, who was bom in Hatfield, Mass., Feb. 7, 
 1670. He died in 1754. His children were as fol- 
 lows: Peletiah, born April 27, 1693; Gideon, Feb. 
 3, 1694; Jedediah, March 23, 1696; Peter, April 
 
 12, 1701 ; Ann, 1702; Daniel, May 22, 1706; John, 
 Feb. 14, 1708; Ebenezer, 1710; and Gideon, Aug. 
 15. 1715- 
 
 (IV) Capt. Peletiah Mills, born April 27, 1693. 
 married July 5, 1720, Martha Chapman. He was 
 an attorney. His children were as follows : Martha, 
 born March 11, 1721 ; Peletiah, Jan. 19, 1723; 
 Elijah, May 30, 1726;, Samuel, Nov. 21, 1728: Jo- 
 anna, March 2, 1730; Susannah, March 2, 1733; 
 and Sarah, June 5, 1737. 
 
 (V) Peletiah Mills, born Jan. 19, 1723, mar- 
 ried March 29, 1743, Hannah Owen, who died Jan. 
 26, 1806. He died July i, 1786. Their children 
 were Peletiah; Samuel; Roger, born June 4, 1749; 
 Martha, July 5, 1752; Eli, Nov. 4, 1753; Frederick, 
 Feb. 28, 1756; Susannah, Oct. 2, 1757; and Ehhu, 
 June, 1 761. 
 
 (VI) Elihu Mills, born in June, 1761, married 
 (first) Hetty Allen, who died July 3, 1807. His 
 second wife, Huldah, died June ' 18, 1808. His 
 third wife, Miriam, died April 12, 1816. He died 
 in 1835. His children were Hetty, Elihu (born in 
 September, 1793), and Ammi. 
 
 (A'TI) Elihu Mills was born in Septemlier. 1793, 
 at Bloomfield. On July 15, 1818, he married Aman- 
 da Hayden, and their children were Ezra H., born 
 Jime 15, 1819; Elihu, April 24, 1820; Amanda, 
 June II, 1822; Elihu, Aug. 18, 1824; and George, 
 July 31, 1829. 
 
 (VIII) George Mills, father of our subject, was 
 born July 31, 1829, at Bloomfield. On Sept. 8, 1852, 
 he married (first) Mary J. Roberts, who died Nov. 
 22, 1855. Their only child, Hiram R., was born 
 Oct. 28, 1853. For his second wife George Mills 
 married Sarah Harmon, and to them was born 
 George Elihu Mills, April 21, 1862, now a ma- 
 chinist in New York City. George Mills died April 
 
 13. 1863. 
 
 Hiram Roberts Mills, our suliject, born Oct. 
 
 28, 1853, at Bloomfield, attended in his early boy- 
 hood the schools in Bloomfield, and after the death 
 of his father, in 1863, he went to Lexington, Mass., 
 and lived with his aunt, Mrs. Amanda (Mills) 
 Prosser. At Lexington, and at the Chauncey Hall 
 school, Boston, he prepared for Harvard University, 
 which he entered in 1872, and from which he grad- 
 uated with the degree of A. B. in 1876. Mr. Mills 
 began the study of law in the office of Chamberlin, 
 Hall & White, at Hartford, and was admitted to 
 practice in 1881. At the death of Mr. Hall, Nov. 
 3, 1877, o'-ii" subject was invited to enter the firm, 
 which then became Chamberlin, White & Mills. 
 Since then both Mr. Chamberlin and Mr. White 
 have died, and the large and important business of 
 the firm is conducted individually by our subject. 
 Mr. Mills is also interested in local business enter- 
 prises. He was married, Slept. 20, 1882, to Miss 
 J. Elgitha Wyckofif, daughter of Amos D. Wyckofif, 
 of New York City. They have one child, Hiram 
 Wyckofif, born Sept. 29, 1883. 
 
 ELIAS BURWELL, the only workman in New 
 England who understands and conducts the per- 
 petual calendar movements for clocks, was born in 
 old Milford, Conn., Oct. 4, 181 1, and is a son of 
 Elias and Amy (Piatt) Burwell, both also natives 
 of Milford. 
 
 John Burwell, grandfather of our subject, came 
 from England, was one of the first settlers of Mil- 
 ford, which was then known as Burwell's farm, and 
 was very influential in church work. 
 
 Elias Burwell, father of the subject of this 
 sketch, was born Nov. 8, 1785, and was reared a 
 farmer. He married in 1807, and about four years 
 later volunteered in the patriot army, and served 
 through the war of 181 2. He was .not very active 
 in politics, but was inclined toward Federalism ; he 
 was, however, very active in the work of the Con- 
 gregational Church, in which he was a chorister. 
 He had quite an accurate knowledge of the laws of 
 those days, and frequently served on the grand jury. 
 He was very hospitable, and ever ready to entertain 
 travelers over Sundav, as journeying was prohibited 
 on that day. 
 
 Elias Burwell, father of subject, married Amy 
 Piatt Feb. 12, 1807. She was born Sept. 29, 1783. 
 and was a daughter of Isaac Piatt. Seven children 
 came to them to cheer their way through life, 
 namely : Laura, who was born Dec. 27, 1808, died 
 in March, 181 1 ; S'idney Piatt, born March 31, i8io, 
 is living in New Brunswick, N. J. : Elias is our sub- 
 ject; Austin S., born Feb. 12, 1814, resides in 
 Seattle, Wash. : Laura H., born Feb. 28, 1816, died 
 Feb. 4, i88t ; Isaac P., born Aug. 17, 1818, died 
 Dec. 21, 1857; and Asahel F., born Aug. 17, 1820, 
 died Aug. 25, 1820. The father of this family 
 passed awav Sept. 14, 1820, and the mother on 
 Nov. 10, 18(15. 
 
 Elias Burwell, the subject proper of this biog- 
 raphy, received his earlier education in Milford until 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 415 
 
 lie was ten vcars old, and tiicn wcnl to live with 
 |i)lin (jillette, at Burlington, Conn., where he re- 
 mained four years, attending school and doing 
 chores. After this he lived one year with Carlos 
 1 lolchkiss, pursuing- his studies in winter school ; 
 then lived a year with his uncle, Isaac Gillette, in 
 Burlington, after which, coming to Bristol, he 
 served an apprenticcshi]3 of two years at wood- 
 turning with RoUin Atkins, and next worked two 
 vears for ■George W. Bartholomew, in Edgewood 
 '(Bristol). 
 
 Mr. Eur well now began his career as a clock- 
 maker, filling situations as follows : With Upson 
 & JMerriman, a short time only ; with the Seth 
 Thomas Co., at Thomaston, one year ; with his 
 brother, Sidney P., who had a contract with the 
 Atkins Clock Co., at Bristol, for wood-turning, two 
 years; with Charles Kirk, at Bristol, also at wood- 
 turning, one year ; with Jerome, on brass clocks, two 
 years ; with John Terry, one year, when the latter 
 failed ; with Deacon Elisha Brewster, on clocks, 
 nine years; again with his brother Sidney P., who 
 had a contract with Chauncey Boardman on clock 
 work, three years. Air. Burwell then formed a 
 partnership with Ralph Terry, and Franklin and 
 George Downs, under the style of Terry, Downs, 
 Burwell & Co., and manufactured eight-day and 
 marine movements for clocks, most of which were 
 disposed of to Chauncey Jerome, who had removed 
 to New Haven. Three years later Mr. Burwell 
 sold to his partners his interest in the factory, which 
 occupied the site of the present Liberty Bell Co.'s 
 plant, and went to work for the Atkins Clock Manu- 
 facturing Co., but three years later this company 
 failed, and Mr. Burwell was appointed receiver ; he 
 finished up its business — he having the contract for 
 making the movements, ran the factory about one 
 year, and finally adjusted its complications to the 
 satisfaction of its creditors and all concerned. 
 
 Mr. Burwell next purchased Deacon Brewster's 
 "old red factory" on Race street, and made clock- 
 alarms for a Lowell (Mass.) concern until 1862, 
 when Benjamin B. Lewis, of Ohio, came along with 
 a patent for clock-calendars. Air. Burwell secured 
 the right to manufacture these at a royalty to be 
 paid Mr. Lewis, and also secured a contract with 
 L. F. & W. W. Carter for five years, to supply a 
 certain number of these calendar clocks annually. 
 He next made a contract vith the \\ clch and Spring 
 Co., to W'ork on the Lewis perpetual calendar for 
 three years, and then for four years — seven in all. 
 In 1876 Air. Burwell went to work for the E. Ingra- 
 ham Company, which had purchased the Lewis 
 patent, and made a contract wath the company afore- 
 said to furnish the calendar movement, and he still 
 holds the position, being the only man in the shop 
 capalile of doing the work, although he is quite 
 aged. 
 
 Mr. Burwell was joined in matrimony Nov. 10, 
 1834, with Miss Lucinda Upson, who was born 
 Nov. 10, 181 1, a daughter of John Upson, of Water- 
 
 burv, and died Aug. 16, i8yo, the mother of the 
 following named children : Lucinda A., who was 
 born Sept. n-j, 1835, died .May 21, 1836: Elias, Jr., 
 born April 7, 1837, died Dec. 11, 1838; Maria, burn 
 July ID, 1838, died Sept. 22, 1864; and Harmanas, 
 born Jan. 30, 1841, died Feb. 17, 1841. The second 
 marriage of Mr. Burwell took place Sept. 23, 1891, 
 It) Julia A. Knowles, a native of Plainville, Conn., 
 and a daughter of William Knowles. She died in 
 Bristol ]"eb. 16, 1899, a member of the Prospect 
 M. E. Church. Of this church Air. Burwell has 
 also been a member for sixty-five years, was a class- 
 leader over forty-two years, and for many years was 
 a trustee and also superintendent of the Sunday- 
 school. In politics he is a Republican, has served 
 as constable, grand juryman and justice of the 
 peace, and there is no more venerated man in Bristol 
 then Elias Burwell. 
 
 EDWARD ATWATER PORTER, engineer 
 in J. H. Sessions & Son's trunk hardware factory, 
 Bristol, is a native of Connecticut, born in Hamden, 
 New Haven county. 
 
 When two and one-half years old our subject 
 was adopted by Col. Chauncey Porter, who was 
 quite prominent in military affairs in Farmington 
 (White Oak District), now Plainville, Conn. The 
 Colonel married Lucy Frisbie, daughter of 'Squire 
 Ichabod Frisbie, of Southington, Conn., and our 
 subject continued to Hve with these good people 
 until he was twenty-one years of age. He received 
 his schooling in the White Oak District. Plainville, 
 which common-school education was supplemented 
 by a term in Southington Academy. When seven- 
 teen years of age he left school and commenced 
 firing on the old New England railroad running be- 
 tween Hartford and Plainville, before the road was 
 extended to Bristol. After a few months thus em- 
 ployed he went to work on Col. Porter's farm, at 
 which he continued until he was twenty years old, 
 and then took up his residence in Southington. 
 Here for about two years he ran a stationary engine 
 for Henry A. Aliller, manufacturer of clock faces, 
 at the end of that period returning to Col. Porter's 
 farm. He then went to work for Allen Bunnell, 
 who had a contract w^ith Emery Barker, making 
 small sleds, baby carriages, etc., in this connection 
 remaining one year. Once more taking up his abode 
 in Plainville, he purchased a small farm, which he 
 operated for about two years, in connection with 
 other miscellaneous work, after wdiich for two and 
 one-half years he kept the toll-gate at White Oak, on 
 the Middletow-n and Farmington road. Leaving 
 this, Mr. Porter went to New Britain and entered 
 the employ of J. B. Sargent as engineer in his 
 foundry, an occupation he was well adapted for^and 
 which he followed in this foundry some six years, 
 from there removing with Air. Sargent and the 
 works to New Haven. Here he remained nine 
 months, and then entered the service of the U. S. 
 government as engineer on the "Alice E. Preston," 
 
416 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 which was commissioned by the government during 
 the war of the Rebelhon for the transportation of 
 troops and provisions between New York and Hart 
 Island. This vessel was also utilized as the dis- 
 patch boat to carry the message concerning Lee's 
 surrender down New York harbor. After some 
 six moths in this service, Mr. Porter accepted a po- 
 sition with Warner & Sessions in Polkville, now 
 known as Edgewood, Conn., but after between two 
 and three years he removed with his family to 
 Brookfield, Linn Co., Mo., where he bought a farm. 
 After a sojourn of no more than eight months in that 
 Western State, he returned to Connecticut, and 
 once more went to work in Edgewood for John H. 
 Sessions, who in the meantime had bought his part- 
 ner's interest in the business. Mr. Porter at first 
 worked as carver in the wood-turning establishment, 
 and when, that same winter, Mr. Sessions moved 
 his works into Bristol our subject was given the 
 position of engineer — in fact, he set up the engine 
 and has been operating it ever since. The firm is 
 now J. H. Sessions & Son, manufacturers of trunk 
 hardware. 
 
 On April 5, 1852, Mr. Porter was married to 
 Susannah Bunnell, who was born Sept. 16, 1832, a 
 daughter of Allen Bunnell, of Burlington, Conn., 
 and two children have graced their union: (i) 
 Rhoda A., born Oct. 9, 1853, married Sept. 20, 1874, 
 to James E. Hodges, of Plainville, Conn. ; their chil- 
 dren, Minnie E., Nellie R., Agnes S., Edward J., 
 Arthur G., John Franklin, Allen Bunnell, and Walter 
 Irving. (2) Edward Orrin, born Feb. 27, 1858. 
 He is in the employ of the E. Ingraham Co. He 
 married March 16, 1879, Jeannette E. Glover, of 
 Thomaston, Conn., who died Dec. i, 1899; their 
 children, May Augusta, Edwin Allen, Leland Mar- 
 shall, and Bessie M. 
 
 In religious faith Mr. Porter t^ttends the serv- 
 ices of the Advent Christian Church, of which his 
 wife is a member. In politics he is a Republican, 
 and in his younger days took an active part in po- 
 litical affairs. For the past five years he has served 
 as second engineer of the Bristol Fire Department, 
 declining the post of first engineer on account of his 
 age. In 1861 he was a member of the National 
 Guard in New Britain, serving as corporal for about 
 three years. He is much respected in the community 
 in which he lives, and is a good, loyal and useful 
 citizen. 
 
 ELI S. HOUGH, one of the most popular and 
 influential agriculturists of the town of Windsor, 
 is a native of Connecticut, born in Chaplin,Windham 
 county, Aug. 10, 1832. He is a son of Rev. Lent 
 S. and Hannah (Smith) Hough, both natives of 
 Wallingford, this State, the former a son of Serajah 
 Hough, the latter a daughter of Eli Smith. 
 
 The Hough family was founded in the United 
 States in 1640, by two brothers, one of whom lo- 
 cated in Jamestown, Va., and spelled the name 
 Huff, while the other took up his residence in Maine, 
 
 which then formed a part of Massachusetts, and it 
 is from the latter branch that our subject is de- 
 scended. His paternal grandfather was a resident 
 of Yalesville, Conn., and was a farmer by occupa- 
 tion, as were all the ancestors of our subject down 
 to his father, who entered the ministry of the Con- 
 gregational Church and for forty-seven years was 
 engaged in preaching the Gospel in Connecticut. 
 He was educated at Yale Theological Seminary^ 
 was very broad and liberal in his views, and noted 
 for his generosity, and possessed a keen eye and re- 
 tentive memory. He stood six feetj one inch, in 
 his stocking feet. He died at the home of our sub- 
 ject in Poquonock at the age of seventy-six years, 
 his wife at the age of seventy-seven, and both were 
 buried in the Poquonock cemetery. The subject 
 of this review is the eldest in a family of six chil- 
 dren. Sarah married Charles H. Galpin, and died 
 in Plantsville, Conn. Benjamin S. was in the serv- 
 ice of his country during the Civil war, first as a 
 member of the 3rd Conn. V. I., and later of the 88th 
 111. V. I., and at its close returned home, paralyzed 
 from the hips down; he died unmarried in 1896. 
 Maria is the wife of Joseph E. Hall, of Colchester, 
 Conn. Mary is a resident of Norwich, Conn. Mar- 
 tha, twin sister of Mary, is the wife of Charles T. 
 Avery, of Coldwater, Kansas. 
 
 Eli S. Hough was named for his mother's only 
 brother, Rev. Eli Smith, a missionary to Syria. He 
 attended the high school at Bethel, Conn., while 
 his parents were residing there, and later the Wills- 
 ton Seminary, at East Hampton, Mass. He learned 
 rapidly, and intended entering Yale, but failing 
 health interrupted his studies. He began his busi- 
 ness career as clerk in the store of George W. Guy, 
 at Middletown, Conn., and subsequently accept, d 
 a similar position with H. D. Bassett, at Meriden, 
 Conn., being connected with mercantile pursuits 
 for nine years. 
 
 In the meantime Mr. Hough was married, Oct. 
 4, 1854, to Miss Caroline A. Hall, who was born in 
 Wallingford, Conn., June 18, 1832, a daughter of 
 Benjamin A. and Esther L. (Lindsley) Hall. He 
 began farming at Wallingford, later engaged in 
 the same business at Westfield, and on Aug. 26, 
 1862, came to Poquonock, where for five years he 
 was head farmer for different men, having charge 
 of the farm of Daniel Buck, of Hartford, for two 
 yeai-s. He then bought the Cyrus Phelps farm, 
 which he has greatly improved, and has since suc- 
 cessfully operated. He is interested principally in 
 raising tobacco and plums, and has one of the finest 
 plum orchards to be found in the county. 
 
 Politically Mr. Hough is one of the most prom- 
 inent representatives of the Republican party in 
 his community, and he has been honored with a 
 number of official positions. He has served as 
 trial justice in Windsor town for twenty-two years, 
 notary public twelve years, assessor four years, 
 selectman three years, and in 1897 was elect- 
 ed to the State Legislature by the largest ma- 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 417 
 
 jority ever given any candidate of that parly. 
 I'or ten years he has been quite prominent in 
 Grange circles, and he is master of Grange No. 
 53, at Poquonock, of wliich he was one of the 
 founders and has always been an active member. 
 He has been identified with almost every agricult- 
 ural society in Hartford county : Was secretary of 
 tJic Windsor .\gricultural Society while it existed; 
 has been superintendent of the State Agricultural 
 Society ; 'a member from Hartford county to the 
 State Board of Agriculture; and chairman of the 
 commission on diseases of domestic animals. He 
 is also a member and agent of the Connecticut 
 Humane Society, and has been one of its most active 
 workers. He is a member of all of the tobacco 
 growers associations, and is secretary of the Con- 
 necticut Tobacco Experiment Co. Socially Mr. 
 Hough is a charter member of the Senior Order of 
 United American Mechanics, at Windsor, and re- 
 ligiously both he and his wife are leading members 
 of the Congregational Church at Poquonock, in 
 which he has held various offices. He is a public- 
 spirited and enterprising citizen, and wherever 
 known is held in high regard. 
 
 CARLOS EDWIN BISHOP, of Hartford, one 
 of the pioneer ladder manufacturers of the United 
 States, and probably of the Western continent, was 
 born March 29, 1836, in Stanstead, Province of 
 Quebec, Canada. 
 
 Hiram Bishop, his father, was born in Lisbon, 
 N. H., and became a tanner and currier at Stan- 
 stead, employing a number of men. He died "at 
 Stanstead, aged seventy-three, a prominent, suc- 
 cessful business man, of sound judgment, and one of 
 the most highly respected in the village of Rock 
 Island, where he resided. He married Eseba Rose, 
 who was born in Stanstead, Quebec, daughter of 
 Timothy and Sally (Allbee) Rose, of Rockingham, 
 N. H. Mr. Rose was a farmer, tanner and currier, 
 and spent his life in the town of Stanstead, where 
 he died at a ripe age. Grandmother Sally Allbee, 
 who was born in Rockingham, N. H., was the 
 mother of twelve children, and lived to advanced 
 age. Hiram Bishop and his wife .had a family of 
 eleven children: Timothy R., who died in infancy; 
 Sarah, who died in Stanstead ; Hiram R., a resident 
 of Somerville, Mass., where he died some years ago ; 
 Charles E., who died in the spring of 1900; Henry 
 C, also deceased, who was a resident of Stanstead ; 
 Carlos E., of this memoir; John A., a resident of 
 Barnston, Quebec; Lewis R., deceased: Eseba C, 
 deceased ; Albert M., of East Providence, R. I. : 
 and Lucretia, now Mrs. De Costa, residing in New 
 York. Both parents were members of the M. E. 
 Church, in the work of which they were prominent, 
 and took an active part and interest. 
 
 Carlos E. Bishop spent his early years in Stan- 
 stead, being educated in the common schools, and at 
 eighteen went to Boston to join his brother Pliram, 
 Avho had preceded him bv three years, and was 
 
 27 
 
 engaged in tiie manufacture of ladders in Somer- 
 ville, Mass. He continued in partnership with him 
 for some four years, when he sold his interest to 
 his brother and went to Vermont, taking up the vo- 
 cation of a farmer from 1861 to 18O5. He then 
 located in Providence, R. 1., and with his brother 
 again entered the ladder business, which he con- 
 tinued until 1872, when he bought out Hiram's 
 interest, and took into partnership his brother Henry. 
 Removing to Hartford, they founded the ladder 
 business there, in 1872 establishing the manufacture 
 of ladders in Hartford, and continuing business ia 
 both cities for a few years, when Mr. Bishop sold 
 his interest in the Providence concern and bought 
 his brother's interest in the Hartford branch, which 
 he carried on alone. Thus he continued until 1893, 
 when his son took charge, and our subject retired. 
 During the first few years of his business in Hart- 
 ford, or in the early 'eighties, the interests of the 
 five brothers were to some extent mutual, their 
 methods of conducting business being to send 
 wagons through the country. At one time they had 
 about thirty-five upon the road, covering all the 
 New England States, New York, and Pennsylvania. 
 They were at that time the most extensive manu- 
 facturers of ladders in the United States. The busi- 
 ness of the brother in Providence having later been 
 discontinued, our subject became the only manu- 
 facturer of ladders outside of Boston in the New 
 England States, and, the business having constantly 
 increased, at the time of his retirement it was Mie 
 largest in the LTnited States. The name of Bishop 
 is connected almost inseparably with the ladder busi- 
 ness throughout the Union ; not onlv do they manu- 
 facture everything in the line of ladders for all 
 uses, including a large trade in the different fire de- 
 partments, but they also manufacture step-ladders, 
 clothes-horses, and an enormous quantity of snow 
 shovels, and carry in stock all kinds of chairs and 
 settees, together with a large variety of other kinds 
 of wooden goods. They send their products to all 
 parts of the United States, as far \vest as California, 
 and also to the Cape of Good Hope. Their largest 
 factory is located at Hartford, but the^^ have parts of 
 ladders made for them in great quantities in differ- 
 ent factories throughout New Hampshire and other 
 parts of the New England States. Their poles were 
 brought by shipload from Maine. 
 
 Mr. Bishop now resides at No. 27 Blue Hills 
 avenue, Hartford, and is the owner of considerable 
 real estate in that city, having bought a number of 
 houses, which he rents. In 1858 he married Coro- 
 lin V. Hall, who was born in Holland, Vt.. daughter 
 of Captain Luther D. Hall, a farmer, and was one 
 of a family of twelve children. ]\Ir. Bishop has 
 three children: E. C, who has his father's business 
 [sketch elsewhere] : Karl F., in the employ of the- 
 Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co. (he married Jennie- 
 E. .Sweet, and iias one child. Richard S.) : and Miss 
 Edna L., at home. The children -were all educated 
 in the common and high schools of the city. Mr. 
 
418 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Bishop is a Republican in politics, and a member of 
 the I. O. O. F. lodge at Stanstead. The family at- 
 tend the Congregational Church, and are much es- 
 teemed sociall}'. 
 
 WILLIAM EZRA KEEP, widely known as a 
 successful contractor and builder of Hartford, and 
 one of the oldest in that line in the city, is a native 
 of Massachusetts, born Sept. 15, 1844, in the town 
 of Paxton. 
 
 Mr. Keep is of the seventh generation in de- 
 scent from John Keep, who came from England to 
 this country in 1660, locating in Long Meadow, then 
 a part of Springfield, Mass., where 'he became a 
 very prominent man, holding divers offices of trust 
 and responsibility. In 1676 he was killed by the 
 Indians, his wife and an infant son also being slain at 
 the same time. The great-grandfather of our sub- 
 ject was born in Monson, j\Iass., Aug. 30, 1745, 
 and was a lifelong farmer there; he served as a 
 corporal in the war of the Revolution. 
 
 Josiah Keep, grandfather of William Ezra, was 
 born in Monson Jan. 26, 1778, and died Oct. i, 
 1851, at the age of seventy-three years. On Oct. 
 27, iBoi, he married Lucy Tucker, and by her had 
 eleven children, ten of whom reached maturity, but 
 all are now deceased. 
 
 Josiah Otis Keep, father of William Ezra, was 
 born in Monson, Mass., April 23, 1812, and was 
 there reared and educated. A blacksmith by occu- 
 pation, he followed his trade in West Brookfield, 
 Warren and Paxton, Mass. He married Eliza Ann 
 Southworth, who was born Sept. 19, 1813, in Ash- 
 ford, Conn., a daughter of Ezra Southworth, of that 
 place, and seven children were born to them, three of 
 whom died in childhood. The others are : Susan M., 
 widow of Edwin A. Giddings, a son of H. A. Gid- 
 dings ; William Ezra, a sketch of whom follows ; 
 Josiah, in California, where he has been a professor 
 in a college some fifteen years ; and Edward Palmer, 
 of Paxton, Mass. The father died Aug. 2, 1895, 
 the mother on Aug. 28, 1891 ; both were prominent 
 members of the Congregational Church in which 
 he was a deacon for many years ; in politics he was 
 the first in his town to uphold the Free-soil doc- 
 trine. 
 
 William Ezra Keep received his education in the 
 public schools of his native place, and worked at 
 blacksmithing and farming under his father until 
 he was eighteen years of age. At that time he en- 
 listed in Company B, 51st Mass. A^. I., and served one 
 year in the i8th Army Corps. In August, 1864, he re- 
 enlisted, this time in the ist Battalion, Mass. Heavy 
 Artillery, in which he served one year, at the end 
 of that time receiving an honorable discharge. He 
 then came to Hartford, remaining there during 
 1865-66, after which we find him in Worcester, 
 Mass., where he learned his trade, that of a carpen- 
 ter, and where he remained until August, 1871, the 
 date of his settling in Hartford. Here he has 
 .since, with the exception of eighteen months passed 
 
 in the West, been engaged at his trade, also in con- 
 tracting and building, and has met with all desir- 
 able success. He has erected many buildings, 
 mainly dwelling-houses,' and he built the larger 
 part of the village of Elmwood, Hartford county, 
 including the chapel, school house, factories and 
 dwellings. 
 
 On Oct. 15, 1873, William Ezra Keep was united 
 in marriage with Adelaide M. Giddings, born in 
 Hartford, daughter of Horatio A. Giddings, a farm- 
 er and gardener, who spent the greater part of his 
 life there, dying in 1888, at the age of seventy-five 
 years. The family attend the services of the South 
 Congregational Church. In politics Mr. Keep is a 
 Republican, is a member of the Republican ward 1 
 committee, and has represented the Eighth ward in 
 the common council for two years, 1896-97. Socially 
 he is affiliated with the G. A. R., R. O. Tyler Post, ' 
 No. 50, Hartford, and with the U. O. A. M., being 
 a trustee of Custer Council, No. 85. He is an ex- 
 cellent citizen, genial and affable by nature, and his 
 name is a household word throughout the county. 
 
 GEORGE JOHN SCHUBERT, a native of 
 Bavaria, Germany, born Oct. 2, 1837, and a resident 
 of Bristol, Conn., since August, 1853, an ex-soldier 
 of the Civil war, is at the present time a foreman in 
 the clock case department of the Ingraham Company. 
 
 John Schubert, father of George John, was a 
 cabinetmaker by trade, and in 1828 married Johanna 
 Schubert, to which marriage were born two chil- 
 dren, Lorenz, born in Germany in 1830, and now 
 living in Forestville, Conn., and George J. The 
 father died in Bavaria, when the subject of this 
 sketch was but a small boy, and the mother, in 1876, 
 made a visit to this country, expecting to make her 
 home with her sons, but became homesick and soon 
 returned to Germany, where she died Sept. 2, 1890. 
 
 George John Schubert attended school until six- 
 teen years of age, and was then employed in the city 
 of Schweinfurt as a clerk in the post office. Just 
 before attaining the age of seventeen j^ears he en- 
 tered a cabinetmaker's shop for a short time to get 
 an insight into clock-case making. He sailed from 
 Bremen, Germany, July 23, 1853, and arrived in 
 New York August 7, same year, coming immedi- 
 ately to Bristol, Conn., and there found a position as 
 clock case maker with Brewster & Ingraham (now 
 the E. Ingraham Company). In September, 1862, 
 he enlisted and he served about a year, but of this 
 further mention will be made. In 1867 he made 
 a contract with the Ingraham Company, which lasted 
 about thirty years. He started with three men in 
 his employ, and when he relinquished his contract 
 he had forty-eight. In 1896 he was made foreman 
 of a part of the clock-case work, and has fifty men 
 under him. 
 
 Mr. Schubert was married Dec. 24, 1858, to 
 Sophia Wilhelmina Funck, who was born in Han- 
 over, Germany, Sept. 23, 1839, and in 1848 came to 
 Bristol, Conn., with her parents. Christian and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 419 
 
 I 
 
 Anna Johanna (Stamm) Funck. To Air. and Airs. 
 Schubert no children have been born. 
 
 (Jn enhsting in the 25th C. \ . 1. at Bristol, 
 Mr. Schubert was mustered in as corporal in Com- 
 pany I, Sept. 6, 18O2, but acted as ortlerly sergeant 
 ])art of his term of service, lie participated in the 
 cain|)aign in Western Louisiana under Gen. Banks, 
 was at the siege of Port Hudson, the battle of Irish 
 Bend, and was also at New Orleans; was at the 
 second assault on Port Hudson, was in the engage- 
 ments at Laurel Plill and Donaldsonville, and finally 
 on .\ugust 14, 1803, returned to Hartford, Conn., 
 where the regiment was mustered out Aug. 26, 
 1S63. 
 
 Air. Schubert is a member of G. W. Thompson 
 Post, No. 13, G. A. R., and has been quartermaster 
 ever since its organization, with tlie exception of the 
 years (1890 and 1891) when he was post com- 
 mander. He was also a charter member of, and was 
 instrumental in instituting, the Knights of Pythias 
 lodge at Bristol, is a past commander, master of 
 work and trustee of Ethan Lodge, No. 9, and is a 
 member of Hull division, L'niform rank, company 
 A, second battalion, second regiment, and was Sir 
 Knight captain five years. He is the present regi- 
 mental quartermaster of the second regiment, with 
 rank of captain. Air. Schubert is likewise a mem- 
 ber of Pequabuck Lodge, No. 48, of Bristol, in which 
 he has twice passed through the principal chair ; he 
 and wife are charter members of Rebecca Lodge, 
 No. 24, ladies' auxiliary of the I. O. O. F., and Airs. 
 Schubert is a member of the Order of the Eastern 
 Star. In 1883 Air. Schubert acted as aid-de-camp to 
 the commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the 
 Re]niblic, and Airs. Schubert is a member of the 
 ("i. \\'. Thompson Relief Corps, G. A. R., of which 
 she was president in 1889, and was also national 
 inspector in 1884, and assistant department in- 
 spector for two years. Air. and Airs. Schubert are 
 faithful members of Prospect AI. E. Church, in 
 which she belongs to the Ladies Aid Society. In 
 politics he is a Republican. 
 
 HENRY HUTCHINSON, one of the capable 
 foremen employed in the case department of the E. 
 Tngraham Clock Alanufacturing Co., of Bristol, was 
 born in Coventry, Tolland Co., Conn., Feb. 17, 1843, 
 and is of remote English descent, his ancestry being 
 easilv traced to his great-great-grandfather, Eleazer 
 Hutchinson, who was one of the first settlers in 
 Coventry, the original family, on coming from Eng- 
 land, having settled in Lebanon, New London 
 county, this State. 
 
 Lewis Hutchinson, father of Henry, was born 
 Alarch 16, 1807, and was reared to farming, al- 
 though when a young man he worked for some time 
 in a wool-carding factory. He was a modest, unas- 
 suming gentleman, and always prompt in his at- 
 tendance at church. In politics he was first a 
 Whig, but on the decadence of that party, and the 
 vivification of the Republican, he united with the 
 
 latter. In May, 1840, he married Aliss Caroline 
 Hopkins, who was born in August, 1810, and to this 
 marriage were born six children : Walter Hopkins, 
 June 7, 1841 ; Henry, the subject of this sketch; 
 Orrin, born in 1845, who died in 1848; Alary 
 Aurelia, born in February, 1848, who died in Decem- 
 ber, 1876; Orrin (2), born Nov. i, 1850; and Le- 
 mira, born Nov. 20, 1853, married to Arthur 1'. 
 Loomis, and now living in Bristol. 
 
 Eleazer Hutchinson, grandfather of our subject, 
 was born in 1780, and died ;\pril 17, 1866, a member 
 of the Congregational Church. He was a farmer 
 in Coventry, an active and interested member of the 
 State militia, and in politics a Whig. He married 
 Lydia Simons, of Windham, and to this union were 
 born four children : Lewis, mentioned above ; Alary, 
 born Sept. 22, 1809; Lemira and Walter, who died in 
 infancy. 
 
 Eleazer Hutchinson, great-grandfather of our 
 subject, was a drummer in the war of the Revolu- 
 tion. He married Huldah Jones, of Coventry. The 
 great-great-grandfather of our subject, also named 
 Eleazer, married Ruth Long, of Coventry, and 
 Eleazer, the great-great-great-grandfather, married 
 Jemima Wright. 
 
 Henry Hutchinson, the subject proper of this 
 sketch, was born on a farm in what was known in 
 1843 as Coventry, now Andover. He attended the 
 common schools of Andover up to the age of eight- 
 een years, and then a select school of the same place 
 for two terms. For three years he worked at cabi- 
 net-making' in a toy factory in North Coventry, and 
 then, in 1869, came to Bristol to enter the case- 
 making department of the E. Ingraham Clock Alanu- 
 facturing Co., where he remained about three years. 
 He next entered into partnership with his brother, 
 Walter H., in the grocery trade, on the North side, 
 in which they continued for eight years, and then 
 closed out. Air. Hutchinson, returning to the case 
 department of the E. Ingraham Co., worked two 
 \'ears as a journeyman, and then was made foreman 
 of the "assembly" of oak, walnut and other natural 
 solid wood cases, which position he yet retains. 
 
 Air. Hutchinson married, June 4, 1872, Aliss 
 Alary Elizabeth Wooding, who was born Feb. 20. 
 185 1, a daughter of Lawson Jared and Emeline L. 
 (Stone) Wooding, and their union has been crowned 
 with four children, as follows : Carrie Emeline, born 
 Feb. 22, 1874, was married June 14, 1898. to Rev. 
 Richard Reed Reynolds, a Alethodist divine of 
 Woodbury, Conn.; Fred \\'ooding. born Alarch 31. 
 1877, graduated from the Bristol high school, and in 
 1899 from the Wesleyan L'niversity, in which he 
 is now assistant to the professor of Astronomy ; 
 Raymond Garfield, born Nov. 22, 1881. graduated 
 from the Bristol high school in 1899, and is now tak- 
 ing a post-graduate course preparatory to entering 
 the Wesleyan University: and Bertha Afay. born 
 Feb. 27, 1885, is now attending the high school of 
 Bristol. 
 
 Air. Hutchinson and family are all members of 
 
420 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the Prospect Methodist Episcopal Church, of which 
 Mr. Hutchinson has been a member of the official 
 board since 1871, collector of pew rents for the past 
 twenty years, and on July i, 1898, was elected super- 
 intendent of the Sunday-school ; his wife is a mem- 
 ber of the Ladies Aid and Foreign Missions So- 
 cieties. Both are very ardent in and devoted to their 
 church work. Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson are also 
 members of Bristol Grange, No. 116, P. of H. In 
 politics Mr. Hutchinson is a stalwart Republican, 
 and has served on the Second district school com- 
 mittee, of which he has been treasurer since 1889. 
 
 The family live in West street, in a house built 
 by the late Elias Ingraham, the former famous clock 
 manufacturer of Bristol, and enjoy the unfeigned 
 esteem of an extended circle of the best residents 
 of Bristol. 
 
 JAMES ROBINSON TOPPING, who has his 
 residence in East Hartford, and his place of busi- 
 ness at No. 734 Main street, Hartford, is a skilled 
 pattern and model maker, having served a seven- 
 years apprenticeship at that vocation in England. 
 He was born in Boulogne, France, July 30, 1844, 
 his father, a native-born Englishman, being there 
 employed at the time as a flax-dresser. 
 
 Mr. Topping descends from ancestors who were 
 soldiers, sailors and mechanics, one of them losing 
 his life, in the first-named capacity, at Waterloo, 
 and another, as a sailor, was killed at Trafalgar. 
 His maternal grandmother, Nancy Hardy, lost two 
 of her brothers in the expedition of Sir John Frank- 
 lin, and one in the search for Sir John Franklin and 
 his ill-fated companions. Mr. Topping's parents 
 were Thomas and Mary (Robinson) Topping, the 
 father a native of Lancashire and the mother of 
 Yorkshire, England, and, as intimated above, the 
 father was a flax-dresser. He followed this voca- 
 tion in England and France until the Crimean war 
 cut off the supply of raw material from Russia, and 
 cotton was substituted. He then engaged in the 
 dry-goods trade, which he followed in Hull, Eng- 
 land, the remainder of his active business life, and 
 in which city both he and his wife ended their days. 
 Of their nine children, James R., our subject, was 
 the eldest son, and of the sons three besides him- 
 self came to the United States : , Thomas Hardy, 
 now foreman of the pattern department of the 
 Electric Co., in Lynn, Mass. ; John R., a pattern- 
 maker doing business in Boston, Mass., and William 
 W., a pattern-maker of Hartford. 
 
 James R. Topping was but a child when his 
 parents returned from France to England, the 
 French Revolution at that time being under full 
 sway. He was reared in London and Hull, and at 
 the age of ten years ended his schooling. He had 
 some experience in his father's vocation, but this 
 proving to be unprofitable he worked a short time 
 in a rope walk, at work suited to his years. At the 
 age of fifteen he apprenticed himself to a millwright, 
 starting in at seventy-five cents per week, but being 
 
 a stout lad his wages were increased to one dollar 
 per week in a short time, and were added to until 
 they amounted to $2.50 per week for the last two 
 years of his apprenticeship. The first five years | 
 were devoted to the mechanical part of his trade,, 
 and the last two to pattern-making, and thus he 
 acquired a full knowledge of the business. At the 
 Art Institute and General Exhibition, held at Kings- 
 ton-Upon-Hull, England, in 1870, Mr. Topping 
 was awarded a prize medal for a model of the screw 
 steamship "Marsden." He followed his trade in 
 England until 1879, when, on the 20th day of April, 
 he found an opportunity of working his passage ta 
 America on a freight vessel. On arriving in New 
 York City he found employment in the Delamater 
 Iron Works for a few months, and then came to 
 Connecticut and worked for Hiram H. Maxim, the 
 "gun man." Later he returned to New York, when 
 Mr. Maxim went to that city. In 1881 Mr. Topping 
 went to England on business, and on his return, 
 six months later, again worked for Mr. Maxim, in 
 Philadelphia, making machines run by gas from oil. 
 Next he was employed as foreman for the Clemens 
 Manufacturing Co., of,Ansonia, Conn., and after- 
 ward was foreman in the pattern department of the 
 American Ship Building Co., of Philadelphia. He 
 then made another trip to England, and worked 
 for Hiram Maxim on his machme gun, then being 
 built in London. In the fall of 1884 Mr. Topping 
 came back to America and worked in Hartford, 
 Conn., a year or two. Again he visited England, 
 and on returning to the United States brought with 
 hnn his youngest brother. 
 
 On Nov. 23, 1887, Mr. Topping married, in 
 Hartford, Miss Mary L. Taylor, a native of Buft'alo, 
 N. Y., and subsequently lived in Hartford until 
 September, 1893, when he removed to East Hartford 
 and built an excellent home for himself on Wood- 
 bridge street. In 1898 he erected another good 
 house for renting. In politics Mr. Topping is 
 Democratic in his predilections, but acts upon his 
 own judgment in voting. Fraternally he is a 
 member of Concord Lodge, No. 50, F. & A. M., 
 of New York; of the Amalgamated Society of 
 Engineers, which he joined in 1867; and of Nathan 
 Hale Lodge, A. O. U. W., of Hartford. 
 
 Mr. Topping has crossed the Atlantic ocean 
 seven times, but since his marriage in 1887 has set- 
 tled down, and in that year he engaged in his 
 present business, of which he has made a perfect 
 success, employing several men to assist him. He 
 has fought his way through the world without pe- 
 cuniary aid from others, is now independent, and is 
 respected by everybody for his perseverance, in- 
 dustry and upright life. 
 
 FRANCIS BODWELL CUMMINGS, proprie- 
 tor of the well-known and popular livery and board- 
 ing stables, in Hartford, is a native of Vermont, 
 born March 18, 1834, in Newport, and comes of 
 stalwrrt New England ancestry. 
 
I 
 
 ^. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 421 
 
 Cyrus Cummings, father of Francis B., was 
 born in Littleton, N. H., a son of Cyrus Cummings, 
 of the same nativit}-, and a farmer by occupation, 
 who in later life removed from Littleton to Newport, 
 Vt., and passed the rest of his days there. Cyrus, 
 the father of our subject, was a mechanic, a worker 
 in wood and iron, and followed that business for 
 several years in Vermont, coming from that State 
 to Connecticut, and passing the later days of his life 
 in Hartford, where he died at the age of seventy- 
 nine. By his wife Ruth A. ( Pratt j he had six 
 children, two of whom are yet living: Francis B., 
 and Chloe (widow of E. L. King), of Lawrence, 
 jMassachusetts. 
 
 Francis B. Cummings received a liberal edu- 
 cation in part at the schools of his native place, 
 Newport, Vt., in part at those of Lawrence, Mass., 
 to which latter place he moved when twelve years 
 old, thence coming to Hartford after a residence of 
 live years. Here at the age of eighteen he com- 
 menced to learn the trade of machinist, following 
 same for seven years, at the end of which time, in 
 1857, he embarked in the livery business on J\lain 
 street, remaining there some fifteen years, then 
 coming to his present location, "rear of brown stone 
 church," Asylum avenue. Mr. Cummings' livery 
 and boarding stables are the oldest in the city, and 
 for completeness and general equipment they are 
 not surpassed in the State, containing as they do 
 no fewer than forty horses and a full complement 
 of as fine livery rigs as can be found in any me- 
 tropolis. 
 
 On Oct. I, 1859, Mr. Cummings was married 
 to Louisa Goodwill, and three children were born to 
 them, only one of whom is now living, Fanny, who 
 married George McHenry, of Hartford, and has 
 two children, Elizabeth and Annie. The mother of 
 Mrs. McHenry died at the age of forty-five years, 
 and for his second wife Mr. Cummings wedded 
 Clara Latham, a native of Halifax, N. S., and they 
 have one child, Marion Shirley. 
 
 In politics Mr. Cummings is a Republican, but 
 is not bound by any party ties when casting his 
 ballot, as he invariablv supports the candidate he 
 considers best adapted for the office. By his own 
 individual grit, progressiveness and sound judgment 
 he has met with well-merited prosperity, and is now 
 the owner of considerable property in Hartford, in- 
 cluding several dwelling houses. He is, to put in 
 plain American, a typical hustler, and a thoroughly 
 representative wide-awake New Englander. 
 
 PHILIP P. CARLON, M. D. Few of the 
 physicians of Hartford are natives of that city, but 
 the subject of this sketch, one of the most successful 
 of the fraternity, was born there April 19, 1862. 
 
 Hugh Carlon, his father, was born in County 
 Cavan, Ireland, and from 185 1 resided in Hartford. 
 He married ^liss Ann Smith, a niece of Rev. 
 Father Brady, first pastor of St. Patrick's Church, 
 Hartford, and had six children, of whom three are 
 
 living: John is a resident of Hartford; Miss Nellie 
 is a teacher in St. Joseph's School, in that city ; our 
 subject being the youngest of the trio. 
 
 riie Doctor's education was begun in the paro- 
 chial schools of Hartford, and later he pursued his 
 studies in JNIontreal College, and at the College of 
 the Holy Cross, Worcester, Alass., where he was 
 graduated in 1882. For three years he studied 
 theology in Montreal, and his medical studies were 
 begun in the University of New York, where he re- 
 ceived the degree of M. D. in 1890. For three 
 years he was connected with the Flatbush Hospital 
 and Insane Asylum, and then practiced his profes- 
 sion in New York City for the same length of time ; 
 in 1896 he located in Hartford. His first office was 
 on Main street, and he now has two offices, one at 
 No. 23J/ Church street, and the other on Park 
 street. He is one of the staff of St. Francis Hos- 
 pital, and is an active member of the City, County 
 and State JNIedical Societies. The duties of his 
 practice prevent him from giving much atention to 
 non-professional matters, but he is identified so- 
 cially with the Knights of Columbus and the Cath- 
 olic Benevolent Legion. 
 
 CONSTANT LOYAL TUTTLE, of the well- 
 known enterprising firm of Tuttle & Mather, dealers 
 in carriages and horse goods of all kinds, the em- 
 porium being at Nos. 291-293 Allyn street, Hartford, 
 is a native of Connecticut, born Dec. 14, 1850, in 
 Plvmouth. 
 
 ' Elizur Tuttle, his father, was also born in Plym- 
 outh, the date of his birth being Feb. 26, 1806, 
 and from there he removed to Bristol. By trade 
 he was a wood-turner, and made bedsteads, chairs, 
 etc., by hand. In Bristol he farmed as well, and also 
 at Belleville, Ontario, Canada. In Plymouth he 
 engaged in the manufacturing of candy boxes, which 
 he sold in Hartford. In 1865 he removed to Bark- 
 hamted, Litchfield Co., Conn., and there fanned 
 until the spring of 1881, in that year taking up his 
 residence in Hartford, where he passed the rest of 
 his days dying Jan. 15, 1888. At one time he ped- 
 dled clocks' in Pennsylvania, New York and Canada. 
 
 On Sept. 25, 1835, in Canada, Elizur Tuttle mar- 
 ried Alary Danford, who was born Alay i, 1816, 
 in that country, and died in New Britain in 1894. 
 Eleven children were born to this union, as follows : 
 (i) Emily, born Nov. 25, 1836, at Stirling, Canada, 
 married \\'illiam Sweet, of Plymouth, Conn., and 
 has six children, Alice, Eva, Jennie, Ida, William 
 and Jesse. (2) Lydia, born at Stirling, Canada, 
 married E. H. Merrill, of Winsted, Conn., and had 
 three children, Oliver, Cora and Etta. (3) Sarah 
 M., born at Penfield, N. Y., married David Buell, of 
 New Britain, and has one child. Electa. (4) Helen, 
 born in Bristol, Conn., married Henry Kavill. of 
 ^^^est Haven. Conn., and died in November, 1884. 
 She had one child, Mary. (5) William H., born 
 in Plymouth, Conn., married Jane Beany, and has 
 three' children, Hattie, Bertha and Grace. (6) 
 
422 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Phebe J., born at Plymouth, Conn., married Harvey 
 Tucker, of Tariffville, and had three children, 
 Albert, Ira and Mabel. (7) Constant L. is the sub- 
 ject of these lines. (8) Alpheus A., born at Plym- 
 outh, is a veterinary surgeon at Attleboro, Mass. ; 
 he married Belle Patterson, but has no children. 
 (9) Millard B., born at Plymouth, was drowned 
 at the age of five years. (10) Gatria E., born at 
 Plymouth, married Thomas S. Mather, and is now 
 deceased. They had six children, Alpheus, Samuel, 
 Lewis, Harry, David and Helen. (11) One child 
 died in infancy. 
 
 Constant L. Tuttle, whose name opens this 
 sketch, received the greater part of his education at 
 the schools of his native place, and from 1865 to 
 1 88 1 he was employed in lumbering and farming 
 at Barkhamsted, Conn. At the age of twenty-two 
 years he commenced business for his own account ; 
 in 1884 he embarked in the trucking business in 
 Hartford; in 1888 the firm of Tuttle & Mather was 
 organized ; in April, 1899, they changed the busi- 
 ness to that of dealers in carriages and horse goods 
 of all kinds. 
 
 In 1881, at Hartford, Conn., Constant L. Tuttle 
 was married to Miss Jennie E. Horrox, of Barkham- 
 sted ; there are no children. In politics Mr. Tuttle 
 is a Republican. 
 
 CAPT. IRA BENHAM SMITH, skilled, as a 
 die-sinker and machinist, located on Main street, 
 Bristol, and one of the most gallant soldiers that 
 went to the front during the war of the Rebellion, 
 was born in Meriden, Conn., Aug. 16, 1840, a son 
 of Lucius B. Smith, who died in 1893, at the age of 
 seventy-two years. 
 
 Lucius B. Smith was born in New York State, 
 and lost his parents w'hile still an infant. He was 
 reared by his maternal tmcle, Erastus Parmelee, a 
 resident of Meriden, Conn., and learned black- 
 smithing. Lucius B. Smith went to California in 
 1849 with the Montague company, formed in 
 Meriden and vicinity, crossing the plains going, 
 accumulated considerable wealth by working at his 
 trade of blacksmith, and returned via the Isthmus. 
 He was a Republican in politics, but never sought 
 office, being a modest gentleman, nor was he a mem- 
 ber of any secret society. In religion he was an 
 Episcopalian. Lucius B. Smith was twice married, 
 the first time to Caroline Griswold, of Meriden, and 
 to this union were born six children, as follows : 
 Ira B., the subject of this sketch; Frederick L., who 
 has long been employed in the general offices of the 
 New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Co., 
 in New Haven, but resides in Meriden ; Willie D , 
 living in New Britain, is a toolmaker for the Stanley 
 Rule & Level Co.; Lucy, twin of Willie D., died 
 in infancy ; Marshall, also deceased in infancy ; and 
 Carrie May, married to Charles Morse, of the firm 
 of Church & Morse, hardware merchants in Meri- 
 den. The second marriage of Mr. Smith was to 
 Mrs. Jane Bridgeham, of Madison, Conn., and by 
 
 this marriage was born one daughter, Nellie Bas- 
 sett, who is married to Arthur W. Trueller, in the 
 meat and produce business at New Britain. 
 
 Solomon Smith, father of Lucius B., and grand- 
 father of the Captain, was a hero of the Revolution- 
 ary war, and after that glorious struggle had been 
 brought to a successful conclusion passed the re- 
 mainder of his life in farming in central New 
 York. 
 
 Capt. Ira B. Smith attended the public schools 
 of Meriden until he had attained the age of seven- 
 teen years, when he entered the office of N. C. San- 
 ford & Co., manufacturers of augers and skates, at 
 Yalesville, Conn., and of whose works the Captain",! 
 father was then manager. Ira B. here held his posi- 
 tion as shipping clerk until i860; then worked for 
 Wooster & Glover, at Derby, making sewing-ma- 
 chine needles, until May, 1861, when he gallantly re- 
 sponded to President Lincoln's call for 75,000 vol- 
 unteers to assist in quelling the Rebellion. He 
 served in Company D, 2nd Conn. V. I., under Capt. 
 Dana Russell, took part in the battle of Bull Run,, 
 and was mustered out Aug. 21, 1861, his three- 
 months' term having expired. Immediately after 
 being mustered out he enlisted in Company C, 7th 
 Conn. V. I., and with this regiment was the first to 
 set foot on South Carolina soil, at Hilton Head, 
 Nov. 4, 1861 ; his was the first regiment to float 
 its flag in the Palmetto State after the opening of 
 hostilities. He was at the capture of Fort Pulaski,, 
 Ga., April lo-ii, 1862; in the attempt to Secession- 
 ville, S. C, June 10, 1862 ; at the capture of St. 
 John's Bluff, Fla., Oct. 7, 1862; the battle of Po- 
 cotaligo, S. C, Oct. 22, 1862 ; Bermuda Hundred, 
 Va., May 12, 1864; assault on Woodbridge's Hill, 
 Va., May 12, 1864; battle of Drury's Blufif, Va., 
 May 16, 1864, and again at Bermuda Hundred, 
 June 12, 1864. Here he was captured and taken 
 to Andersonville, Ga., where he was confined pre- 
 cisely three months. On Sept. 8, 1864, he was in- 
 carcerated in the Charleston(S. C.) jail, but placed on 
 the firing line of the Union batteries, the Confeder- 
 ates hoping that the presence of the boys in blue 
 in this perilous position would check the bombard- 
 ment by the Unionists. For a month i\Ir. Smith 
 was held in this disagreeable predicament, when he 
 was transferred to Florence, S. C, confined in a 
 stockade, similar to that at Andersonville, for three 
 months, and then paroled and sent to Charleston 
 harbor for transportation home on a furlough of 
 three months, at the expiration of which time he re- 
 joined his regiment at Wilminglon, N. C, and served 
 until mustered out, in July, 1865, at Goldsboro, 
 North Carolina. 
 
 The extraordinary gallantry of our subject was 
 early recognized, and he was often selected by his su- 
 periors to jDcrform deeds of daring, but his promo- 
 tion was late in coming, as far as commission is con- 
 cerned. For attention to dutv. intelligence, brav- 
 ery and good behavior while in the ranks, he had 
 been promoted to first sergeant, but for conspicuous. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 423 
 
 I 
 
 bravcrv and meritorious conduci before the enemy 
 on every field he was eommissionetl eaptain in I'elj- 
 ruary, 1805, a "big juuip" from first sergeant. 
 
 At the close of the war Capt. Smith was em- 
 ployed for a year as machinist at Gallon, Ohio, on 
 the Atlantic & Great Western. He then returned 
 to Meriden, Conn., and worked as a machinist in the 
 Charles I'arker gun shops for a year, when he was 
 made fo.reman of the press department, with a 
 force of nearly fifty men under him. In 1873 he re- 
 signed this position on account of ill health, and in 
 partnership with his brother-in-law, Lucas A. Dolish, 
 bought out the grocery of Charles Ives, in Yalesville, 
 but a year later bought the business of Mr. Dolph, 
 and conducted the business on his own account four 
 years. He then went to work for the Oneida Com- 
 numity in W'allingford, having charge of its spoon 
 manufactory until 1881, when he went with the 
 Community to Niagara Falls, N. Y. He was their 
 superintendent until 1,885, when he resigned and 
 went to Thorold, Canada, forming the Ontario Silver 
 Co., for the manufacture of spoons, with a capital 
 stock of $20,000, which he managed for two years. 
 He then sold his interest and returned to Walling- 
 ford, Conn., where for two years he worked on a 
 contract for making clock-cases for the Judd Manu- 
 facturing Co. He next made a speculative trip to 
 California for si.x. months, came to Bristol in Feb- 
 ruary, 1888, and accepted the superinteiidency of 
 the German silver spoon department of the Bristol 
 Brass & Clock Co., having under him a force of 175 
 hands. In March, 1898, he started his present die- 
 making and special machinery establishment on 
 j\lain street. 
 
 Capt. Smitii was most happily married, in Febru- 
 ary, 1864, to j\Iiss Susan I-C. Maynes, daughter of 
 Alexander G. Maynes, of Meriden, and to them 
 were born three children : Harmon Frederick, born 
 Nov. 16, 1867 married Julia Baldwin, of Walling- 
 ford, who has borne him two children, Ira Baldwin 
 and Edmund' Herman. Marshall Ira, born in 1873, 
 is a toolmaker in the Eagle Lock Co.'s factory at 
 Terry ville ; he is married to Annie Fuiick, daughter 
 of August Funck, and is the father of one child, 
 Susan Rachel, born in June, 1896. Robert ^laynes, 
 born in June, 1881, is now learning die-making. 
 
 Capt. Smith is a member of Franklin Lodge, 
 No. 56, F. & A. M., and has been a Mason thirty- 
 seven years ; also of Stephen Terry Lodge, No. 59, 
 I. O. O. F. ; and of Gilbert W. Thompson Com- 
 mandery ; he and his wife are members of Bristol 
 Grange, No. 116, and attend the Episcopal Church. 
 In politics Capt. Smith is an ardent Republican, is 
 very popular, and although never a seeker after office 
 was elected burgess the second and third years after 
 the borough of Bristol was erected. 
 
 LE^T BENNETT COCHRAN, M. D., physi- 
 cian and surgeon of Hartford, was born Dec. 8, 
 1867, in Durhamville, Oneida Co., New York. 
 
 The familv is of Scotch-Irish origin, and his 
 
 grandfather, Andrew Cociiran. was a native of Bel- 
 fast, Ireland. Rev. Andrew Cochran, his fatlier, 
 was a l'resl)yterian clergyman, and for thirty years 
 was pastor of the church at Oneida Castle, N. \' . 
 Just after his death, in 1887, a new churcii was 
 completed, and named, in his memory, the Cociiran 
 Alemorial Church. He married Catharine More, 
 a native of Dutchess county, N. Y., and of their 
 six children three are living, as follows: John M., 
 a resident of Oneida, N. Y. ; Levi B. ; and Cather- 
 ine, teacher of Latin and Greek in the Teachers 
 College of Columbia University. 
 
 Levi B. Cochran attended the public schools of 
 Oneida, N. Y., and on graduating from the high 
 school took a position in a drug store in Oneida. 
 Later he completed the course in the College of 
 Pharmacy at Philadel])liia. and for a time was em- 
 ployed in a drug store there. In 1890 he entered 
 the Medical Department of the L'niversity of Penn- 
 sylvania, graduating with the class of 1893, and for 
 seven months he was resident physician of the 
 Cooper Hospital, at Camden, N. J. The next two 
 vears he spent as assistant physician at the mines 
 at Lattimer, Penn., and in 1896 he located at Hart- 
 ford, Conn., engaging in general practice. He is a 
 member of the City, County and State Medical So- 
 cieties, surgeon of the Connecticut Naval Battalion, 
 and visiting physician of the Hartford Orphan Asy- 
 jlum. He "was' formerly a member of the Stille 
 Medical Society of the University of Pennsylvania. 
 
 In 1898 the Doctor was married, at Lowvillc. 
 Lewis Co.. N. Y., to :\Iary Louise, daughter of Dr. 
 Allies FI. Bronson. 
 
 JOHN GE.MM ILLhas from early manhood been 
 actively identified with the 'business interests of 
 Hartford, where his father before him made an 
 honorable name, and he is well and favorably knnwn 
 in the city in various connections. 
 
 Mr. Gemniill is of Scottish lineage, his father, 
 James Gemmill, having been a native of Kilmarnock, 
 Scotland, where he was reared and educated, and 
 learned the tailor's trade. He followed his trade in 
 his native land until coming to America, in 1S35. 
 and locating in Hartford, Conn., whence he removed 
 to Thompsonville and later to Suffield, this county, 
 at the latter place, where he resided until the spring 
 of 1861, conducting a store. The remainder of his 
 life was passed in Hartford, where he located in 
 business at No. 45 Asylum street, carrying a line of 
 ready-made clothing and men's furnishing goods, 
 and also conducting a custom tailoring business. 
 In 1862 he removed to Foster's present location, 
 and took his son-in-law, James Clarke, into partner- 
 ship, the firm being Gemmill & Clarke until 1S66, 
 when our subject was received into the business, 
 and it became Gemmill & Son. Two years later 
 the elder Mr. Gemmill sold his interest to his son, 
 and w-ith E. F. Burnham and Mr. Clarke continued 
 the business under the firm name of Gemmill, 
 
424 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Clarke & Co. until 1871, when the partnership was 
 dissolved, Mr. Clarke retaining the store just men- 
 tioned, and Gemmill, Burnham & Co. returning to 
 the old location. No. 45 Asylum street. After 
 twelve years of successful business there they re- 
 moved to the new building erected by them in 1882, 
 and here they have remained to the present day, 
 enjoying a constantly increasing and profitable 
 patronage. Mr. Gemmill's reputation as a business 
 man of honor and the strictest integrit)^ combined 
 with his pleasing personal characteristics, has gained 
 him a high place among his associates, whether in the 
 business world or in private life, and he has proved a 
 credit to his Scottish ancestry as a sturdy upholder 
 of the right. 
 
 James Gemmill married Miss Maria Clutter- 
 buck, a native of England, and to their union were 
 born: Margaret, who died young; Mary, who mar- 
 ried James Clarke, of Bloomfield, this county; John, 
 whose name introduces this sketch; James, who 
 died young; and Robert, of New York City. The 
 father passed away in Hartford May 3, 1871, at the 
 age of sixty-five years, the mother surviving until 
 Nov. 21, 1883, when she passed away at the age 
 of seventy-one years ; both were laid to rest in the 
 cemetery at Suffield. 
 
 John Gemmill was born Jan. 5, 1840, in Suffield, 
 ■where he grew to manhood, attending the common 
 schools and the Connecticut Literary Institute. In 
 i860 he went to New York City, where he was in 
 the employ of Lord & Taylor until April, 1861, 
 when he came to Hartford, clerking for his father 
 until his enlistment, July 15, 1862, in Company 
 A, 1 6th Conn. V. I. He was promoted to corporal 
 and sergeant, and served honorably to the close of 
 the struggle, receiving his discharge June 20, 1865, 
 at Newbern, N. C. Soon after his return to Hart- 
 ford he engaged in business with his father, and the 
 history of his commercial career is the history of 
 the business, as given above. In 1866 he wedded 
 Miss Lettie Morris, of Rutland, -Vt., who died in 
 1893. They had three children : Hattie and Robert, 
 who died young; and Marguerite Morris, now the 
 wife of Ralph K. Swett, of Hartford, who travels 
 for the Pope Manufacturing Company. 
 
 Mr. Gemmill has been identified with various 
 social and religious interests of his city, being a 
 thirty-second degree Mason (member of Sphinx 
 Temple, Mystic Shrine), a member of the Army 
 and Navy Club, and a member of Robert O. Tyler 
 Post, G. A. R. For one year he was major of the 
 Hartford Veteran City Guard. In church connec- 
 tion he is a Baptist, was for twenty-five years united 
 with the South Church, and has served as deacon 
 in the South and Washington Avenue Baptist 
 Churches ; he is now a member and deacon of the 
 Asylum Avenue Baptist Church, in which he is serv- 
 ing as chairman of the society committee. He is 
 also a member of the board of directors of the Y. 
 M. C. A., discharging all the duties of these trusts 
 with characteristic faithfulness and a zeal which 
 
 could leave no room for doubt as to his genuine in- 
 terest in the welfare of the organizations concerned. 
 
 HON. RICHARD H. CONDON, now first se- 
 lectman of the town of Farmington, is a true type 
 of American progress and enterprise. His intellec- 
 tual energy, prudent business methods and reliable 
 sagacity have all combined to make him one of the 
 ablest business men of the community. 
 
 Mr. Condon was born in County Limerick, Ire- 
 land, June 28, i860, son of John Condon, a large 
 farmer of that county, where he died in 1872. After 
 settling up the estate the mother came with her six 
 children to America, and our subject made his home 
 with his sister, Mrs. Bridgman, in Unionville, Hart- 
 ford Co., Conn. At the present time he has one 
 brother, John H. Condon, and two sisters, Mrs. 
 Rourke and Mrs. Hanrahan, residing at the town 
 of Farmington. 
 
 In the National schools of his native land Mr. 
 Condon began his education, and after coming to 
 this country pursued his studies for a time in the 
 village schools of Unionville. While still in school 
 he began running errands for George Richards, who 
 then, as no\y, was engaged in the feed and grain 
 business in Unionville, and in 1883 he became a 
 member of the firm, v/hich now carries on business 
 under the firm name of George Richards & Co. 
 They own and operate a large gristmill at Union- 
 ville, and have built up an excellent trade as dealers 
 in flour, feed and grain. 
 
 In Collinsville, Conn., Mr. Condon was united 
 in marriage with Miss Susan Burnett, a daughter of 
 George Burnett, and to them has been born one son, 
 Frank Burnett Condon. Fraternally Mr. Condon is 
 a prominent member of the Knights of Pythias, the 
 Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Independ- 
 ent Order of Foresters, and the Benevolent and 
 Protective Order of Elks. Politically he has been 
 a stanch Democrat since casting his first vote in 
 Farmington. The first office to which he was elect- 
 ed by his townsmen was that of tax collector; in 
 1889 he represented the town in the State Legisla- 
 ture, and for the past four years he has been first 
 selectman. His official duties have always been most 
 capably and satisfactorily discharged, and he has 
 become a prominent figure in business, political and 
 social circles. 
 
 EDWARD J. MULCAHY, dealer in clothing, 
 hats and furnishing goods, at Nos. 33 to 41 Asylum 
 street, Hartford, is one of the city's successful mer- 
 chants, and is a native and a continuous resident of 
 the city. 
 
 Mr. Mulcahy has one of the largest stores in 
 his line in the city. His business house is in a 
 conspicuous location on one of the leading business 
 streets in Hartford ; it has a frontage of 50 feet and 
 a depth of 150 feet, and the interior is well ar- 
 ranged and business-like. Mr. Mulcahy is one of 
 the best-known merchants in the city. Through 
 
i 
 
k 
 ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 425 
 
 his ability, strict adherence to business principles, 
 good management, and honorable and fair dealing, 
 he has been successful. For many years he has been 
 one of the committee of the Hartford Public High 
 School, and he is a member of the board of street 
 commissioners. He is also a member of the Knights 
 of Columbus, and treasurer of Charter Oak Council. 
 
 THOMAS BUNNELL, employed by the New 
 Departure'Bell Co., Bristol, was born May 27, 1839, 
 in Bristol, Conn., at No. 160 Divinity street. 
 
 Llezekiah Bunnell, great-great-grandfather of 
 our subject, was born in 1702, in Cheshire, Conn., 
 whence he moved to Burlington, Hartford county. 
 He married Esther Plumb, and they had seven 
 sons. Hezekiah took up an extensive tract of land 
 in Burlington, and when he died. May 25, 1764, he 
 willed to each of his sons a large farm. The mother 
 passed from earth Dec. 20, 1768. 
 
 Nathaniel Bunnell, great-grandfather of our 
 subject, was born in 1733, and was frozen to death 
 December 15, 1759, a severe snowstorm overtaking 
 him while he was out deer hunting. In 1756 he 
 married Thankful Spencer, who was born in 173S; 
 and died Jan. 25, 1817. They had three children. 
 
 Nathaniel Bunnell, grandfather of our subject, 
 was born May 20, 1758, and died Aug. 22, 1828. 
 He was a farmer by occupation, and in connection 
 was also a basket maker, which was a profitable in- 
 dustry in those days. He served as a soldier in 
 the Revolutionary war. Twice married, his second 
 wife was Rhoda' (Bates), born Oct. 5, 1761, and 
 died July 29, 1852. Their children: (i) Dinah, 
 born Dec. 12, 1795, died April 23, 1875, married 
 Royal Grover. (2) Laura, born March 24, 1798, 
 died Aug. 27, 1828. (3)Phileta, born Feb. 10, 1800, 
 died Nov. 15, 1815. (4) Allen, born Feb. 7, 1802, 
 died May 20, 1873. (5) Susannah, born Oct. 27, 
 1804, died in 1834. (6) Thomas, born Nov. 9, 
 1806, died Feb. 11, 1895. Of these, 
 
 Allen Bunnell, father of our subject, was born 
 in Burlington, Conn., received his education there 
 in the Center district school, and learned the trade 
 of carriage maker of a man by the name of Hale : 
 the factory was a little over a mile north of the 
 Center. He served seven years at this, beginning at 
 the age of fourteen years. When a young man he 
 removed to Bristol, and carried on a carriage shop 
 in Divinity street. He died May 20, 1873, in what 
 is known as Edgewood, Bristol. On Feb. 8, 1826, 
 he married Rhoda Atwater, who was born Nov. 
 16, 1800, in Bristol, a daughter of Lucius and 
 Rhoda (Churchill) Atwater, the last named being 
 a lineal descendant of Gov. William Lyon, of 
 Colonial days. She died July 20, 1879, in Edge- 
 wood, Bristol. Their children : ( i ) Caroline, born 
 Jan. 13, 1827, married Franklin Steele, of Bristol, 
 and died Dec. 9, 1898. (2) Emily, born Jan. 30, 
 1828, married John H. Sessions, of Bristol. (3) 
 Charles R., a sketch of whom appears elsewhere. 
 (4) Susannah, born Sept. 16, 1832, married Ed- 
 
 ward Porter, of Bristol. (5) Rhoda, born June 23, 
 1835, died May 3, 1836. (6j Thomas, our sub- 
 ject. (7) Sterling, a sketch of whom appears else- 
 where. The father of this family was one of the 
 first Abolitionists, and was one of the seven men of 
 Bristol who at one time held the controlling power 
 in the town. He was a very strong Union man, and 
 equally aggressive on the temperance subject. He 
 was converted when about twenty-one years of age, 
 while attending the services of the Congregational 
 Church of his town. When he came to consider 
 the question of Baptism, he asked to be immersed ; 
 the pastor was loath to administer as requested, so 
 this cause led him to the Baptist Society in Bristol, 
 where he joined. There he formed the acquaint- 
 ance of her who was to be his loved and loving 
 companion in all his after life. She had become 
 a member there at the age of eleven years. In 
 1842 the preaching of William Miller, that the end 
 of the earth's probation was near at hand, found 
 a response in them, and they became what is known 
 as Second Adventists. They were exemplary Chris- 
 tians at home or wherever they went, both dying 
 in the triumphs of Christian faith. They were 
 buried in- West cemetery, Bristol. 
 
 Thomas Bunnell, whose name opens this sketch, 
 was six years old when his parents removed to 
 Whigville, in Burlington, the school of which place 
 he attended until he was fifteen years of age. At 
 that time he removed to Illinois, and along with his 
 brother Charles R. operated a farm on shares, for 
 two years. He then came to \\'hig-\-ille, and thence 
 proceeding to Unionville, worked at wood-turning 
 for Allen & Bunnell about one and one-half years. 
 Then returning to Whigville (Burlington), he was 
 in the employ of E. K. Jones at wood-turning some 
 twelve months, or until the financial panic of 1857, 
 which blasted his plans to attend school at \\'ilbra- 
 ham Academy. We next find him in New Britain, 
 in the employ of the Stanley Rule & Level Co., 
 wood-turning, and here he remained until the break- 
 ing out of the Civil war. 
 
 In the early part of April, 1861, ]\Ir. Bunnell 
 enlisted in Harris' Light Battery, for three months, 
 and was quartered at Hartford ; but as notice had 
 been received that no more three-months men would 
 be accepted, they were paid ofif and disbanded, 
 and he then enlisted in Company G, 4th Conn. V. 
 I., and was mustered in May 22, 1861. His regi- 
 ment served in the summer and fall of 1861 on the 
 upper Potomac, guarding wagon trains and doing 
 provost duty about and in the towns of Hagerstown, 
 Williamsport, Darnestown, and Harper's Ferry. On 
 Oct. 9, the regiment marched over Long Bridge to 
 Arlington Heights, and garrisoned Fort Richard- 
 son. Later the different companies were stationed 
 at Forts Scott, Ward, Barnard, Ellsworth, \\ovx\\ 
 and Berry, of the defences of Washington. Tlie 
 regiment was changed to the ist Conn. Heavy Ar- 
 tillery Jan. 7, 1862, and the following spring went 
 with the siege train with ]\IcCle!lan, besieging York- 
 
426 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 town. After that they were engaged in the opera- 
 tions about Riclimond, and were at the battle of 
 Hanover Court House, where Mr. Bunnell unaided 
 captured a captain of the 28th North Carolina regi- 
 ment ; the captain was well armed, having, besides 
 his regulation sword and navy revolver in his belt, 
 a revolver in his pocket. ■ The last Mr. Bunnell has 
 ■in his possession now. Soon after this the seven 
 days' battle that ended at Malvern Hill took place, 
 in which Mr. Bunnell took an active part. Later 
 the regiment was at Harrison's Landing, Va., from 
 thence returning, in August, 1862, to the defenses 
 of Washington. In September following Mr. Bun- 
 nell, with eleven others from the regiment, was de- 
 tailed on recruiting service, and was thus engaged 
 in Connecticut until January, when the. party re- 
 turned to Virginia, he to Company G, at Fort 
 Barnard. From this time until the spring of 1864 
 he was in the operations confined to the defences 
 of Washington, south of the Potomac. On May 
 II, 1864, the regiment embarked at Alexandria, 
 Va., and May 13, landed at Bermuda Hundred, 
 joining Gen. Butler's command. From this on un- 
 til Lee surrendered Mr. Bunnell was almost con- 
 stantly engaged in some of the many batteries ly- 
 ing between the James river on the right and 
 Petersburg on the left, excepting the time taken 
 by his going with Gen. Terry to the capture of Fort 
 Fisher, N. C. The regiment spent about three 
 months collecting Rebel ordnance in their aban- 
 doned works on the James, below Richmond, then 
 returned to Fort Ellsworth, A^a., where they were 
 mustered out of the LTnited States service, at once 
 returning to Hartford, were paid and given their 
 discharge. Mr. Bunnell re-enlisted Dec. 17, 1863, 
 and was mustered out Sept. 25, 1865, having served 
 continuously four years, four months and three 
 days. He was never wounded. From private he 
 was promoted to corporal, and as such acted as 
 ordnance sergeant about Petersburg and the James 
 river, then to sergeant, and later'to regimental color 
 bearer, bringing the colors home to Connecticut. 
 Returning to the paths of peace, Mr. Bunnell 
 and his brother Charles R. formed a partnership 
 in the wood-turning business in Whigville, in the 
 factory now occupied by D. E. Mills, but at the 
 end of a year our subject sold out his interest in 
 (the concern to his brother ; then for some three 
 years worked for Warner & Sessions in Edgewood 
 (Bristol) ; thence went to Quincy, 111., and there, 
 along with a Mr. Jennings, carried on a commission 
 stable business for about two years, at the end of 
 that time selling out and returning to Connecticut. 
 In Hartford for some eighteen months he followed 
 his old trade of wood-turning, then worked in same 
 Jine for J. H. Sessions & Sons, resigning in 1885 
 to take up a completely new business, that of en- 
 jlarging pictures, in which line he traveled through- 
 out the State of Connecticut thirteen years, and 
 then accepted his present position with the New 
 Departure Bell Co. 
 
 On June 5, 1861, Thomas Bunnell was united in 
 marriage with Sarah Amelia Blow, who died May 
 30, 1866, without issue. On July 6, 1867, he mar- 
 ried (second) Elecia Leonora Maguire, who was 
 born Jan. 20, 1842, at Enniskillen, Ireland, a daugh- 
 ter of Hugh and Annie (Gordon) Maguire, who 
 emigrated with their family to this country in May, 
 1842. They were active members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, in which he was licensed as a 
 local preacher at the age of sixteen years, and con- 
 tinued as such through life, being widely known 
 in the towns surrounding Hartford, where he lived 
 about thirty years. By trade he was a carpenter. 
 He died in Hartford in 1880, his wife dying in 
 1890, in Bristol, at the home of her daughter, with 
 whom she lived after the death of her husband. 
 They are buried in Spring Grove cemetery, Flart- 
 ford. Children as follows have been born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Bunnell : ( i ) Schuyler Ulysses, born Sept. 
 14, 1868, in Bristol, Conn , married Cora Whittlesey, 
 of Bridgeport, Conn. ; he is a photographer, and 
 lives in Norfolk, Va. (2) Allen Afton, born Feb. 
 2, 1874, is in the employ of the Liberty Bell Co., 
 Bristol. (3) Sarah Elecia, born Sept. 2, 1876, 
 graduated from Brown University, Providence, R. 
 I., in the class of 1899, and is now a school teacher 
 in New Canaan, Connecticut. 
 
 In religious faith Mr. Bunnell is a member of 
 the Advent Christian Church, in which he has served 
 as a deacon since Nov. 25, 1878. Mrs. Bunnell is a 
 member of the Prospect M. E. Church, and of the 
 Ladies Aid and Missionary Societies. In politics 
 our subject is a stanch Republican. He is an in- 
 dustrious, energetic man, and is numbered among 
 the leading citizens of the community in which he 
 lives. 
 
 GEORGE N. THOMPSON, of the town of 
 Canton, an enterprising and successful busuiess 
 man of his locality, was born Feb. 17, 1847, "^ 
 West Hartland, this county, and comes of a good 
 Rhode Island family. 
 
 Joseph Thompson, our subject's grandfather, 
 was born and reared in Rhode Island, and was mar- 
 ried there. After a time he removed with his 
 family to Connecticut, and for some years he fol- 
 lowed the shoemaker's trade at Colebrook, Litch- 
 field county, in connection with farming, but late in 
 life he returned to his birthplace to spend his re- 
 maining days. 
 
 Joseph Thompson (2), our subject's father, was 
 also a native of Rhode Island, but his boyhood was 
 mainly spent in Tolland and West Hartland, where 
 he received a district-school education. He was 
 trained to farm work and chose agriculture as an 
 occupation, locating first at Hartland, this county, 
 and later at West Hartland, where he purchased a 
 farm and made many improvements. He died May 5,. 
 1872, and was buried in Flartland Hollow cemetery. 
 LIpright and honest in his dealings, he commanded 
 the respect of his associates, and was frequently 
 
-^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^\l^ * 
 
 >i 
 
 \ 
 
 6 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 427 
 
 chosen to local offices, including that of selectman. 
 At one time he represented the town of liartland 
 in the State Legislature. Politically lie was first 
 ■J, Whig and then a Rcpul)lican, and in religious 
 faith he was a Congregationalist. His first wife, 
 Sarah A. (A'evvton), was a native of Hartland, and 
 their marriage occurred there. She died leaving one 
 son, our suliject, and Mr. Thompson then married 
 Celestia Shepard, daughter of Deacon Lyman 
 Shepard, of West Granville, Mass. By this mar- 
 riage there were fourteen children : Charlotte, who 
 dieil in childhood ; Sarah, who married Theodore 
 Haves, of Granby ; Clara, who married iNliles Godard, 
 of Granby; Mary, wife of Mortimer Vining; Maria, 
 who never married ; Martha T., who died in in- 
 fancy ; Charles, a resident of Granville Corners; 
 Joseph, who resides in Suffield ; Flora, who married 
 George Adams, of Suffield ; Ednuuid, a resident of 
 Thompsonville ; Jennie, widow of Walter Tanner; 
 Wilbcrt, a resident of Riverton ; Edna, wife of 
 Orin -Vuger, of New Haven ; and ^Nliles, who died 
 in infancy. 
 
 The Newton family, from which our subject is 
 descended in the maternal line, is of pioneer stock, 
 and his great-grandfather, Abiathier Newton, was 
 born in Durham, Conn., in early manhood settling 
 in Hartland, where he owned and cultivated a large 
 tract of land. He was an excellent business man, 
 and in addition to general farming he devoted special 
 attention to the raising of cattle for market. In 
 politics he was an Old-line Whig, and he took an 
 active part in religious affairs, having been one 
 of the first deacons of the church in Hartland. 
 He and his wife, Anna (Cowels), of East Hartford, 
 died at their homestead many years ago and their 
 remains now rest in the cemetery in West Hart- 
 land. They had eight children : Eunice, who 
 married Joel Ensign ; Anna, who never married ; 
 Sally ; Sarah, who remained single ; Isaac ; Johnson ; 
 Lester; and Mary, who died in childhood. 
 
 Lester Newton, our subject's grandfather, was 
 born in 1796, in Hartland, and died in 1840. He 
 resided upon the homestead throughout life, assist- 
 ing his father until the death of the latter, and then 
 taking charge of the place. He was a prominent 
 member of the Congregational Church, and politi- 
 cally was a W'hig. His wife, Sarah Lawton, who 
 died in 1846, was born in Rhode Island, daughter 
 of Joseph Lawton, also a native of that State. They 
 had five chi-ldren : Flavel Cowels, who is still liv- 
 ing in Hartland; Sarah A., our subject's mother; 
 Theresa T., who married Samuel Gilman, of Win- 
 sted. Conn. ; Clarinda Augusta, who married David 
 T. Bosworth, of Hartland ; and Joseph L., a resi- 
 dent of South W'indsor. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the district schools 
 of Hartland and the academies at East Hartland, 
 Conn., and W'est Granville, Mass. On coming of 
 age he left home to make his own way in life, and 
 after spending one year in Hartland he engaged in 
 the meat business in East Granville, JXIass., wheie 
 
 he remained one year. He spent one year in 
 Granville, and one year at Collinsville, locating 
 afterward in Hartland, and continuing the busi- 
 ness for some time. He then removed to Iowa and 
 engaged in the stock business, but in 1897 he re- 
 turned to this county and settled in Canton, purchas- 
 ing the William Barber farm. The cultivation of 
 the farm occupies much of his time, but he is also 
 interested in butchering and dealing in cattle. 
 Honest, upright and industrious, he well deserves 
 his success, and his fellow citizens hold him in high 
 esteem, as is shown by his election to various offices 
 of trust. At times he has served as selectman, and 
 represented Hartland in the State Legislature in 
 1875, 1886 and again in 1893. In his religious 
 views he is liberal, and socially is connected witii 
 Amos Beecher Lodge, No. 121, F. & A. M., New 
 Hartford, antl the chapter and council at Coliins- 
 ville. 
 
 On June 3, 1868, Mr. Thompson married Celia 
 L. Roberts, a native of Hartland, wliere iier family 
 is highly respected. Her father, Eli Roberts, died 
 July 26, 1865, and her mother, whose maiden name 
 was Celia Lane, died Jan. 19, 1900. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Thompson have one daughter, Alma M., who was 
 educated in the' district and select schools of Hart- 
 land, the high school at Bristol, and McLean's Sem- 
 inary, at Simsbury. At the age of seventeen she 
 began teaching school, and for some time she taught 
 in Hartland, Windsor and ^^'eatogue, but she is 
 now the wife of Arthur F. Warner, a well-known 
 citizen of West Suffield. 
 
 FREDERICK A. WEST, who has been promi- 
 nently identified with the manufacturing interests 
 of Hartford for a number of years, was born in that 
 city Sept. 11, 1856, and belongs to an old and hon- 
 ored pioneer family. 
 
 Mr. West's ancestors settled at an early date at 
 Stafford Springs, Conn., and Alva West, his great- 
 grandfather, who was born in Staft'ord, Conn., about 
 1760, served in the Continental army from May 9. 
 ^775' to Dec. 18, of that year, as a member of the 
 3rd Connecticut or 2nd Continental regiment. On 
 June 20, 1777, he re-enlisted, in Samuel Webli's 
 regiment, in which he was made a corporal in July, 
 1777, and served until discharged, on June 20, 1780. 
 His death occurred at his home in Staft'ord. when 
 he was ninety-one years of age. 
 
 Horatio West, our subject's grandfather, was 
 born in Stafford Springs Alarch 4, 1785, and passed 
 his life there. He owned and operated a large 
 farm, but personally maintained a life of ease and 
 even luxury for that day, his fondness for fine 
 horses having been especially noticeable. His 
 wealth and leisure were not selfishly used, how- 
 ever, as he took an active part in town affairs, serv- 
 ing on the school committee and in other offices. 
 On Aug. 13, 181 1, he was married bv Rev. Sanniel 
 Bloss to Miss Phoebe Cushman, and they had a 
 large family of children, the names and dates of 
 
428 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 birth being as follows: Fidelia, Nov. ii, 1812; 
 Ninetta, May 17, 1813; Henryetta, March 22, 1815; 
 Horatio Gates, July 6, 1817; Phcebe, Oct. i, 1818; 
 Alonzo, Oct. 9, 1820; Philo, Jan. i, 1822; Susan, 
 July 28, 1825; Mahlon R., Aug. 27, 1826; Gidding 
 H., Aug. 28, 1829. Mahlon R. was a lawyer in 
 Stafford and later in Hartford, where he took first 
 rank in the profession. He served as a representa- 
 tive in the State Legislature, and on the board of 
 aldermen in Hartford. 
 
 Philo West, the father of our subject, was born 
 and reared at Stafford Springs, and in 1842, at 
 the age of nineteen, he went to Hartford to en- 
 gage in the trucking business. Later he became 
 a partner in the firm of Main & West, who were for 
 many years the leading truckmen of the city, keep- 
 ing about thirty-five teams employed. After the 
 death of his partner, Elijah J. Main, he continued 
 ithe business alone until his death, which occurred 
 Aug. 8, 1861. His influence was recognized in local 
 affairs as well as in business circles, and pohtically 
 he affiliated with the Democratic party. He was 
 a leading member of the First Baptist Church of 
 Hartford, contributing liberally of his time and 
 means to its work. His wife, Abbie A. Main, was a 
 daughter of Bradley Main, of Willington, Conn., 
 and later of South Windsor, where he owned a large 
 farm. Her mother, whose maiden name was Betsey 
 Talmadge, was a daughter of Joseph Talmadge, a 
 lieutenant in the Revolutionary army from New 
 York State. Philo West and his wife had four 
 children: (i) Addie E. married John D. French, 
 and died in 1878, leaving two sons, J. Arthur and 
 Howard W. (2) Estella L. married Benjamin S. 
 Woodward, president of the Woodward & Rogers 
 Co., of Hartford. (3) Frederick A. is mentioned 
 more fully below. (4) Rev. William Ward West, 
 a minister in charge of a Baptisit Church in Pitts- 
 burg, Penn., is a graduate of Rochester University, 
 at Rochester, N. Y., and a bright and able man. 
 He is president of the Baptist Young Peoples 
 LTnion, of the State of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Our subject's early education was secured in the 
 second North school and the Brown school of Hart- 
 ford, and in Hannum's Business College, in the 
 same city, while his habit of reading has kept him 
 well abreast of the times. On leaving school, at 
 .the age of about twenty, he began to learn the ma- 
 chinist's trade in the National Screw Co.'s factory, 
 of which his uncle, Elijah S. Pierce, was superin- 
 tendent and general manager. He remained there 
 four years, and in 1878 entered the employ of the 
 Pratt & Whitney Co., in the lathe department of the 
 machine shop. After four years he took the con- 
 tract for that department, of which he had charge 
 until his resignation, about forty-five men being 
 under his direction. After twenty-two years of 
 service with the Pratt & Whitney Co., Mr. West re- 
 signed his position as foreman of the lathe de- 
 partment, and accepted a position as special agent 
 of the American Real Estate Co., of New York, 
 
 with office in the Sage & Allen building, Hartford. 
 Mr. West is not only successful in his chosen line 
 of work, but he takes keen interest in pubHc affairs. 
 He served two years as councilman from the Fourth 
 ward, and in 1898 was elected alderman, the honor 
 being conferred each time by acclamation and with- 
 out opposition. At present he is chairman of the 
 joint standing committee on Water Works. He is 
 a member of Charter Oak Lodge, No. 2, L O. O. 
 F., in which he is past grand ; and he is past officer 
 Sn the Ancient Order of United Workmen; and 
 past regent of the Royal Arcanum. He has also 
 been interested in mihtary affairs, and has served 
 as a corporal in the Governor's Foot Guard, and as 
 lieutenant in the Veteran Corps. Mr. West is act- 
 ive in religious work as a member of the First Bap- 
 tist Church, is one of the society's committeemen, 
 and for twenty-two years has served as librarian. 
 
 Mr. West married Nellie M. Roberts, daughter 
 of Albert W. Roberts, a well-known citizen of Hart- 
 ford, and four children have brightened their home : 
 Mabel Roberts, Clarence Burton, Robert Ward, and 
 Helen Abbie (deceased). 
 
 WILLARD S. HENRY has in his successful 
 career afforded a striking illustration of how life's 
 battle may be won by pluck, perseverance and prob- 
 ity. Though born a poor boy, and early obliged to 
 meet the world's buffetings alone, he has conquered 
 adversity through the- innate force of an unconquer- 
 able will and an uncompromising resolve. 
 
 Mr. Henry was born at Cohoes, N. Y., Nov. 
 20, 1853, son of John L. and Rebecca (Fonda) 
 Henry, who had a family of three sons and nine 
 daughters. They were in straitened circumstances, 
 and when Willard was but ten years old his father 
 enlisted in the 189th N. Y. V. L Then the lad went 
 to work in the Condy Knitting Mills, Oswego, N. 
 Y., where he was employed most of the time for 
 about a year. During the next two years circum- 
 stances so favored him as to permit him to attend 
 school, but at the end of that time he went back to 
 the cotton mill, to begin once more the same old 
 daily grind. 
 
 In 1867 the Condy mill was burned, and the 
 proprietors rebuilt at Fulton, N. Y., and there Wil- 
 lard S. Henry faithfully toiled until 1873. In that 
 year S. H. Condy, son of one of the owners, leased 
 the Manchester ICnitting Mills for a year, and Mr. 
 Henry accompanied him from Fulton. At the ex- 
 piration of Condy's lease the plant passed into the 
 control of A. L. Clark, with whom our subject be- 
 gan as a knitter, and worked on in that capacity 
 until 1881. His skill and experience as a workman, 
 joined to his industry and faithfulness, then earned 
 for him promotion to the position of superintendent, 
 and this position he has ever since filled with 
 marked ability. From fifty to sixty employes (both 
 sexes) are under his itamediate control, and the 
 output — knitted underwear — is of a high grade of 
 excellence. 
 
 1 
 
'oAa ^^ ^ ^^ 
 
 A^.^L^<JV*^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 429 
 
 On July 4, 1876, Mr. Henry was married to 
 Miss Emma L. Thompson, of Manchester, and of 
 this union were born four chikh-en : J'llizabelh, Ha- 
 zel R., George T., and John. The mother died July 
 20, 1893, and on Oct. 16, 1896, Mr. Henry wedded 
 Miss Gertrude Taylor. Mr. Henry is a Republi- 
 can in politics, and socially belongs to Manchester 
 Lodge, No. 22' l"- ^ ''^- ^i- tl*^ '^ ^ member of no 
 church. 
 
 MANLIUS HINMAN NORTON, superin- 
 tendent of the H. J. Mills paper-box factory at 
 Bristol, was born in that city, Aug. 12, 1866, a son 
 of Leonard Andrew Norton, and a brother of Milo 
 Leonard Norton, in whose biography elsewhere will 
 be found the ancestral history of the Norton family 
 as far back as the time of Henry YHI of England. 
 The record here will be confined to that of the life 
 of Leonard A. Norton and that of JSIanlius H., his 
 son. 
 
 Leonard Andrew Norton was born in Bristol 
 Aug. 9, 1813, and was reared a farmer. He mar- 
 ried Aug. 22, 1847, Miss Martha Dewey, a native 
 of New Haven, born May 5, 1823, a daughter of 
 Christopher Dewey, and a descendant from the 
 same family from which the naval hero. Admiral 
 Dewey, descends. She is the mother of two chil- 
 dren: Milo Leonard, with whom she makes her 
 home in Bristol, and Manlius H., the subject of this 
 sketch; one child, Emma Martha, was born April 
 
 23, 1853, and died Aug. 5, 1854. Leonard Andrew 
 Norton, the father, was an early Abolitionist in his 
 politics, but changed as parties changed, later be- 
 coming a Republican, and, still later, a Prohibition- 
 ist. In religion he was first an orthodox Baptist, 
 but perhaps thirty years prior to his dissolution he 
 became a Seventh Day Baptist, and passed away in 
 that faith July 16, 1895. 
 
 Manlius Hinman Norton, after attending the 
 Bristol common schools until fourteen years of age, 
 worked in the S. Emerson Root brass factory about 
 three years, and learned electro-plating. He then 
 studied medicine two years under Dr. H. L Brad- 
 ley, of New Haven, but relinquished the study and 
 returned to Bristol to enter the employ of Benajah 
 Hitchcock, paper-box manufacturer. A year and 
 a half later H. J. Mills and David Mix purchased 
 the plant, and with these gentleman !Mr. Norton re- 
 mained, Mt. Mills eventually purchasing the entire 
 establishment. In 1887 Mr. Norton was appointed 
 general superintendent of the factory, which position 
 he still fills in a most able and satisfactory manner, 
 having the management of about thirty hands and 
 manufacturing paper boxes of every variety and for 
 every conceivable use. 
 
 Manlius H. Norton has twice married, first Nov. 
 
 24, 1886, to Miss Minnie Idella Dayton, who was 
 born May 11, 1866, a daughter of \\^'irren Dayton, 
 of Wallingford. To this union were born two chil- 
 dren: Howard Manlius, Oct. 16, 1888, and Irving 
 Dewey, June 26, 1891. ]\Irs. Minnie I. Norton was 
 
 called away July 25, 1896, and for his second help- 
 meet Mr. Norton married June 30, 1897, Miss Nellie 
 Eva Brightman, who was born Jan. 13, 1875, a 
 daughter of Edwin R. Brightman, also of Bristol. 
 
 In politics, to which indeed he pays but little 
 attention, i\ir. Norton is of Democratic inclining, 
 and in 1899 was elected a member of the Borough 
 Board of Assessors for one year. Eraternally lie 
 is a member of Ethan Lodge, No. 9, Knights of 
 Pythias, Bristol, has passed all the chairs, and has 
 been keeper of the records. In 1890, at the twenty- 
 second session, in Eebruary, he was admitted a 
 member of the grand lodge at Torrington, and in 
 1899 was commissioned deputy grand chancellor of 
 the grand lodge, htivij.g Bristol, New Britain and 
 ' Plantsville under his charge. In 1891 he joined 
 Hull Company, No. 5, Uniform rank, K. of P., of 
 Bristol ; was elected recorder, then appointed regi- 
 mental sergeant-major of the Second regiment, then 
 second lieutenant, then first lieutenant, then major 
 of the Second battalion, and in 1896 was elected 
 colonel of the Second regiment for four years. 
 
 Mr. Norton is also a member of Pequabuck 
 Lodge, No. 48, I. O. O. F., of which he is past 
 grand ; also of Ruth Rebekah Lodge, No. 24, ladies 
 auxiliary of the I. O. O. F., and of this lodge, to 
 which his wife likewise belongs, he has been drill 
 master for the past five years. Mr. Norton is also 
 a member of the Knights of Khorassan, is a member 
 of the Independent Order of Foresters, in which he 
 5s a past chief ranger, and was a member of the 
 Pilgrim Fathers, but has withdrawn. Mr. Norton 
 was formerly connected with the Methodist Church, 
 but owing to his Universalist belief he withdrew 
 and continues in the Universalist faith. ^Irs. Nor- 
 ton is a member of the Baptist Church. 
 
 THOMAS FRANCIS EGAN, one of the best- 
 known citizens of Southington, who is now serving 
 as deputy sheriff and court officer of the common 
 pleas court of Hartford county, was born in that 
 town Jan. 10, 1854, and is a son of William E. and 
 Catherine (Gorry) Egan, both natives of King's 
 County, Ireland. 
 
 The father came to America in 1849, and located 
 in southeastern Southington, where he was at first 
 employed as a farm hand. The following year his 
 parents, Thomas F. and Catherine (Larkins) Egan. 
 also crossed the broad Atlantic and took up their 
 residence in Southington, Conn., the grandfather 
 of our subject being engaged in farming in the 
 southeastern part of the town. His children were 
 jMichael; Ann, wife of Thomas Mahon ; William 
 E. ; Thomas ; James ; Patrick ; and John. The ma- 
 ternal grandparents of our subject were Daniel and 
 Mary (Kelly) Gorry, of King's County, Ireland. 
 During the Civil war the father of our subject en- 
 listed in Company G, 9th Conn. V. I., and was 
 mustered into the United States service as a private 
 in October, 1861. He died at New Orleans, La.. 
 in August, 1862, from disease contracted in the 
 
430 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 army. In his family were five children who reached 
 maturity : Thomas F., Daniel D., Joseph A., James 
 C, and William E. 
 
 The early life of our subject was passed in 
 Southington, and he received a common-school ed- 
 uca1;ion. On attaining his majority he began an 
 apprenticeship to the cutler's trade, serving three 
 years, and later he worked as a journeyman at that 
 trade for four years. In 1881 he entered the employ 
 of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., in the box depart- 
 ment of their works, and has continued his connec- 
 tion with them up '.o the present time. 
 
 On Feb. 18, 1878, Mr. Egan was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Ellen M. White, a daughter of 
 John and Mary (Fox) White, of Ireland, and of 
 the children born to them six are now living : Will- 
 iam E., Catherine E., Anna T., Thomas F., Jr., John 
 J. and Joseph. Mr. Egan and his family are com- 
 municants of the Catholic Church, and he is also 
 a member of the Knights of Columbus and the An- 
 cient Order of United Workmen. Flis political sup- 
 port is given to the men and measures of the Re- 
 publican party. In 1884 he was elected constable of 
 Southington, which office he held continuously un- 
 til June, 189s, when he was appointed deputy sheriff, 
 which position he is now filling in a most creditable 
 and acceptable manner. Since Jan. i, 1899, he has 
 also been court officer ,of the common pleas court 
 at Hartford, and his official duties have always been 
 most faithfully and conscientiously discharged. He 
 'is a member of Samuel Woodruff Post, Sons of 
 Veterans, and of the Southington Fire Department, 
 Hook & Ladder Company, No. i, of which he was 
 foreman from 1897 until October, 1899. 
 
 ANDREW SAMUEL DICKINSON, the 
 owner of one of the best-kept farms in the town 
 of East Windsor, Hartford county, descends from 
 one of the oldest families in New England, but it 
 will suffice the purpose of this sketch to state that 
 his grandfather, John Dickinson, was born, lived and 
 died in Haddam, Middlesex Co., Conn. He married 
 Polly Archer, and to their union were born nine 
 children : Amos, who was a sailor of Killingworth ; 
 William, who died at Deep River; Mary, Mrs. 
 Ventress, who lived in Haddam ; Hettie, Mrs. Will- 
 jams, whose husband was lost at sea; Eli, who 
 lived in Chester ; Nancy, who married Aaron Ayers ; 
 Hannah, who with her husband died at Deep River ; 
 Sophia, who became Mrs. Asahel Tyler; and Sam- 
 uel, father of our subject. 
 
 Samuel Ditkinson was educated in a public 
 school, learned the trade of stone-cutting, and in 
 his later years became a farmer, though he worked 
 at butchering in the winter season. He married 
 Miss Elizabeth Burr, who was born in May, 1825, 
 and of whose family mention will be made farther 
 on. To this union were born seven children, in the 
 following order: Lydia, who was first married to 
 George Burr, and after his decease to Joseph Spen- 
 ■ cer; Andrew S., the subject of this biographical no- 
 
 tice; Eleanor, wife of Charles Johnson, of Deep 
 River ; George, in Haddam ; Mary, married to Mer- 
 ritt Doan, of East Windsor ; Hattie, wife of Albert 
 Brainard, of Haddam; and Ellsworth, of the same 
 town. Samuel Dickinson, the father of this family, 
 died in Haddam in 1864, from sickness contracted 
 while serving in the Union army during the Civil 
 war, and his widow is still a resident of that town. 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Dickinson is a daughter of David 
 and Polly (Blatchley) Burr, and a granddaughter 
 of David Burr, the former of whom served in the 
 war of 1812, under Gen. Brainard, and was at 
 Saybrook during the burning of the town of Essex 
 by the British. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Burr 
 numbered seven, and were born in the following 
 order : Henry, who died in Haddam ; Lavina, wife 
 of Darius Skinner ; Stephen, who married Fanny 
 Lane; Benjamin, in Haddam; Elizabeth, mother of 
 our subject; Lydia, of North Guilford; and Le- 
 ander, in Middletown. 
 
 Andrew S. Dickinson, the subject of this article, 
 was born in Haddam Nov. 26, 1848, and was edu- 
 .cated in a public school. He lived with his par- 
 ents until fourteen years of age, after which he 
 worked three years for his uncle, Henry Burr, next 
 worked a while at Deep River, then went to sea, 
 and for five years sailed in the Atlantic coast trade, 
 contributing in the meantime to the support of his 
 mother, brothers and sisters. On returning home 
 from his seafaring life, he married, at East Windsor, 
 Conn., Oct. 9, 1873, Miss Ida Clark, who was born 
 March 2, 1854, a daughter of John and Elizabeth 
 (Snow) Clark, natives of East Windsor. Mrs. 
 Ehzabeth Clark passed away in April, 1887, and 
 in June, 1889, Mr. Clark married Libbie Clark. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson have been born seven chil- 
 dren: Edna, born July 22, 1874, now the wife of 
 Robert Wood, of East Windsor; Anna, born Oct. 
 30, 1877, now living in Bridgeport; John S., born 
 Aug. 18, 1879; Mabel, July 2, 1881 ; Andrew C, 
 Jan. 5, 1887; Harris C, March 20, 1891 ; and Imo- 
 gene, Aug. 14, 1895 — all five under the parental 
 roof. 
 
 In 1876 Mr. Dickinson purchased his present 
 farm of fifty-seven acres, known as the Capt. Oli- 
 ver Clark farm, and on this he has made substantial 
 improvements. He has the place under a high state 
 of cultivation, keeps it neat and clean, and it is 
 recognized as a truly up-to-date homestead. Mr. 
 Dickinson and his family worship at the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, and are regarded as among the 
 most respected residents of the town. In politics 
 Mr. Dickinson is a Democrat, and is very popular 
 with his party, having been elected to the positions 
 of constable and justice of the peace, but in each 
 instance declining to serve. In 1872 he became a 
 member of Central Lodge, No. 12, I. O. O. F., of 
 Middletown; in 1874 he joined Oriental Lodge, No. 
 Ill, F. & A. M., of Broad Brook, in which he has 
 held several prominent positions ; and he is also a 
 member of the Grange. In the business sense of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 481 
 
 the phrase he is emphatically a self-made man, 
 and well deserves the high esteem in which he is 
 universally held. 
 
 WOODIXG ISROS., AUGUSTINE F. and 
 RALPH A., manufacturers of saddlery hardware 
 and iiarness trimmings at Kensini^lon, in the town 
 of Berlin, arc self-made men, wlio have, through 
 their own eltorts, force of character, industry and 
 ability, won their wa\' to distinction and to a 
 creditable place among New England's many prom- 
 inent manfacturers. 
 
 The Wooding family is of English origin, the 
 emigrant ancestor coming from England, and set- 
 tling in the New Haven Colony early in its history. 
 Andrew Horace Wooding, the father of the Wood- 
 ing brothers, was a native of the town of Walling- 
 ford. Conn., and learned the carpenter's trade, which 
 he followed as an occupation in the towns of Wall- 
 ingford and ^leritlen, working as foreman for con- 
 tractors. He married Lucy Angeline Warner, who 
 was born in the town of Aliddlefield, Conn., and 
 to them were born : Augustine F. and Ralph A., 
 whose names introduce this sketch ; and Bertrand, 
 who died in infancy. The father died when the 
 children were small, but the mother still survives, 
 residing in Kensington, where her son Augustine 
 F. makes his home with her. 
 
 Ralph A. Wooding was born Aug. i, 1859, i" 
 Hamden, Conn., and his father's death, when the 
 son was only ten years of age, early threw him 
 upon his own resources. At this time he went to 
 live with his step-grandfather. Squire Daniel ^ler- 
 rinian Ives, a man of considerable local prom- 
 inence at Yalesville, who was a justice of the peace 
 for years, and postmaster. Young W'ooding had 
 attended school in ^leriden, and on going to Yales- 
 ville alternated his time with employment as a chore 
 boy and going to school through the winter months. 
 After a stay of a year and a half with his grand- 
 father he went to Broad Swamp, town of Che- 
 shire, where for a year he was similarly occupied, 
 then returned to Yalesville. For several years fol- 
 lowing he worked for various persons in Meriden, 
 in the meantime attending school to some extent. 
 Still later he again lived with Squire Ives, working 
 on a farm. He was then employed for a time at 
 Deacon Simpson's, by which time his mother and 
 brother had gone to Kensington to live, and he 
 joined them there, entering the employ of Hart, 
 Bliven & Meade, to learn metal pattern-making: 
 after he was so engaged for some two and a half 
 years the firm failed in business. Then, after six 
 months' work making patterns for the Wilcox- 
 Treadway Co., of Southington, Mr. Wooding be- 
 came foreman of the pattern shop of the Peck, Stow 
 & \\'ilcox Co., successors to Hart, Bliven & Aleade. 
 In the meantime, however, owing to ill health, he 
 ceased work for a time, and went with his mother 
 and family to Bennington, Vt., where they remained 
 a short time, all returning to Berlin. Our subject 
 
 resumed his position as foreman in the pattern shop 
 of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., which he left 
 about a year later to enter the employ of Charles 
 Parker, of Meriden, following his trade as pre- 
 viously, and assisting in inaugurating the lamp and 
 chandelier branch of the business. He worked in 
 the Parker factory several years, and during that 
 time took out nine patents on lamps and chandeliers, 
 and at this time he holds eleven patents on his own 
 inventions. Later he became foreman of the pat- 
 tern department of the Chapman Manufacturing 
 Co., and for several years was foreman in the 
 sleigh-bell department. He then returned to Ken- 
 sington, and for a time was endeavoring to or- 
 ganize a company there for the manufacture of 
 saddlery hardware and sleigh-bells, failing in this 
 because of the high price of land for shops. He 
 again worked for the Chapman Co. at Meriden, 
 resuming his former position as foreman in sleigh- 
 bell and dog-collar pattern work. Some years later 
 he went to Kensington, and, associated with his 
 brother Augustine F.. purchased what was then 
 known as the Lower shop property, where they es- 
 tablished works for the manufacture of dog col- 
 lars, under the firm name of Upson & Wooding, 
 Mr. Upson having become interested in the enter- 
 prise. Subsequently the brothers purchased their 
 partner's interest, and changed the style of the 
 firm to A. F. & R. A. Woodine. Along in the 
 'nineties they discontinued the making of dog col- 
 lars and began the manufacture of saddlery hard- 
 ware, both plain and fanc\-. under the name of the 
 Kensington Hardware Co. These gentlemen are 
 public-spirited and enterprising, and in addition to 
 their main manufacturing business they operate a 
 smith shop. In 1896 they built a dam and water 
 power on a portion of their property, and are now 
 under a ten-years contract to supply the New York, 
 New Haven & Hartford railroad at Berlin with 
 water for their engines. 
 
 On June 18, 1895, Ralph A. Wooding was mar- 
 ried to Miss Angle Estella Ailing, who was born 
 in June, 1864, a daughter of Charles N. and Delia 
 A. (Baldwin) Ailing. Mrs. Wooding is a mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is a 
 most estimable woman. In his political views Mr. 
 \\'ooding is a stanch Republican, his father before 
 him having been a Whig and Republican. He is 
 now serving on the town committee and board of 
 selectmen. In 1898 his name was considered in 
 connection with his party's candidates for the State 
 Legislature. 
 
 Augustine Francis Wooding, brother of Ralph 
 A., was born Sept. 21, 1858, in the town of Berlin, 
 and received his education in the common schools 
 of Meriden, Cheshire and Wallingford. where he 
 passed his boyhood. At the age of si.xteen years 
 he entered the employ of the Hart, Bliven & ]\[ead-.; 
 Co., working in the shipping department, and con- 
 tinuing in their employ until the company's fail- 
 ure, some years later. He filled a similar position 
 
432 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 with the old company's successors, the Peck, Sto^v 
 & Wilcox Co., for three years following the failure. 
 After this period he was unemployed for a year, 
 then accepted a position in the shipping and bell 
 department of the Chapman Co., of Meriden, re- 
 taming it a year and a half. For the next two 
 years he was with the Meriden Saddlery & Leather 
 Co., after which he returned to Berlin and joined 
 his lirother Ralph A. and R. R. Upson in the enter- 
 prise mentioned above, and which they have oper- 
 ated alone since their purchase of Mr. Upson's 
 interest a year later. These brothers own two very 
 fine water privileges, only one of which is developed. 
 A. F. Wooding is a stanch Republican in his po- 
 litical views. At the present time he is serving, 
 along with Francis Deming, as auditor of the Berlin 
 Savings Bank. He is also secretary and treasurer 
 of the Kensington Library Association. Mr. Wood- 
 ing has never married. 
 
 SOLOMON ERVIN WHITING, a prominent 
 and enterprising farmer of Southington, was born 
 in Simsbury, this county, Jan. 29, 1828, and be- 
 longs to quite a distinguished old family of the 
 State, his parents being Elijah and Eunice (Buell) 
 Whiting, natives of West Hartford and Simsbury, 
 respectively. 
 
 Allyn Whiting, the paternal grandfather, was 
 born June 23, 1740, and died at West Hartford 
 Feb. 9, 1818. He and his two sons, Allyn and Jo- 
 seph, were soldiers in the Revolutionary war, and 
 his father. Col. John Whiting, of West Hartford, 
 commanded a regiment in the French and Indian 
 war. The last named was also a merchant of Hart- 
 ford. He married Jerusha Lord, daughter of Rich- 
 ard Lord, and granddaughter of Thomas Lord, one 
 of the first settlers of Hartford. Col. Whiting 
 was born Dec. 15, 1693, and died Feb. 12, 1766. 
 He was a son of Joseph Whiting, a merchant, first 
 of Westfield, Mass., and later of Hartford, Conn., 
 who was born Oct. 2, 1640, and died Oct. 8, 1717. 
 He married Anna Allyn, a daughter of Col. John 
 Allyn, and a granddaughter of Matthew Allyn. His 
 parents were William arid Susanna Whiting. Will- 
 iam Whiting was a pioneer of Hartford, one of the 
 most respected settlers of 1633, a man of wealth 
 and education, and was styled in the records as 
 William Whiting, gentleman. In 1647 he bore the 
 title of major; in 1642 was chosen magistrate; and 
 in 1641 as treasurer of the Colony, which position 
 he held until his death. He died in July, 1647. 
 Elijah Whiting, the father of our subject, was 
 born June 27, 1769, and was a prominent farmer 
 of Simsbury, where he died Oct. 3, 1840. He 
 married (first) Sabra Hart, and (second) Eunice 
 Buell, a daughter of Solomon Buell, a soldier of 
 the Revolutionarv war. She died at the home of 
 our subject in Southington Aug. 11, 1881, at the 
 advanced age of ninety-one years. 
 
 Solomon E. Whiting, whose name introduces 
 this review, was reared in Simsbury, and was ed- 
 
 ucated in the common schools of that town. On 
 laying aside his text books he began life for him- 
 self as a farmer and carpenter. In the fall of 1856 
 he went to Iowa, where he spent two years in work- 
 ing at his trade, and then proceeded to Colorado, 
 where he engaged in mining for a time. Return- 
 ing home in i860, he enlisted, Sept. 23, 1861, in- 
 Company H, 12th Conn. V. I., with which he served 
 for two years. After the surrender of Port Hud- 
 son he was commissioned second lieutenant in the 
 99th United States Colored Volunteers, later was 
 promoted to first lieutenant, and. after tendering his 
 resignation was honorably discharged, Jan. 17, 
 1866. He was one of 1,000 volunteers called for 
 by Gen. Banks to storm the works at Port Hud- 
 son, and was there wounded, June 14, 1863. In 
 1867 he located in Southington, where, with the 
 exception of sixteen months, in 1880 and 1881, spent 
 in Colorado, he has since resided, his time and 
 attention being devoted to agricultural pursuits. 
 
 On Jan. 29, 1861, Mr. Whiting married Miss 
 Martha J. Barber, a daughter of Alson and Hannah 
 (Humphrey) Barber, of Canton, this county, and 
 by this union three children have been born : Carrie 
 M., who died June 24, 1885 ; Josephine B., who 
 married Thomas H. W. Williams ; and Lizzie M., 
 who married Frederick P. Dunham Nov. 18, 1890, 
 and died Feb. 28, 1894. Mrs. Whiting's maternal 
 grandfather, Solomon Humphrey, was a Revolu- 
 tionary soldier, and her great-grandfather, John 
 Brown, who was a captain in the same war, died in 
 the service. Her mother was a first cousin of John 
 Brown, the great anti-slavery agitator of Harper's 
 Ferry fame. An uncle of Mrs. Whiting, Heman 
 Humphrey, was an educator of note, and president 
 of Amherst College for twenty years. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Whiting are consistent members 
 of the First Congregational Church of Southington, 
 and merit and receive the respect and esteem of all 
 who know them. Fraternally they hold membership : 
 in Union Grange, P. of H. ; and he in Trumbull 
 Post, No. 16, G. A. R. ; politically he is identified 
 with the Republican party. 
 
 JOHN E. MOONEY, an energetic and success- 
 ful business man of the town of Windsor Locks, 
 proved himself an able and popular official in the 
 office of first selectman, his fellow citizens showing 
 their appreciation of his efficient labors by electing 
 him for four consecutive years. He has made a sub- 
 stantial success, having built up a large trade as a 
 dealer in household furnishings and similar goods, 
 and he now owns a commodious and well-stocked 
 establishment in Oak street, carrjnng a complete 
 line of furniture, stoves, crockery, tinware, etc. 
 
 Mr. Mooney was born Jan. 17, 1854, at Suf- 
 field, and is of good Irish ancestr5r. Timothy 
 Mooney, his father, was born in 1833 in Kings < 
 County, Ireland, and came to the United States at t 
 the age of seventeen years, locating first in the j 
 town of Sufiield, Hartford Co,, Conn., where he fol- 
 
I 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 488 
 
 lowed farming for about three years. He then re- 
 moved to W nidsor Locks, and is now engaged in 
 mill work in addition to the management of a small 
 farm. When nineteen years old he was married in 
 Suffield to jNIiss Jane North, of County Aleath, Ire- 
 land, and ten children were born to them, of whom 
 four are now living: John E., our subject, is the 
 eldest of the survivors ; James is in the livery busi- 
 ness in Chicago ; Patrick resides in Windsor Locks ; 
 and Mary married Daniel O'Connor, of Windsor 
 Locks. 
 
 Our subject's education was obtained mainly in 
 the public schools of Windsor Locks, and when only 
 ten years of age he began to work in the stockinet 
 factory, where he was employed about two years. 
 He spent the same length of time in the woolen 
 mills, but finding mill work uncongenial he entered 
 upon an apprenticeship to the tinsmith's trade with 
 Mr. Chaffee. After the expiration of his term he 
 worked ten years as a journeyman, and for eleven 
 years he was connected with the Seymour paper 
 mill. In 1887 he resumed his trade, engaging in 
 business for himself in Windsor Locks, and so well 
 did he succeed that he has branched out into relative 
 lines of business, and now carries an extensive 
 stock. He has recently added the undertaking busi- 
 ness to his other interests. In 1897 he built his 
 present building, of which he took possession in 
 April, 1898, and his growing trade requires nearly 
 all the space thus gained. On the third floor there 
 is a large hall, suitable for a club-room, and this is 
 now occupied by the Second Division of the Ameri- 
 can Order of Hibernians. 
 
 On Sept. 20, 1880, Mr. IMooney was married in 
 the town of Windsor Locks to Miss Kate M. Ryan, 
 daughter of John Ryan, a well-known citizen of that 
 locality. Four children have blessed the union : 
 Timothy, John C. (deceased), Mary and Kate. Mr. 
 Mooney and his estimable wife have many friends, 
 and he is connected with various fraternal organiza- 
 tions, including the Knights of Columbus and the 
 Ancient Order of Hibernians. Politically he affili- 
 ates with the Democratic party, and at times he has 
 served on the town committee, while his long service 
 as selectman is sufficient evidence of his standing 
 and influence. 
 
 JOHN H. ELMER, a successful farmer and 
 tobacco-grower at Burnside, and a native of that 
 place, descends from one of the oldest of New Eng- 
 land families, his ancestors having come from Eng- 
 land in the ship "Lion," which arrived at Boston, 
 ^lass., about the year 1630. 
 
 Moses Elmer, grandfather of John H., resided 
 on Long Hill, in South Windsor (then a part of 
 East Windsor), and his son, also uMTied Moses, 
 boin in 18 10, was the father of our subject. The 
 latter was a school teacher in his younger days, 
 but was a powerful young man, and it is said he 
 would chop two cords of wood after school hours, 
 receiving fifty cents per cord. He married Ru- 
 
 £8 
 
 hanna Bidwell, daughter of Johnathan and Ruey 
 (Webster J Bidwell, and to this union were born 
 seven children: Esther h\, who lived in Burnside, 
 and died unmarried in 1883; John H., the subject 
 of this sketch; Elizur B., who for three years was 
 connected with the Thirteenth Conn. V . 1. as a 
 teamster, served in Louisiana until the close of the 
 war, and died in Burnside in 1874; Oliver W., a 
 farmer, who drove the stage for many years be- 
 tween Burnside and East Hartford, was married, 
 and died in 189 1 ; Ellen, who died young; Laura 
 E., who died in infancy; and ^lary A., who was 
 married to Edwin F. Stager, and is living in Burn- 
 side. The father of this family was usually called 
 "Captain" Elmer, as he had command of a com- 
 pany of militia, and was always greatly interested 
 in military affairs. 
 
 John H. Elmer was born Julv 10, 1839, '" ^ 
 house still standing, the one in which he now lives, 
 nearly all the land in the vicinitv being then owned 
 by the Bidwell family. He first attended the dis- 
 trict school, and tl en the East Hartford Academy, 
 under Prof. Joseph O. Hurlburt. On leaving school 
 he drove stage between Scotland (now Burnside) 
 and East Hartford, but after the beginning of the 
 Civil war trade fell off, and the construction of a 
 railroad through the town destroyed his occupa- 
 tion. In the meantime he had been operating his 
 farm, and on his return from a vi;it to some dis- 
 tant place in 1873 was informed that he had been 
 elected selectman by the largest majority ever be- 
 fore accorded a candidate. He served two terms 
 consecutivel}^ and was afterward elected several 
 times, between 1876 and 1891. He was one of the 
 first advocates of macadamized roads, and after 
 deep study decided to practically test them. In 
 spite of great opposition, he secured an appropria- 
 tion of $6,000 to build a plant, in 1887-88, near Tal- 
 cottville, which was constructed after his own ideas, 
 matured after inspection of plants erected elsewhere, 
 and was pronounced to be the finest in the State. 
 The unthinking ones said, "Elmer has bankrupted 
 the town," and this cost him his office. He laid the 
 first part of the road at ^^'illow Brook Hill, and 
 then another at Hockanum, and they demonstrated 
 the wisdom of his scheme ; now the town can boast 
 of seven miles of such roads, and the present gen- 
 eration can thank John H. Elmer for the fact. It 
 was on his advice, also, that the first wheel-scraper 
 in East Hartford was bought. 
 
 Mr. Elmer and his brother, Oliver W., were 
 the first to agfitate the free bridge idea, and in this 
 the public coincided, the high charges of the East 
 Hartford Bridge Co. were abolished, and the bridge 
 made free. In politics Mr. Elmi-r is a Republican, 
 and cast his first Presidential vote for Lincoln. 
 
 On Sept. 20, 1873, ^^^- Elmer married ]Miss 
 Frances Barrows, who was born June 25, 1837. in 
 St. Louis, ]\Io., whence she removed to Galena, 
 III. She is a daughter of D. A. and Mary A. (Loom- 
 is) Burrows, one of the first families of the State. 
 
434 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 She was educated in New Haven, Conn., and in the 
 West Iier father was engaged in mining, gristmilling 
 and lumbering, and also had a confectionery. 
 
 Mr. Elmer is a member of East Hartford 
 Grange, No. 37, and has been its overseer ; also of 
 Crescent Lodge, No. 25, I. O. O. F. ; and of the 
 O. U. A. M. He has been highway surveyor, as 
 was his father, and is one of tlie most pleasant as 
 well as popular men of the town. 
 
 GEORGE WHITFIELD BANCROFT. There 
 is probably no farmer in Hartford county who con- 
 ducted a more extensive business than that of the 
 resident of South Windsor whose name here ap- 
 pears. Mr. Bancroft in his lifetime had the active 
 management of 400 acres of land under a high 
 state of cultivation, and in addition carried on an 
 extensive butcher business, besides dealing exten- 
 sively in horses and stock. 
 
 Mr. Bancroft was born Oct. 15, 1836, on the 
 farm in the town of South Windsor now occupied 
 by Dennis Reardon, son of Francis Bancroft, grand- 
 son of Anson Bancroft, and great-grandson of 
 Lieut. Samuel Bancroft, who was an officer in the 
 Revolutionary war. 
 
 Francis Bancroft, the father of our subject, was 
 a wholesale butcher, and kept a general store at 
 Bancroft Corners, South Windsor. For his first 
 wife he married Minerva Pritchard, by whom he 
 had eleven children — six sons and five daughters. 
 By his second wife, Julia Finney, he had one son, 
 Henry Wallace, and one daughter. After her death 
 he married Ann Waite, who died a few weeks after 
 his death, in the fall of 1872, and soon aftei-ward 
 Henry Wallace, the only son living at home, also 
 passed away. 
 
 George W. Bancroft in his boyhood attended the 
 district and select schools of the neighborhood, and 
 was a student for eleven terms at' the seminary, 
 the classes of which were taught in the old town 
 hall of East Hartford. During all that time he 
 walked to and from the school, a distance of three 
 miles. He remained with his father until he was 
 twenty-one years of age, when he sailed for the 
 Golden Gate on the "Moses Taylor," from New 
 York, and the steamer "Golden Gate" from the 
 Isthmus, landing at San Francisco. For a time he 
 clerked in a hotel at Visalia, for two years con- 
 ducted a hotel at that place, and then engaged in 
 ranching. During the years 1861 and 1862 he 
 herded sheep, but during one night in the latter 
 year he lost 800 sheep, besides horses and cattle, in 
 a flood, his financial loss being about $8,000. Mr. 
 Bancroft then went to Folsom, where he remained 
 a few months, finally starting by team for the Reese 
 river, Nevada, where he engaged in mining and 
 prospecting until 1865. He was called home on ac- 
 count of the death of his brother David, and left 
 'San Francisco on the night President Lincoln was 
 rassassinated. 
 
 Mr. Bancroft for two years conducted the 
 
 butcher business on his father's place, and in 1867 
 moved to his late residence, where he afterward 
 remained. He purchased tracts of land from time 
 to time, until his possessions aggregated about 400 
 acres, all of which he superintended. During the 
 season of 1898 he raised 150 acres of hay, thirty 
 acres of rye, nineteen acres of tobacco, ten acres 
 of field corn, four acres of sweet corn, eight acres 
 of potatoes, two acres of carrots, one and one-half 
 acres of cabbage, and five acres of turnips. Mr. 
 Bancroft also carried on a wholesale butcher busi- 
 ness, and engaged in the buying and selling of 
 horses and cattle, making quite a specialty of rais- 
 ing hogs and farm stock generally. He made all 
 the improvements on his place, erected the dwelling 
 house, the barns, slaughter-house, etc. An orchard | 
 of about ten acres is one of the attractions of the 
 'farm. 
 
 Mr. Bancroft was married, in i86g, to Miss 
 Mary A. Whiton, and to them were born ten chil- 
 dren : Olin F. (a druggist in New York), Ed- 
 ward A. (a farmer), Paul C, George F., Mary 
 W., Burdette W., Nora P., Benjamin L., Minerva 
 Pritchard and Thomas. In politics our subject was 
 a Republican. He was a man of positive char- 
 acter, energetic, keen, and quick to adapt himself 
 to the shifting conditions of trade. In all his en- 
 terprises he was eminently successful, and ranked 
 as one of the most prosperous farmers of Hartford 
 county. He was a member of the Congregational £ 
 Church, in which faith he entered into rest Aug. 31, " 
 1900. 
 
 JOSEPH ANTON AMSTEAD, a prominent 
 resident of Windsor Locks, is widely known as a 
 tobacco grower and dealer, his fine business ability 
 having enabled him to open up r.n excellent market 1 
 for the product of his own farm and that of others 
 in his vicinity. From the planting of the seed to 
 the turning out of the finished product he is master 
 of the science of raising and preparing the plant, 
 and to his enterprise and acumen is due the estab- 
 lishment of the first sweating room underlaid by 
 steam pipes. 
 
 Mr. Amstead was born Oct. 16, 1850, in Buf- , 
 falo, N. Y., son of Joseph Anton Amstead, Sr., a 
 native of Switzerland, who came to the United 
 States at the age of thirty years. While in Switzer- 
 land he had been interested in raising grapes for 
 wine, and on locating at Buffalo he engaged in busi- 
 ness as a wine dealer. He was married in Switzer- 
 land to Miss Catrien Saiddler, a woman of rare 
 ability and force of character, who became one of 
 the first professional midwives of Buffalo. Both 
 died in Buffalo some years ago, and of their large 
 family of children the following survive: Annie, 
 wife of John Rohrbacker, of Seattle, Wash. ; Jo- 
 seph A., our subject ; Conrad, a resident of Chicago ; 
 and George, who settled in Buffalo. 
 
 Our subject attended school in Buffalo during i 
 boyhood, and later served an apprenticeship to the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 485 
 
 cigarmaker's trade. As he desired to see something 
 of the world he spent twelve years in traveling 
 about, working at his trade in twenty-five States 
 during that time. In 18O9 he was in Suffield, Conn., 
 and for a time afterward was in St. Louis and other 
 Southern points. In 187C he returned to Suffield, 
 and in 1880 he removed to Windsor Locks, where 
 he manufactured cigars until 1883. In 1884 he 
 purchased his present farm and began raising to- 
 bacco, and since 1887 he has been extensively en- 
 gaged in handling the crops of neighboring growers 
 as well as his own, being now the leader in that line 
 of enterprise. As a citizen he is much esteemed, 
 and socially is identified with the Ancient Order 
 •of United Workmen. His estimable wife, to whom 
 he was married in Thompsonville, Conn., was for- 
 merly JMiss i\Iary Ann Wilson, and her father, 
 Michael Wilson, was a well-known citizen of Suf- 
 iield. Three children brighten their home : Henry, 
 William and Belle. 
 
 BENJAMIN KIRKBRIDE, a worthy and hon- 
 ored citizen of the town of Windsor, was born in 
 Yorkshire, England, Oct. 23, 1823, the eldest son 
 in the family of nine children born to Thomas and 
 Susan (Ratcliflfe) Kirkbride. By occupation the 
 father was a tallow chandler, and both he and his 
 ■wife spent their entire lives in England. 
 
 As his parents were in limited circumstances, 
 our subject's earlv advantages were very poor. He 
 was sent, however, to the public schools, but being 
 anxious to earn money he ran away from school 
 at the age of eleven years, and obtained work in a 
 woolen mill. On Alay 11, 1846, Mr. Kirkbride 
 wedded Miss Mary Ranson, also a native of York- 
 shire, born jMay 15, 1826, a daughter of William 
 and Anna (Gill) Ranson, who were also poor in 
 this world's goods. She was the second youngest 
 in a family of seven children, and as her father died 
 ■when she was a child of five years her educational 
 advantages -were limited to the lessons taught at 
 the Sunday-school. Of the twelve children born 
 to iMr. and Mrs Kirkbride, six died when young; 
 Mary H. died at the age of twenty-two years ; 
 and Charles, an electrician, died of diphtheria in Au- 
 gust, 1899, aged thirty-seven years. The surviv- 
 ors are : Ann E., who is now the wife of James 
 Ciough, of Passaic. N. J., and has six children ; 
 George, a machinist, of Hartford ; Frederick, a 
 farmer, who is working the home farm (he is niar- 
 ried, and has three children, all livincr') ; and Albert, 
 a buttermaker. of New Haven, Connecticut. 
 
 In 1855 Mr. Kirkbride came alone to the New 
 "World, landing in New York City after a voyage 
 of twenty-eight days. He first obtained work in 
 Church's mill, at JN'iiddlefield, j\Tass., and later was 
 made overseer of a mill at Northampton, iMass. 
 When that mill failed, in 1857,, he secured the po- 
 sition of overseer of a woolen mill at Glastonbury, 
 'Conn., and in i86o came to Windsor, where he was 
 "employed in the same capacity in a woolen mill for 
 
 nine years. Previous to this time he had been joined 
 by his wife, who sailed from Liverpool in February, 
 1857, on the "Great Western," being on that vessel 
 when it collided with the "Saranac," but she finally 
 landed safely in New York, after being twenty- 
 eight days upon the water, and joined her husband, 
 who was then in Northampton, Mass. Early in 
 the year 1869 he bought his present farm in Wind- 
 sor town, though he went in debt for the same, and 
 immediately turned his attention to agricultural pur- 
 suits, but as the business was entirely hew to him 
 the first few years proved very difficult. However, 
 he soon became master of the situation, and being 
 enterprising, energetic and industrious he pros- 
 pered in his new undertaking. When he located 
 upon this farm the buildings were in a rather dilap- 
 idated condition, but he has made many improve- 
 ments upon the place, and now has one of the most 
 productive and desirable farms in the locality. 
 From a poor boy, with a meager education, Mr. 
 Kirkbride has fought his own way to a comfortable 
 competence, and has reared a nice family, of which 
 he may be justly proud. During their fifty-three 
 years of happv married life his wife has been a 
 great help to him, and now in their declining 
 years they merit and receive the respect and esteem 
 of all who know them. They hold membership in 
 the Methodist Church, and in politics IMr. Kirk- 
 bride is a Democrat. 
 
 AUSTIN DAVID THOMPSON, blacksmith, 
 carriage and wagon repairer and liveryman, and 
 formerly an extensive manufacturer of carriage and 
 wagon wheels, was born in Barnard, Vt., June 5, 
 1842. 
 
 Nathan Parker Thompson, father of Austin D., 
 was born in 1815, and died in July, 1895. He had 
 been engaged with others in the cotton-mill busi- 
 ness up to 1850, when he came to Connecticut and 
 for a year resided at Windsor Locks, where he man- 
 ufactured thread. In 185 1 he came to Bristol, and 
 after 1865 was engap'ed in the manufacture of 
 wagon and carriage wheels. 
 
 Mr. Thompson, at Vernon, Conn., in 1837, was 
 married to Alvira Ellis, and to this marriage were 
 born children as follows: Maria A., born in 1838, 
 was married to John Matson. a Tarmer of Fairfield, 
 Conn., and had three children: George ]\Iathan, 
 born in 1840, married Elizabeth Chicheeny. and 
 after her death wedded a Miss Rowe. had born to 
 him two children, and is now living on the old 
 Bristol homestead: Austin D., the subject of this 
 sketch, is next in the order of birth : Gilbert Wash- 
 ington, born in 1844, enlisted in 1862 in Company 
 K, Sixteenth C. V., was in the battles of Antieta.ni 
 and Fredericksburg, taking a severe cold at the 
 latter place, and was mustered out of the service 
 as corporal in 1865; he married, in 'S67, Henrietta 
 
 . but had no children born to him. He 
 
 joined his father and brother Austin D. in the 
 manufacture of wheels under the firm name of N. 
 
436 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 P. Thompson & Sons, but the cold caught in the 
 army had developed into consumption, and two 
 years before his death he was obliged to withdraw 
 from active work. He was a very handsome man, 
 greatly respecte^ by every one who knew him, and 
 his death, in 1869, from the insidious disease which 
 had attacked him, was universally deplored. The 
 Gilbert W. Thompson Post, No. 13, G. A. R., was 
 named in his honor. 
 
 Austin D. Thompson was born on his father's 
 farm at Barnard, Vt., and was quite young when 
 brought to Vernon, Tolland Co., Conn., where his 
 father was foreman of the Phenix Cotton Mills, 
 which are still standing; thence he was taken to 
 Windsor Locks, where he attended school two years, 
 when the family came to Bristol. Here he attended 
 the public schools until seventeen years of age, and 
 then one term at the Suffield Academy. He first 
 went to work in the Welch clock factory at Forest- 
 ville, and held Ms position until he enlisted, Sept. 
 24, 1862, at Bristol, in Company K, Sixteenth C. 
 v.; he took part at Antietam, at Fredericksburg, 
 and at Plymouth, also in many skirmishes, at various 
 places and times. At Plymouth he was captured, 
 and was held a prisoner for ten months in Ander- 
 sonville, Charleston and Florence, being finally ex- 
 changed and sent home, and was mustered out June 
 8, 1865. 
 
 Mr. Thompson now became a member of the 
 firm of N. P. Thompson & Sons before alluded to, 
 and manufactured wagon and carriage wheels at 
 the site of the present Liberty Bell Company's fac- 
 tory in Bristol, but were burned out in 1868; they 
 resumed business at the point where the Clayton 
 Bros.' factory now stands, and fourteen j'ears later 
 purchased and removed to the Darrow Manufactur- 
 ing Company's property on Meadow street, and 
 continued the business until 1894, when they were 
 again burned out. The buildings were at once re- 
 erected, but by this time improved machinery had 
 so reduced the price of wheels that they abandoned 
 their manufacture. Austin D., however, still con- 
 ducts a repair and blacksmith shop at this stand, 
 and also carries on a livery stable. 
 
 Nathan P. Thompson passed away at the ripe 
 age of eighty years, and his widow now makes her 
 home with her son, George N., in Bristol. Prior 
 to the formation of the Free-soil party Mr. Thomp- 
 son was a Democrat, but being progressive in his 
 ideas he became a member of the ntw party, which 
 in the course of time was merged into the Repub- 
 lican party ; however, he always applied himself 
 closely to his own public affairs. He was a reliable, 
 straightforward man, and had hosts of friends. 
 
 Austin D. Thompson was married, Sept. 13, 
 1865, to Miss Electa Maria Churchill, who was 
 born in 1844, a daughter of John Churchill, of Bris- 
 tol. She departed this life Jan. 4, 1880, the mother 
 of two children: Eva Mae, born Sept. 4, 1867, 
 still living at the parental home; and Austin 
 Churchill, born Oct. 24, 1872, who graduated from 
 
 the Philadelphia Dental College with the class of 
 '95, and has since been doing a very fine business- 
 at Torrington. He married Miss Julia Brooker, 
 of Torrington, only daughter of Major Brooker, 
 a prominent man of that locality. 
 
 Austin D. Thompson is a member of Franklin 
 Lodge, No. 56, F. & A. M.; also of Gilbert W. 
 Thompson Post, No. 13, G. A. R., of which latter 
 he is a past commander. He attends the Episcopal 
 Church, in which his wife, who had a very sweet 
 voice, was a member of the choir and quite active 
 in the work of the church. In politics Mr. Thomp- 
 son is a stanch Republican, but, like his father,, 
 abstains from taking part in party work, being 
 satisfied with the general exercise of his franchise. 
 
 MORRIS CATLIN- WEBSTER. This distinl 
 guished citizen of New Britain is a lineal descend- 
 ant of John Webster, who was governor of Con- 
 necticut in 1656. Two grandsons of the latter — 
 Moses and Cyprian — were among the first five set- 
 tlers of Harwinton, in 1730. Three of our subject's- 
 ancestors were Revolutionary soldiers, and all left 
 their impress upon the legislation of the State, of 
 whose law-making body many of them were distin- 
 quished and influential members. His father, Addi- 
 son Webster, married Ann M. Catlin, a member of 
 the noted Catlin family, to which Connecticut owes 
 so many capable officials. 
 
 Mr. Webster was born at Harwinton, Conn., 
 Sept. 28, 1848, on the farm which was first occu- 
 pied and cultivated by his ancestor, Moses Webster. 
 His early scholastic education was acquired in the 
 common schools and at Harwinton Academy, and he. 
 also took a preparatory course at the Winchester 
 Institute. His real preparation for active commer- 
 cial life, however, was obtained primarily in the 
 employ of Hart, Merriam & Co., of Hartford. He 
 served in every department connected with the es- 
 tablishment conducted by that house, acting as sales- 
 man and accountant, and in every way thoroughly 
 fitting himself for his successful mercantile life. 
 In 1881 he accepted a position as traveling salesman 
 for a wholesale boot and shoe house of Boston, his 
 route covering the States of Illinois, Iowa and Ne- 
 braska. His preference, nevertheless, being for the 
 carpet trade, in which branch of business he had 
 received his early training, he entered the employ of 
 Stark Bros., of Milwaukee, but soon left that firm to 
 enter upon an engagement with W. & J. Sloane, of 
 New York. In 1874 he returned to Connecticut and 
 embarked in business for himself, at Terryville. 
 Four years later he sold out this establishment to 
 accept his present responsible position, that of secre- 
 tary and superintendent of the Malleable Iron Works 
 of New Britain, Mr. Webster is also engaged in ag- 
 ricultural pursuits, carrying on a truck and produce 
 farm at New Britain, and he has extensive farming 
 interests in his native town, Harwinton. 
 
 Mr. Webster has been repeatedly honored by elec- 
 tion to office, although the duties of official life have 
 
// ^^-^/ 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 487 
 
 been forced upon him, rather than sought. For 
 three years he was a member of the common coun- 
 cil of the city, and has been four times in succession 
 elected a member of the school board, in which body 
 he is now serving his tenth year. In 1896 he was 
 elected to the Connecticut Legislature by 1,868 ma- 
 jority — the largest ever received by any candidate 
 for an office in the city of New Britain. During 
 his service • in the House he was chairman of the 
 Committee on Agriculture, which revised, in a sat- 
 isfactory manner, the agricultural legislation of the 
 State. In the spring of 1898 i\Ir. Webster was 
 ■elected mayor for a term of two years, which posi- 
 tion he filled until the spring of 1900, refusing re- 
 nomination. He is a prominent member of various 
 societies and fraternal orders, among which may be 
 mentioned the following: The Royal Arcanum, in 
 which he is past regent ; tile Order of United Amer- 
 ican ^lechanics, in which he is past councillor ; the 
 Improved Order of Heptasophs, in which he is 
 trustee ; the Mutual Benefit Association ; the A. O. 
 U. W. ; and the New Britain Club. PoHtically he 
 is a Republican, adhering to the faith in which he 
 was reared. 
 
 Mr. Webster was married, in 1874, to Ida E. 
 Barber, of Harwinton, and they have three children. 
 
 JOHN GEORGE RUOFF. That sterling char- 
 acter which is the basis of broad and permanent 
 success, an honor to its possessor, and the object 
 of universal esteem and respect, wherever right 
 thinking and right sentiments prevail, is most fit- 
 tingly typified by the subject of this sketch. The 
 Fatherland has contributed to this newer country 
 an element of solidity, stability and integrity which 
 is a great reserve power in all national issues, in- 
 telligent and discriminative, throwing its influence 
 with unerring instinct and judgment in the di- 
 rection of clean and good government. The same 
 element contributes immensely to the material well- 
 being of the people, teaching by example the 
 cardinal virtues of thrift and industry. A more 
 appropriate example of these admirable traits than 
 Mr. Ruoff it would be difficult to find. 
 
 ]\Ir. Ruofl:' was born in Metzingen, Wurtembcrg, 
 Germany, Feb. 16, 1835, son of John and Mary 
 IMagdalena (Smale) Ruofif. His father, a farmer 
 by occupation, died Jan. 26, 1835, and his mother 
 married again. Our subject had only one full 
 brother, and he died in Germanv. The father left 
 some propertv, but our subject had not received 
 bis portion when in 1853, at the age of eighteen 
 years, he decided to come to America. He had at- 
 tended the schools of Germany, and had also worked 
 to some extent at the butcher trade in his native 
 land. He sailed from Havre in September. T853, 
 on the sailing vessel "Corinthia" for the United 
 States. The trip to America was a most memorable 
 ■one. Cholera broke out aboard the vessel after her 
 departure, and the ranks of the crew were soon 
 depleted by sickness and death, it became neces- 
 
 sary to impress into service the immigrants in order 
 to properly man the plague-visited ship. Mr. Ruoff, 
 who chanced to occupy berth No. i, was the first 
 passenger called to the assistance of the crew. He 
 served as a sailor during the passage of seventy- 
 three days to New York, except tlie first two weeks. 
 It was a rough and stormy passage. On account 
 of the dread visitation the course of the vessel was 
 changed to the north, so as to reach colder weather, 
 and this course protracted the voyage, which was 
 attended by severe storms. Mr. Ruofl; was at one 
 time at the pumps during the height of a .gale, and 
 had only left for a moment when a big sea swept 
 overboard and drowned his companions whom he 
 had left there. There were over seventy deaths on 
 the "Corinthia" during this stormv passage. 
 
 Our subject landed in New York, a stranger in 
 a strange land. Not a word of English could he 
 speak, but he was industrious and an.xious for 
 work. He found employment with a butcher in 
 New Y'ork City, and after remaining with him for 
 three weeks he came to Glastonbury, Conn. : ar- 
 rived at Hartford by boat, and thence walked to 
 Glastonbury. There for a time he worked for his 
 board with Guy Sampson, a farmer, and then ob- 
 tained employment at Curtisville, now Naubuc, in 
 the Curtis factory, where spectacles were manu- 
 factured. For over five years he remained there, 
 then went to. Hartford, and for several years was 
 employed in Colt's factory. 
 
 In 1862 Mr. Ruofif enlisted in Company C. 22d 
 Regiment Conn V. I., and remained in service until 
 his discharge in July, 1863. Returning to his old 
 position in Colt's factory, he worked there until 
 the shop was destroyed by fire. Mr. Ruoff then 
 went back to Naubuc, and for a time resumed 
 work in the Curtis factory. But gradually he was 
 becoming a farmer, and he soon left other employ- 
 ment to give his entire attention to his farm. In 
 1861 he had bought from Elisha Smith thirteen 
 acres of land, where he now lives. By a subsequent 
 purchase the area has been increased to thirty-four 
 acres, and the small cottage which stood on the 
 land for a home has been succeeded by a more 
 imposing edifice. Mr. Ruoff' has a good farm, and 
 he knows how to till it; the land is under a high 
 state of cultivation, and very productive. 
 
 In January, 1858, at Hartford, Mr. Ruoff was 
 married to INIiss Elizabeth Amelia Schercer, who 
 was born in Schwabach, Bavaria, Dec. 14. 1837, 
 daughter of John Martin and Dorothy (Millmark) 
 Schercer. She came to America from Bremen in 
 1854, on the sailing vessel "Diana," and was forty- 
 four days in making the ocean nassage. Her fa- 
 ther was a house carpenter, and both parents died 
 in Germanv. They were people of high character 
 and good social standing. She was the onlv mem- 
 ber of the family who came to America. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Ruoff have been born the following chil- 
 dren : Mary A., now Mrs. John Bantly, of Man- 
 chester ; George, who died at the age of seventeen 
 
438 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 i 
 
 years; John, superintendent of the town farm at 
 East Hartford; Frederick, an industrious young 
 man, who at the age of twenty-five years was killed, 
 June 23, 1891, in the factory at Naubuc, by the 
 bursting of a grindstone; Rosa P. (Mrs. Frank 
 Hartz), of Burnside; Frank, a machinist, of New 
 Britain; Charles, of East Hartford; Bertha, who 
 died at the age of two years; Katie L., who mar- 
 ried Frederick Brutt, of New Britain; and Edwin 
 M., a farmer at home. 
 
 In politics Mr. Ruoff is a Democrat, but he is 
 independent in national issues, and voted for Presi- 
 dent McKinley. While not members of church, he 
 and tlie family are good Christian people, attend- 
 ants at both church and Sabbath-school. Socially 
 Mr. Ruoff is a member of Rodman Post, G. A. R., 
 at East Hartford. His family would be a credit 
 to any parentage, and all his children have been 
 reared to become honorable and worthy men and 
 women. Mrs. Ruoff is a most excellent helpmeet, 
 and to her is due a share of the credit for the prog- 
 ress in high citizenship and in material prosperity 
 which the family has attained. The youngest son, 
 Edwin M., lives at home, and as a steady-going, 
 intelligent young man is now the mainstay of his 
 parents, whose health will not oermit that effort 
 which was once their welcome lot. Not since his 
 service in the army has the health of Mr. Ruoff been 
 rugged, and in recent years he has suffered severely 
 from rheumatism. But he is the same plain, unas- 
 suming and sturdy farmer, whose name has never 
 been associated with dishonest or dubious prac-. 
 tices. His word is as good as his bond, and he is 
 one of the most highly-respected men in his lo- 
 calitjr. 
 
 In 1878 Mr. Ruoff paid a visit to his native 
 land, after an absence of twenty-five years. He 
 remained there three months, and renewed many 
 former acquaintances. 
 
 WILLIAM C. SMITH, a prominent resident of 
 Glastonbury, is a descendant of one of the old 
 families of that locality. His grandfather, Jedediah 
 Smith, who was born Sept. 5, 1764, and died in 
 April, 1826, was for many years engaged in farm- 
 ing on the west side of Main street, near our sub- 
 ject's present home. On May 28. 1788, Jedediah 
 
 Smith married Mary , and they had a 
 
 large family of children, whose names and dates 
 of birth are as follows: Jeduthan, July 2, 1789; 
 Philer, Jan. 20, 1791 ; Hannah, Aug. 24, 1792; Shu- 
 bael, Aug. 12, 1793; Mary, Dec. 3, 1795; Mary 
 (2), May 20, 1797; Thomas, Oct. 8, 1799; Sydney, 
 May 16, 1801; Eliza, Oct. 8, 1804; Juha, Sept. 
 30, 1806; and Amelia, July 9, 1808. 
 
 Shubael Smith, our subject's father, was born 
 and reared at the old homestead in Glastonbury, 
 receiving a common-school education. He followed 
 farming in Glastonbury throughout his life. In 181 5 
 he married Miss Mary Risley, who was born in 
 Glastonbury Feb. 19, 1799, and they had eleven 
 
 children, of whom our subject was the youngest 
 (il Mary Ann, born M«rch 22, 1816, married 
 (first) Dexter Wrisley, and (second) Nathaniel 
 Kelsey, and died April 24, 1900, at the ■ age of 
 eighty-four. (2) Matilda, born Aug. 29, 1817, was 
 married, in November, 1835, to Sylvester Dun- 
 nells, a carpenter at Glastonbury. (3) Andrew, 
 born May 25, 1819, married Julia Goodrich in No- 
 vember, 1842 ; he was engaged in the boating busi- 
 ness with our subject for many years. (4) Lucy,, 
 born March 29, 1821, was married, Nov. 30, 1836, 
 to William Higley, a business man of Hartford. 
 (5) Jedediah, born June 19, 1823, married Susan 
 Arnold July i, 1845. (6) Elizur, born April 4, 
 1825, was the captain of a tow-boat, and lived in 
 Hartford. He married Cynthia Gaines, and reared 
 a large family, and three of his sons are now em- 
 ployed in the offices of the Connecticut Mutual Co. 
 (7) Julia, born March i, -1828, died young. (8) 
 Julia (2) was born Oct. 26, 1831. (9) Elizabeth, 
 born Nov. 14, 1833, married Ransom Wrisley. (lo)' 
 George N., born March 26, 1838, enlisted in a iVew 
 York regiment, in Gen. Sickles' Brigade, was 
 wounded at Fortress Monroe May .S, 1862, and died 
 in a New York hospital May 13, 1862. 
 
 Our subject was born Jan. 25, 1841, and as sl 
 boy attended a district school in a frame building 
 which was replaced some years aeo by the brick 
 school house. On leaving school he was employed 
 for a time at sreneral work on a boat belonging to 
 his brother Andrew, and used in carrying stone be- 
 tween Hartford and other points, on the Connecti- 
 cut. Later he bought a boat which he ran for more 
 than ten years, and on selling out he formed a 
 partnership with his brother Jedediah and opened a 
 general store in Naubuc, which they conducted twee 
 years in connection with the post office. Our sub- 
 ject then sold out and removed to Hartford, en- 
 gaging in the grocery business on Potter street, 
 and three j^ears later he built a store on the same 
 street, nearer the river. He continued there in the 
 grocery and meat market business for many years, 
 and also started a store on Pearl street, operating* 
 both for a year. He then disposed of the first 
 store, and in 1898 he retired from business alto- 
 gether. He is living in well-earned ease in his 
 pleasant home in Glastonbury, erected by himself 
 in 1893. Politically Mr. Smith is a Democrat, and 
 while residing in Hartford he was very prominent| 
 in municipal affairs, holding the offices of council 
 man and alderman for a period of ten years. Era 
 ternally he is a member of the I. O. O. F. at Hart 
 ford, and of Putnam Phalanx, in which he hai 
 been corporal and is now color guard. 
 
 Mr. Smith was married first to Miss Julia Cal- 
 lender, a native of Hartford, and they had the fol- 
 lowing children, none of whom are living: George 
 W., born Aug. 25, 1862 ; William C, Sept. 9, 1863 ; 
 Ransom, Oct. 30, 1864; Flora, Nov. 10, 1865. The 
 mother of these children died Dec. 9, 1867, and 
 our subject, on Jan. 9, 1869, married Miss Eliza 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 4«9 
 
 Moore. To this last union no children have been 
 born. Mrs. Smith was born in Ireland, daughter 
 of John and Elizabeth (Huston) Moore, also na- 
 tives of that country, and came to America with her 
 parents in 1850, when six years of age. Her fa- 
 ther, who was employed in cutlery works for many 
 years, died in 1888, her mother some twenty years 
 before. There were seven children in their family: 
 Jane, WHliam, Mary Ann, Robert, Robert (2), 
 Eliza (Mrs. Smith), and John. 
 
 JAMES LAWRENCE RISING, a leading 
 horticulturist of West Sufifield, is a man whose 
 enterprise and ability are worthy of note, and in 
 his successful career he has shown the progressive 
 nature which characterizes the best class of Amer- 
 ican agriculturists. 
 
 ^Ir. Rising belongs to a well-known family, and 
 is a direct descendant of James Rising, who was 
 born in London, England, about 1617, and came 
 to this country at the age of eighteen, locating in 
 1635 in Massachusetts. In 1646 he was a student 
 in Harvard College, and on July 7, 1657, he mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Hinsdale, daughter of Robert Hins- 
 dale, of JNIedtield, jNIass. For a short time he re- 
 sided in the Bermuda Islands, and on returning to 
 Massachusetts settled in Salem. In 1668 he came 
 to Windsor, Hartford Co., Conn., where his wife 
 died the following year, and on Aug. 13, 1673, he 
 married Martha Bartlett, a widow, who died April 
 20, 1674. In 1679 he removed to Sufifield, where 
 his death occurred Sept. 11, 1688, his remains be- 
 ing interred in West Sufifield. By occupation he 
 was a farmer, and he became the owner of a large 
 tract of land. He had two sons, John and James, 
 and the latter died unmarried. 
 
 John Rising made his home on High street, in 
 Suffield, where he followed farming. He died Dec. 
 II, 1720, and was buried in Suffield. He was twice 
 married, and had eighteen ch-ldren, whose de- 
 scendants are now among the best citizens of Suf- 
 field. 
 
 Abel Rising, our subject's great-grandfather, 
 was a native of Suffield, and resided at Rising's 
 Corners. He was a deacon in the Congregational 
 Church at West Suffield. 
 
 Justus Rising, the grandfather of our subject, 
 was born at the Corners, where he spent his entire 
 life. As a farmer he was very successful, and he 
 owned a large estate, being one of the substantial 
 citizens of the locality. He married Mary Wilcox, 
 who was also much esteemed for her excellent 
 qualities, and both died in West Suffield, where 
 their remains were buried. They had five chil- 
 dren: Ransom, our subject's fatlicr ; Sanford, a 
 resident of Indiana ; Lafayette ; Silence, who mar- 
 ried Dr. James L. Hodge ; and Justus, who died 
 in childhood. 
 
 Ransom Rising wr.s born at the old homestead, 
 and was educated in the local schools and in the 
 Connecticut Literarv Institute, being among the 
 
 first to enter that noted school. When a young man 
 he settled upon a portion of the old homestead and 
 engagetl in tobacco growing, dairying and stock' 
 raising. In politics he was first a Whig, and later a 
 Republican, but he never sought or held office. His 
 upright life won him the respect ol all wlio knew 
 him, and for many years he was a leading member 
 of the Baptist Church of Zion's Hill. He died 
 at the homestead in 1892, in his seventy-second year, 
 and his estimable wife, Jane E. Porter, a native of 
 Hartford, passed away May 10, 180^. at the same 
 age. '!.:»., 
 
 James L. Rising, who was the only child of this 
 worthy couple, was born Dec. 19, 1846, and has 
 always made his home at the old farm, his education 
 being obtained in the district schools of West Suf- 
 field. Until his father's death thcv operated the 
 farm in partnership, our subject assuming the active 
 management as time passed. He devotes much at- 
 tention to general farming and stock raising, but has 
 made a specialty of sfrowing peaches, strawberries 
 and other fruits, in which he has met with marked 
 success, his scientific methods producing good re- 
 sults under all conditions. In religious work he is 
 prominent as a member of the Baptist Church, and 
 while he is not an office-seeker he is keenly in- 
 terested in the political issues of the day. In former 
 years he was a Republican, but his earnest convic- 
 tions on the question of tempei^nce reform have 
 made him a thorough-going Prohibitionist. In 
 1872 he married ]\Iiss Maria Louis; Hastings, and 
 four children have blessed the union: Margaret, 
 wife of Lemuel Griffin, of Granby ; Lawrence, wlu) 
 was educated at the Connecticut Literary Institute, 
 and is now at home ; Judson Everett, now a student 
 in the Institute ; and Silence M.. who is at home. 
 
 Mrs. Rising is a representative of one of the 
 old and highly-respected families of Suffield, and 
 from an early date the Baptist Church of that sec- 
 tion has had no more ardent and devout adherents 
 than those bearing the name of Hastings. Her an- 
 cestors came from England, originally, and her 
 great-grandfather, Joseph Hastings, was born at 
 Hastings' Hill, in the town of Suffield, where he 
 spent his life, being engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits. Politically he was a Whig, and like all of his 
 family he was active in the support of the Baptist 
 faith. He died at his homestead, and he and his 
 wife were buried in the cemeterv at Zion's Hill. 
 They had a large family of children, of whom the 
 following lived to adult age: Samuel, Garry, 
 Homer, Frank, Plarvey, James. Ai.na and Rachel. 
 
 James Hastings. Mrs. Rising's grandfather, 
 was born at the homestead June 2, 1796, and when 
 a voung man settled upon the Austin farm, in ^^'est 
 Suffield, where he died in 1S25. at the early age of 
 twentv-nine. He married Ursula Austin, who was 
 born at the Austin farm ^March 12, 1796, daughter 
 of Joseph Austin, a Revolutionarv soldier, and his 
 wife, Sarah Goodrich, and she sur^'ived him many 
 vears. her death occurring Feb. i, 1868. Two chil- 
 
440 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 dren were born of this union: Mj.ria Louisa, who 
 died in Buffalo, N. Y. ; and James G., Mrs. Rising's 
 father. 
 
 James G. Hastings was born in West Suffield 
 Dec. i6, 1822, on the farm which he now occupies. 
 He attended the district schools and the Connecti- 
 cut Literary Listitute, and has made farming his 
 occupation throughout life, tobacco being his prin- 
 cipal crop. He is a Republican in politics, and is 
 a strong champion of temperance and other re- 
 forms. For fifty years he has been a member of the 
 Baptist Church, in which he holds the office of dea- 
 con, and his long and useful life has won him the 
 respect of all who know him. In 1850 he married 
 Miss Mary A. Cartter, sister of Mrs. Buel D. 
 Hodge, and six children were born to them, viz.: 
 Maria Louise, wife of our subject; Stephen C. ; 
 James Eugene; Jessie F., wife of Ralph Granger, 
 of San Diego, Cal. ; Elbridge G., a cigar manu- 
 facturer at Suffield ; and Miss Dora, who is at home. 
 
 I 
 
 JOHN WILLIAM GRAY, who has charge of 
 the packing department of the Bristol Brass & Clock 
 Co., in Forestville, is a native of Connecticut, born 
 Dec. 26, 1840, in New Haven. 
 
 Bernard Gray, father of John W., was born in 
 the Province of Connaught, Ireland, in 1813, and 
 died Aug. 17, 1845, in New Haven, Conn., where he 
 was employed in the soft-drink manufactory of 
 Henry Grunert. Early in 1840, at New Haven, he 
 married Alice Towner, who was born in 1821 in 
 County Armagh, Ireland, and died in Forestville, 
 Conn., in 1893. The children _born to this union 
 were as follows: John W., bur subject; Annie, 
 born Dec. 6, 1842, married Charles W. Brown, of 
 Forestville; and Alice, born in 1844, died when 
 three years old. The mother of these remarried in 
 1849, her second husband being Noble Smith, of 
 Plainville, by whom she had children as follows : 
 William J., living in Bristol ; and Katie, Helen and 
 Edward, all three in Forestville. 
 
 John W. Gray, the subject proper of these lines, 
 received his education in the schools of New Haven 
 up to the age of nine years, at which time his mother 
 (who in the meantime had married again) removed 
 to Plainville, and there he finished his schooling. 
 At the age of sixteen he commenced life work in the 
 varnishing division, case department of the E. N. 
 Welch Clock Co., and there remained until his en- 
 listment July 22, 1862, in Company K, i6th Conn. 
 V. I. At the battle of Antietam he received a gun- 
 shot wound in the left hand, which has ever since 
 been badly crippled. He was sent home on a 
 furlough, ordered to report at the New Haven hos- 
 pital, and was mustered out March 4, 1863, on ac- 
 count of the wound. For the same reason he was 
 compelled to take up light work, and fonone year was 
 night watchman for the E. N. Welch Co. He then 
 found employment in the "burner shop" of the 
 Bristol Brass & Clock Co. in Forestville, in the press 
 room, and there remained about eight years, at the 
 
 end of which time he entered the foot-press room 
 as assistant to the superintendent, and at the close 
 of four years in that incumbency he was given 
 charge of the packing department, which position 
 he has since filled with his accustomed ability and 
 fidelity. 
 
 On March 19, 1864, Mr. Gray was married to 
 Katie Hughes, who was born in Waterbury, Conn., 
 daughter of John and Catherine (Slieren) Hughes, 
 and a brief record of their children is as follows : 
 ( i) George Bernard, born April 5, 1866, is a clerk in 
 J. S. Deming & Co.'s grocery, Forestville ; he was 
 married in 1900 to Hellen Bracken, of Norwalk, 
 Conn. (2) Annie Emma, born Oct. 3, 1870, was 
 married Dec. 26, 1898, to James P. Bree, of New 
 Haven, a lawyer and man of prominence in politi- 
 cal affairs; he was a member of the legislature in 
 1898, and Senator, 1900 to 1902, from New Haven; 
 they have one child : John Paul, born Nov. 15, 1899. 
 Mrs. Bree is a graduate of Bristol High School, 
 class of "88, and of Mt. St. Joseph's Convent, Hart- 
 ford, in music ; prior to her marriage she spent 
 seven years in teaching. Mr. and Mrs. Gray are 
 members of St. Matthew's Roman Catholic Church 
 at Forestville. Politically he is a Democrat; for 
 five years served as constable, and has been clerk 
 and treasurer of the Thirteenth school district of 
 Bristol — clerk from 1875 to 1888, and treasurer and 
 clerk since the latter year. Socially he is a charter 
 member of Newton S. Monroe Post, No. 57, of 
 Forestville, in which 'he has passed all the chairs, 
 being past commander, and is now serving as quar- 
 termaster. 
 
 ELMER WINFIELD STEARNS, a well- 
 known and popular citzen of Berlin, who is serving 
 as assistant to the president of the Berlin Iron 
 Bridge Co., was born in Manchester, N. H., Dec. 
 13, i860, and traces his ancestry back to (I) Isaac 
 Stearns, a native of the parish of Wayland, Suffolk, 
 England, who came to America in 1630 on the same 
 ship with Gov. Winthrop and Sir Richard Salton- 
 stall. He served as selectman of Watertown, Mass., 
 for several years. He had married in England, and 
 his wife came with him to the New World. To 
 them were born eight children who lived in this 
 country. 
 
 (II) John Stearns, a son of Isaac, was born in 
 Watertown about 1630, and was one of the first 
 settlers of Billerica, Mass. About 1653 he married 
 Sarah Mixer. 
 
 (III) Lieut. John Stearns, born in May, 1654, 
 was married in Billerica to Elizabeth Bigelow, who 
 was born June 18, 1657. 
 
 (IV) John Stearns, born in Billerica Nov. 26, 
 1686, was married about 1715 to Esther Johnson, 
 who was born Jan. 16, 1691, and died April 13, 
 1786. His death occurred Aug. 2, 1776. 
 
 (V) Rev. Josiah Stearns, born in Billerica Jan. 
 20, 1 73 1, graduated from Harvard in 1751, and was 
 ordained at Epping, N. H., March 8, 1758, serving 
 
 I 
 
)yuLa/\^n^i^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 441 
 
 as pastor of the Congregational Church at that place 
 for thirty years. He married Sarah Abbot, who 
 was born Dec. 4, 1726, and died Nov. 5, 1766. He 
 died July 25, 17S8. 
 
 (VlJ John Stearns, born in Epping, N. H., Jan. 
 13, 1762, was married in 1783 to Sarah Lane, who 
 was born May 16, 1759. He enlisted in the Con- 
 tinental army during the Revolutionary war as a 
 member of the 4th New Hampshire Regiment, and 
 was mustered in at Epping. He served as justice 
 of the peace for many years. 
 
 (VH) Josiah Stearns, born in Deerfield, N. H., 
 March 10, 1788, was married Aug. 22, 181 1, to Jane 
 Thompson, also a native of Deerfield. He was an 
 early settler of Wilmot, N. H., where he became a 
 prosperous and well-to-do farmer, and was one of 
 the most prominent men of the community in his 
 day. 
 
 (VHI) William Stearns, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Wilmot, N. H., Jan. 10, 1816, and 
 was a machinist by trade, being connected with the 
 cotton mills of JNlanchester, N. H., for some years. 
 He was also an inventor of considerable note, and 
 patented several different articles, one of the most 
 important of his inventions being the shuttle motion 
 for cotton mills, which he put in use in 1850. In 
 politics he was a Republican. He was married Oct. 
 17, 1845, to Elizabeth Cogswell Goodhue, who was 
 born in Dunbarton, N. H., Sept. 28, 1818, a daugh- 
 ter of Jacob and Margaret (Wheeler) Goodhue. 
 
 (IX) Elmer W. Stearns, whose name introduces 
 this sketch, was educated in the schools of Manches- 
 ter, N. H., and was graduated from the high school 
 of that place in 1877. After leaving school he en- 
 tered the office of Ellis & Patterson, civil engineers, 
 engaged in city work, to learn the business, and dur- 
 ing the two years he remained with them he gained 
 a fair insight into the business. In 1881 he was 
 made rodman in the city engineer's office in Man- 
 chester, and filled that position three or four months. 
 In 1880 the Berlin Iron Bridge Co. built a bridge 
 at iManchester, and he became acquainted with their 
 representative, who offered him a position with the 
 company. Accordingly, on leaving the employ of 
 the city engineer of Manchester, N. H., he came to 
 Berlin, Conn., in April, 1881, and entered the office 
 of the Berlin Iron Bridge Co., as draftsman in the 
 drawing room, where he remained ten years. He 
 then accepted his present responsible position, as 
 assistant to the president of the company, the du- 
 ties of which he has most capably and satisfactorily 
 performed. His energy, perseverance, close appli- 
 cation to business, and fidelity to every trust reposed 
 in him have been the secret of his success, and have 
 won for him the high position which he now fills. 
 
 On Oct. ID, 1888, Mr. Stearns married Miss Lu- 
 ella Woods, who was born July 12, 1865, a daughter 
 of Solomon Henry and Grace Ann (Bradley) 
 Woods, of East Berlin. They have one child, Har- 
 old Goodhue, who was born Oct. 29, 1889, and is 
 now attending iMiss Roy's private school in Berlin. 
 
 Mr. Stearns joined the Masonic Fraternity at the 
 age of twenty-one years, and is now a Knight Tem- 
 plar .Mason, a member of Cyrene Connnandery, No. 
 8, of Middle-town, and of Pyramid Temple, of the 
 Mystic Shrine, at Bridgeport. He has always taken 
 an active part in lodge work, and is past master of 
 Washington Lodge, No. 81, F. & A. M., of Crom- 
 well, Conn. He is also a prominent member of Mat- 
 tabessett Lodge, No. 21, K. P., and was keeper of 
 records and seals for six years. Mr. Stearns at- 
 tends and supports the Congregational Church of 
 Berlin, and affiliates with the Republican parly. At 
 present he is serving as chairman of the Republican 
 town committee of Berlin, and was a member of the 
 board of school visitors for five or six years. In 
 1897 Mr. Stearns went to Europe for his health, and 
 spent eight weeks very enjoyably in visiting Paris, 
 Holland, Germany and Belgium, returning home 
 nuich recuperated. 
 
 I^IARCUS LEWIS STODDARD. The sub- 
 ject of this sketch is one of the prosperous and 
 progressive young farmers of Newington, and has 
 followed the' vocation of his forefathers with suc- 
 cess, winning a standing of high character in the 
 community in which he lives. He was born in the 
 old Stoddard ancestral home on Center street, near 
 Newington Junction, July 22, 1854, the only child of 
 Alarcus W. and Frances (Wells) Stoddard. His 
 father was born in March, 181 5, and his mother in 
 June, 1817. Allen Stoddard, his grandfather, was 
 born on the same place, and married Mary Wells, 
 daughter of James and Abigail (Gaylord) Wells, 
 pioneers of Connecticut. [The old Stoddard house 
 was moved from its original site on the Knoll to the 
 southwest of its present situation, to make way for 
 the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad.] 
 
 Our subject received a good common-school edu- 
 cation in the schools of Newington and in the high 
 school at New Britain, also taking a course in the 
 Cheshire school near Plainville. But the farm duties 
 earlv in life demanded his attention, and Mr. Stod- 
 dard has been a man rather of action than of books. 
 He has spent his life on the farm, and has been a 
 progressive agriculturist, keeping abreast with the 
 times. For several years he conducted an extensive 
 milk business in connection with his farm. He is 
 the owner of ninety-five acres of good productive 
 land, and the crops he cultivates include hay, grain, 
 feed and potatoes. 
 
 Mr. Stoddard married April 26, 1877, Miss 
 Caroline Francis, who was born July 25, 1856, 
 daughter of Joseph J, and Mary Francis. Mr. and 
 :\Irs'". Stoddard have three children : Gertrude Fran- 
 ces, born }>Iarch 16, 1880; Ora Bell, born May 20, 
 1886: and Kent Elston, born Aug. 7, 1893. Mr. and 
 Alrs.Stoddardareconsistent and conscientious mem- 
 bers of the Congregational Church. In politics he is a 
 stanch Republican. He is a charter member of Our 
 Brothers Council, No. 41, Senior Order of American 
 iMechanics, at Newington, and has served as treas- 
 
442 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 urer of the lodge. Mr. Stoddard has pnrcha.sed a 
 beautiful residence site a short distance north of 
 the old homestead, and is now (1899) erecting a 
 modern twelve-room residence of the Queen Anne 
 style of architecture. The home will be equipped 
 with all modern improvements, and when com- 
 pleted will be one of the handsomest in the pictur- 
 esque town of Newington. 
 
 EDMUND L. SMITH, president of the South 
 Wethersfield Stamping & Manufacturing Co., and 
 also proprietor of the South Wethersfield cider, 
 grist and saw mill, belongs to that class of men 
 whom the world terms self-made, for, beginning life 
 empty-handed, he has conquered the obstacles in the 
 path to success and is now at the head of a pros- 
 perous business. By his efforts he has materially 
 advanced the interests of the community with which 
 he is associated, and has become a prominent figure 
 in business circles. 
 
 Mr. Smith was born in Rocky Hill, Hartford 
 county, Feb. 7, 1856, a son of Alfred Smith, who 
 was a native of New York City, and of German 
 descent. The latter grew to manhood in New 
 York, where he learned the trade of a cigar maker, 
 and in 1849 went to California. After his return 
 from that State he came to Rocky Hill, where he 
 engaged in the manufacture of cigars until failing 
 health caused his retirement. He died at that place, 
 and was buried in Rocky Hill cemetery. He mar- 
 ried Miss Laura G. Beaumont, of East Hartford, 
 who is still living, and makes her home in Rocky 
 Hill, and to them were born four children : Cath- 
 arine, wife of R. E. Scranton ; Mabel, wife of Dr. 
 H. P. Plunket, of Rocky Hill; Alfred, who died 
 young; and Edmund L., our subject. 
 
 Ira Beaumont, our subject's maternal grandfa- 
 ther, was a native of East Hartford, and a son of 
 McGinnis Beaumont, who was of French descent, 
 and was for many years a harness maker and land 
 owner of East Hartford, where his death occurred. 
 Ira Beaumont was given a good common-school edu- 
 cation, and during his youth he learned the trade of 
 harness making with his father. He also taught 
 school for a time in Rocky Hill, and later followed 
 farming in East Hartford, where he owned land. 
 Politically he was identified with the Democratic 
 party, and religiously both he and his wife were 
 consistent members of the Congregational Church. 
 Mrs. Beaumont, who bore the maiden name of Mar- 
 tha Bulkley, was a daughter of Hosea Bulkley, and. 
 a native of Rocky Hill. She died at that place at the 
 advanced age of ninety-two years, and was laid to 
 rest in Rocky Flill cemetery, by the side of her hus- 
 band, who had passed away some years previously. 
 Their children were Edmund, Ira and Lucius, all of 
 whom died in Rocky Hill ; Charles ; Laura Goodrich, 
 the mother of our subject; Emeline, wife of Joseph 
 McFarland; Thomas; Harriet, wife of John Lock- 
 wood ; and Oliver, who died in infancy. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the district schools 
 
 of Rocky Hill, and at night school. He was quite 
 young when he lost his father, and at the age of 
 twelve 3'ears he commenced working as a farm hand 
 for his board and clothes. He attended school when 
 possible, and at the age of sixteen began learning 
 the carpenter's and joiner's trade with R. E. Scran- 
 ton, continuing to work at his trade in Hartford 
 county, and at Springfield, Mass., for several years, 
 after which he came to Wethersfield, where he fol- 
 lowed farming for ten years on the Churchill farm. 
 At the end of that time he turned his attention to 
 the manufacture of lumber at South Wethersfield, 
 and was at first engaged in business with J. E. Far- 
 mer, but now carries on operations alone. He also 
 conducts a grist and cider mill — making a specialty 
 of crude and refined cider, which he ships all over 
 the country, and deals in evaporated apples and 
 sweet corn. Mr. Smith is now president of the 
 South Wethersfield Stamping & Manufacturing Co., 
 manufacturers of all kinds of sheet metal stamp- 
 ings, wire works, bicycle brakes, lacing loops, chain 
 guards, pedals and filings. They also make a spe- 
 cialty of all kinds of washers, punch and dies, tools, 
 and model, experimental and electrical work. 
 
 On Nov. II, 1880, in Wethersfield, Mr. Smith 
 was united in marriage with Miss Alice A. Church- 
 ill, a native of that place, and a daughter of Stephen 
 B. Churchill. They have three children : Edmund 
 L., Stephen Y. and Harold A. Mrs. Smith is a 
 member of the Congregational Churcli, and our 
 subject belongs to Summit Lodge, No. 45, I. O. O. 
 F., and Wethersfield Grange. Politically he is an 
 ardent Republican, and he is now most acceptably 
 serving as deputy sheriff of Hartford county. He 
 filled the office of constable for ten years,, and since 
 1897 has been one of the selectmen of Wethersfield. 
 He takes a deep interest in public affairs, and has 
 been quite actively identified with public life. 
 
 CHARLES YAUCH, a substantial farmer of 
 Hockanum, was born in Germany Aug. 18, 1837, 
 and is a son of Conrad and Magdaline (Hess) 
 Yauch, farming people, of whose large family of 
 children six came to the United States, viz. : Rosa, 
 who was the first to come to America, and is mar- 
 ried to William Bihl, of Hockanum; Matthew, of 
 Glastonbury; Charles, our subject; Mary, who was 
 married to a Mr. Lander, and died in South Cov- 
 entry, Conn. ; Catherine, of South Glastonbury, 
 widow of William Ingler, to whom she was married 
 in Germany, where he died; and Casper, who was 
 a baker in Hartford, where he died. 
 
 Charles Yauch came to the United States in 
 1861. He had learned the trade of shoemaking when 
 sixteen or seventeen years of age, worked in Ger- 
 many, Switzerland and France, and with his sav- 
 ings paid his passage from Flavre to New York, 
 on the "William Tell," and landed safely after a 
 voyage of thirty-seven days. His sister, Mrs. Bihl, 
 was then living in Glastonbury, and to join her he 
 (took boat for Hartford; after much difficulty hi 
 
Q(;^{n/n.^L4^A,n^i^ A), V^^^'-^^^^^^d^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 443 
 
 making people understand where lie wished to go 
 he finally reached the town. He did some cobbling 
 in Glastonbury, then went to Hartford and worked 
 in a shoe shop, and after working hours were over 
 cobbled for persons living near his lodging. He 
 was very industrious and saving, and never lost an 
 hour if he could find work to do. 
 
 At Hartford, Dec. 26, 1864, Mr. Yauch married 
 Miss Louisa Handel, a native of Wittenberg, Ger- 
 many, born May 29, 1845, a daughter of Philip and 
 Christina (Decker) Handel. She had come to the 
 United States in 1855, with her mother, a brother 
 and a sister, and the vessel on which they were pas- 
 sengers was forty-eight days crossing the ocean, 
 owing to stormy weather ; during the voyage eighty- 
 six persons died on board. After marriage Mr. 
 Yauch continued to reside in Hartford, and was 
 employed in Colt's fire-arm shops at the time of 
 their destruction by fire. He then bought out John 
 Low's shoe shop, on Kingsiey street, but later 
 moved his shop to Temple street, put in a stock of 
 ready-made shoes to sell, and also did repairing. 
 Some time afterward he sold out and went to South 
 Meriden, bought a place, and continued to work at 
 his trade there for nine years. He then bought his 
 present farm on Main street, Hockanum, the only 
 imi^rovenient thereon being the dwelling ; all the 
 other improvements have been since added bv him- 
 self. 
 
 To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Yauch have 
 been born seven children : Bertha, now Mrs. William 
 Myers, of Hockanum ; John, of Turner's Falls, 
 Mass. ; Rosa, wife of George A. Overton, of Chica- 
 go, 111. ; and Fred, William, Sophia and Ernest, at 
 home. 
 
 In politics Mr. Yauch is inclined toward the 
 Democratic party, but voted for McKinley at the 
 last Presidential election. He is not a member of 
 any religious society, but his children regularly at- 
 tend the Methodist Church and Sabbath-school. He 
 is a member of Hancock Lodge, No. 27, I. O. O. F., 
 at South Meriden, but, of course, cannot now at- 
 tend its meetings punctually. He has an excellent 
 farm, and owns two neat houses in the village, but 
 has disposed of his property in South Meriden. 
 Through his thrift and industry he has realized a 
 competence, and strictly "minds his own business," 
 annoying no one, while no better nor kinder neigh- 
 bor can be found in the town of East Hartford. 
 
 ]\IAURICE A. ]MORIARTY was born in the 
 western part of Ireland July 4, 1844. lie was the 
 second in order of birth in a family of six children, 
 the others being Eugene, who died in 1881 ; Mary, 
 now Mrs. John JNIcDonough, of jNIanchester, Conn.; 
 Catherine, the wife of John Donohue, of the same 
 place ; Abbie ; and Hugh, a hardware merchant of 
 South Manchester. 
 
 Maurice A. Moriartv remained in Ireland until 
 he was ten years old, when he and his elder brother, 
 Eugene, resolved to emigrate to America. They 
 
 took passage in a sailing-vessel, and the voyage con- 
 sumed thirteen weeks. Their mother had pre- 
 ceded them in 1849, and was then living at South 
 Manchester, and thither the brothers proceeded di- 
 rectly after landing. Maurice soon found work in 
 the Union Mills of North Manchester. After re- 
 maining there for a few weeks he entered the em- 
 ployment of Cheney Bros., silk manufacturers, and 
 in 1858 was made overseer of their spinning depart- 
 ment, remaining in that position until 18O1, when 
 he removed to Yonkers, N. Y., where he was em- 
 ployed in a gun factory. Returning to South Man- 
 chester at the end of that time, he again entered the 
 employ of Cheney Bros., taking his former position, 
 that of overseer, which he has filled with credit to 
 himself and satisfaction to his employers during 
 the succeeding thirty-eight years. In length of ser- 
 vice he is certainly one of the oldest, if not the oldest 
 employe, in the mills, having been in the firm's 
 service for more than forty-seven years. During 
 :\Ir. Moriarty's residence in South Manchester he 
 has been connected with the Firs. Division, Ancient 
 Order of Hibernians, for twenty -three years, and 
 held the presidency of the lodge for fourteen years. 
 He was also president of the Robert Emmet Branch, 
 Irish National Land League of America, and is 
 at present one of the leading members of the O. 
 Mahony Club of Irish Nationalists. He has been 
 a lifelong total abstainer, and was president of St. 
 James Temperance Society for two terms. In poli- 
 tics he was a Democrat until the nomination of 
 Grover Cleveland for the Presidency. The free 
 trade platform promulgated by that party caused him 
 to dissent from it, and joining the Anti-Cleveland 
 L'nion of Irish Republicans, he cast his first Re- 
 publican ballot for James G. Blaine. Since then 
 he has been an ardent supporter of the Republican 
 party, has been delegate to Senatorial and Congres- 
 sional Conventions, and has also held the offices of 
 assessor and member of the board of relief. Mr. 
 Moriarty owns property roughly estimated to be 
 worth $16,000. 
 
 ;Mr. ]Moriarty was married Dec. 8. i860, to 
 Miss Margaret Cody, and ten children have been 
 born to them, four of whom died in infancy. The 
 six now living are named Catherine, Nellie. Edward, 
 Jilargaret, Eugene and Mary. It has been the aim 
 of ]\Ir. and Mrs. Moriarty to give their children the 
 best educational advantages, whicn the latter have 
 not failed to improve to the utmost, shedding honor 
 upon their parents' name. The eldest daughters, 
 Catherine and Nellie, after passing through the 
 common schools, attended the State Nomial School 
 at New Britain, graduating from that institution with 
 distinction, and both are now teachers in the public 
 schools of Yonkers. Nellie entered the contest for 
 a trip to the World's Fair given to the most popular 
 teacher by the New York Press in 1893. She 
 proved to he one of the most successful candidates, 
 and with a free trip received a gold medal. Edward 
 received his earlv education at the grammar and 
 
444 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 high schools, and at the age of eighteen began the 
 study of medicine. He matriculated at the Medi- 
 cal Department of Columbia College, New York, 
 and after completing a course of four years there 
 entered the Baltimore Medical College, from which 
 institution he graduated in 1898, and was at once 
 appointed an instructor in pathology. Margaret re- 
 ceived the same course of instruction as her two 
 elder sisters, and is also a school teacher. The two 
 younger children, Eugene and Mary, are still living 
 at home. Mr. Moriarty and his family are of the 
 Catholic faith, and members of St. James parish. 
 South Manchester. 
 
 WILLIAM W. HANNA, an enterprising and 
 successful business man of New Britain, has dis- 
 played unusual sagacity and practical ability in car- 
 rying on the extensive marble and stone cutting 
 business founded by his father, and few young men 
 in this section have achieved so Irigh a standing in 
 financial circles. 
 
 While his ancestry in the paternal line is of Ger- 
 man stock remotely, the family was identified with 
 the North of Ireland for several generations. Will- 
 iam B. Hanna, our subject's grandfather, was born 
 in 1806 in County Cavan, Ireland, and became what 
 is known as a "small farmer." Seeing no hope of 
 bettering his condition, he came to America about 
 1840, and located in New Haven county. Conn., 
 being among the first Irishmen to settle in that local- 
 ity. He bought a small tract of land, and engaged 
 in farming with sudh success that he was enabled to 
 add to the property from time to time until he had 
 150 acres. In disposition he was quiet and retir- 
 ing, but he possessed excellent mental abilities, and 
 as a citizen was much esteemed. Politically he 
 affiliated with the Republican party, and in religion 
 he was a Methodist, while the family was identified 
 with the Episcopal Church. He died- in 1893. Of 
 bis children, John, our subject's father, is men- 
 tioned below; William (deceased) was a stone cut- 
 ter in New Britain; Thomas (deceased) was a 
 grocer in New Britain, as one of the firm of Hanna 
 Bros., the store being on the site of the present 
 opera house ; Robert was one of the firm of Hanna 
 Bros., and was in business until about 1873 ; Rich- 
 ard is deceased ; Ellen (living) married (first) Will- 
 iam White, of Madison, and later wedded Ambrose 
 Beattv ; Mary married Thomas Fitzgerald, of New 
 York' City. 
 
 John Hanna, our subject's father, was born 
 March 16, 1830, in County Cavan, Ireland, and 
 when a boy obtained a limited education in the Na- 
 tional schools of that locality, but after coming to 
 this country he continued his studies alone, while 
 serving an apprenticeship as a stone cutter with J. 
 G. Batterson, of Hartford. At the end of his five- 
 years term he entered the employ of the Empire 
 Stone Co., of New York City, and soon afterward 
 was made foreman of the works, with more than 
 100 cutters under his direction. In 1853, at the age 
 
 of twenty-three, he removed to New Britain, and 
 formed a partnership with William Watson in the 
 monumental and building stone business, under the 
 firm name of Watson & Hanna, two years later buy- 
 ing out his partner. At that time the business was 
 located in the rear of the lot now occupied by the 
 Baptist church, but after a few years removed to 
 the site of the present Hanna block, and since 1878 
 it has been carried on in East Main street. Be- 
 ginning in a small way, Mr. Hanna built up the busi- 
 ness until it became one of the largest in the State, 
 the quarry at Guilford, Conn., being also owned by 
 him. His field of work extended throughout the 
 Eastern States, and at its height the business em- 
 ployed over 100 men. Among the notable struc- 
 tures built by him were the Tammany monument, at 
 Gettysburg, Penn., at a cost of $15,000, the contract 
 being made on open competition ; the Hancock mon- 
 ument, at the corner of 123d street and Columbus 
 avenue, in New York City, at a cost of $7,000; the 
 Elon Booth monument, at Newtown, Conn. (Mr. 
 Booth was called the "pauper mason") ; the J. P. 
 Schmenger monument, in Woodlawn cemetery. 
 New York, costing $2,700; the Isaac C. Lewis 
 mausoleum, at Meriden^ Conn., costing $15,000; 
 and the monuments to George M. Landers, B. C. 
 Porter, C. P. Merwin and W. S. Morgan, all of 
 New Britain. Shortly after the flood at Johnstown, 
 Penn., he erected eleven expensive monuments there, 
 and at times he was interested in the building busi- 
 ness, having been the builder of the Marble block, at 
 Nos. 432-440 Main street. New Britain. His ex- 
 cellent judgment and untiring energy made his ad- 
 vice and co-operation valued in many enterprises, 
 and he was the principal stockholder in the New 
 Britain Opera House, built in 1880; president of the 
 People's Coal & Wood Co. ; a director in the Don- 
 nelly Brick Co. ; a silent partner in the firm of Hanna 
 Bros., mentioned above ; and a leading member of 
 the company which introduced the Schuyler Electric 
 Light into New Britain ; while for four years he 
 owned the Easton Granite Co.'s business on 42d 
 street. New York. In addition to his other interests 
 he was a member of and stockholder in the New 
 Britain Driving Club, and socially was connected 
 with Harmony Lodge, No. 20, F. & A. M. ; Gid- 
 dings Chapter, No. 25, R. A. M. ; and Putnam Phal- 
 anx. Throug-hout his life he was singularly free from 
 illness, but he did not reach the allotted limit of 
 man's days, his death occurring Dec. 27, 1896. He 
 married Miss Fannie Wheeler, daughter of William 
 Wheeler, of County Cavan, Ireland, who came to 
 this country some years after William B. Hanna, and 
 settled in New York City. Mrs. Hanna died May 
 17, 1898, and of their four children three are now 
 living: Elizabeth J. married John B. Anderson, who 
 is connected with the Irving Savings Institution, of 
 New York City; William Wheeler, our subject, 
 was second in the order of birth ; Fannie married 
 Herbert Basney, of Hartford ; and Sherwood died 
 at the age of five years. 
 
 J 
 
Cyiy^^z-'i'i^Clyf 
 
1 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 445 
 
 William W. llaiina was born in New Britain 
 Feb. 17, 1865, and was educated in the public 
 schools, attending the high school under I'rof. Peck 
 for more than a jear. He then became interested 
 in his father's business, and although not a part- 
 ner he took a responsible part in it, doing the work 
 of a general superintendent. He made the estimates 
 for all branches of the work, and for four years 
 previous to his father's death had almost sole charge. 
 The settlement of the estate devolved upon him, and 
 he conducts the business successfully, employing 
 about forty men during the busy season. For ten 
 years he was manager of the New Britain Opera 
 House, and his success in all his enterprises proves 
 that he is endowed with the foresight and energy 
 which characterized his father in his best days. He 
 takes an intelligent interest in all the movements of 
 the day, and in politics is a stanch Republican. He 
 is popular socially, and is a prominent member of tue 
 B. P. O. E. Mr. Hanna is unmarried. 
 
 P. R. HAYES was born in Tipperary, Ireland, 
 March 8, 1843, son of Patrick and Mary (Ryan) 
 Hayes, who had a family of six sons and eight 
 daughters, six of whom are yet living. The others 
 are : Hannah, who lives at Providence, R. I. ; Ellen, 
 now Mrs. John Gorman, of South Manchester, 
 Conn. ; Catherine, the wife of Peter Calhoun, of 
 the same place; John, residing in Australia; Tim- 
 othy, in South Alanchester, Conn. ; and Thomas, 
 whose home is in Vermont. Of the children de- 
 ceased four attained maturity: Mary, Thomas (i), 
 Bridget and Joseph. The others died in infancy. 
 
 The family emigrated from Ireland in 1852, 
 coming by a sailing-vessel, and after a passage oc- 
 cupying more than two months reached New York, 
 where they remained for a year, passing the next 
 year at New Hartford, Conn., and the two follow- 
 ing at Avon, Conn. From there the elder Hayes 
 removed to Chicopee, Mass., and thence to Glaston- 
 bury, Conn. The next year he returned to Avon, 
 and two years afterward (i860) took up his resi- 
 dence at South Manchester, where he remained 
 until his death, which occurred in 1884, when he 
 had reached the extraordinary age of ninety years. 
 His wife had died three years before, at the age 
 of sixty-six. 
 
 P.R.Hayes was a youth of seventeen years when 
 he first came to South Manchester. He obtained 
 work in Joseph Parker's cotton mill, and showed 
 such aptitude, industry and fidelity that he was 
 soon made overseer of one of the spinning rooms, 
 remaining in the mill until 1869, when he was 
 affected by the "gold fever," and went to California, 
 making the trip by way of the Isthmus. Two 
 months' work in the mines satisfied him, so turning 
 his face again toward the East he once more located 
 at South Manchester, and for a year worked in the 
 cotton mill of F. D. Dale. His next venture was 
 the purchase of a gristmill, which he disposed 
 of after a year, buying a farm in the town of Bol- 
 
 ton, Tolland county. Two years later he erected the 
 '•Three Oaks Store," about a mile from South Man- 
 chester, which he successfully conducted for seven 
 years. Tiring of mercantile business, he rented his 
 store, and returned to California. There he went 
 to work as superintendent of the leather shop of the 
 State penitentiary, from which he was afterward 
 transferred to the jute works, where he superin- 
 tended the manufacture of gunny-bags, etc. For 
 four years he was employed in the State prison, 
 and two more he spent in San Francisco, when 
 he again returned to South Manchester and resumed 
 lihe management of his store, in which he has been 
 engaged ever since. In 1893, he purchased the 
 "American Hotel," at South J^Ianchester. Four 
 years later the house burned down, but he at once 
 rebuilt, and continued to conduct the hotel (at the 
 same time running his store) until 1898, when he 
 sold it in order to devote his whole time and energy 
 to his mercantile business. 
 
 On June 7, i865,]SIr. Hayes was married to Miss 
 Catherine Gorman, who died June 6, 1897. Polit- 
 ically our subject is a Republican, and in religious 
 faith a Catholic, attending St. James' Church, in 
 Manchester. The career of Mr. Hayes attords a 
 striking illustration of the possibilities which he 
 before industrv, when directed by intelligence, in- 
 teo-rity and a" fidelity to principle that has never 
 wavered. He has educated himself, and has made 
 his own fortune. That such men should succeed is 
 not surprising. Success is their birthright. 
 
 TH02\I-\S ROPER, of Newington, was born 
 on Capitol avenue, Hartford, Oct. 21, 1851, and is 
 of En<^lish descent. The name of Roper was a very 
 famihar one in England during the early part of 
 the seventeenth century, and members of the fam- 
 ilv were quite prominent there. Sir Thomas 
 Moore's daughter married a Roper, who was one of 
 the ancestors of our subject. The family have all 
 been o-reat readers and deep thinkers. 
 
 From England the branch of the family to which 
 our subject belongs went to Ireland on matters per- 
 taining to the government, and remained in that 
 countrv. At an earlv day his grandfather, Hugh 
 Roper,' a farmer by occupation, left Ireland and 
 came to the New World, locating in Hartford, 
 where he died when our subject was quite yourig. 
 One of his sons is now very prominent in the social 
 circles of Philadelphia, Penn. Thomas Roper, Sr., 
 father of our subject, was born in Ireland, and in 
 early life came with the family to America, taking 
 up liis residence in Hartford, where he passed away 
 Mav 19. 1883, at the age of sixtv-nine years, and 
 his 'remains were interred there. He was a ma- 
 chinist and a mechanical and stationary engineer 
 and was a member of Christ Episcopal Church of 
 Hartford. Fie married Miss Mary Conley, a lady 
 of Irish extraction. 
 
 During his bovhood and youth Thomas Koper. 
 Jr pursued his 'studies in the public schools of 
 
446 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Hartford, and there grew to manhood. On Aug. 
 19, 1885 he was united in marriage with Miss Ella 
 Helen Hamersley, a daughter of WiUiam James and 
 Laura Sophia (Cook) Hamersley, of Hartford. 
 She also traces her ancestry back to very promi- 
 nent English families, her father being a descend- 
 ant of the Earl of Dudley, and her mother's father 
 a descendant of the Earl of Leicester. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Roper have one son, Osmer, born on their 
 present farm in Newington, Nov. 7, 1888. He has 
 attended the West Middle school of Hartford, and 
 will eventually enter Trinity College. He is a very 
 bright, attractive boy, and will probably be edu- 
 cated for the medical profession. 
 
 Mr. Roper and his wife removed to Newington 
 soon after their marriage, and there he purchased a 
 fine farm of seventy acres, where they have a pleas- 
 ant home with most attractive surroundings. They 
 are prominent members of Grace Episcopal Church 
 of Newington, and their son is a member of the 
 Sunday-school. In national affairs, Mr. Roper 
 always supports the Republican party, but at local 
 elections votes for the man whom he believes best 
 qualified to fill the office. Like his ancestors he is 
 a great reader, not only of standard literature, but 
 keeps well posted on current events and topics and 
 issues of the day. He is a quiet, unassuming gen- 
 tleman, and stands deservedly high in the estimation 
 of his neighbors and friends. 
 
 PHINEAS COE STEVENS, a worthy repre- 
 sentative of the agricultural interests of East Hart- 
 land, and one of its honored and highly respected 
 citizens, was born in Durham, Conn., Dec. 17, 1831. 
 
 Our subject is a son of Ruel Stevens, a native 
 of Rockland, this State, where he was educated in 
 the common schools, and later followed farming. 
 Subsequently he Yved in Durham until 1834, when 
 he removed to Worington, Masj., and from there 
 went to Montgomery, Mass., where he was similarly 
 emplo}-ed for one year. Later he engaged in lum- 
 bering and operating a sawmill, in partnership with 
 our subject, in Granville, Mass., but spent his last 
 days in West Haven, New Haven Co., Conn., where 
 he died in 1882, being laid to rest in East Hart- 
 land cemetery, Hartland county. He was a very 
 industrious and enterprising man, well liked by all 
 who knew him, was a consistent member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and a Republican in 
 politics. In Hartland he was married to Miss 
 Louisa Coe, a native of that place, and a daughter 
 of Miles Coe, who belonged to an old and highly 
 respected family of Hartland. Our subject is the 
 eldest of the seven children born of this union, the 
 others being Sydney, now a resident of Indian 
 Orchard, Mass.; Laura, who died young; Fanny, 
 deceased wife of James Jones ; Susan, wife of Isaac 
 Wilier; Caroline, wife of George Frost, of New 
 Haven ; and Helen, wife of Edward Hinkley. The 
 wife and mother, who was an earnest member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church, was killed, in 1855, 
 
 by a runaway horse she was driving, and was buried 
 in East Hartland cemetery. Later the father mar- 
 ried Jane Case, of West Granby, Hartford county, 
 who died in 1894, and was buried in West Granby 
 cemetery. 
 
 During his boyhood Phineas C. Stevens attended 
 the union school in Hartland, the Hartland Acad- 
 emy, and the high school of Granville, Mass. Thus 
 he acquired a good education which has been of 
 much practical benefit to him in later years, and by 
 subsequent reading and observation has become well 
 posted on current events and the leading questions 
 and issues of the day. In early boyhood he became 
 interested with his father in the lumber business at 
 Granville, Mass., and for twenty-four years was a 
 managing partner in the business. In 1855 he locat- 
 ed in the town of Hartland, Hartford Co., Conn., 
 near the Massachusetts line, and has since devoted 
 his attention to agricultural pursuits with marked 
 success, being one of the- first tobacco growers in 
 that section, and still one of a few. He has made 
 extensive improvements upon his place, includi ig 
 the erection of a comfortable residence and good 
 barn, and ranks among the most skillful and thor- 
 ough farmers of the community. 
 
 In October, 1855, in Granville, Mass., Mr. Ste- 
 vens was united in marriage with Miss Harriett 
 M. Parsons, a native of West Granville, and a 
 daughter of Horace and Julia (Meacham) Parsons. 
 Three children were born of this union: (i) 
 Edward married Belle Dickinson, and died leaving 
 one child, Walter. (2) Alice first married Henry 
 Crocker, of Bangor, Maine, and after his death 
 wedded James Bean, of Belfast, Maine. She had 
 two children by the first marriage, Maude S. and 
 Hattie S. (3) Frederick D., who resides on the 
 home farm, married Adda Harger, of West Gran- 
 ville, and has three children, Edward, Blanch and 
 Rupert. 
 
 In addition to his private interests, Mr. Stevens 
 has given much time to local affairs, and has been 
 one of the most active workers of the Republican 
 party in his locality. He has been called upon to 
 fill a number of important political positions of 
 honor and trust, the duties of which he has most 
 capably and satisfactorily performed. In 1879 he 
 was elected to the State Legislature, and served for 
 one term ; has been selectman of Hartland eight 
 years, being first selectman seven years of the time; 
 has also been assessor, justice of the peace, a mem- 
 ber of the board of relief, and a member of the 
 grand jury. He and his family attend the Con- 
 gregational Church, and are held in high regard 
 by the entire community in which they live. 
 
 LION. P. D. RYAN. Among the well-known 
 buiness men of Hartford, who have demonstrated 
 what energy and pluck will accomplish, none are 
 more worthy of mention than Hon. P. D. Ryan, the 
 merchant tailor and general clothier at No. 76 
 Asylum street, Hartford. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 447 
 
 Mr. Ryan is a native of Ireland, born March 17, 
 1S41, and is a son of Daniel and Ann (Ferryman) 
 l\_\an. the former of wliom was a tailor by trade 
 in Ireland, where he passed all his days, dying at 
 the age of seventy years. They had a family of nine 
 children, five of whom are still living: Mary, in 
 Hartford; John, in Boston; Mrs. Peter Shaugh- 
 nessy, in Hartford ; 1'. D., our subject ; and James, 
 in England. The mother of these died in 1844, 
 and the father subsequently wedded Margaret Mc- 
 Andrew, by whom he had six children. 
 
 Mr. Ryan, the subject of this sketch, was edu- 
 cated in the National schools of Ireland, and while 
 yet a boy he went to England, where he learned the 
 trade of tailor, which he followed as a journeyman 
 until coming to America, Sept. 5, 1864. Shortly 
 after arriving in this country he located in Hart- 
 ford, and here followed his trade for a while, later 
 proceeding to New York State, where he remained 
 for a few years in the capacity of '"cutter." Return- 
 ing to Hartford in 1S76, he formed a partnership 
 with Mr. Mulcahy, in the clothing and tailoring 
 business, in a part of the store now occupied by 
 Mr. Mulcahy. This partnership was continued for 
 five years, when it expired by limitation, and was 
 dissolved. Mr. Ryan then started for himself in 
 the tailoring business, on Main street, in a building 
 which stood upon the present site of the Waverly 
 block. Here he remained until 1883, when he re- 
 moved to his present location, where he has since 
 remained. Here upon the first floor, he has his 
 stock of ready-made clothing, and various grades of 
 goods for custom work, the upper floor being used 
 for cutting and making goods to order. His busi- 
 ness has constantly increased, and he now employs 
 five clerks and a bookkeeper. With two exceptions, 
 he is the oldest tailor or clothier in the city, and one 
 of the best known. 
 
 In 1870 Mr. Ryan married Katherine Devery, 
 who was born in Hartford, and eight children were 
 born to this union, five of whom are living: Frank, 
 a cutter, in Boston ; Annie, who married Edward 
 Ahern, son of the prominent builder in Hartford ; 
 Mary, bookkeeper for her father; Harry, employed 
 by his father as a clerk ; and Katherine, at school. 
 The mother of these died in 1888, at the age of forty 
 years, and in 1891 Mr. Ryan married Katherine 
 Scanlon. 
 
 In politics Mr. Ryan is a Democrat, and in 1892 
 he was nominated and elected (unsolicited by him) to 
 the Legislature, serving to the entire satisfaction of 
 liis constituents. He has also been delegate to a 
 large number of State conventions. Perhaps it is 
 among the various Catholic societies in which Mr. 
 Ryan is best known, and the offices which he has 
 held in these arc probably the best indication of the 
 confidence placed in him by the large number of 
 members throughout the State. He was a charter 
 member of the Green Cross Council, Knights of 
 Columbus, of Hartford, and has been treasurer 
 He has also been a delegate 
 
 to the various State and National conventions, and 
 
 was the National treasurer of this organization for 
 twelve years, being si.x times re-elected. He paid 
 the first "death benefit" of this order, when it had 
 but nine hundred members, nearly a quarter of a 
 century ago, and has seen it grow until to-day its 
 membership numbers over thirty-five thousand. The 
 council in the city of Hartford is among the oldest 
 in the country, being the eleventh council in the 
 United States. For twenty-five years Air. Ryan 
 has been a member of the Ancient Order of Hibern- 
 ians, and for twelve years has been the State treas- 
 urer of this organization, having been six times re- 
 elected. He has also been a delegate to all of the 
 National conventions of tliis body for a great many 
 years. In each of these offices he has handled a 
 large amount of money ; in the Knights of Col- 
 umbus, in one year, $275,000 passed through his 
 hands. He has held office longer than any other 
 man now living, and with few exceptions is the old- 
 est living member of either organization. For many 
 years he was a member of the St. Patrick Society, 
 in which he took a prominent part, and was treas- 
 urer and secretary up to the time the order was 
 dissolved; also a member of the St. John's Society, 
 and has been secretary of same for twenty-five 
 years ; is also a member of the Emerald Society — in 
 fact, he has undoubtedly been more closely identified 
 with the Catholic societies of this city and State, and 
 taken a more prominent part in them, than any man 
 now living. His family all attend the Catholic 
 Church, and in St. Peter's, of which he is a mem- 
 ber, he has collected the pew rents for over twenty 
 years. Mr. Ryan has been engaged in real-estate 
 transactions to some extent, having built one brick 
 block and several houses in the city of Hartford. 
 
 TtlOAIAS E. LONGLEY, an honored and 
 highly respected citizen of West Hartford, was born 
 in Hawley, Franklin Co., Mass., Dec. 3, 1848, and 
 is a representative of one of the early families of 
 that place. 
 
 There his father, Elijah F. Longley, spent his 
 entire life, engaged in agricultural pursuits. He 
 was born May 13, 1810, and died Nov. 23, 1894. 
 On April 11, 1836, he married Miss Catherine T. 
 Conelison, who w^as born May 22, 1813, and died 
 Sept. 21, 1878. In their family \vere ten children: 
 Rebecca S., born June 23, 1837, died Aug. 15, 1837; 
 Edmund, born Sept. 19, 1838, died Sept. 7, 1863 ; 
 Ann Eliza, born Jan. 19, 1841, died Feb. 10, 1841 ; 
 Chiffenette, born Jan. 16, 1843, died April i, 1843; 
 Calvin E., born Dec. 23, 1843, died Nov. 23, 1846: 
 Josephine, born June 10, 1845, is the wife of Homer 
 F. Damon, of Berlin, Conn.; a son, born Nov. 10, 
 1847, died the following day ; Thomas E., our sub- 
 ject, is next in the family; Alary F., born Jan. 
 II, 1852, is the wife of Frederick Hawks, who lives 
 at No. 99 New Britain avenue, Hartford ; and 
 Wealthy E., born Feb. 14, 1856, is the wife of 
 George Williams, of Holyoke, Massachusetts. 
 
448 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Thomas E. Longley is indebted to the pubHc 
 schools of Hawley, Mass., for his educational priv- 
 ileges. He remained on the home farm with his 
 father until 1868, when he went to Charlemont, 
 Mass., and remained there a year and a half. The 
 following three years he passed in Greenfield, Mass., 
 and in January, 1876, came to Hartford, Conn. For 
 twenty years he was connected with the Retreat 
 for the Insane, and for thirteen years of that time 
 was foreman of the farm, a position which he most 
 capably and satisfactorily filled. Resigning on ac- 
 count of ill health, in 1896, he removed to the Fuller 
 farm, in West Hartford, where he is now practically 
 living retired. 
 
 On Oct. I, 1879, Mr. Longley was united in 
 marriage with Miss Lizzie A. Tuttle, a daughter 
 of Alfred and Anna E. (Moore) Tuttle. Her great- 
 grandfather Moore and his father-in-law, Mrs. 
 Longley's great-great-grandfather Wells, were 
 both colonels in the Revolutionary war. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Longley have three children : Raymond L, 
 born Oct. 10, 1885; Lottie L., Nov. 24, 1888; and 
 Leslie Robert, Nov. 2, 1895. 
 
 DWIGHT N. HEWES, of Hartford, who is 
 well known in business circles as secretary of the 
 Mellen & Hewes Co., and president of the Hart- 
 ford Business Men's Association, was born Aug. 
 5, 1854, in Suffield, Conn. He comes of good New 
 England stock, and his great-grandfather, Nathaniel 
 Hewes, was born Feb. 24, 1747, in Brookfield, Mass. 
 He died Dec. 16, 1808, at Lyme, N. H. He mar- 
 ried Sarah Freeman, who was born Nov. 16, 1749. 
 at Mansfield, Conn., and died March 26, 1851, at 
 Lyme, N. H., aged one hundred and one years, 
 four months, and ten days. They had ten children : 
 Kezia, born Nov. 9, 177S; Mindell, Jan. 11, 1778; 
 Theoda, Dec. 5, 1780; Abigail, June 11, 1782; John 
 Freeman, March 15, 1784; Olive, July 3, 1786; Syl- 
 vanus, May 8, 1789; Sarah, June 29, 1791 ; Ehza- 
 beth, Dec. 6, 1793; Moody, May 31, 1795. The 
 last named, who was the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was a native of Lyme, N. H., and made his 
 home there. He married Susan Hurlburt. 
 
 Nathaniel Hewes, the father of our subject, was 
 born in Lyme, N. H., in 1823, but removed to Suf- 
 field, Conn., in early manhood, to engage in farm- 
 ing. There he married Miss Emeline Gambol, 
 daughter of Hiram Gambol, a well-known resident 
 of Suffield. Since her death, in 1888, he has spent 
 a portion of his time with our subject in Hartford, 
 and the remainder with his other children. Of 
 their three children, (i). George M. (deceased) 
 married Miss Lizzie Gemmill, and had one son, 
 George M., Jr., now a resident of Enfield, Conn. 
 (2) Dwight Nathaniel is mentioned more fully 
 below. (3) Genevia S. married John F. Brockett, 
 of Suffield, Conn., and has had four children, Daisy, 
 Nellie, Frank and Fred. 
 
 Dwight N. Hewes spent his early years in Suf- 
 field, where he attended the public schools, and he 
 began his business career in Thompsonville, Conn., 
 
 as bookkeeper for David Woodruff. Later he went 
 to Mt. Sterling, Ohio, as clerk in a store, but re- 
 mained for a short time only, and in 1878 he lo- 
 cated in Hartford, and engaged with James G. 
 Welles & Co., No. 2J, Asylum street, as traveUng 
 salesman. In 1880 he became connected with C. 
 F. Hurd & Co., on Main street, the firm name being 
 changed later to Hurd & Mellen, and on March i, 
 1890, he bought an interest, the firm becoming 
 known as Hurd, Mellen & Hewes. In 1896 the 
 firm became the Mellen & Hewes Co., and the pres- 
 ent officers are M. Mellen, president; D. N. Hewes, 
 secretary ; and Frank G. Mellen, treasurer. In 1880 
 and 1896 Mr. Hewes traveled in the interests of the 
 firm, but his work has been connected mainly with 
 the local trade. The Mellen & Hewes Co. occupy 
 a store and basement 280 feet deep, and a store- 
 house at the corner of Valley and Terry streets, and 
 their business, which was established about sixty 
 years ago, is conducted on a large scale in both 
 wholesale and retail lines. 
 
 Mr. Hewes was married, in Hartford, Nov. 14, 
 1882, to Miss Fannie A. Wilcox, daughter of Capt. 
 William and Mary Wilcox, of East Hartford, Conn. 
 They have one daughter, Marion Hewes, aged five 
 years; Ruth Isabel died Aug. 27, 1885, aged two 
 years, seven months. Mr. Hewes has been presi- 
 dent of the Hartford Business Men's Association 
 for the past two years, and is a director of the 
 Hartford Board of Trade, and although fond of 
 domestic recreation he takes an active interest in the 
 work of the Royal Arcanum, and is also a member 
 of the Veteran Corps of Company K, Connecticut 
 National Guard, and of the Hartford Yacht Club, 
 and Hartford Revolver Club. He attends the Asy- 
 lum Avenue Baptist Church. 
 
 TUTTLE. The Tuttle family, from_ which de- 
 scended William Frederick and the venerable Sam^ 
 uel I. Tuttle, of the firm of S. Tuttle & Sons 
 Hartford, is one of the oldest New England fa: 
 ilies, they being in the seventh generation from^ 
 William Tuttle, the American ancestor. The line 
 of descent is through Joseph, Joseph (2), Joseph 
 (3), Samuel and Samuel (2). 
 
 (I) William Tuttle, his wife Elizabeth, and fam- 
 ily sailed in the "Planter" from England in 1635, 
 locating in New Haven. His age at the time of 
 sailing was given as twent3'-six. Himself and wife 
 passed the rest of their lives in that city, she dying 
 in 1684, aged seventy-six. Mr. Tuttle was the 
 equal socially of any of the colonists. He was a 
 man of courage, enterprise, intelligence, probity and 
 piety. His children were : John, Hannah, Thomas, 
 Jonathan, David, Joseph, Sarah, Elizabeth, Simon, 
 Benjamin, Mercy and Nathaniel. 
 
 (II) Joseph Tuttle, son of William, baptized in 
 1640, in New Haven, married, in 1667, Hannah, 
 daughter of Capt. Thomas Munson. He died in 
 1690, and his widow later married Nathan Brad- 
 ley. She died Nov. 30, 1695. Joseph Tuttle's chil- 
 dren were : Joseph, Samuel, Stephen, Joanna, 
 
 ie-M 
 m^H 
 
L-^'t^-^^^^^,.^ 
 
(0%jr,A J J27I^- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 449 
 
 Timothy, Susanna, Elizabeth, Hannah ami Han- 
 nah (2). 
 
 (Ill) Joseph Tuttle (2), son of Joseph, horn in 
 if)()8, married, in Milford, Conn., in lOyi, Eliza- 
 beth Sanford, born in 1671, daughter of Thomas 
 and Elizabeth (Paine) Sanford. Mr. Tuttle was 
 prominent and active in local atifairs. His chil- 
 dren were: Joseph, Xoah, Catherine, Elizabeth 
 and Thankftil. 
 
 (1\') Joseph Tuttle (3), son of Joseph (2), 
 born in 1692, married (first) JNlercy Thompson, 
 daughter of John (3) and Mercy (Manstield) 
 Thompson. She died in 1743, and he married 
 (second) Widow Sarah Washburn. He died Jan. 
 16. 17O1. He was captain of the train-band in 
 East Haven, and was quartermaster of troops in 
 the Second Regiment in 1742. He was several 
 times elected moderator, and was at various times 
 school committeeman. His children were: Joel, 
 Mary, Amy, Mercy, Comfort, Joseph, Samuel, Jo- 
 seph (2). Amy (2) and Benjamin. 
 
 (V) Samuel Tuttle, son of Joseph (3), born in 
 1741, married, in 1761, Bethia Miles, daughter of 
 Theophilus Allies. He resided in East Haven, on 
 land that came to him by will of his father. He 
 opposed the British raid on New Haven in July, 
 1779, but seeing the day was lost endeavored to 
 save some of his goods, which he had loaded on a 
 cart and was trying to conceal, when he was cap- 
 tured, taken to New York, and kept a prisoner about 
 six months, finallv escaping. He died in East Ha- 
 ven in 1817, his wife in 1802. Their children were: 
 Amasa, Samuel, Bethia Miles, Samuel Ainmi, Sarah 
 Miles, Bethia. Samuel, Ammi Miles, Zurviah, Phebe 
 Anna, Eunicia and Frederick William. 
 
 (\T) Samuel Tuttle (2), son of Samuel, born 
 June 23, 1773. died July 5, 1850. He married 
 Betsey Hotchkiss, who was born May 2, 1779. 
 daughter of Isaac and Lydia (Fields) Hotchkiss, 
 and died Aug. 2, 1831. She was also a descendant 
 of ^^'illiam Tuttle. Their children were: Esther 
 Rowe, born Jan. 25, 1801, died July 2, 1873: Miles 
 -Ammi, born Dec. 21, 1802, died in Paris, France, 
 Oct. 26, 1858; Samuel Hotchkiss, born March 19, 
 1805, died Dec. 19, 1806, and is buried in Bloom- 
 field, Conn.; Sally, born Feb. 13. 1807, died Ma}' 
 19, 1816; Samuel Hotchkiss (2), born Feb. 19, 
 
 1809, died Sept. 15, 1809; Betsey, born June 24. 
 
 1810, died Xov. 24, 1810: William Frederick, born 
 April 8, 1812, is mentioned below; Sarah Elizabeth, 
 born May 11, 1816. married Dr. Gurdon W. Rus- 
 sell, of Hartford, and died July 16, 1871 ; Samuel 
 Isaac, born Dec. 16, 1819, is referred to farther on; 
 and Rev. Ruel Hotchkiss, born July 16, 1824, mar- 
 ried, in Boston, Mass., Sarah A. Crompton, and 
 died" in Windsor Aug. 13, 1887. Of these. Miles 
 A. was a prominent business man, a director of 
 the ,E;tna Insurance Co., the Farmers & Mechanics 
 Bank, and the Hartford Flospital, and a trustee of 
 the Society for Savings. He was a member of 
 Cb.rist Church. 
 
 29 
 
 (\11) WlI.l.lA.M I'UICUERICK TL"ni.E. .son of 
 Sanuiel (2), was born A])ril 8, 1812, in Hartford. 
 He attended the Center school and Xathaniel Pat- 
 ten's Literary School, from which he was graduated 
 at the age of fifteen years. At the age of twenty- 
 one he became a member of the firm of S. Tuttle 
 & Sons, from which he retired in 1858. He was a 
 director of the /Etna Fire Insurance Co., and of 
 the F'armers & Mechanics National Bank for thirty- 
 seven years. He was also director of the Retreat 
 for the Insane, auditor of accounts for same, and 
 a director of the Hartford Hospital. A prominent 
 member of Christ Church, he served as warden and 
 vestryman for many years. He was a lieutenant 
 of the I'oot Ciuard, and a member of the N'cteran 
 .Vssociation. On Nov. I, 1838, Mr. Tuttle mar- 
 -■ied Sarah, daughter of Jonathan Ramsey, of 1 lart- 
 ford. Their four children were: Sarah, born Sept. 
 19, 1841, died Sept. 24, 1841 ; Catherine, born 
 April 10, 1843, died Sept. 20, 1846; Grace, born 
 Dec. 16, 1846, died Jan. 31, 1883; Jane, born June 
 ('), 1848, is a member of the Daughters of the Rev- 
 olution. . The father died I'eb. 22, 1895, the mother 
 June 9, 1895. 
 
 (\TI) S.\MUEL Isaac Tuttle, son of Samuel 
 (2), born in Hartford Dec. 16. 1819, married, 
 iVIarch 31, 1842. in Hartford, Louisa Ramsey, 
 daughter of Jonathan and Sarah (Allyn) Ramsey. 
 She was born Jul\- 14, 1820, and died March 22, 
 1899. The children born to this marriage were: 
 Ellen, born Dec. 11, 1843, married, Nov. 2, 1864, 
 D. Waldo Johnson, of New York, who died June 
 21, 1900: their only child, Waldo Tuttle Johnson, 
 married Emma Crozier, of Philadelphia, and they 
 liaY,e had four children, Roy (who died in infancy), 
 Ethel (deceased), Arthur C. and Sydney Gilbert. 
 Louisa, born May 30, 1S48, died Aug. 28, 1851. 
 Alice Gertrude was born Sept. 3, 1855. Samuel 
 William was born Oct. 18, 1857, and since 1884 
 has engaged in the quarry business in Portland, 
 Conn. : he was married there. May 27, 1897, to Miss 
 Annie E. Strong, daughter of Ellsworth Strong. 
 Samuel Isaac Tuttle spent his school days in Hart- 
 ford. Pie engaged in business with his father and 
 bi^others Miles A. and William F., under the firm 
 name of S. Tuttle & Sons, dealing in grindstones, 
 gypsum, seeds and groceries. 
 
 The Ramsey family came from Londonderry, 
 Ireland, and settled in Londonderry, N. H.. in 
 1720, the first ancestor in this country being Hugh 
 Ramsey, who married Mary ]\[oore. Jonatiian 
 Ramsey, the grandfather of Mrs. William F. and 
 Mrs. Samuel I. Tuttle, was married, in 1786, to 
 Mary Chadwick, of Tyringham, Mass., and came 
 to Hartford same year. He was born Sept. 9, 1757, 
 and died at Hartford Sept. 12, 1805. being laid 
 to rest in the old Center Church yard. He was 
 an early member of Christ Church, He kept a 
 hotel at the corner of Pearl and IMain streets. 
 
 Jonathan Ramsey, father of Mrs. Samuel Isaac 
 and Mrs. ^\'illiam F. Tuttle. was born in Hartford 
 
450 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 May 20, 1787, and died July 23, 1832. He kept 
 a livery in the city. He married Sarah Allyn, 
 daughter of Fitz John Allyn, of Windsor, who was 
 a descendant of Matthew Allyn, one of the founders 
 of that town, and also of Hartford; he was one of 
 the custodians of the old charter. The children of 
 Jonathan and Sarah (Allyn) Ramsey were as fol- 
 lows: Jonathan, born Dec. 13, 1813, died Feb. 
 15, 1884. Harriet, born Sept. 19, 1815, died Nov. 
 25, 1817. Sarah, born Dec. 3, 1817, married Will- 
 iam F. Tuttle, and died June 9, 1895. Louisa, born 
 July 14, 1820, married Samuel Isaac Tuttle, and 
 died ]\Iarch 22, 1899. Mary, born June 29, 1822, 
 married James M. Loomis, of Hartford. William, 
 born Oct. 14, 1825, married Eliza Simpson in March, 
 1855, ^"d died in 1898; he is buried in Thompson- 
 ville, Conn. Maria, born Sept. 26, 1828, died Oct. 
 31, 1828. 
 
 Jonathan Ramsey (3) married Lucy jNI. Briggs 
 Jan. 3, 1837. He died Feb. 15, 1884. Children: 
 Lucy Jane, widow of William Rogers, of Hartford ; 
 Mary Goodwin, who died young ; Jonathan, Jr. ; 
 Alice Emma, who died March 15, 1896; James 
 Crosby ; Anna Cunningham, who died Nov. 2, 1882, 
 wife of Edward Childs, of Lee, Mass. ; Martha ; 
 and Rose Ella, wife of Frank Tarbox, of Hartford. 
 
 JARED BUTLER STANDISH was born in 
 Wethersfield, Sept. 4, 1866, a son of James and 
 Jerusha (Griswold) Standish, well-known citizens 
 of that place, who are represented elsewhere. 
 
 Mr. Standish was educated in the district schools 
 of the town, later attending a private school taught 
 by Miss Sarah Woodhouse, and completing his edu- 
 cation in the Wethersfield Academ}'. At the age of 
 sixteen he was apprenticed to A. Mngford, of Hart- 
 ford, to learn the art of wood-engraving and illus- 
 trating. He has since been in the employ of that 
 firm as a master workman with the exception of two 
 years, when he engaged in the stationery-engraving 
 business on his own account. At the end of that 
 time he returned to the firm, with whom he is still 
 connected, as half-tone copper-plate finisher, con- 
 tinuing his former business for some years. 
 
 At Bridgewater, Vt., Mr. Standish was married, 
 Jan. 30, 1895, to Miss Martha Louise Perkins, a 
 native of that place, and a daughter of Charles and 
 Eliza Mary (Densmore) Perkins, who were also 
 born in Vermont but are now living in Wethers- 
 field, Conn. By this union one child, Erland Myles, 
 was born, Oct. 13, 1896. Mrs. Standish and her 
 husband attend the services of the Congrega- 
 tional Church, and also belong to Wethersfield 
 Grange. He is now serving as first lieutenant of 
 Troop A, Governor's Horse Guards. Politically 
 he is quite liberal in his views. He is domestic in 
 his tastes and is very fond of his home and family. 
 In 1894 Mr. Standish erected a pleasant residence 
 on Hartfoi'd avenue, Wethersfield, supplied with 
 modem improvements, and furnished in a tasteful 
 manner. 
 
 HOWARD DAVID GORDON, traveling sales- 
 man for Gordon Brothers, Hazardville, was born 
 in Enfield, Hartford county, Sept. 28, 1870, a son 
 of David and Fidelia M. (Woodworth) Gordon. 
 
 David Gordon, his father, is a member of the 
 firm of Gordon Brothers, and one of the most 
 prominent business men of Hazardville. He is a 
 native of Scotland, and when a child of four years, 
 in 1844, was brought to America by his parents, 
 William and Jean Gordon. William Gordon was 
 an industrious and skillful weaver, and for many 
 years were actively connected with the woolen indus- 
 tries of Hazardville. David Gordon, in his youth, 
 accjuired the tinner's trade, and in 1861, as soon 
 as he had reached his majority, started with two 
 partners a small tinner's business, which grew into 
 the present large and prosperous trade of Gordon 
 Brothers. 
 
 Howard D. Gordon, our subject, was reared to 
 manhood in the village of Hazardville. He was 
 graduated from the Connecticut Literar)' Institute 
 in June, 1888, and from Wesleyan Unrversity, at 
 Middletown, Conn., in 1892. Since that time, with 
 the exception of two years, when he was salesman 
 for a Boston importing house, he has been a travel- 
 ing salesman for Gordon Brothers, of Hazardville. 
 
 Mr. Gordon was married, .Oct. 2, 1895, to Hattie 
 Gertrude Kelsey, of West Roxbury, Mass. Mr. 
 Gordon and his wife are members of the M. E. 
 Church of Hazardville. He is a Republican in poli- 
 tics, and has served one year as a member of the 
 Enfield school board. He is a member of the Beta 
 Theta Pi college fraternity. 
 
 ANTONIO C. KING, a well-known farmer 
 and milk dealer of West Hartford, is one of the 
 self-made men of Hartford count}', his success in 
 life being due to his own industry, perseverance and 
 economy, and the exercise of a naturally good judg- 
 ment, both in regard to agricultural pursuits and 
 business matters. 
 
 Mr. King was born Oct. 2, 1&64, on the Azores 
 Islands, where his father, Antonio King, has spent 
 his entire life, and is still engaged in farming there. 
 Our subject was reared and educated in his native 
 land, remaining there until fourteen years of age, 
 when he went to sea, and for three -s-ears was engaged 
 in the whaling business. On Aug. 7, 1882, he landed 
 in New Bedford, Mass., and shortly afterward 
 came to West Hartford, Conn., where he found em- 
 ployment with M. R. Brazos. He started for Cali- 
 fornia Feb. 3, 1885, and spent the following two 
 years in railroading, lumbering and farming on the 
 Pacific coast. Returning to Connecticut April 9, 
 1887, he resumed work with Mr. Brazos, in West 
 Hartford, and on Nov. i, 1888, established a milk 
 route. In the spring of 1893 he bought the Brazos 
 farm, and has since successfully operated it on his 
 own account. He was made a voter in West Hart- 
 ford in 1888, and has since supported the Republi- 
 can party. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 451 
 
 In Thompsonville, Conn., June 6, 1889, Mr. 
 King married -Mrs. Kate (.McDonald) O'Toole, and 
 they liave two children : I'rank C, born May 30, 
 jS()I ; and Mary C, born April 28, 1894. Mrs. 
 King first married Charles O'Toole, who died leav- 
 ing two sons: Philip, born Jan. 13, 1879; ^""^ 
 Charles, born June 25, j88o. In December, 1898, 
 both enlisted in Company L, 1st United States In- 
 fantry, for three \ears' service, and at present arc 
 located at I'inar Del Rio, Cuba. 
 
 ALLEN PEASE. Any ambitious youth who 
 may read this brief history of a successful career 
 cannot fail to draw from it some helpful sugges- 
 tion, but chief among them will be the lesson of 
 wise persistence in a calling, when once chosen. The 
 subject of our sketch, a leading merchant of Windsor 
 Locks, represents a fine type of citizenship, his en- 
 ergv and enterprise -having won him a substantial 
 :ompetence, while he also takes a progressive stand 
 in matters of public spirit. 
 
 yiv. Pease comes of good Colonial stock ; his 
 grandfather, Israel Pease, a Revolutionary soldier, 
 ivas a native of Enfield, this county, and followed 
 agriculture there. Wells Pease, our subject's fa- 
 :her, was born in Enfield, and was engaged in farm- 
 ing there in early manhood, but in 1863 he removed 
 ;o P'otjuonock. As a citizen he was much re- 
 spected, and throughout his life he was a stanch 
 idherent of the Democratic party. He was married, 
 n Enfield, to Miss Betsey Pease, daughter of Isaac 
 Pease, a well-known citizen, and their last days 
 ivere spent in Poquonock, both dying in 1873. 
 
 Allen Pease was born March 22, 1846, in the 
 :o\vn of Enfield, and received a practical education 
 n the public schools of the locality. At the time of 
 :iie removal of the family to Poquonock he was 
 ibout eighteen years of age, and in 1865 he began 
 lis business career as a clerk in a general store, for 
 ;he firm of Hathaway & Mosler. In 1873, having 
 gained a knowledge of business methods, he located 
 It ^^'indsor Locks, and engaged in the stove and 
 inware business with his brother Alvah. occupying 
 I small room at his present store building, corner 
 )f Main and Oak streets. In 1878 they purchased 
 he furniture business of C. W. Watrous, which they 
 :ontinued in connection with their former enterprise, 
 md since the death of Alvah Pease, in February, 
 8S3, Allen Pease has carried on the store alone, 
 n 1S91 he bought the store building and lot, and 
 n 1893 built a fifty-food addition in the rear of the 
 itore. At present he is using three floors, with the 
 ixccption of the front room on the second floor, 
 vhich is used by the Wheel Club. Mr. Pease is in- 
 erested in other business enterprises in his town, in- 
 luding the electric light company, the water com- 
 )any. and the bridge company. He has been fre- 
 [uently chosen for office, having served four years 
 IS selectman, two years as justice of the peace, and 
 welve years as a member of the school board. 
 
 On May 6, 1874, Mr. Pease was married at Po- 
 
 quonock to Miss Catherine Smith, a native of that 
 village, and they have had five clever sons, who give 
 promise of rivaling their father in business ability : 
 Erank A. and Pioward S. are employed in the store ; 
 Willis L. is connected with the Connecticut Life 
 Insurance Co., at Hartford ; Nelson G. is a student 
 in a business college at Hartford ; and Everett Lin- 
 coln is at home. Socially Mr. Pease and his wife 
 are popular, and for twenty-seven years he has 
 been an active member of Washington Lodge, A. 
 F. & A. M., at Windsor. lie is a leading worker 
 in the Congregational Church at Windsor Locks, 
 in which he has served as deacon for five years 
 and committeeman for twenty years. 
 
 PETER RR'AL, a skilled machinist in the em- 
 ploy of the Colt ^Manufacturing Co., of Hartford, 
 and also a tobacco grower at Hockanum, Hartford 
 county, is a native of Rhine Province, Germany, 
 born June 20, 1853. 
 
 Frank Rival, father of Peter, and a native of the 
 same province, served fifteen years in the German 
 army, and afterward was collector of customs fur 
 fifty years, when he was pensioned, and passed the 
 latter part of his life in retirement. His death took 
 place in Coblentz in 1898. To his marriage with 
 Anna Rose were born five children : Matilda, mar- 
 ried to Matthew Zimmerman, a retired mechanic, 
 living in New Britain, Conn. ; Mary, married to 
 John March, and living in Germany; Peter, our 
 subject; Susannah, wife of Peter Rose, a farmer in 
 German}^ ; and Angelica, married to Peter \\'euhert, 
 also in Germany. 
 
 Peter Rival received the usual German common- 
 school education, and learned his trade of machin- 
 ist at Killian. After serving three vears in the 
 army, he worked at various places in France, Switz- 
 erland and Germany, and, being an excellent me- 
 chanic, received good wages, at the rate wages 
 were estimated in the old country. In 1881 he 
 sailed from Hamburg in the '"Weasel," and after a 
 voyage of fifteen days landed in New York City, 
 whence he came direct to New Britain, Conn., where 
 his sister, Mrs. Alatilde Zimmerman, was living. 
 Here he worked in the Stanley shop for some 
 months, and later in the Orlando works, until the 
 latter part of 1882, when he w^as employed at Colt's 
 factory, in Hartford, and has held his situation there 
 ever since, his work being in the "assembling" room. 
 As he is a skilled machinist and good "a-11-round"' 
 workman, he is frequentlv sent out to repair or set 
 up work the company has turned out, principally 
 printing presses, at regulating which he is an adept. 
 
 ^^'hile a resident of New Britain Mr. Rival mar- 
 ried, lulv 15, 1S82. Miss Mary Stilz, who was born 
 in Germany ^lav 8, 1852, and came to the United 
 States in 1871. The children born to this union are 
 six in number: ?\Iatthias, born .-Kpril i, 1883, now 
 working with his father at Colt's factory : Charles, 
 born Jan. 29, 1884, died March 9, 1885, and is in- 
 terred at Hartford; John, born Aug. 27, 1886; 
 
452 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Peter, June 3, 1889; Frank, Oct. 31, 1891 ; and 
 Ann Matilda, March 9, 1894. 
 
 Mr. Rival bought his farm of eighteen acres in 
 Hockanum in October, 1891, and of this place he 
 sets apart four acres for the raising of tobacco. 
 In politics he is independent of parties, and votes 
 for the candidates best suited for the offices to be 
 filled, as far as his judgment points out. In his 
 social relations he is a member of Herman Lodge, 
 I\'o. 16, K. of P., of Hartford, and of the I. O. O. F., 
 belonging to New Britain Lodge and Capital City 
 Encampment, No. 7. The family attend the German 
 Catholic Church at Hartford, and are highly es- 
 teemed both within and without the pale of the 
 church. 
 
 WILLIAM SHERMAN WARD, one of the 
 most progressive citizens of Plantsville, and the 
 elficient superintendent for the firm of H. D. Smith 
 & Co., at that place, was born in Fairfield, Conn., 
 Jan. 22, 1842, a son of Benjamin W. and Susan 
 (Blakeman) Ward. The father, a native of eastern 
 Connecticut, left home in July, 1842, and was last 
 heard from at Cape Town, South Africa. His 
 children were George and William S. The paternal 
 grandfather of our subject was Benjamin Ward, of 
 eastern Connecticut, and the maternal grandfather 
 was Edward Blakeman, of Stratfield, Fairfield 
 Co., Conn., where he followed the trade of black- 
 smith. 
 
 Our subject received a common-school education, 
 and in 1858 began learning the machinist's trade 
 in Bridgeport, serving an apprenticeship of three 
 and one-half years. In April, 1861, he enlisted as 
 a musician in Company H, ist Conn. V. I., took 
 part in the battle of Bull Run; and was honorably 
 discharged in July of the same year. In August, 
 1862, he re-enlisted at Seymour, Conn., as a mu- 
 sician in Company H, 20th Conn. V. I., and with 
 his command participated in the battles of Chancel- 
 lorsville and GettyslDurg, later joining Gen. Sher- 
 man's army at Chattanooga, marching with him to 
 the sea and taking part in all the engagements of 
 that campaign. Mr. Ward was taken prisoner at 
 Fayetteville, N. C, March 14, 1865, and sent to 
 Libby prison, where he remained three weeks. On 
 being paroled he was sent home, where he arrived 
 April 15, 1865, but he afterward took part in the 
 great parade of _the army of the Potomac at Wash- 
 ington, D. C, and was honorably discharged from 
 the service in May, 1865. Since the war he has been a 
 resident of Southington, with the exception of five 
 years spent in Newark, N. J., with H. M. Strieby, 
 manufacturer of carriage hardware. He is now a 
 member of the firm of H. D. Smith & Co., manu- 
 facturers of carriage hardware at Southington, and 
 has been superintendent of the factory since 1883. 
 Being a practical machinist, and having a thorough 
 understanding of every department of the business, 
 he has most capably and satisfactorily filled his 
 present responsible position. 
 
 In April, 1866, Mr. Ward was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Caroline E. Smith, a daughter of 
 James H. and Sarah (Munger) Smith, of Litchfield,, 
 and to them have been born four children : Emma. 
 S., now the wife of Albert H. Botsford ; William 
 S. ; and Iva A., living; and Alice F., who died in 
 1880. Mr. Ward is a member of the Plantsville 
 Congregational Church, and of F"riendship Lodge, 
 No. 33, F. & A. M. ; Triune Chapter, No. 40, R. A. 
 M. ; Trumbull Post, No. 16, G. A. R. ; and the 
 Order of United American Mechanics. The Re- 
 publican party finds in him a stanch supporter of its 
 principles, and he is now one of the ex-wardens of 
 Southington borough. He has also filled the office 
 of burgess for two years, and is eminently public- 
 spirited and progressive, as well as a genial, cour- 
 teous gentleman. 
 
 HON. CHARLES ABBOTT THOMPSON,,^ 
 junior member of the well-known firm of J. A. ^ 
 Thompson & Son, of Melrose, is an enterprising 
 and able business man, and although his residence 
 is "over the line" in the town of Ellington, Tolland 
 county, his extensive interests here make him prac- 
 tically a citizen of Hartford county. The firm, of 
 which his father was the founder, does a large 
 and constantly increasing business in the manu- 
 facture of cider, cider vinegar and apple jelly, the 
 product being shipped to fill parts of the United 
 States. 
 
 The Thompson family has been identified with 
 the town of Ellington, Tolland county, from an 
 early date. Samuel Thompson, our subject's great- 
 great-grandfather, and a native of that town, mar- 
 ried Elizabeth McKinney, who died in 1776, in her 
 ninetieth year; he died in 1782, in his ninety-first 
 year. 
 
 Samuel Thompson (2), the great-grandfather 
 of our subject, was born in the town of Ellington, 
 and died in 181 5, in his eighty-seventh year. He 
 made his home upon the farm now occupied by 
 our subject, which he inherited from his father, 
 who bought it. in 1741. He married Eleanor Mc- 
 Cray, who died in 1850, at the age of ninety-four. 
 
 Samuel Thompson (3) was married, in No- 
 vember, 1809, to Mary Ellsworth, who died in 
 January, 1868, aged seventy-eight years. He dicil 
 June 22, 1875, aged ninet)'-three years. 
 
 Hon. J. Abbott Thompson, our subject's fa- 
 ther, and the head of the firm, was born at the old 
 homestead April 29, 1828, and was educated in the 
 common schools of the town and at the high school 
 of Ellington. For some time he was interested in 
 the manufacture of cider, in partnership with his 
 father, and in 1863 he established the present plant 
 at Melrose, beginning on a small scale. He is prom- 
 inent in public aft'airs, having been elected in 1874, 
 in 1882, again in 1884 as a representative from the 
 town of Ellington in the State Legislature. On 
 Oct. 20, 1863, he married Miss Mabel Clark, a na- 
 tive of Enfield, daughter of Charles and Dorotliy 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 453 
 
 < Kinij) Clark. :\ui\ graiidilauglUer of Cajit. julm 
 Kinji, of JCntu'Ul, this county. .Mr. and Mrs. 
 Thompson have three children : Charles Abbott ; 
 Alice C, wife of Arthur H. Rice, of Pittsfiekl, 
 Mass., who has one son, William Thompson; and 
 Fannie Ellsworth. 
 
 Charles A. Thompson was born r\lay 8, 1861, at 
 the old farm in the town of Ellington, and after 
 completing a course in the local schools attended 
 Willistoii Academy, at East Hampton, Mass., where 
 lie graduated in 1881. His energy and sound judg- 
 ment are recognized factors in the success of the 
 firm, and he is also president of the Ellington Build- 
 ing & Loan Association, and treasurer of the local 
 agricultural society. Politically he is a Republican, 
 and in the fall of 1896 he was elected to the Legis- 
 lature from the town of Ellington, being a member 
 of the house in 1897 and 1899. In November, 
 3900, he was elected senator from the 24th district 
 of Connecticut, carrying every town in his district. 
 For some vears he has been an active worker in the 
 local Grange, and he and his wife are leading mem- 
 bers of the Congregational Church of Ellington. 
 His interest in educational progress led him to 
 serve for five years on the town school board, and 
 since 1896 he has been president of the Ellington 
 Library Association, while in 1897 he was ap- 
 pointed treasurer of the State Board of Agricult- 
 ure, on which he is still serving, and is treasurer of 
 the board. 
 
 Dn Dec. 9, 1886, Mr. Thompson married Miss 
 Uella Snow, of Ellington, daughter of Otis and 
 Mary (Chapman) Snow, and they have two chil- 
 dren: Mallei, born Dec. 13, 1895; and Abbott 
 Uradford, l)orn Jan. I, 1898. 
 
 (JLL\' SIMEON OLMSTED, a prominent 
 farmer of Enfield, was born on the old Olmsted 
 homestead, where he now resides, Nov. 22, 1857, 
 and is a son of Obediah and Hannah ( Bartlett) 
 Olmsted, both natives of Enfield, a grandson of 
 Simeon and Abigail (Collins) Olmsted, of Enfield, 
 and a great-grandson of Simeon and Roxalana 
 (Abbe) C)lmsted, and of Eliphalet and Abigail 
 (Abbe) Collins, all pioneers of Enfield. To Simeon 
 and Abigail (Collins) Olmsted, grandparents of our 
 subject, were born eight children : Mary, Mrs. 
 Charles Kellogg: Abigail, Mrs. Aaron Wood; 
 Lathrop; Erastus ; Simeon; Arnold: Miranda, 
 Mrs. Elam Allen; and Obediah, the youngest, and 
 the father of our subject. 
 
 Obediah Olmsed was born in Enfield July 13, 
 1S16. He married, Nov. 28, 1839, Hannah, daughter 
 of Jonathan and Hannah ( King) Bartlett, of Enfield, 
 a granddaughter of Jonathan and ^largaret (Har- 
 per) Bartlett, and a great-granddaughter of James 
 Harper of East Windsor. To Obediah and Han- 
 nah Olmsted were born three children : Lurana H., 
 deceased: Frederick B., deceased: and Olin Simeon. 
 Frederick 15. married Flora Sheridan, of Thomp- 
 sonville, daughter of Timothv Sheridan, and had 
 
 three children, namely: Elmer S., Mabel and Fred- 
 erick L. 
 
 Olin Simeon Olmsted, our subject, was reared on 
 the homestead. He received a good common-school 
 education, and completed his studies by taking the 
 commercial course at Wilbraham Academy, Wil- 
 braliam, Mass., graduating in the class of 1878. 
 Mr. Olmsted has made farming his life vocation, 
 and he has conducted the old home farm since 1884. 
 On Oct. 16, of that year, he married Emma, daugh- 
 ter of Mason W. and Louisa C. (Mead) Sharp, of 
 Elmira, N. 'N'. To our subject and wife have been 
 born four children : Ethel Louise, Emma Celia, 
 Lyman Wesley and Stella Pearl. Mr. and ^Irs. 
 Olmsted arc members of the M. E. Church. In 
 politics our subject is a Reijublican, and he has 
 served two terms as a member of the school board 
 of Enfield. 
 
 CHARLES FREDERICK HUTT, a thrifty and 
 successful agriculturist, residing at Addison, has 
 made his way through his own exertions, seconded 
 by the help of a devoted and industrious wife. 
 Coming to America early in life, without capital, 
 they ehdured many hardships before success was 
 attained, but they can now look with satisfaction 
 upon the result of their labors. 
 
 Mr. Hutt was born July 17, 1832, in Wittenberg, 
 Germany, a son of Frederick and Barbara (Zeich) 
 Hutt, both also natives of Wittenberg. They died 
 there at a good old age, on the farm which had been 
 cultivated by the father for many years. This worthy 
 couple had two children : Katherine, who married 
 John Flad, and now resides near our subject's home 
 in Addison; and Charles F., our subject. 
 
 As a bov Mr. Hutt received a common-school 
 education in hi$ native town, and when fourteen 
 years old he began to learn the miller's trade with 
 C. Frederick Kinkely, of that place, with whom he 
 remained four years, receiving nothing but his 
 board and occasional gifts of money from his em- 
 plover, in recognition of his earnestness and in- 
 dustry. Later he spent four years working as a 
 journeyrnan in various places, and in 1853 '^^ came 
 to America, taking the sailing-vessel "Havre," at 
 Havre. After a voyage of thirty-seven days he 
 landed in New York without a dollar, a friend 
 loaning him the money for his fare to Hartford. 
 From Hartford he made his way to Glastonbury, 
 where his sister resided, and soon afterward he se- 
 cured employment with J. B. Williams, on whose 
 ])remises he assisted in different kinds of work for 
 about two years, many of the pine trees which 
 now beautify the place having been set out by him. 
 For eight years Mr. Hutt was employed by David 
 Hubbard in his tannery, and after the plant passed 
 into the possession of the late Isaac Broadhead he 
 continued there with the latter for some time. On 
 leaving the tannery he found employment in the 
 metal department of a factory, at Naubuc. at fifty 
 cents a day, and during the two years that he spent 
 
454 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in this work he walked a mile and a half, night and 
 morning, sometimes through snow drifts four feet 
 high. Pay-days came three months apart, and once 
 he had to wait six months for his wages, and as 
 flour was eighteen dollars a barrel in those days 
 he had to use close economy to get along at all. 
 In the meantime he had purchased (in April, i860) 
 a part of an acre of land from Guy Sampson, with 
 a small one-room shanty upon it. Here he and his 
 good wife began farming in a small way ; for a num- 
 ber of years he would return from his day's work in 
 some factory to toil on until dark on his little 
 homestead, and rise early to secure a few precious 
 hours in the morning. He built his present resi- 
 dence and farm buildings, and enlarged the place by 
 purchasing other tracts from time to time. Mr. 
 Hutt's farm is now in an excellent state of cultiva- 
 tion, and he gives especial attention to raising to- 
 bacco, potatoes, corn and rye. Politically he is a 
 stanch Democrat, and with his family attends the 
 Congregational Church at Glastonburjr, although he 
 and his wife are both Lutherans, having been con- 
 firmed in Germany in their youth. 
 
 In 1853 Mr. Hutt was married in Glastonbury, 
 by Rev. Mr. Smith, to Miss Fredericka Welsh, who 
 was born in Wittenberg, Germany, Sept. 20, 1833. 
 They were friends in childhood and came to Amer- 
 ica on the same vessel, and during his days of dis- 
 couragement and poverty she was a most efficient 
 helper, working on their little farm whenever she 
 could spare the time from the care of the house and 
 children. Of their six children: (i) John G., who 
 died in 1892, was a trusted and valued employe of 
 Cheney Bros.' silk mill for twenty years. He mar- 
 ried Julia Balch, of Manchester, and had three chil- 
 dren, Herbert S. ; Florence May, who died in 1895 ; 
 and Julia M., who died in 1894. (2) Charles Fred- 
 erick, Jr., married Henrietta S. Moser, of Glaston- 
 bury, where he now resides. They have one son, 
 Charles F. C. (3) Miss Emelia F., a refined and 
 cultured lady, is at home. (4) Albert W., a butcher 
 in Hartford, married Mary Fagan, of that city, and 
 has four children, Albert, Ernest, Howard and 
 Grace. (5) Paulena C. married Edmund S. Hor- 
 ton, of Glastonbury, and resides in Saranac Lake, 
 N. Y. They have had three children, Milton S., 
 who died in 1891 ; Mildred and Edmund. (6) 
 Bertha R. married Edward H. Gaines, of Glaston- 
 bury, and resides in Hartford. They have one 
 son, Milton T. 
 
 EARL COOLEY, a leading and representative 
 farmer of Berlin, who takes a very prominent and 
 active part in agricultural affairs, was born in Mid- 
 dletown, this State, Sept. 19, 185 1. He is a de- 
 scendant of Earl Cooley, who came to America from 
 Denmark, whither he had gone from England on 
 account of the persecution that he and others were 
 compelled to undergo on account of their religious 
 belief. He held the title of Earl in England, and 
 upon his arrival in this country was known as such. 
 
 The "Blue Book" of England states that the Cooley 
 family was a very influential and a very wealthy 
 one. 
 
 Earl Cooley, the son of the founder of the fam- 
 ily in America, was born in Springfield, Mass., and 
 became a prominent citizen of that place, where he 
 owned considerable property, including the ground 
 on which "Cooley's Hotel," the "Massasoit House" 
 and the Springfield Armory now stand. He served 
 as a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and partici- 
 pated in the battle of Bunker Hill, while two of his 
 brothers took part in the battles of Concord and 
 Lexington, and another was with Arnold and Allen 
 when Fort Ticonderoga was stormed. He mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Stebbins, of Westfield, Massachusetts, 
 
 Earl Cooley, the son of Earl (2), and the grand- 
 father of our subject, was born in Springfield, 
 Mass., in 1784. In early life he engaged in agri- 
 cultural pursuits, later learning the trade of gun- 
 smith. At the age of twenty years he removed to 
 Middletown, Conn., where he found employment 
 in the factory of Capt. Oliver Bidwell, who manu- 
 factured fire arms for the United States govern- 
 ment. Later he was employed by the firm of R. & 
 D. Johnson, who were also government contractors. 
 He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and served 
 with the rank of sergeant. In political affairs he 
 was very prominent, was a member of the State 
 Legislature from Middletown in 1848, and held 
 various town offices. His support was always 
 given to the men and measures of the Democratic 
 party, and he was a leading and influential member 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He died about 
 1871, and was buried in Middletown. He married 
 Rhoda Graves, of East Haddam, a daughter of Rev. 
 Benjamin Graves, of that place, and to them were 
 born nine children, of whom three are still living: 
 Benjamin Graves, father of our subject; Mrs. Mar- 
 tha W. Allin, of Middletown; and Mrs. Emma J. 
 Ives, of Cromwell, Connecticut. 
 
 Benjamin Graves Cooley was born in Middle- 
 town Nov. 9, 1818, and acquired his education in 
 the common schools and the Middletown Academy. 
 He began his business career as a clerk, and later 
 learned the bookbinder's trade with E. Hunt, in 
 Middletown, who also ran a book and stationery 
 store. Subsequently he clerked in the dry-goods 
 store of John Wing, in Hartford, and later was 
 with T. R. & L. Case, as clerk in their dry-goods 
 store. He then went to Amherst, Mass., as clerk 
 for James Morris & Co., and had charge of the dry- 
 goods department of their store until his return 
 to Middletown, where he worked on the farm with 
 his father for about three years. At the end of 
 that time, about 1848, he entered the dry-goods 
 store of Norman Smith, as clerk, and at the end 
 of two years became a member of the firm of Smith 
 & Cooley, which partnership existed for about six 
 years. Selling out his interests, Mr. Cooley then 
 purchased a farm in Westfield, Conn., which he op- 
 erated for three years, but at the end of that time 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 455 
 
 lie rctiinn.Hl to Middlctowii, where lie engaged in 
 the grocery business for two years, lie was the 
 original inventor of, and took out the patent for, the 
 making of rubber belting, but later sold the same to 
 the Russel }*Ianufacturing Company, of Aliddletown/ 
 Jle then purchased another farm in VVestfield, upon 
 which he lived five years, but in 1864 he returned to 
 jMiddletown, and engaged in farming there for a 
 short time. He next purchased the Risley farm 
 of 140 acres in Berlin, on the Meriden road, and 
 has since given his time and attention to tobacco 
 raising and market gardening, planting two or three 
 acres of his land in tobacco until 1881, when he 
 stopped raising it. While a resident of Middle- 
 town he took an active part in political alifairs, and 
 was also prominent in military matters, serving for 
 several years as captain of the 4th Company, 6th 
 Regiment, Connecticut Infantry. In February, 
 1850, Air. Cooley married Miss Elizabeth Clark 
 Rust, of JMiddletown, a daughter of Spencer Rust, 
 and to them were born two children, of whom our 
 subject is the elder. Frederick, born Sept. 18, 
 1853. married Thankful Tryon, of Middletown, and 
 is engaged in farming m Marlboro. The father 
 was again married, March 29, 1871, his second 
 union being with Jane F. Gridley, of Southington, 
 a daughter of George Gridley. She died May i, 
 1879, and was buried in Southington. 
 
 Reared in Middletown, Earl Cooley acquired his 
 early education in its common schools, and later 
 attended the JNIiddletow'n Intitute, which is a pre- 
 paratory school to the Wesleyan University. After 
 leaving school he came to Berlin, in April, 1869, 
 and has since devoted his energies to agricultural 
 pursuits w-ith most gratifying success, outdoor pur- 
 iiits being more beneficial to his health. He was 
 one of the originators of the Berlin Board of Trade, 
 and is at present treasurer of the same. 
 
 Mr. Cooley makes his home with his father. 
 Both were formerly Democrats in political senti- 
 ment, but in 1896 voted for \\'illiam McKinley, and 
 now support the Republican party. Our subject 
 has been a member of the board of relief and regis- 
 trar of electors, and in 1898 w^as elected grand 
 juror, which position he is now filling. In 1892 he 
 was the Democratic candidate for State senator from 
 the Second Senatorial District, which has always 
 been strongl\- Republican, and the fact that he ran 
 far ahead of his ticket, receiving 3,000 votes, while 
 his opponent, Marcus H. Holcomb, received 3,541, 
 plainly indicates his popularity throughout the 
 county and district. In 1895 he w-as elected select- 
 man on the same ticket, and most creditably filled 
 that office one year. He has always been very 
 prominent in all town affairs, and has taken an ac- 
 tive interest in improvements in Berlin. In early 
 life Mr. Cooley was an Episcopalian, and was in- 
 strumental in founding Christ's Church, South 
 Farm, Middletown, of which he was librarian. Fle 
 is now an active and prominent member of the 
 Second Congregational Church of Berlin, and is 
 
 ako a member of the Christian Endeavor Society, 
 of which he was president in 1 895. 
 
 Mr. Cooley was chairman of the executive com- 
 mittee of the Berlin Agricultural Society for nine 
 consecutive years, from 1S86 to 1895, resigning that 
 position in the latter year, but in 1889 he was re- 
 elected. He was also superintendent of the agri- 
 cultural department of the Connecticut State Fair 
 and the Grange exhibit for two years. He and his 
 father were charter members of Berlin Grange, No. 
 24, of Berlin, and he was also one of the charter 
 members of the Connecticut Pomological Society. 
 He was elected first master of the Grange, which 
 position he held for three years, and also assisted in 
 organizing the Connecticut State Grange at South 
 Glastonbury, June 20, 1885, at which time he was 
 made steward and a member of the executive com- 
 mittee. Later, in 1886, he was appointed deputy 
 for Hartford county by the State master, J. H. Hale, 
 and has ever born an active and influential part in 
 Grange work throughout the State, [n May, 1900, 
 Mr. Cooley received the appointment from the 
 census office as one of the two enumerators of the 
 twelfth census of the I'nited States for the town 
 of Berlin, which work he performed with entire 
 success. 
 
 AIRS. LUCY AI.^'AIORTOX, a greatly-re- 
 spected resident of the town of East Windsor, was 
 born in Aliddlefield, Aliddlesex Co., Conn.. Aug. 
 29, 1834, a daughter of Alarvin and Alary (Hayes) 
 Fuller, and received a sound district-school edu- 
 cation. 
 
 While still a girl Airs. Alorton was taken by her 
 parents to Xew Jersey, and later to Summit coun- 
 ty, Ohio, but in a short time she returned to Con- 
 necticut, and in this -State was married, Dec. 26, 
 1852, to -Vurelius B. Barber, who was born June 
 5. 1831, in the hcuse in which Airs. Alorton now 
 lives, and in which he passed his entire life. He 
 was a thoroughly practical farmer and a prosperous 
 one, and enjoyed the respect of the surrounding 
 community. In politics he was a Whig, and in re- 
 ligion a Alethodist, in which faith he passed away 
 Oct. 5, 1866, leaving to mourn him his widow and 
 two children, to-wit: Ella Lavonne, born Xov. 25, 
 1855, is married to H. W. Hamilton, of East 
 ^Vindsor, and is the mother of one child, Howard 
 Leslie. Flerbert Eli, born April i, 1865. is a wheel- 
 wright by trade; he is unmarried, and, although 
 he lost his right leg when eighteen years of age 
 by the accidental discharge of a gun, he is able, 
 with the aid of an artificial limb, to manage his 
 mother's farm. 
 
 On Xov. 13, 1871, Airs. Barber was united in 
 marriage with SamueL Alorton, a native of Wind- 
 sorville, and a farmer, and two children also came 
 to this union: Lucy Alabel, who was born Xov. i, 
 1873, and died Alarch 20, 1875; and Rutherford 
 E., who was born Sept. 20, 1876, and is now at- 
 tending the Hartford Business College. Afr. Alor- 
 
456 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ton was a Republican in politics, and was a Methbd- 
 ist in religion. He died April 21, 1891, his re- 
 mains being interred, as were those of Mr. Barber, 
 i'n the Windsorville cemetery. 
 
 Mrs. Morton, b_v an accident and resultant sick- 
 ness, has had her hearing considerably impaired. 
 She is a most pleasant lady, is genial in disposi- 
 tion, and is beloved by all who know her. 
 
 CHELSEA CRANDALL VINTON. If Con- 
 necticut has fame it is mainly for her industrial 
 activity and supremacy. Generations ago her sons 
 turned from agriculture to the making of goods for 
 her neighbors, and the transition still continues. 
 In the history of South Windsor, famous now for 
 her cultivation of tobacco and other plants, an in- 
 dividual has seized an opportunity and converted 
 into a modern and thriving business a primitive in- 
 dustry, around which cluster memories of two cent- 
 uries, but which enjoyed but indifferent success 
 until modern energy and methods awoke its dormant 
 possibilities. 
 
 The town mill of South Windsor, tradition says, 
 was first erected in 1734, as a sawmill, and was 
 then the first of its kind on the east side of the Con- 
 /secticut river, between Springfield and Middletown. 
 For six generations it performed an important func- 
 tion in the life of this and neighboring commu- 
 nities, sawing lumber and grinding grain, but in 
 1868 it was scarcely more than a memory. Oc- 
 casionally a farmer brought to the mill a load of 
 corn or rye and himself set the wheel till the creak-' 
 ing machinery had converted his grain into meal. 
 The mill had run down and degenerated into an 
 almost ruinous condition. It was then that Chelsea 
 C. Vinton, with others, purchased the privilege 
 and placed modern machinery into it, and converted 
 ii; into a thing of power and profit. 
 
 Mr. A'inton was born in the town of South 
 Windsor, Hartford county, June 19, 1826, son of 
 William and Esther ( Crandall ) \"inton. The fam- 
 ily is of early Colonial history and of Hugu:not 
 extraction. Religious persecution had driven many 
 early Protestants from France to England, and 
 among the Puritans thev found sympathy and aid. 
 John Vinton was one of the religious refugees who 
 early in the seventeenth century sought libei'ty of 
 belief in the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. Our 
 subject is of the seventh generation in descent from 
 that ancestor, the line consisting of (i) John; 
 (2) John, of Woburn ; (3) Samuel; {4) David; 
 (S) Seth; (6) William; and (7) Chelsea C. 
 
 Seth \'inton, the grandfather of our subject, 
 was the father of twelve children. To William and 
 Esther (Crandall) Vinton, parents of our subject, 
 were born eight children, as follows: ^Villiam, 
 who was a farmer of South Windsor, died in 1896; 
 Seth is mentioned elsewhere ; Chelsea is the third ; 
 Samuel served gallantly as a soldier in the Civil 
 war for nearly three years, was twice wounded in 
 battle, and died in hospital from his injuries; Esther 
 
 E. married Horatio Little, of Columbia, Conn. ; 
 Clarissa became the wife of Levi Wilson, of Mans- 
 field, and is deceased ; Mary C. married Henry A. 
 Page, of South Windsor, and is also deceased ; and 
 John Randolph, who was also a soldier in the Civil 
 war, was wounded at the battle of James Island, 
 and died in hospital. 
 
 Chelsea C. Vinton was educated in his early 
 boyhood at the old Seventh District school, trudg- 
 ing faithfully to its portals, a distance of two miles 
 from home, through the snows of winter or the 
 heat of summer. At the early age of eleven years 
 he started out for himself in the battle of life, hiring 
 out by the month to work on neighboring farms, 
 though he remained with his father until nineteen 
 years of age. At that time the farmers of Hartford 
 county were employed to a three-fold greater de- 
 gree than now in the raising of grain. In 1843,, to 
 the best of Mr. Vinton's recollection, tobacco began 
 to assume prominence as a paying crop in South 
 Windsor. In those early years it was often raised 
 as a second crop, after peas. 
 
 When he attained his majority Mr. A^inton en- 
 tered the mill of the New England Co., at Rock- 
 ville, to learn the trade of wool sorting. He re- 
 mained with that company for twelve years, and 
 was then employed six years continuousl}' at the 
 Flockanum Mills, except for a six-months interval, 
 which he spent in the front as a member of the 
 "Fighting Fourteenth." Mr. Vinton enlisted, in 
 July, 1862, in Company D, 14th Conn. V. I., and 
 was commissioned a second lieutenant. The regi- 
 ment was a part of Gen. E. V. Sumner's Second 
 Army Corps, later commanded by Gen. Hancock. 
 Mr. Vinton was with Gen. AlcClellan at the battle 
 of Antietam, and with Burnside at the fierce en- 
 gagement at Fredericksburg. He was discharged 
 for disability in December, 1862. 
 
 After leaving the service Mr. A'inton continued 
 in his employ until 1868, when he came to the 
 Rockwell mill on Podunk brook, at Pleasant Val- 
 ley, at once making extensive repairs and operating 
 the mill. In the spring of 1869 he became a mem- 
 ber of the firm of Maynard, Gardner & Vinton, 
 buyers and dealers in wool at Talcottville, which 
 partnership continued about a year and a half. 
 During the freshet of the fall of i86g a part of his 
 mill at Pleasant A'^alley was carried away by the 
 flood, but was inmiediately rebuilt, and they had 
 their sawmill in operation in four weeks, from that 
 time doing an increasing business. 
 
 In politics Mr. Vinton is a Republican, and his 
 interest in the welfare of the party has led him to 
 give time and influence to its local success. In 1875 
 he was elected a representative to the State Legis- 
 lature, and has filled various local offices. For 
 twenty-one years he has acted as town clerk and 
 town treasurer, and he has been school committee- 
 man for District No. 5 and acting school visitor. 
 Mr. A'inton has also been actively interested in 
 church work, being a member of the Second Con- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 457 
 
 j^regational C'luiri.-li and of the Sccdiul Ecclesiastical 
 Society. For many years he has been superintend- 
 ent of the Sunihiy-school oi that church. 
 
 .Mr. X'inton was married, in 1850, to Miss I'ideHa 
 Looniis, dauglitcr of Samuel Loomis, of Coventry, 
 Tolland Co.,, Conn., and to this union two children 
 were born: Lillian A., now Mrs. C. M. Benja- 
 min, of South Windsor ; and H. Wilbur. Mrs. 
 ^"inton died in 1859, and in 1862 he married Miss 
 Eveline Johnson, of Rockville. The four children 
 born to this marriage are Mabel, Eva Roselle (now 
 Mrs. J'redericU H. Avery, of South X\'indsor), Cora 
 C. and Louis E. In his business affairs Mr. Vin- 
 ton has been eminently successful, and by his pub- 
 lic si)irit and the services which he has ever been 
 readv to generously contribute to the general good 
 he has impressed his personality deeply upon the 
 life and progress of the town. 
 
 CLARENCE S. FORBES, a respected voung 
 farmer and tobacco-grower on Brewer street, in 
 .that part of the town of East Hartford known as 
 Hockamim, descends from good old Connecticut 
 families, paternally and maternally. 
 
 Anson Forbes, grandfather of our subject, mar- 
 jied Lucy Porter, and to their union were born 
 four children: Stephen, father of our subject; El- 
 lery S., of Willow Brook ; Emerline ; and Esther, 
 who was married to the late Deacon Franklin 
 Brewer, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere. 
 
 Stephen I'orbes was born May 26, 1833, in the 
 house now occupied by Ellery S. Forbes, was edu- 
 cated in the district schools, and later at the East 
 Hartford Academy, under Prof. J. O. Hurlburt. 
 After leaving school he was employed bv a Mr. 
 Goodwin as clerk in a shoe store at Hartford, but 
 .after a short time quit the store and learned the 
 boot-making trade in a shop on his father's farm. 
 At the beginning of the Civil war he was employed 
 in Colt's Armory at Hartford, but after the de- 
 struction of that factory by fire he worked at his 
 trade as a bootmaker until iSCij, then came to 
 Brewer Street, Hockanum, and began farming. 
 In 1867 he bought a tract of twenty acres from 
 ■George Walley, which he cultivated until his death, 
 on May 6. 1880. He had married. May 26, 1858, 
 Miss Sarah A. W^adsworth, a native of Hockanum, 
 born April 2, 1836, and a daughter of Solomon 
 and Sarah (Dow) Wadsworth, and ne.xt to the 
 youngest of four children, Rufus. Stanle\-, Sarah 
 A. and Urania. To Stephen and Sarah A. Forbes 
 •came three children: Clarence S., bom Sept. 4, 
 i860: Emma U., born Aug. 24, 1862, who was ed- 
 ucated in Glastonbury Academy, and was married 
 to Frank HoUister, of East Hartford ; Ella L., born 
 July 22. 1867, who was educated in the Hartford 
 Public High School, was married to De Forest 
 Blinn, and is also living in East Hartford. 
 
 Llarence S. Forbes was born in the house in 
 East Hartford that stood where Mrs. I'ranklin 
 Brewer now lives, and was eight \ears of age when 
 
 brought I'i his ]3resent home, lie attended school 
 until eighteen years of age, since when he has 
 lived on his farm, on which were erected his pres- 
 ent dwelling in 1888 by his father, and substantial 
 barns and other outbuildings. 
 
 Mr. l"orbes is a member of the Congregational 
 Church, an earnest worker in the society, and also 
 contributes iiis full share to the church e.xiJenses. 
 In politics he is a Republican, but has never been 
 an office seeker, preferring" toclevote his energies 
 to the cultivation of his farm, which is yielding 
 him a sure and comfortable income. He is filially 
 caring for his venerable mother, who is passing her 
 declining years with him and keeping his house 
 for him, as he has never married. 
 
 EXOCH WATSOX PELTUX, one of the 
 honored and prosperous old residents of South 
 Windsor, and the owner of 300 acres of land which 
 for many years he has successfully tilled, was born 
 in the town of East Windsor (now South Windsor J, 
 Feb. 7, 1813, son of James and Sophia ((iavlord) 
 Pelton. 
 
 Air. Pelton 's father, who was also a native of 
 East Windsor, followed brickmaking and farming 
 through life. Fie was married three times, first to 
 Clarissa Watson, by whom he had one daughter, 
 Clarissa. By his second marriage, to Sophia Gav- 
 lord, he had five children : Enoch Watson, Harriet 
 Frances, Henry Thompson, James Bennett, and 
 Martha Sophia. Flis third marriage, to Elizabeth 
 Wolcott, daughter of Ephraim Wolcott. of Con- 
 necticut, was blessed with two children : James Ben- 
 nett and Charles Nathan. 
 
 Enoch W. Pelton remained with his father until 
 he reached the age of eighteen years, when he be- 
 gan life for himself. In 1835, at the age of twentv- 
 two, he left Connecticut for Pennsylvania, and 
 spent the next four years of his life in that State 
 with Milford as the initial point of his residence, 
 reniETining there several months. In Pennsylvania 
 he followed the business of raising broom corn and 
 making brooms. From that State he traveled to 
 Kentucky, where he remained a short time, then 
 proceeding to Illinois spent the summer traveling 
 in that State, paying taxes on military land for an 
 acquaintance. Returning to \\ilkes Barrc, Penn., 
 he remained there for a tiiue, came back and soon 
 went South, again spending two years in Tennes- 
 see. He also spent two years in Georgia before 
 returning to Connecticut, where he began raising 
 broom corn, tobacco and other products. He first 
 purchased 108 acres of land, and added to this 
 from time to time until his landed possessions 
 reached 300 acres. A part of the farm he novv 
 occupies is known as the old Gov. Wolcott home- 
 stead, having formerly been owned and occupied 
 by Gov. Wolcott. 
 
 Mr. Pelton was married, in April, 1856, to Miss 
 Harriet E. King, daughter of Roderick King, and 
 to our sul^ject and wife have been born four chil- 
 
458 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 dren: Bayard, born April 15, 1858, who died April 
 7, 1880; Elizabeth, who for some months was en- 
 gaged in teaching, but who relinquished tuat pro- 
 fession on account of her mother's ill health ; Roder- 
 ick K., who is now at home; and Oliver Newberry, 
 who has charge of the home farm. The mother, 
 who was born Aug. 6, 1820, died Oct. 13, 1897. 
 In politics Mr. Pelton is a Repubhcan. He 
 now lives, in the afternoon of his life, in his pleas- 
 ant home, located about seven miles from Hartford, 
 enjoying the requital of his many years of faithful 
 and well-directed effort. 
 
 FRANCIS TAYLOR, of South Glastonbury, 
 is one of the oldest and most highly-respected citi- 
 zens of that locality. Born in the village Nov. 2, 
 1814, he has passed much of his life there, taking 
 an interest in business, social, religious and polit- 
 ical affairs, and his reminiscences of the past are 
 both instructive and entertaining. He is well pre- 
 served for one of his age, his memory being re- 
 markable, while his genial disposition has kept him 
 young at heart, notwithstanding the lapse of years. 
 
 Mr. Taylor is a son of Samuel Taylor, who 
 was born in England in 1777, and came to America 
 in early manhood with his brother Joseph and an 
 uncle Benjamin, their voyage in a sailing vessel 
 being long and tedious. They landed at New York 
 in 1794, and he went to East Haddam, Conn., and 
 learned the sailmaker's trade, later locating in South 
 Glastonbury, where he passed the rest of his life 
 with the exception of three years, from 1816 to 
 18 19, when he resided in Hartford. At that time 
 many vessels were built in South Glastonbury, and 
 Mr. Taylor carried on the business of sailmaking 
 in Hartford for about forty years. Before his re- 
 moval to Hartford he built the house now occupied 
 by Miss Mary Dayton, in which our subject was 
 born, but on his return he purchased the "Gilder 
 place," where Watson Kinne now resides. He died 
 in December, 1857, and was buried in South Glas- 
 tonbury. Mr. Taylor was a most ardent Episco- 
 palian, and "read service" several times in the 
 church in South Glastonbury, of which he was 
 senior warden many years. His portrait now hangs 
 in the church. He was a very bright man, being 
 quite successful in business, and would have ac- 
 cumulated more but for his great generosity. He 
 never aspired to office, but did a citizen's duty by 
 casting his vote regularly, first for the Whig and 
 later for the Republican ticket. Samuel Taylor 
 married Sarah Pembleton^ a native of Chatham, 
 Conn., and had eleven children, all of whom lived to 
 adult age: (i) Benjamin, born Jan. 18, 1799, mar- 
 ried (first) Mary Ann Hale, who died leaving 
 seven children, and on Nov. 25, 1862, he married 
 Mary Tinker Clark, born March 29, 1820. He 
 was a prominent citizen of Glastonbury, where he 
 conducted a general store and served many years 
 as postmaster. (2) Sophia, born March 7, 1801, 
 died unmarried. (3) George, born April 26, 1803, 
 
 married Eunice Harris. He was a sailor from the 
 age of twelve years, when he started for the West 
 Indies, and he made many long voyages on the At- 
 lantic during his life. He spent his later years in 
 Glastonbury, and died there. (4) EHza, born Aug.. 
 6, 1805, died unmarried. (5) Edwin, born Oct. 
 6, 1807, married Nancy Kinne, and settled in Hart- 
 ford, where he engaged in the lumber business, in. 
 which he was quite successful. Since his death 
 his sons carry on the business. (6) Hannah, born 
 Feb. 17, 1810, married Edwin Miller, a tailor and 
 farmer, who built our subject's present home. (7) 
 Sallie Ann, born May 15, 1812, married Gideon 
 Kinne, a farmer in South Glastonbury. (8) Fran- 
 cis, our subject, is mentioned more fully below. 
 (9) Joseph P., born Jan. 11, 1818, was twice mar- 
 ried, his second wife being Mary Alintz. He is- 
 an Episcopalian clergyman, and now resides in 
 Plainfield, N. J. (10) Mary, born Aug. 20, 1820,. 
 died at the age of seventy- four, unmarried. (11) 
 Martha (deceased) was born July 11, 1823, and 
 married Henry Parsons, of Hartford. He con- 
 ducted a book store in Hartford for some time, and 
 later was in the real estate business in New Haven, 
 but is now living in Massachusetts. 
 
 Our subject was about two years old when his 
 ■parents removed to Hartford, but his education was- 
 begun in the district schools of South Glastonbury,, 
 and later he attended the academy there, of which 
 Elihu Burritt, the "learned blacksmith," was the 
 head. At seventeen he left school, and he had 
 learned the sailmaker's trade with his father in 
 Hartford when he was twenty-one. He then formed 
 a partnership with his brother Edwin, and opened 
 a grocery and provision store at the foot of State 
 street, in Hartford, and after his brother's with- 
 drawal he continued alone until 1839, when he sold 
 out to Thomas Reed. During the remaining years 
 of his active business life he was engaged in the 
 manufacture of powder kegs fo.- E. I. Dupont & 
 Co., of Wilmington, Del., his annual product run- 
 ning as high as 40,000 kegs. In 1842 he removed 
 to Delaware, to be nearer the firm, but after five 
 3'ears he returned to Connecticut and settled at 
 South Glastonbury, where he carried on a factory 
 in the buildings now occupied by Bidwell Bros.' 
 soap works. Mr. Taylor retired from business in 
 1887, and is enjoying his well-earned leisure at his- 
 home, which he purchased from Joseph Ingraham,. 
 the father of the noted clockmakers of Bristol. 
 He is a Republican, of Whig antecedents, but has- 
 never been an office seeker. In religious faith he 
 is an Episcopalian, and for over forty years he has- 
 been senior warden of the church at South Glas- 
 tonbury. On Feb. 27, 1837, Mr. Taylor married 
 Miss Lucretia Miner, who was bom in Stonington,. 
 Conn., Aug. 25, 181 5, daughter of Asa and Han- 
 nah (Harrington) JNIiuLM-. She died July 4. 1894, 
 her remains being interred at Glastonbury. ScveiD 
 children blessed this union : ( i ) Jane, born Dec. 
 24, 1837, married John H. Stevens, a carpenter in 
 
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 450 
 
 South Glastonbun'. (2) Eliza, born Dec. 14, 1839, 
 married William H. Wood, of Hartford, a traveling 
 salesman. (3) Henry M., born Aug. 3, 1841, is a 
 baker in Asheville, N. C. He served in the Civil 
 war. He married a Miss Tatrovv, and has one 
 son, Edwin. (4) Eranklin, born June ir, 1844, in 
 Delaware, married Elora Shipnian, has three chil- 
 dren, Benjamin, Robert and Ellen, and resides on 
 a farm in South Glastonbury. He served in the 
 Civil war three years, and was a letter carrier in 
 Hartford for many years. (5) Harriet B., born 
 Jan. 29, 1849, married Kirtland Hollister, a farmer 
 of Glastonbury, and has two children, Bessie (wife 
 of Harris Burr, of Hartford) and Alfred. (5) 
 Alexis I. Dupont, a carriage builder in New Haven, 
 born Dec. 11, 1853, married Adaie Tatrow, sister 
 of his brother Henry's wife, and has three children, 
 Alice, Frederick and Kirtland. Alice married 
 William Coats, and has two sons, \\'illiam and 
 Stanley. (7) Ada died in infancy. 
 
 DANIEL \\'. GREEN, the well-known con- 
 tractor and builder, and a highly-respected citii^en 
 Df East Hartford, is a native of Sumner, Oxford 
 Co., Maine, and was born July 21, 1857, a son 
 Df Edwin and Permelia (Kendall) Green. 
 
 Nathaniel Green, grandfather of Daniel W^, our 
 subject, was born in Spencer, \\"orcester Co., Mass., 
 ivas a tanner by trade, and for some years was a 
 Dartner with his brother, Josiah, who was the pio- 
 leer shoe manufacturer of Spencer. From that 
 :own Nathaniel went to Norway, Oxford Co., 
 Maine, where he passed the remainder of his life, 
 lo his marriage with Aliss H. Willis were born 
 four children: Edwin, the father of our subject; 
 Daniel, who was a farmer at Norway, and was 
 :hree times married — first to Susan Haskell, next 
 ;o Anna Knightly, and then to a widow, whose 
 lame is not given ; Charles, also a farmer, who 
 iiarried Miranda Perkins, and lived and died in 
 N'orway; and Mary, who was married to Peter N. 
 Haskell, a mill-owner of Waterford, Maine. 
 
 Edwin Green, father of our subject, was born in 
 Paris, Oxford Co., Maine, in 1817, graduated from 
 Bowdoin College in 1843, and practiced medicine 
 ;hereafter until his death, which occurred March 
 [2, 1890, his remains being interred at Otisfield, 
 Maine, where his widow died jMav 6, 1900. To 
 lis marriage with Permelia Kendall, who was a 
 lative of Milan, N. H., children were born as fnl- 
 ows: Parker C, a mechanical draftsman, pattein- 
 Tiaker — in fact, an "all-round man" — at Athol, 
 Mass., who is married to Eliza Willis : Daniel W., 
 ;he subject of this memoir: Nathaniel W., a farmer 
 Df Otisfield, who first married Rosie L. Frost, and 
 ifter her death wedded Florence Abbott ; and Ed- 
 ivin G., the youngest of the family, who is also a 
 farmer at Otisfield, and is married to Abbie 
 Benson. 
 
 Daniel W. Green was educated in the common 
 schools of his native district, also at the South 
 
 Paris (Maine) High School, and after leaving 
 school, at the age of sixteen years, on aeenunt of 
 weakened eyes brought about by typhoid fever, he 
 worked in various mills until about 1882, when he 
 went to Crescent City, Putnam Co., Fla. There^ 
 he learned the carpenter's trade, worked there five 
 years, and then returned to Connecticut, worked 
 one year for Cheney Brothers, in ^Manchester, next 
 moved to East Hartford worked for W. J. Driggs, 
 contractor and builder, for nine years, and in 1896 
 began contracting and building en his own account, 
 in which he has met with success — a success due to 
 his pains-taking endeavor to please nis patrons. 
 
 On Sept. 19. 1883, Mr. Green married Miss 
 Emma F. Wetherell, a native of South Manchester, 
 born April 27, 1861, a daughter of William and 
 Frances Celia (\\'atrous) Wetherell. The father 
 of Mrs. Green has been dead for some years, but 
 her mother is still living in South ^lanchester. Mrs. 
 D. W. Green is of old Colonial and Revolutionary 
 descent, Jonathan \\'aterhouse (the name has since 
 been changed to \\'atrous ) having been her great- 
 grandfather and a patriot of the war for inde- 
 pendence. Going back to the first appearance of 
 her family in America, it may be briefly traced up to- 
 the present time as follows: William Mullens, his 
 wife, and their daughter Priscilla, and also lohn 
 Alden, landed on Plymouth Rock Dec. 22, 1620, 
 coming from England. This John Alden married, 
 the aforesaid Priscilla IMullens, and their eldest 
 daughter, Elizabeth, was married to \\'illiam I'ea- 
 body; the daughter of this couple, !Mercy Peabody, 
 was married to John Simons ; the daughter of 
 John and Mercy (Peabody) Simons was chris- 
 tened JMartha, and was married to Ebenezer De 
 Land; Thankful De Land, their daughter, w'as mar- 
 ried to Ebenezer iletcalf, and their daughter, Abia 
 Metcalf, was married to Elijah Webster; the daugh- 
 ter of Elijah and Abia Webster was also named 
 Abia, and was married to Jonathan ^^'atrous, the 
 Revolutionarv soldier, whose pension papers were 
 made out in the name of Jonathan \\"aterhouse. 
 From Jonathan and Abia AN'atrous (or Waterhouse) 
 descended Rhoda, Polly, Morgan, Dudley Ichabod,. 
 Brewster, Abia Marian, Jonathan Bissell, Elijah 
 Abel (grandfather of Mrs. Green), Hubbard and 
 Hubbard Judson. The names of the parents of 
 Airs. Green have already been given. 
 
 To the marriage of Daniel W. Green and wife 
 have been born two children : Ernest Carlton, in 
 Crescent City, Fla., Sept. 8. 1886, and Alarian Lu- 
 cille, Oct. 28, 1888, in South Alanchester. Mr. 
 " Green and his family attend the Congregational 
 Church, of which iMrs. Green has long been a con- 
 scientious member. In politics Mr. Green is inclined 
 to Democracy, but does not always cast his vote 
 for that party; fraternally he is a member of Wads- 
 worth Council, No. 39, O. U. A. M., of Alanchester. 
 
 Through his industry, skill, and industrious 
 habits, Mr. Green has gained a comfortable home, 
 which he built in 1891, on a lot purchased from 
 
460 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Watson Roberts. He is a genial, whole-souled gen- 
 tleman, and he and his wife, with their two bright 
 children, form a happy family,, greatly respected by 
 -all who know them. 
 
 HENRY LEVERET REMINGTON, carriage 
 
 .and wagon-maker, and painter, and for fifty years 
 
 .a prominent citizen of Enfield, was born July 22, 
 
 1826, a son of Myron and Angeline (Warner) 
 
 Remington, both natives of Suflield. 
 
 Mr. Remington's paternal grandfather, Stephen 
 Remington, was for many years a resident of Suf- 
 iield, where he reared a family of twelve children : 
 Myron, Almeron and Albert (twins), Stephen, 
 Thomas, George, Anna (Mrs. Elihu Taylor), Sybil 
 (Mrs. John Fuller), Amy (Mrs. Norman Hast- 
 ings), Jane (Mrs. Nathaniel Curtis), Maryette, and 
 Chloe (Mrs. Norman Adams). Stephen Reming- 
 ■ton was a farmer, and lived and died in Sufifield. 
 
 Myron Remington, the father of our subject, 
 was reared to manhood in Suffield. In early man- 
 hood he removed to Streetsboro township. Portage 
 county, Ohio, residing there thirteen years. He 
 then returned to Suffield, where he remained 
 through life. Himself and wife are buried in 
 Hastings Hills cemetery. Myron Remington had 
 nine children, six of whom grew to maturity :. Henry 
 L., Lorenzo M., Lamira (Mrs. Francis Crouch), 
 Arabella (Mrs. David Drake), Miranda (Mrs. 
 Henry Sheldon), and Alcemony (Mrs, Gottfried 
 Heydenreich). 
 
 Henry L. Remington spent his boyhood and 
 youth in Portage county, Ohio, and Suffield, Conn. 
 He received a common-school education, and served 
 ..an apprenticeship of three and one-half years at 
 the wagon-maker's trade. He has since then 
 worked as a journeyman for thirty-nine years hi 
 Enfield, for Potter & Parsons, and has been in busi- 
 ness for himself since 1888. 
 
 Mr. Remington has been twice married. His. 
 
 ■first wife was Lorinda, daughter of Seth and Nancy 
 
 (Cooper) King, of Suffield, and by her he had one 
 
 -Son, Frank -Everett. His second wife was Emily 
 
 Fowler, of Maine. Mr. Remington is a memlr'er 
 
 ■ of the Baptist Church of Suffield, and politically lie 
 
 is a Democrat. 
 
 HON. EDWIN N. WHITE, president of the 
 Canton Creamery Association, and a leading citi- 
 .zen of Canton, is a member of an old Colonial fam- 
 ily. John White, the first of the line to settle in 
 America, arrived in Boston harbor on the ship 
 "Lj'on" in 1632, and soon afterward located in 
 Cambridge, Mass., where he was made a freeman 
 in 1633. When Rev. Thomas Hooker led his band 
 of followers into Connecticut and settled at Hart- 
 ford John White was among- them, and he took a 
 prominent part in the affairs of the little Colony, 
 serving as elder in the church. He died at Hart- 
 ford in 1684. Of his six children, Mary married 
 Jonathan Gilbert; Nathaniel is mentioned below; 
 
 John married Sarah Bruner; Daniel married Sarah 
 Crow; Sarah became the wife of Stephen Taylor; 
 Jacob, who was born Oct. 8, 1645, married Eliza- 
 beth Bruner. 
 
 Capt. Nathaniel White was born in England, 
 and came to America with his parents when a very 
 small boy. In 1650 he left Hartford and became 
 one of the founders of the new settlement at Mid- 
 dletown. Conn., locating at what was then known as 
 Upper Houses, afterward Upper Middletown. Here 
 he spent the rest of his life, partly engaged in agri- 
 culture. Being a public-spirited man, and possess- 
 ing ample means, he gave one-quarter of his estate 
 for the support of public schools. He was a -mem- 
 ber of the General Court in 1659, and from 1661 
 to 1710, in all fifty times. He was also deputy 
 and magistrate of Middletown, Haddam and Meri- 
 den, from 1669 to 1684, having been commissioned 
 by the General Assembly. He died Aug. 27, 171 1, 
 at his home, and was buried in Middletown cem- 
 etery. For his first wife he married Elizabeth 
 White, and for his second he wedded Mrs. Martha 
 (Coit) Mould, widow of Hugh Mould, of New 
 London, Conn., and daughter of John and Mary 
 (Jones) Coit. He had a large family, as follows: 
 Nathaniel, born July 7, 1652, married Elizabeth 
 Savage. Elizabeth, born March 7, 1655, married 
 Sergt. John Clark, of Middletown, and died Dec. 
 25, 171 1. John was born April 9, 1657. Mary, 
 born April 7, 1659, and died Nov. 15, 1732, was 
 married, on Jan. 16, 1678, to Jacob Cornwall, who 
 died Aoril 18, 1708, and on April 13, 1710, she 
 wedded John Bacon, of Middletown, who died Nov. 
 4, 1732. Daniel is mentioned below. Sarah, born 
 Jan. 22, 1664, married John Smith, of Haddam, 
 Conn. Jacob, born May 10, 1665, was married 
 (first) to Deborah Shepard, and (second) to Re- 
 becca Ramey. Joseph, born Feb. 20, 1667, married 
 Mary Mould. | 
 
 Ensign Daniel White was born Feb. 23, 1662, " 
 in Middletown, and spent his whole life there. 
 He held many public offices, including those of 
 constable and selectman. He died Dec. 18, 1737, 
 and was buried in the cemeteiy at Middletown. 
 In March, 1683, he married Susannah Mould, of 
 New London county, daughter of Hugh Mould, a 
 noted shipbuilder, and their children were: Daniel, 
 born Dec. 8, 1683, married Alice Cook; Nathaniel, 
 born Sept. 8, 1685, married Mehitable Hurlburt ; 
 Joseph died Oct. 8, 1687; Joseph, born Oct. 8, 1688, 
 married Mary Hull: Hugh, born Feb. 15, 1691, 
 married Mary Stone; John, born Nov. 27, 1692, 
 married Susannah Ailing: Susannah, born Oct. 16, 
 1694, married Thomas Johnson, of Middletown; 
 Isaac is mentioned below; Ruth, born Sept. 28,' 
 1703, married, on June 10, 1730, Jehiel Stone, of 
 North Guilford: Rachel, born Feb. 2, 1705, mar- 
 ried, on April 16, 1729, William Chittenden, of 
 Guilford. 
 
 Deacon Isaac White, the next in the line of 
 descent, was born Nov. 9, 1696, at Upper Houses, 
 
^cAm^ cyl^^-A^J^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 401 
 
 MicUllctown, ami made l)is home in that locaHty. 
 (Jn Jan. 15, 1749, lie was appointed deacon of hvs 
 church, and from 174^) to 1749 he was selectman 
 Dt .Middletown. He died June 26, 17()8, and was 
 buried in Mitldlelown cemetery. On June 30, 1726, 
 lie married Sybil LUitler, daughter of Thomas But- 
 ler, of Hartford count)-. She was born March 6, 
 1702, and died Nov. 7, 1781. They had the fol- 
 lowing children: Moses, born Aug. 2, 1727, mar- 
 ried Huldah Knowlcs: Martha, born Oct. 27, 1728, 
 Jied April 1, 1813: Sybil, born Aug. 14, 1731, mar- 
 ried, on April 18, 1753, Francis Whitemore; Elias 
 ii mentioned below; Aaron died young; Isaac, born 
 )an. i6, 1 741, died Dec. 8, 1741; and Ruth, born 
 March 7, 1743, married, on Dec. 26, 1764, Dr. John 
 Dsbrim, a prominent physician, and a soldier in the 
 French and Indian war. 
 
 Elias \Miite, our subject's great-grandfather, 
 was born at Upper i^Iiddletown May 5, 1734, and 
 died there Jan. 27, 1800. On Nov. 13, 1760, he 
 tiiarried Prudence Savage, of Upper Middletown, 
 who was born July 13, 1737, daughter of Joseph 
 and Prudence Savage. She died at Whitestown, 
 N. Y. By this marriage there were nine children: 
 Sybil, born Oct. 28, 1761, was married to Leveret 
 Bishop, a ship carpenter, of Guilford. Mary Sav- 
 age, born June 8, 1763, was married, on May 16, 
 1782, to \\'illiam Cheney, of Gaylord, and died 
 March 15, 1828. Reuben, born March 10, 1765, was 
 a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and died in New 
 York in June, 1783. Edmund, born Oct. 15, 1766, 
 was taken sick on board a man-of-war, and died 
 Aug. 24, 1782. Comfort, baptized Nov. 6, 1765, 
 was a ship carpenter, and died at Demerara, South 
 America. Joseph married Martha Hasgill. Pru- 
 dence, born Jan. 31, 1773, married, in 1825, Dea- 
 con Joseph Blake, of Whitestown, N. Y. Elias is 
 mentioned below. Isaac, born June 22, 1780, mar- 
 ried Pricilla Phomb. 
 
 Elias White, our subject's grandfather, was born 
 in Upper Middletown, where he grew to manhood, 
 and in 1800 he settled in Cornwall, Conn. Fie mar- 
 ried Cynthia Rogers, daughter of Capt. Edwin 
 and Hannah (Jackson) Rogers, and they had chil- 
 dren : Comfort. Edwin. Elias, and Rogers. 
 
 Comfort White, the father of our subject, was 
 born at Cornwall, Conn., Jan. 3, 1802. and after 
 receiving a good district-school education he be- 
 gan teaching in New York State. Later, however, 
 he engaged in farming near Utica, N. Y.. and then 
 at Sheffield, Mass., finallv locating in Canton, Conn., 
 where he bought, in 1859, the Hosford farm, a tract 
 of 160 acres. For some years he made a specialty 
 of tobacco culture. He was a man highly respected, 
 temperate in his habits, liberal in church views, and 
 in politics a stanch Democrat, although he never 
 sought Dublic office. On Dec. 3, 1S26, he married 
 Laura Norton, of Cornwall, daughter of Theodore 
 and Mary (Gudd) Norton. She died Sept. 13, 
 1836. and on May 31, 1837. he married Miranda 
 Rood, of North Canaan, Conn. The children of the 
 
 first union were : Mary Eliza, born July 26. 1829,. 
 married on I'eb. 15, 1853, Walker S. Millard, a 
 school teacher; Augustus I'redrick, born March 6, 
 1832, married in Ai)ril, 1858, Harriet Watts, died 
 in May, 1887; Julia Maria, born Feb. 21, 1834, and 
 died Dec. 31, 1876, was the wife of Col J. F. U. An- 
 drews, of Simsbury, Conn. Edmond Rogers, wIkj 
 died March 3, 1857, and Edwin JSI., the subject of 
 this sketch, were twins. By the second marriage 
 there was one child, Augusta Rogers, born Oct. 22, 
 1847, ^'■"^l married to Dan G. Wilcox, of Avon,. 
 Connecticut. 
 
 Our subject was born in Cornwall, Conn., May 
 14, 1836, and spent his early life partly in Utica, 
 N. Y., and partly in Sheffield, Mass., where he at- 
 tended the district school and the high school ; he 
 also attended the high school at Winsted. Cduu. 
 He has since been engaged in agriculture on the 
 farm at Canton. Since the death of his father Mr. 
 White has taken sole charge of the homestead, and 
 has dealt largely in live stock and tobacco, although 
 he has given his attention mostly to general farm- 
 ing. Like his father he is liberal in church matters, 
 and a good Democrat, but unlike him he takes an 
 active part in public aft'airs. In 1878 he was elected 
 by a large majority to the State Legislature, where 
 his broad-mindedness secured him a place on the 
 committee on Women's Rights. He has also filled 
 many local offices, serving as selectman for three 
 terms, and chairman of the board of assesors for 
 four years. 
 
 In i860 Mr. White married Miss Anna L. Case, 
 a lady of pleasing and refined manners, who was 
 born in Canton, daughter of Gen. Jarvis and Lucia 
 (Adams) Case. They have had four children: 
 Lena Belle, born June 11, 1865, attended the Col- 
 linsville High School, and was married Oct. 20. 
 1SS7, to Oren H. Godard, of Granby, son of Harvv 
 Godard. Fanny Adams, born April 20, 1869, grail- 
 iiated from McLean Seminary in 1884. George 
 Francis, born Aug. 31, 1870, attended the Collins- 
 ville Fligh School, McLean Seminary, and Yale 
 Business College, New FIa^'en, from which he grad- 
 uated, and afterward went into the fish business in 
 New York: he married Isabelle Bartlett, of Terrv's 
 Plains, Simsbury, Conn., daughter of Sheriff 
 Joseph L. Bartlett. Hellen Maria, born Jan. 9, 
 1879, died Oct. 19, 1879. Socially the White fam- 
 ily is much respected, and our subject is a Master 
 Mason, uniting with the F. & A. M., \'illage Lodge. 
 No. 29. Collinsville. 
 
 JA:\IES O'CONNOR, a well-known market 
 gardener and general farmer of Wethersfield, was 
 born in Barley Will, New Market, County Cork. 
 Ireland, in October, i860, and is descended from 
 some of the best fann'lies of that country. Flis 
 parents, Patrick and Joanna (Eagon) O'Connor, 
 spent their entire lives in County Cork, as farming 
 people. Both were devout members of the Cath- 
 olic Church, and were highly respected by all who- 
 
-462 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ■kenw them. Their children were : Timothy, who 
 ■died in Austraha; Hannora, wife of Richard Power, 
 ■of Waterford, Ireland ; James, our subject ; Patrick, 
 .a resident of Wethersfield, Conn. ; John, a dairy 
 .farmer of the same place; Mary, wife of Philip 
 G. Smith ; and Jeremiah, also a resident of Wethers- 
 field, Connecticut. 
 
 The only education which our subject received 
 was obtained in the National schools of his native 
 .town. He grew to manhood on the home farm, and 
 ^after his father's death, which occurred when he 
 was still in his 'teens, he remained with his widowed 
 mother for some years, working hard upon the 
 farm. Having saved a little money he decided to 
 •come to the United States, where he believed that 
 better opportunities were afforded ambitious young 
 men. In 1889 he sailed from Queenstown, and on 
 landing in New York found that he had only an 
 English sovereign (about five dollars in our money) 
 with which to begin life in the New World. By 
 boat he came to Hartford, which trip cost him 
 .$1.50, so that he only had $3.50 on reaching 
 Wethersfield, where he found employment with S. 
 W. Robbins, at fifty cents per clay and board. In 
 the fall of the seme jear he went to California by 
 way of the Panama route, and for a time v/orked 
 -on a ranch in Merced county, after which he spent 
 four months on a dairy farm near San Francisco. 
 Not caring for California, he returned to Con- 
 necticut at the end of that time, and again found 
 ^employment on the dairy farm of Mr. Robbins at 
 Rocky Hill, for whom he worked six years. With 
 "the money he had saved from his wages he then 
 purchased his present farm of twenty-three acres, 
 known as the Shamrock farm, and upon that place 
 he has since successfully engaged in market gar- 
 dening, selling his produce in New Britain and 
 Hartford. 
 
 In 1890, Mr. O'Connor was married in Wethers- 
 field to Miss Kate Oilman, also a native of County 
 Cork, Ireland, and a daughter of Cornelius Oilman. 
 She died in 1898. She was a good wife and mother, 
 ;a faithful member of the Catholic Church, and her 
 death was deeply mourned. Five children were 
 born of that union: Maggie and Hannah (twins), 
 the latter of whom is now deceased ; Patrick ; Cor- 
 nelius ; and Johanna. , Mr. O'Connor is also a com- 
 municant of the Catholic Church, and is well-known 
 and highly respected. He takes no active part in 
 political affairs, but as an industrious, enterprising 
 man, he prefers to give his entire time to his busi- 
 ness interests. 
 
 HOADLEY C. BREWER, one of the most re- 
 spected farmers and tobacco growers of Hockanum, 
 town of East Hartford, descends from a ver}' old 
 Connecticut family. Fie was born May 10, 1841, 
 -and is a son of Reuben, a grandson of Reuben, and 
 a great-grandson of Daniel Brewer, the last-named 
 of whom was born and lived all his life in a small 
 Tiouse, now fallen to decay, that stood in the lane 
 
 that leads from High street, at a point north of 
 the home of the late Selden Brewer, to the Con- 
 necticut river. During ihe life of Selderi the old 
 house was kept in repair, but since his death it has 
 been permitted to become an uninhabited ruin. 
 
 Reuben Brewer, a son of Daniel, and grand- 
 father of Hoadley C, located on a farm on Brewer 
 street when only one other house, the residence 
 (now) of Mrs. Cynthia Vibberts, stood on the 
 street ; she is a daughter of Reuben Brewer, son 
 of Reuben, and aunt of Hoadley C, and widow 
 of Andrew Vibberts, and now greatly advanced in 
 years. On this spot where Mrs. Vibberts lives, 
 Reuben, the grandfather, was born Feb. 23, 1778, 
 and his death took place on his new farm, Nov. 
 8, 1844. He married Eunice Maria Hills, daugh- 
 ter of James and Mehitable Hills, who was born 
 Sept. 19, 1778, and died in May, 1853. Their chil- 
 dren were: Sophia, born May 20, 1798, and died 
 March i, 1841, was the wife of Ebephus Oaines, 
 a seaman, who lived on Bigelow Lane, East Hart- 
 ford; Cynthia, born Aug. 11, 1800, died Feb. 7, 
 1802; Reuben was the father of our subject; Laura, 
 born Nov. 5, 1807, was married to Talcott Hills, 
 a joiner, and lived near Willow Brook; Jane way 
 and Jane (twins) were born April 24, 1810 (Jane- 
 way married Sarah Marble and lived in East Hart- 
 ford Meadow, and Jane was married to Ralph Hills, 
 a farmer on Brewer street, but both are now ae- 
 ceased) ; Osman, born April 9, 1814, married Lu- 
 ana Spencer, was a farmer, and lived on Brewer 
 street ; Henry Edward, born Dec. 14, 1816, mar- 
 ried Susan Hills, was a farmer, and lived in Hills- 
 town; Cynthia, born March 30, 1818, was married 
 to Andrew Vibberts, and is still living on -Brewer 
 street; Royal, born Oct. 9, 1820, died March 10, 
 1822; Royal Hills, born April 13, 1823, married 
 Esther Forbes, for his first wife, and Mrs. Tal- 
 cott, nee Orant, for his second and now lives on 
 Brewer street ; Eunice Maria, the youngest of this 
 family of thirteen, was born Dec. 11, 1825, was 
 married to Palmer Sessions, a civil engineer, and 
 lived and died in New York. 
 
 Reuben Brewer, father of Hoadley C, was born 
 on Brewer street, April 25, 1805, and attended the 
 old school house that stood on High street, west 
 of where Deacon Charles Forbes now lives, but 
 which has since been destroyed Dy fire. It was a 
 mile away from his home, and many a winter day 
 did he wade to it through snow up to his hips. 
 He lived at home until his marriage, Sept. 10, 1834, 
 to Jane Hills, who was born June 9, 1812, a daugh- 
 ter of John and Abbey (Brewer") Hills. As a 
 reward for his faithful services at home Reuben's 
 father purchased for him the farm now ownetl by 
 Hoadley C, then known as the "Wells place," 
 where his death took place Oct. 30, 1886, his wife 
 having preceded him to the grave Aug. 21, 1882. 
 Fie was a man of large stature, but of a very re- 
 tiring, indeed bashful, disposition, and domestic in 
 his habits ; he was a vigorous and indefatigable 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 468 
 
 workiT. ever iii<liislriuiis, and yet an inveterate 
 sn'.oker. raising his tobacco himself and making 
 his cigars. His children, six in number, were: 
 Lemuel, born Alarch 27, 1837, died June 20, 1846; 
 Lucv M., born April 26, 1839, is the widow of 
 Henrv I lurlburt ; lloadlcy C. is the subject of this 
 sketch : Zojiher L., born Dec. 14. 1845, died Oci. 
 J, i84'>; Abbott C, born Sept. 15. 1847, married 
 Anna Best, and died Jan. 18, 1879, in East Hart- 
 ford, his widow being now a resident of Hartford 
 City; and Deloss, born March 2, 1852, died July 
 20, 1852. 
 
 Hoadley C. Brewer received a sound common- 
 school education, and later spent two years in the 
 East Hartford Academy. At the age of nineteen 
 years he left school and returned to his father's 
 farm, now his own, where he remained for a short 
 time only, and then went to Hartford, where he 
 was employed in Colt's Armory until it was de- 
 stroyed by fire in 1863. He then returned home, 
 and assisted his father until the latter's death. This 
 farm comprises thirty-two acres, seven of which are 
 in tobacco, and there is no better-kept farm in the 
 town. 
 
 On March 29, 1876, Mr. Brewer wedded Josie 
 M. Stanton, born June 23, 1838, a daughter of 
 Robert W. and Harriet (Ladd) Stanton, and to this 
 marriage have been born two children : Bessie M., 
 Jan. 4, 1877, who died April 15, 1879, and Ada M., 
 March 19, 1880, who is still at home. The family 
 attend the South Congregational Church, and 
 hberally aid in its support. In politics Mr. Brewer 
 is a Democrat, but never worries himself about 
 party affairs more than the trouble of voting. He 
 belongs to no secret society, but leads a quiet, un- 
 ostentatious, industrious life, happy in holding the 
 respect of his fellow men and in the felicity of his 
 familv circle. 
 
 JOHN R. PIKE, a successful agriculturist re- 
 siding near Pine i\Ieadow, was born in that locality 
 Nov. 26. 1836, and is a representative of a family 
 Avhich has long been noted for good citizenship. 
 His ancestors were early settlers in New England, 
 and his grandfather Pike was a farmer at New 
 Marlboro, Massachusetts. 
 
 Hiram Pike, our subject's father, was a native 
 of New Marlboro, born May 25. 1799. removed to 
 Connecticut, and was married in Canaan to Olive 
 Rood, who was born there Sept. 25, 1797, daughter 
 of John Rood. He located in Canton, where he 
 engaged in farming, and his death occurred Nov. 
 13, 1838. His wife died July 21, 1887, and the 
 remains of both now rest in the Pine ^leadow 
 cemetery. Thev had the following children : Julia 
 A., wife of William \\'ilco.x: Plcnrietta R., widow 
 of Warren C. Humphrey : Celestia, who married 
 AMlliam Wilcox; Olive, wife of Nelson Humphrey; 
 I\Iark H., who died in 1892; ]\Iarv E., wife of Ed- 
 ward Chapin; John R., our subject; Aretus, who 
 died in 1837, and Catherine, wife of William Case. 
 
 As a boy our subject attended the local schools, 
 also assisted in the work of the homestead, and 
 later he and his brother, Mark H., took charge of 
 the farm. The place contains 140 acres, including 
 a tract of woodland, and our subject devotes special 
 attention to dairying and tobacco growing. In 
 1856 he built a fine dwelling Louse, and he has 
 made other substantial improvements from time to 
 time. P'or the past ten years his health has been 
 somewhat impaired, but he is still active in the 
 management of the farm. Socially he and his fam- 
 ily are much 'esteemed, and they are identified with 
 the Congregational Church, of which his lamented 
 wife was a member. In 1881 Mr. Pike married 
 Miss Ellen Adams, and three children were born 
 of the union : John E. is attending a business college 
 in liartford ; Miss Nellie is in school at home ; and 
 Albert has been adopted by Mrs. Lewis H. Lee, of 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Mrs. Ellen (Adams) Pike was born Aug. 12, 
 1851, and died April 21, 1888, her remains being 
 interred in Pine Grove cemetery. New Hartford. 
 She was a daughter of Oliver Cromwell Adams, 
 and granddaughter of Gen. Zera Adams, an officer 
 in the Revolutionary war. Gen. Zera Adams mar- 
 ried Abigail Holburt, of ^^'est Hartford, and had 
 nine children; Ezra, Elmer, Lu:ia, Laura, Mary, 
 Lorenzo, Henry, Oliver C, and George. Oliver 
 C. Adams was born in North Canton, and resided 
 there throughout his life, following farming and 
 mercantile pursuits. He was a leading Republi- 
 can, and represented his town in the State Legis- 
 lature, while he also held various local offices, in- 
 cluding that of postmaster at North Canton. Pie 
 was temperate in his habits and domestic in his 
 tastes, and in every way his life furnished' a worthy 
 example to the community. He married Susan ^l. 
 Plumphrey, daughter of Loin and Rhoda (Case) 
 Humphrey, and had six children : Eugene, who died 
 in early manhood; Mary, wife of Lewis H. Lee, 
 of Westfield, Mass. ; Ezra S., a resident of Hart- 
 ford ; Albert, a physician, now deceased; Ellen, wife 
 of our subject; and Henry, a resident of North 
 Canton. 
 
 CHARLES J. BUNN, a popular liveryman of 
 Southington, is one of the men who have made 
 tlieir own way in the world. The spirit of self- 
 help is the source of all genuine worth in the in- 
 dividual, and is the means of bringing to man suc- 
 cess when he has no advantages of wealth or in- 
 fluence to aid him. It illustrates in no uncertain 
 manner what it is possble to accomplish when per- 
 severance and determination form the keynote to 
 a man's life. Depending upon his own resources, 
 looking for no outside aitl or support, Mr. Bunn has 
 become one of the leading business men of the town. 
 
 Mr. Bunn was born in New Hartford, Conn.. 
 Jan. 21, 1862, a son of Matthew and Margaret 
 (Doll) Bunn, both natives of Germany. His ma- 
 ternal grandfather, Christian Doll, lived in New 
 
464 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 I-Iartford. Matthew Bunn, a grinder by trade, 
 spent some years in Granby and New Hartford 
 and worked in the cutlery works at CoUinsviUe and 
 also in Southington. He died in the latter village. 
 In his family were eight children : Joseph, Carrie, 
 Christian, William, Maggie, Charles J., Lavina 
 (wife of Frederick Young), and Laura, wife of 
 Frank Rhoe. 
 
 The first ten years of his life our subject passed 
 in New Hartford, and then accompanied his par- 
 ents on their removal to Southington, where he has 
 since made his home. His educational advantages 
 were limited to a short attendance at the public 
 schools, as at the age of ten years he entered the 
 employ of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., with which 
 he was connected for five years, and during the 
 following four years he worked upon a farm. At 
 the age of eighteen he began work in a livery stable 
 in Southington, and was manager of the same for 
 five years. For a time he was also in the employ 
 of R. A. Neal. In 1887 he embarked in the livery 
 business for himself, on a small scale, and by in- 
 dustry and good management has built up an ex- 
 cellent business and acquired a competence. 
 
 On Oct. 6, 1886, Mr. Bunn married Miss Char- 
 lotte L. Davies, third daughter of Thomas and Ma- 
 tilda (Fox) Davis, who were married in Safe liar- 
 bor, Lancaster Co., Penn. The father was born in 
 Colebrookvale, Monmouthshire, Wales, the mother 
 in Philadelphia. He was in the employ of the 
 Union Iron Works, Buffalo, N. Y., at the time of 
 death, Aug. 26, 1875. His parents were John and 
 Parnell (Martin) Davies, the former a native of 
 ilerthyr Tydvill, Wales, the latter of Warwickshire, 
 England. She was a daughter of Parnell Baird, 
 whose mother was Elizabeth Parnell. On the ma- 
 ternal side Mrs. Bunn is a granddaughter of Char- 
 lotte Bodenbender, who belonged to an old Phila- 
 delphia family. 
 
 Mr. Bunn casts his ballot with the Republican 
 party, and is a member of the Foresters of America, 
 the Improved Order of Red Men, the Order of 
 United American Mechanics, and the Southington 
 Fire Department (for ten years). He started out 
 in life for himself at a tender age, with scarcely 
 any schooling, being practically a self-educated 
 man, and for the success that he has achieved in 
 life he deserves great credit. 
 
 ARTHUR DE COLLARD, M. D., inventor of 
 The Medical Physical Culture System, and one of 
 the most successful practitioners in physical cul- 
 ture in the United States, is a native of London, 
 England, and comes of a grand lineage, his mother 
 being the celebrated African traveler. 
 
 Dr. de Collard was educated in France, Ger- 
 many and England, and is a graduate of the Paris 
 School of Swordsmanship. His system of medical 
 treatment is known as the "New School System," 
 being one of purely outward application of salves 
 and ointments, which are made by himself from 
 
 roots and herbs, called Kasekraut, and the prepara- 
 tion of which is a secret of his own discovery. So- 
 successful has he been in the application of this 
 treatment that, in the past eighteen 3'ears, of the 
 25,000 patients who have been treated by him he 
 has not lost a single one by death. The discovery 
 of this system was brought about by himself in an 
 attempt to reduce his own weight, which when he 
 was twenty-two years of age had reached the enorm- 
 ous proporitons of 302 pounds. He, however, suc- 
 ceeded in reducing his weight to 168 pounds, and 
 with astonishing development of muscle. Besides 
 his office at No. 926 Main street (Cheney building), 
 Hartford, he has branches in New York, Philadel- 
 phia, and Bufl:alo, N. Y., being now located per- 
 manently in the last named city, at No. 439 Dela- 
 ware avenue. 
 
 In addition to his other accomplishments. Dr. 
 de Collard is a musical composer of distinction,, 
 and many of his compositions are well known. 
 Not only does he compose, but he sings as well, 
 having^a rich voice of great compass and flexibility. 
 He is also an accomplished linguist, speaking eight 
 languages fluently, and singing in each, while in 
 swordsmanship he is well known to excel. As a 
 remarkabl}' clever penman he may be said to be 
 without a peer, and a demonstration of the fact 
 exists in a piece of work, done in pen and ink b}' his 
 own hand, hanging in his office. It is a copy of the 
 "Declaration of Independence," written so that each 
 sentence or word indicates a nerve of the head. 
 This work -is -done so finely that it is impossible to 
 read it without the aid of a powerful magnifying 
 glass, -and what makes it even more remarkable is 
 the fact that it was done purely from memory, and 
 without the aid of any drawing or plan ! 
 
 HON. HENRY NORRIS GALPIN. The 
 family of the late Mr. Galpin, whose name and mem- 
 ory are held in high esteem throughout Berlin, 
 town, is of English descent. 
 
 John Galpin, the ancestor in the eighth genera- 
 tion preceding Henry N., is the progenitor from 
 whom this branch of the American Galpins claims 
 descent. He lived and died in England toward the 
 close of the sixteenth century, but of his ante- 
 cedents or collateral connections comparatively little 
 is known. His son, Philip, emigrated from Bristol, 
 and took up his home in New Haven. From that 
 point he removed to Stratford, where, in 1646, he 
 married Elizabeth Smith, who bore him two chil- 
 dren. The next in line of descent, Samuel Galpin 
 (the great-great-great-grandfather of Henry Nor- 
 ris), was born in 1650. He, too, lived in Stratford, 
 and about 1679 married Elizabeth Peat, of his na- 
 tive village, by whom he was the father of two 
 children. One of these, named Calel), was born in 
 1691, and died Sept. 16, 1753, in Berlin, whither 
 he removed from Stratford, and where he owned a 
 farm. On Feb. 24, ■1708, he married Elizabeth 
 Baldwin, who was, like himself, a native of Strat- 
 
 1 
 
r^ 
 
 fllB ^, 
 
 
 
 ;^ M^,. 
 
 4--l^ 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 465 
 
 ford, born Nov. 5, 1693. They were the parents 
 of eight children, of whom Amos, the great-grand- 
 father of the gentleman whose name appears at the 
 head of this memoir, was born Dec. 2, 1723, and 
 died Oct. 10, 18 15. He married Anna i'atterson, 
 v/ho was born in 1724, a daughter of Edward Pat- 
 terson, and died Jan. 20, 1803. Her brothers Ed- 
 ward and William are believed to have been the 
 first manufacturers of tinware in the United States. 
 Their factory was situated in Berlin, on the thor- 
 oughfare then known as Lower Lane, now West 
 street. Amos Galpin was a native of Berlin, a 
 farmer and large land -owner. He was the father 
 of three children, one of whom, Thomas, was the 
 grandfather of Henry N. He was born Feb. 6, 
 1757, and died Nov. 17, 1802. His birthplace is 
 supposed to have been Berlin, and he is believed to 
 have built the present Bosworth homestead. On 
 April 3, 1783, he married Ruth Goodrich, who was 
 born in 1761, and survived him until July 24, 1843. 
 Five children were born to them, one of whom, 
 Norris, was the father of the late Henry Norris 
 Galpin. Norris Galpin was bcrn in Berlin March 
 22, 1794, and was in the employ of the Patterson 
 Tinware Co. He died in New York. His wife, 
 Hepzibah Wilcox, was born in 1796, and died in 
 1853. They were married Aug. 19, 1818, and had 
 but one child, Henry Norris Galpin. 
 
 Our subject was born at the lower end of Ber- 
 lin street, Berlin, Dec. 22, 1820. He enjoyed the 
 advantages of attendance at the common schools and 
 academy of his native place, but, his father dying 
 while he was quite young, he was obliged to begin 
 the battle of life at a comparatively early age. His 
 first inclination was to learn the trade of a harness- 
 maker, and he actually spent some time in acquir- 
 ing a knowledge of its principles, but finding it 
 distasteful he abandoned its pursuit to become a 
 clerk in the store of Edward Wilcox. He filled this 
 position — under Edward Wilcox and his successor, 
 Samuel C. Wilcox — until the early '50s, w'hen, 
 through hard work, prudence and economy, he 
 found himself able to purchase the business, which 
 he carried on during the remainder of his life. He 
 was also the owner of the land where now stands 
 the home of j\Ir. W^ilcox, but exchanged this with 
 the latter, in 1861, for land adjoining his store. 
 Here he purchased the house which is yet occupied 
 by his widow. In 1861 his store and stock were 
 destroyed by fire, but he rebuilt and resumed busi- 
 ness on the same site, and continued to personally 
 supervise the establishment until his death, which 
 occurred Dec. 22, 1892, notwithstanding the fact 
 that during the latter years of his life his health 
 was enfeebled through partial paralysis, resulting 
 from a fall in 1883. 
 
 The character of JMr. Galpin was one of those 
 rare combinations of keen business sagacity with 
 open-hearted, open-handed generosity which are 
 seldom found. He was a man universally respected 
 and beloved for his public spirit, his high moral 
 
 30 
 
 character, and his sympathetic nature. His ears 
 and his purse were ever open in response to the 
 necessities of a friend, and his blameless life at once 
 challenged and defied criticism. An earnest and 
 sincere Christian, lie was a prominent and consistent 
 member of the Congregational Church, of which he 
 was treasurer at the time of his death, and whose 
 work he generously aided, both by personal effort 
 and by liberal donations. He was prominent and 
 influential in both public and commercial affairs. 
 Prior to i860 he affiliated with the Democratic party, 
 but the open advocacy of the doctrines of secession 
 by a wing of that organization drove him into the 
 fold of the Republicans, with whom he was ever 
 afterward identified. For many years he was town 
 auditor, and in 1863. 1880 and 1882 represented 
 his town in the Legislature. He w-as school treas- 
 urer of District No. 5, from 1878 until his decease, 
 and was also a trustee of the Selden school fund. 
 He was one of the organizers of the Wilcox Ceme- 
 tery Association, and its first president, an office 
 w'hich he held until he himself was called away. 
 In 1845 he received his first commission as post- 
 master at Berlin, and held the office almost con- 
 tinuouslv until his death, it being located in his store. 
 In commercial enterprises of a semi-public nature 
 he was equally prominent. At the time of his death 
 he was a director in the Berlin Iron Bridge Co., as 
 he had been for several years ; and was also vice- 
 president of the Berlin Savings Bank, an office 
 which he had held since the organization of the 
 bank, in 1873. The death of such a citizen naturally 
 caused wide-spread sorrow- in the community where 
 his long and useful life had been spent. Faithful 
 in every relation of public and private life, he left 
 to his family a memory which is in itself a precious 
 heritage. 
 
 Mr. Galpin was three times married. His first 
 wife was Tamson Eliza Dowd, of East Berlin, who 
 was born in 1823, and to whom he was married 
 June 2^, 1845. The fruit of the union was one 
 daughter, who died in infancy. The first Mrs. 
 Galpin died April 26, 1846, and on April 26, 1864, 
 he married her sister, Harriet A. Dowd, who was 
 born in 1832, and died July 3, 1865. She had been 
 a teacher at Temple Grove Seminary, Saratoga, N. 
 Y., before marriage. A daughter was born of this 
 union, also, who lived for a little more than twelve 
 months. Mr. Galpin's third marriage was solemn- 
 ized Oct. 2, 1867, when he was united to Mrs. 
 Eliza (Sanford) Booth, of Seymour, Conn., who 
 was born Dec. 14, 1838. This marriage was blessed 
 with three children: Mary, born Julv 24, 1868; 
 Ruth, Dec. 4, 1870; and Helen, May '23, 1879. The 
 eldest daughter was married, June 24, 1891, to Ern- 
 est W. Mildrum, of East Berlin, a contractor for 
 the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co. Mr. and :Mrs. Mil- 
 drum have one daughter. Elizabeth, born May 7, 
 1894. The second daughter, Ruth, who, as did 
 both her sisters, graduated from the New Britain 
 high school, lives at home, with her mother. The 
 
466 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 youngest daughter, Helen, is one of the akimnEe of 
 Temple Grove Seminary, having graduated from 
 that institution in 1898. She, too, remains at home. 
 
 CHExNEY BROTHERS. The growth and ap- 
 pearance of the village of South 'Alanchester, cred- 
 ited with being the model manufacturing point in 
 New England, are due to the energy of the Cheney 
 Brothers, manufacturers, whose silk mills are the 
 nucleus around which have clustered the comfortable 
 residences for operatives and other employes, as 
 well as churches, schools and other public buildings. 
 
 On the north side of the street, extending east;, 
 from the center of the town, a hundred years ago 
 were the farms and residences of the brothers Tim- 
 othy, Benjamin and Silas Cheney. On the south 
 side of the same street, and west of the north and 
 south highway, tracts of land were owned by Rich- 
 ard Pitkin. Near his residence, a mile east of the 
 Center, was the chief place of business at the time 
 of the Revolution. Manufacturing enterprises had 
 an early beginning but a limited development in 
 this section as compared with others. Timothy 
 Cheney (as well as his brother Benjamin) was 
 notable as one of the first clockmakers of New Eng- 
 land. In those days the usual timepiece was the 
 noon-mark on the kitchen floor, and clocks were 
 rare and costlj'. Those made by Timothy Cheney 
 and his brother had tall carved cherry-wood cases 
 and wooden works, some of which, after the lapse 
 of a century, are still keeping good time. In their 
 workshop John Fitch, whose invention of the steam- 
 boat antedates that of Fulton, was an apprentice, and 
 received his first lesson in mechanics. 
 
 The manufacturing enterprise of the town of 
 Manchester most remarkable for its growth is that 
 of the Cheney Brothers. Near the close of the 
 last century Timothy Cheney removed to a farm 
 about a mile south of his former home at the Center, 
 and, improving the water power, built a sawmill 
 and gristmill on the stream, and near it the house 
 yet known in South Manchester as the Cheney 
 homestead. When he died, in 1795, his son Tim- 
 othy returned to the former home at the Center. 
 While George, another son, occupied the latter 
 house, and there passed his life, an influential citizen 
 in his generation, as his father had been before 
 him. George Cheney was married, Oct. 18, 1798, 
 to Electa Woodbridge, and their children were : 
 George Wells, John, Charles, Ralph, Seth Wells, 
 Ward, Rush, Frank, and Electa (wife of Hon. 
 Richard Goodman, of Lenox, Mass.). Several of 
 the sons, after the manner of New England boys, 
 left home in youth to engage in various pursuits. 
 John and Seth became artists of rare skill and 
 genius, and gave their energies chiefly to their pro- 
 fession, but had part in the business enterprises of 
 their brothers. Seth W. Cheney died, greatly la- 
 mented, in 1856, at the age of forty-six. Charles 
 and Ward were for several years merchants in 
 Providence, Charles later going to Ohio, where he 
 
 bought a farm near Cincinnati. The brothers who 
 remained at home became afterward interested in 
 experiments in silk culture. In March, 1836, they 
 budt a small mill known as the Mount Nebo Siik 
 Aiill, and began the manufacture of sewing silk — 
 their first venture as silk manufacturers. On the 
 rise of the morus viiilticanlis speculation Ward, 
 Frank, Charles, Ralph and Rush Cheney went with 
 ardor into the culture of mulberry trees, Charles 
 Cheney conducting his experiments on his farm in 
 Ohio. The three others took a farm at Burlington, 
 N. J., where they had nurseries and cocooneries, 
 and where they published for a year or two The 
 Silk Grower and Farmers Manual. In 1841, after 
 the collapse of the speculation throughout the coun- 
 tr)', the brothers returned to South Manchester 
 and re-opened the Mount Nebo mill, making sewing 
 silk from imported raw silk. From this time dates 
 the steady development of the silk industry. The 
 next ten years were years of experiment and study 
 aided by travel and close observation of what had 
 been done abroad. Fraternal co-operation, natural 
 ingenuity, and untiring application were the factors 
 which produced success. In 1855 they made their 
 first experiments in the production of spun silk 
 from pierced cocoons, floss, silk waste, and what- 
 ever silk cannot be reeled. These hitherto almost 
 waste materials have by special machinery been 
 spun into fine yarns and woven into beautiful and 
 durable fabrics. From a small beginning this new 
 industry, developed by years of patient and costly 
 experiment, grew to be the specialty of the business. 
 The present company was incorporated in 1854, 
 under the name of Cheney Brothers Silk Manu- 
 facturing Company, with a capital of one million 
 dollars. During the same year, the growth of the 
 business requiring a larger number of hands than 
 could be obtained at that time except in cities, a mill 
 was built in Hartford, of which Charles Cheney ; 
 had special charge until 1868, when he returned to! 
 South Manchester. The original Mount Nebo millj 
 was a small building, with machinery driven by] 
 water power, and gave employment to half a dozen! 
 hands. In place of this has arisen the group of 
 buildings known as the Old Mill, comprising the 
 business and other departments, for weaving, dyeing, j 
 finishing and preparing goods for shipment. InJ 
 1 87 1 the New Mill (so called) was erected, con- 
 sisting of four three-story brick buildings, each 250I 
 feet long, and connected by a common front. The] 
 Lower Mill is a third group, comprising a large! 
 carpenter shop and the building formerly used fori 
 velvet weaving. Near by are also the gas works,! 
 fot lighting the mills and the whole village. Cheney's! 
 Hall is a spacious brick building which serves an] 
 important purpose as a place of meeting for re- 
 ligious, literary and social occasions. The public 
 library and reading room, till recently occupying 
 the basement, have been removed to a building 
 specially provided. The number of names on the 
 Cheney pay-rolls has increased from the original 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 407 
 
 half dozen to over 2,800. The mills arc models 
 of order and convenience in llieir internal arrange- 
 ments, while their attractive surroundings mani- 
 fest the same taste and care that appear alike in the 
 private grounds and residence of the proprietors, 
 and in the comely cottages and shaded avenues of 
 the village. 
 
 In 1869 the Cheney Brothers built between 
 South Manchester and North JNIanchester the branch • 
 railroad connecting with what is now the New Eng- 
 land railroad. This line, from the date of its open- 
 ing as the Hartford, Providence & Fishkill road, 
 in 1850, to the present time, when eight or more 
 passenger trains each way daily connect the villages 
 with Hartford, New York, Providence, and Bos- 
 ton, has been an important factor in the growth of 
 the town, to which also the branch road has con- 
 tributed in no small degree. 
 
 PATRICK DEVINE. This gentleman, who 
 spent his early manhood in active business, and 
 mainly in agricultural pursuits, is now living re- 
 tired upon his fine farm in West Suffield. A man 
 of great energy and more than ordinary business 
 capacity, his success in life is due to his own well- 
 directed efforts and sound judgment. 
 
 Mr. Devine was born in Mohill parish. County 
 Leitrim, Ireland, JNIarch 20, 1821, and is a son of 
 Thomas and Ellen (Flynn) Devine, farming people, 
 ■who spent their entire lives in that parish. In 
 their family were the following children : Bridget, 
 who died in her native land; Cornelius, who died 
 in Hartford county, Conn.; Mary, who married 
 Bernard Byrne; Thomas, who died in Ireland; 
 Patrick, our subject; Ellen, wife of Robert \'an- 
 Houten; and Annie, who died in Ireland. The 
 family were all devout members of the Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 Patrick Devine was educated in the subscrip- 
 tion schools of his native land, and began life there 
 as a farmer, remaining with his parents until 1849, 
 when he went to Berwickshire, Scotland. Shortly 
 afterward, however, he moved to Liverpool, Eng- 
 land, and in 1850 left that port on the sailing-ves- 
 sel "Anna Tift," which reached the harbor of New 
 York after a voyage of seven weeks. Proceeding 
 at once to Suffield, Conn., he found employment 
 on the farm of Isaac Phelon, with whom he re- 
 mained for five years. During the following eleven 
 }'ears he worked on the farm of Sydney Kent, and 
 from there removed to Windsor Locks, where he 
 spent five years on the farm of James Coogan. Re- 
 turning to the town of Suffield, in 1872, he bought 
 the Norman Clark farm of sixty acres in West 
 Suffield, on which he has made many useful im- 
 provements which add greatly to its value and at- 
 tractive appearance. Here he successfully engaged 
 in tobacco growing, dairying and general farm- 
 ing until he laid aside business cares to enjoy a 
 "well-earned rest. 
 
 At ^^'indsor Locks, Conn., Alarch 3, 1862, Mr. 
 
 Devine was united in marriage with Miss Mary 
 U'Farrell, who was born in the same parish as our 
 subject, and they became the parents of ten chil- 
 dren, four of whom died in infancy. Of the others, 
 (i) Hilary is now the wife of Martin J. Furey, a 
 paper manufacturer, and they have had seven ciiil- 
 dren: Mary R. and Elizabeth E. (twins) ; John 
 A., who died young; James; Helen; Marguerite, 
 and Martha. (2) Thomas F. began his education 
 in the public schools of Sutifield, was graduated from 
 the Connecticut Literary Institute in 1887, and has 
 since taught in the public schools and academv at 
 Southvvick, I^lass., one year, the Suffield public 
 school one year, and the Warehouse Point school 
 two years. h\ 1893 he graduated from Holy Cross 
 College, \\'orcester, Mass., then attended George- 
 town College, Washington, D. C, in 1893-94, and 
 was graduated in 1894 with the degree of A. M. 
 He has since filled the position of principal of the 
 Bank street school, Waterbury, New Haven Co., 
 Conn. He is a young man of culture and refine- 
 ment and genial disposition, is a Democrat in poli- 
 tics, and a member of the Independent Order of 
 [ Foresters. (3) Ellen :M. is at home. (4) Eliza- 
 beth F. attended the public schools of Suffield, and 
 I also the Connecticut Literary Institute, where sh.e 
 was graduated in 1890, and has since engaged in 
 I teaching: Two years in the Suffield public schools; 
 four years in Plainville, Conn. ; one term in Water- 
 bury, and two and one-half years in Manchester. 
 (5) Martha R. was also educated in the public 
 schools of Suffield, and in the Connecticut Literarv 
 Institute, graduating from the latter in 1893, since 
 which time she has taught in the public schools of 
 Berlin, Conn., for five years, and at ^\'indsor Locks 
 two years. (6) John J. is at home. The family 
 is very intellectual, and one of social prominence 
 in the community where they reside. They all 
 hold membership in the Catholic Church, and po- 
 litically Mr. Devine is identified with the Democratic 
 party. He is a well-read man. possessing a good 
 fund of general information, is upright and hon- 
 orable in all his dealings, and his integrity is un- 
 questioned. 
 
 John O'Farrell, father of ^Irs. Devine, was born 
 in County Leitrim, Ireland, and was a son of Pat- 
 rick O'Farrell, a native of the same county, and a 
 farmer by occupation. The OT-'arrells were quite 
 prominent in Ireland during the reign of Charles 
 I of England, but during the days of Cromwell 
 they suffered many persecutions, and their lands, 
 now known as Newtown, and owned by Lord 
 Forbes, were confiscated by Cromwell and his follow- 
 ers. John O'Farrell was reared in his native coun- 
 try, and there followed farming for some time after 
 reaching manhood. He wedded Margaret Shan- 
 ley, of the same county, a daughter of John Shan- 
 ley, and to them were born four children, namely : 
 Patrick, who died unmarried in ^^'indsor Locks, 
 Conn.; Mary, wife of our subject: Bridget, wife 
 of Thomas Hancock, of Windsor Locks; and Mar- 
 
468 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 garet, wife of Patrick McGinney, of the same place. 
 In 1849 Mr. O'Farrell embarked at Liverpool on 
 a sailing-vessel, which was wrecked two days later 
 and had to return to land for repairs. Finally, 
 however, he reached New York in safety, and came 
 at once to Suffield, Conn., where he engaged in 
 farming for some time, but later bought a farm at 
 Windsor Locks and made that place his home un- 
 til called from this life, in 1895. He was joined 
 in his new home by his wife and children, in 1855, 
 and here the former died in 1886, the remains of 
 both being interred in the Catholic cemetery at 
 Windsor Locks. The family were all connected 
 with the Catholic Church, and Mr. O'Farrell was 
 a stalwart Democrat in politics. 
 
 HON. HENRY TOLLES, a prominent resi- 
 dent of New Britain, well deserves to be called one 
 of the pioneers of the lock industry, as his skill 
 and energy have been the main factors in organiz- 
 ing and maintaining the work of several factories 
 now widely known to the trade in that connection. 
 In taking an active and influential part in the vari- 
 ous progressive movements of the locality he has 
 also shown a public spirit which is worthy of emu- 
 lation, and the story of his life will be read with 
 especial interest. 
 
 Mr. Tolles is a descendant of an old English 
 family, and his ancestors came to Connecticut at 
 an early date, his great-grandfather having been a 
 resident of Woodbridge. Lyman Tolles, his grand- 
 father, was born in Woodbridge, Conn., and became 
 a successful farmer, settling at Jr^lymouth, Litch- 
 field county. As a citizen he was held in high es- 
 teem, and for many years he was prominent 
 in St. Peter's Episcopal Church, at Plymouth, in 
 which his sons were also active members. Orris and 
 Nathan serving as vestrymen, and Zenas and Ly- 
 man, Jr., in other official positions. His wife was 
 Massie Russell. Of their five children, our subject's 
 father. Orris Tolles, was the eldest. (2) Sally mar- 
 ried a Mr. Horton, and went to Ohio. (3) Nathan, 
 born Jan. 23, 1795, resided in Plymouth during the 
 greater part of his life, but died in Nw Britain. 
 On Dec. 17, 1823, he married Pattie Jorden, who 
 was born April 30, 1800, and died in 1866. (4) Ly- 
 man lived and died in Plymouth. (5) Zenas lived 
 and died on the homestead, and was one of the prom- 
 inent men of the town, serving as selectman and a 
 member of the oldtime militia. 
 
 Orris Tolles was born in Plymouth Feb. 22, 
 1793, and became a clock-maker by occupation, he 
 and his brother Nathan being employed for many 
 years by Hoadly & Thomas, and then by Seth 
 Thomas. He also owned a farm of 100 acres at 
 Plymouth (now Thomaston), and by his thrifty 
 management accumulated a fine competence. He 
 removed to New Britain, and died there Dec. 19, 
 1863. In politics he was a stanch Democrat. On 
 Dec. 19, 1815, he married Hannah Jorden, and 
 they had the following children : Harriet, born 
 
 Sept. 24, 1816, married Riley Hine, and died Nov. 
 12, 1845. George, born Jan. 13, 1819, died in 1896, 
 at Indianapolis, Ind. ; he married Catherine Wright, 
 and settled in Indiana, where he was Hving re- 
 tired at the time of his death. Henry, our subject, 
 was third in the order of birth. Martha, born 
 April 4, 1828, died Aug. 27, 1828. John, born 
 Feb. 7, 1830, was a mechanic in Russell & Erwin's 
 factory at New Britain, and died May i, 1888. Ho- 
 bart, born May 4, 1832, died March 8, 1848. Ed- 
 win, born Nov. 29, 1834, died Jan. 24, 1836. Mary, 
 born Feb. i, 1837, married Marcellus Clark (now 
 deceased), and now resides in Plainville, Conn.; 
 Mr. Clark was at one time a member of the Con- 
 necticut Legislature, and for twenty years was post- 
 master at New Britain, being retained through sev- 
 eral Republican administrations, notwithstanding 
 his affiliation with the Democrats. 
 
 Our subject's mother belonged to a well-known 
 family of Huntington, Conn. Her father, Elijah 
 J. Jorden, who was born in 1745, died in March, 
 1825, and his wife, Hannah Curtis, was born July 
 12, 1745, and died Aug. 18, 1836, at the advanced 
 age of ninety-one years. This worthy couple had 
 a large family of children : Timothy, born Feb. 5, 
 1766; Sally, April i, 1768; David, July 12, 1770; 
 EHza, July 12, 1772; Miles, May 19, 1774; Samuel, 
 July 10, 1776; Polly, Nov. 8, 1778 (died Aug. 13, 
 1780) ; Isaac, March 10, 1781 (died Sept. 12, 1797) ; 
 Hannah, June 2, 1783 (died June 16, 1854) ; Ed- 
 mund, Aug. 8, 1788; Polly, April 13, 1790; Curtis,, 
 June 29, 1793. 
 
 Henry Tolles was born Jan. 2, 1822, at the old 
 home in Plymouth, and educated mainly in the pub- ; 
 lie schools of that town, with one term in the acad- 
 emy. For some years he attended only during the i 
 winter season, but he managed to secure a good ] 
 practical education, to which he has added by con- , 
 stant reading on current topics, having been a sub- 
 scriber to the Hartford Times for fifty years. A^ 
 eighteen he left school, and at nineteen he founcB 
 employment in a wood-turning factory, where he 
 worked for about six years. The next seven years 
 he spent in Unionville, town of Farmington, and 
 in the fall of 1848 he removed to New Britain, 
 taking a position in the lock department of North 
 & Stanley, with whom he remained until the firm 
 was merged into the Russell & Erwin Manufactur- 
 ing Co. After spending some time as an operator 
 he became a contractor, in partnership with the 
 late H. M. Dates, their business employing about 
 125 men. On leaving this factory Mr. Tolles re- 
 mained out of business for two or three years, when 
 he was engaged at a handsome salary by P. & F. 
 Corbin to start their lock department. After six- 
 teen years with this firm he went to New Haven, to 
 organize a similar department for J. B. Sargeant 
 & Co., remaining about three years, and since 1886 
 he has been living in retirement in New Britain. 
 From early manhood he has been interested in poli- 
 tics, and until 1896 he was a stanch Democrat. In 
 
^€^' 
 
 ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 469 
 
 1861 ho served as a member of the Connecticut 
 Legislature, being on the committee on New Towns 
 and I'robate Districts, and at times he has held local 
 offices, including those of assessor, member of the 
 board of relief, alderman, and councilman from the 
 Third ward of New Britain. In 1889 he was street 
 conimissionef of that town, and for six years past 
 lie has been park commissioner. He is a leading 
 member of the Episcopal Church at New Britain, 
 in which he has served as vestryman and warden, 
 and for many years he has been active in the work 
 of the Masonic Fraternity. For six years he was 
 master of Harmony Lodge, No. 20, F. & A. M., 
 and after the organization of Centennial Lodge he 
 served it six years in the same rank ; he also belongs 
 I to Giddings Chapter, No. 24, R. A. M. ; Doric 
 I Council, R. & S. M., in which he was high priest 
 for six years ; and Washington Commandery, No. 
 I, K. T., at Hartford. 
 j On Dec. 15, 1842, Mr. Tolles married Miss 
 I Fanny Kimberley, who was born Jan. 28, 1824, and 
 died Alarch 19, 1850. On March 26, 1852, he mar- 
 ried Miss Ellen Ford, born Jan. 21, 1821, died Feb. 
 7, 1891. By his first marriage he had three chil- 
 dren: Ellen, born Feb. 7, 1844, "ow the wife of 
 Alfred Finch, of New Britain, agent for the charity 
 organization; Edwin, born Jan. 12, 1846, now in 
 the wholesale cloth business in Hartford ; and Ade- 
 laide, born Aug. i, 1848, who married (first) Will- 
 iam H. Porter, of Bristol, Conn.; and (second) 
 Edward Alpress, a machinist of New Britain. By 
 his second marriage JNlr. Tolles had one son, Will- 
 iam H., born Aug. 19, 1855, who died Sept. 4, of the 
 same year. 
 
 SAjNIUEL AUSTIN GARDNER, of Burnside, 
 was born in Manchester, Hartford Co., Conn., June 
 28, 1858, and descends from one of the old Colonial 
 families of New England. The first of the name 
 in Connecticut was Stephen Gardner, who was 
 among the early settlers of New London, and un- 
 doubtedly came from Rhode Island. He bought a 
 large tract of land near the "Great Pond" (after- 
 ward named Gardner's Lake), and married Amy 
 Sherman, daughter of Benjamin and Hannah 
 (Money) Sherman, who was born Oct. 25, 1681. 
 They had twelve children, born in the following 
 order: Amj', June 13, 1701 ; Lydia, Oct. 10, 1702; 
 Stephen, Feb. 24, 1704; Benjamin, April 18, 1706; 
 Peregrine, Jan. 24, 1707; Daniel, Dec. 14, 1709; 
 >Sarah, Oct. 25, 171 1 ; Hannah, May 2, 1713; Mehit- 
 ,'able, ]May 22, 1715; Abigail, July 9, 1717; David, 
 June 28, 1720; and Jonadian, April 18, 1724. 
 I Jonathan Gardner, the youngest of this family, 
 [first married Mary Haughton, and after her death 
 ! married Abia Fitch, twin daughter of David F. 
 |and Sarah (Sherwood) Fitch. To the latter mar- 
 .riage were born four children: Amy, in 1754; 
 Mary, in 1756; Jonathan, Dec. 2, 1758; and Lucy, 
 in 1760. 
 
 Jonathan Gardner (2), born in 1758, was a 
 
 soldier in the Revolutionary war, and was at New 
 York when the British took possession of that city, 
 but was on detail duty, which prevented his taking 
 part in combats, yet he was an eyewitness of the 
 battle at White Plains. He married Jerusha Hyde 
 Stark, Jan. 22, 1783, three children being born to 
 tl'.em : jerusha, Nov. 21, 1783 ; Mary, Jan. 10, 1786; 
 and Roderick, July 20, 1788. 
 
 Roderick Gardner was a farmer and an exten- 
 sive land owner, lived near Gardner's Lake, and 
 married Amy Miner, a native of Lyme, May 23, 
 1813. She bore her husband twelve children, as 
 follows: Dyer Hyde, Feb. 11, 1814; Ulysses S., 
 Dec. 16, 1815; Ad'olphus AL, Aug. 10, 1817; An- 
 drew J., Feb. 20, 1819; Russell S., Dec. 16, 1820; 
 Lucius L., Aug. 31, 1822; Mary M., Oct. 10, i8-'4; 
 Austin, July 2, 1826; Anson, May 19, 1829; Al- 
 bert A., Aug. 20, 1831 ; Emma E., Aug. 24, 1833; 
 and Elisha M., July 13, 1836. Roderick Gardner, 
 father of these children, and grandfather of our 
 subject, was a pensioner of the war of 1812. He 
 represented his town, Bozrah, in the State Legis- 
 lature, when it met in Hartford, in 1830. His death 
 took place Jan. i, 1849, ^""^ that of his widow 
 March 6, 1866, the remains of both being interred 
 in New London county. 
 
 Austin Gardner, father of our subject, was bom 
 near Gardner's Lake, and was educated in the local 
 district school. East Greenwich Academy and Wes- 
 leyan University. He learned the trade of paint- 
 ing, and after his father's death he taught school 
 in the Carolinas, where he met and married Miss 
 Emily Jane Baker, a native of Benson, \'t., and also 
 a teacher. Returning to the North he taught in 
 Manchester Center, near the soldiers' monument, 
 and afterward went-through a course of theological 
 instruction in the seminary at East Windsor Hill. 
 His first charge was at West Granville, Mass. ; 
 thence he went to Jenksville, Mass., and founded 
 a church; was next at Canton Center, Conn., four 
 years ; then three years at West Suffield ; later was 
 pastor of the Congregational Church at Bucking- 
 ham for fourteen years ; spent eight years at War- 
 ren ; and is now at Ashford, having thus filled out 
 forty years in the ministry, in the pulpit each Sun- 
 day, with but two exceptions. To his marriage 
 with Miss Baker five children have been born: 
 Dwight B., a manufacturer in Chicago, 111. ; Gene- 
 vieve Theresa, at home ; Samuel A., the subject of 
 this notice ; Harry D. J. ;■ and Frederick R., who 
 died in childhood. The fourth of this family. Harry 
 D. J., was a minister of the Gospel, and was about 
 to go to Natal as a missionary for the American 
 Board when he was suddenly taken ill, and died 
 Nov. 27, 1888, almost on the eve of his wedding. 
 
 Samuel Austin Gardner was born while his fa- 
 ther was teaching school in Manchester, and shortly 
 after his birth his parents removed to East Wind- 
 sor Hill, where his early boyhood years were passed. 
 He attended the district schools at West Suffield, 
 Canton Center and Ludlow Mills, and when fifteen 
 
470 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years of age started in life on his own account. 
 His first experience was in a store at Suffield, and 
 he was later engaged in Springfield, Mass., as a 
 clerk for J. S. Marsh & Son, grocers, for several 
 3ears ; he next taught school, then came to Burn- 
 side, and for several years was employed in the store 
 of H. T. Hart. He was next employed as a 
 traveling salesman for W. & B. Douglass, pump 
 manufacturers of Middletown, and while in their 
 employ traveled throughout the West. In 1891 
 he entered into the oil business, and remained in 
 it for about nine years. At one time he was presi- 
 dent of the Otto Miller Co., of Chicago. Since dis- 
 posing of his oil business he has busied himself 
 with looking after and dealing in real estate and 
 investments. 
 
 Mr. Gardner was joined in marriage. May 20, 
 1880, with Miss Mary E. Fisk, who was born March 
 2, 1859, a daughter of D. C. and Mary (Clark) 
 Fisk, of Springfield, Mass., and the marriage has 
 been graced with three children: Harold Irving, 
 born Jan. 24, 1882, who is now at Yale University; 
 Amy Louise, born Oct. 30, 1883, who is a student 
 at Northfield Seminary ; and Linda Baker, born 
 Sept. 13, 1890. Mr. and Mrs. Gardner are mem- 
 bers of the Burnside Methodist^ Episcopal Church, 
 of which Mr. Gardner is a trustee. In politics he 
 is a Republican in National affairs, but in local 
 issues he is independent, and votes for the can- 
 didate best suited, in his opinion, to fill the office. 
 Fraternally he is a member of Crescent Lodge, 
 No. 25, I. O. O. F., of East Hartford, and of La- 
 fayette Council, No. 37, O. U. A. M., of East Hart- 
 ford. As a citizen and business man he is univers- 
 ally respected, and in social circles he and wife hold 
 a most enviable station. 
 
 HON. L. MULLALEY, Jr. Few men in this 
 section have shown as marked capacity for business 
 as has this young and enterprising merchant of 
 Windsor who has built up the largest, general trade 
 of that locality. Nor has his financial success been 
 gained at the expense of other interests, as he has 
 found time to help forward many important public 
 movements and has become a recognized power in 
 local politics. His friends and adherents are to be 
 found among people of all parties and creeds, 
 his wide popularity being due to his genuine worth 
 as a man and citizen rather than to an effort on his 
 part to be the leader of a -faction. The story of his 
 life, involving a gradual rise from poverty to afflu- 
 ence, can not fail to be of interest. 
 
 Born in Windsor, Sept. 16, 1861, he is of Irish 
 ancestry, a fact of which his ready generosity and 
 warm-hearted sympathy give abundant indications. 
 His grandfather, John Mullaley, a large cattle dealer 
 in County Galway, Ireland, married Margaret Houli- 
 han, and reared a large family of children, none 
 of whom are now living. One of the sons, John, 
 died in Wisconsin, in March, 1897. Lawrence Mul- 
 laley, Sr., our subject's father, was born Dec. 23, 
 
 1825, in County Galway, where he grew to manhood 
 and married Miss Margaret Dooley, a native of the 
 same county. In 185 1 he came to the United States 
 in a sailing-vessel, the voyage between Liverpool 
 and New York requiring many weeks. He had 
 already gained some knowledge of the tanner's trade 
 and on his arrival in this country came immediately 
 to Windsor to take a position in Henry Halsey's 
 tannery. At that time but few of his nationality 
 had ever visited this section, and he and his family 
 were regarded with some curiosity, but his sterling 
 Cjualities of character soon won the respect of the 
 citizens. By her careful economy his estimable 
 wife aided him in his purpose to better his condition 
 in life, and, as he was industrious, he was able after 
 a time to buy a comfortable home at Windsor, Conn., 
 where his last years were spent in agricultural pur- 
 suits. While he was not a politician, he affiliated 
 with the Democratic party, and was always keenly 
 interested in its success. His wife died April 25, 
 1898, and he survived her but a few months, dying 
 Aug. 25 1898, and their remains now rest in the 
 cemetery at Blue Hills. Of their aight children six 
 lived to adult age, our subject being third in the 
 order of birth. 
 
 As a boy our subject attended school in Wind- 
 sor, his studies in the common schools being supple- 
 mented by a course in the academy. His spare 
 time was spent in work on the home farm, but as he 
 had strong inclinations toward mercantile life he at 
 the age of sixteen secured a position as a clerk in 
 M. D. Murphy's store at Windsor. Later he was 
 employed in a similar capacity by D. W. Phelps and 
 the firm of Clark & Welch, of that town, but on 
 being offered a position in a railroad office in Omaha, 
 he resigned, thinking the change would be desirable. 
 His parents objected to his gomg so far from home, 
 and in deference to their wishes he gave up his 
 plan, determining to engage in business on his own 
 account, and early in the eighties he established his 
 present general store. He carries on a credit busi- 
 ness, and at times has lost heavily, but this is to be 
 attributed to a generous nature rather than to any 
 lack of sagacity, as it has always been difficult for 
 him to refuse a favor. He has gained a substantial 
 competence, and in 1894 he built a fine brick resi- 
 dence, one of the best in the village. His wife, who 
 was formerly Miss Maggie C. Kennan, is a daugh- 
 ter of John Kennan, an esteemed resident of Wind- 
 sor Locks. Two children brighten their home, \\ ill- 
 iam and Ritter. Mr. and Mrs. Mullaley are prom- 
 inent in religious work as members of St. Gabriel'.'? 
 Catholic Church at Windsor, and this sketch would 
 not be complete without a further mention of our 
 subject's influence in political fields. From early 
 manhood he has been an ardent Democrat, and his 
 sound advice has been valued in the party councils, j 
 but he did not consent to enter the arena as a candi- ! 
 date until he was nominated by his party as a rep- I 
 resentative in the Legislature. The usual vote of 
 the town gives over one hundred Republican plu- 1 
 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 471 
 
 rality, yet lie was clcftcd by a pluralit)- of sixty-four, 
 being the first Democrat chosen to that oitice in the 
 town in more than twelve years. Un Uct. 17, 1900, 
 he was electetl for senator in the Third district of the 
 old town of W'intlsor, Connecticut. 
 
 JAMES A. GRISWOLD. Inthcruralcommuni- 
 ties of Connecticut a higii type of citizenship has 
 always prevailed, and the subject of this sketch, a 
 leading resident of East Granijy, Hartford county, 
 is a typical representative of the intelligent, progres- 
 sive and public-spirited farmer. His home gives 
 evidence of taste and ju licious use of ample means, 
 and the "whole-souled" hosintality of Mr. Griswold 
 and his wife makes it a center for a large circle of 
 friends, w-hile in local ati'airs he exerts a recognized 
 influence. 
 
 The Ciriswold family has been prominent in 
 Hartford county from an early date, our subject's 
 ancestors having been identified with the town of 
 Windsor previous to its organization. James A. 
 Griswold is of the fifth generation in direct descent 
 from Elijah Griswold. Levi Griswold, his son, the 
 great-grandfather of our subject, resided in Windsor. 
 
 Hiram Griswold, our subject's grandfather, was 
 born and reared in ^\'indsor, and settled upon his 
 homestead at Poquonock, where lie engagetl in the 
 blacksmith's trade in connection with the cultivation 
 of his farm. The place was unimproved, and he 
 built the farm buildings, as well as the shop in which i 
 he carried on his trade. He was a resolute, quick- 
 tempered, outspoken man, but generous" and ready 
 to forgive, and his friends were numbered b_v the 
 score. In religious faith he was a Universalist, and 
 politically Vie hekl firmly to the Democratic party, 
 often declaring that he would stand by it if no 
 other adherent could be found in the L^nited States. 
 Among the offices in which he served was that of 
 selectman, and for eight years he was constable of 
 his town, while during his several }'ears as tax col- 
 lector no one dreamed of requiring a bond, so com- 
 plete was the confidence of the public in his integ- 
 rity. Ele died at the advanced age of eighty years, 
 and his remains now rest in the town of Windsor, 
 beside those of his second wife. By his first wife, 
 Esther (Bates), he had one son, James ]Monroe, 
 our subject's father. His second wife, Hannah 
 (Stanley), who died at the age of seventy-one years, 
 was a daughter of Roswell Stanley. They had a 
 large family of children, of whom the following 
 lived to adult age : Esther, widow of John A. 
 I'.rucc, of Bridgeport, Conn.; Hudson N., a farmer 
 . of Windsor ; Julia, widow of James Yeomans, of 
 Centerville, S. Dak.; George EL, of Windsor; and 
 Edgar W., a druggist of Centerville, South Da- 
 kota. 
 
 James Monroe Griswold was born Aug. 11, 1818, 
 and as he was but six years old when his mother 
 died, he was taken to the home of his aunt, Lucinda 
 Bates, with whom he remained, inheriting her farm 
 of 160 acres. His education was obtained in the 
 
 local schools, and from early manhood he was en- 
 gaged in agricultural [uirsuits, in which he was 
 very successful. His attention was largely devoted 
 to stock raising and tobacco growing, and he was 
 one of the first in his locality to cultivate the latter 
 crop. The improvements made by him upon the 
 estate were of a substantial nature, including good 
 barns, and his enterprise and thrift were shown in 
 numerous ways. Politically ho was a Democrat ; 
 his wife was a devout member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church. His death occurred May 28, 1852, 
 from brain fever, and his remains rest in East 
 Granby cemetery. He married Miss Catharine 
 I'helps, who was born March 7, 1816, in Granby 
 (now East Granby), the daughter of Gaylord 
 Phelps, a well-to-do farmer, and they had three 
 children : ;\Iary, wife of George Whiton, of Haz- 
 ardville, this county; Sarah (deceased), who mar- 
 ried Dr. E. E. Case, of Hartford; and James A., 
 our subject. The mother married (second) R. M. 
 Weller, of Hartford, but her last days were spent 
 at the homestead of our subject, where she died 
 March 16, 1875. 
 
 James A. Griswold was born Feb. 18, 1848, on 
 the homestead where he now resides, and as he was 
 but a boy when his father died his mother's gentle 
 influence was the main factor in his early training. 
 His course of study in the public schools of the 
 town was supplemented by an attendance at the 
 Connecticut Literary Institute at Suffield, and since 
 leaving school he has devoted his time to the man- 
 agement of his farm, a fine estate, now comprising 
 about one hundred acres. He is one of the leading 
 tobacco growers of the town, and as a general farmer 
 has met with marked success, being thoroughly prac- 
 tical and scientific in his methods. In politics he is 
 a Democrat "dyed in the wool," and while he does 
 not crave for official honors he has served two terms 
 as tax collector. For many years he has been active 
 in the work of the East Granby Grange, in which 
 he holds the office of chaplain. 
 
 In 1875 Mr. Griswold was married, in Suffield, 
 to Miss Sarah E.Warner, and four clever and attrac- 
 tive children have blessed the union : Miss Frances C. 
 and iliss Martha E. Griswold are successful teach- 
 ers ; and Emily W. and Ethel S. are at home, the 
 latter being still in school. The family are identi- 
 fied with the Congregational Church at East Granby, 
 and with the best social circles of the neighborhood. 
 Mrs. Griswold, whose refinement and amiability are 
 reflected in her daughters, is well-educated, and her 
 mental gifts and strength of character give her 
 much influence among her associates. She was 
 born in Suffield, and belongs to an old and respected 
 family of that town, being one of three children 
 born to William W. and Emily L. (Phelps ) \\'arner, 
 natives of Suffield, wdiere both spent their entire 
 lives. Mrs. Warner died Jan. 19, 1859, and Mr. 
 Warner passed away Jan. 4, 1873. Further men- 
 tion is made of the family in the sketch of Isaac 
 W^ Warner, elsewhere. 
 
472 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 NORRIS BAILEY, a prominent citizen of New 
 Britain, was the first to establish a regular cloth- 
 ier's business in that city, and for many years he 
 has been a leading business man of that locality. 
 He attributes his success to his close attention to 
 business and his prudent, conservative management, 
 and his sound judgment is often called into the ser- 
 vice of others as administrator and executor in the 
 settlement of estates. 
 
 Mr. Bailey has maintained his health and vigor 
 beyond the age at which most men retire. He was 
 born March 8, 1822. He comes of good old Colo- 
 nial stock, his ancestors having settled in Connecti- 
 cut at an early day, and his grandfather, Caleb 
 Bailey, was born in Haddam, Conn., son of Caleb 
 Bailey (i). In early life he was a farmer. He 
 was an active, energetic man, prominent in local 
 affairs, and was a soldier during the Revolution- 
 ary war, enlisting at the age of sixteen. He was 
 captured and imprisoned on board the noted "Jer- 
 sey" prison ship, but near the close of the war he 
 was stricken with yellow fever and taken on shore, 
 with two others, to die. Strange to say, he re- 
 covered, and in his later years he received a pension 
 from the United States Government in recognition 
 of his services. He married a Miss Tewell, of 
 Middletown, and had three children : Horace ; Al- 
 fred ; and Almira, who married William Bowers. 
 
 Horace Bailey, our subject's father, was born 
 Jan. 20, 1795, in Cromwell, Conn., where he grew 
 to manhood. As a young man he engaged in busi- 
 ness as a butcher in Middletown, but his last years 
 were spent upon a small farm at Berlin. As a 
 business man he was successful, while his public 
 spirit made him a valued citizen. In religious 
 faith he was a Baptist, and politically he affiliated 
 with the Democratic party, although never espe- 
 cially active in partisan work. His death occurred 
 Dec. 24, 1867, when he was aged seventy- two, and 
 his wife, Mary Bunnell, who was born Oct. 21, 1794, 
 died July 7, 1883, aged eighty-nine years. She was 
 a member of an old and well-known family of South- 
 ington. To Horace and Mary Bailey the following- 
 children were born: Aurelia A., born Nov. 22, 
 1815, married Eli B. Kelsey, of East Berlin, Conn., 
 and died March 3, 1871 ; Norris, our subject, is 
 mentioned more fully below ; Horace, twin of our 
 subject, was born March 8, 1822, and engaged in 
 business as a butcher and later as a liver)rman in 
 New Britain, where he died Dec. 19, 1888; Amariah 
 C, born Oct. 22, 1828, was a farmer in East Ber- 
 lin, where he died April 4, 1896. 
 
 Our subject was born at Middletown, then called 
 Newfield, and was educated in the district schools 
 of East Berlin town, Hartford county, his attend- 
 ance being limited to the winter season as he grew 
 older. At sixteen he left school altogether, and be- 
 gan to learn the tailor's trade with Timothy Board- 
 man, on Berlin street, Berlin, with whom he re- 
 mained five years as an apprentice. In 1843 he 
 v>'ent into business in Bristol, continuing about a 
 
 year and a half. About 1845 he located in New 
 Britain and opened a store in partnership with 
 David Webster, under the firm name of Webster 
 & Bailey. This was the first clothing store in New 
 Britain. Later A. P. Collins joined the firm, which 
 became Webster, Bailey & Co., and on the death 
 of Mr. Webster it became Bailey & Collins. The 
 business was first conducted at the site of Mr. 
 Damon's present store, but the firm bought the block 
 known as Booth's Corner, which they held for some 
 time. In 1872 Mr. Bailey sold his interest, and he 
 has since engaged in no regular business, although 
 for about five years he was president and treasurer 
 of the Woven Wire Bed Co., of New Britain. Po- 
 litically he is a steadfast Republican, but he has not 
 sought or held office. For forty-five years he has 
 been a member of the Episcopal Church, and in 
 former vears he was an active worker in the I. O. 
 O. F. 
 
 On Sept. 26, 1843, Mr. Bailey married Miss 
 Cornelia L. Parmelee, daughter of Nathaniel Parme- 
 lee, of East Berlin. She died May 19, 1848, and 
 none of the children of this union lived to maturity. 
 On April i, 1849, Mr. Bailey married Roxey D. 
 Bulkeley, daughter of William Bulkeley, of Berlin. 
 She died April 16, 1883, leaving no children, and 
 he was married Sept. 30, 1886, to Miss Ella L. Fow- 
 ler, daughter of Richard Fowler, of New Haven, 
 Conn., who was killed in the battle of Fredericks- 
 burg. 
 
 OLIVER CROMWELL TULLER. To the 
 visitor of Simsbury town who is interested in pic- 
 turesque beauty, and in the indexes of prosperity, 
 the broad acres of the successful merchant and farmer 
 whose name appears above, and his imposing resi- 
 dence, would doubtless be pointed out. Mr. Tuller 
 is one of the largest land owners in the town. He 
 conducted for many years a successful mercantile 
 business, and is among the foremost of the town in 
 enterprise and progressive thrift. He was born at 
 West Simsbury Nov. 26, 1844. 
 
 The Tuller family are among the oldest citizens 
 of Simsbury, and are numbered among its best peo- 
 ple. Our subject is of the sixth generation from 
 John Tuller, or Tulloe, who was the first of that 
 name in Hartford county. The line of descent is 
 as follows : 
 
 (II) Jacob Tuller, son of John Tuller, was born 
 in Simsbury May 22, 1694. He married, Jan. 27, 
 1 72 1, Mary Moses, and settled in East Weatogue, 
 where he engaged in farming. His four children 
 were: Mary, born Jan. 16, 1723-24; Elisha, born 
 Feb. 22, 1726; and Sarah and Jacob, twins, born 
 Aug. 13, 1727. 
 
 (III) Elisha Tuller, son of Jacob and Mary 
 (Moses) Tuller, was through life a farmer of 
 West Simsbury. He married Sarah Case, daugh- 
 ter of Jacob Case. He removed in 1768 to Case's 
 farm, in West Simsbury, where he remained until 
 his death, Feb. 7, 1814. His wife died Dec. 20, 
 

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 473 
 
 1798. Their eight children were as follows : Sarah, 
 born Nov. 24, 1752, married I'hineas Case; Elijah, 
 born I'Y'b. 20, 1754, died in infancy; Elijah, born 
 ^larch 21, 1757, married I'olly Eno April 30, 1782, 
 and died Jan. 29, 1819; Joel, born Nov. 15, 1758, 
 married Dec. 22, 1787, Mary, daughter of Noah 
 Case, and died Jan. 22, 1826; Rosana, born Jan. 
 31, 1763, married Daniel Olmstead ; Abigail, born 
 in 1767, married Thomas Case (3), and died Jan. 
 zy, 1844; Asaph, grandfather of our subject, was 
 born in 1774, and died Nov. 5, 1853; Lettice mar- 
 ried Jerdiah Case. 
 
 (iV) Asaph Tuller, grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was a farmer and stock raiser of Simsbury. 
 He married Ruth Case, daughter of Bartholomew 
 Case, and to them were born the following children : 
 Amelia, who married Thomas \'ining; Electa, who 
 married David Reed; Serena, who married Dwight 
 Leonard; Orsmond; Ruth, who married Judson 
 Wilcox ; Homer, who died unmarried ; Delinda, 
 who married George Vining; Jeremiah, father of 
 our subject; Nancy, who married Sylvanus Sex- 
 ton, and Harriet, who died young. For his second 
 wife Asaph Tuller married Rhoda Hart. 
 
 (\') Jeremiah Tuller, the father of our subject, 
 was born on a farm in West Simsbury in 1808. 
 He acquired a good education, and followed farm- 
 ing all his life in West Simsbury, where he was 
 a land owner, and was also engaged as a manu- 
 facturer. He was elected to the State Legislature 
 at New Haven, and locally he served as selectman 
 and filled manj' other offices. He was also a colonel 
 in the State militia. He died on the farm in West 
 Simsbury in 1872, and was buried in Simsbury. 
 He was liberal in church views, and attended the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. He married, Jan. 
 25, 1832, Luranna E. Phelps, a native of East 
 Weatogue, and a representative of one of the oldest 
 families in the State of Connecticut, being a daugh- 
 ter of Oliver C. Phelps, and great-granddaughter 
 of Lieut. David Phelps, of Simsbury. William 
 Phelps, the first who settled in America, was a na- 
 tive of Somersetshire, or Dorsetshire, England. 
 He settled in Windsor. His son Joseph was born 
 about 1629 in England. He married, Sept. 20, 
 1660, Hannah, daughter of Roger Newton, and 
 sister of John Newton. She died in Simsbury 
 in 1675. The children of Joseph and Hannah 
 Phelps were Joseph, born Aug. 20, 1667 ; Hannah, 
 born Feb. 2, 1669, who died young; Timothy, 
 •born in 1671 ; Sarah, born in 1672, who married 
 John Hill ; and William, born in 1674, who died 
 Oct. 8, 1689. Joseph married for his second wife, 
 Jan. 9, 1676, Mary Salmon, widow of Thomas 
 Salmon. He was made a freeman in 1664, and died 
 in 1684 at Simsbury, where he was buried. 
 
 Joseph Phelps, his son, born in Simsbury, en- 
 gaged in farming. He represented the town of 
 Simsbury in the General Assembly in 1709 and 
 1727. He married first i\Iary Collier, who died in 
 1697, and for his second wife Sarah, daughter of 
 
 John and Sarah (Spencer) Case, Nov. 9, 1699. 
 She was born Aug. 14, 1676, and died May 2, 1704. 
 For his third wife he married Mary Case, daughter 
 of Richard and Elizabeth Case. He died Jan. 
 20, 1750. The children of Joseph Phelps by his 
 first wife were Joseph, born Oct. 9, 1689; Hannah, 
 born Oct. 25, 1693, who married Samuel Humphrey; 
 Mary, born Oct. 17, 1696, who died Jan. 9, 
 1713. Uy his second wife the children of Joseph 
 Phelps were Sarah, born Aug. 11, 1700, who died 
 Jan. 14, 1714; and Damaris, born jNIarch 5, 1703, 
 who married John i\lills. By his third wife his 
 children were John, born Feb. 14, 1707, who died 
 Jan. 5, 1713; Amos, born in 1708, who married Sarah 
 Pettibone; Elizabeth, born April 7, 1709, who mar- 
 ried July 23, 1725, Daniel Hoskins ; and David, born 
 in 1710. 
 
 David Phelps, born in i/io, in Simsbury, was an 
 ensign and later a lieutenant in the militia. On 
 April 25, 1731, he married Abigail Pettibone, who 
 married for her second husband Deacon David 
 Strong, of Bolton, Conn. David died April 9, 
 1760. The children of David and Abigail Phelps 
 were David, born j\lay 7, 1732, died in July, 1732; 
 David, born March 26, 1733; Abigail, born Nov. 5, 
 1735, married Edward Griswold, and for her second 
 husband Deacon Amasa Case ; Elisha, born 
 Oct. 17, 1737; Noah, born Jan. 22, 1740; Rachel, 
 born Dec. 11, 1741, married David Humphrey, of 
 Simsbury; Ruth, born Sept. 15, 1743, married Jonah 
 Case; Sarah, born Oct. 15, 1745; Susannah, born 
 Jan. 4, 1748, married William Nash ; and Lois, born 
 March 4, 1750, married Samuel Hayden, of Har- 
 winton, Connecticut. 
 
 David Phelps, born ^larch 26, 1733, was a sol- 
 dier during the Revolution. He died in Simsbury. 
 He married for his first wife, April 7, 1753, Abigail 
 Griswold, born at Windsor May 6, 1732, died May 
 16, 1795. For his second wife he married Harriet, 
 widow of Sergt. Noah Humphrey. The children 
 born to David and Abigail Phelps were : Abigail, 
 born Nov. 16, 1754, married Jared Merrill; Ozias, 
 born i\Iay I, 1756, married Sally Judson; David, 
 born Nov. 13, 1759, married Asenath Humphrey; 
 Elizabeth, twin of David, married Samuel Terey; 
 Rhoda, born Sept. 22, 1765, married Abel Tilley; 
 Roswell, born Oct. 31, 1767, married Dorcas Petti- 
 bone ; Alexander, born Feb. 26, 1769 : Susanna, born 
 Dec. 27, 1773, married Frederick Phelps; Oliver 
 Cromwell, born Dec. 22, 1774, married Susan En- 
 sign, of Simsbury, and they were tlie parents 0/ 
 Mrs. Luranna E. (Phelps) Tuller. 
 
 The children born to Jeremiah and Luranna E. 
 (Phelps) Tuller were as follows: Asaph (de- 
 ceased) ; Cornelia, who married Jarvis Harrington, 
 of Collinsville, Conn., and is now deceased; Georgie 
 (deceased) was the wife of Charles Raymond, of 
 New York; Phelps (deceased), who married Lizzie 
 M. Bulkley (deceased'): Oliver C, our subject; 
 Hattie, who married Joseph Layton, of Providence, 
 R. L The mother died at the home of our subject. 
 
474 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 at the age of eighty-nine years. She was a mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a devout 
 Christian, a woman of education, in earlier life a 
 school teacher, a good mother and wife, and of high 
 moral character. 
 
 Our subject attended the district schools of West 
 Simsbur)', also the New Britain high school. He 
 was reared on the home farm in West Simsbury, 
 and when a young man he embarked in the mercan- 
 tile business in West Simsbury in partnership with 
 his brother under the name of Tuller Brothers. The 
 business was most profitabl}^ conducted until the 
 death of his brother, after which our subject sold 
 his interest and has since engaged extensively in 
 dairy and general farming and tobacco growing. 
 Mr. Tuller is the owner of 500 acres of land, and is 
 one of the largest land holders in Simsbury. He is 
 a stockholder in the Simsbury Creamery. He has 
 made many improvements on his farm, and has re- 
 modeled his home, which is one of the finest in West 
 Simsbury. 
 
 Mr. Tuller married, in 1884, at Stamford, Conn., 
 Julia Dibble, a native of that city, daughter of Capt. 
 William Henry Dibble. She was educated in the 
 district schools and in the high schools of Stam- 
 ford, the State Normal School at New Britain, and 
 also the State Normal School at New York City, and 
 was a successful school teacher, for two years teach- 
 ing in West Simsbury. Mrs. Tuller is a member 
 of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 
 Abigail Phelps Chapter, Simsbury, a lady of refine- 
 ment and culture, and devoted to her home and 
 family. She is a consistent member of the Metho- 
 dist Episcopal Church. 
 
 Capt. William Henry Dibble, her father, was 
 born in New York City April 20, 1820, son of David 
 Dibble, and grandson of John Dibble, who was a 
 soldier in the Revolutionary war, and lived in Fair- 
 field county. Conn. The Dibble family was one of 
 the oldest in Darien, Fairfield county. John, Dibble 
 died there in 1646, leaving two sons, Samuel and 
 Zachariah Dibble. For two and a half centuries the 
 family has been prominent in the local history of 
 Darien. David, the father of Capt. Dibble, was 
 born in Darien, Fairfield Co., Conn., and removed 
 to New York City, where he was employed on mu- 
 nicipal work. He died in New York in 1826, and 
 was buried there. In politics he was a Democrat. 
 He married Margaret Smoke, who bore him four 
 children : David ; Mary, who married Joseph Haii- 
 nabel ; John and Capt. William H. 
 
 Capt. Dibble, from early boyhood, was engaged 
 in coasting in the local trade, and at the age of 
 twenty-one he was captain oi. a coaster along the 
 Atlantic. For twelve years he commanded a vessel, 
 after which he returned to Stamford, Fairfield Co., 
 Conn., where he engaged in farming. In June, 
 1862, he enlisted at Stamford in Company B, 17th 
 Conn. V. I., under Col. Noble and Capt. Hobbie, 
 and participated in several engagements. He was 
 discharged in 1864, and returned home. For the 
 
 past thirty years he has been blind, losing his eye- 
 sight as the effect of injuries sustained during his 
 army life, and since 1894 he has made his home 
 at the residence of Oliver C. Tuller, West Sims- 
 bury. Capt. Dibble married, in New York City, 
 Harriet N. Lockwood, daughter of Josiah A. Lock- 
 wood, and to them six children were born, as fol- 
 lows : Harriet, who married Daniel Hall, of Ver- 
 mont, and is now deceased; William Henry, of 
 Stamford; Julia, wife of Oliver C. Tuller, our sub- 
 ject; Josiah, of Denver, Colo.; Mary, who married 
 Louis J. Fox and is now deceased ; and Martha, de- 
 ceased. The wife of Capt. Dibble died in 1895 at 
 West Simsbury, and was buried in Stamford. In 
 politics the Captain is a Republican. 
 
 To Oliver C. Tuller and wife have been born 
 five children : Oliver, William, Martiemae, Ray- 
 inond and David. In politics Mr. Tuller is a Demo- 
 crat. He is liberal in church views, and is a man of 
 intelligence, good judgment and success. He is 
 genial, well known, popular, and in general ability 
 and public spirit is among the foremost citizens of 
 Simsbury. 
 
 JULIUS WILCOX BURR. While many .peo- 
 ple are devoting their entire life and energies to 
 accumulating vast fortunes by selfish and unscrupu- 
 lous means, there is nothing more worthy of praise 
 than the quiet and steady pursuit of some- honest 
 calling, and the determined exercise of the industry, 
 economy and sagacity which enable a man to acquire 
 a home and competence. The subject ol this bio- 
 graphy, now a prosperous citizen of Berlin, is a man 
 who, through his own well-directed efforts, has 
 secured a competence without the sacrifice of prin- 
 ciples. 
 
 Mr. Burr was born in Haddam, Conn., June 21, 
 1822, and is descended from a family of English 
 origin, one branch of which located in Hartford, 
 another in Wethersfield, and the third in the west- 
 ern part of the State. (I) Benjamin Burr (or 
 Burre, as he spelled the name), the founder of the 
 Hartford branch, first appeared as one of the orig- 
 inal settlers of Hartford in 1635. His name, which 
 appears in the land division of Hartford in 1639 
 as an original proprietor and settler, is the first evi- 
 dence we have of his presence in America, but as 
 we are told that the first settlers of Hartford were 
 from Watertown, Newtown, and other places near 
 Boston, it is certain that he was in Massachusetts 
 some time before his appearance in Hartford, and 
 he may have been one of the eight hundred who 
 came to America with Winthrop's fleet, in June, 
 1630. He seems to have been an active, energetic, 
 thorough business man, and mingled but little in 
 public affairs, hence but brief mention is made of 
 him in the records of the Colony. He was the first 
 of his name in Connecticut, and was admitted a 
 freeman in 1658. Flis allotment in the land division 
 of Hartford in 1639 was six acres, and he also drew 
 eighteen acres in the land division of East Hart- 
 
tl 
 
 iyclda /r, 
 
 UAAy 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 475 
 
 fi)r(l, in 1666. He died in Hartford March 31, 
 lOSi, and was buried probably in one of the hillside 
 cemeteries long since obliterated, in which rests the 
 dust of many of Hartford's early settlers. He gave 
 his name to one of Hartford's streets, known as 
 Burr street, which ran west from Main street, near 
 the present Asxluni street, if indeed it was not 
 identical with that thoroughfare. 
 
 (II) Samuel Durr, a son of Benjamin, was born 
 in England, and was made a freeman in Hartford 
 in May, 1658. He had five children. He died 
 Sept. 29, 1682, and seems to have been a man of 
 great energy and business abilit\-, at his death 
 leaving quite a large estate. 
 
 (III) Jonathan Burr, son o'f Samuel, was born 
 in 1679, and was an early settler of JMiddletown, 
 Conn. He married Abigail Hubbard, who was born 
 in 1686, a daughter of Nathaniel Hubbard and 
 granddaughter of George Hubbard, of Middletown, 
 and by this union eight children were born. He 
 died Jan. i, 1735. 
 
 (1\') Nathaniel Burr, son of Jonathan, removed 
 to Haddam, Conn., six miles from his native town 
 of Middletown, and his house stood on the site of 
 the present Methodist church, near the residence 
 of his grandson, Sylvester Burr. He was a man of 
 athletic frame, and capable of enduring great hard- 
 ships, and was a farmer by occupation. He died in 
 Haddam Sept. 12, 1802, aged eighty-six years, and 
 was laid to rest in the old burying-ground. His 
 wife, Sarah, died ]\Iay 21, 1799, aged seventy-six 
 years, and was buried near her husband. 
 
 (Y) Capt. Jonathan Burr, son of Nathaniel 
 Burr, and grandfather of our subject, was a farmer 
 and prominent man of Haddam, and was captain 
 of a company of Continental soldiers in the Revolu- 
 tionary war. He married Lydia Bailey, of Haddam, 
 and they had eleven children. He died in that town 
 Feb. 10, 1804, aged forty-eight years, and his re- 
 mains were interred near those of his father, in 
 the old burying-ground, in Haddam. 
 
 (VI) Daniel Burr, father of our subject, fol- 
 lowed farming in Haddam throughout life, and was 
 also engaged in contracting for several years. He 
 died when our subject was but eleven years old. 
 He married Betsey Wilcox, of Haddam, and to them 
 were born eight children : Clarissa, Albert and Bet- 
 sey H., all deceased: Julius W., our subject; Dio- 
 date, a resident of Bristol, Conn. ; Daniel A., de- 
 ceased : Clarinda A. and Theodore J., both resi- 
 dents of Minnesota. 
 
 (VII) Julius ^^^ Burr passed his boyhood on 
 the home farm in Haddam, and attended the com- 
 mon schools, and also a select school. As his fa- 
 ther died when he was quite young, he was early 
 compelled to start out in life for himself, and at 
 the age of sixteen, after leaving school, he com- 
 menced learning the blacksmith's trade with Day- 
 ton Burr, a distant cousin, who failed after Julius 
 h.ad been with him a little over a year. He then 
 went to work for Crandall & Cornwell, of Middle- 
 
 town, where he remained about two years, and 
 after working in Hartfonl for a month or two he 
 came to Berlin, and entered the employ of Ferdi- 
 nand Dickenson. Here he did the iron work on 
 wagons for one year, and was then in partnership 
 with Mr. Dickenson for about two years. Subse- 
 quently he was for six or seven yeau in the employ 
 of J. & E. North. Un the death of Jcdcdiah North 
 the company was re-organized, and the firm, then 
 known as Edmund North & Co., was composed of 
 Edmund North, Levi North, Frederick M. North 
 and Julius W. Burr, the three last named having 
 purchased Jeded'.ah North's interest in the business. 
 Three years later the firm consolidated with the 
 Roys & Wilcox Co., and subsequently became the 
 Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., in which Mr. Burr is 
 still a stockholder. He was also one of the con- 
 tractors of that company until the spring of 1898, in 
 the finishing or shear department; was 'a director 
 in the Berlin Iron liridge Co., for fifteen years, 
 until January, 1897; and was also a director of the 
 Roys & Wilcox Co. He is still a large stockholder 
 in the Berlin Iron Bridge Co., and the Peck. Stow 
 & Wilcox Co., but is now practically living retired 
 from active business on account of ill health. When 
 the J. O. Smith Co., of Westfield, was in financial 
 trouble several years ago. he came to its relief with 
 his capital and excellent business ability, and as 
 president of the company placed the concern in a 
 prosperous condition. His son-in-law is now sec- 
 retary and treasurer of that company. 
 
 On Oct. I, 1845, yir. Burr married Miss Julia 
 Ellen Cornwell, of Middletown, who was born Nov. 
 21, 1823, a daughter of Joseph and Lucinda 
 (Miller) Cornwell. To them were born three chil- 
 dren; (i) Emma Estella, born Oct. 16, 1847, is 'lie 
 wife of Roderick Loveland, a merchant of Middle- 
 town, and they now make their home wnth our 
 subject. (2) Ella Julia, born May 14, 1849. was 
 the wife of Herbert E. Smith, secretary and treas- 
 urer of the J. O. Smith Manufacturing Co., of 
 which our subject has been president. They manu- 
 facture tin cash-boxes, small hardware, and do a 
 great deal of wood japanning. She died Jan. 26, 
 1899- (3) Lucy Etta, born Aug. 23, 1859, is the 
 wife of Percy F. Hickcock. who is employed as 
 superintendent of the shipping department of the 
 Schofield Manufacturing Co. The mother of these, 
 who was a consistent member of the Congregational 
 Church of Westfield, died March 30, 1890, and 
 was laid to rest in the ^^'estfield cemetery. 
 
 Mr. Burr is also a faithful member of the Con- 
 gregational Church, and sociallv is affiliated with 
 Mattabessett Lodge, No. 25, K. of P., of East Ber- 
 lin. Politically he was originally a Whig, and is 
 now a stanch Republican. He has never taken an 
 active part in political afifairs. aside from voting, 
 preferring to give his undivideu attention to his 
 business interest; he was once nominated as repre- 
 sentative to the State Legislature, but declined the 
 honor. Energy, industry and perseverance have 
 
476 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 been marked characteristics in his business career 
 and to these may be attributed the secret of his 
 success. In business affairs he was notably reliable, 
 and had the entire confidence and respect of his 
 associates and of all with whom he came in con- 
 tact. 
 
 WILLIAM R. MACK, one of Windsor's best 
 citizens, has been prominent for many years in busi- 
 ness circles, and is still extensively engaged in the 
 manufacture of brick. His family may be said to 
 have been pioneers in that industry in his locality, 
 and as large holders of real estate they have also 
 been identified with the agricultural interests of the 
 town. Throughout his career Mr. Mack has shown 
 the thrift, energy and sound judgment which charac- 
 terized his ancestry as the following record of his 
 achievements will indicate, and by his judicious use 
 of his resources he has acquired a comfortable 
 competence. 
 
 The family is numerously represented in this 
 section, and in other sketches contain interesting ac- 
 counts of early generations. In the paternal line 
 our subject is a descendant of Andrew Mack, a 
 Hessian soldier, who was captured at Fort Ticon- 
 deroga, and confined in the Old Newgate Prison at 
 Simsbury. On being released he joined the Colo- 
 nial army and fought bravely for Independence. 
 On the maternal side he traces his descent from 
 Peregrine White, of "Mayflower" fame, and from 
 the Allen family, to which Ethan Allen belonged. 
 
 Our subject was born Dec. 25, 1836, in a house 
 which stands on Mack street, Windsor, near his 
 present residence, and is a son of William and Sarah 
 (Ware) Mack, of whom further mention is made 
 elsewhere. During boyhood he attended the com- 
 mon schools of the academy at Windsor, while his 
 spare moments were usefully employed in farm work 
 or in helping in his father's brick yard. In the 
 spring of 1858 he went to Springfield, Illinois, 
 where he took a position as foreman in a large 
 brick yard at a handsome salary. There he re- 
 mained a number of years, and among his recol- 
 lections of the place are incidents connected with 
 the life of Abraham Lincoln, who was elected Presi- 
 dent during that time. Mr. Mack was one of 
 many who called at Lincoln's residence on the mem- 
 orable night when the returns from the election 
 were received, and he distinctly remembers the 
 tall form of "Old Abe" as he stood on the doorstep 
 and said "Friends and Fellow-Citizens : I wish that 
 my house was large enough to hold you all. Come 
 in, all that can get in." On his return from Illi- 
 nois Mr. Mack engaged in farming in Windsor, 
 which he has ever since followed in addition to the 
 management of his brickyard. In 1871 he built his 
 substantial brick residence in Mack street, where he 
 has since resided, and its comforts are a tangible re- 
 ward of his industry and foresight. In manner he 
 is unostentatious and his reliable and straightfor- 
 ward methods of business have brought him the con- 
 
 fidence of all who deal with him. Politically 
 "Russell" Mack, as he is called, is a life-long Re-j 
 publican, his first Presidential vote having been cast] 
 for Abraham Lincoln, and but for his refusal to ac- 
 cept nomination he would doubtless have been the 
 choice of his party for local office more than once. 
 He and his family enjoy an excellent social position, 
 and he is a charter member of tne O. U. A. M. at \ 
 Windsor. His wife is prominently identified with 
 the Episcopal Church. He was married (first) in 
 Windsor to Miss Juliette Holt, of Hartford, daugh- 
 ter of Samuel and Rachel Holt. His second wife 
 was Mrs. Anna (Clapp) Baldwin, widow of Charles 
 Baldwin. His third wife was Mrs. Jane (Cobb) 
 Camp, of Norfolk, Conn., widow of Abel Camp, and 
 in 1898 he married Mrs. Mary A. (Barnes) Cornell, 
 widow of George Cornell, of Providence. He has 
 five children, all by the first marriage : Eva R. (Mrs. 
 T. H. Whitney), R. W., E. W., and Nellie (Mrs. 
 Wilbur Reid) reside in Windsor, and Etta is the 
 wife of Henry Elcock, of Hartford. 
 
 HON. NORRIS W. BUNNELL, of BurHng- 
 ton Centre, is" now living retired in the enjoyment 
 of a rest which he has truly earned and richly de- 
 serves, by reason of his industrious efforts in for- 
 mer years. Accomplishment and progress ever 
 imply labor, energy and diligence, and it was those 
 qualities that enabled our subject to rise from the 
 ranks of the many and stand among the success- 
 ful few. 
 
 Mr. Bunnell was born on a farm near Burling- 
 ton Centre Nov. 10, 1825, and belongs to one of 
 the oldest families of that locality. His grand- 
 father, Lemuel Bunnell, was born in 1767 in Hart- 
 ford county, and when a young man located in 
 Burlington. He died there Feb. i, 1809, and his 
 wife, who bore the maiden name of Marial Ben- 
 ham, was born in 1772, and died April 7, 1852, 
 the remains of both being interred in Burlington 
 cemetery. In their family were five children : Hez- 
 ekiah, a manufacturer of linseed oil, who died in 
 Burlington ; Polly, Mrs. Elton ; Theda, Mrs. Smith ; 
 Joel, the father of our subject; and Sybil, Mrs. 
 Wheeler. 
 
 Capt. Joel Bunnell, our subject's father, was 
 born Feb. 5, 1793, received a district-school ed- 
 ucation, and during his youth learned the trades of 
 tanner, currier and shoemaker. Throughout the 
 greater part of his life he followed shoemaking, 
 going from house to house making shoes, then 
 known as "whipping the cat." He was a man of 
 good business ability and sound judgment, and 
 became quite well-to-do, owning over 700 aces of 
 land in Bulington, where he also engaged in farming 
 and stock raising. He was a captain in the State 
 militia, and during the war of 1812 was drafted, 
 serving for six months at New London, Conn. In 
 his religious views he was liberal, and in political 
 sentiment he was first a Democrat, and later a 
 Republican, but never an office seeker. 
 
a/C 
 
 c^-t^t^C^ lA^ 
 
 /P 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ill 
 
 He died in Burlington July 4, 1876, honored 
 and respected by all who knew him. He married 
 Miss Fanny Gridley, a daughter of Reuel Gridley, 
 who was a farmer in Harwuiton, Conn., and there 
 died. She was born Alarch 13, 1798, and died 
 April 30, 1887, being laid to rest by the side of 
 her husband in Burlington Centre cemetery. Their 
 children were as follows: Warren G., born April 
 6, 1819, is a resident of Burlington. Lemuel W., 
 born June 12, 1823, married Jcnnette E. Clark, 
 who died Jan. 3, 1847, at the age of twenty-six 
 years, and he subsequently wedded Serena Aldrich, 
 who survives him, and by whom he had two daugh- 
 ters, Fannie, Airs. Jenkins, of Plainville ; and Clara 
 (deceased), Mrs. Robert Bissell ; Lemuel W. died 
 in Plainville, Conn., April 23, 1890. Norris W., 
 our subject, is next in the family. Shelden L., 
 born Jan. 19, 1828, died July 8, 1878, Adaline 
 A., born June 24, 1832, is a resident of Burlington 
 Center. 
 
 During his boyhood Norris W. Bunnell at- 
 tended the district schools of Burlington, but the 
 greater part of his education has been acquired 
 by reading and observation in later years. He is 
 especially well posted on the leading events of the 
 day. Remaining with his father until the latter's 
 death, he subsequently came into possession of 300 
 acres of land, on which he made many improve- 
 ments, and there he successfully engaged in gen- 
 eral farming and stock raising until after the death 
 of his wife, in 1888, when he sold the farm, and 
 now lives retired with his sister in Burlington Cen- 
 ter. Upright and honorable in all the relations of 
 life, he has gained the confidence and respect of 
 all with whom he has come in contact. Being one 
 of the prominent men of his town, he was elected 
 to a number of offices, and most creditably served 
 as selectman, assessor, tax collector and justice of 
 the peace, and represented Burlington in the State 
 Legislature in 1883. He is a Democrat in poli- 
 tics, and liberal in religious views. 
 
 In Burlington, Oct. 10, 1866, Mr. Bunnell mar- 
 ried Miss Kavanna Edwards, a daughter of Abel 
 Edwards, a well-known citizen of Burlington. She 
 was born in Washington, Conn., in 1842, and died 
 March 30, 1888, her remains being interred in 
 Burlington Center cemetery, where the family have 
 erected a beautiful monument. Mrs. Bunnell was 
 a lady of culture and refinement, and a good Chris- 
 tian woman, well liked by all who knew her. Mr. 
 Bunnell has one son, Otis Gridley, born Dec. 19, 
 1868. He attended the district schools of Burling- 
 ton, and later the high school of Bristol, from 
 which he was graduated in April, 1889, in the fall 
 of that year entering Yale College. He completed 
 the scientific course, graduating in 1892, with hon- 
 ors, and then became a private tutor in the family 
 of L. L. Lorillard, of New Yorli City. In the 
 spring of 1893 he went to the Old World, visiting 
 the principal cities of Europe. Asia and Africa, 
 where he spent fifteen months. In 1894 he became 
 
 an instructor in French, at Yale, where he still re- 
 mains. He is a young man of far more than 
 ordinary ability and intellectual attainments, hold- 
 ing the degrees of I'll. B. and M. S. Mr. Bunnell 
 also attained high standing in military science, pur- 
 suing the study during his college course, and stood 
 fifth in class of nearly 200. He is a Knight Temp- 
 lar, a member of the Chi Phi Fratermt)-, and of 
 the Graduates Club, New Haven. 
 
 HON. WILLIAM HANMER (deceased) was 
 at the time of his death, which occurred Dec. 27, 
 1877, one of the foremost business men of East 
 Hartford, as a member of the East Hartford Manu- 
 facturing Company, and was a native of the town. 
 He was born Aug. 14, 1828, and was a son of Fran- 
 cis and Julia (Roberts) Hanmer, both descendants 
 of old and highly respected Colonial families, to 
 whom frequent allusions are made in various 
 sketches to be found within the covers of this 
 work. 
 
 Francis Hanmer, father of our subject, was 
 born Sept. 6, 1801, and died Feb. 6, 1881, his re- 
 mains being interred at East Hartford. He w-as 
 twice married, and by his first wife, Julia Roberts, 
 became the father of three children : Alary, born 
 April 12, 1827, who died April 18, 1888; William, 
 the subject of this sketch; and Julia, w-ho was born 
 Aug. 14, 1830, and died Nov. 22, 1854. Airs. Julia 
 (Roberts) Hanmer, who was born Alay 12, 1805, 
 passed away June 5, 1832, and Air. Hanmer next 
 married Abbie Forbes, who was born Sept. 15, 181 1, 
 and died Alay 10, 1879, the mother of two children: 
 Francis, Jr., who was born Oct. 19, 1837, and died 
 Aug. 31, 1838; and Charles, a resident of East 
 Hartford. Air. Hanmer was recognized as one of 
 the most progressive men of East Hartford town, 
 and in 1859 was its representative in the State Leg- 
 islature. He was a pioneer in the manufacture of 
 gunpowder, and for years the firm of Hanmer & 
 Forbes stood at the head of this industry in the 
 United States, their factory being located at Scot- 
 land, now Burnside, Connecticut. 
 
 Hon. William Hanmer was reared in East Hart- 
 ford, and received a sound academic education, 
 being fitted for college, but he did not, however, 
 matriculate in any of the higher institutions of learn- 
 ing. When a young man he w^ent to Alonson, 
 Alass., and for some time clerked for a mercantile 
 firm, then returned to East Hartford, and assisted 
 in his father's office until he became associated with 
 the East Hartford Alanufacturing Company at 
 Burnside, where his arduous labors, beyond a doubt, 
 accelerated his untimely and lamented death, in the 
 prime and full vigor of manhood. He had, however, 
 other interests beside those connected with the 
 company, and holdings which, in conjunction with 
 his activity in promoting the prosperity of his town, 
 and his duties as a public officer, were additional 
 strains on his mentality and nervous system. He 
 took a keen interest in public affairs, both of the vil- 
 
478 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lage of East Hartford and of Burnside, and being 
 truly public-spirited was liberal in his donations of 
 land to the latter village for streets and other pur- 
 poses, and was ever ready to contribute to any pro- 
 ject designed to advance the public welfare. In 
 politics a Republican, he was elected to represent 
 the East Hartford district in the State Legislature 
 in 1863, and in 1870 served as town treasurer, 
 and also served incidentally in several minor offi- 
 ces, all of which, however, carried with them a 
 burden of care and responsibility. 
 
 Mr. Hanmer was joined in matrimony Sept. 6, 
 1853, with Miss Caroline E. Forbes, who was born 
 at Burnside April 17, 1834, a daughter of Charles 
 and Mary A. (Ward) Forbes, the former of whom 
 was born Dec. 27, 1805, and the latter May 8, 1807, 
 and of whom a full biographical sketch is given else- 
 where. The children born to the marriage of Mr. 
 Hanmer and his amiable wife were six in number, 
 and were named, in order of birth, as follows : 
 Frances, now Mrs. A. W. Eaton, of Pittsfield, Mass. ; 
 Franklin H., of Burnside; William W., who died 
 at the age of tweny-eight years ; Harriet, married 
 tD Mark Robbins, of Lee, Mass. ; John R., of Boston, 
 Mass. ; and Daisey, wife of Clarence Rodgers, of 
 Hartford, Conn. Mrs. Caroline E. Hanmer now 
 makes her home in Hartford, and is a respected and 
 consistent member of the Park Congregational 
 Church, the tenets of which she embraced early in 
 life. She is honored by all who know her, as 
 many do, for her sunny and amiable disposition has 
 made her hosts of friends. 
 
 LYMAN TREAT, of East Hartford, one of the 
 earliest of the residents of Connecticut to engage in 
 the tobacco-growing industry, descends from a very 
 old and respected Colonial family which had its origin 
 in England, but of which family, after diligent 
 search, no absolutely authentic trace has yet been 
 followed which leads the American family to its 
 connection with the stock on Albion's Isle. 
 
 It is, however, a well-authenticated fact that 
 Matthias Treat, one of the founders of the family 
 in America, was born in England, and was married 
 in Wethersfield, Conn., in 1648, to Mary Smith, a 
 daughter of Richard Smith, of Wethersfield, and 
 died July 8, 1682, at his residence on the east side 
 of Broad street, which had been the old Samuel 
 Boardman homestead. From the marriage of 
 Matthias Treat and Mary Smith came the following 
 named children: Henry, born in 1649, married 
 Sarah Andrews in 1673, and died in 1681 ; Susanna 
 was born in 1651, and Richard in 1655; Elizabeth 
 was born in 1657; Abigail, born in 1659, was mar- 
 ried to Capt. Stephen Hollister in 1683, and died in 
 1702 ; and Dorcas, born in 1662, was married, in 
 1681, to Richard Smith. The records of Wethers- 
 field show that Mrs. Mary (Smith) Treat gave to 
 her daughter, Dorcas, Jan. 20, 1681, her ''brown 
 cow, between six and seven years old." 
 
 Henry Treat, son of Matthias and Mary, mar- 
 
 ~WSiSSX~ 
 
 ried in 1673, Sarah Andrews, daughter of Edward 
 Andrews, of Hartford, and died m 1681, at Eas^ 
 Hartford, the father of the children as follows: 
 Sarah, who was born in 1674, and was married to 
 David Forbes, of Hartford, and Matthias, bornj 
 about 1676. The latter married, about 1700, Han- 
 nah Warren, and died Oct. 26, 1726, the father oil 
 Matthias, who was born in 1705, married Mrs.1 
 Dorothy (Buckland) Bidwell about 1750, and died 
 about 1776; and Flenry, born in 1707, was baptizedl 
 May 4, of that year, married Abigail Oilman about 
 1731, and died Oct. 12, 1794. Matthias and Dor-I 
 othy (Buckland-Bidwell) Treat became the parents! 
 of the following named children : Matthias, whol 
 was born in 1750, and baptized Dec. 3, marriedl 
 Tryphena Risley, Dec. 20, 1778, and died in June,! 
 1827; Mary, the date of whose birth is not givenl 
 for lack of record, was married to a Mr. Raymond ;[ 
 Theodore, born Aug. 15, 1754, for his first wifej 
 married Mary Williams, Dec. 11, 1783, for his sec-T 
 ond wife wedded Mrs. Zeppora Sholes, March 28,! 
 1805, and died March 28, 1828; Esther, born inl 
 August, 1755, was married (first) to a Mr. Bunce,] 
 and (second) to a Mr. Hinsdale; Russell, born inl 
 1758, and baptized April 23, married Anna Ensign,] 
 daughter of Moses Ensign, and died in East Hart- 
 ford in 1842, his wife following him to the grave| 
 July 10, 1849. 
 
 Of the above named children, Matthias served as 
 a private in the company of Capt. Jonathan Wellsl 
 at the outbreak of the Revolution, and at the first' 
 alarm, in 1775, marched to the defense of Boston, 
 for which he was allowed six days' compensation. 
 From Jan. 7, 1778, until March 7, 1778, he was a 
 private in the company of Capt. Russell Grant, of 
 Col. Obadiah Johnson's regiment, and he was a lievi- 
 tenant of a militia company in 1794. Russell Treat 
 also served in the war of the Revolution. He was a 
 drummer of great skill, and in December, 1775) S'''" 
 listed at East Hartford under Capt. Bissell, in Col. 
 Huntington's regiment, for one year, and was dis- 
 charged at Peekskill, N. Y., having taken part in 
 the battle of Long Island, that State, Aug. 27, 
 1776, as well as in several other engagements. In 
 1777 for six months he was with Capt. Curtis in Col. 
 Eno's Connecticut Regiment, and was present at 
 the surrender of Gen. Burgoyne, Oct. 17, of the 
 same year. 
 
 The eight children born to Lieut. JMatthias and 
 Tryphena Treat were as follows : ( i ) Tryphena, 
 born April 17, 1780, was married to Major Nche- 
 miah Abbey, and died April 22, 1859; (^) Eliza- 
 beth, born Nov. 18, 1781, was married (first) 
 March 21, 1802, to Timothy Forbes, of Burnside, 
 Conn., a son of Timothy and Mary (Roberts) 
 Forbes, and (second) May i, 1822, to John L. 
 Goodale, of Windsor, Conn., her death taking 
 place May 17, i860; (3) Clarissa, born Jan. 18, 
 1784, was married to Harvey Peck, of Rochester, 
 N. Y. ; (4) Olive, born Jan. 18, 1787, was mar- 
 ried Nov. 19, 1809, to Timothy Deming; (5) Mat- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 479 
 
 tliias (father of our subject), born July 28, 1789, 
 married (first) Aug. 29, 1813, Lucy Urewer, and 
 (second) June 17, 1840, wedded Mrs. Sarah (Sey- 
 mour I Williams, and tlied AJarch 5, 1843; ('j) 
 Sylvester, born Sept. 8, 1792, married iMay 8, 1824, 
 Emily Browji, and died in i860; (7) Oliver, born 
 May 1, 1795, married (first) j\lay 8, i8i6, Dorothy 
 Porter; (second) Oct. 9, 1834, Statira Adams; 
 (third) Oct. 11, 1862, Almira i'helps; and (fourth) 
 in October, 1867, ]\lrs. Mary Orville Bridges (Oli- 
 ver died Jan. 21, 1875) ; (8) Henry B., born May 
 8, 1798, died April 5, 1878. 
 
 Matthias Treat, father of Lyman Treat, the 
 subject proper of this sketch, and the dates of 
 whose birth and death have been mentioned above, 
 was born on the farm now occupied by Samuel Hills, 
 was educated in the common schools, and at an early 
 age was employed in the shipyards on the Connecti- 
 cut river at seventy-five cents per day. To his 
 marriage with Lucy Brewer, daugiiter of Daniel and 
 sister of Samuel, George, Daniel and Reuben 
 Brewer, were born nine children. Mrs. Lucy 
 (Brewer) was born May 7, 1793, passed her child- 
 hood and womanhood near Hazard Forks, and died 
 or. her husband's homestead on Willow street. East 
 Hartford, Aug. 2, 1838. Their children were as 
 follows: Eliza Ann, born Oct. 29, 18 14, died Sept. 
 29, 1820; Abigail, born Jan. 20," 1816, was married 
 to Joseph Rist, of East Hartford, Aug. 19, 1841 ; 
 Lyman, the subject of this biography, was born 
 Alay 10, 1819, and married Sarah L. Bell, Jan. i, 
 1843; Eliza Ann, born Dec. 16, 1821, married 
 Horace B. Sellew, of Glastonbury, May 3, 1842; 
 Edwin, born Oct. 4, 1823, married Lucinda M. Gush- 
 man, 2^Iarch 24, 1858; Lucy Ann, born April 13, 
 1826, was married to Clement Fox, of East Hart- 
 ford ; Ellery, born April i, 1829, married Eunice 
 Shijiman, of Glastonbur_\-, June 30, 1864; Fitch, 
 born Oct. 12, 1831, died in New York j\lay 23, 
 1881 ; and Owen, born Oct. 2, 1834, married (first) 
 Lucy A. Bell, Oct. 4, 1858, and (second) wedded 
 Jan. 18, 1885, Mrs. Eliza (Risley) Anderson, who 
 was born Dec. 22, 1845, a daughter of Daniel Sey- 
 mour and Almira (Keeney) Risley. 
 
 Lyman Treat, although his opportunities for ac- 
 quiring an education were limited, became a splen- 
 did scholar. He was a diligent reader, a good 
 writer, and stood above all his classmates as a mathe- 
 matician. In his early manhood he passed much of 
 his time in hunting game for market in Tolland 
 count}-, near Andover, and vicinity, and largely as- 
 sisted in the support of the family. For four months 
 he served an apprenticeship at bootmaking under 
 George Cleveland, in James Hill's shop, and after 
 leaving there started in on his own account, and 
 buying the stock, made boots at his own home for 
 Darius Rising, realizing about $2.00 per day. The 
 breaking out of the Civil war, however, demoralized 
 the trade in fine shoes in the South, and Mr. Treat 
 then embarked in the raising of tobacco, being one 
 of the first to engage in this industry in the section. 
 
 Mr. Treat lived on the home farm until Jan. 
 I, 1843, when he was married to Sarah L. Bell, who 
 was born Jan. 15, 1823, a daughter of Stephen and 
 Cera (Slocking J Bell, natives of Glastonbury, lie 
 then removed to the Morley farm, near Colchester 
 avenue, Glastonbury, where he resided two years, 
 and then bought his present farm from Allen 
 Brewer, his uncle, and here, in 1879, erected his 
 handsome dwelling. The only child born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. L)man Treat is Louisa M., who came to bless 
 their home Feb. 5, 1845, ^'1"^ 'S now the widow of 
 Addison Pilken, of East Hartford, where j\lrs. 
 Pitken still resides. 
 
 Mr. Treat has long been recognized as one of 
 the most progressive residents ot East Hartford, 
 has held several offices, and was instrumental in 
 having \Villow street graded through in 18O5, do- 
 nating land for that purpose. He has been fore- 
 most in many other enterprises designed for the 
 good of the public. He is a well-preserved gentle- 
 man, has a most retentive memory, is an entertain- 
 ing conversationalist, and is moreover generous in 
 the extreme, no deserving individual ever going 
 away from his home empty handed. His wife is a 
 pleasant and refined lady, and of a very kindly dis- 
 position, and no family in East Hartford enjoys a 
 higher degree of respect than that of Mr. and Mrs. 
 L}man Treat. 
 
 ITON. A. T. PATTISOX, one of the most pro- 
 gressive residents of Simsbury, and a leading busi- 
 ness man of the village, was born Alarch 2O, 1861, 
 in East Weatogue, town of Simsbury, and is a son of 
 Joseph and Delilah (Sceery) Pattison. 
 
 Joseph Pattison was born in County Antrim, 
 Ireland, Oct. 16, 1833, a son of Joseph and Mary 
 (Brown) Pattison. He came to the United States 
 in the spring of 1855, landing in Xew York after a 
 voyage of thirty days, and thence came to Simsbury. 
 There he married, and has had born to him the fol- 
 lowing named children : A. T., the subject of this 
 sketch ; Joseph : Xellie, wife of Edward Welch, of 
 Hartford ; Jennie, wife of William Washburn, of the 
 same city ; Carrie, now Airs. E. Al. C. Eddy, of Sims- 
 bury ; George E. ; and Alice \ . Joseph Pattison has 
 always been a farmer. In politics he is a Republican. 
 Some years after the arrival of Joseph Pattison in 
 Connecticut his father, also named Joseph, came to 
 Simsbury, to which town several of his sons had 
 ]jrcceded him, and here passed the remainder of 
 his life, a strict churchman and a highly respected 
 citizen. Among his children were Thomas, of Bris- 
 tol ; John ; Alexander, who served in the war of the 
 Rebellion, and died in Andover, Conn.; Hugh, of 
 Simsbury; Joseph, father of our subject; and Jane, 
 who died young. 
 
 Hon. A. T. Pattison was reared in Simsbury. 
 He first attended the district schools, then the 
 Granby Academy, under Prof. Alurphy, and finished 
 his schooling at Prof. AIcLean's school, in Simsbury, 
 at the agfe of nineteen. He began his business 
 
480 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 career as clerk in the store which he now manages, 
 and which was then in charge of Judge A. S. Chap- 
 man, as administrator of the estate of Judson Wil- 
 cox, and when Chapman withdrew, Jan. i, 1886, to 
 assume his position as probate judge, Mr. Pattison 
 became manager. This business was established by 
 Mr. Wilcox in 1851. 
 
 In November, 1896, A. T. Pattison was elected 
 a member of the State Legislature. Such measures 
 of success as he has attained, either as a business 
 man or as a citizen, has come to him in the town 
 where he was born and where his life has been spent. 
 
 On Oct. 7, 1885, Mr. Pattison married Miss Ella 
 Ruth Wilcox, who was born in Simsbury Oct. 23, 
 1862, a daughter of Judson (the founder of the 
 store) and Nancy S. (Chapman) Wilcox. This 
 union has been blessed with three children: Lucy 
 W., born Oct. 14, 1886; Stella C. ; and Julia E., 
 born Aug. 26, 1890. 
 
 Mrs. Pattison is of the seventh generation of 
 the Wilcox family in Simsbury, as follows : (I) 
 William Wilcox, of Stratford, Conn., born in iboi 
 at St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England, came to 
 this country when thirty-four years old, on the ship 
 "Planter," having certificate from minister at St. 
 Albans; freeman of Massachusetts, 1636; moved to 
 Stratford, 1639; representative at Hartford, 1647; 
 died in 1652. His children: John, born 1633; Jo- 
 seph, died Feb. 9, 1703; Samuel, died March- 12, 
 1713; Obadiah, born 1641, died 1713; Timothy, died 
 June 13, 1713. Of these, 
 
 (H) Samuel (Sergt.) Wilcox first located at 
 Meadow Plains in 1667, coming from Stratford. 
 He had three sons, Samuel, William, and Joseph. 
 (HI) Deacon William (2), son of Samuel, had four 
 sons, John, Lieut. William (3), Amos, and Azariah. 
 
 (IV) Lieut. William (3) was born in 1727, left 
 Simsbury for Lexington at the breaking out of the 
 Revolutionary war, and died in 1775. (V) Dan, 
 son of the Lieutenant, was born March 25, 1772, 
 and married Esther Merritt, who was born March 8, 
 1771, and died Nov. 10, i860, at Weatogue. She 
 was a daughter of James and Hannah (Phelps) 
 Merritt, the latter a daughter of Thomas and 
 Margaret (Watson) Phelps, who were born in Au- 
 gust, 1712, and May, 1714, respectively. Dan Wil- 
 cox spent the latter part of his life in Weatogue. 
 He had a large family: Averil, born Jan. 25, 1793, 
 was a farmer, and died at Simsbury Jan. 23, 1866; 
 Newton, born Dec. 22, 1794, was a shoemaker, and 
 died in Simsbury Sept. 25, 1841 ; Aurelia, born 
 April 22, 1796, died Oct. 11, 1803; Timothy, born 
 Jan. 19, 1799, died Oct. 13, 1820, in Bangor, Maine, 
 while studying for the ministry; Harmon, born 
 Sept. 17, 1800, died Aug. 29, 1867, in Sandusky, 
 Ohio; Watson, born Aug. 7, 1802, was a wealthy 
 merchant in Alabama, married Miss Cordelia Eno, 
 and died in Simsbury Feb. 15, 1879, leaving one 
 daughter, Adelaide, now residing in Philadelphia; 
 James, born June 28, 1805, was a farmer in Sims- 
 bury, and died Oct. 5, 1858; (VI) Judson (father 
 
 of Mrs. Pattison) was born at Barkhamsted 
 March 18, 1808, and died in Simsbury June 6, 1879; 
 Jury, born Aug. 10, 1809, died in Simsbury June 
 29, 1881 ; Lucy, born Oct. 23, 181 1, was married to 
 Decius Lattimer, and died in Simsbury Oct. 25, 
 1876; and Lucius, born May 27, 1814, was at one 
 time a merchant in Alabama, and died Aug. 28, 
 1885, in Canandaigua, N. Y. Of these, 
 
 (VI) Judson Wilcox, father of Mrs. Pattison, 
 came to Simsbury when quite a youth, but he was in 
 poor health, and his school advantages were some- 
 what neglected. His parents were not wealthy, 
 and he learned the carpenter's trade, at which he 
 worked several years, and erected a number of 
 houses in Simsbury and Collinsville. He married 
 in Simsbury, April 20, 1831, Miss Ruth Tuller, and 
 a few years later removed to Illinois, then to Ohio, 
 engaging in farming, but chills and fever com- 
 pelled his return to the East. His wife died in 
 Simsbury Dec. 19, i860, and Oct. 9, 1861, he mar- 
 ried Miss Nancy S. Chapman, who was born April 
 21, 1830, a daughter of Julius and Nancy (Davis) 
 Chapman. Julius Chapman, in his younger days, 
 was a blacksmith, and came to Simsbury from 
 Southampton, Mass., after his marriage, at Avon, 
 N. Y. To the second marriage of Judson Wilcox 
 was born one child, (VII) Ella Ruth, now Mrs. A. 
 T. Pattison. 
 
 After his return from the West, Judson Wilcox 
 engaged in peddling and other work, until he had 
 realized sufficient capital to start (in 1851) the first 
 successful mercantile establishment in Simsbury 
 Center. By close attention to business he prospered, 
 and when he found success assured he began paying 
 oiT debts that had accrued against him in years gone 
 by, and Iquidated them all. He had but a small 
 room to start with, but from it the largest mercan- 
 tile concern in the town eventuated. In addi- 
 tion he was for some years agent for the North- 
 ampton railway at Simsbury, but this in no way 
 distracted his attention from his legitimate pursuit. 
 
 While in the West Mr. Wilcox became a mem- 
 ber of the Masonic Fraternity. He was a sincere 
 Christian, a devout Methodist, and for years was 
 trustee and steward in his church, besides holding 
 several minor offices therein. He was a man of 
 the strictest integrity, as was evidenced by the fact 
 that, at the age of forty-three years, he had cancelled 
 all the indebtedness which he had incurred in his 
 earlier years. He stood high in the esteem of his 
 fellow citizens. His widow now resides with her 
 daughter, Mrs. A. T. Pattison. 
 
 MERIT NEWELL WOODRUFF. There are 
 few men in Southing-ton in the last half-century 
 who have done more for its industrial interests 
 and its growth and prosperity, than the man whose 
 name initiates this review. He is one of the lead- 
 ing and successful business men of the town, and 
 his upright course in life commands the respect 
 and commendation of everyone. 
 
^^dc^K '^',r^r2aa^ 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 481 
 
 Mr. Woodruff was born in Candor, Tioga Co., 
 N. Y., Feb. 22, 1826, and traces his ancestry bactc 
 to Matthew Woodruff, who removed from Hart- 
 ford to Farniington, Conn., in 1640, and was ad- 
 mitted as a freeman in 1657. He was one of the 
 eighty-four 'proprietors of the town in 1672, and 
 died in 1682, at an advanced age. His son, Samuel 
 Woodruff', was born in Farmington Aug. 26, 1661, 
 and married Rebecca, daughter of John Clark. In 
 1698 he removed to the eastern part of the town, 
 and was the first settler in what is now the town 
 of Southington. He is said to have been quite 
 large, to have possessed great physical strength, 
 was of excellent disposition, and always on friendly 
 terms with the Indians. He died Jan. 8, 1742. His 
 son, Samuel Woodruff (2), was born in Farm- 
 ington Jan. 20, 1686, and was married, July 10, 
 1718, to Esther, daughter of Sanuiel and Esther 
 (Woodford) Bird. He died in Southington in 
 February, 1766. He held the military rank of cap- 
 tain, and his commission is now in the hands of his 
 descendants. Samuel Woodruff (3), son of the 
 Captain, was born Oct. 3, 1734, served as a private 
 in the war of the Revolution, and died July 7, 
 1816. He was married, Feb. 2, 1758, to Ruth 
 Lyman, daughter of Moses and Ruth (Hickox) 
 Lyman, of Wallingford. Their son, Jason Wood- 
 ruff', grandfather of our subject, was born Aug. 
 21, 1758, and was married, !May 10, 1781, to Mary 
 Newell, daughter of Josiah and Mary (Upson) 
 Newell. He followed the occupation of farming 
 throughout life, and died Sept. 14, 1836. 
 
 Sheldon Woodruff, father of our subject, was 
 born in Southington April 15, 1798, and in early 
 life followed farming for some years, but subse- 
 quently engaged in mercantile business in New York 
 City. Later he returned to Southington, Conn., 
 where he died in 1884. On May 19, 1818, he mar- 
 ried Levea Lewis, daughter of Asahel and Lois 
 (Lee) Lewis, and granddaughter of Nathan and 
 Mary (Gridley) Lewis. The grandfather was a 
 son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Black) Lewis. The 
 father of Samuel, William Lewis, came from Eng- 
 land in the ship "Lion," landing in Boston Sept. 
 16, 1632. Four years later he came with a com- 
 pany to Hartford, but in 1659 h^ returned to Mas- 
 sachusetts, becoming one of the founders of Had- 
 ley, which town he represented in the General 
 Court in 1662. In 1677 he removed to Farming- 
 ton, Conn., where he died Aug. 2, 1683. 
 
 From the age of ten years our subject was 
 reared in Southington, and his education was ob- 
 tained in private schools of Peekskill, N. Y., the 
 public schools of New York City, and Lewis Acad- 
 emy, Southington. On leaving school, at the age 
 of eighteen years, he went to New York as assist- 
 ant in the lumber yard of his uncle, the late Anson 
 Lewis, and on his return to Southington entered 
 the employ of Amon Bradley, as clerk. Several 
 years later he was admitted as a partner in the 
 business, under the firm name of Amon Bradley 
 31 
 
 & Co., and they did a successful and prosperous 
 business as general merchants, both laying the foun- 
 dations of the fortunes which they to-day enjoy. 
 In 1865 they dissolved pannership, and after a 
 season of rest Mr. Woodruff, with Norman ^A. 
 iJarnes as a partner, opened a store and tailoring 
 establishment, which they conducted for two years. 
 He then retired, and later accepted a position as 
 bookkeeper with the late J. B. Savage, with whom 
 he remained six years. In 1878 he was chosen 
 president of the Atwater Manufacturing Co., a po- 
 sition he still fills. When he became connected 
 with the company it was at a low ebb financially, 
 but owing to his good judgment and ability it now 
 stands among the best manufacturing concerns in 
 the State, and has the reputation of making re- 
 liable goods in the market of this country. 
 
 On Oct. 2, 1856, Mr. Woodruff' was united in 
 marriage with Miss Mary A. Smith, a daughter of 
 Willis and Emily (Barnes) Smith, of Southington, 
 and to them were born two children : Arthur, 
 deceased ; and Edna L., who is a member of the 
 Daughters of the American Revolution. The wife 
 and mother died in 1882, and Mr. Woodruff' erected 
 a handsome fountain which he presented to the 
 Oak Hill Cemetery Association as a memorial to 
 his wife and son. 
 
 Since attaining his majority ]Mr. W'oodruff' has 
 been a stanch supporter of the Democratic party, 
 and has never missed voting at any National, State 
 or town election, a record seldom equalled. He 
 has always declined political office, but during the 
 winter of 1893, while at Hot Springs, he was nom- 
 inated and elected warden of his borough, much to 
 his regret, and the following year he declined the 
 renomination. Since 1871 he has been an active 
 and influential member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, during which time he has held several 
 church offices. He is sympathic and generous, ex- 
 tending a helping hand to the poor and needy, and 
 is always ready to aid those less fortunate than 
 himself, but his charities are always performed in 
 a most unostentatious manner. Lie is pleasant and 
 genial, and all who know him esteem him highly 
 for his genuine worth. 
 
 CHARLES i\IARCUS BIDWELL. One of 
 the best features of town and country life, as com- 
 pared with the more feverish existence in cities, is 
 the large reserve force that always exists there, 
 usually in a latent or undeveloped form. There 
 are individuals, resident in the smaller centers of 
 population, who possess all the requisites for posi- 
 tions of great trust and responsibility, but w-ho are 
 content to live the quieter, more normal life "near to 
 nature's heart." If this thought were voiced in 
 East Hartford, the mind of the well-informed resi- 
 dent would probably turn to the subject of this 
 sketch, who in his earlier years checked an impulse 
 to enter the busier scenes of human endeavor be- 
 cause he felt he was needed at home. In the chosen 
 
482 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 sphere of his activities and usefulness Mr. Bidwell 
 has been prominent in business and agriculture, and 
 his keen intellect, sage judgment and public enter- 
 prise have lastingly benefited the community in 
 which he lives. 
 
 It is noteworthy that Mr. Bidwell occupies land 
 which was first occupied by his ancestors, and 
 which for seven generations has been uninterrupt- 
 edly in the possession of his family. The founder 
 of the family in America was John Bidwell, the 
 pioneer tanner of the Connecticut Colony. John 
 Bidwell was one of Rev. Hooker's party who first 
 settled at Hartford. His original house lot was 
 located on the east side of Trumbull street, near 
 Pearl, and was granted him before 1640. He with 
 Joseph Bull built a sawmill on "Sawmill river" 
 (now Hockanum river). They were granted 240 
 acres — in the next commons for timber for their 
 mill — in 1671. John Bidwell shared with three 
 others in a tract of 270 acres, in the distribution of 
 1666. His portion was along what was known as 
 "Bidwell's Lane"- (now Burnside Avenue), and 
 portions of this land have been owned by the family 
 ever since, part of it being now owned and occupied 
 by our subject. John Bidwell became a freeman in 
 1669. He married Sarah Wilcox. They were 
 members of the First Church of Hartford, and when 
 the Second Church was organized they became 
 members thereof. He and his sons did the milling 
 and tanning for the Colony, his old tannery standing 
 in the north end of what is now Bushnell Park. 
 This tannery was in the family for many genera- 
 tions, and various members of the family owned 
 mills in many portions of the Colony. The town 
 from time to time voted land from the commons to 
 "John Bidwell and sons, nearest to their mills as 
 their needs may require." 
 
 We give the direct line of descent from the pro- 
 genitor of the family in Connecticut to our subject: 
 (i) John Bidwell. (2) Daniel, his youngest son, 
 whose wife was Elizabeth. (3) Daniel, their son, 
 who married Esther Buckland. (4) Daniel, their 
 son, who married Mary, daughter of Thomas Ells- 
 worth. (5) Daniel, their son, who married Asenath 
 Burnham. (6) Daniel, their son, who married Mary 
 White, and (7) Charles M., their son, subject of 
 this sketch. 
 
 ' Daniel Bidwell, the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born July 10, 1748. He married Asenath 
 Burnham, and was a young man when the Revolu- 
 tionary struggle began. He enlisted as a patriot, 
 and was in the Long Island campaign. When the 
 army reached Westchester county, N. Y., he was 
 taken sick, and was sent home. He died within a 
 month after his arrival there, leaving a widow and 
 one child: Mary, born Dec. 18, 1771, married to 
 John Gains, and raised a large family; Daniel, thi 
 father of our subject, was a posthumous child. 
 
 Daniel Bidwell, the father, was born Feb. 13, 
 1777, on the home now occupied by our subject, a 
 short time after the death of his father, the Revolu- 
 
 tionary soldier. The school he attended stood near 
 the present North Division school, but nearer the 
 street. He was reared as a farmer's boy, and as the 
 only son of his widowed mother the work on the 
 farm fell mainly upon his shoulders. He inherited 
 agriculture as his vocation, and remained through 
 life on the farm of his birth, where his son, our 
 subject, now lives. Daniel Bidwell married in 
 Glastonbury, Mary, daughter of James and Eunice 
 (Rowley) White, members of an old Connecticut 
 famil}^ The four children of Daniel and Mary 
 (White) Bidwell who reached adult life were as 
 follows : Daniel L. died unmarried, in 1853 ; Miss 
 Mary W., of Glastonbury; Charles M., our sub- 
 ject; and Martha B., wife of C. N. Carter, a retired 
 merchant and inanufacturer of Glastonbury. The 
 father was a Whig in politics. He was a large and 
 active man physically, weighing about two hundred 
 pounds. He was widely and well-known, and was 
 always devoted to home and family. He died in 
 1852, aged seventy-five years. His wife, who was 
 an energetic, active woman, deeply interested in 
 current events, and in the education of her children, 
 was a member of the Baptist Church. She sur- 
 vived her husband several years, dying at the age of 
 seventy-two. They are buried at East Hartford. 
 
 Charles M. Bidwell, our subject, was born Sept. 
 II, 1829. He attended in his boyhood the school 
 where his father before him conned his lessons, 
 and where his children and grandchildren since 
 have received their early instruction. He also at- 
 tended East Hartford high school under Salmon 
 Phelps, and later took a course in the East Hartford 
 Academy, under Prof. M. L. Rogers. He was a 
 quick student, and was on the highway to a career of 
 wider proportions than that bounded by four lines, 
 but his parents needed his services, and with his at- 
 tendance at the East Hartford Academy he ended 
 his school education and assumed the management 
 of the farm. As a student he was especially apt 
 in mathematics, and when a young man he received 
 many tempting offers to go West and fill positions 
 of responsibility and great promise, but his regard 
 for the wishes of his parents kept him on the farm. 
 He took care of the latter and also assisted his 
 brother who carried on a successful business in 
 Flartford, and was a pioneer in the construction of 
 water works, steam-heating and gas plants, having 
 introduced the first steam heat in the State. After 
 his death a partnership was entered into by our sub- 
 ject and A. P. Pitkin, who had also been an assistant 
 in the business, and the concern was then conducted 
 for eight or ten years by the firm, under the name of 
 Bidwell & Pitkin. Mr. Bidwell then sold out his 
 interest. In recent years he has devoted consider- 
 able attention to real estate, and now owns several 
 blocks of very desirable building lots on Burnside 
 avenue. 
 
 Mr. Bidwell has been twice married. Llis first 
 wife was Miss Emma Brewer, of Hockanum, daugh- 
 ter of Seidell and Marietta (Galpin) Brewer. His 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 483 
 
 second wife was Mrs. Mary (Sumner) Newconib, 
 widow of J. W. Newcomb. i!y her first marriage 
 she was the mother of Warren i'utnam Newcomb, 
 wlio graduated from West I'oint Academy in the 
 class of '82 as the sixth in his class, and has since 
 served in various government posts, including the 
 professorship of modern languages at West i'oint. 
 Warren Putnam Newcomb is the only living male 
 descendant of Gen. Joseph Warren. The children 
 of our subject by his first marriage are as follows: 
 Adele Emma, at home; Daniel D., a graduate of 
 Yale LIniversity, and a journalist by profession, who 
 married Edith Mines, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and has 
 one child, Pauline ; and Mary A., who married Rev. 
 Burr M. Weeden, an Episcopal minister, and died 
 at East Hartford, while on a visit to her parents, 
 Jcavincr. one child, Agnes Almira. 
 
 in I Htics Mr. Bidwell has usualU in the past 
 affiliateil with the Republican party. He is a mem- 
 ber of St. John's Episcopal Church at East Hartford, 
 and has been vestryman and warden of the church. 
 He is a keen, shrewd business man, of natural in- 
 tellect, commanding presence, and ranks as one of 
 the most substantial men of his town. He has a 
 remarkable memory, is well informed upon the 
 issues of the day, and has a wide acuaintance 
 throughout the county. 
 
 AUGUSTUS HENRY FUNCK, at the head of 
 the largest furniture house in Bristol, Conn., was 
 born July 22, 1836, in Neuhaus, Hanover, Germany, 
 and is a son of Christian F. and Johanna (Stamm) 
 Funck, natives, respectively, of Neuhaus and Ham- 
 burg. 
 
 Christian F. Funck, who was born April 9, 
 1810, was a cabinetmaker by trade. In 1846 he 
 came to America, and in 1849 he brought his family 
 to Bristol, Conn., where he had found employment 
 making cases in the Brewster & Ingraham clock 
 shop, which position ae held until ready to go into 
 the furniture and cabinet-making business on his 
 own account. In 1865 he and his son, Augustus 
 Henry, entered the furniture and undertaking busi- 
 ness on tlie Northside, at Doolittle's corner, in 1867 
 removed to the corner of South Elm and Main 
 streets, and the next spring moved to the town hall, 
 conducting the business at that stand until 1889, 
 when they returned to the property at the corner 
 of Main and South Elm streets, where they erected 
 a fine brick building, and where Mr. Funck now re- 
 sides. 
 
 To the marriage of Christian F. I'unck with 
 Johanna Stamm, about 1830, were born six children : 
 Dora, born Feb. 3, 1833, is the wife of Conrad 
 Haupt, of St. Paul, Miim. : William [•'.. Iiorn in 
 April, 1834, was a joiner bv trade, married Mar- 
 garet Ratliburn, and died in T\[ankato, Minn., in No- 
 vember, 1892; Augustus Henry is next in order of 
 birth : Sophia is the wife of George W. Schubert, of 
 Bristol ; Charles Christian is living in Norwalk, 
 Ohio, and has a family; Henry Jacob, born in 1843, 
 
 was a member of Company K, i6lh Conn. Vol. Inf., 
 and died in Florence prison, in South Carolina, in 
 February, 1865. Christian F. Funck never jomed a 
 secret society, and, although for many years a 
 Democrat, never aspired to public office. lie lost 
 his wife m June, 1873, and he hiniselt entered into 
 rest Nov. 14, i888, m the faith of the Protestant 
 Episcopal Church. 
 
 Augustus Henry Funck attended school in his 
 native town until he came to America in 1849; then 
 attended the Bristol (Conn.) schools untU about 
 1851 during the winter months, and worked on 
 Lockwood I'uttle's fanu, his next work being m 
 Brewster & Ingraham's movement department for 
 clocks until 1855. In 1856 he went to St. Paul, 
 Minn., and worked with a brother at carpentering 
 until the fall of i860 when he returned to Bristol, 
 and there worked at the same trade for Edward Hall 
 until July 22, 1862, when he enlisted in Company 
 K, i6th C. V. I. His first rigb*- was at Antieianij 
 where he was wounded in the foot ; he was at the 
 battles of Fredericksburg, Newport News, and Suf- 
 folk, went through the Peninsula to Yorktown, 
 White House, Taylor's Farm, and Portsmouth, Va., 
 then at Plymouth, N. C, where he was taken pris- 
 oner and for five months underwent all the hor- 
 rors of the prison pen at Andersonville, and for five 
 months longer at Florence, whence he was ex- 
 changed, in February, 1865. After being ex- 
 changed Mr. Funck lay in a convalescent camp for 
 some time and later was sent to a hospital in Balti- 
 more, Md., where he was confined with typhoid 
 fever more than four weeks. He was then granted 
 a furlough home for thirty days, but before its expi- 
 ration Gen. Lee surrendered, and Mr. Funck was 
 honorably discharged at Flartford, and mustered 
 out June 15, 1865. 
 
 On his recuperation, Mr. Funck went into the 
 furniture business with his father, which has been 
 alluded to c^uite fully above, and which culminated in 
 1886 in the commencement of tlie erection of the 
 mammoth four-story building on Prospect street, 
 opposite the railroad ilepot, to which they removed in 
 1890, but still continue to occupy their block at the 
 corner of Main and South Elm streets, the firm 
 name standing the same as at the begmning, viz: 
 C. Funck & Son. 
 
 The first marriage of Augustus H. Funck took 
 place Sept. i, 1865, to Miss Alaria Harcke, who was 
 born in Neuhaus, Germany, in 1840, and came to 
 America with her parents about 1865. She died 
 Dec. 16, 1883, the mother of the following named 
 children: Henry, wdio died at the age of twelve 
 years; Augusta, born July 17, 1867, is married to 
 Frank L. Muzzy, and has one child, Dorothy ; 
 Sophia, born Nov. 19, 1868, is the wife of Flarry 
 Landers, of Waterbury, and has one child, Leroy ; 
 Annie J., born April 3, 1870, married Marshall 
 Smith, of Terryville, and has two daughters, Rachel 
 and Ruth M. ; George, born Aug. 29, 1872, married 
 Nellie Parsons of ^^'aterbury, and has had born to 
 
48 i 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 him two children, Marie and Frances ; Minnie, born 
 Oct. 13, 1875, teaches the kindergarten in Bristol; 
 Emil, born Sept. 12, 1877, married Jessie Hull, 
 daughter of Dr. George S. Hull, and is now asso- 
 ciated with his father in business ; and Louis E., 
 born March 17, 1881, is also associated with his 
 father. The second marriage of Mr. Funck was 
 solemnized Sept. i, 1885, with Mrs. Annie (Siegler) 
 Fell, of Bristol, and this union has been crowned by 
 the birth of one child, Harold A., born Aug. 15, 
 1888, who is attending school. For over thirty 
 years Mr. Funck has belonged to the Ma'sonic fra- 
 ternity, and is still a member of Franklin Lodge, 
 No. 56, F. & A. M., at Bristol, and he and wife 
 are identified with the Order of the Eastern Star. 
 Mr. Funck is also afhliated with G. W. Thompson 
 Post, No. 13, G. A. R., while Mrs. Funck is a mem- 
 ber of the Woman's Relief Corps attached to that 
 organization. They are consistent members of the 
 Episcopal Church, in which for a number of years 
 he has been a vestryman, treasurer and senior 
 warden. 
 
 LUTHER SELDEN WEBSTER, an honored 
 and highly-respected citizen of Berlin, was born 
 in what is known as the Beckley Quarter Sept. 
 20, 1825, and is a representative of one of the 
 most influential and prominent families of Hart- 
 ford county. 
 
 Jonathan Webster, his father, was born in New- 
 ington about 1800, and died about 1885. He al- 
 ways followed the occupation of farming and be- 
 came quite well-to-do. Physically he was short 
 and heavy-set, and in disposition was rather strict, 
 compelling his children to work hard. His polit- 
 ical support was, first given to the Whig and later 
 to the Democratic party, and he took considerable 
 interest in church work. He was married to Rox- 
 anna Selden, who was born in East Haddam, a 
 daughter of Jonathan Selden. Both were laid to 
 rest in the Beckley Quarter cemetery. 
 
 Upon the home farm in the northern part of 
 Berlin Luther S. Webster grew to manhood, and 
 pursued his studies in the Beckley Quarter school 
 under the direction of a Mr. Porter. He received 
 rather a meager education, as he was compelled 
 to work on the farm most of the year, and has often 
 regretted that he did not have better advantages 
 along that line. He continued to attend school 
 through the winter months until sixteen years of 
 age, and then gave his entire time to the work of 
 the farm. 
 
 On Jan. 14, 1857, Mr. Webster married Miss 
 Susan Pratt Richards, who was born July 9, 1832, 
 and is still living, but is divorced. Her parents 
 were Amon and Betsey (Pratt) Richards, who died 
 and were buried in Beckley. By this union Mr. 
 Webster had one daughter, Fannie, born Nov. 5, 
 1861, who was married. May i, 1883, to Simeon 
 McKay, born March 24, 1855, and now engaged 
 in farming in Berlin. To them were born six chil- 
 
 dren: Luther Webster, born Oct. 7, 1883, is now 
 in the employ of P. & P. Corbin, New Britain; 
 Clayton North, born June 2, 1885, died Dec. 22, 
 1887; Grace Emily, born Nov. 2, 1886, died July 
 2, 1887; Helen Louise, born July 17, 1888, Alice 
 Evelyn, born July 11, 1890, and John William,, 
 born Oct. 16, 1892, are still living. For his sec- 
 ond wife Mr. Webster married Mrs. Emily 
 (North) McKay, who was born in 1824, and died 
 Jan. 9, 1888, her remains being interred in the 
 South burying-ground, Berlin. Since her death 
 his daughter and family have made their home 
 with him. 
 
 Mr. Webster remained on the old homestead 
 until. 1886, when he removed to Berlin street and 
 purchased the old Deacon North property, where 
 he has since resided. On questions of National 
 importance he supports the Democratic party, but 
 a!: local elections votes for the men whom he be- 
 lieves best qualified to fill the offices, regardless of 
 party lines. He has never been prevailed upon to 
 accept office, although public honors have been of- 
 fered him at different times. He is a consistent 
 and faithful member of the Congregational Church, 
 to which his second wife also belonged, and of 
 which his daughter is a member. His has been 
 an honorable and useful life, in which he has won 
 the confidence and high regard of all with whom 
 he has come in contact. 
 
 JESSE JOHNSON HOADLEY, one of Marl- 
 boro's highly respected citizens, belongs to a family 
 that originated in the south of England and is sup- 
 posed to have derived its name from one of two 
 parishes in Sussex, East and West Hoadley (now 
 spelled Hoathly), one in the rape of Lewes and the 
 other in that of Pevensey. 
 
 (I) William Hoadley (or Hoadle, as he spelled 
 the name), the ancestor of by far the greater part 
 of those who bear the name in this country, was 
 born in England about 1630. He first appears in 
 Saybrook, Conn., in 1663, and in 1666 he bought 
 the home lot of Rev. Abram Pierson, of Branford, 
 when the latter removed to New Jersey. This lot 
 was where the "Totoket House" now stands, and 
 there he conducted his business as a merchant, his 
 shop being next to his dwelling-house. He was 
 pronounced a freeman May 13, 1669; was one of 
 the representatives or deputies for Branford for 
 nine sessions between 1678 and 1685 ; was select- 
 man for several years, and was quite prominently 
 identified with furthering the interests of the town. 
 The name and time of death of his first wife are 
 unknown. He had eight children according to the 
 list taken Jan. 17, 1676, but the names of only seven 
 are known, and six survived him. Fie died in No- 
 vember or December, 1709, aged about seventj^-nine 
 years. His estate inventoried £1,116. He was mar- 
 ried a second time, about 1686, to Mrs. Mary 
 (Rullard) Farrington, widow of John Farrington, 
 of Dedham, Mass. She died May 12, 1709, and he 
 
^^.^ad^^^nr-^ q/ 0i/at^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 485 
 
 later married Mrs. Ruth (Bowers) Frisbie, who 
 died April 2O, 1736. The cliildren by his first wife 
 were William, mentioned below ; Samuel, who mar- 
 ried Abigail Farrington; John, who married Marcy 
 Crane ; Mary, who married Nathaniel Finch ; Eliza- 
 beth, who died unmarried; Hannah, who married 
 Nathaniel Johnson, of Branford; and Abraham, who 
 jiiarried Elizabeth Maltby. 
 
 (II) William Hoadley, son of the founder of 
 the family in America, ran a sawmill on Stony river, 
 the permit being granted if he would agree to sell 
 boards at five shillings and not take more than half 
 a log to pay for sawing it. He died in Branford, 
 Conn., in May, 1738. He married (first) Abigail 
 Frisbie, and they had three children : Mary, born 
 May 22, 1691, was married Oct. 7, 1713, to Adam 
 Raynor, of Branford ; Hannah was born April 27, 
 1693 ; Jemima, born March 24, 1695, married (first) 
 Joshua Fuller and (second) William Allen. For 
 his second wife the father married Elizabeth Frost, 
 by whom he also had three children : Elizabeth, 
 who married (first) John Kincaid, (second) Joshua 
 Dudley, and (third) Titus Fairman; William, who 
 is mentioned below; and Lydia, who married (first) 
 Alexander Montgomery and (second) John Bray. 
 
 (III) William Hoa'dley, the only son of Will- 
 iam and Elizabeth (Frost) Hoadley, was born Feb. 
 13, 1707, and was one of the first settlers of Judds 
 ^leadow, now in the town of Naugatuck. He was 
 of- very dark complexion, which he inherited from 
 his mother, and was known as "Black Will Hoad- 
 ley." He conducted a gristmill and sawmill for 
 many years. His will was dated Aug. 14, 1779. 
 He married Sarah Frisbie, and they had the follow7 
 ing children : Sarah married Israel Caulkins ; Eunice 
 married Josiah Terrell; William married Esther 
 Porter ; Lemuel married Urania Mallory ; Ebenezer 
 inarrietl Sarah Lewis ; Ithiel married Sarah Bundy ; 
 Jude married Naomi Linker; Elizabeth and David 
 died young; and Elizabeth (2) married Moses 
 Warner. 
 
 (IV) William Hoadley, son of William and 
 Sarah (Frisbie) Hoadley, was baptized May 4, 
 1734, and died Dec. 21, 1820. He sold his father's 
 gristmill and removed to Ohio, but one year's resi- 
 dence there satisfied him, and he returned to Nau- 
 gatuck. He married Esther Porter, a very hand- 
 some woman, who came from a wealthy family, 
 and was the village belle. They had six children, 
 namely: Ammi, born June 15, 1762, married Amy 
 Thompson ; Culpepper, born Sept. 10, 1764, married j 
 
 Molly Lewis; Lucina, born , married (first) ' 
 
 \\'illard Hine, and (second) Samuel Pardee, of 
 Columbus, Ohio; Esther, born in 1769, was mar- 
 ried in 1791 to Lyman Tyler, of Prospect, Conn.; 
 William, born Dec. 28, 1774, married Nancy Hitch- 
 cock ; and Ithiel was the grandfather of our subject. 
 
 (\') Ithiel Hoadley, born in Naugatuck in 1776, 
 died in Waterbury, Conn., in 1859. About 1800 he 
 married Olive Caroline Johnson, who died in Water- 
 bury Feb. 24, 1857, aged seventy-one years. She 
 
 was a very beautiful w(jnian, and an accomplished 
 musician, and sang verses of her own composition. 
 They located in Waterbury, though it is said their 
 eldest son was born in Hoadleyville, Plymouth, 
 Conn. They had four children : William Burton, 
 born May 25, 1800, married Alvira (Alger) Hunt; 
 Selden Sylvester, tlie father of our subject, is next 
 in the order of birth; Harriet, born in 1807, married 
 Horace Chapman, of East Hampton, Conn. ; and 
 Lucinda, born about 1811, married Lewis Hodge. 
 
 (VI) Selden Sylvester Hoadley was born in 
 Waterbury, Conn., Jan. 25, 1804, and died in He- 
 bron Nov. 28, 1883. He worked in the stone quar- 
 ries of Portland for thirty-five years, and then 
 moved to "Cotton Hollow", South Glastonbury, 
 where he conducted a boarding house for seven 
 years, at the end of that time coming to Marlboro, 
 and locating on a place near Marlboro pond, where 
 he remained ten years. Subsequently he lived on 
 various farms, and spent his last years at the home 
 of our subject, where both he and his wife died. 
 She bore the maiden name of L_\dia Chapman, and 
 was born in 1800 in Salem, Conn., a daughter of 
 Samuel and Hannah (Miller Chapman, who died in 
 Ohio. After the death of her father, which oc- 
 curred when she was young, she returned to this 
 State, and being obliged to earn her own living, 
 worked for Hollister & Glazier, in Cotton Hollow, 
 as one of their first weavers. She died in 1895. 
 Our subject is fourth in order of birth in a family of 
 six children', the others being as follows : Mary, 
 married David Chappel, and lived in South Man- 
 chester; Olive C, born June 26, 1828, married 
 George B. Mallory, a machinist, of Bridgport, 
 Conn.; Selden S., born Dec. 17, 1831, married Ellen 
 Nichols, of Westerly, R. I. ; Alonzo, born Sept.. 6, 
 1836, married Julia Coleman, and is employed in a 
 tannery in Bridgport; and William Woodbridge, 
 born Dec. 17, 1840, married Nancy M. Smith, and is 
 a fisherman of Northport, L. 1. Three of the four 
 sons were soldiers in the Civil war, one being al- 
 lowed to remain at home to care for the parents. 
 
 (VII) Jesse J. Hoadley, whose name introduces 
 this sketch, was born in Portland, Conn., March 2, 
 1834, at the time his father was employed in the 
 quarries at that place. He oljtained only a very 
 limited education in the district schools of East 
 Hampton and Glastonbury, and after leaving school, 
 at the age of fourteen years, he worked as a farm 
 hand for James M. Dickinson at eight dollars per 
 month, remaining with him three or four years. 
 Later he worked for Jesse Dickinson, the father of 
 his former employer, for about the same length of 
 time, and subsequently was employed in the saw- 
 mill of Aaron Phelps until the latter's death, when 
 he conducted the mill for the estate for some time, 
 working on a farm through the summer and in the 
 mill during the winter months. 
 
 During the Civil war Mr. Hoadley manifested 
 his patriotism by enlisting in August, 1863, in Com- 
 panv K, of the "Fighting Fourteenth" Connecticut 
 
486 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Volunteers, which regiment was so actively en- 
 gaged that it lost all of its officers with the exception 
 of the orderly sergeant, and as fast as a man was 
 promoted he would be killed. Our subject served 
 under Maj.-Gen. Hancock, Gibbons and Humphries, 
 and participated in nearly all the engagements in 
 which the regiment took part, with the exception of 
 the battle of Gettysburg. On March 25, 1865, he 
 was wounded at Farmville, Va., near the North 
 Carolina line, on the Danville & Petersburg railroad, 
 being shot in the left shoulder and for a time it was 
 thought that he could not possibly recover. The 
 surgeons performed a very difficult operation on 
 him, known in surgery as "resection and exsec- 
 tion," which consists in cutting off the end of the 
 bone of the arm where it fits into the socket in the 
 shoulder. The use of the left arm was almost wholly 
 destroyed, and the scar of the surgeons' knife is a 
 ghastly one. Mr. Hoadley remained in the hospital 
 until August, 1865, when he was discharged from the 
 service and returned to Marlboro. Near Marlboro 
 he purchased a farm on Jones street, Hebron, where 
 he remained nineteen years, and in 1887 removed 
 to his present location, where he purchased a saw 
 mill and the property known as the George Foote 
 place. The mill is one of the old landmarks of the 
 town. In 1887 Mr. Hoadley erected his present 
 comfortable residence. 
 
 Our subject was married, in 1859, to Miss Susan 
 A. Coleman, who was born in Marlboro, in 1838, 
 a daughter of Oliver and Susan (Johnson) Cole- 
 man, the former a farmer of that town. To our 
 subject and his wife was born a daughter, Olive, 
 who married Dan Jones, and died in 1893, leaving 
 four children : Vera, Amelia, Jessie and Emerald 
 Dan Jones. 
 
 In his political affiliations Mr. Hoadley is a Re- 
 publican, and in his social relations is a member of 
 Moiton A. Taintor Post, No. 9, G. A. R., of Col- 
 chester. He is widely known and highly respected, 
 and is an excellent conversationalist, capable of 
 entertaining a listener all day with interesting war 
 reminiscences. 
 
 ALEXANDER PENROSE FORBES GAM- 
 MACK, M. B., C. M., one of the leading physicians 
 of Berlin, was born in Kincardineshire, Scotland, 
 July 6, 1867, and is a son of Rev. James Gam- 
 mack, M. A., LL. D., the present rector of St. James' 
 Episcopal Church at West Hartford. 
 
 Plis father was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. 
 April 23, 1837, and in early life studied for the 
 ministry, being ordained at the age of twenty-two 
 years. He was a clergyman in several parishes in 
 Scotland before coming to America, in 1889, and 
 then was rector of Saviour's Church, East Toronto, 
 Canada, for four years. At the end of that period 
 he came to Plymouth, Conn., as pastor of St. Peter's 
 Church, where he remained two years, and since 
 then has held his present charge — St. James' Church, 
 at West Hartford. He was married, April 29, 
 
 1862, to Miss Jane Ann Wilson, who was also born 
 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Dec. 3, 1840, being the 
 eldest daughter of the Rev. John Wilson, of 
 Premnay, and to them were born six cluldren ; 
 Mary Catherine, now the wife of Frederick W. 
 Winter, a manufacturer's agent, of Utica, N. Y. ; 
 Alexander P. F., our subject; John Wilson, who 
 married Mary Adele Coles, of Glen Cove, Long 
 Island, and is now rector of St. Paul's Church, at 
 that place; Arthur James, who married Mary 
 Thompson Bridgman, of Stamford, Conn., and is 
 rector of Christ's Church, West Haven; George 
 Wilson, an electrician in the employ of the Pope 
 Manufacturing Co., of Hartford; and Frederick 
 Sharp, a chemist for Beach & Co., in Hartford. 
 Our subject's paternal grandfather, Alexander Gam- 
 mack, was engaged in mercantile business in early 
 life, and later followed farming. He died in 1857, 
 at the age of sixty-four years. 
 
 Dr. Gammack began his education at an early 
 age, and after attending the schools of Kincardine- 
 shire for some time entered the Grammar School in 
 Aberdeen. He next studied under private tutelage, 
 and at the age of fifteen entered Kings College, 
 University of Aberdeen, where he remained two 
 years. He took up the study of medicine in Mari- 
 schal College, which he attended for five years, gradu- 
 ating at the end of that time with high honors, and 
 receiving the degrees of M. B. and C. M. He 
 could have completed the course at the age of twenty, 
 but was held back until he attained his majority. 
 For a short time he was engaged in practice in 
 Stokesley, Yorkshire, England, with Dr. William 
 .Guthrie Forbes, and after the death of his partner 
 came to this country with his parents, in 1889. He 
 spent some time in Alanitoba, in charge of an Indian 
 reserve, having received a government appointment, 
 and then, on account of ill health, he removed to 
 Kent county, Ontario, Canada, where he established 
 an office with Dr. J. C. Bell, and where he remained 
 about four years. At the end of that time he re- 
 turned to England, where for two years he was 
 engaged in practice with Dr. S. F. McLachlan at 
 Longtown, Cumberland. On again coming to 
 America he took up his residence in East Berlin, 
 Conn., Oct. 4, 1895, and here he has already estab- 
 lished a good practice, which extends throughout 
 Berlin, Cromwell, Middletown, Newington, Rocky 
 Hill and neighboring towns. He is also medical 
 examiner for a large number of insurance companies 
 in his district. The Doctor is the patentee of what 
 is known as "Killweed," a preparation which suc- 
 cessfully removes the objectionable and unsightly 
 weeds from walks, driveways, etc., and has formed 
 a company for the manufacture of the same. The 
 sale of this valuable preparation is rapidly increas- 
 ing, and it is being used with most satsfactory re- 
 sults. 
 
 On August 26, 1S96, Dr. Gammack married Miss 
 Isabella Catherine Agnes Scott, who was born Aug. 
 27, 1870, and is a daughter of the late Rev. Robert 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 487 
 
 Scott, of New York. They have one child, Jean 
 Isabel, born Jan. 2, 1898. The Doctor and his wife 
 arc both members of St. (iabricl's -Church, of East 
 Berhn. of wliich his brother Artlnir was the first 
 rector, and under whom the church was built. He 
 is also a member of the Independent Order of For- 
 esters, and of several medical societies in Scotland 
 and England. As a physician and citizen he stands 
 high in the community where he now makes his 
 home, and he has made many warm friends during 
 his residence here. 
 
 EDWARD BURDEN (deceased) was long a 
 well-known resident of Burnside, and was held in 
 great respect by all who knew him for his many 
 excellencies and personal merits. He was a native 
 of the County of Middlesex, England, came of a 
 well-to-do family, and was born Sept. 17, 1841, a 
 son of John \V. and Jane (Walton) Burden, the 
 former of whom died when the subject of this 
 sketch was but fourteen years of age. 
 
 John W. Burden was an undertaker in London, 
 and at his death was possessed of a comfortable 
 competence, sufficiently ample for the rearing and 
 educating of his seven children, three of whom were 
 boys, namely : John W., collector for the Hind & 
 Coup Brewing Co., of London ; Edward, the sub- 
 ject of this sketch ; and Alfred, clerk for a large 
 tea importing concern, with his residence in a Lon- 
 don suburb. The four daughters are named Emma 
 Z., Jane \\'., Eliza and Maria. All are still living 
 in England, Jane W. being an inmate of Lord Wing- 
 field's family, in Oxfordshire. The mother was a 
 remarkably intellectual lady and reared her children 
 most respectably; she was called from their midst 
 in 1895. 
 
 Edward Burden for some time assisted his father 
 in the undertaking business prior to the latter's 
 death, and afterwards was in the employ of the 
 London & Northwestern Railway Co. On Oct. i, 
 1867, in Buckinghamshire, he married Miss Sarah 
 A. Saunders, a native of tlie county, born June 5, 
 1846, daughter of James and Sarah (Barnes) Saun- 
 ders, who were the parents of twelve children. Of 
 these. Airs. Burden was the second born; five beside 
 herself are in the United States, and six still live in 
 England. 
 
 In June, 1870, j\Ir. Burden, with his wife and in- 
 fant son, Harold, sailed for the United States in the 
 sailing-ship "\'ictory," and landed in New York 
 June 21. Jilr. Burden went thence to Detroit, 
 IMich., where he lived one year, and then came to 
 Connecticut, as in the meanwhile his wife's brother 
 had settled in ths State. For awhile Air. Burden 
 was employed in Hartford, and then became agent 
 ar Bolton, Tolland county, for the Hartford, Provi- 
 dence & Fishkill Railroad Co.. with which he re- 
 mained seven years, in 1879 coming to Burnside, 
 where he soon afterward erected the dwelling in 
 which he resided until his lamented death, Alarch 18, 
 1892, his remains being interred in East Hartford. 
 
 Air. Burden was a man of the strictest integrity, 
 and was greatly esteemed wherever he lived. His 
 efforts to kec]) his word were extraordinary, and 
 his love for his family amounted to adoration. He 
 lived and died a true Christian, having been a life- 
 long member of the Episcopal Church ; in politics 
 he was a Democrat, but cared little for office, and al- 
 though he served one term as a member of the school 
 committee, as a matter of pulilic duty, he declined 
 re-election. 
 
 To the marriage of Air. and Airs. Burden were 
 born four children: (I) Harold, born 111 l-.ngland, 
 April 3, 1869, died in Detroit, Alich., July 8, 1870, 
 at the age of fifteen months. (2) Alildred, born 
 Sept. 21, 1870, was killed at the Main street cross- 
 ing, East Hartford, by a passing train. Nov. 20. 
 1891 ; she was twenty-one years old, and her tragic 
 fate was so great a shock to her father that it was 
 the primary cause of his djath the following Alarch. 
 (3) Flarold, of Burnside, was born Sept. 23, 1873, 
 married Aliss Hattie Louise Bragg, and has one 
 child, Alildred L. (4) Charles E. died in infancy. 
 The sad fate of her daughter, and the death of her 
 husband so soon following, caused Airs. ISurdeii 
 such poignant grief that she sought surcease in a 
 visit to England, found in the change of scene tem- 
 porary relief, and after a few months returned to 
 Ijurnside, where her landed interests are situated. 
 Here she owns several tenement houses besides her 
 own comfortable residence, which was built for her 
 by her husljand. 
 
 Airs. Burden has manifested rare business ability 
 and great determination, and, although she has ex- 
 perienced trials almost beyond the comprehension of 
 the average individual, has maintained her walk 
 through life most nobly, sustained by her faith in 
 the teachings of the Episcopal Church, she being a 
 member of St. John's, at East Hartford, at present : 
 she was confirmed in England. No lady in Bum- 
 side has more devoted friends, and no one is pos- 
 sessed of more amiable and commendable traits of 
 character, and womanly accomplishments and 
 virtues. 
 
 FRANKLIN BALL, for the past twenty-three 
 years an employe in the case department of the E. 
 Ingraham Clock Co., was born in Bristol, Conn., 
 June 21, 1835, and is of the seventh generation of 
 the family in New England, the line being traced 
 backward as follows : 
 
 (I) Franklin, the subject. (II) Charles Ball, 
 a native of Bristol, born in 1806, lived on Lake 
 Avenue, had a farm of 120 acres, was also a wood 
 turner, and for six years was in partnership in this 
 business with his eldest son, Henry. He never 
 paid much attention to politics, but was very active 
 as a member of the Episcopal Church, being one of 
 the first to join the Bristol congregation. In 1856, 
 he went to Lodi, 111., engaged in farming for sev- 
 eral years, then, after the close of the Civil war, 
 went to San Francisco and engaged in the same pur- 
 
488 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 suit until his death. He married, Nov. 26, 1826, 
 Miss Isabelle Emiline, born in 1810, a daughter of 
 Dr. Anson Warner, of Plymouth, Conn., and the 
 result of this marriage was six children: Henry, 
 born Dec. 6, 1827, is farming in Russell county, 
 Kans. ; Hiram, born Nov. 23, 1829, is a mechanic in 
 Alexandria, Va. ; Mary Ann, born Nov. 23, 1832, is 
 a widow and resides in San Francisco; Franklin, 
 the subject of this sketch, comes next; Orrin, born 
 May 21, 1840, was wounded in the war of the 
 Rebellion, and died shortly afterward in Illinois; 
 and Francis, who also served in the war of the Re- 
 bellion, is a carpenter by trade and lives in Wood- 
 bur_v, Connecticut. 
 
 '(HI) Noah Ball, grandfather of subject. (IV) 
 Caleb Ball, Jr., born in 1740. (V) Caleb Ball, Sr., 
 born in 1697. (VI) John Ball, born in 1649. (VII) 
 Allen Ball, born in 16 — , was living in New Haven 
 in 1643. 
 
 Franklin Ball was primarily educated in the Bris- 
 tol common schools and, later, in the Bristol Acad- 
 emy, which he left at the age of twenty years, in the 
 meantime having assisted his father on the farm. 
 He then married and removed to Illinois where he 
 farmed until i860, at which time he returned to 
 Bristol and worked one year in the S. E. Root clock 
 shop, and then in the Irenus Atkins clock shop until 
 he enlisted Sept. 20, 1861, in Company C, Tenth 
 C. V. I., and was sworn in as a musician. He was 
 at the battles of Roanoke Island, Newberne, and 
 Goldsboro, at the siege of Charlestown (July 28 to 
 Oct. 25), Drury's Bluff, Bermuda Hundred, Deep 
 Bottom, siege of Petersburg (Aug. 28, to Sept. 29), 
 Hatcher's Run and Appomattox Court House. He 
 was several times struck by balls, but not seriously 
 injured, and was mustered out Oct. 7, 1864. On his 
 return from the war he again entered the employ 
 of Mr. Atkins as clock case maker, and worked with 
 him until 1877, when the concern failed ; he then 
 found employment in the case department of the 
 E. Ingraham Co., where he has worked during the 
 past twenty-three 3'ears. 
 ^ Mr. Ball was united in marriage Feb. 5, 1856, to 
 Miss Laura Aletta Barnum, who was born March 
 14, 1838, in Bethany, Penn., and is a daughter of 
 Ansel Hoyt Barnum. The children that have graced 
 this union were Charles Ansel, born June 5, 1857, 
 died Sept. 11, 1857; Frank Eugene, born Jan. 24, 
 1859, was married April 24, 1883, to Miss Rosalie 
 Pappi, of New York Cit}', and has two children, 
 Earle Vincent, born May 30, 1884, and Genevieve 
 Aletta, born Dec. 21, 1888 (the father has for the 
 last twenty-four years been employed in the rule 
 department of the Benedict & Burnham Co., at 
 Waterbury) ; Frances Eugenie, twin of Frank Eu- 
 gene, died Aug. 11, 1859. 
 
 Mr. Ball was formerly a member of the Episcopal 
 Church, in which he was a vestryman, but he and 
 wife are now identified with the Prospect M. E. 
 Church, she being a member of the Ladies' Aid So- 
 ciety. Mr. Ball is affiliated with the G. W. Thompson 
 
 Post, No. 13, G. A. R., of which he is a past com- 
 mander, and has been chaplain for ten years, and his 
 wife is a member of the Woman's Relief Corps, in 
 which she has held the offices of junior and senior 
 vice-president. Mr. Ball has been a delegate to the 
 National Encampment of the G. A. R., and aid on 
 Commander-in-chief Weiserts' and Gen. Alger's 
 staffs ; he has also been installing officer and in- 
 specting officer of different Posts of the State de- 
 partment for the past ten years, is at present chief 
 mustering officer of the department of Connecticut, 
 G. A. R., chaplain of Post No. 13, chaplain of Bris- 
 tol Grange No. 116, and vice-president of the loth 
 C. V. Veteran Association. He is likewise a member 
 of the Alger Staff Association of the United States, 
 of which Mrs. Gen. Russell A. Alger is the only 
 lady honorary member. 
 
 In politics Mr. Ball is a Republican. He has 
 served on the grand jury, but has never sought 
 office, although he is an extremely popular gentle- 
 man. 
 
 HON. BURWELL CARTER, a prominent 
 brass founder, and one of the most influential and 
 public-spirited citizens of Plainville, was born in 
 Wolcott, New Haven Co., Conn., Nov. 13, 1827, 
 a son of Reuben and Mary (Bailey) Carter. 
 
 His maternal grandparents were Deacon James 
 and Theda Bailey, of Wolcott, while his paternal 
 grandparents were Stephen and Triphena (Upson) 
 Carter, also of Wolcott. Stephen Carter was a 
 son of Jacob and Mary (Barnes) Carter, the for- 
 mer of whom was an early settler of Southington, 
 this county, where he died July 6, 1796. He was 
 a son of Jacob and Dorcas (Tyler) Carter. Jacob 
 Carter, Sr., came to this State from Southold, Long 
 Island, and located in Branford. The father of 
 our subject was born in Wolcott in 1793, and was 
 reared upon a farm in that town, where be subse- 
 quently followed farming up to 1837, when he re- 
 moved to Plainville, and here worked as a brass 
 molder until his death, in 1840. In his family were, 
 eight children, namely : Lucas H. ; Theda, wife of 
 S. F. Clark; Selina D., wife of Edward Twitchel; 
 Timothy U. ; James B.; Burwell; and two who 
 died in infancy. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of our subject were 
 passed in Wolcott and Plainville, and he received 
 a common-school education. At the age of fifteen 
 years he commenced work as a helper in the brass 
 foundry of his brother, L. H. Carter, in Plain- 
 ville and in Ansonia, and he continued to work in 
 brass foundries in various towns until he had thor- 
 oughly mastered the business in ever}' detail. In 
 1875 he purchased the plant of his brother in Plain- 
 ville, and has since successfully conducted it, having 
 built up a most excellent trade. 
 
 Mr. Carter has been twice married, his first 
 wife having been Miss Sarah E. Bird, a daughter 
 of George and Betsey (Stanley) Bird, of New 
 Haven, and by that union two children were born: 
 
/>ujxyt^^£i^ (:$k^A^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 489 
 
 George S., who married Clara Gilbert; and Sarah 
 E., wife of Ransom Baker. For his sccc^nd wife 
 Mr. Carter married J\liss Achsah Talmadge, a 
 daughter of David and Rebecca (Bailey) Talmadge, 
 of Torringford, Conn., and by this marriage he also 
 has two children : Lucas H., who married Emma 
 Cook ; and Edward T., who married Lizzie Jordan. 
 Mr. and JMrs. Carter are earnest members of 
 the Congregational Church, and he belongs lo Fred- 
 erick Lodge, No. 14, F. & A. AL, of Plainvillc, and 
 Phoenix Lodge, L O. O. F., of New Britain. In 
 his political views he is a stanch Republican, and 
 he is a recognized leader of the party in his com- 
 munity, having served as chairman of the Plain- 
 villc Republican committee for many years. He 
 has also been honored with important official posi- 
 tions, the duties of which he has most capably and 
 satisfactorily discharged. He has been a grand 
 juror several terms; first selectman one year; and 
 represented Plainville in the State Legislature dur- 
 ing the sessions of 1874-75, 1897-98 and 1899- 
 1900. 
 
 BOX. JAMES T. COOGAN, manager of the 
 Anchor Mills Paper Co., Windsor Locks, is a busi- 
 ness man of rare ability and sagacity, and since he 
 has taken personal charge of the interests of the 
 Anchor ^Nlills, in which he is a large stockholder, 
 the prosperity of the enterprise has greatly ad- 
 vanced. His sound judgment and energetic com- 
 pletion of any plan once adopted make his co-opera- 
 tion valuable in any line of eilfort, and he has fre- 
 quently been called to serve the community in offi- 
 cial positions of prominence, including that of rep- 
 resentative in the General Assembly. 
 
 Mr. Coogan comes of a notably able and intelli- 
 gent family, whose members have achieved distinc- 
 tion in various lines of effort. James Coogan, his 
 father, was born May i, 1808, in Dublin, Ireland, 
 where his youth was spent. He learned the paper- 
 maker's trade, and on coming to the LTnited States 
 in 1830 followed same for many years in different 
 places, being at one time employed in the Anchor 
 Mills. Having decided to settle permanently in 
 ; Windsor Locks, he engaged in the general mercan- 
 'tile business. He was a man of fine abilities, and 
 a character which commanded the respect and ad- 
 miration of all classes. In religious faith he was 
 a Catholic, and as one of the first trustees of St. 
 Mary's Church, at Windsor Locks, he did much to 
 I'niild up the parish. Politically he was also active, 
 i;nd at one time served as representative of the 
 iState Legislature, being the first Catholic ever 
 pkcted to that body. In 1840 he was married, at 
 iBrooklyn, N. Y., to Miss Elizabeth Byrne, a native 
 b_f Dublin, Ireland, who died in 1867, and he sur- 
 j.'ived her mitil 1879. Of their seven children, the 
 eldest, Edward D., born April 2, 1841, is a prom- 
 nent business man of Windsor Locks, and has been 
 I conspicuous figure there in politics for several 
 ;-ears. He is a leading Democrat, has held all the 
 
 local offices, served his town in the State Legisla- 
 ture, and in 1896 was a tlclcgate to the National 
 Convention at Chicago that nominated W. J. Bryan 
 for the Presidency. He is president of the Wind- 
 sor Locks Water Works, and a stockholder in the 
 Electric Light Co. (2j James T., our subject, is 
 mentioned more fully below. (3) Timothy C, 
 born Oct. 8, 1847, at Windsor Locks, practiced law 
 in. Thompsonville and Hartford in early manhood 
 and is now a successful lawyer in San Francisco, 
 his residence being in Oakland, Cal. He is prom- 
 inent in political movements. (4) Joseph A., a 
 prominent physician of Windsor Locks, was born 
 Sept. 14, 1849, and after receiving a common-school 
 education there attended Holy Cross College, and 
 St. John's College, at Fordham, N. Y. In 1873 h^ 
 entered Bellevue Hospital Medical College, where 
 he was graduated three years later with honors. 
 For ten years he practiced in Hartford, securing a 
 large remunerative patronage, but his health failed 
 as a consequence of two attacks of pneumonia, and 
 he was compelled to give up his professional \vork 
 and seek renewed strength in a trip to Europe, fol- 
 lowed by a winter at Los Angeles, Cal. He then 
 spent a year in post-graduate work at Bellevue, un- 
 der the direction of his friend, the noted Prof. Ed- 
 v/ard Janeway, and in April, 1888, he located at his 
 native town, where his skill and ability won ready 
 recognition. He takes an active interest in public 
 aft'airs, and during his residence in Hartford he was 
 a member of the high school committee and of the 
 board of health ; was also physician and surgeon to 
 all the Roman Catholic institutions of the city, in- 
 cluding St. Augustine's College and the Old Peo- 
 ple's Home of West Hartford. He was also 
 president of the Order of Knights of St. Patrick, 
 surgeon of the First Company of Governor's 
 Horse Guards, and chairman of the Democratic 
 city and town committees. For two successive 
 years he was a Fellow of the State Medical So- 
 ciety, and censor of the County Medical Society; 
 at present he is health officer t>f the town 
 of Windsor Locks, and president of the Hartford 
 County Medical Association. (5) Ann Eliza, eld- 
 est daughter of James and Elizabeth Coogan, mar- 
 ried J. B. Benson, of Windsor Locks. (6) John 
 W. is a successful lawyer in Hartford. (7) Mary, 
 known as Sister Laurentia, is in a convent in 
 Bridgeport. 
 
 James T. Coogan was born Feb. 14, 1843, at 
 Lee, Mass., but his boyhood was spent chiefly in 
 Windsor Locks, where he attended the public 
 schools for a time. At the age of nine years he 
 was employed in the stockinet factory, and he after- 
 ward worked on a farm in Suffield, but later be- 
 came a clerk in his father's store. In 1867 he and 
 his brother Edward engaged in general mercantile 
 business at the present site of the post office, after 
 three years removing to the corner of Main and 
 Bridge streets, where they continued until the 
 brother withdrew from the firm. Our subject re- 
 
490 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 mained in charge of the store at Main and Bridge 
 streets until 1884, when he was appointed post- 
 master by President Cleveland, and for some years 
 his attention was devoted to the duties of that po- 
 sition. In 1890 he became connected with the 
 Whittlesey Mills, at Windsor Locks, under the firm 
 name of Coogan & Pusey, and engaged in the manu- 
 facture of tissue and toilet paper. Soon afterward 
 a joint-stock company, known as the Anchor Mills 
 Co., was formed, of which Mr. Coogan became a 
 member, and until 1895 he was connected with 
 both enterprises. Since 1897 he has held his pres- 
 ent position of manager of the Anchor Mills, the 
 establishment being at present devoted to the manu- 
 facture of tissue copying papers. He has been in- 
 terested at times in other corporate enterprises, hav- 
 ii!g been a director in the Windsor Locks Savings 
 Bank and the Windsor Locks & Warehouse Point 
 Bridge Co., but notwithstanding his business cares 
 he finds time for active work in local affairs. He 
 has served as selectman, and for many years was 
 secretary of the local board of education, while in 
 1880 he represented his town in the State Legisla- 
 ture, doing especially good work as a member of 
 the committee on Insurance. Socially he is popular 
 with all classes. 
 
 JOHN GAYLORD STODDARD is a repre- 
 sentative of one of the oldest Connecticut families, 
 one which for seven generations has lived within 
 the confines of Hartford county, and which has 
 been intimately associated with the life and de- 
 velopment of this prosperous region. The mental 
 activity of our subject in his younger days is 
 evinced by the fact that for eleven years he taught 
 school in the neighboring towns. Latterly he has 
 been identified with the material interests of the 
 county, in an agricultural way. 
 
 The ancestor of the Stoddard family in Con- 
 necticut was John Stoddard. The records of 
 Wethersfield show that in 1664 several parcels of 
 land were awarded to him in that locality, in ac- 
 cordance with the customs of the times. Mr. Stod- 
 dard seems to have been a settler in that vicinity 
 some years prior to this award. John Stoddard, 
 his son, settled on the land where our subject now 
 lives, having acquired it in the latter part of the 
 seventeenth century. His son, Jonathan Stod- 
 dard, the great-great-grandfather of our subject, 
 was married, in 171 7, to Abigail Wickham. Their 
 son, Jonathan Stoddard, great-grandfather of John 
 G. Stoddard, was born in Wethersfield Jan. 18, 
 1738. He was a soldier in the French and Revo- 
 lutionary wars, bearing the title of captain, and 
 would often, when he was old, tell the boys what 
 Washington said and did in the retreat from Long 
 Island and at Valley Forge — those "times that tried 
 men's souls." His son, likewise named Jonathan, 
 was born July 24, 1772. He was a farmer by oc- 
 cupation, and became quite prominent in local af- 
 fairs. Strong in physique and active in manner, 
 
 he exerted considerable influence among his fellow 
 townsmen. He was for some years captain of 
 militia. He married Candace Peck, who was born 
 in Bristol, Conn., Jan. 16, 1771, and seven chil- 
 dren were born to them: Jonattian; Hiram Ed- 
 wards, father of our subject; Sabra, who first mar- 
 ried Ira Andrews, and later Jehiel Noble; Nathan 
 Fenn; Candace, who was twice married, first to 
 Edward Howard, and later to James E. Loveland, 
 by whom she had a son, Charles Munn Loveland; 
 Joseph; and Abigail Honor, who married Justus 
 Griswold. 
 
 Hiram E. Stoddard was born in 1796 in New- 
 ington, was reared in. that vicinity, and was well 
 educated for those times, receiving common-school 
 advantages, by which he successfully mastered the 
 "three r's," which, in most cases, was the ultima 
 Thule of his day and generation; in addition he 
 attended a select school, taught by the wise minister 
 of the parish. Rev. Joab Brace. Adopting the oc- 
 cupation of farming, he supplemented it in his 
 younger years by teaching school for a number of 
 winters, and later in life he engaged in selling dry- 
 goods, etc., in the South, as was the custom among 
 ■the more enterprising young men of the county dur- 
 ing the early years of the present century. He was 
 remarkably well informed and enterprising. At n 
 time when Newington was a part of Wethersfield 
 he was a selectman of the town. In farming he 
 -prospered to a fair degree. He was a member of 
 the Congregational Church. Mr. Stoddard mar- 
 ried Fanny Filley, daughter of Sylvanus Filley, of 
 East Windsor, now South Windsor, a representa- 
 tive of one of the old Windsor families. The fam- 
 ily of Hiram E. and Fanny Stoddard consisted of 
 five children: John G., the subject of this sketch; 
 Heman Francis, who died aged five years; 
 Mary Jane, who was married, i.Iarch 19, 1857, to 
 William W. Clark; Hiram Hudson, born in 1837, 
 who married (first) Martha Ann Goodwin, and 
 (second) Elma A. Pratt, of Granville, Mass. (he 
 is now a resident of Kearney, Neb. He en^ 
 hsted in 1861 in the 5th Conn. V. I.; he was 
 editor for many years of the "Poultry World") ; 
 and Fanny Eliza, who died when nine years old. 
 Hiram Edwards Stoddard died Oct. 26, 1883, aged 
 eighty-seven. He was struck by a train while 
 crossing the New York, New Flaven & Hartford 
 railroad with an ox-team, hauHng wood. Flis wife 
 died April 18, 1877. 
 
 John G. Stoddard, whose name introduces these 
 Imes, was born in Wethersfield (now Newington), 
 Conn., Sept. 6, 1827. He attended the district 
 schools, and also the academy which then flourished 
 in the town. He possessed a retentive memory, 
 was devoted to history and general reading, and 
 remained in school, cluring the winter, until he 
 reached his eighteenth year. When nineteen Mr. 
 Stoddard began teaching in the neighboring towns, 
 at West Hartford, Southington and East Hartford, 
 becoming well-known as one of the efficient in- 
 
i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 401 
 
 structors of his time, excelling in the educational 
 requirements of that clay. During the summers, 
 while tcaciiing school, Mr. Stoddard followed farm- 
 ing, and he finally adopted this occupation per- 
 manently in a small way, devoting special atten- 
 tion to tobacco raising, which he has followed for 
 1 forty years. Mr. Stoddard has been a careful, con- 
 servative business man, and has been quite suc- 
 cessful. In politics he was formerly a \\ hig, and 
 he has been a Republican since the formation of 
 that party, active in public affairs. He was elected 
 selectman of Wethersfield before Xewington was 
 set off as a separate town, and in i8C8 he was 
 elected representative. In 1888 he was elected 
 selectman of Newington, and in 1899 was elected 
 first selectman, serving one year and declining re- 
 ,election. Mr. Stoddard has always been interested 
 in the public schools, and a more zealous advocate 
 :for their efficiency and steady improvement it would 
 |be difficult to find. For eight or ten years he has 
 ibeen a school visitor. When a boy he became a 
 member of the Congregational Church, to which 
 his wife also belongs. 
 
 On Sept. 6, 1854, Mr. Stoddard was married to 
 Caroline Sarah Rice, of Charlemont, Mass., who 
 was born Nov. 7, 1825, daughter of Roswell and 
 Sarah (Hathaway) Rice, the former a descendant 
 of Capt. Moses Rice, one of the first settlers of 
 Charlemont ; he was shot by the Indians in his corn- 
 field. Mrs. Stoddard was but five years of age when 
 her mother died, leaving five children : Harriet N., 
 Harvey D., Carolme S., Charles H. and Hart A., 
 the last named now living on the old homestead. 
 The father subsequently married Amy Avery, 
 daughter of Jonathan Avery, a Revolutionary 
 soldier, but to this union no children were born. 
 Mrs. Stoddard taught eleven terms of school pre- 
 vious to her marriage; To our subject and wife 
 have been born four children : ( i ) John Ros- 
 well, born Aug. 9, 1855, is a machinist by trade, and 
 i.-^ assistant superintendent for the Russell & Er- 
 vvin Co., of New Britain. On April 30, 1878, he 
 married Lila M. Steele, and they have had seven 
 children — Louise B., born Feb. 20, 1879, now a 
 teacher in East Hartford ; John Elias, born Dec. 
 27, 1880, engaged as shipping clerk with the Pope 
 Manufacturing Co.; Hart A., born Sept. 4, 1883; 
 Ruth and Ruby, twins, born July 19, 1885, the 
 latter of whom died when six weeks of age : Ralph 
 t\., born Dec. 23, 1888: and Lila A., born Dec. 10, 
 (}''893. (2) Harriet Eliza, born May 17, 1857, is a 
 ■graduate of the Connecticut Normal School. She 
 lis the widow of John T. Cochrane, and for four- 
 ijteen years has been in the office of the State board 
 'ipf education. She has one son, Harry H., now a 
 student in Trinity College. (3) Hart Avery died 
 fn infancy. (4) Frederick Hudson, born Aug. 23, 
 (862, died in January, 1S76. 
 
 Mr. and i\Irs. Stoddard have a fine home. 
 Lvery member of the family has musical talent, 
 pach playing some instrument well, and Mr. Stod- 
 
 dard has acquired quite a reputation for his articles 
 on poultry, and as a writer of verse. For many years 
 he was a frequent contributor to the pages of the 
 "Poultry World," a monthy, formerly jjublished 
 by H. 11. Stoddard, of Hartford. He gave much 
 attention to the breeding of fine poultry, and his 
 strain of Plymouth Rock fowls is known and valued 
 in every State of the Union. He has always been 
 noted for his indiistry, and is a self-made man, 
 having received no aid on the road to prosperity, 
 but he has been blessed with good health, and has 
 improved every opportunity in his path, as the rec- 
 ord of his career shows. 
 
 WILLIAM WALTER NORTON (deceased), 
 during his lifetime one of the prominent and in- 
 fluential citizens of Kensington, was born in that 
 village Oct. 5, 1S19. There, too, he died, Sept. 30, 
 1894, at the ripe old age of seventy-five years, and 
 there he was buried, in West Lane cemetery. 
 
 The district schools of his native town afforded 
 Mr. Norton his only opportunities for education, 
 and his deficiencies in this regard constituted a 
 source of poignant regret to him in later years. He 
 found life on the paternal farm circumscribed and 
 prosaic, and while yet a young man went West to 
 seek his fortune. There he engaged in business and 
 invested in mining stock, but ultimately gravitated 
 back to Berlin. Shortly after his return he was 
 tendered the position of agent for the New York, 
 New Haven & Hartford Railway and the 
 Adams Express Companies, which he accepted, 
 and this position of grave responsibility he filled 
 for nearly thirty years, discharging the duties at- 
 taching thereto with that mental acumen and un- 
 swerving fidelitv which were his salient character- 
 istics throughout life. The high regard in which 
 he was held by his fellow citizens was attested by 
 their repeatedly honoring him with offices of high 
 honor and grave trust. At various times he was 
 grand juror, judge of probate, and first selectman, 
 besides holding various minor offices. 
 
 Mr. Norton was twice married. His first wife. 
 Miss Flarriet E. Brown, to whom he was married on 
 Jan. 2, 1841, was born Sept. 7, 1821, and died in 
 June, 1891. In November, 1892, he married Miss 
 Nellie Emma Lyman Hunt, daughter of Willard 
 and Augusta Hunt, well-known and respected resi- 
 dents of Berlin. She was born Nov. 22, 1862, in 
 Berlin, and died Dec. 15, 1899. She was a mem- 
 ber of the. Congregational Church of Berlin, where 
 she lived from childhood until her marriage, and 
 was an active church worker, beloved and respected 
 by all. 
 
 The late Mr. Norton was of a genial, whole- 
 souled disposition, always ready to aid his neigh- 
 bors, and universally popular. His advice was con- 
 stantly sought, frequently on matters of grave im- 
 portance, and always freely and cheerfully given. 
 For many years he was a Republican in politics, 
 but toward the close of his life affiliated with the 
 
492 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Democratic party. In both politics and public af- 
 fairs he was always influential, and the grief with 
 which the community learned the news of his death 
 was deep, sincere and widespread. He was long 
 an attendant at the Methodist Church, but in later 
 years was to be seen among the Congregationalists. 
 His character was beyond reproach, his mind keen 
 and active, and his sympathies broad and tender. 
 The issue of his second marriage was one son, 
 William Stephen Marcus, born Sept. 19, 1894. The 
 child is unusually bright, and it was his mother's 
 hope that he might study the profession of law. 
 
 ROBERT CORNWELL DUNHAM, a well- 
 to-do farmer and influential citizen of Southington, 
 was born on the farm which he now occupies Oct. 
 4, 1827, a son of Harvey Dunham, who lived in 
 Shuttle Meadow. The father was born Feb. 5, 
 1799, and was married, Oct. 2, 1822, to Miss Julia 
 A. Cornwell, by whom he had four children, who 
 reached maturity ; Angeline, wife of Henry K. W. 
 Dickinson, who has three children, Sidney, Ed- 
 ward and Charles ; Robert C. ; Truman, now de- 
 ceased, who is survived by six children, Ela (Mrs. 
 Albion Dyer), Tryon G. (who has one son, Tryon 
 Hunt), Mary, Katherine, Bell and Alice; and Sarah 
 Elizabeth, wife of George Loomis, who has two 
 children, Carrie and George-. Tlie father died March 
 23, 1869. 
 
 Harvey Dunham, Sr., the grandfather of our 
 subject, lived east of Shuttle Meadow, where his 
 son Harvey lived and died. He was married, Feb. 
 9, 1795, to Elizabeth, daughter of Capt. William 
 and Catherine (Codner) Tryon, of Middletown. 
 He died July 15, 1836, and his wife June 23, 1865, 
 at the advanced age of ninety-two years. His fa- 
 ther, S3dvanus Dunham, was born in 1742, and 
 lived on the west side of Shuttle Meadow, where 
 he died Sept. i, 1818. He married Rebecca Wood- 
 ruff, daughter of Hezekiah and Sarah (Macon) 
 Woodruff. Sylvanus Dunham was a son of Gideon 
 Dunham, of Southington, who was the founder of 
 the family in this county, and is supposed to have 
 come from Martha's Vineyard. He died April 27, 
 1762. 
 
 Robert C. Dunham, our subject, has spent his 
 entire life upon the old homestead, engaged in ag- 
 ricultural pursuits. During his boyhood he became 
 thoroughly familiar with all the duties which fall 
 to the lot of the farmer, and acquired his literary 
 education in the common schools, and at Hopkins 
 Academy, Hadley, Mass. On March 11, 1851, 
 he was united in marriage with Miss Josephine M. 
 Park, born Nov. 2, 1830, a daughter of Chauncey 
 (born Oct. 16, 1807) and Emeline (Field) (born 
 Feb. 2, 1808) Park, of West Northfield, Mass., 
 and granddaughter of Levi Park, who was born 
 Dec. 30, 1786. To Mr. and Mrs. Dunham were 
 born five children : George C. married Charlotte 
 Davis, of Stoneboro, Penn., and they have had 
 five children, Bertha E., Edna B., Robert A., Ruth 
 
 May, and Charles (deceased). William N. mar- ' 
 ried Mary B. Smith, of New Britain, and they 
 have three children, Myrtle C, Leroy N. and 
 Josephine M. Frederick P. married (first) Jennie ' 
 Woodruff, of Southington, who died leaving two i 
 children, Paul C. and Dana W. ; his second wife, ! 
 Elizabeth Whiting, of Southington, also died leav- I 
 ing two children, Clarence W. and Jennie M., and t 
 for his third wife he married Grace Dayton, of 
 Southington; they have two children, Halstead F. 
 and Gladys M. Mary J. is the wife of Edwin G. 
 Lewis, .and has one daughter, Marion. Julia E. \ 
 is the wife of Lewis Shepard. By his ballot Mr. 
 Dunham supports the men and measures of the :; 
 Republican party, and he has served one term as i 
 grand juror. 
 
 CASE. The Case family is one of the oldest 
 in this section, and is connected with many other 
 prominent pioneer lines, notably the Cornish, Hum- 
 phrey and Adams families. 
 
 John Case, from whom the Cases in Simsbury, 
 Canton and Barkhamsted trace their descent, is said ! 
 to have come from Gravesend, England, in the ship ' 
 "Dorset," Sept. 3, 1635. He was at Newtown, L. 
 L, in 1656, and later spent some time at Hartford 
 and Windsor, but finally located at Weatogue, where .j 
 the site of his old homestead can still be located, ;' 
 Phelps' "History of Simsbury" says of him that in \ 
 1669 he was appointed by the General Court con- 
 stable of Massawe, the first person to be invested 
 with any office in the town. He was elected repre- 
 sentative in the May session of the General As- ■ 
 sembly with Joshua Holcomb, they being the first J; 
 two persons holding that office, and he also served i' 
 subsequently in the years 1674, 1675 and 1691. In i; 
 1656 he married Sarah Spencer, of Hartford, 1; 
 who was born in 1636,. and died in 1691. ' 
 Her father, William Spencer, had his home lot 
 granted to him in Hartford, the land where the i, 
 Union depot now stands. He was the founder of ' 
 the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, and i 
 was appointed one to revise the laws of the Colony. " 
 At his death in 1640, he left an estate valued at 291 
 pounds. John Case died in 1704. His will, made 
 in 1700, is a lengthy document, filling eight foolscap 
 pages with fine writing. The inventory appended 
 to the will shows him possessed of seventeen parcels 
 of land, a cornmill and sawmill. Some items in the 
 inventory are a broadcloth coat, table linen and 
 napkins, blue trucking cloth, sheets, linen sheets, 
 tow sheets, Bibles and divinity books, a short gun, 
 a musket, three pounds of powder, eight and one- 
 half pounds of lead, a rapier, a back sword, a cutlass, 
 six and a half barrels of cider, two stocks beer, lOo 
 pounds tobacco, two pairs breeches, two breeches, 
 bedding, bolsters, pillows, shag rug, green rug, , 
 wainscot bedstead, coverlids, twenty-one and a half i 
 yards linsey woolsey, twenty-six yards tow cloth, j 
 nine yards linen cloth, twenty-two run of linen 3'am, ' 
 ten and a half run tow yarn, pewter platters, pew- 
 
il 
 
 ^ (^ eb^u. 
 
 (j^-^^^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 493 
 
 Icr flagon, three brass kettles, smoothing irons, 
 :heese press; inventory of ail the estate 562 pounds, 
 Mr. Case being a man of wealth for those times. He 
 had si.K sons and four daughters, and four of his 
 sons settled near him. 
 
 (II) Joseph Case, sixth son of John, born April 
 6, 1674, married Anna Eno, April 6, 1699. She 
 died June 10, 1760, aged sixty-one, and he died in 
 1748, aged seventy-four. He resided at Meadow 
 I'lain, Simsbury, and served twenty sessions in the 
 Legislature. 
 
 (III) Josiah Case, son of Joseph, born Feb. i, 
 1716, married Mary Hoskins July 22, 1742, and re- 
 moved to Cases Farm, Simsbury, where he owned 
 :ind condueted a sawmill. The date of his death is 
 not known. His children were Hezekiah, born 
 Aug. II, 1743, died Dec. 26, 1761 ; Mary, born Sept. 
 10, 1745, married David Goodhue; Ezra, born Sept. 
 15, 1747, settled in Barkhamsted ; Andrew, born July 
 10, 1749, died Aug. 19, 1749; Andrew, born Aug. 
 15, 1750, settled in Barkhamsted; Josiah, born Feb. 
 '9. 1753 ; Ozias, born Nov. 2, 1755, settled in Bur- 
 ington. Conn.; Abel, born Nov. 3, 1758, is men- 
 :ioned below; Oliver, born June, 1761, settled in 
 Barkhamsted. 
 
 (IV) Abel Case, Sr., born Nov. 3, 1758, died Oct. 
 30, 1843, aged eighty-five. He married Anna 
 Fuller, it is supposed a daughter of Ezekiel Tuller, 
 jf Simsbury. She died Dec. 10, 1844, aged eighty- 
 ieven. Their children were Abel, Jr., mentioned be- 
 ow ; Ezekiel ; Gaylord, who married Aurelia Foote ; 
 Sabrina, who married Samuel Booth, of Avon, 
 Conn. ; Savilla, wife of Oliver Case, of Barkham- 
 sted; Betsey, wife of Roswell Nobles, of Sims- 
 jury; Harriet, wife of Jarvis Bacon, of Simsbury; 
 A.nna, wife of Arunah Moore, of Bloomfield ; Me- 
 litable, who never married. 
 
 (V) Abel Case, Jr., born in 1786, died March 
 25, 1861. He settled on the homestead, on land 
 jiven by his father, and was a shoemaker and 
 farmer by occupation. He married (first) Sally 
 Hoskins, daughter of Ashbel and Sarah (Marvin) 
 Hoskins, and (second) wedded Miriam Squires, 
 rt'ho was born in 1797, and died in 1865. By the 
 jirst marriage he had six children: Dwight, who 
 married Lucy Brockway, of Simsbury; Norton, 
 bom in August, 1810; Perry; Deluna, unmarried; 
 Laura; and Melissa, who married a Mr. Ryder. By 
 ■he second marriage there were three children : 
 Harriet ; Ruth ; and Jane, who married a Mr. 
 i^oberts. 
 
 (VI) Norton Case, son of Abel, Jr., was mar- 
 cd twice, (first) to Flora Jones, of Simsbury, and 
 
 Vsecond) March 25, 1835, to Electa Case, daugh- 
 jer of Giles Case, of Canton. The children by "the 
 •irst marriage were: Charles, born in June, 1832, 
 Went to sea forty years ago, and has not been heard 
 [rem since. Horace, born in February, 1834, is 
 pne of the oldest grocers in Hartford ; he married 
 irst Lucretia Goodrich, and later Sarah Boardman, 
 )f Hartford, but has no children. The children by 
 
 the second marriage of Norton Case were: Flora, 
 born in 1836, died in 1840; George A., born in 
 September, 1838, was a soldier in the war of the 
 Rebellion; Arden G., born Dec. 25, 1844, is men- 
 tioned below more fully. Norton Case was a farmer 
 throughout his life. He died in Southington, Conn., 
 in December, 1890, aged eighty, and his widow. 
 Electa, who was born in November, 1810, died in 
 September, 1893, aged eighty-three. 
 
 (VII) Arden G. Case, resident of Weatogue, 
 owns and occupies, as a homestead, land which 
 once belonged to John Case, the pioneer, and is a 
 stone mason by occupation. Politically he is a 
 stanch Democrat. At one time he had served as 
 juryman, and for five years he was a corporal in 
 Company H, ist Regiment, State Militia. In 1869 
 he married Marion E. Cornish, daughter of Sidney 
 A. and Emeline (Humphrey) Cornish, of Sims- 
 bury, and they have had two children : Iloward 
 James, born June 12, 1870, died March 30, 1872; 
 Daisy Marion, born Aug. 16, 1871, married, Jan. 
 10, 1893, Carleton S. Marks, of Simsbury, and their 
 cliildren are Harold Humphrey Alarks, born ^Vug. 
 30, 1893, and Eleanor Stanley Marks, born Jan. 29, 
 1895. JNIrs. Arden G. Case belongs to the Method- 
 ist Episcopal Church. 
 
 Arden G. Case is descended from John, the pio- 
 neer, through three other lines, tracing to Richard, 
 John, Jr., and Bartholomew, as indicated below. 
 
 (II) Capt. Richard Case, the fourth son of John, 
 the pioneer, was married Sept. i, 1701, to Amy 
 Reed, daughter of Dr. Philip Reed, of Concord, 
 Mass., and settled in Weatogue. He was born 
 Aug. 27, 1769, and died in 1746. His children were: 
 Amy, born in 1702, died in- 1703 ; Amy (2), born in 
 1703, married Jonathan Holcomb, and died after 
 1740; Richard is mentioned below; Timothy, bom 
 in 171 1, married Sarah Holcomb, daughter of Na- 
 thaniel Holcomb; Margaret, born in 1713, married 
 Jacob Holcomb, and died after 1740; Edward, born 
 in 1715, died June i, 1746; Lydia, born in 1718, 
 died after 1740; and Mary, born in 1722, died after 
 1740. 
 
 (HI) Sergt. Richard Case, born in 1710, died 
 April 12, 1769. He married Mercy Holcomb in 1733, 
 and in 1737 removed to West Simsbury, where he 
 was the first settler, and erected the first dwelling- 
 house. Mercy Holcomb was born in I7i2,and died in 
 1780. Their children were Richard (3) (1734-1805) ; 
 Joab (1735-1758); Sylvanus (1737-1817); Simeon 
 (1739-1822) ; Eli (1741-1804) ; Uriah (1743-1826) ; 
 Edward (1748-1822) ; Phineas (1750-1798) ; Mercy 
 (1752-1818); Naoma (^1755-1822); and Timothy 
 (1759-1850). 
 
 (IV) Eli Case married Athildred Curtis, born 
 in 1745, and died in 1805. They had the follow- 
 ing children : Athildred. Eli, Jr., Riverius, Zabad, 
 Giles, Orange, Thede, Calvin, Chastina and Har- 
 riet. 
 
 (V) Giles Case, born in 1776, died in 1851. His 
 wife, Mary Case, daughter of Silas and Mary 
 
494 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (Case) Case, was born June 20, 1781, and died in 
 May, 1850. Giles Case was a slioemaker by trade. 
 His children were : Betsey, who died in childhood : 
 Mary ; Achsah ; Eli ; Betsey, who married Elizur 
 Mills, of Canton ; Electa, who married Norton Case, 
 of Simsbury ; Plin}' ; Amos ; and Eveline. 
 
 From John, Jr., the line of descent is traced as 
 follows : 
 
 (II) John, Jr., eldest son of John, the pioneer, 
 was born Nov. 5, 1662, and died in 1733. He mar- 
 ried (first) Mary Olcott, and (second) barah, daugh- 
 ter of Joshua Holcomb, in 1693. John, the only 
 child by the first wife, died in 1685, in infancy. By 
 the second marriage there were the following chil- 
 dren: John B., born Aug. 22, 1694, married Abi- 
 gail Humphrey, and died in 1752; Daniel, born 
 March 7, 1696, married Penelope Buttolph, and 
 died in 1733 ; Mary, born about 1698, married Josiah 
 Alford, and died in 1732 ; Jonathan, born about 1701, 
 married Mary Beeman; Sarah, born about 1703, 
 married John Alderman ; Hannah, born about 1709, 
 married Capt. Noah Humphrey, and died in 1799. 
 
 (III) John B. Case was married, in 1716, to 
 Abigail Humphrey, by whom he had the following 
 children: John, born in 1718, died in 1776; Noah, 
 born in 1720, married Miriam Holcomb, and died 
 in 1797; Capt. Charles, born in 1723, died in 1808; 
 Abigail, born in 1725, married Jonathan Case, Jr., 
 and died in 1779; Mary was born in 1727; Lucy, 
 born in 1732, married Lieut. William Wilcox, and 
 died in 1805 ; Martha, born in 1735, married Thomas 
 Barber; Capt. Job, born in 1737, married Joanna 
 Wilcox, and died in 1798; Lydia, born in 1741, mar- 
 ried Jonathan Pinney. 
 
 (IV) John Case was -married, in 1745, to Sarah 
 Barber, who was born in 1722, and died in 1805. 
 Their children were: John (5), born in 1746, mar- 
 ried Chloe Owen, and died in 1776; Giles died in 
 childhood; Seth, born in 1749, married Eunice 
 Tuller, and died in 1820; Sarah, born in 1751, 
 married Deacon Elisha Cornish, and died in 1827; 
 Asa, born in 1753, married Sarah Robe, and died 
 in 1830; Mary, born in 1755, married Silas, son of 
 Amos and Mary (Holcomb) Case, and died in 1833; 
 Giles, born in 1757, married Dorcas Humphrey; 
 George born in 1759, married Electa Moore; Levi, 
 born in 1760, married Polly Humphrey (Camp- 
 bell Case's ancestors), and died in 1802; Judah 
 (twin of Levi) married Ruth Higley, and died in 
 1821 ; Abigail, born in 1763, married Asa Hoskins, 
 of Simsbury, and died in 1844. 
 
 (V) Mary Case, who married Silas Case, had 
 children as follows: Mary, born in 1781, married 
 Giles, son of Eli Case, and died in 1850; Ira, born 
 in 1782, married Mary Humphrey, and died in 1848; 
 Silas, born in 1785, died in 1816; Levi, born in 1787, 
 married Keturah Bandell, and died in 1865 ; Ruggles_ 
 born in 1789, married Cynthia Case; Jane, born in 
 1792, married Holcomb Case, and died in 1865; 
 Lucy, born in 1794, married Everett Case, and died 
 in 1858 ; Gad, born in 1796, married Tirzah Gibbons ; 
 
 Ruth, born in 1799, married Case Braman,, and died 
 in 1832. 
 
 (II) Bartholomew Case, fifth son of John, was 
 born in October, 1670, and died in 1725. He was 
 married, in December, 1699, to Mary, daughter of 
 Lieut. Samuel Humphrey, and they resided on his 
 paternal homestead. Of their children, Deacon 
 Thomas, born in 1702, died in 1770; he married Eliz- 
 abeth Woodford, and settled on the old homestead. 
 Mary was born in 1704. Elizabeth, born in 1710, 
 died in 1742. Amos, born in 1712, died in 1798. 
 Sarah, born in 171 5, married Joseph Highley. Isaac, 
 born in 1717, married Bathsheba Humphrey, and 
 died in 1796. Deacon Abraham, born in 1720, mar- 
 ried Rachel, daughter of Capt. James and Esther 
 (Fithen) Case, and died in 1800. Abigail was born 
 in 1821. 
 
 (Ill) Amos Casemarried, ini739, Mary Holcomb, 
 and removed to West Simsbury in 1740. She was 
 born in 1714, and died in 1802. Their children were : 
 Mary, Ruth, Huldah, Amos, Jr., Abel, Silas (who 
 married Mary Case), Lucy, Pliny, Rhoda and Seth. 
 
 Mrs. Marion E. Case, wife of Arden G. Case, 
 traces her descent from several pioneer families of 
 Simsbury, Windsor and Hartford. She is a daugh- 
 ter of Sidney A. and Emeline (Humphrey) Cor- 
 nish, and in this line is descended from James Cor- 
 nish, an Englishman, who died in Simsbury, Oct. 
 29, 1698, at an advanced age. It may be mentioned 
 here that the first records of the Cornish family are 
 of one William Cornish, of England, to whom Queen 
 Elizabeth, wife of Henry VII, gave the sum of thir- 
 teen shillings and four pence for setting the carol on 
 Christmas Day, 1502. [Agnes Strickland's "Wives 
 of Kings of England."] James Cornish, the pio- 
 neer, was a noted school teacher, and his name is 
 found in the records of various places along the 
 river. In 1674 his terms were thirty-six pounds a 
 year in Windsor. In 1676 he gave five shillings 
 to the poor of Simsbury, after the burning of that 
 town by the Indians. On Feb. i, 1660, an item was 
 entered in the town records at Windsor concerning 
 four pounds, ten shillings, due to him for teaching. 
 From the records of the Lee family it is learned that 
 he was married after 1661 to Phcebe Larraboy (or 
 Larrabee), widow of Greenfield Larraboy (?), of 
 Saybrook, Conn., and daughter of William Brown, 
 of the County of Essex, England. She came from 
 England in 1645, '^"d died in Northampton, Mass., 
 Dec. 22, 1664. Her first husband was a Lee, and 
 she was undoubtedly the second wife of James Cor- 
 nish. The latter had three children : Gabriel, born, 
 perhaps, in England; Elizabeth; and James, 
 
 (II) Deacon James Cornish, born in 1663, died 
 in Simsbury, April 2, 1740. In 1698 he exchanged 
 lands in Windsor with Eleazer Hills, of Simsbury. 
 On Nov. 10, 1692, he married (first) Elizabeth, 
 daughter of Timothy Thrall, of Windsor, Conn. 
 She was born May i, 1667, and died Jan. 25, 1713-14. 
 He married (second) Hannah, daughter of Andrew 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 495 
 
 Hillaicl (now Hillyer), and widow of Thomas Iluni- 
 phreys, April 15, 1715. She was born Dec. 12, 1681, 
 and died Dec. 2, 1751. By the first wife he liad six 
 children : James, born Oct. 30, 1693 : Elizabeth, Sept. 
 25, 1695 ; Joseph, Oct. 18, 1697 ; I'hebe ; Sarah, April 
 19. 1709: and Benjamin, March 28, 1710-11. The 
 children by the second wife were : (Jabricl, born May 
 25, 1716; Jemima, Nov. 20, 1718; Keziah, Oct. 12, 
 1721 ; Mdry ; and Jabez, 1726. Deacon James' daug;h- 
 ter Jemima was the ancestress of Mrs. Lucius G. 
 Goodrich, Ralph Ensign, Henry Ensign, also Mrs. 
 Joseph Toy, of Simsbury. 
 
 (III) Capt. James Cornish, born Oct. 30, 1693, 
 died March 22, 1784. He married (first) Amy But- 
 ler, of Hartford, Dec. 9, 1719. She died Feb. 16, 
 1763, and on Nov. 24, 1763, he married Mrs. Han- 
 i!ah Hickox, nee Thrall, who died Aug. 27, 1779. 
 They lived in Simsbury. His children were : James, 
 born Oct. 4, 1720; Elisha, June 5, 1722: Amy, Aug. 
 2, 1724; Daniel, May 21, 1727; Abigail, Sept. 5, 
 1729; Joel, July 18, 1731; Abigail, i\Iay 5, 1733; 
 Lucy, June 8, 1735; Violet, April 12, 1737; Rachel, 
 Sept. 3, 1740. 
 
 (IV) Sergt. Elisha Cornish, born June 5, 1722, 
 died April 2"^, 1794. He was in the Revolutionary 
 v.-ar, and it is said that he was a noted lawyer of East 
 Weatogue, a very keen and sagacious man, and very 
 wealthy. He married (first) Kepsibah, daughter 
 of Charles Humphrey, Sept. 25, 1740. She was 
 bom in 1724, and died Feb. 25, 1755. He married 
 (second) Mary, daughter of Benjamin Dyer, Aug. 
 31, 1755. She died Oct. 21, 1775, and June 2, 1776, 
 he married (third) Charity, daughter of John Pet- 
 tibone, and widow of Sylvanus Humphrey. She 
 was born June 30, 1744, and died Oct. 5, 1803. The 
 children of his first wife were: Hepsibah, born Aug. 
 27, 1741 : Hepsibah, Nov. 4, 1742: James, Dec. 16, 
 1744; Elizabeth, May 8, 1746; Elisha, Dec. 7, 1748; 
 Dorcas, Sept. 11, 1750; Charles, Sept. 29, 1752. 
 r^Iary, born Feb. 17, 1759. was the only_ child by the 
 second marriage; and Giles, born April 8, 1780, was 
 the only child by the third. 
 
 (V) Capt. James Cornish, born Dec. 16, 1744, 
 died in Simsbury, July 9, 1813. On Dec. 28, 1766, 
 he married Ruhama Bidwell, who was born in 1743. 
 and died March 14, 1814. Her father came from 
 Windsor, and her mother was one of the noted Fin- 
 ney family there. The children born of this union 
 were: Charles, born Oct. 29, 1767; Dorcas; Chloe ; 
 Larue-Hamah; Eber, born Feb. 16, 1772, and 
 James, born in 1776. 
 
 (VI) Col. James Cornish, born in 1776. died Jan. 
 30, 1836. He married (first) Cynthia Russell, who 
 was born Oct. 14, 1778, and died Aug. 5, 1824. Her 
 father, Sergt. Jesse Russell, served in the Revolu- 
 tionary war ; her mother was a daughter of Daniel 
 Cornish, son of Capt. James, mentioned above. Col. 
 James Cornish married (second), in 1829, I\Irs. 
 Flizabeth Smith. His home was in Simsbury. His 
 children were: Grove, born in 1796; Charles, 1799; 
 Charles Edwin, April 13, 1805 ; James Darwin, May, 
 
 1808; and Sidney Aurora, Oct. 6, 1819 (the father 
 of Mrs. Case). 
 
 The HuMPHRKYs trace tiieir descent to the lime 
 of William the Contiueror, and a valuable genealogy 
 of the family is to be found in the Simsbury public 
 library. During the Revolutionary war honorable 
 mention was gained l)y several of the name, and in 
 local afi'airs they have always been prominent. Gen. 
 David Flumphrey, aid-de-camp to Washington 
 and minister to Portugal (1791). also minister to 
 Spain, was the first importer of Merino shoe]) from 
 the latter country to this country. Michael Hum- 
 phrey, the head of the family in this country, came 
 from Lyme Regis, England, in the ship "Mary and 
 John." lie was a merchant trader in Windsor, and 
 in- 1643, i" connection with John Grifiin, was en- 
 gaged in the manufacture of pilch and tar at Mas- 
 saco. He subsequently became a distinguished in- 
 habitant of Massaco (now Simsbury). He mar- 
 ried Priscilla Grant, daughter of Matthew Grant, of 
 Windsor. 
 
 (II) Lieut. Samuel Humphrey, born May 15, 
 1656, a son of Michael, married Alary Mills, born 
 in 1662. In an expedition sent against the Indians 
 in Hampshire, Mass., he was appointed lieutenant, 
 his commission being signed by Gov. SaUonstall. 
 He had numerous parcels of land granted him by the 
 town, and held various public offices ; having been 
 chosen collector in 1685; fence viewer, 1690; select- 
 man, 1694 ; pound keeper, 1695 ; tavern keeper, 169C ; 
 and in 1698 he was chosen ensign of the Simsbury 
 "train band." He served as an officer in the com- 
 pany ever)' year from that date until 1715. It is on 
 record that in 1698 the town owed Samuel Hum- 
 phrey ten pence for a part of sum for the men that 
 cleared the minister's well. He died in 1736, aged 
 eighty years, leaving a will dated 1734. Mrs. Mary 
 Humphrey died in 1730, aged sixty-eight years. 
 Their children were Mary, wife of Bartholomew 
 Case ; Elizabeth, wife of John Collier, of Hartford ; 
 Samuel, Jr., mentioned below; Jonathan, who mas- 
 ned Mary Ruggles ; Abigail married John Case 
 (3) ; Hannah: Charles, who married Hepsibah Pet- 
 tibone, daughter of Samuel Pettibone, Sr. : Xoah, 
 who married Hannah Case, sister of John, who mar- 
 lied his sister Abigail. 
 
 (III) Ensign Samuel Humphrey was born May 
 17, 1686, and died Oct. 16, 1759. He was married 
 fi.rst, Feb. 23, 1709, to Hannah, daughter of Joseph 
 (2) and Mary (Collier) Phelps. She died in 1710, 
 at the birth of her son, Samuel (3). For his second 
 wife he married Mary Tuller, daughter of John 
 Tuller, and his wife, Elizabeth Case, daughter of 
 John Case (i). His third wife was Lydia North, 
 and his fourth Mary Orton. He was the father of 
 nineteen children. He removed to Goshen, ^vhc^c he 
 acquired a large amount of land, and his death oc- 
 curred there. His posterity are very numerous, and 
 have ever well sustained the reputation of their 
 \A-orthy progenitor. When he left his old home for 
 
496 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his new one in Goshen a large number of friends and 
 neighbors accompanied him a distance of some three 
 miles, and there spent a night of prayer and praise. 
 In the morning they bid him a kind and tearful fare- 
 well, never expecting to see him again in this world. 
 The distance of his new home was only about thirty 
 miles, now a journey of only about one hour and a 
 half by steam cars. He received land from his fa- 
 ther in Simsbury, and some of his older sons stayed 
 there. 
 
 (IV) Lieut. Samuel Humphrey (3), born Oct. 
 15, 1710, died July 7, 1755. He married Mary Wil- 
 cox, who died in 1756, aged thirty-seven. In 1742 
 he removed to West Simsbury, and settled in the 
 Suffrage District (now Canton Street), becoming 
 a prosperous farmer. An inventory of his estate 
 amounted to 291 pounds. 
 
 (V) Samuel Humphrey (4), eldest son of Lieut. 
 Samuel, was born Nov. 17, 1734, and died in 1804. 
 He was lame, and was called "master Sam," on ac- 
 count of his profession of school teaching. He also 
 wrote much. He married Prudence Mills, of Can- 
 ton, daughter of John and Damris (Phelps) Mills, 
 and granddaughter of Sarah Case, daughter of John 
 Case (i). Prudence Mills was born in 1734, and 
 died in 1805. They had eight children. 
 
 (VI) Ichabod Humphrey, third son of Samuel 
 (4), was born about 1772, and died in 1829. He 
 married Esther Olmsted, of Bushy Hill, Simsbury, 
 who died in 1839. She was a daughter of Daniel 
 and Anna (Cadwell) Olmsted, and a descendant, 
 through Nicholas, son of James Olmsted, who came 
 to Hartford, Conn., with the first settlers in 1636, 
 and afterward settled in the southeast part of Sims- 
 bury, Bushy Hill. Daniel Olmsted served as cor- 
 poral in the Revolutionary war, as did also two of his 
 sons. He died in 1809 or 1812, at the homestead, 
 leaving the greater portion of his property to his 
 youngest daughter, Esther, and Ichabod, her hus- 
 band,, with whom his last days were spent. At Ich- 
 abod Humphrey's death the estate inventoried $1,- 
 264.14. He had four children. 
 
 (VII) Manna Humphrey, the eldest child of Ich- 
 abod, was born about 1790, and died May 22, 1855. 
 He was married April 26, 1825, to Tryphena, daugh- 
 ter of Ephraim and Keziah (Whedon) Baldwin, for- 
 merly of North Branford. She came to Simsbury 
 when she was sixteen years old. Her father, 
 Ephraim, was in the war of the Revolution, and 
 witnessed the surrender of Burgoyne. Mrs. Hum- 
 phrey was a woman of superior education for those 
 early years, and had a remarkable memory, being 
 especially familiar with ancient history. She began 
 at the age of ten years to read the Bible, and had read 
 it through twenty times, while for many years she 
 was a devout member of the Congregational Church 
 'in West Avon. She was born Oct. 30, 1787, and 
 died at the great age of ninety-four years. The 
 Baldwins traced their ancestry back to William the 
 Conqueror and Count Baldwin. [Genealogy of the 
 Baldwins]. Manna Humphrey served in the war of 
 
 1812, being stationed at New London, and his widow 
 received a pension after his death. He was a farmer 
 on the paternal homestead, and was noted for his 
 pleasant jokes and genial disposition. His only son, 
 Charles RoUin Humphrey, born Jan. 13, 1832, lives 
 on the old homestead, and also inherits his father's 
 genial temperament. He married Nancy Ketchen, 
 but has no children. 
 
 (VIII) Emeline, second daughter of Manna 
 Humphrey, was born Oct. 22, 1829, and died Nov. 
 17, 1893. On March 11, 1849, she married Sidney 
 Aurora Cornish, born Oct. 6, 1819, who died June 
 9, 1885. They had one child, Marion Eleanor, born 
 Dec. 31, 1849, who married Arden G. Case. 
 
 LANGDON J. PECK. The origin and sig- 
 nification of the surname Peck are matters of con- 
 jecture, although as to its antiquity there can be no 
 dispute. At a very early date the family is known 
 to have had its seat at the ancient town of Belton, 
 Yorkshire, England, whence branches spread over 
 Great Britain, and even through the countries of 
 continental Europe. There are, in the British 
 Museum, the arms of Peck, impaled with the arms 
 of many families into which they have married. 
 There is no motto recorded with the early arms of 
 the family. This one, "Probitatem quam divitias," 
 "probity (or truth and honesty) rather than 
 riches," has been added. 
 
 The Massachusetts Pecks trace their lineage to 
 a branch which was established at Beccles, County 
 of Suffolk, England, from whom was descended 
 Joseph Peck, the first of the name to emigrate from 
 the Old World to the New. He was of the twenty- 
 first generation in direct descending line from John 
 Peck, of Belton. His father was named Robert, 
 and the parish records show Joseph's baptism to 
 have occurred on April 30, 1587. He was a Puritan 
 in faith, and was among those who bade adieu to 
 home and civilization that they might find in the 
 wilds of a strange, unsettled country that freedom 
 of conscience which they esteemed a great boon. 
 Joseph Peck was one of a company who sailed from 
 England in 1638, in the ship "Diligent," of Ips- 
 wich, his brother Robert being pastor of the httle 
 flock. He brought with him his wife and children 
 (three sons and a daughter), together with two 
 men servants and three maids. Soon after his ar- 
 rival he settled in Hingham, Norfolk Co., Mass., 
 whence his numerous descendants have scattered 
 over the United States, Canada and the British 
 North-American provinces. He remained at Hing- 
 ham about seven years, and was one of the town's 
 foremost and most respected citizens, having been 
 a representative to the General Court from 1639 to 
 1642, besides holding numerous other offices, among 
 them those of selectman, justice of the peace and 
 assessor. From Hingham he removed to Seekonk, 
 where he appears to have been equally prominent 
 in public affairs until incapacitated from participa- 
 
c:^c:>:.^2^ ^, c^^^^>-L^ i^ J^t c^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 497 
 
 lion tlicrcin bv old age. He died Dec. 23, 1663, at 
 the age of seventy-six. 
 
 The Connecticut branches of the faniilv are de- 
 scended from Joseph, of -Milford; from Deacons 
 AN'illiam and Henry, of New Haven; and from 
 Deacon Paul Peck, of Hartford, who were among 
 the earliest settlers in their respective localities. 
 Langdon Jabez Peck, whose name appears at the 
 liead of this biographical sketch, traces his ancestry 
 back to Deacon Paul. The e.xact place and date 
 of the latter's birth cannot be told with absolute 
 •certainty, but he is believed to have been born in 
 the County of Essex, England, in 1608, and to have 
 come to America in the ship "Defense," in 1635. 
 For a vear he remained in or near Boston, and in 
 if 136 accompanied Rev. Thomas Hooker and his 
 followers to Hartford. As early as 1639 his name 
 .appears in the town records in a list of proprietors, 
 and the same records afford abundant evidence that 
 lie was one of Hartford's leading citizens. His resi- 
 dence is said to have been on what is now W'ash- 
 ington street, not far from where the State Capitol 
 now stands. In fact, among old residents of the 
 •citv it is not uncommon, even at this day, to hear 
 this site spoken of as Peck's lot. He was a deacon 
 in the Congregational Church from 1681 until his 
 ■death, Dec. 23, 1695. His will may yet be read 
 upon the probate records of the county. It is 
 voluminous and interesting in its detailed descrip- 
 tion of his possessions. His estate inventoried at 
 536 pounds, five shillings. 
 
 Deacon Paul Peck's son Samuel, born in 1647, 
 Avas the next in the line of descent which leads to 
 Langdon J. Peck. He was a resident of West Hart- 
 ford, where he died Jan. 10, 1696. He had but one 
 ■son, also named Samuel, who settled in that part 
 of jNIiddletown now known as Berlin. On March 
 •6, 1701, he married Abigail, daughter of Joseph 
 Collier. She died Oct. 28, 1742, and he on Dec. 
 ■9, 1765. Their son Amos was born in Kensington 
 jNIarch 3, 1715. He married Mary Hart July 26, 
 1750, and took up his residence in Middletown. 
 He died April 6, 1802, his wife having preceded 
 liim to the grave on June 22, 1771. He was the 
 father of Amos (2), who was born Jan. 25. 1764. 
 and died March 18. 1826. On Dec. 4, 1781, he 
 married Anna Scoville. of Saybrook, who died Oct. 
 25, 1801, and they lived in the part of Berlin called 
 Kensington. Amos Peck (2) served in the Revolu- 
 tionary war as a fifer, and was with Washington at 
 A'allev Forge. He was a "gentlemanly gentle- 
 man." modest and gentle in manner and spirit, much 
 esteemed in his communitv, and was quite prom- 
 inent in the settling up of estates. Norris Peck, 
 father of Langdon J. Peck, was born Dec. 9, 1795, 
 in Kensington, in the old homestead where his 
 son yet resides, the house standing on the road 
 to ^leriden commonlv known as the Blue Hills. 
 His wife, Elizabeth Langdon, was born March 19, 
 1804. and their marriage took place Oct. 6. 1822. 
 She died April 3, 1900. Mr. Peck was a merchant 
 
 by occupation, with headquarters at Cahawba, Ala., 
 where for many years he spent much time. He 
 was an uncompromising Abolitionist in politics. 
 He died Aug. 8, 1869, and was laid to rest in the 
 Center cemetery of Kensington. To him and his 
 wife came nine children, as follows: (i) Eliza- 
 beth Hibbard, born April 6, 1824, married Henry 
 E. Russell, of the Russell & Erwin Co., of New 
 Britain. (2) Amos, born May 2, 1825, was a sea 
 captain; he died at Santa Barbara, Cal., Feb. 12, 
 1882, unmarried. (3) Anna Scoville, born March 
 15, 1827, became the wife of S. C. Wilcox, a prom- 
 inent citizen of Berlin; she died March 7, 1884. 
 (4) Langdon Jabez, an account of whose life is 
 given below, was born Feb. 11, 1829. (5) Ellen 
 Augusta, born in 1831, married James D. Frary. of 
 the firm of Landers, Frary & Clark, of New Britain ; 
 she died Dec. 7, 1899. '(6) ]\Iary Elizabeth, born 
 in 1833, was married to Dennis C. Wilcox, who 
 was for many years treasurer of The Meriden 
 Britannia Co. (7) Alice D. was born in ]\Iarch, 
 1836, and lives at New Haven. (8) Alatthew, born 
 in 1839, enlisted in the First Connecticut Cavalry 
 in the Civil war ; had many thrilling experiences in 
 service as a detective ; was taken prisoner and con- 
 fined at Belle Isle for three months : he has for many 
 years been employed in the United States railway 
 mail service, and resides in Chicago: he married 
 Rosa Fagan, of New Britain. Conn. ( 9 I William 
 Norris, the youngest of the family, who was bom 
 in 1842, is a sea captain, sailing the Pacific : he is 
 unmarried. 
 
 Langdon J. Peck, as has been said, was liorn 
 Feb. II, 1829. He attended the district schools of 
 Kensington until he was fourteen years old. when 
 he took a course of study at a private academy at 
 Berlin, conducted bv Rev. Joseph ^^'hitt!esey. At 
 the completion of his school days he returned to his 
 father's farm, where he has ever since resided. 
 
 Mr. Peck is one of the best-known and most 
 highly esteemed citizens of the town of Berlin. 
 Trained to work while a boy, he has lei a life of 
 activity, industry and usefulness. He has always 
 been keenlv interested in the public welfare, and his 
 fellow townsmen have repeatedly evinced their re- 
 spect for his sound business sense, and their con- 
 fidence in his probitv, bv electing him to positions 
 of public responsibility and trust. In politics he is 
 a stanch and consistent Republican ; in religious 
 faith hoth himself and wife are active members of 
 the Congregational Church, and liberal contributors 
 to its support. 
 
 On Dec. 4, 1856, ]\Ir. Peck married Miss Han- 
 nah Rogers Keeney, a daughter of Sheldon and 
 Lucv Eiiza (Van Nearing) Keeney. both of whom 
 are iiow deceased: their remains rest in Collinsville, 
 Conn.- Before marriage Mrs. Peck was a teacher. 
 Three children have blessed the union: Robert 
 Langdon. Giles Keeney and Alice Eliza1-)eth. Rob- 
 ert Langdon. the eldest, was born April 6. i860, 
 and educated at Kensington and Suffield. He is 
 
498 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 \, 
 
 a mechanical designer, and lives at the Peck home- 
 stead. In 1886 he was united in marriage with 
 Harriet Louisa Lines, eldest daughter of Hon. H. 
 Wales Lines, of Meriden, and three children have 
 been born to them. Norman Van Nearing, Dec. 
 24, 1887; Frederick Lines, May 12, 1891 ; and Amy 
 Langdon, Nov. 18, 1897. Giles Keeney, second 
 child of Langdon J. Peck, was born June 25, 1862, 
 and died April 22, 1883. Alice Elizabeth, the third 
 and youngest, was born Jan. 8, 1865, and on Oct. 
 3, 1889, was married to Arthur Upson, an attorney 
 of Beriin. They have three children,, Claire Peck, 
 born Feb. 6, 1891 ; Everett Langdon, June 19, 1892; 
 and Stuart Arthur, May 10, 1894. 
 
 STANLEY. The Stanleys of New Britain are 
 the posterity of one of the first settlers of Hartford 
 and Fai-mington, Conn., a sturdy type of the best 
 New England settlers, who proved themselves of the 
 highest type of manhood by their useful lives in the 
 community in which through long periods they were 
 entrusted with the highest public trusts. We write 
 especially of the late Hon. Frederick Trenck Stan- 
 ley, of New Britain, and his line of ancestors. 
 
 " 'Hon. Frederick Trenck Stanley (deceased), 
 late of New Britain, was in the seventh generation 
 from John Stanley, the emigrant ancestor, the line 
 of his descent being through John Stanley (2), 
 Thomas Stanley, Thomas Stanley (2), Gad Stan- 
 ley and Gad Stanlev (2). 
 
 (I) John Stanley, born in England, embarked 
 for New England in 1634-35, but died on the pas- 
 sage, leaving three children. 
 
 (H) John Stanley (2), son of John Stanley, 
 born in 1624 in England, was, after his' father's 
 death, placed bv the Court at Cambridge in the 
 care of his uncle,' Thomas Stanley. He removed 
 with his uncle to Hartford in 1636. In 1645, he 
 married Sarah, daughter of Thomas and Anna 
 Scott, of Hartford, and settled in Farmington, 
 Conn. John Stanley and his wife were received 
 into the church Jan.'30, 1652-53, and subsequently, 
 when the families were graded according to dignity, 
 they ranked fourth in a list of forty families. He 
 was one of the most distinguished of the Colonists, 
 being appointed by his townsmen to nearly every 
 office of trust and" honor. He was deputy to the 
 General Court almost continually for thirty-seven 
 years, and held various other public offices. 
 
 (III) Thomas Stanley, son of ,John Stanley 
 (2), born Nov. i, 1649, married in 1690 Anna, 
 daughter of Rev. Jeremiah and Joanna (Kitchell) 
 Peck, of Waterburv. 
 
 (IV) Thomas Stanley (2), son of Thomas 
 Stanley, born in 1696, married m 1718 Esther, 
 daughter "of Samuel Cowles, of Kensington. He 
 lived in' the "Stanley Quarter," New Britain, and 
 
 ■ was a man of wealth for the times. 
 
 (V) Gad Stanley, son of Thomas Stanley (2), 
 born in 1735, married in 1767 Mary, daughter of 
 John Judd. Gad Stanley was a large farmer, and 
 
 ultimately became one of the leading men of the- 
 town. Fie was made captain of the militia, warmly 
 espoused the cause of the Colonies in their resistance 
 to the oppression of the mother country, was present 
 at the battle of Long Island, and was subsequently 
 made colonel. After the war Col. Stanley served 
 in nearly every important office in the town. He 
 was many times sent to the General Court, both, 
 from Farmington and from New Britain. 
 
 (VI) Gad Stanley (2), son of Gad Stanley, 
 born in 1776, married in 1799 Chloe, daughter of 
 Ensign Levi Andrews, of Newington and New 
 Britain, born in 1777. They lived in the northern 
 part of the "Stanley Quarter." Jrte died in 1820, 
 on the passage from Martinique, and was buried at 
 sea. She died in'1851. After his death the farm 
 was sold, and a fine residence built on Washington 
 street, in New Britain. Their children were Levi 
 A., Frederick T., William B., Herbert M., Alfred H., 
 Catherine A., and Mary C. 
 
 The late' Hon. Frederick Trenck Stanley, long a 
 prominent, influential and honored citizen of New- 
 Britain, was born there Aug. 12, 1802, son of Gad 
 Stanley. Until sixteen years of age he passed his- 
 boyhood on the farm, assisting his father and at- 
 tending school. He was a leader of sports among- 
 his companions, and during the latter years of his- 
 life was fond of relating some of the exploits of his 
 boyhood days, with considerable amusement to his 
 friends as well as to himself. Among other things 
 he often told of his trips to Hartford on horseback, 
 to secure the papers for the village, receiving every 
 week for the trouble of distributing them a copy for 
 himself, which he read with great interest. When 
 sixteen years of age he occupied a position as clerk 
 in a store in New Haven. While here he became a 
 member of the New Haven Greys, a leading military- 
 organization. He was a favorite with all with 
 whom he came in contact, and was liked by both 
 employers and associates. 
 
 In' 1823 Mr. Stanley left New Haven, and for 
 a period -^vas engaged as a merchant in Fayetteville, 
 N. G. Returning to New Britain, he was for a 
 time a clerk in the store of O. R. Burnham, then foi" 
 one season was clerk on the "Oliver Ellsworth," a 
 boat running between Hartford and New York. 
 He developed a quick and active mind, and adapta- 
 bility for a successful business life. In 1829 Mr- 
 Stanley formed a partnership with the late Curtis 
 Whapies, and opened a general store in New Britain. 
 As time passed he saw the importance of manu- 
 facturing and the promise it oflrered. and as early 
 as 1830 associated himself with his brother, Will- 
 iam B. Stanley, Henry W. Clark and Lora Waters, 
 and erected a small shop for the manufacture of ma- 
 chinery. In 1 83 1 Frederick T. Stanley bought out 
 the business, and changed the product of the shop tO' 
 wrought-iron door-locks, the first ever manufac- 
 tured" in this country. The firm first mentioned' 
 bought and put in operation the first stationary steam 
 engine used in New Britain. In 1835 Mr. Stanley, his- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 499 
 
 brother William B., Emanuel Russell, Smith Alatli- 
 son and T. and N. Wooilruff bought thirty aeres of 
 land on the west side of Alain street, and in 1836 
 built a dam and brick factor}', and went more ex- 
 tensively into the manufacture of locks. In 1841 
 Frederick T. Stanley sold out his interest in the busi- 
 ness, which ultimately came into the hands of the 
 Russell & Irwin Manufacturing Co., and, after an 
 absence of two years in Mississippi with his brother, 
 returned' to New Britain, and began the manufacture 
 of hinges. They also made door and shutter bolts, 
 latches and trunk handles. When they began the 
 manufacture of bolts in 1844 all door bolts were im- 
 ported. The business increased rapidly, and in 1852 
 a new company — the Stanley Works — was formed, 
 of wliich Mr. Stanley was elected president, and as 
 such remained for more than thirty years, or until 
 his death. 
 
 The enterprise and forethought of Mr. Stanley 
 displayed in his own business led him to devise plans 
 for the benefit of his native place. He first called 
 the attention of the citizens to the necessity of hav- 
 ing a suitable water supply in 1856, and at once gave 
 much time to a thorough investigation of the sub- 
 ject. He inspected the land where "Shuttle 
 jNleadow" now is, and devised the present plan for 
 bringing water to the city. The leading men saw 
 the feasibility of the plan, and Mr. Stanley laid out 
 the details of the scheme before the taxpayers at 
 public meetings. 
 
 Seeing the advantages to be derived by railroad 
 communication Mr. Stanley, with others, labored to 
 get the main line of the Consolidated road to run 
 through New Britain. On the building of the branch 
 road to Berlin, the first engine run on this line bore 
 his name. He was the leading spirit in having the 
 Providence, Hartford & Fishkill (now the New 
 England) branch laid and run through New Britain. 
 Mr. Stanley was intrusted with many public enter- 
 prises, and it was often the remark that "he had 
 done more for New Britain than any one here." 
 During the Civil war, although too far advanced in 
 years to go to the front, he did much to forward the 
 ^ood work at home. He was always anxious to 
 have a suitable monument erected in New Britain in 
 memory of the fallen heroes of the place, and was 
 willing to give to it as liberally as his means would 
 allow. 
 
 "In business Mr. Stanley was methodical, ener-. 
 getic and progressive, but never made the acquisi- 
 tion of property his sole aim. His generous nature 
 led him to "give liberally, both of time and of means, 
 for the benefit of others. His public spirit especially 
 led him to place the welfare of the town and city be- 
 fore his private interests." 
 
 In politics Mr. Stanley was first a Whig, and on 
 the organization of the Republican party he joined 
 it. He was a great admirer of Daniel Webster, and 
 was grieved much that he failed of a nomination 
 for President at the Baltimore convention. He 
 v.-as personally acquainted with that statesman, and 
 
 a number of limes went to hear iiim speak, notably at 
 iJunkcr Hill and Uartnunith. In 1834 .Mr. Stanley 
 was elected a representative to the State Legisla- 
 ture. He was again solicited for the same honors, 
 but declined them. He was the first warden of the 
 borough, in 1850, and in 187 1 was elected the first 
 mayor of New Britain. Though a Republican his 
 name appeared at the head of both tickets. 1 ie was 
 always ready to act for what he believed to be the 
 public welfare, but never anxious to put himself for- 
 ward into political prominence. His recollection of 
 the early history of all the business enterprises of 
 New Britain was remarkable, and it was a rare pleas- 
 ure to hear him converse on such subjects. He 
 could with perfect ease recite the exact dates of 
 almost any public event of half a century prior to 
 1870, was an intelligent gentleman, of varied in- 
 formation, or unflinching integrity, conscientious, 
 loyal to his country, and unwearied in advancing 
 the interests of his native town. 
 
 During the last j'cars of his life 'Mr. Stanley was 
 in feeble health. He was' almost totally blind for 
 seven years before his death, which occurred Aug. 
 2, 1883. At the time the Hartford Couraut said: 
 "In the death of Hon. F. T. Stanley, New Britain 
 loses one of its most pubhc-spirited and best be- 
 loved citizens, and a man worthy to be called one 
 of nature's noblemen. He has watched the growth 
 of his native town with the eye of a lover, and for 
 fifty years, and until laid aside by ill health from 
 active work, there has been no important measure 
 for its welfare which has not been either originated 
 or warmly aided by him. And he took an equal 
 interest in the welfare of his State and Nation, be- 
 ing himself an embodiment of that spirit of loyalty 
 among the active business men of the North which 
 was the reserve force in the Union struggle. Pie 
 has left a blessed memory that will long be cher- 
 ished." He was the friend and acquaintance of 
 most of the prominent men of his day, and was al- 
 ways found among those who extended a welcome 
 to such men, whenever thev came into the State in a 
 public capacity. 
 
 On July 4, 1838, Mr. Stanley was married to 
 Melvina, daughter of Samuel C. and Anna (Conk- 
 lin) Chamberlain, of Sandisfield. JMass. The chil- 
 dren by this marriage were: Alfred H., born Aug. 
 2, 1839; Frederick H., born Feb. 9, 1841, died Oct. 
 10, 1843 ; and William Chamberlain, born April 14, 
 1843, died July 31, 1844. 
 
 GEORGE BISSELL, a greatly-respected retired 
 resident of East Hartford, was born March 27, 1833, 
 in the north part of the town of Manchester, near the 
 South Windsor town line, Hartford county, is a son 
 of Lewis G. and Parmelia (Beckwith) Bissell. and 
 is of the eighth generation from John Bissell, who 
 was born in England in 1592, was one of Connecti- 
 cut's earliest colonists, and died in Windsor. The 
 hne of descent is traced through Samuel, who died 
 
 \ 
 
500 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in 1688 in Windsor; John, born in 1659, died 1684; 
 Capt. John, born in 1682, hved in VVindsor and 
 Bolton, and died in 1771 ; Capt. Ozias, born in Bol- 
 ton May 13, 1732, died in Vernon March 16, 1828; 
 Ozias, born in 1779; and Lewis G., born in 1801, 
 to George, the subject of this sketch. To Lewis 
 G. and Parmelia Bissell were born four children: 
 Harriet, born Oct. 27, 1827, died March 23, 1896; 
 Lewis, born July 6, 1829, died Sept. i, 1900; George, 
 subject of this sketch ; and Charles Henry, born Aug. 
 29, 1841. 
 
 George Bissell was but six months old when his 
 parents settled in South Windsor, where he was 
 reared and educated in the district schools, with 
 Mary Ann Buckland as his first teacher. He then 
 attended the Wapping Seminary, where Rev. Col- 
 lins taught, and at the age of nineteen years went 
 to work on his father's farm, which was a large one, 
 and where he had plenty to do. Mr. Bissell early 
 began for himself by raising tobacco, was indus- 
 trious and prospered, and later he and his brother 
 Charles engaged in buying and selling this staple 
 quite extensively. 
 
 On May 21, 1873, Mr. Bissell married, in Ver- 
 non, Conn., Miss Sarah Loraine Russell, who was 
 born Aug. 18, 1845, in Vernon, and is a descendant 
 of the Whitney and Powers families, being a daugh- 
 ter of George and Nancy Cutler (Powers) Russell, 
 the former born in Enfield, Mass., Oct. 30, 1817, and 
 the latter in Boylston, Mass., April 28, 1818. Im- 
 mediately after marriage Mr. and Mrs. Russell lo- 
 cated in Vernon, Conn., where Mr. Russell died 
 Feb. 25, 1890, after a married life of fifty years, 
 lacking two weeks ; and Mrs. Russell was called 
 away May 29, 1896, dying at the home of Mrs. 
 Bissell, her daughter. 
 
 George Russell was a son of Jonathan Russell, 
 who died in Vernon, Conn., in 1850, at the age of 
 eighty years. George Russell was a farmer and 
 fruit grower, and, as a rule, was a successful man. 
 Although he met with reverses at the age of forty. 
 he recovered himself, and acquired property of con- 
 siderable value. He was a man of superior physique, 
 weighed 180 pounds, and was well-qualified to cope 
 with the arduous labors of farm life. In politics he 
 was a Republican, but was never an office seeker. 
 Although not a member of any church, he was a 
 sincere follower of the Gospel, and an upright, pure 
 man, of modest demeanor, and well worthy of the 
 great respect in which he was held by his fellow 
 citizens. His wife died in the faith of the Congre- 
 gational Church, of which she had long been a de- 
 voted member. The children born to George Rus- 
 sell and wife were two in number: John Whitney 
 Russell, of South Hadley Falls, and superintendent 
 of the wire mill at Holyoke, Mass., and Sarah Lo- 
 raine (Mrs. Bissell). The great-grandfather of 
 Mrs. Bissell was Col. John Whitney, a hero of the 
 Revolutionary war, and a resident of Concord, 
 Mass., after whom the brother of Mrs. Bissell was 
 named. Mrs. Bissell is a highly-accomplished lady, 
 
 having when young been fitted by private tutors for 
 entrance to Mount Holyoke Seminary, but faihng 
 health prevented her attendance at that famous in- 
 stitution of learning. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. George Bissell went to housekeep- 
 ing on part of his father's farm, and there lived for 
 seventeen years, farming, dairying and tobacco rais- 
 ing. In 1885 he relinquished all traffic in tobacco 
 and tobacco growing, and devoted his time and at- 
 tention to his other interests and those of his fa- 
 ther. In May, 1890, he sold his farm property and 
 removed to his present elegant home on Burnside 
 avenue, in East Hartford. Mr. and Mrs. Bissell 
 have a family of four children : Jennie Loraine,. 
 born July 18, 1875, attended the New Britain Nor- 
 mal School, was a successful teacher for a few years,, 
 and was married, Oct. 18, 1899, to Erastus C. Geer,. 
 son of Elihu Geer; Alice Louise, born Feb. 13, 1880, 
 is a stenographer ; George Russell, born Dec. 20, 
 1883, is still at home ; and Florence Louella, born 
 Oct. 15, 1889, is a bright and promising little girl- 
 Mrs. Bissell, a very refined lady, and her eldest 
 daughter, also an accomplished young woman, are 
 members of the Congregational Church, in the work 
 of which Mrs. Bissell takes quite a prominent part. 
 She is president of the Home Missionary Society, 
 also secretary and treasurer of the Foreign Mission- 
 ary Society, and is a leader in all the measures of 
 the congregation for the promotion of its work of 
 beneficence. In politics Mr. Bissell is a stalwart 
 Republican, and has voted for every candidate of his 
 party for the presidency of the United States from 
 John C. Fremont down to William McKinley. 
 
 Mr. Bissell, although nominally retired from 
 business, has many interests that still claim his at- 
 tention. He is. the owner of a number of valuable 
 residence properties in East Hartford that require 
 his time and care, has other investments that need 
 looking after, and is also engaged in the manipulat- 
 ing of loans of his surplus capital, and in these 
 transactions he is ably assisted bv his accomplished 
 helpmate. He is still a hale and well-preserved 
 gentleman, notwithstanding the fact that he has un- 
 dergone much hard labor. It is neeaiess to add that 
 socially the Bissell family stand with the ehte. 
 
 HENRY CASE, a leading resident of North 
 •Canton, is a worthy representative of a family which 
 has furnished many valuable citizens to this Com- 
 monwealth. He is a descendant of John Case, a 
 pioneer of Simsbury, through his son Bartholomew, 
 who married Mary Humphrey, daughter of Ensign 
 Samuel Humphrey. 
 
 Amos Case, son of Bartholomew, was born in 
 1 712, and died in 1798. In 1740 he removed to 
 West Simsbury (now Canton), and engaged in 
 farming at East Hill. He was married, in 1739, 
 to Mary Holcomb, who was born in 1714, and died 
 in 1802. They had ten children: Mary (1739- 
 1834) married Simeon Case, son of Richard Case 
 (2) ; Ruth (1742-1794) married Richard Case, son 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 501 
 
 of Richard (2); Huklah (1744-1774) never mar- 
 ried; Amos (1746-1798) married Betsey Ward; 
 Abel (1748-1834) married (first) Hiildah Higby, 
 and (second) Lucy Perry; Silas (1749-1809) is 
 mentioned below; Lucy (1752-1837) married 
 (hrst) Ruggles Humphrey, and (second) Solomon 
 Bull; Pliney (1754-1/80) married Rhoda JNIerill ; 
 Rhoda (1757-1786) married Hosea Case; Seth 
 (1760- 1 776) died in New York, while serving in 
 the American armv in the Revolutionary war. 
 
 Silas Case, son of Amos, was born in 1749, at 
 East Hill, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
 war. He followed farming in West Simsbury, and 
 died there in 1809. He married (first) Jane Kelly, 
 who died in 1777, and later wedded Alary Case, 
 who was born in 1755, and died in 1833. The only 
 child of the first marriage, Kelly, born in 1777, 
 married (first) Roxy Hoskins, and (second) Mabel 
 Steele. There were nine children by the second 
 marriage: Polly (1781-1850) married Giles Case; 
 Ira (1782-1848) married Mary Humphrey, and 
 (second) Dinah Case; Silas (1785-1816) ; Levi 
 (1787-1865) married Keturah Bandell ; Ruggles 
 is mentioned below; Jane (1792-1859) married Hol- 
 comb Case; Lucy (1794) married Everest Case; 
 Gad (1796) married Tirzah Gibbons; and Ruth 
 (1799- 1 832) married Case Braman. 
 
 Ruggles Case, father of our subject, was born 
 in 1789 in Canton, and received a district-school 
 education. He learned the blacksmith's trade in 
 Canton Street, and later removed to North Canton, 
 where he built a shop and followed his trade many 
 years. He also owned a seventy-acre farm, upon 
 which he made many improvements. He died in 
 August, 1 88 1, and was buried in North Canton. 
 In politics he was a Democrat, and for a long period 
 lie filled the office of justice of the peace. He was 
 temperate and domestic in his habits, and, although 
 liberal in religious views, he attended the Congre- 
 gational Church and later the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. He was married, in Canton, to Cynthia 
 Case, daughter of Capt. Uriah Case, and they had 
 the following children : Oliver, deceased ; Clarissa 
 (deceased), who married Roswald Barnes; Watson, ' 
 deceased ; Lucinda, deceased wife of Watson Case ; 
 Edmund, a retired resident of North Canton; Cyn- 
 thia, deceased ; Nelson, who died in childhood ; 
 Henry, our subject; ]\Iary E., deceased; and Sarah, 
 widow of Horace C. A'ining. 
 
 Our subject's mother, who was born in 1793, 
 and died in 1874, was a most exemplary woman, 
 and a regular attendant of the Congregational 
 Church. She was a descendant of John Case, the 
 pioneer, her line being traced through Richard, a 
 son of John. Sergt. Richard Case, son of Richard, 
 was born in Simsbury in 1710, and came to West 
 Simsbury in 1737, being one of the first settlers 
 there. He married Mercy Holcomb, who was born 
 in 1712, and died in 1780. Their son, Uriah, fa- 
 ther of Mrs. Cynthia Case, was born in 1743, and 
 died in 1822. He resided in East Hill, where he fol- 
 
 lowed farming all his life. He married (first) Susan 
 Lawrence, (second) Eunice Dill, and (third) Mrs. 
 Mary Case, widow of Silas Case. By the first 
 marriage he had four children : Zilpah, born in 
 1766, married Isaiah Taylor; Sylvia, born in 1768, 
 married (first) Amasa I""uller, and (second) David 
 Sutliff; Uriah, Jr., born in 1771, married Sarah 
 Noble, who died in 1807; Susannah, born in 1774, 
 married Jared Mills, Jr., and died in 1808. There 
 were eleven children by the second marriage : Joab, 
 born in 1779, married Sarah Case, and died in 1818; 
 Eunice, born in 17S0, married Roswell Reed; Wat- 
 son, born in 1781, married Sylvia Case, and died 
 in 1853; Elizabeth, born in 1783, died in 1S08, un- 
 married; Holcombj born in 1784, married Jane 
 Case, and died in 1854; Lorinda, born in 1786, died 
 in 1808, unmarried ; Clara and Laura, twins, were 
 born in 1788, of whom the latter died in 1842, and 
 the former married Charles Humphrey ; Lydia, born 
 in 1791, died in 1822, unmarried ; Cynthia married 
 Ruggles Case; and Lucinda, born in 1799, married 
 Hiram Case. 
 
 Our subject was born Sept. 4, 1830, in North 
 Canton, and after completing a district-school 
 course attended the high school at Ellington. For 
 some time he taught school in winter, and assisted 
 his father on the farm during the summer, and 
 at the age of twenty-two he began dealing in furs, 
 a business which he has carried on extensively ever 
 since, his goods being bought mainly in Canada, 
 New York and the "Far A\"est." He has had some 
 manufactured, and has sold extensively in Massa- 
 chusetts and Connecticut, the various kinds of fur 
 wraps, robes, etc. He has also for several seasons 
 bought furs on commission for a New York firm. 
 Air. Case is also interested in farming, tobacco 
 growing and stock raising at the old homestead, 
 where he resides, except during occasional visits 
 to California and Florida. His habits are irre- 
 proachable, and his genial disposition has made him 
 many friends. 
 
 Air. Case was married, in 1890, in San Jose, 
 Santa Clara Co., CaL, to Aliss Regina E. Mecklem, 
 who was born in Crescent City, Del Norte Co., 
 CaL, in 1859, a daughter of John and Jane (Lowry) 
 Mecklem, pioneer residents of that State. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Case have one child, Henry Ruggles, born in 
 North Canton, Nov. 20, 1894. Mr. Case is a De n- 
 ocrat in politics, and has served as justice of the 
 peace for the town of Canton. His wife is a mem- 
 ber of the Alethodist Episcopal Church at North 
 Canton, of which he is a liberal supporter. 
 
 John Alecklem was born in 1818 in Beaver 
 county, Penn., son of Samuel and Rachel (Mc- 
 Donald) Alecklem, who came to Pennsylvania from 
 Delaware. In 1845 'i^ married Jane Lowry, who 
 was born in 1818 in the North of Ireland, but was 
 reared in Pennsylvania, her parents, James and 
 Alary (Henderson) Lowry, natives of County 
 Down, Ireland, having come to America when she 
 was quite young, taking up their home in Pitts- 
 
502 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 burgh, where they were early and highly-esteemed 
 settlers. Mr. and Mrs. Lovvry had twelve children : 
 Samuel, Thomas, Joseph (an inventor of note), 
 William, Martin, Ebenezer, John, David (author 
 and journalist), James (identified with the city 
 government for many years), Marj', Margaret and 
 Jane. To Mr. and Mrs. Mecklem were born six 
 children : Samuel died young ; Rachel died in in- 
 fancy ; Mary H. died at the age of five j^ears ; 
 Orlando M. and Mary J. are residents of San Jose, 
 Cal. ; and Regina E. is the wife of our subject. 
 
 JONATHAN M. PECK, a well-known farmer, 
 horticulturist and florist of Bristol, is a native of 
 that town, born Nov. i, 1829. 
 
 Mr. Peck is a lineal descendant of Paul Peck, 
 who is supposed to have been born in the County 
 of Essex, England, in 1608, and to have come to 
 this country in the ship "Defiance" in 1635. In 
 Boston, Mass., or in its vicinity, he remained until 
 1636, and then removed to Hartford, Conn., with 
 Rev. Thomas Hooker and his friends. His name 
 appears on the list of proprietors of Hartford in 
 1639, and from the records of the town it appears 
 that he became one of its leading men. His resi- 
 dence is said to have been upon what is now known 
 as Washington street, not far from Trinity College, 
 the site of which is still known among the older in- 
 habitants as the "Peck lot." He was a deacon in 
 the Congregational Church from 1681 until his 
 death, Dec. 23, 1695. His will is to be found upon 
 the Probate Records [B. 5, pp. 217-18-19], dated 
 June 25, 1695, and proved Jan. 15, 1695-96. It is 
 quite lengthy, and is of interest in its details and 
 descriptions of his property, his inventory amount- 
 ^S to £536, ss. He makes bequests to his wife 
 Martha, sons Paul and Joseph, daughters Martha 
 Cornwell, Mary Andrew, Sarah Clark and Elizabeth 
 How, his grandsons Paul and Samuel, and his son- 
 in-law John Shephard. He also names his grand- 
 daughter Ruth Beach, and son-in-law Joseph Bou- 
 ton, to whom Samuel was required to pay legacies. 
 A brief record of his children is as follows: 
 
 (i) Paul, born 1639. (2) Martha, born 1641, 
 married John Cornwell, of Middletown, and died 
 March i, 1708-09. (3) Elizabeth, born 1643, mar- 
 ried a Mr. How, of Wallingford. (4) John, born 
 Dec. 22, 1645. (5) Samuel, born 1647, died Jan. 
 10, 1696. (6) Joseph, born Dec. 22, 1650, died 
 June 26, 1698. (7) Sarah, born in 1653, married 
 Thomas Clark, of Hartford. (8) Hannah, born in 
 1656, married John Shephard, of Hartford. (9) 
 Mary, born 1662, married John Andrew, of Hart- 
 ford. 
 
 The Connecticut Pecks are descendants of Joseph 
 Peck, of Milford, Deacon William and Henry, of 
 New Haven, and Deacon Paul, of Hartford. They 
 were among the early settlers of this country. Each 
 became the ancestor of a numerous race. Their 
 descendants are now scattered throughout most of 
 the States and Territories, mixed in their settle- 
 
 ments with each other and with the Massachusetts 
 Pecks, requiring much labor to separate them. What 
 relationship exists between these ancestors has never 
 been ascertained. 
 
 The steps of descent from (I) Paul Peck, 1608, 
 to (VII) Jonathan M. Peck, our subject, are as 
 follows : 
 
 (II) Samuel Peck, Sr., born 1647, resided in 
 West Hartford, where he died Jan. 10, 1696. He 
 married Elizabeth , and had one child. 
 
 (HI) Samuel Peck, Jr., born 1672, in West 
 Hartford, settled in Middletown (now Berlin), and 
 married, March 6, 1701, Abigail Collier, daughter 
 of Joseph Collier. He died Dec. 9, 1765, his wife 
 on Oct. 28, 1742. Their children: (i) Samuel, 
 born Jan. 6, 1702, died Aug. 25, 1784; (2) Moses, 
 born April, 1703, died Dec. 30, 1759; (3) Isaac, 
 born Nov. 28, 1706, died Oct. 27, 1748; (4) Abijah, 
 born Dec. 28, 1709, died March 13, 1797; (5) Zeb- 
 ulon, born Sept. i, 1712, died Jan. 13, 1795; (6) 
 Amos, born March 3, 1715, died April 6, 1802; (7) 
 Abel, born Dec. 28, 1717, died Sept. 19, 1742; (8) 
 Elisha, born March 11, 1720, died May 29, 1762; 
 (9) Elijah, born July 23, 1723. 
 
 (IV) Zebulon Peck, born Sept. i, 1712, in Mid- 
 dletown, removed to Bristol in 1743. He married 
 Mary Edwards, daughter of Josiah Edwards, 
 of East Hampton, L. I., July 10, 1735. He 
 died in Bristol Jan. 13, 1795, his wife on May 23, 
 1790. Their children were as follows: Abigail, 
 born May 20, 1736, died April 21, 1826; Justus, 
 born Nov. 14, 1737; Elizabeth, born Sept. 30, 1739, 
 died Nov. 16, 1741 ; Mary, born Aug. 12, 1741, died 
 Oct. II, 1785; Zebulon, born April 15, 1743, died 
 Jan. 23, 1820; Abel, born in 1745, died Jan. 26, 
 1778, while on his way home from Valley Eorge 
 during the Revolutionary war; David, born May 13, 
 1749, died Sept. 30, 1821 ; Lament, born May 8, 
 1751, died May 5, 1823; Elizabeth, born 1753, died 
 March 12, 1816; Josiah, born Jan. 19, 1755, died 
 April 26, 181 1. 
 
 (V) Lament Peck, born May 8, 1751, in Earm- 
 ington (now Bristol), died May 5, 1823. He served 
 in the Revolutionarv war, and held various town 
 and church offices. Pie married Rachel Tracy, and 
 had children as follows: Sally, born Feb. 7, 1784; 
 Tracy, born April 5, 1785, died Feb. 12, 1862; 
 Richard, born Dec. 15, 1786; Susannah, born Aug. 
 31, 1788; one that died in infancy; Epaphroditus, 
 born Oct. 26, 1791, died Nov. i6, 181 1, in South 
 Carolina; Nehemiah, born Sept. 26, 1793; Neuman, 
 born Nov. 25, 1795 ; Rachel, born Dec. 25, 1797; and 
 James G., born June 24, 1800. 
 
 (VI) Richard Peck, born Dec. 15, 1786, son of 
 (V) Lament Peck, settled in Bristol, and in the 
 earlier years of his life was a shoemaker and tanner, 
 his later years being devoted to agricultural pur- 
 suits. Fie was active in church work as a member 
 of several committees connected with the Congrega- 
 tional Church. During the war of 1812 he served 
 as sergeant, and afterward, for several years, was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 503 
 
 captain of an artillery company of the State militia. 
 In politics he was a Whig and Repuhlican, and, 
 though no aspirant to political honors, took a deep 
 interest in the affairs of his party, keeping well 
 abreast of the times. He served on the board of 
 assessors, and in various minor offices of the town. 
 He died Jan. i6, 1872. 
 
 On June 28, 1815, Richard Peck married Sophia 
 Miller, daughter of Rev. Jonathan Miller, of the 
 Congregational Church, who was the first minister 
 of any denomination in Burlington, Conn., where 
 she was born. To Mr. and Mrs. Peck were born 
 children as follows : ( i ) Elizabeth Gaylord, born 
 Nov. 14, 1816, died Dec. 8, 1894, unmarried. (2) 
 Abby Mills, born Dec. 12, 1818, died June 28, 1836. 
 (3) Sophia M., born March 24, 1821, married, Dec. 
 20, 1843, Charles Root, of New Haven, who died 
 in Jamaica; she died in 1872. (4) Richard Lament 
 (i), born Feb. 19, 1824, died April 13, 1824. (5) 
 Richard Lament (2), born July 13, 1826, died April 
 29, 1885 ; he served for nine months in the 25th 
 Conn. V. L, and had his home in Bristol. (6) Jona- 
 than M. is the subject proper of these lines. 
 
 (Vn) Jonathan M. Peck received a liberal edu- 
 cation in the common schools of his native town, 
 afterward attending Williston Seminary in East- 
 hampton, Mass. Concluding his studies at the age 
 of eighteen, he then worked for a couple of years 
 on his father's farm. During the succeeding six 
 years he was employed in various clock factories 
 in Bristol ; then removed to Plymouth (now Thomas- 
 ton), and for eighteen years worked in the move- 
 ment department of the Seth Thomas clock factory. 
 Part of this time he had a contract in the movement 
 department on the calendar clocks (a new feature 
 in clock works), employing a few men. Returning 
 to Bristol in 1874, he has since been engaged in 
 farming, horticulture and floriculture at the old 
 homestead. No. 400 West street. 
 
 On Jan. 11, 1871, Jonathan M. Peck was mar- 
 ried to Helen Elizabeth Piatt, of Thomaston, born 
 Sept. 7, 1846, daughter of Benjamin and Agnes 
 (Wei ton) Piatt. Children as follows have blessed 
 this union: (i) Mary Chilton, born Nov. 7, 1871, 
 lives at home. (2) Arthur Benjamin, born May 
 24, 1877, is stenographer for Gross, Hyde & Ship- 
 man, lawyers, of Hartford. (3) William Tracy, 
 born Sept. 30, 1879, is at present studying civil en- 
 gineering in Cornell L^niversity. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Peck are members of the Congre- 
 gational Church at Bristol, of which he has been 
 collector and treasurer. A Republican in politics, 
 he has held various offices of trust and responsibil- 
 ity, such as justice of the peace, assessor and con- 
 stable ; from 1888 to 1B90 he served as assessor of 
 Bristol. He is vice-president of the ^^^est Cemetery 
 Association, and has been general superintendent 
 of the cemetery since 1896. Socially he is a mem- 
 ber, and has been overseer, master, treasurer, etc., 
 of Bristol Grange, No. 116. Mr. and Mrs. Peck 
 are highly esteemed by all who know them. 
 
 GEORGE LEETE. In 1881 an interesting 
 volume, entitled "The Family of Leete," was pub- 
 lished in London, for private circulation, and was 
 generously sent to fifteen puljlic libraries in this 
 country by Joseph Leete, Esq., of Eversden, South 
 Norwood Park, S. E. Surrey, England, to which is 
 indebted most known of the family history anterior 
 to the emigration of William Leete to this country 
 in 1639. From it is learned the great antiquity of 
 the family name : That Gerard Lctie or Letc held 
 lands in Mordon, Cambridgeshire, in 1209, in the 
 reign of King John ; that Aiatthew Lety held lands 
 in 1370; that Bobertusfil Lete was assessed to a 
 subsidy in 1326-27; that John Leet, grocer of Lon- 
 don, made a will, proved in 1442 ; that John Lete, 
 of Cottenham, made a will, proved in 1 523 ; that 
 Plenry Lette, of Cottenham, husbandman, made a 
 will, proved in 1527; that Henry Leete, of Comber- 
 ton, made a will, proved in 1541, etc. 
 
 From the same source comes the knowledge 
 of the Leete coat of arms, for though used by 
 Governor Leete in this country, as his seal proves, 
 all knowledge of its use, and even of its existence, 
 had long been obliterated. It is described as fol- 
 lows : Argent, on a fesse, gules, between two rolls 
 of matches, S.able, fixed proper, a martlet, or. Crest : 
 On a ducal coronet, or, an antique lamp, or, fixed 
 proper. The origin and signification of the arms 
 have not been ascertained. 
 
 Governor William Leete, the ancestor of the 
 family in America, was born in Dodington, Hunt- 
 ingdonshire, England, in 1612 or 1613, and was a 
 son of John and Anna (Shute) Leete, and grand- 
 son of Thomas and Maria (Slacer) Leete, of Ock- 
 ington, Cambridgeshire, England. He was bred to 
 the law, and served for a considerable time as clerk 
 in the Bishop's Court at Cambridge, when, observ- 
 ing the oppressions and cruelties then practiced on 
 the conscientious and virtuous Puritans, he was led 
 to examine more thoroughly their doctrine and 
 practice, and eventually to become a Puritan him- 
 self and to give up his office. He came to America 
 in Rev. Mr. Whitfield's company, was one of the 
 signers of the Plantation Covenant on shipboard, 
 June I, 1639, and arrived in New Haven about 
 July 10. When they had agreed upon Guilford as 
 a place to settle he was one of the six selected to 
 purchase the land of the native Indians, in trust for 
 the Plantation until their organization. ]\Ir. Leete 
 was called upon to fill many public offices. He was 
 clerk of the Plantation from 1639 to 1642 ; was one 
 of four to whom was entrusted the whole civil 
 power of the Plantation, without limitation, until a 
 church was formed ; June 19. 1643, when the church 
 was formed, he was selected as one of the seven 
 pillars "for the foundation work." In 1643 he was 
 chosen to meet the Court at New Haven, when 
 the combination of the jurisdiction of the New 
 Haven Colony was planned and organized, and 
 Guilford, Milford, Stamford and other Plantations, 
 hitherto independent Colonies, united in one juris- 
 
504 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 diction with New Haven, establishing a General 
 Court for the whole jurisdiction, to sit twice a year 
 at New Haven, and to consist of the governor, dep- 
 uty governor and all the magistrates within the 
 jurisdiction, and two deputies for every Planta- 
 tion. 
 
 Mr. Leete was a deputy from Guilford to this 
 Court till 1650, and from 165 1 to 1658 was the 
 magistrate of the town. In 1658 he was chosen 
 deputy governor of the Colony, and continued in 
 that office until 1661, when he was elected governor, 
 which office he held until the union with Connecti- 
 cut, in 1664. After the union he was an assistant 
 until 1669, when he was elected deputy governor 
 of the Connecticut Colony, holding this office until 
 1676, when he was chosen governor, which position 
 he retained by continuous re-election until his death, 
 in 1683. Upon being elected governor he removed 
 to Hartford, and being continued in office he re- 
 mained there until his death, and is buried there. 
 His tombstone was discovered about 1830, in the 
 ancient burial ground in the rear of the First church 
 ■of Hartford, where it had long been hidden by an 
 accumulation of earth. His descendants have since 
 ■erected a plain granite monument to his memory. 
 Governor Leete married, about 1638, Anne Payne, 
 ■daughter of Rev. John Payne, of Southoe, Eng- 
 land. The line of descent from this illustrious 
 American ancestor to George Leete, our subject, of 
 the eighth generation, is as follows : 
 
 (2) John Leete, son of Governor William and 
 Anne (Payne) Leete, was born in Guilford, Conn., 
 in 1639, and is said to have been the first white 
 child born in that town. He married, Oct. 4, 1670, 
 Mary, daughter of William and Joanna ( Sheaf er) 
 Chittenden, of Guilford; he died Nov. 25, 1692, and 
 his wife March 9, 1712. 
 
 (3) Deacon Pelefiah Leete, son of John and 
 Mary (Chittenden) Leete, was born in Guilford 
 March 26, 1681, and July i, 1705, married Abigail, 
 daughter of Abraham and Elizabeth (Bartlett) 
 Fowler, of Guilford. Fie soon after removed to 
 Leete's Island, where he spent the remainder of his 
 life. He was a large land owner and a successful 
 farmer. He was a deacon in the Fourth 
 Church of Guilford, and although chiefly engaged 
 in private affairs was often elected to represent 
 the town in the "Genera! Court." He died Oct. 
 13, 1768, his wife on Oct. 22, 1769. 
 
 (4) Deacon Daniel Leete was born on Leete's 
 Island Oct. 14, 1709, a son of Deacon Peletiah and 
 Abigail (Fowler) Leete. He married, June 14, 
 1738, Rhoda, daughter of Caleb and Sarah (Meigs) 
 Stone, of Guilford. He resided at Leete's Island, 
 was a deacon in the Fourth Congregational Church 
 of Guilford, and died Oct. i, 1772. His wife died 
 Dec. 23, 1769. 
 
 (5) Daniel Leete, son of Deacon Daniel and 
 Rhoda (Stone) Leete, was born April 17, 1742, and 
 married, Dec. 10, 1766, Charity, daughter of Daniel 
 and Sarah (Bradley) Norton, of Guilford. They 
 
 lived on Leete's Island. He died May 3, 1825, his 
 wife on Feb. 13, 1824. 
 
 (6) Edmund Leete, son of Daniel and Charity 
 (Norton) Leete, was born May 10, 1775, and mar- 
 ried, Feb. 26, 1801, Fanny, daughter of John and 
 Mary (Case) Goldsmith, of Guilford, and resided 
 at Leete's Island. He died May 28, 1825, his wife 
 on Dec. 5, 1864. 
 
 (7) Henry William Leete, son of Edmund and 
 Fanny (Gildsmith) Leete, was born Dec. i, 1801, 
 and in September, 1824, married Nancy A., daugh- 
 ter of Giles and Amelia (Thomas) Doolittle, of 
 Wallingford. They resided in Wallingford, where 
 he died Oct. 10, 1844. He was a shoemaker by 
 trade. Mr. and Mrs. Leete had a family of seven 
 children: Sarah (Mrs. John Powers), Henry E., 
 George, Elizabeth F. (Mrs. William Smith), Mari- 
 etta C. (Mrs. A. K. Conklin), Rachel I., and Fanny 
 A. (Mrs. John Anderson). 
 
 (8) George Leete, the subject of this sketch, 
 was born in Wallingford, Conn., April 6, 1830, a 
 son of Henry William and Nancy A. (Doolittle) 
 Leete. He was reared to manhood in his native 
 town, where he received a limited education. He 
 began life as a farm hand, but since 1849, 3- period 
 ct over fifty years, he has been engaged in railroad 
 work, six months with the New England Railway 
 Co., and since with the New York, New Haven & 
 Hartford Railway Co. as section foreman, with resi- 
 dence at Thompsonville. During all the period of 
 fifty years he has never been compelled to remain 
 ar home a day on account of sickness. In 1856 he 
 married Mary Coughlan, of Thompsonville, and 
 they have six children: Eva A. (Mrs. James 
 Davidson), GeOrge, Arthur, William, Joseph and 
 Edward. Mr. Leete is a well-known and respected 
 citizen of Thompsonville. Politically he is a Dem- 
 ocrat. 
 
 SAMUEL ALLYN MOORE. The names of 
 the brave men who represented Connecticut on the 
 field of battle during the "struggle between the 
 States" are written in the roll of honor of the Na- 
 tion, and high among them will remain that of the 
 subject of this sketch, now a prominent resident of 
 New Britain. 
 
 Entering the service at the age of twenty-nine 
 as a "raw recruit," Mr. Moore rapidly rose through 
 meritorious conduct to the rank of lieutenant-col- 
 onel, and as such was in command in nearly every 
 engagement of his regiment, the 14th Connecticut, 
 from Gettysburg to the close of the war, while dur- 
 ing a portion of the time be was in command of 
 his brigade. Two wounds bore testimony to his 
 personal bravery, and his regiment, led by him, 
 held a place in the fighting line in many a hotly- 
 contested battle, meeting with heavy losses. En- 
 listing July 16, 1862, as a recruit for the 7th Conn. 
 V. I., he was appointed to raise a company, after- 
 ward mustered in as Company F, 14th Conn. V. I., 
 of which he was made first lieutenant. On Sept. 
 
/^^^^f^-^-t^t^c^^^^ 
 
i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 505 
 
 17, 1862, he was promoted at Antictam to the rank 
 of captain, and Sept. 12, 1863, he was coniniissioned 
 major. On Oct. 3, 1863, he was made lieutenant- 
 colonel, all his commissions being signed by Gov. 
 \\'illiam A. Buckingham. With this rank he was 
 mustered out June 6, 1865. In July, 1864, he had 
 command of a provisional regiment in Washing- 
 ton, D. C, when Early made a raid on that city, 
 and he es.tablished the first infantry picket line from 
 Fort Stevens to Bladensburg. His service was 
 largely under Gen. Hancock in the Second Army 
 Corps, Army of the Potomac, and among the most 
 important engagements in which he participated 
 were the battles of Antietam, Chancellorsville, Get- 
 tysburg, Falling Waters, Auburn, Bristow Station, 
 Blackburn I'ord, Mine Run, JNIorton's Ford, Wilder- 
 ness, Laurel Flill, Spottsylvania (where he was 
 wounded May 12, 1864), Petersburg, Deep Bot- 
 tom, Ream's Station, Boydton Plank Road, Hatch- 
 er's Run and Farmville, near High Bridge (where 
 he was wounded April 6, 1865). 
 
 Col. Moore was born Nov. 26, 1832, in the town 
 of New Hartford, Litchfield Co., Conn., and be- 
 longs to a well-known family. Abijah Moore, his 
 grandfather, was a Revolutionary soldier. He was 
 born in Windsor, Conn., in 1749, moved to South 
 Windsor, and became a farmer. In 1792 he went to 
 New Hartford, Litchfield Co., Conn., where he died 
 April 26, 1826. He married Abigail Drake, and they 
 had eleven children, all of whom were born in South 
 Windsor except Nancy: Abigail, June 5, 1773; 
 Abijah, Jan. 26, 1775; Orrin, Oct. 5, 1777; Sarah, 
 Feb. 7, 1779; Triphenia, Feb. 13, 1781 ; Almira, 
 July 30, 1783; Alh'n, Oct. 23, 1787; Lucretia, May 
 20, 1788; Perriclese or Perry, April 23, 1791 ; 
 Anna, not known; Nancy, Oct. 4, 1793. 
 
 Perriclese (or Perry) Moore, our subject's fa- 
 ther, was born April 23, 1791, in South Windsor, 
 and died Feb. 12, 1885, in New Hartford, Conn. 
 For some years he followed farming in his native 
 town, but in 1837 he removed to New Britain and 
 engaged in business as a butcher, being one of the 
 first in that city, then a small village. He con- 
 tinued thus until 1861, meeting with good success, 
 and was regarded as one of the substantial citizens 
 of the town. For many years he was a member of 
 the South Congregational Church. He did not take 
 an active part in local movements of any kind, but 
 his patriotism was shown by service in the army 
 during the war of 1812, as a substitute for his 
 brother Alhm. He married Lovisa Seymour, who 
 was born May 23, 1794, daughter of Chauncey and 
 Isabel (Sedgwick) Seymour, of New Hartford, and 
 died in New Britain April 5, 1872. They had nine 
 children: Eliza, born July 25, 1816, married 
 Charles N. Stanley, and died Aug. 22, 1851 ; James 
 P., born Jan. 24, 1819, married Lucy Eliza Clark; 
 Fannie L., born March 9, 1821, married Gad Stan- 
 ley, and died Nov. 28, 1889 : William S., born Nov. 
 24, 1822, died March 7, 1844; Martha A., born 
 Oct. 8, 1824, married John S. Baker; Sarah M., 
 
 born Nov. 11, 1826, died Sept. 8, 1847, unmarried; 
 Henry W., born Feb. 25, 1830, married Alice M. 
 Baker, and died Oct. 13, 1886; Samuel A. was 
 eighth in the order of birth ; and ]\lary J., born 
 Feb. 27, 1835, married Andrew Corbin. 
 
 During his boyhood Samuel A. Moore attended 
 the public schools of New Britain, and spent two 
 terms at the old academy under the tuition of a 
 Mr. Roberts, but his schooling ended when he was 
 about thirteen years old. His keen and observant 
 mind has gathered much information, however, and 
 he has read extensively, especially upon history 
 and similar subjects. On leaving school he be- 
 came a clerk in a grocery located on the corner of 
 South Main and Park streets, where John Boyle's 
 store now stands. He remained three years with 
 G. & T. Stanley and Stanley & Hall, and then went 
 to Gloucester, ]\Iass., and engaged in cod-fishing 
 for a season. For a year he worked in a lock shop 
 for Squire, Parson & Co., of Branford, Conn., but 
 having decided to learn the carpenter's trade, he 
 began an apprenticeship with Bailey & West, of 
 New Britain. The firm dissolved partnership be- 
 fore his term was completed, and after working 
 for a short time for Mr. Bailey he went to Hartford 
 and finished his apprenticeship with Deacon Erastus 
 Phelps. In 1853 he began work as a journeyman, 
 spending three years in Oshkosh, Wis., and ^linne- 
 apolis and Belle Plaine, Minn. In 1858 he returned 
 to New Britain and took charge of his father's 
 business in partnership with his brother Henry, 
 continuing until his enlistment in the army. After 
 the war closed he spent some time in the South, 
 and on his return to New Britain he was engaged 
 in the manufacture of soda and sarsaparilla for three 
 years. About this time he became interested in local 
 improvements, and his executive ability and high 
 reputation as a manager of large bodies of men 
 soon brought him into prominence in the develop- 
 ment of the town. In 1871 he was elected warden 
 of the borough, and on its incorporation as a city 
 he may be said to have been the first mayor, as he 
 held over for a time. For four years, from 1871 
 to 1874, he was first selectman of the town, and 
 for two terms, from March i, 1872, to ]March i, 
 1874, he was street commissioner in New Britain. 
 He was chief engineer of the city fire department 
 from 1876 to 1 88 1, when he went to Arizona and 
 spent a year in mining for the Arion Gold and 
 Silver Alining Co. After returning to New Britain 
 from Arizona he was foreman for different con- 
 tractors for several years, excavating and putting 
 in foundations for many of the large factories, pub- 
 lic buildings and private residences. In 1887 he 
 went to Asbury Park, N. J., to build the first 
 electric railroad there. For several years he has 
 been foreman on the public works in New Britain. 
 He is a member of Stanley Post, No. 11, G. A. R. ; 
 the Army and Navy Club ; the Society of the Army 
 of the Potomac; Putnam Phalanx; Harmony 
 Lodge, No. 20, F. & A. M.; Doric Council, No. 
 
506 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 24, R. & S. M.; Giddings Chapter, No. 25, R. A. 
 M. ; and Washington Commandery, No. i, K. T.,. 
 of Hartford, Conn., which he joined in 1867; lie is 
 also an honorary member of the O. U. A. M. 
 
 In 1867 Col. Moore married Miss Jennie King 
 Pember, and they have one daughter, Miss Roberta 
 E., an accomplished young lady, and a successful 
 teacher. Mrs. Moore is a member of an old Con- 
 necticut family, and her father, Elisha Pember, was 
 a well-known resident of Vernon, Conn. Her 
 mother, whose maiden name was Persis Strong 
 King, was a daughter of Lemuel and Jane (Bron- 
 son) King, of Vernon, Conn. Lemuel King was 
 born Sept. 20, 1765, in Bolton, Conn., and al- 
 though but a boy when the Revolutionary war be- 
 gan became a soldier in a Connecticut regiment 
 at the age of fifteen, taking part in the battle of 
 Horse Neck, near Greenwich, Conn., Dec. 10, 1780. 
 An attack was made upon the post by a Tory party 
 of light-horse, at which time Corpl. King received 
 seven sabre wounds and was left for dead on the 
 field. Dr. Asa Hamilton, of Somers, Conn., was 
 sent to attend his wounds. For these wounds, which 
 left him a cripple, he received a pension from the 
 Federal Government. He died in Vernon, Conn., 
 Nov. 17, 1827. 
 
 GILES A. SISSON, a retired agriculturist re- 
 siding at Canton Center, is one of the best-known 
 citizens of his town, and' for many years has been 
 a leader in the local Democratic organization. 
 
 Mr. Sisson was born in Simsbury Center Nov. 
 5, 1832, and comes of good pioneer ancestry, the 
 family having been identified with the towns of Can- 
 ton and Simsbury from an early date. The Sissons 
 are of Scottish and French descent, and all bearing 
 the name in this section are descended from three 
 brothers who came to America during the Colonial 
 period, settling in Rhode Island. Nathan Sisson, 
 our subject's great-grandfather, served in the French 
 and Indian wars, and in the Revolutionary war. 
 
 Nathan Sisson (2), the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was also a soldier in the Revolutionary army. 
 He was born in Vermont, and made his permanent 
 home in Enfield, this county, where he engaged in 
 business as a builder and joiner. He was liberal 
 in religion, and politically was a strong Democrat. 
 In Vermont he was married to Abigail Biglow, of 
 Montpelier, Washington county, who died in En- 
 field, and eleven children were born to them: Har- 
 riet (who married a Mr. Johnson), Addi Biglow, 
 Jason, Charles, Lyman, Gardner, Sophia, Sabrina, 
 Sophrona (who died in childhood), Nathan, and 
 Elbridge (who was lost at sea). 
 
 Addi Biglow Sisson, our subject's father, was 
 born in 1805 at Wilbraham, Mass., and came to 
 this county during childhood. He learned the dis- 
 tiller's trade, and about 1840 settled at Bushy Hill, 
 in the town of Simsbury, where he carried on gen- 
 eral farming in connection with distilling. He died 
 in 1873, and was buried in Bushy Flill cemetery. 
 
 He was an active worker in the Demociatic party, 
 and served in varous offices, including those of 
 assessor and selectman. Like all of his family, 
 he was liberal in his religious views, but his esti- 
 mable wife was a member of the Methodist Church. 
 He was married, at Somers, Tolland Co., Conn., 
 to Hulda Hall, who was born there, a daughter 
 of Joseph Hall, a well-known citizen of that county. 
 She died at Bushy Hill about 1888. They had four 
 children : Horton B., a resident of Bushy Hill ; 
 Giles A., our subject; Miss Sarah J.; and Hulda 
 Etta, widow of Rollin Higley. 
 
 Our subject was educated in part in the district 
 school at Bushy Hill, in part in the Connecticut 
 Literary Institute, at Suffield, and for several win- 
 ters was engaged in teaching in the Bushy Hill 
 District and at the East Hill District of Canton. 
 He remained at home until twenty-two years old, 
 when he went to Canton to engage in mercantile 
 business, and a year later he bought his present 
 farm, known as the Warren C. Humphrey farm, 
 a tract of eighty acres, to which he has added 120 
 acres, making a fine estate. He has made all the 
 improvements on the place, building a fine dwell- 
 ing house, barns and other structures, and in ad- 
 dition to general farming he is interested in to- 
 bacco growing, dairying and the manufacture of 
 lumber. In 1869 Mr. Sisson was elected selectman 
 for a term of five years, and in 1896 he was again 
 elected, and held the office for two years. He has 
 been a member of the board of relief, justice of the 
 peace, assessor and member of the school board, 
 his duties in every office being discharged ably 
 and faithfully. He is a member of Village Lodge, 
 No. 29, F. & A. M., of Collinsville, and also be- 
 longs to the Grange. He is not a member of any 
 church, but his family attend the Congregational 
 Church at Canton Center. 
 
 On July 3, i855j Mr. Sisson married Miss Caro- 
 line Higley, daughter of Pomeroy Higley, and four 
 children have blessed the union : Ella J. married 
 Edwin Lamphier, of Winsted, Conn. Addie mar- 
 ried Ralph E. Alford, now of Winsted. Frank died 
 in childhood. Arthur G. has traveled extensively 
 in the West, and is now at home, where he is en- 
 gaged in lumber manufacturing. He is a member 
 of the Masonic Fraternity. On Jan. 15, 1894, he 
 married Emma B. Barbour, daughter of Henry M. 
 Barbour, but she died Aug. 19, 1896. 
 
 The Higley family is among the oldest in the 
 county, and its members have ever been noted for 
 good citizenship. John Higley, an ancestor of Mrs. 
 Sisson, was one of the first settlers in Windsor, 
 and later became one of the pioneers of Simsbury, 
 locating near Tariffville^, which was then called 
 Higieytown, in his honor. He was prominent in 
 public aft'airs, and in 1698 was chosen the first 
 militia captain, a ,high office in those days. He 
 also served as justice of the peace and judge of 
 the county courts, and in 1698 he was a member of 
 the General Assembly. In 1671 he married Han- 
 
1 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 507 
 
 nah Drake, daughter of John and Hannah (Moore) 
 Drake, and granddaughter of Deacon John and 
 Hannah I\'Ioore. They had six children : John, 
 born in 1673; Jonathan, born in 1675; Hannah, 
 born in 1677; Rebecca, born in 1679; Biewster, born 
 in 1681 ; and Hannah, who married Joseph Trum- 
 bull in 1704, and was the mother of Gov. Jonathan 
 Trumbull, of Connecticut. 
 
 Brewster Higley, born in 1681, in Simsbury, 
 was a land owner, and followed farming. He was 
 married, in 1708, to Esther Holcomb, a daughter 
 of Nathaniel Holcomb. and granddaughter of 
 Thomas Holcomb, a pioneer settler. Eight children 
 were born to them: Brewster, 1711 ; Joseph, 1713; 
 David, 1715; Hannah, 1717 (married to Elijah 
 Owen) ; Hester, 17 19 (married to Capt. Josiah 
 Case); John, 1721 ; EHzabeth, 1723 (who married 
 Rev. Gideon Mills, a minister of West Simsbury) ; 
 and Naomi, 1725 (married to Solomon Humphrey). 
 John Higley, born in 1721, resided in West 
 Simsbury (now Canton), where he engaged in 
 farming, and he died there in May, 1802. He 
 married Apphia Humphrey, daughter of Jonathan 
 Humphrey, and great-granddaughter of Michael 
 Humphrey, the first of the name in this country. 
 Their children were John ; Carmi, who married 
 Hester Case, widow of Thomas Case, and daugh- 
 ter of Capt. Josiah Case, a soldier in the Revolu- 
 tionary army, who died in prison in New York, 
 having been captured by the British ; Obed ; Isaac ; 
 Eber ; Roger ; and Job. 
 
 Obed Higley, grandfather of Mrs. Sisson, was 
 born in 1757, in what is now Canton, and was 
 quite a prominent man in his day. He settled on 
 the farm of Col. Talcott, and became the owner 
 of a large section of land, upon which he made 
 many improvements. He was a soldier in the Rev- 
 olutionary war, and in politics was a Democrat. 
 He died in 1841, aged eighty-four years, and his 
 wife, Rebecca (Mills), who was born in 1766, 
 died in 1827, both being buried in the Canton cem- 
 etery. They had ten children: Sally, born Sept. 
 .30, 1788, married Allen Case, and died in 1815; 
 Thede, born April 19, 1790, married Benjamin 
 Gofif, and died in 1853 ; Obed, born Jan. 5, 1791, 
 married Mary Dickinson ; Alson, born Feb. 20, 1793, 
 married Christian Robbins; Luther, born Nov. 9, 
 1794, married (first) Electa Woodford, (second) 
 Flora Bidwell, and (third) Sarah F. Bidwell ; Cor- 
 rel, born Feb. 12, 1796, married Nancy Phelps; 
 Fomeroy, born Nov. 10, 1798, was the father of 
 Mrs. Sisson; Amelia, born Oct. 7, 1801, married 
 Austin N. Humphrey; Almenia, born April I, 
 1805, married Leonard S. Sweet; and Emeline, born 
 Nov. 4, 1808, married (first) Luke Fuller, and 
 (second) Z. Kempton. 
 
 Pomeroy Higley was engaged in farming in 
 Canton, where he died in 1869. He married Eunice 
 D. Humphrey, and they had nine children : Pom- 
 eroy, who married JNIinerva Shepard ; Warren, a 
 resident of Canton, married to Caroline Miller; 
 
 Clarissa, who married (first) John Robertson, and 
 (second) Isaac Alcott; Eunice (deceased), who 
 married Sherman Wilcox ; Mary, who died in child- 
 hood ; Martha, married to Edward Wilcox ; Caro- 
 line ; 'Howard, who married Maryette Case ; and 
 Susan, who married Edmund Hough. 
 
 ELIJAH CHURCH, who is practically living 
 a retired life in Berlin, is a native of Connecticut, 
 born in Barkhamsted, Litchfield county, Feb. 22, 
 1830, and is of English descent. His grandfather, 
 Samuel Church, was a resident of Barkhamsted, 
 whither he removed from Haddam when quite 
 young, and where he owned and operated over one 
 hundred acres of land. He died when our subject 
 was about twenty-four years of age, and was buried 
 in Canton, where the remains of his wife were also 
 interred. 
 
 Joseph Church, father of our subject, was born 
 in Barkhamsted in June, 1800, and died there in 
 August, 1849. He owned a farm, consisting of 
 one hundred acres of rocky land, but being a hard- 
 working man he managed to support his faniil}-. In 
 1820 he married Miss Hannah Baker, who was born 
 in New Hartford in 1800, and died in 1888, being 
 laid to rest beside her husband in the Barkhamsted 
 cemetery. He was quite a politician, a stanch sup- 
 porter of the Democratic party, and he attended the 
 Episcopal Church. Of his family of six children, 
 only our subject and Rollin, a resident of Winsted, 
 Conn., are now living. 
 
 The boyhood of Elijah Church was passed upon 
 the home farm in Barkhamsted, and his primary 
 education, acquired in the schools of that town, was 
 supplemented by a course in the schools of Canton. 
 After laying aside his text-books he started to 
 burnish spoons, knives and forks for the firm of 
 Hall & Elton, in Wallingford, and was one of the 
 first to learn the burnishing business. After five 
 or six years spent with that company he went to 
 Bristol, where he worked for the Hall Spoon Co. 
 for about tliree years, and then went to New York 
 City, and there for two years worked for various 
 concerns in the same line of business. The follow- 
 ing three years he passed at Albany, N. Y., in the 
 emplov of the Rathbone-Smith Co., in their "Hol- 
 low Ware Department," and for a short time he 
 was in Boston, working along the same line. Com- 
 ing to Hartford, he was in the employ of William 
 Rogers & Co. for about three years, and later was 
 with Smith & Co., in New Haven, for two years. 
 Subsequently he spent a short time in New York, 
 and from there went to Elizabethport, N. J., where 
 he remained six months. While there the Civil war 
 broke out, and, as the product of the factory was 
 sold principally in the South, the plant shut down. 
 I\Ir. Church then turned his attention to tobacco 
 raising in Canton, Conn., and also dealt in that 
 commodity until 1880. For the following nine 
 years he engaged in general farming in Canton, 
 v.diere he owned 150 acres of land. He also had 
 
508 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 at this time quite an estate in Barl<hamsted, owning 
 two large farms there, and yet another valuable 
 farm in the county seat of Illinois, situated twenty- 
 live miles west of Chicago. In 1889 he came to 
 Kensington, where he purchased the Newton Hart 
 farm, of fourteen acres, on the Kensington road. 
 Upon this place he has since made many improve- 
 ments which add greatly to the value and attractive 
 appearance of the property, including a large and 
 commodious residence, adjoining his own home, for 
 his only child, Ada, who was married, Oct. 27, 
 1897, to Frederick Billian, who holds a responsible 
 position in P. & F. Corbin's box department. New 
 Britain. 
 
 On Oct. 24, 1877, Mr. Church was united in 
 marriage with Miss Sarah A. W. Baker, of Whea- 
 ton, 111., who was born Feb.- 4, 1841, a daughter of 
 Prof. Freeborn Garfettson and Louise Baker. In 
 the summer of 1881 Prof. Baker and wife came 
 East, thinking to spend their vacation with their 
 daughter, but he was taken sick and in nine days 
 died,lTis remains being interred in Bakersville,Conn. ; 
 the mother now makes her home with her son, Wil- 
 bur Freeborn Baker, in East Orange, N. J. Prof. 
 Baker was musical director in Wheaton College, 
 111., for twenty-three years, teaching both instru- 
 mental and vocal music. His daughter, Mrs. 
 Church, is also a talented musician, her specialty 
 being the piano, and for ten years she taught in- 
 strumental music in Wheaton College under her 
 father. She still follows that line of work to some 
 extent in Berlin. 
 
 Mr. Church in his early manhood was identified 
 with the Democratic party, but is opposed to the 
 free coinage of silver, for which and other reasons 
 he left that party and identified himself with Re- 
 publicans. From 1893 until 189^ he served as jus- 
 tice of the peace of Berlin in a most acceptable 
 manner, but has never taken a very prominent part 
 in political affairs. He and his wife are members 
 of the Methodist Church of New Britain, and while 
 residents of Canton they _took a very active and 
 prominent part in church work. They have a pleas- 
 ant home in Berlin, where, surrounded by a large 
 circle of friends and acquaintances who esteem them 
 highly for their sterling worth, they expect to spend 
 their remaining days in ease and quiet. 
 
 JOSEPH L. BARTLETT. No better tribute 
 perhaps can be paid to American citizenship than to 
 speak of its intelligence and education, for in a 
 self-governed society no qualities are more essen- 
 tial. The subject of this sketch has warmly 
 espoused the cause of public education, is deeply 
 interested in the schools, and has especially equipped 
 his own children with the education that broadens 
 and uplifts, and many of the latter, imbibing the 
 principles of their parents, became public teachers. 
 Mr. Bartlett has been prominent not only in an 
 educational way. As a public-spirited citizen he is 
 honored and respected. The possessor of unswerv- 
 
 ing principles in matters of conscience, the exem- 
 plar of industry, integrity and thrift, the recipient 
 of various public recognitions of his ability and hon- 
 esty, he has carved his name upon the landmarks of 
 history in the community in which he lives as one 
 most worthy of esteem. 
 
 The Bartlett family in England descended from 
 Adam Bartelot, a Norman, who in 1066 accompa- 
 nied William the Conqueror from France to Eng- 
 land. The family in America was founded by 
 Robert Bartlett, who in 1632 voyaged froin Eng- 
 land to the Massachusetts Colony in the ship 
 "Lyon," which after a passage of twelve weeks 
 landed 122 passengers on Sept. 16 of that year at 
 Boston harbor. Robert Bartlett located at Cam- 
 bridge, and in 1639 migrated with the Hooker band 
 to Hartford, Conn. There he was elected the first 
 selectman of the village, and in the division of 
 land in that year was granted eight acres, residing 
 west of the present Lafayette street. He was made 
 a freeman April 10, 1645. In 1655 he removed 
 with twenty others to a tract of land in Northamp- 
 ton, Mass., which they bought from the Indians, 
 but he owned land at Hartford as late as 1664. He 
 was first selectman at Northampton. He was 
 killed by the Indians during King Philip's war, 
 March 14, 1676. His widow, Anna, died July 3, 
 1676. Their four children were: Samuel, born 
 in Cambridge in 1639; Nathaniel, who died unmar- 
 ried ; Abigail, who married John Stebbins, of North- 
 ampton, Mass. ; and Deborah, born March 8, 1646. 
 
 Samuel Bartlett, son of Robert Bartlett, was 
 born in Cambridge in 1639, and while an infant re- 
 mioved with his parents to Hartford, and thence to 
 Northampton, Mass., where he farmed and oper- 
 ated a gristmll in the southern part of that city, re- 
 siding on Bartlett street, more recently named Pleas- 
 ant street. He was first selectman of Northamp- 
 ton, and one of its prominent citizens. He died in 
 17 12, and was buried in Northampton county. In 
 1672 he married, in Northampton, Mary, daughter 
 of James Bridgman. She died in 1674, leaving no 
 children, and for his second wife Samuel Bartlett 
 married Sarah, daughter of Joseph Baldwin, who 
 bore him children as follows: Samuel, in 1677; 
 Sarah, 1679; Mindwell, 1681 ; Joseph, 1683; Eb- 
 enezer, 1685; Elizabeth, 1687; Preserved, 1689; 
 William, 1693 ; David, 1695 ; Benjamin, 1696. 
 
 Samuel Bartlett, the eldest of these children, 
 born in 1677, removed in 1723, with his wife Sarah 
 and family, as an original proprietor of Bolton, Tol- 
 land Co., Conn. Two years later he and his wife 
 joined by letter from the Northampton Church the 
 Baptist Church at Bolton. Samuel died in 1746. 
 His children were as follows : Samuel, born in 
 1714; Jonathan, born in 1716; Eleanor, born in 
 1719, died in 1795 at Bolton; Eunice, born in 1720, 
 died Feb. 7, 1725 (she was the first white person 
 buried in the North Bolton cemetery). 
 
 Capt. Jonathan Bartlett, born in Northampton 
 Aug. II, 1716, removed with his parents to Bolton, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 509 
 
 and when a young man removed to East Windsor, 
 Hartford county. He married Jan. 26, 1743, Han- 
 nah, widow of John Bissell, who had been for some 
 years liis employer, and who died in 1737. She 
 was a daughter of Ebenezer and Abigail (Kelsey) 
 Watson, of East Windsor. Capt. Jonathan Bart- 
 lett was commissioned ensign of the train band of 
 East Windsor by the Connecticut Assembly in 1752; 
 lieutenant of the 6th Company in 1761 ; and subse- 
 quently captain. He died in 1799, aged eighty- 
 three years, and was buried at East Windsor. The 
 four children of Jonathan and Hannah Bartlett were 
 as follows: Samuel, born Jan. 13, 1744; Hannah, 
 born. Nov. 8, 1746, married (first) Roswell 
 Blodgett, and (second) Job Belknap; Eunice, born 
 I\Iay 18, 1749, married Daniel Chapin; Ann, born 
 iMarch 10, 1750, married Caleb Booth. 
 
 Samuel Bartlett, born Jan. 13, 1744, at East 
 Windsor, married Ann Crane, of that town, Sept. 
 14, 1767. He was a farmer, and died at East 
 Windsor, Nov. 29, 1825, aged eighty-one years. His 
 wife, born March 12, 1749, died March 17, 1831. 
 Samuel was quite a mathematician and an inventor, 
 receiving patents for drain tile and screen for 
 screening rye. During the Revolution he trans- 
 ported beef from Boston to the American troops 
 along the Hudson at Albany, and while so engaged 
 had his legs broken by a sled loaded with meat. His 
 children were as follows: Jonathan, born July 25, 
 1769; Abigail, born June 25, 1772, who married 
 Joshua Allen, of East Windsor ; Samuel, born Sept. 
 6, 1779; Anna, who married James Harper, of En- 
 field, and died in July, 1830; Sarah, who married 
 Capt. Clark Foster, of Ellington. 
 
 Jonathan Bartlett, born July 25, 1769, at East 
 Windsor, married ^Margaret Harper, of East Wind- 
 sor. She died Jan. i, 1840. He commanded the 
 1st Regiment of Connecticut Cavalry (militia), and 
 held many civil offices in town and county. After 
 the death of his wife Col. Bartlett removed to 
 Simsbury, in 1846, with his son Joseph S., where 
 he died April 2, 1858, and was buried at East Wind- 
 sor. The children born to Jonathan and Margaret 
 Bartlett were as follows: JNIargaret (Peggy), 
 born Nov. 4, 1791, married Thomas Potwine, and 
 died j\Iarch 2, 1875 ; James Harper, born April 22, 
 1794, died Nov. 15, 1871 : Jonathan, born May 17, 
 1796, died March i, 1836; Joseph, born June 14, 
 1798, died Oct. 8, 1802; Fannie^ born June 23, 
 1801, died Sept. 30, 1802; Joseph Samuel, born 
 April 10, 1804, died Feb. 23, 1896; Charles, born 
 April I, 1808, died Sept. 23, 1891 ; Ralph Edward, 
 born March 21, 181 1, died Oct. 11, 1837; Elisha, 
 born Jan. 9, 1816, died Feb. 9, 1816. 
 
 Joseph Samuel Bartlett, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was born April 10, 1804, at East Windsor, 
 where he attended school and grew to manhood. 
 Fie was engaged in farming all his life, and re- 
 moved with his family, in 1846, to Simsbury, where 
 he spent the balance of his life engaged in farm- 
 ing. He commanded the 25th Regiment, Connect- 
 
 icut Militia, and held many civil offices of import- 
 ance both at East Windsor and Simsbury. In poli- 
 tics he was a life-long Democrat. In Simsbury 
 he bought a tract of 160 acres of land owned by 
 Judge J. O. Phelps, and there engaged in tobacco 
 culture and general farming. He was selectman in 
 East Windsor and in Simsbury, also justice of the 
 peace at both places, in Simsbury for over 25 years. 
 On Nov. 13, 1833, he married Emeline Strong, born 
 at East \^'indsor June 10, 1813, a daughter of Ira 
 Strong, of East Windsor. The children born to 
 Joseph Samuel and Emeline Bartlett were as fol- 
 lows: (i) Joseph Loomis, born March 11, 1835, 
 is the subject of this sketch. (2) Lucinda Crane, 
 born April 19, 1837, married Albert Day, of Brook- 
 lyn, and has three children — Albert Putnam, born 
 Feb. 2, i860, and married to Helen IMaria Palmer; 
 Clara Bartlett, born July 24, 1866; and Samuel 
 Charles, born Sept. 18, 1868, who died JNIarch 31, 
 1896. (3) Emeline Strong, born June 6, 1843, mar- 
 ried James H. Sanford, of Simsbury, and to them 
 were born three children — Jennie Emeline, born 
 Dec. 17, 1864, died Jan. 10, 1866; Charles Bartlett, 
 born Sept. 30, 1867 ; and Joseph Harper, born jNIay 
 I, 1870, died Jan. 29, 1898. Emeline Strong San- 
 ford died Feb. 2, 1881. The father of our subject 
 was a member of the Congregational Church. The 
 mother was a good Christian woman, and a loving 
 mother and wife. iMr. Bartlett was well known 
 for his honor and honesty. He was active in poli- 
 tics, was a stanch supporter of the principles of 
 Jefl^erson and Jackson, and was faithful in every 
 relation in life. The mother passed away Oct. 13, 
 1885, the father surviving until Feb. 23, 1896. 
 
 Joseph L. Bartlett, our subject, was born at East 
 Windsor, March 11, 1835. He was educated in the 
 district and high schools of Simsbury, also attended 
 the Connecticut Literary Institute, and Wilbraham 
 Academy, at Wilbraham, Mass. During his youth 
 and early manhood he struggled for a livelihood, but 
 his intellectual equipment fitted him for teaching, 
 and in that vocation he engaged for several years 
 during the winter months, both at East Granby 
 and at Bloomfield, receiving $22 per month and his 
 board. During the siunmer months he remained at 
 home until he was about twenty-four years of age. 
 
 In 1858 Mr. Bartlett was married to jNIiss Ellen 
 Maria Weston, daughter of Lorin and Lucy (Case) 
 Weston, born at Simsbury, Sept. 4, 1837. Her father, 
 a well-known citizen of Simsbury, was a native of 
 Bloomfield, in politics was a Whig, and died at 
 Hartford, July 10, 1857. Her mother was a sister 
 of Job Case, of Simsbury a member of the Method- 
 ist Episcopal Church, and a good Christian woman ; 
 she died in Kansas, Oct. 26, 1870. Prior to her 
 marriage the wife of our subject had taught school 
 for three years. She was educated in the district 
 and high schools of Simsbury, at the Milford high 
 school, and at ^^'ilbraham Academy, has had the 
 same high educational and intellectual aims as her 
 husband,and in the nearly half-century of their mar- 
 
510 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ried life has most fittingly presided at his home, 
 and assisted in winning the battle of life. 
 
 They began housekeeping for themselves on the 
 P. E. Weston farm of fifty-four acres, in Terrys 
 Plains District, which our subject at the age of 
 twenty-four years purchased. Since then he has 
 added eighty-one acres to that nucleus, and now 
 cultivates a well-improved farm of 135 acres, upon 
 which he has expended in improvements over $8,000. 
 He has engaged in dairy and general farming and 
 ill tobacco growing, having for over twenty years 
 been an extensive dealer and packer of tobacco, 
 and also operates a cider mill for the manufacture 
 of vinegar. 
 
 To our subject and wife have been born ten 
 children: (i) Ellen Marie, born Oct. 30, 1858, 
 was educated in the district schools, also in the 
 Connecticut Literary Institute at Suffield, and taught 
 school for one year; on Sept. 4, 1878, she married 
 Amos G. Chesebro, of Stonington, Conn. (2) 
 Joseph L., Jr., born Feb. 8, i860, in his youth was 
 given an education in the district schools and the 
 Connecticut Eiterary Institute, at Suffield; on 
 March 13, 1890, he married Mary J. Crotts, of 
 Partridge, Kans. ; he is now engaged in the whole- 
 sale fish business in New York (3) Mary Jane, 
 born June 13, 1862, received a good education in the 
 [district schools, also in the Connecticut Literary 
 Institute, and taught school for four years ; she mar- 
 ried. May 17, 1883, Samuel Z. Chesebro, of Ston- 
 ington, Conn. (4) Emeline Strong, born March 
 II, 1865, attended the public schools of Simsbury, 
 also the Connecticut Literary Institute, and for 
 . seven years was engaged in teaching school; she 
 is now' a trained nurse in Brooklyn. (5) Isabelle, 
 born Dec. 19, 1866, received a thorough education 
 in the same institutions attended by her elder sis- 
 ters, and for five years was an efficient teacher in 
 the public schools; she was married Feb. 17, 1891, 
 to George F. White, of Canton, Conn. (6) John, 
 born Nov. 10, 1868, after leaving the district schools 
 became a student in the Connecticut Literary In- 
 stitute; he married, April 6, 1892, Leticia Strong, of 
 East Hartford, Conn. ; he has embarked in busmess 
 at Hartford, as proprietor of a fish and meat market. 
 (7) Harriet Louise, born Jan. 17, 1871, died July i, 
 1889, when about to graduate from the Connecticut 
 Literary Institute. (8) Emerson, born March 3, 
 1873, died in infancy. (9) Francis Ariel, born Jan. 
 6, 1875, is a graduate of Storr's College, and by pro- 
 fession is a bookkeeper, being now in New York. 
 (10) George Weston, born Jan. 27, 1878, was acci- 
 dentally crushed and killed by a roller, Oct. 31, 1888. 
 In politics Mr Bartlett is a stanch Democrat, a 
 strenuous advocate and supporter of the principles 
 made memorable by the utterances of Jefferson and 
 Jackson. He has filled the office of selectman of 
 Simsbury, for six years served as deputy sherifif 
 under Sheriff Seymour, has been judge of pro- 
 bate for three terms, and has served his town as 
 justice of the peace and as school visitor. In relig- 
 
 ious views he is liberal and charitable, though un- 
 flinchingly faithful to principle. His character is 
 so eminently clear and forceful, his career so guided 
 by truth and honesty, his intelligence so masterful, 
 that from all parties and all classes of men he fe-- 
 ceives the highest respect and esteem. 
 
 G. A. LOOMIS. The Loomis family, of which 
 this successful young agriculturist of the town of 
 Windsor is a worthy representative, has long been 
 prominent in this section, and the name has be- 
 come a synonym for industry, thrift and loyal devo- 
 tion to the best interests of the community. Our 
 subject is one of the ninth generation in direct de- 
 scent from (I) Joseph Loomis, an Englishman, 
 who was born about 1590, and for some years be- 
 fore coming to America was in business as a 
 woolen draper in Braintree, County of Essex, Eng- 
 land. In 1639 he came to Windsor, being among 
 the first settlers of the town, and his death occurred 
 there in 1658. 
 
 (II) Deacon John Loomis, the fourth child and 
 second son of Joseph, was born in England, in 
 1622, and was admitted Oct. 11, 1640, to member- 
 ship in the church at Windsor, where he made his 
 permanent home, his death occurring there Sept. 
 I, 1688. He married Elizabeth Scott, of Hartford, 
 daughter of Thomas Scott. 
 
 (III) Sergeant Daniel Loomis, the next in the 
 line of descent, was born June 16, 1657, and died 
 June 25, 1740. He was married (first) to Mary 
 Ellsworth, daughter of Josiah Ellsworth, and (sec- 
 ond) to Hannah Drake, a widow. 
 
 (IV) Benjamin Loomis, through whom the line 
 of descent is traced, was born Feb. 7, 1699, and 
 died Jan. 2, 1763. On Dec. 9, 1725, he married 
 Joanna Alf ord, and they had the following children : 
 Joanna, who married Gideon Loomis; Benjamin, 
 who died in infancy; Tabitha; Benjamin, Jr., who 
 married (first) Elizabeth Barber, and (second) 
 Lydia Drake; Rachel; and Serajah. 
 
 (V) Serajah Loomis was born Dec. 4, 1740, 
 and died in 181 1. He married Sibyl (Loomis), 
 and had sons as follows: Nider, Ira, Asher and 
 Horace. 
 
 (VI) Ira Loomis, our subject's great-grand- 
 father, was born Feb. 13, 1770, and died Jan. 9, 
 1842. On March 5, 1798, he married Rosamond 
 Warner, of Scotland, Conn., who died Sept. 18, 
 1S49. Jhey had four children : Gurdon, born Feb. 
 14, 1799, married Miriam Warner; Ira is mentioned 
 below; Wealthy P., born Jan. 29, 1806, died Aug. 
 29, 1826; and Ruth R., born April 19, 1815, mar- 
 ried Noah Griswold, of Bloomfield, Connecticut. 
 
 (VII) Ira Loomis, Jr., grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born May 2, 1802. Fie taught school in 
 early manhood, later becoming a farmer and brick- 
 maker, his industry and sound business methods 
 enabling him to acquire a good old age ; he died 
 in September, 1891, much respected by his fellow 
 citizens. On Feb. 12, 1834, he married Eliza Shel- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in 
 
 don, of Suffield, who survivL'cl him only ton months. 
 Tlicy had three children: Newton S., a farmer, 
 who resided in Windsor throughout his life, with 
 the exception of a few years ni lUoomfield ; Ed- 
 mund \\'., our subject's father; and Alary A., now 
 Airs. Ira CJoddard, of Brooklyn, New York. 
 
 (N'lllj Edmund W. Loomis, father of our sub- 
 ject, was born Alay 13, 1837, at our subject's pres- 
 ent homestead, and was educated in the academies 
 at Windsor and Suffield. As a boy he became fa- 
 miliar with the details of farming" and brick-mak- 
 ing, and for many years he was engaged in the 
 manufacture of cigars in Suffield and Windsor. 
 After his marriage he made his home upon a tract of 
 ten acres of land, which he had purchased ; but as 
 his father's health declined it was thought best for 
 him to remove to the homestead, where he resided 
 from 1872 tmtil his death, the farm being under 
 his sole charge for seven years. In politics he was 
 a Republican, but he never sought office, and be- 
 yond casting his vote regularly was not active in 
 partisan work. He was of average height and 
 spare in build. He died in the prime of life, Sept. 
 23, 1882. On Feb. 18, 1863, he was married, in 
 Windsor, to Aliss Susan A. Camp, who survives 
 liim, and of their four children three are still liv- 
 ing. E. Howard, born March 16, 1864, was drowned 
 June 23, 1883, having been taken with cramps while 
 bathing at the mouth of Farmington river. George 
 Arthur, our subject, was the second in order of 
 birth. Aliss Susie H., born Feb. 14, 1871, and 
 Harry S., born Alarch 14, 1876, reside in Windsor. 
 
 Airs. Susan Loomis, who still resides at the 
 homestead, is a devout member of the Methodist 
 Church at Windsor, and is greatly respected for 
 her womanly qualities. She was born June i. 1841, 
 in Windsor village, where she grew to womanhood, 
 her education being gained in the district and high 
 schools of that town. Her father, Charles Camp, 
 was born in Hartford, a son of Steohen Camp and 
 his wife (a Aliss Webster), and for many rears 
 followed the blacksmith's trade in Windsor. In 
 politics he affiliated with the Democratic party, but 
 did not aspire to office. Physically he was short 
 and compactly built, but was not as robust as he 
 seemed, and his death occurred in the thirtv-fifth 
 year of his age. His wife, Hannah (Loomis), a 
 daughter of George and Hannah (Wilson) Loomis, 
 died Dec. 10, 1893, in her eightieth vea'-. Thev 
 had six children: Delia L., who married Austin 
 Ranney, and died in Hartford ; C. Henry, a book- 
 binder, at Hartford ; Susan A., our subject's mother; 
 George ^^^. who died when nine years old ; James 
 W., a cigarmaker; and Julia A., wife of Silas Chap- 
 man. Jr.. of Hartford. 
 
 (IX) G. A. Loomis was born Tuly 13, 1867, 
 near the present homestead, where he has resided 
 since the age of three and one-half years. For some 
 time he attended the school in Stony Hill District 
 of Windsor, his aunt, Aliss Alarv A. Loomis, being 
 his first teacher, and later he studied under Prof. 
 
 W. 1. Twitchel, at \\'indsor Academy. When lie 
 was about thirteen \ears old his father had a para- 
 lytic stroke, and as the older son, E. Howard, was 
 drowned when only nineteen years old. our subject 
 became the mainstay of the family, while a mere 
 boy. He met the responsibilities of the situation 
 with a courageous spirit, and his success in manag- 
 ing the estate reflects great credit upon him, in- 
 dicating unusual ability. Tobacco culture is a spe- 
 cialty with him. His methods are intelligent and 
 systematic, and, although his manners ar^^ plain and 
 unassuming, he might well take pride in the high 
 reputation which he has won among the business 
 men of Windsor. He has always been a Republican, 
 but does not crave official honors, and as a good 
 citizen he is interested in all that pertains to the 
 welfare of his ♦■own. On Dec. 19, 1894, he married 
 Aliss Harriet i£. Filley. daughter of William H. 
 and Julia A. (Buckland) l*"illey, a sketch of whom 
 is given elsewhere, (jeorge F., the only child of 
 this union, born July 28, 1898, was a premature 
 birth, but his life w-as saved by the most careful 
 and skillful nursing. Airs. Loomis is a native of 
 Windsor, where her family is well known, and is 
 noted for her accomplishments and social gifts, 
 while as a member of the Congregational Church 
 she is active in religious and philanthropic move- 
 ments. 
 
 JOHN W. CARLETOX, chief engineer of the 
 fire department of New Britain, has frequently Ijeen 
 called to positions of responsibility, and in the work 
 of organizing the fire department of that city lu " i 
 probably done as much as any other one man. The 
 fine record of the department in controlling tires 
 speaks well for the efficiency of its management. 
 He is also superintendent of the Union Alanufactur- 
 ing Co., of that city. 
 
 The Carleton family is of good old Alassachusetts 
 stock, and our subject's grandfather. Dean Carleton, 
 was for many years a prominent resident of Ando- 
 ver, that State. He married a Aliss Ingalls. and 
 they had two children: Elizabeth (A'Irs. Birchmore,. 
 of Boston) : and John D., the father of our sub- 
 ject. 
 
 John D. Carleton was born in Andover, Alass., 
 and was educated there, afterward becoming a music 
 teacher. He followed the profession successfully,, 
 and for . a time was employed as a clerk in the 
 "United States Hotel," New York City, but he died 
 in 1844, in early manhood, before he had fullv man- 
 ifested his abilities. He married Aliss Hannah 
 Clement, who survived him many years, her death 
 occurring Dec. 29. i8q8. in her eighty-third year. 
 She was a daughter of Benjamin Clement, a well- 
 known contractor and builder of Andover, Alass., 
 and later of Nashua. N. Y.. whose last years were 
 snent in retirement upon a farm near Greenfield, 
 Alass. His wife was a Aliss Clement, and they 
 had the followincf children : Hannah, our subject's^ 
 mother; George C, forn.ierly a carpenter, but now a 
 
512 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 farmer at Peterboro; Benjamin C, a carpenter and 
 contractor ; Moses C, a carpenter, now deceased ; 
 Andrew Jackson, a successful farmer ; Harriet, wlio 
 married George Campbell ; Elizabeth, who married 
 George Whitmore; Catherine, who married Reuben 
 Lawton, and IMary, who married Bailey Lovejoy. 
 
 Our subject was born June 17, 1842, at the old 
 home in Andover, Mass., where he attended public 
 and private school during boyhood, receiving a good 
 practical education. About the age of eighteen he 
 left school and entered upon an apprenticeship to 
 the machinist trade at Manchester, N. H. At the 
 end of his term of three years he became a "journey- 
 man," being employed at his trade in Boston, Law- 
 rence, Lowell, Worcester and Hartford, but he fin- 
 ally, in 1870, located in New Britain, where he en- 
 tered the employ of the L'nion Alanufacturing Co., 
 of which Warren Tuck was then "at the head. His 
 skill and faithfulness were soon recognized, and he 
 was promoted to the position of foreman, which he 
 held for many years, and since 1894 he has been 
 superintendent, with about 300 men under his direc- 
 tion in all departments of the factory. His interest 
 in local aiifairs has been manifested in many ways, 
 and for four years he served on the board of fire 
 commissioners, being the first chairman of that body. 
 He was an active member of the fire department, 
 and in 1888 was elected to his present post of chief 
 engineer. Politically he is a Republican, and he 
 served as councilman from the Second ward of New- 
 Britain for two years (1880-81), and as alderman in 
 1882-83. He and his familv are much esteemed 
 socially, and he belongs to Harmony Lodge, No. 
 20, F."& A. M., in which he has served as master 
 several times. 
 
 Mr. Carleton married (first) Miss Emma Mor- 
 ley, of Glastonbury, Conn., by whom he had one son, 
 John W., Jr., and his present wife was formerly 
 Miss Julia "Roberts, of New Britain. John W. Carle- 
 ton, jr., who resides in Plartford, married Miss 
 Mabel Buffington, and has one daughter, Elizabeth. 
 
 HENRY MANFRED DOWD is of the seventh 
 generation in direct lineal descent from Henry 
 Dowd, the American progenitor of the family, who 
 came to this country from England in 1639 as a 
 member of a colony under the leadership of Rev. 
 Henrv Whitfield. Whether this Henry Dowd orig- 
 inallv came from Surrey or Kent is somewhat tmcer- 
 tain, although it appears probable that his English 
 home was in Guilford, in the county of Surrey, sev- 
 enteen miles southwest of London. Mr. \yhitfield 
 and his followers settled at Guilford, Conn., and 
 Mr.' Dowd established himself on land lying about 
 one-quarter mile northeast of what is now the Green. 
 The site of his dwelling was not far from the house 
 mow occupied by William Dowd, one of his descend- 
 ants. The town and parish records contain but 
 little concerning him. No mention of his wife's 
 maiden name is found, from which the inference is 
 drawn that he had been married before leavins; Ena:- 
 
 land. It appears, however, that her baptismal name 
 was Elizabeth, and that he was the father of eight 
 children. He died in 1668, although the place of his 
 death and burial is unknown. His widow died in 
 
 ^713- 
 
 Henry Dowd's eldest son, Thomas, the next in 
 the descending line of primogeniture of tienry JNl. 
 Dowd, is believed to have been born before his par- 
 ents left England, as no record of his birth can be 
 found in Guilford, although, on the other hand, the 
 records of an early settlement are necessarily imper- 
 fect. He married Ruth Johnson, probably in 1678 
 or '79, and both died in 1713. He early removed 
 to the eastern part of Guilford, locating on the 
 thoroughfare afterward known as Liberty street. 
 His first house was probably a log cabin, the under- 
 pinning of which has been found on a little knoll 
 directly in the rear and to the north of what is now 
 known as the Dowd house. He probably vacated 
 this cabin for a better house, which he built between 
 the Dowd and the Timothy Dowd houses, directly to 
 the east of his original site. Not much is known of 
 his characteristics, but that he was an earnest sup- 
 porter of the cause of religion in a new and sparsely 
 settled territory is evidenced by the recorded fact 
 that his name appears as one of the signers of a 
 petition addressed to the Guilford Society praying 
 that East Guilford might be set off as a Society by 
 itself "for greater convenience in attending public 
 worship." He and his wife were the parents of five 
 children. His son Thomas (2), the great-great- 
 great-grandfather of Henry Manfred, was born in 
 1684. He lived and died in the old homestead on 
 Liberty street, passing away in 171 1. He married 
 Silence Evarts, who bore him three children. Of 
 these this narrative is more especially interested in 
 Ebenezer, the great-great-grandfather of the gentle- 
 man who is its subject. He was born in 1707, and 
 attained the ripe old age of eighty-two years, dying 
 in 1789. His wife, Mary Dowd, was twenty years 
 his junior, having been born in 1727, survived him 
 until 1807. No stone has been found to designate 
 his grave, although he was a large land owner and 
 prominent citizen. His home, too, was on Liberty 
 street, in that part of Madison known as Hammon- 
 assett. His real-estate holdings were in the form 
 of a belt, reaching from a point near the eastern 
 end of Boston street nearly to the Hammonassett 
 river. He had but three children, and he wished to 
 divide his estate between his two sons, Ebenezer and 
 Timothy. He cared little for the formality of a 
 "last will and testament," and so one day, accom- 
 panied by his boys, on horseback, he rode to the 
 point from which he proposed to commence the di- 
 vision. He himself drove the stakes which fixed a 
 north and south line of demarcation. Then, turn- 
 ing to one, he said, "the land this side is yours," 
 and to the other, "on the other side of the line the 
 property is yours." Such was his utterly anomalous 
 mode of conveying real propertv bv gift or dona- 
 tion, yet the brothers never questioned the equity of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 513 
 
 the division, and the property thus irregularly ap- 
 ixjrtioned among grantees without deed, has re- 
 mained longer in the same family than any other 
 realty in Madison. 
 
 Ebenezer Dowd(2), one of the heirs, was Henry 
 M. Dowd's great-grandfather. He was born iu 
 1744, and in -1765 was married to Tamson Wilcox, 
 who was born in 1747. In the division of the prop- 
 erty above described Ebenezer's portion included the 
 homestead in riammonassett, and there he and his 
 wife reared their family of eight boys, of whoin 
 Capt. Timothy Field is reported to have said that 
 "their equal was not be found in Madison." Eben- 
 ezer Dowd served for many years as an officer in 
 the army of the Revolution. Exposure while in 
 military service brought on rheumatism, which inca- 
 pacitated him for active work for several years be- 
 fore his demise, in 1805, fifteen years before his 
 wife. Luther Dowd, his son, and the grandfather 
 of Henry M., was born in 1771. In 1793 he mar- 
 ried Mina, daughter of Timothy Field, and sister of 
 Rev. Dr. David D. Field, of saintly memory. She 
 was his junior by two years, having been born in 
 'i773. Her mother was a ^daughter of Deacon 
 David Dudley, a scion of a noble house. The lat- 
 ter's wife was the daughter of Mrs. Peter Tall- 
 man, who traced her maternal line upward through 
 Mrs. Andrew Merriam, Mrs. Lieut. Gov. Jones, to 
 Gov. Jones himself. Not long after his marriage 
 Luther Dowd removed to Saybrook. He succeeded 
 there so well financially that he returned to his old 
 home and purchased of his father-in-law the old 
 Field place, situated in the Wood's school district 
 of Madison. There he made his home and there he 
 reared his family of eleven children, all of whom at- 
 tained j^ears of maturity, married, and had families 
 of their own. While not yet far past the prime of 
 life, Luther Dowd was attacked with typhoid fever 
 which resulted in his death in 1820. His widow 
 was left with a young family, and the care of the 
 homestead. She was, however, a woman of sound 
 sense, excellent judgment and unwavering courage. 
 Her eldest son, Wyllys Wedworth, the father of 
 Henry M. Dowd, proved a wise counsellor and trust- 
 worthy coadjutor. 
 
 Wyllys Wedworth Dowd deserves a more ex- 
 tended mention than it is possible to make of him 
 in the necessarily restricted limits of the present 
 memoir. He was born in 1794, and after a well- 
 spent life of eighty-three years entered into rest in 
 1877. As a youth he learned the trade of a shoe- 
 maker, and when he received his allotment of the 
 paternal acres (which consisted of one-half the 
 house, with some acres adjoining) he put up a shop 
 and began work at his chosen calling. In 1819 he 
 married Rebecca Graves, and a better, truer help- 
 meet in prosperity and adversity, in sunshine and in 
 storm, he could not have found. She came of the 
 "true blue" Puritan stock, one of her ancestors, John 
 Graves, having removed from Guilford to Hartford 
 in the earliest davs of that settlement where he was 
 33 
 
 a deacon in the church, and from that day to this 
 no generation of the family has been without one 
 or more representatives in the deaconate. Her 
 mother, Hannah Crane, was a direct lineal descend- 
 ant from the Lord Chamberlain of James II of 
 England. In the simple, familiar parlance of the 
 early days her husband and herself were commonly 
 called Wyllys and Rcoecca, but they were known 
 far and wide for those virtues dear to the New Eng- 
 land heart — temperance, industry, thrift, patience and 
 piety. Having enjoyed but limited educational ad- 
 vantages themselves, they were all the more anxious 
 to promote education among the generations which 
 should follow them, and as God blessed them with 
 abundance they were all the more ready to aid the 
 less fortunate. Such lives as theirs could scarcely fail 
 to exerta hallowing if not a sanctifyingand vivifying 
 influence upon the community among which they were 
 spent. Wyllys Dov/d prospered in business, adding, 
 in 1832, a tannery to his shoe business, and carrying 
 on a fairly good trade as a manufacturer of leather, 
 a large portion of his trade being with the South. 
 In that year he moved his place of business to the 
 "cross roads," near the school house, and two years 
 later erected a commodious dwelling on the land ad- 
 jacent, and opened a large country store. Well- 
 constructed farm buildings followed in due course, 
 and the general outlook grew brighter until the panic 
 of 1837 settled down upon the cotmtry like a pall. 
 In vain did Mr. Dowd struggle against the inevita- 
 ble with all the courage, grit and determination of 
 generations of hard-headed, hard-fisted Puritan an- 
 cestors. In vain did he summon to his aid the man- 
 ual and mental assistance of wife and children. 
 There could be but one end, and it came all too 
 soon. After repeated tmsuccessful efforts to retrieve 
 his shattered fortune, he finally gave up the unequal 
 contest, and in 1846 accepted the position of post- 
 master at East Berlin. This office he held until 
 his death. All through his life he was afflicted 
 with deafness, an infirmity which always sadly inter- 
 fered with his business, social and official relations. 
 Mr. Dowd's home was thoroughly permeated 
 with those principles and practices of vital religion 
 which have leavened the entire life of New England. 
 From the family altar the incense of prayer ascended 
 daily, and on Sundays the entire family might be 
 seen at both morning and afternoon services in the 
 plain country church, while the younger members 
 received instruction in the Sunday-school during the 
 intermission at noon. In the conduct of the house- 
 hold, in the care of her children, and in the example 
 afiforded by her daily life Mrs. ^^^•llys Dowd was a 
 woman among ten thousand. Self-sacrifice was 
 the rule of her life, she being always the first to as- 
 sume a burden, and the last to lay it down. Fler 
 energy was indomitable, and her Christian faith 
 shone brightest when the hour of trial was darkest. 
 Her duties as a wife and mother were performed 
 with a fidelity which sprang from tender love, il- 
 lumined and sanctified bv a deep religious sense. 
 
514 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 To her children the prayers and example of such a 
 mother are a benediction. She passed to her re- 
 ward in 1873. 
 
 Wyllys VVedworth Dowd and his wife were 
 blessed with a family of four sons and four daugh- 
 ters, the sexes alternating in the order of birth. The 
 first-born, John Luther, was born in 1821, and in 
 1846 married Mary Coe; ten years after her death, 
 which occurred in 1856, he took, as a second wife, 
 Mrs. Henrietta (Houston) Loveland. Tamson 
 Eliza, the second child and eldest daughter, married, 
 in 1845, Henry M. Galpin, a sketch of whose life 
 appears elsewhere; she was born in 1823, and died 
 ir 1846. Charles Ferdinand, born in 1825, married 
 Harriet M. North in 1852. Jane Rebecca was born 
 in 1827, and is now the widow of William L. Heald, 
 whom she married in 1845 ^nd who died in 1869. 
 Wyllys Wedworth, Jr., was born in 1829, and twice 
 married, his first wife, to whom lie was united in 
 1854, being Augusta A. North; she died in 1866, 
 and two years afterward he led to the altar Lucy A. 
 Atkins. Harriet Ann was born in 1831, and died in 
 1865 ; she was the second wife of Henry M. Galpin, 
 the husband of her eldest sister, Tamson Eliza. 
 Henry Manfred, the youngest son and seventh 
 child, whose name appears in the opening of this 
 sketch, was born May 17, 1835. Nancy Amelia, the 
 youngest of the family, was born in 1838; she was 
 never married. 
 
 Henry Manfred Dowd was born in Madison, 
 and received his early educational training in the 
 common schools of that town, later graduating from 
 a private academy and a public school at Berlin. 
 On leaving school, at the age of eighteen, he became 
 a clerk for Galen & Dowd, of Saybrook, the junior 
 member of which firm was a cousin of his father. 
 After two and a half years spent in this employ 
 he went to Baltimore, Md. There he took a posi- 
 tion as teacher in the preparatory department and 
 general bookkeeper in Newton University. He 
 filled this responsible post for five years, with that 
 intelligence and fidelity which he has brought to 
 bear on all the duties of life. From Baltimore he 
 went to North Granville, N. Y., where for seven 
 years he was a partner with his brother, Charles 
 F. in the North Granville young ladies seminary 
 Being offered the post of general business manager 
 of Temple Grove Seminary, at Saratoga, N. Y., he 
 severed his connection with the Granville Seminary, 
 and remained at Saratoga for another seven years, 
 when his father's failing health admonished him of 
 his duty as a son. Resigning his position, he re- 
 turned to Berlin, carefully tending and caring for 
 his father, and assisting him in his duties as post- 
 master, until he passed away. After his father's 
 death Mr. Dowd was tendered and accepted the 
 position of general passenger and freight agent of 
 the N. Y. & N. H. Railway Co. at East Berlin. 
 The responsibilities attaching thereto have steadily 
 increased, the present daily receipts exceeding those 
 for a month when Mr. Dowd first took charge of 
 
 the station. In the conduct of his responsible duties 
 he is aided by his son, Henry Walter, who has been 
 his assistant for ten years. 
 
 On Aug. 21, 1856, Mr. Dowd married Miss 
 Susan Amelia Penfield, who v\ras born on the well- 
 known Penfield place, in East Berlin, Sept. 5, 1835. 
 Her parents, Titus and Julia (North) Penfield, are 
 both dead, and /est in the Wilcox cemetery. Her 
 father cultivated a small farm, and was by trade 
 a wheelwright At times he worked as a turner of 
 wagon spokes in the shops, but his specialty was the 
 construction and sale of spinning wheels. To Henry 
 M. Dowd and wife have been born two children : 
 Henry Walter and Julia Eliza; the daughter, born 
 May 21, 1861, died Jan. 9, 1868, in her seventh 
 year. 
 
 Henry Walter Dowd was born July 6, 1859. He 
 has been an experienced and successful hotel clerk, 
 having been connected with summer hostelries at the 
 Thousand Islands and Long Beach, as well as 
 with the "Murray Hill" and "Brunswick" hotels. 
 New York City On June 24, 1895, he married Miss 
 Jennie Geer, who was born in 1859, daughter of 
 Henry and Martha (Chambers) Geer of Middle- 
 town, and to their union has come one son, Jarvis 
 Geer, born Sept. 25, 1896. 
 
 Both H. M. Dowd and his son are Republicans, 
 but neither is in any sense a politician. The former 
 united with the Congregational Church at Berlin, 
 but he and his wife attend the M. E. Church of East 
 Berlin, of which Mrs. Dowd is a communicant. 
 
 JUSTUS WELLES GRISWOLD (deceased) 
 was a prominent citizen and progressive farmer of 
 Wethersfield. He was a, great-grandson of Ozias 
 Griswold, who in turn, was a great-grandson of 
 Michael, a pioneer settler of Wethersfield in 1645. 
 The line of descent from Michael to Ozias is fully 
 traced in the biography of Thomas Newton Gris- 
 wold, to which the reader is referred. 
 
 Justus Griswold, the grandfather of Justus 
 Welles Griswold, was the fifth child and second son 
 of Ozias, and passed his life upon his farm in Two 
 Stone, now Griswoldville, where he died Aug. 15, 
 1805. He married Prudence Welles, who was born 
 i 1 the same town Oct. 30, 1766, a daughter of Joshua 
 and Experience (Dickinson) Welles, and grand- 
 daughter of Joseph and Hannah (Robbins) Welles. 
 She bore her husband three children: Justus Gris- 
 wold, the eldest of the family, and the father of 
 Justus Welles, was a farmer, as had been his father 
 and grandfather. He was born, and lived and 
 died, in Griswoldville, where he was universally 
 known and honored. He was a Whig until the for- 
 mation of the Republican party, when he affiliated 
 with that organization. He married Jeanette Kirk- 
 ham, who was born at Newington, in which town 
 they were married, and three children were born to 
 them, of whom Justus W. was the eldest; Charles 
 K. married Martha Porter, and resides at Cromwell ; 
 Jennette C. became Mrs. Simeon Havens. Justus 
 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 515 
 
 Grisvvold for his second wife married Abigail H. 
 Stoddard, by whom he had two children : Frances, 
 who died in early youth, unmarried; and Mary, 
 wife of John Holt. 
 
 Justus Welles Griswold was born Aug. 13, 1823. 
 His educational advantages, such as were afforded 
 by the schools of Wetherslield, were good for his 
 day ; but his aspirations were for a more liberal edu- 
 cation and he prepared for college, but owing to 
 business losses sustained by his father he relin- 
 quished his purpose, assumed his father's indebted- 
 ness, and in time paid it. He was always a reader 
 and a student, and his mind was stored with a fund 
 of valuable information on a vast variety of topics. 
 During his earlier years he was superintendent in 
 a stockinet factory and in net weaving. He became 
 a partner in the business, but in later years he began 
 the life of a farmer upon the old homestead, de- 
 voting especial attention to seed-growing and 
 market gardening. There he passed the remainder 
 of his life, d3'ing in 1898. He was indtistrious and 
 temperate, a man who strove to the utmost to per- 
 form his whole duty in every relation of life. He 
 was a public-spirited citizen, keenly alive to the 
 issues of the day, and always foremost in every pro- 
 ject looking to the promotion of the welfare of 
 Wethersfield and its people. Besides being promi- 
 nent, he was popular and influential, his genial na- 
 ture winning many friends, while his counsel was 
 sought on questions of public importance. He rep- 
 resented the town in the Legislature, in the year 
 1877. He was an active member of the Wethers- 
 field Grange, and took a deep interest in its work 
 and in all matters that affected its prosperity. In- 
 deed, with his enthusiastic temperament and untiring- 
 energy, it was impossible for him to be lukewarm 
 npon any question in which he was interested. Po- 
 litically he was a strong Republican, and in religious 
 faith a Congregationalist, being a member of the 
 church of that denomination in Wethersfield. 
 
 Mr. Griswold was twice married. His first wife 
 was Louisa, a daughter of Austin Standish,of Rocky 
 Hill, who traces back through Simeon, Jeremiah, 
 Jeremiah, Thomas, and Alexander to ]\Iiles Standish 
 — "The Captain of Plymouth." By her he had five 
 children, two sons and three daughters : Ida L., the 
 wife of Robert S. Griswold, of Griswoldville ; Kate 
 ]\I., now Mrs. Henry A. White ; Mary E., who died 
 when two years of age ; Elmer W., residing in 
 "Waterbury ; and Clififord S., a graduate of Trinity 
 College, and now an instructor in the Groton 
 (Mass.) School for Boys. After the death of his 
 wife, Mr. Griswold married Ellen E., a daughter 
 of John Welles, who survives him, and is still living 
 on the homestead farm. She is descended from 
 Governor Thomas Welles, and her family is among 
 the oldest in New England. Her great-great- 
 grandfather, Joseph, was a son of Joseph Welles 
 and Hannah Robbins, his wife. He was born at 
 AVethersfield, Sept. 17, 1720, and after passing his 
 life in that town, died and was buried there. He 
 
 was a farmer by occupation. In March, 1745, he 
 married Mary Robbins, their union being blest with 
 eight children, who were born and named as fol- 
 lows : Joseph, April 14, 1746; Sarah, Sept. 13, 
 1747; Seth, Aug. 3, 1749; Elijah, Jan. 10, 1751; 
 Samuel, Dec. 10, 1753; iMary, Feb. 4, 1755; Elisha, 
 March 2, 1758; and Christopher, Alarch 11, 1760. 
 The eldest son of Joseph, was the great-grandfather 
 of Mrs. Griswold. He married Jerusha Hurlburt, 
 daughter of Thomas Hurlburt and Abigail Belden. 
 He was one of those determined patriot farmers of 
 1776 who were content to leave the plow in the 
 furrow and carry on the shoulder the unaccustomed 
 weight of a musket, if thereby they might secure the 
 independence of the country for which they were 
 ready to offer up their lives. He served gallantly 
 until, while at New York, ill health compelled him 
 to return home. The remainder of his life was 
 spent in Wethersfield. His brother Elijah, a great- 
 great-uncle of Mrs. Griswold, was also a Revolu- 
 tionary soldier, and in this connection it is interest- 
 ing to refer to a letter from the latter to his wife, 
 written in the third month of the struggle between 
 the Colonies and the Crown. Through Mrs. Gris- 
 wold's courtesy, the publishers are able to present a 
 copy of the epistle. It runs as follows : 
 
 New York, Sept. 11, 1776. 
 My Dear Friend: 
 
 I take this opportunity to let you know that I enjoy a 
 good state of heahh, and have ever since I came from 
 home. 
 
 I received your letters with pleasure, and was very jflad 
 to learn that you are well. Brother Joseph has been sick, 
 and has set out for home some days ago. Brothers Salomon 
 Wolcottand Selh Welles, Elisha Wolcott and Samuel Welles, 
 have been sick, but have got better. 
 
 I have nothing strange to write, only there has been 
 heavy firing with cannon and bombs for this three days past 
 which has done but little damage. We expect a battle this 
 day, and have for some days 1 ast, but God only knows how 
 soon we shall be called for action. I know that Cod is able 
 to save all that put their trust in him. 
 
 I must conclude by sending my best love to Father, 
 Mother, Brothers and Sisters and acquamtances. I should 
 be glad to have a line from you, who am 
 
 Your well wisher and lo\ ing husband, 
 
 ELIJ.A.H Welles. 
 
 Simple in substance and homely in expression 
 as the foregoing letter from husband to wife may 
 appear in the light of the civilization (real or false) 
 of 1900, there can be read between the lines a spirit 
 of deep faith and lofty consecration. The original 
 letter is in the possession of Herbert Wells, of ^^'eth- 
 ersfield, a great-grandson of the writer, and is of 
 historical value, as it mentions several soldiers 
 whose names may not appear elsewhere, the muster- 
 roll of this company, commanded by Capt. Hezekiah 
 Welles, of Wethersfield, having been lost. 
 
 Joseph Welles, the son of Joseph Welles, above, 
 and the grandfather of Mrs. Griswold, was a land 
 owner in Wethersfield, where he was born. Follow- 
 ing the family traditions, he became a farmer. He 
 died in the verv prime of his manhood, through the 
 
516 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 bursting of a blood vessel, in 1837. He was a mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church, and an Old-line 
 Whig. He married Lucy, a daughter of Samuel 
 Robbins and Anna Griswold ; their children were 
 eight in number, all of whom are now deceased ex- 
 cept Albert S. : Joseph; Lucy (Mrs. Stanley Gris- 
 wold) ; Mary Ann, who married Joshua Goodrich, 
 of Wethersfield; Jerusha, the wife of Thomas Gris- 
 wold; John, the father of Mrs. Justus Welles Gris- 
 wold ; Samuel ; Albert S., a resident of Granby ; and 
 Thomas H., for many years a resident of Hartford. 
 The mother of this family died at Wethersfield, 
 and rests in her last sleep by her husband's side. 
 
 John Welles, Mrs. Griswold's father, was born 
 in the farmhouse at Welles village in 1813. He 
 improved his early opportunities to the utmost, and, 
 despite the drawbacks usually attaching to farmers' 
 sons in New England in the early years of the cen- 
 tury, succeeded in laying the solid foundation of a 
 practical business education. He fitted himself for 
 college, and was admitted to Yale, but owing to a 
 failure of his eyesight he relinquished his purpose, 
 and for several years taught most successfully in the 
 schools of Milford, Delaware and at Wethersfield. 
 He finally took up his residence at Wethersfield, 
 where he became a general farmer, as well as a stock 
 raiser and seed grower. Toward the close of his 
 life he gave up active work and devoted the remain- 
 der of his days to quiet rest in the home life which 
 he loved so well. He entered into rest March 30, 
 1899, while at the home of, his daughter, Mrs. H. 
 A. Yale, of Meriden. In politics he was a Repub- 
 lican, and he filled for many years the office of 
 justice of the peace, collector, and acting school 
 visitor, while for two years he was representative 
 in the Legislature. For thirty years be was a dea- 
 con in the Congregational Church, and it is noi 
 asserting too much to say that he kept his life blame- 
 less and his soul pure. He married Mary W. Wol- 
 cott, a young lady of Wethersfield, whose parents 
 were Elisha Wolcott and Mary Robbins. [For a 
 detailed history of the Wolcott family, reference is 
 made to the biographical sketches of Charles and 
 Robert Robbins Wolcott, which appear elsewhere.] 
 Seven children were born to them: Mary C, who 
 married Hiram A. Yale, of Meriden ; Ellen E., the 
 widow of Justus Welles Griswold ; Elisha Wolcott ; 
 and J. Leslie, seed growers and stock raisers of 
 Wethersfield; T. Clayton, a graduate of Yale Uni- 
 versity and Divinity School, and pastor of a Con- 
 gregational Church at Taunton, Mass. ; Joseph 
 Francis, a seed dealer ; and Lucy Frances, who died 
 in early youth. Mrs. Griswold's mother died at 
 Wethersfield. She was a woman of kindly impulses 
 and generous instincts, of devout religious faith and 
 simple Christian life, sincere in profession and 
 broadly charitable in practice. 
 
 Mrs. Griswold graduated from the Connecticut 
 State Normal School at New Britain, and for a 
 number of years taught with marked success, in the 
 schools of Hartford and Wethersfield. 
 
 OLIVER DEAN KENT, a prosperous, success- 
 ful and enterprising business man of Kensington, 
 was born on the old homestead there. May 19, 1835, 
 a son of Ira and Sophia Maria (Dean) Kent, who 
 died and were buried at Kensington. The father was 
 born April 3, 1802, in Kensington, one mile below the 
 place where our subject now lives, known as Blue 
 Hills. Throughout life he followed the occupation 
 of a carpenter and farmer. His parents were John 
 and Abigal (Moore) Kent, and his father was a 
 shoemaker as well as farmer. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of our subject were 
 spent upon the home farm, and he attended the 
 schools of Kensington and later the high school of 
 New Britain. He worked at the carpenter's trade 
 until thirty-four years of age, when he built for 
 himself a home near his father's farm, which com- 
 prises about 100 acres in all, and purchased other 
 land adjoining. After his residence was destroyed 
 by fire, Nov. 6, 1883, he returned to the old home- 
 stead, and remained there for thirteen years, when 
 he sold the place and rebuilt his own home. On thf' 
 death of his father he purchased the interest of the 
 other heirs in the farm, but has since disposed of all 
 his land with the exception of two acres, on which 
 he has a fine home, large barn and good outbuild- 
 ings. He has abandoned farming, and now devotes 
 his attention to handling real estate, though he is 
 practically living retired, enjoying the fruits of his 
 former toil. He buys lots and erects thereon res- 
 idences which he sells, and in this way has done 
 much toward the upbuilding and advancement of 
 Berlin, New Britain and Kensington, where he has 
 built many houses. 
 
 On Jan. i, 1868, Mr. Kent was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Gunilda Jennie Strong, who was 
 born in Portland, Conn., Dec. 11, 1842, a daughtei 
 of Adonijah and Julia (Chapman) Strong. In 
 early life her father was engaged in the stone-, 
 quarry business, but after his removal to East Berlin 
 he purchased a farm and turned his attention to 
 agricultural pursuits Both he and his wife died 
 and were buried in East Berlin. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Kent have two children: Frank Dean,, born Sept. 
 17, 1873, was educated in the public schools of Ken- 
 sington and New Britain, and at Mourse's Business 
 College, Hartford, and is now the senior member 
 of the firm of Kent Brothers, architects and builders, 
 of Hartford. Irving Strong, born Aug. 7, 1876, 
 was educated in the same schools as his brother, and; 
 is the junior member of the firm of Kent Brothers,^ 
 He was married, Jan. i, 1894, to Miss Alice Pen-j 
 dleton, of Middlefield, Conn., and they have onej 
 child, Lillian Louise. 
 
 Mr. Kent is a member of the Board of Trade of' 
 Berlin, and of the Berlin Driving Park Associa- 
 tion, and at one time belonged to the Grange. He 
 casts his ballot with the Republican party, but takes 
 no active part in political affairs, although he served 
 for one term as constable. His estimable wife is 
 a member of the New York Home Missionary Soci- 
 
 
4. 
 
 ^ 
 
 Vo 
 
 -4 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 517 
 
 etv ; he attends the Congregational Church rc^w- 
 larly, and is a liberal contributor to its support. He 
 is a worthy repescntative of that class ot citizens 
 who lead quiet, industrious, honest and useful lives, 
 and constitute the best portion of a community. 
 ^\'herever known he is lield in high regard, and is 
 certainly deserving of honorable mention in the his- 
 tory of his native county. 
 
 BEAU^IONT FAMILY. Most intimately as- 
 sociated with the growth and character of any com- 
 munity are its business interests. They mold the 
 life of its people, give direction to their efforts, 
 crystallize the present and future possibilities of the 
 locality into concrete form. The leading business 
 men of a town are its greatest benefactors, silently 
 controlling the forces that bring progress and pros- 
 perity, and the measure of the credit that is due 
 them is not always fully appreciated. To write of 
 the lives of these leaders in material growth is a 
 pleasure, for the influence of their careers is ever 
 helpful and cheering. 
 
 In the town of East Hartford the Beaumont 
 family has been eminently known farther into the 
 misty past than extends the memory of its oldest in- 
 habitant. It has been prominent in all worthy enter- 
 prises and measures. It has given meaning to the 
 words integrity, loyalty, enterprise. The name Beau- 
 mont is of French origin, and its founder in America 
 was ]\Iakens Bemont, a native of France, who when 
 a )'oung man left his native land to live in Eng- 
 land, and just as to-day it is common for the emi- 
 grant from Europe to Anglicize in America his 
 name, so Makens Beaumont when he became a resi- 
 dent of England abbreviated his patronymic to Be- 
 mont, by which for two generations it was known, 
 the original spelling being revived only by the pres- 
 ent generation. 
 
 Makens Bemont was born in France in 1743. 
 After a residence in England he came to the United 
 States, either during or shortly before the Revolu- 
 tionary war. He was a saddler, and at East Hart- 
 ford he followed his trade in a building that stood 
 in the rear of his residence on Burnside avenue, 
 which is still standing. It was built about the time 
 of the Revolutionary war. He made saddles for 
 use in the Revolutionary army, owned extensive 
 lands along what is now Burnside avenue, East 
 Hartford, and was one of the substantial men of 
 his day. He accumulated by thrift and good judg- 
 ment, and gave many evidences of that rare busi- 
 ness ability which his posterity amplified. In per- 
 son he was tall. and spare, and even appeared frail- 
 looking. It was thought in his younger years that 
 consumption was his doom, but he lived to the 
 good old as;e of seventy-seven years. He had a 
 brother, Elijah Bemont, who settled in Walling- 
 ford, Conn., where he became the proprietor of a 
 hotel, and where his descendants still live. The 
 wife of Makens Bemont was named Parmelia. She 
 was born in 1752, and died in 1S32. To Alakens 
 
 and Parmelia Bemont were born seven children, 
 as follows : ( i ) Ambrose was an extensive farmer 
 at East Hartford and later at Suftield; the latter 
 years of his life were spent at East Hartford. (2) 
 Levi, a farmer, removed to Ohio, but returned to 
 Connecticut, where he died. (3) Ira was a school 
 teacher in his younger years, and one of a well- 
 established reputation. He worked at his trade of 
 harnessmaker to some extent, the only child who 
 engaged in his father's occupation. He married 
 ;\Iabel Bulkeley, of Rocky Hill, a member of a 
 prominent Connecticut family, and died in East 
 Hartford. (4) Elmira married Dr. Bemis, and 
 lived tlirough life in East Hartford. (5) Millie 
 married a Mr. Holmes, and moved West. (6) 
 Leonard received a college education. He died in 
 young manhood, leaving one son, Oliver. (7) 
 Elijah was the father of Henry G. Beaumont. 
 
 Elijah Bemont (as he spelled his name) was 
 born at the old homestead, on the north side of 
 East Burnside avenue. East Hartford, July i, 1791. 
 He attended the neighboring schools, and when 
 not at his books found an abundance of work to 
 do. His father did not believe in rearing a boy in 
 idleness, and on the extensive tract of land owned 
 by the father there was always employment planned 
 for the boy. When a young man he served in the 
 war of 1 81 2 as member of a company of riflemen 
 from East Hartford. Later in life he was a pen- 
 sioner for that service. At what was then East 
 Glastonbury, now Buckingham, Nov. i, 1814, 
 Elijah Bemont married JNliss Electa White, who 
 was born May 31, 1794, a daughter of James and 
 Eunice (Rowley) W'hite. 
 
 James White was the descendant of one of the 
 '■]\Iayflower" forefathers. He was born Oct. 10, 
 1756, lived at Marlboro, and for a time at Gilead. 
 He was an extensive farmer, and a prominent citi- 
 zen in his Ipcality. He also engaged extensively 
 in fruit raising. His residence and farm were well 
 known to the stock drovers of that time, who usually 
 stopped there over night, the stock finding shelter 
 and pasture on the farm. His wife, Eunice (Row- 
 ley), was born Aug. 4, 1763. The children of 
 James and Eunice White were as follows : ( i ) 
 Phila, born Dec. 22, 1786, married Jonah Williams. 
 (2) Achsah, born July 16, 1788, married, first, a 
 Mr. Kenyon, and, second, Norman Anderson. (3) 
 Philenda, born June 15, 1789, died young. (4) 
 James, born Feb. 26, 1791, was a farmer of Marl- 
 boro. (5) Eunice, born June 13, 1792, married a 
 Mr. Barlow. (6) Electa, born Mav 31, 1794, mar- 
 ried Elijah Bemont. (7) Irene, born Feb. 19, 1796, 
 married Abner Hale. (8) Mary, born July 31, 1797, 
 married Daniel Bidwell, and was the mother of 
 Charles i\I. Bidwell, of East Hartford. (9) Will- 
 iam, born ]^Iarch 11, 1799, died at W'estboro, Mass. 
 (10) Israel, born March 27, 1801, died young. (11) 
 Clarissa was born June 23, 1802. (12) Martha, 
 born Nov. 17, 1804, married Anson Bailey, and 
 removed to New Fredonia, N. Y., where she died. 
 
518 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 James White, the father, died in East Glastonbury, 
 and was buried at Marlboro. 
 
 After his marriage Elijah Bemont settled on 
 Burnside avenue, and soon became a man of large 
 affairs. Physically he was a large, well-built man, 
 and his energy and industry were commensurate 
 with his weight. He was a man of even temper and 
 very regular habits. He at one time, as was the 
 custom in his day, furnished liquor to his men, but 
 in later years he ceased that practice. When start- 
 ing in business for himself he became somewhat 
 involved, and it was not until in later years, when 
 his boys grew up and became his efficient lieu- 
 tenants, that this indebtedness was wiped out. He 
 carried on with his boys the business of getting 
 out ship timber, and the sale of fire wood, at a 
 time when that was the general fuel. He and his 
 boys formed a formidable business combination, 
 and their success was much more than ordinary. 
 Mr. Bemont at one time spent considerable time 
 each year at New Bedford, Mass., which was their 
 market for ship timber, apples, melons, etc., products 
 they bought and grew, the boys looking after the 
 business at home. He was a man of the strictest 
 integrity. In the timber business he supplied cer- 
 tain ship builders for over forty years. 
 
 Elijah Bemont and wife celebrated their golden 
 wedding with eight children present. They also 
 celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary. He 
 lived to the age of eighty-six years, and she to 
 the age of eighty-two. She was a member of the 
 Congregational Church, and both are buried in East 
 Hartford. In politics Mr. Bemont was a Whig, and 
 later a Republican. He was not a politician, pre- 
 ferring to devote his energies to business, but he 
 was a stanch supporter of the principles of his party. 
 He never joined the church, yet he was a firm be- 
 liever in churches, and repelled any attack that was 
 made upon them in his presence. Honorable and 
 upright in acts, he was unassuming in manner. He 
 was slow to anger and skillful in concealing his 
 wrath when once aroused. He was a man of few 
 words, and the greater part of his "talking" was 
 thinking. He reared an excellent family and left 
 to them an excellent name, being of that type of 
 character which men always recall with respect 
 and esteem. As a business man and as a farmer he 
 was one of the foremost in Hartford county. He 
 was one of the pioneer tobacco growers, was al- 
 ways progressive, and secured the best results. 
 While not a public man, in the sense of an office 
 seeker, he was widely known for his business stand- 
 ing and his sterling character. 
 
 The children born to Elijah and Electa Bemont 
 were as follows: (i) John R., born July ii, 1817, 
 resides in East Hartford, where for many years he 
 followed teaming. In 1866 he represented East 
 Hartford in the State Legislature. ■ (2) William 
 Dwight, born July 17, 1819, a sketch of whom ap- 
 pears elsewhere. (3) Henry G., born Aug. 26, 
 1821, a sketch of v/liom follows below. (4) Electa 
 
 L., born March 10, 1824, and (5) Jeanette E., 
 born Aug. 12, 1826, two highly-respected maiden 
 ladies, now live in their most comfortable home on 
 Burnside avenue. East Hartford. As young ladies 
 they attended the schools of East Hartford, Salmon 
 Phelps being their teacher. As girls they worked 
 in the mill at Burnside, and earned money with 
 which to defray their school expenses. Electa L. 
 united with the Methodist Church at Burnside when 
 a girl of sixteen, and Jeanette E. when fourteen 
 united with the Congregational Church. Both are 
 yet members. They are among the most highly- 
 respected ladies of East Hartford, and have al- 
 ways lived together. (6) Alice, born Jan. 5, 1829, 
 i;; Mrs. Samuel G. Stone, of Boston, Mass. (7) 
 David B., born Aug. 20, 1831, died at East Hart- 
 ford, aged about fifty years. (8) James W., born 
 Nov. I, 1833, was an importer of teas and spices, 
 and died at Philadelphia. (9) Mariett O., born 
 Dec. 29, 1837, died Oct. 11, 1850, of typhoid fever, 
 contracted while attending school at New Britain. 
 
 Henry G. Beaumont, than whom there is no 
 better known citizen, no more substantial business 
 man, in East tiartford, is a native of that town. 
 He was born Aug. 26, 1821, in the home on Burn- 
 side avenue, where he now resides. His educa- 
 tion was received in the neighboring schools, and 
 among his early teachers were Eleazer White and 
 Salmon Phelps. For one winter he attended the 
 school taught by Mr. Wells, but at sixteen his school 
 days were over and the more active work of life 
 begun. He has always lived at home save the one 
 winter when he lived with his aunt, Mrs. Dr. Bemis, 
 and attended school. His educational equipment 
 was greatly inferior to that with which the young 
 man of to-day starts out in life, but with his su- 
 perior individuality he has experienced little, if any, 
 difficulty in overcoming the difficulties and solving 
 the problems with which every business career is 
 invested. He was reared at a time when Connecti- 
 cut farms produced grain, hay, live stock, etc., and 
 when farmer boys had work to do. His father was 
 an excellent manager, so that the Beaumont boys 
 had few idle days from lack of work. He was 
 put to work as a "youngster," and his ideas of 
 iDusiness and farming were practical in the fullest 
 sense. That was in the pioneer days of the tobacco 
 business, and the first crop produced by our sub- 
 ject was held over for six years; then six cents per 
 pound was realized. 
 
 When yet a young man our subject became as- 
 sociated with his brother William D. in the busi- 
 ness of getting out lumber and wood. ^Vood for 
 fuel was extensively handled, and ship timber was 
 their main product. New Bedford, Mass., was their 
 market, and eight and ten vessels were required to 
 transport their product to market. They were ex- 
 tensive growers of melons, and bought apples for 
 that market, our subject and his brother, W. D. 
 Beaumont, attending to the producing part of the 
 business, and their father marketing the product. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 519 
 
 Early in the 'fifties W. D. retired from tlie firm, 
 and Henry G. and liis fatlier continued the business 
 during- the latter's active Hfe. Since then our su1j- 
 ject has continued the business successfully up to 
 the present time. He has supplied a great deal of 
 lumber to the Hartford and New York Transporta- 
 tion Co. During all these years he has transacted 
 a vast volume of business and handled an immense 
 amount of lumber, and in connection therewith also 
 conducted his farm and engaged extensively in to- 
 bacco raising. He has also owned for a number of 
 years a large brick yard on Windsor avenue which 
 he operated for four years, then leased to others. 
 
 Mr. Beaumont was married, in 1853, to Miss 
 Jane Norton, who was born in North Madison, 
 Conn., in 1S30, a daughter of Ellsworth Norton. 
 To our subject and wife have been born seven chil- 
 dren : ( I ) Nellie died at the age of six years. (2) 
 Minnie graduated from the Hartford High School 
 in the class of 1876, married Horace B. Williams 
 Oct. 25, 1876, and died Dec. 21, 1881, leaving two 
 children — Rena B., born Feb. 11, 1878, a graduate 
 of the Hartford High School, class of 1895, and 
 Horace George, born Dec. 14, 1881, a graduate of 
 the East Hartford High School, class of i8g8. (3) 
 Gertrude is the wife of William W. Trapp, of Hart- 
 ford. (4) Clara is at home. (5) Charles, a grad- 
 uate of the Hartford High School, is now a resi- 
 dent of Madrid, Neb., and a member of the firm 
 of Beaumont Bros., bankers and ranchmen, since 
 1887. (6) Frederick, of Madrid, Neb., is also a 
 member of the firm of Beaumont Bros., who are 
 thrifty, pushing business men. (7) ]\laude is at 
 home. 
 
 In politics Henry G. Beaumont is a Republican, 
 formerly a Whig. He has been a stanch party man 
 on State and National issues, but in town matters 
 is independent. He has never had political aspira- 
 tions, business presenting to him a more congenial 
 field for his efforts. He is a liberal supporter of 
 the church, and his wife and daughter are mem- 
 bers of the Congregational Church. Mr. Beau- 
 mont is exceptionally well-preserved, though froin 
 early life he has been an active, hard-working man. 
 He is unassuming in manner, and a splendid type of 
 the business man of a half-generation ago, the dupli- 
 cation of which in more recent times is a matter of 
 serious doubt. J\Ir. Beaumont is an excellent reins- 
 man, even with his present years. He has always 
 been an admirer and an excellent judge of good 
 horses, and for many years has owned some of the 
 best roadsters in East Hartford. It has been one 
 cf his enjoyable diversions from business to take 
 a spin over the roads behind a favorite team, and 
 his skill has always proved equal to the complete 
 management of his flyers. There are few men who 
 can equal his mastery at the reins. Mr. Beaumont 
 has amassed a handsome property, and to his sons 
 in Nebraska has given a good start in business. 
 Every faculty of his keen intellect retains the 
 strength and accuracy of former years. He has an 
 
 extensive acijuainlanceship, and wherever known he 
 is highly honored for his eminent ability and 
 achievements, and a better example of sterling char- 
 acter and wortii could not be found. His family 
 has high social rank among the first families of 
 East Hartford. 
 
 HENRY DANIELS, a greatly respected retired 
 farmer and machinist of East Hartford, was born 
 Oct. 25, 1829, in the town of Lebanon, New London 
 county, near the line of the town of Hebron, Tolland 
 Co., Conn., and is a son of Alfred and Lavinia 
 (Lewis) Daniels, both natives of Connecticut. 
 
 The grandfather, Asa Daniels, was also a native 
 of Connecticut, lived to be a very old man, and had 
 a large family whose descendants are scattered 
 all over the United States. His death was caused 
 by a cancer. Alfred Daniels (the father of our sub- 
 ject) was a shoemaker by trade, and his death was 
 caused by drowning in Long Island Sound, his body 
 being recovered on Fisher's Island. To his mar- 
 riage with Lavinia Lewis, who was the eldest of a 
 family of fourteen children, the following children 
 were born: Mary A., who first married John Ful- 
 ler, who was drowned while on a whaling voyage, 
 and she afterward was married to Capt. Samuel Rose, 
 also a whaleman, but later a boarding-house keeper 
 in Hartford, and finally a farmer in Glastonbury, 
 where his death occurred, his widow now making 
 her home with a son in Boston ; Ralph, the second 
 of the five was a sailor, and died in Valparaiso, 
 Chile, South America, and was there buried : the 
 third child is Flenry, the subject of this sketch; the 
 fourth child, Elizabeth ( i j , died in infancy ; and 
 the fifth, Elizabeth (2), also died young. Mrs. La- 
 vinia Daniels is also deceased, and her remains lie 
 interred in Spring Grove cemetery, Hartford. 
 
 Henry Daniels was educated to a limited extent 
 in Hebron, Colchester and New London, in which 
 towns his father had lived. At the age of fourteen 
 years he started out to make his living by working 
 in a machine shop owned by Increase \Mlson, manu- 
 facturing novelties, at thirty-seven and one-half 
 cents per day, but his wages were increased as he 
 became more expert, and he retained his position 
 about seven years, his last duty there being the feed- 
 ing of a machine with hot wire, the product being 
 rivets. He next went to New York, where he be- 
 gan working at one dollar per day, and received an 
 increase from time to time as the moiiths rolled on. 
 While in New York he lost a "chum", with whom 
 he had worked a long time, and Mr. Daniels brought 
 the corpse to New London, the home of his friend. 
 The coffin was made by the men who worked in the 
 shop, as time was short, being twenty miles up the 
 North river from New York, and had to be taken 
 by rail to New York, thence by steamboat to New 
 London. 
 
 Mr. Daniels then returned to New York, worked 
 there a short time, and next came to JMystic, Conn., 
 where he was employed in making cotton-gin ma- 
 
520 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 chinery until February, 1853, when, having an attack 
 ot gold fever, he returned to New York and sailed 
 thence for the Isthmus of Panama, en route for 
 California. The railroad had then been built about 
 half way across the isthmus, and the fare to its ter- 
 minus was $12.50; the rest of the way to Panama 
 had to be made on foot, or at a cost of $10, for a 
 mule ride. Mr. Daniel chose to go afoot, and the 
 weather, even at that season, being extremely hot, 
 he waded every brook he came to in order to cool 
 off. He passed two nights in Panama, and then 
 took the steamer "Tennessee" for San Francisco, 
 but in a thick fog the vessel ran ashore, and Mr. 
 Daniels was landed on the beach several miles from 
 his destination. From San Francisco he went to 
 Sacramento, but was dissatisfied with the outlook, 
 and, being unfamiliar with mining, hired out to a 
 salmon fisherman at $65 per month and remained 
 with him until the close of the season. He then 
 returned to San Francisco, where he met some New 
 London (Conn.) acquaintances. Thence he went to 
 Benicia, then the capital, where he was employed 
 in a machine shop ot the Pacific Mail S. S. Co., for 
 some time, at $6 per day, and on his return to Con- 
 necticut, via the Isthmus, he worked for several 
 months in a machine shop in New London. 
 
 In July, 1855, Mr. Daniels came to Hartford, and 
 worked for a time in Colt's machme shop, and later 
 was employed making tools and models in Colt's 
 Armory until 1866, when poor health made it neces- 
 sary for him to seek out-door employment. He ac- 
 cordingly purchased a sail boat in New London, and 
 for sometime employed, himself in sailing and fish- 
 
 ing along Long: Island Sound. 
 
 He also bought a 
 
 farm near the navy yard at New London, farmed in 
 summer, and worked in Colt's factory at Hartford 
 in winter, and in the fall of 1869 came to Hartford. 
 He was employed by the Russian government as in- 
 spector of all firearms manufactured in Colt's factory 
 for its use, including Catling guns, and in over-see- 
 ing the shipments made to New York. In the 
 spring of 1870 he moved his family to Hartford. 
 Later he removed to Springfield, Mass., and was in- 
 spector for tJae Russian government of all arms 
 manufactured for it at Smith & Wesson's works, 
 and then went to Bridgeport, where he was inspec- 
 tor of cartridges made for the same government ; 
 he next returned to Springfield, where he remained 
 until, in 1874, he came to East Hartford, and settled 
 on his present place of nine acres, which he had pur- 
 chased in 1872, erected a dwelling and tobacco sheds, 
 rented his lands for two years, and in 1875 began 
 farming and tobacco growing. 
 
 On Jan. 17, 1856, Mr. Daniels married Miss 
 Caroline A., daughter of Charles and Mary (Lewis) 
 Saunders, a native of Hebron, Conn., and to this 
 union have been born four children : ( i ) Isabelle is 
 the wife of Hiram C. Fox, of East Hartford, and 
 the mother of one son, Sherman. (2) Newell P., a 
 printer, first married Mary Wadsworth, by whom he 
 had one child, his second wife being Jennie Weaver; 
 
 his home is also in East Hartford. (3) Charles mar- 
 ried Miss Edna Brewer, a daughter of Ellery L. 
 Brewer, whose biography appears elsewhere ; he be- 
 ing a skillful taxidermist, and owns a fine collection 
 of specimens. (4) Alice is still living with her 
 parents. 
 
 In politics Mr. Daniels is a Republican, and has 
 filled the office of selectman. He has never joined 
 any of the secret societies, but with his wife and 
 daughter is a constant attendant at the Congrega- 
 ional Church. He is a very pleasant gentleman, 
 and is an agreeable conversationalist, has through his 
 own industry realized a competency, and is now liv- 
 ing in quiet retirement and in the enjoyment of the 
 respect of a host of friends. 
 
 FRANCIS DEMING, a prominent and suc- 
 cessful business man of Berlin, was born in the 
 Beckley Quarter of that town Feb. 4, 1857, and 
 traces his ancestry back to one of three brothers 
 who came to the LJnited States at an early day. It 
 is believed that he is descended from the one who 
 settled in Wethersfield, Hartford county. All his 
 ancestors followed the occupation of farming. 
 
 Israel Deming, our subject's great-grandfather, 
 was born in Berlin, and married Hepzibah Web- 
 ster. Their son, Philip Deming, also a native of 
 Berlin, was married, June 14, 1817, to Sallie An- 
 drews. Their son, Levi Deming, father of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Berlin Sept. i, 18 18, and married 
 Delia Belden, who was born in Rocky Hill Jan. 
 27, 1826, a daughter of Leonard Belden. The 
 parents died in Berlin, and were buried in South 
 cemetery, the father departing this life Dec. 17, 1877. 
 In the family were only two children, F'rancis and 
 Henry, the latter born Oct. 8, 1847. He entered 
 the Union service during the Civil war, and died 
 from quick consumption while on his way home, 
 just before his arrival in New York, the day Presi- 
 dent Lincoln was assassinated. 
 
 Francis Deming was reared on the home farm, 
 attended the local schools, and later the Connecti- 
 cut State Normal at New Britain, from which he 
 graduated in 1878. He taught school in New Hart- 
 ford one season and in West Cromwell two terms, 
 after which he turned his attention to farming. 
 After the death of his father he took charge of the 
 old homestead, which he still owns and operates. 
 In 1881 he purchased the grocery and drug store of 
 Alfred North, but after conducting it for about 
 eighteen months sold out. In 1890 he was instru- 
 mental in organizing the Golden Ridge Creamery 
 Co., of which he has since been secretary, treasurer 
 and superintendent. W. H. Webster is now presi- 
 dent of the company, and the directors are W. H. 
 Webster, Daniel Webster, S. F. Raymond, C. M. 
 Jarvis, A. E. Norton and Isaac E. Ailing, of Ber- 
 lin; and Joshua Belden and Newton Osborne, of 
 Newington. Their plant has a capacity of seventy 
 thousand pounds of butter a year, and the product, 
 which is of a superior quality, is sold in Hartford, 
 
COMMEMORATIl^ BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 521 
 
 New Britain and Meriden. Mr. Deming is also in- 
 terested in the Mattabessett Canning Co., which was 
 organized March 2, 1896, for the purpose of can- 
 ning squashes, sweet corn and tomatoes, the last 
 named vegetable being their specialty. They also 
 deal in corrugated iron, and have a capital stock of 
 $10,000. Their plant, which has never been taxed 
 to the utmost capacity, turns out each season from 
 fifteen thousand to twenty thousand cases of twen- 
 ty-four cans, tnd they use all the vegetables the 
 farmers can supply. Business is carried on in the 
 Beckley Quarter purely in the interest of the farm- 
 ers, and from seventy to eighty hands are employed 
 during the busy season. Their product is sold only 
 to jobbers, and Boston, New York, Springfield and 
 Hartford are their principal markets. The mem- 
 bers of the company are Charles M. Jarvis, presi- 
 dent ; £. I. Clark, vice-president ; Francis Deming, 
 secretary and treasurer; I. E. Ailing, S. F. Ray- 
 mond, M. E. Jacobs and F. D. Jones, directors. 
 
 On Oct. 5, 1880, Mr. Deming married Miss 
 ■Jennie Bidwell Hill, of Cromwell, who was born 
 Dec. 5, 1857, a daughter of William S. and Phoebe 
 (Bidwell) Hill, farming people. Four children 
 blessed this union : Florence Delia, born Sept. 3, 
 1881, died May 6, 1882; Lester Francis, born Dec. 
 I, 1884, and Robert Hubbard, born May 30, 1886, 
 are attending the New Britain high school ; and 
 Henry Clarence, born Aug. 12, 1889, is attending the 
 Berlin district school. The family have a pleasant 
 and commodious home on Benjamin street, Berlin, 
 which was erected by our subject in 1892, and 
 there hospitality reigns supreme. 
 
 Politically Mr. Deming has always been identi- 
 fied with the Republican party, of which his father 
 was also a supporter. He has filled the offices of 
 justice of the peace and grand juror, and has been a 
 member of the' school board several years. He is 
 a prominent member of the Grange and was elected 
 master, but refused to c|ualify. He also belongs to 
 the Royal Arcanum Lodge, No. 738, of New Britain, 
 and is an active and prominent member of the Con- 
 gregational Church, in which he has served as clerk 
 for about thirteen years, and was elected deacon 
 in January, 1897. He has also been clerk and 
 treasurer of the Ecclesiastical Society since Feb. 
 8, 1886. His wife and son, Lester, are also mem- 
 bers of the same church. The family is one of 
 prominence in the community where they reside. 
 Mr. Deming is a man of excellent business and 
 executive ability, one whose sound judgment, un- 
 flagging enterprise and capable management have 
 brought him a well-merited success. In manner he 
 is pleasant and cordial, which, combined with his 
 sterling worth, makes him one of the popular citi- 
 zens of his native county. 
 
 ANDREW HAMILTON, Justice of the Peace, 
 is one of the leading business men of the town of 
 East Windsor, and in addition to the management 
 of his valuable farm near Broad Brook he is exten- 
 
 sively engaged in the manufacture of printing 
 stamps and type-writer ribbons, his factory being 
 located on his homestead. As a citizen lie is held in 
 high esteem, and his fellow townsmen have kept 
 him constantly in office from early manhood, he 
 having served forty years as justice of the peace. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton was born Aug. 15, 1824, on the old 
 Hamilton homestead in the town of Ellington, Tol- 
 land county, and is of Scottish ancestry in the pa- 
 ternal line.' About 1650 three brothers of the name 
 came from Scotland, making the voyage in the 
 "Mayflower," and it is believed that one of these 
 was the grandfather of Daniel Hamilton, who set- 
 tled on the old homestead in Tolland county about 
 1782. 
 
 Benjamin Hamilton, our subject's grandfather, 
 was born in the town of Eastham, Barnstable Co., 
 Mass., on Cape Cod. 
 
 Hon. Benjamin Hamilton, our subject's father, 
 was born in 1794, in the town of Ellington, Tolland 
 Co., Conn., and died at the present homestead in 
 East Windsor in 1865, aged seventy-one years. He 
 resided in East Windsor, and was prcmiinent in pub- 
 lic affairs, being elected in 1850 as a State senator 
 from the Second district, and in 1852 as a represen- 
 tative from East Windsor to the State Legislature. 
 He first married Cynthia Blodgett, and later wedded 
 Mrs. Ann Dunham, a sister of his first wife. His 
 three children, Havilah, Arnold and Andrew, were 
 all by the first marriage. 
 
 When our subject was about eight years old the 
 family removed across the line from Tolland county 
 into the town of East Windsor, locating on the farm 
 now occupied by Edward Shropp, and in 1842 his 
 father bought the present homestead. As a boy 
 Mr. Hamilton attended the common and select 
 schools near his home, and the academy in East 
 Windsor village, while his work upon the farm 
 gave him a good practical knowledge of agricultural 
 methods. He has continued to reside at the home- 
 stead, with the exception of four years, from 1889 
 to 1893, when he was employed as general manager 
 of the plant of the Springfield Button Co., in Spring- 
 field, Mass. He learned that business in his early 
 manhood, having in 1849 entered the employ of G. 
 C. Brown, a manufacturer of pearl buttons. For 
 two years he was engaged in merchandising in Broad 
 Brook, which he abandoned in 1852, buying out ^Ir. 
 Brown's button factory and carrying on the manu- 
 facture of pearl buttons until 1865. Mr. Hamilton's 
 farm comprises forty-two acres, and he not only 
 carries on general farming but has been interested 
 for manv vears in tobacco culture. About ten years 
 ago he built his present factory, which has been a 
 profitable venture under his able management. He 
 is an ardent Democrat in politics, and besides his 
 long services as justice of the peace he has served 
 six years as notary public ; four years as commis- 
 sioner of the superior court ; two years as a member 
 of the board of education : four years on the local 
 board of relief ; and three years as deputy sheriff 
 
522 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 under Simon D. Kendall, of Suftield, while he has 
 frequently been chosen as grand juror and registrar 
 of elections. Socially he and his family are promi- 
 nent, and he is a charter member of Oriental Lodge, 
 No. Ill, A. F. & A. M., at Broad Brook, in which 
 he has served as treasurer. 
 
 In 1849 Mr. Hamilton married Miss Helen M. 
 Dunham, a native of Gilead, Conn., born Oct. 26, 
 1827, and they have had two children : Andrew R., 
 born Aug. 14, 1854, died Aug. 22, 1892; and Jennie 
 D., deceased in infancy, April 26, 1858. Andrew R. 
 Hamilton married Miss Eliza H. McCray, and they 
 had three children : Earl W., Lizzie and Jennie D., 
 of whom the last named died in childhood. 
 
 ARIEL MITCriELSON (deceased), a native 
 of the town of Simsbury, was the representative of 
 an old and distinguished family. Favored by birth 
 and circumstances, he lived up to the full measure 
 of his capabilities, and among his business asso- 
 ciates he was known as a man of strict integrity, 
 a kind and obliging neighbor, and courteous, ex- 
 emplary and honorable in all the relations of life. 
 
 Mr. Mitchelson was born in what is now the 
 town of Bloomfield (then Simsbury) April 3, 1816, 
 a son of Ariel and Elizabeth (Cornish) Mitchel- 
 son, and a grandson of Eliphalet and Susannah 
 (Eno) Mitchelson. His great-grandfather, Will- 
 iam Mitchelson, Jr., came to Hartford from Cam- 
 bridge, Mass., and was married to Mary Howard 
 April 26, 1713. The Howard family were wealthy 
 and extensive realty holders, and from them con- 
 siderable property was inherited. The family still 
 own the ancestral acres, the original papers of the 
 grant of land still held by them, the estate having 
 descended from son to son through several genera- 
 tions. William Mitchelson, Jr., is supposed to be 
 a descendant of Edward Mitchelson, who arrived in 
 the Colony of Cambridge, Mass., in the year 1636. 
 His wife, Ruth (Bushell), arrived on the ship 
 "Abigal" in 1635. Their children were: (i) 
 Ruth, born Nov. 8, 1638, married John Green Oct. 
 20, 1656. (2) Thomas was born September, 1639. 
 
 (3) Bethia, born Dec. 6, 1642, married Daniel Weld. 
 
 (4) Edward, born Nov. 11, 1644, graduated at 
 Harvard College in 1665, became a physician, and 
 was lost at sea while on a voyage to England with 
 Capt. Scarlet, in 1666. (5) Elizabeth, born Aug. 
 29, 1646, married (first) Theodore Atkinson, Jr., 
 and (second) Henry Deering, of Boston. Edward 
 Mitchelson, the father, in 1639, bought of Major 
 Simon Willard the estate at the southeast corner 
 of Dunster and Winthrop streets, where he prob- 
 ably resided until Oct. 29, 1650, when he bought the 
 estate of Major Samuel Shepard, on the south side 
 of Harvard street, extending from Holyoke street 
 to Bow street, which was thenceforth his dwelling 
 place. In 1637 he was appointed marshal-general 
 of the Colony, which office he held through life. 
 The fees were established by the General Court. 
 In April, 1668, a stated salary of £50 was fixed. 
 
 He died March 7, 1681, aged seventy-seven years, 
 and was succeeded in office by his son-in-law, John 
 Green. His wife, Ruth, died June 15, 1664, aged 
 about fifty-two. He was in full communion with 
 the church. William Mitchelson, brother of Ed- 
 ward (i), married Mary Bradshaw April 26, 1654, 
 and their children were: Mary, born Jan. 15, 1655 ; 
 Thomas, born Jan. 8, 1657; Alice, born about 1661, 
 baptized April 3, 1663 (she married John Shears, 
 of Sudbury, April 9, 1688) ; Ruth, baptized Oct. 
 4, 1663; and Abigal, baptized March, 1665. Will- 
 iam, the father, died Dec. 10, 1668. 
 
 Eliphalet Mitchelson and Susannah Eno were 
 married Dec. 28, 1758. Their children were as 
 follows : ( I ) Susannah married George Cornish, 
 of Simsbury. (2) Rizpah married Elisha Gris- 
 wold. (3) Elizabeth married A. V. Griswold, bet- 
 ter known as Bishop Griswold. His descendants 
 are very prominent in Rhode Island, and are con- 
 nected with many prominent families. (4) John 
 married Abigail Finney. (5) Howard, a graduate 
 of Yale, was a successful medical practitioner, and 
 died in Charleston, S. C. He had traveled over 
 much of the globe, and left much property. (6) 
 Martin married Cyrina Adams. (7) Ariel was born 
 Dec. 14, 1774. (8) Eliphalet died young. 
 
 Ariel Mitchelson, the father of our subject, was 
 born Dec. 14, 1774, in what is now the town of 
 Bloomfield, near Scotland church. He was reared 
 in that locality, and followed farming through life, 
 was a large land owner, and one of Bloomfield's 
 most substantial citizens. He was a man of wide 
 influence, a recognized leader in all improvements, 
 and for his day a man of progress and advance- 
 ment, and greatly interested in church work. He 
 often served as an arbiter among neighbors, being 
 selected for that delicate service on account of his 
 excellent judgment and the utmost confidence of the 
 entire community in his integrity. His word was 
 never doubted. In politics he was a Whig, and for 
 several terms he was elected to the General As- 
 sembl}'-. He left to his children the task of per- 
 petuating the high standard of citizenship with 
 which the Mitchelson name has been so closely 
 associated and which task it can be truly said was 
 faithfully and successfully borne. He married Eliz- 
 abeth Cornish, of Granby, who bore him three chil- 
 dren: Elizabeth, Ariel and Hugh. Elizabeth 
 Mitchelson was one of the grandest types of woman- 
 kind, possessed of a most lovable character, and 
 was widely known for her good and charitable 
 deeds. She remained unmarried through life, and 
 was devotedly attached to charitable and religions 
 work. For sixty }rears she was the teacher of the 
 infant class in the Episcopal Church, and among 
 her pupils were many of the best citizens of to-day, 
 all of whom revere her memory. She died Nov. 
 16, 1891. Hugh Mitchelson married Miss Mary 
 Dwight Morton, a highly esteemed woman of Hat- 
 field, Mass. He lived in Bloomfield, being one of 
 its most prominent citizens, and died there, leaving 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 523 
 
 no children. He possessed a wonderfully retentive 
 memory, and a large fund of valuable historical 
 knowledge. Ariel jNIitchelson, the father, died 
 Sept. 30, 1852, the mother on Dec. 17, 1846. 
 
 Ariel Mitchelson, our subject, in his boyhood 
 attended the schools of his home district, after 
 which he became a student at what was known as 
 Holcomb's high school, in Granby. This education 
 was supplemented with a course at an academy in 
 Pouglikcepsie, N. Y. The culture of tobacco in 
 Hartford county as a possible new industry of im- 
 portance received earliest recognition from Ariel 
 Mitchelson, who was the first grower in the town of 
 Simsbury. From his own success as a producer his 
 business instincts quickly realized what the magni- 
 tude of the culture would be in a few years, and 
 what new business opportunities would thus be 
 opened at home. He formed business connections 
 for making the newly arrived trade both prosperous 
 and enduring, bought heavily of tobacco, and be- 
 came one of the best known wholesalers in the Con- 
 necticut valley, following this business for over 
 forty years ; his cousins and partners, A. L. and C. 
 L. Holt, of New York, marketed the vast stores of 
 the plant, which he thus purchased. 
 
 While a thorough business man in the fullest 
 sense of the term, and while pressed for time by his 
 extensive and exacting interests, Mr. Mitchelson's 
 public spirit was always evident. It has been 
 doubted if in his day there was another who had at 
 heart to the same extent as he the best interests of 
 his community. No improvement of value or bene- 
 fit to Tariffville ever came up but that he was either 
 the prime mover, hearty endorser, or one of the most 
 liberal contributors, when contributions were nec- 
 essary. He probably did more for Tarififville than 
 any other citizen of his time. It was mainly through 
 his influence and eflrorts that the original Connecti- 
 cut Western railway reached Tarififville instead of 
 passing through Farmington, a more direct route. 
 His wide acquaintance with capitalists, his means 
 and his influence often placed him in a position 
 to do more good than others even though their pub- 
 lic spirit had been as great. He built part of the 
 town of Tarififville, laid out streets, donated the 
 land for two school houses and the sites for the 
 Baptist, Roman Catholic and Trinity Episcopal 
 churches, and to the latter church also bequeathed 
 $5,000. He was for many years a director in the 
 Charter Oak National Bank, of Hartford, of which 
 institution he was also one of tne organizers, and 
 his opinion on matters of finance was considered 
 valuable, as was his judgment on any business 
 matter. Politically he was originally an Old-line 
 Whig, later a Republican. Without ambition to 
 shine politically, he was nevertheless deeply inter- 
 ested in the success of his party and in the selec- 
 tion of competent officials. In religious connection 
 he was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church, in 
 which he was honorary warden at the time of his 
 
 death. His marked stability of character endeared 
 him to the hearts of his friends. 
 
 Mr. Mitchelson's home life was ideally liapjjy, 
 the influence of the home was always pure and in- 
 spiring, and the social position of the family always 
 the highest. On June 5, 1848, he was married, at 
 East Lyme, Conn., to Miss Elizabeth H. Chappel, 
 a native of that town, who was born Xov. 29, 1824, 
 daughter of Daniel and Hannah (Loomis) Chappel. 
 Hannah Loomis was a cousin of Prof. Elias Loomis, 
 of Yale, and sister of Francis B. Loomis, ex-lieu- 
 tenant governor of Connecticut, and a descendant 
 of the old Loomis family that settled in Windsor in 
 1639, and of whom Joseph Loomis was the progeni- 
 tor. The family of Daniel and Hannah (Loomis) 
 Chappel consisted of the following children : Mary, 
 who married Sydney Staples, and is novv deceased ; 
 Abbie, who married Samuel Douglass, of Water- 
 ford, Conn. ; James, who married .\iaria Jennings, 
 of Easton, Conn. ; Nancy, who married Amasa 
 Loomis; Elizabeth, who married our subject; and 
 Miss Fanny, who resides at Tariffville. 
 
 The death of Ariel Mitchelson occurred Feb. 
 8, 1894. His remains were laid away in Scotland 
 Church cemetery. His estimable widow, now at an 
 advanced age, is an exceptionally well preserved 
 lady, in the full possession of her every faculty. 
 Mrs. Mitchelson, in her younger years, was a mem- 
 ber of the Baptist Church, and later united with 
 the Episcopal Church, with which she has ever 
 since been connected. She still resides in the home 
 about which cluster the memories of more than half 
 a century, the happiness of which was broken only 
 by the loss of her husband. Here she has given her 
 family that loyal devotion which has contributed to 
 their success in life. 
 
 Children were born to Ariel and Elizabeth 
 (Chappel) Mitchelson as follows: 
 
 (i) Ariel, born Aug. 2, 1850, died at the age of 
 six years. (2) Elizabeth C, born Feb. 7, 1852, died 
 at the age of four years. 
 
 (3) George, born June 30, 1854, completed a 
 business course at the Eastman Business College, 
 Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and also attended Dr. Sear's 
 Military School in New Haven, and is now a whole- 
 sale tobacco dealer in St. Paul, Minn. He married 
 Mary Dyer, of Hudson, Wis., June 12, 1899. 
 
 (4) Joseph C, born May 22, 1856, attended 
 the Eastman Business College after completing a 
 course of study at Amherst, Mass., in Dr. Nash's 
 Institute for Boys, and is now one of the most ex- 
 tensive leaf tobacco dealers in the West, having 
 stores in Kansas City and San Francisco. He pos- 
 sesses the energetic spirit and business tact for which 
 his father was noted. He married Miss Emma Wil- 
 son, of Geneseo, 111., daughter of George and Jane 
 (Prouty) Wilson. Mr. Mitchelson is an extensive 
 collector of coins, curios and antiques, his collec- 
 tions along those lines embracing some exceedingly 
 rare specimens, j^ssembled at no little expense and 
 
524 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 trouble. He has one of the most complete collec- 
 tions of American coins in the United States, con- 
 sisting of Colonial coins and private issues in gold, 
 with the regular issues from the first pieces coined 
 to the present date, as well as a complete collection 
 of the fractional currency. 
 
 (5) Elizabeth, born Nov. 3, 1859, married Will- 
 lam F. Groton, of Philadelphia, Sept. 12, 1888, and 
 has three children: Elizabeth Mitchelson, born 
 Sept. 23, 1889; William Ariel, Jan. 24, 1892; and 
 Joseph Mitchelson, Aug. 9, 1894. Mrs. Groton grad- 
 uated from St. Mary's Hall, Burlington, N. J., in 
 the class of '79. 
 
 (6) Charles, born Nov. 19, 1861, died Sept. 
 25, 1862. 
 
 (7) Ariel (2), born March 20, 1864, is one of 
 the most extensive resident buyers of tobacco in the 
 Connecticut Valley. Like his brothers he received 
 abusiness education at the Eastman Business College, 
 after attending the Hartford Public High School. 
 He married Miss Mary Violet Ely, of Windsor, 
 a daughter of Seth and Adelaide (Hurlburt) Ely, 
 and to them have been born four childrren : Ariel, 
 who died in infancy; Ariel (2), who died aged 
 nearly three years; Joseph, born Nov. 13, 1897, and 
 a daughter, born Sept. 26, 1900. Mr. Mitchelson 
 has been a member of Putnam Phalanx, Hartford, 
 since the age of twenty years. He is a stanch Re- 
 publican, but not a politician, save in taking an in- 
 terest in his party's success. In religious con- 
 nection he is a member of Trinity Episcopal Church 
 at Tariffville. 
 
 ALONZO GROVE CASE. A veteran of the 
 Civil war, wounded in battle, with health shattered 
 by confinement and privation in Rebel prisons, a 
 descendant of one of the earliest and best known 
 families of Connecticut, a successful agriculturist, 
 the recipient of many public offices or responsi- 
 bility and trust, a man held in high esteem for his 
 many admirable traits — the subject of this sketch 
 rank's among the foremost citizens of the town of 
 Simsbury. 
 
 Mr. Case is a lineal descendant, in the seventh 
 generation, of John Case, who first settled in Wind- 
 sor, Conn., and in 1669 sold his house, shop and 
 lot to Nathaniel Cook, and removed to Simsbury, 
 settling at Weatogue, where he engaged in farm- 
 ing and stock raising. He was the first constable 
 of Simsbury, and represented the town in the Gen- 
 eral Court. He married Sarah Spencer, daughter 
 of William Spencer, of Hartford, and to them were 
 born children as follows: Elizabeth, born in 1658, 
 married John Tuller; Mary, born June 22, 1660, 
 married James Hillyer ; John, born Nov. 5, 1662; 
 William, born June 5, 1665; Samuel, born June i, 
 1667; Richard, born April 27, 1669; Bartholomew, 
 born October, 1670; Joseph, born April 6, 1672, mar- 
 ried Anna Eno, daughter of James Eno, Jr. (he 
 was the father of Rev. Benajah Case) ; Sarah, born 
 Aug. 14, 1676, married Joseph Phelps ; Abigail, 
 
 born May 14, 1682, married Jonathan Westover. 
 The mother was born in 1636, and died Nov. 3, 
 1 69 1. For his second wife John Case married 
 Elizabeth, daughter of John Moore, of Windsor, 
 and widow of Nathaniel Loomis, of that town. He 
 died on his farm Feb. 21, 1703, and was buried 
 m Simsbury cemetery. His widow survived until 
 July 23, 1728, dying at the age of ninety years. 
 
 John Case, born Nov. 5, 1662, was seven years 
 old when his father moved from Windsor to Wea- 
 togue, Simsbury. He was a lifelong farmer in 
 Simsbury, where he died in 1733, and was buried 
 in the old cemetery. He was twice married, first 
 in 1684 to Mary Olcott, daughter of Thomas Ol- 
 cott, of Hartford. By this marriage he had one 
 child, John B., who died in infancy in 1685, the wife 
 dying the same year. For his second wife, John 
 Case, in 1693, married Sarah Holcomb, daughter 
 of Joshua Holcomb, and to them were born six 
 children: John B., born Aug. 22, 1694; Daniel, 
 born March 7, 1697, married Penelope Buttolph; 
 Mary, born in 1698, married Jonathan Alfor^^ who 
 died in 1732; Jonathan, born in 1701, married Mary 
 Beeman; Sarah, bor« in 1703, married John Alder- 
 man; Hannah, born in 1709, married Capt. Noah 
 Humphrey, and died in 1799. 
 
 John B. Case, born Aug. 22, 1694, like his fa- 
 ther and grandfather, engaged in farming in Sims- 
 bury through life, dying in 1752. In 1716 he mar- 
 ried Abigail Humphrey, daughter of Samuel Hum- 
 phrey, and granddaughter of Michael Humphrey, the 
 first. The nine children of John B. and Abigail Case 
 were as follows: John, born Feb. 19, 1718, died in 
 1776; Noah, born Oct. 4, 1720, died in 1797; Capt. 
 Charles, born Feb. 19, 1723, died in 1808; Abigail, 
 born Sept. 10, 1725, married Jonathan Case, died in 
 1779; Mary, born Dec. 29, 1727; Lucy, born Oct. 
 17, 1732, married Lieut. William Wilcox, died in 
 1807; Martha, born July 31, 1735, married Thomas 
 Barber; Capt. Job, born June 3, 1737, married Jo- 
 anna Wilcox; Lydia, born in 1741, married Jona- 
 than Pinney. 
 
 Capt. Job Case, born in Simsbury June 3, 1737, 
 was a man of prominence, in both public and church 
 affairs. He was a farmer through life, and served 
 as an officer in the Revolutionary war ; was a mem- 
 ber of the State Legislature, in politics was a Fed- 
 eralist and later a Whig, and was a member of 
 the Congregational Church. Widely known and 
 highly respected, he lived on his farm in Simsbury 
 until his death in 1798. The ten children of Capt. 
 Job and Joanna (Wilcox) Case were as follows: 
 Job, born July 21, 1758; Joanna, Aug. 9, 1760; 
 Violet, Oct. 19, 1762; Ariel, Jan. 23, 1765; Lucy, 
 Feb. 14, 1767; Asenath, June 12, 1770; Betsey, 
 Dec. 23, 1775; Frederick, May 5, 1777; Grove, 
 June 29, 1779; and Friend, Nov. 10, 1781. 
 
 Ariel Case, the grandfather of our subject, was 
 born Jan. 23, 1765, on a farm in Terry's Plain, 
 Simsbury, and became an extensive land' owner. 
 He was engaged largely, in stock raising, and spent 
 
J^^^-nA^ ^^^^^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 oi'o 
 
 his entire life on the farm. He was a member of 
 the Congregational Church, and in politics was a 
 Whig. He was a man, who by his force of char- 
 acter and upright living commanded high respect. 
 He married (first) Rachel, daughter of Jonathan 
 Latimer, and of this union came two children : 
 Rachel Lura, born Dec. 30, 1796, had seven children, 
 and died Oct. 26, 1870; and Job, the father of our 
 subject. Ariel Case married (second) Mrs. Celia 
 Weston, mother of Lorin Weston. 
 
 Job Case was born on the home farm in Sims- 
 bury, July 29, 1805, and died Dec. 17, 1899, at the 
 ripe old age of ninety-four years. His early edu- 
 cation was only that afforded by the district schools, 
 and the practical and valuable mental training of 
 his subsequent years was gained by his own eft'orts. 
 He made farming his life vocation. For many 
 }ear<; he was a successful stock raiser, and he en- 
 gaged largely in tobacco growing and in dairy and 
 general farming. He grew and sold the first to- 
 bacco in the town of Simsbury. Occasionally other 
 enterprises besides farming received his attention. 
 He helped to construct several of tlie bridges across 
 
 ■ Farmington river, and was always known as an 
 energetic and industrious man. He has always taken 
 a deep interest in politics, not in the sense of seeking 
 office, though frequently called to positions of re- 
 sponsibility and trust, but for the benefit of his 
 town, State and country, and he almost always had 
 the honor and privilege of casting the first ballot in 
 all elections in Simsbury. He cast his first vote 
 for John O. Adams, the Whig candidate for Presi- 
 dent, in 1828, and his last Presidential vote for Will- 
 iam jMcKinley in 1896, always voting the Whig and 
 Republican tickets, in 1844 he represented the town 
 of Simsbury in the State Legislature at New Haven, 
 served on the board of selectman, filled various 
 local offices, and was captain of cavalry in the State 
 Militia. He was the oldest male member of the 
 Congregational Church, and was one of the first 
 to contribute to the fund to erect the present church 
 edifice. A man of marked intelligence, temperate 
 in all his habits, he was highly respected, and though 
 at his death the oldest male resident of the town 
 of Simsbury, he possessed all his faculties except 
 hearing, which was slightly impaired. 
 
 On April 17, 1828, Mr. Case married Abigail 
 G. Phelps, who was born June 16, 1805, daughter 
 of Oliver C. and Lurannah (Ensign) Phelps. They 
 had a family of five children: (i) Rachel Lur- 
 annah, born Jan. 28, 1829, died July 5, 1830. (2) 
 Ariel Job, born June 2, 1831, enlisted during the 
 Civil war in Company E, i6th Conn. V. L, and was 
 
 xjerpmoted to second lieutenant of Company H, same 
 rtgiment. He died Sept. 18, 1875. On Aug. 29, 
 1854, he married Mary E. Thompson, and their chil- 
 dren were: Lizzie Thompson, born ]May 26, 1855, 
 died Dec. 14, 1887; Minnie Abigail, born Jan. 6, 
 1857, died Jan. 16, 1859; Charles Farnham, born 
 May 22, 1858; Julia Amanda, born April 28, i860; 
 and Oliver Cromwell, born Sept. 11, 1862. Lizzie 
 
 Thompson married Ludlow Osmond Barker, Sept. 
 23, 1878, and had one child, Ludlow Osmond, born 
 April 20, 1882. Charles Farnham married Jennie 
 Estelle Atkins, Oct. i, 1883, and has had three chil- 
 dren, Ralph A., born Aug. 15, 1886, died Feb. 22, 
 1899; Marjorie, born June 8, 1888; and Marion 
 Atkms, born Aug. 11, 1896. Julia Amanda mar- 
 ried Fred H. Carpenter, Oct. 6, 1886, and has had 
 one child, Fred Donald, born Dec. 10, 1889. Oliver 
 Cromwell married Mary Elizabeth Owen March 31, 
 1886, and they have had six children, Mabel Gove, 
 born Jan. 20, 1887 (died July 17, 1887) ; Frank 
 Thompson, Jan. i, 1888; Florence Minnie, June 
 29, 1889; Charles Ariel, Aug. 5, 1894; Marguerite 
 Esther, Nov. 25, 1895 ; and Ruth Elizabeth, June 9, 
 1898. (3) Alonzo Grove is mentioned below. (4) 
 Oliver Cromwell, born Dec. 22, 1839, enlisted in 
 Company A, 8th Conn. V. L, and was killed Sept. 
 17, 1862, at the battle of Antietam. (5) Abbie 
 Jane, born Aug. 11, 1846, was married Feb. 16, 1870, 
 to George M. Phelps, who was born ^klarch 22, 1846. 
 They had one child, Pauline Isabelle, born Nov. 
 13, 1870, who is a playwright in New York. Mr. 
 Phelps is a deputy revenue collector of Hartford 
 county, and a resident of Bloomfield. Mrs. Job 
 Case died July 13, 1877, aged seventy-two years. 
 She was a member of the Congregational Church, 
 a good Christian woman, wife and mother, and 
 gave to her country, to help preserve the Union, 
 her three sons, one of whom was sacrificed on the 
 field of battle. 
 
 Alonzo Grove Case, our subject, was born on 
 the old homestead at Terry's Plains, in the town of 
 Simsbury, June 7, 1834. His early education was 
 not neglected, for besides attending the public 
 schools of Terry's Plains — one of his first teachers 
 being i\Iiss jNIaUala Terry, who is still living, and 
 is the oldest woman in Simsbury — he was a student 
 at the Connecticut Literary Institute, Suffield, and 
 Wilbraham (Alass) Academy. He remained at 
 home with his parents and engaged in farming 
 until the breaking out of the Civil war, enlisting 
 in July, 1862, in Company E, Capt. Charles Bab- 
 cock, i6th Conn. V. L, Col. Frank Beach. He was 
 mustered in as a private, was promoted to the rank 
 of first sergeant Aug. 29, 1862, second lieutenant 
 Jan. 12, 1863, and first lieutenant May 22, 1863. At 
 the battle of Antieti^iu, Sept. 17, 1862, he was 
 wounded in the side by a bullet. He participated 
 in the battle of Fredericksburg, \'a., Dec. 12-14, 
 1862 ; Edenton Road, April 24, 1863 ; Providence 
 Church, A'a., May 3, 1863 ; Plymouth, \'a., April 
 20, 1864. At the latter engagement ho was shot in 
 the foot and was taken prisoner, being confined in 
 Andersonville prison, Macon, Ga., until July, 1864; 
 then at Savannah, in August and September, and 
 later at Charleston and at Columbia, S. C. He 
 was paroled Feb. 28, 1865, and discharged May 15, 
 1865. During his prison life Mr. Case suffered ex- 
 treme privation. He was reduced to the necessiry 
 of clothing himself in a suit of clothes made from 
 
526 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 flour sacks, and he wore upon his feet in place of 
 shoes pieces of cloth taken from an old overcoat. 
 He lost over forty-five pounds in weight, and suf- 
 fered greatly from hunger, and in consequence of 
 the ill treatment he there received he is to-day a 
 physical wreck, suffering severely during the past 
 six years from asthma contracted in prison. 
 
 After his return from the war Mr. Case resumed 
 farming, and for the past thirt5'-four years he has 
 engaged in tobacco growing and dairy and general 
 farming, also to some extent in stock dealing. He 
 operates a tract of fifty acres, and gives chief at- 
 tention to the dairy, keeping good Jersey stock. 
 
 Mr. Case was married Oct. 19, 1859, to Julia 
 Salome Chaffee, of Simsbury, daughter of Alpheus 
 and Julia (Alderman) Chaff'ee, representatives of 
 old Connecticut families. Thomas Chaffee, the 
 founder of the American family, settled in Hing- 
 ham, Plymouth Co., Mass., in 1637. One of his 
 descendants, Jonathan Chaffee, was tne grandfather 
 of Mrs. Case. He was born Feb. 11, 1765, and 
 married Sally Farnum, who was born Feb. 11, 1771- 
 Their family of eleven children were as follows : 
 Joseph, born May 30, 1791 ; Bihings, April 13, 1793 ; 
 Alpheus, Dec. 31, 1795; Philo, June 4, 1800; Henry 
 Farnum, June 11, 1802; Truman Bibbins, June 19, 
 1804 (among whose children was Gen. Adna R. 
 Chaffee, who commanded a division in the Santiago 
 (Cuba) campaign of 1898, and is now Ma j .-Gen- 
 eral commanding forces in China) ; Eunice A., Nov. 
 6, 1806 (married Daniel Gates) ; Anna Tryphena, 
 Sept. 22, 1808 (married Hiram King) ; Ellaridge 
 Garry, March 13, 181 1 ; Catharine T., July 27, 1814; 
 Sally Maria, June 21, 1816, married Josiah Whiting. 
 
 Alpheus Chaffee, the father of Mrs. Case, born 
 Dec. 31, 1795, married Salome Case, born March 
 II, 1797. In the fall of 1836 he drove with his 
 wife by horse and carriage to Bristolville, Trumbull 
 Co., Ohio, a long and tedious trip which when a 
 young man he once made afoot. His wife died in 
 Bristolville, March 11, 1837, leaving no children, 
 and Mr. Chaffee returned to his native State. He 
 purchased the farm in Terry's Plains now owned by 
 our subject, and there he spent the remainder of 
 his life, devoting his attention to farming. For 
 his second wife he married Julia Alderman, born 
 Feb. 21, 1810, daughter of Chester and Dorcas 
 (Hoskins) Alderman, and granddaughter of John 
 Hoskins, a Revolutionary soldier. To Alpheus and 
 Julia Chaffee, were born four children: Julia 
 Salome, born July i, 1839 (wife of our subject) ; 
 Alfred, Sept. 12, 1841 ; Alpheus Eugene, June 10, 
 1843; and Dorcas Irene, Sept. 23, 1845, all except 
 Mrs. Case now deceased. Alpheus Chaffee died 
 Aug. 2; 1878, aged eighty-three years, and was 
 buried at Simsbury. He was liberal in church 
 views, and was an attendant at the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, where he sang in the choir for 
 many years. In politics he was a Democrat. He 
 was a good citizen and a kind husband and father. 
 His widow died March 10, 1893, aged eighty-three 
 
 years, a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and a consistent Christian through life. 
 Mrs. Case cared well for her parents in their old age. 
 She is a woman of keen intelligence and of re- 
 fined and genial disposition, is well-informed in 
 current literature, but is also domestic in taste, be- 
 ing devoted to her invalid husband and to her 
 children. 
 
 To cur subject and wife have been born nine 
 children as follows : ( i ) Lillia Irene, born Aug. 
 10, i860, was educated in the district schools and 
 at the Connecticut Literary Institute, Sufifield, and 
 taught school in the Terry's Plains District prior 
 to her marriage to Benjamin H. Shelby on April 
 30, 1879. He was born Feb. 8, 1857, and died 
 May 17, 1 89 1. Their children were, Julia Edith, 
 born Dec. 4, 1879, who on March 8, 1899, mar- 
 ried Arthur J. Lowrie, born May 9, 1876; Josie 
 Irene, Oct. 5, 1881 ; Lillian Estella,, Nov. 3, 1882; 
 Maud Elizabeth, Nov. 11, 1884; Minnie Ethel, 
 March 13, 1886; and Alonzo Benjamin, Nov. 16, 
 1889. (2) Alonzo Chaffee born April i, 1862, died 
 Aug. I, 1864. (3) Alfred Terry, born Jan. 19, 
 1866, was married Nov. 25, 1891, to Elnora J. Hun- 
 ter, who was born Oct. 13, 1871. They lived at 
 the old home. They have had four children, Ber- 
 nice Florence, born Sept. 29, 1892; Orene Inez, 
 May 4, 1895; Alfred Job, April 13, 1898 (died Dec. 
 14, 1899) ; and Lester Shipley, Aug. 20, 1899 (died 
 Dec. 12, 1899). (4) Oliver Phelps, born Jan. 6, 
 1868, was married March 14, 1894, to Hattie 
 Amanda Simons, who was born Sept. 19, 1872, and 
 they have had one child. Hazel Marguerite, born 
 March 26, 1896. They reside at Simsbury. (5) 
 Charles Pitman, born June 19, 1870, graduated from 
 the Eastman Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. 
 Y. On Feb. 9, 1899, he married Sarah Goodwin 
 Eno, who was born Jan. 25, 1877, and they have 
 one child, Charles Pitman, Jr., born Oct. 3, 1899. 
 (6) Burton Grove, born Aug. 19, 1872, is a car- 
 penter. On May 24, 1899, he married Bertha Lati- 
 mer, born Aug. 21, 1876. (7) Julia Abigail, born 
 Oct. 29, 1874, was educated in the district schools 
 and McLean's Seminary, and is also a graduate of 
 Drew's Seminary, Carmel, N. Y. She has been a 
 teacher for five years. (8) Jennie Isabell, born 
 June 24, 1876, died Dec. 10, 1876. (9) Ida May, 
 born Feb. 21, 1880, died Sept. 8, 1880. 
 
 Our subject has always been a Republican in 
 politics. He was elected to represent Simsbury in 
 the State Legislature in 1867, and served on the com- 
 mittee to engross bills ; was selectman of Sims- 
 bury for two years ; tax collector two years ; and 
 has been a member of the board of relief. Fo~ 
 over thirty years he has been justice of the peac. . 
 for Simsbury, and in that judicial capacity he has 
 been eminently fair, a statement which his long 
 and uninterrupted career as justice sufficiently at- 
 tests. In 1880 and again in 1890 Mr. Case took 
 the United States census for the town of Simsbury. 
 Socially, he is a member of St. Mark's Lodge, No. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 527 
 
 34, 1'". & A. AL, and of Joseph R. Toy Post, No. 
 83, G. A. R., both of Siinsbury. Of the latter or- 
 ganization he was two years commander, lie is 
 also a member of the Prisoners of War Association 
 of Connecticut, and was president of same two 
 years. Air. Case is a member of the Congregational 
 Church, and for several years has been deacon. He 
 is a man of genial disposition, though a constant 
 sufferer from asthma. He keeps well-posted on all 
 the leading events of the day, and the intellectual 
 and social life of his home is further stimulated by 
 the bright character of his wife. The children 
 are well-educated, and the daughters are members 
 of the Daughters of the Revolution. It is a typical 
 American family in the best phases of life, and the 
 influences which radiate from its genial fireside are 
 ennobling and true. 
 
 WALTER EDWIN PENFIELD, one of the 
 most highly-esteemed citizens of East Berlin, is a 
 grandson of Ansel and Sarah T. (Flagg; Penfield, 
 of Penfield Hill, in Portland, Conn. Ansel Penfield 
 was born in 1782, and his wife in 1784. Plis death 
 occurred Feb. 24, 1809, his widow surviving for 
 nearly half a century, and dying Jan. 3, 1859. 
 
 Titus Penfield, son of Ansel and father of Walter 
 E., was born in the same locality Sept, 2, 1807. He 
 was a maker of soinning-wheels, which were then in 
 constant use, and had a shop in the basement of his 
 dwelling, where he operated a foot-power lathe. 
 During the latter years of his life he was a wood- 
 turner for the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co. He was 
 a man of deep-seated convictions, both political and 
 religious. He was a prominent and influential 
 member of the Second Congregatonal Church of 
 Berlin, although he persistently refused to accept 
 oftice in the society. He was no "fair weather Chris- 
 tian," but was always present in his pew, rain or 
 shine. In questions of public policy his principles 
 were equally sincere and well defined. In early life 
 he was a Whig ; his intense hatred of slavery led him 
 into the camp of the Abolitionists ; he afterward af- 
 filiated with the Republican party ; and in later life 
 he was an ardent Prohibitionist. He was the victim 
 of two severe physical afflictions. In early life he 
 injured his right arm so that he never after enjoyed 
 its free and full use, and in addition to this misfor- 
 tune he was very deaf. It was this latter incapacity 
 that caused his death, Oct. 6, 1892. While driving 
 across the tracks of the Middletown branch of the 
 N. Y. & N. H. railroad at East Berlin, and failing to 
 hear the approach of an oncoming train, his vehicle 
 was struck, and he was instantly killed. He was 
 married, Nov. 24, 1830, to Julia North, of East 
 Berlin, who was born Alarch 5, 1804, She died 
 July 7, 1886, and rests with her husband, in Wilcox 
 cemetery, at East Berlin. She was beloved by all 
 who knew her. 
 
 Titus Penfield and his wife were the parents of 
 seven children, Walter E. being the youngest. The 
 others, in order of birth, are mentioned below : 
 
 Henry North was born Sept. i, 1832, in East Ber- 
 lin; graduated from Oberlin (Ohioj College in 
 1863; married Miss Catherine Beccher, of Ober- 
 lin, and resides at Springfield, .Mass. He entered in 
 the 125th O. V. I. during the Civil war, was chosen 
 first lieutenant and followed Sherman to Atlanta, 
 where he resigned, Sarah E., born Feb. 10, 1834, 
 in East Berlin, married Nelson Willard, of Madi- 
 son, Conn., an employe of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox 
 Co., and died at East Berlin. Susan A., now Mrs. 
 Plenry M. Dowd, of East Berlin, was born Sept. 5, 
 1835. Emily M., born Jan. 28, 1838, died Oct. 11, 
 following. Emma Ann, the wife of Isaac P. Bots- 
 ford, was born Feb. 23, 1840; her home is in Crom- 
 well, just across the boundary line between that town 
 and East Berlin. Charles North was born June 6, 
 1842; enlisted in Company G, i6th Conn; V. I., was 
 mortally wounded at Antietam, and died three 
 months later. He was subsequently interred in the 
 Wilcox cemetery, at East Berlin. 
 
 Walter E. Penfield was born in East Berlin July 
 18, 1844. His school days ended when he reached 
 the age of sixteen years, and the battle of life began 
 for him when he entered the factory of the Roys & 
 Wilcox Co, There he learned the trade of machin- 
 ist, under the instruction of Rufus W. Morse, ulti- 
 mately becoming a contractor in the machinist de- 
 partment. After thirty years (in 1892 j he left the 
 firm to enter the service of the Berlin Iron Bridge 
 Co., as a machinist, and has remained in the latter 
 company's employ ever since. During the war of 
 the Rebellion he was a private in Company I, 22nd 
 Conn. V. I., which regiment was first assigned to 
 duty around the defenses of Washington, and later 
 ordered to Suft'olk, Virginia. 
 
 Mr. Penfield was married, June i, 1870, to Josie, 
 a daughter of Jarvis and Susan Weed. JNIrs. Pen- 
 field was born Alay 2, 1843, ^nd before her marriage 
 was a resident of Darien, Conn. Both her parents 
 sleep in the peaceful rural burying-ground in the 
 town of her birth. Two children have been born of 
 the marriage : Susie Weed and Walter Grant. The 
 daughter was born June 13, 1871 ; graduated from 
 Chase Dowd's seminary, at Saratoga, and is living 
 at home. Walter Grant Penfield was born Nov. 
 II, 1872. He was educated at Yale College, but 
 left that institution shortly before graduation to 
 accept a position as draftsman in the bridge depart- 
 ment of the N. Y., N. H, «& H. railway, his head- 
 quarters being New Haven. This position he filled 
 with fidelity and ability for nearly two years, when 
 he resigned to volunteer in the Spanish war, enlist- 
 ing at New Haven in Battery C, Heavy Artillery. 
 A week after reaching Niantic he was chosen or- 
 derly sergeant, and afterward held other posi- 
 tions as a non-commissioned officer. Two weeks 
 before receiving his discharge he was com- 
 missioned second lieutenant. After leaving the 
 army he returned to his former position with 
 the railroad company, but not long afterward 
 Gov. Lounsbury commissioned him captain in the 
 
528 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 State militia, appointing him an aide on the staff 
 of Gen. Frost. His wish, however, was to re-enter 
 active service, so on April lo, 1899, he was com- 
 missioned second lieutenant in the ist U. S. Infantry 
 about to leave for Cuba, and on April 29, sailed for 
 that island. He was stationed at Pinar Del Rio, was 
 detached from his company, and held the office as 
 disbursing officer for that province until August, 
 1900, when his regiment was ordered to Manila; 
 it arrived there Sept. 30, and was ordered at once 
 to Marinduque Island. 
 
 The political affiliations of Walter E. Penfield 
 are with the Republican party. He has never 
 sought office, and when, in 1897, he was elected 
 justice of the peace he declined to serve. He is 
 an active member of the Methodist Church, as is 
 also his wife, a liberal contributor to the cause of 
 religion, and has been superintendent of the Sunday- 
 school for several years. He is a member of the 
 G. A. R. 
 
 Mr. Penfield's successful career affords an illus- 
 tration of the truth that much may be accomplished 
 through energy and integrity. Since reaching the 
 age of sixteen he has depended upon his own efforts 
 to accomplish his lawful aims. To-day he enjoys 
 the genuine respect of the people among whom he 
 has grown up since boyhood, while his record, as a 
 man, a citizen, a soldier, a patriot, and a Christian, 
 is one of which his children may feel justly proud. 
 
 STEPHEN LYMAN STRICKLAND comes of 
 a family of English extraction, having come to 
 America from Yorkshire. His father, who was 
 also named Stephen, was born at Glastonbury, and 
 married Nancy Tryon, by whom he was the fa- 
 ther of five children, as follows: Stephen Lyman, 
 George, Jacob, Nancy and Maybell. George Strick- 
 land was a successful manufacturer of shirts and 
 collars. Jacob was a resident of New Britain, and 
 was associated in business with his brother Stephen. 
 Nancy married Rowland Hale, of Glastonbury. 
 Maybell became the wife of Ethel North, of New 
 Britain. 
 
 Stephen L. Strickland, born ^ept. 22, 1813, at- 
 tended the common schools of his native town, 
 where he also learned the trade of a brickmason. 
 He removed to New Britain about 1836, and 
 shortly afterward, Nov. 24, of that year, married 
 Almira, daughter of Elihu and Elizabeth (Hins- 
 dale) Burritt, who was born July 27, 1816. She 
 was a sister of the distinguished astronomer, Elijah 
 Burritt, mentioned elsewhere, and of Elihu Burritt, 
 the "Learned Blacksmith." 
 
 While yet a young man Stephen L. Strickland 
 built the old aqueduct which crossed Main street 
 at the point where that thoroughfare is now inter- 
 sected by the railroad track, the construction of 
 which was regarded by the citizens of those days 
 as a stupendous undertaking. He was also inter- 
 ested in the Shuttle Meadow water supply. In 
 1855 or '56 he erected a store adjacent to the "Park 
 
 Hotel," where he began mercantile business. His 
 commercial foresight was almost unerring, and he 
 soon came to be regarded as one of the foremost 
 and most enterprising merchants of the city. He 
 opened many stores, at various points, one being 
 located as far west as Illinois. He built the first 
 business block in New Britain, and named it for 
 himself. When a friend remonstrated with him 
 against his folly in putting up so pretentious a 
 structure he replied, "New Britain will grow to it." 
 For some years he was in partnership with Darius 
 Miller under the firm name of Strickland & Miller, 
 in connection with whom he conducted a dry-goods 
 store in the one-story building south of, the hotel. 
 Among his other real estate holdings were the old 
 North Congregational Church, now the site of the 
 Burritt school, and also owned the corner on which 
 now stands the Hannah block. On the corner of 
 Main and East Main streets he erected a building 
 for his own use, but since his death his heirs have 
 converted a portion thereof into a hotel. His resi- 
 dence stood directly opposite the site of the present 
 "Strickland House." Mr. Strickland's public spirit 
 was as broad as his business instinct was keen, and 
 few men of his time did more toward beautifying 
 and enlarging the city. He was one of the first 
 wardens of the .borough, and one of the most highly- 
 esteemed citizens of the town which he helped to 
 build. Fraternally he was a member of the I. O. 
 O. F. He died March 24, 1865, when fifty-two 
 years of age. His marriage was blessed with two 
 children, Anna Cornwall and Ellen Louise, the lat- 
 ter of whom died in 1891. The mother passed away 
 in December, 1898. 
 
 ELIJAH HINSDALE BURRITT was born 
 April 20, 1794, in New Britain, son of Elihu and 
 Elizabeth (Hinsdale) Burritt, and was the eldest 
 of their family of ten children, of whom the world 
 had heard chiefly through the achievements and 
 philanthrophy of Elihu Burritt (the second young- 
 est) the linguist, known as the "Learned Black- 
 smith." 
 
 Elijah Hinsdale was an entailed name, handed 
 down through several generations of his mother's 
 family in Kensington, and with the name came a 
 little entailed homestead of eight acres and a cot- 
 tage, where the Burritts lived during the child- 
 hood and youth of Elijah. The account of their 
 extreme poverty is somewhat modified by this fact, 
 though the father no doubt was obliged to struggle 
 for the maintenance of such a large family, espe- 
 cially after his failure in his flour-mill. The mother 
 was a devout member of the Congregational Church 
 in the days of Dr. Smally, and it was among her 
 godly friends in this church that the thought arose 
 to help Elijah through college, hoping that he 
 might become a minister. Accordingly he entered 
 Williams College, supporting himself in great meas- 
 ure, however, by teaching. It is no insignificant 
 fact in this part of his career that he was chosen 
 
COMMEMORATirE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 529 
 
 first principal of Sanderson Academy, Ashfiekl, 
 Mass., whore he became the teacher of that wonder- 
 ful woman, Mary Lyon, and lieard her recite the 
 Latin g-ranimar through in one lesson, she having 
 committed it to memory in three days. The neces- 
 sity of self-support put o'H graduation, and we ne.\t 
 find Mr. Burritt in Georgia, where he taught and 
 became editor of a political paper in Milledgeville, 
 then the capital. He was married during his resi- 
 dence in that State. Coming North for commence- 
 ment at Williams College, he found Columbia Col- 
 lege just having its anniversary, went in, passed 
 examinations, and took his diploma there, then 
 back to his work in Georgia. Though it was thirty 
 years before the war it was not too early for sus- 
 picion and persecution toward any who were 
 thought to be opposed to slavery. Mr. Uurritt had 
 married a slaveholder's daughter, and his views on 
 that subject were altogether too broad for his 
 Northern friends. Perhaps it was for this reason 
 that certain pamphlets against slavery were sent 
 him, which he did not at once destroy, but laugh- 
 ingly tossed to the top of a bookcase. This in- 
 cident was noted by his political opponents, who 
 used them during his absence to stir up suspicion 
 against him, and finally to work his financial ruin 
 and his return to the North. 
 
 Here in his native home. New Britain, in an 
 atmosphere of sympathy, he at once set himself to 
 the finishing of a mathematical work for advanced 
 scholars called a Logarithmic Arithmetic. He sold 
 this without much delay for $10,000, with which 
 sum he was able to purchase the brick building on 
 North Main street, at its junction with East ]Main, 
 to which he added the stone part for a school room 
 and built over it an observatory, purchasing tele- 
 scope and other apparatus for an academy. Here 
 he taught for some }ears, receiving boarding pupils 
 from man_\- towns in New England and some from 
 the South.' As he taught Astronomy he felt the need 
 of a text-book which should popularize the science 
 for the young, and he brought out a book wdiich 
 was at once received with great favor, and continued 
 to be taught widely for many years. He called it 
 "The Geography of the Heavens," though being a 
 Greek scholar he knew he should be criticised for 
 the name, but yielded to his publishers' preference. 
 The "Celestial Atlas," which accompanied it, is used 
 at the present day, and some of our noted astron- 
 omers are even now referring to this work as giv- 
 ing them their first taste for the study. Prof. S. 
 W. Burnham, formerly of the Lick Observatory, 
 now a member of the Yerkes Observatory staff, and 
 the greatest "double star" man, living or dead, who 
 ever placed his eye to a telescope, found his first 
 incentive in this work. While walking along_ the 
 street in New Orleans one day, durino- the "six- 
 ties, ?ilr. Burnham noticed an auctioneer crying 
 ofT books, and as Burnham passed this auctioneer 
 held up a book, saying, "How much am I offered 
 for Burritt's 'Geography of the Heavens?'" 
 To which Burnham' replied, "Fiftv cents." "Sold," 
 34 
 
 said the auctioneer. .Mr. Burnham at once began 
 to read in this (to himj entirely new line of work, 
 and as a result he is now the greatest astronomer 
 in his line. 
 
 It was under his brother's teaching that Ehhu 
 Burritt gained his first inspiration to higher study. 
 The difference of nineteen years in their ages, 
 coupled with uncommon intellect and thorough ed- 
 ucation in the elder brother, easily accounts for the 
 fact that Elihu always looked up to him as his su- 
 perior, and referred to the time spent in his broth- 
 er's academv as a pivotal period, when the thirst 
 for learning' already awakened in him as a boy in- 
 creased to the extent of turning his life to its pur- 
 suit. 
 
 Mr. Burritt also published some tables, called 
 "The Universal Multiplier." Besides being oiie 
 of the greatest scientists of his dav, he was, in 
 every wav, a leader among men, of commanding 
 presence, 'and had he lived to the age of his brother 
 Elihu the world would have known as much or 
 more of his name and works. He died in an un- 
 fortunate expedition to Texas, at the comparatively 
 early age of forty-six years. 
 
 PHILO SL'MNER BREWER, a well-known 
 farmer of Silver Lane, East Hartford, was born on 
 his present farm Jan. 27, 1836, and descends froni 
 a familv that came to America in the "Mayflower." 
 In fact 'the Brewer family traces their name in Eng- 
 land back to William the'Conqueror's time, and even 
 to Normandy, as will l>e seen by a perusal of the 
 following co'pv of a letter from Rev. Dr. Cobhani 
 Brewer, "of England, to :Mrs. Emma W. (Brewer) 
 Bidwell, of Connecticut. 
 
 Edwixstoxe Rectory, Newark (England), } 
 
 18 March 1886. \ 
 
 Dear Madam; I have been ill, or I would have 
 answered your letter before. 
 
 In Rymer's "Foedora" (a collection of laws and other 
 historic documents), the name Brewer occurs over and over 
 ascain as one of the signatories to grants, etc., by \\ illiam the 
 Conqueror. Evidently the family was one of the high court 
 officials under that King. William, Henry and John, are the 
 most common christian names, and the surname is spelled 
 sometimes Brewer, and sometimes Bruar, Bruyer, Bruer and 
 Bruyere. They certainly came over from Normandy with 
 William, and were people of considerable consequence. 
 In the reign of Henry X, a John Brewer married the elder 
 daughter of John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham, whence the name 
 Cobham Brewer. The Kent estate (Cobham park) would 
 have come down in this line, but Lord Cobham was executed 
 as a Wvcliffite, the first of the martyrs, and his estates were 
 confiscated to the Crown. Of illustrious ancestors, Antony 
 Brewer, the poet, who wrote the drama of the "Five Senses" 
 (1620), in which Oliver Cromwell took part, is of historic 
 notoriety. Cromwell performed Tashus, in which part occur 
 the lines: 
 
 " Roses and bavs pack hence! This crown and robe 
 My brows and body circles and invests; 
 How gallantly it fit's mel" 
 
 The family in France, called de la Bruyere, is the 
 same, and the famous Le Clerc de la Bruyere, author (I .lo- 
 
530 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1754), is well known. When I lived in Paris I was always 
 called Mon. de Uocteur Bruyere. 
 
 In any full biographical dictionary will be seen the 
 name of half a dozen other celebrities' of the same name. 
 I cannot help you with the settlers in the United States. I 
 only know that some of the name settled there in the sev- 
 enteenth century and went over in the " Mayflower." 
 
 The chief coats of arms are: The Kent Brewers and 
 Devonshire Brewers. To the former I belong, and the com- 
 mon names are William, John and Henry. The most com- 
 mon names of the Devonshire Brewers are Samuel and 
 Anthony, but the two have been traced to one root by a 
 INliss Brewer, of Devon, who wrote me on the subject about 
 a year ago. In Burke's " General Armory " the Devonshire 
 arms are " Gu.; two bands waved, the first ar., the second or. 
 Crest, a mermaid with mirror and comb ppr." The Kent fam- 
 ily is " Gu., two bends wavy or, a canton vaire. Crest, out of 
 a mural coronet a hand and arm couped at the elbow, hab- 
 ited gu., bilette or, holding in the hand ppr., a battle axe 
 ar.'' This is the crest I use. 
 
 Besides these two lines, Burke gives the London and 
 Somerset Brewer family: " Gu., two bends wavy or; a chief 
 vaire a mullet for diff. Crest, a syren (charged with a mul- 
 let for diff.), her human part ppr., her tail scaled or; and 
 gu., divided by parallel lines, wavy." The Norfolk and 
 Bemondsey Brewer family, the sanie (without the mullet). 
 Burke gives another family, without county. "Ar. a lion 
 ramp, tail, forche^ gu." And under Bruer (another spell- 
 ing), "Gu., two bars wavy or; Crest, a mermaid, ppr." 
 The Kent Brewers are the oldest, as the arm is older than , 
 the navy, and the arm with the battle-axe is older than the 
 mermaid. 
 
 As I said before, the Kent Brewers came over with Will- 
 iam the Conqueror, but the Devonshire family was ennobled 
 in the reign of Elizabeth. 
 
 My brother. Dr. William Brewer, has gone into the sub- 
 ject far more fully, and has traced the tree up to Henry V, 
 but he died last year. Probably his widow (address George 
 street, Hanover Square, London) can give you further 
 information. 
 
 I remain, Yours faithfully, 
 
 E. CoBHA.M Brewer. 
 
 P. S. — My elder brother is the Sherren Brewer (from 
 Col. Sherren of the Guards, the mother's side); my family 
 is the Cobham Brewer, from John Oidcastle, Lord Cobham, 
 the name Brewer-Plantagenet. 
 
 Having thus introduced the original Brewer fam- 
 ily to the reader a recountal of the history of the fam- 
 ily in America may now be made. The first of the 
 name in this country is supposed to have come over 
 in the "Mayflower" (but this is uncertain), and it 
 is well known that they vi^ere among the early settlers 
 of Massachusetts, come by what vessel they might. 
 The first record of any in Connecticut shows that 
 they settled in Middletown in 1672. The earliest 
 available record in New England regarding the 
 family, dated at Roxbury, Mass., shows that Joanna 
 Brewer, said to have come abottt 1633, died in 
 168S, the widow of Daniel Brewer, and aged eighty- 
 seven years. Daniel was one of three original 
 Brewer brothers who came from England, and was 
 known first at Roxbury and then at Ipswich, Mass., 
 in 1642, and had brotight a family with him when 
 he came to America. There was also a Thomas 
 Brewer, presumably a brother of Daniel, and a 
 Thomas Brewer, son of Thomas, was born abottt 
 ■1658 at Lynn, Mass.,, and settled in Middletown, 
 Conn., in 1682. From him our subject traces his 
 ancestry in the following manner : 
 
 Thomas Brewer, ancestor of nearly all the Con- 
 
 necticut Brewers, was living in Lynn, Mass., in 
 1672, at the age of fourteen years, and later became 
 a resident of Glastonbury. He married, July 13, 
 1682, Sarah (last name unknown), and they had teit 
 children, born as follows: Mary, July 28, 1684; 
 Thomas, Feb. 17, 1686-87 (was married May 4, 
 1710, to Sarah, daughter of Richard Goodale) ; 
 Hezekiah, Feb. 23, 1690; Sarah, Dec. 9, 1692; Jo- 
 seph, March 20, 1694-95 (married Dinah Smith May 
 29, 1727) ; Benjamin, Aug. 13, 1697; Daniel, March 
 25, 1699 (mentioned below) ; Lydia, July 27, 1701 ; 
 Aome or Naomi, Sept. 28, 1703; and Alexander, 
 Oct. 5, 1706 (died in Middletown, in 1750, leaving 
 a widow, Thankful). The son Joseph administered 
 his father's estate valued at £109, 8s, 6d. 
 
 Daniel Brewer, son of Thomas, was probably a 
 resident of Middletown, as his will was dated at that 
 place, Jan. 19, 1749, and the record also says that 
 he "purchased one acre of land near the plains and 
 adjoining river at Churchells Landing, now Good- 
 speeds, Portland, Conn., of Joanna Wilcox, 1727. 
 and paid £10." He married Eleanor Goodale and 
 their children were Hezekiah, born Sept. 26, 1725 
 (who lived in East Haddam in January, 1754) ; 
 Eleanor, Jan. 2, 1727; Edward, Aug. 24, 1728; 
 Richard, Feb. 21, 1730; Daniel, May 3, 1731 (men- 
 tioned below) ; David, Feb. 15, 1736; Seth, May 21, 
 1738; Remembrance, March 2, 1741 ; and Joanna, 
 June 29, 1743. 
 
 Daniel Brewer (2), son of Daniel, married 
 (first) Anna Van Sant, and by that union had one 
 child, Daniel (3), who is mentioned below. On 
 Jan. 19, 1752, Daniel (2) married Ruth Strickland, 
 "by whom he had two children : Richard, born in 
 1753, and William, born in 1756. 
 
 Daniel Brewer (3), born May 14, 17SI1 settled 
 in East Hartford, in the lane that lies between the 
 home of the late Selden Brewer and the Connecticut 
 river. He reared a large family as follows : ( i ) 
 Thankful, born Aug. 18, 1773. married Joseph 
 Smith, and died March 25, 1805. (2) Samtiel, 
 born Feb. 18, 1776, was one of the wealthiest farm- 
 ers and most prominent men of East Hartford, and 
 the brick residence now occupied bv his grandchil- 
 dren was one of the finest houses of the town at the 
 time of its erection. He served the town three terms 
 as selectman from 1819, and four terms as repre- 
 sentative from 1830. On Oct. 4, 1797. he married 
 Prudence Damon, who was born May 15, 1778, and 
 for his second wife he wedded Elizabeth ^^'. Roberts. 
 He died Mav 8, 1847. (3) Reuben, born Feb. 25, 
 1778, married Eunice Hills. (4) Anne, born Jan. 
 21, 1782. married Retiben Smith, of East Hartford. 
 (5) Abigail, born Mav 10, 1784, married James 
 Hills, of East Hartford.' (6) Betsey, born Nov. 27, 
 1786, married Russell Taylor, of Glastonbury. (7) 
 Allen, born March 23, 1789, married \'elina Bid- 
 well. (8) Emalia, born Attg. 18, 1791, died Feb. 25, 
 i7<)8. (9) Lucy, born Feb. 12, 1794. married Mat- 
 thias Treat of 'East Elartford. (10) Daniel, born 
 Feb. 22, 1796, married Sarah Viets. (11) Emalia 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 5a 1 
 
 (2), born April i). ijyS. married Alvin N'ihberts. 
 (12) George, born Jnly 6, 1800. is mentioned lielow. 
 
 George Brewer, father of our subject, was rearetl 
 on the farm now occupied by the Selden Brewer 
 heirs. He attended tlie common schools a short 
 term each winter, and his summer seasons were 
 devoted to hard, steady labor, on the homestead 
 until his marriage, Sept. 12, 1820, to Sarah Treat, 
 who was born Sept. 7, 1794. and who bore her hus- 
 band four children born as follows : Elisha C., Nov. 
 5, 1821 ; Omri P., Sept. 4, 1823; Albert F., Sept. 4. 
 1825; and George C., Sept. 13, 1827. Mrs. Sarah 
 (Treat) Brewer died Oct. 8, 1828. and Feb. 22. 
 1829. Air. Brewer for his second wife married Mrs. 
 Fannie Stevens, widow of Jason Stevens, of Glas- 
 tonbury, by whom she was the mother of two chil- 
 dren, Cornelia H. and Abigail S. To this second 
 marriage were born eight children: Delia, James !•"., 
 Sarah A., Philo S. (our subject), Eliza A., Jason, 
 John M., and William H. 
 
 Philo S. Brewer's earlier education was received 
 at the district school. Later he attended the East 
 Hartford Academy until seventeen years of age, 
 when he returned to his father's farm and after- 
 Avards took up the trade of a shoemaker, serving his 
 apprenticeship tmder George Risley, whose shop 
 stood on the hill south of James F. Comstock's place. 
 Soon after J\Ir. Brewer erected a shop upon the 
 grounds now occupied by his residence, and carried 
 on fine shoemaking successfully for thirteen years, 
 or until the Civil war broke out and paralyzed this 
 industry. He then turned his attention to tobacco- 
 growing, in 1864 purchasing a portion of the old 
 homestead. As a thrifty and progressive tobacco- 
 grower j\Ir. Brewer is among the most successful in 
 town. He is highly respected as a selfmade man, 
 and as a man of sterling character, upright and hon- 
 orable as a citizen ; keen, honest and reliable as a 
 business man, one whose name among the towns- 
 people stands without a Ijlemish. 
 
 On Sept. 29, 1857, i\Ir. Brewer married Miss 
 Mary Hurlburt, a native of Glastonbury, and a 
 daughter of Austin and Ann (Risley) Hurlburt, 
 which union has been blessed with seven children : 
 (I) Fannie A., born Sept. 16, 1859, died Sept. 3, 
 1861. (2) Herbert E., born Aug. 27, 1861, died 
 June 8, 1862. (3) Kate H., born April 16, 1863. 
 died Xov. 26, 1863. (4) Minnie A., born April 10, 
 1865, died Sept. 14, 1865. (These children lie bur- 
 ied in the Hockanum cemetery.) (5) Everett P., 
 born Jan. 18, 1869, is an employe of the firm of 
 Olds & Whipple, Hartford, Conn. ; he married Grace 
 G. Burt, of Longmeadow, Alass., and had two chil- 
 dren, Philip E.. who died Sept. 12. 1899. and Wen- 
 dall H., born June 25, 1900. now living in Hocka- 
 num. (6) Ellena H., born Sept. 29, 1874, is living 
 at home. (7) Leslie L.. born April 21, 1879, "s 
 studying law at Yale L'niversity ( Xew Haven. 
 Conn.). 
 
 Air. Brewer is a very popular citizen. In politics 
 he is a Democrat, and has filled several local offices 
 
 with credit to iiimself, being now treasurer of the 
 Cemetery committee. l-"or four or five years lie was 
 a member of the board of relief, and was elected a 
 justice of the peace, but declined to serve. He is 
 a charter member of the East Hartford Grange, lias 
 served as its treasurer, and has made himself useful 
 in many other ways. The family attend the South 
 Congregational Church, of which Mrs. Brewer, her 
 daughter and sons are members, and to the su])iKjrt 
 of which Air. Brewer contributes most liberally. 
 
 WALTER BREWER DORAIAX. a well-known 
 blacksmith and farmer of Newington, was bom in 
 Farmington, Hartford Co., Conn., May 25, 1838, 
 a son of Israel and Esther (Stone) Dorman. natives 
 of Burlington who are now deceased, their remains 
 being interred in Farmington. In their family were 
 five sons : Rodney, Alforcl, Julius, Austin and Wal- 
 ter B. The father was a trapper, hunter and farmer. 
 
 L'ntil seventeen years of age our subject assisted 
 his father in the operation of the home farm. In 
 Farmington he learned the blacksmith's trade with 
 Celar Westcott, who married his sister Katherine, 
 and remained with him for five years. He then went 
 to Winsted, Conn., where he worked for a Air. Hall 
 four or five months, and later was employed at his 
 trade in Cheshire and Waterbury until June, 1862. 
 On the 24th of the following August he enlisted in 
 Company C, i4th Conn. \'. I., but was soon trans- 
 ferred to Company E, and played B bass or baritone 
 in the regimental band. From Waterbury he went 
 to Hartford, and from there started with his reg- 
 iment to the front Aug. 25. arriving at Antietani 
 Sept. 17. The 14th Conn, was one of the hardest 
 fighting regiments in the army, and among the en- 
 gagements in which he participated were the battles 
 of Fredericksburg, Dec. 13. 1862: Chancellorsville, 
 Alav 2-3, 1863: Gettysburg, July 2-3, 1863: Wilder- 
 ness. Alay 5-6, 1864: Spottsylvania, Alay 12, 1864, 
 and Petersburg, June 17, 1864. They were in 
 active service until Lee's surrender. April 10, 1855, 
 and were honorably discharged June 25. 1865. 
 After the war Air. Dorman worked for his brother- 
 in-law. Air. ^^'■estcott. for about a year. In 1868 he 
 built his present shop on Ataple avenue. Xewington. 
 on the Hartford and Xew Haven turnpike, and there 
 he has since made his home, owning and operating 
 thirty-seven acres of land in connection with work 
 at his trade. For several \ears he devoted consider- 
 able attention to tobacco culture, but now raises prin- 
 cipally tomatoes for the cannery, potatoes, corn. etc. 
 
 Air. Dorman was married, Oct. 25, 1865. to Aliss 
 .Abbie Rockwell, who was born Jan. 6, 1834, in an 
 old house which stood on the site of their present 
 comfortable home in Xewington. Her parents. 
 Robert and Harriet (\Miapples) Rockwell, are now 
 deceased and buried in Xewington. Mr. and Airs. 
 Dorman have had three children, whose names and 
 dates of birth are as follows : Robert \\'alter. Xov. 
 28, 1866; Louis Westcott, April 19. 1868: and Har- 
 riet Rockwell. Oct. 6, 1869. The daughter became 
 
532 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the wife of Charles L. Luce, of Newingion, and died 
 Nov. 2, 1895. The wife and mother is a most esti- 
 mable lady, and a consistent member of the Congre- 
 gational Church. Socially Mr. Dorman belongs to 
 Phoenix Lodge, No. 52, L.O. O. F., of New Britain; 
 and politically is identified with the Democratic 
 party. He has most creditably and acceptably filled 
 the offices of constable and collector, for one term 
 each ; and was a member of the board of relief three 
 terms, the latter ending in 1899. He is a man of 
 jndomitable perseverance and energy, a skilled work- 
 man, and a strong believer in "what is worth doing 
 at all is worth doing well." 
 
 JOHN WESLEY PHELPS, deputy sheriff of 
 Hartford county, an army officer during the Civil 
 war, and one of the best-known citizens, farmers 
 and tobacco growers of the town of Simsbury, is 
 a native of Connecticut, born April 22, 1836, in 
 Simsbury Center. 
 
 The Phelps family of Simsbury trace their an- 
 cestry to William Phelps, who was born in 1599, 
 in Tewkesbury, England, emigrating thence to this 
 country in 1630, and becoming one of the earliest 
 colonists of New England. His son, Joseph, born 
 in England, died in .Simsbury, Conn., in 1684; 
 Joseph (2) was born Aug. 27, 1667; Lieut. David, 
 May 7, 1710; Maj.-Gen. Noah, Jan. 22, 1740; Col. 
 Noah A., M'ay 3, 1762 ; Hector Fayette, July 25, 
 1797; and John Wesley, April 22, 1836. Of the 
 alDove : 
 
 Joseph Phelps (2) was born in Windsor, and 
 died in Simsbury, Jan. 20, 1750. He first mar- 
 ried Mary Collier, of Hartford; his second wife 
 was Sarah Case, daughter of John and Sarah (Spen- 
 cer) Case, of Simsbury. She died May 2, 1704, 
 and he next married Mary Case," daughter of Rich- 
 ard and Elizabeth (Purchase) Case; this third wife 
 died Sept. 10, 1757. To the first marriage of Jo- 
 seph (2) were born three children: Joseph, Oct. 
 9, 1689, settled at Turkey Hills; Hannah, Oct. 25, 
 1693, was married to Samuek Humphrey ; Mary, 
 Oct. 17, 1696, died Jan. 9, 1713. To the second 
 marriage of Joseph (2) were born: Sarah, Aug. 
 J I, 1700, died June 14, 1714; and Damaris, March 
 5, 1703, married John Mills, of Canton. To the 
 third marriage were born four children : John, Feb. 
 14, 1707, died Jan. 5, 1713; Elizabeth, April 7, 1700, 
 married Daniel Hoskins July 23, 1725 ; Lieut. David, 
 May 7, 1710; and Amos, who married Sarah Petti- 
 bone. 
 
 Lieut. David Phelps, son of Joseph (2), a na- 
 tive of Simsbury, married April 25, 173 1, Abigail 
 Pettibone who was born in the same town April 
 22, 1706-07, and was a daughter of John (Jr.) 
 and Mary (Bissell) Pettibone. David Phelps was 
 commissioned lieutenant of militi* in 1756, served 
 in the French and Indian wars, and died of small 
 pox Dec. 10, 1760, his remains being buried at 
 Simsbury. His widow married Deacon David 
 Strong, of Bolton, and died Oct. 17, 1787, and in 
 
 her honor the chapter of the D. A. R. at Simsbury 
 was named. The children born to Lieut. David 
 Phelps and his wife were ten in number : David, 
 born May 7, 1732, died July 19, of the same year;. 
 David (2), born March 26, 1734, was an ancestor 
 of the Dodge family of Simsbury ; Abigail, born 
 Nov. 5, 1735, was married (first) to a Mr. Gris- 
 wold and (second) to Amasa Case; Elisha, born 
 Oct. 17, 1737, was a captain in the Revolutionary 
 war, and died in Albany, N. Y., July 14, 1776; 
 Maj.-Gen. Noah was born Jan. 22, 1740; Rachel,, 
 born Dec. 10, 1741, was married to Hon. Daniel 
 Humphrey, a delegate to the convention that rati- 
 fied the Federal Constitution; Ruth was born Sept. 
 15. 1743; Sarah, Oct. 15, 1745; Susannah, Jan. 4, 
 1748; and Lois, March 27, 1750. 
 
 Maj.-Gen. Noah Phelps, great-grandfather of 
 our subject, married, June 10, 1761, Lydia Griswold,. 
 of Poquonock, who was born April 25, 1743, and 
 died Sei^t. 17, 1821, having lost her husband March 
 4, 1809. The children born to the General and 
 wife were five in number : Col. Noah Amherst,, 
 born May 3, 1762; Lydia G., Feb. 25, 1764; Chand- 
 ley Conway, Oct. 22, 1766; George G., Aug. 18, 
 1773 (died in Ohio) ; and Elisha, Nov. 16, i779- 
 The last named was one of the prominent men of 
 the State, was an attorney, and represented his 
 district in Congress. He owned the first piano and 
 the first Brussels carpet in Simsbury. He married, 
 April 16, 1810, at Middletown, Conn., Lucy Smith, 
 and had one son who became governor of Missouri 
 and a member of Congress ; and two daughters, 
 Lucy J., who was married to Amos R. Eno, whose 
 biography appears on another page, and Mary A., 
 who married John Allen. Gen. Phelps, who was- 
 born oil the east side of Farmington river, settled 
 in the village of Simsbury some years after his mar- 
 riage, and lived on the property now owned by the 
 Amos Eno heirs. He was identified with several 
 industries of the town, and was very prominent, 
 especially in military circles. He was commissioned 
 a lieutenant in the militia in 1771, captain in 1774, 
 lieutenant-colonel in 1777, brigadier-general in 1792, 
 and major-general in 1796, and the documents per- 
 taining thereto are now in the possession of Dr. 
 Henry Eno, of Saugatuck, Conn. Gen. Phelps,. 
 among other daring deeds, passed alone through 
 the enemy's lines at Ticonderoga, was there shaved, 
 gathered all the information he desired, and was 
 being rowed back across the river, en route to his 
 own corps, when the oarsman suspected him to be 
 an American, and started to return to the British 
 lines ; but the General was the stronger man of the 
 two, and compelled the ferryman to finish the trip. 
 It was due to the information thus gleaned by 
 Gen. (then Capt.) Phelps that Ethan Allen planned 
 his attack on and captured Fort Ticonderoga. the 
 day following. Gen. Phelps also served twenty- 
 two years as the second judge of probate in Sims- 
 bury; as justice of the peace, as well as sheriff', and 
 as representative in the General Assembly twenty 
 
-^i-;^^a--^^V^^. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 533 
 
 sessions : and was the owner of considerable prop- 
 erty. 
 
 Col. Xoah Amherst I'helps, grandfather of our 
 subject, graduated from Yale College in 1783, 
 studied law, and practiced in Simsbury. He was 
 a colonel of militia, was active in public affairs, and 
 frequently, a member of the State Legislature. At 
 the time of his death, June 19, 1S17, he was post- 
 master. He was intellectual, kind and generous, 
 anil a leader among men. On July 31, 1784, he mar- 
 ried Charlotte Wilcox, who was born April 4, 1766, 
 and died Dec. 15, 1831, the mother of the following 
 named children: Charlotte r^Ielissa, born Oct. 11, 
 17S6, married Frederick Jewett, of Granby, and 
 died Dec. 2g, 1871. Xoah Amherst, Jr.. born Oct. 
 16, 178S, married (first) Delia Clark, of Bloam- 
 field, and (second) Catherine St. John, of New 
 Haven : he was educated at Yale, studied law and 
 practiced in Hartford ; was sheriff of the county ; 
 collector of customs at the port of Middietown ; 
 and Secretary of State 1842-44: he died in Sims- 
 bury Aug. 26, 1872. Jeft'ery Orson was born Feb. 
 1, 1791. Fanny Rosanna. born March 8. 1795, 
 married Jonathan Pettibone, Jr., and died Aug. 22, 
 1877, in Willimantic. Conn. Hector F., born July 
 -5. ^797- is mentioned below. Emma ]Maria. born 
 Dec. 10, 1799, was married to William Mather. Jr.. 
 and died ]\Iarch 21. 1862. Guy Rowland, born 
 April I, 1802. became a physician, later manufact- 
 ured medicines, and was the founder of the Con- 
 necticut Mutual Life Insurance Co., realizing a large 
 competence; his death took place March 18, 1869, 
 in Hartford, his remains being interred in Sims- 
 bury; his only child is Miss Antoinette Randolph 
 Phelps, of Hartford. George Dwight Phelps, the 
 youngest of this family, was born April 6. 1804, 
 and when, a young man went to New York City, 
 began business life as a clerk in a drug store at 
 the corner of Wall and Water streets, later became 
 proprietor, acquired a large estate through his own 
 efforts, and died Aug. 31, 1872. 
 
 Hector Fayette Phelps, the father of our sub- 
 ject, w-as born in Simsbury. and was educated there. 
 He read law with his uncle. Elisha Phelps, was 
 admitted to the Bar in 1833, and at once began the 
 practice of his profession in Hartford county. He 
 resided at Simsbury. and. in addition to his law 
 practice, farming and tobacco growing received a 
 share of his attention. He was well known through- 
 out the county. He held allegiance to the Demo- 
 cratic party, and was active in politics, many local 
 offices being from time to time abiv administered 
 by him. For several years he was justice of the 
 peace in Simsbury, and was deputy sheriff' for 
 manv vears. Fraternallv he was a member of St. 
 •Mark's Lodge. No. 3ri.' F. & A. M. On Jan. i, 
 1827, Mr. Phelps was married in Wintonbury, now 
 Bloomfiell, to Roxanna Selina Barnard, a native 
 of Bloomfield, who was born Jan. 19, 1806, daugh- 
 ter of James Harvey Barnard. To Hector F. and 
 Roxanna S. Phelps came the following children : 
 
 Emma Maria, born l'"ci). 27, 1S28, is the wife of 
 Rollin L. Hawley. of Si)ringtield. Mass. Frances 
 Henrietta, born May 30. 1830, became the wife 
 of Hoyt Moses, and both died inSimsbury. Mar- 
 garet Emogene. born June 3. 1832, married Abrani 
 Moses, of Meriden, and both are now deceased. 
 Flector I-'ayette. born June 2Ti. 1834. married Oc- 
 tavia Huwland, of Springfield, Mass., and is now 
 deceased. John \\ esley, our subject, was born 
 April 22. 1836. ^lary Paulina, born April 13, 
 1838, is the wife of Selah A. Hall, of Meriden. 
 George ]\L, born March 22. 1846, deputy revenue 
 collector of Bloomfield, married Abbie Case, daugh- 
 ter of Job Case, of Simsbury. The mother, who 
 was a faithful member of the .\L E. Church and a 
 good Christian woman, a devoted wife and mother, 
 i-lied at her home in Simsljury Nov. 3, 1881. The 
 father died Feb. 10, 1874. 
 
 John Wesley Phelps, our subject, spent his boy- 
 hood days on his father's farm, attending the dis- 
 trict schools and also select schools. He was among 
 the first to enlist from his State when the Civil war 
 began, enlisting May 7, 1861, at Hartford, in re- 
 sponse to the call for three-months' men, in Com- 
 pany H (Capt. James W. Gore), 2d Conn. \'. L 
 (Col. Alfred H. Terry). He participated in the 
 battle of Bull Run, July 22, 1861, and was mustered 
 out at Hartford Aug. 7, following. Returning 
 home iNIr. Phelps re-enlisted, Nov. 21, 1861, in 
 Company H (Capt. Joseph R. Toy), 12th Conn. 
 V. L (Col. Henry C. Deming), being mustered in 
 as sergeant, and the regiment was sent to Louis- 
 iana. ^Ir. Phelps participated in the engagements 
 at Georgia Landing, Oct. 27, 1862; capture of 
 gunboat "Cotton," Jan. 14, 1863: Pattersonville. 
 March 27, 1863: Bisland, April 13, 1863; siege of 
 Port Hudson, Alay 25 to July, 1863. He was dis- 
 charged Dec. 31, 1863, at Brashear Citv, La., under 
 Capt. John P. Lowell, and re-enlisted in January, 
 1864, becoming first sergeant in Company H (Capt. 
 James E. Smith). 12th Conn. \'. L, under CoL 
 George N. Lewis. In the ^"irginia campaign of i8f>4 
 he participated in the battles of Winchester. Sept. 
 19; Fisher's Hill. Sept. 22; and Cedar Creek. Oct. 
 19. He was discharged Nov. 28, 1S64. Re-enlist- 
 ing in Company C, 12th Battalion, under MaJ. 
 Sydney E. Clark, he was commissioned first lieu- 
 tenant, and commanded the company stationed in 
 Mrginia and at Savannah, Ga. He participated in 
 the grand review at \\'ashington, D. C. and was 
 mustered out at Hartford Aug. 12, 1865, as first 
 lieutenant, under Capt. John Mullen. 
 
 On his return home Lieut. Phelps at once turned 
 his attention to farming, settling upon iiis present 
 farm in the Weatogue District, Simsbury, where 
 he has ever since been engaged in the raising of 
 stock, in tobacco growing, and in general farming. 
 He married, April 18, 1876, Mary E. Buckley, a 
 native of New Milford. Litchfield county, daughter 
 of Dennis and Mary ( Lynch ) Buckley. To our sub- 
 ject and wife two children have been born : Nathanie 
 
584 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Barnard, who was educated in McLean Seminary, 
 Simsbury, and at Drew Ladies' Seminary, Carmel, 
 N. Y. ; and JMargaret Stevens, who finished her 
 education at McLean Seminary and at Mrs. Cady's 
 School, in New Haven. 
 
 Mr. Plielps is in politics a Republican, and is the 
 only member of his family who has always voted the 
 ticket of that party. In 1877 he was elected to the 
 State Legislature, and served as clerk of tne military 
 committee. He has been selectman for several 
 terms, has been assessor, has served on the board of 
 relief, in school work, and in other local official 
 capacities. In 1881 he was appointed deputy sheriff 
 by Sheriff Alva W. Spaulding, and served continu- 
 ously in that position for ten years. In 1895 he 
 was reappointed by Sheriff Edwin J. Smith, and is 
 now in his sixth year of service since his reappoint- 
 ment. He is a member of St. Mark's Lodge, No. 
 36, F. & A. M., and of Capt. Joseph R. Toy Post, 
 No. 83, G. A. R., of which he is past commander. 
 He is generous in spirit, genial and whole-souled 
 in disposition, and one of the popular citizens of 
 Hartford comity. 
 
 Sx\MUEL FORBES (deceased), in his day a 
 progressive and successful farmer, passed the lat- 
 ter years of his life in Silver Lane, town of East 
 Hartford, where his widow and two sons still re- 
 side. He was a descendant, in the seventh genera- 
 tion, from Capt. James Forbes, the founder of the 
 family in America, who died in the town of East 
 Hartford Nov. 27, 1692, and of whose progeny a 
 full record is given elsewhere in the biographical 
 sketch of Hon. James Stanley Forbes, so that it is 
 necessary, here only to trace the descent of our sub- 
 ject from his great-grandfather, Elijah, of the fourth 
 generation from Capt. Forbes. 
 
 Elijah Forbes was born in 1746, married Re- 
 becca Oilman, was a farmer at Scotland (now 
 Burnside), and died in 1826, the father of the fol- 
 lowing named children : Jared, who died in the 
 West; Joseph, who lived in Burnside (then called 
 Scotland), later in Middletown, Conn., and in 
 Pou'ghkeepsie, N. Y., where he died; Elijah, grand- 
 father of our subject; and Mabel, who was mar- 
 ried to Samuel Chandler, lived in Manchester, 
 Conn., some years, and in 1833 migrated to Cleve- 
 land, Ohio, when it was a mere village (they bought 
 land which has since become very valuable, and 
 their descendants are among the most wealthy resi- 
 dents of that now great city). 
 
 Elijah Forbes, of the fifth generation from the 
 Captain, and grandfather of our subject, was born 
 and lived all his life on the old farm in Burnside, 
 on which he built the house now occupied by E. 
 Hart Forbes. He first married Esther Hills, a na- 
 tive of Hillstown, who bore him children as follows : 
 Austin, Horace, Laura, Sydney and Leonard. After 
 the death of his first wife Elijah Forbes married 
 Wealthy Bryant, who bore him one child, E. Hart. 
 Of the children born to the first marriage of Elijah 
 
 Forbes, three were married, to-wit : Laura, who be- 
 came the wife of Era Wright, an upholsterer of 
 Philadelphia, Penn., ani;! ' had two sons, Era and 
 Fred; Sydney, the father of our subject, an ac- 
 count of whom will be given in detail farther on ; 
 and Leonard, who first married a Miss Hills, after 
 her death wedded Harriet Ellis, and after the death 
 of the latter married Fannie Ellis, sister of the sec- 
 ond wife. E. Hart Forbes, the child born to the 
 second marriage of Elijah, married Margaret 
 Brooke, who bore him four children, Harriet, Mary, 
 Leonard and Frank. 
 
 Sydney Forbes, father of Samuel Forbes, and 
 of the sixth generation from Capt. James Forbes, 
 was born Dec. 31, 1803, in Scotland (now Burn- 
 side), in the house which E. Hart Forbes now oc- 
 cupies. He was educated in the district school, and 
 lived with his parents until his marriage, when his 
 father built for him a house on Forbes street, a 
 short distance east of that in which he was born. 
 He was a farmer all his life. He lived for several 
 years in the Forbes street dwelling, but eventually 
 removed to Spencer Hill, where his death took 
 place Aug. 28, 1847, '"s remains being interred in 
 the East Hartford cemetery. He married Lucy 
 Randall, who was born in Dorchester, Mass., May 
 18, 1803, and died Jan. 18, 1879, the mother of ten 
 children: Esther, who was born Nov. i, 1826, was 
 married to Royal Brewer, and died Sept. 24, 1865 ; 
 Samuel is the subject of this sketch; Laura, born 
 Feb. II, 1 83 1, died June 28, 1836; Sanford, born 
 March 24, 1833, was a farmer but spent part of his 
 life as master of a vessel on the Connecticut river, 
 and died unmarried ; Selden, born May 6, 1835, died 
 unmarried Oct. 3, i860; Eveline, born June 12, 
 1837, is married to Dan Eddy, and is living in New 
 Britain ; Ellen, born March 25, 1839, died March 
 21, 1849; Elizabeth, born Aug. 14, 1841, is the wife 
 of John E. Wright, of Glastonbury ; Emma, born 
 July 7, 1843, is the widow of Charles W. Jones, 
 a farmer of Naubuc, who died Sept. 7, 1898 ; and 
 Sarah, born April 19, 1846, died Nov. 22, 1847. 
 
 Samuel Forbes, our subject, was born Feb. i, 
 1829, in the Forbes street homestead in Burnside, 
 alluded to above as having been built for his father 
 at the time of the latter's marriage. His first 
 school attendance was in the Burnside district, and 
 next at the "Alcott" school house, on Spencer Flill, 
 the place where his father's death occurred. Being 
 a poor boy, Samuel Forbes immediately after quit- 
 ting school went to Willow Brook, learned shoe- 
 making, and after the death of his father removed 
 with his mother to Brewer street, and engaged in 
 the business on his own account. After his mar- 
 riage, in 1855, to Mary A. Abbey, which will be 
 fully spoken of presently, he removed to Silver 
 Lane, and purchased from the heirs of Edmund 
 Abbey (her father) the homestead and a tract of 
 five acres, which he cultivated, in conjunction with 
 the manufacturing of boots and shoes, until 1870, 
 when he aliandoned shoemaking and devoted his 
 
CO.]JMUMOK.lTJril BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 attention exclusively to farming. In 1869 he began 
 the raising of tobacco, and as his means permitted 
 added to his farm until .he owned twenty acres, 
 which were in a state of fine cultivation at the time 
 of his death, June 28, 1886, his remains being laid 
 to rest in East Hartford. 
 
 The marriage of Samuel Forbes took place at 
 Hartford' Dec. 5, 1855, to Miss Mary A. Abbey, 
 who was born July 9, 1832, a daughter of Edmund 
 and Harriet (Gaines) Alibey. Edmund Abbey was 
 born in Scotland (now Burnside) Feb. 14, 1795, 
 was educated in the district school, and when old 
 enough located in Willow Urook, where he learned 
 the trade of shoemaking, which he followed some 
 forty years, making custom shoes. After his mar- 
 riage he lived for a time in Hartford, then came to 
 Silver Lane and purchased a farm from John Ris- 
 ky, which subsequently became the property of his 
 son-in-law, Samuel Forbes, the subject of this mem- 
 oir. To the marriage of Edmund Abbey with 
 Harriet Gaines were born children : Edmund 
 G., who married Almira Rislev, was employed as a 
 plater by A. L. Howard, at Hartford, and died in 
 that city ; Simon B. died in young manhood ; Har- 
 riet married William T. Hollister, a brickmason 
 in Glastonbury ; Albert died in infancy ; George died 
 in Manchester; Mary A. (Mrs. Forbes); Charles 
 died young; and George, who married Isabella 
 Thompson, served in tbe First Conn. Volunteer 
 Heavy Artillery during the war of the Rebellion. 
 Edmund Abbey, the father of this family, was a 
 Democrat in politics, and served in the State Legis- 
 lature in 1850; he was also a grand juror for manv 
 years, and a member, likewise, of the school com- 
 mittee. His death took place in 1855, and his re- 
 mains are buried in East Hartford. 
 
 Two children were born to Mr. and Airs. Forbes : 
 Albert A., Oct. 11, 1857, and William G., Sept. 15, 
 1859. Albert A. first attended the Willow Brook 
 school : next the Brown school in Hartford, and then 
 Hannum's Commercial College, of the same city. 
 Fie had nearly completed his course at the latter in- 
 stitution when he met with an accident while out 
 hunting. By some mishap the entire load of his 
 shot gun entered his knee, wdiich is at times painful. 
 He married Ella Florence Harper, a native of Brant- 
 ford, Canada, and this tmion has been blessed with 
 a very bright pair of twins, Helen Marion and Flazel 
 Mae, born April 11, 1896. For many years Albert 
 A. Forl^es has been a member of the East Hartford 
 Congregational Church, in which he has also long 
 been a Sunday-school teacher. William G. Forbes 
 was educated in the Willow Brook school, and in 
 Osgood's Commercial College at Hartford. He 
 married Ida Alay Cady, of Eagleville, but has no 
 children. He and his brother are Democrats, as was 
 their father before them. 
 
 Samuel Forbes was of short stature, but was a 
 strong and healthv man, and his death was so'.uewhat 
 sudden. Although a Democrat in his political pro- 
 clivities, he never aspired to public office, neither did 
 
 he affiliate with any secret society. He was very 
 industrious, and raised tobacco extensively, and al- 
 though he began his business life with but limited 
 capital he left a large estate to his widow and two 
 sons. Fie was one of the most respected men of 
 his town, and his course through life reflected credit 
 upon the ancient family name which he bore. The 
 sons inherit their sire's industrious habits and recti- 
 tude, and have ablv managed the farm since his 
 death, growing about twenty acres of toliacco an- 
 nually. With their venerated mother, they and tlieir 
 families enjoy to the full the respect of the entire 
 Silver Lane communit}-. 
 
 BEN-JAAIIN FRAXKLIX TABER JEXXEY 
 is now approaching his eightieth year, having been 
 born at Xew Bedford, Mass., Xov. 12, 1821. Yet 
 his mental and physical powers show but little of the 
 impairment incident to old age, and while enjoying 
 the rejMse which his years of arduous usefulness 
 have so well earned, he is able to look back upon 
 the past without regret, and forward to the future 
 without fear. While his years cannot be said to 
 have been crowded with exciting events, they have 
 been replete with faithful, well-directed work, which 
 ennobles the doer more than the patent of a sover- 
 eign. He comes of a virile stock, being the young- 
 est of a family of eight children, all of whom at- 
 tained the age of seventy-five years before entering 
 into rest, and of which hardy group he is now the 
 sole survivor. 
 
 Mr. Jenney's father, Caleb Jenney, was born on a 
 farm, learned the trade of a stonemason, and later 
 became a contactor and builder, which business he 
 successfully carried on for many years. He died 
 at the age of ninety. Both he and his wife. Eliza- 
 beth Taber. were ' of the religious denomination 
 sometimes called "Friends," and at the age of eleven 
 years our subject was sent to the Friends' Boarding 
 School at Providence, R. I. He left that institution 
 when sixteen years old, and one of the prized mem- 
 ories of his boyhood's school days is a visit to the 
 school by President Andrew Jackson. \'ice-President 
 \'an Bui-en, and suite. After leaving the spot v\diere 
 he had received his early scholastic training he was 
 apprenticed by his father to a merchant tailor of 
 New Bedford, where he learned the trade of a cus- 
 tom cutter. In 1861 he went from Xew Bedford to 
 Boston, and six years later to Lowell, .Mass., where 
 he remained four years, working at his trade in 
 both cities. His next move was to Taunton. Mass.. 
 where he opened a merchant tailoring establishment 
 of his own, conducting same successfully for six 
 years. Believing that he saw- a good opening at 
 Manchester, Conn., he abandoned the tailoring busi- 
 ness, and, having disposed of his establishment at 
 Taunton, engaged in the manufacture of paper 
 (chiefly of the sort used by the press), at the Con- 
 necticut town. The venture prospered from tlie 
 outset, and he continued it until, in 1893. ''-c retired 
 from active connection with the business. 
 
536 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Jenney has been twice married, Iiis first wife, 
 to whom he was joined in 1842, having been Caro- 
 line Brownell, daughter of Hon. Joseph Brown- 
 ell. Of the four children born to this union only 
 one survives, Caroline E., the wife of A. Wells Case, 
 a prominent paper manufacturer of Manchester. 
 Mr. Jenney 's second marriage, which was solem- 
 nized Dec. 20, 1882, was to Miss Mary Wells Cone, a 
 daughter of Hon. Ralph Cone, a brief sketch of 
 whose ancestry is appended. J\Ir. Jenney and wife 
 are members of the Center Congregational Church. 
 Socially he belongs to Manchester Lodge, No. 73, 
 F. & A. M. Mr. Jenney has always, since taking up 
 his residence in Manchester, been one of the town's 
 most esteemed citizens. He was elected a trial justice 
 in 1876, and served fifteen years, until he reached 
 the age of seventy, the limit by law. 
 
 Ralph Cone, the father of Mrs. Jenney, is a 
 native of Manchester, and was born Oct. 20, 
 1818, son of jNlarvin Cone, who was born in the 
 same town in November, 1792. The latter married 
 Clarissa Wilson, by whom he had three children : 
 Henry, who died at the age of twenty-three ; Charles, 
 who died when eighteen years old ; and Ralph. For 
 his second wife the father married Abigail W. Hel- 
 ton, of Ellington, Tolland county. Marvin Cone was 
 a carriage builder, and about 1812 established a car- 
 riage and wagon factory at Manchester Green, which 
 is now conducted by his son Ralph, Mrs. Jenney's 
 father. The grandfather retained his interest in the 
 business, which was both extensive and profitable, 
 imtil three years before his death, in 1871. He was 
 a Congregationalist in faith, earnest and active in 
 every Christian work, and was greatly esteemed by 
 his townsmen, who chose him, in 1844, to represent 
 them in the Legislature. 
 
 Ralph Cone was educated in the common schools, 
 and early in youth went to work in his father's fac- 
 tory, where he learned the trades of wood-work- 
 ing and carriage-painting. At the age of twenty- 
 one he was admitted into partnership, Daniel Wads- 
 worth being a member of the firm at about the 
 same time. In 1898 Mr. Cone purchased Mr. Wads- 
 worth's interest and has since operated the factory 
 on his own account. 
 
 On May 13, 1844, Ralph Cone married Miss 
 Esther Wells Woodbridge, one of the twelve chil- 
 dren of Dudley Woodbridge (his sister was the 
 mother of the Cheney brothers, of South Manches- 
 ter). To this union were born two children: Ar- 
 thur and Mary W. (Mrs. Jenney). Arthur, a farmer, 
 who lives at the old homestead, married Emily 
 Jackson, of Boston, and five children were born 
 to them, Carrie, Marion, Rachel, Helen and Ralph. 
 Arthur Cone and his sister are both members 
 of the Congregational Church, Mrs. Jenney being 
 identified for many years with the music of the 
 church in the choir, and giving her service as or- 
 ganist for thirteen years. 
 
 Dudley Woodbridge, father of Esther Wells 
 Woodbridge (Mrs. Cone), kept the public house on 
 
 the Green, which was a notable stopping place, being 
 an important route for the stage line running from 
 Boston and Providence to New York, as it was in 
 the direct course from Hartford to Lebanon, the 
 headquarters of military operations for the State, 
 the home of Governor Trumbull. Mrs. Betsey 
 Woodbridge here gave, in her childhood, a glass of 
 water to Gen. Washington at his request, and re- 
 ceived his thanks for the favor. 
 
 Ralph Cone was elected to the Legislature in 
 1865, and again in 1866. He cast his first Presiden- 
 tial vote for William Henry Harrison, and when the 
 Republican party became the residuary political leg- 
 atee of the "Old-line Whigs" he cast m his fortunes 
 with that organization. Since 1832 he has been an 
 active member of the Congregational Church, both 
 he and his wife being connected with the First Con- 
 gregational Church of Mancnester Center. 
 
 AUGUSTINE M. LEWIS, proprietor of a 
 meat market in Plantsville, and a leading repre- 
 sentative of the business interests of Soutliington, 
 was born in that town, Feb. 4, 1837, 
 
 Mr. Lewis belongs to an old Connecticut family, 
 which was founded in America by William and 
 Felix Lewis, who came from England in the ship 
 "Lion," landing in Boston, Sept. 16, 1632. Will- 
 iam Lewis was admitted a freeman in the following 
 November, and joined the Braintree company, which 
 in August, 1633, removed to Newtown (Cam- 
 bridge). In 1636 he came with a company to Hart- 
 ford, and in 1659 became one of the founders of 
 Hadley, Mass., which town he represented in the 
 General Court in 1662. He resided in Northamp- 
 ton in 1664, and prior to November, 1677, removed 
 to Farmington, Conn., where he died August 2, 
 1683, leaving one son, William, who was born in 
 England. In 1644 the latter was a resident of 
 Farmington and he was the first recorder of the 
 town after its incorporation in 1645. His first wife 
 was Mary Hopkins, of Windsor, and his second 
 was Mary, daughter of the celebrated teacher, 
 Ezekiel Chewer, of New Haven and Boston. He 
 died Aug. 18, 1690. Samuel Lewis, a son of Will- 
 iam and Mary (Hopkins) Lewis, was born Aug. 
 18, 1648, and died Nov. 28, 1752. He held the mil- 
 itary rank of sergeant. His son, Nathan Lewis, 
 was born Jan. 23, 1707, and lived' in the Marion 
 District of Southington. On July 28, 1730, he 
 wedded Mary, daughter of Samuel and Mary 
 (FIumphrey)'Gridley. He died Sept. 7, 1799, and 
 his wife passed away May 20, 1784, aged seventy- 
 seven years. Their son, Capt. Nathaniel Lewis, 
 was the great-grandfather of our subject. He was 
 born in Southington, in December. 1747, and lived 
 on the mountainside in the eastern part of Wolcott, 
 after it was set off from Southington. He was 
 quite prominent in town and church affairs. He 
 died Feb. 24, 1839, and on his gravestone is in- 
 scribed "An honest man." On Feb. 15, 1769, he 
 married Sarah Gridley, who died Aug. 11, 1809, 
 
^jLA.-V-i:^^__^\ 
 
COMMUMOR.lTirE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 537 
 
 aged sixty-fight years, and for his second wife he 
 married Airs. L_\dia Frisbie. Appleton Lewis, the 
 grandfather of our subject, was Ijorn Aug. i8, 
 1774, and hved in Wolcott, where he died July 29, 
 1820. He was married, Nov. 15, 1797, to Mrs. 
 Lois Hall, of Waterbury, Conn., who died March 
 23, 1800, aged eighty-three years. Their children 
 were Rufus ; Millie A., wife of James Wightman ; 
 Edward: Alfred; Julina, wife of Truman Daily; 
 Llo\d ; Dennis; Lois ]\L ; and Jared A. Lloyd 
 Lewis, the father of our subject, was born in Wol- 
 cott. Jan. 15, 1810, and was married, March 25, 
 1832, to Miss Diadamia, daughter of ilartin and 
 Mary (Munson) Phinney, of i'lainville. The chil- 
 dren born of this union were Augustine JNL (of 
 tills review), Alary Jane and Jirlina S. 
 
 Our subject passed his boyhood and }-outh in 
 Southington, and received a good practical educa- 
 tion in the common schools and the Lewis high 
 school. Prior to 1869 he was engaged in farming, 
 and in the fall of that year he opened a market 
 in Plantsville, which he has since conducted with 
 marked success, having built up an excellent trade. 
 
 In 1861 Mr. Lewis was united in marriage with 
 JNIiss Harriet Buckingham, daughter of James and 
 Annie (Smith) Buckingham, of Oxford. Conn., 
 and to them were born four children, of whom two 
 are living: Mortimer i\L. who. is a graduate of 
 Hahnemann Medical College, New York, and is 
 now engaged in the practice of his profession; and 
 Anita. For his second wife our subject married 
 Miss Ellen Tuttle, a daughter of Samuel Tuttle, 
 of Cheshire, Conn., where she was born, the de- 
 scendant of long lines of Puritan ancestry. Mrs. 
 Lewis was for many years a teacher in Plantsville, 
 and a member of the school board at Southington 
 for Plantsville. 
 
 i\Ir. Lewis is a prominent member of the Baptist 
 Church of Plantsville, of which he is now one of 
 the trustees, and he also belongs to Friendship 
 Lodge, No. 33, F. & A. M., Southington. In his 
 political affiliations he is an ardent Republican, and 
 he has served as a member of the Southington 
 school board for twenty-one consecutive years, and 
 as selectman for fourteen years. He has taken 
 deep interest in the "good-roads" movement, and 
 five miles of macadamized road in the town show 
 the practical result of his efforts, the Clark Farms 
 being built under his sole direction. 
 
 CAPT. DANIEL GOULD FRANCIS, an hon- 
 ored veteran of the Civil war, who now makes his 
 home in West Hartford, was for many years one 
 of the active and progressive business men of Hart- 
 ford county, as well as one of its most reliable and 
 highly esteemed citizens, and now in his declining 
 years he is enjoying a well-earned rest, free from 
 the cares and responsibilities of business life. 
 
 Capt. Francis was born in the town of Benson, 
 Rutland Co., Vt., March 27, 1835. His father, 
 Daniel D. Francis, was a native of the same State, 
 
 born in the town of Wells, and was educated for the 
 ministry, being a graduate of Aliddlebury College 
 and Burlington University. He had cliargc of a Con- 
 gregational church at Benson, \'t., for years, later 
 resided some time in North Canaan, Conn., and sub- 
 sequently made his home on a farm near Palmyra. N. 
 Y. He engaged in jjreaching at l-'airport and Ro- 
 chester, N. Y., and was highly respected not only by 
 his own congregations, but by all who witnessed his 
 devotion to his noble calling. Returning to Sharon, 
 Litchtield Co., Conn., he spent a few years, and then 
 went to Chicago, remaining a few years. Sul)se- 
 quently he made his home in Hartford, Conn., with 
 our subject, until the summer of 1872, when he died 
 at West Lebanon, N. H., whither he had gone for 
 his health. At Sharon, Litchfield Co., Conn., May 
 15, 1832, Mr. Francis was married to JMiss Elizabeth 
 Gould, a native of LitchfieUl county, and a daughter 
 of Major David Gould, and to them were born three 
 children: Daniel G., our subject; Amelia E., wife of 
 Edward Nevers, who is connected with Marshall 
 Field & Co., of Chicago, 111.: and James Lathrop, 
 who died in Vicksburg, Miss., from wounds re- 
 ceived in the Civil war. 
 
 In his native town Daniel G. Francis was reared 
 and educated until nine vears of age. accompanied 
 the family on their removal to North Canaan. Conn., 
 where he attended school, and completed his educa- 
 tion at a boarding school in Kent. Conn. Later he 
 clerked for several years in a hardware store at Pal- 
 myra, N. Y., and was then employed in the pay- 
 master's department of the New York Central rail- 
 road at Rochester, N. Y. Subsequently, on account 
 of ill health, he spent two years in northwestern 
 Illinois and southern Wisconsin, and on his return 
 East, in 1855, came to Berlin, Hartford Co.. Conn., 
 where with his father, he operated a small .farm for 
 two years. 
 
 In 1858 Capt. Francis accepted a position with 
 the firm of Talcott & Post, of Hartford, and remain- 
 ed with them until the outbreak of the Rebellion. He 
 assisted in raising a company at Hartford, and went 
 to the front as second lieutenant of Rifle Co. A, ist 
 Conn. V. I., under command of Gen. Hawley. At the 
 expiration of his three-months' term of enlistment he 
 was discharged at New Haven, but later recruited 
 Company A, of the 7th Conn. \'. I., and was com- 
 missioned captain of that company. On account of 
 ill health he was forced to resign at the end of four- 
 teen months and return home. 
 
 Going to Chicago. 111., Capt. Francis became con- 
 nected with the wholesale house of Cooley. Farwell 
 & Co., and remained in their employ for several 
 years. While thus engaged he was married, in 
 Hartford, Conn., to Miss Lizzie A. Crane, a daugh- 
 ter of Mrs. O. H. Crane. On his return East he en- 
 gaged in the insurance business with the Connecticut 
 General Life Insurance Co., for a while, and then 
 entered the employ of \\'etherbee, Knous & Pelton, 
 whose dry-goods store was then in Hill's block, 
 Hartford. Subsequently he was again with the firm 
 
588 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of Talcdtt & Post, for a time, and when Gen. Will- 
 iam H. Bulkeley purchased the "Bee Hive" store he 
 went with him. In the spring of 1882 he removed 
 to West Hartford, where he has since lived retired, 
 enjoying a well-earned rest. Here his estimable 
 wife died in 1895. The Captain is a prominent 
 member of Robert O. Tyler Post, No. 50, G. A. R., 
 of Hartford, and is a charter member ot the Grange. 
 He has been honored with various town offices, in- 
 cluding those of grand juror and justice of the 
 peace, and his official duties have always been most 
 satisfactorily performed. Religiously he is a mem- 
 ber of the Ecclesiastical Society of the Congrega- 
 tional Church. 
 
 LOREN DWIGHT PENFIELD. The subject 
 of this sketch, who is now town clerk of New 
 Britain, has for many years been prominently 
 identified with the social history of that city. He 
 has been repeatedly elected to an office which came 
 to him unsolicited. He is a native of the city, and 
 his ancestry dates back through many generations 
 of Connecticut citizens into Colonial history. Two 
 of his great-grandparents bore arms for the strug- 
 gling colonies during the Revolution, and our sub- 
 ject was a veteran during the Civil war. 
 
 Mr. Penfield was born at New Britain June 
 15, 1840, son of Harvey and Lucy E. (Sanford) 
 Penfield, grandson of Phineas and Ruth Judd 
 (Hart) Penfield, and great-grandson of Phineas 
 and Lucy (Osgood) Penfield. The parents of 
 Phineas Penfield, Sr., were Nathaniel and Lydia 
 (Barnes) Penfield, and his grandparents were Na- 
 thaniel Penfield, Sr., and his wife Hannah. Na- 
 thaniel Penfield, Sr., was a member of the New 
 Haven Colony, and settled at Wallingford, dying 
 in January, 1776. Nathaniel Penfield, Jr., was a 
 farmer, and settled in Aleriden. He married Lydia 
 Barnes June 9, 1755, and died at Meriden May 18, 
 1777. His widow, Lydia, married for her second 
 husband Jeremiah H. Osgood, April 23, 1778; she 
 died Jan. 31, 181 1, aged seventy-six years. 
 
 Phineas Penfield, Sr., the great-grandfather of 
 our subject, and son of Nathaniel and Lydia 
 (Barnes) Penfield, was born June 6, 1756. He was 
 in actual service as a private in the Connecticut 
 troops during the Revolutionary war for twelve 
 months and twenty-three days, enlisting at Farm- 
 ington, Conn., and serving a part of the time under 
 Capt. Curtis and Col. Enos. He married, April 
 9, 1778, Lucy Osgood, daughter of Jeremiah H. 
 and Lucy (Churchill) Osgood, and died March 28, 
 1834, in Hartford county, aged seventy-seven 
 years. Nathaniel Penfield, the brother of Phineas, 
 Sr., and four years 3'ounger, also enlisted at Farm- 
 ington. Conn., as a private in the Connecticut 
 troops, and served eighteen months and twelve 
 days as a private, a part of the time under Captain 
 Bray and Colonel Butler. 
 
 Phineas Penfield, Jr., the grandfather of our 
 subject, was born Oct. 18, 1785. He married, Nov. 
 
 25, 1812, Ruth Judd Hart, who was born May 3, 
 1793, daughter of Linus Hart, of Farmington, and 
 who died Dec. 11, 1848, aged fifty-five years. 
 Phineas Penfield, Jr., was a farmer and cooper by 
 occupation; he died Aug. 3, 1845, aged sixty years. 
 Harvey Penfield, father of our subject, and son of 
 Phineas and Ruth J. (Hart) Penfield, was born 
 June 7, 181 5. He married, Oct. 21, 1839, Lucy 
 Ellen Sanford, who is now living at the age of 
 eighty-two years. She is the daughter of Edmund 
 and Lydia (Beckley) Sanford, of Wethersfield, 
 and the granddaughter of John Beckley, Jr. The 
 roster in the adjutant-general's office, Connecticut 
 [pp. 25 and 381], shows that John Beckley, Sr., 
 was a third lieutenant in Capt. Chester's company, 
 and marched to the relief of Boston in April, 1775, 
 after the "Lexington alarm." He was the father 
 of John Beckley, Jr., and the son of Sergt. Richard 
 Beckley, who was at the "Lexington alarm." Rich- 
 ard Beckley came from the New Haven Colony, and 
 settled at Beckley, Hartford county. He owned 
 300 acres of land by grant from the Lidians and 
 consent of the General Assembly. Harvey Pen- 
 field died April i, 1873, aged fifty-seven years. 
 
 Loren Dwight Penfield was educated in the pub- 
 lic schools, but when a boy of twelve years he bade 
 good-bye to school books and entered the shop of 
 the Russell & Erwin Manufacturing Co., as an em- 
 ploye. Here he remained for seven years, and 
 gradually improved his position. For a time, dur- 
 ing the illness of his uncle, he was foreman of the 
 knob room. When a young man of twenty-one 
 years Mr. Penfield left the service of the above 
 named company to enter the L^nited States vol- 
 .unteer army. He enlisted Dec. 11, 1861, for three 
 years, in. Company A, Thirteenth Connecticut Regi- 
 ment, which was assigned to the command of Gen. 
 B. F. Butler and Gen. N. P. Banks. Mr. Penfield 
 was with Gen. Butler in the capture of New Or- 
 leans, and with General Banks at the siege of Port 
 Hudson. He was one of the thousand volunteers 
 in the "forlorn hope," 250 of the volunteers step- 
 ping forward from the ranks of the Thirteenth 
 Connecticut. After the surrender of Port Hud- 
 son he was detailed, on July 15, 1863, as clerk at 
 headquarters. Department of the Gulf, corner of 
 Carondalet and Julia streets. New Orleans. There 
 he remained until July, 1864, when his regiment 
 was transferred to the command of Gen. Phil. Sher- 
 idan, for service in the Shenandoah Valley. He 
 took part in the battles of Winchester, Fisher's 
 Hill and Cedar Creek. Through all his engage- 
 ments Mr. Penfield escaped without injury. He 
 was mustered out Jan. 5, 1865, and for nearly a 
 year thereafter was employed as a clerk in the 
 United States provost-marshal-general's office at 
 Hartford, Connecticut. 
 
 In April, 1866, ]\Ir. Penfield engaged at his 
 trade of house painting, and contracted for the 
 painting of some of the finest residences of New 
 Britain and other cities, employing from ten to 
 
Wif^\^M\U. 
 
i 
 
COMMUMOR.lTJrE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 530 
 
 sixteen iiHMi. Ill OctolxT, \^ijT,, lie was elected to 
 his first term as town clerk, assuming- the duties of 
 the otlice in January, i8y4. He chd not attend 
 the caucus which ])laced him in nomination, nor 
 did he seek the otitice. He was electcil to his sec- 
 ond term in 1895, and has held the office contin- 
 uously ever since. In 1894 he was elected clerk 
 of the probate court for the district of Berlin, and 
 was re-elected town clerk in 1895, serving from 
 Jan. I, 1895, to the present time. In politics Mr. 
 I'enfield is a Republican. On account of his ab- 
 sence from home in the army he did not vote until 
 at the second election of President Lincoln. For 
 many years he has been prominent in the fraternal 
 afifairs of New Britain, being a member of Har- 
 mony Lodge, No. 20, F. & A. M. ; Giddings Chap- 
 ter, No. 25, R. A. M. ; Doric Council, No. 24, R. 
 &. S. JNL ; Washington Commandery, No. i, K. T. ; 
 Sphinx I'emple, i\. of AL S., of Oasis of Hart- 
 ford, Desert of Connecticut ; has taken several de- 
 grees in the Scottish Rite IMasons, and is a mem- 
 ber of Norwich Consistory, Thirty-second degree ; 
 of the Martha Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, 
 in which he is a worthy patron ; of Stanley Post, 
 No. II, G. A. R., in wdiich order he has filled every 
 chair in the post, being now junior vice-commander 
 of the department, and was delegate from Con- 
 necticut to the National convention at Pittsburg 
 in 1894. J\Ir. Penfield is also a member of the 
 Connecticut Society, Sons of the American Revo- 
 lution ; the Army and Navy Club ; Trumbull Col- 
 ony, No. 173, United Order of Pilgrim Fathers: 
 Washington Camp, No. 9, Patriotic Order Sons of 
 America ; Winthrop Council, No. 7, Daughters of 
 Liberty ; New Britain Council, No. 8, Order United 
 American Mechanics ; Nev^^ Britain Club ; and Put- 
 nam Phalanx. For six years he was a member of 
 Company D, First Connecticut National Guard, 
 and was commissioned second lieutenant by Gov. 
 Jewell ; was elected first lieutenant, but declined 
 the commission. He is local treasurer of the Balti- 
 more Building & Loan Association. 
 
 Mr. Penfield was married, June 20, 1866, to 
 Miss Carrie W. McNary, daughter of William Mc- 
 Kary. Of their two children, Nellie Ruth, born 
 Oct. 20, 1867, is now the wife of Warren \\'. jMar- 
 shall ; Arthur Eugene is deceased. Mr. Penfield 
 is a member of the First Baptist Church of New 
 Britain, and for many years was librarian of the 
 Sunday-school. 
 
 WARD HUBBARD GRISWOLD. The family 
 of Griswold is one of the oldest and most highly 
 esteemed in Connecticut. There are three branches 
 in this country — the W'indsor, the Lyme, and the 
 Wethersfield, descended, respectivel\-, from Edward, 
 Matthew and Alichael. The residence of the fam- 
 ily in England was in Kenilworth, A\'arwickshire. 
 There were three sons in the family, Edward, 
 Thomas and Matthew. The younger, Matthew, 
 came to America with Rev. John Warham, landing 
 
 in Massachusetts Bay, May 30, 1630, when eighteen 
 years old. In 1639 Edward came over in a vessel 
 sent out by William Whiting, and in company with 
 Rev. Ephraim and others. This ])arty soon moved 
 to Windsor (that year), and Matthew with them. 
 He married a daughter of Henry Wolcott, soon 
 after went to Saybrook to work on the fort, and ac- 
 quired a tract of land on the opposite side of the 
 river at Lvme, which has been the home place of 
 that branch of the family. From Matthew, in the 
 fifth generation, came Gov. Matthew Griswold, and 
 his son, Gov. Roger Griswold, of the sixth genera- 
 tion. 
 
 Edward Griswold was born about 1004. was 
 married before he came to America, and brought 
 with him his wife, Margaret, and five or six children. 
 He settled in Windsor, and remained there until 
 1664, when he moved to that part of Killingworth 
 now known as Clinton, and gave to the town the 
 name of his home in England — Killingworth, 
 a corruption of Kenilworth. Margaret, wife of 
 Edward, died Aug. 23, 1670 (old style), and her 
 tombstone is in the yard at Clinton. The next 
 year he married the widow of James Bemis, of 
 New London. He died in 1671. The children 
 of Edward and Margaret Griswold were : Edward, 
 Francis, George, John, Sarah ( these five being born 
 in England), Ann, Mary, Deborah, Joseph. Sam- 
 uel and John, eleven in all. 
 
 George Griswold, born about 1633, was a large 
 land holder in Windsor, living in Poquonock, on tlie 
 Farmington river. He married Mary, daughtv.T 
 of Thomas Holcomb, Oct. 3 (presumably), 1655. 
 He died Sept. 3, 1704. and his widow died April 
 4, 1708. The children of George and Mary ( Hol- 
 comb) Griswold were: Daniel, Thomas, Edward, 
 Mary, George, John, Benjamin, Deborah, Thomas 
 Moore, Abigail, Samuel, eleven in all. 
 
 Daniel Griswold, born in October, 1656. mar- 
 ried Feb. 3, 1680, Mindwell, daughter of Nathaniel 
 Bissell. She was born Oct. 3, 1663, and died in 
 1728. Their children were Daniel and Nathaniel 
 (twins), Peletiah, Mary, Edward, Deborah and 
 David, seven in all. Date of the father's death is 
 not known. 
 
 Daniel Griswold, born Feb. 14, 1684 (old style), 
 married Sept. 16, 1716, Sarah, daughter of Capt. 
 Daniel White of Bolton. He moved to and was 
 married in Bolton where his wife died Feb. i, 
 1738, aged forty-three. His tombstone is in the 
 Bolton yard. He married a second time, but left 
 no children by the second wife. Date of his death 
 is not known. The children of Daniel and Sarah 
 (White) GrisW'Old were: Sarah, Ann, Bathsheba, 
 Mindwell, Daniel, Hannah, \\'hite, George. Setli, 
 an unnamed daughter, and Reuben, eleven in all 
 
 ^^l^ite Griswold was born Oct. 26, 1727. ano'' 
 married Feb. 14, 1751, Elizabeth Chenev, of MaiT 
 Chester, sister of Timothy and Silas Cheney. He 
 moved to Harwinton. In 1775 he joined the Amer- 
 lean forces for the invasion of Canada; later en- 
 
540 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 listed as a soldier in Capt. Theophilus iXIunson's 
 Company, of the 8th Conn. Line ; was in the battle 
 of Germantown, Penn., under Washington, Oct. 
 4. '^777'' was taken prisoner, and died on boaru 
 prison ship at Philadelphia, probably that fall, exact 
 date being uncertain. The children of White and 
 Elizabeth (Cheney) Griswold were: Sarah, Eliza- 
 beth, George, Asa, Eunice, Louisa, Thomas White 
 and Daniel. White Griswold's widow is supposed 
 to have remained in Harwinton and to have died 
 there. 
 
 Daniel Griswold was born March 26, 1769, and 
 married Sept. 30, 1792, Esther, daug'hter of Joseph 
 Case. There were born to this marriage, Edward, 
 Mary, Nancy, Daniel, Ann, Roderick, Esther and 
 George Gilbert. Daniel Griswold died in 1833, his 
 wife Esther on Nov. 9, 1850. 
 
 George Gilbert Griswold, son of Daniel and 
 Esther (^Case) Griswold, was born April 18, 1815, 
 in jManchester. He married Susan Jane Hubbard, 
 daughter of David E. Hubbard. They had four 
 children: Fannie, Ward Hubbard (who is men- 
 tioned below), Emma and Esther. After the 
 death of his first wife Mr. Griswold married Mary 
 Miner Case, a widow, and to this union was born 
 one child, Gilbert M. Griswold. 
 
 Ward Hubbard Griswold was born in Manches- 
 ter Green, Aug. 4, 1846. He received his early 
 education at the common schools and the academy 
 of Manchester, where he accjuired the rudiments 
 of the sound business training which he found of 
 such great value m after life. His first business 
 experience was as a clerk in the- general store of 
 Basset & Belden, at Chatham, N. Y., where he was 
 employed for about two years. On Sept. 9, 1864, 
 he enlisted at Albany, N. Y., in Company G, 91st 
 N. Y. V. L, which regiment was first stationed at 
 Baltimore, but was afterward sent to Petersburg, 
 Va. There it was attached to the Fifth Army 
 Corps under the immediate command of Gen. Sheri- 
 dan, and was subsequently present at the surrender 
 of Lee at Appomattox. On his return from the 
 war Mr. Griswold took up his residence at Walton, 
 N. Y., where he rented one hundred acres of land, 
 and for two years led the life of a farmer. For 
 the next five years he worked as a stone mason for 
 his brother-in-law. Tiring of this employment, he 
 moved to Talcottville, Conn., where for nearly ten 
 years he was a clerk in the general store of Tal- 
 cott Bros., thence going to New Britain, where he 
 opened a grocery store of his own, on South Main 
 street. After a few years .however, he discontinued 
 this enterprise to enter the plating department of 
 the P. & F. Corbin Co., there remaining until the 
 spring of 1894, in which year he bought a farm 
 adjoining the Town Hall, on Berlin street, Berlin, 
 Conn. On this land he erected a modern residence, 
 and conducts a produce and poultry farm. 
 
 At first Mr. Griswold's success appears a cause 
 for surprise, yet an analysis of the causes which 
 have led to it readily demonstrates the fallacy of 
 
 such a conjecture. Inheriting the vim, the indus- 
 try, the perseverance, the physical and moral cour- 
 age of a long line of honored ancestors, he has 
 shown himself no unworthy scion of a lineage noble 
 alike in its fidelity and its achievements. He has 
 hewn out his own way through honest toil, and can ) 
 look upon the years of his life with pardonable 
 pride. The heritage of such a life is in itself a 
 legacy to one's children. 
 
 On Feb. 16, 1870, Mr. Griswold was married 
 to Frances Adelia Howland, of Walton, Delav^fare 
 Co., N. Y., daughter of Elias Butler and Fanny 
 (Mallory) Howland. By this marriage two of 
 the oldest families in the country were united, the 
 ancestors of Frances Howland having come over to 
 this country in the "Mayflower." To this union 
 have been born five children : Fannie Hamutal, 
 Dec. 30, 1871 ; George Gilbert, Jan. 17, 1873; 
 Emma Jane, April 23, 1874; Laura, June 3, 1877 
 (died Jan. 15, 1883) ; and Mary Esther, Sept. 23, 
 1879. 
 
 On National and State issues Mr. Griswold s 
 affiliations are with the Republican party. Fie is 
 not, however, either an active politician or a violent 
 partisan, and on local issues he is altogether inde- 
 pendent. He is a member of Stanley Post, G. A. 
 R., of New Britain and of Pequot Council, No. 24, 
 Sr. O. U. A. M., of Berlin. 
 
 As an evidence of the patriotism of the Gris- 
 wold family the State records show a long list of 
 those who served their country during the Revolu- 
 tionary war, and in subsequent wars they have re- 
 sponded in goodly numbers to their country's call. 
 The family are especially proud of the fact that from 
 the arrival of the founders of the family to the 
 present time, their record has been remarkable in 
 that, so far as known, no member has ever brought 
 disgrace upon the fair name of the family, and that 
 in all the elements that go to make upright and 
 honorable citizens they have, as a family, been pos- 
 sessed in a remarkable degree. 
 
 EDWIN IVES CLARK, a prosperous and rep- 
 resentative farmer and mechanic of Berlin, is a 
 native of Hartford county. His ancestors for gen- 
 erations past have lived and died in Connecticut, 
 and for a third of a century the fortunate lot of 
 Mr. Clark has been cast in the countv of his birth. 
 In early years he gave heed to a desire for travel, 
 and his life away from his native place practically 
 ended with the three years' gallant service which 
 he rendered his country during the period of the 
 Civil war. 
 
 Mr. Clark was born on what was known as 
 the old Squire place, in Berlin, Nov. 15, 1841, son 
 of Hiram Clark, and grandson of Linus Clark, 
 the last named l>orn in 1786, in Kensington. He 
 was a farmer and miller, working at Moore's Mills, 
 Kensington, grinding grain and manufacturing 
 cement. He was a man of unblemished character 
 and many noble traits. He married Polly Perkins, 
 
COM MEMO RATH 'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 541 
 
 and to thcni were born thirteen children, of whom 
 Linus, Henry, John, Russell, Hiram, Laura, Mary, 
 Emily and Julia grew to maturity; the others died 
 young. Linus Clark died JNIay 25, 1832, his wife 
 surviving until May 3, 1843. 
 
 Hiram Clark, the father of our snhject, was 
 born 'in Kensington Feb. 25, 1814. His educa- 
 tional advantages were meager, but he improved 
 them all, and in later life added constantly to his 
 fund of knowledge bv careful and systematic read- 
 ing. He acquired a knowledge of the shoemaker's 
 trade with Mr. Stocking, and later worked for 
 Samuel Bishop, in a shop which stood on the pres- 
 ent lot of his son. At the completion of a four- 
 years apprenticeship Hiram Clark was the posses- 
 sor of a new suit of clothes and of twenty-five dol- 
 lars. For several years he worked as a journey- 
 man shoemaker, and then adopted a mode of mer- 
 cantile trade, which was not uncommon in those 
 days, peddling Yankee notions from a wagon 
 throughout the Southern States for a period of 
 seven or eight years ; he was very successful in this 
 business. Mr. Clark then settled down and engaged 
 in farming. He purchased the Bishop place, and 
 land adjoining to the extent of about eight acres. 
 Later he worked for some years in Brandegee's 
 cotton factory, and then removed to East Berlin, 
 where he assumed a contract in the shops and also 
 conducted a boarding-house. In 185 1 he returned 
 10 the farm, where he spent the remainder of his 
 years. He was a stanch Republican in politics, 
 and believed it the duty of American citizenship 
 to give personal attention to the primaries, a belief 
 which he conscientiously practiced. La religious 
 faith he was a member of the Congregational 
 Church. He married Jeannette Treat, who was born 
 April 3, 1817, daughter of Abba Treat, of Crom- 
 well, Conn., a farmer, who began life for himself 
 as a poor young man and eventually amassed a 
 large property. To Hiram and Jeannette Clark 
 were born three children : Hiram, Edwin L and 
 Nancy Augusta. Hiram was born April 9, 1839, 
 became a private in Company K, i6th Conn. "\^ L, 
 was captured at the battle of Plymouth, and died 
 at Andersonville Aug. 18, 1864. Nancy Au- 
 gusta was born April 20, 1843, became the wife 
 of Royal Bentley, a railroad man of Deep River, 
 and is now deceased. The father died Alarch 18, 
 1875, the mother surviving until Feb. 21, 1880. 
 
 Edwin L Clark attended in his boyhood days 
 the schools of Berlin and the academy in that 
 town. Although an apt pupil and an active reader 
 his mind turned to trade, and when about seven- 
 teen years of age he began handling various lines 
 of goods in New York State. He was thus travel- 
 ing when the first call for 75,000 troops was made 
 by President Lincoln, and returning to Hartford 
 he there enlisted, in Company K. Third Conn. \'. 
 L, for three months. At the expiration of his term 
 of service he re-enlisted, this time in Company G, 
 First Heavy Artillery, Connecticut \'olunteers, for 
 
 three years, rising to the rank of corporal and 
 gunner. He jjarticipated in many of the sharp 
 struggles during the memorable conflict, and was 
 at jNIalvern Hill, Bull Run, siege of Yorktown, 
 Golden"s farm, Chickahominy Swamp, Seven (Jaks, 
 Hanover Courthouse, Harrison Landing and the 
 seven-days' right under Gen. McClellan during the 
 Peninsular campaign. He was at Petersburg, and 
 was with the three batteries at Fredericksburg, 
 serving under Gens. Burnside, Hooker and Meade. 
 His term of service ex])ired while the regiment 
 was in front of Petersburg, in 1864. and he was 
 honorably discharged. 
 
 Returning home, Mr. Clark engaged in farm- 
 ing for three years. He then embarked in the 
 grocery business at Hartford, and selling out re- 
 turned to the farm, where in connection with his 
 agricultural work he has followed carpentry. He 
 now owns the old home farm, and has also pur- 
 chased the Elbert Clark place. Mr. Clark carries 
 on dairy farming, and keeps from twenty to twen- 
 ty-five cows, lie has prospered, and the success 
 he has attained is due to his own efforts. In poli- 
 tics he has always been a Republican, and in the 
 local affairs of his party he has taken an active 
 interest. In the fall of 1893 he was elected to 
 the board of selectmen, and has since been a mem- 
 ber of that board continuously; serving during this 
 time as chairman and for three years as first select- 
 man. Socially Air. Clark is a member of Merriam 
 Post, G. A. R., at Meriden, of the American Ale- 
 chanics, the Order of United Friends, and of the 
 Grange, of which latter he has been master for 
 several years. In religious connection he and his 
 wife belong to the Congregational Church. 
 
 Mr. Clark married, in 1866, Miss Annie N. 
 Deming, who was born June 17, 1843, a daughter 
 of George and Lura (Derby) Deming, of Elling- 
 ton, and a granddaughter of Sylvester Deming, of 
 Wethersfield, both her father and grandfather be- 
 ing representative farmers and descendants of an 
 old \'ermont family. She was one of a family of 
 seven children : Roxcy, Martha, Annie, George, 
 Charles, Lura and Fannie. To our subject and wife 
 have been born four children : Lillian A. ; Cora 
 Augusta, wife of Everett Honiss; George Hiram; 
 and Arthur Edwin. 
 
 WILLIAM WEBSTER STILLMAX. The 
 subject of this sketch was clerk of the board of 
 selectmen at Hartford for a period of twenty-five 
 years, or until 1896, when the office was abolished, 
 and he accepted the superintendency of the Board 
 of Charity Commissioners. He is yet a young man, 
 and to an unusual degree has evinced those sterling 
 and engaging traits of character, which peculiarly 
 fit one for public service. He is a son of Allyn S. 
 Stillman, one of the most prominent citizens of 
 Plartford a half-century ago, and a descendant in 
 the sixth generation from George Stillman. of Had- 
 ley, Mass., who about 1703-04 removed thence to 
 
542 
 
 :OMMBMORATIJ'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Wethersfield, Conn., where he remained through 
 life. The line of descent to our subject was 
 through (II) Nathaniel Stillman ; (III) Nathaniel 
 Stillman ; (IV) James Stillman, born Sept. 9, 1770, 
 removed from Glastonbury to Wethersfield, and 
 died in September, 1854; (V) Allyn S. Stillman, 
 father of our subject. 
 
 (IV) James Stillman, the grandfather of our 
 subject, married Elizabeth Webster, who was born 
 in 1772, and died in 1845. She was of the seventh 
 generation from John Webster, who was born in 
 England, and in 1658 became governor of Con- 
 necticut, serving three years. The line of descent 
 is through (II) Robert Webster; (III) Jonathan 
 Webster, deceased in 1694; (IV) Jonathan Web- 
 ster, born 1682, died 1758; (V) Jonathan Webster, 
 deceased in 1789; and (VI) John Webster, who 
 married in 1769. 
 
 Allyn S. Stillman was born in Wethersfield, 
 Conn., April 28, 1800. He received only a com- 
 mon-school education, and in 1818, at the age of 
 eighteen years, removed to Hartford where he 
 learned the bookbinder's trade from Oliver D. Cook, 
 whose establishment occupied the present site of 
 Bullerstein's store. Mr. Stillman possessed a char- 
 acter too strong to continue very long as a work- 
 man in the employ of others. He soon started in 
 business for himself,' thus inaugurating a long and 
 prominent business career. At one time he was 
 senior member of the firm of Stillman & Parsons. 
 He was the first photograph album manufacturer 
 in the United States, and engaged extensively in 
 the manufacture of blank books, etc., on the site 
 of Mr. Talcott's present bindery, building up a 
 reputation for most excellent work. Until Case, 
 Brainard & Lockwood started in business, he owned 
 and conducted the principal book bindery in Hart- 
 ford county, if not in the State. His public career 
 was fully as honorable and extended as his busi- 
 ness achievements. For sixteen vears he served 
 as first selectman of Hartford, and in 1864 he was 
 elected mayor of the city of Hartford. He was 
 chief of the fire department for many years, and in 
 his honor a hose company was named the Stillman 
 Hose Co. He was also one of the fire commission- 
 ers, and for twenty years was president of the 
 Firemen's Benevolent Society. In politics he was 
 a Whig and a Republican, and as an admirer of 
 Horace Greeley he in 1872 became a liberal Re- 
 publican. A man of strong, forceful character, 
 with keen native ability, he was one of the leading- 
 men of the city. He served as first major of the 
 Putnam Phalanx, succeeding Major Goodwin. In 
 religious affiliations he was an attendant at Christ 
 Church. 
 
 Mr. Stillman was married, Nov. 11, 1833, to 
 Miss Cecilia Andrus, and to them were born tine 
 following children : Cecilia, widow of Samuel H. 
 White; Charles A., of Winchester, Mass.; Alice 
 Webster; Allyn, of New York City; and William 
 
 Webster, our subject. Allyn S. Stillman died Jan 
 28, 1880, his widow on Feb. 28, 1892. 
 
 Willianj Webster Stillman, our subject, was 
 born in, Hartford Jan. i, 1852. He was educated 
 in the common schools of the city, attending the 
 old Center school, and then took a cottrse in the 
 Osborne private school, and also one at Bryant & 
 Stratton's Business College, in the Opera House 
 block, graduating at the age of sixteen years. Mr. 
 Stillman then began life as correspondent for J. B. 
 Burr & Co., publishers of "Sunshine and Shadow," 
 remaining with them for about two years. He 
 filled the same position with S. S. Scranton, and 
 later with the American Publishing Co. 
 
 In October, 1871, before he had reached his 
 twentieth birthday, he was appointed clerk of the 
 board of selectmen, holding the position contin- 
 uously under the various selectmen until 1896, when 
 the Board of Charity Commissioners was created, 
 becoming operative on June 15, of that year. Mr. 
 Stillman was at once appointed acting superintend- 
 ent, continuing in that capacity until appointed 
 superintendent of the board, in December, 1896. Mr. 
 Stillman is a Democrat, but is not active in politics. 
 He is a member of the South Baptist Church. 
 Among the fraternal organizations he is a member 
 of St. John's Lodge, F. & A. M., and has been a 
 member of the Elks. He married Mary McRae 
 Robins, daughter of Gurdon and Mary Robins, of 
 Hartford. He is one of the successful younger 
 men of Hartford. 
 
 HON. JOHN F. FITTS, who passed away 
 July 7, 1899, was a well-known agriculturist of the 
 town of East Windsor, a veteran of the Civil war, 
 and as a citizen gave abundant proofs of his public 
 spirit, having been always ready to assist in the 
 various progressive movements of his locality. 
 
 Mr. Fitts was born in the town of East Windsor, 
 Oct. 26, 1826, a son of Sylvester and Nancy (Wells) 
 Fitts. As the mother died when he was a mere 
 infant, he was adopted by Capt. Daniel French, of 
 East Windsor, with whom he remained until he 
 reached the age of sixteen. For three years fol- 
 lowing he was employed as a farm hand, but as he 
 desired better educational privileges than had fallen 
 to his lot he then went to East Flampton, Mass., 
 and entered the Williston Seminary, where he con- 
 tinued his studies for two terms. On his return, 
 because of poor health, he engaged in teaching, 
 being employed at East Windsor Hill for two 
 years, and after that time he engaged in farming. 
 He located first on a fami just across the road from 
 the present homestead of the family, to which he 
 removed in 1870, and in addition to general farm- 
 ing he was interested in tobacco culture. His 
 military service lasted from August, 1862, to Au- 
 gust, 1863, when he was honorably discharged at 
 Hartford. He enlisted in Company G, 25th Conn. 
 V. I., for nine months, and during his term of active 
 
COM. M HMO RATI rE BlOCRAI'llICAL RECORD. 
 
 543 
 
 ^(.■r\ico took ]jart in two engageiiKiits at Irish llcnd. 
 La., and s])cnt seven weeks with the forces Ijcsie.t;- 
 ina: Port Hudson. Politically he was a Republican 
 from the organization of the party, and in 1858 and 
 i8(jo he served as a member of the State Legisla- 
 ture. His keen interest in educational advance- 
 ment was shown by thirty years of service on the 
 local school board, anil he was a prominent worker 
 in the I'^irst Congregational Church of East \Vind- 
 sor, in which he held the oflice of deacon for twenty 
 years, and with which his family are now eon- 
 nectetl. 
 
 In 1870 Mr. Fitts married Airs. Mary L Skiimer, 
 widow of William W. Skinner, and daughter 01 
 Nelson S. Osborn, of East Windsor. The follow- 
 ing children blessed the union : Edward B., a 
 resident of New Lebanon Center, N. Y. ; Elizabeth 
 H. ; John N. ; a daughter died in infancy ; and 
 Charles S. 
 
 FRANKLIN GREENE COMSTOCK, one of 
 the best-known citizens of East Hartford, is the eld- 
 est son of William G. Comstock, a full biographical 
 sketch of whom is given elsewdiere. He is also the 
 oldest representative of his generation, the ninth, 
 descendetl from the founder of the family in Amer- 
 ica, William Comstock, who came from England or 
 Wales, in 1635, the line of descent bemg as follows: 
 (I) William; (2) John; (3) John (2), born in 
 1676; (4) John (3) ; (5) Christopher, born in 1720; 
 (6) Jabez, died March 23, 1812, aged fifty-seven 
 years; (7) Franklin G., born March 17, 1790, died 
 in 1S45; (8) William G., born Oct. 11, 1810; and 
 (9) Franklin G., the subject of this notice. 
 
 Franklin G. Comstock was born in Wethersfield, 
 this county, May 27, 1838, attended the common 
 schools, and the academy of that town, Cooke Louns- 
 bury being one of the teachers, and then at East 
 Hampton, Mass., atended a private school taught 
 by a Air. Wright, who had formerly been principal 
 of Williston Seminary. Later he attended D. H. 
 Chase's preparatory school for boys at Aliddletown, 
 Conn., and at fourteen years of age entered Wilbra- 
 ham College, where he studied one year, and then 
 went to the old Hart school, at Farmington, under 
 Simeon Hart, one of the foremost instructors of his 
 day. Young Franklin G. then went to Madison, 
 Wis., where he received a course of commercial in- 
 struction and w'as also emjiloved there, for two years 
 as clerk in a mercantile hou'se. He then accepted a 
 situation at Providence, R. I., as bookkeeper with 
 Orra\-, Taft & Co., cotton brokers, remained with 
 the tirm two vears, and then returned to ^^'ethers- 
 field. 
 
 In 1858 Mr. Comstock came to East Hartford, 
 W'here his parents had in the meantime made their 
 home. From that time until 1865 he assisted his 
 father in operating the home farm, and in the year 
 last mentioned engaged in the manufacture of solid 
 silver spoons, at East Flartford, under the firm 
 name of E. AT. Roberts & Co.: two vears later the 
 
 safe of the firm was blown open by burglars and de- 
 spoiled of a large cjuantity of solid silver stock. The 
 partnership was then dissolved, and Air. Comstock 
 ne.xt engaged in the manufacture of agricultural im- 
 plements, as a mcmloer of the firm of Comstock 
 Brothers. The father was the patentee of an ex- 
 cellent seed-sower and cultivator, and to the man- 
 ufacture of this implement the brothers devoted their 
 attention. It found a market in every part of the 
 United States and various other countries, and the 
 firm of Comstock Brothers became so well known, 
 through this implement, that mail matter addressed 
 to the firm, with town and State omitted, invariably 
 reached its destination. The manufacture of this 
 extraordinary and ingenious invention was carried 
 on for many years, but was finally discontinued, 
 although "parts" are still made for replacing worn 
 or broken parts to users throughout the civilized 
 world. For some years afterward Air. Comstock 
 was engaged in the manufacture of cigar bo.xes, 
 which he followed until, in January, 1898. he finally 
 retired from all active business, to rest in peace after 
 so many years of enterprising, progressive and in- 
 cessant industry. 
 
 Air. Comstock was happily joined in matrimony 
 Alay 28, 1862, with Aliss Antoinette Deming, a 
 native of East Hartford, and a daughter of Timothy 
 and Eliza (Wing) Deming. Air. Deming had 
 served in the war of i8i2, was a well-known citizen 
 in his day, was quite a mechanical genius and the 
 patentee of several useful and ingenious inventions, 
 and lived to reach the patriarchal age of ninety-four 
 years. To the felicitous union of Air. and Airs. 
 Comstock were born three children: Annie T., born 
 Alay 22, 1863, widow of Alilton Ensign, of Hock- 
 anum, and mother of two children, Louis AI. and 
 Ruth, the former of whom lives with Air. Com- 
 stock; Amy, born Alarch 23, 1866, is now Airs. \\W- 
 ter Ranney, of East Hartford, and has three chil- 
 dren, Philip, Nettie and Pauline; and Harry F., 
 born Aug. 29, 1876, who is head shipping clerk for 
 Pratt & Whitnev, of Hartford. The mother of this 
 family was called away June 12, 1883, a faithful 
 member of the Congregational Church, and beloved 
 by all who knew her. 
 
 In politics Air. Comstock has always been a 
 Republican, and has show^n his loyalty to the party 
 bv voting regularlv, but has never sought office. 
 Fraternally, he has been a member of Orient Lodge, 
 No. 62, F. & A. AL, at East Hartford, for thirty- 
 seven years ; for fifteen years he was a member of 
 "Putnam Phalanx," of Hartford, from which he 
 retired with the rank of first lieutenant. 
 
 In his earlier manhood Air. Comstock traveled 
 over the greater part, of the L^nited States, and east 
 of the Alississippi river has been in every State ex- 
 cepting one or two in the .South ; at the North, in his 
 very early days, when traveling for Comstock, Ferre 
 & Co., of Wethersfield, lie once drove a team to 
 Alontreal, Canada, and back, taking in all the towns 
 en route. This experience was of vast benefit to 
 
544 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 him in his later business career, as it ampHfied his 
 knowledge of men and their ways in the various 
 sections which he had visited, and assisted in 
 making him one of the best-known men in the State, 
 and one of the most substantial in Hartford county. 
 For some years Mr. Comstock has been a grower 
 of tobacco, and still over-sees a twelve-acre tract 
 which he owns and which is devoted to this line of 
 industry. He has recently purchased a valuable 
 plantation and orange grove in Orlando, Florida, 
 where he intends to reside hereafter during the win- 
 ter months. In 1891 he erected an excellent 
 dwelling on Main street, East Hartford, and this is 
 his present habitation. Notwithstanding his very 
 active and arduous business life his health is some- 
 thing remarkable, as he has never known a sick day, 
 and has never suflered from any infirmity except a 
 slight impairment of hearing. Mentally and phys- 
 ically he is to-day as strongly constituted as most 
 men of thirty-five years. Unassuming, plain and 
 approachable, straightforward and honest, he is es- 
 teemed by the entire community as no other man is, 
 and his family share with him this high respect. 
 
 MARSHALL PARRISH NORTON is the 
 senior member of the firm of Norton & Pierce, 
 proprietors of Lake Compounce, one of the most 
 popular pleasure resorts in Hartford county. This 
 lake and its surroundings have been in the posses- 
 sion of the Norton family since 1787. 
 
 Mr. Norton is the eldest son of Gad and Mary 
 A. (Wiard) Norton, and was born m Southing- 
 ton, June 10, 1842. He passed his boyhood and 
 youth on the home farm, accjuiring a good prac- 
 tical education in the common schools and Lewis 
 Academy, and since attaining his majority has been 
 identified with the Lake Compounce resort, as its 
 manager and one of its proprietors. He is an en- 
 terprising and progressive citizen, and very pop- 
 ular with the public. 
 
 The lineage of the Nortons, compiled in tabular 
 and chart form, runs back to a remote ancestry in 
 Russian, Saxon and Norman lines. The Norman 
 line begins with Rollo, Duke of Normandy, a'bout 
 the year 900. The first representative of the name 
 in England was La Seignor de Norville, who came 
 over from Normandy as sheriff of William the 
 Conqueror in September, 1066. He married into 
 the house of Valois, which was afterward for a 
 long period the royal family of France. The Saxon 
 pedigree is carried back in direct line to Harderich, 
 King of the Saxons, B. C. 90, through Lady Maucl 
 de Grey de Ruthven, who married Sir John de 
 Norville de Norton (eighth in line from La Seignor 
 de Norville). Their son, John de Norton, of 
 Sharpenhoe, Bedfordshire, England, established the 
 line called the "Sharpenhoe Nortons," from whom 
 the Nortons of New England are descended. That 
 the family thus early was numerous and influential 
 is evidenced by the not infrequent application of 
 the name to English hamlets and towns, as Chipping 
 
 Norton, Norton on the Yorkshire border, Norton 
 Conyers and Kings Norton. Sharpenhoe Bury, 
 the property of the Nortons for a long period, was 
 a large estate about thirty miles from London, 
 with a manor house and "ancient chapelle" in ex- 
 istence in 1235. The moat surounding the manor 
 house and grounds remains to this day in perfect 
 preservation, and the chapel font, restored when 
 the chapel was demolished in 1775, still stands in 
 the manor grounds, covered with ivy and filled 
 with lilies, a memorial of the ancient Saxon times 
 to which it belonged. There still exists a curious 
 old deed of 1545, recording the sale of the Rectory 
 and Church ot Stretley (adjoining Sharpenhoe) 
 by King Henry VHI to his "trusty and beloved 
 Subject Thomas Norton of Sharpenhoe," which 
 deed was "witnessed by Catherine (Parr), Queen 
 of England and General Regent thereof at West- 
 minster." 
 
 Thomas Norton, son of Thomas, above, was a 
 dramatic writer, and the author, with Sir Thomas 
 Lockville, of "Gorboduc," the first English tragedy, 
 which was also the first successful experiment in 
 blank verse. He was the author also of important 
 translations. He married (first) Margaret, only 
 child and heir of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, and (second) Alice, daughter of Ed- 
 ward Cranmer, brother of Thomas. The second 
 wife was the mother of his five children. He died 
 in 1584. 
 
 In 1686 Thomas Norton established and en- 
 dowed for all time a free school in Sharpenhoe 
 for eight poor children and a tutor, and, although 
 the property was sold out of the family in 1708, 
 the school is still maintained, by an annual rent 
 charge provided for by its founder. 
 
 John Norton, the founder of the line known 
 as the "Farmihgton Nortons," was born probably 
 in London about 1620-24, and in or before 1646 
 came with his wife, Dorathy, to Branfcrd, Conn., 
 and was one of the "first planters" of that place. 
 Early in 1659 he removed with his family to Farm- 
 ington. At this time he was buying and selling 
 land — "seven pieces of land and housing in Hart- 
 ford upon the River of Connecticut.'" According 
 to an old deed, "One parcel abuts on the old high- 
 way leading from the ox-pasture to the mill on 
 the west side of land appointed for a burying 
 place," this burying place being the old Center 
 church burying ground, lately restored, and the 
 land being in what is now the heart of the city, 
 near the old State House. John Norton was one 
 of the eighty-four proprietors of Farmington, 
 which included at that time Southington, New 
 Britain, Berlin, Bristol, Burlington, Avon, Plain- 
 ville and parts of Wolcott, Harwinton and Bloom- 
 field. He died Nov. 5, 1709. 
 
 John Norton (2), son of John, above, was born 
 at Branford Oct. 14, 1657, and married Ruth Moore, 
 daughter of Isaac Moore. He died at Farming- 
 ton April 25, 1725. His daughters intermarried 
 
/^Iw^^ ^/fci^:?^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 545 
 
 with the Newells, of l-'annington, and the Sey- 
 mour, Catlin, ranlry and Pratt families, of Hart- 
 ford. He was one of the committej for the division 
 and distribution of Southington lands in 1722, :.nd 
 took as a part of his portion the "59th lot in the 
 3d tier," adjoining Lake Compouncc, which has 
 remained the property of his descendants through 
 seven gen,erations. He was a member of the llrook- 
 lield Garrison in 1675, and a representative in the 
 General Court of Connecticut in 1680-81-82. 
 
 Ebenezer iNorton, son of John (2), was born 
 at P^armington in 1699, married Sarah Savage, pf 
 JMiddletown, Julv 7, 1726, a;id had a family of 
 eight children. He died March 21, 1750, in South- 
 ington, where he was one of the early settlers. 
 
 Ebenezer Norton (2), son of Ebenezer (i), 
 born in 1746, married Sybil Parrish, of Branford, 
 in 1773. He died at Southington Oct. 3, 1807. 
 He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. He 
 was a worthy and respected citizen, and influential 
 in town and church affairs. 
 
 Parrish Norton, son of Ebenezer (2), the sev- 
 enth of a family of eleven children, was born in 
 1786 in Southington, and married Betsy Rice, of 
 Cheshire, Oct 10, 181 1. He died Aug. 11, 1838. 
 
 Gad Norton, one of the six children of Parrish, 
 was born at Southington Oct. 24, 1815, anl mar- 
 ried Mary A., daughter of Solomon and Olive 
 (Comes) Wiard, of Wolcott, Oct. 23, 1839. He 
 died May 4, 1898. He was a prominent and in- 
 fluential man, and was recognized as one of the 
 valued and useful citizens of his community ; served 
 as selectman of Southington in 1874 and 1875, 
 and was a director of the Bristol National Bank 
 and the Bristol Savings Bank. In May, 1875, the 
 General Court, at his request, set off to Bristol 
 so much of the town of Southington as was in- 
 cluded in his homestead, making the now familiar 
 jog on the map on the line of division between the 
 two towns. He inherited from his father the Com- 
 pounce property, which he developed as a summer 
 resort in the years previous to 1850. His chil- 
 dren are Marshall Parrish, whose portrait is here 
 presented ; Alice J. ; Julius G. ; and Gilbert E., who 
 inherits the old homestead, and is an energetic and 
 successful man of affairs. 
 
 NORMAN LOOMIS is one of the old and val- 
 ued citizens of the town of Manchester and the coun- 
 ty of Hartford, where, throughout his long residence, 
 he has won an enviable reputation for untiring in- 
 dustry and unimpeachable integrity. His fellow 
 townsmen pay him their highest tribute when they 
 refer to him the intricate questions arising out of the 
 administration of estates where th; question of heir- 
 ship is disputed. But on this subject more, anon. 
 
 Norman Loomis was born Aug. i, 1821. in the 
 town of Hebron, Andover Societv, in Tolland coun- 
 ty. Being the son of Jacob Loomis, a farmer and 
 much noted man in his day, a descendant of the first 
 settler of Bolton, our subject's early years were 
 35 
 
 filled with hard work, as were those of most (jf the 
 men and women who, thrcjugh jjatient toil and un- 
 flagging energy, have made Connecticut what it is 
 to-day. Such education as he received early in life 
 was attained only through great personal effort and 
 self-sacrifice. The district school was the first nur- 
 sery of his juvenile mind, and he experienced diffi- 
 culty in passing through even the limited curriculum 
 which it afforded. Only for three months of the 
 year was he given the "golden opportunity," the 
 term commencing shortly after Thanksgiving, when 
 farm work was at a stand-still, and ending early in 
 the spring, when the boys were needed for plowing 
 and planting. The school-house was two and one- 
 half miles from the farm, but he manfully trudged 
 the five miles each day, besides walking some two 
 miles around the farm to feed the stock. It is from 
 such men as this that have descended the sons and 
 daughters of New England who have spread over 
 a continent, permeating alike its industries, its aspi- 
 rations and its thoughts. Those were not the days 
 of well-built school houses, wth high-ceiled, steam- 
 heated rooms. The seats were of slabs, and an open, 
 smoky fireplace was the only source of heat. Such 
 as they were, however, these old-time Yankee school 
 houses have leavened the civilization of the country. 
 After acquiring such knowledge as his limited op- 
 portunities afforded at home, he had recourse, for 
 his further intellectual advancement, to the high 
 school at Andover. The tuition at this school was 
 but two and one-half dollars per quarter, yet young 
 Loomis was obliged to pay even this small sum by 
 hauling cordwood, driving three yoke of oxen at 
 the liberal remuneration of one dollar and fifty 
 cents per day. This was pre-eminently fatiguing 
 and unsatisfactory, and during his last term at the 
 institution he earned his board and tuition by such 
 work as a stalwart young man might perform, work- 
 ing early and late. 
 
 Thus ]Mr. Loomis continued until he reached 
 the age of sixteen years, when he began his appren- 
 ticeship of three years at the trade of a carriage- 
 maker. During this period he received his board, 
 with a sliding scale of pecuniary reward : i. e., 
 thirty dollars for the first year, thirty-five for the 
 second, and fortv for the last. The pay, however, 
 stood in an inverse ratio to his capability. No sooner 
 had he qualified himself as a journeyman than he 
 secured a post as foreman in the carriage shop of 
 Benton J. Kellogg, of North Glastonbury, where he 
 continued for two years. From Glastonbury he 
 went to Rocky Hill, where he entered the employ 
 of the Merriman Carriage Co. For five years he 
 lived in Berlin, where his industry and intelligence 
 soon brought him into prominence, both as a me- 
 chanic and as a citizen. Within a year he was made 
 constable, deputy sheriff", and, not long afterward, 
 justice of the peace. It was at about this period of 
 his life that he began reading law, his preceptor 
 being Francis Chambers, a personal friend. \\'hile 
 he never applied for admission to the Bar, he ac- 
 
546 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 quired an intimate acquaintance with the underlying- 
 principles of the science, which has ever since stood 
 him in good stead. While living at Berlin he per- 
 ceived symptoms of failing health, and at once aban- 
 doned active work to seek occupation in the Far 
 West. He devoted a year to travel, and his adven- 
 tures were numerous and exciting. With two 
 friends whose acquaintance he had made by chance, 
 he visited a Sioux chieftain on the farther slope of 
 the "Rockies," and the old Indian warrior presented 
 Mr. Loomis with a copper bracelet, which is one of 
 the most highly-prized specimens in his extensive 
 and unique collection of curios. He was immenselv 
 impressed by the possibilities of the Northwest, but 
 his enthusiasm exceeded his experience. He per- 
 ceived that Minnesota was destined to become one 
 of the great tvheat-growing, wheat-distributing cen- 
 ters of the country, and on his return to Berlin he 
 enlisted the interest of some of his friends in the 
 formation of a concern to start a flouring-mill at 
 Wasioja, Dodge Co., Minn. Unfortunately for the 
 success of the scheme, the spot chosen for the venture 
 vvas so far out of the way of travel that even all the 
 machinery for the mill (not to speak of its putative 
 product) had to be hauled by teams. The project 
 was abandoned, and in 1857 Mr. Loomis returned to 
 •Connecticut, taking up his residence at Hartford. 
 With his expert knowledge of carriage-making, he 
 'did not find it difficult to secure a remunerative posi- 
 tion. For four years he was foreman for one of the 
 leading factories of the State, and in 1861 he en- 
 tered the emplo_y of the Sharp's Rifle Company, 
 which held a valuable government contract, remain- 
 ing with that company until the close of the war. 
 Then he accepted a position in the car shops of the 
 New York & New Haven Railway Co., where he re- 
 mained until 1867. In that year he began to "farm," 
 and bought his present holding, which he has 
 brought to a high state of cultivation^, and on which 
 he has lived ever since. In addition to his farm he 
 owns valuable real estate in and around Manchester, 
 a part of which has been improved by the erection 
 of factories. 
 
 In June, 1861, Mr. Loomis was married to Miss 
 Rose Bunce, who died Dec. 15, 1891. Their union 
 was blessed with two children, Charles B. and Nor- 
 man M. The first named is bookkeeper in the em- 
 ploy of Walton Grant, of Manchester, and the 
 j^ounger has completed his second year at Trinity 
 College. 
 
 Since Mr. X^oomis has settled down to the pro- 
 saic life of a farmer his knowledge of law, joined to 
 his sterling integrit)', has stood him in good stead. 
 For eight years he has exercised the functions of a 
 notary public, and he has been called upon to adju- 
 dicate disputed questions in, and to settle up, fully 
 ■one hundred estates — a record without parallel 
 among the laity. In politics he is Republican, and 
 has twice filled a seat in the Legislature, with credit 
 to his constituents and honor to himself. In 1859 
 he represented his native town, and in 1889 the town 
 
 of Manchester. At present ( 1900) he is a member 
 of the board of relief, on which he has served in all 
 about seven years. He has been a member of the 
 Masonic Fraternity for many years. While not 
 nominally afiihated with any church, his life is the 
 best exposition of his conception of true Christianity; 
 
 WARREN WALTER THORPE, of No. 144 
 Main street, and proprietor of one of the neatest 
 and most extensive shoe stores in Bristol, was born 
 in Southington, Conn., Nov. 19, 1839, and is a son 
 of Lauren and Catherine (Byington) Thorpe, the 
 former of whom was born Jan. 19, 1805, married 
 Sept. 21, 1831, and died Jan. 11, 1843; the latter 
 was born Jan. 24, 1808, and died Jan. 23, 1894. 
 
 Asahel Thorpe, grandfather of Warren W. 
 Thorpe, was a native of England, and a gentleman 
 of considerable wealth, the Thorpe family being the 
 original proprietors of Hyde Park in London. 
 
 Lauren Thorpe was also born in Southington, 
 Conn., was a blacksmith and farmer, was the in- 
 ventor of bolts for carriages, and started the in- 
 dustry in the factory now being conducted by L. 
 D. Frost, his son-in-law, at Southington. Mr. 
 Thorpe was a Whig in politics, and in religion a 
 Congregationalist, as was likewise his wife. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lauren Thorpe were born six chil- 
 dren: Judge Elbert E., born Feb. 11, 1833, died 
 March 9, 1897; Augusta Irene, born April 29, 1834, 
 was married to Harrison S. Judd, of Bethany, and 
 died April 30, 1899; Cornelia Marian, born July 22, 
 1836, married Levi D. Frost, of Southington, who 
 died Oct. 14, 1900; Emily Alice, born March 27, 
 1838, died Aug. 30, 1846; Warren W. is the sub- 
 ject of this sketch; and Maria Theresa, born Dec. 
 14, 1841, is the wife of Franklin Byington, of 
 Bristol. 
 
 Warren W. Thorpe was born on his father's 
 farm, and was but three years of age when that 
 gentleman was called from earth. He was educa- 
 ted in the common schools of Southington, which 
 he attended until sixteen years of age, and then 
 passed two years in the factory of Levi D. Frost. 
 He then entered the Bloomfield Academy, was 
 under tuition one year, and then spent a short time 
 on the home farm, after which he passed two years 
 in the store of Peck, Stow & Wilcox; he and his 
 brother, Elbert E., then purchased this store, and 
 conducted it about two years, selling it to Buritt 
 & Son. 
 
 Mr. Thorpe next came to Bristol, where he en- 
 tered the employ of Andrew Shepard as clerk. 
 About three years later Mr. Shepard died, and Mr. 
 Thorpe conducted the store in the interest of the 
 Shepard estate for another year, when it was sold to 
 O. B. Ives, and is now known as the A. J. Muzzy 
 & Co. store. Mr. Thorpe then clerked in the dry- 
 goods store of Benedict & Merriman, of Waterbury, 
 about one year, when he returned to Bristol and 
 clerked in J. R. Mitchell's general store, remaining 
 until the fall of 1875, at which time he opened a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 547 
 
 shoe store in Eber's block on North Main street. 
 Here he remained four years, thence removing- to 
 the okl J. R. Mitchell store, which he occupied un- 
 til G. W. Mitchell erected his new brick block at 
 No. 144 Main street, which Mr. Thorpe has since 
 occupied — doing a most thriving trade. 
 
 Warren W. Thorpe was joined in wedlock May 
 3, 1S65, with Miss Alice Augusta Dunbar, who was 
 born March 28, 1847, ^ daughter of Edward Lu- 
 cien and Julia (Warner) Dunbar, of Bristol. This 
 marriage has been blessed with two c hildren : Eva 
 May and Helen Dunbar. Eva May was born Nov. 
 2, 1869, and was married Oct. 19, 1898, to George 
 Wallace Birge, youngest surviving son of the late 
 Nathan Loomis Birge ; one child graces this union, 
 Rachel, born Sept. 8, 1899. Helen Dunbar, born 
 June 9, 1876, graduated from the Bristol high school 
 in 1895, and from the New Britain Normal School 
 in 1898; she taught one year in the Rockwell public 
 school, of New Britain, and is now teaching in the 
 kindergarten department of the Federal Hill school. 
 
 Warren W. Thorpe is a member of Franklin 
 Lodge, No. 56, F. & A. M., and in politics is a Re- 
 publican. He is a member of the Congregational 
 Church, of which he was librarian for several years. 
 The family stand high in social circles, and as a 
 business man Mr. Thorpe's name is beyond reproach 
 
 GUSTAV JULIUS SCHLAAK, a well-to-do 
 farmer of Berlin, was born in West Preussen, Ger- 
 many, Nov. 6, 1859. He left his native country in 
 early life, and coming to the "land of great possibil- 
 ities" has realized the promises which it has always 
 held out to the hand of industry, and is now the 
 owner of a fine farm of loi acres in Blue Hills, 
 Kensington. 
 
 Mr. Schlaak's father, Juhus Johann Schlaak, 
 never came to America, but spent his entire life in 
 Germany, as a farmer. There he died in 1878, at 
 the age of seventy-two years. The wife and mother, 
 who bore the maiden name of Wilhelmine Kadau, 
 is still living, at the age of seventy-two, and makes 
 her home with our subject in Blue Hills, Kensing- 
 ton. In the family were three sons, all of whom 
 came to this country. One brother of our subject is 
 now a laborer of Fair Haven, and the other is a 
 baker of Milford, Connecticut. 
 
 At the age of six years Gustav Schlaak began 
 his education in a private school in his native land, 
 and continued his studies for eight years. After 
 leaving school he learned the tailor's trade, at which 
 he worked until his emigration to the LTnited States. 
 He sailed from Bremen, Gennany, JNIarch 22, 1884, 
 and arrived in New York April 5, 1884. He located 
 in Meriden, Conn., where he worked for the firm of 
 Baum & Bernstein, and then opened a tailor shop of 
 his own which he successfully conducted until com- 
 ing to Blue Hills, Kensington, in November. 1889. 
 Here he purchased a home and farm of loi acres, 
 which is under a high state of cultivation, and which 
 as a skillful agriculturist he operates with good suc- 
 
 cess, raising general produce. He is also interested 
 in the dairy business, and has a milk route in 
 Meriden. 
 
 Mr. Schlaak married Miss Therese Mayer, who 
 was born in Wurtembcrg, Germany, March 6, 1863, 
 but was living in Meriden at the time of her mar- 
 riage. Four children have been born to them : 
 Emma Therese, born Sept. 7, 1887, died Dec. 3, 1887, 
 and was buried in Meriden ; Eda !\Iinnie, born Jan. 
 25, 1889, and Emma Helen, born Sept. 8, 1890, are 
 attending the Kensington schools ; and Margarete 
 Lena, born Aug. 8, 1892, died Aug. 5, 1895, and was 
 laid to rest in the Kensington burying-ground. 
 
 In politics Mr. Schlaak is independent, voting for 
 the men whom he considers best qualified to fill the 
 offices. He is a member of a orotective association 
 of Meriden, and attends the Lutheran Church of that 
 place, while his wife iiolds membership in the Cath- 
 olic Church of Meriden. 
 
 HON. JAMES HENRY ^NIIXOR (deceased), 
 during his lifetime a prominent manufacturer of 
 New Britain, was born in Woodbury, Litchfield 
 Co., Conn., March 20, 1840, and was a son of FIcnry 
 Minor, and a grandson of Matthew Minor, both also 
 natives of Woodbury. 
 
 jMatthew IMinor was a lawyer of distinction at 
 Woodbury, was active in politics and church affairs, 
 and a man of recognized local influence. He mar- 
 ried Lorena Bacon, who bore him six children : 
 Alary, who was married to Dr. Huxley, of Goshen ; 
 Emily, who became the wife of Enos Benham, of 
 Woodbury ; Giles, the eldest son ; Samuel, a graduate 
 of Yale and a lawyer; John B., who was a lumber 
 and coal merchant; and Henr}-, father of subject. 
 
 Henry Minor was a manufacturer of Woodbury 
 or in Hotchkissville, wielded much influence in Litch- 
 field county, of which he was elected sheriff on tlu 
 Republican ticket, and was a member of the Con- 
 gregational Church. He married Althea Green, of 
 Woodburv, and to this union were born four chil- 
 dren : James Henry, the subject of this sketch; 
 Mary J., married to William C. Buell, of Litchfield ; 
 Emily Lorena, married to George W. Minor ; and 
 Juia Bacon, wife of Dr. Frank Esterly, formerly 
 of Wisconsin. Both parents of this family are now 
 deceased. 
 
 James Henry Alinor, whose name opens this me- 
 moir, received his early education in an academy 
 in Woodbury, and also took the course in the high 
 school of New Britain, under John Warren Tuck. 
 When about nineteen years of age he finished his 
 education, then worked for his uncle. John 11. 
 Minor, in the lumber business at New Britain, a 
 few months, after which he took a short vacation 
 home. In 1863 he went to Wisconsin for a year, 
 returned to New Britain, and in 1864 entered the 
 shipping department of Russell & Erwin Mfg. Co., 
 holding that place a year or so. He then bought 
 out the paper-box business of Sylvanus Stone, on 
 Elm street, a rather small concern at that time 
 
548 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 {1868). In 1872 Mr. Minor removed his factory 
 to its present location, on Arch street, where it has 
 grown to be one of the industries of the city. For 
 a few years prior to 1890 he had interested with 
 him John B. Minor, but to James Henry Minor 
 is due the credit of making the business what it is, 
 and lie sliowed himself to be a man of unusual ex- 
 ecutive ability and business talent. 
 
 In politics Mr. Minor was a Republican, and a 
 very popular member of his party. For many years 
 he was chairman of the Republican town commit- 
 tee, and prior to 1861 was a member of the General 
 Assembl}' from New Britain for two terms. From 
 a business point of view he was a strictly self-made 
 man, and earned the high position he held solely 
 through his personal efforts. He passed away 
 March 7, 1895. 
 
 Hon. James Henry Minor was married, Dec. 
 II, 1861, to Ann Elizabeth Eddy, a daughter of 
 Hon. Horace Eddy, who was reared and educated 
 in New Britain. He learned tlie trade of machinist 
 of Joseph Shipman, in whose family he lived for 
 years. Thence he went to Russell & Erwin, with 
 whom he remained until his death, becoming a 
 stockholder in the company, and when a joint-stock 
 company was formed he was made superintendent, 
 a position he held until March 25, 1887, and was 
 also a director for many years. Mr. Eddy was a 
 man of great force of character, and for one term 
 represented the Republican party in the Legislature 
 from New Britain. He, was a director in the First 
 National Bank, in the New Britain Savings Bank, 
 in the Landers, Frary & Clark, the Union Works, 
 and in the Gas Co. He was an honorary deacon in 
 his church, and was foremost in every enterprise 
 designed for the promotion of the true interests 
 of New Britain. 
 
 Mr. Eddy married Roxy Ann Wright, daugh- 
 ter of Dan Wright, of New Britain, and had born 
 to him two children, who have grown to maturitv : 
 Dan Wright, who was connected with the Russell 
 & Erwin Co. ; and Ann Elizabeth. The mother 
 died May 6, 1881. 
 
 SAMUEL ASHBEL HART, a representative 
 agriculturist and influential citizen of Kensington, 
 was born Jan. 15, 1844, in the house where he still 
 resides. The family was founded in America by 
 Stephen Hart, a native of England, who crossed 
 the Atlantic in 1631, and located in Farmington, 
 Conn. During the early trouble with the Indians 
 some of the Tunxis tribe set fire to the nouse in 
 which the ancestors of our subject lived, and all 
 were killed with the exception of Capt. John, who 
 was herding stock at the time and fortunately es- 
 caped. From him our subject is descended. Capt. 
 John Hart was born in 1655, and died Nov. il, 
 1714. 
 
 Lieut. Samuel Hart, the great-great-grandfa- 
 ther of our subject, was born in Berlin, Hartford 
 county, in January, 1692, fourth son of Capt. John 
 
 Hart. He was a lieutenant in the war of King 
 George II, in 1740, and died in 1751. 
 
 Samuel Hart, the great-grandfather, was born 
 m Berlin in 1738, and died in 1813. He firs't mar- 
 ried Rebecca, daughter of Charles and Rebecca 
 (Munson) Norton, and by her had seven children. 
 By his second wife, Lydia Hinsdale, daughter of 
 Capt. John and Elizabeth (Cole) Hinsdale, he had 
 ten children. Among the number were Emma Hart 
 Willard, who was a great scientist, and in 1819. 
 founded the Troy Female Seminary (she died in 
 1870, aged eighty-three years) ; and Almira Hart 
 Lincoln Phelps, the founder and for many years 
 the principle of the Baltimore Female Seminary. 
 The father of these was a very clever and intel- 
 lectual man. 
 
 Hon. Capt. Samuel Hart, the grandfather of 
 our subject, was born in 1761, and died in 1835. 
 He was quite a prominent man in his day, was a 
 State Senator from the First District, and was a 
 soldier in the Revolutionary war for a short time. 
 In 1800 he repaired and enlarged the house in which 
 our subject now lives, it being probably two hun- 
 dred years old — one of the oldest in the town of 
 Berlin. He married Mary Wilcox, who was born 
 in 1772, and died in 1850, being laid to rest beside 
 her husband in the South burying-ground of 
 Kensington. 
 
 Samuel Hart, father of our subject, was born 
 Aug. 9, 1802, and throughout life engaged in ag- 
 ricultural pursuits, owning and operating 200 acres 
 of land. He vvas one of the most popular and in- 
 fluential citizens of his community, and about 1837 
 was elected to the State Legislature. He also 
 served as justice of the peace, and was a stanch 
 Democrat in politics. In November, 1825, he mar- 
 ried Miss Lucy Dickinson, and for over fifty years 
 they traveled life's journey together. He died 
 April I, 1876, and she passed away Nov. 4, 1888, 
 in Kensington, their remains being interred in the 
 South burying-ground. In their family were the 
 following children: Willis, born Nov. 6, 1826, died 
 Oct. 17, 1848; Sherman, born Oct. 2, 1828, en- 
 listed during the Civil war in the 32d Iowa V. I., 
 and died at Island No. 10 in September, 1863; 
 Lucy, born Dec. 13, 1830, is the widow of Henry 
 R. Lyman, and now resides in Montevallo, Ala. ; 
 Mary A., born April 10, 1834, died when a few 
 days old; iMary Wilcox, born April 30, 1835, was 
 the first wife of Deacon William Upson, and died 
 June 30, 1871 ; Anna, born in 1837, died at the age 
 of twenty years ; Samuel, born in 1840, died when a 
 few months old; and Samuel A., of this review, 
 completes the family. 
 
 At the ancestral home of the family our subject 
 grew to manhood. From the age of four to fif- 
 teen he attended school in district No. 3 for eight 
 months during the year, and during the summer 
 season assisted in the work of the farm. For one 
 term he was a student in Lewis Academy, Southing- 
 ton, but on account of ill health was obliged to 
 
I 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 549 
 
 leave school and return home. Almost his entire 
 life has been passed on the old homestead, and in 
 his farming' operations he has met with most grat- 
 ifying success, becoming" one of the most sub- 
 stantial and prosperous citizens of Kensington. In 
 1866 he went to Alabama, and from there to Iowa, 
 where he remained about a year, and then returned 
 home. Again, in 1875, he went to Iowa, where 
 he remained a year, but since then has lived un- 
 interruptedly in Hartford county. 
 
 On Jan. 19, 1881, Mr. Hart married Miss Anne 
 Amelia Hough, who was born May 8, 1843, ^ 
 daughter of Isaac and Laura (Johnson) Hough, 
 of Wolcott, Conn. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hart are 
 active and prominent members of the Kensington 
 Congregational Church, in which he was elected 
 deacon in 1897, and he is also chairman of the 
 Kensingion Ecclesiastical Society, while his wife 
 is a member of the Ladies Aid and Missionary So- 
 cieties. Mrs. Hart belongs to the D. A. R. Fra- 
 ternally Mr. Hart was a member and treasurer of 
 Percival Grange, No. 95, of Kensington, for sev- 
 eral vears, or until the organization dissolved. In 
 political sentiment he is a Democrat, but at local 
 elections votes for the men whom he believes best 
 qualilied to till the offices, regardless of party affil- 
 iations, and he has never cared for political pre- 
 ferment. He is a man of more than ordinary in- 
 telligence, is a great reader, a deep thinker, broad- 
 minded and liberal in his views, and keeps well 
 informed on the topice and issues of the day. Be- 
 ing a man of sound judgment and keen discrimina- 
 tion, his advice is often sought by his neighbors 
 and friends, and he is one of the most influential 
 citizens of his community. 
 
 JONATHAN KNOX HALL, a most worthy 
 citizen and prosperous farmer of Hockanum, Hart- 
 ford county, was born in that village May 28, 1834, 
 in the house now occupied by Stanlev Wadsworth, 
 and is a son of Austin and Betsey (Wells) Hall. 
 
 Dr. Timothy Hall, grandfather of our subject, 
 was a native of Brookline, Mass., early located in 
 Hockanum, and had a very large practice, and was 
 quite prominent as a citizen. He was known as a 
 very skillful army surgeon during the Revolutionary 
 war. He was twice married, his first wife being 
 Eunice Hills, who bore him twelve children — three 
 boys and nine girls, the sons being" Dr. Eli, of 
 East Hartford ; Luke, a pohceman in New York ; 
 and Austin, father of our subject. Dr. Timothy 
 Hall retained his health all his life, and his death, 
 at the age of eighty-eight years, was caused by an 
 accident when out driving. He was a charter mem- 
 ber of Orient Lodge, No. 62, F. & A. M., East 
 Hartford. 
 
 Austin Hall was born in Hockanum, just across 
 the street from where Truman Hale now lives, was 
 educated in the common schools to a limited ex- 
 tent, and was a farmer from youth until death- To 
 his marriage with Betsev ^^'ells, a native of East 
 
 Hartford, and a daughter of Jonathan Wells, were 
 born the following named children : Adelaide be- 
 came the wife of George D. Scott, of New York, 
 and the mother of one son, George D., of Hartford. 
 Eunice died in infancy. George A., now of Oregon, 
 (first j married Catherine Grossman, and (second) 
 Ellen Hitchcock, and is the father of six children 
 by his second wife ; he was postmaster at Hockanum 
 for many years, the post office having been estab- 
 lished mainly through his instrumentality. Eunice, 
 the fourth child who lived in East Hartford, died 
 unmarried. Lucius J., a miller, married Caroline 
 Clapp, and Hved in Enfield, Ellington, Rocky Hill 
 and other places ; he was killed by being thrown 
 from his wagon in Hartford, his horse having been 
 frightened by a locomotive. Fidelia is the wife of 
 Abner Dickinson and the mother of nine children ; 
 she lives in New Britain. Mary, also a resident 
 of New Britain, married Truman House, and is the 
 mother of William A. House, a young, enterprising 
 business man, who is president of the Adkins Print- 
 ing Co., of New Britain, Conn. Harriet died in 
 young womanhood. Timothy Eli married Fanny 
 King, and also lives in New Britain. The tenth 
 and }^oungest child, J. Knox, is the subject of this 
 biography. 
 
 Austin Hall at one time owned and operated 
 the gristmill now owned by W. J. Cox. and also had 
 a cotton mill, which was located on Maple street, 
 but was later changed to an eyelet-mill, and was 
 operated as such until the Curtis mill was started 
 in Naubuc. Mr. Hall died in 1857, but had lost 
 his wife in 1835, when the subject of this sketch 
 was about six months old. He served as a lieu- 
 tenant in the war of 1812. He held the office of 
 selectman of the town of East Hartford, and also 
 represented the town in the State Legislature. 
 
 J. Knox Hall, after attending the district school 
 at Hockanum until sufficiently far advanced, en- 
 tered the East Hartford high school under Prof. 
 Pearson, and attended two winters. He lived one 
 winter with his brother Lucius, who was in the 
 milling" business at Enfield, then returned to the 
 home farm, where he lived until the death of his 
 father, after which he lived with his brother George 
 until his marriage, when he settled on his present 
 farm, which he had paid for from his own earninp-s. 
 
 On Feb. 26, 1859, ^Ir. Hall married ^liss Cath- 
 erine F. Brewer, daughter of Francis and Theo- 
 dosia (Grossman) Brewer, and five children were 
 born to this union : Burdette. who was engaged 
 in the fish and oyster business in \^irginia, is now 
 deceased. Carrie L., a very bright and-intelligTiit 
 young lady, was postmaster at Hockanum for two 
 years, and is now clerk in the money-order depart- 
 ment of the post office at Hartford, and a leader in 
 church work and in the Grange, belonging to Grange 
 No. 37, of East Hartford ; she has invariably de- 
 clined accepting office in either organization, al- 
 though frequently importuned to become an officer 
 in both : she taught school four years, two in her 
 
550 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 own district (Hockanum), but gave up teaching 
 on account of ill health ; during her term she was 
 the moving spirit in getting the first American flag 
 of the district in the town of East Hartford, which 
 was ordered for every district in town by law by 
 the Legislature. Mary is married to Alexander 
 Pease, of East Hartford. William K. and Edith 
 are living with their parents. 
 
 In politics Mr. Hall was formerh' a Republican, 
 but is now an earnest Prohibitionist. For many 
 years he has been a justice of the peace, and is now 
 serving as such, his fellow citizens having always 
 had the utmost confidence in his integrity. Fra- 
 ternally he is a member of Orient Lodge, No. 62, 
 F. & A. M., in which he has filled nearly every 
 office, having been its worshipful master eight 
 years; is a member of Pythagoras Chapter, No. 
 17, Royal Arch Masons; Wolcott Council, No. i, 
 of Hartford; Washington Commandery, No. i, 
 Knights Templar, of Hartford, in which he has 
 held several offices; the O. U. A. M., of Glas- 
 tonbury; East Hartford Grange, No. 2>7> P- 
 of H. ; and is also post lieutenant in the Putnam 
 Phalanx Association, of Hartford, and was a mem- 
 ber of the staff under Major Alvin Squires. Mr. 
 Hall is, besides, a member of the Hockanum Con- 
 gregational Church, and superintendent of the Sun- 
 day-school. He was one of the first members of 
 this congregation, and was active in securing the 
 erection of the church edifice. Mr. Hall is a 
 courteous gentleman and a credit to his community, 
 where he is held in the highest regard. 
 
 FRANCIS HENRY WHITON, M. D., is a na- 
 tive of Connecticut, having been born May 16, 1846, 
 in the town of Mansfield, Tolland county, on a 
 farm. His inextinguishable fondness for study man- 
 ifested itself in his early youth, and until he reached 
 the age of sixteen years he attended the public 
 schools, supplementing their curriculum by instruc- 
 tion received from Rev. Herbert Brooks, of Mans- 
 field. At the age of seventeen he began teaching 
 school, which vocation proved congenial to his 
 tastes, and for a time he thought of making it his 
 life work, but the district schools were only open 
 during the winter months, consequently he was 
 without any fixed income. For six years he con- 
 tinued to teach school with gratification to himself 
 and satisfactory results to his pupils, yet he saw 
 that there might be something better before him. 
 He never let the "golden moments" pass, and spent 
 his leisure time in the study of languages, par- 
 ticularly of Latin and French, attaining proficiency 
 in both. 
 
 At the age of twent)' our subject began reading 
 medicine, Dr. William H. Richardson, of Mans- 
 field, being his first preceptor ; later he read with 
 Dr. F. O. Bennett. In 1868 he matriculated at 
 Harvard University, and . in 1871 at Dartmouth 
 Medical College, graduating from the last named 
 institution in 1872. Being desirous of securing 
 
 hospital practice, and taking a deep interest in dis- 
 eases of the nervous system, he secured a post in 
 the insane hospital at Flushing, L. I. From there 
 he went to Bellevue Hospital, New York, and sub- 
 sequently to a hospital in Brooklyn. In 1874 he 
 commenced practice in Manchester. His ripe train- 
 ing and rare skill ensured his success from the out- 
 set, and he has continuously enjoyed a successful 
 practice there with the exception of brief intervals 
 devoted to travel in this country and in Europe. He 
 is a member of the County Medical Society, the 
 State Medical Society, and the American Medical 
 Association. 
 
 Dr. Whiton was married. May 17, 1876, to Mrs. 
 Mary L. Buckland, daughter of George N. Loomis, 
 of Portsmouth, N. H. In private life he is genial, 
 hospitable and generous ; in public affairs he is 
 active, sagacious and patriotic. He is a Republican 
 iiu politics, and represented his town in the Legis- 
 lature during the years 1894-98. 
 
 JOHN W. HOLMES. Among the many his- 
 tories in this volume none are of more lasting in- 
 terest than those which tell of steady, persevering 
 effort in overcoming the limitations of early poverty, 
 and the following sketch of one of New Britain's 
 business men is deserving of a prominent place. 
 
 Mr. Holmes was born Sept. 28, 1850, in York- 
 shire, England, where his familv has been well- 
 known and respected for generations. Michael 
 Holmes, our subject's grandfather, was a prosperous 
 farmer in Yorkshire, and by honest, straight-for- 
 ward methods of business won a reputation which is 
 a credit to his descendants. He had the following 
 children : Daniel, Jonathan, Joseph, John, Mary, 
 Rebecca, Ann and Bessy. 
 
 John Holmes, the father of our subject, was 
 born in 18 10, in Yorkshire, and for some years of 
 his early manhood was engaged in farming and 
 butchering at Cullingworth, England ; later he re- 
 moved to Haworth, England, where he died in 
 1886. He was a thrifty, industrious man, success- 
 ful in his undertakings, and although his early ed- 
 ucation was somewhat limited he possessed un- 
 usually sound judgment. He belonged to the 
 Church of England, to which his family has al- 
 ways adhered. He married Miss Elizabeth Sunder- 
 land (now also deceased), and they had a large 
 family of children : ( i ) Mary married Edward 
 Stansfeld, an extensive farmer in Lancashire, Eng- 
 land. (2) George was a butcher in Halifax and 
 Ovenden, England, and was quite successful, be- 
 ing one of the best judges of cattle that ever went 
 to a market. He died in February, 1893, aged 
 fifty-nine years, and our subject, who had gone to 
 England to place his daughter in college on the 
 Isle of Jersey, attended his funeral. (3) Michael 
 came to America when twenty-two years of age, 
 and became a prosperous butcher at Wapping, near 
 Manchester, Conn. (4) Ann married William 
 Hartley, a tinner at Haworth,' England, son of a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 551 
 
 well-known citizen of that place. (5) Sarah mar- 
 ried Samuel Jennings, a farmer at Cullingworth, 
 who afterward became a well-to-do butcher. (7) 
 Lydia married James Ackroyd, a tailor, now a suc- 
 cessful auctioneer. (8) Elizabeth married John 
 ISarker, a foreman in a wool warehouse, (g) Eliza 
 married James I'ickard, a tanner and dealer in 
 hides and skins. (10) Susie (twin of Eliza) mar- 
 ried George Greatorex, a foreman in one of the large 
 breweries at Burton-upon-Trent. (11) Nannie mar- 
 ried Driver Keighley, a carpenter by trade. (12) 
 John W. is mentioned more fully later on. (13) 
 Emma married James Green, a farmer and butcher. 
 ( 14) Albert learned the plumber's trade of his 
 brother-in-law Hartley ; he is now engaged in the 
 coal business at Haworth. ' 
 
 The Sunderland family has long been identified 
 with Eold Farm, Mixiden, Yorkshire, where they 
 occupied a castle many years. George Sunderland, 
 the maternal grandfather of our subject, was a 
 farmer and stockraiser at the old estate, which is 
 now operated by his son Joseph. George Simder- 
 land m.Hrried and had five children : Joseph, Mary 
 S., Elizabeth (our subject's mother), Sarah and 
 John. 
 
 John W. Holmes spent his early life mainly in 
 Haworth, made famous by the genius of Charlotte 
 Bronte and her sisters, and his education was be- 
 gun in a school in Marsh Lane, near his home. As 
 his help was needed at home he could attend only 
 two or three days in a week, and when fourteen 
 years old he left school altogether. He remained 
 at home until he reached the age of fifteen, when 
 he was employed in sorting wool, an occupation 
 which he followed about seven years. In Septem- 
 ber, 1873, he sailed from Liverpool for the L'nited 
 States, arriving in New York at 8:30 .-\. M. on the 
 23d of that month. Two months were spent in 
 prospecting for a suitable business opening, and 
 on Nov. II, 1873, he formed a partnership with his 
 brother Michael in the meat business, their market 
 being on Main street, New Britain. After a year 
 and a half he bought his brother's interest and 
 continued alone for three years, when he was again 
 joined by his brother, then just returned from Eng- 
 land. This partnership also lasted a year and a 
 half, when Michael Holmes removed to James- 
 town, N. Y., our subject continuing to occupy the 
 same store for several years. Later he removed 
 to ]\Ir. Page's store, and about May, 1883, opened 
 a market in the basement of Henry Gwatkin's 
 building, corner of Main and West Main streets, 
 now owned by Holmes and Hoflfmann. About 1887 
 he purchased the property in partnership with Will- 
 iam Siering, the Siering-Holmes block being one 
 of the best buildings in the city. In 1892 he sold 
 out his retail meat business, and for three years he 
 gave his attention to the dressing and wholesaling 
 of sheep, lambs and calves. In 1896 he purchased 
 an interest with George Dennis in the brickyard of 
 Dennis & Co., and at present he is extensively en- 
 
 gaged in that line of business, iiaving in 1900 pur- 
 chased his partner's interest. With all his other in- 
 terests he finds time for some agricultural work, 
 owning two farms, and his success in all his en- 
 terprises shows excellent management. 
 
 As a business man Mr. Holmes is puljlic-spirited ; 
 in politics he affiliates with the Republican party, 
 although not an active worker. For more than 
 twenty-five years he has been a member of Har- 
 mony Lodge, No. 20, F. & A. ]\L, and he and his 
 estimable wife are identified with the M. E. Church 
 of New Britain. He married Miss Mary Earn- 
 shaw-, daughter of William Earnshaw, of ^'orkshire, 
 England, the family being neighbors and tenants of 
 Sir Isaac Olden, M. P. Five children have blessed 
 the union : ( i ) Miss Eva Bernette is her father's 
 bookkeeper in all three of his branches of business, 
 while (2) Francis Henry assists him in his brick 
 business; (3) John Arthur died at the age of thir- 
 teen; (4) Cora May and (5) Flossie Dell are at 
 home. 
 
 WILLIAM R. TINKER, M. D., was born Aug-. 
 8, 1853, at Tolland, Hampden Co., Mass. His fa- 
 ther, William Tinker, was born in Westfield, that 
 State, and his mother, Emily C. (Slocum), was of 
 the same nat.vity. 
 
 On the pr.ternal side Dr. Tinker traces his line- 
 age back through eight generations, to Thomas Tin- 
 ker, one of the devoted band who disembarked from 
 the ''Mayflower" on Plymouth Rock, in the cold 
 mid-winter of 1620. Thomas Tinker died before 
 the crocuses of spring had pushed their heads 
 through the snow. His son John was subsequently 
 made governor of the New London Colony. J\Irs. 
 W'illiam Tinker, the Doctor's mother, was one of 
 the old New England family of Slocums. Her 
 mother, Fidelia (Robinson), was a daughter of 
 Col. Timothy Robinson, of Revolutionary fame. 
 William R. TinKer is third in a family of seven 
 children, one of whom died in infancy. Of the 
 others. Pearl died at Los Angeles, Cal., in 1888; 
 Lucia, the widow of Malon Flaley, is at present re- 
 siding at Plainville, Conn.; Emma is the wife of 
 Eli D. Warfield, a merchant of Plainville, Conn. ; 
 Bert S., died at Los Angeles, Cal. ; and Edward 
 F. is engaged in mining at Dawson City, in the 
 Northw-est. 
 
 ^^'hen ^^'illiam R. Tinker was but five years old 
 his parents removed to Connecticut, bringing him 
 with them. The family remained at Colebrook 
 river until he had reached the age of twelve years, 
 when they returned to Massachusetts, making their 
 home at Otis, that State. There he attended the 
 public schools, supplementing the instruction thus 
 received by subsequent courses at the South Berk- 
 shire Institute, New Marlboro. Alass., and the 
 Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham, Mass. At the age 
 of twenty he began his professional studies at Otis, 
 Mass., under the tutelage of Dr. C. B. King, and 
 after two years spent with him entered the Zkledical 
 
552 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Department of the University of New York, from 
 which institution he graduated in 1880. After grad- 
 uation he came to East Hartford, Conn., and be- 
 gan practice. In October, 1880, he removed to 
 South Manchester, which town has ever since been 
 his home, and where he enjoys an extensive and 
 lucrative practice. He is a member of the Hartford 
 County Medical Society, also of the Connecticut 
 State Medical Society, and he is prominent in social 
 circles, being a member of the Manchester Lodge, 
 No. 73, F. & A. M., and of King David Lodge, L 
 O. O. F. In i8q7 he was elected to the Legislature 
 on the Republican ticket. 
 
 On Sept. 10, 1888, Dr. Tinker was married to 
 Miss Eugenia A. Sault, who has borne him two 
 children : William R., Jr., born Aug. 26, 1891 ; 
 and Marion E., born May 9, 1895. 
 
 THOMAS E. DAMERY, a successful merchant 
 of Wethersfield, possesses many of the admirable 
 characteristics of his Scotch-Irish ancestry, and 
 his great energy and perseverance have enabled 
 him to mount from a lowly position to one of af- 
 fluence. 
 
 Mr. Damery was born in Wethersfield May 24, 
 1858, and is a son of William and Ann (Ford) 
 Damery, both natives of the North of Ireland, and 
 descended from sturdy Scotch-Irish stock. The 
 father was educated in the National schools of his 
 native land. He came to this country when a young 
 man, with nothing but a stout heart and willing 
 hands, to make for himself a home. Locating in 
 Wethersfield, Hartford Co., Conn., he first engaged 
 in farm work, and for several years was employed 
 in the store of S. W. Robbins, as a general hand. 
 He died Dec. 16, 1869, of pneumonia, in the prime 
 of life, at the age of thirty-five years, and was laid 
 to rest in Wethersfield cemetery. He was strictly 
 temperate in his habits, was domestic in his tastes, 
 was a good husband and kind father, was honest, 
 industrous and enterprising, and commanded the re- 
 spect and confidence of all with whom he came in 
 contact. Politically he was a supporter of the Re- 
 publican party, and religiously was a member of 
 the Congregational Church. Flis death proved a 
 sad loss to his wife, who is still living, and now 
 finds a pleasant home with our subject. She is a 
 member of the Episcopal Church, and a most esti- 
 mable lady. In their family were five children : 
 Thomas E., our subject ; Elizabeth M., who married 
 J. L. Higgins, of Haddam, Conn., and died in 1898; 
 William H., who died young; S- Jennie, wife of E. 
 G. Fairfield, of Hartford; and Frederick Louis, a 
 resident of Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
 Thomas E. Damery was quite young at the time 
 of his father's death, but was reared by a good 
 Christian mother. He was educated in the district 
 and his-h schools of Wethersfield, and at the age of 
 fourteen entered the store of S. W. Robbins, of 
 Wethersfield, as clerk, remaining there six years. 
 He next became a clerk in the general store of J. 
 
 Amidon & Co., of Wethersfield, and held that po- 
 sition until 1886, when he purchased an interest in 
 the business. After the death of Mr. Amidon he 
 formed a partnership with E. L. Walkley, under 
 the firm name of Walkley & Damery, and bought 
 out the company, and on April i, 1900, he bought 
 out Mr. Walkley, now doing business alone as a 
 general merchant, druggist and dealer in coal, hav- 
 ing built up an excellent trade. Mr. Damery gives 
 his undivided attention to his business interests, is 
 thoroughly familiar with the trade in every detail, 
 and has steadily and honorably worked his way up- 
 ward until he has attained a fair degree of pros- 
 perity. He is one of the self-made men of the com- 
 munity, and the success that has come to him is 
 certainly well deserved. Besides his business prop- 
 erty he owns a pleasant home on Main street, Weth- 
 ersfield, where he and his mother now live. He 
 is broad-minded and liberal in his views, is a stanch 
 supporter of the Republican party, and, in religious 
 connection, a member of the Episcopal Church. 
 
 RALPH WALDO EMERSON ALCOTT, M. 
 D., a popular and successful physician of West 
 Hartford, was born in Oriskany Falls, N. Y., Oct. 
 20, 1850, and belongs to quite a distinguished 
 family. 
 
 (I) Thomas Alcock, the progenitor of all bear- 
 ing the Alcott name in this country, came from 
 England with the Winthrop company in 1630, and 
 died in Boston, Mass., Sept. 14, 1657. (II) Philip 
 Alcock, son of Thomas, married Elizabeth Mitchell. 
 (HI) John Alcock, son of Philip, married Su- 
 sanna (last name not known), and resided in New 
 Haven, Conn. (IV) John Alcock, son of John, 
 married Deborah Blakeslee, and removed to Water- 
 bury, Conn., in 173 1. (V) Capt. John Alcox, son 
 of John (2), was born in Waterbury, and married 
 Mary Chatfield, of Derby, Conn. (VI) John Chat- 
 field Alcott, the grandfather of our subject, was 
 married, Oct. 13, 1796, to Anna Bronson, daughter 
 of Capt. Bronson. One of their sons was Amos 
 Bronson Alcott, who was born in Wolcott, Conn., 
 and was the father of Louisa M. Alcott, the noted 
 author of "Little Men," "Little Women," etc. 
 
 (VII) Junius S. Alcott, the Doctor's father, 
 was born in Wolcott, Conn., July 6, 1818, and was 
 engaged in the machinist's business under the firm 
 name of Couch & Alcott, at Oriskany Falls, N. 
 Y., where he died April 16, 1852. He married 
 Miss Nancy J. Pritchard, of Litchfield, Conn., who 
 was born Feb. 5, 1821, and died Aug. 19, 1880. 
 They had five children: Lillian May, born May 
 19, 1845, is now the wife of John H. Perry, of Hart- 
 ford, Conn. ; Junius Bronson, born Dec. 14, 1846, 
 was drowned Aug. 19, 1853 ; Jane Ann, born May 
 31, 1848, is the wife of William Ayer, of Fowler, 
 Mich.; Ralph W. E., our subject, is next in the 
 order of birth; and Julia S., born Aug. 16, 1852, 
 died Sept. 9, 1852. 
 
 (VIII) Dr. Alcott was only two years old when 
 
I 
 
 1 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 553 
 
 liis father died. Later the mother married James 
 J\l. Richards, of New Hartford, Conn., where the 
 family hvcd for a few vcars, and then removed to 
 Massachusetts. Our subject commenced the study 
 of medicine under the tutorship of Dr. C. S. Cut- 
 ler, of Granby, Conn., and later with Dr. H. B. 
 Steel, of Windsted, Conn., studying in this way for 
 three years. Subsequently he took a course of 
 lectures at the L'niversity of Pennsylvania, and in 
 1881 was graduated from the United States Medical 
 College, of New York, with the degree of M. D. 
 He then engaged in practice in Granby and Avon, 
 Hartford countv, until 1896, in which year he lo- 
 cated permanently in West Hartford, where he has 
 already built up a large and lucrative practice. He 
 is thoroughly versed in his profession, and his 
 skill and ability are widely recognized. 
 
 On July II, 1871, Dr. Alcott married Miss Ida 
 H. Miller, daughter of Myron and Lura (Gates) 
 Miller, of Hartland, Hartford county, and to them 
 were born two children : Herbert Bronson, who 
 is now engaged in business in Torrington, Conn.; 
 and Ila Louise. Mrs. Alcott died July i, 1884. The 
 Doctor was made a Mason in Village Lodge, No. 
 29, F. & A. M., in CoUinsville, in 1880, and at 
 present holds membership in Wyllys Lodge, No. 
 99, F. & A. M., of West Hartford; Pythagoras 
 Chapter, No. 17, R. A. M. ; and Wolcott Council, 
 No. I, R. & S. M., of Hartford. 
 
 GEORGE TRUMAN COOK, one of the rep- 
 resentative self-made enterprising citizens of Bris- 
 tol, and widely and favorably known, is a native 
 of New York State, born Oct. 10, 1840, in West 
 Camden, Oneida county. 
 
 The Cook family, of which our subject is a 
 worthv member, are descended, it is supposed, from 
 one of three brothers who came to America from 
 England in early days, two of them settling in Con- 
 necticut, the third seeking a New World home in 
 the Western States. Truman Cook, grandfather of 
 George T., was a farmer for several years in Terry- 
 ville, Litchfield Co., Conn., also for a time in West 
 Camden, N. Y., where in connection he conducted 
 a rake manufactory, and a lumber business. He 
 married Abigail Beach, a native of Plymouth, Conn., 
 and children as follows were born to them : Arba, 
 Emily, Mary, Ann, Henry and George. Of these, 
 Arba Cook, father of subject, was born Feb. 6, 1807, 
 in Plymouth, Conn., where during his earlier man- 
 hood he followed the trade of wood turner, and 
 was employed in various other lines of work. The 
 ]atter days of his life he spent in farming in Terry- 
 ville. Conn., whither he had removed when his son 
 George T. was eight years old. On April 8, 1829, 
 he married Hepziba Case, who was born in South- 
 ington. Conn., JMarch 27, 1810, and died Sept. 20, 
 1883, in New Britain. He passed from earth iMarch 
 17, 1876. A man of retiring disposition, he became 
 a great reader, and on general topics of the day 
 was well posted. In religious faith he was a mem- 
 
 l)er of the Congregational Church of Terryville, 
 Litchfield county ; in ])olitics he was originally an 
 Old-line Whig, later a Republican and Abolitionist. 
 Three children were born to this honored couple: 
 (i) A son died in infancy. (2) Nancy Maria mar- 
 red Francis Hare, of Deerfield, Mass., and now a 
 widow is making her home with her son Averett 
 Hare, in Bristol. (3) George Truman is our sub- 
 ject. 
 
 George T. Cook received a liberal education, in 
 part in the schools of West Camden, N. Y., later 
 attending the public schools of Terryville, Conn. At 
 the age of fourteen years, owing to his father's im- 
 paired health, the lad had to lay aside his bonks and 
 commence work in order to assist in the support of 
 the family, his first employment being in the Eagle. 
 Lock Co.'s shop at Terryville, where he was re- 
 quired to work eleven hours a day for $10 per month. 
 This comparatively small sum went toward paying 
 for a small piece of land and a home, which his 
 father had purchased and was struggling to re- 
 lieve from indebtedness. On Aug. 8, 1862, leaving 
 the employ of the Eagle Lock Co., our subject en- 
 listed, at Plymouth, Conn., in Company D, 19th 
 Conn. V. I., serving first as a private, later as a 
 musician. He participated in the battle of Cold 
 Harbor, where he was wounded (he still has the 
 bullet) ; also took part in the campaign in front of 
 Petersburg, and was mustered out of the service 
 July 7, 1865, at New Flaven. Conn. Returning to 
 the paths of peace, he recommenced work in the 
 Eagle Lock Co.'s shop at Terryville. and there con- 
 tinued until the death of his father, March 17, 1876, 
 in that vear removing to Bridsfeport. and accepting 
 a position with the Bridgeport Lock Co. (which con- 
 cern had just been started), having charge, as fore- 
 man, of some fifty hands in the assembling depart- 
 ment. At the end of two years this factory was 
 purchased by the Eagle Lock Co., of Terryville, and 
 the plant removed there, Mr. Cook accompanying 
 and remaining as foreman of the same dcnartment 
 another two years. He then removed to New Brit- 
 ain, where he was employed as foreman for the P. 
 & F. Corbin Cabinet Lock Co., filling that incum- 
 bency some four years, at which time he resigned 
 and removed to Bristol, where he embarked in his 
 present prosperous bakerv business on Main street. 
 In 1807. in A\'aterburv. he opened what was known 
 as "Cook's Branch Baker\'," and for two years 
 carried on same verv successfullv, at the end of that 
 time selling out to James Lawton. 
 
 J\Ir. Cook has been twice married, first time, in 
 April, 1866. to Emilv Seymour Beach, of Plymouth, 
 Conn., who died Feb. 19, 1881, in New Britain, 
 Conn. He wedded (second), Dec. 14, 1886. Edith 
 Maria Pease, who was born Jan. 10, 1860, in Enfield, 
 Conn., daughter of Samuel R. and Lovina (Boy- 
 ington) Pease. There are no children by either 
 marriage. 
 
 Our subject and his wife are members of the 
 
554 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Prospect M. E. Church at Bristol, Mrs. Cook be- 
 ^ ing identified with the Ladies Aid Society, and Mr. 
 Cook with the Church Extension committee. So- 
 cially he is affiliated with Phoenix Lodge, No. 52, 
 I. O. O. F., of New Britain, has passed the chairs 
 therein, and he and his wife are members of Ruth 
 Lodge, No. 24, Ladies Auxiliary to the L O. O. 
 F., wherein Mrs. Cook has passed the chairs. He 
 is affiliated with Gilbert W. Thompson Post, No. 
 13, G. A. R., at Bristol, Mrs. Cook being presi- 
 dent of Gilbert W. Thompson Relief Corps, No. 
 4, of Bristol, of which she has served as junior and 
 senior vice-president. Mr. Cook is also an ad- 
 vanced member of Nathan Hale Lodge, O. U. A. M., 
 at Bristol. In politics he is a stanch Republican, but 
 takes no active interest in the affairs of the party. 
 The confidence and trust reposed in both Mr. and 
 Mrs. Cook has never been misplaced, and to-day 
 their many friends have for them the highest re- 
 gard. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON LADD, the pres- 
 ent first selectman of Bloomfield, is a native of 
 Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., N. Y., born Oct. 18, 
 1848, and is a son of Elijah and Harriet (Bentley) 
 Ladd, also natives of Duanesburg, and of English 
 descent. 
 
 Elijah Ladd was a son of Lemuel and Phebe 
 (Herrick) Ladd, and was reared on his father's 
 farm. To him and his wife the following named 
 children were born : Susan, who is now deceased ; 
 Mary Ann, married to John Slawson, of Duanes- 
 burg ; Eva, wife of Ashel B. Morey, of the same 
 town; Harriet, now Mrs. Dewitt Empie, of Scho- 
 harie, N. Y. ; and George W., whose name opens 
 this biographical notice. Elijah Ladd and his wife 
 died some years ago, in their native town. 
 
 George W. Ladd, following in the footsteps 
 of his immediate ancestors, passed his youth and 
 early manhood on the home farm. At Rensselaer- 
 ville, N. Y., he married Miss Millie N. Johnson, 
 daughter of Rev. J. S. Johnson, of the first Baptist 
 Church at Rensselaerville, and to this union have 
 been born three children : Raymond L., Fannie M. 
 and LeRoy A. Of these, Raymond L. married 
 Miss Nellie Goodwin, of Bloomfield. Fannie M. 
 is married to George B. Asbwell, of Hartford, 
 Conn., and to their marriage has been born one 
 child, Gladys. 
 
 In May, 1891, George W. Ladd came to Bloom- 
 field, locating on West street, and engaged in 
 dairying, which he still follows. He is very promi- 
 nent in the management of the afi^airs of the town, 
 has been a member of the board of selectmen four 
 years, and. at this writing (1900) is serving his 
 third year as first selectman ; he is also a member of 
 the board of education. He was once elected a 
 justice of the peace, on the Republican ticket, but de- 
 clining to qualify. He adheres faithfully to that 
 party. Fraternallv he is a member of Hiram Lodge, 
 No. 98, F. & A. M., at Bloomfield, and also of the 
 
 Grange, of the same town. He and wife are mem-- 
 bers of the Baptist Church, and, socially, enjoy the 
 respect of the entire community. 
 
 WILLIAM E. LATHAM is a son of Amos B. 
 Latham, and grandson of William Latham, the for- 
 mer a native of Hebron, and the latter of Groton, 
 Conn. His grandfather, who was for many years 
 a farmer in the town of Hebron, married Betsey 
 Barnes, by whom he was the father of eleven chil- 
 dren : Isaac, Joel, Joseph, Avery, Darius, William, 
 Amos B., and four who died in childhood. William 
 Latham, the elder, died Dec. 31, 1836, and his wife 
 Feb. 12, 1849. 
 
 Amos B. Latham learned the trade of a car- 
 penter and joiner in his youth, and spent his early 
 years in Hebron. His natural inclination was 
 toward mechanical work, and he acquired a thorough 
 knowledge of cornicemaking through his own ef- 
 forts, and with very little instruction, following it 
 successfully for many years. About 1840 or '41 
 he removed to Marlboro, where he passed the re- 
 mainder of his life. He was fairly successful in 
 business, and reared a family which reflected credit 
 upon himself and the mother to whose tender care 
 they owed their early training. He was a public- 
 spirited citizen, always ready to render aid and 
 support to every movement looking toward the ad- 
 vantage of the community of which he was a highly- 
 respected member. He was a man of earnest con- 
 victions, as appears from the course of his political 
 affiliations. Prior to 1856 he was a Democrat, but 
 in that j^ear the agitation of the Free-soil issue 
 brought him into the Republican party, and he cast 
 his presidential vote for John C. Fremont. He 
 continued to act with the Republicans until the re- 
 nomination of Gen. Grant, in 1872, when he returned 
 to the fold to which he had originally belonged. 
 In other words, his adherence to principle, joined 
 to his native independence, caused principle to ap- 
 pear to him in a higher, purer light than mere 
 partisanship. 
 
 Mr. Latham's townsmen honored him by elec- 
 tion to various offices. He was selectman, trial jus- 
 tice, town treasurer, a representative in the Legis- 
 lature, judge of probate, and, at the time of his 
 demise, town clerk. His early education may be 
 said to have been of a rudimentary character, but 
 his early disadvantages were, in a large measure, 
 overcome by a course of well-selected reading dur- 
 ing later life. ITe was an unusually well informed 
 man on all general topics, and generally more than 
 able to hold his own in any discussion upon any 
 topic with which he was familiar. He was noted for 
 his activity, energy and probity, and, although not 
 a professed member of any church, was a regular 
 attendant upon the services of the Congregational 
 Church in the place of his residence, and for many 
 years chairman of the business committee of the 
 society. He married Caroline M. Loomis, daughter 
 of Elias Loomis, of Colchester, t^nd granddaughter 
 
^. 
 
 ^j^tn- 
 
 ^iZJt-t^^^il^?:^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 555 
 
 of Samuel Loomis, who was a soldier during the 
 war of the Revolution. The family of Loomis is 
 one of the oldest in Colchester. Mr. Latham died 
 July 22, 1S93. Children were horn to this mar- 
 riage as follows : Harriet J., wdio married Stanley 
 Wadsworth, of Hockanum (East Hartford) ; Bet- 
 sey M., who has been married three times, her first 
 husband having been Joseph Alvord, her second 
 Gamaliel Waldo, and her third William Burland; 
 William E. ; Joel E., a farmer and blacksmith in 
 South Dakota ; Amos M., whose home is in Sears- 
 boro. near Grinnell, Iowa, also a farmer and black- 
 smith ; and Imogene C, the widow of Hawdey Skin- 
 ner, of East Hampton, Conn. After the death of 
 his first wife, wdiich occurred Sept. 17, 1858, Mr. 
 Latham married Eliza A. JNlcEva, who bore him 
 two children. The elder of these, Charles A., is 
 living in Elyria, Ohio, and the younger, Ernest B., 
 in the city of New York, where he is engaged in the 
 business of manufacturing and sellinR: electrical sup- 
 plies. 
 
 William E. Latham received his early educa- 
 tion in the common schools, supplementing it by a 
 partial course at the State Normal School at New 
 Britain. The outbreak of the Civil war interrupted 
 his course of study, and in August, 1862, he en- 
 listed in Company C, 20th Conn. V. L He con- 
 tmued in the service until mustered out, in June, 
 1865, participating in the battles of Chancellors- 
 ville, Gettysburg, Resaca, Peach Tree Creek, 
 Averysboro' and Bentonville. After receiving his 
 honorable discharge he returned to New Britain, 
 and entered the bolt department of the Stanley 
 ^^'orks. He remained with that concern for fifteen 
 years, although between 1868 and 1880 his work 
 was done under contract, he employing from five 
 to twelve men. In the year last named ill health 
 compelled him to abandon active shop work, and 
 he retired to private life. He had, however, al- 
 ways been an active political worker, in the interests 
 of the Republican party, of which he was a stanch 
 member. On his withdrawal from the Stanley 
 Works he was elected tax collector on his party 
 ticket, and re-elected again and again, holding the 
 position for nine years, during which he also held 
 the office of tax collector for the city of New Brit- 
 ain, which latter he filled altogether eleven yeai'S, 
 with satisfaction to the tax-payers and with honor 
 to himself. He has also been registrar of voters 
 and justice of the peace. In 1892 he embarked in 
 the real estate and insurance business at New Brit- 
 ain. 
 
 ]\Ir. Latham is a prominent and active member 
 of the G. A. R., having once held the office of 
 adjutant, and being now (1899) junior vice-com- 
 mander of Stanley Post, No. 11. He has also been 
 prominent in the councils of the Order of United 
 American jMechanics, having held the office of coun- 
 cillor, and being now a trustee. He belongs to the 
 South Congregational Church, and is a liberal con- 
 tributor toward its work. 
 
 In 1867 Mr. Latham was married to Nettie B., 
 daughter of Henry C. Flagg, of New Britain, and 
 granddaughter of Abijah Elagg, of the same place. 
 Mrs. Latham's father was for many years a prom- 
 inent furniture dealer and undertaker. Their mar- 
 riage was blessed with one daughter, IHorencc M., 
 who resides at home. Mrs. Latham died July 17, 
 1894. 
 
 CHRISTIAN TREPP, of Addison, is one of 
 the men who have won success in life with no cap- 
 ital except their native ability and strength of will. 
 
 Mr. Trepp is a native of Grobenton, Switzer- 
 land, and a son of John Martin and Christina 
 (Bailey) Trepp, lifelong residents of that town. 
 His father was a farmer and teamster by occupa- 
 tion, and before the days of railroads in Italy and 
 Switzerland would haul silks and other merchandise 
 from place to place, this business sometimes oblig- 
 ing him to work all night. Our subject was one 
 of a large family of children, as follows: George, 
 a farmer in Switzerland; Christian, the second in 
 order of birth; John ISIartin, a skilled horseman, 
 who was killed in Switzerland by the kick of a 
 horse; jMichael, who came to America and located 
 in Canton, Mont., where he is a successful ranch- 
 man; David, who died in Canton, Mont.; ]\Iartin, 
 who located in Canton, IMont., and followed gold 
 digging and later stock raising, and was drowned 
 near there, wdiile attempting to ford a swollen 
 stream on horseback: Christina, who died young; 
 Susannah, Mrs. Memper, who resides in Switzer- 
 land ; and Elizabeth, who remained in Switzerland. 
 
 Our subject was born Nov. i, 1831, and as a 
 boy attended the schools near his home, his oppor- 
 tunities being in sharp contrast with those of Amer- 
 ican children of to-day. The room w-as small and 
 the high-backed seat's uncomfortable, while the 
 methods of teaching were primitive. His first 
 teacher was less efficient than the average, as, ac- 
 cording to Mr. Trepp, he was a "bachelor who 
 sparked at night and slept in school," but his later 
 instructors were better, and he remembers one in 
 particular from whom he learned much. He learned 
 quickly, and on completing his common-school 
 course' went to Italy to familiarize himself with the 
 language of that country, eight months sufficing for 
 this^. He returned home, but soon afterward went 
 to Koslin, Prussia, to learn the confectioners' trade, 
 which he followed there for four years, and at 
 Dresden, Saxony, for about six months. On Oct. 
 30, 1854, he sailed from Hamburg for New York, 
 making the voyage in an old-fashioned sailing ves- 
 sel wdiich occupied seven weeks on the trip, arriving 
 Dec. 19. The weather was warm and pleasant most 
 of the way. On his way over he met Edward Paul- 
 man, who, a quarter of a century later, has become 
 his neighbor in Addison. 
 
 After Mr. Trepp had paid his fare to Hartford 
 he had but three gold pieces left, and as he was un- 
 able to find work during the following winter he 
 
556 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 would have fared ill had he not secured credit with 
 a German, who knew that he could trust one of his 
 honest face and demeanor, and whom Mr. Trepp 
 promptly repaid as soon as he could. In the spring 
 he was employed for two weeks in a bakery, to fill 
 a vacancy, and then he went to East Glastonbury 
 to work for Leonard E. Hale, at $io a month, re- 
 maining one year. The next six months he spent 
 with Mr. Sellew, on Main street, Glastonbury, at 
 $14 per month, and for nine years he was employed 
 on a farm by Sydney Smith, of Glastonbury, his 
 marriage occurring in the meantime. He then spent 
 a summer on the river, as a hand on a stone-boat 
 owned by Elizur Smith, and this experience led to 
 a fortunate change in his business life. As he was 
 very economical he had saved a neat httle sum of 
 money, invested in government bonds, and these he 
 paid in as his portion in the purchase, with several 
 others, of a share in a tug boat, the "Col. E. B. 
 Grubb." This venture proved a profitable one, and 
 stimulated by his success Mr. Trepp purchased two 
 stone-boats, one of which was the "George C. 
 Bloom." He was one of the company who built 
 the "A. M. Smith," costing $12,00.0, our subject 
 paying his quarter-interest in cash. When the river 
 traffic began to decline he moved to his present 
 farm, purchased in 1869 from a Mr. Barrows, and 
 he has since followed farming, chiefly raising to- 
 hacco, in which he has been successful. The tract 
 then contained eleven acres, but Mr. Trepp has 
 added more from time to time, and has now about 
 twenty acres of choice land, in a good state of cul- 
 tivation, besides considerable meadow and wood- 
 land. In 1899 he erected a nice modern dwelling 
 house, which he will enjoy in his declining years, 
 and the other buildings on the place have been re- 
 built by him. 
 
 On May 19, 1863, Mr. Trepp married Jane Rob- 
 inson, a native of Ireland, and they have two chil- 
 dren : George W. and Emma. George W. assists 
 'in the management of the farm ; he married Miss 
 Lena Tanner, and has two children, Edna and 
 Louis. Emma lives at home. In the spring of 
 1883 Mr. Trepp, with his wife and family, took a 
 trip through some of the Western States and Terri- 
 tories, visiting all the principal cities and places of 
 interest, and finally reaching Montana, where he 
 visited with his brothers for over a month. His 
 brothers were engaged in gold digging, which in- 
 terested the visitors greatly. They found many 
 things to interest them, but Mr. Trepp prefers the 
 East for a home. The family is identified with the 
 Congregational Church, and politically Mr. Trepp is 
 a stanch Republican, his attachment to the party 
 being free from any desire for official rewards and 
 honors. 
 
 RICHARD MURRAY, a prominent and es- 
 teemed citizen of Berlin, was born in County Water- 
 ford, Ireland, in 1845. His early life was one of 
 constant devotion to work, and he has made his 
 
 life successful through resolute pertinac'ty, fixed 
 purpose, earnest determination and tireless in- 
 dustry. 
 
 Mr. Murray's parents, Thomas and Ellen 
 (Flynn) Murray, are now both at rest in St. 
 Peter's cemetery, at Haverstraw, N. Y. The fa- 
 ther was a tenant farmer in Ireland, with but a 
 small holding of sixty or seventy acres, who found 
 the hardest of hard work scarcely yielded a bare 
 support for himself and his family. The parents 
 came to America first, and passage was made to 
 the children in turn, which fact accounts for the 
 younger children (Richard and Thomas) coming 
 later than the others. Richard was but a youth 
 v/hen he came to America, at which time he was 
 totally unacquainted with the usages of the country 
 which was to be his future home. But he had in- 
 born intelligence and the native courage of his 
 race, not to mention its innate savoir-faire. He 
 soon found employment at "edging" on a brick yard 
 on the Hudson, in the neighborhood of New York 
 City, in accepting which employment (as the nearest 
 which presented itself) he unwittingly cast the mold 
 of his whole future life. For four decades he de- 
 voted himself to brickmaking. From the insig- 
 nificant position of a boy, at everyone's beck and 
 call, he rose to fill the position of superintendent, 
 and ultimately became a partner in the firm. Within 
 a few years the firm name of Peck & Murray gave 
 way to that of Murray & Morrissey, and in 1892 
 Richard Murray, the erstwhile Celtic emigrant, be- 
 came through purchase the sole owner of the busi- 
 ness. He removed the plant to Berlin, Conn., 
 where he established the Murray Brick Works, 
 where an average force of fifty men is employed, 
 and every detail of the work is under Mr. Murray's 
 personal supervision. 
 
 Our subject's residence is one of the largest 
 in Berlin, he having purchased the property com- 
 monly spoken of as the "Norman Porter place," 
 formerly owned by a Mr. Porter, a gentleman from 
 the South, and originally costing $30,000. His 
 domestic life has been as happy as his business 
 career has been successful. On Oct. 29, 1865, he 
 married Miss Ellen Butler, of Haverstraw, N. Y., 
 who was born in County Waterford, Ireland, 
 daughter of Mathew Butler, a farmer, and his wife 
 Ellen, whose father was also a farmer. Mrs. Murray 
 died May 16, 1899, after a short illness, and is 
 buried in the cemetery at New Britain. She was 
 deeply and sincerely mourned, not only by her 
 husband, to whom she was in every sense of thg 
 word a "helpmeet," but by her friends and neigh- 
 bors as well, for whom she always had a kind 
 word, and by the many beneficiaries of her unos- 
 tentatious charity. Mrs. Murray was well educated 
 in her native county, and for many years acted 
 as bookkeeper for her husband, who attributes his 
 success in life largely to her business capacity. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Murray became the parents of 
 eight children, a brief mention of whom will be 
 
^ 
 
 1 
 
 > 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 557 
 
 found of interest, (i) Alary Ellen, born Sept. 
 16, 1867, was educated at the schools of Haver- 
 straw and at St. Peter's Convent, graduating from 
 tlie latter institution. On Sept. 20, 1887, siie be- 
 came the wife of WilHam Fisher, who is in Mr. 
 ]\lurray's employ, and three children have been born 
 to them. (2) Alice Aloysius, born July 23, 1869, 
 was also educated at the public schools of Haver- 
 straw and St. Peter's Convent, and subsequently 
 graduated from the Eastman Business College, 
 I'ouglikeepsie, N. Y. She married, Oct. 25, 1894, 
 Edward Roche, of Berlin, and has borne her hus- 
 band two children. (3) Kathryn Ophelia, born 
 Sept. 16, 1 87 1, also attended St. Peter's Convent, 
 and later the Convent of Notre Dame, at Putnam, 
 Conn. She remains at home, unmarried. (4) 
 Adelia, bom Nov. 29, 1873, died Feb. 19, 1881. 
 (5) Josephine JNIercedes was born Dec. 23, 1875. 
 After leaving St. Peter's Convent she attended the 
 New Britain high school, and later the State Nor- 
 mal School, but was obliged to abandon her studies 
 because of illness. She, too, lives at home. (6) 
 Thomas Francis, born July 18, 1877, received his 
 primary education at St. Peter's Convent, and 
 afterward attended the grammar schools of New 
 Britain, and the Academy of the Holy Cross, at 
 Worcester, Mass. He is associated with his fa- 
 ther as business manager. (7) Adelia Dolores, 
 born Feb. 20, 1881, lives at home. She passed 
 through the grammar and high schools of New 
 Britain, and is at present a teacher in the centre 
 school of Berlin. (8) Richard Butler, the youngest 
 of the family, born Aug. 22, 1882, is a student at 
 Manhattan College, New York. All Mr. Murray's 
 children have enjoyed excellent educational ad- 
 vantages. Conscious of his own meager oppor- 
 tunities, he has been ever ready to make any sac- 
 rifice for their benefit. 
 
 The religious faith of Mr. Murray and his fam- 
 ily is that of the Catholic Church. His life has been 
 too full of work and business cares to permit him 
 to take an active part in politics ; on National and 
 State issues, however, his sympathies are with the 
 Democratic party, while in local matters he looks 
 to men rather than partisanship. 
 
 S. P. TURNER. Though eminently success- 
 ful as a business man, the true measure of this prom- 
 inent resident of Glastonbury should be taken as a 
 citizen, and not merely as a merchant. He is 
 scarcely yet in middle life, yet he has for years been 
 one of that town's most aggressive and wide-awake 
 men, active to every public enterprise, a factor in 
 shaping political affairs, and a citizen whose in- 
 fluence, while wide, is of that silent character 
 which impresses the more deeply. He is unosten- 
 tatious, courteous and accommodating, and is held 
 in high esteem. 
 
 \\'illiam H. Turner, the great-grandfather of 
 our subject, was born in 1764, and as a bright- 
 eyed bov in Boston attracted the attention of Elizur 
 
 Hubbard, a merchant of East Glastonbury, who was 
 visiting in Boston, and whose liking for the viva- 
 cious youngster was followed by a ])ro])osition to the 
 boy's mother to give him a good business education. 
 She consented, and the Massachusetts buy became 
 identified with the interests of Glastonbury. He 
 became a sailor, and married Mercy Wrisley, born 
 in East Glastonbury in 1771, and to them were born 
 nine children, of whom the eldest, William H., born 
 in 1788, was the grandfather of our subject. The 
 grandfather was a shipbuilder, and master of a 
 coasting vessel. In 1812 he married Mary Nichol- 
 son, who died in 1813, leaving one child, who died 
 in infancy. For his second wife William H. Tur- 
 ner married Bathsheba Brewster Wrisley, a native 
 of Marlboro, daughter of Samuel and Mary ( 1 lux- 
 ford) Wrisley. Samuel Wrisley was a Revolution- 
 ary soldier, a "conductor of teams" and a captain 
 in his regiment. 
 
 The third child and the second son of William 
 H. and Bathsheba Turner was Welles Turner, fa- 
 ther of our subject, born Nov. 13, 1828, on the Tur- 
 ner homestead on the west side of Main street, 
 Glastonbury, near station No. 45 of the trolley line. 
 Welles Turner received a good academic educa- 
 tion, attending the South Glastonburv Academy un- 
 der Orange Judd, who gave $50,000 to Wesleyan 
 University, and also under Henry L. Wells, later a 
 millionaire of Minneapolis, Alinn. Leaving school, 
 the father of our subject began his career as a 
 clerk in the dry-goods store of H. B. Chaffee & 
 Co., which stood on the ground in Hartford now 
 occupied by Sage, Allen & Co. E. S. Cleveland, 
 postmaster at Hartford under Presidents Lincoln 
 and Johnson, was a fellow clerk in that store. Later 
 Mr. Turner clerked for two years in the store of 
 J. Gordon Smith, and then in 1852 moved to South 
 Glastonbury and opened a general store, which he 
 conducted for four years. He married, Oct. 2, 1854, 
 Miss Isabelle P. Benton, born in Glastonburv in 
 March, 1830, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth 
 (Plumnier) Benton. To them was born one son, 
 Sturgis P., our subject, Oct. 16, 1856. The wife 
 and mother died Nov. 8, 1856, and after her death 
 the bereaved husband gave up his mercantile busi- 
 ness and retired to the old homestead, where he has 
 since resided, a highly-esteemed citizen of Glaston- 
 bury. He is a Democrat in politics, and was the 
 first registrar of voters at Glastonbury. Fraternally 
 he is a veteran member of Columbia Lodge. No. 
 25, F. & A. j\L, of South Glastonbury, which in 
 1896 celebrated its looth anniversary. He is a well- 
 preserved man. 
 
 Sturgis P. Turner, our subject, was biit a few 
 weeks old when his mother died. He was reared 
 from infancy at the home of Dudley Lee and wife, 
 at Glastonbury, remaining there until twenty-one 
 years of age. As a boy he worked on the farm and 
 attended the Third district school of his native 
 town, his first teacher being Aliss House. He also 
 attended school to Airs. Cook and Airs. Noyes, and 
 
558 
 
 COMMEMOR'ATTVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 later attended the academj' at Glastonbiir}^, when L. 
 S. Brown was principal. 
 
 In May, 1878, our subject went to New Britain, 
 and entered the employ of the New Britain Knitting 
 Co. as general helper. He worked until October of 
 the same year at $1.25 per day, then returned to 
 his home in Glastonbury, and the following spring 
 leased his father's farm. This he managed four 
 years, and while so engaged, in the fall of 1879, he 
 married Miss Hattie A. Welles, who was born Sept. 
 21, 1856, youngest daughter of Frederick and Cath- 
 erine (Saltonstal) Welles. To our subject and 
 wife has been born one daughter, Isabella Benton. 
 
 The mercantile career of our subject began 
 March 15, 1883, when he purchased the store of 
 P. H. Goodrich, at Glastonbury. This he has ever 
 since conducted most successfully, and has from 
 time to time added extensively to the stock, intro- 
 ducing among other lines boots and shoes and drugs. 
 Mr. Turner is one of the wide-awake and pros- 
 perous business men of the town. He was one of 
 the incorporators, and the first president, of the 
 Eagle Sterling Co., was later treasurer for a time, 
 and was prominently identified with the company 
 until February, 1898. 
 
 In politics Mr. Turner is a stanch Republican, 
 and he is one of the most active workers for the 
 success of that party. It was through his efforts 
 and those of others that the town, which was for- 
 merly Democratic, joined the column of Repub- 
 lican towns. He represented Glastonbury in the 
 State Legislature in 1884, and again in 1888, and 
 was one of the youngest men who ever represented 
 the town. Politically he is one of the leaders in 
 Glastonbury. He is a prominent member of Das- 
 com Lodge, No. 86, F. & A. M., at Glastonbury. 
 Mrs. Turner is a member of the Congregational 
 Church. Their home, erected in 1888, is one of the 
 finest and most modern in Glastonbury. 
 
 JOHN SEWARD WILSON, D. D. S., of Bris- 
 tol, at the head of his profession, with one of the 
 best equipped offices in the State, was born in Cov- 
 entry, Conn., Dec. 4, 1865, and is a son of Jdm 
 Daniel and Hannah (Dews) Wilson, the former of 
 whom died in June, 1869; the latter, still living in 
 Rockville, Conn., is a daughter of Joseph Dews, 
 who was born in England. 
 
 John Daniel Wilson was an accomplished pat- 
 ternmaker, and there now lie hid in the recesses of 
 the patent office at Washington, D. C, many speci- 
 mens .of his taste and ingenuity. His death took 
 place in Dayton, Ohio, where his daughter, Mary, 
 also died at the age of three years, her, remains be- 
 ing interred in Northampton, while those of the fa- 
 ther were buried in the city where he died. Upon 
 the death of the father the family returned to Con- 
 necticut and settled in Rockville, where John 
 Seward, our subject, received a common-school 
 education, but during the last three years of his 
 school attendance was employed, outside his hours 
 
 of study, in the law office of Benezet H. Bill. About 
 188 1 he entered the dental office of Dr. R. W. Rob- 
 erts, of Rockville, was under instruction for two 
 years, and then took a year's course at the Boston 
 Dental College, upon graduating from which he 
 opened an office for practice, in August, 1884, in 
 Plainville, he being then not quite twenty years of 
 age, and met with a siifficiently encouraging patron- 
 age to detain him there six years. In 1890 the 
 Doctor came to Bristol, and opened his office in the 
 Linstead block. 
 
 The early loss of his father compelled Dr. Wil- 
 son to rely upon his own resources and exertions, 
 but he soon acquired a self-reliance that carried him 
 over and beyond all obstacles in his way, and placed 
 him at the head of his profession, acquiring for 
 him a fine reputation, not only in the town of Bris- 
 tol, but throughout the western part of the State, 
 where he has an extended practice. The Doctor 
 is a member of Reliance Council, No. 753, Royal 
 Arcanum, of Bristol ; of Ethan Lodge, No. 9, 
 Knights of Pythias, of the same borough; of Put- 
 nam Phalanx Society of Hartford; and of the 
 Heptasophs. 
 
 The Doctor was married, May 12, 1887, to Miss 
 Isabella Styles, daughter of James B. Styles, of 
 Broad Brook, Hartford county, and to this union 
 were born: Beledna Styles, Nov. 22, 1888; and 
 Helen Seward, June 15, 1897. The Doctor and 
 his family attend the Methodist Church, in which 
 they own their pew, and to the support of which 
 they liberally contribute. As to politics the Doctor 
 is quite indifferent. 
 
 WILLIAM THOMAS FOLEY, now warden 
 of Southington and superintendent of the shipping 
 department of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., was 
 born in Cheshire, New Haven Co., Conn., March 
 28, 1856, and is a son of James and Margaret 
 (South) Foley, both natives of Ireland, of Scotch- 
 Irish parentage. 
 
 When a boy the father came to America, and lo- 
 cated in Meriden, Conn., where he grew to man- 
 hood. From there he went to Cheshire, where he 
 followed farming, and later removed to Wolcott, 
 Hartford county. In 1868 he located in Southing- 
 ton, where he engaged in farming, teaming, etc., 
 and where he continued to make his home until his 
 death, in 1883. He was married in Meriden, and his 
 children were Margaret A., who married George 
 Barker, and is now deceased; Henry P., now de- 
 ceased ; James S. ;, Wilham T. ; Edward R., de- 
 ceased, who was a minister of the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church; Sarah E., wife of B. B. Sanford; John 
 C. ; and Lillie L., wife of Lionel Crawford. 
 
 Our subject passed his boyhood and youth in 
 Cheshire, Wolcott and Southington, and is indebted 
 to the public schools of those towns for his educa- 
 tional advantages. He began his business career in 
 the mechanical department of the Peck, Stow & 
 Wilcox Manufacturing Co., where he was employed 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 559 
 
 from 1 8/ I to 1889, and in the latter year entered 
 the shipping department as clerk, serving in that 
 capacit}- until 1895, when he was appointed to his 
 present position. He is one of the most trusted 
 and faitliful employes of the company, and has 
 their entire confidence and respect. ' 
 
 In 1880 Mr. Foley was united in marriage with 
 Miss Carrie Bertel Avery, a daughter of Lewis and 
 Lucelia (Cowles) Avery, of Southington, and to 
 this union have been born two sons : William 
 Thomas, who died in infancy; and Stanton Avery. 
 Mr. Foley is a leading and active member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church of Southington^ and 
 has been one of the trustees of same eight years, 
 and treasurer of the church six years, holding both 
 offices at the present time. He was elected first 
 assistant foreman of the Southington Fire Depart- 
 ment at its organization, in which capacity he served 
 seven years, and as foreman of Hose Company No. 
 I, four years. Mr. Foley served on the board of 
 assessors one year, was burgess the same length of 
 time, and in 1899 and 1900 was elected warden. 
 In political sentiment he is a Republican, and a 
 strong advocate of temperance, is pre-eminently pub- 
 lic-spirited and enterprising, and all that pertains to 
 the public welfare receives his hearty endorsement. 
 
 SAMUEL McCRUM is of Irish birth and de- 
 scent, having been born in County Down, Ireland, 
 Oct. II, 1854. Both his father, Moses McCrum, 
 and grandfather, John ]McCrum, were born in the 
 same county, in the old McCrum homestead, and 
 both were linen-weavers by trade. 
 
 Moses IMcCrum was born in June, 1790, and 
 died July 24, 1874, at the hale old age of eighty- 
 four. While quite a young man he engaged in the 
 coastwise trade, owning and sailing vessels plying 
 between Ireland and Scotland. In this venture he 
 was unfortunate, his first vessel being wrecked and 
 his second burned; and in 1815 he emigrated from 
 Ireland to America, where he found work at his 
 trade with a Mr. Baldwin, on the Hudson river, sub- 
 sequently becoming manager of the establishment. 
 In 1825 he returned to his native country, where he 
 passed the remainder of his life as a farmer. He 
 was three times married, Samuel, the subject of 
 this biographical sketch, being the tenth child, and 
 the }oungest by the third wife, who was Jane 
 Campbell, of Ireland. 
 
 As a boy Samuel JNIcCrum attended the National 
 schools, but found it necessary to assist his father on 
 the farm. For farm work he developed such apti- 
 tude that when but sixteen years old (his father then 
 being eighty years of age) the conduct of the prop- 
 erty was placed in his charge. For five years he 
 managed the farm, when he turned it over to the 
 care of his brother David. Conscious that his own 
 earlier educational advantages had been somewhat 
 circumscribed, he next took a nine months' course 
 of instruction at a school of higher grade, and at 
 the end of that time resolved to cross the Atlantic 
 
 to visit his brothers, W'illiam and George, who 
 had already emigrated, and were living in East 
 Berlin. Accordingly he sailed from Liverpool Jan. 
 14, 1878, and landed in New \'ork Jan. 26. Une 
 week he remained in the metropolis, and then came 
 to his brother's home, his purse light — well-nigh 
 empty — but he himself full of tiie vitality, confidence 
 and courage incident to youth. 
 
 It had not been Mr. McCrum's intention to stay 
 in the L'nitcd States, yet it was not long before he 
 formed the resolution to remain in the New World. 
 Before he could mature his plans, however, he was 
 prostrated by scarlet fever, which confined him for 
 nine weeks. Upon his recover)- he went to New 
 York, where for about sixteen months he was em- 
 ployed as a shipping clerk by a wholesale hosiery 
 firm. The work was not wholly to his liking, and 
 he returned to East Berlin to enter the shears de- 
 partment of the factory of i'eck. Stow & Wilcox. 
 For six years he continued in the same line of work, 
 but the seventh year was prevented from engaging 
 in active employment by sickness. After regaining 
 his health he accepted a position with the Berlin 
 Iron Bridge Co., and for eighteen months remained 
 there. In 1885 he engaged in business on his own 
 account, as proprietor of a meat market, but after 
 nineteen months he abandoned the undertaking. 
 ^Meanwhile, in 1882, he had bought si.x acres of land, 
 and after quitting the butcher business he devoted 
 himself, for a year, to its cultivation. The next 
 three and a half years he spent in the service of the 
 N^ew York, New Haven & Harttord Railway Co., 
 as shipping clerk, and for the two years following 
 Feb. I, 1891, he was proprietor and manager of the 
 "Sheffield Dairy," on Lenox avenue, in the city of 
 New York. This business he disposed of by sale, 
 and after living a year in Hartford, once more 
 gravitated back to East Berlin. For a year he de- 
 voted himself to farm work, and then entered the 
 employ of the Iron Bridge Co. once more, being as- 
 signed to the "laying-out" department. After 
 three years devoted to this kind of work he resigned 
 his position, once more to engage in business on his 
 own account. In 1898 he opened a yard for the sale 
 of coal and wood, adding to this line of trade gen- 
 eral teaming and the sale of ice. He has been mod- 
 erately successful, the exigencies of his business 
 usually demanding the employment of five men. 
 In 1897 he built for himself a well-planned modern 
 residence on Main, street, where he and his family 
 have a pleasant, well-regulated home. 
 
 Mr. McCrum was married, Oct. 30, 1889, to 
 Miss Martha Jane Wilson, of Watertown, Alass., 
 who was born May 22, 1863. Her father was John 
 ^^'ilson, and her mother before marriage was Isabel 
 Haslet. Their union has been blessed with one son 
 and one daughter. The elder, W'alter Isaac, was born 
 May 18, 1891, and is attending school: the 3'ounger, 
 Elsie Wilson, was born May 10, 1896. 
 
 Politically Mr. McCrum is a Republican. In re- 
 ligious belief and church membership he is a 
 
560 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Methodist, his wife being a member of the Congre- 
 gational Church. He is held in high esteem by his 
 neighbors and townfolks, among whom he is widely 
 known. He has accumulated enough to enable him 
 to live comfortably, yet it is his industry and integ- 
 rity that have endeared him to his fellow-citizens. 
 For several years he was a member of the church 
 committee ; he has also been a member of the school 
 committee, and was constable for eight years, re- 
 signing both these latter positions — that of con- 
 stable in 1891. He is a member of Mattabessett 
 Lodge, No. 25, K. of P., and of the East Berlin 
 Literary and Athletic Association. 
 
 JOHN J. SEINSOTH, a leading pharmacist 
 of Hartford, was born in New York City Dec. 18, 
 1861, but the greater portion of his life has been 
 spent in this section. 
 
 The late L. Seinsoth, our subject's father, was a 
 native of Baden, Germany, and received his educa- 
 tion there. Having learned the tailor's trade he 
 came to America in early manhood, locating in New 
 York City in 1857. In 1866 he removed to Hart- 
 ford, where he was employed for many years by 
 U. H. Brockway, and he died there Dec. 29, 1899, 
 at the age of seventy years, four months and ten 
 days. He was a thorough American in spirit, like 
 most of our German-born citizens, and in 1864 and 
 1865 served in the 12th New Jersey regiment. He 
 married Miss M. Brenneissen, of Germany, who 
 still resides in Hartford, and they had seven chil- 
 dren, three dying in infancy: George H. died in 
 1892; John Jacob, our subject; Emily A. married J. 
 E. Officer, of Wethersfield ;■ and Frank A. is a resi- 
 dent of Hartford. 
 
 During boyhood John J. Seinsoth attended the 
 schools of Hartford, and on graduating from the 
 High School, in 1880, began his business career as 
 a clerk with Caleb Clapp, a druggist. In the fol- 
 lowing year he entered the employ of Mr. Sawtelle, 
 with whom he also remained a year, and after a 
 year and a half in Bristol, Conn., he again clerked 
 for Mr. Sawtelle for a short time. He then spent 
 a year and a half in Bridgeport, with L. W. Booth, 
 eight months in Hartford with Mr. Loeffler, several 
 years with Mr. Sawtelle, and for five years and a 
 half was manager of the drug store at the corner of 
 Park and Main steets, Hartford, for Mr. Sawtelle. 
 In December, 1891, he opened the drug store at the 
 corner of Maple avenue and Congress streets, his 
 thorough knowledge of business' methods enabling 
 him to make a success of the enterprise. On May 
 26, 1900, he removed to his present location, Nos, 
 11-15 Main street, to be better able to take care of 
 his increasing trade. Mr. Seinsoth is much inter- 
 ested in ornithology, and has a fine collection of 
 birds. He is a member of the City and State Phar- 
 maceutical Associations, and socially is identified 
 with St. John's Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; Connecticut 
 Lodge, No. 94, I. O. O. F. ; Median Encampment, 
 No. 7 ; Canton Meridien ; the Daughters of Re- 
 
 bekah; and was for years a member of the 
 Society of the Sons of Veterans. He was married 
 in Hartford to Miss Bertha L. Martin, daughter of 
 Joseph Martin, a prominent resident of Manchester, 
 Conn., and they have one child, Gertrude F. 
 
 JOHN BEASLY STACY is one of those 
 fortunate men whose genial disposition attracts 
 many friends, the sphere of whose personal influence 
 is not limited to any class or creed, but whose force- 
 ful and engaging character wins general recognition. 
 He is a prominent citizen of Simsbury, a success- 
 ful farmer and tobacco grower, and for eleven years 
 has been supervisor of the public highways of that 
 town. 
 
 The Stacy family was among the early settlers 
 of New England. Moses Stacy, the grandfather 
 of our subject, was born at Sturbridge, Worcester 
 Co., Mass., April 2, 1770, and there grew to man- 
 hood on a farm. He removed to- Belchertown, 
 Hampshire Co., Mass., and there in 1792 married 
 Zina Bardwell, who was born in Belchertown, Feb. 
 19' 1773- For several years after his marriage 
 Moses Stacy engaged in farming at Belchertown. 
 He then removed to Colebrook, N. H., where he 
 also farmed. The family of Moses and Zina Stacy 
 consisted of ten children, namely: Clarissa, born 
 March 18, 1793, died Aug. 12, 1862; Moses, born 
 July 7, 1795 ; Horace, born Dec. 27, 1797, died at 
 Pelham, Mass., July 23, 1864; Zina, born May 31, 
 1800, died at Colebrook, N. H., July 9, 1852; 
 Lucius, born Sept. 18, 1802, died at Colebrook, 
 March 19, 1831 ; Selah, born Nov. 25, 1804, died at 
 Colebrook March 19, 183 1; Permelia, born Jan. 
 26, 1807, married Edmund Sykes, of Ludlow, Mass., 
 died June 20, 1869; Elah, father of our subject, 
 born March 2, 1812 ; Martin, born April 9, 1814, 
 died at Colebrook in 1839. Zina, the wife of Moses 
 Stacy, died Jan. 12, 1841, and the latter then lived 
 with his son Elah until his death at Windsor, Conn., 
 in 1851. 
 
 Elah Stacy was reared to manhood on the home 
 farm at Colebrook, N. H., and received a good 
 common-school education. He followed farming as 
 a life vocation, and in 185 1 removed with his fam- 
 ily from his native State and county to Windsor, 
 Conn. Tobacco culture was then rising into im- 
 portance, and he purchased a tract of eighty-seven 
 acres (which is now a portion of Keeney Park), 
 and engaged in tobacco raising and general farm- 
 ing. In 1869 he sold this property, and purchased 
 the Case farm of 136 acres at Weatogue, Simsbury, 
 now owned by Frank P. Dodge, where he re- 
 mained, an active and successful farmer, stock 
 raiser and tobacco grower, until his death. Mr. 
 Stacy was married, in 1830, at Ellington, Tolland 
 Co., Conn., to Elizabeth Beasly, a native of that 
 town, and daughter of John Dwight Beasly. They 
 I'.ad six children: Susan A., wife of John J. Hale, 
 of Onondaga county, N. Y. ; Florette, who married 
 E. F. Waterhouse, of Windsor, Conn., and is now 
 
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 561 
 
 deceased; Henry, who died April 30, 1859. at Wind- 
 sor; John B., the subject of this sketch: Emma 
 ¥.; and Willard E., who married JiiHa Starkletter, 
 and lives at New Haven. The mother died at 
 Windsor, Conn., in 1859. She was a gooil Chris- 
 tian woman, a member of the Baptist Church, and 
 a faithful wife and devoted mother. For his sec- 
 ond wife Elah Stacy married Sarah P. Jones, of 
 Hartford, Conn., by whom he had no children. 
 Elah Stacy was a member of the Baptist Church, 
 and in politics was a Democrat. He was genial in 
 disposition, temperate in habits, and noted for his 
 honesty and upright character. He died March 28, 
 1883. ' 
 
 John Beasly Stacy, our subject, was born at 
 Colebrook, Coos Co., N. H., Aug. 2, 1848, and 
 was but three years old when he came with his 
 parents in 185 1 to Windsor, Conn. In that town 
 he received his education, attending the public 
 schools and also Windsor Academy, under Prof. 
 Standish. During his minority he remained with 
 his parents, assisting in the work of the farm. In 
 1870 JNIr. Stacy started out for himself in life. At 
 Wethersfield he foinid employment at brickmaking 
 for W. S. White, of Hartford, and after a year at 
 that vocation removed to the Watson Holconib farm 
 in the Union District, Simsbury, and for six years 
 successfully managed that property. Deciding to 
 farm his own property-, iMr. Stacy in 1877 purchased 
 the twenty-acre farm of Jay Tuller, in Weatogue. 
 Later he bought the "Alinister Brook farm," of 
 eighty-one acres, and now operates over one hun- 
 dred acres of land, on which he has built barns 
 and tobacco sheds, and made other improvements, 
 and is now engaged in tobacco culture, dairy and 
 general farming, and similar industries. 
 
 At Hartford, April 20, 1871, Mr. Stacy married 
 Miss Elizabeth H. Fish, a native of Windsor, 
 daughter of Samuel A. and Helen M. (Hibbard) 
 Fish, and granddaughter of Aaron Fish, of Wind- 
 sor. Helen M. (Hibbard) Fish, the mother of 
 Mrs. Stacy, was a daughter of Joel Hibbard, who 
 was born in 1797, and died Dec. 31, 1871, and who 
 married Elizabeth Cleveland, daughter of Jedediah 
 Cleveland, of the same family from which ex-Presi- 
 dent Cleveland descended. The Fish, Hibbard and 
 Cleveland families have all been prominent in the 
 history of the eastern part of Connecticut. Mr. 
 and j\Irs. Stacy have one child, Oliver H., who was 
 born at Hartford ^larch 3, 1872, and is now a 
 draftsman in the office of Pratt & Whitney, Hart- 
 ford. He was educated in the district schools 
 and at AIcLean Seminary, in earlier life was a 
 school teacher, and for four terms taught the 
 schools at Simsbury. He married Hattie Vincent, 
 who was born in Burke, N. Y., daughter of Zach- 
 ariah Vincent, and to them has been born one child, 
 lia Beasly. Oliver H. Stacy is a young man of 
 artistic temperament, whose talent has found ex- 
 pression in painting. He also excels in crayon 
 work, and some specimens of his brush, now in 
 
 36 
 
 the possession of his father, are highly prized, not 
 only for their associations but for the evident man- 
 ifestations of true art. He is admired not only for 
 his talent but for his uniformly courteous demeanor. 
 Industrious and painstaking, he is making his way 
 steadfastly along the pathway which leads to suc- 
 cess. 
 
 John B. Stacy, our subject, is in politics a Dem- 
 ocrat. In 1883 he was elected selectman of Sims- 
 bury, and filled that office most satisfactorily. In 
 1888 he was appointed supervisor of public high- 
 ways of Simsburw and has ever since filled that 
 office, most creditably to himself and efficiently to 
 the general public. Mr. Stacy is a member of St. 
 Mark's Lodge, No. 36, F. & A. M., and also o£ 
 Advance Grange, No. 22. Himself and family are 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His 
 wife is a lady of refinement and culture, whose 
 many graces of character have made happy the 
 home of our subject. 
 
 CHARLES HENRY FLAGG, a leading citi- 
 zen and successful agriculturist of West Hartford, 
 was born Dec. 11, 1840, m the house where he still 
 resides, and comes of good old Revolutionary 
 stock. His great-grandfather, Abijah Flagg. aided 
 the Colonies in achieving their independence, as a 
 member of Capt. Hart's company, of Farmington^ 
 Conn., and Col. Wolcott's regiment. He was sta- 
 tioned at Boston from January until March, I776>- 
 and was a pensioner in Hartford county from 1832 
 to 1840. He died at the ripe age of eighty-five 
 years. 
 
 George Flagg, the grandfather of our subject, 
 was a soldier of the war of 1812. He was born in 
 the North District of West Hartford, Dec. 9, 1782, 
 was a tanner and shoemaker by trade, and also en- 
 gaged in agricultural pursuits, owning and operat- 
 ing a large farm. On Nov. 25, 1805, he married 
 Ruth Elmer, who was born Dec. 30, 1784, and died 
 May 17, i860. The names and dates of birth of 
 their children are as follows: Julia, J\Iay 23, 1806; 
 George, Jr., Sept. ly, 1807: Gurdon, Nov. 14, 1809; 
 jane, Oct. 5. 1811 : Franklin, Oct. 5, 1813: Jane, 
 March 14, 1816: Ralph, May 23, 1818: Ralph. Oct. 
 17, 1821 ; Austin, Nov. 2, 1823; and Averlin, Dec. 
 15, 1825. 
 
 George Flagg, Jr., the father of our subject, 
 was born in the old North District of ^^'est Hart- 
 ford Sept. 2j. 1807. and attended school there. After 
 his marriage he removed to Utica, N. Y., where he 
 engaged in farming for three years, and then re- 
 turned to the North District of West Hartford. 
 Two years later he bought the Solomon Porter 
 farm, now occupied by our subject, and followed 
 faming there until his death, April 22, 1863. On 
 June 7, 1831, he wedded Miss Mary Goodman, whO' 
 "was born Jan. 6, 1806, and died June 23, 1879. They 
 had six children: (i) Franklin A., born July 27,. 
 1832, married Marv Langdon, who died Aug. 20, 
 1870, and he died Jan. 19, 1865. (2) Mary A.,. 
 
562 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 born Jan. 15, 1834, was married April 11, 1854, to 
 Edwin H. Arnold, and died Dec. 27, 1858. She 
 had three children : Charles E., born April 20, 1855 ; 
 Mary E., Dec. 11, 1857; ^^d Addie S., Sept. 21, 
 1858. Mary E. Arnold was married Nov. 8, 1877, 
 to Charles S. Mills, Jr., and they have one daughter, 
 Edith A., born Nov. 11, 1878. (3) Elizabeth A., 
 born July 22, 1836, now living at No. 118 Trumbull 
 street, Hartford. (4) Lorenzo G., born May 25, 
 1838, was married in October, 1864, to Augusta 
 A. Selden, and died Dec. 2, 1874, leaving four chil- 
 dren, George E., who was born Aug. 23, 1865, and 
 ,was married in 1891 to Nettie Root (have one child, 
 Edward Buell, born Jan. 6, 1892) ; Franklin S., 
 born Dec. 24, 1868; William L., born July 3, 1871 ; 
 and Charles E., born Oct. 16, 1873. (5) Charles 
 H., our subject, is next in order of birth. (6j Julia 
 A., born Dec. 15, 1844, was married Oct. 12, 1870, 
 to T. Everett Stanley, and died Dec. 2, 1873. 
 
 Reared on the home farm, Charles H. Elagg 
 was educated in the East District school of West 
 Hartford, and the old academy at West Hartford 
 Center. He aided his father in the operation of 
 the farm until Sept. 20, 1862, when he enlisted for 
 nine months' service, at Hartford, in Company D, 
 22nd Conn. V. L, and with his regiment was sent to 
 the defense of Washington, D. C. He was mus- 
 tered out at Hartford July 7, 1863, and returned 
 home. Since then his time and attention have been 
 devoted iminterruptedly to agricultural pursuits 
 upon the old homestead, and his well-directed labors 
 have been crowned with success. In West Hartford 
 he was married, Oct. 17, 1867, to Miss Caroline W. 
 Robbins, who was born in Monroeville, Ala., and is 
 a daughter of George and Ann (Stanley) Robbins, 
 natives of Rocky Hill and West Hartford, Conn., 
 respectively. Fraternally Mr. Elagg is an honored 
 member of Robert O. Tyler Post, G. A. R., of Hart- 
 ford ; politically is a stanch Republican. He most 
 creditably and acceptably served as assessor of West 
 Hartforcl from 1877 to 1898, and was chairman of 
 the board for twelve years. 
 
 WILLIAM HILL, agent for the Collins Com- 
 pany, the well-known manufacturers of Collinsville, 
 has held that responsible position since 1891, and 
 enjoys the entire confidence of the firm, having 
 risen to his present post through various positions 
 in their business. 
 
 Mr. Hill was born April 10, i860, in Brooklyn, 
 N. Y., son of Charles E. Hill, and grandson of 
 William Hill, the latter born Feb. 28, 1799, in 
 Maine, of which State his wife, Elizabeth (Buffum), 
 was also a native, born about 1804. She died in 
 1854, but he lived to be over eighty, passing away 
 May 12, 1881. Their children who grew to maturity 
 were Charles E.. Ehzabeth A., Mary R., and Edward. 
 Charles E. Hill was born in 1827 in New Hamp- 
 shire, moving thence to Maine in early childhood. 
 He died in 1893, and is buried in Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 He married Susan T. Wilbur, who was born in 
 
 1835, in Rhode Island, and died in 1880, and they 
 reared the following children : William, George E., 
 Herbert W., and Susan F. 
 
 William Hill graduated in 1882 from the School 
 of Mines of Columbia College, taking the degree 
 of Civil Engineer. At the age of twenty-two years 
 he located in Collinsville, and took a position in the 
 steel works of the Collins Company, spending sev- 
 eral years in practical work there. In 1885 he was 
 appointed assistant superintendent imder Charles 
 H. Blair, and held this position until he undertook 
 his present duties, in 1891. Fie has won many 
 friends in the community, and he and his wife are 
 members of the Congregational Church, in which he 
 is at present serving as a committeeman. His 
 manner is genial, yet quiet, and without being ag- 
 gressive he is to be found on the side of progress, 
 the temperance movement especially enlisting his 
 sympathy. Politically he is a Republican, and he 
 has served as a member of the district committee 
 and of the local school board. 
 
 In May, 1887, Mr. Hill was married, in Roches- 
 ter, N. Y., to Elizabeth M. Blair, formerly of Hart- 
 ford, a daughter of H. P. Blair, and grandaughter 
 of Charles Blair, formerly superintendent of the 
 Collins Company. Three children have blessed 
 this union: Hellen F. ; Russel B., who died in 1897, 
 at the age of six years ; and Wilbur P. 
 
 WELLMAN BRAINARD WEIR, a well-known 
 and highly-respected citizen of the town of New- 
 ington, was born in Glastonbury, Conn., June 14, 
 1838, and is a representative of one of the old fami- 
 lies of the place. Gilbert Weir, his grandfather, 
 was also a native of Glastonbury, and followed 
 farming pursuits ; he and his wife are buried in 
 Glastonbury. 
 
 Flavel Weir, father of our subject, was born in 
 Glastonbury, Sept. 21, 1802, and was married in 
 Newington, Nov. 26, 1834, to Miss Mary Ann 
 Churchill, who was born on the old Churchill home- 
 stead in IsTewington, April 26, 1814. He was very 
 straight, tall and slender, and prematurely gray; 
 was very strict and stern; and when young was ill 
 much of the time. He was a thrifty farmer and a 
 self-made man, one who commanded the respect of 
 all with whom he came in contact, and those who 
 knew him best were numbered among his warmest 
 friends. His word was always considered as good 
 as his bond, for he was honorable and straightfor- 
 ward in all things. In political sentiment he was a 
 Democrat. 
 
 In 1849, when our subject was four years old, 
 the family located on the old Churchill homestead 
 in Newington, where Gen. Washington had once 
 eaten supper. There Mr. Weir passed his boy- 
 hood. At the age of eleven years he commenced 
 earning his own livelihood, working for Jedidiah 
 Deming for nine dollars per month and board, and 
 with that gentleman he remained some thirteen 
 years, working during the summer and attending 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 503 
 
 school through the winter months. During the 
 Civil war he entered the service of his country, 
 enlisting at Xewington (then Wethersfield), Aug. 
 30, 1862, in Company E, 22nd Conn. V. 1., under 
 command of Col. George S. Burnham. He was 
 mustered in at Hartford, Sept. 20, 1862, and then 
 went to New York. From there he proceeded by 
 boat to Ehzabethport and by train to Washington, 
 D. C. There he became ill from the effects of a 
 sunstroke, and was confined to hospital for two 
 months. He then joined his regiment at Miner's 
 Hill, near Alexandria, Va., and later was on guard 
 and picket duty at Suffolk, N. C. Returning to 
 Yorktown, the regiment went up the York river to 
 Richmond, and from there returned to Hartford, 
 Conn., on the expiration of their term of enlistment, 
 being mustered out July 7, 1863. 
 
 The year after his return from the war Mr. Weir 
 was foreman of a farm at New Haven, and then 
 again came to Newington, where he has since en- 
 o^aged in farming and carpentering, being interested 
 in the latter business with his son. In April, 1893, 
 he purchased his present farm of nineteen acres 
 from the Johnson estate, and there he is now suc- 
 cessfully engaged in raising general farm products. 
 
 On Dec. 29, i860, J\Ir. Weir was united in 
 marriage with Miss Susan Sophia Cady, who was 
 born in East Hampton, Conn., Feb. 25, 1839, ^ 
 daughter of Zamon and Charlotte Amelia (Bush) 
 Cady, now deceased. The father was buried in 
 East Hampton, the mother in Newington. In their 
 family were three children. To i\Ir. and J\Irs. 
 Weir have been born four children : Burton Revillo, 
 born Nov. 3, 1861, died Oct. 23, 1863 ; Lucy Emma, 
 born Jan. 6, 1867, died Dec. 8, 1881 ; Nellie Vir- 
 ginia, born Aug. 21, 1868, and George Alanson, 
 born Dec. 29, 1874, make their home with their par- 
 ents. Father and son are members of Our Broth- 
 ers Council, No. 41, Sr. O. U. A. M., of Newington, 
 and the latter also belongs to the Grange. In early 
 life Mr. Weir was a Democrat in politics, but for 
 the past twenty years has been an ardent supporter 
 of the Republican party. He is a hardworking, in- 
 dustrious man, well-liked by his neighbors, and has 
 a host of friends in Newington. 
 
 WILLIAM STANLEY BRACE, a represen- 
 tative farmer and dairyman of West Hartford, was 
 born on the old Brace homestead in that town June 
 20, 1869, and is a worthy representative of one of 
 its most highly respected and honored families. 
 
 Mr. Brace's grandfather, Thomas Brace, who 
 resided in a house just north of West Flartford, was 
 born Aug. 18, 1797, and died Feb. 18, i88o. He 
 was a farmer by occupation, and a singing teacher, 
 and was an active and prominent member of the 
 Congregational Church. In politics he was a 
 Republican, and he served as treasurer of the town 
 of West Hartford. He married Miss Electa A. 
 Deming, who was born Feb. 14, 1801, and died 
 Aug. 9, 1872, and they had six children : Helen M., 
 
 born Aug. 8, 1824, is a resident of Placerville, Cal.; 
 Charlotte S., born Oct. 14, 1827, died Aug. 4, 
 1869; Thomas D., born Nov. 9, 1830, is a resident 
 of I'oy Sippi, Wis.; Joseph E., born Oct. 18, 1833, 
 was the father of our subject; John II., born Feb. 
 24, 1836, lives in Syracuse, N. Y. ; and Emma A., 
 born Sept. 21, 1842, died Nov. 8, 1864. 
 
 Joseph Ensign Brace, father of our subject, 
 spent his entire early life on the old homestead at 
 West Hartford Center, dying in the house where 
 he was born. His education was accjuired in the 
 district schools and the old academy of West Hart- 
 ford Center, and after attaining man's estate he en- 
 gaged in farming, which he continued throughout 
 the remainder of his life. On Oct. 27, 1859, he was 
 united in marriage with Miss Nettie S. Belden, who 
 was born Oct. 9, 1S35, and died Oct. 14, 1874. 
 Their only child was William S., our subject. The 
 father was again married Oct. 13, 1887, his second 
 union being with Ella Mulford Conklin, who still 
 survives him. Politically Mr. Brace was a stanch 
 Republican, and at one lime was selectman of the 
 town of West Hartford. Fraternally he was a 
 member of the Grange, and religiously of the Con- 
 gregational Church. He died Jan. 8, 1899, of 
 pneumonia contracted at "The Men's Social," Dec. 
 26, 1898. His genial disposition, his equable 
 temper, his sterling integrity, his stalwart frame, 
 his sunny face, his mild and benignant eye, his 
 friendly voice, made him the trusted friend and ad- 
 viser, the brotherly helper, of many who feel his 
 loss as that of a relative, near and dear. He was 
 widely known, confidently trusted, and greatly be- 
 loved. In 1858 he united' with the church, and was 
 a regular attendant up to the time of his death. 
 He loved its hours of worship, gave liberally and 
 constantly to its support, and filled with fidelity 
 and ability the trusts and duties assigned him. He 
 was an indefatigable worker, almost mercilessly so, 
 never sparing himself, and yet he always had leis- 
 ure, or made it, to say a kindly word and to lend a 
 helping hand to those in need of counsel and as- 
 sistance. 
 
 During his boyhood and youth, William S. 
 Brace attended the Center District school, the high 
 school, and Williston Seminary, at East Hampton. 
 Mass. Upon the completion of his education he 
 returned home, and accepted a position with the 
 United States Express Co. Later he was with the 
 Adams Express Co. for about five years, but for the 
 past six years has been successfully engaged in farm- 
 ing and the milk business, having a milk route in 
 Hartford. He continued to reside upon the old 
 homestead until the spring of 1898, when he re- 
 moved to the next house north, residing there until 
 the death of his father, when he moved back to the 
 old homestead. On Nov. 22, 1890, IMr. Brace was 
 united in marriage with Miss Bertha M. Ward, 
 and to them have been born two children : Pauline 
 Boyer, who was born Oct. 6, 1894, and died at the 
 age of eleven months ; and H. Boyer, born Dec. 18, 
 
564 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1896. Mr. Brace is a prominent member of Wyllys 
 Lodge, No. 99, F. & A. M., of which he is the pres- 
 ent master; and has been a member of Summit 
 Lodge, L O. O. F., of Hartford, since 1898. He 
 is quite popular socially, and stands high in busi- 
 ness circles. 
 
 EDSON WILCOX BOWERS, whose life story 
 is one of perseverance, hard work, thrift, energy 
 and honesty which it would be well for the youth 
 of the present generation to carefully study and 
 emulate, was born June 2, 1853, in the town of 
 Berlin, near the line dividing Berlin from Middle- 
 town. His father, Harley Newell Bowers, was 
 born June 9, 1823, in Middletown, near the same 
 dividing line. He kept a general store, and was 
 the pioneer merchant of East Berlin. He married 
 Julia Wilcox. 
 
 Edson W. Bowers lost his father by death when 
 he was but five years old, and at the age of nine 
 the boy went to work upon the farm of his uncle, 
 Henry J. Bowers, in Westfield'. He enjoyed some 
 educational advantages, although they were of a 
 limited sort, being confined to attendance at the 
 public school in the Wes '.field District, and at a 
 private school for one term. When he reached the 
 age of eighteen he resolved to learn the trade of a 
 tinner, and for three years served an apprentice- 
 ship with Henry L. Dickenson, of East Berlin. 
 After learning his trade he remained with Mr. 
 Dickenson for fourteen years as a journeyman, 
 and at the death of that gentleman found that 
 through his own industry, sobriety and economy 
 he was able to purchase his employer's store, with 
 its stock, and shop, with its machinery and tools. 
 A year later he purchased the Dickenson resi- 
 dence, which is still his home. From what has 
 been already said, it may be seen that while yet in 
 the very prime of life Mr. Bowers has built up, 
 unaided, a successful business, and has acquired at 
 least a comfortable competence. Faithful in every 
 relation of life, he has always been a dutiful son, 
 and the support of his widowed mother has always 
 been one of his chief cares. For thirty )'ears he 
 has worked hard to climb the ladder of success, 
 ,:md he has mounted no round except through pa- 
 tient performance of the duty nearest at hand. 
 
 In January, 1885, Mr. Bowers was married to 
 Mary Alice, a daughter of William A. Mildrum, 
 of East Berlin, and one son blessed their union, 
 Arthur Edson, born in September, 1886. He is 
 attending school in East Berlin. In politics Mr. 
 Bowers is a stanch Republican, but his life has 
 been too much occupied with work and business 
 tc permit him to take any active part in campaigns 
 or elections. In religious faith he is a Methodist. 
 
 LUCIUS HANCOCK HOLT, the well-known 
 treasurer of the Billings & Spencer Co., Hartford, 
 comes of a long and honorable line of sturdy New 
 England ancestry, being a descendant in the sev- 
 
 enth generation from Nicholas Holt, and traces his 
 descent through Nicholas (2), Abiel, James, Jo- 
 seph and Alva. 
 
 Nicholas Holt, the emigrant ancestor, was born 
 about 1602, in England, was a passenger in the ship 
 "James," of London which sailed from the port of 
 Southampton, England, in April, 1635, and arrived 
 at Boston in June following. The same year he lo- 
 cated in Newbury, Mass., of which place he was one 
 of the first settlers. In 1644 he became one of the 
 original settlers of Andover, Mass., where he died 
 in 1665. A few years prior to coming to this 
 country he had married, in England, his wife's 
 name being Elizabeth. 
 
 (II) Nicholas Holt (2), son of Nicholas, the 
 emigrant, born in 1647 i^'^ Andover, Mass., married, 
 in 1679, Mary Russell, daughter of (probably) 
 Robert Russell. He died in Andover in 171 5. 
 
 (III) Abiel Holt, son of Nicholas (2), born in 
 1698, married (first) Hannah, daughter of William 
 and Elizabeth (Geary) Abbot, and in 171 8 removed 
 from Andover to Windham, Conn., where they were 
 among the early members of the church. He died 
 in Windham in 1772. 
 
 (IV) James Holt, son of Abiel, born in 1746, in 
 Windham, married (first) in 1769 Esther Orven. 
 He removed to Ellington, and died in 1818. 
 
 (V) Joseph Holt, son of James, was born in 
 1770 in Willington, and in 1794 married Betsey 
 Parker, who died in 1814, at the age of thirty-nine- 
 He died in 1816, at the age of forty-six. 
 
 (VI) Alva Holt, son of Joseph, and the father 
 of Julius H. Holt, of Hartford, was born Aug. 14, 
 1 80 1, in Willington, and died March 30, 1876. 
 On Feb. 5, 1823, he married Betsey Kelsey, whO' 
 was born March 19, 1794, daughter of Levi and 
 Sally (Fowler) Kelsey, and died June 2, 1869. His 
 second wife was Jane Newberry. Alva Holt first 
 engaged in farming in Willington, and later con- 
 ducting a trucking business at Hartford, where his 
 death occurred. He was active in the cause of tem- 
 perance, and frequently lectured on the subject. His 
 children, all now deceased except Lucius H., were: 
 Cornelia, born in 1823 ; Louisa, born in 1825 ;, 
 Lucius Hancock, born in 1827; and William K., 
 born in 1837, who married Ann Wolcott. 
 
 (VII) Lucius Hancock Holt was born Oct. i, 
 1827, in Willington, and spent his early life in his 
 native place and at Hartford. At the early age of 
 fifteen years he became the main support of the 
 family, engaging as newsboy until he was eighteen 
 years old, and subsequently, up to the age of thirty, 
 working at the jeweler's trade, which he had learned 
 in Hartford. Having decided to branch out on his 
 own account, he embarked in the grain business, 
 which he conducted for the twelve or fifteen years 
 following, and for a short time he resided in Chi- 
 cago, where he would in all probability have re- 
 mained permanentl}' had not the great Chicago fire 
 changed his plans. For a number of years past he 
 has been prominently identified with the business 
 
 I 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 565 
 
 interests of llarifonl as treasurer of the Millings & 
 Spencer Co. I'raternally he is well known in 
 Masonic circles, being a member of St. John's 
 Lodge, F. & A. j\l., of Washington Commandery, 
 K. T., Hartford, and he has reached the thirty- 
 second degree. 
 
 On Sept. 9, 1849, at New Haven, Conn., Mr. 
 Holt was married to Miss Sarah Gwinnell, who was 
 born Jan. 10, 1829. Of the children born to this 
 imion, Amelia N. died in infancy. Sarah E., born 
 in 1852, also died in infancy. Evelina C, born May 
 26, 1855, is the wife of Charles E. Billings, of Hart- 
 ford. Fred P., born Nov. 8, i860, was married Feb. 
 18, 1880, to Afiss Regina Miller Hudson, daughter 
 ■of Dr. William M. Hudson, and they have one child, 
 Lucius Hudson, born Jan. 16, 1881. Fred P. Holt 
 is custodian of the Safe Deposit Department of the 
 Hartford Trust Co. The family stands high in the 
 best circles of Hartford, and Mr. Holt enjoys the 
 respect and esteem of a wide acquaintanceship. 
 
 FREDERIC JONES, who, at the age of 
 thirty-eight years, is at the head of the Tariffville 
 Lace Manufacturing Co., which is engaged at Tariff- 
 ville in the manufacture of the celebrated Notting- 
 ham curtains, began his career as an office boy in 
 an English factory, where methods are more con- 
 servative than here. At nineteen years of age he 
 was superintendent of the factory. He has thor- 
 oughly learned the business, and this mastery of 
 detail has contributed not a little to his success. 
 
 Mr. Jones is a native of Nottingham, England, 
 torn in August, 1861. He received a common- 
 school education, but no academic or collegiate 
 course, and at the age of sixteen he entered the em- 
 ploy of the Frank Wilkinson Co., of Beeston, Notts, 
 England, as an office boy. He swept out offices, 
 and did the general utility work of a boy in his po- 
 sition ; but he took a keen interest in the business, 
 until at the age of nineteen he was made superin- 
 tendent of the company's plant at Beeston, where he 
 had under him 500 hands. The firm was among the 
 largest in the manufacture of Nottingham lace cur- 
 tains, and owned plants at Beeston, Chillwell and 
 Borrowosh, England. In 1891 Mr. Jones came to 
 the United States and became superintendent of the 
 firm's plant at Tariffville, remaining in that capacity 
 until August, 1898, when he became a stockholder. 
 In February, 1899, the Tariffville Lace Manufac- 
 turing Co. was incorporated. Mr. Jones was one 
 of the incorporators, and became its first president 
 and superintendent, in which capacity he has since 
 continued ; he is a thoroughly practical man, in both 
 "business and mechanics. The Tarift'ville Lace 
 Manufacturing Co. makes the celebrated Nottirg- 
 ham lace curtains. 
 
 In England Air. Jones married Aliss Henrietta 
 Burrows, of Beeston, England. They are members 
 of the Episcopal Church. In'politics our subject is 
 a Republican, and, while no office holder or seeker, 
 takes an interest in the party's success. He is dis- 
 
 tinctively a self-made man, one whose devotion and 
 application to business have met with the most sig- 
 nal success. 
 
 HARRY E. OLCUTT, an enterprising and 
 successful young merchant of Glastonbury, was 
 born in Naubuc July 21, 1869, in the house which 
 is still occupied by his father. His ancestry is fully 
 spoken of in the sketch of his brother, Emerson E. 
 Olcott, elsewhere. 
 
 Mr. Olcott attended a district school and Glas- 
 tonbury Academy, and in 1885 entered the em- 
 ploy of W. E. Gates, as clerk in a general store, his 
 duties involving such work as delivering goods, 
 sweeping out, and cleaning lamps. His wages were 
 very low, but he remained until fire destroyed the 
 place, in 1894, when his brother, Emerson E. Ol- 
 cott, purchased the site and rebuilt the store. Our 
 subject was engag'ed in the grocery business with 
 his brother until 1898, when he purchased the lat- 
 ter's interest, and he is now the sole owner of the 
 general store which bears his name. In 1887 he 
 was married to Miss Louise C. Tracy, a native of 
 Hazardville, Conn., who was born Alarch 9, 1870, 
 daughter of Henry Trac}^ a tinner and well-known 
 resident of that town. She died Sept. 30, 1898, 
 her death being a severe blow to her husband and 
 family. She was a most excellent wife, and a kind 
 and loving mother, and her husband's devotion to 
 her was intense. Six children were born to them : 
 Edna, March 25, 1888; Alildred, Jan. 21, 1890; 
 Frank, April 3, 1891; Arthur, Dec. 8, 1892; Ruth, 
 Oct. 5, 1895; and Louise, Aug. 31, 1898. Socially 
 Air. Olcott is popular, and his sterling qualities of 
 character, and his genial and obliging disposition, are 
 appreciated by his customers as well as others, as his 
 constantly increasing trade indicates. He is a 
 member of the O. U. A. Al., of Glastonbury, and 
 the Society of the Sons of Veterans. In politics he 
 is a Republican, but he has never sought political 
 honors. 
 
 RARER HALL, of the town of Berlin, was 
 born in Easingwold, England, Dec. 25, 1868, and is 
 a son of John Hall, now overseer for Sir George 
 Wombwell, Bart., of the above manor. There the 
 father was born in 1834, and there he has made his 
 home throughout life, though he has visited this 
 country. At the age of twenty-three years he wed- 
 ded Alary Ann Raper, who was born in 1837, and 
 died in 1884. In their familv were seven children. 
 Our subject's paternal grandfather, Walter Hall, 
 was born in Easingwold, in 1779, and engaged in 
 farming and stock dealing. By his wife Jane, he 
 had a familv of six children. He died at the age 
 of eighty-one years, his wife at the age of seventy- 
 seven. 
 
 The earlv life of our subject was spent upon 
 a farm, and he attended the public schools of his 
 native land until fourteen years of age, when he en- 
 tered the employ of Richard Key as a farm hand. 
 
566 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 receiving seventeen pounds for his two years' work. 
 The following year he worked on the farm of John 
 Robb, and was with Hon. George Lassel for the 
 same length of time. Returning home, he remained 
 there for about a year, and then served for one year 
 in the British army. The following year he worked 
 on the farm of William Jones, and then went to 
 Thorne, England, where he farmed for John Brad- 
 ley one year. He was again with William Jones 
 until June, 1888, when he sailed from Liverpool for 
 America. On his arrival in New York he came im- 
 mediately to Newington, Conn., and here was in the 
 employ of G. D. Mills for about nine months. 
 Then, in connection with Aaron W. Hall, of Ken- 
 sington, who had come to this country from Eng- 
 land a short time previous, he rented the Mills farm, 
 which they operated for a 3'ear. Our subject then 
 bought, of Mr. Mills, a milk route in New Britain, 
 and a year later purchased Charles Chapman's 
 route, in the same place, devoting' his entire time 
 to the milk business until April, 1895, when he 
 moved to Beckley and purchased the original 
 Webster homestead, of sixty-two acres, which he 
 placed under a high state of cultivation, and upon 
 which he engaged in general farming. He also 
 had a good milk route in New Britain, and kept 
 thirteen cows for that business. Having sold the 
 above mentioned farm, he now (1900) works it for 
 the new owner. He is not afraid of work, and his 
 success in life is attributable to his industry and 
 good management, for he has received no aid from 
 any outside source. 
 
 Mr. Hall was married, Sept. 16, 1890, to Miss 
 Jane Merritt, who was born in Seacroft, England, 
 and they have become the parents of six children : 
 Mary Ellen, John Charles, Annie Isabelle, Mary 
 Alice, Ellen Elizabeth, and one whose name is not 
 given. All are living with the exception of the- 
 eldest, who died at the age of six months, and was 
 buried in Newington. The parents attend the Con- 
 gregational Church, and are highly respected by all 
 who know them. Mr. Hall intends takuig out his 
 naturalization papers before the election of 1900. 
 He keeps well posted on matters of national import- 
 ance, and his sympathies are with the Republican 
 party. 
 
 HENRY WELLS ALLEN. It is a well-known 
 fact that the descendants of our pioneer families 
 occupy, as a rule, honorable positions in life, and 
 the subject of this biography, a prominent agricul- 
 turist of the town of East Windsor, furnishes a 
 noteworthy instance. In his successful career he 
 maintains the prestige of a name which has been 
 associated from an early day with the qualities that 
 constitute good citizenship. He traces his descent 
 from Samuel Allen, a native of Braintree, England, 
 who came to America about 1630, and located in 
 East Windsor about 1635, being one of the first set- 
 tlers there. 
 
 Joseph Allen, our subject's great-great-grand- 
 
 father, resided on the old Allen homestead, now oc- 
 cupied by Joseph T. Allen. 
 
 Samuel Allen was thrice married, and Joshua, 
 grandfather of our subject, was one of the children 
 born to the first union, with Elizabeth Wells. 
 
 Joshua Allen was born at the old homestead May 
 18, 1 77 1, and for many years followed farming on 
 the estate now occupied by Frederick J. Allen, our 
 subject's brother. 
 
 Hon. Henry W. Allen, father of our subject, 
 was born at the last mentioned farm, where he made 
 his home throughout life. He was active and in- 
 fluential in local affairs, serving for several years as 
 selectman, and in 1850 he was elected to the State 
 Legislature. He passed away July 22, 1881, at the 
 age of seventy years. He married Miss Elizabeth 
 W. Allen, daughter of Elam Allen, and she is still 
 living at' the advanced age of eighty-two. They 
 had three children : Marietta Abigail, born May 28, 
 1837. who died Dec. 6, 1842; Henry W., our sub- 
 ject; and Frederick J., a farmer at the homestead. 
 
 Henry W. Allen was born Oct. 24, 1841, and 
 was reared to farm work under the able direction of 
 his father. He attended the common schools of the 
 town, the high school at Ellington, Conn., the Con- 
 necticut Literary Institute, at Suffield, this county, 
 where he remained two years, and the Westfield In- 
 stitute, at Westfield, Mass., graduating from the 
 latter school in 1858. On his return home he con- 
 tinued to assist in the work of the farm until 1865, 
 when he improved his present property and settled 
 there, engaging in general farming, dairying and 
 tobacco culture. His homestead comprises eighty 
 acres of land, but he owns, altogether, 130 acres 
 in the town. For many years he has been a leading 
 worker in the local Republican organization, and in 
 1 89 1 he was elected second selectman for the term 
 of one year, with George A. Ellis and E. M. 
 Granger. In 1895 he was again chosen second se- 
 lectman, with the same gentlemen as colleagues, 
 and in 1896 was elected first selectman, with Elisha 
 G. Morton and George A. Ellis. 
 
 On Jan. 26, 1865, Mr. Allen married Miss C3'n- 
 thia A. Parsons, djaughter of Levi and Cynthia 
 (Allen) Parsons, well-known citizens of East 
 Windsor, and four children have brightened their 
 home: Charles Henry; Herbert P.; Abigail B., wife 
 of William Lathrop, of East Windsor; and 
 Marietta. 
 
 WILLIAM ROBERT ROSBROOK, of the 
 firm of Rosbrook & King, leading coal dealers of 
 East Hartford, is a substantial business man and 
 respected citizen. He represents one of the old 
 pioneer families of New York State, his ancestors 
 having settled near White Hall at an early day. \ 
 His great-grandfather, John Rosbrook, resided there 
 for a time with his brother Gasham, whose descend- 
 ants are now numerous in Rhode Island and Con- 
 necticut. 
 
 John Rosbrook, our subject's great-grandfather. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 567 
 
 made his permanent home in Norwich, Chenango 
 Co., N. Y., engaged in agriculture. He married 
 a Miss Reeves, a daughter of a Presbyterian min- 
 ister, and had the following children : Harvey was 
 a farmer in Chenango county, N. Y. ; Philo was a 
 farmer in the town of Hastings, Oswego Co., N. 
 Y. ; Alonzo, Waldo and John IMilton settled in 
 Hastings; and Ezra, our subject's grandfather, was 
 the youngest of the family. 
 
 Ezra Rosbrook was bom in Norwich, N. Y., 
 where his boyhood was spent. He followed farm- 
 ing for a time, and also the trade of carpenter and 
 joiner, but later became interested in lumbering, 
 and ran one of the first sawmills in that part of 
 the State. He theii removed to Onondaga county, 
 where he operated a sawmill, and for some time 
 resided in Northampton, Mass., near the French 
 colony. While there he ran a sawmill and" was 
 employed in a silk mill, and being a natural machin- 
 ist he brought many new ideas to bear in the run- 
 r.ing of the latter. His last years were spent in 
 ^^'isconsin, and he and his wife are buried there. 
 They had seven children, of whom our subject's 
 father, Charles A., was the eldest ; Julia Ann mar- 
 ried Julius Dunham, who died shortly after mar- 
 riage ; Louise first married a Mr. Prindall, of East 
 Hampton, Conn., and her second husband was a 
 fruit grower in California ; Francis, a mechanic in 
 East Hampton, married a resident of that town; 
 Emeline married J\Ir. Axdell, a blacksmith at 
 Portland, Conn. ; Sarah Jane married Mr. Flint, a 
 farmer and miller in Wisconsin ; John Milton mar- 
 ried and settled in Hoosick Falls, N. Y., and is now 
 living in retirement, after spending manv vears as 
 superintendent of the Walter A. Wood 2^Iachine 
 Company. 
 
 Charles A. Rosbrook, our subject's father, was 
 born March 9, 1820, in Oneida county, N. Y., but 
 his boyhood was mainly spent in Cicero, Onondaga 
 county. At the age of twenty he came to Con- 
 necticut, and located in East Hampton, where he 
 was employed for a year and a half. He then re- 
 turned to Cicero for a period, and later came to 
 Hartford, where he worked in various machine 
 shops, including Colt's Armory and the Wood- 
 worth & Beach machine shop. He was also em- 
 ployed for a time in Portland, Conn., as engineer 
 in the quarries, but at present he makes his home 
 with our subject. On Nov. 21, 1847, he was mar- 
 ried to Sarah Hodge, who was born Nov. 22, 1826, 
 in East Glastonbury, and died April 30, 1861. She 
 was a daughter of Noel Hodge, a farmer in Glaston- 
 bury, and his wife, Rueba P>rown. Of the children 
 of this union, Julia, born Dec. 14, 184Q, died Oct. 
 24. 1854: Helen ^l., born Aug. 18, 1851, died in 
 childhood: William R. was next in the order of 
 birth; Sarah F., deceased, was born Feb. 8, 1855, 
 and married Charles Davis, of Boston, JMass. ; Fre"d, 
 born Feb. it, i860, married Eva Frask, and re- 
 sides in East "Hartford, being employed in the \\W\- 
 iam Rogers plating factory in Hartford. 
 
 William R. Rosbrook was born April 2, 1853, 
 in Portland, Conn., and received only a common- 
 school education. His last teacher in the ( ilaslon- 
 bury high school was Mrs. McChesney. He lost 
 his mother when he was only eight years old, 
 and as his father was a poor man, he was com- 
 pelled to make his own way through life from an 
 early age. He worked on farms in summer, while 
 attending school in winter, thus paying for his own 
 education. Later he went to Stafford Springs, 
 Conn., and began to learn the dyer's trade, but the 
 acids used affected his health, and he was com- 
 pelled to give up the work. In 1873 he came to 
 Hartford, and found work with the Rogers Cutlery 
 Co., and was with them when the name of the firm 
 changed to the AMUiani Rogers Manufacturing Co. 
 He remained with them for twenty years, and al- 
 though he started at the Ijottom became one of 
 their most valuable workmen. He resigned his 
 position in 1899, 'i''"^ formed his present partner- 
 ship with E. E. King, of East Hartford (a sketch 
 of whom appears elsewhere), and they have built 
 up a large and profitable trade. 
 
 In 1881 Mr. Rosbrook was married to !Miss 
 Phebe E. Hall, of North Coventry, Conn., daughter 
 of Amasa Hall and his wife Eunice Greene, who 
 is a descendant of Gen. Nathaniel Greene, of Revo- 
 lutionary fame. The_v have had no children, but 
 have adopted 'and reared several, being too sym- 
 pathetic and generous to see a needy child go un- 
 sheltered. 
 
 Politically i\Ir. Rosbrook is a Republican, and 
 he takes an active interest in local affairs, being 
 treasurer of the East Hartford fire district. He 
 attends the Congregational Church, and is chan- 
 cellor of Elm Lodge, K. P., of East Hartford, and 
 charter meml>er of same ; senior deacon in Orient 
 Lodge, No. 62, F. & A. M., of East Hartford; 
 charter member of Sonquosaen Tribe, of Red Men, 
 of Hartford, in which he filled the chair for five 
 terms : and charter member of a fraternal insurance 
 society. 
 
 JOHN P. KENNEY, an industrious and strictly 
 upright young farmer of Hockanum, was born in 
 Norwich, this State, Feb. 3, 1866, and is a son of 
 Rev. Pardon T. and Lemira A. (Porter) Kenney, 
 the latter of whom was a member of a most highly- 
 respected Connecticut family. 
 
 Phineas Kenney w-as a native of New Bedford, 
 ]\Iass., was married in that city, and had born to 
 him three children : Lorenzo ; Elizabeth ; and Par- 
 don T., the father of John P., whose name opens 
 this sketch. 
 
 Rev. Pardon T. Kenney, a native of New Bed- 
 ford, ^lass., was born Sept. 5, 1810. He was reared 
 a tailor, and for a short time was in business for 
 himself, but his predilections were strongly toward 
 theology, and he early attended the Wesleyan Acad- 
 emy, at Wilbraham. Mass. On May n, 1830, he 
 received an exhorter's license for the Fair Haven 
 
.568 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Circuit. In the fall of 1833 he entered the univer- 
 -sity at Middletown, and was a classmate of Rev. 
 Abel Stevens, but asthmatic troubles compelled him 
 to at once relinquish his studies for the coveted 
 profession, though he resumed them later in the 
 year. At the expiration of six months he removed 
 to Worcester, Mass., and later was stationed at 
 various places in New England. In 1842 he was 
 sent On a mission to Key West, and was gone two 
 jears, returning via New Orleans and the Missis- 
 •sippi and Ohio rivers, and then overland to the Con- 
 ference at Providence, R. I. From 1852 until 1855 
 lie was presiding elder of the Sandwich district, 
 .and again from 1862 to 1865, and from 1866 until 
 1869 was presiding elder of the New Lx)ndon dis- 
 .tiict; he then was placed in a supernumerary re- 
 lation to the Conference, went to Nebraska City, 
 Neb., where he established a school; he was there 
 <!uring the summer, and on his return, in the fall, 
 while superintending the tearing down of a chimney 
 .at his wife's old home, was killed by its falling on 
 him, Nov. 11, 1869; his remains were interred at 
 Hockanum. 
 
 Rev. Pardon T. Kenney was first united in mat- 
 rimony to Bridget Dennison, a native of Mystic, 
 Conn., and for his second helpmate Elder Kenney 
 wedded Lemira A. Porter, a native of Hockanum, 
 and a daughter of John and ^nna (Hills) Porter, 
 natives of East Hartford. John Porter was a de- 
 scendant of John and Rose Porter, who came over 
 from Wraxhall, Warwickshire, England, in 1638, 
 -and settled in Windsor, Conn., in 1640. His wife 
 was a descendant of one of the oldest families of 
 the town of East Hartford. The children that 
 "blessed this union were John P., our subject, and 
 Lemira A., who makes her home with him. 
 
 John P. Kenney was six weeks old when his 
 parents moved to New London, where they lived 
 nearly twelve months, then removed to Vernon, 
 and there resided about three years ; the mother 
 then brought her children to Hockanum, there to 
 make their home while the Elder was in Nebraska 
 attending to his select school, and were here but a 
 few months when the Elder came home, to meet his 
 tragic fate but a few months later, our subject be- 
 ing still quite young. The latter was reared under 
 the fostering care of his mother (a most pious 
 woman) until her death in March, 1872. He was 
 then cared for by his aunt, his mother's sister, and 
 received his preliminary education in the district 
 school ; he next went to the Glastonbury Academy, 
 and finished his education under Profs. Brewer and 
 Bixler. He then assumed charge of his present 
 farm of fifty acres, which was the homestead of his 
 grandfather. Here he raises poultry, berries of all 
 kinds, etc., but no tobacco. In politics he is a Pro- 
 hibitionist, one of a few in East Hartford. He is 
 a member of no secret society, but is one of the most 
 active members of the Hockanum Methodist Epis- 
 ■copal Church, and every act of his life gives evi- 
 dence of the sincerity of his belief in its discipline. 
 
 For so young a man he has held many church offices, 
 some of them requiring much care and attention, 
 and, indeed, arduous work, but he cheerfully gives 
 his time to these duties ; among these offices have 
 been or are those of superintendent of the Sunday- 
 school, treasurer, recording steward, president of 
 the Ep worth League, and (now) secretary of the 
 Norwich District Epworth League. Quiet, retir- 
 ing, pious, and very industrious, he has won the 
 respect of all who have a home in East Hartford. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON CODAIR, a well- 
 known stock raiser and general agriculturist of 
 Rocky Hill, is an enterprising and successful busi- 
 ness man, and has won by his sterling qualities of 
 character the esteem of a large circle of friends. 
 
 Mr. Codair was born May 16, 1849, i"^ Vermont, 
 received a district-school education, and after reach- 
 ing the age of fourteen attended school only in win- 
 ter, the remainder of the year being spent in farm 
 work. In 1874 he came to Connecticut, locating 
 first at Griswoldville, Wethersfield, where he was 
 employed by Stephen Morgan for two years at 
 thirty dollars per month. He then entered the em- 
 ploy of Comstock & Ferrie as a salesman, and for 
 seven winters he traveled in their interest through 
 New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and 
 the New England States. In the meantime his sum- 
 mers were devoted to farm work, and in 1880 he 
 engaged in farming on his own account, renting 
 a farm from. Charles Dagle, of Rocky Hill. Two 
 vears later he purchased his present farm of one 
 hundred acres, where he has since carried on gen- 
 eral farming, market gardening and stock raising. 
 He is fond of horses, and is considered a remark- 
 ably good judge of their characteristics, having 
 raised several blooded horses which brought him 
 large prices and have made excellent records. In 
 politics he is a Republican, but as a man of do- 
 mestic tastes he has never cared for public life. So- 
 cially he and his family are much respected, and 
 they are identified with the Methodist Church at 
 Rocky Hill. In 1880 Mr. Codair was married to 
 Miss 'Edith L. Belden, a native of Rocky Hill, and 
 a daughter of Francis Belden, a leading citizen. 
 Three children blessed this union; Ernest, who 
 was accidentallv killed at the age of eleven years; 
 Gertrude and Alice. Mr. Codair's brother G. A. 
 is a prominent resident of Canton, this county. 
 
 CHARLES A. GILLIN, M. D. To any one 
 familiar with the personnel of New Britain's med- 
 ical profession the name of Dr. Gillin will in- 
 stantly occur. That elusive recognition which 
 comes to some practitioners and is sought in vain 
 or with scant success by others has been attained 
 in generous measure by our subject, who enjoys 
 one of the widest and most extensive practices in 
 that portion of Hartford countv in which he has 
 located, and its magnitude is due solely to himself. 
 
 Dr. Gillin was born in Kinston, N. C, June 13. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 sG9 
 
 1859, son of James Gillin, formerly a prominent 
 manufacturer of saddlery. His great-grandfather 
 (iillin, a native of the Highlands of Scotland, em- 
 igrated to this country prior to the war of 181 2, 
 and participated in that conflict, but later returned 
 10 his native hills, and there died. His son, John 
 < iillin, the Doctor's grandfather, was born in Scot- 
 hmd, and 'came with his father to America, but 
 when the latter returned John remained in this 
 country. He was a soldier in the Civil war, and 
 <lied from wounds received during his service. His 
 son James, the father of our subject, was born in 
 New York City March 27, 1827. He learned the 
 saddler's business, and went South to take charge 
 of the Southern iiiterests of the firm of Dibble & 
 Co., Mr. Dibble remaining in New York City. 
 The firm acquired quite a property, but when the 
 fires of secession burst forth in the South, James 
 Ciillin, who was a strong Union man, was obliged to 
 t1ec from Kinston, N. C, to the North, escaping 
 in a sloop, the last to clear for a Northern port 
 lie fore the breaking out of the war. All the prop- 
 <M-t\- of James Gillin left in the South was con- 
 fiscated bv the Confederacy. For a time Mr. Gillin 
 Avas in business with Mr. Pettelow, of Hartford. 
 About 1863 he settled at Granby, and there fol- 
 lowed his trade for years. In his early life his suc- 
 cess in trade was marked. He married Salona 
 Suffina Aloody, a descendant of an English fam- 
 ily, of which the Russells of Springfield and Gil- 
 bert Russell, the hardware manufacturer of Holyoke, 
 arc representatives. Mrs. Gillin was also related 
 to the late Dwight Moody, the evangelist, of North- 
 field, J\Iass. The only child of James and Salona 
 Gillin is Charles A., the subject of this sketch. 
 James Gillin is still a resident of Granby. He is 
 a prominent A'lason, has been secretary of the lodge 
 at Granby for many years, and is also a member of 
 the chapter located there. 
 
 Charles A. Gillin was educated in the high school 
 of Granby. which has turned out manv students 
 who later became prominent professionally. At the 
 Granbv high school he prepared to enter Yale Col- 
 lege. ' In September, 1879, when about twenty 
 rears of age, he entered the Aledical Department of 
 the I'niversitv of New York, and was graduated in 
 ^ larch, 1883. While attending lectures he was a 
 private pupil of Prof. Alfred L. Loomis, of New 
 York, a specialist in the treatment of heart, lungs 
 and kidneys. One of his classmates was the son 
 of Dr. Loomis. After graduation Dr. Gillin en- 
 tered a competitive examination for a position in 
 the New Haven General Hospital, in competition 
 with eight or ten young physicians from Yale and 
 four from New York. He was the successful ap- 
 plicant, and he spent the year 1883-84 in the New 
 Haven Hospital. In J\Iay, 1884, Dr. Gillin opened 
 an office at Berlin, Conn., and within a few months 
 he was in command of a substantial practice, which 
 has grown constantly until it is now one of the 
 largest in that part of the county. In 1898, at the 
 
 request of many friends and acquaintances, he es- 
 tablished an office at New Britain. His clientele 
 is drawn from a region many miles in extent, many 
 of his patients coming from Hartford and Bristol. 
 Dr. Gillin is a member of the Hartford County 
 Medical Society and of the State Medical Society. 
 He is a prominent member of the Masonic Fra- 
 ternity, and was the first member of Centennial 
 Lodge, at New Britain, to join from Berlin. He 
 is also a member of the O. U. A. M. He is a 
 Republican, but not an active politician. 
 
 Dr. Gillin was married to Miss Grace Emma 
 Atwater, of Berlin, and they have one son, Charles 
 H., now thirteen years of age. 
 
 DWIGHT G. STOUGHTON, a well-known 
 merchant of Hartford, was born in Vernon, Tolland 
 Co., Conn., March 4, 1851, and is a representative 
 of an old Colonial family. 
 
 Shem Stoughton, his great-grandfather, was 
 born at East Windsor, Jan. 15, 1757, and died Feb. 
 5, 1837. For many years he kept a tavern at Wap- 
 ping, this county, and during the Revokitionary 
 war he served in Washington's army. In 1783 he 
 married Flora Gillette. 
 
 Horace Stoughton, our subject's grandfather, 
 was born June 9, 1784, and died May 27, 1875, in 
 his ninety-first year. He conducted a country store 
 in early life, and later engaged in farming at W'ap- 
 ping, where he was prominent in religious work as 
 a deacon in the Congregational Church. On Dec. 
 12, 1815, he married Lavina Kilbourn. who was 
 Iwrn Feb. 25, 1794, and died Feb. 4, 1875. They 
 had nine children, as follows : Amanda, born July 
 4. 1818, was married, Jan. 13, 1841, to J. AI. Tal- 
 cott, and died July 5, 1869; Alfred, born April 5, 
 
 1819, died Nov. 21, 1819: Florace, born March 9. 
 
 1820, is yet living; Henrietta, born Sept. 14, 1821. 
 was married, April 23, 1845, to S. B. Smith (now 
 deceased), formerly of New Haven, later of Cam- 
 den, N. J. : George is mentioned below : Esther, 
 born Jan." 3, 1825, died Nov. 5, 1826; Esther (2), 
 born April 22, 1826, died Aug. 14, 1840; Samuel 
 B., born Jan. 23, 1828, was a veteran of the Civil 
 war, and" died Tune 19. 1892; and Alonzo, born 
 Nov. 21, 1829, is yet living. 
 
 George Stoughton, the father of our subject, 
 was born at \\'apping April 2, 1823. and died June 
 28, 1882. After securing a common-school edu- 
 cation in the town of South Windsor he learned 
 the wheelwright's trade, which he followed during 
 the greater portion of his life at ^'■ernon. Tolland 
 countv. On April 18, 1848, he married Nancv L. 
 IMcKinnev, of Ellington, Conn., who died April 18, 
 1865, and on May "17, 1866, he married Elizabeth 
 Knapp. Bv the 'first marriage there were four 
 children : Eugene Austin, born May 30, 1849. died 
 Sept. I, 1887'; Dwight George is mentioned more 
 fully below: Nellie, born Jan. i, 1854, married ^^■il- 
 bur'F. Buck-land, of Wapping; James Talcott. born 
 in November, 1861, died Sept. 3, 1878. By the 
 
570 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 second marriage there was one child, Elizabeth, 
 who married a Mr. Aspinwall, and resides in Eng- 
 land. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the schools of Ver- 
 non, and his first employment was in a mill at Tal- 
 cottville. When sixteen years old he went to Hart- 
 ford to clerk in Goodwin's drug store, remaining 
 until he reached his majority, and for a part of a 
 year he was employed in Hegeman's drug store, 
 "in New York City. ' Later he spent a year in Wor- 
 cester, Mass., in the wool business, also a few 
 months in California, and on his return to Hartford 
 he clerked for a short time in a drug store on State 
 street. Desiring to engage in 'business for him- 
 self, he formed a partnership with W. F. Frazier, 
 corner of Front and State streets, and two years 
 later he became the owner of that drug store, and 
 another in Parkville which was established twenty 
 years ago. 
 
 Mr. Stoughton was first married, in 1876, to 
 Miss Louise E. Foote, of Lee, Mass., who died in 
 1889. On April 8, 1891, he married Mary A. 
 White, daughter of John White, a highly esteemed 
 citizen of Hartford, and two children have blessed 
 the union: Dwight Harold, born Oct. 2, 1892, 
 ■and Amanda Louise, born Dec. i, 1897. Mr. 
 Stoughton was at one time president of the State 
 Pharmaceutical Association, and be lias taken an 
 active part in municipal affairs, serving as council- 
 man from the Eighth ward, and alderman from 
 the Tenth ward. He is popular socially, is a Scot- 
 tish Rite Mason, and a member of the Sons of the 
 American Revolution. 
 
 JOSEPH RICHARD FAY, a practical plumber, 
 metal worker and contractor, who is now success- 
 fully engaged in business in Southington, was 
 lx)rn in Chicopee, Mass., Feb. 3, 1851, a son of 
 William D. and Mary (Kiernan) Fay, both natives 
 of Ireland, the former born in Westmeath, the latter 
 in Longford. For many years the father lived in 
 Chicopee, where he was employed in the cotton 
 mills, in 1859 removing to Willimantic, Conn., and 
 in 1863 to Rockville, Avhere his ideath occurred. 
 Our subject's paternal grandfather was Patrick 
 Fav, a pensioner of the British army, in which he 
 served for eighteen years. He came to America 
 manv vears ago, locating in Quebec, Canada, and 
 subsequently removed to Thorndike, Mass., where 
 he died at an advanced age. His wife, who bore 
 the maiden name of Susan Bond, was a native of 
 Devonshire. England. 
 
 Joseph R. Fay completed his literary education 
 in the high school of Chicopee Falls, JNIass., and on 
 laying- aside his text-books served a three-vears' 
 apprenticeship to the plumber's trade with Smith 
 & White, of Hartford, Conn., after which he worked 
 as a journeyman in the capital city for fifteen years. 
 He was then employed on repairs for the Boston & 
 Albany Railwav Co., for two years, and in October, 
 1883, came to Southington, where he worked at his 
 
 trade for others for five years. In 1888 he em- 
 barked in business on his own account, and now has 
 a large and successful business as a contractor in 
 Southington and surrounding towns. 
 
 In February, 1872, Mr. Fay married Miss Isabel, 
 daughter of Hiram and Almira Tucker, of W^ill- 
 iamsburg, Mass., and to them have been born six 
 children : Frank L., Charles H., Annie, Joseph R., 
 Jr., Nellie and William B. Mr. Fay is a prom- 
 inent member of the Connecticut Association of 
 Master Plumbers, and is a member of the legis- 
 lative committee; he also belongs to the National 
 Plumbers Association, and to Court Industry, F. 
 of A., of Southington. Politically he casts his 
 ballot with the Democratic party, has served as 
 grand juror, and in 1898 was elected selectman in 
 Southington, in which office he is now capably serv- 
 ing, having been re-elected in 1899. 
 
 WILLIAM HOWARD WEBSTER. The 
 Webster family is one of the most prominent and 
 influential in Hartford county. For generations 
 they have cultivated the soil, and through hard work 
 and tireless energy members thereof have become 
 among the county's largest land owners, William H. 
 Webster paying a larger realty tax than any other 
 resident of Berlin. It is of such men as these — 
 earnest, industrious, persevering and upright — that 
 Connecticut may justly be proud. 
 
 The first of the name of whom any authentic ac- 
 count has come down to the present tiiiie was David 
 Webster, who was born in 1721, and died in 1806, 
 at the ripe old age of eighty-five. His wife, Zer- 
 viah, passed away Jan. 17, 1786, aged fifty-seven 
 years and one month. 1 hey had a son. David, Jr., 
 who was a farmer, and settled in the Beckley 
 Quarter, town of Berlin, before the departure there- 
 from of the Mattabassett tribe of Indians. His 
 first wife, Lydia, bore him two children : Mary, born 
 Feb. 28, 1754, and David, born Feb. 5, 1757. She 
 died April 13, 1761, and on Oct. 29, following, he 
 for his second wife wedded Leviah Allis. The issue 
 of this marriage, with the respective dates of birth 
 of the children, was as follows: Hepzibah, Nov. 
 3, 1763 ;'Lydia, Sept. 28, 1765 ; John, April 7, 1768; 
 and Selah,'Sept. 20, 1770 (died Nov. 13, 1776)- The 
 town records of the latter half of the last century 
 show that David Webster, Jr., the great-great- 
 grandfather of William Howard and his brother 
 Daniel, began to purchase land in Wethersfield as 
 early as 1754, and that he subsequently bought in 
 Newington and Berlin. Most of this property has 
 descended, through inheritance, to the present gen- 
 eration. In this connection the following summary 
 of entries in the Wethersfield town records, show- 
 ing the source and date of several transfers of par- 
 cels of real estate to him, are of no small interest. 
 On April 8, 1754, David, Jr., purchased two and 
 one-half acres of land, with mansion house and barn 
 standing thereon, from Mercy and Jemima Lamb, 
 bound on the east and north by land belonging to 
 
M 
 
 
 mW^ 
 
 
 ^L^-^-fcJ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 571 
 
 Gamaliel Boardnian, on the west by land of Thomas 
 Wright, and on the south by the highway. [\'ol. X, 
 p. 275. J Un July 17, 1756, in coiisKleration of titty 
 pounds, he acqun-ed, from Sarah Uuardnuui, title to 
 one acre lying in Newington, bounded on tiie north 
 and east by land of the grantor, on the west by land 
 already ow;ied by David Webster, and on the south 
 by the highway. [Vol. X, p. 384. J (Jn June 28, 
 1763, Elizur Steele conveyed to him, on payment of 
 seventeen pounds, two acres out of the hve-acre lot 
 known as Beckley's farm. This piece was bounded 
 by land of Lieut. Joseph Beckley, and on July 5, 
 1763, he bought from the same party another acre 
 and a half from the same lot. On June 11, 1764, 
 he paid four pounds for a half-acre abutting on land 
 belonging to the heirs of William or John AUis, the 
 first-named of whom was the father of his second 
 wife. On the same day he purchased from Joseph 
 Andrews, Jr., and Asenath, his wife, for the sum of 
 ten pounds, another acre abutting on land of Stephen 
 Kellogg, bounded on the west by property of 
 Stephen W'illard, and on the east by the highway. 
 On November 8, 1764, Samuel Wolcott and his wife 
 Sarah executed a deed to him, conveying, for ninety 
 pounds, twenty-five acres in Newington. A little 
 more than four months later, March 27, 1865, on the 
 payment of twenty pounds, he secured from Daniel 
 And'rus, a grismill standing near the house of Ben- 
 jamin Beckley, and on P"ebruary 17, 1766, he con- 
 veyed the same property to John Beckley, for the 
 same consideration. On Nov. 8, 1764, he sold to 
 Sherman Boardman, for seventy pounds, three and 
 one-half acres in Newington, with house and barn. 
 This was followed on Aug. 15, 1767, by a sale to 
 Fitch Hurlbut, for seventeen pounds, of three- 
 fourths of an acre abutting on the latter's property 
 in Newington. On Dec. 28, 1769, he bought from 
 Daniel Willis three acres of the Woodbridge farm 
 in Newington, paying therefor the sum of eight 
 pounds and two shillings. From this necessarily 
 imperfect synopsis of the entries in the Wethersfield 
 records it is apparent that David Webster had faith 
 in the future of the realty in his locality, and that as 
 a hard-working farmer he bought and sold pieces of 
 land as favorable opportunity oft'ered and his means 
 permitted. To the conduct of his business he seems 
 to have brought the same keen sagacity, clear fore- 
 sightedness, sound judgment and patient toil which 
 have characterized the Websters in all generations. 
 John Webster, the great-grandfather of William 
 Howard and Daniel, and the son of David (2), was 
 born in the Beckley Quarter April 7, 1768. He, too, 
 was a farmer, but a constant and judicious reader, 
 and a man of scholarly attainments. He married 
 Eunice Andrews, of New Britain, who died Aug. 
 12, 1835, at the age of sixty-three. His own death 
 occurred Feb. 26, 1829. The next in line of descent 
 was Jonathan, who was born in 1792, in the Beckley 
 Quarter, and died Sept. 17, 1884, having reached 
 the extraordinary age of ninety-two years. A 
 farmer by occupation, he began life with little or 
 
 nothing, but died worth $120,000. He married 
 Roxana Seldon, of East Haddam. After her death, 
 at the age of lhirt}-two, on May 3, 1826, he married 
 Esther Dickerson, who died i'eb. x, 1874, after pass- 
 ing her eighty-fifth birthday. 
 
 John Webster (2j, the tather of William H. and 
 Daniel, was born Dec. 20, 1818, on the ancestral 
 homestead in the Beckley Quarter. He also was a 
 tiller of the soil, a successful agriculturist, and a man 
 held in high repute for his many virtues. He was 
 endowed with rare native intelligence, and was a 
 man of strong personality and moral force of char- 
 acter. His political convictions were strong, al- 
 though he never took any active part in politics. 
 Prior to the organization of the Republican party 
 he was an Old-line Whig, but later was a strong 
 supporter of the principles of the party of Greeley, 
 Lincoln and Sumner. He entered into rest in his 
 eightieth year, closing a well-spent life on Feb. 17, 
 1897. He exerted a wide influence in the commu- 
 nity, and a strong influence over those with whom he 
 came into immediate contact. He was married, in 
 1843, to Lydia, a daughter of Robert Frances and 
 his wife, Mary (Tob}'), of Barnstable, Mass. Mrs. 
 Webster still survives her husband, her home being 
 on Berlin street. To them were born two sons and 
 four daughters : Frances Ellen, Anna Seldon, Daniel, 
 William Howard, Hattie Lina and Minnie. The 
 eldest daughter, Frances Ellen, was born Oct. 10, 
 1845, ^'■'d is the wife of Waldo C. Camp, of New 
 Britain, who is connected with the American Paper 
 Goods Co., of Kensington. Anna Seldon, born 
 February 28, 1847, married Willis W. Mildrum, a 
 manufacturer of jewels for compasses at East Berlin. 
 Hattie Lina, born Dec. 10, 1S55, is the wife of Em- 
 erson G. Clark, a teacher in the public schools of 
 New York City. Minnie, born Nov. 4, 1861, mar- 
 ried William E. Hansel, a resident of Hartford. 
 
 William Howard Webster, the younger of the 
 two sons born to John Webster, was born at the 
 paternal homestead in the Beckley Quarter on Nov. 
 25, 1853. Both he and his brother Daniel enjoved 
 excellent educational advantages. Both attended 
 the Berlin common schools and the Monson (Mass.) 
 Academy, an institution located near Springfield. 
 William H. graduated from W^illiston Seminary, 
 East Hampton, ^lass., in 1873, ^""^ subsequently 
 he conceived an idea of settling in Florida and be- 
 coming an orange grower, with which end in view 
 he visited that State and remained there about six 
 months, during which time he handled more or less 
 fruit on commission. The general outlook, how- 
 ever, did not appear satisfactory, and he returned to 
 Berlin. Following in the footsteps of his ancestors, 
 he became a farmer, and he would scarcely have 
 proved his right to the name of Webster had he not 
 succeeded. In 1885 he founded the Golden Ridge 
 Creamery Co. The corporation is capitalized at 
 $7,000, and Mr. Webster has been its president from 
 its inception. The present annual output of the 
 factory is about 75,000 pounds, most of which is dis- 
 
572 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 posed of in the neighboring towns. In 1895 Mr. 
 Webster bought the grocery of A. P. Goodrich, on 
 Berlin street, but a pressure of other business en- 
 gagements prevented his devoting sufficient personal 
 attention to its conduct, and after two years he dis- 
 posed of it to J. W. Woodruff. His farm is one of 
 the best stocked, best cultivated, in Hartford county. 
 In addition to his home place of 125 acres, he owns 
 325 acres of choice land in the town of Rocky Hill. 
 On his property in Berlin he has built a large modern 
 house, which contains all the modern accessories ob- 
 tainable on a farm. 
 
 Mr. Webster is a citizen of influence and promi- 
 nence, respected alike for his high order of intelli- 
 gence, his broad public spirit, and his unblemished 
 Christian character. He is president of the Berlin 
 Agricultural Society, and of the Driving and Ath- 
 letic Association. He has also held many town offi- 
 ces of responsibility, having been selectman, tax 
 collector (two years), member of the board of relief 
 (for several years), and district school committee- 
 man. In politics he is a strong Republican, as was 
 his father. In religious faith he is a Congrega- 
 tionalist, having been prominently identified with 
 the Second Church of that creed in Berlin for many 
 years, and he has held, simultaneously, the office of 
 chairman of both church and society committees, 
 also has been one of the most liberal contributors 
 to the support of church work and church extension. 
 Mrs. W^ebster belongs to the same communion. 
 
 Mr. Webster was married, Oct. 13, 1880, to Miss 
 Cornelia Augusta Wells, who was born in Newing- 
 ton April 5, 1854, her parents being William Wells 
 and Cornelia Ueming, both of whom rest in the 
 cemetery in Newington. Mr. and Mrs. Webster 
 .are the parents of four children : Jonathan Leland, 
 born April 29, 1882; Merton Wells, March 24, 
 1884; Arthur Eggleston, March 26, 1886; and 
 Florence Louise, May 3, 1890. All the children are 
 g'aining their education, the eldest son being a stu- 
 dent at Mt. Hermon (Mass.) School; he will prob- 
 ably adopt the profession of an electrical engineer. 
 Merton Wells will graduate from the New Berlin 
 High school in 1902, and after that will matricu- 
 late at Yale College. Arthur E. is attending the 
 New Berlin High school, and Florence L. is at- 
 tending the Berlin public schools. 
 
 Daniel Webster, the elder brother of William 
 H., was born March 20, 1848, on his father's farm. 
 After leaving Monson Academy, he took a special 
 course in the Normal School at Oswego, N. Y., 
 with a view to qualifying himself for the vocation 
 ■of a teacher, which he then intended to be his life- 
 work. For ten years he taught school with marked 
 and gratifying success ; first, for three years, in the 
 graded school at Neversink, and afterward, for 
 about the same period, at Mechanicsville and Long 
 Branch, his latest experience covering two years at 
 Cromwell, and two terms at East Berlin. He then 
 returned to the old homestead farm, remaining there 
 until 1897, when he purchased the property com- 
 
 monly known as the Dr. Woodruff homestead, in 
 Berlin, which he has enlarged, remodeled and greatly 
 improved. On Oct. 20, 1874, he married Clara 
 Amelia,~daughter of William M. and Almira (Mil- 
 drum)- Noble, of Cromwell. She was born March 
 10, 1851, and has borne her husband six children: 
 Mary Emma, Helen, Hattie Louise, William John, 
 Stewart Noble and Gertrude. The eldest daugh- 
 ter was born June 21, 1879, graduated from the 
 Berlin high school, and lives at home. Helen died 
 at the age of two years. Hattie Louise is a high- 
 school pupil, and the younger children are pursuing^ 
 their studies at the Berlin common schools. 
 
 As was his father, and as is his brother, Daniel 
 W^ebster is a stalwart Republican. He has been 
 prominently identified with public affairs, and has 
 led a very active, useful life, having served several 
 terms as assessor, and as a member of the school 
 board, and acting school visitor for ten years, and 
 has been recently elected (1899) superintendent of 
 schools in Berlin. In 1893 he was a candidate be- 
 fore the Republican convention for the nomination 
 for member of the legislature. His elevation to 
 these positions of responsibility and trust attests 
 the deservedly high esteem in which he is held by 
 his fellow citizens, because of his recognized in- 
 tellectual ability and moral worth. He is one of the 
 vice-presidents of the Agricultural Society, is a 
 director in the Golden Ridge Creamery Co., and 
 president of the National Laundry Co., of New 
 Britain, which he founded in 1899. Both he and 
 his wife are active and leading members of the Con- 
 gregational church, and among the most liberal con- 
 tributors to its support. He has served on various 
 important Church committees, and his wife is a 
 prominent member of the Ladies' Aid and Mission- 
 ary Societies. 
 
 WALTER GWATKIN, a prominent represen- 
 tative of the business interests of Berlin, is a native 
 of Hartford county, born in New Britain June 23, 
 1857. His father, Henry Gwatkin, was born in 
 London, England, Nov. 15, 1820, and his grand- 
 father spent his entire life in that country as a 
 butcher, dying when our subject was quite young. 
 
 In his native land the father learned the trade of 
 brass-molder, and became an expert workman in that 
 line. In March, 1846, he married Mrs. Mary 
 (Crockwell) Ring, who was born in London in 
 1819, and before leaving their native land their 
 eldest child, Henry Edward, was born in London, 
 April 23, 1847. (On June 28, 1871, he married 
 Hattie Ella Payne, of New Britain). In 1848 they 
 crossed the Atlantic and took up their residence in 
 Hartford, Conn. ; later three other children were 
 added to the family, namely :. Lizzie, born in 1849, 
 married Sherman H. Alger, of Marlboro, Conn., 
 who is connected with the New York, New Haven 
 & Hartford railroad, and they now live in West 
 Haven. Walter, our subject, is next in the order of 
 birth. Arthur is a conductor on the electric cars 
 

 ■ 
 i 
 
 ^r*5" 
 
 \ 
 
 
 ■A 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^^^■^J^^^^ji^^^^^^n^^j^j 
 
 J 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in Xcw Haven. After taking up his residence in 
 Kew liritain, the father worked in the brass foundry 
 of Teck & Walter as foreman for a number of years, 
 and later held a similar position with J. B. Sergeant. 
 He then conducted a shop of his own in Hartford 
 for abotit a year, and subsequently engaged in mer- 
 chandising in New Britain for about nine years, on 
 Main and West Main streets. At the end of that 
 time he came to Berlin and purchased the "Berlin 
 Hotel," which he conducted for twenty years, sell- 
 ing out in 1 88 1, when he returned to New Britain. 
 The hotel has since been owned and carried on by 
 other parties. Mr. Gwatkin then lived retired 
 from active business until his death, which occurred 
 in New Britain, Oct. 14, 1895, his remains being in- 
 terred at that place. His wife is still living, and 
 makes her home with her daughter in West Haven. 
 
 Walter Gwatkin, whose name introduces this 
 review, is indebted to the public schools of Berlin 
 and New Britain for his educational advantages. 
 After leaving school he commenced work for W. 
 Hunt & Son, butchers of Berlin, and remained with 
 them about two years, after which he embarked in 
 the same line of business on his own account, and 
 has since successfully conducted a market in Berlin, 
 receiving a liberal share of the public patronage. 
 In November, 1889, he purchased a home on Berlin 
 street from the William H. Steele estate, and has 
 since improved it until he now has one of the hand- 
 some homes of the neighborhood. 
 
 On Nov. 12, 1879, Mr. Gwatkin was united in 
 marriage with Miss Jennie Martha Norton, who was 
 born in Berlin, Dec. 12, 1855, a daughter of Henry 
 and Mary Angeline (Tuttle) Norton. The father 
 died in that place Nov. 12, 1885, and was laid to 
 rest in the Berlin cemetery ; the mother continues 
 to make her home in that town. Our subject and 
 his wife have one child, Leland Walter, born Dec. 
 13, 1882, who is attending the high school of New 
 Britain. 
 
 In politics Mr. Gwatkin is independent, voting 
 for the man whom he considers best qualified to fill 
 the office regardless of party affiliations. He is a 
 member of the Mattabessett Lodge, No. 25, K. P., 
 of East Berlin, and is a member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church. As a business man he stands high 
 in the esteem of his fellow citizens, and in all the 
 relations of life his course has been such as to com- 
 mand the confidence and high regard of all with 
 whom he has come in contact. 
 
 \MLLIAM ROBERTS. Success and promi- 
 nence in life are rarely attained in these modern days 
 by the possession of a single trait or character. A 
 variety of admirable and telling qualities are es- 
 sential. Industry avails little unless results are 
 produced. It is a characteristic of William Roberts, 
 than whom there is no better known farmer and 
 gardener in the Hartford markets, that take him 
 as you will in this occup?tion he is every ready for 
 emergencies. He thoroughly knows his business. 
 
 He knows how to raise farm products, and is none 
 the less an expert in the sale of the same. Buyers 
 enjoy trading with him. Their confidence and es- 
 teem have never been betrayed. 
 
 Air. Roberts is a representative of an old New 
 England faiuily, sixth in descent from William 
 Roberts, founder of the family in New England, 
 the line being as follows: (i) William Roberts, 
 who married Dorothy Forbes, and died about 1730; 
 (2) Benjamin, his son (March 8, 1O98— Feb. 14, 
 1774J, who married (first) Dorothy Pitkin and 
 (second) Jerusha Pratt; (3) George (Nov. 22, 
 1752 — Oct. 4, 1824), married Jerusha Williams; 
 (4) Ozias (Aug. 10, 1785— Feb. 8, 1868) ; (5) Ira 
 T. (Feb. 10, 1817— Jan. 17, 1897) ; (6) William, 
 our subject. A fuller ancestral history appears 
 elsewhere. 
 
 William Roberts, son of Ira T. and Charlotte 
 Corinthia (Cowles) Roberts, was born Dec. 3, 1850, 
 on the old homestead in the town of East Hartford 
 where he now lives. In his boyhood he attended 
 the school in the Silver Lane district, occupying 
 the present site of the school. It was well attended, 
 there being at one time eighty pupils in one room. 
 W. P. Pratt was the first teacher of Air. Roberts, 
 who remembers with kindness and gratitude the 
 thoroughness of the schools in the days of his 
 youth. For two winters he was a pupil at Elm 
 Hall, East Hartford, walking to and from school, 
 and later he attended Bryant & Stratton's Business 
 College in Hartford. The journey to and from 
 his home he made twice daily afoot. As a farmer 
 boy he was "put in the harness" young. He was 
 small of stature and strength, attaining his growth 
 mainly after reaching his twentieth year. But the 
 training he received under his father was the foun- 
 dation of his after character, thoroughly good in 
 every particular. In 1868, at the age of eighteen 
 years, he began working for his two brothers, 
 Charles W. and Martin, and when he arrived at 
 age he formed a partnership with his brother Frank 
 in the operation of a part of the farm. They re- 
 mained partners from 1872 to 1877, when at the 
 suggestion of his father he formed a farming part- 
 nership with his brother Martin, the business ar- 
 rangement continuing until 1886. In that year 
 our subject began farming as an individual. After 
 the death of his father, in the distribution of the 
 estate, the old homestead fell to our subject, and 
 there he has since resided, conducting a most suc- 
 cessful agricultural and gardening business. 
 
 I\Ir. Roberts married, Dec. 9, 1874, Aliss Emma 
 J. Burnham, of Orchard street. East Hartford, 
 who bore him one child, Grace D., now the wife 
 of Fred Smith, of Silver street. Airs. Roberts died 
 April 25, 1882, and was buried in East Hartford. 
 For his second wife Air. Roberts married, Alay 29, 
 1883, Mrs. Ella Dixon, widow of Richard Dixon, 
 and daughter of Nathan and Alaria (Edwards) 
 Dean. By this marriage Air. Roberts has had four 
 children : Alildred, born June 10, 1891 : Edna D., 
 
574 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 born Jan. 21, 1894; Myra, who died Sept. 11, 1898, 
 aged eighteen months; and Ira W., born Jan. 19, 
 1900. 
 
 In politics Mr. Roberts is a Repubhcan, but he 
 is no office seeker, and has repeatedly declined 
 candidacies that were offered him. For over thirty 
 years he has been engaged in marketing vegetables, 
 berries and fruits. He has a thorough knowledge 
 of his business, and his reliability as a truck gar- 
 dener has won for him an enviable reputation among 
 that class of farmers in the Hartford market. He 
 is a good salesman, and his promises are always 
 fulfilled. He possesses a rugged physical consti- 
 tution, and braves all kinds of weather, is indus- 
 trious and energetic, and there is perhaps, in East 
 Hartford, no better farmer in his line, no harder 
 worker, none who better understands every detail 
 of his business. He is probably as well-known as 
 any gardener supplying the Hartford markets. 
 His thorough reliability and his great regard for 
 his word are but characteristics of the name, and 
 a feature of it that does not suffer at his hands. 
 He gives great attention to detail, and is very sys- 
 tematic in his work. Mr. Roberts also gets re- 
 sults. He has prospered in proportion to his mag- 
 nificent energy and ability, and ranks high among 
 the agriculturists of Hartford county. 
 
 ANTHONY McGEHAN, a well-to-do farmer 
 and gardener of Hockanum, is an excellent example 
 of the self-made man, and well deserves the high 
 esteem in which he is held by the residents of Silver 
 Lane and vicinity. Born April i, 1847, '^ London- 
 derry, Ireland, of Scotch ancestry, he is a son of 
 John and Mary (McLaughlin) McGehan, who were 
 the parents of eight children. The father, John 
 McGehan, was a groceryman, and was quite com- 
 fortable in the possession of all that pertains to 
 happiness with the middle class of Ireland. 
 
 Anthony McGehan attended school in his native 
 land until sixteen years of age, and after leaving 
 his studies hired out as a farmer's lad. He saved 
 his earnings to a great extent, and from these paid 
 his passage to the United States, arriving here June 
 10, 1869. He had six sovereigns in his pocket on 
 his arrival, and these gold pieces he kept an entire 
 year, and then sent them home. He came over in 
 the "Iowa," a vessel of the Anchor Line, and on 
 departing from Londonderry, when some little dis- 
 tance out, he could see the house in which he was 
 born — to him a touching and impressive sight. Six- 
 teen days later he landed at New York, but as he 
 had been advised by a rich lady with whom he had 
 lived in Ireland to avoid large cities, he came at 
 once from New York to East Hartford, and first 
 found employment with E. C. Brewer, of Silver 
 Lane. He next worked for Giles Forbes a few 
 months, and later was employed by George W. 
 Pratt for eight years, as overseer of his place on 
 Silver Lane. 
 
 In 1874 Mr. McGehan married Miss Rose 
 
 Knabbs, who was born in Ireland, coming to the 
 United States when nineteen years old. The young 
 couple went to housekeeping on Silver Lane, on 
 hired premises where they lived seven years, when 
 Mr. McGehan purchased his present farm from 
 Elizur Viberts. The children born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. McGehan, eight in number, were as follows : 
 Mary, John (died in infancy), Jonas, Marcus (a 
 bookkeeper in Hartford), Willie (died at the age of 
 thirteen years), Alfred, Elizabeth and Lucy, the 
 survivors are still under the parental roof, with the 
 exception of Marcus. The family are members 
 of the Episcopal Church, of which Mr. McGehan is 
 a vestryman. In politics he is a stanch Republican, 
 but when he has exercised his right of franchise his 
 interest in politics subsides. 
 
 Mr. McGehan, by his industry and frugality, 
 has earned for himself a good home, and has reared 
 his family in respectability. He has secured for 
 himself and children a good name, has won the re- 
 spect of his neighbors and fellow-citizens, and has 
 shown himself to be well worthy of the success he 
 has met with in the land of his adoption. 
 
 JAMES POLK CORNISH. One of the best 
 and most favorably known residents of Naubuc is 
 its genial postmaster, the subject of this sketch, a 
 man whose musical accomplishments, social quali- 
 ties and good business principles have endeared him 
 to wide acquaintanceship. He is a representative 
 of one of the oldest families of New England, trac- 
 ng his lineage from James Cornish, a native of Mas- 
 sachusetts, who migrated from that Commonwealth 
 to the Connecticut Colony in the seventeenth 
 century. 
 
 The family had been residents of Massachusetts 
 for many years. The records show that Samuel 
 Cornish was living in Salem in 1637. Richard Cor- 
 nish died in Boston in 1694. The direct line of de- 
 scent as far as known is as follows : ( i ) James 
 Cornish was the first school master of Northampton, 
 Mass. Later he removed to Westfield, and about 
 1667 was appointed clerk of the courts in Hamp- 
 shire county, by Sir Edmund Andros. An item in 
 an old Massachusetts Gazette says that what is now 
 Granville, Mass., was sold to James Cornish in 1686, 
 by Toto, an Indian chief, for a gun and sixteen brass 
 buttons. He moved to Connecticut, and died in 
 Simsbury, Oct. 29, 1698. He had married, after 
 1661, the widow of Greenfield Larraboy, of Say- 
 brook, Conn. She is supposed to have been his sec- 
 ond wife, and died Dec. 22, 1664, leaving three chil- 
 dren, Gabriel, Elizabeth and James (2). 
 
 (II) James Cornish, last named, was born in 
 1663. He settled in Simsbury about 1695, and was 
 deacon of the church in 1715. For his first wife he 
 married, Nov. 10, 1692, Elizabeth, daughter of Tim- 
 othy Thrall, and by his marriage his children were 
 as follows: James, born Oct. 30, 1693; Elizabeth, 
 born Sept. 25, 1695; Joseph, born Oct. 18, 1697; 
 Phebe; Sarah, born April 19, 1709; Benjamin, born 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 575 
 
 March 28, 17 10. For his second wife Deacon James 
 Cornish married, April 15, 1715, Hannah, born Dec. 
 12, 1681, daughter of Rev. Andrew Hillard, and 
 widow of Tliomas Humphreys. Tlie ciiildren by 
 this marriage were: Gaijriel, born May 25, 1716; 
 Jemima, born Nov. 20, 1718; Keziah, born Oct. 12, 
 1721; JNIaiy; and Jabez, born in 1726. Deacon 
 James Cornish died April 2, 1740. His second wife, 
 Hannah, died Dec. 2, 1751. 
 
 (HI) Capt. James Cornish, son of Deacon James 
 Cornish, was born Oct. 30, 1693, and married, Dec. 
 9, 17 19, for his first wife. Amy Butler, of Hartford, 
 Conn. To them were born the following children : 
 James, born Oct. 4, 1720; Elisha, born June 5, 1722; 
 Amy, born Aug. 2, 1724; Daniel, born May 21, 1727; 
 Abigail, born Sept. 5, 1729; Joel, born July 18, 1731 ; 
 Abigail, born May 5, 1733; Lucy, born June 8, 
 1735 ; Violet, born April 12, 1737 ; Rachel, born Sept. 
 3. 1740. The wife died Feb. 16, 1763, and for his 
 second wife Capt. James Cornish married Mrs. Han- 
 nah Wilcox, nee Thrall, who died Aug. 27, 1779. 
 Capt. James Cornish died March 22, 1784. He was 
 a lifelong resident of Simsbury. 
 
 (IV) Sergt. Elisha Cornish, born June 5, 1722, 
 for his first wife married Hepsibah Humphrey, 
 who was born in 1724, daughter of Charles Hum- 
 phrey. She bore him seven children : Hepsibah, 
 born Aug. 27, 1741 ; Hepsibah, born Nov. 4, 1742; 
 James, born Dec. 16, 1744; Elizabeth, born May 8, 
 1746: Elisha. born Dec. 7. 1748; Dorcas, born Sept. 
 II, 1750; Charles, born Sept. 29, 1752. She died 
 Feb. 25, 1755, and for his second wife Sergt. Elisha 
 Cornish married, Aug. 31, 1755, Mary, daughter of 
 Benjamin Dyer. By this union there was one child, 
 Mary, born Feb. 17, 1759. The mother died Oct. 
 21, 1775, and for his third wife Elisha Cornish mar- 
 ried, June 2, 1776, Charity, born June 30, 1744, 
 daughter of John Pettibone, and widow of Syl- 
 vanus Humphrey. By this marriage there was one 
 child, Giles, born April 8, 1780. Elisha Cornish 
 died April 27, 1794, and his wife on Oct. 5, 1803. 
 
 (V) Capt. James Cornish, son of Sergt. Elisha 
 and Hepsibah Cornish, born Dec. 16, 1744, married, 
 Dec. 28, 1766, Rhuhama Bidwell, who was born in 
 1743. They settled in Simsbury, and had six chil- 
 dren: Charles, born Oct. 29, 1767; Dorcas; Chloe ; 
 Larue Hama ; Eber, born Feb. 16, 1772: and James, 
 born in 1776. Capt. James Cornish died July 9, 
 1813: his wife on March 14, 1814. 
 
 (VI) Col. James Cornish, born in 1776, married 
 Cynthia Russell, born Oct. 14, 1778, daughter of 
 Sergt. Jesse Russell. She bore him five children: 
 Grove, born in 1796, ; Charles, born in 1799, ; Charles 
 Edwin, father of our subject, born April 13, 1805; 
 James Darwin, born in May, 180S: Sidney Aurora, 
 born Oct. 6, 1819. The mother died Aug. 5, 1824, 
 and for his second wife Col. James Cornish married, 
 in 1829, Mrs. Elizabeth Smith. She was a resident 
 of Simsbury, and died Jan. 30. 1836. 
 
 (\TI) Charles E. Cornish, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Simsbury, and was a farmer 
 
 through life. He located at Tariffville, later re- 
 moving to Hartford. He married Mary N. Vining, 
 a native of Simsbury, and a daughter of Dr. Thomas 
 X'ining. Three children were l^orn to Charles E. 
 and Mary N. Cornish : ( i ) Cynthia Jcanette, who 
 was born June 11, 1834, married (first) Henry L. 
 Pratt, and for her second husband wedded George 
 Tolles, of Nashua, N. H., and now lives at Hart- 
 ford; (i) Charles H., born May 17, 1837, married 
 (first) Sarah Cook, and for his second wife wedded 
 Emma H. Risley, of Glastonbury, by whom he had 
 three children, Charles A., Frank S., and Robert (he 
 died in 1873) ! ^"d (3) James Polk, our subject. 
 The father died Feb. 14, 1882, and the mother Alay 
 II, 1873. They were buried in Glastonbury cem- 
 etery. 
 
 (VIII) James Polk Cornish, cur subject, was 
 born in Weatogue, Simsbury, Feb. 24, 1847. When 
 a child he removed with his parents to Tariffville, 
 and thence at the age of six years to Hartford, where 
 he received his education. Fle attended the Brown 
 school in Hartford, and when thirteen years old re- 
 moved with his parents to the house in Glastonbury 
 which he now occupies. At fourteen he began a 
 five-years' service ss clerk for A. E. Bogue, a grocer, 
 Ambitions to improve his circumstances, he at the 
 age of nineteen went to Hartford, and was an em- 
 ploye in Colt's Armorv until it was destroyed by 
 fire. Returning to Xaubuc, he served a four-years' 
 apprenticeship at the macliinist's trade, in the shops 
 of the Ames Alanufacturing Co. For a time he fol- 
 lowed his trade on the corner of Pearl and Asylum 
 streets, Hartford, but in 1873, after the death of his 
 brother Charles H., he returned to Xaubuc and as- 
 sisted in the management of the home farm. Thus 
 he continued for nearly seven years, and in 1879 he 
 purchased the place, which he has ever since oper- 
 ated. Mr. Cornish has made the application of 
 electricty to medical purposes a thorough study, 
 and now conducts a very successful business of that 
 kind at Hartford. He was appointed postmaster at 
 Naubuc in 1888, and still holds that important fed- 
 eral office. 
 
 Our subject was married to Miss Harriet ]M. 
 Goodrich, of Rockv Hill. She possesses more than 
 ordinary business acumen, is a musician of ability, 
 and very popular. She is organist of the Connec- 
 ticut State Grange, and in appreciation of her untir- 
 ing efl'orts in that position has been made the re- 
 cipient of a medal. Mr. Cornish is also a musician 
 of distinguished ability. For ten years he has been 
 musical director of the Connecticut State Grange. 
 For twenty-five years he has been the choir leader 
 in St. James Episcopal Church, of which he is a 
 member, and for two years was the leading tenor 
 in the Centre Cliurch, at Hartford. In politics Mr. 
 Cornish is a Democrat. He has been nominated 
 for various local offices, his candidacy resulting in 
 reducing the adverse Republican majority, but not 
 in overcoming it. He is now serving as school vis- 
 itor. Our subject is prominent in fraternal work. 
 
576 
 
 COMMEMDRATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 He is a member of Daskam Lodge, No. 86, F. & A. 
 M. ; of Washington Commandery, Knights Templar; 
 and of the Consistory, 32d degree ; lie is serving as 
 past grand of Elm Lodge, L O. O. F., of Glaston- 
 bury, and is an active and influential member of East 
 Hartford Lodge, No. 1237, Royal Arcanum. He 
 possesses a charm of manner which has won him a 
 wide friendship, and ranks as one of the foremost 
 citizens of Glastonbury. 
 
 HENRY DAVIS TILLOTSON, an energetic 
 and successful farmer and dairyman of West Hart- 
 ford, is a native of Hartford county, born in Farm- 
 ington, Dec. 23, 1850. 
 
 John Whitman Tillotson, his fathei, was born in 
 the same town, about 1824, and was a son of Seth 
 and Fannie (Whitman) Tillotson, residents of 
 Farmington, where the grandfather engaged in 
 teaching school for many years. He also taught 
 in the academy at West Hartford. Religiously he 
 was a member of the Congregational Church. 
 
 Throughout life the father of our subject fol- 
 lowed the occupation of farming. He married Miss 
 Lucy Allen, of Salisbury, Conn., who is still living 
 and makes her home in Farmington ; he died at the 
 age of sixty-three years. To them were born eight 
 children: Henry Davis, our subject ; Albert S., a res- 
 ident of Hartford ; Ella L., wife of Frederick Hurl- 
 burt, of Farmington ; Frank E., deceased ; Florence, 
 a resident of Hartford; Ida, (Mrs. Morway, of 
 Plainville) ; John M., of Farmington; and Frederick 
 E., of Hartford. 
 
 Henry D. Tillotson received his literary education 
 in the schools of Farmington, and continued a res- 
 ident of that town until eighteen years of age, when 
 he came to West Hartford to work for John M. 
 Foote, remaining with him for seven years. In 1877 
 he removed to his present farm, where he is now suc- 
 cessfully engaged in general farming and dairying, 
 running a wagon to Hartford in connection with the 
 latter branch of business. In addition to his wife's 
 farm, he also owns the old birthplace of Noah Web- 
 ster. A man of keen perception, of unbounded en- 
 terprise, his success in life is due entirely to his own 
 efforts, and he deserves prominent mention among 
 the leading and representative agriculturists of the 
 county. Religiously, he is a member of the Congre- 
 gational Church and Society. 
 
 On April 7, 1877, in West Hartford, Mr. Tillot- 
 son was united in marriage with Miss Mary F. Dun- 
 ham, a daughter of Elisha Dunham, and to them were 
 born two sons ; Henry Howard, who is now con- 
 nected with the Scottish LTnion Insurance Co. of 
 Hartford ; and Lora L. 
 
 CHARLES E. CURTISS is one of Simsbury's 
 best known citizens, and as a member of Ensign, 
 Bickford & Co., of that place, he holds a prominent 
 place in business circles. He was born March 18, 
 1850, in the Bushy Hill District of Simsbury, son of 
 Ebenezer G. Curtiss, and grandson of Timothy H. 
 
 Curtiss, the latter of whom died March 19, 1864, 
 aged seventy-six. 
 
 Hon. Ebenezer G. Curtiss, father of our subject, 
 was born Nov. 15, 1822, in the Bushy Hill District 
 of Simsbury, near the Canton line, but a portion of 
 his boyhood was spent in Southwick, Mass., where 
 his parents resided for a time. He engaged in 
 farming in early manhood, and his later years were 
 passed in Weatogue, Conn., where he became in- 
 terested in the cattle business, his stock being pur- 
 chased in the west and driven to Connecticut. He 
 was a prominent Democrat of his locality, and at 
 one time represented Simsbury in the State Legis- 
 lature, while he was also active in Masonic circles 
 as a member of St. Mark's Lodge, No. 36, F. & A. 
 M., at Simsbury, to which our subject now belongs. 
 He died Sept. 16, 1890, his remains being interred 
 in Simsbury. On Oct. 11, 1846, he married Miss 
 Mary A. Norton, who survives him, and now resides 
 with our subject. They had three children: George 
 N., born Aug. 19, 1848, died April 20, 1849; Charles 
 E. is our subject; and James, born June 23, 1856, is 
 now a resident of Simsbury. 
 
 Mrs. Mary A. (Norton) Curtiss, who still enjoys 
 excellent health notwithstanding her advanced age, 
 is much esteemed among the people of Simsbury, 
 and for many years has been a consistent member 
 of the Congregational Church. She was born Oct. 
 29, 1827, in the town of Avon, this county, and is de- 
 scended in the paternal line from one of the oldest 
 families of Farmington. Her father, George Nor- 
 ton, married Elizabeth Frisbie. 
 
 As a boy our subject attended first the district 
 schools of Weatogue, his first teacher being Miss 
 Ellen Marks. In 1859 his parents removed to the 
 Meadow Plain District, and among his teachers there 
 were Lucy Alford, Addie Allen and Minnie Case. 
 Later he studied for one winter at Guilford Insti- 
 tute, and after leaving this school spent a year in 
 farming with his father. In 1867 he began clerk- 
 ing for Judson Wilcox in a general store at Sims- 
 bury, and two years later he accepted a position as 
 traveling salesman for Humason & Beckly, of New 
 Britain, handling a line of shelf hardware goods. 
 His territory covered New York State, and after a 
 time he traveled the same routes for a cigar house in 
 New York City. In 1872 he went to Oneonta, N. 
 Y., and engaged in the livery business, and on leav- 
 ing there he removed to Westfield, Mass., where he 
 was employed as a bookkeeper and clerk in a gro- 
 cery house. On Dec. i, 1879, he returned to Sims- 
 bury, where he has since resided, and for a number 
 of years he has been connected with the Ensign 
 Bickford Manufacturing Co. On April 10, 1889, 
 he moved to his elegant home, which is probably the 
 best appointed residence in Simsbury. It was 
 formerly the Averett Wilcox homestead, and is 
 known as "The Seven Elms," from the seven large 
 elm trees in front of the house. Mr. Curtiss has 
 two children; Joseph T., born Dec. 16, 1878; and 
 Grace G., born Sept. 26, 1883. The son was edu- 
 

 / 
 
 i 
 
 & 
 
 ^^^Oon-^L^^-a-^Q.^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 577 
 
 catod at Dobb's Ferry School and at Anduvcr, Mass., 
 and spent a year in Europe. On Dec. ly, 181J9, he 
 jnarried Abigail G. Eno, daughter of Chauncey H. 
 Eno, of Simsbury, and they live in Tariffvillc, where 
 he is engaged in mercantile business. Grace G. 
 Curtiss was graduated from St. Margaret's School, 
 Waterbury, class of 1901. 
 
 Mr. Curtiss is an enthusiastic horseman, and owns 
 one of the fine stable of horses of Hartford county, 
 being an excellent judge of that noble animal. He is 
 a liberal man, and believes in enjoying life, while 
 as a citizen he has always been in favor of public im- 
 provements. I'olitically he is a stanch Democrat, 
 and "can always be counted upon" to vote the State 
 and National tickets. In town matters he selects the 
 best men regardless of politics, and while he has 
 never shirked duty as a good Democrat, he has de- 
 clined to be a candidate for office. 
 
 JOSEPH TOWERS, who for years has been 
 a successful manufacturer of brick at New Britain, 
 is of English descent. He was born Oct. 17, 1861, 
 in Rockland county, N. Y., son of James Towers, 
 and grandson of William Towers. The latter, a 
 native of Derbyshire, England, was by occupation 
 a silk-weaver, though for many years he followed 
 market gardening. He married Deborah Heath- 
 coate, and to the union were born: Sarah, JMaria, 
 Mary, Thomas, Joseph, William, Mathew and 
 James, the latter being the father of our subject. 
 
 James Towers, was born in 1825, in Stockport, 
 Cheshire, England, and in his young life there 
 worked at blacksmithing. In January, 1851, he 
 with family left England in a sailing-vessel bound 
 for the United States, whither they arrived after a 
 voyage of five weeks and two days. Soon after 
 reaching this country Mr. Towers was for a time 
 employed by a Mr. Conger, at Grassy Point, Rock- 
 land Co., N. Y. Following this he became em- 
 ployed in a muslin print factory, and then for a time 
 worked at blacksmithing. Being of a mechanical 
 turn of mind, he next accepted a position as a 
 machinist at Haverstraw, N. Y., and was thus en- 
 gaged for a period, also in blacksmithing, after 
 which he became engineer in a brickyard. Later 
 he moved to the State of Iowa, where he pur- 
 chased a farm and followed agricultural pursuits 
 for six and one-half years, and in about 1881 sold 
 his property and returned to the East, locating at 
 New Britain, . Conn. Here he became interested 
 in the brick plant of Dennis & Co., later purchased 
 the brickyards now owned by Towers Brothers and 
 Holmes & Dennis, remaining thus engaged until 
 about 1 89 1, at which time he sold the brick plant 
 to his sons. He was a man of good business ability, 
 industrious, a thorough manager, and met with suc- 
 cess. He was self-made, rising in the world through 
 his own efiforts. 
 
 On Aug. 13, 1848, James Towers was married 
 to Hannah Lee, and the union was blessed with 
 children as follows : ]\Iarv is the wife of Charles 
 
 Lawrence ; James is a resident of Springfield, Mass. ; 
 William ; Elizabeth married Chester M. Buck, of 
 Iowa; Joseph is our subject; Sarah married Casper 
 Schweilzer, of New Britain ; and Helena married 
 Stephen Sautter, of New Britain. 
 
 Joseph Towers, the subject proper of these lines, 
 attended the public schools at Haverstraw, N. Y., 
 until twelve years of age, by which time he had a 
 fair elementary book training. At this age he ac- 
 companied his parents to Mahaska county, Iowa, 
 where he assisted in the work of the farm during 
 their seven or eight years' residence there, mean- 
 while pursuing his studies at home. On the return 
 of the family to the East our subject assisted his 
 father in the operation of the brick plant at New 
 Britain, referred to in the foregoing, serving for 
 some three years as engineer, and later as foreman, 
 In about 1891 he and a brother purchased the 
 plant, and for three years conducted it as partners, 
 our subject at the expiration of that period pur- 
 chasing his brother's interest. In 1896, during his 
 ownership of the works they were removed to a 
 different locality, and their manufacturing capacity 
 greatly increased. Subsequent to this the Towers 
 Brothers purchased an interest in the business, and 
 the capacity of the plant was again increased, until 
 it now gives emplo}ment to some fifty men. Mr. 
 Towers is an experienced brick manufacturer, thor- 
 oughly understanding the business in all of its 
 branches, and, possessing energy and industry, he 
 has been successful. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Towers is a Repub- 
 lican, though not a party worker for the reward of 
 office. He is a member of Harmony Lodge, No. 
 20, A. F. & A. M., and of Washington Command- 
 ery, No. i, K. T. ; also affiliated with the Order of 
 Red Men, in which he is especially prominent; 
 and with Putnam Phalanx, of Hartford. For a 
 number of years he was secretary of the New 
 England Brick Exchange Co., which was succeeded 
 by the New England Brick Co., and of the latter he 
 is now president. 
 
 On March 25, 1891, our subject was married 
 to Miss Lucy Agnes Rawlings, daughter of Noah 
 and Agnes Rawlings, of Berlin, formerly of Eng- 
 land. To this union two sons were born : Raymond 
 Rawlings, who died at the age of three and one- 
 fourth years ; and Reginald EHsworth, who is still 
 at home. 
 
 CHARLES L. RUSSELL, Jr., a well-known 
 citizen of Milldale, was born in Farmington, Hart- 
 ford county, Aug. 28, 1843, a son of Charles L. 
 and Marilla (Ford) Russell, the former a native 
 of Cheshire, Conn., the latter of Vermont. The 
 paternal grandparents, John and Ruth (Root) Rus- 
 sell, were natives of Cheshire and Southington, 
 respectively. The maternal grandfather, Hial Ford, 
 was born in Vermont, son of Gen. Ford, of Revolu- 
 tionary fame, but spent much of his life in Thomas- 
 ton, Conn., where his death occurred. He was 
 
578 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 quite prominent in public affairs. His wife bore 
 the maiden name of Lucina Preston. 
 
 Our subject was reared in Cheshire, pursued 
 his studies in the common schools of that town and 
 in the high school of VVaterbury. During the dark 
 days of the Civil war he entered the service of his 
 country, enlisting in July, 1862, in Company A, 
 20th Conn. V. I., and was connected with the quar- 
 termaster's and commissary departments. At the 
 end of three years he was honorably discharged 
 and returned home. He was engaged in farming, 
 teaming and trucking until 1893, when he removed 
 to Southington, and has since followed the occu- 
 pation of a teamster at Milldale. 
 
 On Nov. 25, 1874, Mr. Russell married Miss 
 Ella Hotchkiss, a daughter of Henry and Rosette 
 (Beecher) Hotchkiss, formerly of Cheshire, and 
 by this union have been born two children : Edith 
 R., now the wife of F. M. Ellis ; and Olive F. Re- 
 ligiously Mr. Russell is a member of the Episcopal 
 Church ; socially he is affiliated with Doolittle Post, 
 No. 5, G. A. R., of Cheshire, and politically he is 
 connected with the Republican party. He is widely 
 and favorably known, and has a host of warm 
 friends in the community where he resides. 
 
 EDWARD RISLEY, farmer and tobacco 
 grower, of the town of East Hartford, with his farm 
 near Willow Brook and his residence in the village 
 of East Hartford, is a descendant of one of the 
 oldest and most honored of the families of the 
 town, being a son of Seth, a grandson of Caleb, 
 and a great-grandson of John Risley. 
 
 John Risley was a farmer all his life, and was 
 the father of six children, as follows : Ruth, mar- 
 ried to Ralph Judson ; Lucinda, married to Ashbel 
 Cowles ; Damos, married to Solomon Treat ; Patty, 
 who became the wife of Moses Ensign, and the 
 mother of four children, Charles A., Elizur, Owen 
 and Jeanette; John, who married Sallie Seymour; 
 and Caleb, the grandfather of our subject. 
 
 Caleb Risley was born on Main street. East 
 Hartford, was reared a farmer, married Abigail 
 Hancock, and lived in a house that stands south of 
 his grandson Edward's present residence. To him 
 and his wife were born nine children : Caleb ; 
 Emeline, who became the wife of Solomon Treat 
 (a son of Solomon Treat), and the mother of five 
 children, Charlotte, Maria, Delia, Harry and Charles, 
 lived to be over eightyyears old, and was buried 
 in Hockanum ; Russell, married to Ruth Warren, 
 who bore him two children, Nancy and Harry; 
 Reuben, who died unmarried, as also did Horace ; 
 Seth; Seth (2), the father of our subject; George, 
 first married to Sarah Camp, who bore him two 
 children, Ellen and Jennie (to his second marriage 
 with Martha Roberts, no children were born) ; 
 Abbie, the young-est, who was married to Charles 
 Risley, and had two children, Charles R. and Owen. 
 
 Seth Risley, father of our subject, was born in 
 August, 1816, in Willow Brook, attended the brick 
 
 school house near where the present district school 
 house stands, and then learned the shoemaker's 
 trade in Hockanum, at which he continued to work 
 until the Civil war ruined that industrj', when he 
 turned his attention to farming. He purchased the 
 land now occupied by Edward, his son, and erected 
 the dwelling in which the latter now lives. On, 
 Sept. 25, 1839, Seth Risley married Mary A. War- 
 ren, a native of Hockanum, born in the house now 
 occupied by Horace Williams, and a daughter of 
 Edward and Ruth (Warren) Warren, being the 
 third of four children — Harry, who was lost at 
 sea; Edward, who died young; Mary A., mother of 
 our subject; and Susannah, who died young. To 
 the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Seth Risley came 
 two children, Emma, who was born June 17, 1842, 
 and died Dec. 10, 1845, and Edward, the subject 
 of this sketch, who was born July 3, 1850. 
 
 Seth Risley was a man of extraordinary intelli- 
 gence and of large physique, he was firm in his con- 
 victions and conclusions, was a keen business man, 
 and quite enterprising. He was elected selectman 
 in 1852, and served two years, likewise served as 
 assessor and a member of the board of relief, and 
 in 1878 was elected to the State Legislature. He 
 was called from earth in June, 1887, his wife in 
 1897 ; the remains of both were interred in Hocka- 
 num, where their little daughter Emma had been 
 buried, in the town of East Hartford. 
 
 Edward Risley, the subject of this sketch, re- 
 ceived his early education in the district schools, 
 and later attended Bryant & Stratton's Business 
 College, which was the first institution in its line 
 to be opened in Hartford. For a time he was em- 
 ployed as a clerk and bookkeeper by J. H. Ranney, 
 a grocer of No. 5, American Row, Hartford, and 
 then returned to the farm, which he yet occupies. 
 On Jan. 12, 1876, he married Miss Hattie E. Hills, 
 a native of Hockanum, and a daughter of Ashbel 
 and Cynthia D. (French) Hills, the latter still liv- 
 ing in Hockanum. Mrs. Risley is an excellent 
 housewife and a most agreeable lady, and with her 
 husband attends the services of the South Con- 
 gregational Church. They have no children. 
 
 Mr. Risley is a member of Orient Lodge No. 
 62, F. & A. M., and of East Hartford Council, No. 
 1237, Royal Arcanum. In politics he is a Demo- 
 crat, and has served as assessor four years, as 
 auditor two years, and also as a member of the 
 board of relief. He is a business man of acknowl- 
 edged ability, has twelve acres of fine tobacco land, 
 and a tasty and comfortable home, and with his 
 wife is held in the highest respect by all his numer- 
 ous friends and acquaintances, being classed with 
 the best families of the town. 
 
 DARIUS DWIGHT MONROE. For a quar- 
 ter of a century this gentleman has been promi- 
 nently identified with the agricultural and business 
 interests of West Hartford. His thoroughly Amer- 
 ican spirit and great energy have enabled him to 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 579 
 
 mount from a lowly position to one of affluence, 
 and he is now numbered among the prosperous 
 farmers of his community. 
 
 Air. Monroe was born Dec. 4, 1850, in Goshen 
 (now Chaplin Station), Windham Co., Conn., and 
 is a son of John jNIonroe, a native of Scotland, 
 Conn., who now makes his home in West Hartford. 
 The grandfather, David Monroe, was a resident of 
 Scotland, Conn., and in early life was a sea captain. 
 By trade the father of our subject is a tinner, but 
 he has devoted considerable attention to agricult- 
 ural pursuits. He married Miss Sarah Jane Rob- 
 inson, of Goshen, who died in West Hartford and 
 was buried there. To them were born three chil- 
 dren, but Dwight and another son died in infancy, 
 leaving only our subject, the youngest of the 
 family. 
 
 During his boyhood Darius D. Monroe attended 
 the public schools of his native place until sixteen 
 years of age, and then learned the stone cutter's 
 trade at home and in Essex, Conn. At the age 
 of eighteen he came to Hartford, where he worked 
 for Burnham Brothers, street sprinklers, for two 
 seasons, and was then in the employ of William 
 B. Smith, of that place, until the spring of 1879. 
 The following five years he spent in Colorado, and 
 on his return to Hartford was again with William 
 B. Smith, in the vegetable business, for a year. In 
 1884 he removed to Sunset farm, in West Hartford, 
 and for several years gave special attention to the 
 poultry business. In 1887 he became interested 
 in the milk business, and has established one of the 
 finest milk routes in Hartford, in his dairy business 
 now giving employment to four men. He is also 
 engaged in general farming, and in his undertakings 
 is meeting with most gratifying results. Mr. Mon- 
 roe was a member of the first company of Horse 
 Guards in Hartford, but has never taken a very 
 active part in public affairs, preferring to give his 
 undivided attention to his business interests. 
 
 OSWALD J. SIGNOR, an enterprising and 
 well-to-do farmer of Burnside avenue, was born 
 May 27, 1852, in South Windsor, near East Hart- 
 ford, on his father's farm, and is the only child of 
 Jerome and Elgiva B. Signor, the former of whom 
 is a prominent farmer and tobacco grower. 
 
 Jerome Signor is a descendant of one of the 
 oldest Dutch families of the State of New York, 
 Tiis great-great-great-grandfather being the first of 
 the family to come from Holland to America. He 
 settled on JNIanhattan Island, and at one time owned 
 300 acres of land in what is now the city of New 
 York, on part of which the city hall and the United 
 States Government post office now stand, but which 
 property was confiscated by the British authorities 
 after the surrender of the then embryo city to the 
 English army. The Signor family possessed re- 
 markable longevity, the great-grandfather of Jer- 
 ome attaining the wonderful age of 106 years, and 
 liis grandfather that of 104 years. Jerome Signor 
 
 was the second child of Albert and I-'anny E. Sig- 
 nor, was born in Eranklin, Delaware Co., N. Y., 
 in 1825, and came to South Windsor, Conn., in 
 1848. Here he found employment with Otis Wood 
 as wood-chopper, doing the work at forty-two 
 cents per cord. He here married a widow, Mrs. 
 Elgiva Burnham, who was born in 1809, bore the 
 maiden name of Elmer, and by her marriage to 
 Horace Burnham became the mother of three chil- 
 dren : Edmund and Elgiva, still living on the 
 Signor homestead ; and Horace, who is married, 
 and is living in Albany, Wis. Mrs. Elgiva Signor 
 passed away Jan. 2, 1893, and at the advanced age 
 of nearly eighty-three years had not a gra_\' hair 
 on her head. Mr. Signor is still a well-preserved 
 man, of large physique, and although he had the 
 misfortune of falling and breaking his neck a few 
 years ago most miraculously recovered, the effects 
 being a rigid condition of the vertebrie and an 
 inclining of the head forward. 
 
 Oswald J. Signor was educated in the district 
 schools and also at the Suffield Seminary, under 
 Prof. Spencer, from which latter institution he 
 graduated with the class of 1870, and then returned 
 to the old homestead. On June 9, 1875, Mr. Sig- 
 nor married i\Iiss Rosella Perkins, who was born 
 Jan. 27, 1852, daughter of George Perkins, a 
 prominent citizen of Glastonbury, and this mar- 
 riage has been graced with four children : ( i ) 
 Oswald J., Jr., born June 21, 1876, is still un- 
 married, and is living on the Signor homestead 
 (he is industrious and thrifty, very popular, 
 and very prominent in Lodge circles) ; (2) Edna 
 E. was born Feb. 2, 1881 ; (,3) Leslie E. was born 
 Sept. 5, 1884; and (4) Walter was born Dec. 24, 
 1894. Of these, the two eldest were educated in 
 Hartford and East Hartford. 
 
 Shortly after his marriage Mr. Signor pur- 
 chased his present farm of six and one-half acres, 
 known as the "Johnson farm," which he has im- 
 proved with modern and substantial buildings, and 
 it is now one of the model farms of the town of 
 East Hartford. On this modest but valuable place 
 Mr. Signor raises a large and profitable crop of 
 tobacco and considerable "market truck," besides 
 handling firewood in no small way. In 1894 Mr. 
 Signor erected on Burnside avenue his present fine 
 modern dwelling, which is one of the prettiest in 
 the neighborhood, and is surrounded by a nicely- 
 kept lawn, which delights the eye of every passer- 
 b_y. As a business man ]Mr. Signor is an absolute 
 "hustler," and in 1897 he and his father shipped 
 2,700 cases of tobacco, which they packed, and on 
 which they realized a handsome profit. 
 
 In politics ]\Ir. Signor is an active and energetic 
 Democrat. Fraternally he is a member of the 
 Knights of Pythias, having joined the order March 
 8, 1897, and has since been largely instrumental in 
 the establishment of Elm Lodge, East Hartford, of 
 whichlie and his son. Oswald J., are charter mem- 
 bers, both holding official positions. Mr. Sig^ior 
 
580 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and his son are also members of Sumner Division, 
 No. I, uniformed rank, Crescent Lodge, No. 7, of 
 Hartford, and, socially, they mingle in the highest 
 circles of East Hartford. 
 
 ORION BROOKS TREAT is a native of 
 Glastonbury, Hartford county, born Aug. 5, 1849. 
 He was of an adventurous disposition in youth, and 
 the patriotic element in his nature was deeply stirred 
 at the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion. At 
 the age of fifteen (Oct. 16, 1864) he enlisted in 
 the b. S. navy, for two years' service, and was 
 sent to a receiving ship. From this he was trans- 
 ferred to the "Gemsbok," then attached to the 
 blockading squadron oft' the coast of South Caro- 
 lina and Georgia. On June 9, 1865, he received 
 his discharge and returned home. 
 
 Mr. Treat had found the life of a sailor pleasant, 
 and not long afterward he shipped as one of the 
 crew aboard a coasting vessel, sailing through Long 
 Island Sound and along adjacent shores. This 
 vocation he followed for eleven years, when he 
 determined to take to himself a wife and establish 
 a home of his own. Accordingly, in the fall of 
 1878, he abandoned his seafaring career, and com- 
 ing to Manchester began work in the needle factory 
 of H. Lydall & Foulds. He remained in that gen- 
 tleman's employ until 1895, by which time through 
 industry and economy, he had accumulated sufficient 
 capital to engage in business for himself. In that 
 year he erected his present factory, where he makes 
 knitting needles of the description used in woolen 
 mills. His plant has a capacity of about 3,000 
 needles per day, and he employs from eight to 
 fifteen hands, the number varying according to the 
 condition of the market and the demand for the 
 output. Reference has been already made to Mr. 
 Treat's marriage, which took place July 4, 1878, 
 when he was united to Miss Margaret E. Paxson. 
 One child has been born to them, named Mary A. 
 In politics Mr. Treat is a Republican. He is a 
 member of Drake Post, No. 4, G. A. R., of Man- 
 chester. 
 
 HON. GEORGE FRANKLIN HUMPHREY, 
 of Bloomfield, was born in the town of Canton 
 Center, Hartford county, Dec. 31, 1854, and is a 
 son of Alfred F. and Lydia A. (Griswold) 
 Humphrey. 
 
 Alfred F. Humphrey was born in New Hartford, 
 Conn., in 1826, and was a son of the late George 
 Humphrey, a farmer, also a native of New Hartford, 
 who married Miss Frances Mills, of Canton Center, 
 Conn. He resided in Smyrna, N. Y., from 1838 
 until his death. Alfred F. Humphrey was educated 
 in New Hartford, Conn., and Smyrna, N. Y. At the 
 age of twenty-four he returned to Canton Center 
 from Smyrna, whither he had accompanied his fa- 
 ther, and married Mrs. Ljrdia A. Mills, widow of 
 Anson G. Mills, and daughter of Chatmcey G. 
 Griswold. To this union were born : George F., 
 
 Fred G., William G., and Hattie (Mrs. Lamphier), 
 all with the exception of George F. being residents 
 of Canton Center. Mr. Humphrey was very prom- 
 inent as a citizen, and as a Republican represented 
 his party in the State Legislature in 1876. He 
 served as selectman and assessor. Fraternally he 
 was a member of Village Lodge, No. 29, F. & A. 
 M., at CoUinsville. Fie died in the faith of the 
 Congregational Church, in March, 1898. 
 
 George F. Humphrey was primarily educated in 
 the district school of Canton Center, supplemented 
 by an attendance at the Eastman Business College, 
 in Poughkeepsie, N. Y. He remained under the 
 parental roof until twenty-five years of age, and in 
 the spring of 1880 married Miss Ida J. Burr, a 
 daughter of Ambrose Burr, of Bloomfield. This 
 happy union has been blessed with two children ; 
 Alfred A., born March 3, 1881, died Feb. 24, 1896; 
 and George Harold, born Dec. 21, 1887. 
 
 Mr. Humphrey has been very active as a local 
 politician, has served his fellow townsmen three 
 terms as selectman, and is still an incumbent of this 
 office, but he has been honored with a high office, 
 that of member of the State Legislature, to which 
 he was elected in the fall of 1896, and in which, as 
 in all other official positions he has held, his services 
 have been of the most eft'ective character. Frater- 
 nally he is a member of Hiram Lodge, No. 98, F. & 
 A. M., and also a member of the Knights of the 
 Maccabees, as well as of Tunxis Grange, No. 13, 
 P. of H., of Bloomfield. He is a devout membei" 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and his walk 
 through life has won for him the respect and con- 
 fidence of all who know him. 
 
 SAMUEL G. HANCOCK. No better illustra- 
 tion of the characteristic energy and enterprise of 
 the typical foreign-born citizen can be found than 
 that afforded by the career of this gentleman, now 
 a well-known general jobber, tinner, plumber and 
 stove dealer of Southington. Coming to this coun- 
 try with no capital except his abilities, he has made 
 his way to success through wisely-directed efforts, 
 and can look back with satisfaction upon past 
 struggles. 
 
 Mr. Hancock was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire,. 
 England, Sept. 7, 1850, and is a son of John and 
 Mary Ann (Grayson) Hancock, who came to Amer- 
 ica in 1867 on the ship "Boston," and located in 
 Union City, now a part of Naugatuck, Conn. There 
 the father followed his trade, that of cutler, until 
 1871, when he removed to Southington, Conn., and 
 worked at the same occupation there until 1894. 
 He then retired on account of old age. He died 
 Jan. 18, 1899, at the age of eighty-four years. In 
 his family were four children who reached man- 
 hood and womanhood : Jane ; Elizabeth, wife of 
 Harvey Gray ; Samuel G. ; and Emma, wife of 
 John Fenton. 
 
 The first seventeen years of his life our subject 
 spent in his native land, where he attended the pub- 
 
^, 
 
 ^ 
 
 •^ ' {7 (tCho^i^i^^J^ 'jS^i.-Z.^ 
 
I 
 
 i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 581 
 
 lie schools for a short tune, but he is practically a 
 self-educated as well as a self-made man. At the 
 age of thirteen he began serving an apprenticeship 
 to the cutler's trade in England, and finished the 
 same in Southington, Conn., after coming to this 
 country with his parents, at the age of seventeen 
 years. He continued to follow that vocation until 
 1889, wheii he embarked in his present business, 
 which he has since, with the assistance of his wife, 
 carried on with good success. In 1878 he was 
 united in marriage with Miss Mary, daughter of 
 William and jNIary Coulson, of the north of Eng- 
 land. 
 
 FREDERICK ELLSWORTEI, one of the re- 
 spected business men of Hartford, is a descendant of 
 one of the earliest settlers of this part of Connecticut, 
 and in his long successful career has maintained the 
 reputation borne by all members of this family for 
 honesty, integrity and the many sterling qualities 
 which stand for good citizenship and progress, and 
 command respect in any community, large or small. 
 Mr. Ellsworth's ancestors have all been extensive 
 farmers and landowners in Hartford county. 
 
 Josias Ellsworth, the first of whom we have 
 record, settled in Windsor in 1646, and his remains 
 rest in the cemetery in Old Windsor. His son, 
 Lieut. John, settled on the east side of the river in 
 what is now East Windsor, being one of its first set- 
 tlers, and built a house there about 1694-95. He 
 was killed some time later by a falling tree, in what 
 is now Ellington, Tolland county. He had two 
 sons, Capt. John and Daniel. Capt. John Ellsworth 
 became very prominent in East Windsor. He had 
 a son Solomon, who was born in East Windsor, and 
 served as a lieutenant in the Revolutionary war. In 
 1758 Solomon Ellsworth built a house which is still 
 (^1900) standing,, and is known as the old Ellsworth 
 homestead. He also built a gristmill, at what is 
 called Ketch EIollow, probably about 1800. 
 
 Abner Mosley Ellsworth, son of Solomon, and 
 grandfather of our subject, \yas born on the old 
 homestead in East Windsor, in 1771. He followed 
 farming, milling and manufacturing, and died there 
 in 1853 aged eighty-three years. His son, Abner 
 Mosley Ellsworth, was born on the old hor.i.estead 
 in 1804, and was the father of Frederick Ellsworth, 
 whose name opens this article. He was associated 
 with his father in business, and about 1826 they con- 
 verted the old gristmill into a cotton-mill ; in 1836 
 he built a cotton-mill at Ketch Hollow, with a grist- 
 mill in the basement, the establishment being known 
 as the Central Mills, and engaged in the manufacture 
 of cotton twine, yarns and bagging, conducting the 
 business until the spring of 1846, when the mills 
 were destroyed by fire, Mr. Ellsworth losing all his 
 possessions. This misfortune doubtless contributed 
 to his early demise, as he passed away, Sept. 24, 
 1846. ]\Irs. Ellsworth survived her husband twenty 
 years, dying Sept. 25, 1866. She, too, was a native 
 of East Windsor, and her maiden name was Lucy 
 
 W. Stoughton. Their family consisted of seven 
 children: Frederick; Samuel 11., wlio died in 1856; 
 Lucy S., who became the wife of Rev. Samuel B. 
 Forbes, and died in 1863; Sarah, who died at the 
 age of four years; Lemuel S., mention of whom is 
 made elsewhere, a resident of Sinisbury ; John, men- 
 tioned below; and Hugh, who died in 1872. John 
 Ellsworth was reared on the old homestead in East 
 Windsor, and in 1862 enlisted for service in Com- 
 pany G, 25th Conn. V. I.; after the war he com- 
 pleted his preparatory education at Williams Col- 
 lege, and then took up the studv of law, reading with 
 R. D. Hubbard and W. W. McFarland, of Hart- 
 ford, Conn. He was admitted to the Bar in 1867, 
 and in the fall of that year went to California, where 
 he has ever since remained, taking a prominent part 
 in public aft'airs from the beginning. He is a well- 
 known and successful lawyer, and for a number of 
 years has been judge of the superior court ; his home 
 is at Alameda. 
 
 Frederick Ellsworth was born Jan. 25, 1833, 
 on the old Ellsworth homestead in East Windsor, 
 which he and his son now own, a beautiful estate 
 comprising some 430 acres of the most highly im- 
 proved land in the town in which it lies. He was 
 reared and educated in his native place, attending the 
 common schools and East Windsor Hill Academy, 
 and in the fall of 1847 ^^'ent to live with John _W. 
 Stoughton, on a farm in East Windsor, remaining 
 with him three years. He next lived on the farm of 
 his uncle, Lemuel Stoughton, for a few years, and in 
 the spring of 1852 went to Warehouse Point, where 
 he clerked in the store of Roswell Kingsbury for one 
 year. Returning to his uncle's, he made his home 
 with him until 1854, when he went to Wilmington, 
 N. C, clerked in a store there about a year, and 
 then returned to Connecticut. In 1856 he again 
 went South, locating in Central Georgia, where he 
 remained until the Civil war broke out in 1861. In 
 j\Iav of that year he left Georgia, and coming North 
 went to Bloomington, 111., where he remained until 
 fall ; and then returned to Connecticut. Soon qf .er 
 his arrival here he bought a farm in Sinisbury, Hart- 
 ford county, where he resided three years, selling at 
 the end of that time. While a resident of Sims- 
 bury he took an active interest in public affairs, and 
 served on the board of relief. In 1862 he was ap- 
 pointed provost marshal's chief clerk, of the First 
 Connecticut District, with headquarters at Hart- 
 ford. In 1863 he was appointed, by Secretary of 
 War Stanton, commissioner of the provost depart- 
 ment of the Fourth District, with headquarters at 
 Bridgeport, filling that position a few months, when 
 he returned to his former position in Hartford, 
 which he filled about two years. In October, 1865, 
 he again went to Georgia, and carried on a mercan- 
 tile business there for two years, since when he has 
 made his home in Hartford. Until 1873 Mr. Ells- 
 worth was a member of the firm of Xorman Hub- 
 bard & Co., buyers and packers of tobacco, and for 
 1 the last quarter of a century he has been engaged in 
 
585 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 handling fertilizers, doing a profitable wholesale 
 and retail business. He has gained and retained 
 an enviable standing among the substantial citizens 
 of Hartford county, and is well and favorably known 
 both personally and in a business way. 
 
 In October, i860, Mr. Ellsworth was married, in 
 Georgia, to Miss Georgia Phelps, of Forsyth, that 
 State, and this union was blessed with one child, 
 Georgia. Mrs. Ellsworth dying in 1866, our sub- 
 ject, on March 6, 1867, married Miss Ellen Tuller, 
 of Simsbury, and they have had two children, Fred- 
 erick H., who is a civil engineer in the employ of the 
 New York & New Haven road, living at New Haven ; 
 and Lucy E., bom July i, 1874, who died April 15, 
 1880. Mr. Ellsworth is a member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church, and fraternally he is a Free Mason, 
 belonging to the lodge at Tariffville. His political 
 support is given to the Republican party. He is a 
 distant relative of Judge Shepard, of the appellate 
 court of Chicago, whose grandfather was a brother 
 of Mr. Ellsworth's grandfather. 
 
 MARCUS A. DODGE. Among the agricultur- 
 ists of West Hartford who have attained success 
 through their own unaided efforts is the gentleman 
 whose name introduces this review. He is one 
 of the most progressive and energetic farmers and 
 djairymen of his section of the county, and is a 
 complete master of the calling which he follows. 
 His sterling integrity and honorable, upright man- 
 hood, fully entitles him to the position which he 
 holds in the estimation of his fellow citizens. 
 
 Mr. Dodge was born in Chenango county, N. 
 Y., Nov. 21, 1847, and is a son of William Dodge, 
 who was conducting a hotel in California at the 
 time of his death, in 1853. At the age of eight 
 years our subject left' his birthplace and went to 
 live with his uncle, Daniel Dodge, remaining with 
 him until seventeen. He then learned the art of 
 butter and cheese making, and for fifteen or more 
 years devoted his time and attention to that occupa- 
 tion. In 1884 he came to West Hartford, and 
 managed the Highland Creamery for four years. 
 The next season he had charge of a creamery in 
 Pennsylvania, and then, on his return to West Hart- 
 ford, purchased his present farm, where he has 
 since carried on dairy farming with most gratifying 
 results. In Chenango county, N. Y., Mr. Dodge 
 married Mrs. Ceclia Breed, who had two children 
 by her former marriage. 
 
 WILLIAM DWIGHT BEAUMONT is one of 
 the few old-time citizens of Burnside avenue, East 
 Hartford, spared by the remorseless years. Where 
 now extends a beautiful vista of elegant homes and 
 well-kept lawns he once saw fields of waving grain. 
 Here as a boy he helped to cut the rye, and among 
 the broad acres of his father's farm he planted, cul- 
 tivated and gathered the crops, which was the task 
 of the youth of his native place nearly three-fourths 
 of a century ago. At the age of eighty years our 
 
 I 
 
 subject is a prosperous farmer and business man, 
 unusually active for one of his years. Nature fa- 
 vored him with a robust constitution and a rugged 
 frame, upon which there are no corroding marks 
 of early dissipation. Daily toil has been his lot, not 
 idleness and folly, and the splendid type of his man- 
 hood is that which has struggled and won in the 
 fields of sharp prolonged activity. Not till his 
 eightieth year did he find it necessary to use the 
 glasses which men of half his age now so frequently 
 find necessary. 
 
 Mr. Beaumont was born in East Hartford, July 
 17, 1819, son of Elijah and Electa Bemont (as his 
 father then spelled his name). His ancestral his- 
 tory appears elsewhere. William D., our subject, 
 in his boyhood days attended school in the old school 
 house which stood in East Hartford near Center 
 cemetery. He imbibed knowledge and learning from 
 that prince of old educators, Salmon Phelps, like 
 many of the best citizens of East Hartford of his 
 and a generation succeeding. This school fully re- 
 compensed in thorough training what perhaps it 
 lacked in the finish and variety of modern education. 
 He also attended a select school, and was a pupil 
 in Mr. Wells' school at East Hartford. Idle days 
 to our subject were unknown in his boyhood and 
 youth. It was in an age before improved machinery 
 arrived, and toilsome work by hand was the common 
 lot. His father was engaged in the wood business, 
 an extensive and important industry before the days 
 of coal, and when our subject attained manhood he 
 became associated in business with his father as a 
 partner. Later his younger brother, Henry G, 
 y;as received into the partnership. They dealt also 
 in ship timber, making heavy consignments to New 
 Bedford, Mass., then the greatest whaling port in 
 the United States. The growing and sale of melons 
 was added to this trade, besides other lines of com- 
 mercial activity. The able assistance of our subject 
 and his brother extricated their father fiom an in- 
 debtedness which he had contracted earlier in life. 
 This business arrangement was conducted until 
 early in the 'fifties, when our subject withdrew from 
 the partnership to enter the teaming" business. 
 
 Before the era of railroads teaming was an im- 
 portant branch of transportation. In his former 
 business with his father and brothers they had al- 
 ways kept two teams, one of oxen and one of horses. 
 Our subject had usualy handled the ox-team, and 
 was quite skillful in that kind of work. Taking up 
 general teaming and a trucking business, he con- 
 tinued it successfully for a number of years. The 
 hauling of powder from the mills at Burnside to 
 other towns and railroad depots was an important 
 proof of this transportation. In those days it was 
 not unusual to haul powder up into New Hamp- 
 shire, and to Rhinebeck,' N. Y., and elsewhere. 
 Many loads were hauled to New Haven, and the S 
 latter haul was often made by our subject at night. * 
 His days were usually long, and the weather was 
 no bar to the prosecution of his business. He kept M 
 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 683 
 
 from three to four teams engag:ed in general truck- 
 ing, and in later years the hauling of coal was an 
 im]K3rtaiit branch of his work. He retired from 
 active life years ago, and lias since then enjoyed the 
 fruits of his busy and successful business career. 
 He has built an elegant home on Burnside avenue, 
 where as a young man he was wont to cradle grain, 
 and here the small activities about his home give that 
 relief from idleness which to a man of his active 
 life would ]5rove distasteful. 
 
 Mr. lieaumont was married, Aug. 12, 1847, at 
 Glastonbury, to Miss Julia A. House, who was born 
 March 17, 1821, daughter of \V'illiam and Julia 
 (Chapman) House. One child, Fanny, has been 
 born to this union. She is now Mrs. J. Frank 
 Cowles, of East Hartford, and is the mother of two 
 very interesting children, Fthel and Frances J., the 
 pride and delight of their grandfather. 
 
 Mr. Beaumont cast his first vote for William 
 H. Harrison, and in politics he has since been a 
 Whig or Republican, though independent in local 
 elections. Himself and wife are members of the 
 Congregational Church. Possessinf^ ample means, 
 and a most comfortable home, he maintains the 
 simplicity of his earlier years. He is courteous in 
 bearing, kind and generous of heart, and enjoys a 
 wide acquaintanceship in Hartford and adjoining 
 counties. He worthily bears the name which in 
 achievement has been made illustrious in the history 
 of his native county and State. 
 
 PARDON AUGUSTUS WHITNEY, the well- 
 known superintendent of the Southington shops of 
 the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., was born in Wood- 
 stock, Vt. June 10, 1844. 
 
 I\Ir. Whitney is a son of Aaron Warren and 
 Harriet (Leonard) Whitney, the former a native 
 of Schroon, N. Y., the latter of Woodstock, Vt. 
 Grandfather Whitney served in the war of 1812. 
 The father was reared in his birthplace, and in 1883 
 went to Woodstock, where he learned the machin- 
 ist's trade, and later worked as a journeyman for a 
 couple of years. In 1840 he embarked in the manu- 
 facture of tinner's tools and machines, in which he 
 continued at that place until 1869, and the following 
 two years was engaged in the same business in 
 Smithville, N. J., selling out at the end of that time 
 to the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co. In 1871 he came 
 to Southington, where for a time he was employed 
 as inspector by that company, and then for several 
 years was engaged in the grocery trade. He died 
 in Southington, May 15, 1877, honored and re- 
 spected by all who knew him. He was twice mar- 
 ried, his first wife being Harriet Leonard, daugh- 
 ter of Capt. James and Mary (Briggs) Leonard, of 
 Woodstock, Vt., and by this union were born four 
 children, our subject being the only son to reach 
 years of maturity. The mother died Jan. 20, 1848, 
 and for his second wife the father married Lucia 
 Tucker, of Royalton, A^t., by whom he had one son, 
 Foster A. 
 
 In his native town our subject grew to manhood, 
 and his early education was obtained in its public 
 sciiools. Sujjsecjuently he was a student at the 
 Burnham Business College, Springfield, Mass. He 
 served a four-years' apprenticeship to the machin- 
 ist's trade in his father's shop at Woodstock, and 
 continued in his father's employ until the removal 
 of the family to Smithville, N. J., when he became ■■* 
 partner. When they sold the plant, in 1871, he 
 came to Southington and entered the emjjloy of the 
 Peck, Stow & \\'ilcox Co., having charge of their 
 bolt shop for about nine years. In 1879 ^f"". Whit- 
 ney went to Cleveland, Ohio, where he had charge 
 of the mechanical department of the Wilcox, Tread- 
 way Co. for three years, and when it was absorbed 
 b}^ the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., he continued with 
 them at that place for another year. Removing to 
 Chagrin Falls, Ohio, he was engaged in the manu- 
 facture of racket drills at tliat place for a year and 
 a half, and then went to Warsaw, N. Y., where he 
 purchased an interest in the Variety Machine Co., 
 and had charge of the mechanical department of 
 their works for three years. In the fall of 1887 he 
 returned to Southington, and has since held his 
 present position with the Peck, Stow & Wilco.x Co., 
 being at the head of the mechanical department of 
 the Southing-ton plant. 
 
 During the Civil war ^Ir. Whitney enlisted, in 
 August, 1862, in Company C, 6th \'t. V. I., and 
 participated in all the engagements in which the 
 6th Army Corps took part. With the exception of 
 a two weeks' furlough he was never off duty a 
 single day, and was honorably discharged, as ser- 
 geant, July 31, 1865, after two years and eleven 
 months of arduous and faithful service. 
 
 Mr. \Miitney was married Oct. 2, 1870. to Miss 
 Julia Douglass, a daughter of Reuben and Catherine 
 (Thomas) Douglass, of \\ oodstock, \'t. Her fa- 
 ther was a farmer of that place, and a son of John 
 Douglass, a native of Scotland, who became a farmer 
 of Flartland, A't. Her maternal grandparents, 
 Phineas and Deborah (Thomas) Thomas, were also 
 agriculturists of Woodstock. The Thomas faniilv 
 was formerl)- of Old ^iliddleboro, Mass. Mrs. 
 Whitney's great-grandmother was Deborah How- 
 land, a descendant of John Howland, who landed 
 on Plymouth Rock from the "r^Iayflower'' in 1620. 
 Of the four children born to our subject and his 
 wife only two survive: Jennie M. and Mary Louise. 
 Mr. and i\Irs. Whitney are both active and earnest 
 members of the First Congregational Church of 
 Southington, of which he is a deacon. Socially he 
 is a Knight Templar; politically he is a stanch Re- 
 publican. As a citizen, friend and neighbor he is 
 true to every duty, and justiv merits the high es- 
 teem in which he is held. 
 
 MANNA ALDERMAN, an honored and repre- 
 sentative citizen of Burlington, was born there Jan. 
 12, 1S24, and belongs to one of the oldest and most 
 highly-respected families of Hartford county. 
 
584 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 The ancestors of our subject were from Eng- 
 land, and were among the first settlers of the New 
 England States. His grandfather, Eli Alderman, 
 was the first of the name to locate in the town of 
 Burlington. Ele was born in Granby, then a part 
 of the town of Simsbury, Hartford county, and there 
 grew to manhood, and engaged in farming' for some 
 years. He married Eunice Laird, and later in life 
 they removed to Burlington, where he became a 
 farmer and land owner. Here they spent the re- 
 mainder of their lives, and their remains were in- 
 terred in what is known as the Case cemetery. 
 Their children were Eli, Eunice, John, Esthef, 
 Truman, Caroline and Chestine (twins), Polly, 
 Manna and Sally, all now deceased. 
 
 Truman Alderman, father of our subject, was 
 born in Simsburj^, and was twelve years of age 
 when he came with his parents to Burlington, where 
 he attended school and later engaged in farming 
 throughout life, becoming one of the prosperous 
 and successful citizens of his community. He was 
 a large land owner, and operated the farm now 
 owned by our subject. He was noted for his in- 
 dustry and honesty, and was well known and highly 
 respected. In politics he was independent, and 
 in religion was a consistent and faithful member 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church. During the 
 war of 1812 he aided in the defense of the country 
 as a soldier of the United States army. In the 
 town of Avon, then Farmington, he married Julia 
 Hadsell, a native of that place, and to them were 
 born eleven children : Chestine, deceased wife of 
 Theodore Levensworth ; Manna ; Eunice ; Orpha, 
 who died in infancy ; Orpha Eunice, who died 
 young ; Julia Antoinette, who died unmarried ; Ellen 
 Jeannette; Rhoda Maria, wife of Ozias Munger; 
 Truman Andrew, who married Ellen Lewis ; Bei'- 
 ditt, who married Augusta Lewis ; and Joseph, who 
 died in infancy. The father died at the age of 
 fifty-three j^ears, and was buried in the Case ceme- 
 tery. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is indebted to the 
 public schools of Burlington for his educational 
 privileges, and early in life he became familiar with 
 the duties which fall to the lot of the agriculturist. 
 After his father's death he took charge of the old 
 homestead, and has since successfully engaged in 
 general farming, stock raising, dairying, lumber- 
 ing, and also in the distilling of cider brandy. An 
 upright and reliable business man, he has met with 
 well-deserved success in his undertakings, and is 
 now quite well-to-do. 
 
 At Plainville, Conn., in 1847, '^^^'^ Alderman 
 married Miss Maria Howe, a native of Farmington, 
 and a daughter of Ira and Maria Marilla (Atkins) 
 Howe. The father was a native of Plymouth, 
 Conn., and a prosperous citizen of Farmington. 
 Mrs. Alderman's maternal grandfather, David At- 
 kins, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. The 
 children born to our subject and his wife are as 
 follows : ( I ) Joseph Chauncey is now a farmer of 
 
 Montana. (2) Marilla Beatrice is the wife ofi 
 Huron Henry, of New Haven, Conn., and they] 
 have three children, Fred, Myron E. and Beatrice] 
 May. (3) Truman A., a resident of Ohio, mar- 
 ried Frances Woodruff, and has two children, Edith | 
 May and Bernice. (4) Sereno, who is engaged] 
 in farming near the homestead, married Rosa San- 1 
 sell. (5) Clarence, a farmer, married Alice Bun- 
 nell. (6) Elliott, who is engaged in farming on | 
 the homestead, married Corinna Lagerstrom, and 
 has three children, Ernest, Arthur and Gladys. (7) 
 Lena Belle married Philip Hodge, and has four] 
 children, Martin Ray, Ethel, Clayton and Vera.l 
 Belle. For over fifty years Mr. and Mrs. Alder- \ 
 man have traveled life's journey together, sharing 
 its joys and sorrows, and in 1897 they celebrated 
 their Golden Wedding. They are now well ad- 
 vanced in years, but are still in the ppssession of all 
 their faculties, and have reason to feel that their 
 lives have not been spent in vain. They are widely 
 known and highly respected, and Mrs. Alderman is 
 a consistent member of the Congregational Church. 
 Mr. Alderman is liberal in his religious views, and 
 independent in politics. 
 
 HON. HORACE DAVIS PAYNE, treasurer 
 and manager of the Central New England Brick Co., 
 and a well-known citizen of Kensington, was born in 
 East Haddam, Middlesex Co., Conn., Aug. 19, 1870, 
 and is a son of Clarence De Wolf and Laura (Car- 
 ter) Payne, the latter of whom is still living, and 
 makes her home with her daughter, in Meriden, 
 Conn. The father was a native of Sag Harbor, 
 Long Island, N. Y. At the age of sixteen years he 
 enlisted in the 13th Conn. Vol. from New London, 
 Conn., and served through the war of 1861 to 1865, 
 when he came to East Haddam, where he was 
 superintendent and manager of the U. S. Broom & 
 Brush Co., until 1878 when he accepted a position 
 in Meriden, Conn., as foreman in one of the depart- 
 ments of the Manning & Bowman Co. He was a 
 member of the I. O. O. F. Lodge at East Haddam, 
 and many other fraternal organizations. He died 
 at Meriden, Conn., in July, 1884. In the family of 
 Clarence De W. and Laura Payne were tliree 
 children: Clarence De Wolf, born Sept. 9, 1866, 
 died at the age of ten years ; Winogene Carrie, born 
 Aug. 29, 1868, is now the wife of Elias T. Sills, who 
 is in the stationery and novelty business in Meriden ; 
 and Horace Davis. 
 
 Horace D. Payne attended the public schools of 
 East Haddam until fourteen years of age, and then 
 accepted a position as clerk in the post office at 
 that place. At the end of a year he was appointed 
 assistant postmaster under Sidney B. Warner, dur- 
 ing President Cleveland's first administration, and 
 filled that position until May, 1888, when he came ' 
 to Berlin as bookkeeper for the C. P. Merwin Brick 
 Company, with which he remained until March, 
 i8q8. At that time he was made treasurer 
 
 and manager of the Central New England Brick 
 
^^^-Cy'^, 
 
COMMEMORATIVIE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 585 
 
 Co., general office in New Britain, and has held the 
 position ever since. They do an annual business 
 of $500,000, handling from fifty million to sixty 
 million brick per year. Mr. Pa^-ne is a self-made 
 man in the true sense of that oft misused term, and 
 has never lost a da}'s pay since he began work, 
 at the age of fourteen years. By his well-directed 
 efforts, untiring industry and good management 
 he has met with success. He is also treasurer and 
 director in the C. P. Merwin Brick Co., which has 
 a capital stock of $75,000 and a capacity of fifteen 
 million common and hollow brick per year. 
 
 On Feb. 19, 1895, Mr. Payne married Miss 
 Maude ^lerwin, who was born Sept. 9, 1874, a 
 daughter of Homer Smith and Mary (Tuttle) Mer- 
 win, of Merwin's Point, Conn. Her father was 
 formerly in the brick business in Berlin. Our sub- 
 ject and his wife have one daughter, Barbara Mer- 
 win, born March 15, 1896. JMrs. Payne is a mem- 
 ber of the Kensington Congregational Church, and 
 of Emma Hart Willard Chapter, D. A. R., of Ken- 
 sington. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Payne is an ardent 
 Republican, and he takes a deep and commendable 
 interest in public affairs. Although still a young 
 man he has become a leader in political circles, and 
 m 1898 was elected representative to the State Legis- 
 lature on the Republican ticket over Louis E. Kilby 
 b} a majority of 137 — the largest majority given 
 any candidate for that office in the town of Ber- 
 lin, running ahead of his ticket thirty-seven votes. 
 He was drawn into politics by his friends, and not 
 only received the support of the Republicans, but 
 also that of his many friends in the Democratic 
 part}-. He was a member of the school committee 
 of District No. 2 for two years, and treasurer of the 
 same for one year, and on June 5, 1899, was elected 
 a member of the consolidated school committee. 
 All duties devolving upon him he has discharged 
 in a most commendable and satisfactory manner, 
 and he stands deservedly high in business, social 
 and political circles. Fraternalh', Mr. Payne is 
 a member of New Britain Council, No. 738, Royal 
 Arcanum : of Harmony Lodge, No. 20, F. & A. M., 
 of New Britain ; and of Pequot Council, No. 24, 
 O. U. A. M., of Berlin, Connecticut. 
 
 CHARLES BELL, an enterprising and thrift}' 
 agriculturist of the town of Glastonbury, is the 
 owner of a fine homestead, and has recently com- 
 pleted one of the most attractive residences in that 
 locality. His prosperity has been gained through 
 hard work and good management, and his career 
 furnishes an excellent example. 
 
 ^Ir. Bell is of German ancestry, and his father, 
 John Bell, a native of Baden, served in the German 
 army when a young man. In 1852 John Bell came 
 to America with his young bride, Hannah (Frye), 
 the vo}-age, which lasted forty days, making a 
 pleasant wedding trip. On arriving in New York 
 the serious question of gaining a livelihood con- 
 
 fronted him, as he had but five dollars in money, 
 and for some lime he worked at anytlnng he could 
 find to do. Learning that it was easier to secure 
 employment in the smaller towns, he came to Hart- 
 ford, by boat, and on the way chanced to meet a 
 Mr. Thurston, of Suffield, who was going to Flart- 
 ford to find help for his farm. A bargain was 
 quickly made, and the journey from Hartford to 
 Suffield was made in a dump cart which Air. Thurs- 
 ton had bought in Hartford. Mr. Bell and his wife 
 had with them their earthly belongings, the cart 
 holding them all, and they made their permanent 
 home at Suffield, managing to buy a small farm at 
 the Center. Mr. Bell worked some time for Mr. 
 Thurston at small wages, and for about twenty-five 
 years was employed as sexton of the Baptist and 
 Congregational Churches and the local cemetery. 
 He died in 1889, and his widow still resides in Suf- 
 field. Our subject is the eldest of a family of six 
 children, the others being: John F., who died in 
 early manhood; Lucy, who married John Welles, 
 of Athol, Mass.; Kate, who married John Merrill, 
 a farmer in Suffield; Hannah, who married (first) 
 Martin Stier, and ( second j Clarence Taylor, of 
 Suffield ; and George, who married Belle Adams, 
 and settled on a farm in Suffield. 
 
 Our subject was born in New York City Feb. 
 9, 1854, and attended the district schools of Suf- 
 field and the Connecticut Literary Institute. He as- 
 sisted in the work of the home farm until his mar- 
 riage, when he bought a small farm of his brother- 
 in-law, John Merrill. Two years later, seeing a 
 better opportunity in Glastonbury, he purchased 
 fifty acres of his present farm from his sister-in- 
 law, Mrs. Marie B. Geiger. He has made many 
 improvements, building barns and sheds, besides his 
 handsome residence, which was finished in 1898, 
 and from time to time he has enlarged the estate, 
 until it now contains sixty-two acres. In politics he 
 is a Democrat, although in local aft'airs he is liberal, 
 and for three years he served as selectman. He 
 belongs to Elm Lodge, No. 53, I. O. O. F., at Glas- 
 tonbury. For some years he had been a member of 
 the Baptist Church at Suffield, but at present he and 
 his family attend the Congregational Church at 
 Buckingham. Mr. Bell married Miss Mary Annie 
 Miller, and they have had four children : Clara, 
 born Dec. 16, 1878, died in 1899; Edwin C, born 
 Oct. 6, 18S0; Burton J., born May 25, 1882; and 
 Etta R., born Sept. 12, 1886. 
 
 IMrs. Bell, who has been an efficient aid to her 
 husband, was born March 26, 1859, in Wittenberg, 
 Germany, daughter of Samuel and Katherine 
 (Welch) Miller. Her father was a teamster in Ger- 
 many in early manhood, and as railroads did not 
 then exist he frequently made long trips into neigh- 
 boring countries. In 1864 he came to America, 
 landing at New York June 10, and located in Glas- 
 tonbury, Conn., where his sister-in-law, Mrs. Fred 
 Hutt, was living. After working for some time 
 in the soap factory of J. B. \\'illiams, and the tan- 
 
586 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 nery owned by Mr. Broadhead, he bought a farm 
 near our subject's present home, known as the "Jo- 
 seph Wickham" farm. He died there April ii, 
 1881. He was married in Germany in January, 
 1845, and his wife, who was born Feb. 9, 1823, died 
 in Glastonbury Feb. 19, 1889. Of their ten chil- 
 dren, (i) Maria Barbara, born Dec. 17, 1846, mar- 
 ried the late John Geoger, and resides in Water- 
 bury, Conn.; (2) John Ludwig, born Sept. 12, 1848, 
 married Katherine Burk, and settled in Williams- 
 burg, a farmer and coal dealer ; ( 3 ) Samuel died 
 in infancy; (4) John George, an engineer, married 
 Kate Singeley, and resides in Hartford; (5) Sam- 
 uel (2) died in infancy; (6) Samuel (3) married 
 Kate Crabbs, and settled in Waterbury (he is an en- 
 gineer by occupation) ; (7) Mrs. Bell was the next 
 in order of birth; (8) Elizabeth Katherine and (9) 
 Rose Margarette (twins) were bom July 24, 1861 
 (the former married David Fladd, of Glastonbury, 
 and the latter wedded Gustavus Rymarchzick, a de- 
 signer, in Boston) ; (10) Fredericka Christina, born 
 in Glastonbury in 1864, was the only child born in 
 America ; she married Frederick Schonhaar, of 
 Glastonbury. 
 
 LEROY M. COWLES. Without doubt our 
 readers, in tracing their ancestral lines to the point 
 where uncertain tradition brings their researches 
 to an early and unsatisfactory end, have realized 
 the value to future generations of this attempt to 
 preserve in substantial form the information still 
 obtainable. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, a prominent resi- 
 dent of New Britain, is more fortunate than some 
 in having a record of his family through nine gen- 
 erations previous to his own, reaching back to John 
 Cowles, a native of England, who came to Massa- 
 chusetts about 1635; removed to Hartford, Conn., 
 prior to 1639, and settled in Farmington, Conn., 
 in 1640. About 1663 he went to Hadley (now 
 Hatfield), Mass., where he died in 1675. He is 
 supposed to be the progenitor of all bearing that 
 name in America except the descendants, not nu- 
 merous, of three brothers, Thomas, John and 
 Henry Cowles, who came from England to James 
 City county, Va., about 1740. John Cowles was 
 one of the first settlers of Farmington, Conn. ; 
 deacon and pillar of the church; member of the 
 General Court or Legislature of Connecticut ; con- 
 stable and townsman, all offices of honor in those 
 days. He was also one of the first settlers of Had- 
 ley, Mass., and of Hatfield, Mass. His widow, 
 Hannah, died in Hartford in 1683. They had two 
 sons, Samuel and John (2), and five daughters, 
 all of whom married well and have worthy de- 
 scendants at the present time. John (2) accom- 
 panied his parents to Massachusetts, and became 
 the progenitor of the Massachusetts branch of the 
 family. 
 
 (II) Samuel Cowles, the head of the Connecti- 
 cut branch, was born in 1639, and died in 1691. He 
 
 remained in Farmington after the removal of the 
 rest of the family to Massachusetts. 
 
 (III) Timothy Cowles, the next in the line of 
 descent, was born in 1666, and died in 1736. 
 
 (IV) William Cowles, son of Timothy, was born 
 in 1691, and died in 1771. 
 
 (V) William Cowles, son of William (IV), 
 was born in 1728, and died in 1808. 
 
 (VI) John Cowles, our subject's great-great- 
 grandfather, was born in 1753, and died in 1821. 
 
 (VII) Anson Cowles, the great-grandfather of 
 our subject, was born in 1781. 
 
 (VIII) Romanta Covifles, our subject's grand- 
 father, was born in 1808 in East Hartford, and in 
 early manhood was engaged in farming there in 
 connection with the mason's trade. In 1840 he 
 removed to a farm in Glastonbury, but his skill 
 as a mason brought him a somewhat extensive 
 business in that line, and at one time he and his 
 three sons were employed in building the Colt's 
 Armory in Hartford. For more than sixty years 
 he read the Hartford Courant, and although he did 
 not care for office he took much interest in polit- 
 ical affairs, being a strong Republican. He was 
 a Congregationalist in religion, and was always 
 active in the work of the church. His death oc- 
 curred about 1888, and his wife, Cornelia Hills, 
 died about 1885. They had the following children: 
 Morris A. ; Erastus R., who died in November, 
 1898; Anson D. ; Sarah M., who married Frank 
 Mansur, of Brooklyn, N. Y. ; Mary C, wife of 
 Edward B. Hodge ; and Hattie, who died in child- 
 hood. The Hills family was prominent in East 
 Hartford, and Hillstown, where our subject's 
 grandmother was born, was named in their honor. 
 Cornelia Hills had two brothers (Osman, a resi- 
 dent of Hillstown, and Edwin) and three sisters 
 (Mrs. Bidwell, Mrs. Rathburn and Mrs. Spencer). 
 
 (IX) Morris Adair Cowles, our subject's fa- 
 ther, was born in 1831, at Hillstown, where he 
 remained until the age of eighteen, his education 
 being obtained in the common schools. By trade 
 he was a mason, and he had an extensive business 
 as a contractor. He was of robust physique, and 
 stood six feet two in his stockings, while mentally 
 he was no less forceful, his judgment being un- 
 usually sound and his strong will keeping him 
 "four square to every wind" that blows. Polit- 
 ically he was a Republican, and in religious faith 
 adhered to the Congregational Church, in which he 
 was reared under his mother's teachings. His 
 record as a soldier in the Civil war is an honorable 
 one, as he enlisted in 1861 in a Conn. V. I. regiment, 
 and was afterward transferred to the Harris Light 
 Cavalry ; he was mustered out as a sergeant in 
 1865. From the organization of Stanley Post, G. 
 A. R., at New Britain, he was an active member, 
 and as a citizen his public spirit was ever shown in 
 many ways. He died in November, 1899. Mr. 
 Cowles married Miss Mary Jane Richmond, by 
 whom he had three children : Leroy M., our subject; 
 
^' 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 587 
 
 Jameson B.,born in 1859, now ^ farmer and mechanic 
 in Southington ; and Bertha I., wife of Bert Loomis, 
 a farmer of near Wcstficld, Mass. The mother ot 
 this family was Ijorn in 1836, died in November, 
 188S. Her parents, Edmond and Lucinda (Bailey) 
 Richmond, were highly esteemed residents of Glas- 
 tonbury, where her father was engaged in business 
 as a blacksmith. The following children were born 
 to ICdmond and Lucinda Richmond : Edmond, a res- 
 ident of L-yme, Conn.; Edwin (twin of Edmond), 
 who died in East Hartford in November, 1898 ; An- 
 drew, who also died in November, 1898 ; Mary 
 Jane, our subject's mother; Francis; and Collins, a 
 veteran of the Civil war, who is in the Soldiers' 
 Home at Noroton, Connecticut. 
 
 (X) Leroy M. Cowles was born in Glastonbury 
 July 2, 1855, and was educated in the public schools 
 and the academy of that town, attending summer 
 and winter until he reached the age of sixteen. His 
 excellent memory enabled him to secure a thorough 
 knowledge of the branches taugnt, and since leaving 
 school he has given much attention to history and 
 current events. At seventeen he went to Hartford 
 and learned the trade of mason, working under his 
 father for Hiram Hills, on the Buckingham build- 
 ing. He served a three-years' apprenticeship, get- 
 ting one dollar per da}-, and paying his board, and at 
 the end of the first year he found himself $40 in 
 debt, the amount being taken out of his next year's 
 wages. After learning the trade he followed it as 
 journeyman in Hartford, and about 1881 he re- 
 moved to New Britain to take a position as foreman 
 for Cornelius E Hills. He had charge of the erec- 
 tion of the electric-light plant and other structures, 
 including the new depot, following his trade until 
 the fall of 189.3, and for a short time was with Mr. ' 
 Hills at the "Columbia Hotel." On June i, 1895, 
 he was appointed by Sheriff Edwin J. Smith, dep- 
 uty sherifif for Hartford county, for four years, the 
 duties of the office requiring his attention during 
 that time ; in June, 1899, he \vs.s re-appointed for 
 a similar term. For five years he has been a mem- 
 ber of the police force, and for twelve years has 
 been a member of the fire department, being at pres- 
 ent foreman of Engine Company No. 2. As a Re- 
 publican he has taken an active part in politics, and 
 at one time he served as constable of the town of 
 New Britain, while he is now chairman of the 
 Fourth ward town committee of New Britain. 
 For eight years he was drum-major of the New 
 Britain City Band (now the Philharmonic Band), 
 and socially he and his family are identified with a 
 refined circle. For fifteen years he has been a mem- 
 ber of the Order of United American Mechanics, 
 and he also belongs to the Order of Red Men, the 
 Knights of the Golden Eagle, and the Knights of 
 Pythias. 
 
 On July 4, 1875, ]Mr. Cowles married Miss Ma- 
 rion Victoria Sears, daughter of He nry Sears and 
 Nancy Sears, well-known residents of Glastonbury, 
 
 where her father was a foreman in a cotton-mill. 
 The only child of this union, Claude L., was born 
 in 1876, and died in 1884. 
 
 CPIARLES TREAT FORBES, an old-time 
 and highly respected farmer of Hockanum, is de- 
 scended from one of the oldest and most honored 
 families of the State, being a great-grandson of 
 Capt. Moses Forbes, a hero of the Revolutionary 
 war, who was the father of five daughters and one 
 son, the latter born in a house that stood immedi- 
 ately north of the present home of Charles T. 
 Forbes, the subject of this sketch. This son, Moses 
 Forbes, the grandfather of our subject, married 
 Elizabeth Goodwin, a native of Hartford, and to the 
 union were born seven children : Hart, born Oct. 
 21, 1789, married Heppy Hills, and died Oct. 13, 
 1816 (his son. Hart Hills Forbes, married Julia A. 
 Wright) ; Horace, born July 19, 1792, married, 
 and died Aug. 7, 1874; Orrin, father of our sub- 
 ject, born April 18, 1794, died April 5, 1868; 
 Elizabeth, born Dec. 11, 1797, was married to John 
 Nef¥, and died May 3, 1868; Mary was born June 
 27, 1800; Anna, born Jan. 13, 1803, died Oct. 8, 
 1808; and Irene, born April 9, 1805, died July 15, 
 1871. 
 
 Orrin Forbes was born in the house now owned 
 and occupied by his son, Charles T., and attended 
 school just north of his home. He was reared a 
 farmer, and Dec. 14, 181 5, he married Ruth Risley, 
 a native of East Hartford, and daughter of John 
 Risley. To this marriage was born one child, 
 Horace, who learned the tiimer's trade in Hartford, 
 and died Nov. 5, i860, in Northport, Canada. Mrs. 
 Ruth Forbes was called away Oct. 15, 1819, and 
 Mr. Forbes for his second wife wedded Miss Mary 
 Treat, daughter of Salmon Treat, and also a native 
 of East Hartford. This union was crowned with 
 seven children : Elizabeth R., born Dec. 17, 1822, 
 was married Jan. i, 1845, to George R. Curtis, of 
 the Curtis jNIanufacturing Co., of Naubuc, and died 
 Oct. 22, 1886; Jane M., born March 24, 1825, died 
 single, Sept. 9, 1886; ^Marshall Lee, born July 29, 
 1828, married Susan Hall, in Wallingford, and was 
 a plater with the Britannia Co., at ]NIeriden ; Edwin 
 Treat, born May 23, 1830, died in 1836; Julia A., 
 born June 24, 1832, is unmarried, and lives with 
 her youngest brother, Charles T. ; Henry S., born 
 Aug. 15, 1834, married Henrietta Burnham, of 
 Berlin, lived in Meriden, and there died March 20, 
 1894 (his wife passed away Nov. 9, 1886) ; Charles 
 Treat, our subject, and the youngest of these seven 
 children, was born Nov. 5, 1836. 
 
 Charles Treat Forbes was born on the north- 
 west corner of High street and Naubuc avenue, in 
 a house which stood near his present home. He 
 was educated in the common schools, and assisted 
 his father on the farm until the latter's death, whicli 
 occurred April 5, 1868, when he assumed charge of 
 the place, which comprises fifty acres, and which he 
 has successfully cultivated ever since, although he 
 
588 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 rents out a portion, as he is but in feeble health 
 and is himself unable to perform manual labor to 
 any great extent. 
 
 On Jan. ii, 1871, Mr. Forbes was married to 
 Miss Louisa Forbes, daughter of Leonard Forbes, 
 and to this union was born, Feb. 2, 1873, one child, 
 Louis Charles, who died on the 19th of September 
 following; the death of the mother took place 
 Feb. 27, 1873, and the remains of both are interred 
 in Hockanum. Mr. Forbes is a quiet, benevolent, 
 and refined gentleman, who enjoys the esteem of all 
 his neighbors. He is a deacon in the Congrega- 
 tional Church, having succeeded the late Franklin 
 Brewer, and in politics is a Republican. 
 
 THEODORE ALEXANDER STANLEY. 
 The science of agriculture has made great progress 
 in modern times, revolutionizing methods and in- 
 creasing vastly the productive power of our lands. 
 Among the able and talented young men who have 
 chosen agriculture as a pursuit and made a thorough 
 study of its possibilities is the subject of this sketch, 
 a prominent resident of the town of New Britain, 
 and his fine estate is a model of scientific manage- 
 ment, his homestead being regarded as one of the 
 best in Hartford county. 
 
 Mr. Stanley is a representative of one of the 
 oldest and most distinguished families of this 
 county, and is of the tenth generation in direct de- 
 scent from John Stanley, an Englishman, who 
 started for America in 1634, but died while at sea, 
 leaving an estate in goods and money amounting 
 to £116. The name of the wife of this ancestor is 
 not known. They had three children : John ; Ruth, 
 born in 1629, who married Isaac More ; and an in- 
 fant, unnamed, who was born and died in 1634. 
 
 (H) Captain John Stanley, the next in the line of 
 descent, was born in England in 1624, and on his 
 arrival in Massachusetts became a ward of the 
 Court in Cambridge. He was placed in the care of 
 an uncle, with whom he doubtless remained until 
 of age, and in 1636 they came to Hartford. As a 
 boy of thirteen he joined the next year in the expe- 
 dition against the Pequot Indians. On Dec. 5, 
 1645, he married Sarah, daughter of Thomas and 
 Anna Scott, of Hartford, and later they settled in 
 Farmington, where they were received into the 
 church June 30, 1652-53. Subsequently, when the 
 families were graded according to dignity, they 
 ranked fourth on the list of forty families, Caot. 
 Stanley, one of the most distinguished of the Cofo- 
 nists, being appointed by his townsmen to nearly 
 every office of trust and honor. He was deputy of the 
 General Court almost continuously for 37 years, 
 from 1659 to 1696, this being with few exceptions 
 the longest term of service known in the annals of 
 the State. In King Philip's war he was a lieuten- 
 a»t and captain, from which he derived his title of 
 Capt. Stanley. Fie was a constable in Farmin:;-- 
 ton in 1654: sergeant in 1669; ensign in 1674; cap- 
 tain in 1676; received a grant of 120 acres of land 
 
 from the General Court in 1674, and another in 1687 ; 
 was one of the committee on Indian Troubles in 
 1689; etc. His first wife died on June 6, 1661, and 
 he was married April 20, 1663, to Sarah Hodder 
 ( Stoddard _), who died May 15, 1713. Capt. Stanley 
 died Dec. 19, 1706, aged eighty-two years. By 
 his first marriage he had six children : John, born 
 Nov. 4, 1647, married Esther Newell ; Thomas is 
 mentioned below; Sarah, born Feb. 18, 1651-52, 
 married Joseph Gaylord; Timothy, born May 
 17, 1654, married Mary Strong; Elizabeth, born 
 April I, 1657, died in infancy; Isaac was born 
 Sept. 22, 1660. By his second wife he had two 
 children : Abigail, born July 25, 1669, married John 
 Hooker; Elizabeth, born Nov. 28, 1672, married 
 John Wadsworth. 
 
 (III) Thomas Stanley, son of Capt. John, was 
 born in Farmington, Nov. i, 1649. -H^ was one of 
 the petitioners of the General Court for liberty to 
 plat Waterbury, but did not remove thither. On 
 May I, 1690, he married Anna, the daughter of 
 Rev. Jeremiah and Joanna (Kitchell) Peck, of 
 Waterbury, and with his wife was received into the 
 church at Farmington, April 17, 1692. He died 
 April 14, 1 71 3, aged sixty-three years, and his wife 
 passed away May 13, 1718. They had two children : 
 Thomas, the next in line of descent ; and Anna, 
 born May 14, 1699, who married Thomas Hart. 
 
 (IV) Thomas Stanley was born Oct. 31, 1696, 
 in Farmington, and made his permanent home in 
 the Stanley Quarter, New Britain. He was a 
 wealthy man for his time, and at his death, which 
 occurred Oct. 13, 1755, he left a large estate. On 
 Jan. 2, 1718, he married Esther Cowles, daughter 
 of Samuel Cowles, of Kensington, and she sur- 
 vived him many years, dying July 22, 1776. They 
 had the following children : Anna, born Oct. 30, 
 1718, died Nov. 6, 1732; Thomas, born Nov. 27, 
 1720; Noah, born Jan. 16, 1724; Ruth, born July 
 8, 1726, died Aug. 3, 1726; Timothy, born Aug. 13, 
 1727; Abigail, born March 7, 1730; Job, born Aug. 
 4, 1732; Gad, born March 21, 1735. Of these eight 
 children, Timothy was born Aug. 13, 1727, and was 
 married May 5, 1757, to Lydia, daughter of Capt. 
 John and Elizabeth (Hawley) Newell, of Farming- 
 ton. She was noted for her energy and piety, and 
 lived to the age of eighty-nine years, dying Dec. 
 17, 1826. Timothy Stanley v^^as a shoemaker by 
 trade ; his house, which stood opposite the home 
 of his father in the north part of Stanley street, on 
 the east side of the road, was subsequently occupied 
 by his son Oliver. He was elected deacon in 1795, 
 and in his last years, being somewhat deaf, he al- 
 ways stood in the pulpit in order to hear the sermon 
 better. He lived to be nearly ninety years old. 
 Flis children were Oliver, born July 5, 1758, died 
 Aug. 3, 1759; Rachel, born March 20, 1761 ; Lydia, 
 bom April 26, 1763; Abi, born Aug. 9, 1765; 
 Timothy, born June 29, 1771 ; Oliver, born May i, 
 1775; Jesse, born Oct. 26, 1779. 
 
 (V) Thomas Stanley (2), son of Thomas (IV), 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 589 
 
 was born in Farmington Nov. 27, 1720. On May 
 22, 1740, he married Alary J'"rancis, daughter of 
 James Francis, who married Sarah Gridley, then a 
 widow. Uf their six children, Job, burn May I, 
 1741, died in infancy; Anna, born Aug. 8, 1742, 
 married Uzeas Grisvvold; Lucy, born July 14, 1744, 
 married Dan Clark; James, born Feb. 14, 1749, 
 married J\iary Butler; Lot is mentioned more fully 
 below; Thomas, born Sept. 27, 1702, married (first j 
 Anna Ford and (second) JMixanda Nott. 
 
 (\'l) Lot Stanley was born j\iarch 3, 1752, and 
 died March 8, 1807. tie was one of the first in 
 Connecticut to manufacture fur hats, and for many 
 years he carried on the business successfully. His 
 wife, Rhoda Wadsworth, daughter of Timothy and 
 Mary (Cowlesj Wadsworth, of Farmington, was 
 born Sept. 22, 1754, and died May 13, 1819. Their 
 children were: Ira, born Oct. 12, 1773, married Abi 
 Langdon; Ursula, born Jan. 24, 177O, married John 
 Judd ; Anion is mentioned below ; Sally, born April 
 15, 1780, married Samuel Sheldon; Lucy, born July 
 
 11, 1782, married William Kelsey; Rhoda, born 
 July 28, 1783, never married; Lot, born Jan. 3, 
 1785, died Feb. 8, 1791 ; Almira, born Dec. 3, 1786, 
 married Ansel Stocking; James, born July i, 1789, 
 died November, 1789; Polly, born Feb. 13, 1791, 
 married Ezra Carter; Dolly, born November, 1792, 
 died June, 1793; Dolly, born Feb. 15, 1794, married 
 Francis Hart; Lot, born Dec. 6, 1795, never married; 
 Martha, born Sept. 22, 1797, was killed in a cider- 
 mill Sept. 8, 1803. 
 
 (VH) Amon Stanley, our subject's great-grand- 
 father, was born March 10, 1778, and died Feb. 2, 
 1846. On October 10, 1802, he married Abi North, 
 daughter of Capt. James and Rhoda (Judd) North. 
 The following children were born to them : Julia, 
 born Dec. 24, 1803, did not marry; Thomas, born 
 Sept. 22, 1805, married twice; tienry is mentioned 
 below; James, born Oct. 22, 1809, died in infancy; 
 James, born March 31, 1813, married three times; 
 Augustus, born April 11, 1814, married Alvira A. 
 Conklin; Timothy Wadsworth, born July 13, 181 — , 
 married twice ; Lot, born July 8, 1820, died Nov. 
 
 12, 1839; Martha, born Aug. 11, 1822, married Au- 
 gustus W. North ; Amelia, born Jan. i, 1825, married 
 Henry Walter; Mary Antoniette, born Sept. 22, 
 1828, died May 16, 1838. As a young man Amon 
 Stanlev engaged in the manufacture of fur hats in 
 partnership with his father, and at the death of the 
 latter assumed charge of the business. He em- 
 ployed several hands, and every winter made one or 
 more journeys to what was then "the West," em- 
 bracing central and western New York. He was 
 accustomed to take with him a load of hats which he 
 would exchange for beaver and other furs that were 
 then plentiful in all that region. There was also 
 something of a home market, but as the bodies of 
 the hats were made of beaver fur, well felted to- 
 gether, they lasted a lifetime. It needed, therefore, 
 a large territory to make a sufficient market for the 
 goods. An old-fashioned felt-crowned hat would 
 
 astonish the boys of the present generation. Amon 
 Stanley bought out his faiher's homestead and farm 
 from tiie other heirs, and, there being fourteen of 
 the children, his own portion was so small that it 
 was nearly the same as bu_\ing a new farm. The 
 price he paid fur it was high. For one piece of 
 twelve acres, which he bought from his brother Lot, 
 he paid twelve hundred dollars. At the present 
 time it would not bring five hundred. He also car- 
 ried un the business ol distilling eider-brand)', hav- 
 ing large orchards uf apples which were worth little 
 for any other purpose. The business was then per- 
 fectly respectable. His wife, however, a sister of 
 the brothers, James Seth, Alvin and Henry North, 
 had many scruples about 'it being right. At length 
 she went to her minister, Rev. Newton Skinner, 
 one of the most godly men of his time, for advice. 
 "Why, madam," said he, "it is a lawful calling." 
 He, like many of that day, was also a farmer, and 
 brought his cider to the distillery to exchange for 
 brandy, which he furnished to his men in haying 
 time. But JNIrs. Stanley was not satisfied ; the matter 
 still agitated her conscience. At length her hus- 
 band came to the conclusion that she was right, and 
 sold the distillery, and there was great joy in the 
 family. But his peace was of short continuance. 
 He had never allowed any idlers about the place, 
 selling the liquor only at wholesale to the merchants 
 in Hartford and New York, while the new-comers 
 were drinking men, and the distillery became the 
 resort of all the low characters in the neighborhood. 
 The conscience of the family was disturbed again, 
 and they all came to the conclusion to buy back the 
 property. The owner was willing to sell at an ad- 
 vance on the price he gave for it, making it a con- 
 dition, however, that Mr. Stanley would exchange 
 for it, in part, a valuable piece of woodland, which 
 was the apple of his eye, as all woodland was to the 
 farmers of those days. The hard condition was ac- 
 cepted and the distillery was his own again. The 
 concern was at once broken up. The great cider- 
 tubs were sold for water cisterns ; the copper stills 
 were loaded on ox-carts, and all the cattle and steers 
 of the farm drew them in triumph to the brass fac- 
 tory of North & Stanley, in the village. The boys 
 who were at home assisted in driving the team, and 
 on reaching the factory waited till the stills were 
 cut up, preparatory to be cast into sleigh-bells and 
 other useful articles. It was a triumph of principle 
 over both education and interest, worthy to be re- 
 corded on a monument "more lasting than brass." 
 
 (VIII) Henry Stanley, our subject's grand- 
 father, and the third child of Amon Stanley, was born 
 Sept. 24, 1807, and died May 3, 1884. At an early 
 age he left the farm to engage in business, and before 
 he reached his majority he was a partner with Alvin 
 North in the manufacture of plated goods. After 
 two years he engaged in business with Seth J. 
 North and John Stanley, the firm continuing many 
 years under the names of North, Stanley & Co., 
 North, Smith & Stanley, and Henry Stanley & Co. ; 
 
590 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the latter, composed of three brothers, Henry, Au- 
 gustus and Timothy W., was merged into the Rus- 
 sell & Erwin Manufacturing Co., in which Henr_v 
 Stanley was a large stockholder, and served as a 
 director until his death. He and C. H. Seymour 
 were the founders of the New Britain Knitting- 
 Co., of which for four years he was president and 
 manager. He was one of the chief founders of the 
 American Hosiery Co., and its president, as he also 
 was of the Stanley Rule & Level Co., and of the 
 Stanley Works. After the death of F. T. Stanley, 
 of the Willimantic Linen Co., he became a leading 
 stockholder and director, and was also identified with 
 other manufacturing concerns. His character was 
 especially distinguished by an unquestioned integ- 
 rity, and an admirable calmness and poise which en- 
 abled him to pass through the financial crises of his 
 long business career without being discouraged by 
 reverses or unduly elated by success, illustrating in 
 his life the truth of the old adage, "All things are 
 possible to him who waits." In manner he was 
 genial though somewhat reticent, while he had a 
 marked appreciation for all that was beautiful in 
 nature and art. An illustration of this may be 
 seen in the fine mansion erected by him on South 
 Main street a few years before his death, with the 
 handsome grounds attached. Of his ample wealth 
 he gave liberally and judiciously to philanthropic, 
 educational and religious objects, and he spent 
 money freely to promote the material interests of 
 his native town. In centennial year, 1876, he set out 
 one hundred shade trees in Walnut Hill Park, ex- 
 tending from West Main along the driveway to 
 near the summit of the hill. Through his life he 
 was deeply interested in politics, maintaining ever 
 the interest and honor of his country as a patriotic 
 citizen. He united with the church in youth, and 
 upon the separation of the South Church, in 1842, 
 was one of the first members. 
 
 On June 10, 1829, Mr. Stanley married Miss 
 Eliza S. North, daughter of Seth J. and Elizabeth 
 North. After her death he married, on Sept. 5, 
 1838, Miss Catherine A. Stanley, daughter of Gad 
 and Chloe Stanley. By his first marriage he had 
 two sons: Walter Henry, our subject's father; 
 and Theodore Augustus, born July 22, 1833. The 
 latter was a soldier in the Civil war, serving as 
 second lieutenant in Company F, 14th Conn. V. I. 
 In the absence of his captain he bravely led his com- 
 pany in the battle of Fredericksburg, Va., where 
 he was mortally wounded. He died Dec. 31, 1862, 
 at Washington, D. C, and was buried in New 
 Britain with military honors, Jan. 5, 1863. By the 
 second marriage there were four children : Mary 
 Louisa, born May 8, 1840, died Sept. 9, 1840 ; Louisa 
 Catherine,, born April 7, 1842, died March 26, 1847 '' 
 Frederick North, born March 17, 1844, married 
 (first) Mary Welch, (second) Alice Moore, and died 
 Sept. 28, 1900. Miss Catherine Amelia, born Oct. 
 10, 1849, resides at the family residence on South 
 Main street. New Britain. Mrs. Catherine A. 
 
 Stanley was during most of her life in delicate 
 health, but her mental activity, devotion to her 
 family, and unselfish interest in all who needed her 
 sympathy and help, more than compensated for her 
 physical weakness. As a wife and mother, and in 
 all the relations of life, she possessed the confidence 
 and love not only of her family, but of many who 
 enjoying the hospitality of their pleasant home. She 
 died in November, 1881, aged seventy years. ^ 
 
 (IX) Walter Henry Stanley, the father of our ^ 
 subject, was born June 25, 1830, and is now a 
 leading dairy farmer of New Britain, also has large 
 investments in the manufacturing interests of that 
 locality. On Sept. 7, 1853, ^^ married Miss Mary a 
 J. Peck, daughter of Elnathan and Mary (Dewey) fl 
 Peck. They have had eight childern; William 
 North, born March 4, 1855, died Feb. 12, 1857; 
 Albert Walter, born June 21, 1857; Herbert Au- 
 gustus, born Jan. 21, i860, died Feb. i, 1883 ; Isabel, 
 born Jan. 19, 1862 ; Theodore Alexander, our sub- 
 ject; Robert Henry, born May i, 1869; Mortimer 
 Dewey, born April 2^, 1871, and Walter Peck, born 
 Jan. 18, 1874. 
 
 (X) Theodore A. Stanley was born March 18, 
 1864, in New Britain, and the first school that he 
 remembers was a private school conducted by Miss 
 Mary Porter, in a barn belonging to Charles Lewis. 
 Later Miss Porter built a small school house on 
 Pine street, where he attended until prepared to 
 enter the second class in the Burritt school. He 
 passed through the upper grades of the grammar 
 schools, and took the high-school course under Prof. 
 John H. Peck, graduating in 1883. In the fall of 
 the same year he entered the Sophomore year of the 
 Agricultural College at Lansing, Mich., where he 
 remained three years, graduating in 1886. To the 
 sound and thorough instruction received in this in- 
 stitution may be attributed much of his success in the 
 management of his farm, but he has never ceased to 
 be an ardent investigator in his line of work, testing 
 and applying new theories that arise, and adopting 
 all ideas of value. In the winter of 1893-94 he 
 spent three months in Madison University, study- 
 ing dairy bacteriology and hygiene, and the prod- 
 uct of his admirably conducted dairy finds ready 
 sale in New Britain. On leaving the Agricultural 
 College, in 1886, he returned home, and in the fol- 
 lowing year took charge of 132 acres of the old 
 Stanley 'farm. This was not in compact form, and 
 after a time he sold a portion and bought other land 
 adjoining that retained. His present homestead 
 comprises 130 acres, and his purchase of the Gustave 
 Ellis farm and the Daniel Webster property, near 
 Berlin, brings his real estate holdings to about 500 
 acres. Sixteeen men are employed by him the year 
 round, his dairy of 120 cows requiring constant \ 
 attention. He is a member of the State Dairymen's \ 
 Association, and also belongs to the Burritt Grange, 
 his exhibits and scholarly and thoughtful addresses 
 at the regular meetings of both societies being heart- 
 ily appreciated by his fellow workers. Mr. Stanley 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 591 
 
 manages to find time for varied interests, and is 
 fond of photograijhy, in which he became proficient 
 while in the .Agricultural College. 
 
 l'"or some years Mr. Stanley was a member of 
 Company I, ist Conn. N. G., enlisting at the time of 
 the reorganization, and serving as lieutenant and 
 first lieutenant until his resignation, in November, 
 1894. In politics he has always been a Republican, 
 and in 1893 and 1894 he served as councilman from 
 the Second ward of New Britain. From June, 1894, 
 to June, 1896, he served on the board of assessors, 
 and in 1898 he was on the board of relief. Socially 
 he and his family are prominent, and he belongs to 
 the Royal Arcanum at New Britain. 
 
 In 1888 Mr. Stanley married Miss Sadie Mc- 
 Louth, daughter of Prof. Lewis McLouth, formerly 
 connected with the Agricultural College of Michi- 
 gan and the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, 
 Mich., and now the head of the scientific department 
 of Brisbane Walker's Cosmopolitan University. 
 Five children brighten his liome : Lawrence, Theo- 
 dore, JMarion, Catherine and Alexander. 
 
 CFL\RLES SYBASTIEN LILGEY, one of the 
 most intelligent, thrifty and successful agricultur- 
 ists of Berlin, was born in Loraine, in Haraucourt 
 (Meurthe), France, March 13, 1836, a son of Charles 
 and ]Mary (Caron) Liegey, also natives of that 
 province, the former born in 181 1 in Buissoncourt, 
 the latter in 1812 in Haraucourt. Both died in 
 France. They had a family of eight children, four 
 sons and four daughters. The father waj a farmer 
 and wine-maker, in medium circumstances. 
 
 Our subject was reared upon a farm, and began 
 his education in the common schools of his native 
 land, but later attended a normal school, from 
 which he graduated in 1856 with the highest honors, 
 receiving a first degree diploma. Subsequently he 
 successfully engaged in teaching in the public 
 schools of France for seventeen years, and then 
 taught mathematics and history in a private college 
 for two years. Deciding to try his fortune in the 
 New World, he sailed from Antwerp Aug. 16, 
 1874, and landed in New York on Sept. i. He came 
 direct to New Britain, Conn., and entered the em- 
 ploy of Landers, Frary & Clark, as polisher, remain- 
 ing with them for about seventeen years. Resign- 
 ing his position in 1891, he removed to Berlin, and 
 purchased from Samuel Talmadge thirty-five acres 
 of land upon which he has made a number of sub- 
 stantial improvements, building new barns, out- 
 buildings, cellars, etc. He has also set out 2,500 
 fruit trees, and has a fine vinevard coverinsr six acres, 
 the grapes from which he manufactures into an ex- 
 cellent quality of wine. He has improved this also, 
 and has 2,500 seedlings, of different varieties, all 
 good bearers. In 1898 he made 3,000 gallons of 
 wine, though part of the vines were young, selling 
 mostly to private families in the surrounding towns. 
 
 Mr. Liegey was married. May 8, 1861, to Aliss 
 Leonie Gouthierc, who was born in 1839 in Jean- 
 
 delaincourt. Before leaving France two children 
 were born to them : Ciiarles Abel, born Aug. 6, 
 18O2, died iVug. 28, 189O, in I'Vance ; he was a fine 
 scholar, graduating in New Britain in 1879. Leon 
 Francois, born April 10, 1808, in Sivry, Meurthe, 
 France, wedded Mary Kennedy, of New Britain, 
 Conn., who was born in February, 1868, in Ireland, 
 parish of Broad ford. County Clare, and they have 
 two children — Ellen, born June 21, 1897; and 
 Martine \ irginia, born Aug. 21, 1898. This son 
 began his education before leaving France. In 
 May, 1875, at the age of seven years, he sailed from 
 Antwerp, and arrived in New York the latter part 
 of that month. He resumed his studies in New 
 Britain, Conn., and remained in school until thir- 
 teen years of age, when he entered the shop with 
 his father and worked as a polislier until the spring 
 of 1898. He now has charge of his father's prop- 
 erty in New Britain, and also looks after his own 
 real-estate interests. He is a member of Court 
 Prosperity, Independent Order of Forresters of 
 America, at New Britain, and he and his wife are 
 consistent members and liberal su]:)porters of St. 
 Mary's Catholic Church of that place. In politics 
 he is independent. 
 
 Our subject was naturalized at New Britain, in 
 1880, but has never become identified with any po- 
 litical party, endeavoring to vote for the best man, 
 whether he be a Republican or Democrat. In 
 France he was a Republican. He has always re- 
 fused office, preferring to devote his undivided at- 
 tention to his business interests. He has never had 
 occasion to regret his emigration to America, for 
 here he has prospered and has made many friends, 
 who esteem him highly for his sterling worth. His 
 vineyard is one of the finest in the State, and he 
 manufactures a wine of superior quality. He is 
 a member of St. Paul's Catholic Church of Ken- 
 sington, and he also belongs to the Pomological 
 Societv of Connectictit, to Berlin Grange, and to 
 the Board of Trade of Berlin. His wife has been 
 an invalid for twenty years. 
 
 FREDERICK SPLETTSTOESZER. This 
 gentleman worthily illustrates the conmionly ac- 
 cepted view of the character of the enterprising 
 German citizen, who has come to this country 
 empty-handed, and through his own well-directed 
 eftorts has secured a comfortable competence. He 
 now makes his home in Berlin, Hartford county, 
 and is successfully engaged in farming. 
 
 Our subject was born in Germany March 11, 
 1 84 1, and is a son of John Splettstoeszer, also a 
 farmer by occupation, who was born Feb. 3, 1803. 
 and spent his entire life in that country. The 
 mother, who bore the maiden name of Louise Sedoe, 
 was also born in Germany, in 1812, and died there. 
 Our subject was reared upon his father's farm, and 
 attended the public schools of his native land until 
 fourteen years of age. The following year he had 
 charge of the cows upon his grandmother's place. 
 
592 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and on his return home worked as a teamster for 
 his father. Later he was employed as a striker in 
 a brickyard where the bricks were made by hand, 
 and after remaining there ten years he took charge 
 of the place and engaged in the manufacture of 
 brick on his own account for five years. 
 
 On July 6, 1884, Mr. Splettstoeszer sailed from 
 Hamburg for the United States, and arrived in 
 New York City on the 20th of that month. He 
 came direct to Berlin, Hartford Co., Conn., and 
 found employment in the brickyard of M. E. Jacobs, 
 where he remained for five years. At the end of 
 that time he purchased the Norris Bailey farm, of 
 forty-five acres in Berlin, and has since engaged m 
 agricultural pursuits with good success, raising po- 
 tatoes, corn, rye, oats, etc. 
 
 Mr. Splettstoeszer was married, March 27, 1873, 
 to Miss Ernestina Hideman, also a native of Ger- 
 many, and to them were born three children: (i) 
 Eda Anna, born Jan. 5, 1874, is the wife of Alfred 
 Turner, an employe in the William L. Davis brick- 
 yard, of Berlin, and they have one child, Albert 
 Frederick, born May 3, 1898. (2) Herman Ernest, 
 born Jan. 17, 1878, and (3) Emma Elizabeth, born 
 May 3, 1881, have been educated in the schools of 
 Berlin, and are at home with their parents. The 
 family attend the Congregational Church, of which 
 the children are members, and since taking out his 
 naturalization papers, in 1891, Mr. Splettstoeszer 
 has affiliated with the Democratic party, though he 
 finds little time to devote to politics aside from 
 voting. 
 
 REV. CHARLES P. CROFT, now a retired min- 
 ister of the Congregational Church, is a resident of 
 Weatogue, Simsbury. Ill health has temporarily, at 
 least, compelled a cessation of steady pastoral work, 
 but has not checked the usefulness of a man, whose 
 forceful utterances, winning ways and kindly sym- 
 pathy make him friends wherever he is known. 
 
 The ancestry of Rev. Mr. Croft is of that sturdy 
 German stock which more than a century ago, and 
 in Colonial times, peopled the fertile valleys of 
 Pennsylvania with a thrifty race. James Croft, the 
 great-grandfather of our subject, was a native of 
 the north of Germany, in whom dwelt a spirit of 
 liberty and achievement. Prior to the Revolution- 
 ary war he crossed the ocean, and in the struggling 
 colonies found the proper sphere for the develop- 
 ment of his manhood. When independence was de- 
 clared he bore arms for his adopted country. For 
 three years he was a member of the New York 
 militia, serving from April 10, 1778, to April 10, 
 1 78 1, as a corporal, under Capt. Jonathan Hallett 
 and Col. Philip Cortlandt. When hostilities ceased 
 he returned to the peaceful industry of farm life. 
 His son, John Croft, grandfather of our subject, 
 was a lifelong resident of Putnam Valley, in Put- 
 nam county, N. Y. He followed farming, and be- 
 came an extensive land owner, living to a ripe old 
 age, and passing to his eternal rest amidst the scenes 
 
 of his picturesque home among the hills of the Em- 
 pire State. 
 
 There, in Putnam county, was born Matthias 
 Croft, the father of our subject, in the year 1809. 
 He adopted the vocation of his father and his grand- 
 father, and became a prosperous and successful 
 farmer and merchant of Putnam Valley. In poli- 
 tics he was a Whig and later a Republican. Ac- 
 cepting the religious faith of the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church, he for over fifty years held office in that 
 church, and was one of the stanchest and most con- 
 sistent member of the congregation. He married 
 in Putnam county, Maria Chapman, a native of the 
 same county, and she bore him seven children: 
 Mary Jane, widow of Reuben Smith, a carpet mer- 
 chant of New York City; Harriet, who married 
 Theodore Travis, of Putnam county; William H., 
 a merchant of Peekskill, N. Y. ; Charles P., subject 
 of this sketch; Hannah, wife of Robert Strong; 
 Silas C, surveyor of the port of New York; and 
 trancis D., a carpet merchant of New York City. 
 The mother died in 1883, in the faith which had been 
 her consolation through life and the guide of a noble 
 and consistent endeavor. After the death of his 
 wife Matthias Croft, in 1884, retired from active 
 life and spent his declining years at Peekskill, N. 
 Y., where he died in 1899, at the ripe age of ninety 
 years. 
 
 Rev. Charles P. Croft was born in Putnam Val- 
 ley, Putnam Co. N. Y. After a course in the pub- 
 lic schools, he attended the military academy at 
 Peekskill, N. Y., Charlotteville Seminary, Charlotte- 
 ville, N. Y., and Wesleyan University, iVIiddletown, 
 Conn., from which institution he was graduated in 
 1869; the same year he was called to serve the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church of Simsbury, Conn. 
 Here he remained three years. In 1872 he became a 
 minister of the Congregational Church, and was 
 ordained at Avon, Conn. He was pastor success- 
 ively to congregations at Torrington, Watertown 
 and at Terre Haute, Ind. At the latter charge his 
 health failed. He resigned the pastorate, and re- 
 turned in 1884 to Weatogue, Simsbury, where he is 
 now living a retired life. Frequent calls, however, 
 are made upon him as a supply, and that work is 
 making the retirement in which he lives more nom- 
 inal than real. Rev. Mr. Croft possesses fine liter- 
 ary taste and ability, and as a pulpit orator he is 
 eloquent and convincing. 
 
 In politics Rev. Mr. Croft is a Republican. He 
 is a member of the F. & A. M., and his many estima- 
 ble personal traits have woven the bonds of friend- 
 ship and good-will among all classes of men. He 
 married at Simsbury, in 1872, Julia Mather, daugh- 
 ter of Col. William and Emma (Phelps) Mather, 
 and granddaughter of Deacon William and Anna 
 (Lewis) Mather, of Simsbury. 
 
 LEVERETT AUSTIN SANFORD, one of 
 Bristol's most skilled machinists, was born in that 
 town Oct. 17, 1837, and is a son of David Austin 
 

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 593 
 
 Sanford, a short sketch of wliose life is here intro- 
 duced to show the family connection. 
 
 David A. Sanford was liorn Dec. 5, 1810. a son 
 of David and E.\])eriencc (McKee) Sanford, was 
 reared a farmer, and came from his native town of 
 Plymouth, Conn., to Bristol, when a young man of 
 twenty years. Here he was employed as an exca- 
 vating contractor until 1845, when he went to Wol- 
 cott and purchased a farm, on which he passed the 
 remainder of his life. In politics he was a Demo- 
 crat, served on the grand jury in \\ olcott, and also 
 at different times tilled several town offices. He was 
 three times marrietl, first to Julia Norton, a daughter 
 of Mark Norton, of Bristol, and to this union were 
 born two children: Jerushia, born April, 1834, mar- 
 ried Andrew Bartrom, of Berlin, and died about 
 i860; Theron Andrews, born Jan. 23, 1836, .lost 
 his mother when he was but nnie days old (he is 
 now a farmer in Wolcott). The second marriage 
 of Mr. Sanford was to Lois Susannah Norton, 
 daughter of Aaron Norton, also of Bristol, and to 
 this union were born three children : Leverett A., 
 the subject of this sketch; Rufus Albert, of whom 
 a full biography is given elsewhere ; and Cora Ann, 
 born June 2j, 1846, died Feb. 18, 1895, '^l'"^ wife of 
 George Atkins, of the Bristol ^lanufacturing Co. 
 The third wife of !Mr. Sanford had no issue. Mr. 
 Sanford was called away June 21, 1882, dying in 
 the faith of the Congregational Church. 
 
 Leverett Austin Sanford was but eight years of 
 age when his parents moved from Bristol to Wol- 
 cott, and in the latter place he attended the common 
 schools until fourteen years old. He then worked 
 in the Eagle Lock shop at Terryville for two years ; 
 the next two years he passed in Bristol, where he 
 was employed in E. L. Dunbar's spring factory ; 
 thence he went to Southington, learned the machin- 
 ist's trade with Peck, Smith & Co., with whom he 
 remained eight years, and next worked for a year 
 in Sharp's rifle factory, in Hartford. Returning to 
 Southington, he again worked for Peck. Smith & 
 Co. two years, and in 1865 came again to his native 
 Bristol, and was in the employ of Edward B. Dun- 
 bar as superintendent and tool-maker until 1888, 
 when he resigned and started his present machine 
 and tool-making shop. 
 
 Mr. Sanford is a Democrat, but favors the gold 
 standard ; he is a director in the Bristol Savings 
 Bank, and in 1888 had charge for a year of the erec- 
 tion of George W. Mitchell's residence, on Bellevue 
 street ; in 1873 he built his own fine dwelling at 
 South and L'nion streets. In religion ]\Ir. Sanford 
 is a Congregationalist, and his wife is of the same 
 persuasion. 
 
 Leverett A. Sanford first married, Oct. 17, 
 i860, Mary Emily Atkins, daughter of Levi At- 
 kins, of \^'olcott, and she bore him one son, Levereti 
 Arthur, born July 3, 1863. On July 3, 1878, Mr. 
 Sanford married Miss Julia Lucinda Dunbar, who 
 was born April 18, 1849, ^ daughter of Edward L. 
 Dunbar, of Bristol. 
 
 36 
 
 Leverett Arthur Sanford, son of Leverett Austin 
 and Mary Emily Sanford, was married April 24, 
 1884, to rillie Lawson, of Bristol, wlio died Aug. 
 21), 1887, the mother of two children, Howard b. 
 and Julia D. On Jan. j^, i88y, Mr. Sanford mar- 
 ried Miss tjlive b'isli, of Bristol, and to this marriage 
 have been born four children, Robert, Mildred, 
 Ruth, and Dorothy. Leverett A. Sanford, Jr., has 
 been connected with the Dunbar factory for eighteen 
 years, and now fills his father's place as foreman, 
 master mechanic and tool-maker. 
 
 LEWIS D. DOW'D, one of the most ]jrogressive 
 and enterprising citizens of the town of Canton, 
 is a successful agriculturist and dairyman, and for 
 several years past has i^ecn superintendent of poor 
 of the town of Canton and the town of Winchester, 
 Litchfield county. He is widely and favorably 
 known, and as a self-made man his life has mani- 
 fested in a marked degree the qualities that com- 
 mand respect. 
 
 Mr. Dowd was born April 14, 1861, in Winsted, 
 Litchfield county, son of Henry Dowd, and grand- 
 son of Chester Dowd. Henry Dowd. our subject's 
 father, was a native of the town of Barkhamsted, 
 Litchfield county, where he received a district-school 
 education in bovhood. As a young man he removed 
 to Winsted, and engaged in business as a dealer 
 in sewing machines and musical instruments, in- 
 cluding pianos and organs. This business he con- 
 tinued for many years, showing marked ability in 
 its management, and by his honorable dealings won 
 the confidence of all who knew him. In his re- 
 ligious views he was liberal, and politically he 
 affiliated with the Democratic party, although he in- 
 variablv declined to accept any office, however im- 
 portant. He died in 1874, his remains being interred 
 at Winsted. While his genial disposition won 
 for him manv friends, it was in the home circle that 
 his admirable qualities of character shone most 
 brightly. He married Amelia Stevens, a native of 
 Stafl^ord Springs, Conn., who was a daughter of 
 John Stevens, of Staflford Springs, and later of 
 Winsted. She still resides in Winsted, and is a 
 respected member of the Congregational Church in 
 that town. Two children were born of this union: 
 Lewis D., our subject; and Louisa, who married 
 Amos Conley, of ^\"aterbury. Connecticut. 
 
 Lewis D. Dowd attended the \\ insted public 
 schools, and in consequence of his father's death was 
 thrown upon hs own resources at the age of thir- 
 teen years. He was first employed as clerk in the 
 mercantile firm of L. R. Norton & Co.. of ^^'i^sted, 
 with whom he spent eight years, and he afterward 
 accepted a clerkship in the dry-goods store of ex- 
 Lieut. -Gov. ^^"m. H. Bulkeley, where he remained 
 three years. He then removed to Chester, ^lass.. 
 and engaged in business for himself, continuing 
 one year, and in 1883 he removed to Collinsville. 
 Conn., and became a partner of J. P. Harrington. 
 the firm being J. P. Harrington & Co. While thus 
 
594 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 engaged he purchased a farm at Cherry Brook, in 
 the town of Canton, comprising eighty-eight acres, 
 and known as the Young farm, and to this place he 
 removed in 1886, after disposing of his interests 
 ill the firm of J. P. Harrington & Co. For the past 
 thirteen years he has been largely engaged in farm- 
 ing, dairying and stock raising, and has substantially 
 improved the buildings on the place. He is a Re- 
 publican in politics, and a stanch supporter of his 
 party, but has never sought political office of any 
 kind. Fraternally he is a member of Village Lodge, 
 No. 29, F. & A. M. ; Columbia Chapter, No. 31, R. 
 A. M. ; also of the Red Men and the Grange. Like 
 his father he is. liberal in religion, and makes the 
 Golden Rule the guide of his action, doing unto 
 others as he would like to be done by. 
 
 On June 7, 1882, Mr. Dowd was married in Col- 
 linsville to Miss Mary E. Parmele, a native of that 
 town, and a daughter of William H. Parmele. Their 
 home is brightened by two children, Hattie Wini- 
 fred and Ralph De Witt. 
 
 LUCIUS SELDEN ALLEN, a prominent well- 
 to-do farmer, tobacco grower and dairyman, En- 
 field, is a native of Massachusetts, born Aug. 19, 
 1853, at Chicopee Falls, and is of English descent. 
 
 David Allen, his grandfather, born in Enfield, 
 Sept. 18, 1793, married Miriam Simons. He was 
 a son of Jonathan Allen, born June 23, 1755, a son 
 of Ebenezer, born Feb. 10, 1712, a son of John (2), 
 born in September, 1670, a son of John, born in 
 1640, killed at the battle of Bloody Brook, Deerfield, 
 Mass., Sept. 18, 1675. He was a son of Samuel 
 Allen, a native of England, born in 1588, who came 
 to America in 1648. 
 
 David Allen, father of Lucius S., was born in 
 Enfield in 1825, and was there reared and educated. 
 By trade he is a spinner of woolen and other yarn, 
 for many years working in the woolen mills at 
 Thompsonville, and now living, retired, with his 
 son, our subject. Li 1852 he married Nancy Wile, 
 native of County Kerry, Ireland, and one child only 
 was born to them, a son, Lucius S. 
 
 Lucius S. Allen was reared in Enfield, and re- 
 ceived his education at the public schools of 
 Thompsonville until the age of sixteen years, when 
 he commenced business life as a clerk in a store in 
 that village, remaining there some twenty years. 
 He then engaged in his present business, and since 
 T889 has owned the farm he now cultivates. 
 
 On Jan. 5, 1887, Mr. Allen married Mary, 
 •daughter of Robert and Mary (Schlich) Diedrich, 
 •of Thompsonville, and three children have graced 
 this union : Lucius D., Mavilla and Viola R. The 
 family are members of the Catholic Church, and in 
 politics Mr. Allen is a Democrat. 
 
 ALFRED J. ENSIGN, one of the most ener- 
 •getic and enterprising young farmers and tobacco 
 growers of Hockanum, town of East Hartford, is 
 a descendant of one of the oldest families in the 
 
 State of Connecticut, and, indeed, of New England, 
 and is the youngest son of Elizur R. and Delia 
 (Brewer) Ensign, of whom a full biographical 
 record is given in the life sketch of F. Howard 
 Ensign. He was born Dec. 8, 1869, in the house 
 which was moved across the road and replaced by 
 the modern dwelling in which Elizur R. Ensign is 
 passing the latter years of his long and useful life. 
 
 Alfred J. Ensign in his boyhood was much given 
 to study, and studied intelligently. He first at- 
 tended the Willow Brook schools, and among his 
 teachers were Miss Louise Brewer and Edward An- 
 drews, both popular in their day as instructors of 
 youth. From the Willow Brook schools he went to 
 the Hartford Public High School, from which he 
 graduated in 1888, in a class of eighty-six pupils. 
 He then passed a year on the home farm, but had a 
 desire to further improve himself, and for a year at- 
 tended Moody's select school at Mount Hermon, 
 Mass., where he finished his education in 1890, re- 
 turned to his home, and assisted in the cultivation 
 of the farm. 
 
 On Nov. 9, 1892, Mr. Ensign married Miss 
 Laura W. Pitkin, whose ancestors were so promi- 
 nent in the early history of Connecticut. Mrs. En- 
 sign was born Sept. 15, 1870, and is a daughter of 
 Leonard T. and Delia (Smith) Pitkin, the former of 
 whom was born July 31, 1826, and the latter on 
 July 9, 1832. Leonard T. Pitkin was a tinner by 
 trade, and died in Portsmouth, Va., May 19, 1882; 
 his wife died in East Hartford May 17, 1887. An- 
 other child, Mary, was born to these parents June 
 29, 1867, but died Aug. 3, of the same year. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ensign one child, Evelyn Martha, 
 was born May 25, 1894. 
 
 In politics Mr. Ensign is a Democrat, but has 
 never been an office-holder. In religion he is a 
 Congregationalist, united with the Hockanum con- 
 gregation when eighteen years of age, and of this 
 church he is now treasurer and collector. His wife 
 is also a member, and both lead most exemplary 
 lives. Mr. Ensign is very enterprising, industri- 
 ous and energetic, being what is usually designated 
 a "hustler," and his farm and dwellings are models 
 of neatness and thrift. He and his wife are greatly 
 respected for their many personal excellencies, and 
 socially mingle with the best residents of East 
 Hartford and vicinity. 
 
 MARTIN ROBERTS. For many generations 
 the Roberts family has held high rank in the annals 
 of Hartford county, exemplifying that type of citi- 
 zenship which leads in national growth and prog- 
 ress, energetic, intellectual, guided by high ideals. 
 It is not an easy task to attain and maintain the ad- 
 vanced standards thus imposed by the leading spirits 
 of a community. To the many who are familiar 
 with the character and attainments of the Roberts 
 family in past generations, and who are acquainted 
 with Martin Roberts, the subject of this sketch, 
 the inference will be unconsciouslv drawn that he 
 
 J 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 595 
 
 represents in the present generation tlie same prin- 
 ciples and the same elevated standard of citizenship 
 that were lived by his forefathers. The ancestral 
 history of Mr. Roberts and that of his father, Ira 
 T, Roberts, appear elsewhere. 
 
 Our subject was born near Silver Lane, in the 
 town of East Hartford, Nov. 3, T847, son of Ira T. 
 and Charlotte Corinthia (Cowles) Roberts. He is 
 of the sixth generation from William Roberts, the 
 founder of the family in America, the line of de- 
 scent being through (2) Benjamin, son of William 
 and Dorothy (Forbes) Roberts, born ?ilarch 8, 
 1698; (3) George, born Nov. 22, 1752; (4) Ozias, 
 born Aug. 10, 1785; (5) Ira T., born Feb. 10, 1817; 
 to (6) Martin, our subject. 
 
 The latter was reared upon his father's farm 
 in East Hartford. He attended the district schools 
 until he was fourteen years of age, his first teachers 
 being Miss Alary Pratt and J. O. Hurlburt ; Tim- 
 othy Steel and Dr. Fuller were also among his early 
 instructors. For these early schools j\Ir. Roberts 
 has only the kindest remembrances. He was an apt 
 pupil, excelling especially in mathematics, in which 
 branch it was seldom that he was not at the head of 
 his class. He attended the East Hartford school 
 under Major Camp, and passed examination for ad- 
 mission to the Hartford high school ; but he did 
 not attend. The duties of the farm proved the 
 obstacle to further education in the schools. He 
 was raised a farmer boy and did not shirk its unin- 
 viting toil. At seventeen he was competent to take 
 the scythe and keep in line with old and experienced 
 hands. The disciplinary training he received from 
 his father was of great importance to him in after 
 life. He was encouraged when a young man to 
 engage in farm work with his brothers, and was 
 associated with them at different times in carrying 
 on the farm. He first made a business arrangement 
 of that character with his brother William. 
 Throughout the many years of his associated farm- 
 ing only the most harmonious relationship existed. 
 In 1882 Mr. Roberts began to operate a farm alone, 
 and has since then continued most successfully. 
 He has built his present pleasant home and the 
 other buildings on the farm. For years he gave 
 especial attention to market gardening, but in recent 
 }'ears he has been devoted more largely to tobacco 
 culture. 
 
 Mr. Roberts was married in the autumn of 1868 
 to Miss Ellen Eurnham, daughter of Julius and 
 Laura (Hills) Burnham, who bore him four chil- 
 dren as follow^s: Walter R., at home; Nellie B., 
 now the wife of Herbert A. Judson, of Silver Lane, 
 and the mother of two children, Leon W., and 
 Ellen R. ; J. Wilbur, who was married Aug. 8, 1900, 
 to Miss Jennie Alice House, and is living at the old 
 Robert's homestead; and Laura H., at home. Islrs. 
 Roberts died Jan. 2, 1882, and was buried at East 
 Hartford. For his second wife Mr. Roberts mar- 
 ried ]kliss Hattie Gillespie, who was born in North 
 
 Blanford, Mass., and from the age of five and one- 
 half years was reared in Hartford. 
 
 In politics Jilr. Roberts is a Republican in State 
 and National issues, but in local elections the charac- 
 ter and ability of the candidate outweigh political 
 affiliations. He has served as assessor and on the 
 school committee, besides filling various other local 
 offices. He is a farmer of unusual intelligence, is 
 well informed, possessing a good memory, and his 
 knowledge and ability he applies not only to his own 
 material affairs but to the best interests of the com- 
 munity, for he is an eminently public-spirited citi- 
 zen. In his farm work he is modern and scientific, 
 and has always been highlj' successful. He possesses 
 the strictest integrity, is courteous and affable in 
 manner, and in private life exhibits the same high 
 and commanding characteristics which, as a busi- 
 ness man, have made his life a success. 
 
 JASON jMONROE TAYLOR, an industrious, 
 enterprising and energetic farmer of Kensington, 
 was born Dec. 7, 1859, in the house where he now 
 lives, a son of George and Harriet JMaria (Hale) 
 Taylor, of wdiom extended mention is made in the 
 sketch of Nelson F. Taylor, elsewhere. 
 
 The primary education of our subject was ob- 
 tained in the Kensington schools, and later he was 
 for two 3'ears a student in the academy at South- 
 ington. On leaving school, at the age of sixteen 
 years, he began learning the trade of silver plating 
 with the ]\Ieriden Silver Plate Co., where he re- 
 mained three years. He then went to Shelton (now 
 Derby), Conn., wdiere he w-orked for the Derby 
 Silver Plate Co. for the same length of time. The 
 following year he spent on the home farm, and 
 then, in company with his brother, Horace Lester 
 Taylor, he went to Petersburg, \'a., going into the 
 grocery business there ; but not being pleased with 
 the locality he returned to Berlin a year later, 
 and has since devoted his energies to agricultural 
 pursuits, successfully operating the old home farm 
 of 150 acres. He is a thorough and systematic 
 farmer, and due success has not been denied him. 
 
 On Oct. 10, 1883, Mr. Taylor married Miss 
 Clara Ellsworth Elliott, who was born Dec. 5, i860, 
 a daughter of Samuel and Louise (Bonney) Elliott. 
 Her father was a commercial traveler of Rochester, 
 Mass. Our subject and his w'lit have two children : 
 Clarence Elliott, born March 6, 1888; and Mildred 
 Louise, born [March 26, 1892. Both are now attend- 
 ing the district schools in Kensington. Airs. Taylor 
 is a consistent member of the Congregational 
 Church of Kensington, the services of which our 
 subject also attends, and the children are members of 
 the Sunday-school. Mr. Taylor usually supports 
 the men and measures of the Democratic party, but 
 is not radical in his political views. He is now 
 serving as registrar of votes, also as member of the 
 consolidated school board, and has been a member 
 of the district school committee and constable for 
 one term. Socially he belongs to Silver City Lodge, 
 
596 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 No. 3, A. O. U. W., of Meriden, and was a member 
 of Kensington Grange until it disbanded. He is 
 a pleasant, genial gentleman, well-liked by his 
 neighbors and all who know him. 
 
 HENRY ALVORD GRISWOLD, a retired 
 farmer in the town of Manchester, was born Feb. 
 14, 1826, on the place which is stilll his home, and 
 has lived a life of industry and usefulness, gaining 
 a prominent place among the substantial citizens of 
 his community. 
 
 Mr. Grisw'old's great-grandfather. White Gris- 
 wold, was born in Connecticut, and married Eliza- 
 beth Cheney, a member of an old Connecticut fam- 
 ily. He entered the American service during the 
 Revolution, was taken prisoner by the British at Phil- 
 adelphia, and died in prison. Our subject's grand- 
 father, Deacon Daniel W. Griswold, was a native 
 of the town of Manchester, -and was a clockmaker 
 by trade, carrying on the manufacture of clocks in 
 Manchester for some years. Later he became a 
 manufacturer of powder, and he also engaged in 
 farming to some extent, continuing these vocations 
 until he retired on account of old age. 
 
 Edward Griswold, father of Henry A., was born 
 at Manchester Center, Jan. 30, 1793, and grew to 
 manhood in his native place, remaining in the town 
 of his birth until about the time of his marriage, 
 when his father gave him the farm in the town of 
 Manchester, part of which is now owned by his 
 son Henry A. Here he carried on farming for the 
 remainder of his days, passing away March 30, 
 1864. On Oct. 12, 1819, he wedded Miss Laura 
 Hubbard, of Bolton, who was born Feb. 19, 1799, 
 daughter of Deacon Nathaniel and Eunice ( Alvord) 
 Hubbard. Eight children came to this union, of 
 whom Edward H., born July 15, 1820, died about 
 1894; Daniel W., born March 30, 1822; Laura, 
 born March 24, 1824, is the wife of William H. 
 Jones, of Manchester; Henry A. is the subject 
 proper of these lines ; Ralph, born July 26, 1829, died 
 Sept. 9, 1846; Charles, born Oct. 7, 1832, entered the 
 m.inistry of the Methodist Church, but subsequently 
 took up the study of medicine, and is now a practic- 
 ing physician in St. Paul, Minn. ; Charlotte J., born 
 Jan. 7, 1835, is the widow of John F. Williams; 
 Mary A., born Nov. 11, 1842, has been principal of 
 a public school in Davenport, Iowa, for nineteen 
 years. 
 
 Henry A. Griswold commenced study in the 
 pioneer school which stood about where Main street 
 crosses the railroad track at Manchester, and which 
 was equipped after the primitive fashion of those 
 days, with slab benches for seats and other rude 
 arrangements. His first teachers were Lenora 
 Brown and Nathaniel Keeney. Later he attended a 
 private school taught by William S. Williams, at 
 Manchester Center, and one taught by Walter 
 McKee, at Buckland's Corners, receiving in all a 
 good, practical training. He was inducted into the 
 mysteries of agriculture on his father's farm, and 
 
 was also on the farm of his grandfather part of the 
 time until he reached the age of seventeen, after 
 which he was engaged for eight years in the silk 
 mills of Manchester, which were conducted by Will- 
 iam H. Jones. On July 3, 1849, he was united m mar- 
 riage with Miss Eliza Ann, daughter of Deacon 
 Dan and Phila (Lamphere) Russell, of Ellington, 
 Conn., and the same year they settled on the place 
 which has ever since been his home — part of the 
 old homester.d 
 
 Mr. Griswold engaged in general farming and 
 trucking, by industry and thrifty management gain- 
 ing a comfortable living from his land, which he 
 miproved constantly until it became a valuable 
 property, much of which he has since sold in small 
 lots for building purposes. He has given strict 
 attention to the cultivation of his farm, but has also 
 found time to interest himself in r.ffairs of local pub- 
 lic importance, and has held various town offices, 
 gaining the good-will of all by his intelligent and 
 faithful discharge of the duties connected with his 
 official positions. For two years he served as 
 selectman, for several years as a member of the 
 board of relief, and for three terms as assessor, 
 proving himself as efficient as he is public-spirited. 
 His political support has always been given to the 
 Republican party. Mr. Griswold has been a hard 
 worker all his life, but like his father he has always 
 practiced temperance in all things, having never 
 used intoxicating liquors or tobacco in any form; 
 he is well preserved in spite of his seventy-four 
 years. He abandoned active work several years 
 ago, and now lives in peaceful and quiet enjoyment 
 of the competence which rewarded his years of toil, 
 honored and esteemed by his neighbors and numer- 
 our friends. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Griswold was born one daugh- 
 ter, Alice E., who is now the wife of Whitmore 
 Emmons, of Hartford, and they have one daughter, 
 Katherine Louise Emmons. Mrs. Griswold, the 
 mother of Mrs. Alice E. Emmons, dying in 1895, 
 Mr. Griswold, for his second wife, wedded, Sept. 
 7, 1897, Mrs. Sarah A. Barron, widow of Alfred 
 Barron, and daughter of Thomas Crossley. Mr. 
 Griswold is an active member of the Congregational 
 Church, which he joined in early manhood, and has 
 been prominent in the work of the second Congre- 
 gational Church of Manchester, in which he has 
 served as deacon for eighteen years. His father also 
 belonged to that denomination. Our subject has a 
 comfortable, pleasant home, and the large maple 
 trees which stand in front of his residence were 
 planted by his own hand. 
 
 CHRISTIAN HANDEL, one of the best farm- 
 ers of Hartford county, one whose farm and build- 
 ings by their exceedingly well-kept appearance fur- 
 nish unmistakable evidence of thrift, system and 
 the best of management, is a German by birth, and 
 one of the oldest Germans in East Hartford. He 
 came to the United States with his parents when a 
 
2£^'2/iy^. 
 
4 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 597 
 
 boy, and readily adopted American habits and cus- 
 toms, while retaining- the many sterling; ciualities of 
 his native land. His loyalty to this to him new 
 country was shown by his long and faithful service 
 as a soldier during the Civil war. 
 
 Mr. Handel was born in Wittenberg, Germany, 
 Jan. 19, 1840, son of Philip A. and Christina (Deck- 
 er) Handel. The father was born in Wittenberg 
 ii', 1813, son of Philip Handel, a business man, who 
 ■was proprietor of a hotel, a dealer in horses, and a 
 man of considerable importance in his locality. The 
 father of our subject was reared as a farmer boy. 
 His eldest daughter, Fredericka, first came to Amer- 
 ica, and the favorable reports of the new land which 
 she sent home brought her father and our subject, 
 who sailed in June, 1853, the mother following in 
 1855. Upon his arrival at New York in 1853, 
 after a voyage of forty-two days, Philip Handel 
 found temporary employment, but in January, 1854, 
 lie came to Glastonbury, Conn., where he worked 
 for a time in a shoddy factory. In 1856 he located 
 at Curtisville (now Naubuc), and there worked in 
 the spoon and spectacle factory for some time. In 
 1857 he bought from Daniel Winslow the farm at 
 the corner of Maple and Forbes streets, in East 
 Hartford. In 1865 he built the house, barn and 
 other buildings, and there on the farm he remained 
 until his death. In 1863 he returned to Germany 
 on a business trip, and was absent ten months. 
 He died Jan. i, 1880, aged sixty-seven years, and 
 was buried in Hockanum cemetery. His wife sur- 
 vived him six months. In politics Philip Handel 
 was a Democrat. He w-as public-spirited and took 
 a deep interest in all worthy movements, was an 
 industrious, hard-working citizen, and at his death 
 left an honored name and a competence to his 
 family. His children were as follows : Fredericka 
 (now Mrs. Fred Wuterich, of Meriden) ; Jacob, a 
 mechanic, who, while a foreman in the Parker 
 shop, at Meriden, Conn., was accidentally killed by 
 a stove falling upon him from a wagon ; Christian, 
 the subject of this sketch; Paulina (Mrs. Charles 
 Sorries, of South iNIeriden, Conn.) ; Louise (j\Irs. 
 Charles Youch. of Hockanum, Conn.) ; Gottleib, a 
 farmer of East Hartford; Emma (Mrs. Joseph 
 Hirth, of Hartford); Bertha, of Hartford; and 
 Katie (Airs. Benjamin Fulton, of Hartford). 
 
 As a boy Christian Handel, our subject, fully 
 knew the meaning of toil. He attended the schools 
 of his native land, and when he came to America 
 with his father in 1853, at the age of thirteen years, 
 he found employment in a New York restaurant. 
 He accompanied his father to Hartford by boat 
 and to Glastonbury by stage, and for two years was 
 employed in a shoddy mill at Eagleville, the first 
 year at $5 per month and the second year at $8 per 
 month. He then went to Curtisville, and for over 
 a year was emploved in the factory there. After 
 a difference with his "boss" he engaged for a time 
 in farming, and later w^orked at the trade of bur- 
 nisher at Xaubuc, Meriden and elsewhere. 
 
 In the spring of 1861, at the first call for troops. 
 Christian Handel enlisted in Company B, ist Regi- 
 ment Conn. V. 1., for the three-months' service, and 
 his first engagement was at Bull Run. At the ex- 
 piration of his service he rc-cnlisted for three years 
 in Company H, 6th Conn. V. I., becoming sergeant. 
 Proceeding from Hartford to Washington, the regi- 
 ment was forwarded to Hilton Head, S. C. Sergt. 
 Ilandel remained with the regiment until its dis- 
 charge, participating in its various engagements. 
 For a time he was detached on special duty in the 
 provost marshal's department at Hilton Head. He 
 was discharged in September, 1864. 
 
 Returning home, Mr. Handel remained on the 
 farm for a time with his father. During the win- 
 ter of 1864-65 he helped to cut the timber to build 
 the house and barn, which were the first buildings 
 on the farm that he now occupies. In May, 1865, 
 he went to jMeriden, and there at No. 297 Main 
 street, he successfully conducted a hotel business 
 until 1882. In that year he came to Hockanum, 
 bought out the heirs of the home farm, and became 
 a prosperous and successful farmer. 
 
 On July 14, 1866, Mr. Handel married Miss 
 Paulina Wuterich, a native of Wittenberg, Ger- 
 many, daughter of Frederick Wuterich. coming^ to 
 the United States when twelve years of age. She 
 proved a worthy helpmeet of her husband. Her 
 death occurred on the farm April 20, 1889. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Handel were born the following chil- 
 dren: Edward, of Hockanum: Bertha, at home; 
 Rosa, a dressmaker of Hartford; Alary: Christian 
 F. ; Albert, at home; Pauline, a school teacher; 
 William, an employe in the Hartford Life Insurance 
 Co. ; and Florence. 
 
 In politics Air. Handel has usually voted the 
 Democratic ticket, biit he is independent, and selects 
 the best man regardless of politics. In the presi- 
 dential campaign of 1896 he voted for William AIc- 
 Kinley. He is a member of Titona Lodge, I. O. 
 O. F.j at Aleriden. In physique he is a man of im- 
 posing presence, but notwithstanding his giant frame 
 he is one of the most genial and companionable men 
 to be found in East Hartford. He has displayed 
 marked ability as a farmer. He possesses every 
 convenience for a well-regulated farm, is progres- 
 sive in his methods, engages extensively in tobacco 
 raising and in dairying, and with the aid of his 
 intelligent and industrious children is bringing 
 riches from one of the finest tobacco farms in the 
 Connecticut valley, than which there is none better 
 kept, none in a higher state of cultivation. Mr. 
 Handel has won his way from poverty to the en- 
 viable position which he now occupies, and is a 
 splendid instance of the self-made man. 
 
 GEORGE EARL SAAISON. Alany of the 
 early New Englanders were sea-faring men. They 
 were also men of intellectual force and education. 
 The subject of this sketch, a substantial and influ- 
 ental farmer of Glastonbury, has an ancestry in 
 
598 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 which appeared both the adventurous spirit of the 
 hardy sailor and. the love of learning' so deeply in- 
 stilled in the Puritan character. 
 
 Zadoc Samson, his grandfather, was a native of 
 Plymouth, Mass., a son of a wealthy citizen in 
 whose lineage were many traditions of active and 
 gallant achievements on sea. Zadoc had a taste for 
 an education, and entering Dartmouth College in 
 due time completed the course and graduated. A 
 brother served in the Revolutionary cause, and was 
 with Paul Jones in the memorable naval conflict 
 between the "Bonhomme Richard" and the "Ser- 
 apis," in the English channel. Prior to the war of 
 1812 Zadoc Samson entered into a contract to fur- 
 nish the government with ammunition and other 
 supplies. The hostilities increased his obligations 
 so tremenduously that he had to make large prep- 
 arations at great expense to increase the amount, 
 and the termination of the war brought him heavy 
 loss. He then located at Glastonbury, on Main 
 street, immediately north of the Thaddeus Wells 
 home, where he practiced his profession, that of 
 medicine. He became a man of great prominence, 
 and remained in Glastonbury until his death, in 
 1830, at the age of sixty-seven. He married Mrs. 
 Anna Talcott Welles, a native of Glastonbury, and 
 to them were born five children : Sophia, who mar- 
 ried Benjamin Moseley, a farmer of Glastonbury; 
 William, who married Dorothy House, and was a 
 sea-faring man, occupying for many years the old 
 homestead at Glastonbury ; Guy, who married Emma 
 Gaines, and was a farmer of Glastonbury; Martha, 
 who married Henry Talcott, of Glastonbury; and 
 Earl, the father of. our subject. 
 
 Earl Samson was born in Glastonbury about 
 1812. He received a good district-school education, 
 and when a young man went on a merchant ship and 
 sailed to various parts of the world. He began as 
 a common sailor, and soon became a skillful mariner, 
 later in life commanding a number of vessels. Re- 
 tiring from the water, he purchased the farm in 
 Glastonbury now occupied by Michael Liebler, and 
 there spent the remaining years of his life, dying 
 in 1892. He married Mary Sellew, daughter of 
 Russell and Polly (Loveland) Sellew, and to them 
 were born five children: Mary, who married 
 Charles Bogue, a mechanic, who enlisted in a Kan- 
 sas regiment during the Civil war, and was killed in 
 that State, while on a scouting expedition ; George 
 Earl, our subject; Eugene, who is married and 
 lives in Jersey City, N. J., a well-known pilot ; Adel- 
 bert, who married Harriet House, and was a farmer 
 of Glastonbury until his death, in 1892; and Anna, 
 who married Howard Ensign, and lives in East 
 Hartford. 
 
 George Earl Samson was born April 24, 1842, 
 in Curtisville (now Naubuc), Glastonbury, Conn. 
 His education was received in the district schools, 
 and when a young man he had a strong inclination 
 to go to sea, but poor health prevented. For sev- 
 eral years he worked in a spectacle factory near his 
 
 home, then went to New Haven, and for about nine 
 years was foreman in the factory of J. E. Spencer. 
 Returning to Glastonbury, he conducted a milk 
 route for a time, and then engaged in farming, at 
 the same time dealing in wood. He purchased his 
 present farm at Addison, cleared it of a considerable 
 amount of timber, erected all the buildings, and now; 
 has one of the best farms in the neighborhood. He 
 very successfully carries on tobacco raising and 
 dairy farming. 
 
 Mr. Samson was married, in 1866, to Miss Katli- 
 erine Horsley, a native of England, who when a 
 child came to America. Two children have blessed 
 this union : Eugene, who married, in October, 1898, 
 Miss Allena Taylor, a native of South Manchester, 
 and lives at Addison ; and Katherine, at home. In 
 politics Mr. Samson is a Democrat, and he has been 
 elected to many of the local offices of ' responsibility 
 and trust. Himself and family are members of the 
 Episcopal Church, in which he has served in a num- 
 ber of official capacities. He has been a prominent 
 member of Hillstown Grange, No. 87, of which he 
 was master for several years, and was made a 
 member of Dascam Lodge, No. 86, F. & A. M., 
 thirty-five years ago. Mr. Samson is a man of pleas- 
 ant and impressive address, in whom the courtesies 
 and kindnesses of disposition are predominant; but 
 though quiet in manner he is firm in principle and 
 conviction, and his name throughout the community 
 is held in the highest esteem. 
 
 CARL FRANK MELCHERT, a leading florist 
 of Berlin, comes from the Fatherland, and the 
 strongest and most creditable characteristics of the 
 Teutonic race have been marked elements in his 
 life, and have enabled him to win success in the 
 face of opposing circumstances. He possesses the 
 energy and determination which mark the people 
 of Germany, and by the exercise of his powers he 
 has steadily progressed, and is now at the head of 
 a prosperous business. 
 
 Mr. Melchert was born in Pomerania, Germany, 
 April 22, 1852, a son of August and Augusta 
 (Krenke) Melchert, who spent their entire lives in 
 Germany. The father was also a florist. Until six- 
 teen years of age our subject attended school in 
 his native land, and then spent two years in learn- 
 ing the florist's trade with a Mr. Gardner. As a 
 florist he then had charge of a private garden for 
 a year and a half, and at the end of that time 
 joined the German army, in which he served for 
 three years, taking part in the war with France. 
 He was shot during that conflict, and for nine weeks 
 was unfit for duty. After leaving the army he went 
 to Russia, where he was florist in a private family 
 for three years, and then, rather than join the Rus- 
 sian army, he returned to Germany. 
 
 On May 24, 1878, Mr. Melchert married Miss 
 Amelia Kudrian, who was born in Pomerania, Ger- 
 many, May 6, 1851, a daughter of Oliver and Chai'- 
 lotte (Goi-kow) Kudrian. To them were born the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 599 
 
 following children : Elsbcth Charlotte, born Feb. 
 12, 1879, died Oct. 25, 1879, and was buried in 
 Germany; Paul Robert, born Feb. 13, 1881, is a 
 cadet engineer in the United States Government 
 service, and is now in the Philippines ; Francisco 
 Charlotte, born in Stamford, Conn., Dec. 26, 1885, 
 is at home; Wonder Pauline, born Nov. 25, 1887, 
 is deceased ; Carl Arthur, born April 9, 1889, is at 
 home; and Walter Robert, born March i, 1892, died 
 July IS, 1892. 
 
 Mr. Melchert was employed as a private florist 
 in Germany until April 22, 1881, when he sailed 
 from Belgium for London, and from there went to 
 Liverpool, where he took passage on a White Star 
 liner, arriving in New York on May 13, after a 
 very rough voyage. He was first employed as a 
 florist at Jamaica, Long Island, by John Sweink, a 
 broker of New York, and then came to Stamford, 
 Conn., where he served in the same capacity with 
 E. W. Peck for two years, and W. L. Brooks for 
 three years. Going to Meriden, he was employed 
 as gardener by Edward Miller for six months, and 
 at the end of that time embarked in business on 
 his own account. On Oct. i, 1898, he purchased 
 A. A. Weldon's place, in the southern part of Ber- 
 lin, consisting of five acres of ground and green- 
 houses. He has made many improvements in the 
 property since taking possession, and now has six 
 large greenhouses. He raises all kinds of garden 
 vegetables, besides doing a large wholesale florist 
 business, selling his flowers in Meriden. Long ex- 
 perience has made him thoroughly conversant with 
 the business, and he is meeting with well-deserved 
 success. He has ever been a hard-working man, 
 and his prosperity is due entirely to his industry, 
 enterprise and perseverance. He takes an active 
 part in agricultural matters. 
 
 Politically Mr. Melchert is a stanch Republican. 
 He attends the First Baptist Church of Meriden, of 
 which all the family are members, and contributes 
 his share to the work of the church. He is a mem- 
 ber of the American Rose Societv ; of Harmonia 
 Lodge, No. 2, of Meriden ;. and of the Insurance 
 Society of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, 
 of the same place. 
 
 EDW^ARD GRISWOLD was born ]\Iarch 26, 
 1848, in the town of Manchester, Hartford coun- 
 ty, son of Daniel Griswold, of whom a more com- 
 plete sketch is given in the biography of H. A. 
 Griswold. 
 
 Edward Griswold attended the common schools 
 until he was sixteen years of age, but his broader, 
 higher, truer education has been acquired through 
 his contact and conflict with the world. After leav- 
 ing school, while vet a mere bov, he began life's 
 struggle as an employe in Keeney & Wood's paper 
 mill, where he remained for eighteen months. His 
 next employment was as a driver for Bunce & 
 Cheney, of South Alanchester, Mr. Griswold con- 
 tinuing in their serv-ice until 1881, when he de- 
 
 termined to make a business venture for himself, 
 and with that end in view rented the coal yard of 
 Norman Loomis. To borrow an expression from 
 the forcible slang of the day, "he is still doing busi- 
 ness at the old stand.' His initiative trade was a 
 modest, humble sort, but industry, sagacity and in- 
 tegrity have steadily enlarged its volume until he 
 has become an important factor in the coal business 
 of the locality, both wholesale and retail, his annual 
 sales summing up fully seven thousand tons. 
 
 Air. Griswold is a Republican in politics ; while 
 not a member of any church, by profession, his 
 Christian sympathies manifest themselves along lib- 
 eral lines and broad parallels. His charitv, while 
 unostentatious, is generous, and his purse-strings 
 are never tightly drawn against the proper appeal 
 of any denomination. On May 10, 1874, he was 
 married to Miss Estella Hosm'er. 
 
 ALMERON W. WICKHAM, formerly super- 
 intendent of the Hartford Manilla Paper Co.'s 
 Woodland Mills, at Burnside, is a representative 
 self-made man, efficient and self-reliant, straight- 
 forward in all his dealings with men, and an ex- 
 cellent type of the born and bred New Englander, 
 the Wickham family being one of the oldest in Con- 
 necticut. Our subject was born May 21, 1862, in 
 the town of Manchester, Hartford county, son of 
 William P. and Ann S. (Sanders) Wickham, grand- 
 son of John and Melinda (Colver) Wickham. and 
 great-grandson of Hezekiah Wickham. The an- 
 cestry is more fully spoken of elsewhere. 
 
 Almeron W. Wickham was reared at the place 
 of his birth, receiving his early education in the 
 district schools of Manchester, where, among others, 
 he was taught by Miss Cook and George Holland. 
 He was trained to farm life from earhest bovhood, 
 and at the age of fifteen went to live with his uncle, 
 Horace Wickham, in order to secure a more com- 
 plete education. His ambition for a still better ed- 
 ucation led him to enter the Hartford Public High 
 School, where he took a complete course, earning 
 his tuition by doing odd jobs around the school. 
 On April I, 1882, he was appointed shipping clerk 
 at the Woodland Mill, being the first to hold the 
 position, the duties of which he attended to out of 
 school hours until his graduation in June, 1882, after 
 which he gave it his entire time. After a year in 
 this incumbency he was made time-keeper, being 
 placed in charge of outside work at the mill, and in 
 1890 he attained his later responsible position, that 
 of superintendent. Having been connected with 
 the mill ever since it was built, and risen to a post 
 of honor and importance from a comparatively hum- 
 ble beginning, he was familiar with every branch 
 and detail of the work in the establishment, and 
 this thorough preparation for his incumbency, com- 
 bined with natural ability, made him an invaluable 
 employe, and won for him an enviable place in the 
 esteem and confidence of his employers. Moreover, 
 he gained this high standing by his own eft'orts, and 
 
600 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he commands the respect of all who know him, 
 whether in business or in private life. In 1897-98 
 Mr. Wickham was chosen as one of the representa- 
 tives of his town in the State Legislature, and was 
 made a member of the committee on Finance, an- 
 other compliment to his executive ability. As a 
 citizen he was alwa3's foremost among the public- 
 spirited and enterprising men of the locality, and 
 an iniluential worker for the advancement and im- 
 provement of the town and county, being ever 
 identified especially with the best interests of East 
 Hartford, where he was probably better known than 
 any other man of his age. Fraternally he was 
 identified with Nutmeg Lodge, A. O. U. W., of 
 East Hartford, of which he is a charter member, and 
 had been recorder since its organization ; is a char- 
 ter member of Lafayette Council, O. U. A. M., at 
 East Hartford, in which he held various offices ; and 
 was regent of East Hartford Council, Royal Ar- 
 canum; and a member of Orient Lodge, F. & A. 
 M. Politically he is a stanch Republican, in this 
 respect differing from his ancestors, including his 
 father, who have been equally ardent supporters of 
 the men and measures of the Democratic party. 
 
 In April, 1885, Mr. Wickham was married to 
 Miss Margaret McCabe, of Salisbury Mills, 
 Orange Co., N. Y., a daughter of James McCabe, 
 and born of Scotch-Irish descent. Two children 
 have blessed this union : William E. and Martha 
 Elanor. Mrs. Wickham is a member of the M. E. 
 Church. Mr. Wickham is now a resident of Ga- 
 lena, Kansas. 
 
 HON. OLIVER THOMPSON (deceased) was 
 for many years prominent in the town of Avon, and 
 indeed throughout Hartford county, as a business 
 man of more than ordinary ability and acumen, a 
 citizen whose genuine worth was emphasized in all 
 his acts, and a man whose Christian character could 
 not fail to win the respect of all who knew him, in 
 commercial, public or social life. As a model citi- 
 zen he ranked second to none, and in making a suc- 
 cess of his own career he never forgot the duty he 
 owed to his community and his fellow citizens, nor 
 allowed personal ends to dampen his public spirit 
 or the loyal interest in the general welfare which 
 was ever one of his marked characteristics. 
 
 Mr. Thompson was born Aug. 5, 1827, in what 
 is now known as West Avon, and his family is one 
 of the oldest in this part of Hartford county, his 
 great-grandfather, Timothy Thompson, having been 
 one of the first settl-ers of Avon, which was then 
 included in the towns of Northington and Farm- 
 ington. Lot Thompson, the grandfather of our 
 subject, also made his home there, and was one of 
 the most extensive farmers and landowners of his 
 day. His son, Thaddeus L. Thompson, father of 
 Oliver, was born on the farm now owned by Dr. 
 Hackley, removing thence to the farm now owned by 
 the family of our subject, which was then known as 
 the Demming place. Here he passed the remainder 
 
 of his busy life, engaging successfully in general 
 farming, stock raising and dairying, and he held 
 a high position among the best citizens of Avon, 
 where he was widely known. He was prominent in 
 religious work as an active member of the Congre- 
 gational Church of West Avon, and as the first man 
 to bring timber for the erection of their house ofj 
 worship. Politically he was a Whig, but thougtf 
 an ardent supporter of the principles of his party hel 
 took no part in its workings beyond casting his 
 vote, and he never sought political preferment. On 
 June I, 1812, Mr. Thompson married Miss Betsey 
 Tillotson, who was a native of Avon (then called 
 Farmington), and five children blessed their union: 
 Edmund, born Feb. 20, 1813, who died in Ohio; 
 Marcus, born July 14, 1815; one that died in in- 
 fancy, born Oct. 13, 1818; Shubul, born June 12, 
 1821, who is a deacon in the church; and Oliver, 
 born Aug. 5, 1827. The mother of these dying 
 Sept. 3, 1828, Mr. Thompson wedded for his- sec- 
 ond wife, on Oct. 20, 1829, Miss Mehitabel Sanford, 
 of Avon, and they had three children : Betsey E., 
 born Sept. 15, 1830, who died at the age of sixteen; 
 Eliza Ann, born June 3, 1833 ; and Almira, born 
 March 15, 1838. This wife was laid to rest in West 
 Avon cemetery, where Mr. Thompson is also buried. 
 He passed away in 1865. 
 
 Oliver Thompson attended the district schools 
 of Avon, and passed his entire life on the farm 
 where he was born, engaging extensively in agri- 
 cultural pursuits, though he was also heavily inter- 
 ested in lumbering. In addition to general crops 
 he carried on stock raising, dairying and the culture 
 of tobacco, and he was the largest land owner in 
 Avon, owning upward of 600 acres, in the manage- 
 ment of which he displayed rare abilit)'. He de- 
 voted special attention to the improvement of the 
 Thompson homestead farm, building a fine dwell- 
 ing, barns and other outbuildings which added ma- 
 terially to the beauty and value of the property, in 
 the appearance of which he took great pride, a fact 
 which was evident even to the casual observer. 
 From time to time he purchased large tracts of 
 timber land, and engaged in the manufacture of lum- 
 ber, and he was uniformly successful in his business 
 enterprises, in connection with which he became 
 widely known throughout this region. He alwa)'s 
 endeavored to do what he considered the right, and 
 his business associates learned to respect him to 
 an unusual degree, both for his honesty of purpose 
 and strict integrity in all his transactions. 
 
 Though so intimately connected with the broader 
 life of the community Mr. Thompson was a man of 
 quiet and domestic tastes, temperate in his habits, 
 and devoted to his home and family, who loved and 
 honored him for his unselfishness, kind-hearted 
 generosity and many Christian traits of character. 
 As a neighbor and friend he wai popular and uni- 
 versall}^ esteemed, and he exemplified in his unas- 
 suming but useful life a high standard of citizen- 
 ship and a regard for the general welfare which are 
 
//^>^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 CO I 
 
 well worthy of emulation. In 1863 he was honored 
 by his fellow citizens in Avon with election to the 
 State Legislature, where he served his term faith- 
 fully, giving the same thoughtful care to his duties 
 as a public servant as he devoted to his own in- 
 terests. Originally a Whig in political predilection, 
 he became a Republican when the new party was 
 organized, 'and always supported its principles. For 
 over forty years Mr. Thompson was a member of 
 the Congregational Church, taking a prominent part 
 in its various enterprises, and contributing liberally 
 of his amole means to all benevolent and charitable 
 projects, in which he was deep!)' interested. In 
 short, he was a man who lived a helpful, busv life, 
 attending carefully to his extensive business affairs, 
 but with a due regard for the demands made upon 
 one of his ability and resource by the various in- 
 terests which occupy the intelligent and progressive 
 classes of the day, and his death, which occurred 
 Dec. 3, 1895, was regarded as a public loss through- 
 out this section. 
 
 In June, 1858, Mr. Thompson was married, in 
 Farmington, to Miss Margaret Colvin, a native of 
 Avon, who survived him until Oct. 24, 1899, mak- 
 ing her home on the beautiful property mentioned 
 above. She was a woman of keen intelligence and 
 high Christian character, and always shared the 
 respect accorded her honored husband in Avon town. 
 Two sons were born to this union, Howard Clark 
 and Joseph Carpenter, both of whom have received 
 good educational opportunities, and the moral train- 
 ing of Christian parents has not been lost on these 
 two young men, who take their place among the 
 industrious and useful citizens of their town as 
 business men and in a social way. The eldest son 
 attended the schools of the home district and Con- 
 necticut Literary Institute, at Suffield, and received 
 his business training under the able direction of his 
 father. He is the senior partner of the firm of H. 
 C. & J. C. Thompson, lumber manufacturers and 
 general farmers of Avon, and gives promise of at- 
 taining the high standing in commercial circles held 
 by his worthy father. He married Miss Elizabeth 
 Chase, of Waltham, Mass., who was born Nov. 6, 
 1855, and they have two children : Frank Oliver, 
 born Feb. 14, 1885, and Howard Everett, born 
 Dec. 19, 1887. Joseph C. Thompson supplemented 
 his district-school training with study at the Union- 
 ville Academy, and he, too, obtained his knowledge 
 of business methods while assisting his father. He 
 is now occupied in the management of the farm, 
 where he and his brother are successfully engaged 
 in the culutre of tobacco, general farming and stock 
 raising, in addition carrying on one of the largest 
 dairies in Avon. He is a stanch Republican in 
 politics. 
 
 David Colvin, the grandfather of Airs. Mar- 
 garet (Colvin) Thompson, was a native of West 
 Hartford, and passed his life in the countv, dving 
 in Avon ; he was buried in West Avon. He served 
 as a soldier in the Revolutionarv war. Politicallv 
 
 he was a Democrat, and in religious matters he was 
 liberal, supporting no particular denomination. His 
 son Timothy, father of Mrs. T]iom[)Son, was burn 
 in Avon, and was a lifelong farmer of that town, 
 where he became prominent in public life as well 
 as a prosperous agriculturist. He was always a 
 stanch Democrat, and he served one term as member 
 of the State Legislature from his district. Tiiuolhy 
 Colvin married for his first wife Miss Sally Cornell, 
 a native of New York, by whom he had twelve 
 children: Joseph, who went to California in an 
 early day, and later settled in Illinois, being a pio- 
 neer of Kinderhook, that State, where he died March 
 20, 1900; Sarah, deceased, who married Samuel 
 Hart, a stone mason of Farmington, also deceased ; 
 Mary, wife of Charles Moses, of Avon ; Charles, who 
 died in Kinderhook, 111.; Margaret, Mrs. Thomp- 
 son ; Timothy, a resident of Kinderhook, 111. ; Maria 
 who married Benjamin Hodgkins, of Maine; Hen- 
 rietta, wife of George Scarritt, of West Hartford; 
 William, who died in Kinderhook, 111.; Frederick, 
 of Avon ; Arthur, who was drowned when three 
 years old; and Alice, wife of Emerson Moses, of 
 Minnesota. The mother was laid to rest in the 
 West Avon cemetery, and for his second wife Mr. 
 Colvin wedded Miss Eliza Latham, of Hartford, 
 their union being blessed with four children.namely : 
 Fanny (who is the wife of Edward Judd), Frances, 
 Arthur and Eugene, all residents of Bristol, Conn. 
 The Colvin family is highly respected in Hartford 
 county. 
 
 CHARLES HENRY PENDER, an honored 
 veteran of the Civil war, whose devotion to his 
 country was tested on many a Southern battlefield, 
 and an expert machinist in the employ of the H. D. 
 Smith Co., of Plantsville, Hartford county, was 
 born in Ansonia, New Haven Co., Conn., Nov. 7, 
 1839. He is a son of John and Abigail (Gill) 
 Pender, natives of Manchester, England, who came 
 to America in 1835, and first located in Bridgeport, 
 Conn., where the father was employed for a time 
 as a machinist, shipwright and general mechanic. 
 Subsequently he removed to Ansonia, and still later 
 made his home in Mt. Carmel and New Haven, 
 dying at the latter place in 1862. In his family 
 were seven children : Thomas, deceased ; Martha, 
 wife of Edwin D. Beeman ; Charles H. ; Frederick 
 W. ; Sarah, wife of George F. Marks; Benjamin; 
 and Thomas J. 
 
 Charles H. Pender is indebted to the common 
 schools of this State for his educational privileges, 
 and with his father he learned the machinist's trade, 
 starting out for himself at the age of fifteen years. 
 In 1862 he came to Southington, where he was em- 
 ployed by the Peck-Smith Co. until September, 
 1863, when he entered the service of his country, 
 enlisting as a private in Company F, 1st Connecti- 
 cut Cavalry. He participated in all the engage- 
 ments in which his command took part, and. with 
 his regiment, was honorably discharged Aug. 2, 
 
602 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1865. With the exception of four years, devoted 
 to farming, Mr. Pender has worked at his trade 
 since the war, first in the employ of the Peck, Stow 
 & Wilcox Co., and since 1884 with the H. D. Smith 
 Co., at Plantsville. He is a good workman, reliable 
 and industrious, and has the entire confidence and 
 respect of his employers. 
 
 On Dec. 3, 1866, Mr. Pender married Miss Lucy 
 Ann Barnes, a daughter of Willard and Ellen (An- 
 drews) Barnes, of Southington, and thej' have three 
 children : Willard, a machinist by trade ; Adelaide, 
 a graduate of the State Normal School at New 
 Britain, and now editor of the Connecticut School 
 lournal, at Meriden; and Martha. In politics Mr. 
 Pender is an ardent Republican, and in social re- 
 lations is a prominent member of Trumbull Post, 
 No. 16, G. A. R., of which he was commander in 
 1899. 
 
 DWIGHT BUTLER HILLS, a prominent clock 
 manufacturer of Plainville, Hartford coimty, was 
 born in that town Sept. 19, 1846, and is a de- 
 scendant of William Hills, a native of England, 
 who settled in Hartford in 1632, and died there in 
 1683. 
 
 Our subject's great-grandparents on the paternal 
 side were Chauncey and Eleanor (Gillette) Hills, 
 and the grandparents were Elias and Sally (Cur- 
 tiss) Hills. His father, George Hills, was born in 
 Plainville, April 27, 1813, and died June 5, 1885. 
 He was a wheelwright by trade, and in early life 
 engaged in the manufacture of wagons, .and later 
 of clocks and clock parts. He was twice married, 
 his first wife being Charlotte Eddy, who was born 
 May 25, 1812, a daughter of William and Mary 
 (Butler) Eddy, and granddaughter of Charles and 
 Hannah (Kelsey) Eddy, of New Britain, Conn. 
 She bore him four children, of whom three grew to 
 maturity: Adelaide L., wife of Charles Northrup; 
 Dwight B., our subject; and Christiana, wife of 
 Charles H. Calor. For his second wife the father 
 married Caroline, daughter of Harlow Eddy, and 
 by that union had two children : Freddie, deceased ; 
 and Nellie, wife of John B. Brown. 
 
 Reared in Plainville, Dwight B. Hills obtained 
 his literary education in its public schools, and in 
 early life learned the clockmaker's trade with his 
 father. Subsequently he spent nine years in the 
 manufacture of clocks at Ansonia, Conn., but with 
 that exception his entire life has been passed in 
 Plainville, his time and attention being devoted to 
 the same line of business. He is energetic and in- 
 dustrious, and has met with fair success in his life 
 work. Politically he is a stanch Republican, and 
 has held various town offices, including those of 
 selectman and justice of the peace. 
 
 On June 21, 1871, Mr. Hills married Miss Helen 
 E. Gates, a daughter of Robert and Minnie (Hotch- 
 kiss) Gates, of Derby, Conn. She died Jan. 13, 
 1898, leaving two daughters, Mabelle and Mar- 
 guerite. 
 
 STANLEY WADSWORTH, a prominent citi- 
 zen and a farmer and tobacco grower of Hockanum, 
 town of East Hartford, was born Nov. 20, 1832, 
 and descends from a very ancient Enghsh family, 
 members of which settled in Connecticut at its first 
 colonization. 
 
 The name Wadsworth is derived, it is supposed, 
 from Wood's Court, or court in the woods, the in- 
 ference being that some ancestor of the present fam- 
 ily held court in a wood — hence, literally. Woods- j 
 court; in German, Waldes-hoff ; in Anglo-SaxonJ 
 Waldes-weorth. The name is quite common in« 
 England, especially in the Yorkshire district, where, 
 it now seems probable, the early ancestors of the 
 American family hailed from. In William Pavers' 
 "Pedigrees of Yorkshire" the Wadsworths are 
 traced back four generations, and the search for the 
 origin of the name and location of individuals of 
 earlier times is now going on in England. But let 
 us confine ourselves to the American family. 
 
 The ship "Lion" cast anchor in Boston harbor 
 Sunday evening, Sept. 16, 1632, bringing 123 pas- 
 sengers, whereof fifty were children, all in good 
 health, after a voyage of twelve weeks. Of the 
 passenger list the names of about thirty only have 
 been preserved, and of these the name of William 
 Wadsworth, thought to have been born in 1600, 
 stands at the head, as having a family of four per- 
 sons. It is believed that he had made the trip pre- 
 viously, but had come this time to remain. He was 
 made a freeman Nov. 6, 1632, in Cambridge, and 
 when the town was organized he was chosen a 
 member of the first board of selectmen, and held 
 office in 1634-35. From Cambridge he came to 
 Hartford as one of Hooker's company, and there 
 passed the remainder of his life, dying in 1675. He 
 was among the wealthier and more influential pro- 
 prietors and settlers of Hartford. To his first mar- 
 riage were born four children : Sarah, who was 
 married to John Wilcox ; William, who died in in- 
 fancy ; Mary, married to Thomas Stoughton ; and 
 John. By his second wife, Eliza Stone, whom he 
 married in 1644, were born six children: Eliza- 
 beth, married to John Terry; Samuel, born in 1646; 
 Joseph, in 1648; Sarah, in 1649 (married to 'Jona- 
 than Ashley); Thomas, in 1651; and Rebecca, in 
 1656. Every American schoolboy has read of the 
 determined Capt. Joseph Wadsworth, of Charter 
 Oak fame, alluded to above, and how he preserved 
 the liberties of Connecticut ; every one knows how, 
 when Gov. Fletcher attempted to silence the drums 
 beaten at Capt. Joseph's command, in order that 
 Fletcher might not read his commission and usurp- 
 the control of the militia, Wadsworth, with most 
 determined energy, told him, "If I am interrupted 
 again, I will make the sun shine through you in a 
 moment !" 
 
 Thomas Wadsworth, mentioned above as having 
 
 been born in 165 1, married Elizabeth , in 
 
 1677, '^"d there were born to them seven children : 
 John, who died in infancy; Sarah, born in 1681, who 
 

 ^U^-c-^^' /J^ X^-^^^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 003 
 
 was married to a Mr. Burr; Elizabeth; Rebecca, 
 born in 1686, who was married to James Gross, 
 and died in 1707, without issue; Thomas, born in 
 1689; Hannah, born in 1690; and WiUiam, born 
 in 1692, died in 1725. 
 
 Thomas Wadsworth, born in 1689, a son of 
 Thomas, was a farmer of Farminoton, this county, 
 and died in 1771. He married Miriam Beckley, but 
 in all probability died without issue. [The Wads- 
 worth family genealogy, compiled by Horace An- 
 drew \\'adsworth, of Lawrence, Mass., and from 
 which this matter is extracted, says : "There has 
 been some controversy as to whether this man was 
 not the father of Thomas (third) instead of Thomas 
 the son of Thomas (being so), in which event all 
 the descendants of Thomas (fourth) would be of 
 the Farmington branch. But we are satisfied this 
 man died without issue." In this case, who was the 
 father of Thomas (third) following?] 
 
 Thomas Wadsworth (third) born in East Hart- 
 ford in 1716, married Sarah Arnold; she died in 
 1778, and he in 1783. Their children were nine 
 in number, born as follows: Thomas, 1739; John, 
 1742; Samuel, 1746; Josiah, 1748; William, 1753; 
 Jerusha, 17 — ; Sarah, 1754; Rebecca, 1757; and 
 Elizabeth, 1761. 
 
 Thomas Wadsworth (fourth), a farmer of East 
 Hartford, was born in 1739, and died in 1810. He 
 married Thankful Hills, who died in 1816, and their 
 children, twelve in number, were : George, born in 
 1762, died in 1806, unmarried; Thomas, born in 
 1763; David, born in 1767, died in Gainesville, N. 
 y. ; Timothy, born in 1770; Solomon, born in 1772; 
 Joel, born in 1774, died single in 182"^; Moses, born 
 in 1776, died in infancy; Anna, died in infancy; 
 Anna (2), born in 1780, married to Ashel Porter; 
 Moses (2), born in 1733; Thankful, married; and 
 Abbt\v. Thomas, Moses, David and Timothy re- 
 moved in early life to New Hartford, Oneida Co., 
 N. Y., and located on what was afterward called 
 Wadsworth Hill. 
 
 Solomon Wadsworth, of the above family, born 
 in 1772, married Lucy Kirby, and died in 1853. 
 Their children were as follows : Allen, born in 
 1795 ; Rebecca, in 1797 (died unmarried in East 
 Hartford in 1871) ; Solomon, in 1800; Horace, in 
 1802; Lucy, in 1805 (was married to Joseph 
 Arnold); Norman, in 1806; Laura, in 1807; Eme- 
 line, in 1810 (died an infant); Maria, in 1813; 
 Mary, in 1819 (married E. Gillett) ; and Daniel, in 
 1821. 
 
 Solomon Wadsworth, born Feb. 13, 1800, on the 
 farm in East Hartford now occupied by Peter Rival, 
 followed agriculture all his life, and died at his 
 birthplace March 28, 1884. To his marriage with 
 Sarah Dow, a native of Newington, and a daughter 
 of Solomon and Lucy (Butler) Dow, four children 
 were born : Rufus, born in July, 1830, married 
 Adelaide Watross, of Bolton, and is now living in 
 Manchester; Stanley is the subject of tliis sketch; 
 Sarah, born April 2, 1836, was married to Stephen 
 
 P. Forbes, and is now living with her son, Clar- 
 ence C, in Hockanum ; and Urania, wife of Martin 
 Fox, resides in East Hartford. 
 
 Stanlev Wadsworth was born Nov. 20, 1832, 
 as has been mentioned at the beginning of this 
 article, was reared on the home farm, and received 
 a sound common-school education in the meanwhile. 
 In 1 85 1 he rented from Julius Griswold a farm 
 which he operated two years, and was then ap- 
 pointed master of the town almshouse, which posi- 
 tion he filled eight years; in i860 he bought his 
 present farm from George W. Champlin, known as 
 the Austin Hall place, on which he raises about 
 six acres of tobacco, together with miscellaneous 
 farm productions. 
 
 On Jan. 21, 1858, Mr. Wadsworth married Miss 
 Harriet J. Latham, who was born in Hebron Dec. 
 6, 1839, a daughter of Amos B. and Caroline M. 
 (Loomis) Latham, and this marriage has been 
 blessed with one child, Milton Stanley. 
 
 Milton Stanley Wadsworth was born May 14, 
 1861, received his primary education in the district 
 school, then attended the academy in Cranbury, 
 N. J., under Prof. Brown, for one winter, and next 
 entered the high school at Hartford, where he 
 finished his studies. On May 21, 1884, 3ilr. Wads- 
 worth was united in marriage with JNIiss Elsie F. 
 Ransom, who was born in East Hampton, Conn., 
 Oct. 4, i860, a daughter of Merritt and Florinda 
 (Clark) Ransom, the former a Methodist clergj-man. 
 This union was blessed with four children: Flor- 
 ence May, born Oct. 18, 1885 ; Imogene Elsie, July 
 5, 1888; Gertrude M., Aug. 3, 1891 ; and :\Iilton S., 
 Dec. 23, 1893. But it is sad to add that Milton S. 
 Wadsworth, the father of this interesting young 
 family, was called from earth Dec. 21, 1893, just 
 two days before the birth of his youngest child. 
 The grief of the young widow and that of the elder 
 children must be left to the imagination of the read- 
 er. Milton S. Wadsworth was one of the most 
 amiable as well as one of the most intelligent young 
 men of the town of East Hartford, and his taking off 
 in early manhood was mourned by hosts of warm- 
 hearted and sincere friends. He had been in the 
 employ of the Corbin Co. at New Britain for thir- 
 teen years, during five of which he was traveling 
 salesman, to their profit and great satisfaction, and 
 at the time of his death he was the trusted manager 
 of their Philadelphia store ; thus a bright and more 
 than ordinarily promising business career was un- 
 timely ended, and an interesting and amiable wife 
 and young family left in the shadow of the valley of 
 grief. Stanley Wadsworth and his devoted and 
 Christian wife have never ceased to mourn their 
 loss, yet uncomplainingly yield to the inevitable, 
 having imbibed within their hearts the true spirit 
 of the teachings of the Congregatonal Church, of 
 which they are devout members. 
 
 Although Mr. Wadsworth began life a com- 
 paratively poor young man, he has raised himself to 
 a position of ease and comfort, and ranks with the 
 
604 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 best people of East Hartford, a position he has 
 gained through his personal merits, regardless of 
 his long life of pedigree, whose fair escutcheon no 
 act or word of his has ever tarnished. A Repub- 
 lican in politics, he has never accepted political of- 
 fice, but has been willing to serve his church — the 
 South Congregational — on all occasions. He was 
 chairman of the society committee before the so- 
 ciety and church were consolidated ; was elected a 
 deacon of the church, and faithfully served' several 
 years, until he felt it necessary to resign. He and 
 wife are both kind-hearted and charitable, and any 
 community might be proud to call them its own. 
 
 REV. HORACE WINSLOW, A. B., A. M., is 
 a retired minister of the Congregational Church 
 and a resident of Weatogue, Hartford county. He 
 was born at Enfield, Hampshire Co., Mass., May i8, 
 1814. His life has be€n filled with incident and rich 
 achievement. For more than half a century he has 
 been an active worker in the cause of Christianity. 
 Richly endowed by nature and by an illustrious an- 
 cestry for the divine calling, prompted by the spirit 
 within and vielding to its behests without reserva- 
 tion, he has given to the service an intensity and a 
 brilliance that has crowned his labor with a golden 
 measure of success. His work has been truly well 
 done, and the landmarks of his efforts rise in ma- 
 jestic proportions and call him blessed. 
 
 Mr. Winslow's lineage has the crystal purity 
 of Pilgrim hope' and aspiration. He is the direct 
 descendant of Kenelm Winslow, brother of Gov. 
 Edward Winslow, who came to America in the 
 "Mayflower," and who was the first governor of the 
 English colony at Plymouth. Kenelm Winslow was 
 born at Droitwitch, in Worcestershire, England, 
 April 29, 1599. He embarked for America on the 
 ship "Speedwell," which had to put back twice for 
 repairs, and finally came on the "Mayflower," arriv- 
 ing in 1629. He settled at Plymouth, Mass., and 
 in 1641 removed to Marshfield, Plymouth county, 
 where he owned a large tract of land, then called 
 Green Harbor. His place was called the "Eden of 
 the region." The Marshfield homestead was after- 
 ward owned and occupied by the Hon. Daniel Web- 
 ster. He received other grants of land and also ac- 
 quired property by purchase, being one of the twen- 
 ty-six proprietors and planters of Freetown, Mass. 
 He died Sept. 13, 1672, at Salem, Mass., while on a 
 visit. In June, 1634, at Plymouth, Mass., he mar- 
 ried Eleanor Adams, of that town, who survived 
 him, and died at Marshfield, Dec. 5, 1681. 
 
 Kenelm Winslow (2), his son, was born at 
 Plymouth, Mass., about 1635, and died at Hartwick, 
 Worcester Co., Mass., Nov. 11, 171 5. He was a 
 planter and purchased large tracts of land, both in 
 Massachusetts and Connecticut, buying a 1,000-acre 
 tract at Windham, Conn., in 1700. He was styled 
 "Colonel," according to the town records. He was 
 twice married. His first wife was Mercy Worden, 
 who was born about 1641 at Yarmouth, Barnstable 
 
 Co., Mass., and died in 1688. He married (second) 
 Damaris , who lived until 1729, or later. 
 
 Capt. Josiah Winslow, son of Kenelm (2), and 
 Mercy ( 'Worden) Winslow, was born at Marshfield, 
 Mass., Nov. 7, 1669. He died at Freetown, Mass., 
 April 3, 1761. "He established the business of cloth 
 dressing," and was also proprietor of a forge. He 
 was constable, surveyor, assessor, selectman, town 
 treasurer, and a member of the commission to lo- 
 cate the site and to erect the first meeting-house in 
 Freetown. In June, 1695, he married Margaret 
 Tisdale, of Taunton, Bristol Co., Mass., who died 
 in 1737. Josiah Winslow was first lieutenant and 
 afterward captain of the Assonet Company of Mi- 
 litia. 
 
 Major Ebenezer Winslow, son of Josiah and 
 Margaret (Tisdale) Winslow, was born at Freetown 
 in November, 1705, and died in Berkley, Bristol Co., 
 Mass., in 1767. He was major cf the Second Reg- 
 iment of Bristol county, was town clerk, treasurer, 
 selectman, and justice of the peace for many years. 
 He married, July 20, 1732, Esther Atwood, of Digh- 
 ton, Bristol Co., Mass., who died in 1774. 
 
 Capt. John Winslow, son of Ebenezer and Esther 
 (Atwood) Winslow, was born at Berkley, Mass., 
 in 1749. He was a lieutenant and paymaster in a 
 Massachusetts regiment in 1775 ; was captain of the 
 Third Continental Artillery in 1777; and regimental 
 paymaster in 1778, serving in the army through the 
 entire Revolution. He was an extensive land owner, 
 and hved in Greenwich (now Enfield), Mass., and 
 later at Hartwick, Mass., where he died. He mar- 
 ried, first, Rebecca, daughter of Col. John Hathaway, 
 of Berkley, Mass., an officer of the Revolution, who 
 fought at the battle of Bunker Hill. His second 
 wife was Mary Gibbs, of Greenwich, Hampshire 
 Co., Mass., who died in 1784. 
 
 John Hathaway Winslow, son of John and Re- 
 becca (Hathaway) Winslow, and grandson of Eben- 
 ezer 'Winslow, was the father of the Rev. Horace 
 Winslow. He was born at Greenwich (now En- 
 field), Hampshire Co., Mass., Nov. 17, 1776; served 
 in the war of 1812, and in 1816 removed to Pitts- 
 ford, Monroe Co., N. Y., where he spent the re- 
 mainder of his life, dying there June i, 1846. He 
 married, in 1798, Claramond Eddy, of Greenwich, 
 Mass., who was born in 1779, and died 1799. For 
 his second wife he wedded, Oct. 30, 1800, Elizabeth 
 Mills, who was born in Needham, Norfolk Co., 
 Mass., June 14, 1771, and died July 17, 1841. The 
 children born to John Hathaway 'Winslow were as 
 follows : By his first wife one daughter Claramond, 
 born 1799, married Hiram Hayes, a contractor and 
 builder of Perrinton, N. Y. They had several chil- 
 dren. Mrs. Hayes died in 1892, at the age of 
 ninety-two years, and seven months. By his second 
 wife John H. Winslow had eight children — (i) 
 Lorenzo, born 1801, taught school for some vears, 
 was afterward engaged in several kinds of business, 
 and was a man of much versatility. He married, 
 in 1836, Miss Nancy A. Carver, of Pittsford, N. 
 
 I 
 
/^7Y^^ <v .^-^^^^^^^-^^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 605 
 
 Y., sister of Dr. HartwcU Carver (a projector of a 
 railroad to the Tacific coast, prior to the Union 
 Pacific J, and a descendant of the Pilgrim Carver 
 family. They had no children. He pasesd away 
 in 1884. (2j Selinda, born 1803, died in infancy. 
 (3) i'hilander, born 1804, married (first) Nancy 
 D. Hicks, and (second) Alary Haven. He had four 
 children by the first wife and three by the second. 
 He was a merchant. Was for a long time deacon 
 in the Baptist Church of Marion, N. Y., where he 
 resided. He died in 1865. (4) Philinda, born 
 1808, occurs under Mr. Winslow's name. (5) John 
 Mills, born 181 1, married, 1836, Harriet M. Child, 
 of Rochester, N. Y., and they had two children. 
 He was a druggist in Rochester for many years. 
 Was in the Civil war, serving in Missouri as as- 
 sistant surgeon on Gen. Fremont's stafif. He died 
 in 1886. (6) Horace, born 1814, sketch of whom 
 follows. (7) Charles Elliott, M. D., born 1815, 
 attended a medical school, and also studied with 
 Prof. Frank H. Hamilton, who afterward attended 
 President Garfield. Received his degree but did 
 not practice as his health failed early, and he died 
 in 1845, ^t the age of thirty. (8) Joshua Upham, 
 M. D., born 1818, married Sarah Celestia Sloane, 
 of Sandusky, Ohio, and they had two children. He 
 also studied with Prof. Frank H. Hamilton, and 
 graduated at a medical school. He practiced his 
 profession for several years and then became a 
 druggist, continuing in that business until his death, 
 in 1887. 
 
 Rev. Horace Winslow, our subject, was born at 
 Enfield, Hampshire Co., Mass., May 18, 1814, and 
 was two years of age when he removed with his 
 father's family to Pittsford, N. Y. There he at- 
 tended the public schools, but at the early age of 
 twelve years he began his own support as a clerk 
 in a book store at Rochester, N-. Y., receiving for 
 his salary two dollars per month and board. In 
 his youth he possessed a strong desire to consecrate 
 his life to the service of God, and he planned to 
 secure the necessarj- preparation. He prepared for 
 college at a high school in Rochester. Partly through 
 his own efforts, and partly by the help of his brother, 
 he obtained means to enter and attend Hamilton 
 College, Clinton, N. Y., from which he subsequently 
 received the degree of M. A. He then entered the 
 Theological Seminary at Auburn, and, later, the 
 Union Theological Seminary, in New York City. 
 In the spring of 1842 he was ordained by the North 
 River (N. Y.) Presbytery, and installed pastor of 
 the Presbyterian Church at New Windsor, Orange 
 Co., N. Y. In 1843 he became pastor of the Sec- 
 ond Presbyterian Church at Lansingburg, Rensselaer 
 Co., N. Y. In 1845 lie was installed pastor of the 
 Congregational Church at Rockville, Tolland Co., 
 Conn., and while there he not only took a deep in- 
 terest in the church, but also in the town and its 
 schools. The two parks at Rockville are the product 
 of his individual labors. \\'ith his own hands he 
 planted the trees in the park in front of the church 
 
 where he labored for seven years. In 1852 he 
 resigned and accepted a call to the First Congre- 
 gational Ciiurch at New Britain, Hartford Co., 
 Conn., where he labored for six years. During 
 his pastorate, the church erected the fine building 
 which it still occupies. In January, 1858, he was 
 installed pastor ot the Congregational Church at 
 Great Barringlon, Berkshire Co., iMass., where he 
 attended to the spiritual wants of his people for 
 four years, and where was built a nev/ church edifice. 
 Having been appointed chaplain of the 5th Conn. V. 
 1., in February, 18O2, he resigned his charge and 
 joined the army. In consequence of ill healili, and 
 because he was unable to follow his regiment, he 
 later in the year resigned as chaplain and returned 
 home. In 1863 he became pastor of the Congre- 
 gational Church at Binghamton, Broome Co., N. Y., 
 where he labored for four years, and on resigning 
 that charge returned to Connecticut for a few 
 months, his health much impaired by the climate of 
 Binghamton. For a time he was' in the service 
 of the American Alissionary Association, and also 
 officiated at the First Church (Cong'l.) of Wood- 
 bury, Litchfield Co., Conn., from which he had re- 
 ceived a call, but he finally declined it and accepted 
 one from the Congregational Church of Willimantic, 
 where he was settled in 1869. While there the 
 society built a large and beautiful edifice, costing 
 over $47,000, more than half of which amount was 
 raised by Mr. Winslow's own individual eflforts. 
 In 1876, while driving in a severe thunderstorm, 
 Mr. Winslow was struck by lightning, thrown from 
 the carriage, and became insensible." After regain- 
 ing consciousness he remained for a time in a very 
 critical condition. Flis people kindly gave him a 
 vacation for six months, after which he resumed 
 work. Finally, after a service of more than twelve 
 years at Willimantic, his health being frail, he 
 resigned his charge and removed to Weatogue, 
 Simsbury. Through this change his health im- 
 proved, and he resumed pulpit work, which he has 
 continued until quite recently. For two vears he 
 supplied a Providence (R. I.) Church. 'He was 
 also supply at Litchfield and at the Windsor Avenue 
 Church of Hartford, and for nine months in his 
 former church at Great Barrington, Mass. For 
 about three years he preached in Simsbury. Rev. 
 Mr. Winslow has devoted over fifty years of his 
 life as a worker in the vineyard of the Lord. 
 Through his untiring eflforts many churches have 
 been erected and dedicated to the service of God. 
 He has also been an active worker in the cause of 
 temperance, and his zeal in that great cause is as 
 earnest to-day as in the past. While minister at 
 Rockville, Conn., he organized his Cold Water 
 Army of 300 children, which became quite famous. 
 His potent influence has been enlisted in education, 
 and in the elevation of schools. The prosperity of 
 the community and village improvements have ever 
 appealed successfully to his interest. He is and 
 has always been a stanch friend of individual liberty, 
 
606 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and of the elevation of the masses, both morally and 
 socially. From early manhood he was opposed to 
 slavery, and at the breaking out of the Civil war 
 was an ardent defender of the Union. In his politi- 
 cal views he is a Republican. In the pulpit and upon 
 the platform Mr. Winslow has always been a logi- 
 cal and forceful speaker and expounder of the truth. 
 In address he is eloquent and persuasive, and is 
 gifted with a wonderful memory. 
 
 In 1853 I^sv. Mr. Winslow received the degree 
 of Master of Arts from his Alma Mater. He is 
 a life director of the American Tract Society, an hon- 
 orary member of the American Board of Commis- 
 sioners for Foreign Missions ; a life member of the 
 American Bible Society; also a life member of the 
 following societies : American Missionary Asso- 
 ciation, American Bethel Society, and American 
 Seamen's Friend Society, and has been vice-presi- 
 dent of the American Missionary Association. He 
 is well known throughout the Eastern States, and 
 is honored for his telling and indefatigable labor in 
 all good causes. 
 
 Mr. Winslow was married, May 8, 1850, at the 
 Church of the Puritans, New York City, by the 
 pastor, the Rev. George B. Cheever, D. D., to Char- 
 lotte Henrietta Pettibone, daughter of the late Capt. 
 Jonathan and Mrs. Fanny Rosanna (Phelps) Petti- 
 bone, of Simsbury, Conn. Mrs. Winslow has for 
 more than fifty years been a worthy and sustaining 
 helpmate to her husband, and has always been in- 
 terested in his work. She is of a kind and lovable 
 disposition, and her devotion to her husband and 
 children is unsurpassed. She was born at Weatogue, 
 Simsbury, and was only three years old when she 
 attended her first school, was a pupil of various 
 private schools, and was graduated at the age of 
 sixteen at Hartford Female Seminary, with first 
 rank in her class. She also took courses in French, 
 Music and Art while residing in Hartford, and later 
 at New York City, being for a time a pupil at the 
 private school of Madame Okill. About the year 
 1844, Miss Delia Bacon, of New Haven, sister of 
 Rev. Leonard Bacon, D. D., conducted a class of 
 young ladies in higher branches of study. This 
 class Miss Pettibone joined, giving special attention 
 to the Bible, to Shakespeare, and to philosophy, and 
 the few months spent in New Haven were most 
 delightful and profitable, as Miss Bacon was a lady 
 of rare ability and attainments. 
 
 The Pettibone family, of which Mrs. Winslow 
 is an honored representative, is one of the oldest in 
 New England. It had also fifteen members in the 
 Revolutionary war. John Pettibone, the founder, 
 migrated, it is supposed, from Wales, and was pos- 
 sibl)^ a soldier under Cromwell, the followers of 
 whom were known as "Round Heads." He was a 
 freeman in Windsor in 1658. In 1667 he resided 
 in that part of the Farmington valley which (1670) 
 became Simsbury. He was a freeman of Sims- 
 bury in 1669. He married, Feb. 16, 1664, Sarah, 
 daughter of Begot Eggleston ; she was born March 
 
 28, 1643. Their children were as follows : John, 
 born June 15, 1665, married Mary Bissell, Dec. 18, 
 1690; Sarah, born Sept. 24, 1667, married (first) 
 John Mills, ( second j John Humphrey, and died 
 April 3, 1748, leaving nine children; Stephen, born 
 Oct. 3, 1669, married Deborah Bissell, of Windsor, 
 who died in 1739; Samuel, born Sept. 2, 1672, mar- 
 ried Judith Shepard, of Concord, Mass., and had 
 five children (he died Feb. 11, 1747) ; Rebecca, 
 born March 9, 1675, married Thomas Holcomb, 
 March 6, 1700, had three children and died Oct. 13, 
 1731 ; Henry, born June 20, 1677, died about 1706, 
 unmarried; Ann, born March 11, 1679, married John 
 Holcomb (she was the mother of nine children and 
 died July 12, 1753) ; Benjamin, born May 28, 1682, 
 died March 12, 1705, unmarried; Joseph, born 
 
 March 11, 1688, married (first) Thanks , 
 
 who died Nov. 2, 1724, and for his second wife 
 he wedded Hannah Large. He had eight children, 
 and died Sept. 14, 1762. 
 
 Samuel Pettibone, son of John and Sarah (Eg- 
 gleston) Pettibone, was born in Simsbury, Sept. 2, 
 1672; was a farmer, and spent his entire life in the 
 town of Simsbury. He wag a well-known citi- 
 zen, and one of the foremost men of Simsbury in 
 his day. He married, Judith Shepard, of Concord, 
 Mass., and their children were as follows : Samuel, 
 born in 1700, and died Nov. 26, 1752, married Eliza- 
 beth Thrall; Hepzibah, died Feb. 25, 1755; Jon- 
 athan, born in 1709, died Sept. 26, 1776; Isaac, 
 born June 19, 171 1, died in 1771 ; Abraham, born 
 Nov. 8, 1713, died July 30, 1725. 
 
 Col. Jonathan Pettibone (i), son of Samuel and 
 Judith (Shepard) Pettibone, was born in the town 
 of Simsbury in 1709; was well educated, and fol- 
 lowed farming. He was prominent during .the 
 opening scenes of the Revolution, and before the 
 war, was commissioned colonel of the i8th Con- 
 necticut Regiment of Militia, which was called out 
 in 1776. He died Sept. 26, 1776, at Rye, N. Y., 
 while in the service. A monument was erected to 
 his memory in Simsbury. Col. Pettibone (i) be- 
 sides being prominent in military affairs, was justice 
 of the peace for sixteen years, and represented the 
 town in the General Assembly for fourteen sessions. 
 The names of Col. Jonathan Pettibone (i), Col. 
 Jonathan Pettibone (2) and Capt. Jonathan Petti- 
 bone (3), as representatives, occur forty times in 
 the history of the town of Simsbury. Col. Petti- 
 bone married Martha Humphrey, who bore him 
 children as follows : Giles, born Dec. 9, 1735, died 
 March 17, 1810; Ozias, born May 9, 1737, died 
 Sept. 9, 1812 ; Rosanna, born Aug. 9, 1739, died 
 Oct. 15, 1813; Jonathan, born Aug. 12, 1741, died 
 March 20, 1826; Martha, born Dec. 3, 1743, died 
 March 25, 1749; Annis, born Nov. 17, 1745, died 
 March 14, 1821 ; Ahijah, born May 25, 1749, died 
 April 15, 1784. Martha Humphrey Pettibone was a 
 brave and patriotic woman, judged by the fact that 
 she gave her husband (then a man sixty-six years 
 of age), and all of her sons, to the service of their 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 607 
 
 I country in the war of the Revolution. Three of the 
 four sons were officers, as well as their father. 
 
 Col. Jonathan I'ettibone (2), son of Col. Jona- 
 than Pettibone (i), and Martha (Humphrey) i'etti- 
 j bone, was born Aug. 12. J 741, in Weatogue, Sims- 
 i bury, where he was educated, and engaged in farni- 
 I ing. He was a second lieutenant in tlie Revolution- 
 I ary war under his father, and later was made first 
 ' lieutenant, serving through the Revolution ; after 
 the war he held the rank of colonel. He died 
 I !March 20, 1826. He was a man who commanded 
 I respect, and his name was a household word, for he 
 [ took a deep interest in education and the town 
 generally, and held many positions of trust and 
 responsibility. On Feb. y, i/Oy, he married Han- 
 nah Owen, born Alay 13, 1749, daughter of John 
 and Esther (Humphrey) Owen. It has been said 
 that Mrs. Hannah (Owen) Pettibone managed the 
 farm sometimes with only a young boy to help her, 
 while her husband, his father and brothers were 
 absent at the war. At one time all the able-bodied 
 men of Simsbury were in the service. The chil- 
 dren of Jonathan and Hannah (Owen) Pettibone 
 Avere as follows: Alartha, born May 16, 1770, 
 married Austin Phelps, and died Dec. 9, 182 1. 
 Hannah, born Feb. 9, 1773, married Waite Latimer, 
 and died Nov. i, 1830; Jonathan, born May 31, 
 1775, died Sept. 19, 1829; Dorinda, born April 5, 
 1778, died March 15. 1857; Harlow, born April 
 7, 17S1, married Nancy Lucy Cornish, daughter of 
 Deacon George Cornish, and died Feb. 27, 1823 ; 
 Samuel, born Feb. 21, 1784, married Catharine 
 IMills, born March 27, 1790, daughter of Elder 
 Jared and Joanna Case (Russell) ]\Iills; Samuel 
 died Aug. 26, 1820; Hon. John Owen, born Oct. 
 22, 1787, graduated at Yale in 1805 (being a class- 
 mate of Rev. Dr. Heman Humphrey, who was 
 president of Amherst College) ; John Ow"en Petti- 
 bone was for many years probate judge of Sims- 
 bury, and served in the State Senate ; he was a large 
 land owner, and died Aug. 19, 1876;, Virgil, born 
 April 2, 1790, died Oct. 24, 1864: was probate 
 judge and held various other offices. 
 
 Capt. Jonathan Pettibone ( 3 ) , son of Jonathan 
 (2) and Hannah (Owen) Pettibone, and the father 
 of Mrs. ^^'inslow, was born ]\lay 31, 1775. He w"as 
 a man of education and refinement : was a' general 
 merchant in Weatogue for many years, and had the 
 honor of being the first postmaster of what is now 
 the town of Simsbury. He was noted for his up- 
 right character and honorable dealings. He was 
 a captain of militia, in politics a Democrat. He 
 died Sept. 19, 1829, and was buried in Simsbury. 
 On May I, 1823, he was married, in Simsbury, by 
 the Rev. Allen McLean, to Fanny Rosanna Phelps, 
 born ]\Iarch 8, 1795, in Simsbury, daughter of Col. 
 Xoah A. Phelps, of Simsbury, and sister of the late 
 Hon. Noah A. Phelps, Secretarv of the State, and 
 author of Phelps' "History of Simsbury." 
 
 Mrs. Fanny R. (Phelps) Pettibone w^as the 
 granddaughter of Maj. Gen. Noah Phelps, a dis- 
 
 tinguished officer of the Revolutionary war. He 
 was a captain in the French wars, was made colonel 
 during the Revolution, and afterward commissioned 
 brigadier general and then major general. In 1775 
 a plan was formed to capture Fort Ticonderoga. 
 Capt. Phelps raised a company of men and bore the 
 chief expense of fitting it out for service. He then 
 joined the expedition to Lake Champlain, entered 
 Ticonderoga as a spy, ascertained the condition of 
 the stronghold, and, escaping unharmed, by his re 
 port enabled the Americans to capture that im- 
 portant fortress with much more cleverness and dis- 
 patch than otherwise might have been possible. 
 
 Mrs. Pettibone was a lady of admirable traits. 
 Attractive in personal appearance to her latest davs, 
 she was even more winning in character. While 
 strong and unyielding in principle, she w'as yet full 
 of kindness, expressed both in words and deeds — 
 no appeal from the sick or unfortunate reaching 
 her in vain, and her cheerfulness and unselfishness 
 in all matters of everyday life were very prominent, 
 as also her fortitude and patience in trial. When 
 young she united with the Simsbury Congrega- 
 tional Church, and her religious experience was real 
 and deep. She devoted much time to the reading 
 of the Bible. Tenderly cared for by her daughter, 
 with whom she had made her home, she died in 
 \\'illimantic at the age of eighty-two years — the 
 last but one of eight sons and daughters — deeply 
 mourned by all wdio had known her. Born and 
 married in the old Phelps home in Simsbury. then 
 occupied by her brother, Hon. Jeflfery O. Phelps, 
 her funeral services w-ere held there, and her re- 
 mains then laid in the ancient burying ground 
 beside those of her husband. Mrs. Pettibone was 
 a lineal descendant of William Phelps, who came 
 to this country from England in 1630. Capt. 
 Jonathan and Fanny R. (Phelps) Pettibone had 
 but one child, Charlotte Henrietta, the wife of our 
 subject, Rev. Horace \Mnslow. 
 
 A brief record of the eight children born to 
 Col. Noah A. and Charlotte (\\'ilcox) Phelps is as 
 follows: (i) Charlotte r\Ielissa, born 1786, died 
 1871, married Frederick William Jewett, of Granby, 
 Conn., and had five children, a sketch of one of 
 whom, Frederick S. Jewett. occurs farther on. 
 (2) Noah Amherst, Jr., born 1788, died 1872, 
 married (first) Delia Clark, of Hartford. Conn., 
 and (second) Catherine St. John, of New Haven, 
 Conn., had six children. (3) Jefterv Orson, born 
 
 1791, died , married (first) Pollina Barnard, of 
 
 Simsbury. Conn., and (second) Harriet Humphrey, 
 also of Simsbury : he had four children. (4) 
 Fanny Rosanna, born 1795, died 1877. married 
 Capt. Jonathan Pettibone, of Simsbury. Conn. ; her 
 record comes under Rev. Horace \Mnslow"s name. 
 (5) Hector Fayette, born 1797, died 1874. married 
 Selina Barnard, of Bloomfield, Conn. : they had 
 eight children. (6) Emma IMaria. born 1799. died 
 1862, married Col. ^^'illiam Mather, Jr., of Sims- 
 bury, Conn.; they had five children. (7) Guy Row- 
 
608 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 land, M. D., born 1802, died 1869, married Hannali 
 Latimer, of Simsbury, Conn. ; they liad four chil- 
 dren. (8) George Dwight, born 1804, died 1872, 
 married (first) Frances Henrietta Randolph, of 
 New York City, (second) Mary Ayres, also of New 
 York City, and (third) Harriet Augusta Ayres, of 
 New Brunswick, N. J. ; he had five children. 
 
 Frederick Stiles Jewett, a son of Frederick Will- 
 iam and Charlotte Melissa (Phelps) Jewett, and a 
 grandson of Col. Noah A. Phelps, was born at 
 Simsbury, Conn., Feb. 26, 1819, and lived during 
 his childhood and much of his youth with Mrs. 
 Pettibone, who loved him almost as much as an 
 own son. He spent two years before the mast on a 
 whaling voyage, in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian 
 oceans, which experience gave him a real acquaint- 
 ance with the sea in all its phases, and with ship- 
 ping and sailors — a knowledge afterward of im- 
 mense value to him while wmning his way to a 
 prominent place as a marine painter. He, however, 
 first turned his attention to literary work, and 
 showed himself a writer of considerable ability, 
 both in verse and prose. At one time he was an 
 editor of the "New England Weekly Review," 
 published in Hartford, and afterwards editor, suc- 
 cessively, of two papers published in the British 
 West Indies, viz. : The Kingston Despatch, of 
 Kingston, Jamaica, and the Antigua, Observer, of 
 St. John, Antigua. After residing for several years 
 in the West Indies, his health became frail and he 
 returned to this country, locating at _ Hartford. 
 While living there he held several offices of the city 
 government. He also did much of the designing 
 and laying out of Bushnell Park. He married 
 (first), in Hartford, Miss Cook, and (second) Aliss 
 Steele, of Antigua. Mr. Jewett is one of the art- 
 ists included in "Art and Artists in Connecticut," 
 by H. W. French. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Winslow have been born three 
 children: Fanny Henrietta, Lillian and Mary, (i) 
 Fanny Henrietta was born at Rockville, Conn. She 
 received a finished education, attending successively 
 Rose Cottage Seminary, Binghamton, N. Y., the 
 Hartford Female Seminary, and the Young Ladies 
 Collegiate Institute, of Waterbury, Conn. In the 
 special department of music she also became an apt 
 and proficient student. She is a person of literary 
 and musical tastes. She married, Oct. 4, 1876, 
 William Preston Smith, of Woodbury, Litchfield 
 Co., Conn., who is residing at Weatogue, Simsbury. 
 He is a man of prominence, served the town of 
 Woodbury in the Legislature, and has also served 
 as a member of the State Republican committee. 
 Mr. Smith is a son of the late Phineas and Cornelia 
 (Minor) Smith, and a member of an old family 
 of his native town. Representatives of the Smiths 
 served in the Revolution, and many have been 
 leading men in the profession of law. The Hon. 
 Nathan Smith and the late Hon. Truman Smith, 
 both of the United States Senate, together with 
 the Hon. Nathaniel Smith, also United States Sen- 
 
 ator, one of the foremost lawyers of his day in 
 Connecticut, and judge of the Supreme Court for 
 many years, belonged to this branch of the family. 
 
 Mr. Smith is descended, on his mother's side, 
 from a verj' ancient family. Henry Minor, of Eng- 
 land, who died in 1359, received the name and a 
 coat of arms from Kmg Edward III, in recogni- 
 tion of loyalty in providing a fine escort of a hun- 
 dred men, his own servants and retainers, for the 
 safety of the sovereign in passing through Somer- 
 setshire to the coast cii route for France. The 
 founder of the family- in America was Thomas, who 
 was born in 1608, and came to New England in 
 1630. He was married to Grace, daughter of 
 Walter Palmer, 1634. He and his wife both died 
 in the year 1690. Thomas Minor died in Stoning- 
 ton. Conn. His granddaughter, Grace, daughter of 
 John Minor, one of the very first settlers of Wood- 
 bury, was married, in 1688, to Samuel Grant, Jr., 
 of Windsor, an ancestor of the late Gen. Ulysses 
 S. Grant, President of the United States. 
 
 Mr. Smith is a grandson of the venerable dea- 
 con, Matthew JNIinor, who was greatly respected 
 for his integrity, and of eminent piety, and held the 
 office of deacon in the First Congregational Church 
 of Woodbury for forty-two years — the sixth in a 
 line of seven deacons of the name. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Smith one child has been born, 
 Lillian Winslow, who has graduated from McLean 
 Seminary, Simsbury, and is now a student at 
 Wellesley College, Massachusetts. For a few years 
 after his marriage Mr. Smith remained in Wood- 
 bury, then the family removed to Chicago, 111., and 
 he was in business in that city until his health be- 
 came impaired by the climate, when he returned to 
 the East, and they are now located at Weatogue. 
 
 (2) Lillian, second daughter of Rev. and Mrs. 
 Horace Winslow, was born at New Britain, Conn., 
 and was the first child baptized in the new Con- 
 gregational church of New Britain. She attended 
 the Natchaug High School, at Willimantic, also the 
 New Britain Seminary. She possessed an aft"ec- 
 tionate and lovable nature, and, with other personal 
 attractions, it is not strange that she gathered 
 friends from every circle in which she moved. With 
 fine .sensibilities and a taste for art, her health, how- 
 ever, never permitted her to develop greatly the 
 talent which was evidently hers. She united with 
 the church when young, and was interested in all 
 its work. Though reserved in speaking of her in- 
 most feelings, yet her religious experience gave di- 
 rection and control to her outward life. As long 
 as she was able to do so, she visited the homes of 
 the sick and the afflicted. Lillian was married, 
 May 18, 1887, to Charles James Fox, M. D., a lead- 
 ing physician, of Willimantic, Conn., who was 
 surgeon-general on the staiif of Gov. Phineas C. 
 Lounsbur)', brother of the late governor of Con- 
 necticut. Dr. Fox is a son of the late Roswell Fox, 
 M. D., for many years a valued citizen and emi- 
 nent physician of Wethersfield, Conn. Mrs. Fox 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 609 
 
 died Sept. 28, 1888, at Williinantic, and was buried 
 at Siinsbury. 
 
 (3) ]\lary, youngest daughter of Rev. H. Wins- 
 low, was born in Great Barrington, Berkshire Co., 
 Mass., in the house which is now occupied as the 
 pubhc Hbrary, at Great Barrington, and was the 
 first child baptized in the new Congregational 
 church, where her father preached. She was 
 graduated from the Natchaug (now Willimantic) 
 High School of Willimantic, Conn., is a young lady 
 of intellectual tastes, and interested in Sunday 
 school work. She is a charter member and the 
 present historian of Abigail Phelps Chapter, 
 Daughters of the American Revolution, attended 
 for four years the congress of the order at Washing- 
 ton, and was elected delegate to the congress one 
 year, was for several years historian of Willimantic 
 Alunuii Association. Miss Winslow is a member 
 of the Connecticut Forestry Association, in which 
 she takes great interest, and _ of which, with her 
 father, she was one of the founders. 
 
 An elder sister of Mr. Winslow, Miss Philinda, 
 resided with him for several years previous to her 
 death, which occurred in 1893. Mrs. Winslow was 
 a lady of intelligence, amiable, warm-hearted and 
 an active and consistent Christian. For more than 
 fifty years she was a faithful teacher in the Sun- 
 day-schools with which she was connected, and only 
 retired from the service when compelled to do so by 
 the infirmities of age. She was also greatly inter- 
 ested in Missions. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Winslow, our subject, is a member 
 and was one of the founders of the Connecticut 
 Forestry Association, which was organized at his 
 home in Weatogue, Dec. 30, 1895. He is a mem- 
 ber of Joseph R. Toy Post, No. 83, G. A. R., of 
 Simsbury, and was its chaplain from its organiza- 
 tion until 1897, when he was elected commander. 
 He is also a member of the Society of the Army of 
 the Potomoc. I\'Ir. Winslow has nosts of friend's of 
 all shades of political and religious belief, for his 
 sterling qualities as a man and as an advocate of 
 the spiritual, mental and material betterment of his 
 fellowmen are too conspicuous to be unseen. 
 
 FREDERICK A. SEYMOUR, of West Hart- 
 ford, is a veteran of the Civil war, and bears an 
 honorable record for brave service in the cause of 
 freedom and union, and in the paths of peace he has 
 also won an enviable reputation through the sterling 
 qualities which go to the making of a good citizen. 
 The greater part of his life has been spent in Hart- 
 ford county, and has been devoted to agricultural 
 pursuits. 
 
 Mr. Seymour was born March 12, 1819, in the 
 house built by his great-grandfather, Capt. John 
 Seymour, in Park avenue, \Ntst Hartford. Fie can 
 trace his ancestry to Richard Seymour, of Chelms- 
 ford, County of Essex, England, who was one of the 
 first settlers of Hartford in 1636, though he did not 
 come with Rev. 'Mr. Hooker's congregation, made 
 39 
 
 up in England, but soon afterward. In 1639 he was 
 appointed chimney viewer for Hartford, and he was 
 also allowed special privileges, such as cutting wood 
 and keeping cattle on the commons; was chosen 
 selectman in 1655. 
 
 Capt. John Seymour served in the Indian war in 
 1746 (at which time he was twenty years of age), 
 in the French and Indian war, and throughout the 
 Revolution as captain. He married Lydia Wads-, 
 worth, daughter of Capt. Wadsworth, of Charter 
 Oak fame, and thirteen children were born to them : 
 John (i), who was killed on a man-of-war (never 
 married); James; Alexander, who died at sea; 
 Rogers ; Asa, who died in Granville, Mass. ; Na- 
 thaniel, grandfather of our subject; John (2) ; Syl- 
 via ; Lydia ; Lucy ; Lucretia ; Lucina ; Anna Cynthia. 
 James married Hannah Collins, of West Hartford, 
 where he lived and died, leaving one son, Henry, 
 who married Rebecca Hunt, of Lenox, Mass. ; he 
 lived in Flartford, where he died. 
 
 Nathaniel Seymour was born Aug. 23, 1763, 
 and resided where our subject now lives, being en- 
 gaged in the pottery business here. He was a very 
 public-spirited and enterprising citizen, and served 
 as first selectman of the town of Hartford for many 
 years. He was also an officer in a militia company. 
 He married Sarah Kellogg, who was born Dec. 6, 
 1 761, and they had five children, whose names and 
 dates of birth were as follows: Emma, Jan. 18, 
 1790; Horace, Oct. 21, 1791 ; Edwin, June 23, 1793; 
 Mason, Dec. 15, 1794; and Nathan, Sept. 18, 1798. 
 
 Edwin Seymour, father of our subject, was born 
 in West Hartford, and was reared and educated 
 there. He married Miss Fannie Merrill, a daughter 
 of William Merrill, and to them were born six chil- 
 dren : Henry Thornton, Frederick A., Helen F., 
 Francis L., William S. and Charlotte ]\I., all of 
 whom lived and died in Ohio with the exception of 
 our subject. The family removed to that State 
 about 1853, and there the father departed this life 
 in 1855 ■ the mother died in 1870, in Indiana. 
 
 Frederick A. Seymour attended school in West 
 Hartford, and made his home with his grandparents 
 from the age of eleven years until he attained his 
 majority, when he, too, went to Ohio, locating in 
 Ravenna, Portage county. There he married Miss 
 Elvira Curtiss, and to them was born one child, 
 Nathan W., now a builder of West Hartford, who 
 married Rachel Fullin, and had two children, but 
 both died in infancy. 
 
 While Mr. Seymour was residing in Ohio the 
 Civil war broke out, and he enlisted, at Ravenna, in 
 1861, in Company G, 7th O. V. I., of which he was 
 immediately made captain. He remained in the 
 service for three years, during which time he was 
 promoted to the rank of major, and as such was 
 mustered out at ^^'ashington, D. C, in June, 1865. 
 Returning to Ravenna, he continued to reside there 
 until 1869, engaged in mercantile business, and he 
 also served as supervisor of his township. In 1869 
 lie returned to this countv, and has since resided 
 
610 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 on the old homestead in West Hartford. He is a 
 man of considerable prominence in his community, 
 and has been honored with several important of- 
 ficial positions, having served as selectman of West 
 Hartford three years, deputy sheriff one term, and 
 a representative to the State Legislature one term. 
 Socially he is an honored member of the Grand 
 Army Post in Hartford, and of Wyllys Lodge, No. 
 99, F. & A. M., of which he is past master; and 
 while a resident of Ohio he affihated with the In- 
 dependent Order of Odd Fellows and the Grand 
 Lodge of that order. 
 
 HON. JOHN C. E. HUMPHREY. The 
 Humphrey family is one of the most prominent in 
 the annals of Simsbury. It is one of the oldest, 
 and representatives for more than two centuries 
 have been conspicuous in the growth and advance- 
 ment of the community. The gentleman whose 
 name introduces this sketch, one of its living rep- 
 resentatives, is an enterprising and successful busi- 
 ness man. 
 
 Michael Humphrey was the original settler of 
 the family in Simsbur3^ The family has an ancient 
 and honorable history both in England and on the 
 continent of Europe, and Michael Humphrey was 
 probably descended from the branch which settled 
 in southwestern England soon after the Norman 
 Conquest. It is supposed he was born in Lyme 
 Regis, Dorsetshire, England, son of Samuel alid 
 Susannah Humphrey, probably natives of that place. 
 Michael had a taste for enterprise and trade, and, 
 the sea affording the best opportunities, with his 
 brother Samuel he became a merchant and ship- 
 owner, and before 1643 sailed from England for 
 America, settling at Windsor, Conn. At Massa- 
 coe (or Massaco), now Simsbury, he engaged with 
 John Griffin and John Tinker in the manufacture 
 of pitch and tar, which was shipped to his brother 
 Samuel and to Henry Rose, partners in business at 
 St. Malo, France, the ships returning to America 
 with goods consigned to Michael Humphrey. The 
 early records of Hartford county reveal something 
 of the character and standing of this founder. On 
 May 21, 1657, Michael Humphrey was admitted a 
 freeman of Windsor. In 1662 he was still engaged 
 in trade with his brother Samuel and with Henry 
 Rose at St. Malo, France. In 1664, as a member 
 of the Church of England, he, together with James 
 Eno and others, protested against paying taxes for 
 the support of the ministry of Windsor. In 1667 
 he was one of the Windsor dragoons. About 1669 
 he became one of the original thirteen settlers of 
 Massacoe, now Simsbury, and one of its most prom- 
 inent, settling in the East Weatogue District, where 
 he became a large land owner and extensive farmer. 
 Corn was his principal crop. He settled on the 
 farm, a part of which is now known as the Bradley 
 place, obtaining a grant of land over one mile in 
 length, reaching to the top of the Mountain. In 
 both civil and ecclesiastical affairs he was a lead- 
 
 ing spirit. On Oct. 14, 1674, he married Priscilla, 
 daughter of Matthew and Priscilla Grant, and she 
 bore him children as follows: (i) John, born June 
 7, 1650, is mentioned below. (2) Mary, born Oct. 
 24, 1653, married June 16, 1675, John Lewis, of 
 Windsor. (3) Samuel, born May 15, 1656, mar- 
 ried Mary Mills, and died June 15, 1736. (4) 
 Sarah, born March 6, 1659, married June 11, 1680, 
 Richard Burnham, of South Windsor. (5) Mar- 
 tha, born Oct. 5, 1663, married John Shipman. (6) 
 Abigail, born March 23, 1666, married Lieut. Ben- 
 jamin Graham, of Hartford, and died June 27, 
 
 1697. (7) Hannah, born Oct. 21, 1669, became the 
 second wife of Capt. John Bull, of Hartford. 
 Michael Humphrey died on his farm in Simsbury 
 previous to 1696. His father-in-law, Matthew 
 Grant, was the founder of the Grant family in the 
 United States, Gen. Grant being one of his descend- 
 ants. "The town surveyor was another important 
 office. Matthew Grant, whose name is so conspicu- 
 ous in the early history of the town (Windsor), 
 discharged the duties of this office. He was also 
 the second town clerk, and continued measuring of 
 land and getting-out of lots to men" for a period of 
 forty years. He is called by the historian. Stiles, 
 the "model town clerk," and his ancient manuscript 
 record of the old Dorchester and Windsor Church is 
 now among the treasures of the Connecticut His- 
 torical Society. 
 
 (II) John Humphrey, who was born in Windsor 
 June 7, 1650, removed with his parents to Simsbury, 
 and there became a lifelong farmer, dying Jan. 14, 
 
 1698. "He was a prominent and respected citizen , 
 was the owner of considerable land, and 'frequently 
 engaged in the town's business." He married Han- 
 nah Griffin, daughter of Sergt. John and Anna 
 (Bancroft) Griffin, John Griffin being his father's 
 partner in the manufacture of tar and pitch, and 
 the family born to them consisted of the following 
 children: (i) John, born Nov. 18, 1671, is men- 
 tioned below. (2) Mary, born April 14, 1674, 
 probably married a Mr. Wadsworth. (3) Thomas, 
 born Sept. i, 1676, married Hannah Hillyer, and 
 dJed Oct. 23, 1714. (4) Abigail, born Nov. 8, 
 1678, married a Mr. Gridley, of Farmington. (5) 
 Nathaniel, born March 3,1680, married Agnes Spen- 
 cer, and died in December. 171 1. (6) Samuel, born 
 1684, married Mary, daughter of James and Abigail 
 Bissell Eno, and died Sept. 20, 1725. (7) Joseph 
 married Abigail Griffin. Regarding Sergt. John 
 Griffin, father-in-law of John Humphrey, we have 
 the following: "Manahannoose, a Massaco Indian, 
 'did wittingly kindle a fire' which consumed a large 
 quantity of tar belonging to Griffm." For this he was 
 condemned by the court at Hartford, and, to escape 
 being shipped to Barbadoes or becoming a slave, he 
 and other Indians, proprietors of Massaco, gave to 
 Griffin a deed of all lands in Massaco. "In 1663 
 a grant was made to John Griffin by the General 
 Court of two hundred acres, for his services in per- 
 fecting the art of making pitch and tar. This grant, 
 
« 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Gil 
 
 witli another subsequently made by the town in 
 1672, of about a mile and a half square, given in 
 part consideration of his resigning and relinquish- 
 ing his Indian deeds, to the proprietors of the town, 
 constituted what was known as Griffin's Lordship." 
 From Simsbury, with Michael Humphrey, he was a 
 member of the General Court of Connecticut, Oc- 
 tober session of 1670, and several times after- 
 ward. 
 
 (III) John Humphrey (2), son of John and 
 Hannah Humphrey, was born Nov. 18, 1671, and 
 died Dec. 31, 1732. He was a man of education 
 and character, like his father followed farming- 
 through life, and also practiced the profession of 
 surveying. He was a deacon in the Congregational 
 Church, served as town clerk, and filled many other 
 positions of responsibility and trust. He married a 
 widow, Mrs. Sarah (Pettibone) Mills, daughter of 
 John Pettibone, and she bore him five children, as 
 follows: (i) John and (2) Plannah (twins) were 
 born March 17, 1700-1 [the first three months of 
 any year were then marked in that way, until the 
 thange in the calendar in the middle of the eight- 
 eenth century]. John married Lydia Reed, of 
 Windsor, and' died Nov. 2, 1760. Hannah married 
 Deacon Joseph Case, of Simsbury. (3) Benajah, 
 born Dec. 20, 1701, is mentioned below. (4) 
 Michael, born Nov. 20, 1703, married Mercy Hum- 
 phrey, and died in 1778. Mercy Humphrey was a 
 descendant of Gov. Thomas Dudley, of Massachu- 
 setts, and of Gov. William Leete, of Connecticut. 
 (5) Daniel, born in 1707, was educated at Yale 
 College, and was for fifty years a minister of the 
 Congregational Church at Derby, Conn. He mar- 
 ried Sarah Riggs, and died Sept. 2, 1787. His son 
 David was a colonel in the Revolutionary war, and 
 a general in the war of 1812; was also aid to Gen. 
 Putnam and subsequently to Gen. Washington, 
 served as the latter's private secretary, living with 
 him at Mt. Vernon, and was afterwards minister 
 to Spain and Portugal. He wrote several volumes 
 of history and poetry. John Pettibone, father of 
 Mrs. John (2) Humphrey, settled first in Windsor, 
 then at Simsbury. The family has furnished many 
 men prominent in town affairs, and gave a large 
 number of officers and men for the Revolutionary 
 army. John Pettibone's wife, Sarah Eggleston, 
 was a daughter of Begat Eggleston, a first settler 
 of Dorchester, Mass., and also of Windsor. 
 
 (IV) Benajah Humphrey, born Dec. 20, 1701, 
 continued the agricultural vocation of his ancestors, 
 lived a prosperous life in Simsbury, where he passed 
 away Aug. 4, 1772, and was buried there. His 
 wife, Thankful Hoskins, perhaps daughter of Rob- 
 ert Hoskins, bore him nine children: (i) Benajah, 
 born July 22, 1728, married Caroline Humphrey, 
 and died Aug. 8, 1761. (2) Elisha, born I\'[ay 30, 
 
 1730, died young. (3) Thankful, born Dec. 25, 
 
 1 73 1, married Lieut. Timothy Moses, and died in 
 1790. (4) Elisha, born Nov. 19, 1733, is mentioned 
 below. (5) Sarah, born ]\Iay 9, 1736, was four 
 
 times married, (first) to Lieut. Charles Humphrey, 
 (second) to Col. Seth Smith, (third; to Elisha Gra- 
 ham, and (fourth) to Dr. Amasa Case, being the 
 latter's fifth wife. She died in 1823. (6) Roger, 
 born May 20, 1738, died unmarried about 1770. 
 (7) Abraham, born March 27, 1740, died Feb. 3, 
 1769. (8) Mary, born Jan. 5, 1743, died May 16, 
 1745- (9) Benoni, born Dec. 27, 1745, married 
 Lois M. Humphrey, and died Aug. 8, 1795. 
 
 (V) Elisha Plumphrey, son of Benajah Hum- 
 phrey, was born Nov. 19, 1733, and died June 30, 
 1815. He served in the French and Indian wars 
 under Gen. Putnam, at Fort Edward. He married 
 Lydia, daughter of Judge John Humphrey, and 
 their children were as follows : Elisha, born June 
 4, 1770, married Sabina Griswold, and moved to 
 central New York; Abner, born July 14, 1772, 
 died unmarried in 1816; Dositheus, born April 20, 
 1775, is mentioned below; Lydia, born Feb. 15, 
 1778, died unmarried June 26, 1857; Anna, born 
 May 28, 1780, died unmarried April 10, 1856; Sim- 
 eon, born Feb. i, 1783, died Nov. 26, 1866. Judge 
 John Humphrey, father of i\Irs. Elisha Humphrey, 
 was appointed, by the English Crown, justice of the 
 peace, and served from 1735 to 1760. Pie was also 
 town clerk. He was first lieutenant in the Colonial 
 Militia, and captain of the First Regiment. From 
 1758 to 1760 he was judge in the common pleas 
 court of Hartford county. He was a representative 
 in the General Assembly from 1733 and i860, con- 
 tinuously except for four years, and died while at- 
 tending the Legislature at New Haven, being there 
 ■buried, near the grave of John Dixwell, the regicide, 
 as his sons. Major Elihu and Lieut. Nathaniel, 
 were then with Gen. Lyman in Canada, serving in 
 the French and Indian war. Judge Humphrey was 
 a member of the Congregational Church, and he was 
 owner of the Humphrey homestead. 
 
 Judge John Humphrey's two sons, Lieut. Na- 
 thaniel and Major Elihu Humphrey, served in both 
 the French and Indian and the Revolutionary wars. 
 In the former war they were with Gen. Phineas 
 Lyman in Canada, and took part in the capture of 
 Montreal. Later they joined the expedition to and 
 engaged in the capture of Havana, 1762, Elihu 
 Humphrey being adjutant of Lyman's regiment. 
 
 Nathaniel Humphrey was lieutenant of the 
 first volunteer company raised in Simsbury during 
 the Revolutionary war. Volunteers from this com- 
 pany were in the battle of Bunker Hill, and the en- 
 tire force assisted at the siege of Boston, later going 
 to New York under Washington, and taking part 
 in the battles of Long Island and White Plains, 
 and in the retreat from New York. 
 
 Elihu Humphrey raised the second company 
 which went out from Simsbury immediately after 
 the battle of Bunker Hill, and he took part in the 
 siege of Boston. The next year he was made a 
 major, was wounded and captured in the battle of 
 Long Island, was confined in a prison in New York 
 Citv, known as the "Old Sugar House," and was 
 
612 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 there so barbarously treated that he died soon after 
 his return from Simsbury. 
 
 (VI) Dositheus Humphrey, born April 20, 1775, 
 married Lovisa, daughter of John Gridley Terry, 
 and died June 7, 1853. Though he made farming 
 his life work, he had a taste for mathematics and 
 astronomy, was a practical surveyor, and engaged 
 to some extent in that occupation. He spent his 
 entire life on the homestead in East Weatogue, 
 Simsbury, and there engaged in stock-raising and 
 general farming. In politics he was a Whig, and 
 in public affairs active and prominent. He was a 
 member of the Congregational Church, which his 
 wife joined after her marriage, she being originally 
 a member of St. Andrew's, the oldest Episcopal 
 Church in Hartford county. She was devoted to 
 her husband and children, and highly esteemed by 
 all who knew her. To Dositheus and Lovisa 
 (Terry) Humphrey were born seven children, as 
 follows : Phoebe, born Nov. 14, 1799, married Calvin 
 Northrop, and died at Hartford, Feb. 14, 1871 ; 
 Anson, born Oct. 2, 1802, married Emily Hay den, 
 of Suffield; Benajah, born Dec. 4, 1805, is mentioned 
 below; Chloe, born June 11, 1808, died Jan. 16, 
 1809; Lura, born Nov. 3, 1809, died unmarried May 
 5, i860; Sarah, born June 24, 1812, married Jo- 
 siah Hough, of Collinsville, on June 16, 1852, and 
 died May 6, 1866; and Laura, born March 9, 1816, 
 died Oct. 26, 1817. 
 
 Stephen Terry (from whom Mrs. Dositheus 
 Humphrey traced her descent) came from England 
 in 1630, probably in the ship "Mary and John," to 
 Dorchester, Mass. He removed to Windsor about 
 1636, and to Hadley, Mass., in 1660; he was a 
 member of the first body of cavalry in Connecticut. 
 He was rated in Hadley at £200 — none in the town 
 rated higher. He was married in Dorchester, and 
 his wife died in 1647. He was born probably about 
 
 1590. 
 
 John Terry, born in Windsor, March 6, 1638, 
 died in 1691. He married, in Hartford, Elizabeth, 
 daughter of William Wadsworth, born May 17, 
 1645, died March 12, 171 5. John Terry was a 
 farmer, was a lieutenant in the militia, and is sup- 
 posed to have been the first town clerk of Simsbury. 
 The Wadsworth family was one of the most prom- 
 inent in the early history of Connecticut. "William 
 Wadsworth, the younger brother of James, was 
 born in Long Buckley, County of Northampton; 
 removed thence to Braintree, County of Essex; 
 emigrated to New England;" settled in Cambridge. 
 He came in the ship "Lion" from London, Sept. 
 16, 1632; freeman in Massachusetts, Nov. 6, 1632; 
 in June, 1636, removed to Hartford, where he was 
 an original proprietor; was chosen townsman 1642, 
 1655, 1661, 1673; constable, 1651 ; list and rate 
 maker, 1668 ; was deputy to the General Court 
 nearly every session between October, 1656, and 
 May, 1675. He died in 1675, his widow in 1682 ; 
 estate £1,677, 13s, 9d. He was first married in 
 England. Children by first marriage : ( i ) Sarah 
 
 married Sept. 17, 1646, John Wilcox, Jr., of Hart- 
 ford. (2) William died young. (3) John set- 
 tled in Farmington. In 1662 he married Sarah, 
 daughter of Thomas Stanley. He was deputy, 
 1672-1677; assistant, 1679-1689; one of the stand- 
 ing counsel during King Philip's war; and died in 
 1689, leaving seven sons, one of whom, John, was 
 the father of Rev. Daniel Wadsworth, pastor of the 
 First Church, Hartford, who married, in 1734, 
 Abigail, daughter of Gov. Joseph Talcott, and was 
 the father of Col. Jeremiah Wadsworth. (4) Mary, 
 born about 1632, married, about 1656, Thomas 
 Stoughton, of Windsor. On July 2, 1644, in Hart- 
 ford, William Wadsworth married Elizabeth Stone, 
 said to have been a sister of Rev. Samuel Stone, 
 first teacher of the First Church of Hartford, who 
 was born in Hertford, England, and in whose honor 
 Hartford was named. Children of William Wads- 
 worth by second marriage. (5) Elizabeth, born 
 May 17, 1645, married Nov. 17, 1662, John Terry, 
 of Simsbury, and died March 12, 1715. (6) Samuel, 
 baptized Oct. 20, 1646, freeman, 1676, died in 1682,1 
 leaving an estate of £1,100. (7) Capt. Joseph, bora 
 about 1647, 'w^s a lieutenant in King Philip's was 
 and captain in the Hartford train band. He hie 
 the Connecticut Charter in the Charter Oak, Ocl 
 31, 1687. (8) Sarah, baptized March 17, 16501 
 married Jonathan Ashley. (9) Thomas, born abouj 
 
 1651, married Elizabetn ; freeman, 1676; die| 
 
 Hartford, 1725 ; his father gave him lands east 
 the Connecticut river, and he settled in East Har| 
 ford. (10) Rebecca was unmarried in 1682. 
 
 (III) John Terry, born in 1684, died May 25 
 1725. He married Mary Roby, daughter of Andre\ 
 Roby. 
 
 (IV) John Terry, born in 171 5, died April 8, 
 1805. On April 9, 1739, he married Martha Grid-^ 
 ley, of Farmington, who died Aug. 22, 1807. 
 
 (V) John Gridley Terry, born Sept. 22, 1749 
 died in Geddes, N. Y., Feb. 20, 1837. On June 2g 
 1772, he married Phebe Case, born Oct. 24, 1751^ 
 died Oct. 3, 1824, daughter of Capt. Charles CaseJ 
 John Gridley Terry removed to Onondaga, N. Y.,| 
 in 1 801. The Terrys' were communicants of St.! 
 Andrew's Church, Simsbury, the oldest Anglicanj 
 Church in the county. Phebe Case's father, Capt. 
 Charles Case, served in the Revolutionary war asl 
 captain of a company engaged in the transportation] 
 of cannon balls from the foundry in Salisbury, Conn.,] 
 to Boston. He was a son of John and Abigail (Hum- 
 phrey) Case, Abigail Humphrey being a daughter 
 of Samuel, and granddaughter of Michael Hum- 
 phrey ; John Case was a son of John and Sarah 
 (Holcomb) Case, and grandson of the first John 
 Case and Sarah Spencer, his wife. Sarah Spencer 
 was a daughter of William and Agnes Spencer, of 
 Hartford. William Spencer was at Cambridge, 
 Mass., in 1631 ; made a freeman, March 4, 1632-3; 
 deputy for Newtown (old name of Cambridge), 
 May, 1632, May, 1634, March, 1634-5, March, 
 1635-6, September, 1636, May, 1637, September, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 C13 
 
 1637, March, 1637-8 ; chosen lieutenant for Cam- 
 bridge in March, 1636-7. He liad various other 
 evidences of public favor bestowed on him. He 
 was one of the founders of the Ancient and Honor- 
 able Artillery Company. The name of "William 
 Spencer, Gentleman," appears in the petition to the 
 General Court for the founding of this company. 
 Removed to Hartford, 1639; deputy, 1639; and 
 appointed with Wyllys and Webster to revise the 
 laws of the Colony; townsman, 1640; died 1640; 
 estate, £291, 12s, 2d. Daughter Sarah, born in 
 1636, married, about 1657, John Case, and died Nov. 
 3, 1691. William Spencer's widow, Agnes, mar- 
 ried about 1645 W'illiam Edwards, and from them 
 descended Jonathan Edwards and Aaron Burr. 
 
 (VI) Lovisa Terry, daughter of John Gridley 
 Terry, married Dositheus Humphrey. 
 
 (VH) Benajah Humphrey, son of Dositheus 
 Humphrey, and the father of our subject, born 
 Dec. 4, 1805, was educated in the district schools of 
 Simsbury. He learned the trade of carpenter and 
 joiner, and for a number of yearj was repairer for 
 the Farmington Canal Company, from New Haven 
 to the Massachusetts State line, building many of 
 the bridges across the canal. He also engaged in 
 farming and spent his entire life in Simsbury, where 
 he lived in the house now occupied by John C. 
 E. Humphrey. This house was built about 1825, 
 and is a good example of the so-called Colonial 
 style of architecture. Benajah Humphrey was 
 captain in the State militia, and in politics was a 
 Whig. He married Olive Goodwin (a native of a 
 part of Simsbury now belonging to Bloomfield), 
 who was born April 15, 181 1, daughter of Hezekiah 
 and Hannah Kingsbury Goodwin, and granddaugh- 
 ter of Joseph Goodwin, who was a lieutenant in tne 
 Revolutionary army, serving at New York when it 
 was captured by the British in 1776. 
 
 The Goodwin family, of Hartford, Conn., is one 
 of the oldest in the United States. It has given 
 many distinguished citizens to the country, among 
 whom may be mentioned George Goodwin, a pio- 
 neer editor of the Hartford Courant; Judge Daniel 
 Goodwin, United States district attorney at Detroit; 
 Stephen Austin Goodwin, United States district 
 attorney of Chicago ; James Goodwin, the million- 
 aire : and James J. Goodwin, formerly the partner 
 of Pierpont Morgan. The family in America 
 traces its descent from Ozias Goodwin, who came 
 to Hartford as early as 1639, from England, prob- I 
 ably with the Braintree company. It is probable, 
 though not certain, that he came from England to 
 Massachusetts, and thence to Connecticut, as did 
 most of the other settlers of Hartford. His name 
 is on the Hartford monument to the founders of the 
 town. The English ancesry is traced directly to 
 the Goodwins of East Anglia, whose names appear 
 among the records of Norwich, England, as early 
 as 1238. Ozias Goodwin was born in 1596, and 
 married in England, Mary, daughter of Robert 
 Woodward, of Braintree, County of Essex, and they 
 
 had three children : William ; Nathaniel, whose first 
 wife was Sarah Coles, his second being Elizabeth 
 Pratt ; and tiannah, who married William i'itkin, 
 a school teacher of Hartford. Ozias Goodwin re- 
 mained in Hartford county from the date of his 
 arrival until his death, in 1683. His brother, Will- 
 iam Goodwin, was a ruling elder of the Hartford 
 Lhurch. 
 
 William Goodwin, son of Ozias, was born in 
 England about 1629, and came with his parents to 
 Hartford. His wife's name was Susanna, and to 
 them were born children as follows : Susanna mar- 
 ried John Pratt, Jr. ; William, who was born about 
 1658, married Elizabeth Shepard ; Nathaniel, who 
 was deacon in the First Church of Plartford, and 
 died in November, 1747, married Alehetable Porter, 
 daughter of Samuel and Hannah (Stanley) Porter, 
 of Hadley, Mass, and their children were: (i) 
 Mehetable married Joseph Goodrich; (2) Pleze- 
 kiah, baptized March 20, 1692, married Hannah 
 Pantry, and for his second wife Lydia Barnard ; 
 (3) Benedicta, baptized Feb. 25, 1694, married 
 Jacob Goodrich ; Isaac, baptized Nov. 10, 1695, mar- 
 ried Hannah Morgan, and for his second wife 
 wedded Ruth Gaylord : .\braham, baptized July 30, 
 1699, married Mary Bird; Stephen, baptized Aug. 
 24, 1701, married Sarah Gillett : Eleazer, baptized 
 Dec. 19, 1703, married Hannah Easton ; Joanna, 
 baptized Jan. 20, 1706, married Abiel Smith; Ruth, 
 baptized March 7, 1708, married a Bird or a Stod- 
 dard; Alice, born May 19, 1710, married a Mr. Cad- 
 well; Nathaniel was baptized Sept. 24, 1712. 
 
 Mehetable Porter, who became the wife of Na- 
 thaniel Goodwin, was one of the eleven children of 
 Samuel and Hannah (Stanley) Porter, of Hadley, 
 Mass. She was born Sept. 15, 1673, and died Feb. 
 6, 1726. Samuel Porter's parents, John and Rose 
 Porter, of Windsor, were born in England. Their 
 daughter Mary married Samuel Grant (eldest son of 
 j\Iatthew Grant, whose daughter Priscilla mar- 
 ried JMichael Plumphrey), and from them Gen. 
 Grant is descended. 
 
 Hannah Stanley's father, Thomas Stanley, came 
 from England, and settled in Lynn, Mass. He was 
 made freeman IMarch 4, 1635; deputy to General 
 Court, Sept. 2, 1635; constable, 1636, in which year 
 he probably removed to Hartford, where he was an 
 original proprietor, his home lot being next the 
 present Center Church ; was several times constable ; 
 removed to Fladley, Alass., 1659, and was buried 
 there Jan. 31, 1663. 
 
 Stephen Goodwin, son of Nathaniel, born in 
 Hartford in 1701, there engaged in farming. He 
 married June 27, 1727, Sarah Gillette, daughter of 
 Joseph Gillette, of Hartford, and prior to February, 
 173 1, settled on a tract of land in Bloomfield granted 
 him by his father. To Stephen and Sarah Goodwin 
 were born five children : Mary, born Oct. 4, 1729, 
 married Samuel Stone Bu'Ier ; Stephen born Sept. 
 16, 1734, married Abigail Gillett; Joseph, born Dec. 
 28, 1736, is mentioned below; Hezekiah, bom Feb. 
 
614 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 21, 1740, graduated at Yale College in 1761, and 
 was a minister of the Congregational Church ; 
 Samuel, born May 28, 1746, married Rebecca 
 Loomis. 
 
 Joseph Goodwin, son of Stephen Goodwin, be- 
 came a patriot, and participated in the Revolution- 
 ary war, commanding a company at New York when 
 the city was, in 1776, captured by the British. He 
 was a large land owner in Simsbury. He lived at 
 the old Goodwin house which is still standing in 
 Bloomfield. He married Rosanna Gillett, baptized 
 in Bloomfield, Oct. 18, 1741, daughter of Capt. 
 Jonathan and Anna (Hubbard) Gillett. Joseph 
 Goodwin died April 15, 1813, his wife surviving 
 until April 26, 1830. Their children were as fol- 
 lows: Olive, born June 22, 1763, married John Ty- 
 ler; Joseph, born Dec. 19, 1764, married Esther 
 Roberts; a child born in 1766 died the same year; 
 Rosanna, born May 2, 1767, died Sept. 5, 1775; 
 James, born Feb. 15, 1769, died Sept. 13, 1775; 
 Anna, born Jan. 8, 1771, died Sept. 3, 1775; Heze- 
 kiah, born Dec. 30, 1772, died Aug. 30, 1775 ; Lucy, 
 born May 30, 1775, died unmarried Dec. 22, 1846; 
 James, bom Jan. 25, 1777, married Candace Bird, 
 daughter of Dr. Jonathan and Amy (Humphrey) 
 Bird; Hezekiah, born Dec. 12, 1779, is mentioned 
 below; Rosanna, born Jan. i6, 1781, died unmar- 
 ried Feb. 29, 1832; Timothy, born April 4, 1783, 
 married Beulah Ely. 
 
 Hezekiah Goodwin was born Dec. 12, 1779, mar- 
 ried on April 25, 1802, Hannah, daughter of Will- 
 ard and Hannah (Lawrence) Kingsbury, of 
 Canaan, Conn., the former of whom was a soldier 
 in the Revolutionary war, and was taken prisoner in 
 Canada. The children of Hezekiah and Hannah 
 Goodwin were as follows : Hezekiah Freeman, born 
 Nov. 20, 1803, married Pamelia Edgerton; Mary 
 Anna, born July 25, 1805, married David Lemon; 
 Philo Ashley, born May 8, 1807, married Lavina H. 
 Harvey, and for his second wife wedded Elizabeth 
 H. B. Eastland (he was a lawyer, a member of the 
 Hartford County Bar, and was also a judge at 
 Quincy, 111.; he died June 12, 1873) ; Lavinia, born 
 May II, 1809, married Edward Miller, of Avon, 
 Conn.; Olive, born April' 15, 1811, married Ben- 
 ajah Humphrey, the father of our subject; Andrew, 
 born April 11, 1813, married Clarissa Sweetland. 
 For his second wife Hezekiah Goodwin married, 
 Aug. 3, 1815, a widow, Mrs. Cadwell, daughter 
 of Lot and Chloe (Moses) Humphrey. By this 
 union there were two children : One that died in in- 
 fancy Sept. 20, 1818; and, a son, Egbert. Heze- 
 kiah Goodwin was captain in the State Militia. Fie 
 died Aug. 30, 18 18. 
 
 Benajah and Olive Humphrey, the parents of 
 our subject, had five children, as follows: (f) Al- 
 fred, born March 20, 1832, married, for his first 
 wife, Louise Jennette Arthur, and, for his second 
 wife, wedded Caroline Steele, of New Flartford. 
 He now resides in Oregon City, Ore. (2) Harriet 
 Lydia, born Nov. 14, 1833, i.iarried George S. 
 
 Evarts, of Hartford, born in Guilford, and died at 
 Topeka, Kan., Jan. 10, 1883. (3) Eugene C, born 
 Aug. 7, 1835, married Harriet Eliza Wells, of West 
 Hartford, born May 5, 1835 ; he is a farmer and 
 bridge builder, and resides on the Elisha Humphrey 
 homestead. (4) Helen Maria, born July 12, 1837, 
 married Reuben Lester Evarts, of Hartford, brother 
 of George S. Evarts, and died March 23, 1873. (5) 
 John Calvin Edmund is the subject of this sketch. 
 Benajah Humphrey, the father, died March 20, 
 1882, and was buried in Simsbury cemetery. He 
 was liberal in religious views, public-spirited, and 
 was deeply attached to his family. 
 
 John C. E. Humphrey was born May 7, 1841, 
 on the farm in East Weatogue District, Simsbury, 
 which he now owns and occupies. He attended the 
 district schools of East Weatogue, and completed 
 his education in the Simsbury^ Academy and in 
 various select schools. Always an intelligent and 
 careful reader, Mr. Humphrey has supplemented 
 the education of his youth in many directions, and is 
 a man of excellent information. He grew up on 
 the farm, and when twenty years of age started out 
 in life for himself, having now been engaged for 
 many years in farming, and in the provision busi- 
 ness, in dairying and tobacco growing at present in 
 partnership with his son Arthur E. He operates 
 a tract of 150 acres, and in 1895 he and his son pur- 
 chased the original Humphrey homestead, recently 
 known as the Bradley place. 
 
 Mr. Humphrey was married, June 30, 1861, at 
 Cheshire, Conn., to Mary Elvira Kimball, a de- 
 scendant of Richard Kimball, one of the early set- 
 tlers of Ipswich, Mass., daughter of Luke Kim- 
 ball, of Stowe, Vt. ; granddaughter of Asa Kim- 
 ball, a soldier of the war of 1812; and great- 
 granddaughter of Jedediah Kimball, who was 
 a soldier in the Revolutionary war, serving under 
 Gen. Lafayette at Yorktown. Mrs. Humphrey is 
 a Daughter of the Revolution, one of the board of 
 managers of the local chapter. • To our subject and 
 wife have been born four children, as follows: (i) 
 Alfred Ernest, born Sept. 10, 1862, died in infancy. 
 (2) Arthur Edmund, born Jan. 28, 1864, was edu- 
 cated in the public schools and at McLean's Acad- 
 emy, Simsbury. He is a partner of his father, and 
 now lives on land which was a part of the home- 
 stead settled more than 230 years ago by Michael 
 Flumphrey, the founder of the family in America. 
 He has built a house where was the former home of 
 his great-grandfather. Arthur E. Humphrey mar- 
 ried, Sept. 16, 1891, Nellie Fredie Case, daughter of 
 Wheeler M. and Annie (Brockett) Case, and to 
 them have been born three children, John Harold, 
 July 24, 1892 ; Lawrence Brockett, April 29, 1894 
 (died Jan. 3, 1896) ; and Kenneth Wheeler, Sept. 
 17, 1895. In politics Arthur E. Humphrey is a 
 Republican, and has been elected representative in 
 the State Legislature of 1900. He ii genial in dis- 
 position, and popular among his many friends. (3) 
 John Howard, born Sept. 29, 1867, died June 19, 
 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 G15 
 
 1890. He was a young man of great promise, active 
 ill the churcli, and greatly beloved and lamented by 
 all who knew him, having been a general favorite. 
 (4) Maky Helen, born July 18, 1869, attended the 
 public schools and completed a four-years' course at 
 JMcLean's Seminary. In 1890 she was graduated from 
 Mt. Holyoke College, and from the University of 
 Chicago in 1S98, with the degree of Ph. B., has 
 taught in the public schools of Simsbury, Bloomfield, 
 and Islip, N. Y., and in the Normal School at Lex- 
 ington, Ky. She is a member of the Abigail Phelps 
 Chapter, D. A. R., of which for four years she was 
 historian, has always been interested in literary pur- 
 suits, and has been a member of the Simsbury school 
 board. She expects to teach history, English and 
 science at Brownell Hall, Omaha, Neb., beginning 
 Jan. I, 1901. 
 
 In politics j\lr. Humphrey has been a lifelong 
 Republican. He represented the town of Simsbury 
 in the State Legislature in 1887, served on the com- 
 mittee on roads and bridges, and was one of the 
 sub-committee which reported the bill removing 
 the toll for the East Hartford bridge. In 1890 he 
 was elected selectman, was assessor for three years, 
 served on the board of relief, and W'as elected jus- 
 tice of the peace, but declined to serve. He has 
 been a member of St. Mark's Lodge, No. 36, F. & 
 A. ^L, since 1863, and was chairman of the lodge 
 centennial celebration in 1896, delivering the oration 
 on that occasion, and giving the history of the lodge 
 fully from 1844 to i8g6. From 1866 to 1876, he 
 was a member of the First Regiment, Connecticut 
 National Guard, serving successivelv as second lieu- 
 tenant, first lieutenant, captain of Company H (five 
 years), and as major of the regiment (three years). 
 He was an honorary member of the Putnam Pha- 
 lanx. Himself and family are members of the Con- 
 gregational Church, and for many years he was a 
 member of the church choir. Mr. Humphrey is a 
 representative citizen, excelling in those traits which 
 contribute most forcefully to the good of society. 
 As a husband and parent, kind and indulgent, he 
 has given his children a liberal education ; as a cit- 
 izen, public spirited, he has had at heart the best in- 
 terests of the community ; as a man he has won his 
 own way to a position of prominence and influence. 
 He is highly respected and esteemed for his many 
 qualities, and for his friendly and genial disposition. 
 
 The L.\WREXCE family, to whom our subject is 
 related through his maternal grandmother, Hannah 
 (Kingsbury) Goodwin, is a well-known one in east- 
 ern Slassachusetts — Amos Lawrence, the philan- 
 thropist ; his brother. Abbott Lawrence, minister to 
 England ; Amos A. Lawrence, founder of the Epis- 
 copal Divinity School at Cambridge ; and his son, 
 the present bishop of Massachusetts, being all mem- 
 bers thereof. The Lawrence genealogy traces the 
 line through seventeen generations to Sir Robert 
 Lawrence, of Ashton Hall, Lancashire, England, 
 who was knighted by Richard HI, on the third 
 crusade, for bravery at the siege of Acre. 
 
 John Lawrence, born at Wissct, Suffolk, Eng- 
 land, baptized Oct. 8, 1609, came to New England 
 about 1630, and settled at Watertown, Mass., later 
 (about 1660), at Groton, Mass. About 1635 his fa- 
 ther, Henry Lawrence, came over and settled in 
 Charlestown. John was twice selectman of Groton. 
 His wife, Elizabeth, died Aug. 29, 1663. They 
 had thirteen children. On Nov. 2, 1664, he married 
 Susanna Batcheldcr, daughter of William Batchel- 
 der, of Charleston, and by her had two daughters. 
 He died at Groton July 11, 1667, his widow on Julv 
 8, 1668. 
 
 Enoch Lawrence, born Jan. 5, 1648-9, settled in 
 Groton. On March 6, 1676-7, he married Mrs. 
 Ruth (Whitney) Shattuck, widow of John Shat- 
 tuck, daughter of John and Ruth (Reynolds) Whit- 
 ney, and granddaughter of John and Elinor Whit- 
 ney, and of Robert Reynolds. Enoch Lawrence 
 died at Groton, Mass., Sept. 28, 1744, leaving four 
 sons. 
 
 (III) Daniel Lawrence, son of Enoch, born at 
 Groton, Mass., March 7, 1681, died about 1778, and 
 was buried at Canaan, Conn. It is supposed that 
 he died at the home of his son John, in Norfolk. 
 Conn., as his son Isaac gave the use of a farm to 
 this half-brother as compensation for care of their 
 father. By his first wife, Sarah, Daniel Lawrence 
 had children, Daniel, Isaac, and several children by 
 second marriage. 
 
 (IV) Capt. Isaac Lawrence was born in Gro- 
 ton, Mass., Feb. 25, 1704-5. It is supposed that his 
 parents removed to Plainfield, Conn., when he was a 
 child, and that he removed to Canaan from there. 
 "In the spring of 1738, with a team composed of a 
 yoke of oxen, and a horse, he started with his fani- 
 ily and goods in a cart for his new home in what 
 was then called the new and western country." 
 There were no settlements west of New Hartford, 
 and he was obliged to cut his way through the 
 woods, and bridge streams. The distance beyond 
 New Hartford was about thirty miles, and the jour- 
 ney occupied nine days. On one of the nights there 
 was a fall of snow (in May), and in the morning bear 
 tracks could be seen. His destination in what is 
 now Canaan. Conn., was reached June 2, 1738. 
 During his life in Canaan Capt. Lawrence built 
 three different houses, the last, the old Lawrence 
 tavern, erected in 1751, still standing, a fine exam- 
 ple of the substantial building of that day. He was 
 a tall, erect man, ''of pleasing countenance, sociable, 
 intelligent, excellent character, and active, correct 
 business habits. He accumulated a valuable prop- 
 erty, owned several large farms, and twenty slaves 
 — a very large number for any one man to own in 
 New England — to whom he gave freedom before his 
 death, with the exception of one who was freed by 
 his heirs. He made provision for the infirm and 
 needy. He held many town ofiSces, and was repre- 
 sentative to the General Assembly in 1765. His 
 extensive business transactions necessarily bringing 
 him in contact with a large number of persons, his 
 
616 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 excellent reputation and the veneration in which he 
 was held afford the best evidence we could have 
 that his general course was honorable, manly and 
 benevolent. He and his wife were members of the 
 First Congregational Church organized in Canaan, 
 later of the Second Church, in North Canaan, and 
 the frequency with which his name appears in the 
 business meetings of the Second Church, and in- 
 formation derived from other sources, affords good 
 reasons for beheving that he was an exemplarv 
 Christian." The Captain's first wife was Lydi'a 
 Hewett, whom he married probably in Plaintield, 
 and who died Nov. 14, 1767. His second wife, for- 
 merly Mrs. Amy Whitney, died in 1819. There 
 were eleven children bv the first marriage, six of 
 whom died in youth. The youngest was Hannah, 
 born May 25, 1750, whq married Willard Kings- 
 bury, and they had six children : Andrew, who was 
 a physician at Rush, N. Y. ;, Ardon, who settled at 
 Elmira, N. Y. ; Philo, at Oswego, N. Y. ; Lydia, at 
 Rush, N. Y. ; John, who married Rebecca Griswold 
 May 8, 1794, and died Jan. 19, 1841 ; and Hannah, 
 who married Hezekiah Goodwin, of Bloomfield, 
 Conn., their daughter Olive Goodwin, becoming the 
 wife of Benajah Humphrey, of Simsbury. Wil- 
 lard _ Kingsbury was a soldier in the Revolution, 
 serving in Capt. John Stevens company, of Col. 
 Burrall's regiment, 1776. This regiment reinforced 
 Arnold at Quebec. Two companies were captured 
 at the battle of the Cedars, forty miles from Mont- 
 real, and Willard Kingsbury, one of the prisoners 
 was exchanged August i. 
 
 The CuRTiss family, to whom Mrs. J. C. E. 
 Humphrey is related through her mother, are de- 
 scended from Peter Curtiss, who settled in West 
 Simsbury (now Canton) about 1744. He was born 
 in 1712, and died in 1756. He married a Miss 
 Parker, from Wallingford, and their children were : 
 Israel removed to Vermont, and died while serving 
 as a major in the Revolutionarv war; Eliphalet, 
 born in 1734, died in 1806; Lucy, born in 1739, died 
 in 1816, married (first) Col. Amasa Mills (a sol- 
 dier in the French and Indian war, captain and 
 major in the Revolutionary war, and afterward 
 colonel in the militia), and (second) Sylvanus Wil- 
 cox; Athildred, born in 1745, died in 1805, married 
 Eli Case; Peter was an officer in the Revolutionary 
 war, brigade major and major in line after the war, 
 first keeper of Newgate Prison, and a member of the 
 Society of the Cincinnati ; Amreth married Bigelow 
 Lawrence; Gideon, born in 1751, died in 1789, mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Mills; Prudence married Joshua 
 Woodruff; Charles; Solomon, born in 1754, died in 
 1777. 
 
 Capt. Eliphalet Curtiss resided on the place left 
 him by his father. In 1800 he removed to western 
 New York, where he died iii 1806, his wife, Mar- 
 garet, dying in 1812, in Canton. She was a 
 daughter of Benjamin and Mgi-garet (Clapp) 
 Dyer, the former of whom, born in Boston, 
 was a schoolmate of Benjamin Franklin. He 
 
 removed to Flartford in 173S, and in 1745 set- 
 tled in Canton. Eliphalet Curtiss was one of the 
 soldiers who "marched for the relief of Boston in 
 the Lexington Alarm." He enlisted May 4, 1775, 
 as sergeant in Capt. Abel Pettibone's company — 
 the first volunteer company raised in Simsbury — ■ 
 which served at the siege of Boston. The next 
 year he served at Ticonderoga, was second lieuten- 
 ant, and was afterward captain in the Eighteenth 
 Connecticut Militia. His company was called out 
 in Danbury and New Haven Alarms. He had ten 
 children, of whom Eliphalet was the eldest. 
 
 Eliphalet Curtiss, Jr., born in 1758,, died in 
 1816. He was a soldier in the Revolution. He 
 married Mary Wilcox, and later a Mrs. Holcoaib, 
 and Eunice, born to the first union, married Deacon 
 Abram Chidsey. Their son, Deacon Anson Chid- 
 sey, married Mary Goodrich. Their daughter, 
 Eunice Chidsey, married Luke Kimball. Their daugh- 
 ter, Mary E. Kimball, married John C. E. Hum- 
 phrey. "These families that bore the name of Cur- 
 tiss were among the most prominent in West Sims- 
 bury, the latter part of the last century." [Brown's 
 Genealogical History of the Early Settlers of West 
 Simsbury, now Canton.] 
 
 Most of the Kimball family in America are 
 descended from Richard Kimball, who came from 
 Rattlesden, near Ipswich, County of Suft'olk, Eng- 
 land, embarking with his family at Ipswich, April 
 ID, 1634, in the ship "Elizabeth," William Andrews, 
 master. On the same ship came Henry Kemball. 
 who also settled in Watertown, Mass., and who 
 may have been his brother. The Kimball family 
 has been settled in the County of Suffolk, England, 
 for at least four hundred years. The original spell- 
 ing of the name is probably K)'mbolde. Just pre- 
 vious to the em.igration to Massachusetts it was 
 usually spelled Kemball, and in this country was 
 changed to Kimball. The name was a very common 
 one in Suffolk, and is frequently found in old 
 records. 
 
 Richard Kimball settled in Watertown, Mass., 
 was made a freeman May 6, 1635, and a proprietor 
 in 1636-37. Soon after this date he was invited to 
 remove to Ipswich, Mass., where they were in need 
 of a competent man to act as wheelwright to the new 
 settlement. The town granted him a house lot, Feb. 
 23, 1637, also forty acres of land. His first wife 
 was Ursula, daughter of Henry Scott, of Rattles- 
 den. On Oct. 23, 1661, he married (second) Mar- 
 garet Dow, widow of Flenry Dow, of Hampton, N. 
 H. Richard Kimball died Jvme 22, 1675 (aged 
 more than eighty years)), his widow on March i, 
 1676. The inventory of his estate amounted to 
 ^737, 3s, 6d. He had already given to his children 
 at their marriages. Children: (i) Abigail, born 
 in Rattlesden, died in Salisbury, Mass., June 17, 
 1658. She married, in England, John Severans, who 
 died April 9, 1682, at Salisbury, Mass. Fler young- 
 est child, Elizabeth, born June 17, 1658, married, in 
 1686, Samuel Eastman, of Salisbury. Her grand- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 017 
 
 daughter, Abigail Eastman, born July lo, 1737, 
 married Ebenezcr Webster, and was the mother oi 
 Daniel Webster. (2) Henry Kimball was born in 
 Rattlcsden, parish register ''12 Aug., 161 5, Henry 
 Kemball ye sone of Richard and Ursula his wife, 
 baptized." (3) I^lizabeth was born in Rattlesdcn 
 in 1621. (4) Richard, born in Rattlesden in 1623, 
 died May 26, 1676, in Wenham, Mass. (5) Mary, 
 born in -Rattlcsden, in 1625, married Robert Dutch, 
 of Gloucester and Ipswich, Mass. (6) Martha, born 
 in Rattlesden, in 1629, married Joseph, son of 
 Philip and Martha Fow^ler, who was born in Eng- 
 land in 1622, and was killed by the Indians May 19, 
 1676, near Deerfield. (7) John, born in Rattlesden, 
 England, in 1631, died in Ipswich, May 6, 1698. 
 He is mentioned below. (8) Thomas, born in 1633, 
 died ]May 3, 1676. (9) Sarah, born in Watertown, 
 Mass., 1635, died June 12, 1690. She married, 
 Nov. 24, 1658, Edward Allen, of Ipswich. (10) 
 Benjamin, born in Ipswich, in 1637, died June 11, 
 169s. (11) Caleb, born in Ipswich, in 1639, died in 
 1682. 
 
 (II) John Kimball lived in Ipswich, was a 
 wheelwright, and an extensive landowner. "He 
 frequently bought and sold land, and there are a 
 number of deeds at Salem bearing his name." 
 About 1655 he married Mary, daughter of Hum- 
 phrey and Bridget Bradstreet, who came to this 
 country in the same ship with the Kimballs. She 
 was born in England in 1633. On March 8, 1673, 
 he united with the church by taking the covenant. 
 His personal property at the time of his death 
 amounted to £131, Qs, iid. His real estate 
 had all been given away previously. Chil- 
 dren born in Ipswich: (i) John, born Nov. 8, 
 1657, died Feb. 24, 1657-8. (2) Mary, born Dec. 
 10, 1658, married May 17, 1682, Deacon Thomas 
 Knowlton, of Ipswich. (3) Sarah, born July 29, 
 1661, married John Potter, of Ipswich, and died in 
 1724. (4) Hannah died young. (5) Rebecca, born 
 in Feb., 1663-4; married Jan. 21, 1689, Thomas 
 Lull. (6) Richard, born Sept. 22, 1665, died May 
 26, 1716, is mentioned below. (7) Elizabeth was 
 born Sept. 22, 1665. (8) Abigail, born March 22, 
 1667, married Oct. 14, 1689, Isaac Esty, of Tops- 
 field, Mass.; she married (second), April 25, 1718, 
 William Poole. (9) John, born March 16, 1668, 
 died May 4, 1761, in Preston, Conn. (10) Benja- 
 min, born July 22, 1670, died May 28, 1716. (11) 
 Moses, born in Seotember, 1672, died Jan. 23, 1750. 
 
 (12) Aaron, born in January, 1674, died probably 
 before his father, as he is not mentioned in his will. 
 
 (13) Joseph was born Jan. 24, 1675. 
 
 (III) Richard Kimball first married Lydia 
 Wells, of Ipswich, and later wedded Sarah Waite, 
 who died Feb. 22, 1725. Children: (i) Lydia, born 
 Oct. 18, 1690, died young. (2) Richard, born Aug. 
 17, 1691, is mentioned below. (3) Aaron was born 
 Jan. 10, i6q2. (4) Lydia, born Sept. 14, 1694, mar- 
 ried, Nov. 19, 1 71 6, Stephen Kinsman. (5) Mary, 
 born ^Nlay 10, 1699, married May 21, 1729, Aloses 
 
 Kimball, her cousin, son of Moses Kimball. (6) 
 Nathaniel, born May 11, 1700, died in 1786, in Nor- 
 wich, Conn. (7) Martha, born Feb. i, 1701, married 
 Feb. 4, 1728, Ldnumd Head. 
 
 (IV) Richard Kimball married Feb. 11, 1715- 
 6, Sarali Burley, born Oct. 6, 1698, daughter of 
 Andrew and JNIary (Conant) Burley. He was a 
 carpenter. Removed from Ipswich to Norwich, 
 Conn., and later to Windham, Conn. Will probated 
 April 7, 1760. Children: (i) Sarah, was born 
 in Ipswich, July 27, 1718. (2) Mary, baptized in 
 Ipswich, Sept. 18, 1720, married Jan. 2, 1748, Sam- 
 uel Robinson, of W indham, a descendant of Rev. 
 John Robinson, pastor of the Pilgrims. She died 
 in Windham, Dec. 15, 1791. (3) Lydia was born 
 April I, 1723, in Norwich, Conn. (4) Richard 
 was born May 28, 1725, in Norwich. (5j Andrew, 
 born Dec. 10, 1727, in Norwich, is mentioned be- 
 low. (6) Aaron, born Feb. 18, 1729-30, in Nor- 
 wich, died March 20, 1808, in Grafton, Alass. (7) 
 Lucie was born April 5, 1733. (8) John was born 
 Aug. 9, 1735, in Norwich. (9) Hannah was born 
 April 22, 1738. (10) Pelatiah, born June 5, 1739, 
 died JMarch i, 1823. (11) Elizabeth, born June 5, 
 1744, married Joseph Dimock. 
 
 (V) Andrew Kimball married, in 1749, Elizabeth 
 Kimball, daughter of his uncle Nathaniel. They 
 resided in Windham, Norwich, and Windsor, Conn. 
 Children: (i) Jedediah, born in Norwich, Dec. 
 21, 1749, who is mentioned below; (2) Andrew, 
 born Dec. 14, 1750; (3) Sarah, born March 31, 
 1753; (4) Daniel, born in Windsor, Conn., April 
 4> 1755; (5) Luke, born Sept. 7, 1757, in Windsor, 
 Conn.; (6) Joseph, born in August, 1761 ; and (7) 
 Benjamin, born in August, 1761. Nathaniel Kim- 
 ball (father of Elizabeth) married Nov. 3, 1722, 
 Elizabeth Rindge. He was a carpenter and farmer. 
 Before 1728 he removed from Ipswich to Norwich, 
 Conn., where he spent the remainder of his life. 
 Elizabeth was born there Dec. 19, 1728. 
 
 (VI) Jedediah Kimball, born in Norwich, Conn., 
 Dec. 21, 1749, died in Stowe, Vt, March 28. 1825. 
 On July 2, 1775, he married, at Norwich, Eunice 
 Love, born in 1761, died Aug. 13, 1838. Jedediah 
 Kimball was a soldier in the Revolution, serving 
 under LaFayette in the Virginia campaign during 
 the summer of 1781 and during the siege of York- 
 town. He belonged to the battalion commanded by 
 Major John Palsgrave Wyllys, of Hartford, which 
 battalion led the storming column in a night attack 
 on Oct. 14, thereby hastening the surrender. Jede- 
 diah Kimball removed to Stowe, Vt., in 1794, being 
 one of the first settlers of that town, and has numer- 
 ous descendants there. Children: (i) Amy, who 
 died Aug. 20, 1813, married Andrew Luce, of Stowe. 
 (2) Luke was a sea captain, and died in South 
 Carolina. (3) Asa, born ]\Iay 5, 1778, is men- 
 tioned below.. (4) Jedediah, born ]\Iay 18, 17S0, 
 died Aug. 8, 1806. (5)' Joel, born Oct. 10, 1784, 
 died Jan. 13, 1848. (6) Reuben, born Feb. 3, 1786, 
 went West or South. (7) Eunice born Nov. 17, 
 
618 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 17^7, married Orange Luce, of Stowe. (8) Ros- 
 well, born Jan. i, 1790, went West or South. (9) 
 Russell, born July 8, 1791, was killed in battle Nov. 
 II, 1813, in the war of 1812-15. (10) Levi was 
 born Dec. 21, 1793. (11) Ely was born Dec. 18, 
 1794. (12) Richard, born July 27, 1796, died Oct. 
 20, 1804. (13) Susa, born May 22, 1800, died 
 Oct. 16, 1806. 
 
 (VII) Asa Kimball, born in Norwich, Conn., 
 died in Stowe, Vt., Dec. 14, r865. He married 
 (first) Lydia Waters, of Ellington, Conn., and later 
 wedded Lucy Pember, who was born in Ellington, 
 Conn., daughter of Samuel and Esther Reed Pem- 
 ber, of Randolph, Vt. They were among the first 
 settlers of that town, removing from Ellington. 
 Asa Kimball was a soldier in the war of 1812, and 
 was near his brother Bussell when the latter was 
 killed in battle. Children by first marriage: (i) 
 Charles Wright was born April 14, 1802. (2) 
 Achsah, born April 30, 1804, died June 12, 1880. 
 She married Chester Hovey, of Massawhippi, Can- 
 ada. (3) Elizabeth, born Feb. 27, 1806, married 
 Walter Poole, of Webster, N. Y. By second mar- 
 riage: (4) Elijah Pember, born Jan. 26, 1809, 
 died Jan: 17, 1880. (5) Luke, born Feb. 27, 181 1, 
 died June 14, 1893, at Stowe. 
 
 (VIII) Luke Kimball, married at Canton, Conn., 
 in 1837, Eunice, daughter of Deacon Anson and 
 Mary (Goodrich) Chidsey, of Avon, Conn. She 
 died Oct. 27, 1840, and he married (second), at 
 Suffield, Conn., in 1842, Lucretia Wilson, daughter 
 of Peter and Anne (Bingham) Wilson, of Stock- 
 bridge, Vt. She died May 21, 1888. He lived in 
 Connecticut and Massachusetts, and in 1846 re- 
 turned to Stowe, during the remainder of his life 
 living on the farm previously owned by his father. 
 Children, by first marriage ; ( i ) Achsah, born in 
 Bristol, Conn., July 22, 1838, married William N. 
 Beach, of Cheshire, Vt., who died Oct. 28, 1887. 
 She resides in Pittsfield, Mass., with her daughter, 
 Mrs. Charles M. Bryant. (2) Mary Elvira, born in 
 Collinsville, Conn., Nov. 13, 1839, married John C. 
 E. Humphrey. By second marriage : ( 3 ) Lydia, 
 born in Chicopee, Mass., in 1842, married George 
 Simmons, of Stowe, who died Aug. 30, 1879. 
 (4) Eunice Chidsey, born in Springfield, Mass., 
 in 1845, died in Green Bay, Wis., March 
 II, 1872. On Feb. 19, 1869, she married 
 Willis Hugh Peterson, of Stowe, Vt. (5) El- 
 len Augusta, born March 7, 1847, in Stowe, Vt., 
 married Aug. 10, 1882, Albert Bruce Goss. She 
 was educated at the Normal School in Johnson, 
 Vt., and taught in Iowa for several years. Mr. 
 Goss is a college graduate, and has been principal 
 of several high schools in Iowa, superintendent of 
 schools of Van Buren county, and lately principal 
 of the school at Fairfield, Iowa. They now reside 
 in Grinnell, that State. (6) Luke Wilson, born May 
 10, 1848, in Stowe, Vt, married Feb. 8, 1871, Eli- 
 zabeth Stone, of New Britain, where he is chief en- 
 gineer of a large factory. (7) Irene Lucretia, born 
 
 Aug. 20, 1849, married William Slingerland, and 
 lives in Hood River, Oregon. (8) Matthew James, 
 born July 28, 1852, married Annie Belden. He re- 
 sided in New Britain and Meriden, Conn., recently 
 returned to Stowe, and died Sept. 13, 1900.. (9) 
 Martha Jane, born July 28, 1852, married at Chi- 
 copee, Mass., Oct. 18, 1881, John Brandt Hunter, 
 son of David and Emma Hunter,, of Phil- 
 adelphia. He formerly lived in Meriden, and 
 now resides in Cincinnati. (10) Charles Peter, 
 born Sept. 29, 1854, married Julia Luce, of Ver- 
 mont, and later wedded Lura May, daughter of 
 Hinckley and Mary Stevens, of East Montpelier, 
 Vt. They reside in Meriden, Conn. (11) George 
 Harvey, born April 26, 1857, married Nov. 19, 1885, 
 Ella C. Freeman, of New Britain, Conn., who died 
 June 18, 1888. He resides in Meriden. 
 
 The Goodrich family trace their descent from 
 John and William Goodrich, brothers, who came to 
 this country and settled in Wethersfield, Conn. 
 John's name first appears in Colonial records (Hart- 
 ford) in 1643. They were sons of John and Mar- 
 gerie Goodrich, of Hegesset, near Bury St. Ed- 
 munds, Suffolk, England. John, Sr., died in 1632. 
 He was the eldest son and heir of William, who 
 died in 1632. The wills of W^illiam, of England, 
 John, Sr., and William (2) (brother of Wilham 
 and John, and a clergyman of the Church of Eng- 
 land) are extant. The last named willed property 
 to sons of his two brothers in America. 
 
 William Goodrich, of Wethersfield, married 
 Oct: 4, 1648, Sarah, daughter of Matthew Marvin, 
 one of the first settlers of Hartford. He was made 
 a freeman May 15, 1656; represented Wethersfield 
 in the General Court in 1662 and 1663 ; was ensign 
 in the train band. He died in 1676, and his widow 
 married Capt. William Curtiss, of Stratford, and 
 died in 1702. ChildrenT~(T')^William, born Aug. 
 8, 1649, died in infancy. (2) Sarah, born Aug. 8, 
 1649, married Nov. 20, 1667, John HoUister. (3) 
 Mary, born Nov. 13, 1651, married in 1667 Joseph 
 Butler. "(4) John, jjorn May 20, 1653, who mar- 
 ried Rebecca Allen, is mentioned below. (5) Eliza- 
 beth, born in 1658, married June 9, 1675, Capt. 
 Robert Welles, of Stratford ; (6) William, born Feb. 
 8, 1661, married Grace Riley; (7) Abigail, born 
 June 5, 1662, married Thomas Fitch; (8) Ephraim, 
 born June 2, 1663, married Sarah Treat; (9) David, 
 born May 4, 1667, married Hannah Wright. 
 
 (II) John Goodrich resided in Wethersfield, 
 Conn., and died Sept. 5, 1730. On March 28, 1678, 
 be married Rebecca Allen, born Feb., 1660, daughter 
 of Capt. John and Ann Allen, ,of Charlestown, 
 Mass., the former of whom was the wealthiest man 
 in Charlestown. Children: (i) Sarah, born April 
 10, 1679, married Abraham Kilbourn ; (2) Rebecca, 
 born Nov. 11, 1680, married David Wright; (3) 
 Mary, born Sept. 4, 1682, married Thomas Curtiss ; 
 (4) Samuel was born May 24, 1684; (5) Abigail, 
 born April 27, 1686, married David Curtiss; (6) 
 John, born June 9, 1688, married Mary. Tillotson ; 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 619 
 
 I (7) Allyii, born Nov. 13, 1690, ib mentioned below; 
 (8) Ann was born Sept. i, 1692; and (9) Jacob, 
 born Nov. 27, 1694, married ]Jenedicta Goodwin. 
 {Ill) AUyn Goodricb resided in Wethersfield 
 and Farmington, Conn. On December 29, 1709, 
 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Col. David and 
 I Hannah Wright Goodrich. She died Aug. 25, 
 I 1726, and on Dec. 10, 1729, he married Hannah 
 Seymour, born ]\!arch 28, 1707, daughter of Sam- 
 uel and Hannah (North) Seymour. He died April 
 8, 1764. Seven children were born to the first mar- 
 riage and two to the second : ( i ) John, born March 
 26, 1734, married Hannah Dewey. (2) Asahel, born 
 Sept. 13, 1736, is next in the line of descent. 
 
 (IV) Asahel Goodrich resided in Berlin, Conn. 
 On Jan. i, 1764, he married Abigail Gilbert, who 
 died IMay 15, 1772, and on Nov. 3, 1775, he mar- 
 ried Sarah Woodruff. Children : ( i ) Isaac, born 
 Feb. 2, 1765, is mentioned below. (2) Orrin, born 
 Nov. 13, 1767, married Rhoda Mather. (3) Sarah, 
 born May 2, 1777, married Salmon Hart. (4) Abi- 
 gail, born May 28, 1779, married William Andrews. 
 
 (V) Isaac Goodrich married (first) Mary 
 \\'right, who died March 24, 1793, and he subse- 
 quently wedded Aug. 29, 1793, Mrs. Electa Lusk, 
 daughter of Stephen and Mary (Whaples) DeWolf, 
 and widow of a Mr. Lusk, formerly of New Britain, 
 Conn. They lived in that part of Berlin which is 
 now New Britain, and afterward removed to cen- 
 tral New York. He was a Baptist preacher. He 
 died April 19, 1847, his widow on Aug. 27, 1858. 
 Children by first marriage : ( i ) James, born April 
 20, 1791, died May 10, 1791. (2) Mar^^, born April 
 12, 1792, died April 27, 1792. By second marriage: 
 
 (3) ]\Iary, born Aug. 28, 1795, married May 17, 
 18 1 7, Deacon Anson Chidsey, son of Deacon Abram 
 and Eunice (Curtiss) Chidsey, of Avon, Conn. 
 
 (4) Laura, born May 18, 1796, married, June 8, 
 1815, Anson Kellogg. (5) Elizabeth, born Sept. 
 I, 1798, married a Mr. Dickerman. 
 
 Eunice Chidsey, eldest child of Deacon Anson 
 and Mary (Goodrich) Chidsey, married Lnke Kim- 
 ball ; their daughter Mary E. married John C. E. 
 Humphrey. The Chidseys were one of three fam- 
 ilies which first settled Avon, Conn., and were from 
 Branford, Connecticut. 
 
 Elijah Pember, of Ellington, Conn., married 
 Hannah (Cross). Their son, Samuel, born in 
 Ellington Jan. 4, 1750, died in Randolph, Yt., ilarch 
 14, 1826. In 1777 he married Esther Reed, daugh- , 
 ter of Jacob Reed, of Ellington, born June 27, 1758, 
 died Aug. 10, 1826. Their daughter Lucy, born 
 in Ellington July 13, 1779, died in Stowe, Yt., in 
 1854. She married Asa Kimball, of Stowe, and 
 their son, Luke Kimball, married Eunice Chidsey, 
 of Avon, Conn. Their daughter, Mary E. Kim- 
 ball, married John C. E. Humphrey. Samuel Pem- 
 ber was a corporal in the Second Company, of 
 Fourth Connecticut Continental Regiment, Col. Hin- 
 man's regiment. This regiment was raised on the 
 first call for troops, April-^NIay, 1775, was sent to 
 
 Ticonderoga, and later the Second Company served 
 in the siege of Boston. In 1780 Samuel Pember 
 removed to Randolph, Vt., and there cleared up a 
 farm. The last house which he Iniilt, in 1797, is 
 still owned and occupied by his grandchildren. 
 Randolph was then the extreme frontier, and Mr. 
 Pember was accustomed to spend the Sabbath at 
 the home of Mr. Havens, in Royalton, in order to 
 attend church. Early on Monday, Oct. 16, 1780, 
 Royalton was surprised by a band of Indians from 
 Canada in the employ of the British, and among 
 those killed was Thomas Pember, brother of Sam- 
 uel, who was clearing a farm in Randolph, and who 
 expected to be married in six weeks to a daughter 
 of Mr. Havens. He was a very fleet runner, and 
 had often said he would never be taken alive by the 
 Indians. He was wounded by a spear, and ran a 
 long distance, but at length fell, being weakened 
 from loss of blood, and was dispatched by the In- 
 dians. Samuel Pember was taken to Canada, his 
 father finally obtaining his release by exchanging 
 for a British prisoner, and the payment of thirty 
 dollars in silver. 
 
 Mrs. J. C. E. Plumphrey also traces her line 
 of descent from Michael Humphrey, as follows : 
 
 (I) Michael Humphrey married Priscilla Grant. 
 
 (II) Samuel Humphrey married Mary Mills. (HI) 
 Abigail Humphrey married John Case. (IV) Lucy 
 Case married William Wilcox. (V) Mary Wil- 
 cox married Eliphalet Curtiss, Jr. (VI) Eunice 
 Curtiss married Deacon Abram Chidsey. (VII) 
 Deacon Anson Chidsey married Mary Goodrich. 
 (A-'III) Eunice Chidsey married Luke Kimball. 
 (IX) Mary Kimball married John C. E. Humphrey. 
 
 CHARLES EDWIN BUNCE is one of the 
 most prominent and successful farmers of Hartford 
 county. His family name is indissolubly identified 
 with the early manufacture of paper in that locality, 
 his grandfather, father and uncles having all been 
 engaged in that line of trade. 
 
 J\Ir. Bunce's grandfather, Charles Bunce, was 
 unquestionably the pioneer manufacturer on Hop 
 brook. The place of his birth cannot be told with 
 certainty, but its date was July 25, 1770. He was 
 an extensive landholder. He learnecl the trade of 
 papermaking by serving an apprenticeship thereto 
 at New Haven in 1788, going from that place to 
 Hartford, where he worked for Hudson & Goodwin. 
 Later he found employment in Butler's mill, and 
 was for four years superintendent of a plant at 
 Andover. At the end of that time, having accum- 
 ulated a little money, he determined to engage in 
 business for himself. His first manufactory was in 
 a building which he bought from Elisha Pitkin, 
 who had intended using it as an oil mill. The 
 structure was unfinished when Mr. Bunce purchased 
 it, but he completed it and installed the necessary 
 machinery. His eldest son, George, was one of his 
 workmen, and was afterward, on attaining his ma- 
 jority, admitted into partnership. All his other 
 
620 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 sons embarked in the same business, erecting other 
 mills, and for sixty years the various members of 
 the family carried on an extensive and lucrative 
 business. 
 
 It goes without saying that Charles Bunce was 
 one of the county's best-known and most influential 
 citizens. He died Dec. 15, 1853, at the hale old age 
 of eighty-three. He was twice married, his first 
 wife being Sarah Bidwell, who was born April 20, 
 1771, and died June 10, 1804. The issue of this 
 marriage consisted of eight children : George, born 
 Aprilj 1790, married Mary Kennedy;, he had exten- 
 sive holdings of real estate, at one time owning the 
 larger portion of the land on which Cheney Bros.' 
 silk mills now stand. Herman, born Jan. 12, 1792, 
 died July 8, 1876; he married Phyllis Simon, and 
 lived in Manchester. Merwin, born Jan. 26, 1794, 
 died a bachelor Oct. 24, 1853. Sarah, born Jan. 
 10, 1796, died in December, 1834, the wife of John 
 McLean, a farmer of Manchester. Harriet, born 
 Jan. 20, 1798, died Oct. 28, 1847; she married 
 Champl'in Cadwell. Charles, born Feb. i, 1800, 
 died Feb. 21, 1874; he married Aurelia Strickland. 
 Melinda, born Feb. 2, 1802, died Feb. 23, 1885; 
 she married John Hills, a farmer of Manchester. 
 Lewis, born May 27, 1804, married Harriet John- 
 son, and died July 2, 1879. 
 
 After the death of his first wife Mr. Bunce mar- 
 ried Sarah Cadwell, who was born Sept. 2, 1776, 
 and died Oct. 19, 1856. She also bore eight chil- 
 dren to her husband : Ann, Walter, Betsey, 
 Aurelia, Sophia, Clarissa, Ralph and Edwin. A 
 brief mention of the majority of these will prove of 
 interest. Ann was born Oct. 3, 1805, and is now 
 the wife of Daniel Griswold, a Manchester farmer ; 
 Walter was born Jan. 10, 1807, married Katherine 
 Kennedy, and died Feb. 7, 1866; Betsey was born 
 June 23, 1809, and married Jehial Buckland, who 
 was first a woolen manufacturer and subsequently 
 a farmer of Manchester (she died Dec. 8, 1854) ; 
 Aurelia, now Mrs. Samuel T. Avery, of Wapping, 
 Conn., was born April 11, 1811; Sophia was born 
 June 8, 1813, and died unmarried Aug. 3, 1879; 
 Ralph, born May 20, 1818, died at the outset of his 
 early manhood, Oct. 14, 1836 ; Edwin, the father of 
 Charles Edwin, was the youngest of the issue of 
 the second marriage. He was born May 15, 1822, 
 and died Nov. 24, 1876. 
 
 Returning to the topic of the family connection 
 with the paper manufacturing trade, some addi- 
 tional historical facts are worth mentioning: Her- 
 man, Charles, Walter, Lewis and Edwin all em- 
 barked in this line, Lewis, with his sons Henry C. 
 and Edgar (Edwin being also a member of the 
 firm), successfully operating a mill which was 
 swept away by a flood in 1869. After the death of 
 his father Edwin and his brother Walter formed 
 a co-partnership for the conduct of their father's 
 mill, which association in business continued for 
 several years. Edwin ultimately secured his 
 brother's interest, by purchase, and later formed a 
 
 partnership with George Cheney. After a few years 
 the latter firm sold out to Case Brothers. 
 
 Edwin Bunce was a native of South Manches- 
 ter. He received his early education in the com- 
 mon schools, also at Wilbraham Academy, and at 
 the end of his school days began his life work in a 
 paper mill, being thus actively engaged in manu- 
 facturing until near the end of his life, when he 
 retired to the farm of his son, Charles Edwin; 
 here ended his hfe at the comparatively early age 
 of fifty-four years. In 1843 he was married to 
 Lucinda, a daughter of Nathaniel and Mary (Strick- 
 land) Tryon, of East Glastonbury. [A more de- 
 tailed account of the Sti-ickland family may be 
 found in the biographical sketch of Nathaniel Strick- 
 land, elsewhere.] She died Nov. 20, 1891. Her 
 mother was noted for piety and for strict ob- 
 servance of the Sabbath. The closing years of her 
 life were passed at the home of her son-in-law, 
 where she died. 
 
 Charles Edwin Bunce is the younger of two 
 shildren, the elder, who was born April 23, 1848, 
 having been a daughter, Alice C. She was married 
 June 5, 1876, to Ransom Fitzgerald, a wholesale 
 merchant of Hartford. Our subject was born Aug. 
 6, 1851, in the house where he now lives. After 
 passing through the district schools he attended 
 the high schools of Manchester and Hartford, and 
 on finishing his studies returned home, where he 
 has ever since lived, devoting himself to agriculture. 
 In this pursuit he has greatly prospered, and now 
 owns one of the largest and best-improved farms 
 in Hartford county. His temperament is genial, 
 his disposition kind and gentle, and his manners 
 those of a refined, courteous gentleman. 
 
 On June 8, 1882, Mr. Bunce married Miss Ina 
 Chaffee, daughter of Peter and Hannah Chaffee, of 
 East Woodstock. Her father and brothers are 
 wagonmakers in that town. The issue of the mar- 
 riage has been eight children: Myrtis, born April 
 15, 1883, who died July 30, same year; a child, born 
 April 19, 1884, who died in infancy; Gertrude M., 
 born May 29, 1885; Edwin C, born Aug. 15, 1887; 
 Zella, born Aug. 5, 1889; Rena, born Feb. 5, 1891 ; 
 Florence, born Sept. 15, 1893; and Louis, born July 
 19, 1897. Mr. Bunce is a Democrat in politics, and 
 has held several minor offices. 
 
 MICHAEL HENRY DONNELLY (deceased) 
 was for many years prominently identified with the 
 industrial and business interests of New Britain 
 and Berlin. He was of foreign birth, but his duties 
 of citizenship were performed with a loyalty equal 
 to that of any native son of America, and he did all 
 in his power to advance the interests of his adopted 
 town and county . 
 
 Mr. Donnelly was born in County Tyrone, Ire- 
 land, May 19, 1846, a son of Patrick Donnelly, who 
 was born in the same place in 1810. The grand- 
 father, Michael Donnelly, was a native of County 
 Tyrone, where he spent his entire life as a tenant, 
 
 II 
 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 621 
 
 prospered in his undertakings, and became quite 
 well-to-do. Hq married a i\iiss Woods, and the 
 children born to them were Patrick, Peter, John, 
 JMichacl, Daniel, Rosa, Katie, Ellen and Eliza. 
 
 i'atrick Donnelly, father of our subject, was one 
 of the most successful farmers of his community, 
 and was a man of good business ability. After his 
 marriage he purchased two good farms adjoining 
 his father's place, and in his native land continued 
 to make his home until called from this life, in 
 February, 1896. He was a quiet, unassuming man, 
 but made many friends. He married Catherine 
 Woods, daughter of Patrick Woods (whose family 
 was in no way related to Mr. Donnelly's maternal an- 
 cestors), and to this union eight children were born : 
 Michael, Patrick, Peter, John, Daniel, Elizabeth, 
 Katie, and Rosanna. After the death of the father 
 the mother came to the New World to make her 
 home with our subject, and resided with his widow 
 in New Britain until her death, May 12, 1900. 
 
 In the national schools of Ireland Michael H. 
 Donnelly acquired his education, pursuing his 
 studies during the daytime until fourteen years of 
 age, and then attending night school for three years. 
 He was naturally a man of ability, and, by devoting 
 considerable time to reading, he became well in- 
 formed on topics of general interest and the lead- 
 ing questions and issues of the day. After leaving 
 school he remained at home until twenty years of 
 age, and then, in IMarch, 1866, sailed for America. 
 When he landed in Boston he had only three dollars 
 with which to begin life in a strange country. Com- 
 ing to Hartford, he first worked on a farm for ten 
 dollars per month, and then served a three-years' 
 apprenticeship to the blacksmith's trade. He fol- 
 lowed his trade as a journeyman until 1872, when 
 he opened a shop of his own on Chestnut street. 
 New Britain, and later bought land and built a shop 
 in that town. When he embarked in business for 
 himself his only assistant was a boy, but his trade 
 steadily increased, and he afterward furnished em- 
 ployment to five men. He received some large 
 contracts, furnishing the iron work for the New 
 York, New Haven & Hartford railway depot at 
 New Britain, and also for the armory and other 
 large buildings in that place. In 1889 he sold his 
 blacksmith business, rented his shop, and embarked 
 in the manufacture of brick in Berlin. At first he 
 only worked half a day, but the following winter 
 his business had so increased that he had to double 
 the capacity of his plant, while the shed and ma- 
 chine gangs did a full day's work, turning out from 
 six and one-half to seven million brick, annually. 
 The Donnelly Brick Co. was organized, our sub- 
 ject being president and treasurer, and in the yards 
 employment was given to forty men. A terra-cotta 
 plant was also operated by the company for some 
 time. 
 
 On Jan. 19, 1S76, Mr. Donnelly was united in 
 marriage with Miss Mary Ann Farrell, of Plainville, 
 who was born June 26, 1858, a daughter of Timothy 
 
 Farrell, a well-to-do gardener of that ocality. The 
 children born to this union were as folows : Paul 
 Francis, born Nov. 15, 1877, died at the age of 
 three days; the second child died in infancy; Susan 
 Agnes, born June 12, i88i, died March 16, 1882; 
 Katie May, born July 17, 1883, is attending Alt. 
 St. Joseph Seminary in Hartford; Henry Aljchael, 
 born Nov. 14, 1886, William Joseph, born June 22, 
 1888, and John Timothy, born May 5, 1891, are at- 
 tending the New Britain schools ; Stephen i'atrick, 
 born Nov. 20, 1894, is in the Kindergarten, and 
 Irene Margaret, born June 17, 1897, died at the 
 age of one year. 
 
 In November, 1898, Mr. Donnelly was taken 
 ill with the "grippe," which resulted in an abscess 
 at the base of the brain. An operation was per- 
 formed, but too late to be of any benefit. Against 
 the advice of his physician he continued to attend 
 to his business until confined to his bed. He died 
 July 21, 1899, and his remains were interred in 
 St. Mary's cemetery. New Britain. He was a mem- 
 ber of St. Joseph's Catholic Church, on South Main 
 street, and of Putnam Phalanx and the Benevolent 
 and Protective Order of Elks. His political sup- 
 port was given to the men and measures of the 
 Democratic party. He was a man of sound judg- 
 ment and good business and executive ability, pos- 
 sessed great energy and force of character, and 
 through his own well-directed efforts achieved a 
 wonderful success in life. He was one of the prin- 
 cipal brick manufacturers of Berlin, and the prom- 
 inent place which he occupied in business circles 
 was certainly justly merited. 
 
 LOWELL H. BREWER, one of the most en- 
 ergetic, progressive and thrifty tobacco growers of 
 Hockanum, town of East Hartford, was born Nov. 
 27, 1847, in the house now occupied by his father. 
 Deacon Ashbel Brewer. 
 
 Ashbel Brewer was born in East Hartford Aug. 
 4, 18 10, eldest of the eight children born to Allen 
 and Velina (Bidwell) Brewer, the latter a daughter 
 of Ashbel Bidwell. Deacon Brewer's father was a 
 private in a military company which was raised in 
 1814 to repel a British movement on New London, 
 and which marched overland to that place. Among 
 the most highly-prized treasures in the good old 
 Deacon's house is a cannon ball fired by a British 
 frigate oft' New London. 
 
 Deacon Brewer's boyhood was spent on his fa- 
 ther's farm, and his early education was obtained 
 in the old school house, which in the opening years 
 of the century stood on High street, on the hill 
 just north of Pewter Pot Brook. Cooper AIcKee, 
 a famous pedagogue of those days, wielded the 
 birch. The little temple of learning contained but 
 one room. Scholars found their seats on settees 
 which stretched parallel with the walls, the teacher's 
 desk being in the middle of the room. In winter 
 a stove stood near the desk, and the faces of the 
 scholars roasted while their backs froze. Arith- 
 
622 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 metic was not taught in the school, and this branch 
 Mr. Brewer picl^ed up at a night school. 
 
 Mr. Brewer followed farming as his occupa- 
 tion until. 1849. He grew potatoes, corn and rye, 
 and raised live stock, native beef being then profit- 
 able. Tobacco was then little grown. "I doubt if 
 there, were over fifteen acres of tobacco in the town 
 in 1849," Deacon Brewer said lately, in speaking 
 of the weed, "and what there was grown was in 
 patches of a third or half an acre or so." In the 
 spring of 1849 he built a grocery at the foot of Ash 
 street, on land which he leased of Samuel Kellogg. 
 The following winter he discontinued the grocery 
 business and resumed farming, and during the last 
 thirty years he has grown tobacco extensively. His 
 farm includes nearly 125 acres, and he is one of 
 the largest owners of land in Hockanum Meadow. 
 At the age of seventeen years Ashbel Brewer joined 
 the Congregational Church, and was speedily put 
 in the choir, in which he remained for nearly fifty 
 years. Violins, bass viols and flutes gave the in- 
 strumental music when he entered the choir. Nearly 
 a generation passed before they gave way to organs. 
 In cold weather church-goers carried with them 
 small foot-stoves, on which they "toasted" their 
 toes comfortably. In 1837 Mr. Brewer was chosen 
 sexton of the Hockanum cemeteries, and discharged 
 the duties of that position for twenty-three years. 
 In 1870 he was chosen deacon of the First Church, 
 and held that position until 1876, when he became 
 one of the original members of the Hockanum Con- 
 gregational Church. For three years he was a dea- 
 con in this church, and he is now deacon emeritus. 
 Mr. Brewer was for six years a member of the 
 Putnam Phalanx. He has been school committee- 
 man five times. He was town surveyor some years 
 under the old district system of roadmaking. In 
 1845 he was tax collector. When Mr. Brewer came 
 of age it was the law that a citizen, in order to be- 
 come an elector, should be an owner of land. His 
 father, to meet this requirement, gave him eight 
 acres. In politics Mr. Brewer started out as a 
 Democrat, but since 1856 has been a sohd Repub- 
 lican. He has voted for five Democratic, one Whig, 
 and ten Republican candidates for President. 
 
 Mr. Brewer was married, in 1833, to Mary 
 Whaples, of Newington, and this union was blessed 
 with eight children: Jane E., born May 10, 1835, 
 was married to Jacob Dix, of Newington, had five 
 children, and is now deceased ; Joanna, born March 
 16, 1837, is the widow of Joshua C. Luce, has four 
 children, and is living in Newington, of which place 
 her husband was a native; Adelaide L., born July 
 12, 1839, married Charles W. Roberts, of East 
 Hartford ; Martha A., born June 27, 1841, was mar- 
 ried to George Bidwell, of East Hartford, where 
 she is now living a widow, with two children, How- 
 ard E. and Mrs. Winne Stoughton; Marietta, born 
 July 15, 1843, is married to E. W. Griswold, and is 
 living in California, the mother of one child, Laura 
 May, born in Virginia City, Nev., July 3, 1879; 
 
 Cornelia, born Sept. 4, 1845, was married to Horace 
 B. Hicks, of Bristol Ferry, R. I., had two children, 
 Fred and Nellie, and died in 1899 ; Louise H., born 
 Nov. 27, 1847, married Jacob Dix, and is deceased; 
 and Lowell H. (twin of Louise H.) is the subject 
 of this sketch. Mrs. Mary (Whaples) Brewer, the 
 mother of the above family, passed away in 1858, 
 and in 1863 Deacon Brewer married Margaret 
 Barnard, who sru-vived until 1890. The Deacon, 
 who is of medium stature, has led a long, honorable 
 and useful life, is still prominent in his church, but 
 is now confined to his bed in a weakened condition. 
 Lowell H. Brewer was educated in the brick 
 school house in Hockanum, and was a pupil under 
 Henry Fox. At the age of seventeen years, being 
 the only boy in the family, he withdrew from school, 
 returned to the home farm and practically began 
 its management, and, as an example of his industry, 
 executive ability and his thorough knowledge of 
 tobacco culture, it is only necessary to cite the fact 
 that he has improved the quality, increased the 
 product per acre, and extended the area then under 
 cultivation from an ordinary farm to one of the 
 largest as well as one of the finest tobacco planta- 
 tions in the town of East Hartford, if not in Hart- 
 ford county. He has the reputation of always net- 
 ting as good a price as any grower of tobacco in 
 the neighborhood, and in many intances has re- 
 ceived a much higher price. He has packed an- 
 nually about 170 cases of his own product for some 
 time past, and this year (1900) has forty-six acres of 
 the staple under cultivation. He is teaching his 
 sons, by actual experience, the best methods of cul- 
 ture and curing, and will turn over the business to 
 them in the near future. 
 
 Mr. Brewer was united in marriage, by the Rev. 
 William Turkington, of the Methodist Church, Jan. 
 29, 1874, to Miss Charlotte Edna Vibberts, who 
 was born April 14, 1852, a daughter of Capt. 
 Charles H. and Jane M. (Babcock) Vibberts, na- 
 tives of East Hartford and residents of Hockanum, 
 and of whom more detailed mention will shortly be 
 made. Mrs. Brewer was educated at the Hockanum 
 public school, the New Britain High School and 
 State Normal, and was a successful teacher for a 
 few years prior to her marriage. To the happy 
 marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Brewer have been born 
 five children : ( i ) Miller V., who was born Dec. 
 7, 1874, attended the Hartford Public High School, 
 also Huntsinger's Business College, and is now .as- 
 sisting on the home farm; (2) Lowell H., born Dec. 
 4, 1876, passed through the same course of instruc- 
 tion ;, (3) 'Harry F., born Sept. 22, 1879, was edu- 
 cated in the same manner; (4) Ashbel A., born 
 Dec. 27, 1882, was educated in the same institution 
 which his brothers attended, and reached the high- 
 est record in spelling ever attained in the school 
 (3,000 words without a miss), which elicited from 
 the principal a congratulatory letter to the father; 
 (5) Charles H., born Nov. 5, 1885, is a graduate 
 of the South school of Hartford, and is now a stu- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 fi28 
 
 dent at Huntsinger's Business College, Hartford. 
 Lowell H. Ijrcwcr has led a happy married life, 
 as well as a successful one from a business stand- 
 point, lie has rearctl his children "in the way 
 they should go," and the sons, like himself, have 
 made a line reputation for their remarkably indus- 
 trious habits and moral rectitude. No family within 
 the limits of Hartford county are more highly es- 
 teemed for their personal merits. 
 
 A few words will now be devoted to the ancient 
 ViBBERTS family, of which Mrs. Lowell H. Brewer 
 is a descendant. 
 
 Capt. Charles H. Vibberts, father of Mrs. Brew- 
 er, was a grandson of Jesse Vibberts, who was born 
 Jan. 30, 1759, and became one of the heroes of the 
 Revolutionary war, and, it is supposed, was one of 
 Washington's bodyguard, as he left Virginia at 
 the same time that the commander-in-chief did. 
 He had a brother, John, from whom he was almost 
 inseparable. At the conclusion of hostilities Jesse 
 settled in Hockanum, married, Aug. 7, 1783, Martha 
 
 , who was born Aug. 19, 1759, and reared 
 
 a large family, to-wit: Jessie, born March 3, 1784; 
 Clara, Oct. 24, 1785 ; Olive, Oct. 27, 1787; Eliphalet, 
 Sept. 16, 1789; Patte, Sept. 28, 1791; Phene, Aug. 
 26, 1793; Stephen, Sept. 20, 1795: Mary, May 5, 
 1797; Alvin, Jan. 26, 1801. In the old account- 
 books of the grandfather are found some such en- 
 tries as these: "Moaed hay for 60c a day; butcher- 
 ing, 40c a day; helping cut two loads and loading 
 wood, for 40c; three days at oil mill, at 50c a day." 
 Grandfather Jesse was of a powerful build, as was 
 his brother John, and was so very broad that he 
 was compelled to pass through ordinary doors side- 
 ways. He followed farming, hewing timber, ship- 
 building, etc., but in the latter days of his life became 
 quite blind. He was laid to rest in Buckland cem- 
 etery in 1 83 1. 
 
 Alvin Vibberts, father of Capt. Charles H. Vib- 
 berts, was born in Hockanum. He was a carpenter 
 in a rude way, and also worked on farms, and after 
 marriage he and wife made cigars for the Southern 
 trade, Mr. Vibberts manufacturing the cases from 
 butternut wood. In 1820 he was married to Miss 
 Emily Brewer, who was born in 1799, and to this 
 union came the following named children : George, 
 who was born June 2, 1821, married Harriet Dailey, 
 of Farmington, and afterward wedded Harriet 
 VVetherell, of Manchester; he lived all his days in 
 Hockanum, and died in 1879. Capt. Charles H., 
 the father of iMrs. L. H. Brewer, was born March 
 14, 1825. Albert L., born Oct. 15, 1829, first mar- 
 ried Cornelia Pratt, and later Augusta Smith ; he 
 is now a successful real estate dealer of New Brit- 
 ain. The mother of this family died June 9. 1853, 
 the father in June, 1855, and the remains of both 
 lie interred in Hockanum. 
 
 Capt. Charles H. Vibberts, father of Mrs. Brew- 
 er, married, April 15, 1849, Jane M. Babcock, who 
 was born Sept. 30, 1829, and died Aug. 12, 1900; 
 she was a daughter of Elisha and Charlotte (How- 
 
 Ictt) Babcock, natives of Hartford. The three chil- 
 dren born to this union are as follQws : Charlotte 
 Edna (Mrs. Brewer) ; Charles Floyd, who was born 
 Sept. 29, 1857, married Mary Conner, of Windsor, 
 and is living in Hockanum; Burden Gideon, the 
 youngest, born Oct. 11, 1866, still makes his home 
 with his father. 
 
 NEWELL ST. JOHN, one of Simsbury's most 
 progressive citizens, an extensive farmer and to- 
 bacco grower, was born near Hoskins Station 
 March 19, 1851, and is a representative of an old 
 New England family. 
 
 Elijah St. John, his grandfather, was a native of 
 Rhode Island, where he learned the trade of tailor. 
 He removed to Simsbury, llartford county, and 
 here for a time he followed his trade, then engaged 
 in farming; he died Aug. 10, 1836, aged forty- 
 three years, being killed in a fall from a scaffold 
 in his barn, and was buried in Simsbury. He mar- 
 ried, Oct. 26, 1786, Elizabeth Delibah.'and to their 
 union the following children were born: Elijah, 
 born Nov. 20, 1787, died in November, 1788; 
 Elizabeth, born May 15, 1789, married, Aug. 9, 
 1820, Reuben Miller; Cornwall; Susan; Zopher, 
 fathe^r of our subject, born Oct. 17, 1799; Hilpah, 
 who married, Oct. 21, 1828, Hiram K. Steel ; Caro- 
 line, who married, Nov. 7, 1833, Henry Ely. 
 
 Zopher St. John, the father of our subject, was 
 born on the farm near Hoskins Station, Oct. 17, 
 1799, was educated in the public schools of Sims- 
 bury, and at the age of sixteen years started on the 
 road, peddling Yankee notions, traveling afoot in 
 the New England States as far east as Cape Cod. 
 He also engaged in selling clocks. In 1840 he 
 started in the jewelry business, traveling for a 
 jewelry firm in Owego, N. Y., and continued in 
 that business until 1865. He was a successful 
 salesman, and while he lost at times he preserved 
 and gadiered about him many comforts in the de- 
 cline of life. He ended his traveling days in 1865 
 and for seven years thereafter made farming his 
 principal occupation, engaging also in tobacco grow- 
 ing, dairy farming, etc. He was self-educated, a 
 keen observer, and possessed a very genial dispo- 
 sition, while in his habits he was temperate. In 
 his political views he was a Whig, and at the advent 
 of the Republican party he became a stanch sup- 
 porter of its principles, though he never sought 
 political honors or office ; however, he served on the 
 board of relief one term, and took a deep interest in 
 education. He and his family were consistent 
 members of the Congregational Church. Mr. St. 
 John died on his farm at Hoskins Station Feb. 20, 
 1872. He married, in Suffiield, Conn., Eunice La- 
 vina Harmon, who was born in Suffield, Jan. 17, 
 1809, daughter of Paul and Eunice (Remington) 
 Harmon, of that town, and died Jan. 5, 1899. 
 
 The H.\RMON family is one of the oldest and 
 most illustrious of New England. It has descended 
 from three brothers, one of whom, John Harmon, 
 
624 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was born in England in 1611, and came to Boston 
 about 1636. One brother removed later to Penn- 
 sylvania, and one to Maine, while John became one 
 of the first settlers of Springfield, Mass. Ten of 
 his descendants in the third and fourth generations 
 were soldiers in the Revolutionary army, among 
 them being Capt. John Harmon, of the 4th Regi- 
 ment, Connecticut Line, Gen. Washington's favorite 
 captain, who received special mention for gallant 
 conduct in the capture of Boston. The line of de- 
 scent to the mother of our subject is as follows: 
 (I) John Harmon, born in England, in 161 1, died 
 in Springfield, Mass., 1661. (il) iSIathaniel Har- 
 mon, born in Springfield, Mass., March 13, 1653, 
 became a noted Indian trader, married Mary Skin- 
 ner, and died in Suffield May 2, 1712. (HI) Na- 
 thaniel Harmon, born July 30, 1695, 'died Feb. 10, 
 1774. (IV) Phineas Harmon, son of Nathaniel 
 and Sarah (Smith) Harmon, born June 4, 1720, 
 died in Suffield, May 31, 1802. (V) Paul Harmon, 
 the grandfather of our subject, bom April 22, 
 1768, son of Phineas and Dorcas (Hastings) Har- 
 mon, died Nov. 13, 1852. He married Eunice Rem- 
 ington. The eleven children of Paul and Eunice 
 (Remington) Harmon were as follows: Julius, 
 who died young ; Julia, who died young ; Zenas 
 (1798- 1 867), who lived at Warren, Vt. ; Julia, ■who 
 married Frederick Gillett; Phineas (1802- 1833), a 
 farmer of Suffield; Paul (1804-1883), a carpenter 
 and farmer of Omaha, Neb. ; one who died in in- 
 fancy in 1806; Eunice L., mother of our subject; 
 Martha F. (1810-1877), wife of Thomas Gillett; 
 Chloe (1812-1837), wife of John Talbott; and 
 Hannah M. (1814-1840), who married Lucius A. 
 Cutler. 
 
 To Zopher and Eunice L. (Harmon) St. John 
 were born the following children : Martha L., born 
 Feb. 16, 1831, died unmarried June 26, 1898; Mary, 
 born April 30, 1832, is the widow of George W. Har- 
 mon, and mother of George A. Harmon, of Suffield, 
 Conn. ; Hilpah, born Aug. 30, 1834, died Feb. 2, 
 1867, was the wife of Marvin D. Hoskins ; Eunice, 
 born Dec. 14, 1836, died from the effects of poison, 
 Jan. 13, 1837; Edward Francis, born May 23, 1839, 
 is a farmer of Simsbury, Conn. ; Louise, born Feb. 
 2, 1841, is the widow of Prof. Rufus C. Hitchcock 
 (she is principal of the high school at New Or- 
 leans) ; Chloe, born May 22, 1845, is unmarried, 
 and was a school teacher in the public schools of 
 Springfield for over thirty years ; Sanford Z., born 
 May 9, 1849, is a druggist of Pittsfield, Mass.; 
 Newell, our subject, was born March 19, 1851. 
 
 Newell St. John received his education in the 
 district schools in the Westover Plains District, 
 also at Simsbury and Tariffville Select. Schools, and 
 at Suffield, in the Literary Institue, under Prof. 
 Andrews. Our subject was about of age when his 
 father died, and he settled down to farming on he 
 homestead, where for the past twenty-eig-ht years he 
 has been engaged in tobacco culture, dairying and 
 general farming and stock raising. He has made 
 
 improvements on the farm, which is a tract of fifty- 
 acres, and there his mother spent her widowhood, ' 
 our subject caring for her in her old age. She at- 
 tained the ripe old age of ninety years, and her 
 death closed the life of a good Christian woman 
 and a devoted wife and mother. Our subject has 
 been a life-long Republican, and for the past eight 
 years has been a member of the board of selectmen 
 of Simsbury. He fills the position of trust and 
 responsibility with honor to himself and with satis- 
 faction to the people, is popular and very highly 
 respected. He has served on the board of relief for 
 two terms, and also on the school committee, having 
 always taken a deep interest in the cause of edu- 
 cation. 
 
 In 1874 Mr. St. John was married, in Bloomfield, 
 Conn., to Addie L. Cushman, born in East Granby, 
 daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Cushman. To : 
 our subject and wife five children have been born: 
 Isabelle, who was educated in the district schools, 
 at McLean Seminary, Simsbury, and at the Normal 
 School in New Britain, and who has successfully 
 taught for the past five years; Helen Grace, who 
 died in 1892, at the age of sixteen; Charles N., at 
 school; Clarence Wardell; and Lucile. Mr. and 
 Mrs. St. John are active members of the Congre- 
 gational Church. 
 
 DEACON ALFRED NORTH was of the 
 eighth generation in the family from John North, 
 whose name appears in 1640 as one of the original 
 proprietors and settlers of Farmington, a Colony 
 which was the first offshoot from the church of 
 Rev. Thomas Hooker, of Hartford. John North 
 came to America in the "Susan & Ellen," in 1635, 
 at the age of twenty years, landing at Boston. His 
 land in Farmington was entered to him in 1653. 
 He married Hannah Bird, a daughter of Thomas 
 Bird, and to them were born nine children. Him- 
 self and his two sons, John and Samuel, were in- 
 cluded in the eighty-four original land owners 
 among whom were divided, in 1676, the unoccupied 
 lands of Farmington. His house lot of three-fourths 
 of an acre at the north end of Farmington street 
 was purchased from John Steel. Himself and wife 
 were members of the Farmington Church, she join- 
 ing in 1656. John North died in 1691, aged sev- 
 enty-six years. The line of descent to our subject 
 is as follows : 
 
 (II) Thomas North, born Jan. 30, 1649, mar- 
 ried Hannah Newell, who was born in 1656, and to 
 them were born ten children. He served in the 
 Indian wars, and for his services received a grant 
 of land. He settled in the north part of Farming- 
 ton, now Avon, and died in 1712, his wife surviving 
 
 to Nov. 4, 1757, as appears in the Newell genealogy. ], 
 
 One of his descendants, through his son Joseph, !l 
 
 was Prof. Henry Carrington Bolton, of Trinity Col- I 
 lege, Hartford. 
 
 (III) Thomas North, son of Thomas and Han- 1 
 nah North, was born in 1673. He married, Dec. ; 
 
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 m 
 
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 ^^^^K^.Jv 4^ 
 
 ^^ 1 
 
 I^^Hp ' '"^^f/ 
 
 ^^^^J 
 
 
 ^H 
 
 
 ^ : .^fc i^^^^^l 
 
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 625 
 
 I, 1698, Miss Martha Roys (or Royce), who was 
 born June i, 1679, a daughter of Isaac and Eliza- 
 beth (^Lathrop) Roys, of WalUns-ford, Conn., and 
 on her motlier's side was a great-granddaughter of 
 Rev. John Lathrop, who came from England to 
 . Scituate, Mass., in 1634. He settled first in Ken- 
 ! sington, and later lived in the eastern part of Farm- 
 i ington, now Berlin. He united with the church in 
 1707, was one of the seven founders of the Con- 
 gregational Church of Berlin, and was a man of 
 wealth and influence; he died in 1725. He was 
 ! the father of eight children ; James, his third son, 
 ' was the ancestor of the branch of the North familv 
 who settled at New Britain. 
 
 (IV) Deacon Isaac North, son of Thomas and 
 Martha North, was born Sept. 27, 1703. He niar- 
 
 ' ried Mary Woodford, who was born March 2, 
 1709, and they had eight children. He was the 
 Srst enrolled member and the first deacon of the 
 
 . Second Congregational Church of Berlin. He died 
 Dec. 20, 1788, his wife surviving until 1798, when 
 she passed away at the age of ninety-one, and was 
 buried in Beckley. Isaac North, Sr., lived in a 
 house situated about one mile north of the village 
 of Berlin. It is still standing, and is in good con- 
 dition. Its back door is close upon the street, the 
 highwa}- having been changed from the front to 
 the back of the house soon after it was built. 
 
 (V) Jedediah North, son of Isaac and Mary 
 North, and the great-grandfather of our subject, 
 was born in Berlin Jan. 16, 1734. He married, 
 Jan. 27, 1757, Miss Sarah Wilcox, daughter of 
 Daniel Wilcox, of East Berlin, born Dec. 31, 1739. 
 To them were born eight children. Mrs. North 
 died Oct. 5, 1775, and Mr. North afterward mar- 
 ried Abigail Andrews, by whom he had three chil- 
 dren. He was a man of deep religious faith, and 
 in his early life exemplified that faith. He died 
 Dec. 16, 1816, and was buried in Beckley cemetery. 
 
 (VI) Simeon North, son of Jedediah and Sarah 
 North, and the grandfather of our subject, was 
 born in Berlin July 13, 1765. He married, in 
 1786, Lucy Savage, who was born in Middletown 
 May 19, 1766, and died Feb. 24, 181 1, the mother 
 of eight children. For his second wife Simeon 
 North married Lydia Huntington, daughter of Rev. 
 Enoch Huntington, of Middletown. and the only 
 child of this marriage, the ninth child of her fa- 
 ther, became the wife of Rev. Dwight M. Seward, 
 .pastor of the First Congregational Church of New 
 jBritain from 1836 to 1842. From 181 1 to 1813 
 Mr. North served as lieutenant-colonel of the 6th 
 ^onn. Regiment. He engaged at Berlin, and later 
 at Middletown, Conn., in the manufacture of pis- 
 tols and bayonets. He died Aug. 25, 1852. Dr. 
 .Simeon North, youngest son of Simeon and Lucv 
 i(Savage) North, born Sept. 10, 1802, graduated 
 [from Yale College, and was connected with Hamil- 
 |ton College, Clinton, N. Y., as tutor and professor 
 lof ancient languages from 1822 to 1839. and as 
 jpresident of the college from 1839 to 1857. 
 
 I 40 
 
 (VH) Reuben North, the father of our subject, 
 was born in Berlin Doc. 11, 1786. He married, 
 Jan. 9, 181 1, Lynda Wilcox, of Berlin, who was 
 born Oct. 31, 1786, daughter of Josiah and Huldah 
 (Savage) Wilcox, and granddaughter of Daniel 
 Wilcox, of East Berlin, who died in 1789; the lat- 
 ter was the owner of a landed estate on the Mat- 
 tabessett river one mile square, large enough to give 
 to each of his thirteen children an ample farm. 
 Mrs. Lynda North died March 17, 1817, leaving 
 three children, of whom our subject was the eldest. 
 For his second wife Reuben married, in May, 1817, 
 Huldah Wilcox, a sister of his first wife, and by 
 her had five sons. For many vears he continued 
 the business of his father at Spruce Brook, in Ber- 
 lin — the manufacture of pistols and bayonets. He 
 was quiet in manner, but was noted for his strong 
 temperance views, and was one of the first citi- 
 zens of Berlin to actively promote the cause of 
 temperance. He died April 4, 1853. One of his 
 sons. Dr. Edward North, born in 1820, graduated 
 from Hamilton College in 1841, was elected to the 
 chair of ancient languages there in 1843, '^'''d for 
 over fifty years has filled the position of professor 
 of the Greek language and literature in that in- 
 stitution. 
 
 (Vni) Alfred North, our subject, was born in 
 Berlin Oct. 3, 181 1. He obtained his education in 
 the public schools of his native town, and in the 
 Berlin Academy, and before entering business life 
 taught in the public schools in Berlin and in Ohio. 
 He then entered his father's factory, and was there 
 employed until after his marriage, May 8, 1834, to 
 Mary Olive Wilcox, who was born in Berlin Aug. 
 7, 1812, daughter of Richard and Olive (Porter) 
 Wilcox, residents of Berlin, who died respectively 
 Sept. 23, 1839, and May 27, 1827. His health fail- 
 ing, he left his father's factory, and in 1840 started 
 a store at Litchfield. He returned to Berlin eight- 
 een months later, and there began a mercantile 
 career, which continued until 1886. He was a li- 
 censed pharmacist. In 1844 he was elected town 
 clerk at Berlin, and was for over forty years an- 
 nually re-elected to that position, until he resigned 
 in 1886 on account of loss of eyesight. Twice he 
 vvas elected to represent the town of Berlin in the 
 State Legislature, 1849 f^nd 1855. 
 
 One of the public institutions which Deacon Al- 
 fred North established at Berlin was the Berlin 
 Savings Bank. As town clerk of Berlin there came 
 to him one day to be recorded four mortgages held 
 by outside parties. The thought occurred to him 
 that a savings bank should be established at Berlin, 
 and the interest money thus kept at home. Lead- 
 ing men of the town, whom he consulted, dis- 
 couraged the enterprise, but he persevered in his 
 efforts and applied to S. C. Wilcox, then repre- 
 senting the town in the State Legislature, to secure 
 a charter. He expressed the belief that he would 
 live to see the day when the deposits would amount 
 to $ioo,oop. The bank was incorporated June 19, 
 
 / 
 
626 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1873. Deacon North was elected its first presi- 
 dent, and continued to hold that position until fail- 
 ing health, in Julv. 1893, compelled him to retire. 
 He was the first depositor of the bank, opening an 
 account in the name of a grandson ; when he at- 
 tended his last meeting with the directors the de- 
 posits exceeded $200,000. 
 
 With the Second Congregational Church Dea- 
 con North was connected for sixty-five years. This 
 church was organized in 1775, and at the head of 
 the members stands the name of Deacon Isaac 
 North, the great-great-grandfather of our subject. 
 The latter was received as a member in 1829, at 
 the age of eighteen years, by Rev. Samuel Good- 
 rich, and in 1836 he was elected deacon, resigning 
 that office at the age of seventy. It is related, as 
 an instance of the prevailing confidence in his good 
 sense and knowledge of affairs, that when the new 
 church was to be built at Berlin he was appointed 
 to prepare a statement of the amount each member 
 of the congregation ought to give. It was a dif- 
 ficult task. Yet the sum which he placed after each 
 name was cheerfully paid, and the church was built. 
 He also held the offices of clerk and treasurer of 
 the Wortliington Ecclesiastical Society, as well as 
 that of school treasurer. For twenty years he 
 served faithfully as superintendent of the Sunday- 
 school, and in the church music he took an active 
 interest. In his boyhood days our subject was 
 known as a lad of kindly disposition and generous 
 acts. He thus early won many friends who clung 
 to him through life. He was general counselor and 
 referee of the town. Its people came to him in 
 their perplexities. He was the trusted friend of 
 the poor, and his liberality was greater than his 
 means would well allow. He was very fond of 
 children, and many of the residents of Berlin re- 
 member him as one of their warmest childhood 
 friends. 
 
 To our subject and wife were born two chil- 
 dren, Francis Augustus and Catharine Melinda. 
 The former was born June 4, 1835, and married, at 
 Philadelphia, Oct. 10, 1867, Elizabeth W. Moore- 
 head, who was born Dec. 16, 1836. When young 
 Francis assisted in his father's store, he studied 
 music with Prof. Barnett, of Hartford. Later he 
 accepted a position with Andre & Co., publishers of 
 music, at Philadelphia, and eventually became a 
 member of the firm. Still later he started in busi- 
 ness for himself, selling out to Ditson & Co., and 
 he has since engaged in the manufacture of the 
 "Lester" piano. He has two children — Alfred 
 Moorehead, born Feb. 20, 1872, and Robert Lorton, 
 born Nov. 19, 1873, both of whom have been stu- 
 dents at Princeton College. Catharine M., the 
 daughter of our subject, was born March i, 1840. 
 She assisted her father in his affairs during his 
 declininp- years, since then continuing as agent for 
 several fire insurance companies which he repre- 
 sented. 
 
 The death of Deacon North, Jan. 14, 1894, was 
 
 • mourned by a wide circle of friends in Berlin, where J 
 for more than half a century he was known as one 
 of its kindest, truest, most widely beloved citizens. 
 Death resulted from pneumonia, following an at- ,, 
 tack of the "grip." For several days prior to his f 
 death he lay unconscious, and the end came peace- 
 fully at the dawn of a bright Sunday morning. 
 The funeral obsequies were held in the Congrega- \ 
 tional Church, and were unusually well attended. ' 
 One beautiful incident in connection with the serv- 
 ices was the placing of flowers on the casket by 
 young children of the Sabbath-school. The in- ; 
 terment was at Berlin, in the South cemetery. 
 
 JEFFERSON HOMER GRIFFIN is an enter- 
 prising and successful agriculturist of West Suf- 
 field, and is deserving of special mention in this vol- 
 ume, not only because of his personal worth but as ; 
 a representative of a well-known family. 
 
 Our subject was born June 27, 1848, in what is 
 now the town of East Granby, on a farm near the 
 Sufiield line, the old homestead of his parents, 
 Homer and Susan J. Griffin. Flomer Griffin was ; 
 born April 21, 1822, a son of Oliver and Achsah i!l 
 Griffin, the former of whom was a son of Stephen, 
 whose father was also named Stephen. Homer 
 married Susan J. Griffin, of Granby, Nov. 16, 1843, 
 and settled on his uncle's (the Horace Viets) prop- 
 erty. He died July 14, 1893. He had one sister, 
 Betsy, born Sept. 27, 1813, who died Sept. 21, 
 1882; also had a brother, Imri, who died when 
 about a year old. To Homer and Susan J. Griffin 
 were born five children: Jefferson Homer, the 
 subject proper of this sketch; Flora S., born June 
 28, 1852, married Lewis Spring, April 24, 1872; 
 Martin W., born March 8, 1854, is a professor in 
 Portland (Conn.) High School (he married June 
 30, 1880, Mary Ricliardson) ; Martha, born Nov. 
 20, 1861, died Dec. 8, 1864; and Burton L., born 
 June 25, 1866, lives on the old homestead (he mar- 
 ried, Oct. 20, 1891, Bertha Beman). 
 
 Jefferson H. Griffin, our subject, remained at 
 home until he reached the age of twenty-five, his „ 
 education being obtained in the local schools, and in 
 1873 settled in West Suffield upon the Horace Viets 
 property, a tract of seventy-one acres near Copper 
 Hill. For twent3'-five years he has devoted his 
 attention to general farming, dairying, stock-rais- 
 ing and tobacco culture, meeting with good results. 
 His honesty and good-will have made hiin many 
 friends, and he and his family are active in religious 
 work as members of the Methodist Church at Copper 
 Hill. Politically he is a Democrat, but he has never 
 sought or held office. On Oct. 29, 1873, he was mar- 
 ried, in Copper Flill, to Miss Amanda Louise 
 Spring, of Granby, and six children have blessed , 
 the union : Gerie L. ; Bertha M. ; Birney E. ; Clayton 
 W., who died in childhood ; Mabel C, aiul 
 Gladys M. 
 
 The Spring family is of good Colonial stock. 
 and John Spring, the first of the name in this conn- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (J-Jl 
 
 try, came from the West of England in 17 — , and 
 located upon a farm at Uxbridge, Alass., wliere his 
 remaining years were spent. 
 
 Ephraiin Spring, son of the pioneer, was born 
 Jan. y, 1708, and settled in early manhood at Reho- 
 Iiolh, Mass., where he engaged in farming. He 
 married JMary Bowen, daughter of Mary Davis, 
 daughter 6i Jonathan Davis, who once held a com- 
 mission as a justice of the peace under the Eng- 
 lish Crown. They had four children : Sarah and 
 Ephraim, both of whom were burned to death ; 
 Thomas and Lavina. 
 
 Thomas Spring, the next in the line of descent, 
 was born at Rehoboth, I\Iass., June 3, 1737, and 
 when a young man removed to this section, locat- 
 ing upon a farm in the town of Granby, then a part 
 of the town of Simsbury. On April 30, 1761, he 
 was married there to Mary Gozzard (now spelled 
 Goddard), who was born in that locality Oct. i, 
 1739, daughter of Aaron and JMary (fiuckley) 
 Gozzard. She died April 6, 1789, he on March 24, 
 
 1825, and the remains of both now rest in Granby, 
 Conn. Of their children, the eldest, Mary, born 
 Eeb. I, 1762, married Albert Reed, and was the 
 mother of thirteen children. Ephraim, born Jan. 
 2, 1764, died in June, 1833. Thomas (jNIrs. Griffin's 
 grandfather) is mentioned more fully below. Syl- 
 vester, born June 26, 1767, married Sarah Dibble in 
 1789. Sarah S., born Dec. 15, 1769, married Elihu 
 Burr, of Ohio, and died April 4, 1839. A child 
 born March 21, 1772, died in infancy. Aurelia. born 
 Sept. 2, 1774, married Nathan Goddard. Cyril born 
 Sept. II, 1776, married Rosetta Dibble, of Granby. 
 Samuel, born June 5, 1780, married Cleopatra God- 
 dard, of Granby. 
 
 Thomas Spring, grandfather of Mrs. Griffin, 
 was born in Granby Oct. 15, 1765, and followed 
 farming there throughout his life, being the owner 
 of a fine homestead. Politically he v^'as a Demo- 
 crat, and as a citizen he was much esteemed. On 
 July 9, 1795, he married Jerusha Pomeroy. Of 
 his ten children, Aurora, born May 29, 1796, mar- 
 ried Josiah Searles Jan. 29, 1818. Thomas, born 
 May 13, 1798, was crippled for life by a cut from 
 an axe; he was married Feb. 4, 1824, to Candace 
 Holcomb, daughter of Ebenezer and Chloe Holcomb. 
 She was born June 20, 1804, and died June 25, 
 1869, and his death occurred June 5, 1868. Jerusha, 
 born ^larch 23, 1800, died young. Jerusha (2), 
 born March 14, 1801, died Oct. 27, 1844. Maria, 
 born June 14, 1803, died Jan. 7, 1804. Maria (2), 
 born Nov. 29, 1804, married Riley Dibble Nov. 26, 
 
 1826, and died Aug. 29, 1893. Albert, born Sept. 
 15, 1S07, died Sept. 13, 1S13. George, father of 
 Mrs. Griffin, was the eighth in order of birth. Rox- 
 anna, born Aug. 8, 1812, married ^May 21, 1850, 
 Seth Gillet, born July 22, 1805, son of Rudolph and 
 Eunice (Cushman) Gillet. Albert, born June 9, 
 1816, died Oct. 10, 1850. in California. 
 
 George Spring, Mrs. Griffin's father, was born 
 Feb. 20, 1810, at the old homestead in Granby, and 
 
 received a common-school education. He learned 
 the trade of carpenter and joiner, but after following 
 it some years successfully engaged in farming on a 
 tract of one hundred acres in his native town. He 
 was liberal in his religious views, and in politics he 
 was a lifelong Democrat. His habits were strictly 
 temperate, and his excellent qualities of character 
 won for him the respect of his fellow citizens, who 
 frequently elected him to local oflke. On Nov. 10, 
 1835. lie married Mahala Holcomb, who was born 
 May 22, 181 1, and died .May 3, 1894. His death 
 occurred June 12, 1883, and the mortal remains 
 of both are interred in Copper Hill cemetery. They 
 had a family of six children, of whom (i) Cor- 
 delia Elmira, born Nov. 17, 1836, is now living in 
 Southwick, Mass. She married Edward Steer, who 
 was born May 20, 1820, a son of Abel and Alma 
 Steer, and died Nov. 17, 1889. {2) Amanda 
 Louise, born April i, 1841, died Jan. 21, 1844. (3) 
 Monroe George, born JMay 22, 1845, resides in 
 Southwick, Mass. He was married Alay 3, 1871, 
 to Anna Philips, who died in ]\Iay, 1887. (4) 
 Thomas Madison, born Feb. 20, 1847, died Dec. 21, 
 1 888. On June 9, 1869, he married Nora Ruick, 
 who died Aug. 7, 1873, and subsequently, in Nov- 
 ember, 1874, he wedded Laura Bradt, who passed 
 away in May, 1886. (5) Lewis Cass, born Jan. 21, 
 1851, is a farmer in Granby, Conn. On April 24, 
 1872, he married Flora Susan Griffin, sister of our 
 subject. (6) Amanda Louise (^Mrs. Griffin) was 
 born June 5, 1854. 
 
 CHARLES R. GRISWOLD, a leading druggist 
 of Hartford, was born Nov. 5, 1852, in Bloomfield, 
 Hartford county, of a well-known family mentioned 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Noah Griswold, the father of our subject, was 
 born in Bloomfield, at the old homestead now occu- 
 pied by Timothy E. Griswold. Throughout his lite 
 he was engaged in farming in that town, and at his 
 death his remains were interred there. In politics he 
 was first a Whig, then a Republican, and for many 
 years he was an active member of the Baptist 
 Church. His wife, Ruth R. Loomis (now deceased ) , 
 was a daughter of Ira Loomis, of Windsor, Conn. 
 Of their four children our subject was the youngest, 
 (i) Noah Loomis died in 1863, while serving as a 
 member of the 24th Wis. V. I.: (2) Rhoda A. mar- 
 ried Wiliam H. Harvey, of Windsor: and (3 ) Frank 
 W., a resident of Bloomfield, married }iliss Mary 
 S. Goodrich, of Windsor. 
 
 Charles R. Griswold began his education in the 
 public schools of Bloomfield, later atending the 
 Bloomfield Academy. In 1869 he went to Hartford 
 as clerk for S. G. Closes & Co., with whom he re- 
 mained eleven years, his home being with Mr. Moses 
 during that time. In 1880 he engaged in business 
 with F. P. Dickinson, at No. 555 Main street, under 
 the firm name of F. P. Dickinson & Co., and in 1882 
 they removed to the present store at No. 11 29 Main, 
 the firm being reorganized as Dickinson & Gris- 
 
62>< 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 wold. In 1885 Mr. Griswold purchased his part- 
 ner's interest, and he has since continued alone, 
 giving special attention to work as a botanic drug- 
 gist in addition to the general features of his 
 business. 
 
 In 1880 Mr. Griswold was married in Hartford 
 to Miss Eva M. Fisher, daughter of Charles F. 
 Fisher, and four children have blessed the union : 
 Alice R. ; Harriet Ethel; Robert Noah (i), who 
 died in infancy; and Robert Noah (2). Mr. Gris- 
 wold and his family are popular in social life, and 
 he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and B. 
 H. Webb Council, R. A. For five years he was con- 
 nected with the Governor's Foot Guard, and his 
 standing in his calling makes him a valued member 
 of the State and City Pharmaceutical Associations. 
 
 HENRY WEBSTER CHARTER. The suc- 
 cessful lives of such men as the one whose name 
 opens this sketch afford the best refutation to the 
 slanderous statement that "New England offers no 
 opportunity for poor boys to attain wealth and dis- 
 stinction." Self-made, and to no inconsiderable de- 
 gree self-educated, he has climbed the ladder of 
 success rung by rung, wholly through his own 
 pluck and pertinacity. 
 
 Henry W. Charter is the youngest of the ten 
 children of Samuel Charter, and was born in the 
 town of Tolland, Tolland county, July 7, 1837. His 
 father was drowned when our subject was an in- 
 fant of a year, and the necessities of the family 
 obliged him to begin life's battles for himself when 
 he had scarcely passed his tenth birthday. His 
 first employment was on a farm, and for his serv- 
 ices he was boarded and clothed, being "permitted, 
 however, to attend the district school during the 
 winter term. After two years so spent he began 
 working in the woolen mills, but this proved too 
 laborious for his strength, and within a few months 
 he again sought work upon a farm. Later he 
 opened a grocery store at Hartford, which he con- 
 ducted for a year or more, and at the end of that 
 time went to live on the farm of his father-in-law, 
 Dan Warner, where he remained for four years. 
 He then purchased land in the town of Tolland, 
 on which he remained only a year. His next pur- 
 chase was in the town of Vernon, and after twelve 
 months' residence he disposed of that property and 
 bought the old "Talcott" farm, on which he lived 
 for four years. His next (and last) move was to 
 Manchester. The farm which he bought there 
 proved a very valuable investment, a considerable 
 portion of the land having been sold as building 
 lots. 
 
 Mr. Charter was married, Jan. 20, 1858, to Jane 
 Elizabeth Warner, by whom he has had seven chil- 
 dren, only four of whom are living: Minnie, the 
 eldest, married J. J. Strickland, of Manchester. 
 Addie is the wife of Wilbert S. Lothrop, of Chi- 
 cago. Henry married Jennie M. Belmer, of Rock- 
 ville, and resides in Manchester. Rose is the wife 
 
 of Louis S. Fitch, and resides in California. Po- 
 litically Mr. Charter is a Prohibitionist, and in re- 
 ligious connection he is an active member of the 
 Second Congregational Church. 
 
 This sketch would be incomplete without some 
 mention of Mrs. Charter, who has proved an in- 
 valuable helpmeet to her husband, and by her frugal 
 and industrious habits has done her full share 
 toward aiding in his success. She was born Jan. 
 22, 1840, in Ellington, Tolland county, daughter 
 of Dan and Mary (Chaffee) Warner, both of whom 
 were natives of Connecticut. The mother died in 
 Ellington in 1858, the father in 1880. Their chil- 
 dren were : Lydia, who died in childhood ; George 
 R., a clergyman, of Hartford ; Jane Elizabeth, Mrs. 
 Charter ; Lemuel, now a resident of Brooklyn, N. 
 Y. (he served during the Civil war in the nth 
 Conn. V. I.) ; Dan, a traveling salesman; and Mary,, 
 who was drowned when seventeen years old. 
 
 FRANK E. CORBIN was born Dec. 13, 1849, 
 at Hartford, a son of Hezekiah H. Corbin, and a de- 
 tailed statement of his genealogical line may be 
 found in the sketch of his brother, Willis P. Corbin, 
 elsewhere. His early educational advantages were 
 such as were obtainable at the common schools, also 
 at the public high school, of which Prof. Peck was 
 principal, graduating from the latter in the spring 
 of 1867. While his scholastic training was not lib- 
 eral, he was thoroughly grounded in those branches 
 which form the basis of a practical, business training. 
 
 On leaving school Mr. Corbin went to work upon 
 his grandfather's farm, at West Hartford, where he 
 remained for about eighteen months. Tiring of a 
 farm life he came to New Britain, and entered his 
 father's paper box manufactory as a common work- 
 man. On Jan. i, 1870, he was taken into partner- 
 ship, the firm name being H. H. Corbin & Son. In 
 February, 1890, he withdrew from partnershp with 
 his father, and, in connection with John B. Minor, 
 formed a corporation known as the Minor & Corbin 
 Box Co., to carry on the same line of business. A 
 portion of the plant had originally belonged to James 
 H. Minor, and its capacity has been more than 
 doubled since Mr. Corbin gave to the enterprise the 
 benefit of his business skill and experience. The 
 output is readily taken by the manufacturers of 
 New Britain, and the trade of the company is con- 
 stantly increasing. On Jan. i, 1900, Mr. Corbin 
 sold out his share in the Minor & Corbin Box Co. 
 to Mr. Minor (the firm name is still Minor & Cor- 
 bin), Mr. Corbin retiring on account of poor health. 
 
 Mr Corbin's political affiliation has always been 
 with the Republican party, in the advancement of 
 whose interests he IVas ever taken a keen interest. 
 While never seeking office, his fellow townsmen, 
 recognizing his integrity and capability, have vir- 
 tually thrust official honor upon him. He has twice 
 represented the Third ward of New Britain in the 
 Common Council, in which body he has served as 
 chairman of the committee on Finance, and he 
 
V 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^H 
 
 ^^^^^^^^^^^fKtmt 
 
 
 
 "^^^^^1 
 
 
 i^A *»■ .^ 
 
 it^ 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 629 
 
 is a director of tlic Y. i\I. C. A. He is a Thirty- 
 secoiul-ilogree Mason, and has always been active in 
 the work of the Masonic Fraternity not only in Hart- 
 ford county but also in the State at large. He was 
 master of Centennial Lodge, and is connected with 
 Gidding Chapter, Doric Council, Washington Com- 
 niandery, and Sphinx Temple. He is also a member 
 of the knights of Pythias and of the Royal Arca- 
 num, as well as of the New England Order of Pro- 
 tection, the Sons of the Revolution, and the New 
 Britain Club. He was one of the charter members 
 of the New England Order of Protection, and is a 
 past regent of the Royal Arcanum. 
 
 In religious faith jMr. Corbin is a Baptist, and 
 he is chairman of the finance committee of the church 
 of that denomination in New Britain. On Sept. 
 18. 1872, he was married to Miss Mary Ann Whiting, 
 ■who was born on Sept. 2, 1850, a daughter of George 
 N. Whiting, of West Hartford. A brief mention 
 of the children born to them will be found of interest, 
 (i) Minnie, born July 20, 1873, graduated from the 
 Normal School in 1892 ; on Oct. 14, i8g7 she became 
 the wife of James T. Powell, of New Britain, son 
 of the late Rev. James Powell; Mr. Powell is now 
 a salesman for the Stanley Rule & Level Co. (2) 
 Wilbur R., was born Jan. 17, 1875, graduated in 
 
 1896 from Yale College with the degree of Mechan- 
 ical Engineer, and is now in the employ of the P. & 
 1'. Corbin Lock Co. On June 13, 1899, he married 
 Rebekah Howe Morse, daughter of Gardner Morse, 
 cf New Haven, and July 3, 1900, a son, Gardner 
 IMorse Corbin, was born to them. (3) Bertha E., born 
 May ig, i877,completed her education at Rye Sem- 
 inary, Rye, N. Y. ; she is at present living at home. 
 (4) George L., born June 28, 1878, graduated in 
 
 1897 from the New Britain High School. He went 
 to Worcester Academy a year, in the following 
 summer enering the employ of the Corbin Cabinet 
 Co., and is now a traveling salesman in the South for 
 that firm. (5) JMary Ann" born Dec. 22, 1879, grad- 
 uated from the New Britain High School in 1898, 
 and in 1899 from the Ossining School at Sing Sing, 
 New York. 
 
 FRANKLIN DWIGHT JONES, a leading ag- 
 riculturist of Berlin, is a native of Hartford county, 
 born in Avon, Sept. 28, 1830, a son of Benjamin 
 and LTrsula (Thurston) Jones. The mother died 
 when our subject was between five and six years of 
 age, and was buried in Hartford. For his second 
 wife the father married Philinda C. Loomis, of Glas- 
 tonbury, who died about sixteen years ago, and was 
 buried at that place. In early life he worked at 
 the mason's trade, and later followed farming.' He 
 died in Glastonbury thirty years ago, at the age of 
 sixty-eight. 
 
 When six years old our subject left home and 
 spent one summer with his grandmother in Avon. 
 He then went to Hopkinton, ^lass., where the fol- 
 lowing four years w&re passed in farm work during 
 the summer, and in attending school during the win- 
 
 ter. He next lived with his father in Springfield for 
 two years, and then worked on dilterent farms in 
 Windsor, Hartford Co., Conn., until sixteen years of 
 age. Going to Worcester, Mass., he worked in a wire 
 mill for one winter, and on his return to Windsor 
 made a contract with Morgan Straiten to work for 
 him until attaining his majority, and to receive one 
 huntlred dollars in money, board, schooling, etc. At 
 the end of two years, however, his employer changed 
 his business, and otu" subject received forty dollars 
 for his labor — the first money he had ever made, 
 though at that time he was nineteen years of age. 
 He next worked for Leverett Ellsworth, of Wind- 
 sor, for seven months, receiving eleven dollars per 
 month. His aunt gave him a bank book and five 
 dollars in money, and he put fifty dollars of the last 
 amount and liis first forty dollars in the bank. To 
 this he subsequently added until, at the age of twen- 
 ty-one, he had saved $200. In October, 1852, he 
 went to Ohio, and lived in the town of Fowler, 
 Trumbull Co.. but in the following March he re- 
 turned to Windsor. In December, 1854, he went 
 with some friends to Iowa, and spent four years 
 farming in that State and in Missouri. On his re- 
 turn to Windsor he was employed as brakeman on 
 freight and passenger trains on the New York, New 
 Haven & Hartford railroad for three years, but since 
 then his time and attention have been devoted to 
 agricultural pursuits. Fie has made his home in 
 Berlin since 1867. Mr. Jones is also a director in 
 the Mattabessett Canning Co., of Berlin. 
 
 On Oct. 5, 1852, Mr. Jones married Miss Clar- 
 issa King, who was born in Windsor, Feb. 16, 1831, 
 and died March 15, 1885. By this union two chil- 
 dren were born: (i) Cornelia Elizabeth, born in 
 Lewis county. Mo., Sept. 24, 1856, married David 
 Clark Webster, of Newington, Conn., and they now 
 live in Berlin. They have two children, Ada M., 
 born July 30, 1878, is a stenographer for the Amer- 
 ican Paper Goods Co., of Berlin ; and Edith, born 
 April 7, 1885, is at home. (2) George Benjamin, 
 born in Missouri, Feb. 6, 1859, is postmaster and 
 station agent at Beckley, Hartford county. Hs 
 married Kate Andrus, and a brief record of their 
 children is as follows: Mabel, born Alay i, iSSo, 
 married ^^'illiam J. Seibert, of Beckley, Conn., 
 Aug. 20, 1900, and they reside in Beckley. 
 Franklyn S., born Oct. 17, 1881, is in the 
 employ of the Adams Express Co. at New 
 Britain. Benjamin C, born Alay 22, 1883, is em- 
 ployed in the ofiice of the P. & T. Corbin Co., New 
 Britain. Flarry H., born Feb. 22, 1884, died Nov. 
 4, 1898. Arthur L., born Nov. 11, 1886, and William 
 H., born Aug. 17, 1S89, are both attending school. 
 
 For his second wife Mr. Jones married, Dec. 4, 
 1885, Mrs. Caroline Elizabeth (Porter) Steele, who 
 was born July 26, 1834, in the house where they now 
 live, in the Beckley Quarter of Berlin, and is one of 
 a family of eight children. She was first married, 
 July 8,'i86i,"to Charles Edward Steele, of West 
 Hartford, a painter by trade, who was a member of 
 
630 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Company H, 12th Conn. V. L, and was killed in a 
 battle near Pattersonville, La. By that union there 
 was one child, Clarence Burt Steele, born Nov. 3, 
 1862, and died May 9, 1889. 
 
 Lotan Porter, Mrs. Jones' father, was born 
 Nov. 19, 1799, and died in 1858. He was a surveyor 
 b}^ profession, but for twenty terms he engaged' in 
 school teaching, and spent his last days in farming. 
 He always took an active and prominent part in local 
 politics and public affairs, and served as tax collec- 
 tor in his town. On Oct. 28, 1822, he married Miss 
 Clarissa Porter Beckley, who was born Dec. 9, 1799, 
 in the house where our subject and his wife now live, 
 it having been built in 1787. Mrs. Jones' paternal 
 grandfather, Moses Porter, was also a native of 
 the Beckley Quarter, and died May 28, 1850, at the 
 age of seventy-three years. He was a very modest 
 man, of a mild disposition, and was a farmer by 
 occupation. He married Rhoda Smith, who died in 
 1848, at the age of seventy-one years. His father, 
 Aaron Porter, died Nov. 14, 1820, at the advanced 
 age of ninety-one. He was a deacon in the Congre- 
 gational Church of Berlin. His wife, Rhoda, died 
 March 25, 1807, at the age of seventy-three years, 
 and was buried in Berlin. 
 
 During the Civil war Franklin D. Jones enlisted 
 in the nine-months' service as a member of Company 
 A, 22nd Conn. V. I., and was mustered in at Wind- 
 sor, Sept. 2, 1862. With his regiment he was sta- 
 tioned most of the time on Minor's Hill, and at Ar- 
 lington Heights, to defend Washington, D. C. He 
 was a stanch supporter of the Republican party for 
 many years, but, believing the liquor question the 
 most important issue before the people, he has voted 
 with the Prohibition party for the past sixteen 
 years. He served as grand juror two years, 
 but has never cared for official honors. At the age 
 of twenty years he joined the Methodist Church in 
 Windsor, and is now an active and prominent mem- 
 ber of the church in Berlin, having served as super- 
 intendent of the Sunday-school in West Granby and 
 Berlin for twenty years. His wife holds member- 
 ship in the Congregational Church, and both merit 
 and receive the respect and esteem of all who know 
 them. 
 
 CHARLES HAWLEY HODGE, a well-known 
 resident of Glastonbury, has been identified with 
 the express business for many j'ears, conducting a 
 line between Glastonbury and Hartford, and his 
 promptness, reliability and unfailing courtesy have 
 won for him a large trade. 
 
 The Hodge family is of pioneer stock, four 
 brothers of the name having come from England 
 at an earl}^ day to settle in Glastonbury. Of these, 
 Elizur I~[odge, our subject's great-grandfather, lo- 
 cated in South Glastonbury, on the farm now owned 
 by Horace Walker, and spent his remaining years 
 there. Among his children was a son Elizur. 
 
 Elizur Plodge (2), our subject's grandfather, 
 followed farming at the old homestead through- 
 
 out his life. He married, and had thirteen children, 
 among whom were two sons, Elijah and Elisha 
 (twins). 
 
 Elisha Hodge, father of our subject, owned a 
 small farm, but as he had a large family he often 
 worked out by the day to increase his income. He 
 died Jan. 14, 1865, and his widow, Mrs. Sarah J. 
 (Blish) Hodge, a native of Buckingham, now re- 
 sides with our subject. They had the following 
 children : Timothy married Maria Weir, and set- 
 tled on a farm in East Glastonbury ; Martha mar- 
 ried Tyler Hunt, a baker in Rockville; Ellen mar- 
 ried George Perkins, a carpenter in Wethersfield; 
 Charles H., our subject, was the fourth in order 
 of birth ; Isabelle married Arthur Dickinson, an 
 electrician at Rockville, Conn. ; Emma, who mar- 
 ried first William Grimes, and later Frank Morton, 
 died in 1896; Adaline married Perry Church, a car- 
 penter, in Middletown; and Jennie died in early 
 womanhood. 
 
 Our subject was born Aug. 29, 1851, in East 
 Glastonbury, had a very limited education, leaving 
 school at the age of twelve, and after his father's 
 death was obliged to make his own way and assist 
 in the support of the family. He worked at odd 
 jobs, and lived at home for two years, when he 
 secured work with a Mr. Hunt, of Bolton, with 
 whom he remained a short time only. He then 
 came to Glastonbury, and worked seventeen years 
 for an uncle, Hudson Hollister, and while with 
 him he was kept busy many times from sunrise un- 
 til midnight. He would haul stone from East 
 Glastonbury to Hartford, unload it, and then drive 
 to the Meadows of Wethersfield and bring a load 
 of hay home, often taking eighteen hours for the 
 trip. He remained in the employ of his uncle un- 
 til 187.8, when he secured work with Case Bros., 
 who owned the paper-mill near F. B. Clark's pres- 
 ent factory. Mr. Hodge drove a team for Case 
 Bros, for seven years, and in 1886, seeing an open- 
 ing for a bus line between Glastonbury and Hart- 
 ford, he bought a pair of horses and a bus that 
 seated twelve people. This he ran for about six 
 weeks, and met with such success that he added 
 one seating twenty-five people, while later he had 
 three buses and ten horses in use at times. The 
 completion of the electric line destroyed all passen- 
 ger traffic, but as he has started an express and 
 baggage line in connection with the bus line he 
 continued that as before, making a trip to Hartford 
 daily. Mr. Hodge is a Democrat in politics, al- 
 though his father was a Republican. He is a 
 member of Daskam Lodge, F. & A. M., in which 
 he has held various offices, and of which at • this 
 writing he is master, and member of Putnam 
 Phalanx, of which he is now sergeant. He attends 
 the Episcopal Church, all of his family being mem- 
 bers thereof. 
 
 On Dec. 17, 1878, Mr. Hodge was married to 
 Miss Emma Hollister, a native of Binghamton, N. 
 Y., and they have two children : Lewis and Rcva. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (!31 
 
 DWICHT HENRY LEWIS, a prominent 
 stonemason and representative citizen of South- 
 I ington, was born in tlie Marion District of that 
 town June 15, 1843, a son of Luman and Patience 
 .Maria (Foot) Lewis. The father, who is still liv- 
 ing, was born March i, 1803, and was married 
 Nov. 22, 1826, to Miss Patience Maria, daughter 
 of Robert and Diadamia (Hitchcock) Foot. By 
 this union were born the following children : Addie 
 C ; George F. ; Emma J., wife of Bernard Kennedy ; 
 James L. ; Sarah M., wife of Joseph C. Long; and 
 i) wight H. 
 
 Reuben Lewis, our subject's paternal grand- 
 father, was born Aug. 16, 1772, and wedded Mary 
 Hall, daughter of Curtiss and Rachel (Beecher) 
 Hall, of Wolcott. She died June 19, 1843, aged 
 sixty-eight years, and his death occurred March 
 28, 1836. His father, Capt. Nathaniel Lewis, was 
 born in December, 1747, in Southington, and was 
 married Feb. 15, 1769, to Sarah Gridley, who died 
 Aug. II, 1809. He lived on the mountain-side in 
 the eastern part of Wolcott, and was prominent in 
 town and church afTairs after that town was set off 
 from Southington. He died Feb. 24, 1839, and on 
 his gravestone was inscribed "an honest man." He 
 was a son of Nathan Lewis, who was born Jan. 23, 
 1707, and was married July 28, 1730, to Mary 
 Gridley, a daughter of Samuel and Mary (Hum- 
 phrey) Gridley. He made his home in the Marion 
 District of Southington, where he died Sept. 7, 
 1799. He was a son of Samuel and Elizabeth 
 Lewis. Samuel Lewis was born Aug. 18, 1648, 
 held the military rank of sergeant, and died Nov. 
 28, 1752. His father, William Lewis, was born in 
 England, and in 1644 was a resident of Farming- 
 ton, Hartford Co., Conn., where he served as first 
 recorder of the town after its incorporation in 
 1645. He was married first to Mary Hopkins, of 
 A\"indsor, and second to Ji'Iary Cheever, of New 
 Haven. His death occurred Aug. 18, 1690. He 
 was a son of William and Felix Lewis, who came 
 from England in the ship "Lion," and landed in 
 Boston in September, 1632. He was admitted a 
 freeman in November of that year, and joined the 
 Braintree company, which, in August, 1633, re- 
 moved to Newtown (Cambridge). In 1836 he 
 came with a company to Hartford, and in 1659 
 again moved, becoming one of the founders of 
 Hadley, Mass., which town he represented in the 
 General Court in 1662. He resided in Northamp- 
 ton, Mass., in 1664, and in 1677 removed to Farm- 
 ington, Hartford Co., Conn., where he died Aug. 
 2, 1683. 
 
 On the old homestead in the Marion District 
 Dwight H. Lewis passed his early life, and obtained 
 his_ education in the common schools of that lo- 
 cality. At the age of fourteen he began an appren- 
 ticeship to the stonemason's trade under his father, 
 and finished the same in Waterbury, Conn. Since 
 then he has followed that vocation, having been a 
 contractor for several years. On Aug. 28, 1862, he 
 
 laid aside all personal interests and entered the 
 service of his country, as a member of Company 
 E, 20th Conn. V. L He took part in a number of 
 important engagements, and after two years ancj 
 ten months of arduous service was honorably dis- 
 charged. During the battle of Gettysburg, in July, 
 1S63, lie was wounded. 
 
 Mr. Lewis was married, May 28, 1867, to Miss 
 Julia Johnson, of Southington, and to them have 
 been born two children: Sarah M., wife of Al- 
 bert Rickel : and Ella M., wife of Emil Zickwolf. 
 Fraternally ^Ir. Lewis is a member of the Masons 
 Union, and politically he is identified with the Re- 
 publican part}'. 
 
 WILLL^M H. ATKINS, florist at Burnside, 
 was born in Westfield, Mass., Sept. 8, 1866. and is an 
 excellent type of citizen. He began business in 
 Burnside in 1890, with ver\- little capital, but by close 
 attention to the needs of his patrons and honest 
 business methods has built up an extensive trade, 
 which is rapidly increasing. 
 
 William H. Atkins, father of our subject, was 
 born in Westfield, Mass., was a farmer, and passed 
 his entire life in his native town. He married Miss 
 Annie Wilson, a native of Roslyn, L. I., N. Y., and a 
 daughter of John Wilson, a cabinet-maker and fur- 
 niture ware dealer, and to this marriage came six 
 children: Margaret, who was born Nov. 30, 1863, 
 and was married Sept. 20, 1897, to Horace F. Carl- 
 ton, a civil engineer on the West End street railroad 
 in Boston, Mass. ; William FL, the subject of this 
 sketch; David F., born Dec. lO, 1869, who is a 
 draftsman in Auburn, N. Y, and was married June 
 27, 1900, to Helen M. Burgess, of that place, and 
 two sons and one daughter. Otto, Flenry and Sarah, 
 who died young and were buried at Westfield. 
 
 William H. Atkins, whose name stands at the 
 opening of this article, attended the public schools 
 of Westfield. and after a three-years' course at the 
 high school went to the Massachusetts Agricultural 
 College, from which he graduated in 1886. in a class 
 of sixteen. He then entered the employ of the 
 Lovett Nursery Co., at Little Silver, N. J. After ac- 
 customing himself to nursery work and methods, 
 he became bookkeeper and cashier. Thence he came 
 to Hartford and was employed by G. \V. Atwood, 
 florist, and after two years' experience here he 
 bought his present place in Burnside, from Henry 
 Harrison. On the eight acres which comprise 
 this home he has erected several large and complete 
 greenhouses. At first he gave his attention to market 
 gardening, but finding the demand for flowers in- 
 creasing, he transferred his energies in that direc- 
 tion, and is now devoting all his time to the produc- 
 tion of carnations and violets — two specialties with 
 which he is very successful. 
 
 In politics Air. Atkins is liberal in local matters, 
 but votes with the Democratic party on National 
 questions. Fie belongs to no secret society, and in 
 
632 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 religious matters lie is a Congregationalist, attending 
 the Center church at East Hartford. He is very 
 conscientious and upright in his dealings, and his 
 success in business is an evidence of the high esteem 
 in which he is held. 
 
 1 
 
 ALLYN M. WILSON, a prominent repre- 
 sentative of the agricultural interests of the town 
 of Windsor, was born Nov. 21, 1830, at what is 
 now known as Wilson Station, of which he is the 
 founder and which was named in his honor. 
 
 The Wilson family in America is descended from 
 Rev. John Wilson, who came from England and 
 located in Boston. The branch of the family in 
 Windsor traces its ancestry back to Samuel and 
 Mary (Griffin) Wilson, who were married May i, 
 1672. Their son. Deacon John Wilson, was born 
 May 24, 1686, and was married, June 16, 1709, to 
 Mary Marshall, who died Aug. 10, 1774, while his 
 death occurred Feb. 11, 1772. Joel Wilson, the 
 son of this worthy couple, was born April 17, 1718, 
 and married Abigail Loomis. Their son, Moses 
 Wilson, was born in Windsor Sept. 11, 1748. He 
 was a short, thick-set man, a farmer by occupation, 
 and resided near the Green, across the river from 
 Windsor Center. For his first wife he married 
 Huldah Allyn, who died May 4, 1816, and he later 
 wedded Wealthy A. Barnes. His death occurred 
 May 24, 1837. By the first union Henry, the fa- 
 ther of our subject, was born in 1785. He was 
 reared as a farmer boy, and received a common- 
 school education. When a young man he was em- 
 ployed by Dr. Sill, having charge of that gentle- 
 man's farm, and while there was married, in 1809, 
 to Miss Eleanor Loomis. They began housekeep- 
 ing upon a place belonging to that gentleman, and 
 in 181 1 located on the farm where the son now 
 lives, which at that time was also owned by Dr. 
 Sill. Later the father purchased this property, to 
 which he added from time to time, as his financial 
 resources would permit, until he had about 300 
 acres of land. For some years he and his eldest 
 son, Henry, engaged in business in partnership as 
 farmers and brick manufacturers. He was thor- 
 oughly a self-made man, and deserved great credit 
 for the success that he achieved in life. He weighed 
 over 200 pounds, was quite robust, and was always 
 a hard worker. In politics he was a Democrat, and 
 took an active interest in the success of his party. 
 During his later years he suffered from rheuma- 
 tism, and he died Feb. 17, 1849, at the age of sixty- 
 four years. His wife departed this life Oct. 13, 
 1851, at the age of sixty-two. In their family 
 were three children: (i) Henry, born Feb. 10, 
 1810, died Nov. 17, 1852. (2) Samuel, 'born in 
 1827, died April 10, 1828. (3) Allyn M., our 
 subject, is the youngest. 
 
 Allyn M. Wilson began his education in the 
 First district school, which school in those days was 
 a test for any teacher's discipline and too great a 
 test for many of them. Being a jolly boy, he en- 
 
 joyed his school days, but did not take as kindly to 
 his books as he should. Later he was given good 
 school privileges, and was a student in Windsor 
 and Wilbraham Academies and a private school at 
 Ellington. When his school days were over he 
 commenced working on the home farm, and as he 
 was only eighteen years of age when his father 
 died he was early thrown upon his own resources. 
 Like many of the farmers at that time he also en- 
 gaged in brickmaking, and in later years was very 
 extensively engaged in that business, and manu- 
 factured as many as 4,000,000 brick in one season. 
 He made most of the brick for the large insurance 
 buildings in Hartford. During the hard times of 
 1873 he met with severe losses, and in 1876 retired 
 from the business. Then for a number of vears he 
 raised considerable tobacco, but of late years he has 
 devoted his energies to general farming almost ex- 
 clusively. His farm comprises one hundred acres, 
 and the New York, New Haven & Hartford rail- 
 road passes through the place. In 1870 Mr. Wilson 
 conceived the idea of having a station put in on 
 his premises, and canvassed that portion of the town 
 that would be directly benefited, but found no 
 supporters willing to aid him financially. Not dis- 
 couraged, however, he and his two nephews, Sam- 
 uel H. and Frederick N., with the true Wilson 
 characteristic "persistency," carried the matter 
 through by erecting a depot at their own expense, 
 called Wilson Station ; they also furnished the com- 
 pany three acres of land for grading purposes, 
 and in consideration the company agreed to stop 
 four trains daily on signal. This number has been 
 increased from time to time until fourteen are now 
 scheduled to stop. At this time they opened up Wil- 
 son avenue frrom the main road to the station. Since 
 then Mr. Wilson has sold off a number of lots at 
 that place, making of it a pleasant little suburban 
 village. He is widely and favorably known, and as 
 a public-spirited and progressive citizen he has done 
 much to advance the interests of his community 
 and promote the public welfare. He is an ardent 
 supporter of the Democratic party, but never a pol- 
 itician in the sense of office seeking. 
 
 On Oct. 14, 1853, Mr. Wilson was united in 
 marriage with Miss Ellen A. Barber, and four chil- 
 dren came to this union, namely : ( i ) Wilbur A., 
 born June 30, 1855, died May 8, 1858. (2) Arthur 
 M., born Sept. 15, 1857, was married, Oct. 21, 1884, 
 to Agnes A. Phelps, and is now vice-president and 
 treasurer of the E. S. Kibbe Co., wliolesale grocers, 
 Hartford; he resides at the home of his father. (3) 
 Harry H., born Dec. 6, 1863, died Oct. 2, 1872. 
 (4) Leland P., born April 25, 1871, was married, 
 Oct. I, 1896, to N. Belle Dickson, and is in the 
 employ of the Connecticut Fire Insurance Co., of 
 Hartford, living in a house adjoining that of his 
 parents. The Wilson house, where our subject and 
 his wife have passed all their married life, has 
 stood for nearly 150 years, but it has been improved 
 many times. Mrs. Wilson is a lover of plants, and 
 
^M- 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 033 
 
 finds great pleasure in their care. She was the 
 (laughter of Warren Marsh Barber, a native of 
 Windsor, who was born Sept. 21, 1800, and married 
 Sarah Gaylord, who died when Mrs. Wilson, their 
 only child, was fourteen years of age. ]\lr. iiarber 
 passed away in 1882. 
 
 SAMUEL HASTINGS STEARNS. The 
 jirogress of a coniniunity depends no less upon the 
 ]iublic spirit of its citizens than upon their character, 
 and the thriving little city of New Britain is to be 
 congratulated upon being able to call into its service 
 a man like our subject, whose sound, conservative 
 judgment is now devoted to the different problems 
 conneced with the construction of a sewerage dispo- 
 sal system there. As chairman of the sewer commis- 
 sioners he has shown the same energy and ability 
 which have won him success in business life, and 
 the interests of the city are enti ely safe in his 
 hands. 
 
 Mr. Stearns was born Dec. 14, 1851, in War- 
 wick, Mass., and comes of good New England 
 stock. John Stearns, his father, was born Sept. 25, 
 1819, and died March 31, 1893; his wife, Mary Car- 
 oline, born July 12, 1820, died July 19, 1888, and 
 both dated their ancestors back over two hundred 
 and sixty years in this country. Of their children, 
 the eldest, Charles H., born Nov. 4, 1844, died Sept. 
 6, 1846 ; Mary Salina, born at Winchester, N. H., 
 Sept. 27, 1847, died March 25, 1892; Yeaton J., 
 born at Winchester, N. H., May 19, 1849, resides in 
 New Britain, Conn. ; Samuel H. comes next in the 
 order of birth ; William G., born at Westport, April 
 19, 1S53, died June 3, 1855 ; George L., born in Brat- 
 tleboro, \^t., July 26, 1857, is now employed in the 
 New Britain machine shops ; Hattie Lucretia, born 
 in Warwick, May 25, 1861, married William V. 
 Andress, of New Britain, contractor in the Stanley 
 Rule & Level Co. 
 
 Samuel H. Stearns was educated chiefly in the 
 schools of Warwick, but also attended school in Brat- 
 tleboro, Vt., for a short time, his parents having re- 
 sided there for a few years previous to 1857. He 
 had excellent common-school advantages, attending: 
 both wmter and summer, and also studied for one 
 term in the Center school at Warwick, then con- 
 ducted by a clergyman of the village. On leaving 
 school, at the age of eighteen, he engaged in farming, 
 continuing until his removal to New Britain in 1872, 
 when he became associated with his father in the 
 Stanley Rule & Level Co., as contractor. After 
 four years he entered the Union Works at New 
 Britain, with which he was identified for twelve 
 years ; he traveled for that company through Alich- 
 igan, Indiana, and Ohio, being quite successful as a 
 salesman. On retiring from that line of work he 
 soon afterward took his present position in the ma- 
 chine room of the rule shop, where he has been em- 
 ployed about twelve years. For ten years he has 
 served as president of the New Britain Savings & 
 Loan Association, having succeeded the first presi- 
 
 dent, John Dyson, while his brother, Yeaton J., is 
 secretary of the society. l'"or eight years he has 
 been president of the Sovereign Trading Co., as the 
 choice of the board of directors, and the institution 
 has flourished under his able administration, num- 
 bering at present 200 members. As he is fond of 
 reading he has kept well posted on the questions of 
 the day, and for years he has been one of the lead- 
 ing advisers of the local Republican organization. At 
 one time he was a member of the Republican town 
 committee, and his influence in municipal affairs is 
 shown by his election as a member of the common 
 council previous to his appointment to his present 
 duties, at the head of the Sewer commission. 
 
 Mr. Stearns married Miss Florence H. Jackson, 
 a daughter of Galen Jackson, a native of Alassachu- 
 setts, and two children have blessed this union: 
 George F., who graduated from the Philadelphia 
 Dental College J\Iay 4, 1900, and opened an office in 
 New Britain ; and Eva F., a graduate of New Brit- 
 ain High School June 19, 1900, now at home. The 
 family is prominent in social life, and Mr. Stearns 
 is a member of Flarmony Lodge, No. 20, F. & A. 
 M., in. which he was master for two years. 
 
 GEORGE W. BARNES, an honored citizen of 
 the town of Windsor, and a worthy representative 
 of its agricultural interests, was born in the house 
 where he now lives, Feb. i, 1841, a son of William 
 and Catherine C. (Hillyer) Barnes. Flis grandfa- 
 ther, Abel Barnes, was a resident of Waterloo, N. 
 Y., at one time, and was employed in the mills at 
 that place, but the greater part of his life was de- 
 voted to farming in Windsor town, where his death 
 occurred. He married Abigail Heath,, and to 
 them were born four children, namely: William, 
 father of our subject ; Joseph B., who was for a 
 term of 3'ears superintendent of the county building 
 at Hartford, but is now a resident of Springfield, 
 Mass.; Harriet, widow of William Allen, of Bloom- 
 field, Conn. ; and Julia A., who married Oliver \V. 
 Marshall, and died in Windsor. 
 
 William Barnes was born at W^arehouse Point, 
 East Windsor town, Hartford county, and was 
 reared in much the usual manner of farmer bovs of 
 his day, his education being acquired in the common 
 schools. He was always handy with tools, but never 
 learned a trade, and remained at home until his mar- 
 riage. He wedded Miss Catherine C. Hillyer, a na- 
 tive of Granby, and a daughter of Theodore Hillyer, 
 who was a farmer, and served as guard for some 
 years at the old State prison at East Granby. After 
 his marriage Mr. Barnes resided for a time with his 
 brother-in-law, John Hillyer. for whom he worked 
 as a wheelwright, and later followed the same trade 
 i:; shops at dift'erent places. Early in the 'forties 
 he embarked in the manufacture of brick, and made 
 his home longest at the place where our subject now 
 resides. He was a well-informed man, Init almost 
 wholly self-educated, and in politics was first a 
 \Miig and later a Republican. Although an ardent 
 
634 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 advocate of the principles of his party, he declined 
 all official honors, as his ambitions did not lie along 
 political lines, but he was well known and highly 
 respected. Physically he weighed 230 pounds, and 
 was five feet, ten inches, in height. He died at the 
 age of fifty-eight, and his wife at the age of seventy- 
 three, and both were laid to rest in the Poquonock 
 cemetery. In their family were two children, the 
 only daughter being Mary E., now the widow of 
 Eliphalet Ladd, of Poquonock. 
 
 George W. Barnes, the only i,on. was four years 
 old when his parents first located in Poquonock, and 
 there he began his education, but two years later 
 they removed to Granby, in the schools of which 
 place he continued his studies until he was nine, 
 when they settled on the farm in Windsor town, 
 where he has since made his home. He attended 
 Windsor Academy and the high school at Poquo- 
 nock, and completed his education at Suffield, Conn. 
 He successfulljr engaged in teaching school, for two 
 winters in district No. 7, and one winter in district 
 No. 6, both in Windsor town, and in the former 
 received only $18 per month and had to board him- 
 self. In September, 1862, he enlisted in Company 
 A, 22nd Conn. V. I., and remained in the service 
 until July 7, 1863, participating in all the engage- 
 ments in which the regiment took part. At first he 
 was sergeant of Company A, but later became sec- 
 ond lieutenant of Company D, the same regi- 
 ment. 
 
 In December, 1863, Mr. Barnes was united in 
 marriage with Miss Celeste H. Alford,, of Poquo- 
 nock, daughter of Euclid and Mary E. (Keeney) 
 Alford, and two, sons have been born of this union : 
 Fred W., a farmer of Windsor town ; and Arthur 
 G., an electrician. For a few years after his mar- 
 riage our subject was engaged in farming in part- 
 nership with his father, and later was interested in 
 the patent-right business, selling the Kelley patent 
 force-pump, with headquarters bt Columbus, Ohio. 
 Returning to Windsor in 1867, he resumed farming, 
 but of recent years has lived retired from active 
 labor, though he still occupies the old homestead, 
 which is one of the most desirable farms of the lo- 
 cality. 
 
 The Republican party has always found in Mr. 
 Barnes a stanch supporter of its principles, and from 
 1872 until 1882 was its only supporter in the 7th 
 district. He has ever taken quite an active and prom- 
 inent part in local politics ; has served his fellow 
 citizens as a member of the Legislature and as select- 
 man, and has been either registrar or deputy regis- 
 trar of voters ever since that office was created. He 
 is general agent for the Hartford County Tobacco 
 Growers Insurance Co., which insures against dam- 
 age by hail. He is a man of wide acquaintance, is 
 one of the best known and most highly respected cit- 
 izens of his community ; is a charter member of Po- 
 quonock Grange; and also belongs to Tyler Post, 
 No. 50, G. A. R., at Hartford. 
 
 MAURICE SULLIVAN, a prominent baker 
 and liveryman of Thompsonville, deserves classi- 
 fication among those purely self-made men of Hart- 
 ford county who have distinguished themselves for 
 their ability to wrest from fate a large measure 
 of success and an honorable name. He was born 
 in County Limerick, Ireland, March 17, 1848, a son 
 of John and Mary (Sullivan) Sullivan, came to 
 the United States in 1857, and located in Thompson- 
 ville, Conn., where he grew to manhood and received 
 a public-school education. 
 
 At the age of fourteen Mr. Sullivan entered 
 the employ of Robert McCrone, as a peddler of 
 vegetables, remaining with him several years, and 
 then embarked in business for himself as a dealer 
 in fish, and later as a dealer in silver and tinware 
 for seven years. In 1877 he became interested in 
 the bakery business, in which he has since success- 
 fully continued, having the only establishment of 
 the kind in Thompsonville, and for a period of 
 about fifteen years he has conducted a livery stable. 
 He is also iclentified with several of the principal 
 industries of the town, and is accounted one of 
 the most energetic, enterprising and progressive 
 business men of the community. 
 
 Mr. Sullivan was married, April 26, 1878, to 
 Miss Mary Jane Clarke, a daughter of Patrick and 
 Ellen Clarke, of Thompsonville, formerly of New 
 York. They have six children living : Agnes, Will- 
 iam, Ellen, Mary, Maurice and John. The family 
 hold membership in St. Patrick's Roman Catholic 
 Church, and Mr. Sullivan is also a member of the 
 Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Knights of 
 Columbus. Politically he is a Democrat, and he 
 has served two terms as selectman of Enfield. The 
 success that he has achieved in life is due entirely 
 to his own well-directed efforts, and he has accum- 
 ulated a handsome competence. 
 
 GEORGE H. HALE, the well-known horti- 
 culturist of South Glastonbury, is the owner of 
 "The Elms," a noted nursery, and was one of the 
 founders of the famous Hale Georgia Orchard Co., 
 the most extensive fruit growers in the world. His 
 homestead at South Glastonbury has been in the 
 family for 250 j^ears, his ancestors having been 
 pioneers in Hartford county, and in his genealogy 
 many names appear which were honored in their 
 day and generation. 
 
 The Hale family is supposed to have originated 
 in Wales, and tradition says that the men of the 
 name have always been noted for their size and 
 strength. The Hales of Glastonbury are descended 
 from two brothers, Thomas and Samuel, who came 
 to Connecticut at an early date. Samuel Hale, our 
 subject's direct ancestor in the seventh generation, 
 was at Plartford in 1637, and received "the lot" 
 for services in the Pequod war. In 1639 l^^ owned 
 land in Hartford on the east side of the river, but 
 in 1643 he was a resident of Wethersfield. In 1655 
 he resided in Norwalk, and although he returned to 
 
I 
 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 685 
 
 W'ethersfield in 1660 he did not sell all his property 
 in NorwalU before 16(19. While residing in Nor- 
 walk he represented that town in the General Court 
 in J65O-57 and i()6o. .\tter his return to Wethers- 
 r.eld he hired the Gov. Welles estate from the "Over- 
 seers," which appears to have been on the east side 
 bf the river, according to testimony in a case for 
 damage from want of repairs, tried in 1671. It 
 mav serve to throw light upon the conveniences of 
 those days to mention that this house had no stairs 
 leading into the chamber, the second story being 
 reached by means of a ladder. Samuel Hale died in 
 1693. His wife's name was Mary, and they had 
 eight children, as follows : Martha, born 1643 ! 
 Samuel, born 1645; John, born 1647 (married Han- 
 nah , in 1668, and died July 19, 1709) ; 
 
 Mar}-, born 1649; Rebeckah, born 165 1 ; Thomas, 
 born 1653 (married Naomi Kilborne, and died Dec. 
 23, 1723) ; Ebenezer, born July 29, 1661 ; and 
 Dorothy. 
 
 Lieut. Samuel Hale, born in 1645, died Nov. 18, 
 i/ii. He was one of the prominent men of Glas- 
 tonbury in his day, serving as justice of the peace, 
 and as deputy to the General Court from 1695 to 
 1706. In the Colonial Records the following ap- 
 pears : "This court confirms Sergeant Samuel 
 Welles Captain of the train band in the town of 
 Glastonbury, Sergeant Samuel Hale lieutenant and 
 to be conimissioned accordingly." Lieut. Samuel 
 Hale was married first in 1679 to Ruth, daughter 
 of Thomas Edwards. She died Dec. 26, 1682, and 
 he married Mary, daughter of Capt. Samuel Welles. 
 His second wife survived him, and died Feb. 18, 
 :I7I5. By his first marriage he had three children: 
 Samuel, who never married ; Mary, who married 
 John Day, of Colchester; and Ruth, born Dec. i, 
 1681, who married Thomas, son of Eleazer Kim- 
 berly. By the second marriage there were four 
 children: Jonathan, born Aug. 21, 1696, was mar- 
 ried Nov. 28, 1717, to Sarah, daughter of Deacon 
 Benj. Talcott, and died July 2, 1772; David, born 
 Jan. 7, 1700, died March 31, 1718; Joseph, born 
 I July 10, 1702, died Aug. 4, 1702; Benjamin is men- 
 jtioned below. 
 
 I Benjamin Hale, born July 22, 1707, died July 
 J22, 1784. His wife, Hannah Talcott, was born Oct. 
 16, 1706, and died Feb. 6, 1796. 
 
 Gideon Hale, son of Benjamin, was born Dec. 
 ] 30, 1736, and died Oct. 10, 1812. He married Mary 
 I White, who was of- the fifth generation in descent 
 J from Elder John White, of "Mayflower" fame, and 
 ^they had children as follows: (i) Hezekiah mar- 
 {■ ried Parmelia Coleman, daughter of Dr. Asap and 
 j Mary (Wright) Coleman. Dr. Coleman served as 
 j surgeon in the Revolutionary war, first under Col. 
 i Thomas Beldcn, and later under Col. H. Wood- 
 bridge. He also served several terms as representa- 
 tive in the General Assembly. (2) Ebenezer mar- 
 ried Sarah Cornwall, of Portland. (4) Elias mar- 
 ried Jane McColland, and located in Towanda, 
 Penn., where he practiced law. (5) Reuben mar- 
 
 ried a Miss Tracy, of Norwich, and settled in To- 
 wanda, I'enn. (6) Mary married Solomon Cole, 
 a cabinet maker of (ilastonbury. (7) Amelia mar- 
 ried Aaron Kinne, a school teacher and a graduate 
 Gi Yale College. (8) Anna married Samuel Welles, 
 father of Thaddeus and Gideon Welles. (9) Han- 
 nah married Samuel Welles. (10) Esther and (11) 
 Nancy both died unmarried. 
 
 Ebenezer Hale was the next in the line of de- 
 scent, and he and his wife, Sarah Cornwall, daugh- 
 ter of Nathaniel and Jerusha (I'"oote) Cornwall, of 
 Portland, had the following children : Louisa mar- 
 ried a Mr. Coe, of Winsted; Caroline married Asa 
 Foote, of Saybrook ; Mary Ann married Benjamin 
 Taylor, postmaster, and a prominent citizen in his 
 time ; Sarah married Julius Hubbard ; Henry mar- 
 ried Mary Hollister; Elias married Mrs. Anna Lee 
 {nee Jackson), and settled in New York: Joseph 
 married Clarissa Tryon, of South Glastonbury ; 
 John Augustus is mentioned more fully below ; 
 Emily and William both died in childhood. 
 
 John Augustus Hale, our subject's father, was 
 born March 21, 1821, on the farm now occupied by 
 our subject's brother, J. H. Hale. After a district- 
 school course he attended Norwich Academy, at 
 Norwich, Vt., and on leaving school he secured a 
 position as clerk in the Hartford post ofiice, where 
 he remained some time. He then entered the employ 
 of the .'Etna Insurance Co., as an adjuster, and later 
 became general agent, a position which he held at 
 the time of his death, in 1855. Had he lived he 
 would doubtless have become immensely wealthy. 
 He married Henrietta Moseley, a native of Glaston- 
 bury, and a daughter of George W. and Mary 
 (Wright) Moseley; she died Dec. 6, 1879. ^onv 
 children were born to their union : Isabelle C, 
 Mary M., George H. (our subject), and John 
 Floward. 
 
 George H. Hale was born Oct. 15, 1850, at his 
 present home, and received only a limited educa- 
 tion, much of his time in boyhood having been spent 
 in doing "chores" on the farm. As he was but a 
 ciiild when his father died, the necessity for earning 
 a livelihood was among his earliest impressions, 
 and he and his brother John H. sought many w-ays 
 by which they might add to the family income. The 
 old farm offered a field for experiment, and their 
 present extensive business began with a small straw- 
 berry bed, which brought them eight or ten dollars. 
 A hoe, a shovel, and a spade were their only tools, 
 and a push cart, borrowed from a neighbor and 
 afterward purchased for a dollar, was the only 
 means of transportation, their present magnificently 
 equipped system aflfording a striking contrast, as the 
 following items will show : Their fruit farm at 
 South Glastonbury, Conn., contains 200 acres, and 
 about 36,000 trees; at Seymour, Conn., 100 acres, 
 and 20,000 trees; at Fort Valley, Ga., 2,i(5o acres, 
 planted with 335,000 trees, the biggest orchard in 
 the world. In the Georgia orchard there are 250,- 
 000 trees in a single block, the view from the central 
 
636 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 packing shed showing the largest collection of peach 
 trees in the world. A long day's drive is necessary 
 to cover all the avenues of the orchard, about thirty 
 miles. A special railroad track runs direct to the 
 packing house, and special peach express trains 
 carry the crop to distributing points on limited 
 schedule. The evaporating house has a capacity 
 of six hundred bushels of second grade fruit daily, 
 so that only the best need be sent to market. Two 
 hundred special refrigerator cars are in service from 
 orchard to market. One hundred thousand crates 
 and six hundred thousand baskets were required to 
 transport the fruit crop of 1898. Upward of a 
 million "red labels" were required for cars, crates 
 and baskets, so that customers might be sure that 
 they were getting Hale's peaches. The labels and 
 circulars themselves weigh more than two tqns, 
 and would cover a two-foot path over thirty miles 
 long if spread out. The operating of the Georgia 
 orchard for the season of about six weeks requires 
 a regular expenditure, before the fruit reaches the 
 consumer, for labor, packages, labels, freights, ice, 
 etc., of about $2,750 each day. There are two large 
 packing houses, with capacity of assorting and pack- 
 ing ten thousand six-basket crates of peaches daily. 
 A single day's pick is often over one million peaches, 
 each handled separately three times. Seven hun- 
 dren people, and one hundred horses and mules, 
 are kept busy each day in the height of the season 
 to get fruit into the cars. "Red Label Hotel" lodges 
 two hundred of the "workmen, and there are twenty 
 tenement houses in the orchard, with "camping 
 grounds" for the rest. In 1897, an exceptionally 
 good year for peaches, the gross receipts from all 
 the company's interests amounted to $97,000, the 
 nursery stock selling for about $10,000. Travelers 
 regard the Georgia orchard as a most interesting 
 sight, and a writer in "Harper's Bazaar" has said : 
 "Nowhere else are there such peach orchards, and 
 when one takes in hand a great ruddy-streaked, 
 golden peach, wrapped in blushing velvet, tinted 
 by the sun as lavishly as the West is at fall of day, its 
 rich flesh dripping with luciousness, with that bitter- 
 sweet and honey-tart flavor which belongs , to all 
 the other delicious things of life, as well the imma- 
 terial as the material, one is tempted, for a moment, 
 to think that if America has done no more for the 
 world's pleasure, it would have done enough in this." 
 The production of such peaches is only accom- 
 plished by intelligent supervision, thorough culture 
 at all times, liberal feeding with proper plant food, 
 annual pruning, and thinning out of surplus fruit 
 so that the market crop may be perfect in size and 
 beauty. When fruit is "ripe unto the harvest," 
 pickers who are trained to know a matured peach 
 at sight, under the leadership of a foreman for each 
 gang of ten, carefully pick the ripe fruit from the 
 tree, placing it in broad low baskets, with the ticket 
 number of the picker in each basket. Low-down, 
 soft-spring wagons, going about all the time, hatil 
 the fruit quickly to the broad, cool packing house, 
 
 and there nimble-fingered, bright-eyed girls assort 
 the fruit into proper grades and sizes. Several 
 foremen constantly inspect the grading, and if un- 
 ripe or bruised fruit is found in any basket the 
 numbered ticket indicates the picker who is re- 
 sponsible, and a field foreman gallops away to right 
 matters. From the broad canvas trays of the 
 graders skilled packers gently but firmly place the 
 peaches in the baskets, with perfect fruit from top 
 to bottom, and every package just as full as it can 
 be crowded. Six baskets go to the crate, and each 
 basket is the same all the way through. Each 
 crate as finished bears the ticket number of the 
 packer, so that when it reaches the last inspector's 
 table it is sent back for repacking by the proper 
 packer if an3'thing is wrong. Finally, after run- 
 ning the gauntlet of four inspections, it is nailed up 
 and transferred to a clean refrigator car, often in 
 less than an hour after the ruddy cheek of the 
 peach has signalled its ripeness to the picker in the 
 orchard. No other orchard has any such system, 
 and thus it is that Hale's Peaches are "Always best 
 in market." 
 
 Our subject owns a one-fourth interest in the 
 Georgia orchard, but has not taken an active part 
 in the management since 1896. He is a keen and 
 far-sighted business man, conservative in his 
 methods, and as a good citizen he has been active in 
 local affairs. In politics he is a Republican. He 
 belongs to Glastonbury Grange, and attends the 
 Congregational Church, of which his wife is a 
 member. 
 
 On Oct. 29, 1889, Mr. Hale was married to 
 Miss Emma Shipman, daughter of Charles Ship- 
 man, a farmer in South Glastonbury, and they have 
 one child, Marjorie. 
 
 HON. CHARLES DEXTER BENT, a well- 
 known and popular citizen of Enfield, is a native of 
 Hartford county, born in Thompsonville Dec. 8, 
 1850, and is a son of Joseph and Fannie (Cutler) 
 Bent, natives of Neponset, Mass., and Brook! ine, 
 Vt., respectively. His paternal grandfather was 
 William Bent, of Neponset, Mass., and his maternal 
 grandfather was Jonathan Cutler, a farmer of 
 Brookline, Vt. Joseph Bent, who was a blacksmith 
 by trade, settled in Thompsonville, Conn., about 
 1848, and there conducted a blacksmith shop, also 
 dealing in carriages and wagons, for almost tliirtv- 
 five years. He died Feb. 24, 1888. His children 
 were Charles D., Joseph A., and Herbert N. (de- 
 ceased). 
 
 Reared in Enfield, Charles D. Bent was edu- 
 cated in the public schools of that town and in the 
 Woodstock Academy, Woodstock, Vt. During his 
 youth he learned the trades of a wood worker and 
 carriage painter, which he followed for twenty ) ears, 
 After the death of- his father he and his brother 
 carried on the carriage business in Thompsonville 
 for two years, and then removed to Pittsfield, Mass., 
 where, under the firm name of Bent Bros., they 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 G37 
 
 conducted a carriage shop for a year and a half. As 
 their plant was destroyed by tire, our subject re- 
 turned to Thonipsonviile and purchased the hvcry 
 business of the late B. F. Lord, which he has since 
 successfully conducted. He has won success by 
 his well-directed, energetic efforts, an<i the pros- 
 perity that has come to him is certainly merited. 
 (jn Oct. 28, 1874, Mr. Bent married Miss 
 Emilv, daughter of- Samuel D. and Eliza (Clark) 
 Holconib, oi Enfield. She died Dec. 24, 1876, and 
 Mr. Bent was again married, Oct. 28, 1893, his 
 second union being with Miss Annie Harvey, a 
 daughter of Park^B. and Alathier (Humphrey) 
 Harvey, of Stafford, Conn. In religious belief our 
 subject is a Universalist, and in political sentiment 
 lie is a Republican. For two years he served as a 
 member of tlie grand jury from Enfield; he was 
 elected to represent that town in the State Legis- 
 lature during the session of 189Q-1900, and on 
 Nov. 6, 1900, was re-elected to the Legislature of 
 1901. He is held in high regard by all who have 
 the pleasure of his acquaintance, and his friends 
 in Hartford county are legion. 
 
 EPHRAIiM ROOD, the experienced contractor 
 and builder of East Hartford, is a native of New 
 London county, Conn., and was born in Colchester, 
 Sept. I, 1836, the seventh of the ten children born to 
 Alfred and Sarah (Sawyer) Rood. 
 
 Alfred Rood, the father, was born in Colchester, 
 Conn., in 1796, was a farmer all his life, and reared 
 his large family in respectability, ai they all proved 
 to be good citizens wherever they resided. Mr. 
 Rood was a very large powerfully built man, and ca- 
 pable of doing a wonderful amount of work ; he met 
 his death, by drowning in Newtown's Pond (now 
 Haywod's Lake), at the age of fifty-two years. 
 To his marriage, in 1814, with Sarah Sawyer, who 
 was born in Hadlyme, Conn., in 1797, and was a 
 daughter of Ephraim Sawyer, children were born 
 in the following order : Rufus, who first married 
 Selina Sedgwick and later wedded Amy Tucker, 
 was the village blacksmith of Windham for fifty 
 years, and died in 1892 ; Mary was married to Na- 
 than Cobb, and lived and died in Rockford, 111., John, 
 a painter by trade, married Susan Rich, of Plainfield, 
 and died in South Windham ; William, an iron 
 worker, married Mary Carpenter, of Rhode Island, 
 and died in Providence, that State, in 1890; Henry, 
 I a blacksmith, married Abbie Fowler, of Moodus, and 
 . died in Cobalt, Conn. ; Asa, a sailor, was a natural 
 V musician, and could play any instrument he ever 
 ;' saw or any tune he ever heard (he died at the age 
 j of twenty-three years, of consumption contracted by 
 : being in the water overnight, through the cruelty of 
 ' his captain, off Van Dicman's Lancl, when Sir John 
 ! Franklin was governor of that island) ; Ephraim, 
 our subject, was next in order of birth ; Alfred, a 
 I burnisher by trade, married Harriet Taylor, and 
 lived a long time in South Boston, Mass., but died 
 in Chelsea, IMass., and is buried in family lot in 
 
 Windham; Harrison Tyler, a blacksmith by trade, 
 married Louisa Simons, served all through the Civil 
 war in the Twenty-first Conn, V. I., Company D, 
 aiul died in 1891, at South Windham, Conn.; and 
 j\iinie Temple, the youngest child, died in New 
 York at the age of seven years, her remains being 
 interred in Cypress Hill cemetery, Long Island. 
 
 Ephraim Rood, his parents not being wealthy, 
 attended school only four winters of three months 
 each, from thirteen to seventeen years of age. He 
 obtained his education by asking questions of min- 
 isters and doctors, and by reading street signs and 
 bill boards as he passed along. He was very studi- 
 ous and ambitious, was a constant reader and de- 
 voted to self-culture, and at the age of eighteen 
 passed an examination and was granted a license 
 to teach, following the vocation from 1853 until 1872, 
 a period of nineteen years, in Scotland, Willimantic, 
 Lebanon, South Windsor, Hartford and East Hart- 
 ford, East Hartford Meadow, Manchester and Cov- 
 entry. In East Hartford he taught ten terms in 
 the brick school house near which Arthur ^loore now 
 lives ; in jNIanchester he taught the graded school ; 
 in Hartford was principal of the Northeast district 
 school, and at Coventry taught the high school near 
 the Nathan Hale monument. 
 
 In 1872 Mr. Rood began his present business 
 of carpenter, contractor and builder, having begun 
 learning the trade in New York at the age of six- 
 teen years, finishing it while a school teacher. He is 
 naturally a mechanic, contracts for the stone and 
 brick work for the buildings which he erects, as well 
 as the carpenter work, and frequently removes build- 
 ings already constructed, from one spot to another. 
 
 In 1857 Mr. Rood married Miss \'era A. 
 Stearns, of Mansfield, who bore him two children : 
 Alice, who died at the age of twenty-three, and was 
 buried at Willimantic; and Alfred, a machinist of 
 Hartford, is married to Crusia Pebbles, who has 
 borne him two children, Vera and Alfred. Mrs. 
 Vera A. Rood died in 1865, and later Mr. Rood 
 married Miss Louisa L. Roby, daughter of Ebenezer 
 and Laura M. (Bowker) Roby, and born 
 in Cambridge, Mass. The parents of this lady 
 died when she was very young, and she was reared 
 in the home of Rev. Rufus Smith until her mar- 
 riage. To this union have been born two children, 
 Edward Storrs and Annie Louise. The son, Ed- 
 ward S., who was born Oct. 25, 1867, was a man of 
 magnificent physique, was a carpenter and sailor, 
 and died of measles March 16, 1891. The daugh- 
 ter, Annie Louise, born Nov. 21, 1872, was mar- 
 ried to Robert C. Lawson, July 22, 1891. Mr. 
 Lawson is a trusted clerk at Pope's bicycle factory, 
 is ex-councilman from the Sixth ward, and an ex- 
 member of the city amusement committee. 
 
 Mr. Rood has been identified with the enterprises 
 of East Hartford for many years, and has always 
 been a most useful citizen. Liberal in his political 
 views, he has nevertheless served as town clerk for 
 six years ; registrar of births, marriages and deaths ; 
 
638 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 trial justice for ten years, and grand juror for twen- 
 ty j'ears. He has also delivered many temperance 
 lectures throughout New England ; is an orator of 
 more than ordinary eloquence, and possesses a sur- 
 prisingly retentive memory, which he can call upon 
 any moment to furnish him with interesting reminis- 
 cences and amusing anecdotes. He is not a member 
 of any secret society, but is an attendant at St. John's 
 Episcopal Church, of which Mrs. Rood has long 
 been a devout member. He is one of the best- 
 known residents of the town, and respected most 
 where best known. 
 
 In 1894, when Ned Murphy, the great temper- 
 ance orator was lecturing in Connecticut on gospel 
 temperance reform, he fell in with Mr. Rood while 
 holding a series of forty meetings in Hartford. A 
 strong friendship sprung up between them, and for 
 years after, if Murphy came within one hundred 
 miles of Hartford, .Mr. Rood was there ; and in two 
 cities where Mr. Murphy was taken suddenly ill 
 while holding these great meetings Mr. Rood was 
 telegraphed to come immediately and fill his place 
 on the platform, which he did, and from these facts 
 he was called "the Murphy of Connecticut." But 
 what is strange about this, while Mr. Murphy's ac- 
 quaintances were numbered by the thousands, among 
 them being men of great talent and college learning, 
 instead of calling on some of them, why did he 
 choose to send for a man whose educational advan- 
 tages consisted of only forty-six weeks of schooling 
 in a poor district school in the town of Lebanon, to 
 pay for which he cared for forty head of cattle and 
 four horses and chopped the wood for two fires ? Mr. 
 Rood can tell stories of hardship, abuse, suffering 
 and neglect that cause people of to-day to shudder, 
 and wonder why he is alive, a stout, able-bodied man 
 of nearly seventy years, and weighing 225 pounds ! 
 
 ELIHU STONE WARNER, an honored vet- 
 eran of the Civil war, and a leading citizen of Ken- 
 sington, was born in Sunderland, Bennington Co., 
 Vt., May 3, 1835, and is a son of Alpheus and Zil- 
 phia (Seeley) Warner, the former born in New 
 Braintree, Mass., Jan. 6, 1807, the latter in Arling- 
 ton, Bennington Co., Vt., Jan. 22, 181 1. Both died 
 and were buried in Arlington. By occupation the 
 father was a stonemason and contractor. The 
 paternal grandfather, Zenas Warner, was born in 
 Dover, Vt., in 1779, and died at the age of sixty- 
 six years. He married Nancy Arnold, and to them 
 were born three sons, Alpheus, Roswell and Zenas, 
 and one daugher, Meriba, whose remains were also 
 interred in Arlington, Vermont. 
 
 The early education of our subject was acquired 
 in the common schools of Sunderland and Arlington, 
 and later he attended the academy at North Ben- 
 nington, from which he was graduated when Prof. 
 Cummings was principal of the institution. He 
 then accepted a position in the square shop of J. 
 Essex, at North Bennington, where he learned the 
 trade, and worked at same until his enlistment in 
 
 the Union army during the Civil war. There he 
 enrolled his name among the boys in blue Aug. 28, 
 1862, becoming a member of Company C, 14th Vt. 
 Y. I., which was mustered in at Brattleboro, Vt., 
 Oct. 21, and went to Washington, D. C, two days 
 later. The regiment was first assigned to the 2nd 
 Brigade, Casey's Division, Reserve Army Corps, 
 and as a member of the same brigade and division 
 was transferred to the 22nd Army Corps in Febru- 
 ary, 1863. They remained in defense of Washing- 
 ton until June 25, 1863, when they were transferred 
 to the 3d Brigade, 3d Division, ist Army Corps, 
 Army of the Potomac, with which they were con- 
 nected until July 18, 1863. They were on duty at 
 Camp Chase, Arlington Heights, Va., from Oct. 
 25, to Nov. I, 1862, and then did garrison duty at 
 Camp Vermont, Va., from Nov. 5 to Nov. 25. The 
 regiment then moved to Occoquan in line of battle, 
 covering the movements of the troops to Fredericks- 
 burg, Nov. 27. They were on duty at Camp Ver- 
 m.ont and Wolf Run Shoals until Dec. 4, 1862, and 
 from that time until March 25, 1863, were stationed 
 at Fairfax Court House. During this time they re- 
 sisted Gen. Stewart's raid, Dec. 27-29, 1862, and 
 were on picket duty near the Chantilly battlefield 
 from that time until Jan. 19, 1863. From March 
 24 until June 25, 1863, they were at Wolf Run 
 Shoals, and then marched to Centreville. They 
 were in the Pennsylvania campaign from June 25 
 to July 18, moving to Herndon June 26, and to Guil- 
 ford on the 27th. The same day they crossed the 
 Potomac, and the Monocacy river June 28, and then 
 moved by way of Frederick City and Mechanics^ 
 ville to Emmetsburg, Md., June 29 and 30; and 
 were in the battle of Gettysburg July 2 and 3, taking 
 part in the engagement when Pickett made his fa^ 
 mous charge. On July 6 they moved to Emmets- 
 burg, and were in line of battle at Crampton's Gap, 
 South Mountain, July 8. They moved to Funks- 
 town on the loth; were in the engagement at 
 Hagerstown, July 12 and 13 ; then moved to Sharps- 
 burg July 14 and 15 ; were at Petersville on the i6th ; 
 at Baltimore, July 18 and 19; New York, July 20; 
 at New Haven, Conn., July 20 and 21 ; and from 
 there proceeded to Brattleboro, Vt., where the regi- 
 inent was mustered out July 30, 1863. 
 
 Soon after his return from the war Mr. Warner 
 removed with his family to Kensington, Conn., 
 where he worked at his trade as a square maker 
 for the Flart Manufacturing Co., and when the firm 
 changed to Hart, Bliven & Mead he remained as a 
 contractor in several departments until 1886. The 
 following year he was with the Russell & Irwin 
 Manufacturing Co., of New Britain, and next 
 accepted the position of night watchman with the 
 C. P. Merwin Brick Co., at Kensington, with 
 which he remained for seven years. He next worked 
 for the American Paper Co., having charge of 
 the joiner's i^oom, where cases were made, and re- 
 maining there about a year. He then accepted a 
 position as transfer clerk in the freight office of the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 689 
 
 Kew York, New Ilavcn & Hartfcird railroad. In 
 April, 1900, he severed liis connection with this 
 company, and accepted a situation with the Russell 
 & Irwin Manufacturing- Co. in New Britain, where 
 he is now eniploj-ed. 
 
 On Sept. y, 1857, Mr. Warner married Miss 
 Harriet Maria Bowker, who was liorn in Sandgate, 
 Vt., July 17, 1836, a daughter of William and Har- 
 riet (Bradley) Bowker, farming people. Her par- 
 ents were both buried in Sunderland, \'t. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Warner were born six children, namely: 
 Florence Blanche, born in Sunderland, Sept. 28, 
 1858, died March 16, 1862, and was buried in Ar- 
 lington, \'t. ; Agnes Jane, born in Sunderland, is 
 at home ; Hugh Ellsworth, born in Berlin, Conn., 
 Feb. 22, 1865, died Sept. 30, 1866; a twin brother 
 of Hugh lived but three davs ; Maude Edith, born in 
 Berlin, March 28, 186S, died Oct. 27, 1887; and 
 Hugh Elmer, born in Berlin, Aug. 15, 1870, died 
 Aug. II, 1871. \\'ith the exception of the eldest 
 all were buried in Berlin. 
 
 The father of our subject was first a Whig and 
 later a Republican in politics, and Mr. Warner is 
 an ardent supporter of the latter party. He has 
 taken a very active and prominent part in local poli- 
 tics, and has been honored by his fellow-citizens 
 with a number of important official positions, the 
 duties of which he has most faithfully and satisfac- 
 torily performed. He served as constable for thirty- 
 one consecutive years, and for the last six years of 
 that time was also deputy sheriff, his term expiring 
 in 1895. He represented his town in the State 
 Legislature in 1883, when there was considerable 
 agitation over the parallel railroad line with the New 
 \ork. New Haven & Hartford railroad. He was 
 first selectman in 1888 and 1889, and had previously 
 been a member of the board, serving in all for six 
 }-ears. At present he is filling the position of sec- 
 ond selectman, and is one of the most influential 
 and prominent members of the board. Socially he 
 iiclongs to Stanley Post, No. 24, G. A. R., of New 
 Britain :, Harmony Lodge, No. 20, F. & A. M. ; Gid- 
 dings Chapter, No. 25, R. A. M., and Doric Council, 
 No. 24, R. & S. M., of New Britain ; and is an hon- 
 orary member of Pequot Council, No. 44, Sr. O. 
 \J. A. M, of Berlin. Religiously he and his wife 
 are members of St. James Protestant Episcopal 
 Church, of Arlington, Vermont. 
 
 FIENRY AARON KINNE, a substantial citi- 
 zen of South Glastonbury, comes of a sturdy New 
 England ancestry. The emigrant ancestor of the 
 family was Henry Kinne, of Puritan parentage, 
 though born in Holland, in about 1624. He was in 
 Salem, Mass., about 1656. He and his wife Anne 
 settled in Norwich, Conn., and he died in 1712. 
 
 Rev. Aaron Kinne, the great-grandfather of our 
 subject, was born at Newent, in Norwich (now 
 Lisbon), Conn., in 1744. He was graduated from 
 Yale in 1765, and studied theology under Rev. Mr. 
 Fish, at Stonington. He was ordained over the 
 
 South Congregational Church at Groton, Conn., as 
 successor to Rev. Barber, Oct. 19, 1769. The 
 massacre of Lcdyard and others of his people at 
 Fort Griswold, while Rev. Kinne was chaplain 
 there during the Revolutionary war, where "so 
 many widows and orphans were made in an hour," 
 caused the loss' of so many of his people, and so 
 diminished his means of support, tliat in 1798 he 
 was dismissed, his family at that time consisting of 
 an invalid wife and eleven children, all under seven- 
 teen years of age. During his pastorate at Groton 
 he made several missionary journeys into the wilds 
 of New York State, to minister to the Indians. 
 After leaving Groton, in 1798, his subsequent life 
 was filled with wanderings, trials and removals. 
 In 1800 he resided in Winsted; in 1803 at Egre- 
 mont, Mass.; and in 1805 he removed to Alford. 
 He was occasionally employed by the Berkshire 
 Missionary Society. He died at Tallmadge, Ohio, 
 at the home of his son-in-law, Dr. Wright, July 9, 
 1824, aged seventy-nine years. Seven children 
 survived him. He was a faithful preacher. He 
 published a work on the "Sonship of Christ ; a dis- 
 play of Scripture prophesies," 1813; an explana- 
 tion of the tvpes, prophesies, revelation, etc. [Vol. 
 VIII, 1814.]' 
 
 Aaron Kinne, the grandfather of our subject, 
 was born in Groton, Conn., and removed in his early 
 manhood to Glastonbury. For a number of years 
 he taught school, and was also engaged in the mer- 
 cantile business in South Glastonbury. He died in 
 1816. He had married Amelia Hale, and to them 
 the following children were born : Emma married 
 (first) David Hale, and (second) Norman Hub- 
 bard, and lived in North Glastonbury ; Henry moved 
 to Pennsylvania ; 'Mary Ann married (first) Dr. 
 Roland Curtin, of Philadelphia, by whom she be- 
 came the mother of Dr. Roland Curtin, Jr., and 
 (second) wedded Gen. James Irving, a prominent 
 citizen of Pennsylvania, and at one time a candi- 
 date for Governor; Nancy married Edwin Taylor, 
 who was engaged in the lumber business in Hart- 
 ford, which IS now carried on by his sons : Gideon, 
 a mason, living in Glastonbury, married Sallv Tay- 
 lor; and Aaron is referred to in the following. 
 
 Aaron Kinne, the father of our subject, was 
 born March 10, 1814, in South Glastonbury, Conn. 
 His education was cuch as the boys, in general, in 
 those times received, his attendance being confined 
 entirely to the district schools. He lived at home 
 for a time, then located at Akron, Ohio, where he re- 
 mained a brief period, and returning to Glastonbury 
 there learned the trade of mason under his brother 
 Gideon. These brothers worked together for many 
 years, and built many structures in Bristol, New 
 Britain and other places. Aaron Kinne abandoned 
 the mason's business in 1868, located on the home 
 farm and purchased the interests of the other heirs 
 in the place, added to the tract, and made many im- 
 provements thereon, leaving, however, the original 
 house stand. ^Mr. Kinne was, in politics, a Repub- 
 
640 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lican, and took an active interest in town affairs. 
 He represented the town three times in tlie Legis- 
 lature, serving in 1855, 1862 and 1882. He also 
 served on the board of selectmen for two terms, 
 and held other minor offices. He was one of the 
 charter members of the Glastonbury Grange, and 
 its oldest member at the time of his death. He 
 was a man universally respected, a firm friend, and a 
 kind and obliging neighbor. He possessed a re- 
 markable memory, and was a man of ability and 
 force of character. 
 
 Mr. Kinne was married (first) in 1840, to 
 Martha W. Strickland, born April 7, 1816, a native 
 of Glastonbury, and a daughter of Lewis and Amy 
 (Tennant) Strickland. She died June 26, 1876, 
 and in 1878 he married (second) Mrs. Elizabeth 
 Boughton, born July 23, 1836, daughter of George 
 B. and Rovilla (Race) Kinne, and widow of Henry 
 A. Boughton, who was a farmer of Waterford, N. 
 Y. She now survives her husband, who died March 
 8, 1898, and is living on the old homestead in South 
 Glastonbury. To Aaron and Martha W. (Strick- 
 land) Kinne were born children as follows : ( i ) 
 Constant C., born March 24, 1841, married Jan. 14, 
 1869, Mary Williams. He is now a clerk in Meri- 
 den, in the town clerk's office, where he is well 
 known and prominent ; he was a soldier of the Civil 
 war. (2) Lewis S., born Dec. 22, 1845, married 
 May 24, 1871, Josephine Ransom. He is now liv- 
 ing in New Britain, occupied as a bookkeeper. (3) 
 Henry A. is our subject. (4) Watson, born March 
 24, 1850, married June 27, 1872, Adella Clark. He 
 is a farmer in South Glastonbury, and has served 
 his town in the Legislature one term. 
 
 Henry A. Kinne, our subject proper, was born 
 June 29, 1847, in the homestead in South Glaston- 
 bury now occupied by his stepmother, Mrs. Kinne. 
 He attended the district school, and the Fort Ed- 
 ward (N. Y.) Academy, the latter being a large 
 and well-known institution, then under the prin- 
 cipalship of Joseph E. King. Completing his school- 
 ing at the academy when nineteen years of age, he 
 returned to Glastonbury and assisted his father on 
 the farm, also teaching in winter for a time at the 
 Bell school. Later he was for about two years in 
 the employ of his cousin, James G. Kinne, who 
 kept a general store at Fort Edward, N. Y., as 
 clerk, bookkeeper, etc. In 1869 he went to Crom- 
 well, Conn., and in company with James E. Smith 
 bought out the general store of Ralph Savage, who 
 was an uncle of Mr. Kinne. Their business grew, 
 and not finding their quarters large enough erected 
 another building, and kept two stores there. Ow- 
 ing' to failing health Mr. Kinne in 1871 sold to 
 Mr. Smith, and came to Glastonbury, where he 
 lived on the home farm until November, 1893, at 
 which time he purchased his present home, in South 
 Glastonbury, known as the "Martin Hollister place," 
 which comprised only three and one-half acres of 
 land. Since then Mr. Kinne has made many im- 
 provements about the place, built his present barns, 
 
 and added to the acreage until now he has a farm of 
 twenty-five acres. He is engaged in general farm- 
 ing and tobacco growing, and also teaming, keep- 
 ing about twelve horses the year around. He also 
 gets out timber, ties, etc., for railroad purposes. 
 He is one of the town's active and energetic men, 
 and is prosperous. In politics he is a stanch Re- 
 publican. He has been registrar of voters for the 
 past four years, and was deputy registrar for twelve 
 years. He has been a member of Columbia Lodge, 
 No. 25, F. & A. M., of South Glastonbury, since 
 Feb. 6, 1871, was junior warden of same in 1874 
 and 1875, and has been secretary for the past fifteen 
 3'ears ; has been a member of Putnam Phalanx, 
 Hartford, for many years past; and is a charter 
 member of Elm Lodge, I. O. O. F., Glastonbury. 
 In November, 1880, Mr. Kinne was married to 
 Artilla Alger, born Oct. 14, 1849, i'^ South Glaston- 
 bury, daughter of Hudson and Martha (House) 
 Alger, the former of whom was a farmer in South 
 Glastonbury. To this marriage have come children 
 as follows: Martha E., born Jan. 31, 1882; Emma 
 S., born May 31, 1886; and Aaron W., born June 
 4, 1888. 
 
 WILLIAM DUFFY, the famous blacksmith of 
 East Hartford Meadow, although in his sixty-first 
 year, is still hearty and strong, and hence comes his 
 renown. In his younger days he was an athlete, 
 and, while small in stature and of slight build, was 
 wonderfully supple and nimble, able to do an ex- 
 traordinary amount of work, and execute the rnost 
 difficult gymnastic feats. 
 
 Mr. Duffy was born in Hartford July i, 1840, 
 on Trumbull street, near "Little River," and is of 
 Irish-English extraction, his father having been 
 born in County Westmeath, Ireland, about 1809, 
 and his mother in Barrowden, England. His par- 
 ents, John and Mary (Kirby) Duffy, were married 
 in England, whither the father had gone when 
 young to learn the blacksmith's trade. In 1837 
 John Duffy came to the United States and located 
 in Hartford, worked awhile in Columbia, then re- 
 turned to Hartford, and in 1842 came to East Hart- 
 ford Meadow and took possession of the blacksmith 
 shop now operated by our subject, and which pre- 
 viously had been owned by Henry Wood and opened 
 two or three days in the week. It has since been in 
 active operation every day in the year, Sundays 
 only excepted, and occasions when a death has oc- 
 curred in the family. In 1854 Mr. Duft'y erected 
 the dwelling in East Hartford in which he resided 
 until his removal to Hartford, where his death tookj 
 place at the age of seventy-two years, from paral-f 
 ysis of the brain, probably caused from being kicked ] 
 in the head by a horse some years previously. Hisj 
 wife had died at the age of fifty-six years, and heri 
 remains were interred in the Catholic cemetery atl 
 Hartford. The children born to John and Mary! 
 (Kirby) Duffy were seven in number, and in order] 
 of birth were named as follows: Catharine, born J 
 
(::L^^-t>u 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 04 1 
 
 ill England, died uniiiarricil at the age of sixty 
 years in .\'e\v Haven; Thomas, born in Colunibia, 
 Conn., is a retired dry -goods merchant, and resides 
 at the corner of \ ernon and Washington streets, 
 Hartford; William is the snljjeci of this biography; 
 Mary, born in East Hartford, is the widow of John 
 Eraney, of New Haven: Jane is married to D. D. 
 Donovan, an expert machinist of I'rovidence, R. 1. ; 
 John, a blacksmith, tlied in Hartford ; and Eliza- 
 beth is the wife of James Lawton, manager of tlic 
 Elcischnian Veast Co., ni New Haven. The father 
 
 ' of this family was stoull_\- built, strong and active, 
 and could shoe as many as twenty-five horses a day. 
 
 \ He was a sincere Catholic, and d'ied a member of 
 St. I'atrick's Church in Hartford; in politics he was 
 inclined toward Democracy, but voted for the can- 
 didate he thought to be best suited for the office 
 
 } to be filled. He was a self-made man. and lived 
 
 I conifortabl)-, being nowise nigganlly, and kept his 
 
 I family in excellent style. 
 
 William Duffy was but two years of age when 
 the family settled' in East Hartford ^ieadow, wdiere 
 he was educated in the district school, in which 
 he was the champion speller, learned very rapidly 
 in every department, and captured all the prizes. 
 At the age of sixteen years he quit school, and 
 under his father began learning the blacksmith's 
 trade. The two worked together until i866, when 
 the mother passed away, and the father, selling 
 the shop to the son. retired to Hartford, and there 
 passed the remainder of his life. 
 
 In November, i866, William Duffy married 
 Miss 2\largaret Evers, a native of Ireland, who 
 came to the United States when young, and lived 
 with some of the best families in Hartford, such as 
 those of Dr. Barnard, Dr. Crawfoot and ]\lrs. Pen- 
 dleton. Mr. Dufty at once began housekeeping on 
 marrying, in the house in which he still lives, and 
 which is one of the best in East Hartford [Meadow. 
 To this marriage were born nine children, in the 
 following order: J^Iary, still under the parental 
 roof; John K.. who died at the age of fifteen years, 
 a promising, athletic lad : William L., a clerk in 
 Hartford: Jennie, who died in childhood in 1876; 
 Frances, a teacher in East Hartford : Alice, a sten- 
 ographer in Hartford : Elorence and Harry, at 
 home: and Lillian G., who died at the age of five 
 j'ears. Mrs. Duffy was called away Siept. 15. 1897, 
 in the faith of the Catholic Church, of which all 
 the family are devout members. She was a most 
 estimable ladv. kind and affectionate, and a true 
 helpmate to her husband. The children are kind 
 and intelligent, and have been educated in a man- 
 ner creditable to any family. 
 
 Mr. Duffy has been an untiring worker, and has 
 been successful throughout life. He has met with 
 some reverses, however, as in 1880 he lost his shop 
 by fire, with no insurance, and was thus '"out" 
 $,^,500 in a few hours. But he kept right on, not 
 losing a day except bv sickness. He is a man of 
 steady haliits, slrictU- honest in everv transaction, 
 
 and enjovs the respect of all who know him. His 
 " 41 
 
 competence is not the result of a life of niggard- 
 ness or self-de|)rivation, as he has always lived 
 well, and kept his familv well supplied with all 
 things needful, with a most liberal hand. 
 
 L. S. l'..\l.\i( ).\'S, who is at present engaged in 
 the plumbing and steam-fitting business in Man- 
 ciiester, Hartford countv, is one of the oldest resi- 
 dents of the town, where he has lived since boy- 
 hood, and he is widely known and highly respected 
 throughout this vicinitv. 
 
 Air. Emmons was born Eeb. 14, 1839, in the 
 town of Haddam, Middlesex Co., Conn., son of 
 William and Hannah (Ely) Emmons, He was 
 brought up on a farm there, and when sixteen 
 years of age, having received a practical education 
 in the common scliools, he came to Manchester 
 to learn the trade of tinner with his brother-in-law, 
 E. B. Hibbard. The first year of his apprentice- 
 shi]) his wages were $35, the second year $40, and 
 the third §45. He continued working for his 
 brother-in-law until 1867, after which he carried on 
 the business on his own account, renting Mr. Hib- 
 bard's store, until 1890, when he erected the build- 
 ing in which he is established at present. He is 
 engaged in plumbing and steam-fitting, enjoying 
 a wide patronage throughout this part of Hartford 
 county, and he also carries a fine line of stoves. 
 Mr, Emmons occupies an enviable position among 
 the successful business men of Manchester, and 
 he has a high standing as a citizen, being identified 
 with the best interests of his adopted town, though 
 he has never been particularly active in public life. 
 He has witnessed the growth of the place to its 
 present proportions from the very beginning, for 
 when he first came to Alanchester there was but 
 one store hei'e, that of the Union Manufacturing Co. 
 
 On Xov. 25, 1861, Mr, Emmons was married 
 to Miss Maria P. Wilson, daughter of Willard 
 Wilson, and two children blessed this union: 
 Willard, who died Sept. i. 1867, and Grace, who 
 is living at home. Mr. Emmons is a Republican in 
 political preference. Fraternally he is a member 
 of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Man- 
 chester Lodge, Xo. 16. 
 
 HEXRY WELLS HUXGERFORD, the act- 
 ive and wide-awake shipping clerk for the E. Ing- 
 graliam Co. Clock factory, Bristol, is a native of 
 that city, born May 20, 1847. 
 
 The Hungerfords are of English origin, and 
 trace their ancestry back to Sir Thomas Hunger- 
 ford, who was in 1337 the first regular Speaker of 
 the House of Commons. He died in 1398. James 
 Smithson was a son of Hugh Smithson, the 
 first Duke of Xorthumberland, and his mother was 
 Marv Hungerford. He never married, and willed 
 all his property to his nephew, Henry Hunger- 
 ford, if he had issue, "either legitimate or illegiti- 
 mate." Otherwise it was to go to the L'nited 
 States, to found an institution for the dift'usion of 
 knowledge to be called the "Smithsonian Institu- 
 
642 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tion." Hence the origin of the famous institution 
 located in Washington, D. C. The amount given 
 was over $500,000. In England there are two 
 almshouses, existing at the present time, which 
 were endowed and founded lay the Hungerfords 
 before 1450. 
 
 (I) Thomas Hungerford, the first of the family 
 in the New World, doubtless came to this country 
 as a mariner. In 1639 he owned a three-cornered 
 lot of an acre with a house thereon in Hartford, 
 Conn. In 165 1 he moved to Pequot (now New 
 London), Conn., and shortly afterward cleared the 
 land where the fort now stands. He died in 1663, 
 leaving three children — two by his first wife — 
 Thomas, aged about fifteen years ; Sarah, nine 
 years; and Hannah, born May i, 1659. 
 
 (II) Thomas Hungerford had children as fol- 
 lows: Thomas, John, Green, Elizabeth, Susanna, 
 Sarah and Mary. He died between Jan. 11 and 
 Feb. 5, 1713-14, aged sixty-five or sixty-six years. 
 
 (III) Thomas Hungerford, of Haddam, Conn., 
 married Elizabeth Smith, and they had children: 
 Hannah, Thomas, Benjamin, Elizabeth, John, Da- 
 vid and Samuel. 
 
 (IV) Capt. John Hungerford, born March 4, 
 1 718, was married Dec. 27, 1739, to Deborah Hun- 
 gerford, daughter of John Hungerford. She died 
 before March 6, 1745, as on that date he married 
 Lucy , who died Feb. 10, 1798, aged sev- 
 enty-seven 3'ears. By the first union there were 
 two children, Levi and Thomas. To the second 
 marriage were born : Oliver, Uriah. Amasa, Deb- 
 orah, John, Lucy, Elizabeth, Huldah, and Lydia. 
 Capt. Hungerford was quite prominent in military 
 affairs. In 1751-52 he moved to Farmington, and 
 in May, 1754, was appointed, by the Assembl)^ 
 ensign in the Sixth Company, or "train band," of 
 that town. In May, 1757, he was appointed lieu- 
 tenant of the "train band" in the parish of New 
 Cambridge (now Bristol, formerly in the town of 
 Farmington), and in May, 1758, the Assembly ap- 
 pointed him captain of the same. The same month 
 the Assembly appointed him captain in the army, 
 in the First Regiment. He died at Southington 
 Dec. 24, 1787, and his remains lie in the old ceme- 
 tery at Plainville, Hartford county. The epitaph 
 on his gravestone is as follows : 
 
 Behold and see as you pass by, 
 As you are now, so once was I. 
 As I am now, so you must be, 
 Prepare for death and follow me. 
 
 (V) Thomas Hungerford, born July 19, 1742, 
 died in 1810. He served as captain in the Revolu- 
 tionary war. On Oct. 29, 1764, he married (first) 
 Naomy Moody, born in 1746, who died in 1769. 
 His second wife was Elizabeth Mathews, who died 
 in February, 1819. The children born to the first 
 marriage were Chloe, Sabra and Zenas. To the 
 second union came Cynthia, one that died in in- 
 fancy, Street, Sylvia, Evits, Elavil, Levinah, Alma, 
 Street, Sheldon and Naomi. 
 
 (VI) Evits Hungerford, grandfather of Henry 
 W., was born in the town of Bristol, Conn., Oct. 
 29, 1777, and was a lifelong farmer in that locali-s 
 ty, also a blacksmith, and worked at his trade 
 number of years. In politics he was an arden| 
 Democrat, in religious faith a consistent Methodist| 
 and the first piece of timber taken from his land 
 was used in the building of the Methodist church 
 in Bristol. He was a charter member of Franklin 
 Lodge, F. & A. M. On Sept. 23, 1810, he married 
 Annah Peck, of Burlington, Conn., born Sept. 14, 
 1789, and children as follows were born to them: 
 Leander G. (a sketch of whom follows), William 
 Ellis, Rev. Charles Lyman (he died in 1845, ^^ 
 Brooklyn, where he was a Methodist preacher), 
 Louisa Amy, and Caroline Sally. The father of 
 these died Sept. 17, 1867, the mother on June 20, 
 1881. 
 
 (MI) Leander Grandison Hungerford, father 
 of Henry W., was born July 12, 181 1, in the town 
 of Bristol, Conn., and died there Dec. 2, 1853. He 
 was a general "trucker," and dealt in wood, also 
 during a part of his life was engaged in farming, 
 and became quite well-to-do. He was an Old-Line 
 Whig, and an active member of the Methodist 
 Church. 
 
 On April 13, 1836, Leander G. Hungerford 
 was married to Jennett Jones, of Bristol, and they 
 had four children: (i) Sarah, born Dec. 3, 1837, 
 married (first) Lyman AVebster, of Harwinton, 
 Conn., and (second) wedded J. Wallace Blakes- 
 lee, of Bristol, Conn. : she now lives in Hartford. 
 
 (2) AVilliam Ellis, born in 1839, died in 1841. 
 
 ( 3 ) Charles E., a sketch of whom appears else- 
 where. (4) Henry Wells is our subject. The 
 mother of these died Oct. 7, 1848, and Feb. 10. 
 1849, the father married Jennett Andros, who was 
 born in Farmington, Conn., July 9, 1817, and died 
 in 1891, the mother of one child, Annah J., born 
 May 13, 1852, married Homer Smith May 13, 
 1868, and died April 18, 1884, in Michigan. 
 
 Henry Wells Hungerford, of whom we more 
 especiallv write, received all his literary education 
 at the common schools of Bristol, and at the age 
 of fifteen years commenced working on a farm in 
 the summer, in the woods in the winter, in the em- 
 ploy, most of the time, of George Kimberly. When 
 twenty-one years of age he made a sort of pros- 
 pecting trip of several months duration through- 
 out the West as far as Nebraska, but soon re- 
 turned to Connecticut. Coming to Bristol, he on 
 April 12, 1869, commenced work for the E. Ingra- 
 ham Co.'s clock factory as teamster ; then was pro- 
 moted to his present position, that of shipping 
 clerk, having full charge of the packing and ship- 
 ping department of the factory. 
 
 On Dec. 24, 1874, Henry W. Hungerford was 
 married to Minerva S. Soule, born in Freeporf, 
 Maine, Julv 28, 1845, a daughter of George E. and 
 Deborah (Dillingham) Soule. She died in Bris- 
 tol, Conn., Oct. 30, 1899, leaving no issue. Mr. 
 Hungerford is a member of the Congregational 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 043 
 
 Cluircli, and in politics is a stanch Republican. 
 Honesty and integrity are his main characteris- 
 tics, and he enjoys the confidence of his employers, 
 and tile respect and esteem of a wide circle of 
 ■friends and acquaintances. 
 
 JAY S. STOXK, ^\. 1)., is one of the most suc- 
 cessful medical practitioners of New Britain, and 
 liis professional services span a period of time ex- 
 ceeded by the residence of only two other physicians 
 of that city. He descends from one of the oldest 
 New England families, a family with whose his- 
 torv are linked names eminent in the intellectual 
 and religious growth of the mother States, but 
 his success in life is attributed not wholly to in- 
 heritance, as he is in the strictest sense of the term 
 a self-made man. The many struggles of his youth, 
 to win independently the mental e<|uipment for the 
 practice of his profession, developed a character 
 that could not fail in the attainment of distinction 
 and substantial success. 
 
 William Stone, of England, our subject's great- 
 grandfather, migrated with other early colonists to 
 the New World, and located at Guilford, Conn., 
 becoming the progenitor of the American family 
 of which our subject is a representative. John 
 Stone, our subject's grandfather, born in 176=^, was 
 reared on a farm near Guilford, and adopted agri- 
 cultural pursuits as his life work. He was a man 
 of considerable force of character, and was gen- 
 erallv known as Deacon John Stone, of Aliddle- 
 bnry. He married Esther Stowe, of Milford. Conn., 
 ■whose father served his struggling country as a 
 soldier in the Revolutionary war. John Stone lived 
 to a good old age, and died about 1840, his life 
 companion passing awav the same year. Their 
 eight children all lived to old age. and were as fol- 
 lows : Mark : Stephen, father of our subject : Har- 
 vey : Elmira, who married Michael Bowers, of New 
 Haven : Esther ; Clara, wife of Laban Hine, of 
 IVIiddlebury : Sarah, who died unmarried: and Sa- 
 loma, wife of Calvin Camp, of ?i[iddlebury. Esther, 
 the second daughter, married Bennett Tyler, D. D., 
 who was at one time pastor of a small church in 
 Southbury, but in later life was offered and ac- 
 cepted the presidency of the Hartford Theological 
 Society. He was also for a time president of Dart- 
 mouth College. During the period of active re- 
 ligious controversy half a century ago Dr. Tyler 
 ^vas widelv known as the opponent of Prof. Taylor, 
 of "S'ale Theological Seminary. 
 
 .Stephen Stone, father of our subject, was a na- 
 tive of Middlebury, Conn., born in 1787. Being 
 reared to farm work, he followed fhat vocation 
 through life, and although farming in his day of- 
 fered scant opportunities for the accumulation of 
 Avcalth he was pre-eminently successful, and evinced 
 the possession of business talents and energies 
 ■which deserved a more promising field. He was 
 sturdy in character, careful and thrifty, and be- 
 ■came one of the largest tax-pavers in the town. 
 In politics he was a strong Republican, but to him 
 
 public office offered no enticements. He was a busi- 
 ness man through and through, although interested 
 ill public affairs, and lending his active inlUience to 
 various worth v eiiterjirises. in religious faith he was 
 a Congregationalist, and to church work he was 
 stanchlv devoted. He lived to the good old age of 
 ninety-three years, his death occurring in 1880. By 
 his first wife, Nancy I'ronson, he had five children: 
 Elery G., deceased ; Harriet N., who married Styles 
 Munson, of Middlebury ; Serene L., deceased ; Aber- 
 nathv, of \\'ood'bury, Conn. ; and Amelia, who was 
 married thrice, to Merritt Baldwin, Robert Lee and 
 .Sheldon Somers, respectively. The second wife of 
 Stephen Stone was Maria Mallory, daughter of 
 'J'homas Mallory, of Middlebury, and by that union 
 there were three children: Mary M., John \\'. (de- 
 ceased), and Jay S. (our subject). 
 
 Dr. Jay S. Stone was born Aug. 5. 184J, in 
 Middlebury. Conn., and began his education in the 
 public schools of that place. Later he attended 
 \\'oodbury Academy, under the instruction of Prof. 
 T. M. Thompson, a well-known educator, and in the 
 fall of 1859 he passed the examination in the 
 academic department of Yale College, and was ad- 
 mitted. He did not enter, however, but at once 
 began the problem of self-support and advance- 
 ment toward the professional goal. He became a 
 teacher in the public schools of ^liddlebury. Conn., 
 and for a year conducted a privatj sch o' i)i the 
 town of Huntington, Conn. He then entered the 
 Normal School at New Britain, graduating in the 
 summer of 1861. and in the fall of that year he 
 took charge of the e-raded schools of Plymouth, 
 v'here he remained in charge two years, meanwhile 
 engaging in the study of medicine. In the fall of 
 18(33 lie entered the College of Physicians and Sur- 
 geons, in New York, from which institution he was 
 graduated in 1865. It is to the credit of Dr. Stone 
 that his academic and professional education was 
 due to his own efforts, as he paid his own way- 
 through all the schools mentioned. After leaving 
 the medical college he located, in the spring of 1865, 
 at New Britain, and here for more than a third of a 
 century he has been in continuous and successful 
 practice, the only active physicians of New Britain 
 who antedate him in professional service in that 
 city being Drs. Cooley and Cummings. Dr. Stone 
 is recognized as one of the most eminent medical 
 men of this section, and he himself attributes his 
 success to the practice of the Golden Rule, and to 
 his thorough professional preparation. 
 
 During the year 1894 Dr. Stone was a member 
 of the board of health. He is prominently afliliated 
 with many fraternal societies, holding menvbership 
 in Harmony Lodge, No. 8. F. & A. ^[.: Giddings 
 Chapter. No. 26: Washington Commandery, of 
 Hartford : and Sphinx Teinple, Shrine, of Hart- 
 ford : is also a member of New Britain Lodge, 
 Nathan Hale degree, American Mechanics: of 
 Phcenix Lodge. T. O. O. F. : Comstock Encamp- 
 ment : Canton Foresters; the Knights of rvlhias: 
 the Roval Arcanum : the New England (^rder of 
 
644 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Protection ; the Pilgrim Fathers and the Hepta- 
 sophs. Dr. Stone has officiated as medical exam- 
 iner in all of these orders, and professionally he 
 is connected with the State Medical Society and 
 with the Hartford Coimty and New Britain 
 Medical Societies, of wdiich latter he has served as 
 jjresident. 
 
 Dr. Stone was first married to Miss Anna E. 
 Warner, daughter of William B. Warner, of Plym- 
 outh, Conn., and by that marriage has two children : 
 Dr. William Stone, instructor in the Vanderbilt 
 Clinic in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, 
 of New York City; and Miss Mabel W., now a 
 teacher in the Unionville high school. The Doc- 
 tor's second and present wife is Rebecca C, daugh- 
 ter of Matthew Davis, formerly of Providence, R. 
 I., and by this union he has one daugliter, Eliza- 
 beth H. ■ 
 
 THOMAS B. HATHEWAY, a well-known ex- 
 tensive tobacco grower, farmer and coal dealer of 
 Poquonock, and a selectman in the town of Wind- 
 sor, was born Oct. 19, 1847, on the farm where he 
 now resides, a son of George and Alma (Booth) 
 Hatheway, the former a native of Suffield, Conn., 
 the latter of New Bedford, Mass. The paternal 
 grandfather, Samuel Hatheway, a teacher by pro- 
 fession, always resided 'in Suffield, and there reared 
 his family of six children : Amos : Samuel ; George ; 
 Emily; Eliza: and _ Charlotte, wife of Giles Gris- 
 wold, all of whom are now deceased. 
 
 George Hatheway, who was next to the young- 
 est in this family, received but a hmited education, 
 and was thrown upon his own resources at an early 
 age, but as he was industrious and steady his means 
 gradually increased, and he became the possessor 
 of a comfortable competence, which he left to his 
 children. He came to Windsor when a young man, 
 and was first employed in the mills in manufactur- 
 ing cotton batting. He was a self-made man in 
 the fullest sense of that oft misused term, was a 
 most excellent citizen, and was respected by all 
 who knew him. Physically he was thick-set, but 
 not large. He was a stanch supporter first of the 
 Whig and later of the Republican party, and took 
 an active interest in their success, but was never a 
 politician in the sense of office seeking. Religiously 
 both he and his wife were devout members of the 
 Congregational Church. During the later years of 
 his active business life he engaged in farming in 
 Windsor town, and died Feb. 27, 1877, on the old 
 homestead, at the age of seventy-nine years. His 
 wife, who survived him for a time, passed away in 
 December, 1888, at the age of eighty-one, and they 
 now sleep side by side in the Poquonock cemetery. 
 In their family were the following children : Har- 
 riet, who first married Horace Bement, and later 
 Sidney Cowles, a resident of Hartford : Delia, who 
 is married and resides in Colorado : Svlvia, wife 
 of William Warner, of Akron, Ohio; Mary, wife 
 of. William H. Packard, of New Bedford, 'Mass. ; 
 
 Emma, wife of Dr. Ensign, of Berlin, Conn. ; Car- 
 rie, wife of B. E. Smith, of Willimantic, Conn.; 
 George, who died in Windsor, leaving a wife and 
 two sons, WilKam and George; Samuel, who died 
 young; and Thomas B., our subject. 
 
 Thomas B. Hatheway obtained the greater part 
 of his education in the Poquonock district schools, 
 but attended school for one year in New Bedford, 
 Mass., after which he clerked in a grocery store 
 in that city for four years. The following year he 
 engaged in farming on the old homestead, and then 
 entered the store of Hatheway & Mosliier, of Po- 
 quonock, where he clerked for three years. For 
 fifteen years he was a clerk and bookkeeper in the 
 factory at Poquonock belonging to the Tunxis 
 Worsted Co., of Austin Dunham & Sons, and was 
 also superintendent of the mills for three years. 
 On leaving their employ he took charge of the old 
 home farm, which he had controlled since his fa- 
 ther's death, and while farming was, in a way, a 
 new business to h'im, he took kindly to it, and has 
 met with unusual success. In recent years he has 
 also carried on operations as a coal dealer at Po- 
 c[uonock, being the first dealer of the kind in that 
 place, and is also engaged in the trucking business. 
 He is a successful tobacco grower as well as an 
 extensive one, and is a pushing, energetic man, 
 and one of the highly respected citizens of his 
 town. 
 
 Mr. Flatheway has been twice married, his first 
 wife being Miss Adelaide S. Reynolds, of New 
 Bedford, Mass., who died leaving no children. For 
 his second wife he married Miss Carrie E. Brown„ 
 also of New Bedford, a daughter of John E. and 
 Cynthia (Ryder) Brown, and to them have been 
 born five children: Elsie, Grace, Amy, Marjorie 
 and Gladys, all at home but Grace, who died in 
 infancy. In religious faith the parents are both 
 Congregationalists. Socially Mr. Hatheway is a 
 member of Washington Lodge, F. & A. M., at 
 Windsor, and politically he is identified with the 
 Republican party. In 1891 he was elected select- 
 man of his town, and has most creditably and ac- 
 ceptably served in that office continuouslv since. 
 
 JEFFERSON RANDOLPH HOLCOMB. The 
 natural advantages of this section attracted at an 
 early day a superior class of settlers, thrifty, in- 
 dustrious, progressive and law-abiding, whose in- 
 fluence gave permanent direction to the develop- 
 ment of the locality. Among the worthy pioneers 
 of Hartford county the Holcomb family hold a 
 prominent place, and the result of thie labor and 
 self-denial of those past generations is manifest in 
 the comfortable homes and fertile, well-arranged 
 farms which they left to their descendants. 
 
 The first of the Holcomb family to come to 
 America was Thomas Holcomb, who was born in 
 Wales in 1601, and located in Dorchester, Mass.^ 
 in 1629. In 1634 he was made a freeman, and the 
 following year he came to Connecticut, locating m 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Gi5 
 
 Windsor, Hartford couniy, where he engaged in 
 farming until called from this life, in 1657. His 
 first wife, Elizabeth, bore him eight children : Abi- 
 gail ; Joshua; Sarah; Ucnajah; Deborah, who died 
 young; Nathaniel; Deborali ; and Jonathan. For 
 his second wile he married Jane Knnis, and both 
 died in Windsor, where their remains were in- 
 terred. Joshua Holconib, the eldest son of Thomas, 
 was born Sept. 22, 1640, and spent his entire life 
 as a farmer in the town of Windsor. He was mar- 
 ried, June 4; 1OO3, to Ruth Sherwood, and died in 
 1O90. His_second child, Joshua Holcomb, Jr., was 
 born in 1O72, and when a young man removed to 
 Simsbury, where he followed agricultural pursuits 
 until life's labors were ended. His son Joshua was 
 born in Simsbury Sept. 18, 1690, and like his an- 
 cestors followed farming as a life work. He 
 wedded I\Iary Griffin, of Simsbury, by whom he had 
 several children, and he died in Simsbury. One 
 son, Hezekiah Holcomb, was born Jan. 27, 1726, 
 and was also a farmer by occupation. He married 
 Susan Alderman, who died Oct. 7, 18 14, and his 
 death occurred in July, 1794. He was known as 
 Capt. Holcomb, and was quite a prominent man in 
 his community. 
 
 The next in direct line .was Hezekiah Holcomb, 
 the great-grandfather of our subject, who was born 
 Sept. 2, 1750, in Simsbury (now town of East 
 Granby), where he spent his entire life. He was 
 a land owner and successful farmer, devoting his 
 entire attention to agriculture and stock raising. 
 He was well known and highly respected, was a 
 member of the Episcopal Church, and a Democrat 
 in politics. He was twice married, his first wife 
 being Chloe Pinney, who was born in 1750 and died 
 in 1787. They had seven children: Hezekiah, 
 Thomas, Alexander, Joel, Abram, Bates and Cicero. 
 The father of this family died in the town of East 
 Granby, Nov. 8, 1820, and was buried in Scotland 
 cemetery, Bloomfield town. 
 
 Joel Holcomb, grandfather of our subject, was 
 born on tlie old, homestead in the town of East 
 Granby, and though a self-educated man he became 
 quite well informed by extensive reading and obser- 
 vation, having an excellent knowledge of the 
 leading events and topics of the day. He was a 
 farmer and land owner, and very prominent in 
 public matters, ably representing his district in both 
 the House and Senate of the Connecticut Legisla- 
 ture. He also served as county and probate judge 
 for many years, and was one of the most dis- 
 tinguished and honored citizens of his community. 
 He died on the farm known as the Col. Samuel 
 Clark farm, in the town of East Granby, now 
 owned and occupied by our subject, and was buried 
 in Scotland cemetery, town of Bloomfield. He 
 first married Chloe Case, of Simsbury, who died 
 in Granby and was also buried in Scotland ceme- 
 tery. The children born to them were Joel C. ; 
 Chloe, wife of Virgil Cornish ; Jane, wife of Will- 
 iam Mather; Sophia, wife of William ^litchell; and 
 
 Raynor. His second wife bore tiie maiden name of 
 ilulda Piielps, and was the widow of Col. Samuel 
 Clark. There Nvere no children born by this union. 
 At her death her remains were interred in East 
 Granby cemetery. 
 
 Raynor Holcomb, father of our subject, at- 
 tended the common schools near his boyliood home, 
 and also a select school at Red Hook, N. Y. It 
 was his ambition to become a lawyer, but circum- 
 slances prevented him from iloing so, and after 
 completing his education he spent three years as a 
 contractor, aiding in the construction of the Wind- 
 sor Locks canal, but made nothing in that under- 
 taking. He then obtained employment as a travel- 
 ing salesman, selling clocks through the Southern 
 States during the eleven years he was engaged 
 in that business. On his return to Hartford county. 
 Conn., he located near Granby Station, and turned 
 his attention to farming. In 1850 he went to Cali- 
 fornia in search of gold, and after eighteen months 
 spent upon the Pacific slope, returned home. After 
 the death of his father he located on the Col. Clark 
 farm, of 175 acres, where he spent the remainder 
 of his life, dying there in February, 1891, at the age 
 of eighty-six years. In East Granby town (then 
 Granby), he married J^Iiss Betsy Alderman, a native 
 of that place, and a daughter of Irijah Alderman. 
 To them were born three children : Chloe E., wife 
 of B. L. Yale, of Meriden, New Haven Co., Conn. ; 
 Jefferson R., our subject; and Walter, who died 
 when a young man. The mother departed this life 
 in 1861, and both she and her husband were laid 
 to rest in the Flolcomb burying ground, town of 
 East Granby. Both were attendants of the Epis- 
 copal Church, and were held in high regard by all 
 who knew them. Mr. Holcomb was one of the 
 most prominent and influential members of the 
 Democratic party in his community, and by the 
 popular vote was elected to both the Legislature 
 and State Senate, in which bodies he became quite 
 popular and most efficiently represented his district. 
 He was an industrious and energetic man, noted 
 for his honesty and uprightness. 
 
 Jpfiferson R. Holcomb, subject of this review, 
 one of the best known citizens of the town of 
 East Granby. was born there April 12, 1837, and 
 during his boyhood and youth was a student in the 
 public schools of that locality and the Suffield In- 
 stitute, then under the direction of Prof. Wood- 
 bury. After finishing his education he took up 
 farming upon the old homestead, where he has 
 ever since carried on that occupation with marked 
 success, while making a specialty of tobacco culture 
 and stock raising. He owns and operates eighty 
 acres of well-cultivated land, on which he has made 
 extensive improvements. He was one of the first 
 to engage in the raising of tobacco in this section, 
 and what is grown upon his place always com- 
 mands the highest market price. 
 
 Mr. Holcomb married Miss Sophronia Spell- 
 man, a native of Simsbury, and to them have been 
 
646 
 
 COMMEMDRATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 born four daughters : Elizabeth A., Chloe C, Flor- 
 ence G., and Virginia. With their parents they 
 hold membership in the Episcopal Church. Like 
 his ancestors, Mr. Holcomb is a stanch supporter 
 of the Democratic party and its principles, and he, 
 too, has been honored with important official posi- 
 tions, in 1882 representing the town of East Granby 
 in the State Legislature. He has filled other public 
 positions, such as selectman and member of the 
 school board, and his official duties have always been 
 most capably and satisfactorily performed. 
 
 FRANK L. BURR, M. D., was born at Kill- 
 ingworth, Middlesex Co., Conn., son of Dr. Harris 
 R. Burr, a distingusished physician, and a man 
 prominent in public affairs. 
 
 Dr. Harris R. Burr was a native of Haddam. 
 He began life in humble circumstances, and his 
 prosperity in after years was the result of his own 
 unaided efforts, guided by earnest resolution and 
 unflinching integrity. His early education was re- 
 ceived in the common schools, supplemented by a 
 course in Worcester (Mass.) Medical College, from 
 which institution he graduated in 1849, being also 
 a member of the Alumni. After leaving college 
 he took ttp his residence at New Haven, where he 
 practiced medicine for two years, removing after 
 that period to Killingworth, where he resided until 
 his death, which occurred in September, 1861. His 
 practice was extensive and lucrative, and his moral 
 worth and genial disposition, no less than his 
 professional skill, endeared him to his townspeople. 
 At the time of his demise he was high sheriff of 
 Middlesex county. He also owned a large farm, 
 which he conducted with marked success. Politi- 
 cally he was a Democrat, and was elected by that 
 party to the Legislature in 1856. He was a devout 
 and active member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and prominent in every good work of that 
 organization, being trustee of the church and super- 
 intendent of the Sunday-school at the time of his 
 death. Dr. Burr married Clarinda Blatchley, by 
 whom he had six children, as follows : Eugene H. 
 was for a quarter of a century treasurer of the 
 Russell Mfg. Co., and is now president of the Col- 
 umbia Baking Co., of Middletown ; Frank L. is more 
 fully referred to below; Colin died when he was 
 but five years old; Mary E. passed away at the 
 age of seventeen ; Myron C. resides at Middletown, 
 and is connected with the Grand Union Tea Co. 
 The mother of this family died in 1876, in her fifty- 
 seventh year. 
 
 Dr. Frank L. Burr, our subject, received his 
 early education in the public schools, and in 1865 
 attended Abingdon (111.) College, where he re- 
 mained for two years. On his return home he 
 entered the office of Dr. N. D. Hodgkins, of Rocky 
 Hill, and a year later matriculated at the Phila- 
 delphia Medical College, graduating from that in- 
 stitution in 1871, after which he returned to Kill- 
 ingworth, where he at once entered professional 
 
 practice. After six months spent there he removed 
 to Middletown, and in 1884 to Rocky Hill, where he 
 has ever since resided. 
 
 In October, 1871, Dr. Burr was married to 
 Miss Josephine A. Clark, and their marriage has 
 been blessed with six children, the eldest of whom, 
 Flarris L., is a bookkeeper for the Pope Mfg. Co., 
 of Hartford ; Carl E., the second son, has a po- 
 sition in the office of Gately & Co., New Haven; 
 Colin C. is a draftsman; Clara J., a stenographer; 
 and Rollin C, a student in Wesleyan College at 
 Middletown. The youngest daughter, Hattie E., 
 died when but three years of age. 
 
 Dr. Burr's professional skill has won for him a 
 large and profitable practice, while his unquestioned 
 probity, joined to sound judgment and excellent 
 common sense, have made him prominent in the 
 affairs of the communities in which he has lived. 
 While practicing at Middletown he was for eight 
 years city physician, and has for three years filled 
 the post of health officer at Rocky Hill. From 1885 
 to 1893 he acted as town clerk. In politics he is 
 affiliated with the Republican party, and in religious 
 faith is a Congregationalist. For eight years he has 
 served on the school boai^d, and is at present act- 
 ing as school visitor. 
 
 GARVAN BROTHERS, of Windsor, constitute 
 a firm which stands second to none in the grocery 
 trade, and their constantly growing custom among 
 the best class of people is evidence of their sound 
 business rhethods. Their success is the more 
 notable because they succeeded a merchant who had 
 not made the venture profitable, and at the outset 
 they met with remonstrances from friends who 
 feared failure on account of lack of experience and 
 capital. But enterprise, joined with caution and 
 good common sense, won the day, each year seeing 
 a substantial gain, and the future presents a bright 
 prospect. An unvarying courtesy has been a fac- 
 tor in gaining a desirable class of patrons, and by 
 their straightforward and honorable dealings they 
 have secured a high reputation for reliability which 
 is, in itself, a reward worthy of notice. 
 
 The brothers are descended from good old Irish 
 stock, and their paternal ancestors were people of 
 wealth and position, but misfortune befell the 
 family in later times. Their grandfather, Thomas 
 Garvan, married Miss Carey, and had six children : 
 John, who died in Rockville, Conn. ; Lawrence, an 
 architect, who died in San Francisco ; James, who 
 died in the same city ; Thomas, who is mentioned 
 more fully below; Joanna (Mrs. James Murphy), 
 who died in Fulton, Oswego Co., N. Y. ; and Kate 
 (Mrs. Timothy Norris), who died in Rockville. 
 The mother of this family died in Ireland, and in 
 1840 the father came to the United States with all 
 of his children, his last years being spent at Wind- 
 sor in the home of his son Thomas. He died at 
 the advanced age of eighty years, and his remains 
 now rest in the cemetery at Windsor Locks. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 64T 
 
 Thomas Garvan, tlie father of the brothers wliosc 
 history is outlined in this biograpliy, was born Dec. 
 17, 1820, in County Tipperary, Irehuid, and as his 
 I parents were then in comfortable circumstances he 
 ; had unusually good educational advantages. He was 
 but little over twenty years old when the family 
 came to the United States, the voyage in a sailing 
 vessel lasting thirteen weeks. On his arrival he 
 was obliged to take such employment as he could 
 find, and for a time he worked in Schenectady, N. 
 Y., but soon after the opening of the American 
 Mills at Rockville, Conn., he became watchman 
 there. Men of his nationality were not numerous 
 there, and as he was a devout Catholic among 
 Protestants the differences in their views caused 
 more or less friction, but the superintendent, W. 
 A. Lovell, who took a strong liking to Mr. Garvan, 
 used his influence to make his situation pleasant. 
 Later Mr. Garvan was employed as a mill watch- 
 man in Amsterdam, N. Y., and at Windsor, this 
 county, where he married Miss Margaret Norris 
 and made a permanent home. He purchased a farm 
 from Alvan Fenton, and for many years was en- 
 gaged in agricultural pursuits, while for some time 
 his house was a center of home life for his brothers 
 and sisters, whom he assisted in securing situations 
 and in other ways. He was a man of fine mental 
 gifts, and, physically, was well built, his health being 
 excellent until a few years previous to his death. In 
 politics he was a strong Republican, but he never 
 sought or held office. He died Dec. 31, 1896, his 
 interment being in Blue Hills cemetery. His widow 
 still resides at the old home which was purchased 
 from the other heirs by three of the sons, James L., 
 John H., and William ; she is much respected for 
 her excellent qualities, and belongs to an old family 
 of County Tipperary, Ireland. Her father was 
 William Norris and her three brothers, Stephen, 
 William and JNIichael, wdio settled in Windsor pre- 
 vious to her coming, were among the first Irishmen 
 to locate there. To Thomas and Margaret Garvan 
 were born four sons : James L., of the firm of Gar- 
 van Brothers ; Thomas, a farmer of the town of 
 Windsor; William, a resident of Cheyenne, Wyom- 
 ing, where he is manager of a large clothing house, 
 and enjoys a very responsible position : and John 
 H., the junior member of the firm. Thomas Gar- 
 van, the father of this family, was twice married, 
 first time to a Miss Farrell, of Providence, R. I., 
 and by her had three daughters : Mary ( Mrs. 
 Walter Richardson, of North Grafton, Mass.); 
 Nora (unmarried), a resident of Windsor; and 
 Katy (Mrs. Joseph Evans, of Windsor). About 
 one year after the death of the mother of this 
 family, the father wedded Miss Margaret Norris, 
 of Windsor, Conn., as above related. 
 
 James L. Garvan, senior member of the firm, 
 was born at Windsor. Aug. 18. 1859, and after corn- 
 pleting a common-school course studied for a time 
 in the academy. From childhood he assisted in the 
 work of the farm, and at the age of fifteen he be- 
 
 came "general utility boy" for David S. Rowland, 
 a retired business man, his wages being seven dollars 
 ]KT month at the start. For thirteen years he re- 
 mained with !Mr. Rowland, whose implicit confi- 
 dence he gained by his fidelity and trustworthi- 
 ness, and after the latter's death he engaged in 
 farming, which he followed until 1893. He and 
 his brother J. H. then bought their present grocery 
 business from John Gilligan, and since that time he 
 has given his exclusive attention to its management. 
 \\ hile he is not a politician, he is a firm supiwrter 
 of the Republican party, being a regular voter, and 
 he and his wife are leading members of the Catho- 
 lic Church in Windsor. Un Del. 26, 1898, he mar- 
 ried Miss Alame Buttimcr, of Syracuse, N. Y., and 
 they have one son, Raymond L. 
 
 John H. Garvax, who is also a native of Wind- 
 sor, born Jan. 24, 1865, was educated in the public 
 schools and the old academy. As a boy he worked 
 for some time in a screw factory in Hartford, but 
 he had a strong inclination for commercial pursuits. 
 and at an early age became a clerk for M. D. 
 Murphy, of Windsor, with whom he remained three 
 years. He then entered the employ of John Gilli- 
 gan, and after seven years as a clerk he and his 
 brother became the proprietors of the store. In 
 politics he is a Democrat, and he is active in relig- 
 ious work as a member of the Catholic Church, in 
 which he holds office. He married Miss Celia Gil- 
 ligan, daughter of Patrick Gilligan, of Windsor, 
 and they have two sons, Edward F. and Arthur L. 
 
 HARLAN PAGE PARSONS, a leading citizen 
 of Enfield, was born in that town Sept. 11, 1841, 
 son of Jabez and Harriet (Allen) Parsons. His 
 paternal grandparents, Asahel and Christian 
 (Terry) Parsons, were both natives of Enfield, 
 where he engaged in farming. They reared a fam- 
 ily of four children: Jabez, Aurelia (Mrs. Loren 
 Buckland), Lucinda (Mrs. Sylvester \'iets). and 
 Winthrop. Asahel Parsons was a son of Asahel 
 and Abigail ( Kingsbury j Parsons; grandson of 
 Christopher and Mary (Pease) Parsons; and great- 
 grandson of Benjamin Parsons, a descendant of 
 Benjamin Parsons, who was supposed to be the first 
 ancestor of the family in America, emigrating from 
 England. 
 
 The maternal grandparents of our subject were 
 Chester and Polly (Buckland) Allen, the former a 
 descendant of Samuel Allen, who came from 
 Braintree, in the county of Essex, England, in 1636. 
 settling in Meriden, Conn., where he died in 1648. 
 He was a farmer. The paternal grandmother of 
 our subject, Christian Terry, was a daughter of 
 Ebenezer and Sarah (Hurlburt) Terry. 
 
 Harlan Page Parsons was reared to manhood 
 in Enfield, and educated in the public schools. He 
 began life as a teacher, teaching school in his native 
 county for several terms, and also worked at the 
 carpenter's trade, but he has principally followed 
 farming as an occupation. Mr. Parsons has been 
 
648 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 married twice. His first wife, Celia I., daughter of 
 Stephen and Irene (Munsell) Farnham, of ElHng- 
 ton, Tolland Co., Conn., bore him two sons : Arthur 
 C. and Rollin F., the elder a chemist and the 
 younger still a student. For his second wife Mr. 
 Parsons married Sarah A., daughter of Daniel H. 
 and Lucinda (Phelps) Abbe, of Enfield. Mrs. 
 Parsons died Feb. 25, 1899. Mr. Parsons is a 
 member and deacon of the First Congregational 
 Church of Enfield. He is a charter member of 
 Enfield Grange. In politics he is a supporter of 
 the Republican party. He is a progressive and suc- 
 cessful farmer, and is held in high esteem by all 
 who know him. 
 
 NORMAN W. STRICKLAND, a prosperous 
 agriculturist of Glastonbury town, is noted for his 
 ability as a manager, and his fine farm of 240 acres 
 gives evidence of his skill. 
 
 Mr. Strickland is a member of a family which 
 has long been identified with that locality. His 
 great-grandfather, Myer Strickland, was born prob- 
 ably in Connecticut, and his grandfather, Elisha 
 Strickland, followed farming in Glastonbury for 
 many years ; the latter built the old house nearly 
 opposite our subject's present residence. In later 
 years he went to Stafiford, Conn., to reside with his 
 3'oungest living son, Lysander, and his death oc- 
 curred there about 1845. Fie married Polly Root, 
 a native of Marlboro, and they had five children : 
 (i) Austin married Hester Spencer, and settled on 
 a farm in Glastonbury; (2) Vinson R., our sub- 
 ject's father, is mentioned -more fully below; (3) 
 Lysander, a wheelwright by trade, married Maria 
 Holmes, and resided in Stafford and Middletown, 
 but his death occurred in Hartford ; (4) Minerva 
 married Eli Warner, a farmer of Ellington, and had 
 a son, Eli, who became a physician in Hartford ; 
 and (5) Eliza died in childhood. ^Elisha Strick- 
 land was a Whig in political sentiment. He never 
 sought office, and was a plain, unassuming man in 
 every way. 
 
 Vinson R. Strickland was born June 16, 1805, 
 at the old homestead in Glastonbur}^, received a 
 common-school education, and for many years was 
 engaged in farming. He was known as "Major" 
 Strickland, being drum-major in the local militia, 
 and was remarkabl}^ expert as a drummer on the 
 snare-drum, a valued accomplishment in those days, 
 when fife and drum music was mucli used at public 
 gatherings. So favorably were his talents in this 
 line regarded that he was frequently called upon to 
 play in other towns. He died March 15, 1866, 
 his remains being interred at P>uckingham. In 1830 
 he married Miss Sarah JM. Skinner, who' was born 
 May 18, 1813, in Bolton, daughter of Sylvester and 
 Sallie (Keeney) Skinner. Norman W., our sub- 
 ject, was the eldest of a family of seven children, 
 of whom four are living. Gilbert M. married 
 Sarah Jewett, of Hampton, and died in Glastonbury ; 
 they had three sons — Charles G. (a farmer) and 
 
 Wells A. (who owns a sawmill), both unmarried 
 and residing with their mother in Glastonbury ; and 
 Wilfred E. Jewett, deceased. Francis J. died in 
 Kansas, unmarried. John B. married Susan Hatha- 
 way, and settled in South Hadlej^, Mass., where he 
 died ; he left one daughter, Mary. Sarah married 
 Alex. Ingels, of Middletown, and had two children 
 — Arthur and Grace. Adella married Ferdinand 
 Davis, of Hartford, and has one child, Cliffe. Ed- 
 win V. married Margaret Marting, and resides in 
 Burnside, Conn. ; they have one son, Harold. 
 
 Norman W. Strickland was born Dec. 29, 1832, 
 on the farm where he now resides. As a boy he 
 attended the district school, and for two years he 
 studied at a select school held in the basement of the 
 Methodist church at East Glastonbury, conducted 
 by a Mr. Rush and later by a Mr. Nickerson. On 
 leaving school he began to work out by the month, 
 for $18, large wages for those times, and later re- 
 ceived $20 per month. He was employed in Vernon 
 for a time, and then rented a farm for two years, 
 and also spent three years at South Windsor as 
 superintendent of the town farm. He and his wife 
 then lived with Henry King for a year, and in 
 1865 removed to their present farm, having pur- 
 chased a portion of the tract. Mr. Strickland has 
 made very extensive improvements, his attractive 
 dwelling having been built in 1896, and he has 
 added more land from time to time until his farm 
 is now one of the largest in the section. In politics 
 he is a Republican, but he has never cared for office, 
 though often urged to run. Quiet and unassuming 
 in disposition, he is, nevertheless, highly respected, 
 and his advice is often sought on business matters. 
 He has served as administrator of an estate at the 
 request of the heirs. Mr. Strickland and his family 
 are members of the Buckingham Congregational 
 Church, and he has been chairman of the society for 
 nine years. 
 
 On May 18, 1858, Mr. Strickland married Miss 
 Sarah M. Taft, of New York, who was born there 
 April 25, 1833, daughter of Fred G. and Eresby 
 (Driggs) Taft. The only child of this union, 
 Julia G., born March 28, 1866, attended the com- 
 mon schools until fourteen years of age, and after- 
 ward the Glastonbury Academy, from which she 
 graduated. She married George Kenyon, who was 
 born in Andover, Conn., but lives in Glastonbury, 
 where he owns a fine farm and runs a large dair)'. 
 In politics he is a Democrat. They have one child, 
 Grace G., born June 16, 1887, 
 
 Fred G. Taft, father of Mrs. Strickland, was 
 born in New York City, son of Joel Taft, a joiner, 
 who at one time worked on Trinity church. He 
 learned his father's trade, and engaged in the manu- 
 facture of sash and blinds. In 1847 he broug'ht 
 his family to Connecticut, settling in Glastonbury, 
 where he died in 1863. His political sympathies 
 were with the Democratic party, and in religion he 
 was a member of the M. E. Church. Mr. Taft was 
 twice married, his first wife being Eresby Driggs, 
 
Onyi^.^^■€U^-^^ 
 
 J 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 G49 
 
 a native of Brooklyn, X. Y., who died in New York 
 in May, 1833, lea\ing two children, Harriet -V. and 
 Sarah M. (Airs. Strickland). By his second mar- 
 riage, to Caroline Curtis, Air. Taft had seven chil- 
 dren : Frederick J., Philura E., Caroline A., Joel 
 C, George W'., Lyman and Henry. Mrs. Strick- 
 land's maternal grandfather, Elijah Driggs, was a 
 soldier in the war of 1812, anil received a pension. 
 He was a shipbuilder by occupation, and was en- 
 gaged at his trade in the navy yards at New York 
 Citv when killed at the launching of a ship. 
 
 EDWARD FRANCIS ST. JOHN. Among 
 the leading residents of Floskins Station, in the town 
 of Simsbury, the genial and accommodating repre- 
 sentative of the Philadelphia, Reading & New Eng- 
 land Railway Co. is numbered. For a score of years 
 he has represented that road near the scenes of his 
 childhood. He is also a business man and a farmer, 
 and one of the thriftiest and most substantial men of 
 the community. 
 
 Mr. St. John was born on the old homestead at 
 Hoskins Station May 23, 1839, son of Zopher and 
 Eunice (Harmon) St. John. The father was born 
 Oct. 17, 1799, near Hoskins Station, on a farm 
 which his father, Elijah St. John, a native of Nor- 
 walk, Fairfield Co., Conn., purchased and occupied. 
 Zopher and Eunice St. John were the parents of 
 nine children, namely : iMartha L. ; Mary, who mar- 
 ried George W. Harmon ; Hilpah, who married 
 Marvin D. Hoskins ; Eunice ; Edward F., our sub- 
 ject; Louise, who married Prof. Rufus C. Hitch- 
 cock : Chloe ; Sanford Z. ; and Newell. 
 
 Our subject attended the home district schools, 
 and also the select schools of Simsbury and of 
 Tarilifville. From early boyhood he had charge of 
 his father's farm, and upon the death of his father, 
 in 1872, he and his brother Newell partitioned the 
 home place, Edward F. retaining the homestead and 
 fifty acres of land. He has ever since been en- 
 gaged in tobacco culture and in dairying and gen- 
 eral farming, also dealing in tobacco. Fie has made 
 extensive improvements on the farm, remodeling 
 the homestead, and fitting it with modern appli- 
 ances. On Nov. 19, 1864, in East Granby, he mar- 
 ried Charlotte E. Cushman, a native of East 
 Granbv, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Per- 
 kins) Cushman, and sister of ]\lrs. Newell St. John. 
 To our subject and wife three children have been 
 born : Harmon E., Nellie L. and George C. ( i ) 
 Harmon E. was educated in the district schools and 
 at Simsbury Academy, and is engaged in farming at 
 home. (2) Nellie L. in her girlhood attended the 
 district schools, also Simsbury Academy and the 
 Connecticut Literary Listitute, Sufifield, and taught 
 school in Simsbury. She married Lucius H. Sey- 
 mour, a native of East Granby, and a prominent 
 farmer, son of Chester Seymour and grandson of 
 Chester Seymour, and brother of Mrs. Toy, of 
 Simsbury. (3) George C. attended the district 
 schools, McLean's Seminary at Simsburv, and the 
 
 high school of Hartford. lie is now a junior at 
 Harvard College, Cambridge. 
 
 Our subject was tax collector for nine years in 
 Simsbury. tie represented the town in the State 
 Legislature in 1883, having been elected on the Re- 
 publican ticket, and served on the committee on 
 Canvass of \'otes ; he has been as.sessor, memljcr 
 of the board of relief, and also a member of the 
 school board. l'"or the past twenty years he has 
 been the representative of the Philadelphia, Reading 
 & New England Railway Co. at Hoskins Station, lie 
 is a consistent member of the Congregational Church 
 and is highly respected. Mrs. St. John was edu- 
 cated in the district schools of East Granby, and 
 also a select school of Tariff ville, and taught school 
 in East Granby, Simsbury (two terms) and North 
 Bloonifield. She is a student of history, and is 
 especially interested in English literature. 
 
 i\IIX. The family of this name is one of the 
 oldest and most highly respected of Connecticut. 
 The first of the name to come to this State was 
 Thomas Mix, who made his home in New Haven 
 as early as 1643, married Rebecca Turner, and there 
 died in' 1691. 
 
 (II) John Mix, a son of these hardy pioneers, 
 was born in 1649, and died Jan. 21. 1712. He mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Heaton, who was Ijorn in 1650, and 
 died in August, 171 1. 
 
 (HI) John Mix, born Aug. 25, 1676, was mar- 
 ried Nov. 25, 1702, to Sarah Thompson, who was 
 born Jan. 16, 1671, and died Nov. 21, 171 1. He 
 was again married Nov. 12, 1712, his second union 
 being with Mrs. Elizabeth Booth, who died in May, 
 1716. On Feb. 14, 1717, he married Esther Peck. 
 
 (IV) Ebenezer Mix, born in 1715-16, died in 
 West. Hartford Aug. 4, 1766. He was a large land 
 owner, and an active member of the Congregational 
 Church. For his second wife he wedded Mrs. Alary 
 (Sedgwick) Merrill (widow of Caleb Merrill), who 
 was born in 171 5, and for his second wife he mar- 
 ried Anna Goodwin, of West Hartford, who was 
 born in 172s, and died in 1817. 
 
 (V) Elisha Mix, one of the Revolutionary 
 heroes, was born July i, 1761, and died June 12, 
 1818. He married Anna Webster, who was born 
 in 1759, and died Jan. 27, 1842. They had thirteen 
 children, four of whom died in infancy, the others 
 being: Elisha; Lucy; Polly; Fanny; Samuel; 
 James, who was born July 10, 1793, and was the 
 father of Alajor F. W. Alix, of Stamford, Conn.; 
 Henry, who is mentioned below; Anna; and 
 Alahala, mother of George T. Goodwin. 
 
 (\T) Henry Alix wa^s born March 18, 1795, 
 and was reared and educated in West Hartford. 
 There he was married. May 24, 1821, to Miss Ange- 
 line Beardsley, a daughter of Jeremiah William and 
 Mary (Pete)' Beardsley, of Stratford, Fairfield Co., 
 Conn., and they spent their entire married life in 
 West Hartford, in the house now occupied by their 
 daughter, Aliss Frances FL Alix. Mr. Mix was a 
 
650 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 far,mer by occupation, and though for several years 
 an invahd met with a fair degree of success in his 
 undertakings. He took an active interest in the 
 Ecclesiastical Society, though not a member of any 
 church, and his honorable, upright life gained for 
 him the confidence and high regard of all with whom 
 he came in contact. He died Sept. 25, 1866, and 
 his wife passed away May i, 1872. Of the five 
 children born to this worthy couple, (i) Frances 
 H., is the eldest. (2) Catherine Elizabeth is now the 
 widow of Thomas Sumner, and resides in New 
 Haven with her stepson, Prof. W. G. Sumner, of 
 Yale University, New Haven. She has two chil- 
 dren, Henry M., who married Grace Wheeler; and 
 Alice, wife of Walter Camp. (3) Harriet married 
 Richard Graham, who died in Cuba. (4) George 
 Henry, a resident of Danville, Iowa, married Sabeth 
 Huntington, and they have eight children. Bell, 
 Hart Henry, Lee Wallace, Ida B. (wife of Warren 
 Matthews), Port Lundy (who married Clarabel 
 Moore), Bert Bradbury, Edward Livingston, and 
 Ray Webster. (5) Edward Livingston, youngest 
 son of Henry Mix, became very prominent in church 
 and public affairs, and at one time faithfully repre- 
 sented his town in the State Legislature. He mar- 
 ried Lora Dewey, and died Jan. i, 1892. 
 
 GEORGE SIMPSON, Jr., a well-known citi- 
 zen of Hazardville, was born in the town of Enfield 
 Oct. 9, 1867, a son of George and Margaret Ham- 
 ilton Simpson. His paternal grandparents were 
 John and Jeanette (Stevenson) Simpson, who came 
 from Kilmarnock, Scotland, to America in 1830, 
 and settled in Greensboro, Orleans Co., Vt., where 
 they engaged in farming, and resided through life. 
 
 George Simpson, Sr., the father of our subject, 
 was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland, Oct. 19,-1826, 
 and was four years old when brought to America 
 by his parents. He was reared in Greensboro, Vt. 
 In 1847 he came to Tompsonville, Hartford Co., 
 Conn., and for two years peddled tin for David 
 Woodruff, and for one year worked ~on a farm. In 
 1850 he returned to Greensboro, Vt., where he was 
 occupied in farming and merchandising until 1863, 
 when he settled in Enfield and engaged in the meat 
 business at Scitico, which he continued there for 
 four years. Then removing to Hazardville, he was 
 engaged in the same business until 1883, when he 
 retired, although he has since been a dealer in 
 horses and cattle to some extent. 
 
 On May 24, 1858, Mr. Simpson was married to 
 Margaret, daughter of John and Agnes (Roland) 
 Hamilton, of Lowell, Mass., and has five children : 
 John H., Ellsworth L., Ella A. (Mrs. George D. 
 Howard), George, Jr. (our subject), and William 
 R. Mr. Simpson and wife are members of the M. E. 
 Church, and Mr. Simpson is a Republican in politics. 
 He represented Enfield in the Legislature in 1873. 
 
 George Simpson, Jr., our subject, was reared 
 to manhood in his native town, and was educated 
 in the public schools and at the Hartford College. 
 
 He began his business career as a clerk in a grocery 
 in Longmeadow, Mass., and has since followed that 
 vocation, having been in the employ of E. C. Allen, 
 of Hazardville, since 1887. On Nov. 24, 1897, he 
 was married to Nellie A., daughter of Lavantine 
 and Maranda (Spencer) King, of Somers, Conn. 
 Fraternally he is a member of the O. U. A. M., and 
 politically affiliates with the Republican party. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY MANSFIELD, a popular 
 and influential citizen of West Hartford, traces his 
 ancestry back to (I) Richard Mansfield, a native 
 of Exeter, England, who emigrated to the New 
 World and located in Quinnipiac in 1639, and died 
 Jan. 10, 1655. His wife Gillina died in 1669. They 
 had two children, the elder of whom, Joseph, is 
 mentioned more fully below;, Moses, born in Jan- 
 uary, 1639, was married. May 5, 1664, to Mercy 
 Glover, and died Oct. 3, 1703. , 
 
 (II) Joseph Mansfield, born in 1636, in England, 
 died in New Haven, Conn., Nov. 15, 1692. In 1657 
 
 he married Mary , and to them were born 
 
 ten children, their names and dates of birth being 
 as follows: Mary, April 6, 1658; Martha, April 
 18, 1660 (she was married, Dec. 16, 1680, to Rich- 
 ard Sperry) ; Mercy, July 26, 1662 ; Silence, Oct. 
 24, 1664; Elizabeth, Sept. 20, 1666; Comfort, Dec. 
 6, 1668 (she was married, in 1691, to John Ben- 
 ham) ; John, April 8, 1671 ; Joseph, Dec. 27, 1673 
 (mentioned below) ; Ebenezer, Feb. 6, 1677 (he 
 was married, April 20, 1710, to Hannah Bassett, 
 who died Jan. 22, 1766, while his death occurred 
 Aug. 3, 1745) ; and Japhet, July 8, 1681 (he was 
 married, Jan. 16, 1703, to Hannah Bradley, and 
 died in 1745). 
 
 (III) Joseph Mansfield, born Dec, 27, 1673, 
 married Elizabeth Cooper, and died Oct. 8, 1739. 
 In his family were ten children : Mary, born in 
 April, 1701, was married April 25, 1726, to Daniel 
 Tuttle; Lydia was born Dec. 25, 1702; John, born 
 Jan. 21, 1704, married Lydia Tuttle, and died in 
 June, 1751 ; Elizabeth was born Oct. 23, 1706; 
 Joseph is mentioned below ; Amos (birth not re- 
 corded) ; Josiah (birth not recorded) died in 1757; 
 Abigail (birth not recorded) was married, Jan. 20, 
 1724, to Jacob Turner, and died in September, 1740; 
 Thomas, born in 1713, was married, in December, 
 1738, to Hannah Goodyear, and died Nov. 4, 1798; 
 and Ebenezer died in I745- 
 
 (IV) Joseph Mansfield, born Aug. 17, 1708, was 
 married, Oct. 10, 1732, to Phcebe Bassett, and died 
 about 1762. They had four children: Daniel, born 
 Jan. 29, 1733, married (probably) Sarah Cooper; 
 Titus, born Nov. 5, 1734, married Mabel Todd, and 
 died about 1808;, Capt. Joseph is mentioned below; 
 and Phoebe married Leman Potter. 
 
 (V) Capt. Joseph Mansfield, iorn April 16, 
 1737, died at South Farms, town of Litchfield (now 
 town of Morris), Litchfield Co., Conn., June 6, 1821. 
 He served in the Revolutionary war with the rank 
 of captain.' On May 27, 1761, he married Hannah 
 
k ' I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 651 
 
 I'linderson, who was born Oct. 21, 1740, ami diud 
 Aug. 26, 1826. By that union nine children were 
 born: Charles, born in Hampden, Conn., Dec. 14, 
 1762, was married, in 1792-93, to AloUy Howard, 
 and died in Winchester, N. H., Jan. 12, 1830; Elisha 
 is mentioned below; Joseph, born June 17, 1767, 
 died Oct. 22, 1837; Sally, born Dec. 27, 1769, died 
 May 8, 1773; David, born Feb. 11, 1772, married 
 Louisa Harmon, and died in Westmoreland, N. Y.y 
 May 5, 1867; \\'illiam Punderson, born Sept. 6, 
 1774, was married, in 1807, to Sally Mills, daugh- 
 ter of Bradley and Hannah (St. John) Mills (she 
 was born in 1790, and died in February, 1842, 
 while his death occurred in Waterford, N. Y., 
 March 16, 1855) ; Joli" Todd, born Dec. 31, 1776, 
 was married, in 1798, to Dolly Steele, and died 
 Oct. 25, i860; Sally, born Jime 13, 1779, married 
 Lewis Spooner, and died in Cohoes, iNJ. Y., May 
 18, 1857; and Timothy, born May i, 1782, was 
 married March 11, 1809, to Annie Carter, and died 
 in Castleton, N. Y., April 2, 1845. 
 
 (\''I) Elisha Mansfield, the grandfather of our 
 subject, was born in New Haven, Conn., Dec. 12, 
 1764, and died in Canaan, Conn., April 27, 1840. 
 By occupation he was a farmer. He married Re- 
 becca Camp, of Litchfield South Farms, who was 
 born JMarch 24, 1769, daughter of Abel Camp, and 
 died in Falls Village, town of Canaan, Aug. 22, 
 185 1. They had six children, one of whom, Elisha 
 D., was the father of our subject; the others were 
 Phineas, who died Feb. 27, 1867; William, who 
 died at Charleston, S. C, June 27, 1826; Rebecca, 
 wife of LeGrand Leavenworth ; Hannah ; and 
 Sylvia. 
 
 (\'TI) Elisha Dutton Mansfield was born in 
 Canaan, Conn., Dec. 13, 1806, and throughout life 
 was variously .employed, being interested in farm- 
 ing, lumbering, and the coal and milling business 
 for some time. About 1837 he was superintendent 
 of the cement quarries at Kingston, N. Y., which 
 were then owned by the Hon. Plugh White, filling 
 the position one or two years. In 1845 he formed 
 a partnership with Samuel C. Scoville, of Salisbury, 
 and built a blast furnace for the manufacture of pig 
 iron, near Huntsville, Litchfield Co., Conn., which 
 they operated two or three years, when the partner- 
 ship ceased. About 1848 Mr. Mansfield leased the 
 furnace at East Canaan, Conn., and operated the 
 same about two years ; was also manager of the 
 blast furnace at North Adams, JNIass., for one year, 
 in. 1851-52. On June 25, 1834, Elisha D. Mans- 
 field married Miss Fanny Alonson, who was born 
 in Canaan Aug. 5, 1802, daughter of Joshua and 
 Sarah (Booth) Monson. To this marriage were 
 born three children, of whom (i) William Henry, 
 the subject proper of this sketch, is the eldest. (2) 
 Sarah Booth, born May 15, 1837, married. Oct. 6, 
 1863, Julius Morgan Page, a farmer, and they ha\e 
 always resided in the town of Canaan. Mr. Page 
 was born Aug. 12, 1829. To them were born three 
 children: Fanny Monson, born Dec. 11, 1S65, and 
 
 died July 16, 1890; Mabel Morgan, born Aug. 23, 
 1869, died April 9, 1898; William Mansfield, born 
 June 25, 1873, resides with his parents and con- 
 ducts their farming operations. (3) Peter, born 
 July 27, 1840, was educated at Goshen Academy. 
 He followed farming for a time in Virginia, and 
 was for a time superintendent of the Bostwick Re- 
 frigerator Co. at Mishawaka, Ind., until ill health 
 caused his retirement. He is now engaged in farm- 
 ing with his brother in West Hartford. He was 
 married, at Canton, Conn., Nov. i, 1870, to Jane 
 L Page, and they have one daughter, Mary Page, 
 who was graduated from Mt. Holyoke College in 
 the class of 1896, was for two years a teacher in 
 the West Plartford high school, and at this writing 
 (1900) is a teacher in the American School for the 
 Deaf, Hartford, Conn. Mrs. Fanny (Monson) 
 Mansfield died Nov. 17, 1849. Subsequently, Nov. 
 28, 1850, at Waterbury, Conn., Mr. Mansfield mar- 
 ried Caroline B. Yale, by whom he had one son, 
 Hugh White, who was born Sept. 11, 185 1, and was 
 married, in August, 1880, to Mrs. Jennie Palmer. 
 He resides in Winsted, Conn. Air. Alansfie'tl died 
 Alarch 21, 1869, in Huntsville, town of Canaan, 
 Litchfield Co., Conn., where the last years of his 
 life were spent, and his remains were interred at 
 South Canaan. 
 
 Joshua Monson was twice married. By his first 
 wife, Sarah Booth, who died Dec. 14, 1806, he had 
 the following children : Chester, born June 5, 
 1793, was married, Aug. 20, 181 7, to Julia M., 
 daughter of William and Dorcas Holabird; Fanny 
 v.as the mother of our subject ; Rebecca married Au- 
 gustus Swift ; Luther married Caroline Beckley ; 
 Lavinus married Mary Parrish ; and Eunice be- 
 came the wife of Seth Stevens. After the death 
 of the mother of this family Air. Alonson married 
 Eunice Ailing, by whom he had five children : 
 Kneeland J., born Dec. i, 1809, was married, Feb. 
 14, 18-14, to Angeline A. Compton, and died Aug. 
 10, 1898; Alyron Elias, born Jan. 16, 1812, died 
 Oct. I, 1835; Henry L. married Harriet Clarlc, and 
 died April 24, 1856; Sally married John A. Beck- 
 ley ; and Cornelia married Henry L. Belden. The 
 father of these, Joshua Alonson, died Aug. 12, 1844. 
 
 Daniel Humphrey Page, father of Airs. Peter 
 Alansfield, was born in Canaan, Conn., June i, 1822, 
 and died in Canton Aug. 10, 1880. On Oct. 25, 
 1S46, he married Alary Julia Jaqua, daughter of 
 Jabez Jaqua. She was born Oct. 31, 1826, and 
 died in Hartford July 7, 1893. They had six chil- 
 dren: Jane Irene, born Dec. 2. 1847, is now the 
 v/ife of Peter Alansfield ; Frank Daniel, born Alarch 
 2, 1850, was married, in July, 1875, to Lillian Cor- 
 rell ; Carrie Eliza, born Nov. 10. 1853, was mar- 
 ried Nov. 3, 1875, to Willis AI. Flagg; Daniel E., 
 born Feb. 12, 1859, was married Nov. 3, 18S0, to 
 Jeannette A. Pinney ; AI. Josephine, born Dec. 18, 
 1861, died Jan. 16^ 1882; and Sarah Alills. born 
 April 28. 1864. died Alarch 23. 1867. Airs. Afans- 
 field's grandfather, Lyman Page, was born Alarch 
 
652 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 25, 1796, and died in Canaan, Dec. 7, 1891. He 
 was married Jan. 21, 1819, to Mabel Morgan, 
 daughter of Daniel and Mabel (Bissell) Morgan. 
 She was born Aug. 28, 1795, and died May 7, 
 1867. The great-grandfather, William Page, was 
 born Dec. 14, 1765, and died in 1856. He married 
 Nancy Bissell, who was born June 11, 1769, daugh- 
 ter of Benjamin and Mabel Bissell, of Milton, 
 Conn., and died in 1834. 
 
 William H. Mansfield, whose name introduces 
 this sketch, was born in Canaan June 2, 1835, and 
 received a good academic education, attending 
 school in Stockbridge, Mass., and in Norfolk and 
 Goshen, Conn. He has been a resident of West 
 Hartford since 1887, and is successfully engaged 
 in agricultural pursuits. He has always been a 
 stanch Republican in politics, voting for every Presi- 
 dential candidate of that party from Fremont to 
 McKinley. In 1861 he was made mail agent from 
 Bridgeport to Pittsfield, and from 1868 to 1883 was 
 station and express agent at Great Barrington, Mass. 
 Since coming to West Hartford he has been a mem- 
 ber of the school board, is now selectman, and in 
 1897 and 1898 represented the town in the State 
 Legislature, where he served as a member of the 
 committee on Insurance. His admirable qualities 
 gained for him many warm friends in the General 
 Assembly, and wherever known he is held in high 
 regard. He is a Knight Templar Mason, and for 
 several years served as treasurer of Monument 
 Chapter, R. A. M., of Great Barrington. He has 
 been County Vice-President of the Pomological So- 
 ciety of Connecticut. 
 
 T. S. LOOMIS, first selectman of the town of 
 Windsor, is one of the best-known citizens of the 
 locality, and his efficient discharge of duty in official 
 life has won him the appreciation of the progressive 
 classes of the community. 
 
 Mr. Loomis is a representative of an old and 
 honored pioneer family, and is of the eighth 
 generation in direct descent from Joseph Loomis, 
 an Englishman, who was born about 1590, and be- 
 came a'woolen draper in Braintree, County of Essex. 
 He had a family of eight children, five sons and 
 three daughters : Joseph ; Mrs. Nicholas Olmsted ; 
 Elizabeth, wife of Josiah Hull ; Deacon John ; 
 Thomas ; Nathaniel ; Mary ; and Samuel. On April 
 II, 1638, he sailed from London with his family on 
 the ship "Susan & Ellen." On July 7, following, 
 he landed at Boston, and it is supposed that he came 
 to Windsor as early as the fall of 1639, the town 
 records showing that he bought land there on Feb. 
 24, 1640. His wife died Aug. 23, 1652, and his 
 death occurred Nov. 25, 1658. 
 
 (11) Deacon John Loomis, the next in the line of 
 descent, was born in 1622, and was a lad of sixteen 
 when the family came to the New World. On 
 Oct. II, 1640, he was admitted to membership in 
 Windsor Church, and, although he resided at Farm- 
 ington from 1652 to 1660, he seems to have spent 
 
 the greater portion of nis life in Windsor, where he 
 was much respected, serving for years as deacon in 
 the church. He represented the town in the Gen- 
 eral Assembly in 1666 and 1667, and again from 
 167s to 1677. On Feb. 3, 1649, he married Eliza- 
 beth Scott, daughter of Thomas Scott, of Hartford, 
 and his death occurred in 1688 at Windsor, where 
 his monument is still to be seen in the cemetery. 
 
 (III) Sergt. Daniel Loomis, son of Deacon 
 'John, was born at Farmington June 16, 1657, and 
 
 died June 25, 1740. He married (first) Mary 
 Ellsworth, daughter of Josiah Ellsworth, and 
 (second) Hannah Drake, a widow. 
 
 (IV) Benjamin Loomis, son of Sergt. Daniel 
 by his first wife, was born at Windsor, Feb. 7, 1699, 
 and died Jan. 2, 1763. On Dec. 9, 1725, he married 
 Joanna Alford. 
 
 (V) Sera j ah Loomis, our subject's great-grand- 
 father, was born Dec. 4, 1740, and died in 181 1. 
 He married Sybil Loomis, and made his home in 
 Windsor, where he owned an immense tract of 
 land, of which our subject's present farm is but a 
 portion. 
 
 (VI) Nider Loomis, the grandfather of our 
 subject, was born April 9, 1768, and died April i, 
 1814. His ability as a mathematician made him 
 famous in his day, and for many years he taught 
 school successfully. On Dec. 5, 1769, he married 
 Anna Anderson, who died June 3, 1840. They had 
 five sons, of whom our subject's father, Spencer 
 Loomis, was the youngest. Lyman, who died at 
 the age of seventy-five unmarried, resided with his 
 brother Spencer for many years. Guy, who died at 
 Erie, Penn., was a jeweler by occupation. Simeon 
 died in infancy. Frederick, who followed the 
 blacksmith's trade at Windsor Center, died some 
 years ago, leaving no descendants. 
 
 (VII) Spencer Loomis was born at our subject's 
 present homestead Aug. 25, 1806, and was educated 
 in the common schools of the vicinity, and the 
 academy at Windsor Center. He inherited a por- 
 tion of his father's estate, but afterwards bought 
 out the other heirs, including our subject's farm, 
 and in addition to the care and cultivation of the 
 property he was engaged in brickmaking for a num- 
 ber of years, being at one time foreman of a large 
 brickyard in Dutchess county, N. Y. Politically 
 he was first a Whig and then a Republican, and 
 while he was not a politician in the strict sense of the 
 term, he was always ardent in the support of his be- 
 lief. At the time of the agitation of the "Know-Noth- 
 ing" issue he espoused that doctrine, being one of the 
 first members of the party in Windsor. He and his 
 wife were devout Methodists, and for years he was 
 trustee of the Windsor Church. On April 17, 1833, 
 he married Miss Emeline Loomis, daughter ofi 
 George Loomis, of Windsor. She died in 1866, 
 and he survived her eleven years, dying Feb. 27, 
 1877; the remains of both now rest in the old ceme- 
 tery at Windsor. 
 
 (VIII) T. S. Loomis was born Jan. 29, 1838, 
 
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 «53 
 
 in the house now owned l)y Mrs. Susan A. Loomis. 
 As a buy he attended school in District \o. 2, of 
 Windsor, and among his early teachers were JMiss 
 Curtis, Col. Oliver Holcomb and Col. E. X. I'helps. 
 After completing the course of study offered there 
 he inirsucd more advanced studies in the academy 
 at Windsor Center. On leaving school he engaged 
 in hrick-making with his father until the latter's 
 health failed, when he gave \\\> brick-making and 
 attended to the farm ; during the last years of his 
 parents he gave them his thoughtful care. The 
 land is very productive, and in addition to excellent 
 crops of tobacco. Mr. Loomis raises a large amount 
 of "garden truck." In 1872 he built a new resi- 
 dence on a substantial plan, and other improvements 
 have been made by him from time to time. He is 
 quiet and modest in disposition, and while he has 
 never married he is much esteemed socially, having 
 the gift of making manv friends and few enemies. 
 As a member of Grace Episcopal Church at Windsor 
 Center he is active In religious work, and as a loyal 
 citizen all projects for the promotion of the public 
 good receive his support. In politics he has been 
 an adherent of the Republican party since he cast 
 his first vote for Abraham Lincoln. For ten years 
 he served as assessor, and in the fall of 1895 he was 
 chosen to the office of first selectman, which he has 
 since held continuouslv through re-election, his fel- 
 low citizens thus indicating, in a most convincing 
 way, their confidence in his ability and fidelity. 
 
 JOEL HILLS BRE\\'ER is an honored and dis- 
 tinguished member of one of the oldest and most 
 highly-esteemed families in Hartford county. He 
 was born on Brewer street, in East Hartford, April 
 19, 1851, and since early manhood has been one of 
 the town's influential residents. By occupation he 
 is a general farmer and tobacco grower, and in lioth 
 lines of agriculture has been eminently successful. 
 That his fellow townsmen hold him in high esteem 
 is evidenced by their electing him to the responsible 
 office of selectman, an honor rarely conferred where 
 both acumen and integrity are not recognized as 
 co-existing. 
 
 Mr. Brewer is a son of Henry P. a" 1 Susan 
 (Hills) Brewer. Both the Brewer and Hills fam- 
 ilies are among the oldest in East Hartford. On 
 another page of this volume the Brewer family 
 genealogv mav be found, given in considerable de- 
 tail, but a brief resume of the same will prove in- 
 teresting in this connection. The familv located in 
 East Hartford during the latter part of the seven- 
 teenth century, and has given to the town, county 
 and State some of their best and most distinguished 
 citizens. Joel H. is in the seventh generation from 
 Thomas, who was the first of the name, so far as 
 known, to cross the line froni ATassachusetts to 
 Connecticut. From Thomas the lines run as fol- 
 lows: Daniel, born Jilarch 25, iTiog, married Elea- 
 nor Goodale : Daniel (2), born Afay 31, I7^i, was 
 twice married, his first wife being .\nna \'ansant. 
 
 and his second Ruth Strickland: Daniel (3), born 
 Ma\- 14, 1751, married Mary Risley, who was born 
 Jan' 8, 1755; Reuben, of the fifth generation, born 
 Feb. 25, 1755, married Eunice Hills; and Henry P., 
 the father of Joel H., born Dec. 14, 1816, in Hock- 
 anum. 
 
 The boyhiKxl and youth of Henry P. Brewer 
 were passed on a farm, anil his educational ad- 
 vantages were of the limited sort enjoyed by farm- 
 ers' boys in the Xcw England district schools early 
 in the century. As has already been said, he married 
 Susan Hills. She was born in Hillstown Jan. 5, 
 1 81 7, daughter of Joel and Xancy (Couch) Hills. 
 In her girlhood she was an operative in a cotton 
 mill. After his marriage Henry P. Brewer moved to 
 Hockanum, where he lived in a quiet way on a small 
 farm for several years. Early in 1852 he began 
 farming on a tract of land now owned and culti- 
 vated by Joel H. Brewer. There he passed the latter 
 years of his life, and it was there that he died, in 
 Xovember, 1858, being buried in the Spencer street 
 cemetery, in Alanchester. In person he was tall and 
 spare, and his complexion was dark. He was of 
 a rugged constitution, and noted for his physical 
 strength : but in a reaping contest held at Hillstown 
 he overtaxed his powers, and was seized with an 
 attack resembling sunstroke, from the effects of 
 which he never recovered, his health being totally 
 undermined. He was a man of tireless industry, 
 a good farmer, and by dint of hard work was be- 
 ginning to get ahead in the world when overtaken 
 bv this misfortune. Like many of his neighbors in 
 those times it was his custom to make cigars for 
 dealers at his home, after the work of the day was 
 over. The work was fairly profitable, and he carried 
 it on extensively, being assisted by his wife. He 
 bore a high reputation for integrity and energy in 
 the community in which he lived, and where he was 
 highlv respected. In politics he was an ardent and 
 lifelong Democrat. He left a widow and five chil- 
 dren : Sophia, who liecame Mrs. Charles E. Hurl- 
 burt, of Hillstown : ?\[ahbn E.. a machinist of Meri- 
 den; Henrv P., Jr.. who died in Hillstown at the 
 age of forty-two, leaving one son. Palmer: Joel H., 
 the subject of this biographical sketch: and Rose, 
 now Mrs. Bartlett; of Wapping, Conn. After her 
 husband's death the sterling qualities of Mrs. Brew- 
 er's character shone forth. Her children were 
 voung. and the farm at that time was far from being 
 a comfortable home. Yet she kept her family to- 
 gether, and carefullv reared her fatherless children, 
 displaving self-reliance, energy, and a courage which 
 attest her extraordinary worth. She is yet living 
 ( 1900), hale and well-preserved, enjoying a serene 
 old a,ge, honored and loved by her children for whom 
 she was ever ready to sacrifice herself. She resides 
 chieflv with her son Joel upon his farm, which was 
 the theater of so many of her early joys, labors and 
 sorrows. 
 
 Joel II. Brewer received his early education in 
 
654 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the Hillstown district schools, his first teacher be- 
 ing Miss Lucinda Roberts. The necessity resting 
 upon him to aid his widowed mother compelled him 
 to quit school at the age of fifteen, yet he cherishes 
 to this day a warm regard for those schools of forty 
 A-ears ago, and bears willing testimony to the thor- 
 oughness of the instruction there imparted. As a 
 boy he worked upon the farm learning to "bear the 
 yoke in his youth." When he was sixteen years old 
 he began to learn the trade of a bootmaker from 
 Mr. Hurlburt, following that vocation for two years. 
 That \yas before the gigantic modern factory, with 
 its nicely-adjusted machiner_v and its thousands of 
 operatives, had been conceived, and most of the 
 iDootmaking was done at the workmen's own homes. 
 On Feb. 14, 1875, at South Manhester, he was 
 married to Miss Laura Cushman, who was born in 
 Hillstown April 15, 1851. She was one of three 
 children born to Sydney A. and Maria (Wallace) 
 Cushman. Her sister, Mary, died in childhood, 
 and her brother, Joseph S., is a farmer of Man- 
 chester. 
 
 A genealogical sketch of Mrs. Brewer's family 
 will be found elsewhere. She traces her descent 
 from Robert Cushman (who landed at Plymouth 
 in 1621), through Solomon, the son of Isaac. Solo- 
 mon Cushman was the father of nine children : 
 Alameda, born Oct. 7, 1803 ; Isaac, Oct. 7, 1805 ; 
 Lorinda, March 10. 1808; Gustavus, Aug. 12, 1810 
 (died in June, 1858) ; Ambros ;, Feb. 18, 1813 (died 
 in the same month as Gustavus) ; Sabrina, in Sep- 
 tember, 1815; Monroe, Oct. 18, 1818; Sydney A. 
 (the father of Mrs. Brewer), March 28, 1822; and 
 Josiah, Aug. 21, 1826. Solomon Cushman, Mrs. 
 Tirewer's grandfather, died Jan. 15, 1856, in his 
 seventy-eighth year. Mrs. Brewer attended the high 
 school in Hartford two years, and the State Normal 
 School at New Britain also two j^ears. For four 
 years she taught school in Manchester, East Hart- 
 ford and Bolton Center with marked success, her 
 ripe scholarship and rare administrative capability 
 insuring success. These cjualitiLS, which were dis- 
 played so Strikingly before marriage, she has still 
 more fully developed in married life. She is gentle, 
 yet energetic, a devoted wife, and sage counsellor. 
 In philanthropic work and in every rational move- 
 ment for the elevation of her sex she takes a deep 
 Interest. She has been secretary and treasurer of the 
 Hillstown Ladies Aid Society since its organization. 
 
 Mr. Brewer is a prominent member of various 
 fraternal organizations. He belongs to Orient 
 Lodge, No. 62, F. & A. M., of East Hartford ; is 
 a charter member of the I. O. O. F. lodge, Glaston- 
 lDiu-y ; and is a member of the Royal Arcanum. He 
 is also prominently identified with both the local and 
 State Granges, in both of which he takes a deep in- 
 terest, and in whose councils his voice is potent. 
 Both he and his wife have been active in Hillstown 
 Grange, No. 87, since the date of its organization, 
 and he was its first master holding that office three 
 years. Since then he ha^ been master of Pomona 
 
 Grange, a central body in which nineteen local 
 granges, are represented, and of this body Mrs. 
 Brewer has been secretary for six years. Their 
 identification with and prominence in the Order have 
 given Mr. and Mrs. Brewer an accpiaintance nearly 
 co-extensive with the limits of the State, and the 
 very existence of the Hillstown Grange iS due in a 
 great measure to their patient, unwearied efforts. 
 
 One son has come to Mr. and Mrs. Brewer, 
 Harry Joseph, who was born Feb. 2, 1883, and is a 
 graduate of Morse's Business College, Hartford, 
 As has been said, Mr. Brewer owns the farm which 
 was the homestead, and since the property came into 
 his hands he has greatly improved it ; in fact, there 
 is not a building standing on the premises to-day 
 which he has not erected. He acc|uired title to the 
 original property by purchase from his co-heirs, and 
 has added to it from time to time by the accjuisition 
 of additional acres. His views on farming, as on 
 ■every other subject of current interest, are broad 
 and progressive, and his place is one of the best im- 
 proved, best stocked, most thoroughly up-to-date of 
 all the farms in the broad fertile valley of the Con- 
 necticut. His success has been well-nigh phenom- 
 enal, and he can point to it to-day with the proud 
 thought that it is due to his own untiring efforts, 
 patient industry, sound sense and unassailable hon- 
 esty. 
 
 In politics Mr. Brewer is a Democrat, although 
 in no sense a rock-ribbed partisan, having voted for 
 McKinley in 1896. In addition to the office of se- 
 lectman he has held that of justice of the peace, 
 and his standing among the people of East Hartford 
 is deservedly high. In addition to general farming 
 and tobacco growing he has embarked in the busi- ,, 
 ness of selling fertilizers as a manufacturer's agentj 
 in which line of trade his keen, shrewd business 
 sense has largely ministered to his success. 
 
 HORTON ZEBULON HOSKINS, a 'greatly- 
 respected farmer and carpenter of Bloomfield, was 
 born in that town March 17, 1824, and is a son of 
 Zebulon and Polly (Phelps) Hoskins, who wen 
 the parents of five children, two of whom now sur^! 
 vive : Mrs. Amanda Marsh, of New Haven, anc 
 Horton Z. 
 
 Horton Z. Hoskins when an infant but three 
 months old was bereft of his father, and thus bel 
 came the peculiar care of a tender mother. He 
 attended the public schools in Bloomfield until he 
 had attained the proper age, when he was appren-| 
 ticed to a Mr. Dudley, at the Center, and thor-| 
 oughly learned the trade of carpenter and joinerj 
 which he has followed in conjunction with farmf 
 ing these many years, making a success of bott 
 vocations. 
 
 Mr. Hoskins was first married to Julia A. Dor-| 
 man, at Farmington, Conn., and to their uniodj 
 were born five children : Henry P., ^^'illiam H., 
 Ella E., Hattie J. and Katie L. To his second mar- 
 riage, which also took place in Farmington, the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 055 
 
 hridc ill this instance hiMn^;- I'ranccs L. Hart, liavc 
 been horn two cliildren: hred A. and Robert S. 
 Mr. Hoskins has never sonf,>'ht ])iibhc office, bc- 
 ingf content with developin;;- his farm and in ex- 
 ecuting the nuikifarious details of his trade, but 
 he has in one instance yielded to a sense of public 
 duty and acted as town assessor. He has won the 
 esteem of all who know him, and he and family are 
 , classed anioui;' the most respected residents of the 
 town of r>loomfii.'l(l. 
 
 HEXRV ED\\"ARD GWATKIX, one of New 
 \ Britain's business men, was born in England, as 
 , were also his parents. His father, a brass-founder 
 , by trade, left his native land shortly after Henry's 
 birth, with the intention of making a new home 
 ! for his family in America. 
 
 I Hcnrv E. Gwatkin was born in London April 
 i 23, 1847. He was yet very yotmg when he came 
 ' with his mother across the ocean to join the hus- 
 '■ band and father of the family at Hartford, where 
 ' he had found employment- with a Mr. Whitmore. 
 i After a year spent at Hartford the family removed 
 '■ to New r>ritain. where Henry E. Gwatkin attended 
 the common schools until he reached the age of 
 sixteen rears. He then entered the employ of 
 I Churchill, Stanlev & Co., jewelers, with whom he 
 remained fourteen years. During the next four 
 years he was unemployed, and at the end of that 
 "time accepted the position of suoerintendent of the 
 National Wire Mattress Co., of New Britain. Here 
 he displaved those sterling nualities of mind and 
 heart which have proved the foundation of his sr.c- 
 cess through life. Fidelity to dutv and scrupulous 
 integrity brought th.cir fitting reward in his reten- 
 tion by the company in this responsible position 
 for seventeen vears. Tn 1898 the concern was re- 
 organized under the name of the National Spring 
 Bed Co., with a capital stock of Sio.ooo, Afr. Gwat- 
 kin still retaining the superintendencv. The cor- 
 poration ('oes a large and remunerative business in 
 the manufacture of iron beds and springs, employ- 
 ing on an average twenty-five men. The other of- 
 ficers of the company are John H. Elinor, presi- 
 dent, and F. A. Porter, manag,;r. 
 
 On Tune 28. 1871. Mr. Gwatkin married ^liss 
 Hattie Ella Pavnc. who was born in Prospect. 
 Conn.. ^Fay 17, 1840. daughter of Edward and IMnrv 
 E. Payne. Her father is dead, and her mother 
 makes her home with her daughter and son-in-law. 
 Mr. and ^Frs. Gwatkin. Two daus'hters have blessed 
 their union, only one of whom is living. The elder, 
 ^[aude ^[av. born Nov. 16. 1873. f^'^fl March 18, 
 1874. Bessie Louise was born Jan. 16, 1S70. Her 
 education was obtained at the grammar and high 
 schools of New Britain, and she was married, Jan. 
 16. Tqoo, to Fred ^^^ Loomis, of the business firm 
 of Hjerpe & Loomis. plumbers, of New Britain. 
 
 In political faith Mr. Gwatkin is a Democrat, 
 although not a partv worker. He is a member of 
 
 St. Elmo Lodge, No. 21, K. 1'.. and has filled many 
 of the chairs. He is an amateur naturalist, and al- 
 though a very busy man has managed to find time to 
 gather ami classify an extensive and valuable en- 
 tomological collection, devoting manv of his leisure 
 hours to the study and jiractical investigation of 
 this branch of science, in which his attainments are 
 of a high order. He is a man of g^-nial and gen- 
 erous disposition, of kindlv and unselfish instincts, 
 and of ati'able manners, lie attracts friends read- 
 ily, and retains them through the affection and re- 
 spect which he in.spircs. Although not a commun- 
 icant of any Cln-isiian body, both he and his wife 
 are regular attendants at the Methodist Church, of 
 which their daughter is a member. 
 
 HF.RMAX lURK. a {prosperous and well-known 
 tobacco grower and cigar manufacturer of the town 
 of East Hartford, is a native of Prussia, born .Sept. 
 22. 1848. and is a son of l-'reilerick and Minnie 
 Birk, the former of whom was by trade a carpenter. 
 
 Herman Birk w-as educated in the common 
 schools of his native land, learned carpentering 
 from his father, served the allotted term in the 
 army, and in 1S72 sailed for .\merica. pa\ing his 
 passage with monev saved from his earnings. He 
 was eleven days crossing the ocean to New York, 
 came thence directly to Connecticut, and immediately 
 found employment in the gas works at Hartford. 
 He was next employed at chopping wood on the 
 land which he now owns in the town of East Hart- 
 ford, and was thus engaged until he married his 
 employer's daughter, which happy event took jilace 
 Dec. 30, 1877.' 
 
 ^Irs. Louisa \\ . B'.rk, tlic lady alluded to above, 
 was Ixjrn in East Hartford Aug. 2. 1855. and is a 
 daughter of ^"alentine and Anna M. (Wagner) 
 Ferner, natives of Germany, but old and respected 
 residents of East Hartford town. They were mar- 
 ried in Germany, but soon afterward came to Con- 
 necticut, and of their six children T^Irs. Birk is 
 the only survivor. In 1870 Mr. Ferner purchased 
 the "Fish Pond Farm" from Austin Dunham, of 
 Hartford, who, with ^Ir. Kellogg and Mr. Ives, 
 had maintained it as a pleasure resort for several 
 vears, and had expended considerable monev in im- 
 proving and ornamenting it, and this is the prop- 
 erty now owned by ]Mr. Birk. It is handsomely 
 situated, and contains a fine dwelling, excellent to- 
 bacco lands, a fruitful orchard and a well-stocked 
 trout pond ; on this place the father of r^Irs. Birk 
 passed aw-ay at the age of eightv years, preceded 
 tc the grave bv the mother, who died when seventv- 
 two years old. The family is now composed of Mr. 
 Birk, his wife, and a brother of our subject. Otto 
 Birk. ]Mr. and IMrs. Birk had two children, both 
 of whom died in infancy. 
 
 'y.lv. Birk has made, many improvements in his 
 farm buildings, availing himself of his knowledge 
 of the carpenter's trade, which he had learned in 
 
656 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Germany, and in which he has never lost his skill. 
 A few years ago he embarked in cigar manufactur- 
 ing, and has built up a very lucrative trade, his 
 factory being known as No. 115, District of Con- 
 necticut. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Birk are quiet, unjDretentious peo- 
 ple, and are very industrious, Mrs. Birk being a 
 valuable helpmeet to her husband. They are both 
 regular attendants at the Lutheran Church, which 
 they aid liberally, both in a financial way and other- 
 wise, and are highly respected by the entire com- 
 munity. In politics Mr. Birk is a Democrat, but 
 has never been an office seeker, preferring to give his 
 attention to his farm and factory, through which he 
 receives a sure and bounteous reward, than to the 
 seeking of a doubtful recompense for his time 
 through the precariousness of politics. Socially he 
 is a member of the I, O. O. F. and of the Grange. 
 
 WILBER PITKIN BUNNELL, M. D., is one 
 of the younger practicing physicians of New Britain 
 whose professional career has been marked with 
 generous success. He is wedded to his profession, 
 and by a thorough preparation has fitted himself 
 eminently for its practice, but he is interested also 
 in the social and public affairs of the city of his 
 adoption, and his personality has won for him a 
 wider recognition than his mere professional status, 
 however eminent that may be. 
 
 Dr. Bunnell is a descendant of one of the first 
 families who settled at Burlington, Conn., coming 
 originally from Cheshire. His grandfather, Heze- 
 kiah Bunnell, was a native of Burlington, and a 
 farmer by occupation, becoming one of the wealthi- 
 est agriculturists in that region, and he was promi- 
 nent in the public affairs of the town. Hezekiah 
 Bunnell married Amanda Shepard, of Burlington, 
 and they had children : Theade, who married Grove 
 Judson, and lives at Bristol; Lyman B., who is now 
 engaged in an extensive law practice at No. 170 
 Broadway, New York City; Seymour, father of 
 our subject; i\\, living on the old homestead at 
 Burlington ; Cherilla, who married a Mr. Turner, 
 of Waterbury ; Jeanette, deceased : Marcus, deceased ; 
 and Charles, living at Burlington, on the old home- 
 stead. Hezekiah Bunnell died in 1880, at the age 
 of eighty-three, surviving his wife manv vears. 
 
 Seymour Bunnell was born at Burlington Sept. 
 15. 1833. and there passed his boyhood days. At the 
 age of seventeen years he went to Hartford and en- 
 tered on an apprenticeship with Woodruff & Beach, 
 manufacturers of, stationary engines, at the close 
 of which, before the Civil war, he went South to 
 set up an engine on a sugar plantation, and the 
 planter, acquiring a liking for the sturdy young me- 
 chanic, induced him to remain for a year. Re- 
 turning to Hartford, Seymour Bunnell, as contract- 
 or, had a large number of men in his employ in the 
 Colt's patent fire-arms factory. He was quite suc- 
 cessful, and continued in that business relationship 
 until about 1889, since which time he has followed 
 
 his trade as tool-maker, being now with the Whit- 
 ney Co., Llartford. He has been active in Free 
 Masonry, and is a member of Hartford Lodge, 
 Chapter and Commandery, being, a past master and 
 past commander. He is also a member of St. Ber- 
 nard Lodge, K. P. At one time he was a director 
 of the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co. He has 
 alwa3fs been a Democrat, but has not taken an active 
 part in politics. Seymour Bunnell married Miss 
 Arvilla M. Pitkin, daughter of Dennison Palmer and 
 Phcebe Dunham (Turner) Pitkin, a prosperous 
 farming family of East Hartford. Her brothers 
 are engaged at Hartford as extensive manufacturers 
 of steam boilers, under the firm name of Pitkin 
 Bros. To Mr. and Mrs. Bunnell came the follow- 
 ing named children: Frank, born May 29, 1858, 
 died Nov. 3, 1861 ; Wilber P., subject of this sketch; 
 Edith L., born Sept. 17, 1864, wife of George Put- 
 nam, a descendant of Israel Putnam ; and Ernest 
 Palmer, born Nov. 12, 1867, now a machinist in 
 Hartford. 
 
 Dr. Wilber P. Bunnell was born in Hartford 
 March 27, i860. He attended the public schools 
 of that city, and after completing the grammar- 
 school course was for three years under private 
 tutors, with a view of preparing for college. In 
 1880 he entered McGill University, Montreal, where 
 he remained for two years, receiving the foundation 
 of his professional education, and in 1883 entered 
 the University of the Citv of New York, from 
 which he was graduated March 14, 1884, the medi- 
 cal course which he completed having reference to 
 a general practice. In these latter years supple- 
 mentary medical education and hospital practice 
 are deemed desirable for the medical college gradu- 
 ate, and Dr. Bunnell obtained both in New York City. 
 At the Homeopathic College he studied homeopathic 
 materia medica and therapeutics, spending much .of 
 his time in the hospitals. Dr. Bunnell located at 
 New Britain June 8, 1885, and has since then been 
 engaged continuously in the practice of medicine, 
 building up an extensive practice, the result of his 
 own ability and application. He is a member of 
 the New Britain Medical Society, of which he is now 
 serving as vice-president ; of the Hartford County 
 Medical Society ; and of the State Medical Society. • 
 He is a member of Centennial Lodge, F. & A. M., 
 of the Royal Arcanum and the Loyal Additional 
 Benefit, being examiner of both organizations ; be- 
 longs to the Order of Red Men. the Knights of St. 
 George and the Knights of the Golden Eagle, and is 
 medical examiner of the last two named. He has 
 served as chairman of the city board of health for 
 one year, and has been town physician eight years. 
 Dr. Bunnell was formerh- a Democrat in politics, 
 but is now independent. He is not a politician, 
 and it is a tribute to his worth and faithfulness 
 that he has held the office of town physician, U 
 which is a political appointment, through shifting (I 
 political administrations. : 
 
 On June 12, 1890, Dr. Bunnell wedded Miss 
 
fe?:*^^- 
 
 -^.^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 657 
 
 Haltic L. Charter, dauglUcr of Gen. William M. 
 and Charlotte (Sniilh) Charter, the former of whom 
 was a prominent citizen of Hartford. 
 
 I'AUL G. LELn'OLl). Thrift, industry and 
 sound judi^nient have heen so constantly shown 
 among the numerous rejiresentatives of the h'ather- 
 land who have settled in this country that wc nat- 
 urally look upon these qualities as characteristics of 
 the race. Aniont;- the individuals in whom they cen- 
 tainly exist in a marked degree is this well-known 
 resident of Xew llritain, who holds a responsible 
 position in a large nianufacturin."- establishment, 
 and is also influential in municipal affairs, being the 
 present city auditor. 
 
 Mr. Leupold's ancestral home is Lupochow, in 
 the Province of I'osen, Germany, and his grand- 
 father, Johan Gottlieb Leupold, was a native of that 
 place, where he passed his life as a prosperous 
 blacksmith, owning his own shop and enjoying a 
 fair custom. In religious faith he was a Lutheran, 
 and his descendants have also adhered to that church. 
 He married Anna Justine Schmidt, and had four 
 sons, Karl, Friedrich, Johann and Ludwig, and one 
 daughter, Emilie. 
 
 Friedrich Leupold, our subject's father, was 
 born Nov. 26, 1833, at the old home, Lupochow, 
 and was educated in the public schools of that town. 
 As a young man he learned the joiner's trade, serv- 
 ing four years as an apprentice. In 1856 he located 
 in Berlin, Germany, where he worked until 1865, 
 when he left for Warsaw, Russia, the next year 
 returning to Berlin, where he went into business for 
 himself. He continued successfully until 1881, when 
 he gave u]) the business and went to Brazil, South 
 America. The following year he again returned to 
 Berlin, and in 1883 he came to the Laiitcd States, 
 locating at once in New Britain, Conn., where he 
 IS employed as a patternmaker for J. A. Traut, in 
 the Rule & Level Co., being considered an expert 
 in that line. On his journeys to the different coun- 
 tries Mr. Leupold was always accompanied by his 
 family. As an intelligent citizen he takes keen in- 
 terest in the questions of the dav, and, while he is 
 not an aspirant for political honors, he is a strong 
 Republican. His estimable wife, whose maiden 
 name was Augusta Diecke, is a native of Torgau, 
 Province of Saxony, Germany. They had eight 
 children : Otto, a gilder by trade, but now a suc- 
 cessful business luan ; Adolph, a contractor and 
 builder, who has built many important structures, in- 
 cluding three German churches in New Britain ; 
 Charles, a carpenter, who was in partnership with 
 his brother .Adolph, but is now deceased ; Adelheid, 
 deceased : Paul G., our subject ; Albert, who is in 
 the employ of the Stanley Rule & Level Co., at New 
 Britain ; and Emma and Bertha, both deceased. 
 
 Paul G. Leupold was born May 5, 1867, in the 
 city of Berlin, Germany, where he attended the pub- 
 lic schools until he reached the age of fifteen. There 
 he laid the foundation for a good practical educa- 
 
 42 
 
 tion, and bv subsec|uent reading and study lie has 
 added much to his store of knowledge, having be- 
 come an excellent bookkeeper, mainly through his 
 own efforts. He learned the joiner's trade, and 
 soon after the arrival of the family in New Britain 
 he was enqiloyed in the joiner's department of the 
 Stanley Rule & Level Co., where he remained until 
 1893, but since then he has held a position in the 
 Minor & Corbin Box Co., having charge of the case 
 making department. Politically he is a Republican, 
 and as he is an able and effective speaker he be- 
 came prominent in the councils of the local or- 
 ganization at an early age. Jn April. i8y8, he was 
 elected city auilitor for the term of two years, re- 
 ceiving the third largest majority, while in 1900, 
 when he was re-elected for the same position, he 
 received the highest majority on the ticket. 
 
 In 1893 ^Ir. Leupold married Miss Anna 
 Schlueter, of New Britain, and they have one son, 
 Henry. Mr. Leupold and his wife are pojiular so- 
 cially, and he belongs to the New Britain Turner 
 Society, the sick benefit society Concordia, and 
 Gersta;cker Lodge, No. 96, I. O. O. F., in all of 
 which he was prominent for a number of years ; he 
 also belongs to Comstock Encampment, No. 42, I. 
 O. O. F. He was president of the Connecticut 
 State Turnbezirk. 
 
 JOHN OSKAR JOHNSON was born in 
 Sweden Oct. 3, 1852, son of Joseph Johnson and his 
 wife Catherine, tlis father was born May 18, 
 1 8 14. and died Dec. 27, 186 1, in the land of his 
 birth. His occupation was that of a cloth sales- 
 man, traveling with a horse and wagon from town 
 to town. His widow, who was born in 1820, still 
 survives him, making her home with her son John 
 Oskar, in Kensington. Early in life Mr. Johnson's 
 father was well-to-do, but before the close of his 
 davs he saw his accumulations swept away, and died 
 leaving his family in rather straitened circumstances, 
 when John O. was but nine years old. 
 
 Our subject was the eldest of four children, and 
 for him the battle of life began earlj'. For two 
 years he was "hired out" to one Jonas Johanson, 
 and at the expiration of that time he found em- 
 ployment with Swening Nagunson, with whom he 
 remained for seven years. During this period he 
 was permitted to attend school, and it was thus that 
 he obtained a well-grounded knowledge of thnse 
 rudimentary branches which form the foundation of 
 all education. His next employer was Lorin Dor- 
 henson, with whom he rcmainecl for about six 
 months. In 1871, before reaching the age of twenty 
 years, he formed the determination to woo fortune 
 in a new clime, toward the settins" sun. In that 
 year he sailed from Goteborg. landing in New York 
 on May II, and remained in that city a few days. 
 He soon found employment as a railroad section 
 hand, and continued in that line of work for nearly 
 a year, six weeks on a branch line in Westchester 
 county, N. Y., three months at Port Jervis, in the 
 
658 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 same State, four months at Lumberville, Delaware 
 county, and three months for the New York, Os- 
 wego & Midland Co., at Paris, N. Y. From the 
 place last named he went to Long Island, where for 
 about a month he was employed as a farm hand. 
 Returning to the metropolis, he worked for a time 
 at any description of labor which presented itself, 
 and on July 15, 1872, setting his face eastward, he 
 reached Hartford. Horace Williams, of East Hart- 
 ford, and Benjamin Hamilton, of West Hartford, 
 were his first employers, he remaining nine months 
 with the former and four months with the latter. 
 Six months he spent in the employ of Lawrence 
 Flagg, and two or three months with a Mr. Whit-' 
 ing. The three months following he worked for a 
 Mr. Crampton, a farmer of Farmington. Return- 
 ing to East Hartford, he found a situation with the 
 Olmsteads, and during the five months that he re- 
 mained with them attended school. His next move 
 was to Forestville, where for three months he 
 worked in a clock manufactory. Being offered the 
 charge of E. M. Welch's farm he accepted the po- 
 sition, the responsible duties attaching to which he 
 discharged with fidehty and success for about two 
 years. By this time he had become tired of a mi- 
 gratory life, and when he entered the works of the 
 Bristol Brass & Clock Co., of New Britain, it was 
 to remain with that concern for fifteen years, four- 
 teen of which were passed in the lock department. 
 
 During all his mutations of employment, how- 
 ever, Mr. Johnson had never ceased to display, in a 
 marked degree, those mental and moral qualities 
 which' have characterized his ancestral race for 
 centuries. Economy and sobriety, industry and pa- 
 tience, perseverance and pluck, had transformed the 
 penniless Swedish immisrrant of 1871 into the land 
 owner and man of modest fortune. Without ad- 
 ventitious aid, with no trade, and possessed of only 
 the ground-work of scholastic training, .he had suc- 
 ceeded, through the intense force of his own char- 
 acter, and because of his determination to know no 
 such word as failure. He had become the owner of 
 a home in New Britain, and in 1895 he exchanged 
 this for the Leander Bunce property, a farm of 
 ninety acres, situated in the "Blue Hills" district 
 of Kensington. Here he leads the comparatively 
 quiet, yet congenial, life of a produce and dairy 
 farmer. His place is known as the "Springdale 
 Dairy Farm," and besides disposing of the yield of 
 his cows he handles a considerable quantity of milk 
 and cream for others, disposing of most of the out- 
 put at retail in New Britain. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was married, April 27, 1876, to 
 Miss Carohne Christina Gustemson, who, like him- 
 self, is a native of Sweden, born Sept. 10, 1852. 
 Their marriage has been blessed with nine children : 
 Carl Frederick, the eldest, was born Aug. 22, 1877, 
 is married, and has been in the employ of Th. D. 
 Stanley, of New Britain. Anna Louisa, born Jan. 
 22, 1879, died March 26, 1882. Eda, born Nov. 
 
 30, 1880, resides at home, as also do the younger 
 children — Francis Albert, born Sept. 21, 1882; Au- 
 gust Robert, Sept. 23, 1884; John Edward, Oct. 
 6, 1886; David Oskar (2), Aug. 4, 1890;, and Anna 
 Catherina, Jan. 2, 1892. David Oskar (i), born 
 Feb. 10, 1889, died June 20, same year. 
 
 Both Mr. Johnson and his wife are members of 
 the Salvation Army, he holding the rank of ser- 
 geant-major. He joined the organization in 1885, 
 having been previously a member of the Methodist 
 Church at Plainville. He takes a deep interest in 
 the cause of religion, and devotes to its advance- 
 ment the same untiring effort which he has ex- 
 pended in manual toil. His conversion was the re- 
 sult of a dream, or vision, in which the rewards and 
 penalties of the future life were made clear to him. 
 His children attend the Congregational Church of 
 Kensington. His political affiliation is with the Pro- 
 hibition party. 
 
 WILLIAM ORR, a leading farmer and dairy- 
 man of Southington, was born in Crossford, Lanark- 
 shire, Scotland, Oct. 19, 1856, a son of Adam and 
 Margaret (Dickson) Orr, who came to America 
 in 1886, and have since resided in Southington. 
 Their children are: William, John, Ann, Adam, 
 George, Minnie and James. 
 
 Our subject was reared in his native land, and 
 acquired his literary education in the public schools 
 there. In the spring of 1881 he emigrated to the 
 New World, and took up his residence in Southing- 
 ton, Conn., where he was employed in the wrench 
 department of the works of the Peck, Stow & Wil- 
 cix Co. for three years, since which time he has 
 engaged in farming and the dairy business, and has 
 met with most gratifying success. He is a member 
 of the Patrons of Husbandry in Southington, and is 
 highly respected and esteemed by all who know him. 
 
 On April 24, 1895, Mr. Orr married Miss Julia 
 Sloper, daughter of David Root and Augusta E. 
 (Woodruff) Sloper, of Southington, representatives 
 of old and prominent Connecticut families. The fa- 
 ther was born in Southington Feb. 12, 1801, and 
 was twice married, first on Oct. 6, 1831, to Cornelia 
 Bristol, daughter of George A. Bristol. By that , 
 union he had two children, Ambrose and Cornelia. 
 The mother of these died Feb. 24, 1837, at the age 
 of twenty-four years, and on Nov. 20, 1842, Mr. 
 Sloper married Eliza A. Woodruff, daughter of 
 Daniel S. and Eliza (Bristol) Woodruff', of South- 
 ington. Three children were born of this marriage : 
 Mary E. ; Cornelia, wife of Lloyd O. Neal ; and 
 Julia, wife of our subject. David R. Sloper was a 
 prominent farmer of East street, and formerly a 
 manufacturer of cement. 
 
 Ambrose Sloper, the paternal grandfather of 
 Mrs. Orr, was born March 28, 1774, and wedded 
 Mary, daughter of Isaac and Mary (Bristol) Wood- ' 
 ruff. He lived on the homestead now occupied by ■ 
 our subject and his wife, and there died I'^eb. 23, ! 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 659 
 
 1810. He was a son of Ambrose Slopcr, Sr., who 
 was born in Branford, Conn., in 1734. and came 
 to Soiithington with his parents. He marricil Sarah 
 Root, daugiiter of Stephen and Sarah (Hart) Root, 
 of Soulhington, antl located on East street, wliere 
 our subject now resides. He served as captain in 
 the Revolutionary war, and died April 13, 1822, at 
 the age of eighty-seven years. Mis father, Robert 
 Sloper, was a resident of Branford, where he was 
 married, Jan. 9, 171 7, to Experience Johnson, daugh- 
 ter of Edward and Esther (\\'headon) Johnson, of 
 Branford. Later he removed to Southington, where 
 he died April 5, 1767. He was a son of John Sloper, 
 of whom but little is known except that he was born 
 Jan. 13, 1661, and was a son of Richard Sloper. 
 The latter was bom in November. 1630, and was 
 married. Oct. 21, 1658, to Mary Slierburne, daugh- 
 ter of Henry and Rebecca (Gibbons) Sherburne. 
 He was an early settler of Dover, j\Iass., and re- 
 moved from there to Portsmouth, N. H., where 
 he died Oct. 16, 1715, at the age of eighty-six 
 years. 
 
 Mrs. Orr's maternal grandfather, Daniel S. 
 Woodruff, was born in 1792, and married Eliza, 
 daughter of George and Abigail Bristol. He lived 
 on East street, and died July 9, 1844. He was a 
 son of Urbana Woodruff, who was born in 1766, 
 and married Silence Sloper, daughter of Capt. 
 Daniel and Rachel (Langdon) Sloper. He also 
 lived on East street, where he died Nov. 11, 179S. 
 His father, Isaac ^^'oodruft', was born in October, 
 1737, and was married, Feb. 11, 1762, to Mary 
 Bristol, of Cheshire. He made his liome on East 
 street, and there died Dec. 13, 1813. E[is father, 
 Samuel Woodruff, was born in Farmington, Conn., 
 Jan. 20, 1686, and was married, July 10, 1718, to 
 Esther, daughter of Samuel and Esther (Wood- 
 ford) Bird. He held the military rank of captain, 
 and died in February, 1766. He was a son of 
 Samuel Woodruff', Sr., who was born in Farming- 
 ton Aug. 26, 1661, and was married, in 1685, to 
 Rebecca Clark, daughter of John Clark. This Sam- 
 uel Woodruff' was the first settler in what is now 
 the town of Southington, locating there in 1698, 
 and there he died Jan. 8, 1742. His father, Mat- 
 thew Woodruff', removed from Hartford to Farm- 
 ington about 1640, was admitted a freeman in 1657, 
 and was one of the eighty-four proprietors of the 
 town in 1672. He died in 1682, at an advanced age. 
 Mrs. Orr is a member of Hannah Woodruff' Chap- 
 ter, No. 36, Daughters of the American Revolution. 
 
 W^ILLARD ELISHA HOWE, a well-known 
 and highly-respected citizen of Glastonbury, is a 
 great-grandson of Elisha Howe, an early settler in 
 the town of Glastonbury. Elisha Howe and his 
 elder brother, John, came from England, and after 
 a short residence in Framingham, Mass., removed 
 to Glastonbury, locating near cur subject's pres- 
 ent home. John Howe was married, in 1755, to 
 
 Mary Hoklen, and had two sons, John and Elisha, 
 who served with the militia during the Revolu- 
 tionary war. Elisha Howe also took part in the 
 struggle for independence. He was married about 
 1750. 
 
 Elisha Howe (2), our subject's grandfather, 
 married Anna Hollister, and had the following chil- 
 dren : Mary married David Holbrook, and settled 
 in Ohio ; Ann married James Sawyer, and resided in 
 Berlin, near Montpelier, Vt. ; Rebecca married Col. 
 Robert Gates, of Derby, Conn. ; Elisha married 
 b'annie Arnold, of East Hartford; John became 
 the father of our subject; Judith married Samuel 
 French, and settled in Derby, Conn. ; Jemima mar- 
 ried Deacon Chester Hills, of Glastonbury. 
 
 John Howe was born in 1791 in the town of 
 Glastonbury, where his boyhood id^ys were spent. 
 He received a common-school education and learned 
 the cooper's trade, and for some years he farmed 
 in summer and worked at his trade in winter, in 
 his later years, however, following farming ex- 
 clusively. He died in 1867, his remains being buried 
 in Buckingham. John Howe married Mary Wads- 
 worth, a native of Hartford, and daughter of James 
 and Mary Wadsworth, the former a shoemaker. Of 
 the children born to John and Mary Howe, William 
 Hanford, who is not married, resides on the home- 
 stead ; Willard E. is next in the order of birth ; 
 Eliza Ann, and Mary and Martha (twins) are liv- 
 ing at the homestead ; and John W., a merchant 
 in South Glastonbury, married Emma Tryon ; James 
 and John died young. 
 
 Our subject was born Sept. 19, 1824, at his pres- 
 ent farm, in a house which he replaced in 1854 with 
 a more modern building. As a bov he attended the 
 district schools, and also spent one term at ^^'ilbra- 
 ham Academy, and on leaving school he engaged 
 with his brother, William H., in the manufacture of 
 powder kegs, suppyling Hanmer & Forbes, in Scot- 
 land, now Burnside ; later they made staves for the 
 Dupont Powder Co., of Delaware. They continued 
 in that line of business for a number of years, but 
 for some time before selling their mill, to the East 
 Hartford \\'ater Co., they operated it as a saw- 
 mill. Since the sale of the mill our subject has de- 
 voted his attention to farming, and as a citizen he 
 ranks among the leaders, his courteous manners 
 being allied to a sound judgment which wins gen- 
 eral respect. He is an active worker in the Con- 
 gregational Church at Buckingham, having served 
 as clerk for forty years. In politics he is a Repub- 
 lican, and he served as a representative in the Legis- 
 lature in i860, and has been assessor many times. 
 He also did eflicient work as a member of a com- 
 mittee, in company with John A. Hale, Thaddeus 
 Welles, Andrew T. Hale, Henry Welles and Charles 
 Hollister, all prominent citizens, to assist Rev. A. 
 B. Chapin in gathering material for a complete his- 
 tory of the town for the second century anniver- 
 sary. The celebration, which fell on May 8, 1853, 
 
660 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 commemorated the bestowal of the first corporate 
 power on this side of the river two hundred years 
 betore. 
 
 Un Oct. 5, 1853, Mr. Howe was married to 
 Miss Hannah F. Treat, who was born in Glaston- 
 bury Jan. IS, 1830, daughter of Jerad and Anne 
 (Wadsworth) Treat, of Hartford. Three children 
 blessed the union: Alice May, who died in child- 
 hood; Miss Edith W., who is at home; and Anna 
 I., who died in early womanhood. 
 
 AARON W. HALL. In the life of this gentle- 
 man we find an example of a self-made American 
 citizen, and the exemplification of the progress that 
 an ambitious foreigner can make in this country of 
 unbounded opportunities. He came to the United 
 States practically empty-handed, bL.t is to-day the 
 owner of a fine farm of 185 acres in Berlm, Hart- 
 ford county, his success being due to his own per- 
 severance, industry and energy. 
 
 Mr. Hall was born in Yorkshire, England, Dec. 
 16, 1868, and is a son of George and Hannah (Ken- 
 dall) Hall, also natives of Yorkshire, the former 
 born Nov. 20, 1840, the latter on Nov. 5, 1845. They 
 were married in July, 1866. In Lngland the father 
 engaged in farming for other people. He came to 
 America in 1893, sailing from Liverpool, and land- 
 ing in New York. After spending about nine 
 months in Bristol, Conn., he came to Kensington, 
 and he and his wife, together with two of their 
 sons, Charles and James, reside on the same farm 
 as our subject. In their family are nine children, 
 five of whom came to this country. All are pro- 
 gressive farmers and hard-working men. 
 
 On coming to this county, in 1889, Aaron W. 
 Hall worked on farms in Newington for a time, 
 and then removed to Kensington. He worked for 
 George D. Boyer for a year and a half, and was 
 subsequently with Samuel D. Newell, of Bristol, 
 for a year. ' Returning to Kensington, he purchased 
 185 acres of land on the Meriden road to New 
 Britain, of Mr. Boyer, and upon the place he has 
 since made many useful and valuable improvements, 
 including the erection of two houses. He keeps, 
 a fine grade of stock, and in connection with general 
 farming is engaged in the dairy business, having 
 a large milk route in New Britain. He is an enter- 
 prising, reliable business man, and his success has 
 been most worthily achieved. 
 
 On Nov. 17, 1897, Mr. Hall was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Alice Graves Lyman, of Talcott- 
 ville, Conn., who was born March 11, 1874, a 
 daughter of Horace S. and Esther M. (Graves) 
 Lyman, who are still living. Our subject and his 
 brothers Charles and James took out their naturaliza- 
 tion papers in Hartford, and are now identified with 
 the Republican party. The elder Mr. Hall and his 
 sons Charles and Aaron W. were members of the In- 
 dependent Order of Odd Fellows in England, and 
 they expect to renew their membership in this coun- 
 
 try. Our subject and wife are members of the Con- 
 gregational Church, and the remainder of the fam- 
 ily are inclined to the Methodist belief ; they are held 
 in high regard by all who knov/. them. 
 
 REV. HENRY THOMAS WALSH, pastor of 
 the Church of Our Lady of Mercy, Plainville, is 
 widely known and respected, not only among mem- 
 bers of the Catholic Church, but among all denomi- 
 nations alike. 
 
 Father Walsh is a native of Connecticut, bom 
 June I, 1855, in Ansonia, New Haven county, a 
 son of Matthew Walsh, who was born in 1820 in 
 Ireland, coming thence to the United States in 1844, 
 and settling in Ansonia. For several years he fol- 
 lowed the business of stone mason, and for thirty 
 years that of contractor in Ansonia, where he lived 
 half a century. He was a stanch Democrat, and a 
 champion supporter of the schools, havmg served 
 efficiently on the school board. In 1846 he married 
 Mary McCabe, who was born in 1825, and died in 
 Ansonia in 1897; he passed away in Ansonia in 
 1892. They had a family of four children, the sub- 
 ject of this sketch being second in the order of 
 birth. 
 
 Henry T. Walsh received his earlier education 
 at the public schools of Ansonia, and in his fifteenth 
 year entered Holy Cross College, Worcester, Mass., 
 in order to prepare himself for the priesthood ; 
 thence, after eighteen months, went to Niagara 
 University, Suspension Bridge, N. Y., at which insti- 
 tution he graduated in 1875, in the philosophical 
 course. He then took a three-years' theological 
 course in the same university, graduating from same 
 in 1878, after which he was assigned as assistant 
 pastor to Rev. Thomas Smith, who had temporary 
 charge of St. Patrick's Church, at Thompsonville, 
 Conn. Here Father Walsh remained four months, 
 and was then transferred to Stamford, Conn., as as- 
 sistant to Rev. W. H. Rogers (pastor of St. John's 
 Church there), holding this curacy some six and 
 one-half years, and in February, 1885, he was as- 
 signed to the pastorship of the Church of Our Lady 
 of Mercy at Plainville. The parish at that time 
 comprised Plainville and Farmington, Fosterville 
 being, Sept. 20, 1891, transferred from the parish 
 of Bristol to the jurisdiction of Plainville. 
 
 The church at Plainville was erected, in i88r, 
 on the corner of Broad and Pierce streets, and in 
 1885 Father Walsh erected the priest's home on the 
 corner of Broad and Canal streets, while in 1887 he 
 purchased the Catholic cemetery ground on Farm- 
 ington avenue. In 1891-92 he erected, at a cost of 
 $15,000, St. Matthew's church at Forestville, which 
 district has been added to his parish. Father Walsh 
 also caused several improvements to be made, such 
 as the introduction of electric lights, in both the 
 church and the priest's house in Plainville. 
 
 Father Walsh is a Democrat in his political pre- 
 dilections. He has served on the school board of 
 Plainville four terms (twelve years), during eleven 
 
c^^mu<i^ 
 
COMMh~ '"..lliyt blUGRAFHlLAL KECORD. 
 
 (S61 
 
 years of which lime he has been active scliool visi- 
 tor, having practically the management of the 
 schools. He was one of the original directors of 
 the Free Pnhlic Library (which was installed in 
 1896), being the first individual to bring the matter 
 to the notice of the town, and to advocate the great 
 g-ood to be derived from such an institution. 
 
 F. HOWARD ENSIGX, a well-known and 
 highly-respeCted citizen of East Hartford, is a na- 
 tive of the place, born Jan. 3, 1855, and descends 
 from one of the oldest families in the county. The 
 family was founded in America by James Ensign, 
 who died in 1670, and whose progeny is traced to 
 the seventh generation in the biography of Charles 
 A. Ensign, to be found elsewhere, F. Howard En- 
 sign, of the eighth generation, being the subject of 
 this memoir. 
 
 It is claimed, by one biographical authority, that 
 the family name. Ensign, is of Saxon origin, and 
 that it first appeared in Childham, near the Cathedral 
 of Canterbury, England, where there was an Ensign 
 Manor, the family amis being placed in the Church 
 of Childham. The validitj' of the name was estab- 
 lished in 1563 by William Henry, Clarenseaujl, and it 
 appeared in the Counties of Essex, Norfolk and 
 Kent : another claim is made that the name was 
 originally Ensing, and that, for bravery displayed in 
 battling for his sovereign, Ensing was knighted and 
 the letters in the name transposed. But the first 
 statement is undoubtedly correct. 
 
 In the will of James Ensign, the first settler of 
 the name in America, which testament is dated Nov. 
 23. 1670, appears the following: "i give as a token 
 of respect to our Honored Governor Winthrope five 
 pounds ; I give as a token of respect to my dear 
 pastor, Mr. Whiting, five pounds ; I give towards 
 the bu.lding of the new meeting house six pounds; 
 I give to Jiles Aires, to buy him tools when his 
 time is out, forty shillings." The inventorv of his 
 estate is dated Dec. 23, 1670. Sarah, the wife of 
 James Ensign, died in May, 1676, leaving an only 
 child, David, born in 1645. 
 
 David Ensign married Mehitable Gunn, daugh- 
 ter of Thomas Gunn, of Windsor, but they were 
 divorced by mutual consent, and the wife was later 
 married to Isaac Sheldon, a widower, of Windsor. 
 David Ensign, for his second wife, married Sarah 
 Wilcox, who died Feb. 3, 1717. He removed to 
 West Hartford, organized the church there, and died 
 Dec. 12, 1727. His children were named David, 
 James and Thomas. 
 
 Thomas Ensign married Hannah Shepherd, 
 daughter of Tohn and Rebecca (Greenhill) Shep- 
 herd, and among his children was Moses (i), who 
 was born in South Windsor, and married Love An- 
 drews in 1 73 1, she being a daughter of Thomas 
 and Love (Knight) Andrews. Among their chil- 
 dren were Mitoses (2) and Isaac, the latter of whom 
 learned blacksmithing and removed to Simsburv, 
 where his descendants are still living. 
 
 Moses Ensign (2), from whom the East Hart- 
 ford branch of the family descends, was ba])tized 
 Dec. 24, 1732, and also May 12, 1734, and mar- 
 ried Anna \\ illiams, daughter of Timothy and Anna 
 (Andrews) Williams, of Jiast Hartford, and a mem- 
 ber of the old and respected family that owned the 
 land on the west side of Main street from the Hock- 
 anum river south to \Villow 15rook. Their chil- 
 dren, five in numlier, were: Moses ("?), born Dec. 
 4, 1759; Anna, baptized Nov. 29, 1761 ; Ruth, Ijap- 
 tized May 24, 1767; Solomon, bajnized C)ct. 13, 
 1770; and Edward. Of these children. Solomon 
 went to Chenango county, N. Y., located in Pitcher, 
 erected a sawmill, and invented a saw which gave 
 him a widespread reputation. He became very 
 prominent and popular, was elected a judge, and 
 reared a large faniilv. 
 
 Moses Ensign (3) married, Feb. 16, 1786, Jean- 
 ette Forbes, who was born Oct. 11, 1767, and fol- 
 lowing are the names of their children and dates of 
 birth and death: David F., Dec. 30. 1786, Feb. 25, 
 1787; Moses (4), July 20, 1790, Sept. 16, 1790; 
 Moses (5), Sept. 6, 1791, Dec, 8, 1829; Betsey, 
 July ID, 1794, F'eb. i, 1837; Anna, Sept. 21, 1796, 
 Jan. 21, 1845; Harry, Nov. 4, 1798, April 21, 1869; 
 Ralph, Dec. 21, 1800, Oct. 14, 1879; John, Aug. 
 15, 1803, Oct. 31, 1803; Jeanette, Nov. 19, 1805, 
 Nov. 22, 1879; and John (2), Nov. 25, 1807, Dec. 
 7, 1807. Moses Ensign, the father of this family, 
 was a blacksmith, had his shop on the bank of Wil- 
 low brook, near the late residence of J. Fitch Com- 
 stock, and was a very skillful workman. Here his 
 wife died June 18, 1813, and nis own death took 
 place Nov. 30, 182 1. 
 
 ]\Ioses Ensign (5), the third-born child of 
 Moses (3), in the familv above enumerated, and 
 the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a 
 stonecutter and mason by trade. He was a member 
 of the local militia, and when commissioned color- 
 bearer of his company was known as Ensign En- 
 sign : he rose to the rank of captain, and with his 
 company went to the defense of New London in 
 1S12. On May 23, 1820, he married Alartha (fa- 
 miliarly called "Patty") Risley, who was born 
 June 4, 1790, a daughter of John and Ruth (.\bbey) 
 Risley, the former born Feb. 20, 1752, and the latter 
 horn in 1754. The four children of this union were: 
 Charles A., who was born Dee. 4, 1821, first mar- 
 ried Cornelia Stevens and afterward wedded Maria 
 Smith, and died August 17, 1896; Elizur Rob- 
 erts, father of our subject, born Feb. 22, 1824; Jean- 
 ette F., born Feb. 19. 1826, and married to Ira An- 
 derson; and Owen L., born May 13, 1829. Moses 
 I'jisign, the father of these children, while engaged 
 at his trade in Flartford, building a stone vault for 
 the Connecticut River Banking Co., strained his 
 back in lifting a heavy stone. .and for some time 
 was incapacitated for work. About this time he had 
 purchased a piece of land in W'ethersfield. but neg- 
 lected to record the deed, of which neglect the sel- 
 ler took advantage, and sold tlie land to another 
 
662 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 party. Mr. Ensign, receiving an intimation of this 
 fact, hastened to Wethersfield to have the deed 
 recorded, running all the way, and forestalled the 
 second purchaser, thus securing the land, but at a 
 fearful cost. The exertion, in his weakened con- 
 dition, caused his death, which occurred Nov. 30, 
 1829. His widow lived to good old age, and died 
 June 6, 1864. 
 
 Elizur Roberts Ensign, second child of Moses 
 and Martha (Risley) Ensign, was born in Hock- 
 anum Feb. 22, 1824 — the ninety-second anniversary 
 of the birth of George Washington. As he was 
 quite young when he lost his father, and being one 
 of the elder of the children, he was early called 
 upon to aid in the support of the family — a task 
 he cheerfully undertook when strong enough. In 
 the meanwhile he received a somewhat limited ed- 
 ucation at the old Willow Brook school, and on 
 quitting school worked at various places, at a com- 
 pensation of $100 per annum and board. In 1841 
 or 1842 he began learning the bootmaker's trade 
 under George Risley, worked as an apprentice and 
 journeyman fifteen years, and in 1857 went to New 
 Haven to take charge of a department in a boot 
 and shoe manufactory. In 1862 he returned to his 
 old home, and, as the Civil war was then at its 
 height, the States of Virginia, North Carolina and 
 Kentucky were no longer able to contribute to the 
 trade their usual quota of tobacco, of which they 
 had been the chief producers. The boot and shoe 
 trade with the South also fell off to nothing, and 
 the fertile and prolific ingenuity of New Englanders 
 was called into play to furnish new industries. It 
 occurred to some enterprising farmers in the Con- 
 necticut valley that tobacco would thrive there as 
 well as in Kentucky, and the following spring they 
 prepared their land on the Kentucky plan and met 
 with success. Prior to this, however, some little 
 efforts had been made toward tobacco cuhure, but 
 the methods used were crude and the results unsat- 
 isfactory, and in the new and systematic process 
 of cultivating this staple Elizur R. Ensign was a 
 pioneer. For his first crop, cured in 1863, he re- 
 ceived _ twenty-eight cents per pound, and for the 
 following five years he received about fifty cents; 
 he is now probably one of the best-posted tobacco 
 men of the North. 
 
 In politics Elizur R. Ensign has always been a 
 stanch Democrat, and a very popular one. He has 
 filled all the minor town offices, and in 1871 was 
 elected selectman in East Hartford by a large ma- 
 jority, in 1872 was re-elected by a larger majority, 
 and in 1875 was again chosen, and was also elected 
 school visitor. In the following 3'ear he was elected 
 to the State Legislature, and in 1881-82-83 served 
 the town as assessor. In religion he is a Congre- 
 gationalist, a deacon in the First Church of Hock- 
 anum, and was chairman of the committee of the 
 church society for nearly fifteen years. He was 
 also a member of the old Elm Lodge, I. O. O. F., 
 which disbanded in 1862. 
 
 On May 24, 1849, Mr. Ensign married Miss 
 Delia Brewer, who was born Feb. 13, 1830, a daugh- 
 ter of George and Fannie (Stevens, nee Whaples) 
 Brewer, and this marriage has been crowned with 
 three children : Frank Howard, Milton E. and Al- 
 fred J. Of these, full mention of F. Howard will 
 be made farther on. Milton E., born July 2, i860, 
 married, Nov. 16, 1882, Miss Annie Comstock, a 
 native of East Hartford, who bore him two chil- 
 dren, Louis, who is living with his maternal grand- 
 father, Frank Comstock, in East Hartford; and 
 Ruth, living with her paternal grandfather, E. R. 
 Ensign, as is her mother, the father, Milton E., hav- 
 ing died April 13, 1897. Elsewhere will be fourjd 
 a sketch of Alfred J., the youngest of the three chil- 
 dren mentioned above. In speaking of the fiftieth 
 anniversary of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. E. R. 
 Ensign, a local journal had this to say: "Mr. and 
 Mrs. Elizur R. Ensign, two of the best-known resi- 
 dents of the south end of East Hartford, celebrated 
 their Golden Wedding at their home at the corner 
 of Colt and Main streets. Willow Brook, yesterday 
 afternoon, from 4 to 8 o'clock, and over one hundred 
 guests were received. The house was very prettily 
 trimmed with flowers and evergreens, and the bay 
 window, where Mr. and Mrs. Ensign received, was 
 flanked with hone)'suckle and geraniums, against a 
 solid background of evergreens. Mr. and Mrs. En- 
 sign were assisted in receiving by their daughters- 
 in-law, Mrs. Annie T. Ensign and Mrs. Alfred J. 
 Ensign. Two grandsons, Frank H. Ensign and 
 Louis M. Ensign, acted as ushers. Refreshments 
 were served, and Leslie L. Brewer, a nephew, ren- 
 dered several baritone solos." Elizur R. Ensign 
 is a fine type of the most progressive and solid to- 
 bacco growers of the town, and his life furnishes 
 an object lesson of the success which may be 
 achieved by many young farm'ers, if they possess 
 judgment, thrift and industry. 
 
 F. Howard Ensign was born in a house that 
 stood on the site of his father's present dwelling. 
 His first school attendance was in his native dis- 
 trict, and later at the Hartford Public High School, 
 from which he graduated in 1873. He then entered 
 the Eastman Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. 
 Y., where he completed the course Jan. 24, 1874, and 
 was at once employed as bookkeeper by C. L. Will- 
 ard, a fertilizer dealer in Hartford, whose place of 
 business was where 01ds-& Whipple are now lo- 
 cated. After remaining with Mr. Willard about two 
 years he, in December, 1875, returned to his home, 
 and there continued to live until his marriage, on 
 May I, 1879, to Miss Anna Samson, who was born 
 Dec. 21, 1856, a daughter of Earl and Mary L; 
 (Sellew) Samson. The father of this lady was a 
 native of Glastonbury, was captain of a merchant- 
 man, made several trips round the world, and on 
 one occasion was captured by cannibals on the west 
 coast of Africa, but made his escape ; his partner 
 was not so fortunate, as he was killed and eaten 
 by the savages. Capt. Samson lived many years 
 
 I 
 
 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 608 
 
 afterward, and passed peacefully away at his home 
 in Glastonbury Dec. i, 1892. Mrs. Ensign is a 
 descendant of John Talcott, the founder of the Tal- 
 cott family in this country, and is also connected 
 with the Stilman family, of Wethersfield, who de- 
 sccndotl from Capt. Nathaniel Stilman, a member of 1 
 Washington's body-guard. She is related to Ad- 1 
 niirals Sampson and Dewey. 
 
 The children of Mr. and Mrs. F. H. Ensign, 
 five in number, are as follows: Frank Howard, 
 Jr., born Aug. 26, 1881, is a graduate of the Hart- 
 ford Public High School, class of 1900; Adella 
 Marion, born Feb. 21, 1SS3, is a pupil in the East 
 Hartford High School ; Vera Agnes was born Nov. 
 ! 17, 1884; Earl Elizur was born Jan. 19, 1888; and 
 ' Russell Lee, born Aug. 31, 1892, died Nov. 10, 
 
 1893. 
 
 Mr. Ensign, although a lifelong Democrat, voted 
 for McKinley for President of the United States. 
 ; He is very popular in his community, has served 
 ' as auditor three years, has been tax collector, is 
 now chairman of the school board, and has been a 
 director of the Raymond and East Hartford free 
 library since its organization. In 1878 he united 
 with the Hockanum Congregational Church, and is 
 clerk of the board. He is third sergeant in the Sec- 
 ond Company, Putnam Phalanx, and is chaplain of 
 East Hartford Council, No. 1237, Royal Arcanum. 
 He is a progressive farmer and tobacco grower, 
 deals in leaf tobacco, and is tobacco inspector, be- 
 ing thoroughly posted in every detail of the tobacco 
 trade. His life has been upright and useful, and 
 he well deserves the high esteem in which he is 
 universally held. 
 
 GEORGE FRANCIS SMITH. Prominent 
 among the business men of Plantsville is the sub- 
 ject of this review, president of the H. D. Smith 
 Co., who for over forty-three years has been closely 
 identified with the manufacturing interests of the 
 town. He is a man of soimd judgment, keen per- 
 ception and unbounded enterprise, and his executive 
 ability and capable management have brought to the 
 concern with which he is connected a high degree 
 of success. 
 
 i Mr. Smith was born in New Haven Oct. 24, 
 
 1831, but his parents, George A. and Mary A- 
 
 j (Slate) Smith, were both natives of Hartford coun- 
 ty. His paternal grandfather, Asa Smith, a car- 
 riage blacksmith by trade, was a resident of Wind- 
 sor, Conn., and a son of Asaph Smith, a farmer of 
 ^ Ashford, this State. The maternal grandfather of 
 our subject, John Slate, made his home in Man- 
 chester, Conn., where he conducted a hotel for many 
 years, and where his death occurred. For many 
 years our subject's father was engaged in the car- 
 riage iron business in New Haven, North Haven 
 and Plymouth, and in 1861 located in Plainville, 
 where he embarked in the manufacture of fifth 
 wheels for carriages, and continued that business 
 up to the time of his death, which occurred Feb. i, 
 
 Agnes ; 
 
 187S. His wife also died in Plainville, June 24, 
 1868. Their children were George F. ; Cornelia S., 
 wife of O. A. Hitchcock ; Julia, wife of Clarence 
 Burr; Charlotte A.; Antoinette; Helen; and Ed- 
 ward. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of our subject were 
 passed in this State, and his literarv education was 
 completed at Lewis Academy, Southington, from 
 which he was graduated in 1848. He then entered 
 a retail dry-goods store in Hartford, where he was 
 employed for six years, and during the following 
 six years was connected with a wholesale dry-goods 
 house in New York City. Returning to Hartford, 
 he spent three years in the carpet department of a 
 store of that city, and later was in business for 
 himself at Ogdensburg, N. Y., for six months. 
 Since 1857 he has been identified with the H. D. 
 Smith Co., of Plantsville, as a member of the firm 
 since i860, and business manager up to 1894. lie 
 held the ofiice of vice-president from Aug. i, 1894, 
 to Aug. I, 1899, when he was elected president. 
 
 On March i, 1866, Mr. Smith married Miss 
 Emma H. Bryant, a daughter of Ebenezer and Free- 
 love Bryant. They have a family of four children: 
 Emily J. ; George M., wdio was graduated from 
 Yale in 1889, and married Catherine Ware, daugh- 
 ter of President Ware, of the Atlantic University ; 
 and Margaret. 
 
 Mr. Smith is an active and influential member 
 of the Plantsville Congregational Church, of which 
 he has been a deacon for several years, and has 
 also served as chairman of the society committee 
 for twenty years ; he was chairman of the building 
 committee when the church was built. Fraternally 
 he is a member of Friendship Lodge, No. 33, F. 
 &- A. M., and politically is a stanch supporter of 
 the Republican party. He has served as a member 
 of the board of relief for several vears, and repre- 
 sented Southington in the State Legislature in 1882. 
 In all the relations of life he has been found true 
 to every trust reposed in him, and merits and re- 
 ceives the respect and esteem of all. 
 
 jMATTHEW F. AIcLAUGHLIX, a prosperous 
 farmer and dairyman of Bloomfield, was born in 
 that town Feb. 16, 1856, and here he has passed all 
 his life. 
 
 James McLaughlin, father of our subject, w-as a 
 native of County Westmeath. Ireland, came to the 
 United States when a young man, settled in Bloom- 
 field, Conn., and in due course of time married, at 
 Hartford, iSIiss Elizabeth Foster, who was born in 
 County Longford, Ireland, and was also young 
 when she reached America. To this marriage were 
 born six children : Matthew F., whose name opens 
 the article; Frank Bernard, of whom mention will 
 be made farther on ; Mary E., widow of Bartholo- 
 mew O'Neil, of Hartford ; Sarah, married to Thomas 
 Joyce, of Bloomfield; Delia, now ^Irs. William 
 Reynolds, also of Bloomfield; and Nellie, residing 
 in "the same town. The father of this family passed 
 
664 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his years in Bloomfield, engaged in farming. In 
 poitics he was a Democrat, and in rehgion was a 
 devout Cathohc, in which faith he passed away in 
 1865, at the comparativefy early age of thirty-six 
 years. 
 
 Matthew F. McLaughhn passed his school-boy 
 days in Bloomfield, and was reared to manhood on 
 the home farm, where he still hves, and which, until 
 1885, he operated, in conjunction with his brother, 
 Frank B., with unvarying success. For the past 
 thirteen years he has been engaged in dairying in 
 connection with farming, and has been as equally 
 successful as he was when in co-partnership with his 
 brother, who parted with him only for the reason 
 that he wished to marry and have a home of his own. 
 
 In politics Mr. McLaughlin is a Democrat, but 
 has never sought pubhc office : nevertheless he was, 
 in spite of himself, elected constable, but, con- 
 sistently, did not qualify. In religion he is a devout 
 Catholic. 
 
 Frank Bernard McLaughlin, the second 
 child of James and Elizabeth (Foster) McLaugh- 
 lin, was born in Bloomfield July 15, 1857. He was 
 educated in the Old Farm district of his native town, 
 and was associated with his brother Matthew F. 
 in the cultivation of the home farm until the spring 
 of 1885, when he married and settled on his present 
 place, where he has since been chiefly engaged in 
 raising tobacco and in dairying. His wife bore the 
 maiden name of Annie Francis, and she is a daugh- 
 ter of Patrick Francis, a native of Galway, Ire- 
 land. The children that have blessed this union, 
 five in number, were named, in order of birth, Mary 
 Elizabeth, James Joseph, Francis Edward, Anas- 
 tasia and Margaret Irene. Of these, Mary, James 
 and Anastasia died within one week, in April, 1899. 
 
 Frank B. McLaughlin has made a success of life, 
 and has been very popular -with his fellow citizens, 
 whom he has served as justice of the peace, grand 
 juror, and member of the school committee. Fra- 
 ternally he is a Knight of the Maccabees. In re- 
 ligion he is a true Catholic, and a dutiful member of 
 the Sacred Fleart Congregation of Bloomfield. 
 
 REV. JOHN JOSEPH OUINN, priest in 
 charge of the parish of St. Patrick's at Collinsville, 
 is a man whose learning and piety make him - a 
 power in the community. While he has exceptional 
 gifts as an orator and spiritual teacher, he is also 
 an able administrator, as the material prosperity of 
 the parishes over which he has presided has shown, 
 and since settling in Collinsville he has built a fine 
 rectory, established a Young Men's Club, and in- 
 troduced many improvements of a practical nature. 
 
 Father Ouinn was born Oct. 30, 1855, in Hart- 
 ford, this county, son of the late William and Mar- 
 garet Quinn, both of whom were devout members 
 of the Catholic Church. They were natives of 
 Ireland, whence they came to America early in life, 
 and the father, who was a blacksmith by trade, was 
 a respected citizen of Hartford, and an active sup- 
 
 porter of the principles of the Democratic party. 
 One of the sons of this worthy couple is now a 
 lawyer in Hartford, and a daughter, Sister Rosalie, 
 is in a convent. Father Ouinn's education was be- 
 gun in St. Patrick's School, in Hartford, conducted 
 by the Sisters of Mercy, and later he attended the 
 school of the Christian Brothers, in Hartford, and 
 St. John's College at Fordham, N. Y., where he 
 was graduated in 1876 with the degree of B. A. ; 
 he remained another year, receiving the M. A. de- 
 gree. Having a strong desire to devote himself to 
 the service of God, he entered the Grand Seminary, 
 at Montreal, Canada, to prepare for the priesthood, 
 and Dec. 18, 1880, he was ordained by Bishop 
 Favre, of Montreal. He celebrated his first mass 
 at Thompsonville, and after three months as assist- 
 ant priest at Southington, Conn., he was stationed 
 at Norwich, where he remained two years. The 
 next three years he spent at Willimantic, Conn., and 
 in June, 1885, he took charge of the parish of Cov- 
 entry, a rectory and many other improvements be- 
 ing among the results of his zealous work. In 
 April, 1889, he was appointed to his present parish, 
 and for twelve years his parishioners have found him 
 a faithful friend and counsellor. He is a man of 
 broad views, which he can present effectively and 
 eloquently, his rich voice adding to the pleasure of 
 his hearers. He has traveled extensively in this 
 country, and in 1897 he went abroad, visiting points 
 of interest in England, France, Italy, Switzerland, 
 Turkey and the Holy Land. His manner is genial, 
 yet unassuming, the index of a generous nature. 
 Politically he supports the Democratic party, and he 
 is a member of the Order of Knights of Columbus, 
 and chaplain of the Hibernian Society at Collins- 
 ville. 
 
 ERNEST M. EHLERS, the enterprising milk- 
 man of Burnside, is a shining example of a self- 
 made young man who has achieved success in life 
 through his own individual efforts. He was born 
 in Hundborg, Denmark, April 15, 1871, and is a son 
 of Carl Ernest Martin and Carren (Hansdatter) 
 Ehlers, the former of whom was a native of Ger- 
 many, and moved to Denmark, where he was mana- 
 ger of a large sheep farm near Hundborg, and was 
 quite well-to-do. 
 
 Mr. Ehlers is one of a family of seven children, 
 of whom four brothers came to the United States, 
 our subject and a brother, Hans, two years his 
 senior, starting from Hamburg in a steamer, July 
 22, and landing in New York seven days later, Mr. ^ 
 Ehler with $13 in his pocket. Ernest M. Ehlers 
 came direct to Hartford, where a companion of his 
 boyhood, Andrew Ferguson, was living, by whom 
 he was employed for a short time. He was next 
 employed at the South Manchester reservoir for 
 some time, at the rate of $50 per year and board, ; 
 and then went to Worcester, Mass., where ho 
 worked for a farmer for $1.25 per day and board 
 for two months, at the end of which time he had 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 mo 
 
 saved $6i, which proved to be the foiiiulalion of his 
 future business prosperity. He next came to lUirn- 
 side. and for some time peddled meat for Erastus 
 Cowles, a butcher. Later he worked for a while in 
 llarlford, returned to lUirnside anil was employed 
 bv Frank Hanmer a few weeks, and then, with 
 his savings, purchased a milk route from James 
 Forbes, and in this business he has since continued, 
 having estalilisbed an immense and lucrative traffic 
 through hi.^i Strict honesty and cleanliness, and the 
 purity of his dairy products. He has realized a 
 comfortable comjietence already, and owns two 
 houses, which he rents, as he is not a married man. 
 Air. Ehlers is possessed of an excellent baritone 
 voice of great compass, and is at present training 
 it under direction of Prof. Barrington, of Hartford: 
 he is already sought after as a singer at parties, 
 cluirch socials and other gatherings at which su- 
 perior vocalism is desired. He is individually very 
 popular, and is a welcome guest everywhere, his 
 rich voice, of which he is no niggard, making him 
 doubly attractive. In politics Mr. Ehlers is a Repub- 
 lican, but has never sought office, and in ordinary 
 business parlance is what is called a ■"hustler." 
 
 ADA-M XEUSCHELER, one of the most high- 
 ly-respected farmers of Glastonbury, exemplifies 
 those admirable traits of character which rise above 
 circumstances and win success in the face of ad- 
 verse conditions. Mr. Xeuscheler came to America 
 a young Clerman emigrant, friendless and without 
 adequate means. By the exercise of unHagging in- 
 dustry, thrift and ripe business judgment he has es- 
 tablished for himself an excellent agricultural busi- 
 ness, and won from the community in which he 
 lives high respect and esteem. 
 
 Mr. Xeuscheler was born at Hassloch, W'urtem- 
 berg, Germany. Feb. 9, 1838, son of Joseph and 
 Katrina ( Kohn) Xeuscheler. lieing the fourth in 
 their family of eight children, who were as follows : 
 Michael, a farmer, who died unmarried in Germany ; 
 Jacol), a farmer, married and living in Germany : 
 Joseph, who married Magdalena Redmond, and is 
 a farmer and shoemaker at Hassloch, Germany ; 
 Adam, our subject : Ludwig, who lives at Hassloch, 
 Germany; Fred, who died young; John, who died 
 young; and Charles, who migrated to the United 
 States, married a Airs. Pederman, and operated a 
 hotel at Hoboken. X. J., until his death, Jan. 13, 
 1899. The father of these children was a farmer 
 by occupation, and died at Hassloch, Germany, aged 
 sixty-five years. 
 
 Our subject attended school to the age of four- 
 teen years, and then hired out as a farm hand for 
 eight dollars per year, his father receiving the wage. 
 The life of our subject at this stage of his career 
 was not inviting. He remained engaged in farm 
 work until he was twenty-one years of age ; then 
 entering the German army he remained in service 
 six years. After his discharge he worked for a time 
 on good wages as driver at a gristmill, and later be 
 
 drove carriage two years for a hotel. While thus 
 engaged, June 3. 1863, he married Katrina Decker, 
 who was born at Xekartenclingen, VVurtcmberg, 
 Germany. Xov. 12, 1839. in 1865 Mr. Xeuscheler, 
 with his wife and infant child Jacob, emigrated to 
 America via Liverpool. The tri]) across the At- 
 lantic in a steamer was rough and consumed seven- 
 teen days. Landing at Xew York May 28, of that 
 year, our subject proceeded at once to Philadelphia, 
 where he secured work in a livery stable, and a 
 little later in a tannery. At Philadelphia he re- 
 mained three months, and then came to (ilaston- 
 bury. Conn., secured emplDvment in the tannery of 
 Isaac Broadhead and David Plubbard, now owned by 
 Herman Roser. For eighteen years our subject re- 
 mained a workman in this tannery, and with his 
 savings he purchased first, from George E. Hale, a 
 five-acre tract, located just across the road from his 
 present residence. He and his wife cleared off the 
 stones, brush and trees, and together they tilled the 
 Jand, making it the foundation for their present neat 
 home and well-cultivated farm. Many evenings Mr. 
 Xeuscheler worked on the little farm until after 
 nine o'clock, or until darkness stopped liim. To 
 this first purchase he added other land, until he now 
 owns thirty acres, ten of which are excellent tobacco 
 land. His present residence he erected in 1879. 
 He has made a notable success of his little farm, 
 due wholly to the untiring efforts of himself and his 
 wife. 
 
 To Air. and Airs. Xeuscheler have been born five 
 children: Jacob, born April 21, 1864, and married 
 to Lena Klein, is in the ice business in Xew York 
 City, and has three children, Lena, born July 15, 
 1892, Katie, born Alarch 30, 1894, and Lottie, born 
 Jan. 15. 1897: Fred, born Alarch 22, 1866, married 
 katrina Stocklum, of Xew Haven, and is a teamster 
 at Hartford; John, born June 16, 1868, who died 
 June 26, 1868 : the fourth was an infant who died 
 unnamed; Paul, born July 6, 1873, married Emma 
 Broukey, lives at Glastonbury, and has one son, 
 Leon, born Jan. 8, 1899. In politics our subject is 
 a Democrat. Himself and family attend the Congre- 
 gational Church. He is a man of strict integrity, 
 and his many excellent qualities have won for him 
 the high regard of all who know him. 
 
 JOHX GEISELAIAX, Jr.. a thriving young 
 tobacco grower of Silver Lane, town of East Hart- 
 ford, wa"s born June 17, 1867, on the homestead on 
 High street, Hockanum, and is a son of John and 
 Agatha (Cameron) Geiselman, whose full biog- 
 raphy will be found elsewhere. 
 
 John Geiselman, Jr., was educated in the public 
 schools, and his first teacher was Airs. Hawkins. 
 The school-building was situated a half-mile from 
 his home, but this was not a very lengthy walk for 
 a young and health}- lad. He assisted on the home 
 farm, and worked out for others until twenty-one 
 vears of age when he married, X^ov. 22, 1888, Aliss 
 Fannie E. Erving, who was born Alarch 11. 1870, 
 
666 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a daughter of John J. and Sarah A. (Brewer) Erv- 
 ing, natives of Hockanum. Mr. Erving made his home 
 with Mr. and Mrs. Geiselman until about a year 
 ago ; he died Oct. 25, 1899, and was interred by the 
 side of his wife in Hockanum cemetery. When 
 first married he lived in an old house through the 
 roof of which he could see the stars at night, and 
 many mornings he awakened to find snow on his 
 bed. But he had inherited the frugal and industri- 
 ous habits that had characterized his 'father and the 
 race from which he descended. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Geiselman have been born two children : Elsie May, 
 May 17, 1892, and Sarah Ruth, Dec. 4, 1893. The 
 family attend the South Congregational Church, 
 of which Mrs. Geiselman is a member, and to the 
 support of which Mr. Geiselman is a liberal con- 
 tributor. In politics he is liberal, in local affairs 
 voting for the man that he considers the most 
 capable of filling office. 
 
 Mr. Geiselman started out in life a poor young 
 man, and through his own energy he has secured for, 
 himself a good farm and comfortable home. In 
 1894 he purchased from his father-in-law a lot on 
 which he erected, the same year, his present neat 
 dwelling, and he now owns sixteen acres of fine 
 tobacco land, all paid for through his own good 
 management. 
 
 The Erving family, from which Mrs. Geiselman 
 is descended, came from Salem, Mass., and settled 
 in Hartford county. Conn., and from West Hartford 
 her grandfather, who was a bootmaker, came to 
 East Hartford, bringing with him his son John J., 
 who was born in West Hartford July 4, 1832. The 
 latter was also a bootmaker, and he worked at the 
 trade until the breaking out of the Civil war, which 
 event destroyed this industry in East Hartford, and 
 he then went to Wethersfield, where he was em- 
 ployed as inspector in the penitentiary shoe factory. 
 
 John J. Erving married, in 1857, Miss Sarah 
 
 A. Brewer, who was born in Hockanum Dec. 25, ■ 
 1833, and to this union were born three children : 
 Dora L., born Nov. 4, 1858, was married to Charles 
 
 B. Case, and is now living in West Granby ; Rollin 
 K., born Jan. 29, 1861, first married Jennie Merri- 
 man, and after her death wedded Clara Tuller, and 
 is now secretary and treasurer of the Burr Index 
 Co., of Hartford ; and Fannie E. is the wife of Mr. 
 Geiselman. The mother of these children passed 
 away Feb. 22, 1894, and her remains were interred 
 in Hockanum. 
 
 Mr. Geiselman is now classed among the sub- 
 stantial citizens of the town of East Hartford, and 
 he and wife enjoy the esteem of the entire com- 
 munity, Mr. Geiselman's industry and upright life, 
 and his wife's piety and amiable disposition, hav- 
 ing made them especial favorites in Willow Brook. 
 
 EDWIN FRANKLIN GRISWOLD (de- 
 ceased) was a prominent and respected citizen of 
 Wethersfield, born in Griswoldville Sept. 22, 1835. 
 His father was Stanley Griswold, born June 22, 
 
 1804, and his paternal grandparents were Thomas 
 and Mary (Wolcott) Griswold. A detailed state- 
 ment of the genealogy of his family may be found in 
 the memoir of Thomas Newton Griswold, on an- 
 other page. 
 
 Stanley Griswold was a farmer, of progressive 
 ideas, and broad views; possessed of a keen judg- 
 ment and sound common sense; aft'able in his man- 
 ners, yet unassuming, generous and genial. He 
 made a specialty of stock-raising, but was also suc- 
 cessful in general farming. He was first a Whig 
 and later a Republican, but always consistent in his 
 advocacy of human freedom. His religious belief 
 was that of a practical, rather than a theological. 
 Christian. He was a consistent member of the 
 Congregational Church, and a liberal contributor 
 to the cause of religion. He married Lucy Welles, 
 of Wethersfield, the issue of the union being two 
 sons and two daughters, of whom Edwin Franklin 
 was the second son in order of birth. The eldest 
 was Martin, who married Elizabeth Hale, and is 
 now deceased. Lucy Welles, the eldest daughter 
 (also deceased), became the wife of Henry Augus- 
 tus White, of Griswoldville. The youngest, Jenny, 
 is an invalid. Mrs. Stanley Griswold was a lady of 
 fervent piety, tempered with a tender charity that 
 embraced all that was human. She was a devout 
 Congregationalist, and a sincere Christian. 
 
 Edwin F. Griswold was largely self-educated. 
 His scholastic advantages were of that meager sort 
 incident to an irregular attendance upon the dis- 
 trict schools, but through reading, observation and 
 experience he so developed his native mental powers 
 that he was justly reckoned one of the best in- ( 
 formed men of his day. His early years were spent 
 upon his father's farm, but not long after attaining 
 his majority he bought property of his own, set- 
 tling upon a farm of 150 acres. Here he spent his 
 life, engaged in general farming, and at the same 
 time devoting especial attention to seed-growing and 
 tobacco culture. While he was a successful man of 
 business, he was far from neglecting the amenities 
 and enjoyments of social life. He was fond of 
 music. He was a member of the Grange, and of the 
 Govei-nor's Horse Guards, holding the dual posi- 
 tion of bugler and color bearer. He was popular in 
 the community among which his long and useful 
 life was passed, and greatly respected for his 
 many noble traits of character, among which was a 
 deep-seated regard for justice and truth. He died 
 at Wethersfield Jan. 11, 1892. He was united in 
 marriage to Miss Lucy Chamberlain, who was born 
 in Iowa, and died in Wethersfield, Oct. 6, 1888. 
 No children were born to them, and they adopted, as 
 their son, Wilbur E. Williams, who now bears the 
 name of Wilfred E. Griswold. 
 
 Wilfred E. Griswold was educated at the tlis- 
 trict schools, the instruction there received being 
 supplemented by a course at Wilbraham Academy 
 and at Hannum's Business College, Hartford. He 
 made his home with his foster father, and at the 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 G67 
 
 lattor's death inherited the home farm of about 135 
 acres. He, too, is a seed-grower and tobacco raiser, 
 as well as a general farmer. In addition he is a 
 large dealer in ice, cutting over two thousand tons 
 annually, which he sells in Wethersfield and Hart- 
 ford. He is enterprising and industrious, and in 
 everv way a most estimable citizens. His life is 
 exemplary, and he commands respect through his 
 positive, manjy, Christian character. Both Air. and 
 Mrs. Griswold are members of the Congregational 
 Church, and he is secretary of the Sunday-school. 
 They are also members of the Wethersfield Grange, 
 in which Mr. Griswold has held several offices, and 
 is now master. He is a Republican, but not an ac- 
 tive politician, and has never sought office. His 
 union with Miss Harriet Shepard, of Wethersfield, 
 has been blessed with one son, Edwin F., born Nov. 
 25, 1894. 
 
 Mrs. Griswold is a daughter of Frederick W. 
 Shepard, who was born in Flartford, and was a son 
 of Hiram L. and Harriet A. (Tuttle) Shepard, 
 both of whom were natives of Bloomfield. Frederick 
 W. Shepard received his education in the district 
 schools and at Power's Institute, Greenfield, Mass. 
 He was a farmer through life, and followed this 
 pursuit at various localities in Hartford county, fin- 
 allv settling at Hartford. There he became a mem- 
 ber of the Governor's Horse Guards. In that city 
 he married Almira E. Cook, a daughter of Samuel 
 Cook, and granddaughter of Aaron Cook. Three 
 children were born to them: Hiram, who conducts 
 a milk route at Wethersfield and Hartford ; Harriet, 
 Mrs. Wilfred E. Griswold ; and Grace, who lives 
 at home. Mr. Shepard was a Republican, and a 
 warm friend to popular education. He died at 
 Hartford, and was buried there. His widow is 
 yet living, and makes her home at Wethersfield. 
 Both she and her daughter, Mrs. Griswold, are 
 ladies of a genial temperament and rare refine- 
 ment. 
 
 MICHAEL LIEBLER. Among the descend- 
 ants of the German settlers, who, about a half- 
 century ago came to Hartford county, it would be 
 difficult to find one who is more typically represen- 
 tative than the subject of this sketch. The great 
 majority of these settlers have from the insignifi- 
 cant belongings they possessed when they arrived 
 risen to positions of comfort and independence by 
 the exercise of the sterling qualities of industry, 
 patience, perseverance and thrift. Mr. Liebler is an 
 industrious and successful farmer, and the winning 
 traits he has so admirably exhibited were the foun- 
 dation stones of his father's success. 
 
 Our subject was born in Cromwell, Conn., March 
 29, 1858, a son of Frank and Margaret (Falmood) 
 Liebler. The father was born in Bavaria, Ger- 
 many, in 1822. He received a good education in 
 the public and select schools of his native land, and 
 in his native town, Markheidinfelt, served in his 
 youth a three-years' apprenticeship in a gristmill. 
 
 receiving for his services during that time thirty 
 dollars per year and board. He married .Margaret 
 Falmood, a native of Bavaria, and for eight or nine 
 years followed his trade of miller in Germany. 
 Then, about 1850, he migrated with his wife to 
 America. They left Havre on a sailing-vessel, and 
 were three months eii route. Mr. Liebler landed 
 at New York with little money, and first secured 
 employment in the Livermore flour mills at a small 
 compensation, remaining there about two years. 
 He then removed to Cromwell, Conn., where he 
 purchased a small farm, to which in the succeeding 
 years he gradually added until he possessed a tract 
 of 160 acres. Besides farming, he dealt quite 
 largely in his younger years in wood, shipping white 
 oak butts to New York, where they were consumed 
 in the manufacture of baskets. 
 
 Mr. Liebler enlisted from Cromwell in 1863, in 
 Company D, 24th Conn. V. I., Col. Allison, for 
 three years, and filled the entire term of service. 
 He was with the command throughout the Louisi- 
 ana campaign, was at Baton Rouge, and participated 
 in all the engagements of the regiment. After he 
 was mustered out he returned to Cromwell and re- 
 sumed general farming, engaging also in the sale 
 of milk. Fie prospered in business, and his suc- 
 cess was due to his own unaided efforts. He died 
 April 23, 1896, and was buried in Aliddletown, 
 Conn. His faithful wife died Nov. 21, 1885. To 
 Frank and Margaret Liebler were born eight chil- 
 dren : Frank, a molder of Wethersfield, married 
 Katherine Donnelly, of New Britain, and had five 
 children, three of whom, Mamie, Michael and Eddie, 
 survive ; Barbara married Peter Rosner, both now 
 deceased, and lived at New York and later at Crom- 
 well (their two surviving children are Frank and 
 JMamie) ; Elizabeth, Mary Ann and Andrew, all three 
 died in infancy ; jMichael is the subject of this 
 sketch ; Margaret married Bartholomew Trant, a 
 molder of Flartford, and had four children, Kittie, 
 John, Louis (deceased) and William; and Andrew 
 (2j, a molder, married Mary Clark, of New 
 Britain, and has three children, Alarguerite, John 
 and Andrew. 
 
 Michael Liebler, our subject, attended school 
 until the age of fourteen years, when for three 
 years he worked on his father's farm. At the age 
 of seventeen he secured employment at small wages 
 in the grocery store of Goodrich Bros., at Glaston- 
 bury. He often worked seventeen hours a day, 
 but remained continuously with this firm for twelve 
 years, saving money each year. In 1879 '^^ went 
 to Champaign, 111., to become foreman on the farm 
 of E. E. Goodrich, and held that position until the 
 farm was sold, two years later. Returning to Con- 
 necticut, Mr. Liebler was for a time employed by 
 P. FI. Goodrich in the latter's store and tobacco 
 warehouse, and on his farm. He then operated the 
 farm of Frederick Wells on shares for a year, and 
 continued farming at various places until 1897, 
 when he purchased from the estate of Herbert 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 4 
 
 Samson a tract of twenty acres, to which he has 
 since devoted his attention, making notable im- 
 provements. He also owns a farm of seventeen 
 acres in Cromwell. Mr. Liebler raises annually 
 about seventeen acres of tobacco, receiving good 
 prices for his product. He is regarded as one of 
 the successful, wide-awake and prominent residents 
 of Glastonbury. 
 
 Mr. Liebler was married, April 12, 1883, to 
 Miss Mary Ellen Bransfield, who was born Oct. 10, 
 i860, in Glastonbury, daughter of Patrick and Mary 
 (Carter) Bransfield. Her father has for the past 
 forty years been a tanner in the employ of Isaac 
 Broadhead. Mrs. Liebler died Aug. 4, 1895,. and 
 was buried in St. Benedict's cemetery, Hartford, 
 leaving one daughter, Anna May, born June 24, 
 1884. Mr. Liebler for his second wife married, 
 Sept. 26, 1900, Miss Mary Frances Burnham, who 
 was born April 10, 1863, in Mt. Vernon, N. H., 
 daughter of William and Mary L. (Gibbons) Burn- 
 ham, the former of whom was a farmer by occupa- 
 tion. Our subject and family are members of St. 
 Mary's Catholic Church of East Hartford. Lr 
 politics he is a Republican. While interested in 
 public affairs, he is not an office-seeker, preferring 
 to devote his energies to his own business. He is 
 intelligent and enterprising, and one of Glaston- 
 bury's most honorable citizens. 
 
 HON. FRANK LANGDON WILCOX, A. B. 
 New Engand, in American history, will ever be 
 known for two most vital contributions to the na- 
 tion, first, the implantation of civil liberty, as ex- 
 emplified in the migration and subsequent lives of the 
 Puritan forefathers, and second, the birth and de- 
 velopment of American industry, which now prom- 
 ises to make the nation foremost in the world. Not 
 by accident nor extraneous circumstances did the 
 New England States rise to importance in this re- 
 spect, to lead the nation to its highest material as 
 well as moral destiny, but b)^ the inherent strength 
 of character, the fertility of resource, beneficence of 
 invention and the energy and perseverance which 
 lay enshrined in the best type of New England man- 
 hood. Nurtured in the progressive atmosphere of 
 human liberty, strengthened by the hardships and 
 privations incident to Colonial life, many of the 
 early families had the foundation of worthy and 
 noble struggle and achievement in the mother land 
 before migration. 
 
 The Wilcox family, of East Berlin, has been 
 most prominently associated and identified with the 
 history of Connecticut since the days of earliest set- 
 tlement. At one time in the history of the town of 
 Berlin, Hartford county, there were twenty-five 
 voters in the Wilcox family. To-day Frank 
 Langdon Wilcox, the subject of this sketch, a prom- 
 inent business man, treasurer of the Berlin Iron 
 Bridge Co., is the only voter of the name in the 
 town. His father, Samuel Curtis Wilcox, was one 
 of the most successful and prominent manufactur- 
 
 ers of Connecticut. To him, perhaps, more than 
 to any other one individual, is due the industria 
 prommence of Berlin. Our subject is the eightS 
 in line of descent from John Wilcox, who was borl 
 in England, and who migrated to Connecticut abou 
 
 16 . The "Blue Book" of England states tha 
 
 he was a descendant of Capt. John Wilcox, wh| 
 commanded 1,000 lances at the battle of Hasting| 
 in 1066, against William the Conqueror. 
 
 The line of descent to our subject is as follows! 
 (2) Israel, son of John Wilcox, was born in Easl 
 Berlin June 19, 1656. He married Miss Sarf 
 Savage, of Middletown, Connecticut. 
 
 (3) Samuel Wilcox, son of Israel and Sari 
 Wilcox, was born in East Berlin Sept. 6, 1685. He 
 married Hannah Sage, of Middletown, Connecticutf 
 
 (4) Daniel Wilcox, son of Samuel and Hannah 
 Wilcox, was born in East Berlin Dec. 3, 171 5. Hi 
 married Sarah White, of Hartford, the descendanl 
 of early settlers of Hartford, who came to that setl 
 tlement with John Hooker. Daniel Wilcox {4) 
 gave the ground in East Berlin to the town to b| 
 used as a burying ground, and upon his monumen 
 the following inscription can still be seen: 
 
 I gave this ground, I'm laid here first. 
 Soon my remains will turn to dust. 
 
 My Wife and my p)rugeny around, 
 
 Come sleep with me in this cold ground. 
 
 (5) Samuel Wilcox, son of Daniel and Sarah 
 Wilcox, was born in East Berlin Sept. 12, 1753. 
 He marired Phebie Dowd, who was a descendant 
 of the David Dudley, Field family. 
 
 (6) Benjamin Wilcox, grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was a son of Samuel and Phebie Wilcox. He 
 was borii in East Berlin June 27, 1782. He mar- 
 ried Betty Savage, who was born in East Berlin, 
 June 25, 1787, and who was a lineal descendant of 
 Gov. Hubbard, of Connecticut. He was a large 
 land owner in the town of Berlin. 
 
 (7) Samuel Curtis Wilcox, the father of our 
 subject, was born in East Berlin Dec. 11, 181 1. He 
 married, July 20, 1836, Miss Eliza Anne Parson, 
 who was born March 9, 1815, in Durham, Conn., 
 and who died Jan. 20, 1845. By this marriage he 
 had four children, all of whom are now deceased. 
 He was married, the second time, June 7, 1846, to 
 Miss Anna Scovill Peck, who was born in Ken- 
 sington March 15, 1827, daughter of Norris and 
 Elizabeth (Langdon) Peck, representatives of the 
 oldest and most influential families in the county. 
 Norris Peck was born Dec. 9, 1795, and was a 
 prominent farmer and citizen of Berlin, a descend- 
 ant of Deacon Paul Peck, who is supposed to have 
 been born in the County of Essex, England, in 1608, 
 and to have come to Boston, Mass., in the ship "De- 
 fense," in 1635, and to have removed to Hartford 
 the following year with Rev. Thomas Hooker. 1 lis 
 name is on the list of proprietors of Hartford in 
 1639. From the records of the town it appears 
 that he became one of its leading men. His resi- 
 dence is said to have been upon what is now Wash- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 609 
 
 ingloii street, near Trinity Collci^c, the site yet 
 being remembered by aged inhabitants as the 
 "Peck" lot. I'aul Peck was deacon of the Congre- 
 gational Church from 1681 until his decease, Dec. 
 23, i()y5. His will is upon the probate records, 
 
 B. 5, pages 217-18-19, dated June 25, 1695, and 
 proved Jan. 15, i6e)6. It is a lengthy and interest- 
 ing document, detailing anil describing his proi)erty, 
 which inventoried 53O pounds, 5 shillings. 
 
 The Langdons, who were the maternal ances- 
 tors of the mother of our subject, were at one time 
 large land hoklers in Berlin, having in their posses- 
 sion a large tract of land, upon which now stand all 
 the brickyards and the Berlin depot of the New 
 York, Xew Haven & Plartford railroad. They 
 were prominent in the Revolutionaiy war. 
 
 By his second wife, Anna, Samuel C. Wilcox had 
 eight children : Samuel Howard, born April 23, 
 1848, is now n^anager of the New York office of 
 the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co.; Clarence Peck, born 
 March 18, 1S50, dieil young; Annie Peck and Amos 
 Feck (twins), born Dec. 2, 1853, both died young; 
 Edward Henry, born Sept. 22, 1856, died Jan. 24, 
 1865; Frank Langdon, subject of this sketch, born 
 Jan. 6, 1859; Elizabeth Peck, born March 8, 1861, is 
 now residing with her brother at the old Wilcox 
 homestead on picturesque Berlin street ; and \'ictor 
 Peck, born May 27, 1866, died aged two years. The 
 mother of our subject died March 7, 1884, aged 
 fifty-seven years. 
 
 The business career of Samuel C. ^^'ilcox is most 
 interesting. He was reared on his father's farm, 
 and attended school at Ballston Spa, N. Y., after 
 which for a few years he taught school in Connecti- 
 cut. But the bent of his mind was for a business 
 rather than for a profession, and returning to Berlin 
 he engaged in mercantile pursuits. Establishing a 
 general store at Berlin, he traveled South by team, 
 and established a similar store at Washington, N. 
 
 C, conducting these for a great many years. Ex- 
 pansion of trade in his estimation, gave greatest 
 promise along manufacturing lines, and he accord- 
 ingly establislied a tinware manufactory in company 
 with two others, associated under the firm name of 
 Carpenter, Lamb & Wilcox. The factory was located 
 on land now owned by the Wilcox family and rented 
 to H. F. Damon, the original building erected by 
 Mr. Wilco.x having since been remodeled for Mr. 
 Damon. It was the first tinware factory in the 
 United States, and at the start employed about thirty 
 men. From the energy and business methods put 
 into the shop the firm quickly developed a wide and 
 profitable trade, especially through the Southern 
 States. All kinds of tinware were manufactured, 
 
 • and the business was continued for fifteen years. 
 In 1845 J^Ir. Wilcox established at East Berlin a 
 small manufactory for tinmen's tools and machines, 
 this being the nucleus from which has grown the 
 widely known Peck, Stow & Wilcox' Co. The 
 latter was established in 1870, by the consolidation 
 of eight factories of tinmen's tools, seven in Con- 
 
 necticut and one in Cleveland, (Jhio, employing 
 several thousand hands, with a cajjital stock of 
 $1,500,000. .\l the consolidation Samuel C. Wilcox 
 was elected vice-president of the company, a trusted 
 and important position, which lie held without in- 
 terruption until his death, in 1886. 
 
 Another industry of Berlin which owes its pros- 
 perity to Mr. Wilco.x is that of The Berlin Iron 
 Britlge Co. Its predecessor, known as The Cor- 
 rugated Aletal Co., of Berlin, was in serious finan- 
 cial trouble, and was threatened with dissolution 
 when Mr. Wilco.x came to its rescue. Through his 
 advice, bridge construction was added to the scope 
 of the plant, and thus in 1871 was born The Berlin 
 Iron Bridge Co., with Samuel C. Wilco.x as its 
 president. To the new enterprise he applied his 
 masterly business abilities, and with a success that 
 was almost phenomenal. He remained its efficient 
 and directing e.xecutive until his death. What had 
 once .been a struggling factory, employing a hand- 
 ful of men, had been transformed by his magic 
 brains and force into one of Berlin's and the coun- 
 try's proudest industries ; one of the largest and 
 most prospering of its kind in the L'nited States, 
 employing almost a thousand men, and steadily 
 growing" in inlluence and trade. To this business he 
 devoted most of his attention from the inception 
 of the company, and to his efforts it owes its pros- 
 perity. It is to-day one of the most prominent 
 bridge finiis in the world, and has constructed some 
 of the finest engineering structures in both the old 
 and new continents. It has just erected, at Berlin, 
 Germany, a building, the cost of which was $50,000, 
 and constructed the jMachinery building for the 
 Paris Exposition of 1900. 
 
 Mr. Wilco.x was a stockholder and director of 
 many enterprises throughout Connecticut. In poli- 
 tics he was a Democrat. For its substantial growth 
 and development Berlin owes to none of its hon- 
 ored citizens more than to this brilliant and far- 
 seeing manufacturer. Mr. Wilco.x was an accurate 
 reader of human nature, and this admirable trait he 
 put into most excellent use in choosing his lieuten- 
 ants. Kind in disposition, he was at the same time 
 a man of strong convictions, to which he was ever 
 true. Plis business foresight was one of his most 
 valuable qualities, and back of it lay an energy, 
 which bore his well-laid plans unerringly to rich 
 success. Throughout his well-rounded and potent 
 life these salient traits of character were everj'- 
 where displayed, and his death, on Sept. 21, 1886, 
 was a severe blow to the entire town. 
 
 Frank Langdon \\'ilcox, the subject of this 
 sketch, was educated with the view of taking up, in 
 a measure, his father's work, a task which in the 
 past twenty years he has most creditably performed. 
 Lentil twelve years of age he attended the Berlin 
 Academy, then entered St. Paul's School, at Con- 
 cord, N. H., graduating from its five-years' pre- 
 paratorj' course in 1876. Then entering Trinity 
 College, Hartford, he graduated from that insti- 
 
670 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tution of learning in 1880, with the degree of A. 
 B. Entering the shops of the Peck, Stow & Wil- 
 cox Co., at Kensington, in the same year, he became 
 their manager in 1885, continuing in that capacity 
 until the consolidation of the Kensington factory 
 with the other factories of the company, four years 
 later, when the Kensington factory was totally des- 
 troyed by fire. Our subject then became associated 
 with The Berlin Iron Bridge Co., as its treasurer, 
 which responsible position he still holds. He is 
 also identified with many business interests through- 
 out Hartford county. He is a director and vice- 
 president of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co. ; a di- 
 rector of the Phcenix National Bank, of Hartford ; 
 of the New Britain Mechanics National Bank, of 
 New Britain; of the Berlin Savings Bank, Berlin; 
 of the Matabesset Co., of Berlin ; and secretary and 
 treasurer of the Middletown & Portland Bridge Co. 
 In politics Mr. Wilcox is a stanch Republican, 
 and he represented the town in the State Legisla- 
 ture in 1893, during his term serving as clerk of 
 the Judiciary committee. He is a member of St. 
 Elmo Lodge, No. 31, Knights Templar, of Meriden; 
 of the college fraternity "Delta Psi"; of the En- 
 gineers Club, of New York; and of several social 
 clubs. On Jan. 19, 1898, Mr. Wilcox was mar- 
 ried to Miss Harriet Churchill Webster, who was 
 born March 27, 1870, in Berlin, daughter of Deacon 
 Charles and Julia S. (Higgins) Webster. They 
 have one daughter, Margaret Webster, born Feb. 
 15, 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox are both very active 
 members and liberal supporters of the Congrega- 
 tional Church of Berlin. 
 
 LEON LE CLAIR is a leading blacksmith of 
 Berlin, whose shop is located on Berlin street, near 
 the post office, and whose home on Hudson street, 
 adjoins the shop. A native of Vermont, he was 
 born in St. Albans Sept. 22, 1845, ^i^d is a son of 
 Louis and Catherine (St. John) Le Clair. The 
 father was also born in St. Albans, in 1812, and 
 when about thirty years of age removed to near 
 St. John's, Canada, where he purchased sixty acres 
 of land and successfully engaged in farming, becom- 
 ing quite well-to-do. He died in 1880, and there 
 his remains were interred. His wife, who was born 
 in 1816, died in 1897. Our subject's paternal 
 grandfather, Louis Le Clair, Sr., was a native of 
 Quebec, whence he removed to St. Albans, Vt., 
 where he also engaged in farming. 
 
 Our subject accompanied his parents on their re- 
 moval to St. John's, Canada, when he was about two 
 years of age, and there he was reared upon a farm, 
 while his education was received in the common 
 schools of the neighborhood. After leaving school, 
 at the age of sixteen, he went to work on the Hoosac 
 tunnel, and was thus employed for about three 
 months. Later he took a contract to chop the wood 
 from a large tract of land, and, with three men in 
 his employ, he worked at that occupation for three 
 months. He then learned the blacksmith's trade 
 
 with Peter White, at East Windsor, Conn., and 
 after five years spent with him, he went to Middle- 
 town, Conn., where he worked at his trade for the 
 same length of time. Returning to East Windsor, 
 he leased the shop which formerly belonged to Mr. 
 White, his old employer having died in the mean- 
 time, carried on business there for seven years, and 
 in April, 1882, came t(j Berlin, purchasing the shop 
 of Solomon Dunham, on Berlin street, which he has 
 since so successfully conducted. He is an expert 
 workman, , is industrious and enterprising, and the 
 prosperity that has come to him is certainly well 
 merited. In 1891 he bought the David Robbins 
 property, on Hudson street, which he has remod- 
 eled and converted into a very pleasant home. 
 
 On June 3, 1873, Mr. Le Clair married Miss 
 Catherine Flavin, of Middletown, who was born 
 Aug. 26, 1848, a daughter of William and Delia \ 
 (Keefif) Flavin. The following children weie born !i 
 of this union: Lucy Malvina, born Aug. 11, 1875, 
 attended school in Berlin and New Britain, later 
 graduated from Huntsinger's Business College, of 
 Hartford, and is now a stenographer for the Berlin . 
 Iron Bridge Co. ; Agnes, born July 31, 1877, was ed- 
 ucated in the public schools of Berlin and the high 
 school of New Britain, and is now at home; Leon 
 Louis, born April 15, 1879, was graduated from the 
 New Britain high school and is now employed as 
 bookkeeper by the Berlin Brick Co. ; Josephine, 
 born June 26, 1880; Katherine Rose, born Feb. 25, 
 1882, and Florence May, born Aug. 26, 1884, are all 
 attending the New Britain High school; and Sid- 
 ney, born April 7, 1887, and Maude, born Sept. i, 
 1892, are attending the Berlin schools. The family 
 are communicants of St. Paul's Catholic Church, 
 of Kensington, and give liberally toward its sup- 
 port. Politically Mr. Le Clair is a Republican, but 
 as local elections usually votes independent of party 
 lines. 3 
 
 I 
 
 SALMON CHESTER ENO, one of the oldest 
 
 citizens of Simsbury, Hartford county, descends ^ 
 from James Eno, who settled in Windsor in 1646. ,;| 
 
 The Eno family is of French origin, and the i 
 name was variously spelled in England, as Enneu, ,■! 
 Ennos, and Eno, and was well-known in Colchester, , 
 County of Essex. James Eno was a barber by trade, 
 and became a resident of London. In his day, no 
 man in London could vote unless he was a member 
 of the trade guilds, nor could he be elected Alder- 
 man, Sheriff, or Lord Mayor until he had served an 
 apprenticeship at a trade, and it was requisite that 
 the Lord Mayor should be a member of one of the 
 twelve great Livery Companies. James Eno prob- 
 ably learned his trade of barber-surgeon in the 
 Barber-Surgeon Company, of London, of which 
 Sir Astley Cooper and other eminent surgeons were 
 apprentices. New England, Maryland and Virginia . 
 were largely settled by men who had learned trades \ 
 as apprentices to these craft-guilds. 
 
 James Eno followed his trade in Windsor. On ' 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 071 
 
 Aug. 18, 1648, he married Hannah Bidwell, who 
 was born Oct. 22, 1634, a daughter of Richard Bid- 
 well. She hore iier husband three ch.ildren : Sarah, 
 in 1649, who was first married to a Mr. Ilolcomb, 
 and later to a Mr. Phelps; James, Jr., in 1651 ; and 
 John, in 1654. Mrs. Hannah Eno died Oct. 7, 
 1657, and James Eno married, Aug. 5, 1658, Mrs. 
 Elizabeth Holconibe, widow of Thomas Holcombe ; 
 she died Oct. 7, 1679. Mr. Eno's third marriage 
 was with Mrs. Hester (Williams) Eggleston, widow 
 of James S. Eggleston, of Windsor. It was said 
 of this lady that she was the first white child born 
 in Hartford. Her death took place July 10, 1720, 
 James Eno having died July i, 1682. 
 
 In corroboration of the statement that James 
 Eno followed his business of barber-surgeon in 
 Windsor there exists, in the Eliphalet Eno family, at 
 Torrington, a curious barber's basin, once his, such 
 as were used by the surgeon-barbers of the olden 
 days, and even now in some parts of Spain and other 
 Europeans countries. This basin is of coarse delft, 
 of a greyish-white color ; is thirty-eiglit inches in 
 circumference outside, and twenty-four inches inside, 
 and has on one side of its rim a circular indentation, 
 intended to fit around the neck and under the chin 
 of the person to be shaved, nearly opposite to which 
 is a hole or dent in the rim for the thumb ; at the 
 bottom of this hole is another, through which a 
 string was passed which then encircled the wrist of 
 the customer to hold it in place. The inner face of 
 the bowl is decorated with representations of the 
 various adjuncts of the trade, such as scissors, 
 razors, combs, etc., and the date, 1663, done in 
 blue. 
 
 The line of descent from James Eno, the founder, 
 to the subject of this sketch, is as follows: James 
 Eno, Jr., born Nov. 2, 1651, married Abigail Bis- 
 sell Dec. 26, 1678, and died July 16, 1714, the father 
 of nine children: James, born in 1679; Ann, 1682; 
 William, 1684; Abigail, 1686; Mary, 1691 ; John, 
 1693; Samuel, 1696; Susannah, 1699; and David, 
 1702. 
 
 David Eno married Mary Gillet, daughter of 
 \\ illiam Gillet, and she bore him five children : 
 David, Jr., born Aug. 14, 1727; ^lary; Gen. Roger, 
 of Revolutionary fame, born in 1729, who died Oct. 
 6, 1808; Mercy, born 1734, who died Nov. 6, 1808 
 (she married John Langton in 1754) ; and Jonathan, 
 born in 1739, \vho also ser\ed in the Revolution- 
 ary war. 
 
 Jonathan Eno married, Jan. 7, 1765, Mary Hart, 
 daughter of Capt. Elijah Hart, of New Britain, 
 and to this union were born nine children : Polly, 
 born in 1765, was married to Elijah Tuller, and 
 died in West Simsbury ; Rhoda, born in 1766, was 
 married to Daniel Phelps; Jonathan, born in 1769, 
 married Theodosia Case, and died in Bloomfield ; 
 Lucretia, born in 1771, was married to Granville 
 Humphrey, of Torrington ; Elizabeth, born in 1773, 
 married Alexander Phelps; Sinthia, born in 1777, 
 married Plezekiah Case, of Bloomfield ; Salmon 
 
 w-as tiic father of our subject; Chaunccy, born in 
 1782, married Amarilla Case; and Abigail, born in 
 1785, was married to John Viels, of Granby. The 
 father of this family was a farmer in Simsbury, and 
 a very inlluential man in his community. 
 
 Salmon Eno was born Dec. 13, 1779, in Sims- 
 bury, and was reared a farmer boy, although it had 
 been the intention of his parents to prepare him 
 for one of the learned professions, and his education 
 was received under the tuition of Rev. Samuel 
 Stebbins. Yet he preferred agriculture as a life 
 vocation. While still a young man he married 
 ^Nliss Mary Richards, who was born in 1785, a 
 daughter of Amos Richards, a Revolutionary sol- 
 dier. The first few years of his married life Mr. 
 Eno passed in the village of Simsbury, whence he 
 removed to the farm now occupied by his grandson, 
 Aaron Eno. His children were: (i) Emeline, 
 born Dec. 11, 1805, was married May 31, 1832, to 
 Ozias Bassett, of New Britain, and is still living 
 at the venerable age of ninety-five years. (2 J 
 Aaron R., born July 4, 1808, lived on the home 
 farm until twenty-six vears old, married, Feb. 29, 
 1832, Ruth Tuller, and died April i, 1835. (3) 
 Amos R., born Nov. i, 1810, married Lucy Jane 
 Phelps, daughter of Elisha Phelps; he had a most 
 remarkable business career, and became the wealthi- 
 est man that ever lived in Simsbury; he was reared 
 on the farm, and attended school in his native dis- 
 trict until si.xteen years of age, when he went to 
 Hartford, clerked in two different stores, then re- 
 turned to Simsbury and kept store for some time, 
 and next went to New York, entering into mer- 
 cantile trade and amassing a large amount of prop- 
 erty; he then engaged in the real-estate business, 
 and at his death, in New York, Feb. 21, 1898, left 
 an estate valued at twenty-five million dollars ; he 
 owned a palatial residence in Simsbury, where he 
 passed his summers, and in this village his remains 
 were interred. (4) Salmon Chester, whose name 
 opens this memoir, was next in the order of birth. 
 (5J Alary, born Aug. 8, i8i6,was married to Milton 
 Humphrey, and resides in Hartford. (6) Lydia 
 Jane, the youngest of the family, born June i, 1819, 
 was first married to Horatio Lewis, of New Britain, 
 and later to Paris Barber, of Homer, N. Y. Sal- 
 mon Eno was a man of average size, and was a 
 thorough and successful farmer. In politics he was 
 a \Miig, and for one year represented his district 
 in the Lower House of the General Assembly, be- 
 ing very prominent in all town affairs, and highly- 
 respected. He died April 3, 1842, his widow sur- 
 viving until Sept. 29, 1883. 
 
 Salmon Chester Eno was born June 12, 1814, 
 and was reared on the home farm. He first at- 
 teiuled the W'estover District school, and later 
 Elijah Garritt's school, at New Britain, which was a 
 supplement to the district school, and here his liter- 
 ary education ended. He has passed all his life in 
 Simsbury, with the exception of three months that 
 he spent in New York as a clerk for his brother; 
 
672 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 but he disliked clerking and returned to the more 
 enticing pursuit of agriculture. 
 
 Mr. Eno married, Oct. 29, 1845, ^iss Sarah C. 
 Goodwin, who was born in Simsbury Feb. 14, 1824, 
 a daughter of James and Candace (Bird) Good- 
 win, the latter being a daughter of the well-known 
 Dr. Bird, of Simsbury. Mr. Eno, on his marriage, 
 went to housekeeping on the old farm, where he 
 lived until about 1883, when he built his present 
 dwelling, which has since been his home. To his 
 marriage have come the following-named children : 
 Aaron L., born Sept. 28, 1846, is a prosperous farm- 
 er of Simsbury, with a family of three children ; 
 Charles G., born Aug. 6, 1848, is now a business 
 man in Osborne, Kans..; Sarah C., born Nov. 24, 
 185 1, is the wife of Charles J. Parker, of New 
 Britain; and George C, who was born Oct. 15, 
 1854, is married and resides in Simsbury, and is 
 the father of three children. Mrs. Eno departed 
 this life Jan. 21, 1893. 
 
 In politics Mr. Eno was at first a Whig, but 
 upon the disintegration of that party became an 
 ardent Republican, and a very popular one. Dur- 
 ing the interval that lapsed between the decadence 
 of the Whig party and the formation of the power- 
 ful Republican party, he affiliated with the Know- 
 Nothing or Native American organization, and in 
 1848 was elected to the General Assembly. He 
 served as assessor of his town, as a member of the 
 board of relief, as constable, and in other offices. 
 
 GEORGE F. ANDERSON, a well-known and 
 enterprising young tobacco grower and farmer of 
 Silver Lane, town of East Hartford, was born May 
 24, 1869, and is a son of Capt. Albert H. and Jajie 
 R. (Doty) Anderson. 
 
 George E. Anderson, grandfather of George F., 
 lived in the home now occupied by John Foley, in 
 Silver Lane, and was a prosperous farmer. He 
 married Pearly Loomis, to which union were born 
 two children: Edward, who was killed at the age 
 of ten years by running into a rail fence while 
 coasting ; and Albert H. 
 
 Albert H. Anderson was born Jan. 8, 1844, and 
 was educated in a common school, after quitting 
 which he went to work in Colt's factory for Jacobs 
 & Howe, and next, for a short time, ran a ferry- 
 boat near by ; later he purchased a sailboat and went 
 to work for the Hartford Transportation Co., by 
 which he was employed several j^ears as captain. 
 He next, in company with Alexander Doty, went to 
 Philadelphia and purchased the tug-boat "Coulston," 
 and for three years ran it in opposition to, or in 
 competition with, the Hartford Transportation Co. 
 Their traffic was so remunerative that the Trans- 
 portation Co. became eager to buy them out, and 
 finally they sold their mutual interest in the "Coul- 
 "ston" to that concern. Capt. Anderson had been 
 running between Hartford and Perth Amboy, N. 
 J., carrying coal. He later ran the steamer "Granite 
 State," but this vessel was destroyed by fire. One 
 
 fall he made a trip to Jacksonville, Fla., and came 
 back the following May on the "Admiral Farra- 
 gut." In 1883 he c[uit the water and settled on the 
 tarm now occupied by his son George F. In 1879- 
 80, he had built the house in which John Foley now 
 resides, and in this he lived until called away, Julv 
 28, 1886, while still engaged in farming. 
 
 Albert H. Anderson married Jane R. Doty, who 
 was born April 27, 1846, a daughter of Alexander 
 and Elizabeth Doty, and to this union were born 
 two children: George F., our subject; and Lillie M., 
 July 24, 1873. Mrs. Jane R. Anderson died April 
 18, 1878, and Mr. Anderson next married, Sept. 24, 
 1884, Mrs. Charlotte Thayer {nee Whittaker) , who 
 bore him one child, Elisha C, born July 12, 1885, 
 and now living with his mother. In politics Albert 
 H. Anderson was a Democrat, and fraternally was 
 a member of Orient Lodge, No. 62, F. & A. M., of 
 New Hartford. He was a large man, and was 
 blessed with good health nearly all his life. He was 
 a close observer of men and men's affairs, was a 
 great reader, was of firm character but pleasant in 
 disposition, and was favorabl)^ known everywhere 
 as "Capt. Anderson." 
 
 George F. Anderson was born in Hockanum, 
 near the site of the present post office, first at- 
 tended school in the brick school house, later in the 
 school in Willow Brook, and then in the Brown , 
 school on Market street, Hartford, under Prof. 
 Barrows, from which he graduated in 1884; he then 
 returned home to assist on the farm. At the deadi 
 of his father he assumed full charge of the place, » 
 which then comprised three and one-half acres only, •* 
 but he has added to it ever since, and this year 
 (1899) expects to raise ten acres of tobacco. He 
 has made many substantial improvements on the 
 farm, building new barns and remodeling the to- 
 bacco sheds, and keeps the place in most excellent 
 condition. 
 
 On June 18, 1890, Mr. Anderson married Miss 
 Jeanette Kirbell, daughter of Benjamin and Eliza- 
 beth (Haussman) Kirbell, natives of East Hart- 
 ford. Mr. Kirbell (now deceased), was a harness- 
 maker, and his widow makes her residence in 
 Silver Lane. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have been 
 blessed with one bright little daughter, born Oct. ; 
 30, 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson attend the Con- 
 gregational Church, and in politics Mr. Anderson is 
 a Democrat. Socially he is a member of Elm Lodge, 
 Knights of Pythias, and of the Royal Arcanum. 
 East Hartford Council, No. 1237. He is a very 
 rapid worker, is what is usually denominated a 
 "hustler," is fully up-to-date in his farming, is ex- 
 tremely popular, and highly esteemed by the en- 
 tire community. 
 
 ITON. FIEZEKIAH SPENCER SHELDON, 
 a highh'-cstcemed resident of West Suffield, was ■ 
 born in Suffield June 23, 1820. a son of Julius C, 1, 
 born in West Suffield, Conn., Dec. 12, 1791 ; son of ; 
 Martin, born in West Suffield Feb. i, 1762; son of ; 
 
/ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 678 
 
 Elijah, born in Nortliaiiipton, Mass., Nov. 2, 1719, 
 son of Capt. Jonathan, born in Norlliampton May 
 29, 1689 (dictl in 1769) ; son of Isaac, born about 
 1629. The last named was one of the pioneers of 
 Northampton, Mass., where he died July 29, 1708; 
 he was a resident of Windsor, Conn., from 1640 to 
 1654. At Hartford, Conn., he married Mary Wood-' 
 ford. 
 
 Capt. Jonathan Sheldon (above) was a captain 
 in the militia. He was the progenitor of the 
 "Sheldon street branch" of this family. He had a 
 brother, Joseph, who settled in Suffield, Conn., in 
 1699, prior to Capt. Jonathan's coming, in 1723, 
 but his descendants are not so numerous. He was a 
 shoemaker and farmer, his home being in Sheldon 
 street, \\'est Suffield. He married Mary South- 
 well Dec. 30, 1708, and they had a family of ten 
 children, of whom Elijah, born Nov. 2, 1719, mar- 
 ried Sarah King, who was also a resident of Suf- 
 field, and died there June i, 1785. 
 
 Martin Sheldon, born Feb. i, 1762, at West 
 Suffield, was a man of fine physique, standing six 
 feet in height. He was married Nov. 15, 1787, 
 to Abigail Gillette, and after her death he again 
 married, but all of his children were by his first 
 wife. He died Sept. 4, 1848. For several years 
 lie was director of the Connecticut State Prison 
 ("Newgate Prison"), being the financial head of 
 that institution ; was a representative from Suffield 
 for seventeen sessions; was a justice of the peace 
 for years, settled estates, and was frequently con- 
 sulted on various matters — in fact, he was one of 
 the leading men in his town. His regular busi- 
 ness was agriculture, but he merely superintended 
 the work on the farm. In religious faith he was 
 a Baptist, prominent in church work, and- gave lib- 
 erally of his means to the Second Baptist Church 
 at Suffield. He also contributed liberally to the 
 Connecticut Literary Institute at Suffield, having a 
 high estimation of the advantages of a good educa- 
 tion. His children were : Martin, a resident of 
 Suffield, died in early manhood, leaving a familv. 
 Horace was killed in a cider mill when a child. 
 Julius C, our subject's father, comes next. The 
 youngest died in infancy. 
 
 Julius C. Sheldon was prepared for college bv 
 Ebenezer Gay, at Suffield, then attended Yale Col- 
 lege one year; but his eyesight becoming impaired, 
 and his father requiring some assistance in his ex- 
 tensive business interests, he returned home. In 
 course of time he and a cousin, Jacob Sheldon, com- 
 menced business at Albany, N. Y., but a few vears 
 later they dissolved partnership, and Mr. Sheldon 
 moved to Chardon, Geauga Co., Ohio. Here he 
 embarked in mercantile business, built a store room, 
 and did a large trade in that then new settlement. 
 This jvas in 1815. 
 
 On Sept. 30, 1819, in Suffield, ]\Ir. Sheldon mar- 
 ried Mindwcll Spencer, who was born April 22, 
 1797, at Suffield, daughter of Hezekiah and Jerusha 
 (Nelson) Spencer. He did not then return to Ohio, 
 43 
 
 but went into mercantile business at West Suffield, 
 where his father was, and for a few years remained 
 so employed. The senior Mr. Sheldon having been 
 appointed director of "Newgate Prison," Julius C. 
 became his private secretary. In 1849 '^^^ removed 
 to Suffield Center, and died there Dec. 5, 1873 ; 
 his widow passed away Aug. 23, 1885. They were 
 both meml)ers of the Baptist Church; in politics he 
 was originally a Whig, later a Republican, and for 
 many years he served as justice of the peace. He 
 was a good all-round business man, was possessed 
 of literary tastes, and at times devoted his pen to 
 the writing of poetry. 
 
 A brief record of the children born to Julius C. 
 and M indwell Sheldon is as follows: (i) Heze- 
 kiah S. is our subject. (2) Martin J., born May 
 3, 1826, maintains the country home at Suffield, 
 besides other possessions, and resides in New York. 
 He married Eliza Jane Waud, now deceased, and 
 had one daughter, Lolita, who is the wife of J. 
 Ogden Amiour, a son of P. D. Armour, of Chi- 
 cago. (3) Abigail, born June 22, 1832, died at 
 Suffield Feb. 16, i860, unmarried. (4) Henry K., 
 born Oct. 10, 1837, was a graduate of Yale Col- 
 lege, later studied at Albany Law School, and died 
 at Suffield Jan. 25, 1866, unmarried. 
 
 Hezekiah S. Sheldon, the subject proper of this 
 sketch, attended Sheldon street school, his father 
 being his first teacher, while Richard Phcl[)s was 
 one of his earliest instructors. At the age of twelve 
 years he entered Reuben Granger's private school 
 at Suffield, and in the fall of 1833 attended the first 
 term of school held in the Connecticut Literary In- 
 stitue at Suffield. He is now one of the only two 
 left in Suffield who attended the Institute that term. 
 \\'hen seventeen years old he was a teacher in the 
 Harbor District at Poquonock, Conn., receiving the 
 munificent sum of $15 per month, and "boarding 
 around"; in 1838-39 he taught in East Granby, and 
 he also taught in West Suffield. His life vocation, 
 however, has been farming, although he has not 
 always been actively engaged in that pursuit. 
 
 In politics Mr. Sheldon is a Republican, formerly 
 a Whig, his first Presidential vote having been cast 
 for Henry Clay, and has missed but one Presiden- 
 tial election since, which was in i860, when he was 
 absent in Minnesota. He has served his town in 
 various offices of trust, such as assessor for seven 
 years, trustee, also justice of the peace, although he 
 "never tried a case." invariably succeeding in per- 
 sauding contesting parties to settle their differences 
 "out of court." He is much averse to litigation, and 
 has never been either plaintiff or defendant in any 
 kind of suit, but has served in both United States and 
 county courts as juror. He represented his town 
 in the General Assembly in 1858. 1881. 1887, and 
 1889. Mr. Sheldon is a stockholder in. the First 
 National Bank at Suffield, and for seven years was 
 vice-president of same. He has been a contributor 
 to many newspapers and magazines, and in historical 
 matters is considered a reliable authority in his town. 
 
674 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 but his eyesight has been faiHng for the past twenty- 
 five years, and he is unable now to either read or 
 write, though in all other respects he is compara- 
 tively well preserved. He is the author of a num- 
 ber of valuable local histories, the most important 
 being his "Documentary History of Suffield," which 
 required a great amount of labor and research. He 
 also wrote an interesting "History of the Connecticut 
 Literary Institute," and "The Connecticut River and 
 Its Islands," besides compiling a genealogy of the 
 Sheldon family. 
 
 On Nov. I, 1843, Mr. Sheldon was married in 
 Suffield, to Miss Almira C. Rose, a native of that 
 town, daughter of Barlow and Clarissa (King) Rose. 
 They commenced housekeeping Jan. i, 1844, in the 
 house which he had built the previous )fear, in West 
 Suffield, and where he is yet living. His wife was 
 called from earth Aug. 30, 1887, and is buried in 
 West Suffield cemetery. She was a member of the 
 Congregational Church, and highly respected, as is 
 also her husband, who is one of the best-known and 
 most highly-honored men in his part of the State. 
 
 DANIEL T. DYER, of the Dyer Farm, in the 
 town of Canton. On this farm is located the Dyer 
 Mine, yielding gold, silver, lead and zinc, and is 
 beautifully situated near "Rattlesnake Mountain," 
 while under the able management of our subject it 
 is kept in a high state of cultivation. The mines 
 have been operated, and valuable deposits are found 
 on the estate. Mr. Dyer, the proprietor, is one of 
 the leading business men of his locality, and the 
 most extensive distiller of cider brandy in the State, 
 the product of his plant at the farm being sent to 
 different parts of the United States. 
 
 The Dyer family has been identified with this 
 section from an early day, and the name has always 
 been associated with thrift, enterprise and pubHc 
 spirit. The first ancestor of whom we have record 
 was Thomas Dyer, who was born about 161 2, at 
 Shipton Mallet, near Glastonbury, England, and 
 came to America in early manhood. He settled at 
 Weymouth Mass., where he died Nov. 5, 1676. 
 He was there married to Agnes Read, a native of 
 Rutley, near Glastonbury, England, who died in 
 Weymouth in 1667. He married (second) Eliza- 
 beth Frary, a widow, who died at Weymouth in 
 1678, aged fifty-six years. By his first marriage he 
 had eight children, as follows : Mary, born July 
 9, 1641, married Samuel White, and died in Wey- 
 mouth Oct. 23, 1716; John, born July 20, 1643, died 
 in Boston June 2, 1696; Thomas, born March 29, 
 164s, died July 16, 1647; Abigail, born July 9, 1647, 
 married James Nash, of Weymouth; Sarah, born 
 March 10, 1649, married John Ruggles, and died 
 at Roxbury, Mass., Aug. 2, 1687; Thomas (2), born 
 May 5, 1651, died in 1673; Benjamin and Joseph 
 (twins) were born Nov. 6, 1653, and the latter died 
 Oct. 12, 1704. 
 
 Benjamin Dyer, born Nov. 6, 1653, at Wey- 
 mouth, Mass., located in Boston in early life, and 
 
 died there in 1718, his remains being interred in a 
 local cemetery. His wife, Harriet Odlin, daughter 
 of Elisha Odlin, of Boston, was born in July, 1640. 
 They had ten children : Harriet, born Sept. 27, 
 1692 ; Thomas, born Nov. 7, 1693, died Feb. 22, 
 1722; Abigail, born April 7, 1695; Margaret, born 
 Nov. 21, 1696, married Jeremiah Hall, and died in 
 1735 ; John, born Nov. 21, 1696, married Jeremiah 
 Hall, and died in 1735; John, born Nov. 21, 1698, 
 died in 1723, unmarried; Benjamin is mentioned 
 below; Joseph, born Sept. 25, 1702; Mary, born 
 in 1704, died of smallpox in 1721 ; Elisha, born 
 March 21, 1707, died at Hartford, April 10, 1739; 
 and Sarah, born Dec. 13, 1708, married James 
 Ra3aTier. 
 
 Benjamin Dyer (2) was born in Boston March 
 27, 1700, and learned the trade of tallow chandler. 
 On Nov. 22, 1825, he was married to Margaret 
 Clapp, and in 1735 he removed to Hartford, re- 
 maining about ten years. In 1745 he settled in 
 West Simsbury (now Canton), purchasing a large 
 tract of land (over 600 acres) near the Farming- 
 ton river, known now as the Page place. He died 
 there in 1775, and is buried in Canton cemetery. He 
 was a man of culture and refinement, and was a 
 classmate and roommate of Benjamin tranklin dur- 
 ing their school days. He had the following chil- 
 dren : Thomas, born in Boston in 1728, married 
 Azubah Humphrey, daughter of Samuel Humphrey, 
 and died in 1803; Mary married Elisha Cornish; 
 Benjamin F. died in 1746, at an earljr age; Joseph 
 was a soldier in the French and Indian war, and 
 diecj in the French war; Margaret, born in 1738, 
 married Eliphalet Curtis, and died in 1812; John 
 died in 1793; Sarah married (first) John Hutching- 
 son and (second) a Mr. Edson; Hannah married 
 Benjamin Adams ; Benjamin (2), born in 1747, mar- 
 ried Anna Northway, and died in 1815; and Daniel, 
 born in 1749, is next in the line of descent. 
 
 Daniel Dyer, born in 1749, was well educated, 
 becoming a civil engineer. He was a lifelong resi- 
 dent of West Simsbury (now Canton), followed 
 farming and stock raising, and was highly respected 
 as a citizen. Fie served in the Revolutionary army. 
 He died at his farm in 1814, his remains being 
 buried in the Canton cemeterj'. A great Bible 
 student, he was so familiar with his Bible that if 
 any two verses were repeated, with the name of the 
 book, he could tell the chapter in which they oc- 
 curred. Mr. Dyer married Sarah Northway, who 
 was born in 1748, and died in 1819, was a daugh- 
 ter of Samuel and Ann Northway, and granddaugh- 
 ter of Mrs. Sarah Woodford, who lived to the 
 patriarchal age of loi years. Of the seven children 
 born to Daniel and Sarah Dyer one died in infancy 
 in 1780; Sarah, born in 1776, married Dr. Enoch 
 Leavit; Chloe, born in 1778, married Uriah -Hop- 
 kins, and died at New Hartford in 1863 (she was 
 buried in Harwinton) ; Candace, born in 1782, mar- 
 ried Ashbel Moses, and died in 1877 (she was 
 buried in New York) ; Norman, born in 1786, mar- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 675 
 
 rio(l Diantha Roberts, and died in Indiana in 1848; 
 Zcnas, born in 1788, is mentioned below; Panthie, 
 born in 1793, died in 1878, and is buried in Hunter, 
 N. Y. (she married first Theophilus Dyer, and 
 second Fisk Beach). 
 
 Zenas Dyer, our subject's grandfather, was born 
 on the old homestead in Canton in 1788, and for 
 many years resided at our subject's present farm. 
 For twenty-nine and a half years he conducted a 
 hotel, and he engaged extensively in the business 
 of distilling cider brandy. Fie was a man of or- 
 dinary education and intelligence, and served as 
 captain of the local military company. Fie and his 
 son Daniel broke the ground for the erection of the 
 Collins Company's plant at Collinsville. Fie was 
 an active member of Village Lodge, No. 29, F. & 
 A. M., at Collinsville, and for a number of years 
 the meetings were held in his house. On Nov. 27, 
 181 1, he married Sally Chidsey, who was born 
 Aug. 4, 1794, daughter of Timothy Chidsey, and 
 granddaughter of Joseph Chidsey. His death oc- 
 curred Dec. 10, 1856, at his farm, and he was buried 
 in the Dyer cemetery ; his wife passed away July 7, 
 1887. Of their children, (i) Charlotte, born in 
 Canton, Feb. 20, 1815, died Juy 30, 1S88. She 
 married first Edmund Bidwell, Sept. 19, 1836, and 
 second, Dec. 25, 1852, F. J. Garrett. (2) Daniel 
 is mentioned below. (3) Lucia Ann, born Oct. 5, 
 1818, was married Sept. 11, 1839, to the late E. 
 F. Bidwell, and now resides in Collinsville. (4) 
 Sarah, born Feb. 28, 1823, was married Sept. 4, 
 1853, to J. F. King, of New Hartford, who died 
 June 2, 1900. (5) One died in infancy unnamed. 
 
 Daniel Dyer, father of our subject, was born at 
 the present homestead March 8, 1817, and received 
 a common-school education, and as he was fond of 
 reading he kept well informed upon the issues of 
 the day. As a young man he went to St. Louis, 
 jMo., by team ; in the party were thirty-#wo two- 
 horse teams, taking thirty-one days to make the 
 trip, and for two years he was engaged in selling 
 clocks in the West for Wadsworth & Peck, meeting 
 with fair success. In boyhood he worked with his 
 father at the foundation of the Collins Company's 
 works in Collinsville, and on his return from the 
 West he settled on the homestead, and conducted 
 the hotel for several years. He made many im- 
 provements on the place, which contains 300 acres 
 of land, and in addition to general farming, stock 
 raising and dairying he conducted the business of 
 distilling cider brandy. He was also a contractor 
 for repairing and building roads, and held for thir- 
 teen years the contract for keeping the Albany & 
 Hartford turnpike, from Hartford to New Hart- 
 ford, in general repair. He was noted for his hon- 
 esty as well as for his industry and business tact, 
 and he was much esteemed in the community. Po- 
 itically he was a Democrat, and in his religious 
 views he was liberal, although he made the Golden 
 Rule the guide for his conduct. Mr. Dyer died 
 May II, 1876, and was buried in the Dyer cemetery. 
 
 On May 6, 1852, he was married in Canton to Susan 
 Lyon, who was born July 10, 1820, in Gustavus, 
 Ohio, daughter of Aaron Lyon, a native of East 
 liaddam, Conn., and his wife Harriet (Bidwell), 
 a native of Canton. Airs. Dyer died Feb. 23, 1892. 
 She was a lady of refinement, a student at Oberlin 
 College, and taught in a public school in Ohio pre- 
 vious to her marriage. She made many friends. 
 
 Our subject was born at the homestead June 4, 
 1853, and being an only child inherited the farm, 
 lie secured his literary education in the district 
 schools of Canton, the high school at Collinsville, 
 Williston Seminary, Easthampton, Mass., and the 
 Eastman Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 
 Since taking possession of the farm he has devoted 
 special attention to stock raising, dairying and to- 
 bacco growing, and has made extensive additions 
 to the distillery and farm, now owning about 500 
 acres. He is a stockholder in the Canton Creamery 
 Association, and helped to organize the Cherry Park 
 Agricultural Association, in which he is a director. 
 He is liberal in religious belief, and his progressive 
 ideas, genial disposition and upright, honorable char- 
 acter have won him high standing as a citizen. He 
 is a stanch Democrat, and has served as selectman, 
 road commissioner and school committeeman. Fra- 
 ternally Mr. Dyer is a thirty-second degree Mason, 
 belonging to Village Lodge, No. 29, F. & A. M., Col- 
 linsville; Washington Commandery, No. i, K. T. 
 (the oldest commandery in the "United States) ; the 
 Supreme Council; and Sphinx Temple, A. A. O. 
 N. jM. S. He is also a member of the Order of Red 
 Men; Grange No. 34, Canton; and the State 
 Grange. 
 
 On June 13, 1876, Air. Dyer married Aliss Har- 
 riet Maria Case, who was born in Canton Jan. 21, 
 1857, daughter of Franklin Case, and sister of Ben- 
 jamin F. Case, of Canton. She was educated in 
 the district schools of Canton and the Connecticut 
 Literary Institute, Suffield, and her intelligence and 
 good judgment make her a true helpmeet. She is 
 a member of the Congregational Church, and takes 
 an active interest in its work. Nine children have 
 brightened our subject's home: Susan Lyon, born 
 Sept. 29, 1878, died Jan. 17, 1889; Sarah, born Sept. 
 4, 1882, graduated in 1900 from the Collinsville 
 high school, and is now at Lasell Seminary, Au- 
 burndale, Alass. ; Daniel T., born April 25, 1885, 
 died Oct. 2, 1887; Hattie Case, born Sept. 6, 1886, 
 is now attending the Collinsville high school ; Alary 
 H., bom Dec. 30, 1890; Josephine, born Feb. 27, 
 1892; Alargaret, born June 26, 1893; Dora, born 
 June 6, 1895, died June 6. 1896 ; and Jasper Norman, 
 born Nov. 6, 1898. 
 
 JAMES TANNER was born in Manchester, 
 England, April 15, 1844, and is of Irish descent and 
 parentage. After receiving a common-school edu- 
 cation he attended a commercial college, and at the 
 age of fifteen was apprenticed to the joiner's trade. 
 
 Air. Tanner was married Aug. 24, 1862, at the 
 
676 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 early age of eighteen years and five months, to Miss 
 Fannie Smith, the daughter of Enghsh parents, 
 and born in the same city as himself March 6, 1844. 
 In September of the following year (1863) Mr. and 
 Mrs. Tanner, with their infant daughter, Elizabeth 
 Jane, set sail for New York. The voyage was 
 saddened by the death of their first born, whose 
 baby form they were compelled to consign to the 
 waters of the Atlantic. Failing to secure work at 
 his trade Mr. Tanner found employment in the 
 Lorillard tobacco manufactory, in Brooklyn, where 
 he gamed not a little knowledge of the business, so 
 that it was not long before he became overseer and 
 inspector in the making-up department of Watson 
 & Co.'s factory, a position which he secured 
 through an advertisement in the New York Sun, 
 and the high testimonial as to character and 
 ability given him by the Lorillards' supermtendent. 
 
 The country was then passing through the ex- 
 citement of the Civil war, and the government ad- 
 vertised for men for its civil service at Nashville, 
 Tenn., which citj^ was then under martial law. 
 A desire to travel and a love of adventure led Mr. 
 Tanner, who was still a very young man, to aban- 
 don his position and respond to the call. He went 
 to Nashville in a company of seven hundred. There 
 he found the quantity and quality of the food furn- 
 ished the employes so small and so poor that he 
 remained but a short time. Proceeding to Fernan- 
 dina, Fla., he found practically the same state of 
 affairs, with the poor quality of water, which was 
 causing much sickness among both troops and civil- 
 ians. He returned to Brooklyn, and taking his 
 wife and child (a son, William) with him, went 
 back to England, where he obtained employment in 
 a packing-box factory. While living there two 
 more children were born to him, James F., and 
 Elizabeth A. In time Mr. Tanner grew dissatis- 
 fied with his surroundings, and resolved once more 
 to seek for better fortune in America. Accordingly, 
 in 1870, he again crossed the ocean, leaving his 
 family behind, and landed in New York on May 16. 
 His brother John was at, that time a member of the 
 Eighth United States Infantry, stationed in North 
 Carolina, and his mother and sister were living 
 in North Manchester, Conn. He determined 
 upon going to the latter place. There he sought 
 work in the packing-box department of Cheney 
 Bros.' mills, and, failing to secure it, entered the 
 spun silk sizing department. Soon after he re- 
 ceived the melancholy intelligence of the death of 
 his son Earnest, who had been born since his leav- 
 ing England. By 1872 he had saved enough to 
 enable him to build a home and send for his family 
 to join him. 
 
 Since their final settlement in Manchester Mr. 
 and Mrs. Tanner have had seven children, making 
 the issue of their marriage twelve in all. Seven 
 of these are yet living: William, who resides at 
 Stonington; James F., a graduate of the Baltimore 
 Medical College, and a practicing physician of Man- 
 
 chester; Elizabeth A., wife of William Gates, of 
 South Manchester; John C, also a graduate of the 
 Baltimore University Medical College, and is at 
 present assistant surgeon at the Soldiers Hospital, 
 Noroton, Conn. ; Ann J., Mary Edith, and Fannie 
 Irene are living at home. 
 
 For twenty-eight years Mr. Tanner continued 
 in the employ of Cheney Bros., remaining in the 
 same department, of which for twenty years he was 
 overseer. During this long term of faithful service 
 he suggested and adopted many important improve- 
 ments in the machinery of which he had supervis- 
 ion; but in 1898, owing to an accident which in- 
 duced nervous prostration, he found it necessary to 
 abandon further application to business. His life 
 has been a notable illustration of the success which 
 may be achieved through industry and thrift, when 
 directed by integrity and sound judgment. . Since 
 coming to Manchester he has erected six tenement 
 buildings, three of which (double houses with 
 modern improvements, located on School street) 
 he still owns. He also owns a modern brick and 
 stone apartment house, containing six suites, on 
 one of Hartford's principal streets. His handsome 
 competence he has accumulated through his own 
 unaided efforts. 
 
 Until 1884 Mr. Tanner was a Democrat in poli- 
 tics, but the declaration in favor of free trade made 
 in the national platform of that party in 1884 caused 
 him and many other Irish-Americans ot Manchester 
 to desert their former stand and enroll themselves 
 under the Republican banner. They connected 
 themselves with the Irish-American Anti-Cleveland 
 Union, whose headquarters were in New York. Mr. 
 Tanner was in constant communication with its 
 secretary, William J. Gleason, and cast his first Re- 
 publican ballot for James G. Blaine. Since then he 
 has been a stanch member of that party, and an 
 earnest ■viorker for its success. He was elected a 
 justice of the peace, served as grand juror, and has 
 been repeatedly chosen a delegate to Senatorial and 
 Congressional conventions. He has also been an oc- 
 casional contributor to the Press, and an article from 
 his pen which appeared in the New York Prcss^ 
 under date of May 6, 1886, attracted much attention, 
 and won for him some warm congratulation. He has 
 been secretary of the Emmet Branch of the Irish- 
 American National League. In religious faith he 
 is a Catholic, a member of St. James' Church, of 
 South Manchester. 
 
 ORSON FOWLER CURTIS, of New Britain, 
 is one of the best-known citizens of that place. He 
 is yet a comparatively young man, but in various 
 business relations he has attained a prominence 
 beyond his years. He is a descendant of an old 
 Colonial family, and has in recent years been closely 
 allied with the material interests of New Britain as 
 a contractor of buildings and a dealer in real estate. 
 
 Mr. Curtis was born Feb. 4, 1852, in New Brit- 
 ain, and is a son of Joel and Abigail (Dodge) Cur- 
 
Cl- 
 
 r 
 
 /^O 
 
ft 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 077 
 
 tis. The family is of Scotch-Irish Protestant 
 origin, and his earhest American ancestors came to 
 this country about two hundred years ago, setthng 
 in Massachusetts. The great-grandfather of our 
 subject, Lemuel Curtis, located at Antrim, N. H., 
 and at the outbreak of the Revolutionary war took 
 up the cause of the struggling Colonists, being one 
 of the first men to enlist from the village of Antrim. 
 The history of Antrim, N. H., by W. K. Cochrane 
 (1880), says of the ancestors of Mr. Curtis: Two 
 brothers, Lemuel (the great-grandfather of our 
 subject) and Stephen, sons of Jacob and Mary 
 (Styles) Curtis, of Amherst, previously of Box- 
 ford, Alass., came here in 1784, soon after the close 
 of the Revolutionary war, during the whole of 
 which they served, and began to clear on Windsor 
 Mountain, near Antrim North Line. Lemuel mar- 
 ried JNIary Smith, and had children as follows: 
 Anna, who married Levi Curtis April i, 1816; 
 Sarah, who married James \YaIker June £2, 1813, 
 and lived and died in Windsor; Mary, who married 
 John A. Lyon, Dec. 30, 1824, and lived a while at 
 North Branch, after his death removing to Wind- 
 sor, where she died; Hannah, now (1880) living 
 alone in Windsor, at an advanced age ; David, who 
 married Betsey Swett, whose children all died 
 young ( his second wife was Sally. Swett, and they 
 now (1880) live in Windsor) ; Lemuel, grandfather 
 of our subject, married Pamelia Webster Feb. 28, 
 1822, and lived on the old homestead, where he died. 
 
 The children of Lemuel and Pamelia (Webster) 
 Curtis were as follows: (i) Joel, the father of our 
 subject; (2) Luther S., who married (first) Sarah 
 C. Smith, of Hillsboro, and (second) Mrs. Sarah 
 H. Burnham, of Hillsboro, Nov. 26, 1876 (he has 
 one daughter, Mary, born May 29, 1856) ; (3) Luke, 
 who married Lydia E. Drew, went to Kansas, and 
 died in 1864; (4) Washington, who went to Kansas 
 in 1856, and died in 1863, in the United States 
 service; (,5) Nathan, who married Hannah Twiss, 
 and lives in Stoddard; and (6) Harlan, who died 
 in Kansas in 1857. 
 
 Joel Curtis, the father of our subject, married, 
 Nov. 28, 1849, Abigail Dodge, who was born in 
 Hopkinton, N. H., June 25, 1828, and died April 
 20, 1896. Their family consisted of three children: 
 Orson F., our subject, born Feb. 4, 1852; George 
 W., born March 11, i860; Lestor P., born Aug. 
 22, 1867. Joel Curtis was a veteran of the Civil 
 war, having served in 1861-63. 
 
 Air. Curtis' maternal ancestry has been famous 
 in history, the line of the Dodge family being traced 
 back to the year 1450. One of his forefathers 
 was Richard Dodge, who in 1638 migrated from 
 England and settled in Salem, ]\Iass. He held vari- 
 ous public offices in his day, and his descendants 
 down to the present time have ever been identified 
 with their country's history. The maternal line 
 of descent of Mr. Curtis is through Richard, John 
 (i), John (2), Phineas, Ebenezer, Ephraim, and 
 Asa Dodge. (I) Richard Dodge came over from 
 
 England 
 
 and arrived at Salem, Mass., in 1638. 
 (11) Lieut. John (I) Dodge, his son, was born in 
 England in 1631, and died in 171 1. (HI) John 
 Dodge (2), born April 15, 1662, died Jan. 18, 1703- 
 04, in his forty-second year. He married (first) 
 Martha Fisk, and (second) Ruth Grover. (IV) 
 I'hineas Doiige, born in Wciiham, May 23, 1O88, 
 died at Wenliam July 19, 1759. He married Martha 
 Edwards. (X) Ebenezer Dodge was born prob- 
 ably in Wenham, date not known. He married 
 March 27, 1750-51, Mary Dodge, of Wenham. 
 (VT) Ephraim Dodge, born July 12, 1772, at New- 
 buryport, i\lass., married in 1797 Hannah Symonds, 
 of Topsfield, moved to licnniker, N. H., in Feb- 
 ruary, 1803, and died June 2, 1862. (VH) Asa 
 Dodge, born Sept. 28, 1798, married Anna Rice, 
 and died Sept. 6, 1881. (VHI) Abigail Dodge 
 married Joel Curtis. 
 
 Until he reached his sixteenth year Orson F. 
 Curtis, our subject, was a school boy, who was ex- 
 pected to devote his attention chiefly to his books, 
 and then, when his school days ended, he began life 
 for himself, securing work on a farm. Soon 
 after he began an apprenticeship at the carpenter's 
 trade, and, not content with the superficial knowl- 
 edge which ends the training of too many tradesmen, 
 he applied himself to the mastery of the trade, with 
 a success that his future career has demonstrated 
 to be most complete. But though pre-eminently 
 a man of action Mr. Curtis has not neglected the 
 advantages which come from a close acquaintance 
 with books and their contents. He has by system- 
 atic and close reading kept himself informed both 
 upon current thought and upon occurrences of 
 general note, and upon those matters which relate 
 more especially to his own business. He followed 
 his trade for a number of years in various places, 
 thus gaining a wide experience, and in 1883 he 
 launched in business for himself at New Britain. 
 He gave special attention to contracting, and in a 
 short time, by the ability he displayed, foimd him- 
 self in command of a reputation and patronage that 
 was unexcelled. He has erected not only several 
 of the best private residences in New Britain, but 
 has also been entrusted with the construction of 
 many of the principal public buildings, and is now 
 
 acknowledged to be one of 
 
 the leading builders of 
 
 the city. In recent years he has turned his attention 
 to real-estate matters on a la:-ge scale, and also to 
 the renting and sale of improved property. 
 
 Mr. Curtis is not a stranger in political circles. 
 His sympathies have always been with the Repub- 
 lican party, and his first Presidential vote was cast 
 in 1876 at Raleigh, N. C, where he was then re- 
 siding, for Rutherford B. Hayes. In 1896 he was 
 elected alderman from the Third ward, in the fol- 
 lowing year he was unanimously re-nominated and 
 re-elected, and in 1899 was again nominated (by 
 acclamation) and elected. In 1897 he was made 
 president pro tcin. of the city council. He was 
 delegate to the State conventions of 1896 and 1898, 
 
678 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 has been member of the RepubHcan town committee, 
 etc. During his connection with the cit}' govern- 
 ment Mr. Curtis has been intrumental in securing 
 several needed pubhc improvements, and in bring- 
 ing about better management in the transaction of 
 city business, insisting on having competent men 
 to handle it. He is associated with various promi- 
 nent clubs and societies including the I. O. O. F., 
 the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of 
 Red Men, O. U. A. M., etc. 
 
 Mr. Curtis was married, March 22, 1876, at 
 Raleigh, N. C, to Miss Mary Williams, of that 
 city, and they have had eight children, six sons and 
 two daughters, of whom two sons are deceased. 
 Their son Edwin served' in the 1st Connecticut 
 Regiment in the Spanish- American war, in 1898. 
 
 GEORGE FREDERICK CLARK, one of the 
 representative farmers and stock dealers of North 
 Granby, is a native of Hartford county, born in 
 East Hartland, Sept. 23, 1861, and belongs to an 
 old New England family, which was founded in 
 this country by seven brothers, who came to our 
 shores from England in the latter part of the seven- 
 teenth century and located in Rhode Island. From 
 there they scattered to different parts of the New 
 England States. 
 
 Comfort Clark, the great-grandfather of our 
 subject, was born in Stonington, R. I., and when a 
 young man removed to Otis, Mass., where he en- 
 gaged in farming throughout the remainder of 
 his life. He aided the Colonies in their struggle for 
 independence as a soldier in the Revolutionary war, 
 was a faithful member of the Presbyterian Church, 
 and was one of the highly-respected citizens of 
 Otis, where he died and was buried. His children 
 were Samuel ; Comfort ; Lyman ; Chauncey ; and 
 Fanny, wife of James Clark. All died in Massa- 
 chusetts with the exception of Lyman and Chaun- 
 cey, who died in Connecticut. 
 
 Chauncey Clark, our subject's grandfather, was 
 born in Otis, Mass., in 1805, and was reared and 
 educated in the common schools of his native town. 
 When a young man he removed to Granville, Mass., 
 where he engaged in farming for some years, but 
 later spent a short time in New Boston, and in 1843 
 located at East Hartland, where he followed agri- 
 cultural pursuits until after the Civil war broke out. 
 With the blood of Revolutionary heroes flowing in 
 his veins, he could not remain quietly at home when 
 the LTnion was in peril, and enlisted, becoming a 
 private in the Connecticut Heavy Artillery. While 
 on his way to the front he was drowned while 
 crossing the Chesapeake Bay, and his body was 
 never recovered. In politics he was a Jacksonian 
 Democrat, but was never an office seeker. He was 
 a strong man, well-built, weighing over 200 pounds, 
 and was a hard worker. In Massachusetts he was 
 married to Miss Ruth Ann York, a native of Ston- 
 ington, R. I., and a daughter of Stephen York, 
 vi^ho was also a Revolutionary soldier. She was an 
 
 earnest member of the Presbyterian Church, and 
 died in that faith in 1848, being laid to rest in East 
 Hartland cemetery. In the family were five chil- 
 dren : (i) William W., father of our subject. (2) 
 Augustus, born June 13, 1835, is a farmer of West 
 Granby ; he first married Ellen Messenger, who 
 died April 18, 1888, leaving one child, Willis, now 
 deceased, and he later wedded Ella S. Daniels. 
 (3) Eliza is now the widow of Armenus Messenger, 
 and a resident of West Granby. (4) Chauncey 
 died young. (5) Lester S. is a resident of North 
 Granby. 
 
 William W. Clark, our subject's father, was 
 born in Tolland, Mass., April 10, 1832, and was 
 ten years old when he came with his parents to 
 Hartland, Conn., where he attended the district 
 schools and worked at the carpenter's and joiner's 
 trade for several years, and also at wagonmaking 
 for fourteen years in East Hartland. For a time 
 he was employed in the sawmill of Harvey Godard, 
 of North Granby, and since then has engaged in 
 farming in West Granby, where he now resides. 
 He manifested his patriotism and love of country 
 by enlisting, in 1862, in Company E, Twenty-fiftn 
 Conn. V. I., under Capt. Johnson and Col. George 
 P. Bissell, and with the Army of the Potomac he 
 participated in several engagements. He contracted 
 the measles and, later, chills and fever, and was 
 sent to the Marine Hospital, New Orleans, where 
 he was confined for six weeks. After thirteen 
 months and fourteen days spent in the service of 
 his country he was mustered out, at Hartford, in 
 1863. He is to-day an honored and highly-re- 
 spected citizen of his community, and a Democrat 
 in politics. Mr. Clark was married, in Granby, 
 in 1856, to Miss Jane Case, a native of that place, 
 and a daughter of Joseph and Deborah (Messen- 
 ger) Case. To them were born six children : Jo- 
 seph, a farmer of Copper Hill, East Granby; 
 George, our subject ; Anna, also a resident of Cop- 
 per Hill ; Marie, wife of George Butler, a dentist, 
 of Simsbury; Lilla, wife of Thomas Burton, of 
 Bloomfield; and Charles, a resident of Copper 
 Hill. The wife and mother was called to lier 
 final rest in 1886, and was buried in Granby. 
 
 George F. Clark is indebted to the common 
 schools of his district for his educational privileges. 
 At the early age of nine years he started out ta 
 make his own way in the world, woiking as a 
 farm hand during the summer at $5 per month, 
 while during the winter season Le devoted his en- 
 ergies to educating himself. Lhitil twenty-eight 
 years of age he continued to work for farmers 
 in Suffield, East Granby and Granby, and having 
 saved a little money from his wages he purchased 
 twenty acres of land, on which he located in t888, 
 but after operating it for five years he sold the 
 place and bought his present farm in the town of 
 Granb}', which comprises ninet}' acres and is known 
 as the Hayes farm. Here for the past six years 
 he has successfully engaged in general farming and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 679 
 
 dairying, and at tlie same time has done a good 
 business as a stock raiser and dealer. 
 
 On Dec. 2, 1888, Mr. Clark was married, in 
 tiranby, to Miss Emma A. Dewey, a lady of cul- 
 ture and refinement, and a daughter of Henry J. 
 Dewey, superintendent of the Granby Creamery. 
 They have two children, Ellis F ed>.rick and Laura 
 Dewey. Mr. and IMrs. Clark are widely and favor- 
 ably known, and are prominent members of the 
 Congregatioaial Church of North Granby, where 
 he is now serving as superintendent of the Sunday- 
 school and a member of the church committee. 
 He is an ardent supporter of the Republican partv, 
 has most efficiently served his fellow citizens as tax 
 collector, and in 1898 was elected second selectman 
 of Granby. 
 
 JOHN LOOMIS is one of those successful ag- 
 riculturists who have done much toward upbuild- 
 ing Hartford county, in connection with her man- 
 ufactures. He was born in the town of Bolton, 
 Tolland county, on Christmas Day, 1836. 
 
 After the death of his mother, which occurred 
 when he was but seven years old, he was obliged 
 to find a home with a farmer, who boarded and 
 clothed him in consideration of such work about 
 the farm as his youth permitted him to perform. 
 His educational opportunities were limited, yet at 
 the age of eighteen he was able to avail himself of 
 one term's tuition at the old academy at IMan- 
 chester Center. At that time this school was lo- 
 cated in the building now known as the Alasonic 
 Hall, on the public square. His slender means, 
 however, did not permit him long to continue his 
 studies, and he found himself soon compelled to 
 return to work as 'a. farm laborer. 
 
 With the firing of the first Confederate gun in 
 Charleston Harbor Mr. Loomis" patriotic spirit was 
 stirred to its inmost depths, and in December, 1861, 
 he enlisted in the ist Connecticut Light Battery, 
 being mustered in for three years at JNIeriden 
 Dec. 2, 1861. For three years he served with 
 marked gallantry, and on Dec. 2, 1864, he received 
 an honorable discharge. The following year (1865) 
 he bought a farm in the Society of Gilead, town 
 of Hebron, Tolland county, on which he resided 
 for a year, when he purchased the ^Manchester 
 farm, on which he vet resides. This place em- 
 braces no acres of arable land, and is well im- 
 proved. It is situated on Keeney street, about two 
 miles from the business center of Manchester. 
 
 On Oct. 16, 1865, Mr. Loomis was married to 
 Miss Kate Keeney, and to their union have been 
 born nine children, three of whom are deceased — 
 Minnie L., Burdette F. and Warner 'SI. The 
 names of those living are: Keenev B., Clara E., 
 Elvie M., Arthur E., Maro A. and' Mabel J. 
 
 Politically Mr. Loomis is a Republican, but 
 he has never soup^ht political preferment ; how- 
 ever, he has held several offices, among them that 
 of deputy sheriff, under Alvin Spakling, for five 
 
 years tlischarging the duties of this position with 
 credit to himself and satisfaction to the law-abiding 
 element of the community. He is a member of 
 Drake Post, No. 4, G. A. R., and in religious con- 
 nection an earnest and consistent member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, having been one of 
 the trustees of the local society for several years. 
 
 WILLLVM H. MARTIN, proprietor of 
 "Round Hill Farm," is a successful tobacco grower, 
 and a breeder of thoroughbred Aiinorcas. single- 
 comb White Leghorn and barred Plymouth Rock 
 fowls. He was born in Kidderminster, England, 
 May 12, 1859, ^ son of William and Harriet E. 
 (Moore) j\Iartin. His paternal grandfather, Alex- 
 ander Martin, came to -America in 1848, and lo- 
 cated in Bedford, Mass., where he started the first 
 power brussels loom in the United States, for 
 weaving brussels carpet, and spun and dyed his 
 own yarns. He was connected in business with 
 the Sloans, of New York City. He died in May- 
 nard, INIass., July 12, 1871. On May 16, 1827, Mr. 
 Martin married Susan Kirby. 
 
 The father of our subject was also a weaver 
 by trade. He came to the United States in 1848, 
 and finding his father in Astoria, Hell Gate, ,N. 
 Y., making gun swabs for the United States Navy 
 on hand looms, he enlisted in the United States 
 Navy, and served three years on the frigate 
 "Constitution." For twenty-five years he was 
 overseer of the carpet department of the Hartford 
 Company's works, at Thompsonville, and was one 
 of the most expert weavers of his day. To Will- 
 iam and Harriet E. Martin were born nine chil- 
 dren: \Mlliam H. ; Harriet Si. (Mrs. Ixudolph 
 Timer); Henry K. ; Alexander; Alice (Mrs. 
 Charles Gliesman) ; Alfred J.; Emily M. (Mrs. 
 Fred G. Smith) ; Fred M. ; and a son who died in 
 infancy. The father of these died in Thompson- 
 ville in 1895, the mother on April 18, 1882, aged 
 forty-nine years. 
 
 William H. Martin came to Thompsonville in 
 1868, and there he was reared to manhood. He 
 learned the weaver's trade, and followed that vo- 
 cation for twenty-three years with the Hartford 
 Carpet Works Co. at Thompsonville, for twenty- 
 two years of that period weaving an average of 
 over fifty yards of brussels carpet per day ; he was 
 conceded by all to be the fastest power-loom weaver 
 at that time. In April, 1892, he left the mills and 
 embarked in his present business at Scitico. ^Ir. 
 Martin has been twice married. His first wife 
 was Catherine Savage, of Thompsonville, and, his 
 second, Alice E., daughter of John and Hannah 
 (Trevitt) White, of Thompsonville, formerly of 
 England, her father Iieing one of the first power- 
 loom brussels carpet men to locate here. He died 
 at Thompsonville Nov. 2, 1891. One son, W'ilbur 
 Trevitt, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Martin March 
 13, 1900. Mr. Martin is a Republican, and both 
 he and his wife are members of the SI. E. Church. 
 
680 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Henry K. Martin, second son of William Mar- 
 tin, is still in the carpet business, and is known 
 to the trade as one of the most expert loom men 
 of the day. He worked eighteen years for the 
 Hartford Carpet Co., and in December, 1895, went 
 to Springfield, Mass., to start the carpet company 
 known as the Burtworth Carpet Co. He put the 
 establishment in operation, and built four Burtworth 
 looms, known as the Burtworth Double Pile Wilton 
 looms, the only looms of the kind in the world. He 
 is now with the same company in Chicopee, Mass., 
 where they have sixteen looms under his superin- 
 tendence. 
 
 ■ HON. JOHN A. DuBON. More than ordi- 
 nary interest attaches to the history of this well- 
 known citizen, whose record as a gallant soldier, 
 successful business man, and able and public-spirited 
 legislator commands admiration and esteem. No 
 one, meeting him to-day, and noting his wide range 
 of culture and the many evidences of his personal 
 worth and dignity, would imagine that he began 
 life without capital or influential friends, not even 
 having any educational advantages to speak of un- 
 til he was twenty years old. In such a biography as 
 this the reader cannot fail to find much to inspire 
 faith in human possibilities, and to any ambitious 
 youth it will be a helpful object lesson. 
 
 Mr. DuBon was born March 19, 1844, in New 
 York City, and is of French ancestry in tl:e paternal 
 line. John DuBon, his grandfather, was born and 
 reared in France, but made his permanent home in • 
 German}', where he followed farming, as an occu- 
 pation. John DuBon (2), his father, was a native 
 of Heidelberg, Germany, and after acquiring a thor- 
 ough knowledge of farm work as a lad, he deter- 
 mined, at the age of fifteen years, to come to the 
 United States and seek a better opening. For some 
 3'ears he resided in New York City, but later he set- 
 tled in Columbia county and finally in Dutchess 
 county, N. Y. In 1828, while in New York City, 
 he married Miss Catherine Meyer, a native of Ger- 
 man)', who was born in 181 1, daughter of John 
 Meyer, and a member of a wealthy and prominent 
 family. Eight children were born to this union, 
 our subject being the second child and the eldest 
 son. Mrs. DuBon came to America with her 
 sister when but fifteen years of age; she died in 
 Steinway, N. Y., July 5, 1899. 
 
 As his parents were in limited circumstances, 
 Mr. DuBon had few opportunities for book learn- 
 ing, as he not only found plenty to do at home, 
 but took an active share in bread-winning from an 
 early age. As a boy he worked in a clock shop in 
 New York City, and after the removal of the family 
 to the country districts he was frecjuently employed 
 by farmers near his home. At times he attended 
 night school while in the city, and while in the 
 country his only chance for study was in the garret, 
 after his long day's work was done, his hours at 
 his books being determined by the length of the 
 
 candle given him. In 1864, at the age of twenty 
 years, he enlisted, in the 3rd New York Light Ar- 
 tillery, Army of the Potomac, and at that time he 
 was hardly competent to write a letter. Fortunately 
 a friend who enlisted with him was much better 
 educated, and through his assistance, during the 
 leisure hours of camp life, Mr. DuBon was enabled 
 to greatly increase his store of knowledge, his keen 
 mind seizing readily upon the long craved privileges 
 of studying under an instructor. He remained in 
 the service about a year, under Capt. Howe, being 
 discharged after peace was declared, and on his 
 return to Dutchess county resumed his work as a 
 farm hand, continuing for some years. He then 
 took a position in a gristmill at Pine Plains, N. 
 Y., but after learning the business thoroughly he 
 was obliged to give it up on account of ill health. 
 As his attention had been previously directed to 
 the large profits of tobacco culture, he had been 
 reading such works on that subject as he could ob- 
 tain, and in 1872 he came to this section to gain 
 practical experience in the employ of John O. Phelps, 
 a farmer near Poquonock. He speedily acquired 
 skill, and for some time was employed as overseer 
 by J. M. Brown and others, becoming known as 
 an expert. During the summer of 1874, however, 
 he worked as a general farm hand at different places, 
 and later he found himself unable to readily secure 
 a position in his chosen line of work, but in 1878 
 he engaged in business on his own account at his 
 present farm, formerly known as the Owen farm, 
 which he rented for a year. The venture proved 
 so successful that he purchased the place, going in 
 debt for practically the entire price. The farm was 
 in the most unimproved condition, the buildings 
 being hardly habitable, but Mr.* DuBon was indus- 
 trious and energetic, and each year saw substantial 
 improvements made under liis inspiring stimulus 
 of the hope of having a home of his own. His 
 present residence is one of the best in the town, and 
 is equipped with all modern conveniences, while his 
 other buildings are all models of their kind. He 
 has also added to the place, and some time ago he 
 bought another farm in the same locality, which 
 also shows the effects of his vigorous management. 
 Mr. DuBon is regarded as an authority on all 
 matters relating to tobacco growing, and is a mem- 
 ber of the New England Tobacco Growers Associa- 
 tion, and a director in the Connecticut Tobacco Ex- 
 periment Co., of which he has been superintendent 
 for the past six years. In the spring of 1900 the 
 State of Connecticut decided to make experiments 
 in tobacco raising, and a shed, 36x500 feet in di- 
 mensions, has been erected for growing tobacco 
 under cover, the attempt being to raise a Sumatra 
 quality, superior to the grade now raised. The 
 roof, of gauze or canvas, permits the rain to pass 
 through, and at the same time affords protection 
 to the plants. Mr. DuBon has been made super- 
 intendent of this work. He has been very success- 
 ful on his own account, and some time ago succeeded 
 
I 
 
 h 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 681 
 
 in raising six acres which yielded 2,250 pounds per 
 acre, a good average being 1,700 pounds. iVllhough 
 small in stature he has unbounded energy, and his 
 systematic methods make it possible for him to do 
 an immense amount of work. He finds time for a 
 heli)l'ul participation in local affairs, having been 
 a member of the school committee of District No. 
 y for several years, and he is one of the trusted 
 advisors of the Republican party in his locality, in 
 the spring of 1900 being appointed one of the town 
 committee of five. While he is not eager for official 
 honors, he has served as assessor and member f 
 the board of relief, and 1895 he represented his 
 town in the State Legislature, being a member of 
 the committee on Agriculture while in the House, 
 representing Hartford county., 
 
 On Sept. 2, 1869, Mr. DuBon married Miss 
 Lorinda Decker, daughter of John Decker, a promi- 
 nent resident of Columbia county, N. Y., and three 
 children have blessed the union : Austin died in 
 infancy ; Adelbert and Maud are both at home. 
 Socially Mr. DuBon and his wife are much re- 
 spected, and he is identified with Converse Post, No. 
 67, G. A. R., at Windsor Locks. 
 
 GEORGE C. ENO, of Simsbury, comes of one 
 of the oldest and most respected families of Con- 
 necticut, and is of the seventh generation in descent 
 from James Eno, who settled in W^indsor in 1643, 
 the line being traced through James, Jr., born in 
 1651; David, 1702; Jonathan, 1738; Salmon, 1779; 
 and Salmon Chester, our subject's father, who was 
 born in 1814. 
 
 George C. Eno was born in Simsbury, Oct. 15, 
 1854, and as a boy he had thorough practical in- 
 struction in farm work. He attended the Hop 
 Meadow District school, the high school at New 
 Britain, the Gunnery at Washington, Conn., and 
 the Hartford Public High School, where he gradu- 
 ated in 1875. '^'i leaving school he devoted his 
 attention to farming at the homestead, and after his 
 marriage remained at the farm for three years, when 
 he made his home in Simsbury village, on the !Moses 
 Ensign homestead. At present he is extensively 
 engaged in general farming and tobacco culture, and 
 is a licensed dealer in leaf tobacco, while he also 
 represents some of the best insurance companies in 
 the country. For fourteen years he was in the 
 United States railway mail service, between New 
 Haven and Williamsburg, and Springfield and New 
 York City, resigning the work for other business. 
 In 1889 lie negotiated for the right of wav for the 
 Central New England & ^^'estern railroad between 
 TariflFville and the Massachusetts State line. Among 
 the organizations with which he is connected are the 
 A. O. U. W., at New Haven, and St. ^Mark's Lodge, 
 No. 36, F. & A. M., at Simsbury. 
 
 On Nov. 7, 1878, Mr. Eno married Miss Nellie 
 S. Goodrich, and they have three daughters: Amy 
 Bird, born March 31, 1881 ; Alice Goodrich, born 
 May 29, 1883; and Margret, born March 12, 1890. 
 
 Mrs. Eno was born in Simsbury, Jan. 22, 1855, a 
 daughter of Capt. Lucius Goodwin and Martha 
 Abigail (Ensign) Goodrich, and received a good 
 public-school education, graduating from the Hart- 
 ford Public High School in 1875. She was one of 
 the organizers of the .Vljigail Phelps Chapter, D. 
 A. R., at Simsbury, her eligibility to the society be- 
 ing established tiirough her descent from Stephen 
 Goodrich ( 1757-1825 j and Allen Whiting. Her 
 ancestral records reach back, in the paternal line, 
 to William Goodrich, who came from England at 
 an earl}' date with his brother John, and located 
 at Wethersfield, Conn. His name first appears in 
 the court records of that town in connection with 
 his marriage, in 1648, to Miss Sarah Alarvin. In 
 1656 he was made a freeman, or voter, and his 
 death occurred in 1676. 
 
 John Goodrich, son of William, and the next 
 in the line of descent, was born May 20, 1653, and 
 died Sept. 5, 1730, at his home in Wethersfield. 
 He married Rebecca Allen March 28, 1678. 
 
 Jacob Goodrich, son of John, was born Nov. 27, 
 1694, and died May 11, 1746. On Sept. 12, 1717, 
 he married Benedicta Goodwin, daughter of Na- 
 thaniel Goodwin, and made his home in Wethers- 
 field and later in Windsor. 
 
 Stephen Goodrich, son of Jacob, was born Jan. 
 21, 1713, and died Aug. 19, 1758. He married Jan. 
 3, 1754, Rachel Gillett, and settled in W^indsor. 
 
 Stephen Goodrich (2), Mrs. Eno's great-grand- 
 father, was born at Windsor March 29, 1757, and 
 died Aug. 18, 1825. In 1771 he settled in the town 
 of Simsbury, where he was much respected for his 
 upright character, and for many years he was en- 
 gaged in farming and carpentering. During the 
 Revolutionary war he served in the American army. 
 He married Lydia Terry Dec. 25, 1781. 
 
 Nathan Goodrich, grandfather of Mrs. Eno, was 
 born Aug. 10, i8or, and died Sept. 6, 1842. He 
 married Sevilla Bristol, and settled upon a farm in 
 Simsbury. Of his children three lived to maturity : 
 Lucius G., Mrs. Eno's father; Juliette, who mar- 
 ried John M. Hathaway, of Suflicld ; and Stephen, 
 formerly a leading druggist of Hartford, who was 
 also prominent in the ^lasonic fraternity and in 
 financial circles, serving at one time as bank com- 
 missioner. 
 
 Capt. Lucius G. Goodrich was born June 22, 
 1822, and was reared at the old farm in Simsbury. 
 His education was obtained in the district schools 
 and in the Connecticut Literary Institute, at Suf- 
 field, where he spent two winters, and on leaving 
 school he taught one winter in East Granby. Al- 
 though only twenty years old when his father died 
 he assumed the management of the estate, and 
 throughout his life was interested in agricultural 
 pursuits, for some years residing upon the Good- 
 rich homestead at Terry's Plain, and in 1868 re- 
 moving to the Moses Ensign homestead. He passed 
 away Aug. 4, 1893. In early years he was idcnti- 
 ed with the Whig party, and he supported the 
 
682 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Know-Nothing movement, later joining the Re- 
 publican party. His popularity made him the 
 strongest candidate that his party could put in the 
 field, as he had warm friends among the most in- 
 fluential men in the county and State, and he served 
 several terms as a member of the Legislature, three 
 terms as high sheriff, nine years as county com- 
 missioner (beginning in July, 1883), and was also 
 deputy sheriif under Waterman, and assessor of 
 his town. During the Civil war he held the post 
 of provost marshal, and later was deputy internal 
 revenue collector for his district. He belonged to 
 the Masonic Fraternity, and attended the Congre- 
 gational Church. For a number of years he was 
 active in the State militia, and on Aug. 28, 1845, 
 he was appointed adjutant of the 17th Regiment of 
 Infantry, under Col. Ezekiel Hosford. In any 
 movement for the public benefit he took a leading 
 part, and when the Connecticut & Western railroad 
 was projected he was chosen to represent the in- 
 terests of the town of Simsbury in that connection. 
 On Dec. 23, 1847, Capt. Goodi'ich was married 
 in Simsbury to Miss Martha A. Ensign, who sur- 
 vives him, and still resides at the homestead. She 
 was born in Simsbury Feb. i, 1822, a daughter of 
 Moses and Martha (Whiting) Ensign. Of her five 
 children, the eldest, Martha S., married Chauncey 
 Hart Eno, of Simsbury ; Nellie S. is the wife of our 
 subject; Nathan M. is a business man of Farming- 
 ton, Minn. ; Charles E. is in New York City ; and 
 Miss Juliette resides in Simsbury. 
 
 H. H. ELLSWORTH. No better illustration 
 can be found of the possibilities that lie before the 
 energetic and far-sighted business man than is 
 given by the career of this well-known citizen of 
 Windsor. The numerous enterprises with which 
 he has been associated have proved uniformly profit- 
 able, his intelligent oversight being a leading factor 
 in their success, and. at present he is the most ex- 
 tensive real-estate owner in the town, with other 
 large holdings elsewhere. His wealth has enabled 
 him to manifest his public spirit in effective ways, 
 and in all that pertains to good citizenship his in- 
 fluence is recognized and valued, all projects for the 
 advancement of educational or other interests receiv- 
 ing his ready support. 
 
 The Ellsworth family is of English origin, and the 
 name is found variously written Elswort, Elsworth, 
 Elesworth, Ellesworth or Aylsworth, and is derived 
 from a town near Cambridge, England, where they 
 were the principal family, the river being remark- 
 able for the quantities of eels caught. The first of 
 whom we have record is John Ellsworth, who had 
 three sons : One fled to Holland, and afterward 
 came to the New World, settling in New York 
 City in 1664; Arthur settled in North Kingston, 
 R. I.; Josias (or Josiah) is the ancestor of our sub- 
 ject, the latter being of the eighth generation in 
 the line of descent. Josias Ellsworth was born in 
 1629, came from a town near Cambridge, England, 
 
 and was one of the first settlers in Windsor. He 
 bought property near the present site of the "Oliver 
 Ellsworth mansion," and afterward lived near the 
 site of the "old mill" in Windsor. He was made a 
 freeman May 21, 1657, and juror in 1664. He con- 
 tributed largely to the Relief Fund for the earlier 
 settlers, and was prominent in church affairs. This 
 worthy pioneer was married Nov. 16, 1654, to Eliza- 
 beth Holcomb, who died Sept. 18, 1712. He died 
 Aug. 20, 1689, leaving an estate valued at £655. 
 
 (II) Lieut. Jonathan Ellsworth, son of the pio- 
 neer, was born June 28, 1669, and died Sept. 3, 
 1749, having been thrown from a horse. On Oct. 
 26, 1693, he married Sarah Grant, who was born 
 Sept. 19, 1675, daughter of Tahan Grant, and died 
 Nov. 9, 1755. They had ten children, among 
 whom was a son Giles. 
 
 (III) Giles Ellsworth was born Aug. 6, 1703, 
 and died March 20, 1765. He was married Feb. 
 6, 1728, to Hannah Stoughton, daughter of John 
 and Sarah (Fitch) Stoughton, and her death oc- 
 curred Dec. 21, 1756. Five children were born to 
 them, among whom was a son Giles, Jr. 
 
 (IV) Giles Ellsworth, Jr., was born Sept. 6, 
 1732, and died July 29, 1796. His first wife, Keziah 
 Moore, died June 26, 1762, and his second wife, 
 Hannah Burr, died March 18, 1777, aged forty-two. 
 
 (V) Roger Ellsworth, son of Giles Ellsworth, 
 Jr., by his first marriage, was born July 28, 1760, 
 and died May 13, 1801. He married Lucy Hayden. 
 
 (VI) Capt. Giles Ellsworth, our subject's grand- 
 father, was born Feb. 16, 1790, in what is now 
 East Granby town, and in early manhood, soon 
 after his marriage, located upon a farm in Windsor. 
 In the latter part of 1827 he removed to another 
 farm in the same town, where he died Dec. 5, 
 1853. He was of ordinary build physically, and as 
 a business man possessed unusual sagacity. For 
 many years he carried on farming on an extensive 
 scale, making a specialty of grain, and also raising 
 live stock for the market. In that part of the century 
 and country, tobacco was not raised as much as 
 now, but he was to some extent a raiser of this 
 weed. He was prominent in political afi^airs- as 
 a worker in the Democratic party, and served in 
 various offices, including those of selectman and 
 representative in the General Assembly, while his 
 title of captain was gained as an officer in the 
 militia. Capt. Ellsworth married Ellen Hayden, 
 who was born in Windsor Jan. 24, 1790, daughter 
 of Levi and Margaret (Strong) Flayden, and died 
 Nov. 16, 1863, her remains being buried beside those 
 of her husband in the Congregational cemetery in 
 Windsor. They had ten children, of whom nine 
 lived to maturity: (i) Giles G., born Feb. 8, 1809, 
 engaged in business as a nurseryman in St. Charles, 
 111., where he died Nov. 18, 1854. He was mar- 
 ried in Illinois to a Mrs. Morgan, of that State, 
 and left two daughters, one of whom died, leaving 
 one son ; the other, Clara M. Lord, still survives. 
 (2) Frances M., born Nov. 4, 181 1, died Sept. 7, 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 083 
 
 1849, in Windsor. She married Henry Ilalsey, 
 and had live cliililren. (3) Margaret S., horn June 
 20, 1815, (Ued in Windsor July 12. 1854, unmar- 
 ried. (4) Clarissa A., horn Dec. 16, 1817, inarrieil 
 Anson G. Bovver, and died July 17, 1849, •" Cin- 
 cinnati, Ohio. (5) William II., our suhject's fa- 
 ther, is mentioned helovv. (6) Alhert 11., horn 
 Juy 14, 1823, died in Fehruary, iByS; he was a 
 dentist at Green l!ay, Wis. (7) Samuel, born l""eh. 
 18, 1826, is a. farmer in North Dakota. (8) Anson 
 H., horn June 3, 1827, is a retired farmer in Ne- 
 braska : he practiced dentistry for some time, dis- 
 continuins^- same on account of ill health, and then 
 studied civil engineering, finally taking up farming. 
 , (9) Ellen, horn Oct. 26, 1829, marrictl Timothy 
 S. Phelps of Windsor. (10) Elizabeth L. died in 
 infancy. 
 
 (\'II) William H. Ellsworth, father of our 
 subject, was born in Windsor, Dec. 19, 1820, and 
 was reared as a farmer boy, his education being 
 obtainetl in the local schools. After his marriage 
 he resided for some time on a farm across the road 
 from our subject's present homestead, but his last 
 years were spent at the latter place, his death oc- 
 curring there in 1875. He was a successful agri- 
 culturist, and was also extensivelv engaged in the 
 live stock business. His judgment was unusually 
 good, and as he was fond of "dickering" he made 
 many profitable trades in the course of his life. 
 As a stanch Democrat he took an interest in politics, 
 and he held various town offices, serving at one time 
 as selectman. In 1841 Mr. Ellsworth married Miss 
 Emily M. Miller, daughter of Chauncey ]\Iiller, a 
 well-known resident of Windsor. She now re- 
 sides with our subject, and with the exception of 
 a slight defect in hearing enjoys excellent health. 
 Of the four children born to \\'illiam H. and Emily 
 M. Ellsworth two are living: (i) William H., 
 born Oct. 18, 1842, was educated in the public 
 schools and the academy in Windsor, and at Han- 
 num"s lUisiness College, Hartford. In 1862 he went 
 to Milwaukee, and after a few years as clerk and 
 traveling salesman engaged in mercantile business. 
 At present he is an extensive wholesale dealer in 
 fur clothing, hats, caps, gloves, and similar goods, 
 and manufactures fur goods, being a partner in the 
 well-known Straw, Ellsworth Manufacturing Co. He 
 married Miss Theresa Matthew, of Milwaukee, and 
 has two children : William H., Jr., who is in business 
 witli his father, and Jennie, who married Frederick 
 Schumacker. (2) H. H., our subject, is mentioned 
 below. (3) Elizabeth died in \\lndsor at the age 
 of twenty-three, unmarried. (4) Clara, who never 
 married, died in Windsor at the age of thirty-four. 
 
 (Vni) H. H. Ellsworth was born March 26, 
 1844, one-fourth of a mile below his present resi- 
 dence. His education was begun in the Bell school 
 "at the Green," Cicero Roberts and Spencer Clapp 
 being among his early teachers. Later he attended 
 Windsor .Academy and \\'oodford's private school, 
 while his work on the home farm gave him a practi- 
 
 cal knowledge of agricultural methods. His busi- 
 ness acumen was shown at an early age, and wiien 
 oidy twenty years old lie engaged in lumbering, 
 which he has followed with marked success, nis 
 o])erations being quite extensive. His cut for a 
 single season in W indsor and adjoining towns iias 
 amounted to 1,500,000 feet, and at times he dis- 
 burses $2,000 a miinih in wages, em])loying as many 
 as eighty men. .Vlthough he has always given the 
 lumber business his personal attention it has by no 
 means occupied his time fully, as he has carried n 
 farming on a large scale, and taken an active part 
 in various other hues of enter])rises. h'or si.\ vears 
 he was engaged in the manufacture of brick, and he 
 helped to organize the Windsor Creamery Co., in 
 which he is a director and is now president. When 
 the Windsor Canning Co. was organized as a 
 stock company he was made president, but he never 
 had the control of the business. When the com- 
 pany failed he l^ought the plant in partnership wiih 
 W. H. Filley, and at once it entered upon an era of 
 prosperity such as only the most thrifty institutions 
 enjoy. It began to pay out thousands of dollars 
 annually to the farmers of Windsor and neighboring 
 towns, and its product was readily sought. It is 
 to-day one of the substantial industries 01 the town, 
 affording employment to many operatives, and a 
 good market to producers. 
 
 For years Mr. Ellsworth has been one of the 
 leading tobacco growers of New England, and he is 
 a director in the Connecticut Tobacco E.xperiment 
 Co., and a member of the executive committee. 
 His name appears among the incorporators of the 
 Hartford County Tobacco Growers Insurance Co., 
 for protection against hail, and he is still a director 
 and now president of that company. In all his 
 enterprises he gives close attention to details, his 
 thorough knowledge of every line of work and ex- 
 cellent judgment as to methods enabling him to 
 secure good results in each one. He does but little 
 manual labor, preferring to direct the energies of 
 others, and his rare ability as a manager of large 
 bodies of workmen has been a leading factor in his 
 success. He is popular with his employes, and not- 
 withstanding his wealth and recognized influence he 
 is as approachable as ever. His integrity is un- 
 impeachable, and his public spirit has been shown 
 in many ways, his name being associated with nearly 
 every progressive movement projected in Windsor. 
 He is an active worker on the Village Improvement 
 Committee : chairman of the Committee on Improve- 
 ment of the Windsor cemetery, and a director in 
 Moore's Park Association, of which he was presi- 
 dent for several years. When a location was being 
 discussed for what was to have been called the 
 Windsor Driving Park he was made a member of 
 the committee on securing grounds, and it was at 
 his suggestion that ihe land now included in Moore'.s 
 Park was donated bv ( ). B. Moore and the present 
 name adopted. Later he devoted much time to di- 
 recting the work of transforming the tract of forest 
 
684 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 into the beautiful park which is now one of the at- 
 tractions of the locaHty. He belongs to Poquonock 
 Grange, and was a charter member of Windsor 
 Grange, No. 3. At present he is chairman of the 
 First School Society Committee, and chairman of the 
 First Ecclesiastical Society of the Congregational 
 Church at Windsor, to which he contributes liber- 
 ally. While not a _politician, Mr. Ellsworth is an 
 ardent Democrat, and is regarded as a leader in the 
 local organization. He never shirks his duty as 
 a loyal citizen, and has held various offices, serving 
 eight years as member of the board of selectmen 
 and four years as first selectman. 
 
 On Sept. 16, 1874, Mr. Ellsworth married Miss 
 Laura L. Fowler, of Windsor, and soon afterward 
 established his home on a small tract of land owned 
 by him, which was located directly opposite his pres- 
 ent residence, one of the finest in Windsor. The lat- 
 ter was then built, having been constructed of brick 
 from his own yard, but he did not occupy it until 
 a few years later. He has four children, of whom 
 the eldest. Miss Minnie E., is a graduate of the 
 Young Ladies' Listitute in Windsor, and of the 
 art department of Wilbraham College, and has 
 shown more than ordinary skill in her work with 
 oils and charcoal, and in clay modeling, as well as 
 in painting on china. She is also an accomplished 
 musician, and an excellent literary scholar, having 
 taught in the Windsor graded room for some time. 
 (2) Miss Ella M. possesses marked talent for music, 
 and has taken a course in Wilbraham College. (3) 
 Alice L. is a student in Prospect Hill School, Green- 
 field, Mass. (4) Philip F. is a student in the 
 Hartford Public High School. 
 
 Mrs. Ellsworth, whose fine mental gifts fit her 
 for leadership in the best social circles, was born 
 in Windsor Jan. 3, 1856, daughter of Major-Gen. 
 Amos Fowler, and is descended from several promi- 
 nent New England families. She was carefully 
 educated at the Young Ladies' Seminary in Wind- 
 sor and at Wilbraham College, and is now active 
 in religious, philanthropic and patriotic work, being 
 a member of Abigail Wolcott Ellsworth Chapter, 
 D. A. R., at Windsor, the Ladies' Sewing Society, 
 and the Congregational Church, with which she 
 united in girlhood. Her paternal grandfather, 
 Amos Fowler, was one of Washington's aides at 
 the battle of Long Island, and her father was an 
 officer in the State Militia. The latter was born 
 July 21, 1795, at Lebanon, Conn., where the Fowler 
 family has been prominent from pioneer times, and 
 his death occurred in 1874, when he was aged eighty 
 years. He was twice married, and Mrs. Ellsworth 
 was the only child of his second wife, Sarah Hay- 
 den, who died aged seventy-eight. The Hayden 
 family is of Colonial stock, and in this line Mrs. 
 Ellsworth is a great-granddaughter of Lieut. 
 Thomas Hayden, of Revolutionary fame. Mrs. 
 Sarah (Hayden) Fowler was a daughter of Anson 
 B. and Laura (Wilson) Hayden, of Windsor, and 
 received an excellent education, attending school in 
 
 Washington, D. C, and afterward traveling ex- 
 tensively. In her old age she retained her memory 
 remarkably well, and her reminiscences of early 
 times made her conversation most interesting and 
 instructive. Through her thoughtful care many 
 papers and documents from Revolutionary times 
 were preserved, and these are now carefully treas- 
 ured by Mrs. Ellsworth. Among them are the 
 letters written by Lieut. Thomas Hayden from the 
 camps of the Continental army, giving a most valu- 
 able record of his experiences. 
 
 HON. CHARLES WALDO ROBERTS, one 
 of the representative and most prominent citizens of 
 East Hartford, and a worthy descendant of one of 
 the old honored families of the town, traces his ge- 
 nealogy here for six generations back, that is to say 
 to William Roberts, who was a son of Katherine 
 Leete and a Mr. "Robards." 
 
 William Roberts came to East Hartford from | 
 Middletown, Conn., and lived near the foot of Smith's \ 
 Lane, on the Meadow Hill, south of the present 
 Bridge road ; his house was on the first Main street. \< 
 He married Dorothy Forbes, who was a daughter of 
 Capt. James Forbes, the progenitor of the Forbes 
 family in East Hartford, and from him she received 
 six acres of land on which William Roberts built his 
 dwelling. In 1703 we find him as committee on min- | 
 ister's house; in 1709 deeding land and saw mill. In 
 1729 he deeded all his land to his son Benjamin 
 Roberts. The children born to William and Doro- 
 thy Roberts were : Dorothy, who was baptized in the 
 South church at Hartford in 1687; Deborah, bap- 
 tized in April, 1690, in the First church of Hart- \ 
 ford ; William, baptized in the same church, July 28, 
 1695,. who married Deborah Spencer, and died in 
 1726, or 1727, leaving a son William (his grandfa- 
 ther was his guardian) ; Benjamin, born March 8, • 
 1698; Joseph, baptized Aug. 11, 1700, who married 
 Mabel Keeney; Mary, baptized May 31, 1702; Sam- 
 uel, baptized Dec. 24, 1704, who married Sarah Hills, 
 daughter of Ebenezer Hills, Sr. William Roberts, 
 the father, died in 1734 or 1735. 
 
 Benjamin Roberts, of the second generation in 
 East Hartford, married Sept. 26, 1730, Dorothy Pit- 
 kin, who was born in 1704, a daughter of Nathaniel, 
 and Hester (Hosmer) Pitkin. Nathaniel was a son 
 of William Pitkin, the founder of the family in East 
 Plartford. Mrs. Dorothy (Pitkin) Roberts died 
 C>ct. 5, 1737, and on July 13, 1739, Mr. Roberts mar- 
 ried (second) Jerusha Pratt. The children by the 
 first marriage were: Dorothy, born Jan. 23, I734' 
 married Lemuel Kingsbury, of Andover ; Susannah, 
 born in January, 1736, died Feb. 17, 1804, unmarried. 
 To his marriage with Jerusha Pratt (a descendant 
 of John Pratt, who came to Hartford with the,; 
 Plooker party in 1635), were born: Jerusha and! 
 Catherine (twins) were born April 24, 1740; Jeru-)' 
 sha married Jonathan Stanley, town clerk and treas-f 
 urer for eighteen years; Catherine married Jona- 
 than Hubbard, and was the ancestor of Gov. Hub- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 685 
 
 baril. Ucnjamiii, Jr., born Xov. 15, 1741, was a 
 farmer in the sonth part of liast 1 larlft)nl, and mar- 
 ried Dorothy Lioodwin. Sarah, liorn April 13, 1743, 
 married Joseph Hurlbnrt. Mary, born Jan. 18, 1745, 
 married Tiniolliy Forbes. WilHam, born Jan. 19, 
 174O, married iVbigail Stanley. Nathaniel, born Dec. 
 24, 1750, married Annie Newcomb. Cleorge was born 
 Nov. 22, 1752. >\bigail, born in 1756, married John 
 Norton, and died Nov. 20, 1775. Lemuel., born ni 
 17CK3, died in 1775. 
 
 Benjamin Roberts was a man of great energy, 
 ai:d an enterprising business man. He was a mer- 
 chant trader, owning at one time three sloops, 
 ■"Martha," "Samuel" and "Porrige," trading with 
 the West Indies, and at New London. His house, 
 which was very strongly built and having a good 
 cellar, must often have been used to store various 
 commodities. He also dealt largely in lands, and 
 seems to have been possessed of a good sum of 
 ready money, for we find him paying good prices 
 for it many times. In 1731 he deeded, with others, 
 land for Silver Lane. To his eldest son, Benja- 
 min, he deeded one hundred acres, also leaving him 
 land by will. All his sons were well provided 
 wth land, the "movable estate" being left to his 
 wife and daughters. We find proof that he took 
 his share in promoting the public welfare ; among 
 the things which show this there is the tradition 
 that he helped set out the fine elms which beautify 
 the town. 
 
 George Roberts, of the third generation, was 
 born Nov. 22, 1752, at East Hartford, and was a 
 successful farmer and business man. Though of 
 quiet disposition he took an interest in public affairs. 
 He served in Capt. Jonathan Wells' company, Col. 
 Erastus Wolcott's regiment, during the Revolu- 
 tionary war, at Boston from December, 1775, until 
 the spring of 1776. He also served in several town 
 offices, was elected selectman in 17 — , and served 
 two years. He married Jerusha Williams, who 
 was born May 20, 1757, a daughter of Timothy and 
 Ruth (Pitkin) Williams, the latter a daughter of 
 Ozias, who was a son of the first William Pitkin, 
 the founder of the family. The children born to 
 George and Jerusha Roberts were Jerusha, who 
 was born in 1781, and died June 7, 1798; Clarissa, 
 Iborn May 4, 1783, was married to Dr. JEdward Pit- 
 kin, and died Jan. 28, 1864: Ozias was born Aug. 
 10, 1785; George died in Hartford at the age of 
 twenty-one, Nov. 10, 1808; Esther, who was mar- 
 ried to James Bidwell, died in Manchester, Jan. 9, 
 1822; Alvin, born Aug. 16, 1791, died April 9, 
 1819; Lucretia. who married Dr. William Cooley, 
 died in East liartford March 31, 1821 ; Martin, a 
 '"well-known and promising young man, died April 
 
 1821, in New York City, whither he had gone 
 
 purchase goods for the purpose of starting in 
 jbusiness at Hartford. Mrs. Jerusha (Williams) 
 : Roberts died Nov. 21, 181 1. George Roberts 
 ^married for his second wife Mrs. Lucretia (Beau- 
 jmont) Abbey, widow of Jeduthan Abbey, but to 
 
 this marriage no children were born. Mr. Roberts 
 dieil Oct. 4, 1824. All are buried in the family 
 lot in East Hartford Center cemetery. 
 
 Ozias Roberts, of the fourth generation, and the 
 only son of George and Jerusha Roberts to reach 
 full manhood, was born Aug. 10, 1785. He re- 
 ceived the usual education furnished by the schools 
 of that time, and was possessed of a naturally 
 strong intellect, and a daring spirit. 1 le was fond 
 of adventure, and when a young man wxnt to sea, 
 trade being then carried on between the West Indies 
 and Hartford direct. During the war of 1812 he 
 shipped with Capt. Josiah Griswold, of Wethers- 
 field, on board the privateer "Blockade." The ves- 
 sel was fitted out on the Connecticut river, was 
 owned by Thomas Beldon and others, and carried 
 six guns. He met with many stirring adventures, 
 and used to tell the story of driving the British 
 from their vessel with handspikes. After cruising 
 for some time with but little success the "Blockade" 
 was captured by a Brtish brig-of-war, was run into 
 the Bermudas, and the crew confined on a prison- 
 ship. Ozias Roberts, however, and Dr. \\'illiam 
 Cooley, of Manchester, (surgeon of the "Block- 
 ade"), managed to escape to the shore, and were 
 secreted by a negro until they could find an oppor- 
 tunity to return in safety to their respective homes. 
 For some time thereafter Mr. Roberts continued to 
 follow the sea, and eventually became the captain of 
 a vessel plying in the West Indies trade, but at the 
 death of his father returned to Connecticut and 
 managed the estate until his death, Feb, 8, 1868, 
 his remains being interred in the Center cemetery. 
 
 Ozias Roberts was three times married. His 
 first wife, j\liss Alartha Treat, daughter of Joseph 
 Treat, of East Hartford, and Martha Adams, of 
 Wethersfield, Conn., died Jan. 3, 1809, at the age of 
 twenty-one years, the mother of tw-o children : 
 Mary Ann, w-ho was married to Deacon Horace 
 Williams March 10, 1831, and died April i, 1848, 
 at the age of forty-one years ; and Martha, who was 
 born Dec. 23, 1808, in East Hartford. The second 
 wife of Ozias Roberts was Harriet Treat, a sister of 
 Martha Treat, his first wife. Mrs. Harriet (Treat) 
 Roberts died July 19, 1822, aged thirty-two years, 
 the mother of the following children : George, 
 born in iSio, will be more fullv spoken of further 
 on; Jane Treat, born Dec. 10, 181 1, w^as married to 
 Edward Goodwin, and was the mother of J. O. 
 Goodwin, of East Hartford; Harriet, born Oct. 
 II, 1814, was married to Aaron Olmstead in 1835, 
 at East Hartford, and died Nov. 19, 1875. leaving 
 the following named children — Horace B., Arthur 
 G., A. Fred, and Charles H. ; Ira T. was born Feb. 
 10, 1817; Jerusha, born March 15, 1819, was mar- 
 ried to Alfred Kilbourne. 
 
 George Roberts, eldest child of Ozias and Har- 
 riet (Treat) Roberts, as mentioned above, became a 
 merchant and a prominent citizen of Hartford. He 
 \\"as first in business in New York Citv, then retired 
 to South ^^^indsor, but again resumed active busi- 
 
 .^i- 
 
686 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ness, and became president and treasurer of the 
 Hartford Carpet Co. He died March 25, 1878, and 
 his son George was afterward elected president and 
 treasurer of the Hartford Carpet Co., while his son 
 Henry is president of the Woven Wire iVIattress 
 Co., of the same city. George Roberts first married, 
 Oct. 19, 1836, Louisa Stewart, a daughter of Capt. 
 Allen Stewart ; he married for his second wife Elvira 
 Evans, of Hinsdale, New Hampshire. 
 
 The third wife of Ozias Roberts was Nancy 
 Comstock, whom he married March 26, 1823. 
 Nancy (Comstock) Roberts was born July 4, 1802, 
 in East Hartford, and was a daughter of Perez and 
 Abigail (Raymond) Comstock, of the Raymond 
 and Comstock families of Montville, Conn. This 
 third marriage was crowned with nine children : 
 Esther, born May 25, 1824, was married to Albert 
 Comstock Raymond, who built the Raymond Li- 
 brary at East Hartford, in which town she died in 
 September, 1883 ; Luther M., born Nov. 18, 1826, 
 was by nature a seaman, died March 21, 1847, i^ 
 Vera Cruz, Mexico, and was there buried ; Juliette, 
 born July 23, 1829, was married to John B. Smith, 
 of Berlin, Conn., and died Oct. i, 1857, in East 
 Hartford; Arthur, born Jan. 14, 1831, died Jan. 
 23, 1833; Emma and Ellen, born Oct. 15, 1835, died 
 respectively April 2, 1856, and April 26, i860, un- 
 married; Elizabeth Bradford, born March 21, 1838, 
 is now Mrs. Henry A. Street, of New Haven; 
 Arthur Ozias, born Feb. 22, 1840, was a master's 
 mate during the Civil war (he is unmarried) ; 
 Frances L., born Aug. 23, 1846, takes great interest 
 in genealogy, and to her the publishers of this work 
 are indebted for many facts relating to the Roberts 
 family (she is the present registrar of Martha Pit- 
 kin Wolcott Chapter, D. A. R., at East Hartford). 
 Nancy Comstock Roberts died Jan. 17, 1854. 
 
 Ozias Roberts was in politics a Democrat pre- 
 vious to the formation of the Republican party, 
 which he joined at its formation. Long before 
 the formation of the Republican party he was an 
 uncompromising Abolitionist and employed run- 
 away slave labor. He served as State senator, and 
 for four terms after 1828 as a member of the House 
 of Representatives. Li 1838 he was elected town 
 treasurer, and served two terms, and was for many 
 years custodian of school funds. His rare good judg- 
 ment was highly prized by his neighbors, who fre- 
 quently consulted him on business matters, and he 
 settled many estates, to a great saving of money to 
 those most interested. Although not a church mem- 
 ber, he realized the value of churches, aided in their 
 support, and reared his children to respect the 
 Sabbath rigidly. Fraternally he was a Royal Arch 
 Mason. 
 
 It was not until he had quit the sea that Mr. 
 Roberts gave his attention to agriculture, in which 
 he met with a decided success. Physically he was 
 of medium height, and in early manhood very erect. 
 At one time he owned and conducted the ferry at 
 East Hartford. Two years prior to his death he 
 
 had a fall, in his door yard, from the effects of which 
 he never fully recovered, being thereafter confined 
 to his room, but he managed his affairs until the end. 
 
 Ozias Roberts was a man of strong convictions, 
 and for forty years was a leader among men in 
 East Hartford. He was a strict disciplinarian, and 
 although his children were numerous they were well 
 trained for the duties and responsibilities of life; 
 it may be added that Hon. Richard D. Hubbard, 
 ex-governor of Connecticut, and one of her bright- 
 est legal lights, was a cousin and ward of Mr. 
 Roberts, and passed his youthful days on the lat- 
 ter's farm. Ozias Roberts never lost the charm 
 that made his home the abode of enjoyment and true 
 hospitality, and his dwelling in East Hartford, in 
 his day, was the scene of more gatherings than any 
 other in the town. Thanksgiving Day and Election 
 Day were always observed with bountiful cheer, and 
 the members of the family were invariably present 
 on these occasions, beside innumerable friends and 
 visitors ; the home, indeed, was one of the most 
 popular known in its day, and those who visited it 
 fully enjoyed themselves, and came away with 
 undisguised admiration and praise of its unre- 
 served hospitality. 
 
 Ira T. Roberts, of the fifth generation of the 
 original Roberts family of East Hartford, and son 
 of Ozias and Harriet (Treat) Roberts, was born 
 in Silver Lane Feb. 10, 1817, and was educated in 
 the old district school building which then stood 
 on the site of the present highway. He was reared 
 on the home farm, and grew up a thin, small-boned 
 but wiry young man, who never shirked his work. 
 He lived with his parents until his marriage, April 
 9, 1839, when he removed to the property on which 
 he passed the remainder of his life, dying Jan. 17, 
 1897, after one week's confinement — not from any 
 acute illness, but simply because he was worn out. 
 
 Mr. Roberts was one of the early tobacco pro- 
 ducers in the vicinity of Silver Lane, and was a keen 
 business man, who did business on a cash basis 
 only. In politics he was a Democrat up to the 
 breaking out of the Rebellion, when he became a 
 Republican, to which party he adhered until the 
 day of his death ; at one time he was elected assessor 
 on this ticket, and filled the office only through a 
 sense of public duty, as he much preferred devoting 
 his time to his private affairs. His specialty was 
 farming, and of this he made a decided success. 
 
 On April 9, 1839, Mr. Roberts was married, 
 by Rev. Dr. Spring, to Miss Charlotte Corinthia 
 Cowles, who was born Oct. 30, 1817, in East Hart- 
 ford, and was a daughter of Anson and Anna (Ken- 
 nedy) Cowles. This lady died June 26, 1895, the 
 mother of the following- children : Charles W., 
 born May 30, 1840; George T., who was born July 
 31, 1842, and died Dec. 19, 1843 ! Martin, born Nov. 
 3, 1847, who first married Ellen Burnham, and later 
 Hattie Gillespie, and is now living in Hockanum; 
 William, born Dec. 3, 1850; and Frank, born Feb. 
 12, 1854. 
 
COMI/IEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 687 
 
 Although not a church member Ira T. Roberts 
 was a God-fearing man, and held that salvation was 
 the reward of an individual's personal deserts. His 
 wife was of strong religious tendencies, and her in- 
 fluence for good never met with opposition from her 
 husband. JNlr. Roberts was decidedly domestic and 
 social, especially with relatives ; he was well read 
 on all subjects, did more thinking than talking, but 
 was fond of argument. His "word was as good as 
 his bond" at all times, and he was held in the high- 
 est esteem by all his friends and neighbors. He 
 was an excellent manager, accumulated a handsome 
 
 I property, and at his death disposed of it to his four 
 sons in so equitable and business-like manner as not 
 to cause a single word of dispute or contention over 
 
 I its distribution. The remains of both parents were 
 
 ( interred in Center cemetery, East Hartford, and 
 their memory is most aitectionatel}' cherished by 
 
 i their children and other surviving relatives. 
 
 Charles W. Roberts, of the sixth generation of 
 the honored Roberts family of East Hartford, re- 
 ceived an excellent education in his early days, and 
 still regards the schools of his youth with fond 
 affection. While a friend of better schools, leading 
 to the highest forms of education, and altogether 
 progressive, he would like to see introduced some 
 system of study of the old-time economy, believing 
 that the school room, as well as the home, is a place 
 where the value of a dollar as well as the value of 
 time and all things else should be inculcated. One 
 of his first teachers was Horace Cornwall, of his 
 home district, and he later walked four miles to 
 Hartford and four miles back each day, to be in- 
 structed at the North school of that city. At the 
 East Hartford Academy he was under such tutors ; 
 as Potter, Comfort and Rogers. At the age of 
 eighteen years he returned to the homestead, where ! 
 he and his brothers worked in perfect harmony to- 
 gether, dividing the results. 
 
 In November, 1861, Mr. Roberts was united in 
 marriage with Aliss Adelaide L. Brewer, who was 
 born in Hockanum in July, 1839, and was a daugh- 
 ter of Ashabel Brewer, and immediately after mar- 
 riage took possession of his present dwelling, which 
 he had erected in preparation for the event. Here 
 have been born to them three children : Lena, who 
 died at the age of twelve years ; Homer C, who mar- 
 ried Miss Jennie Goodwin, of East Hartford, and is 
 now employed by the Connecticut Mutual Life In- 
 surance Co., of Hartford ; and George T., who fell 
 into a vessel containing boiling water, and was 
 scalded to death when three years old. 
 
 Mr. Roberts at once engaged in market garden- 
 ing on moving to his own place, and in partnership 
 with his brothers conducted a retail business on 
 ■•Market street, where the police station now stands, 
 and where they controlled the trade in home produce. 
 Along the 'seventies j\Ir. Roberts withdrew from 
 the cultivation of garden produce and turned his 
 attention to the cultivation of tobacco, which for 
 
 a number of years he raised extensively. He was 
 very well satislied, when he went into tlie field, to 
 meet a hand that could do as nnich work as him- 
 self. In 1871 he began buying and selling tobacco, 
 and throughout the 'seventies did an excellent trade; 
 at one time he acted as buyer for several large 
 houses, but since 1895 has done nothing in the buy- 
 ing line. Until 1874 Mr. Roberts was a Republican 
 in politics, was then a Democrat until 1896, and then 
 returned to the Republican party as a sound-money 
 man ; however, in town politics he is neutral. He 
 has filled many positions of honor and trust, his 
 fellow citizens having implicit confidence in his 
 integrity and great reliance on his judgment. In 
 1872 he was elected selectman by the Republicans, 
 and served until 1878; was town auditor for several 
 years in the 'eighties; and in 1888 and 1889 was 
 town treasurer ; then for si-x years he filled the 
 office of first selectman, succeeding Ashbel Gillman. 
 He has been prosecuting attorney of East Hartford 
 since the organization of the town court in 1897, 
 filling the offices most satisfactorily. Mr. Roberts 
 also became a member of the board of Hartford 
 bridge commissioners on the establishment of same, 
 in 1889 by virtue of his position as first selectman 
 of the town of East Hartford. In 1893 the State 
 assumed the management of the bridge, and the 
 Legislature appointed a commission of three, of 
 which Mr. Roberts was one. In 1895 the Act was 
 repealed, and the Legislature appointed a new com- 
 mission, consisting of eight members, Mr. Roberts 
 being one of the number ; he still holds the position. 
 He has also represented his district in the State 
 Legislature, having been elected as a Democrat in 
 1882, 1887 and 1895. In the session of 1882 he 
 was a member of the committee on Agriculture; 
 in that of 1887 was a member of the committee 
 on Roads and Bridges; and in that of 1895 was a 
 member of the committee on Finance, having for 
 his coadjutor the present Gov. Lounsbury and the 
 present Lieut.-Gov. Lyman J. Mills. Mr. Roberts 
 was also a charter member of the East Hartford 
 Grange, and was a member of the Knights of Honor 
 when that order had its existence. He is a trustee 
 of the Co-operative Savings Society of Hartford, 
 and has always led a progressive, prominent and 
 useful life. 
 
 Mr. Roberts is one of the best-read men in the 
 county, one whose consideration would at once sug- 
 gest a college education. He has been a close stu- 
 dent of science, history and general literature, and 
 takes great interest especially in scientific studies 
 that to the common mind would be but dry reading. 
 He is witty and jolly, and his sense of humor far 
 exceeds the ordinary. He is progressive, and takes 
 greater pleasure in looking forward than backward. 
 His friends and acquaintances are extensive through- 
 out the county, and he is justly classed with the 
 representative and advanced citizens of the State of 
 Connecticut. 
 
688 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 HON. D. ELLSWORTH PHELPS, probate 
 judge for the town of Windsor, is a member of an 
 honored pioneer family which is now numerously 
 represented in this section. His ancestors settled 
 in Windsor previous to the organization of the 
 town, and their foresight, enterprise and public 
 spirit did much to establish the free institutions 
 of which later generations have reaped the benefit, 
 while the prestige of the name has been well sus- 
 tained in modern times, our subject's endorsement 
 of any movement being recognized as a potent in- 
 fluence in its favor. 
 
 The Phelps family in America is descended from 
 two brothers, William and George, who came from 
 England in 1630 on the ship "Mary and John," in 
 company with a yotmger brother, Richard, of whom 
 all trace was lost after he went to the Barbadoes, 
 in 1635. Their motive in coming was the desire 
 for religious liberty, and Rev. Mr. Warham, of 
 whose church in England William Phelps was an 
 original member, was the leader of their party. 
 William Phelps was a native of Tewkesbury, 
 Gloucestershire, England, born about 1599, and 
 at the time of his emigration had a wife and five 
 children. He located first in Dorchester, Mass., 
 where he took a prominent part in town affairs, 
 and his first wife died there. In the spring of 1636 
 he removed to Windsor with his children, and 
 during his later years he made his home on a 
 tract of land on the road between that village and 
 Poquonock, three-quarters of a mile northwest of 
 Broad street, his death occurring July 14, 1672. 
 After his removal to Windsor he married Mary 
 Dover, a native of England, who came over on the 
 "Mary and John," with Rev. Mr. Warham's little 
 colony. 
 
 (II) Samuel Phelps, the next in the line of 
 descent to our subject, was born about 1625, and 
 was the second son and third child of William 
 Phelps by his first wife. On Nov. 10, 1650, he 
 was married, in Windsor, to Sarah Griswold, a 
 native of Kenilworth, England, who came to Amer- 
 ica in 1639 with her father, Edward Griswold, an 
 early settler at Poquonock. 
 
 (III) William Phelps, son of Samuel, was born 
 Nov. 3, 1660, and died Nov. 21, 171 1, at his home 
 in Poquonock. On Jan. 4, 1693, he married Han- 
 nah Hayden, born Nov. 6, 1668, who survived him, 
 and \yas married later to a Mr. Smith. Seven 
 children were born to William and Hannah Phelps, 
 their names with dates of birth being as follows : 
 Hannah (Mrs. Harmon). Oct. 13, 1694; Phoebe, 
 Sept. I, 1696; William, Jan. 13, 1698; Lieut. Daniel, 
 March 21, 1700; John (Deacon), March 21, 1703; 
 Elizabeth, July 23, 1706; and Charles, Oct. 13, 1708. 
 
 (IV) Lieut. Daniel Phelps was married Nov. 
 9, 1728, to Mindwell Buckland, by whom he had 
 the following children: Mindwell, born Sept. 30, 
 1729, who was married to Isaac Griswold May 19, 
 1748; Daniel, born April 26, 1730, died Feb. 16, 
 1804; Sarah, born April 26, 1730; Plannah, born 
 
 Feb. 4, 1731 ; Roger, who is mentioned below; 
 Eunice, born May 27, 1739; Eunice (2), born in 
 1742, who was married, Jan. 5, 1756, to Bildad 
 Phelps; and Aaron, who died in 1820, when over 
 sixty years of age. 
 
 (V) Roger Phelps, our subject's great-grand- 
 father, was born in 1735, and resiaed in Windsor 
 on the original homestead of William Phelps, the 
 pioneer, his death occurring there Jan. 27, 181 1. 
 His wife, Deborah Filley, who was born in 1743, 
 died at Windsor Aug. 31, 1792. They had four 
 children: Amelia, born 1772, died in 1801, un- 
 married ; Olive, who never married, resided with 
 her brother Roger, at Windsor; Roger, known as 
 Deacon Roger, is mentioned below ; Deborah mar- 
 ried Fitz J. Allyn, of Windsor. 
 
 (VI) Deacon Roger Phelps, the grandfather of 
 our subject, was born March 22, 1780, and became 
 a leading agriculturist of Windsor, his home being 
 at the old farm on the Poquonock road, where he 
 died March 28, 1864. On Oct. 31, 1803, he mar- 
 ried Rhoda Barber, born April 22, 1783, died March 
 31, 1864, daughter of Jerziah and Loanna Bar- 
 ber, and they had a large family of children, most 
 of whom lived to maturity, (i) Cicero, born 1804, 
 was a farmer, and removed to Milo, Bureau Co., 
 111., in his later years. On May 11, 1837, he mar- 
 ried Betsey Crane, and they had five children, Eliz- 
 abeth, Cicero, Roger W., Daniel and John. (2) 
 Daniel B., father of our subject, is mentioned be- 
 low. (3) Rhoda B., born July 28, 1810, married 
 John W. Dunlap (deceased), of South Hadley, 
 Mass., and had one child, Edward. (4) Amelia, 
 born Feb. 23, 1813, died Nov. 14, 1840, unmarried. 
 (5) Wilham R., born Sept. 12, 1815, died in 1870 
 at Peoria, 111., where he was engaged in mercantile 
 business. In early life he was for some time a 
 member of the firm of Drake & Phelps, merchants, 
 at Windsor. He was married (first), in Novem- 
 ber, 1838, to Miss Susan Remington, of Suffield, 
 Conn., and (second), in August, 1851, to Mar- 
 garet Thompson. By his first wife he had one 
 daughter, Julia E., and by the second he had a 
 son, William Roger. (6) Catherine, born Sept. 
 15, 1818, was married. May 4, 1842, to Rev. Austin 
 Gary (deceased). On May 11, 1852, she married 
 Rev. Matthew Kingman (deceased), and she now 
 resides at Amherst, Mass. She has had seven 
 children, Austin, William, Ellen, Maria and Sarah 
 (all deceased), and Kate P. and Morris B., living. 
 (7) Timothy S., born Oct. 30, 1820, is a promi- 
 nent agriculturist of Windsor town. On Dec. 19, 
 1843, he married Elizabeth S. Loomis, who diedi 
 Oct. 30, 1852, leaving three children, Timothy D.J 
 Anna E. and Albert L., all now deceased. On 
 May 18, 1859, he married Ellen Ellsworth, bj 
 whom he had four children, Albert E., Ellen J.j 
 William R. (deceased), and Catherine M. (8)1 
 Mary J., born Aug. i, 1823, died May 13, 1851/ 
 unmarried. (9) Janette L., born Nov. 5, 1827, 
 died June 25, 1830. 
 
l^- 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 689 
 
 (\'1I) Daniel B. Phelps, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was born Dec. 25, 1807, near \\ indsor Cen- 
 ter, on the original -Phelps homestead, now the 
 "town farm." He was educated in the local schools, 
 and for a time was engaged in teaching, but soon 
 turned his attention to brickniaking as a business. 
 As he had but limited capital he began in a small 
 way, but his energy and careful management en- 
 abled him to secure a good trade. In 1857 he 
 formed a partnership with three builders, and en- 
 gaged in the business on a larger scale than had 
 previously been attempted in the town, the venture 
 proving successful in every way. He remained at 
 the head of the firm until 1864, and his ileath oc- 
 curred in Windsor Nov. 9, of ;;hat year. He was 
 noted for his enterprise and sound judgment, and 
 at his death left a handsome estate, including our 
 subject's present homestead. While he was not a 
 politician he was always interested in National 
 questions, being first a W hig and later a stanch 
 supporter of the Republican party. During the 
 war he was active in furnishing supplies to the 
 army, visiting most of the camps near Hartford. 
 On April 4, 1831, he married 5liss Delia Drake, 
 who was born Dec. 17, 1809, daughter of Bildad 
 and Keziah Drake, and a member of one of the 
 oldest families of Windsor. Our subject's pres- 
 ent homestead, which was purchased by his fa- 
 ther previous to this marriage, was formerly known 
 as the '"Drake homestead," and a building occupied 
 in 1737 by Phineas Drake, the well-known pioneer, 
 is still standing. ^Irs. Delia Pheljis died Alay 6, 
 1846, leaving one child. Delia, who died May 18, 
 1846. On ^larch 21. 1849, ^^^- Phelps married 
 Miss Phebe Lyman Ellsworth, and they had seven 
 children, of whom our subject was the eldest. (2) 
 Ella J., born July 12, iSso, died Sept. 9, 1852. (3) 
 Daniel W.. born Feb. 19. 1852, was married, Feb. 
 28, 1872, to 2klary Jane Loomis. of Windsor, who 
 died March 11, 1890. Four children were born 
 to them — Ella L., Dec. 26, 1874; Mary E.. Oct. 
 6, 1876; Catherine W., Oct. 28, 1878; and Daniel 
 W., April 30, i88r. Daniel W. Phelps now makes 
 his home with nis children in Omaha, Neb., where 
 he is engaged in mercantile business. (4) Charles, 
 Iwrn Nov. 10, 1853, died Dec. 13, 1854. (5) 
 Agnes Amalia. born Feb. 20, 1856, married Arthur 
 M. Wilson, of Windsor, on Oct. 21, 1884. (6) 
 Walter G.. born Jan. 4. 1858, formerly a civil en- 
 gineer on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincey rail- 
 road, married, Dec. 9, 1885, Grace H. Goodell, of 
 Hartford, Conn., and died in Hartford Nov. 18, 
 1887, leaving one son, Dwight G., born June 8, 
 1887. (7) Theodore L., of Omaha, Neb., is a civil 
 engineer on the Chicago, Burlington & Ouincev 
 railroad. He was born Feb. 6, i860, and married 
 Annie E. Mills, of Windsor, Jan. 18, i8g8. Our 
 subject's mother was born Sept. 20, 1820, in East 
 Granby, and is still living. Her father, David 
 Ellsworth, was a prosperous miller and farmer of 
 that town, and she is of the si.xth sreneration in 
 44 
 
 descent from Josias Ellsworth, the pioneer, anil his 
 wife, Elizabeth Holcomb, the lino being traced 
 tlarough Jonathan Ellsworth, who married Sarah 
 tirant ; David, who married Jemima Leavitt (the 
 parents of Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth) ; David 
 (2j, who married Phebe Lyman; and David (3), 
 Mrs. Phelps' father, who married Alma (jillespie. 
 
 (\ 111) Judge Phelps was born Feb. 8, 1849, 
 at the present homestead, and from the age of 
 sixteen he has had the management of the farm, 
 his brothers having turned their attention to other 
 business. His education was acquired in the pub- 
 lic schools and at the Windsor Academy. His 
 farm is managed with admirable system, and he is 
 prominently identified with various business enter- 
 prises, having been president of the Windsor 
 Creamery Co., and of the Hartford County To- 
 bacco Growers Insurance Co. (against hail). He 
 has been a stanch believer in the principles of the 
 Republican party since boyhood, and his fidelity to 
 the public welfare has made him a popular candi- 
 date for office. He has served as justice of the 
 peace and on the school committee and board of 
 relief, and in 1892 was elected judge of the pro- 
 bate court of his town, an office which he fills with 
 dignity and ability. In 1887 he served as a mem- 
 ber of the General Assembly, and has been elected 
 to the Assembly of 1901. At present he is also 
 treasurer of the First School Society of Windsor. 
 In manner he is unostentatious, making everyone 
 at ease, and fraternally he is connected with the 
 Masonic Fraternity as a member of Washington 
 Lodge, No. 70, at Windsor. 
 
 On June 17, 1884, our subject married Miss 
 Mary L. ]\IcCormick, daughter of James and Jen- 
 nette (Hale) McCormick, of Windsor, and to them 
 have come two children: James McC, born Aug. 
 I, 1885, who died June 30, 1894; and Alma Gilles- 
 pie, born Sept. 21, 1887. Mrs. Phelps, who is 
 one of the social leaders of their town, is active in 
 religious work, and a member of Grace Episcopal 
 Church. 
 
 L.VWRENCE SEYMOUR FORBES. In re- 
 cent generations many of the descendants of the 
 early families of Connecticut, who for generations 
 had successfully tilled the soil, have branched out 
 in various lines of business, carved out fortunes, 
 built up great industries, and developed a fine busi- 
 ness talent which has been latent from lack of op- 
 portunity. Among that number is Mr. Forbes, the 
 subject of this sketch, one of the best-known citizens 
 of East Hartford, president of the East Hartford 
 Manufacturing Co., and chief owner of its plant at 
 Burnside. 
 
 Mr. Forbes is a representative of one of the 
 oldest families of the town, being of the seventh 
 generation in descent from Capt. James Forbes, the 
 founder of the family in America, who was banished 
 from Great Britain in 1654. His line of descent is 
 as follows: (i) Capt. James Forbes, the progeni- 
 
690 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tor, who died Nov. 27, 1692; (2) James Forbes 
 (May 14, 1677-1752) ; (3) Timothy Forbes (1716, 
 Oct. II, 1776); (4) Timothy Forbes (June 14, 
 1743-Sept. 14, 1800) ; (5) Timothy Forbes (July 
 3> 1773) ; (6) Mahlon Forbes (Oct. 14, i8o3-;\Iay 8, 
 189 1) ; (7) Lawrence Seymour Forbes, our sub- 
 ject (born Jan. 28, 1847). 
 
 Capt. James Forbes, of Caithness, Scotland, was 
 a 3-ounger son of Duncan Forbes, first Laird of 
 Culloden, and provost of Inverness, and brother of 
 John Forbes, second Laird of Culloden. James 
 Forbes was captain in the Royal army, and fought 
 under Montrose. He was captured at the battle 
 of Philiphaugh, near Selkirk, Scotland, in 1645, and 
 for a time was imprisoned in the Tower of London, 
 then banished to America. He reached Connecticut 
 in 1654, and for many years, until his death, was a 
 prominent resident of the Colony. 
 
 Timothy Forbes, the grandfather of our subject, 
 married Elizabeth Treat, and lived as a farmer on 
 the old homestead at Scotland (now Burnside), in 
 a house, still standing, which was built about 1766, 
 on land which has now been in the possession of 
 the family for over two hundred and forty years. 
 Here, too, was born Mahlon Forbes, the father of 
 our subject. He attendeed in his boyhood the 
 schools of Scotland district, and later was a student 
 in the East Hartford school, taught by Salmon 
 Phelps. Mahlon Forbes was reared as a farmer 
 boy, and adopted farming as a vocation. Later 
 he succeeded to a butcher business which had pre- 
 viously been conducted by his brother George. In 
 those early days only home-grown beef was slaugh- 
 tered, and the butcher bought from surrounding 
 farmers the cattle which he killed and dressed. 
 jMahlon Forbes was an excellent judge of live stock, 
 conducted that business very successfully, and also 
 continued to carry on farming operations through 
 life. He married Miss Sarah Lawrence, of Spring- 
 field, Mass., born May 4, 1807, daughter of Will- 
 iam Lawrence and his wife, whose maiden name was 
 jMurphy, and they had children as follows : Mary 
 E., born Aug. 15, 1830, who is unmarried, residing 
 on her father's home farm at Burnside ; Annie 
 Marie, born April 15, 1832, now Mrs. E. R. Fitch, 
 of Burnside, a resident of the old home farm; 
 Timothy, born April 10, 1834, died May 12, 1834; 
 Ellen A., born Oct. 18, 1835, now Mrs. Orrin Con- 
 verse, of Stafford Springs, Conn. ; John W., born 
 Feb. 28, 1838, a resident of Burnside ; George H., 
 born March 8, 1840, a broker of New York City; 
 and L. Seymour, born Jan. 28, 1847, subject of this 
 sketch. 
 
 In politics Mahlon Forbes was a Democrat early 
 in life, but in i860, on the slavery issue, he became 
 a Republican, being an Abolitionist. He was not a 
 politician in the modern acceptation of the word, 
 t)Ut was a leading spirit in the party, and served as 
 a representative in the State Legislature and as a 
 member of the board of selectmen with Mr. Stanley, 
 known as the war selectman. He was a thorough 
 
 and efficient official, faithful to every trust. In re- 
 ligious faith he was a member of the M. E. Church, 
 and was a verj? prominent and active worker in the 
 church, a liberal contributor to all worthy religious 
 causes, and the recipient of many official honors in 
 church organization. In his home, religious wor- 
 ship was sacredly observed, and the Sabbath Day 
 was held in the greatest reverence. Mahlon Forbes 
 was also a zealous advocate and supporter of the 
 public schools, recognizing their inestimable value 
 in molding the character of American citizenship. 
 His reputation for honesty and integrity was very 
 high. He lived to a ripe age, dying May 8, 1891, 
 aged eighty-seven years. His wife died Sept. 15, 
 1875, arid both are .buried in East Hartford ceme- 
 tery. 
 
 Our subject in his boyhood attended the dis- 
 trict schools of Scotland, and among his teachers 
 were Edgar A. Burnham and Miss Martha Bunce. 
 He also attended a private school at East Hartford, 
 conducted by Salmon Phelps (to whom his father 
 had also been a pupil, a circumstance that is all the 
 more remarkable, when it is remembered that his 
 father was forty-four 3rears older j, and still later 
 attended the East Hartford High School; but his 
 school days ended when he was sixteen years of age. 
 At seventeen he opened his business career as an er- 
 rand boy in the First National Bank, at Hartford, 
 and for seventeen years he was in the employ of 
 that institution, rising from the position of errand 
 boy to that of teller. He resigned the latter po- 
 sition in 1881 to enter business for himself, becoming 
 treasurer of the East Hartford Manufacturing Co., 
 at Burnside, with which he has ever since been con- ■ 
 nected, and of which he is now president and prin- 
 cipal owner. The company manufactures the finer 
 grades of writing paper. Mr. Forbes has thor- 
 oughly mastered the details of every department of 
 the business, and the prosperous condition of the 
 company's affairs attests the able management of its 
 president. 
 
 Mr. Forbes married Miss Fannie Hinds Larkuni, 
 born June 23, 1852, at Bridgeport, daughter of 
 Charles Cooley and Sarah J. (Childs) Larkuni. 
 The name Larkum was formerly spelled Larcom 
 or Larcomb. The family is of Huguenot extraction, 
 and is descended from Mordecai Larcom, who set- 
 tled at Ipswich about 1633, and later lived at Bev- 
 erly, Mass. Charles Cooley Larkum was born at 
 West Hartford, Conn., June 15, x8i8. He was one 
 of four children, Horace, George, Charles and Will- 
 iam, all of whom are now deceased, and only five of 
 their descendants are now living ; Mrs. Forbes ; 
 Mrs. Amanda Wheeler, of Hartford, and William 
 Larkuni, children of George; and Mrs. Maiy A. 
 Batterson and Mrs. Gertrude Howell, daughters of 
 Horace. When Charles C. Larkuni was a boy his 
 father died, and, as was customary in those days, he 
 was put on a farm to earn his own support. Fie ac- 
 quired a knowledge of the saddler's trade, and fol- 
 lowed it successfully in Hartford, whence he re- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 691 
 
 moved to Bridgeport, and later in 1854 to Hartford. 
 During- tlie Civil war ho enlisted in Company U, 
 21st Conn. \'. 1., and served for three }-ears, winning 
 a promotion to lirst sergeant, lie participated in 
 seven battles, and was never absent from his com- 
 pany on account of sickness or wounds. He gave 
 up his trade a number of years prior to his death, 
 when it was no longer profitable, and became a 
 farmer and tobacco grower. Sarah J. Childs, his 
 ■wife, was born in Middle Haddam, Conn., July 14, 
 1818, a daughter of Buckley and Sally (TracyJ 
 Childs. Her mother, Sally Tracy, was born in Col- 
 chester, Conn., and was a representative of an old 
 Connecticut family, being a daughter of Daniel and 
 Eunice (Pohamj Tracy. Daniel was a son of 
 Nehemiah and Susanna (Smith) Tracy; Nehemiah, 
 son of Winslow and Rachel (Ripley J Tracy; Wins- 
 low, son of Capt. John and Mary (Winslow) Tracy; 
 Capt. John, son of Lieut. Thomas and Mary (Ma- 
 son) Tracy. Lieut. Thomas Tracy, the progenitor 
 of the family in America, was born in 1610, on the 
 Tewksbury estates, England. He landed at Salem, 
 Mass., in April, 1636, and in 1660 removed to Con- 
 necticut, becoming one of the original proprietors of 
 Norwich, that State. He was one of the leading 
 men of Norwich, where he died Nov. 7, 1685. To 
 Buckley and Sally (Tracy) Childs were born nine 
 children, seven daughters and two sons, of whom 
 only one daughter, Martha, now Mrs. Abram Pet- 
 tibone, of Waukegan, 111., now survives. Charles 
 Cooley Larkum lived to the age of seventy-eight 
 years. His wife died at the age of fifty-six, and 
 both, are buried at East Hartford. In politics Mr. 
 Larkum was a Democrat early in life, but later he 
 voted the Republican ticket. He was a member 
 of Rodman Post, G. A. R., at East Plartford. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Larkum had three children : Harriet, who 
 died at the age of four years; George, v^dio died in 
 childhood ; and Fanny H., the wife of our subject. 
 
 To our subject and wife have been born two 
 children : Jennie L. and Robert S., both at home. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Forbes are prominent members of 
 the M. E. Church, liberal contributors, and among 
 its most active workers. Mrs. Forbes is a member 
 of its Home and Foreign Missionary Societies, 
 ])resident of the Ladies Society, and assistant li- 
 brarian of the Sabbath-school, in which Mr. Forbes 
 is a teacher. The family occupies the elegant Jo- 
 seph ]\Ierriman home, one of the best in East Hart- 
 ford, and possessing a most delightful location, 
 which has been owned by Mr. Forbes since 1881. 
 
 Mr. Forbes is a charter member of Lafayette 
 Council, No. 37, O. U. A. M., at East Hartford, and 
 also of the Royal Arcanum at East Hartford. In 
 politics he is a stanch Republican, and he represented 
 East Hartford in the State Legislature at the time 
 of the celebrated "deadlock." \\'hile not an active 
 politician, he takes a keen interest in the party suc- 
 cess. Mr. Forbes is an admirer of good horses, and 
 a good judge as well. As a business man he has 
 clean-cut methods, attending closelv to the affairs 
 
 of his ofificc, and attaining more than ordinary suc- 
 cess. He is one of the most prosperous business 
 men in East Hartford. In manner he is quiet and 
 unostentatious, a man of few words, but thoroughly 
 business-like in all his methods. The family has 
 high social standing, and fitly represents and per- 
 petuates the prominence and high character which 
 have been its portion in previous generations. 
 
 ISAAC EDWARD ALLING. Among the prom- 
 inent and substantial farmers of the town of Berlin, 
 is the subject of this sketch, who, in his earlier life, 
 for a number of years followed the carriage-making 
 trade, abandoning it to return to the farm. He is 
 progressive in his methods, industrious and pros- 
 perous, and is one of the best-known agriculturists 
 of the town. 
 
 Mr. Ailing is a great-grandson of Rev. Abraham 
 Ailing, who was born about 1754, and became one 
 of the best-known Connecticut Congregational min- 
 isters of a century ago. He was the first pastor of 
 the Congregational Church at \Miitneyville, serv- 
 ing continuously from 1795 to 1823. He was or- 
 dained Oct. 19, 1797, and was dismissed in 1822, 
 at his own request. He died in 1837, aged eighty- 
 three years. Ezra Ailing, the grandfather of our 
 subject, was a well-known agriculturist of Plamdjn 
 and North Haven, and with his wife was buried in 
 Hamden cemetery. Charles Noyes Ailing, the fa- 
 ther of our subject, was born at Hamden Feb. 2, 
 1S22. He was reared on the farm, but acquired a 
 knowledge of the carriage maker's trade, and for 
 many years he was a successful carriage maker. 
 About 185 1 he removed from Hamden to Kensing- 
 ton, where he owned and operated a carriage fac- 
 tory, employing from eight to ten men. In later 
 life he retired to the farm. He was an indusrious, 
 hard-working man, and became quite well-to-do. 
 In 1848 he married Delia Angeline Baldwin, a de- 
 scendant of the well-known Welles family of Weth- ' 
 ersfield. Both the parents of our subject are buried 
 in West Lane cemetery, Kensington. In politics 
 Charles Noyes Ailing was a stanch Republican. 
 He served as justice of the peace, was on the board 
 of relief and grand jury for a number of years, and 
 filled various other minor offices. He was an ac- 
 tive member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
 was one of the trustees of the P'irst Methodist 
 Episcopal Church of Kensington. He died Oct. 
 8, 1887, aged sixty-five years. 
 
 Isaac Edward Ailing, our subject, was born on 
 the old homestead in Kensington Dec. 4, 1852, 
 was reared on the farm and received his earlv edu- 
 cation in the district schools, later attending for 
 two years the New Britain High School. Mr. Ail- 
 ing then entered liis father's shop and worked con- 
 tinuously at carriage making for about ten years. 
 Purchasing a farm of 130 acres, adjoining the liome 
 farm, he removed to this property, operating it for 
 aliout twelve years, when he exchanged it for tlif 
 Adonijah Strong farm of 117 acres in East Berlin, 
 
692 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and removed to that desirable tract of land, which 
 he now occupies. Mr. Ailing also owns other land 
 in Berlin town, and is engaged in general farming. 
 
 Mr. Ailing married, Nov. i6, 1881, Miss Jennie 
 Louise Bradbury, who was born April 14, 1863, 
 daughter of John and Adeline (Gladding) Brad- 
 bury, of the town of Berlin. The family of our 
 subject and wife consists of the following children: 
 Stella May, born Feb. 6, 1883, a student of the New 
 Britain high school; Grace Louise, born July 13, 
 1885, a student of the New Britain grammar school ; 
 Ruth Inez, born Nov. 29, 1887, a student of the 
 New Britain grammar school; Edward, born March 
 II, 1894; and Leon Isaac, born Jan. 7, 1898. Mr. 
 Ailing in politics is an earnest Republican, but has 
 never sought office. He attends the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church of East Berlin, of which his 
 wife is an active member. 
 
 Charles Baldwin Alling, son of Charles 
 Noyes and Delia Angeline (Baldwin) Alling, was 
 born Feb. 25, 1850, at Mt. Carmel, in the town of 
 Hamden. He received his education in the schools 
 of Berlin and in the high school of New Britain, 
 then began life in wood-working in his father's 
 carriage shop. A year later he entered the carriage 
 works of Benjamin Manville & Co., at New Haven, 
 remaining about a year. For eighteen years he was 
 then employed as carriage maker for James Vile & 
 Sons, in New Britain, after which he was in the 
 shops of Solomon North, of Plainville, for two years. 
 He retired from that position to engage in his pres- 
 ent work with W. R. Adams, at New Britain. Mr. 
 Ailing owns a farm of forty-one acres in Kensing- 
 ton, which he does not operate. He attends the 
 services of the Congregational Church. In politics 
 he is a Republican; has served as grand juror, was 
 a juror in the Superior Court in 1G79, and for 
 years has been justice of the peace in Kensington. 
 
 LYMAN ALLYN UPSON. The world re- 
 spects the man whose success is worthily achieved, 
 and who, by overcoming the obstacles and diffi- 
 culties in his path, has reached a nigh position in 
 the business world. This is a progressive age, and 
 he who does not advance is soon left far behind. 
 Mr. Upson, by the improvement of opportunities 
 with which all are surrounded, has steadily and 
 honorably advanced, and has attained a fair degree 
 of prosperity. He is to-day one of the most enter- 
 prising and prominent business men of Thompson- 
 ville. 
 
 Mr. Upson was born in Westfield, Mass., July 
 23, 1841, a son of Willis and Harriet (Allyn) Up- 
 son, the former also a native of Westfield, the lat- 
 ter of Windsor, Conn. He is of Puritan stock, 
 and his ancestors on the paternal side came with 
 Rev. Thomas Hooker's congregation to Hartford 
 about 1634. His grandfather, Simeon Upson, a 
 native of Southington, Hartford county, was a 
 soldier in the Revolutionary war, and after that 
 struggle removed to Westfield, Mass., where he 
 
 engaged in farming" until called from this life, in 
 1839. Our subject's maternal grandfather. Free- 
 man Allyn, was a native of Groton, Conn., and a 
 son of Nathan Allyn, who was also born in Groton, 
 and during the Revolution served for two years 
 in the Colonial navy, on the privateer "Marquis de 
 La Fayette." After the close of the war he went 
 to the Black River country, in central New York,, 
 and later to the Western Reserve, Ohio, where he 
 made his home until his death. He had several 
 brothers who were also members of the Continental 
 army: Capt. Timothy Allyn, who was in the serv- 
 ice-seven years; Capt. Simeon Allyn, who was un- 
 der the command of Gen. Gallup, and was killed 
 in the defense of Fort Griswold, near Groton, 
 Conn. ; and Capt. Robert Allyn. Willis Upson, our 
 subject's father, was born in 1805, and spent his 
 entire life in Westfield, Mass., where he carried on 
 business as a carpenter and bunder. He died in 
 1890; the mother is still living, at the advanced 
 age of ninet)'-three years. 
 
 Reared in Westfield, Lyman A. Upson was ed- 
 ucated in the public schools and the Massachusetts 
 State Normal School at that place, from which lat- 
 ter he graduated in i860, and after a course pre- 
 paratory for college, which was interrupted by the 
 breaking out of the Civil war, he enlisted, June 
 29, 1861, in the 62d N. Y. V. I., known as the 
 Anderson Zouaves. He served three years in the 
 army of the Potomac, participating in the Peninsu- 
 lar campaign under Gen. McClellan; the siege of 
 Fredericksburg under Burnside ; Chancellorsville,, 
 under Hooker ; Gettysburg, under Meade ; and from 
 the Rapidan to Petersburg under Grant. At the 
 battle of the Wilderness he was made a non-com- 
 missioned officer with the rank of corporal, and 
 when his term of service had expired he was hon- 
 orably discharged in front of Petersburg, June 29, 
 1864. 
 
 The following August Mr. LTpson came to 
 Thompsonville, Conn., and entered the office of the 
 Hartford Carpet Co. as assistant superintendent, 
 with which corporation he has ever since been con- 
 nected, having filled the responsible position of 
 superintendent of the works since 1878. His work 
 in connection with his duties for the Hartford Car- 
 pet Co. he considers the most important of his 
 life. Since his connection with the Hartford Carpet 
 Co. the works have been increased fourfold ; the 
 scattered departments assembled for the more 
 economic manufacturing, and old machinery re- 
 placed with modern. Mr. Upson is the inventor 
 of several machines connected with carpet manu- 
 facturing which have proved very valuable, and 
 among these may be mentioned the repeating ma-j 
 chine for repeating pattern cards for the JacquardI 
 machine, and a lacing machine for lacing the! 
 same. That he has labored with his heart in his| 
 work is evident from his continued efforts and thq 
 success which has steadily attended them, and to hire 
 may justly be credited, in a great measure, the con^ 
 
^::^c< 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 093 
 
 liiuied and constantly increasing prosperity of this 
 concern. In his connection therewitli Mr. L'pson 
 lias gained a high standing in commercial circles 
 iis a business man of unquestioned ability, and an 
 t-arncst worker in his particular line. Mr. Upson 
 i.-; also president of the Thompsonville Trust Co. ; 
 president and treasurer of the linheld Electric Light 
 & Power Co.; secretary and treasurer of the En- 
 field & Long JMeadow Electric Railway ; a director 
 t)f the Suftield & Thompsonville Bridge Co. ; and 
 chairman of the board of sewer commissioners of 
 Thompsonville. He is a man of broad capabilities, 
 carrying forward to successful completion what- 
 ever he undertakes, and is accounted one of the 
 most progressive, enterprising and relialsle busi- 
 ness men of the community. 
 
 On Oct. 17, 1S71, Mr. Upson was united in 
 marriage with Miss Emma Douglass, a daughter of 
 George A. and Caroline (Abbe) Douglass, of Suf- 
 field. Conn., and of the children born to this union 
 three are living: Irene B. (now Mrs. James B. 
 Jordan), Caroline A. and Lillian A. On Sept. 4, 
 1899, Mr. and j\Irs. Upson were sadly bereaved in 
 the death of their son and youngest child, Doug- 
 lass G., while out hunting, tie was climbing over 
 a fence, when the top rail broke, letting him down 
 so that his gun was accidentallv discharged, kill- 
 ing him. 
 
 ^Ir. Upson is a member of the Ecclesiastical 
 Committee of the First Presbyterian Church, of 
 Thompsonville ; is past commanaer of Samuel 
 Brown Post, No. 56, G. A. R., of the same place ; 
 and a member of the American Society Mechanical 
 Engineers ; and the American Societv, Connecticut 
 Sons of the Revolution. Politically he is a stanch 
 Republican, and in 1S75 represented Enfield town 
 in the State Legislature. 
 
 GEORGE O. BEACH. Prominent among the 
 enterprising, energetic and successful business men 
 of the town of Granby, is the subject of this 
 review, the well-known president of the Granby 
 Agricultural Society, and also president of the 
 Granby Creamery Co. He is to-day one of the 
 most substantial citizens of the town, and his con- 
 nection with various business enterprises and indus- 
 tries has been a decided advantage to the county, 
 promoting its material welfare in no uncertain 
 manner. 
 
 ]\Ir. Beach was born on the old Beach homestead, 
 in West Granby, Sept. xi, 1844, and is a worthy rep- 
 resentative of an old and honored New England 
 family. His paternal grandfather, Oliver Beach, 
 was a native of New Haven county, Conn., where 
 lie grew to manhood, receiving only a limited educa- 
 tion in the district schools. Throughout his life he 
 followed agricultural pursuits, and when a young 
 man took up his residence on a farm in Burlington, 
 Hartford county, InU later removed to a farm of 
 1 50 acres in West Granby, where he made many im- 
 provements, and spent the remainder of his life. 
 
 Politically he was a Democrat, and religiously he 
 and his family were adhereiUs of the Methodist 
 
 Episcopal Church. He first married Clarinda , 
 
 by whom he had si.\ children: Emeline, wife of 
 James Gillett; Clarissa; Oliver, father of our sub- 
 ject ; William ; Sydney ; and Maryette. For his sec- 
 ond wife he wedded Airs. Rosanna Allen, but there 
 were no children by that union. Both now sleep 
 in the West Granby cemetcr\-. 
 
 Oliver Beach, our subject's father, was born in 
 Burlington Jan. 12, 1812, and accompanied his par- 
 ents on their removal to West Granby, where he 
 grew to manhood, and was educated in the common 
 schools. Although his educational advantages were 
 rather limited, he was a close observer and great 
 reader, and thus became a well-informed man. He 
 owned and operated a valuable farm of 300 acres, 
 was also interested in the manufacture of lumber, 
 conducting a sawmill on his farm, and engaged in 
 distilling to some extent. He was noted for his 
 honesty and fair dealings, and had the confidence 
 and high regard of all with whom he came in con- 
 tact. As a Jacksonian Democrat he took an active 
 part in political affairs, and represented the town of 
 Granby in the State Legislature one term, was se- 
 lectman one term, and second selectman for many 
 vears. In religious faith he was a Methodist. 
 He died upon his farm March 25, 1868, and was 
 laid to rest in Granby cemetery. On June i, 1837, 
 in North Canton, Hartford county, Mr. Beach 
 married j\Iiss Lavinia Mercy Case, who was born 
 there Feb. 14, 1810, and they became the parents 
 of three children: Sabra Lavinia, now the widow 
 of Harvey Godard ; Sophia, wife of Miles J. Rose, 
 of Granville, Mass. ; and George O., whose name 
 opens this sketch. The mother is still living and 
 quite active, although ninety years of age, and now 
 makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Rose, 
 in Granville, Mass. She is a good Christian woman, 
 a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. 
 
 Mrs. Lavinia i\I. (Case) Beach is a descendant 
 of John Case, the pioneer, through his son \\"illiam. 
 Amasa Case (i), son of James and Esther (Fithen) 
 Case, grandson of William and Elizabeth (Hol- 
 comb) Case, and great-grandson of the original 
 John Case, was born Oct. 18, 1731, in Terry s Plains, 
 "Simsbury. He spent his entire life on the Case 
 homestead, where he was engaged in general farm- 
 ing, and his remains now rest in the cemetery at 
 Simsbur}-. He was married (first) in 1752, to Miss 
 Elizabeth Hoskins, who was born in 1732, daugh- 
 ter of Robert Hoskins. In 1766 he married a 
 widow, Airs, ^'iets, who died in 1785. His third 
 wife. Abigail Philips Oris wold, daughter of David 
 Philips, died Oct. 4, 1794. and he afterward mar- 
 ried Airs. Charity Cornish, daughter of John Pet- 
 tibone; after her death, which occurred Oct. 5, 
 1803, he married a fifth wife. Airs. Sarah Graham, a 
 daughter of Benajah Humphrey, who had herself 
 been previously married tlirec times. By the first 
 
694 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 marriage Amasa Case (i) had the following chil- 
 dren: Amasa (2) ; Aaron, born June 16, 1755, died 
 March 24, 1811; Elizabeth, born Aug. 15, 1756, 
 died Dec. 2, 1822; Stephen, born Oct. 6, 1758; 
 Mary, born Jan. 2, 1760; and Mehitabel, born March 
 8, 1762. By his second marriage he also had six 
 children: Apollos, born Aug. i, 1768, married Polly 
 Frazier, and died June 15, 1827; Ruth, born Sept. 
 30, 1770; Julius, born Feb. 20, 1773, died May 17, 
 '^77Z'> Enoch, born May 10, 1774, died July 2J, 
 1799; Salome, born Dec. i, 1777; and Chloe. 
 
 Amasa Case (2) was born Oct. 29, 1753, on the 
 homestead at Terrys Plains, Simsbury, and died 
 June 23, 1843. When a young man he removed to 
 what is now Hoskins Station, in the Westover 
 Plains District, and engaged in farming, which oc- 
 cupation he continued throughout his life. For 
 many years he served as deacon in the church. His 
 wife, Mercy (Hillyer), was born in 1763, and died 
 Sept. 3, 1809. They had ten children: Amasa (3), 
 born Feb. 17, 1780, died June 8, 1851; Philetus is 
 mentioned below; Stephen born Jan. 17, 1784; 
 Mercy, born July 13, 1785, married Peter Mason; 
 Charlotte, born Sept. 28, 1787, married Dr. Timothy 
 Phelps; Nathaniel married Ann Maria Case; 
 Saloma married Adolphus Chaffee; Buckland, born 
 in 1800, married Sally Holcomb, and died May 8, 
 1845 ; Julius ; and Chauncey. 
 
 Philetus Case, father of Mrs. Beach, and grand- 
 father of our subject, was born Feb. 2, 1782, at 
 Westover Plains, Simsbury, and died Dec. 20, 1827. 
 When a 3'Oung man he removed to Canton (now 
 West Simsbury), where he bought a farm and 
 spent the rest of his days, engaged in stock raising 
 and general farming. Politically he was a Demo- 
 crat, but he never sought office. On Aug. 12, 1804, 
 he married Lucinda Reed, who was born June 12, 
 1783, and died Sept. 25, 1862. She was a woman 
 of marked ability, as was shown by her successful 
 management of the estate after the death of her 
 husband, and under her wise and loving care a 
 large family of children were reared to lives of 
 usefulness. Of the children, (i) Jarvis Philetus, 
 born June 9, 1805, was engaged in the clock business. 
 (2) Sophia Lucinda, born Aug. 29, 1807, was mar- 
 ried Aug. 18, 1844, to Jephtha Rose, now deceased. 
 She died June 2, ipoo. (3) Lavinia Mercy is the 
 mother of our subject. (4) Morgan, born March 
 17, 1 81 2, was a farmer in Avon, Conn., and died 
 March 23, 1875, unmarried. (5) Sabra Parmilla, 
 born June 14, 1814, died Aug. 8, 1824. (6) Sey- 
 mour Nathaniel, who was a prominent lawyer of 
 Hartford, was born Oct. 10, 1816, and died Nov. 
 26, 1872. (7) Luna, born Dec. 10, 1818, was mar- 
 ried Aug. 18, 1836, to Willis Edgerton, and after 
 his death she wedded William Beach, of Bristol, 
 Conn. (8) Lucia, born Sept. 16, 1821, married 
 Franklin Case. (9) Maria, born Mav 22, 1823, 
 married Clement Holcomb, of Granville, Massa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 Dui-ing his boyhood and youth George O. Beach 
 
 pursued his studies in the public schools of the town 
 of Granby, and Granby Academy, and on leaving 
 home at the age of eighteen, went to Hartford, 
 where he spent two years in reading law in the 
 office of Seymour N. Case, an uncle. His father's 
 illness prevented him from completing his prepara- 
 tion for the legal profession, and, deciding to aban- 
 don it, he returned home. After his father's death 
 our subject, then twenty-three years of age, took 
 charge of the farm with his widowed mother, and in 
 connection with general farming he became inter- 
 ested in tobacco culture. In 1882 he was one of the 
 organizers of the Granby Creamery Co., is one of 
 its largest stockholders, and since 1883 has served as 
 its president, to the entire satisfaction of all con- 
 cerned. He is a man of excellent business ability, 
 and much of the success of the enterprise is due to 
 his able management. He is also interested in 
 dairying, for that purpose keeping upon his farm 
 a fine herd of Jersey cows, and has real-estate in- 
 terests in Iowa, Kansas and other parts of the West. 
 Mr. Beach generally carries forward to successful 
 completion whatever he undertakes. Both he and 
 his wife are active members of the Granby Agricul- 
 tural Society, of which he is now president, and he 
 is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party. He 
 has been chairman of the Democratic central com- 
 mittee, keeps well posted on the political questions 
 and issues of the day, and as one of the popular and 
 influential citizens has been honored with election to 
 a number of official positions, serving as selectman 
 for a number of terms, assessor, and member of the 
 board of relief and school board. In 1876 he was 
 also elected, on the Democratic ticket, to the State 
 Legislature. He is an active worker in the Metho- 
 dist Episcopal Church, of which he has been trustee 
 for several years, and is always ready to give his 
 support to any enterprise for the good of his com- 
 munity. His genial temperament, sound judgment 
 and well-proved integrity haVe brought him the 
 esteem and friendship of a host of acquaintances, 
 far and near. 
 
 In West Granby, May 11, 1869, Mr. Beach 
 wedded Miss Mary J. Ellsworth, a native of Wind- 
 sor, and to them have been born four children : ( i ) 
 George Ellsworth, born Jan. 12, 1871, is a graduate 
 of McLean's Seminary, Simsbury, and is now a 
 cigar manufacturer of Sioux City, Iowa. He was 
 married Sept. 5, 1894, to Elsie J. Sheldon, who died 
 Sept. I, 1898. (2) Oliver Jarvis, born Sept. 18,. 
 1872, is a graduate of Yale Business College, New 
 Haven, and is also a graduate of Jefferson Medical 
 College, Philadelphia, Penn., class of 1900. (3) 
 Clara M., born Nov. 4, 1875, is a graduate of the 
 Connecticut Collegiate Literary Institute, Suffiekl, 
 and is now at home. (4) Bertha S., born May 6, 
 1S84, is still in school. The family are adherents 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 Jehu Phelps Ellsworth, Mrs. Beach's father, was 
 a native of Lowville, N. Y., and was educated in the 
 public schools. At an early day he came to Wind- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 G95 
 
 sor, Hartford Co., Conn., and there and in other sec- 
 tions of the county engaged in the work of the 
 ministry as a local preacher of the jMethodist Epis- 
 copal Church. At the age of fifty-two he removed 
 to \Mnsted, Litchfield county, where he preached 
 for two years, and then came to Granby, and here 
 passed the rehiainder of his life. In politics he was 
 first a \\ hig, later a Republican. He was well 
 k'uown ami highly respected, and had many friends 
 in Hartford county. He was married three times, 
 his first wife being Ruth Phelps, of Windsor, by 
 whom he had one child, Eli, now a resident of New 
 York City. After her death, w-hich occurred in 
 \\'indsor, he wedded Mary MofTett,and to them were 
 born two children : Jared Wells, an Episcopal min- 
 ister of Naugatuck, Conn. ; and jMary Janette, wife 
 of our subject. The mother of these children also 
 died in Windsor; and for his third wife Mr. Ells- 
 worth married Susan \\'akefield, of Colebrook, who 
 is still living at the age of eighty-nine years. 
 
 CHARLES LESTER LUCE. The subject of 
 this sketch, one of the enterprising and popular 
 young farmers of Newington, is a native of Hart- 
 ford county, and a member of one of its old and 
 well-known families. He is a son of Joshua and 
 Joannna (Brewer) Luce, a great-grandson of 
 Joshua Luce, who was born and died in Tolland, 
 and a grandson of Lester and Sophia (Latimer) 
 Luce, early settlers of Xewington. Lester Luce, the 
 grandfather, was born Nov. 2, 1797, in Tolland, 
 and died April i, 1883. Joshua Luce, the father of 
 our subject, was born JNIay i, 1826, on the farm on 
 Church street, Newington, where our subject now 
 lives. He was a farmer through life, and also an 
 extensive cattle dealer. To him and his wife were 
 born three children, besides our subject, as follows: 
 Mrs. Mary (Luce) Carpenter lives in Plainville, 
 Conn.; I\Irs. Nellie (Luce) Eddy (a widow) lives 
 at home in Newington ; Miss Anna B. also resides 
 in Newington. 
 
 Charles Lester Luce was born Jan. 27, 1865, in 
 the home he now occupies. He attended the public 
 schools of Newington, and later the New Britain 
 schools for two years. At the death of his father in 
 November, 1884. the duties and responsibilities of 
 the farm fell wholly upon his shoulders. But the 
 young man proved equal to the occasion, and has 
 already displayed great ability as a progressive 
 farmer. The homestead consists of 200 acres, and 
 our subject has very successfully managed its aiYairs 
 since the death of his father, raising large crops of 
 corn, potatoes, etc. He also keeps trom twenty to 
 thirty cows and sells the milk at retail. The farm, 
 called Red Rock Farm, is located on Church street, 
 three miles directly east from New Britain. 
 
 Mr. Luce was married, Dec. 29, 1892, to Miss 
 Harriet Rockwell Dorman, born Oct. 6, 1869, only 
 daughter of Walter and Abigail (Rockwell) Dor- 
 man, of Newington. The married life of our sub- 
 ject was brief, terminated by the sad death of his 
 
 estimable young wife, who died Nov. 2, 1895, and 
 was buried in Newington. Mr. Luce is a member of 
 Newington Grange, in which he at present holds 
 the office of assistant steward. He is a member of 
 the Congregational Church, and chairman of the 
 Ecclesiastical Society of the church. In politics he 
 holds to the Republican faith, but in local elections 
 uses his influence in behalf of the best candidates 
 for office. He now lives on the home place with his 
 mother. He is highly esteemed by his neighbors, 
 and has many friends and few enemies. He enjoys 
 an excellent standing in the community for his 
 many sterling qualities. 
 
 CHARLES DAVID DOOLITTLE, a leading 
 and representative citizen of Southington, and a 
 well-known contractor for the Peck, Stow & Wil- 
 cox Co., is a native of Hartford county, born in 
 Earmington Feb. 25, 1837. 
 
 ^Ir. Doolittle is a son of Sylvanus and Mary Ann 
 (Dayton) Doolittle, natives of Prospect and Litch- 
 field. Conn., respectively. Our subject's paternal 
 grandfather, a sea-faring man, is supposed to have 
 been born in Prospect, New Haven county. The 
 maternal grandfather, Zadock Dayton, was born in 
 Litchfield, where he grew to manhood and married 
 Amy Gibbs. Later he located in Bristol, this 
 county, where he engaged in farming until his death. 
 The father of our subject, a sawmaker by trade, 
 spent all his life in Connecticut, in the employ of 
 various firms in his line, and during his later years 
 was connected with Adkins & Allen, of Bristol, in 
 which place he died. His children were Rosana 
 E., wife of Samuel Darby; Charles D. ; Lydia A., 
 wife of Isaac Dozicr; Frances, wife of Mortimer 
 Keeney; and ]^Iary, wife of Henry Alcott. 
 
 The first thirteen years of his life Charles D. 
 Doolittle spent in Bristol, and then went to Wol- 
 cott, where he worked on a farm for two years. 
 He was given the advantages of a common-school 
 education, and in 1852 he began work in a hardware 
 factory, to which business he devoted four years, 
 two in New Britain and two in South Meriden. In 
 1856 he located in Southington and entered the em- 
 ploy of the Peck-Smith Manufacturing Co., now 
 the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., as a contractor on 
 hardware specialties for five years, and as a contrac- 
 tor in the trap department since 1864. His rela- 
 tions with the company have always been the most 
 pleasant, and he has their entire confidence and re- 
 spect. 
 
 On Oct. 16, 1856, Mr. Doolittle married Miss 
 Henrietta Kent, a daughter of John and Sarah 
 (Hotchkissi Kent, of New Britain, and to them has 
 been born one daughter, Delia M., who married 
 Charles S. Pease, and has one child. Hazel. 
 
 In July, 1 861, Mr. Doolittle responded to his 
 country's call for troops to put down the Rebellion, 
 and enlisted, in Company A, 7th Conn. V. I., with 
 which he participated in several skirmishes. He 
 was finally discharged in Port Royal, S. C, in 1862, 
 
696 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 on account of disability. He is now an honored 
 member of Trumbull Post, No. i6, G. A. R. ; Eureka 
 Lodge, No. 75, I. O. O. F. ; Israel Putnam Lodge, 
 No. 31, A. O. U. W., of New Haven; and the New 
 England Order of Protection. In his political affili- 
 ations he is a Republican, and, as ever}' true Ameri- 
 can citizen should, he takes a deep and commendable 
 interest in public affairs. 
 
 CHARLES H. HAVENS, who died honored 
 and respected by all, was a well-known engraver, 
 and an enterprising, progressive and reliable busi- 
 ness man. 
 
 Mr. Havens was born in Boston, Mass., in 
 May, 1854, but belonged to one of the old and 
 highl3'-respected families of Wethersfield, Hartford 
 Co., Conn. The first to locate there was Thomas 
 Elavens, probably a native of England, who was a 
 sea captain, and was for many years interested in 
 the coasting trade. He also made some voyages to 
 foreign countries during his residence in Wethers- 
 field, and is supposed to have been lost at sea, as 
 he was never heard from after starting out on one 
 of his voyages. He married Elizabeth Robbins, 
 daughter of Jonathan Robbins, who lived in that 
 part of Wethersfield now known as Rocky Hill, 
 where she died and was laid to rest. 
 
 Thomas Havens, the only son of Capt. Thomas, 
 was born in Rocky Hill, and there grew to man- 
 hood, in early life learning the shipwright's trade 
 with Benjamin Adams, a builder of small vessels 
 in Wethersfield. Mr. Havens followed shipbuild- 
 ing throughout life, and made his home in Weth- 
 ersfield, where he owned property. There he died 
 and was buried. He married Miss Lurinda Adams, 
 daughter of his preceptor, and to them were born 
 eight children: Sylvester, Urial, Thomas, Will- 
 iam Adams, Henry, Hiram, Nancy and Sarah. 
 
 William Adams Havens, son of Thomas Ela- 
 vens, and grandfather of our subject, was born in 
 Wethersfield, and, like his father and brothers, fol- 
 lowed shipbuilding, becoming a master ship car- 
 penter and making that business his life work, tie 
 was a well-known and highhr-respected citizen of 
 Wethersfield, where his death occurred, and where 
 his remains were interred. He was a faithful mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church, and in politics 
 was first a Whig, later a Republican. He was 
 united in marriage with Miss Mary Waterbury, 
 and to them were born children as follows: Will- 
 iam W., a resident of Hartford; Simeon, father 
 of our subject; John, deceased; Irene, wife of 
 Henry J. Cleveland; Mary; Huldah, wife of Eb- 
 enezer Wiswall ; Ebenezer G., deceased; Thomas, 
 a silverplater of Boston, Mass.; and S. M., who 
 died in Wethersfield. 
 
 Simeon Havens was born and reared in Weth- 
 ersfield, and was there married, in Griswoldville, 
 to Jeanette C. Griswold, a native of that ]ilace, 
 and a daughter of Justus and Jeanette (ICirkliam) 
 Griswold. [A history of the Griswold family is 
 
 given 'elsewhere.] After his marriage the father 
 of our subject removed to Boston, where he spent 
 the remainder of his life. 
 
 In the schools of his native city, Boston, Charles 
 H. Havens obtained a good practical education, 
 and there learned the art of engraving, in which 
 he soon became proficient. He went to New York 
 for a time, finall}' located in Wethersfield, where 
 he embarked in business for himself, and in his 
 venture met with excellent success. Being known 
 as the first engraver in the county in his line, that 
 of copybook engraver, he commanded a liberal 
 share of that particular branch of the^ business. 
 He did not live long to enjoy his prosperity, how- 
 ever, as close application to business broke down 
 his health, which he spent six years trving to re- 
 gain, he and his wife visiting California with the 
 hope of benefiting it, but he die.d there in 1893. 
 His remains were brought back to Wethersfield, and 
 interred in Cedar Hill cemetery. He was a devoted 
 husband and father, an upright, honorable citizen, 
 and a true and loyal friend. He was a man of the 
 tunes, broad-minded, public-spirited and progress- 
 ive, and the success that he achieved in life was 
 due entirely to his own well-directed and energetic 
 efforts. His duties were always performed with 
 the greatest care, and his personal honor and in- 
 tegrity were without blemish. In political senti- 
 ment he was a Republican. 
 
 In 1883, in Wethersfield, Mr. Havens was united 
 in marriage with Miss Carrie Elizabeth Amidon, 
 who was born in the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., and 
 to them was born one daughter, Lillian Amidon. 
 
 JOHN AMIDON was iDorn July 13, 1817, in 
 Ashford, Windham Co., Conn., a son of Johnson 
 Amidon. The family is of French-Huguenot ex- 
 traction. 
 
 As he had limited educational advantages in his 
 boyhood, John Amidon obtained in the great school 
 of experience his education, and he began life a 
 poor boy, rising through his own efforts to a posi- 
 tion of wealth and prominence. Like many an- 
 other successful man, he began life as a peddler. 
 Later he successfully engaged in the hat business 
 with a Mr. Leavitt, on Broadway, New York, and 
 he also carried on the manufacture of parasols and 
 umbrellas, and was an importer of silks. On ac- 
 count of ill health, brought on by overwork, he 
 decided to take up farming, and accordingly pur- 
 chased a place near Hartford, on which he resided 
 some seven years. At the end of that period he 
 opened a business in Wethersfield, engaged as gen- 
 eral merchant and druggist in the store later oc- 
 cupied by Walk-ley & Damery up to the time of his 
 death. He was a straightforward, reliable business 
 man, and in his undertakings met with well-de- 
 served success. In disposition modest, unassuming 
 and retiring, though strong in his convictions, no 
 man in the community was more highly respected, 
 and his name became a household word in Weth- 
 
I 
 
 -v^^ cS^^l^-^i^^^^ 
 
 O—i^'Z^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 097 
 
 rsfickl. He always kept abreast willi the times, 
 »as well posted on all leading events, and cast his 
 lallot witii the Republican parly ; he was no of- 
 ice seeker. Mr. Aniidon married Xancy Holmes 
 jouthworth, and to them were born live children: 
 ohn, who died in infancy ; Charles and Frank, .both 
 iierchants, members of the firm of J. Amidon & 
 ,0., who are now deceased ; Lizzie, deceased ; and 
 .'arrie E., widow of Charles H. Havens. Mr. 
 Vniidon died in i8yi, at the age of seventy-five 
 ears, his wife in 1892, at the age of sixty-seven, 
 nd both were laid to rest in Cedar Hill cemetery, 
 :)f which he was one of the fifty original pur- 
 hasers. Religiously they were faith fid members 
 ')f the Congregational Church. 
 
 1-RAN'ClS X. GOODRICH was born in the 
 own of East Berlin, Hartford county, March 16, 
 849. a son of Xorris and Sarah (Culver j Goodrich, 
 vho had four children : Francis X., Dora, Charles 
 ind Sarah, the last named of whom is deceased. 
 The lather was a wagon maker by trade, and set- 
 led in the town of Rocky Hill in 1845. He died 
 vhen Francis N. was a lad of eight \ears, and 
 hereupon the boy went to live with his grandfather, 
 ?amuel Goodrich, remaining there until his mar- 
 ■iage. in 1865, to Miss Caroline Haskell. They 
 lave had five children, all of whom are living: 
 A'illiam F., Herbert W ., Marion A., Ezra E. and 
 Zlarence R. 
 
 At the age of twenty-one years, our subject 
 jegan work at carpentry, which trade he has fol- 
 owed during the greater portion of his life. In 
 1887 he took up his residence at his present home, 
 laving built the house himself. Fie owns a farm of 
 itty-five acres, which he conducts in connection 
 with his other vocations. In politics Air. Goodrich 
 is a Democrat. 
 
 TIMOTHY SEDGWICK, i-^rominent among 
 the representative farmers and leading citizens of 
 West Hartford stands the subject of this sketch, 
 who was born in that town July 20, 1833, and be- 
 longs to a prominent old Xew England family, 
 which was founded in America by Robert Sedgwick, 
 who was born in England in 1590 of 1592. From 
 him our subject traces his ancestry through the 
 following: (II) William Sedgwick; (III) Samuel 
 Sedgwick, who was born in 1667, and died in 1735 I 
 {W ) Jonathan Sedgwick; and (\') ^^"illiam Sedg- 
 jwick, the great-grandfather of our subject. 
 
 (VI) Timothy Sedgwick, the grandfather, was 
 
 born July 12, 1766, and died Sept. 30, 1833. He 
 
 was married, Oct. 4, 1787, to Lucy Sedgwick, 
 
 .Slaughter of Stephen Sedgwick. She w-as born 
 
 v^ct. 17, 1771, and died Dec. 16, 1858. Both were 
 
 'members of the Society of Friends, and most es- 
 
 itimable people. They had ten children, whose 
 
 names and dates of birth are as follows : Hannah, 
 
 Dec. 6, 1789; Xancy, Feb. 15, 1791 ; Timothy, June 
 
 30, 1793; Hiram, Sept. 16, 1795: Pamclia, Feb. 28, 
 
 1798; Levi, March 11, 1800; William, July 12, 1803; 
 Mary, Jan. 31, '1806; Amos, May 6, 1808; and 
 Lucy Ann, July 23, 1810. Mary wedded Harvey 
 Goodwin, and died A])ril 18, 1843; and Lucy Ann 
 died Oct. 23, 1815, at the age of five years. 
 
 (\TI) William Sedgwick, father of our sub- 
 ject, was born in West Hartford, July 12, 1803, 
 and passed his boyhood on the home farm near 
 Thompson's Corners, where he spent most of his 
 life, engaged in farming and blacksmithing. He 
 was not a Ouaker, like his parents, but became a 
 member of the Ecclesiastical Society of the Congre- 
 gational Church. He was one of the most promi- 
 nent and intluenlial men of his community, was 
 elected to several town ofifices, and was the only 
 Democrat who ever represented West Hartford in 
 the State Legislature. He died March 11, 1864. 
 On March 20, 1828, he married Misr Louisa Brace, 
 a daughter of Solomon Brace, and to them w'ere 
 born three children: Helen Louise, deceased; John 
 Webster, deceased, who married Annie Wood, and 
 had two children, Ella (now Airs. M. Lebiun 
 Cooper) and Clarence (deceased); and Timothy, 
 our subject. J'ur his second wife the father married 
 Annie L. Barber, by whom he had one son, William 
 T., now a professor in the Institute of Technology, 
 Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
 (Mil) Timothy Sedgwick grew to manhood 
 on the home farm near Thompson's Corners, and 
 his early education, acquired in the schools of that 
 neighborhood, was supplemented by a course at 
 the old academy in West Hartford Center. On 
 leaving the old homestead, in 1871, he went to Xew 
 Britain, Conn., where he was in the furniture and 
 undertaking business for five years, and in 1876 
 he removed to his present farm, on the mountain 
 road in ^^■est Hartford. He has been secretary of 
 the Highland Creamery Co. for twenty-two years, 
 and in the management of his affairs has displayed 
 excellent business and executive ability, as well as 
 sound judgment. 
 
 j\Ir. Sedgwick was first married, in Plainville, 
 Conn., to Miss Alary E. Wentworth, by whom he 
 had four children : George \\., who was married in 
 Chicago, 111., and died at the age of forty years ; 
 Louisa B., deceased wife of E. D. Roberts ; Edward 
 T., who died in infancy; and Alary Emma, who 
 married Charles A. Griswold, and has tw'O children, 
 Ruby Louise Hawthorne and Charles Sedgwick. In 
 Xew Britain, Conn., our subject was again married, 
 his second union being with Mary Addie Witherbee. 
 
 For many years Air. Sedgwick has belonged to 
 Wyllys Lodge, Xo. 99, F. & A. M., there being but 
 one older member in the town, and he is also a 
 charter member of West Hartford Grange. Re- 
 ligiously he is a member of the Ecclesiastical So- 
 cietv and Congregational Church of West Hartford, 
 and' was a member of the society's committee. Po- 
 litically he is a Republican, and has taken quite an 
 active and prominent part in local political aftairs, 
 has served as selectman and assessor of the town for 
 
698 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 fourteen years, and in 1883 he represented West 
 Hartford in the State Legislature, where he served 
 as clerk of the committee on Roads and Bridges. 
 
 SAMUEL N. WOODHOUSE. The family of 
 Woodhouse is one of the oldest and most highly- 
 esteemed in Wethersfield. For generations its mem- 
 bers have been prominently identified with the 
 town's history, in various walks of private and pub- 
 lic life, and the honor of the familv name has never 
 been sullied. 
 
 The first Woodhouse to settle there was Joseph, 
 who was born in Bristol, England, and emigrated 
 to America with his sister Dorothy. He passed his 
 life in his Connecticut home, where he died Aug. 
 
 4, 1774, at an advanced age. He married Dorothy 
 Buck, who preceded him to the grave Oct. 18, 
 1771. The issue of the union was four sons and 
 three daughters, whose names i.nd dates of birth 
 are as follows: William, March 8, 1717; Anne, 
 Jan. 9, 1719; Hannah, June 5, 1721 ; John, Oct.^ 
 I, 1723; Samuel, Oct. i, 1728; Phoebe, Nov. 20', 
 1730; and Daniel, Oct. i, 1733. William married 
 Mary Walker, and John was the husband of Ann 
 Mott. Daniel died Nov. 7, 1791. Of these seven 
 children of Joseph Woodhouse, Samuel, the fifth 
 in order of birth, is in direct line of ascent from 
 the Samuel N. of to-day. He was a farmer and a 
 man of substance. Some of his sons played con- 
 spicuous parts in the struggle of tne Colonies for 
 independence, and he himself lived to see the glor- 
 ious triumph of the cause which was dear to his 
 heart. He lived, died and was buried at Wethers- 
 field. His demise, which was caused by an in- 
 flammation of the bowels induced by drinking too 
 freely of cold water, occurred on Aug. 11, 1800. 
 His wife was Thankful Blinn, who, like himself, 
 passed her entire life in her native town. She 
 was born in Wethersfield Aug. 24, 1729, and was a 
 daughter of William and Thankful (Nott) Blinn. 
 Her paternal grandfather was Peter Blinn, the first 
 of the family to settle in the pleasant Hartford 
 county town, and her maternal grandparents were 
 John Nott and Patience Miller, his wife. Her 
 great-grandfather on the maternal side was John 
 Nott, a militia sergeant, the first Nott tO' make 
 his home at Wethersfield. Mrs. Woodhouse died 
 Oct. 27, 1813, having borne her husband seven 
 
 -^-children: Samuel, born Dec. 23, 1756; Sarah, May 
 26, 1759; William, April 8, 1762; Prudence, June 
 
 5, 1764; Elizabeth, April 18, 1768; Humphrey, April 
 5, I77f ; and Solomon, April 13, 1773. 
 
 Samuel Woodhouse, the eldest of this family, 
 and the great-grandfather of Samuel N. Wood- 
 house, was a large land owner, a successful farmer, 
 and one of Wethersfield's wealthy and most re- 
 spected citizens. He was noted for his upright- 
 ness, and was much beloved. He died Sept. 6, 
 1834, in the town where he was born. He was 
 married, March 14, 1781, at Wethersfield, to Abigail 
 Goodrich, who was born in Hartford county Sept. 
 
 II, 1759, and died Oct. 27, 1851, having attained 
 the patriarchal age of ninety-two years. Both Mr. 
 and Mrs. Woodhouse were consistent members of 
 the Congregational Church. In his political creed 
 he was a Federalist. Mrs. AVoodhouse's father was 
 Nathaniel Goodrich, and her mother's maiden name 
 was Martha Deming. Her paternal grandparents 
 were Lieut. Joseph and Mehitauel (Goodwin) 
 Goodrich, and her great-grandparents were Will- 
 iam Goodrich and his wife, Grace (Riley). Her 
 maternal grandfather, David Deming, married 
 Martha Russell ; he was a son of Samuel and Sarah 
 (Kirby) Deming. The famil)' record shows the 
 names of Mr. and Mrs. Woodhouse's nine chil- 
 dren, with their respective dates of baptism, to have 
 been: Huldah, Mary Litta and Nancy, baptized 
 Aug. 5, 1787; George, March 8, 1789; Samuel, 
 Nov. 13, 1791 ; Sylvester, March 23, 1794; Abigail, 
 June 26, 1796; Solomon, Dec. 30, 1798; and Henry, 
 Jan. 24, 1802. 
 
 Samuel Woodhouse, the second son and fifth 
 child, was the grandfather of the distinguished citi- 
 zen of Wethersfield whose name appears at the 
 opening of this biographical sketch. For him the 
 quiet life of a New England farmer presented few 
 charms, the tempestuous tossings of the ocean be- 
 ing more attractive than the green pastures and 
 nodding cornfields of a Connecticut farm. His 
 choice was to follow the life of a sailor and visit 
 foreign lands, and he followed this vocation until, 
 while commanding a vessel, he was lost at sea, 
 while still in the prime of life. He was a man of 
 rugged character, undaunted courage and sterling 
 virtue. He married Hannah, daughter of Elisha 
 and Hannah (Sinland) Coleman, of Wethersfield. 
 She was a devout and exemplary member of the 
 Congregational Church. Their only child, Samuel, 
 born Aug. 13, 1815, attended the common schoi.ils. 
 but was largely self-taught. While a young man 
 he taught school at Wethersfield, and worked, for 
 a time, at the printer's trade in New Haven, New 
 York and Hartford. After marriage he settled 
 upon the farm of his father-in-law, Capt. James 
 Blinn, devoting his energies chiefly to tobacco cul- 
 ture, and being one of the earliest growers of this 
 plant in the county. He was held in high respect 
 by his fellow townsmen, who, recognizing his sound 
 business sense and high moral worth, elected him 
 selectman for several years, member of the Legis- 
 lature, and justice of the peace. In religious faith 
 he was a member of the Congregational Church ; 
 in politics he was an "Old-line" Whig, and after- 
 ward one of the original Republicans of Wethers- 
 field. His wife was Mary A. Blinn, who was a 
 daughter of Capt. James Blinn, a notable sea cap- 
 tain of bis day, and was born in Griswoldville. 
 Mr. Woodhouse married her at that place, and to 
 their union were born three daughters and one 
 son : Hannah, who married Capt. Lewis Williams, 
 of Oakland, Cal. : Harriet M.. wife of Steplien M. 
 Wells, of the Wells farm ; Catherine S., widow of 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 G99 
 
 David L. Robbins ; and Samuel N. Mrs. Wood- 
 louse was a devoted wife and a tender mother, a 
 .incere Christian, whose Hfe was dominated and 
 lontrollcd by her religious faith. She rests by 
 ler husband's side in the old cemetery at \^■ethcrs- 
 ield. 
 
 Samuel X. \\ oodhouse received an excellent ed- 
 ication in his youth at the district schools and 
 icademy of his native town, at the Waterbury High 
 ichool, and at JNIcGill University. While a young 
 nan he traveled for two years for the seed firm of 
 ohnson & Robbins, of Wetherstield, his route cov- 
 •ring all the New England States. Since then he 
 las been engaged in general and dairy farming, 
 IS well as in fruit and tobacco culture. His peach 
 ind apple orchard covers more than ten acres. Sev- 
 eral years ago he discovered upon his farm a spring 
 )f unusual purity and abundant volume. With a 
 ,'iew to utilizing its flow, he became one of the 
 )romoters and organizers of the Griswoldville 
 vVater Co., which now supplies nearly all the homes 
 n that village. 
 
 Mr. AVoodhouse is a man of rare business sa- 
 gacity, and endowed with a judgment* which is 
 rarely at fault. Yet, while keen-sighted, he is 
 jenerous and whole-souled ; and, although just, he 
 .:• charitable to the failings of humanity. In his 
 religious belief he is liberal, and attends the services 
 Df the Congregational Church. In his daily life 
 he exemplifies his faith in the binding force of the 
 ■"Golden Rule." He enjoys the confidence and re- 
 spect of his fellow townsmen, among whom he is 
 deservedly and universally popular ; and, although 
 a stanch Republican, he has friends in all parties. 
 In 1898 he was chosen to represent his district in 
 the State Legislature, making the race for election 
 on his party ticket. He is a member of the Weth- 
 ersfield Grange. In 1877, at Guilford, Conn., he 
 married Elvira Dudley, a daughter of William Dud- 
 ley, of that town. Mrs. Woodhouse is a lady of 
 refinement and education, a devoted mother, fully 
 mindful of the home duties of a wife and mother, 
 which she discharges with skill and unselfish devo- 
 tion. Mr. and ]\Irs. Woodhouse are the parents of 
 four sons : Samuel Dudley, James Merriman, Will- 
 iam Dudley and David Robbins. The eldest is a 
 student at Yale University, while the three younger 
 bovs are attending the Hartfora Public High 
 School. 
 
 FRANCIS NEWELL SLATER, a respected 
 farmer and town official of Bloomfield, was born in 
 Manchester, in Hartford countv, Conn., Feb. 27, 
 
 1 1822. 
 
 ! Amos Slater, grandfather of Francis N., was 
 long a resident of Sheffield, Mass., married Abilene 
 Olds, and died at Ballston. N. Y., in 1785. Ira 
 
 * Slater, son of Amos and father of Francis N., was 
 
 i born in Sheffield, Mass., Sept. 12, 1779. He came 
 to Hartford county. Conn., when a small boy, was 
 reared at the home of his uncle John Olds in Man- 
 
 chester, and in this town received his education in 
 the district schnol. hVom early manhood until fifty 
 years old he followed farming in Manchester, and 
 then removed to West Hartford, where he followed 
 the same vocation the remainder of his life; he 
 married Miss Mary Avery, daughter of Amos 
 Avery, and the issue of this union was four chil- 
 dren: Abilene, the wife of Stephen Goodwin; Fre- 
 derick Sexton, deceased ; Francis Newell, the sub- 
 ject of this memoir; and Abigail, deceased. In 
 politics, Ira Slater was first a Whig, and on the dis- 
 integration of that party and the organization of the 
 Republican party fell into the ranks of the latter. 
 He was called from earth in 1854, dying in Hart- 
 ford; his widow survived until Sept. 21, 1880, when 
 her death took place in Bloomfield. 
 
 Francis Newell Slater, from the age of nine 
 years until he was fourteen, attended school at 
 West Hartford, and then began working on a farm 
 in the neighborhood ; for a while, also, he followed 
 tliC same class of labor in Newington. He supple- 
 mented his early education by attendance at the 
 public school in New Britain, then for four yenrs 
 worked in a tailor's shop in Manchester, and then 
 returned to West Hartford. About 1848 Mr. 
 Slater came to Bloomfield, and has here since passed 
 his life engaged in agricultural pursuits. He mar- 
 ried, in Bloomfield, Mrs. Marilla (Brown) Thrall, 
 widow of Oliver Thrall, and they have had one 
 child, Francis Brown Slater, wdio married Miss 
 Lilly Waterman ; to this union have been born two 
 children, Susie May and Harry Nathan. 
 
 In politics Francis N. Slater is a stanch Rcpnb- 
 licon, has served as tax collector, and is now filling 
 the office of town assessor of Bloomfield. He has 
 led an industrious life, has prospered, and now 
 stands among the most respected residents of his 
 town and county. 
 
 i 
 
 NATHANIEL TRYON, a substantial agricult- 
 urist residing in the northeast section of the town 
 of Glastonbury, is a self-made man, and his history 
 shows the possession in a marked degree of the 
 sturdy virtues of independence, industry and thrift. 
 
 The Tryon family is descended from William 
 Tryon who came from Wales at an early day. and 
 located first at Wethersfield and laterat Glastonbury. 
 Dr. Joseph Tryon, our subject's great-grandfather, 
 w-as a well-known physician in his day, and resided 
 in the eastern part of Glastonbury. He had a large 
 family of children, among whom was a son. Joseph. 
 
 Joseph Tyron, our subject's grandfather, was a 
 farmer by occupation, and located on "John Tom 
 Hill," not far from our subject's present residence 
 He and his wife had the following children: Ephra- 
 im. Russell, George, Nathaniel, Anna, Mary and 
 Honor. 
 
 Nathaniel Tryon, the father of our subject, w-as 
 born on "John Tom Hill," and passed his life there 
 in agricultural pursuits, tie died in 1834, at his 
 homestead. His wife, Mary (Strickland), was a 
 
700 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 native of Glastonbury. Of their eight children: 
 (i; Harvey married Mary Dickinson, of Marlboro, 
 and lived and died in that town; (2) George mar- 
 ried Mary Gay, and settled on the homestead in 
 Glastonbury; (3) Eliza married George Rust, of 
 Hartford, a mason by trade; (4) Honor married 
 George Rust after the death of her sister Eliza; 
 (5j Lucinda married Edwin Bunce, of Manchester, 
 a paper-maker by occupation; (7) our subject was 
 next in the order of birth; (8) Benjamin married 
 Maria Gay, and is now a farmer in Bolton. 
 
 Our subject was born Feb. 20, 1822, on the old 
 homestead. He had but limited schooling, as his 
 parents were poor, and at an early age he began 
 to support himself. He made his home with his 
 brother George until he reached the age of twenty- 
 one years, when he was employed by James Goslee, 
 of Glastonbury, receiving $110 for the first year, 
 and $125 for the second. After working for differ- 
 ent employers in Glastonbury he spent about eight 
 months in Torrington, and then, having married, 
 he settled in Glastonbury, renting the farm of Waite 
 Hale for three years. In 1850 he bought ninety 
 acres from Orrin Hale, and to this he has added 
 until he now has 119 acres. 
 
 Politically Mr. Tryon is a Democrat, but he 
 voted for Lincoln. He was on the board of select- 
 men in 1879-80, and has served as justice of the 
 peace and grand juror. He and his family attend 
 the Buckingham Congregational Church. Mr. 
 Tryon was married (first) in 1849, to Miss Eunice 
 Wells, a native of East Hampton, who died Dec. 12, 
 1887, and was buried in South Manchester. He 
 married (second) Miss Margaret Russell, who was 
 b)orn Dec. 25, 1863, in County Armagh, Ireland, 
 and came to America in 1887. They have four chil- 
 dren : Jane, Cornelia, Nathaniel Russell, Joseph and 
 Charles Howard. 
 
 ELMER ENOS AUSTIN, a successful and 
 enterprising business man of Berlin, where he is 
 conducting a first-class meat market and vegeta- 
 ble business on Hudson street, is one of the useful 
 members of society — a man whose citizenship is 
 appreciated. 
 
 Mr. Austin was born April 21, 1866, at the 
 Austin homestead, on the Hartford and New 
 Haven turnpike, in the town of Berlin, son of 
 George Caleb and Prudence (Nott) Austin, born 
 the former June 19, 1824, in Wallingford, Conn., 
 and the latter on Oct. 29, 1826, in Berlin. The fa- 
 ther, leaving his native town when quite young, 
 lived for a time in Wethersfield, and thence went to 
 Berlin. By trade and occupation he was a shoe- 
 maker and farmer. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared on the 
 farm, and received only a limited education, prin- 
 cipally in the old Fifth District school prior to his 
 fourteenth year, also attending for a time night 
 school in New Britain. Beginning life for himself 
 at the early age of fourteen, on rented land, as a 
 
 market gardener, he followed the business until ; 
 nineteen, at which age he went to Florida, where 1 
 ho passed a year in farming and teaming. Re- \ 
 turning to Connecticut he entered as polisher the 
 factory of P. & F. Corbin, New Britain. One year \ 
 later he returned to Berlin, where until 1892 he was j 
 engaged in a general teaming and trucking busi- 
 ness. In October of that year he engaged 
 in the retail meat business, which he has \ 
 continued to this time, later adding to it ' 
 a vegetable department. In 1898 he erected on 
 Hudson street a modern home and place of busi- - 
 ness, where can be found anything and everything s 
 in his line, and of the very best quality obtainable. ! 
 He is a live man, enterprising and public-spirited, > 
 and enjoys the respect and esteem of the community 
 at large. Politically he is a stanch Republican, his 
 faher before him being a Whig and Republican. 
 Our subject was elected a justice of the peace in 
 1894, and so acceptable were his services that he has 
 been twice re-elected to that office, and is now serv- 
 ing a third term. Religiously his own and his wife's 
 affiliations are with the Congregational Church, in 
 which botji are active and earnest workers. Mr. 
 Austin is a member of the church choir, and both 
 are members of the Christian Endeavor Society. 
 He is affiliated with Pequot Council, Senior O. U. 
 A. M., at Berlin, and having passed the chairs is 
 now a member of the State Council ; is a member of 
 Mattabessett Lodge, No. 25, K. of P., at East Ber- 
 hn, and is also a member of the Berlin Grange, of 
 the Society of Good Templars, and of the Foresters 
 cf America. 
 
 On June i, 1887, Mr. Austin was married to 
 Miss Nellie Emma Warner, born Sept. 29, 1868, at 
 Kensington, a daughter of Hon. Andrew J. and 
 Alice M. (Healy) Warner, of Kensington. Mr. 
 Warner, whose death occurred Dec. 28, 1887, was 
 one of the prominent and influential citizens of his 
 town, having been elected, on the Democratic ticket, 
 tc many of the town offices, and for five terras rep- 
 resented the town in the General Assembly. He 
 was a stanch Democrat. He was one of the ori.g- 
 inal employees of the Hart, Bllven & Meade Co., 
 in whose employ he remained for a period of thirty 
 years. 
 
 To our subject and his wife have come the fol- 
 lowing children: Andrew Willis, born Aug. i, 1889; 
 Ruth," born June 15, 1891, died July 7, 1891 ; and 
 Elmer Raymond, born June 19, i" 
 
 HON. CHESTER RANDOLPH WOOD- 
 FORD, one of Avon's most respected citizens, is 
 the oldest living representative of an honored pio- 
 neer family, and was born at his present home- 
 stead Oct. 26, 1814. He is of the seventh genera- 
 tion in descent from Thomas Woodford, a native 
 of England, who came to America at an early date, 
 locating first at Cambridge, Mass. In 1633 Thomas 
 Woodford came to Hartford with Rev. Thomas 
 Hooker's company, and during his residence there 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 701 
 
 he took an active part in the affairs of the Colony, 
 serving as town crier, fence viewer, and in other 
 offices, lie married iMary Blott ^larch 4, 1O35. 
 In 1654 he removed to Northampton. A lass., where 
 he became a proprietor, and liis death occurred 
 there in 1OO7. lie had three children : llanna, 
 who was married, in 1659, to Samuel Adams; 
 Sarah, who was married, in 1664, to Neamiah 
 Allen; and Joseph. 
 I Joseph Woodford, the next i;i the line of de- 
 scent, was born in Hartford, and in 1666 removed 
 , tc Farniington, where he became an extensive land 
 ■ owner and farmer, lie died there in 1701, and 
 ' was buried in what is now known as "Cider Brook 
 : cemetery." He married Rebecca Newell, and nine 
 children were born to them: (i) Mary, who died 
 in 1723, was married in 1693 to Thomas Uird, of 
 Farmington ; (2) Rebecca was married in 1696 to 
 John Porter, son of Daniel C. Porter, j\[. D. ; (3) 
 Esther, who died in 1742, was married, in 1696, 
 to Samuel Bird; (4) Sarah married Nathan Bird, 
 and died in 1750; (5) Hannah was married, in 
 1699, to Thomas North, of West Avon ; (6) Jo- 
 seph, born in 1677, is mentioned below; (7) Eliza- 
 beth, born in 1682, was married, In 1707, to Natnan 
 Cole, of Newington, Hartford county; (8) Susan 
 was married, in 1707, to Deacon Anthony Judd ; 
 (9) Abigail, born in 1685, died in 1736. She was 
 married, in 17 10, to Caleb Cole, who was a mem- 
 ber of the Original Church of Kensington, Con- 
 necticut. 
 
 Joseph \\'oodford (2) was born in 1677 in 
 Farmington, in the Society of Northington, now 
 Avon, and settled in what is now known as Nod, 
 where he owned a large tract of land, and was en- 
 gaged in farming. He died in 1760, and was buried 
 in Cider Brook cemetery. He was a prominent 
 member of the church, and one of its organizers. 
 In 1700 for his first wife he married Lydia Smith, 
 and his second wife was jNIrs. Sara Garrett, who 
 died in 1769, at the ripe old age of one hundretl 
 and one years. He had a large family of children, 
 the first being (i) an infant who died in 1702; 
 (2) Lydia, born in 1702, was married, in 1722, to 
 William Hooker, a graduate of Yale College; (3) 
 Mary, born in 1704, died in childhood; (4) Jo- 
 seph, born in 1705, was married, in 1728, to Sarah 
 North, of Berlin, Conn., who died in 1783. The 
 children by the s^J^nd wife were as follows: (i) 
 Elizabeth, born in 1707, was married, in 1727, to 
 Thomas Case; (2) Mary, born in 1709, was mar- 
 ried, in 1728, to Deacon Lsaac North; (3) Susanna 
 was married, in 1741, to John North; (4) Re- 
 becca, bom in 171 1, died in infancy; (5) Samuel, 
 born in 1712, died in 1758, married, in 1735, Mary 
 Thomson; (6) Sarah, born in 1714, married, in 
 I733- Deacon Josiah Woodruff, of East Farms, and 
 died in 1790: (7) John, born in 1710. died in 1802, 
 and his wife, Sarah Phelps, died in 1S09; (8) Will- 
 iam is mentioned below. 
 
 Capt. \\ illiani ^^'oodford, our subject's great- 
 
 grandfather, was born in 1722 in Noithinglon So- 
 ciety, in the town of Farmington, and became a 
 leading citizen and prominent agriculturist, owning 
 a large amount of real estate. During the Revolu- 
 tionary war he was captain of a company. \n 
 1745 lie married Susanna Garrett, and both were 
 active members of the Congregational Church for 
 many years. He died in 1803, and was buried in 
 the Cider Brook cemetery. Of his twelve chil- 
 dren, William married, first, Efther .Wilcox, who 
 died in 1790, in J 791 married Alary North, who 
 tlied in 1802, and his third wife was Esther .Mar- 
 shall; Esther was born in 1749; Deacon Elijah, 
 born in 17JI, was married, in 1774, to Mary Bishop, 
 and died in 1820; Dudley, born in 1753, is men- 
 tioned below; Lydia, born in 1759, was married, 
 in 1776, to Sanuiel Blakesley, of Woodbury; Lucy, 
 born in 1756, was married, in 1778, to Levi Thom- 
 son ; Anna, born in I'^'ji, was married, in 1777, to 
 Aloses Woodruff; Samuel, born in 1760, was a 
 soldier in the Revolutionary army, and died in 
 1818 (he was married, in 1783, to Olive Miller) ; 
 Charlotte, born in 1762, married (first) Oliver 
 Alarshall, and (second) Solomon Bucll ; Selah, born 
 in 1764, was married, in 1785, to Sarah Hutchin- 
 son, and died in 1841 ; Susanna was born in 1765; 
 Aphia, born in 1767, was married, in 1803, to Pre- 
 served Alarshall, and died in 1817. 
 
 Capt. Dudley ^^'oodford, the grandfather of our 
 subject, was born on the old homestead in 1753, 
 and died in 1803. He was a large land owner and 
 farmer, and spent his entire life on the homestead. 
 Like his father, he was active during the Revolu- 
 tion, and was also captain of a company, and as a 
 citizen he enjoyed the respect of the comnumity. 
 In 1774 he married Elizabeth Ford, by whom he 
 had two children: Roxanna, born in 1775, mar- 
 ried James Hutchinson ; Susanna, born in 1777, mar- 
 ried a Air. Sturdevant. By his second marriage, 
 to Candace North, Capt. Woodford had the follow- 
 ing children: Amasa, born in 1780, married (first) 
 Almira Beach, (second) Nancy \^'^oodford, and 
 (third) Fanny Woodford, and died in 1862; Ches- 
 ter, born in 1782, is luentioned below; Oliver, born 
 in 1785, married C)rphia Robinson: Seth, liorn in 
 1787. died in 1808; Elizabeth, born in 1792, mar- 
 ried Benjamin Bishop; Anna Ford, bom in 1797, 
 di«d in 1815; Sarah North was married, in 1820, 
 to Hiram Hart; Nancy, born in 1801, died in 1804. 
 
 Chester Woodford, father of our subject, was 
 born in 1782, and after receiving a district-school 
 education settled on the old homestead, making 
 farming his life occupation. He was a prominent 
 member of the Congregational Church, and a 
 Democrat in politics. He died at his farm in 1833, 
 and his renlains were buried in Avon cemetery. 
 In 181 1 he married Stella Bishop, a lady of re- 
 fined character, who proved a devoted mother, and 
 a loving wife. She died in 1887, at the ripe old 
 age of ninety-seven. They had five children : Seth 
 Fitch, bom in 1812, died' in 1898: Chester R. is 
 
702 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 mentioned below; Samuel, born in 1817, married 
 Clara Keeney, of West Hartford ; Sarah Ann, born 
 in 1819, married Lucius S. Bisnop; Stella Eliza, 
 born in 1824, married Thomas Carr, of New 
 Haven. 
 
 Chester R. Woodford was reared at the home- 
 stead, and educated in the district and select schools 
 of the locality. He spent several years traveling 
 in New York, New Jersey and Maryland, as col- 
 lector and salesman for a clock company, and in 
 1838 went to Illinois, where he was engaged in 
 the clock business and fur trade with his uncle, 
 Joseph Bishop, now of West Hartford. In 1841 
 he returned to his native town, where he bought a 
 hundred-acre tract known as the Webster farm; 
 here for the past fifty-eight years he has been en- 
 gaged in the growing of tobacco and dairying. He 
 v/as the first tobacco grower in the town of Avon, 
 and dealt extensively in tobacco for a number of 
 years as a member of the firm of Wheeler & Co. 
 He is president of the Avon Creamery, was one of 
 the originators of the enterprise, and is noted for his 
 progressive ideas. 
 
 In 1858 Mr. Woodford was elected to the State 
 Legislature, and he has also served as justice of 
 the peace and selectman, tax collector five years, 
 and assessor for more than twenty years. Although 
 mainly self-educated he is well-read upon current 
 topics, and as a business man he is respected for his 
 honesty and integrity. For sixty-seven years he 
 has been a member of the Congregational Church, 
 with which his family has been identified from an 
 early period. He cast his first vote for Martin Van 
 Buren, and since the formation of the Republican 
 party he has been a stanch supporter. 
 
 In 1840 Mr. Woodford was married, in Avon, 
 t'j Harriet Webster, daughter of Ashbel and Esther 
 (Bissell) Webster, and granddaughter of Ashbel 
 Webster. She died in 1898, and was buried in 
 Avon cemetery. Her life was a manifestation of 
 a beautiful Christian character, and she was a 
 woman of more than ordinary culture, having been 
 a teacher previous to her marriage. Of the chil- 
 dren born to their union, ( i ) Miss Mary Estella 
 was educated in the district and select schools of 
 Avon, and taught school for over thirty years in 
 East AVindsor, Simsbury, West Avon, Southington 
 and Avon, and in Lewis' Academy. She is a lady 
 of culture and refinement and genial disposition, 
 and is now housekeeper for her father. She is a 
 member of the Congregational Church. (2) Anna 
 Maria married Dr. A. S. Oberly, of Easton, Penn., 
 medical inspector of the United States navy. (3) 
 Frederick Gustavus, a lawyer, who died in 1880, 
 married Isabell Bull. (4) Prescott Hamilton, born 
 in 1851, was married, in 1886, to Laura Seeley, 
 daughter of Rev. N. J. Seeley, and he now operates 
 the home farm with his father. (5) Harriet Eliza- 
 beth, born in 1854, taught school for a time, and 
 v/as married, in 1874, to Charles McLean, who is 
 now deceased. (6) Miss Carrie Annette, born in 
 
 1857, was educated in the district schools, and in 
 the Young Ladies Seminary at Bordentown, New 
 Jersey. 
 
 CHARLES W. HOLBROOK, manufacturer 
 of school apparatus, now residing at Windsor Locks, 
 is well known all over the United States. He has 
 improved globes, numeral frames, tellurians and 
 other mechanisms for demonstrating scientilic facts 
 to the younger mind, having won heartily the ap- 
 proval of educators generally, and his latest patent, 
 for the lunar tellurian, embodies great skill in the 
 application of scientific principles, being capable of 
 affording a large variety of illustrations concerning 
 the phenomena of the heavenly bodies, while it is 
 at the same time simple, easily handled, accurate 
 and substantial. The manual which accompanies 
 the invention gives over fifty propositions for ex- 
 perimental study, all being expressed in a clear 
 style, with technical phrases eliminated as far as 
 possible. Mr. Holbrook gives his personal super- 
 vision to the making of this instrument, and in fif- 
 teen years less than one per cent of those sent out 
 have been returned for any reason. 
 
 Mr. Holbrook belongs to a family which has 
 long been distinguished in educational circles. His 
 grandfather, Josiah Holbrook, was an associate of 
 Horace Mann in the organization of the Boston 
 school system. The genealogical records reach 
 back to the settlement of Derby, Conn., where the 
 ancestors of our subject made their homes in the 
 wilderness, and helped to shape the influences which 
 have brought about our present development. Jo-- 
 siah Holbrook was born and reared in Derby, and 
 as a young man established a manual training and 
 agricultural school in that town ; but realizing the 
 need of better supplies he removed to Roxbury, 
 Conn., and engaged in the manufacture of mate- 
 rials and apparatus for object lessons in schools. He 
 was an idealist' and enthusiast, and while engaged 
 in this business attracted the warm approval of 
 Horace Mann, who was then carrying out his great 
 v/ork. For some years they worked together, 
 elaborating schemes for educational advancement 
 v/hich have already httn of untold benefit to our 
 people, and have given an impetus to our intellec- 
 tual life that will not cease with our time. In 1840 
 Josiah Holbrook removed his business to Cuyahoga 
 county, Ohio, and later he located in Berea, that 
 county. He was married at Derby, Conn., to 
 Miss Lucy Swift, daughter of Parson Swift, and 
 they had two sons, Alfred and Dwight. In 1843, 
 on his retirement, the business was transferred to 
 his sons, Alfred withdrawing a year later in order 
 to engage in teaching, and for many years he has 
 resided at Lebanon, Ohio, where he founded a 
 school of wide reputation. 
 
 Dwight Holbrook, our subject's father, contin- 
 ued his father's business at Berea until 1854, in 
 which year he removed to Wethersfield, Conn., 
 where for four years the goods were manufactured 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 703 
 
 h\ contract in the State prison. In 1858 he settled 
 ac Windsor Locks, where the business has since 
 been located, and in 1870 he was succeeded by our 
 subject, his last years being spent in Chicago, 111., 
 where his death occurred in 1890. lie was mar- 
 ried in Berea to Miss Lydia Van Tync, who died in 
 1S59, and eleven children were born to this union, 
 of whom five died in infancy ; Helen L. resides in 
 New Haven, Conn. ; Charles W. is the subject proper 
 of this sketch ; Zephania Swift is a resident of Cam- 
 liridge, .\Ia;?s. ; Lucy M. resides in Worcester, Mass. ; 
 I'red .Mfrcd, of Evanston, 111., is connected with the 
 school furniture business ; and Lydia Van Tyne re- 
 sides in Kansas. 
 
 After the removal of the business to Windsor 
 Locks our subject became familiar with the details 
 hy practical work under his father's direction, and 
 to his thorough knowledge of conditions and pro- 
 cesses may be attributed his success, moderate 
 though it has been. 
 
 The family is given to strong convictions and 
 decided opinions. j\lr. Holbrook has held several 
 public offices, though never seeking any, being 
 strongly averse to wdiat are commonly known as 
 p"Iitical methods. 
 
 CHESTER M. HILLS, the leading tinsmith of 
 East Hartford, and a descendant of one of the old- 
 est of Connecticut families, mention of whom is 
 iiiade in A-arious parts of this work, was born on 
 i Varl street, Hartford, Nov. ly, 1840, and is a son 
 I't -\shhel and Cynthia (French) Hills. 
 
 Ashbel Hills was born in Hockanum, March 10, 
 1819. learned the trade of brickmason and plasterer 
 under Col. Thomas Roberts, of Hartford, in which 
 city Mr. Roberts resided until late in the 'forties, 
 and then returned to Hockanum and followed his 
 trade until 1872, when he abandoned it to engage in 
 tobacco growing. He was a man of small stature, 
 weighing about 150 pounds, had light hair, and in 
 general complexion was what is usually denom- 
 inated "sandy." J\Irs. Cynthia (French) Hills was 
 liiirn in East Windsor, Feb. 8, 1818, was a dausfhter 
 ot Daniel and Nancy (Drake) French, farming 
 peojjle on Town street, and was married to Mr. 
 Hills Oct. 2, 1839. Six children were born to Dan- 
 iel and Nancy French : Laura, who married James 
 Shi]iman : Cynthia, mother of our subject; Nancy, 
 married to George Allen, a Universalist minister 
 < f Scitico, Conn.; Daniel, Jr.. who married Martha 
 I'rench. and lived in Ellington : Elam, who married 
 Fannie Prior, and is living in Enfield ; and Allen, 
 who married Cornelia Rockwood, and resides in 
 Milwaukee, \\'is. Mrs. Nancy French was called 
 away Jan. 12. 1823; Daniel French died March 6, 
 1846, and the remains of both were interred in the 
 Town Street cemetery. East Windsor. The chil- 
 dren born to Ashbel and Cynthia Hills were three 
 in number: Chester M., the subject of this sketch; 
 W illiam P.. of Hockanum ; and Harriet, wife of 
 Edward S. Risley, of Willow Brook. In politics 
 
 .\shbel Hills was first a Whig, later a Republican, 
 and while a regular voter was never a seeker after 
 office. He was a very active man, a first-class me- 
 chanic, and a useful citizen, but gave up his trade 
 early in the 'seventies for the purpose of growing 
 toi)acco, which was then a very profitable crop, and 
 at this he continued until his death, which occurred 
 i\ug. 4, 1892. His widow still resides on the old 
 homestead, is yet spry and possessed of an excel- 
 lent memory, and is greatly respected by her 
 neighbors. 
 
 Chester M. Hills was educated in the district 
 school of Hockanum, and also attended one ferm 
 at the East i lartford Academy, which ended his 
 schooling. In the spring of 1858 he began learning 
 the tinsmith's trade at Hartford under Col. Thomas 
 Roberts (the same man who had taught his father 
 the brickmason's trade), and for the first },-ear re- 
 ceived $30 ; the second year, $35, and the third year 
 $40, with board and washing each year. He finished 
 his apprenticeship at the close of the third, and then 
 worked as a journeyman in Hartford, Conn., and 
 Springfield, Mass., until August, 1862, wdien, the 
 Civil war being under full headway, he enlisted 
 in Company C, Twenty-fifth Conn. V. I., and served 
 until April 9, 1863, when he was disabled from a 
 sprained foot, was confined in the University Hos- 
 pital at New Orleans, and was never again in 
 active service; he was discharged with his regi- 
 ment at Hartford in August, 1863. 
 
 After being honorably discharged from the 
 army, INIr. Hills resumed his trade as soon 
 as his injury permitted. On July 15, 1869, he mar- 
 ried, in Gilead, Conn., Miss Josephine M. Hutchin- 
 son, daughter of John B. and Lauretta (Jewett) 
 Hutchinson, the former a member of one of the 
 oldest families of Gilead. Mrs. Hills was educated 
 at Mount Llolyoke Academy, Mass., and at the age 
 of sixteen years began teaching school, a vocation 
 she followed with marked success for several years, 
 her first year being compensated for at the rate of 
 one dollar per week and "boarding around." To 
 the marriage of 'Sir. and Mrs. Hills has been born 
 one son, John H., who graduated from the Hart- 
 ford Public tligh School at the age of sixteen 
 years. 
 
 Chester J\I. Hills continued to work as a jour- 
 neyman at tinsmithing until the spring of 1877, 
 when he established a shop for himself at East Hart- 
 • ford i\Ieadow, which he conducted until in Decem- 
 ber, 1896, when he removed to East Hartford and 
 opened his present Inisincss place, and also bought 
 tlie \\'atrous place on ;\Iain street, one of the most 
 pleasant and best situated homes in the town. As 
 a rule Mr. Hills has always been a Republican, but 
 is somewhat indifferent as to politics. Fraternally 
 he is a member of Orient Lodge, No. 62, F. & A. M., 
 and was a charter member of D. C. Rodman Post, 
 No. 65. G. A. R., at East Hartford, in which he has 
 held office from quartermaster sergeant up to com- 
 mander. !Mr. and Mrs. Hills are members of the 
 
704 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Congregational Church, and Mrs. Hills is one of 
 the most active members of the W. C. T. U. that 
 this humane and deserving association has within 
 its ranks, and is everywhere recognized for her 
 amiability and honored for her untiring efforts to do 
 all the good within her power for the welfare of her 
 fellow-creatures. Mr. Hills is a quiet, unassuming- 
 gentleman, a reliable business man, of unblemished 
 integrity, and is held in the highest regard by hosts 
 of friends throughout his town. 
 
 WILLARD SPENCER BARNES, a weh- 
 kno^^n mason and general jobber of Plantsville, was 
 born in Cheshire, Conn., Jan. 20, 1855, and is a de- 
 scendant of one of the oldest and most highly re- 
 specteld families of Southington. 
 
 Luther Barnes, his father, was born in the 
 Marion District of that town, Sept. 7, 1828, and 
 v.'as there reared to manhood, learning the mason's 
 and plasterer's trades, which he followed for many 
 years. Since 1883 he has been engaged in the con- 
 crete paving business. During the Civil war he 
 entered the Union army as a member of Company 
 A, 20th Conn. V. I., and after two years of faithful 
 and meritorious service was honorably discharged. 
 In September, 1849, h'^ married Miss Harriet Neale, 
 daughter of Leonard Neale, and to them were born 
 four children who grew to maturity : Mary, wife of 
 I'aschal White ; Willard S. ; Dwight L. ; and Edwin. 
 
 Philo Barnes, the paternal grandfather of our 
 subject, was born March 2, 1782, and lived in the 
 Marion District, Southington. He was twice mar- 
 ried, his first wife being Amanda Pond, his second 
 Electa Shepard, who was the grandmother of our 
 subject. Asa Barnes, father of Philo, was born 
 Aug. 24, 174S, and was married Oct. 30, 1765, ta 
 Phebe, daughter of Luther and Eunice (Andrews) 
 Adkins. He lived in the Marion District, where he 
 kept a tavern, was very popular in his business, and 
 was known as Landlord Barnes. The officers of the 
 French army made his house their headquarters 
 while encamping for a short time on French Hill, 
 and in honor of his guests he gave a ball, which at 
 the time created some excitement. He was a son 
 of Stephen Barnes, who was born Jan. 2, 1704, and 
 was married Jan. 25, 1726, to Martha Wheadon, of 
 Branford. He removed from Branford to Southing- 
 ton in its early settlement, and located in what is 
 now the Marion District, where he died March 27, 
 1777. His wife passed away March 18, 1773. and 
 was the first one buried in the Plantsville cemeter}'. 
 His parents, Stephen and Mary Barnes, came from 
 Long Island to Branford, Connecticut. 
 
 Willard S. Barnes, whose name introduces this 
 sketch, was reared in Cheshire and Southington, 
 and was provided with a common-school education. 
 In early life he served a three-years' apprenticeship 
 to the mason's trade, which he has followed since, 
 and has also engaged in general jobbing. On Jan. 
 17, 1881, he married Miss Ida Pratt,, a daughter of 
 Dwight and Eunice (Moore) Pratt, of Southing- 
 
 ton. Politically he is identified with the Republi- 
 can party, and religiously is an active member of 
 the First Baptist Church of Plantsville. Upright 
 and honorable in all his dealings, he has gained the 
 confidence and respect of all with whom he comes in 
 contact, in either business or social life. 
 
 EDWARD NAPOLEON PIERCE, a repre- 
 sentative business man and progressive citizen of 
 Plainville, is a native of Connecticut, born April 16, 
 1 81 5, in Bristol, of stalwart New England an- 
 cestry on both paternal and maternal sides. 
 
 Abraham Pierce, his grandfather, was born in 
 1737. ^t Woodbury, Conn., a son of Deacon John 
 Pierce. Abraham was a farmer, and while a resi- 
 dent of Bristol operated also a gristmill and sawmill, 
 the pi^oduct whereof he would cart to New Haven, 
 whence it was exported. From Woodbury he 
 moved to Bristol in 1797, and on Nov. 29, of that 
 year, purchased the homestead, from Amos Barnes, 
 where the subject of this sketch was born, and which 
 is still in the possession of the family. The middle 
 third of this house was built by Ebenezer Barnes in 
 1728; later the north third and the south third were 
 added. Upon the death of Abraham Pierce this 
 property descended to his son Noble A., and upon 
 his death it descended to his children, Sophronia 
 (Mrs. Jared Goodrich, of Plainville) ; Mrs. H. M. 
 Welch (now deceased), late of New Haven; Ed- 
 ward N. (our subject) ; and Julius E., who now 
 owns and occupies the north two-thirds, E. N. and 
 Mrs. Welch having conveyed their share to their 
 brother Julius E. Mrs. Goodrich is still the owner 
 of the south third. The place has, therefore, been 
 in the Pierce family over a century, and Abraham 
 Pierce's grandchildren are the fourth generation of 
 the family that have slumbered beneath its giant 
 rafters. From the time of the purchase by the 
 Pierces until about 1835 the place was kept as a 
 tavern, and being situated on the old "Queen's high- 
 way," about a day's journey from New Haven, was 
 much patronized by the teamsters who conveyed, 
 by wagon, grain from northern Connecticut and 
 Massachusetts to that city for shipment to the West 
 Indies. Abraham Pierce married Annie Hubbell, 
 who was born, in 1744, in Southbury, and of their 
 family of children we have mention of Calvin, Philo 
 and Noble A., the last-named being the father of 
 Edward N. 
 
 Noble Abraham Pierce was born in 1779, in 
 South Britain, Conn., and died in 1834, in Bristol. 
 He was a lifelong farmer, in religious faith a Bap- 
 tist, a constant attendant at church, and in politics 
 was a Democrat, a stanch supporter of Andrew 
 Jackson, he and George Mitchell being the only two 
 in Bristol to vote that ticket. He married Lydia 
 Gridley, daughter of Luke Gridley, and a descend- 
 ant of Thomas Gridley, one of the original settlers 
 of the town of Farmington, Conn. She was one of 
 seven children : Alma, Chloe, Rachel, Lvdia, 
 Susan, Lott and Elisha. 
 
&>(?< 
 
 ultkji^ 
 
i 
 
 4 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 705 
 
 Eilward N. Pierce, llie subject proper of this 
 memoir, received a liberal education at the Bristol 
 common schools, later taking a two-years' course 
 at Bristol Academy. At the age of seventeen years 
 he went to Boston, and was there engaged selling 
 "on the road" various novelties for Allonso Barnes; 
 after a time he visited New York, and then returned 
 home. When twenty years old he set his face to- 
 ward the Southern States, and in 1835 was em- 
 poyed in North Carolina and Virginia, collecting 
 for a map. , He then drove to Alabama for Hubbell 
 Pierce, and at JMontgomcry, Ala., engaged in a 
 wholesale and retail general business. Returning 
 in 1846 to Connecticut, Rlr. Pierce opened a coal 
 and lumber business in Plainville, in 1855 taking up 
 his residence in New Haven and engaging in the 
 same line there for seven years, at the same time 
 continuing his Plainville business. In 1S62 he re- 
 turned to Plainville, and has since here made his 
 l)ermanent home. 
 
 ]\lr. Pierce was one of the original stockholders 
 and incorporators (in 1850) of the Plainville Mfg. 
 Co., and has been a director in same ever since, as 
 well as holding the positions of general manager 
 and secretarjf-treasurer. The firm manufacture 
 knit underwear, making a specialty of goods in that 
 line for women and children. He was one of the 
 incorporators (and the only one now living) of the 
 Bristol Savings Bank, and has been a director thereof 
 ever since its organization in 1870; was also one 
 of the incorporators of the Bristol and Plainville 
 Tramway Co., of which he has since been a director ; 
 also one of the original stockholders in, and for 
 many years a director of, the Bristol JMfg. Co., and 
 is still a stockholder therein. 
 
 Shortly after the war of the Rebellion Mr. 
 Pierce, in the course of business transactions, be- 
 came owner of a large plantation at Mt. Meigs, 
 near Montgomery, Ala., and as a result became 
 deeply and practically interested in educational work 
 among the colored people. We say "practically in- 
 terested," for he was one of the incorporators and 
 a trustee of the "Colored Institute" at Mt. IMeigs, 
 the organization of which institution, in 188S, was 
 due largely to his efforts and those of his family, 
 all of whom took deep interest in the work ; he has 
 been president of same since its organization. The 
 "Colored Institute" educates about 300 pupils an- 
 nually, most of whom become, themselves, educa- 
 tors, teaching the common branches in the institute, 
 and Mr. Pierce is having a dormitory added to the 
 school, which he expects to have finished by Septem- 
 ber, 1900. About seventeen miles from ]\Iontgom- 
 ery is his plantation, comprising some 1,800 acres, 
 with residence thereon, a remarkably fine property, 
 in which he takes great pride. He has thirty-three 
 families (colored) living thereon, and raises chiefly 
 cotton and corn. 
 
 Mr. Pierce is firm in his political convictions, as 
 an uncompromising Democrat, and though at no 
 time an office seeker, has served as justice of the 
 45 
 
 peace, assessor, and in various town offices, the only 
 really political office ever held by him being that of 
 post master (in 1840) at Pierce Hill, Ala., the post 
 office being now known as Pierce. Socially he was 
 in his younger days affiliated with an 1. O. O. F. 
 lodge ; for many years he has been a consistent mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church of Plainville, as 
 was also his wife and the entire family. 
 
 In September, 1837, Mr. Pierce was united in 
 marriage with Henrietta Lydia Thompson, who was 
 born in 1815, a daughter of Alonzo and Tryphena 
 (Rich) Thompson, of Bristol, and a brief record 
 of their children is as follows: (i) The eldest 
 died in infancy; (2) Antoinette Cora married Rob- 
 ert Cleveland Usher, a sketch of whom appears 
 elsewhere. The mother of these died Oct. 8, 1847, 
 and Oct. 8, 1850, Mr. Pierce married Pamelia Fran- 
 ces Thompson (sister to his first wife), who was 
 born in 1830, and died in November, 1895. The 
 children born to this union were: (l) Frank 
 
 Noble died at the age of ten years; (2) Henrietta 
 Frances in 1885 wedded Edward H. Rogers, of 
 New Haven, and they have two children, Elizabeth 
 Townsend Rogers, and Pierce Edward Rogers; 
 (3) one child died in infancy; (4) Bertha Thomp- 
 son was married in 1886, at Liverpool, England, to 
 William Emerson Peck, of New Britain, an exten- 
 sive exporter, with residence in New York, and they 
 have one child, Helen Marjorie; (5) Minnie Louise, 
 (6) Harriet E., and (7) Helen j\Iay are unmarried; 
 and (8) Edward N., Jr. died at the age of three 
 weeks. The family have a summer home at Sachem 
 Head, Mr. Pierce's cottage being one of the first 
 built there. Pie constructed and opened Pierce 
 street in Plainville, and has erected a large number 
 of houses in the village. 
 
 Mr. Pierce is quiet and domestic in his 
 habits, broad and liberal in his business dealings, 
 and has attained success mainly through his good 
 judgment and practical common sense. He has at 
 all times been highly popular with his fellow towns- 
 men because, in a great measure, of his kindly na- 
 ture; and, particularly, has he received, during the 
 half-century he has been connected with the Plain- 
 ville Manufacturing Co., the cordial esteem and 
 good-will of its large force of employes. A straight- 
 forward, honorable man, he has secured the con- 
 fidence and respect of all who know him, and has 
 many warm personal friends. 
 
 GEORGE EDMUND BIDWELL is one of the 
 leading farmers and representative citizens of East 
 Granby, and while not an old resident of that town, 
 he has during his residence there secured a prom- 
 inent place among its better class of citizens. 
 
 Mr. Bidwcll was born in Canton, Hartford 
 county, Dec. 21, 1858, a son of Albert F. and Hen- 
 rietta R. (Pike) Bidwell. The family is one of 
 the oldest in Hartford county, being founded here 
 by John Bidwell, the pioneer tanner of the Colony 
 of Connecticut, who came to this region with the 
 
706 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Hooker part}-, and whose tanyard stood on an island 
 in what is now Bushnell Park, Hartford. His de- 
 scendants were pioneers of Canton. Our subject's 
 father was a native of that town, and in its district 
 schools obtained his education. Later in life he 
 became one of the thrifty, progressive and success- 
 ful farmers, as well as one of the highly-respected 
 citizens. He lost his father when quite young, and 
 his death occurred in 1874. As a Republican he 
 took quite an active interest in political affairs, and 
 he filled the offices of selectman and assessor. Re- 
 ligiously he was a member of the Congregational 
 Church. His wife, a .native of western Conneci- 
 cut„ and a daughter of Hiram Pike, is still living, 
 and continues to reside in Canton. In their family 
 were five children: Mary, who died at the age of 
 twenty years ; Hiram P., who was for over fifteen 
 years superintendent of the Canton Creamery, and 
 died at that town in 1892; Frederick A., who pur- 
 chased the interests of the other heirs in the old 
 homestead in Canton, where he still ■ resides ; George 
 E., our subject; and Thomas S., a farmer of 
 Canton. 
 
 George E. Bidwell began his education in the 
 district schools of his native town, and among his 
 early teachers were Susie Barber and Ellen Adams. 
 He also attended the Connecticut Literary Listitute, 
 Suffield, Conn., one year, and subsequeetly took a 
 course at Hannum's Business College, Hartford. 
 His father died when he was quite young, and at 
 the age of fifteen years he commenced earning his 
 own livelihood as a farm hand. He was an excep- 
 tionally good workman, and at that age was able 
 to do a man's full share of labor. He was thus em- 
 ployed until the first year after his marriage, when 
 he commenced operating a farm on shares, and in 
 April, 1883, he came to East Granby, taking up his 
 residence upon his present farm, which was then 
 known as the Chauncey E. Viets farm. It com- 
 prises 147 acres of rich and arable land, and is con- 
 sidered one of the best farms in the town. The 
 buildings upon the place are much above the aver- 
 age, and the residence is supplied with many mod- 
 ern conveniences. The land is highly productive, 
 and the neat and thrifty appearance of the farm in- 
 dicates the careful supervision of a skillful and pro- 
 gressive farmer and a man of good busiiiess abil- 
 itv and sound judgment. 
 
 On Jan. 5, 1882, Mr. Bidwell married Miss Min- 
 nie Bristol, who was born in Canton, Sept. 15, 1861, 
 and is the eldest child of Anson W- and Sarah E. 
 (Williams) Bristol, honored and highly-esteemed 
 •citizens of that town. She was educated in the 
 district and select schools of her locality, prepared 
 herself for teaching, and successfully taught two 
 terms, one in the Canton Center primary school and 
 one in the W'est Hill district. She is an intelligent 
 ladv, and an excellent wife. Mr. and Mrs. Bidwell 
 have one child, Jasper W., a promising young man, 
 who is now attending the Hartford high school. 
 
 The Republican party finds in Mr. Bidwell a 
 
 stanch supporter of its principles, and he is a rec- 
 ognized leader and adviser of the party in his sec- 
 tion of the county. While not a politician, he has 
 been called upon to serve his fellow citizens in vari- 
 ous official capacities. In 1895 he was elected to 
 the State Legislature, and was the first man who 
 ever represented the town with so short a residence 
 therein. He has also served as first selectman, and 
 on the school committee. Fraternally he is a mem- 
 ber of St. Mark's Lodge, No. 91, F. & A. M., at 
 Granby, and of East Granby Grange, No. 12. Flis 
 wife is a member of the Congregational Church. 
 
 HENRY ALBERT COLVIN, the well-known 
 foreman of the Scitico mills of the Hazard Powder 
 Co., was born in Enfield, Sept. 22, 1857, a son of 
 William S. and Charlotte (Rose) Colvin, natives of 
 Houston, England, who came to America in 1846, 
 and located in Hazardville. There the father was 
 killed by an explosion in the mills of the Hazard 
 Powder Co., Sept. 13, 1858. 
 
 Our subject was reared in Enfield, educated in 
 its public schools, and at the age of twelve years 
 began life as an employe in the packing department 
 of the mills of the Hazard Powder Co. At the age 
 of sixteen he was given full charge of that depart- 
 ment, and in that capacity he served for eight years. 
 He then went to Warren, Mass., to learn the ma- 
 chinist's trade, and after serving an apprenticeship 
 of one year at that place went to New Haven. Re- 
 turning to Hazardville, he was in the employ of 
 Gordon Brothers one year, and the following year, 
 1887, again entered the employ of the Hazard Pow- 
 der Co., painting kegs four years, and then work- 
 ing in the glazing department six years. Since 
 1897 he has held his present responsible position as 
 foreman of the mills at Scitico, and is one of the 
 most trusted employes of the companjr. 
 
 On Oct. 6, 1881, Mr. Colvin was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Grace, daughter of Rev. R. New- 
 ton and Rhoda (Dickens) Parsons, of Enfield, and 
 of English origin. By this union four children have 
 been born: Charles H., Royal R., Gertrude I. and 
 Rhoda C. 
 
 WILLIAM ARTHUR HITCHCOCK, the well- 
 known and popular secretary of the Upson Nut 
 Co., of Unionville, is a native of Connecticut, born 
 July 30, 1859, in Cornwall, Litchfield county. 
 
 Reuben Hitchcock, grandfather of William A., 
 was born in New Milford, Conn., and when a young 
 man settled in Cornwall, Conn., where he followed 
 his trade, that of tailor, and passed the rest of his 
 days, dying in 1870. He married and had a fam- 
 ily of eight children. 
 
 Elmer Hitchcock, father of William A., was 
 born in 1826, at Cornwall, Conn., and he also learned 
 the trade of tailor, which he followed in Cornwall 
 and Bridgeport, Conn. In 1838 he opened a shop 
 in tlie first-named place, in i860 moving to Sharon, 
 Conn., and there continuing in business until 1869, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 707 
 
 ill which year he settled in Unionville, where he 
 followed his trade until 1896, since when he has 
 lived retired. Ehner Hitchcock married Alary 
 Gorman, and to them were born children as fol- 
 lows: William A. ; Nellie II., wife of W'illard Baker, 
 by whom she has one daughter, Mildred; .Mary A., 
 wife of Edgar Dunham, by whom she has one 
 daughter, Gladys; and Emily G., wife of Clayton 
 Dunham, brother of Edgar (above), who has one 
 son. W'illard. 
 
 William A. Hitchcock, the suliject of this sketch, 
 is deserving of more than average credit for the 
 manner in which he has succeeded in liusiness. He 
 may be regarded as a representative selfmade man, 
 having worked his own way tlirough life to his pres- 
 ent enviable position. His earlier education he ob- 
 tained at the rural schools, and supplemented same 
 with a course of study at the L'nionville High 
 school. When fifteen years old Mr. Hitchcock en- 
 tered the employ of the Union (now Upson) Nut 
 Co., at Unionville, as office boy, in which capacity 
 he remained until promoted to invoice clerk, later 
 to bookkeeper and traveling salesman. In 1897, 
 on the death of Mr. Frisbie, he was appointed sec- 
 retarv of the company, which position he is now 
 holding. 
 
 Mr. Hitchcock has always taken a commenda- 
 ble interest in public improvements ; was one of 
 the promoters of the present water supply system 
 of L'nionville, and is the present treasurer of the 
 Water Co. For several years he was engaged in 
 mercantile business in Unionville as a clothier and 
 carriage dealer, and was also largely interested in 
 the insurance business. He has, however, disposed 
 of all these interests, and is giving his undivided 
 attention to his work in connection with the Upson 
 Nut Co. 
 
 In 1890 Mr. Hitchcock v,-as united in marriage 
 with Miss Emily J. Boyle, of Gaspe Basin, Quebec, 
 Canada, a daughter of John and Emily Boyle. She 
 was educated in Albany, N. Y., also in Pennsyl- 
 vania, and for several years followed the profession 
 of teacher in Unionville and in the public schools 
 of Hartford. Mr. and Mrs. Hitchcock have one 
 daughter, Ada Taylor, born in 1892. The parents 
 are members of the Congregational Church, and 
 in politics he is a Republican, but he has never 
 aspired to office. 
 
 JAMES AND ROBERT BAWN, farmers and 
 tobacco growers of Suffield, are two highly-re- 
 spected brothers who were born in the parish of 
 Dromare, County Down, Ireland, and are now 
 among the most prosperous as well as popular citi- 
 zens of the town of Suffield. They are the sons 
 of Robert and Isabella (jMcCutcheon) Bawn, who 
 were the parents of five children : Annie, still in 
 Ireland ; !Mary, the widow of John Carr ; James and 
 Robert, whose names open this paragraph ; and 
 Joseph, who died in Suffield, Conn. The mother 
 of these children died in her native land, where the 
 
 father still is engaged in farming. Mrs. Bawn was 
 highly respected, and died in the faith of the Pres- 
 byterian Church, of which the father is still a de- 
 vout member. 
 
 James Bawn was born March 9, 1851, was edu- 
 cated in the national sciiools of Ireland, and at the 
 age of twenty-seven years decided to come to the 
 United States. He sailed from Liverpool, Eng- 
 land, landing in New York, went thence to Pitts- 
 burg, Penn., where he remained but a short time, 
 and then came to Suffield, Conn., where he found 
 employment as a farm laborer with G. H. Fuller at 
 $14 per month, and continued to work at this class 
 of labor until 1892, earning a lesson in American 
 methods of agriculture as each year passed. In 
 the year last named he and his brother Robert, of 
 wdiom further mention will be made later on, pur- 
 chased their present farm of no acres, then known 
 as the P. R. Allen farm, on which they built the 
 barns, tobacco sheds, etc., and engaged in their pres- 
 ent employment. James Bawn is unmarried. He 
 possesses a happy and genial disposition, and has 
 made many friends. 
 
 Robert Bawn, brother of James, was born June 
 9, 1856, received a common-school education in the 
 old country, and left his native land at the age of 
 twenty-three years. On arriving in Suffield, Conn., 
 he found first employment with W^ C. Hastings, 
 as a farm hand, and continued as such, for him and 
 others, until 1892, when, having been frugal and 
 industrious, he was able to join his brother in the 
 purchase of the farm. In August, 1894, he mar- 
 ried Miss j\Iary Edger, also a native of County- 
 Down, Ireland, and a daughter of John Edger, a 
 highly-respected agriculturist. 
 
 The Brothers Bawn are Republicans in politics, 
 and James is a member of the Loyal Orange Asso- 
 ciation. They are members of the Congregational 
 Church, are temperate and hard-working, progres- 
 sive, honorable, and a credit to the land they 
 live in. 
 
 CHARLES FAYETTE GRISW'OLD. A son 
 of Tliomas, and a lineal descendant of Micliael Gris- 
 wold, who was one of the earliest settlers of 
 Wethersfield, in 1645, his genealogy may be found 
 elaborated in detail, in the biography of his brother 
 Thomas Newton, on another page. He was his 
 father's third son, born at Griswoldville, March 
 22, 1836, and his experience in early life did not 
 greatly differ from that of his brothers. A course 
 in tlie district schools of Wethersfield was followed 
 by attendance at the East Hampton academy and 
 at the South School in Hartford. His scholastic 
 training completed, he remained with his parents 
 upon the farm, learning to follow and love the life 
 of an agriculturist, and devoting especial attention 
 to seed culture. It was the policy of his father to 
 associate his sons with him in business, and in due 
 time Charles F. became a member of the firm of 
 Thomas Griswold & Co. For thirtv vears he re- 
 
708 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tained his partnership, but in 1886 sold his interest, 
 to devote liimself to farming. He tool-c up his resi- 
 dence upon the farm on wliicli he now resides, but 
 which he has since then greatly improved. His 
 specialties are seed-growing and dairy farming, in 
 both which lines he has been singularly successful. 
 For several years he was superintendent and man- 
 ager of the Spring Brook Creamery, and is still a 
 stockholder in the concern. 
 
 Mr. Griswold is a man of simple tastes and un- 
 assuming manners. He is a lover of home life, 
 and his habits are domestic and temperate. His 
 temperament is genial and his impulses kindly, easily 
 winning friends, and retaining them by virtue of 
 the affection and respect which his character in- 
 spires. He is a devoted and thoroughly consistent 
 member of the Congregational Church, and active 
 in all departments of religious work. For several 
 years he has taught in the Sunday-school, and for 
 forty years has been its superintendent. He has also 
 been a member of the church choir. He belongs to 
 the Wethersfield Grange, as does also his daughter 
 Bertha. He is a strong supporter of the principles 
 and measures of the Republican party, but has never 
 sought official preferment. 
 
 On Dec. 30, 1865, he was married to Miss Caro- 
 line D. Hale, a daughter of Joseph and Lucy 
 (Church) Hale, of Wethersfield. Four daughters 
 have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Griswold : Bertha 
 Hale, Edith Gertrude, Caroline Augusta and Miriain 
 Church. All the Misses Griswold graduated from 
 the Wethersfield Academy and the Hartford High 
 school, and the eldest. Miss Bertha Hale, took a 
 special course of study at Mount Holyoke, Mass. 
 For many years she has been a teacher in the 
 South Hartford high school, and all of her younger 
 sisters — Edith G. and Caroline A. and Miriam C. 
 — have also had experience as school teachers. Miss 
 Edith Griswold is at present (1899) employed" as 
 a stenographer in the Travelers Insurance Office, at 
 Hartford. Caroline Augusta married George Buck- 
 ley, of Rocky Hill, and is the mother of one child, 
 George Grant. Miriam Church Griswold, the 
 youngest of the four sisters, early gave evideitce of 
 possessing a voice of rare quality. She received a 
 course in vocal culture under the tuition of Miss 
 Bissell, a noted instructor, of New York City. As 
 a vocal and instrumental musician. Miss Miriam 
 Griswold has achieved rare proficiency and no little 
 reputation, and is a soloist at St. Mark's Episcopal 
 Church, in New York. 
 
 The Hale family, of which Mrs. Griswold is a 
 member, is of English descent, and justly lays claim 
 to the honor of having been among the earliest 
 settlers of Connecticut. Her grandfather, Joseph 
 Hale, removed from Glastonbury to Oswego, N. Y., 
 where for several years he was a distinguished 
 medical practitioner, and a highly respected citizen. 
 He married Sarah Moseley, who bore him four 
 children : Joseph, Horatio, James and Christopher. 
 Joseph Hale, Mrs. Griswold's father, was born at 
 
 Oswego, N. Y., but removed to Wethersfield in 
 early manhood, and there spent the remainder of 
 his life. He married Lucy, a daughter of Jona- 
 than Church, of Springfield, by whom he was the 
 father of seven children. Elizabeth, the first born ' 
 of this union, died single. Lt:cy, the second child, 
 was twice married, her first husband being Dr. A. 
 Churchill, and the second Dr. S. Kelley. Mary 
 Ann became Mrs. James Bradford. Joseph and : 
 John (twins) are both deceased. Caroline D. mar- \ 
 ried Charles F. Griswold, and Robert Blake mar- 
 ried and lived in Wethersfield, where he died. 
 
 JAMES MADISON DOW. The branch of the 
 Dow family to which this well-known resident of 
 Hartford belongs is collaterally related to that of 
 the late Neal Dow, the eminent temperance agitator 
 and reformer, although of a different line. Mr. 
 Dow also follows in the line of temperance, having 
 never tasted tobacco or one drop of intoxicating 
 liquor. 
 
 Mr. Dow's birthplace was the town of Wash- 
 ington, Maine, where his father, John K. Dow, 
 was born in 1795. His grandfather, Peter Dow, 
 was a native of the same locality, although his home 
 was in the town of China. Both Peter and John K. 
 Dow were thrifty farmers, and men of prominence 
 and influence in the communities in which they re- 
 sided. 
 
 John K. Dow at the age of seventeen was on duty 
 in the war of 1812, as one of the coast guards. Po- 
 litically he was a Democrat, and held several offices, 
 among which was that of school commissioner. In 
 religious faith he was an earnest and consistent 
 Baptist. He was a man of keen intelligence and 
 excellent judgment, to which he joined an integrity 
 unassailable and incorruptible. It was the custom 
 of his neighbors to make him their confidant and 
 counselor, and for many years he was the "guide, 
 philosopher and friend" of all who were in per- 
 plexity or trouble. He was twice married, his first 
 wife being Miss Martha Ames, and his second 
 Hannah Boyington, the daughter of a farmer, and 
 the mother of the gentleman who is the subject of 
 Ihis biographical sketch. To the first marriage were 
 born four sons and two daughters, all of whom are 
 deceased : Phineas, George Washington, Thomas, 
 Maria, Julia Ann, and Waterman (one of the "ar- 
 gonauts" of '49). The second Mrs. Dow also bore 
 her husband six children : John W., Ensign D., 
 James M., Leander A., Alfred M. and Henrietta. 
 Henrietta died at the age of two years, and the two 
 elder sons are also deceased. Alfred M. is be- 
 lieved to have been murdered by the Indians in 
 California, although his fate is not certainly known. 
 Leander's home is in Minneapolis, Minn. John K. 
 Dow passed away Sept. 3, 1872, having passed more 
 than his allotted threescore years and ten. Flis wife 
 had died eighteen years before, on Aug. 7, 1854. 
 
 James M. Dow was born Dec. 9, 1834. His 
 father's farm was situated some three miles from 
 
 iJ 
 
lJI^ 
 
 {^^^'^ 
 
^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 709 
 
 tlie village of Washington, and his attendance at 
 school was necessarily rather desultor}-, although he 
 became firmly grounded in his knowledge of the 
 elementary English branches. At the age of 
 eighteen he left home, going to the city of Rock- 
 land, Maine, where he duly apprenticed himself to 
 Jeremiah Swift, to learn the joiner's trade. After 
 serving a two-years' apprenticeship he worked for 
 Mr. Swift two years as a journeyman. In April, 
 1857, he wen.t to Minneapolis, but in July, 1859, re- 
 turned East, locating at Hartford. Here he was ver- 
 ily a "stranger in a strange land," yet he possessed 
 pluck and determination which were not easily 
 daunted or discouraged. He reached Hartford 
 on Friday, and on jMonday following he went to 
 ■work in the shops of West & Foley, on High street. 
 For three years he was one of their most trusted and 
 valued workmen, and then he undertook, on his own 
 account, the erection of a hotel on the borders of 
 Lake Champlain for R. W. Newton ; the responsi- 
 bility thus incurred was, in some of its aspects, a 
 grave one, yet he met it with the unflinching deter- 
 mination and unwavering fidelity which have char- 
 acterized him through life. His next business ven- 
 ture was the formation of a partnership with Mr. 
 Newton, who was himself by trade a mason, the 
 company being known as Dow & Newton. Both 
 partners made a trip to Omaha, with a view of meas- 
 uring the business possibilities and probabilities at 
 that point, but mutually agreed to return to Hart- 
 ford. They were associated in business for three 
 years, when Mr. Dow withdrew, and he has since 
 had no partner. 
 
 Mr. Dow has been eminently successful in busi- 
 ness, having devoted his energy largely to the buy- 
 ing of unim.proved real estate, and erecting build- 
 ings thereon, which he placed upon the market. 
 He has done much toward the development and 
 beautifying of the city, and while his motives may 
 not have been wholly disinterested, Harford owes 
 him a debt therefor. He has always shown a 
 generous, wide-awake public spirit, and has time 
 and again accepted unremunerative offices from a 
 sense of duty as a citizen. He has always been a 
 conservative Democrat. From 187s to 1877 he was 
 annually elected to represent the Seventh ward in 
 the lower branch of the city council, and for the 
 next four years was chosen alderman. As a mem- 
 ber of the municipal legislature he was honest, con- 
 servative and influential, and was given several im- 
 portant chairmanships, among them that of the com- 
 mittee having supervision of the fire department. 
 He was also placed at the head of the special com- 
 mittee charged with the onerous task of removing 
 the old Trinity College building from the present 
 Capitol grounds ; was a member of the committee 
 charged with the conversion of the old State House 
 into the city hall; and in 1893 Mayor Hyde ap- 
 pointed him deputy inspector of buildings under 
 John B. Garvie. For a time, Mr. Garvie being in 
 Europe, he was the executive and responsible head 
 
 of this municipal department. In 1897 Mr. Dow 
 was made inspector by Mayor I'reston, and was 
 reappointed in 1899. To the discharge of his public 
 duties he has brought a quickness of perception 
 based upon practical knowledge, an earnest desire 
 to serve the people faithfully and well, and an hon- 
 esty which not even the fetid breath of slander has 
 successfully impugned. In the administration of 
 his present office he has introduced various reforms, 
 looking to both economy and efficiency. Reference 
 lias been made to his affiliation with the Democratic 
 party ; it should be mentioned in the same connection 
 that he cast his first vote for John C. Fremont, in 
 1856, and voted for y\braham Lincoln in i860. Fol- 
 lowing the faith of his ancestors, he is an attendant 
 at the Baptist Church. In Masonry he takes a 
 deep interest, being one of the charter members of 
 the Masonic Temple Association. He is a past 
 master of Hartford Lodge, No. 88, F. & A. M.; 
 Pythagoras Chapter, No. 17, R. A. JiL, of which he 
 has acted as trustee for many years ; a member of 
 Wolcott Council, No. i, R. & S. AI,; and of Wash- 
 nigton Commandery, No. i, K. T. He has been 
 for twenty-seven years a member of the Order of 
 the Eastern Star, in which he has held all the princi- 
 pal offices, including that of grand patron of the 
 Grand Chapter of the State. 
 
 , i\Ir. Dow married Miss Mallie E., daughter of 
 Solomon Benncr of Waldoboro, Maine, and he is the 
 father of two daughters: Etta M. and Lizzie M., 
 both unmarried and living at home. The elder has 
 been for many years a successful and valued teacher 
 in the Hartford public schools. The younger is 
 bookkeeper at the building inspector's office. 
 
 EDWIN TRACY CARRIER is a native of 
 Colchester, New London Co., Conn., born Aug. 11, 
 1837, the son of a farmer, and he was reared upon 
 his father's farm. When he was seven years old 
 the family removed to East Haddam, at which place 
 Edwin T. passed his early j-outh. 
 
 At the age of sixteen Mr. Carrier went to 
 Middletown, where he found employment in the 
 manufactory of Hubbard Bros. After two years 
 thus spent he returned home, and contracted with 
 his brother-in-law to serve an apprenticeship of 
 three years to the tinsmith's trade. The compen- 
 sation agreed upon was $35 for the first year, $45 
 for the second, and $75 for the third. At the end 
 of the first year his brother-in-law disposed of the 
 business to a ^Ir. Boies, who hired young Carrier at 
 the rate of $60 for the first year and board, $120 for 
 the second year, and $180 for the third year. He 
 continued in this employment for three years, when 
 he removed to North ^lanchester and began work 
 for E. B. Hibbard, \\'ithin eight months his em- 
 ployer opened a branch establishment at South Man- 
 chester, for the convenience of Cheney Bros., who 
 required a very considerable amount of tinware 
 and plumbers' work, and Mr. Carrier had given such 
 satisfaction in his subordinate position that he was 
 
710 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 selected to take charge of the South Manchester 
 branch of the business. He continued to conduct 
 Mr. Hibbard's South Manchester store for two 
 years, and in 1862 began business for himself, in 
 a very modest way, opening shop in the basement 
 of the old Cheney store, where he handled stoves 
 and tinware, although most of his time was devoted 
 to doing plumber's work and tinning for the Cheney 
 Bros.' silkmills, and for the papermills of H. E. 
 Rogers and Bunce & Sons. He was reasonably 
 successful, yet continued to occupy his original store 
 in the basement until 1869, when he began business 
 in the store which he now occupies. His present 
 building covers a space 86x26 feet in dimentions, 
 and a part is three stories in height. Here he car- 
 ries an extensive line of hardware, stoves and 
 plumbers' materials. In addition to this line of busi- 
 ness, he purchased (in 1884) the Horace Bidweh 
 papermills, which he operated for ten years, until 
 the plant was destroyed by fire. 
 
 Mr. Carrier was married, Oct. 20, 1859, to Miss 
 Sarah Bidwell, of Glastonbury, a daughter of Eras- 
 tus and Fanny Bidwell. Their union has been 
 blessed with four children : The eldest, Jennie, is 
 the wife of William H. McNicoll, of New York. 
 The second child, George, is deceased. The third, 
 Frederick, was educated as an electrician, but later 
 engaged in business with his father, and on July 5, 
 1895, met with an accident, while riding upon a 
 bicycle, which resulted in his death. The youngest, 
 Frances M., lives at home. 
 
 South Manchester has few more public-spirited 
 citizens than Mr. Carrier, and few who have done 
 more for the upbuilding and improvement of the 
 town. He has built four large tenement houses 
 on Wells street, and two on School street. He has 
 prospered greatly in business, entirely through his 
 own energy, industry and integrity, and owns a 
 farm of sixty acres in the town of Bolton, Tolland 
 county, besides other valuable real and personal 
 property. He is an earnest member of the Method- 
 ist Episcopal Church, of which he has been a trustee 
 for fifteen years. In politics he is a Republican. 
 
 EDSON FRANCIS WOOD, the popular pro- 
 prietor of the "Edson House," of Plantsville, is a 
 native of Hartford county, born in Wolcott Nov. 
 29, 1845, a son of Francis and Phylettia (Nichols) 
 Wood, natives of Prospect and Wolcott, Conn., re- 
 spectively. His patei-nal grandfather, Thomas 
 Wood, was a native of Ireland, and a farmer of 
 Prospect and Wolcott; he married Celesta Clark. 
 His maternal grandfather was Erastus Nichols, a 
 farmer of Wolcott, whose wife was Rachel Pardee. 
 
 Francis Wood, the father of our subject, was a 
 machinist, which trade he followed in Waterbury, 
 Conn., in early life, and for thirty years prior to his 
 death was in the employ of Clark Brothers & Co., of 
 Milldale, and the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., of 
 Plantsville. He died in 1888, at the ripe old age 
 of seventy-six years. In his family were five chil- 
 
 dren who reached years of maturity : Mary J., wife 
 of Walter S. Atwood; Josephine, wife of Henry 
 W. Atwood; Edson F. ; Louisa, wife of Reuben C. 
 Barnes; and George. 
 
 Our subject was reared in New Haven county. 
 Conn., where he received a common-school educa- 
 tion, and he worked twenty-six years at the ma- 
 chinist's trade with Clark Brothers & Co., of Mill- 
 dale, also with the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., of 
 Plantsville, Conn., and Cleveland, Ohio, spending six 
 years in the latter city. In August, 1889, he embarked 
 in the hotel business in Plantsville, in which he has 
 since successfully continued. His hotel has become 
 a favorite resort with the traveling public, and re- 
 ceives a liberal patronage. 
 
 Mr. Wood has been twice married, his first wife 
 being Miss Jennie Pierpont, a daughter of Ezra 
 and Hannia (Skinner) Pierpont, of Waterbury, 
 Conn., and to them was born one son, Herbert Ed- 
 son. For his second wife he married Miss Annie 
 Taylor, daughter of Joseph Taylor, of England, and 
 to this union one daughter has been born, Ethel E. 
 Fraternally Mr. Wood affiliates with the Independ- 
 ent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of 
 Pythias ; politically he is identified with the Re- 
 publican party. 
 
 FRANKLIN ARTHUR NOTT, an efficient 
 aiid trusted employe of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox 
 Co., of Berlin, was born in the northern part of 
 that town, Dec. 23, 1856, and is descended from one 
 of its oldest and most highly-respected families. 
 
 Frederick Nott, his father, was born July 17, 
 1833, in Berlin, near the birthplace of our subject, 
 and died Oct. 23, 1896, his remains being interred 
 in the Beckley Quarter. He met with fair success 
 in his farming labors, and became well-to-do. His 
 political support was always given to the men and 
 measures of the Democratic party. In 1855 he mar- ' 
 ried Martha A. Snow, who was born Jan. 3, 1833, 
 and died March 30, 1885, being laid to rest in the 
 same cemetery as her husband. Our subject's pater- 
 nal grandfather, Jonathan Nott, a farmer, married 
 Prudence Belden, of Rocky Hill. Both are now 
 deceased, and are buried in the Beckley Quarter. 
 
 Upon the home farm Franklin A. Nott grew to 
 manhood, and acquired his education in the Beck- 
 ley school. On leaving school, at the age of four- 
 teen years, he entered the employ of Peck, Stow & 
 Wilcox Co., and remained with them about seven 
 years, in the meantime becoming a contractor in the 
 plyer department. Later he was with the Hart,Bliveu 
 & Meade Co., of Kensington, for about a year, and 
 then returned to his old employers, as contractor in 
 saddlers' punches for a year. At the end of that 
 time he began learning the machinist's trade, and 
 served a regular apprenticeship. Subsequently he 
 was with Eaton, Cole & Burnham, of Bridgeport, 
 for a short time, and then, on account of failing 
 health, he returned to the home farm in Berlin, 
 where he remained almost a year. Mr. Carpenter, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 711 
 
 supci'intoiulcnt oi the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., 
 tlicii persuaded him to return to their employ for a 
 month. Though at the time he did not wish to 
 go, he has since remained with them. At the end 
 of a year and a half he was made foreman and 
 superintendent of the motive power of the whole 
 shop, and is now most capably filling that respon- 
 sihle position. He gives to the business his undi- 
 vided attention, and by close application has worked 
 his way upvvard until he is now one of the most 
 trusted employes of the company. 
 
 Mr. Nott was married, Sept. 20, 1882, to Miss 
 ; Isabel Haddon, who was born in New York City, 
 Sept. 2, 1855, a daughter of William Absalom and 
 \ Sophia (Crockett) Haddon. The mother is now 
 living in P.rooklyn, N. Y., but the father is deceased, 
 : and is buried in Greenwood cemetery, that city. Our 
 i subject and his wife have one child, Franklin 
 ! Arthur, who was born Aug. 11, 1887, and is now 
 ' attending the East Berlin schools. 
 
 In early life Mr. Nott was a Democrat in poli- 
 tics, but he has been a supporter of the Republican 
 party since the second election of President Cleve- 
 land. He has always been too busy to take a very 
 active part in political affairs. He is a member of 
 Washington Lodee, No. 81, F. & A. M., of Crom- 
 well, and of Giddings Chapter, No. 25, R. A. M., 
 of New Britain, and both lie and his wife belong 
 to the Second Congregational Cliurch of Berlin. 
 Thev are widely and favorably known, and have 
 manv friends in the community where they make 
 their home. 
 
 CHARLES W^\TSON \TBERT. Tobacco 
 growing is the branch of agriculture to which the 
 subject of this sketch, a well-known farmer of South 
 Windsor, has for many years devoted his chief 
 attention. In the pursuit of this special line of 
 work he has been eminently successful, and bis 
 long experience has made him an expert and an 
 authority upon tlie subject. He plants annually 
 about sixteen acres in tobacco. 
 
 Mr. Vibert is a native of the town of wliich he 
 is now a resident, born Oct. 20, 1851, son of Joseph 
 W. and Eveline (Clark) Vibert. He was reared on 
 the farm, and remained with his parents until he at- 
 tained his majority, receiving a fair common-school 
 education and acquiring the habits of industrj', per- 
 severance and thrift which are the mainstay of the 
 successful American farmer. 
 
 In 1876 Mr. Vibert was married to ?*Iiss Mary 
 E. King, daughter of Henry M. and Frances 
 (Forbes) King, both members of old Hartford 
 county families. Mr. and Mrs. ^'il^ert have three 
 children : Emma, Frances and Eveline. Soon after 
 his marriage Mr. Vibert settled upon the farm, 
 which he has since successfully cultivated, and is 
 regarded by the connnunity in which he lives as a 
 careful, enterprising and successful farmer. In 
 politics he is a Republican, and on Oct. i, 1898, 
 he was elected first selectman of his town upon the 
 
 ticket of that jiarty. He is a member of the high 
 school committee.' Mr. \ibert is a member of 
 Evergreen Lodge, No. 114, F. & A. M. 
 
 IVINS DUDLEY NOTT, a well-known citizen 
 of East Berlin, who is in the emplov of the Peck, 
 Stow & Wilcox Co., was born on the Nott home- 
 stead in the town of Berlin, Feb. 23, 1871, and is 
 descended from one of its oldest and most highly 
 respected families. 
 
 Frederick Nott, his father, was born in the 
 same town, July 17, 1833, and died Oct. 23, 1896, 
 his remains being interred in the Beckley Ouarter. 
 He met with fair success in his labors, and became a 
 well-to-do farmer. His political support was always 
 given to the men and measures of the Democratic 
 party. In 1855 he married Martha A. Snow, who 
 was'born Jan. 3, 1833, and died March 30, 1885, 
 being laid to rest in the same cemetery as her hus- 
 band. Our subject's paternal grandfather, Jonathan 
 Nott, a farmer, married I'rudence Bclden, of Rocky 
 Hill. Both are now deceased, and are buried in the 
 Beckley Ouarter. 
 
 Our subject passed his boyhood and youth upon 
 the home farm, and was educated in the Beckley 
 Quarter schools. After leaving school, at the age 
 of fifteen years, he worked on the farm until March, 
 1890, when he went to learn the machinist's trade 
 with tlie Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., by whom he 
 is still employed. He continued to reside on the old 
 homestead until ]\Iay, 1899, -Adieu he removed to 
 Wilcox avenue, East Berlin, where he now lives. 
 
 On Sept. 9, 1890, Mr. Nott was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Gertrude i\Iay Crossley, who was 
 born Nov. 2, 1873, a daughter of John and Alice 
 (Chapel) Crossley, of Berlin. Her father died 
 Jan. 3, 1887, and was buried in Hartford, but her 
 mother is still living, and now makes her home in 
 New Haven, Conn. Mr. and Mrs. Nott have three 
 children : Ivins Dudley, born April 9, 1892 ; Martha 
 Alice, July 4, 1895; and Eudora Agnes, July 5. 
 1899. The eldest is now attending the Berlin 
 schools. 
 
 Mr. Nott usually affiliates with the Republican 
 party, but at local elections supports the men whom 
 he believes best qualified to fill the offices, regard- 
 less of partv ties. He is a prominent member of St. 
 Elmo Lodge, No. 21, K. P., of New Britain, of 
 which he is at present chancellor commander. He 
 had formerly filled the office of vice-chancellor. 
 He is also a member of the Dramatic Order, 
 Knights of Khorassan, known as the side rank of 
 the Knights of Pythias, and belongs to Lexington 
 Lodge, No. 72, I. O. O. F., in which he has also 
 filled office. He attends the Methodist Church, while 
 his wife holds membership in the Congregational 
 Church of Danbury. 
 
 SAMUEL AUGUSTUS HILLS, a self-made 
 man in the full sense of the term as applied to men 
 who raise themselves from poverty to affluence, was 
 
712 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 born Nov. i, 1837, in the house where Christopher 
 Hills now lives, in East Hartford, Hartford coun- 
 ty, a son of Talcott and Laura (Brewer) Hills — 
 family names frequently to be found within the 
 covers of this volume. Our subject's grandpar- 
 ents, Everson Hills, and wife, each lived to attain 
 the advanced age of ninety-tlu-ee years. 
 
 Talcott Hills was born Feb. q, 1803, on South 
 Main street, in the house now occupied by Mr. 
 Coleman, and was by trade a carpenter. To his 
 marriage with Laura Brewer, daughter of Reuben 
 Brewer, seven children were born : Elizur, who 
 was a soldier in the Civil war; Lucius, who died 
 in early manhood ; Owen, also deceased ; Laura, 
 who died in youth; Samuel A., the subject of this 
 sketch ; Christopher, who married Miss Harriet 
 Parsons, and is a resident of Hockanum ; and Ed- 
 son, who died when a young man. The father 
 died Feb. 22, 1869, aged sixty-six years. 
 
 Samuel A. Hills received but a limited educa- 
 tion, having been, as he remarks, "too poor to go 
 to school." At an early age he worked at anything 
 he could find to do, at which he could make an 
 honest dollar, and for two years was a hand on an 
 oyster-boat running between Hartford and Long 
 Island. 'At the age of sixteen years he began 
 learning the bootmaker's trade, with his brother 
 Owen, and of this trade he made a success, as he 
 continued in it until he was thirty years old, when 
 he bought a farm on Silver Lane, now owned by 
 Mrs. Brush. He cultivated this place over three 
 j'ears, and then, with his savings as a shoemaker 
 and his profits in farming, purchased from James 
 Lewis Brush a tract of three and three-fourths 
 acres of his present farm, which he has increased, 
 through his untiring industry and frugalit}', to 
 eighteen and one-half acres, and on this productive 
 farm, made so by his close attention to its cultiva- 
 tion, he erected, in 1883, his present handsome 
 dwelling house. 
 
 In 1861 Mr. Hills was united in marriage to 
 Miss Mary Risley, who was born Nov. 22, 1837, 
 a daughter of Caleb and Jane (Warren) Risley. 
 To this marriage there came one child, Cora, born 
 in 1863, and now the wife of Simon Geiselman, a 
 prosperous young farmer ; their union has been 
 graced with one child, Samuel Hills Geiselman. 
 
 Politically Mr. Hills was formerly a Democrat, 
 but of late years has voted with the Republican 
 party. He has never cared for public office, his 
 farming interests being more enticing to him than 
 the meretricious fame or the uncertain emoluments 
 resulting from official employment, which, at the 
 best, is only ephemeral with the man who is truly 
 honest. Fraternally he is a member of the Putnam 
 Phalanx. 
 
 Although Mr. Hills descends from the earliest 
 colonists of Connecticut, he is not vain as to his 
 pedigree, but prides himself on being a self-made 
 native-born American, which title to-day is para- 
 mount to that claimed- in ancient days by those 
 
 who had the right of calling themselves "Roman 
 citizens." Honest to the core, hard-working and 
 self-made, as has been stated, he scorns hypocrisy, 
 adulation and sycophancy, and probably this is the 
 best of his many other good qualities. 
 
 ROSWELL ALCOTT NEAL. From among 
 the institutions which crown the industries of pro- 
 gressive communities rise men of commanding in- 
 fluence, who may be described as the flower of their 
 times. Possessing to a superlative degree those 
 qualities which gather force in great movements, 
 these leaders fitly tj'pify the genius of their times. 
 From out New Engand have arisen the most famous 
 manufacturing interests of the country. Large indus- 
 trial businesses have been created which have be- 
 come world-wide factors of progress. One of these 
 has been the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., of Southing- 
 ton, known wherever hardware is sold. In its crea- 
 tion, and during the crucial and formation stages of 
 its growth, there stood at its head a man so filled with 
 energy and determination, so fearless in exectition 
 and unerring in judgment, so distinctively repre- 
 entative of the master mind in modern manufacture, 
 that the destinies of the large interests entrusted 
 to him were assured. He was an eminent and 
 typical product of a New England ancestry. 
 
 Roswell A. Neal was born in New Hartford, 
 Conn., in January, 1821, son of Elisha and Naomi 
 (Frost) Neal. Through both his paternal and 
 maternal ancestry he desceiided from early Con- 
 necticut pioneers. He was of the sixth generation 
 from Edward and Martha (Hart) Neal, early set- 
 tlers of Westfield, Mass. Edward, their son, set- 
 tled at Southington, Conn. John Neal, son of Ed- 
 ward, was the great-grandfather of our subject, 
 and was born Oct. 28, 1719. John Neal, the grand- 
 father of our subject, was baptized in Southington 
 June 16, 1754, married Phcebe Judd, and died Feb. 
 6, 1831. Elisha Neal, the father of Roswell A., 
 was a clock-maker of Southington, possessing in 
 marked degree the machanical skill which made 
 famous the products of his shop wherever intro- 
 duced. 
 
 On his mother's side Mr. Neal's American an- 
 cestry begins with Samuel Frost, from whom he 
 is of the fifth generation, namely: (I) Samuel 
 Frost, born in England in 1704, migrated to Amer- 
 ica, served in the French and Indian wars, married, 
 March 21, 1733, Naomi, daughter of Edward and 
 Mary (Thorp) Fenn, of Wallingford. He died 
 on Wolcott Mountain Nov. 14, 1800. (II) David, 
 born Sept. 15, 1743, married Nov. 5, 1762, Mary, 
 daughter of Joseph and Experience Beach, of Wall- 
 ingford, and lived on Wolcott Mountain. (Ill) 
 David Frost, born March i, 1767, married Oct. 23, 
 1791, Mary Ann, daughter of David Hitchcock, 
 and died March 18, 1850, on Wolcott Mountain. 
 (IV) Naomi Frost was the mother of our subject. 
 
 The educational advantages of Roswell A. Neal 
 were meager. It was always to him a source of re- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 713 
 
 gret that his opportunities were so liniitod. But 
 the schooling- he received was of its kind most thor- 
 ough, and the practical atTairs of life which were 
 everywhere insistently present gave direction to 
 liis growth and development. His first employment 
 was in his father's clock-making shop, a not un- 
 common industry in Connecticut at that time, the 
 products finding a wide market throughout the 
 United States by means of young and enterprisirg 
 salesmen, or peddlers, as t'hey were then known. 
 At nineteen young Neal found employment on a 
 farm in Bristol, Hartford county, where he remained 
 two years. Attaining his majority, he launched 
 out for himself in a clock selling trip to Maine, 
 met with fair success, and from his savings laid the 
 foundation of his fortune. He started in business 
 a little later in partnership with -\I. \V. Atkins, of 
 Bristol, as manufacturers of steelyards. This part- 
 nership was dissolved in 1849, i" which year Mr. 
 Neal removed to Southington, wliich was his liome. 
 continuously from that time to his death. At 
 Southington he became connected with a firm which 
 three }'ears later was formed into the Peck-Smith 
 J\Ianufacturing Co., and here he found his life 
 work, devoting to the business the executive and 
 commercial powers which had been steadily ex- 
 panding under his previous experience. In 1861 
 he was elected president of the company, a position 
 which he held until the company, in 1870, became 
 absorbed in the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., to which 
 he was also called as president. 
 
 Several competing firms had located at South- 
 ington and vicinity, and the idea of consolidation 
 and greater financial and industrial strength took 
 root and grew. During the period from 1849 to 
 1870 the capital of the Peck-Smith Manufacturing 
 Co. had grown from $50,000 to $150,000, and under 
 the most capable management of Mr. Neal it had 
 been most prosperous. The dividends were gen- 
 erous and regular. During one year one hundred 
 per cent, was paid, another year sixty per cent., 
 and for several years twenty-five per cent, was the 
 regular dividend to the owners. The Peck, Stow 
 & \\ilcox Co. was incorporated under the laws of 
 Connecticut in 1870, with a capital stock of $635,000. 
 This was at various times increased until at the 
 time of Mr. Neal's retirement from the presidency 
 in January, 1S87, it had reached $1,500,000. From 
 1870 to 1884 Mr. Neal continued the active direct- 
 ing, being the executive head, but during the last 
 three years of his official connection with the com- 
 pany his health compelled him to relinquish many 
 of the more exacting duties. He had given to the 
 advancement of the compan)^ the same untiring 
 zeal and industry which had characterized his pre- 
 vious work. H^e had wide experience and vast 
 resources of energy and 'determination. Under his 
 management the business increased rapidly, and by 
 the division of labor the cost of production was 
 considerably reduced. After thirty-five years of 
 active business life he, in 1887, when warned that 
 
 his physical powers were failing, tendered his resig- 
 nation, and lived in retirement until his death, 
 which occurred Aug. 15, 1891. 
 
 Mr. Neal was a splendid type of the New Eng- 
 land manufacturer, eminently progressive, keeping 
 apace if not ahead of his competitors. He was 
 courteous and frank, always did as he promised, and 
 the trade had confidence in his word. He was full 
 of hope and encouragement. He was an excellent 
 judge, both of character and of trade conditions. 
 He had strong convictions, detested shams and pre- 
 tenses, won and deserved confidences, and was 
 courageous enough to voice and act his opposition 
 to trade methods which he believed unfair and un- 
 just. He was a strong, close friend, but could be 
 an unrelenting enemy. Of plain speech, with simple 
 and unassuming manners, he was easily approached 
 and unpretentious in every way, being a man of 
 the people, and in touch and sympathy with his 
 fellow men. At times stern, his heart would melt 
 at the bare recital of a story of injustice or suffering. 
 He was massi\e, without adornment, honest in 
 heart and soifl. With pluck and perseverance he 
 overcame all obstacles, never suffering defeat, and 
 never resting until his aim was accomplished. He 
 laughed at failure, feared no competition, and had 
 the confidence of a victor entering the arena to win. 
 Conscience and courage were his capital. He was 
 content to be and appear what he was. His memory 
 was tenacious of facts and details. He spoke with 
 directness and to the point. He was a stanch friend 
 of education and of the schools, for a number of 
 years serving as president of the board of trustees 
 of the high school at Southington, and his children 
 were educated in the best schools of the State, 
 liis mind remained unclouded to the last, and his 
 death brought to the touTi a feeling of personal 
 loss. 
 
 In religious belief Mr. Neal was a Baptist, de- 
 nominational but not sectarian. He was a liberal 
 giver, and charitable in the highest degree. Though 
 not much of a partisan politician, he usually voted 
 the Democratic ticket, and four times represented 
 the town in the State Legislature. He was public- 
 spirited and identified with many hardware manu- 
 facturing" companies, having been a number of 
 years president of the Southington Cutlery Co., the 
 rUtna Nut Co., the ^tna Matcli Co.. and the South- 
 ington National I ank, and a director in other banks, 
 insurance companies and corporations. 
 
 Mr. Neal was married, April 14, 1846, to Miss 
 Eunice, daughter of Lloyd and Charity (Cramp- 
 ton) Atkins, and she bore him six children: Mary 
 E. (Mrs. Theodore McKenzie) ; Lloyd O. ; Joseph- 
 ine N. ; Stephen D. ; Julia T. ; and Fanny. 
 
 STEPHEN D. NEAL, the efficient and popu- 
 lar general manager of tlie /Etna Nut Company, of 
 Southington, was born Feb. i, 1861, in that town, a 
 son of Roswell A. and Eunice (Atkins) Neal, a 
 sketch of whom is given above. Tlie paternal 
 
714 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 grandfather, Elisha Neal, married Naomi Frost, 
 daughter of David and Mary Ann (Hitchcock) 
 Frost. He lived in Southington and New Hart- 
 ford, Conn., and in Otsego, N. Y., later in life re- 
 turning to Southington, where his death occurred. 
 His father, John Neal, was a son of John Neal, Sr., 
 and grandson of Edward Neal, who made his home 
 in Southington, and there died in 1768. Edward 
 Neal was a son of Edward Neal, Sr., an early set- 
 tler of Massachusetts, who married Martha, daugh- 
 ter of Edmund Hart, and located in VVestfield, Mass., 
 where his children were born and where he died. 
 
 Lloyd Atkins, the maternal grandfather of our 
 subject, was born Oct. 22, 1780, and was married 
 Oct. 22, 1823, to Charity Crampton. His father, 
 Samuel Atkins, was born Jan. 17, 1750, and was 
 married in 1773 to Eunice, daughter of Rev. John 
 VVightman. He died in Bristol July 2, 1830. He 
 was a son of Thomas Atkins, who was born in 
 VVallingford, Conn., April 22, 1716, and was mar- 
 ried Feb. 8, 1738, to Mercy, daughter of Eleazer 
 Aspinwall, of Farmington. In 1733 he located in 
 Southington, where he died in 1790.' His father, 
 Benoni Atkins, was born in 1690, and was mar- 
 ried Aug. 20, 171 5, to Esther Hall, of Wallingford. 
 He also removed to Southington in 1733, and there 
 died April 28, 1756. He was a son of Thomas At- 
 kins, an early settler of Hartford, who located in 
 'East Hartford in 1682, and died Oct. 23, 1694. 
 
 During his boyhood and youth Stephen D. Neal 
 pursued his studies in the public schools of his na- 
 tive town, and in the Connecticut Literary Institute, 
 Suflield, where he was graduated in 1881. For ten 
 years he was in the employ of the Peck, Stow & 
 Wilcox Co., of Southington, and for five years was 
 secretary and purchasing agent for the company, but 
 since Aug. 4, 1896, he has held his present respon- 
 sible position, that of general manager for the iEtna 
 Nut Company, to the entire satisfaction of the firm 
 and all concerned. 
 
 On Jan. 17, 1884, Mr. Neal was united in mar- 
 riage with A'liss Grace Waud, a daughter of Mar- 
 maduke and Jennie (Moule) Waud, natives of 
 New York and England, respectively, and late res- 
 idents of Boston, Mass. To this union has been 
 born one son, Roswell A. Religiously Mr. Neal is 
 a member of the Baptist Church; politically he is a 
 Republican. He has taken quite an. active and in- 
 fluential part in public affairs, was v/arden of his 
 borough two terms, and a member of the board of 
 burgesses several years. He is quite prominent in 
 social circles, and is a member of Friendship 
 Lodge, No. 33, F. & A. M.; Triune Chapter, No. 
 40, R. A. M. ; Wonx Tribe, No. 28, I. O. R. M. ; 
 the Order of United American Mechanics ; and the 
 Ancient Order of United Workmen. 
 
 ROGER W. SHERMAN, general truckman 
 and contractor, Hartford, was born in East Hart- 
 ford May 18, 1857, son of Mason W. and Susan 
 (Sessions) Sherman. 
 
 The first of the Sherman family of whom there 
 seems to be any authentic record is PhiHp Sher- 
 man, who was born in Dedham, England, in 1610, 
 and came to Portsmouth, R. I., where his son, Peleg 
 Sherman, was born in 1636. Peleg Sherman had 
 a son Peleg, Jr., born in 1666 in Portsmouth. From 
 him descended Caleb Sherman, whose son, David 
 Sherman, married Abigail Slade. Their son. Mason 
 Slade Sherman, born in 1783, at Pomfret, Conn., 
 was married Feb. 22, 1820, to Evelina Whittemore, 
 who was born Dec. 29, 1796. They had two chil- 
 dren. Mason Wales and Mary Wells. Mason Wales 
 Sherman, father of our subject, was born Jan. 5, 
 1822, and married March 11, 1849, Susan Sessions, 
 who was born at Pomfret, Conn., Sept. 10, 1819, 
 and by whom he had children as follows : Maria, 
 deceased; Alice; Hattie; and Roger W. 
 
 Roger W. Sherman spent his earlier years in 
 Hartford. He was educated at the common schools, 
 and as a boy commenced with his father in the 
 trucking business. He was taken in as a partner, the 
 firm becoming M. W. Sherman & Son in 1891. In 
 1889-1891 he was in New York in business for him- 
 self. Since 1899 he has practically managed the 
 concern alone, although the firm name remained 
 unchanged up to April i, 1900, when it became 
 Roger Sherman. It is the oldest established busi- 
 ness of its kind in the city, and next to the largest, 
 giving employment to some sixty horses and thirty 
 men. Besides the general trucking business Mr. 
 Sherman does a large amount of contracting, which 
 alone gives employment to over one hundred men. 
 
 In April, 1887, Roger W. Sherman was married 
 to Minnie Wilton, who was born in Brooklyn, N. 
 Y., a daughter of William C. Wilton, editor and 
 publisher of books and pamphlets. One child, Wil- 
 ton W., has been born to this union. 
 
 In politics Mr. Sherman is independent, but in 
 National issues usually votes the Republican ticket ; 
 he served in the common council one term, and then 
 declined further nomination. Socially he is a mem- 
 ber of St. John's Lodge, F. & A. M., of the Council 
 and Chapter, and is identified with the B. P. O. E. 
 In religious faith the family are identified with the 
 M. E. Church, the services of which they attend. 
 
 EDWARD HAMILTON BROCKETT, a pro- 
 gressive farmer and tobacco grower of the Meadow 
 Plain District, town of Simsbury, was born June 9, 
 1854, in the district in which he still lives, and is 
 a member of an old-settled family of the town. 
 
 George Hamilton Brockett, grandfather of our 
 subject, was a blacksmith, and followed his trade in 
 Simsbury and Canton until his death. His wife's mai- 
 den name was Moses. Their only child, James Evlyn 
 Brockett, received a good district-school education. 
 Being quite young when his parents passed away, 
 he began early to work out as a farm hand, for 
 Elihu Case, and on reaching his majority bought 
 the Deacon Amasa Case farm, of about one hun- 
 dred acres, improved it greatly, and carried on gen- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 715 
 
 I eral farming, tobacco growing and the raising df 
 dairy stock. He married Sarah Cordelia Case, 
 daughter of Horatio G. Case, of Meadow Plain, and 
 to this marriage were born five chiklren : Annie, 
 who was married to Wheeler Case, of West Sims- 
 Inuv : Charlotte, still single; Nellie, wife of Samuel 
 D. Alford, of Avon; Edward H., the subject of 
 I this sketch ; and Belle, who is married to Arthur 
 I Woodford. Mr. Brockett, the father of this fam- 
 ily, was first a Whig and then a Republican, and 
 represented his district in the General Assembly 
 of Connecticut in 1871 ; he also served as select- 
 man, and in several other local offices. He was 
 liberal in his views on religion. Fraternally he was 
 a charter member of the F. & A. M. lodge at Col- 
 linsville, and was greatly esteemed by all his fel- 
 low citizens. His death look place on his farm in 
 1884, his widow surviving until January, 1898, when 
 she expired at the age of seventy-eight years. . 
 Edward H. Brockett was educated in the school 
 of his district, and at a select school in Granby, 
 and has always had his home at the old homestead. 
 Since his father's death he has been engaged in 
 tobacco growing and general farming, and has made 
 many improvements on the place. In 1876 Mr.' 
 Brockett married Miss Caroline Elizabeth Bradley, 
 who was born in East W'eatogue, and is a daughter 
 of Justin A. and Caroline (Humphrey) Bradley, 
 and a granddaughter of Capt. Oliver Bradley. They 
 have had two children, Mary A. and George B. 
 ]\Iary A., who was educated in the district school, 
 the Connecticut Literary Institute, and Wilbraham 
 (Mass.) Academy, is now the wife of Charles 
 Rowe, an oyster planter of New Haven. George 
 B. was educated in the district school, the Plain- 
 viUe high school, Stone's Agricultural College, and 
 the Hartford Business College. 
 
 Airs. Brockett is a descendant, maternally, of 
 another of the old and respected families of Hart- 
 ford county, the first of the name to settle here 
 having been iMichael Humphrey, who married Pris- 
 cilla Grant. John, his eldest son, married Hannah 
 Grifiin, and their son, Deacon John Humphrey, who 
 was born Nov. 18, 1O71, married Sarah Mills, 
 widow of John Mills, and daughter of John Petti- 
 bone, and died Dec. 31, 1732. Michael Humphrey, 
 son of Deacon John, was born in November, 1703, 
 in Simsbury ; he was a deacon in the church, a 
 selectman, a justice of the peace, town clerk of 
 Norfolk, Litchfield county, and representative in 
 the General Assembly from that town, where he 
 was engaged in the manufacture of leather. He 
 married Mercy Humphrey, daughter of Jonathan 
 and Mercy (Ruggles) Humphrey, and died Oct. 
 21, 1778. Hon. Daniel Humphrey, son of Michael, 
 was born April 10, 1730, was a prominent lawyer 
 in his day, was a delegate to the convention that 
 ratified the Federal Constitution, was a member of 
 the General Assembly of Connecticut for several 
 years, and was also a justice of the peace; he died 
 Aug. 27, 1813, and his wife, Rachel Phelps, who 
 
 was born in Simsbury Dec. 12, 1742, a daughter 
 of Hon. David and Abigail (Pettibone) Phelps, died 
 Sept. 23, 1S09. Dudley Humijhrey, son of Hon. 
 Daniel, was born Aug. 17, 1784, was a school 
 teacher, surveyor, assessor, justice of the peace, 
 county commissioner (for four years), member of 
 the Legislature (several terms), and judge of pro- 
 bate. He was a farmer at East Weatopue. Fra- 
 ternally he was a Freemason, lielonging to the 
 lodge at Simsbury. He married Phebe Case, who 
 bore him ten children: Flosea, i'hilemon, Jarvis, 
 Amorctte, Phebe, James, David, Daniel, Caroline 
 and Aurelia. Caroline, daughter of Judge Dudley 
 Humphrey, was married to Justin Andrews Brad- 
 ley, son of Capt. Oliver and Hannah Bradley, and 
 became the mother of Mrs. Brockett. 
 
 Hon. Edward H. Brockett was for years a 
 member of the board of relief, and in 1S94 was 
 elected a member of the State Legiskiture, in which 
 he served on the Insurance committee; at present 
 he is a riiember of the town school board. He is a 
 stockholder and director in the Avon Creamery. 
 In politics Mr. Brockett is a stanch Republican. 
 He is liberal at heart, yet is public spirited, and aids 
 in forwarding every measure calculated to advance 
 the public good, and in consequence enjoys the es- 
 teem of the entire comnnmity. 
 
 TIMOTHY EDMUND GRISWOLD, an old- 
 time farmer of Bloomfield, was born Nov. 9, 1838, 
 on his present place, and descends from one of the 
 oldest of New England's pioneer families. His 
 genealogy may be traced back to 1607, as follows : 
 
 Cicero Griswold, father of our subject, was born 
 on the same farm, in Bloomfield, July 15, 1807, was 
 married Nov. 15, 1837, to Sarah E. Goodrich, who 
 was born IMarch 22, 1813, to which marriage were 
 born Timothy E. as above, and Sarah E., Dec. 15, 
 1840. The latter was first married to Charles D. 
 Brown, afterward to a Mr. Blackwell, and of the 
 former further mention will be made in full. Mrs. 
 Sarah E. Griswold passed away Jan. 20, 1891, and 
 Cicero Griswold, who had lived all his days on the 
 home farm, died Nov. 27, 1894 He was first a 
 Whig in politics, then a Republican, and was a 
 member of the Congregational Society. 
 
 Noah Griswold, father of Cicero, and grandfa- 
 ther of our subject, was born in the town of Wind- 
 sor, Conn., Sept. 10, 1771, and died Oct. 8. 1849. 
 He married, Alarch 13, 1794, Rhoda Pinney, who 
 was born May 11, 1773, and died April 3, 1865. 
 Their children were eleven in number : Lavinia, 
 born Dec. 30, 1794, died Sept. 9, 1798; Julia, born 
 May 29, 1796, died April 25, 1810; Lucinda, born 
 Feb. 16, 1798, married Hay den G. Peck Dec. 9, 
 1825, and died Jan. 15, 1867; Lavinia (2), born 
 Aug. 23, 1800. married Luther Pierce, Oct. 23. 1836, 
 and died in February, 1887; Rhoda M., born Nov. 
 9, 1802, married Hiram Thrall, and died March 6, 
 1872; Aurelia, born Jan. 17, 1805, was married 
 to Harvey Allen; Pamelia (twin of Aurelia; died 
 
716 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Oct. IS, 1825; Cicero was born July 15, 1807; Julia 
 C, born Oct. 23, 1810, married Samuel Alford 
 March 17, 1836, and died Oct. 22, 1895; Noah, Jr., 
 born Feb. 28, 1814, died in December, 1894; and 
 George W., born May 13, 1816, died Oct. 15, 1898. 
 
 Noah Griswold, great-grandfather of our subject, 
 born Sept. 11, 1722, first married Abigail Griswold, 
 and (second) Mindred Griswold, and became the 
 father of six children : Elisha, Aurelia, Frederick, 
 Noah, Toba and Lydia. 
 
 Matthew Griswold, great-great-grandfather of 
 our subject, born Feb. 25, 1686, married Mary 
 Phelps June 6, 1709, and to this marriage were 
 born : Mary, Jerusha, Lucy, Matthew, and Noah. 
 
 Josiah Griswold, great-great-great-grandfather 
 of our subject, born March 12, 1647, married Mary 
 Gaylord, July 14, 1670, and died Nov. 14, 1716, the 
 father of five children : Mary, Joseph, Francis, 
 Matthew, and Abigail. 
 
 Edward Griswold, the great-great-great-great- 
 grandfather of our subject, was born in England in 
 
 1607, and in 1630 married Margaret , who died 
 
 Aug. 23, 1670. Edward Griswold was attorney for a 
 Mr. St. Nicholas, of Warwickshire, who had a house 
 built in Windsor, Conn. Mr. Griswold came to 
 America at the time of the second visit of George 
 Fenwick, who' came in the interest of the owners 
 of the Warwick land patent, and he first located in 
 Windsor, but in 1649 removed to his land grant at 
 Poquonock, Hartford county, at that time an out- 
 post settlement. He took an active part in public 
 affairs, was the deputy from Windsor to the General 
 Court, and was the principal promoter of the set- 
 tlement at Hammonasset, organized in 1667 as the 
 town of Ivenilworth, and now called Clinton. He 
 was the first deputy from that town, and was piagis- 
 trate and representative for more than twenty years. 
 He was particularly active as a member of the Leg- 
 islature, and in 1678 was a member of the commit- 
 tee for establishing the Latin school at New Lon- 
 don. He died at Kenilworth in 1691, the father of 
 ■eleven children, born in the following order : Sarah 
 1631; George, 1633; Francis, 1635; Lydia, 1637; 
 Sarah, 1638; Ann, 1642; Mary, 1644; Deborah, 
 1646; Joseph, 1647; Samuel, 1649; S-^id John, 1652. 
 
 Timothy E. Griswold, the subject proper of 
 this biographical sketch, passed his boyhood days 
 on the home farm, attended the district school of 
 his town and the public schools in New Britain. 
 On April 30, 1862, he married Miss Sarah A. Barn- 
 ard, daughter of Harrison Barnard, of Bloomfield, 
 and the three children of this union were as fol- 
 lows : Edmund T., born Jan. 31, 1864, married 
 Carrie S. Wells, April 15, 1891 ; Addie E., born 
 May 10, 1869, died March 4, 1870; and Frederick 
 C, born Jan. 25, 1871. 
 
 In 1868 Mr. Griswold removed to the Sally 
 Brown estate, which he had bought, and on this 
 he remained until 1891, when he returned to the 
 old home; his two sons reside on the Brown farm, 
 where they passed their boyhood days, and the fam- 
 
 ily have resided in the north middle district of 
 Bloomfield through four generations. Mr. Griswold 
 is an ardent Republican in politics, and has served 
 his fellow townsmen as selectman and as a member 
 of the board of relief. Fraternally he is affiliated 
 with Hiram Lodge, No. 98, F. & A. M., at Bloom- 
 field, of which he is a past master, and he is also the 
 master of Tunxis Grange, P. 'of H. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Society of Bloomfield, 
 and no name in the county is more highly honored 
 than that of Timothy Edmund Griswold. 
 
 CARLTON BURDETTE IVES, proprietor of 
 a well-equipped meat market at No. 113 Main street, 
 Bristol, where he also handles game, vegetables, 
 canned goods, etc., was born in that town, Dec. 31, 
 1855, and is a son of Enos Byron and Aurelia E. 
 (Jones) Ives. 
 
 Enos B. Ives, father of Carlton B., was born 
 Oct. 8, 1827, on a farm in Peaceable street, Bristol, 
 was educated in the district schools and tlie Bristol 
 Academy, passed through the usual routine of a 
 fai-mer lad's life, did some little stonemasonry when 
 still young; for many years was in the butchering 
 business, and in the latter part of active life worked 
 at joining and other light labor. In 1897 he retired 
 and is now making his home with his son, Carl- 
 ton B. 
 
 In politics Enos B. Ives was originally a Know- 
 Nothing, but on the organization of the Republican 
 party became a member thereof, and under its 
 auspices served as a member of the district school 
 committee two terms. In religion he is a Congre- 
 gationalist. To the marriage of Enos B. Ives with 
 Miss Aurelia E. Jones, which took place Nov. 4, 
 1854, were born four children, in the following 
 order: Carlton B., the subject of this sketch, of 
 whom much is to be said after something has been 
 related concerning his ancestors. 
 
 Louis Byron Ives, the second child, was born 
 Nov. 24, 1858, was a wood turner by trade, but 
 later was connected with his brother, Carlton B., 
 in the meat trade. On Dec. 8, 1887, he married 
 Miss Mary Lewis, of Waterbury. To this marriage 
 were born two children: Morton, Jan. 2, 1892, 
 and Margaret, Feb. 21, 1893. The father, Louis 
 Byron, was called from earth Dec. 19, 1896, and 
 his remains were interred in Waterbury, where his 
 v/idow still resides with her children. 
 
 Edward Keys Ives, the third of the four chil- 
 dren of Enos B. Ives, was born Feb. 12, 1870, and 
 is a bookkeeper for Taylor & Sons, lumber dealers 
 of Hartford. He married Gertrude Allpress, of 
 Bristol, but has no children. 
 
 Orrin Francis Ives, the }roungest of Enos B. 
 Ives' family, was born May 25, 1873; he is a clerk 
 in Charles Rapelye's drug store at Hartford. 
 
 Mrs. Aurelia E. Ives was a daughter of Ed- 
 ward K. Jones, was born April i, 1833, and died 
 Nov. 4, 1891, her remains being interred at Bristol. 
 
 Gideon Ives, great-great-grandfather of Carlton 
 
L^^^^(^^^ 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ri7 
 
 P.. Ives, was of English extraction, if not birth, and 
 with three brothers — Enos, Amos and Reuben — 
 was among the carhest to locate at Wallingford, 
 although he and Enos later removed to Bristol. One 
 of the early cx]K'riences of Gideon was an encounter 
 with an Indian on Eall jNlountain, in which the 
 savage was killed. The red man had been track- 
 ing Mr. Ives and Jesse Gaylord through the forest 
 all day, while they were out hunting, but before he 
 could take the scalp of either, himself "bit the dust" 
 — but it i^ not definitely known which of the white 
 men did the killing. 
 
 Enos Ives, great-grandfather of Carlton B., was 
 born in Bristol Oct. 25, 1754. He was verj' in- 
 iluential in town affairs — served in the Revolu- 
 tionary army, became a constable and justice of the 
 peace, and was quite active in public matters gen- 
 erally. In October, 1774, he married Miss Eunice, 
 daughter of Titus Merriman, of Meriden, Conn., 
 and this marriage was blessed with six children, 
 as follows: Keturah, born Aug. 7, 1778, died Sept. 
 29, 1840; Eunice, born March i, 1780, died June 
 12, 1843; Charles Granderson, born Oct. 20, 1781, 
 died May 6, 1867 ; Sarah, born Sept. 24, 1789, died 
 April 20, 1835; Enos, Jr., born May 21, 1793, died 
 Aug. 13, 1866; and Orrin, born Sept. i, 1797, died 
 March 9, 1867. Enos Ives, the father, passed away 
 March 9, 1830, his wife on May 16, 1832. 
 
 Orrin Ives, grandfather of Carlton B., and 
 spoken of in the foregoing paragraph, was born on 
 the Ives homestead on Peaceable street, Bristol, 
 Conn., and was a lifelong farmer. He married, 
 Dec. 23, 1824, JNIiss Angeline Peck, a daughter of 
 Samuel and Hannah Peck, which union resulted in 
 the birth of two children, the elder of whom was 
 Enos B., father of Carlton B., and of whom a 
 brief notice has been given above, and the younger, 
 Orrin Burdette, was born Aug. 23, 1830. He mar- 
 ried (first) Gertrude Hawley, and (second) Alice 
 H. Hawley, and died in South Carolina April 18, 
 1896, on his way home from Florida, whither he 
 liad gone for the benefit of his health. In politics 
 he was first a Whig, later a Republican, and in re- 
 ligion he was a Congregationalist. 
 
 _ Carlton B. Ives, whose name opens this bio- 
 graphical notice, attended the schools of his native 
 borough until sixteen years of age, and then served 
 a two-year term at learning wood turning with H. 
 A. & A. H. \\'arner. For the next two years he 
 was in the employ of the Union Hardware Co., at 
 Torrington, as a wood turner, then for about eight 
 months worked for Hiram C.Thompson, clock move- 
 ment manufacturer inBristol. He was next employed 
 for several months by his uncle, Orrin B. Ives, as a 
 clerk in a clock, jewelry and crockery store, and 
 finally engaged in his present line of trade bv en- 
 tering the meat market of W. E. Strong, at the 
 same stand still occupied at No. 113 Mani street. 
 After working for a year for Mr. Strong, the two 
 formed a partnership and bought out John Elton, 
 on the North Side, where thev conducted a meat 
 
 market for nine months. They then re-sold to 
 Mr. Elton, and returned to the old stand on Main 
 street, where for a short time Mr. Ives again worked 
 for W. E. Strong; M. L. Gaylord and Mr. Ives 
 then formed a partnership and bought out Mr. 
 Strong, conducted the business together about three 
 years, when Mr. Ives bought Mr. Gaylord's inter- 
 est, and has prosperously carried on the business 
 alone up to date. Besides this business he is one 
 of the directors of the Serpentine Paint Comxjany. 
 Carlton B. Ives and Miss Louise C. Michael 
 were happily joined in marriage May 26, 1886. 
 2^Irs. Louise C. Ives was born in New Britain Oct. 
 21, 1861, a daughter of Christian Michael, and has 
 borne her husband two children: Harry Lee, July 
 8, 1888, and Myrtle Aurelia, April 21, 1892. The * 
 family attend the Baptist Church, and fraternally 
 Mr. Ives is a member of Pequabuck lodge, I. O. O. 
 F., and of the E. L. Dunbar encampment ; he is 
 also a member of the A. O. U. W. In politics Mr. 
 Ives was a Republican until 1896, when he began 
 to sympathize with the Free Silver movement ; how- 
 ever, he gives politics, as a rule, but little attention, 
 although at present he is treasurer of the town of 
 Bristol. He is interested in the upbuilding of his 
 town, and is the owner of considerable property 
 there. Personally he and his family are very high 
 in the esteem of the neighbors, and as a business 
 man his name stands without a stain. 
 
 HENRY THOMAS HART, an old resident 
 and one of the most respected of Burnside, town 
 of East Hartford, was born in Aledford, Mass., 
 Jan. 3, 1828, and is the only son of Thomas Pass- 
 more Hart by his first marriage. 
 
 Thomas Passmore Hart was born in New 
 Hampshire about i8oi, learned the hatter's trade, 
 and married Lois AlcClure, who was also born about 
 1801, and was one of a family of thirteen children. 
 By this marriage were born two children : iMary 
 Passmore (who died in infancy) and Henry T. 
 (subject of this sketch). iNIrs. Lois Hart passed 
 away Dec. 25, 1831, and Thomas P. afterward mar- 
 ried Mary Riggs, who was born in 181 1, and died 
 in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Sept. i, 1846, having borne 
 Mr. Plart one child, Martha E., who was born in 
 Oxford, Conn., was married to B. K. Bullock, and 
 now lives in Provo City, Utah, and is the mother of 
 thirteen children. Thomas Passmore Hart died 
 about the year 1836, leaving behind an untarnished 
 name. 
 
 Henry T. Hart was but four years of age when 
 iiis parents brought him to Connecticut, and in Ox- 
 ford, Watertown and Seymour he received his pri- 
 mary education ; as he was only eight years old 
 when he lost his father, his subsequent opportuni- 
 ties for attending school were not altogether abun- 
 dant or profuse, although he did attend three 
 months in the year after he had been bound out, 
 to an old farmer who had been a sea-faring man. 
 With this man young Hart remained five or six 
 
718 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years, receiving rather rough treatment, and being 
 compensated with his board and clothes and the 
 few months schoohng already mentioned. His 
 hours of labor were from 5 130 A. m. until 8 130 p. m. 
 His first summer under this worthy was a memor- 
 able one. The old fellow used to have his young 
 apprentice thrash rye on the barn floor, setting a 
 rapid pace and expecting the little lad to hold it. 
 Though the apprentice used a boy's flail he naturally 
 soon tired. At the first signs of letting up the 
 captain would yell at him as though he was calling 
 to a lookout in the foretop. This would spur the 
 youngster for five minutes. As soon as he began 
 to flag again the old skipper would shy a bundle of 
 rye at him, knocking him out of the door. It was 
 amid such Spartan training as this that young Hart 
 passed his boyhood. 
 
 At the early age of sixteen years Mr. Hart be- 
 gan learning the trade of joiner, receiving $48 
 per year besides instruction, and he remembers that, 
 about this time, men would work a whole day for 
 three pounds of salt pork. His first work was in New 
 Haven, and some of the earliest was on the old State 
 House, when the State had two capitals. He re- 
 calls the advice of a fatherly overseer, who sought 
 to direct his ambition correctly by saying: "Learn 
 first to do work well, Henry, and then do it as fast 
 as you've a mind to;" this has since been a motto 
 with Mr. Hart. In 1848 he went to Enfield, Conn., 
 to build the first Congregational church, and then 
 he entered the employ of the Hazard Powder Co. as 
 millwright. He stayed with Col. Hazard until 
 1856, in which year he came to Burnside to enter 
 the employ of the Goodwins. About his first work 
 was on the building of the house of George H. 
 Goodwin. He also worked in the "Middle" mill, 
 but this the Goodwins closed in 1857, when Mr. 
 Hart went to Hartland to work on dairy farm land 
 which he had just bought. Two years later he sold 
 out, and went to Buckland to the Goodwin paper 
 mill, to make repairs and take the position of mill- 
 wright. He then followed his trade of joiner, and 
 worked two summers with P. Garvan. Later he 
 was millwright for Cheney Brothers, with whom he 
 stayed until 1865. In that year he removed to 
 Burnside, to take charge of the building of the 
 lower mill for Hanmer & Forbes. With this firm he 
 stayed as millwright until 1875, in which year he 
 opened a genei'al country store, continuing same 
 until February, 1893. During this time business 
 increased so as to require the services of five men 
 instead of two, and three horses instead of one. 
 His store was burglarized in all eight times, and in 
 two months, by two other robberies, he lost a gold 
 watch and $600. President Arthur appointed him 
 postmaster in 1883, and the duties of this office he 
 discharged at his store. In 1889 Mr. Hart bought 
 the Bliss farm, and has since added to it, his landed 
 property now consisting of thirty-nine acres. In 
 1891 Mr. Hart opened his commodious coal-yard. 
 This is supplied by a spur track from Burnside 
 
 station, and in it he keeps a stock of the best Le- 
 high Valley hard coal. His business is constantly 
 increasing, as he delivers promptly the best coal 
 at lowest prices. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Hart took place Dec. 2, 
 1849, to Miss Harriet Emmons, a daughter of 
 Warren and Harriet (Case) Emmons, highly-re- 
 spected farming people of Flartland. This lady was 
 born Aug. 24, 1825, and after a happy married life 
 of nearly a half-century's duration was called to 
 the better land Nov. 11, 1895, her remains now rest- 
 ing in the cemetery at East Hartford. The mar- 
 riage of Mr. and Mrs. Hart was blessed with four 
 children: Martha Ella, born Nov. 25, 1852, in En- 
 field, was married Sept. 25, 1895, to Osborne W. 
 Moody, a native of New York, and is now living 
 in Burnside; Orrin H., born Nov. 14, 1854, died 
 Aug. 3, 1895, and is buried in East Hartford ; Hen- 
 rietta Passmore, born Oct. 20, 1857, and Eva Har- 
 riet, born Dec. 23, 1865, are single, and making 
 their home with their father. 
 
 Fraternally Mr. Hart is an Odd Fellow, having 
 joined the Somerville Lodge when a young man, 
 and is also a Good Tempar. Politically he was a 
 Democrat until the close of President Franklin 
 Pierce's administration, then, in 1857, joined the 
 Republican party, to which he has steadfastly ad- 
 hered ever since. Although averse to office hold- 
 ing he has served several terms as justice of the 
 peace 'as a matter of public duty, as he felt it to be, 
 the office, in fact, being thrust upon him; through 
 similar incentives he served eight years as a member 
 of the district school committee. Mr. Hart is truly 
 a self-made man, from a business point of view, and 
 his long and useful life sets an example well-worthy 
 the emulation of the rising generation. 
 
 EDWARD T. THOMPSON is a leading mer- 
 chant of Unionville, whose success in life is due to 
 his own energy and the high ideal which his lofty 
 and laudable ambition placed before him. Success 
 in any walk of life is an indication of earnest en- 
 deavor and persevering effort — characteristics that 
 he possesses in an eminent degree. 
 
 A native of the county, Mr. Thompson was born 
 in Avon June 11, 1861, and is a son of Anion 
 Thompson, who was also born there. The grand- 
 father, Alson Thompson, was at one time one of the 
 most prosperous farmers of Lovely street, Avon. 
 He married Miss Sally Hart, of that town, and to 
 them were born four children : Mary, deceased wife 
 of a Mr. Peck; Anion; Sarah, deceased wife of 
 John A. Merriman, of Unionville; and Emeline, 
 wife of Charles Merriman, of Litchfield, Con- 
 necticut. 
 
 Anion Thompson has spent all his life in his 
 native town, engaged in agricultural pursuits, and 
 now resides on the old David liawley farm. He 
 married Jane Woodruff, a daughter of Moses Wood- 
 ruff, of Avon. She died in 1878. They had five 
 children : Jennie, deceased ; Emma, wife of Edson 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ■19 
 
 I.. IVrkins, of Lilclificld ; George, deceased: Ed- 
 ward T., our sulijcct ; and Lexa. wife of Dr. H. 11. 
 l-'enn. of Litclificld. 
 
 In the puljic schools of Avon Edward T. 'riionip- 
 Mjii acquired a good practical education. At llie 
 age of sixteen years he began his business career 
 as a clerk for C. T. Georgia, in Unionville, and re- 
 mained with him for four years. During the fol- 
 lowing four }cars he was similarly employed by 
 A. S. Hart^ & Co. ; then followed the carpenter's 
 traile in Litchfield for about a >ear ; and later 
 clerked in the grocery store of C. S. llunce, on 
 .X'orth Main street, Hartford, for two years. Sub- 
 sequently he had charge of the circulation of the 
 Hartford Telegram for two years, and at the end 
 of that time came to Unionville, where he was en- 
 gaged in the grocery and fish business in the Mer- 
 riman block for five years. For two years he 
 worked for L. Sauer, in the meat business, and dur- 
 ing the following three years was in the employ of 
 M. C. Woodford, whom he succeeded in business 
 March 28, 1899. He carries a large and well- 
 selected stock of staple and fancy groceries, notions, 
 eic, and is building up an excellent trade. At his 
 ]3resent location his father's cousin, Marcus Thomp- 
 son, was engaged in the general mercantile business 
 i'i>r over thirty years. Socially Mr. Thompson is 
 a member of the Ancient Order of United Work- 
 men. He was married, in Avon, to Miss Nettie 
 Rc.xroth, of Canton, Conn., and they have two chil- 
 dren : Lucile and Georq-e Edward. 
 
 } 
 
 FRANK ROBERTS, a prominent and progres- 
 
 ,^ive farmer of East Hartford, and a descendant of 
 "ue of the oldest families in Hartford county, was 
 li'>rn I-'eb. 12, 1854, on the farm on which William 
 Roberts now resides, and is a son of Ira and Char- 
 lotte Corinthia (Cowles) Roberts, whose five chil- 
 dren w'ere born in the following order : Charles W., 
 George (died in infancy), Martin, William, and 
 Frank (the subject of this sketch). 
 
 l-'rank Roberts, after finishing his education in 
 the public schools, returned to the farm where he 
 :is born, and a part of which he has ever since dili- 
 ,L,cntly and intelligently cultivated. On Aug. 22, 
 1876, he married Miss Ida F. TefTt, a native of 
 Xew Haven, born March 2, 1856, daughter of 
 Richard and Jennie Warner (Wolcott) Tefft, the 
 former of whom is now deceased ; the latter makes 
 her home with Air. and Airs. Roberts. One child, 
 I'rank T., was born to Mr. and Mrs. Roberts June 
 22. 1S77. ^""^l still resides under the parental roof. 
 
 Mr. Roberts has a fine farm of thirty acres in 
 Silver Lane, which he devotes chiefly to the culti- 
 vatirin of tobacco, invariably realizing profitable 
 crops. In politics he is a Republican, but has never 
 been an office seeker, although very popular in his 
 town, as well as elsewhere. He has. however, filled 
 the office of past regent of East Hartford Council, 
 No. 1237, Royal Arcanum, and has three times 
 been luaster of East Hartford Grange. He is a 
 
 thorough business man, keen and far-sighted, is 
 favorably and widely known, and stands very high 
 in the esteem of his immediate community. 
 
 FREDERICK (i. HUMl'llREY, a leading agri- 
 culturist at Canton Center, is thoroughly progressive 
 in his methods, and has made a marked success in 
 dairying and tobacco growing. Of late he has 
 become interested in horticulture, also, and a fine 
 peach orchard gives promise of a good reward for 
 his efforts in this line. 
 
 Mr. Humphrey belongs to one of the well-known 
 families of his locality, and other sketches in this 
 volume give accounts of his ancestry. His father, 
 Alfred Franklin Humphrey, was born in New Hart- 
 ford, (Jet. 8, 1826, a son of George Humphrey, and 
 a half-brother of Deacon Henry Humphrey, of 
 Canton Center. On Oct. 12, 1853, Alfred F. 
 Humphrey was married at Canton Center to Mrs. 
 Lydia Adams Mills (widow of Anson Garner Mills), 
 born Nov. 14, 1825, a daughter of Dr. Chauncey G. 
 Griswold, and four children came of this union : 
 George F., born Dec. 31, 1854, was married, in 
 March, 1880, to Ida J. Burr, of Bloomfield ; Fred- 
 erick G., born Sept. 2, 1856; William G., born May 
 31, i860; and Hattie L., born Feb. 17, 1864. The 
 father died March 18, 1898; and the mother is still 
 living. 
 
 Dr. Chauncey G. Griswold, who died in 1864, 
 was a prominent citizen of Canton, and for many 
 years was engaged in the manufacture of the well- 
 known Griswold salve. He was a native of Bloom- 
 field, and a son of Elijah and Lydia (Adams) 
 Griswold. For some years of his early manhood 
 he resided in New York State, but the greater por- 
 tion of his life was spent in Canton. On Feb. 
 27, 1817. he married Ruth Mills, who was born Nov. 
 9, 1792, a daughter of Ephraim and Rosanna ( Foot) 
 Mills, and a granddaughter of Deacon Joseph 
 Mills, one of the first settlers at West Simsbury. 
 They had the following children : Mortimer, born 
 July 12, 1818, died in infancy: Chauncey Mills, 
 born Sept. 12, 1819, died June 25,. 1826: Edwin, 
 born July 3, 1821 : Theodore, born April 23, 1824; 
 Lydia A., our subject's mother; Augustus Dwight, 
 born April 3, 1828: Harriet, born Jan. 6, 1831. died 
 in infancy; Mary Augusta, born May 3, 1832, and 
 Eliza Hooker, born Aug. 2, 1835. 
 
 Our subject received a district-school education, 
 and also for a time attended the Connecticut Lit- 
 erary Institute, at Suftield. He learned the trade 
 of carpenter and joiner with John E. Wheelock, of 
 Collinsville, remaining witli him a year and a half, 
 but after following the trade for some time he de- 
 cided to devote his attention to farming. For four 
 vears he rented the Lucia Case farm, and then 
 bought the E])hraim Mills farm, of one hundred 
 acres, upon which he has made many improvements. 
 In addition to the management of his farm he works 
 occasionally at his trade, building houses and barns 
 in his localitx-, and he is also connected with the 
 
720 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Canton Center Creamery as a stockholder and di- 
 rector. As a citizen lie is popular, and he has been 
 elected to office on the Republican ticket, having 
 served as assessor and justice of the peace. He and 
 his famil)r are identified with the Congregational 
 Church, and socially he belongs to the Knights of 
 the Maccabees at Collinsville, in which he has been 
 commander, and to the Grange at Collinsville, in 
 which he has served two years as master and two 
 years as overseer. 
 
 On March 28, 1878, Mr. Humphrey was mar- 
 ried to Miss Emma W. Bidwell, daughter of Sher- 
 man and Betsey (Wilcox) Bidwell, granddaughter 
 of Sherman Bidwell, and great-granddaughter of 
 Jasper Bidwell. Thomas Bidwell, Sr., with his 
 wife, whose name was Ruhamah Pinney, came from 
 Windsor about the year 1740, and settled in the east 
 part of New Hartford (now Canton), on the prem- 
 ises that fell to his son. Deacon Thomas Bidwell, 
 and later to his grandson, Jasper Bidwell, and said 
 premises remained in the possession of the Bidwell 
 family until the year 1886. Of the children born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey, (i) Bessie Ruth, born 
 July 21, 1879, married Lewis Case, and has one 
 child, Esther; (2) Emma Louise, born April 12, 
 1881, is at home; (3) Helen G., born June 22, 1884, 
 is attending the high school at Collinsville; and (4) 
 Laura B., born Feb. 6, 1886, died Sept. 27, 1886. 
 
 DANIEL BROWN GOLDSMITH, the lead- 
 ing house and sign painter in Bristol, Conn., was 
 born in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., May 17, 1829, and 
 is a son of Frederick and Ruth (Brown) Gold- 
 smith, of Connecticut nativity. 
 
 Frederick Goldsmith, the father, was a son of 
 James Goldsmith, who once lived in Terryville, 
 Conn., the cellar and foundation of his demolished 
 residence being still visible. James Goldsmith was 
 the father of four children : John, Frederick, Mar- 
 tin and Oliver, and with one of these he passed his 
 declining years in the West. Frederick Goldsmith 
 was a stonemason and contractor and, in partner- 
 ship with his brother John,' carried on business in 
 Waterbury, Conn., where his death took place. To 
 his marriage with Miss Ruth Brown, daughter of 
 Reuben Brown, of Waterbury, the following named 
 family of children was born : Ransom Hobart, who 
 lived and died in New Haven ; William De Forest, 
 who died in California; Daniel B., the subject of 
 this sketch; Franklin E., in the painting business 
 in New Haven ; Lyman, who died in Taunton, 
 Mass. ; Eliza, who died in Waterbury, the wife of 
 Eli Perkins ; Eveline, who died in Waterbury, 
 the wife of James Adams ; May, who became Mrs. 
 Bradley, of Wolcott, and died in New Haven hos- 
 pital ; Hattie Maria, who is married to B. H. Ball, 
 of West Haven ; Annie, who is the wife of James 
 Hart, of Waterbury; Ellen, now Mrs. Daniel W. 
 Morrel, of New Haven; Emily, and two others, 
 that died in infancy. 
 
 Daniel Brown Goldsmith was a mere child when 
 
 brought by his parents from Poughkeepsie, N. Y., 
 to Bridgewater, Litchfield county, Conn., where he 
 was permitted to attend school in winter, but was 
 compelled to assist the family by working on a farm 
 in summer. At the early age of ten years he left 
 the parental roof and went out into the world to 
 make a livelihood for himself. As a farmer's boy 
 he secured position after position, in about the fol- 
 lowing order : With the Widow Lockwood, in 
 Bridgewater, two years; with Marcus B. Mallett, 
 with whom he remained until sixteen years old, 
 receiving meanwhile some education in the Bridge- 
 water schools ; with Deacon Timothy Balls, of 
 Waterbury, for two years; with Deacon Edward 
 Schofield, one year; he then worked for two years 
 in the brass wire factory of Samuel Holmes, at 
 Torrington ; next worked in Holmes' factory in 
 Waterbury for a short time, after which he worked 
 a year in a button factory for Sherman Bronson. 
 
 After being thus variously employed Mr. Gold- 
 smith began to learn the painter's trade with Will- 
 iam H. Mansfield, in Waterbury, with whom he re- 
 mained about one year, working here and there for 
 a while, and then for Henry Churchill, at Chicopee, 
 Mass., for two years ; then for Mason & Stone, 
 Central Row, Hartford, about two years ; for Bailey 
 & Blakeslee at Waterbury, about three years ; for 
 Abel Mason, in New Haven, two years, and for the 
 following six years carried on business for himself 
 in the same city, thence removing to Plymouth, 
 where he conducted business on his own account 
 for a while. In 1868 he came to Bristol, where 
 he has since done the leading painting and decorat- 
 ing work of the borough. 
 
 Mr. Goldsmith has twice been married, first, m' 
 1850, to Ellen M. Chandler, of Granby, Mass., who 
 died in Bristol in 1883, and her remains were in- 
 terred in New Haven. She was the mother of three 
 children: Warren Henry, born April 26, 1853; 
 Austin Cook, born March 10, 1857, died Sept. 3, 
 1864; and Olive Cook, born March 31, 1859, died 
 Aug. 15, 1859. The second marriage of Mr. Gold- 
 smith took place Nov. 27, 1889, to Miss Jennie A. 
 Wilson, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Wilson, 
 who still reside in Bristol. 
 
 Warren Henry Goldsmith, the eldest child born 
 to Daniel Brown and Ellen M. (Chandler) Gold- 
 smith, is a printer by trade, and is at present a 
 proof-reader on the Boston Globe. He first mar- 
 ried Miss Dora Palmer, of Collinsville, Conn. ; after 
 her divorce he wedded Miss Sophia Smith, of 
 Bridgeport. To this marriage have been born six 
 children: Arthur Chandler (who died at the age 
 of three years) ; Lottie, Warren, Frank, Rose and 
 Everett. 
 
 Daniel B. Goldsmith is a member of the Pros- 
 pect Methodist Episcopal Church of Bristol. In 
 politics he is a Republican, but has never sought 
 office. He has been a very hard working man 
 during his whole life, but is now living in compar- 
 ative retirement, having acquired a competency. 
 
1 
 
 ; 
 J 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 tl 
 
 
 ^*^*^ (^ --^w^-^^wc 
 
COMMEMQRATJV^E \BJOGRAPMICAL RECORLf. 
 
 m 
 
 Besides liis own moikrn home, he. owns six others, 
 all located on Main street Too niucii credit cainn.a 
 be accorded him as he started in the world penni- 
 less at the age of ten years. 
 
 HAiNNlBAL KEx\T WRIGHT, a prosperous 
 and respected tobacco grower and general fanner 
 of Alapleton, town of Suffidd, was bofu at Crooked 
 Lane, same town, Oct. 25, 1836, and descends from 
 an old Connecticut family of English extraction. 
 ., John Wright, grandfather of our subject, was 
 born in llartland, iiarttord couiUy, June 12, 1766, 
 grew to manhood 'in his. native towuj and in his 
 earlier adult years followed the sea, sailing between 
 the ports of the New England coast and Halifax, 
 Is^ova Scotia, and for several years making his home 
 in the latter city. Finally he returned to Connecti- 
 cut and settled on the tract of 150 acres now owned 
 by Edward Austin, in the town of Suffield, Hart- 
 ford county, and there passed the remainder of his 
 life in the successful pursuit of agriculture. He was a 
 Stanch supporter of the political doctrines of Thomas 
 Jefferson, but never sought office. He married 
 Dorothy Sears, who was born March 9, 1765, and 
 they had a family of thirteen children, two of whom 
 died in infancy. The names and dates of birtli,. 
 etc., of the eleven who grew to maturity are as 
 follows: John, Jan. 27, 1789 (was drowned at sea 
 in 1815); Harvey, March 23, 1792; Henry,' March 
 24, 1794; Annie, May 10, 1796 (she married a 
 Air. Fairfield, of New York State) ; Edward; Oct. 
 3, 1798 (was a member of the State militia during 
 the war of 1812) ; Mahala H., May 10, 1803 (she 
 became the w^ife of Horace Sheldon) ; Warren, Oct. 
 g, 1805; Cjnthia, Jan. 13, 1808 (died single); 
 Newell, Feb. 11, 1810; Halsie S., Sept. i, 1812; 
 Jewett, June 25, 1815. The father of this large 
 family died INIay 12, 1839, a member of the Baptist 
 Church, and his remains were interred in the Suf- 
 field cemetery beside those of his wife. 
 
 Hon. Halsie S. Wright, father of Hannibal K. 
 W^right, was born in the tow., of Suffield, Sept. i, 
 1812, and obtained a good English education, chictly 
 through self-instruction. For several years he fol- 
 lowed the vocation of a school teacher, but finally 
 Settled on a tract of 120 acres in Sufifield, and was 
 pne of the first to engage in the cultivation of to- 
 bacco in the neighborhood. He was also quite suc- 
 cessful in general farming, and became one of the 
 well-to-do agriculturists of the town. Fie was 
 strictly temperate in his habits, and upright in all 
 his transactions. A Jacksonian Democrat in poli- 
 tics, he attained a prominent position in his party, 
 and at one time represented the people of Suffield in 
 the State Legislature. 
 
 Mr. Wright was united in marriage, Dec. 5, 
 1832, at Suffield, with Miss Amy FI. Kent, who was 
 born July 21. 1813, a daughter of Comfort Kent, 
 and to their union were born five children : Nelson 
 J., who was born July 27, 1834, and died in Suf- 
 field; Hannibal K., the subject of this sketch; Hal- 
 
 '.6 
 
 si^.J., bohi( Sdpt. H, 1840, and now a resident of 
 Kingston, N. M. ; Cynthia Marie, born June 23, 
 1845, \\dio died in 1800; and Charles II., born in, 
 1847, 'I'ld now farming in Suffield. lialsie S. 
 Wright died on his farm Sept. 19, 1869, a member of 
 the IJaptist CJuirch, and Mrs. Amy H. Wright sur- 
 vived until June 15, 1880, when she passed away in 
 the same faith ; her remains were laid to rest beside 
 those of her husband in the Suffield cemetery. 
 
 Scth Kent, grandfather of the late Mrs. Amy 
 H. Wright, was also a native of Suflield, and a mem- 
 ber of one of the oldest families of the town. He 
 was a land owner and farmer, and a citizen of con- 
 siderable influence, was a representative Democrat in 
 politics, and a pillar in the Baptist Church. He 
 married Lucj' Kemington, to which union were born 
 three sons, Seth, Luther and Comfort, the last 
 named becoming the father of Mrs. Wright, and the 
 grandfather of our subject. Comfort Kent was 
 born on the old Kent homestead, in the town of 
 Suffield, Conn., near the Massachusetts line, and 
 there passed his entire life engaged in farming and 
 stock raising on his tract of 150 acres, and was a citi- 
 zen of considerable importance. In politics he was 
 a Democrat. Although very liberal in religious 
 views, he was a sincere Christian, and a strictly 
 temperate and moral man. He married Tirzah 
 Flastings, a native of Hasting's Hill, Conn., and a 
 daughter of Abijah Hastings, and to this union were 
 born eight children : Amy H., mother of our sub- 
 ject; James, deceased; Adeline K., widow of Col. 
 Simon P. Kendall; Mary A., who was married to 
 Henry Grosvener, and who, with her husband, is 
 now deceased; Maria L., married to Sanford Rising; 
 Charlotte, widow of Horace Halladay ; Ambrose, 
 who died in infanc_\'; and Luther, now on the old 
 homestead. The mother of this family passed away 
 March 24, 1S55, in the faith of the Baptist Church, 
 and her husband died in the same faith Dec. 2, 
 1862, honored by all who knew them. 
 
 Hannibal Kent Wright, whose name stands at 
 the opening of this article, was educated in the 
 public schools of Suffield, in the Connecticut Lit- 
 erary Institute, of the same town, and in the Wil- 
 braham (Mass.) Academy. After finishing his edu- 
 cation he at once turned his attention to agriculture, 
 now operating 104 acres in Suffield, Conn., and he 
 also has landed interests in the town of Agawam, 
 Hampden Co., ilass. General farming, dairying 
 and tobacco-growing are the chief objects of his in- 
 dustry, and he has been very prosperous in all his 
 undertakings. On Dec. 6, 1859, Mr. Wright mar- 
 ried, at Hackensack, N. J., Miss Salina Westervelt, 
 a native of Tea Neck, that State, and a daughter of 
 Garrett and Harriet Westervelt, of remote Holland 
 descent. The marriage of Mr. and Airs. Wright 
 has been blessed with three children : Jewett, a stone 
 mason of Suffield ; Marie, unmarried and at home ; 
 and Hattie W., wife of \'an Delinda, of West 
 Springfield, Mass. In religion Mr. Wright is a 
 member of the Baptist Church, while Mrs. Wright 
 
722 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 adheres to the Presbyterian faith. In politics Mr. 
 Wright is a sound Democrat, but has never been 
 an otfice seel-cer. He is a member of the Grange at 
 Suffield, takes a decided interest in the prosperity 
 of his town, and socially, together with his amiable 
 wife and family, stands very high in the esteem of 
 his neighbors. 
 
 LUCIAN F. NORTH, one of the enterprising 
 and prosperous farmer citizens of the town of Avon, 
 is a scion of a family whose members have for sev- 
 eral generations been identified with the history and 
 progress of this section, taking a leading part in 
 public life, and maintaining a high reputation for 
 integrity and strength of character. They are of 
 Welsh descent. 
 
 Mr. North is a grandson of Joseph North, who 
 was born in 1783 in what is now the town of Avon, 
 a son of Deacon Isaiah and Ann North. Here he 
 , passed his entire life, making his home in Nod, 
 where for many years he was engaged at the black- 
 smith's trade, which he learned in his younger days, 
 his shop being located on the Albany turn-pike, and 
 he shod the horses that carried the mail and pas- 
 sengers between Albany, Hartford and Boston. In 
 1832 he put up a fine stone shop, which is still stand- 
 ing. In addition to blacksmithing Mr. North car- 
 ried on agricultural pursuits, owning a farm in the 
 town, and he was a successful man in a business 
 way. He commanded the honest respect of all 
 right-minded men, and was honorable and upright 
 in all his dealings, earning the good-will of those 
 with whom he came in contact. His political sup- 
 port was given to the Democratic party, but he took 
 no active interest in its workings. Joseph North 
 married Rebecca Humphrey, who was born in 1783, 
 daughter of David and Lucy (Marshall) Humphrey, 
 of Goshen, and granddaughter of Samuel Hum- 
 phrey, and children as follows were born to their 
 union : Persey, who married George Phelps ; Eme- 
 line, wife of George Merrills (he died in Ohio) ; 
 Edna, wife of Chauncey Ford, residents of Ohio; 
 Lucy Ann, who married Nelson Ford, and had her 
 home in Ohio ; Isaiah, who married Harriet Thomp- 
 on, of Avon; Joseph B., father of our subject; and 
 two sons who died in infancy May 23, 1821. The 
 father of these died Oct. 2, 1847, the mother on 
 April 12, 1864, and they sleep their last sleep in 
 Avon cemetery. They were worthy Christian peo- 
 ple, and in religious connection united with the 
 Congregational Church. 
 
 Joseph B. North was born Dec. 31, 1824, on the 
 old homestead in Avon, and received a practical 
 education in the district schools of the neighborhood. 
 He learned the trade of blacksmith with his father, 
 but he made agriculture the principle business of 
 his life, and after his father's death he devoted him- 
 self to the cultivation of the homestead, in addition 
 to general farming giving considerable attention to 
 stock raising and dairying. He made numerous 
 improvements on the place which enhanced both its 
 
 appearance and value, and he was a representative 
 man of his day, taking his place among the intelli- 
 gent and enterprising citizens of the town. He 
 served his fellow citizens as register of voters and 
 in various other local ofilices, and in 1892 he repre- 
 sented the district in the State Legislature, dis- 
 playing in every trust a fidelity to duty and execu- 
 tive ability which satisfied all concerned, and won 
 him the esteem of his constituents, who were un- 
 stinted in their praise of his high moral worth. His 
 honesty and straightforwardness were unquestioned. 
 Mr. North was married in Avon to Miss Harriet 
 Gabriel, who was born in 1830, daughter of Phineas 
 Gabriel, a native of Suffield, Hartford county, who 
 carried on a mercantile business in Avon. Two 
 children were born to them, Annie and Lucian F., 
 the former of whom became the wife of David Tay- 
 lor; Mr. and Mrs. Taylor are both deceased. Mrs. 
 North passed away Sept. 3, 1853, ^t the early a^e 
 of twenty-three years, and was laid to rest in Avon 
 cemetery. She was a member of the Congregational 
 Church, an earnest Christian woman, and her death 
 was sincerely mourned by all who knew her. Mr. 
 North survived until Sept. 3, 1896, and he was also 
 interred in Avon cemetery. He was liberal in re- 
 ligious matters, and in political faith he was a 
 stanch Democrat. 
 
 Lucian F. North was born March i, 1852, on the 
 old North homestead at Nod, town of Avon, where 
 all his life has been passed. During his boyhood he 
 attended the district schools near his home, com- 
 pleting his education in the high school of Avon, 
 and he gained his knowledge of agricultural pur- 
 suits under his father's tuition, assisting him until 
 his death, since when he has carried on the place on 
 his own account. He raises general crops, but he 
 has devoted special attention to tobacco culture, 
 dairying and stock farming, and he has made an all- 
 round success in these lines, proving himself a man 
 of enterprise and progressive ideas in everything 
 he has undertaken. His business abilitj^ and energy, 
 combined with systematic methods and intelligent 
 management have placed him in the front rank of 
 modern farmers in the town of Avon, and he has 
 always maintained the high standard of honesty 
 characteristic of the family. Popular and respected^ 
 with a pleasant home and comfortable competence, 
 and hosts of friends which he and his equally hos- 
 pitable and social wife have gathered round them, 
 he occupies an enviable place among the best citi- 
 zen of the community in which he resides as a 
 worthy representative of one of Llartford county's 
 oldest families. 
 
 Mr. North was married in Avon, in 1883, to Miss 
 Lillie Esther Stowe, a native of the town, who is 
 also a member of one of the early settled families 
 of the county, being the daughter of Charles A. 
 and Julia A. (Bishop) Stowe. On the paternal 
 side she is a great-granddaughter of Jerry Stowe, 
 who served as a soldier in the Revolution, and 
 granddaughter of Isaac and Mehitabel (Smith) 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 728 
 
 Sluwc. Maternally she is a neice of Lucius S. and 
 Fitch L. Ijisho[), of Avon, grancklaughtcr of Samuol 
 I'lishoj), and grcat-grancklauglUor of Thomas F. 
 Bishop, who served during the Revolutionary war. 
 Mr. and Mrs. North have one child, l^'lorence Stowe, 
 who is now attending school. Like his father, he 
 is liberal in his religious views, and politically is a 
 Democrat, but he takes no interest in i^arty affairs 
 , be3'ond supporting what he believes to be the right 
 candidates. • He has tilled the office of school visi- 
 tor in his town, but he prefers to devote his entire 
 time to his pri\-ate affairs. 
 
 JAMES JONES, a substantial citizen of East 
 Hartford Meadow, and one who has done much to- 
 ward the buikling up of that village, was born in 
 Manchester, England, in 1846. He is a son of 
 Jeremiah and Mary (Wood) Jones, who were the 
 parents of three children, two sons and one daugh- 
 ter, of whom our subject and his brother Joseph 
 survive. 
 
 The Jones family originated in Lancashire, and 
 was of very ancient and reputable stock, but the 
 immediate ancestors of Jeremiah, father of our 
 subject, had long been residents of Alanchester, the 
 niantifacturing emporium of the cotmty, as Liver- 
 pool is the commercial capital. Jeremiah Jones in 
 his yoimger days was a boiler-maker, but later in 
 life became a coal merchant, carrying on a wholesale 
 as wellas a retail trade, and was quite a prominent 
 citizen. He and wife came to the L'nited States in 
 1871, and located in Hartford, Conn., in which city 
 both he and his wife passed the remainder of their 
 days. 
 
 James Jones received a limited education in the 
 common schools of his native city, as he was quite 
 young when withdrawn from school to aid his fa- 
 ther in the coal trade, and was but thirteen years of 
 age when he was apprenticed to Matthew Bailey, 
 in Manchester, to learn blacksmithing, serving three 
 years and nine months. After completing his ap- 
 prenticeship, and while still in his minority, he em- 
 barked in the coal trade on his own account, and, be- 
 ing familiar with it, was very successful. 
 
 In the month of March, 1871, the family left 
 Liverpool on board the "City of Washington," and 
 after a passage of fourteen days of stormy weather 
 landed at America, and came direct to Hartford 
 from the port of disembarkation. In Hartford 
 James Jones found his first employment in a boiler- 
 shop, and in this city and vicinity he has ever since 
 been engaged in his trade of blacksmithing in differ- 
 ent shops, but chiefly in railroad shops, for over sev- 
 enteen years. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Jones took place Feb. 26, 
 1865, '" St. John's Church. Dean's Gate. Manches- 
 ter, England, to Miss Isabella Harrison, a native of 
 the city, and a daughter of James and Mary (Ford) 
 Harrison. To this marriage have been born four 
 children : Martha, born in England, is now Mrs. 
 David Scofield, of Hartford ; ^lary Alice, also born 
 
 in England, is now Mrs. I'hilip K. Jones, and the 
 mother of three children, I'hilip James, Joseph \V., 
 and Flo\d R., of i'ortland. Conn. ; Isabella, likewisea 
 native of England, is still under the parental roof, 
 at East Hartford Meadow ; and Elizabeth, born in 
 the United States, is now ( 1900) a trained nurse in 
 the Hartford Hospital. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are 
 consistent members of Christ Episcopal Church, at 
 Hartford, and in politics Mr. Jones has regularly 
 voted the Republican ticket since he has been en- 
 tilled to vote, but has never sought an office, prom- 
 inent as he is. Fraternally he is a member of Orient 
 Lodge, No. 62, F. & A. M., of East Hartford. 
 
 Since 1872 Mr. Jones has been a resident of 
 East Hartford Meadow, although his employment 
 has been in the city of Hartford. He is strictly 
 temperate in his habits, has never used liquor or 
 tobacco, and through his exceeding skill as a me- 
 chanic, and his steady-going habits has acquired 
 considerable property in East Hartford Meadow, 
 which he has improved — thus adding to the beauty 
 and the desirability of the village as a place of resi- 
 dence — having erected three handsome cottages and 
 three double houses. He has in his wife a most 
 valuable helpmate, who deserves much credit in aid- 
 ing him in his prosperous career; his children are a 
 credit to their parents, and his daughters would 
 ornament any society in which their lot might be 
 cast. Plain-going and unassuming, IMr. Jones still 
 works steadily at his trade, although in most com- 
 fortable circumstances and classed with the sub- 
 stantial and most highly-respected residents of the 
 town. 
 
 JOHN SAL'TTER, one of the energetic and 
 progressive farmers of Berlin, was born July 1, 
 1856, on the place where he now resides, a son of 
 Stephen and Maria (Schnidt) Sautter, natives of 
 Germany. Both are deceased, and are buried in 
 Christian Lane cemetery. The father was a farmer 
 by occupation, and on coming to America took up 
 his residence in Berlin, Conn. For his second wife 
 he married Catherine Schnidt. 
 
 During his boyhood and youth John Sautter be- 
 came familiar with every department of farm work, 
 and acquired his literary education in the schools of 
 Berlin. On laying aside his text-books he worked 
 on the home farm for a time, and then entered the 
 employ of P. & F. Corbin, in the grinding depart- 
 ment, and later was connected with the finishing 
 department of their works. He was thus employed 
 for four or five years during the winter months, 
 while throughout the summer season he worked on 
 the farm. Subsequently he was connected with 
 Landers, Frary & Clark, and the American Hosiery 
 Co., all of New Britain, until 1882, since which time 
 he has devoted his entire attention to agricultural 
 pursuits.' He owns and successfully operates a good 
 farm of thirty-seven acres in Christian Lane, and 
 raises all kinds of produce. 
 
 Mr. Sautter was married, Oct. 2, 1880, to Miss 
 
724 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ellen Koonz, of Greenfield, Mass., who was born 
 Aug. 21, 1859. Her parents, Christian and Mary 
 (Meyer) Koonz, both died and were buried in 
 Greenfield. Mr. and Mrs. Sautter have had four 
 children : Alydia Edith, born Feb. 8, 1886, graduated 
 June 18, 1900, from the New Britain grammar 
 school; Clarence Everett, born Jan. 21, 1891, is also 
 attending school; Arthur Charles, boni Jan. i, 1893, 
 died Oct. 6, 1898, and was laid to rest in New 
 Britain cemetery; and Clifford John, born July 7, 
 1900. 
 
 In his political affiliations Mr. Sautter is a stanch 
 Republican, and he takes a deep and commendable 
 interest in public affairs, giving his support to every 
 enterprise which he believes will prove of public 
 benefit. He attends the Congregatonal Church, and 
 is a liberal supporter of all church work. His wife 
 is a member of the Episcopal Church, of Greenfield, 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 PATRICK P. HICKEY, one of the most re- 
 spected foreign-born residents, of Burnside, is a 
 son of Michael Hickey, a farmer by occupation, 
 who was born in County Waterford, Ireland, and at 
 the age of fifty years came to East Hartford, via 
 New York, to join his sons, John and Patrick. In 
 Ireland he married "Margaret McCarty, a native of 
 County Cork, which marriage was blessed with six 
 children, born in the following order ; Hannah, still 
 single, and living with her brother ; Patrick P., our 
 subject; Peter also unmarried and living in Con- 
 necticut ; John J., a farmer of East Hartford, whose 
 biography will be found else\v'here; Michael, de- 
 ceased ; and Mary, married to James Donovan. The 
 father died in East Hartford in 1891, at a greatly- 
 advanced age; and his widow died at an equally 
 advanced age, in February, 1899, at the home of her 
 son, the subject of this sketch. 
 
 Patrick P. Hickey, whose brains ^and industry 
 have brought him success in America, was born in 
 County Waterford, Ireland, Sept. 15, 1855, attended 
 school until fifteen years old, and then, leaving his 
 parents behind him, sailed from Oeenstown on the 
 steamer "Brooklyn," and after a voyage of nine 
 days landed in the city of New York, where he 
 found work, in a meat shop conducted by a cousin, 
 John Hickey, at $3.00 per week and board for one 
 year. He went thence to Westerly, R. I., and 
 learned the stonecutter's trade, working for J. G. 
 Patterson, of Hartford, and followed the trade four- 
 teen or fifteen years, earning about five dollars per 
 day. He was advanced to the position of foreman 
 of stonework on the capitol at Albany, N. Y., and 
 in 1885 came to his present farm, then a tract of 
 twenty-four acres, owned by his father. Our sub- 
 ject made many improvements on the place, erect- 
 ing tobacco sheds, etc., and where there were three 
 acres of tobacco then raised there are eighteen 
 raised now. 
 
 On April 16, 1882, Mr. Hickey married Miss 
 Mary Kate Clinton, a native of Coeymans, Albany 
 
 Co., N. Y., and a daughter of Valentine and Brid- 
 get (Driscoll) Clinton, and nine children have 
 blessed this union: Alice, born Jan. 24, 1883; Mar- 
 garet, July 25, 1884; Michael Joseph, Feb. 2, 1886; 
 John H., July 31, 1888 (deceased) ; Valentine, Aug. 
 31, 1889; Agnes Mary, Oct. 29, 1891 ; Francis 
 Patrick, Oct. 18, 1893; Mabel Bridget, April 17, 
 1896; and Teresa, Jan. 21, 1898. 
 
 The Hickey family are all members of St. Mary's 
 Catholic congregation, to the support of which, and 
 its Sodalities, Mr. Hickey is a liberal contributor. 
 In politics he is a Republican, but has never bothered 
 himself with office-seeking, and his society relations 
 are with the United Workmen, and St. Mary's Tem- 
 perance Society. He is a hard-working, intelligent, 
 up-to-date agriculturist, and invariably secures a 
 good price for his tobacco output. His young fam- 
 ily are very bright children, two of them being- 
 pupils at East Hartford High School. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hickey are among the most respected residents of 
 the town of East Hartford. 
 
 OTTO FREDERICK STRUNZ, one of the 
 most enterprising foreign-born business men it has 
 ever been the good fortune of Bristol to have within 
 her limits, was born in Saxony, Germany, Dec. 
 14, 1850. 
 
 William Strunz, father of Otto F., was born in 
 the city of Crimmitzschau, Saxony, was a cloth 
 weaver by trade, and married Miss Louisa Diesner, 
 a native of the same city. To this marriage came 
 nine children, in the following order; Adolph, born 
 in 1844, is now a painter and paper hanger in 
 Broad Brook, Conn. ; Hermina, born in 1846, died 
 unmarried in 1896, in Cromwell, Conn.; Herman, 
 born in 1848, died in Broad Brook in 1861 ; Otto 
 F. is the subject of this biography; Charles F., 
 born in 1853, is superintendent of the Glazier Woolen 
 Mills at Glastonbury ; Frank, born in 1855, is a car- 
 penter and joiner, and has charge of repairs at 
 the Broad Brook Woolen Mill ; Albert, born in 1857, 
 is a bookkeeper in San Francisco, Cal. ; Henry, born 
 in 1859, is a lawyer in Palatka, Fla. ; and William 
 Victor, born in 1861, is a professional singer, and 
 also has his residence in San Francisco. As the par- 
 ents of this family came to America in 1854, the chil- 
 dren born prior to that date are natives of Saxony. 
 William Strunz, on settling in Broad Brook, Conn., 
 in 1854, at once secured the position of inspector 
 of the product of the woolen mills at that town, and 
 held his place until he retired from active work. 
 He was a 'Unitarian in religion, a Republican in 
 politics, and was a Free Mason. He lost his wife 
 in 1863, and his own death took place in Broad 
 Brook. 
 
 Otto F. Strunz attended the common schools 
 of Broad Brook until sixteen years of age, when he 
 was apprenticed to learn the trade of wool dyeing, 
 remaining three years, and then worked for Ralph 
 Belknap, at carpenter work. In 1871 he came to 
 Bristol, and worked for Elbert Case four yeai's at 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 725 
 
 joiner work, and then for other builders until 1879, 
 w lien he purchased the coal business of A. C. Hen- 
 dee, conducted in the rear of ^Vightman's mill, now 
 i| known as Eaton's elevator. In 1880 he started the 
 Bristol bakery, which he succcsstully conducted for 
 eight years, in connection with the coal and wood 
 business. On August i, 1889, J\lr. Strunz sold the 
 bakery to J. W. Lounsburyj and retired from that 
 line of business with the intention of taking life 
 a little easier, but was prevailed upon to assume 
 charge of the plant of the Bristol Electric Light Co., 
 which position he held for five years, when he as- 
 sumed the position of superintendent of the Con- 
 solidated Electric Light and Plainville & Bristol 
 Tramway Co. (of which he is a director), the ar- 
 duous duties of which he discharges to the satis- 
 faction of all concerned. Feeling the effects of 
 long-continued, close application to business, and the 
 numerous responsibilities, he resigned the position 
 of superintendent, his resignation being reluctantly 
 accepted by the directors. Mr. Strunz is a director 
 in the Codling Manufacturing Co., of Bristol ; of the 
 E. N. Welch Co., at Forestville ; and of the JNIasonic 
 Building Co. 
 
 -\Ir. Strunz married j\Iiss S. Addie Thompson, 
 daughter of Hiram C. Thompson, and this marriage 
 was crowned by the birth of one child, Hermina, 
 who died in infancy. ]\Ir. and Mrs. Strunz attend 
 the Congregational Church, and are highly respected 
 within and without its pale. Mrs. Strunz is a 
 Daughter of the Revolution. 
 
 In politics yir. Strunz is thoroughly Republican, 
 and as such was elected representative from Bristol 
 in i8y8 and 1900, but it may truthfully be said, the 
 honor was not at all solicited on his part. He is 
 president and treasurer of the Bristol Press (In- 
 dependent), the oldest paper in the town. Frater- 
 nally he is eminent as a Freemason, and is promi- 
 nent as a member of Hiram Temple, No. 90, Knights 
 of Khorassan, of New Britain, and of E. Lodge, 
 No. 9, Knights of Pythias. JNIr. Strunz owns a cot- 
 tage at Sachem Head,' and takes his outings at that 
 beautiful place. 
 
 WARREN TAYLOR, the well-known real- 
 estate operator of South Manchester, comes of gen- 
 uine Connecticut stock, his grandfather, Junius 
 Taylor, and his father, Lewis Taylor, having both 
 been natives of Glastonbury, Hartford county. 
 
 Lewis Taylor, who was a farmer, removed from 
 that town to jNIanchester, and purchased a farm. 
 He afterward bought property in the village where 
 he lived until his death, which occurred May 12, 
 1885, when he had reached his eighty-fourth year. 
 The farm is now occupied by the widow of his son 
 Pitkin. He conducted a wholesale and retail meat 
 buiness, and owned a market in South jNIanchester, 
 which he opened a few years after coming from 
 Glastonbury. He married Miss Mcrlona Keeney, 
 by whom he had eight children, and of this large 
 famil\- Warren was sixth in order of birth. The 
 
 others were : Pitkin ; Jeanette, who married Norman 
 Keeney; Wells; Adelia, now the widow of Sanford 
 Keeney, of South i\lanchester ; Albert, a farmer, 
 and the owner of a meat market in that place ; 
 Henry; and Charles, also a resident of South Man- 
 chester. Pitkin, Jeanette, Wells and Henry are all 
 deceased . 
 
 \\ arren Taylor was born in the town of Man- 
 chester March 12, 1840, was reared on his father's 
 farm, and educated in the common schools. At 
 the age of twenty-si.K he bought a farm of his own, 
 on which he resided until 1888, and during these 
 years he engaged e-\tensively in dealing in horses, 
 chietly of the sort used in general work. In 1889 
 he began operating in real estate. In that year he 
 bought four acres of ground on Main street, in 
 South Manchester, and commenced the construc- 
 tion of dwelling houses, of which he has erected ten, 
 all being modern and well-built. In 1891 he pur- 
 chased a tract of forty acres, which he divided into 
 building lots, some of which he sold, while he put 
 up houses on others. He has been eminently suc- 
 cessful, his sound judgment and keen business sense 
 standing him in good stead. 
 
 On yiay 3, 18O6, ^Ir. Taylor married Miss Mary 
 lialpin, and they have had three children : Blanche, 
 Howard and Fred. Of these, Blanche is the wife 
 of George E. Keith, a hardware merchant of South 
 Manchester; Howard is a machinist, and Fred an 
 electrician, both in the employ of Cheney Bros. In 
 politics Mr. Taylor is a Prohibitionist. He belongs 
 to no church, but is always ready to contribute to 
 the advancement of every movement tending toward 
 the uplifting of humanity. 
 
 WILLIAM JOHN CORRIGAX. The expres- 
 sion "the dignity of labor" is exemplified in the life 
 record of this gentleman, whose success in life may 
 be attributed to earnest work and good manage- 
 ment. He is a man of strong force of character, 
 ptirposeful and energetic, and his keen discrimina- 
 tion and sound judgment are shown in his capable 
 management of business affairs. He makes his 
 home in Kensington, Hartford county, and is suc- 
 cessfully engaged in farming and dealing in har- 
 ness, carriages, wagons, agricultural implements, 
 and all kinds of road-building machinery. 
 
 Born in New Britain, Conn., Oct. 10, 1856, Mr. 
 Corrigan is a son of William John and Anna 
 (Drew) Corrigan, who were married in Glaston- 
 bury in 1849. The father was born in Queens 
 Count%-. Ireland, in 1818, and throughout life fol- 
 lowed the occupation of farming. A\'hen our sub- 
 ject was two years old he removed with his family 
 to Kensington, and purchased a farm of 140 acres 
 near where our subject now lives. There he died 
 Dec. 25, 1883, and his wife passed away Dec. 25, 
 1868, the remains of both being interred in Meriden. 
 
 Our suliject is principallv indebted to the schools 
 of Kensington for his educational privileges, though 
 he took a course in bookkeeping at the Blue Hills 
 
726 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 school, under the special instruction of Clarence 
 A. Waldo, a student of the Wesleyan University at 
 Middletown, Conn. He continued to assist his fa- 
 ther in the operation of the home farm until he 
 was married, Nov. 23, 1881, to Miss Jennie Edith 
 Byrne, of Newington, and then removed to Meri- 
 den, where he was engaged in the meat business 
 for two years. Subsequently he was interested in 
 market gardening at West Hartford for six months, 
 but after his father's death he returned home, in 
 the spring of 1884, and operated the farm until 
 1890, when he purchased the Botsford farm from 
 Grace Rustemeyer, where he now resides, contain- 
 ing 140 acres of land and the buildings, and which 
 he himself cultivates. He also owns another 150- 
 acre farm, the old homestead. Mr. Corrigan sells 
 all kinds of farm machinery, being agent for the 
 Deering Harvester Co. ; the Champion Road Ma- 
 chine Co., of Kennet Square, Penn. ; the Aultman 
 Manufacturing Co., of Canton, Ohio; and the Mil- 
 burn Wagon Co., together with many other wagon 
 and carriage companies. He is a wide-awake, pro- 
 gressive business man, and is meeting with excel- 
 lent success in his undertakings. His office is in 
 Meriden. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Corrigan have come the fol- 
 lowing children: William Edward, born Aug. 23, 
 1882, graduated from St. Rosa's parochial school, 
 Meriden, and is now at home; Catherine Alice, 
 born Feb; 18, 1884, attended St. Rosa's parochial 
 school, and in June, 1900, completed the course in 
 the Pequot Business College, Meriden; Mary An- 
 nette, born Aug. 29, 1885, is attending St. Rosa's 
 parochial school; Jane Anna, born July 8, 1888, 
 died Jan. i, 1893, and was buried in Meriden; 
 Martha Edna, born Nov. 20, 1890, and Ethel Anna, 
 born Feb. 19, 1896, complete the family. 
 
 Mr. Corrigan and his family hold membership 
 in St. Rose's Church, of which they are liberal sup- 
 porters, and he is a member of the board of gov- 
 ernors of the Meriden Catholic Club. Socially he 
 affiliates with Silver City Lodge, No. 3, O. U. A. 
 M., and Alfred Hall Council, No. 1423, R. A., 
 ■both of Meriden. Politically he is identified with 
 the Democratic party, but at local elections votes 
 for the man whom he considers best qualified to 
 fill the office. He was an efficient "member of the 
 school_ board for sixteen years, but resigned in May, 
 1899, in order to give his undivided attention to his 
 extensive business interests. 
 
 WILLIAM T. DUNHAM, a respected and sub- 
 stantial citizen, tobacco grower and general agri- 
 culturist of Hockanum, town of East Hartford, 
 was born Sept. 16, 1821, and is the eldest of the 
 four children that blessed the marriage of Isaac A. 
 and Mary (Risley) Dunham. 
 
 Isaac A. Dunham was born in 1796, and lived 
 for some time in Gilead, Conn., later moving to 
 Gastonbury. He was a valiant soldier in the war 
 of 1812, and took an active part in the defense of 
 
 New London, as well as in several minor battles. 
 The children born to his marriage with Mary Ris- 
 ley, a native of Marlboro, Conn., and a daughter 
 of Samuel Risley, were William T., our subject; 
 Mary E., who was married to Selden H. Tracy, 
 a farmer, and lived in Tolland and Glastonbury, 
 both being now deceased; a daughter whose name 
 is not on record, but who was married, went to the 
 Far West, and there died; and Maria S., who. was 
 married to Selden H. Tracy (the husband of her 
 deceased sister Mary E.), and is now living in Glas- 
 tonbury. The father of this family died in January, 
 1867. 
 
 William T. Dunham, the subject of this sketch, 
 received an ordinary education, and as he grew to 
 manhood he engaged in farming. With his hard- 
 earned savings he made a part payment on Chester 
 McKee's interest in the "McKee Brothers farm," 
 Chester McKee being his first wife's uncle, and 
 four years later he paid with his savings the bal- 
 ance of this farm debt. 
 
 Mr. Dunham married Harriet McKee, a native 
 of Glastonbury, and a daughter of Eli McKee. She 
 passed away Aug. 23, 1863, and Mr. Dunham sub- 
 sequently wedded Eliza McKee, sister of his first 
 wife, but she survived only until August, 1869. 
 He then married Eleanor Loveland, who was left an 
 orphan when an infant. Mrs. Eleanor Dunham 
 also died, and for his fourth wife Mr. Dunham 
 wedded Eliza J. Robinson, a native of Ireland, who 
 died Sept. 24, 1898. Children were born only to the 
 third union (that to Eleanor Loveland), which was 
 graced with three, as follows : Charles, born June 
 15, 1872, died Aug. 25, 1872; William R., born May 
 7, 1873, in Glastonbury, is now managing the home 
 farm for his father, and is single; Kate L., born 
 April 13, 1876, was married Oct. 12, 1898, to 
 George H. Carrier, a farmer of Glastonbury, and 
 now living there. 
 
 Mr. Dunham has been a lifelong Democrat, and 
 has been chosen to fill several town offices, but has 
 always refused to qualify; he has, however, served 
 on the Democratic town committee. He is entirely 
 self-made from a business standpoint, was a hard- 
 worker in his earlier days, and is now enjoying the 
 fruit of his early industry. He has an .excellent 
 memory, is a good conversationalist, and had he had 
 the advantages of any early education, he would cer- 
 tainly be prominent in a higher walk of life. As 
 it is, he is one of the most substantial and most 
 highly-respected men of the town. 
 
 FRED M. HILLS, a thrifty and progressive 
 young farmer of East Hartford, Conn., was born 
 March 2, 1869, in the second house north of his 
 present residence, a son of James and Caroline 
 (Montague) Llills. He is of the seventh genera- 
 tion desc'ended from William Hills, who emigrated 
 from England in 1630, and was one of Rev. Thomas 
 Hooker's party, who came overland from Boston in 
 1634-35 to settle in 'Hartford. Going back to the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 727 
 
 great-graiulfalher of our sul)jcct, llic genealogy 
 of the family is traced as follows to the the present 
 time: 
 
 Ashel Hills, the great-grandfather, born May 5, 
 1743, married Alehitabel House, who was born Aug. 
 0, 1748, and died Jan. 28, 1828; the marriage took 
 place Oct. 8, 1766, and the issue was fourteen chil- 
 dren: Sarah, born Jul)- lO, 1767; Ashbel, born Feb. 
 27, 1769, died Sept. 20, 1818; Isaac, born JNlarch 28, 
 1771 ; Eunice, born June 18, 1773; Esther, born July 
 9. 1775. tlied Oct. 28, 1776; Wait, born Sept. 16, 
 1777; Eunice, born Sept. 22, 1779, died Nov. 24, 
 1816; James (grandfather of our subject), born 
 Nov. 16, 1781 ; Dorcas, born July 12, 1784, died 
 June 14, 1786; Chester, born Nov. 23, 1787, died 
 April 28, 1794; Dorcas, born Jan. 24, 1790, died Dec. 
 15, 1790; Betsey, born July 27, 1792; Fanny 
 (daughter of Isaac Hills), born Dec. 25, 1793, and 
 Jsaac, born Nov. 2, 1794, died Feb. 18, 1795. 
 
 James Hills, whose birth date is given above, 
 married Nov. 23, 1803, Abigail Brewer, who was 
 born May 10, 1784, in East Hartford. Tjiey be- 
 came the parents of the following named children : 
 Nancy S., born Sept. 4, 1805, died June 6, 1891 ; 
 Emily, born Jan. 29, 1808, died Aug. 25, 1881 ; 
 James, born July 11, 1810, died Oct. 9, 1862; Delia, 
 born May 5, 1813; James (father of our subject), 
 born July 21, 1815, died Feb. 8, i8y8; Abigail J., 
 born Nov. 18, 1817, died Jan. 14, 1873; Lucy A., 
 born July 19, 1822, died June 10, 1897; Hester, 
 born May 16, 1824; and Laura M., born July 19, 
 1826, died May 10, 1899. 
 
 James Hills, father of our subject, was born in 
 a house that stood on the corner of Forbes street and 
 Hillstown road, there being at that time (1815) onl_v 
 two or three families in the neighborhood that did 
 not bear the name of Hills. For a short time he at- 
 tended a school house that stood across the brook 
 from the farm now occupied by George Ruoff, and 
 then went to Flartford, where he was employed by 
 a shoe firm for awhile ; on his return to his place of 
 birth he engaged in farming. Farmers in those 
 days grew fla.x, raised sheep, etc., but very few acres 
 were planted in tobacco. In 1834 Mr. Hills removed 
 to a place near the present home of his son, Fred 
 M., where he followed farming until his death. 
 
 The first marriage of James Hills took place June 
 10, 1841, to Ftarriet M. Wells, who was born May 
 31, 1816, in the house south of the one in which the 
 death of Mr. Hills occurred. To this union one 
 child, Edward W., was born April 4, 1842. This 
 son married Lois Locke, a native of Chicago, 111., 
 in which city his death took place Dec. 11, 1892. 
 Mrs. Harriet M. Hills died Aug. 22, 1843, and Air. 
 Hills, on Dec. 16, 1845, wedded Sarah Barker, a 
 native of New York .City. By this union there 
 were four children: G. Wiley, born Dec. 15, 1847, 
 died April 29, 1899; James Howard, born July 14, 
 1849, died April i, 1882; Ruez H., born Nov. 14, 
 1851, who married Fannie Myers, March 12, 1874, 
 and is now captain of the steamer "Middletown," 
 
 plying between Hartford and New York City; and 
 Nellie, born Sept. 28, 1854, died Jan. 9, 1879. 
 
 Mrs. Sarah (Barker) Hills passed away June 
 7, i860, and Mr. Hills afterward married, Jan. 1, 
 1862, Caroline Montague, of Williston, Vt. This 
 marriage was blessed with three children : Herbert 
 C, born Oct. 31, 1862, married Nellie Grifnn, and re- 
 ides in Ilockanum; Mary L., born Dec. 29, i866, is 
 married to Joseph Neary, and she is living in 
 Bridgeport ; and Fred M., the youngest, is the sub- 
 ject of this sketch. Mrs. Caroline (Montague; 
 Hills was called to rest Dec. 7, 1876, and her mortal 
 remains lie interred at Ilockanum. 
 
 Hon. James Hills was an industrious and enter- 
 prising farmer, was very prominent in his coni- 
 nuuiity, and was e.xtremcly popular with the Repub- 
 lican party, by which he was elected to the State 
 Legislature in 1864, when that body met at New 
 Haven. He was noted for kind-heartedness and 
 his spirit of charity, and as a worker was indefati- 
 gable. Even in the latter part of his life, while an 
 intense sufferer from cancer, he never relaxed his 
 labors, but tenaciously adhered to the full perform- 
 ance of his duties. He died, as has been mentioned, 
 I'^cb. 8, 1898, mourned by all who knew him, and 
 truly honored by a host of unfeigned friends. His 
 remains were interred in Ilockanum, to rest beside 
 those of his wives, who had preceded him to the 
 grave. 
 
 Fred ]\I. Hills, whose name stands at the open- 
 ing of this article, was primarily educated in the 
 district school under charge of a Mrs. Hawkins; he 
 next attended the Hartford Public High School, and 
 later Hanum's Business College. For a short time 
 after his graduation from the latter he was employed 
 in Hartford, but as his supervision of affairs at liome 
 was needed he returned to the farm and assumed 
 charge. On Nov. 5, 1891, he married Miss Ruby 
 Hurlburt, a daughter of Henry and Lucy M. 
 (Brewer) Hurlburt, natives of East Hartford. 
 Henry Hurlburt was called from earth Dec. 2, 
 1873, and the Hurlburt farm is now managed by his 
 widow, who is a sister of Hoadley C. Brewer, a biog- 
 raphy of whom will be found elsewhere. To Mr. 
 and ^Nlrs. Hills no children have been bom. Mrs. 
 Hills is of a cheerful disposition, and willingly aids 
 her husband in all his undertakings, proving in every 
 way a valuable helpmate. 
 
 In politics Mr. Flills is a Democrat so far as the 
 affairs of the nation at large are concerned, but 
 in local matters he is liberal, or independent. He 
 has never sought public office, being contented with 
 the rewards resulting from the intelligent manage- 
 ment of his farm. Fraternally he is a member of 
 Orient Lodge, No. 62, F. & A. M.. and in religion he 
 is a Congregationalist, and with his wife attends the 
 South Church, to the support of which he liberally 
 contributes. 
 
 In 1898 Mr. Flills erected his present fine modern 
 dwelling on Main street, in the construction of 
 which he personally assisted. When he first as- 
 
&6MMEM0k'ATWB, ''&(MRAPmC^'D vRM'CORni 
 
 'sumed the management o^ his farm ''it was slightly 
 incumbered ;#ith debt, hni his. shrewd- management 
 .-and. industry soon released it frofn'all obligations, 
 ■and lie is now among 'the solid men of East Hartr 
 ford. He is strictly temperate and moral in his 
 -habits, and no residents' of the town are more re- 
 •spected than Mr. and Mrs. Fred M. Hills. 
 
 ' CALEB BOWERS .BAILEY, a well-known 
 and highly esteemed citizen 'of East Berliii^'Jwai 
 born in Cromwell (then Middletown), Middlesex 
 county, Jan. lO; 1,837-, .and is a descendant of John 
 Bailey, who was a constable in Hartford in 1656: 
 His grandfather, Caleb Bailey, was bora in Had- 
 dam; Comi., in 1 761, arid was considered One of 
 the best farmers of Middlesex county dn his 'day.- 
 At the age of fifteen he became a .soldier in tM 
 Revolutionary war, and was taken ' prisoner by the 
 British, being confined on the old Jersey prison-ship 
 for eleven months and fifteen days. ' Returning 
 home at the close of the war, dressed in a British 
 uniform, he, unrecognized, was refused admittance 
 to his father's house. Aftef.i his 'identity became 
 known, through the intercession of a cousin, he re- 
 ceived the hearty welcome ■ which -was due him: 
 He married Elizabeth Tuel, and to them were bOrn 
 three children. Caleb Bailey died at the age 'of 
 sixty-seven years, his wife oil July 3, 1859, at the 
 age of eighty-nine, and both were laid to rest in 
 Cromwell cemetery. 
 
 ' Alfred Hale Bailey, the father of our subject, 
 was boirn in Middletown July, 1807, and later 
 moved to Cromwell, where; during the remainder 
 of his life, he operated .a small farm. He died 
 Aug. 22, i860, after a life full of hardship and 
 toil. In political i sentiment he was a Whig. ■ In 
 1827 he married Loretta, the only daughter of 
 Shadrach and Eunice Robinson, of Cromwell. Mr. 
 Robinson, who was a sea captain in early life, was 
 killed in the Mexican war. To Mr. and Mrs. Bailey 
 were born four children: Elizabeth Eunice^ wife 
 of Justice R. Stevens, of Rocky Hill ; -Lester ,Rob*- 
 ■inson, who married Mary Ej Flagg, of New- Brit^ 
 ain, where be now resides; Caileb B., our 'subject; 
 and' Loretta Almira, wife of Henry Bulkeley, of 
 Cromwell, formerly Mrs. L. Southwick. 
 \ Our subject obtained his education in the public 
 schools of Cromwell, which he left at the age of 
 sixteen to enter the employ of Warner & . Noble, 
 manufacturers' of hammers. The next year he Idft 
 :their employ to accept a position as clerk in the 
 ifancy and variety store of ]'. C. Smith, of Middle- 
 ■town, where he remained until 1856. During a 
 ipart of the hard times of 1857-58 he was employed 
 at Warner &i Noble's. He spent two years in the 
 silver plate factory, of Manning & Sons in Crom- 
 well, and in' tile fall .of ;i86i- entered the Roys & 
 Wilcox Co.'s factory of East Berlin. For a time 
 te Iwas " ernployed in ■ the manufact.ure of cavalry 
 "snaps'," and afterward,, for a, number of years, 
 Jield a contract in the breast drill department', .'eiii- 
 
 "ploying two-'O'r three men; 'A't'. 'the present, ,in; con- 
 Jnection 'With--RufUS'W'."Morfee,' he is dnnployed' by 
 the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., and has now been 
 -connected with the 'firm, for almost forty iyears, as 
 One of its most trusted arid competent employe,s. 
 Mr. Bailey was married, April 7, 1869, tq Misd 
 Martha Rhoda Wooster, a daughte^r of Jesse an4 
 -Rhoda- ( Brockett) ; Wooster, and a -relative of Gem 
 Wooster, who was killed at -Danbnry in 1777.,' B^y 
 this, union/two children have beien born : ( i') :Wa1^ 
 ter Wooster, born April, ,6, 1871, in Cromw,ell, is 
 •now- connected wi.th' Westcott Bros., formerly bpQk^ 
 keeper and clerk' at E. W. Bowers', hardware store. 
 •He~' married, 'June 1. 21,' 1894, Grace I^.' Jones, of 
 Elkins, -N- 'H.,-and Jthey have- orie ' cltjld, ; Robert 
 Walter-,' bort^iSept.'" i\,: 1895. '1(2) : Norris- Caleb, 
 born Aug^9„' 187,6, who!, was graduated from.Wes- 
 k-yan: University, ' Middletown, in i'899, -with the 
 degree of, B. S.. , , 
 
 : Politically Mr. Bailey is an ardent Republican, 
 but he has never' sohght or desired -office; , He takes 
 a deep and Commendable interest' -ifi educational afJ 
 fairs', 'and has been, an efficient iniember of ,tbe: school 
 board .in botji ! Cromwell and East Berlin. Fra^ 
 ternally' he. is a 'member of ' Washington Lodge; 
 No. 81,. F; ' &j A. '.M.y'of. Cromwell, and. Giddings 
 Chapter, iNiO'. 125,, R. A. M., . in, both of which 
 branches' he has - filled offices^ ; is also ,a : member of 
 New Britain Council, Noi 8; Stj -;0. ,^. A. M., .of 
 New Britain, and bothi he and hisi wife belong td 
 Meriden Chapter, No. .8,) O. ;E. -S., of Meridenj 
 and to the Baptist Church of .Cromwell. Wher- 
 ever known they are held in high regard, and 
 those who know them best are numbered among 
 their warmest friends. 
 
 MILFORD CATLIN THOMPSON, one of the 
 best known contractors and builders in Bristol, 
 was born in Windham, Conn., Sept. 6y 1839, and has 
 been doing business in Bristol since 1888. 
 
 Horace Thompson, Jr., father- of Milford Gi 
 was born in Mansfield, Conn., Match 31, 1812, was 
 a son of Horace and Sophia (Dunham) Thomp- 
 son, and was by tra.de a carpenter. Horace Thomp- 
 son, Sr., also a native of Mansfield, was likewise a 
 carpenter and contractor, was the father of ten chil- 
 dren, and died about 1863, at the age of seventy- 
 six years. Horace, Jr., worked, at his trade in 
 Andover, Coventry, Mansfield, and Columbia, part 
 ■of the time as , a; .journeyman. In politics he was a 
 Democrat, and in religion a Baptist,, but as to the 
 former he cared but little. He first married, in 1837, 
 Caroline P. Thompson, a native of Willimantic, 
 and to this marriage came the following children : 
 Milford C, the subject of these- lines ; iCoUins Vi, 
 born Aug. 2, 1841, served with the Sixteei^h C. V. 
 L, in the Civil war, and is now, living in the West; 
 Rienzi jW., born July 5, 1843, is also a resident of 
 the West; Alfred C. and Albert C. (twins) were 
 born Sept. 2, 1844, the former of whom is living in 
 Glastonbury, the latter in Providence. The mother 
 
J, ^ 
 
 ^^-^, 
 
•COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 •729 
 
 of tlicsc chiklron died April 9, 1S63, and her re- 
 mains were inlerrctl in Williniantic. The second 
 marriage of Horace Thompson, Jr., was with Sarah 
 Grover, a widow who lives in Wcthersfield with her 
 son -Myron Thompson, who was born in October, 
 4876. The father, Horace Thompson, Jr., died 
 Aug. 19, 1883 (the same day that i'resident Gar- 
 field expired), and his remains are interred in East 
 Hartford. 
 
 Milford C. Thompson was but a year old when 
 his parents 'removed from WincUiam to Columbia, 
 and at the latter place he attended school until seven- 
 teen years old. iNIeanwhde he had learned the car- 
 penter's trade, under his father, and after quitting 
 school went to the Willimantic Linen Co. ; in the 
 spring commenced work as a carpenter for the same 
 company, and so continued for three years. After an- 
 other year at the same work for others, he went to 
 East Hartford and followed his trade for three 
 years in the employ of Senator Patrick J. Gavin, a 
 contractor ; during the following three years he 
 worked in the car shop of the Hartford, Providence 
 & Fishkill Railroad Company at Hartford, and built 
 the first two smoking cars ever seen on its road, 
 tie next started in the contracting line on his own 
 account in East Plartford, but in 1875 abandoned 
 it because of ill health, and opened a grocery store 
 on Main street. A year later, however, he removed 
 to Providence, where for two years he conducted 
 a meat market, and then went to Warehouse Point, 
 again engaging in contracting. There he built a 
 tobacco warehouse, 200x30 feet, for William Bar- 
 ber, built several other large ones in East Hartford, 
 and also many of the finer residences in the latter 
 town. In August, 1888, he removed from \\'are- 
 house Point to Bristol, and here erected seventy- 
 five dwellings, including those of Dr. Carrington, 
 ]\Ir. Andrews and Mr. Kimberly, and also built the 
 private sanitarium on Fall IMountain. Besides his 
 own fine home he owns six houses, which he rents. 
 
 In April, 1861, Mr. Thompson enlisted in Com- 
 l^any B, Fiftli C. V. I., but after having manifested 
 this patriotic desire to serve his country in its 
 hour of peril was never mustered into the service, 
 although he waited in Hartford several months with 
 the hope that his purpose would be consummated. 
 
 Mr. Thompson is a member of Franklin Lodge, 
 No. 56, F. & A. M., in which he has filled the office 
 of senior deacon; he is also affiliated with the Im- 
 proved Order of Red Men, in which he is a past 
 sachem and is the present prophet of his lodge ; he 
 and his wife were members of the Order of Good 
 Templars for over thirty-five years, at the conclu- 
 sion of which period their lodge sus[)ended. In 
 politics ^Ir. Thompson is an ardent Democrat, and 
 at Warehouse Point served as constable three years ; 
 he also made the race for representative in East 
 Hartford, a town which usually gives a Republican 
 majority of seventy-five, but was defeated by only 
 twelve votes: in 1898 he ran for the same office in 
 Bristol, which is also a strong Republican town, and 
 
 was again defeated by a meager majority — these 
 facts, alone, siiowing that he is a very popular man 
 with memljers of both parlies or, rather, with the 
 public at large. 
 
 ^[r. Thompson was very happily married Sept. 
 8, 1861, to Miss Emily Aulctta Jacobs, daughter of 
 Lucius Brown Jacobs and Caroline \\ alton Jacobsj 
 of Mansfield. This marriage has been blessed with 
 five children : Lillian Caroline, who was born OcL 
 6, iS(j2, and died Aug. 13, 1880; Nettie Isabelle, 
 born Jan. 16, 1864, is the wife of Thomas 11. Nun- 
 son, a cigarmaker at Soby's store in Hartford, but 
 residing in Warehouse Point, and is the mother of 
 two children, Lillian Isabelle, born Oct. 6, i886i 
 and Howard Thomas, born Nov. 23, 1889; Minnie 
 Adella, born Jan. 13, 1868, is the wife of Rev. 
 Samuel J. Watson of -Mill Bank, S. Dak., and is 
 the mother of two children, Walter Thompson, 
 born June 23, 1895, and Ruth Lucia, born March 
 24, 1897; Ida ]\Iay, born July 2, 1870, is married 
 to Olin S. Rockwell, a machinist at Warehouse 
 Point, and is the mother of four children, Maud, 
 Mildred, Leon and George Washington; Samuel 
 Tilden, born Jan. 2, 1876, was married in June, 
 1900, and is a clerk in the post office., Mr. Thomp- 
 son and family are members of the Prospect Methor 
 dist Episcopal Church, and at Warehouse Point Mr^ 
 Thompson was a trustee of a church of the same 
 denomination. In the Prospect Church Mrs. 
 Thompson is a member of the Ladies Aid Society, 
 and was formerly a member of the Foreign Mis- 
 sionary Society. 
 
 It ma)' here be mentioned as somewhat unusual, 
 
 that Milford C. Thompson's maternal grandfather, 
 
 I William Thompson, served in the Revolutionary 
 
 i war, was in nine battles, was wounded nine times, 
 
 and died at the patriarchal age of loi years, when 
 
 our subject was about two years old. 
 
 J\lrs. jNlilford C. Thompson's maternal grand- 
 father, Joseph ^\■alton, was a soldier in the war of 
 1812. 
 
 HENRY BIGELOW GLEASON, a well-known 
 citizen of Southington, who has for many years 
 been an honored and trusted employe of the Peck, 
 Stow & Wilcox Co., is a native of Plartford county, 
 born in Manchester May 11, 1833. 
 
 Our subject's parents, Harvey and Sarah (Col- 
 burn) Gleason, were natives of East Hartford. The 
 paternal grandfather, Moses Gleason, who is sup- 
 posed to have been of Scotch-Irish descent, located 
 in Windsor in the eighteenth century, and for some 
 time taught school in East Hartford. He married 
 a Miss Marsh, and had a family of twelve children: 
 Stephen, George, Harvey, Chauncey, Hiram, Anson, 
 Triphena, Hannah (^Irs. Bliss), Alma (wife of 
 Martin H. Keeney), Polly, Marcia (Mrs. Mead), 
 and Harvey. The father of our subject, who was a 
 carpenter and farmer by occupation, spent most of 
 his life in Manchester, and there died. His chil- 
 dren were Jane, wife of Jacob Beam ; Charlotte P., 
 
780 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 wife of John Spencer ; Alma, wife of John Coughey ; 
 Hiram; Henry B.; Roy A.; and Julia, wife of Dr. 
 John M. Clark. The maternal grandparents of our 
 subject became pioneers of the Western Reserve, 
 in Ohio. 
 
 Henry B. Gleason grew to manhood in Man- 
 chester, and was provided with a fair common- 
 school education. In 1853 he located in Southing- 
 ton and entered the shop of the Peck-Smith Co., 
 now the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., where he learned 
 the machinist's trade, and with the exception of the 
 three years spent in the army, during the Civil war, 
 he has been in the employ of that company up to 
 the present time. In August, 1862, he enlisted in 
 Company E, 20th Conn. V. I., becoming corporal, 
 and participated in most of the battles of his regi- 
 ment, being wounded in the engagement at Chan- 
 cellorsville. He marched with Sherman as far as 
 Atlanta, Ga. ; was under Gen. Thomas in the battle 
 of Nashville, Tenn. ; and was honorably discharged 
 with his company in June, 1865. He is now an 
 honored member of Trumbull Post, No. 16, G. A. 
 R., and is a stanch supporter of the Republican 
 party and its principles. 
 
 On Jan. 27, 1859, Mr. Gleason married Miss 
 Martha A. Lewis, a daughter of Henry and Eliza- 
 beth (Root) Lewis, of Southington, and to them 
 have been born three children: Lewis Harvey, 
 who married Delia V. Morway ; Charles P. ; and 
 Lizzie C, wife of Ambrose Treganowan. 
 
 Mrs. Gleason is descended from -many of the 
 oldest and most highly respected families of South- 
 ington. Her father, Henry Lewis, was born Dec. 
 I, 1806, and was twice married, his first wife being 
 Elizabeth, daughter of Nathaniel and Sally (Dun- 
 ham) Root, his second being Nabby Clarinda,, 
 daughter of John and Esther (Tinker) Carter. He 
 died Nov. 29, 1849. His father, Selah Lewis, was 
 born in Southington Sept. 2, 1764, and was married 
 Jan. I, 1792, to Mary Carter, daughter of Abel and 
 Rhoda (Lewis) Carter. He was a merchant and 
 large landholder, living in the northern part of 
 Southington, where he died Sept. 12, 1827. His 
 father, Job Lewis, was born April 20, 1731, and was 
 married Nov. 13, 1755, to Hannah, daughter of 
 Rev. Jeremiah and Hannah (Burnham) Curtiss, 
 of Southington. He was a tanner and shoemaker 
 by trade, and also lived in the northern part of 
 Southington, where he died Dec. 5, 1813. He was 
 a son of Nathan Lewis, who was born Jan. 23, 
 1707, and was married July 28, 1730, to Mary 
 Gridley, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Humphrey) 
 Gridley. His home was in the Marion District of 
 Southington, and there he died Sept. 7, 1799. He 
 was a son of Samuel and Elizabeth Lewis. Sam- 
 uel Lewis, who held the military rank of sergeant, 
 was born Aug. 18, 1648, and died Nov. 28, 1752. 
 His father, William Lewis, a native of England, was 
 a resident of Farmington, Hartford Co., Conn., in 
 1644, and was the first recorder of the town after 
 its incorporation in 1645. He died Aug. 18, 1690. 
 
 He was a son of William and Eelix Lewis, who came 
 from England in the ship "Lion," landing in Bos- 
 ton Sept. 16, 1632, and the father was admitted as 
 a freeman in November of that year. He joined 
 the Braintree company, which in August, 1633, lo- 
 cated in Newtown (Cambridge) ; came to Hartford 
 with a company in 1636; and in 1659 became one of 
 the founders of Hadley, Mass., which town he rep- 
 resented in the General Court in 1662. He resided 
 in Northampton, Mass., in 1664, and prior to No- 
 vember, 1677, removed to Farmington, Conn., where 
 he died Aug. 2, 1683. 
 
 EDMUND DONALD ROBERTS. For the 
 past thirty-eight years the subject of this sketch 
 has been prominently identified with the official life 
 of Hartford. In point of service he is the oldest 
 sealer of weights and measures in the United States. 
 Mr. Roberts is of Scottish extraction. His grand- 
 father, John Roberts, was a native of Scotland, and 
 came to this country when young, lived in Hartford, 
 and attained the good old age of eighty-three years, 
 his wife surviving to the age of seventy-three. 
 
 Thomas Roberts, father of our subject, was born 
 Dec. 22, 1794. He lived for a short time in the 
 South, but was during the greater part of his life 
 a resident of Hartford. He was a contractor and 
 builder, and one of the earliest of that trade in 
 Hartford. Later he entered the mercantile busi- 
 ness at No. 28;^ State street, the site of the 
 Courant building, and conducted his store for 
 many years, finally disposing of the business to his 
 youngest son, the subject of this sketch. Thomas 
 Roberts was a man of commanding presence, six 
 feet in height. He was prosperous in business 
 affairs,- and was possessed of unusual intelligence 
 and learning, having added to the good education 
 he received in his youth, a vast store of information 
 through close observation and careful reading. 
 Somewhat austere in manner, he possessed great 
 force of character, which impressed itself upon his 
 associates. He was an early councilman of the 
 city, his first year in service being in 1831, and he 
 afterward served in 1857, 1858, and 1863 to 1865. 
 He was often importuned to accept office. Pos- 
 sessing an inclination for military affairs, he became 
 a member of the ist Connecticut Regiment, rising 
 from the ranks to the colonelcy of the regiment. 
 He was an officer of the regiment when Gen. La- 
 Fayette visited Hartford in 1824, and took a prom- 
 inent part in the reception, and in 183 1 was elected 
 colonel, serving three years. He was a close friend 
 of Hon. Isaac W. Stewart, Hon. James Dixon, and 
 Hon. Isaac Toucey. In religious thoughts he was 
 broad and liberal, and was a member of the Univers- 
 alist Church. With four others, in 1843, he held 
 the office of sealer of weights and measures, and 
 from him this business was transferred to his son 
 Edmund D. 
 
 For his first wife Thomas Roberts married iMiss 
 Sophia Speare, by whom he had four children ; 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 781 
 
 John T., Sophia E., George C, and William Speare. 
 For ills second wife he married Nancy Goodman, 
 by whom he had s'even children : Henry A., who 
 removed to Detroit, ^lich., and there died in 1898; 
 Charles F., who was killed at the battle of Gettys- 
 burg, and was bnried at home ; Edmund D., our sub- 
 ject; and four that died in infancy. The father died 
 May II, 1875, and the mother July 11, 1881. 
 
 Edmund D. Roberts was born in Hartford Feb. 
 3, 1838, was cthicated in the public schools of that 
 city, and possessing a taste for business entered a 
 grocery store' as clerk. Vonr years later he became 
 a stutlent at the commercial school of Nicholas Har- 
 ris, where many of the early bookkeepers of Hart- 
 ford received their business education. He was 
 also clerk in the postoffice at the conmiencement of 
 the Civil war, and was there three years. He then 
 entered the store of his father as bookkeeper, and 
 
 * from him learned the details of the office of sealer 
 ! of weights and measures. In 1865 he bought out 
 ; his father's business, and in 1870 removed it to 
 
 North Main street, where he remained in business 
 until 1876. In that year he devoted his entire at- 
 tention to the office of sealer of weights and meas- 
 ures, which he has ever since filled with credit to 
 himself and satisfaction to the city. In 1883 the 
 office of inspector of milk (of which he was the 
 
 ; originator) was created ;.nd added to it. Mr. Rob- 
 
 ' erts has thoroughly organized the office, which is 
 now one of the best in the country, one well and 
 widely known for the efficiency of its incumbent. 
 For five years — 1867 to 1871 — he was a member 
 of the city council from the old Sixth ward. He 
 is prominent in the fraternal orders, and has held 
 
 : the collectorship in the Royal Arcanum, Knights 
 of Honor, and National Provident Union. 
 
 Mr. Roberts married for his first wife Sarah M. 
 Daniels. By his second wife, Mary Judd Eddy, 
 who was an artist and an authoress of ability, he had 
 
 : two children : E. Donald is a designer and artist of 
 distinguished ability, residing at Detroit, Mich., 
 whose work has been purchased for the United 
 States National JMuseum at W'ashington, D. C. ; he 
 married *\nna M. Duncan, and has two children, 
 Edmund D. and Helen Louise. Jessie L. married 
 James H. Hubbard, of Hartford, and has one daugh- 
 ter, Ruth Mary. By his third wife, Louise B. 
 Sedgwick, now deceased, Mr. Roberts had no 
 children. 
 
 WILLIAM HILDITCH. Honored and re- 
 spected by all, there is no man in Thompsonville 
 who occupies a more enviable position than Mr. 
 Hilditch in mercantile and financial circles, not 
 alone on account of the success that he has achieved, 
 
 • but also on account of the honorable, straightfor- 
 ward business policy he has ever followed. 
 
 Mr. Ililditch was born in Ballyclare, County 
 Antrim, Ireland, in February, 1823, a son of Robert 
 and I\Iary (Plouston) Hilditch, who came to Amer- 
 ica about 1850, locating in Thompsonville, Conn., 
 
 where they resided until their deaths. The father 
 was a hosier by trade and operated a hose factory 
 of his own until 1884, when lie retired from business 
 on account of an accident, being compelled to use 
 crutches for ten years. He died in 1894, at the 
 advanced age of ninety-five years. His children 
 were William, our subject; Hugh, deceased; Mary 
 Ann, wife of Isaiah Steele; and Eliza Jane, wife 
 of Robert Ash. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared in his 
 native town, learneil the hosier's trade with his 
 father, and came to the United States in 1848, first 
 locating in New York City, where he followed his 
 trade for a year and a half. In November, 1849, 
 he came to Thompsonville, and for nine years was 
 foreman of a hose mill and factory for shirts and 
 drawers, serving the company in all nineteen years. 
 In 1867 he embarked in the liquor lousiness, which 
 he carried on for about nine years in the building 
 he now occupies, and then became a dealer in cloth- 
 ing, men's furnishings, boots and shoes, in which 
 trade he has since successfully continued. He is 
 also a stockholder in the Enfield Electric Light & 
 Power Co., and the Thompsonville & Suffield Bridge 
 Company. 
 
 On Sept. 20, 1852, Mr. Hilditch married Miss 
 Isabella, a daughter of Charles Harrison, of Thomp- 
 sonville, formerly of Coleraine, Ireland, and to this 
 union seven children have been born : Robert ; 
 William ; Jane, wife of Matthew Creelman ; Hugh, 
 deceased ; Charlie ; Mary ; and David. The family 
 arc active members of the United Presbyterian 
 Church, in which Mr. Hilditch has served as treas- 
 urer for many years. Politically he is a supporter 
 of the Republican party and its principles. His 
 aim in life has always been to attain the best, and 
 his success in the result of honest persistent eft'ort in 
 the line of honorable and manly dealing. He is 
 to-day one of the most substantial and wealthy citi- 
 zens of Thompsonville. 
 
 ALBERT TYLER CONE is a skillful and 
 energetic farmer of West Hartford, where almost 
 his entire life has been passed. 
 
 Mr. Cone was born in that town Sept. 6, 1842, 
 and is a son of Robert G. H. Cone, a native of 
 East Haddam, Conn., who was only fourteen years 
 of age when his father was killed. Being the eldest 
 son. he became the mainstay of his widowed mother 
 and the seven younger children, and in early life 
 he engaged in teaching in the school house on New 
 Britain avenue, Hartford. At Haddam, Conn., he 
 was united in marriage with Miss Harriet Tyler, 
 daughter of David Tyler. For a time he made his 
 home in East Haddam ; later spent two years in 
 Hartford, and then bought a farm in \^'est Hart- 
 ford, where he continued to reside until called from 
 this life, in April, 1889, at the age of seventy-nine 
 \ears. He always took great interest in the school 
 matters of his town, and most creditably filled the 
 office of selectman of Hartford. In religious faith 
 
732 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he was an Episcopalian. His wife is still living, and 
 now resides in the house at Haddam where she was 
 born. They were the parents of eight children: 
 Harriet Isabel, now the widow of Richard Francis, 
 of Haddam; Robert H., a resident of West Hart- 
 ford ; Jane Gertrude, widow of Frank Brown, and a 
 resident of New Haven, Conn. ; Edward P., who was 
 a member of the 5th Conn. V. I., during the Civil 
 war, and died from wounds received in battle ; Al- 
 bert T., our subject; Ellen Agnes and Mary Ida, 
 both deceased; and Annie Edith, wife of Charles 
 Stewart, of Haddam. 
 
 During his boyhood Albert T. Cone attended the 
 public schools of West Hartford, and at the age 
 of sixteen began his business career as clerk in the 
 clothing store of Beardsley & Church, on Asylum 
 street, Hartford, where he was employed for about 
 three years, at the end of that time being obliged 
 to give up the business on account of ill health. 
 From 1868 until December, 1897, he negaged in sell- 
 ing milk, running wagons in Hartford, and at the 
 same time he followed farming, having resided upon 
 his present place for the past twenty-two years. 
 He is a wide-awake and enterprising business man, 
 of known reliabilit}', and generally carries forward 
 to successful completion whatever he undertakes. 
 
 In West Hartford Mr. Cone was married Jan. 
 3, 1881, to Miss Sophia Millard, a daughter of John 
 E. Millard, and to them have been born two children : 
 Ellen M. and Mabel A. The family are members 
 of the Baptist Church of West Hartford, and are 
 widely and favorably known. 
 
 MARVIN LEWIS GAYLORD, proprietor of 
 one of the neatest and most prosperous meat mark- 
 ets in Bristol, was born in Seneca Falls, N. Y., 
 April 27, 1847. ' He is of Pilgrim stock , as 
 he traces his descent from William Gaylord, a 
 Huguenot, who was driven from France on ac- 
 count of his religious views- 
 
 (I) William Ga^dord, the founder of this family, 
 in America was born supposedly in Exeter, Devon- 
 shire, England, of good family - and good estate. 
 He came across the water in the spring of 1630, in 
 company with his brother John, on the good ship 
 "Mary and John," landing at Nantucket, Mass., 
 May 30, and was made a freeman the November 
 following. He had been chosen a deacon at Ply- 
 mouth, Devonshire, England, in March, 1630, when 
 the church was organized under Rev. John Maver- 
 ick and Rev. John Wareham, who also came over 
 in the "Mary and John," the entire company set- 
 tling at Dorchester. Deacon William Gaylord's 
 land grant was recorded in 1633, and he was the 
 signer of some of the earliest land grants in Dor- 
 chester, as he was early elected a selectman, and 
 was a representative to the General Court in 1635- 
 36-38, and was, in fact, a representative in the same 
 dugust body nearly forty sessions, or until 1664, 
 being more honored in this respect than any of his 
 fellow townsmen. The name of his wife is not on 
 
 record, and it is surmised that she died before his 
 departure from England, as his children were all 
 born in that country^ and were' nearly of adult agd 
 on his arrival in America. These children were 
 named Elizabeth (who married Richard Birge Oct. 
 5, 1641), William, Samuel, Walter and John. The 
 father djed in Windsor, Conn., July 20, 1673; but 
 whether his brother John, w^io was a resident of 
 Dorchester in 1632, and was one of the two to meet 
 the Court of Assistants to settle the system of repg 
 resentation, died here or returned to England is 
 unknown. 
 
 (II) Walter Gaylord, who was born in Engri 
 land about 1622, came with his father, William Gay-s 
 lord, and settled in Windsor, Conn. He first mar^ 
 ried Mary Stebbins, daughter of Deacon Edward 
 Stebbins, of Hartford, April 22, 1648. She died 
 June 29, 1657, having borne her husband five chil- 
 dren : Joseph, May 13, 1649; Mary, March 19, 1651'; 
 Joanna, Feb. 5, 1653 (married John Porter) ; Sam- 
 uel Benjamin, April 12, 1655; ^-^d Isaac, June 2i{ 
 1657. The second marriage of Walter Gaylord, oii 
 March 22, 1658, was to Sarah Rockwell, daughter 
 of William Rockwell, and to this union were born 
 two children: Eliezer, March 7, 1662; and Sarah, 
 April 13, 1665 (Mrs. William Phelps). 
 
 (HI) Joseph Gaylord, eldest son of Walter^ 
 early settled at Farmington, part of which afterward 
 became the town of Waterbury, but late in lifej 
 about 1708, removed to Durham, where his sons; 
 Joseph and John, had already located, and there 
 died about 1742. Tohis marriage with Sarah Stanley^ 
 July ,14, 1670, were born the following named 
 children, the dates of birth of four only being on 
 record: Sarah, born in 1671, who married Thomas 
 Judd; Joseph, born April 22, 1673; John, born 
 Aug. 21, 1677; William, in 1680; Benjamin; Eliza- 
 beth; Mary; Abigail, who was married to James 
 Williams ; Joanna, married to Robert Royce ; Ruth, 
 married to Stephen Hickox. 
 
 (IV) Joeph Gaylord, second child of Joseph and 
 Sarah (Stanley) Gaylord, married Mary Hickox 
 in 1699, and of the children born to him we have 
 the following record: Timothy, born Nov. 29, 1706, 
 married Prudence Roys April 25, 1733; Samuel, 
 born July 5, 1709, married Thankful Munson Aug.. 
 19, 1729; Edward married Mahilaba Brooks Aug; 
 16, 1733; Benjamin married Jerusha Friesbie Jan. 
 18, 1729; Joseph, Jr., married Elizabeth Rich 
 March 9, 1730. The father died probably about 
 1742. 
 
 (V) John Gaylord, born in Bristol, second son 
 of Joseph and Mary (Hickox) Gaylord (but not 
 enumerated above), lived in Waterbury for a time, 
 but removed to Wallingford, and died about I753*'' 
 In his will, admitted to probate at New Haven in^ 
 January, 1754, he named six sons and five daughtersj' 
 the estate being valued at over £2,500, in Walling- 
 ford and Farmington. In the possession of the 
 present family of Gaylords are deeds from this; 
 same John (supposed to be to his son Edward).: 
 
 11 
 
iyn OA/i^T-'j^ ^ 
 
 OAAriyi^ ^ l^U/-Ul^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 783 
 
 John Gaylord, it is said, was the father of thirteen 
 children, of whom, however, a record of three 
 sons only can be made — Edwartl, Aaron and Moses. 
 Aaron, a lieutenant, born in Bristol in 1745, went to 
 Wyoming, i'enn., in 1777. lie had married Katii- 
 erine Cole, who bore him three children, Lemuel, 
 I'hebe and Lorena, and it is in honor of the mother 
 of these, for her bravery at the massacre of Wyom- 
 ing, that the Daughters of the American Revolu- 
 tion at Bristol have named their chapter the "Kath- 
 erine Ga^dord." 
 
 (Vlj Edward Gaylord was a married man when 
 
 lie came to Bristol (then New Cambridge) and 
 
 bought lands, the deeds for which are still in the 
 
 I possession of the family. His children were Moses, 
 
 Aaron, Reuben, Jesse, Edward and David. 
 
 (VII) David Gaylord was the first deacon of 
 the Congregational Church at Bristol, but there is 
 
 , no record of his family having lived there. It is 
 I known that he was the father of three sons, Jo- 
 ' seph, Thomas and Nathan, born in Cheshire, Con- 
 necticut. 
 
 (VIII) Joseph Gaylord, son of David, settled 
 on a farm in the town of Bristol, married Ruth Mat- 
 thews in 1750, and had born to him eleven children : 
 Joseph, born in 1753, who married Susannah Bun- 
 nel ; William, born Jan. 16, 1755; Chauncey, born 
 Feb. 14, 1757; Chloe, who married a Mr. Nickols; 
 Marvin, who married Newell Bostwick; Cyrus, 
 born Oct. 10, 1763; Leman, Dec. 16, 1765; Ira, Jan. 
 15, 176S; Phebe, who married Isaac Morris; Lydia; 
 and ir'hilip, born Aug. 21, 1778. 
 
 (IX) Philip Gaylord married Lucinda Johnson 
 about 1809, and lived with his mother on the home 
 farm for twenty years afterward, after which he 
 kept a hotel in Bristol. His children were Maria, 
 AMlliam Lewis, Marvin, and Susan. 
 
 (X) William Lewis Gaylord, son of Philip, was 
 born in Bristol, and married Nancy Fenn. He was 
 in the mercantile trade with his brother Marvin, 
 at Schenectady, N. Y., then was a butcher in Seneca 
 Falls, same State, next was a hardware merchant 
 in Lima, N. Y., and thence went to Atchison, Ivans., 
 where lie started a nursery, but died not long after- 
 ward in Buchanan county. Mo., Aug. 15, i860. 
 The children born to William Lewis and Nancy 
 (Fenn) Gaylord were five in number: Jenny mar- 
 ried C. D. Gaylord, the leading resident of Sodus, 
 N. Y. : Susan ; William is a nurseryman and farmer 
 of Ellis, Kans. : Marvin Lewis is the subject of 
 this sketch ; and Edward Fenn is a farmer and wood 
 dealer in Bristol. 
 
 (XI) Marvin Lewis Gaylord, of the eleventh 
 generation of this family in America, and wdiose 
 name opens this sketch, was primarily educated in 
 Lima, N. Y., and in Buchanan county, Mo., whither 
 the family had moved wdien he was ten years of 
 age. On the decease of the father, the mother, 
 Marvin L. and Edward F. returned East from 
 Buchanan county, Mo., and located at Plymouth, 
 Conn., where INIarvin later worked for G. W. & 
 
 S. II. Barthuliiiiiew, brace manufacturers, of Bris- 
 tol, until i8()4, when he enlisted, serving until July, 
 1805. G)ii being mustered out he worked again for 
 llie Bai-tholemews, for two years, and then went on 
 the road to sell trees for Elwinger & Berrey. After 
 a year's experience in this line he for the next four 
 }ears sold trees on his own account, purchasing 
 partly from others. In 1882 or 1883 Mr. Gaylord 
 engaged in the meat trade at Bristol, in partnership 
 with C. B. Ives, continuing for about tHree years, 
 when Mr. Ga\lord disposed of his interest therein 
 and bought out VV. E. Strong, on North street, and 
 still conducts the same with most satisfactory re- 
 sults. 
 
 The enlistment of .Mr. Gaylord, alluded to above, 
 took place at Hartford Sept. 16, 1864, i" Company 
 G, 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery. He was all 
 through the Petersburg (Va.) campaign, with head- 
 quarters at Broadway Landing, under Gen. Abbott. 
 He was mustered out at Fort Darling, Va., in July, 
 1865, and is now a member of G. W. Thompson 
 Post, G. A. R., of Bristol. The other fraternal as- 
 sociations to which Mr. Gaylord belongs are the 
 A. O. U. W. ; Ethan Lodge, No. y, K. of P., and 
 Hiram Temple, No. 9, D. O. K. K. In politics Mr. 
 Gaylord is a Republican, but has never aspired to 
 office. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Gaylord was solemnized 
 Nov. 12, 1866, with i\Iiss Alvira E. Jones, a native 
 of Burlington, Conn., and a daughter of Edward K. 
 Jones, a wood-turner. Children were born to this 
 marriage as follows : William Lewis, deceased ; 
 Lula Corine, a graduate of the Bristol High School ; 
 Howard Marvin, who graduated from the Bristol 
 High School, then took a post-graduate course in 
 the same, next graduated from Colgate College, at 
 Hamilton, N. Y., in 1898, and is now an employe in 
 the Revenue Department at Washington, D. C. ; 
 Rachel Alvira, who is a graduate of the common 
 schools of Bristol, and is now giving considerable 
 attention to drawing and music. 
 
 Mr. Gaylord attends the Prospect Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, of which his family are all mem- 
 bers, Mrs. Gaylord, especially, being very active in 
 church work. 
 
 A. J. KETCHIN. Among the many elements 
 which enter into the American national character 
 none is more highly prized than the Scotch. The 
 qualities of sturdy independence, deep religious 
 conviction, unimpeachable integrity, fearlessness in 
 the cause of home, country and right, have combined 
 to produce one of the highest and best types of 
 character. All these and more have united to make 
 the subject of this sketch one of the sterling and 
 most valuable citizens of Tariffville. 
 
 Mr. Ketchin's grandfather was Deacon Andrew 
 Ketchin, for over fifty years a leading member of 
 the Baptist Church of Tariffville. Fie w-as a carpet 
 weaver by trade, and was born at Edinburgh, Scot- 
 land. Tliere he married Margaret Arthur, a typical 
 
1' 
 
 734 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Scotch lassie, and a few years later, in 1821, he 
 brought his rosy-cheeked helpmeet and comforter 
 and Jiis bairns to the new country across the sea. 
 He worked at his trade at several towns in Massa- 
 chusetts, and finally settled at Tariffville. Deacon 
 Ketchin was probably as exemplary a Christian 
 man as could be found in his town. He was thor- 
 oughly honest, and permeated with the Christian 
 virtues. He lived to the age of seventy-six years, 
 his wife to the age of sixty-live, and they were buried 
 in Tariffville. The family of Deacon and Margaret 
 Ketchin consisted of John, the father of our sub- 
 ject; Andrew, of Torrington, formerly a carpet 
 weaver and also a burnisher ; James, who enlisted 
 in Company E, i6th Conn. V'. I., was scalped by the 
 fragment of a shell at Antietam, later taken prisoner 
 at Plymouth, N. C, and died in Andersonville 
 prison; and William, who left Tariffville in 1855, 
 and when last heard from was in Lyon county, 
 Kansas. 
 
 John Ketchin, the father of our subject, was 
 born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1819, and was two 
 years old when brought to this country by his par- 
 ents. He was reared at Tariffville, and at Hartford 
 acquired the trade of stone-mason with his uncle 
 Robert and cousin James Arthur, of Hartford. He 
 followed that trade during active life, and for seven 
 years resided in Doniphan county, Kans., but later 
 returned to Connecticut. During the Civil war he 
 enlisied in Company E, loth Conn. V. I., and served 
 for eighteen months. Having received a sunstroke, 
 and also suffered from dumb ague, he was dis- 
 charged for disability, and has ever since suffered 
 from the sunstroke. For twelve years he has done 
 no work at all. During his active life he was known 
 as a mechanic of more than ordinary skill, and as 
 a workman his every act was characterized by honest, 
 fair practice." In politics he is a stanch Republican. 
 Mr. Ketchin married Miss Margaret Moore, a native 
 of Paisley, Scotland, and the daughter of a cabinet- 
 maker. She came to America when a girl. Her 
 brother, Thomas Moore, died in Springfield, Mass., 
 leaving a large property which he had accumulated. 
 Her sister Jeannette married David Harley, a man 
 of wealth, and died in Caifornia. The mother of 
 our subject died in 1864, and was buried at Tariff- 
 ville. She was a member of the Baptist Church, 
 and a devout Christian woman. The father is now 
 a resident of Tariffville. To John and Margaret 
 (Moore) Ketchin were born the following children: 
 Elizabeth E., killed in 1859 by an -explosion in a 
 fuse factory in Simsbury, where she was employed; 
 Margaret G., now Mrs. Julius Vining, of Simsbury; 
 A. J., subject of this sketch; Jeanette, Mrs. Wil- 
 bur Guild, of Parkville, Conn. ; Nancy, Mrs. Rollin 
 Humphrey, of Simsbury ; Charles, a millwright of 
 Chico, Butte Co., Cal. ; Robert, a stone-cutter, who 
 went West ; Lizzie, Mrs. Albert E. Coley, of Water- 
 bury, Conn. ; and Eliza, who died in infancy. 
 
 Our subject was born at Tariffville March 21, 
 1848, and in his boyhood attended the schools of his 
 
 native village, one of his earliest teachers being D. 
 B. Rice. As a boy our subject was too full of life 
 to make a good student. In the expressive language 
 of his father, he needed "looking after." This 
 meant that he was taken out of school and placed 
 at teaming. When his father enlisted A. J. went 
 to work on the farm of Ariel Mitchelson. But mar- 
 tial music was sweet to the young lad, and he, too, 
 longed to enlist and help fight the battles of his 
 country. At fifteen he was a vigorous young fellow, 
 muscular, and asking odds of no one. He had 
 enlisted in Company E, 25th Conn. V. I., and for 
 three months did guard duty, but on account of his 
 youth the officers declined to muster him in. In 
 1863 he enlisted as a recruit for the ist Connecticut 
 Heavy Artillery, and joined the regiment at Arling- 
 ton Heights. His first engagements were at 
 Hatchie's Bermuda. He was frequently under fire 
 in 1864. On Jan. 2, 1865, he left Point of Rocks, 
 on the James river, for Fortress Monroe, and was 
 thence transported to Fort Fisher, N! C, returned 
 to Petersburg Feb. 23, 1865, and participated in the 
 fierce fighting in that vicinity. At the engagement 
 at Fort Flaskell, March 25, 1865, Mr. Ketchin was 
 struck in the face by a ramrod, his chin being- 
 carried away, and his tongue held only by a shred. 
 For two weeks he was fed through a tube that 
 carried the food down his throat below the opening 
 in his neck. His recover}' was most remarkable. 
 He received a furlough, at the expiration of which he 
 returned to the hospital, and was discharged at West 
 Philadelphia June 23, 1865. Mr. Ketchin was practi- 
 cally a physical wreck when he left the army. For 
 several years he was unable to work, and his life was 
 often dispaired of. But slowly he began to im- 
 prove, and finally he entered Batterson's marble 
 shop, in Hartford, and remained at work for two 
 years under instruction. He took up the marble 
 cutting work readily, and soon became an expert in 
 finer class work, following the trade successfully 
 at Hartford, New Haven, Springfield and elsewhere. 
 In 1883 he removed to Tariffville on account of his 
 health, and began business for himself, in which 
 he has prospered to a notable degree, and is now 
 senior member of the firm of A. J. Ketchin & Son, 
 contractors in general stone work. The firm em- 
 ploys from fifteen to thirty-five men in season, and 
 operates a quarry near TariftVille. 
 
 Mr. Ketchin was married, Oct. 15, 1870, to 
 Miss Harriet C. Spencer, of Springfield, Mass., 
 who was born in Middletown, Conn., Dec. 25, 1846, 
 daughter of William D. and Sarah J. (Mann) 
 Spencer. Her father, who was a fine machinist, 
 died at Middletown, where his widow now resides. 
 Mrs. Ketchin has two sisters, Helen, now Mrs. 
 Joseph E. Bacon, of Middletown ; and Mary, Mrs. 
 Archibald Johnson, of the same city. The family 
 of our subject and wife consists of the following- 
 children: (i) William M., born at Springfield 
 June 3, 1871, married Hattie E. Moore, of Tariff- 
 ville, and has three children, Ethel M., Pauline S. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lyo 
 
 and Elizabeth. (2) Archibald U., born Nov. 6, 
 ; 1874, in llarltord, was perniancnil)- crippled in a 
 'coasting accident Feb. 9, 1893. He is a bright 1 
 young man, and, for his experience, a skillful stone- j 
 cutter, {i) George S., born Sept. 5, 1877, in iiart- 
 ' ford, died in that city April 28, 1882. (4) Frank 
 ' A., born Nov. 16, 1882, in Hartford, died at Tarii'f- 
 ville Dec. 5, 1886. 
 
 In politics Mr. Ketchin is an uncompromising 
 
 i Republican in National issues. He is a member 
 
 i of Joseph Toy Post, G. A. R., and of St. Mark's 
 
 Lodge, No. 30, V. & A. M., at Sinisbury. Himself 
 
 and family are prominent members of the Baptist 
 
 Church, and in religious life our subject maintains 
 
 I the high standard of his devout grandfather. For 
 
 '' four years he has been treasurer of the church, and 
 
 for ten years was assistant superintendent of the 
 
 Sabbath-school. Mrs. Ketchin also has been active 
 
 , and foremost in church work. She is a devout 
 
 Christian woman, and among other practical elforts 
 
 in behalf of the church she has raised over $1,250 
 
 for religious purposes. 
 
 As a business man Mr. Ketchin is successful, 
 following those sterling principles of integrity and 
 industry which lead to prosperity. He has won a 
 reputation for doing honest work, and his con- 
 nection with any improvement is evidence of its 
 tlioroughness and honest character. Mr. Ketchin 
 has remodeled his residence, and now owns one 
 of the most attractive homes in the town. He rep- 
 r^.-ents the highest and best type of American citi- 
 zenship, and his influence is strongly exerted in the 
 upbuilding of character and the fostering of worthy 
 aims. 
 
 ( MONROE FRANKLIN CUSHMAN belongs 
 to an old New England family, and the name has 
 been prominently identified with the history of the 
 country ever since the arrival of the "Mayflower." 
 Robert Cushman, the original progenitor of this 
 branch of the family, was born in England prior to 
 i6oo. He was a passenger on board the "Speed- 
 well," bound for New England, but this vessel, 
 proving leaky and unseaworthy, had to return to 
 port, while the "Mayflower" continued her voyage. 
 Early in the next year, however, Robert Cushman 
 came to Plymouth, bringing with him his son, 
 Thomas, who was then fourteen years old. Rob- 
 ert Cushman remained at Plymouth but a few 
 months, and while there preached the first sermon 
 ever delivered at that place. He was sent to Eng- 
 land as an agent for the Plymouth Colony, and died 
 as he was preparing to return. 
 
 Thomas Cushman, who had been left at Plym- 
 outh, became a ruling elder in the church, and 
 died in that part of Plymouth which is now a part 
 of Kingston. He had a number of sons, among 
 whom was Isaac Cushman, who also had several 
 sons, one of whom, Nathaniel, moved to Lebanon, 
 New London Co., Conn. His eldest son, also named 
 Isaac, settled at StaiTord, Tolland county, and died 
 
 in Stafford in 1813, aged seventy-seven years. He 
 had three sons, the second of whom, whose name was 
 was Salmon, was in Stafford, Tolland county, Oct. 
 13, 1778, and was the father uf the gentleman whose 
 name introduces this article. 
 
 Salmon Cushman passed his life in Stafford, as 
 a farmer. He married Cynthia Church, a native 
 of Lyme, New London Co., Conn., and to this 
 worthy couple was born a family of six sons and 
 three daughters; Isaac, the eldest, died unmarried; 
 Almeda married Lathrop Cady, and is deceased, 
 as are also her husband and family; Lorinda be- 
 came the wife of Anson Spellman, and died in Hart- 
 ford county, leaving two daughters ; Gustavius was 
 a farmer in Tolland county, and died in Alanchester 
 (,he was taken sick there while attending his broth- 
 er's funeral, and lived but a few days; ; Ambrose was 
 a farmer of East Hartford, where he died leaving 
 a family ; Sabrina married Elisha Frink, son of 
 Rev. Elisha Frink, of Manchester, where her death 
 occurred ; Monroe F. is next in the order of birth ; 
 Sidney A., who was a farmer of Manchester, is 
 deceased; and Josiah, who was a farmer of Stafford, 
 died in Manchester. 
 
 Monroe F. Cushman, the only surviving member 
 of the above named large family, was born on the 
 home farm in Staft'ord Oct. 18, i8i8. His educa- 
 tional advantages were not of the best as he had 
 to walk three and one-half miles, in the cold of Con- 
 necticut winters, to attend the district school. He 
 remained at home with his parents until he reached 
 the age of thirty years. Then he took charge of 
 the old homestead and successfully managed it 
 until 1868, when he bought his present farm in the 
 town of Manchester, Hartford county, upon which 
 he makes his home, although still ownmg ninety 
 acres of land in Stafford. 
 
 On June 26, 1847, ^^'^- Cushman married Miss 
 Adeline Lull, who was born in Tolland county 
 June 9, 1822, a daughter of Daniel P. and Jocasta 
 (Church) Lull. The fruit of this marriage was 
 four children: (i) Emma, born Sept. 14, 1852, 
 married June 19, 1876, Truman R. Foster, a native 
 of Berlin, Washington Co., \'t., born Aug. 26, 1847, 
 a son of Truman C. and Julia (Srong) Foster; Mr. 
 and Mrs. Foster have three children. Belle, an in- 
 teresting young lady, who has decided taste for 
 literature and music ; Truman Cushman ; and Leon 
 Ransom. (2) Freddy M. was born Jan. 14, 1861, 
 died eight days later. (3) Everett A., born Feb. 
 8. 1862, is a paper maker bv trade. (4) Alganon, 
 born March 14, 1868. died 'Oct. 20. 1889. 
 
 The mother of this family passed away Jan. 15, 
 1898, aged seventy-five years, after a married life 
 of more than fifty years. 
 
 ]\Ir. Cushman is a man of medium stature, quiet 
 
 and unobtrusive in manner. While he has devoted 
 
 his life to farming, he has taken a commendable 
 
 interest in the affairs of men and in men of affairs. 
 
 ! He is a Jeffersonian Democrat in politics, though 
 
 ' never an aspirant for political honors. \\'hile a 
 
7.39 
 
 COMMEMORATdVE, BlOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 resident of his, native town his , townsmen showed 
 tlieir appreciation of his worth by electing him to 
 the ofiices of constable, justice of the peace and 
 collector, which latter position he filled six j^ears, 
 In religious thought and belief he has always been 
 tolerant and liberal, adhering, to, the faith o.f; the 
 Spiritualists. His long and useful life has been 
 marked by u;atiring industry and his . transactions 
 -ivith his fellow men characterized by strict integrity. 
 l\Ir. Cushman has, attained the ripe pld age of nearly 
 eighty-two years, and is yet well preserved with un- 
 impau-ed facu,lties, _ .He is spending the evening of 
 his life in the enjoymen: of the handome compe- 
 tence that has come to him as a reward of industry, 
 honesty and temperance. 
 
 JOHN FRANKLIN WADE, general superin- 
 tendent of the manufacturing department of the 
 New Departure Bell Co., at Bristol, and one of the 
 most useful citizens of that place, is a native of 
 Georgia, born June 29, i860, at Tallokas, Brooks 
 county. 
 
 ,, Thomas Wade, grandfather of our subject, was 
 a cotton planter in Georgia. He married Mary 
 Morris, and children as follows were born to them : 
 Thomas, father of John F. ; and Elijah, who was 
 also a cotton planter in Georgia, owner of 400 acres 
 tinder cultivation, besides other lands. 
 - Thomas Wade, father of our subject, was born 
 in Dooly county, Ga., and died in March, 1869. 
 He was a planter, and the owner of extensive plan- 
 tations in the South, having 1,100 acres in Georgia, 
 and 500 acres in Florida, 300 of which were im- 
 proved. Illness prevented his taking an active part 
 in the cause of the South in the Civil war, and at 
 its close he found himself bereft of personal prop- 
 erty and his slaves. He was a Democrat in politics, 
 and served as justice of the peace. Socially he be- 
 longed to the I. O;. O. F. He married Mary Ann 
 Oliver, a native of North Carolina, of English de- 
 scent, and a granddaugnter of James G. Oliver, a 
 prominent sea-faring man. After the death of her 
 hrisband, Mrs. Wade lived on the old farm until 
 her death, in 1896, in Tallokas, where her remains 
 were laid away besides those of her husband. Their 
 children were: Frances and Susan Caroline (both 
 unmarried), still living in Tallokas; Emily Melissa, 
 who died when young; Thomas G., a farmer in 
 Okapilco, Ga. ; Macey, wife of Robert B. Martin, 
 a farmer of Thomas count)', Ga. ; Leonidas, a lawyer 
 of Jacksonville, Fla., married to Tula Floyd ; Jo- 
 sephine, wife of Mitchell Hyers, and residing in 
 Georgia; John F., our subject; Helen M., wife of 
 John O'Neal, of Pavo, Ga. ; William W., a farmer 
 of Tallokas, Ga., married to a Miss Croft; Paten 
 L., also a farmer of Tallokas, married; and Sarah, 
 who died when aged about eighteen years of age. 
 
 John F. Wade received his education in his 
 native village, but at the age of fourteen years, Jiis 
 father having lost all his property through the Civil 
 war, he had to leave school and commence to earn 
 
 his own living. However, he made up for the inter- 
 ruption by studying at night, after his day's work 
 was done, and being a close observer of men and 
 tilings he soon became well informed. For two 
 years he was r superintendent of the help employed 
 on his uncle Elijah's, farrn.. .He then: removed to 
 Jacksonville, Fla., and for two ,yea.rs clerked in S. 
 B. Hubbard & Co.'s hardware store,, after which he 
 traveled some eight months, in Louisiana and Texas. 
 Returning to Jacksonville, he clerked there for the 
 Drew Hardware Co. about two years, and then 
 found employment with Rockwell ,& Kinney, of that 
 place, Albert F. Rockwell, being general manager 
 of the business, remaining until the concern closed 
 up. In October, 1888,, Mr. Rockwell, the inventor 
 of the New Departure Bell,. established his business 
 in Bristol, Conn., and the following spring Mr. 
 Wade came here, at first filling the position of ship- 
 ping clerk, and then working at the bench to learn 
 the business. At the end of about three years he 
 took a contract in the assembling department, which 
 he continued for three years, or until 1896, when he 
 was made general superintendent of the New De- 
 parture Bell Co., with full charge of the manufactur- 
 ing, and has since filled the position in a most com- 
 petent and acceptable manner ; he is now one of the 
 stockholders of the company. 
 
 On Oct. 6, 1886, Mr. Wade was married to 
 Emma G. Ponder, who was born in Quincy, Fla., 
 a daughter of James and May (McGill) Ponder, of 
 Quincy. Two children have come to this union : 
 Joha F., born May 10, 1888; and Walter R., born 
 March 23, 1890. Mr. and Mrs. Wade and their 
 eldest son are members of the Prospect M. E. 
 Church. Politically he is a stanch Democrat, and 
 in 1899 Was elected a member of the board of bur- 
 gesses ; at present he is a member of the sewer and 
 building committee. Socially he is affiliated with 
 Franklin Lodge, No. 56, F. & A. M., of which for 
 two years he served as steward. He is also a mem- 
 ber of the New England Order of Protection. Mr. 
 Wade is an intelligent and progressive citizen, a lib- 
 eral-minded, honorable gentleman, and his well- 
 spent life is worthy of emulation. 
 
 JAMES HONISS, one of the mdst highly- 
 respected citizens of East Berlin, was born in the 
 County of Kent, England, June 9, 1828, a son of 
 William and Ann (Flooker) Honiss, also natives of 
 that country. 
 
 The father, who was a farmer by occupation, 
 was born Jul}' 16, 1792, in Biddenden, and died in 
 West Rocky Hill, Conn., Sept. 15, 1872; the mother 
 was born in Biddenden, Sept. 21, 1790, and died 
 in Berlin, Conn., Aug. 10, 1876. In their family 
 were seven children: Mary Ann, born Oct. 21, 
 1817, died in Hartford, Conn., May 6, 1900, and 
 was the widow of Edwin Tolhurst, a farmer, who 
 died a few years after the Civil war, of consump- 
 tion contracted in the service. Hannah, born Dec. 
 7, 1819, married Major John Rowe, an officer in the 
 
wJojJZ^ flocW^clL VJchAju 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 737 
 
 liriiish army, and died in the Tower of London, 
 where her luisband was stationed at the time. Fran- 
 ces, born April 19, 1822, married James LJorman, 
 and lived in Chicago, 111., where she died Sept. lO, 
 1854. John, born Jan. 8, 1825, married Ma/y 
 Thayer, of Rocky Hill, Conn., and is now engaged 
 in the real-estate business in Newark, N. J. James, 
 our subject, is ne.xt in the order of birlh. W illiam, 
 born July 22, 1832, married \'ictoria Duilley, antl is 
 living in Rocky Hill, Hartford county. Robert, 
 liorn in 1834, died in England at the age of about 
 I i:;hteen months. 
 
 James Honiss was reared on a farm in his native 
 land, antl attended school in England until eleven 
 \ oars of age, after which he aided his father in the 
 larni work. .Vt the age of sixteen he was employed 
 as a farm hand by John Chittey, in Tunbridge 
 Wells, England, and then came to America with 
 his sister Mary Ann and five children. They set 
 sail from London May 14, 1849, O''' ^'^^ sailing 
 ]iacket "'^largaret Evans," Capt. linker, of Aliddle- 
 i wn. Conn., and after a long passage of si.x weeks 
 and three days arrived in New York July 3, 1849. 
 James found employment on the farm of Elisha 
 Hubbard, in ]\Iiddletown, Conn., where he remained 
 four months, and then secured work in the shop of 
 J. & E. Stevens, at Cromwell, where he was em- 
 ployed for four and one-half years. The following 
 \ ear he worked in the shop of William Keighley, 
 at Aliddle Haddam, and from there came to Rocky 
 Hill, Hartford county, where he purchased a farm 
 of forty-five acres from Jason F. Burr, and again 
 turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. After 
 operating that farm for twenty-one years he pur- 
 chased the Franklin Roys homestead, of about eight- 
 een acres, on Berlin street. East Berlin, where he has 
 since resided. 
 
 On March 17, 1859, Air. Honiss married Miss 
 Rachel Philletta Dudley, who was born in Killing- 
 worth, Conn., July 25, 1835, a daughter of Julius 
 and Jerusha (Stevens) Dudley. Her parents are 
 both dead, and are buried in the Wilcox cemetery. 
 East Berlin. The children born to our subject 
 and his wife are as follows: (i) Alida \'irginia, 
 born in Rocky Hill, Conn., April i, i860, is now the 
 wife of Charles C. Webster, a machinist employed 
 in Colt's factory, at Hartford, Conn., and they have 
 one child, Stewart, born April 14, 1890. {2) 
 Lillian \'ictoria, born in Rocky Hill, Conn., Sept. 
 3, 1861, is the wife of Harvey Jay Brown, chief 
 machinist employed in Enameline works, I'assaic, 
 N. J., and they have four children : Lovell Jay, born 
 in Xorwkich, N. Y., Oct. 27, 1887 ; Bessie Alice, 
 born in F^ast Berlin July 22, 1889; Vera, bom in 
 East Berlin, Feb. 26, 1892 ; and Gladys, born in 
 Passaic, N. J., Jan. 19, 1898. A twin of Gladys 
 died in in fane v. (3) Howard Ogden, born in 
 Rocky Flill, Feb. 18, 1864, died in Rocky Hill, April 
 II' '873, and was buried in Wilcox cemetery. East 
 Berlin. (4) Edward Everett was born in Rocky 
 Hill, Conn., April 16, 1866. At the age of nineteen 
 47 
 
 he entered Hannum's Business College, Hartford, 
 Conn., he then became a bookkeeper tor his uncle, 
 Carroll L. Dudley, who was engaged in the milling 
 buiness in East Berlin, and remained with him four 
 years. After that he was employed as clerk for 
 Wescott Bros., of the same jjlace, for seven years. 
 On March i, 1900, he bought the grocery business of 
 ihe late Henry X. Galpin, of r.erlin. Conn., which 
 he now conducts. He was married April 26, 1894, 
 to Cora -Vugusta Clark, of Berlin, Conn., and they 
 have had two children, Lillian Jeanette (who was 
 born Alay 15, 1896J and Esther Clark (who was 
 born Jan. 24, 1898, and died July 2, 1898, being 
 laid to rest in \\'ilco.\ cemetery. East Berlin, Conn.^. 
 (S) Emma FVanccs, born in Rocky Hill Feb. i, 
 1 868, is the wife .of George E. Hall, employed as 
 tlraughtsman for the Eastern Challenge Windmill 
 Co., Boston, Mass., and they have three children, 
 r^Iarcy Honiss (born Alarch 17, 1893), Dorothy 
 Elizabeth (born June 30, 1897), and Edward 
 James (born Dec. 24, 1898). (6j Lovell James, 
 born April 13, 1871, was married Aug. 15, 1895, 
 in Chicago, III., to Florence J. Yates, of Wash- 
 burn, Wis. At the age of twelve years he entered 
 the Aliddletown High School, and graduated in 1888; 
 then entered Wesle^an College, Middletown, Conn., 
 and graduated in 1892,. and is now principal of a 
 school in Dumont, N. J. (7) Hobert Livingstone, 
 born July 20, 1874, took a business course in Hunt- 
 singer's Business College, Hartford, Conn., and is 
 now assisting his father on the farm. 
 
 While in Rocky Flill James Honiss, our sub- 
 ject, took out his naturalization papers, and has 
 since been a stanch supporter of the Republican 
 party. He served on the board of relief and grand 
 jury in that town, but has never been prevailed upon 
 to accept office since coming to Berlin. Fie is a 
 prominent and active member of the Methodist 
 Church of East Berlin, and is at present one of its 
 trustees and a member of the official board. He 
 also served as treasurer of the church nine years. 
 His estimable wife is also a faithful member of the 
 same church. Although Mr. Honiss is modest and 
 unassuming, he is none the less hospitable and so- 
 ciable, and makes many friends. 
 
 ED\\'IX SETH TODD, a faithful and trusted 
 employe of Clark Brothers & Co., manufacturers of 
 bolts and carriage hardware at Milldale, was born 
 in Waterbury, Conn.. March 25, 1869. 
 
 Air. Todd is a son of William E. and Emeline E. 
 (Banies) Todd, in whose family were two chil- 
 dren, the younger being Eva L.. wife of Charles H. 
 Clark, of Royalton, \'t. The father, who spent his 
 entire life in Waterbury, was a son of Edwin Todd, 
 a farmer of that town. The latter's father. Street 
 Todd, was also a farmer by occupation, and made 
 his home in Cheshire and Wolcott, Conn. Our sub- 
 ject's maternal grandparents were Seth and Lucinda 
 (Pond) Barnes, the former born Xov. 13, 1824, 
 and died July 20, 1863. while a prisoner of war at 
 
738 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Charleston, S. C, from wounds received at Fort 
 Wagner. His parents were Philo and Electa 
 (Shepard) Barnes, the former of whom was born 
 IN'Iarch 2, 1782, and lived in the Marion District of 
 Southington. He was a son of Asa Barnes, who 
 was born Aug. 24, 1745, and was married Oct. 30, 
 1765, to Phoebe Atkins, daughter of Luther Atkins. 
 Asa Barnes conducted a tavern in the Marion Dis- 
 trict, was known as Landlord Barnes, and was ver}^ 
 popular in his business relations. His father, Ste- 
 phen Barnes, was born Jan. 2, 1704, and was mar- 
 ried, Jan. 5, 1726, to Martha Wheadon, of Bran- 
 ford. He removed to Southington during its early 
 settlement, and located in the southwest part of the 
 town, where he died March 27, 1777. His wife died 
 March 18, 1773, and was the first one buried in 
 Plantsville cemetery. Pie was a son of Steplieji and 
 Mary Barnes, of Branford, Connecticut. 
 
 The early life of otir subject was passed in the 
 town of Waterbury until 187S, in which year he 
 moved to Southington, and his primary education, 
 obtained in the public schools, was supplemented 
 by a course at the Lewis high school, Southington. 
 In 1888 he embarked in general merchandising at 
 Marion as a member of the firm of Newell & Todd, 
 and was engaged in business along that line for 
 one year. The following year he spent in the Adi- 
 rondack mountains for his health, and while there en- 
 gaged in school teaching. Since Oct. i, 1892, he 
 has been in the employ of Clark Brothers & Co., in 
 various capacities, and for several years as acting 
 assistant manager, which responsible position he is 
 still acceptably filling. 
 
 On Oct. 23, 1895, R/[r. Todd was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Layette C. Newell, a daughter of 
 Henry J. and Sophia (Bayrer) Newell, of Marion. 
 Socially he is a member of the Independent Order 
 of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias; polit- 
 ically he is a stanch Republican. At the age of 
 fifteen, being a musician of average ability, he be- 
 came identified with some of the local musical or- 
 ganizations, and since i8go has been leader of 
 "Todd's Orchestra." He is widely known and 
 highly respected, and has many warm friends 
 throughout the town. 
 
 BIRT BEMAN MESSENGER, one of the 
 most popular and influential citizens of West Gran- 
 by, where he is now successfully engaged in general 
 farming and tobacco raising, was born there April 
 29, 1846, and belongs to one of its old and highly- 
 respected families. 
 
 Amos Messenger, his grandfather, spent his 
 entire life as an agriculturist in West Granby, and 
 was a faithful and consistent member of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church. Seymour Messenger, the 
 father of our subject, was born in West Granby, in 
 May, 179'^, and was only three years old when his 
 father died. Pie was educated in the district schools 
 and reared in Granby, where he made his home 
 throughout life. He also engaged in agricultural 
 
 pursuits, making a specialty of tobacco culture and 
 stock raising. Sober, industrious and honorable in 
 all things, he had the confidence and esteem of all 
 who knew him. He was liberal in his views on 
 religious subjects, and with his family attended the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church ; in politics he was a 
 Whig until 1856, when he became a stanch supporter 
 of the Republican party. In 1832 he married Miss 
 Sally Benian, who was born Nov. 11, 1812, a daugh- 
 ter of Aaron Beman, who belonged to a well-known 
 family of Hartford county. Conn. Five children 
 were born of this union : Armenus S., born May 27, 
 1833, died June 21, 1887; Rufus L., born Sept. 11, 
 1835, was killed by a falling tree Jan. 19, 1887 ; 
 Albert A., born April 26, 1844, died Aug. 13, 1887; 
 Birt Beman, our subject, is the next in order of 
 birth; and Betsy Matilda, born March 5, 1852, is 
 now the wife of George R. Case, of West Granby. 
 The father died on his farm in West Granby Oct. 
 21, 1870, and the mother, who was a devout mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, passed away 
 Jan. 24, 1884, the remains of both being interred in 
 the West Granby cemetery. 
 
 During his boyhood Birt B. Messenger attended 
 the public schools of Granby, and spent his early 
 life upon the home farm with his parents. On start- 
 ing out in life for himself he worked as a farm la- 
 borer, receiving at first only $18 per month, but $40 
 during the last few years he was thus employed. 
 P"or thirteen years he continued to work for others, 
 during which time he saved a little money, and in 
 1878 he purchased his present farm, to the cultiva- 
 tion and improvement of which he has since de- 
 voted his energies, making a specialty of dairying 
 and tobacco raising. He is a quiet, unassuming 
 man, hospitable and generous, a kind neighbor and 
 a good friend, and he is held in high esteem by all 
 who know him. On April 3, 1878, in Granby, he 
 was united in marriage with Miss Mary Frazier, a 
 native of Hartland, and to them have been born three 
 children : Frederick B., Willani R. and Ruth B. 
 The parents are both earnest members of the INIeth- 
 odist Episcopal Church. In his political views Mr. 
 Messenger is a stanch Republican ; for several years 
 served as school clerk, and as assessor for five years ; 
 and in 1898 was chosen by his fellow citizens to 
 represent Granby in the State Legislature, an office 
 he is now most creditably and acceptably filling. 
 
 The Frazier family, to which Mrs. Messenger 
 belongs, was founded in America by Thomas 
 Frazier, who was born near Inverness, Scotland, and 
 came to this country when a young man. He spent 
 a number of years in Brooklyn, N. Y., engaged in 
 the sale of tobacco, and then came to Hartland, 
 Hartford Co., Conn., where he followed farming 
 for some time. Later he removed to the farm in the 
 town of Granby, now known as the Strickland farm, ' 
 on which he spent the remainder of his life. There 
 he died, and was buried in East Hartland. He was 
 a member of the Established Church of England. 
 His only child, Daniel, was born Jan. 22, 1742, in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL REt 
 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., where he grew to manhood. For 
 several years he followed a sea-faring life, on board 
 the ship "\ulture," under Capt. John Gimn, en- 
 gaged in the West India trade, and later eanie to 
 Hartland, Conn., with his parents. Here he bc- 
 lame interested in farming, and finally became the 
 owner of a fine farm of 150 acres in the town of 
 ( Iranby, on which he engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits until called from this life. Oct. 22. 1803, his re- 
 mains being interred in the East Hartland cemetery. 
 In politics 'he was a Democrat. He was married, 
 Dec. 16, 1760, to Abigail Haladay, who was born 
 Vpril 15, 1743, and died May 9, 1825, also being laid 
 1l' rest in East Hartland cemetery. Their children 
 were as follows: Alexander, born Aug. 19, Ty6i, 
 'lied Alarch 3, 1762; Thomas, born April 2, 1763; 
 Daniel, born May 19, 1765, died April 22, 1803; 
 Abigail, born July 23, 1767: Jared, born Sept. 14, 
 J 769; David, born Jan. 6, 1771 ; Elizabeth, born Jan. 
 _'(i, 1773; Samuel, the grandfather of Mrs. Messen- 
 ger; Polly, born June 4, 1781, married Polls Case; 
 and Ruth, born June 30, 1784, married Richard 
 .\lcott. 
 
 Samuel Frazier, grandfather of Mrs. Messenger, 
 was born Sept. 27, 1777, in Simsbury (now Gran- 
 liy) town, and attended scliool at that place. He 
 n ade farming and house-painting his life work, 
 was a Democrat in politics, and liberal in his relig- 
 i.nis views. He died in Granby March 26, 1840, 
 ai;d was laid to rest in the family Inirying-ground 
 1:' East Hartland. He was married, in Granby, to 
 Cxnthia Osborn, a daughter of Abrani Osborn, who 
 was of Welsh descent. She was born in Granby, 
 Sept. 3, 1785, and died in 1875, her remains being 
 interred in East Hartland. She was a good Chris- 
 tian woman, a member of the Congregational 
 Church. In her family were ten children: Dayton, 
 burn in T807, was a lifelong invalid; Daniel was 
 born in July, 1809; Abram, born July 25, 181 1, died 
 i:i infancy; Sherman was born Jan. 11, 1813; Ed- 
 win was born April i, 1815; Alma, born May 23, 
 tSiS, married Lyman Clark; Stewart was born 
 March 13, 1821 ; Jaman, born Feb. 13, 1824, is now 
 li\ing in Ohio; Marvin, born Feb. 27, 1827, is the 
 father of Mrs. Messenger; and Oren L., was born 
 Dec. I, 1831. 
 
 ]\Iarvin Frazier was reared and educated in 
 • .ranby, and has followed farming throughout life 
 there and in Hartland. Though he has made sev- 
 eral trips to northern Ohio, he still makes his home 
 in the town of Granby, a hale and hearty old man, 
 who is widely and favorably known throughout the 
 community in \vhich he has so long lived, in Hills- 
 dale, N. Y., he was married, Sept. 15, 1852, to Miss 
 Eunice Clark, a native of Otis, Mass., and, a daugh- 
 ter of Lyman Clark. To them were born nine chil- 
 dren : Mary, now the wife of our subject; Ruth, 
 wife of Joseph Beman ; Samuel, who married Grace 
 French, and is a jiainter l)y tratle ; Joel, at home, who 
 married Lillia Messenger, and has two children. 
 Mabel and Pearl ; Gilbert, who married Jennie 
 
 Roberts, and lives 1 
 and Emmet, all dece; 
 Granby. The niothei 
 woman, died in 1890, ; 
 land. In polities Mr. !■ 
 but he is now a stalwart 
 tion party and its princip 
 
 HOWARD C. GAINL 
 Hartford, was born in the 
 1851, and is a son of Albert 
 Gaines, descendants of the olci. 
 town and county of Hartford. 
 
 Albert Gaines was born in Ease 
 9, 1819, and at the age of fourteen yea. 
 apprentice at harnessmaking to Timothy 
 under whom he served seven years. He thei 
 at Manchester Green, and entered into busii 
 his own account ; remained there four years ; ti. 
 in 1844, came to East Hartford, carried on busi. 
 a few years and then removed to Hartford, whi 
 he did business for thirteen years. He finally came 
 back to East Hartford, which has since been his 
 home. His marriage took place -May 19, 1842, to 
 Hester Hills, daughter of James and Abigail 
 (Brewer) Hills, and to this union have been born 
 four children: Albert, who died in 1863, at the age 
 of twenty years; Howard C, the subject of this 
 sketch; Alice, who is married to Francis E. Clark, 
 a resident of Grass \'alley, Oregon ; and Gertrude, 
 the wife of John R. Hanmer, living near Boston, 
 j\lass. Mr. Gaines is still living, and his wife, a 
 lady of refined tastes, holds with him a high posi- 
 tion in the esteem of the community in which they 
 have so long lived. 
 
 Howard C. Gaines first attended the schools 
 of East Flartford, and had for one of his instructors 
 Joseph O. Hurlburt. who was a renowned educator 
 in his time. Later, after his parents removed to 
 Hartford, he was a pupil at the South school, of 
 which Chauncey Harris was the principal. At the 
 age of fifteen years his educational course ended, 
 and since then he has fought his own way through 
 life. He was first employed by E. P. Kellogg, a 
 photographer ; then took a position in a shoe store, 
 but two years later the firm went out of business ; 
 and he entered the employ of the City Fire Insurance 
 Co. The disastrous fire at Chicago in 1871 ruined 
 this company, and he then took a position with the 
 Orient Fire Insurance Co., and with it remained 
 until failing eyesight compelled him to relinqui.-;h 
 clerical work. His next situation was with George 
 W. Williams & Co., wholesale druggists, as trav- 
 eling salesman and collector. He held this situation 
 eight years, and was then offered a better position 
 with b. W. Williams & Co., of Glastonbury, and 
 traveled through Connecticut, Rhode Island and 
 part of Massachusetts. Later he accepted a situa- 
 tion with C. L. Jones & Co., of Boston, and was 
 with that firm eleven vears. 
 
 Mr. Gaines first married, May 15, 1877, Miss 
 
MEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 jf Manchester, and a 
 Harriet ( Williams j 
 .re born two children : 
 .nploy of C. S. Hills & 
 hur H., who is attending 
 a School. Mrs. Jessie C 
 . 1 6, 1894, and on June 17, 
 .ed Miss Mary E. Griswc'd, 
 jester, and a daughter of Ed- 
 -iarriet (White) Griswold. 
 ..aines are active members of the 
 jnal Church; the two sons also 
 Jhurch, and are prominently con- 
 iie Christian Endeavor Society, 
 .id, the oldest son, was married April 4, 
 Helen J. Williams, "a most estimable young 
 daughter of Arthur J. Williams, formerly of 
 Jram, "now of this town." Mr. Gaines lived 
 / seventeen days after marriage, having died on 
 i 2ist from pneumonia, and was buried ihe 241:1. 
 -. he sad blow came as a shock to the entire com- 
 munity. 
 
 JAMES BAKER WILLIAMS. In studying 
 the lives and character of prominent and prosperous 
 men we are naturally led to inquire into the secret 
 of their success, and the motives that have prompted 
 their action. Success is a question of genius, as 
 held by many, but is it not rather a matter of ex- 
 perience and sound judgment? For when we trace 
 the career of those who stand highest in public es- 
 teem we find in nearly every case that they are 
 those who have risen gradually, fighting their own 
 way, in the face of all opposition. Self-reliance, 
 conscientiousness, energy, honesty — these are the 
 traits of character that insure the highest emolu- 
 ments and greatest success. To these may we at- 
 tribute the success that has crowned the efforts of 
 J. B. Williams, a well-known manufacturer of 
 Glastonbury, Connecticut. 
 
 Mr. Williams was born in Lebanon, New Lon- 
 don Co., Conn., Feb. 2, 1818, a son of Solomon and 
 Martha (Baker) Williams. On the paternal side 
 he traces his ancestry back to Robert Williams, a 
 native of Norwich, England, who arrived in Rox- 
 bury, Mass., in 1638, and was made a freeman the 
 same 3'ear. In England he married Elizabeth 
 Stalham, who died in 1674, aged eighty years, and 
 for his second wife he married Martha Story, who 
 died in 1708, aged ninety-two. He died Sept. i, 
 1693, aged eighty-six years. By his first marriage 
 he had three sons : Samuel, born in 1632 ; Isaac, 
 born in 1638, and Stephen born in 1644. 
 The eldest inherited the homestead which is still 
 owned and occupied by his descendants. Thomas 
 Williams graduated at Oxford, England, in 1673. 
 Oliver Cromwell (the Protector and Pretender), 
 according to Rev. M. Russell, LL. D., and other 
 writers, was a Williams, and assumed the name of 
 Cromwell, the family signing themselves "Crom- 
 well, alias Williams," down to the reign of James T. 
 
 (II) Isaac Williams, the second son of Robert, 
 located in Newton, Mass., and was one of the 
 founders and first deacons of the Congregational 
 Church in that town. He married, (first) iVIartha 
 Parke, a daughter of Dr. William Parke, and their 
 children were Isaac, born in 1661 ; Martha, 1663 ; 
 William, 1665; John, 1667; Eleazer, 1669; and 
 Thomas, 1673. For his second wife he married 
 Judith Cooper, by whom he had three children : 
 Peter, born in 1680 ; Sarah, 1688 ; and Ephraim, 1691. 
 
 (III) Rev. William Williams, the secoird sou 
 of Deacon Isaac Williams, of Newton, was gradu- 
 ated at Harvard College in 1683, and in 1685 became 
 pastor of the Congregational Church in Hatfield.. 
 Mass., where he remained as such for fifty-six 
 years. In 1686 he married Elizabeth Cotton, by 
 whom he had three children: Rev. William, of 
 Weston, born in 1688; Martha, born in 1690; and 
 Rev. Elisha, born in 1694, who made his home in 
 Newington, Hartford Co., Conn., for a time, and 
 later was rector or president of Yale College. In 
 1699 Rev. Williams married, for his second wifi--. 
 Christian, daughter of Rev. Solomon Stoddard, of 
 Northampton, Mass., and to them were born three 
 children: Solomon, in 1701 ; Israel, in 1709; and 
 Dorothy, in 1713. The father of this family died 
 in Hatfield, Mass., in 1741. Rev. Solomon Will- 
 iams was own cousin to Jonathan Edwards, at one 
 time president of Princeton College, and a volum- 
 inous writer. 
 
 (IV) Rev. Solomon Williams, D. D., the elder 
 son by the second union, was pastor of the First 
 Church in Lebanon, Conn., for fifty-four j^ears. He 
 was married, in 1723, to Mary, daughter of Judge 
 Samuel Porter, of Hatfield, Mass., and to them were 
 born the following children: (i) Solomon, born in 
 1725, died soon after graduating from Yale College 
 in 1743. (2) Rev. Eliphalet, D. D., born in 1727, 
 died in 1803, after having served fifty-six years as 
 pastor of the church in East Hartford, Conn. His 
 son Solomon was called to the church of his great- 
 grandfather, Solomon Stoddard, and was pastor of 
 the same for over fifty years. (3) Ezekiel — father 
 of Thomas S., chief justice of Connecticut; Re\'. 
 Samuel P., of Newburyport, Mass. ; and Major 
 John, of Wethersfield — was born in 1729, and died 
 at his home in Wethersfield, Conn., in 1818. (4) 
 William, born in 1731, was for about forty sessions 
 a member of the Connecticut Legislature ; town 
 clerk of Lebanon many years ; and in 1776 a member 
 of the Continental Congress and Signer of the Dec- 
 laration of Independence. He married Mary Trum- 
 bull, daughter of George Jonathan Trumbull, who 
 was governor of Connecticut during the Revolu- 
 tion. (5) Mary, born in 1733, married Richard 
 Salter, of Mansfield, Conn. (6) Thomas, born in 
 1735, is. mentioned more fully below. (7) Chris- 
 tain, born in 1738, married John Salter, pf Mans- 
 field. (8) Eunice, born in 1745, married Rev. Tim- 
 othy Stone, of Goshen parish, in Lebanon, and died 
 in Cornwall, Conn., in 1836, aged ninety-one years. 
 
^2,'C^c^L^^ 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 741 
 
 (V) Dr. Thomas U'illiams, the youngest son of 
 Kcv. Solomon, and a graduate of Yale College and 
 of the Yale Medical School, was a physician, and 
 li\cil on his father's homestead, dying there in i8iy. 
 lie married Rebecca Wells, of Kast Hartford, a 
 lineal descendant of Thomas \Vells, an early gov- 
 ernor of Connecticut, and their only children were 
 Solomon and Mary (twins), born in 1783. The 
 latter never married, and died at the home of her 
 lirother in East Hartford, in 1831. 
 
 {\'i.) Solomon Williams, the son, was the father 
 <ii our subject. He died in Manchester, Conn., in 
 I Sjs, aged ninety-two years. In 1806 he married 
 -Martha Baker, of Brooklyn, Conn., and to them 
 were born children as follows : Rebecca Wells, 
 born in 1807, married Rev. Story Hebbard, and 
 (lied in Beirut, Syria, in 1840; he was stationed on 
 the island of Malta, she in the Syrian Mission. 
 Thomas Scott, born in 1812, was a civil engineer; 
 in 1846 he married Ellen Goodwin, of East Hart- 
 ford, and he died in 1875, leaving four children. 
 Samuel Porter, born in 1814, was a merchant and 
 banker for many years in Lima, Ind. He married 
 I tirst) Lydia Hume and (second) her sister, Isa- 
 bella Hume, who both died before him, and he died 
 in California, March 31, 1897, leaving four children. 
 Sarah Trumbull, born in 1816, married Edwin 
 Robinson, of Brooklyn, Conn., a direct descendant 
 of John Robinson, of Leyden, and had three chil- 
 dren; he died Feb. 8, 1881, she on March 12, 1900. 
 James Baker, our subject, is next in the order of 
 birth. George Wells, born in 1820, married Martha 
 Woodbridge, of Manchester, Conn., by whom he 
 had one son, Charles S., of Hartford. William 
 Stuart, born in 1822, wedded Mary Edwards Good- 
 win, of East Hartford, and was for over forty 
 years associated in business with our subject ; he and 
 his wife both died recently, leaving four children. 
 John Albert, born in 1824, was a civil engineer, for 
 some years employed on the Boston Water Works, 
 and later in contracting on the railroad from Gal- 
 veston north to Austin, Texas ; he was married in 
 Texas to Caroline Sherman, and died in Galveston 
 of yellow fever, in 1866, leaving one son, Albert 
 Sidney. Solomon Stoddard, born in 1826 in Leb- 
 anon, died in Manchester, Conn., in 1847. Martha 
 Huntington, born in 1828 in East Hartford, was 
 married in 1862 to Bryan E. Hooker, a lineal de- 
 scendant of Rev. Thomas Hooker, the first minister 
 of Hartford; he died in 1888, leaving three children. 
 Mrs. Hooker is still living. 
 
 The mother of our subject was a daughter of 
 Dr. Joseph Baker, of Brooklyn, Conn., a neighbor 
 of Gen. Israel Putnam, who, when news came of the 
 battles of Concord and Lexington, in 1775, at once 
 raised a regiment of soldiers, Dr. Baker going with 
 him to Boston, as surgeon of the regiment. Her 
 mother was a granddaughter of Rev. M. Devotion, 
 of Suffield, and daughter of the Rev. Ebenezer 
 Devotion, of Scotland parish. Windham, Conn. Two 
 of Mrs. Williams' brothers were officers in the 
 
 United States army, having enlisted during the war 
 of 1812. Capt. James Baker continued in the ser- 
 vice until disabled by illness, while the other. Col. 
 Rufus L. Baker, remained until about 18O1, when he 
 resigned rather than obe\- orders from Secretary 
 of War Jefferson Davis, requiring the sending of 
 arms and amnuuiition to Southern arsenals and 
 forts. 
 
 (\TI) James B. Williams, our subject, was born 
 in 1818, at Lebanon, in the house occupied by his 
 great-grandfather fifty-four years, by his grand- 
 father eighty-four \-ears, and by his father forty- 
 six years. He acquired his education in the public 
 schools of Lebanon, East Hartford and Hartford, 
 and attended the East Hartford Academy for two 
 terms. Among his teachers were T. L. Wright and 
 his assistant, N. W. Spencer, and a Mr. Knox. 
 In early life he lived for one summer with Mrs. 
 Benjamin Ulmstead, in East Hartford, where he did 
 all kinds of work that a boy could do, one of his oc- 
 cupations being to drive several cows to the pasture. 
 In the spring of 1832 he left the Stone school on 
 Dorr (now Market) street, Hartford, and went as 
 a farm boy to live with Deacon Horace Pitkin, of 
 Manchester, with whom he spent two summers, 
 and who taught him how to work and to do it 
 easily, which knowledge has been of great benefit 
 to him in later years. 
 
 In the spring of 1834 Mr. Williams entered the 
 employ of F. & H. C. \\'oodbridge, nephews of 
 Deacon Pitkin, as clerk in their store on Manchester 
 Green, and retained that position for over four 
 years, receiving only $25 the first year, and $35 the 
 second. Feeling the need of a more thorough edu- 
 cation, he made it a rule, after closing the store at 
 nine, to study until eleven in the evening, and to rise 
 at five in the morning and studv until time to open 
 the store. This practice he followed for many years, 
 and as one of the partners was an apothecary, hav- 
 ing a well-stocked departiuent in that line, the young 
 man soon learned to put up physicians' prescrip- 
 tions and to compound their preparations, spending 
 much of his leisure time and evenings in studying 
 chemistry. The knowledge of that science, thus 
 obtained, has proven invaluable in his present busi- 
 ness. In 1838, when F. \\'oodbridge, senior mem- 
 ber of the firm, moved away, his partner, C. G. 
 Keeney, offered our subject a half-interest in the 
 business, and the name was changed to Keeney & 
 Williams. In 1840 he sold his share in the busi- 
 ness, with the exception of the drug department, 
 to the late Christopher A. \\'oodbridge, and then 
 formed a partnership with his brother, George W. 
 Williams. In connection with their regular drug 
 business they commenced manufacturing a variety 
 of compounds, such as all apothecaries sell, but 
 few make. \\'hile in Manchester Mr. \\'illiams be- 
 came convinced that there was a great and increas- 
 sing demand for a better quality of shaving soap 
 than could then be had, and he began a series of ex- 
 periments, hoping to produce it. These were con- 
 
742 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tinued for over two years, small quantities being 
 made and given to neig'hbors and friends to test. 
 After finding that the same quality could be pro- 
 duced every time it was put on the market, with the 
 name of "Williams' Genuine Yankee Soap." Its 
 superior quality and peculiar name soon brought it 
 into notice, and its reputation led many other soap 
 manufacturers to imitate its form and to use its 
 trade mark. Imitations were made in New York, 
 Philadelphia, Rochester, Chicago, and other places, 
 scores of them, compelling Williams Brothers to 
 bring suits at law to maintain their trade marks, 
 yet securing injunctions in every suit they com- 
 menced. This business was continued in Manches- 
 ter until 1847, when, having divided the business 
 with his brother, our subject moved to Glastonbury, 
 where he had rented from his father-in-law, the late 
 David Hubbard, a small gristmill, and here he con- 
 tinued to manufacture shaving soap and a few other 
 articles. After a year or more another brother, 
 the late William S. Williams, joined him in busi- 
 ness, and the name was changed to James B. Will- 
 iams & Co., remaining such until 1885, when a 
 joint-stock company was formed under the laws of 
 the State of Connecticut, known as the J. B. Will- 
 iams Company. Of this corporation James B. 
 Williams is president; his son, David W. Williams, 
 vice-president; his nephew, George G. Williams, 
 treasurer ; and his son, Samuel H. Williams, chemist. 
 The gristmill used by Mr. Williams on coming to 
 Glastonbury, in 1847, afforded less than 2,500 
 square feet of floor space, while the company now 
 use about 100,000 square feet, or forty times as 
 much. They have customers in every city in the 
 United States and Canada, also in London, England, 
 and Sydney, Australia, France, Germany, Russia, 
 and South Africa, and much is sold in the East 
 Indias, South America and Mexico. In this State 
 there is probably not a manufacturer whose product 
 is used by as man}' different persons or has for years 
 occupied as distinctive a position on account of its 
 excellence, as Williams' Yankee Shaving Soap. After 
 almost sixty years of business, although commenc- 
 ing with borrowed capital, Mr. Williams can say 
 that no check or note bearing his signature has 
 ever been dishonored or protested ; every claim has 
 been paid in full ; no customer has ever been lost 
 unless going out of business ; and with scarcely an 
 exception his sales have always been greater each 
 year than the year previous. He is also president 
 of the Williams Brothers Manufacturing Co., of 
 Glastonbury, and of the Vermont Farm Machine 
 Co., of Bellows Falls, Vermont. 
 
 In 1845 Mr. Williams married Miss Jerusha M. 
 Hubbard, eldest daughter of David Hubbard, of 
 Glastonbury. She was born there May 5, 1825, and 
 died Nov. 20, 1866, her remains being interred in 
 the Glastonbury cemetery. Bv tnis union there 
 were six children: (i) Mary Ellen is at home with 
 her father. (.2) David Willard was married, Oct. 
 23, 1876, to Helen Penfield Rankin, daughter of 
 
 Rev. S. G. W. Rankin, and they have five chil- 
 dren, Helen Louise, born in 1878 ; James Willard, 
 1885; Mildred, 1887;, Ruth Clarissa, 1890; and Isa- 
 belle Stoddard, 1894. (3) Martha Baker is at 
 home. (4) Jessie Elizabeth is the wife of Henry 
 F. Welch, of Charleston, S. C. (5) James Stod- 
 dard was married, Aug. 4, 1887, to Katherine Phil- 
 lips Clarke, daughter of Judge R. L. B. Clarke, 
 of Washin^on, and they have four children, Kath- 
 erine Stoddard, born in 1889; Helen Devotion, 
 1891 ; Percy Huntington, 1894; and Edith Clarke, -^ 
 1896. (6) Samuel Hubbard was married, Jan. ! 
 9, 1889, to Frances Ann Scudder, daughter of Rev. 
 William Scudder, D. D., a missionary in India, 
 and they have three children, Carrol Scudder, born 
 in 1890; Frances Rosseau, 1891 ; and Martha Hunt- 
 ngton, 1896. Mr. Williams was again . married, 
 his second union being, in 1869, with Miss Julia 
 Elizabeth Hubbard, a younger sister of his first 
 wife, and a daughter of David and Jerusha (HoUis- 
 ter) Hubbard. For many years the names of Hub- h 
 bard and HoUister were the most numerous and ' 
 prominent in Glastonbury. The first of the Hub- 
 iDard family to locate in that town was George, 
 who settled there when it formed a part of Weth- 
 ersfield, and from whom many of the name in that 
 and other towns have descended. Mrs. Williams 
 was born in Glastonbury May 10, 1839, and by her 
 marriage to our subject has become the mother of 
 two children : Anne Shelton, at home ; and Richard 
 Solomon, who is attending Amherst College. 
 
 Mr. Williams is now practically living retired, 
 though he may be found in his office almost daily, 
 attending to some business. Flis activity for one of 
 his age is certainly remarkable, and not one in ten 
 thousand, at the age of eiohty-two, has his elasticity 
 of step. His mind is as clear as it was forty years 
 ago, and his memory is remarkably good. Since 
 1886 he has been spending his winters in the South, 
 mostly in Leesburg, Fla. He is a man of regular 
 habits, takes exercise daily, hoes in the garden, antl 
 does other light work about his splendid home and 
 grounds. He has never used tobacco or liquor, and 
 to these habits may be attributed his excellent 
 health. When a boy of nine years he signed the 
 temperance pledge, and has never broken it. He 
 seldom allows a day to pass but what he attends 
 to business of some kind in his office, and his advice 
 is often sought on business matters, his years of 
 experience making his opinions very valuable. 
 There is no kinder, or more approachable and un- 
 assuming man in the town than Mr. Williams. 
 
 Our subject cast his first Presidential vote for 
 Gen. W. H. Harrison in 1840, and his three brothers i 
 supported the same candidate. Fie remained a Whig 
 until the organization of the Republican party, 
 when he joined its ranks, and has since been one 
 of its stanch supporters. Fie was elected to the 
 Lower House of the State Legislature in 1863 and j 
 1864, and during his first term was a member of : 
 the committee on Education; during the second he 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 743 
 
 was a nicnibcr of the committee on Engrossed Bills. 
 I'rior to liiis he had several times declined to be- 
 come a candidate for that office, and later refused 
 a re-nomination. While a resident of Manchester 
 he served as recorder of voters during the existence 
 of that office. At the age of eighteen he enlisted 
 in the East Hartford Artillery Company, which 
 was coni])osed of very able-ljodied men, trained one 
 day, and was chosen corporal ; but as his duties as 
 an apothecary required his daily attention, and 
 would exeinpt him from military duty, he resigned 
 his office and connection with the company, giving 
 his cap, sword and uniform to a substitute. 
 
 In 1S38 Air. Williams united with the First Con- 
 gregational Church in Manchester, and in 184S was 
 received into the First Church of Christ, in Glas- 
 tonbury. He was chosen deacon of the latter church 
 in 1859, and has filled that office continuously since. 
 He takes a very active and prominent part in church 
 work, and his place in the congregation would be 
 hard to fill. Fie is a member of the Connecticut 
 Historical Society, the Connecticut Congregational 
 Club, the Harrison Veteran Club, the Good Temp- 
 lars, and Sons of the American Revolution. Mr. 
 Williams has the greatest respect possible shown 
 to him on all occasions, and by every one. He is 
 a man about whom there cannot be truthfully said 
 anything but good ; many of his kind and extremely 
 generous acts have been hidden from the public, 
 and those that have become known have been told 
 of by the recipient. No man could hand down to 
 posterity a cleaner, better record, as a useful man 
 ■whose influence has always been for good. 
 
 ELIJAH DANFORTH ABRAAIS is a leading 
 milk dealer and representative citizen of West Hart- 
 ford, his home being at Foote"s Corners. 
 
 Mr. Abrams was born in Duanesburg, N. Y., 
 Oct. 2y, i860, a son of J. Danforth Abrams, also 
 a native of Duanesburg, where he spent the greater 
 part of his life, engaged in agricultural pursuits. 
 He was one of the boys in blue whose life was 
 sacrificed on the altar of his country during the 
 Civil war, serving as a member of a New York 
 regiment of infantry, and died at Fortress Monroe, 
 Va., in 1864. He married Miss Susan Ladd, a sister 
 of George W. Ladd, of Bloomfield, Conn., and to 
 them were born two sons : Alva E., now a physi- 
 cian of Hartford, Conn., with office at No. 78, High 
 street; and Elijah D., our subject. The paternal 
 grandparents of our subject were Elnathan and 
 Anna ( Strong) Abrams, farming people of Duanes- 
 burg, N. Y., where the former died in 1S61. 
 
 Elijah D. Abrams attended the public schools 
 of his native town, where he obtained a good prac- 
 tical education. When his school days were over he 
 clerked for the firm of Cheney & Heulett. builders 
 of Brooklyn, N. Y., and subsequently worked in 
 the locomotive works at Schenectady, N. Y., for 
 three years, after wdiich he engaged in farming in 
 Duanesburg for the same length of time. In April, 
 
 1890, he came to West Hartford, Hartford Co., 
 Conn., and located on the J. B. Griswold farm, at 
 Foote's Corners, where he has since engaged in the 
 milk business with a fair degree of success, his 
 patronage being quite extensive. Fraternally he 
 is a member of the Grange, but has neither time nor 
 inclination for public affairs. He w'as married in 
 Charleston, Montgomery Co., N. Y., to Miss Nettie 
 B. Conover, and he and liis estimable wife have made 
 many friends during their residence in this county. 
 
 GEORGE EDWARD CHURCHILL, who is 
 now representing Newington in the State Legisla- 
 ture, and is one of the most prominent factors in 
 her agricultural circles, is a man whose worth and 
 ability have gained him success, honor and public 
 confidence. He was born Dec. 11, 1858, on the farm 
 where he now resides, in a house which stood just 
 in front of his present residence, and he is a rep- 
 resentative of an old prominent Colonial family. 
 Three branches of the Churchill family came to 
 America at an early day: John, of I'lymouth, 
 Alass. ; Josiah, of Wethersfield, Conn.; and Will. am, 
 of Manhattan, N. Y. In 1664 Joseph Churchill, 
 son of Josiah, gave a deed for land sold which is 
 still in the possession of the family, and the ink is 
 as black as it was the da}' the document was written. 
 
 Our subject traces his ancestry back to his great- 
 great-grandfather, Capt. Charles Churchill, of Revo- 
 utionary fame, who was born in 1723. Gen. Wash- 
 ington and his staflf were quartered in the old 
 Churchill homestead for some time, and the Gen- 
 eral's horses were kept in John Rowley's barn, which 
 was recently destroyed by fire. The ancestors of 
 our subject furnished shoes and provisions for the 
 Continental army, and the old tan vats, where the 
 leather was prepared for the shoes, still stand near 
 the old homestead, which has now crumbled to the 
 ground. To this family belonged Silas Churchill, 
 who in 1805, at Windham, Greene Co., N. Y., de- 
 livered a masterly sermon, which was heartily en- 
 dorsed by the Presbyter}-, and they desired the 
 same to be printed. 
 
 The great-grandfather of our subject was Sam- 
 uel Churchill, and the grandfather was Chislew 
 Churchill, who was born on the old homestead in 
 Newington Dec. 7, 1779, and was a shoemaker by 
 trade. The latter was married, March 31, 1806, to 
 Miss Cylinda Hurlburt, of Portland, C!onn. Their 
 son, Samuel Seymour Churchill, father of our sub- 
 ject, was born on the home farm Feb. 28, 1825, in 
 the same house where our subject's birth occurred. 
 He followed the occupation of farming throughout 
 life, and lived in the old homestead with his son 
 until his death, .\pril 2, 1900. On Nov. 11, 1846, he 
 married Miss Louisa Hunt, and to them were born 
 two children. Henry Dwight Churchill, the elder, was 
 born May 5, 1849, ''"'i is now engaged in the 
 bakery business in Cairo, N. Y. The father is a 
 Democrat in politics, and is honored and respected 
 by all who know him. 
 
744 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 George E. Churchill, the subject of this review, 
 spent his boyhood on the farm, attended the public 
 schools of Newington, and also studied at home. 
 At one time it was his intention to enter the min- 
 istry, but later he changed his mind. From 1880 to 
 1884 he successfully engaged in teaching in the 
 old "Bell" school, which was burned in 1888. On 
 abandoning that profession he turned his attention 
 to agriculture, and has since operated the home 
 farm with most gratifying results. He has erected 
 thereon a large eight-room residence, in modern 
 st3'-le of architecture, and has also built a large barn 
 and made many other improvements upon the place. 
 
 On Aug. 23, 1.888, Mr. Churchill was united in 
 marriage with Miss Anna Malinda Wickham, who 
 was born in Manchester, Conn., March 22, 1867, a 
 daughter of William and Ann S. (Sanders) Wick- 
 ham, of Hillstown. They now have two children : 
 Almeron Seymour, who was born July 27, 1889, 
 and is attending the Newington public schools ; and 
 Louisa Ann, born Sept. 12, 1898. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Churchill is a stanch 
 Republican. He was an efficient member of the 
 board of school visitors for six years; has been 
 registrar of electors for several years, and is now 
 serving his third year as a member of the board of 
 relief. At the urgent request of his many friends 
 he accepted the nomination for representative in 
 1898, and in November of that year was elected to 
 the State Legislature, by a majority of sixty-eight, 
 over Shuball H. Whapples, of Newington Junction, 
 the largest majority ever given to a Republican in 
 the history of the town. He has the entire con- 
 fidence of his constituents, and is now ably and 
 satisfactorily representing his district. Fraterally 
 he is a popular member of Our Brothers Council, No. 
 41, Sr. O. U. A. M., in which he has passed all the 
 chairs, and both he and his wife belonged to the 
 Grange until it disbanded. They hold membership 
 in the Congregational Church, and Mr. Churchill 
 has been president of the Christian Endeavor So- 
 ciety. 
 
 JAMES CAMPBELL, M. A., M. D. (de- 
 ceased), was for many years a leading physician 
 of Hartford, and the following memoir will be of 
 general interest. He was born in the town of 
 Manchester, Hartford county, March 14, 1848, son 
 of James Campbell, who was a native of New 
 Hampshire, coming from one of the best and oldest 
 families, which had its rise long ago in the High- 
 lands of Scotland. They early settled in this coun- 
 try, and participated in man)' of the early struggles 
 of the colonists. More than half a century ago the 
 elder James Campbell left New Hampshire and 
 came to Connecticut, locating in the town of Man- 
 chester. 
 
 Dr. Campbell entered upon his professional 
 career at the age of twenty-three, having received 
 his medical education at the College of Physicians 
 and Surgeons, New York City, and the Medical 
 
 Department of the LTniversity of Vermont. He first 
 located in Minnesota, and later went to Europe to i 
 spend a year and a half in the hospitals and clinics ! 
 of Berlin, Prague and Vienna. On returning, in 
 1874, he settled in Hartford, where his ability and 
 skill won prompt recognition. For nearly fifteen 
 years he was president of the board of health, and 
 he also served for some time as a member of the 
 Hartford Hospital staff. In 1886 he was elected 
 a professor in the Medical Department of Yale Uni- 
 versity, and in appreciation of nis work the uni- ; 
 versify conferred upon him, in 1891, the honorary 
 degree of M. A. This chair he felt called upon to 
 resign in the spring of 1899, retiring with the 
 cordial thanks of the corporation for his long and 
 excellent service, and with its regret that he could 
 not remain in a position he had so long adorned. 
 His resignation, however, was not accepted, and 
 he was really a member of the Faculty until his 
 death. j 
 
 The Doctor found time in the midst of a large 
 and growing practice to devote much attention to 
 the sanitary conditions of his adopted city He be- 
 came deeply interested in the local boarcl of health 
 at the time that Dr. Chamberlain had so much to 
 do with that branch of our government, and main- 
 tained his close connection with the work. When 
 the Hartford board was reorganized he became its 
 president, a place he retained to the time of his 
 death. The records of the board of health show his 
 wide and deep acquaintance with everthing that per- 
 tains to the welfare of the city. The much-praised 
 intercepting sewer was largely due to his intelligent , 
 efforts. He saw, with others, that something must 
 be done with the little river, and he was equal to 
 the emergency in suggestion and execution. 
 
 Next to his interests in the health affairs of 
 the city he paid careful attention to the Hartford 
 Hospital. The Doctor was also a member of the 
 City, County, State and National Medical So- 
 cieties, and contributed many valuable papers to 
 their publications. The interest he took in health 
 affairs made him a member of the health associa- 
 tion of the United States and Canada. He was 
 also a member of the New York Academy of Medi- 
 cine, and of the Association of Medical Directors 
 of Life Insurance Companies of the United States 
 and Canada. He was medical director of the .^tna 
 Life Insurance Co., a position he held for years, 
 and for many years was also medical examiner of 
 same. He had also many financial connections wnth 
 Hartford institutions. 
 
 Dr. Campbell was also a prominent member of 
 the Hartford Club, having taken a great interest in ; 
 that organization. He was a thirty-second-degree 
 Mason, being a member of LaFayette Lodge : also 
 belonged to Crescent Lodge, Knights of Pythias; 1 
 to the lodge of Odd Fellows; to the Sons of the , 
 American Revolution ; and to the Church Club of , 
 the Episcopal diocese. ! 
 
 The Doctor was a man of generous impulses j 
 
^^^l-t^^c-^i-^ 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 745 
 
 and warm-hoarU'il. In a quiet, unostentatious way 
 lie (lid a i;Tcat deal of good, one of his acts in this 
 direction beint;' to assist several young' peojale who 
 desired to gain an education in acconi]ilisliing their 
 object, lie atlentled many cases recjuiring his pro- 
 fessional attendance under peculiarly difficult cir- 
 cumstances, among poor people, when he knew that 
 lie would probably never receive any financial re- 
 turn for his efforts. The knowledge that lie had 
 saved a life was sufficient reward. In his death, 
 which occurreil (Jet. 17, i8yy, at his home in Hart- 
 ford, tlie city lost an able physician and Christian 
 gentleman, and his family a kind huslKind and 
 father. 
 
 ( )n ( )ct. 15, 1S74, I'r. Campbell married Miss 
 Alary Cornelia, youngest daughter of William C. 
 Fettihone, a respected merchant uf Hartford, and 
 a member of the old Simsbury family of Petti- 
 bones, whose history in Connecticut goes back to 
 Colonial times. Of the three children born to this 
 iniion, James Noel H. and Grace are living; one son, 
 James Malcolm, died in infancy. The Doctor's 
 love for his family was a notable feature, and one 
 of the last things that he did before his disease 
 grew critical was to purchase for its members a 
 cottage at Fenwick, that they might have a pleas- 
 ane summer home, though he knew at that time that 
 he himself could in all probability never live to en- 
 joy it. They also have a summer home at Xorth- 
 wood, Xew Ham]5shire. 
 
 JOHN GEORGE KEIDAISCH, a successful 
 agriculturist of the town of Glastonbury, is the 
 owner of an attractive farm near Addison, and he 
 and his estimable wife, who has been an efficient 
 aid to him, may well find satisfaction in the home 
 which their hard toil and wise management have 
 gained for them. 
 
 Mr. Keidaisch was born March 10, 1831, in 
 Wittenberg, Germany;^ son of Adam and Rosie 
 (Autlinger) Keidaisch, both of whom lived and 
 died at Wittenberg. His father was a farmer and 
 butcher by occupation. Our subject was the eldest 
 of three children, and is the only survivor, the 
 others, Adam and Henry, having died before at- 
 taining mature age. 
 
 As a boy our subject attended school at Witten- 
 berg, the law compelling children under fourteen 
 to be sent regularly, but after tliat age he assisted 
 his father upon the farm. WHien twenty-five years old 
 he came to America, the voyage in a sailing vessel 
 from Havre lasting six weeks. He landed in New 
 York with but five dollars in his pocket, a portion 
 of that being used to pay his fare on the boat to 
 Hartford, and before he found work his money 
 was almost exhausted. While searching for em- 
 ployment he met a farmer from Glastonbury named 
 Fred Duster, who owned the farm now occupied 
 by Henry Potter, and was looking for a farm hand. 
 Mr. Keidaisch hired out to him for a year at small 
 wages, and later he worked for Kilbourne Strick- 
 
 land at eleven dollars a month, and spent two years 
 with Selden House at $130 a year. In those days, 
 if our subject made a trip to Hartford he went on 
 foot, and in every way his lot was a hard one ; but 
 his industry and economy enabled him to save 
 something each year, and in 1864 he invested his 
 earnings in twenty-four acres of land formerly be- 
 longing to John Chapman. This he has improved, 
 the house and barn having been thoroughly re- 
 modeled, and he has added other land from time to 
 time until he now owns sixty acres, all in excellent 
 condition. He is a Democrat in politics, and he 
 and his family attend the devotional services of the 
 "German Society" at Glastonbury. 
 
 On Oct. II, 1863, Mr. Keidaisch married Miss 
 Anna Rummell, who was born March 22, 1835, in 
 Saxe- Weimar, (iermany, daughter of Adam and 
 Katherina Margaret (Sinn) Rummell. She came 
 to America when twenty-one years old, and on first 
 locating in East Glastonbury was employed in a 
 boarding house where she did the housework and 
 washing for eight people, sometimes rising at 2 
 o'clock in the morning to begin her day's toil. For 
 this she received only two dollars per week, and as 
 prices were high for dry goods it cost her many 
 days of hard labor to get a dress. She and her hus- 
 band began housekeeping on a limited scale, buying 
 only such things as they could pay cash for, and this 
 practice has been continued to the present. Their 
 children have been reared to habits of industry 
 and thrift, and all were given a practical education 
 in the schools of Addison. ( 1 ) John born (Jet. 
 I, 1866, is unmarried and is employed in Hartford. 
 (2) Elizabeth, born Nov. 14, iS68„ married Thomas 
 J. Tucker, and died in Addison. They had two 
 children, Jessie and Lincoln. (3) Annie, born Nov. 
 3, 1870, married I'aul Kasche, of Hockanum, and 
 has one son, Walter. (_4) Fred born March 23, 
 1872, resides in Norwich. (5) Henry, born May 18, 
 1876, was employed in the Addison ?vlill for a time, 
 and now operates the home farm. 
 
 PETER J. BRADLEY, a prominent and repre- 
 sentative agriculturist of the town of East Granby, 
 residing near (jranby Station, was born Dec.i 24. 
 1857, in the parish of Upper Badoney, County 
 Tyrone, Ireland, and is a son of Peter and Mary 
 (McGarrety) Bradley, natives of the same parish, 
 where they spent their entire lives as well-to-do 
 farming people. The father died in 1897, the 
 mother in 1874, and both were buried in Upper 
 Badoney. They were devout members of the 
 Catholic Church, and highly respected by all who 
 knew them. Of the eight children born to them 
 only three are now living : Bernard, who is still 
 a resident of Ireland : Margaret, wife of Michael 
 Rogers, also of that country ; and Peter J., our sub- 
 
 ! ject. 
 
 j During his lioyhood Peter J. Bradley attended 
 the national schools of his native town, and ob- 
 tained a good English education. He also studied 
 
746 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Latin, preparatory to entering college, but receiv- 
 ing an invitation from his maternal uncle, James 
 McGarrety, now a well-known citizen of Tariffville, 
 Conn., who was then engaged in farming in the 
 town of East Granby, to visit him, our subject left 
 his home and aged parents, in 1873, at the age of 
 sixteen years, and started for the New World, em- 
 barking at Londonderry, Ireland, on the steamer 
 "Australia." After a passage of nine days, he set 
 foot on the shores of his adopted country. From 
 New York City, he proceeded at once to the town 
 of East Granby, Hartford Co., Conn., and being 
 young, strong and active, he soon found employ- 
 ment on the Northampton division of the New 
 York, New Haven & Northampton railroad, with 
 which he was connected for nearly two years, re- 
 ceiving $1.75 per day. The following three years 
 he spent on the farm with his uncle, Mr. McGar- 
 rety, and he then started out for himself, operating 
 farms on shares in the town of East Granby for 
 three years. Managing to save a little money, he 
 bought his uncle's place of one hundred acres, and 
 has since devoted his time to general farming and 
 tobacco raising with good success. 
 
 Mr. Bradley is a whole-souled man, and is 
 highly respected by all classes as an honest, up- 
 right and industrious man, who has secured for 
 himself a comfortable home and competence by hard 
 work and fair dealing. The Republican party finds 
 in him a stalwart supporter of its principles, and 
 although well-qualified for the position he has more 
 than once refused the nomination for representative 
 in the State Legislature. He is broad-minded and 
 liberal in his views, _is well-read, and keeps himself 
 posted on current events and the leading topics of 
 the day. In religious faith he is a Catholic. 
 
 HON. CHAUNCEY HOWARD, late lawyer 
 and city official of Hartford and State representa- 
 tive, was born in South Coventry, Tolland Co., 
 Conn., April 21, 1812, where the Howard family 
 had resided for several generations. His grandfa- 
 ther, Nathan Howard, was a physician of high 
 standing, and his grandmother was a sister of the 
 celebrated Nathan Hale ; his father was John How- 
 ard, M. D., and his mother wasa daughter of Judge 
 Jeremiah Ripley, also a prominent resident of Tol- 
 land county. The Howard residence was on South 
 street, where Hon. Chauncey and his brother, John 
 Ripley Howard, were born, the latter a man of 
 remarkable literary ability and strong mental power, 
 but a great sufferer from acute heart disease, from 
 which he died many years ago. Besides his cousin. 
 Miss Ripley, his devoted friend and nurse, the only 
 surviving near relatives of Chauncey Howard are 
 her sister, Mrs. Pember, and her brother, Edward 
 C, formerly a lawyer of high repute in New York 
 City. 
 
 Hon. Chauncey Howard spent his school days 
 in South Coventry and Plainville, Conn., and later 
 attended Amherst College, from which he grad- 
 
 uated with the class of 1835, the late Nicholas Har- 
 ris, of Hartford, and Henry Ward Beecher having 
 graduated therefrom the previous year. Mr. How- 
 ard then studied law with Charles Chapman, and 
 in the office of Gov. W. W. Ellsworth, when the 
 late Senator Dixon was the Governor's law part- 
 ner. He was admitted to the Hartford County Bar 
 in 1839, but two years later was appointed clerk of 
 the Superior Court of Hartford county, and held 
 the position for twenty-five years, at successive 
 periods, until he resigned in 1875 and returned to 
 Coventry. For a time he was editor of the Hart- 
 ford Coiirant, was a member of the House from 
 Flartford in 1874, and of the Senate in 1875, from 
 the old Twenty-first district, and again in 1877 was 
 member of Assembly from Coventry. In 1879-81 
 he was State comptroller, and one of his first acts, 
 on assuming the duties of this office, was the ap- 
 poiiitment of W. W. Dibble as superintendent of 
 the Capitol — a position Mr. Dibble held until re- 
 moved by Nicholas Staub, comptroller, while Luzon 
 B. Morris was governor. 
 
 Hon. Chauncey Howard was of strong physique, 
 was dignified and reserved, and a courtly gentle- 
 man of the old school. Although he did not seek 
 society, he formed many strong friendships with 
 members of the Bench and Bar, among whom were 
 the late Gov. Hubbard, Judge D. W. Pardee, W. D. 
 Shipman and Nathaniel Shipman, Hon. Henry C. 
 Robinson, Hon. Charles W. Johnson, Senator Eaton, 
 Senator Hawley, and many other personages of 
 distinction. 
 
 Mr. Howard possessed fine literary tastes, and 
 delighted in the writings of the. British essayists. 
 His character, like his tastes, was pure, clear and 
 beyond reproach. He was conservative in politics, 
 being first a Whig and then a Republican, and in 
 religion was a Congregationalist and a member of 
 the Pearl Street Church from its organization. In 
 this faith he passed away Aug. 12, 1891, leaving 
 a void in the official circles of Flartford and the 
 State that will require many a decade to adequately 
 fill. 
 
 Of the maternal kin of Chauncey Howard, the 
 Ripley family, to whom allusion has already been 
 made, it may further be said that the name is one 
 of the oldest and most respected in Connecticut. - 
 and among its latest prominent representatives was 
 Jeremiah, who was a lifelong resident of South 
 Coventry. His son, Chauncey Ripley, was born and 
 reared in South Coventry, and was the father of the 
 present generation bearing the family name. He 
 was educated at Yale College, and was a school 
 teacher in early life. He married Lucretia E. 
 Fitch, of Windham, Conn., but both he and his wife 
 are now deceased. They were the parents of six 
 children, who were named, in order of birth, as 
 follows: Julia L., nowMrs. Pember, of Hartford; 
 Chauncey B., deceased ; John Floward, who jirac- ' 
 ticed medicine for many years and was a notcil '■ 
 surgeon in New York City, but is now. deceased 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 747 
 
 Laura M., a highly respected lady, residing on 
 Sigoiirney street, Hartford ; Henry Clay, deceased ; 
 and Edward Clayton, who for twenty-five years 
 practiced law in New York City, but now makes his 
 liome with his sister, Aliss Laura M., in Hartford. 
 
 J0SL\1I H. SMITH, ex-soldier of the Civil 
 war, farmer, market-gardner and poultry raiser, 
 and a greatly-respected citizen of Silver Lane, 
 Hartford county, was born in the State of Maine, 
 April 3, 1842,' a son of David \V. antl Emma (_1 lib- 
 hard) Sniilli, natives of the same State. 
 
 Ransford Smith, grandfather of our subject, 
 was born on the island of Martha's Vineyard, Mass., 
 and thence moved to Mercer, Somerset Co., Maine, 
 where there were born to him eight children : Jane, 
 who was born Dec. 28, 1807, was married to Luther 
 Kiggs, and died Oct. 29, 1884; David W., the father 
 of our subject, of whom further mention will fol- 
 ilow; Charlotte, born May 6, 1812, who died single 
 Jan. 13, 1886; Abijah, born Eeb. 17, 1815, died 
 April 13, 1836; Emily A., born April 9, 1817, died 
 Sept. 29, 1839; Amos W., born March 9, 1819, who 
 married Harriet ^Villiamson, and after her decease 
 wedded Eliza Sawtelle, bv whom he is the father of 
 two children; Albion Vv'., born March 31, 1821, who 
 married Ann Page, and is a resident of Mercer, 
 Maine; Maiy Amanda, born July 25, 1824, who was 
 married to William Gay, and died May 12, 1874. 
 
 David W. Smith was born May 3, 1810, in 
 Mercer, Alaine. and passed all his life on his farm. 
 On Jan. 30, 1840, he married Emtna Hibbard, a 
 daughter of Stephen and Mary (Stevens) Hibbard, 
 and a native of Norridgewock, Maine, to vifhich 
 union were born four children: Henry A., who was 
 born Nov. 22, 1840, married Helena Smith, has two 
 children, and is now a resident of Mechanic Falls, 
 Androscoggin Co., Maine; Josiah H. is the subject 
 of this sketch ; Hattie H., who was born May 22, 
 1846, is now living, unmarried, in East Hartford, 
 Conn. ; and Albert D., who was born Aug. 12, 1855, 
 married Ellen Taylor, is the father of one child, 
 and resides in Northboro, Mass. David W. Smith, 
 a highly-esteemed and valued citizen, was called 
 from earth Julv 24, 1869. 
 
 Josiah H. Smith, whose name appears at the 
 opening of this review, received his early education 
 in the common and high schools, and remained 
 under the parental roof until he had nearly reached 
 liis majority, when, fired with the patriotism that in- 
 spired the Northern heart at the attempted disrup- 
 tion of the LTnion, he enlisted Sept. 16, 1862, in 
 Company K, 24th Maine V. L, in command of Capt. 
 H. M. Campbell and Col. Atwood, for nine months' 
 service, and was placed in camp at Au- 
 gusta, Maine, until Sept. 30, when the reg- 
 iment was sent to East New York, where 
 it arrived Oct. i. On Jan. 10, 1863, the regiment 
 embarked at New York City on the sailing-vessel 
 "Onward," and after a tempestuous voyage of ten 
 days' duration, entered one of the mouths of the 
 
 Mississippi river ; but in going up the mighty stream 
 the vessel struck a sand-bar, Jan. 27, and lay 
 grounded until the next day, when she was hauled 
 olT by a steam-tug and towed to CarroUton, about 
 SIX miles above New Orleans. There the regiment 
 was on picket duty for three weeks, and was then 
 sent to Bonnet Carre, in St. John the Baptist county. 
 La., where it remained until May 7; was then em- 
 barked on the "Morning Light" for a place known 
 as Doyal's plantation, whence it marched twenty- 
 two miles to the Amite river, Tangipahoa county, 
 engaging in many skirmishes on the way. After 
 twelve days of skirmishing and foraging, the 
 "boys" W'Cre marched back to Doyal's plantation, 
 and thence to Tort Hudson, wdiere they took part 
 in the first battle. May 27, and after more than a 
 dozen severe skirmishes, lasting until June 14, drove 
 tlie Confederates toward the town, where there was 
 constant hard fighting until the Rebels surrendered 
 their strongly fortified position, July 8. During 
 his nine months' service ^^Ir. Smith never was off 
 ciuty a single day, from sickness or any other cause, 
 and on his return to the North, still enthused with 
 patriotic ardor, he enlisted at Morristown, N. J., 
 i.i Company F, 35th N. J. V. L, was sent to North 
 Carolina, and there took part in the battle which 
 resulted in the defeat of the Rebels under Gen. Jo- 
 seph E. Johnston at Goldsboro, April 15, 1865, the 
 surrender of arms being made to Gen. William Te- 
 cumseh Sherman at Raleigh, April 26. 
 
 After the close of the war J\Ir. Smith located at 
 Brook Haven, on Long Island, N. Y., wdience he 
 rtturned to the old homestead, in Mercer, Maine; 
 farmed until 1872, when he went to Westboro. 
 Mass. ; thence in 1877 to Springfield, Vt., where ho 
 lived until 1881. He next passed a year at Moor- 
 ton. Del., and in 1882 came to Connecticut and lived 
 in Suffield until 1888, in which year he purchased, 
 from Mrs. Thomas Birch, his present farm of ten 
 acres in Silver Lane, East Hartford, 
 
 Mr. Smith was united in marriage, Jan. 19, 1870, 
 to ]\Iiss Ella ^L Fowler, of Thetford, \"t.. who was 
 born in Boston, Mass., Dec. 8, 1851, a daughter of 
 Jesse F. and Hannah (Woodbury) Fowder, and this 
 union has been blessed with children as follows : 
 Jesse F., born Nov. 21, 1870, was a student in a the- 
 ological seminary, and is now a missionar}' in Ran- 
 goon. Burniah, India (he married, Nov. 8, i(-<)j, Cora 
 Blanchard) ; Addie G., born April 2, 1872, is the 
 wife of \\'alter Miner, of Silver Lane; Fred M., 
 born Nov. 22, 1874. married Grace Roberts, is a 
 carpenter by trade, and also resides in Silver Lane; 
 and Florence Hattie, born June 13, 1882, died Dec. 
 22, 1883 . 
 
 In Politics ^Ir. Smith is a Republican : fraternally 
 he is a member of D. C. Rodman Post, No. 65. G. A. 
 R., of East Hartford, of which he is now the com- 
 mander for the second term. Socially he is greatly 
 esteemed by the community in which he lives, and 
 in this esteem his wife and children hold an equal 
 share. 
 
748 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 SAMUEL KENNEDY HENRY, a farmer and 
 one of the prominent Scotch-Irish citizens of Hart- 
 ford county, was born in Coleraine, County Derry, 
 Ireland, April 15, 1827, a son of William and Mary 
 Ann ( McDougal) Henry, both also natives of Coun- 
 ty Derry. William"'Henry was a farmer, and lived 
 and died in County Derry, Ireland. He was a son 
 of James and Elizabeth (Kennedy) Henry, natives 
 of Scotland. Our subject's maternal grandparents, 
 Cullen and Elizabeth (Taylor) McDougal, were of 
 Scottish descent. 
 
 Our subject was reared in Coujity Derry, was 
 educated in the common schools, and in his youth 
 acquired the trade of linen weaver, which he fol- 
 lowed in County Derry for five years. At the age 
 of twenty-three years, he came to America, and in 
 the fall of 1850 located in Enfield, being for a short 
 time employed in the Carpet Works at Thompson- 
 ville. He then engaged in farming, which vocation 
 he has followed up to the present time, in 1857 pur- 
 chasing the farm which he now occupies. 
 
 On April 4, 1854, Mr. Henry married Sarah, 
 daughter of John and Ann (Campbell) Mc Adams, 
 of County Armagh, Ireland, and granddaughter of 
 John and Sarah (Best) McAdams. To our sub- 
 ject and wife have been born five children : Mary A. 
 (Mrs. George T. Smith), William K., Margaret 
 (Mrs. M. Lamphear), Sarah J. (Mrs. Howard 
 Button), and Samuel J. Mr. Henry and his wife 
 are members of the United Presbyterian Church. 
 In politics he is a Republican. 
 
 : WILLIAM WRIGHT CHRISTIAN, M. D., 
 is a skilled physician and surgeon of Berlin, one 
 whose knowledge of the science of medicine is 
 broad and comprehensive, and whose ability in ap- 
 plying its principles to the needs of suffering hu- 
 manity has gained him an enviable prestige in pro- 
 fessional circles. 
 
 Dr. Christian was born in Plymouth, N. Y., 
 July 27, 1869, a son of Wright and Harriet Emily 
 (Willcox) Christian. His father was born in New 
 York City, and during his active years followed 
 the occupation of farming, from which he retired, 
 spending the remainder of his life in Hamilton, N. 
 Y., where he died Oct. 30, 1900, at the age of 
 sixty years, from the effects of experiences in the 
 late war. The Doctor's mother was born in Rhode 
 Island in 1847, a daughter of Edward Tift'any and 
 Harriet Mahitable (Houghton) Willcox. The Doc- 
 tor's paternal grandfather, Truman Bishop Chris- 
 tian, also a native of New York City, was a ma- 
 chinist by trade, and was superintendent of the 
 motive power of the New York, Ontario & West 
 ern railroad, with headquarters at Rome, New York. 
 
 The first fifteen years of his life William W. 
 Christian spent upon his father's farm, attending 
 the district schools in winter, and assisting in the 
 farm work in summer. He then entered the high 
 school at Sherburne, N. Y., where he was a student 
 for one year, and the following four years attended 
 
 Colgate Academy, Hamilton, N. Y., where he was 
 graduated in 1891. Later he pursued his studies 
 at Colgate University, Hamilton, N. Y., for about 
 one year, and then took up the study of medicine 
 instead of journalism, which was at first his in- 
 tention. In the fall of 1892 he matriculated at the 
 New' York Homeopathic Medical College and 
 Flower Hospital, where he was graduated with hon- 
 ors in 1895. He was a close student, and spent 
 his vacations in work and study in different hos- 
 pitals, being in the Flower Hospital, New York, a 
 few months ; and the Chambers Street House of '; 
 Relief, a branch of the New York Hospital, for 
 three months, during which Hime he had many 
 queer experiences in the slums of the city and 
 with all classes of people. Later he took a regular, :, 
 course at the Broome Street Lying-in Hospital;, :; 
 spent one year at Hahnemann Hospital, New York, { 
 and was Resident Surgeon of Dr. H. I. Ostrom's i 
 private surgical hospital. No. 127 West Forty-sev- 
 enth street. New York, for the same .length of 1 
 time. Thus well equipped for his chosen profes-' \ 
 sion, by study and practical experience, he came to 
 New Britain, Conn., May 23, 1896, to take charge 
 of Dr. W. P. Bunnell's practice during that gentle- 
 man's illness, and was also with Dr. E. L. Styles in 
 a hospital at that place about two months during I 
 the summer. In July, 1896, he opened an office of 1 
 his own in Berlin, and was not long in securing ' 
 the large and lucrative practice which he now en- 
 joys. After locating here he also attended to Dr. 
 Styles' practice during the latter's absence from the 
 city. Dr. Christian is now visiting physician and 
 surgeon to the New Britain General Hospital of 
 New Britain. 
 
 On Sept. 7, 1898, Dr. Christian was united in 
 marriage with Miss Cora Belle Beaton, who was 
 born Nov. 2, 1877, a daughter of Allen J. and Mary 
 Beaton, the former of whom is president of the 
 Beaton & Bradley Mnfg. Co., of Southington, 
 Conn. Mrs. Christian is a graduate of the Lewis 
 Fligh School, of Southington. Both Dr. and Mrs. 
 Christian are prominent members of the Berlin Lit- 
 erary Society, for social and literary development, 
 and are members of the Congregational Church, 
 in connection with which Mrs. Christian also be- 
 longs to the Ladies' Aid Society and the Missionary 
 Society. The Doctor is a member of New Britain 
 Council, No. 738, Royal Arcanum ; is identified with 
 the Public Library Association ; is a member of the 
 Connecticut State Homeopathic Medical Society ; 
 Concord Lodge, No. 50, F. & A. M., New York 
 City; Court Mattabessette, No. 137, Foresters of 
 America, of Berlin, in which he holds the office 
 of examining and attending physician ; is also con- 
 nected with the Berlin Agricultural Society ; is i 
 member of Berlin Grange, and has successfully filled 
 the office of lecturer of that institution :, is a mem- 
 ber of the Village Improvement Society and Board 
 of Trade, having served as secretary ; and is a mem- 
 ber of the Berlin Driving and Athletic Association, 
 
uy. ccy. c^iA^^^z^ccSa^^ x^^<^. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 740 
 
 his horses having taken prizes in this and in the 
 Agricultural Society. The- Doctor usually acts with 
 the Republican party, though at local elections he 
 votes for the men whom he believes best qualified 
 to fill the offices, regardless of party ties. He is 
 very popular in both professional and social circles. 
 
 CHARLES RANDOLPH FORBES, one of 
 tile most substantial farmers, as well as one of the 
 I most highly-respected anil prominent citizens, of 
 Burnside, lo\Vn of East Hartford, was born on the 
 old Eorbes homestead Xov. 5, 1859, a son of Charles 
 R. and I^lizabeth (Hills) Eorbes. 
 
 Mr. Forbes is a descendant in tlie eighth genera- 
 tion of Capt. James and Catherine Forbes, the for- 
 mer of whom settled in East Hartford town 240 
 years ago. As the family descent from Capt. 
 James, from 1654 up to the present time, has been 
 given in full in the biography of Hon. James Stan- 
 ley Forbes, elsewhere, it will be necessary here to 
 niention only the immediate predecessors of our 
 subject, beginning with his grandfather, Charles 
 Forbes, of the sixth generation, who was a son of 
 Timothy and Betsey (Treat) Forbes, and was born 
 L"tec. 27, 1805. Charles Forbes married, Jan. 20, 
 
 1827, JNlary A. ^\'ard, a native of Danbury, Conn., 
 born May 8, 1807, and a daughter of Carleton and 
 Martha Ward. Mr. Forbes had but $10 at the time 
 of his marriage. He located at Scotland (now 
 Burnside), and was soon engaged, with Francis 
 Hannier, in making powder, at what is known as 
 Woodland, near by. Selling out to the Hazard 
 Powder Co., he embarked in paper-making, and at 
 different times was connected with every paper- 
 mill in Burnside. He sold what is now the Walker 
 mill to the present owners, after which he operated 
 both the IMiddle and Lower mills, each producing a 
 distinctive quality of paper. Although he was 
 thrown upon his own resources early in life, he 
 proved to be an excellent business man, and was cut 
 oft in the midst of his activity, March 16, iS/fi, at 
 Burnside, his widow surviving until Oct. 3, 1893. 
 Equipped only with a district-school education, he 
 overcame all obstacles, became influential as a cit- 
 izen, prosperous and prominent in his particular 
 line of business, and left to his family the rich her- 
 itage of an untarnished name. This family con- 
 sisted of six children : Harriet Hills, born April 27, 
 
 1828, was married Jan. 11, 1854, to Fredu> -Milton 
 Griswold, and died in Burnside Jan. 16, 1858, leav- 
 ing one daughter, Florence G., now Mrs. Percy S. 
 Bryant, of East Hartford. The second child was 
 Charles R., of whom further mention will be made. 
 'J'he third child, iNIartha J., was born Feb. 29, 1832, 
 v.'as married May 20, 1S53, to John Stanley, of New 
 Britain, and died Feb. 26, 1859, leaving one child, 
 Charles F., of Lawrence, Kans. Caroline E., the 
 fourth child, was born April 17, 1834, was married 
 Sept. 6, i8;3, to William Hanmer, and is now a 
 widow, residing in Hartford ; she has five children 
 living, Fanny W., Frank H., Harriet, John and 
 
 Mary. The fifth child, Catherine M., born Sept. 
 10, 1839, was marred Sept. 19, i860, to Samuel L. 
 Way, resides in Hartford, and has two children liv- 
 ing, Charles L and Robert F. The sixth child, Annie 
 M., was born l'"eb. 2, 1851, was married to Edwin 
 Strong Oct. 29, 1874, lives in Hartford, and has 
 three children living, Edwin A., Louis P. and Daisy. 
 
 Charles R. Forbes, second child of Charles, above 
 mentioned, and father of Charles R., the subject of 
 this sketch, was born at Burnside, April 9, 1830; 
 his wife, Elizabeth (Hills) Forbus, was born March 
 26, 1832, and is a daughter of James Babcock Hills, 
 who married Laura W'haples, of Newington ; John 
 Holmes, maternal grandfather of Laura Whaples, 
 was a soldier of the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Eliza- 
 beth (Hills) Forbes was the youngest of three chil- 
 dren born to her parents, of whom the eldest died in 
 infancy; and Martha was married to George Carey, 
 and died in Hartford. Charles R. Forbes, Sr., re- 
 ceived a practical district school education, and 
 began business when a young man by working for 
 his father at the powder-mill near Burnside, and in 
 teaming and general work for the Hanmer, Forbes 
 & Page paper-mill in the village. He soon became 
 a partner with his father, and had an interest with 
 him in each of the paper-mills in Burnside, which 
 he retained until within a few years of his death, 
 when he sold out to Francis Hanmer. Just after 
 his marriage Mr. Forbes settled on the family home- 
 stead, which had been his home all his life with the 
 exception of fourteen years passed on the original 
 Forbes homestead, which is still in the family, and 
 has been for nearly two and a half centuries. On 
 the newer homestead '^Ir. Forbes ended his days 
 Oct. II, 1889. He had been a far-sighted and suc- 
 cessful business man, and left behind him not only 
 a comfortable competence but an honored name. 
 He was a member of Orient Lodge, No. 62, F. & 
 A. ;\L, at East Flartford, and his remains were in- 
 terred with Masonic honors in the East Hartford 
 cemetery. In politics he was originally a \\'hig, 
 but in the disintegration of that party and the forma- 
 tion of the Republican organization he became a 
 member of the latter, }-et be took no especial inter- 
 est in party affairs. 
 
 Charles R. Forbes, the subject proper of this 
 sketch, and the only child born to his parents, first 
 attended school at Burnside, under ^Irs. A\'illiam 
 Riley, of Waterbury ; for a time Percy S. Bryant 
 was also one of his teachers; he next attended the 
 "Arsenal" school at Hartford, then the high school 
 of the same cit\-, and finally Hannum's Business 
 College, also of Hartford. He then became asso- 
 ciated with his father in the management of the 
 '"Lower" paper-mill at Burnside, and when the fa- 
 ther disposed of his business interests Mr. Forbes 
 engaged in his present pursuit of farming — hiring 
 help, but keeping a close supervision of the work. 
 
 On Feb. 3, xS86, Mr. Forbes was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Emma Murray, of Burnside. who 
 was born in Paterson, N. J., Oct. 26, 1857. Her 
 
750 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 father, John Murray, was born Feb. 14, 1836, at 
 Deh Muhr, Scotland, was a paper-maker by trade, 
 and on coming to America located at Paterson, N. 
 J. ; he later married Eliza J. Bradley, a native of 
 that city, and a daughter of William and Jane 
 (Moody) Bradley. Jane Moody was a native of 
 Leeds, England, and the Bradley family were in ex- 
 cellent standing in the old country, the older mem- 
 bers being employed in the household of King- 
 George III. Three children crowned the union of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Forbes, viz. : Fred Randolph, born 
 May 17, 1888; Charles Douglas, born October 24, 
 1889; and James Everett, born May 7, 1891. 
 
 In politics Mr. Forbes is a Republican, and he 
 has been a member of the board of rehef for sev- 
 eral years. Fraternally he was a charter member 
 of Lafayette Countil, INo. 37, O. U. A. M., of Burn- 
 side, and is still its treasurer. Mrs. Forbes, mother 
 of our subject, has been a member of the First 
 Congregational Church since her eighteenth year, 
 and has ever been consistent in her observance of 
 its teachings. Mr. Forbes being an only child, and 
 his father's business and farming interests having 
 been quite extensive, he had left to him much to 
 do after the decease of the father in caring for the 
 estate and unsettled business matters, beside his 
 own extensive affairs, but he inherited much of his 
 father's business sagacity, and has made a tri- 
 umphant success of all his undertakings. He is a 
 thoroughly progressive man, wide-awake and up- 
 to-date, and it is to be hoped that the high standing 
 of the Forbes name will through his children pass 
 on to generations yet to come. 
 
 GEORGE DENNIS, who is one of the active 
 and enterprising business men of New Britain, 
 where he has for years been successfuU engaged in 
 the manufacture of brick, is well and favorably 
 known throughout that section of Connecticut. 
 
 Mr. Dennis is of English origin, born Sept. 30, 
 1857, at Haverstraw, N. Y., son of Thomas Dennis, 
 Sr., a brick manufacturer of that place. Thomas 
 Dennis was born in England, and at the age of thirty 
 came to America, locating at Haverstraw, N. Y. 
 In about 1875 he removed from Haverstraw to New 
 Britain, Conn., and for the past twenty-five years 
 has been an extensive brick manufacturer in New- 
 ington. Conn. His wife was formerly Eliza Wise, 
 a native of England. Their children are as fol- 
 lows : William H. and James are residents of New 
 ington; Sarah Ann is the wife of George Walker, 
 of New Britain; George, our subject, is referred 
 to farther on; Thomas is engaged in the manu- 
 facture of brick in West Hartford ; Annie is the 
 wife of George Rawlings, of Berlin ; Joseph is now 
 a resident of West Hartford ; John E. is living in 
 Newington ; and Elizabeth is the wife of William 
 King, of West Hartford. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the common schools 
 of his birthplace and those in New Britain, Conn., 
 working in his father's brickyard through the sum- 
 
 mers, and attending school in the winter season. 
 Fie was eighteen years of age on the removal oii 
 the family to Connecticut, and attended a winter | 
 school two seasons after the removal. Later he en- i 
 gaged in the brick business on his own account, I 
 associated with J. W. Holmes, and he has since j 
 successfully maintained a good trade. His po-l 
 litical affiliations are with the Republican party ini 
 National and State issues, though in town affairs ; 
 he does not draw the line, generally voting for the; 
 man he judges best fitted for the office, regardless of 1 
 his politics. , 
 
 On Jan. 22, 1879, Mr. Dennis was married toii 
 Miss Susannah Bedford, daughter of James Bed-j 
 ford, both born in England, and to this marriage; 
 was born, Dec. 23, 1879, a daughter, Lucy Wise,.' 
 who was educated at the New Britain high school, ' 
 and is still at home. The mother and daughter are 
 identified with the First Baptist Church of New \ 
 Britain. 
 
 HENRY KEENEY, the popular dairyman and 
 pure milk and cream vender of Bloomfield, was 
 born in that town Oct. 5, 1856, and is a son of 
 Ralph Keeney, who was born in Glastonbury, Hart- 
 ford county, about sixty-five years ago. He was a 
 son of Shubel Keeney, a former resident of Bloom- 
 field and a farmer, who married a Miss Keeney, and 
 they passed away many years ago. Ralph Keeney 
 has lived the greater part of his life in Bloom- 
 field, was married in Bloomfield, Hartford county, 
 to Miss Louise Bramble, a native of Simsbury, and 
 to their marriage were born six children : Ellen, 
 deceased ; Henry, whose name opens this paragraph; 
 Frank, of New Britain ; Willis, of Westfield ; Hattie, 
 of New Britain; and George, of Bloomfield. 
 
 Henry Keeney was educated in the public schools 
 of Bloomfield, was reared on the home farm, started 
 farming on his own account at twenty-one, and for 
 the past twelve years has been successfully en- 
 gaged in dairying, having lived on his present place 
 the past seven years. He runs one milk-wagon as 
 far as Hartford, and his product is there, as well 
 as in Bloomfield, noted for its purity. 
 
 Henry Keeney was joined in matrimony, at 
 Hartford, with Miss Laura Quick, daughter of 
 Elbert Floyd Quick, of that city, and to this union 
 have been born four children : Viola, deceased ; 
 Edith, born Sept. 13, 1893; Norwood, Nov. 9, 
 1894; and Helen, June 29, 1896. The parents are 
 highly esteemed by their neighbors, and their per- 
 sonal merits constitute the foundation of the high 
 regard in which they are held. 
 
 ARCHIE S. BURNHAM, a prosperous young 
 farmer of the town of East Hartford, was born on 
 his father's farm Feb. 3, 1874, and is a son of 
 Jesse and Roda Jane (Signer) Burnham, the former 
 of whom is now deceased. 
 
 Jesse Burnham, the father, was born May 31, 
 1820, on the homestead of his parents, Jesse and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 751 
 
 \Iabel (Abbey) Biirnham, on Main street, near the 
 ^outh Wiiulsor line, and was the youngest in a 
 aniily of live ehildren : JNlabel A., born Sept. ii, 
 8ii; Levi, jnly 6, 1813; JMartin, July 4, 1815; 
 ohn A., July 29, 1817; and Jesse. The father of 
 his family met with a sad death by falling into a 
 lit partially filled with water, the fall so injuring 
 lim that he was unable to save himself, and thus 
 net with a jiainful and lingering death. Jesse 
 Jurnham, the father of our subject, received a sound 
 omnion-school' education, and was reared to man- 
 lood on his father's farm. On January i, 1857, he 
 narried Miss Roda Jane Signer, who was born in 
 "ranklin, Delaware Co., N. Y., Feb. 13, 1835, and 
 vhen a young woman came to Connecticut and made 
 ler home with her brother, Jerome Signer, in 
 ■iouth Windsor. For some time she was employed 
 n the Cheney Co.'s silk-mills, in Manchester, and 
 hen returned to South Windsor, where her mar- 
 iage took place. To this union there came ten 
 hildren : Jesse, born Sept. 14, 1857, married Alice 
 .Volcott, Dec. 24, 1879, and is now living in South 
 \\'indsor ; Leander, also of South Windsor, was 
 )orn Oct. 24, 1858, and married ]Mary Bidwell 
 Vpril II, 1883; Estella, born Aug. 30, i860, was 
 narried to Frank Farnham, of Ellington, April 
 16, 1885, and now resides in East Hartford ; Will- 
 am, born July 16, 1862, married Anna M. House 
 Vug. 29, 1889; Arthur J., born Nov. 21, 1864, died 
 if typhoid fever Oct. 29, 1871 ; Alice G., born April 
 16, 1867, was married to Edwin Northrop, Aug. 22, 
 1889, and is now living in Quincy, 111. ; Howard 
 E., born Sept. 4, 1869, died Oct. 4, 1871 ; Edith, 
 )orn Oct. 3, 1871, died Feb. 4, 1876; Archie S., is 
 he subject of this notice ; and Ida M., born April 
 J, 1876, was married to Arthur L. Brewer Aug. 8, 
 ;900, and is now living in Farmington, Connecticut. 
 
 The father of this family, after a brief illness, 
 lied on his homestead Feb. 12, 1876, and Dec. 25, 
 same year, Mrs. Burnham was wedded to Charles 
 ?. Fairbanks, a native of Middletown, Conn., and a 
 nason by trade. To this union have been born two 
 hildren: Clarence E., Oct. 31, 1878; and Florence, 
 Jet. 5, 1880, the latter now attending the high 
 ichool at Hartford. 
 
 Archie S. Burnham, after passing through the 
 ■ommon-school course, entered Morse's Business 
 Jollcge at Flartford, from which he graduated in 
 he spring of 1894, and then returned to the honie- 
 tead. On Dec. 25, 1895, he married Miss Effie M. 
 \bbey, a native of East Hartford, born Nov. 16, 
 877, daughter of George and Isabella (Thomp- 
 son) Abbey. George Abbey was born in East Hart- 
 ord, Conn., served with bravery an3 credit in the 
 ■"irst Connecticut Heavy Artillery during the Civil 
 var, and after receiving an honorable discharge 
 ettled in Silver Lane, there purchasing the Austin 
 A'arren farm, where his death took place in 1891, 
 md where his widow still resides. Their only child 
 s now ]\Irs. Burnham. 
 
 In 1896 Mr. Burnham erected his beautiful 
 
 modern dwelling on Silver Lane, where Tie culti- 
 vates four acres of excellent tobacco land, and lives 
 in peace and comfort, lie belongs to the East 
 Hartford Grange, and is one of its most diligent 
 and earnest members. In politics he is liberal in 
 his views, and hardly ever takes any interest in 
 party aflairs. He and wife are attendants of the 
 Congregational Church, and their social standing 
 is second to none in the town. 
 
 ALBERT EUGENE NORTON, a representa- 
 tive and prominent farmer of Berlin, was born in the 
 house where he now resides March 27, 1856. His 
 father, Henry Norton, was also born there, April 
 10, 1803, and the grandfather, Samuel Norton, was 
 born near there, in Berlin, and built the residence. 
 Our subject's great-grandfather, Jedediah Norton, 
 was a native of the same town, and the remains of 
 all his ancestors have been interred in the South 
 burying-ground, Berlin. 
 
 Mr. Norton's father was a prosperous farmer, 
 owning at one time 300 acres of land in Berlin, and 
 he was also a man of influence in his connnunity, 
 being often called upon to settle estates when in 
 the prime of life. Politically he was an ardent 
 Democrat, but took little part in political afifairs 
 aside from voting. He wls a member of the 
 L'niversalist Church of Berlin, but m later years at- 
 tended the Congregational Church. ]\Ir. Norton 
 died Nov. 12, 1885, and was buried in Berlin ceme- 
 tery. For his first wife he married Adelia Atwood, 
 and to them were born several children, all of whom 
 died young except Henry Hector, who is now en- 
 gaged in the lumber business in Hartford ; and 
 Adelia M., widow of Ariel Jones, and a resident 
 of Naugatuck. In 1849 the father married Miss 
 Mar_y Angelinc Tuttle, of Newfield, ^liddlesex Co., 
 Conn., who was born May 3, 1825, and is now living 
 on the old homestead with our subject. The chil- 
 dren born of the second union are Mary Angeline, 
 wife of Andrew Hunt, a real-estate agent of Wor- 
 cester, Mass. ; Jennie Martha, wife of Walter Gwat- 
 kin, of Berlin; Albert E., our subject; Ida May, 
 who died unmarried I-'eb. 8, 1898, and was laid to 
 rest in the South burying-ground; and Antoinette, 
 at home. 
 
 During his boyhood and youth Albert E. Norton 
 attended the Berlin schools during the winter months, 
 while through the summer season he aided in the 
 work of the home farm. After leaving school, at 
 the age of eighteen years, he worked for his father 
 until twenty-two, and then took charge of the farm, 
 which he has since so successfully operated. He 
 has 220 acres of land, under a high state of culti- 
 vation, and in connection with general farming is 
 also interested in the creamery business, keeping 
 sixteen cows for that purpose, and selling the cream 
 to the Golden Ridge Creamery. 
 
 Mr. Norton was married Dec. 21, 1881, to 
 Miss Lizzie Viola Wakelee. of Bridgeport, Conn., 
 who was born Aug. 29. 1857, and died Sept. 9, 
 
752 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1899, a daughter of Sidney L. and Maria (Dowd) 
 Wakelee, of that place, where the father is engaged 
 in the Hvery business. Five children were born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Norton : Lester Arthur, born Nov. 
 12, 1883, is attending the Huntsinger Business Col- 
 lege, of Hartford; Flora May, born May 15, 1885, 
 Elsie Alberta, born Jan. 12, 1887, Wescell Albert, 
 born Aug. i, 1891, aix all attending school in Ber- 
 lin; and Edna Ray, born March 6, 1896. 
 
 Politically Mr. Norton is a Democrat, but is not 
 strictly partisan, and at local elections votes inde- 
 pendently. He has been elected to office, but has 
 refused to qualify, preferring to take no active part 
 in political affairs. He takes considerable interest, 
 however, in agricultural matters, and is now a mem- 
 ber of several of the Agricultural Society commit- 
 tees of Berlin. He is also a prominent member of 
 Berlin Grange, No. 24, to which his wife also be- 
 longs, and she also holds membership in the Episco- 
 pal Church, while he attends the Congregational 
 Church. They stand high in the community where 
 they have so long made their home, and those who 
 know them best are numbered among their warmest 
 friends. 
 
 EBENEZER B. CRAW, a native of the town of 
 East Windsor, was born Oct. 8, 1827, and has won 
 his way through his long and useful life entirely by 
 his personal exertion and patient toil, backed by a 
 marked intellectuality and persistency of purpose. 
 
 Abial Craw, his father, Dorn March 9, 1801, was 
 a man of more than ordinary mental receptivity and 
 retentiveness of memory, and garnered a large store 
 of knowledge. On Feb. 22, 1820, he married Miss 
 Rhoda Belknap, who was born in East Windsor, 
 Oct. 20, 1801, and after marriage set to work to 
 earn for himself and wife a home. He had learned 
 farming from his father, and was also a miller, and 
 lived in East Windsor until the township was di- 
 vided, when he fotmd himself to be a resident of 
 South Windsor, and there he died May 26, 1877, 
 being followed to the grave by his wife Sept. 8, 
 1879, and both dying in the faith of the Methodist 
 Church. Their children were nine in number, as 
 follows : Mary Ann, who was born April 20, 1821, 
 is now living in Windsorville, and is the wife of 
 Charles Clark; Edward A., born Jan. 28, 1823, 
 died in California; Betsey M., born Dec. 26, 1825, 
 died in infancy; Ebenezer B. is the subject of this 
 sketch; Betsey M. (2), born Aug. 26, 1829, is mar- 
 ried to Sheldon Braman ; Samantha, born Oct. 23, 
 1831, is the wife of Turner Moulton ; Charlotte, 
 now 'Mrs. Harvey Frost, was born Jan. 28, 1833 ; 
 George A., born June 30, 1836, died in infancy; 
 and George F., born Nov. 18, 1841, is a resident of 
 Oregon. 
 
 Ebenezer B. Craw left the home of his parents 
 at the age of seven years, and for the following 
 nine years worked for Chauncey Ellsworth and for 
 various others, attending school in winter, until his 
 marriage, April 11, 1847, to Miss Harriet C. Simp- 
 
 son, daughter of Chester and Hannah (Clough) 
 Simpson, natives of East Windsor, the marriage \ 
 resulting in the birth of three children : Ella and ' 
 Chester, who both died in infancy ; and Francis 
 S., who was born July 14, 1849, ^-'''d is now a rail- ' 
 road engineer in Albany, Oregon. j 
 
 Mrs. Harriet Craw was called away soon after 
 the birth of her youngest child, and April 15, 1855, 1 
 Mr. Craw married Mrs. Harriet Page, daughter 
 of Julius and Nancy Benton, of North Guilford, 
 where the wedding took pace. This lady was the 
 mother of one child by her first marriage, Lucy 
 (widow of George B. Shepard), who has one daugh- ; 
 ter, Hattie, born Jan. 21, 1873, married to Marvin ; 
 W. Hall, and living in Atlanta, Ga. Mrs. Harriet 
 (Benton-Page) Craw died March 6, 1900. She 
 was a kind, affable and benevolent looking lady, 
 greatly respected by a large circle of devoteil 
 friends. 
 
 Mrs. Shepard is a lady of extraordinary abilit}- 
 as an artist, and is, beside, well cultured in litera- 
 ture and quite conversant with the current topics 
 of the day. Her talent for music and painting is 
 inherent, and rises to the plane of genius, which 
 same love for the artistic is made manifest even in 
 her needlework. She is a teacher of the art of 
 painting in the Herbert Art Company of Hartford, 
 and numerous specimens of her skill as an artist in 
 oil are to be found in many of the most refined 
 homes of the country. 
 
 Mr. Craw, although confined to his home by 
 inflammatory rheumatism, is as serene in temper 
 and genial in manner as if he had never felt a 
 pang of pain, and his pleasant little farm of six 
 acres, which he purchased in 1888, is kept, under his 
 supervision, in the highest state of cultivation pos- 
 sible, while the impi-ovements are all of his own 
 planning. In politics Mr. Craw is a Democrat, but 
 he is not excessively partisan, and has never been 
 an office seeker. 
 
 JAMES WARD (deceased) was one of the most 
 influential and best known citizens of Connecticut, 
 of which State he was a loyal son during his long 
 and useful life of eighty-seven years. 
 
 Mr. Ward was born in Guilford, New Haven 
 Co., Conn., Feb. 2, 1767, a son of Bilrous AVard, 
 and a grandson of Andrew Ward. He was intense- 
 ly public-spirited, always ready to bear more than 
 his share of public burdens, and was actively identi- 
 fied vvith many important enterprises for the good 
 of the community at large, and the relief of suft'er- 
 ing humanity. At one time he was chief engineer 
 of the Hartford Fire Department, was a leading 
 and valued member of the Connecticut Historical 
 Society, one of the principal officers (trustee) of 
 the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, and a zealous 
 worker in the establishment of the Retreat for the 
 Insane, being a director of same, toward the success 
 of which enterprise he was a liberal contributor. 
 Fie was a member and past grand master of the 
 
\wdl (B ^cL 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 758 
 
 Masonic Fraternity. His views were broad, his 
 sympathies acute, and his heart warm and gener- 
 ous. Jn his deportment he was atTable and court- 
 eous, and in his relations with his fellow men 
 scrupulously upright. It has been said that if you 
 saw one side of James Ward you saw the whole 
 of him. Few men of his day were more highly es- 
 teemed, and it may be added that none more truly 
 deserved to be held in respect. During the war 
 of 1812 he was appointed Commissary-General of 
 State with title of colonel, and with the exception of 
 one vear continued to hold the office until his death, 
 discharging its duties with the same energy, lidclity 
 and integrity which marked all his dealings, public 
 and private, throughout his entire life. He was 
 longer in service than any other officer holding the 
 same commission. Politically he was a Federalist 
 and Old-line Whig, later a Republican. He was a 
 warden of Christ Episcopal Church of Hartford, 
 during the rcctorate of Philander Chase, later 
 Bishop of Illinois. He died Oct. 26, 1856, his death 
 being keenly felt and deeply mourned. The city 
 fire department, the Alasonic Fraternity, and other 
 civic bodies and fraternal organizations followed 
 his remains to their last resting place, and the 
 universal sentiment was that while a good man had 
 gone to his reward, the public at large had sustained 
 a bereavement which it was hard to bear. 
 
 yir. Ward married Ruth Butler, a daughter of 
 Johnathan liutler, of Hartford, and a sister of Fred- 
 erick Butler; and their marriage was blest with five 
 children: (i) Roswell Butler, of whose life a some- 
 what extended account is given in the succeeding 
 paragraph. (2) James H., mentioned farther on. 
 (3) Frances Elizabeth married Isaac T. Smyth, of 
 New York. (4) \\'illiam Andrew married Aliss 
 Ann Elizabeth Porter, of Hartford, daughter of 
 Col. Solomon Porter, of that city. (5) Plarriet 
 JIaria became the wife of Henry Hall, of Port- 
 land, Connecticut. 
 
 Roswell Butler W.\rd was educated in^ the 
 public schools of Hartford, one of the old "Hartford 
 Grammar School ;" was then sent to Yale College, 
 but left after two years and went to the ^vlilitary 
 Academy at Norwich, Vt., where he was graduated 
 with honor. For a number of years he was en- 
 gaged in general mercantile business, his first part- 
 ner being Daniel P. Hopkins. Later he formed a 
 partnership with his brother, \\'illiam, the firm 
 name being R. B. & W. A. Ward. They dealt 
 wholesale in paints, oils and dyes, their store be- 
 ing in State street. In 1840 Roswell B. withdrew 
 to engage in the book business in Hartford, con- 
 tinuing in this line for a few years only, till about 
 1848 [the family continued to reside in Hartford 
 until 1868], when they removed to New London, 
 Conn., where he died Sept. 8, 1883. He now rests 
 in the old North cemetery, at Hartford. He was 
 always keenly interested in military affairs, and was 
 one of the organizers of the old "Hartford Light 
 Guard," of which he was made first captain by 
 official commission from ^\'ashington, D. C. He 
 
 48 
 
 was also active in church work, and was one of the 
 vestrymen of St. John's Episcojjal Church, Hart- 
 ford, from 1840 to 1850. His life was earnest and 
 all his impulses were noble. He was an upright 
 citizen and a sincere Christian. He married Cath- 
 erine Mary Webb, a daughter of Charles L. Webb, 
 of Litchfield, Conn., and granddaughter of Capt. 
 Nathaniel Webb, of Windham, Conn., who was an 
 officer in the army of the Revolution, and fought 
 at Jiunker Hill. .Mrs. Ward, who was born in 
 Pomfret, Conn., died at her home in New London, 
 Sept. 2, 1870, and sleeps by the side of her husband 
 in Old North cemetery, Plariford. Her religious 
 faith was the same as his, she being a devout com- 
 municant in the Episcopal Church. Two children 
 were born to them : Catharine Webb and .Mary 
 Clement. The elder daughter, Miss Catherine 
 Webb Ward, is unmarried, and resides at Wethers- 
 field. She is endowed with mental powers of a 
 rare order, which have been cultivated, and she in- 
 herits her father's kindliness of heart, and her 
 mother's refinement and amiability. She is a mem- 
 ber of Ruth Wyllis Chapter, Daughters of the 
 American Revolution, of Hartford, Conn. Mary 
 Clement Ward, the younger daughter, married 
 Ale.xander F. iMaison, a prominent business man of 
 Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and a son of Judge Maison;. 
 is now residing in New York City, New York. 
 
 James H. Ward graduated from the Military 
 School at Norwich, \ t., and afterward received a 
 cadetship in the United States navy. He first served 
 on the old "Constitution, "under Commander McDon- 
 ough, U. S. N., and at his death, June 27, 1861, first 
 year of the war of the Rebellion, had risen to the 
 rank of commander U. S. N. Fie fell in action while 
 bombarding a position of the enemy ofl: Matthias 
 Point, on the Potomac river, below Washington,- 
 D. C, at the time being in command of the gun- 
 boat "Thomas Freeborn." The gunner was shot 
 down, and Commander \\'ard bravely stepped for- 
 ward, took his place, and soon received his death 
 wound, a minie ball striking him in the chest. Flis 
 remains were wrapped in the flag of the "Freeborn," 
 placed in a casket and forwarded to Washington, 
 D. C, eventually to Hartford, Conn., where, after 
 imposing funeral ceremonies, they were interred 
 in the Old North cemetery beside those of his fa- 
 ther and mother. A short time after Commander 
 Ward's death his brother, Roswell B., received a 
 letter from Hon. Gideon \\'ells. Secretary of the 
 United States Navy, informing him that Com- 
 mander Ward's name as proposed commodore of the 
 United States Navy had already been recorded on 
 the books of the Navy Department, and had he beert 
 living but a few days after the date of his death he 
 would have been made known to the world at large- 
 as "Commodore James H. \\'ard." About the year 
 1832 Commander \\'ard was married to Miss Sarali 
 Whittemore, daughter of Samuel ^^'hittemore, of 
 New York, and they had four sons and one daugh- 
 ter, none of whom are now living. Mrs. Ward died 
 some vears since. 
 
754 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 The Butler famil_y, from whom Miss Ward and 
 Mrs. Maison are descended, through their pa- 
 ternal grandmother, is one of the oldest and most 
 respected in Connecticut. Its first American pro- 
 genitor was Richard Butler, who came to Hartiord 
 • with the Thomas Hooker company and became an 
 extensive land owner, the present site of Bushnell 
 Park having been once a part of his holdings, and 
 where was the home of Johnathan riutler, father of 
 Mrs. James Ward. His son, Johnathan, the great- 
 grandfather of Miss Ward, was born at Hartford, 
 and married Ruth Benton. Their son, Frederick, 
 was also born at Hartford, and graduated from 
 Yale College. He was distinguished for his scholar- 
 ly attainments and literary ability, and achieved a 
 high reputation as an educator, being for many 
 years an instructor in the Wethersfield Academy. 
 He was the author of several works on United 
 States history, as welhas on other subjects. In Jan- 
 uary, 1787, he married Miss Polly Belden, whose 
 father belonged to an old family of Wethersfield, 
 the members of which have been prominently identi- 
 fied with the town's history. Mr. and Mrs. Fred- 
 erick Butler were the parents of eight children : 
 <(i) Mary Porter, born April 10, 1788, died Nov. 
 35, 1832; (2) Charlotte, born Feb. 16, 1790; (3) 
 Frederick Augustus, born July 17, 1792, died Sept. 
 20, 1815; (4) Roswell, born April 24, 1795; (5) 
 Abigail Porter, born Feb. 26, 1798, died Feb. 6, 
 1832; (6) Elizabeth, born Aug. 7, 1802, died March 
 12, 1835; (7) Julia Ann, born July 30, 1804; and 
 (8) Thomas, born Aug. 22, 1806. Abigail Porter 
 Butler, the fifth child, married James Bidwell, of 
 "Utica, N. Y., by whom she became the mother of 
 two children, both daughters : ( i ) Esther, who in 
 lier later years has resided at the home of her grand- 
 father in Wethersfield, a lady of culture and re- 
 finement; (2) Abby Butler, who married Charles 
 F. Cozzens, of Utica, now a prominent bank offi- 
 cer in New York, and with his family a resident 
 of Yonkers, N. Y. (Frederick Butler Cozzens, son 
 of Charles F.- and Abby B. Cozzens, died at the age 
 of twelve montns). 
 
 Thomas Butler, who became an eminent jurist, 
 received his early education from his father. He 
 attended lectures at the Medical School of Yale 
 College, and completed his course in medicine at 
 Philadelphia. He was a successful practitioner at 
 Norwalk for eight years, when he determined 
 to abandon medicine for the law. In 1835 he be- 
 gan reading in the office of Judge Bissell, and two 
 years later was admitted to the Bar of Fairfield 
 county. Conn. His success as a lawyer was im- 
 mediate and remarkable. His mind was essential- 
 ly judicial, his perceptions clear and quick, his rea- 
 soning and analytic powers extraordinary- In 1855 
 he was elected Judge of the Superior Court, and 
 in 1861 elevated to the Bench of the Supreme Court 
 through election by the Legislature, and was ap- 
 pointed Chief Justice in 1870. He was a Republi- 
 ■can in politics, and prior to his assuming the judicial 
 «rmine served as a member in both houses of the 
 
 Legislature, and represented his district in Con- 
 gress. 
 
 Frederick Butler died at Wethersfield, in No- 
 vember, 1840, his wife having preceded him to the 
 grave June 17, 181 1. Both are buried at Wethers- , 
 field, in the family lot near the old Congregational I 
 church ("meeting house," as it was once called),' 
 built from the proceeds of the sale of, as now would ! 
 be stated, the "Onion Market," which was in for- 
 mer times a notable and most thriving industry of 
 Wethersfield, Conn. The church still stands strong ,i 
 and well preserved and counts two hundred years : 
 since its first erection. 
 
 JUDGE LYMAN S. BURR, of New Britain,! 
 Judge of the City and Police Court, ranks among;! 
 the leading public and professional men of that city. ; 
 He is a native of Litchfield county, Conn., and his 
 American ancestry dates back through seven gen- ; 
 erations to Benjamin -Burr, who was the founder ] 
 of the Hartford branch of the Burr family. j 
 
 Benjamin Burr first appears as one of the orig- j 
 inal settlers of Hartford in 1635. His name is in 
 the land division of Hartford in 1639 as an orig- 
 inal proprietor and settler. As the early settlers of 
 Hartford were collected from Watertown, Newtown 
 and other places near Boston, it is evident that Ben- 
 jamin Burr had been a resident of Massachusetts 
 some time before his appearance at Hartford. It 
 is not unlikely that he was one of the eight hundred 
 who came to America with Winthrop's fleet, in 
 June, 1630. He seems to have been an active, ener- 
 getic business man, who mingled little in public 
 affairs, hence brief mention is made of him in the 
 records of the Colony. He was admitted a free- 
 man in 1658. His allotment in the Hartford land 
 division of 1663 was six acres, and in the land 
 division of East Hartford in 1666 he drew eighteen 
 acres. His house lot in 1640 was bounded northeast 
 by Stephen Hart, northwest by John Warner, south- 
 west by the road to the cow pasture, and southeast 
 by Samuel Hale's lot. His name is perpetuated in 
 one of the city streets. He died at Hartford March 
 31, 1681, and was buried probably in one of the 
 Hillside cemeteries long since obliterated, in which 
 rest the ashes of so many of Hartford's early set- 
 tlers. The first name of his wife was Annie, and 
 their four children were Samuel, the eldest, who 
 was born in England ; Thomas, born in Hartford, 
 Jan. 26, 1645; Mary, born Jan. 15, 1656; and Han- 
 nah, who married Mr. Hillyer, of Windsor, Con- 
 necticut. 
 
 (II) Samuel Burr, son of Benjamin Burr, was 
 made a freeman of Hartford in May, 1658. His 
 children were as follows: Samuel, born in 1663; 
 John, born in 1670; Mary, born in 1673; Elizabeth, 
 born in 1675 ; and Jonathan, born in 1679. 
 
 (III) John Burr, son of Samuel, settled at Far- 
 mington, Conn., about 1712. He had a large family 
 of children, as follows: Ebenezer, born in 1712; 
 Thankful, born in 1713; Lucy, baptized March 21, 
 1714; Gideon, born Nov. 16, 1715; Salmon, born 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 755 
 
 I Sept. 25, 1723; John, born in May. 1726; Stephen; 
 hoahdiah; Aathaniel; Sarah; tunice; Miriam; 
 Islary, born June 14, 1729; Kiuh, born Oct. 26, 
 1732; and Amos, Ixirn June 25, 1734. 
 
 (IV) John lUirr, son of John Burr, was born 
 , at West Hartford in May, 172(5. In Ueccmljer, 1747, 
 . he marriotl Tabitha Looniis, who was born in 1730. 
 
 Their children were John, born in Farniington 
 ' July 19, 1750; Reuben, born Jan. 13, 1752; Tabitha, 
 j born June 23, 1754; Jehiel, born April 11, 1757; 
 I Russell, born Oct. 19, 1761 ; Chloe, born Sept. 27, 
 : 1764. In 1772 John Uurr purchased land east of 
 ; ljurr\-illL-, and for many years the place was known 
 ; as " Burr's Tavern." He died at Torringford, 
 ( Aug. 6, 1788, and his widow survived until Sept. 
 ■ 10, 1828. 
 
 (V) ■ Reuben Burr, boni Jan. 13, 1752, set- 
 lied at Torrington, and married Mehitable Stanley 
 
 I at that place on July 2, 1772. She was born in 
 1748. Iheir children were Reuben, born Aug. 15, 
 1773; Salmon, born Alay 26, 1775; JMehitable, born 
 Nov. 27, 1777; Allen, born Feb. 15, 1780; Chloe, 
 born May 15, 1786; and Sally, born Aug. 4, 1789. 
 Mehitable, wife of Reuben Burr, died Sept. 29. 
 1793, and for his second wife he, in 1794, married 
 Martha Wilson, who was born in 1759. The chil- 
 dren born to this union were Uriel, May 19, 1795; 
 Milo, Jan. i, 1797; Fanny, Dec. 4., 1798; Eliza, 
 Jan. 16, 1801 ; and Harriet, Jan. 13, 1803. Reuben 
 l^)Urr died Dec. 20, 1827, aged seventy-five years; 
 his wife, Martha, on March 29, 1835. 
 
 (VI) Salmon Burr, son of Reuben and Mehit- 
 able Burr, settled in Winsted, Conn. He married 
 Mary Ensign, of South Farms, near Litchfield, 
 who w?s born Sept. 8, 1776, and died Dec. 29, 
 1846. Salmon Burr died Dec. 19. 185J, aged sev- 
 enty-seven years. The children of Salmon and i\Iarv 
 Burr, with dates of birth, are as follows : Maria, 
 Feb. 17, 1799; Rufus, Dec. 17, 1800; Samuel, Sept. 
 22, 1802; Wilson, April 11, 1804; iMary, Jan. 12, 
 1806; Rhoda, Jan. 11, 1808; Sarah, March 2, 1810; 
 Willard, Feb. 8, 1812; Huldah, May 21, 1814; 
 Harmon E., Nov. 13, 1818; Charlotte. Oct. 3. 1820. 
 Salmon Burr was one of the earlv brickmakers. and 
 followed that vocation through life. His home was 
 at Torrington Hill. 
 
 (VII) Samuel Burr, son of Salmon and Mary 
 Burr, settled at Torrington, Conn. For his first 
 wife he married, on Feb. 22, 183 1, Louisa Flower, 
 and by her he had two children, Sarah Jane, born 
 Jan. 6, 1832, who married Andrew E. Hull, of 
 Burlington, and died Jan. 23, 1862, leaving two 
 daughters; and Mary E., born Oct. 2, 1839, who 
 was married April 20, 1861, to Edwin Barber, of 
 \\'olcottville. Louisa, wife of Samuel Burr, died 
 July 20, 1847, aged thirty-eight years, and for his 
 second wife he married Mrs. Rhoda A. Tavlor, 
 itcc Parmelee, of Cornwall, Litchfield Co., Conn., 
 by whom he had one child, Lyman S., the subject 
 proper of this sketch. Ixirn Aug. 24. 1851. Mrs. 
 Rhoda A. Burr died Oct. 17, i860, aged forty- 
 six vears. For his third wife Samuel Burr mar- 
 
 ried Mary J. Robertson, of Wolcottville, Conn., \vh.) 
 survived him. Mr. Burr was a natural mechanic. 
 In his early years he manufactured the old-fash- 
 ioned hand rakes at Torrington, and carried tiiem 
 thence, overland, to Hartford. He was also a 
 school teacher in early life, teaching in and about 
 Torringford. His brothers were also school teach- 
 ers. I'or many years in later life he was an em- 
 ploye of the Coe Brass Co. He was a man of 
 strong convictions and keen intelligence, a great 
 reader, and thoroughly conversant with the polit- 
 ical issues of his day. Fie was a strong temper- 
 ance advocate, and tlioroughl_\- upright and honest 
 in his actions. Though a regular attendant at di- 
 vine services throughout life he did not become a 
 member of church until 1S70, two vcars [trior to his 
 death. 
 
 L}man S. Burr owes his success in life to his 
 own efforts. Struggle and victory sweeten the 
 after life of any man, and the experience of our 
 subject has been no exception to the rule. He at- 
 tended school at Wolcottville, now Torrington, and 
 at the age of sixteen his opportunity arrived to gain, 
 at personal discomfort and sacrifice, an education. 
 in 1869 he left home for Oberlin, Ohio, where an 
 uncle was preaching at that time. In the fall of the 
 year he entered the preparatory department of Ob- 
 erlin College, and except for a lirief interval, when 
 he attended the funeral of his father, he remained 
 continuously at the college until 1872. During this 
 time, to meet his modest expenses, he sawed wood 
 and did chores for ten cents per hour, and, during 
 the winter of 1870, he taught one term of district 
 school. For about a year, from 1872 to 1873, '^^ 
 worked in a factory in Torrington, and then, nt 
 [he suggestion of Hudson Burr, a cousin and noted 
 lawyer at Bloomington. 111., he entered tlie Intter's 
 ofiice as a student. He was admitted to the B;ir 
 at Ottawa, 111., Sept. 25, 1875, completing in two 
 years the three-years course prescribed, and pass- 
 ing a rigid examination. Returning to Connecti- 
 cut, he entered the office of Mitchell & Hungerford 
 at Xew Britain, and was with them for about nine 
 ye^rs, or until 1884, when he opened an office for 
 himself. E.xcept for a period of nine months, dur- 
 ing which a partnership existed between him an-l 
 Fred. B. Mitchell, he has since followed his pro- 
 fession alone. He has ever been a careful student 
 of law, and has acquired a successful practice. 
 
 Mr. Burr has also been prominent in public life. 
 In 1883 he was appointed clerk of the Police Court, 
 and in that capacity served for about nine years. 
 He then resigned the position upon his appoint- 
 ment as city attorney by the common council. 
 A year later, a change in the political administra- 
 tion, from Republican to Democratic, changed the 
 personnel of the attorneyship also. Later on. to fill 
 a vacancy caused by the resignation of Julius H. 
 Pease, who had been apjiointed postmaster, Mr. 
 Burr was again appointed city attorney, and in the 
 spring of 1896 he was honored with election as 
 first prosecuting attorney under the new city char- 
 
756 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ter of New Britain. He has twice been re-elected 
 to the same office, which has jurisdiction over 
 the entire city of New Britain. In the spring of 
 1899 he was appointed Judge of the City and Po- 
 lice Court of New Britain, which position he now 
 holds. 
 
 Mr. Burr has always been a stanch Republican 
 and taken an active part in local political matters. 
 He was for several years chairman of the Republi- 
 can town committee. He is a member of Cen- 
 tennial Lodge, No. 118, F. & A. M.; Giddings 
 Chapter, No. 25, and Doric Council, No. 24, and 
 has taken quite an active interest in Masonry. 
 He was senior deacon of Centennial Lodge for 
 three years. He is also a member of Phoenix 
 Lodge, No. 52, and of Comstock Encampment, No. 
 29, I. O. O. F., and has been through all of the 
 elective offices of both the lodge and encampment, 
 having served in the highest office in each. In 1888 
 he was elected grand patriarch of the State of 
 Connecticut, I. O. O. F. On Oct. 15, 1889, Mr. 
 Burr was presented with a jewel by the Grand 
 Encampment of the State of Connecticut, and in 
 that year he was elected grand representative of 
 Connecticut to the Sovereign Grand Lodge of the 
 United States, receiving the same honor again in 
 1890 and 1891. In the patriarchal branch (the 
 military branch) he was appointed judge advocate 
 on Gen. Foster's staff, of New Haven, and held 
 the position for several years. He is a member of 
 the K. of P., Royal Arcanum, O. U. A. M., and also 
 of the Red Men, of which he is past chief. In 
 August, 1890, Mr. Burr organized and was elected 
 captain of Company I, ist Regiment, Connecticut 
 National. Guard, serving in that capacity until 
 June, 1 89 1, when Gov. Bulkeley, of Connecticut, 
 appointed him judge advocate of the 1st Regimental 
 District, a position in which he continued until 
 1893, when the office was abolished by legislative 
 enactment. He has also been judge advocate of 
 the Putnam Phalanx, of Hartford, for two years, 
 retiring from this office in the spring of 1896, until 
 again apointed to that position, April 4, 1900. 
 
 Mr. Burr was married to Miss Isabella V. LOve- 
 land, daughter of Ezra and Mary A. Loveland, of 
 Berlin, and they have two children, Harry W. and 
 Stewart L. 
 
 ELI PHELPS. This section attracted at an 
 early day a superior class of settlers, and their de- 
 scendants are now among the leading citizens of 
 Hartford county, the enterprising and progressive 
 spirit of their pioneer ancestry being combined in 
 them with the culture and refinement of more" 
 modern times. From the first settlement in Wind- 
 sor town the Phelps family has held a prominent 
 place in its history, its members in every genera- 
 tion showing unwavering loyalty to the American 
 ideal, and during- the Revolutionary war no less 
 than twenty of the name enlisted from that locality. 
 Eli Phelps, for many years a prosperous agricult- 
 urist of Windsor, was of the fifth generation in di- 
 
 rect descent from Samuel Phelps, son of William, 
 the head of the family in thiscountry. Samuel Phelps 
 was born in England, and received a large grant of 
 land in Windsor from the Crown. Much of this tract 
 is still in the possession of his descendants, and 
 a portion of it is now occupied by our subject as 
 a homestead. This worthy pioneer married Sarah 
 Griswold, daughter of Edward Griswold, and had 
 a son, William. 
 
 (II) William Phelps, son of Samuel, was born 
 in 1669, married Hannah Hayden in 1693, and 
 died Nov. 21, 1711. He had a son (III) William, 
 born March 13, 1698. 
 
 (IV) Eli_ Phelps, son of William (III), was 
 born Aug. 16, 1746, and made his home on a farm 
 near Poquonock, being one of the most highly re- 
 spected residents of "that locality in his time. He 
 married (first) Ruth Case, who died leaving no 
 children. His second wife Mariam (Case) Adams, 
 was the widow of Joseph Adams, by whom she had 
 three children : Luke, Rosannah and Richard. By 
 her union with Eli Phelps she had six children: 
 Ruth, who married (first) Fredus Case, and (sec- 
 ond) Rev. Phelps Ellsworth: Eli, our subject; Mary 
 (Mrs. Jonathan Colton) ; Mariam, wife of Elihu 
 Holcomb ; Mindwell, who married Manly Snow ; 
 and Miss Sarah, who resides in Poquonock. 
 
 (V) Hon. Eli Phelps was born at Poquonock, 
 Sept, I, 1807, and had only such educational ad- 
 vantages as the local schools of that day provided. 
 He was but a young man when his father died, and 
 as the only son the care of the estate fell to him be- 
 fore he had a chance to accjuire business experience, 
 yet he managed affairs with conspicuous ability and 
 became one of the most successful farmers of the 
 town, obtaining good results under all circum- 
 stances. For some years after his marriage he re- 
 sided at his father's old home, later locating at the 
 farm now occupied by our subject. While he left a 
 handsome estate to his children, he was never 
 grasping or unduly economical, and many worthy 
 enterprises were helped forward by his liberality. 
 He was a man of fine physique, six feet tall, 
 weighing 200 pounds, and his mental ability was 
 above the average, his reading and observation en- 
 abling him to gain a wide range of practical knowl- 
 edge. He took an active interest in religious work,, 
 serving as treasurer of the Ecclesiastical Society 
 of his town for a long time, and politically he was 
 prominent as a member of the local Democratic 
 organization. At various times he held offices in his 
 town, and for several years he was a member of 
 the General Assembly. He died Sept. i, 1879, and 
 his remains now rest in the cemeterv at Poquonock. 
 
 On May 27, 1846, J\lr. Phelps married Miss 
 Abigail Humphrey, who was born March 7, 1820, 
 at Norfolk, Conn., daughter of James and Rox- 
 alana (North) Humphrey. Her family has been 
 well known in America from an early period, and 
 an extensive genealogical record has been com- 
 piled and published. She is still living at the home- 
 stead, in excellent health, for one of her age, and 
 
£^-^ i^S(X «f//ii»-M SSroM'" 
 
 C^' ^cA^ 
 
COMMEMORATII'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 r57 
 
 surrounded by a large circle of friends whom her 
 intelligence and high character have won her. 
 William is the eldest of a family of five children ; 
 James and Emily died in infancy; Miss Maria 
 resides at the old homestead, and is highly esteemed 
 in the best social circles, being an active member 
 of the society of the Daughters of the American 
 Revolution ; and Charlotte A. is the wife of David 
 E. Marshall, of ^^'indsor town. 
 
 (\'l) William Phelps was born Xov. 23, 
 1847, and was reared at the homestead, his educa- 
 tion being obtained in the schools of District Xo. 
 8, of Windsor town, at the academy in Windsor 
 village, and the Connecticut Literary Institute, at 
 Suffield. He has always resided on the old home 
 farm, which he manages in a thoroughly scientific 
 manner. While he is an excellent business man 
 he is of a very quiet disposition, deliberate speech 
 and lack of ostentation being among his marked 
 characteristics. His integrity is never questioned, 
 while he has a high reputation for intellectual 
 ability, being extremely fond of reading. In early 
 life he was a Democrat, but of late years he has 
 been an earnest advocate of the principles of the 
 Prohibition party. Mr. Phelps married Miss Mari- 
 ette Dickinson, of Haddam, Conn., who was a 
 daughter of Nathan and Jemimah (Brainard) Dick- 
 inson. She died June 23, 1899. 
 
 HON HORACE KELSEY FORD, who 
 passed away Aug. 5, 1899, was a well-known tobacco 
 grower of Suffield, and president of the Tobacco 
 Growers Experiment Co., of Windsor, Conn. He 
 was born in Salisbury, this State, Oct. 10, 1829. of 
 English descent. Daniel Ford, his grandfather, 
 was a native of Plymouth, Conn., was a landholder 
 and a farmer all his life, and to his marriage with 
 a Miss Gridly were born seven children: \Mllis, 
 iMelliset, 'Stephen. Daniel, Betsey. Amorett and 
 Abigail. Both parents of this family died in Ply- 
 mouth, edvout members of the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church. 
 
 Willis Ford, the father of the subject of this bio- 
 graphical notice, also a native of Plymouth, Conn.. 
 was born June 16, 1806, learned blacksmithing 
 when young, and in early manhood removed to 
 Salisbury, where he followed his trade for some 
 time, but later became extensively interested in the 
 iron business, in which he continued until Xovem- 
 ber, 1841. He then sold out and came to Suffield, 
 purchased one hundred acres of land, and engaged 
 in the culture of tobacco and in general farming. 
 He was one of the earliest tobacco growers of the 
 neighborhood, built the second tobacco shed in 
 Suffield, and realized a comfortable fortune. Willis 
 Ford first married, in Salisbury. Conn., Miss Eliza- 
 beth Kelsey. a native of the place, and a daughter 
 of John Kelsey, and to this union were born two 
 cl'.ildren : Horace Kelsey, our subject, and Mari- 
 etta. For his second wife Mr. Ford selected ^la- 
 hala Austin, of Suffield. who bore him one child, 
 Anna Eliza, now the wife of Lew Tudd, of South 
 
 Hadley Falls, Mass. In politics Mr. Ford was a 
 ]\e]3ublican, in religion a Baptist, and died in that 
 faith in 1889, respected by the entire community. 
 
 Horace Kelsey Ford was about twelve years of 
 age when brought to Suffield by his parents. He 
 was educated primarily in the district schools, and 
 later attended the Connecticut Literary Institute. 
 For nine years he followed school teaching as a 
 ])rofession, passing four years of that period at 
 \\'indsor Locks. He then joined his father in 
 farming and tobacco raising, and these industries 
 occupied his attention ever after. He had two of 
 the finest tobacco sheds in the town, erected under 
 his personal supervision and instruction, he being 
 the oldest and most e.xijerienced grower in the town. 
 In politics ^Ir. Ford was a Republican, and in 
 1862 was elected town assessor, an office he capa- 
 bly filled four years ; for three years he was a mem- 
 ber of the board of relief; in 1871 was elected a se- 
 lectman; in 1896 was elected to the State Legisla- 
 ture ; served on several important committees 
 while in the House ; and for upwards of twenty 
 years was a justice of the peace, during which 
 period not one of his decisions was reversed by 
 tlie Supreme Court of the State — a fact which 
 speaks for itself, so far as his acumen and astute- 
 ness are concerned. 
 
 !Mr. Ford was united in marriage, in i860, in 
 Suffield, with Miss Jane M. Remington, a native 
 of the town, and a daughter of Thomas Reming- 
 ton, a prominent citizen. To this marriage ten 
 children were born : John H., who married Miss 
 Leila J. Belden, and resides on the home farm ; 
 Imogene J., wife of William H. \\'ood, of South 
 HaJ.ey Falls. Mass. ; Eliza K., wife of Evlin T. 
 Bray, of Springfield, Mass. ; Willis, a farmer, mar- 
 ried to Emma A. Sikes ; Hattie B., who died at 
 the age of thirteen years ; Frank, a farmer, who 
 married Daisy I. Brockett; Charles H.. at home; 
 Kittie R., who die young, as did Albert R. : and 
 Edith M.. the youngest, still under the parental 
 roof. The sons are all Republicans in their politi- 
 cal views. 
 
 Fraternallv, ^Ir. Ford was a member of the F. 
 & A. M. Lodge, at Suffield. and also of the O. U. 
 A. M., at the same place. The family belong to the 
 Baptist Cluirch, and they are greatly respected 
 throughout the neighborhood. Mr. Ford was a 
 wide-awake business man. and was one of the or- 
 ganizers of the Suffield Creamery, in which he was 
 a stockholder until his decease. 
 
 JABEZ PARSOXS DA\TS, Judge of the Town 
 Court of Enfield, and a prominent citizen of Thomp- 
 sonville. needs no special introduction to the read- 
 ers of this volume, but the work would be incom- 
 plete without the record of his life. Xo man in 
 the community has been more prominently identi- 
 fied with its business or political history, or has 
 taken a more active part in its upbuilding and 
 progress. 
 
 Judge Davis was born in the village of Hazard- 
 
758 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ville, Hartford county, Dec. 19, 1839, a son of 
 John and Esther (Squier) Davis, The father, 
 who was a farmer by occupation, was a native of 
 Bainbridge, N. Y., and a son of John Davis, also 
 of Bainbridge, Chenango Co., N. Y. In 1838 he 
 located in Enfield, Conn., having married, abovit 
 that time. Miss Esther Squier, a daughter of Cal- 
 vin Squier, formerly of Ashford, Conn,, and a 
 Revolutionary soldier. He was one of the early 
 settlers of Enfield, and was buried in the Enfield 
 Street cemetery. 
 
 The first fourteen years of his life Jabez P. 
 Davis passed in Enfield, and then went to Bain- 
 bridge, N. Y., where he remained until 1857. ■'■" 
 that year he located in Sebewaing, Mich., where, 
 on February 27, 1862, he enlisted in Company E, 
 7th Mich. V. I., as a private. He participated in 
 all of the engagements of the Peninsular campaign, 
 including the siege of Yorktown, the battles of 
 West Point and Fair Oaks, and the seven-days 
 fight between Fair Oaks and Harrison's Landing. 
 On account of physical disability he was honorably 
 discharged Nov. 22, 1862, and returned to his home 
 in Michigan, where he engaged in farming and gen- 
 eral teaming. In the spring of 1863 he was elected 
 town clerk of Columbia, Mich.,, and was elected to 
 the same office in Fair Haven, Mich., in 1864, but 
 in July, of the latter year, he returned to Enfield, 
 Conn., where he was employed in a japaning shop 
 for one year. During the following three years he 
 engaged in the butchering business, and then en- 
 tered the employ of the Hartford Carpet Co., as 
 foreman of their yards at Thompsonville. With 
 the exception of one year, when manager of a farm 
 in Bristol, Conn., he remained with that firm for 
 twenty-seven years. At the same time he also gave 
 some attention to surveying, has practiced veterinary 
 surgery for about twentj' years, and is quite exten- 
 sively engaged in stone contracting, having laid the 
 foundation and built the abutments of the principal 
 bridges in Enfield and vicinity. As a business man 
 lie is energetic, prompt and notably reliable, and in 
 his undertakings has met with a fair degree of 
 success. 
 
 In 1867 Mr. Davis was united in marriage with 
 Miss Elizabeth Ross Hood, a daughter of David 
 Hood, one of the first Scotch settlers of Enfield. 
 Rehgiously our subject is a member of the First 
 Presbyterian Church of Enfield, and socially affiliates 
 with the Masonic fraternity and the Grand Army of 
 the Republic. He is the present commander of 
 Samuel Brown Post, G. A. R., of Thompsonville, 
 with which he has been connected since 1867. He 
 has ever taken quite an active and prominent part 
 in public affairs, serving as selectman of Enfield for 
 ten years, and chairman of the board for nine years. 
 He has also been assessor, grand juror, constable, 
 member of the board of relief, and president of the 
 Society for the Detection of Thieves and Robbers. 
 In May, 1897, he was appointed judge of the town 
 court of Enfield, which position he is still filling 
 with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction 
 
 of the general public. He is absolutely fearless in 
 the discharge of his duties, and favor cannot tempt 
 him from .the straight path. Politically he is an 
 ardent supporter of the Republican party. 
 
 LOREN HOWARD PEASE, M. D., deceased. 
 Hartford county has been the home and scene of 
 labor of many men who have not only led lives that 
 should serve as an example to those who come after 
 them, but have also been of important service to their 
 town, county and State through various avenues of 
 usefulness. Among them must be named Dr. Pease, 
 who was one of the best-known and most prominent 
 citizens of Enfield. 
 
 The Doctor was born in Somers, Tolland Co., 
 Conn., July 14, 1835, a son of Robert and x\mersha 
 (Arnold) Pease, and was a descendant of Robert 
 and Margaret Pease, who came to America in the 
 ship "Francis" from the port of Ipswich, England, 
 in April, 1634, and located in Salem, Mass. The\- 
 were the progenitors of the family still living at 
 Salem, and also of the branch at Enfield, Conn. 
 From them the line is traced through John and Mary 
 (Goodellj Pease; Robert and Abigail (Randall) 
 Pease; Robert and Elizabeth (Emery) Pease; 
 Robert and Flannah (Sexton) Pease; Robert and 
 Ann (Sexton) Pease, the former a Revolutionary 
 soldier; and Oliver and Nancy (Cone) Pease; to 
 Robert Pease, the Doctor's father. 
 
 In early life Loren H. Pease, our subject, at- 
 tended the public schools of his native town, the El- 
 lington high school, and the Merrimack Normal 
 School, in New Hampshire, and for several years 
 afterward he successfully engaged in teaching school 
 in the New England, Middle and Southern States. 
 Subsequently he entered Jefferson Medical College. 
 Philadelphia, Penn., where he was graduated in 
 1861, and immediately afterward he located at Am- 
 herst, Mass., where he was actively engaged in the 
 practice of his profession until 1862, when he came 
 to Enfield and purchased the business of Dr. Levi 
 S. Pease. In September of that year, he was ap- 
 pointed assistant surgeon in the United States army, 
 and at once entered upon the duties with the loth 
 Conn. V. I. He continued to hold that position for 
 more than a year, when he was transferred to th-' 
 hospital service, and was connected with the same 
 until the close of the war. On returning to Enfield 
 he resumed his private practice there, but was soon 
 forced to abandon it on account of ill health. He 
 then opened a drug store, which he conducted for 
 several years, and later embarked in the grocery 
 business, in which he was successfully engaged for 
 nianv years. Shortly after the organization of the 
 Thompsonville Trust Company he became its cash- 
 ier, and was also a member of its board of directors 
 In the former capacity he brought success to the 
 corporation, and when he resigned found an able 
 substitute. He was also a director of the Suffield 
 Bridge Company and Water Company, and held 
 other positions of trust and responsibility. For 
 several vears he devoted much time to the insurance 
 
COMMBMORATirE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 liuO 
 
 business, and established mail routes, under govern- 
 ment supervision. For almost a third of a century 
 he was ]jroniinentU- identitietl with nearly every new 
 enterprise which was attempted or established in 
 Entield, and inaugurated many of them himself. In 
 all of these concerns he was a powerful and useful 
 force, and it is not too much to say of him that no 
 other man in Enfield displayed the amount of 
 courage and business ability in originating and estab- 
 lishing new enterprises or industries. 
 
 Un July 21, 185CJ, Dr. Pease was united in mar- 
 riage with JMiss Alarcia AI., daughter of Reuben 
 Aslihian and Hancy A. (Hall) I'ease, of Scitico, 
 antl granddaughter of John and Ann (Cummings) 
 Pease, pioneers of Enfield. Four children were 
 born of this union, namely: Lorena, deceased wife 
 of Frederick O. Dutton; Howard A.; Loren H., 
 deceased ; and Mabel, wife of Dr. Benjamin H. 
 Thornton. 
 
 In his busy life Dr. Pease often found time to 
 serve his fellow townsmen in some official capacity 
 For several years he was first selectman of Enfield, 
 in which position he displayed remarkable official 
 diligence and financial ability. He also served as a 
 member of the General Assembly of the State for 
 two terms, in 1882 and 1883; was assessor; a mem- 
 ber of the board of relief; justice of the peace; a 
 member of the board of school visitors ; and filled 
 other local offices. It was his chief object to per- 
 form his duties so that his State, town and towns- 
 men should receive the greatest possible benefit from 
 his services, and to discharge them with the utmost 
 thoroughness and fidelity. Socially he was a char- 
 ter member of Doric Lodge, No. 94, A. F. & A. M., 
 and a member of Samuel Brown Post, G. A. R., 
 in which he was serving as surgeon at the time of 
 his death. Though not a member of any religious 
 organization he w-as an attendant and supporter 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and politically 
 he was a stanch Republican. He passed away Feb. 
 14. 1897, and his death occasioned the deepest re- 
 gret throughout the community. He was a man of 
 the highest respectability, and those who were most 
 intimately associated with him speak in unquali- 
 fied terms of his sterling integrity, his honor in 
 business, and his fidelity to all the duties of public 
 and private life. 
 
 BARNES H. HAMLAND, who departed this 
 life Feb. 12, 1870, was one of the representa- 
 tive and progressive citizens of Southington in his 
 day. Fie was a native of New York, born in ^Eon- 
 ticello, Sullivan county, in November, 1830, and 
 was a son of Barnes and Anna (Jones) Haviland. 
 
 Mr. Haviland grew to manhood in the town of 
 his nativity, and at an early age was apprenticed 
 to the ]irinting business in the office of the JVatch- 
 vian and Democrat. In IMonticello and New York 
 City he pursued that business successfully until fail- 
 ing health compelled him to seek another location, 
 and about 1855 he came to Southington, where for 
 a time he was in the employ of the Peck-Smith 
 
 Company. He also worked on the Neiv Haven 
 Falloiliuin, and in the office of a New Britain news- 
 paper. Un Oct. 30, 18O3, Mr. Haviland estab- 
 lished the first newspaper in Southington, The 
 SuHtlii)igton Mirror, which he conducted until June 
 6, 1865, meeting with most excellent success dur- 
 ing the period of the Civil war, and his paper proved 
 of more than ordinary interest on account of the 
 soldiers' letters which it published, many of which 
 would hardly have been preserved in any other way. 
 He suspended the iniblication of his paper in June,, 
 owing to ill health, but resumed it again un a larger 
 scale the following Uctober. Later, when his- 
 health again failed, he disposed of his plant, which 
 was taken out of the town, and the paper discontin- 
 ued, lie was public-spirited in an emment degree, 
 and did much in behalf of the general welfare cf his 
 community. 
 
 Un xMay 13, 1857, Mr. Haviland was united in 
 man-iage with Miss Betsey A. Sanford, a (.laughter 
 of A. C. Stanford, of Southington, and to them 
 came one son, Clinton S.vnford H.wil.xnd, who 
 was born March 19, 1858, and was educated in 
 Lewis Academy. He, too, embarked in the print- 
 ing business at the age of twenty years, and in the 
 fall of 1878 purchased the Sotithiiigt >n Reporter, 
 which was established in 1873. Changing the name 
 to the Southington Phoenix, he continued its pub- 
 lication until his death, which occurred Nov. 29, 
 1892. By dint of perseverance, constant application 
 and untiring effort, he prospered, and gradually en- 
 larged his business until the Phoeni.r became recog- 
 nized throughout the State as a leader among the 
 local newspapers, and the reputation of the job de- 
 partment was second to none. Mr. Haviland was 
 a member of the Connecticut Weekly Press Associa- 
 tion, was one of its early officers, and was one of the 
 founders of the Southington Board of Trade. As 
 a business man Mr. Haviland was upright and hon- 
 orable in all his transactions, and was able, ener- 
 getic, tireless and enthusiastic in the management 
 of his affairs. He was beloved and respected by his 
 employes, many of whom were in his service from 
 seven to fourteen years. He had great admiration 
 for the beautiful m art and nature, and his cmef 
 delight was in his lovely home and its surroundings. 
 In religious connection a prominent and influential 
 member of the Baptist Church, he filled offices in 
 both the church and Sunday-school. Death came 
 to him when the future seemed most bright and 
 promising. He had much to live for, and was just 
 entering into the enjoyment of the fruits of his 
 earlier years of toil and perseverance. On Nov. 
 30, 1880, he married Miss Julia Gridley, who died 
 in 1895. 
 
 CHARLES SMITH, whose death on June 13, 
 1899, is still fresh in the menior\- of his fellow-cit- 
 izens, was a prosperous tobacco-grower and gen- 
 eral farmer of the town of Bloomfield. Hartford 
 county. He was born in County W'estmeath. Ire- 
 land. Aug. 15, 1834, son of Owen Smith, also a 
 
 ^ 
 
760 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 native of County Westmeath, who was a farmer by 
 calling. He married Mary Clare, of the same 
 county, and this union was blessed with three sons 
 and one daughter, Charles being third in order of 
 birth. Both parents died in County Westmeath, 
 devout members of the Catholic Church. 
 
 Charles Smith was educated in the parochial 
 schools of his native county, and was reared to 
 manhood on his father's farm. At the age of 
 twenty-three years he sailed for America, was five 
 weeks and three da3's in crossing the ocean, and on 
 his arrival in Connecticut first located in West Hart- 
 ford. He engaged in farming until i860, when he 
 came to Bloomfield, and was there employed in to- 
 bacco-growing as a specialty, until his death, doing 
 some general farming, but more for the purpose of 
 raising produce for home consumption than for 
 profit. 
 
 In 1862 Mr. Smith was married in Hartford, to 
 Miss Ann Keenan, a native of Queen's County, Ire- 
 land, and this union was blessed with six children, 
 born in the following order: Mary, now deceased; 
 Lizzie, wife of Henry Scott, of Windsor, Conn.; 
 Annie ; Charles, of Cushman's Manufacturing Co., 
 Hartford, and married to Miss Kinsella ; John ; and 
 William. Mr. Smith was a faithful Roman Cath- 
 olic in religion, and a liberal contributor of his 
 means to the support of his church; he was school 
 treasurer of the Old Farms District for several 
 years. He was always temperate, frugal and indus- 
 trious, and deservedly stood high in the esteem of 
 his neighbors. He was a stanch supporter of the 
 Democratic party, and took a keen interest in public 
 affairs, but he never sought office for himself. His 
 remains rest in Mount St. Benedict cemetery. 
 
 WILLIAM GREENE COMSTOCK (de- 
 ceased). At his residence, No. 988 Main street, 
 Friday evening, Aug. 4, 1899, passed away East 
 Hatrford's best-known citizen, at the age of eighty- 
 eight years, nine months. His character was sterl- 
 ing in its purity, his abilities of the highest order, 
 and his career most happily complete. Spanning 
 life far beyond the allotted three score years and ten, 
 the peaceful days of his later life were mellowed 
 with a flood of happy reminiscences, which had in- 
 timate relation with the best interests of East Hart- 
 ford. 
 
 WilHam Greene Comstock was born at Comstock 
 Bridge, on the line of Colchester and Chatham towns. 
 New London Co., Conn., Oct. 11, 1810, and was a 
 son of Franklin G. and Tryphena (Tracy) Com- 
 stock, the latter a daughter of Gamaliel R. Tracy, 
 a hero of the Revolutionary war, who fought at 
 Monmouth under Washington. William G. Com- 
 stock was of the eighth generation descended from 
 William, who settled in Wethersfield, Conn., in 
 1641. The Jineal descent of our subject is as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 William Comstock, alluded to in the foregoing 
 paragraph, came from England or Wales in 1635, 
 and passed the latter years of his life in New Lon- 
 
 don, Conn. ; Jc^n ( i ) was born in England, and 
 came to America with his father ; John (2) was born 
 in Connecticut in 1676; John (3), also born in 
 Connecticut; Christophei', son of John (3), bom in 
 Hadlyme, Conn., in 1720, married Anna Willey 
 and died Oct. 30, 1802; Jabez, son of Christopher, 
 born in Hadlyme in 1755, married Almy Greene, 
 daughter of James and Lucina (Slocum) Greene, 
 and died March 23, 1812, his widow surviving until 
 April 5, 1837, when she passed away in Wethers- 
 field; Franklin G., son of Jabez, born March 17, 
 1790, died Aug. 6, 1845 ; and William G., son of 
 Franklin G., is our subject. 
 
 Franklin G. Comstock was possessed of wonder- 
 ful intellectuality and great literary ability, was the 
 author of "Comstock's Digest of Probate Laws," 
 and was the youngest judge to sit on the Benches 
 of the Probate and Superior Courts of the State of j|i 
 Connecticut. i' 
 
 William G. Comstock received his primary ed- 
 ucation in the common schools, then attended the 
 military school presided over by Capt. Patridge, at 
 Middletown, and finished his education at the Wil- 
 braham (Mass.) Academy, of which Wilbur Fiske 
 was the president. At the age of eighteen years he 
 began teaching school at East Haddam, at a salary of 
 ten dollars per month, and taught five terms in all, i 
 including a school at East Hampton, often having 
 some of his old schoolmates as pupils. Toward ■ 
 the close he received a salary of eighteen dollars per 
 month, the highest paid in those days. He taught 
 the first graded school at Middle Haddam, the 
 pioneer of the graded schools of the State. In the ; 
 meantime, about 1820, his parents removed from 
 Comstock's Bridge to Miller's Hill, East Hampton, 
 and located on the "Lovell Hall" place. His father 
 then bought a half-interest in the Nem England 
 Review, a Hartford weekly newspaper, and young 
 William G., relinquishing school teaching, came in 
 1832 to Hartford to engage in journalism under 
 the auspices of his father. During his manage- 
 ment The Nezv England Daily Reviezv was pub- 
 lished, being the first daily paper ever published in 
 Hartford. The first year he boarded at the "Ex- 
 change Coffee House," going home occasionally. 
 The "Exchange," kept by Selah Treat, was the 
 general stopping place of the stage on the line be- ,. 
 tween New Haven and Boston, and there i\Ir. 
 Comstock had for his roommate George Roberts, 
 later president of the Hartford Carpet Co. In 1833 
 the parents of Mr. Comstock moved to Hartford, 
 and lived on the south side of Morgan street, in 
 the third house east of Market street, until June, 
 [836, when they removed to Wethersfield, the fa- 
 ther, Franklin G. Comstock, selling out his inter- 
 est in the Review to a Whig clique, which of course 
 converted the paper into a political organ of the 
 party. 
 
 During the early 'thirties the silk-cocoon raising 
 "craze" broke out in New England, and nearly all 
 the farmers planted mulberrv trees and started to 
 raise cocoons as soon as possible. Franklin G. 
 
COMMEMORATII'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 7G1 
 
 Comstock was very prominent in the movement, 
 associated with Ciiristo])her Colt, father of the late 
 Samuel Colt. They established headquarters in a 
 store building on I'Vant street, and grew, bought 
 and sold mulberrv trees, raised cocoons, sold the 
 eggs, and reeled silk, meeting with astonishing suc- 
 cess. Orders for mulberry trees were frequently re- 
 ceived accompanied by $i,ooo. Mr. Comstock 
 came to be regarded as the leading silk culturist in 
 the State, and for a number of years published the 
 "Silk Culturist and P'armers' Manual," a monthly 
 magazine. During the winter of 1837 William 
 G. Comstock went to Cuba, taking with him a lot 
 of young mulberry trees. He purchased a plot of 
 ground at ^latanzas, set out the young trees, and 
 remained there until spring. During that time he 
 purchased one lot of trees for $500, which he shipped 
 home to his father, who disposed of them for $2,500. 
 The craze died out within a few }-ears, the farmers 
 generally meeting with little success, and the material 
 imported from China and Italy being so cheap ; but 
 Mr. Comstock and his partner made, within a short 
 time, what was then considered a handsome fortune. 
 
 In 183S Franklin G. Comstock bought the farm 
 that had been worked by James L. Belden, a garden- 
 seed grower, and formed a partnership with Butler 
 N. Strong, in this peculiar line of seed-growing, 
 founding the first farm worthy of the name of a seed 
 farm in New England. It was in this business that 
 William G. Comstock manifested his superior abil- 
 ity as a business man, and developed the advanced 
 ideas that have ever since dominated the large seed- 
 growing firms of the United States. He devised 
 the plan by which the difl:'erent varieties were 
 shipped in boxes of new design to all parts of the 
 country — a plan now followed by all gardeners 
 engaged in this industry. When his father died, 
 in 1845, W'illiam G. became sole proprietor of the 
 business, of which he had been practically the head 
 from the beginning, and he now foresaw that there 
 was a great future for it. He branched out. He 
 made trips to the South, visiting Memphis, \''icks- 
 burg, Natchez, Mobile and New Orleans, and in the 
 last-named city a dealer in seeds not only took all 
 his stock on hand, but placed an order for more, 
 to the amount of $2,500. ISIost of this trip was 
 made on the ]Mississippi river, aboard the steamer 
 "Natchez," the cost being about fifteen dollars for a 
 trip of two weeks' duration. The business was aug- 
 mented by the purchase of seventy-five acres of land 
 at Urbana, Ohio, and this branch until this day is 
 recognized as the seed farm of the West. In 1850 
 Mr. Comstock formed a stock company, under the 
 name of Comstock, Ferre & Co., with a capital of 
 $40,000, taking into the concern Mr. Henry Ferre. 
 The first year a dividend of six per cent was de- 
 clared, and afterward a dividend of ten per cent 
 every six months. He remained at the head of this 
 company for many years. 
 
 On Nov. 12, 1857, ■^■'■''- Comstock came to East 
 Hartford, bought the Henry Olmstead place, and 
 there made his home until his death. The dwelling 
 
 he first occupied here was destroyed by fire in 
 March, 1875, but he at once replaced it with an 
 elegant mansion, the best residence in tlie town. 
 For a time after settling in East Hartford he was 
 identified with Comstock, I-"crrc & Co., from which 
 he gradually withdrew, selling off his stock, but 
 continuing to do considerable business for the firm, 
 which is still operated under the original name. 
 For some years Mr. Comstock lived in retirement, 
 but held large interests in various investments and 
 continued to personally direct them until his death. 
 Mr. Comstock was united in marriage, July 3, 
 1837, by Rev. M. Roland, in New York City, to 
 Miss Adeline Strong, a native of East Hampton, 
 Conn., born April 29, 1812, a daughter of Henry 
 and Susannah (Cook) Strong. Mrs. Comstock 
 was called from earth Jan. 3, 1880. Children were 
 born to this union as follows: Franklin G., May 
 27, 1838; Jabcz Knight, Feb. 5, 1841 (died in 1855J ; 
 Mary Emma, Nov. 30, 1842 (died young) ; Amy, 
 May 22, 1845 'she was married to Henry Hoppin 
 Knight, of Brooklyn, N. Y., died Feb. 2, 1889, and 
 was buried in Greenwood cemetery, that city; Will- 
 iam Greene, Jr., and Frederick (twins), Feb, 13, 
 1847; Ralph Tracy (deceased in childhood); and 
 Robbins Tracy, born Oct. 24, 1855 (died unmar- 
 ried Nov. 16, 1890). The twins alluded to above 
 now constitute the firm of W. G. & F. Comstock, 
 real estate men of East Hartford. They completed 
 Comstock Hall and block in 1899, the most up-to- 
 date building in that localitv, and are among the 
 most enterprising and pushing business men of 
 the town, ^^'illiam G. is still unmarried. Fred- 
 erick, married, on April 5, 1875, Miss Nellie Will- 
 iams, of East Hartford, -and is the father of four 
 sons, Tracv S., Frederick H.. Lewis B. and Don- 
 ald c. s. ■ 
 
 William G. Comstock in politics was a ^^'h^g, 
 and was never anything else as a party man. as 
 when that party went out of existence he kept aloof 
 from party alliance. At one convention of ^^'higs, 
 in Hartford, he met rnd shook hanils with Henry 
 Clay, and this incident he pleasantly recalled long 
 afterward. While connected with the Xczc England 
 Rcvieto he was the first to introduce the name of 
 William Henry Harrison as a candidate for the 
 Presidency, to the people of New England, placing 
 it at the head of his editorial column Jan. 30. 1836, 
 "subject to the decision of the people." 
 
 Mr. Comstock was wont to recall that, a few 
 vears after the convention at which he met Mr. Clay, 
 President Andrew Jackson visited Hartford, while 
 making a tour of New England for purposes known 
 to himself alone, but not with any political object 
 in view. 'Sir. Comstock described him as riding 
 a handsome white horse through Main street, busy 
 in bowing his acknowledgments to the fluttering 
 handkerchiefs in the hands of belles and dames 
 in the windows, and to the huzzahs of the men who 
 thronged the sidewalks. Following the President 
 there were several barouches, in which were seated 
 the principal citizens of Hartford and several mem- 
 
762 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 bers of the cabinet, including Martin Van Buren, 
 Jackson's successor to the Presidency. 
 
 Mr. Comstock was one of the most bitter enemies 
 of the old toll bridge company at East Hartford, and 
 his advocacy of a free-bridge system was strong, 
 able and effective. He fought the toll system for 
 ten or fifteen years, and eventually conquered the 
 rich old bridge corporation, and succeeded in es- 
 tablishing free bridges across the Connecticut river ; 
 the wisdom of his course was shown by the immedi- 
 ate increase in the population on the east side of 
 the river. In fact, he always manifested a wonder- 
 ful capability for business, and certainly had no 
 equal in the town, even in his advanced years. As 
 a mechanic he invented an implement which met 
 with a ready sale all over the globe, and was known 
 as Comstock's Seed Sower and Cultivator. He was 
 the largest landholder in East Hartford, where he 
 erected many buildings. He was ever prompt in 
 filling his obligations, and expected others to be 
 so, and was never afraid to say "no" at the proper 
 time. He and his sons have done more to build 
 up East Hartford than any other family in the town. 
 In his advanced age, notwithstanding the paralysis 
 of his left side, Mr. Comstock kept his books him- 
 self, drew up all his legal documents, and wrote 
 with as steady a hand as any man of fifty. 
 
 CHARLES KELLEY, M. D., a prominent and 
 successful physician of Plantsville, was born in 
 Poughkeepsie, N. Y., Nov. ii, 1859, a son of 
 George W. and Rachel A. (Osborne) Kelley. 
 The paternal grandfather, William W. Kelley, 
 was a farmer and basket manufacturer of Dutchess 
 county, N. Y., while the maternal grandfather, 
 Isaac Osborne, was a carpenter and builder of New 
 York City. George W. Kelley was a resident of 
 Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and at the time of his death, 
 which occurred July 28, 1894, was general agent 
 for H. D. Justi, manufacturer of dental supplies, 
 of Philadelphia, and was also the. president of the 
 Trade Dental Association of the United States 
 and Canada, being one of the best-known men in 
 his line on this side of the Atlantic. 
 
 Our subject was reared in his native town and 
 in Hyde Park, N. Y., and his literary education was 
 obtained in the public schools of that State. In 
 1878, at the afre of nineteen years, he commenced 
 the study of medicine with his uncle, C. H. Yel- 
 vington, M. D., of Susquehanna, Penn., and in 1880 
 entered the Eclectic Medical College of New York 
 City, from which he was graduated in 1883. In 
 August of the same year he began practice at 
 Moore's Mill, N. Y., where he remained until May, 
 1884, and then came to Plantsville, Conn., where 
 he has since been actively and successfully engaged 
 in practice. 
 
 On June 13, 1887, Dr. Kelley was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Sarah Tornton, a daughter of 
 Jacob and Mary (Illingworth) Tornton, of Bis- 
 marck, N. Dak., formerly of England. The Doc- 
 tor is a member of the Congregational Church, of 
 
 Plantsville. Fraternally he is a prominent Mason,, 
 belonging to Friendship Lodge, No. 33, F. & A. 
 M.; Triune Chapter, No. 40, R. A. M.; Temple 
 Council, No. 32, R. & S. M. ; and Harmony Chap- 
 ter, No. 55, O. E. S. ; and he also holds membership 
 in Eureka Lodge, No. 75, I. O. O. F. ; William 
 Berry Lodge, No. 50, K. P. ; Union Grange, No. 
 25, P. of H. ; Hira Temple, No. 90, D. O. K. K. ; 
 Wonx Tribe, No. 28, I. O. R. M. ; Unity Council, 
 No. II, O. U. A. M. ; Southington Council, No. 
 1258, R. A.; and Panthorn Tent, No. 32, K. O. 
 T. M. Politically he is identified with the Repub- 
 lican party. He stands high in professional cir- 
 cles, and as a citizen is widely and favorably known. 
 
 AMOS RICHARD ENO (deceased) was born 
 in Simsbury, Hartford county, Nov. i, 1810, and 
 was the third child and second son of Salmon and 
 Mary (Richards) Eno. The father, Salmon Eno, 
 was born Dec.. 13, 1779, and died April 3, 1842; 
 the mother, Mary (Richards) Eno, was born in 
 1785, and died Sept. 29, 1883. 
 
 Amos R. Eno was a farmer boy on the home , 
 place until his sixteenth year, and his schooling was 
 acquired altogether in his native town. At the age ! 
 mentioned he went to Hartford as a clerk and on 1 
 his return, with the limited means at his command, j 
 he opened a store at Hoskins Station, as it is now I 
 called, at the time when the old New Haven & j 
 Northampton canal was being constructed. As this 
 work of construction drew a great many laborers 
 to the neighborhood, and as his store was beside the 
 canal, he did a thriving business. But a countrv 
 store was too narrow in its scope for a man of his 
 energy and business talents, and he sought the 
 broader field of New York City, in which to ex- 
 ercise his abilities, and met with tremendous suc- 
 cess — realizing over twenty-five million dollars be- 
 fore retirement. 
 
 Had Amos R. Eno, with the great intellect 
 which his limited schooling left undeveloped, re- 
 ceived an adequate education at the proper time of 
 life, he would have become one of the greatest 
 scholars of his aee, as he became unsurpassed as 
 a business man. He was a natural student, how- 
 ever, and a keen observer, and taught himself 
 through constant reading. Every hour not devoted to 
 business was passed in study, which afforded him the 
 greatest pleasure possible. The languages especially 
 appealed to his taste, French and Italian being his fa- 
 vorites, the former of which he read with great flu- 
 ency. Scientific works, also, had a great attraction 
 for him, and this, added to his close observation of 
 nature, furnished him with a fund of knowledge 
 possessed by few — in fact only by noted and learned 
 men. 
 
 Amos R. Eno married Lucy Jane Phelps, of 
 Simsbury, in which town she was born, a daughter 
 of Hon. Elisha and Lucy (Smith) Phelps, the for- 
 mer of whom was born in Simsbury, Nov. 16, 1779, 
 and the latter in Middletown, Conn. To this 
 felicitous union were born seven children, in the 
 
-...^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 768 
 
 following order: Amos F., of Xcw York; Mary J. 
 (Mrs. I'inchot), of the same cit\- ; .\nna Maria, 
 deceased ; Henry Clay, of Saugatuck, Conn. ; An- 
 toinette (now ^irs. Wood, a widow), of Sinisliury ; 
 John Chester, of New York; ant! William I'heliJS, 
 of Saugatuck, Connecticut. 
 
 In his latter years Air. Eno gave up his residence 
 in Xew York and came to live permanently in Sims- 
 bury, where he had for years maintained a summer 
 residence. But his business affairs required much 
 of his time in the great city, and he stopped at the 
 "Fifth Avenue Hotel," which he had built. Shortly 
 before his death he establishetl a city home at the 
 corner of Fifth avenue and Tenth street^ where his 
 death took place Feb. 21, i8y8, his remains being 
 brought to Simsburv for interment beside those of 
 his wife, who died in November, 1883. He was a 
 member of the Congregational Societv (not of the 
 church), and freely contributed to the support of 
 the church. 
 
 While }»Ir. Eno had at his command the means 
 to gratify every whim and to secure every luxury 
 known, his happiest dream and greatest joy were 
 found in his hope of returning to Simsbury. His 
 millions did not change the individual, and he was 
 always ])roud to shake the hand of his old boyhood 
 friends, who had been less successful in progress 
 through life. He was known to everybody in his 
 town, but nobody could possibly be less pretentious, 
 and yet dignified, and none commanded greater 
 respect. His life was marked by acts of kind- 
 ness and generosity to brothers and other relatives, 
 near and distant, and his acts of munificence were 
 innumerable. Not a project was ever broached in 
 Simsbury for more than forty years that he was not 
 solicited to aid, and as often as he was solicited he 
 responded in a most substantial manner. Mr. Eno 
 was conceded to be the best judge of real estate 
 values in New Y'ork City, and probably his opinion 
 was oftener sought on this subject than that of 
 any other man of his time. That he was far-seeing 
 in this respect is proven by the fact that every penny 
 of his vast fortune was earned by himself, the 
 greater part of it through real estate investments. 
 From a poor boy he developed himself into one of 
 the richest men that Connecticut ever produced, and 
 Simsbury is proud that it was his brithplace. The 
 foUowingexcerpt, taken from the Hartford Courant's 
 obituary notice published shortly after the death of 
 Mr. Eno, throws some additional light upon the 
 lamented deceased's career in New York, and is 
 well worth reading: 
 
 Amos Richards Eno, the well-known New York million- 
 aire, who has lived for a large part of his life in Simsbury and 
 was one of the most prominent residents of that town, died 
 at his home in Xew York yesterday mornintc after a brief 
 illness. He was eighty-seven years old. Until four years 
 ago, when he had an attack of pneumonia, he was remark- 
 ably strong in mind and body, but since that tmie he has 
 been in poor health, and his death was due to a general 
 breaking down and old age. * * * 
 
 John Olmstead, of this city, offered to make Mr-. Eno his 
 partner, but he refused, went to New York, and not long 
 after took into partnership his cousin, John J. Phelps, a 
 
 wholesale dry-goods merchant. The firm was successful, 
 ami it was there that he laid the foundation of his great for- 
 tune. The [lurtnersliip finally separated, and Air. Eno 
 organized the lirm of Eno, .Mahony & Co. He began to 
 purchase real estate, and his mteresls in that direction be- 
 came so large that he gave up the dry-goods business entirely. 
 
 He was a daring buyer, but it was seldom that he made 
 a venture which did not have a successful ending. He con- 
 ceived and i)ut inlooiieration the idea of building the "Fifth 
 Avenue Hotel," although it was considered at that time 
 that the site was so far u[j-town as to render it impossible 
 that a hotel there should pay. When the building was 
 begun it was generally known as " Eno's folly." The 
 risk was thought to be a tremendous one, but nevertheless 
 the building was finally completed and opened as the lead- 
 ing hotel ol New York. The profits were large, and soon 
 after Mr. Eno bought the triangular piece of land at the 
 corner of Broadway and Fifth avenue, at Twenty-third 
 street, for S2.5,UUU, which is now the annual rental of the 
 property. For several years he lived in a house at the cor- 
 ner of f'ifth avenue and Twenty-seventh street, for which 
 he originally paid HVlh.WO. .A few years ago he sold it to 
 the Reform Club for S:i27,000. Mr. Eno was the owner of 
 property m that vicinity, liis fortune in real estate being an 
 enormous one. 
 
 Mr. Eno purchased the old Elisha Phelps property on 
 Main street, in Simsljury, where he spent his summers when 
 he was not aliroad. He always interested himself in the 
 affairs of the town, and was ever ready to give to any 
 object which he considered worthy. He was a man 
 of very benevolent nature. He gave to the town a pub- 
 lic library which, together with all the additions he made 
 to Its collections, has cost about 685,000. He bought a large 
 farm and gave it to the town, with the buildings on it, as a 
 home for the town poor. He gave with great liberality to 
 the First Congregational Church of Simsbury. He was inter- 
 ested in the work of Ur. Parkhurst in New Vork, and aided 
 in its promotion by a generous outlay of funds. 
 
 He was a very keen man, of sharp wit, but of a hearty 
 and cordial bearing, which with a warm heart won for him 
 a host of friends. As he said of himself, when he was a 
 young man he was so eager to learn that there was always "an 
 interrogation point at the end of his nose." There are 
 many relatives living in Simsbury, the family is of remark- 
 able longevity — there being still alive his sisters, .Mrs. Eme- 
 line Bassett, of New Britain, aged ninety-four; .Mrs. Milton 
 Humpreys, of Farmington, aged eighty-two; and his brother 
 Salmon C. Eno, who is also very old. The wife of Amos, 
 Eno, who died about fifteen years ago, was Lucy Jane 
 Phelps, of Simsbury, the daughter of Elisha Phelps, and 
 the sister of Gov. Phelps, of Missouri, who served nine 
 terms in the United States House of Representatives. 
 
 EDWARD GAGER FOX, AI. D., was born 
 at W'ethersfield -A.ug. 8, 1859, a son of the late Dr. 
 Roswell Fox, who was a practicing physician at 
 that place for nearly half a century, and held in 
 high esteem as a physician, a citizen and a man. 
 
 The Doctor's great-grandfather. Roswell Fox, 
 Sr.. was a Revolutionary soldier, and took part in 
 the battle of Lexington. He was a fanner by oc- 
 cupation. His son David A. was born in Bozrah, 
 Conn., and also took up farming, making his home 
 at Lebanon. He was twice married, his first wife 
 being Wealthy Saxton, by whom he had three chil- 
 dren : Roswell ; Eunice, who died in infancy : and 
 Dr. David A. The last named studied medicine 
 at the New Y'ork L'niversity, graduating therefrom 
 in 1849 • lis is now a resident of Clinton. Conn. 
 David A. Fox had several children by his second 
 wife, Sarah Waterman, but the only one now liv- 
 ing is Sarah Maria, widow of H. H. Starkweather, 
 e.x-member of Congress. 
 
764 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Dr. Roswell Fox was born at Lebanon, Conn., 
 Nov. 14, 1825, and passed his early years upon a 
 farm, receiving his first scholastic training at the 
 district schools, in which so many of New Eng- 
 land's eminent sons acquired their first impulse 
 toward a higher, broader culture. At the age of 
 seventeen he himself became an instructor in those 
 primitive "seats of learning," and soon afterward 
 supplemented his early schooling by attendance at 
 the Bacon Academy, at Colchester, and Wilbraham 
 (Mass.) Academy. His predilection was for the 
 study of medicine, and in 1844, he became a stu- 
 dent in the office of Dr. Elisha Phinney, of Yantic. 
 The following year he entered Yale College, and 
 after a year's study at that institution went to 
 New York, where he matriculated at the Medical 
 Department of the New York University. Upon 
 receiving his diploma and degree, in 1847, he went 
 to Wethersfield, where he resided until his death, 
 Oct. 25, 1898. He was at once appointed visiting 
 physician of the State prison at that town, of which 
 liis father, David A. Fox, was one of the board of 
 directors. In 1896 he gave up active practice to 
 pass the remainder of his busy, useful life in well- 
 earned retirement and rest. 
 
 In 1848 Dr. Fox was married to Miss Ann M. 
 Gager, and they lived to celebrate their golden wed- 
 ding. Two children were born to them: Edward 
 G. and Charles J. On May 18, 1887, the latter 
 married Lillian Winslow, of Simsbury, who died 
 Sept. 28, 1888. Dr. Roswell Fox was indeed a 
 self-made man, for when he entered upon the prac- 
 tice of his chosen profession he had but fifteen dol- 
 lars, and he gained success by diligent and per- 
 sistent effort. He was a stanch Democrat, and a 
 consistent member and liberal supporter of the 
 Congregational Church. His townsmen attested 
 their appreciation of his character and capability 
 "by electing him to various offices, among them be- 
 ing those of selectman and school visitor. He was 
 a member of both the State and Countv Medical 
 Societies, in whose deliberations he was deeply in- 
 terested, and in whose proceedings he took an active 
 part. He was for twenty years president of the 
 Comstock Ferre Seed Company, and belonged to 
 the old Charter Oak Fellowship Lodge, I. O. O. F., 
 the first of that order to be organized in Weth- 
 •ersfield. 
 
 Edward G. Fox enjoyed exceptionally good 
 educational advantages. He passed through the 
 •grammar and high schools with credit, and had, 
 for a time, the benefit of the instruction of a pri- 
 vate tutor. In 1878 he began the study of medi- 
 cine in his father's office, and in 1879 entered the 
 -medical school of New York University. In addi- 
 tion to the prescribed course of three years at that 
 institution he took a special course on the heart 
 and lungs, and graduated in 1883 with high honors. 
 On leaving college he returned to Wethersfield, and 
 -entered into a professional partnership with his 
 father. He is still engaged in active and successful 
 practice in the town where he was born and reared. 
 
 For seven years, 1891-1898, he served as visiting 
 physician of the State prison, and was re-appointed 
 July I, 1900; this position was filled some forty 
 years before by his father. He is a prominent mem- 
 ber of the Connecticut State and Hartford County 
 Medical Societies, and of the American Medical As- 
 sociation, and is a Mason of high degree, being affil- 
 iated with St. John's Lodge, of Hartford, as well 
 as Pythagoras Chapter and Washington Com- 
 mandery. In politics he is a Republican, and in 
 religiotis faith a Congregationalist. 
 
 On Oct. 26, 1892, Dr. Fox was married to Miss 
 Frances S. Wells, daughter of the late George L. 
 Wells, of Wethersfield. They have one child, 
 Kenneth Lewis, born Jan. 30, i? 
 
 LYMAN RISLEY, the well-known retired lum- 
 ber merchant and extensive property holder of East 
 Hartford Meadow, where he has been a resident for 
 nearly sixty years, \\»as born in Hockanum, town of 
 East Hartford, Feb. 5, 1820. Mr. Risley is de- 
 scended from one of the oldest of New England 
 families, and is to-day one of the best preserved gen- 
 tlemen of his years, one so seldom seen after a busy 
 life that began when he was a boy and closed its 
 activity only within the past few years. 
 
 Benjamin Risley, grandfather of Lyman, was 
 a carpenter by calling, resided in Glastonbury, and 
 there died at an advanced age. He had a very 
 large family, of whom three sons went to the State 
 of New York, where they passed the remainder of 
 their lives. 
 
 Ashbel Risley, father of Lyman, was born in 
 Glastonbury, and was also a carpenter. He mar- 
 ried Lucinda Goodale, who was born at Burnside, 
 Conn., and also came of a very old and respected 
 family. Ashbel Risley died at the age of seventy- 
 four years, and his wife was over ninety-six years 
 old when she died; the remains of both were in- 
 terred at Hockanum. Of their children, three only 
 are now living: Lyman, the subject of this sketch; 
 Delia, widow of a Mr. Waterman, of Manchester,^ 
 Conn. ; and Robert, who lives in Hockanum. ' 
 
 Lyman Risley received a meager education in 
 the district Schools, which did not atford advantages 
 equal to those of the present day, and being the 
 eldest son he began working for himself at the 
 age of ten years, his parents not being over wealthy. 
 He began by picking up potatoes (after they had 
 been dug) at one cent per bushel, and some times, 
 when a "youngster," worked for his simple board. 
 In March, 1841, Mr. Risley came to East Hart- 
 ford, where he found work as a farm hand. In 
 July, 1841, he married Miss Betsey Lewis, of 
 Heiaron, Conn., and went to housekeeping in Hock- 
 anum, being at the time twelve dollars in debt. 
 During the same year he entered the employ of 
 Marston & Treat, lumber dealers of East Hartford 
 Meadow, with whom he continued to work for 
 twenty-five years, later became a partner with Mr. 
 Marston, finally became sole proprietor and con- 
 
't^n/^O^''^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 765 
 
 ducted the business until succeeded by his grand- 
 cliiklren, Jencks Brothers, the present proprietors — 
 having been in the kiniber trade more than half a 
 century. He began with Marston & Treat as a 
 common laborer during the summer season only, 
 and chopped wood in the winter at two shillings 
 per cord : now he is one of the wealthiest men of 
 East Hartford town, not through any fortuitous 
 circumstances, but tnrough his own personal en- 
 i deavor and, the exercise of the sound judgment 
 with which lie is blessed. 
 
 This judgment was exemplified in his fortunate 
 choice of his wife, who was a most amiable lady, 
 a valuable helpmate, and a noble, kind-hearted 
 ' mother. To their marriage were born three chil- 
 ' dren : One that died in infancy unnamed ; Caroline 
 (Mrs. BabcockV of East Hartford ]\Ieadow : and 
 Erwin Risley, of the same village. Mrs. Risley 
 passed away in the fall of 1891, when she was over 
 sieventy years of age, and her remains lie at rest 
 in Hockanum cemetery. In 1854 ^Ir. Risley built 
 for himself and family a fine dwellir.g in East Hart- 
 ford ^leadow, which he occupied until 1875, when 
 he erected his present handsome residence. Up to 
 the winter of 1898-99 Mr. Risley l.^d l.ardly ever 
 suffered a pain from illness or an infirmity of age, 
 and he still retains each faculty in its full perfec- 
 tion. Xo harder worker ever existed, and he is 
 still indefatigable in his attention to his real-estate 
 interests. 
 
 From his youth Mr. Risley has been an admirer 
 of a good horse, and among others he raised the 
 stanch roadster "Charles Jefferson," which, at the 
 age of twenty-five years was probably the speed- 
 iest road horse in Xew England. Mr. Risley is an 
 excellent reinsman, notwithstanding his advanced 
 years, and still holds membership in the Gentle- 
 men's Driving Club of Hartford. He is also a 
 stockholder in the East Hartford Driving Club 
 Company. 
 
 'Sir. Risley, it will have been seen, is from a busi- 
 ness point of view a decidedly selfmade man, and 
 during his long career his integrity has never been 
 called in question. He has led a useful life, his en- 
 terprises resulting in vast benefit to his fellow- 
 men, and his innumerable benefactions have been 
 bestowed unostentatiously and with that innate 
 modesty and unaffectedness that ever mark the 
 true-born gentleman. 
 
 _ LAWREXCE DALY, deceased. The subject 
 of this sketch was the founder of a prosperous 
 and successful family in the town of South W^ind- 
 sor, the members of which since his untimely death, 
 a quarter of a century ae;. have most admirablv 
 conducted the farm, his widow displaying business 
 ability of a high order and carrying on the work 
 which he began. 
 
 Mr. Daly was born in County Cork, Ireland, 
 in 18.^7, a son of John and Mary ( Dovlon) Daly. 
 The family came to America about the year 1854, 
 and settled in the town of East Windsor. Of the 
 
 four children, Patrick died Feb. 25, 1862; John D., 
 a farmer in East Windsor town, is the only sur- 
 vivor; William died June 11, i88l ; Lawrence is our 
 subject. 
 
 When Lawrence Daly was fifteen years of age 
 he began working on the farm by the month for 
 Samuel Watson, of East Windsor, and other farm- 
 ers. He then began raising tobacco on shares, for 
 Airs. Fish, near W'archouse Point, and subsequently 
 moved to South Windsor, for a year managing the 
 farm of Dr. Mary Tudor's father. Mr. Daly then 
 purchased twelve acres of land, which he occupied 
 until 1869, in that year purchasing and moving to 
 the farm which he conducted successfully until his 
 death Xov. 27, 1874. He was a member of the 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 Mr. Daly was married May 16, 1871, to Mrs. 
 Johanna Bergen, and to iheir union were born two 
 daughters, Alary and Catherine, both at home, the 
 latter being the wife of James Francis. 
 
 Since her husband's death Mrs. Dalv has super- 
 intended and carried on the farm, raising from six 
 to ten acres of tobacco yearly. She is a woman of 
 unusual ability, one whose methods in industry, 
 thrift and enterprise arc a model in tobacco grow- 
 ing. She owns one of the finest tobacco-producing 
 farms in South \\'indsor, equipped with many 
 modern improvements, most of which she herself 
 has maile. Mrs. Daly and her two daughters are 
 members of St. Alarv's Catholic Church, East Hart- 
 ford. 
 
 Airs. Johanna Daly was born Aug. 25. 1841, in 
 County Cork, Ireland, of which her "parents, \\'ill- 
 iam and Bridget (Keefe) Fitzgerald, were also 
 natives. They were reared and married in the 
 country of their birth, and became the parents of 
 nine children, two of whom died in childhood ; James 
 died unmarried : Alary married A\'illiam Vander- 
 bilt and died in California, in 1898, leaving five chil- 
 dren ; Johanna (Airs. Daly) is next in the order of 
 birth ; Julia died unmarried, Xov. 9, 1892 ; Bridget 
 is the wife of Christopher Francis, of Xew York ; 
 ^^'ilIiam died in Atilwaukee, Wis., in January, 1876; 
 Alichael is a resident of X'ew York City. Both 
 parents died in Xew York, the mother in 1858, and 
 the father in 1875. Johanna Daly was eight years 
 of age when her parents came with their family to 
 America, the passage to Xew York lasting six weeks 
 and three days. Thev landed at Castle Garden, 
 and she remained in X'ew York City until 1871, 
 when she removed to South Windsor. On Alay 
 16, i860, she married Thomas Bergen, a pattern- 
 maker, of X'ew York, by whom she had one daugh- 
 ter, Alargaret, born May, 31, i86r, now the wife 
 of William Hines, a carpenter of East Hartford. 
 Air. Bergen died in the fall of 1861. 
 
 RIAL STRICKLAXD, AI. D. Among those 
 who devote their time and energies to the practice of 
 medicine in Enfield, and have gained a leading place 
 in the ranks of the profession. is D.. Strickland. A na- 
 tive of Connecticut, he was born in Stafford Springs, 
 
766 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Tolland count3% Jan. 23, 1814, and is- a son of Sam- 
 iiel and Hannah (Eaton) Strickland. His paternal 
 great-grandfather came from England at an early 
 day and was among the first settlers of Stafford 
 Springs. He was a farmer by occupation, and was 
 one of the noted wrestlers of his day. His son, 
 Samuel Strickland, the grandfather of our subject, 
 was born probably in Stafford. He was a promi- 
 nent farmer, and served for three years as a soldier 
 in the Revolutionary war. His wife bore the 
 maiden name of Esther Brooks. The father of 
 our subject was an agriculturist, as was also the 
 maternal grandfather, John Eaton. All made their 
 homes in Tolland county, this State. 
 
 Dr. Strickland was reared on a farm in his na- 
 tive county, and received a common-school and 
 academic education. In 1834 he commenced the 
 study of medicine in Staft'ord and continued his 
 studies in Boston, Mass. ; Somers, Gonn. ; and Pitts- 
 field, Mass. Later he entered the Albany Medical 
 College, where he was graduated in 1839. He first 
 opened an office in Columbia, Conn., where he re- 
 mained six months, and in the winter of 1839-40 
 located at Longmeadow, Mass., engaging in prac- 
 tice there until the spring of 1859, when he came 
 to Enfield, Hartford county, Conn., where he has 
 since been actively engaged in the prosecution of 
 his chosen profession. His skill and ability are 
 attested by the liberal patronage he enjoys, and he 
 ranks as one of the leading physicians of Hartford 
 county. 
 
 For his first wife Dr. Strickland married Miss 
 Sarah M. Luther, and of the four children born to 
 them two are still living, namely : Myra E., widow 
 of Albert F. Allen; and Clara, wife of Charles L. 
 King. His second wife was Miss Elizabeth Ham- 
 ilton, a daughter of Dr. Horatio A. and Clarissa 
 (Peck) Hamilton. She belongs to a family that has 
 had many able and distinguished representatives in 
 the medical profession, being a granddaughter of 
 Dr. Horatio Arnold Hamilton, and a great-grand- 
 daughter of Dr. Asa Hamilton, a physician and 
 surgeon in the Revolutionary army. Her maternal 
 grandfather was Dr. Daniel Peck, a prominent 
 physician of Stafford, Conn. Her father's brother, 
 Erasmus E. Hamilton, was a physician, and her 
 only brother, Horatio Arnold Hamilton, was a physi- 
 cian of prominence in Perrysburg, Ohio, where her 
 mother's brother, Erasmus D. Peck, also engaged 
 in the practice of medicine. The son and grand- 
 son of Erasmus E. Hamilton are both physicians, 
 and Harry A. Hamilton, a nephew of Mrs. Strick- 
 land and a son of Dr. Horatio A. Hamilton, is a 
 druggist by profession. By his second marriage 
 our subject has two daughters: Elizabeth H. and 
 Helen Louise, Mrs. Frank H. Abbe. 
 
 The Doctor and his wife are faithful members 
 of the First Congregational Church of Enfield, and 
 have the respect and esteem of all who know them. 
 He affiliates with the Masonic fraternity, the Hart- 
 ford Medical Society, and the Connecticut State 
 Medical Society, while politically he is identified 
 
 with the Democratic party. In 1854 he was a mem- 
 ber of the Lower House of the Massachusetts Legis- 
 lature, and in 1881, 1882 and 1883 represented the 
 Third Connecticut Senatorial district in the State 
 Senate. Although eighty-five years of age he has 
 the vigor of a much younger man, and in spirit and 
 interests seems yet in his prime. Nature deals 
 kindly with the man who abuses not her laws, and 
 though his professional duties have been arduous 
 age rests lightly upon him. , 
 
 SETH FITCH WOODFORD, who passed 
 away May 4, 1898, at his home in the town of Avon, 
 v/ill long be remembered in this part of the county 
 as a citizen who held a place second to none in the 
 esteem of his fellow men, and whose upright life 
 and high moral character left an impress for good 
 which it is hoped may never be effaced. 
 
 Mr. Woodford was born Oct. 31, 1812, in Nod, 
 Avon, Conn., and passed his life on the original 
 homestead of the Woodford family, which has long 
 been prominent in Hartford county as represent- 
 ative of the best in her business, civil and social 
 life. He was a son of Chester Woodford, and a 
 brother of Chester Randolph Woodford, one of 
 the oldest and mostly highly-respected citizens of the 
 town. Our subject received his education in the pub- 
 lic schools of the neighborhood of his home, and 
 at the age of seventeen years began his apprentice- 
 ship to the trade of carpenter and joiner, which he 
 followed for a number of years in his earlier man- 
 hood. He finally took up contracting and building, 
 to which line-, and the tobacco business, he gave 
 the greater part of his active life, and by his ability 
 as a financier and manager he rose to a position of 
 recognized standing in the commercial world. His 
 honor in all his dealings was unquestioned, and, 
 combined with unusual judgment, energy and pru- 
 dence in the conduct of his business interests, won 
 for him the high place which he occupied for years 
 among his business associates. Though never act- 
 ive as an office-holder in the public life of the lo- 
 cality, he exerted a marked influence in the affairs 
 of his town and county, and was recognized as an 
 earnest thinker and man of undoubted public spirit, 
 one who would support any measure for the gen- 
 eral welfare, and who had the courage of his con- 
 victions in upholding any cause in which he was 
 interested. He was a strictly temperate man, and 
 an ardent worker for the Prohibition cause, being a 
 member of the State Temperance Association, and 
 he was always readv to assist in the moral improve- 
 ment of his community. Liberal in his religious 
 views, he united with no special denomination, but 
 he gave generously to religious and charitable en- 
 terprises, and was beloved by all his neighbors and 
 friends, for his kind heartedness and benevo- 
 lence, having a wide circle of friends and ac- 
 cjuaintances throughout the town. Always will- 
 ing and anxious to do what he considered right, 
 and generous in his judgment of others, he 
 gained a measure of loving respect from his fel- 
 
COMMEMORATH'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 707 
 
 low iiKMi in general enjoyed by few, and his death 
 was wklcly and sincerely mourned by the entire 
 coninuniity. He was laid to rest in Avon cemetery. 
 Mr. Woodford was a man of unusual intellifrence, 
 and kejn himself well informed on current events 
 and matters of local importance. He was a Demo- 
 crat in political sentiment, but he took no part in 
 the affairs of that organization beyond casting his 
 vote. 
 
 On May i8, 1842, ^Ir. Woodford was united 
 in marriage with ]\liss Harriet Tracy Rockwell, 
 who was born Sept. 3, 1817, in East Windsor (now 
 South Windsor), Hartford county, a daughter of 
 Nathaniel Rockwell, a cigar manufacturer. ]\Irs. 
 Woodford survives her husband, and though now 
 in her eighty-third year is active and in full ppsses- 
 sion of all her faculties, attending to duties about 
 the house and taking a keen interest in home and 
 family, to which she has always been devoted. She 
 is an intelligent, kindly. Christian woman, beloved 
 in the domestic circle and respected by her neigh- 
 bors and friends, who are numerous in Avon town. 
 In religious connection she is a zealous member 
 of the Congregational Church. Five children were 
 born to ^Ir. and ]\lrs. Woodford, of wdiom Na- 
 thaniel died in infancy; Edward C. died young; 
 Joseph S. and Haley C. are engaged in the milling 
 business and are the leading business men of Avon ; 
 Sarah died at the age of seventeen years shortly 
 after her graduation from Bordentown (N. J.) Col- 
 lege, a bright girl, whose death was deeply mourned 
 by her family and friends. The two sons living 
 were given a good start bv their father and conduct 
 business in partnership, engaging extensively in 
 milling, tobacco growing and farming. Joseph S. 
 has been probate judge of Avon for eleven years, and 
 he and his brother are prominent among the sub- 
 stantial and wealthy citizens of the town. Joseph 
 S. Woodford married j\Iiss Alice Maude North, 
 of Florida, and they have two children, Raymond 
 and Edna. Haley C. Woodford married ]\Iiss 
 Sophia North, of Florida, sister of Alice M. and 
 Dr. North, of Avon ; tliey have two children, Ches- 
 ter North and Grace. No familv is more respected 
 in Avon town than the Woodfords, and they hold 
 a high position in the social life of the locality. 
 
 The Rockwell family, to which Mrs. Woodford 
 belongs, is one of the oldest in Hartford county, 
 having been identified with its interests for over 
 250 years. William Rockwell, the first of the line 
 in America, was born in Dorchester, England, and 
 on April 14, 1624, was married in his native country 
 to Susanna Capen, daughter of Bernard Capen. 
 They came to the New \\'orld in 1630, locating first 
 in Dorchester, ^lass., where \\ illiam was one of 
 twenty-four freemen who took the oath of fidelity on 
 May 18, 1 63 1. He was a deacon in the church 
 there, and was one of the jurors in the first man- 
 slaughter case tried in the Colony. In 1637 he 
 removed with his family to Windsor, Conn., where 
 he passed the remainder of his days, dying May 
 15, 1640. He was also a deacon in the church at 
 
 I 
 
 Windsor. On May 29, 1645. his widow for her 
 second husband married Matthew Grant, and she 
 passed away Nov. 14, 1666. To William and 
 Susanna Rockwell were born six children : Joan, 
 April 25, 1625, in Englantl ; Samuel, July 18, 1627, 
 in England; John, March 28, 1631, in Dorchester, 
 IMass. ; Ruth, August, 1033, in Dorchester; Joseph, 
 1635; Sarah, July 21, 1634, in Windsor. Of these, 
 Joan married Jeffrey Baker. Ruth was married 
 Oct. 7. i'>52. to Christopher Huntington, removed 
 to Saybrook and in iT/io to Norwich, where they 
 were among the earliest settlers. Sarah became 
 the wife of Walter Gaylor. 
 
 Sergt. Samuel Rockwell, son of William, came 
 to America w'ith his parents and removed w^th the 
 family from Dorchester, Mass., to Windsor, as 
 above recorded. He was among the earliest settlers 
 of East Windsor, where he engaged in farming 
 until his death, in 171 1. He was admitted to mem- 
 bership in Windsor Church April 6, 1662. On 
 April 7, 1660, he married Mary Norton, daughter 
 of Thomas and Grace ( Wells ) Norton, of Guil- 
 ford, and we have the following record of their 
 children: Mary, baptized in January, 1661, was 
 married Oct. 23, 1683, to Josiah Loomis; Abigail, 
 baptized Oct. 23, 1664, died May 3, 1665 ; Samuel 
 was baptized Oct. 19, 1667; Joseph was baptized 
 May 22, 1670; John was bajitized ;\Iay 31, 1673-74; 
 Abigail, baptized April 11, 1676, was married Nov. 
 9, 1704. to John Smith, and died Oct. 12, 1741 ; 
 Josiah was baptized March 10, 1676. 
 
 Joseph Rockwell, son of Samuel, was born in 
 East Windsor, where he carried on farming all 
 his life. He married Elizabeth Drake, who was 
 born Nov. 4, 1675, a daughter of Job and Elizabeth 
 (.•\lvord) Drake, and they had a family of six, 
 children, born as follows: Joseph, Nov. 23, 1695; 
 Elizabeth, Dec. 12, 1698 (died in infancy) ; Ben- 
 jamin, Oct. 26, 1700; James, June 3, 1704: Job, 
 April 13, 1709; Elizabeth, July 24, 1713 (married 
 Jonathan Huntington). The father of this family 
 passed away June 26, 1733. 
 
 James Rockwell, son of Joseph, and great-grand- 
 father of Mrs. Seth F. Woodford, was born in East 
 Windsor, and like his father was a lifelong farmer 
 in that town. On Nov. 7, 1728, he was united in 
 marriage with Miss Abigail Loomis, daughter of 
 Eben and Jemima (Whitehead) Loomis, and they 
 became the parents of eight children : James and 
 Ebenezer (twins), born Sept. 27, 1729: William, 
 born Sept. 19, 1731, who was married in 1760 to 
 Elizabeth Reed; Abigail, born Dec. 19, 1733. who 
 died in February, 1734; Abigail (2) [date of birth 
 not given]; Elizabeth, born April 9, 1742; and 
 Nathaniel and Sybil (twins), born Oct. 14, 1746. 
 The mother of these died June 22, 1759, the father 
 on Oct. 15, 1776. 
 
 Nathaniel Rockwell followed in the footsteps of 
 his forefathers, carrying on agricultural pursuits 
 all his life, and he was a highly-respected, prosper- 
 ous citizen of East Windsor in his day. He married 
 Sarah Bullen, daughter of David and Ann Builen, 
 
768 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of Enfield, and the names and dates of birth of their 
 eight children are as follows: Huldah, March 20, 
 1770; Nathaniel, March 21, 1772; Flora, Sept. 2, 
 1774 (died Sept. 15, 1776) ; John, March 9, 1777; 
 Martin, Aug. 16, 1778; Ruth, April 20, 1782; 
 George, Feb. 28, 1786'; Sophia, June 21, 1789 (died 
 Jan. 18, 1868, unmarried). Mrs. Rockwell passed 
 away June 5, 1810, in East Windsor, aged sixty- 
 eight years, and Mr. Rockwell's death occurred 
 there Aug. 22, 1822. He was a Democrat in pol- 
 itics. 
 
 Nathaniel Rockwell, father of Mrs. Woodford, 
 was born March 21, 1772, in East Windsor, where 
 he grew to manhood, receiving his education in 
 the public schools of the day. He passed his entire 
 life in what is now known as South Windsor, and 
 was one of the respected citizens of his time, win- 
 ning an enviable reputation as a kind-hearted Chris- 
 tian man, of upright character and integrity in all 
 his dealings. Like his forefathers he was a farmer. 
 By his genial disposition and exemplary life he 
 made hosts of friends in the community where he 
 resided, and was widely and favorably known, 
 though he was not especially active in public af- 
 fairs, devoting his time principally to his business 
 affairs. On July i, 1810, he was married to Miss 
 Sarah Charlton, who was born in 1780, in Nor- 
 wich, a daughter of Charles and Sarah (Williams) 
 Charlton, and their union was blessed with six 
 children: Joseph Henr)^, born May i, 1811; Lydia 
 Huntley, born Oct. 11, 1812, married to Horace 
 Cornish, and died in Hartford in 1870; Sydney Will- 
 iam, born June 4, 1814, a physician by profession; 
 Edward Charlton, baptized June 19, 1816 (Joseph 
 H., Lydia H. and Sydney W. were all baptized same 
 day as their brother, Edward C.) ; Harriet Tracy 
 (Mrs. Woodford), born Sept. 3, 1817; and Ann 
 Maria, born in 1819, who died when four years 
 old. Nathaniel Rockwell died May 26, 1847, widely 
 mourned by his family and friends in South Wind- 
 sor. He was a Democrat in political sentiment. 
 His wife died Aug. 25, 1854, and was laid to rest 
 in South Windsor. She was a woman' of high 
 Christian character, and beloved by all who knew 
 her for her many sterling traits. 
 
 RUFUS W. GRISWOLD, M. D., of Rocky 
 Hill, a man of local prominence in the profession, 
 and a citizen of usefulness in his commtmity, is de- 
 scended from one of the old and prominent families 
 of New England. 
 
 Born Feb. 20, 1825, in the town of Manchester, 
 Hartford county. Dr. Griswold is the son of Julius 
 J. Griswold, and a descendant in the eighth genera- 
 tion of (I) Edward Griswold, the emigrant ances- 
 tor of this branch of the Griswold family in Amer- 
 ica, his line of descent being through George, Dan- 
 iel, Daniel (2), White and Dr. George. 
 
 (I) Edward Griswold, the emigrant, came 
 from Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England, in 1639, 
 and settled at Windsor, in the colony of Connecticut, 
 later removing to the part of Killingworth now 
 
 called Clinton, Middlesex county. He had married, 
 in England, his wife's name being Margaret, and 
 some of their children were born there. 
 
 (H) George Griswold, son of Edward, born in 
 1632, in England, married in Windsor, Conn., Mary, 
 daughter of Thomas Holcomb. 
 
 (lU) Daniel Griswold, son of George, married 
 Mindwell, daughter of Nathaniel Bissell. 
 
 (IV) Daniel Griswold (2), son of Daniel, mar- 
 ried Sarah White, of Bolton, Connecticut. 
 
 (V) White Griswold, son of Daniel, married 
 Elizabeth Cheney, of Manchester, Conn. He was 
 
 a soldier in the Revolution, was taken prisoner at ■ 
 the battle of Germantown, in October, 1777, and died 
 at Philadelphia, on board a prison ship, the same 
 fall. 
 
 (VI) Dr. George Griswold, son of White, was 
 born June 19, 1756, in the town of Harwinton, Litch- 
 field Co., Conn., and married Esther, daughter of 
 Jennings Johnson, of Southington, Conn. He 
 studied medicine under the direction of a Dr. Ab- 
 ernethy, of Litchfield, became a physician of skill 
 and prominence, and was one of the original mem- 
 bers of the Connecticut Medical Society. In 1800 
 he served as a representative in the General Assem- 
 bly of the State. He died Sept. 8, 1821, in the 
 sixty-sixth year of his age. 
 
 (VII) Julius J. Griswold, son of Dr. George, and 
 the father of the subject of this sketch, was born 
 Dec. 19, 1800, in the town of Manchester. When 
 in middle life he entered the service of the United 
 States as a private soldier, and was stationed a part 
 of the time in Arkansas and in Florida, his term of 
 seven years' service expiring just prior to the Mexi- 
 can war, He was a man of worth and usefulness, 
 in both military and civil life, and held the esteem 
 of a wide circle of acquaintances and friends. Dur- 
 ing the latter part of his life he was occupied as a 
 farmer in East Hartford. On June 5, 1822, he mar- 
 ried Ann Arnold, daughter of Samuel and Ruth 
 (Kennedy) Arnold, of East Flartford. He died 
 Jan. 28, 1865. His wife, who was born in 1799, 
 died five years previously. She was of the seventh 
 generation from John Arnold, the emigrant ancestor, 
 who came from England, and in 1640 had a twelve- 
 acre tract of land south of Little River, in Hartford ; 
 and in the division of lots on the east side of the 
 Connecticut river, in 1664, there was set off, to his ■ 
 son, Joseph Arnold, one of the three-mile lots in 
 that part of East Hartford now the Hockanum Dis- 
 trict, and running east. The line of Ann (Arnold) 
 Griswold's descent was through Joseph, John (2), 
 John (3), Samuel, and Samuel Arnold (2). Of 
 these, John Arnold (2) married Hannah, daughter 
 of Rev. John Makin. John Arnold (3} married 
 Luc)r, daughter of Thomas Wadsworth. Samuel 
 Arnold married Lucy, daughter of Eliab Pratt. 
 Samuel Arnold (2) married Ruth Kennedy. 
 
 (VIII) Rufus White Griswold, our subject, went 
 to the southeast district of East Hartford when a 
 boy, and was educated in the public schools. At 
 the age of seventeen he began a four-years' appren- 
 
uUiJiA^ ^^^uii^iM^UoHj)^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 769 
 
 ticeship to the printer's trailc, in the office of the 
 Hartford 'J'iiiics. He remained in the office two 
 years lonjjer, the last year as foreman in the i)rint- 
 inj,' department. In March, 1848, he enil)arked in 
 journalism on his own account, startini^' a newspa- 
 per known as the New England IVccldy Gazette, 
 having his office in the east wing of the old Univer- 
 salist church at Hartford. The venture was suc- 
 cessful so far as the circulation of the i)aper was 
 concerned, but financially it ilid not prove profitable, 
 for the reason that his business was conducted almost 
 wholly on the credit system. In consequence, he 
 discontinued the publication after two years, and 
 in April, 1850, went to New York and began the 
 study of medicine, in the office of a personal friend, 
 Dr. Roger Griswold Perkins. Later he matricu- 
 lated at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, in 
 that city, where he attended lectures during the 
 winter terms of 1852-53, 1853-54, receiving tlie tle- 
 gree of Doctor of Medicine in March of the latter 
 year. His knowdedge of the printing trade and 
 new'spaper work stood him in good stead. He was 
 editor for a time of the New York Empire City, 
 and also for several months assistant editor of the 
 Brooklyn Morning Journal. The summer of 1853 
 he was assistant physician in the Colored Home 
 Hospital. After graduating lie came to Rocky Hill, 
 Conn., wdiere he has since remained in continuous 
 liiactice. 
 
 On Dec. 23, 1851, Dr. Griswold married Esther 
 E. Hammond, of Vernon, Conn. The issue of this 
 union has been three sons, all of whom are prac- 
 ticing physicians and graduates of the New York 
 University Medical College. The eldest, Roger M., 
 resides at Providence, R. I. The two vounger are 
 twins — Edward H., who resides in East Hartford, 
 and Julius E., who is located at Portland, Conn. 
 All three sons are active and useful in the profession, 
 and esteemed in the communities in which they re- 
 spectively reside. 
 
 Dr. Griswold has been prominent in pulilic af- 
 fairs, and his fellow townsmen have several times 
 honored him by electing him to public office. He 
 W'as town clerk of Rocky Hill for four and a half 
 years, and represented his town in the Legislature, 
 being a member of the House in 1883, and chairman 
 of the committee on Contingent Expenses. Among 
 his professional brethren he enjoys a deservedl}' 
 high reputation as a well-read and skillful physician. 
 He has been a member of the Hartford County Med- 
 ical Society and of the Connecticut State ^ledical 
 Society since 1854, having twice filled the office of 
 president in the former. For eleven years he has 
 been one of the board of managers of the Connecti- 
 cut Society Sons of the American Revolution ; and 
 he is a member of the Connecticut Historical Society. 
 He has contributed largely to ^ledical Journals, 
 many of his articles appearing in New York, Phila- 
 delphia, Baltimore and Louisville publications. The 
 Connecticut Medical Proceedings contain several of 
 his papers, including an address on the Materia 
 Medica and Therapeutics of a hundred years ago, 
 49 
 
 given at tlie Centennial celebration of the Connecti- 
 cut Medical Society at New Haven, in 1892. The 
 Connecticut Health Board Reports for 1885 and 
 188G contain papers pre|)ared by the Doctor of some 
 forty odd pages each, on the history and etiology of 
 the Ejiidemic of Malarial Diseases at that time pre- 
 vailing in southwestern New England. These cover 
 that matter more thoroughly and completely than 
 anything else ever printed, and in the future will be 
 of great value to the medical profession. Dr. Henry 
 R. Stiles, of New York, has now in course of pub- 
 lication a work in two large volumes on "Ancient 
 Welhersfield," of wliich Rocky Hill was a part; 
 and the Rocky Hill jjortion ot that work, taKuig 
 in what was formerly Stepney parish (now Rocky 
 Hill), from its first white settler in 1655 down to 
 about 1875, is from the pen of Dr. Griswold. 
 
 JAMES HOMER DARLING, M. D., a promi- 
 nent homeopathic physician of Thompsonville, has 
 that love for and devotion to his profession which 
 has brought him success and won him a place among 
 the ablest representatives of the medical fraternity 
 in Hartford county. He. was born in Cambridge, 
 Lamoille Co., Vt., July 25, 1838, a son of Hayes 
 Pope and Aphia (Hubbard) Darling, natives of 
 Pomfret, Vt., and Weare, N. PL, respectively. The 
 father was a hatter by trade, but in later life en- 
 gaged in farming in Cambridge, \X., and died in 
 Johnson, that State, Dec. 22, 1843. 
 
 Dr. Darling was reared in his native State, and 
 received an academic education at Northfield Acad- 
 emy. In 1856 he began the study of medicine in the 
 office of his brother, Henry PL Darling, at Charl- 
 ton, JMass., and in 185S attended lectures at the 
 \'eriiiont Medical College, Burlington, where he 
 was graduated in 1859. The same year he began the 
 practice of his chosen profession at Rindge, N. H., 
 remaining there until November, 1862, when he was 
 appointed assistant surgeon of the 51st Mass. V. L, 
 b}- Gov. John A. Andrews, and served nine months, 
 hi December, 1863, he was appointed acting as- 
 sistant surgeon. United States Navy, and served 
 two years in the East Gulf Squadron. In Decem- 
 ber, 1865, he resigned that position and was 
 honorabh' discharged from the service with the 
 thanks of the Navy Department. He then located 
 at Keene, N. H., where he practiced his profession 
 for ten years, and in 1875 came to Thompsonville, 
 Conn., where he has since been in active and success- 
 ful practice. 
 
 Dr. Darling has been twice married, his first 
 wife being Miss Caroline ^I. Burnham (daughter 
 of Rev. A. W. Burnham. D. D.), of Rindge, N. H., 
 who died in 1874. Later he married Miss Caro- 
 line M. ^Vilson, a daughter of Deacon Elliott A. and 
 Almira (Breed) Wilson, of Sullivan, N. H., and to 
 this union two children were born, Ethel M., and 
 Blanche I., the latter now deceased. Religiously 
 the Doctor is a member of the Presbyterian Church ; 
 socially he is a memljcr of Samuel Brown Post. No. 
 5^1, (i. A. R., and of the Order of United American 
 
770 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mechanics. His political support is always given 
 to the Republican party, and for three years he has 
 been a member of the school board of Thompson- 
 ville. The position he has won in the medical pro- 
 fession is accorded him in recognition of his skill 
 and ability, and the place which he occupies in the 
 social world is a tribute to that genuine worth and 
 true nobility of character which are universally 
 recognized and honored. 
 
 HERMANN AUGUST ROSER. Ever since 
 1659 the paternal ancestors of this prosperous tanner 
 of Glastonbury have followed the business of tan- 
 ning, a statement which is suggestive of the ade- 
 quate reason for his success. 
 
 Jacob Henry Roser, the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Stuttgart, the capital of Wurtem- 
 burg, Germany, in 1781. He was a lifelong tanner. 
 He married Fredericka A^eil, and of their nine 
 children three learned the tanner's trade. One son, 
 Rudolph, was for twenty years a missionary doctor 
 in South Africa. 
 
 Jacob Henry Roser, the father of our subject, 
 was one of the three brothers who became tanners. 
 He'was born in Stuttgart, July 25, 181 1, received 
 a good education in the common and select schools, 
 and learned from his father the tanner's trade, which 
 he followed through life. He married Paulina Metz- 
 ger, who was born in Stuttgart, June 3, 1816, and 
 died May 9, 1865. Of their nine children, the two 
 eldest were daughters, and both married ministers; 
 they have several sons who are ministers, and one 
 son a missionary in German East Africa. Of 
 the seven sons, the eldest, Henry, is a leather manu- 
 manufacturer in Stuttgart and Urach, Wurtemberg. 
 The second, Julius, and the third, Rudolph, carry 
 on their father's now very much enlarged tanning- 
 establishment. The fourth son, Theodore, is a 
 wholesale grocer in Stuttgart. The fifth, Albert, has 
 a drug store in Backnang, a town in Wurtemberg, 
 filled with tanneries of all sizes. The sixth, Paul, 
 carries on a chicory manufactory in Heilbronn, Wur- 
 temberg, while the seventh is the subject of our 
 sketch and the youngest of the family. 
 
 Hermann August Roser was born in Stuttgart, 
 Nov. 29, 1859. In his youth he received a very 
 good education, attending the best schools in Wur- 
 temberg, and among other studies taking up French 
 and English. On account of his good education he 
 passed the necessary examination relieving him from 
 more than one year's service in the army. Having 
 learned from his father and brother the trade of 
 tanner, he in April, 1880, at the expiration of his 
 j^ear of military service, began work at his trade 
 with C. Keller, at Winterthur, Switzerland. A year 
 later he went to Geneva, going from there to Lyons, 
 France, and thence to Bale, Switzerland. He was 
 then eniployed for about six months at Mulhouse, 
 Alsace, whence he returned home, and for a time 
 worked in the home tannery. Then he went to 
 Mayence, Frankfort, and down the Rhine, visiting 
 many tanneries, and finally worked in a large tan- 
 
 nery near Bielefeld, Westphalia. From Bielefeld 
 he went to Muhlheim on the Ruhr, where again he 
 worked in several tanneries, thence to Liege city, 
 and then home, deciding to come to America in- 
 stead of visiting the tanneries of England and Scot- 
 land, as he had originally intended. 
 
 Li company with his cousin, Charles Nanz, Mr. 
 Roser sailed from Bremen in October, 1884, on the 
 steamer "Donau," which encountered rough weather 
 and was thirteen days en route to New York. 
 After his arrival in the United States Mr. Roser 
 worked for about two years in various places, in- 
 cluding New York City, Newark, N. J., Lancaster, 
 Penn., and Boston, Mass. In March, 1886, he came 
 to Glastonbury, Conn., and the same year purchased 
 his present business from Isaac Broadhead, and has 
 ever since conducted it most successfully, employing 
 at times as many as ten men. Mr. Roser tans only 
 hog skins, and makes a very fine quality of leather 
 for saddles, pocket-books, whip-handles, and all sorts 
 of leather novelties. The products of his tannery 
 are sold throughout the United States, are shipped 
 to Canada, and also at times to European markets. 
 
 In the spring of 1888 Mr. Roser visited his old 
 home in Germany, and on May 5, 1888, he mar- 
 ried Miss Maria Veil, who was born Jan. 7, 1865, 
 daughter of John and Emily (Koch) Veil. John 
 Veil is a tanner at Schorndorf, Wurtemberg, and 
 since 1689 nearly all of his ancestors have followed 
 the trade of tanner. To our subject and wife were 
 born three children: Hans, born May 15, 1889; 
 Lydia, July 17, 1890; and Martin Luther, Sept. 11, 
 1893. In politics Mr. Roser is a Republican, a 
 liberal in local elections, and has never sought office. 
 He is a member of the Congregational Church. 
 Mrs. Roser died Nov. 11, 1899, after a long illness, 
 which she bore most patiently. She possessed very 
 precious qualities, and was loved and honored by 
 everybody. On July 28, 1900, Mr. Roser was mar- 
 ried to Miss Maria Heim, who was born Dec. 29, 
 1865, at Dundeuheim, Baden. Like his first wife, 
 she possesses many accomplishments,, and her circle 
 of friends is increasing with every new acquaintance. 
 
 FRANCIS C. ROOT (deceased) was during his 
 lifetime one of the leading contractors and builders 
 of West Suffield, where are seen on all sides many 
 notable examples of his skill and handiwork. He 
 was an upright, reliable business man, who always 
 fulfilled his part of every contract, and the liberal 
 patronage he received attested his ability in his 
 chosen calling. 
 
 Mr. Root was born in West Suffield, May 8, 
 1842, and was a grandson of Noah Root, a native 
 of Massachusetts, and a farmer by occupation, who 
 died in Granville, that State. The father of our 
 subject, Silas Root, was born in Southwick, and 
 was only four years old when his father died. In 
 his native place he was reared, receiving only the 
 advantages of a common-school education, and when 
 a young man he removed to Westfield, Mass., where 
 he learned the tanner's trade. On coming to Suf- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 771 
 
 field, Hartford Co., Conn., lie engaged in teaming 
 and fanning, and also drove a stage and carried the 
 United States mail from Hartford to Westtield dur- 
 ing the remainder of his life, his home being in 
 W est Sutiield. He died in iSOy, and was buried in 
 the cemetery there. He was a lifelong Democrat, 
 but never sought office, and was a faithful member 
 of the Congregational Church, to which his wife 
 also belonged. In West Suffield he married Rhoda 
 Pomeroy, and of the iive children born to them 
 three died in infancy ; Sarah became the wife of 
 Horace Kent, of Suffield ; and Francis C. is our 
 subject. The mother also died in West Suffield. 
 
 During his boyhood and youth Francis C. Root 
 attended the public schools of West Suffield. At 
 the age of sixteen he commenced driving a stage 
 and carrying the mail for his father between Hart- 
 ford and \\'estfield. In July, 1863, he enlisted as 
 regimental clerk in the loth JNIass. V. I., and after 
 two years with that command joined the 6th Michi- 
 gan Cavalry, in the same capacity, under Gen. Mer- 
 ritt. He witnessed the surrender of Gen. Lee to Gen. 
 Grant, April 9, 1865, and when the war ended went 
 to Washington, D. C, where he remained in the 
 employ of the government until October, 1865. Re- 
 turning to West Suffield, he engaged in the manu- 
 facture of cigars until 1871, and then having a 
 good knowledge of the carpenter's trade, he worked 
 as a journeyman for four years. In 1875 he began 
 contracting and building in partnership with ]\Ir. 
 Miskell, but from 1877 he was alone in business, 
 and in West Suffield town erected over a hundred 
 tobacco-sheds, tnirty barns, and twenty-five of the 
 best residences. He bore an enviable reputation 
 for fair and honorable dealing, and enjoyed the re- 
 spect and confidence of all with whom he came in 
 contract, in either business of social life. He built 
 his ow'ii home in West Suffield, which is a com- 
 fortable residence supplied with all modern improve- 
 ments, and there passed away July 9, 1899. His 
 remains were interred in West Suffield cemetery. 
 
 In Springfield, JNIass., j\Iay 23, 1866, Mr. Root 
 married Miss IMartha Olive Moore, a native of 
 Chicopee Falls, that State, and a daughter of ]\Iar- 
 vin and Olive (Austin) jMoore. Her grandfather, 
 Amasa Austin, was a soldier of the Revolutionary 
 war. To our subject and wife were born four chil- 
 dren: (i) Olive Louise is the wife of George A. 
 Sheldon, of \\'est Suffield, by whom she has one 
 child, Howard Root. (2) Francis Silas, a talented 
 young man, was educated in the public schools of 
 West Suffield, is now working at the carpenter's 
 trade, and has invented and patented a self-holding 
 parcel carrier for bicycles. He was married, Feb. 
 6, 1900, to Miss Grace L. Griswold, of East Granby, 
 Conn. (3) jMartha May is the wife of George L. 
 Warner, by whom she has one child. Edwin George. 
 (4) Grace Florence is the wife of Edwin F. Mann, 
 of East Granby. 
 
 Socially j\Ir. Root was a member of Apollo 
 Lodge, No. 69, F. & A. M., and politically was an 
 ardent Democrat. He was a recognized leader of 
 
 the party in his community, and had several times 
 Ijeen its candidate for reiiresentative to tiie State 
 Legislature, but the township being overwhelm- 
 ingly Rei)ublican ho was defeated. However, he 
 filled the office of selectman for four years, was 
 chairman of the school board of West Suffield for 
 several years, and served in other local offices with 
 credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of 
 the general public. 
 
 A.MON LATIMER (deceased), who during his 
 life was one of Simsbury's representative citizens, 
 was born at Weatogue, Simsbury, May 21, 1816. 
 The Latiniers are an old New England family, and 
 are among its best citizens. Waite Latimer, the 
 first settler of the name in Simsbury, and the grand- 
 father of our subject, was a native of Wethersfield, 
 Conn. He removed to Simsbury before the Revolu- 
 tion, took an active part in the French and Indian 
 wars, and was a sergeant in the Revolution. By 
 occupation he was a farmer and stock raiser. His 
 four children were Martha, Ariel, David and Waite. 
 
 Ariel Latimer, the father of our subject, was a 
 farmer at Aleadow Plain, where he spent his entire 
 life. Fie married Laura Phelps, daughter of Hon. 
 Daniel Phelps, and she bore him children as follows: 
 Amelia, who died young; Anion, our subject; Jer- 
 ome, who died at the age of twenty-six years; 
 Franklin A., wdio died in 1898; Emily, who mar- 
 ried Oliver Brown, of Waterbury, and later Dicius 
 Latimer, who made his home in Simsbury; 
 ^lartha, who died unmarried ; and Emaline, who 
 married John Smith, of New Haven, where he 
 died of small pox. Both parents died on the farm, 
 and were buried in Avon cemetery. 
 
 The subject of this sketch attended the district 
 school of IMeadow Plain, and at Southampton, Mass. 
 He remained on his father's farm until 1846, when 
 he removed to East Weatogue and bought 160 acres 
 of land, known as the James Cornish farm, and 
 where he spent the balance of his life, engaged in 
 tobacco culture, dairying and general farming. He 
 was both industrious and generous, made many im- 
 provements on his property, was a man of noted 
 honesty and honorable dealings, possessing a high 
 moral character, in his habits was temperate and 
 domestic, and lived up to the Golden Rule. He 
 v.as a kind father, and a loving husband. His 
 home farm was kept in good order, and his 
 surroundings bespoke his taste and thrifty habits. 
 He was genial in disposition, and liberal in re- 
 in religious views, was well known, well liked and 
 most highly respected. He was elected selectman 
 of Simsbur}', but never sought office. 
 
 Mr. Latimer married in Simsbury, Dec. 16, 1845, 
 Lucia Amanda Case, a native of Aleadow^ Plain, 
 daughter of Horatio Nelson and Amanda Case, and 
 granddaughter of Horatio G. and Hepsibah (Cor- 
 nish) Case. Floratio G. Case, the grandfather, was 
 born Sept. 27, 1777, and died in July, 1853. He w-as 
 an extensive land owner in Simsbury, and an influ- 
 ential politician, representing the town in the State 
 
772 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Legislature, and serving in various otlier important 
 capacities. Horatio G. Case was of the fifth genera- 
 tion from John Case, tlie founder of this numerous 
 and prominent Connecticut familv. Horatio was a 
 son of Jedediah and Mary (Hart) Case. Jedediah, 
 born March 30, 1733, and a prominent fanner of 
 Meadow Plain, was a son of Joseph and Hannah 
 (Humphrey) Case. Joseph Case, born Feb. 2, 1701, 
 and a Meadow Plain farmer, was a son of Joseph 
 and Ann (Eno) Case. Joseph Case, St., was born 
 April 6, 1674, son of John and Sarah (Spencer) 
 Case. John Case, the founder, migrated from Eng- 
 land or Wales to Connecticut and settled at Wind- 
 sor. In 1669 he removed to the town of Simsbury, 
 at Weatogue, was the first constable of the town, 
 represented the town in the General Court, and was 
 a prominent pioneer. 
 
 To Amon and Lucia Amanda (Case) Latimer 
 were born ten children : Laura J., who was a school 
 teacher, and married Oliver F. Perry, of Collins- 
 ville ; Juliaette, who married Albert L. Thayer, of 
 CoUinsville, Conn. ; Seth Amon, who died at the age 
 of nineteen years; Edwin J., who married Emma 
 Monks, of CoUinsville ; Lucia Amelia, unmarried ; 
 Mary, who married Walter Derrin, of Avon ; George 
 who died young; Nellie Edith, unmarried; Alice, 
 formerly a school teacher, now the wife of John S. 
 Parson, of Unionville, Conn. ; and Emma T., wife 
 of Dr. R. W. E. Alcott, of West Hartford. Our 
 subject died May 24, 1889, and was buried in Sims- 
 bury. He was afflicted with heart trouble, a disease 
 which resulted in his death. Mr. Latimer was a 
 man of sterling character, devoted to his family, 
 unselfish in his relations to the community in which 
 he lived, supporting public measures for the general 
 good, and by his life exemplifying a high and es- 
 timable type of American citizenship: 
 
 CHARLES WOLCOTT. The family name 
 of Wolcott ranks among the oldest and most dis- 
 tinguished in New England. From Colonial days 
 to the present time this family has furnished to 
 the Commonwealth, Church and State men re- 
 nowned for their patriotism, learning, piety and 
 statesmanship, soldiers who have written the rec- 
 ord of their achievements across the page of his- 
 tory in enduring characters, and public servants 
 eminent alike in State and National aii'airs. 
 
 Like a majority of the old families of the States 
 whose rugged coasts are washed by the waters of 
 the Atlantic ocean and Long Island sound, the 
 Wolcotts are of English origin and ancestry. The 
 first American progenitor was Henry, the second 
 son of John Wolcott, of Gildon Manor, Somer- 
 setshire, England. The parish records show him 
 to have been baptized Dec. 6, 1578. He married 
 Elizabeth Sanders, and was converted to the re- 
 ligious tenets of the Puritans through the preach- 
 ing and instruction of Rev. John Elton, in 1630. 
 He was animated wth all the zeal and fervor of a 
 new convert, and deeply sympathized with the 
 independent, manly spirit which preferred volun- 
 
 tary exile to proscription and persecution on ac- 
 count of religious faith. He joined the War- 
 ham and Maverick colonv of emigrants in 1630, 
 and in October of that year landed at Boston, where 
 he was made a freeman. He first made his home at 
 Dorchester, Mass., but in 1635 he removed to 
 Windsor, Conn., being one of the earliest settlers 
 of that town. That he was held in high esteem 
 is attested by his election to the Lower House of 
 the General Assembly, in 1637, while in 1640 his 
 name headed the lis: of the inhabitants of Wind- 
 sor. In 1643 he was elected to the Connecticut 
 House of Magistrates, and discharged the duties 
 of that difficult and delicate position with such 
 rare ability and fidelity that he was annually re- 
 elected thereto during the remainder of his life. 
 In a word, it may be said of him that he was 
 Windsor's most distinguished citizen. His long 
 and useful life closed on July 5, 1655. He was 
 the father of seven children. The eldest, John, 
 was born in. 1607, in which year he was baptized in 
 the Established Church. He lived and died in Eng- 
 land. Anna, the second child and eldest daughter^ 
 accompanied her parents to America, and Oct. 16, 
 1646, became the wife of Matthew Griswold, of 
 Windsor, and later removed to Saybrook, where 
 she died. Plenry was born Jan. 21, 1610. The 
 fourth and fifth children were named George and 
 Christopher. The sixth (and second 'daughter), 
 Mary, was married Jan. 25, 1646, to Job Drake, of 
 Windsor Loch, and died in 1689. Simon B., the 
 youngest of the family, was born in September. 
 1625. 
 
 Henry Wolcott, the second son and third child 
 of Henry (first), came with his father to America 
 from England, in which country he was born. He 
 early united .with the Dorchester Church, and was 
 made a freeman of Boston in 1634. Two years 
 later he removed to Windsor, where he became 
 an importer and merchant, visiting England, on 
 business, in. 1671. He took a prominent part in 
 public affairs, and his fellow townsmen showed 
 their appreciation of his worth by electing him to 
 various offices of high trust and grave responsi- 
 bilitv. He was one of the nineteen leading citi- 
 zens named in the charter of the Connecticut col- 
 ony. He was chosen a member of the House of 
 Deputies in 1660, and of the House of Magistrates 
 in 1666, in both of which deliberative bodies his 
 distinguished father had held a seat. He himself 
 continued to sit in the Upper House, through an- 
 nual re-elections, until his death. He was a mas- 
 ter of the art of stenographic writing, as then prac- 
 ticed, and in his system of abbreviation preserved 
 numerous items of Windsor history, both interest- 
 ing and valuable. He died July 23, 1680, and was 
 buried in the town he had helped to build, and to 
 which his life had been almost a benediction. His 
 wife was Sarah Newberry, to whom he was mar- 1 
 ried Nov. 8, 1641, at Windsor. She was a dausli- , 
 ter of Thomas Newberry, died July 16, 1684, and 1 
 sleeps in the same burying-ground with her luis- 1 
 
.-z^^ 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 778 
 
 band. To them were horn ciglit children : Henry, 
 Jan. 6, 1643; John, Feb. 28, 1644: Samuel, Oct. 8, 
 1647; Sarah, July 5, 1649, (married Jan. 6, 1674, 
 to Capt. John Price, of Salem, Mass.) ; Mary, Dec. 
 6, 1651, (married June 2, 1679, to James Russell, 
 i of Charleston, dying- in August, 1680) ; Hannah, 
 March 6, 1653, (died at Charlestown, Mass., Sept. 
 4, 1683) ; Samuel, April 16, 1656; and Josiah, July 
 21, 1658. 
 
 Josiah Wolcott received a classical education, 
 but his natural preference was for a commercial 
 life. He began his business career as a merchant 
 I at Windsor, later removing to Salem, Mass., where 
 i his native talent and stern integrity won him uni- 
 ' versal esteem, and where he died, Feb. 9, 1729. 
 : He was prominently identified with the early set- 
 , tlemcnt of Thompson, Conn., and may be called 
 '. one of the original settlers. In 1686 he married 
 ' Penelope Corwin, whose father, Capt. George Cor- 
 j win, was a resident of Salem, Mass. After her 
 I demise, he married Mary, a daughter of John 
 Field, of Boston. She died at Boston, in 1752. 
 Josiah \\'olcott was the father of eleven children. 
 Samuel A\'olcott. who was the first of this hon- 
 ored name to take up his residence in Wethersfiekh 
 was horn at Windsor, April 16, 1656. He grew 
 to manhood in his native town, and, following his 
 father's example, became a storekeeper and gen- 
 eral trader, carrying on business at both Windsor 
 and Wethersfield. In this connection it should 
 be stated that on his coming to Wethersfield he 
 built on what is now generally described as 'AVol- 
 cott Hill," where he passed the remainder of his 
 ]ife. He was an extensive land-owner, an intelli- 
 gent and upright man, an honored citizen, and was 
 elected a member of the House of Deputies in 
 1685. He died at Wethersfield, June 14, 1695. On 
 March 6, 1678, he married Judith Appleton, a 
 daughter of Samuel Appleton, of Ipswich, Mass. 
 She survived her husband forty-six years, dying 
 Feb. 19, 1741. Samuel Wolcott and his wife were 
 the parents of nine children, whose names, with 
 the respective dates of their birth, were as given 
 below: Samuel, April 11, 1679; Gershom, Nov. 14, 
 1680, died Sept. 28, 1682 : Josiah, Feb. 27, 1682, 
 died Oct. 23, 1712; Hannah. March 19, 1684, mar- 
 rieed Rev. William Burnham, of Kensington, 
 Conn., I\Iay 8. 1704: Sarah, born Aug. 14, ifi86, 
 became the wife of Robert \\'illis, of Wethersfield. 
 Dec. 12, 1706: Lucy, Oct. 16, 1688, was married 
 Feb. I, 1713, to Samuel Robbins, of Wethersfield; 
 Abigail, Sept. 23, 1690, died Nov. 9. 1714: Eliza- 
 beth, May 23, 1692, died March ,;, 1765: and Mary. 
 Mav 14, 1694, married John Stillman, Mav 26, 
 171'=^. 
 
 Samuel ^^'olcott (2). the eldest of the family, 
 and the son of Samuel ^^'olcott ( i ) , was born at 
 \\'ethersfield, but while still a youth was sent bv 
 bis parents to reside with his uncle, Josiah Wol- 
 cott, of Salem, Mass., under whose care he re- 
 ceived a thorough business training, and with 
 ■whom he remained until his father's death, when 
 
 he returned to Wethersfield. There he engaged 
 in mercantile business, importing largely, and 
 amassing what, for his time, was considered a large 
 fortune. He enjoyed the prominence and intluence 
 in the community which attaches to large wealth 
 when fiiund in connection with high mural char- 
 acter. He built a fine mansion, which is still in 
 a good state of preservation, and which was fre- 
 quently used by Washington and other generals 
 of the Revolution as headquarters ; and it is said 
 that within its venerable, time-stained walls, more 
 than one successful campaign was planned. He 
 died at his home, Sept. 15, 1734, and a handsome 
 monument marks his resting-place in \\'ethersfield 
 cemetery. Dec. 27, 1705, he married Abigail, daugh- 
 ter of Rev. Nathaniel Collins, of Middletown, and 
 its issue was four sons and two daughters. Mrs. 
 \\'olcott survived her husband for many years, 
 passing away Feb. 6, 1758, and now sleeps by his 
 side. Their children, in the order of their birth, 
 were: Abigail, born June 3, 1707; Oliver, born 
 Oct. 2, 1709, died in 1734; Samuel, born April 13, 
 1713; Mehitabel, born Aug. 12, 1715: Elisha, born 
 Sept. 26, 1717; and Josiah, born March 27, 1720. 
 Abigail married Abraham Watershoure, of Say- 
 lirook. Conn., and Mehitabel became the wife of 
 Jonathan Russell, of Wethersfield. 
 
 Elisha Wolcott, the third son and fifth child 
 of Samuel Wolcott (2), was bom at \\'ethersfield. 
 He was a farmer and land owner, a deacon in the 
 church, and a prominent and respected citizen. 
 He died in the town of his birth, Oct. 13, 1793, 
 and was interred in the old family burying-ground 
 at \\'ethersfield. He married Sarah, a daughter 
 of Gershom Xott, of that town, who died ^larch 
 12, 1801, and rests near her husband. Their chil- 
 dren were as follows: Gershom, born April 11, 
 1748, married Rhoda Robbins, Oct. 10, 1774: Sa- 
 rah, born Aug. 7, 1751, became Mrs. Levi Rob- 
 bins; EKsha (2) was born Oct. 2, 17^5: ^fehitabel, 
 born June 12, 1759, was married to Frederick Rob- 
 bins on April 12, 1781 ; and Hannah, born Sept. 
 22, 1762, died March 13, 1784. 
 
 Elisha \\'olcott (2), grandfather of Charles and 
 Robert Robbins W^olcott, was born in the old family- 
 homestead, and received such advantages in the 
 way of a common-school education at \\'ethersfield 
 then afiforded. At the outbreak of the Revolution 
 he was in the first flush of his early manhood, and. 
 like a true patriot, he ofifered his services to the 
 cause of American independence. He became a 
 soldier, participated in the conflict at New York, 
 and showed himself both brave and stronsf. After 
 serving gallantly for some time. General W'ashing- 
 ton sent him honie to make hats for the half-rag- 
 ged volunteers. \\'ith the exception of the months 
 passed in military duty, he spent his entire life in 
 Wethersfield, where he was well known and highly 
 respected for his manv virtues, and where he was 
 a large land owner. He was a Federalist in poli- 
 tics, and a sincere and consistent Christian, and an 
 ' active meiiiber of the Congregational Church. He 
 
774 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 died Jan. 17, 1827, and rests in the same burying- 
 ground with his ancestors. On Jan. 19, 1775, he 
 married Mary, a daughter of Joseph Wells, who 
 was born in 1756, died at Wethersfield, Oct. 6, 
 1828, and was buried in the same place of sepul- 
 ture. She bore her husband seven sons and four 
 daughters, whose names and dates of birth were as 
 follows: Samuel, born in 1775, married Hannah 
 Butler; Horatio Gates, born Feb. i, 1777, died in 
 childhood; Mary, born in 1779, married Thomas 
 Griswold, of Wethersfield ; Mehitabel, born in 
 1782, was twice married, her second husband being 
 A. Robbins ; Hannah, born April 13, 1785, became 
 the wife of Deacon William Willard ; Elisha was 
 born March 28, 1787; Daniel, July 27, 1790; Sarah 
 Nott, born April 2, 1793, died unmarried ; Chaun- 
 cey Appleton was born July 12, 1795; Horatio (2), 
 July 7, 1798: and Franklin, Sept. 12, 1800. 
 
 Elisha Wolcott, the third of that name in lineal 
 descent, and the father of Charles and Robert 
 Robbins Wolcott, was. like his father and grand- 
 father, born at the Wolcott homestead, in Wethers- 
 field. His early training was received in the 
 schools of the town, but he received a broader ed- 
 ucation in the active career which he led from his 
 youth until near the end of his life. He was an ex- 
 tensive land owner, was the pioneer seed and 
 onion grower of the district, and also cultivated 
 teasels. He shipped large quantities of produce to 
 the markets of New York and the West Indies on 
 coasting vessels, and always supervised the loading 
 of his own cargoes, making many trips to New 
 York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. He was uni- 
 versally held in high esteem for his tireless energv, 
 rare business ability and strict integrity. He never 
 desired, and far less sought, office, but once con- 
 sented to serve as deputy sheriff, the onerous and 
 responsible duties of which position he discharged 
 for several years with the same sound judgment 
 and unwavering fidelity which he brought to the 
 conduct of his own affairs. He was temperate in 
 his habits, and domestic in his tastes. His relig- 
 ious views were liberal, but in his relations with 
 his fellow men he never failed to regulate his con- 
 duct according to the "Golden Rule." In politics 
 he was a stanch Whig prior to the formation of 
 the Republican party, and he lived to cast a vote 
 for Abraham Lincoln, in i860. Although not as- 
 piring to leadership he was an active worker in the 
 ranks of his party. He died on his farm March 28, 
 1862, and was buried in the Wolcott lot at Weth- 
 ersfield. 
 
 On Dec. 24, 181 1, Mr. Wolcott married Mary 
 Wells Robbins, a daughter of Robert and Mary 
 (Wells) Robbins, of Wethersfield, where she was 
 born Dec. 4, 1791, and they became the parents 
 of ten children: (i) Mary, born in August, 1812, 
 died in 1867; she married John Wells, who died in 
 1899. (2) Sarah Nott, born in August, 1814, died 
 at the age of eightv, unmarried. (3) Elisha Rob- 
 bins, born in December, 1816, died a bachelor. (4) 
 Charles was born June 20, 18 19. (5) John was 
 
 born Jan. 4, 1822. (6) Elizabeth was born Jan. 12, 
 1825. (7) Robert R. was born Jan. 4, 1827. (A 
 sketch of him follows.) (8) Hannah E., born Oct. 
 10, 1831, died when five years old. Two died in ■; 
 infancy. Mrs. Mary Wolcott died in 1878, and was | 
 buried with her husband's family. She was a 
 devout member of the Congregational Church, ex- 
 emplifying her faith in her daily life, a faithful 
 wife, and a fond, self-sacrificing mother. | 
 
 Charles Wolcott was born in the Wolcott home- • 
 stead at Wethersfield. He attended both private 1 
 and public schools at Wethersfield, and so thor- ■: 
 oughly improved the advantages which he en-- ' 
 joyed that he himself was qualified to teach (and ' 
 did teach) district schools during the winter 
 months, while yet a youth, living on the ancestral '■■ 
 farm with his parents and devoting his summers * 
 to ordinarv agricultural work. Thus his life passed ! 
 until the year of his marriage (1847), when he re- ! 
 moved to the house just south of the old place, | 
 where he has resided ever since, and on which he i 
 has made extensive improvements, among them [ 
 being the building of several new, large, well-ar- 
 ranged barns. In addition to carrying on general • 
 and dairy farming he is an extensive grower of i 
 tobacco aF.d seeds, and raises large quantities of I 
 small fruits. He is energetic and enterprising, and i 
 fully abreast of the times, although wisely conserv- 
 ative, neither discarding that which has been , 
 proved good merely because it is old, nor condemn- 
 ing change solely on the score of its novelty. In 
 politics he is a Republican, in religious belief a 
 Congregationalist. He is a member of the Weth- 
 ersfield Grange. Despite his fourscore years he is 
 erect, hale, and vigorous in both mind and body, 
 still retaining the personal management of all his 
 business interests. He is well-read, and keenly 
 alive to all the vital questions of the day. His 
 home is one of culture and refinement, and beneath 
 its hospitable roof is passing his declining years in 
 company with his wife, honored and beloved by the 
 community in which he has dwelt for eighty years, 
 looking back upon the past without shame, and for- 
 ward to the future without fear. 
 
 Mr. Wolcott was married at Wethersfield, in 
 1847, to Hannah Blinn, daughter of Capt. James 
 and Hannah (Coleman) Blinn, the former of 
 whom followed the seas most of his life; he was 
 a popular and upright citizen. Two children were ■ 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Wolcott, Harriet Blinn and 
 Charles F. The daughter was born June 27, 1848, 
 and received her education at the public schools of 
 •Wethersfield and the Normal School at New Brit- 
 ain, graduating from the last named institution, 
 and afterward teaching school for several years. 
 In 1876 she married George M. Chittenden, of 
 Guilford, bv whom she became the mother of two 
 children: Elizabeth Wolcott, born March 31, 1881, 
 and Marion Blinn, born Oct. 9, 1888. Charles F. 
 Wolcott was born March 21, 1858. Earlv attend- 
 ance upon the district schools was sunnlemcnted 
 bv a course at Alleghenv College, Meadville, Penn.i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 i 10 
 
 ami wliile yet a young woman he went \\'est. After 
 teacliing seliool for a time in Illinois he removed 
 to Redlands, Cal., where he became an orange 
 grower. He married Ida Tyson, a school teacher 
 of Centralia, III., who died Feb. 7, 1894, and they 
 had one son, Frank Hooton, born April 24, 1883. 
 Mrs. Hannah (Blinn) W'olcott died in Xovem- 
 ber, i8')0, and was laid to rest in the family bury- 
 ing-ground. She was a woman of exemplary 
 Christian character and many domestic virtues, and 
 . was beloved by her neighbors aiul all, being al- 
 I ways ready to aid others as opportunity offered. 
 I On Oct. 2, 1862, Mr. ^^'olcott married, at Meriden, 
 I Miss Harriet B. Libby, who was born at W'est- 
 ] brook, i\Iaine, a daughter of Nathan and ilary 
 (Babb) Liliby. To this marriage came three sons 
 and two daughters. ( i ) The eldest, Edward 
 Wilder, was born Oct. 15, 1863, and died Aug. 30, 
 j 1865. (2) Elisha Robbins was born Feb. 2, 1865, at- 
 ' tendetl the Hartford Public High School and Wil- 
 braham Academy, and resided on the homestead 
 farm. I3) Robert Rich, born Feb. 7, 1868, acquired 
 his preparatory education at Williston Seminary 
 I and the Russel school, graduated from the Medical 
 Department of New York University in 1890, and 
 began the practice of his profession at Boulder, 
 Colo. He died in 1893, at Phoenix, Arizona. On 
 July 22, 1892, at New York, he was married to 
 Miss Lillien de ^^'alltearss. (4) Helen Libby, born 
 Oct. 17, 1869, graduated from the Hartford Public 
 High School and from Smith College, Northamp- 
 ton, Mass., receiving her diploma from the last- 
 named institution in 1892. She is a teacher in the 
 Hartford Public High School. (5) Mary Ladovett, 
 born Sept. 28, 1876, graduated from the Hartford 
 Public High School, and in 1899 from the Emerson 
 College of Oratory, at Boston. Both the Misses 
 A\'olcott are ladies of high culture and refined 
 tastes, and are popular in society, of which they are 
 recognized leaders. 
 
 The Lii?i!V family, to which the present Mrs. 
 Wolcott belongs, is one of the oldest, most prom- 
 inent and most respected in Elaine. It is of Eng- 
 lish origin, its first member to settle in this country 
 haying been John Libby. who was born in England 
 about 1612 and crossed tlie ocean in 1630. He was 
 a fisherman by occupation, sailing his vessel along 
 the Maine coast, and was one of the founders of 
 the town of Scarboro. He became a prominent 
 citizen, being chosen town constable in 1664, and 
 one of the four selectmen in 1669. He accumu- 
 lated what, for his time, was regarded as a compe- 
 tence, and died at the age of eighty years. He was 
 twice married, and was the father of twelve chil- 
 dren : John, born in 1^136; James and Samuel, both 
 of whom lost tlieir lives in King Philip's war; Jo- 
 anna, who married Thomas Eickford : Henry, 
 born in 1647, and in later life the husband of Honor 
 Humeson : Anthony, born in 1640. and married to 
 Sarah Drake: Sarah, born in 1653, who became 
 the wife of Robert Tislev : Rebecca (Mrs. Joshua 
 Brown) ; Hannah, the wife of Daniel Fogg; David, 
 
 born in 1(^157; Matthew, born in 1663, and married 
 to 1-Ilizabeth iirown; and Daniel, who became the 
 husband of Mary Ashton. 
 
 David Libbv, the tenth child, and a ilirect lineal 
 ancestor of Mrs. Charles Wolcott, was born at 
 Scarboro. He was a farmer, and after his mar- 
 riage lived on what is now known as Libby Hill, 
 a: Eliot, Maine. He died in 1730. His wife's name 
 
 was Eleanor , and to their marriage came 
 
 nine children: David, the first-born, married 
 Esther Hanscom ; Samuel, was the husband of 
 Mary Sibley; Solomon married Martha Hanscom; 
 Mary became Mrs. Joseph Small; John, the fifth 
 child, was born at Portsmouth, in 1697; Elizabeth 
 was the wife of Edward Cloudman ; Ephraini, born 
 Feb. 2, 1702, married Mary Ambler; Eleanor, born 
 Jan. 21, 1705, married Zebulon Hickey: .\bigail, 
 born Sept, 29, 1707, married Richard Nanson in 
 1729. _ 
 
 John Libbv was a farmer. His first wife s 
 maiden name was Sarah. Libby, and the date of 
 their marriage was Nov. 14, 1724. He died at his 
 birthplace, Scarboro, on July i, 1764. He was 
 twice marrieil, his second wife being Deborah 
 Dunnivan, of Falmouth. Seven children were 
 born to him: Elisha, who was born in 1725, mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Fogg, and after her death, wed- 
 ded Abigail Meserve; Matthew, born Feb. 25, 1729, 
 married Sarah Hanscom, and, later, wedded Haji- 
 nah Hasty; Mark was born June 8, 1731 ; .\llison, 
 born Sept. 12, 1733. married (first) Sarah Skill- 
 ings, and (secontl) Mary Sible\- ; Nathaniel, born 
 Sept. 5. 1735, married ^Iary Meserve; Luke, Iiorn 
 Aug. 15, 1737, married Dorothy McKerney ; and 
 John, born Sept. 15, 1744. 
 
 Mark Libby was a farmer. He married Lydia 
 Skillings, who bore him five children. lie died in 
 1768, and Aug. 9, 1774, his widow married Sam- 
 uel Sowell. She died Oct. 12, 1812. Mark Libby 's 
 children were: Dorcas, born Nov. 28, 1755, was 
 married Nov. it, 1776, to William Jones; Betty, 
 born in 1758, died in childhood; Lois, born Nov. 
 15, 1759, died Feb. 15. 1832; John Skillings, born 
 Nov. 23, 1761 : and Amos, born Dec. i, 1763, the 
 husband of Sarah Hunnewcll. 
 
 John Skillings Libby, like his father, passed his 
 life upon a farm. On Feb. 15. 1787, he married 
 Rhoda Cummings, of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, by 
 whom he was the father of ten children. He died 
 Dec. 8, 1807, and his widow on Aug. 28, 1849. The 
 children of this union, in the order of their birth, 
 were: IMark, born Dec. 11, 1787, died Oct. 22. 1807; 
 Lydia, born Jan. 18, 1789, died Jan. 11, 1834: Eu- 
 nice, born Dec. 25, 1791, married Edward Skill- 
 ings Oct. 12, 1812: Eliakim, born Sept. 19, 1793, 
 died Feb. 15. 1857; Thomas, born Jan. 7. 1795. 
 lost his life while serving as a soldier in the war of 
 1812: Nathan was born Jan. 4. 1797: Isaiah, born 
 Mav 17, 1799, was twice married, first to Almira 
 Skillings and' afterward to Miriam Butterfield : 
 William, born in 1803, married Lucy Skillings 
 June 5, 1828, and died June 6, 1845; Mehitabel, 
 
776 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 born Dec. 25, 1805, became the wife of Andrew 
 Taylor; and John SkiUings, born Oct. 15, 1807, 
 married EHza Berry. 
 
 Nathan Libby, the father of Mrs. Charles Wol- 
 cott, was born, as were many of his immediate 
 ancestors, at Scarboro, Maine. He learned the 
 trade of a stone mason in early youth, and at the 
 age of nineteen years went to Westbrook, where 
 he obtained a situation as a journeyman. His 
 native intelligence, however, joined to his skill as 
 a workman, did not suffer him to long remain in 
 the position of a mere employe. He soon became 
 a contractor, which business he followed until with- 
 in a few years of his death, on Nov. 12, 1855. His 
 wife, Mary Ledoit (Babb), a daughter of Peter 
 and Lucy (Bailey) Babb, survived him tmtil _Sept. 
 8, 1876, when she passed away at Meriden. The 
 date of their marriage was Oct. 11, 1821, and they 
 were the parents of twelve children : David Bailey, 
 the eldest, was born June 11, 1823, and married 
 Sarah Libby in 1846. Rhoda Ann, born in June, 
 1825, lost her life through being burned, in May, 
 1828. Mary Elizabeth, born in April, 1827, died 
 the following year. Cyrus Edwin, born May 3, 
 1828, was twice married, first, in 1852, to Ann J. 
 Cobb, and after her demise to Sarah D. Gaskill. 
 The fifth child died in infancy, as did also the sixth. 
 Mary Eliza, born May 3, 1834, on Feb. 9, 1852, be- 
 came the wife of L A. Redman. Rebecca Jane, 
 born May i, 1837, was married to Jabez Mariner 
 Sept. 7, 1856. Harriet Babb (Mrs. Charles Wol- 
 cott), born Sept. 3, 1839. Aphia Maria, born Sept. 
 12, 1841, died in September, 1847. Lucy, the 
 eleventh child, died at the age of six months. Ella 
 Frances (now Mrs. Charles Lewis, of Meriden), 
 was born Feb. 20, 1846. 
 
 ROBERT ROBBINS WOLCOTT was born 
 Jan. 4, 1827. He acquired his education at the 
 public schools and the academy of his native town, 
 Wethersfield, and at the Hartford Grammar School. 
 At the age of sixteen his father's failing health ne- 
 cessitated his taking charge of the farm. During 
 the winter months he taught school at Enfield, 
 Berlin, and (for four terms) Wethersfield. Dur- 
 ing these vears he had charge of his father's busi- 
 ness affairs, until the latter retired from active 
 pursuits. In 1848 he bought Judge Walter Mitch- 
 ell's farm, embracing one hundred acres. This he 
 greatly improved, erecting one of the finest barns 
 in the town. He has also added to his holdings, 
 until at present he owns one of the largest and 
 best-improved farms in Wethersfield. He has car- 
 ried on general farming, and has devoted especial 
 attention to tobacco and seed raising. He has in- 
 herited his father's energy, sound business .sense 
 and sterling integrity, and enjoys the esteem of the 
 community at larg'e, as well as the warm regard of 
 his wide circle of personal friends. 
 
 In 1858, at Hartford, Mr. Wolcott married 
 Harriet Bliss Lord, a daughter of Horace Lord, of 
 Springfield, Mass. Their union has been blessed 
 
 with two children. The elder, Alice E., was born 
 March 10, 1859. She was educated in the district 
 schools and the academy of Wethersfield, later 
 graduating from the Hartford Public High School. 
 She is a lady of refined tastes and cultivated mind, 
 and popular in society, although of domestic tastes. 
 She was married to Wilbur Squire on July 27, 
 1881, and is the mother of five children: Robert 
 Allen, born Jan. 11, 1883; William Lord, Aug. 30, 
 1884; Wolcott, July 20, 1886; Roger Wolcott, Nov. 
 16, 1890; and Lucy Butler, Dec. 20, 1895. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Wolcott's second child, Mary Wells, was 
 born Oct. 23, i860. She graduated with honor 
 from the Hartford Public High School, and was 
 for five years- a teacher in that institution. On 
 July 6, 1887, she became the wife of Rev. John 
 Barstow, a Congregational minister of Medford, 
 and they have had four children, whose names 
 with the dates of their birth, are Eunice Clark, 
 Aug. 19, 1888; Robbins Wolcott, Feb. 18, 1890; 
 Harriet Lord, Nov. 15, 1892; and Alice, Dec. 10, 
 1897. 
 
 Mr. Wolcott is a Republican in politics, but 
 although one of the most popular men of his town 
 and county, he has never desired to hold office. 
 ITe is, however, eminently public-spirited, and in 
 1868 he accepted a nomination as candidate for the 
 Legislature on his party's ticket, and was elected. 
 His fellow townsmen have also attested their ap- 
 preciation of his worth by making him assessor, 
 and a member of the board of relief. His energy 
 and progressive spirit have, as it were, forced him 
 to take a leading part in all public aft'airs, both 
 town and county. He has always cherished a deep 
 interest in the cause of education, and was one of 
 the chief promoters of the Wethersfield High 
 School. He reads much, and with a judicious dis- 
 crimination, the result of which has been the stor- 
 ing of his mind with a fund of well-assorted, well- 
 digested information upon a variety of topics in 
 the fields of political, literary and scientific re- 
 search. His temperament is genial and his disposi- 
 tion kindly, while his purse is ever open to the calls 
 of public and private charity alike. Both Mr. and 
 Mrs. Wolcott are members of the Congregational 
 Church and of the Wethersfield Grange. 
 
 Mrs. Wolcott graduated from the Hartford 
 Female Seminary in 1857. While never failing in 
 her attention to household cares, and devotedly 
 faithful in the discharge of her duties as a wife and 
 mother, she still finds leisure for the further culti- 
 vation of a finely trained, well stored mind, as well 
 as to keep fully abreast of the current topics of the 
 day. She is a brilliant conversationalist, and of 
 easy, graceful manners. The following brief gene- 
 alogical account of Mrs. Wolcott's family is of in- 
 terest. The family is one of the oldest in Hart- 
 ford county, and its members have been alwavs 
 justly considered as ranking among the county's 
 best citizens. 
 
 The first American ancestor was Thomas 
 Lord, who took up his residence in Hartford 
 
.<^^ 
 
 Q. 
 
I 
 # 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ill 
 
 among the earliest settlers. I Fc was an Encjlish 
 emigrant, and i)oth he and his wife, Dorothy, whom 
 he had married in England, died in Hartford, the 
 wife in 1O78, at the ripe old age of eighty-seven 
 years. All their eight children were born in h-ng- 
 land, and came with their parents to America. 
 Their names were Richard, who was born in \(n\ ;i 
 Tiiomas, born in 1619, settled at Wethersfield ; 
 Ami, born in 1621, married Thomas Stratton; 
 William, born in 1623, died at Saybrook, May 17, 
 1768; John, born in 1625, married a Hartford lady, 
 on May 15, 1648, and emigrated; Robert, born 
 in i'')27, became a sea captain; Irene, born in 1629, 
 married Corporal John Ciilbert, and died Jan. 8, 
 1691 ; Dorothy, born in 163 1. married John Inger- 
 ioU in 1651, and died at Xorthampton in January, 
 1657. Jeremiah Lord, supposed to have been a 
 grandson of Thomas, was one of the early settlers 
 of East Windsor, where he spent his life. He was 
 married to Anna Pease on Nov. 5, 1719. She was 
 born Oct. 29, 1685. Their son, who was also 
 named Jeremiah, was born about 1724. He mar- 
 ried Sarah, a daughter of Israel and Sarah ( Booth) 
 Pease, who was born at Enfield in 1729, and died 
 ilarch 5, 1791. Jeremiah Lord (2) died Sept. 4, 
 1800, at the age of seventy-six. His son, Jere- 
 miah (3), married Tryphena Pease, whose parents 
 were Samuel and Jerusha (Chapin) Pease. She 
 •was born at Enfield Sept. 28, 1758, and became 
 !Mrs. Lord Eeb. 5, 1777. Her husband died Oct. 
 14. 1812, in his fifty-eighth year; she passed away 
 on July 2"/. 1839. Jeremiah Lord (3) and his wife 
 were the parents of ten children : Jabez, the eldest, 
 born Nov. 2, 1778, married Lydia Hamilton, who 
 died July II, 1853; he died Oct. 7, 1829. Sarah, 
 the second child, was born July 31, 1780, and mar- 
 ried Elam Griswold. Jeremiah was born Feb. 17, 
 1782, and Rhoda (Mrs. Isaac Pinney ) on Feb. 19, 
 1786. Orvin was born May 8, 1788: married Edith 
 Richardson, F"eb. 16, 1809. and died Xov. i, 1847. 
 Chester and Lucretia (twins) were born Jan. 23, 
 1 791 ; Lucretia became the wife of Josiah Ells- 
 ■worth. Horace, the grandfather of Mrs. Robert R. 
 W'olcott, was born ^larch 23, 1793. Levi, born Jan. 
 14, 1795, married Sally, daughter of Joseph Lord, 
 on Jan. 30, 181 7, and died July 21, 1878. Henry 
 married Ella Griswold. 
 
 Horace Lord, who, as has been said, was ^Irs. 
 W'olcott's grandfather, married Sally lUickland, 
 ■who was born in 1798. The following named chil- 
 dren were born to them : Horace ( 2 ) , in Novem- 
 ber, 1815; James Oramel, March 20, 1817; Otis 
 A., April 13, 1819; and Havilah, March 29, 1821. 
 The first Mrs. Horace Lord died Aug. 18, 1826, 
 and he was afterward twice married, dving on Julv 
 30, 1845. 
 
 Horace Lord (2). Mrs. \\'olcott"s father, was 
 born at East \\"indsor, but while quite a young 
 man removed to Springfield, Mass., where he 
 learned the trade of a machinist, and where he also 
 married, in 1836. Harriet Sexton, a daughter of 
 Oliver Sexton, of that city. After his marriage he 
 vent to W'hitneyville, to become superintendent 
 
 of the Whitney Works, and in 1850 removed from 
 there to Hartford, to work in the Colts' Armory, 
 lie rose to be superintendent of tliat estaljhsliment, 
 which position he continued to fill until iiis death. 
 He was a skilled mechanic' and a man of excellent 
 character and executive ability and his integrity, 
 tact and impartial sense of justice won for him the 
 esteem of his employers and employes alike. He 
 died Feb. 28, 1885, and his widow followed him to 
 the grave in 1887. Both sleep in Spring Grove 
 cemelerv. Mr. Lord was a man of recognized cap- 
 ability and unsulhed character, and honored in the 
 community where he lived, liis death being 
 mourned as a public bereavement. He was an earn- 
 est friend of popular education. He was endowed 
 with musical taste and was for several years a 
 choir leader. Politically he was at first a Whig, 
 and afterward a Republican. Mr, and Mrs. Lord 
 had two daughters : Flarriet Bliss, born Xov. 26, 
 1837, now the wife of Robert Robbins Wolcott; 
 and Alice Sophia, born June 24, 1846, who died 
 in childhood, 
 
 ?^L\RY S. TUDOR, M. D., a successful medical 
 practitioner of the town of South Windsor, has a 
 maternal ancestry of marked intellectual activity, 
 as well as a paternal ancestry that runs back into 
 the earlv Colonial history of the State. She was 
 born on the farm where she now resides, and which 
 has been in the Tudor family for seven generations. 
 Here were born her father, David Tulor; her grand- 
 father, Oliver Tudor; and her great-grandfather, 
 Samuel. The farm was first occupied by Owen 
 Tudor, in the year 165 1. The mother of Dr. Tudor, 
 Sarah E. (Green), was a daughter of Col. Samuel 
 Green, whose ancestor established the earliest pub- 
 lishing house in the Connecticut colony, and for 
 many years continued to print the State Colonial 
 documents. He also edited and published the pio- 
 neer newspaper of the colony, the New London 
 Gazette, which was conducted by Col. Green and his 
 son until after 1840. 
 
 Her father, David Tudor, was born in 1805, and 
 spent his entire life upon the farm of his nativity, 
 reaching a good old age, and dying in 1880; his wife 
 died Nov. 8, 1881, aged seventy-five years. To 
 David and Sarah E. Tudor came three children: 
 Marv Starr, born Sept. 19, 1840; Sarah Elizabeth, 
 wife of E. Dwight Farnham, of South Windsor; 
 and Lcuise Green, wife of Dr. Pierre S. Starr, a 
 well-known physician of Hartford. 
 
 Marv S., the subject of this sketch, after study 
 at private school, attended Miss Draper's Seminary 
 for young ladies at Hartford, where she graduated. 
 She has resided on the home farm throughout life, 
 and from 1880 to 1889 managed its affairs. In that 
 year she entered the Woman's Medical College of 
 Penns\lvania, at Philadelphia, and graduated with 
 the class of '92. She was then for a year resi- 
 dent physician of the Northwestern Hospital, 
 Minneapolis, Minn. Returning to the old home- 
 stead in 1893, Dr. Tudor has since engaged 
 
778 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 actively in the practice of her chosen profession. 
 Later she attended a course at the Philadelphia 
 Polyclinic and College for graduates in medicine. 
 She owns a well-cultivated farm of eighty acres, 
 which she superintends in connection with her 
 increasing and successful practice. Dr. Tudor 
 is a member of St. John's Episcopal Church, and is 
 a member of the Hartford County Medical Society, 
 and the Connecticut State Medical Society. She 
 is a charter member of the Martha Pitkin Wolcott 
 Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolu- 
 tion. 
 
 HON. PHILIP JOSEPH MARKLEY, A. M., 
 one of the most prominent attorneys and public 
 men of New Britain, is a son of one of the former 
 business men of that city who rose to a commanding 
 position in the commercial world from the status 
 of an Irish emigrant, having left his native land in 
 the year of its great famine to better his condition in 
 America. In this instance it can be said "like father, 
 like son," for the same determined effort, native 
 ability and sturdy independence which won splendid 
 achievements for the father have blessed the ca- 
 reer of his son. 
 
 Thomas Markley was born in County Tipperary, 
 Ireland, in 1820, and about 1848 crossed the ocean 
 to America, locating at Farmington. Seizing the 
 first opportunity for employment, he engaged in 
 general work at Unionville for a family named 
 Young. But he resolved to be the architect of his 
 own fortune, and not long after he began his mer- 
 cantile career as a. member of the meat market 
 firm of Stanley & Markley, doing a retail business 
 on Main street, near where his son now has an 
 office. About 1865, Walter Stanley, senior partner 
 of the firm, died, and Mr. Markley then formed a 
 partnership with J. B. Hawkins & Company, that 
 firm consisting of several brothers named Hawkins. 
 The new firm carried on the retail trade of meats, 
 groceries and feed, and was one of the largest con- 
 cerns of the kind in the city at that time. Several 
 years later Mr. Markley withdrew. to engage in the 
 wholesale meat business. He was the pioneer of 
 a trade which has since grown to be a most im- 
 portant one, and continued in this business until 
 1879 or 1880, when Chicago dressed beef came into 
 the market, and, as at other business centers, made 
 the local industry no longer profitable. He retired 
 from business, and died in 1883. Thomas Mark- 
 ley was a successful merchant. He was well edu- 
 cated, and was especially proficient in mathematics. 
 He was held in high esteem throughout New Britain. 
 In politics he was a Democrat, and in religious faith 
 a Catholic, taking an active interest in church mat- 
 ters. He married Ann Brady, a native of County 
 Meath, who was born in 1824, came to America 
 about 1848, and died in 1885. The children of 
 Thomas and Ann Markley were as follows: Lizzie, 
 born Dec. 25, 1853, died in 1885 ; PhiHp J. is the 
 subject of these lines; William, born Aug. 27, 1857, 
 was a life and fire insurance agent of New Britain, 
 
 and died July 15, 1886; Grace A., born Sept. 8, 
 1859, is the wife of Dr. M. J. Coholan, of New 
 Britain. 
 
 Philip J. Markley was born Feb. 21, 1855, at 
 New Britain. His early education was obtained 
 at the public schools and the high school of his 
 ■native town, and in the fall of 1871 he matriculated 
 at Holy Cross College, at Worcester, Mass. Taking 
 a two-years preparatory course, he was graduated 
 in 1877 with the degree of A. B., receiving the 
 degree of A. M. in course from, his alma mater~\n 
 1884. He began the study of law in the office of 
 Mitchell & Hungerford, in the fall of 1877, and 
 continued with them until the fall of 1879, when he 
 entered Columbia Law School, New York City, 
 spending the school year of 1879-80 at that institu- 
 tion. Returning to New Britain he again entered 
 the law office of Alitchell & Hungerford as a student, 
 continuing there until December, 1880, when he was 
 admitted to the Bar. He remained with the firm 
 about six months after admission, when he began 
 practice by himself. During his entire legal career 
 Mr. Markley has formed no partnerships. He has 
 enjoyed a fine practice, having an individual clientele 
 second to none in the city. Always a Democrat, 
 he has been elected to offices of trust and responsi- 
 bility by the people, regardless of his party affilia- 
 tions. He was a member of the common council 
 of New Britain in 1883, and of the board of aldermen 
 in 1884 and 1885 ; was appointed city attorney by 
 that board for the years 1886 to 1891, again in 1892, 
 and in 1899 was once more appointed to said office 
 by a Republican common council of said city. He 
 was elected by popular vote to a commissionership 
 on the board of sewer commissioners, of which he 
 acted as chairman from 1885 to 1890. He has been 
 elected to the office of town auditor by popular vote 
 for the years 1885 to 1897, inclusive, and he has 
 been chairman of the board of education from 1893 
 to the present time. In 1891 he was New Britain's 
 representative in -the Legislature. Since 1886 iMr. 
 Markley has been one of the national officers of the ■ 
 Order of Knights of Columbus, and he has been 
 attorney for the entire order since that time. 
 
 Mr. Markley was married, Sept. 9, 1885, in New 
 York City, to Williamanna E. Dunne, and they have 
 three children: Eileen A. C, Beatrice M. and 
 Rosalie. 
 
 HON. CHARLES A. ENSIGN (deceased) was 
 a descendant of one of the oldest families of East 
 Hartford, and was born in Willow Brook (or Hock- 
 anum), Dec. 4, 1821, in a house that stood on the 
 site of the present residence of Owen Ensign. But 
 before entering upon an account of the details of 
 his individual career, let the familv line be traced 
 from its origin in America up to his birth. 
 
 James Ensign, the founder of the familv in this 
 country, was born in England, died in Connecticut 
 in 1670, and here also his wife, Sarah, passed away 
 in 1676. David, their son, was born in 1645, first 
 married Mehitable Gunn, and afterward wedded 
 
■<,aJ 
 
t 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 J 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 779 
 
 Sarali Wilcox, and died in 1717. Thomas, son of 
 David, married Hannah Shc])hc'rd. Moses (1), son 
 of Thomas, was born in 1732 or 1734, and married 
 Ann WiUiams. Moses {2) was born Dec. 4, 1759, 
 and died Nov. 30, 1821 ; he married Jeanette Forbes, 
 who was born Oct. 11, 1767, and died June 18, 1813. 
 Moses (3), father of our subject, and of the sixth 
 generation, was born Sept. 6, 1791, and died Dec. 
 7, 1829; he married Martha ("Patty") Kisley, who 
 was born June 4, 1790, and died June 6, 1864. 
 
 Charles A. Ensign, son of Mioses (3) and Patty 
 Ensign, was the eldest of a family of four children — 
 three sons and one daughter — who became scattered. 
 As he was but eight years of age when he lost h;s 
 fatiier, his boyhood days were passed with three 
 maiden ladies in Hartford, in which city he also 
 received a limited education. P.ut he was naturally 
 brigjit and quick to learn, and improved every ad- 
 vantage offered him in this respect. He early 
 learned shoemakiiig, and for a while followed the 
 trade in Willow Brook, and later, in Hartford, for 
 tioodwin Bros, manufactured boots for two or three 
 years. He next went to New Haven, and for five 
 or six years was superintendent of the Rumford 
 shops : was next employed at Naugatuck as super- 
 intenilent of the Naugatuck Rubber Works, at 
 $1,000 per annum — at that time considered to be a 
 large salary. With this concern he remained about 
 thirty years, his salary being advanced by degrees 
 until it reached $5,000 per annum. While a resi- 
 dent of Naugatuck Mr. Ensign was elected in 1880 
 to represent his district in the State Legislature, as 
 a Democrat, and was very prominent in many other 
 respects. 
 
 After leaving Naugatuck Mr. Ensign went to 
 Boston. Mass., where he was engaged as superin- 
 tendent of the Converse Rubber W orks, gave the 
 factory a thorough overhauling, and held the posi- 
 tion until failing health compelled him, as a mat- 
 ter of prudence, to resign. Of his career in the rub- 
 ber business, however, further mention will be made 
 as described by a trade journal. I'rom Boston Mr. 
 Ensign returned to Hockanum, the home of his 
 childhood, expecting to rest and live on the com- 
 ]ietence he had so commendably won ; but in a short 
 time he was called to New Haven by the Canfield 
 Rubber Co., with which he remained four years, 
 when he again returned to Hockanum, and here 
 ended his noble life Aug. 17, 1896. For some little 
 time before his death he was bed-ridden, but passed 
 away painlessly and resignedlv, and in the full pos- 
 session of his mental faculties. 
 
 Mr. Ensign first married, in Novcmlier, 1844, 
 Miss Cornelia Stevens, who bore him one son, 
 Charles A. His second marriage took place June 9, 
 1859, to Miss Maria W. Smith, a native of Hocka- 
 num, born Feb. 28, 1834. a daup-hter of Simeon and 
 Laura ( Wadsworth ) Smith, both of old and greatly 
 respected families of East Hartford, but both of 
 whom have long been deceased. Mrs. Ensign is 
 the third in a family of seven children : Anson, 
 married, is living in Logan, Iowa ; Delia S. was mar- 
 
 ried to Leonard T. Pitkin, but with her husband is 
 now deceased; Maria W. (Mrs. Ensign); Henry 
 T., who married Josephine Goodwin, is deceased, 
 and was buried in Hockanum; Charles died single; 
 l-'rancis, who married Edith .\ntrim, is living in 
 Hockanum; and Ella is the deceased wife of Will- 
 iam H. Olmsted, whose biograjjhy appears else- 
 where. 
 
 At the risk of slight repetitions, but eliminating 
 many facts with which the rea<ler has already been 
 made acquainted, the following extract from the 
 "Rubber World" of Oct. 10, 1896, is here intro- 
 duced as pertinent and com])rehensivc in its bearing 
 on Mr. Ensign's connection with the india-rubber 
 shoe trade : 
 
 * * * His first venture in business was as a custom 
 leather boot ami slineiiuiker in Hartford, and he s.ion had 
 the reputation of makini; the l)esl goods of any one in the 
 city. His attention bemi; called to rubber-footsvear, he con- 
 nected himself with the Wales Goodyear Rubber Co., of Nau- 
 gatuck, Conn., with whom he remained for thirty years. He 
 resigned his position in I88U, and accepted a position under 
 a five years' contract with the Boston Kul)ber Shoe Co., his 
 office being that of general expert. After two years of 
 arduous work, his health failing, he was forced to resign 
 this positi<in and take a long rest. He began this vacation 
 (the first of his life) l>y taking a Raviiiond e.xcursion to Cali- 
 fornia. Returning much improved in health, he associated 
 himself with the American Rubber Co., doing expert work, 
 and a little later with the Candee Rul)ber Co., with whom he 
 remained three years. Leaving this position he became a 
 free lance in the rubber trade, and was consulted by promi- 
 nent shoe factories almost constantly, having been an expert, 
 not only for the companies named, but for tlie National, the 
 L. I). Smith and others. Among other things he installed 
 a rubber varnish plant for a large varnish maker in New 
 York, and was the means of their building up a fine business 
 in that line. 
 
 About the time that his health failed he bought a fine 
 place at Hockanum, Conn., and spent much of his time 
 there as a gentleman. He also designed a sloop yacht, 
 which he hati built under his own supervision at Bay Ridge, 
 Long fsland, and spent most of his time for two summers 
 cruising in waters about New York. 
 
 Mr. Ensign, during his long connection with the rubber 
 footwear business, was the inventor of many machines and 
 processes that are still in use. The piping machine, which 
 automatically cuts the toe strips for the shoes in any length 
 and width, laying them in sheets ready for booking, was 
 one of his most notable inventions. He also produced a 
 cording machine for "Arctics," which lays a fine cord on a 
 strip of piping, folds it over and reels it ready for use. 
 Further than this, he was the inventor of the "Arctic" and 
 it was interesting to note that, in appreciation of this, Mr. 
 T. C. Wales made him a present of ?(i,UOO. * * * During 
 his long experience in tlie rubber trade he kept careful 
 records of all matters of importance in the way of com- 
 pounds, suggestions and possible inventions, and willed the 
 whole of th|s valuable material to \V. B. Kinsley, the super- 
 intendent of the .Maiden Last Company, who for years has 
 been a protege of his. 
 
 ]\Ianv of Mr. Ensign's patents were yielding him 
 royalties at the time of his decease, and he was be- 
 yond doubt the true genius that made rubber foot- 
 wear the almost faultless article that it is at this day. 
 
 'Sir. Ensign was endowed with superior intel- 
 lectual powers, and was more than ordinarily well- 
 read. He was generous, kind and affectionate, and 
 his lamented death was keenly regretted, not only 
 bv his widow and son, but bv the members of the 
 different communities in which he had lived. He 
 
780 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was a member of no secret society, and his progress 
 through life was made through no extraneous aid. 
 In politics he was a Jacksonian Democrat, but had 
 no especial desire for public office. 
 
 Mrs. Ensign, a very pleasant and genial lady, is 
 now living in Hockanum, in the house in which she 
 was born, but which has been modernized and con- 
 verted into a beautiful home, suited for the occu- 
 pancy of one holding the enviable position in societv 
 which she enjoys. 
 
 PROF. DANIEL HOWARD, M. A. The true 
 educator wields a power second to none, and in the 
 faithful labor of pirincipal of the public-school sys- 
 tem of Windsor Locks, of whom we give a brief 
 biography, the people of that section can see an in- 
 fluence for good which will extend through all fu- 
 ture time. Realizing the value of an education as 
 only those can who have made their own way 
 through school, Prof. Howard adds an element of 
 earnestness to his work which is too rarely found, 
 and every department responds to the subtle inspira- 
 tion. 
 
 Prof. Howard comes of an excellent family. 
 The founder of the family in New England, Isaac 
 Howard, came from England to Rhode Island about 
 1730. He settled in western Rhode Island, where 
 many of his descendants have resided ever since, 
 and the Howard family has been prominent in 
 public affairs, both locally and in the State. Two 
 of Isaac Howard's sons were in the French and In- 
 dian war, and one of them was with Wolfe at Que- 
 "bec. Another son, Daniel, the great-great-grand- 
 father of our subject, served in the Revolutionary 
 war, was town clerk of Foster, R. I., for twenty- 
 flve years, represented his town in the Legislature, 
 and was for several years judge of the Rhode Island 
 court of common pleas. His son, Daniel, was town 
 clerk of Foster twenty-five years, represented his 
 town for six years in the Legislature, and served 
 nine years on the bench of the court of common 
 pleas. His son, Horace, the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, married Hannah Randall, also of Foster. He 
 died in early manhood, but had already become 
 prominent in educational and public affairs, and, as 
 a delegate to the constitutional convention took an 
 active and prominent part in the formation of the 
 State constitution of 1843. He was a merchant. 
 Pardon T. Howard, the Professor's father, was 
 farmerly engaged in agriculture, and was also a 
 land surveyor at Foster, R. I., but he and his wife, 
 whose maiden name was Ann L. Stone, now reside 
 in Providence, Rhode Island. 
 
 Our subject was born Dec. 15, 1864, at Foster, 
 R. I., where his education was begun, and so well 
 did he improve his opportunities that he was em- 
 ployed to teach in his home district at the age of 
 seventeen years. For six years he taught success- 
 fully there and in neighboring towns, but being by 
 mo means satisfied with his attainments, he in 1884 
 iDcgan preparing for college by studying evenings, 
 and at intervals suspending teaching for a term 
 
 to attend a preparatory school. In the spring of 
 1888 he was elected clerk of his native town for the 
 term of one year, at the end of which he graduated 
 from the academy as East Greenwich, R. I., and 
 entered Brown University, where he completed the 
 classical course, ranking high in scholarship, win- 
 ning a membership in the Phi Beta Kappa Society, 
 and graduating in 1893. He has since done post- 
 graduate work in the same institution, gaining the 
 degree of M. A. In 1893 he took charge of the high 
 school at Wallingford, Conn., remaining one year, 
 and since 1894 he has filled his present position as 
 principal of the public school at Windsor Locks, 
 where, with an efficient corps of five assistants, he 
 has an average of 225 pupils under his care. 
 
 In 1887, at Foster, R. I., Prof. Howard married 
 Miss Sarah W. Randall, an accomplished lady, 
 whose father, Hon. Job Randall, is a well-known 
 citizen of Foster. They are popular in social life. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Howard early in life became active 
 members of the Christian Church at Foster Center, 
 R. I., where they still retain their membership, 
 while taking an active interest in the work of the 
 Congregational Church at Windsor Locks. 
 
 During the struggle for Constitutional Prohibi- 
 tion in Rhode Island, from 1886 to 1889, Prof. How- 
 ard was an earnest advocate of the Prohibition cause, 
 and in 1889 he was the candidate of the Prohibition 
 party for Secretary of State. 
 
 HON. JAMES HENRY ANDREWS, a promi- 
 nent representative of the agricultural interests of 
 Farmington, is engaged in farming on the old home- 
 stead, which has been in the possession of the family 
 for over two centuries. The first to locate here was 
 John Andrews, who, in 1672, was one of the eighty- 
 four proprietors of the town of Farmington. He 
 was a plain, unassumins: farmer, of good common 
 sense, and was highly respected in his community. 
 He united with the Congregational Church of Farm- 
 ington, May 9, 1658. To him and his wife Mar; 
 were born nine children : Mary, John, Hannal: 
 Abraham, Daniel, Joseph, Rachel, Stephen and Beni 
 jamin. 
 
 (II) Benjamin Andrews, the second in direct 
 descent to our subject, was married May 26, 1682, 
 to Mary Smith, and on Jan. 3, 1686, they united 
 with the church. She died in January, 1707, and on 
 June 14, 1710, he married Miss Dorcas Wetmore, 
 who died Dec. 4, 1716. For his third wife he mar- 
 ried Sarah . His children were: Benjamin, 
 
 in 
 
 i 
 
 John, Mary, Stephen, Daniel, Samuel, Johannah 
 and James. 
 
 (HI) James Andrews, born Aug. i, 1700, was 
 married Dec. 9, 1730, to Elizabeth Gillet, of Suf- 
 field, Conn., and died July 18, 1761. He had two 
 children: Elijah, born Dec. 6, 1731 ; and Benja- 
 min, born June S, 1734. 
 
 (IV) Elijah Andrews, a goldsmith, was born 
 Dec. 6, 1 73 1, and was married Aug. 4, 1761, to 
 Sarah Thompson, a daughter of Timothy Thomp- 
 son. She was born in Avon June 14, 1741, and died 
 
^^<f/V7^^^ 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATll 7:' HlUC RAl'llICAL RECORD. 
 
 781 
 
 Jan. 14, 1814; he died Sept. 28, 1803. In their 
 family were five children : James, Lucy, Samuel, 
 Sarah and Beulah. 
 
 (\') James Andrews, the grandfather of our 
 subject, was born Nov. 22, 1762, and followed farm- 
 ing throughout life, near or on the old homestead 
 where the family was first founded in l-'armington. 
 He was one of the Ijrave men who fought so val- 
 iantly for the independence of the Colonies during 
 the Revolutionary war. Un March 13, 1791, he 
 married Eunice Gillette, of Xorthmgton, who was 
 born Jan. 19, 1768, and died July 12, 1831 ; he died 
 May 31, 1S45. •'-"o them were born nine children: 
 Eveline, Fanny, Romeo, Anion, George, L)dia, Eve- 
 lina, Sally and James L. 
 
 (VI J Amon Andrews, the father of our subject, 
 was born on his father's farm March 18, 1798, and 
 became a prosperous farmer, owning and operating 
 some of the land belonging to the founder of the 
 family in Farmington. He was married May 2, 
 1827, to Roxana Goodhue, of Avon, who was born 
 Se])t. 30, 1803, a daughter of David and Abigail 
 (\Vinchell) Goodhue. She united with the Lon- 
 gregational Church of Farmington in March, 1829, 
 and her husband joined the same in June, 1843. -He 
 died at his home Aug. 22, 1869, honored and re- 
 spected by all who knew him; she departed this life 
 in April, 1872. They had six children, of whom 
 James Henry, our subject, is the eldest; Lydia, born 
 in 1831, died when only six weeks old; Jane Eliza- 
 beth was born F"eb. 10, 1833; Caroline Fidelia was 
 born Oct. 18, 1834; Ellen Sophia, born May 13, 
 '^^i7, was married Sept. 8, 1862, to George D. Wil- 
 son ; and Franklin A., born Jan. 5, 1839, was mar- 
 ried Dec. I, 1862, to Jennie Bulklev. 
 
 (VH) James H. Andrews, the subject of this 
 sketch, was born Nov. 7, 1828, and was educated 
 in the Waterville District school, Farmington. He 
 was married Oct. 8, 1861, to 2\Iiss Helen Maria 
 Bulkley, who was born .Vpril 11, 1839, a daughter of 
 Charles and Helen (W'oodruiT) Bulkley, of Avon, 
 Hartford county. Three children were born of this 
 union: ^^larian Eulkle}-, Sept. 11, 1862; Frederick 
 Henry, Sept. 4, 1865 ; and George Franklin, Xov. 26, 
 1867. On Nov. 29, 1S94, Frederick H. married Car- 
 rie Moore, of Illinois, and they have three children, 
 George Henry, Raymond Bulkley and Harold 
 Frederic. Miss Marian B. Andrews completed her 
 education at the Hartford Public High School, and 
 for several terms has been teacher in Hartford 
 county. 
 
 Mr. Andrews resides on the old homestead of 
 his father, and in connection with farming has fol- 
 lowed mechanical pursuits. He has been engaged 
 in the manufacture of wagon hubs and spokes in 
 Avon, and at present is interested in the cider and 
 vinegar business with his two sons. He takes a deep 
 and commendable interest in uublic affairs, as everv 
 true American citizen should, and capably repre- 
 sented Farmington in the State Legislature in 1859. 
 As a progressive and public-spirited citizen he gives 
 his support to every enterprise which he believes will 
 
 prove of public benefit. He is a sincere and con- 
 sistent Christian, and has been an active member of 
 the I'armington Congregational Church since 1858. 
 His wife united with the church at East Avon the 
 same year, and in 1863 transferred her membership 
 to the I'armington church. Our subject was greatly 
 interested in the publication of the ".Andrews Me- 
 morial." 
 
 REV. THOMAS H. SHAXLY, for more than 
 two years parish priest of St. Joseph's Catholic 
 Church at Poquonock, won, during his residence in 
 that town, the esteem of all classes of people, ir- 
 respective of sect or creed. In addition to the duties 
 of this parish he had charge of the Catholic Mission 
 at Windsor, St. Gabriel's, and his untiring efforts 
 for the promotion of the spiritual welfare of the 
 members of both his little flocks had most grati- 
 fying results. As an orator Father Shanly pos- 
 sesses more than ordinary force and eloquence, and 
 his well stored mind, genial dis]:)osition and fine 
 executive ability show rare qualifications for his 
 sacred calling. The following brief history of his 
 career will be of interest, not only to his present 
 parishioners, but to future generations of devout 
 adherents of the faith. 
 
 P~ather Shanly was born Dec. 23, i860, at Marys- 
 ville, Yuba county, California, a son of John and 
 Elizabeth (Seer_\j Shanly, natives of Ireland. 
 When our subject was about six years old his par- 
 ents removed to Waterbury, Comi., where they still 
 reside, and his education was begun in the public 
 schools of that village. Later he attended St. 
 Charles College, at Ellicott City, Md., having made 
 an early decision to enter the priesthood, and on 
 leaving that institution he took a course in the 
 Theological Seminary connected with St. Bona- 
 ventura's College, at Alleganv. X. Y. In 1866 he 
 was ordained by the learned Bishop S. \'. Ryan, 
 of Buffalo, and his first assignment to duty was as 
 assistant to Father Creden, at Moosup, Conn. Be- 
 ginning his labors there on Nov. i, 1886, he re- 
 mained until ]May 12, 1889, when he was appointed 
 assistant at St. Francis Church, in New Haven, 
 where he spent nine years. In February, 1S98, he 
 received an appointment to his late charge, and on 
 March 2^, 1900, he was appointed to the church 
 at Westport, which he is now serving. 
 
 RE\'. JOSEPH TOY (deceased) was a native 
 of England, yet a biograjjliical history of Simsbury 
 would be incomplete without a sketch of his life 
 work. No man had at heart a closer interest in 
 the welfare of the town than he, when he was a 
 resident thereof. He was extremely conscientious, 
 a grand and noble man ; was successful in business, 
 and amassed a fortune, but could always find time 
 to abandon the pursuit of wealth to fill some pulpit 
 or to address a meeting. His church work was far 
 more pleasant to him than business, and he left to 
 his posterity a good name, more valuable by far 
 than his worldly possessions. 
 
782 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Joseph Toy was born in the town of Camborne, 
 Cornwall, England, in April, 1808, the youngest of 
 ten children that blessed the marriage of Robert 
 and Ann (Hosking) Toy, and was the only member 
 of the family to come to the United States. He was 
 quite young when he lost his parents. His oppor- 
 tunities ■ for attending school were rather limited, 
 but his intellect was keen, and as he had a great 
 relish for study the means for gratifying this laud- 
 able ambition was furnished him by a gentleman who 
 had taken an interest in him, and who gave him 
 the free use of his library. Of this privilege he 
 eagerly availed himself, and was so studious that he 
 qualified himself for teaching school, a vocation he 
 followed some years, and was .then ordained as a 
 local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 being endowed with great oratorical powers; he 
 preached many months in England. 
 
 Mr. Toy was first married to Jane Osier, who was 
 born in Falmouth, England, Aug. i, 1802, and 
 was a daughter of Benjamin Osier. To this mar- 
 riage were born five children, whose names will 
 be given farther on. While still a young man, Mr. 
 Toy was employed by Bickford, Smith & Davy, fuse 
 manufacturers, at Tucking Mill, in Cornwall, who 
 had a branch in the United States. In 1839 ^^^ 
 Toy brought his wife and three English-born chil- 
 dren to this country, in order to fill an important 
 position in the fuse factory at East Weatogue, in 
 the town of Simsbury, which factory was conducted 
 by Bacon, Bickford & Co. Fire destroyed this 
 plant, and the firm, removing to Simsbury, resumed 
 business under the name of Toy, Bickford & Co., 
 Mr. Toy having been admitted into partnership at 
 East Weatogue, on the withdrawal of Mr, Bacon; 
 they held to the last-mentioned style until the death 
 of Mr. Toy, in April, 1887. The children born to 
 the first marriage of Mr. Toy were named : Mary, 
 who was born in England, and was married to Rev. 
 J. W. Dodge, of Newburyport, Mass. ; Joseph, born 
 in England July 23, 1830, who recruited Company 
 H, I2th Conn. V. I., mostly in the vicinity of Sims- 
 bury, was commissioned captain, and died June 21, 
 1862, at Carrollton, La., his remains being brought 
 home and interred at Simsbury, where he had been 
 in business with his father ; Susan, now the wife of 
 R. H. Ensign, of Simsbury; Anna J., the first of the 
 children born in the United States, married to L. 
 S. Ellsworth, of Simsbury; and Julia, the wife of 
 Rev. C. H. Buck, of the Methodist Church, of Bris- 
 tol, Conn. Mrs. Jane Toy passed awav July 27, 1848, 
 a devout Methodist, and' was buried at Simsbury. 
 
 Mr. Toy for his second wife married Mrs. Sarah 
 G. Merritt, whose maiden name was Humphrey, 
 and who was born Oct. 25, 181 7, and died Sept. 
 24, 1881, the mother of the following children: 
 William W., who died when an infant; George B. 
 D., born March 18, 1852, died March 25, 188 1 ; and 
 Sarah Jane, the wife of Charles A. Ensign, of Tariff- 
 ville, whose sketch appears elsewhere. The third 
 wife of Mr. Toy was Miss Mary Seymour, daugh- 
 ter of Chester and Sabra (Ensign) Seymour, of 
 
 whom more may be found elsewhere, and to this 
 union one child, Josephine, was born Jan. 19, 1884. 
 Mrs. Mary Toy is still a resident of Simsbury. She 
 is a member of Abigail Phelps Chapter, D. A. R., 
 and of the Colonial Dames. 
 
 In politics Mr. Toy took but little interest until 
 the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, when 
 his sympathies were strongly with the Republican 
 party, as he was a bitter foe to slavery, but he was 
 never active in that party's partisan work, contenting 
 himself with voting, and working for good men 
 for ofBce. Although he was never regularly con- 
 nected with the Conference, he frequently was called 
 upon to fill vacancies in the Methodist pulpit, was 
 one of the founders of the church of that denomina- 
 tion at Simsbury, and was a liberal contributor to- 
 ward its support and active in its work. He was 
 a well-preserved gentleman, and up to within a few 
 years of his death attended to his business aft'airs 
 personally. Fie delighted in addressing bodies of 
 young men, and always had attentive listeners, and 
 he was, all in all, a bright example of the self-made 
 man, who deserved the admiration and emulation 
 of his younger companions. 
 
 CHESTER SEYMOUR (deceased) was in his 
 lifetime one of the well-known and highly respected 
 citizens of Simsbury, where during the earlier por- 
 tion of his life, before he was stricken by disease 
 and became an invalid, he carried on an extensive 
 carriage making business. He was born in Hart- 
 ford, Dec. 24, 1824, of the best New England an- 
 cestry, being a direct descendant of one of the first 
 settlers of the colony, Richard Seymour, to whom 
 also Origin Seymour, Horatio Seymour, of New 
 York, and Gov. Thomas H. Seymour, of Connecti- 
 cut, trace their lineage. His grandfather, Asa Se}'- 
 mour, married a daughter of William Dennison, of 
 New London, who traced his ancestry to John 
 Brewster. 
 
 Chester Seymour, the father of our subject, was 
 a brother of the late Mrs. D. F. Robinson, of Hartf 
 ford. The mother of our subject was Plorilll 
 Mather, a lineal descendant of Rev. Richard Matheij 
 the father of Increase Mather, and the grandfathe 
 of Rev. Cotton Mather. 
 
 Chester Seymour, our subject, was gifted witS 
 a keen, active mind and unusual energy of char^ 
 acter. He was also generous, tender hearted and 
 unselfish. He took a deep interest in public affairs, 
 and was twice elected to the Legislature,in 1858 from 
 Simsbur)^, and in 1868 from East Granby. From 
 1850 to i860 he carried on carriage building at 
 Simsbury, and later removed to a farm in East 
 Granby, which he had purchased. He married 
 Miss Sabra Ensign, a native of Simsbury, who was 
 born Aug. 18, 1826, daughter of Moses and Martha 
 (Whiting) Ensign, and the children born to this 
 union were as follows: Frank C, of the Seymour 
 Manufacturing Co., Chicago; Mary, widow of Jo- 
 seph Toy, living at Simsbury; Moses, a farmer of 
 East Granby; William A., of Boston, an employe 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 788 
 
 of the railway mail service ; and Lucius H., a farmer 
 of East Granby. 
 
 Our subject died March 4, 1895, after twenty- 
 two years of ilhicss and physical helplessness. He 
 had been stricken March 12, 1873, with a severe 
 attack of cerebro-spinal meningitis, from which he 
 was a sufferer, in the helpless condition in which 
 il left him, until death. His widow, an estimable 
 lady, who yet survives, resides in Simsbury. Mr. 
 Seymour was well known and a man of much more 
 than ordinary intellect. At his death he left a name 
 highly honored and his family is a credit even to 
 a citizen of his excellent character. . He was fear- 
 less, open and sincere in word and deed. He hated 
 with the intensity of his nature all cant and insin- 
 cerity, and the dreary platitudes of religious com- 
 monplace. His soul was in perpetual revolt against 
 much that passes for religion, but for religion it- 
 self, pure and undefiled, there was a large place 
 in his mind and heart. He had many friends, and 
 was a most congenial companion. He was es- 
 pecially a great friend of little children, who were 
 attracted to him, and whose innocence of mind and 
 heart in turn attracted him. 
 
 REV. FREDERICK W. HARRIMAN, M. A. 
 Few citizens of Windsor have worked as assidu- 
 ously and effectively for the promotion of the best 
 interests of the community as has the honored rec- 
 tor of Grace Episcopal Church, whose history is 
 briefly outlined below. While giving to the work 
 of his parish zealous attention, which has pro- 
 duced most gratifying results, he has entered with 
 hearty sympathy into various movements that aim 
 at the general welfare of the people, and in more 
 than one instance his suggestion has sown the seed 
 and his influence fostered the growth of projects 
 which cannot fail to be of permanent value. 
 
 Mr. Harriman comes of good Colonial stock, 
 and is a descendant of Jasiel Harriman, a well- 
 known citizen of Sandwich, N. H., who was born 
 in 1727, and died in 1802. 
 
 James Harriman, the great-grandfather of our 
 subject, was born in 1769, and died in 1848. He 
 married Sarah Eaton, and their son. Rev. Jesse 
 Harriman (1793-1873), was a Methodist minister, 
 and for many years a member of the Maine Con- 
 ference. His wife, Sophia (Hilton), was a daugh- 
 ter of Moral Hilton (1755-1840), of Wiscasset, 
 Maine, a soldier in the Revolutionary army. 
 
 Rev. Frederick Durbin Harriman, the father of 
 our subject, was born in 1823, and died in 1897. 
 He was a man of fine mental ability and rare spirit- 
 uality, and for many years was a prominent clergy- 
 man in the Episcopal Church. From 185 1 to 1853 
 he was a rector of the church at Crawfordsville, 
 Ind., but his later years were spent in Connecticutt as 
 corresponding secretary of the Societv for the In 
 crease of the JNIinistry, his headquarters being at 
 Hartford. As a descendant of a Revolutionary hero 
 he became identified with the Connecticut Society of 
 the Sons of the American Revolution, and through- 
 
 out his life he gave his influence to the support of all 
 movements which seemed worthy. He married Miss 
 Mary Jones liostwick, daughter of the Rev. Will- 
 iam Warner IJostwick (1797- 1845), an Episcopal 
 clcrg\nian of western New York and a descendant 
 of the Ijostwicks of Cheshire, lingland, who settled 
 in Stratford, Conn., in 1668, the line of descent be- 
 ing traced through Nathaniel (1699-1756), Arthur 
 1729-1802), and William (1765-1825). Mr. Bast- 
 wick married Mary Lewis, daughter of Ozias 
 Lewis (2), of Litchfield, Conn., a descendant of 
 George Lewis (or Lewes), one of the first settlers 
 of Liarnstable, Mass., where he died in 1662-3. 
 Mrs. liostwick was also a descendant of Theophilus 
 Eaton, first governor of the New Haven Colony, his 
 daughter, Hannah, having married William Jones, 
 the deputy governor, by whom she had a son, Isaac, 
 the father of Timothy, the father of Isaac, the father 
 of Mary Jones, who became the wife of Ozias 
 Lewis (2). 
 
 Rev. Frederick William Harriman was born 
 Nov. 22, 1852, in Crawfordsville, Ind.. during his 
 father's pastorate there, but has passed nearly all 
 his life in Connecticut, having been educated in 
 the Rectory school, Hamden ; the high school, Hart- 
 ford ; Trinity College, and Berkeley Divinity School. 
 He taught the classics for one year in the Episco- 
 pal Academy at Cheshire. On May 31, 1876, he 
 was ordained deacon in the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church, by Bishop Williams, and on June 7, 1877, 
 he was ordained to the priesthood by the same 
 bishop. For a few months he assisted his father, 
 who was then corresponding secretarj' of the So- 
 ciety for the Increase oc the Alinistry. From April 
 I, 1877, to Feb. I, 1879, ''"2 ^^''^s assistant minister 
 in St. Andrew's Church, }vleriden ; from Feb. 1, 1879, 
 to April I, 1880, rector of St. James', A\'instecl; 
 from April i, 1880, to March i, 1886, rector of 
 Trinity Church, Portland ; and has been rector of 
 Grace Church, Windsor, ever since. In addition to 
 this last rectorship he supervised the missionary 
 work in two counties, as archdeacon of Hartford, 
 from April 18, 1893, to Nov. 14, 1896; was secre- 
 tary and treasurer of the Church Scholarship So- 
 ciety, from June 13, 1893, to June 12, 1894; was as- 
 sistant secretary of the Diocese of Connecticut from 
 June 10, 1890, to June 11, 1895; and has been sec- 
 retary of the Diocese since the date last mentioned. 
 Since locating in ^^'indsor he has done much effect- 
 ive work in the cause of education, having served as 
 a school visitor from September, 1887, to October, 
 1888; and again from Oct. 7, 1889, to Oct. 3, 1898, 
 being chairman of the board for nine years. He 
 was secretary of the building committee when the 
 Third district erected the "Roger Ludlow School," 
 1893-94, and proposed the name, which was adopted 
 on its completion. He has been a member of the Pub- 
 lic Library committee ever since its beginning in 
 1888, was elected a Junior Fellow of Trinity College 
 four times, for the years from 1889 to 1901 : and is a 
 member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the Psi 
 LTpsilon Fraternity, and the Colt Trust Association. 
 
784 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Harriman takes a deep interest in the history 
 and welfare of "Ancient Windsor," and in his ad- 
 dress at the unveihng of a stone to commemorate 
 the Plymouth party who built the first house in 
 Windsor in 1633, he proposed the erection of a 
 substantial buildmg for the Public Library, to be 
 also a memorial to the settlers and soldiers of the 
 town. 
 
 On Oct. 19, 1882, Mr. Harriman married Cora 
 Elizabeth, daughter of Charles A. Jarvis, of Port- 
 land, Connecticut, and granddaughter of Dr. George 
 O. Jarvis, and of Sylvester Gildersleeve. She is a 
 descendant of John Jarvis, elder brother of the 
 second bishop of Connecticut, and, through him, of 
 William Jarvis, one of the first settlers of Hunting- 
 ton, Long Island. Through her grandmother, Mrs. 
 George O. Jarvis, whose maiden name was Phila- 
 mela Marshall, she traces her descent from Capt. 
 Samuel Marshall, of vVindsor, who was killed in the 
 "Swamp Fight," in 1675, during King Philip's war; 
 while other lines of her ancestry connect her with 
 early Windsor settlers, including the Grant, Porter 
 and Gibbs families. 
 
 HON. FREDERICK WELLES, for many years 
 a leading resident of Glastonbury, is a worthy rep- 
 resentative of a family which has been prominent in 
 the history of the country from an early day. He 
 is a direct descendant of Gov. Thomas Welles, who 
 died in 1660, and is of the fifth generation in descent 
 from Samuel Welles, a noted man in his day. Gid- 
 eon Welles, a member of President Lincoln's cabi- 
 net, was a second cousin of our subject. The family 
 has been identified with Glastonbury for more than 
 two hundred years. 
 
 Joseph Welles, our subject's grandfather, was 
 born November 9, 1756, a son of Captain Sam- 
 uel and Lucy (Kilbourn) Welles. He died 
 September 7, 1808, leaving a fair competence, 
 gained by an extensive trade with the West 
 Indies. ■ His brother Samuel was in partnership 
 with him in this business, and for many years they 
 were engaged in sending hay and horses to the 
 islands, bringing back rum and molasses. Joseph 
 Welles also conducted the "Welles" hotel at Glas- 
 tonbury, to meet the demands of the stage travel of 
 those days. He was an out-spoken man, somewhat 
 stern in manner, but was much respected in the com- 
 munity. He married Susannah House, born Oct. 
 9, 1756, daughter of Benoni and Susannah (Hollis- 
 ter) House. She survived him and married Gad 
 Talcott, of Hebron, Conn., where her death oc- 
 curred April 6, 1826. Joseph and Susannah Welles 
 had the following children : Susannah, born April 
 3, 1780; Joseph and Leonard (twins), born April 
 15, 1781 ; Leonard (2), our subject's father; Joseph, 
 born March 31, 1784, who settled in Ohio; Lucy, 
 born Feb. 6, 1786; Clarissa, born March 3, 1787; 
 and Lucy, born Nov. 21, 1790. 
 
 Leonard Welles was born in Glastonbury April 
 28, 1782, and as his health was poor in early life he 
 spent much of his time at his father's hotel. He 
 
 also taught scliool for a time, but after his marriage 
 to Miss Sally Sellew, which occurred Oct. 13, 1804, 
 he engaged in farming. He located at the corner 
 of Main street and Naubuc avenue, where Miss 
 Alice Goodrich now resides, and by his industry and 
 close attention to business made a good income, 
 though he was never considered a rich man. To 
 politics he gave but little heed, but he affiliated with 
 the Whig and Republican parties on national issues. 
 He lived to the good old age of ninety years, keep- 
 ing his health and faculties almost to the last, and 
 when seventy years old he drove a wagon with two 
 yoke of cattle and a horse for forty days in suc- 
 cession, between Glastonbury and Hartford, taking 
 fifty hundred-weight of tobacco and bringing back a 
 load of lumber. He was fond of his home and 
 family, and to each of his boys he gave $500 as they 
 came of age, their remarkable financial success being 
 a source of great pride to him in later years. In 
 religious faith he was a Congregationalist, and as a 
 citizen he was held in high esteem. He died at his 
 homestead Jan. 19, 1873. His wife, who died Nov. 
 5, 1859, was born Nov. 15, 1784, daughter of John 
 and Sally (Smith) Sellew. Her twin sister, Nancy, 
 married Norman Hubbard, of Glastonbury. Our 
 subject was the youngest of a family of six chil- 
 dren, and is now the only surviving member. Of 
 the others: -(i) Oswin, born Jan. 19, 1809, was a 
 pioneer tobacco packer of Glastonbur)^^ and the most 
 successful man of his day in his town. As a young 
 man he learned the cabinet-maker's trade and en- 
 gaged in the manufacture of tubs, pails, chairs and, 
 later, cigar boxes, but seeing the possibilities in the 
 tobacco business he began dealing in that commodity, 
 both in leaf and in cigars. A shrewd business man 
 financially, he was also generous, and his affection 
 for his family was shown in his treatment of his 
 brothers, whom he took into partnership, all of them 
 becoming wealthy men. He was a remarkable man 
 in many ways, and it was characteristic of him to 
 never hurry, yet always be on tme. He married 
 (first) Miss Sarah A. Goodrich, of Portland, Conn., 
 (second) Miss Helen Penfield, (third) Miss Kate 
 Coffin. He died Aug. 9, 1879, in Hartford, where 
 he had lived some years previous, enjoying the fruits 
 of a highly successful life. He had seven sons, but 
 only one, Cassius, lived to maturity ; he died at 
 thirty-nine years of age. (2) Nancy, born Sept. 6, 
 181 1, married Joseph Edwards Goodrich, of Port- 
 land, and died Dec. 20, 1891, in Glastonbury. (3) 
 John S., born Feb. 13, 1814, was a tanner at East 
 Haddam, Conn., until 1856, when he removed to 
 Glastonbury and became associated with his broth- 
 ers in the tobacco business, accumulating a large 
 property. He married Maria H. Chapman, of East 
 Haddam, Conn., and his death occurred Dec. 29, 
 1888. (4) Leonard T., born Feb. 23, i8i8, died 
 Sept. II, 1879. He married Lucy Carter. (5) 
 Henry, born Oct. 24, 1821, died Jan. 17, 1853, in 
 Glastonbury. He married Delia Bartholomew, of 
 Wallingfor'd, Connnecticut. 
 
 Our subject was born in Glastonbury Feb. 13, 
 
 1 
 
« 
 
 1 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 r85 
 
 1825, and was educated there, attending;' the com- 
 mon schools until the age of twelve, and a select 
 school for five years following. He was reared to 
 work, gaining valuable practical ideas from his fa- 
 ther, and as a boy he began to |)lan for Ijusiness life, 
 the success of his brothers in the tobacco business 
 naturally inclining him to that line of etTort. His 
 brother Oswin employed him for three years at $1.50 
 per day, and in 1856 he became a member of the 
 firm of O. Welles & Co., with which he remained 
 thirteen years, until in 1869 he engaged in buying 
 tobacco on his own account. In 1884 he retired, but 
 he still grows tobacco, partly as a pastime, having 
 always been interested more or less in that work. 
 He has had a larger experience with tobacco than 
 any other man in Glastonbury, and is considered one 
 of the best judges of the weed in this State. Mr. 
 Welles" business methods have always been straight- 
 forward, his word being as good as his bond, and 
 while he pays every penny of obligation, he expects 
 the same upright dealing in return. In 1870 he 
 completed his present home, a comfortable and com- 
 modious dwelling, which is tastefully and even luxu- 
 riously furnished, although he and his wife are 
 averse to display. He is fond of good horses, and 
 some fine specimens are usually to be found in his 
 stables. In politics he is a Republican, of Whig 
 antecedents, and at one time he represented his 
 town in the State Legislature, but he has preferred 
 business to public life. When the Grange was or- 
 ganized in Glastonbury he became a member, and 
 siiice 1849 he has been identified with the Congrega- 
 tional Church at Glastonbury, declining, however, 
 to hold office in the Society. 
 
 On Dec. 9, 1846, Mr. Welles was married at 
 Glastonbury to i\Iiss Catherine Saltonstall Welles, 
 and they have passed more than fifty years of happy 
 wedded life, their Golden Wedding having been 
 suitably observed in 1896. Both are well-preserved 
 in mind and body, and their geniality has enabled 
 them to keep in touch with vounger generations to a 
 marked degree. I\Irs. \\'elles was born in Glaston- 
 bury May 17, 1826, daughter of Dorrance and Ame- 
 lia (Goodrich) Welles, attended the schools of the 
 third district and later a select school in Glaston- 
 bury and a private school at Portland, Conn., and 
 for some time taught school at $1.50 per week, 
 '"boarding 'round'' among the patrons, after the cus- 
 tom of that day. She united with the Congrega- 
 tional Church at Glastonbury in 1845, ''"'J '"'''s al- 
 ways been a sympathetic helpmeet to her husband 
 in the varied duties of life. Two children have 
 blessed their union: (i) Sarah A., born Jan. i, 
 1854, married H. J. Curtis, of Hartford, and has 
 two children : Alice Louise, who graduated from 
 the Hartford Public High School, and is now at- 
 tending Smith College, Xorthampton, Mass. ; and 
 Mary Bertha, who graduated from the Hartford 
 Public High School in June, 1899. (2) Harriet A., 
 born Sept. 21, 1856, married S. P. Turner, of Glas- 
 tonbury, and has one child, Isabelle Benton, who is 
 a graduate of SteeFs Select School, Hartford. 
 
 50 
 
 Mrs. Welles is a descendant of Gov. Thomas 
 Welles, the line being traced as follows : Gov. 
 Thomas Welles (died in 1660) ; Samuel (died in 
 1675) ; Samuel (1660-1731) ; Thomas (i'j93-1767j ; 
 Jonathan (1732-1792J : Gurdon (1773-1852J ; Dor- 
 rance (1799-1887). Dorrance Welles, born May 3, 
 1799, married Amelia Goodrich, born in 1802, and 
 they died Dec. 25, 1887, and June 12, 1877, respect- 
 ively. He was a Republican in political sentiment, 
 and a great worker for the success of his party, but 
 he n;ver sought office. In 1844 he joined the Con- 
 gregational Church, to which his wife also belonged. 
 They had three children: Catherine S., wife of 
 Frederick Welles; Mary, who resides with our sub- 
 ject and wife; and Alsop, born February 4, 1829, 
 who died March 28, 1892. The last-named mar- 
 ried Augusta M. Brown, of Essex, by whom he had 
 no children. After her death, which occurred in 
 1861, he wedded Cvnthia I'ayne, of Portland, who 
 died in 1892, and by whom he had two children, 
 Henry B. and Amy. He was a farmer by occu- 
 pation. 
 
 JUDGE RALPH MORGAN GRANT, who is 
 one of the prominent young attorneys of South 
 Windsor, and who, though scarcely past thirty years 
 of age, has been honored by election to several re- 
 sponsible judicial and public offices, is a son of 
 Sheldon J. Grant, whose sketch appears elsewhere 
 in this volume, and a representative of one of the 
 oldest families of the State. 
 
 Ralph M. tJrant was born ^May 11, 1868, on the 
 farm of his father in the town of South Windsor, 
 near Wapping, and received his early education in 
 District No. 7, completing the course in the high 
 school at Hartford, from which he was graduated 
 in 1887. He was president of the debating club of 
 the school. In 1888 Mr. Grant entered the Fresh- 
 man class at Wesleyan University, IMiddletown, 
 Conn., and completed the course of study with the 
 class of 1892, graduating with A. B. Throughout 
 his course he maintained a high standing in his 
 studies, especially in mathematics, history and po- 
 litical economy, and he was always identified with 
 college interests, being chosen by his classmates 
 in his Junior year as one cf the editors of the Olla 
 Podrida, the annual literary publication of the L'ni- 
 versity. In his Senior year he was one of the par- 
 ticipants in a class debate on the free coinage of 
 silver. His university course completed, ^Ir. Grant 
 entered the law office of Judge \\'illiam J. -\IcCon- 
 ville, of Flartford, and read law for two years, 
 meantime qualifying as a notary public. He was 
 admitted to the Bar in 1894, and immediately en- 
 gaged actively in the practice of law. In the fall 
 of 1898 he opened an office in the Sage Allen build- 
 ing. No. 902 Main street, Hartford, which he has 
 since maintained, devoting Monday and Saturday 
 of each week to his business in South Windsor, his 
 office then being at East \\'indsor Hill. Our sub- 
 ject's legal practice has been interrupted partially 
 by the assumption of judicial duties, to which he 
 
786 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 has been called by the franchises of his fellow 
 townsmen. He was elected in the fall of 1894 judge 
 of the probate court of the district of East Windsor, 
 and served two years. About the time of his elec- 
 tion he removed to East Windsor Hill where he 
 now resides. In 1895 he was elected town clerk 
 and town treasurer of South Windsor, and to these 
 offices he has been continuously re-elected ever since. 
 Judge Grant was again elected probate judge in the 
 fall of 1898, and is now filling the duties of that 
 office. Ever since the fall of 1892 he has served as 
 justice of the peace. 
 
 Judge Grant was married, May i. 1895, to Miss 
 L. LilHan Shepard, of Melrose Highland, Mass., 
 and to them three children have been born, Lloyd 
 S., Thane C. and Miriam H.' In politics Judge 
 Grant is a Republican. He is a member of the 
 Masonic fraternity, also of the Royal Arcanum, and 
 in college days was an active member of the D. K. 
 E. fraternity. Judge Grant is a member of the 
 Congregational Church, and is superintendent of the 
 Sabbath school. He is prominent in social, public 
 and legal circles, and by the earnestness and force 
 of his character is winning wide recognition 
 throughout Elartford county. 
 
 JOHN MADISON MORSE. The Windsor 
 Locks Journal, of which the subject of this brief 
 biography is editor and publisher, has become a 
 recognized factor in local progress, its advocacy of 
 beneficial measures winning the approval of the 
 best classes of people, irrespective of party. The 
 paper was established April 30, 1S80, by the late 
 S. T. Addis, who conducted it until a short time 
 previous to his death, on Feb. 25, 1896. When 
 failing health compelled him to relinquish it he sold 
 it to Mr. Morse, the transfer being made Dec.^ 13, 
 1895, and under its present able management it is 
 constantly gaining in reputation. 
 
 Mr. Morse comes of good New England stock, 
 and was born Jan. 8, 1866. at Springfield, Mass. 
 His father, James G. Morse, for many years held 
 a responsible position in the mechanical department 
 of the Springfield Republican. During his boyhood 
 John M. Morse attended school in his native city, 
 and after the death of his father, in 1876, at Chester, 
 Mass., where he also assisted his grandfather, 
 Loring Otis, in farm work. At the age of seven- 
 teen he went to Thompsonville, Conn., to learn the 
 printer's trade, in the office of the Thompsonville 
 Press, and soon after remaining there twelve years 
 he opened a job printing office at Windsor Locks, 
 which he conducted successfully for two years be- 
 fore buying the Journal. 
 
 On Dec. 31, 1895, Mr. Morse was married, in 
 the Congregational church at Enfield, Conn., to 
 Miss Sara Moody Means, daughter of the late Rev. 
 George Jarvis Means, of Augusta, Maine. While 
 Mr. Morse and his accomplished wife are much es- 
 teemed socially, he is not identified with any fraternal 
 organizations. They are both members of the Con- 
 eregational Church of Windsor Locks. 
 
 PROF. EDGAR H. PARKMAN, a well known 
 and popular educator, who is now serving as Princi- 
 pal of the high school of Enfield, was born in North 
 Brookfield, Worcester county, Mass., Aug. 28, 
 1862, and is a son of Charles and Caroline C. 
 (Shumway) Parkman, also natives of Worcester 
 county, Mass., and of English and French Hugue- 
 not descent. 
 
 Mr. Parkman's paternal grandfather was Eb- 
 enezer Parkman, a farmer of North Brookfield, 
 Mass., and a son of Ebenezer Parkman, whose fa- 
 ther, Rev. Ebenezer Parkman, was a clergyman 
 of the Congregational Church and a descendant of ; 
 the Parkmans, ship owners of Boston, Mass. Francis • 
 Parkman, the historian, is also a direct descendant 
 of this family. The maternal grandfather of Mr. 
 Parkman was Alpheus Shumway, a native of Stur- 
 bridge, Mass., and a farmer by occupation. His 
 ancestors, who were French Huguenots, came from i 
 the Isle of Wight, and settled in the eastern part of ! 
 Massachusetts at an early date. Some of the same ' 
 name were among the first settlers of Sturbridge, 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Charles Parkman, our subject's father, is a : 
 farmer, and still a resident of North Brookfield, 
 Mass., in which town Prof. Parkman was reared, 
 receiving his early education in the district schools 
 of his native place. At the aa:e of thirteen he en- 
 tered the town high school and was graduated in 
 1879, at the head of his class. He then became a 
 student in the old academy at Monson, Mass., and 
 after completing his preparation for college taught 
 for a few years in the Massachusetts public schools, 
 after which he took the full classical course in 
 Amherst College', graduating from the latter insti- 
 tution in 1889. In the fall of that year he located 
 in Thompsonville, Conn., having been elected Prin- 
 cipal of the Enfield Public High School, and so 
 acceptable and satisfactory have his services proven 
 that he has been continuously re-elected. He is a 
 thorough and competent instructor, and has met 
 with excellent success in his chosen profession. 
 
 On Dec. 23, 1890, Prof. Parkman married Miss 
 Cora M. Fellows, a daughter of Frank and Eliza 
 (Gilbert) Fellows, of Belchertown, Mass., and to 
 them have been born three children, namely: Doro- 
 thy Gilbert, Cora Eleanor and Deane Winthrop. 
 Mrs. Parkman's mother is a lineal descendant of 
 both Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Humphrey Gil- 
 bert, of early Colonial fame. The Professor and 
 his wife are members of the First Presbyterian 
 Church of Thompsonville. He is a member of the 
 Amherst Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the Massa- 
 chusetts Beta Chapter of the Phi Delta Theta So- 
 ciety; belongs to Doric Lodge No. 94, F. & A. 
 M., of Thompsonville, of which he is now worship- 
 ful master; and is an associate member of Samuel 
 Brown Post No. 56, G. A. R., of the same place, his 
 father having served one year in the Civil war as a 
 member of Company F, 42d Mass. V. I. Pro- 
 fessionally he is a member of the Western (Mass.) 
 Plead Masters' Club, and at this writing a member 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 787 
 
 ' of the e.\ccuti\c conimiiu-c ni ilic t'lmiKx-ticut Clas- 
 sical and High School Teachers' Association, i'o- 
 
 ' litically Prof. I'arkmaii is a stanch Republican. 
 Mrs. I'arknian's father was also a soldier of the 
 Civil war, servins;' three years in the Signal Corps, 
 and both of the Professor's great-grandfathers were 
 among the number of those who so valiantly fought 
 for the independence of the Colonies during the 
 Revolution. 
 
 LUCIEX B. LOOMIS comes of good old pio- 
 ne,er stock, being of the eighth generation in descent 
 from Joseph Loomis, who was born in England in 
 1590, and came in 1639 to Windsor, where his 
 death occurred Nov. 25, 1658. 
 
 (II) Deacon John Loomis, son of the pioneer, 
 was born in England in 1622, and accompanied his 
 father to this country. On Oct. 11, 1640, he was 
 admitted to \\'indsor Church, in which he became 
 an active and influential worker. 
 
 (ill) Sergt. Daniel Loomis, son of Deacon 
 John, was born June 16, 1657, and died Jvme 25, 
 1740. He married (first) JMary Ellsworth, daugh- 
 ter of Josiah Ellsworth, and (second) wedded Han- 
 nah Drake, a widow. 
 
 (IV) Benjamin Loomis, the next in the line of 
 descent, was born Feb. 7, 1699, to his father's first 
 marriage, and died Jan. 2, 1763. Pie married 
 Joanna Alford, and had six children : Joanna, Ben- 
 jamin, Tabitha, Benjamin (2), Rachel and Serajah. 
 
 (V) Serajah Loomis, our subject's great-grand- 
 father, was born Dec. 4, 1740, and died in 181 1. 
 He built a house in Windsor, the timber for which 
 was cut at New Plartford and rafted down the Farm- 
 ington river, and it is still standing, well-preserved. 
 Serajah Loomis married Sybil Loomis, and they 
 had four sons : Nider, Ira, Asher and Horace. 
 
 CVI) Asher Loomis, the grandfather of our 
 subject, was born April 4, 1772. in the house men- 
 tioned above, and died in March, 1819. For some 
 years he was engaged in business in Winsted, Conn., 
 as a tanner and shoemaker. On Oct. 5. 1796. he 
 was married, in Winsted, to Rosinda Cook, a native 
 of that town, and they had one son, Roman W., 
 and five daughters: T^Iinerva (Mrs. Wrisley) ; 
 Sarah, who married a ^Ir. Smith, of Winsted ; Alma 
 (deceased), who never married: Nancv (Mrs. 
 Moses Loomis) : and one who died in childhood. 
 
 (VII) Roman W.. Loomis, our subject's father, 
 was Ixjrn Sept. 2, 1801, in the house built by Sera- 
 jah Loomis, and was reared in Windsor, his educa- 
 tion being secured in the local schools. When a 
 young man he tausht school successfully, and for 
 a time he was a private tutor in the family of a 
 Mr. Williams, in A'irginia. History, ancient and 
 modern, always interested him greatly, and when 
 the Loomis genealogy was being prepared he sup- 
 plied much of the data. For years he led the choir 
 of the Congregational Church at \Vindsor. Politi- 
 cally he was first a ^^^^ig and tlien a Republican, 
 but he never sought or held office. \\'hile he was 
 reared a farmer bov, he learned the shoemaker's 
 
 trade in early life, and at times he followed that busi- 
 ness in W'indsor and elsewhere. After his marriage, 
 in October, 1834, Mr. Loomis located at the old 
 homestead with his father, later removing to our 
 subject's present farm, where he died in 1883. His 
 wife, whose maiden name was Ann G. Barber, was 
 born Jan. 12, 1797, a daughter of Gideon Barber. 
 She died Dec. 16, 1867, and her remains rest beside 
 those of her husband in the cemetery in W'indsor. 
 ifOin- subject was the elder of two sons ; the younger, 
 Arthur II., born July 3, 1842, died June lO, 1852. 
 
 (\ III) Lucien B. Loomis was born Dec. 6, 1835, 
 at the old homestead, and first attended school in the 
 Stony Hill District of Windsor. Among his early 
 teachers were Miss-Frances Loomis, Edward Allyn, 
 and Mr. and Mrs. E. X. Phelps. On completing 
 an elementary course in the common schools lie was 
 sent to Windsor Academy, while in the summer 
 season he assisted his father in farm work and in 
 shoemaking. Pie remained at home until his mar- 
 riage, June 2, 1863, when he settled at his present 
 farm. For twenty-eight years, from 1862 to 1890, 
 he manufactured brick in addition to following gen- 
 eral farming. The former industry was a leading 
 business in Windsor, and at one time, when taking 
 brick to Hartford, he counted twenty-four yoke of 
 oxen in one line liauling sled loads of brick to that 
 city. From boyhood he has been a firm supporter 
 of the principles of the Republican party. His first 
 presidential vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln, as 
 he was just one month too young to vote for Fre- 
 mont. 
 
 In 1863 Mr. Loomis married Miss !Maria J. 
 Woodward, of ]\Iansfield, Tolland Co., Conn., who 
 died leaving no children. His second wife, whose 
 maiden name was Abby H. Marc\ , was born March 
 2, 1843, '^t Ashford, ^^Tndhanl Co.. Conn., and 
 married (first) C. B. Knox, of South ^lanchester. 
 Conn., now deceased. 
 
 WILLIAM H. LAWRENCE, D. D. S. (de- 
 ceased), late a prominent dentist of Thompsonville 
 and Suffield, was born in Louisville, Ky.. in May, 
 1854, and spent the early part of his life in that 
 .State. Later, after studying dentistry, he practiced 
 his profession in New York City for fourteen years. 
 
 i and still later he located in Hartford, where he was 
 connected with a dental association until, in 1889, 
 he opened an office in Suftield. After locating in Suf- 
 field he had branch offices in Windsor and Thomp- 
 sonville, opening an office in the last named village 
 in 1891, but his increasing business in later years 
 compelled him to give up the Windsor office and de- 
 vote his whole time to Thompsonville and Suffield. 
 He was an artist in his profession, and his genial 
 
 ' wavs and careful attention to the needs of his pa- 
 tients gained for him an enviable reputation as a 
 dentist, and secured for him an extensive practice. 
 Dr. Lawrence was a member of .\polIo Lodge, 
 F. & A. M.; Washington Chapter. R. A. ^f. : Ly- 
 man Council. O. U. A. ^M.. of Sufiield : .\snuntock 
 Lodge. K. P., of Thompsonville; Putnam Phalanx, 
 
■.788 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 •of Hartford ; was also an Odd Fellow, and a member 
 of the Order of Foresters. He was a member of 
 the Grand Lodge of Knights of Pythias, and was 
 district deputy grand chancellor of the Eleventh dis- 
 trict at the time of his death. The interest taken 
 in Pythianism by Dr. Lawrence was an active one. 
 To him can be credited the institution of Gideon 
 Granger Lodge, of Suffield, and the work already 
 accomplished in forming lodges at Warehouse Point 
 and Windsor Locks. He was a man of character 
 lived up to the true principles of brotherly love, and 
 those who knew him well enjoyed the pleasures of 
 his company at all times. His genial presence was 
 felt in the lodge room, where his devotion to the 
 order he represented was echoed by words of wis- 
 dom and love for his fellowmen. In his noble heart 
 he carried the true principles of fraternity ; he prac- 
 ticed its teachings in his walks in life : and ever by 
 word and deed made his efforts an example of what 
 fraternity teaches. To have known Dr. Lawrence 
 was to like him. As a friend and brother he shone 
 pre-eminent, and his charities were conducted in 
 that unostentatious manner that becomes a knight 
 and a true man. His kmdly ways are sadly missed 
 in his home and the various organizations in which 
 lie was interested. He died Jan. 8, i 
 
 m. 
 
 ALMOND JOEL CUTTING, D. D. S., a prom- 
 inent and successful dentist of Southington, was 
 born in Shrewbury, Mass., Sept. 21, 1856, a son 
 of Joel and Susan (Kennan) Cutting, natives of 
 Holden, Mass., and of English and Irish descent. 
 The father, a shoemaker by trade, is now a resident 
 of Amherst, Mass., and is engaged in his vocation. 
 During the Civil war he served for two years in 
 the 32d Mass. V. I. 
 
 Dr. Cutting grew to manhood in his native State. 
 Although possessing an ardent love for books and 
 education, circumstances prevented him going far- 
 ther than the public schools, and he worked on a 
 farm most of the time until eighteen years of age, 
 when he spent a season in his father's shop, and later 
 accepted a position as attendant in the State Retreat 
 for the Insane. During .this period he decided to. 
 take up his present profession. In 1876 he began 
 the study of dentistry in Worcester, Mass., and two 
 years later located at Barre, Mass., where he con- 
 tinued his studies. In 1884 he was graduated from 
 the dental department of the University of Mary-- 
 land, standing at the head of his class, and receiv- 
 ing honorable mention in the final examinations. In 
 July, of the same year, he located in Southington, 
 where he has since been in active and successful 
 practice. 
 
 On July 21. 1878, Dr. Cutting was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Lizzie J. Ballou, a daughter of 
 Hiram Ballou, of Pelham, Mass., and of the chil- 
 dren born to them one is now living, Mabel L. For 
 his second wife the Doctor married Miss Sarah E. 
 Bell, daughter of Charles Bell, of Plantsville, Con- 
 necticut. 
 
 Dr. Cuttina: is an active member of the Meth- 
 
 odist Episcopal Church, and has been superintend- 
 ent of the Sunday-school since 1885. He is also a 
 member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
 the Order of United American Mechanics, and the 
 Sons of Veterans. He has belonged to the Con- 
 necticut State Dental Association since 1889, and 
 in May, 1898, was elected its president. Dr. Cut- 
 tmg's personal magnetism is felt by all his patients 
 who trust themselves to his treatment, and he enjoys 
 ^a large and lucrative practice. He has ever been 
 'niterested and identified with the public affairs of 
 his town, all of which receive his hearty co-opera- 
 tion, and politically he is a stanch advocate of Pro- 
 hibition. 
 
 WINTHROP BUCK was one of the oldest 
 and most respected citizens of Wethersfield, where he 
 was born on the old Buck homestead Dec. 16, 1816. 
 His family is not only among the most esteemed, 
 but also among the oldest and most influential in 
 Wethersfield, in the records of which town they 
 enjoy, the distinction of having been among the 
 early settlers. In fact, the Bucks were among the 
 early pioneers of Connecticut, and may be ranked 
 among that advance guard whose members, from 
 religious conviction and through sturdy manhood, 
 aided in making New England what it is to-da)' — ■ 
 the mother of colleges and the fountain head of 
 sturdv and aggressive patriotism. 
 
 The first one bearing the family name to settle 
 in Wethersfield was Emanuel Buck. At that time, 
 if tradition 'be correct, he was young, strong arid 
 fearless, and his name appears on the record in 
 connection with those of Henry and Enoch Buck, 
 who are supposed to have been his brothers. There 
 is little question that the family is of English origin. 
 Emanuel was born in 1623, and settled at Wethers- 
 field' in 1645. He seems to have been a leading citi- 
 zen in the young settlement, becoming a landowner, 
 and being made a freeman and elected constable in 
 1669. He was one of three men (the other two 
 being Geors'e Riley and Samuel Boardman, also of 
 Wethersfield) who were granted the privilege. of 
 building a sawmill at what was then known as 
 "Pine Stave Swamp," but is now the site of New- 
 ington. He was twice married, was the father of 
 a "large family, and died at Wethersfield an old 
 man. ■ His first wife was Sarah Demin.sf, and his 
 second — to whom he was united on April 17, 1658 
 — was Mary Kirby, who was born in Middletown, 
 a daughter of John and Elizabeth Kirby, and died 
 Jan. 12, 1712. The fruit of the first marriage con- 
 sisted of three children : Ezekiel, born on Jan. 
 I, 1650; John, born in November, 1652; and Jona- 
 than, born April 8, 1655. The second wife bore him 
 seven children: Mary, born Jan. i, 1659; David, 
 April 13, 1667; Sarah, April i, 1669; Hannah, 
 April 12, 1671; Elizabeth, Jan. 4, 1676; Thomas. 
 Tune 10. 1678: and Abigail, Aug. i, 1682. David. 
 Emanuel Buck's 'eldest son and second child by his 
 second marriage, was a farmer of Wethersfield, in 
 which town he was born, and where he died Sept. 
 
Jyp'u.yH^^^ J3i^^-^^ 
 
i 
 
 i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 789 
 
 30, 1728 (or 1738). As were his ancestors, so was 
 lie, a man of (luick intellig;(-Micc, unassuniins man- 
 ners and unassailable integrity, beloved by his 
 friends antl honored !)}■ all. Un June 14, 1690, he 
 married Elizal)eth liubljard, whose father was 
 Daniel Hubbard, of Guilford. She was born in 
 1666, and died March 23, 1735. She was the mother 
 of ten children: Elizabeth, born Feb. 16, 1691 ; 
 Ann, April 25, 1693; Daniel, Sept. 13, 1695; David, 
 
 i March 13, 1698; r^Iary, Sept. 9, 1700; Josiah, Jan. 
 
 I 16, 1703: Joseph, April 5, 1705 (died Sept. 14, 
 
 I 1717) ; John, July 18, 1707 (died IMarch 9. 1726) ; 
 
 i Eunice, Dec. 19, 1710; and Mabel, June 5, 1712. 
 Josiah Buck, lineal descendant of the first \\'in- 
 throp, and great-g;rand father of the present gentle- 
 man of that name, was a farmer, as had been his 
 ancestors for several generations. He passed his 
 life at Wethersfield without ostentation, yet with 
 a native kindliness of heart and deed fostered and 
 stimulated by Christian faith. He died Feb. 8, 
 1793. Flis wife, Ann Deming, was born at Weth- 
 ersfield May 28, 171 1, daughter of Charles and 
 Ann (\\'ickham) Deming. Charles Deming was 
 a son of Jonathan and Sarah Deming. and a grand- 
 son of John Deming, who married Honour Tread. 
 Mrs. Buck's maternal grandparents were Thomas 
 and Sarah (Churchill) Wickham. She married 
 Josiah Buck on May 28, 1731, and died March 9, 
 1772, having borne her husband seven children: 
 Ann, born Feb. 26, 1732: Mary, Oct. 31, 1733; 
 Elizabeth, April 7, 1735; Prudence, Dec. 15, 1737; 
 Josiah, April 23, 1742 (he died Oct. 16, 1807: 
 Daniel, June 13, 1744: and Mabel. March 22, 174S 
 (she married Justus Riley, and died ]\Iay 28, 1843, 
 at the age of ninety-five years). 
 
 Daniel Buck, the sixth of this family, and the 
 grandfather of Winthrop Buck, was born at the old 
 A\'ethersfield homestead. He was a farmer and a 
 fisherman. His holdingfs of lanrl were large, and he 
 vi'as a slave owner as well. He was a man of in- 
 fluence, and was one of several in Wethersfield 
 who responded to the call in 1776, being in the 
 service for six days. He built two fine houses on 
 the homestead farm, which are yet in a good state 
 of preservation, and was very successful in its 
 management. He died Jan. 6, 1808. On Dec. 3, 
 1775, at Xew London, he married Sarah Saltonstall, 
 who was born June 15, 1754, and died Nov. 19, 
 :828. Her father, Gurdon Saltonstall, was a son 
 of Gov. Gurdon Saltonstall and his wife, Jerusha 
 Richards, and a lineal descendant of Sir Richard 
 Saltonstall, one of the first settlers of Watertown, 
 INTass. Gurdon Saltonstall married Rebecca Win- 
 throp. a daughter of John Still and Ann (Dudley) 
 Winthrop and granddaughter of Hon. ^^'ait Still 
 and Joseph Dudlev. Daniel Buck and his wife were 
 the parents of seven children: Ann was born and 
 died in 1776. Gurdon, the eldest son, was born 
 Dec. 30, 1777, and on April .-^o, 1805, married Sus- 
 anna ^Tanwaring, of Xew York; he died Aug. 4, 
 1832. The second son, Daniel, born Oct. 27, 1779, 
 was a merchant. He and his brother, Dudlev, 
 
 were together in trade at Hartford and also owned 
 a line of propellers to New York. He died at Po- 
 quonock Jan. 19, i860. He was twice married, 
 his first wife being Julia .Mitchell, a daughter of 
 Hon. Stephen Mix Mitchell, of Wethersfield. The 
 marriage took place Oct. 14, 1805, and the young 
 wife died Oct. 7, 1807. Subsequently Mr. Buck 
 married Elizaljeth, a daughter of Ezekiel Belden. 
 She was born Jan. 10, 1784, and died March 3, 
 1S87, aged 103 years. Charles, the third son, was 
 liorn March 21, 1782. He married Catherine Brad- 
 ford, of New York, where he lived until his death, 
 June 5, 1858. The fourth son, Winthrop, was 
 born Dec. 9, 1784. He was the father of Winthrop 
 Buck, and a brief account of his life will be given 
 in a succeeding paragraph. Ann, the second of that 
 name, was born Oct. 12, 1786, and died Feb. 6, 
 178S. Dudley, the seventh and youngest child, 
 was, as has been said, a jjartner of his brother, 
 Daniel, in the general merchandise business at 
 Hartford. He was born Jan. 25, 1789. He was 
 twice married, first on Sept. 25, 1827, to Hetty G. 
 Hempstead, a daughter of John Hempstead. She 
 died June 12, 1834, and on Sept. 13, 1837, he was 
 united to Martha C, a daughter of Nathaniel 
 Adams. He was the father of Dudley Buck, the 
 eminent musician and composer, and died Mav 8, 
 1867. 
 
 Winthrop Buck, above named as the father of 
 our subject, passed his entire life upon the farm, 
 although, like his father, he also followed the call- 
 ing of a fisherman. Although he enjoyed the ad- 
 vantage of attendance upon the district schools he 
 may be said to have been chiefly self-educated, 
 having been a judicious reader and close observer. 
 His home was on the farm where his son, Henry, 
 now lives, and he was one of the largest owners 
 of realty in Wethersfield. He was a ^^ big until that 
 party was merged into the Republican, after which 
 he was affiliated with the latter. His religious 
 views were broad, but he was upriglit in his life, 
 honorable in his dealings, domestic in his tastes 
 and habits, and deservedly popular and influential 
 in the community in the midst of which he lived 
 from his infancy until his death, which occurred 
 Aug. 19, 1862. He was twice married. Eunice H. 
 Parsons, of Amherst, Mass., was his fir.st wife, 
 their marriage being solenmized Jan. 9, 1812. She 
 died .\\.\g. 4 of the same year, seven months after 
 becoming a bride, at the early age of twenty-four. 
 On Dec. 28, 1814, Mr. Buck married Eunice Mose- 
 ly. who was born Oct. 8, 1793. and passed away 
 Aug. 24, 1862, five days after her husband. She 
 was a daug-fiter of Dr. Abner and Eunice (Wells) 
 Moselv. Her father was a Yale gracUiate. and a 
 son of Joseph Mosely and his wife Honefnl Rob- 
 bins. Mrs. lUick's maternal great-srrand father was 
 William Wells, who married Jerusha Merrick, of 
 Glastonbury. Eight children were born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Buck. The eldest, Martha, born Nov. 26, 
 1815, died .'^ug. 12. 1000, unmarried. She made 
 her home with her brother, Henry. Notwithstand- 
 
790 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ing her advanced age her intellect was clear and 
 vigorous and she possessed a refinement and culture 
 which adorned her declining years and made her 
 doubly beloved. (2) Winthrop, born Dec. 16, 
 1816, died July 28, 1900, aged eighty-three years 
 and seven months. (3) Eunice, born Dec. 31, 
 1819, died March 12, 1897. (4) Maria was born 
 Jan. 30, 1 82 1, and married Edmund Howe on Feb. 
 3, 1856. He died at Hartford April 23, 1857, and 
 she survived him until Dec. 8, 1894. (5) Robert 
 was born March 8, 1823. He married, on Christ- 
 mas day, 1857, Lucena M., a daughter of Jonathan 
 Emerson, of Lebanon, N. H. She died June 7, 
 1859, and on Aug. 5, i860, he married Helen 
 Frances Jones, a daughter of Elisha L. Jones, of 
 St. Albans, Vt. Robert Buck died at Hartford Aug. 
 16, 1881. (6) Roswell Riley, born Oct. 21, 1826, 
 married Maria Catherine Barnes, of Buffalo, N. 
 Y., Nov. 8, 1866, and after marriage removed to 
 that city, where his wife's father, Dr. Joseph Barnes, 
 resided. (7) Catherine Mosely was born Feb. i, 
 1833, ^nd on Nov. 16, 1866, became the wife of 
 John Buckingham, of Chicago, who died Aug. 21, 
 1881. (8) Henry, the eighth and youngest of the 
 children, was born Dec. 6, 1834. He married, Nov. 
 30, 1875, Theresa, a daughter of George and Har- 
 riet Whiting (Bradley) Robinson. 
 
 Winthrop Buck was educated at the district 
 schools and academy of Wethersfield and the Hart- 
 ford public high school Francis Fellows being then 
 principal of the last named institution. After leav- 
 ing school he was offered and accepted a position 
 as teacher at Middletown, but ill health compelled 
 him to cancel his engagement. He remained upon 
 his father's farm, with his parents, until he was 
 twenty-eight years old, when he bought what was 
 then known as the B. D. Buck farm, opposite the 
 homestead. On making this purchase he was forced 
 to go into debt, and some idea of the degree of 
 prosperity which attended his efforts may be gath- 
 ered from the fact that he subsequently invested 
 over $20,000 in real estate. In addition to general 
 and dairy farming he cultivated tobacco success- 
 fully, besides dealing largely in fish. He became 
 one of Wethersfield's most prosperous as well as 
 most popular citizens, was progressive and public- 
 spirited,, sagacious and farseeing, intelligent and 
 well-read, modest and unassuming. He was a hard 
 worker and always keenly alive to the demands of 
 business, yet he found time for recreation, for the 
 cultivation of domestic tastes and for the enter- 
 tainment of the many friends whom he made 
 through his genial, kindly disposition and his un- 
 swerving integrity. He was one of the oldest men 
 in the town, only one of his old schoolmates, James 
 Stanley Griswold, yet living. ^ 
 
 On Dec. 24, 1845, ^^r. Buck married Charlotte 
 Woodhouse, who was born at Wethersfield Oct. 
 19, 181Q, a daughter of Sylvester and Sarah (Har- 
 riss) Woodhouse. [An extended history of the 
 Woodhouse familv may be found on another page.] 
 •Mrs. Buck died Jan. 15, 1896. The issue of the 
 
 marriage was two sons, (i) Edward Winthrop 
 was born Feb. 28, 1847, was educated at the Weth- 
 ersfield common schools and at the high school in 
 Hartford, and at the age of eighteen entered the 
 office of the Travelers Insurance Co., of Hartford. 
 On Sept. 12, 1876, he married Abbie B., daughter of 
 Reuben and Olive Barber Osborn, and to them have 
 been born three children : Winthrop, Sept. 2, 1878 
 (who graduated from Yale in the class of 1900) ; 
 Edward Osborn, June 25, 1883 ; and Helen Dudley, 
 July 2, 1888. Mr. Buck is a Republican and a 
 member of the Congregational Church in Hart- 
 ford. (2) Louis Dudley, born Aug. 13, 1850, mar- 
 ried Laura, a daughter of Samuel O. Church, of 
 Massachusetts, and lived upon the homestead, where 
 he died March 19, 1887. His widow resides in 
 Chicago. He was the father of three children, 
 Charlotte, Mary C. and Louise Dudley. 
 
 ROBERT JOHNSTON VANCE is of Scotch 
 descent, his grandparents having been members of 
 the little band of sons of "Auld Scotia," who origi- 
 nated what has now become the flourishing and well- 
 known carpet industry at Thompsonville. He him- 
 self is a son of John and Elizabeth (Johnston") 
 Vance, and was born in the City of New York on 
 March 15, 1854. His preliminary education was 
 received at the public schools of that city, and com- 
 pleted at the high school in New Britain, to which 
 place he removed while he was yet a small bov. On 
 leaving school he entered the employ of the Stanley 
 Rule & Level Com'^any, and later was offered and 
 accepted the position of paymaster for the New 
 Britain Knitting Co. 
 
 Mr. Vance's natural bent, however, was toward 
 journalism, and at the early age of twenty-two years 
 he founded the New Britain Observer. In 1887 
 this paper was consolidated with the New' Britain 
 Herald, Mr. Vance assuming editorial control, and 
 the new publication taking the name of the Nezv 
 Britain Herald. To his chosen profession he 
 brought ability of a rare order, and under his able 
 management the Herald has become a positive 
 influence, not only in Hartford countv, but also 
 throughout the entire State. While still retaining 
 his chair as editor, Mr. Vance, durinsf the years 
 i888-go, also filled the position of staff correspond- 
 ent for the New York Sun at Washins:ton. Not- 
 withstanding the exacting duties of a successful pro- 
 fessional career, he has found time to travel exten- 
 sively both in this country and in Europe, and to 
 discharge with signal ability and fidelity the duties 
 attaching to various positions of financial trust. He 
 has been treasurer of the Herald Publishing- Co., 
 and held the same office in the New Britain Electric 
 Light Co., from the date of the organization of that 
 corporation until it passed under a new executive 
 control. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Vance has always been an ardent 
 and consistent Democrat. For fifteen vears he was 
 a member of the State central committee of his 
 party, and was a delegate to the National conven- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 791 
 
 tions of 1888 and 1892, at St. Louis and Chicago, 
 respectively. He has also been prominent in public 
 life. From 1878 to 1887 he served as city clerk of 
 New Britain; in 1886 he was elected a member of 
 the Connecticut General Assembly; and in 1887-88 
 represented his district in the Lth United States 
 Congress. From 1893 to 1895 lie was State Labor 
 Commissioner, and in 1896 was elected mayor of 
 New Britain. To every position which he has 
 filled, in either private or public life, he has brought 
 the capability resulting from rare talent, joined to 
 the integrity which proceeds from a higli sense of 
 honor. He is widely known throughout Connecti- 
 cut, and, while warmly liked by the people of his 
 own city, is held in high esteem by public men 
 throughout the State, without regard to party 
 affiliation. 
 
 Mr. Vance is a member of the Masonic Order 
 and of the L O. O. F. He was married, Jan. 24, 
 1890, to Miss Matilda O'Connor, of Alabama, and 
 three children have been born to this union, Agnes, 
 Johnston and Robert Cummings. 
 
 CHARLES BRADLEY COWLES, who is 
 actively identified with the business interests of 
 Southington as agent for the Flartford Life In- 
 surance Co. in Plantsville, was born in Southington, 
 Sept. 12, 1840. His father, Charles Augustus 
 Cowles, was born Jan. i, 1808, and was married 
 Sept. 24, 1839, to Mrs. Delia Victoria (Stedman) 
 Bradley, widow of Charles Bradley. The children 
 born to them were Charles B. ; Frederick A. ; Jane 
 L., wife of Royal C. Alix ; Walter A. ; William H. ; 
 Julia A., wife of Alfred N. Parmalee; and Fanny 
 M. The father acquired a competence in trade 
 in the South, became a large land owner in the vi- 
 cinity of Plantsville, Conn., and was extensively 
 engaged in farming. He died in Plantsville, June 
 6, 1873. 
 
 Addison Cowles, the paternal grandfather of our 
 subject, was born in Southington Feb. 17, 1770, 
 and was married Feb. 24, 1800, to Phebe, daugh- 
 ter of Dr. Jesse Cole. He lived in Plantsville 
 Center, where his wife died March 13, 1824, aged 
 forty-six years, and his death occurred Feb. 23, 
 1828. His father, Ashbel Cowles, was born in 
 Southington, Sept. 29, 1740, and was married April 
 29, 1769, to Rhoda Lee, daughter of Jared and 
 Rhoda (Judd) Lee. He lived west of Plantsville 
 cemetery. He was an extensive reader, possessed a 
 very retentive memory and was well versed in his- 
 torical dates. He held several offices, serving as 
 constable for years, first selectman in 1792, and also 
 held the military rank of captain. He died Sept. 
 19, 181 5. He was a son of Josiah Cowles, who 
 was born in Farmington, Nov.. 20, 1716, and was 
 married Nov. 11, 1739, to Jemima Dickinson. Soon 
 after marriage he located in what is now the town 
 of Southington, where he bought land extensively. 
 His wife died Oct. 19, 1746, and he was again mar- 
 ried, Nov. 22, 1748, his second union being with 
 Mary, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Pynchon) 
 
 Scott, of South'.ngton. He was a man of great 
 energy, took a leading part in church and society 
 matters, held several important town oftices, and held 
 the militarv rank of captain. He was the father of 
 eighteen cliildren, and his descendants arc numer- 
 ous and scattered. Josiah Cowles died June 6, 1 793. 
 His father, Thomas Cowles, was born in Farming- 
 fon, Feb. 4, 1686, and was married Jan. 6, 1714, to 
 IMa'rtha Judil. eldest daughter of Thomas and Sarah 
 (Freeman) Judd, of Waterbury. He resided in 
 Farmington, where he died March 11, 1751. His 
 father, "Samuel Cowles, was born in l'"armington, 
 March 17, 1661, and was married, May 12, 1685, to 
 Rachel Porter. He lived in Farmington until about 
 1 716, when he removed to Kensington, where he 
 died Oct. 14, 1748. He was a son of Samuel 
 Cowles, who was born in 1639, and was married, 
 Feb. 14, 1660, to Abigail, daughter of Timothy Stan- 
 ley, of Flartford. They made their home in Farm- 
 ington, and he was one of the eighty-four proprie- 
 tors of that town in 1672. He died April 17. 1691. 
 His father, John Cole, was one of the first settlers of 
 Hartford, but soon after 1640 he located in Farm- 
 ington, and while residing there was induced to 
 change his name to Cowles, in order to avoid the 
 inconvenience of being taken at times for another 
 John Cole, living in the same place. From that time 
 the descendants of his eldest son, Samuel, have 
 spelled the name Cowles. John Cole was a farmer, 
 and a deputy to the General Court in 1653 and 1654. 
 In 1662 he removed to Hadley, Mass., where he died 
 in September, 1675. Flis wife, Hannah, died in 
 Hartford, March 6, 1683, aged seventy years. 
 
 Charles B. Cowles, whose name begins this arti- 
 cle, grew to manhood in Plantsville, and was pro- 
 vided with excellent educational advantages, attend- 
 ing Prof. Glendenning's Boarding School, Stam- 
 ford, and Lewis Academv, Southington. At the 
 breaking out of the Civil war, in 1861, he joined the 
 boys in blue as color bearer of Company I, 12th 
 Conn. V. I., for three years' service, and re-enlisted 
 at New Iberia, La., with his regiment, in 1863. For 
 two years he was detailed on detached duty, recruit- 
 ing and taking recruits to the front. After three 
 vears and eleven months of service, he was honorably 
 discharged at Hartford. Returning home, he 
 engaged in merchandisinp- in Plantsville for three 
 years, then spent several years in farming, and for 
 the past twenty years has represented the Hartford 
 Life Insurance Co. He is a wide-awake, enterpris- 
 ing business man, and has met with well-deserved 
 success in his undertakings. 
 
 On Jan. 15. 1868, Mr. Cowles was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Carolina \'. Moss, a daughter of 
 Aaron and Abigail (Hitchcock) ?^loss, of Milldalc, 
 and they have three children : Lillian Moss ; Ed- 
 ward Aaron ; and Emily Moss, who married Nelson 
 G. Landon, and has one daughter, Lucy Elizabeth. 
 Mr. Cowles' political support is given to the men 
 and measures of the Republican party, and he is a 
 member of Trumbull Post No. 16. G. A. R. ^Irs. 
 Cowles is a member of the Daughters of the Ameri- 
 
792 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 can Revolution, being eligible to membership in that 
 order through her great-grandfather, Amasa Hitch- 
 cock, who was a lieutenant in the Revolutionary war. 
 
 AUSTIN F. WILLIAMS (deceased) was at 
 one time a prominent business man of New York 
 -City, but much of his life was spent in Hartford 
 county. He was born in East Hartford, Feb. 26, 
 1805, a son of Ozias and Anna Williams, and his 
 education was obtained in the schools of that place. 
 
 At the age of eighteen years Mr. Williams came 
 to Farmington, where he clerked in a drug store for 
 a time, and later engaged in the lumber business, 
 with an office in Plainville, Conn. Subsequently he 
 was interested in the wholesale dry-goods business 
 in New York City, first as a member of the firm of 
 Williams & Abbey, later Williams & Camp, and 
 finally Williams, Bruce & Clark. During the Civil 
 war he was connected with the freedman's bureau, 
 and later with that deoartment in Washington, D. 
 C. ' His last years were spent in Farmington, where 
 he died in 1885, honored and respected by all who 
 knew him. In all places and under all circumstan- 
 ces he was loyal to truth, honor and right, justly 
 valuing his own self-respect as infinite!}' more pref- 
 erable than wealth, fame and position. In 1828 he 
 married Miss Jennette Cowles, a daughter of Timo- 
 thy and Catherine (Deming) Cowles, and' to them 
 were born four children. One son and one daugh- 
 ter died in infancy ; Anna M. Treadwell died in 
 1892, leaving no children; Mrs. Catherine Deming 
 Vorce is the only survivor. The wife and mother 
 died in 1871. 
 
 Allen Dunning Vorce, son-in-law of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Penn Yan, N. Y., and is of French 
 descent, his paternal great-grandfather having been 
 a native of France. He is now a dealer in antique 
 porcelains and curios in New York, but throughout 
 his business career he has been interested in several 
 different enterprises. By trade he is a jeweler. At 
 one time he was connected with the Treasury Depart- 
 ment at Washington, D. C, was in the banking busi- 
 ness in New York, and later engaged in the picture 
 business in Hartford, Connecticut. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Vorce have four children, of 
 whom ( I ) Amy Clare is the eldest. ( 2 ) Clarence 
 Browning, a civil engineer of Hartford, married Vir- 
 ginia Osborn, of New Haven, Conn., and they have 
 one child, Virginia. (3) Walter Herbert married 
 Mabel Newell, of Rochester, N. Y., and they have 
 one child, Catherine Newell ; he is now superintend- 
 ent of the signal department of the New York 
 Central railroad from Syracuse to Lewiston, N. Y. 
 (4) Jennette Cowles completes the family. 
 
 GEORGE HENRY GOODWIN (deceased), 
 late of Burnside, was a worthy representative of the 
 old and honored family whose name he bore. Fie 
 was born April 7, 1826, in Burnside, in the house 
 occupied by the late lamented Henry L. Goodwin, 
 and was a son of George and Maria (Kingsbury) 
 Goodwin. 
 
 The ancestry of the Goodwin family in America 
 can be traced to Ozias Goodwin, who arrived at 
 Boston Harbor, Mass., Scot. 16, 1632, from Eng- 
 land. The ancestry of Ozias Goodwin in England 
 has been traced directly to the Goodwins of East 
 Anglia, whose names appear among the records of 
 Norwich, England, as early as 1238. Rev. Augus- 
 tus Jessopp, a distinguished English antiquarian, 
 says of this Goodwin family: "To the Gothic 
 theme (guda) belongs the element 'Good,' and the 
 meaning of the name Goodwin will stand for 'good 
 friend' or 'God's friend.' They who can boast of 
 forefathers known a thousand years ago as emphat- 
 ically the trusty friends on whose words and in 
 whose fidelity men could rely without misgiving, 
 or, on the other hand, well-known as men whose 
 earnestness, reverence and devotion mark them 
 above others as the friends of the Most High, with 
 the fear of God and the love of God before their 
 eyes, need not look for progenitors whom the ca- 
 price of kings may have selected for titular distinc- 
 tion, or the fortunes of war may have tossed into 
 eminence and the sports of battle enriched. They 
 assuredly have noble blood in their veins." 
 
 With Ozias Goodwin and his wife Mary, or 
 about the same time, there came also to America, in 
 the ship "Lion," William Goodwin and his wife 
 Susannah. William Goodwin was a man of means, 
 but Ozias was less fortunate in worldly possessions, 
 and he came to Hartford county. Conn., with the 
 Braintree company, and became the founder of the 
 Goodwin family of Hartford, which has given to 
 the United States many distinguished citizens, 
 among whom were two United States district at- 
 torneys, Judge Doll Goodwin, of Detroit, and 
 Stephen Austin Goodwin, of Chicago, the former ap- 
 pointed to office by President Jackson, the latter by 
 President Lincoln. James Goodwin, the millionaire, 
 and James J. Goodwin, formerly a parter of Pier- 
 pont Morgan, belong to the same family. 
 
 George Goodwin, the grandfather of the de- 
 ceased, was born Jan. 7, 1757, in Hartford, and was 
 one of the publishers of the Hartford Courant, which 
 became one of the most famous newspapers of New 
 England. He was a "brainy" man, of noble bearing 
 and countenance, and a leading citizen. He mar- 
 ried Mary Edwards, who was a member of the 
 Jonathan Edwards family, and was an only daugh- 
 ter of Richard and Mary (Butler) Edwards, of 
 Hartford. To George and Mary (Edwards) Good- 
 win were born twelve children : Elizabeth, Richard 
 Edward, Oliver, George, Jason (died in infancy), 
 Jason (2), (who also died young), Charles, Henry, 
 Jeremiah, Jason ( 3), a daughter (name not known), 
 and Edward. 
 
 George Goodwin, mentioned above as a son of 
 George, the fourth in the family, was born in Hart- 
 ford April 23, 1786, graduated from Yale College 
 in 1806, and was afterward engag'ecl in the grocery 
 business in Hartford, under the firm name of Hud- 
 son & Goodwin until 1815, when the partnership was 
 dissolved and re-formed under the firm style of 
 
1 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 798 
 
 George Goodwin & Son, Mr. Gofxlwin still continu- 
 ing at tlic head of the firm and at the same time 
 managing the Couraiit. George tjoodwin some 
 vears later came to JUtrnside. where he was the pio- 
 neer paper manufacturer, and whore he passed the 
 remainder of his life, dying Feb. 8, 1878. His re- 
 mains were interred in the Old North cemetery at 
 Hartford. 
 
 To George Goodwin and Maria Kingsbury 
 I were born nine children, namely : ^laria K., wlio 
 '■■ was married to Henry Pitkin, a son of Cai> 
 tain John Pitkin, of East Hartford ; Elizabeth, 
 who died young; Andrew K., who died sin- 
 gle, after reaching maturity: Elizabeth (2), who 
 ■ also died single ; Ellen, who was married to Thomas 
 ' 'S. Williams, lived in Auburndale, and there died ; 
 ^fary E., who became the wife of William S. Wil- 
 liams, and died in Glastonlniry ; George H., the sub- 
 ject of this biography ; Susan Leavitt, who was mar- 
 ried to Henry L. Goodwin, and died within a year 
 after she was wedded ; and Harriet Talcott, now 
 living in Hartford. 
 
 George H. Goodwin was educated in the com- 
 mon schools of Burnside and the East Hartford 
 Academy, and then assisted in his father's paper- 
 mill until 1862, during- which period he erected the 
 dwelling now occupied by his widow. On Aug. 22, 
 1862, he enlisted in Company A, Twenty-fifth Con- 
 necticut Volunteer Infantry. In 1863 he was pro- 
 moted to first sergeant, and was wounded at Irish 
 Bend, La., April 14, of the same year. He remained 
 •with his regiment until it was mustered out, Aug. 
 26, 1863, and then re-enlisted, was commissioned 
 first lieutenant, and appointed refimental quarter- 
 master of the Twenty-ninth Colored Infantry. While 
 liolding this position he was wounded in the knee- 
 pan, which wound rendered him permanently lame, 
 but the pain of which he uncomplainingly bore the 
 remainder of his life. He was honorably dis- 
 charged from the service, and was mustered out Oct. 
 24, 1865. after which he was employed, on his re- 
 turn to Hartford, by the ^^£tna Life Insurance Co. 
 until 1872, and then bv the Travelers Insurance Co. 
 until his death, which occurred, after a short illness 
 from pneumonia, Dec. 17, 1893. 
 
 Mr. Goodwin first married, June 3, 1868, Mary 
 Merrow Pitkin, who died Aug. 14, i87> without 
 issue. On Oct. 18, 1876, he married ]\[iss Mary 
 D. Skinner, daughter of Dwight T. and Sarah ( Sey- 
 mour) Skinner. This marriage was blessed with 
 three children: George, born Aug. 25, 1878; Mary 
 Edwards, born Jan. 24, 1883 ; and William H., born 
 Dec. 29, 1885. 
 
 In politics Mr. Goodwin was a Republican. In 
 his societv affiliations he was a member of Orient 
 Lodge No. 62. F. & A. :\I. : D. C. Rodman Post, G. 
 A. R., of East Hartford: and of the Law & Order 
 League. He was a deacon in the First Congrega- 
 tional Church of East Hartford, was one of its most 
 influential members, and a liberal contributor to its 
 support. 
 
 From the "East Hartford Congregational Church 
 
 History" of 1893 the following extract is made: 
 "Of Deacon Goodwin, whose activity made him 
 carry his years so lightly, it needs a more eloquent 
 voice than mine to si)eak. He has wielded for so 
 long a time such an influence for good, and his true 
 and u])right life, and earnest, self-sacrificing labors 
 of love for liis beloved church, none of us can ever 
 ap[)rcciate. In every department he was ready to 
 lend a helping hand with untiring devotion, and to 
 spend his strength for its welfare. His was a na- 
 ture of rare sturdiness and \-et gentleness ; always 
 courteous, always devout, and fearless and unflinch- 
 ing for the right. His counsels will be missed not 
 less than his activity. It is a cause for thanksgiv- 
 ing that we have had the privilege of his life among 
 us for so many years." 
 
 ABEL PECKHAM, Jr. (deceased), was born in 
 Stonington, Xew London Co., Conn., Sept. 12, 
 1835, and descended from one of the oldest of Xew 
 England's Colonial families, which, as the name indi- 
 cates, was of English origin. 
 
 Peleg Peckham, grandfather of Abel, our sub- 
 ject, was a native of Rhode sland, and farmed all his 
 ufe in Hopkinton, Washington Co., that State. His 
 son Abel, father of Abel, our subject, was born 
 July I, 1806, and grew to manhood at Hopkinton, 
 and early learned the trade of shipwright, at which 
 he worked at Point Judith. R. I., until he turnea 
 his attention to farmmg. He married, at Charles- 
 town, R. I., Feb. 13, 1830, Rebecca Healy, who was 
 born April 2^, 1809, the result of the union being 
 two children ; William Franklin, born in Charles- 
 town, Dec. 15, 1831 ; and Abel, our subject. The 
 parents had, early in the thirties, come to Connecti- 
 cut, where the father engaged in farming near 
 South Stonington until 1840, when he removed his 
 family to Hampden county, Mass., and purchased 
 a farm in Blandford, which farm he cultivated until 
 1849, when he moved to Otis, Berkshire county. 
 There he remained until 1865, when he returned to 
 North Blandford, and in 1870 came to Suffield. 
 Conn., bought a small farm, and here died Aug. 12, 
 1878. At each of these removes Mr. Peckham sold 
 one farm and bought another, but was too shrewd 
 a man to lose money in any of his trades. In poli- 
 tics he was a Democrat, and in Otis served as town 
 assessor and selectman. He was a member of tiie 
 Methodist Episcopal Churcn. was temperate, hard- 
 working and truthful, and was respected by all who 
 knew him. His widow, also a consistent Methodist, 
 died at the home of her son, William ¥.. in Suffield, 
 Dec. 20, 1890. 
 
 Abel Peckham, Jr., the subject of this sketch, 
 attended the district schools of Blandford and Otis, 
 and, lieing fond of study, later went to the acade:ny 
 at \\'ilbraham, Mass. L'pon his return he ac- 
 cepted positions- as ■ school teacher in the district 
 schools of Otis Center and West Otis, and this voca- 
 tion he followed several terms ^ he then served as 
 school visitor and committee for the e.xamination 
 of teachers. He engaged in farming at Blandford 
 
 h 
 
794 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 for seven years, then removed to Florence, Hamp- 
 shire Co., Mass., and for one year followed merchan- 
 dising and butchering. In 1873 he came to Suifield, 
 bought a farm of fifty-six acres from Silas Clark — 
 the Abijah Remington farm — and engaged in culti- 
 vating the usual products of the neighborhood. A 
 few years prior to his death he was attacked with 
 pneumonia, which degenerated into consumption, 
 and this ended in his death, May 28, 1878. His 
 remains were interred in the Suffield cemetery, and 
 he left relatives and friends who sincerely deplored 
 his departure from their midst. He was a sincere 
 and devout member of the Congregational Church, 
 and died in the conviction of a blessed immortality. 
 In politics he was a Democrat, but never was an 
 office seeker. 
 
 Mr. Peckham was married, at North Blandford, 
 Mass., Nov. 12, 1859, to Miss Julia A. Gibbs, born 
 Aug. 15, 1841, daughter of Bradner S. Gibbs, and a 
 native of Blandford, and to this union three chil- 
 dren were born : Edwin L. and William Horace, 
 born in Otis, Mass.; and Carrie R., in Blandford, 
 Mass. Edwin L. died in Florence, Mass., at the age 
 of eleven years. Willi.\m Hor.\ce was educated 
 in the district school and the Connecticut Literary 
 Institute, at Suffield, under Prof. Shores, and since 
 his father's death has farmed the homestead, to 
 which he has added twenty-three acres through his 
 skill and industry, and now owns seventy-nine acres. 
 He has been successful as a tobacco grower, dairy- 
 man and farmer, has made many improvements on 
 the old farm, and has made it one of the best of its 
 size in the county. In politics he is a Democrat, 
 and a sound one. He is a member of the Congre- 
 gational Church. The brother, sister and mother 
 all make their home together on the homestead 
 farm. 
 
 Elijah Gibbs, grandfather of Mrs. Julia A. Peck- 
 ham, lived and died in Blandford, Mass., a farmer. 
 To this marriage, with Fanny Morton, were born 
 ten children: Eli, who settled in Pennsylvania; 
 Levi and Lucias, of Monterey, Mass. ; Henry, a mer- 
 chant of the Keystone State; Dwight and Israel, 
 farmers of Blandford, Mass. ; Bradner S., father of 
 Mrs. Peckham ; Betsey Ann, who was married to 
 Curtis Deming, of New Boston, Mass. ; Mrs. Orville 
 Gibbons ; and Fannie, who was married to Smith 
 Marcy, and became the mother of Dr. Marcy, of 
 Cambridge, Massachusetts. 
 
 Bradner Stuart Gibbs, father of Mrs. Peckham, 
 passed his life on the homestead, and died Aug. 19, 
 1888. His widow died Dec. 10, 1890. He was a 
 Democrat in politics, and a man of established hon- 
 esty. To his marriage, with Sarah Demming, at 
 Sandisfield, Mass., were born seven children : John 
 H. ; Julia Ann, Mrs. Peckham ; Jane ; Emogene, wife 
 of Charles Loomis, of Leeds, Mass. ; Elijah, of West- 
 field ; Marietta, wife of Russell Gibbs, of Bland- 
 ford ; and Albert, who is a farmer in the last-named 
 town. The Gibbs family were among the first set- 
 tiers of Blandford, and the first male child born in 
 Blandford was a member thereof. 
 
 LEVI CLINTON VIETS. In time to come 
 this volume will acquire added value as a repos- 
 itory of records whose historical significance will 
 then be fully appreciated, and the efforts made by 
 this generation to preserve such data as is still ob- 
 tainable concerning their ancestry will be grate- 
 fully acknowledged by posterity. 
 
 The Viets family, of which this honored citizen 
 of East Granby is one of the oldest living repre- 
 sentatives, has already compiled and printed in 
 pamphlet form an account of earlier generations, 
 Francis H. Viets, A. B., taking charge of the work, 
 assisted effectively by our subject. From this in- 
 teresting compilation we learn that the family is 
 descended from Dr. John Viets, or Viett, a native 
 of Germany, and a man of fine ability and unusual 
 education for that day. He was born probably 
 about 1665, and it is believed that his marriage 
 occurred in New York. In 1710 his name appears 
 on the town records of Simsbury, Hartford county, 
 as a newly admitted citizen; on Jan. 5, 171 1, he re- 
 ceived a deed of about twelve acres of land from the 
 heirs of John Griffin. It appears from these and 
 other writings that he signed the name Viett (the 
 various spellings of the name among different 
 families in Germany affording a wide individual 
 choice), but after his death his sons signed it 
 Vietts, which would indicate that it had previously 
 been pronounced thus, and that the original form 
 may have been Vietz. The present simple mode 
 was adopted about 1751, and may now be consid- 
 ered as fully authorized. Dr. Viets resided on the 
 west side of the mountain, in Simsbury, in what is 
 now the Falls school district of East Granby. Here 
 he cultivated his farm and practiced medicine, but 
 on account of the condition of the country at that 
 time, and the poverty naturally attending the new 
 settlement, he was not as successful as he had an- 
 ticipated in his profession, and thought of returning 
 to his native country. In 1713 he mortgaged his 
 farm for the sum of £10. At this time there was 
 a linseed-oil mill on the estate, which he probably 
 erected not long before. In 1723, a short time be- 
 fore his death, he received a grant of eighty-two 
 acres of land from the town of Simsbury. Dr. 
 Viets died of a fever when about fifty-eight years 
 of age, and three surviving records concur in giv- 
 ing the date of his death as Nov. 18, 1723. The 
 name of his wife was Catharine, according to tv/o 
 surviving records. Of her maiden surname we 
 have no record, but there is a tradition that it was 
 Meyers. Her gravestone in Simsbury bears the 
 following inscription : "Catherine Vets, ye wife 
 of Dct. John Vets, died March 5, 1734, Je. 68." 
 The inscription differs in date from the town 
 record of Simsbury, and the family record kept by 
 her son, Henry Viets, which states that — Cathar- 
 ine, wife of Dr. John Viets, had four children in 
 the following orcler : Catharine married a Mr. 
 Hoskins, of Windsor; Henry, born 1709, died April 
 2, 1779; John, born Nov. 3, 1712, married Lois 
 Phelps, died April 8, 1777; ^"d Mary (or Mercy) 
 married a Mr. Gough or Goft". At the death of 
 
J^AJ-L /^ ^^u-t2f 
 
I 
 
 i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 795 
 
 their father Henry and John were thrown at an 
 early age upon their own efforts. By their inchis- 
 try and abihtv they acquired considerable estate. 
 
 (II Henry Viets was for a time employed in 
 the copper mines in Simsbury, but soon turned his 
 attention to farming, and became the owner of an 
 extensive estate in the northern part of Simslniry. 
 His homestead is now the property and place of 
 residence of his descendant, James H. \'iets.. Henry 
 Viets died April 2, 1779. His first wife, Margaret, 
 died Sept. 28, 1750. He married, for his second 
 wife, Magaret Austin, of Windsor, who was born 
 in 1712, and died Oct. 14, 1783. His children by 
 his first wife were: Henry, born Jan. 24, 1737, died 
 Feb. 5, 1824; Alargaret, born May 9, 1739, died 
 Sept. 22, 1782: Luke, born June 17., 1743, died Oct. 
 21. 1757, accidentally shot at Becket, Mass., while 
 hunting: David, born Feb. 18, 1745, died Nov. 3, 
 1815; Jonathan, born Sept. 26, 1750, died Feb. 17, 
 1837. By his second wife he had one son, James, 
 born Aug. 28, I7S2, died Dec. 23, 1827. 
 
 Capt. John Viets, brother of Henry, was also 
 for a time employed in the copper mines, and after- 
 ward became a farmer and an extensive trader. 
 His estate lay on the western slope of the Green- 
 stone ^vlountain, and his homestead is now in the 
 possession of his descendant, Virgil E. Viets. 
 When, at the breaking out of the Revolution, New- 
 gate prison was established, John Viets was ap- 
 pointed keeper. He married, Dec. 12, 1734, Lois 
 Phelps, daughter of Nathaniel Phelps. She was 
 born March 10, 1718, and died Nov. 12, 1810, while 
 his death occurred April 8, 1777. They had ten 
 children: John, born March 2, 1736, died Sept. 27, 
 
 1765, married Elizabeth Phelps; Roger, born 
 March 9, 1737, A. B. Yale College, 1758, died Aug. 
 15, 181 1 ; Seth, born May 26, 1740, died 1823, mar- 
 ried Ruth Smith; Eunice, born Nov. 24, J742, 
 married Elisha Griswold (her son, Alexander Mets 
 Griswold, was born in Simsbury, Conn., April 22, 
 
 1766, died in Boston, Mass., Feb. 15, 1843 ; bishop of 
 the Eastern diocese of the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church in the Lnited States, from 181 1 to 1843; 
 became presiding bishop in 1836. A "Life of Bishop 
 Griswold"' was written by the Rev. J. S. Stone, 
 D. D.) ; Lois, born Jan. 29, 1744, married Jona- 
 than Buttles ; Abner is mentioned below ; Cathar- 
 ine, born Aug. 7, 1749, died April 14, 1756; Dan 
 was born July 2, 1751 ; Rosannah, born May 13, 
 1755, married Eleazer Rice; Luke, born June 6, 
 1759, died Feb. 25, 1835. 
 
 (Ill) Capt. Abner X'iets, our subject's grand- 
 father, was born in Simsbury Feb. 15, 1747, and 
 died in Granby, July 27, 1826. His farm, now in 
 the town of East Granby, is owned by our subject. 
 His wife, Mary Viets, born June 27, 1751, died 
 Sept. 4, 1825. Their children were: Abner, born 
 
 June 29, 1772, married Sarah , died Nov. 
 
 18, 1825: Mary, born May 18, 1774, married Henry 
 Viets, died April 7, 1805 ; Benoni, born Feb. 13, 
 1777, married Esther Dewey, died Feb. 11, 1852; 
 Sanuiel, born Jan. 17, 1779, married Susan Pratt, 
 died March 6, 1814; Eunice, born Dec. 27, 1780, 
 
 married Enoch Kellog, died (date not given) ; 
 Dan, born Oct. 17, 178^ married Beulah Phelps, 
 (lied Dec. 20, 1866; Annis, born March 11, 1785, 
 married a Mr. Rudd ; Levi is mentioned below ; 
 Elizabeth, born April 30, 1790, married Russell 
 Loomis; Apollos, born July 25, 1794. died aged 
 about twenty-one. Capt. Abner \'icts was a suc- 
 cessful man financially, and in addition to general 
 farming he was extensively interested in stock rais- 
 ing. Politically he was a Federalist and was active 
 in public affairs, serving some time as captain In 
 the State militia. His mental gifts were superior, 
 and he became especially well-informed on legal 
 principles, his skill in unraveling problems of that 
 nature causing him to be frequently employed as a 
 lawyer. 
 
 '(IV) Levi \'iets, the father of our subject. 
 was born in Simsbury June 15. 1786. and received 
 a good common-school education. He was one of 
 the most successful farmers in East Granby, and 
 resided throughout his life on the ho:ne farm, with 
 the exception of five years which he spent with his 
 uncle Luke. He owned and operated over 300 
 acres of land, and was one of the pioneer tobacco 
 raisers in that section. As a citizen he was well- 
 known in the community and much respected, and 
 although he never took- an active part in public 
 matters he was a stanch supporter of the okl_ V> big 
 party. He was a member of the Episcopal Church, 
 while his estimable wife was for many years act- 
 ivelv identified with the North Granby Congrega- 
 tional Church. He died Dec. 22, 1857, while his 
 son, Levi C, was in the West, and his remains now 
 rest in the East Granby cemetery. He married 
 Sarah Dibble, who was born April 10, 1792, daugh- 
 ter of Deacon Benjamin Dibble, and died Sept. 15, 
 1852. Thev had two children: Levi Clinton, our 
 subject, and Richard Benjamin, who was born 
 April 23, 1830, and died July 24, 1863, after a long 
 sickness. 
 
 (\') Levi Chnton Viets was born Jan. 17, 1827, 
 in East Granby (then Granby), and during boy- 
 hood attended the district schools of the neighbor- 
 hood, with three terms in select schools in Granby 
 and four in the Connecticut Literary Institute, in 
 Suffield. His instruction in the English branches 
 was thorough and accurate. Profs. Burnett and 
 Gallop being among the teachers whose assistance 
 he recalls with most hearty appreciation, and even 
 in his youth he was considered one of the best 
 mathematicians in this section. In April. 185 1, at 
 their father's request, Levi C. and his brother, Rich- 
 ard B., took charge of his (father's) farm and oper- 
 ated it for five years. In April, 1856, our subject 
 went west and traveled much in Iowa, Minnesota 
 and Nebraska, by steamboat and mail coach. At 
 Dakota City, Neb., he resided four years and en- 
 gaged in farming and in the real estate business. 
 On Dec. 25, i860, he returned to Granby, having 
 been gone about five years, and found his brother 
 in such poor health that he went to work with 
 him on the old farm. For the first twelve years after 
 his brother's death our subject expended most of 
 
.796 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 \ 
 
 his earnings in improvements and new buildings 
 on his farm, but for the last twenty-four years he 
 has put his money into Stock investments, which 
 have paid better than the farm, and by judicious in- 
 vestments and careful management of his inher- 
 itance he has accumulated a substantial competence, 
 but he is not now much engaged in farming. Dur- 
 ing all of his life, besides operating the farm, he 
 has done considerable business in wood and lum- 
 ber. 
 
 Mr. Viets' library is one of the best in East 
 Granby, and he is well-informed upon the topics 
 of the time. His religious views are extremely 
 broad and liberal, but he attends the Episcopal 
 Church and contributes to its support. Political 
 life has no charms for him, and on one occasion, 
 when elected selectman of East Granbv, he de- 
 clined to serve. In early life he was a Whig and 
 later he became a Repujjlican, but the Free-Trade 
 issue led him into the Democratic party, with 
 which he has since affiliated. His unassuming 
 manners and genuine kindliness have made him 
 many friends, and socially he is connected with the 
 Grange at East Granby, and with St. Mark's Lodge 
 No. 91, F. & A. M., of Granby, of which lodge 
 he was one of the charter members. 
 
 HON. ALPHEUS D. CLARK (deceased). 
 One of the noted regiments of the Army of the Po- 
 tomac was the 14th Conn. V. L, known as the 
 "Fighting Fourteenth," and the subject of this 
 sketch, for many years a well-known resident of 
 East Glastonbury, was distinguished for his sol- 
 dierly qualities even in such company. He was one 
 of the few privates who rose to the rank of captain, 
 and his promotion was made solely upon merit, after 
 examination before the United States Military 
 Board at Washington. Capt. Clark's career as a 
 business man and public-spirited citizen also shows 
 his natural ability as a leader, and in 1898-99 he 
 served as representative from his town in the State 
 Legislature. 
 
 Our subject belonged to an old Connecticut fam- 
 ily, and his grandfather, Pelatiah Clark, was for 
 many years engaged in farming in Haddam, Mid- 
 dlesex county; he spent his last days at Middle- 
 town, in the home of his son Alfred. Alfred Clark 
 was born in Haddam, the youngest of a large family 
 •of children, and received a district school education. 
 He followed farming as an occupation, with the ex- 
 ception of two years spent in working in a brass 
 foundry. His wife, Christina S. Clark, was a 
 daughter of Ebenezer and Mary Clark, and they had 
 nine children, as follows : Mary married Levi 
 Clark ; Alpheus D. is mentioned more fully below ; 
 Jeannette married Alfred L. Morgan, of Middle- 
 town; Smith married Loretta Spencer, and settled 
 . in Durham, Conn., where he was a well-known 
 farmer and school teacher; John B. married Sa- 
 mantha Nettleton, and settled on a farm in Dur- 
 ham ; Emil P. married George W. Tuttle, a me- 
 chanic of Meriden ; Whitney P. married Mary 
 
 Camp, and resides on a farm in Durham; and Ru- 
 etta and Frances both died in infancy. 
 
 Alpheus D. Clark was born in Middletown Feb. 
 7, 1836, and attended a district school, also a select 
 school taught by Daniel H. Chase. His parents 
 died when he was sixteen years old, and he was 
 obliged to make his owii way in life, his first em- 
 ployment being as a farm hand. This he followed 
 for three months, receiving sixteen dollars a monthj 
 which was considered good wages at that time ; but 
 he was a good worker and had an excellent knowl- 
 edge of farming for one of his years. He then 
 found work in the shops of the Russell Manufacture 
 ing Co., of Middletown, remaining until winter, 
 when he taught a district school. For some time 
 he taught in winters and farmed in summers, and 
 about i860 he went to work in the Maromas quar- 
 ries, where he was employed until his enlistment, 
 from Middletown, in Company B, 14th Conn. V. L, 
 under Capt. E. W. Gibbons and Col. Dwight Morris. 
 He entered for three years, and was with the Army 
 of the Potomac two years, taking part in many fierce 
 engagements. In 1864 he passed a most creditable 
 examination before the military board, and was ap- 
 pointed captain of Company D, 122nd U. S. Colored 
 Infantry, with which he remained until being mus- 
 tered out at Corpus Christi, Texas, Jan. 17, 1866. 
 
 On returning home Capt. Clark located at East 
 Glastonbury, engaging in the stone business with 
 his father-in-law, Mr. Hentze, under the name of 
 Hentze & Clark. They continued together for 
 twenty years, and in 1882 our subject also began 
 the manufacture of paper, under the name of the 
 Roaring Brook Paper Mfg. Co. In 1895 he re- 
 tired from business, and spent the remainder of his 
 days in ease at his attractive farm in Glastonbury. 
 On March 18, 1858, he was married to Miss Mary 
 Hentze, a native of Middletown, and they had two 
 children: (i) Elisha P., who married Isabelle n.. 
 Weir, and resided on the farm with our subject; he 
 has one child, Chester H. (2) Flora M., wife of 
 Lewis Krebs,. died April 18, 1899; she left no chil- 
 dren. The mother of these children died Dec. 29, 
 1897, and the Captain was again married, this time 
 on April 24, 1899, to Miss Ellen A. House, of Glas- 
 tonbury. In politics („apt. Clark was a Republican, 
 and he served as tax collector, school visitor and 
 justice of the peace for many years. During his 
 term in the Legislature he served on the committee 
 on Judicial Nomination. In early life he was a 
 member of the Congregational Church, and later he 
 united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, in 
 which he was a prominent worker, as have also been 
 his family. He was a member of Drake Post No. 4, 
 G. A. R., of South Manchester, and his United 
 States commission from Adjt.-Gen. Thomas gave 
 him the highest rank of any G. A. R. man in the 
 town. Flis death, on May 9, 1900, was widely and 
 sincerely mourned. 
 
 George S. and Weltha J. (Warner) House, Mrs. 
 Clark's parents, were natives of East Glastonbury 
 and Marlboro, respectively. He was a farmer by 
 
VM^^, 
 
 SJiicact7. /-■/ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 797 
 
 )Ccupation. Their family consisted of four cliil- 
 iren: Jlerl)ert, of luist ilartford; Ellen A. (Mrs. 
 "lark): and \\ illnir W . and Lillie, both deceased. 
 The father passed away in January, 1892, the mother 
 n June, 1893. Both were members of the Meth- 
 iilist Episcopal Church. 
 
 HOX. SA:ML'EL T. WELDEN, the present 
 epresentative from the town of Simsbury in the 
 State Legislature, is a man who may truly be said 
 .0 be the archit;ect of his own fortune, and in making 
 iiis way to success has shown rare ability and energy, 
 beginning his career as a boy in a factory, he has 
 succeeded in gaining a firm stand in business cir- 
 cles, and enjins a large trade in builders' hardware, 
 stoves, agricultural implements and similar com- 
 modities, and also conducts the most extensive 
 tjreenhouses in his locality. The following account 
 uf ills life and character will be read with interest, 
 and cannot but convey a helpful lesson. 
 
 Mr. ^^'elden was born April 5, 1858, in New 
 York City, son of Samuel W'elden, and in the pater- 
 nal line he is a descendant of an English family. 
 Thomas W'elden, his grandfather, a native of Eng- 
 land, was one of the founders of Stonefield, Canada, 
 and he and his wife reared a large family of chil- 
 dren, eight sons and one daughter: John, William, 
 Richard, Samuel, Reuben, James. Thomas, Freder- 
 ick and Ann : all married but Frederick, and had 
 children. Only three of the brothers are now living. 
 Reuben, James and Frederick, in Canada. They 
 are engaged in the lumber business, which they 
 have followed throughout life, staying in the woods 
 all winter getting out timber, which is sent to Mon- 
 treal in large rafts in the spring. John, William, 
 Richard and Samuel left Canada when quite young, 
 settling in Xew York Cit}-, and all engaged in dock 
 building, which was quite a business at that time. 
 William died in Brooklyn, X. Y.. about a year ago. 
 Of the children of John, Frederick resides in Long 
 Island City, X. Y. : George is in the West, and 
 Ellen died in Canada three years ago. 
 
 Samuel Welden, our subject's father, was born 
 in 1S30 in the town of Cheltenham, England, and 
 in his youth accom]ianied his father to Canada. 
 \\hen a young man he left home without anv defi- 
 nite plans, but finallv located in X'^ew York and 
 served an apprenticeship to the dock builder's trade, 
 which he followed manv years. He was married 
 there, on April 10, 1855. to Miss X''ancy ^IcGirr, 
 and in 1867 he became a naturalized citizen of the 
 United States. His death occurred Feb. 26. 1872. 
 after a long illness, and as his savings liad been 
 exhausted his widow found it a difficult task to care 
 for their three children and her niece, .\nna McGirr. 
 daughter of Robert McGirr. Our subject, the 
 eldest of her children, w-as then fourteen years old, 
 and was able to render effective aid to his mother, 
 who decided to remove to Simsburv. where her 
 sister, Mrs. ATartha McX'ulty. resided, and better 
 opportunities for emj^loynient could be found. Soon 
 after her arrival she took a position in a fuse fac- 
 
 tory, where our subject was also employed, and 
 later she Ijecame a nurse in the family of Joseph 
 Toy. After the death of Mrs. Toy she returned to 
 the factory, and thus, by her strenuous efforts, her 
 little family was kept together, and the younger 
 children educated and trained to useful trades. \\ ill- 
 iam Reuben, the second son, attended the Hartford 
 J'ublic High School two years, and served an ajipren- 
 ticeship of four years as a machinist with I'ratt & 
 Whitney, of Hartford. He is now an exjjert 
 machinist, and resides in New York City. George 
 Frederick, the youngest son, took a course in Mc- 
 L.ean's Seminary, Simsbury, and after learning the 
 machinist's trade with I'ralt & Whitney entered the 
 employ of the Ensign Hick ford Co., of Simsbury. 
 
 Mrs. Nancy (McCJirrJ W'elden, of whose cour- 
 age and ability her sons are justlv proud, was born 
 in Londonderry, Ireland, and died April 8, 1885. 
 She passed away without warning, being engaged 
 at the time in assisting some other ladies in reno- 
 vating the interior of the Methodist parsonage at 
 Simsbury. Her constitution was rcmarls-ably strong, 
 as was shown by her years of hard toil, and in her 
 stern integrity and sound common sense she gave 
 evidence of her descent from good Scotch-Irish 
 ancestry. For many years she was a consistent 
 member of the Congregational Church, and both by 
 precept and example she trained her boys to honesty 
 and uprightness. Her ancestors for several genera- 
 tions were residents of County Donegal, Ireland, 
 and her grandfather, John McGirr. died there, leav- 
 ing a large family. Her grandmother, whose 
 maiden name was Rebecca Robison, afterward 
 crossed the Atlantic w-ith a son, Robert, who located 
 first in Canada and later in Xew York City, where 
 she died at the age of ninety, her remains being 
 interred in Greenwood cemetery. 
 
 William McGirr, father of Mrs. Xanc\- Welden. 
 was born about 1800 in County Donegal, and was 
 married there to X'ancy Nesbit, a native of the same 
 locality. By occupation he was a weaver, and in 
 1839 came to the United States for his health, which 
 was greatly benefited by the change. Having 
 decided to remain, he sent for his familv, and on 
 July 4. 1841, they arrived in Xew York City, where 
 he has been staying with his brother Robert. For 
 many years he was engaged in biisiness as a stone 
 mason, and in laving flagging, and his death oc- 
 curred in New York in April. 1852. He was an 
 honest, hard-working man, and an excellent citizen, 
 and he and his estimable wife, who survived him 
 two vears, were members of the Presbyterian Church 
 at the corner of Grand and Mercy streets, Xew 
 York. Of their nine children. Ellen married John 
 Johnston, and resides in Wisconsin, where they were 
 pioneers : Rebecca died in New York at the age of 
 twentv-two vears, unmarried: ^kfartha, widow of 
 Alexander INfcXulty, resides at .Simsburv. Conn.: 
 Sarah married Georcre Corran. and died in Wiscon- 
 sin : Xancv, our subject's mother, was fifth in the 
 order of birth: Catherine died in Ireland in child- 
 hood : Robert died in Wisconsin : William, who 
 
798 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 served in the Civil war with the ranlc of orderly ser- 
 geant, was a contractor for years, and is now a 
 farmer at Upper Macopin, N. J. ; George, the only 
 one of the children born in America, served in the 
 Union army during the Rebellion, and now lives 
 in the West. 
 
 Our subject attended the public schools of New 
 York City until he was fourteen, but from that time 
 he was compelled to carry on his studies alone, while 
 helping to support the family. He is a close, keen 
 observer, and his reading has given him a wide 
 range of information, his conversation making a 
 stranger suppose him to be a college graduate. His 
 manner in speaking is deliberate and effective, and 
 had he been prepared for a profession in his youth 
 he would doubtless have met with marked success. 
 His unvarying courtesy has been a strong factor in 
 his advance to his present enviable position in life, 
 and he has hosts of friends, won by his sterling 
 qualities of character. After coming to Simsbury 
 he worked for iifteen years for the firm known as the 
 Ensign Bickford Co., beginning in a humble capac- 
 ity, and rising to a position of responsibility. He 
 then engaged in business on his own account, pur- 
 chasing his present hardware store and greenhouse 
 from the estate of C. A. McLean. As both enter- 
 prises were then carried on in a small way, he de- 
 voted his attention to building them up, and through 
 his able management they have developed to an 
 extent seldom seen in towns of the size of Sims- 
 hurj. As a florist he has made a decided success 
 with his house plants and cut flower specialties, his 
 trade extending over a large territory. Politically 
 he is a Republican, but for the first few years after 
 attaining his majority he supported the Prohibi- 
 tion party. In the fall of 1898 he was elected to 
 the Legislature, where he served with credit. So- 
 cially he and his wife are prominent, and they are 
 identified with Epworth League circles and the work 
 of the Methodist Church in Simsbury, in which Mr. 
 Welden is steward and trustee. He is also active 
 in the Masonic Fraternity, being a member of St. 
 Mark's Lodge, No. 36, F. & A. M., at Simsbury, 
 and the Chapter, R. A. M., at Collinsville. H.'is 
 wife, formerly Miss Harriet A. Case, is a daughter 
 of Ralph and Mary Annie Case, and was born at 
 Livonia, N. Y., where her family is well known. 
 The only child of this union, Alice M., died in 
 infancy. 
 
 HON. D. W. MACK. It is a noteworthy fact 
 that the scions of the old pioneer families are taking 
 the lead in the manifold activities of modern life, the 
 hardy stock being in no way deteriorated by the 
 added culture and refinement of later generations. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, who is one of the 
 most prominent citizens of Windsor, can trace his 
 descent in different lines from several of the oldest 
 families in America, and by his ability and personal 
 worth he does credit to his ancestry. Among the 
 historic personages with whom he can claim blood 
 relationship are Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonde- 
 
 roga, and Peregrine White, the first white child 
 born in America, while several of his ancestors i 
 served as soldiers in the Revolutionary army. In! 
 the direct paternal line he is descended from Andrew i 
 Mack, a Hessian soldier, who was captured at Ticon-' 
 deroga, and imprisoned for a time in the old New-i 
 gate prison, in this county; when released he joined' 
 the Continental army and fought gallantly on the 
 side of freedom imtil the independence of the Colo- 
 nies was acknowledged. He then settled upon a farm 
 in the town of Windsor, where he died July 7, 1839,] 
 aged eig'hty-nine ; his wife, Sally Pease, of Enfield,'' 
 this county, died Jan. 23, 1833, at the age of eighty, j 
 They had four sons who lived to adult age : WiU-i 
 iam, our subject's grandfather; Andrew, known asl 
 Col. Andrew ; James, who served in the war of \ 
 1812, and died while on the way home from New 
 Orleans ; and Henry, of whom no definite account 
 has been preserved. 
 
 Col. Andrew Mack was born March 9, 1780, at i 
 the old home in Windsor, and, after receiving a i 
 somewhat limited education, went to sea, where he i 
 passed through all grades up to that of master of a 
 ship. He circumnavigated the globe three times, ' 
 but in 1808 he gave up his sea-faring life, bringing 
 with him on his last trip a flock of Merino sheep, ■ 
 one of the first brought to this country, from Spain. 1 
 He .disembarked at New Haven, but took his flock | 
 to a farm near Cincinnati, where for many years he < 
 was engaged in sheep breeding. Pie was one of ; 
 the owners of the first woolen-mill in Ohio, being 
 associated with William H. Harrison (afterward 
 President of the United States), Lewis Corneal. '. 
 Nicholas Longworth and other prominent men of 
 that day, but through indorsing a note of a New i 
 Orleans merchant he lost all his means and was •■ 
 obliged to begin life anew. He opened the "Man- 
 sion House" in Cincinnati, which became a favorite 
 headquarters for army officers. Gen. Andrew Jack- 1 
 son being a frequent guest. During the war of 
 1812 Andrew Mack organized a body known as 
 "minute men of Cincinnati," which was part of the 
 First Ohio Regiment of Militia, and of which he 
 was made colonel. After the close of the war he 
 served as representative and State senator of > 
 Ohio, and was also' levee commissioner. After 
 Jackson's election, in 1828, one of his first,, 
 thoughts was of what he could do for his friend 
 Mack. He came to JNIack's hotel in Cincinnati, and 
 said : "Andrew, would you take an office ? I can 
 .give you a good one in Michi,gan." Mr. Mack said 
 "it would be acceptable." "Well," said Old Hick- 
 ory, "3'ou can be governor of the Territory of Michi- 
 gan or customs collector of the port of Detroit." 
 After some consideration the Colonel decided that 
 both his modegty and means inclined him towards 
 the collectorship, to which he was appointed, to suc- 
 ceed Louman Beecher. He held the office ten years, 
 and as in those days it vielded less than $1,000 per 
 annum to its incumbent, he decided to supplement 
 his income, taking charge of the "Mansion House'" 
 at Detroit, of which he was landlord for three vears. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 r'JO 
 
 ,n 183 1 he, in cc'impany witli ten otliers, all leading 
 Democrats, organized a company, and on May 5, 
 1831, they issued the first copy of the Dciiiocralic 
 I'rcc Press, Detroit. For some years the Gazette 
 lad been the only Democratic sheet in the Terri- 
 .ory, but it was burned out in 1830, and the Journal, 
 ilthough professedly independent, but with Whig 
 .eaning, had been ]5ouring hot shot into the admin- 
 istration, so tlic Free Press organized to oifset its 
 opposition. In 1832 cholera broke out in Detroit, 
 being brought, by soldiers from the steamer "Jrlenry 
 Clay," en route to take part in the J!lack Hawk war, 
 but Col. Alack took in every soldier that applied at 
 his hotel, althoiigh it cost him the loss of many of 
 his regular guests. At one time he was mayor of 
 Detroit, and in 1839 he was elected to the Legisla- 
 ture of Michigan. He was a man of striking per- 
 sonality, resembling pictures of, "Red Jacket," the 
 Indian chief, and was over six feet tall, with broad 
 shoulders and lirm muscles. He died July 12, 1854, 
 and of his children only one son survived him, 
 Charles A. JNIack. He also had an adopted daugh- 
 ter, Cornelia, who married Jacob Strader, a well- 
 known and wealthy steamboat owner of Cincinnaa, 
 Ohio. Charles A. Alack was for many years an offi- 
 cer in the United States Revenue service, and died 
 in Detroit in 1864. 
 
 William Alack, our subject's grandfather, was 
 born Alay 31, 1783, in Windsor, and also served in 
 the war of 1812. By occupation he was a farmer, 
 his home being in the town of Windsor, where he 
 died June 15, 18O2, at the as'e of seventy-nine years. 
 He was a Democrat in politics, and for many years 
 was an active member of the Congregational Church. 
 On Alay 22, 1804, he was married to Charlotte Allen, 
 who was born July 30, 1784, and died iNov. 2, 1857. 
 and the remains of both now rest in the cemetery at 
 Windsor. Charlotte Allen was a near relative of 
 Ethan Allen, of Revolutionary fame. Her father, 
 George Allen, a highly respected resident of Wind- 
 sor, died Oct. 16, 1835, aged seventy-nine, and her 
 mother, Saborah Case, of Simsbury, died April 22, 
 1840, at seventy-eight years of age. To William 
 and Charlotte (Allen) Alack came nine children: 
 Charlotte, born Aug. 3, 1806, married William Per- 
 kins, and died Alay 23, 1836, in East tlartford; 
 Elizabeth, born April 8, 1808, died Jan. 18, 1810; 
 William, our subject's father, is mentioned more 
 fully below; Andrew, born June 4, 1812, died Jan. 
 26, 1876, at Chaplin, Conn., where he had followed 
 farming; George A., born July 23, 1815, married 
 Eliza Al. Reynolds, Nov. 29, 1837, and died Alay 4, 
 i8yS, in Windsor; Henr)-, born Alarch i, i8i8, died 
 in childhood; Ruth, born Alarch 5, 1819, married 
 Lucius S. Alerritt, of Windsor; Hezekiah, born 
 April 19, 1821, was a farmer by occupation, and died 
 in Windsor in 1898; Griswold, born Sept. 21, 1829, 
 was accidentally killed in Sanilac, Alich., by a fall 
 from a trestle. (For some years he was employed 
 in_ the lumber business by Air. Imlay, formerly of 
 W indsor, with whom he went to Alichigan). 
 
 Hon. William Alack, the father of our subject. 
 
 was a native of Windsor, born May 14. 1810, and 
 was educated in the common schools of the town. 
 When about fourteen years old he secured emplov- 
 mcnt in a brick yard, where his faithfulness and 
 steady habits soon won him promotion. Knqwing 
 that he had to make his own way in the world he 
 saved his earnings, and at one time he worked six 
 months at $12.50 ocr month, and only spent two 
 dollars. As a^young man he engaged in brick- 
 making on his own account, and at present he is 
 the oldest manrfacturer in Windsor in that line. 
 He is also interested in farming, and although he 
 has been an industrious worker all his life, he is 
 remarkably well-preserved, each day during the 
 summer of 189S finding him busy at some task. As 
 a citizen he is much esteemed, and at times he has 
 taken an active part in political affairs, although he 
 often avoided official responsibilities. In his early 
 years he was a Democrat, having voted for Jackson, 
 but since the organization of the Republican party 
 he has been a stanch supporter thereof, baving been 
 the first representative ever elected on that ticket to 
 the State Legislature from the town of Windsor. 
 His able services in that body during the Civil war 
 established him still more firmly in the confidence 
 of the people. 
 
 At the age of twenty-six Air. Alack married Aliss 
 Sarah AI. Ware, wlio died June 30, 1890, her re- 
 mains being interred in Windsor. They had the 
 following children: William R., brick manufac- 
 turer and farmer, and a resident of Windsor ; Henry 
 C, a farmer and brick maker of Windsor ; \\"arren, 
 wdio died aged nine years ; Sarah AL, who died when 
 one year old ; Charles N., a member of the New 
 Haven police force; D. W., our subject; Willard W., 
 who died at the age of sixteen, from typhoid fever ; 
 Sarah AL, now Airs. Elislia Cobb, of \\'indsor; and 
 Frederick W., who married Aliss \'crnelia Case, of 
 Bloomfield, and resides in Windsor. 
 
 Airs. Sarah Al. (Ware) Alack was a lady of unu- 
 sual gifts of mind and heart, and was especiall- 
 noted for her retentive memory, even in old age. 
 For many years she was identified with the Con- 
 gregational Church, but later she united with the 
 Alethodist Church. Her father, Daniel Ware, came 
 from Alassachusetts, and for some time lived on a 
 farm in the town of Enfield, but his remains are 
 buried in Windsor. Her paternal grandfather, 
 Sergt. Daniel Ware, who served in the Revolution- 
 ary army as a first sergeant, was also interred at 
 Windsor. Her mother, Sarah (White), was a 
 daughter of William White, also a Revolutionarv 
 soldier, and a direct descendant of Peregrine White. 
 Airs. Sarah Alack was the youngest in a large fam- 
 ily of children, as follows : William, a joiner by 
 trade, who died in Windsor; Alfred, a jeweler, who 
 died in Windsor Locks ; Amanda, who married 
 Alonzo Reynolds, and died in Windsor Locks ; Au- 
 relia, who married John Hillyer, and died in St. 
 Paul, aged eighty years ; Lucinda, Airs. Henry Hos- 
 kins. of East Granhy: Emeline (deceased), who 
 never married; and Sarah, our subject's mother. 
 
800 
 
 COMMEMOR'ATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Hon. D. W. Mack was born Jan. 6, 1847, and 
 after a course in the district schools and the acad- 
 emy at Windsor he attended Bryant & Stratton's 
 Business College, at Hartford, graduating in 1866. 
 When not in school he was kept busy at home, either 
 in farming or at brick making, and as he grew 
 older he gradually relieved his father of much of 
 the active work of management. On Nov. 17, 1882, 
 he was appointed railway postal clerk between Bos- 
 ton and New York, on the New York, New Haven 
 & Hartford railroad, and this position he held until 
 May 23, 1887, when he was removed for political 
 reasons. His ability was not called in question, as 
 is proved by the fact that he was afterward recalled 
 for extra work, and served acceptably as long as 
 there was need of his help. On leaving the govern- 
 ment service he became a traveling salesman for the 
 W. H. Sweeney Manufacturing Co., of New York 
 City, his route covering New York, Pennsylvania 
 and the New England States. Later he spent three 
 years as secretary and treasurer of the Fowler & 
 Miller Printing Co., of Hartford, but he afterward 
 returned to the W. H. Sweeney Co., for whom he 
 has traveled from the Atlantic coast to the Rocky 
 Mountains, his ability bringing large financial re- 
 turns. Politically he has always been a Republi- 
 can, and for fifteen years he was chairman of the 
 town committee, while at various times he has served 
 in other offices, including that of representative in 
 the State Legislature, to which he was elected in 
 1879. His public spirit has been shown in many 
 ways, and on the reorganization of the local fire 
 company he was chosen captain. For about twelve 
 years he was the leader of the Windsor Cornet Band, 
 a notably successful organization, and for five years 
 he was chief trumpeter of Company K, isfConn. N. 
 G., in which his military ardor made him a valued 
 member. Socially he and his family are promi- 
 nent, and he attends the Methodist Church. He be- 
 longs to the Masonic lodge at Windsor, and for 
 years was active in the Good Templars' Society, serv- 
 ing in all the offices. He helped to organize Wind- 
 sor Grange No. 3, of which he was -secretary for 
 some time, and his influence is freely given to vari- 
 ous progressive movements in the community. In 
 1872 he built a handsome and substantial residence 
 at the corner of Prospect and Mill streets, Windsor, 
 and it is there that his genial nature and cultivated ■ 
 taste may be best seen and aporeciated. An interest- 
 ing collection of curios bears witness to his wide 
 travels and observing eyes, and the house is adorned 
 by some fine specimens of his work in taxidermy, 
 in which he has acquired more than ordinary skill 
 through his own efforts. 
 
 On June 30, 1873, Mr. Mack was married in 
 Poquonock to Miss Elizabeth P. Rowles, and six 
 children have blessed the union : Clara L., born 
 July 28, 1874, died in Windsor, March 2, 1885 
 Daniel R., born Dec. 30, 1876, died Feb. 5, 1878 
 Miss Florence E., born May 14, 1879, is at home 
 Daniel W., born April 30, 1882, died March 25, 
 
 1883; Clinton L., born July 9, 1885; and Louis P., 
 born Feb. 9, 1889. 
 
 Mrs. Mack is a native of Lawrenceburg, Tenn., 
 but was educated in Boston, her fine mental abili- 
 ties fitting her to grace any position in life. For 
 some years previous to her marriage she taught 
 school in Hartford and elsewhere, and in rearing her 
 clever and intelligent family of children her gifts 
 as a teacher have been of service. She was born 
 May 19, 1847, daughter of Dr. William Penn 
 Rowles, and granddaughter of William Rowles and 
 his wife Elizabeth (Penn), a lineal descendant of 
 William Penn. The Rowles family is of good 
 Southern stock, Rowlesburg, W. Va.-, having been 
 named in their honor, and previous to the Civil war 
 they were very wealthy. Dr. William P. Rowles 
 was born at Harper's Ferry in 1792, and died at 
 Lawrenceburg, Tenn., at the age of fifty years. A 
 considerable part of his life was spent in study, he 
 having taken a college course and being admitted 
 to the Bar in Tennessee, and at one time editing a 
 paper in Gallatin, Tenn. He served as surgeon dur- l 
 ing the Mexican war and afterwards wrote a book 
 on that campaign. His wife, Clarissa (Griswold), 
 was of the sixth generation in America of that well- 
 known family, and traced her descent from Edward 
 Griswold, of Kenilworth, England, through George, 
 John, Isaac, Isaac, Cyrus, to Isaac, her great-grand- 
 father; Isaac (2), her grandfather (who married 
 Christiana Holcomb), and Cyrus, her father (who 
 married Parmelia Niles). Dr. Rowles and his wife 
 had five children, two of whom died in childhood, ^ 
 the others being Theodosia, who died at eighteen 
 years of age; Elizabeth P., now Mrs. Mack; and 
 Louisa, widow of George W. Fowler, of Hartford. 
 
 LINCOLN E. CROSBY (deceased) was all his 
 life an active citizen of Glastonbury, and in the pur- 
 suit of his numerous interests became well known 
 in business, public, social and religious circles, for 
 his life was not one of limited usefulness. 
 
 Mr. Crosby was born April 10, 1840, in Addi- 
 son, town of Glastonbury, son of Edwin Crosby, who 
 is fully spoken of elsewhere. His early education, 
 acquired in the district schools, was supplemented 
 by two terms of study at Wesleyan Academy, Wil- 
 braham, Mass., and at this time the energetic ambi- ,• 
 tion characteristic of all Mr. Crosby's actions had 
 already begun to display itself, for he earned the 
 money to pay for his tuition. When sixteen years 
 of age he entered his father's mill, where he learned 
 finishing, afterward taking charge of that depart- 
 ment until his enlistment, July 31, 1862, for service 
 in the Civil war. He became a private in Company 
 A, 2ist Conn. V. I., and was soon promoted to cor- 
 poral. After about one year's service he was dis- 
 charged on accoimt of disability, his weight having 
 been reduced to ninety pounds ; he was in action at 
 the battle of Gettysburg. As soon as able, after his 
 return from the army, Mr. Crosby became interested 
 in the mills as a member of the company, of which 
 
^^4M^-~ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 801 
 
 he became superintendent and treasurer after his 
 father's health failed. In this connection he was 
 active in the business until 1888, when, while on a 
 Ijusiness tri]3, he had a paralytic stroke, and he never 
 recovered sufficiently to resume his former duties, 
 though he still retained his interest in the mills. He 
 passed away Aug. 25, i8yo, deeply and sincerely 
 lamented by the many friends he had drawn about 
 him in the course of his helpful and active career. 
 
 On Jan. 4, 1864, Air. Crosby married Miss Sarah 
 E. Strong, who was born Dec. 11, 1841, in Gilead, 
 Conn., daughter of Edwin W. and Sarah (Staples) 
 Strong. Four children blessed this union, born as 
 follows: Edwin H., Oct. 23, 1871 ; Grace A., Oct. 
 28, 1875; Eva A., Dec. 7, 1877; and Florence B., 
 Jan. 13, 1881. All attended Wesleyan Academy, 
 Wilbraham, Alass., the two younger daughters grad- 
 uating, Eva in 1897, and Florence in iSyS. The 
 son is now in the newspaper business, being editor 
 of the Glastonburv Bulletin; on Aug. 18, i8i;6, he 
 married Ethel L. Clark, of Portland, Conn., and they 
 have had two children, Lincoln Luzerne and Pris- 
 cilla Alden. Grace A. is at home. Eva A. is teach- 
 ing. Florence B. took the vocal course at the Acad- 
 emy, and since April, 1899, has sung in the First 
 Baptist Church of Hartford. 
 
 In political sentiment Mr. Crosby was a Repub- 
 lican, and though not a politician in any sense was 
 deeply concerned in the welfare of his town and 
 county, held various minor offices wth his customary 
 efficiency, and ably represented his district in the 
 Legislature (one term, 1880-81). From boyhood he 
 was united with the ]\L E. Church, in which he was 
 specially active as a Sunday-school worker, serving 
 seventeen years as superintendent of, the Sunday- 
 school. He always gave liberally of his time and 
 means to the advancement of its uiterests and relig- 
 ious affairs generallv. Fraternally Mr. Crosby was 
 a Freemason. 
 
 HOX. SILAS W. CLARK (deceased). One of 
 those grand old men who give stability and worth 
 to the faliric of society passed away when, on a- 
 March morning in 1899, the spirit fled from Silas 
 W. Clark. He had attained the age of eighty-four 
 years and seven months, and his fatal illness lasted 
 but two months, prior to which he was one of Suf- 
 field's most sterling characters. For fifty years he 
 had lived in the comnumity. successfuUv engaged in 
 farming, and his name was a household word for 
 probity and honor. 
 
 Mr. Clark was born in Washington, near the 
 town of Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Mass., Julv 22, 
 1814, a member of one of the oldest families of 
 New England. Silas Clark, his grandfather, was a 
 native of Lebanon, Conn., was a landliolder and 
 farmer, was noted for his industry and integrity, 
 as well as his public spirit, and passed his entire life 
 in his native town. Silas Clark, his son, and father 
 of our subject, was also a native of Lebanon, and 
 was reared to manhood on his father's farm, in the 
 meantime learning the shoemaker's trade. He was 
 
 51 
 
 a well-read young man, kept himself well posted as 
 to current events, and was, withal, industrious and 
 frugal in his habits. 
 
 W hile still a voung man Silas Clark, the young- 
 er, inomited his horse, the only piece of property he 
 could call his own, bade farewell to the parental 
 roof, and rode to Berkshire county, Mass., where 
 he settled in Washington. In that town he worked 
 at his trade until he had saved sufficient from his 
 earnings to purchase a small farm, which he culti- 
 vated m the summer, continu'ng at shoemaking in 
 winter for several years, uiuil he eventually, by 
 economy and unceasing toil, was able to buy for 
 himself upward of one thousand acres of land, on 
 which he engaged quite extensively in breeding 
 horses, cattle and sheep, for which he found a 
 ready market in New 'i'ork. Fie waxed wealthy, 
 and won the respect of all who knew him. He was 
 moreover a very popular and quite public-si)irited, 
 and at one time raised a company of militiamen 
 at Pittsfield, of which he was elected captain, and 
 which was incorporated into the State's service. 
 Although he took an active part in local politics as 
 a Whig, he never sought nor would accept public 
 office; and while he fully lived up to the Golden 
 Rule, he was very liberal in his religious views. 
 
 Capt. Silas Clark was united in marriage, at 
 Westfield, Alass., to Aliss Sally King, a native o£ 
 the town, and a member of one of the oldest fam- 
 ilies of the county. To this marriage were born 
 five children, in the following order: Henry, who 
 died in Pittsfield, 2vlass. ; Andrew, who died in 
 April, 1S99, in Suffield, Conn.; Mary Ann, deceased 
 wife of Charles Hathaway; Silas VV., the subject 
 of this article; and Nathan, who died in Suffield, 
 Conn. The father of this family died on his farm' 
 in Washington in 1852, he and his wife being 
 among the most highly respected residents of Berk- 
 shire county. 
 
 Silas W. Clark passed his early davs on his 
 father's farm, ably assisting in its caVe aiid cultiva- 
 tion during the summer months. The winter 
 months he passed at the district school, receiving a 
 fair education, but he is chiefly self-taught, as'^he 
 devoted much time to study after quittmg school 
 fur good. Fie assiduously a'ided his father until he 
 was twenty-seven years of age, when he was pre- 
 j sented by the latter with a one-hundred-acre tract 
 of land, on which he lived eight years, devoting 
 I his attention to general farming', dairying and. 
 stockraising. He made extensive improvements on 
 j his place, but in 1849 disposed of it bv sale and 
 came to Suffield, Conn., where he purchased an 
 ; eighty-acre tract, known as the Remington place, 
 near Hastings Flill, on which he resided until 1875, 
 extensively engaged in the raising of tobacco, for 
 spme of which he received as high as forty cents 
 per pound. He made many improvements upon 
 the place, including a fine dwelling, barns, tobacco 
 sheds, etc., but sold out at a fair profit and settled 
 on the place of seventy-five acres which he occupied 
 at the time of his death, known as the Henry Sikes 
 
802 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 farm. Here, for twenty-three years, he was en- 
 gaged in general farming and deahng in hve stock. 
 
 In 1843. J^'ir. Clark was united in marriage, at 
 Washington, Berkshire, Co., Mass., to Miss Louisa 
 Emaline Thompson, and to the union were born 
 three children : Evelyn King, wife of Francis E. 
 Hastings, of Suffield, and the mother of one child, 
 Grace L. ; Amanda, married to Fred A. King, of 
 Thompsonville, Conn. ; and Louise A., wife of 
 Henry B. Russell, a journalist and author. 
 
 Rufus Thompson, father of Mrs. Clark, was a 
 native of Simsbury, Conn., where he passed his boy- 
 hood days, then went to Columbia, same State, 
 where he learned house-carpentering, and later set- 
 tled in Washington, Mass., where he assisted in 
 building the first church erected in that town, and 
 also worked on other structures. He eventually 
 settled down to farming, passing the remainder of 
 his life in VA^ashington and died greatly respected 
 by the entire community. Li politics he was a 
 Whig, and he was a truly Christian gentleman. 
 Mr. 'Thompson married Miss Affia Miller, a native 
 of Washington, and a daughter of Isaac and Affia 
 (Hillyer) Miller, the latter of whom was a daugh- 
 ter of Capt. James Hillyer, of Revolutionary fame. 
 To Rufus Thompson and wife were born six chil- 
 dren, in the following order : Marilla, who died 
 young; Philo Erastus, also deceased; Amanda, 
 who was married to Isaac Holmes, of Washington, 
 and both of whom are now deceased; Horace, who 
 died in Pittsfield ; Louisa E., wife of Mr. Clark, 
 our subject, and one child that died in infancy. The 
 mother of this family died July 9, 1826, a devout 
 member of the Congregational Church and a truly 
 good woman, and her remains lie interred at Wash- 
 ington. 
 
 Mrs. Clark died at her home |\/[ay 22, 1900, 
 after a distressing illness of six rhonths. She was 
 a lady of refinement, kind and generous, and a sin- 
 cere Christian. For fifty-six years she led a happy 
 and contented married life, and faithfully aided her 
 husband in all his endeavors to advance his for- 
 tunes. 
 
 Mr. Clark died at his home in Suffield, March 
 5, 1899,, his death resulting from a stomach trou- 
 ble which had continued for about two months. 
 His death was a severe shock to a wide circle of 
 friends and acquaintances. With the aid of his life 
 partner he made a success in life, backed by good 
 .sense, strict honesty and a business tact. He was a 
 genial and hospitable gentleman, and an interesting 
 conversationalist. As a Republican he took great 
 interest in local afifairs, served his adopted town 
 three years as selectman, and in 1882 was elected 
 to the State Legislature, in which he served a term 
 with much credit to himself and to the entire satis- 
 faction to his constituents. He was a stockholder 
 in the Suflield Water Works, also in the Suifield 
 Creamery, and was a stockholder and director in 
 the National Bank of Suffield. He was likewise a 
 member of the Suffield Congregational Church, in 
 which he held positions as trustee and member of 
 
 the building committee. In all the years of his resi- 
 dence at Suffield he 'never missed an annual meet- 
 ing of the Congregational Church except that held 
 during his fatal illness. He was recognized by the 
 congregation as one of the most liberal contribu- 
 tors to its support. As a business m,an his word 
 was never impugned, and as a citizen he was hon- 
 ored by all as being truly public-spirited and gen- 
 erous. 
 
 ELISHA ROOT (deceased). Only those lives 
 are worth}' of record that have been potential factors 
 in the public progress, in promoting the general wel- 
 fare or advancing the educational or moral inter- 
 ests of the community. Mr. Root was "ever faith- 
 ful to his duties of citizenship, and by the success- 
 ful conduct of his business interests not only pro- 
 moted his individual success, but also advanced the 
 general prosperity. 
 
 This in his lifetime well-known and honored 
 resident of the town of East Granby, was born in 
 Southwick, Mass., FeD. 11, 1815, and was the son 
 of Elisha and Ann (Kellogg) Root, farming people 
 of that section, in whose family were four children: 
 Anna ; Eliza ; Elisha, who died in infancy ; and Eli- 
 sha, the subject of this sketch. 
 
 On attaining man's estate Mr. Root was mar- 
 ried, in East Granby, Nov. 18, 1840, to Miss Cyn- 
 thia S. Alderman, the ceremony being performed 
 by Rev. Mr. Hemmingway. Mrs. Root was born 
 April 4, 1819, and was a representative of an old 
 and prominent New England family, of English ori- 
 gin. Her grandfather, Epapiphras Alderman, was 
 born in Simsbury, Hartford Co., Conn., Dec. 14, 
 1760, and was a son of Daniel Alderman, who was 
 born in 1738, and died in Hartford July 18, 1790. 
 At the age of sixteen years the former was drafted 
 for service in the Revolutionary war^ but the father 
 found a substitute for his son. He devoted his life 
 to agricultural pursuits, and became quite an exten- 
 sive land owner and farmer. His younger years 
 were passed in Simsbury, but later he made his 
 home in Granby town, where hi^ death occurred, 
 his remains being interred in the East Granb)' ceme- 
 tery. He was an Episcopalian in religious faith, 
 and late in life became a supporter of the Demo- 
 cratic party. He married Miss Chloe Hayes, of 
 Simsbury, who was born March 13, 1762, and they 
 became the parents of the following children : Chloe, 
 born May 20, 1782, married Suman Holcomb; Al- 
 mira, born Jan. 26, 1784, married Ebenezer S. Hol- 
 comb; Daniel T. was born Dec. 22, 1785; Cornelia, 
 born Feb. 22, 1788, married Benjamin Holcomb; 
 Lydia, born April 19, 1790, married Gramson Hol- 
 comb; Harvey^ Mrs. Root's father, was next in the 
 order of birth; Sarah, born Aug. 20, 1794, married 
 a Mr. Fox; Harriet, born Aug. 27, 1796, married 
 Albert Hedges, of Westfield, Mass. ; Nonnan, born 
 Sept. 13, 1798, married Hattie Moore, of Chester. 
 Mass; Eliza, born Sept. 16, 1800, married iSIosely 
 Noble; Flora, born Dec. i, 1802, married S. R. B. 
 Lewis, of Westfield, Mass. ; Cynthia, born Nov. i, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 808 
 
 1805, iiiarriecl a Mr. Miller; Esther, born March 20, 
 1808, married a Mr. Hodges, of (Iranville, Mass. ; 
 and Orpha, born in 1810, married a Mr. Glazier, 
 and after his death wedded a Mr. Hodges. 
 
 Harvey Alderman, Mrs. Root's father, was born 
 April 22, 1792, in the town of Granhy, received a 
 common-school education antl lhroui.^hout life fol- 
 lowed the occupations of farming and stock deal- 
 ing. In 1827 he removed to East Granb\-, where 
 he spent the remainder of his days. He took a very 
 prominent anil influential part in public attairs, and 
 at one time represented the town of Granby in the 
 State Legislature, besides holding other local offices 
 of honor and trust. In politics he was first a Whig, 
 later a Democrat. He was broad-minded ajid liberal 
 in his views, and was well known and much re- 
 spected in the community where he so long made his 
 home. He was united in marriage with Aiiss Sarah 
 Holcomb, who was born in I7q6, a daughter of 
 Asahel Holcomb, Jr., and a granddaughter of Asa- 
 hel Holcomb, Sr. Eleven children were born of 
 this union : Mary, who died unmarried ; Martha, 
 who married Milo M. Owen (both are now de- 
 ceased) ; Solomon F., deceased; Cynthia S., now 
 Mrs. Root; Laura, deceased wife of Luke Bush; 
 Chloe H., widow of Henry Remington ; James Har- 
 vey, a resident of East Granby; Allan, a farmer of 
 East Granby ; Esther, who died unmarried ; Brai- 
 nard L., a resident of West Sufifield ; and Ellen, 
 widow of Saurine Loomis, of West Suffiekl. Upon 
 the old home farm in East Granby, the father died 
 in 1875, at the age of eighty-three years, the mother 
 in 1888, at the extreme old age of ninety-two, and 
 both were buried in East Granby. 
 
 Mr. Root, our subject, on leaving home, removed 
 to Westfield, Mass., where he engaged in farming 
 and butchering for twenty years with marked suc- 
 cess. He started out in life for himself in limited 
 circumstances, but by industry, perseverance, good 
 management, and the able assistance of his estima- 
 ble wife, he became the possessor of a comfortable 
 competence. In 1863 he came to the town of East 
 Granby and purchased the Hillyer farm of seventy- 
 five acres. Here for eighteen years he successfully 
 engaged in tobacco raising and general farming, and 
 by his honorable, upright life gained the confidence 
 and esteem of all with whom he came in contact. He 
 was a well educated man and quite a reader ; in poli- 
 tics was a Whig, later a Republican, but cared noth- 
 ing for the honors or emoluments of public office. 
 Rather liberal in his religious views, he was yet a 
 strong advocate of temperance, and did all in his 
 power to abolish the liquor traffic and destroy the 
 evils of strong drink, as a faithful member of the 
 Blue Ribbon organization, he was untiring in his 
 efforts to promote its interests. He was very do- 
 mestic in his tastes ; to him there was truly "no 
 place like home," and he found his greatest enjoy- 
 ment in the companionship of his wife and chil- 
 dren. He was one of nature's noblemen, and the 
 world is certainly better for his having lived. He 
 
 passed away July 29, 1881, and was laid to rest in 
 East tiranby cemetery. 
 
 .Mr. and Mrs. Root became the parents of two 
 children: (i) Mary A., born Oct. 3, 1841, is a 
 well-educated lady, and possesses considerable artis- 
 tic taste along various lines; she is now the wife of 
 LeRoy J. Xorthrup, of Cheshire, Mass., and has 
 one son. George. ( 2) Charles E., born July 16, 1849, 
 is also well educated, and now oi)eraies the home 
 farm, making a specialty of tobacco culture ; he mar- 
 ried Xellie iaylor, and they have one child, Elisha, 
 attending school. Mrs. Root was educated in the 
 public schools of Granby, and also at- Westfield, 
 i\Iass., and later she successfully engaged in teach- 
 ing school for five years, in both \\ estfield and 
 Southwick, Mass. She was a lady of culture and 
 refinement, beloved and respected by all who had 
 the pleasure of her acquaintance. During her girl- 
 hood she united with the Alethodist Episcopal 
 Church, but in her later years held membershij) m 
 the Congregational Church of East Granby. For 
 many }ears she was a teacher in the Sunday-school, 
 had charge of the Bible class for over half a century, 
 and was a true and earnest Christian, a faithful 
 worker in her JMaster's vineyard. She was called 
 from earth April 9, 1900. 
 
 COL. E. N. PHELPS, a gallant ex-soldier of 
 the Civil war, and at present a noted civil engineer 
 of \\'indsor, was born Feb. 9, 1826, in the house he 
 now occupies, and is the _\ouiiger of the two chil- 
 dren born to Samuel and Emily (Xewberryj Fnelps, 
 the former of whom was born near the Colonel's 
 house, on what is known as the "Island," at 
 Windsor. 
 
 Samuel Phelps was born July 25, 1791, and was 
 a son of George and Anna T. (Fitch) Phelps, 
 the latter being a daughter of James Fitch, a teacher 
 and surveyor, and well known as Capt. Fitch. To 
 George and Anna T. Phelps were born five children : 
 James L., Walter, Samuel, Rhoda and Theresa. 
 Samuel, father of the Colonel, was reared on his 
 father's farm, and was educated mainlv by his grand- 
 father, who was a graduate of Yale. To his mar- 
 riage with Aliss Newberry were born two children: 
 Ellsworth X. died at the age of five years, from 
 lockjaw, which was caused by a scratch on his ankle 
 by a pitch-fork while playing in the barn ; the 
 younger being the subject of this sketch. Samuel 
 Phelps had been very active in church matters imtil 
 I'arson Rowland was deposed, when he became less 
 attentive, but was always a good Christian man. 
 He was quiet and reticent, was a constant reader of 
 the Scriptures, was kind, fond of his home, but a 
 strict disciplinarian, and was an interesting conver- 
 sationalist. He died May 3, 185 1, his widow on 
 Dec. 26, 1870. 
 
 E. N. Phelps, our subject, was reared on the 
 home farm, his birthplace, and was educated pri- 
 marily at the "Stony Hill" school. He later at- 
 tended academies at Windsor, East Hampton. Wil- 
 
804 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 braham and Ellington, and at the age of nineteen 
 years taught his first term of school, beginning at 
 Ellington, receiving a recompense of $i8 per month, 
 and "boarding around." This vocation he followed 
 five winters, teaching in his home district, the Bell 
 district, also at Windsor Locks, and was quite suc- 
 cessful. 
 
 Mr. Phelps married at Windsor, Nov. 25, 1850, 
 Miss Lucy A. Marshall, a native of the town, born 
 Nov. 14, 1827, a daughter of Warren and Elizabeth 
 (Wolcott) Marshall, she being the only survivor of 
 seven children. Elizabeth Wolcott was a daughter 
 of Dr. Christopher Wolcott, a renowned practitioner 
 at Windsor, and a granddaughter of Dr. Alexan- 
 der Wolcott, who also practiced at Windsor, and 
 was a very prominent and distinguished man in his 
 day. Dr. Alexander Wolcott was a son of Gov. 
 Roger Wolcott, of Connecticut, who was a son of 
 Simon, son of Henry, one of the first settlers of 
 W^indsor, and the progenitor of the family in Amer- 
 ica. Mrs. Lucy A. Phelps was prepared for teach- 
 ing at Windsor, and for several terms taught in 
 that town and New Hartford. At marriage Mr. 
 and Mrs. Phelps located on the farm of the former's 
 parents, and this has since been their home. To 
 their union have been born two children : Samuel 
 E., postmaster at Windsor, married to Adella J. Fil- 
 ley, who has borne him one child, Adda E. ; and 
 Annie M., now Mrs. Hugh Harbison, of Hartford, 
 and the mother of three children, Lucy A., Hugh, 
 Jr., and Alexander W. 
 
 On Aug. 18, 1862, E. N. Phelps enlisted in Com- 
 pany A, 22nd Conn. V. I. and was at once elected 
 captain of the company. Between the hours of two 
 and nine P. M. he recruited 130 men, and was 
 offered a commission as colonel, but this he declined, 
 and was then commissioned lieutenant-colonel by 
 Gov. Buckingham, which commission he accepted. 
 He was in the Shenandoah Valley when Gen. Sheri- 
 dan made his famous twenty-mile ride, and was 
 quite close to him as he passed by. While in the 
 field Col. Phelps was commissioned, or detailed, to 
 take the votes of the men of the regiment' for the 
 Presidential election, then pending, and at the close 
 of his nine-months' term of service he returned to 
 Windsor. 
 
 Li politics Col. Phelps was first a Whig, later a 
 Republican, and has held many offices, including 
 those of selectman, justice of the peace, grand juror, 
 representative, etc. Li religion he is an Episcopa- 
 lian, and freely contributes to the maintenance of- 
 his church. As a surveyor Col. Phelps has been 
 fift3'-five years in active service, having been pre- 
 pared for the profession at Easthampton. He was 
 assistant civil engineer on the Connecticut River 
 railroad, when first built from Springfield to North- 
 ampton, and has surveyed all over Hartford county, 
 establishing some verv important lines that neces- 
 sitated a search of records as far back as 1700. He 
 at one time succeeded in putting back into the juris- 
 diction of Suffield 102 acres that had for 175 years 
 been in the jurisdiction cf Granby town. This 
 
 was a very important proceeding, and added greatly 
 to his reputation. He has established lines that the 
 younger school of engineers has pronounced impos- 
 sible, and he is known by the courts as a man who 
 can give a most comprehensive description of civil 
 engineering wherever found. As' a farmer, since 
 twenty-five years of age Col. Phelps has had much 
 of his work done by hired help, under his personal 
 instruction. 
 
 Col. Phelps is well preserved for his age, his 
 form is erect and straight as an arrow, his intellect 
 as bright as ever it was, and his humor as jovial as 
 that of a school boy. He is known all over his 
 town, county and State, and wherever he goes he 
 is greeted, as a friend, and with the most courteous, 
 respect. 
 
 FRANKLIN WHEELER, A. B., A. M., M. D. 
 One of the most exacting of all the higher lines of 
 occupation to which a man may lend his energies 
 is that of the physician. A most scrupulous prelim- 
 inary training is demanded and a nicety of judg- 
 ment little understood by the laity. Then again the 
 profession brings its devotees into almost constant 
 association with the sadder side -of life — that of 
 pain and suffering — so that a mind capable of great 
 self-control and a heart responsive and sympa- 
 thetic are essential attributes of him who would 
 essay the practice of the healing art. Thus when: 
 professional success is attained in any instance it 
 may be taken as certain that such measure of suc- 
 cess has been thoroughly merited. Among the most 
 successful physicians of Hartford county is Dr. 
 Wheeler, who has been engaged in practice in and 
 around Farmington for almost half a century. 
 
 A native of this county, the Doctor was born in 
 the town of Avon, May 16, 1827, and belongs to 
 one of its oldest and most honored families, his 
 great-grandfather, Joel Wheeler, having been a 
 resident of Avon. His grandfather, Amos Wheeler, 
 was born there, and there made his home through- 
 out life, engaged in agricultural pursuits, He gave 
 the land for the Congregational church and cem- 
 etery in that town. He married Miss Helen Wood- 
 ruff, and to them were born eight children : Setli ; 
 Luther ; Emma, wife of Evelin Woodford ; Daniel ; 
 Nancy, wife of Ellsworth Thompson; Leonard; 
 Elizabeth, wife of John Kimball; and Amos. 
 
 Seth Wheeler, father of our subject, was born 
 and reared in Avon, and attended school there, but 
 completed his education at the old academy in- 
 Farmington. For a short time he was a clock ped- 
 dler. Li early life he imported mules for the West 
 India trade, and subsequently he traveled through- 
 out the South as a salesman for the Wheeler & 
 Wilson Sewing Machine Company. He was ouite 
 a prominent and influential man in his community, 
 and was called upon to serve as judge of probate 
 in Avon, at which place his death occurred. Re- 
 ligiously he was a member of the Congregational 
 Church. In Avon he married Miss Harriet Wood- 
 ford, a native of that town, and they became the 1 
 parents of two children: Franklin, our subject; and | 
 
r?ir--J.'i*« 
 
 HkfRNlr' 
 
 
 fTy-a^u^ yrLc-u^J-^-^i-^- 
 
u 
 
 -M/L^^-i^^-^'t^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 805 
 
 Helen, who was born in September, 1830, and died 
 in infancy. 
 
 I'Vanklin Wheeler was reared in his native town 
 and at the age of twelve years became a student at 
 Dr. Simeon Hart's boarding school in Farming- 
 ton. In 1843 he entered Yale College, where he 
 pursued a classic"! course, graduating in 1847, ^"'l 
 where later he received his A. iM. degree. He then 
 entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons, in 
 New York City, from which he was graduated in 
 1852. For one year thereafter he engaged in prac- 
 tice in Avon, at the end of that time coming to 
 Farmington, where he has since made his home 
 and prosecuted his profession, having built up an 
 excellent practice. He is probably the oldest phy- 
 sician in the western part of the county, and is one 
 of the charter members of both the Hartford 
 County and Connecticut State ^ledical Societies. 
 He has been nresident of the Farmington Savings 
 Bank since 1891, and prior to that time served as 
 its vice-president. Dr. Wheeler is a fine, well-pre- 
 served old gentleman, one who commands the re- 
 spect and esteem of all with whom he comes in con- 
 tact, and his circle of friends and acquaintances is 
 extensive. Religiously he is a member of the Ec- 
 clesiastical Society at Farmington. 
 
 Dr. Wheeler married Miss Emily Cowles, a 
 (laughter of William L. Cowles, and now occupies 
 the old home built by Jonathan Cowles over one 
 hundred rears ago. Airs. \Mieeler died Tulv 22, 
 i88y. 
 
 HON. JOHN THOMPSON, a veteran of the 
 Civil war, is a pronu'nent resident of Tolland 
 county, but as his farm in the town of Ellington 
 extends "over the line" into the town of East Wind- 
 sor he may be claimed as a citizen there. His fam- 
 ily has been more or less closely identified with East 
 ^^'indso^ from an early period, and, in fact, is well- 
 known throughout the State, many of its members 
 having served in public office or been prominent in 
 other lines. 
 
 iMr. Thompson was born Jan. 11, 1840, on his 
 present homestead, a son of John and Anna E. 
 (Ellsworth) Thompson, of whom farther mention 
 is made elsewhere, and is one of a family of nine 
 children. His brother, E. F. Thompson, is now 
 a leading agriculturist of the town of East Windsor. 
 The family is of Scottish origin, and has been iden- 
 tified with Connecticut for nearly two hundred 
 years, our subject's ancestors having been among 
 the early settlers of East Windsor. William and 
 Margaret Thompson, natives of Scotland, left their 
 early home in 1716, with their familv of seven chil- 
 dren, setting out for New England. They first went 
 to Ireland, however, and while there the father was 
 taken sick and died. P.efore death he advised his 
 wife to continue the journey, and in T718 she came 
 with her familv to this country. Samuel, one of 
 the sons, was the progenitor of the Thompsons of 
 East Windsor. His son, James, was the father of 
 John iMcKnight Thompson, who was the father of 
 
 Jnhn, and grandfather of the gentleman whose 
 name introduces this article. 
 
 During his youth our subject attended the com- 
 mon schools near his home and the high school at 
 Ellington, and at the age of twenty-one he took 
 charge of the homestead, where he has continued to 
 reside. On Aug. 25, 1862, he enlisted in'Company 
 
 ' F, 25th Conn. V. I., in which he served as first 
 corporal, and was wounded in his first engage- 
 ment, the battle of Irish Bend, La., April 14, 1863, 
 a minie ball passing through his right jaw. From 
 April until August, 1863, he. was under treatment 
 in a field hospital, also at the Institute Hospital in 
 New Orleans, and on Aug. 26, 1863, he received 
 an honorable discharge at Hartford. (Jn his re- 
 turn home he resumed the management of the farm, 
 but as time passed his attention was given to other 
 interests and the place is now operated by his son. 
 It is a fine estate of 200 acres, upon which he has 
 made substantial improvements, keeping fully 
 abreast of modern agricultural methods. He is 
 president of the Ellington Creamery, and is con- 
 nected with other enterprises, being the director of 
 the Patrons ^Mutual Hre Insurance Co., for Tolland 
 county. His sound judgment on business matters 
 is valued by his associates, and of late years his 
 time has been largely occupied with duties as a pub- 
 lic official. In 1885' he was elected, on the Repub- 
 lican ticket, to the State Legislature, and was again 
 so honored in 1895, while in 1897 he was elected 
 
 i county commissioner of Tolland county, in which 
 office he has served since July i, of that year. 
 Among other responsible offices which he has held 
 we mav mention several years of service as select- 
 man of the town of Ellington; two years as a 
 member of the State Board of Agriculture: and 
 two \ears as county auditor, in 1895 and 189O. He 
 is a leading worker in the Patrons of Husbandry, 
 
 j having served two years as master of Ellington 
 Grange, also first master of East Central Po- 
 mona Grange for two years from the date of its or- 
 ganization. Mr. Thompson is a member of the 
 Congregational Church at Ellington, and unites 
 with Burpe Post No. 71, G. A. R., at Rockvdle. 
 
 On Feb. 10, 1870, our subject married Miss 
 Amanda J. Bancroft, daughter of Bissell and jo- 
 anna (Morton) Bancroft, of Warehouse Point, and 
 four children have blessed the union: (i) Morton 
 
 1 E. has charge of the homestead. (2) Lizzie M. mar- 
 ried B. F. Pinney, of Somers, Conn. (3) Royal W. 
 is the private secretary of Senator Joseph R. Haw- 
 ley, of Hartford, Coiin. (4) Emery J. is quarter- 
 master's clerk on board the United States steamer 
 "Chester." He was at Porto Rico during the war 
 with Spain, and is now stationed at Havana. 
 
 HON. J. CLEVELAND CAPEN, of Bloom- 
 field, descends from an ancient New England fam- 
 ily, of English origin, which settled in America in 
 1628. In that year Barnard Capen and six sons 
 
 came from Dorchester, England, and founded the 
 
806 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE . BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 town of Dorchester, Mass., and many of the de- 
 scendants of these pilgrims are still numerous in 
 the city of Boston and vicinity. 
 
 Josiah Capen, a lineal descendant of Barnard, 
 and the grandfather of J. Cleveland Capen, was 
 born in Braintree, Mass., Aug. 8, 1772, came to 
 Hartford, Conn., and in 1797 married Miss Betsey 
 Wadsworth, who was born in Hartford, Aug. 3, 
 1776. They first made their home on Front street, 
 later removing to what is now known as Windsor 
 avenue, and still later to Charlestown, Mass. To 
 their marriage children were born as follows: 
 Josiah, Jan. 8, 1798; Henry, May 14, 1799; Sally, 
 Dec. 16, 1800; Joshua, Dec. 8, 1802; Mary, April 
 12, 1804; Eliza, March 26, 1806 (all born in Hart- 
 ford) ; Abigail, March 6, 1808, and Samuel T., 
 Dec. 13, 1810, (born in Charlestown, Mass.). The 
 mother of these was a descendant of William Wads- 
 worth, of Cambridge, Mass., the founder of the 
 family in New England, who located there in 1632, 
 and in Hartford, Conn., in 1636. For his second 
 wife he married Eliza Stone, and it was their third 
 child, Joseph W., born in 1648, who hid the Charter 
 in the historic oak. Joseph W. Wadsworth mar- 
 ried (first) Elizabeth Barnard, and their eldest 
 child, Joseph W., born in 1682, married Johanna 
 Hovey. Their eldest child Joseph, born in 1707, 
 married Elizabeth Cook; and the second of this 
 union, Joseph W., born in 1738, married Jerusha 
 Marsh, Betsey, our subject's grandmother, being 
 one of their children. Joseph W. Wadsworth 
 served in the Revolutionary war, being a captain 
 in Washington's Life Guards, so that our subject 
 is eligible for membership in the Sons of the Revo- 
 lution. 
 
 Josiah Capen, father of J. Cleveland Capen, was 
 born on Front street, at that time the residence 
 site of many of Hartford's most prominent citizens. 
 In 1807 he removed with his father to Charles- 
 town, Mass., where he secured an education in the 
 common schools, the family returning later to Hart- 
 ford, Conn. On June 5, 1820, Josiah Capen and 
 his brother Henry bought of Aaron Cook about 
 four and one-half acres of land on the Windsor 
 road (now Windsor avenue), it being the land that 
 includes Capen street and the corner of the avenue 
 mentioned. In 1824 they bought land of Thomas 
 Marvin; in 1826, of James E. Marsh; in 1827, of 
 Moses Dickinson; in 1829, of Allyn Goodwin ; in 
 1831, of William Sheldon and of Nathan N. Loomis ; 
 in 1834, of John Bowles ; in 1836, of Henry Utley, 
 and in 1840, of William Hayden. Henry died 
 March 19, 1840. In 1850 Josiah Capen owned 
 about one hundred acres on Capen street and vicin- 
 ity, and opened Capen and Clark streets, and later 
 Barbour and Martin streets, as he owned land on 
 both sides, excepting at the north and west ends, 
 josiah Capen continued in the real-estate business 
 and in farming at Hartford until 1867, dividing up 
 his farm and selling it in building lots, and in 1868 
 he sold his homestead, and removed to Bloomfield ; 
 he purchased the H. B. Case farm for $26,000, and 
 
 died here Aug. 3, 1884. He had lived in the house 
 he had erected on the Cook property in Hartford 
 from 1820, and this building stood until 1898, when 
 it was torn down. 
 
 Josiah Capen was united in marriage April 3, 
 1839, at Hartford, with Miss Jane Spencer, a native 
 of the city, born Jan. 12, 1818, z daughter of John 
 and Olive (Rogers) Spencer, and to this marriage 
 were born three children, John Spencer (who died 
 in infancy), J. Cleveland and George F. 
 
 J. Cleveland Capen was born April 28, 1843, i" 
 the old Capen residence at the corner of Capen 
 street and Windsor avenue, Hartford, Conn. He 
 was educated at the Arsenal school, the public 
 school on High street, the Hartford high school, 
 and at Trinity College. For a short time he held 
 a position in the Pension office, but in 1868 came 
 to Bloomfield with his father. In 1873 he mar- 
 ried Miss Alice L. Burr, daughter of Martin Burr, 
 of Bloomfield, and this union has been blessed with 
 three children : Lottie M., Robert S. and George C. 
 
 J. Cleveland Capen and his brother, George F., 
 own and conduct a farm of over two hundred acres 
 at Bloomfield, all in one body, on which they grow 
 over 200 tons of hay each season, as well as large 
 quantities of tobacco, and at different times have 
 bought tobacco and packed it for market. They 
 have also dealt largely in live stock, and at one time 
 were in the sales stable business with E. F. Kenyon, 
 on Albany avenue, Hartford, in some years selling 
 as many as 500 horses. From their farm they sup- 
 plied Portland quarries with horses and oxen, and 
 in one year they sold about $25,000 worth of oxen. 
 They have a fine half-mile trotting-track on their 
 farm, and usually keeo a horse-trainer, as they pos- 
 sess a stable of fast animals that have won many 
 hard-contested races on the tracks of Connecticut. 
 Their herd of cows is also quite extensive. 
 
 In politics J. Cleveland Capen is a Democrat, and 
 is very popular with his party as well as with the 
 public at large. He has held many town offices, 
 mciuding those of selectman (many tmies), member 
 of the board of relief, school visitor, etc. ; from 1876 
 until 1879 he was a representative in the State Leg- 
 islature, and in 1893 a candidate for the State Sen- 
 ate. In his societary relations he has been more than 
 usually prominent and useful. He has been presi- 
 dent of the Hartford County Agricultural Society, 
 and vice-president of the Connecticut State Agri- 
 cultural Society, also a member of the State Board of 
 Agriculture, a delegate to the Farmers' National 
 Congress held at Sedalia, Mo., in 1891, as well as to 
 the Congress held at Savannah, Ga., in 1893. F°'' 
 many years he has been a director of the Connecti- 
 cut Stock Breeders Association ; treasurer of the 
 Connecticut Farmers Union ; director of the New 
 England Tobacco Growers Association, also a direc- 
 tor of the Hartford Driving Club, and has filled 
 many other positions of trust and responsibility. 
 
 Hon. George F. Capen was born in Hartford, 
 Conn., Sept. 30, 1846, was educated in the common 
 schools of that citv, came t- Bloomfield with his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 807 
 
 father in 1868. and lias licen here ever since, con- 
 nected in business with his brother, J. Cleveland 
 CapcTi. He has Ijeen ever cha."v of office, but served 
 as representative in 1884, and was placed on the 
 Committee on Agriculture by Speaker Simonds, in 
 this position performing- his duties most admirably. 
 He is considered to be one of the best judges of live 
 stock in the State, and has ]M"obabIy bought and sold 
 more pairs of fine working oxen than any other man 
 within its limits. 
 
 In 1868 .George F. Capen married ]\Iiss Mary J. 
 Chapin, daughter of Hollis T. and Sarah (Dickin- 
 son) Chapin, and to this union was born one child, 
 who died at the age of three and one-half years. 
 
 That the two brothers and thei" wives stand at 
 the head of the social circles of Bloomfield it is 
 hardly necessary to add, and their prominent posi- 
 tion as business men sufficiently indicates their en- 
 terprising spirit and untarnished reputation. 
 
 HOX. GEORGE LUKE METS, a prosperous 
 agriculturist of the town of East Granby, is one oi, 
 its most highly-respected citizens, the sturdv quali- 
 ties of his pioneer ancestry being well-exemplified in 
 his character and career. As a representative in 
 the State Legislature, and in other positions of public 
 trust, he has served with faithfulness and efficiency, 
 while in his successful business career he has won 
 the confidence of the community by his upright 
 methods. 
 
 As a genealogical review of the Mets family ap- 
 pears elsewhere, we need onlv indicate here the line 
 of our subject's descent from Dr. John Viets, a 
 pioneer settler of Simsbury, through Capt. John 
 Mets and his wife, Lois Phelps ; Luke A'iets, who 
 married Keziah Phelps ; Luke \' iets, who married 
 Abigail Phelps ; and Henry W. Viets, father of our 
 subject. 
 
 Henry \\'. A'iets was born Sept. 2, 1809, at the 
 old homestead at Copper Hill, Simsbury (now East 
 Granby), near Newgate. He received a good com- 
 mon-school education, and in early manhood en- 
 gaged in farming, but his death, on Aug. 20, 1841, 
 cut short his useful life at the age of thirty-two, his 
 remains being interred in East Granby cemetery. 
 He was an excellent citizen, industrious and thrifty, 
 and was much esteemed in the community. In 
 politics he affiliated with the Democratic party, but 
 his inclination did not point to official life. On Nov. 
 24. 1831, he married jMiss Lucia L. King, who was 
 born Alarch 13, 1813, a daughter of Horatio King. 
 C)f their four children: (i) William Ansel, born 
 July 29, 1833, is a farmer in East Granby town; 
 he married Miss Sarah F. Alderman, and has had 
 three children, Chloe Marietta, born Jan. 21, i860; 
 Charles Palmer, June 2, 1863 ; and Alice Elizabeth, 
 June 28, 1874. (2) George L., our subject, is men- 
 tioned more fullv below. (3) Marietta Louisa, 
 born Sept. 11, 1837, married George Griswold. (4) 
 Henrietta Elizabeth, born Sept. 6, 1839, married 
 George Owen, and died July 10, 1867. The mother, 
 who is now the wife of James Osborne, resides in 
 
 West Suffield, and is held in high esteem by a large 
 circle of friends, having been for many year.s a de- 
 voiu and faithful worker in the Metiiodist Church. 
 
 Our subject was born Sect. 0, 1835, at the old 
 farm near Newgate, and was only six years old 
 when he lost his father's care. The district schools 
 near his home afforded him his only o]ji)ortunilies 
 for instruction, and at an early age he was hired out 
 at small wages to do farm work. He contiiuied his 
 labors as a farm hand until 1865, when he settled 
 u]Jon the Uates property, and engaged in business on 
 his own account, raising general croi)s and giving 
 especial attention to dairying, tobacco-growing, and 
 stock raising. Through reading and observation his 
 naturally keen mind has gained a wide knowledge 
 of men and affairs. He takes an intelligent interest 
 in all iHiblic movements, being active in the work of 
 East Granby Gransre, and in the local Republican 
 organization, of which he is a leading member. At 
 times he has served as town assessor and member 
 of the board of relief, while in 1896 he was elected 
 to the Legislture, where he did effective work, spe- 
 cially as a member of the Conuuittee on New Coun- 
 ties and County Seats. 
 
 On April 11, 1865, Mr. Viets was married, in 
 East Granby, to Miss Virginia G. Bates, who was 
 born Feb. 8, 1845, ^ daughter of Anson and Louise 
 (Garnett) Bates, well-known citizens of that local- 
 ity. Four children have brightened our subject's 
 home: (i) Ella Louise, born Dec. 28, 1867. died 
 Sept. 24, 1886. (2) Miss Georgie Bates, born X'ov. 
 21, 1870, is a graduate of AIcLean Se:uinary, at 
 Simsbury, and the Normal School at New Britain, 
 and is now a successful teacher at Montclair, N. J. 
 (3) Clara Alarietta, born Jan. 7, 1878, and (4) Ber- • 
 tha ^L, born July 15, 1882, are at home. The family 
 is identified with the Presljvterian Church, and the 
 daughters are prominent in social life, their culture 
 and refinement fitting them for the best circles. On 
 July 6, 1889, the beloved wife and mother passed 
 away, and her mortal remains now rest in the East 
 Granby cemetery. 
 
 CAPT. \MLLLVM HENRY HEATH (de- 
 ceased) was a leading business man of this section, 
 and his name became well known along the Con- 
 necticut river in connection with the River Trans- 
 pwrtation Co., of which he was the head for many 
 years. While he was remarkably successful from 
 a material standpoint, his intelligence and public 
 spirit brought him into active co-operation with 
 his fellow citizens in various movements of the 
 day, in which he could always be relied upon to 
 take an advanced stand, his influence being cast 
 on the side of progress. 
 
 The Captain was born Dec. 16, 1803, at Ware- 
 house Point, upon a farm, and the greater portion 
 of his life was spent there. His father, Capt. 
 Stephen Heath, who gained his title by service in 
 the State militia, owned a large amount of land in 
 that locality, and was the founder of the River 
 Transportation Co., having perceived the advantage 
 
808 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to the growing commerce of that day of having a 
 regular Hne of boats for carrying merchandise up 
 and down the Connecticut river. 
 
 As a boy our subject attended the common 
 schools of East Windsor, and his education was com- 
 pleted witli a course in Amherst College. He then 
 engaged in business with his father, and on the 
 death of the latter he entered the iirm of Abbe 
 Woodward & Co., in the Transportation Co., of that 
 name, and managed the real-estate left by his father. 
 For some years previous to his death, on Jan. 29, 
 1889, he lived in retirement at the old homestead. 
 His interest in local progress was manifested in many 
 ways, and he was active in religious work as a mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church, while from the 
 date of the organization of the Republican party 
 he gave his support to its doctrines, and in 1863 he 
 served ably as a representative of the town of 
 East Windsor in the State Legislature. 
 
 On Nov. II, 1824, Capt. Heath married Miss 
 Elizabeth S. Bartlett, who died in November, 1869, 
 'and Nov. 8, 1870, he married her sister. Miss Ade- 
 line Bartlett, who survived him, residing at the 
 homestead until her death, Feb. 22, 1899. She was 
 much esteemed in the community for her excellent 
 qualities of mind and heart, and was a devout mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church. Capt. Heath 
 had eight children, all by the first marriage: Fran- 
 cis died in July, 1887; Jane E. married Waldo M. 
 Johnson,of Detroit, Mich. ; Elisha S. resides in Balti- 
 more, Md. ; Julia T. is the widow of John M. Booth, 
 of the town of Enfield, Hartford county; Helen 
 died in infancy ; Helen M. married Franklin Moore, 
 of Detroit, Mich.; Carrie, widow of Dr. Studley, 
 of New York, married James Ryan, and resides 
 at Appleton, Wis. ; and Charles L., a deputy sherifif 
 of Hartford county, resides at Warehouse Point. 
 
 CHARLES R. HART (deceased) was one of 
 Hartford's most prominent business men, and for 
 over forty years was identified with extensive mer- 
 cantile interests. Coming from an old and honored 
 ancestry, he well maintained the prestige of his 
 name, and by his upright life won the personal es- 
 teem of his fellow citizens. 
 
 Mr. Hart was of the ninth generation of his 
 family in this country, being a descendant of (i) 
 Stephen Hart, who was born about 1605, in Brain- 
 tree, County of Essex, England, and came to Mas- 
 sachusetts Bay about the year 1632. Deacon Hart 
 and his first wife were constituent members of the 
 church in Farmington, Conn., in 1652. He had 
 been a deacon of Rev. Thomas Hooker's Church at 
 Cambridge, Mass., and, when his pastor formed a 
 colony at Hartford, Conn., he became a leading 
 member of the new community, holding the office 
 of deacon in the church, and taking an active part 
 in the progressive movements of his day. In 1672 
 he was one of the eighty-four proprietors of the 
 town of Farmington, in which he was prominent 
 both socially and politically. In 1635 he was one 
 of the original proprietors of Hartford. His house 
 
 lot was on the west side of what is now Front street, 
 near where Morgan street crosses it, and there is a 
 tradition that the town was called from the ford he 
 discovered and used in crossing the Connecticut 
 river at low water, and so, from "Hart's ford," it 
 soon came to be called and written "Hartford." 
 He died in March, 1682. 
 
 (II) Thomas Hart, youngest of the children 
 born to Deacon Stephen Hart, was born in 1643. 
 He married Ruth, who was born October 24, 1649, 
 at Windsor, Conn., daughter of Anthony Hawkins, 
 of Farmington. Thomas Hart was a captain in the 
 militia, 1695; deputy to the General Court, 1690 to 
 1706; speaker, 1700 to 1706; justice, 1698 to 1706. 
 John Hooker and he were the two prominent men 
 of the town. 
 
 (III) Deacon Thomas Hart, second ' son of 
 Capt. Thomas Hart, was born in April, 1680, at 
 Farmington, Conn., and Dec. 17, 1702, married 
 Mary, daughter of John Thompson, of Farmington. 
 He removed to Kensington, Conn., and became the 
 most prominent man in that society. His first wife 
 
 'died in October, 1763, and Jan. 11, 1764, at the 
 age of eighty-four, he married Mrs. Elizabeth 
 Norton, widow of Isaac Norton, of Berlin, Conn. 
 He died Jan. 29, 1773, aged ninety-three years. 
 
 (IV) Deacon Elijah Hart, of New Britain, 
 Conn., third son of Deacon Thomas Hart, was born 
 June 18, 171 1, at Kensington, Conn., and became a •■ 
 lifelong farmer. On Dec. 26, 1734, he married jj 
 Abigail Goodrich, who was born Dec. 14, 1714, a 
 daughter of Allen Goodrich. He located in New 
 Britain, and he and his wife became constituent , 
 members of the first church organized there, April 
 19, 1758. He died Aug. 3, 1772; his widow passed 
 away in Simsbury, Conn., at the home of her daugh- 
 ter, Mrs. Eno, Jan. 21, 1809, aged ninety-five. 
 
 (V) Deacon Elijah Hart, son of the above and 
 great-great-grandfather of the late Charles R. 
 Hart, was born bept. 26, 1735, in Kensington, Conn. 
 With his parents he became a constituent member 
 of the church in New Britain, 1758, and led the 
 singing therein. He was of strictly puritanical 
 ha,bits, a farmer by occupation and possessor of 
 considerable property. On May 11, 1757, he mar- 
 ried Sarah, daughter of Ebenezer Gilbert. He died 
 Dec. 10, 1800, his wife on Sept. 22, 1809. 
 
 (VI) Deacon Elijah Hart, son of the above, and 
 great-grandfather of the late Charles R. Hart,- was 
 born May 7, 1759, ^^ New Britain, Conn. He was 
 a large farmer and an extensive manufacturer of 
 cornmeal for the West Indies trade. On March 
 18, 1778, he enlisted in the Revolutionary army for 
 three years, and was present at the surrender of 
 Burgoyne. On Dec. 21, 1780, he married Anna 
 Andrews, who was born Sept. 6, 1760, a daughter 
 of Hezekiah Andrews. Deacon Hart died from 
 the efl^ects of a bee's sting Aug. 4, 1827, his widow 
 passing away Dec. 2, 1835. 
 
 (VII) Jesse Hart, son of the above and grand- | 
 father of our subject, was born in New Britain, 
 Conn., April 20, 1789, and became a respected citi- 
 zen of that town. For many years he was engaged 
 
a^^^.'^^wA 
 
COMMEMORATll-R BIOGRAFJJICAL RECORD. 
 
 809 
 
 in business llicre as a blacksmith, having learned 
 the trade under Orrin Lee in Hartford. On April 
 5, 1810, he married Lucina Cowdry, who was born 
 Sept. 17, 1788, a daughter of Asa Cowdry, of Hart- 
 Jand, Conn., and they had two children: Artemus 
 Ensign, a sketch of whom follows ; and Lucina, 
 born Dec. 3, 182 1, who married John H. Good- 
 win, and died May 16, 1885. Jesse Hart died in 
 New Britain Feb. 21, 1825, his widow in Paris, 
 France. 
 
 (Vni) Artemus Ensign Hart, father of the 
 late Charles R. Hart, was born Feb. 11, 1812, in 
 New Britain, Conn., and was reared at the old home- 
 stead, which occupied the site of the present Con- 
 gregational ])arsonage. He built a house in New 
 Britain on Washington street, which was used as 
 the Episcopal parsonage. He was a man of re- 
 tiring and unpretentious nature and a devout mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church, his excellent 
 qualities of character making him a valued citi- 
 zen. By occupation he was a jeweler, and after 
 carrying on that trade for some years at Newington 
 he removed to Hartford and later to West Hart- 
 ford, where he died in 1884, his remains being 
 taken to New Britain for interment. On ,A.ug. 24. 
 1836, he married Ann Elizabeth Clark, who was 
 torn Dec. 7, 1816, a daughter of Abel and Catherine 
 (Eckerst) Clark, of Litchfield, Conn., well-known 
 residents of that section. Children as follows were 
 born to Artemus E. and Ann E. Hart: Virginia 
 Veeder, now .\lrs. Charles J. Smith, of Hartford ; 
 Charles R., subject of this sketch; Artemus Elijah, 
 a banker of Hartford, a sketch of whom appears 
 elsewhere ; Lucina, who died in infancy ; Ann Eliz- 
 abeth, who married (first) Charles Macken, of 
 New York, and (second) Alfred Huber, of Paris; 
 Henry L., deceased ; and Joseph C, of the Pratt 
 Street Bank, Hartford. 
 
 (IX) Charles R. Hart, the subject proper of 
 this memoir, was born June 17, 1840, at the old 
 home in New Britain, and was educated in the 
 schools of that town. Instead of taking a college 
 course he chose an active business career, and in 
 1857 he came to Hartford, where he entered the 
 store of Joab H. Hubbard as clerk, beginning ov 
 very small wages. He proved admirably adapted 
 to the business, being courteous and attentive, and 
 readily acquiring a knowledge of the minute de- 
 tails that escape the notice of many. As time passed 
 he was enabled, through a judicious management of 
 his resources, to engage in business on his own 
 account, and so well did he succeed that he ac- 
 cumulated a substantial fortune. He resided in 
 Hartford until January 6, 1897, when he removed 
 to Windsor, having purchased the Hutchison estate 
 on Windsor Heights, known as "Broadview." The 
 residence was thoroughly remodeled and fitted with 
 an conveniences known to city homes, and now, 
 with its spacious, well-kept grounds, it is one of 
 the finest and most pleasantly located suburban resi- 
 dences around Hartford. In private life ^Ir. Hart 
 was known as a kind and generous man, but he 
 avoided all publicity in his benefactions. His in- 
 
 tegrity was never questioned, and in matters of 
 opmion he was always ready to concede the rights 
 of others, never seeking to change anyone's ideas 
 to correspond with his own. For many years he 
 was a member of Christ Church, Hartford, to which 
 he contributed liberally. He died Nov. 22, 1898, at 
 his home in Windsor, and among the many testi- 
 monials to his worth which the sad event Ijrought 
 out we may quote the following from the "Carpet 
 Review :" 
 
 "Charles R. Hart, president of the Charles R. 
 Hart Co., of Hartford, died at his home in Wind- 
 sor, of pneumonia, on the 22d ult., after an illness 
 of about a week's duration. He was born in New 
 Britain, Conn., in 1840. In 1857 he went to Hart- 
 ford and found employment in the dry-goods store 
 of J. H. Hubbard. Subsequently he was employed 
 by Talcott & Post. From there he went to Sugden 
 & Co., in the old Catlin block, at the corner of -Main 
 and Asylum streets. The business relations be- 
 tween i\Ir. William E. Sugden, the senior member 
 of the firm, and Mr. Plart, wnich began at that 
 time, have been continued until now. Mr. Hart 
 was soon taken into partnership, and the firm con- 
 tinued under the same name until the admission 
 into partnership of Lent. B. Merriam, when the 
 name was changed to Hart, Merriam & Co., !Mr. 
 Suyden remaining in the firm, but the younger men 
 taking more direct charge of the active business 
 work, in 18S8 the firm was changed to Charles 
 R. Hart & Co., owing to the retirement of Mr. 
 JNIerriam. The house was incorporated in 1897 as 
 the C. R. Hart Company, the members of the cor- 
 poration being W. E. Sugden, Charles R. Hart, 
 Samuel A. Bacon and Grovenser W. Curtis, Mr. 
 Hart being macie president ; G. W. Curtis, vice- 
 president; Mr. Sugden, treasurer; and S. A. Bacon, 
 secretar)'.- 
 
 "The company moved a few weeks ago into its 
 handsome quarters in the new Sage & Allen build- 
 ing. Mr. Hart was a thirty-second-degree Mason. 
 He was active in municipal politics, for a number 
 of years serving in tne court of conmion council 
 from the old First ward. In 1884 he was appointed 
 a member of the board of water commissioners bv 
 Mayor Morgan G. Bulkeley, and received a re-ap- 
 pointment three years later from Mayor Bulkeley. 
 He leaves a widow and one daughter.'' 
 
 The "Connecticut Courant," Nov. 28, 1898, in 
 an extended review of Mr. Hart's many noble qual- 
 ities, said: "Charles R. Hart, head of the Charles 
 R. Hart Co., and one of Hartford's leading busi- 
 ness men, died at his home in Windsor last evening 
 of asthma, from which he had been a sufferer for 
 years. Mr. Hart was one of the original Wide 
 Awakes, and was a member of the \'eteran Asso- 
 ciation of the Hartford City Guard, having served 
 a term in the active company soon after the Civil 
 war. He was a thirty-second-degree Mason and a 
 member of Sphinx Temjjle, A. .\. (J. N. M. S. He 
 was an earnest Reoublican in politics, and a few- 
 years ago was an active force in politics. In 
 the death of Mr. Hart Hartford has suffered a 
 
810 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 severe loss in a philanthropic sense and from a 
 progressive standpoint. Mr. Hart's personality was 
 a strong feature. He was a bright, active busi- 
 ness man, and very genial in his business and per- 
 sonal relations." 
 
 Qn April 4, 1866, Mr. Hart was married, in 
 Christ Church, Hartford, to Miss Ellen M. Wood- 
 ruff, and two children blessed the union: (i) 
 Charles R. died in infancy. (2) Edith W., born 
 Sept. 21, 1869, was educated at the Hartford Fe- 
 male Seminary, and married Charles A. Blake, a 
 well-known business man of Taunton, A'lass., and 
 a member of one of the best families of that town. 
 For some time he was engaged in mercantile busi- 
 ness at Hartford, but at present is at the head of 
 the Hartford branch of banking house of Lewis A. 
 May & Co., of New York. He resides with his 
 wife's mother in Windsor. Mr. and Mrs. Blake 
 had one son, deceased in infancy. 
 
 Mrs. Ellen M. (Woodruff) Hart was born in 
 Hartford Feb. 9, 1843, a daughter of O. D. Wood- 
 ruff, a prominent citizen. Her mother, Mary J. 
 Crosby, was a daughter of William and Rachel 
 Crosby, of West Hartford, and a sister of Erastus 
 Crosby, at one time president of the First National 
 Bank of Hartford. Mrs. Hart was graduated from 
 the Hartford Female Seminary, on Pratt street, 
 class of '61, and is cultured and intelligent, her fine 
 social gifts making her beautiful home, "Broad- 
 view," the center of a gracious hospitality. 
 
 MOSES McKEE (deceased) was for many 
 yeajs a leading agriculturist of the Farmington 
 Valley, and his successful life furnishes an example 
 worthy of emulation, his prosperity having been 
 gained by useful industry without the sacrifice of 
 honor and integrity. 
 
 Mr. McI^Cee was a representative of the Scotch- 
 Irish race, which has given so many enterprising and 
 successful men to America, and was born in County 
 Antrim, Ireland, the son of William and Esther 
 (Money) McKee,, both of whom were natives of 
 Scotland. They were members of the Presbyter- 
 ian Church, and industrious, upright citizens, the 
 father being a farmer by ocupation. Of their large 
 family of children several settled in Canada,, while 
 John, Joseph and Moses engaged in agriculture 
 in the Farmington Valley. 
 
 Our subject received a limited education in his 
 native land, and at the age of eighteen came to 
 America in a sailing vessel, landing in Canada, 
 where he remained for a short time. On crossing the 
 line into the United States he spent some time m 
 New York State, but he was still a young man when 
 he came to Connecticut and found employment as 
 a laborer among the farmers of the Farmington 
 Valley. When he had accumulated enough money 
 to buy a homestead for himself he settled in that 
 locality, engaging in general farming, dairying, 
 stock raising and tobacco growing. After some 
 years he bought the Gillett farm, a fine estate of 
 300 acres near Avon, and there he made many im- 
 
 provements. He was an active member of the 
 Congregational Church in Farmington, and by both 
 example and precept he taught the value of a 
 temperate life, devoted to duty. In politics he was 
 a Republican. He died at his farm Dec. 4, 1889, 
 and his remains were interred in the cemetery at 
 Farmington. 
 
 Mr. McKee's first wife, Eveline (Andrews), 
 was a native and lifelong resident of Farmington. 
 For his second wife, he married Sarah Miller, of 
 Avon, daughter of John Miller, and granddaugh- 
 ter of Ebenezer Miller. She died in 1897, deeply 
 mourned by her many friends, whose respect and 
 esteem had been gained by her Christian character. 
 Moses and Sarah McKee had four children: (i) 
 William J., a farmer of Farmington, married Caro- 
 line Wilson, and has three children, Allen, Will- 
 iam J. and Albert. (2) Moses, a real estate agent 
 and broker in New York, married (first) Georgia 
 Chesebro, of New York, and (second) Marion 
 Miller ; he has three children, George Chesebro, 
 Florence and Margurete. (3) Miss Esther M. 
 was educated in the district schools and in the female 
 seminary at New Britain, and resides on the home- 
 stead. (4) Joseph A., a prominent lawyer of Louis- 
 ville, Ky., was a soldier in the recent war with 
 Spain. 
 
 HON. SYLVESTER DAVID ROCKWELL, 
 a prominent business man of Warehouse Point, is 
 deservedly popular among his fellow townsmen, 
 and has served on the board of selectmen longer 
 than any other man in East Windsor town, being 
 first selectman for fifteen years. 
 
 Mr. Rockwell comes of good New Eneland 
 stock, his ancestors having settled in Massachusetts 
 at an early day. Jabez Rockwell, his grandfather, 
 was born and reared in Massachusetts, where he 
 learned the cooper's trade, and on coming to Hart- 
 ford county. Conn., he located at Warehouse Point. 
 He was a man of excellent standing in the commun- 
 ity, and for many years was a leading member of the 
 Episcopal Church. 
 
 Samuel W. Rockwell, our subject's father, was 
 born in Warehouse Point Jan. 2, 1799, and died in 
 1857. As he grew to manhood he became an ex- 
 pert cooper under his father's instruction. His es- . 
 timable wife, whose maiden name was Harriet 
 Hitchcock, passed away April 23, 1883. They had 
 a family of five children : ( i ) Harriet E., born 
 March 29, 1822, married George Filley, and died 
 heb. 28, 1850. (2) Samuel A., born April 20, 
 1824, was a sea-faring man and died at sea m June. 
 1846. (3) Mary I., born Aug. 7, 1826, married 
 Christopher B. Pelton, and died April 15, 1872. 
 (4) John J., born April 17, 1829, is a resident of 
 Springfield, Mass. (5) S3dvester D., our subject, 
 is the youngest. 
 
 Sylvester D. Rockwell was born Nov. 21. 1833, 
 in Litchfield county. Conn., but has lived most of 
 his life in the town of East Windsor. At nine 
 vears of age he began working for his board and 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 t,^ 
 
^ 
 
 g^ Xi'7hxy^u.^-<-£^ 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 811 
 
 clothes, spending three years on a farm in Windsor 
 and four years in East Windsor. He was then 
 employed at ten dollars ])er month liy Edmond 
 Watson, of East Windsor Ihll, with whom he re- 
 mained six months, and from that time until he 
 reached the age of twenty-two he was engaged 
 in raising tobacco by the pound. Going to Wiscon- 
 sin, he spent six months in that State, and after his 
 return to Warehouse I'oint he began raising to- 
 bacco for Buckley P. llarber at three cents per 
 pound. He continued with Air. iSarber six years, 
 being superintendent of the farm during tne last 
 three years, and for two years, was employed by 
 Col. l'l;elps. By that time he had accumulated 
 sufficient capital to warrant his venturing into busi- 
 ness for himself, and he bought sixteen acres of 
 land in Warehouse Point village, where he has 
 since been successfullv- engaged in growing tobacco. 
 In i86y he up.enecl a coal yard, whicU he still con- 
 ducts, and he is regarded as one of the most suc- 
 cesf-ful self-made men of his town. For many years 
 he has lieen an active worker in the local Repub- 
 lican organization, his aliility and popularity mak- 
 ing him a leader in tiie party councils. The first 
 office he ever held was that of grand juror ; for 
 sixteen years he has served as selectman ; was col- 
 lector of taxes in 1891 ; and in 1880 and 1896 he was 
 elected to the State Legislature, his efficient service 
 in that body reflecting lasting credit upon him. 
 Mr. Rockwell has always taken an interest in edu- 
 cational matters, and was for about fifteen years 
 treasurer of School District No. 5, town of East 
 A\'indsor. In religious faith he is a Alethodist, and 
 for thirty-five years he has been a class leader in the 
 church at Warehouse Point. 
 
 On Jan. 9, 1859, Air. Rockwell for his first wife 
 n'.arried Miss Lydia Hendrick, who died July 17, 
 18C3, and their only child. Dexter Hendrick, died 
 in infancv. On Sept. 20, 1865, he married !Miss 
 Chloe G.' Phillips, who died July 18, 1866. On 
 March 17, 1868, he was again married, this time to 
 Miss Flavia Pease, by whom he has had three chi'- 
 dren : Olin S., born Feb. 24, 1869, is superintendent 
 of the Chucy Alills at Windsor Locks ; Raymond 
 S., born Feb. 15, 1877. is a resident of Enfield : and 
 Alice, born Jan. 18, 1879, is the wife of Ralph M 
 Weston, of Springfield. Massachusetts. 
 
 HOX. ELIHU BURR CASE, of Bloomfield, 
 was born in Simsbury (now Bloomfield), Hartford 
 county, in the Duncaster district, Feb. 23, 1830, 
 and is a son of Elihu Hiram and Nancy (Wood- 
 ward) Case. 
 
 Hezekiah Case, grandfather of Elihu P>. Case, 
 \\as a native of Simsbury, Conn., and some time 
 prior to 1799 settled in the eastern part of that town, 
 which is now known as Bloomfield. He first mar- 
 ried Miss Cynthia Eno (grandmother of our sub- 
 ject), and to this union were born two children: 
 Hezekiah Hart, father of Curtis Hart and William 
 G. Case, of whom mention will be made farther on, 
 and Elihu Hiram, father of our subject. By his 
 second marriage, to Susan Adams, he had two 
 
 daughters and one son. Hezekiah Case was a 
 highly-respected farmer and influential citizen, was 
 warden of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church at North 
 Bloomfield, in politics was a Democrat, and at one 
 time served as representative in the State Legisla- 
 ture from tlie Simsbury district. 
 
 Elihu Hiram Case, father of our subject, was 
 educated in the district school of liloomheld, and 
 was a farmer from boyhood. He first married Miss 
 Nane'y Woodward, and their union was blessed with 
 five children : Hiram Bidwell, deceased : Amelia, 
 widow of Aldeii Cadwell, of \\'est Hartford ; Delia 
 (twin of Amelia), deceased; Emeline, who first 
 married Eli Cheesbro, by wdiom she had two chil- 
 dren, Alfred C. and Elva, and after l\Ir. Chee.sbro's 
 death became the wife of Daniel H. Webster, by 
 whom she also had two children, William and Ida; 
 and Elihu Burr, the subject of this memoir. ]\lrs. 
 Nancy Case was called away in 1840, and .\lr. Case 
 afterward married Emeline Evans ; she bore him 
 one son, Hezekiah E., who married iMary Pagan, 
 and has a family of three children, Harry, Louise 
 and Nellie. Mr. Case was in politics a Democrat. 
 He died June 23, 1872, a faithful member of St. 
 Andrew's Episcopal Church, and a highly-respected 
 citizen. 
 
 Hon. Elihu Burr Case was reared in Bloomfield 
 and was educated in the district school, the Sims- 
 bury Academy, the Suffield Institute and the El- 
 lington Institute ; he began his business life as a 
 teacher in the home school and also taught in West 
 Hartford and in Canton, Conn, he married, at 
 Simsbury, Jan. 11, 1857, Aliss Mariette W. \\'ilcox, 
 daughter of Jeii'rey \V'ilcox, and to this marriage 
 have been born three children: (i) Miron J., book- 
 keeper for the Pope Manufacturing Co., at Hartford, 
 was married to Alartha Johnson, wdio has borne him. 
 one son and one daughter; (2) Janie L., wife of 
 George H. Fitch, of Windsor: and (3) Burton O., 
 of Cnicago, married to xMiss .\icRo\-. Elihu B. 
 Case, has for many years been engaged in farming in 
 Bloomfield, and has been very successful m all his 
 undertakings. Mrs. Case takes much pleasure in 
 taxidermic work. In politics Mr. Case is a Demo- 
 ocrat, has held most of the town offices, and in 1874 
 was the choice of his party to represent it in the 
 State Legislature. He has been clerk of St. An- 
 drew's Episcopal Church for thirty-seven years, 
 and stands very high in the esteem of his immediate 
 friends and the public in general. 
 
 Hon. Curtis Hart Case, son of Hezekiah Hart 
 Case, was born in the town of Simsbury (now 
 Bloomfield) April 7, 1823. The father was born in 
 the same town Nov. 7, 17QS. was reared a farmer, 
 and married, Jan. 22, 1822, Rosabella Pinney, who 
 was born May 4, 1800. To this union were born 
 four children, in the following order : Curtis H. ; 
 Elizabeth R., born July 30, 1826, married to F. A. 
 Latimer Sept. 18, 1850, and now- deceased: Cynthia 
 Ann, born June 26, 1829, who died Sept. 24, 1834; 
 and William G., born Aug. 12, 1834, and married, 
 Jan. 27, 1863, to \'enelia H. Todd. Hezekiah Hart 
 
■812 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Case was in politics a Democrat, held all the minor 
 town offices, and was in every way a useful citizen. 
 His wife was called away from him May 15, 1S64, 
 and he himself passed away May 29, 1876, a con- 
 sistent member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. 
 
 Hon. Curtis H. Case passed his early school 
 days in the Duncaster District of Bloomfield, and 
 also attended school at Granby and Suffield, Conn., 
 and "Westfield, Mass. He was reared to manhood 
 on his father's farm, and married, June 10, 1851, 
 Eliza Hoskins, daughter of Noah Hoskins, and 
 granddaughter of Asa Hoskins. Mr. and Mrs. C. 
 H. Case have adopted, as their own son, Alfred C, 
 who married Abigail Hoskins, and has five chil- 
 dren, Eliza N., Emma J., A. Curtis, Edmund E. 
 and John Asa. To Elva M., the adopted daughter 
 of Curtis H. Case, and wife of Everett Kenyon, 
 were born seven children : Elva Estelle, Mabel A., 
 Everett Seth, Lottie, Nettie, Jessie and May. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Case are members of the Congregational 
 Church of Bloomfield, and in politics Mr. Case is a 
 Democrat. As such he has served as selectman 
 and in the minor town offices, and also one term in 
 the State Legislature.' His social standing is nec- 
 essarily high, as he and family are classed among 
 the oldest and most respected residents of the town. 
 
 William G. Case, M. D., the younger brother of 
 Hon. Curtis H. Case, was educated elementarily in 
 the Duncaster District of Bloomfield, and early be- 
 came a school teacher in his native county. In 
 1861 he entered the medical department at Yale, 
 and in 1862 entered the hospital at New Haven, 
 and further pursued his studies under Surgeon 
 Jewett. He has confined his practice to the vicinity 
 of his home farm, however, on which he has lived 
 the greater portion of his life. To his marriage, 
 at Wallingford, with Miss Venelia H. Todd, have 
 been born three children : George H. ; Venelia R., 
 wife of Frederick W. Mack, and Delia A., who 
 died at the age of seven months. Mrs. Mack, a 
 highly accomplished lady, has published a volume 
 entitled "Grange Poems," which contains forty-five 
 of her exquisite productions, and which was copy- 
 righted in 1891 and issued in 1892. The Doctor is 
 a member of Hiram Lodge No. 98, F. & A. M., at 
 Bloomfield. He has a large collection of antiques 
 and historical works, and is considered one of the 
 best read men of the county. 
 
 The Case family is classed among the oldest 
 settlers of Simsbury, as John Case, the progenitor 
 of this family, resided there over two centuries 
 ago, and his remains were interred there in 1633. 
 
 GEORGE WATSON HUBBARD (deceased), 
 late assistant secretary of the ^tna Life Insurance 
 Company, of Hartford, was for the long period of 
 twenty-eight years closely and efficiently identified 
 with the growing business of that corporation. 
 
 Born March 24, 1841, in the town of Bloomfield, 
 Mr. Hubbard was the only son of Joab Hiram and 
 Fidelia (Cad well) Hubbard, and a descendant of a 
 sturdy New England family, (i) George Hubbard, 
 
 the emigrant ancestor of the Bloomfield branch of ; 
 the Hubbards, to which our subject belonged, was i 
 born in 1601, probably in southeastern England. His 
 name first appears of record in this country in 1639, 
 in a list of early settlers of Hartford, who came over- 
 land from the vicinity of Boston during the years 
 1635 and 1636, and located the towns of Windsor, 
 Hartford and Wethersfield, Conn., and Springfield, 
 Mass. George Hubbard married, in 1640, Eliza- 
 beth Watts. He moved to Mattabessett (afterward 
 called Middletown) in 1650, and died there in 1684. 
 From him our subject is a descendant n: the eighth 
 generation, the line of his descent being through 
 Samuel, John, John (2), John (3), Joab and Joab 
 Hiram. 
 
 (II) Samuel Hubbard, son of George, the emi- 
 grant, born in 1648, in Hartford, married, in 1673, 
 Sarah Kirby. Mr. Hubbard died in Hartford in 
 1732. 
 
 (III) John Hubbard, son of Samuel, born m 
 1691, in Hartford, married, in 1715, Agnes (Spen- 
 cer) Humphreys. He settled about 1721 on the 
 east side of Talcott Riountain, in the town of Sims- 
 bury, and about 1740 removed to that part of Wind- 
 sor that afterward became Bloomfield, dying there 
 in 1775. 
 
 (IV) John Hubbard (2), son of John, born in 
 1721, in Hartford, married Hannah Cadwell, and 
 lived in what is now Bloomfield ; he died in 1760. 
 
 (V) John Hubbard (3), son of John (2), born 
 in 1748, in Windsor, Conn., married, in 1775, Su- 
 sannah Wells, and lived in Bloomfield. He was a 
 men-'ber of the State Legislature in 1810; he died 
 in 1830. 
 
 (VI) Joab Hubbard, son of John (3), born in 
 1777, married, in 1804, Ruth Brown, who was born 
 in 1783. They lived and died in Bloomfield. Their 
 children were: Joab Hiram is mentioui^d below; 
 Ruth S., born about 1809, died in 1824; Franklin, 
 born about 1810, was a most highly respected farmer 
 of Bloomfield, and died in Hartford in 1886; Ann 
 E., who never married, died in 1900; Langdon re- 
 moved to Huron Citv, Mich., and died in 1892; 
 Marilla (i) and Marilla (2) both died young; Wat- 
 son is a resident of Sandusky, Ohio ; Susan V. and 
 Jeannette are residents of Hartford. 
 
 (VII) Joab Hiram Hubbard, son of Joab, and 
 the father of our subject, was born about 1806, in 
 the town of Bloomfield. He married Fidelia Cad- 
 well, and their only son was George Watson. The 
 father during the latter years of his life was a dry- 
 goods merchant in Hartford, and he was an esteemed 
 and respected citizen of the commvuiity. 
 
 George Watson Hubbard, the subject proper of 
 this sketch, came with his parents on their removal 
 to Hartford, when he was twelve years of age, and 
 here completed his education in the public schools 
 of the city. After his school days were over he 
 passed a period engaged in mercantile life, and in 
 1865, at the age of twenty-four, entered the employ 
 of the ^-Etna Life Insurance Co., in whose service 
 he spent the rest of his life — a period of over twenty- 
 
 1 
 
^/^yO^^--:^^^^^c^ty^ 
 
 T.HSBere JE Co. Oiica^:} //;. 
 
1 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 813 
 
 ■iglit vears — during' wliicli time he i)roved himself 
 I most capable man in his several departments. For 
 ionie fifteen years he was chief clerk, and then ad- 
 .anced to the assistant secretaryship of the com- 
 lany — a new office created some years prior to Mr. 
 liiibbard's death, and for which he was particu- 
 arlv well adapted, owingf to his familiarity with 
 jvery detail of the large business. The writer of 
 :he obituary notice of Air. Hubbard states that "he 
 ivas a man of singularly even temperament, of do- 
 iiestic tastes, exemplary character and habits, and 
 an earnest member of Christ Church, of which he 
 was one of the vestrymen." 
 
 Mr. Hubbard was a good financier, possessing 
 sound business judgment, and by habits of in- 
 dustry, diligence and careful investment accumu- 
 lated consiclerable property. He carried a life in- 
 surance of about $25,000, in the ^■Etna, Equitable 
 Life Assurance Society of New York, Aitiuial Ben- 
 efit Life Insurance Co., of Newark, X. ]., and other 
 companies. In his political views he was a Re- 
 publican, but he had no taste for public life. For 
 a number of years prior to his death he had been 
 treasurer of the Flartford Countv Horticultural So- 
 ciety. F"or years he has resided on Wethersfield 
 avenue, but some two years before he died trans- 
 ferred his home to West Hartford. He was an ex- 
 cellent citizen. 
 
 On Dec. 8, 18S0, Air. Hubbard was married 
 to Aliss Elizabeth Gay, born Feb. 14, i860, daugh- 
 ter of Joseph C. and Elizabeth G. ( Wells) Sisson, 
 and the union was blessed with children as follows : 
 Helen Alay, born Alay 3, 1882; Elizabeth Fidelia, 
 born May 24, 1884; and Margarie, born Aug. 26, 
 1890. The father died Oct. 13, 1893, and the 
 mother passed away Alarch 28, 1897. 
 
 On the day of Air. Flubbard's funeral the offices 
 of the .-E tna Life Insurance Co. were closed out of 
 respect to the deceased, and his fellow associates in 
 business attended the funeral in a body. The 
 funeral services w'ere held at Air. Hubbard's late 
 home in West Hartford, Rev. J. P. Faucon, as- 
 sistant rector of Christ Church, officiating. The 
 honorary pallbearers were : \\'arden George Ellis, 
 representing Christ church : Secretary Joel L. Eng- 
 lish and Cashier Charles F. Gilbert, of the Aetna 
 Life- Insurance Co.; and Charles T. Wells, "for- 
 merly of the --E^tna Life Insurance Co., an intimate 
 personal friend of Air. Hubbard. 
 
 AIRS. ELIZABETH GAY SISSOX, of West 
 Hartford, comes of distinguished ancestry. Her 
 father, George Wells, was born in Hartford Sept. 
 18, 1797, and was the second son of Ashbel and 
 Mary (Hopkins) Wells. His paternal grandfather 
 was Ashbel Wells, Sr., and his maternal grand- 
 father was Thomas Hopkins, a prominent sea cap- 
 tain of his day. All were of English descent. 
 
 Ashbel Wells, Jr., was a clerk in the commissary 
 department of Gen. Washington's armv during the 
 Revolutionary war, and subsequently was a promi- 
 nent and extensive West India merchant of Hart- 
 
 ford. He died Sept. 4, 1819, at the age of sixty- 
 one years, and, being verv generally respected, his 
 death was looked upon as a public calamity in the 
 community where he had so long been engaged in 
 business. 
 
 George Wells, father of Mrs. Sisson, left his 
 native city at the age of seventeen years, and went 
 as far west as Albany, N. Y. He obtained em- 
 ployment as a shoemaker at Little Falls and L'tica, 
 N. Y., and finally located in Le Roy, that State, 
 where he worked at his trade for a year and a half. 
 By way of the Great Lakes he traveled from Buffalo 
 to Brownhelm, Ohio, where he arrived June 18, 
 1818, and there he took up fifty acres of land on the 
 lake shore, later increasing his property until he 
 had one hundred acres. He erected thereon a log 
 house in which he lived for nineteen years, de- 
 voting a part of his time to farming and the re- 
 mainder to his trade. In 1837 he sold that place, 
 with the intention of moving farther west, but finally 
 purchased a farm of 125 acres in the same locality, 
 on which he made his home until his death. He 
 cleared and improved both farms. He was an 
 earnest and active member of the Congregational 
 Church, and was an ardent Republican in politics. 
 
 On Alarch 22, 1825, George Wells married 
 Aliss Alaria Butler, of West Hartford, who was 
 born Feb. 19, 1803, and died June 28, 1866. His 
 death occurred April 11, 1881. Airs. Wells" father, 
 Jonathan Butler, was a resident of West Hartford, 
 where he followed farming throughout life. He 
 was born Oct. 28, 1769, and died Dec. 3, 1855. 
 His father, Zaccheus Butler, also a resident of 
 Hartford, was born in 1743, and died Alarch 21, 
 1791. Jonathan Butler was married, 'Jan. 25, 1795, 
 to Aliss Elizabeth Gay, of Sharon, Conn., who was 
 born Alarch i, 1768, and died F'eb. 19, 1843. f'ley 
 had six children, the eldest of whom, Epaphrus, 
 was born Feb. 9, 1796; William Gay, born Sept. 
 29, 1799, went to Alichigan; Eliza, born Feb. 4, 
 1801, died Xov. 12, 1879; Maria, the mother of 
 Mrs. Sisson, was the next in order of birth ; George, 
 born Oct. 6, 1805, resided in West Hartford; and 
 Xathan, born Oct. 13, 1807, died Xov. 8, 1878. 
 To Mr. and Airs. Wells were born seven children : 
 George Butler, born Feb. 17, 1826; Xathan Porter. 
 
 I Aug. 27, 1828; Elizabeth Gay, our subject, Sept. 
 7, 1831; Charles Hopkins, Oct. 16, 1833; Alary 
 
 I Alaria, w-ife of Benjamin F. Nye, July 13, 1835; 
 Abigail Skinner, deceased wife of F. H. Bacon, 
 Sept. 13, 1837; and Thomas Gallaudet, Feb. 7, 1847. 
 The last named was killed in the battle of South 
 Alountain during the Civil war. 
 
 When five years old Airs. Sisson came to \\'est 
 Hartford to visit her grandparents, an uncle and 
 an aunt, and she remained with them from that time 
 until her marriage. She began her education in the 
 North Division school, and later attended Miss 
 Cosset's private school, on High street, and a pri- 
 vate school in East Hartford, receiving a good 
 training, such as was afforded by the seminaries 
 and high schools of her day. On Alarch 19, 1S57, 
 
814 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 she was united in marriage with Joseph C. Sisson, a 
 farmer of West Hartford, who was born in 1831, 
 and died June 26, 1861. His parents, Daniel Lee 
 and Elizabeth (Chapman) Sisson, were born, reared 
 and married in Westerly, R. I., later resided in 
 Bloomfield, Conn., and in 1827, came to West Hart- 
 ford, where they spent the remainder of their lives. 
 The father took an active part in town -affairs, 
 served as justice of the peace, and was a member 
 of the Baptist Church. He died in 1842. In his 
 family were nine children: Eliza Ann (Mrs. Wads- 
 worth), deceased; Albert Lee, deceased, who was 
 in the butcher business in Hartford; Minerva (Mrs. 
 GridleyJ, deceased; Abigail, wife of B. S. Bishop, 
 of West Hartford; Franklin, also a resident of 
 West Hartford; lliomas, a druggist, of the firm 
 of T. Sisson & Co., Hartford; Joseph C, deceased 
 husband of our subject ; and James Henry and Alice, 
 who died in childhood. 
 
 To Joseph C. and Elizabeth G. (Wells) Sisson 
 came two children : Anna Elizabeth, who was born 
 Feb. 4,' 1858, and died Jan. 24, i860; and Elizabeth 
 Gay, who was born Feb. i, i860, and on Dec. 8, 
 1880, married George W. Hubbard, whose sketch 
 appears above. Mr. Hubbard died Oct. 13, 1893, 
 and Mrs. Flubbard passed away March 28, 1897. 
 
 HIRAM W. ADAMS, the well-known live- 
 stock breeder and dealer of North Bloomfield, was 
 born in the town of Bloomfield, July 14, 1833, and 
 descends from one of the very old families of New 
 England, who trace their Kneage through more 
 than three hundred years back to England, and that 
 of this immediate family may be traced in this coun- 
 try from 1645 down to the present time, as follows : 
 
 George Adams, a glover, and his wife, Frances, 
 came from England in 1645, and settled in Water- 
 town, Mass., Nov. 4, 1664. He sold his house and 
 land to John Chenery, and moved to Cambridge 
 Farms, now Lexington, but was killed by the fall of 
 a rock at Watertown, Oct. 10, 1696, leaving an 
 estate valued at £61, 13s., 3d., with his son Daniel 
 as sole executor. The births of only two of his chil- 
 dren are on record, although it is certain that he had 
 six at least: John, born April 6, 1645, died young; 
 George, born in 1647, married Martha Fiske, -June 
 10, 1O84; Daniel, born in 1652, settled in Simsbury, 
 Conn; John, born March 6, 1657, moved to Sims- 
 bury, where he married Abigail Pinney, Dec. 6, 
 1677, moved to Enfield in 1697, and then to Col- 
 chester, where he died Nov. 22, 1732; Samuel set- 
 tled in Simsbury also, and there married Elizabeth, 
 daughter of Luke Hill ; Mary was baptized in Wa- 
 tertown, Nov. 21, 1686. 
 
 Daniel Adams, of Windsor, son of George, mar- 
 ried Mary Pinney, Sept. 20, 1677, settled in Sims- 
 bury, and became the father of eleven children ; 
 Daniel, born in 1678, died Jan. 11, 1713; Sarah was 
 married Feb. 22, 1704, to Thomas Stevens; Samuel, 
 who married Elizabeth Read July 2, 1713, died in 
 April, 1772; Joseph, born in 1685, married Mary 
 Case, April 30, 1719, and died March 26, 174: ; 
 
 Thomas, born in 1689, married Martha Buttolph 
 Dec. 25, 1712, and died Feb. 24, 1784; Benjamin, | 
 born in 1695, (first) married Rachel Case, March I 
 25, 1712, and (second) married Louise Griswold, 
 May 27, 1734, and died Oct. 3, 1770; Thankful, 1 
 born March 4, 1697, died Feb. 21, 1699; Mercy, 1 
 born Jan. 16, 1698, was married to Daniel Porter, I 
 Jan. 27, 1712; Mary, born Jan. 16, 1698, died March I 
 29, 1700; Ephraim, born May 25, 1701, married | 
 Ruth Beaman, May 5, 1726; and Thankful married 
 Robert Westland, May 17, 1721. The father of 1 
 this family was called from earth Nov. 17, 1713. , 
 Joseph Adams, son of Daniel, and mentioned ; 
 above as having been born in 1685, died March 26, <\ 
 1741. He married, April 30, 1719, Mary Case, ; 
 daughter of William and Elizabeth (Holcomb) « 
 Case, of Terry's Plains. She was born Aug. 23,. ' 
 1696, a sister of Rachel Case, wife of Benjamin 
 Aclams, the brother of Joseph, and died in Septem- 
 ber, 1784, the mother of two children: Joseph, born 
 Sept. 16, 1722, died in 1775; Matthew, born Aug. 
 
 21, 1724, died March 9, 1764. 
 
 Matthew Adams, son of Joseph, married Susan- 
 nah, daughter of William and Mehitable Eno, to 
 which union were born four children, viz. : Mat- 
 thew, April 9, 1746, died Sept. 24, 1776; Susannah, 
 Oct. 29, 1747, died Aug. 19, 1835; William, Nov. 
 2, 1752, died Feb. 14, 181 1; and Abel, April 30, 
 1756, died March 29, 1829. 
 
 Capt. William Adams, son of Matthew, married 
 Rosabella, daughter of Francis and Elizabeth 
 Loomis, of Simsbury; she died July 2, 1802, the 
 mother of the following-named children ; William 
 was born Oct. 14, 1778; Rosabella, born June 4, 
 1780, married Origen Pinney May 2, 1799, and died 
 Aug. 25, 1857; Asenath, born Sept. 21, 1783, mar- 
 ried Joseph Pinney, and died Nov. 21, 1864; Susan- 
 nah, born May i, 1785, married Henry Case, and 
 died Aug. 22, 1865; Cyrena, born May 19, 1789, 
 married Martin Mitchelson, April 25, 1809; and 
 Savilla, the youngest child, is married to Philetus 
 Goddard. The father of this family, Capt. William 
 Adams, died Feb. 14, 181 1.. 
 
 Abel Adams, brother of Capt. William Adams, 
 married Rosene Cossett, who was born May 30, 
 1759, a daughter of Rene and Phebe (Hillyer) 
 Cossett, and who died Oct. 25, 1827, the mother of 
 ten children: Betsey, July 17, 1778 — died Jan. 27, 
 1828; Rosannah, Feb. 2, 1780 — died March 26, 
 1833; Abel, Jan. 3, 1781— died Oct. 15, 1856; Am- 
 brose,- Dec. 17, 1783 — died Feb. 19, i860; Homer, 
 March 29, 1788 — died Sept. 16, 1805; Phebe, Dec. 
 
 22, 1789 — died Nov. 16, 1872; Lurana, Oct. 14, 
 1790 — died Sept. 12, i860; Orphia Cossett, Feb. 
 17. 1793 — died June 27, 1867; Ruth, March 2\, 
 1796 — died Nov. 19, 1866; and Virgil, Jan. 25, 1798 
 — died April 26, 1849. The father of these chil- 
 dren, Abel Adams, was one of the soldiers sent from 
 Connecticut after the Lexington massacre, and 
 joined the army near Boston. He enlisted May 
 9, 1775, in Capt. Abel Pettibone's company, Second 
 Connecticut Continentals, under Col. Joseph 
 
COMMEMORATirE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 815 
 
 Spencer, and served until honorably discharsjed, 
 Dec. iS, 1775; in 1776 he enlisted in Capt, Ephraini 
 Adams' company, I'.levcnth Connecticut Militia, 
 and marched to Westchester; returnintj to his farm 
 in North Uloomfield, he died there, and there, is a 
 marble slab to his memory in St. Andrew's cemetery. 
 
 William Adams, son of Capt. W lUiam Adams, 
 was a lifelong resident of Bloomlield, was a farmer, 
 and for many years kept a tavern. Born in 1778, 
 he married. May 2, 1798, Miss Electa Roberts, 
 who died Oct. 15, 1847, t'^^ mother of nine children, 
 born as follows: William, Oct. 10, 1799; Hiram, 
 i\lay 22, 1801 ; LJyron. Feb. 23, 1803; Chester, Feb. 
 23, 1805; Watson, April 23, 1807; Tudor, April 
 30, 1809; Caroline Electa, Dec. 4, 1812; Edwin 
 R., April II, 1815; and James, Aug. 26, 1817. The 
 father of this family died July 24, 1822. 
 
 Hiram Adams, son of William and father of 
 Hiram Watts Adams, passed his boyhood days at 
 his father's tavern in Simsbury, now in I'loonifield, 
 and was educated in the South Scotland district 
 school. He kept store and tollgate at Xorth Bloom- 
 field several years, and married, June 12, 1823, Miss 
 Catherine Ailams, daughter of Ambrose Adams, and 
 granddaughter of Capt. Abel Adams. To this mar- 
 riage were born seven children : Electa C, widow 
 of Horton Cornish, of Hartford : Mary, deceased 
 wife of Linville J. Hall, chaplain in the State prison 
 at Wethersfield ; Eliza C, widow of Wooster B. 
 Seymour, of Hartford ; Hiram W. ; Amelia D., 
 widow of Henry \V. \\ biting, of New Britain ; 
 Byron D., deceased ; and Ashbel S., deceased. Mrs. 
 Adams died in October, 1853, and Mr. Adams mar- 
 ried, Jan. I, 1S56, Lydia S. Butler. In politics Mr. 
 Adams was a Democrat. In religion he was first 
 an Episcopalian, but later united with the Baptist 
 Church at Tariffville, of which his wife was a mem- 
 ber, and in this faith he died JNIarch 8, 1866. 
 
 Hiram W. Adams passed his school-boy days in 
 North Scotland school district, Hartford county, 
 and in Perth Amboy, X. J. At the age of eighteen 
 years he started peddling through the states of New 
 York, Ohio and Alichigan, and in 1858, about six 
 years later, returned to Bloomfield with a drove 
 of twenty-two horses, and also in the summer of 
 the same year, drove 3,000 sheep from Ohio. He 
 next conducted a grocery and also a carriage re- 
 pository in Hartford for twenty-five years, being 
 the first to engage in the latter business in that 
 city, and for twenty-one years there made a con- 
 tinuous residence, his grocery being at the corner of 
 Main and Pleasant streets. 
 
 In the spring of 1883 ^Ir. Adams returned to 
 North Bloomfield, and this has since been his per- 
 manent home. Here he engaged in handling Cana- 
 dian horses up to 1894, since when he has devoted 
 his attention to trading in horses from the West, 
 being now, as he has been in the past, the leader 
 in this special line of live stock dealing. 
 
 Mr. Adams was united in marriage, at East 
 Granby, Conn., Feb. 16, 1859, '^^■'th Miss Jane F. 
 Griswold, a daughter of Elihu Griswold, who de- 
 
 scended from one of tlie oldest families of New 
 England, and of which further mention will shortly 
 be made. To the felicitous union of Mr. and Mrs. 
 .\dams has come one daughter. Bertha Jane, whose 
 birth occurred Julv 31, 18O1, and who was mar- 
 ried, March 27, 1883, to Jeffery O. Phelps, of Hart- 
 ford. To Mr. and -Mrs. I'helps has been born. .May 
 25, 1886, one son, Jeffery O.. Jr. Mr. .\dams is 
 a F'reemason ; he was an alderman in Hartford, 
 has been a selectman in Bloomfield, and has ever led 
 an active, a progressive and a useful life, replete 
 with beneficial results to himself, his family and his 
 hosts of warm-heartetl and unfeignedlv sincere 
 friends. 
 
 Elihu Gkiswold, father of Mrs. Jane F. .\danis, 
 and a son of Alexantler and Alice (Bascomj Gris- 
 wold, was born in East Granby, Dec. 20, 1799, and 
 there died in July, 1882. He was one of the town's 
 most prominent and influential citizens, was one of 
 its progressive farmers, for several terms repre- 
 sented his district in the State Legislature, as a 
 Democrat, and also served in all the town offices; 
 he died a devoted member of the Baptist Church 
 at East Granby. To his marriage, with Miss Mary 
 Olmstead, a daughter of Timothy and Rhoda 
 (Loomis) Olmstead, of his own town, were born 
 three chddren : Jane Frances (Mrs. .-\dams), June 
 22, 1834; Mary Alice, who died April 2, 1842, at 
 the age of si.xteen months; and Timothy' Wolcott, 
 born JMarch 17, 1843, and also deceased. 
 
 A brief summary of the Griswold family antece- 
 dents may be given as follows : Edward and ^^latthew 
 Griswold came from Kendworth, Warwickshire, 
 England, in 1639, in company with the Rev. Huits 
 party, and settled in Windsor, Conn. Although they 
 l;ad owned property in Kenilworth. it is not known 
 that the city was their birthplace, and it is claimed 
 that they belonged to the ancient family of Solihull 
 near by, and as such were entitled to the use of the 
 family coat of arms, but of this there is no positive 
 proof. However, it is certain that the immigrant 
 brothers were men of education and property, 
 and, after their arrival in the Colony, were al- 
 ways saluted as "]^Ir.," the equivalent of "gentle- 
 man,'' in contradistinction to yeoman or tradesman. 
 Both brothers, though young when they arrived, 
 speedily allied themselves with the highest social 
 element of Windsor, took positions of commanding 
 influence and became prominent in local aftairs, be- 
 ing chosen to fill the offices of governor and lieu- 
 tenant governor of the State many times. Besides 
 if it be a principle of heredity that the character- 
 istics, physical and mental, of a strongly marked 
 ancestry, are reproduced in the descendants, then 
 it may be inferred .that the original Griswolds of 
 New England were high minded, intelligent and 
 Christian gentlemen, as these characteristics are 
 fully developed in the present generation. 
 
 HON. FREDERICK ALEXANDER KING, a 
 substantial agriculturist and citizen of South \\'ind- 
 sor, has descended from one of the old and promi- 
 
816 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 nent families of New England, being in the seventh 
 generation from Capt. John King, of Northampton, 
 i\iass., the line of his descent being through Thomas, 
 Thomas (2), Zebulon, Alexander and Benoni Ol- 
 cott King. 
 
 (i) Capt. John King, the emigrant ancestor, 
 was born in 1629 in Northampton, England. At the 
 age of sixteen years, in 1645, he came to America, 
 locating in Northampton, Mass. He married, in 
 1656, Sarah, daughter of Deacon William Horton, 
 theirs being the second marriage celebrated in the 
 town. The town granted him a homestead on King 
 street. At his suggestion, or in honor of him, it is 
 thought, the town took its name. He was a tanner 
 b}^ trade, an estimable member of the Church and 
 community, often serving as selectman. His wife 
 died in 1683, and he subsequently married Sarah, 
 widow of Jacob Mygatt, and daughter of William 
 Whiting. Capt. King died in 1703, and his second 
 wife passed away in 1705. 
 
 (H) Thomas King, son of Capt. John King, 
 the emigrant, was born in 1662 ; his third wife died 
 in 171 1, the year in which he died. 
 
 (ni) Thomas King (2), son of Thomas King 
 [no record given]. 
 
 (IV) Zebulon King, son of Thomas King (2), 
 born in 1717, married, in 1743, Keziah Loomis. She 
 died in 1^82, and he died in 1793. He located in 
 what is now South Windsor, Connecticut. 
 
 (V) Alexander King, son of Zebulon King, born 
 in 1749, married, in 1781, Abigail Olcott. She died 
 in 1837, he died in 1831. Alexander King served 
 as a soldier during the Revolutionary war. In June, 
 1776, he was commissioned, by Jonathan Trumbull, 
 ensign of a company raised to join tne Continental 
 army, and was again commissioned Oct. 16, 1777, 
 by Gov. Trumbull, as an ensign in the 19th Regi- 
 ment of Militia. 
 
 (VI) Benoni Olcott King, the father of Hon. 
 Frederick Alexander King, of South Windsor, was 
 born Aug. 26, 1799. He married Nov. 12, 1827, 
 Lucina Sadd, born Jan. 3, 1802, daughter of Noah 
 Sadd. Mr. King was an industrious and prosper- 
 ous farmer throughout his lifetime, and one of the 
 substantial men of Hartford county. He was a 
 representative from his town to the General As- 
 sembly of the State in 1846 — the first from the 
 town of South Windsor. He was a practical business 
 man, possessed of good judgment and held the es- 
 teem and respect of his fellow townsmen, as did also 
 his wife,who was a descendant of Thomas Sadd, who 
 was among the early settlers of East Windsor. Mr. 
 King died Oct. 15, 1854, and Mrs. King on Oct. 
 13, 1858. To them were born four children: Mar- 
 tha C, born in 1831, resides near the old homestead; 
 Frederick Alexander, born Dec. 4, 1833, is men- 
 tioned farther on; Celia M., born in 1840, married, 
 in 1870, Leonidas D. Chandler, a substantial farmer 
 of South Windsor; and Catharine M., born in 
 1836, married, in 1870, William H. Cogswell, of 
 Ellington, Conn., and died in 1875. 
 
 (VII) Frederick Alexander King, son of the 
 
 late Hon. Benoni Olcott King, was born Dec. 4, 
 1833, in what is now South Windsor, and was 
 reared on his father's farm, remaining at home 
 until his marriage. In boyhood he attended the pub- 
 lic schools of the town, and also received private 
 instruction. In 1870 he purchased what was known 
 as the old Wolcott homestead, to which he removed 
 after his marriage, and which has since been his 
 home. This farm now comprises some one hundred 
 acres, in addition to which he owns several other 
 tracts, the greater part of the home farm being 
 bottom land on the Connecticut river, over which the 
 spring freshets annually leave a rich alluvial de- 
 posit, greatly enriching it and rendering it self-sup- 
 porting, and the best meadow or grass land to be 
 found anywhere in the world. Mr. King is one 
 of the few farmers of Hartford county who is not 
 burdened with the great expense of fertilizing, his 
 land lying in this particular locality being effectually 
 fertilized by this annual overflow of the river ; and 
 he is the only farmer who takes entire advantage 
 of these natural conditions. He owns one of the 
 best-improved farms in South Windsor, and is en- 
 gaged in general farming and stock raising. He 
 also grows some tobacco. As an agriculturist he 
 ranks with the best of the county, and as a man 
 and citizen he has the respect and esteem of his 
 fellow men. 
 
 A man of the people, enterprising and public 
 spirited, one in whom the people of his town have 
 confidence, and who has successfully managed his 
 own affairs, Mr. King has many times been called 
 to positions of public trust and honor, and has as 
 often discharged their duties with efficiency and 
 fidelity. Though a Democrat in his political affil- 
 iations it is a notable fact, and to his credit, that 
 he has had the support of both parties through his 
 public service. He was elected town clerk and 
 treasurer in 1863, and held those positions for a 
 number of years. He was elected to the office of 
 probate judge in 1867, and in 1878 was a represent- 
 ative in the General Assembly. He was chosen 
 selectman of his town in 1881 and again in 1887, 
 holding the office in allsome eight years, and then 
 declining further service. He also for some years 
 was a member of the high school committee of the 
 town. 
 
 On May 8, 1873, Mr. King was married to Miss 
 Ellen L. Vibbert, and their home has been blessed 
 with children as follows : Mabel D., Olcott F., Kath- 
 erine L. and Mattie E. 
 
 HON. MARO SPAULDING CHAPMAN, 
 manufacturer, of Manchester and Hartford, has long 
 been one of the promient business men and citizens 
 of the Capital City and of the State. 
 
 A representative of one of Connecticut's early 
 and prominent families, Mr. Chapman was born 
 Feb. 13, 1839, in East Haddam, Conn., son of Na- 
 thaniel and Harriet (Talcott) Chapman, and a de- 
 scendant in the seventh generation from (I) Rob- 
 ert Chapman, who was born in England, says tradi- 
 
fe^^€^:6^e 
 
 _^ 
 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 817 
 
 tion, in 1616. He came from Hull, England, to 
 JJoston in 1635, and on to Saxbrook that same year. 
 In 1O42 he married Ann Uliss. He died in 1687. 
 That he was a man of influence in the town of Say- 
 brook is evident from the fact that for many years 
 he held the office of town clerk, and clerk of Oyster 
 River Quarter, and filled many other important sta- 
 tions. I'or many years he was commissioner of 
 Saybrook, and was elected as their deputy to the 
 General Court forty-three times, and assistant nine 
 times. He was therefore a member of the Legis- 
 lature of the State at more sessions than any other 
 man, from the settlement of Saybrook to the present 
 time. The Colony records also show that each of 
 his three sons were representatives to the Legisla- 
 ture: The eldest, twenty-two sessions; the second, 
 eighteen sessions ; the third, twenty-four sessions. 
 It appears from the records of Saybrook that Rob- 
 ert Chapman was a very large land holder in the 
 towns of Saybrook and East Haddam. He also 
 owned a large tract in Hebron. He settled him- 
 self on a tract of land in Oyster River, about two 
 miles west of Saybrook fort, which has descended 
 in the line of the youngest son of each family, 
 never having been bought or sold, and is now oc- 
 cupied by Robert Chapman, a lineal descendant of 
 Robert Chapman, the emigrant. 
 
 The line of our subject's descent from this 
 Robert Chapman is through Robert (2J, Robert 
 (3), Caleb, Caleb (2), and Nathaniel. 
 
 ill) Robert Chapman {2), son of Robert, the 
 emigrant, born in 1646, at Saybrook, married (first) 
 in 1671 Sarah Griswold. He was long in public 
 life, having represented the town in the Legislature 
 eighteen sessions, was commissioner and surveyor 
 of the town, and otherwise prominent. He was a 
 large land owner. His death occurred in 171 1. 
 
 (HI) Robert Chapman (3J, son of Robert (2), 
 born in 1675, was one of the first settlers of East 
 Haddam. His death occurred in 1760. His wife's 
 name was Alary. 
 
 (IV) Caleb Chapman, son of Robert (3), born 
 in 1704, at East Haddam, married in 173 1 Elizabeth 
 Church. 
 
 (Vj Caleb Chapman (2), son of Caleb, born in 
 1732, in East Haddam, married (second), in 1775, 
 Hannah Brown, of Chatham. He died in 1805. 
 
 (\T) Xathaniel Chapman, son of Caleb, born in 
 in 1787, in East Haddam, married (first) Alay 13, 
 1819, Philoxa Cone, who died Sept. 7, 1823, leaving 
 no issue. Mr. Chapman later married Harriet Tal- 
 cott. He was occupied as a tanner and farmer in 
 East Haddam. His children were : Frederick T., 
 born in 1825; JMary P., in 1827: John P., in 1829; 
 Xathaniel O., in 1833: William PL, in 1835; ]\Iary 
 S., Feb. 13, 1839; and James B.. in 1840. 
 
 Maro S. Chapman, our subject, attended the 
 public schools of East Haddam and also a private 
 school there. From the age of eighteen he was a 
 clerk for three years in a store in Manchester 
 Green. Hartford county. The stirring scenes of i86i 
 aroused his patriotism, and, feeling that his coun- 
 
 52 
 
 ' try needed his services, he left the counting room, 
 aiid on \ov. 20, 1861, enlisted, becoming a ])rivate 
 in Company C, 12th Conn. \'. L, the "Charter Oak" 
 regiment, of which Hon. Henry C. Ueming, at that 
 time mayor of Hartford, became colonel. The 
 command became a part of Gen. Butler's division. 
 Young Chapman bore an honorable part in the cam- 
 paign and varied experiences of his company and 
 regiment for a year and a half, then returned to 
 civil life. Since the close (j1 the war ( 1865) he has 
 been engaged primarily in tiie manufacture of en- 
 velopes, identified with the PlimiHon Manufacturing 
 Co., of Hartford, and smce 1874 has been superin- 
 tendent of the United States Stamped Envelope 
 Works, of the same city. In order that the reader 
 may get an idea of the magnitude of this business 
 under the superintendency of Mr. Chapman we 
 give an outline of the history of the concern with 
 which he has been connected. 
 
 The Plimpton ]\Ianufacturing Co., which was 
 the outgrowth of a business started by Linus B. 
 Plimpton in 1865, was organized in 1873 for the 
 manufacture of envelopes, paix;r, papeteries and 
 printing. In 1886 the company built a factory on 
 Pearl street for their own exclusive use, constructed 
 of brick, and with four Hours above the basement^ 
 each containing 17,000 square feet. It is lighted 
 by electricity, furnished with automatic fire ex- 
 tinguishers, and thoroughly provided with modern 
 appliances for the economical dispatch of business. 
 The works have a capacity of three million envel- 
 opes per day, and besides are fully equipped for 
 job-printing and book-binding. In 1874 the com- 
 pany put in a bid for making stamped envelopes for 
 the government, and obtained the prize. With 
 them in the contract was joined the Morgan En- 
 velope Co., of Springfield, Alass., and the associa- 
 tion was merged in the Hartford Manufacturing 
 Co., in 1898. At each successive letting, with the 
 exception of the year 1894 the contract has con- 
 tinued to fall to these parties as the lowest bidders. 
 Since the transfer of the manufacture to Plartford 
 ( 1874) the annual output of government stamped 
 envelopes has risen from one hundred and fifty 
 million to over six hundred million. From the be- 
 ginning Mr. Chapman has had immediate super- 
 vision of the business, which is carried on in a build- 
 ing by itself, while the Post Office Department has 
 an agent of its own under the same roof to look 
 after its interests, and to superintend the shipments 
 to postoffices throughout the country on order from 
 W'ashington. The business is now carried on un- 
 der the name of the Hartford Alanufacturing Co., 
 of which 2\Ir. Chapman is general manager and 
 secretary and treasurer, and he has shown great 
 executive ability and decision of character in this 
 work. He is also vice-president of the Plimpton 
 Manufacturing Co. 
 
 Mr. Chapman originated and is president of 
 the Hartford. Alanchester & Rockville Tramway 
 Co. With his own resources he built, equipped 
 and turned over the road to the stockholders in 
 
818 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 complete running- order, and now owns a controlling 
 ■ interest in same. It is regarded by those who are 
 qualified to express an opinion as being in every 
 respect a model. During the year 1896, under the 
 same conditions, he extended the line six miles to 
 Talcottville, and in 1897 to Rockville, and built a 
 complete power plant to furnish electricity both 
 for the system and for lighting the town of Man- 
 chester. For twelve years, up to. 1897, he was presi- 
 dent of the Hartford Manilla Co., which had a 
 flourishing mill at Burnside. 
 
 Politically Mr. Chapman is a stanch Republi- 
 can. For thirty years he has been a member of 
 the town committee, and for upward of fifteen years 
 was its chairman. He is an admirable debater, and 
 a clear and forcible speaker, having the faculty of 
 presenting his views with great clearness, and in 
 convincing Style. He has been a number of times 
 honored by his fellow townsmen with places of 
 trust and responsibility, represented his town in 
 the Legislature in 1882, and was senator from the 
 Second Senatorial District in 1884-85. While a 
 member of the House he was chairman of the com- 
 mittee on cities and boroughs, and in the Senate 
 was chairman of the committee on railroads. At 
 the Republican State Convention held in New 
 Haven Sept. 5, 1900, Mr. Chapman was unani- 
 mously chosen Presidential Elector for the First 
 Congressional District, comprising the counties of 
 Hartford and Tolland. For a decade and more 
 past Mr. Chapman was chairman of the Road and 
 Bridge Commission of the town of JManchester. 
 He is a member of the lodges of both the Masonic 
 Fraternity and Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
 lows at Manchester, and of Drake Post, G. A. R., 
 Manchester, of which he was commander for ten 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Chapman has been twice married. In 1861 
 he wedded Lucy W. Woodbridge, of Manchester, 
 who died in 1869, leaving one child, Jennie P., now 
 the wife of E. S. Ela, editor and publisher of the 
 Manchester Herald. In 1871 Mr. Chapman mar- 
 ried Helen C. Robbins, of Manchester, and the union 
 has been blessed with two children : Helen G. and 
 Mary O. 
 
 HON. ROSWELL H. PHELPS. The Phelps 
 family has held such a distinguished place in the 
 history of this section that the following account 
 of the branch represented by this well-known citi- 
 zen of East Granby, now serving as Judge of Pro- 
 bate, will be of more than ordinary interest. He 
 is of the tenth generation in direct descent from 
 William Phelps, who was born in 1699, in Tewks- 
 bury, England, and came to America in 1630 with 
 two brothers, Richard and George. After a few 
 years residence in Massachusetts this noted pio- 
 neer came to Hartford county, settling in Windsor 
 in 1635, and land owned by him is still in the pos- 
 session of his descendants in that town. 
 
 (II) Joseph Phel.ps, son of William, was born 
 in England, accompanied his father to America in 
 
 childhood, and settled at Simsbury, where his re- 
 maining years were spent. 
 
 (Ili) Joseph Phelps, the next in the line of 
 descent, was born at Simsbury in 1667. 
 
 (IV) Joseph Phelps, who was born at Sims- 
 bury in 1689, made his home 1710 in what is now 
 East Granby, and was the progenitor of the branch 
 of the family now residing in that town, a portion 
 of the land acquired by him being still in the pos- 
 session of his descendants. 
 
 (V) Joseph Phelps, the next in descent, was 
 born after his father's removal to East Granby, 
 in 1716. 
 
 (VI_) Joseph Phelps, through whom the line 
 of descent is continued, was born in East Granby, 
 in 1742, and died aged twenty-six years. 
 
 (VII) Capt. Roswell Phelps, our subject's great- 
 grandfather, was born in East Granby, in 1764, and 
 died in 1805. He owned a large tract of real estate 
 in the' town, and was one of its most prominent 
 citizens. During the Revolutionary war he served 
 as a private soldier, and his title was subsequently 
 earned by service as captain of the Fourth Com- 
 pany,, i8th Regiment Connecticut Militia, his com- 
 mission being signed by Gov. Trumbull in October, 
 1799. Fie married Chloe Holcomb, and had three 
 children: Roswell Homer, who is mentioned be- 
 low ; Orson P., from whom many of the name 
 in this section are descended ; and Chloe, who mar- 
 ried Seth Thompson. 
 
 (VIII) Roswell Homer Phelps, the grandfather 
 of our subject, was born in 1788 at the old home- 
 stead in East Granby, and by occupation was an 
 agriculturist. Throughout his life he was held 
 in high esteem for his sterling qualities of char- 
 acter, although his preference for a quiet life kept 
 him from accepting official honors of any kind. 
 He was a large man, weighing about 260 pounds, 
 and his robust constitution carried him to an ad- 
 vanced age, his death occurring Nov. 19, 1881. 
 In religious faith he was a Congregationalist, and 
 politically he affiliated first with the Whig and later 
 with the Republican party, being a firm supporter 
 of the Government during the war. In 181 1 he 
 married Lydia Gay, who was born in 1790, and died 
 Oct, 27, 1826, her remains being interred in the 
 old cemetery in East Granby by the side of her 
 husband. The Gay family is iof pioneer stock, 
 and her father. Sergeant Richard Gay, was a prom- 
 inent resident of East Granby. Of the children 
 of Roswell Homer and Lydia Phelps, only one, 
 Richard H., lived to adult age. 
 
 (IX) Hon. Richard H. Phelps, father of our 
 subject, was born June 27, 1813, in East Granby, 
 and after attending the schools of District No. 2, 
 of that town, he pursued the higher branches in 
 Rev. Mr. Hemingway's select school, at West Suf- 
 field. Although reared to farm life he found it 
 uncongenial and, as a young man, turned his at- 
 tention to teaching. Later he engaged in the dry- 
 goods business in Hartford, where for several years 
 he conducted two stores. He removed in 1847 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 819 
 
 'to Windsor, Conn., and in 1863 to Seneca Falls, 
 X. Y., and four years later he went to Alilford, 
 Del., where he spent ahout seven years. While 
 there he was connnissioned as justice of the peace 
 by Gov. Salisbury, of Delaware, and otficiated with 
 marked ability in many trials. In 1874 he returned 
 to East Granby to spend his remaining years, and 
 his death occurred there Oct. 15, 1885. In poli- 
 tics he was a stanch Democrat, and at various 
 ; times he held ofhcc, his services as representative 
 from Windsor and Granby in the State Legisla- 
 ture demonstrating his powers as a party leader. 
 In 1S51 he was made county connnissioner, his 
 commission being signed by Gov. Thomas Seymour, 
 and he also served as Judge of Probate in Windsor 
 and as director of the Connecticut State Prison, as 
 well as in other positions of responsibility. His 
 able "History of Newgate, of Connecticut"' is the 
 only authentic history of that old institution ever 
 published, -and although it passed through several 
 , editions it is now rare and is eagerly sought for, 
 as time only increases its value. On Oct. 22, 1840, 
 Mr. Phelps was married in Windsor to jNIiss JNIind- 
 well r>. Griswold, a native of that town, born Aug. 
 26. 1814. She belonged to a well-known family, 
 and her father, Buckland Griswold, and grand- 
 father, Abiel Griswold, w^ere each wealthy and 
 prominent citizens of Windsor in their time. She 
 died Oct. 8, 1854, and Mr. Phelps afterward mar- 
 ried Mrs. Julia E. Babcock, wdio was born in Wind- 
 sor. April 2T,, 1822, a daughter of Lemuel and Nancy 
 ^^'elch, and is now living at the homestead in East 
 Granby, where she is much respected for her ex- 
 cellent traits. There were no children by this sec- 
 ond marriage. Our subject was the eldest in the 
 family of three children born to Richard H. and 
 Mindwell B. Phelps. (2) William G., formerly 
 a successful dentist at Galena, IMd., died in 1888. 
 He married Edith C. Foulk, who survived him with 
 two children, both born at ^Milford, Del., Roswell 
 Foulk, now the only male representative of this 
 branch of the family bearing the name of Phelps, 
 a bright, promising young man, a graduate of Am- 
 herst College, and now in Harvard College, and 
 Edith M., a student in the ^ledical Department of 
 Boston L^niversity, who possesses rare mental gifts, 
 and will doubtless attain success in her chosen pro- 
 fession. (3) Alline L.,only sister of our subject, mar- 
 ried the late George HofF, of Philadelphia, and has 
 two children, both natives of Lincoln, Del., Laura E., 
 who possesses intellectual ability and force of char- 
 acter of an unusual order, is a graduate of the High 
 and Normal schools at Philadelphia, and licensed 
 to teach anywhere in that city : and Henry Phelps, 
 residing with his widowed mother. 
 
 Roswell H. Phelps was born at the old home- 
 stead in East Granby which he still calls his home, 
 the greater portion of his time being spent there, 
 as he has never married and set up a separate es- 
 tablishment. After comnleting a course of study 
 in the public schools of Windsor he attended Wind- 
 sor Academv, then conducted bv Prof. Standish. 
 
 In early manhood he began teaching, and in 1866, 
 after several terms of successful work in Connect- 
 icut and Delaware went to California, and for two 
 years taught in the vicinity of Sacramento, receiv- 
 ing one hundred dollars per month. In those days 
 California had a school system far in advance of 
 that of any other State in the far West, and the 
 Judge's high standing in the rigid examinations 
 retlected great credit upon him. On his return to 
 the East he was connected for some years with the 
 Continental Life Insurance Co., with headquarters 
 in Hartford, and in the meantime he studied short- 
 hand, becoming so expert as to be employed as a 
 reporter in the Legislature during two sessions. 
 Since that time he has had considerable experience 
 in journalistic work, being associated with the 
 Hartford Times as a legislative reporter, also with 
 the Insurance Jonrnal, Hartford; and his abilities 
 were also appreciated by Mark Twain, who 
 made him his private secretary during the writing 
 of the famous book "On The Mississippi Twenty 
 Years After," traveling up and down the whole 
 stretch of the ^Mississippi. Having acquired a com- 
 fortable competence, which he has judiciously in- 
 vested and increased, the Judge has been able to 
 secure the advantages of travel and a generous 
 course of reading, while his native ability and re- 
 finement- have given him entrance to the best class 
 of people everywhere. His ancestrv entitles him 
 to membership in the Society of the Sons of the 
 American Revolution, and he takes much interest 
 in its work. Although no artistic training was 
 given him in youth, his talent for painting has been 
 shown in a number of excellent specimens which 
 have received nnich praise, and doubtless, if he had 
 devoted his attention to art, he would have made 
 a name for himself in that line of effort. He is 
 one of the chief tax-payers in his town, and all his 
 varied business investments receive his personal at- 
 tention, occupying quite fully the time left from his 
 official duties. In 1896 he was chosen to his pres- 
 ent post of Probate Judge, and so free from all 
 partisan bias was the movement which resulted in 
 his election that he may truly be said to have been 
 the choice of the entire community. His able, faith- 
 ful and efficient work has fully justified the con- 
 fidence of the people, which was confirmed by his 
 almost unanimous re-election to the Probate Judge- 
 ship in 1898. 
 
 HON. LEMUEL STOUGHTON, deceased. 
 Ninety-one years of life filled with useful effort, 
 and crowned with the respect and esteem of his fel- 
 low citizens, w-as the lot of this honored resident 
 of East Windsor. He was one of the most re- 
 spected and influential residents of his section of 
 the State, and his distinguished services in public 
 life, as well as his personal worth, make the follow- 
 ing history of general interest, not only to the 
 readers of the present day. but to future historians 
 of this section. 
 
 Mr. Stoughton came of good pioneer stock, be- 
 
820 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ing of the sixth generation in descent from (I) 
 Thomas Stoughton, a native of England, who came 
 to America about 1630, and soon afterward lo- 
 cated in Hartford county, in the old town of 
 Windsor. 
 
 (II) John Stoughton, son of Thomas, was the 
 first of the family to locate upon the farm occupied 
 by our subject in East Windsor, which has descended 
 from father to son now through six generations. 
 
 (III) Nathaniel Stoughton, our subject's great- 
 grandfather, followed agriculture at the homestead 
 throughout life. 
 
 (IV) Lemuel Stoughton, the grandfather of our 
 subject, was born at the old farm and made his home 
 there. 
 
 (V) John Stoughton, our subject's father, was 
 born at the homestead Feb. 2, 1772, and died Sept. 
 19, 1841. Only one of his family now survives, 
 Hon. John Stoughton, of New Britain, who has at- 
 tained the age of eighty-six. One daughter, Airs. 
 Grant, late of South Windsor, died May 24, 1900, 
 at the age of ninety years. 
 
 (VI) Lemuel Stoughton was born March 4, 
 1808, on the farm where he always made his home, 
 and was educated in the common schools of the town 
 and the academy at East Windsor. He remained 
 under the parental roof until 1841, when he pur- 
 chased a part of the old homestead and improved 
 the tract for a permanent home. He owned 120 
 acres of land and for 3'ears was quite extensively 
 engaged in tobacco growing, his farm being con- 
 sidered one of the best in the town. Air. Stoughton 
 was always interested in politics, first as a Whig and 
 later as a Republican, having joined the latter party 
 on its organization, and at one time or other held 
 nearly every office in the gift of his fellow towns- 
 men. He served six years as assessor and seven as 
 selectman, and in 1845-46 was elected a member of 
 the Legislature, while in 1865 and again in 1866 he 
 was elected to the State Senate, from the old Sec- 
 ond district, his able services commanding the ap- 
 proval of his constituents. He was the Senate chair- 
 man of the committee on agriculture. Always 
 deeply interested in the welfare of his town and 
 State, he gave his support and influence readily to 
 any movement which promised to benefit his fellow 
 men. In disposition benevolent and generous, he 
 was universally beloved, and his advice, especially 
 in business matters, was frequently sought by the 
 younger generation, and given with a spirit which 
 displayed his genuine sympathy and interest. His 
 death, on April 27, 1899, was widely mourned. 
 For many years he was a leading member of the 
 First Congregational Church of East Windsor, and 
 his family hold an enviable social position. 
 
 In 1841 Mr. Stoughton married Miss Hannah 
 Blodgett, of East Windsor, who died April 27, 1S50, 
 and of their three children, Lemuel, Hannah and 
 Oliver, none are now living. On Dec. 4, 185 1, he 
 married Miss Mary Moody, of Granby, Mass., 
 daughter of Thomas Hovey and Hannah Montague 
 (Ferry) Moody, and by this union there were also 
 
 three children : Susan, deceased ; Lemuel, mentioned , 
 below ; and Miss Lucy W., who resides at the old I 
 hoine. 
 
 Lemuel Stoughton was born May 12, 1865, 
 and received his early education in the public schools ' 
 of the home neighborhood, later taking a course ' 
 in the academy at St. Johnsburg, Vt., from which 
 he was graduated m the class of '83. He has al- 
 ways followed farming and now has control of the 
 old homestead, to which he has succeeded. On 
 March 20, 1894, he married Kate Louise, daughter 
 of Chauncey B. Ellsworth, whose sketch appears 
 elsewhere. They have two children, Mary Louise 
 and Lemuel Ellsworth. 
 
 ISAAC BROADHEAD (deceased) was one of 
 Hartford county's most valued citizens, and through- 
 out his long and successful business career he gave 
 his support only to enterprises and interests which 
 were calculated to promote the general welfare. 
 While he had but a limited education, according to 
 present standard, his native abilities enabled him to 
 make his way to an honorable position in social, po- 
 litical and commercial life, and with better advan- 
 tages in youth he might well have attempted any 
 line of effort with a certainty of success. 
 
 Mr. Broadhead was a descendant from an old 
 English family, the first of the name to settle in 
 America having Leen Capt. Dan Broadhead, of the 
 British army, who accompanied the force sent by 
 King Charles II. in 1664 against the Dutch in New- 
 York. During the campaign his company was with 
 Col. Nichols' regiment. After the surrender of the 
 Colony he settled in Ulster county, N. Y., and on 
 Sept. 14, 1665, he was appointed to the chief com- 
 mand of the militia of that county. He died there 
 in 1667. His wife, Ann Lye, accompanied him to 
 America, their home having been in Yorkshire, Eng- 
 land, previously, and their descendants are now 
 among the best citizens of Ulster county. Daniel 
 S. Broadhead, our subject's father, was born in 
 Ulster county, and became a blacksmith by trade. 
 He married Miss Sarah Wright, a native of Glas- 
 tonbury, and a member of the familv in whose honor 
 Wright's Island was named. 
 
 Our subject, who was one of a large family of 
 children, was born m Ulster county July 30, 1815, 
 and first attended school in his native town. Later 
 he studied in a select school at Glastonbury, which 
 occupied the site of the present residence of Arthur 
 Douglas, and among his teachers there were William 
 Wright and a Aliss Spring, daughter of Rev. JNIr. 
 Spring, of East Hartford. On leaving school he 
 was employed in the tannery owned bv David Hub- 
 bard, father-in-law of Deacon James B. Williams, 
 but although he had gained some knowledge of 
 the business in Ulster county, his wages were very 
 small. For some time they were paid once a year, 
 and during the panic of 1837 he was paid in farm 
 produce. He had learned in Ulster county better 
 methods of tanning than were known to his new 
 employer, and after a time the latter took him 
 
k: 
 
 '^J^a<r^<^ f/jv^en^c/JijLcPc^ 
 
 ./.HM'mra & Co C/tir 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 821 
 
 into partnershii), giving him an opportunity to bring 
 his knowledge of the business into prohtal)le 
 use. In 1854 Mr. Uroadhead formed a part- 
 nership with Edward Hubbard, a nephew of 
 David Hubbard, and engaged in the manu- 
 facture of a superior kind of leather for sad- 
 dles, made of hogskin, and tanned to a light color. 
 For some time they had a large trade with Cuba, 
 the payments being made entirely in gold, and after 
 the outbreak of the Civil war the demand fur their 
 product was constant, the material being made into 
 ' saddles by Smith & Borne, of Hartford. During 
 this busy period our subject worked in the tannery as 
 hard as any of his men, if not harder, and at all 
 times his characteristic thoroughness in attending 
 I to the details of the business was a main factor in 
 the success of the enterjjrise. He was a kind em- 
 ployer, and some of his men reniaineil with him for 
 , over twenty years. He continued in the tanning 
 ; business until 18S7, when he retired .to enjoy a well- 
 I earned rest, and his death occurred May 15, iSyS, 
 • his remains being interred at Glastonbury. 
 
 Mr. Broadhead's business enterprises were varied 
 in character, and for some years he was a director 
 in the Goodrich Brothers Banking Company, of 
 : Fairbury, Neb., and the Red River \'alley Bankine 
 Company, of Fargo, N. Dak. With P. H. Good- 
 rich he was mainly instrumental in having the Hart- 
 ford and Glastonbury electric railway to Glastonbury 
 built by the railway company in the face of strong- 
 opposition from many who now realize its conven- 
 ience. He and Mr. Goodrich drove to East Hart- 
 ford and rode into Glastonbury on the first car that 
 came over the line, and he was on the first car that 
 went into South Glastonbury. Mr. Broadhead was 
 of a sympathetic nature, as was evidenced by the 
 many kindnesses shown the motor-men and con- 
 ductors on the trollev cars that passed his door, and 
 on cold winter mornings he used to serve them with 
 hot cofYee and food, being known by them as the 
 '■good Samaritan." He was very unassuming in 
 manner, being easily approached by all, and his 
 genuine kindliness won him the warm regard of all 
 classes in the community. Among the most es- 
 teemed friends of his later vears was John ^luir, 
 one of the leading tanners of Scotland, whom he 
 met in 1868, while on his w^ay to England to study 
 methods of coloring. His active work in politics 
 as a member of the Republican party also brought 
 him many congenial friendsnips, and for many vears 
 he was regarded as a leading adviser of the organi- 
 zation in this section. He held numerous town 
 offices, and in iSjg represented Glastonburv in the 
 Legislature, that being the last session held in the 
 old State house in Hartford. He was one of the 
 "Harrison \'eterans,"' and in 1840 went to Boston 
 to help celebrate the victory of Harrison, and he 
 was also a member of the "Wide Awakes" of Glas- 
 tonbury when that organization was in existence. 
 As a boy he united with the Congregational Church 
 in Ulster county, and in later life he was one of the 
 chief supporters and deacon of the church in Glas- 
 
 tonbury. Mr. Broadhead had a remarkably fine 
 physique, being more than six feet in height, with 
 broad shoulders, and his health was excellent, while 
 his faculties seemed unimpaired by the passing 
 years. His ability to endure hardship and arduous 
 work enabled him to push to a successful conclusion 
 tasks which would have daunted others of less 
 strength of mind and body, and with his firm will 
 and keen, shrewd mentalit}' he could not fail to be a 
 leader in any line of work which he undertook. 
 
 Mr. Broadhead was verv domestic in his habits, 
 his home being the chief center of interest, notwith- 
 standing his activity in business and public life. On 
 Jan. 24, 1843, lie married Miss Damaris St. Clair, 
 daughter of Matthew and Hannah (Green) St. 
 Clair, highly esteemed residents of Ellington, Conn. 
 Their only child, Miss Julia Wright Uroadhead, re- 
 sides with her mother at the home built by our sub- 
 ject in 1870. 
 
 JUDGE EDWARD H. DE^HXG. Honored and 
 esteemed by all, there is no man in Farmington 
 wlio occupies a more prominent position in business 
 anil public affairs than the subject of this sketch, 
 who is now creditably serving as probate judge of 
 Farmington and Plainville. As a business man he 
 has been enterprising, energetic and always abreast 
 of the times, and has been rewarded by an ample 
 fortune. 
 
 Mr. Deming was born in Northampton, Mass., 
 Jtily 14. 1857, but is a representative of an old 
 and prominent family of this county. Many years 
 ago his great-grandfather. John Deming. and his 
 brother, Chauncey, were leading merchants of 
 Farmington, and were also interested in the West 
 India trade. The grandfather, Samuel Deming, 
 made his home in Farmington, his residence stand- 
 ing next to the town hall, and was a farmer by 
 occupation. He was a rabid Abolitionist. He mar- 
 ried ]\Iiss Catharine Lewis, and to them were born 
 six children : John, Susan, Frederick. Chauncey, 
 Catharine and Caroline. The family held member- 
 ship in the Congregational Church. 
 
 John Deming, father of or subject, was born, 
 reared and educated in Farmington, but later made 
 his home in Northampton, Mass., where he w^as en- 
 gaged in the manufacture of farming implements. 
 While there he served as a member of the Massa- 
 chusetts Legislature, in 1857. The folloying year 
 he returned to Farmington, where he continued 
 to manufacture agricultural implements until his 
 removal to Glen Eyre, Pike county, Penn., in 1869. 
 He engaged in the manufacture of furniture and 
 in mercantile business there, and practically owned 
 the entire town. His last days were spent in Brook- 
 lyn. N. Y., where he died in 1894, at the age of 
 sixty-eight years. He married Miss Catherine Mix 
 \\'illiams, a daughter of Rev. Joshua ^^'illiams, of 
 Cromwell, Conn., and a granddaughter of 'Squire 
 John Mix. The latter was an ensign in the 5th 
 Battalion of \\"adsworth's Brigade, under command 
 of Col. William Douglas, during the Revolutionary 
 
822 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 war, and was a prominent member of the' Society 
 of the Cincinnati, serving as secretary of the Con- 
 necticut branch. He was also quite prominent in 
 poHtical affairs, and was judge of probate ten years ; 
 town clerk thirty-two years ; and a member of the 
 General Assembly twenty-six years. • To John 
 Deming and wife were born six children : Annie, 
 a resident of Hoboken, N. J., and wife of T. R. 
 Ennis ; Samuel Lewis, who died at the age of eight- 
 een years; Edward Hooker, our subject; Elizabeth, 
 a resident of Brooklyn ; John Mix, who is in the 
 creamery busiess in Warwick, N. Y. ; and Harry 
 Williams, agent for the Liverpool and London 
 and Globe Insurance Co., in New York City. 
 
 Judge Deming was reared in Farmington until 
 the removal of the family to Glen Eyre, Penn., and 
 attended Deacon E. L. Hart's private school. At 
 the age of fourteen he commenced clerking in his 
 father's store at Glen Eyre, and there acquired a 
 good practical knowledge of mercantile pursuits. 
 Returning to Farmington, in 1884, he purchased 
 the store of Chauncey Rowe, which he conducted 
 alone until 1892, when F. L. Scott was admitted 
 to a partnership in the business. Their establish- 
 ment would do credit to a place much larger than 
 Farmington, and they enjoy a large and constantly 
 increasing trade. Judge Deming has been a director 
 of the Farmington Savings Bank since 1889, and is 
 now a member of the loaning committee. 
 
 At Hawley, Penn., our subject was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Belle Plum, a daughter of M. 
 Plum, of that place, and they have two children : 
 Edward Hooker, Jr., and May Atkinson. The 
 Judge is a member of the Country Club, also of the 
 Society of Sons of the American Revolution. In 
 his political views he is an ardent Republican, and 
 by his party he has been honored with several offices, 
 having served as selectman five years and as first 
 selectman three years of that time ; chairman of the 
 school committee ten years'; and judge of probate 
 two terms. He has discharged his official duties 
 with a promptness and fidelity worthv of all com- 
 mendation, and is thoroughly identified in feeling 
 v/ith the growth aiid prosperity of his town and 
 county. 
 
 HON. ELISHA 'gILLETT MORTON, for- 
 merly representative in the State Legislature from 
 the town of East Windsor, is one of the leading 
 citizens of his locality. For many years he has 
 been identified with agriculture interests, his large 
 estate near East Windsor being managed success- 
 fully on modern scientific principles, and he is also 
 active and influential in local affairs, having served 
 in the most important offices in the gift of his fel- 
 low townsmen. 
 
 Mr. Morton comes of good old ^ Connecticut 
 stock, and his great-grandfather, John Morton, was 
 a resident of East Windsor. Capt. Elisha'" Morton, 
 his grandfather, was a native of East Windsor, 
 and followed farming at the present homestead. 
 He was prominent in the public affairs of the da}^ 
 
 and his title was gained by service as an officer in 
 the State Militia. 
 
 Elisha &■ Morton, Sr., the father of our subject, 
 was born in 1801, in what is now South Windsor, 
 and died in 1875. Soon after his first marriage 
 he took charge of the farm, and his life was de- 
 voted chiefly to itS' management and cultivation, 
 although his duties as a citizen were always per- ' 
 formed with fidelity. He first married Miss Mabel 
 Thompson, who died in 1846, and his second union 
 was with Miss Clarissa A. Tarbox,-vwho passed 
 away on Thanksgiving Day, 1895.1 yfey the first 
 union he has seven children : Elizabeth E. became ' 
 the wife of Francis H. Granger; Cornelia is the 
 wife of Thomas Archer; Elisha G. is our subject; 
 Thompson died at the age of eight years ; Carlos 
 died when two and one-half years old; two died 
 m infancy, James H. when two years and five months 
 old, and James H. (2) when nine months old. 
 
 Elisha G.^'Iorton was born Sept. 19, 1837, at 
 the old Morton farm, and was educated in the \ 
 common schools of the neighborhood and the high i 
 school at Windsor Hill. He was reared to farm ; 
 work, and at the age of twenty-four assumed the ', 
 management of the homestead, where he has al- 
 ways resided. Altogether he owns 200 acres of 
 land, the homestead comprising 120 acres, and in ! 
 additioH to general farming he is extensively en- 
 gaged in the dairy business, tobacco-growing and 
 the raising of peaches. He is a member of the 
 local Grange, and is active in religious work as a 
 member of the First Congregational Church of 
 East Windsor, of which he has been treasurer for , 
 seven years. He is a trustee of the First Eclesias- 
 tical Society of East Windsor, a position he has 
 held since 1880. His sound judgment and well- 
 proven integrity make him an excellent official, 
 and among other positions he has served four 
 terms (of one year each) on the township board 
 of relief. In 1890 he was chosen second selectman, 
 vvith S. Terry Wells and George A. Ellis, and in 
 1896 he was again elected to the board of select- 
 men, with Mr. Ellis and Henry W. Allen. In 1892 
 he was elected to the Legislature, on the Repub- 
 lican ticket, and his able and faithful service fully 
 justified the confidence of his constituents. 
 
 HON. WILLIAM H. THOMPSON, a vener- 
 able and highly respected citizen of East Windsor, 
 deserves prominent mention among these mem- 
 oirs, as the activities of his long life have made 
 him a recognized factor in many of the progres- 
 sive movements of his locality. 
 
 Mr. Thompson was born Oct. i, 1813, at his 
 present homestead, and is a member of . a well- 
 known family of East Windsor, his great-grand- 
 father, Samuel Thompson, having been a leading- 
 resident of the town. James Thompson, his grand- 
 father, was a native of East Windsor, and made his 
 home upon the farm where William H. was born 
 and now lives. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 828 
 
 Col. William Thompson, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was burn at the homestead in 1763, and died 
 there in 1829, at the age of sixty-six )-ears. He 
 . was a prominent man in his day, and his title of 
 colonel was gained by service as an officer in the 
 , cavalry militia. His wife, whose maiden name was 
 Taniar Holton, lived to the age of eighty-six. Of 
 their thirteen children, six died in childhood, the 
 others all living beyond the allotted limit of three- 
 score years and ten : Elizabeth, who married 
 •George Beebe, of Feeding Hills, Alass., died at the 
 age of ninety-one; Alary A. (Mrs. Winthrop 
 .\llen) died at eighty-five; Henrietta (Mrs. Alfred 
 Allen) was in her eightieth year at the time of her 
 xleath; Alargaret J\l. (Mrs. David T. Smith) was 
 in her eighly-ninth year; Tamar (Mrs. William T. 
 Morrison) was in her eighty-tirst year; and Sarah 
 JE. (Mrs. James G. Harper) was over eighty. 
 
 Our subject, who was the youngest in the fam- 
 ily, is now the only survivor. He was reared at 
 the homestead, his education being obtained in the 
 common schools of the town and the high school 
 at Ellington, Conn., and on completing his course 
 of study he engaged in farming. For some years 
 lie had charge of the homestead, and at the time of 
 3iis marriage he purchased the place, engaging ex- 
 tensively in tobacco culture and also carrying on 
 general farming. He sold his farm in 1899, and 
 now lives retired. At various times he has been 
 ■employed in responsible positions under the United 
 States revenue department. He was assistant as- 
 sessor of the Warehouse Point distillery for nearly 
 two years; United States storekeeper of the Gow- 
 •dy distillery, at Alelrose, three years ; and for three 
 3'ears held the same position at the Scitico dis- 
 tillery. Politically he is a Republican, and he has 
 .served four years as assessor and four as select- 
 man of the town of East Windsor, while in 1861 
 ^nd 1862 he represented the town in the State 
 Legislature. For more than fiftv years he, with 
 liis wife, has been a member of the First Congre- 
 gational Church at Broad Brook, in which he holds 
 the office of deacon, and was superintendent of the 
 Sunday-school over thirty years. He is often 
 -called the father of that Society, as he has done 
 more to sustain it than any other member, his 
 time and means having been freely given to the 
 <ause. 
 
 On Jan. 26, 1836, Mr. Thompson married Aliss 
 Huldah Chapin. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson had no 
 issue, but brought up several children of both sexes, 
 two of whom were virtually adopted. Airs. Thomp- 
 son died Nov. 20, 1897, in her seventy-ninth year, 
 after more than sixty-one years of happy wedded 
 life. She was active in church work, giving liber- 
 ally of her means, and at her death leaving a gen- 
 erous legacy for the church at Broad Brook. 
 
 HON. MARTIN D'ARSEY, foreman of the 
 saltpetre refinery of the Hazard Powder Co., at 
 Hazardville. has for almost half a century been a 
 faithful and trusted employe of that company, and 
 
 is one of the leading and representative citizens of 
 that place. He was born in County Tipperary, 
 Ireland, Nov. y, 1831, a son of Thomas and Mary 
 (Dalton) D'Arsey. The father took an active part 
 in the Irish rebellion of 1848, and was compelled 
 to flee the country, a reward of $1,500 being olfercd 
 for his arrest. He located in i\'()rtham])ion, Alass., 
 where he engaged in farming until his death, which 
 occurred in 1852. Our subject followed him to 
 this country in 1849, ^^'^^ ™ '851 he was joined by 
 his wife and the remainder of the family. The 
 children were Martin; James; Mary, wife of Nicho- 
 las AIcGrath; Bridget, wife of William Fitzgib- 
 bons ; John; Alichael; and Katherine. 
 
 In October, 1852, Martin D'Arsey located in 
 the village of Hazardville, town of Enfield, Hart- 
 ford county, and entered the employ of the Hazard 
 Powder Co., with which he has since been con- 
 nected. For several years he served as outside fore- 
 man of the works, and since 1873 has been super- 
 intendent of the saltpetre refinery, a position he has 
 filled in a most capable and satisfactory manner. 
 
 Mr. D'Arsey was married, May 13, 1854, to 
 Miss Mary Dunnigan, a daughter of Thomas Duii- 
 nigan, of County Meath, Ireland, and to them were 
 born five children who reached years of maturity: 
 Sarah, wife of D. J. Donahoe, of Aliddletown, 
 Conn. ; Thomas F. ; Martin L., deceased ; Kather- 
 ine E., wife of Patrick F. Houlihan; and also 
 Alary J., who died in infancy. The family are all 
 communicants of the Catholic Church, of which our 
 subject has been a trustee the past eighteen years, 
 and are held in high regard by all who know them. 
 Politically Air. D'Arsey is an ardent Republican. 
 He has most creditably filled the offices of constable 
 and grand juror; represented Enfield town in the 
 State Le,gislaturc in the session of 1887, and is one 
 of the Hazardville fire commissioners. 
 
 HON. EDWIN FRANKLIN THOAIPSON. a 
 prosperous agriculturist of the town of East \\'ind- 
 sor, is a man whose influence is a recognized factor 
 in the business, political and social movements of 
 that locality. He is a worthy representative of a 
 familv which has been prominent in this county 
 from an early period, and traces his ancestral line 
 to William and Alargaret Thompson, natives of Scot- 
 land, from whom the majority of the Thompsons 
 in Hartford and Tolland counties are descended. 
 
 According to family tradition it was about the 
 year 1716 that \Mlliam and Alargaret Thompson 
 started from Scotland for America, but for some 
 cause, now unknown, they stopped in Ireland, where 
 William died. His last request was that his wife 
 and familv should come to America, and about 1718 
 they embarked in a sailing vessel bound for New 
 England. The voyage was a long one and when the 
 provisions of the emigrants were exhausted starva- 
 tion seemed certain. A prayer meeting was hekl on 
 board and Divine help asked in the emergency. As 
 the worshipers arose from their knees they realized 
 that their prayers were heard and answered, for the 
 
824 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 bod}' of a dead sheep was seen floating in the water 
 by the side of the old saihng vessel, and by means 
 of this the needs of the people were met. The 
 Thompsons located in Hartford county, in the town 
 of East Windsor, and some of the land now owned 
 by John Thompson, a brother of our subject, has 
 been held in the family name for many years. 
 
 John Thompson, our subject's father, was a 
 well-known agriculturist of the town of Ellington, 
 Tolland county. He married Miss Anna Ellsworth, 
 daughter of Benjamin Ellsworth, and they had nine 
 children, as follows : Sabra, wife of Fitts Stough- 
 ton, of Rockville, Conn. ; Mary F., wife of James 
 
 D. McKnight, of the town of Ellington, Tolland 
 county ; Julia, deceased wife of G. iV. Booth, of ' 
 East Windsor; Edwin Franklin, our subject; Mar- 
 tha, who married J. A. Pascoe, and is deceased ; 
 Sjophronia, deceased ; Emily, wife of James B. 
 Stiles ; John, a prominent resident of the town of 
 Ellington; and Elizabeth, who married Samuel 
 Newell, and is also deceased. 
 
 Edwin F. Thompson was born Aug. 8, 183 1, at 
 the old homestead in Ellington town, Tolland Co., 
 now owned by his brother, John, and was educated 
 in the common and high schools of that town. 
 He was reared to farm work, and after his marriage 
 purchased his grandfather's farm in East Windsor, 
 where he resided seven years, at the end of that 
 time removing to the farm now occupied by Wilson 
 Lord. Three years later he settled upon his pres- 
 ent homestead, a fine farm of 130 acres, located 
 one mile south of Warehouse Point, on the old road 
 between Hartford and Springfield- In connection 
 with general farming he is extensively engaged in 
 dairying and 'in raising tobacco, devoting from 
 twelve to twenty acres to the latter crop. All the 
 improvements on the place have been made by him, 
 including the building of his substantial residence 
 and barns, and the homestead is regarded as one of 
 the best in the town. Politically Mr. Thompson is 
 a strong Republican, and in 1890 and 1891 he was 
 elected by his fellow townsmen to the State Legis- 
 lature, while in 1894, 1895 and 1896 he served as 
 selectman for the town of East Windsor. He and 
 his estimable wife are active members of the First 
 Congregational Church of East Windsor, and the 
 famil)' is identified with the best social circles of 
 the neighborhood. On Oct. 7, 1857, Mr. Thomp- 
 son married Miss Amelia Ruljy Morell, and five 
 children have brightened their home : Mary E., 
 born May i, 1859, is the wife of Harvey O. Fish; 
 William W., born May 22, 1864, married Florence 
 
 E. Wells, of Suffield :' Franklin M., born Feb. 11, 
 1867, married Susie J. Jenkins, of Ansonia ; John 
 E., born Aug. 29, 1870, married Nettie T. Bissell, 
 of East Windsor ; and Anna E., born Jan. 5, 1876, 
 died April 27, 1882. 
 
 Mrs. Amelia R. (Morell) Thompson was born 
 Aug. 28, 1836, on the old Morell homestead in the 
 town of East Windsor, and comes of good Colonial 
 stock. Her paternal grandfather, John Morell, was 
 a soldier in the Revolutionary army, and her fa- 
 
 ther, Major Alvah Morell, served in the war of 
 1812. John Morell was a native of Lenox, Mass., 
 where he made his permanent home, and he and 
 his wife, Esther (Fowler), had a large family of 
 children, as follows : George, born in Lenox March 
 22, 1786; Polly, who checl in 1799; John F., who 
 died in 1790; Major Alvah, Mrs. Thompson's fa- 
 ther; Esther, who was born in 1792; Ozea F. and 
 Horace Francis (twins), born in 1796; Frederick, 
 born in 1798; and William, born in 1800. Major 
 Alvah Morell was born Nov. 26, 1790, at Lenox. 
 Mass., where he grew to manhood. Later he went 
 to New York and engaged in the mercantile busi- 
 ness, and about 1830 he came to Hartford count}- 
 and settled in East Windsor town. On Feb. S, 
 1832, he married Miss Mary B. Blodgett, daugh- 
 ter of Roswell and Ruby (Heath) Blodgett, and 
 granddaughter of Joseph Blodgett, both prominent 
 residents of East Windsor. Mrs. Thompson was 
 the eldest of the two children born to this union, 
 and the other, Joseph B., died Aug. 20, 1889. The 
 father died July 9-, 1867, and the mother Aug. 18, 
 1897, at the age of eighty-eight years. 
 
 HON. DANIEL WADSWORTH, an honored 
 resident of Manchester, has been prominent in pub- 
 lic and commercial circles in the State of Connecti- 
 cut for over forty years, and throughout his long 
 and active career has maintained an unblemished 
 reputation as an upright and public-spirited man, 
 worthy the confidence and esteem which have been 
 so freely accorded him. 
 
 Mr. Wadsworth is a native of Hartford county, 
 born July 31, 1821, on a farm in the town of East 
 Hartford, where his father and grandfather were 
 also born. His great-grandfather, William Wads- 
 worth, a native of Hartford, was a large land 
 owner in the town of East Hartford, owning the 
 tract which ran from Spencer street back to Man- 
 chester. Thomas Wadsworth, our subject's grand- 
 father, and Solomon Wadsworth, his father, were 
 respected residents of the town in their day. The 
 last named married Miss Lucy Kilby, and they be- 
 came the parents of eleven children, namely: Allen. 
 Rebecca, Solomon, Horace, Maria, Emeline, Mary. 
 Norman, Laura, Lucy and Daniel, who is now the 
 only survivor of this large family. 
 
 Daniel Wadsworth passed the first sixteen years 
 of his life in his native town, receiving his early 
 education in the common schools, and subsequently 
 attending the academies at East Hartford and Man- 
 chester, where he was given a good practical train- 
 ing. He then came to the town of Manchester, 
 locating at Manchester Green, where he served an 
 apprenticeship of four years and three months at 
 the blacksmith's trade with Marvin Cone, under 
 whom he gained a thorough knowledge of the busi- 
 ness. Following same for the next few years in 
 Tolland county, this State, he worked two years at 
 Rockville and six months at Somers, thence remov- 
 ing to Vernon Center, where he purchased an inter- 
 est in a blacksmith shop in company with Charles 
 

 
 ^^^P #■ . ^J 
 
 
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 
 
 elU^I 
 
 'Ct^f^z^-c^C^ 
 
J 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 825 
 
 Lee, with wlioiii he continued for a year and a half. 
 For tlie next four months he conducted another 
 shop in the same place, which he had purchased, 
 and at the end of this time Mr. Cone, the man with 
 whom Ik- learned iiis trade, matle him an offer and 
 he returned to his first sho]). In 1855 he became a 
 ])arlner in the business, which had thrown to large 
 proportions, and included the maiuitacluring of car- 
 riages, wagons, etc., and this relationship continued 
 until Mr. Cone's demise, in 1889, when his son, 
 Ralph Cone, assumed his interest. Mr. Wadsworth 
 retained his connection with the business until Jan- 
 uary, 1891), when he sold out his share to his pariner. 
 ]\ali)h Cone, and retired to enjoy the competence 
 whicii had come to him through the passing years. 
 As a partner in this large and prosperous concern 
 Mr. Wadsworth gained a wide acquaintance 
 throughout the county and iState, and by an un- 
 broken record of honor in all his transactions, an 
 integrity unassailal)lc, and an unusual degree of 
 business abilit\- antl judgment, won a position 
 among his business associates which it is not always 
 the lot of even the successful man to attain. His 
 prosperity was the direct result of hard work and 
 application to daily duty, together with a faculty for 
 good management, a combination of valuable quali- 
 ties which could not fail of recognition and reward. 
 
 But it was not alone as a business man that Mr. 
 Wadsworth displa}-ed his executive ability and other 
 qualifications of a leader among men. His useful- 
 ness as a public servant was early recognized by his 
 fellow citizens in his own town and county, for in 
 1855 he was elected clerk and treasurer of the town 
 of Alanchester, which honored him with re-election 
 every two years without opposition from either 
 political party for forty-three years, and he resigned 
 in 1898 on account of poor health, which was also 
 the cause of his retirement from business cares. He 
 held these offices forty-three 3-ears and four months, 
 probably longer than any other incumbent in the 
 State, a record which needs no comment. On 
 March 6, 1899, on his retirement from office, the 
 citizens of [Manchester presented him with a valuable 
 gold watch and chain, as a token of respect and 
 kindlv regard. In 1861 Mr. W'adsworth served as 
 member of the State Legislature from his district, 
 and in 1872 was the choice of his fellow citizens for 
 the State Senate, distinguishing himself in his ser- 
 vice in- both Houses by rare fidelity to the wishes of 
 his constituency, and a loyal regard for the welfare 
 of his comnumity. His political support has been 
 given to the Republican partv in State and National 
 affairs. In 1849 Mr. Wadsworth received first 
 commission as justice of the peace, in W'hich office he 
 was retained continuouslv for forty-five years, being 
 disqualified onlv bv age, in this as in every other 
 trust retaining and strengthening the confidence of 
 his fellow men for faithful discharge of his duties. 
 
 Mr. \\'adsworth was married, in 1844, to Miss 
 Anna J. Dean, by whom he had two daughters : 
 iMary Lavone, who died in March, 1849, ^"^ Annie 
 L., who lives at home. Mrs. Wadsworth passed 
 
 ' awav SejJt. 2. 1849, and on .Xov. 18, 1850, Mr. 
 
 I Wadsworth wedded .Miss Hannah !•". Lamb. To 
 this union also came two children, Adda L., wdio 
 died in 1879, and Herbert C, who is now in the eni- 
 plo\- of the Hartford I-"ire Insurance Co. Mr. 
 Wadsworth is actively identified with the work of 
 the Congregational Church, of which he has been a 
 member for forty \ears. l'"raternally he is a i-'ree- 
 mason, holding membership w itli Manchester Lodge 
 No. 7i. ['. & A. M. 
 
 IIOX. llAl'lKiSo.X WOODFORD, a member 
 of the well-known firm of H. & E. H. Woodford, 
 lumber manufacturers of Avon, is a leading citizen 
 and a worthy representative of one of the honored 
 pioneer families of that section. The first of the 
 name to come to America was Thomas Woodford, 
 from whom our subject is descended through Jo- 
 seph ( I ), Joseph (2), who married Lydia Smith, 
 Joseph (3), Isaac, Asaph and Harvey. 
 
 Joseph Woodford (3) was born in 1705 in the 
 town of Farmington, at Xod (now .\von), and died 
 in 1786. In 17^8 he married Sarah Xorth, of Ber- 
 lin, CcHin., who died in 1783. Of their children, 
 Sarah, born in 1731, died in childhood. Joseph, 
 born in 1732, was a soldier in the Revolution- 
 ary war, a deacon' in the Church and a captain of 
 militia. Martha married Thomas .\ndrews in 1752. 
 Lydia was married in 1753 to Thomas Andrews, 
 above mentioned. Hannah, born in 1731, was mar- 
 ried in 1756 to Percy Marshall. Sarah was born 
 in 1741. Lois was married im 1767 to Samuel 
 North, son of Deacon Isaac North, of Wethersfield. 
 Susan, born in 1746, died in childhood. Eunice 
 was married in 1772 to Seth North, of Kensington. 
 
 Isaac Woodford, the next in the line of descent, 
 was born in 1753 and passed his life in agricultural 
 pursuits. In 1774 he married Sarah Fuller, who 
 died in 1822, aged sixty-eight, and in 1829 he mar- 
 ried a Mrs. Sedgwick. He had the following chil- 
 dren : Isaac, born in 1774, was married in 1794 to 
 Statira Coles, of Danbury. Hulda. born in 1777. was 
 married in 1793 to Nathan Clark. Darius was born 
 in 1779, Cynthia, in 1781. Asaph, in 1784. Syl- 
 vester, born in 1787. married Diana Tilbutson. of 
 Canada. N. Y. Sylvester, Ijorn 1787, married 1812, 
 Betsy Wheeler. Rimanta, born in 1792, married 
 Betsy Hart. Terah. born in 1794, was married in 
 1820 to Minerva Potter. Sarah, born in 1797, was 
 married in 1813 to Chancy Wheeler. A chilil, born 
 in 1801, died in infancy. 
 
 Asaph Woodford, our subject's grandfather, was 
 born in Avon, in 1784, and followed farming as 
 an occupation in connection with lumbering. He 
 was a successful business man and a highly-es- 
 teemed citizen, and for manv years was a leading 
 member of the Congregational Church. In politics 
 he was a AMiig. He died Feb. ti, 1859, and his 
 wife, .\lmira (Potter), died March 23. 1857. their 
 remains being buried at West Avon. They had a 
 large family of children, as follows : Luther : Ed- 
 ward : Henry : Julius : Franklin : Harvey ; Ephraim ; 
 
826 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Emaline, who married (first) Frank Deming and 
 (second) Thomas Porter; Julia, who married a Mr. 
 Washburn, of Farmington ; Luc)-, who died Feb. 
 2, 1831, in childhood; and a son who died in in- 
 fancy. 
 
 Harvey Woodford, our subject's father, was 
 born in 1814, and received a good common-school 
 education. He taught school several terms, and 
 later was engaged in general farming and tobacco 
 growing, stock raising and dairying, owning a tract 
 of one hundred acres, on which he made many 
 improvements. He was a successful man, hon- 
 orable and honored in his methods of business, and 
 was much respected. Politically he was a Whig 
 and then a Republican, but did not seek office, and 
 he was identified with the Congregational Church. 
 His wife. Alma Chidsey, a most estimable woman, 
 was born in Avon, a daughter of Jacob and Martha 
 Chidsey. Five children were born of this union: 
 Martha (deceased) married Joseph Linden, of Can- 
 ton; Fidelia married (first) Charles Upson and 
 (second) Edmund Woodford of Bristol; Harrison, 
 our subject, was the next in order of birth; Charles 
 resides in West Haven; and Ernest H. resides on 
 the homestead, and is a partner in the firm. The 
 father and mother both died at the homestead, he 
 in 1888, she in 1890, and were buried in West 
 Avon. 
 
 Our subject was born Jan. 11, 1841, in West 
 Avon, and received his education in the district 
 school and the high school at Avon. He remained 
 with his parents Until the breaking out of the Civil 
 war, when, on Aug. 11, 1861, he enlisted at Hart- 
 ford, in Company I, i8th Conn. Y. I., under Col. 
 Beach and Capt. Drake. He participated in the bat- 
 tles of Antietam, Suftolk, Fredericksburg and Plym- 
 outh, and was appointed corporal in April, 1862; 
 Later he was taken prisoner, and after six months' 
 confinement in Andersonville prison was sent to 
 Florence, where his feet were frozen. He was 
 paroled and sent, to Annapolis, Md., and then to a 
 hospital in New Haven, and recovered after un- 
 dergoing untold torture. On his return home he 
 engaged in farming and tobacco raising on the home- 
 stead, and in the lumber business with his brother, 
 his present partner in the planing and saw mills at 
 Avon. He has built a fine home for himself, and 
 made other improvements and his farm of 200 
 acres is in an excellent state of cultivation. Like 
 all of his family he belongs to the Congregational 
 Church, and he is also an active member of the G. 
 A. R. He is a stanch Republican, and has served 
 as selectman and a member of the Legislature in 
 1874, and none in the town are more popular than 
 he, his genial manner and honorable character hav- 
 ing won him a host of friends. 
 
 In 1896 Mr. Woodford was married in Avon 
 to Miss Minnie Case, a native of the Meadow Plain 
 District, Simsbury, a daughter of Samuel Case, 
 and a granddaughter of Horatio G. Case, of 
 Meadow Plain. She died in 1895, after a fife 
 marked by earnest Christian faith, and her remains 
 
 rest in the cemetery at West Avon. Mr. Wood- 
 ford married (second) Mrs. Ellen Woodford Allen, 
 daughter of William Watson Woodford, and widow 
 of Harvey P. Allen. Our subject has had four chil- 
 dren, all by the first marriage : William G., foreman 
 in the planing-mill, married Grace Allen, of Avon; 
 Harlan W. and Ruth L. are at home; and Mar- 
 guerite died in childhood. 
 
 Mrs. Woodford is also a descendant of Thomas 
 Woodford, the pioneer, and was born in Avon, 
 where she received a district and high school educa- 
 tion. Later she was graduated from the Normal 
 School at New Britain, and for several years taught 
 school successfully. She was married (first) to 
 Harvey P. Allen, who died leaving two children: 
 Grace W., a graduate of McLean Seminary and a 
 successful teacher, married William G. Woodford ; 
 Miss Marion Orelia is at home. Mrs. Woodford 
 was the only child of William Watson Woodford, 
 and his wife Julia Ann (Goodrich). Her father, 
 who was born in 1813, was a well-known agricult- ; 
 urist of Avon, and was held in high esteem as a p 
 citizen. Her grandfather, S'elah Woodford, was 
 born in Avon in 1764, and died in 184 1. He was 
 married in 1785 to Sarah Hutchinson, and had the 
 following children: Orris, born in 1788, was mar- 
 ried in 1810 to Lucy Thompson; Sophia, born in 
 1790, was married to Amos Phelps; Delinda, born '. 
 in 1792, was married in 1815 to G. Sperry; Harriet, | 
 born in 1794, died in 1799; Minerva, bornin 1798, 
 was married in 1819 to Samuel Bishop.- Evelyn, 
 born in 1802, was married in 1827 to Emma 
 Wheeler; Harriet (2), born in 1804, was married 
 in 1825 to Seth Wheeler. 
 
 HON. CHARLES DENNIS BARNES is one 
 of the most prominent and influential citizens of 
 Southington, a leader in business and political cir- 
 cles. Many of the important enterprises and busi- 
 ness interests of the town bear the impress of his 
 individuality, and owe not a little of their success 
 to his ability and capable powers of management. 
 
 Mr. Barnes was born in Southington, Jan. 12, 
 1843, a son of Dennis and Caroline (Sage) Barnes. 
 The father was also born, reared and educated in 
 Southington, and was for several years a boat owner, 
 running a line of boats on the New Haven_ & 
 Northampton canal. He was born in 1818, and died 
 in 1844. He was a son of Asa Barnes, Jr;, who 
 was born July 22, 1771, and married Polly W. 
 Woodruff. His father, Asa Barnes, Sr., was born 
 Aug. 24, 1745, and married Oct. 30, 1765. Phebe 
 Adkins, daughter of Luther Adkins. Asa Barnes, 
 Sr., lived in the southwestern part of Southington, 
 where he kept a tavern, was very popular in his 
 business and was known as Landlord Barnes. The 
 officers of the French army made his house their ; 
 headquarters while encamped for a time on French ] 
 Hill, and he gave a ball in honor of his guests, 1 
 which at the time created some excitement. His 
 parents were Stephen and Martha (Wheadon) 
 Barnes, who moved from Branford, Conn., to South- 
 
D 
 
 MJa/i^j' 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 827 
 
 ington during its early settlement. Here the for- 
 mer died .March 27, 1777, the latter March 18, 1773, 
 and she was tlie first person buried in I'lantsville 
 cemetery. Stephen Barnes was a son of Stephen 
 and Mary llarnes, who are supposed to have moved 
 to Dranford from Long Island. 
 
 The early life of our subject was passed in Con- 
 necticut and New York, and after completing his 
 education at the Aleriden high school, he served an 
 apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade. During the 
 Civil was he .manifested hrs patriotism by enlisting, 
 June 22, 1862, becoming a private in Lompany U, 
 15th Coim. \'. I., and later was promotetl to the 
 rank of sergeant. He participated in the battles 
 of Fredericksburg, \'a., and Edenton Road, X. C. ; 
 ] the siege of Suffolk, N. C. ; and the battle of Kings- 
 ' ton, X. C, where he was wotmded and taken pris- 
 i oner, -May 8, 1865, being sent to Libby prison. A few 
 I days later he was paroled and honorably discliarged 
 j from the service at Annapolis, Md., in June, 1865. 
 ' . On his return to Southington Mr. Uarnes re- 
 ' sumed work at his trade, and was thus employed 
 wntil 1872, when he took charge of the shipping de- 
 , partment of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Bolt Works, 
 ■ remaining there two years. He then embarked in 
 the shoe business on his own account, and was suc- 
 cessfully engaged in that line of trade until 1895. 
 . In 188 1 he established what is known as the South- 
 ington Lumber & Feed Co., and was made manager 
 anu treasurer on its incorporation. In 1889 he was 
 elected a director and vice-president of the South- 
 ington National Bank, and in 1890 was elected 
 president, which office he still holds. He' was also 
 elected a director and member of the loaning com- 
 mittee of the Southing-ton Savings Bank, in 1875, 
 and vice-president of the same in 1898. He is a di- 
 rector of the Soutnington Cutlery Co., and for a 
 number of years has been president of the Oak 
 Hill Cemetery Association. 
 
 On Sept. 27, 1865, IMr. Barnes was united in 
 marriage with Miss Sarah H. Hamlin, daughter of 
 Amos and Mary ( Bull ) Hamlin, of Southington. 
 By that union he had one son, Frank H. For his 
 present wife he married ^Margaret H. Taylor, a 
 daughter of James Barton and Jane (Harper) 
 Taylor, of Winchester, \ irginia. 
 
 Mr. Barnes' public service covers a period of 
 nearly thirty years, beginning in 1873, when he 
 was elected to the board of selectmen and made 
 a grand juror. From 1874 to 1896 he served con- 
 tinuously, with the exception of one year, as town 
 clerk, registrar and treasurer of the school fund, 
 declining further re-election to those offices. When 
 the- borough of Southington was formed he was 
 named as warden upon the only ticket in the field, 
 an honor which he also declined, but was per- 
 suaded to become one of the burgesses, and served 
 for two years as chairman of the comn-iittee on 
 Sewers, Highways and Streets. As a niember from 
 Southington on the "dead-lock session" of the 
 Legislature, in i8qi, he served as clerk of the 
 committee on Appropriations, and in 1893 was 
 
 House ciiairman of the same and a member of the 
 conmiittee on Banks. In 1898 he was elected to a 
 third term, and is now House chairman on Appro- 
 priations. In politics Mr. Barnes has always been 
 a stanch Republican, and his opinion and advice 
 are continually sought on questions of importance 
 to his town and county. He was one of the or- 
 ganizers of Trumbull Post, No. 16, G. A. R., of 
 Southington ; was its first commander ; and is also 
 a member of the Armv and Navy Club of Con- 
 necticut ; the Merchants Club of Southington ; and 
 of the First Congregational Church. 
 
 SHELDON KINNEY (deceased) was for 
 many years prominently identified with the agri- 
 cultural and business interests of the town of 
 Windsor, and was one of its highly esteemed and 
 honored citizens. He was born in Winsted, Conn., 
 }.Iarch 30, 1817, a son of Sheldon Kinney, Sr., a 
 native of New Preston, Conn. His grandfather, 
 Pari Kinney, married a Miss Hine, and his great- 
 grandfather, who also bore the name of Pari, mar- 
 ried a ]\Iiss Sheldon. On his mother's side he was 
 a descendant of the Farrens, who were among the 
 first settlers of East Haven, Connecticut. 
 
 Our subject was one of a family of five chil- 
 dren who reached adult age, was reared in Win- 
 sted, and received such an education as the schools 
 of his time afforded. During his youth he learned 
 the molder's trade at New Hartford, but the work 
 being too heavy, he was compelled to give it up. 
 He was then engaged in the butcher business with 
 his father for some years, and did much in the way 
 of cattle buying and droving, it being customary in 
 those days when buying cattle in New York State 
 to dri\-e them across the country to their destina- 
 tion. He also followed merchandising in Winsted 
 for some time. 
 
 In November, 1847, in the town of Windsor, 
 Mr. Kinney married Miss Eliza A. Phelps, who 
 was born July 27, 1820, on a farm adjoining the 
 place where she lately Hved, and died March 10, 
 1900. She came from one of the oldest and most 
 highly respected families of the town. She was 
 also related to many of the most prominent fami- 
 lies of Hartford county, among which are many 
 men of note and others who bore an active part in 
 the Revolutionary war. Her parents were Hiram 
 and Laura A. (Griswold) Phelps, and she traced 
 her ancestry back through the following: Tiniothy 
 and Ruth (Wilson) Phelps; Timothy and Marga- 
 ret (Gillett) Phelps; Cornelius and Sarah (Mans- 
 field) Phelps; Lieut. Timothy and Mary (Gris- 
 wold) Phelps; and William and Man*- (Dover) 
 Phelps. William Phelps, just mentioned, was the 
 progenitor of the family in America, and was one 
 of the first settlers of Windsor. Mrs. Kinney was 
 the youngest daughter in a family of five children 
 who reached years of maturity, and was reared on 
 the farm of her birth. By her marriage to our sub- 
 ject she became the mother of two children ; Timo- 
 thy P., of Windsor, commission agent for fertilizers 
 
828 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and farm tools, married to Imogene Loomis, of 
 that place, and they have one child, Mabel L. ; Ella 
 M. resides at home, and is a member of the Daugh- 
 ters of the Revolution. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Kinney continued to 
 reside in Winsted, where he had always made his 
 home, and for a number of years was proprietor of 
 the well-known hostelry, the "Winsted House." In 
 1863 he removed to Rauibow, Hartford county, and 
 took up the occupation of farming, but two years 
 later located on the farm where his widow now re- 
 sides, living there until 1868, when he reopened 
 what was formerly known as the "Old Roberts 
 Tavern," below the village of Windsor, and called 
 the hotel the "Maple House." Under his able 
 management it became a most popular stopping 
 place, but in 1880 he returned to the farm where 
 Mrs. Kinney is now living, and there passed away 
 Sept. 5, 1892, being laid to rest in the Windsor 
 cemetery. He was one of the prominent repre- 
 sentatives of the Democratic party in his town, 
 and was always an active worker for its success. 
 For seven years he was keeper of the town poor, 
 and though his bid was often higher than others, 
 he performed his duties in such a highly satisfac- 
 tory manner that he remained the people's choice. 
 In that capacity it is doubtful if any other keeper 
 was ever so favorably known. He was a member 
 of Poquonock Grange, and was widely known and 
 highly respected. His estimable wife still survives 
 him, and is unusually well preserved for one of 
 her years. The farm on which she resides has 
 been in the possession of the Phelps family since 
 the town was organized, and is a part of the mile 
 square tract of land that was the property of Will- 
 iam Phelps, the original owner. 
 
 EDWARD J. BULKLEY. Mr. Bulkley's fam- 
 ily is of English descent, tracing its American lin- 
 eage to Rev. Peter Bulkley, who settled in New 
 England in 1634 or '35, and from him backward 
 through ten generations to Robert Bulkley, an Eng- 
 lish baron who flourished during the reign of King 
 John, and was Palatine of the County of Chester. 
 
 Rev. Peter Bulkley was born Jan. 31, 1583. He 
 was the son of Rev. Edward Bulkley, D. D., who 
 took more than a paternal interest in both his in- 
 tellectual and moral training. Dr. Edward Bulkley 
 was a man eminent alike for his piety and learning, 
 and a faithful minister of the Gospel. At the early 
 age of sixteen young Peter matriculated at St. 
 John's College, Cambridge, being afterward chosen 
 Fellow, and through his Fellowship receiving the 
 degree of Bachelor of Divinity. He succeeded to 
 his father's pastoral charge in the English town 
 where he was born. He was a Non-Conformist, 
 and for twenty years he preached evangelical truth 
 without objection or interference on the part of 
 /those in power. His sermons were logical and con- 
 vincing, his life blameless, and his influence for 
 good powerful. In time, however, he was officially 
 silenced because of his non-conformity to the 
 
 Established Church. It was this circumstance that 
 induced his emigration to New England, in whose 
 forests and on the banks of whose streams many of 
 his co-religionists had already found the liberty of 
 conscience denied to them at home. As has been 
 already said, it was about 1634 or 1635 when he 
 first arrived at Concord bridge, and, with others, 
 animated by the same spirit as himself, went out 
 into the woods to establish the Plantation of Mus- 
 ketguard, the site of the present town of Concord, 
 Mass. He was pastor of the little flock that wor- 
 shipped in that well-nigh trackless forest, and his 
 unselfish benevolence led him to devote nearly all 
 his estate to the benefit of his people. He entered into 
 rest March 9, 1659, after a quarter of a century de- 
 voted to the cause of religion. [A full history of 
 his life appears in Rev. F. W. Chapman's history 
 of the Bulkley family, to which volume the pub- 
 lishers acknowledge their indebtedness.] He was 
 twice married. His first wife was Jane, a daughter 
 of Thomas Allen, of Goldington, whose nephew 
 was Lord Mayor of London. After her death he 
 married Grace Chetwood. She survived him, mak- 
 ing her home at New London, where she died on 
 April 21, 1669. Thirteen children were born of 
 the first marriage and four of the second. The 
 oft'spring of the first Mrs. Peter Bulkley were as 
 follows: Edward, Mary and Thomas, born in Eng- 
 land, on June 17, 1614, Aug. 24, 1615, and April 
 II, 1617, respectively; Nathaniel, born Nov. 2Q, 
 1618, died at the age of nine years; John, born Feb. 
 17, 1621 ; Mary (2J, born Nov. i, 1621, died in her 
 fourth year; George, born May 17, 1623; Daniel, 
 born Aug. 28, 1625 ; Jabez, born Dec. 20, 1626, died 
 in infancy; Joseph; William; and Richard. The 
 issue of Mr. Bulkley's second marriage was : Ger- 
 sliom, born Dec. 6, 1636; Eliezer, 1638; Dorothy, 
 Aug. 16, 1640; and Peter, June 12, 1643. 
 
 Gershom Bulkley, the eldest son of his father's 
 second marriage, graduated from Harvard College 
 in 1655. On Oct. 26, 1659, he married Sarah 
 Chauncey, daughter of the distinguished president 
 of his Alma Mater, whose name is indissolubly 
 linked with the history of the great university. She 
 was born in Ware, England, June 13, 1631, and 
 difd on June 9, 1669. He, too, was a minister, and 
 for several years pastor of the church at Concord, 
 Mass. In 1661 he resigned his charge at that place 
 to become the second pastor of the .New London 
 (Conn.) church. After six years of faithful, self- 
 denying work among the people of what was then, 
 comparatively, a new settlement, he accepted a call 
 from the church at Wethersfield to succeed the 
 Rev. John Russell. He was installed in that pastor- 
 ate in 1667, and occupied the pulpit for ten years. 
 Meanwhile, in 1675, he had commenced the study of 
 medicine. Through natural aptitude, and by virtue 
 of hard, conscientious study, he obtained a mastery 
 of the science as it was comprehended at that time. 
 In 167s the General Court commissioned him as 
 an army surgeon, and he entered upon a new ficlil 
 of duty when he rode, with the Colonial volunteers. 
 
COM MEMO RAT IVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 829 
 
 against the Indians. He proved to be a brave and 
 gallant officer, always ready to bear more than his 
 own share in any perilous adventure, in 107O, 
 while accompanying a party in pursuit of the tlee- 
 ing savages, he was severely wountled in the thigh. 
 He died at Wethersfield, Dec. 2, 1713, deeply 
 mourned by the people whose faithful, spiritual 
 guide and counselor he had been for many years. 
 He was a man of scholarly attainments and an ac- 
 complished linguist, beloved by his friends, and re- 
 spected by all who knew his worth. He was the 
 father of six children : Catherine, Dorothy, Charles, 
 Peter, Edward antl John. Catherine was born in 
 1660, and married Richard Treat, Aug. 20, 1704; 
 Dorothy was born in 1662, and became the wife of 
 Thomas Treat on July 6, 1693 ; Charles, born in 
 1663; Peter, born in 1C64, married Rebecca Talcott; 
 John was the husband of Patience Prentice. 
 
 Edward Bulkley, the fifth child and third son 
 of Rev. Gershom Eulkley, was born in 1673. tl^ 
 married Dorothy Prcscott, who was a daughter of 
 Jonathan Prescott, of Concord, ]\Iass. He died at 
 \\'ethersfield, Aug. 27, 1747. He was the father of 
 a large family. His eldest son, Charles, was. born 
 2^Iarch 27, 1703, and married Mary Sage, of Middle- 
 town. Elizabeth, his first daughter, was born Jan. 
 24, 1705, and became ^Irs. Joseph Smith. Sarah 
 (!NIrs. Joseph Stowj was born Feb. 8, 1707. Re- 
 becca was born I'eb. 22, 1709, and married Thomas 
 Trent. Peter, born JNIarch 19, 171 1, died in in- 
 fancy. Peter (2) was born almost exactly twelve 
 months later, having come into the world JMarch 
 17, 1712; he married Abigail Curtis. Gershom, the 
 sixth child, married Thankful Belding; he was 
 born July 29, 1714. Dorothy, born Sept. 11, 1716, 
 married Thomas Curtis, of Rocky Hill. The next 
 child, Jonathan, was born in 1718, and became 
 the husband of Abigail Williams. Abigail, the 
 ninth child, came into the world in 1720, and be- 
 came the wife of John JNIarsh. The tenth and 
 youngest of the family was Lucy, who was born 
 in 1725, and married Charles Butler. 
 
 Jonathan Bulkley, the fifth son and eighth child 
 of Edward, the date of whose birth is mentioned 
 above, married Abigail Williams Nov. 13, 1746. 
 They were the parents of thirteen children, whose 
 names, with respective dates of their birth, were 
 as follows: Eleanor, Nov. 11, 1747; Stephen, Dec. 
 19, 1749; Edmund, Dec. 7, 1851 ; John, Nov. 3, 
 1853, died July 11, 1770: Frederick. Aug. 27, 1855, 
 died Jan. 20, 1777; a son. June 25, 175S, died un- 
 named ; Jonathan, Islay 10, 1759, married to 'Sla.ry 
 Edwards June 16, 1787; Lydia, 2\Iay 9, 1761 ; a 
 stillborn daughter, jNIay 4, 1762: Moses, Feb. 7, 
 1764; Dorothy, April 8, 1766, died Aug. 18 fol- 
 lowing; Burrage, Aug. 9, 1767; and Dorothy (2), 
 June 17, 1770. 
 
 Stephen Bulkley, the eldest son of this familv, 
 and a direct lineal ancestor of Edward J. Bulkley, 
 was twice married. His first wife was Alartha 
 Marsh. She died April 20, 1804, and Sent. 16, 
 1S05, he married Susan Riley. Stephen Bulkley 
 
 died in May, 1813. The fruit of his first marriage 
 was eight children, as follows : Honor, born May 
 5, 1774, was married to Daniel Edwards, Jr., of 
 xMiddletown, Nov. 16, 1795; Stephen, born April 
 18, 177O, died Sept. 29, 1779; Catherine, born (Jet. 
 ^5' i??^' <l'wl U^-'t- u. 1799; Cate, born Sept. 2, 
 1 780, married Zenas Edwards, Dec. 7, 1800; Stephen 
 (2), born March 30, 1785; Allen, July 19, 1786; 
 Frederick, June i, 1792; and a daughter (who died 
 unnamed j, Dec. 18, 1796. To Stephen Bulkley, Sr., 
 and Susan Riley, his second wife, two children 
 were born; Burrage, Dec. 22, 1805, and Waite, on 
 March 4, 1807. 
 
 P^rederick Bulkley, above named, grandfather of 
 Edward J. Bulkley, received a common-school ed- 
 ucation, and later learned the trade of a blacksmith, 
 at Rocky Hill. From that town he removed to 
 'Wethersfield, where he built and opened a shop on 
 Broad street. In addition to his work at his shop 
 he carried on general farming and stock raising. 
 He passed his life in Wethersfield, where he died 
 Sept. 24, 1850. He was a Democrat, although 
 never seeking office, and a member of the Congre- 
 gational Church. He was a good citizen ; a modest, 
 unassuming man, of simple tastes and democratic 
 habits. In his domestic life he was affectionate and 
 kind, and in his relations with his fellow men liberal 
 and upright. He was elected selectman of the 
 town, and held various other offices of minor im- 
 portance. On Oct. 6, 1 814, he married Nancy Riley, 
 who was born at Wethersfield, Julv 16, 1792, and 
 died there Dec. 24, 1857. Six children were born 
 of this marriage: ^lartha, Oct. 15, 1815 (died un- 
 married April I, 1870) ; Julia and Jane (twins), 
 Jan. 2, 1819 (the former died Feb. 21, 1890, the 
 latter on j\lay 27, 18S8) ; Nancy R., Dec. 30, 1822 
 (died Jan. 24, 1888) ; Stephen "(the father of Ed- 
 ward J. Bulkley), May 6, 1825 ; and Kate E., April 
 23, 1834. Julia died unmarried, and Jane became 
 the wife of Walter Edwards. Nancy R. married 
 Benjamin H. Tower, Jan. 3, 1865: and Kate E. was 
 united, Nov. 20, 1870, to John Warner, a promi- 
 nent farmer, and resides on Broad street, Wethers- 
 field. 
 
 Stephen Bulkley, the fifth child and only son, 
 attended the Wethersfield district schools, but his 
 broader education was obtained in the school of 
 experience. Fie was a successful farmer, and one 
 of the first tobacco growers in Wethersfield. For 
 several years he was a large bux'er of tobacco for 
 a New York firm. He was a capable and success- 
 ful business man, and held in high esteem alike 
 for his sagacity and integrity. Prior to the out- 
 break of the Civil war he was a Democrat, but after 
 that date he affiliated with the Republican party. 
 In religious faith he was an Episcojjalian. His fel- 
 low townsmen over and over again testified their 
 appreciation of his capability and their confidence 
 in his probity by electing him to positions of honor 
 and trust. In addition to holding several minor 
 offices, he served as selectman during the war of the 
 Rebellion, and was elected to the Legislature in 
 
830 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1883. He was a public-spirited citizen, and always 
 a stanch supporter of popular education. He died 
 June 21, 1891. His wife was Prudence, a daugh- 
 ter of John Warner, of Wethersfield, in which town 
 she was born, -and where she died, November 29, 
 1887. The date of their marriage was Jan. 23, 
 1850, and the issue consisted of nine children: 
 Fanny R., born Nov. 2, 1850, who married John 
 Hanmer, Jan. 28, 1874; Alice May, born April 9, 
 1852; Prudence Warner, born Jan. 24, 1854, for- 
 merly a school teacher in Wethersfield ; Frederick, 
 born Feb. 8, 1856, died Feb. 2, i860; Edward J.; 
 Stephen, born Jan. 4, 1861, now a druggist in Brook- 
 lyn, N. Y. ; Charles and Chester (twins), born 
 April 25, 1864 (Charles is a merchant in Wethers- 
 field, Chester died Oct. 27, 1867) ; and Robert R., 
 born Sept. 9, 1866, living at home. 
 
 Edward J. Bulkley was born April 23, 1858.* 
 His early education was acc[uired at the public 
 schools of Wethersfield, and also at the South 
 school, in Hartford. He grew up on his father's 
 farm, and for about a year, while yet a young 
 man, worked as a clerk in Hartford, and also as 
 assistant cashier for Brown & Thompson. Return- 
 iing to Wethersfield he began farming in earnest, 
 and this has been the occupation of his life. In 
 addition to general and dairy farming he has de- 
 voted much attention to tobacco culture, being the 
 most extensive grower in the town. He has in- 
 herited his father's sound sense and good judg- 
 ment, and is to-day one of the foremost and most 
 successful young business men of Wethersfield. 
 He is endowed with immense native energy, to 
 which is joined pertinacity of purpose and high 
 moral courage. He is popular in the community, 
 where his ability commands admiration, and his 
 moral worth insures respect. He is genial and 
 whole-souled, true to his friends and charitable 
 toward all. He is treasurer of the school board, 
 and in 1898 was elected a representative to the Leg- 
 islature, on the Republican ticket, serving during 
 his term in the House as member of the committee 
 on Appropriation, a very important committee. He 
 is a member of the Wethersfield Grange. 
 
 On April 28, 1886, at Wethersfield, Mr. Bulkley 
 married Miss Jennie Sage, who was born at Middle- 
 town July 3, 1863, a daughter of Franklin Sage, of 
 New York. Mrs. Bulkley is a cultured lady, hos- 
 pitably inclined. To this union one child has been 
 born, Rachel Eugenie, who is a pupil in the high 
 school. Mr. and Mrs. Bulkley are communicants of 
 the Episcopal Church, of which he is junior warden. 
 
 JOHN FLAVEL BUCKLAND (deceased) was 
 for many years a leading citizen of the town of East 
 Windsor, and his life and character afforded an 
 example worthy of emulation. Beginning his ca- 
 reer as a poor boy, he made his own way to finan- 
 cial success, while at the same time he fulfilled to 
 the utmost his high ideals of citizenship, lending his 
 influence to help forward the right solution of the 
 problems of his day. 
 
 Mr. Buckland came of good old Vermont stock, 
 and his family was identified for many years with 
 Tunbridge, that State. His father, Ashbell Buck^ 
 land (born Nov. 14, 1771) m.arried Ruth Mosley 
 (born March 23, 1772), and they had nine chil- 
 dren as follows: David W. (who died in infancy), 
 David H., Harriet, Sophronia, Joseph, John F. (our 
 subject), Asenath, Ruth, and William. 
 
 John F. Buckland was born April 12, 1797, in 
 Tunbridge, Vt., where he remained tmtil twelve 
 years old. Even at that early age the necessity for 
 securing his own livelihood was impressed upoii 
 him, and when a friend who had located in Ware- 
 house Point, Conn., secured him a position there, 
 he walked all the way from Tunbridge, carrying 
 his worldly possessions in a small bundle tied up in 
 a handkerchief. He was employed in Gen. Jenk's 
 distillery until 1828, and in the meantime he pur- 
 chased and improved the farm near Warehouse 
 Point which is now owned and occupied by his only 
 child, Mrs. Mary L. Arnold. During the remainder 
 of his life his attention was devoted largely to to- 
 bacco culture and general fanning. From time to 
 time he invested in other real estate, and at his 
 death, which occurred Oct. 28, 1864, he left a large 
 estate. Politically he was a Republican, and as a 
 public-spirited citizen he was keenly interested in 
 local affairs. Throughout his life he was strictly 
 temperate, and his deep reverence for religion was 
 manifested in his daily conduct and conversation. 
 Every morning and evening prayer was offered in 
 his home and a chapter read from the Bible, and 
 for years he was a leading member of the First 
 Congregational Church at Scantic. 
 
 On May 19, 1824, Mr. Buckland married Miss 
 Lucinda Bancroft, an estimable woman, who was 
 born in East Windsor, Conn., Jan. 13, 1796, daugh- 
 of John Bancroft, and granddaughter of Deacon 
 John Bancroft, who made guns for the Revolution- 
 ary army. She died Jan. 9, 1871, leaving the mem- 
 ory of a lovable character and devout Christian 
 life. 
 
 Mrs. Mary L. Arnold, who was born at the 
 homestead, April 14, 1831, is a lady of unusual abil- 
 it}^. She is much respected in the community, and is 
 identified with St. John's Episcopal Church at 
 Warehouse Point. On Dec. 8, 1867, she married 
 Joseph Arnold, a native of Haddam, Conn., who 
 was at one time a merchant in New York City and 
 later a salesman in the silk department of A. T. 
 Stewart's store. After his marriage he took charge 
 of the homestead, where he passed away Sept. 29, 
 1887. He was active and 'influential in local poli- 
 tics as a member of the Democratic organization, 
 served as tax collector in East Windsor town for a 
 time, and in 1879 was elected to the State Legis- 
 lature. 
 
 HON. ELWIN F. MERRIMAN, present rep- 
 resentative from Avon to the State Legislature, 
 is one of the most enterprising citizens of his town, 
 and has been a leading agriculturist of this part of 
 
COMMEMORATirE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 831 
 
 Hartford county since his removal here in iS8S. Mr. 
 Merriman is a native of the town of Litchtield, 
 Litchfield Co., Conn., born March 17, 1859, a son 
 of loseph Merriman and a grandson of John A. 
 Merriman. 
 
 Jolin A. Merriman was born in New York State 
 in 1800, and in an early day removed to Litchtield, 
 Conn., whre he spent the remainder of his days, 
 engaged in general farming and raising working 
 caule. He also did teaming between Litchfield 
 and Xew Haven. He married a Miss Cable, and they 
 had fourteen children, four of whom died young, 
 and the other ten lived without a death among 
 them for over fifty years: Harlow, the eldest, was 
 a resident of Falls X'illage, Conn.; Lucy is the 
 widow of Lewis Perkins, and lives in Litchfield; 
 Hiram is a resident of Springfield, Alass. ; Julia 
 (_ deceased) was the wife of Samuel McNeil, of 
 Danbury ; John lives in Unionville, Conn. ; Robert 
 made his home in Wisconsin, but died in Lhiion- 
 ville, while on a visit; Joseph is the father of our 
 subject; Charles is a resident of Litchfield, where 
 he has served as first selectman for many years : Sa- 
 rah is the wife of Julius Treadway; and Louise 
 married William Ford. The parents of this family 
 both died in Litchfield county, where they are 
 buried. Air. ^Merriman was a Democrat in politics. 
 Joseph .Merriman was born Alay 3, 1834, in the 
 town of Litchfield, where he received his education 
 in the district schools. He has been one of the 
 most active citizens of his town, all of his early 
 manhood was spent in doing teaming with oxen, 
 and for many \ears he served acceptably as road 
 maker and supervisor, while for some years he had . 
 charge of the town farm, giving general satisfac- 
 tion in discharging the duties of that incumbency. 
 At present he is successfully engaged in dairying 
 and general farming in Litchfield, where he is 
 highly respected for his substantial worth. He has 
 been active in the ranks of the Democratic party 
 as a stanch supporter of the principles of that or- 
 ganization, but he has never been a politiciaia in the 
 sense of office-seeker. In Plainville, Conn., he 
 was married to Miss Catharine Bradley, a native 
 of that town, daughter of Isaac Bradley, and six 
 children were born to them : Martha, who is the 
 wife of Henry Judd, a farmer of ^Middlebur)'; Elwin 
 F. ; Isaac, a farmer of Litchfield ; Lena, wife of 
 Jay Gilbert, of Litchfield ; Katie, wife of Birdsey 
 Atwood, of Thomaston, Conn., and Una, who died 
 young. j\Ir. and I\Irs. Merriman are earnest mem- 
 bers of the iMethodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 Up to the age of thirteen years Elwin F. Merri- 
 man lived at home, assisting his parents on the farm, 
 and attending the district schools nearby. Since that 
 time he has been practically self-supporting, for 
 he commenced to work out among other fanners, 
 at first receiving ten dollars a month for his ser- 
 vices; but he did not give up the idea of obtaining 
 a good education, and he continued to go to school 
 during the winter time as opportunity offered, 
 studying for a time at Litchfield Academy. He 
 
 taught school for si.x terms near his old home, and 
 was engaged thus in connection with farming up 
 to the age of twenty-two years, when he came to 
 Hartford county, locating first in Unionville. For 
 five years after his removal here he was engaged 
 in teaming, and he then embarked in the express 
 business on his own account, running a wagon be- 
 tween Hartford and Unionville. Meeting with 
 fair success in this enterprise, he continued thus 
 for two years, in 1888 removing to West Avon, 
 where he purchased the William Smith farm, on 
 which he has ever since resided. He carries on gen- 
 eral farming, and believes in extensive farming, and 
 and keeps on his forty-acre farm about thirty head 
 of stock, peddling the milk in Unionville. Mr. Mer- 
 riman has prospered to an unusual degree since 
 his settlement in Avon town, and he fully deserves 
 all the success which has come to him, for he has 
 earned the way to his present high position, and 
 may well be called a self-made man, one to whom 
 the community can point as an example of industry 
 and intelligent effort. He has always had the repu- 
 tation of being a straightforward man in all his deal- 
 ings, and by his able management of his own af- 
 fairs and strict integrity has won the confidence of 
 his fellow citizens in Avon, who have shown their 
 ap])reciation of his worth in many substantial ways. 
 Not long after settling here he was elected town 
 assessor, in which office he served faithfully; was 
 acting school visitor for three years, and he has 
 since been called upon to serve as member of the 
 board of relief and as first selectman of the town. 
 In 1898 he was chosen to represent his district in 
 the State Legislature, and he is now serving. 
 Though he is comparatively a new resident of the 
 town, Mr. JNIerriman has by his upright life made 
 a place for himself among its reliable and most 
 respected citizens, as is evidenced by the many hon- 
 ors he has received at the hands of his fellow citi- 
 zens, and he is to be congratulated upon the posi- 
 tion he has reached while still in his prime. His 
 political support is given to the Democratic party. 
 Mr. Merriman was married, in 1880, to Miss 
 Louise Osborn, daughter of James Osborn, of Litch- 
 field, and they had one child, Raymond, .who died 
 at the age of twelve years. Airs. Merriman died 
 Sep. 4, 1884, and was buried in Unionville; she was 
 an earnest Christian woman, in religious connection 
 holding membership with the Episcopal Church. 
 In 1885 Mr. Merriman was married, in Unionville, 
 to Miss Alary Porter, daughter of Alajor and Alary 
 (Thompson) Porter, both of whom died when Airs. 
 Alerriman was but tv.-o years of age. This union 
 has also been blessed with two children : Grace 
 Isabel, born April 17, 1893, now attending school, 
 and Louis Porter, a sturdy little fellow, born Sept. 
 16, 1899. Air. and Airs. Alerriman are active mem- 
 bers of the AI. E. Church, in which he now holds 
 the office of steward. They are popular among 
 their neighbors, havng many friends in Avon who 
 enjoy their plea.^ant society and esteem them for 
 their crenuine worth. 
 
832 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 . EDWARD ANSON HUBBARD (deceased), 
 late of Glastonbury, was a descendant in the eighth 
 generation from i^I) George Hubbard, likely a 
 native of Essex or Surrey, England, whence he 
 emigrated to New England in 1633, locating first 
 at W'atertown, Mass., later in Wethersfield, Conn., 
 and still later in Milford, and finally in Guilford, 
 Conn., removing to this latter point prior to 1650. 
 He had married Mary, daughter of John and Anne 
 Bishop. She died at Guilford in 1675 and he passed 
 away there in 1683. BVom this emigrant George 
 Hubbard, of Guilford, Edward A. Hubbard's line 
 of descent is through John, John (2), Ephraim, 
 Jonathan, David and Norman Hubbard. 
 
 {II) John Hubbard,, son of George, of Guil- 
 ford, born in England about 1630, was brought to 
 this country in about 1633. He married, about 
 1648-49, Mary Merriam, formerly of Concord, 
 Mass. He lived at Hadley, where five of his chil- 
 dren were born, then at Hatfield, where he died 
 in J 702. 
 
 (IH) John Hubbard (2), son of John, born in 
 Wethersfield, Conn., in 1655, married, in about 
 1676, Mary, daughter of Thomas Wright, and later 
 settled in Glastonbury, where he died in about 1748. 
 He was a large land owner and a man' of prom- 
 inence, serving a number of 3'ears in the Legis- 
 lature. 
 
 (TV) Ephraim Hubbard, son of John (2), born 
 in 1695 in Glastonbury, Conn., married Mary Lord, 
 who died in 1772. He was a well-to-do farmer, 
 a deacon in the church, and died in Glastonbury in 
 1780. 
 
 (Y) Jonathan Hubbard, son of Ephraim, born 
 in /Glastonbury in 1720, married (second) Widow 
 Sarah (Smith) Forbes. He died in Glastonbury 
 in 1806, and second wife died there in 1781. 
 
 (VI) David Hubbard, son of Jonathan, born 
 in Glastonbury in 1758, married, in 1783, Jemima 
 Chamberlain, who died in 1838. David Hubbard 
 was a deacon in the church. He served in the 
 militia in the war of the Revolution. 
 
 (VH) Norman Hubbard, son of (VI) David 
 and Jemima Hubbard, was born in 1787 in Glaston- 
 bury, and died in 1854, a lifelong zealous and lib- 
 eral supporter of the Conp-regational Church. He 
 married (first) Nancy Sellow, and to this union 
 were born five children: (i) Sarah, born in 181 5, 
 married Martin Keeney ; (2) Sereno, born in 1816, 
 died in 1864; he married Maria Dodd, of Hartford, 
 and had two children, Elizabeth and Clarence, of 
 whom Elizabeth married George Lee and had one 
 son, Frank; (3) Harriet, born in 1819, married 
 Norman Spencer, and died in January, 1871, leav- 
 ing four children, Norman, Sarah, Harriet and 
 Charles ; (4) Edward A. is the subject of this 
 sketch; (5) Norman, born in 1825, died unmarried 
 at the age of twentv years. 
 
 (VIII) Edward A. Hubbard, son of (VII) 
 Norman and Nancy (Sellew) Hubbard, was born 
 May 3, 1822, in Glastonbury, and received his edu- 
 cation at the common schools of the district, which 
 was supplemented with a course of study at the 
 
 Westfield (Mass.) Academy. His father being a 
 tanner, young Edward assisted in the work of m 
 tannery, remaining under the parental roof until 
 he became of age. On the death of his father, in 
 1854, Edward A. formed a partnership with Isaac 
 Broadnead, a practical tanner, Mr. Hubbard fur- 
 nishing the capital and acting as business manager 
 of the concern. They built a new tannery, and in 
 partnership carried on a successful business up to 
 the death of Mr. Hubbard, in 1871, at which time 
 Mr. Broadhead purchased the interest of the de- 
 ceased and continued the business alone. 
 
 On Feb. 8, i860, Edward A. Hubbard was united 
 in marriage with Miss Charlotte Hunt, who was 
 born May 21, 1828, at Vernon, Tolland Co., Conn., 
 a daughter of Capt. Oliver and Roxanna (Smith) 
 Hunt. Capt. Hunt was born in Vernon, Conn., a 
 son of Oliver and Jerusha (Simons) Hunt, highly 
 respected farming people, who had a family of four 
 , children: Laura, (Capt.) Oliver, Rebecca and 
 Mary. To Capt. Oliver and Roxanna Hunt were 
 born eight children: (i) Fidelia Clark became the 
 wife of Capt. Bela Abbott ; both are now deceased. 
 (2) Philinda is the deceased widow of Elijah 
 Payne. (3) Roxanna, deceased, was the wife of 
 C. A. Risley. (4) Oliver married (first) Roselle 
 Chapman, and (second) Harriet Fuller; he is now 
 living retired at Galesburg, 111. (5) Eliza Ann 
 is deceased. (6) Caroline Mary married Leander 
 Smith; both are deceased. (7) Charlotte (Mrs. 
 E. A. Hubbard) comes next in the order of birth. 
 (8) Chester Smith, , the youngest, is deceased. 
 Capt. Oliver Hunt was by occupation a farmer and 
 tanner; was a captain in the State troops, a Whig 
 ■and Republican in politics and served in the State 
 Legislature two terms. He was a member of no 
 church, though a liberal contributor to all denom- 
 inations. 
 
 To Edward A. and Charlotte (Hunt) Hubbard 
 were born two daughters : ( i ) Charlotte Hunt, 
 born Dec. 15, i860, was educated at Hartford 
 (Conn.) Female Seminary and Bordentown, N. J.; 
 she is now the wife of Lewis W. Ripley, a sketch 
 of whom appears elsewhere. (2) Mary Amelia, 
 born May 4, 1863, graduated from the Hartford 
 Public High School ; she was married. May 4, 1886, 
 to Dr. Gideon C. Segur, of Hartford, Conn., and 
 has a family of six living children : Raymond Hub- 
 bard, Charlotte Hubbard, Marjorie Hubbard, Gerald 
 Hubbard, Malcolm Cundall and Katharine Hunt: 
 there were two other children, Edward Hubbard 
 and Donald Cundall, both of whom died in infancy. 
 Mrs. Hubbard is a lady of culture and refinement, 
 and after the death of her husband she made her 
 home for a time in Hartford in order to give her 
 two daughters the benefit of a good city education, 
 returning in 1898 to a home in Glastonbury, where 
 she now resides. Her life has been full of useful- 
 ness, and in the evening of her days, which she is 
 enjoying in ease and comfort, she can look, over the 
 past vears with the consciousness of duties well 
 performed. 
 
 The late Edward A. Hubbard had a wide busi- 
 
tO-t/ct^cnc/ oW ^iC^-t::.i^A:^(Ay<^ 
 
COMMEMOR.lTIl-E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 833 
 
 ness ac(iiiaintancc in tlie United States and Europe, 
 
 his busniess career and his home hfc beinfj ahke 
 
 above reproach, and he had the warm rej^ard of 
 
 many personal friends, while at the same time he 
 
 was ever faitiiful to all trusts, whether of a inthlic 
 
 or private nature, reposed in him. He was a stanch 
 
 friend of advanced educational methods, a promoter 
 
 and supporter of the Cilastonhurv I'ree Academy, 
 
 and a liberal contributor to all enterprises intended 
 
 , to help the building up of society. A ])rominent 
 
 ' member of the Congregational Church, he was a 
 
 pure-minded Christian, a great student of the IJible 
 
 and an earnest worker in the cause of humanity. 
 
 A strong Republican in politics, he was nevertheless 
 
 no office seeker, though frequentlv urged by hi> 
 
 , friends to accept nonunation. His domestic and 
 
 social life was full of tenderness and sympathy for 
 
 ' others, and tilled with unostentatious acts of charity, 
 
 I particularly among the poor and needy, deeds that 
 
 ; were known at the time only to himself and the 
 
 I recipients of his bounty. He died universally be- 
 
 ' loved and respected, and left the heritage of a good 
 
 name. 
 
 HOX. JA:\IES HATHAWAY VIETS. The 
 Viets family has held a prominent place in this sec- 
 tion from pioneer times, and the personal history 
 of this venerable and highly-esteemed resident of 
 East Granby, can have no better introduction than 
 the following brief review of his ancestry. The 
 thrift, enterprise and public-spirit which have 
 marked his conduct throughout his long and useful 
 career are characteristic of the family, and its mem- 
 bers have made themselves honorable reputations in 
 various callings, many of the name in Hartford 
 county being engaged in agricultural pursuits. 
 
 The name is probably of German origin, as it 
 occurs in various forms in different localities in 
 the "Fatherland," and Dr. John Viets, the progeni- 
 tor of the family in this section, who settled in 
 Simsburj' in 1710, spelled the name Viett. After 
 his death his sons used the spelling Vietts, which 
 would indicate that the name was pronounced in 
 that way, and it is surmised that at an earlier period 
 it may have been written Metz. The preseni spell- 
 ing was adopted about 1750. Dr. John \'iets is 
 said to have been well-educated, having prepared 
 for the medical profession in Germany, but the in- 
 formation concerning his earlv life is meagre and 
 is in some instances conflicting. According to the 
 best authority he was born probably about 1665, 
 and there is little doubt that on coming to America 
 he landed in New York, where his marriage may 
 have occurred. Plis name appears in the records 
 of Simsbury as early as 1710, when he was admitted 
 as a citizen, and on January 5, 171 1, he received a 
 deed for twelve acres of land from the heirs of John 
 Griffin. This was located on the west side of the 
 mountain, being now included in the town of East 
 Granby. For some time he followed farming there 
 in connection with his medical practice. The early 
 settlers were too poor and possibly too hardy and 
 
 healthy to furnish a good income for a physician, 
 antl it seems that he thought at one time of return- 
 ing to his native land. In 1713 he mortgaged his 
 farm for ten pounds sterling, and as there was 
 then a lin.seed oil mill on the place it is probable 
 that he had built it. In 1723 he received a grant of 
 eighty-two acres of land from the town, and his 
 death occurred soon afterward (Nov. 18, 1723), 
 from a fever. Tradition says that his wife's name 
 was Catharine -Meyers, but on her tombstone in 
 Simsbury it is given as "Camon \'ets, ye wift; of 
 Dct. John Vets.' She died on the 5th or 0th day of 
 March, 1734, at the age of sixty-eight. Of their 
 four children, Catharine married Mr. Hoskms, of 
 Windsor; Henry, born 1709, died April 2, 1779; 
 John, born Nov. 3, 1712, married Lois I'helps, and 
 died April 8, 1777; and Mary or Mercy married Mr. 
 Gough or Gotf. 
 
 Henry Viets, our subject's great-grandfather, 
 was but a boy when his father died, and he and his 
 brother John had to make their own way in life. 
 For a time he was employed in the copper mines in 
 Simsbury, but later became a f.irmer in the north- 
 ern part of the town, where he secured an e.xlensive 
 estate. He died April 2, 1779. His first wife, Mar- 
 garet, died Sept. 28, 1750, and his second wife, Mar- 
 garet Austin, of ^^'indsor, who was born in 1712,. 
 died October 14, 1783. IJy his first marriage he had 
 five children: Henry, born Jan. 24, 1737, died Feb. 
 5, 1824; -Margaret, born May 9, 1739, died Sep. 22, 
 1782; Luke, born June 17, 1743, died Oct. 21, 1757, 
 having been accidentally shot at Becket, Mass., 
 while hunting; David, born Feb. 18, 1745, died Nov. 
 3, 181 5 ; Jonathan, born Sept. 26, 1750, died Feb. 17, 
 1837. Liy his second wife he had one son, James, 
 born Aug. 28, 1752, died Dec. 23, 1827. 
 
 Capt. James \'iets, our subject's grandfather, 
 was a fanner by occupation, and his improvements 
 on his old homestead at Copper Hill included a 
 substantial dwelling-house, built in 1797. He owned 
 a large tract of land at Colbrook, and for many years 
 made a specialty of dairying. He was a consistent 
 member of the Episcopal Church. Politically he 
 supported the views of Jefferson. As a good citi- 
 zen he took an active part in public affairs, and 
 his title was gained by service as an officer in the 
 State militia. His death occurred December 23, 
 1827, at the homestead on Copper Hill, and his re- 
 mains were interred at Turkey Flill cemetery. His 
 wife Elizabeth ilrown, usually called "Betsey" 
 among her friends, was born in Nova Scotia and 
 died Feb. 23, 1837. She was an Episcopalian in re- 
 ligious faith, and her daily life gave proof of her de- 
 votion. They had four children, of whom our sub- 
 ject's father, Festus Viets, was the youngest, (i) 
 Betsey, born Sept. 6. 1781, married Robert LUurch. 
 and died Feb. 6, 1871. (2) Horace, born March 
 27 1783. died Jan. 10, 1870. (3) Achsah, born June 
 28, 1785, married Oliver Griffin, and died Dec. 
 17, 1869. 
 
 Festus A'iets was born June 12, 1790, at Copper 
 
834 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Hill, and was educated in the local schools during 
 his youth. Like his ancestors he turned his atten- 
 tion to farming, and he and his brother Horace 
 owned over four hundred acres of land, i he home- 
 stead on Copper Hill was much improved under his 
 management, and his fondness for home life and 
 care for the comfort of his family were shown in 
 many ways. While he was a steadfast Democrat in 
 politics, he never sought or held public office, but his 
 activity in church work gave him especial promi- 
 nence among the Methodists of his locality. He 
 died Sept. 24, 1874, and was buried at Copper Hdl 
 M. E. cemetery. His wife, Maria Hathaway, was 
 born in Suffield, June 24, 1802, a daughter of 
 Ebenezer Hathaway, and died September 27, i860. 
 Our subject was the eldest in a family of ten chil- 
 dren : Harriet Maria, born Sept. 3, 1826, married 
 Henry Griffin; Candace Eliza, born Aug. 2, 1828, 
 married Linus Hayes ; Philo Horace was born Aug. 
 12, 1830; Adaline Jael, born Dec. 13, 1832, died 
 March 23, 1839; Lamira Jane, born Jan. 27, 1835, 
 married Willis L. Hayes; Daniel Benjamin, born 
 March 19, 1838, died March 2, 1839; Annis Susan, 
 born January 28, 1840, died Sept. 26, 1842; Wdliam 
 Dixon was born May 17, 1842; and Jason Rush- 
 more was born Jan. 17, 1846. 
 
 James H. Viets was born Aug. 21, 1824, and has 
 always made his home at his present farm, which 
 was once occupied as a homestead by his great- 
 grandfather. It contains 150 acres of excellent land, 
 and he has raised tobacco extensively in connection 
 with general farming. In 1876 he made extensive 
 alterations on the old homestead, converting it into 
 quite a modern residence. Some years ago he re- 
 tired from active labor, and is spending the after- 
 noon of life in quiet enjoyment of the fruits of past 
 toil. His ability and unswerving fidelity to any 
 trust reposed in him have made him the choice of 
 his fellow-townsmen for various offices, and he is 
 regarded as one of the foremost Democrats of the 
 locality. For three terms he held the office of select- 
 man, and he has also served as school visitor and 
 in other minor positions, while in 1862 he was elect- 
 ed to the State Legislature, where he took a worthy 
 part in the work of the session, being placed on 
 several important committees. Like his ancestors, 
 he has done much to forward the cause of religion, 
 and for years he has served as trustee, steward or 
 treasurer of the M. E. Church at Copper Hill. 
 
 On Oct. II, 1849, ^i"- Viets married Miss 
 Marilla Hayes, who was born June 17, 1827, daugh- 
 ter of Dudley and Naoma (Rose) Hayes. Of the 
 five children born to this union three are living, 
 and their education has been the chief care of their 
 parents. James Duane, born Feb. 20, 1853, is a 
 produce dealer at Springfield, Mass. ; Ella M., born 
 Dec. II, 1854, died April 27, 1856; Horace, born 
 Dec. 22, 1862, is at home; Nora Belle, born June 
 17, 1865, died unmarried; Samuel D., born Feb. 
 19, 1868, is a grain merchant at Springfield, Mas- 
 sachusetts. 
 
 PATRICK MOORE (deceased) was for many 
 years one of the most highly-respected citizens of 
 Ccllinsville, and an extensive and successful con- 
 tractor with the Collins Co. at that place. A na- 
 tive of Ireland, he was born in Ennis, County Clare, 
 March 14, 1833, and was one of a family of thirteen 
 children, whose parents, Michael and Mary (Lam- 
 bert) Moore, were also natives of Ennis, and worthy 
 members of the Catholic Church. 
 
 Our subject received but a limited education in 
 the schools of his native land, but through his own 
 eft'orts he became a well informed man. He was 
 reared on the home farm, and like many of his 
 fellow countrymen his whole desire was to become 
 a citizen of this "land of the free and home of the 
 brave." In 1850, a year or two after the great fam- 
 ine in Ireland, Mr. Moore took passage on a sailing 
 vessel and crossed the Atlantic, landing in New 
 York. He came at once to Collinsville, Conn., 
 where he obtained employment with the Collins Co., 
 in the axe department, under Peter Myers. Wish- 
 ing to secure a better position, he left there at the 
 end of two years and went South, locating in Savan- 
 nah, Ga., where he became connected with the cot- 
 ton industry. On his return North he again spent 
 two years with the Collins Co., and then went to 
 Douglass, Mass., where he was employed as an 
 axe polisher for one year. Returning to Collins- 
 ville, he became a contractor in the knife-handle de- 
 partment, where he remained until the fall of 1898, 
 when he retired from active business to spend his 
 remaining days in ease and retirement. He was 
 one of the largest contractors with the Collins Co., 
 and won the respect and confidence of those who 
 worked under him as well as of his employers. In 
 1887 he took up his residence in the town of Bur- 
 lington, where he purchased a small place, on which 
 he made many improvements, and there he made his 
 home until called from this life, Jan. 17, 1899. 
 He was taken ill with the grippe, which devel- 
 oped into pneumonia, and from the eft'ects of the lat- 
 ter disease he died. His remains were interred in the 
 Catholic cemetery at Collinsville. 
 
 Mr. Moore was first married, Aug. 28, 1853, at 
 New Britain, to Miss Eliza Hannon, also a native of 
 Ennis, Ireland, who died Aug. 18, 1864, at the 
 early age of thirty-three years, and was buried in 
 the same cemetery. The children born of this union 
 were as follows: Mary Jane, born July 13, 1854, 
 died Sept. 2, 1855 ; Elizabeth, born Oct. 2-', 1855, is 
 now the wife of Edward Flanary, of Bridgport; 
 Thomas, born Nov. 25, '1857, died Nov. 6, 1858; 
 Mary, born April 25, 18.S9, died Aug. 22, 1800 : 
 Thomas, born Dec. 21, i860, died Oct. 16, 1861 ; 
 Mary, born Nov. 21, 1862, died Aug. 28, 1863; and 
 James and Lucy (twins) were born June 20, 1864 
 (the former died Sept. 21, 1864, and the latter on 
 Aug. 17, 1864). 
 
 On Oct. 6, 1864, Mr. Moore married Miss El- 
 len Rocke, who was also born in Ennis, Ireland, 
 and came to this country in 1857. She is still a resi- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 835 
 
 I dent of Burlington, and is a lady of genial dispo- 
 'sition, who has proved a devoted wife and mother. 
 Bv his second marriage I\Ir. Moore had seven chil- 
 dren : James ^lichael, born Sept. 28, 1869, re- 
 sides at home; I'.ridget Mary, b. Jan. 30, 1871, d. 
 Aug. 4. 1871 : Patrick, b. Fcli. 21, 1872, d. Oct. 9. 
 1897: Anthony Joscpli, born April 6, 1875, obtained 
 his literary (.'(hication in tlic district schools and in 
 the high school of Collinsville, and at Holy Cross 
 < College, Worcester, Mass., and prepared himself for 
 I the medical profession, spent three years at Bellevue 
 Hosjiital Medical College, New York City, has since 
 graduated from the Alaryland Medical College, of 
 iialtimore, in medicine ami is now a practicing physi- 
 ician; Thomas C, born Dec. 11, 1876, died Uec. 
 ; 1, 1879; Jillen, born Dec. 8, 1878, died March 13, 
 1880; and Katlierine, born Nov. 23, 1880, is a young- 
 lady of talent and culture, who graduated from the 
 Collinsville higli school m i8y8, and has also re- 
 ceived a good musical education. 
 
 ^Ir. Moore was independent in politics, casting 
 his first vote for Abraham Lincoln and his last 
 one for William Jennings Bryan. He was one of the 
 best known and most highly esteemed citizens of 
 Collinsville, and had a host of warm friends through- 
 out the community. He was a devout member of the 
 Catholic Church, was noted for his piety, and was 
 instrumental in organizing the church in Collins- 
 ville. He gave liberally toward the construction 
 of the church edifice, and contributed freely of his 
 means at all times toward advancing the causes of 
 education and Christianity. His charity was un- 
 bounded, and the poor and needy always found in 
 him a friend. 
 
 HON. JOHN P. LE^^'IS, a representative and 
 prominent citizen of Farmington, was born in Win- 
 sted, Litchfield Co., Conn., Nov. 23, 1836, son of 
 Joseph Blackleach Lewis, and grandson of Joseph 
 and Sarah (Blackleach) Lewis. His grandfather 
 was a Revolutionar}- soldier. For his second wife 
 Joseph Lewis married Mrs. Hannah Petterson, and 
 to her first marriage were born five children, who 
 grew to maturity: Anna, Joseph B., David, Re- 
 becca and Frederick. 
 
 Joseph B. Lewis, father of our subject, was 
 born in Stratford, Conn., in iNIarch, 1794, and 
 throughout life followed the carpenter's trade. He 
 was a well-read man, and in religious faith was a 
 L'niversalist. In early life he worked in the Whit- 
 ings Clock Factory, in Winsted, and at that place 
 he erected a brick house, on North Main street, 
 but he finally came to Unionville, w-here his death 
 occurred in 1886. He became quite well-to-do, 
 owning a farm of 200 acres in the Scotts Swamp 
 District, and another in the town of Burlington, ' 
 Hartford county. Joseph B. Lewis first married i 
 Miss Julia Shelton, who was born in 1798, and died ! 
 in \\'insted. Conn., leaving three children : Fred- ' 
 erick. who died in Ohio : Gideon Hall, who died in 
 ^'irginia ; and Juliette, who died in \\"insteG, Conn. 
 
 For his second wife he married Miss Cordelia Ann 
 Cummings, who was born in 1800, and died in 
 Lnioiiville, in 1878. By that union he had four 
 children: Julia, deceased; John P., our subject; 
 Jeanette, who was born in Burlington in 1840, and 
 is now the widow of T. A. Chidsey, and a resi- 
 dent of Waterbury, Conn. ; and Emily, deceased, 
 who was born in Burlington in 1844, and married 
 Mark Stone, of that place. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of our subject were 
 passed in Burlington and Farmington, where he 
 attended school, and after bis education was com- 
 jjleled he engaged in agricultural pursuits on the 
 home farm until twenty-five years of age. After 
 marriage he settled on his present farm, where he 
 carries on general agriculture and lumbering. In 
 \\ eathersfield, \'t., he was united in marriage with 
 Miss Frances M. North, and to them were born 
 four children: (i) Jeanette M., born in 1865, is 
 now the wife of .:\.rthur T. Brown, of Sag Harbor, 
 N. v., and thev have three children, Lewis Nathan, 
 Almira Frances and Lurania. {2) Eleanor M., 
 born in 1868, married Walter Woodruff, and lived 
 for a time in Bristol and later in Waterbury, Conn. 
 They have one son, James Lewis. (3) George J., 
 born in 1871, married Harriet B. Page, and has 
 one daughter, Ekanor. (4) Edna E., born in 1873, 
 is the wife of Louis L. Gaylord, of Hartford. 
 
 Mr. Lewis has been honored with manv offices 
 of public trust, acting as selectman, justice of the 
 peace, and chairman of the board of assessors at 
 the present time. He was a member of the State 
 Legislature in 1S76, at which time he served on the 
 committee for building the new capitol, and in 
 1895, he again represented Farmington in that body, 
 being elected on the Democratic ticket. He has 
 served as appraiser of estates for the probate courts 
 of Farmington, Bristol and Burlington ; also as 
 appraiser in foreclosure proceedings for the differ- 
 ent savings banks in this vicinity ; and was appointed 
 by the superior court chairman of the commission 
 to adjust the land damages between the Bristol 
 Water Co., and parties owning land in Bristol, 
 Plymouth, etc. He was connected with the Stand- 
 ard Rule Co., and has been a director in several 
 corporations in Unionville. Mr. Lewis is a strong 
 and active Democrat. As a public-spirited citizen 
 lie gives his support to every measure which he 
 believes will prove of public benefit. 
 
 MOSES WILLIAMS BECKLEY (deceased), 
 for many years a prominent citizen of Southington, 
 was born in New Britain, Hartford Co.. Conn., June 
 8, 1828, and was a son of !Moses W. and Mary \\'. 
 (Cornwall) Beckley, both also natives of Hart- 
 ford county, the former born in Rocky Hill, Oct. 
 7, 1791, the latter in New Britain July 12, 1798. 
 In 1830 they located in Southington, where the 
 father purchased a small tract of land on the 
 Meriden road, and where he kept a harness shop 
 for many years. He died Sept. 27. 1868. His 
 
836 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 children were Sarah, wife of Francis Lewis ; Will- 
 iam, who married Rebecca Maynard ; Eunice, wife 
 of John Gridley ; Caroline, wife of Edwin Stan- 
 nard ; and Moses W. 
 
 Our subject was only two years old when 
 brought by his parents to Southington, and here he 
 was reared to manhood, obtaining his educa- 
 tion in the public schools near his boyhood home 
 and Lewis Academy. At the age of eighteen he 
 entered the employ of the Peck-Smith Co., and 
 retained his connection with them and their suc- 
 cessors in business up to the time of his death. 
 By patient and faithful devotion to his duties he 
 worked his way upward until he became secretary, 
 treasurer and one of the directors of one of the 
 largest hardware manufacturing companies in the 
 State, and, in addition to supporting his parents 
 in their declining years he acquired a property which 
 to one of his frugal habits, might be considered 
 a handsome competence. As a business man he 
 was laborious and careful, and gave close attention 
 to all the little details of his affairs. While treas- 
 urer of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., and disburs- 
 ing from $80,000 to $100,000 per month, his cash 
 account always balanced correctly. In his moral, 
 intellectual and social life, he manifested the same 
 characteristic carefulness. He was never a talker, 
 but exceedingly well read, and his criticisms on 
 men and public affairs were always shrewd and 
 reaching. Mr. Beckley never made a public pro- 
 fession of religion, yet those who were most famil- 
 iar with him would be surprised at the freedom 
 of his incidental remarks upon religious subjects, 
 and at his general agreement with the commonly 
 received tenets of the Evangelical faith. Politi- 
 cally he was identified with the Democratic party, 
 and socially affiliated with Friendship Lodge, No. 
 33, F. & A. M., and Triune Chapter, No. 40, R. A. 
 M. He died February 10, 1875, honored and re- 
 spected by all who knew him. 
 
 On June 2, 1865, Mr. Beckley married Miss 
 Elizabeth Piatt, a daughter of Joseph P. and Het- 
 tie Ann (Thompson) Piatt, of Southington, and 
 granddaughter of Gideon and Lydia (Sperry) 
 Piatt, of Middlebury. By this union four children 
 were born : Grace E. ; Charles W. ; Alice L., wife of 
 Paul C. Woodruff; and Bertha T. 
 
 DANIEL BLISH, an honored and respected 
 resident of Marlboro, as well as one of the most 
 substantial citizens of that place, is a worthy de- 
 scendant of an old family. 
 
 Mr. Blish traces his ancestry back to Abraham 
 Bhsh, the first of the name in this country, and the 
 first account we have of him is in Duxbury, Mass., 
 where, in November, 1637. he bought of Richard 
 More a house and tract of land comprising twenty 
 acres and known as the "Eagle's Nest." He re- 
 moved to Barnstable, on Cape Cod, soon after the 
 town, which was a part of the Plymouth Colony, 
 was laid off, about 1641, becoming one of its first 
 settlers, and there died Sept. 7, 1683. He resided 
 
 ii. the western part of the town known as "Great 
 Marshes," and the homestead there was owned by 
 him and his descendants for over 200 years. He 
 was a man of importance and influence in the town 
 and held many offices of trust. His descendants are 
 now scattered throughout the United States, and 
 the family has been well represented in the wars 
 of this country, including the Revolution, the French 
 and Indian war and the war of 1812. 
 
 Joseph Blish, of Barnstable, Mass., son of Abra- 
 ham, married Anne Hull, daughter of Tristram 
 Hull, who was fined several times for harboring 
 Quakers who had been driven out of the towns to 
 starve. Rev. Thomas Hull, father of Tristram 
 Hull, was one of the early ministers of Barnstable 
 and was silenced as a preacher because he pro- 
 tested against the treatment which the Colonists 
 gave to the Quakers. 
 
 Tristram Blish, son of Joseph, came from Barn- 
 stable to Connecticut in 1725, and was one of the 
 early settlers of Colchester. He married Anne 
 Fuller, through whom our subject traces his de- 
 scent from Edward Fuller, of the "Mayflower" pil- 
 grims. He is also a lineal descendant of Dr. j\lat- 
 thew Fuller, who was one of the leading spirits 
 of his time in Barnstable, and of Rev. John Lath- 
 rop, the first minister of Barnstable, who is still 
 honored in the town. 
 
 David Blish, grandfather of Daniel Blish, was 
 probably the first of the name in Marlboro, but the 
 authenticity of this is not known. He served as 
 a soldier in the Revolution. He lived on the farm 
 where Daniel Blish now resides, and which was 
 originally part of the town of Glastonbury, Marl- 
 boro having- been formed in 1803 from the towns 
 of Glastonbury, Colchester and Hebron. He fol- 
 lowed the primitive methods of farming then in 
 use, and here he died, his remains being buried in 
 Marlboro. By his wife, Mary, he had eight chil- 
 dren, whose names and dates of birth are as fol- 
 lows : David, Sept. 16, 1753; Zeruiah, June 3, 1758; 
 Rebecca, May 13, 1760; Thomas, Sept. 13, 1762: 
 Chauncey, Sept. 21, 1764; Sarah, April 10, 1767;. 
 Aaron, Oct. 21, 1768; and Roger, May 23, 1770. 
 
 Roger Blish, the youngest of the above men- 
 tioned family, was the father of Daniel Blish. He 
 was born in the house which stood opposite our 
 subject's present home, and which was later de- 
 stroyed by fire. He married Miss Demis Hosford. 
 a native of Marlboro, and a daughter of Daniel 
 Hosford, a farmer of that town. He died in De- 
 cember, 1857, preceded by his wife, who died in 
 February of the same year. In the family of this 
 worthy couple were the following children : Har- 
 riet, born July 7, 1795, died young; Amelia, born 
 June 14, 1797. married Henry Brainard, a hotel- 
 keeper of Willimantic, Conn. ; Prudence, born 
 April 5, 1799, married Howell Root, a farmer, and 
 lived in Marlboro; Augustus, born Aug. 20, 1801, 
 married Delight Buell, and followed farming in 
 Marlboro; Aaron, born Nov. 3, 1803, married 
 Eunice Clark, of Salem, and followed farming;: 
 
Q5..^-^Ji 'Z^A 
 
I 
 
COMMEMOR.ITII'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 887 
 
 Cliaunccy, born Dec. 4, 1807, married Esther Slate, 
 and lived in Marlboro: Mary, born Sept. 25, 1810, 
 married Georufe Talcott Lord, a farmer of the same 
 town; Harriet (2), born Aug-, q, 1812, married 
 William Carrier, who lived in Marlboro until after 
 the death of tiis wife, and then nmoved to Xew 
 York State; Zerniah, born July 17, 1814, married 
 Isaac Ikiell, and lived in Marlboro; and Daniel, our 
 subject, completes the family. The father was a 
 member of the Congregational Church, and was one 
 of the substantial citizens of the town in his day. 
 In political sentiment he was a Whig, and he was 
 quite prominent in jiulMic affairs, serving as member 
 of the Legislature and in various minor offices. 
 
 Daniel Blish w-as born Oct. 28, 1817, on the 
 farm he now occupies, and during his boyhood re- 
 ceived a common-school education, among his teach- 
 ers being Chauncey Root, Buckley Hollister, a Mr. 
 Jones and David Phelps. His entire life has been 
 spent on the old homestead with the exception of 
 eight months he passed in Willimantic, engaged 
 in teaming between that place and Norwich when 
 the two towns were comparatively small and before 
 the railroads were built. At the time he was about 
 twenty-six years of age. He then returned home, 
 and as his father was growing old and in poor 
 health he managed the farm for him. During his 
 earlier years he also did general teaming. After his 
 father's death he took complete charge of the place, 
 and in its operation has met with marked success. 
 1 he place now comprises some 200 acres. 
 
 On Sept. 17, 1856, Mr. Blish was united in 
 marriage with Miss Fanny Maria Howe, who was 
 born in Glastonburv July 29, 1827. a daughter of 
 Elisha and Fanny ( Arnold ) How-e, the father a 
 native of Glastonbury, the mother of East Hart- 
 ford. Elisha Howe was a cooper by trade, and 
 owned and operated a farm. He died in 1859, a 
 faithful member of the Congregational Church. His 
 political allegiance was given to the W hig partv. 
 Of his familv of four children — one son'and three 
 daughters — Fanny Maria became the wife of our 
 subject. Eliza T. and Mary .Ann are deceased. 
 Henry H.. wlio died May 10, 1900, worked at the 
 cooper's trade during his younger days, but made 
 farming his life work; he married Sophia Bidwell. 
 of Manchester. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Blish were born four 
 children: Frank Hosford, born Aug. 9. 1857. mar- 
 ried Xellie Cunningham, of Halifax. N. S., and lives 
 in r^Iarlboro. Lizzie Howe died voung. Fannie 
 .Arnold is at home. Frederick Thomas married 
 Edna Hollister, of Manchester, and has one child. 
 Frederick T., born Oct. i, 1898; he is now engaged 
 in the hardware business in Manchester. 
 
 Politically Mr. Blish was originally a Whig and 
 is now^ a stanch Re]:)ublican. but has been too busily 
 engaged in agricultural pursuits to CLre for politi- 
 cal honors, and has had very little to do with politics, 
 though he has consented to hold a few town offices 
 and has served in the State Legislature. L'pright 
 and honorable in au the relations of life, he has 
 
 met with well-deserved success in his labors, and 
 has reared a family who, like their parents, cum- 
 luand the respect and esteem of all who know them. 
 Like his forefathers he has been a faithful attendant 
 of the Congregational Church. 
 
 HOX. KYRAX O'XEILL, a highly-esteemed 
 resident of Broad Brook, is a self-made man whose 
 industry, thrift and sound judgment do credit to 
 his race. 
 
 Mr. O'Neill was born in April, 1832, in John- 
 stown, County Kilkenny, Ireland, where his people 
 have had their home for many years. His parents, 
 John and Elizabeth (Henderson) O'Neill, had a 
 family of eight chiklren, six .of whom became resi- 
 dents' of the United States. John, the eldest, came 
 to this country in 1848, and died in Rockville, 
 Conn., in 185 1 ; Kyran and Julia came to America 
 in 1850. The father died in 1840, and in 1852 the 
 mother and three of the children — James (a resi- 
 dent of ^\■indsorville), Martin and .Vndrew (both 
 now deceased) — came to America, settling in Wind- 
 sorville. Conn. Mrs. O'Neill died at Broad Brook, 
 April 25, 1888. 
 
 Until he reached the age of eighteen our sub- 
 ject remained at the old home, but in 1050 he came 
 to America on a sailing vessel, landing at New 
 York City after a voyage which would seem long 
 and tedious in comparison with the speedy trips 
 now- made in the great ocean liners. For some 
 time he resided in Rockville, Conn., being employed 
 in what is now the Florence Woolen Mdls, and in 
 1S53 he settled at Broad Brook. For four and 
 one-half years he worked as a spinner in the Broad 
 Brook mills, and then engaged in the hotel busi- 
 ness in that village, continuing thus until 1861. 
 The next five years he was in the hotel business in 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., and on his return to Broad Brook 
 resumed that business, which he carried on success- 
 fully for many years. He also engaged in the to- 
 bacco industry, both as grower and buyer, and he 
 has owned and cultivated different farms in his 
 vicinity. At times he has been interested exten- 
 sively in real estate, some of his farms having proved 
 profitable investments when judiciously disposed of, 
 but at present he is living in retirement. In poli- 
 tics he is a strong Democrat, and in 1879 he was 
 elected on that ticket to the State Legislature. In 
 religious faith he is a Catholic, and he and his fam- 
 ily are leading members of the church at Broad 
 Brook. 
 
 In 1861 Mr. O'Xeill married Miss Mary Shau- 
 nessy, who died in May. 1879, and of their five 
 children none lived to maturity. In January, 1885, 
 he married Miss ^laggie E. Coleman, and three 
 children have blessed the union : Julia, William 
 (deceased) and Maggie. 
 
 HOX. JOHX A. REEVE. Burlington Probate 
 Judge and Town Clerk, was born in X'ew Haven, 
 Conn.. July 20, 1859. 
 
 Mr. Reeve's father, ^^■illiam P. Reeve, was a 
 
838 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 native of Linton, Cambridgeshire, England, where 
 he received an excellent education, and also learned 
 the trade of miller. He followed the same in his 
 native land, and also engaged in bookkeeping there. 
 He was married there to Jane Frances Bocock, a 
 native of Upend, Cambridgeshire, and a daughter 
 of Robert Bocock. She was a member of the 
 Catholic Church, with which her husband afterward 
 tmited, though in early life he was connected with 
 the Church of England. In 1856, with their fam 
 ily, they came to the United States, and first lo- 
 cated at Williamsburg, Brooklyn, N. Y., where the 
 father found employment. From there they re- 
 moved to New Haven, Conn., where he worked at 
 his trade in the mills; and he was later engaged in 
 the milling business in Mid'dletown for six years. 
 In 1866 he located in New Britain, where he was 
 also engaged in milling for a short time, and then 
 returned to New Haven, where he lived for three 
 years. During the following three and one-half 
 years he v>'-as engaged in bookkeeping in New Brit- 
 ain, and in 1873 came to Burlington, where he pur- 
 chased a tract of twenty-seven acres of land, known 
 as the Elton farm. Here he engaged in farming 
 and stock raising" up to the time of his death, which 
 occurred in 1878. Mr. Reeve was a consistent mem- 
 ber of the Catholic Church, and a Democrat in poli- 
 tics, but never an office seeker. The wife and mother 
 was tenderly cared for b)' our subject until she, 
 too, was called to her final rest, in 1895. She was 
 a devout Catholic, and a devoted wife and mother. 
 The remains of both were interred in the Catholic 
 cemetery at Collinsville. In their family were six 
 children : William, a machinist of Hartford, who 
 died Dec. 23, 1899; Elizabeth, who died in infancy; 
 Thomas, a resident of Los Angeles, Cal. ; Samuel, 
 a resident of Burlington, Conn. ; Mary Jane, who 
 died young; and John A. All were born in Eng- 
 land with the exception of our subject. 
 
 During his boyhood and youth John A. Reeve 
 was a student in the schools of New Haven and 
 Middletown, and also attended the high school of 
 New Britain. He came with his parents to Bur- 
 lington, and after his father's death took charge 
 of the home farm, to which he has added until he 
 now has a valuable and well-improved place of 
 150 acres. He also has a large tract of timber 
 land, and is successfully engaged in lumbering, gen- 
 eral farming, stock raising and dairying. He has 
 made many improvements which add greatly to the 
 value and attractive appearance of his place. 
 
 In 1894, in the Collinsville Catholic Church, Mr. 
 Reeve was married by Father Ouinn to Miss Annie 
 Lovett, a native of Canterbury, Conn., and a daugh- 
 ter of Leonard Lovett. She is a lady of refinement, 
 a graduate of Willimantic (Conn.) State Normal 
 School, and is a consistent member of the Catholic 
 Church, to which Mr. Reeve also belongs. They 
 have three children, Arthur John, Henry Francis 
 and Edward Hermon. 
 
 Mr. Reeve is a leader in the ranks of the Demo- 
 
 cratic party in his community, and on his party 
 ticket was elected to the State Legislature in 1887, 
 which position he filled in a most creditable and 
 acceptable manner. He was elected clerk of the 
 town of Burlington in 1882, and in that capacity 
 has served the people faithfully and well for eight- 
 een years. He has also been Probate Judge since 
 1894, and has been tax collector, and a member of 
 the board of relief. He is a whole-souled, genial 
 gentleman, popular with all classes, and has proved 
 a most efficient and trustworthy official. 
 
 AMASA LOOMIS (deceased). No better test 
 of personal merit can be found than that of daily 
 life, and when years of business dealings have left 
 a man the full respect of his fellow citizens one 
 may conclude that he has shown himself worthy 
 of their approbation. The subject of this sketch, 
 late a venerable resident of Simsbury, was a man 
 most esteemed where best known, his firmness in 
 "holding to the right as he sees it" commanding the 
 confidence of even opponents. 
 
 Mr. Loomis was born June 14, 1821, at Salem, 
 New London Co., Conn., a descendant of a well- 
 known pioneer family of Windsor, of whom an 
 account is given elsewhere. A first cousin. Col. 
 Francis Loomis, was once lieutenant-governor of 
 Connecticut, and another cousin, Prof. Eiias Loomis, 
 is a member of the faculty of Yale College. His 
 grandfather, John Loomis, married a Miss Harris, 
 and resided m Windsor. 
 
 Guy Loomis, our subject's father, was a well- 
 to-do farmer of Salem, where he died, Nov. 25, 
 1857. His wife, whose maiden name was Abigail 
 Chapman, lived to the advanced age of eighty- 
 three years, her death occurring in i860. Our 
 subject was the youngest of a family of six chil- 
 dren, all now deceased : Abigail married Col. 
 Frank Jones, and died in Salem; Alfred went to 
 California in early manhood, but returned to Con- 
 necticut, 'and lived to old age; Sophia married 
 Hamilton Chapman, and died in Norwich, Conn.; 
 Nelson, who died in Philadelphia at the age of 
 eighty-four, retired from business at thirty-three, 
 with a large fortune, and for many years was prom- 
 inent in the Presbyterian Church, and was elder 
 for thirty years; Elijah, a farmer by occupation, 
 died in Salem. 
 
 Our subject remained at home until he reached 
 the age of eighteen, his education being obtained 
 in the district schools near by. He then entered 
 the employ of his brother Nelson, who was a pub- 
 lisher and jobber of books, and carried on business 
 extensively through agents in different parts of the 
 country, and for several years our subject delivered 
 and collected for the firm, handling large amounts 
 of money, and traveling over much of the country. 
 On Jan. 5, 1845, he was married, in East Lyme, 
 Conn., to Miss Nancy D. Chappell, who was born 
 Aug. 17, 1822, daughter of Daniel and Hannah 
 (Loomis) Chappell, of East Lyme. They located 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 839 
 
 in Saleiii. but as Iiis business then called him away 
 from lionie they ditl not go to housekeci)intj until 
 ten years after marriage. Later Mr. Loomis gave 
 up traveling, bought a farm at Salem, and in 1866 
 he sold out and removed to Tariffville, where he 
 engaged in the tobacco business, buying extensively, 
 and also growing the weed. At different times 
 he was associated with his brother-in-law, Ariel 
 Mitchelson, but after a time he abandoned the to- 
 bacco business, simply because conscience would 
 not permit him to continue in a line of work which 
 produced such bad effects on the young. For 
 some years he followed mercantile business, being 
 one of the best known merchants of Tariffville, but 
 in about i8y6 he sold out and retired. lie ac- 
 quired a comfortable competence, his securities be- 
 ing regarded as "gilt-edged," and owned several 
 valuable properties in Tariffville. He was one of 
 the first depositors with the Hartford Trust Co., 
 and ever after continued to transact business through 
 them. In all his dealings he made it a rule to pay 
 cash, not a penny of indebtedness being held against 
 him, and his success reflected the more credit upon 
 him when it is remembered that he started in life 
 practically without capital. Until recent years he 
 enjoyed excellent health, and his jovial disposition 
 not only enabled him to get the best of life as he 
 went along, but brought pleasure to a wide circle 
 of friends. Politically he was a Republican for 
 many years, but became a Prohibitionist from prin- 
 ciple. Although he neared his eightieth milestone, 
 passing away Julv 23, 1900, one dollar would cover 
 the entire liquor bill of his life. He was promi- 
 nent in religious work as a member of the Con- 
 gregational Church of Salem, to which his widow 
 also belongs, and for more than half a century of 
 happy wedded life they maintained consistent Chris- 
 tian lives. Of their two children, (i) Ida Salina, 
 born ]\Iarch 20, 1852, married Samuel Penfield 
 Bolles, of Hartford, and died July 5, 1878. Her 
 only child, George L., born June 25, 1878, died 
 when ten months old. (2) Joel O., born April 24, 
 1854, is a druggist in Hartford. He married Miss 
 Nellie R. Coe, of Tariffville, and has three children, 
 all living, Ida C, now Mrs. Frederick Davis, of 
 Xew Haven ; Katie : and Nellie M. Ida C. has 
 two children. Ruth Loomis and Harold Coe, our 
 subject's great-grandchildren. 
 
 HON. AIATTHEW C. WOODFORD. Promi- 
 nent among the enterprising business men of Union- 
 ville is the subject of this review, who has for 
 several years successfully conducted a general store 
 at that place. The prosperity that has come to 
 him is certainly well-merited, as in him are em- 
 braced the characteristics of unbending integrity, 
 unabated energy and industry that never flags. 
 He is also public-spirited, and thoroughly interested 
 in whatever tends to promote the moral, intellectual 
 and material welfare of his town and county. 
 
 Mr. Woodford is a native of Hartford county, 
 
 born in Burlington Aug. 5, 1837, and is a son of 
 Corydon Woodford, and grandson of John Wood- 
 ford, both natives of Avon. The latter was fa- 
 miliarly known as Major Woodford. He married 
 Belinda Hart, a daughter of Deacon Ard Hart, of 
 Burlington, and had four children : Corydon, Or- 
 son, Antoinette and John, all now deceased. The 
 father, grandfather and great-grandfather of Major 
 Woodford bore the name of John. Corydon Wood- 
 ford was reared in West Avon, and there attended 
 school. He was engaged in farming, and also car- 
 ried on mercantile pursuits for twenty-live years 
 in Collinsville and Avon, while he also served as 
 postmaster at West Avon for fifteen years. Po- 
 litically he was a stanch Republican, and on his 
 party ticket was elected selectman and assessor of 
 his town. Religiously he was a consistent member 
 of the Congregational Church. He married Miss 
 Sylvia Woodruff, a daughter of Alanson Wood- 
 ruff. She died in j88y, and he in 1887, in Union- 
 ville. 
 
 The priinar}' education of our subject, acquired 
 in the public schools of Collinsville, was supple- 
 mented by a course in the high school of tiiat place, 
 and later he graduated from the New Britain Nor- 
 mal school. At the age of eighteen he commenced 
 teacliing, and for si.x years he devoted his atten- 
 tion almost exclusively to that profession, being 
 principal of the high school at East Hampton. He 
 also taught in Newington, Burlington and Avon, 
 Conn. ; since then he has taught twelve or fifteen 
 terms of winter school. 
 
 On June 9, 1861, Mr. \\'oodford purchased a 
 store in Harwinton, Conn., which he conducted 
 for five years, and was acting school visitor there, 
 while he filled the same office in Avon for ten 
 years. In Harwinton he married Miss Helen M. 
 Beach, a daughter of Hon. Moses Beach, judge of 
 probate. In 1866 he returned to Avon, where he 
 bought a farm and engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits for some years, and for twelve years he car- 
 ried on a store in \\'est Avon. In 1889 he be:ame 
 connected with the Upson Nut Co., in whose office 
 he remained for two years, and in 1891 he opened 
 the general store at Unionville, which he con- 
 ducted with marked success, having by fair and 
 honorable dealing built up a good trade, until 
 March 28, 1899, when he was succeeded by Ed- 
 ward T. Thompson. Mr. Woodford is receiver for 
 the Upson & Hart Co., of Unionville. manufactur- 
 ers of cutlery and hardware. In business circles 
 he stands high, and is also quite prominent in pub- 
 lic affairs. He was a member of the State Legis- 
 lature in 1867; has been selectman for three or 
 four \-ears since that time ; was town clerk in 
 1869 and 1870. and judge of probate for ten years. 
 in all of which positions he served with credit to 
 himself and to the entire satisfaction of all con- 
 cerned. Religiously he is an active member of the 
 Congregational Church, and treasurer of the So- 
 cietv. 
 
840 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 HENRY SIDNEY PEASE (deceased), who in 
 his lifetime was a well-known lumber dealer of 
 Thompsonville, was for a third of a century promi- 
 nently identified with the business interests of that 
 place. Energy, close application, perseverance and 
 good management — these are the elements that en- 
 tered into his business career and crowned his efforts 
 with prosperity. 
 
 Mr. Pease was born in the town of Enfield, 
 Nov. 27, 1847, and was of the eighth generation 
 from Robert and Marie Pease, the progenitors of 
 the family in Salem, Mass., and Enfield town. Rob- 
 ert Pease is supposed to have been a son of Robert 
 and Margaret Pease, of Great Baddow, County of 
 Essex, England. He sailed from the port of Ips- 
 wich, England, in the ship "Francis," in April, 
 1634, and landed at Boston. He located in Salem, 
 Mass., where he died in 1644. His son, John 
 Pease, was born in England in 1630, and came with 
 the family to the New World in 1634. He first 
 married Mary Goodell, daughter of Robert Goodell, 
 of Salem, Mass., and for his second wife wedded 
 Ann Cummings, daughter of Isaac Cummings, of 
 Topsfield, Mass. He settled as a yeoman in that 
 part of Salem known as Northfield, and his name 
 is found frequently in the Essex county and Salem 
 records as grantee, grantor or witness to deeds, 
 overseer of mills, constable, etc. About 1682 he 
 became a resident of the town of Enfield, Hart- 
 ford Co., Conn., where he died suddenly July 8, 
 1689. His son. Deacon Isaac Pease, was born in 
 Salem, July 15, 1672, and was married in 1691 to 
 Mindwell Osborn. They located in the northeast- 
 ern part of Enfield town, where he appears to have 
 been an extensive land holder, and he was also 
 among the first to hold the office of deacon in the 
 Congregational Church in the town. He died June 
 9, 1 73 1. Ezekiel Pease, son of Isaac, was born in 
 Enfield June 20, 1710, and on reaching man's es- 
 tate married Harriet, daughter of Henry Chandler, 
 an early settler of Enfield. By occupation Ezekiel 
 Pease was a tailor and school teacher, and for fif- 
 teen years he served as town clerk, being known 
 by the title of Master Pease or Clerk Pease. He 
 made his home in the eastern part of Enfield town, 
 where he died in 1799. His son, Isaac Pease, was 
 born in that town Jan. 7, 1752, and first married 
 Submit Spencer, daughter of Hezekiah Spencer, of 
 Somers. His second wife was Mrs. Rachel 
 (Brooks) Williams. He located in the eastern 
 part of Enfield town, at Scitico, and there died in 
 1820. His son, Isaac Pease, the grandfather of 
 our subject, was born in Enfield town March 27, 
 1778, and was a clothier by trade. In early life 
 he removed to Long Meadow, Mass., but later re- 
 turned to Enfield, where he departed this life Nov. 
 I, 1836. His wife, Elizabeth, was a daughter of 
 Col. Asaph Terry, of Enfield. 
 
 Theodore Pease, our subject's father, was born 
 at East Long Meadow, Mass., Jan. 22, 1815, and 
 in early manhood went to Somers, but shortly after- 
 
 ward came to Enfield, where for many years he was 
 engaged in the manufacture of tinware, and also 
 dealt in stoves, sending peddlers out over the county. 
 Prior to this time he had been interested in the gro- 
 cery .business, and also in the clothing, boot and 
 shoe trade, and later gave his attention to the lum- 
 ber business. He met with a fair degree of suc- 
 cess in his undertakings, and had the confidence 
 and respect of his business associates and fellow 
 citizens. He died in Thompsonville, Jan. 4, 1892. 
 His first wife, the mother of our subject, was Eva- 
 line Killam, of Enfield, and after her death he wed- 
 ded Julia E. Steele. 
 
 Henry S. Pease, whose name introduces this 
 sketch, was the fifth child and second son in the 
 family of six children born of his father's first 
 union, and always made his home in the town of 
 Enfield. He received a good public-school and 
 academic education, and began his business career 
 about 1866 as a member of the firm of T. Pease & 
 Sons, the partnership existing up to the formation 
 of the T. Pease & Son Company. On the death of 
 the father, in 1892, the business was divided, but 
 two years later our subject again embarked in the 
 lumber trade, which he continued to carry on with 
 good success. 
 
 In 1869 Henry S. Pease was united in marriage 
 with Miss Carrie S. Van Horn, a daughter of Syl- 
 vester Van Horn, of Thompsonville. Although 
 not a member of any religious denomination Mr. 
 Pease attended the Universalist Church, and gave 
 to the support of all ; socially he was a Master 
 Mason, politically a Republican. His life v/as such 
 as to warrant the trust and confidence of the busi- 
 ness world, for he ever conducted all transactions 
 on the strictest principles of honor and integrity. 
 His devotion to the public good remains unques- 
 tioned, and arose from a sincere interest in the wel- 
 fare of his fellow men. He passed from earth 
 July 12, 1900. 
 
 AMON BRADLEY, one of the oldest and most 
 prominent citizens of Southington, was born in that 
 town Feb. 20, 181 2, and traces his ancestry back to 
 Isaac and Elizabeth Bradley, of Branford, Conn. 
 The name of Isaac Bradley first appears on the 
 Branford records in 1674, where he is mentioned 
 as a "sojourner at New Haven," and the town 
 granted him a house lot of two acres at Canoe 
 Brook. In 1683 he removed to East Haven, where 
 he died Jan. 12, 1713, aged sixtv-two years, and 
 his wife died Jan. 3, 1713, aged fifty-six years. 
 
 Samuel Bradley, son of Isaac, was born in 1686, 
 and was married, Jan. 17, 1715, to Sarah, daugh- 
 ter of Jacob Robinson, of East Haven. 
 
 Daniel Bradley, son of Samuel, and the grand- 
 father of our stibject, w&s married, Nov. 28, 1751. 
 to Sarah Judd, daughter of Benjamin and Sarah 
 (Hollister) Judd, of Glastonbury. She died Nov. 
 19, 1764, after giving birth to her sixth child, the 
 father of our subject, by reason of which he was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 841 
 
 called Ichaljod. In 1774 these chihlren became 
 heirs to a Iar.i;-e i)ro])erty from the grandfather, 
 Benjamin judd. Daniel Uradlev was again married, 
 Feb. 12, 1767, his second union lieing with Mehit- 
 abcl Hemingway, of East Haven. He lived in 
 East Haven until 1779, when he removed to South- 
 ington, where he subsequently purchased a large 
 farm, and there made his home until 1798, when 
 he removed to Litchfield. 
 
 Jchabod ]lradle\-, father of our subject, was born 
 in East Havtn Xov. 10, I7<'>4, and was married. 
 Nov. 27, 1788. to Miss Abigail Aloore. The founder 
 of the Moore family in the New World was Deacon 
 John Moore, who settled in Dorchester, xMass., in 
 1630, and removed to Windsor, Conn., with tlie 
 first settlers, about 1635. He frequently served as 
 juror, and was deputy to the General Court from 
 Windsor in 1662, 1665, 1667 and 1674. He lived 
 in that part of Windsor now known as Simsbury, 
 and died Sept. 18, 1677. His son, John ^loore, was 
 born in Windsor Dec. 5, 1645, and died there. On 
 Sept. 21, 1664, he married Hannah Gofi'e, who died 
 April 4, 1697, and on Dec. 17, 1701, he married 
 Martha Farnsworth. His son, John Moore, was 
 born in Windsor June 26. 1665, and married Abi- 
 gail Strong. Their son, John, the grandfather of 
 Mrs. Ichabod Bradley, was born March 21, 1694, 
 and died at Lake George, N. Y., Aug. 12, 1758. 
 On Dec. 2, 1724, he married Abigail Stoughton. a 
 daughter of Capt. Thomas and Abigail (Edwards) 
 Stoughton ; the latter was a sister of Rev. Timothy 
 Edwards, the father of the celebrated Dr. Jonathan 
 Edwards. Roswell Aloore. the father of Mrs. Brad- 
 ley, was born in East Windsor Alav 17, 1728, and 
 located in that part of Farmington now known as 
 Southington, June 30, 1775. He married Desire 
 Dunham, daughter of Gideon Dunham, formerly 
 of ^Martha's \'ineyard. He died Dec. 13, 1704. In 
 1779 Ichabod Bradley came with his father to South- 
 ington, where he successfully engaged in farming 
 throughout the remainder of his life. He died Oct. 
 13, 1832, aged sixty-eight years, and his wife April 
 I. 1832, aged sixty-three. Their children were 
 Polly, wife of Benjamin Andrews; Wyllys, who 
 married Fanny Stedman ; Roswell, who married 
 Julia Newell; W'illiam, who married Sarah Gilbert; 
 Diadamia. wife of Julius Hart ; Hial, who married 
 Eliza Gilbert ; Charles, wdio married Delia Sted- 
 man ; and Amon, our subject, who is the only sur- 
 vivor of the family. 
 
 Amon Bradley was reared upon a farm, and re- 
 ceived a good common-school and academic edu- 
 cation. He continued to work upon the old home- 
 stead until his twentieth year, and then engaged 
 in general merchandising in Southington for about 
 two years, after which he spent two winters in the 
 South, traveling as a peddler of drv goods and 
 "\ ankee notions through \'irginia and North Caro- 
 lina. In 183s he again embarked in general mer- 
 chandising, and continued in that business until 
 1866, for some years having Merritt N. Wood- 
 ruff as a partner, the firm name being Amon Brad- 
 ley, & Co. Mr. Bradle}- has represented the yEtna 
 
 Fire Insurance Co. in Southington for oyer forty 
 \ears, and there are few enterprises in the town 
 that he is not interest. d in, but since his retire- 
 ment from merchandising, in 1866, he has given 
 his principal attention to his real estate interests. 
 He has acquired a handsome property through 
 economy, thrift and perseverance, and has become 
 one of the prosperous and substantial citizens of the 
 community. 
 
 On Oct. 9, 1836, Mr. Bradley married Miss 
 Sylvia Barnes, of Southington, and to them were 
 born three children ; Franklin B. ; Alice B., de- 
 ceased wife of Norman A. Barnes: and Emma M.. 
 wife of Edward S. Yeomans. Truman Barnes, 
 Mrs. Bradlev"s father, was born April 23. 1783. 
 and was a prominent farmer of Southington. He 
 was married. Jan. 3, 1805. to Lowly Barrett, a 
 daughter of William and Ruth (Coggswell) Bar- 
 rett. His father, Jonathan Barnes, was born Feb. 
 2, 1731, and was married, Aug. 4, 17^7, to Eliza- 
 beth ^^'oodrurr, daughter of Hezekiah and Sarah 
 (Macon) Woodruff, of Southington. Jonathan 
 Barnes lived on East street for some time, but later 
 removed to Kensington road. His parents w'ere 
 Stephen and Martha (Wheadon) Barnes, of Bran- 
 ford, who at an earlv day removed to Southington, 
 where he died March 27, 1777, and his vv'ife March 
 18, 1773, she being the hrst one interred in Plants- 
 ville cemetery. Stephen Barnes was a son of 
 Stephen and Alary Barnes, early settlers of Branford, 
 Conn., formerly of Long Island. 
 
 There are few men in Southington that have 
 clone more for its commercial interests and its 
 growth and development than Mr. Bradley. When 
 the Lewis Academy was erected he w-as one of 
 the building committee, and by h.is zeal and enter- 
 pri?c he, with others, promoted the ca'/se and se- 
 cured the charter of the Southington Savings Bank, 
 of whose first board of directors he was a memlier, 
 having continued as such to the present time. Po- 
 litically he has always been a stanch Democrat. 
 He was postmaster of Southington for twelve years, 
 and represented the town in the State Legislature 
 in 1863, 1864 and 1S66. He is the oldest living 
 Freemason in the place, having joined Friendship 
 Lodge, No. 33, F. & A. M., of Southington, about 
 1850, and he is honored and respected wherever 
 known. 
 
 HON. A:\I0S DOWN BRIDGE, a prominent 
 and influential citizen of Enfield, and one of the 
 leading business men of Hazardville, has shown 
 in his successful career that he has the ability to 
 plan wisely and execute with energy, a combina- 
 tion which, when possessed by men in any walk 
 of life, never fails to effect notable results. 
 
 ]\Ir. Bridge was born in Milton, County of Kent, 
 England, Aug. 27, 1838, a son of John and Mary 
 (Prickett) Bridge, who came to America in 1842 
 and located in Enfield, Hartford Co., Conn. The 
 father was employed as a packer at the Hazard 
 Powder Mills about three years, and for the fol- 
 lowing four years was engaged in the fish and 
 
8i2 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 yeast business in Thompsonville. About 1850 he 
 erected the store in Hazardville now occupied by 
 E. C. Allen, and engaged in general merchandising 
 there until 1870, when he retired from active busi- 
 ness to enjoy a well-earned rest. He was born 
 July 3, 1806, and died April 21, 1873, while his 
 wife was born Sept. 10, 1802, and died Jan. 15, 
 1871. Of the nine children born to them, seven 
 reached years of maturity : George ; John W. ; 
 Ruth, wife of Rev. Henry D. Adams; Amos D. ; 
 Ephraim ; Ebenezer ; and Stephen. 
 
 Our subject was reared in Enfield, and was edu- 
 cated in the common schools, and the Connecticut 
 Literary Institute, at Suffield. He began life for 
 himself as a clerk in a general store, serving in that 
 capacity four years. He then entered the employ 
 of the Hazard Powder Co., as office boy, and worked 
 his way steadily upvvard until he became chief clerk 
 for that corporation, with which he remained for 
 eighteen years. In 1875 he embarked in the manu- 
 facture of keys for the same company, and carried 
 on that business for ten years. Later he operated 
 a sawmill, which he still owns, has conducted a 
 gristmill since 1888, and has been extensively en- 
 gaged in the lumber business since 1878. He is 
 a large land holder, owning upwards of 1,200 acres 
 in Enfield, Somers, Suffield, Windsor Locks and 
 Longmeadow. He has done a large business as a 
 contractor, erecting numerous dwellings and other 
 buildings in Hazardville and vicinity; is an ex- 
 tensive builder of Macadam roads in Connecticut, 
 Rhode Island and Massachusetts; and built and 
 owns the Hazardville Water Works. In these vari- 
 ous enterprises he furnishes employment to 125 
 men, thus materially promoting the welfare of the 
 community. He is a surveyor of some note, and 
 has made special surveys for maps of Hazardville, 
 the Hazard Powder Works, and the Shaker settle- 
 ment the most accurate made. He keeps thirty 
 horses, and does the principal teaming for the 
 Hazard Powder Co. Mr. Bridge has been re- 
 markably successful in his undertakings, and in care- 
 fully studying the plans and methods he has fol- 
 lowed we see evidence of an ability for manage- 
 ment and execution seldom equaled. A man of 
 keen perceptions, of great sagacity, of unbounded 
 enterprise, his power nevertheless lies to a great 
 extent in that quality which enables him to suc- 
 cessfull}' control men and affairs. 
 
 On Feb. 24, 1859, ^^i"- Bridge was united in 
 marriage with Miss Elizabeth Gordon, daughter of 
 William and Jean (Bauchop) Gordon, of Enfield, 
 and to them have been born eight children : H. 
 Stephen; Allen G. ; Anne (wife of Lincoln H. 
 Randall), William A., Homer E., Emily G., Mary 
 L., and Charles A. They also have two adopted 
 children : William G. Holford and Jean P. Hol- 
 ford. 
 
 Mr. Bridge is an active and prominent member 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he has 
 served as trustee and classleader. He affiliates with 
 
 the Republican party, and is prominently identi- 
 fied with public affairs, serving as auditor of ac- 
 counts in Enfield town for twenty years, assessor 
 seventeen years, selectman, one year, a member of 
 the board of relief several terms, a member of the 
 Enfield school board ten years, and representative 
 of the Third District in the State Senate during 
 the session of 1891-92. 
 
 HON. EDMUND HALLADAY, a prominent 
 citizen of Suffield, and one of the best-known busi- 
 ness men of that place, is a native of the town, born 
 May 8, 1852, and descends from one of the oldest 
 and most reputable of its families. 
 
 Walter Halladay, the first bearing the family 
 name to settle in Suffield, came from his birthplace, 
 near Boston, Mass., in 1673, locating in Springfield, 
 Mass., of which Suffield was then a part, and there 
 engaged in farming until his decease. He mar- 
 ried Catherine Hunter, and to their union were born 
 five children : Mary, Samuel, Sarah, Ebenezer and 
 Aaron. 
 
 Aaron Halladay, great-grandfather of the sub- 
 ject of this memoir, was born in Suffield, where he 
 passed his entire life, engaged in farming. He 
 married Naomi Smith, who bore him eight children, 
 in the following order : Moses, Aaron, Nathaniel 
 (or Nathan), Naomi, Walter, Ruth, Horace Smith 
 and Persis. Aaron Halladay, the father, was an 
 extensive land owner and one of Suffield's most 
 progressive and respected citizens ; he was a good 
 and pious gentleman, and died in the faith of the 
 Congregational Church, to which he had been reared 
 from childhood. 
 
 Moses Halladay, eldest son of Aaron, and grand- 
 father of our subject, was born on his father's farm, 
 was reared to a knowledge of all the complexities 
 of agriculture, and was also in his younger days 
 taught the carpenter's trade. He married Mary 
 Tobin, a native of Suffield, and by her became the 
 father of four children : Edmund T., Timothy R., 
 James C. and Mary Maria. The last named still 
 survives, at the age of ninety-four years, and is the 
 widow of Cornelius Flower, of Feeding Hills, 
 Hampden Co., Mass. Moses Halladay and his wife 
 were both called from earth many years ago, and 
 their remains rest in peace in the cemetery at Suf- 
 field. 
 
 Edmund Tobin Halladav, father of our subject, 
 was born on the old Halladay homestead in Suffield, 
 was educated in the public schools, and in his ap- 
 proach of manhood's years was taught the trade of 
 wheelwright, which trade he followed with unvary- 
 ing success for several years. Later he settled 
 down to the cultivation of tobacco and general 
 farming, in which he was equally successful, and 
 with good reason, as he was the owner of one of 
 the largest farms in the township — in fact, the farm, 
 which comprised 500 acres, extended into Hampden 
 county, Mass., to the northward. In politics Ed- 
 mund T. Halladay was a Whig, and in religion a 
 
^/^j;^'^^:^^;^^^::?^^:^^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 843 
 
 Baptist, and liis prominence in both Church and 
 political circles necessarily gave him a pre-eminent 
 standing with his fellow citizens, but he never 
 availed himself of his popularity as a means for 
 seeking public office. The first marriage of Mr. 
 Halladay was with Caroline Xoble, a native of 
 Suffiekl, and to this union were born four children : 
 Horace, who died in 1896; Calvin, of Lima, Ohio, 
 wlio died May 2, 1900; Albert, a farmer of Suffiekl, 
 Conn. ; and George K., of Xenia, Ohio. Mrs. Caro- 
 line Kalladay. died on the home farm, and for his 
 second wife Mr. Halladay wedded Clarissa Kendall, 
 also a native of Suffiekl, and a daughter of Simon 
 and Elizabeth (Kent) Kendall, and this union was 
 blessed with three children: Caroline Elizabeth, who 
 died at the age of eighteen years : Clara, who mar- 
 ried Dr. J. K. IMason, of Suffiekl, and died Feb. 
 6, 1870, leaving one daughter; and Edmund, w'hose 
 name appears at the head of this biography. Ed- 
 mund T. Halladay w^as called aw-ay when the sub- 
 ject of this sketch was but six months old. Airs. 
 Clarissa Halladav still survives, being an inmate of 
 our subject's home. She descends from one of the 
 very old families of New England, both her 
 great-grandfather and grandfather on her mother's 
 side having taken part in the struggle for American 
 independence ; she is a lady of refinement, as well 
 as ad\-anccd educational attainments, and before her 
 marriage was a school teacher. She is truly a de- 
 vout Christian, and though her husband died five 
 years after marriage, has reared her children in re- 
 spectability and eentility. 
 
 Edmund Halladay, of whom this sketch treats 
 principally, was trained from infancy to manhood 
 under the care of his tender Christian mother. His 
 primary education, obtained in the district schools, 
 was supplemented bv an attentlance at the Connecti- 
 cut Literary Institute, of Suffiekl, under Principals 
 Bond, Shores and Andrews. He finished his edu- 
 cation at Hillside Academy, under Dr. Fitch, and 
 after returning liome engaged in the tobacco busi- 
 ness with Henry P. Kent, for three years. In 
 1873 '''2 settled down to farming on the old home- 
 stead, and up to the present time has devoted his 
 attention to the cultivation of tobacco and to farm- 
 ing in general, utilizing a tract of ninety acres, on 
 which he has made extensive and substantial im- 
 provements, erecting tobacco sheds, barns and other 
 necessary structures. He is verv prominent, also, 
 in the leading public affairs of his town, and is a 
 decidedly public-spirited and progressive citizen. 
 He is secretary and treasurer of the Electric Light 
 Co., of Suffiekl, is a stockholder in and director of 
 the same, and was a promoter of the Suffiekl water 
 works, in which he is likewise a stockholder. 
 
 In politics JNlr. Halladav is a stanch Republi- 
 can, and under the auspices of his party has filled 
 many positions of honor and trust. For three years 
 he served as constable, and for three years as as- 
 sessor of Suffiekl, and in 18S4 was elected by his 
 party to the State Legislature, in which august body 
 he se/ved with marked abilitv on the committee on 
 
 Cities and Boroughs. In 1886 he was elected as se- 
 lectman of Suffiekl, and for ten consecutive years 
 was re-elected, thus serving eleven years, during 
 which period he was honored with the position of 
 chairman of the board. It was during his incum- 
 bency of this office that the first stone road in the 
 town was constructed, and altogether there were 
 completed twentv miles of road of the same material ; 
 seven iron bridges w'ere also constructed; and 
 through his influence the schools were greatly in- 
 creased, apjjropriations for that purpose reaching the 
 sum of $14,000, the first of which, for $5,200, was 
 made in 1S86, the year in which Mr. Halladay be- 
 came a member of the board. 
 
 in ib79 the marriage of Mr. Halladay with Miss 
 Eloise L. 'VVarner, a native of Suftield, and a daugh- 
 ter of Charles C. Warner, was solemnized, in Suf- 
 fiekl, and to the union have been born three chil- 
 dren : Clarissa J., a graduate of the Suffiekl high 
 school ; and ]\Iarjorie and Helen K., attendants at 
 the graded school, where they are making rapid 
 advance in their studies. The family worship at the 
 Baptist Church, of which they arc all consistent 
 members, ]\Ir. Flalladay being also a member of 
 the church committee. In his fraternal society re- 
 lations Mr. Halladav stands high in the Masonic 
 Order, being a member of Apollo Lodge No. 
 59, F. & A. AI. ; Washington Chapter No. 30, 
 R. A. M.; Suffiekl Council Xo. 23, R. & S. M. ; 
 \\'ashington Commandery Xo. i, K. T., all of 
 Suffiekl; and Sphinx Temple, A. A. O. X. AI. 
 S., of Hartford; as well as of the O. U. A. M., Lv- 
 man Council, and Gideon Granger Lodge, K. of P., 
 both of Suffield. He is also a member of the State 
 Board of Agriculture, Hartford, and a director of 
 the Connecticut Agricultural College and Experi- 
 ment Station, at Storrs, Conn. He was one of the 
 organizers of the Suffield Agricultural Society, in 
 which he is still a director, and in which he takes a 
 deep and abiding interest, being one of its strongest 
 supporters. He is also a member of the Tobacco 
 Growers Association. X'otwithstanding all the 
 onerous duties pertaining to these multifarious po- 
 sitions, Mr. Halladay bravely and cheerfully exe- 
 cutes his full share of them all, never lagging nor 
 growing tired in their performance, and by such as 
 he are the w^ealth, progress and stability of the Com- 
 monwealth made and maintained. 
 
 Air. Halladay, as has been already mentioned, de- 
 scends from the. oldest and most respected families 
 of Xew England, his ancestors having been among 
 the gallant patriots of the Revolutionary war, which 
 gave to the world its only model republic, and he 
 still retains in his possession the old flint-lock musket 
 used by his maternal great-grandfather, Capt. Elihu 
 Kent, in that glorious struggle, and esteems it be- 
 yond any money value whatever. Simon Kendall, 
 grandfather of the mother of Edmund Halladay, the 
 subject of this memoir, was a native of Suffield, was 
 of English descent, and was a well-to-do farmer and 
 stock raiser. He married Theoda Bronson, and to 
 their union were born three chldren: Horace, Ma- 
 
844 
 
 ■COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 hala (who was married to Calvin Spencer) and Si- 
 mon. The parents were devout members of the 
 Presbyterian Church, and died in that faith. 
 
 Simon Kendall, mentioned above, was born in 
 Suffield, became a well-educated gentleman, and 
 passed his early manhood in school teaching. Later 
 he became the owner of 200 acres of good farming 
 land, to the cultivation of which he devoted the re- 
 maining years of his successful life. In politics he 
 was a Democrat of the Jeffersonian type. He was 
 greatly respected, was honored by his contempora- 
 ries, and filled many responsible offices, including 
 that of selectman. He was very domestic in his 
 habits, was strictly temperate, and was a devout ad- 
 herent of the Baptist Church. He married Miss 
 Elizabeth Kent, a native of Suffield, and a daughter 
 of Capt. Elihu Kent and granddaughter of Col. 
 Elihu Kent, both of whom were gallant warriors in 
 the Revolution and took part in the battle of Lex- 
 ington. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Simon 
 Kendall eight children v^^ere born : George Fitch, 
 who died in Richmond, Va. ; Betsey and Rebecca, 
 twins, of whom the latter died young, and the for- 
 mer was married to Joseph W. King, now deceased, 
 and resided near Cincinnati, Ohio ; Simon B., who 
 died in Suffield, Conn ; Clarissa, mother of our sub- 
 ject ; Mary, who married John McKibben, of Cin- 
 cinnati, Ohio, deceased in 189.S ; Henry L., who 
 died in Baltimore, Md. ; and Jane Maria, who died at 
 the age of ten months. Mrs. Kendall had been a 
 successful school teacher, and four of her children 
 were also employed in the same honorable occupa- 
 tion. Mr. Kendall died in 1856, one of the most 
 honored of the residents of Suffield, and Mrs. Ken- 
 dall passed away in i860. 
 
 The career of Mr. Halladay has been so pure, so 
 self-sacrificing, and so devoted to the progress and 
 improvement of the community in which he has 
 passed his active life, that complimentary phrases 
 here would be work of supererogation. 
 
 SAMUEL WOLCOTT LADD, deceased. The 
 career of this well known manufacturer, who was 
 for many years a leading resident of Springfield, 
 Mass., furnishes an object lesson in the virtues of 
 thrift, industry and integrity. Beginning life as a 
 poor boy, with but a limited education, he steadily 
 rose from a subordinate place in the Wason Manu- 
 facturing Co., of Springfield, to that of part owner, 
 and his sound business judgment and rare execu- 
 tive ability became recognized factors in the success 
 of the enterprise. 
 
 Mr. Ladd was born April 28, 1817, in the town 
 of Ellington, Tolland Co., Conn., a son of Jacob 
 and Rebecca (Charter) Ladd. Although his early 
 life was spent upon a farm, he found agricultural 
 work uncongenial, and when a young man he went to 
 Springfield, Mass., to learn the molder's trade, 
 which he followed for a number of years in Spring- 
 field, Windsor Locks and other towns. While in 
 Windsor Locks he met Miss Lavinia F. Fish, a na- 
 
 tive of East Windsor and a daughter of Norman 
 Fish, a prominent citizen of that locality. In 1847 
 they were married, and soon afterward Mr. Ladd 
 took a position as molder with Thomas W. Wason, 
 a manufacturer of car wheels and railroad castings 
 in Springfield, and established his home there. His 
 ability and skill won him rapid promotion and having 
 from time to time invested considerable money in 
 the business he became the owner of a large amount 
 of stock, in 1851 forming a partnership with Mr. 
 Wason under the name of Wason, Ladd & Co. The 
 firm continued thus until 1868, when the business 
 was consolidated with the wood-working depart- 
 ment which had been conducted by another com- 
 pany of which Mr. Wason was the head, and incor- 
 porated as the Wason Manufacturing Co. Mr. 
 Ladd remained a member of the company, and acted 
 as general manager of the iron department, con- 
 tinumg in active business until his death, which 
 occurred July 19, 1876. A handsome fortune re- 
 sulted from his efforts. As a good citizen he was in- 
 terested in all that pertained to the welfare of the 
 community, and for many years he was a leading 
 member of Trinity Methodist Church at Springfield. 
 Socially he and his estimable wife held an enviable 
 position in Springfield, and he was a member of 
 Roswell Lee Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of that city. 
 
 Of four children born to Mr, and Mrs. Ladd. 
 the eldest, Emma, died at the age of five years; 
 Lewis died in infancy; Everett died when eleven 
 years old ; Lawrence, who is an enterprising and 
 successful business man, manages the stock formerly 
 owned by our subject, and now held by himself and 
 his widowed mother. In November, 1877, JMrs. 
 Ladd decided to return to her native town, and she 
 and her son now reside upon the old Fish homestead 
 where in 1881 they built a beautiful residence, 
 equipped with all modern conveniences. The barns 
 and other farm buildings have also been rebuilt, 
 making the homestead one of the finest in East 
 \'Vindsor township. 
 
 HON. JAMES STANLEY FORBES, repre- 
 sentative in the Connecticut State Legislature from 
 the town of East Hartford, and proprietor of the 
 most extensive dairy in the town, as well as tobacco 
 and fruit grower, descends from a family that has 
 for 240 years been prominent in the town's afi'airs, 
 as it is one of the oldest. 
 
 The Forbes family is of Scotch origin, and the 
 name first appears in the records of Hartford coun- 
 ty in 1658. James Forbes (supposed to be identical 
 with Capt. James Forbes), the founder of the fam- 
 ily in America, came from Scotland in 1654, and in 
 1660 bought land on the east side of "ye Greatte 
 river," which yet remains in the family, Hon. James 
 S. Forbes, the subject of this sketch, owning and 
 living on a portion of this purchase. Capt. James 
 Forbes, of Caithness, Scotland, was a younger son 
 of Duncan Forbes, first Laird of Culloden anJ 
 provost of Inverness; John, the eldest son of Dun- 
 
€lJ ■ 
 
 '^ 
 
i 
 
COMMEMORATirE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 845 
 
 'an, was the scclukI to bear the title. James was a 
 iaptain in the Royal army uiuler the Alar()uis of 
 lUontrose, was eaptured in i()45 at the battle of 
 i?hilipliaiigh, near Selkirk, Scotland, was impris- 
 oned in the Tower of London until 1654, and was 
 hat vear banished to America. On June 7, 1658, 
 le purchased from John Crow twenty acres of lane 
 lear the mouth of the Hockanum river, but re- 
 inquished this land Nov. 23, 1(^163, to 'Sir. Crow, 
 ds lie had purchased, March ii, 16O0, from W'illian: 
 .\Vestwood, a .tract fifteen and one-half rods wide, 
 Extending from "ye Greatte river "to ye bounds," 
 and three miles long. Tne residence of Capt. James 
 Forbes was on the Meadow Bank, a short distance 
 .north of what is now Pitkin street. His daughter, 
 Dorothy, who was married to William Roberts, re- 
 ceived six acres of this land from her father, near 
 the home site, and the cellar portion of her house 
 fs yet visible, the property being still in the posses- 
 sion of her descendants. Capt. James Forbes also 
 bought land in Hartford, in 1661, from William 
 'Westwood. He died Nov. 27, 1692. By his wife, 
 Catherine, he had the following named children: 
 John, who joined the first church in Hartford in 
 December, 161)5, married Alarv Griffin, and his pos- 
 terity became sea-faring men, living at ^Vcthersfield 
 and elsewhere, and finally in New Haven ; David 
 joined the F'irst Church in March, 1695, married 
 Sarah Treat, who was born in 1674, and his death 
 occurred Dec. 16, 1729; Dorothy joined the Second 
 Church in Hartford Feb. 12, 1698, and was mar- 
 ried to William Roberts ; Mary joined the First 
 Church in 1695. and was married to Daniel Gaines; 
 Sarah was married to Joseph Collier; James, born 
 May 14, 1677, died in 1752, married (first) Sarah 
 Williams, daughter of W'illiam and Sarah (Olcott) 
 Williams, and for his second wife wedded Eliza- 
 beth (Hills) Buckland. daughter of John Hills and 
 widow of William Buckland. 
 
 The children born to James Forbes (2) and 
 Sarah (Williams) Forbes were : James Forbes (3), 
 baptized 171 1, died April 23, 1801, married Ann 
 Buckland, daughter of William and Elizabeth 
 (Hills) Buckland: Jonathan, who owned the cov- 
 enant, married Mehitable Cole, and was a taxpayer 
 in Waterbury in 1731; Abraham, baptized in I7ii, 
 married Elizabeth Hills, and died April 23, 1809: 
 Thomas was still living in 1742; Timothv, born in 
 1716, is mentioned below; Abigail was still living 
 in 1742; Sarah was married to Josiah Barber; 
 Elizabeth married Josfph ^Meacham. The father of 
 this family built their first house in Scotland (now 
 called Burnside), the ruins of which are still visible. 
 Timothy Forbes ( i ) married Susannah Good- 
 win, who was born in 1714, the ninth child of Dea- 
 con John Goodwin and his wife ^lary (Olmstead). 
 They were the parents of several children, of whom 
 the names of three only can be traced : Timothy 
 (2) is mentioned below: Elijah, born in 174^, was 
 a farmer at Scotland (now Burnside, the name 
 having been clianged in 1865). married Rebecca 
 <nl:nan. a daughter of Solomon anfl Mary (Forbes) 
 Gilman, and died in 1826; Elizabeth is the third of 
 
 those whose record can be found. The father was 
 a farmer and resided at Scotland (now Buriisidej, 
 where his wife died in 1811. He died in 1776. 
 
 Timothy F'orbes {2) was born June 14, 1743, 
 and died Sept. 14, 1800. He married, in 1760, ^lary 
 Roberts, who was born Jan. 19, 1745, daughter of 
 Benjamin and Jerusha (I'ratt) Roberts, and died 
 Sept. 28, 1825. She became the mother of twelve 
 cliildren: Mary, born March 23, 1767, married 
 Eli Barber, of Windsor, and died Dec. 24, i8ii; 
 Susannah, born Oct. 15, 1768, married (first) 
 Ebenezer Hills, and (second) wedded David Fit- 
 kin, ana died Jan. 25, 1852 ; Jerusha, born Feb. 
 21, 1770, died in March of the same year; Jerusha 
 (2), born March 23, 1771, died May 20, 1793; 
 Timothy (3), born July 3, 1773, married Eliza,- 
 beth Treat; George, born Feb. 26, 1775, went to 
 \'irginia, came north again to New York and there 
 died, leaving a family; Giles, born March 26, 1777, 
 was captain of a sea-going craft, and died at sea 
 in December, 1840; Solomon, born Jan. i, 1779, 
 married Betsy Flint, and died at Manchester in 
 1838; Jemima, born Jan. 6, 1781, was married to 
 Joseph Brewer, a papermaker, and died Aug. 26, 
 1834, in Cortland, N. Y., where her husband also. 
 passed away; Abigail, born Dec. 28, 1782, died un- 
 married in 1800; Sarah, born Jan. 14, 1785, was 
 married to Giles Church, and died in ^Iichigan ; 
 and Huldah, born Sept. 25, 1786, died in 1789. 
 During the Revolutionary war, when the Colonists 
 borrowed money from the French Government. 
 Timothy Forbes (2) was connected with the cattle 
 train tbat conveyed it from the French vessels 
 (which landed it at Newport) to his house in Scot- 
 land (new Burnside). The kegs of coin were 
 rolled into the west door of tlie house still stand- 
 ing, and were subsequently taken to Philadelphia. 
 This house was built by Timothy Forbes ( i ) about 
 1765 and is now occupied by Miss Emma Forbes, 
 sister of the subject of this sketch; 
 
 Timothy Forbes (3), grandfather of Hon. James 
 S. Forbes, was born July 3, 1773, on tne old home- 
 stead, and married Betsey (or Elizabeth) Treat, 
 who was born Nov. 18, 1782, at Hockanum. n 
 daughter of Matthias and Triphena (Risley) Treat. 
 Alatthias Treat served in the company commantled 
 by Capt. Jonathan W^ells during the Revolutionary 
 war, and marched from Boston to the defense of 
 Lexington ; later he was a member of the company 
 commanded by Capt. Roswell Grant, in Col. Oba- 
 diah Johnson's regiment, which was stationed in 
 Rhode Island, and in 1794 became a lieutenant in 
 a Connecticut Militia Company. The children of 
 Timothy (3) and Betsey (Treat) Forbes were as 
 follows: Eliza, born July 12, 1802, married Moses 
 Chandler, a papermaker by trade, and also a mer- 
 chant at Scotland (now Burnside), where she died 
 April 3. 1862; Mahlon F.. born Oct. 3. 1S03. mar- 
 ried Sarah Lawrence, and died May 8, 1891 ; Charles, 
 born Dec. 27, 1803. married ^larv A. \\'ard, Jan. 
 20. 1827. and died March 15. 1876: Jerusha. born 
 Feb. 17. 1807. was married to Howell Hills, a 
 merchant at Burnside and Hartford, on Jan. i, 
 
846 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1829, and died Feb. 14, 1849; Giles became the 
 father of our subject; Abigail, born Sept. 15, 181 1, 
 married Francis Hanmer, a prosperous paper-mill 
 ■proprietor of Burnside, and died May 10, 1880, in 
 Burnside; Charlotte, born June 30, 1813, was mar- 
 ried to Henry Hills, a bookbinder, and died in Hart- 
 ford in December, 1892; Susan, born Feb. 20, 1815, 
 died July 6, 1883, was the wife of John B. Russell, 
 who in the later years of his hfe was a broker at 
 Hartford; Fideha, born March 19, 1817, was the 
 second wife of Howell Hills, and died June 30, 
 1884; Sarah, born Dec. i, 1818, was married to 
 John Gordon Smith, and died in Hartford Sept. 
 2, 1886; George, born March 20, 1821, married 
 Elizabeth Easton, and died April 13, 1876 (he was 
 a farmer at Burnside, and was a bright man in 
 tellectually, but became a cripple through rheuma- 
 tism) ; Frances, born Jan. 8, 1824, married Henry 
 M. King, of South Windsor, ana died Feb. 14, 
 1864. Timothy Forbes (3), known familiarly as 
 "Capt. Tim," was well-known throughout Hartford 
 county, and was a leading man in East Hartford 
 and vicinity. While not a member of any church 
 society his team was always at the church door on 
 the Sabbath day. 
 
 Giles Forbes, father of Hon. James S. Forbes, 
 was born in 1808, and died in 1890. The house in 
 which his birth took place, and which was erected 
 about 1765, is still in the family. Here he was 
 reared to farming. His school days were passed 
 in the old "Red" school house at Scotland, and al- 
 though farming was his legitimate occupation 
 through life he for a number of years was employed 
 as a teamster for paper-mills at Scotland, hauling 
 paper stock to and from Hartford. On ]\Iarch 26, 
 1839, he married Sarah Pitkin Stanley, who was 
 born Jan. 5, 1816, in East Hartford, a daughter of 
 James and Temperance (Pitkin) Stanley. After 
 marriage Giles Forbes erected his dwelling and set- 
 tled on the farm, on which he continued to reside 
 until his decease. Temperance Pitkin was a daugh- 
 ter of Ashbel and Sarah (Forbes) Pitkin, and a 
 granddaughter of William Pitkin, who was one of 
 the most prominent statesmen of his day, judge of 
 the county court many years, and in 1766 was made 
 governor of Connecticut, which office he was hold- 
 ing at the time of liis death, in 1769. Numerous 
 relics of the Governor are still held by the family. 
 
 Giles Forbes was a very successful farmer, and 
 an .enthusiastic sportsman with gun and rod, as the 
 whole of the Forbes name are. He was of medium 
 height, and very active up to within a few years of 
 his death. In politics he was first a Whig, later a 
 Republican, was a strong anti-slavery man, and al- 
 though not aggressive as a politician was ever inter- 
 ested in the success of his party and active in pro- 
 moting its welfare. He served as assessor for a 
 number of years. In religion he was a Congrega- 
 tionalist, and was an officer in the church of that 
 denomination in East Hartford, of which his wife 
 was also a member. She died in that faith in 1864, 
 and her remains were interred in East Hartford 
 cemeterv, where those of the husband were subse- 
 
 quently laid to rest. To the marriage of Giles and' 9 
 Sarah Pitkin (Stanley) Forbes were born four chil- 
 dren : Emma S., Felo. 23, 1840 ; Delia A., June 27, 
 1842; James Stanley (subject), Dec. 29, 1845; 
 and Julia Frances, Nov. 19, 1847. Of these, (i) 
 Emma S.. who is still unmarried, resides on the 
 homestead. She is possessed of a tenacious memory, 
 takes great interest in collecting genealogical data, 
 and furnished many of the facts connected with 
 this sketch. (2) Delia A. married George W. 
 Rogers, who for eight years was an engineer in 
 the United States navy, and four years prior to 
 the Civil war was stationed off the coast of Africa 
 watching slavers. On the breaking out of the Re- 
 bellion he was on the blockading squadron off 
 Charleston. S. C, after which ne was transferred to 
 the expedition under Farragut, and was at the cap- 
 ture of New Orleans, La., in April, 1862, also in the 
 expedition in Mobile Bay. Later he was the South- 
 ern agent of the Hartford Steam Boiler Insurance 
 Co., and the first representative of the company in ., 
 the South. Mrs. Delia A. Rogers died Jan. 15, 
 1888, in East Hartford, and Mr. Rogers passed 
 away Dec. 10, 1888, in Charleston, S. C. (4) 
 Julia Frances always lived on the homestead, and 
 died unmarried April 14, 1883. 
 
 Hon. James Stanley Forbes was born in the 
 house in which he still lives, in the village of Burn- 
 side, and first attended school in the old Scotland 
 district when the school house stood in what would 
 now be the middle of the street at what is now 
 Burnside; among his first teachers were his cousin, 
 Martha Forbes, and Sarah Green, of Wapping. 
 He next attended for three terms the graded school 
 at East Hartford, where Mr. Camp was his tutor, 
 and this ended his schooling. Until twent3'-one 
 years of age he remained on the home farm, and 
 then went to Rockford, Floyd Co., Iowa, at that 
 time a very new section of country, and was there 
 engaged in farming for three years, selling his land 
 and returning in 1870 to Connecticut. He took 
 charge of his father's farm, and at once engaged in 
 cultivating tobacco, where tobacco had never been 
 raised before, as his father was opposed to it from 
 principle. For four years Mr. Forbes devoted his 
 attention to tobacco growing exclusively, then 
 added small fruits, and finally dairying, whole- ' 
 saling milk. He has 160 acres of land under his 
 direction. 
 
 James Stanley Forbes was united in marriage. 
 Jan. I, 1874, in Hillstown district, with Miss Jennie 
 M. Hills, daughter of Martin O. and Cornelia 
 (Spencer) Hills, the former of whom was a de- 
 scendant of Wilham Hills, Sr., who came with the 
 Rev. Hooker party to Hartford in 1635, and the 
 latter a descendant of Thomas Spencer, also one 
 of the first settlers of Hartford. Mrs. Jennie M. 
 (Hills) Forbes is likewise a descendant of Capt. 
 James Forbes, the founder of this family in America, > 
 as Mary Forbes, daughter of David, the second son | 
 of the Captain, was married to Lieut. Solomon Gil- ', 
 man, Jr., who served in the Revolutionary war, 
 and their daughter, Tabitha, was married to Gideon 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 847 
 
 iSpencer, Jr., the great-grandfather of Mrs. Jennie 
 M. (Hills) Forbes. Une son has been born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. James S. Forbes, Stanley Spencer, 
 born Alarch 22, 1876, who died AjmiI 14, 1883. 
 They have two adopted children: Fanny L. M., 
 born Feb. 17, 1880, and Francis, born July 15, 
 1881. 
 
 J'\)r over twenty years Hon. J. Stanley I'orbcs 
 .has been and still is a member of the ^rand jnry; 
 for several years he has been a member of the board 
 hi relief, and has also held the office of selectman. 
 In i8y8 he was elected representative to the State 
 Legislature from the East Flartford district, and in 
 this august bodv is chairman of the conmiittee on 
 Federal Relations. In religious faith ne is a Meth- 
 odist and for fifteen years has been a trustee of the 
 M. F. Church at ijurnside, in wnich for thirteen 
 years he has served as superintendent of the Sab- 
 bath school. He was a charter member of the East 
 Hartford Grange, and he and his wife are still mem- 
 bers of that organization. JNIr. Forbes is also a 
 member of the O. U. A. M. StalY, Lafayette Coun- 
 cil, of East Hartford. 
 
 ISesides being one of the most extensive as well 
 as one of the most successful farmers of the town 
 of East Hartford, ^Ir. Forbes is thorougb.ly pro- 
 gressive and up-to-date as a citizen. He is very 
 fond of out-door recreation, and has indulged to a 
 great extent in hunting, not only of the small game 
 that Connecticut now affords, but of the larger ani- 
 mals yet to be found in the Adirondack Mountains, 
 and he is also an enthusiastic angler. He is a 
 whole-souled, good-natured man, and none can boast 
 of a larger circle of warm-hearted friends than he. 
 while as a useful member of society no one takes 
 a higher rank. His domestic relations are of the 
 happiest, and his estimable wife shares with him a 
 wide-extended popularity. 
 
 HON. ROBERT CLEVELAND USHER, one 
 of the progressive citizens of Plainville, is a native 
 of Connecticut, born April 19, 1841, in Plymouth, 
 Litchfield county. 
 
 I Dr. Robert Usher, his grandfather, born in New 
 London, Conn., practiced medicine in Westchester 
 and vicinity. He was twice wedded, and by his 
 first wife had five children ; by his second marriage, 
 to .\nnie Cone, he had eleven children, Josiah C, 
 father of Robert C, being the youngest. Dr. Robert 
 Usher was a surgeon in the Revolutionary army, 
 and his widow received a pension from the govern- 
 ment. He w'as a son of Hezekiah Usher, a sea cap- 
 tain, who lived in New London, Connecticut. 
 
 Josiah Cleveland Usher, father of Robert C, 
 • born in August, 1802, in Chatham, Conn., in early 
 i-'ife operated a tannery in Plymouth, whither he re- 
 : moved in 1825, but impaired health obliged him to 
 j abandon that occupation and take up farming, in 
 which he engaged some forty years. In 1845 he 
 rerrjoved to Plainville, where he practically passed 
 the rest of his days, dying, however, at New Brit- 
 ain, in April, 1893. Originally an Abolitionist, he 
 
 afterward became a Republican. In religious faith 
 he was a member of the Congregational Cliurch, 
 and he always took much interest ni church work. 
 Jn September, 1828, Josiah C. Usher married Ruth 
 Frisbie, daughter of Abel Frisbie, of Bristol, Conn., 
 and children as follows were born to them : James, 
 deceased at the age of seven years ; Ruth Ann, wife 
 of Francis H. Smith, of New Britain, formerly of 
 J'lainville, and Robert Cleveland, a sketch of whom 
 immediately follows. 
 
 Robert C. Usher, the subject proper of these 
 lines, was fcur years old wlien his parents removed 
 to Plainville, and there at the district schools he re- 
 ceived his education, at the age of seventeen years 
 commencing a one-year term at Williston Semi- 
 nary, Easthampton, Mass. Returning at the end of 
 that time to Plainville, he spent two years on the 
 home farm, and then enlisted in the Union army, 
 an event in his life that will presently be more fully 
 mentioned. On his return from the front he re- 
 mained some four more years on the farm with his 
 father, after which, in December, 1869, he entered 
 the employ of E. N. Pierce, as clerk in his coal and 
 lumber yards, continuing in that capacity until 1875, 
 in which year he became a partner of Mr. Pierce, 
 under the firm name of E. N. Pierce & Co., said 
 partnership existing until 1893, when our subject 
 sold his interest to Air. Pierce. In August, 1891, 
 Mr. Usher entered the Plainville Manufacturing Co. 
 as assistant to the secretary and treasurer, and also 
 acted as general superintendent for a number of 
 years. He is also a director of that company. He 
 was one of the incorporators of the Plainville Water 
 Co., in 1885: was elected treasurer in 1891. which 
 incumbency he still fills, and is a director of same. 
 ]Mr. L'sher was one of the incorporators of the Free 
 Public Library at Plainville, and has been presi- 
 dent of the same since its organization. 
 
 Politically Mr. Usher is a stanch Republican, and 
 has served in various offices of responsibility. In the 
 temi of 1885 he represented the town of Plainville 
 in the State Legislature, during which period he was 
 a member of the committee on finance. From 1869, 
 the year in which the town w-as formed, to 1893, 
 when he declined further re-nomination on account 
 of business pressure, he served as town clerk; for 
 many years has been assessor of the towui : and for 
 the past six years has served as school visitor. So- 
 cially he is affiliated with Newton L. :\Ianross Post, 
 G. A. R., of Forestville. In church relations he and 
 his family are Congregationalists ; and he has been 
 trustee of the church and chairman of the society's 
 committee several years each. 
 
 On June 15, 1870. Robert C. Usher was married 
 to Antoinette Cora Pierce, daughter of Edward N. 
 Pierce, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere, and 
 children as follows were born to them : Jesse Henri- 
 etta married Dec. 26, 1895, Charles Rockwell Clark. 
 of Plainville, and they have one son. Pierce Usher 
 Clark: Maude Pierce is at home; James Edward, 
 who graduated from the Plainville high school, and 
 
848 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 attended the Philadelphia Textile School one year, 
 is associated with his father in the Plainville Manu- 
 facturing Co. ; Frank Pierce, a graduate of the Plain- 
 ville high school, is also associated with his father in 
 Plainville Manufacturing Co, ; Robert Cleveland, 
 Jr., graduated from the Plainville high school, and 
 IS now attending the University of Maine at Orono, 
 Maine. Howard Josiah, the youngest son, is at- 
 tending the New Britain high school. 
 
 On Aug. 27, 1862, Mr. Usher enlisted in Com- 
 pany E, 20th Conn. V. I., as musician ; was soon 
 afterward made orderly, and about a year after- 
 ward was promoted to sergeant major. He partici- 
 pated in the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettys- 
 burg, later serving in the West with Hooker, and 
 with Sherman on his famous march to the sea. He 
 fortunately escaped being wounded. Some three 
 months before the close of the war he received a 
 lieutenant's commission from Gov. Buckingham, and 
 June 27, 1865, he was mustered out of the service. 
 
 HON. BENJAMIN F. CASE, manager of the 
 Canton Creamery Association, and a prominent ag- 
 riculturist of the town of Canton, is a representative 
 of one of its most highly respected pioneer families. 
 The first ancestor of whom we have any definite 
 record was John Case, who came to this county 
 at an early date, locating first in VA^indsor and later 
 in Simsbury, and whose descendants, through his 
 sons John and William, are now numerous in this 
 section. 
 
 John Case (2) was born in Windsor Nov. 5, 
 1662, but his youth was spent chiefly in Simsbury. 
 In early manhood he engaged in farming at Terrys 
 Plains, where he died May 22, 1733. On bept. 12, 
 1684, he married Mary Olcott, who was born in 
 1665, in Hartford, daughter of Thomas Olcott, of 
 that city. In 1693 he married, for his second wife, 
 Sarah Holcomb, daughter of Joshua Holcomb, and 
 granddaughter of Ihomas Holcomb, the pioneer. 
 The only child of the first marriage, John, born 
 Aug. 6, 1685, died in infancy. By the second mar- 
 riage there were six children : John, born Aug. 22, 
 1694; Daniel, who is mentioned below; Mary, born 
 1698, who married Josiah Alford, and died about 
 1732; Jonathan, born April 15, 1701 ; Sarah, born in 
 1703, who married John Alderman; and Hannah, 
 born in 1709, who married Capt. Noah Humphrey, 
 and died Sept. 23, 1799. 
 
 Sergt. Daniel Case was born in Simsbury March 
 7, 1696, and made his home in Terrys Plains, where 
 he engaged in farming. He was active in local 
 affairs, and gained his title by service in the State 
 militia. He died May 28, 1733. On May 7, 1719, 
 he married Penelope Buttolph, who was born Oct. 
 I, 1699, and died June 27, 1746. They had six chil- 
 dren : Daniel, who is mentioned below ; Mindwell, 
 born Oct. 24, 1721, who married Lieut. David 
 Adams; Dudley, born Nov. 23, 1723; Lois, born 
 Sept. 20, 1726, who married Joseph Mills; Zac- 
 cheus, born in 1728; and Ezekiel, born Sept. 30, 
 1731- 
 
 Daniel Case, son of Sergt. Daniel, was born Jan. 
 31, 1720, on the Case farm in Terrys Plains, Sims- 
 bury, where he grew to manhood. In 1746 he re- 
 moved to West Simsbury with his brothers and sis- 
 ters, and engaged in farming at what is now Can- 
 ton Center, where he built the first gristmill. Like 
 his father, he was a sergeant in the State militia, 
 and he was highlv esteemed in his community. He 
 died on his farm May 24, 1801, and is buried in the 
 Dyer cemetery. , He married Mary Watson, of New 
 Hartford, who was born in 1724, and died in 1801, 
 and they had nine children : Daniel, born April 19, 
 1752, married Elizabeth Humphrey, daughter of 
 Capt. Ezekiel and Elizabeth (PettiboneJ Hum- 
 phrey, and died Feb. 28, 1789; Moses, born March 
 27, 1754, married Eunice Case, and died in 1782; 
 Mary, born Feb. 25, 1756, married John Garrett, 
 and died in 1832; Abigail, born Jan. 8, 1758, mar- 
 ried William Taylor, and died in 1830; Lois, born 
 Sept. 15, 1760, never married; Keturah, born Dec. 
 II, 1762, married James Humphrey, son of Deacon 
 Theophilus and Hepzibah (Cornish) Humphrey, 
 and died in September, 1824; Penelope, born Dec. 
 II, 1764, died June 17, 1851, unmarried; Amory 
 Watson, born Oct. 23, 1767, married Betsey Harves, 
 and died in 1852 ; and Elam is mentioned below. 
 
 Elam Case, the grandfather of our subject, was 
 born May 10,1772, in Canton Center, where he spent 
 his entire life, engaged in general farming and stock 
 raising. He was noted for his industry and good 
 management, and was temperate in his habits and 
 honorable in his business dealings. He was mar- 
 ried,' Nov. 21, 1805, to Phcebe (Case) Andrews, who 
 was born in Canton July 14, 1776, and died Dec. 
 14, 1845. She was a daughter of Deacon Hosea and 
 Mary Case, and widow of Philemon Andrews. Of 
 their four children: (i) Rodney, born July 26, 
 1807, married Calista Jay. (2) Randolph, born 
 Aug. 21, 1809, died April 22, 1859. (3) Franklin 
 is mentioned below. (4) Melinda, born Oct. 14, 
 1813, died Dec. 24, 1853; she married Orin F. 
 Brown, and had one child, Orin, a resident of 
 Hartford. 
 
 Franklin Case, the father of our subject, was 
 born Jan. 17, 181 1, and died Oct. 22, 1877, his re- 
 mains being interred at Canton Center. After com- 
 pleting a district-school course he engaged in farm- 
 ing on the homestead. He was a man of high 
 moral character, a member of the Congregational 
 Church, and was devoted to his family. In politics 
 he was a Democrat, but he was never an office 
 seeker. He was married (first) June 3, 1837, to 
 Ann Edgerton, who died Jan. 9, 1840, and on April 
 17, 1842, he married Lucia Case, who survives him. 
 By his first marriage he had one son, Benjamin 
 Franklin, born in July, 1839, who died in Novem- 
 ber, same year. 
 
 Mrs. Lucia Case was born Sept. 16, 1821, daugh- 
 ter of Philetus and Lucinda (Reed) Case, well- 
 known residents of Canton, and her education was 
 begun in the district schools of that town. She also 
 attended the high schools in Canton Center and 
 
i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 84D 
 
 Windsor, and gave especial attention to the study 
 of I'rench and music. She then taught school for a 
 while in Simsbury, and her culture and refinement 
 have found expression in her home life. She is a 
 woman of good business ability, as is shown by her 
 management of her brother's estate, of which she 
 and our subject are executors. 
 
 Mrs. Case is a descendant of John Case, the 
 pioneer, through his son William, who was a brother 
 of John Case (2), from whom the father of our 
 subject is descended. Amasa Case (i), son of 
 James and Esther (Fithcn) Case, grandson of Will- 
 iam and Elizabeth (Holcomb) Case, and great- 
 grandson of the original John Case, was born Oct. 
 18, 1731, in Simsbury, Terrys Plains. He spent his 
 entire life on the Case homestead, where he was en- 
 gaged in general farming, and his remains now rest 
 in the cemetery at Simsbury. He was married first, 
 in 1752, to Miss Elizabeth Hoskins, who was born 
 in 1732, daughter of Robert Hoskins. In 176b he 
 
 ■ ^ married a widow, ^Mrs. \'iets, who died in 1785. 
 
 His third wife, Abigail Philips Griswold, daughter 
 of David Philips, died Oct. 4, 1794, and he after- 
 ward married -Mrs. Charity Cornish, daughter of 
 John Pettibone; after her death, which occurred 
 Oct. 5, 1803, he married a fifth wife, Mrs. Sarah 
 Graham, a daughter of Benajah Humphrey, who 
 had herself been previously married three times. 
 By the first marriage Amasa Case (i) had the fol- 
 lowing children : Amasa (2 ) : Aaron, born June 16, 
 • 1755, died ^larch 24, 181 1 ; Elizabeth, born Aug. 15, 
 
 ■ 1750, died Dec. 2, 1822; Stephen, born Oct. 6, 1758; 
 Mary, born Jan. 2, 1760; and Mehitabel, born March 
 8, 1762. By his second marriage he also had six 
 
 ^i children: Apollos, who was born Aug. i, 1768, 
 married Polly Frazier, and died June 15, 1827; 
 Ruth, who was born Sept. 30, 1770 ; Julius, who 
 was born Feb. 20, 1773, and died May 17, 1773; 
 Enoch, who was born ^lay 10, 1774, and died July 
 27> 1799; Salome, who was born Dec. i, 1777; and 
 . Chloe. 
 
 '! Amasa Case (2) was born Oct. 29, 1753, on the 
 ' homestead at Terrys Plains, Simsbury, and died 
 June 23, 1843. ^^ hen a young man he removed to 
 what is now Hoskins Station, in the Westover 
 Plains District, and engaged in farming, which oc- 
 cupation he continued throughout his life. For 
 , many years he served as deacon in the church. His 
 i wife, r^Iercy Hillyer, was born in 1763, and died 
 Sept. 3, 1809. They had ten children: Amasa (3), 
 born Feb. 17, 1780, died June 8, 1851 ; Philetus is 
 mentioned below; Stephen was born Jan. 17, 1784; 
 Mercy, born July 13, 1785, married Peter Mason; 
 i Charlotte, born Sept. 28, 1787, married Dr. Timpthv 
 j Phelps ; Nathaniel married Ann ]\Iaria Case ; Sa- 
 Lloma married Adolphus Chaitee; Buckland, born in 
 ; 1800, married Sally Holcomb, and died May 8, 1845 • 
 I Julius ; and Chauncey. 
 
 j Philetus Case, the father of Mrs. Franklin Case, 
 
 I and grandfather of our subject, was born Feb. 2, 
 
 1782. at Westover Plains, Simsbury, and died Dec. 
 
 20, 1827. When a young man he removed to Can- 
 
 54 
 
 ton, now West Simsbury, where he bought a farm 
 and spent tiie rest of iiis days, engaged in stock 
 raising and general farming. Politically he was a 
 Democrat, but he never sought office. On Aug. 12, 
 1804, he married Lucinda Reed, who was born June 
 12, 1783, and died Sept. 25, 1862. She was a 
 woman of marked aliility, as was shown by her suc- 
 cessful management of the estate after the death 
 of her husband, and under her wise and loving care 
 a large family of children were reared to lives of 
 usefulness. Of the children, (i) Jarvis Philetus, 
 born June 9, 1805, was engaged in the clock busi- 
 ness. (2) Sophia Lucinda, born Aug. 29, 1807, 
 was married Aug. 18, 1844, to Jeptha Rose, now de- 
 ceased. She died June 2, 1900. {^j Lavinia Mercy, 
 born Feb. 14, 1810, was married June i, 1837, to 
 Oliver Beach, now deceased, and now resides at 
 Granville, Mass. She has three children, George 
 Oliver, Sabra L. (Mrs. Harvy Godardj and Sophia 
 (Mrs. JMiles J. Rose). (4) Morgan, born ^larch 
 17, 1812, was a farmer in Avon, Conn., and died 
 I\Iarch 23, 1875, unmarried. (5) Sabra Parmilla, 
 born June 14, 1814, died Aug. 8, 1824. (6) Sey- 
 mour Nathaniel, who was a prominent lawyer of 
 Plartford, was born Oct. 10, 1816, and died Nov. 26. 
 1872. (7) Luna, born Dec. 10, 1818, was married 
 Aug. 18, 1836, to Willis Edgerton, and after his 
 death to \^'illiam Beach, of Bristol, Conn. (8; Lu- 
 cia, born Sept. 16, 1821, was the mother of our sub- 
 ject. (9) Maria, born May 22, 1823, married Clem- 
 ent Holcomb, of Granville, ^Massachusetts. 
 
 The father and mother of our subject had five 
 children : (i) Lucia Ann, born April 27, 1843, was 
 educated in Collinsville high school, and became a 
 teacher. On May 14, 1862, she married Anson ^L 
 Case, now deceased, and they had one child, Win- 
 throp Tracy, born Alarch 2,' 1870, who was edu- 
 cated in tlie Massachusetts Institute of Technologv, 
 Boston, and is now connected with the city survey- 
 or's office, Boston. He married Cynthia Southey in 
 1899. (2) Flora Abigail, born March 21. 1845, 
 was educated in district schools. Collinsville high 
 school and a young ladies' seminary at Hartford, 
 and taught school at the age of sixteen. On Oct. 
 24, 1864, she married James O. Rose, of Granville, 
 Alass., and had one child, Arabella Barlow, born 
 April 13, 1867, who was educated in the public 
 schools, a young ladies' seminary at Hartford, and 
 the Boston Conservatory of Music, and is now a 
 principal of the Peabody Kindergarten. (3) Ma- 
 ron, born July 10, 1850^ and educated in the Col- 
 hnsville high school, is the widow of Mason N. 
 Case, who died Nov. 12, 1886, and now resides at 
 Hartford. She has had one child, Almira Wilcox, 
 bom May 20, 1875, '^vho attended McLean Seminary, 
 Simsbury, and Smith College. She was married 
 July 18, 1899, to William R. Lamb, of Philadelphia, 
 Penn. (4) Harriet Maria, born Jan. 21, 1857, mar- 
 ried Daniel T. Dyer, of Canton. (5) Benjamin F., 
 our subject, was born March 26, 1861. 
 
 Our subject attended the district school at Can- 
 ton, also Granville (Mass.) Academy, in 1876, and 
 
850 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 later Williston Seminary, at Easthampton, Mass., 
 where he took the scientific course and graduated 
 in 1880. He afterward entered the law omce of H. 
 S. and S. Barber, Hartford, where he spent two 
 years, but later gave up his studies and returned to 
 the home farm, where he has since been engaged in 
 looking after his large estate, his farm alone com- 
 prising over 200 acres. He, his mother, and Mor- 
 gan Case were appointed executors of the estate of 
 his uncle, Seymour N. Case, in which ofiEice he has 
 served very successfully. Since 1892 he has also 
 been secretary and treasurer of the Canton Cream- 
 ery Association. For the year 1892-93 he was 
 elected to the State Legislature, where he served on 
 the committee on Agriculture, and from 1890 to 
 1893 he was selectman of Canton. 
 
 In 1888 Mr. Case married Mary A. Higley, of 
 Canton, who was born Feb. 13, 1865, daughter of 
 Howard and Mary Etta (Case) Higley. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Case have two children : Rubenia Case and 
 Benjamin F. Our subject has one of the finest 
 houses in Canton. He is progressive, and looked 
 upon as the foremost man in his district. In poli- 
 tics he is a Republican, and a stanch supporter of 
 his part)', while fraternally he is connected with 
 several orders, being a thirty-second-degree Mason. 
 
 The Higley family, from whom Mrs. Case, the 
 wife of our subject, is descended, is one of the 
 oldest and best families of Hartford county. How- 
 ard Higley, her father, was born in Canton in 1837, 
 son of Pomeroy and Eunice D. (Humphrey) Hig- 
 ley, and grandson of Obed and Rebecca ( Mills j 
 Higley. ■ [Further mention is made of the Higley 
 family elsewhere.] Howard Higley grew up on the 
 farm and was educated in the district schools, and 
 later in life was engaged in farming and stock deal- 
 ing, raising much of the stock upon his farm. He 
 is now living retired, making his home with his son 
 Loyal, who carries on the farm. He has always 
 been a highly respected member of his community, 
 a man temperate in his habits, and a regular at- 
 tendant of the Baptist Church. Politically he is a 
 Democrat, but no office seeker. Mr. Higley mar- 
 ried in Canton Miss Mary Etta Case, who was born 
 Feb. 22, 1838, daughter of Marvin and Maria (Wil- 
 cox) Case, and they had three children: Mary A., 
 born Feb. 13, 1865, the wife of our subject; Loyal, 
 born March 15, 1868, who married Caroline Rox- 
 roth, daughter of Jacob Roxroth; and Nellie M., 
 born in 1 87 1, who married Charles Buckland, and 
 died in 1895. Mrs. Higley was a good Christian 
 woman, and an attendant of the Baptist Church ; she 
 died April 7, 1898. 
 
 Marvin Case, the father of Mrs. Higley, and 
 grandfather of our subject's wife, was born March 
 3, 1810, and died Sept. 27, 1857. He was a great- 
 grandson of Noah Case ( i ), grandson of Noah Case 
 (2), and son of Noah Case (3) by his wife Alice 
 (Case) Case, who was a daughter of Deacon Rich- 
 ard and Jemima (Morse) Case, and granddaughter 
 of Lieut. Richard and Ruth (Case) Case. Marvin 
 Case was a farmer all his life, and a man well known 
 
 in his community. He married Maria Wilcox (born 
 Oct. 18, 1812, died Sept. 27, 1857), daughter of Col. 
 William and Ann (Edgerton) Wilcox, and grand- 
 daughter of Lieut. William and Lucy Wilcox. They 
 had the following children : Mary Etta, born Feb. 
 22, 1838, married Lloward Higley, and died April 
 7, 1898 ; Marshall W., born April 2, 1842, married 
 Ellen Dudley, and died March 31, 1872; Mason N., 
 born July 14, 1846, died Nov. 12, 1886, married Ma- 
 rion Case, a sister of our subject. 
 
 JAMES SHEPARD, of New Britain, is a So- 
 licitor of Patents and Expert in Patent Causes. He 
 was born at Southington, Conn., May 16, 1838, 
 where he resided mainly until 1861. The common 
 schools and Lewis Academy gave him the begin- 
 ning of an education, putting him in a way to 
 learn, and he has been studying and learning al- 
 most constantly ever since he carried bis books 
 away from the academy. Quite early in life he 
 engaged in sundry vocations, but finally settled 
 down as a toolmaker and machinist until 1866. 
 Lie has always been fond of travel, and before he 
 was twenty years of age he had been within the 
 limits of every town in the State of Connecticut. 
 On Sept. 25, 1859, he married Celia Adelaide, 
 daughter of William Gaylord Curtis and his wife, 
 Lucy (Preston), of Bristol, Conn. Their only child 
 is Celia Antoinette Shepard, now of New Britain, 
 Conn. In 1861 he removed to 'Ntw Britain and in 
 1862 he removed from New Britain to Bristol. He 
 began the business of a solicitor of patents in 1866. 
 which occupation he has never changed, excepting 
 that since 1873 he has frequently testified as an 
 expert in mechanics before the United States Cir- 
 cuit Courts in causes based upon Letters Patent. He 
 has now had a successful experience of over thirty- 
 four years, one-third of a century, in soliciting 
 patents, and ranks among the best and most skill- 
 ful solicitors in the country. He does not know 
 of any person in New England now engaged in the 
 patent iDusiness, either as solicitor or expert, who 
 has been in the business as long as he has. As an 
 expert in mechanics he has a good reputation, be- 
 ing widely known among manufacturers and patent 
 lawyers generally, having testified in hundreds of 
 causes on a great variety of subjects, and his testi- 
 mony has been used in various circuits of the United 
 States Courts in all parts of the country, from Cali- 
 fornia and Oregon on the west to Pennsylvania 
 and Maine on the east, and from Wisconsin on the 
 north to Louisiana on the south. 
 
 Although Mr. Shepard first opened his office 
 in New Britain in 1868, he did not remove from 
 Bristol to New Britain until 1876. When in Bris- 
 tol he was one of the leaders of the Republican 
 party, serving on the town committee and being 
 its chairman at the time he removed to New Britain. 
 Bis removal was made the occasion to retire from 
 active politics, and all such outside matters as would 
 be liable to interfere with his regular business. 
 
 Mr. Shepard believes, however, in taking time 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 851 
 
 for recreation and lias never been without a hobby 
 for divcrtingf his mind from the cares of business 
 life. With liis family he fretjucnts the fields and 
 woods "hunting without a gun" and "fishing with- 
 out a hook," for they are all great admirers of na- 
 ture with no desire to either kill or catch. He has 
 long been identified with the Xcw Britain Scientific 
 Association, and is an occasional writer on scien- 
 tific subjects, having paid special attention to bot- 
 any, mineralogy, archaeology and conchology. Val- 
 uable contributions have been made by him to the 
 Peabody Museum of Yale College and to the Na- 
 tional Aluseum of the Smithsonian Institution. He 
 was one of the first collectors, not connected with 
 that institution, to present it with specimens of the 
 ^ilicified shells of Tampa Bay, Fla., and some of 
 the species collected there by ]\Ir. Shepard were 
 never before known to science. He has received 
 special acknowledgment, therefor, by having his 
 name bestowed upon one of the new species dis- 
 crivered bv him. Among other hobbies he has been 
 an amateur photographer since 1884, and some 
 times contributes articles for photographic publica- 
 tions. He has traveled in Canada, ^lexico, Florida 
 and other Southern States, and prior to 1891 he h?id 
 carried his camera over twenty thousand miles. 
 He is a member of the New Britain Camera Club, 
 the Connecticut Society of Sons of the American 
 Revolution, also of the Connecticut Historical So- 
 cietv, and is well-known as a genealogist and his- 
 torian. 
 
 Mr. Shepard's ancestry goes back to many of 
 the founders of our New England towns, but be- 
 fore presenting the same we will give an account 
 of the name. 
 
 SHEPARD. 
 
 The frequent puns on our family name remind 
 us that the word Shepard signifies a man who 
 tends and guards sheep in a pasture. It is derived 
 from sceap. sheep, and hyrde or heard, a herd, a 
 flock, a guardian, and was at length bestowed upon 
 some person as a surname. According to several 
 authorities it is classified with trade, occupation, 
 or professional names, as, for example, the masons, 
 carpenters, bakers, butchers, cooks, farmers, millers 
 and coopers. Charles ^^'areing Bardsley in "Our 
 English Surnames," says. "Are we again on the 
 bleak hillside? The sheep have given us our Shep- 
 herds, the rams our Wethersherds," etc. The cita- 
 tions in connection therewith are "Margaret le 
 Shepherde in Hundred Rolls, John le Shepherde 
 writs of parliament and Tosse le Shepherde Hun- 
 dred Rolls." 
 
 In Mark Antony Lower's Dictionarv of Fam- 
 ily Names is "Shepherd, the occupation, variously 
 misspelt." with the name Pastor and Le Pastur as 
 another form of name from the same occupation. 
 In Barber's "British Family Names" we find "Ship- 
 pard. Shepard. Shepherd and Shcppard" as from 
 "Chebbard," a local name in Dorsetshire, and from 
 "Schappert," a Dutch personal name. In German 
 
 mythological names we find "Shippey" for sheep 
 island, and in Kent, England, we find "Sibberts- 
 wold," now proniiunced Sheperdswell, said to have 
 been anciently Swythbrihtesweald, meaning the 
 wood of Swythbright. 
 
 These various derivations and the chances that 
 the occupation name may have been bestowed upon 
 different persons in remote localities, makes it high- 
 ly improbable that the various persons by the name 
 of Shepard have any common origin. 
 
 No extended research has been made bv the 
 compiler as to the antiquity of the surname ".Shep- 
 ard," but it does not appear in the "list of names 
 of Persons in Domesday Book holding lands, and 
 tenants, and under tenants," as given in Barber's 
 "British Family Names," nor in his list of Norman 
 names. Neither have we been able to find the name 
 "Chebbard" anywhere aside from the single pas- 
 sage in Barber herein before given. The earliest 
 mention of the name Shepard thus far found with 
 the year specifically stated is in "Palgrave's Par- 
 liamentary Writs," which gives "Richard le Shep- 
 herd, Manucaptor (bailsman), of Johannes filius 
 Gwydonis, Knight of the Shore, returned for War- 
 wick I2'98, and Hugh le Shepherd, Manucaptor of 
 Rogerus de Barton Burgess, returned for Kings- 
 ton-upon-Hull, 1305. The ^Margaret le Shepherde 
 and Josse le Shepherde, before referred to, were 
 of an early date as their names appear in "Hun- 
 dred Rolls," a record that was ordered by Edward 
 I, who reigned from 1272' to 1307. 
 
 In the "Gentlemen's Magazine," of 1830, a 
 writer referring to Bibliotheca Topographica Bri- 
 tania, Vol. \', No. ^2. says: "The family of Shep- 
 ard is of considerable antiquity and was originally 
 at IMendlesham in the County of Suffolk. The 
 earliest notice of them which I met with there is 
 an inscription on a loose stone in the vestry, which 
 serves as a support to the church." He then gives 
 the inscription in latin, without date, and adds, 
 "These lines I have seen translated into the fol- 
 lowing doggerels, viz. : 
 
 One mind did both of us direct, 
 
 One love united found; 
 Our hearts to the one God of Love, 
 
 Our bodies to the ground. 
 We both by one and self same name 
 
 Of Sheppard Ions were known; 
 The wife, she was Elizabeth. 
 
 The husband, he was John. 
 We both did thrice three sons produce, 
 
 .A.nd daut;hters fair twice two; 
 God grant that, thus increas'd, our house 
 
 May ever do so too. 
 
 In the visitations of Shropshire. 1623. v.e find 
 arms from Harleian records bearing date 1396 
 for "Shepard," the spelling being identical with that 
 herein used as the proper spelling. \'ariations in 
 spelling are numerous, but of no special significance, 
 and in some English records we find the naiue 
 abbreviated as "Sheppe." The spelling "Shep-ard" 
 is phoneticallv correct, contains no superflous let- 
 ters, and, ha\ing been in use more than five bun- 
 
852 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 dred years ago. can well be accepted as a correct 
 form of the name. 
 
 The Shepards of America, in so far as they 
 have descended from emigrant settlers who were 
 here prior to 1650, are mainly descendants of Ralph 
 Shepard, of Dedham, who came in the "Abigal," 
 1635, was later of Maiden, Mass., and generally 
 known as of that place; the Rev. Thomas Shepard, 
 of Cambridge, who came in the "Defence" Oct. 
 3, 1635, and is recorded at the custom house m 
 England under the name of "John Shepard," and 
 Edward Shepard, who was in Cambridge as early 
 as 1639. There were three other Shepards in New 
 England about the same time, but we have no knowl- 
 edge of their posterity. Other Shepard emigrants 
 who have left descendants were here not long after 
 1650. The Shepards of Killingly and vicinity in 
 eastern Connecticut and of East Haven, Conn., 
 are the descendants of Ralph of Maiden, and the 
 Hartford family of Shepards are from Edward 
 through his only son. Sergeant John. 
 
 Edward Shepard. An account of Edward 
 Shepard and his descendants was published in the 
 New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 
 Vol. XXXn, July, 1878, p. 322, in part compiled 
 by Mr. Shepard, and to which. reference is made for 
 matter here omitted. 
 
 It is supposed that this Edward Shepard came 
 from England, but no mention has been found of 
 him previous to his appearance in New England, 
 nor have we been able to trace any connection be- 
 tween him and some half-dozen other Shepards 
 who came to this country about the same time. 
 Savage says that John Shepard, of Braintree, was 
 a brother of Edward, and had Samuel, who died 
 Aug. 29, 1641, and that said John was one of the 
 thirty-two petitioners desiring to plant at Nara- 
 gansett. Edward Shepard and John Shepard were 
 both made freeman at Boston May 10, 1643 [Co- 
 lonial records. Vol. XI, p. 27], and they may have 
 been brothers, as Savage says. Since 1878 ex- 
 haustive researches have been made in England 
 without getting any new light as to Edward Shep- 
 ard's English antecedents. A scrap of evidence 
 has, however, been found by E. N. Shepard in a 
 manuscript note book of the Rev. Thomas Sheo- 
 ard, giving the "Relation of Goodman Shepard," 
 meaning, it is thought, Edward Shepard. It begins 
 as follows : "The Lord brought me into a family 
 where I was led to see what a vile creature I was. 
 Going to hear Mr. Rogers," etc. In the church at 
 Dedham, Essex, England, is a mural monument 
 with the figure of a man preaching and the name 
 John Rogers, Oct. 18, 1636 [History of Essex, by 
 a gentleman, 1772], from which we learn that Mr. 
 Rogers preached at Dedham, a place fifty-nine miles 
 from London. This is the onlv clue to Edward 
 Shepard's residence in England. The account of 
 his conversion savs E. N. Shepard, reads "much 
 like the modern Prayer meeting confession." The 
 particular sin which so much troubled him was 
 Sabbath breaking. 
 
 "Edward Shepard bought of James Herringe 
 one dwelling house, with a garden, abuttelling on 
 John Betts northeast, Edward Mickerson on the 
 north, Mr. Andrews west, the highway (now South 
 street between Holyoke and Dunster) south. More, 
 a small garden on the other side of the highway, 
 abutelling on John Thrumbull east and south, on 
 Mr. Paine's yard west, on the highway north. More 
 upon the south side of Charles river, a lot of plant- 
 ing land, five acres more or less, abutelling Boston 
 field east, John Thrumbull and Mr. Andrew's lands 
 west and sotith. upon the highway and creek north. 
 Richard Jackson^ 
 Joseph Isake, 
 Robert Saunders." 
 [Cambridge Records, 1639, p. 108.] No date of 
 the purchase is given, and according to the usual 
 custom he probably bought this land and resided 
 at Cambridge sometime before the land was re- 
 corded, although 1639 is the earliest date that can 
 be positively stated. 
 
 The following is from, the record of "Shepard 
 and Mitchell's Church," which was made up from 
 memory by Rev. Mr. Mitchell in 1658, after the 
 death of Rev. Thomas Shepard : 
 
 "Edward Shepard member in f. c. So also was 
 his wife, A^iolet, deceased. Their children yt were 
 in minority when He joyned are Abigal, now liv- 
 ing at Dedham ; Deborah, now also at Dedham, and 
 Sarah, now dwelling at Braintree. The eldest of 
 these aged twelve, ye 2d ten, 3d seven years when 
 their Parents joyned, being all baptized in Eng- 
 land." It was then necessary to be a member of 
 the church in order to be made a freeman, and 
 therefore the date of Edward's admission to the 
 church may be considered as 1643, on May 10 of 
 which year he was made a freeman. His daughter, 
 Sarah, who married Samuel Tomson, died at Brain- 
 tree, Mass., Jan. 15, 1679, aged ■ fortj^-three, and 
 would therefore have been seven years of age in 
 1643, the 3'ear in which we suppose Edward joined 
 the church. 
 
 From the same church record we have "INIary, 
 now the wife of the aforesaid Edward Shepard, 
 was dismissed hither from Ch. at Dorchester, and 
 is in f. c. with us. Her dau., Mary Pond, baptized 
 at Dorchester, was eleven years old at her mother's 
 joyning with us." 
 
 We have no records of their marriage, but 
 Violet Sheoard died Jan. 9, 1648-9. The daughter 
 of Mary Pond married John Blackman, and their 
 first child was born Aug. 10, i6.c;6. We may there- 
 fore conclude that Mrs. Mary Pond lived at Cam- 
 bridge before her marriage with Edward Shepard, 
 a conclusion the more probable because her first 
 husband, Robert Pond, died in 1637; that it is also 
 probable that she brought other children with her 
 to Cambridge and that Daniel Pond, who married 
 Abigail Shepard, was her son. Edward Shepard's 
 name, as also that of his son, John Shepard, appears 
 in the town and county records in various rela- 
 tions until 1680-81, when his will was proven Aug. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 853 
 
 20, 1680, and John sold the homestead Sept. 18, 
 1681, to Owen Warland. 
 
 That he was a mariner appears from his own 
 assertion in deeds to Edward Champney, March 
 19, 1652, and to W. Fessenden, Feb. 18, 1679, and 
 in his will dated Oct. i, 1674. Also from mention 
 made in the record of the steward of Ilarv. Coll., 
 1654. of two importations of wheat "from aboard 
 Ed. Shephearde's vessel." Also from a letter from 
 Thomas .Stanley, of Hartford, to Mr. Albec, of 
 Boston, showing that Goodman Shepard (that is, 
 Edward) was engaged in the carrying trade be- 
 tween Boston and Hartford and probably other 
 ports in 1652 [Suffolk County Court Records]. 
 
 We have no means of determining the date of 
 his death other than the deed to \\'. Fessenden, 
 1679. and the proving of his will. 1680. The orig- 
 inal is on file at the Middlesex probate office. East 
 Cambridge, ^lass.. and the will is also on record 
 there. 
 
 Children of Edward and \^iolet Shepard: (i) 
 John, born in Eng., 1627. (2) Elizabeth, born in 
 ilng., 1629, and according to her father's will was 
 living in 1674 and had children. (3) Abigal, born 
 in Eng., 1631, m. Daniel, son of Robert and Mary 
 Pond, of Dedham, or in other v/ords the son of her 
 stepmother. She died July 5. 1661. (4) Deborah, 
 born in Eng., 1633. m. Jonathan Fairbanks, Jr., 
 son of Jonathan and Grace Fairbanks, who came 
 to Dedham in 1641. (.0 Sarah, born in Eng.. 
 1636. m., April 2". 1656, Samuel, son of Rev. Will- 
 iam Tomson, Braintree. ^fass. She died Jan. i^, 
 1679. aged forty-three. There is no record of any 
 children bv second wife. ]\Iarv Pond. 
 
 John, son of Edward. ^Mitchell's church record 
 contains the following: "John Shepard ("son of Ed- 
 ward Shepard. before named) and his wife both in 
 f. c. Their children. Rebecca, John, .Sarah. A'iolet. 
 all borne and baptized in this church. Elizabeth, 
 baptized Julv 29, 1660; Edward, baptized Aug. 3, 
 1662: Samuel Shepard, baptized July 3d, 1664; 
 Thomas, baptized Xov. 18, '66." 
 
 John, made freeman at Cambridge May 22, 
 1650 [Colonial Records, Vol. XI, p. 228]. We 
 suppose that he removed to Hartford after the 
 birth of Thomas, 1666, as this is the last birth 
 recorded in Cambridge. The first mention of him 
 in Hartford is found in the records of the "Par- 
 ticular Court" [Vol. n, p. 48], in the will of 
 Thomas Greenhill. dated July 16, 1653. in which he 
 requires his executors "to take a deed of ssle of 
 land I have lately bought of my Brother John Shep- 
 ard and Rebecah. his wife." He also mentions 
 "my sister, Rebecca Shepard, and her children. 
 John and Rebecca." Again in Conn. Colonial Re- 
 port. Vol. I, p. 360, we find. "Receaued bv me John 
 Shepherd of my loving \"nkel Gregory ^^'inte^ton, 
 Thirty-four pounds wch he receaued of my Bro. 
 Thomas Greenhill for lands I have sold him. for 
 wch I made mv \'nkel a letter of Attournev. I say 
 receaued by me John Shepherd Augst 4, 1654." 
 Thomas Greenhill was a son of Samuel and 
 
 Rebecca Greenhill and sister of John Shepard's 
 wife, Rebecca. The said Thomas Greenhill died 
 the same year he made his will, 1653, without pay- 
 ing in full for the lands tint he had bought of his 
 sister, Rebecca Shepard. In Private Controverseys, 
 Vol. n, p. I (Hartford), is a ^power of attorney 
 from John Shepard of Cambridge, cooper, and 
 Rebecca Shepard to Jeremiali .\dams( who had mar- 
 ried the Widow Reljccca (jreenhill, Mrs. Shepard's 
 mother), to sue Mr. William Goodwin and Edward 
 Stebbins, of Hartford, executors on the estate of 
 Thomas Greenhill, deceased, "for debts due upon 
 account of ye land bought by said Greenhill." 
 Dated March 25, 165^. The signatures of John and 
 Rebecca Shepard are witnessed by Edward Shep- 
 ard and John Blackman. 
 
 In the records of the Particular Court, Vol. II, 
 page 88, "A quarter Courte in Hartford," June 8, 
 1656, "John Shepard and Rebecca Adams pits.. 
 Contra ^Ir. Will Goodwyn and Edw. Stebbing. de- 
 fendts., in an action for monys due uppon the sale 
 of land to the damage of 40 pounds." There was 
 a letter presented to this court bv "Jer. Addams" 
 as from John Shepard, of Cambridge, with a marked 
 passage for the court to read, referring to Mr. 
 Goodwin, as follows: "I Ret nothing of him but 
 harsh words not fit to bare as Imprisonment and 
 Chaines a sore brush but a Cloude without Raine." 
 Xo record of the court decision is found and the 
 circumstances of the case are not sufficiently set 
 forth to enable us to understand the application of 
 the language quoted. Perhaps these words had 
 reference to the great religious controversy then 
 going on, respecting the qualifications for baptism, 
 church membership, and the rights of the brother- 
 hood, which arose from a dift'erence between Rev. 
 Mr. Stone and Mr. Goodwin (who was afterward 
 the leader of "the \Mthdrawers"). and which so 
 agitated so many churches that Doctor Mather said 
 "From the fire of the altar there issued thunder- 
 ings. and lightnings, and earthquakes through the 
 colony." 
 
 John Shepard's ninth child, Deborah, by her 
 death record, was born in 1670, and as the birth 
 of his eighth child. Thomas, in 1666, is the last 
 one recorded at Cambridge, it is supposed that 
 Deborah, Abigal and Hannah were born in Hart- 
 ford, and that the removal fro:n Cambridge to 
 Hartford was between 1666 and 1670. In the Hart- 
 ford Town \'otes we find that John Shepard was 
 voted an inhabitant of the town June 2, 167 1, which 
 is the first record we find of him as a resident 
 of Hartford. 
 
 Hinman says he w-as "a man of consequence 
 in the colony." He w^as known as Serjeant John 
 Shepard. The records of the Particular Court, 
 X'ov. 23, 1673, is the first instance found where 
 he is described as Serjeant. He lived on what is 
 now known as Lafayette street, just south of the 
 capitol. Two of his sons. John and Thomas ( and 
 perhaps Samuel) lived on the same street. The 
 fact that l.e and his four sons were all coopers 
 
854 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 caused the street to be called "Coopers Lane," by 
 which name it was known until changed to La- 
 fayette street by vote of the Common Council on 
 May 24, 1852. ' 
 
 He was one of the jury of the Particular Court 
 March 7, 1671-2,. and again March 12 of the same 
 year. He was the town packer or repacker in 1672- 
 3-4 and 8 and again in 1679. In 1689 he was 
 packer and sealer of measures, packer in 1681 and 
 1682 and sealer of measures in 1706. 
 
 In Hartford land records, Distributions, page 
 577, land is recorded as belonging to nineteen dif- 
 ferent persons, one of whom was John Shepard. 
 Thev were probably the heirs of Samuel Green- 
 hill. The entry has no date, but the next entry 
 is dated 1681. On page 591, same book, seventeen 
 acres of land "breth to Wethersfield bounds" are 
 laid out to John Shepherd Jan. 19, 1683, the first 
 date given for any of his land in Hartford. 
 
 In the records of the Particular Court, Vol. 
 III. p. 134, Nov. 25, 1673, is the following: "Mr. 
 Way, plntf.. Contra Sargt. John Shepherd, defnt., 
 in an action of the case for making unsizeable Bar- 
 rels for porck whereby the sayd mr. Way was 
 much damnified with ye damage to the value of 
 Twelve pounds. In this action the jury find for the 
 Defnt." 
 
 In 167s [Particular Court Records, Vol. Ill, 
 p. 148] he sues his wife's stepfather, Jermy Adams, 
 for trespass in the illegal use of lands belonging 
 to Samuel Greenhill's estate. The matter was re- 
 ferred to another court. . In Hartford Town Votes 
 [printed edition, p. 207 J, Jan. 14, 1683, land which 
 should have been laid out to Thomas Greenhill 
 (whose division is equal with Gregory Winterton) 
 was laid out to John Shephard Senr. By the rec- 
 ords in "Private Controverseys"' we find that about 
 1679 he appealed from the decision sustaining the 
 will of Tifiomas Greenhill, and later presented a 
 certificate from England, the place of Greenhill's 
 nativity showing his "non age" and consequent in- 
 capacity to make a will. The record is long, full 
 of details and somewhat confusing. In 1679 the 
 will was disallowed and the executors both being 
 dead Sergt. John Shepard was appointed admin- 
 istrator, but the matter was still before the court in 
 1682 and on March 4, 1696, "Sergt. Shepard with- 
 draws his appeal." 
 
 Rebecca, the first wife of Serjeant John Shep- 
 ard, died Dec. 22, 1689, aged about fifty-five [Judd 
 says she died Dec. 26, 1690.] They were married 
 (probably at Cambridge, Mass.), Oct. i, 1649. He 
 married (second) Susannah, widow of William 
 Goodwin, Sen., Hartford, with whom he made a 
 marriage contract dated Aug. 3, 1691. This Will- 
 iam Goodwin was son of Ozias, and not the Will- 
 iam Goodwin referred to in John Shepard's letter 
 in the court record before mentioned. The widow 
 Susanna was a sister of Sarah Fruen, who was en- 
 gaged to Thomas Greenhill at the time of his death. 
 She died early in 1698, and he married (third) 
 Sept. 8, 1698, Martha, widow of Arthur Henbury, 
 
 of Symsbury and Hartford, who was buried Aug. 
 I. 1697. 
 
 The first probate record in Hartford of any 
 Shepard estate is in Vol. VI, page 33, when the 
 will of Susanna Shepard was proven April 13, 
 1698, having been made the 7th of March previous. 
 She mentions only her own children and grand- 
 children. The next Shepard estate recorded is < 
 found in Vol. VII, page 95, court side, July 7, 1707, 
 when "John Shepard, of Hartford, Cooper, and 
 Martha Shepard, of Hartford, Widdow, relict of 
 Serjt. John Shepard, late of said Hartford (de- 
 ceased), exhibited in this Court an inventory of the 
 Estate." He died June 12, 1707. The distribution 
 of the estate Nov. 28, 1710 [Distribution files], 
 names Martha Shepard Relict, John Shepard, Sam- 
 uel Shepard, Thomas Shepard, Elizabeth Goodwin, 
 
 Rebechah , Sarah Ston, Deborah White, 
 
 Abigal Butler, and Flannah Ensign. 
 
 Children of John Shepard and his first wife, 
 Rebecca Greenhill: (i) Rebecca, born 1650, mar- 
 ried, 1671, Jonathan Bigelow, of Hartford^ She 
 died, and he married (second) Mary Olcott, dau. 
 
 of , and (third) Mary Benton, dau. of 
 
 Andrew Benton. After Bigelow's death his widow 
 Mary married. May 8, 1712, John Shepard, brother 
 of Rebecca. (2) John, born Jan. 22, 1653. (3) 
 Sarah, born March 5, 1656, married Benajah Stone, 
 of Guilford, Conn., and probably died heirless be- 
 tween the date of the distribution of her father's 
 estate, 1710, and the distribution of her brother | 
 Samuel's estate, Dec. 18, 1753, in which no mention '' 
 is made of Sarah nor her heirs. (4) Violet, born 
 
 , married, Aug. 10, 1678, John Stedman. 
 
 She died Aug. 4, 1682. (5) Elizabeth, born 1660. 
 bapt. July 29, 1660, married, 1680, William, son 
 of Susannah and William Goodwin, and conse- 
 quently son of her father's second wife. (6) Ed- 
 ward, born July 31, 1662, was a cooper, died Sept. 
 9, 171 1 ; married, April 14, 1687, Abigal, dau. of 
 John and Elizabeth Savage, she born July 10, 1666. 
 He resided at Middletown, Conn., and was deputy 
 to the General Court, 1710-11. He left three sons, 
 John, Edward and Samuel. The latter was drowned 
 in the Connecticut river, 1750, and was the richest 
 Shepard whose estate is on record at Hartford. 
 His inventory amounted to £12,964, 12s., 6d. 
 
 (7) Samuel, born, 1664, bapt. July 3, 1664, was 
 a cooper. Made his will Feb. i, 1742, at which 
 time he resided at West Hartford. Will proven 
 April 2, 1745. He probably never married, as his 
 brothers and sisters or their heirs were his only 
 heirs. (8) Thomas, born Nov. 12, 1666, was a 
 cooper. Made his will Feb. 2, 1742; proven March 
 6, 1743; married first, Susannah Scott, Sept. 5, 
 169s; married (second), Oct. 12, 1710, Jane Steb- 
 bins, dau. of John and Deborah Stebbins, born at 
 New London, Conn., Sept. 6, 1680, and widow of 
 John North, of Avon, who died in 1709. The in- 
 ventorv of Jane Snepard's estate was taken April ' 
 21, 1749. (9) Deborah, born 1670, married, Feb. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 855 
 
 4, 1692, Jacob, son of Capt. Xatliaiiiel and Elizabeth 
 \\'hite, of Middletown, Conn., where she died Feb. 
 8. 1 72 1, aged fifty-one. He married (second), Dec. 
 16, 1729, Rebecca Willett, widow of Thomas Ran- 
 ney, and died Marcli 29, 1738, aged seventy-three. 
 (10) Abigal. married, Aug. 6, iChji, Thomas, son of 
 Jonathan Lkitler, of Hartford. Thomas I'utler died 
 Aug. 23, 1725. (11) Hannah, married, Dec. i, 
 1692, Thomas Ensign, of Hartford. 
 
 Sergt. John Shcpard's daughter Rebecca had 
 six chiidreiV: son John had seven: daughter Sarah 
 had none ; daughter Molct had two ; daughter Ehz- 
 abeth had ten:" son Edward had three: son Samuel 
 had none : son Thomas had twelve : daughter De- 
 borah had ten : daughter Abigal had twelve : daugh 
 ter Hannah had six ; making a total of sixty-eight 
 grandchildren. 
 
 De.\cox Joiix Sheparp, son of Sergt. John, of 
 Edward, born Jan. 22, 1653. married (first), ^fay 
 12, 1680, Hannah, daughter of Dea. Paul Peck, 
 iwrn 1656: married (second). ^lay 18, 1712, !Mary 
 Bigelow. the third wife and widow of Jonathan 
 Bigelow. who first married John Shepard's sister, 
 Rebecca. In Hartford Land Records [Vol. VHI, 
 |). 387], ^Nlary Shepard, formerly Alary Benton, 
 daughter of Andrew Benton, of Hartford, quit 
 claims all right in estate of Andrew Benton to her 
 brother, Moses Benton. She was born April 14, 
 1655. Administration of the estate of ]Mary Shep- 
 ard, widow and relict of Deacon John Shepard, 
 deceased, was granted unto ]\Ioses Benton, of Hart- 
 ford, Jan. 3, 1753 [\'ol., X\T, p. 82]. The first 
 church catalogue says "Widow Alary Shepard died 
 Dec. 23, 1752, aged ninety and upwards." She 
 was ninety-six years, seven months and twenty-eight 
 days old on the said Dec. 23. 
 
 John Shepard was a cooper by trade. He was 
 l^acker and sealer of measures in 1684 and again in 
 1705. He was one of the jurymen in the County 
 I 'ourt in March. 1708-9. 1709-10. 1710-11, and in 
 April, 1715. Grandjuryman in 1709, 1710, 1714 
 and 1715. In 1710 he was one of the selectmen, 
 sealer of measures in 1712 and 1713. He and his 
 first wife, Hannah Peck, joined the first church at 
 Hartford on May 2, 1686, and in 1712 he was 
 chosen one of the deacons, whicli office he held until 
 his death in 1736. His will, uated Aug. i, 1728. 
 was proven April 6, 1736, and is recorded in Hart- 
 ford Probate Records [Vol. XII, p. 359 ta 361]. 
 The inventory of his estate is dated April 7, 1736, 
 and is recorded in \'ol. XII, p. 360. The amount 
 is £557, OS., 7d. 
 
 Children of John and Hannah: ( t) John, born 
 Xov., 1681, married, Oct. 9. 1707, Abigal. dau. of 
 Gideon and Sarah Allen. They removed to Alil- 
 ford, where both were admitted to the church July 
 8, 171 1. He died about 1719, and she married 
 (second), Sept. 8, 1723, Daniel Foote, of Strat- 
 ford and X'ewtown. She died Dec. IQ. 1755, aged 
 over seventy. (2) Samuel, born Feb. 2, 1684. 
 (3) Anna, bapt. Jan. 30, 1686-7. (4) Hannah, 
 
 born Jan. 29, 1688, married, May 22, 1712, Charles 
 Buckiand. (5) Joseph, born April 29, i(j«9. mar- 
 ried, Jan. 19, 171 1, Elizabeth Flowers. Mis wife 
 was buried March 24, 1750. His will, dated Dec. 
 17, 1761, was probated April 5, 1762. (6) Re- 
 becca, born May 20, bapt. May 24, 1696, died young. 
 (7) Timothv, 'born June 7, 1697, died April 21, 
 1716. (8) Rebecca, born May 20, 1698, died CJct. 
 
 29, 1706. 
 
 Samuel Sheiwrd, son of Dea. John, of Sergt. 
 John, of Edward, born Feb. 2, 1684, died June 5, 
 1750. He married (first) May 17, 1709, Bethiah, 
 daughter of John and Meletiah (Bradford) Steele, 
 a descendant of George Steele from the County of 
 Essex, England, 1632, granddaughter of Major 
 \\illiam Bradford and great-granddaughter of 
 Gov. ^^'illiam Bradford, of Plymouth, Mass., who 
 came over in the "Mavflower' in 1620. She died, 
 1746, and he married (second) Eunice (daughter 
 of John Butler), who probably died in West Hart- 
 ford Oct. 29. 1772. He convcnanted his son, John, 
 for baptism at the South Church, Hartford. April 
 
 30, 1710. but he and his wife, Bethiah, both joined 
 the first church July 22, 1712, and the rest of his 
 children were baptized there. 
 
 Samuel Shepard and Bethiah, his wife, quit claim 
 unto Ebenezer Steel "land which sometime did 
 belong to Air. lames Steel, late of Hartford, de- 
 ceased, grandfather to the said Ebenezer Steel and 
 the said Bethiah Shepard" Alarch i, 1716-17 
 [Hartford Land Records, Vol. Hi, p. 134]- A 
 like deed is recorded on page 156 from Ebenezer 
 Steel to Samuel Shepard. 
 
 Administration was granted on the estate or 
 Samuel Shepard. late of Hartford, deceased, July 
 30, 1750, to John Shepard and James Shepard. The 
 inventory of the estate was filed Dec. 13, 1750. and 
 in all amounted to £1,795, 6s., lod. The estate was 
 distributed to John Shepard, eldest son, a double 
 share, and a single share each to James. William, 
 Amos, Stephen, Hannah and Sarah Shepard, chil- 
 dren of the said deceased. Samuel Shepard. son 
 of the deceased, was appo-nted guardian to his 
 minor brothers. William and .\mos. 
 
 Children of Samuel and Bethiah: (i) John, 
 born April 28. 1710, bapt. April 30, same year, mar- 
 ried Rebecca. Alade will June 7, 1785: probated 
 June 23. 1789. (2) James, bapt. Alay 2, 1714. 
 married (first), Xov. 22. 1739, Sarah Hopkins. 
 She died Tan. T3. 1762. and he married (second), 
 Feb. 9, 1764, Obedience Trumbull, of Sufficld, who 
 survived him. Administration of his estate was 
 granted to his son, Levi Shepard, of Xorthampton, 
 Alass., Alarch 3. 1791. Oljedience Shepard, of 
 Flartford, widow, relict of James Shepard. late of 
 Hartford, deceased, deeds land to her son, Levi, of 
 Xorthampton, May 10, 1791 [Hartford Land Rec- 
 ords, Vol. XMIL p. 494]- Her son, James, also 
 lived at Northampton, but it is not probable that 
 James, the son of Samuel, ever lived at Xorthampton. 
 (3) Bethiah, bapt. Oct. 23, 1720, not mentioned in 
 
856 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the distribution of her father's estate. (4) Han- 
 nah, bapt. Wov. 22, 1724, was not married in 1750, 
 when her father's estate was distributed, and signs 
 her maiden name to a deed on March 22, 1750-51. 
 She married on February 3, 17(33, John Burkett. 
 (5) Sarah, bapt. Aug. 7, 1726, signs her maiden 
 name to a deed March 22, 1750-51. (6) Samuel, 
 bapt. May 26, 1728, married Hannah Bronson. (7) 
 Stephen, bapt. May 24, 1730, 1-cilled accidentally, 
 Jan. 26, 1799, aged sixty-nine, at West Hartford, 
 Conn. ; married Susannah Blanchard Sept. 25, 1748. 
 He and wife, Susannah, joined the first church in 
 Hartford Nov. 20, 1748. Gave his residence as 
 Hartford in a deed dated April 18, 1791. (8) Will- 
 iam, bapt. Oct. 15, 1732, married, March 28, 1753, 
 Hannah, dau. of Abel and Abigal (Ensign) Gillette. 
 She died at .Granby and he at Pauton, Addison 
 Co., Vt. He and his sons, William and Abel, served 
 in the Revolutionary war. From Hartford land 
 records he resided at Windsor in 1756 and at Farm- 
 ington in 1764, probably in that part of Farming- 
 ton which is now Bloomfield. Has the birth of 
 four children recorded at Simsbury, 1768 to 1776. 
 (9) Amos, bapt. Sept. 17, 1738, married, May 8, 
 1759, Mehitable Wood. Calls himself "of Farm- 
 ington." 
 
 S-^MUEL Shepard, son of Samuel, of John, of 
 John, of Edward, bapt. May 26, 1728, died at South- 
 ington, Conn., Dec. 20, 1793, aged sixty-five; mar- 
 ried Hannah, daughter of Timothy and Dorcus 
 (Hopkins) Bronson, of Kensington; she born Oct. 
 3, 1730, died Jan., 1804. Timothy Bronson was 
 son of Samuel and Sarah (Gibbs) Bronson and 
 grandson of Richard Bronson, the emigrant settler 
 ef Farmington. Samuel and Hannah Shepard 
 joined the first church at Hartford April 21, 1751. 
 She is mentioned in her father's will, dated Mav 
 8, 1788 [Farmington Probate Records], as Hannah 
 Shepard, the wife of Samuel Shepard. He bought 
 thirty-seven acres of land in Southington of Eliakim 
 Peck, east end of land formerly laid out in right of 
 Daniel Andrews. Feb. 19, 1761, and is described in 
 the deed as of Hartford [Farmington Land Rec- 
 ords]. He probably removed to Southington soon 
 after buying said land, but the first record of him 
 there is the baptism of his son, Lemuel, in July, 
 1763. In 1764 he is called on the Hartford Land 
 Records as of Farmington, and in 1781 as of South- 
 ington, which was then a part of Farmington. He 
 and his own son, Samuel, appear in the list of names 
 in Southington Society, 1786, in which he was 
 taxed £110, and Samuel, Jr., on £85. Was made 
 freeman in Southington, 1780. He lived on East 
 street, nearly opposite where the road turns east 
 towards Berlin. His will, made Ocl. 11, 1793, 
 approved Feb. 15, 1794, names his wife, Hannah, 
 sons Samuel, Isaiah, Nathaniel and Lemuel, and 
 daughter, Mary, and is recorded in Farmington 
 Probate Record. 
 
 The inventory of his estate was filed with the 
 will and amounted to £126, and included twenty- 
 seven acres of land, besides the home lot and house. 
 
 The distribution names Samuel.the first son ; Isaiah, 
 the second son; Nathaniel, the third son; Lemuel, 
 the fourth son; and Mary, the only daughter. 
 
 Children of Samuel and Hannah: (i) Han- 
 nah, bapt. at Hartford July 21, 1751, died Jan. 
 19, 1759. (2) Samuel, born at Hartford May 4, 
 1754, according to the family record, but the first 
 church catalogue says baptized April 28, 1754, 
 which may have been recorded as of old style and 
 if so would be May 9, N. S. He died at South- 
 ington Feb. 15, 1893. (3) Isaiah, bapt. at Hartford 
 Dec. 5, 1756. He sold the one acre of land in- 
 herited from his father, on April 12, 1796, and was 
 then residing at Berlin, Conn. Was a Revolution- 
 ary soldier, serving in Col. Gay's Regiment, Capt. 
 Gad Stanley's Company. He died at Litchfield, 
 Conn., Jan. 21, 1823, aged sixty-four. Mrs. Lydia, 
 wife of Isaiah, died April 12, 1818. He left a 
 widow, Hannah. (4) Hannah again, being sick, 
 was bapt. at her father's house, Hartford, Feb. 22, 
 1759, and died the same day. (5) Nathaniel, born 
 at Hartford Aug. 29, bapt. Aug. 31, 1760, died in 
 Kensington, Conn., May 4, 1822, married, June 11. 
 1780, Hannah, born at East Haven, Conn., Sept. 
 I, 1760, daughter of Jonathan and Jemina (Ab- 
 bott) Roberts, of East Haven and Southington. 
 He lived in Southington until late in life, when he 
 removed to Kensington. His widow died Sept. 
 12, 1834, aged seventy- four. He was a soldier in 
 the Revolutionary war in the same company at one 
 time with his brother, Isaiah, and at another time 
 with his brother, Samuel, and cousin, Jesse. (6) 
 Lemuel, bapt. at Southington July, 1763, married, 
 in 1782, Loraine, daughter of Isaac and Mabel 
 (Luddington) Mallory, of East Haven, Conn. He 
 served as private at West Point in the Revolution- 
 ary war, 1 78 1, in Col. Samuel Canfield's militia 
 regiment. (7) Mary, bapt. at Southington Sept. 
 18, 1768, died Feb. 24, 1834. She married Caleb 
 Ray, who served as gunner during the Revolu- 
 tionary war in Col. Lamb's artillery, in Capt. Mans- 
 field's company. Was a pensioner, residing at 
 Southington, Conn., aged eighty-two, in the census 
 of 1840. 
 
 Samuel Shepard, son of Samuel, of Samuel, 
 of John, of John, of Edward, born at Hartford May 
 4, 1754, died at Southington Feb. 15, 1803. He 
 probably removed from Hartford to Southington 
 with his father about 1761, freeman in Southineton, 
 1782," was taxed £85 in 1786. He married (first) 
 Rhoda Hitchcock, who died Dec. 3, 1785, (sec- 
 ond), Jan. I, 1787, Thankful, daughter of Joseph 
 and Thankful (Roberts) Mallory, of East Haven. 
 Conn., born July 4, 1762. She was first cousin of 
 his brother Lemuel's wife, Loraine Mallory, and 
 first cousin of his brother Nathaniel's wife, Han- 
 nah Roberts, all of East Haven. He lived on East 
 street, where his father lived before him. He served 
 as private during the Revolutionary war in Capt. 
 Asa Bray's company. Col. Eno's regiment. He was 
 a thin, spare man, sickly all through life, and 
 Stephen Walkley, Esqr., says that he suffered with 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 857 
 
 consumption for tliirty years, which was brought 
 cm by his exposure during the Revohitionary war. 
 The inventory of his estate, tiled March 15, 1803, 
 aniountcil to $403.59. His w-idow, Thankful Shep- 
 ard, and Barnabus Johnson were administrators on 
 his estate. She married (second), Jan. 17, 1813, 
 Clark Royce, born Oct. 4, 1740, son of Nathaniel 
 and riiebe (ClarK) Rovce, of Wallingford, Conn. 
 He died Feb. 16, 1826. ' She died March 27, 1832, 
 aged sixty-nine. Samuel and Thankful were buried 
 at the South End cemetery in Southington, where 
 their tombstones still remain. 
 
 Children by first wife, Rhoda : (i) An infant. 
 
 born , died Nov. 26, 1785. (2) Rhoda, 
 
 born , died Dec. 8, 1785. By his second wife, 
 
 Thankful: (3) Rhoda, born Sept. 27, 1787, died 
 at Southington Dec. 30, 1844, married by the Rev. 
 William Robinson Feb. 12, 1807, at Southington, to 
 Mark Lane, born at Wolcott, Conn., July 16, 1784, 
 son of Joel and Elizabeth (Atkins) Lane. (4) So- 
 ])hia. born Jan. 4, 1789, died Jan. 31, 1845, married 
 Xoaii Gridley, Xov. 30, 1834, he born Aug. 8, 1771, 
 died Dec. 19' 1838, son of Noah and Sarah (Curtis) 
 Gridley. His first wife was Susannah Andrus, who 
 died Jan. 19, 1834, aged sixty-two. (5) Jerusha, 
 born Sept. 15, 1790, died at Southington June 8, 
 1S48; married Ebenezer Barnes, son of Ebenezer. 
 (6) Amos, born May 28, 1793. died March 2, 
 1849: married, at Meri'den, Conn., by Rev. Erastus 
 Ivipley, Oct. 4, 1819, Statira Alcott,' born at Wol- 
 cott ]\Iarch 30, 1800, daughter of Samuel and Lvdia 
 (^^^^rner) Alcott. (7I Eunice, born Aug. 7, 1796, 
 died at Southington Feb. 17, 1872; married, by 
 Rev. William Robinson. Oct. 17, 1816, to Solomon 
 Stow, born at Rocky Hill. Conn., Sept. 14, 1793. 
 son of Ebenezer and Ruth CBulkley) Stow, died 
 at Southington Aug. 31. 1868. (8) Oswell, born 
 July 27, 1799. died at Canaan. N. Y., Nov. 29, 1840; 
 married, at Southington, by the Rev. David C. 
 Ogden. April 20, 1825, to Elizabeth Woodward 
 Heminway, daughter of Jared. Dorn at Southing- 
 ton Jan. 23. 1804, died at Canaan, N. Y., Jan. 22, 
 
 1847. (9^ Joseph, born , 1801, died Jan. 
 
 24, 1803.' 
 
 Amos Shep.vrd. son of Samuel, of Samuel, of 
 Samuel, of John, of John, of Edward, born May 
 28, 1793. died JNIarch 2. 1849, married at Meriden, 
 Conn., by Rev. Erastus Ripley. Oct. 4, 1819. Statira 
 Alcott. born at \\'olcott. Conn.. ]\Iarch 30, 1800, 
 daughter of Samuel and Lydia (Warner) Alcott. 
 She died ^lay 15. 1890. When a young man he 
 worked in a comb shop near where the Meriden 
 depot now stands, and became acquainted with Miss 
 Alcott. who was then living in Meriden with an 
 elder sister at the "Coe place." not far south of the 
 Parker Clock Co.'s shop. After marriage he re- 
 moved to Southington, where he resided until his 
 death. He spent most of his life traveling in the 
 Southern States, had considerable literary talent, and 
 many of his poems have been published. 
 
 Children of Amos and Statira: (i) Samuel 
 
 Royce, of Rochester, N. Y., born in Southington 
 July 10, 1820, ni., in May, 1845, Lucy, dau. of 
 Hopkins CartT. (2) Ann Sophia, of Grand Forks, 
 Dakota, born at Southington, Conn., Nov. 19, 1822, 
 married, at Southington, Conn., Lucius Edward 
 Strong (son of Chester and Rachel [Bartlett] 
 Strong, of Northampton, Mass.), Nov. 25. 184O. 
 by the Rev. E. C. Jones. Mr. Strong died at Grand 
 Forks Sept. 30, 1872. (3) Jane Emeline, born 
 March 6, 1827, died May 21, 1832. (4) Henry, 
 of Crookston, Minn., born at Southington May 11, 
 1832. (5) Amos, of Plants ville, Conn., born there 
 Nov. 2, 1835, m.. Nov. 19. 1864, Harriet Harrison, 
 born Sept. 19. 1839, daughter of David and Mary 
 Churchill (Plum) Harrison. (Cj James, of New 
 Britain, Connecticut. 
 
 As showing the New England origin of ^Ir. 
 Shepard and his wife, some of their ancestors who 
 were in Connecticut and Massachusetts before 1650 
 are here given. 
 
 On his father's side of other names than Shep- 
 ard, he descended from Sanniel Greenhill. Dea. 
 Paul Peck, George Steel, John Hopkins, Dea. John 
 Bronson, Richard Bronson. John Baysey, John 
 Bishop. Gov. William Bradford, Thomas Richards 
 of Dorchester, Giles Giblis, Peter Mallory, Nicholas 
 Pinion, William Luddington, John ^^'hitehead, Les- 
 ley Bradfield, John Hunnewell. Capt. Daniel Harris 
 and Joseph Weld. 
 
 On his mother's side he descended from Thomas 
 Alcott, Thomas Mitchell, James Heaton, Rev. Nicho- 
 las Street, Samuel Blakesley, John Potter, Moses 
 A-^entrus, Thomas Chatfield, Samuel Nettleton, 
 Jabez Harger. George Tomlinson, Stephen Pierson, 
 John Warner. Thomas Richards of Hartford, 
 John Andrews. Elder John Strong. Jonathan Gil- 
 lett, Charles Taintor, Robert Rose. Dr. Daniel 
 Porter, Thomas Holcombe and Thomas Sherwood. 
 
 Mrs. Shepard descended from Richard Curtis, 
 of Roxbury, John Curtis, of Stratford, \Mlliam 
 Preston, Thomas Wheeler, Joseph Middlebrook, 
 Nathaniel Foote, Lieu. -Gov. James Bishop, }tlicah 
 Tompkins. James Bennet, Robert Seabrook. Rich- 
 ard Beach. Miles Merwin, ^laj. Gen. Robert Sedg- 
 wick, Rev. Samuel Stone, John Hopkins, William 
 Wooding, William Potter, Dea. John Bronson, 
 William Lewis, Capt. Nathaniel Merriman, Dea. 
 William Gaylord, Dea. Edward Stebbins. Capt. John 
 Stanley, Thomais Scott. Samuel Hotchkis. Richard 
 Sperry, Joseph Merriam, William Mathews. Allen 
 Breed. Henry Cook. Henry Birdsall, John Hall of 
 New Haven. John Frost. William Payne. Dea. Paul 
 Peck. John Baysey, Robert Johnson, John Parmelee. 
 Edward Granniss. John Wakefield. \M!liam Holt, 
 William French. Benjamin Wilniot. William Bun- 
 nel and William Olney. 
 
 WHEATON SOLOMON PLUMB, who de- 
 parted this life Aug. i. 1897, was one of the most 
 prominent, progressive and successful citizens of 
 Southington. He enjoyed a well-earned distinc- 
 
858 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tion of being what the public calls a "self-made 
 man," and an analyzation of his character reveals 
 the fact that enterprise, well-directed effort and 
 honorable dealing were the essential features in his 
 prosperity. 
 
 Mr. Plumb was born in Wolcott, Conn., Jan. 
 23, 1829, and on the paternal side traced his an- 
 cestry back to John and Elizabeth Plumb, of Top- 
 pesfield. County of Essex, England. The next in 
 direct descent were Robert and Elizabeth (Purcas) 
 Plumb, and Robert and Grace (Crackbone) Plumb. 
 John Plumb, a son of the latter couple, was born 
 in the County of Essex, England, July 28, 1594, 
 and in 1634 was seated in Ridgewell Hall. His 
 name appears on the Colonial records of Wethers- 
 field, Conn., in 1636, and he was a member of the 
 General Court in 1637, and filled various other offices. 
 In 1644 he removed to Branford, Conn., where he 
 died four years later. Among the children born 
 to him and his wife Dorothy was Robert Plumb, 
 who was born in Ridgewell, England, Dec. 30, 161 7, 
 and came with the family to Weathersfield, Conn. 
 He was one of the first settlers of Milford, locating 
 there in 1639, five years before his father left 
 Weathersfield for Branford. In Milford he wed- 
 ded Mary Baldwin, and there his death occurred. 
 Their son, John Plumb, was born Aug. 12, 1646, 
 and died in March, 1728. He married Elizabeth 
 Norton, and in their family was Joseph Plumb, of 
 Milford and Farmington, Conn., who was born in 
 the former place in 1683, and died May 27, 1742. 
 His wife was Thankful Gaylord. Their son, Sim- 
 eon Plumb, born Oct. 10, 1738, wedded Mary At- 
 kins, and died in 18 13. The next in direct descent 
 was Solomon Plumb, the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject. He was born in 1769, and became a farmer of 
 Wolcott. On Jan. 28, 1790, he married Lucretia 
 Scarritt. Their son, Willard Plumb, the father of 
 our subject, was born July 29, 1796, in Wolcott, 
 where he was reared to manhood and later followed 
 farming. He was married, Jan. i, 1822, to Polly 
 Hall, a daughter of Heman and Lydia (Hitch- 
 cock) Hall, also farming people of Wolcott. 
 
 The boyhood and ycuth of our subject were 
 passed in his native town, and he received a limited 
 education in its common schools. When quite 
 young he went to Waterville, where he learned the 
 machinist's trade with the original knife-makers 
 of that place, the Waterville Knife Co., and later 
 learned clockmaking with Seth Thomas, at Thomas- 
 ton. By this time he was twenty years of age, and 
 had saved $7,000, but going into the cutlery busi- 
 ness at Wallingford, with the Co-operative Knife 
 Co., he lost it all. Nothing daunted, he soon found 
 employment with a cutlery concern in Meriden, 
 where he remained five years. During the Civil 
 war he was employed as a machinist in the Spring- 
 field Armory, and later in the Meriden Tool Co.'s 
 shop, where he worked for Mr. Beach, the patentee 
 of the now famous Beach chuck. When that gen- 
 tleman sold out to the Morse Twist Drill & Ma- 
 
 chine Co., of New Bedford, Mr. Plumb went to 
 that city and started the business for them. In 
 April, 1868, he came to Southington, as superintend- 
 ent of the Southington Cutlery Co.'s knife depart- 
 ment, remaining with them until the big strike in 
 1887, when the plant closed down, two years later, 
 after the company resumed business, he returned 
 to them, and remained in their employ until 1894. 
 
 On Oct. 10, 1853, Mr. Plumb was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Maria A. Douglass, a native of 
 Warren, R. I., and a daughter of Nicholas G. and 
 Elizabeth (Cowing) Douglass, and oy this union 
 two children were born : Eva M., wife of Homer 
 W. Terry; and Willard W. 
 
 In religious belief Mr. Plumb inclined toward 
 the Universalist faith, but was not a member of any 
 church or secret cociety. His political support was 
 given to the Republican party, and he held the office 
 of assessor, and for ten years prior to his death 
 was also first selectman of his town. He was a 
 shrewd financier, in public affairs as well as in 
 personal matters,' and labored untiringly for the 
 good of his community. He was often called upon 
 to act as administrator for important estates which 
 were settled in the probate court, and his fellow 
 citizens had the utmost confidence in his reliability 
 and uprightness. Although he met with reverses : 
 in life, he steadily prospered, and became a stock- 
 holder in the Southington Cutlery Co., the Atwater 
 Manufacturing Co., the Blakeslee Forging Co., and 
 the Southington Water Co., and was also president 
 of the Southington Savings Bank from 1884 until 
 his death, and of the Southington Lumber & Feed 
 Co., from its formation in 1870. 
 
 DAVID BRAINARD, one of Enfield's leading 
 citizens, and a prominent insurance agent, was born 
 in that town Oct. 31, 1823, and is a worthy repre- 
 sentative of an honored and distinguished family 
 of this State. 
 
 Mr. Brainard is a descendant in the seventh gen- 
 eration of Daniel Brainard, a pioneer of Haddam, 
 Conn., and in each generation in a direct line to our 
 subject have been representatives in the Connecticut 
 Legislature. . He traces his ancestry back through 
 the following to the progenitor of the family in 
 this State: Jared and Mary (Pierce) Brainard; ■ 
 Frederick and Anna (Brainard) Brainard; Ezra 
 and Jerusha (Snow) Brainard; Josiah and Hannah 
 (Spencer) Brainard; William and Sarah (Bidwell) 
 Brainard ; and Daniel and Hannah ( Spencer) Brai- 
 nard. Our subject's great-grandfather, Ezra Brai- 
 nard, died at the advanced age of ninety-three years, 
 in the house at Haddam Neck, Conn., where he was 
 born and spent his entire life. As justice of the 
 peace he was noted for the many marriage ceremo- 
 nies he performed, and for the fact that he usuall)' 
 gave the fees taken from the bridegroom to the ; 
 bride. He was one of the most prominent and in- ,' 
 fiuential citizens of his community and served | 
 thirtv-eight terms in the State Legislature. His , 
 
fl 
 
 c^t^^iy^c^i uj^^u^c-t^-i^^<..jec.,<_^?^ 
 
p 
 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 859 
 
 son Frederick, the grandfather of our subject, was 
 born in Haddain, and was the originator of the stone 
 quarry business of that town. 
 
 Jared lirainard, father of David I'.rainard, was 
 also a native of Haddam, and in 1811 became a 
 resident of Enfield, Hartford county, where he fol- 
 lowed farming- until called from this life, at the ripe 
 age of eighty-four years. He was known as Deacon 
 Brainard, liaving served many years as deacon in the 
 Congregational Church and in the Presbyterian 
 Church of Thonipsonville, with which he united 
 later. Jared Brainard married Miss Marv I'ierce, 
 who was a daughter of John and Lucy (Snow) 
 Pierce, granddaughter of Ebenezer and Alary 
 (Stowe) Pierce, great-granddaughter of Ebenezer 
 and Mary Pierce, and great-great-granddaughter of 
 John and Deborah (Converse) Pierce, of W'oburn, 
 Mass. The will of John Pierce was dated April 26, 
 1716. John Pierce, maternal grandfather of our 
 subject, was for many years a deacon in the Con- 
 gregational Church at Alillbury, Alass. Of the 
 children born to Jared and Mary (Pierce) Brainard 
 four reached years of maturity: Alvira W. (wife of 
 Jeremiah N. Parsons), Jared F., Harvey P. and David. 
 
 David Brainard was reared on the homestead in 
 Enfield town, and received a good common-school 
 and academic education. On attaining his majority 
 he turned his attention to farming and lumbering in 
 Brainardville, and continued to follow those occu- 
 pations until 1858. For almost half a century he 
 resided near the old homestead where his early life 
 was passed, in 1870 removing to Thonipsonville, 
 Viiere he still resides. Since 1855 he has done a 
 general insurance business, and is today the most 
 popular and successful agent in that line in his 
 locality. 
 
 Mr. Brainard has bsen twice married, his first 
 wife being Aliss Caroline, daughter of Col. Jabez 
 and Reljecca (Terry) King, of Enfield, by whom 
 he had three children, namely : David, Horace K. 
 and Charles. After her death he married her sis- 
 ter, Miss Henrietta King. 
 
 Politically Mr. Brainard is a stanch Republican, 
 and he has been honored with a number of official 
 positions of trust and responsibility. In 1861 he 
 was a member of the Legislature, and the following 
 year was appointed United States assessor, in which 
 capacity he served for nine years. He was assessor 
 of Enfield town in 1898, and has held that office 
 longer than any other man ; during the Civil war 
 was chairman of the town committee of volunteers 
 to fill the quota for Enfield ; and was chairman of 
 the committee that built the Enfield high school in 
 1871, having, practically, the entire charge of the 
 same. He is an active and prominent member of 
 the Presbyterian Church, in which he is now serv- 
 ing as elder, and his public and private life are alike 
 above reproach. As a citizen he is ever ready to 
 discharge every duty devolving upon him. and 
 wherever known is honored for his sterling worth 
 and exalted character. 
 
 HON. JAMES FRANKLIN PRATT is one of 
 the public-spirited citizens of Southington, to whose 
 energv and foresight that locality is indebted for 
 many improvements. While Mr. Pratt, as a pros- 
 perous business man, has given close attention to his 
 private afli'airs, he has never forgotten or ignored that 
 bond of common interest which should unite the 
 ix'ople of every community, and he has always been 
 ready to promote progress in every line. 
 
 Mr. Pratt was born in Southington, May 14, 
 1840, a son of David and Maria (Dickernian) Pratt, 
 in whose family were two children, the younger be- 
 ing Julia J., wife of John William Gridley. The 
 father was born Sept. 28, 1814, in Southington, 
 and was married, Dec. 10, 1838, to Maria, daugh- 
 ter of Samuel Dickerman, of Hamden, New Haven 
 Co., Conn. For his second wife he married Frances 
 Eliza Morton, a native of Hartford county. 
 
 Eli Pratt, the paternal grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born Nov. 3, 1781, and was married March 
 28, 1803, to Abigail Hitchcock, by whom he had nine 
 children. He was a farmer of Southington, a man 
 of great piety, and was well thought of in the com- 
 munity where he dwelt. He was appointed deacon 
 of the Congregational Church of Southington in 
 1814, and served in that capacity for over forty 
 years. 
 
 Stephen Pratt, the father of Eli, was born in 
 Saybrook, Conn., June 30, 1740, and was thrice mar- 
 ried, his first wife being Phebe Atkins, the second 
 Hannah Davidson, and" the third Phebe Andrews. 
 He had nine children. For several years he served 
 as a soldier in the French and Indian war, before 
 moving to Southington, where he died in 1823. 
 
 Christopher Pratt, the father of Stephen, was 
 born Nov. 4, 1712, and was married June 14, 1739, 
 to Sarah Pratt, daughter of Daniel Pratt, They 
 had seven children. His death occurred in Wal- 
 lingford. 
 
 Ensign \\'illiam Pratt, father of Christopher, was 
 born about 1674, and was married Oct. 8. 1700, to 
 Hannah Hough. He lived at Pautapaug, and was 
 prominent in civil and military affairs. 
 
 Joseph Pratt, father of Ensign Pratt, was a large 
 land holder in the Pautapaug Quarter, and also in the 
 town of Hebron. He died Aug. 12, 1703. at the age 
 of fifty-five years. 
 
 Lieut. William Pratt, the father of Joseph, was 
 the progenitor of the family in this countv. He is 
 supposed to have gone with Rev. Thomas Hooker to 
 Newtown (now Cambridgel. Alass., in 1633, and 
 thence to Hartford. Conn. In June, 1636, he mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Clark, daughter of John Clark, of 
 Saybrook, and afterward of Milford, and formerly 
 of Great Alundon, Hertfordshire, England. Lieut. 
 Pratt attended the General Court as a deputy to the 
 twentv-third session, which convened in Hartford, 
 May 9, 1678, and died the same year. 
 
 Lieut. Pratt was a son of Rev. William and 
 Elizabeth Pratt, of Hertfordshire, England, the 
 formerof whom was baptized at Baldock,in October, 
 
860 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1S(>2, was inducted rector of the parish of Stevenage, 
 in Hertfordshire, Dec. 6, 1598, and died in 1629, 
 aged sixty-seven years. Rev. William Pratt was a 
 son of Andrew Pratt, who was born at Baldock, a 
 son of Thomas and Joan Pratt, of that place. An- 
 drew was born in February, 1539, just one hun- 
 dred years previous to the date when the settlers 
 of Hartford drew their home lots. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared in South- 
 ington and educated in the public schools and Lewis 
 Academy, graduating from the latter institution in 
 1857. He began his business career as clerk in the 
 general store of his uncle, Samuel Pratt, in South- 
 ington, and occupied that position for nearly two 
 years. As his health became impaired he went 
 West, and while there taught school in Minnesota, 
 and spent some time on a larm in Illinois. Early in 
 the fall of 1862 he returned home,- and for a time 
 was with his father on the farm. Later he went 
 to Meriden, *„onn., and was employed in the in- 
 spector's department of the Snow Brooks gun shop, 
 now belonging to the Parker Gun Co. Subsequently 
 lie was bookkeeper in a grocery store in Meriden, but 
 in July, 1866, ne returned to Southington,and in com- 
 pany with his cousin, George A.. Pratt, purchased 
 the store of his uncle, where he had formerly clerked. 
 Shortly 'afterward he bought his partner's interest, 
 and alone, or in partnership with others, conducted 
 the store for twenty years, or until 1886. When he 
 opened his store there that part of Southington was 
 not in a very flourishing condition, and it was largely 
 through the enterprise and perseverance of Mr. Pratt 
 that it assumed its present attractive appearance. 
 Always looking to the better interests of the town, 
 he was instrumental in having new sidewalks laid. 
 In 1880 the Village Improvement Society was or- 
 ganized, and he was made president of the same. 
 He was also elected president of the Board of Trade 
 at its inception; was one of the organizers of the 
 Southington National Bank, of which he is still a di- 
 rector, and was for several years its vice-president; 
 was also a director of the Pultz-Walkley Co., paper- 
 Taag manufacturers, recently absorbed by the Union 
 Bag & Paper Co., and in 1895 he was appointed su- 
 perintendent, holding that position until July I, 
 1899, when he resigned. For some time he was also 
 a director of and stockholder in the Southington 
 Cutlery Co., but resigned in 1897. It will thus be 
 seen that he has been identified with most of the im- 
 portant business enterprises of the town, and in this 
 'wa.y has materially advanced its interests. 
 
 Mr. Pratt has been twice married, his first wife 
 being Miss Mary Lee, of Berlin, Conn., a descend- 
 ant of John Lee, of Farmington, and for his second 
 wife he married Miss M. Dell Clark, daughter of 
 Daniel and Mary (Cafferty) Clark, of Union, N. Y. 
 By the second union there are two children: Julia 
 Agnes and Annie Lila. 
 
 Mr. Pratt is an active and prominent member of 
 the Congregational Church, of which he has been 
 treasurer since 1867 and a deacon for many years. 
 
 Politically he is an ardent Republican, and represent- ' 
 ed Southmgton in the Legislature in 1883 and 1884. 
 He is now a member of the board of regents of the 
 Lewis high school. Fraternally he belongs to 
 Friendship Lodge, No. 33, F. & A. M., of South- 
 ington, of which he has been treasurer since 
 1874; Triune Chapter, No. 9, R. A. M., of South- 
 ington; and St. Elmo Commandery, K. T., of Me- 
 riden. 
 
 EZRA C. AYER, a leading and prominent ag- ; 
 riculturist of Farmington, belongs to an old New > 
 England family which tradition says is of Scottish 
 origin. 
 
 (I) John Ayer, the first to come to America, 
 crossed the Atlantic, in 1637, on the ship "Mary 
 Ann," commanded by Capt. Goos, and he was de- 
 scribed on the shipping list as John Eyre, grocer, 
 of Norwich. At the time he was forty-five years of 
 age. He was soon joined by his family of eight '' 
 children, and after living in Newbury for a time 
 removed to Haverhill, Mass., March 5, 1645. He i 
 died there in 1657, aged sixty-five years ; his wife, 
 Hannah, passed away in 1675. Their children 
 were ; John, who married Sarah Williams ; Na- 
 thaniel; Rebecca; Mary; Obediah, who married 
 Hannah Pike ; Robert, who married Elizabeth Pal- 
 mer ; Thomas ; Peter, who married Hannah Allen ; \ 
 and Hannah. 
 
 (II) Thomas Ayer died at Haverhill, Mass., | 
 Nov. 9, 1686. He married Elizabeth Hutchins, 
 and had eight children : John ; Elizabeth ; Mary j 
 Love, wife of Joseph Kingsbury; Thomas, Samuel;] 
 and two sons who died in infancv. 
 
 (III) John Ayer was born May 14, 1657, and 
 it is supposed that he came from Stonington to Say- 
 brook, Conn., where he took up land. He and his 
 eldest son, John, built a house at Ayer's Point in 
 1 7 ID, and being a maltster by trade, he erected a malt 
 house a little south of the present residence of 
 William Y. Ayer, a cousin of our subject; some of 
 its foundation still remains. He carried on quite 
 an extensive business. He is said to have been 
 a man of medium size, with only one arm, and was 
 very active and energetic. He died in 1743. His 
 home was torn down, in 1740, and another erected 
 on the same site. The present residence standing; 
 there was built in 1828, by Thomas Youngs Ayer. 
 In 1684 John Ayer married Hannah Travis, a 
 daughter of William Travis, of Haverhill, Mass., 
 and they had eight children: Hannah, wife of 
 Sylvanus Harrington; John, who is mentioned be- 
 low ; Sarah, wife of a Mr. Packer ; David, .who 
 married Jerusha Williams ; Ruth, who died at the 
 age of four years; Esther, wife of John Phillips;; 
 Joshua, who married a Miss Parrish; and Daniel, 
 who died Sept. 23, 1714. 
 
 (IV) John Ayer was born in 1688, and mar- 
 ried Sarah Colt, of Lyme, Conn., a daughter of 
 John Colt. He died Feb. 21, i76o, and she passv>l|- 
 away Dec. 5, same year. In their family were 
 
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 861 
 
 ten children, iianidy: Daniel, born July 23, 171^1, 
 married Esther Chapin ; John, born Nov. I, 1718, 
 married Abigail Cook; Joseph, born March 23, 
 1721, married Thankful Drake; Travis, born March 
 lU, 1723, married Rhuhannah Alatson ; Elisha, born 
 Sept. 29, 1725, died Dec. 6, 1751 ; Sarah, born Feb. 
 
 20, 1728, married Silas Peck; Ziparah, born Sept. 
 
 21, 1730, married Richard Sill; .Mary, born Nov. 
 29, 1732, died July 20, 1730; Elizabeth, born March 
 25, 1735, married Samuel Rhillips; and Hannah, 
 born Eeb. 25, ■1740, married Gibbon Jewitt. 
 
 {V ) Travis Ayer was the great-grandfather 
 of our subject. It is said that he attended school 
 onlv one-half day, but his books and papers indi- 
 cate fair scholarship. At the age of twenty-two 
 years he was one of the 516 Connecticut men who 
 went to Nova Scotia with Sir William PeppercU's 
 expedition and captured Fort Louisburg from the 
 French. He was discharged at Boston, and started 
 for home on foot, but was taken ill with fever on 
 the way, and could proceed no farther than the 
 home of Mr. Matson, of Lyme, his future father- 
 in-law. He was dignified and genteel, and was 
 deacon of the Church for many years. He built the 
 house in Saybrook where William Stebbins now re- 
 sides. Plis will bears date Feb. 23, 1793. In 1748 
 he married Miss Rhuhannah Matson, of Lyme, 
 |who died in 1820, aged ninety-two years, and he 
 departed this life April 7, 1812, at the age of 
 eightv-nine, the remains of both being interred in 
 the upper cemetery, Saybrook, Conn. They had 
 only two children : Rhuhannah, who was born Dec. 
 8, 1757, and died Oct. 25, 1820; and John, the 
 grandfather of our subject. 
 
 (YI) John Ayer was born Sept. 24, 1763, and 
 was a man of medium height, rather heavy in 
 weight, of even temper, keen wit, sound judgment, 
 and prominent in public affairs. Fie followed farm- 
 ing, and also engaged in shad fishing, and in 1810 
 built the house now occupied by Edwin Ayer, at 
 Ayer's Point. He represented Saybrook in the 
 State Legislature. On April 5, 1786, he married 
 Aliss Jemima Youngs, a daughter of Judge Thomas 
 and Rhoda (Budd) Youngs, of Southhold, L. L 
 He died May 28, 1840, his wife on Aug. 9, 1843, 
 and both were laid to rest in the Upper cemetery. 
 In their family were eight children: Hannah, born 
 ■July 16, 1787, married Ezra L'Homadieu, and 
 died Dec. 29, 1827: Laura, born Sept. 28, I78(), 
 married William Willard, and died Aug. 21, 1882; 
 i William Travis, the next of the family, was the 
 father of our subject; Thomas Y., born March 25, 
 1795, married (first) Abby Whittlesey and (sec- 
 ond) Sarah Covert; John, born Sept. 9, 1797, died 
 Sept. 29, 1797; Deborah Matson, born Sept. 25, 
 • 1799, died Aug. 2, 1878 ; iNIary Ann, born July iq, 
 ) 1801, died Dec. 11, 1849; and Amelia, born Aug. 
 5 9, 1807, married Samuel Griswold, and died May 4, 
 
 i 1853- 
 
 1 (VII) William Travis Ayer was born Dec. 11, 
 I 1791. and engaged in farming and fishing through- 
 out his active business life, following the latter 
 occupation for forty-two consecutive springs. In 
 
 1824 he erected for himself a residence at Say- 
 brook, where our subject was born. He was a 
 soldier of the war of 1812^ and was well known 
 and highly respected. On Dec. 25, 1823, he mar- 
 ried Miss Louisa Clark, who was born April 2O, 
 1796, a daughter of Ezra and Elizabeth (Whittle- 
 sey) Clark, residents of Sa)'bruok. Her father 
 was born June 0, 1762, and died Jan. 6, 1858, while 
 her mother was born Sept. 17, 1763, and died March 
 6, 1842. William T. Ayer died Aug. 28, 1878; and 
 his wife passed away Dec. 23, 1872. They had 
 eleven children: Edwin, born Oct. 15, 1824, is 
 mentioned below ; Maria Louise, born March 18, 
 1826, is a resident of West Newton, Mass.; Will- 
 iam Travis, born July 5, 1827, died Aug. iG, 1835; 
 Ezra Clark, born T'eb. 9, 1829, is also mentioned 
 below ; Mary Jane, born June 24, 1830, married 
 John F. Bushnell, and died Sept. 13, 1853; Charles, 
 born Jan. 8, 1832, died May 7. 1858; Lydia, born 
 Oct. 18, 1833, married Samuel Ingham, of Say- 
 brook, Conn.; Amelia Ann, born March 15, 1835, 
 married (first) Frank Flarvey and (second) 
 Charles Kelsey ; Isabel, born June 9, 1836, died 
 Feb. 18, 1854; Andrew, born Nov. 5, 1837, is in 
 the Soldiers' Home at Hampton Roads ; and Har- 
 riet A., born April 20, 1841, died June 13, 1862. 
 Edwin Ayer, a brother of our subject, residing at 
 Ayer's Point, Saybrook, was married, Oct. 20, 
 1852, to Abbie ;\liller Youngs, who died Aug. 28, 
 1882. Her parents were Thomas and Elizabeth 
 (Aliller) Youngs, and her paternal grandfather 
 was Capt. Joshua Youngs, a son of Judge Thomas 
 Youngs, of Southold, L. I. Her maternal grand- 
 parents were Rev. John and Elizabeth (Gay lord) 
 IMiller. Her father was born Oct. '25, 1787, and 
 died Dec. 23, 1865 : her mother was born Feb. 16, 
 1796, and died April 23, 1855. 
 
 (VIII) Ezra Clark Ayer, whose name intro- 
 duces this sketch, spent his school days in Say- 
 brook. He learned the mason's trade at Deep 
 River, Conn., after which he worked as a builder 
 in Boston, Mass., for some time. In 1861 he came 
 to Farmington, Hartford county. Conn., where he 
 remained for about a year, and on Sept. 8, 1862, 
 he enlisted in Company K, 25th Conn. Y. I., for ' 
 service in the Civil war. At the siege of Port Hud- 
 son he was so injured as to be quite deaf ever since. 
 Fie was mustered out Aug. 28, 1863, and returned 
 to Boston, where he followed the mason's trade 
 until 1871, during which year he again came to 
 Farmington, and purchased a farm of the Youngs 
 heirs. He now owns and operates a valuable tract 
 of 250 acres of land in Farmington. and also has a 
 farm in the town of Union, Tolland Co., Connec- 
 ticut. 
 
 ^Ir. Ayer first married I\liss IMartha Lydia 
 Youngs, a daughter of Thomas Youngs, and to 
 them were born two children : Elizabeth Maria, de- 
 ceased ; and ^lartha Isabel, who is a teacher in 
 Unionvillc. For his second wife he married Miss 
 Eugenia Barnes Crampton, of Farmington, a 
 daughter of Richard and Sarah (Barnes) Cramp- 
 ton, a granddaughter of Adna Crampton, and a 
 
862 
 
 COMMEMOR'ATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 great-granddaughter of Miles Crampton. By this 
 union four children were born, namely: Richard 
 Crampton, who died at the age of three years; and 
 Robert Ezra, Olive Eugenia and Sarah Crampton,. 
 all residents of Unionville. 
 
 Mr. Ayer has been honored with several local 
 offices, which he has most creditably filled, having 
 served as selectman, assessor and justice of the 
 peace. Socially he belongs to the Grange, Evening 
 Star Lodge, No. lOi, F. & A. M., and A. E. Burn- 
 side Post, No. 62, G. A. R., of which he is past 
 commander. He and his wife hold membership in 
 the Congregational Church of Unionville, and are 
 highly respected and esteemed by a large circle of 
 friends and acquaintances. 
 
 HON. SAMUEL GOULD BRADLEY is one 
 of the representative citizens and prominent farni- 
 ers of the town of Burlington. Throughout his 
 career of continued and far-reaching usefulness his 
 duties have been performed with the greatest care, 
 and his business interests have been so managed as 
 to win the confidence of the public and the pros- 
 perity which should always attend honorable effort. 
 
 Mr. Bradley was born in Burlington, July 18, 
 1835, and is a son of Selah and Susan (Durand) 
 Bradley, both natives of New Haven county, Conn. 
 There the father grew to manhood and learned 
 the trade of shoemaker, which he later followed in 
 Bristol when a young man. He next came to Bur- 
 lington, where he opened a shop and worked at his 
 trade for ,many years, at the same time owning and 
 operating a small farm. Later he lived with our 
 subject, who cared for him in his declining years, 
 and there he died Nov. 14, 1862. He was liberal in 
 his religious views, and a Whig in politics, but never 
 sought or desired political honors. He was an in- 
 dustrious and honest man, temperate in his habits, 
 and domestic in his tastes. His wife, who was a 
 woman of strong- convictions, an earnest Christian 
 and a good wife and mother, also died at the home 
 of our subject in Burlington, in 1873, and both were 
 laid to rest in Burlington Centre cemetery. In their 
 family were the following children : Maria, born Feb. 
 19, 181 1, married Jason Boardman, and died in 
 Rockv Hill, Conn. ; Abigail, born Dec. 24, 1812, died 
 Jan. 29, 1827; Oliver C, born Feb. 17, 1815, died 
 July 30, 1821 ; Susanna, born Jan. 20, 1817, died un- 
 married; Rosana, born Feb. 20, 1821, married Syl- 
 vester Pond; Betsey, born Jan. 27, 1823, married 
 Henry Judd, of Northfield ; Orilla, born April 11, 
 1825, married George Holbrook, of Oxford, and died 
 June 19, i860; John, born Aug. 21, 1827, died 
 April 30, 1845; Abigail, born Jan. 16, 1830, mar- 
 ried (first) Thomas Lampson and (second) Charles 
 F. Olney, a resident of Cleveland, Ohio; Oliver C, 
 born Dec. 9, 1832, died May 19, 1864; Samuel G., 
 subject of this sketch, is the youngest of the fam- 
 ily. 
 
 Our subject was reared on his father s farm in 
 Burlington, and received only a district school educa- 
 
 tion. When a young man he worked at the paint- 
 er's trade for a short time, and then turned his at- 
 tention to farming upon the place where he still 
 resides. Here he owns eight5'-fave acres of well-im- 
 proved and valuable land, and also has a tract of six- 
 ty-five acres elsewhere in the town. He has erected \ 
 a fine residence, good barns and other outbuildings 
 upon his place, and, in connection with general 
 fanning, stock raising and dairying, he is engaged 
 in the lumber and charcoal business. 
 
 On Nov. 8, 1863, Mr. Bradley married Miss 
 Malissa Belden, a native of New Boston, Mass., 
 and a daughter of George and Sophia (Bailey) 
 Belden. During the Civil war Mr. Bradley offered 
 his services to the government, enlisting at Hart- 
 ford Sept. 8, 1862, in Company I, 25th Conn. V. L, 
 under Col. George P. Bissell and Capt. Hiram 
 Harkness. Although he enlisted for only riine 
 months, he was in the service almost a year, being 
 stationed most of the time at New Orleans as a 
 nurse in the hospital. He was honorably discharged 
 at Hartford, in August, 1863. At one time he 
 served as second lieutenant in the State militia. 
 
 Fraternally Mr. Bradley is an honored member 
 of Burnside Post, No. 62, G. A. R., in which he 
 has served as adjutant; Village Lodge, No. 29, 
 F. & A. M., of Collinsville ; and Wigwam Mascopa, 
 L O. R. M., of Unionville. Politically he is a 
 stanch Republican, and he has been honored with a 
 number of important official positions, having filled 
 the offices of tax collector, assessor and constable; 
 was elected justice of the peace, but refused to 
 qualify ; served as town clerk for a number of 
 years; was probate judge six years; and in 1880 ■.- 
 represented the town of Burlington in the State v 
 Legislature, where he served on some important 
 committees. He has ever proved a most capable 
 trustworthy and popular official, and his public and 
 private life are alike above reproach. Mrs. Brad- 
 ley is a lady of culture and refinement, and they have 
 a large circle of friends and acquaintances in Bur- 
 lington. 
 
 THOMAS ROACH CASE (deceased). The 
 farm, with rare exceptions, produces the men who 
 rise to prominence in professional and business life. 
 The subject of this sketch was a member of one of 
 the oldest and best known families of Hartford 
 county, which furnished many instances of patriotic 
 devotion to country, and of marked success in va- 
 rious vocations. Mr. Case was raised on a farm but. 
 possessing in his youth a taste for mercantile pur- 
 suits, he became a successful business man, continu- ., 
 ing until his health gave warning to retire to the ji 
 less exacting duties of country life. He honored the '■ 
 town of Simsbury, in which he lived for many years, \ 
 with sage advice, and with the endeavor and upright j 
 life of an earnest soul. He was one of its most prom- I 
 inent and highly esteemed citizens, and his death | 
 by accident, in 1884, cast profound gloom through- f 
 out the community. ! 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 868 
 
 Mr. Case was born in West Sinisbury, on what 
 is known as the Case farm, Dec. 28, 1808. The fam- 
 ily traces its ancestry to John Case, w ho settled in 
 New England more than two and one-half centur- 
 ies ago, and a sketch of whom will be found else- 
 where. William Case, son of John (i), married 
 Elizabeth Holcomb. Their son James married Eliza- 
 beth I-"ithen, of Simsbury, and to them five children 
 were liorn, the second of whom, josiah, was born 
 April I, 1718, in Simsbury. In 1743 he moved to 
 what was then known as West SimsJjury, now Can- 
 ton, w here he engaged in farming on the place known 
 as Chestnut Hill. He held the commission of captain 
 of local militia, and was quite active during the 
 Revolution. He died on his farm in 1789, and was 
 buried in Canton. He married Hester Higley, born 
 ill 1 7 19, died in 180S, and their children were as 
 follows: Lois, born in 1741, died in 1759; James, 
 born in 1745, died in 1790, married Phebe Tuller, 
 and for his second wife Lydia Case; Hester, born 
 in 1747, married (first) Thomas Case, (second) C. 
 Higley, and (for her third husband) Abraham 
 Penny; Hannah, born in 1750, died in 1833 (she 
 married Amos Wilcox) ; Betty, born in 1752, died 
 in 181 1 (she married Joshua Barber) ; Fithen, born 
 in 1758, died in 1829. The family were all members 
 <•{ the Congregational Church. 
 
 Fithen Case, born in West Simsbury in 1758, en- 
 gaged in farming and spent his entire life in West 
 Simsbury, now known as Chestnut Hill, Canton, 
 where he was a landowner. He was known as Capt. 
 Fithen, and participated in the Revolutionary war. 
 He died in 1829, and was buried in Canton ceme- 
 tey. He was highlv respected, and was one of Can- 
 ton's best known citizens. Capt. Case married Am- 
 arilla Humphrey, of Simsbury, and to this union 
 the following children were born: Maria, born 
 in 1 78 1, died in 1856, married Moses Case, who died 
 in 1850, and who was a son of Lieut. Moses Case; 
 Fithen, born in 1784, died in 1853, married Statira 
 Phelps; }ilann-e. born March 23, 1786: .\marilla, 
 born in 1788, married Chancey Eno, of Simsbury; 
 Josiah W., born in 1790, died in 1830 — married Ag- 
 nes Case; Salma, born in 1792, died in 1794; Lavinia 
 Charity, born in 1794, married Col. Salmon Mer- 
 rill : Jasper, born in 1796, married Flora Flumphrey : 
 Melissa, born in 1799, died in 1874 — married Ithnel 
 Gridley, being his second wife ; Jarvis, known as 
 Gen. Jarvis, born in 1801, died in 1865 — married 
 Lucia Adams ; Julia, born in 1805. married Ithnel 
 Gridley. 
 
 Mamre Case, son of Fithen, was the father of 
 Thomas Roach Case, our subject. He was born 
 March 23, 1786, on the farm, and grew there to 
 manhood. \Mncn a young man he peddled clocks 
 in the South, and one of those ancient timepieces is 
 still in the possession of the family. After his mar- 
 riage Mamre Case settled on his wife's farm near 
 West Simsbury Centre, where he spent the balance 
 of his life, engaged in farming and stock raising, 
 owning a large tract of land. He died on his farm 
 
 I'eb. 14, 1859, and was buried in Simsbury. He was 
 a Whig in politics, and held various offices, besides 
 representing Simsbury in the State Legislature. 
 He was a member of the Congregational Church, 
 a good whole-souled man, and was well-liked and 
 respected. On Nov. 4, 1807, he married, in West 
 Simsbury, Abi Tuller, who was born in West Sims- 
 bury, Sept. 10, 1787, daughter of Elisha Tuller, of 
 West Simsbury. The children born to -Mamre and 
 -Abi Case were as follows : Thomas R., born Dec. 
 28, 1808; Mary Abi, born Aug. 26, 1812, who mar- 
 ried John Stowe; Luke, born Sept. 5 1814; Norris, 
 born Sept. 23, 1816; Flora, born Jan. 18, 1819, 
 who married Edwin Goodwin ; Watson E., born 
 Nov. 24, 1820, who now lives retired in New York 
 City; Salem, born Nov. 19, 1823; and one who died 
 in infancy, unnamed. All of these children are now 
 deceased except Watson. The mother died Feb. 
 28, 1863, and was buried in Sinisbury. She was a 
 good Christian woman, well liked and respected. 
 
 Thomas R. Case, our subject, was raised on the 
 farm. He attended the district schools of West 
 Simsbury ; was also a student at Amherst College, 
 and when a young man he taught school in Sims- 
 bury. Possessing mercantile tastes, he started in 
 the mercantile business at Simsbury, and a few 
 \ears later removed to Hoskins Station, where he 
 engaged in mercantile business. Removing to a 
 larger field at Hartford, he there conducted a suc- 
 cessful dry-goods business for eight years, on the 
 site of the Brown Thompson store. Mr. Case then 
 decided to go West, moved to Indiana, and opened 
 up at Indianapolis a store business in partnership 
 with Joseph Sharp, continuing there wuh markeu 
 success for ten years. On account of ill health he 
 was obliged to give up his business. Returning to 
 his native home he settled on the home farm, and 
 there spent the remaining years of his life, engag- 
 ing in general farming and stock raising. He died on 
 his farm Nov. 25, 1884. and his death was un- 
 timely, though he was well advanced in years. Re- 
 turning home one evening with his team, the horses, 
 it is supposed, took fright and ran away, and Mr. 
 Case was dashed against a tree with fatal results, 
 for when found he was dead. Owing to his influ- 
 ence, and to the strong hold he had upon the af- 
 fections of his friends and neighbors, his death 
 cast a gloom over the settlement. In politics 'Sir. 
 Case was a ^^'hig and Republican. For many years 
 he was a justice of the peace, and he served as post- 
 master at West Simsbury. He possessed strong po- 
 litical convictions, but was not an office seeker. 
 He was a deacon in the Congregational Church. 
 Domestic in his tastes, he loved his home, and was 
 a close companion to his wife and children. Tem- 
 perate in his habits, a man of honor and honesty, 
 he was popular and highly respected. 
 
 ^Ir. Case married in Willoughby, Ohio, Sept. 
 10, 185 1, Cornelia A. Trowbridge, who was born 
 at Watertown, Jefferson Co., X. Y.. daughter of 
 Dr. Amasa and Gloria Anna (Billings) Trow- 
 
864 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 bridge. Her father was a well known surgeon of 
 Watertown, N. Y., was surgeon in the war of 1812, 
 and was professor of surgery in Willoughby Col- 
 lege, Ohio. Mrs. Case is a sister of Dr. William 
 R. Trowbridge, the well known surgeon of Water- 
 town, N. Y. To our subject and wife were born 
 five children: (i) Josephine Cornelia, born May 9, 
 1853, married Howell Hough, of Collinsville, and 
 has one child. Lulu. (2) Thomas Trowbridge, born 
 March i, 1856, was born at Rock Island, 111., and 
 educated at the West Simsbury district school, and 
 now manages the homestead farm. He is a member 
 of St. Mark's Lodge, Simsbury, F. & A. M. He 
 has been postmaster of West Simsbury for five 
 years, and in politics is a Reublican. (3) Frances 
 Helen, born Feb. 22, 1859, married Howard San- 
 born of Collinsville, Conn. (4) William Andrew, 
 born' May 26, 1864, died Oct. 3, 1866. (5) Charles 
 Mamre, born March 28, 1867, is at home on the 
 farm. Mrs. Case is a member of an old and hon- 
 ored family of Watertown, N. Y. She is a lady of 
 pleasant address, well educated, and a pleasant con- 
 versationalist, true in sentiment and judgment, and 
 devotedly attached to her home and friends. 
 
 HENRY PECK STRONG was a grandson of 
 Anthony Strong, who was born in Washington, 
 Conn., Dec. 9, 1757, and removed to Woodbury 
 in later life. He was a son of Preserve Strong, 
 born Sept. 8, 1712, and tracing back the family 
 genealogy we come to Adino Strong (6), who was 
 born at Northampton, Mass., Jan. 25, 1676, son of 
 Thomas Strong, of the same place, born in 1634. 
 The original progenitor of the family on this side 
 of the Atlantic was Elder John Strong, who left 
 England in 1617, and settled at Hingham, Mass. 
 Anthony Curtis Strong, father of Henry Peck 
 Strong, was a farmer by occupation. He married 
 Julia Lambert, April 9, 1820. 
 
 Henry Peck Strong was born at Woodbury, 
 July 22, 1822. His early educational training was 
 of the meager sort which might be obtained at the 
 ordinary district schools of the period, yet in spite 
 of early disadvantages he achieved success through 
 his own unaided efforts. At the age of eighteen 
 he bade adieu to school and home alike, and went 
 forth to battle with the world alone. Fie learned 
 the trade of a tanner and currier at Woodbury. 
 Being anxious to rise, he went to Seymour, where 
 he began business in a small way in partnership 
 with John Ryder. The opening of the Naugatuck 
 railway, whose route ran directly through his prop- 
 erty, ruined his business within a short time. His 
 next venture was in co-partnership with John Minor, 
 and for three years the firm bought and sold lum- 
 ber at Bridgeport. In 1855 Mr. Strong removed 
 to New Britain, buying out the coal and wood yard 
 of a Mr. Allen, located on what is now the site of 
 Landers, Frary & Clark's cutlery works. In this 
 business he had a partner, William W. Giddings, 
 the firm name being Giddings & Strong. Later a 
 
 corporation was organized under the firm name of 
 the New Britain Lumber & Coal Co., with Henry 
 Peck Strong as its president. 
 
 In 1888 Mr. Strong was attacked by a severe 
 illness, from which he never recovered. His in- 
 domitable energy, however, would not permit him 1 
 to succumb, until death claimed him, on Jan. 8, ' 
 1897. The success of the enterprise with which 
 he was identified was due largely to his own per- 
 sonal efforts, he having ever been the executive head, 
 and his sound business judgment always being a 
 ciominant influence in its counsels. His private life 
 was blameless, and his personal character most 
 lovable. To young men he was always a sympathetic 
 friend, and in the cause of Christianity and tem- 
 perance ever an active worker. On Aug. 3, 1856, 
 he united with the First Church of Christ in New 
 Britain, and in 1865 was chosen deacon in place 
 of Albert Judd, who resigned the office. His dis- 
 position was quiet and retiring, and for him the 
 ordinary issues of politics presented no attraction. 
 
 Mr. Strong was married, Sept. 8, 1847, to Sarah 
 A. Bacon, a daughter of David C. Bacon and Sarah 
 Wheeler, of Woodbury, the former of whom was a 
 farmer. Mrs. Strong was born Sept. 17, 1825. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Strong were the parents of two daughters, 
 the elder of whom, Sarah Martha, was born March ' 
 28, 1850, and died April 22, 1891. The younger 
 died in infancy. 
 
 H. O. ALLEN, M. D., a leading physician of 
 Broad Brook, has not only achieved an honorable 
 rank in his chosen profession but, as a citizen, he 
 is identified prominently with the best interests of 
 his community. 
 
 Dr. Allen was born in Broad Brook, March 22, 
 1854, a son of Luke D. and Caroline C. (Patchen) 
 Allen, and a grandson of Luke and Mahitabel 
 (Dwight) Allen. He is the eldest in a family of 
 three children, the others being Frederick D., a 
 merchant of North Adams, Mass. ; and Alice M., 
 wife of George Lamb, of East Hartford. 
 
 When our subject was about two years old his 
 parents removed to Melrose, this county, and later 
 went to Scitico, where the mother died in 1867. 
 As he was then about thirteen years of age he was 
 sent to an academy in Shelburne Falls, Mass., ;; 
 where he remained two years, and afterward he 
 attended the public schools of Melrose, this county, 
 for a time. In 1871 he went to Springfield, Mass., 
 to take a position as clerk in a drug store, and after 
 a year resumed his studies, entering the schools of 
 Wilbraham, Mass., for a two-years' course. In 
 1873 he began teaching, and for three years he was 
 successfully engaged in that work in New Jersey, 
 but as he had decided to enter the medical profes- 
 sion he then undertook a course of reading with 
 Dr. S. H. Hunt, of Eatontown, N. J. For three 
 years he was in the office of this preceptor, and in |, 
 "the meantime he completed the regular course of | 
 lectures in the University of New York, graduat- i 
 ing in 1879. Since that time he has been in active ' 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 805 
 
 pnu-tice in liroad I'.rook, meeting with success 
 friini the start, and he is now a valued niemljcr of 
 I)()th the County Medical Society and the State 
 Medical Society. As a friend of educational prog- 
 ress he has served on the town school board for 
 fifteen years, and his fellow citizens have shown 
 their confidence in his integrity and ability by elect- 
 ing him town clerk and town treasurer, he having 
 held the latter office continuously since 1891. Po- 
 litically he is a Repulilican, and for years he has 
 been recognized as one of the chief advisers of the 
 local organization. 
 
 On June 12, 1883, Dr. Allen married Miss E. 
 Lavinia Polhemus, and both are popular in the best 
 social circles of their locality. They are members 
 iii the First Congregational Church of Broad 
 lirook ; the Doctor is also connected with the 
 Grange, and with Oriental Lodge, No. iii, F. & 
 A. ^t., at Uroad JJrook. 
 
 HON. ADRIAN MOSES, a prominent citizen 
 and leatling farmer and lumbemian of Burlington, 
 is a worthy representative of an old and honored 
 Connecticut family. 
 
 Our subject traces his ancestry back to John 
 Moses, a shipwright of Plymouth, JNIass., who came 
 10 New England between 1630 and 1640, and whose 
 son John was the father of John Moses (3), who 
 was born Oct. 13, 1G99, and located in Simsbury, 
 Conn., on his father's farm near Mount Philip. He 
 married Deborah Thrall. Joshua Moses, son of 
 John (3), was born Oct. 3, 1689, and died Feb. 
 <K 1772,- He was married Dec. 12, 1717, to Han- 
 nah Strickland, who died Jan. 16, 1718-19, leaving 
 twins only three days old : Hannah, who was mar- 
 ried Dec. 30. 1747, to Benjamin Mills; and Rachel, 
 who was married Dec. 23, 1748, to Nathaniel Wil- 
 cox. Joshua Moses was again married, June 28, 
 1722, his second union being with J\lary Brooks, 
 by whom he had three children, Joshua, Othniel and 
 John. He owned land in New Hartford and also in 
 Xorfolk, Conn. He died from the effects of cancer 
 of the mouth. His son Othniel Moses was born 
 July I. 1730, and was a soldier in Col. Wolcott's 
 regiment in 1776. He was a member of the Epis- 
 copal Church. Othniel Moses, Jr., son of Othniel, 
 was born Feb. 13,, 1755, and died Oct. 8, 1841. 
 He married Mary Dowd, who died on the same date, 
 and made his home in Bristol and later in Burling- 
 ton, Conn. Their children were as follows : Chaun- 
 cey, the eldest, was born jMay 29, 1783; Joshua was 
 the grandfather of our subject; Afary, born June 
 20, 1786, married Chauncey Colton ; Laura, "born 
 June 2, 1788, married Samuel Payne, and died Jan. 
 13, 1880; Betsev. born June 20, 1790. married Colton 
 Kellogg, and lived in Ohio; Sophia, born March 
 13, 1792, married Isaac Belden, of Burlington, 
 Conn.; Chloe, born Feb. 17, 1794, married Ambrose 
 Hart, of Farmington ; Orrin, born ^lay 12, 1796, 
 died Nov. 10, 1853; Isaac was born Dec. 9, 1797; 
 and Rhoda, born June 12, 1800, married Ruil Pal- 
 
 meter, of Burlington. Joshua Moses, grandfather 
 of our subject, was born Aug. 20, 1784. and died 
 Nov. 10, 18O3. He was a landowner and farmer 
 of Burlington, and was a soldier in the war of 1812 
 under Capt. Daniel Deniing. On June 27, 181 1, 
 he married Chloe Beckwith, who died May 8, 1876. 
 They had two children : Richard, father of our 
 subject ; and Mary, born March 3, 1824. 
 
 Richard Aloses was born in Burlington, July 
 16, 1812, and attended the district schools of that 
 town. He was engaged in general farming, stock 
 raising and dairying on the farm now owned and 
 occupied by our subject, and there died July 28, 
 i860, his remains being interred in the Case ceme- 
 tery, Burlington. Politically he was first a 
 Whig, later a Democrat. He married Rachel 
 Norton, of I'.ristol, Conn., a daughter of Joel 
 Norton, and she survived him ifntil Feb. 15, 
 1900. Her remains were interred in Minne- 
 sota, where "she resided with her son Lucius 
 Moses. Mrs. Moses was a consistent member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a most esti- 
 mable lady. Our subject is second in the order of 
 birth in the family of eight children, the others be- 
 ing Harriet, deceased wife of Elias Baldwin; Sarah, 
 who died young; Ellen, deceased wife of Asa Up- 
 son, of Bristol ; Emerson, a farmer at Lake Crys- 
 tal, Minn. ; Prof. Bernard, now on the staflf of the 
 Philippine commission; Richard, a lawyer of Iowa; 
 and Lucius, a farmer of Lake Crystal, Minnesota. 
 On the farm where he now resides Adrian Moses 
 was born March 21, 1838, and he was educated in 
 the district schools of the neighborhood. He re- 
 mained on the old homestead until after his mar- 
 riage, when he removed to the town of Farmington 
 and there engaged in farming and in the lumber busi- 
 ness, handling principally railroad ties. After seven 
 years spent there he returned to Burlington and pur- 
 cliased the home farm, comprising over two hundred 
 acres, on which he has since successfully engaged 
 in general farming, stockraising and dairying. He 
 also owns and operates a sawmill, and is engaged 
 in the manufacture of lumber and railroad ties. He 
 has added to his original possessions until he now 
 owns over five hundred acres. An upright and re- 
 liable business man. he has met with well-deserved 
 success in his undertakings, and stands to-day among 
 the well-to-do and prosperous citizens of his com- 
 munity. 
 
 In I\Iay, 1863, Mr. Moses married Miss Clar- 
 inda Beckwith, a native of New Hartford, daugh- 
 ter of Isaac Beckwith, and to them were born 
 two children: Henrietta ("Etta") is now the wife 
 of Edwin Matthews ; and Arthur A., who lives on 
 the old liomestead, wedded Alary Fallows, of Union- 
 ville, and has two children, Emerson and Clara 
 Augusta. 
 
 In political sentiment Mr. Moses is a Demo- 
 crat, and he has taken quite an active and promi- 
 nent part in public affairs, having most acceptably 
 served as representative to the State Legislature (iri 
 
8G6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1877), selectman, assessor, school director, and chair- 
 man of the school board (for many years). He and 
 his wife are consistent members of the Congrega- 
 tional Church at Unionville, and both are widely 
 known and highly respected. 
 
 HON. ANDREW GORDON. The career of the 
 gentleman whose name introduces this review illus- 
 trates most forcibly the possibilities that are open 
 to the young man who possesses sterling business 
 qualifications. It proves that neither wealth nor 
 social position, nor the assistance of influential 
 friends at the outset of his career, are necessary to 
 place him on the road to success. It also proves 
 that ambition, perseverance, steadfast purpose and 
 indefatigable industry, combined with sound busi- 
 ness principles, _ will be rewarded, and that true suc- 
 cess follows individual effort only. 
 
 Mr. Gordon has gained recognition and pres- 
 tige as one of the influential and representative 
 business men of Enfield, and is to-day a member 
 of the firm of Gordon Brothers, manufacturers of 
 shoddy and wool substitutes at Hazardville. He 
 was born -in Glasgow, Scotland, Nov. 4, 1843, a 
 son of William and Jean (Bauchop) Gordon, who in 
 May, 1844, landed in New York City, and first lo- 
 cated in Little Falls, N. Y. Later they removed 
 to Auburn, that State, and in 1847 came to Thomp- 
 sonville, Hartford Co., Conn. Here the father, who 
 was a carpet weaver by trade, found employment 
 with the Thompsonville Carpet Co., and remained 
 with them until the failure of the corporation in 
 185 1. The following year he removed to Hazard- 
 ville and entered the employ of the Enfield Manu- 
 facturing Co., supporting a family of nine children 
 on wages of ninety cents per day. During the Civil 
 war from 1861 until 1865 he resided at Windsor 
 Locks where he was employed by the Medlicott 
 Manufacturing Co., but in 1866 he returned to 
 Hazardville, and has since been engaged with his 
 sons, Gordon Brothers. He reared a family of nine 
 children : Elizabeth, wife of Amos D. Bridge ; Mar- 
 garet, wife of Andrew Holford ; David ; An- 
 drew ; George B. ; Jeanette, wife of Ephraim 
 Bridge ; Mary, wife of Samuel M. McAuley ; Peter ; 
 and David G., a nephew. 
 
 Andrew Gordon was brought to the New World 
 during his infancy, and was reared in the town of 
 Enfield, Hartford county, his education being ob- 
 tained in the common schools. During his youth 
 he learned the cooper's trade, and was for some 
 time employed by the Hazard Powder Co. Hardly 
 had the echoes from Fort Sumpter's guns died 
 away when he offered his services to the govern- 
 ment to help put down the Rebellion, enlisting in 
 April, 1861, in the 1st Connecticut Light Battery, 
 for three months and three weeks, but was never 
 mustered in. On Sept. 27, 1861. ne entered the 
 service as a private in Company B, 8th Conn. V. 
 L, and was wounded Sept. 17, 1862, at Antietam, 
 being shot in the left shoulder. On Dec. 24, 1863, 
 
 he re-enlisted for three years or during the war; 
 was promoted to the rank of corporal March 26, 
 1864; was again wounded at the battle of Cold 
 Harbor, June 2, 1864; and was honorably discharged 
 on surgeon's certificate, May 31, 1865. On his re- 
 turn home Mr. Gordon served as foreman of the A. 
 D. Bridge key factory for a time, and later, as a 
 member of the firm of Gordon Brothers, engaged 
 in the manufacture of paper sacks and tinware, in 
 which business they continued until their plant was 
 destroyed by fire, in 1890. They have since en- 
 gaged exclusively in then- present busmess, which 
 they established on a small scale in 1887, and which 
 they have since successfully conducted, their trade 
 having gradually increased from the beginning. 
 
 Mr. Gordon was married, in May, 1866, to Miss 
 Miranda Lewis, a daughter of Asa and Louisa 
 (Lyons) Lewis, of Enfield, and to them have been 
 born three children : Lewis E., George J. and 
 Eleanor M. Religiously Mr. Gordon is a member 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and fraternally 
 is affiliated with Doric Lodge, No. 94, A. F. & A. 
 M. ; Washington Chapter, No. 30, R. A. M. ; Wash- 
 ington Council, Suffield; and Samuel Brown Post, 
 No. 56, G. A. R., being senior vice-commander of 
 the Department of Connecticut. He is one of the 
 prominent and influential members of the Repub- 
 lican party in his community, and is one of the 
 present representatives from Enfield town to the 
 State Legislature. 
 
 FREDUS M. CASE, one of the most active, 
 energetic, and enterprising business men of Rain- 
 boWj is a descendant of one of the old families of 
 Hartford county, and one that has been prominently 
 identified with the interests of Rainbow for a num- 
 ber of years. His father, Richard D. Case, was 
 born Oct. 12, 1829, one mile west of Rainbow, in 
 the town of Windsor, and was a son of Fredus and 
 Ruth (Phelps) Case. 
 
 The grandfather was born in the same town, a 
 short distance east of the birthplace of his son, 
 Richard D., and was a son of Benoni Case, who car- 
 ried on operations as a farmer a short distance west 
 of Rainbow. He lived to a ripe old age, and at his 
 death left considerable property. His remains were 
 interred at Poquonock. His children were as fol- 
 lows : Benoni, a miller and farmer at Rainbow, 
 became quite well-to-do; Zophar, a surveyor, also 
 served as justice of the peace, and tried many cases ; 
 Zardus at one time owned property in partnership 
 with his brother Fredus, but died about 1830, when 
 a young man ; Harlow was a farmer near Rainbow, 
 and lived to an old age; Fredus was the grandfa- 
 ther of our subject ; Amy married a Mr. Strick- 
 land, and died in East Windsor ; Delsina married 
 Harlow Moore, and died in Rainbow; Chloe mar- 
 ried Benjamin Flarger, and died in East Granby ; 
 and Amelia married a Mr. Vealy, and died in Rain- 
 bow. 
 
 Fredus Case was for years a farmer, and also 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 867 
 
 conducted a boarding-house at Rainbow and engaged 
 in teaming, hauling the product of the mills at Rain- 
 bow, ilanford and Windsor. He was a Demo- 
 crat in politics, and a very devout member of the 
 Methodist Church, using his teams on the Sabbath 
 to haul many people to church. He was well known 
 for miles around, and was recognized as one of the 
 best men of the community. He died in 1836, leav- 
 ing two children : Richard D., father of our subject ; 
 and .Vdelaide, who died at the age of sixteen years. 
 His wife, Ruth, who was a daughter of William 
 Phelps, survived him a few years, and for her sec- 
 ond Inisband married John P. Ellsworth, by whom 
 she had one son, Eli, now a jeweler of New York. 
 The early education of Richard D. Case was ob- 
 tained in the public schools near his boyhood home, 
 but after his mother's death he went to live with his 
 maternal uncle, Eli Phtlps, of Poquonock, with 
 whom he remained until his marriage, and he at- 
 tended the schools of Suffield and also Wilbraham 
 College. On Feb. 3, 1852, he married Miss Almira 
 J. Moses, a native of Simsbury, Conn., and a daugh- 
 ter of ^Vbel Closes. From his father's estate he had 
 inherited a small property at Rainbow, and there 
 the }'0ung couple began their domestic life, while he 
 turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, being 
 engaged in farming more or less throughout his en- 
 tire life. For many years he also hauled goods from 
 Rainbow and Poquonock mills to Hartford and 
 Windsor, and returned with merchandise. For 
 years he was a leading citizen of Rainbow, was 
 one of the best-known men in the northern part of 
 the county, and did more for his locality than prob- 
 ably any other man of his day, as he was liberal, 
 public-spirited and enterprising. Politically he was 
 always a stanch Democrat, but in 1896 he supported 
 McKinley for the Presidency, and he served sev- 
 eral years as selectman, was justice of the peace 
 some years, and ably represented his district in the 
 State Legislature from 1862 until 1868, and again 
 in 1879 and 1880. At the time of his death he was 
 senior deacon in the Congregational Church, a 
 member of the Poquonock Grange, and a thirty- 
 second-degree Mason, belonging to the Blue Lodge, 
 F. & A. -\L, at Windsor; Suffield Chapter, R. A. ^L ; 
 Wolcott Council, of Hartford; and \Vashington 
 Commandery, K. T., also of Hartford. It 
 can be said of him that there was prob- 
 ably no man living in his town whose ac- 
 tivity was so great or who had been identified with 
 more enterprises or business undertakings. Pie was 
 foremost in all things, and many improvements are 
 due to his influence, support and agitation. He was 
 instrumental in securing the erection of the iron 
 bridge at Poquonock, the first bridge in the town, 
 and was selected by the people to oversee its con- 
 struction. He was also chairman of the committee 
 that built the town hall at Poquonock, and was 
 ever a man ot inestimable value to the commu- 
 nity. 
 
 By his first marriage Mr. Case had the following 
 
 children : Adelaide, now the wife of C. M. Mc- 
 Lean, secretary and treasurer of the American 
 Mills, at Rockville, Conn.; Fredus M., our subject; 
 Winfield S., a resident of Rainbow ; George, a resi- 
 dent uf \\ allingford. Conn.; Henry, who died at 
 the age of twenty-five years, and James, a resident 
 of W allingford. The mother of these children died 
 Sept. 27, i8yo, and the father subsequently married 
 Airs. C. Elizabeth (Bellj Case, widow of Henry 
 Case, but she is now also deceased. Mr. Case 
 passed away Feb. 23, 1899, his death resulting from 
 a shock of paralysis. 
 
 Predus ^\1. Case, whose name introduces this re- 
 view, was lx)rn in Rainbow, April 25, 1856, and be- 
 gan his education in the local schools, later at- 
 tended a select school at Poquonock, the Mt. Pleas- 
 ant Institute, Amherst, and Comer's Commercial 
 School, of Boston, where he completed the course 
 and received a diploma. After his graduation he be- 
 came bookkeeper for C.N. McLean, Boston, and later 
 was associated with that gentleman, as commission 
 men in the wool business. He went to San Antonio, 
 Texas, and established the pioneer business of that 
 State in the line of packing and grading wool. On 
 his return to Connecticut he located in Rainbow, 
 where he was associated in business with his father 
 for some time, and in May, 1890, took entire charge 
 of the teaming business, transporting the products 
 of the mills at Rainbow to Windsor and Hartford, 
 and employing from thirty-five to forty horses and 
 many wagons in the business. He makes a spe- 
 cialty of heavy hauling, and had the carting and 
 putting in of the huge dynamos for the Farming- 
 ton River Power Co., which supplies electric light 
 for Hartford ; also for the plant at Tarififville, die 
 water-wheel, etc. The dynamos weigh fifty-five 
 tons, one piece eighteen tons, and Mr. Case designed 
 and built the wagon for hauling it. It had what 
 is called a pushing pole, so that teams may be used 
 both front and back, to pull and push. Mr. Case 
 also does a general livery business at Rainbow, has 
 built all his barns and is engaged in farming upon 
 sixty acres of land. He has charge of Judge S. 
 O. Griswold's estate, which he successfully man- 
 ages. He owns an attractive modern home in Rain- 
 bow, which was completed in 1898. 
 
 For his first wife Mr. Case married Miss Min- 
 nie D. Smith, of Poquonock, by whom he has one 
 son, living, Herbert S. G., born April 23, 1882, 
 now attending Mt. Pleasant school. After her 
 death he wedded Miss Natalie (Parsons) Merwin, 
 daughter of Rev. N. T. and Martha (Parsons) 
 Merwin, of Milford. They are members of the Con- 
 gregational Church, in which Mr. Case has served 
 as superintendent of the Sabbath-school for seven 
 years, and is filling that office now, and takes an 
 active part in church work. He is one of the most 
 prominent members of the Democratic party in his 
 locality, and at the early age of twenty-three years 
 re]iresented the town of W^indsor in the State Leg- 
 islature. He h^s also served as selectman for five 
 
868 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 successive years. Fraternally he is a member of 
 the Masonic Lodge at Windsor and of Poquonock 
 Grange. 
 
 WILLIAM ANDREW SMITH, the well- 
 known and popular postmaster at Hazardville, is 
 an important factor in business circles, being the 
 leading hardware merchant of the village, and as a 
 public-spirited citizen he is thoroughly interested 
 in whatever tends to promote the moral, intellectual 
 and material welfare of the community. 
 
 Mr. Smith was born in Barnesville, New Bruns- 
 wick, May 4, 1844, a son of Andrew and Mary 
 (Barnes) Smith, also natives of New Brunswick, 
 where they continued to make their home until 
 1850, in which year they became residents of Brim- 
 field, Mass. There the father engaged in farming 
 for ten years, and followed the same pursuit in 
 Wales, Mass., for four years. At the end of that 
 time he removed to Somers, Conn., where he re- 
 mained ten years, and then came to Windsor Locks, 
 Hartford county. Since 1883 he has resided in 
 Hazardville, and is one of the highly-respected citi- 
 zens of the place. His children, six in number, 
 were Jennie, deceased; Carrie, wife of George B. 
 Gordon; William A.; James H. ; John W.; and 
 George H. 
 
 William A. Smith, our subject, was reared in 
 New England, and his educational privileges were 
 such as the common schools of his day afforded. 
 In 1872 he began his business career as a clerk 
 for Gordon Brothers, Hazardville, acting in that 
 capacity until 1886, when he purchased the business 
 in which he is now engaged. He carries a large and 
 well-selected stock of shelf and heavy hardware, 
 and by courteous treatment and fair dealing he has 
 succeeded in building up an excellent trade. 
 
 On May 16, 1888, Mr. Smith married Miss 
 Jessie M., daughter of Franklin and Ann S. ( Spen- 
 cer) Smith, of Flazardville, and to their union has 
 been born one daughter, Marian L., now deceased. 
 The Republican party always finds in Mr. Smith 
 a stanch supporter of its principles, and in 1890 he 
 received the appointment of postmaster at Hazard- 
 ville, which position he is still filling to the entire 
 satisfaction of the many patrons of the office. His 
 public service has been most exemplary, and his 
 private life has been marked by the utmost fidelity 
 to duty. 
 
 RALPH HART ENSIGN, manager of En- 
 sign, Bickford & Co., manufacturers of fuses at 
 Simsbury, is a native of that town, and descends 
 from two of the oldest families in the county, the 
 Ensigns and the Whitings, being of the seventh 
 generation of both, counting from and including;- 
 the first colonist of each family. 
 
 On the paternal side, James Ensign was the 
 first to come from England, locating in Cambridge, 
 whence he came to Hartford in 1634, and the heads 
 of the families for the six generations following 
 have been David, Thomas, Moses, Isaac, MoseSj 
 
 and Ralph Hart, the subject of this sketch.^ The 
 founder of tlie Whiting family in New England 
 was William, who was one of the earliest settlers- 
 of Hartford, and on this, the maternal side of the 
 house, the heads of the families have consecutively 
 been Joseph, John, Allen, Elijah, with Martha T. 
 and our subject following in due course. 
 
 The name Ensign is of Saxon origin, as will' 
 be seen in the biographical notices of the East Hart- 
 ford branch of the family. It is traced to the En- 
 sign Manor at Childham, near Canterbury, Eng- 
 land, and the family arms appeared in Childham 
 church. The name was known as far back as 1563 
 in the counties of Essex, Norfolk and Kent, and 
 was a distinguished cognomen. Jamjes Ensign, 
 the founder of the American family, came to Hart- 
 ford with Rev. Thomas Hooker, assisted in organ- 
 izing the Second Church, and died in November, 
 1670. His only son, David, was born in 1645, and 
 first married Mehitable Gunn, daughter of Thomas 
 Gunn, of Windsor, but they were divorced by mu- 
 tual consent, and he married Sarah Wilcox, who 
 died Feb. 3, 1717. David removed to West Hart- 
 ford, where he organized the Congregational 
 Church, and died Dec. 12, 1727. His children were 
 named David, James and Thomas. 
 
 Thomas Ensign, youngest son of David, mar- 
 ried Hannah Shepherd, daughter of John and Re- 
 becca (Greenhill) Shepherd, and among their chil- 
 dren was Moses, who was born in South Windsor, 
 where, in 1731, he married Love Andrews, a 
 daughter of Thomas and Love (i<night) Andrews, 
 and among their • children was Isaac, grandfather 
 of Ralph H. Ensign. 
 
 Isaac Ensign was born in West Hartford, where 
 he was reared to manhood and learned blacksmith- 
 ing. 'About 1771 he came to Simsbury and opened 
 a shop near the old cemetery. He became a prom- 
 inent citizen of the town, and here married Lu- 
 ranah Pettibone, daughter of Jacob and Jennie 
 (Cornish) Pettibone, to which union were born 
 ten children: Isaac, Isaiah, Ariel, Zeba, Zophar, 
 Bildad, Eri, Moses, Love and Luranah. 
 
 Moses Ensign, the eighth son of the foregoing 
 familv, was born in Simsbury, and engaged in the 
 manufacture of tinware. He married Martha Tul- 
 ler Whiting, a native of Hartford, but a resident 
 of Simsbury, at the time of marriage. She was a 
 daughter of Elijah Whiting, a farmer, and was 
 related to some of- the best families in the county, 
 among whom were the Allyns, the Lords, the Pyn- 
 chons, and others of equal note. She was a noble 
 woman, and the character of her children suggests 
 the influence she exerted over them. These chil- 
 dren were born in the following order: Isaac W.. 
 who went South when but twenty-three years old, 
 and is now a successful merchant in Forsyth, Ga., 
 and a most prominent citizen ;-Abbie M., widow of 
 Capt. Lucius Goodrich, of Simsbury, whose Kog- 
 raphy appears elsewhere ; David M., deceased ; Sa- 
 bra T., widow of Chester Seymour, and residing' 
 in Hartford : Nathan R., who passed a large por- 
 tion of his life in Georgia, was in the Confederate 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 809 
 
 service during the war of the RebelUon, and died 
 ill Simsbury, Conn.; and Ralph 11., the subject of 
 iliis sketch. In poHtics Aioses Ensign was a Dem- 
 ocrat, and although not a public man, nor one to 
 push himself into general notice, was a regular 
 voter, and took more than an ordinary interest in 
 his party's success. He was prominent as a mem- 
 ber of and officer in the Congregational Church, 
 in the faith of which he died at the age of seventy 
 vears ; his wife passed away when fiftv-six. He 
 was the type of citizen that posteritv can feel ])roud 
 <if, and was sadly missed by the community when 
 called away. 
 
 Ral]jh H. Ensign was born Nov. 3, 1834, in a 
 house that stood on the site of the "Elm Tree Inn." 
 He attended the Hop Meadow District school in 
 early \'outh, and among his teachers were Eliza 
 Hall, jane Weston and Mrs. Merritt. He later at- 
 tended the Connecticut Literary Institute, at Suffield, 
 at a time when it ranked among the foremost of its 
 kind in the State, and still later attended Wilbra- 
 ham Academy for a short time. When not at 
 ^chool, he assisted his father in the shop or was 
 engaged in farming. At the age of twenty-one 
 \ears he went to Suffield, and was employed for 
 >onie time by Samuel Austin, an extensive manu- 
 facturer of cigars, as assistant foreman. For a short 
 time, also, Mr. Ensign lived in Georgia with his 
 elder brothers, who were there engaged in busi- 
 ness, and on his return to Connecticut accepted a 
 position as clerk; in Tariffville, later engaging in 
 mercantile business on his own accovuit at the same 
 ]/lace. 
 
 In .\ugust, 1863, Mr. Ensign entered the em- 
 ploy of Toy, Bickford & Co., fuse manufacturers 
 at Simsburv, became a member of the firm in 1870, 
 and April i, 1887. when the concern was reorgan- 
 ized, as Ensign, Bickford & Co., he was made man- 
 ager. This firm is the oldest in America in its line, 
 iloes the largest business in the manufacture of 
 blasting fuses, and owns a branch plant in Brook- 
 lyn, Alameda County, Cal. Its product is shipped 
 to all parts of the world, and its headquarters at 
 Simsburv has been of great value to the town. 
 
 Air. Ensign married, July 21, 1863, Aliss Susan 
 Toy, a native of Cornwall. England, and a daugh- 
 ter of Joseph and Jane (Osier) Toy, whose biop-- 
 raphy appears elsewhere. She was but a child when 
 brought to the United States, and was reared in 
 Simsbury. Of the five children born to this unio.i, 
 Sarah I. died in infancy; Joseph R. is fully spoken 
 of in a sketch elsewhere; Susan A. and Juba W'. 
 reside with their parents in Simsbury ; pud Ed- 
 ward William died in childhood. 
 
 In politics Mr. Ensign is of Democratic pro- 
 clivities, but he is not strongly partisan. In 1876 
 he represented his town in the State Legislature. 
 Eraternallv he is a member of Simsl)ury Lodge, 
 !■ . & A. i\I. Mrs. Ensign in religion is an ardent 
 ^letbodist. Air. Ensign is known as a careful busi- 
 ness man, and is a director in the Hartford Na- 
 tional Bank and several other monetary institu- 
 tions. 
 
 MAR\'IN LEWIS (deceased), who during his 
 life was one of the most respected citizens of Suf- 
 field, was born on tlie homestead at Hastings Hill, 
 in Suffield, December, 1816, and was a son of John 
 and Hannah (Hastings) Lewis. He was of Eng- 
 lish descent, his grandfather, John Lewis, who was 
 a hand-weaver by trade, having been the first of the 
 family to come from England to the United States 
 and to make his home at Hastings Hill, where he 
 passed the remainder of his life in the pursuit of 
 agriculture. 
 
 John Lewis, father of Marvin Lewis, was born 
 on the Hastings Hill farm, which consisted of sixty 
 acres, passed his life in farming, and died at the 
 age of seventy-five years, in the faith of the Bap- 
 tist Church ; his remains, like those of his father, 
 were interred in Zion's Hill cemetery. In politics 
 he was a Democrat, and for several years served 
 as selectman of the town. To his marriage with 
 Hannah Hastings, daughter of Abijah Hastings, 
 were born ten children, two of whom died in in- 
 fancy ; those who reached maturity were Orvil, 
 Louisa, Alvin and Marvin, all since deceased; Han- 
 nah D., who was married to Henry Mather, of 
 Southwick, Mass. ; Phebc, who married Lovatus 
 Rising, also of Southwick ; Abijah, now on the home- 
 stead; and Mary Ann, also tleceased, who married 
 James Smith, of Rhode Island. The mother of 
 this family died on the farm and was buried in 
 Zion's Hill cemetery. 
 
 Marvin Lewis remained with his parents until 
 he was twenty years of age, when he bought a small 
 tract of land near the homestead (the tract is now 
 owned by William Lyons), and after a residence 
 thereon of fifteen years sold out, and bought the 
 Abijah Remington fann of sixty acres, to which he 
 added forty acres, made many improvements, and 
 here died Jan. i, 1886 — one of the most successful 
 tobacco growers and farmers of Suffield. He was 
 liberal in his church views, but was a true Christian, 
 was charitable to all, and was of temperate habits. 
 In politics he was first a Democrat, and later a 
 Republican, and was altogether a useful citizen, 
 respected by all who knew him. 
 
 In 1843, ^Ir. Lewis married, in Suffield, Miss 
 Almira C. Remington, daughter of Abijah Reming- 
 ton, to which union were born two children. Oilman 
 M. and Newton R., the former of whom was a grad- 
 uate of the Connecticut Literary Institute, married 
 Josephine Wright, of Feeding Hills, and died while 
 still young, the father of one child, Ada. who mar- 
 ried George Eastman, of New York City. 
 
 Newton R. Lewis for several years was engaged 
 in the hardware business in Bridgeport, Conn., and 
 later in the livery business. After the death of his 
 father he engaged in tobacco growing and fanning 
 on the homestead. For his first wife he mar- 
 ried Ada Freeman, only daughter of Eli Freeman, of 
 West Suffield, and for his second wife he wedded 
 Grace Holmes, a native of East Bridgewatcr, Mass., 
 and a daughter of Ellis W. and Julia J. (Gushing) 
 
870 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Holmes, who now make New Bedford their home. 
 To Newton R. Lewis and wife have been born two 
 children, Gwendolyn and John. 
 
 Abijah Remington, grandfather of Mrs. Marvin 
 Lewis, was a native of Suffield, was a captain in 
 the Revolution, and died at his home — the farm 
 now owned by Mrs. Lewis. He married Silence 
 Rising, who bore him nine children : Silence, mar- 
 ried to John Rice ; Desire, married to James Lewis ; 
 Abijah, father of Mrs. Marvin Lewis; Lucy, mar- 
 ried to Thomas Archer; Lydia, married to Will- 
 iam Hastings, who after her death wedded her 
 sister, Laura; Julius; Mary, married to Chancey 
 Sheldon; and Cynthia, who died at the age of 
 eleven years. 
 
 Abijah Remington, father of Mrs. Lewis, in his 
 young manhood taught school in winter and worked 
 on his father's farm in summer. He was one of 
 the first tobacco growers in Suffield, was an ex- 
 tensive landholder, owning, among other property, 
 the farm now occupied by William H. Peckham 
 and that occupied by Mrs. Lewis. He died in 
 1856, a member of the Baptist Church, and 
 one of the most respected men of the county, 
 his remains being interred at Zion's Hill. In poli- 
 tics he was a Whig. To his marriage with Chloe 
 Hanchett, were born two children: Horace, who 
 died in San Jose, Cal. ; and Almira C, now Mrs. 
 Lewis. Mrs. Chloe Remington lived to the ripe 
 age of eightj'-seven years, died, a devout Baptist, 
 at the home of Mrs. Lewis, and was interred in 
 Zion's Hill cemetery. 
 
 Thomas Hanchett, a maternal ancestor of Mrs. 
 Lewis, was the first of the name to come from 
 England. He first located in Roxbury, Mass., in 
 1620, but afterward made several removes, viz.: 
 In 1649, to Wethersfield, Conn.; in 1651, to New 
 London; in 1654, to Northampton; in 1679, to 
 Westfield; and in 1686 came to Suffield. To his 
 marriage with Deliverance Laughton, were born 
 four children — John, Thomas, Deliverance and Han- 
 nah. The eldest of these, John Llanchett, born 
 Sept. I, 1649, in Wethersfield, married Elizabeth 
 Pritchett, Sept. 6, 1677. She died Nov. 29, 171 1, 
 the mother of the following children : Esther, born 
 Aug. I, 1678; John, Nov. 16, 1679; Samuel, April 
 7, 1682, died Oct. 14, 1761 ; Bathsheba, May 19, 
 1683; Mehitable, June 22, 1686; Ebenezer, Jan. 
 13, 1688; and Hannah, Aug. 10, 1693. 
 
 John Hanchett, the second of the above family, 
 married Lydia Hay ward, Feb. 26, 1707. She was 
 born in 1683, and died in Decemljer, 1777, the 
 mother of nine children : Lydia, born in December, 
 1707 (died in July, 171 1) ; John, Nov. i, 1709 
 (died in December, 1796) ; Lydia, in 1711 ; Ebenezer, 
 in 1716; Zacharias, in 1718; Uriah, in May, 1721 ; 
 Joseph, in August, 1723; Hannah, in November, 
 1725 (died in May, 1727) ; and Hannah (2) Oct. 
 ,17, 1728. Of this family, John, the second born, 
 married Mary Sheldon, July i, 1733. She was born' 
 in 1713, and died Aug. 7, 179S, mother of the fol- 
 
 lowing children: Mary B., born May 18, 1734, died 
 Oct. 20, 1750; John, oorn July 3, 1730, died m March, 
 1759; Luke, born Feb. 3, 1738; Rachel, born Oct. 
 31, 1739; Oliver, born Aug. 17, 1741 ; David, born 
 June 8, 1743 ; Lydia, born March 23, 1745 ; Hannah, 
 and Mary. The father died Dec. 9, 1796. David 
 Hanchett, the sixth of the above named children, 
 and the grandfather of Mrs. Lewis, was a captain 
 in the Revolutionary war. He married, Oct. 24, 
 1765, Deborah Sheldon, who was born Dec. 26, 
 1745, and died in May, 1842, the mother of the 
 following family: John, born Sept. 10, 1766, died 
 March 30, 1796; Deborah, born May 17, 1768, died 
 March 11, 1852; Mary, born March 22, 1770, died 
 May 24, 1772; David, born May 24, 1772, died 
 Nov. 24, 1776; Oliver, born July 23, 1774, died 
 Oct. 7, 1829; Hannah, born Feb. 22, 1777, died 
 April 5, 1813 ; David, born April 13, 1779, died Feb. 
 2, 1865; Erastus, born Jan. 31, 1781, died Sept. 
 16, 1854; Seth, born Aug. 7, 1783, died Sept. 5, 
 1853; Chloe, born Jan. 10, 1786 (married Abijah 
 Remington, and became the mother of Mrs. Lewis), 
 died Oct. 15, 1872; Betsey, born Nov. 17, 1789, 
 died Sept. 5, 1849; and Phineas, born May 22, 1792, 
 died March 19, 1865. The father of this family 
 died in 1822, a devout member of the Baptist 
 Church. 
 
 HON. JAMES BARLOW ROSE, one of West 
 Suffield's most respected native-]porn citizens and 
 retired business men, was born April 5, 1816. His 
 father. Barlow Rose, was a son of Gad Rose, of 
 whom mention is made in full in the biography of 
 Oliver C. Rose, given elsewhere. 
 
 Bailow Rose, in early manhood, was very suc- 
 cessful as a peddler of Yankee notions, shoes, cigars, 
 indigo and other articles, through the States of 
 Connecticut and New York, later becoming inter- 
 ested, with his brother Curtis, in conducting a saw- 
 mill and distillery, and still later settling down to 
 farming. In his religious views he was very toler- 
 ant, and in politics he was first a Federalist and then 
 a Jeffersonian Democrat; he was noted for his 
 domestic habits and integrity, as well as his genial 
 disposition. He married Clarissa King, a native 
 of Suffield, who bore him six children: James 
 Barlow, the subject of this sketch; Cornelius, who 
 died young ; Mortimer, who died in infancy ; Morti- 
 mer (2), who is also deceased; Almira C, deceased 
 wife of H. S. Sheldon ; and Alexander C, also de- 
 ceased. The father died on his farm, the mother 
 at the home of our subject, and the remains of 
 both were laid to rest, side by side, in the West 
 Suffield cemetery. The mother was a faithful mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church, and both parents 
 were greatly respected by all who knew them. 
 
 James Barlow Rose was educated in the public 
 schools and at Westfield Academy, and the first 
 year after leaving school he clerked for his uncle, 
 Thaddeus Lyman, in West Suffield. He then 
 started on the road, and for six years peddled Yankee 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 S71 
 
 notions, whips and lashes, cigars, etc., through his 
 native State, New Jersey, New York and Penn- 
 sylvania. He was very successful in his trips, and 
 when he relinquished peddling was offered a salary 
 of $i,8oo per aniiuni by his cniiiloycr to remain on 
 the road, which he declined. In 1S42 he purchased 
 a two-thirds interest in the mercantile establish- 
 ment of William Lyman, of West Suffield. He 
 induced his brother Mortimer to join him, and in 
 J 845 bought out Air. Lyman entire, he and his 
 brother coiitinuing for twenty years in dealing in 
 tobacco, manufacturing cigars, and in growing to- 
 bacco. In 1865, Mortimer Rose withdrew and en- 
 gaged in farming, when our subject admitted his 
 own son, Clifton B., into partnership, the firm name 
 becoming J. B. Rose & Son. The new firm drove 
 a thriving trade until 1873, when a conilagation des- 
 troyed the store and stock, and J. B. Rose saw fit 
 to reliiKiuish the cares of mercantile life and to set- 
 tle on a small farm, where he has since devoted his 
 attention to agriculture, making tobacco growing a 
 specialty. His career as a merchant was a most 
 honorable one, his integrity was never called in 
 question, and in his quieter pursuit of farming he 
 is equally respected for his honesty and uniformly 
 upright conduct. 
 
 Air. Rose is to-day one of the oldest Democrats 
 in the town of Suffield. In 1840 he cast his first 
 Presidential vote for William Henry Harrison, the 
 A\'hig candidate, and adhered to the Whig party 
 until the formation of the Know-Nothing or Na- 
 tive American party, which was largely made up 
 of \Miigs, when he became a Democrat, and has 
 since used his franchise in favor of the last-named 
 [Kjlitical organization. He has filled all of the 
 town offices, including that of selectman, and in 
 1873 was elected to the State Legislature, dis- 
 charging the duties of this office so ably that he 
 was re-elected for a second term. For twenty- 
 five years he served as justice of the peace, and dur- 
 ing this long service not one appeal was ever taken 
 from his decisions. While filling this office he 
 once arrested and imprisoned a man for commit- 
 ting some unlawful act in his presence. The 
 prisoner brought suit for $10,000 damages for ar- 
 rest without a warrant, and for some time Justice 
 Rose was under $2,500 bonds to answer, but when 
 the case was carried before a jury in the Superior 
 court it w-as decided in his favor, as Mr. Rose proved 
 that, tinder an old law, a justice of the peace had 
 the right to make arrest for unlawful acts com- 
 mitted in his presence — warrant or no warrant. 
 During the Civil war, when Mr. Rose was a select- 
 man, a number of citizens were drafted for mili- 
 tary serjice, Init did not desire to serve, nor had they 
 the means with which to hire substitutes. It was 
 suggested by Mr. Rose and other citizens that the 
 town be taxed to the amount of $300 for each man 
 so drafted, and that the town issue its bonds or 
 notes for the payment of the funds so raised, and 
 a called meeting endorsed this action. Those of 
 
 the citizens who were exempt from service op- 
 posed the issue of the bonds, and sued out an in- 
 junction to prevent such issue; but Mr. Rose had 
 the people on his side, and at a second meeting the 
 selectmen were empowered tu continue the issue 
 of bonds, this action calling forth a second injunc- 
 tion. At still another meeting .\lr. Rose was em- 
 powered to appoint a comnnttee to act, and the 
 names of the members of this committee were kept 
 secret, so that a third injunction was avoided, the 
 action of the opponents of the measure frustrated, 
 Mr. Rose and his friends were triumphant, and the 
 town paid for the necessary substitutes. For a 
 long time, however, the query was current on the 
 streets, in the schools, at church gatherings, etc., 
 and in the newspapers, "Who are the committee?" 
 
 Flon. James B. Rose, in 1839, wedded Miss 
 Mary M. King, a daughter of Ashel King, of Suf- 
 field, and to this union were born two children : 
 Clifton Barlow and Rosaline. Chfton Barlow Rose 
 was educated in the public schools of Suffield, the 
 Arms Academy, at Shelburne Fails, -Mass.. and 
 the Connecticut Literary Institute of Suffield, and 
 then engaged in mercantile business with his fa- 
 ther until 1873. In 1876 he went to Arizona, where 
 he spent four years in merchandising on the Apache 
 Reservation, and four years as sheriff" of Graham 
 county, having been appointed to that office by 
 Gen. John C. Fremont, tie also traveled extensively 
 in California, Texas, Alexico, New Alexico, and 
 other parts of the continent, and is now a resident 
 of Suffield, Conn. Fie married Aliss Louise A. 
 Stevens, a daughter of James Stevens, of South- 
 wick, Mass., and to this marriage was born one 
 child, Harold. Airs. Louisa A. Rose died in 1892, 
 and her remains were laid to rest in Westfield, 
 Mass. Clifton B. Rose, in both religion and poli- 
 tics, is quite liberal, and fraternally he is a member 
 of Arizona Lodge, F. & A. AI. Rosaline Rose died 
 )oung, and the mother, Airs. Alary AI. (_King) 
 Rose, was called away Alay 9, 1886. Air. Rose 
 subsequently married Alatilda L. Graham, who has 
 also passed away, dying in the faith of the Con- 
 gregational Church, and her remains are buried at 
 Suffield. 
 
 Air. Rose is a well-read gentleman, has always 
 taken an active interest in the welfare of his town, 
 and his public and private life and acts have been 
 such as to win for him the esteem of the comnnmity 
 in which he has passed so many years of an active 
 and public-spirited existence. Since Jan. i, 1852, 
 some forty-eight and one-half years ago, he has 
 kept a daily diary, and can tell wdicre lie was every 
 day during that time, and generally what he was 
 doing on each day. He is now in his eighty-fifth 
 year. 
 
 ROWLAND BARLOW, deceased. There is. 
 particular satisfaction in reverting to the life his- 
 tory of the honored and venerable gentleman whose 
 name introduces this review, as he bore in his veins 
 
872 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 some of the best blood of our early Colonists and 
 was a representative of one of the prominent pio- 
 neer families of Hampden county, Mass. For two 
 hundred and fifty years the Barlow family has been 
 identified with New England history, the first to 
 cross the Atlantic from England being James Bar- 
 low, who settled in Suffield, Hartford Co., Conn., 
 where he made his home throughout the remainder 
 of his life, dying there in 1689 or 1690. His only 
 child, James Barlow, Jr., was born in 1688, in Suf- 
 field, where he engaged in farming throughout 
 his active business life, and he died there in 1758. 
 
 Edmund Barlow, son of James Barlow, Jr., 
 and the grandfather of our subject, was born May 
 18, 1732, in Suffield, whence when a young man he 
 removed to Granville, Mass., where he engaged in 
 agricultural pursuits. During the Revolutionary 
 war he enlisted, Oct. 21, 1776, in the Colonial ser- 
 vice, and was first lieutenant in Capt. Cooky's com- 
 pany, under command of Col. John Wosley and 
 Lieut.-Col. Timothy Robinson. He received an 
 honorable discharge Nov. 17, 1776. He married 
 Miss Sybil Root, of Hebron, Conn., who died in 
 Granville, Mass., in 1818. Their family numbered 
 nine children: Edmund, born in May, 1763, died 
 in 1842; Rebecca, born in November, 1764, mar- 
 ried Ashel King, and died Jan. 10, 1823 ; Chene, 
 born in March, 1767, died in Granville, in 1777; 
 Sybil, born in January, 1769, died July 2, 1833; 
 James, born in July, 1771, died Sept. 20, 1837; 
 Mary, born in August, 1773, died in 1777; John, 
 born in 1776, died in 1777; Chene, born June, 1779. 
 died in 1829; and Lucy, born in February, 1786, 
 died June 23, 1859. 
 
 Edmund Barlow, Jr., the father of our subject, 
 spent his entire life in Granville, Mass., engaged in 
 the occupation of farming, and was the owner of 
 some good property there. He was one of the 
 distinguished and honored citizens Of his com- 
 munity, and 3S a Whig took quite an active and 
 prominent part in local politics. At one time he 
 represented his district in the State Legislature. He 
 was married in Granville, in 1786, to Miss Tabitha 
 Bancroft, a daughter of Samuel Bancroft. She was 
 born in 1763, and died in 1851, in Granville, while 
 his death occurred in, 1842, and the remains of 
 both were interred in Granville cemetery. They 
 were the parents of eight children, whose names, 
 with dates of birth and death, are as follows : 
 Elizabeth, 1787-1869; Heman, 1790-1884; Mary, 
 1792-1886; Edmund, 1796-1864; Samuel, 1798- 
 1876; Diana, 1803-1876; Barber, 1805 (went South 
 at the age of twenty- three, and never returned) ; 
 and Rowland, a sketch of whom follows : 
 
 Rowland Barlow was born Oct. 8, 1807, in 
 Granville, Mass., where he grew to manhood and 
 engaged in farming until i860. His education was 
 acquired in the public schools of his native town. 
 On leaving there he came to North Granby, Hart- 
 ford Co., Conn., where he purchased ninety acres 
 of land, known as the Rowland Hayes farm, on 
 
 which he made his home, while engaged in general 
 farming, until 1892. He then sold the place and 
 removed to a farm of forty acres in the town of 
 Granby, where he lived retired until his death, mt 
 June 5, 1899. ■ 
 
 In February, 1831, in Granby, Mr. Barlow mar- ; 
 ried Miss Chleo Godard, who was born in 181 1, a 
 daughter of Miles Godard, and four children came 
 of this union: Edmund B., born in October, 1832, 
 is a resident of Granville, Mass. ; Leland O., born 
 in 1835, was a soldier in the Civil war, and died in 
 Andersonville prison in 1864; Mary Jane, born in 
 1837, died in 1838; and Jane E., born in 1839, 
 lived . with her father, and tenderly cared for him 
 in his declining years. The wife and mother died 
 in Granville, Mass., in January, 1840, and was 
 buried there. Mr. Barlow was married in July, 
 1841, to Miss Lavera Kendall, who was born in 
 181 1, a daughter of Noadiah Kendall. By this mar- 
 riage there were also four children : Harriet 
 Emeroy, born in 1842, is now the wife of Milo 
 Wilcox, of GranDy ; Arabella Susan, born in 1844, 
 died in 1850; Stella, born in 1848, is the wife of 
 Frederick Rice, of Granby; and Rolla Hubert, born 
 in July, 1852, died in 1879. The mother of these 
 children died in Granville, July 8, 1852, and was 
 laid to rest there. For his third wife Mr. Barlow 
 married her sister, Ursula Kendall, and the only 
 child born to them died in infancy. Mrs. Barlow, 
 who was a most estimable woman, departed this 
 life Feb. 19, 1895, and was buried in Granville 
 cemetery. 
 
 Our subject was the oldest living citizen in 
 Granby, as well as one of its most highly-respected 
 and honored men. He cast his first vote in 1828, 
 and was a Whig until the organization of the Re- 
 publican party, when he joined its ranks and con- 
 tinued to fight under its banner. He was never an 
 office seeker, but in 1861 was the choice of the 
 people of his district for representative in the State 
 Legislature. He was broad-minded and liberal in 
 his views, and in all the relations of life was 
 found true to every trust reposed in him. He was 
 always upright and honorable in all his dealings 
 with his fellow men, and was justly deserving of 
 the high regard in which he was uniformly held. 
 
 LION. EDWARD PRICKETT. While "the 
 race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the 
 strong," the invariable law of destiny accords to 
 tireless energy, industry and ability a successful 
 career. The truth of this assertion is abundantly 
 verified in the life of Mr. Prickett, the well-known 
 superintendent of the Hazard Powder Mills, and a 
 leading citizen of Enfield. 
 
 Our subject was born in Faversham, County of 
 Kent, England, Feb. 21, 1832, a son of William 
 and Catherine (Wildish) Prickett, who on coining 
 tc America in 1836 located in Hazardville, Hart- 
 ford Co., Conn., where the father served as fore- 
 man of a department of the Hazard Powder Mills 
 
CdC). & 
 
COMMEMOR.mrE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 878 
 
 (itntil killed by an explosion there, in 1844. He was 
 a skilled workman and manufacturer, and his 
 knowledge and care aided materially in establish- 
 ing the fame and excellence of Hazard powder. In 
 his familv were the following children: Ann, wife 
 of J. Winthrop I'arsons ; Edward ; Thomas ; Eliza, 
 wife of Willis Simons; Adeline, wife of George 
 Whiton ; Ashman P. ; and William A. 
 
 Edward I'rickett was only four years old when 
 he crossed the Atlantic with his parents and took 
 up his residence in Hazardville, where he was 
 reared and educated in the common schools. He 
 began his business career as an employe of the 
 Hazard Powder Co., and in 1854 left the operative 
 works and entered the office. During his service 
 of over forty-five years with that company he has 
 steadily advanced in public favor, and has their 
 entire confidence and respect. From childhood he 
 has been around the mills, and as an employe in the 
 various departments he soon acquired an excellent 
 knowledge of the business, being educated in the 
 chemistry of explosives and thoroughly qualified 
 by training and experience for his present respon- 
 sible position. He has regularly maintained the, su- 
 perior quality of Hazard powder, and has firmly 
 established its reputation. 
 
 On Alay 22, 1856, Mr. Prickett was united in 
 marriage with Aliss Barbara Law, daughter of 
 James and Jane (Crawford) Law, natives of Scot- 
 land, and five children have been born of this 
 union: Georgianna C, wife of M. L. Bailey; Hel- 
 ena J., wife of W. H. Miner; Clift'ord D., who mar- 
 ried Edith M. Gordon; Edward L., who married 
 Hdma T. Dahlgren ; and Efiie JNL The family are 
 members of the JMethodist Episcopal Church, and 
 merit and receive the respect and esteem of all 
 who know them. Politically i\lr. Prickett is iden- 
 tified with the Republican party, and, as one of the 
 popular and influential citizens of his community, 
 he was called upon to represent Enfield in the State 
 Legislature in 1879. 
 
 HON. EDWIN JOHN SHELDON, an enter- 
 prising young tobacco grower and general farmer 
 of Sufifield, was born in Florence township, Will 
 Co., Ill, Oct. 27, i860, but is of Connecticut par- 
 entage. 
 
 William Stevens Sheldon, father of Edwin J., 
 was born Jan. 20, 1833, ori the farm now owned 
 by Deacon Benjamin Sheldon, in the town of Suf- 
 field. Conn., a biography of whom appears elsewhere. 
 He was educated in the district schools and the 
 Connecticut Literary Institute, and remained on the 
 home place until twenty-two years of age, when he 
 started for the West, for ten years living in Will 
 county, 111., where he engaged in stock raising and 
 grain growing. In 1865 he sold his farm and re- 
 turned to Connecticut, and settled on the old home- 
 stead of 160 acres where he was born, and on 
 which he died Feb. 27, 1894. In politics William 
 S. Sheldon was a Republican, and was honored by 
 the people of Florence, 111., with election as school 
 
 commissioner and also as road commissioner. For 
 years he was a deacon in the Congregational Church, 
 and his conduct throughout life was such as to 
 command the respect of all who knew him. I'o 
 his marriage, which took place in Wilmington, W'ill 
 Co., Ill, Feb. 25, 1858, with ^liss Sarah Jane Rick- 
 ard, who was born July 11, 1835, a daughter of 
 Daniel Rickard, of New York State, were born two 
 children: Edwin J., and Mary E., the wife of Henry 
 R. liemenway, of Suffield. Mrs. Sarah Jane 
 Sheldon was called away by death Oct. 11, 1893, 
 dying in the faith of the Congregational Church. 
 
 Edwin J. Sheldon was but four years of age 
 when brought from his birthplace in the West to 
 the home of his forefathers in the East, and was 
 reared here to manhood. He was educated in the 
 public schools, primarily, then attended the Con- 
 necticut Literary Institute of Suffield, and in 1882 
 took a course of instruction in the Eastman Busi- 
 ness College, at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. When he 
 became of age he was admitted to partnership with 
 his father in the cultivation of tobacco and in gen- 
 eral farming. After the death of his father, Mr. 
 Sheldon purchased the homestead, and is now ex- 
 tensively engaged in the same line of agriculture, 
 with the additional industry of cattle breeding. The 
 place has been owned and occupied by Sheldons 
 ever since 1740, when the country was a wilder- 
 ness. 
 
 In 1886 Mr. Sheldon was united in matrimony 
 with Mrs. Clara Easton, the widow of Edgar Easton, 
 and a daughter of Charles Van Gilder, a cigar manu- 
 facturer of Sufiield, her native town. To the mar- 
 riage of Mr. and i\Irs. Sheldon were born two chil- 
 dren : William Harrison, born Aug. i, 18S8, who 
 died June 18, 1889; and Edwin Raymond, born 
 Aug. 16, 1891. Death bereft Mr. Sheldon of his 
 wife Nov. 26, 1893. 
 
 In politics Mr. Sheldon is a stalwart Repub- 
 lican, has served as assessor and justice of the peace 
 of Suffield, and also as a grand juror. In 1896 he 
 was elected a member of the State Legislature, in 
 which he served on the committee on Towns, 
 Counties and County Scats, with unusual effective- 
 ness, and to the entire satisfaction of the august 
 body of which he was a member. In his views of 
 religion, Mr. Sheldon is liberal and somewhat lati- 
 tudinarian, but is nevertheless a sincere Christian 
 and liberal in his contributions to the support of 
 the various churches of his neighborhood. He be- 
 lieves in free education, and aids in every movement 
 to advance and maintain the public scliools. That 
 he is a favorite with the comunity in which he lives 
 is very manifest, as he has been chosen, ever since 
 he reached his majority, to fill some jxjsition of 
 honor and trust in which he might converse the 
 interests of his fellow citizens. 
 
 S. TERRY WELLS, a successful agriculturist 
 of East Windsor, is one of the progressive citizens 
 whose influence is felt in the community as a power 
 
874 
 
 COMMEAIDRATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 on the side of advancement. As a member of one 
 of the old famihes of the town he well maintains 
 the reputation for good citizenship established by 
 its members in past times. 
 
 Mr. Wells is of the sixth generation in descent 
 from Joshua Wells, Sr., who died in Windsor in 
 1 72 1, aged seventy-five years. His birth place is 
 not known, but is supposed to have been in this 
 country. Joshua Wells, Jr., an early resident of 
 East Windsor, the line extending through Lamp- 
 son, the great-grandfather of our subject; Joshua 
 (3), the grandfather, and Solomon, the father, all 
 of whom were born in East Windsor, and resided 
 there throughout their lives. The name was origin- 
 ally spelled Wills, and has also been spelled Willis. 
 
 Solomon Wells, our subject's father, was born 
 July 28, 1793, and died Jan. 25, 1853. He mar- 
 ried Miss Dorcas Terry, who was born July 3, 
 1799, daughter of Christopher Terry, of the town 
 of Enfield, this county, and she survived him many 
 years, dying Feb. 15, 1878. This worthy couple 
 had two children: S. Terry, our subject, and Eliza- 
 beth, born Jan. 27, 1837, who married Charles H. 
 Wells, of Suffield. 
 
 Our subject was born Feb. 17, 1831, on his pres- 
 ent farm, where . he has always made his home. 
 During his youth he attended Scantic Academy, 
 Wilbraham Seminary, at Wilbraham, Mass., and the 
 academy at East Hampton, Mass., and on leaving 
 school he engaged in farming with his father. Since 
 the death of the latter he has had the sole -manage- 
 ment of the estate, and in connection with general 
 farming he is extensively interested in dairying and 
 tobacco culture. The homestead comprises one 
 hundred acres of excellent land and he also owns a 
 fifty-acre tract in the town. His interest in the 
 welfare of agriculturists generally is shown by his 
 active work in the local Grange, of which he has 
 been master for five years, and he is prominent in 
 the management of the First Congregational Church 
 at Scantic, having served as clerk and treasurer 
 for forty years. For forty years he has been a 
 member of the local school board, and for twenty- 
 five years of that time he has done effective work 
 as acting school visitor. He is a stanch Republican, 
 being one of the valued advisors of the town 
 organization, and in 1890 was elected first selectman, 
 serving with Elisha G. Morton and George A. 
 Ellis. 
 
 In 1857 Mr. Wells married Miss Sarah L. Prior, 
 daughter of Harvey Prior, a well-known resident 
 of this county, who served many years as deputy 
 sheriff, and was collector of taxes for twenty-five 
 years, in the town of East Windsor. 
 
 Herbert C. Wells, our subject's only son, was 
 born Aug. 2, 1867, and now resides at the home- 
 stead. Fie was educated at the Connecticut Liter- 
 ary Institute, in Suffield, and has shown decided 
 talent as a musician and in the art of taxidermy, to 
 which he devotes much of his leisure time. In 
 1897 he maj-ried Miss Jane P., daughter of Homer 
 
 S. and Adeline (Bartlett) Allyn, of East Windsor, 
 and two children, Eleanor Adelaide, and Louisa Gris! 
 wold, have blessed the union. 
 
 CHARLES H. GRAFIAM, the present well- 
 known treasurer of the Upson Nut Co., of Union- 
 vile, was born in New Britain, Hartford county, 
 Oct. 15, 1837, and is of Scottish descent, his pater- 
 nal great-grandfather having been a native of Scot- 
 land. His grandfather, Curtis Graham, was a resi- 
 dent, of Norwich, Conn., where he was engaged in ! 
 the saddlery business. He married Paulina Lord, 
 and they had three children : Gilbert, a resident of 
 New Britain, Conn. ; Mary, of Indiana ; and Will- 
 iam Lord, father of our subject. All are now de- 
 ceased. 
 
 William Lord Graham was born, reared and edu- 
 cated in, Norwich. In early life he followed the 
 trade of a brass-turner in New Britain, and later en- 
 gaged in the manufacture of cow bells and hames 
 for harness, at that place. He died in Burlington, 
 Conn., in 1869. He married Miss Almira Wilmot, 
 a daughter of Thomas Wilmot, of Burlington, and ■ 
 to them were born four children : Charles H., our ' 
 subject; Walter A., a superintendent of the Fair 
 Haven & Westville railroad, and a resident of New 
 Haven, Conn. ; Mary Jane, wife of Albert J. Brewer, 
 of Unionville ; and William J., also a resident of 
 Unionville. For his second wife the father mar- 
 ried Frances Pettibone, and of the children born to 
 them one son, Arthur, now a resident of Buriingto.i, 
 Conn., grew to maturity. 
 
 Charles H. Graham passed his boyhood and 
 youth in New Britain and Burlington, and was edu- 
 cated in the public schools. At the age of eighteen 
 years he commenced working for Dwight Langdon, 
 who founded the Upson Nut Co., in 1854, and under 
 him he became thoroughly conversant with bolt 
 manufacturing. The firm was later composed of | 
 A. S. Upson and George Dunham, who carried on 
 business for a time under the firm name of Upson 
 & Dunham, and it was later changed to the Upson 
 Nut Co., of which A. S. Upson is president ; W. A. 
 Hitchcock, secretary ; and Charles H. Graham, treas- 
 urer. Our subject was employed as shipper by Up- 
 son & Dunham and had a contract for making bolts 
 with the Upson Nut Co. ; subsequently was super- 
 intendent of the factory for fifteen years ; and upon 
 the death of Samuel Frisbie, became treasurer. He 
 is also secretary of the Union Nut & Bolt Co., of i 
 New York and Chicago; assistant treasurer of the 
 Union Rolling Mill Co., of Cleveland, Ohio., vice- 
 president of the Unionville Water Co.,. and a di- 
 rector in the Union Water Co., of Unionville. Fle 
 is a' practical mechanic, thoroughly conversant with 
 every department of the business. Our subject in- 
 vented the first automatic lathe for threading bolts, 
 for which he secured a patent. 
 
 At Unionville Mr. Graham married Miss Eme- 
 line A. Upson, a daughter of Seth and Martha Up- 
 son, and they have five children : Walter E., a 
 
^^Hi 
 
 131 
 
 ^Hp^^^Jp^ 
 
 ^^H 
 
 ^^^^^^^R' ^^^^^^^^^(K 
 
 L^H 
 
 1^1 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 M 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 875 
 
 jbookkoopcr, who niarried Clarc.bcl Lusk, and l:a3 
 'two children, Kenneth and Arline ; Samuel F., as- 
 sistant superintendent of the I'pson Nut Co.. and 
 one of the selectman of Farniington ; Henry C, a 
 resident of Cleveland, Ohio, where he has the posi- 
 tion of paymaster for the Upson Nut Co. (in Au- 
 gust, 1899, he married Alice Taylor, of Unionville) ; 
 and Lila E. and Winifred, both deceased. 
 
 Socially Mr. Graham is aftiliated with Kvening; 
 Star Lodge No. lOi, F. & A. M., and with his wife 
 is a member of the Congregational Church of Union- 
 ville. He has served his fellow citizens as justice of 
 the peace and as a member of the board of relief. 
 He has always made the most of his opportunities, 
 and his life 'illustrates what can be accomplished 
 through industry, perseverance, good management 
 and a determination to succeed. By his straight- 
 forward, honorable course, he has also won the 
 ' public confidence and the high regard of his fellow 
 
 i citizens. 
 
 i 
 
 ■ JAMES \^'00D. Among the influential mem- 
 I bers of the farming community of West Suffield, 
 i and one of its most prosperous citizens, is the gen- 
 tleman whose name introduces this sketch. He is 
 entirely a self-made man in the truest sense of tlie 
 word, having been the only architect of his own 
 fortunes, and he has raised hnnself from humble cir- 
 cumstances to a position of affluence, aided only by 
 his own strong arms, indomitable energy and laud- 
 able ambition. 
 
 2^1r. Wood was born Aug. 7, 1829, on the banks 
 of the Thames, in the County of Kent, England, 
 and is a son of Richard and JMarj^ (Knowles) 
 Wood, who spent their entire lives there. In their 
 family were six children : John, who died in Bloom- 
 
 i field. Conn. ; George, who died in Southwick, ]\Iass. ; 
 
 ■ Catharine, and Alary, who both died in England; 
 Richard, who died in Somers, Conn. ; and James, 
 our subject. 
 
 As his parents were poor, Mr. Wood had no 
 educational advantages, and at the tender age of 
 eight years began working as a farm laborer, re- 
 ceiving but small wages even after becoming able 
 to do a man's work. He was employed in that 
 capacity until he was nineteen, when he determined 
 to try his fortune in the New \\'orld, where he be- 
 lieved that better opportunities were afforded am- 
 bitious and industrious young men. Bidding good- 
 bye to their aged parents, he and his brother Rich- 
 ard went to Liverpool and took passage on the 
 sailing vessel "Ocean Queen," the brother advanc- 
 ing the money to pay for the same. After six 
 weeks spent upon the water, they landed in Boston, 
 and proceeded at once to Springfield, ]\Iass. The 
 following day our subject came to Suffield, Conn., 
 where he found employment with Col. Simon Ken- 
 dall, as a farm hand, and during the two years he 
 remained with that gentleman he worked for eight 
 dollars per month during the summer season, and 
 attended school through the winter, doing the chores 
 
 for his board. The following two years he spent 
 with Seth King. Both employers he served faith- 
 i\i\\\ and well, and they became his lifelong friends 
 and benefactors. From his wages he saved $4cx> 
 which he invested in sixteen acres of land, Mr. 
 King assisting him in paying for the same. After 
 operating it for six months and cutting most of the 
 timber from the land, he sold the place for twenty- 
 five dollars more than he paid for it. His next 
 purchase consisted of forty acres of land in Aga- 
 wam, Mass., where he spent one year, and on sell- 
 ing out returned to Suffield where he bought 
 twenty acres known as the William Pomeroy farm. 
 There he made his home for sixteen years, engaged 
 in general farming, tobacco raising, lumbering, 
 quarrying stone, and other occupations by which 
 he could earn an honest dollar. In this way he was 
 able to save enough to purchase a much larger 
 farm, and bought his present place of seventy-five 
 acres, known as the Granger farm, upon which he 
 has now resided for twenty-eight years. He has 
 spent $4,000 in improvements upon the place, in- 
 cluding the erection of tobacco sheds and the put- 
 ting of a stone basement under his barn. 
 
 In Suffield, J\Ir. Wood was married, in 1853, to 
 Miss Sophia Lester, a daughter of Milton Lester, 
 and to them were born seven children : Silas L., 
 a famier; Luella J., wife of Calvin Feelen, of 
 Suffield; Martha, Henry and Mary, who all died 
 young; Arthur H., a farmer; and James E., a resi- 
 dent of Suffield. The wife and mother, who was 
 a faithful member of the Baptist Church, died in 
 18S5, and was laid to rest near the First Baptist 
 Church at Zion's Hill. Mr. \^'ood was again mar- 
 ried, in 1895, his second union being with Mrs. Jane 
 E. (Lemon) Taylor, widow of Edwin Taylor, and 
 daughter of James Lemon. She was born in 
 Belchertown, ]Mass. Politically Mr. Wood is identi- 
 fied with the Republican party, and religiously is a 
 member of the Baptist Church. In all the relations 
 of life he has been found true and faithful to every 
 trust reposed in him, and he has a large circle of 
 friends and acquaintances who esteem him highly. 
 
 NORTON ABBE, an enterprising and promi- 
 nent farmer of Enfield, was born Nov. 2, 1825, on 
 the old Abbe homestead in that town, which he 
 now occupies, a son of Levi and Dorcas (\A'olcott) 
 Abbe, natives of Enfield and East Windsor, re- 
 spectively. 
 
 Mr. Abbe's paternal grandparents were Daniel 
 and Salla (Pease) Abbe, the former born Nov. 7, 
 1750. and his wife on Dec. 2, 1757. Daniel Abbe was 
 a large landowner, and left each of his surviving 
 children a competency. They were : Daniel, Jr., 
 Timothy, Levi. Sally P. (Mrs. Luther .Allen); 
 George (i). George(2), Harris, Erastus and 
 Stoddard. The great-grandfather of our subject 
 was John Abbe, son of Thomas, the progenitor of 
 this branch of the Abbe family in this locality, where 
 he settled about 1725. Thomas was a son of John 
 
876 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Abbe, a native of Maryland, of Huguenot stock, who 
 was among the pioneers of Wrentham, Massachu- 
 setts. 
 
 Levi Abbe, father of our subject, inherited 
 the homestead now occupied by our subject. He 
 was a prominent farmer, and lived and died on the 
 homestead. His children were Marionette (Mrs. 
 Seth Phelps), Dorcas (Mrs. Rufus Parsons), Salla 
 (Mrs. George King), Wolcott, Pease, Mary A. 
 (Mrs. George Barber), Daniel, Harriet, Gilbert, 
 Maria (Mrs. Albert Abbe), and Norton, our sub- 
 ject, now the sole survivor of the family. 
 
 Norton Abbe has always resided on the old 
 homestead, where he was born and reared, and is 
 a progressive farmer. He married, Nov. 27, 1856, 
 Eliza Turvey, a native '^f England, daughter of 
 William and Sarah (Ml. ..ell) Turvey. She bore 
 him four sons, Edwin W., Albert N., Herbert A. 
 and Levi P. Mr. and Mrs. Abbe are members of 
 the First Congregational Church of Enfield. He 
 is also a member of the church committee, and was 
 formerly superintendent of the Sabbath-school. 
 Politically he is a Republican. 
 
 JOHN P. JONES, now a prosperous farmer 
 ■of the town of South Windsor, is a representative 
 of one of the old Hartford county families.. He is 
 of the fifth generation in descent from Nathaniel 
 Jones, who about 1714, migrated from the Colony 
 of Massachusetts and settled upon a farm in Hart- 
 ford county. Conn., the line being traced as fol- 
 lows: (2) John; (3) Nathaniel; (4) John P.; and 
 (5) John P., our subject. Nathaniel Jones, the 
 grandfather, was a teamster in the Revolutionary 
 army, he being at that time sixteen years old. He 
 resided on what is now State street, east of Front 
 street, Hartford, that thoroughfare not having been 
 opened through the farm from Front street to the 
 river until 1801. 
 
 John P. Jones, the father of our subject, was 
 born in Hartford in 1791. Until his death, in 1880, 
 one of his most pleasant memories was that as a 
 child of seven years, in 1798, he saw Gen. Wash- 
 ington at Hartford. He became a soldier in the 
 war of 1812. He engaged in farming upon the 
 ancestral home in Hartford for a few years, after 
 which he engaged in the retail grocery and oyster 
 Tjusiness, in Hartford, continuing same about tliirty 
 years. In 1847 he moved to the farm in South 
 Windsor, six and one-half miles distant from Hart- 
 ford, and there remained until his death, at the 
 ripe age of eighty-nine years. He was a man of 
 prominence, and held various public offices. Mr. 
 Jones married Lucy E. Pratt, who died in 1878, 
 aged seventy-seven years. To this union were 
 "born eight children: Mary, who died in December, 
 1843; Martha, who resides with our subject; John 
 P. ; Oliver, a farmer and tobacco grower of South 
 Windsor; Nathaniel, also a farmer and tobacco 
 grower of South Windsor; Jane E., living with 
 our subject; and Lucy and James, deceased. 
 
 John P. Jones was born in Hartford May 15, 
 
 1832, and was about fifteen years old when he came ' 
 with his fatli^r from Hartford to South Windsor. 
 He was educated at what was known as the Gen- ! 
 ter school house, which stood on the site of the \ 
 store in Hartford now occupied in part by Fred- 
 erick Ellsworth. Since coming to South' Windsor, 
 more than a half century ago, he has ever since 
 continued to reside there, engaged in general farm- 
 ing and tobacco growing. ' 
 
 Mr. Jones has at various times been called upon 
 to fill public office. He is a Democrat in politics, 
 and in 1882 was elected on the ticket of that party 
 to the State Legislature. He was in 1881 elected 
 selectman of South Windsor; has for three years 
 filled the office of assessor ; and for two years was 
 a member of the board of rehef. He is an indus- 
 trious and successful farmer, held in high esteem 
 by the community in which he lives. 
 
 HON. GEORGE FITCH KENDALL, State 
 Senator from the Third District of Connecticut, is 
 descended from several of the oldest and most in- 
 fluential families of the State, and his high ideal 
 of citizenship is worthy of his ancestry. As a 
 business man he has shown enterprise and sound 
 judgment, but his name will be longest remembered 
 for his efficient and faithful work in public Hfe. 
 No movement of any merit is projected in his town 
 to which his influence is not given,' and as a legis- 
 lator he has identified himself with the best interests 
 of the State at large, winning the approbation of the 
 best, people of the Commonwealth, irrespective of 
 party. 
 
 Mr. Kendall's ancestors in the direct paternal 
 line settled in Suffield at an early period, soon after 
 their emigration from England. Joshua Kendall, 
 our subject's great-grandfather, was born in Suf- 
 field, and followed farming there throughout his 
 life. He was an excellent citizen, and for many 
 years was a leading member of the Presbyterian 
 Church. His wife's maiden name was Theodosia 
 Bronson, and they had three children: Horace, 
 Mahala (who married Calvin Spencer), and Simon. 
 
 Simon Kendall, our subject's grandfather, was 
 born July 29, 1785, and died March 29, 1856. He 
 was educated in the district and select schools of 
 Suffield, and in early manhood taught schools for 
 some time, later engaging in farming and stock 
 raising, his homestead comprising 200 acres of 
 land. He took an active part in religious affairs 
 as a member of the Baptist Church, and was a promi- 
 nent worker in the local Democratic organization, 
 serving as selectman. His strict views on temper- 
 ance were unusual for that day, and he and his 
 wife, Elizabeth Kent, were both much above the 
 average in intelligence and culture. Of their eight 
 children, George Fitch died in Richmond, Va. ; 
 Betsey (deceased) married Josiah W. King, of 
 Xenia, Ohio ; Rebecca, twin of Betsey, never mar- 
 ried ; Simon B. is mentioned more fully below ; 
 Clarissa married Edmund T. Halladay, now de- 
 ceased, and is the mother of Hon. Edmund Halla- 
 

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 877 
 
 l:lay, of Suffickl ; Mary married John McKibben, 
 and died in Pennsylvania; Henry L. died in Lialti- 
 niore, Md. ; and Jane Maria did not live to adnlt age. 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth (Kent) Kendall, our subjeet's 
 grandmother, was born Sept. 24, 17S4, and died 
 Feb. 25, i8bo, her remains being interred beside 
 ithose of her husband in Suffield cemetery. She was 
 ia daughter of Capt. Eliliu Kent, and a grand- 
 daughter of Col. Elilui Kent, both of whom fought 
 in the battle of Lexington, and served with dis- 
 tinction in other engagements of the Revolutionary 
 war. Col. Elihu Kent married Sybil Dwight, in 
 whose honor S\bil Dwight Kent Chapter, of the D. 
 A. R., at Suffield, is named. Our subject's mother, 
 whose maiden name was Adaline K. Kent, was 
 also a mpmber of this well-known family. Her 
 grandfather, Seth Kent, who married Lucy Rem- 
 ington, was a wealthy landowner and farmer in 
 Suffield, and her father, Comfort Kent, was also 
 a prominent citizen of that town. His wife, Tir- 
 zah Hastings, was a native of Hasting's Hill, and 
 a daughter of Abijah tiastings. This worthy 
 couple had eight children: Amy H. (Mrs. Wright) ; 
 James, deceased; Adaline K. (Mrs. Kendall); 
 Mary A. (Mrs. Grosvenor), deceased; Marie L. 
 (Mrs. Sanford Rising) ; Charlotte (Mrs. Halla- 
 day) ; Ambrose, deceased; and Luther, who occu- 
 pied the old Kent homestead. The mother died 
 March 24, 1855, and the father survived her but 
 a few years, dying Dec. 2, 1862. 
 
 Col. Simon B. Kendall, father of our subject, 
 was born in June, 1814, on North street, Suffield, 
 and after completing a common-school course en- 
 tered the Connecticut Literary Institute, being one 
 of the first students in that noted school. For about 
 twenty years he taught successfully, and as an in- 
 structor and disciplinarian he had no superior in 
 Suffield in his time. Flaring been reared to far-n 
 work he followed that occupation to some extent 
 in later years, but his duties as a teacher and public 
 official occupied his attention chiefly. For twenty- 
 one years he served as selectman, seventeen years 
 in succession, and he represented his town in the 
 State Legislature several times. From 1856 to 
 1859 he was sheriff of Hartford county; when 
 Joseph R. Hawley first appeared as a candidate 
 for Congress Mr. Kendall was his opponent and, al- 
 though defeated, had a majority of the votes in 
 Hawley 's own city of Hartford. He was well- 
 known throughout the State, his acquaintances in- 
 cluding the most influential men of every locality, 
 and often when traveling he would be greeted by 
 people of whom he knew nothing. So ably did he 
 meet his duties in all positions that many of his 
 political opponents were among his warmest ad- 
 mirers. For a number of years he was active in 
 military aft'airs, and he held every rank in the 17th 
 Regiment below that of brigadier-general. Fie was 
 a prominent member of the Second Baptist Church 
 of Suffield. and his fine musical gifts were utilized 
 to good purpose during a long period of service 
 
 as chorister. He died April 28, 1883, in his sixty- 
 ninth year, and his estimable widow, ^Irs. Adaline 
 K. (Kent) Kendall, is still living in Suffield, in her 
 eighty-second year. They had two children : Enuna, 
 now Mrs. Cecil H. Fuller, of Suffield, and George 
 Fitch. 
 
 Our subject was born Sept. 2, 1849, o" Xorth 
 street, Suffield, in a house opposite the one in which 
 his father first saw the light. He attended the dis- 
 trict schools. Miss Ellen Corey being his first 
 teacher, and among later instructors there was 
 Judge V. B. Chamberlain, of New Britain, Conn. 
 He spent two years at Palmer Gallup's private 
 school in Suffield, and two years in the Connecticut 
 Literary Institute, and then entered the \Vesleyan 
 Seminary at Wilbraham, Mass., where he spent 
 two years. Soon after he began teaching, which 
 he continued fifteen years in Sulfield. The only in- 
 terruption was in 1876, when he went to Lima, Ohio, 
 then a small town, and passed a time in the employ 
 of King & Day, pork packers at that place, Mr. 
 King being an uncle. In 1882 he gave up teach- 
 ing permanently and took a position as bookkeeper 
 for W. W. Cooper, a merchant of Suffield, with 
 whose business he has ever since been connected. 
 He is also secretary and treasurer of the Suffield 
 Water Co. and secretary and treasurer of the Suffield 
 Creamery Association. He was an incorporator of 
 the Suffield and Thompsonville Bridge, and has 
 been one of the auditors ever since the structure 
 was built. From early manhood he has taken 
 a keen interest in political affairs. He first 
 served two terms as assessor in Suffield, and 
 since that time has held numerous offices. 
 He was county auditor for two terms, and 
 for many years was a member of the school board, 
 serving as secretary nine years. In 1887 he was 
 elected to the Legislature, the first biennial session, 
 and during that term he served on the committee 
 on General Appropriations. In 1889 he was re- 
 elected, serving as chairman of the committee on 
 Roads, Rivers and Bridges. In 1897 and 1899 he 
 was elected to the State ^senate, and during both 
 terms he was chairman of the committee on Rail- 
 roads, being the first one in years to succeed himself 
 in that position. At present he is also chairman of 
 the conmiittee on Engrossed Bills and a member of 
 the committee on Contingent Expenses. On April 
 18, 1899, Gov. Lounsbury appointed him the Build- 
 ing and Loan Commissioner of the State, and on 
 March 7, 1900, Bank Commissioner. 
 
 Mr. Kendall has a wide acquaintance among the 
 prominent men of the day, including all of the Con- 
 gressmen from Connecticut, and is connected with 
 various fraternal organizations, his affable and 
 courteous manners making him many friends. For 
 years he has been an active worker in Apollo Lodge 
 Xo. 59, F. & A. M., at Suffield, in which he has 
 held the office of worshipful master, and he also 
 belongs to Washington Chapter No. 30, R. A. M.; 
 Suffield Council, R. & S. ;M. ; ^^'ashington Com- 
 
878 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 mandery No. i, K. T. ; Sphinx Temple, Mystic 
 Shrine; Lyman Council No. 35, O. U. A. M., of 
 which he is a charter member and a past counsellor ; 
 Gideon Granger Lodge No. 62, K. of P., at Suffield, 
 of which he was a charter member and first chan- 
 cellor commander, and is also a past chancellor. In 
 1898 he was made a member of the Grand Lodge of 
 K. of P. at Norwich, Conn. In Washington Chap- 
 ter No. 30, R. A. M., he has held all the offices up to 
 that of high priest, to which he was elected, al- 
 though he never served. Mr. Kendall and his wife 
 are prominent members of the First Congregational 
 Church of Suffield, and for vears he has been super- 
 intendent of the Sabbath-school. Mrs. Kendall is 
 a member of the D. A. R., her great-grandfather, 
 Gathelius Cowing, of Scituate, Mass., having re- 
 sponded to the call of Paul Revere, and served from 
 1775 to 1781 in the Continental army. 
 
 In 1870 Mr. Kendall married Miss Julia Anna 
 Cowing, a native of Port Jervis, N. Y., and daugh- 
 ter of Job and Eleanor (Cowles) Cowing, of Suf- 
 field, of whom further mention is made elsewhere. 
 The only son of this union, Frank W., died in 
 infancy. 
 
 HON. ALFRED W. CONVERSE. An hon- 
 orable ambition, sustained by practical ability and 
 unyielding energy, is a passport to success, and the 
 records of the distinguished men of today furnish 
 interesting illustrations of the rule. It is a pleas- 
 ure to present to our readers such a forceful exam- 
 ple as is found in the following biography of this 
 successful business man and gallant soldier. 
 
 " Mr. Converse is a leading resident of Windsor 
 Locks, and belongs to an old Connecticut family, 
 and is of the ninth generation in descent\from (I) 
 Edward Converse, born in England in 1590, died in 
 Woburn, Mass., Aug. 10, 1663; (II) Lieut. James, 
 born in England 1620, died in Woburn, Mass., May 
 10, 1715 ; (III) Maj. James, born in Woburn, Mass., 
 Nov. 16, 1645, died in Woburn, Mass., July 8, 1706; 
 (IV) Capt. Josiah, born in Woburn, Mass., Sept. 
 12, 1684, died in Brookfield, Mass., 1771 ; (V) Lieut. 
 Josiah, born in Woburn, Mass., March 10,. 1710, 
 died in Stafford, Conn., Sept. 11, 1775, he being the 
 pioneer of the family in Connecticut. 
 
 (VI) Jesse Converse, son of Josiah, the pio- 
 neer, was born in Stafford, Sept. i, 1745, and died 
 there July 8, 1805 ; during the Revolutionary war he 
 served as a soldier from that town. 
 
 (VII) Eli Converse, our subject's grandfather, 
 was born in Stafford, Sept. 2S, 1770, and died there 
 Nov. 5, 1853 ; he followed farming there for many 
 years. 
 
 (VIII) I-Iannibal Alden Converse, the father 
 of our subject, was born April 9, 1807, at the old 
 home in Stafford, where he grew to manhood. In 
 1837 he engaged in the iron foundry business in 
 Stafford, having learned the trade at Worcester, 
 Mass., and in 1846 he bought a foundry at Windsor 
 Locks which he also carried on. He sold out his 
 business in Stafford in 1854, and removed to Wind- 
 
 sor Lodes, Conn., where he continued the foundry 
 business until his death on Feo. 15, 1881. He was a 
 man of influence, and became a leading member of 
 the local Republican organization ; while in Staf- 
 ford he^ served for a time as town clerk, and later 
 he was a selectman in the town of Windsor Locks. 
 He was married, at Stafford, Conn., to Miss Julia 
 A. Ferry, who died in 1890, in Windsor Locks. 
 They had five children: Mary P., who married C. 
 H. McMaster (both now deceased) ; Alfred'W., our 
 subject; Julia E. (deceased), who married Vashni 
 Warner; Joseph H. (deceased) ; and Clare A., wife 
 of Dr. S. R. Burnap. Joseph H. was killed at Cold 
 Harbor June 3, 1864, while serving as inspector- 
 general on Gen. Martindale's staff, in the i8th Army 
 Corps, and major of the nth Conn. V. I.. He en- 
 listed in April, 1861, and went to the front as 
 orderly sergeant of Company C, 1st Regiment, 
 three-months men ; soon after his discharge he en- 
 listed in Company B, nth Regiment, was elected 
 second lieutenant, and rapidly rose throusfh success- 
 ive ranks to that of major. His memory is cher- 
 ished by his old comrades, and G. A. R. Post No. 
 67, at Windsor Locks, is named in his honor. He 
 was married, at St. Albans, Vt., to Nellie E. Fuller, 
 now resident of Hartford, Connecticut. 
 
 Alfred W. Converse was born Aug. i, 1835, in 
 Stafford, and his education was begun there, but 
 later he attended the academies at Monson and Wil- 
 braham, Mass. He learned the trade of foundry- 
 man in all its branches with nis father, but his ca- 
 reer was interrupted by his enlistment, on Sept. i, 
 1862, in Company C, 25th Regiment Conn. V. I., 
 which was assigned to duty in the 19th Army Corps, 
 serving in the Department of the Gulf. He was 
 mustered out in August, 1863, with an honorable 
 record, having been promoted from private to ser- 
 geant, second lieutenant and first lieutenant. While 
 holding the latter rank he had command of the com- 
 pany after the captain was killed. Upon his return 
 from the army he became a member of the firm of 
 H. A. Converse & Co., but for many years prior to 
 the death of H. A. Converse the firm was A. W. 
 Converse & Co., the father being the company'. In 
 1891 our subject sold out to E. Horton & Son, and 
 for the past twenty-tour years he has been success- 
 fully engaged in the insurance business. In 1871 
 the Windsor Locks Savings Bank was organized, 
 and he served as treasurer of that institution from 
 that time. As a member of the Legislature from 
 Windsor Locks from 1896 to 1898 Mr. Converse did 
 effective service, and he has frequently been called 
 upon to fill positions of responsibility. He was ap- 
 pointed postmaster, to fill an unexpired term during 
 Andrew Johnson's administration, an'd served by 
 re-appointment tmtil a year after Cleveland's first 
 election. He was again appointed by President 
 Harrison, but was out during Cleveland's second 
 administration, and is now serving under appoint- 
 ment from President McKinley. For fifteen years 
 he served as town clerk, registrar and treasurer. 
 
 Mr. Converse was married, in Staft'ord, May 18, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 879 
 
 1S57, to Miss Julia Orcutt, daugliter of TTarvev Or- 
 :utt, a \vcll-i<no\vn rcsitleut of tlial town, and the 
 ollowing' chililren have Ijlessed tiie union : Ida G. ; 
 \lfred Harvey, deceased; Alfred, who died at the 
 igc of thirteen years ; and Alyrtle B., who married 
 ■\lfrcd Elson, Jr., of Stafford, Conn., and has had 
 wo children : Alfred C. (deceased) and Florence 
 Z. Socially Mr. Converse and his family are highly 
 ;stecmed, and he is connected with J. II. Converse 
 Post No. 67, G. A. R. ; the Armv and Navy Club of 
 he State ; the Society of the Army of the i'otomac ; 
 he 19th Army Corps Association ; the Connecticut 
 Historical Societv ; the Sons of ihe American Revo- 
 ution; Euclid Lodge No. 109. A. F. & A. M. ; 
 \Vashington Chapter No. 30, R. A. M. ; Suffield 
 Touncil No. 23, R. & S. M., Suffield ; Washington 
 3omniandery No. i, K. T., Hartford; and Sphinx 
 Temple, Mystic Shrine. 
 
 HON. JOHN D. LUBY, a prominent represent- 
 itive of the agricultural interests of Burlington, and 
 )ne of its most progressive and influential citizens, 
 .vas born in Westchester, N. Y., July 25, 1853. 
 
 James Luby, father of our subject, was a native 
 jf County Tipperary, Ireland, and a son of Michael 
 Luby, who was born in the same county, followed 
 ;he occupation of farming throughout life, and was 
 a devout member of the Catholic Church. James 
 Luby received only a limited education in the schools 
 Df his native land, and grew to manhood upon a 
 farm. With the hope of bettering his financial con- 
 dition in the new world, he bade good-bye to home 
 and friends in 1831, and came to America on the 
 sailing-vessel "Essex,"' which was eight weeks in 
 making the voyage. He landed at New York, and 
 in that city and at Fort Washington worked at dif- 
 ferent occupations for twenty-two years, a part of 
 the time being employed as a stone-mason and 
 farmer. He next went to Westchester, N. Y., where 
 he worked in a foundry for three years, and then 
 came to Berlin, Hartford Co., Conn. There and at 
 Southington he followed agricultural pursuits for 
 three years and subsequently was similarly em- 
 ployed at Otis, Mass. Later he engaged in farm- 
 ing at Bakersville, New Hartford, Litchfield Co., 
 Conn., for four years, and in 1865 took up his resi- 
 dence in Burlington, purchasing a farm of forty 
 acres near Burlington Center, where he followed 
 farming during the remainder of his life, dying there 
 in 1885. His remains were interred in the Catholic 
 cemetery at Collinsville. He was a consistent mem- 
 ber of the Catholic Church, and was a good-hearted, 
 honest and industrious man. In politics he was a 
 Republican. In 1836, for his first wife, he wedded 
 Margaret Reardon, a native of County Cork, Ire- 
 land, and four children were born to them : Nora, 
 William, Margaret and Mary. The mother of these 
 I died at Fort Washington, in 1849, ^id in 1852 Mr. 
 I Luby married Miss Ann Duggan, a native of Castle- 
 Uown-Roche, County Cork, Ireland, and a daughter 
 of Thomas Duggan. She was fourteen weeks in 
 ; crossing the Atlantic, on a sailing-vessel, when she 
 
 emigrated to America, landincr at New York. She, 
 too, was a faithful member of the Catholic Church, 
 and was a devoted wife and mother. She died in 
 Burlington in 1884, and was laid to rest in the 
 Catholic cemetery in Collinsville. Our subject is 
 the eldest in a family of six children, the others 
 being: Elizabeth, wife of Edward Iligginson ; 
 James, a resident of Berlin, Conn.; Katlierine, wife 
 of William Stretch, of Meriden, Conn ; F,llen, who 
 died in infancy; and Ellen (2j, who died at the age 
 of three years. 
 
 John D. Luby, subject of this sketch, was edu- 
 cated in the district schools of Burlington, and as- 
 sisted his father in the labors of the farm, remaining 
 inider the parental roof until 1887, when he pur- 
 chased his present place, known as the I'.cnliam 
 farm — a tract of 250 acres on which he has since 
 engaged in general fanning, tobacco raising, dairy- 
 ing, market gardening and also lumbering, with 
 marked success, becoming one of the prosperous and 
 substantial citizens of his community. He married 
 Miss Julia Deenihan, a native of Hartford, and a 
 daughter of Richard Deenihan, and to them have 
 been born four chddren, namely : Ernest, Robert 
 Emmet, Ann and Bessie. The family hold mem- 
 bership in the Catholic Church. 
 
 Politically Mr. Luby is an ardent supporter of 
 the Democratic party, and a recognized leader in its 
 ranks. In 1893 he was elected to the State Legisla- 
 ture, and filled that office with credit to himself and 
 to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. He 
 has also served as tax collector, as a member of the 
 school board, and as constable of Burlington for 
 twenty years. Fraternally he is a member of the 
 Grange, and is deeply interested in public aft'airs and 
 the good of the community where almost his entire 
 life has been passed. He is genial, courteous, enter- 
 prising and progressive, possessed of commendable 
 public spirit and the highest integrity, and reflects 
 credit on the community which has honored him 
 with office. 
 
 HON. WILLIAM H. WHITEHEAD, form- 
 erly a representative in the State Legislature from 
 the town of Simsbury, is one of the most highly 
 esteemed residents of that locality, and since 1890 
 has served continuously as first selectman. Nearly 
 forty consecutive years of service with the Ensign 
 Bickford Manufacturing Co., for which he is now 
 the mechanical superintendent, bespeaks unusual 
 trustworthiness, especially as that firm is the princi- 
 pal one in its line in the United States, and as well 
 known as any in the world. 
 
 Mr. Whitehead was born Jan. 30, 1837, in Derby, 
 England, but the greater portion of liis life has 
 been spent in Simsbury. Samuel Whitehead, his 
 father, was born and reared in Derby, and made 
 his home there for some time after his marriage, 
 to Miss Mary A. Wood, a native of the same place. 
 By occupation he was a chinaware maker and deco- 
 rator, and, hoping for better opportunities for gain- 
 ing a livelihood than his native land afforded, he 
 
880 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 came to America in the spring of 1837, accompanied 
 by his wife and infant son, WilHam H. After a 
 voyage of six weeks in a saihng-vessel the Httle 
 party landed in New York, in July, 1837, but owing 
 to the panic of that year the father found it diffi- 
 cult to secure any employment. His vain search 
 extended as far as Philadelphia, and on his return 
 to New York he had about concluded to go back to 
 England when he met Joseph Eels, then connected 
 with Bacon, Bickford & Co., of Simsbury, manu- 
 facturers of blasting fuse. Promptly accepting Mr. 
 Eels' offer of employment at Simsbury, Mr. White- 
 head removed to that town, where he resided many 
 years, remaining in the employ of the same firm 
 during his active life, and at one time was sent by 
 them to attend to some work at the old Newgate 
 Prison, when the prisoners were removed to Weth- 
 ersfield. His death occurred in 1850 at Simsbury, 
 where his mortal remains were interred, and his 
 estimable wife, who died in 1885, now rests beside 
 him. Early in life they both united with the Meth- 
 odist Church, and after coming to this country they 
 continued in active fellowship. They were much 
 respected for their earnest Christian character, and 
 both their sons have done credit to their training, 
 Samuel being also a prominent resident of Simsbury. 
 As our subject was but six months old when he 
 came to Simsbury his education was begun in the 
 district schools of the town. Among his early 
 teachers were Mary Weston, Ellen Cornish and La- 
 vinia Goodridge, and when about fourteen years old 
 he attended for one term a select school in West 
 Weatogue, conducted by William L. Humison. At 
 the age of seventeen he began to learn the machin- 
 ist's trade with Woodruff & Beach, of Hartford, 
 and on April 4, 1858, he completed an apprentice- 
 ship of four years. His wages were small, rang- 
 ing- from $10 to $20 per month, and the first $100 
 was reserved as a guarantee of good behavior, and 
 paid to him at the end of his term with six per cent, 
 interest. He continued with the firm for a time, 
 but later went to New Haven to work for W. & E. 
 T. Fitch, and on July i, i860, returned to Simsbury 
 and entered the employ of Toy, Bickford & Co., as 
 a machinist. His faithfulness and skill soon made 
 him invaluable to the firm, and in 1868 he was sent 
 to Brooklyn, Alameda Co., Cal., to build another 
 plant for them. On his return he was -appointed 
 mechanical superintendent, which position he has 
 ever since held. His work has brought him sub- 
 stantial returns, enabling him to accumulate a fine 
 competence, and as a self-made man he may well 
 take satisfaction in his high standing as a citizen. 
 Politically he has been a Republican from his first 
 vote, and his active interest in the party's success, 
 together with his natural ability for political work, 
 make him a leader in the local organization. For 
 one year he served as a member of the town board 
 of relief, and in 1889 he was elected to the Legisla- 
 ture, while, as stated above, he has been the first 
 selectman since 1890. As a member of the Meth- 
 odist Church of Simsbury he has done much for 
 
 the cause of religion, and for nearly thirty years he ; 
 has been superintendent of the Sunday-school. He 
 has also served as steward and trustee of the So- 
 ciety, and for some years past has been treasurer. 
 Socially he is identified with the Masonic Frater- 
 nity, being a member of St. Mark's Lodge No. 36, 
 F. & A. M., at Simsbury. 
 
 In 1859 Mr. Whitehead married Miss Anna L. 
 ICing, of Hartford, who died in Simsbury in 1873. 
 In 1875 he married Miss Anna L. Hamblin, who was 
 born July 14, 1842, at Yarmouth, Mass., daughter of 
 Joshua and Olive (Ryder) Hamblin. She is a lad\- 
 of unusual intelligence, and taught school for some 
 time previous to her marriage. Her efficient aid 
 has been a factor in her husband's success, and she ' 
 is prominent in church worK as a member of the I 
 Ladies' Missionary Society and assistant superin- { . 
 tendent of the Sunday-school. Mr. Whitehead has ' 
 one son by his first marriage, Joseph R., now in the ■■ 
 employ of the Ensign, Bickford & Co., making , 
 three generations of the family who have held po- 
 sitions with that firm. Joseph R. Whitehead mar- 
 ried Miss Alice Redeatte, and has three children, 
 Mary, Hollis and Olive, all at home. 
 
 CHARLES F. LEWIS, proprietor of the Wind- 
 sor Mills, which occupy the oldest mill site in Con- 
 necticut, was born in Chester, this State, May 23, 
 1838, a son of Ansel and Deiadamie (Lynde) Lewis, 
 and is of the eighth generation of hfs family in 
 America. 
 
 George and Sarah (Jenkins) Lewis, the first of 
 the family in the New World, came from East Green- 
 wich, county of Kent, England, to Plymouth, Mass.. 
 about 1630, moved to Scituate in 1633, and thence 
 to Barnstable in 1637. From them our subject 
 traces his descent through Thomas, of Barnstable ; 
 Thomas (2),. of Middletown, Conn., 1700; Zebu- 
 Ion, of East Haddam, Conn ; Nathan, of Haddam, 
 Conn. ; Francis Robert, of Haddam ; and Ansel, of 
 Chester. Francis Robert Lewis married Sarah 
 Pelton, who was one of the longest-lived women 
 of the State, attaining the age of ninety-eight years. 
 He was a Revolutionary soldier. 
 
 Ansel Lewis was a mechanic, and remarkably 
 expert. He worked a great deal as a mason, and 
 as a blacksmith could sharpen his own tools. He 
 lived to be sixty-five years old, his wife to be eightv- 
 seven, and of their six children, the eldest, (i) Syl- 
 via Rosilla, born Aug. 19, 1823, married William 
 Douglass, and died in 1898 at Colchester, Conn. (2) 
 Henrietta Minerva, born Oct. 15, 1825, died young. 
 (3) Harlow C, born Nov. 20, 1826, is a molder by 
 trade, and resides in Chester, Conn. (4) Sally 
 Maria, born Sept. 2, 1829, died young. (5) Charles 
 F. is our subject. (6) Daniel Vv^., born March 29, 
 1831, was a member of Company G, ist Conn. Heavy 
 Artillery, during the Civil war, and died at Gaines 
 Mills, Va., of typhoid fever. 
 
 Charles F. Lewis has fought his own fight 
 through life. He was educated in the district school 
 at Chester, but never attended in summer after he 
 
t: 
 
J 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 881 
 
 liad rt-ached liis eleventh year. Later he worked out 
 for his boaril and clothes, witli tlie i)rivile^e of at- 
 tending school in winter, in Chester and Deep River, 
 Middlesex county, and in 1857 canie to Hartford 
 county, and worked at Plainville in a bit-brace fac- 
 tory. In 1858 he shipped on a coasting vessel, and 
 for some time served on boats plying between the 
 Connecticut river and New York City. Going in 
 1861 to S]:>ringfield, Mass., he was for one year em- 
 ployed in the polishing de]jartment of the S])ring- 
 ficld armory ; for the next two years he held the po- 
 sition of assistant foreman and inspector. On Sept. 
 I, 1864, he joined the 30th Company Unattached 
 Heavy Artillery, Mass. \'ols., which had been raised 
 in Springfield, and was sent to do garrison duty at 
 Arlington Heights, \'a., but subsequentlv detailed as 
 guard at headcjuarters. Although the company had 
 enlisted for one year it was mustered out June 16, 
 1865, at Fort C. F. Smith, the war having been 
 
 I brought to a close. 
 
 ; Mr. Lewis was first married June 8, 1863, at 
 
 ' ^^'est SuiEeJd, Conn., to Miss Chloe Hastings, 
 daughter of Norman and Amy (Remington) Hast- 
 ings, of Suffield, the ceremony being performed by 
 Rev. Asa A. Robinson, of Flastings Hill, Suffield 
 town, pastor of the Baptist Church there, one of the 
 earliest diurches of that denomination in the State. 
 After the war our subject engaged in farming at 
 Suffield, on shares, for four years, on tlie farm of 
 
 ' Deacon Ehhu S. Taylor. He then returned to the 
 armory at Springfield, worked there some time, and 
 then again came to the E. S. Taylor farm, West 
 Suffield, where he reconstructed a water-power and 
 started a sawmill, which he operated until tlie fall 
 of 1877. In January, 1878, he took charge of the 
 mill at Windsor, which had been purchased by Lewis 
 & Hastings (Abijah Hastings, his brother-in-law), 
 under which style it was conducted until 1881, when 
 Mr. Hastings retired, and Mr. Lewis having bought 
 him out has since been alone, though of late years 
 his son has assisted him materially. The mill is 
 largely devoted to gristmilling. ]\Ir. Lewis remod- 
 eled it in 1888, putting in new machinery through- 
 out, and is about to make further improvements to 
 keep abreast of the times. He began the business 
 of sawmilling as a mere novice, but has learned 
 every detail ot the processes, including mill dress- 
 ing and sawing, by a careful perusal of books, and 
 is now doing a first-class merchant-custom milling 
 business. 
 
 In politics ^Ir. Lewis is a Republican, and is 
 regular in his attendance at the polls, but rejects 
 all offices. He has been elected constable and jus- 
 tice of the peace, but in both instances refused to 
 qualify. Fraternally he is a member of the Blue 
 Lodge, F. & A. AL, at Windsor, of Tyler I'ost No. 
 50, G. A. R., of Hartford, and is a charter member 
 of Council No. 40, O. U. A. M., being the present 
 Deputy State Councilor of the Order, in which he 
 is well-known throughout Connecticut. For three 
 years he was a member of the Society Committee of 
 the Congregational Church at Windsor, and his wife 
 
 56 
 
 is a member of the Baptist Church at Suffield. As 
 a business man Mr. Lewis' name stands without a 
 blemish, and as a citizen he is very highly esteemed 
 in both town and country. 
 
 Mrs. Chloe Lewis passed away in 1879, leaving 
 one child, Charles i"., who was born in i86y. On 
 Nov. 10, 1879, Mr. Lewis married' at Hyde Park, 
 near lioston. Miss Cora H. Sjjear, Rev. M. P. Al- 
 derman, an uncle of the bride, ])erforming the cere- 
 mony. This union has been blessed with one son, 
 George F., born May 15, 1889. In 1899 •^''■- Lt-'wis 
 began the erection of a new home, into which he 
 moved on its completion, in the spring of 1900. It 
 is one of the handsomest and most convenient resi- 
 dences in the town. 
 
 Bradford L. Spear, father of Mrs. Cora H. 
 Lewis, was a farmer in West Suffield, where he died 
 Dec. 13, 1899, at the age of seventy-eight years. 
 He married Lucina P. Alderman, daughter of Pliny 
 Alderman, and they reared a family of three chil- 
 dren : Cora H., Mrs. Lewis; Herbert L., who con- 
 ducts a milling business in West Suffield in the mill 
 Mr. Lewis built, having bought same of our subject; 
 and ^^'illiam A., a farmer in West .Suffield. The 
 mother, who in March, 1900, attained the age of 
 seventv-three years, still resides on the farm in 
 Suffield. 
 
 HIRA:\I H. TERRY, a well-known resident o£ 
 Warehouse Point, is a worthy representative of an 
 old and highly-respected family, and is deserving, 
 of prominent mention in this volume. His ances-- 
 tors were banished from France at an early day on 
 account of their adherence to the Protestant faith, 
 and took refuge in England, where the family re- 
 sided many years. About 1650 (I) Samuel Terry, 
 known in the family as "the Immigrant," came to 
 this country and settled in Springfield, Mass. He 
 married Ann Lobdell, and had ten children, among 
 whom was a son Samuel, known as Capt. Samuel. 
 
 {II) Capt. Samuel Terry was born in Spring- 
 field July 18, 1661, and died Jan. 2, 1730. He was 
 a man of exemplary piety, being active in church 
 work, and was also prominent in local affairs, serv- 
 ing as selectman and in other offices, while for a 
 number of years he was ensign and captain in the 
 militia. He married Hannah Morgan, of Enfield, 
 and had six children. 
 
 (Ill) Dr. Ebenezer Terry, son of Capt. Terry, 
 and the next in line of descent, was born in Enfield, 
 March 31, 1696, and died there Aug. 2, 1780. He 
 was a man of wealth and prominence, a successful 
 physician, and at one time practiced at Kingston, 
 R. I. At one time he represented his town in the 
 Legislature. His wife, Hilary Helms), who was 
 born in 1702, died in Enfield April, 5, 1764. Thev 
 had eleven children : Ebenezer, Dorcas. Johii, 
 Mary, Selah, ^vlehitable (who died in childhood), 
 Christopher, Helms, Hiram, Mehitable (2) and 
 Samuel. 
 
 (I\') Ebenezer Terry, our subject's great-great- 
 grandfather, was born in South Kingston, R. I., 
 
882 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Oct. 29, 1722, and died on his farm in Enfield, July 
 15, 1817. He was married first in Enfield, on Sept. 
 10, 1747, to Elizabeth, daughter of Shubael and Sa- 
 rah Geer. She died Oct. 20, 1757, and on Jan. 
 20, 1760, he married Mindwell, daughter of Israel 
 and Sarah (Booth) Pease. By the two marriages 
 he had twelve children. 
 
 (V) Hiram Terry, son of Ebenezer and his 
 second wife, was born in Enfield, Dec. 19, 1763, 
 and died there Feb. 11, 1802. About 1788 he mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Gibbs, who was born Sept. i, 1755, 
 and died in Enfield, Feb. 7, 1813. They had four 
 children : Elizabeth, Abial Hiram, Mehitable and 
 Ruby. 
 
 (VI) Abial Hiram Terry, our subject's grand- 
 father, was born March 4, 1791, and became a 
 farmer and general mechanic by occupation. He 
 married Sabra Holkins, who was born July 30, 
 1793, and died in 1840, the remains of both being 
 interred at Enfield. Their children were Hiram A. ; 
 Elizabeth ; Sarah ; Mary Jane, who died in infancy ; 
 Abial H. ; and Ouartus Parsons, now living in 
 Warehouse Point. 
 
 (VII) Hiram Abial Terry, our subject's father, 
 was born March 14, 1813, and died in 1894, in En- 
 field. He began life as a poor boy and for a num- 
 ber of 3^ears worked at anything he could get to 
 do, but in time he became a mechanic of no mean 
 ability, being especially efficient as a coppersmith 
 and a repairer of clocks. For ten years he was 
 a captain on the river, and even while thus en- 
 gaged he was often called upon to repair copper stills 
 in distilleries. While his early education was limited, 
 his mind was naturally bright, and he was much es- 
 teemed for his good qualities. On April 6, 1841, he 
 married Miss Ann L. Pease, a native of Enfield, born 
 Jan. 2, 1817, and three children were born of the 
 union, our subject being the youngest, (i) Ange- 
 line P., born Nov. 12, 1843, niarried Robert S. 
 Pomeroy, then of Suffield, and later of Spring- 
 field, Mass., who is now deceased. (2) Martha 
 A., born Oct. 8, 1847, married Luther Terry Knight, 
 and is at present living in Springfield, Massachu- 
 setts. 
 
 (VIII) Hiram Holkins Terry was born Oct. 
 17, 1849, ^i^d after a course in the common schools 
 of Enfield attended the Connecticut Literary Insti- 
 tute, at Suffield, under Rev. E. P. Bond. On leav- 
 ing school he began farming on the old homestead, 
 a tract of twenty acres at Warehouse Point, ancl 
 under his able management it brings a satisfactory 
 return. In addition to farming he follows the 
 butcher's trade and has a milk route at Enfield. 
 He is an intelligent man, industrious and thrifty, 
 and has many friends in the community. In pol- 
 itics he is a Republican, but is not an aspirant for 
 public honors, and when offices have been offered 
 him he has declined; no stronger advocate of tem- 
 perance can be found in the community. His fam- 
 ily attend the Methodist and Episcopal Churches, 
 and is much esteemed in social life. 
 
 On Jan. 26, 1875, Mr. Terry married Miss Ellen 
 
 F. Parsons, daughter of P. B. and Emily (Allen) 
 Parsons, both natives of Enfield, and four children 
 have brightened their home : ( i ) Ellen Louise, born 
 June 13, 1875, died May 30, 1879. t^) Henry 
 Hiram, born Dec. 10, 1876, resides at home, and is 
 one of the most industrious and promising young 
 men of the locality. (3) Lucy Isabelle, born July 
 30, 1881, died Oct. 25, 1886. (4) Mervin P., born 
 Jan. 10, 1885, is at home. In December, 1895, our 
 subject adopted Arthur Durfee, who was born in 
 June, 1883. 
 
 FREDERICK S. BIDWELL. This Common- 
 wealth is represented in all parts of the country by 
 an enterprising class of citizens whose ability and 
 worth have been universally recognized, but fortu- 
 nately there is plenty of the old stock left in Hart- 
 ford county, and the subject of this biography, a 
 leading merchant of Windsor Locks, furnishes in 
 his successful career an example of the energy and 
 foresight which are generally believed to character- 
 ize the typical native. Mr. Bidwell is of the sixth 
 generation of his family in this country, and the 
 name has become associated with the qualities which 
 constitute good citizenship. The first ancestor, of 
 whom a definite account has been preserved, was (I) 
 John Bidwell, who was born in September, 1679. 
 
 (II) Roger Bidwell, son of John, was born in 
 1714, and died Dec. 28, 1782. His wife, Rhoda, a 
 daughter of Timothy Easton, was born in 1721, and 
 died Aug. 24, 1782. They had the following chil- 
 dren: Tryphena, born Nov. 5, 1749, died Sept. 30, 
 1750; Ashbel ; Adoniram, born August, 1753, died 
 Feb. 17, 1777; Enodias ; and Darda, born Novem- 
 ber, 1761, died June, 1782. 
 
 (III) Enodias Bidwell, our subject's great- 
 grandfather, was born in East Hartford in May, 
 1758, and died in 1818, at the same place. He 
 served in the Revolutionary army, and for many 
 years conducted "Cotton's Tavern" at East Hart- 
 ford. His wife, Lucy Loomis, died in 1827. They 
 had eight children, all of whom died young except 
 Martin, as follows : Frederick, born September, 
 1780; Tryphena, June, 1782; Darda, December, 
 1783; Tryphe.-a, May, 1785; Martin, 1787; Darda, 
 July 31, 1789, died April 6, 1825; Lucy, July, 1792, 
 died aged fifty; Giles, June, 1796. 
 
 (IV) Martin Bidwell, the grandfather of our 
 subject, was born March 5, 1787, in East Hartford, 
 and died in 1861, in Hebron, Conn. He married 
 Martha James, and had eight children : Caroline, 
 James, Samuel, Martha, Delia, Deha (2), Nathan and 
 Martin. Of these, Caroline married a Mr. Buken ; 
 Delia wedded a Mr. Aldrich, of Rockville, and Na- 
 than died in 1894. 
 
 (V) Samuel Bidwell, our subject's father, was 
 born Feb. 27, 1820, in Coventry, Conn., and was 
 reared upon a farm in that locality, his education 
 being obtained in the neighboring schools. He 
 learned the blacksmith's trade at Enfield, Conn., and 
 has followed that business all his life in the towns 
 of Hartford, Enfield, and Staft'ord Springs, being 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 883 
 
 till a resident of the latter place. He is an excel- 
 ■nt citizen, and an active member of the Aleth- 
 list Episcopal Church. In 1847 he married Abi- 
 gail Killam, a native of Enfield, who died at Staf- 
 brd Springs Sept. 11, 1855, aged thirty-eight years. 
 |)ur subject was the eldest of four children, the 
 >thcrs being Henry Martin, a resident of Uellefonie, 
 'enn. ; Julia Abigail, who married Frank D. Cha- 
 ;iin, and died April 30, i8y4; and ^Vbigail Killam, 
 Vife of N. T. Sanger. 
 
 (VI) Frederick S. Bidwcll was born June 24, 
 848, at Hartford, Conn., but his early life was 
 argely spent in Stafford Springs, where he attended 
 )he public schools. At the age of sixteen he went 
 b Thompsonvi'llc, Conn., where his uncle, Theodore 
 '■"ease, was engaged in the lumber business, and for 
 jleven years he was connected with the firm of 
 '-'ease & Sons. Mr. Pease then bought out the 
 umber business of H. C. Douglass & Co., at Wind- 
 ■or Locks, placing it in charge of Mr. Bidwell, who 
 nirchased the business in 1888, and has since con- 
 ducted it independently. He has built all the struct- 
 'ires occupied by the lumber )'ard and store, the lat- 
 fer having been erected in the fall of 1897 and 
 opened for business in Januar}', 1898. He handles 
 ill materials needed by the builder, farmer and 
 )ainter, his store containing a large general line of 
 baints, hardware and agricultural implements. As 
 \ citizen he is public-spirited, taking keen interest in 
 Ul movements for the benefit of the community, and 
 It times he has held local ofiices. For four years 
 le was selectman, and his practical sympathies with 
 iducational progress is seen in some years of ser- 
 I'ice on the school board. 
 
 Iri 1875 Air. Bidwell married Miss Annie E. 
 Steele, who died Nov. 13, 1878, leaving one son, 
 Frederick Steele, now a bookkeeper for his father. 
 In 1881 Mr. Bidwell foriued a second union, this 
 time with Miss Adelaide King, daughter of Calvin 
 0. King, of Enfield, Conn., and they have had si.x 
 children : Edith Adelaide, Bessie King, Anna 
 Eloise, Lawrence King, Charles Oscar and Robert 
 Samuel. The family is prominent socially, and Air. 
 Bidwell is well known in Alasonic circles as a mem- 
 ber of Euclid Lodge No. loq, A. F. & A. Al. 
 
 CHARLES F. TALLARD, a well-known busi- 
 ness man of Windsor Locks, has been engaged in 
 tobacco growing for nearly thirty years, and has for 
 some time been interested in the lumber business, 
 his operations in both lines being conducted with 
 the energ)' and foresight which command success. 
 Air. Tallard's career has been somewhat event- 
 ful, not the least interesting part of his life being 
 his term of service in the Confederate army. He 
 was born Jan. 28, 1840, in Saxony, Germany, a 
 son of Christian and Wilhelmina (Hess) Tallard, 
 I who came to America in 1848 with their family of 
 . two sons and one daughter. After a tedious voy- 
 '■age, lasting nine weeks, the little party landed and 
 [ for some time they made their home in Baltimore, 
 I Md., the parents later settling on a farm in Penn- 
 
 sylvania, and finally locating in Harrisburg, Penn., 
 where they both died some years ago. 
 
 Before coming to this country Air. Tallard at- 
 tended the schools of his native place, and soon 
 after his arrival in Baltimore he was employed 
 in a cigar factory, becoming familiar with the trade 
 at an early age. In 1859 '^^ went to Richmond, V'a., 
 and in i860 he was married there to Aliss Cather- 
 ine Gabline. In A2ril, 1861, he enlisted in the ist 
 Va. V. I., with which he served until Aug. 11, 
 1862. On returning to Baltimore, Alarch 7, 1863, 
 he resumed his work, but in July, 1863, he went 
 to New York City, and a few months later settled 
 at Windsor Locks. For twenty-four )ears he was 
 employed at cigar making by Benjamin Wood, of 
 Suffield, and in 1871 he began raising tobacco on his 
 own account at Windsor Locks. In 1889 he en- 
 gaged in the lumber business at Broad Brook, in the 
 town of East Windsor, and at present his son, How- 
 ard W., looks after his interests there. Air. Tallard 
 and his estimable wife have reared a family of si.K 
 children, as follows: Edwin C. (of Edgerton, 
 Wis.), William H. (of Aliddletown, Conn. J and 
 Charles F., Jr. (of Chicago), all of whom are 
 in some branch of the tobacco business ; Howard 
 W., who is in the lumber business at Broad Brook; 
 Henry S., a lumber dealer at Torring-ton, Conn. ; 
 and Alice, wife of a Mr. Holzapfel, of Windsor 
 Locks. Air. Tallard has always taken an active in- 
 terest in all the questions of the day, and in na- 
 tional issues acts with the Democratic party, while 
 in local affairs he is independent. 
 
 ROSWELL GRANT. In Hartford county 
 there are many residents whose family history ex- 
 tends back for six or eight generations to the period 
 of early settlement. But comparatively few of 
 these can point to the continuous residence of so 
 manv generations upon the same ancestral home, 
 and few indeed now dwell in residences which have 
 sheltered six generations. The Roswell Grant home- 
 stead, in the town of South Windsor, is one of the 
 historical .buildings of Connecticut. The original 
 dweUing upon this farm, where six generations of 
 Grants have lived and died, was built in 1697 by 
 Samuel Grant (2), grandson of Alatthew Grant, 
 the founder of the family in America, and is still 
 standing, forming the "L" to the present structure, 
 the main part of which was erected in 1757, b}' 
 Ebenezer Grant. During the Revolutionary war 
 Gen. Prescott and other British officers were im- 
 prisoned in the house, being guarded by Roswell 
 Grant, who then occupied the place. It is still in 
 an excellent state of preservation. 
 
 Matthew Grant, the founder of this family in 
 America, was born in England, and came to the 
 New World, in 1630, in the ship "Alary and John," 
 being one of the original company who settled in 
 Dorchester, Alass., in that year. In 1635 he came 
 to Windsor, Conn., his family arriving in .-\pril, 
 1636, and he became prominent in church aft'airs, 
 was second town clerk and principal surveyor for 
 
884 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a long term of years, and local interests generally. 
 From him our subject is descended through Samuel, 
 Samuel (2), Ebenezer, Roswell and Frederick 
 William. Samuel Grant ( i ) located in East Wind- 
 sor in 1637, and built a house in a meadow in the 
 rear of the site of the old Theological Institute, 
 on a rise of ground. Owing to the prevalence of high 
 water in the spring of the year, Samuel Grant (i) 
 moved up to the present site of the old Grant home- 
 stead, and his father lived with his son, John, until 
 his death. Ebenezer Grant was a graduate of Yale. 
 He was a merchant on Main street, South Windsor, 
 near the homestead, and was largely interested in 
 shipbuilding at the mouth of the Scantic, owning 
 many vessels engaged in the West India trade. 
 He exported tobacco and horses and imported rum 
 and molasses. He served with distinction in the 
 French and Indian wars, and also in the Revolution- 
 ary war, holding the rank of captain. Roswell 
 Grant, son of Ebenezer Grant, was a colonel in 
 the Revolutionary war, and afterward served as a 
 member of the Legislature; for a long time was a 
 justice of the peace and was in mercantile business 
 with his father. 
 
 Frederick William Grant, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was born on the ancestral home in 1799, was a 
 farmer by occupation, and lived to the age of eighty- 
 seven years. He was a man of considerable promi- 
 nence and influence, served as a member of the 
 State Legislature, was repeatedly elected select- 
 man of East Windsor, and held other offices. He 
 was a major in the State Militia, and was generally 
 known as Major Grant. He married Miss Ann 
 Ellsworth Stoughton, daughter of John Stoughton, 
 and to them were born five children, namely: Fred- 
 erick, who was drowned in the Connecticut river 
 at the age of thirteen years ; Ann S., who married 
 Frederick O. Newbury, and died in 1871 ; Roswell, 
 cur subject, and Elizabeth (twins), the latter dy- 
 ing in infancy ; and Lucy, who also died in infancy. 
 Major Grant died Feb. 21, 1886. Mrs. Grant died 
 May 24, 1900, and was buried on her ninetieth 
 birthday. She was a beautiful character, beloved 
 by all who knew her. 
 
 Roswell Grant was born on the old homestead, 
 July 28, 1848. He received his education in the 
 graded home schools, at Monson, Mass., and at 
 Delaware Institute, Franklin, N. Y. Soon after 
 completing his education, and when about twenty- 
 one years of age, he took charge of the old home- 
 stead. Mr. Grant now owns about fifty acres of 
 the old place, and other land, aggregating about 
 one hundred acres. He carries on general farming, 
 and gives special attention to tobacco growing. 
 In politics he is a Republican, but he has avoided 
 the life of an office holder, and though twice nom- 
 inated for selectman has on both occasions declined 
 the honor. He has, however, held the office of as- 
 sessor of South Windsor, for two terms, was candi- 
 date for judge of probate, and his interest in edu- 
 cational matters has induced him to serve for six 
 years as a member of the school board. Socially 
 
 he is a member of the Royal Arcanum, and is also 
 one of the Sons of the Revolution. 
 
 Mr. Grant was married, Sept. 29, 1874, to Miss 
 Annie Elizabeth Mickell, who was born in Hong 
 Kong, China. Her father, Capt. Thomas Mickell, 
 was the master of a merchant vessel, and her mother 
 sometimes accompanied him on his voyages to for- 
 eign lands. Capt. Mickell commanded the first ship, 
 the "Emerald," which entered Charleston harbor 
 after the blockade of that port was raised during 
 the Civil war. An oil painting of the "Emerald," 
 and one of the full-rigged ships of which he was 
 master in Chinese waters at the time of Mrs. 
 Grant's birth, are now in her possession. Mrs. 1 
 Grant passed her girlhood in Cambridge, Mass., 
 in the Boston schools received a finished educa- 
 tion, and is a lady of unusual accomplishments and 
 refinement. To Mr. and Mrs. Grant have been 
 born three children : Maude M. ; Frederick Will- 
 iam, who is employed by the Pope Manufacturing 
 Co., of Hartford ; and Roger Wolcott, with the Con- 
 necticut General i^ife Insurance Co. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Grant and family are members of the First Con- 
 gregational Church of South Windsor; for about 
 thirty years our siibject has been clerk of that re- > 
 ligious society, and for many years was also 
 treasurer. 
 
 DAVID GORDON, an enterprising citizen and 
 prominent business man of Hazardville, was born 
 June II, 1840, in Glasgow, Scotland. He is a son 
 of William and Jean (Bauchop) Gordon, and a 
 grandson of David and Elizabeth (Tate) Gordon. 
 
 The parents of our subject came to America in 
 the spring of 1844, locating in Paterson, N. J., where 
 thev remained one year. They then spent two years 
 in Auburn, N. Y., and in 1847 removed to Thonip- 
 sonville, town of Enfield, Hartford Co., Conn. In 
 1852 the family removed to Hazardville. 
 
 David Gordon received his education in the 
 common and night schools. His early advantages 
 were limited. At the age of seventeen he began 
 an apprenticeship at the tinner's trade, serving three 
 years, and then worked one year as journeyman. la 
 1862 he embarked in the tinner's business at Hazard- 
 ville, with the late Franklin Smith and John N. 
 Spencer. A few years later, at the expiration of this 
 partnership, his brothers were admitted to the firm, 
 which was styled Gordon Brothers. The business 
 extended, and peddlers of tinware were sent all over 
 New England. The brothers gradually drifted into 
 the paper and paper stock trade, and later dealt 
 to some extent in woolen waste and woolen rags. 
 Since 1884 they have been extensively engaged in 
 the manufacture of shoddy. 
 
 On Oct. 8, 1863, Mr. Gordon was married to 
 Fidelia M., daughter of Arnold and Belinda Wood- 
 worth, of Suffield, and to their union were born 
 three children : Sarah B., wife of Rev. Edwin S. 
 Holloway ; William W., who married Hattie Covell,* 
 and Howard D., who married Hattie Kelsey. Mrs. 
 Gordon died Nov. 7, 1898, and on Nov. 14, 1899. 
 
 I 
 
<a>2/-2jC^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 885 
 
 Mr. Gordon married Ada Belle, daughter of the late 
 luhvin Crosb)', of East Glastonbury, Connecticut. 
 Mr. Gordon began life at the bottom of the lad- 
 der, and by his own exertions has accumulated a 
 competency. He is an active member, and for 
 thirtv-eight years has been a trustee and steward, of 
 the M. E. Church, in which for forty years he has 
 been leader of the choir. He served on the building 
 committee that erected the present church edifice in 
 Hazardville. In 1896 he was sent as a lay delegate 
 from the New England Southern Conference to 
 represent it at the General Conference of the AI. E. 
 , Church, held at Cleveland, Ohio. I'olitically Mr. 
 Gordon is a Republican. 
 
 ALFRED KILBOURXE, deceased. The Kil- 
 bourne family is one of the oldest in Hartford 
 .county, and the subject of this memoir, formerly 
 an honored resident of the town of East Hartford, 
 was of the ninth generation in descent from Thomas 
 Kilbourne, a pioneer of Wethersfield, Conn. By 
 their industry and thrift the members of the family 
 have maintained the credit of the name, w-hile 
 their public spirit and patriotism have been shown 
 in both war and peace. 
 
 (I) Thomas Kilbourne, the emigrant, was born 
 in England in 1578, and in 1635 came to America, 
 in the ship "Increase," with his wife Frances and 
 their children, landing on April 15 of that year. 
 He located at Wethersfield, Conn., where he passed 
 the remainder of his life. 
 
 {II) Sergt. John Kilbourne, youngest child of 
 Thomas, was baptized in Wood Ditton, England, 
 Sept. 29, 1624. He became one of the prominent 
 men of the Connecticut Colonv, and lield manv 
 public offices, including those of magistrate in the 
 local courts, member of the Colonial Legislature, 
 and member of the Colonial Grand Jurv. In 1662 
 he helped to procure the famous Charter of Con- 
 necticut. He and his wife, Naomi, to whom he 
 was married in 1650, had several children, among 
 whom was a son, Thomas, known as Sergt. Thomas. 
 (Ill) Sergt. Thomas Kilbourne was born in 
 Wethersfield in February, 1651. He married Susan- 
 nah, daughter of William Hills, of Glastonbury. 
 
 (I\') Thomas Kilbourne, the next in the line 
 of descent, was born in Hockanum, Conn. In 1700 
 he married a daughter of Joseph Hills, of Glas- 
 tonbury. 
 
 (V) Thomas Kilbourne, son of Thomas (IV), 
 , was born Sept. 8, 1705, at what is now East Hart- 
 j ford. In Alay, 1728, he married Alary Diggins, 
 { daughter of John Diggins, of Aliddletown, Conn., 
 i and among their chddren was a son, Thomas. 
 
 (\ I) Thomas Kilbourne, our subject's great- 
 grandfather, was born Aug. 25, 1729. Fle married, 
 j and had a son, Ashbel. 
 
 ' (^TI) Ashbel Kilbourne, the grandfather of 
 
 our subject, was born in East Hartford in April, 
 1759' a.nd during the Revolutionarv war served as 
 a soldier in Col. Webb's regiment. He suffered 
 much in the cause of his country, being taken pris- 
 
 oner by the British troops in December, 1777, and 
 imprisoned in Philadelphia, from which place he 
 was transported in a wagon to Hartford, Conn. 
 .\fter his return home he was obliged to put himself 
 under the care of Dr. Tudor, of East Windsor, his 
 feet having been frozen while in prison. Through 
 neglect he had become crippled for life, and the 
 "American Archives," published by order of Con- 
 gress in 1848, thus refers to his case: "Mr. Kil- 
 bourne was disabled while a prisoner in Philadel- 
 phia ; his feet being frozen his toes dropped off, 
 and for want of proper care he was totally disaliled." 
 Congress granted him a pension and arrearages, 
 and the General Assembly of Connecticut, in the 
 May session, 1779, passed the following concerning 
 him : "Resolved, by this Assembly, that the commit- 
 tee of pay table, adjust and li<iuidate the accounts 
 of the memorialist for his sickness, and draw an 
 order on the Treasurer of the State for such sums 
 as they shall find due." This worthy patriot mar- 
 ried a Miss Evans, of East Windsor. 
 
 (VIII) Capt. Ashbel Kilbourne, our subject's 
 father, was born in East Hartford, July 12, 1783, 
 and became a sea captain by occupation. He lost 
 his life Feb. 15, 1822, being shijiwrecked oft' the 
 coast of Bermuda. He married Miss Roxa Gillette, 
 of East Windsor. 
 
 (IX) Alfred Kilbourne was born July 11. 1809, 
 in what was then East Windsor (now South Wind- 
 sor), near the site of the birthplace of John Fitch, 
 famous as the inventor of the first steamboat. His 
 schooling was like that of the average farmer's 
 boy of the time, and he lived at home until his 
 marriage, which occurred in 1838. He then re- 
 moved to the homestead now occupied by his aged 
 wife and their daughter, a valuable estate given him 
 by his stepfather, Roger Burnham. There he en- 
 gaged in tobacco growing, being one of the pioneers 
 of that industry in this section, and for many years 
 also raised seeds for the Enfield Shakers, carrying 
 on an extensive business with them. In early life 
 he was a stanch \\'hig, and when the Republican 
 party was formed he became a steadfast supporter 
 of its principles. So firm was he in his convic- 
 tions, that although he was the only one of his 
 family who was originally inclined to that belief, 
 his convincing arguments won nearly all of them. 
 His reputation as a man of sound judgment is 
 evidenced by a remark made of him by a friend : 
 "Mr. Kilbourne is always found on the right side 
 of all political and moral questions." He never 
 sought office, although he served as justice of peace 
 in his early life. He was one of the oldest mem- 
 bers of Crescent Lodge, I. O. O. F., of East Hart- 
 ford. For many years he was a devout member of 
 the Congregational Church of East Hartford, with 
 which he' united in 1837. and was a large contrib- 
 utor to its work in which his wife was also actively 
 interested. In all his business dealings he was very 
 honorable and upright, while his quiet, unassuming 
 manner won for him the friendship of the entire 
 comnumit\-. Throughout his life he held strong 
 
886 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 views on temperance reform, which he sustained by 
 precept and example. He died Jan. 3, 1894, from 
 the effects of a paralytic stroke, his advanced age 
 hastening his death. 
 
 Mr. Kilbourne's deepest solicitude centered in 
 his home and family, his tastes being thoroughly 
 domestic. On Nov. 29, 1838, he married Miss 
 Jerusha Williams Roberts, and four children blessed 
 the union: (i) JNIary married Elijah Ackley, a pros- 
 perous farmer of East Hartford, and they have 
 two children — Mrs. L. D. Green, of New York, 
 and William K. Ackley, now living at home. (2) 
 Miss Harriet T. resides at the homestead, and cares 
 for her aged mother with true filial devotion. (3) 
 Ellen M. married B. P. Bishop, of Norwich, and 
 has three children, Harriet K., Roberts Huntington 
 and Marion Lee. (4) Alfred E. resides near the 
 homestead, and is a prosperous farmer and tobacco 
 buyer ; he is mentioned elsewhere. Mrs. Jerusha 
 (Roberts) Kilbourne was born March 18, i8ig, 
 daughter of the late Hon. Ozias Roberts, of East 
 Hartford, formerly a State senator. (Extended 
 genealogical history of the Roberts family majr be 
 found elsewhere.) 
 
 THOMAS SMITH ROURKE, who is now 
 prominently identified with the business and po- 
 htical interests of Farmington, was born in Union- 
 ville, Dec. 26, 1865, the only child of Daniel and 
 Ellen (Smith) Rourke. 
 
 Daniel Rourke, father of our subject, was born, 
 reared and educated in King's County, Ireland, 
 where he continued to make his horiie until thirty 
 years of age. He then crossed the broad Atlantic 
 on a sailing vessel, which was three weeks in mak- 
 ing the voyage, and coming to Hartford county. 
 Conn., found employment with a farmer in Union- 
 ville, with whom he remained for two years. Sub- 
 sequently he worked for the family of Rev. James 
 A. Smith for about thirty years, and since then has 
 lived retired, enjoying a well-earned rest. He has 
 been a very active member of the Catholic Church 
 of Unionville, and is highly respected and esteemed 
 by all who know him. He married Miss Ellen 
 Smith, who was born in Ireland, and reai'ed in 
 Huntington, Mass., and is a daughter of Philip 
 Smith. 
 
 The boyhood and .youth of our subject were 
 passed in Unionville, and he was given a good high- 
 school education, whicU has been of great advantage 
 to him in his business career. For twelve years he 
 clerked in the store of Tryon & Sanford, general 
 merchants of Unionville, and for four years was 
 deputy sheriff of the countv. under Sheriff Preston, 
 being the youngest man on his staff. In 1892, during 
 President Cleveland's second administration, he was 
 appointed postmaster at Unionville, and most ac- 
 ceptably filled that office for four years. He is 
 now engaged in the fire insurance, real estate and 
 auctioneering business at Unionville, is chairman 
 of the board of directors of the Unionville Fire 
 District, superintendent of the Unionville Water 
 
 Co., and vice-president of the Mutual Plate Glass 
 & Safe Insurance Co. He is a recognized leader 
 in the ranks of the local Democracy, and is now 
 a member of the Democratic town committee. ; 
 Fraternally he belongs to the Knights of Columbus, ; 
 and to Agenda Lodge, K. P. 
 
 On June 16, 1897, Mr. Rourke was married, in 
 Collinsville, Conn., to Miss Lillian V. Kerrin. 
 
 REV. MICHAEL ANTHONY SULLIVAN. 
 Rev. Father Sullivan is one of those earnest, self- , 
 sacrificing, energetic clergymen of the Catholic ' 
 Church to whom duty is preferable to ease, and 
 whose faith is a higher and more controlling ini- ' 
 pulse than riches or fame. Both his parents and i 
 grandparents were born in Ireland. His grand- 
 father, Martin Sullivan, a farmer, married Julia 
 Kirby. His father was also named Martin and hi: 
 mother Julia. His parents came to this counti', 
 in 1849, ^^'^'^ h'is father for many years worked as 
 a farmer, dying in Colchester Aug. i, 1898. The 
 mother is still living. 
 
 Father Sullivan was born in Middlefield, Conn.. 
 Sept. 16, 1859. His education was begun in the 
 public schools of Durham, and was pursued at i 
 the Bacon Academy in Colchester, an educational 
 institute founded in 1801 by Theodore Bacon. 
 The young man graduated from the academy in 
 1876, and soon afterward matriculated at St. Bou- 
 aventure's College at Allegany, N. Y., from which ; 
 seat of learning he graduated in 1881. Feeling ij 
 an inclination for the priesthood, he entered St. ' 
 Bonaventure's Seminary as a theological student. 
 Here he pursued his studies until 1884, when he | ■ 
 was ordained a priest by Bishop Stephen Vincent | 
 Ryan. His first pastoral charge was the parish of 
 Windsor Locks, Conn. After remaining there for 
 two and a half years he was transferred to St. 
 John's parish. New Haven, where he was assistant 
 rector for ten years. In 1896 he was given charge 
 of St. Paul's Church at Kensington, to which is 
 attached, as a mission station, the Sacred Heart ; 
 parish of East Berlin. The latter Father Sullivan ;: 
 has built up, erecting a neat church edifice, which 
 is already wholly paid for. He is a man thoroughly 
 respected by all, takes a lively interest in the wel- 
 fare of his parish, both temporal and spiritual, and 
 is an earnest worker in the cause of temperance. 
 He has organized numerous societies in his church, 
 has established a flourishing branch of the Total ; 
 Abstinence and Benevolent Brotherhood, with 
 thirty members in East Berlin, and total abstinence 
 societies in Kensington. 
 
 ELMORE HORTON, M. D., a prominent and 
 successful physician of Plantsville, was born in 
 Bristol, this county, July 29, 1832, and is a son of • 
 Leonard and Nancy (Gaylord) Horton, natives of ; 
 Bristol and Wolcott, Conn., respectively. 
 
 Throughout life the Doctor's father followed j 
 the wheelwright's trade, and continued to make his 
 home in Bristol, where he died in 1866. In his t 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 family were only two children : Sarah Ann, wife 
 of Garry Allen; and Elmore. Our subject's pa- 
 ternal grandfather, Samuel Ilorton, a carpenter and 
 joiner by trade, lived and died in Woleott. Mis 
 wife bore the maiden name of Hannah Bradley. 
 I-Iis father, Elisha Ilorton, was a son of Samuel 
 Horton, a native of England, who. removed from 
 Xew Haven to Woleott when the British captured 
 the former place during the Revolutionary war. 
 Our subject's maternal grandfather was Lot Gay- 
 lord, a farmer of Bristol, and a son of Edward 
 Gaylord. Jesse Gaylord, the father of the latter, 
 was a son of Edward Gaylord, who came to this 
 county from Wallingford and was one of the orig- 
 inal settlers of Bristol. 
 
 Dr. Horton spent his boyhood and youth in his 
 native town, and his early education, acquired in 
 its common schools, was supplemented by a course 
 at the Bristol Academy. During the Civil war he 
 was engaged in mechanical work, and also spent 
 much time in caring for the sick. In 1871 he began 
 the study of medicine with Dr. Henry N. Byington, 
 of Southington ; later attended lectures at the medi- 
 cal school of Yale College for three years, and 
 spent part of one year in the Homeopathic Medical 
 College of New York. In 1875 he received a diploma 
 from the Eclectic Aledical Society of the State of 
 Connecticut, and at once opened an office in Plain- 
 ville, where he remained for six years, in 1881 re- 
 moving to Plantsville. where he has since been 
 actively and successfully engaged in the practice 
 of his chosen profession, having by earnest and 
 lionest endeavor built up quite a remunerative prac- 
 tice and gained a first-class reputation as an able 
 and skillful physician. He is a member of the 
 Eclectic Medical Society of Connecticut, and in 
 politics is a Republican. 
 
 THEODORE B. ROGERS (deceased) was 
 born in the town of West Springfield, Alass., Sept. 
 16. 181 1, his parents being Asa and Lydia (Fuller) 
 Rogers. 
 
 Mr. Rogers" father had but small means, and 
 Theodore's early educational advantages were lim- 
 ited to such as were afforded by the primitive dis- 
 trict schools of that early date. Even as a boy, 
 however, he manifested a thirst for knowledge, and 
 so well did he improve his meager advantages, and 
 so thoroughly did he supplement them by reading 
 and study at home that he was able to lay a broad, 
 solid foundation for his remarkable success in after 
 life. At an early age he fovind himself forced to 
 face life's stern realities for himself. Going to 
 Hartford he mastered the wheelwright's trade, and 
 after serving his time as an apprentice went to 
 Rocky Hill, where he entered the employ of Xeff 
 & ^ilerriam, carriage builders. He remained with 
 that firm for several years, his industry, natural 
 aptitude, skill and fidelity securing for him the 
 position of foreman, and later that of manager of 
 their branch establishment at Wilmington, N. C. 
 After filling this post for several years with credit 
 
 to himself and to the entire satisfaction of his em- 
 ployers, he returned to Rocky Hill, where he em- 
 barked in business on his own account. After a 
 few years so spent he removed to Wethersficld, 
 where he passed the remainder of his life. He 
 was a man of rare inventive genius and had at the 
 same time a thorough knowledge of practical me- 
 chanics. He brought these powers to practical use 
 in the invention of the Wethersficld Seed Sower, 
 a seed-drill at once simple, compact, strong, durable, 
 portable and thoroughly efficient. He secured a 
 liatent for this machine and at once entered upon 
 its manufacture and sale, in which business he was 
 successful almost from its inception. The career 
 of such men as he aft'ords at once an example and 
 an encouragement. Beginning life as a poor boy, 
 with no influential friends to aid him by ])urse or 
 voice, he hewed out his own way through pertinac- 
 ity and pluck, and of him it may be said that he 
 was one of the truest and noblest types of the 
 self-made man. He lived to attain the age of 
 eighty years, dying at his home in \\'ethersfiekl 
 on Dec. 30, 1891. His intellect was unimpaired 
 and his physical powers showed little decay, even 
 at that advanced age. He was buried in Cedar 
 Hill cemetery. He naturally gravitated from the 
 Whig to the Republican party, and, although never 
 desiring office, was a stanch supporter of its po- 
 litical creed. In his religious belief he was a Con- 
 gregationalist. He was a fond husband and a 
 true friend: charitable in his judgment of others, 
 upright in his dealings, generous in his benefac- 
 tions, a friend of higher education and an earnest 
 champion of the cause of temperance. 
 
 Mr. Rogers was three times married. His first 
 wife was ISIartha Warner, who bore him two daugh- 
 ters, A. Louisa and ^Martha H. The first named 
 married E. G. Woodhouse, of Wethersficld, and 
 the younger became the wife of Prof. Henry E. 
 Sawyer, of Washington, D. C. His second mar- 
 riage was to ^ilerilDah Ashley, of West Spring- 
 field, ^lass., by whom he had no issue. His 
 third wife was Airs. Jerusha (Smith) Good- 
 rich, a daughter of Levi Smith and widow 
 of Joseph B. Goodrich, who was a son of 
 Deacon Joel Goodrich. This marriage was also 
 without issue. By her first marriage Mrs. Rogers 
 was the mother of four children : Gertrude A., 
 Frederic G.. Edward J., and a child who died in 
 infancy. None lived to reach mature years. She 
 is still living at Wethersficld, active and energetic 
 despite her fourscore years, which rest so lightly 
 upon her. Her mind is clear and her memory re- 
 tentive, which characteristics, joined to culture and 
 native refinement, combine to make her a delight- 
 ful conversationalist. 
 
 The Smith family, of which Mrs. Rogers is a 
 member, is one of the oldest in that part of U'ethers- 
 field, now known as Rocky Hill. Ezekiel Smith, 
 her grandfather, was born there May 18. 1756, 
 .son of Levi Smith, who died Sept. 15, 1758. leaving 
 two sons. Ezekiel Smith was a farmer and land 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 owner, and a soldier in the war of the Revolution. 
 He married Mrs. Ruth Ames, a widow, and was 
 the father of six children. Levi Smith, the father 
 of Mrs. Rogers, was also born at Rocky Hill, 
 where he spent his life. He was a successful 
 farmer and an earnest member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church. In politics he was first a Whig and 
 on the disruption of that party became a Repub- 
 lican. On May 7, 1806, he married Betsy Gibbs, 
 who was born in March, 1785, and died Nov. 15, 
 1865, at the age of eighty years. Like her hus- 
 band, she was connected with the Congregational 
 communion. Mr. and Mrs. Levi Smith were the 
 parents of ten children, whose names, with the 
 respective dates of their birth and some brief bi- 
 ographical data, are given below : Emmeline, born 
 April 7, 1807, married Allen W. Miller. Eliza 
 Ann, born May 14, 1809, became the wife of A. C. 
 Arnold. Norman, born Oct. 26, 181 1, married 
 Lucy Cooley. Henry married Emmeline Goodrich. 
 Delia was "born Sept. 10, 1816. ' Jerusha (Mrs. 
 Rogers) was born April 20, 1819. Martha, born 
 June 22, 1 82 1, married Elisha Gilbert, who died 
 Jan. 19, 1900, aged eighty-three years. Levi H., 
 born June 5, 1824, married Rebecca _Young and 
 became the father of four children, Mary (Mrs. 
 Dwight Wells), Harriet (Mrs. Edmund M. Wil- 
 cox, who is the mother of one child, Dorothy), 
 William E. (who married Kate Harding) and 
 Margaret E. (who married C. R. Spencer). Mary 
 S., born June 24, 1827, married Samuel Dimmock, 
 of Rocky Hill. John L., born June 23, 1830, mar- 
 ried Lucinda G. Blinn, who died Feb. 17, 1897. 
 
 • GEORGE LYMAN, one of the highly-esteemed 
 citizens of Marlboro, is an honored veteran of the 
 Civil war, and is also on the retired list of the New 
 York police' force. His present life of ease and 
 quiet is in direct contrast to the exciting and ad- 
 venturous career that he has passed. Brave and 
 fearless in disposition, his duties were always dis- 
 charged in a most commendable and satisfactory 
 manner both as a soldier and as a policeman. 
 
 Mr. Lyman is descended from an old and hon- 
 ored New England family. His grandfather, Jacob 
 Lyman, was a survej'or of Bolton, Tolland Co., 
 Conn., where he also engaged in farming, and where 
 his death occurred. He married a Miss Bolles, and 
 to them were born five children : Johanna, wife of 
 Joseph Eaton, of Bolton ; Ezra, who married, and 
 lived in Bolton and later in Saybrook, where he died ; 
 Mary, who wedded Henry Gallupp, and lived in 
 Illinois for a time, but is now a resident of Iowa ; 
 Jacob, father of our subject; and Sophia, who mar- 
 ried a Mr. Chapman, and lived in Bozrahville. 
 
 Jacob Lyman, father of our subject, was born in 
 Bolton in 1805, and in early life, as a solicitor and 
 canvasser, he traveled throughout the West. He 
 also engaged in the lumber business, and followed 
 farming in Bolton, where he died in December. 1884. 
 He married Dorcas Chapman, a native of Vernon, 
 Conn., and to them were born eight children : Al- 
 
 mira married John Lord, and lives in Marlboro; 
 Marietta is the wife of E. M. Burdick, of South 
 Manchester; William C. married Martha Barrows, 
 and lives in Willimantic; George, our subject, 
 is next in the order of birth; Charles married Ame- 
 lia Campbell, and lives in Washington, D. C, where 
 he is chief of a government department, and was a 
 member of the civil service commission and presi- 
 dent of the board; Benjamin married Nancy A. 
 Bowers, and lives in Boston; Norman is a paper 
 manufacturer of Talcottville, Conn. ; and John died 
 in Holyoke, Mass., at the age of twenty-one years. 
 
 Our subject was also born in Bolton, Conn., 
 September 13, 1841. He began his education in the 
 common schools, later attending the Manchester 
 Academy and the Mt. Carroll (111.) Seminary, grad- 
 uating from the latter in 1863. He then engaged 
 in traveling for about six months, selling A. B. Is- 
 rael's outline maps. 
 
 On March 8, 1864, in St. Louis, Mr. Lyman en- 
 listed in Company L, 12th Missouri Volunteer Cav- 
 alry, and shortly after his enlistment was made sec- 
 ond sergeant. The troop had charge of the military 
 stores in St. Louis in 1864, and then joined Gen. 
 Hooker's expedition through western Tennessee and 
 northern Mississippi, en route to re-enforce Gen. 
 Sherman's army in front of Atlanta. When they 
 arrived at Holly Springs, Miss., orders were re- 
 ceived to intercept Gen. Hood, who had evacuated 
 Atlanta and had made a stand in front of Nashville, 
 Tenn. In the three-days' battle at the latter place. 
 Gen. Thomas almost annihilated Hood's army. 
 While at Holly Springs, during the fall of 1864, 
 Mr. Lyman was detailed to deliver convalescents 
 and recruits to various points along the Mississippi 
 river from Memphis to New Orleans, and joined 
 his regiment in time to take part in the battle of 
 Nashville, Dec. 15, 16, 17, where his battalion (the 
 3rd) was almost destroyed. Later the regiment 
 went on Gen. Stewart's expedition or raid through 
 the South, but our subject was not with them, as 
 he was general ward master of the United States 
 marine hospital at St. Louis for about six months 
 at that time. He was wounded three times in about 
 a quarter of an hour while on a little expedition at 
 Holly Springs. He was ordered to pick fifteen 
 men for an advance guard to go to the Tallahassee 
 river, where trie regiment was repairing a bridge 
 on the Tallahassee & Memphis railroad, the bridge 
 being over an important point for the regiment to 
 cross. This little band suspected that the Con- 
 federates were in the vicinity, and when they ar- 
 rived on the spot they found the bridge burned. 
 On their way back they met an advance gu?.rd of 
 Col. Chalmer's out-pickets, the time being about 
 nightfall, and the Rebels, armed with Mississippi 
 rifles and saber bayonets, surrounded our subject's 
 little company. The lieutenant who was with them 
 said, "Boys, it is either fight or Andersonville 
 prison," and they fought. After firing all their 
 ammunition they made a charge, fighting hand to 
 hand. Some escaped, but others were captured or 
 
^J^ , 
 
 ---^^t--t t5e--t-^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 889 
 
 killed, and our subject received three bayonet 
 woiuuls, but escaped. After the return of his regi- 
 ment to St. Louis from Gen. Stewart's expedition 
 he joined them there. They were remounted, joined 
 Col. Cowles' Powder river expedition, and made a 
 circle round the Black Hills against the Aspcrsias, 
 Sioux, Comanche and .\rapahoe Indians, who were 
 on the warpath. They had several skirmishes, ac- 
 companied by a few losses, and dispersed the In- 
 dians. They returned to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., 
 and were mustered out April 9, 1866. 
 
 Mr. Lyman came east and secured the position 
 of buyer for Cone & Smith, wholesale grocery 
 dealers at No. 118 Greenwich street. New York, 
 remaining with that firm until its dissolution a 
 year later. He was then appointed a policeman by 
 Police Commissioner Alanier in 1868, and served 
 the city faithfully in that precarious capacity until 
 the time limit of service — twenty years — was 
 reached in 1888, when he retired. He was on 
 ' "police detail service" for eighteen years; was ap- 
 pointed special otticer by a special Act of the Legis- 
 lature of New York, and served as detective in 
 the Lincoln National Bank five years, when he felt 
 his time of service was completed and poor health 
 forced him to retire. He came to Marlboro, the 
 home of his wife's parents, and is now enjoying a 
 well-earned rest in the quiet of the country. While 
 on duty during the "Orange riot" in New York, 
 when tbe procession was coming, down Eighth ave- 
 nue, near the corner of Twenty-third street and 
 Ford's Opera House, the mob made a charge, and 
 the Ninth Regiment, which was on duty there, fired 
 a volley to frighten the crowd. The mob began 
 firing also, and many who were on housetops took 
 part in the shooting. Mr. Lyman was shot through 
 the calf of the leg, the bullet passing clear through 
 the limb. The shot was evidently fired from a 
 housetop. 
 
 On Sept. 18, 1867, Mr. Lyman married ^liss 
 Anna ]\Iaria Denslow, who was born in New Hart- 
 ford, Litchfield Co., Conn., May 25, 1840, a daugh- 
 ter of Samuel Bailey and Eliza (Phelps) Denslow. 
 The father was appointed cornet, ist Company, 
 ^j Governor's Horse Guards, Jan. 4, 1835, in the militia 
 of this State, wnere he gave faithful service until 
 his death in December, 1844. Tbe motlier subse- 
 quently married Judson Russell. She died in March, 
 1883. Our subject and bis wife have had two chil- 
 dren: (i) Belle \'., born April 18, 1870, became 
 the wife of Charles Daniel Way, Jr., an extensive 
 farmer and stock dealer of Gilead, Conn. ; she died 
 Nov. 10, 1897, leaving one child, Walter D. (2) 
 Grace D., born April 8, 1875, is the wife of Elton 
 'W. Buell, a manufacturer of various kinds of 
 woodenware in Gilead, and they have two children. 
 Deems H. and Dorothy Isabel'le. 
 
 Mr. Lyman is a splendid specimen of manhood, 
 
 being six feet in height and weighing over 200 
 
 f pounds. He receives a pension from the police fund 
 
 1 of New York, and has a prettv home in Marlboro, 
 
 ■ where he expects to spend the remainder of his 
 
 life in ease rnd quiet. He is a member of Phil 
 
 Carney Post, No. 8, G. A. R., Dei)artment of New 
 York, and served on the council of administration. 
 Politically he is a stanch Republican. In New York 
 he joined the Church of Strangers, and now attends 
 the Congregational Church -of Marlboro. He has 
 made many warm friends during his residence here 
 and is held in high regard by all who know him. 
 Capt. Albert J. Russell, brother of Mrs. Ly- 
 man, entered West I'oint in September, 1872, and 
 graduated June 14, 1876. He was first .assigned to 
 the Tenth United States Cavalry, but not long 
 afterward was transferred to the Seventh Cavalry, 
 with which he served almost twenty years, being 
 retired in May, 1896, on account of disability. He 
 was wounded fighting Indians. The Captain mar- 
 ried Miss Harrie L. Rumney, who died April 18, 
 1893, at Fort Riley, Kan., leaving three children: 
 Albert Judson, Earned Runmey and Josej^h Haw- 
 ley, who have since made their home with Mr. and 
 Mrs. Lyman. On April 15, 1900, Capt. Russell 
 passed away at Sierra Madre, Cal., and his remains 
 rest in the Government cemetery at Santa Monica, 
 that State. Mr. Lyman is guardian of the children. 
 
 \\'ALTER G. :MURPHY, AI. D., is descended 
 from a Scotch-Irish ancestry. His grandfather, 
 John IMurphy, was a pioneer soap manufacturer of 
 Albany, N. Y. His father, Thomas S. Murphy, 
 was born in Albany, and was identified with the 
 bookbinding industry of that city. He married 
 Elinor Crew, of Albany, and their union was blessed 
 with five children: Marv S., Thomas S., James 
 E., Charles S. and Walter G. 
 
 Walter G. Murphy was born in Albany, N. Y., 
 Nov. 13, 1868. He received his early education in 
 the schools of that city, and later entered St. Paul's 
 School at Salem, N. Y., wdiere he prepared for col- 
 lege. Matriculating at Albany ]\Iedical College, he 
 was graduated from that institution in 1889. He 
 entered Hudson River State Hospital, where he 
 remained six months, and then served eighteen 
 months as interne at the Albany hospital. In 1891 
 Dr. IMurphy located in Granby, Conn., and in 1893 
 he settled in East Hartford. He is a member 
 of the City, County and State Medical Societies. In 
 1892 the Doctor was married to i\Iiss Henrietta 
 Broughton, daughter of A. K. Broughton, of Salem, 
 Washington Co., N. Y., and they have two chil- 
 dren, Elinor D. and Frances B. 
 
 REV. JESSE E. HEALD. The world appre- 
 ciates and loves a man of charity and broadened 
 sympathies, and especially does it hold in kindliest 
 reverence and esteem the minister whose close 
 contact with his fellow men is not confined to the 
 members of his own parish. It is one of the dis- 
 tinctive traits of Rev. JMr. Heald, rector of Trinity 
 Church at Tariffville, that he has many friends in 
 everv religious denomination. No better tribute 
 than this bare recital can be paid to one of his 
 cloth and calling. An able minister, he is above 
 all else in his relations with men kindhearted and 
 
890 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 genial. He is not clothed in chilling dignity, not 
 wrapped about with any species of exclusiveness. 
 His services at burials and at weddings are in de- 
 mand as often from other denominations as from 
 his own church. He is widely known, and wher- 
 ever known is blessed. 
 
 Mr. Heald's preparation for his calling was 
 hedged about with trying obstacles. The family 
 was formerly one of wealth and always one of 
 influence,' but this branch of it was in reduced cir- 
 cumstances at the time of the birth of our subject, 
 whose education was obtained solely by his own 
 resources. As a lad he worked in a woolen mill, 
 but his daily companion there was a Greek reader. 
 Rev. Mr. Heald is of Vermont ancestry, descended 
 from an old English family. He was born in Mt. 
 Hollv, Vt., Dec. 26, 1834, a son of Elliott and 
 Jerusha (Wellman) Heald. The father was born 
 in Granville, N. Y., in 181 1, the mother in Dorset, 
 Vt., in 1812. The paternal grandfather of our 
 subject's paternal grandmother was Capt. John 
 Averil, an early settler of Westminster, Vermont. 
 
 Elliott Heald, the father of our subject, was a 
 dealer and worker in marble. He was a member 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church and an active 
 religious worker. His brother, John Heald, was a 
 Methodist minister. Elliott Heald lived for many 
 years at Amherst, Mass., to which town he re- 
 moved in 1838, and where he lived to the age of 
 seventy ; his wife survived him and died in 1889, 
 aged seventy-seven years. They were buried at 
 North Amherst, Mass. To Elliott and Jerusha 
 Heald were born four children : Jesse E., our sub- 
 ject; Nancy, who died unmarried, aged twenty 
 years ; Charles, of Amherst, Mass. ; and Anna, 
 now Mrs. Tracy, of Amherst. 
 
 Jesse E. Heald was four years old when his 
 parents moved to Amherst, Mass., where his early 
 schooling was received. He attended VVesleyan 
 Academy, and was graduated in 1853 from Wil- 
 braham, Mass. Being an earnest, progressive stu- 
 dent, he worked to secure the means to pay his 
 tuition and expenses. As noted above, he com- 
 bined the occupations of a mill worker and a 
 Greek student, and very successfully. At the age 
 of eighteen he pursued his studies under the in- 
 fluences of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and at 
 twenty-one was regularly ordained a minister of 
 that denomination. He held several charges, and 
 at the age of twenty-five years became a candidate 
 for orders in the Protestant Episcopal Church. 
 He became assistant minister at Trinity Church, 
 Newtown, Conn., and in 1862 came to what is now 
 Trinity Church, Tariffville. Rev. Heald next be- 
 came rector of the Episcopal Church at Pine 
 Meadow, Conn., for three years. He next took 
 charge of Grace Church at Saybrook, Conn., and 
 the fine stone church, costing $40,000, was erected 
 during his pastorate and dedicated free from debt ; 
 the rectory of that church, an unusually fine struc- 
 ture, was also built through his efforts. He re- 
 mained at Saybrook for ten years, and a six-years' 
 
 rectorship at Millville, Worcester Co., Mass., fol-l 
 lowed. In June, 1884, he returned to Tariffville! 
 where he has since lived continuously, only a por-i 
 tion of the time, however, as rector of Trinitv 
 Church. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Heald married. May 30, 1855, Miss 
 Betsy Tilden, who was born at North Coventry 
 Jan. 4, 1825, daughter of Walter and Rebecca, 
 (Jones) Tilden. Walter Tilden was an extensive] 
 Connecticut farmer. Of his eight children threei 
 are now living: Betsy, the wife of our subject; 
 Catherine, now Mrs. P. W. Turner, of Turnerville, 
 Conn. ; and Charles W., a farmer of Mansfield, 
 Conn. To Rev. and Mrs. Heald were born two 
 sons, William Elliott and Robert H., both of whonv 
 are now deceased. William Elliott was born Nov. 
 12, 1857, at Gales Ferry, Conn., and was a bright 
 and promising young man when he passed awayi 
 at Saybrook Aug. 26, 1874. Robert H. was born 
 April 15, 1862, at Newtown, Conn., and died at 
 Tariffville July 26, 1864. 
 
 As pastor Rev. Mr. Heald has met with remark- 
 able success. He has frequently been called toj 
 officiate in ministerial work at various towns about 
 Tariffville by members not only of the Episcopal 
 Church but of man}^ other denominations, and has; 
 been called upon to conduct the funeral services of 
 Congregational deacons and prominent members of 
 other churches. He has buried over 200 people in 
 and about Tariffville, and a very large number else- 
 where since he began his pastoral work. On his 
 twenty-first birthday he officiated at his first wed- 
 ding, and the bridal pairs he has since that occa- 
 sion made happy are numerous indeed. Rev. and i 
 Mrs. Heald are most highly respected by all who , 
 know them. The influences which have ever radi- i 
 ated from their home have been uplifting and cheer- 
 ing, penetrating, like the searching sunshine, many 
 a neglected nook and corner in human hearts. 
 "It is more blessed to give than to receive" might 
 be given as one of the life principles of our sub- j 
 ject, and his ministrations have been those that ' 
 were needed most and have made his name hon- 
 ored and cherished wherever he is known. 
 
 THOMPSON SINCLAIR GRANT. For- 
 tunate is he who has back of him an ancestry hon- 
 orable and distinguished, and happy is he if his 
 Imes of life are cast in harmony therewith. Our 
 subject is blessed in this respect, for he springs ' 
 from a prominent family, and is to-day one of the 
 best known and most influential citizens of Hart- 
 ford county. He is now Comptroller of Connecti- 1 
 cut, and is a recognized leader in public aft'airs. 
 
 Mr. Grant was born in the town of Enfield, 
 Hartford county, June 21, 1843, ^ son of Harry Al- 
 len and Laura Ann (Thompson) Grant. His pater- 
 nal grandfather, Robert Grant, a native of eastern 
 Scotland and a surgeon by profession, was with 
 the British navy during the early part of the Revo- 
 lutionary war, but later he became a naturalized 
 American citizen and served on Gen. Marion's staff, 
 
« 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 891 
 
 as surgeon, until the close of the war. He then 
 located in South Carolina, where he engaged in 
 raising rice, and subsequent!)- removed to Glynn 
 county, Ga., where he owned a large rice planta- 
 tion, as well as a large cotton plantation on St. 
 Simons Island, near Brunswick, Ga. He died in 
 1844. 
 
 Harry Allen Grant, our subject's father, was 
 born on St. Simons Island, on the Georgia coast, in 
 1813, and in 1821 was sent North to be educated. 
 After graduating from Union College, in 1833, he 
 stuilied nieilicine in JJaltiniore, ^Id., under Dr. 
 Geddings, anil in the early '30s practiced in Al- 
 bany, X. Y., for a period of two years. In 1836 he 
 went to Europe, where he spent live years studying 
 in the principal hospitals of the Old World. Re- 
 turning to the United States in 1841, he opened an 
 office in Xew York City, and the following year 
 came to Hartford, Conn., where he engaged in the 
 active practice of his profession until 1854. -He 
 then removed to Enfield, where he lived retired un- 
 til his death, in 1884. During the Civil war he 
 served on Gov. Buckingham's staff as surgeon- 
 general of Connecticut, and in 1861 was a member 
 of the Lower House of the State Legislature. At 
 the Baltimore Convention, in 1864, when President 
 Lincoln was nominated for a second term, he was 
 one of the vice-presidents of that body, and during 
 President Johnson's administration he was col- 
 lector of Internal Revenue for the States of Con- 
 necticut and Rhode Island, with office at Hartford, 
 filling that position for four years. He was twice 
 married, his first wife being Louisa, daughter of 
 I-ynott Bloodgood, of Albany, N. Y., and to them 
 was born one son, Harry Allen, Jr., a graduate of 
 Hamilton College and a lawyer by profession, who 
 died in Tarrytown, N. Y., in August, 1898. The 
 second wife was Laura Ann, daughter of Orrin 
 and Love (Lusk) Thompson, of Enfield, Conn., 
 and the only child born of this union is Thompson 
 Sinclair, our subject. Orrin Thompson was the 
 founder of Thompsonville, this county, and his 
 sketch will be found elsewhere. He was a son of 
 Matthew Thompson, who drifted to Hartford 
 county during the eighteenth century, and was one 
 of the early settlers of the town of Suffield, and 
 later of Enfield. He was a man of great force of 
 character, was an extensive land speculator, and 
 accumulated a large property. During the Revolu- 
 tionary war he enlisted in Capt. Walker's company, 
 at Stratford, Conn., and for three years fought for 
 the independence of the Colonies. He was born 
 in I7'i3, and died in Enfield }\Iarch 4. 1828. In 
 1787 he married Betsv Collins, who was born in 
 1770, and died j\Iay 19, 1855. She drew a Revo- 
 lutionary pension under the Pension Act of 1843. 
 
 Thompson S. Grant was reared in Enfield, and 
 was fitted for college in private schools. In 1861 
 he located in Xew York City, and he was success- 
 fully engaged in the woolen commission trade there 
 until 1S72. when he returned to Enfield. He has 
 since carried on business as a farmer, and from 
 
 1874 as a dealer in and packer of seed leaf and 
 Havana seed tobacco. He occupies the old family 
 residence erected i)y his grandfather, ( )rrin Thomp- 
 son, in 1832. Mr. Grant was married, Ocr. 17, 
 1872, to Miss Alice V. Mintzing, a daughter of 
 Jacob and Louisa (Thwing) Mintzing, of Charles- 
 ton, S. C. Two children blessed this union : Harry 
 Allen, born Jan. 10, 1874, died April 28, 1883; and 
 Fairfax, born March 23, 1875, died May 13, 1883. 
 The wife and mother was called to her final rest 
 Sept. 13, 1894. 
 
 ]\Ir. Grant is a leading member of the First 
 Ecclesiastical Congregational Church of Enfield,, 
 and has served ten years as chairman of the so- 
 ciety committee. In 1897 and 1898 he was a mem- 
 ber of the Lower House of the State Legislature, 
 and in the latter year was elected Comptroller of 
 Connecticut for a term of two years. His politi- 
 cal support is always given to the men and meas- 
 ures of the Republican party. Pie is public-spirited 
 in an eminent degree, and has always done much in 
 behalf of the general interests of his community. 
 Pleasant and genial in manner, he is quite popular, 
 and is the center of a large circle of friends and 
 acquaintances who honor and esteem him for his 
 genuine worth 
 
 GEORGE AUSTIX WARREX (deceased) 
 was a member of one of the earliest settled families 
 of East Hartford, which beyond all doubt descended 
 from Richard \\"arren. who came to America in 
 the historic "Mayflower." They lived in Silver 
 Lane, so called by the French soldiers who' en- 
 camped there at the time of the Revolutionary 
 war and who, it is said, stored their money in one 
 of the rooms of the Warren house. The first of 
 the familv of whom there is any authentic ac- 
 count was William ^^'arren, who married Mary 
 Andrews, and settled in East Hartford in 1664. 
 
 Ashbel \\'arren married Penelope Pratt, whose 
 mother's name was ]\Iargaret Ely, and to them 
 were born seven children : Ashbel, William Ely, 
 Harriet, Sarah, Xathaniel, Frederick and Marararet. 
 Of these, Ashbel married Abigail Hayes; William 
 Ely was killed by lightning in 1804, when still a 
 young man ; Harriet was married to a Mr. Camp ; 
 Saraii never married : X'athaniel married Sarah 
 Bidwell : Frederick went south ; Margaret was mar- 
 ried to James Colvin. 
 
 Xathaniel \\'arren, father of George Austin 
 Warren, was born Aus:. 13, 1797, and on Aug. 24, 
 1820. married Sarah Bidwell, who was born June 
 8, 1800. He was a farmer, lived on the spot which 
 was the late home of our subject, and died May 
 13, 1877. His widow resided on the old home- 
 stead until her death, July 13, 1878. They were the 
 parents of nine children: Harriet F., born Jan. 
 16, 1821, married Watson Hayes, and lived in South 
 Windsor; Lucius H., born Alarch 20, 1823, mar- 
 ried Abbey Miner, and was a resident of Milford 
 at the time of his death; William Ely, born June 
 
892 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ly, 1825, married Louisa Hills {nee Gillett), widow 
 of Sherman Hills, and lived in East Hartford; 
 George Austin is the subject of this sketch; Emily 
 A., born July 5, 1830, was married to Edward 
 Miner, and lived in Gilead : Leverett D., born Dec. 
 12, 1832, married Mary Vvheeler, and lived in 
 Bridgeport; Alfred Newton, born Aug. 8, 1835, 
 married Ann Eliza Stovve, and lived m Dunlap, 
 Iowa; Laura Jane, born April 21, 1838, married 
 George Hills, and lived in Gdeaa ; and Frederick 
 R., born Dec. 5, 1840, married Amelia Milton, who 
 was born Jan. 17, 1844, and lives in Silver Lane. 
 
 George Austin Warren was born Oct. 27, 1827, 
 in a house that stood just west of the one in which 
 he died. He was educated at the Willow Brook 
 school, under Horace Cornwall and others, and at 
 Wells Hall, under Joseph A. Hurlburt. After 
 leaving school he assisted on the home farm until 
 his marriage, Nov. 19, 1854, to Miss Almira Risley, 
 who was born June 9, 1829, a daughter of Harvey 
 .and Minerva (Loomis) Risley, residents of South 
 Windsor, then a part of East Windsor. In 1877 
 Mr. Warren erected his new dwelling, and here 
 followed general farming and tobacco growing un- 
 til his death, which occurred Sept. 6, 1898. To 
 liis marriage with Almira Risley were born the 
 following six children: Ella M., born March 17, 
 1856, was married Nov. 19, 1879, to Henry J. 
 Peavy, who was born Aug. 28, 1856, and is a mer- 
 chant in Byron, Ga. Mr. and Mrs. Peavy have six 
 children: Sadie Almira, born Nov. 17, 1880; 
 Bertha W., Dec. 6, 1882; William A., Jan. 3, 1885 
 (a twin brother died at birth) ; Nellie M., March 
 4, 1889 ; Henry W., July 24, 1893 ; and Annie 
 Rosalind, Aug. 24, 1896. The second child of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Warren was a daughter, born July 
 24, 1858, who died in infancy. The third, also 
 a daughter, born March 14, 1861, likewise died in 
 infancy. The fourth, Harvey R., was born March 
 29, 1862, married Harriet B. Lutz, who was born 
 June ID, 1869, and to this union was born one 
 child, Eugene, May 25, 1894; Harvey R. is now en- 
 gaged in the insurance business at Seattle, Wash. 
 The fifth child, Louis N., born Feb. 16, 1864, first 
 married, Sept. 13, 1891, Annie M. Miner, who 
 died Aug. 5, 1892, and Nov. 25, 1897, Louis N. 
 married Mrs. LilHe May (Edgerly) Oliver; their 
 children are Ella May and Austin James. Louis 
 N. Warren is now the manager of the home farm. 
 The sixth child, Sara A., was born Aug. 20, 1866, 
 and has her home with her mother. 
 
 George Austin Warren was tall of stature and 
 enjoyed good health nearly all his life. In politics 
 lie was a Democrat, but never cared for office. He 
 Avas a member of no secret society, being verv do- 
 mestic in his habits, was an upright man in all re- 
 spects and was honored by all who knew him. His 
 remains were interred in the cemetery at East Hart- 
 ford, and his death was a sad loss to the whole 
 community, but he left to his family the heritage 
 of a spotless name. 
 
 Mrs. Almira Warren, a very kind and entertain- 
 
 ing lady, still resides in the house erected by her 
 deceased husband in 1877, greatly respected by all 
 her neighbors ; as a rule she passes the winters in 
 Georgia, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Peavy. 
 
 ALFRED EVERETT KILBOURNE. The 
 tobacco interests of the town of South Windsor, ris- 
 ing to paramount importance as an agricultural re- 
 source, have brought into prominence several buvers 
 whose business is not only ^important to the selling 
 producers, but who require ability of an unusually 
 high order. From year to year there are the same ! 
 growers of the plant to buy from. They must be 
 satisfied that they are paid a reasonable price. The 
 purchasing manufacturers and merchants on the 
 other hand must be satisfied that their representa- 
 tives have been skillful buyers. The responsible po- 
 sition requires a character of high integrity, keen 
 business sense and judgment of the value of the 
 crop that is unerring. Among the successful buy- 
 ers at South Windsor is the subject of this sketch, 
 whom experience, native talent and sterling honesty 
 have amply qualified for the work. 
 
 Mr. Kilbourne was born in the town of East 
 Hartford July 19, 1849, a son of Alfred Kilbourne, 
 a native of South Windsor, who is more fully men- 
 tioned elsewhere. He received a common-school ed- 
 ucation, completing a course at Bryant & Stratton's 
 Business College, Hartford, and remained on the 
 home farm until his marriage, Oct. 12, 1872, at the 
 age of twenty-three years, to Miss Eliza S. Hills, 
 of East Hartford. The young couple began house- 
 keeping on the farm they now occupy, a part of the 
 old homestead. Here he made improvements and 
 for many years continued to cultivate the farm. 
 In 1886, in addition to the management of the place, 
 he assumed the local agency for the well-known 
 firm of Rodgers &: Hubbard, of Middletown, dealers 
 in fertilizers, and has continued to represent them 
 ever since. In 1884 Mr. Kilbourne commenced buy- 
 ing tobacco for L. Osterweis, of New Haven. He 
 remained with him until 1892, when he accepted 
 a position with Sutter Bros., of Chicago and Phil- 
 adelphia, as agent and manager of their large to- 
 bacco interests at East Hartford. This firm are 
 perhaps the largest buyers of tobacco in the East, 
 and in the year 1898 Mr. Kilbourne purchased for 
 Sutter Bros, about 3,000 cases of tobacco, and in 
 1899 4,000 cases. He has charge of their two 
 large warehouses at East Hartford, and during tlie 
 buying season employs and directs at times about 
 one hundred men. Mr. Kilbourne's farm is located 
 about four miles from Hartford and consists of 
 about sixty acres, under a high state of cultivation. 
 He raises about nine acres of tobacco each year. 
 
 In politics Mr. Kilbourne is a Republican. He 
 is a charter member -of the Royal Arcanum Lodge 
 at East Hartford, of which he was one of its or- 
 ganizers. He is a member of the Congregational 
 Church and an active religious worker, especially 
 in Christian Endeavor circles, his interest and en- 
 listment in that line dating from the Connecticut 
 
^y^-■'la-^y^^^ 
 
i 
 
sent; 
 
 nectiv 
 
 ness I 
 
 Jirm Oi 
 
 hotel in '* 
 
 tlieir abk 
 
 ing public 
 
 have also u 
 
 with marked . 
 
 far-sigiited eiit 
 
 standing in finan^ 
 
 eight years of pan 
 
 lars passing througU 
 
 funds in common, and 11 
 
 spective families occupied 
 
 perfect harmony. As citizen^ 
 
 spirited, taking a generous attitude to.. 
 
 gressive movements, and their geniality ana ^ 
 
 nature attract the friendship of all who know 
 
 them. 
 
 Our subject was born Aug. 4, 1S45, in Bland- 
 ford, Hampden Co., Mass., and comes of good 
 Colonial stock, his ancestors having located at 
 I'.landford, Mass., at an early day. Eli Knox, his 
 grandfather, married a Miss Watson and made his 
 home in Hampden county, JNIassachusetts. 
 
 Samuel Knox, our subject's father, was born in 
 Xovember, 1816, in Hampden county. ^lass., where 
 he grew to manhood. After his marriage he re- 
 sided for a time on a farm at Blandford. but later 
 he removed to Chester, Mass., and in 1866 he lo- 
 cated at Suffield and took charge of the stage line 
 between that village and Windsor Locks. Suffield 
 was a busy center for the tobacco business in those 
 days, and the line was well patronized, but as the 
 old hotel in the village had been abandoned travelers 
 had great difficulty in securing accommodations. 
 This fact led to our subject, then a young lad, 
 suggesting the advisability of furnishing suitable 
 entertainment, and as Samuel Knox had accumu- 
 lated a little capital by industry and economy it was 
 
 of WUvj.. 
 
 Anna married is. 
 at Otis, Mass., agea . 
 a successful merchant in .. 
 Leavenworth, Kans., and he 1... 
 at the age of seventy-three ; Rhoo, 
 vester Palmer, of Otis, IMass., and die^ 
 seventy-five; Sheldon G., a prominent n.. 
 South Carolina and later in Leavenworth, 
 died in the latter place at eighty-seven yeai. 
 age : Artemisia married Abijah B. Knox, and die. 
 at Westfield, !Mass., at the age of eighty-six years ; 
 Lorenzo died when nineteen while yet at home ; 
 and Sophronia married George Adams, of New 
 Hartford, where she died aged seventy-five years. 
 As a boy Waldo S. Knox attended the public 
 schools of the localities in which his parents re- 
 sided, and for a short time was a student in Wil- 
 braham College. His excellent business ability be- 
 came apparent at an early age. and in the fall of 
 1866, after his father had purchased the stage route 
 at Suffield, he came alone to take charge of it, the 
 
.iiich he and his 
 ^cther for about nine 
 ,jject finished building a 
 •evidence, one of the finest in 
 le expects to pass the afternoon of 
 - L. He and his wife are prominent in 
 , and he belongs to Apollo Lodge, ,No. 
 .A. M., and Gideon Granger Lodge, No. 
 „ P., at Suffield. 
 Wallace C. Knox, the junior member of the 
 firm of Knox Brothers, was born Oct. 7, 1854, at 
 Blandford, Mass., and attended the common schools 
 of that town and of Chester, Mass., and at Suffield, 
 this county. He also studied in the Connecticut 
 Literary Institute at Suffield and the Eastman 
 Business College at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and be- 
 ing more inclined to business life than to books 
 he immediately after his father's death devoted his 
 energies to the hotel in partnership with our sub- 
 ject. In their present business of farming he has 
 shown capacity for successful management, and has 
 
 JV. 
 
 ntry 
 
 gov- 
 
 ied in 
 
 From 
 
 agh the 
 
 1 in 1621, 
 -ut life, and 
 
 .n in 1651, was 
 
 1 the north end of 
 
 .Sg. He died June 
 
 .velles, born in 1686, died 
 - was appointed ensign of the 
 . ._x ot Wethersfield in May, 1725, lieu- 
 111 iViay, 1731, and captain in May, 1735. 
 
 (V) Col. Solomon Welles, born Oct. 6, 1721, 
 died Sept. 18, 1802. He graduated from Yale in 
 1739, and later was appointed lieutenant-colonel of 
 the Sixth Battalion of Foot. 
 
 (VI) Gen. Roger Welles, born in Wethersfield 
 Dec. 29, 1753, died May 27, 1795. He graduated 
 from Yale in 1775, and taught school in Wethers- 
 field until the Revolutionary war broke out, when 
 he entered the Colonial service, taking an active 
 part in the conflict until hostilities ceased. He 
 was captain of a company of picked men, none 
 less than six feet tall, and served under Gen. La- 
 Fayette in the siege of Yorktown. He was present 
 at the surrender of Cornwallis. After the war he 
 was married, March 27, 1785, to Jemima Kellogg, 
 daughter of Capt. Martin and Mary (Boardman) 
 Kellogg, and located in Newington, where he made 
 his home until his death. He was commissioned 
 general in the state militia of Connecticut, and was 
 a member of the General Assembly at the time of 
 his death. He was a tall man, six feet, two inches 
 in his stockings, had light brown hair and blue 
 eyes, and was of commanding appearance. Dur- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 895 
 
 ng the war he was wounded by a bayonet thrust 
 n the leg Oct. 14, 1781, and in token of his friend- 
 ship Gen. LaFayctte presented him with a sword. 
 (\'II) Roger Welles, born Aug. 10, 1790, was 
 .he younger of two sons, and was left fatherless at 
 the age of four years. As his brother, IMartin, 
 iMitered Yale College the whole care of the farm 
 ilevolved upon him at the age of fourteen years, 
 and from that time until his mother's death, in 
 1829, he had charge of the family homestead. He 
 continued to live in the ancestral home until it was 
 destroyed by fire in September, 1S55, when he 
 erected a good brick residence near the Congrega- 
 tional church in Newington, there spending the re- 
 mainder of his days, He was married, April 16, 
 1815, by Rev. Joab Brace, to Miss Electa Stanley, 
 who was born in July, 1796, and died Oct. 25, 
 1880. Her father was Timothy Stanley, formerly 
 of New Britain and later of Marietta, Ohio. Roger 
 Welles died of typhoid fever Nov. 18, 1859, in 
 Newington. He was a man of large frame, broad 
 shoulders and nearly six feet tall and of athletic 
 physical powers, the result of a good constitution 
 and a life of temperance .and simple habits spent in 
 personal toil upon his farm. In his youth he was 
 somewhat noted as a wrestler and for his feats of 
 strength and agility. He was a man of practical 
 mind, sound common sense, excellent judgment, 
 sterling integrity and Christian uprightness, was 
 conscientious and true to his convictions. He 
 carried on a distillery for some years where cider 
 brandy was manufactured, until the Washingtonian 
 temperance movement appealed to his conscience, 
 and he abandoned the business. For about twenty 
 years he was the trusted treasurer of the Ecclesi- 
 astical Society in Newington, and as a citizen was 
 always prompt to help forward any good work by 
 his encouragement and financial support. In 1844 
 he was a member of the General Assembly, repre- 
 senting the town of Wethersfield, which then em- 
 braced Newington. In his family were the follow- 
 ing children: (i) Frances Norton, born April 
 12, 1816, was married, March 17, 1836, to Heze- 
 kiah Griswold, and died Feb. 25, 1865. (2) Ed- 
 win, the subject of this sketch, is next in order of 
 birth. (3) Charlotte Jemima, born Dec. 20, 1820, 
 was married Dec. 20, 1841, to Baldwin Hart, of 
 Madison, and died March 31, 1858. (4) Julia, 
 born March 5, 1823, married, Aug. 23, 1843, Henry 
 Olmstead, of East Hartford, and removed to Dun- 
 lap. Iowa, where she died Feb. 2, 1877. (5) Abi- 
 gail, born Oct. 30, 1825, was married Nov. 25, 
 1852, to John D. Seymour, of Newington. (6) 
 Roger, born March 7, 1829, was married at Prairie 
 dii Chien, Wis., June 16, 1858, to Mercy Delano 
 Aiken, daughter of Lemuel S. Aiken, of Fairhaven, 
 Mass. (7) Electa Stanley, born Aug. 15, 1832, 
 was married April \t,. 1858' to Coleman^E. VVheeler, 
 and died Jan. 10, 1861. 
 
 Edwin Welles, our subject, was born March 
 29, 1818, in the old homestead in Newington, which 
 stood on the opposite side of the road from his 
 
 present residence. He was provided with a good 
 common-school and academic education, pursuing 
 his studies in Newington, Westfiekl, East Hartford 
 and New Britain. At an early age he entered a 
 company of horse under Gen. I'ratt, and met fur 
 a few times with the company for officers' drill, 
 appearing in the street under Capt. Stephen Mor- 
 gan, but his military career was suddenly ended 
 by ill health. His entire life has been passed on 
 the home farm, and in connection with agricultural 
 pursuits he was engaged in business as a manu- 
 facturer for a number of years. 
 
 In Newington, Jan. 20, 1853, Mr. Welles was 
 united in marriage with Miss Lucy Lowry Robbins, 
 a daughter of Unni and Sarah (Dunham) Robbins, 
 granddaughter of Gideon Dunham, and a great- 
 granddaughter of the somewhat famous David 
 Lowry. Three children were born of this union: 
 Fanny Augusta is at home ; Mary Robbins is mar- 
 ried to Elford B. Eddy, of New Britain, and has 
 three children, Elford Welles, Stanley Robbins and 
 Margaret Ames; Charles Edwin is now engaged 
 in the banking and stock exchange business as a 
 member of the firm of Welles, Herrick & Hicks, 
 No. 15 Wall street. New York City; he married 
 j\lar)'_ Ames de Steiguer, of Athens, Ohio, who 
 died in April, 1893. 
 
 Mr. Welles has ever taken an active interest 
 in political affairs, first as a Whig and later as a 
 Republican, and has held a number of town offices. 
 He was also elected by the Legislature a county 
 commissioner for two successive terms of three 
 years each, serving from 1861 to 1867, and in i86r 
 represented Newington in the Stale Legislature. 
 He and his family are active members of the Con- 
 gregational Church, and for ten years he served as 
 clerk of the Ecclesiastical Society. He is also a 
 member of the Connecticut Society. Sons of the 
 American Revolution. He commands the respect 
 and esteem of all who know him on account of his 
 sterling worth and many excellencies of charaiter. 
 Mr. Welles is five feet, ten and a half inches h\ 
 height, and of medium build. 
 
 WILLIAM SUMNER GOSLEE (deceased). 
 For many years this upright, conscientious attorney 
 was a practitioner at Glastonbury. His life was an 
 example of painstaking and successful professional 
 effort, for whatever cause he espoused received his 
 earnest and thorough support. He was renowned 
 as a lawyer, and practiced among the people whom 
 he had known from childhood, for he w^as a native 
 of the town of Glastonbury. 
 
 Mr. Goslee was a descendant of an old Connecti- 
 cut family, which first settled in Buckingham. 
 James Goslee, the father of our subject, was for 
 many years a farmer of Buckingham, where both 
 he and his brother, Thomas, were large land holders. 
 James Goslee married Polly Sumner, a native of 
 Hebron, and to them were born five children : Wil- 
 liam S., our subject: Philura, who married Lafay- 
 ette Bosworth, of ^'crnon, and now lives at the old 
 
w 
 
 89G 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 homestead in Buckingham; Jemima, who married 
 Gilbert Strickland, of Buckingham, where she now 
 resides; Rhoda, who married E. B. Treat, a pub- 
 lisher in New York city, and died in May, 1899, her 
 husband and five children surviving her and living 
 in New York ; and Timothy, who died young. 
 
 William S. Goslee was born Aug. 15, 1832, in 
 Buckingham. His boyhood days were spent on the 
 home farm, while he attended the neighboring 
 schools. Desiring a higher education, he becarne a 
 student in the excellent academy, then at Bucking- 
 ham, and later attended Williston Seminary, Wil- 
 liston, Mass. While a student there, aged nineteen 
 years, his father died. He returned home and took 
 charge of the farm for a time, and later pursued his 
 studies at the New Britain Normal School. Choos- 
 ing the profession of law as his life vocation, he en- 
 tered the office of Judge Loren P. Waldo, at Tol- 
 land, as a student. While reading law he taught 
 school during the winter in his native district. Upon 
 his admission to the Bar Mr. Goslee returned to 
 Glastonbury, and there began a practice which he 
 continued uninterruptedly until his death. In poli- 
 tics he was a Whig in early life, and later a Republi- 
 can. His political convictions were deep, and he 
 became a leader in the local councils of his party. 
 He served the town in various public capacities, and 
 for several years was town clerk. During the pe- 
 riod the Legislature met at New Haven, in 1870, 
 he was elected and served as State senator, having 
 previously served as assistant clerk in the Legisla- 
 ture, and as representative of his town in that body. 
 He was a man of superior intelligence, was an om- 
 niverous reader, and, possessing a retentive memory, 
 was well informed upon professional and public 
 matters. 
 
 Mr. Goslee was married, Oct. 30, 1861, to Miss 
 i\Iarv T. Storrs, who was born at Mansfield, Conn:, - 
 May 30, 1835, daughter of Dan P. and Mary S. (So- 
 lace) Storrs. To our subject and wife were born 
 two children, one that died in infancy ; and Henry 
 Storrs, who was born Sept. 12, 1872, and was edu- 
 cated in the common and select schools of Glaston- 
 bury, and at Williston Seminary. By a curious co- 
 incidence, when his father died he was at the same 
 school, and at the same age as his father when the 
 father of the latter died. Henry Storrs graduated 
 from Williston in June, 1S92. He spent two years 
 in New York University, and is now practicing law 
 at Hartford. He was married April 28, 1898, to 
 Lulu E. Wright, of Glastonbury. 
 
 Mr. Goslee, our subject, died at his home in Glas- 
 tonbury, March 31, 1892, aged fifty-nine years, and 
 was mourned by a wide circle of friends and ac- 
 quaintances. He was a prominent member of Das- 
 kam Lodge, F. & A. M., and filled the chair of 
 grand master. During the Civil war he was 
 drafted, but owing to deafness he did not serve; 
 nevertheless he furnished a substitute. He was a 
 lifelong member of the Congregational Church, join- 
 ing the church at Glastonbury at the early age of 
 thirteen years. His prosperous professional career 
 
 was the result of his own individual efforts, and the 
 self-reliance which he displayed in his earlier years 
 no doubt enhanced the measure of his success. Mr. 
 Goslee was a man of recognized literary tastes and 
 ability, and possessed one of the finest libraries in 
 Glastonbury. His life principles, exemplified in ; 
 every act, won for him the entire confidence of his 
 fellow men. At the time of his death Mr. Goslee 
 was engaged in the compilation of a local history of 
 Glastonbur)', but the valuable historical data which 
 he had collected at the expense of much time and ^ 
 trouble were lost, as the manuscript could not be [ 
 found. Mrs. Goslee, his widow, still resides in the i 
 old home. She has proven a devoted wife and 
 mother, and her faithful life has won for her the 
 kind regard and high esteem of the community in ^ 
 which she lives. 
 
 LEAVITT POMEROY BISSELL, though one 
 oi the younger business men of Suffield, is an in- 
 fluential factor in the welfare of that town, his 
 extensive manufacturing enterprises supplying many t 
 people with emplovment. While the village is ! 
 known as the "haven of beautiful homes," it has 
 heretofore lacked any adequate means of supplying ; 
 its laboring elements with profitable and steady ' 
 work, and in investing his capital to meet this need 
 Mr. Bissell has shown a wise appreciation of the 
 obligations resting upon wealth. As a manufacturer ': 
 of cigars and dealer in leaf tobacco he has estab- 
 lished a high reputation, his product being shipped ! 
 to all parts of the United 'States, and each year i 
 sees his capital increased by his thrifty manage- ' 
 ment. He sells his goods, keeps his own books, is 
 his own confidential clerk, and is thoroughly fa- 
 miliar with the details of his business, yet with all | 
 his industry and apphcation he is always genial and 1 
 courteous as a companion, and finds time to lend 
 effective and generous aid to many worthy public 
 movements. 
 
 Mr. Bissell is of the eighth generation of his 
 family in America, being a descenuant of (I) John 
 Bissell, Sr., who was born about 1591 in the County ' 
 of Somerset, England, and came to Plymouth, Mass., 
 in 1682. Previous to 1640 he removed to Windsor, 
 Hartford county, and in 1648 or '49 he was granted ! 
 by the Colony of Connecticut the sole right to run 
 a ferry across the Connecticut river near Hayden's 
 Station. This old ferry is still operated, but has 
 been moved further down the stream. 
 
 (H) John Bissell, Jr., son of the pioneer, was ,., 
 born in England, and died in this county in 1693. 
 He inherited the ferry from his father and con- 
 tinued to operate it throughout life. 
 
 (HI) Jeremiah Bissell, the next in line of de- 
 scent, was born Feb. 22, 1677. He married Mehit- 
 abel White and had a son, Samuel. 
 
 (IV) Samuel Bissell died Sept. 18, 1759. He 
 was married, Aug. i, 1746, to Mary Kibbe, of En- ' 
 field, this county^ and among their children was a 
 son, Isaac. 
 
 (V) Isaac Bissell, our subject's great-grandfa- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 897 
 
 ther, was lx)rn in Windsor Jan. 25, 1749, and died 
 July _'S, i8-'2. He was the first of the family to locate 
 in Suffield, and all of the name now residing there 
 are his descendants. On July 4, 1776, he married 
 Amelia Leavitt, who was born in 1757, and died 
 Nov. 15, I Soy. They had the following children: 
 Amelia; Amelia (second); Isaac; Amelia (third); 
 Samuel; Sophia; Harvey; George; Asaph L., who 
 is mentioned below ; Betsey ; Sally ; LiUhera ; and 
 George (second). 
 
 (VI) Dr. Asaph L. Bissell, the grandfather of 
 our subject, was born in Suffield Jan. i, 1791, be- 
 came a successful physician and an influential citi- 
 zen of that docality. His judgment in business 
 matters was exceptionally good. His death occurred 
 Aug. 2, 1850. On June 3, 1819, he married Lucy 
 Norton, daughter of Daniel and Lucy (King) Nor- 
 ton, and they had eight children : Charles S., our 
 subject's father; \\'illiani N., born in 1823, died in 
 1843; Francis L., born in 1825; Mary, who died 
 in childhood ; Mary A., born Sept. 28, 1828, who 
 married Horace E. Mather; Emily L., born in 1831, 
 wiio married N. S. Bouton, of Chicago, III., and 
 died Sept. 12, 1857; Harvey L., born in 1834; and 
 Eugene, born Nov. i, 1839. 
 
 (\'ll) Charles S. Bissell, father of our subject, 
 was born April 5, 1821, in Suffield, where he con- 
 tinued to reside until his death, on Feb. 2, 1887. 
 At an early age he began to manifest unusual busi- 
 ness ability, and for many years he was one of the 
 leading financiers of this section. He seemed to 
 have an intuitive knowledge as to the worth of an 
 investment, his opinions carrying much weight with 
 his associates in Ixisiness, and his ventures proved 
 uniformly profitable. At one time he was a di- 
 rector in the old Continental Insurance Co. Po- 
 litically he was a strong Republican, but he never 
 sought public honors as a reward for partisan work. 
 In religious faith he was a Congregationalist, and 
 liis wealth enabled him to assist in many worthy 
 movements. He married Miss ^laria E. Pomeroy. 
 of Suffield, and had two children : Leavitt P., our 
 subject; and Charles C, a member of the firm of 
 L. P. Bissell, Bro. & Co., of Sufifield. The mother, 
 who is still living, is now the wife of Charles G. 
 Pomeroy, of Suffield. She was born in Suffield, 
 the daughter of Chauncey and Maria Granger Pom- 
 eroy, and is a sister of the late A. G. Pomeroy, the 
 well-known tobacco dealer of Hartford, "formerly 
 of SufifieM. 
 
 (Vni) Leavitt P. Bissell was born April 18, 
 1865, and was educated in the public schools of Suf- 
 field and the Connecticut Literary Institute, with 
 one year of study at Wilbraham Academy. As a 
 boy he gained many practical business ideas from 
 observing his father's operations, and at nineteen 
 he started upon his career by accepting a position 
 as clerk in the home office of th.; Travelers In- 
 surance Company at Hartford. His capabilities 
 brought him one promotion after another until he 
 was the second in rank in the auditing depart- 
 ment, and after six years in the office he left it to 
 57 
 
 engage in business on his own account, as a mem- 
 ber of the firm of \V. B. Drake & Co., cigar man- 
 ufacturers of Suffield. Mr. Drake's death caused 
 a change in the firm in February, 1895, our sub- 
 ject becoming sole proprietor and conducting the 
 firm under the name of L. P. Bissell with marked 
 success, the output now averaging over a million 
 cigars annually. In 1897 Air. Bissell became in- 
 terested in the leaf tobacco l)usiness as a partner in 
 the firm of R. F. Brome & Co., soon afterward 
 buying Mr. Brome's share in this concern. For a 
 time he conducted both establishments alone, but 
 in the fall of i8y8 his brother joined him and they 
 organized the firm of L. P. Bissell, Bro. & Co. He 
 is also largely interested in growing tobacco, and 
 was one of the original organizers of The Bissell 
 Graves Co., of which he is secretary and treasurer. 
 They own one of the finest tobacco farms in the 
 Connecticut valley, located about two miles from 
 Suffield Center, where they grow from seventy- 
 five to one hundred acres of tobacco annually. Mr. 
 Bissell's well-proven sagacity has made his co-op- 
 eration or recognized value in other lines, and he 
 has been connected with various corporate ventures ; 
 is a director of the Suffield Water Works Co., and 
 is a trustee of the Connecticut Literary Institution, 
 of which he was secretary of the board for several 
 years. 
 
 In 1888 Mr. Bissell married Aliss Mary Weston 
 Gilbert, daughter of Weston and Mary (Looniis) 
 Gilbert, of Suffield, and five children have bright- 
 ened his home, two of whom are living. Arthur G. 
 and Alary W. Air. Bissell and nis accomplished 
 wife are prominent in the best social circles, and 
 he is identified with Torrington Lodge, No. 372, 
 B. P. O. E. ; Apollo Lodge, No. 59, F. & A. M., 
 of Suffield ; Washington Chapter, Xo. 30, R. A. 
 M. ; Washington Commandery, No. i, K. T., at 
 Hartford ; Sphinx Temple, Nobles of the }»lystic 
 Shrine, at Hartford, and Gideon Granger Lodge, 
 No. 62, K. P., at Suffield, of which he is a charter 
 member. 
 
 ALAION CLARK RUSSELL, senior member 
 of the firm of A. C. & W. E. Russell, tobacco 
 growers and general farmers of Suffield, was born 
 in Russell, JNIass., Aug. 22, 1830, and is a son of 
 Abel and Emeline (Loomis) Russell, as well as 
 a brother of E. A. Russell, in whose sketch on an- 
 other page w-ill be found mention of several interest- 
 ing facts touching the family history. 
 
 Almon C. Russell received a sound common- 
 school education. He remained in Russell until 
 1858, when he went to Blandford, Mass., follow- 
 ing farming there until 1870. Returning to Rus- 
 sell he farmed there until 1880, when he came to 
 Suffield and purchased from Charles \\'oodworth 
 what was known as the Almon Allen place and en- 
 gaged in stock raising and dairying; now the farm, 
 which comprises sixty-six acres, is devoted chiefly 
 to tobacco culture. Mr. Russell was united in mar- 
 riage, Oct. I, 1854. with Ann Eliza Sperrv, born 
 
^ 
 
 898 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Dec. 4, 1836, who died April 3, 1885, a member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church at Blandford ; her 
 remains were interred at Suffield. To this mar- 
 riage were born four children : Willis Edwin, Sarah 
 Elizabeth, Eveline Sperry and Mary Emily. 
 
 (i) WiUis Edwin Russell was born July 6, 1855, 
 was educated in the district schools of Blandford, 
 Mass., and the Connecticut Literary Institute, of 
 Suffield, Conn., and since leaving school has been 
 associated with his father in farming, being the 
 junior member of the firm of A. C. & W. E. Rus- 
 sell. He married, June 22, 1881, at Blandford, 
 Miss Emma Eugenia Culver, a native of the town, 
 born Dec. 24, 1856, and a daughter of' Dexter and 
 Roxanna (Sanderson) Culver. Two children have 
 blessed this union, Howard Frank, born March 4, 
 1883, who is now attending the Suffield Institute; 
 and Grace Eliza, born Jan. 10, 1888. W. E. Rus- 
 sell is a Republican in politics, but has never sought 
 office ; in religion he is a Congregationalist, has 
 been a deacon in the Church for three years, has 
 served as Sunday school teacher and superintend- 
 ent, and is a member of the Society committee. 
 He is a young man of more than ordinary intelli- 
 gence, and is recognized as one of Suffield's most 
 .energetic and enterprising young citizens. 
 
 (2) Sarah Elizabeth Russell was born March 
 29, 1857, ^"d died in Blandford, Oct. 19, 1859. 
 
 (3) Eveline Sperry Russell was born in IBland- 
 ford Dec. 2, i860, and was married in Suffield, Jan. 
 12, 1887, to Emerson Wells Oatley. He was born 
 Aug. 31, 1856, a son of Emerson and Charlotte 
 (Herrick) Oatley, and is now living in Springfield, 
 Mass., where Mr. Oatley is a trucker. One child. 
 Hazel Belle, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Oatley, 
 April 7, 1890, and died Oct. 4, 1899. 
 
 (4) Mary Emily Russell was born in Blandford, 
 June 6, 1863, and was married Oct. 17, 1883, to 
 David Lester Brockett, who was born March 13, 
 1857, and is a son of Frank J. and Maria (Gibbs) 
 Brockett. To David L. and Mary Emily Brockett 
 one child, Mabel Eliza, was born March 25, 1890. 
 
 The second marriage of Almon Clark Russell, 
 to Aurelia Loomis, widow of Chester H. Curtis, 
 took place May 11, 1887. She was born July 7, 
 1829, in Southampton, Mass., died April 24, 1895, 
 in Suffield, and was interred in Russell, Mass., be- 
 side' her husband. 
 
 A. C. Russell has long been a Republican in 
 politics, has done his full duty in behalf of the 
 party at the polls, but has never sought political 
 preferment. He is somewhat liberal in his views 
 on religion, but is a sincere Christian, is very active 
 in educational matters, and was a member of the 
 school committee in Blandford. He is recognized 
 as a gentleman of sound judgment and splendid 
 business ability, and is classed among Suffield's fore- 
 most citizens. 
 
 No family in Suffield has attained a higher de- 
 gree of usefulness and self-earned respect than that 
 of Almon C. Russell, and their long line of an- 
 •cestry has found in both father and son descendants 
 
 well worthy the name, and fully capable of main- 
 taining the untarnished reputation of their worthy 
 sires. 
 
 The Sperry family, from which Mrs. Ann Eliza 
 Russell descended is one of old Colonial respecta- 
 bility.. Elihu Sperry, one of its members, was born 
 in North Haven, Conn., March 21, 1747, was a 
 farmer. He removed to Blandford, Mass., in 1783, 
 and there died, a member of the Congregational i 
 Church, in which he served as deacon. He had ' 
 married, March 10, 1774, Abigail Barnes, a native \ 
 of Connecticut, and to this union were born, in ' 
 North Flaven, Lola (who died unmarried), Caleb, 
 Elihu and Beady; in Blandford were born David, > 
 May 6, 1787, and Abigail, Sept. 6, 1791. A short j 
 time before his death Deacon Elihu Sperry wrote 
 upon the blank pages of his Bible as follows: 
 
 I, Elihu Sperry, was born in North Haven, in the .State 
 of Connecticut, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven 
 hundred and forty-seven, on the twenty-first day of March. 
 As near as I recollect I became a member of the Church in ( 
 the place of my nativity, about forty-two years ago, and 
 removed to this town when f was thirty-six years of age. 
 Being now in a feeble state of health, and, as 1 apprehend, 
 near the close of life, f wish to leave the following advice as 
 a testimony of my desire for the spiritual welfare of my 
 family, the Church and the world: 
 
 1. I advise my wife and children to attend especially 
 to those things which are spiritual and divine; to maintain a 
 constant intercourse with God by public and private prayer; 
 faithfully to observe the ordinances of His House; to regard 
 with kindness and affection their brethren and sisters in the 
 Church; and to trust not in their own righteousness but in 
 the righteousness of Christ. 
 
 2. I desire to be thankful to the God of all mercy and 
 grace for the honor which the Church in this place has con- 
 ferred upon me in appointing me one of its officers; for the 
 respect and kindness with which its members have ever 
 treated me and for the numerous gifts and attentions which 
 they have bestowed upon me. For all these favors I return 
 the Church my sincere thanks. My earnest prayer to God 
 is that its members may walk together in brotherly love, 
 that they may enjoy the presence of the Savior, that they 
 may have their graces strengthened and their numbers 
 increased; that they may abound in every good word and' 
 work, and that the blessing of the Father, the Son and the 
 Holy Ghost, may rest upon them. 
 
 8. I also return my thanks to all my neighbors for the 
 many kindnesses which they have shown me. May the 
 blessing of heaven rest upon them and their families. I 
 hope they and all the pebple in this place will feel the 
 importance of a better portion than this world can give. 
 May pure religion be revived in the midst of them, and may 
 they be prepared for the coming and kingdom of our blessed 
 Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I also wish to express my 
 ardent desire for the prosperity of religion throughout the 
 earth and'that the Lord would arise and build up Zion apd 
 fill the whole earth with his glory. I also wish to express 
 my firm belief that the doctrines of the Bible which are 
 generally denominated the doctrines of grace are true and 
 faithful. 
 
 [Signed.] Elihu Sperry. 
 
 Blandford, Mass., March 20, 1822. 
 
 Caleb Sperry, grandfather of Mrs. Russell, was 
 born Nov. 11, 1777, was reared a wagonmaker, 
 and finally became a farmer. He married, Feb. 
 
 3, 1807, Hulda Hawkins, a daughter of ■ 
 
 and Mollie (Henry) Hawkins, and died April 17, 
 1858, leaving his widow and two sons. Five chil- 
 dren were born to them : Rachel Mahala, born Aug. 
 13, 1809, died single May 14, 1848; David Gilbert, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 S9& 
 
 Iborn July lo, 1813; Joseph Denslow, born Full. 13, 
 1818, difd March 7, 1822; Mary KHzahiih, born 
 July 13, j8j4, died single June 26, 1842; and Henry 
 iBarnes, born Jan. 29, 1829. In December, 1866, 
 |Mrs. Sperry removed to the home of her son, 
 IDavid G., in Waynesburg, Tenn., and later to Ben- 
 ton Center, near Scranton, I'enn., where her death 
 icurred Jan. 13, 1874, and where she was buried. 
 David G. Sperry, father of Mrs. Russell, was 
 born in Blantlford, Mass., and was reared a farmer. 
 ;0n May 19. 1830, he there married Polly I'arks, 
 a daughter of ivobert and Sarah (Shurtleff j Parks, 
 -Mrs. Sperry died in Blandford, Sept. 28, 1852, the 
 mother of si.x children : Ann Eliza, who was mar- 
 iried to Almon C. Russell; Edwin David, born July 
 1 15. 1838; Mary Elizabeth, July 11, 1843: Dexter 
 ; Eugene. July 14, 1845: Eveline Maria, Sept. 21, 
 1 1846: and Emily Josephine, Sept. 21, 1852. After 
 : the death of his wife David Sperry removed to 
 I'niontown, Penn., where he kept a hotel for some 
 years, and then went to Maple Farm, Greensboro, 
 < Ircene county, in 1865, and to Waynesburg, in 
 1866. In April, 1867, he moved to Scranton, where 
 he lived until 1873, when he removed to Benton 
 Center, and there he remained, engaged in farm- 
 ing, until 1876, when he made his final home in 
 Philadelphia ; he died there Sept. 19, of the same 
 year. 
 
 l"or his second wife Air. Sperrv married Cath- 
 erine Herbert, who was born Dec. 22, 1830, a 
 (laughter of Hiram and Elizabeth (Vance) Herbert, 
 of Connellsville, Penn., and to this marriage came 
 two children : Frank Herbert, born Jan. 26, 1859, 
 I who died in Scranton, Xov. 10. 187S: and Alice 
 "Rosella, born April 5, 1S62. The mother of these 
 died in Philadelphia in 1899. 
 
 WILLIAM SIERIXG (deceased) was an ener- 
 getic and successful business man of Xew Britain, 
 and part owner of the Siering & Holmes block, the 
 finest and most substantially constructed business 
 Iniilding in the city, and one of the l)est in the State. 
 For some years he was prominently identified with 
 the liquor interests, and he was active in the promo- 
 tion of various enterprises in his city, including the 
 Xew Britain Telephone Co., in which lie was a 
 stockholder. 
 
 Mr. Siering was born Alarch 4, 1851, in Eliza- 
 beth, XT. J., and was of German ancestry in both 
 I paternal and maternal lines. George Siering, his 
 ' father, was born in 1823, in Bavaria. Germany, 
 where he attended school from his seventh to his 
 f<nirteenth year. According to the custom of liis 
 ofiuntry, he learned a trade, choosing that of baker, 
 which he followed for a short time. Pie served hi 
 the German army during the Revolution of 1848, 
 and in the fall of 1849 came to America with his 
 wife, Catherine Host, also a native of Bavaria, born 
 July 6. 1825. After his arrival he worked at his 
 trade for a time, and later he removed to New 
 Britain, where he learned the miller's trade with 
 the Russell & Erwin Co. This business he followed 
 
 until 1857, when he bought a saloon and boarding- 
 house at the corner of Lafayette and Grove streets, 
 in the rear of the screw sJiop. In the fall of 1859 
 be siild out, and for some time was employed in the 
 U. B. Xorlh foundry. When that establishment 
 was burned, in 1863, he returned to the Russell & 
 Erwin Co., with whom he remained until the strike, 
 ten years later. I'or about three years he was in 
 the employ of Taylor's Malleable Iron Works, but 
 in 1870 he went to Meriden, where he worked as a 
 brass molder for a year, and s])ent the following year 
 in Xaugatuck, in the same business. He was an 
 expert molder, and continued his work quite stead- 
 ily until a few years previous to his death, which oc- 
 curred in Xovember, 1886. He was a member of the 
 Lutheran Church, and as an intelligent citizen took 
 much interest in ]niblic cpiestions. affiliating with tlie 
 Democratic ]3arty in politics. His estimable wife 
 survives him with eight chihlren : ( 1 ) Hannah mar- 
 ried \'alentine Bollever. (2) William is mentioned 
 more fully below. (3) Katherine married (first) 
 John Yost, and (second) a Mr. Speigel, of Xew 
 Haven. (4) George, a barber in Xew Britain, mar- 
 ried Miss Hashficld, of Meriden. (5) Annie mar- 
 ried Paul I'lerner, of Xew Haven. (6) Lena married 
 William Gilbert, of Xew Britain. (7) Louisa mar- 
 ried Louis Miller. (8) Maggie married Frank Bentz. 
 Our subject's education was begun in the Burritt 
 school, Xew Britain, but when he was eight years old 
 his ]iarents removed to Curtis Hill, and he attended 
 the schools of the fourth district for some time. 
 After reaching the age of eleven vears he only at- 
 tended night school, but through private study he 
 gained a thorough knowledge of German and Eng- 
 lish, and became especially well informed upon the 
 German wars and our own Civil war. As a boy 
 he was emploved in the A\'heeler factory, in making' 
 curry-combs, and as core-maker in the Russell & 
 Erwin shops. For some time he worked for O. B. 
 X'orth, and when his factory burned he went to the 
 Malleable Iron Works. His ability secured him 
 responsible positions, and the first pin machine set 
 up in the Stanley Works was under his charge for 
 a time. He spent one year with the Xew Britain 
 Hosiery Co., a year and a half in the finishing de- 
 partment of the Russell & Erwin factory, and for 
 a time was employed bv the Landers, Frary & 
 Clark Co., and in the turning department of the 
 Xorth & Judd shops. In 1867 he spent six months 
 at the barber's trade, and later after a short time 
 in the L'nion Grocery and Feed Store, he went to 
 Hartford, where he tended bar for three months. 
 On his return to X'ew P.ritain he again worked for 
 the Russell & Erwin Co.. and the Stanley Co.. but 
 in the fall of 1868 he became interested in the bar- 
 ber's trade with Christian Hess. In April, 1871, he 
 started in business for himself in the \'ienna Bakery, 
 and in 1872, he opened a barber shop under the post 
 office, where he continued for several years, having 
 fourteen apprentices during that time. In May. 1881, 
 he sold out and purchased Harry Watkins" saloon 
 at Xo. 68 West Main street, and engaged in the 
 
«00 
 
 COMMEMORATIFE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 liquor business. In April, 1886, he rented a build- 
 ing on Commercial street, which he purchased two 
 years later, and in 1889 he bought the Watkins 
 propert)'. In 1890 he began the erection of the 
 Siering & Holmes block, in partnership with J. W. 
 Holmes, completing it in 1893. As a stanch Demo- 
 crat Mr. Siering took an active interest at times in 
 political affairs, and in 1872 he served as constable. 
 For fifteen years he was park commissioner, and 
 during the building of St. John's Lutheran Church, 
 of which he was a trustee, he was a leading worker 
 in the enterprise. He belonged to the New Britain 
 Rifle Club, being a noted marksman ; was also con- 
 nected with St. Elmo Lodge, K. of P. ; Gerstaecker 
 Lodge, I. O. O. F., a German lodge; the Order of 
 Foresters; the Turnverein, and Concordia Benevo- 
 lent Society. He believed in enjoying life, having 
 many friends, and in 1883 went to Europe, intending 
 to visit Germany and other countries, but after a 
 trief stay in London and Paris one of the party 
 died, and he returned home. 
 
 In 1888 Mr. Siering married Miss Emma Ko- 
 iiold, a native of Collinsville, this county. Her 
 father, Matthew Konold, a highly-respected citizen, 
 was foreman in the ax factory in that place, for 
 "forty years, and manufactured hammers for the use 
 of California gold miners. 
 
 ALFRED W. HANMER. Prominent among 
 the enterprising and progressive business men of 
 Wethersfield is the subject of this sketch — the 
 junior member of the firm of Bulkley & Hanmer, 
 general merchants. In business affairs he is notably 
 reliable, systematic and methodical, and his sagac- 
 it}', keen discrimination and sound judgment have 
 made him an important factor in business circles. 
 
 Mr. Hanmer was born in Wethersfield May 13, 
 1867, and belongs to a family that was early 
 founded in Massachusetts and other sections of 
 New England. The first to come to Wethersfield 
 ■was Francis Hanmer, of Boston, where he had 
 married a Miss King. He became a land owner and 
 general farmer of Wethersfield, where he spent the 
 remainder of his life. 
 
 His son. Francis Hanmer, Jr., was a lifelong 
 resident of Wethersfield, and was a farmer by occu- 
 pation. His remains were interred in Wethersfield. 
 On May 4, 1730, he married Elizabeth Curtis, and 
 they had ten children, whose names and dates of 
 birth were as follows: John, Aug. 2, 173 1 : Eliza- 
 beth, Aug. 16, 1732 ; Abigail, July 13, 1735 ; Francis, 
 March 23, 1739; Samuel, April 16, 1741 ; Ann, Aug. 
 9, 1743; Guy, Nov. 4, 1745; James, Dec. 10, 1747; 
 Hannah, April 21, 1750; and Martha, Jan. 6. 1753. 
 
 Samuel Hanmer, son of Francis, Jr., also made 
 his home in Wethersfield throughout life, his time 
 and attention being devoted to general farming-, 
 and there he died and was buried. IJe married 
 Sarah Wills, and their children were Sarah, born 
 April 25, 1769; Abigail, Aug. 15, 1770; Hulda, 
 July 30, 1773: Samuel, Dec. 3, 1778; Elizabeth, 
 wife of Joseph Harris, July 13, 1780; Prudence, 
 
 Sept. 26, 1782 ; Nancy, wife of Caleb Pond, Feb. 
 12, 1785 ; and Joseph, Nov. 23, 1787. 
 
 Samuel Hanmer, Jr., spent his life in Wethers- 
 field, and his remains were interred in the old fam- 
 ily cemetery in that town. He married Lucy Crane, 
 of Wethersfield, and to them were born nine chil- 
 dren : Sarah, John, Samuel, Samuel, Lucy A., 
 Nancy, Elizabeth, Henry and Charles. 
 
 John Hanmer, the eldest son in the above fam- 
 ily, was the grandfather of our subject. He was 
 born, reared and educated in Wethersfield, and in 
 early life assisted in the work of the farm, but later 
 he engaged in the produce business and the coasting 
 trade, as captain of a schooner plying between 
 Wethersfield and New York. Politically he was 
 first an Old-line Whig and later a Republican, and 
 he was called upon to fill several local ofiices, be- 
 ing a man well liked and highly respected in the 
 community where he resided. He died at the old 
 home in Wethersfield, where his daughter. Miss 
 Elizabeth, now resides, and was laid to rest in the 
 Wethersfield cemetery. He married Hannah 
 Churchill, a native of the same town, daughter 
 of Levi Churchill and granddaughter of Jesse 
 Churchill, a soldier of the Revolutionary war. The 
 children born of this union were Caleb; Elizabeth; 
 Mary, wife of Elizur Goodrich, president of the 
 Hartford Street Railway Co. ; Henry C, father of 
 our subject; Felicia, wife of Dudley AVells; and 
 John, a resident of Wethersfield. 
 
 Henry C. Hanmer was born in Wethersfield 
 and educated in its district schools. He grew to 
 manhood in his native town, and became one of its 
 successful general farmers and tobacco growers. 
 He died in Wethersfield while still in the prime of 
 life, and was laid to rest in the cemetery there. He 
 was a member of the first company of Governor's 
 Horse Guards, was a Republican in politics and a 
 consistent member of the Episcopal Church. He 
 was noted for his upright, honorable dealings, and 
 was held in high esteem bv all who knew him. He 
 married Miss Clara E. Way, a native of Gilead, 
 Conn., and a daughter of John M. Way. She is a 
 most estimable lady, a faithful Christian and good 
 mother, and is still living in Wethersfield. The 
 children of the family were Alfred W., our subject; 
 Charles, who lives on the home farm; John, who 
 died in St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 19, 1895 ; Edward; 
 and William E., of Wethersfield. 
 
 Alfred W. Hanmer obtained a good practical 
 education in the district schools and high school of 
 Wethersfield, the South school of Hartford, and 
 Wilbraham Academy. After completing his educa- 
 tion he worked on the home farm for six years, 
 and then clerked in a Hartford store for three 
 years. In 1892 he formed a partnership with 
 Charles Bulkley tmder the firm name of Bulkley & 
 Hanmer, and they have since successfully engaged 
 in business in Wethersfield as general merchants, 
 druggists and dealers in coal, feed, having built 
 up an excellent trade bv fair and honorable deal- 
 ing. Mr. Hanmer is a man of good business abil- 
 
^f^/'Tr. X^. 
 
 -T-'-i^'?'-?^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 001 
 
 ity, energetic and progressive, and carries forward 
 to successful completion whatever he undertakes. 
 The success that he has achieved in hfe is (hie to 
 his own well-directed efforts, and commands the 
 respect and confidence of all with whom he comes 
 in contact. He is a Republican in politics, was 
 elected first selectman in 1898, and has served as 
 school treasurer in his town. Fraternally he is a 
 member of Wethersfield Grange, and religiously 
 jioth he and his wife hold membership in the Epis- 
 copal Church. He was married, in 1890, to Aliss 
 Xellie Talcott, a lady of culture and refinement, 
 who was born in Hartford, and is a tlaughler of 
 I'rank Talcqtt. Bv this union two children have 
 been born : Clara and Francis. 
 
 HOLCOMB FAI\nLY. Thomas Holcomb, the 
 first of the name who settled in New England, 
 came from England and located in Dorchester, 
 Mass. In 1634 he was made a freeman. In 1635 
 he came to Windsor, Comi., and in 1639 removed 
 to Poquonock, where he engaged in farming. He 
 <iied in Windsor Sept. 7, 1657. In 1639 he was one 
 of the representatives of the town of Windsor at the 
 convention in Hartford called to form a constitu- 
 tion for the Colony of Connecticut. His widow, 
 Elizabeth, in 1658, married for her second husband 
 lames Eno, one of the first settlers of \\'indsor. 
 The family of Thomas and Elizabeth Holcomb w^as 
 as follows: Elizabeth AI., born Nov. 16, 1634, mar- 
 ried Josiah Ellsworth, of Windsor ; Mary M., born 
 Oct. 3, 1635, married George Griswold ; Abigail, 
 baptized Jan. 6, 1638, married, June 11, 1658, Sam- 
 uel Bissell; Joshua was born Sept. 27, 1640: Sarah, 
 born Aug. 14. 1642, died in 1654: Benajah was born 
 June 23, 1644; Deborah, born Oct. 15, 1646, died' 
 in 1649; Nathaniel was born Nov. 4, 1648; Deborah, 
 born Feb. 15, 1650, married, Nov. 5, 1668, Daniel 
 Birge, of Windsor: Jonathan, born March 23, 1652, 
 died Sept. 13, 1656. 
 
 Joshua Holcomb, born Sept. 27, 1640, in Wind- 
 sor, when a young man removed to Simsbur}', where 
 he settled and engaged in farming, and where he 
 spent the remainder of his life. He died in 1690. 
 He represented the town of Simsbury in the Gen- 
 eral Assembly of Connecticut, and w^as honored and 
 respected. He married, June 4, 1663, Ruth Sherod, 
 of Sherwood, and to them nine children were born : 
 Ruth, May 26, 1664; Thomas. ]\Iarch 30. 1666: 
 Sarah, June 23, 1668: Elizabeth, April 4, 1670: 
 Joshua, in 1672: Deborah, Feb. 10, 1675; Mary, 
 in 1680; Hannah, in 1686; Moses, July 4, 1688 
 (died in 1700). 
 
 Joshua Holcomb, son of Joshua, was born in 
 Simsbury in 1672, there grew to manhood and there 
 engaged in farming all his life. He married Mary 
 Griffin, !\[ay 10, 1721. Their eight children, with 
 dates of birth, were as follows : Joel, Aug. 18, 1723 : 
 Joshua, Feb. 2, 1726: Kesiah, April 2, 1728: Jemima 
 and Zilpah, twins, Aug. 12, 1730: Ahinoam, Feb. 
 17, 1832-33; Benajah, Sept. 9, 1737: Jesse. Dec. 5. 
 1739- 
 
 Capt. Benajah Holcomb, born Sept. 9, 1737, was 
 an officer in the Revolutionary war. He lived in 
 Simsbury, and was engaged in farming all his 
 life. On ^\ug. 5, 1763, he married Lydia Forwood, 
 who was born in Simsbury, (Jet. 27, 1746, daughter 
 of Abel and Hannah (I'helps) Forwood. Her 
 mother was a daughter of Sergt. Joseph I'helps. 
 The children born to Capt. Benajah and Lydia Hol- 
 comb were as follows: Benajah, Aug. 5, 1764; 
 Elihu, Aug. 20, 1766; and Jemima, Feb. 26, 1777. 
 
 lienajali Holcomb, born Aug. 5. I7'')4. when a 
 young man removed to that part of Simsbury which 
 now comprises the town of Simsbury, where lie spent 
 his entire life; he died in Granby, and was buried 
 there. He married Alary Case, daughter of Martin 
 Case, of Granby, whose father was a soldier of 
 the Revolution, and the children born to them were : 
 Hull ; Philo; Linus, w'ho died in Ohio : Salmon, who 
 died in Ohio ; Polly ; Samuel and Betsey. 
 
 Hull Holcomb, the grandfather of our subject, 
 Gavette B. Holcomb, was born in Granby, where he 
 engaged in farming. He married Lucinda Buel, 
 of Granby, who bore him five children : Polly, who 
 married Chancey Holcomb; Edmond. father of our 
 subject ; Nancy, who married Asa Hoskins ; Burt, 
 who settled in Paris, 111. ; and Laura, who died un- 
 married. 
 
 Edmond Holcomb, the father of our subject, was 
 born in Simsbury, and was educated in the district 
 schools of the town. He grew up on a farm, and 
 when a young man peddled Yankee notions through- 
 out the States of New York and Massachusetts, 
 as well as in Connecticut. Later he engaged in 
 mercantile business in North Adams, Alass., until 
 1849, when he became an argonaut, voyaging to 
 California in a sailing vessel around Cape Horn. 
 After two years of prospecting, with fair success, 
 he returned to his native home, making the trip by 
 water, and located in Granby, where he bought a 
 farm and spent the balance of his life, engaged 
 principally in general farming. He greatly im- 
 proved his farm, died there in 1878, and was buried 
 in Simsbury. Mr. Holcomb married Harriet E. 
 Gavette, who was born in \\"ashington county, N. 
 Y., daughter of John and Mary (Heath) Gavette, 
 and to them were born four children : ( i ) Gavette 
 B., subject of this sketch: (2) Benajah. who is 
 now a rancher in ^'alley Centre, San Diego Co., 
 Cal., and who at the age of fourteen years enlisted 
 in Company E, 8th Conn. ^'. I. (he married Nancy 
 Holcomb) : (3) Joseph W. : and (4) Cornelia, the 
 eldest of the family, who died at the age of nine- 
 teen years. The mother of our subject died on 
 the farm in Granby, and was buried in Simsbury 
 cemetery. The father married for his second wife 
 .\ngeline Oatly. of Blandford. Mass.. who bore 
 him two children : Walter, now on the homestead 
 in Granby ; and Hattie. wife of Burton Nye. of 
 Blandford. Mass. The family were members of the 
 Congregational Church. Edmond Holcomb was a 
 Democrat throughout life, and filled many town 
 offices in Granby. including that of selectman. He 
 
902 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was well known and very highly respected, pro- 
 gressive, enterprising, honest and honorable in all 
 his dealings, and noted for his frugal habits. Both 
 his wives were good Christian women, faithfully 
 devoted to their families. 
 
 Gavette Burt Holcomb, subject proper of this 
 sketch, an extensive tobacco grower and general 
 farmer of' East Weatogue, Simsbury, was born in 
 the town of Granby, on what was known as Barn- 
 door Hill, June lo, 1845. He attended the district 
 schools of Granby and the high school at Westfield. 
 While yet a boy at school, and scarcely past his 
 seventeenth birthday, he enlisted, Aug. 9, 1862, 
 at Hartford in Company E, i6th Conn. V. I., 
 under Col. Beach and Lieut. -Col. Cheney, and Capt. 
 Babcock. In order to enlist at this age he had first 
 to obtain his father's consent. The young soldier 
 saw plenty of active service, and experienced the 
 excessive horrors of war. He participated in the 
 battles of Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862; Fredericks- 
 burg; Suffolk; Norfolk, Va. ; and Plymouth, N. C, 
 where he was taken prisoner, April 20, 1864. He 
 was confined in Andersonville prison, and at Flor- 
 ence and Charleston, spending eleven months and 
 six days as a prisoner of war, and was exchanged 
 March 26, 1865. During his prison life he experi- 
 enced the keenest suffering, and was but a living 
 skeleton when released. Rejoining his regiment 
 in North Carolina, he remained until the close of 
 the war, and was mustered out June 24, 1865, with 
 the rank of sergeant. 
 
 Returning home, our subject made an effort to 
 improve his education, attending Wilbraham Acad- 
 emy, after which he taught school for two terms 
 in Simsbury. In 1867 he started west and located 
 at Paris, Edgar Co., 111., where he engaged in 
 mercantile pursuits for a year, and then went to 
 the Pacific slope, where he became an employe on 
 the Union Pacific railroad for more than a year. 
 Mr. Holcomb then returned to Simsbury and settled 
 on the old Humphrey farm, East Weatogue, a tract 
 of 200 acres. He has since been engaged in tobacco 
 culture and in dairy and general farming, making 
 extensive improvements to the property. 
 
 In December, 1871, Mr. Holcomb married Ellen 
 Maria Humphrey, daughter of Trumbull and De- 
 luna (Case) Humphrey. One child has been born 
 to this union, Grace Elizabeth, who first attended 
 the district school, and was graduated from Mc- 
 lean's Seminary at the age of sixteen years. She 
 also graduated, after one year's study, from the 
 Connecticut Literary Institute, Suffield, and for the 
 past two 3^ears has been teaching school at Sims- 
 bury. She is a member of the Daughters of the 
 American Revolution, Abigail Phelps Chapter, 
 Simsbury, and a young lady of character, educa- 
 tion, culture and refinement, modest and unassum- 
 ing in manner. She visited the Paris Exposition 
 in 1900. Mrs. Holcomb, the wife of our subject, 
 is devoted to her husband and daughter. In her 
 home may be found the expression of beauty and 
 taste, artistic embellishment and modern improve- 
 
 ments at once revealing the housewife who de- 
 lights in making home attractive, and whose in- 
 tellectual perceptions and artistic intuitions are thus 
 richly employed. 
 
 The Humphrey family, of which Mrs. Holcomb 
 is a representative, is one of the oldest in New 
 England. Michael Humphrey, the founder, set- 
 tled first in Massachusetts. Samuel, his son, born 
 May 15, 1656, in Windsor, removed to Simsburv, 
 then Massacoe, with his parents, and engaged in 
 farming at East Weatogue. He owned a large 
 tract of land, was justice of the peace under the 
 Crown for several years, and represented the town 
 in the General Assembly for the years 1702, 171 9, 
 1722 and 1725. He was commissioned lieutenant 
 about 1709 or 1710 by Gov. Saltonstall, and filled 
 many other positions of honor and trust. He was 
 made justice of the peace of Hartford county by 
 the General Assembly in 1712, 1714, 1715 and 1716; 
 was collector in 1687, and also served as fence 
 viewer. He died in East Weatogue, June 15, 1736, 
 and was buried in Simsbury. He married Mary 
 Mills, daughter of Simon and Mary (Buel) Mills. 
 She was born Dec. 8, 1662, and died in East Wea- 
 togue April 4, 1730. The children of Samuel and 
 Mary Humphrey were as follows : ( i ) Mary, born 
 Nov. 16, 1681, married Rev. Dudley Woodbridge. 
 Dec. 7, 1699. (2) Elizabeth, born April 22, 1684, 
 married, July 4, 1705, John Collyer, of Hartford. 
 
 (3) Samuel, born May 17, 1686, died Oct. 6, 1759, 
 married, first, Hannah Phelps, second, Mary Tuller, 
 third, Lydia North, and for his fourth wife Mary 
 Orton. He was the father of nineteen children. 
 
 (4) Jonathan, born Dec. 2, 1688, died June 4, 1749. 
 He married Mary Ruggles. (5) Abigail, born 
 January, 171 6-1 7, married John Case, son of John 
 and Sarah (Holcomb) Case. (6) Hannah was born 
 April 6, 1697. (7) Charles, who died May 14, 
 1774, married Hepzibah Pettibone. (8) Noah, 
 born in 1707, married Hannah Case. 
 
 Charles Humphrey, son of Samuel Humphrey, 
 was born in East Weatogue, and was also a farmer 
 and a stock and corn raiser. He married, May 8, 
 1723, Hepzibah Pettibone, daughter of Samuel S. 
 Pettibone, and sister of Col. Jonathan Pettibone. 
 The children born to Charles and Hepzibah Hum- 
 phrey were: (i) Hepzibah, born Oct. 26, 1724, died 
 Feb. 25, 1755. She married, Sept. 25, 1740, Sergt. 
 Elisha Cornish, son of James Cornish. (2) Dorcas, 
 born Feb. 4, 1727, died June 17, 1805. She mar- 
 ried, April 14, 1743, Lieut. Dudley, son of David 
 and Penelope (Buttolph) Case, born Nov. 23, 1723. 
 (3) Judith, born July 11, 1729, died June 5, 1808. 
 She married, Aug. 14, 1746, Jeremiah Case, son of 
 Capt. James and Esther (Fithen) Case, born July 
 13, 1726. (4) Caroline, born Feb. 25, 1731-32, died 
 in January, 1771. She married (first) Benajah 
 Humphrey, and (second) Sylvanus Case, a son of 
 Richard and Mary (Holcomb) Case. (5) Charles, 
 born March 6, 1734, died in 1779. He married 
 Sarah Humphrey. (6) Sylvanus, born Feb. 17, 
 1735, died June 14, 1776. He married Charity 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 903 
 
 Pettiboiic. (7) Marie, born April 11, 1738, 
 (lied May 12, 1759. She married Lieut. Na- 
 tiianiel Humplirey. (8) Abraham, Ijorn June 6, 
 1740, died in 1767. He married Lois Merrill. 
 (9) Lot, born May 19, 1743, died May 26, 1743. 
 
 Sylvanus Humphrey, born I'eb. 17, 1735-36, in 
 Simsbury, engaged in farming all his life. He 
 married, Sept. 22, 1763, Charity, born June 30, 
 1744, died Oct. 5, 1803, daughter of John and 
 Damaris (Humphrey) Pettibone, of Simsbury. His 
 widow married Elisha Cornish, and later Amasa 
 Case. The children born to S}lvanus and Charity 
 Humi)hrey were as follows : ( i ) Amaryllis, born 
 June 10, 1764, died May 31, 1845. She married, 
 Sept. 20, 1780, Capt. Fithen Case, son of Capt. 
 Josiah and Hester (Higby) Case, of Canton. He 
 was born in 1758, and died Aug. 25, 1829, in 
 Canton. (2) Sylvanus, born Dec. 16, 1766, died 
 Nov. 23, 1845. I""ic married Betsey Humphrey. 
 (3) Rufus, born Nov. 26, 1770, died March 3, 
 1844. He married Lucy Case. (4) J\Iaria, born 
 June 26, 1773, died March 15, 1777. 
 
 Rufus Humphrey, son of Sylvanus, was born 
 in Simsbury, Nov. 26, 1770. He was well educated, 
 and was quite a prominent citizen. He followed 
 farming all his life, died on his farm March 3, 
 1844, and was buried in Simsbury. He married, 
 June 26, 1790, at Simsbury, Lucy, daughter of En- 
 sign Moses and Lucy (Wilcox) Case. She was 
 born Feb. 9, 1772, and died Aug. 17, 1826. The 
 children of Rufus and Lucy Humphrey were as 
 follows: (i) Rufus, born Dec. 14, 1794, died Sept. 
 20,1852. He married Harriet Wilcox. (2) }ilaria, 
 born April 7, 1797, married, Nov. 5, 1829, Averitt, 
 son of Daniel and Esther (MerrittJ Wilcox, being 
 his second wife. (3) Lucy, born Dec. 29, 1801, 
 died unmarried, while residing with her sister, Mrs. 
 ^\'ilcox. (4) Drayton, born April 13, 1804, died 
 April 14, i860. He married Rebecca, daughter of 
 Reuben and Laura Roxana (Case) Wilcox. (5) 
 Trumbull, born JNIarch 13, 1808, died April 25, 1864. 
 On March 25, 1833, he married Deluna Case, daugh- 
 ter of Friend and Sarah (Case) Case, born June 
 2, 1809, died Nov. 2, 1880. Trumbull Humphrev 
 was a farmer in East Weatogue all his life. He 
 occupied a part of the original Humphrey farm in 
 East Weatogue, and engaged in tobacco growing 
 and general farming, was well known and highly 
 respected, honorable in his dealings, and one of 
 Simsbury's honored citizens. He died on his farm, 
 and was buried in Simsbury. The children born to 
 Trumbull and Deluna Humphrey were as follows : 
 Scott Fiissell, born March 13, 1834, married Julia 
 Henrietta Leonard, and removed to Kansas ; Eliza- 
 lieth Maria, born May 10, 1836, died April 4, 1843; 
 Herbert Case, born Jan. 4, 1844, removed to Seneca, 
 Nemaha Co., Kans., and died Sept. 19, 1888: Ellen 
 Maria, born Feb. 14, 1847, is the wife of our sub- 
 ject ; Charles Rufus, born Aug. 19, 1849, ^^^^ Oct. 
 16, 1899. 
 
 davette B. Holcomb was elected to the State 
 Legislature in 1878, as the candidate of the Demo- 
 
 cratic ])arty, and served on the military committee; 
 he was again elected in 1888, on the same ticket. 
 Mr. Holcoml) has filled the office of selectman for 
 upward of ten years, and is still serving; has been 
 chairman of the board, and on one occasion was 
 nominated and elected by both parties. He served 
 the people faithfully and well. He has acted as 
 school visitor, and is now a member of the school 
 board. Socially he is a member of the G. A. R., 
 Capt. Joseph R. Toy Post No. 83, and has filled all 
 the offices of the post excejit chajjlain ; is a charter 
 member of St. .Mark's Lodge, F. & A. M., Simsbury, 
 having joined the fraternity at Paris, 111., when he 
 was twenty-one years old ; and is a member of the 
 Association of Union Ex-Prisoners of War. 
 
 Mr. Holcomb is a director and stockholder of 
 the Simsbury Creamery Co. He is a progressive 
 and enterprising citizen, popular and most highly 
 respected. One of the qualities which has con- 
 tributed largely to his success has been his un- 
 flagging industry. Mr. Holcomb has never been 
 afraid of hard work, nor is he only a man of en- 
 ergy. He has at heart the well-being of society, 
 and has always manifested a deep interest in pop- 
 ular education, and in those things w'hich consti- 
 tute the higher life of man. if good can come 
 from evil, it may be that the year of extreme jiriva- 
 tion which he experienced in Rebel prisons, where 
 he not only himself endured the keenest anguish, 
 but saw around him almost daily one comrade 
 after another succumb to the final wretchedness, 
 has given him a more serious and more hel])ful 
 view of life. He has ever done as best he could 
 that which lav before him, and that he has done 
 well is the verdict of his fellow men. 
 
 WILLIA:\I JONES (deceased) was a re- 
 spected resident of Hockanum, Hartford county, and 
 was the eldest son of David and Mabel (Cotton) 
 Jones, who had a family of eleven children : lioth 
 parents are now deceased. 
 
 David Jones was an only son. Fie was a shoe- 
 maker in his earlier manhood, but later became a 
 farmer, and lived and died in Flockanum. Mabel 
 Cotton, his wife, was a daughter of John Cotton, a 
 seafaring man, and the eleven children born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Jones were as follows : Elizabeth A., who 
 is married to Watson Pebbles, of Hockanum : Will- 
 iam, whose name opens this article; Maria, who 
 married David Smith, father of the present Sheriff 
 Smith; Sarah, wife of Nelson Taylor; Edwin, who 
 died in early manhood; Alphonso (i), ^\ho died 
 young; Albert (i), who died in infancy; Henry, 
 who is a physician, resides in Mount \^ernon, N. 
 Y., and is married to Ruth Fleming, of that place ; 
 Albert (2), married to Flattie Kipp. and lived in 
 Hartford ; Alphonso (2), who died in boyhood : and 
 Roxiana, w-ho also died young. 
 
 William Jones was born Julv 13, 1821, in the 
 house standing directly north of that occupied by 
 Edgar Brewer, in Hockanum. He received but a 
 limited education, and at an early age left home to 
 
904 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 learn shoemaking. Becoming homesick, however, 
 he returned, and, learning bricklaying, was em- 
 ployed at various places in New England, and fol- 
 lowed the trade nearly all the remainder of his life, 
 although engaging also in farming. 
 
 On Nov. 25, 1846, Mr. Jones married Miss Han- 
 sey S. Brewer, a native of Hockanum, born March 
 10, 1822, a daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Viets) 
 Brewer. To this happy marriage were born two 
 children: Edward Milton and George Sumner. 
 Mr. Jones purchased the farm on which his widow 
 now lives and built the residence in 1853, and six 
 acres of the eight which constitute the farm are de- 
 voted to tobacco growing. 
 
 In politics Mr. Jones was a Democrat; in re- 
 ligion he was an attendant of the Congregational 
 Church in youth, but later in life joined the Meth- 
 odist Church, of which he became treasurer, and to 
 which he contributed very liberally of his means. 
 He was a man of medium stature, was very intelli- 
 gent and industrious. He was a kind and affection- 
 ate husband and father, a true friend, and a devout 
 Christian, and died in the Methodist faith May i, 
 1886, sincerely mourned by his bereaved family and 
 many sorrowing friends. 
 
 Edward Milton Jones, the elder son of William 
 and Hansey S. Jones, was born April 27, 1850, mai"- 
 ried Sarah E. VVinn, of Carpenters, Tenn., and died 
 in Memphis Nov. 5, 1888, his remains being brought 
 home to Hockanum, Conn., to be interred. His 
 children, three in number, are Mabel, who was born 
 March 2, 1880, is married to Charles Taylor, and re- 
 sides in Glastonbury; Annie D., born June 13, 1883, 
 who also resides in Glastonbury; and Thomas W.,' 
 born Feb. i, 1885, who lives with his mother in the 
 same village. 
 
 George Sumner Jones, the younger son of Will- ' 
 iam and Hansey S. Jones, was born Jtme 15, 1855, 
 married Agnes Lusher, who was born in Saxony, 
 Germany, July 23, 1864, and came to the United 
 States June 25, 1881. To this marriage have also 
 been born three children, in the following order: 
 Arthur Sumner, Dec. 17, 1887; Hansey Christiana, 
 Nov. 4, 1890; and Paul Anton, July 29, 1892. 
 
 With Mrs. Hansey S. Jones, on the home place, 
 lives her sister, Mrs. Caroline (Brewer) Avery, 
 who has made her home there for the past seven 
 years. The deceased husband of this lady, William 
 Avery, was born in Groton Jan. 7, 1813, was a trav- 
 eling salesman nearly all his life, was quite promi- 
 nent in church affairs, and died, an honored citizen, 
 Dec. 28, 1891. Both Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Avery 
 are greatly respected in the neighborhood, and live 
 in peace and comfort in the seclusion of their neat 
 and comfortable homestead. 
 
 HON. ORSON B. MOORE. "Man's sociahty 
 of nature," writes the philosopher Carlyle, "evinces 
 itself, in spite of all that can be said, with an 
 abundance of evidence, by this one fact, were there 
 no other — the unspeakable delight he takes in bi- 
 ography." The history of this venerable resident 
 
 of Windsor will be of more than usual interest to 
 our readers, his long and useful career having won 
 for him a high place in the esteem of the people of 
 this section. As a useful business man, an able 
 and faithful legislator, and a progressive, public- 
 spirited citizen, his life furnishes an instructive ob- 
 ject lesson. 
 
 Mr. Moore belongs to one of the honored pioneer 
 families of his town, his ancestors having followed 
 agricultural pursuits there from an early day. 
 Joseph Moore, his great-grandfather, lived and died 
 upon a farm in that town. Elisha Moore^ our sub- 
 ject's grandfather, who served in the commissary 
 department during the Revolutionary war, was a 
 prosperous farmer and left a valuable estate to his 
 sons. He married Hannah Moore, and had a large 
 family, among whom were four sons : William, 
 Elisha, Thomas and Orson. 
 
 William Moore, the father of our subject, was 
 born in Windsor in 1780, and after his marriage 
 settled at the present homestead, where he followed 
 farming many years, his death occurring in 1862, 
 when he was aged eighty-two years. He was noted 
 for his musical gifts, and from early manhood was 
 an excellent performer upon the violin, his old 
 violin being now in our subject's possession. As 
 a citizen he was much respected, but he never 
 sought prominence in public affairs, although he 
 was throughout his life a stanch Democrat. His 
 wife, Lydia Case, was born in 1783 in Bloomfield, 
 a daughter of Deacon Amasa Case, and died in 
 1872, within one month of her ninetieth birthday, 
 her remains being interred in Windsor cemetery. 
 They had ten children : Esther Jane, who died at 
 the age of seventv-three, unmarried ; Catherine, 
 deceased, who married Martin Barber ; Amanda, de- 
 ceased, who married Harry Halsey; Margaret, who 
 married James Roberts, and died in California; 
 Lydia, who married Horace E. Roberts, and died at 
 Feeding Hills, Mass. ; Julia, who married Ferdinand 
 Calkins, of New York State, and died in New York 
 City ; Eliza, who died unmarried ; Harriet, deceased, 
 who married Henry Holman; Orson B., our sub- 
 ject; and John, formerly a partner with our sub- 
 ject in farming and the brickmaking business, who 
 was a successful business man and a substantial 
 citizen, greatly esteemed in the community, and he 
 died at the age of fifty-nine years, unmarried. 
 
 Orson B. Moore was born May 11, 1818, at his 
 present homestead, where he grew to manhood. His 
 education was begun in the old "Bucktown. school 
 house," Miss Laura Barber being one of his early 
 teachers, and later he attended Windsor Academy. 
 He was trained to habits of industry, and while as- 
 sisting in the work of the farm was often employed 
 in hauling brick from that neighborhood to Hart- 
 ford with ox-teams for different brickmakers. While 
 yet in his 'teens he was, employed in a grocery on 
 North Main street owned by Jeremiah Tuller, his 
 wages being fixed at thirty dollars per year, but 
 his employer failed at tne end of tne first year and 
 he received onlv a trunk in addition to his board. 
 
ORSOH B. MOORE 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 905 
 
 He afterw^ird worked for a tiiiio in Xew York 
 State as a farm hand, and in the middle of a cold 
 winter he walked all the way from Hamilton, N. 
 Y., to Ciuilford, Conn., to find similar employment. 
 His feet were badly frozen while on this journey, 
 and but for the kindness of the people along the 
 way the results might have been serious. After 
 an absence of five years he returned home and en- 
 gaged in brickmaking and farming in partnership 
 with his brother John, with whom he continued un- 
 til the death of the latter. The firm was known as 
 Jiloore Brothers, and enjoyed a high reputation in 
 business circles, the product of their brickyard 
 finding ready sale in Hartford, New London and 
 other markets. They purchased the homestead 
 from the other heirs, and as time passed bought 
 other propertv until they became the most exten- 
 sive real estate owners in the town. On the death 
 of John Moore his share fell to our subject and the 
 eldest sister, Jane, who died at the old homestead, 
 and also left her property to him. 
 
 Mr. ]\Ioore is a successful manager, and in his 
 early days was an energetic worker, but since i8go 
 his failing e\'esight has compelled him to depend 
 largely upon the Help of a private secretary in the 
 transaction of business. With the exception pf this 
 affliction he has retained unimpaired his vigor of 
 mind and body, enjoying excellent health for an 
 octogenarian. His interest in local progress is as 
 keen as it ever was, and many instances of his gen- 
 erosity are to be found, notably the gift of seven- 
 teen acres of land to Moore's Park Driving Asso- 
 ciation for use as a park. Politically he is a stanch 
 Democrat, and for many years he has been a leader 
 in the local organization. In 1866 he served as a 
 representative in the Legislature, and at times he 
 has held town offices, including those of constable 
 and collector. 
 
 On Sept. 30, 1S84, JMr. i\Ioore married jMrs. 
 Margaret J. Archer, widow of Norman C. Archer, 
 and daughter of Daniel and Mary (Cleland) Alac- 
 farlane. She was born April 7, 1839, at Newburg, 
 N. Y., and is a member of a well-known family 
 of that locality. Mr. Moore and his wife are prom- 
 inent in social life, and Mrs. Moore is a member of 
 the Methodist Church at Hartford. 
 
 _ LOLIS AUSTIN and MAURICE EVERETT 
 W'ESTCOTT. Few men are more prominent or 
 more widely known in the enterprising village of 
 East Berlin than these gentlemen, who, as general 
 merchants, have been identified with the business 
 interests of the place for several years. They rep- 
 ' resent a true type of American progress and enter- 
 prise, and their indomitable energy, prudent busi- 
 ness methods and reliable sagacity have all com- 
 bined to make them two of the ablest business men 
 J of the county. 
 
 I The first of the family to come to Hartford 
 • county was John \A'estcott, who was of Scottish 
 ! descent. In transferring and remodeline the ceme- 
 j tery in Hartford, in 1899, ^ tombstone containing 
 
 the name of Waistcoat was found, and in all ])roba- 
 bility it was the name from which Weslcott has 
 been derived. Edwin Westcott, son of John West- 
 cott, and grandfather of our subjects, was a trades- 
 man of Newington, and married Miss Mary S. 
 Hart. He went to New York State, and was never 
 afterward heard from. 
 
 Selah Westcott, father of our subjects, was born 
 in Newington Nov. 15, 1823, and was the only child 
 of Edwin Westcott. After the disappearance of his 
 father he was bound out to the Robljins family of 
 Newington, when five years of age, and lived with 
 them for four years. He then went to Farmington, 
 where he learned the blacksmith's trade with his 
 uncle, Chauncey Hart, and later he purchased an 
 interest in the shop, the firm becoming llart & West- 
 cott. Subsequently he bouglit the interest of his part- 
 ner, and for over forty years successfully engaged 
 in business in a shop at the rear of the .Metliodist 
 church in Farmington. Besides doing a regular 
 blacksmithing business he also engaged in the manu- 
 facture of steel traps, hay-forks, etc. He started 
 out in life penniless, but being industrious, energetic 
 and persevering, he met with well-deserved success 
 in his labors, and at his death left a comfortable 
 propert}-, consisting mostly of money. He died 
 Aug. 25, 1894, honored and respected by all who 
 knew him on account of his upright and honorable 
 life. On Nov. 17, 1842, he married Miss Catha- 
 rine Lucy Dorman, of Farmington, who was born 
 Feb. ID, 1825, a daughter of Israel and Esther 
 (Stone) Dorman, of Burlington. She died Oct. 30, 
 1879, ^"d ^^''^s laid to rest in Farmington cemetery, 
 where her husband's remains were also interred. 
 He married for his second wife Miss Florence 
 Reed, of Farmington, who survives him. By the 
 first union he had a family of four children : Hu- 
 bert, born Feb. 15, 1844, died in Farmington Nov. 
 2, 1857; Louis Austin, born June 6, 1847, 's men- 
 tioned below; Alaurice Everett, born Nov. 8, 185 1, 
 is mentioned below; and Alice Kate, born Nov. 11, 
 1858, is the wife of Walter White, superintendent of 
 the Barber Match Co., of Akron, Ohio, and they 
 have two children, Ethel and Howard. 
 
 Louis A. Westcott was born and reared in Farm- 
 ington, and after attending the common schools pur- 
 sued his studies for some time at Deacon Edward L. 
 Hart's boys' school, in Farmington, from which he 
 was graduated. He began his business career in the 
 employ of the Union Trading Co., of New Britain, 
 where he remained one year, and then served as 
 bookkeeper for John B. Northrop, a contract painter 
 of New Britain, for the same length of time. He 
 next entered James Thomson's general store, as 
 clerk, and after three years in that employ left New 
 Britain and went to Hartford, where he was con- 
 nected with the Citizens Trading Co. for a year. 
 The following year he worked for Alcott & Healey, 
 and at the end of that time formed a partnership 
 with his brother, Maurice E., and opened a gro- 
 cery store on Park street. Hartford, which they 
 sold out to Hastings & Hooper in 1875. In De- 
 
906 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 cember, 1876, they purchased the general store of 
 John Clark, in Poquonock, and carried it on until 
 1886, when they sold to H. L. Metcalf. Removing 
 to East Berlin in March, 1887, they bought the gen- 
 eral mercantile store of W. K. Butler, which they 
 have since conducted with signal success, and now 
 enjoy a liberal share of the public patronage. 
 
 Louis A. Westcott was married Feb. i, 1870, to 
 Miss Ellen M. Johnson, of Killingworth, Conn., 
 who was born March 6, 185 1, a daughter of William 
 and Ellen Johnson, farming people. To this union 
 came one child, Bessie Maurice, born Oct. 27, 1871. 
 She was graduated from the Middletown high 
 school, and was married March 28, 1899, to Rev. 
 Henry Medd, a Methodist minister of East Berlin. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Westcott attend the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church of East Berlin, and he affiliates with 
 the Democratic party. He is a recognized leader in 
 the ranks of the local organization, and is at present 
 a member of the Democratic town board of Berlin. 
 He was selectman from 1890 to 1895, and resigned 
 in the latter year wnen appointed postmaster at East 
 Berlin, during President Cleveland's second term, 
 which position he most creditablv filled for five 
 and a half years. Fraternally he is a member of 
 Harmony Lodge No. 20, F. & A. M., of New Brit- 
 ain, and of Mattabessett Lodge No. 25, K. P., of 
 East Berlin, of which he was master of finance 
 when the lodge was instituted. He is a pleasant, 
 genial gentleman, ver)- fond of outdoor sports, and 
 takes particular delight in horses, dogs, hunting, etc. 
 
 Maurice Everett Westcott was also born 
 in Farmington, and was educated in the dis- 
 trict schools and Deacon Hart's school for 
 boys in Farmington. After leaving school he 
 entered Chauncey Rowe's general store in that 
 town, as clerk, and held that position for 
 about two years, after which he engaged in clerking 
 in the grocery store of James Thomson, at New 
 Britain, for the same length of time. He was next 
 with H. J. Hawkins, in the grocery business in New 
 Britain, until the firm was changed to Alcott & Hea- 
 ley, and remained with the successors until they 
 closed out the business in ,1870. He then entered 
 the employ of D. C. Judd, in the same line, in New 
 Britain, and was with him until the spring of 1872, 
 when he formed a partnership with his brother, 
 Louis A., as previously stated. In 18S5 he was ap- 
 pointed postmaster of Poquonock, during President 
 Cleveland's first administration, but the following 
 year he resigned the office, the brothers having sold 
 their store at that place. His appointment was one 
 of the first in Connecticut during that adminis- 
 tration. 
 
 On June 24, 1879, Maurice E. Westcott was 
 united in marriage with Miss Clara Eveline Clapp, 
 of North Hampton, Mass., who was born May 31, 
 1855, a daughter of Merrick and Lucy (Hastings) 
 Clapp. Our subject attends the Methodist Church, 
 of which his wife is an earnest member, and he gives 
 liberally to its support, and is always willing to as- 
 sist the poor and needy. Li his social relations he 
 
 is connected with Wyllis Lodge No. 99, F. & A. M., 
 of West Hartford, and Mattabessett Lodge No. 25, 
 K. P., of East Berlin, in which he has passed all the 
 chairs, and is at present master of finance. He is a ' 
 well-read man, one who keeps thoroughly informed i 
 on the questions and issues of the day, and like his ! 
 brother he is unswerving in his allegiance to the 
 Democratic party and its principles. He always 
 takes an active interest in political affairs in town, 
 State and Nation, and during his residence in Po- 
 quonock served as a member of the school board 1 
 five years and assessor eight years, while he is now ! 
 a member of the board of relief in Berlin. As a 
 citizen he ever stands ready to discharge every duty 
 devolving upon him, and has done much to advance 
 the interests of his town and county. 
 
 ROBERT BRUCE MORRISON (deceased) ; 
 was one of the honored and highly respected citi- 
 zens of Thompsonville, and for almost half a cen- 
 tury was one of the leading merchants of that 
 place. In his life span of seventy-three years he 
 accomplished much, and left behind him an hon- 
 orable record, well worthy of perpetuation. 
 
 Mr. Morrison was born in the eastern part of | 
 Enfield town, Hartford county, Feb. 19, 1817, and 
 was a son of Robert and Elizabeth (Thompson) > 
 Morrison. His paternal grandfather, John Morri- ; 
 son, came from Boston to Enfield prior to the 1 
 Revolutionary war and engaged in farming here un- ; 
 til his death; his wife was Elizabeth Giffin, n ; 
 daughter of Simon Giffin, a large land holder of ' 
 Halifax, Nova Scotia. Robert Morrison, our sub- 
 ject's father, was a lifelong resident of Enfield and 
 was also a farmer by occupation. , 
 
 Robert B. Morrison, subject of this review, j 
 devoted his life to the mercantile trade, entering 
 it as a clerk at the age of fourteen years. In 1840 
 he embarked in business for himself on Enfield 
 street with H. S. Belcher, under the firm name 
 of H. S. Belcher & Co., and six months later re- 
 moved to Thompsonville, where they continued 
 business together for thirteen years, or until the 
 death of Mr. Belcher. Later Mr. Morrison formed 
 a partnership with James Raynolds, under the firm : 
 name of Morrison & Raynolds, and when Mr. RayT 
 nolds retired, in 1873, our subject continued to 
 conduct the business alone until 1886, when he also 
 retired, after a successful business career of over 
 forty-six years. He became connected with the 
 Thompsonville Trust Co. at its organization, and ' 
 was chosen vice-president, serving in that capacity 
 until 1880, when he was elected president, which 
 position he filled until his death. 
 ' Mr. Morrison was twice married, his first wife, ^ 
 whom he wedded Dec. 29, 1842, being Miss Clarissa ; 
 King, a daughter of Col. Jabez King. To this union 
 came one son, Robert King, born May 13, 1844, 
 who is a resident of Nevada. Mrs. Morrison died 
 June 5, 1844, and Dec. 16, 1847, Mr. Morrison mar- , 
 ried Miss Julia M., daughter of Peter and Anna j 
 (Terry) Raynolds, of Enfield. To them were born l 
 
^vw^^^*^ ^ ^/V^^^-, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 907 
 
 leight children : Ella, who became the wife of Will- 
 iam Campbell, and is now deceased; Charles H.. 
 deceased ; I'rank B., of Thompsonvule ; George W., 
 deceased; James R., deceased; Anna E. ; Clara L.. 
 deceased ; and Alary L. Mrs. Morrison's paternal 
 grandfather was Samuel Raynokls, a resident tit 
 Enfield, and a son of Rev. Peter Raynokls, a Con- 
 gregational minister, who was connected with the 
 church in Enfield for the long period of forty-three 
 vears. 
 
 In religious faith Mr. Morrison was an Episco- 
 j.alian, and serveu as vestryman of his church. He 
 held numerous town offices, represented Enfield in 
 the Legislature several terms, and gave his support 
 to all worthy enterprises for tiie good of the com- 
 munity. Politically he was a stanch Democrat. lie 
 passed away Sept. 28, 1890, after a life of indus- 
 trv, and rich in those rare possessions which only a 
 high character can give. In business dealings he 
 was upright and honorable, and he was faithful to 
 his church, to his country and to liis friends, and in 
 his home was an exemplary husband and father. 
 
 BENJAMIN SHELDON, deacon of the ^^'est 
 Suffield Congregational Church and a highly re- 
 spected citizen of that place, was born Jan. 6, 183 1, 
 on the farm on which he still resides in West 
 Suffield, on the line of East Granby, and is a de- 
 scendant of Capt. Jonathan Sheldon, the founder 
 of the family in Suffield. 
 
 Capt. Jonathan Sheldon, son of Isaac and JNIe- 
 hetabcl Sheldon, was born at Northampton, Alass., 
 May 29, 1687, and married Alary, daughter of Will- 
 iam Southwell, of Northampton, Dec. 30, 1708. 
 Eight children were born to them at Northampton. 
 In 1723-24 he removed to Suffield, Conn., settling 
 in the west precinct of the town, and there two 
 children were born to him. The records indicate that 
 he was prominent in town and society affairs. 
 He was a large land holder, settling five of his 
 - ns — Jonathan, Daniel. Phinehas. Elijah and 
 tiershom — on farms (with each a house and barnj 
 along the street — of about a mile in length — on 
 which he lived, and which has ever since been 
 called "Sheldon" street. A large part of this land 
 still belongs to his lineal descendants. Capt. Shel- 
 don died April 10, 1769; Alarv, his wife, born Feb. 
 25, 1688, died Jan. 11, 1768. This is inscribed 
 on the tombstone standing at the head of their 
 graves in the West Suffield cemetery: "Parents, 
 Grandparents and Great-grandparents of 166." 
 
 Phinehas Sheldon, Esq., son of Capt. Jonathan 
 Sheldon, was born in Northampton, Alass., June 
 27. 1717, and came to Suffield, Hartford Co., Conn., 
 with his father and mother. Deacon Benjamin 
 Sheldon, the subject of this sketch, is descended 
 from him through the following named generations 
 touching whom some interesting remarks will be 
 made : Phinehas Sheldon was reared to farming. He 
 first married Deborah Hathaway, June 7, 1743. and 
 by her became the father of five children : Apphia, 
 Deborah. Phinehas, Joseph and Benjamin. Mrs. 
 
 Deborah Sheldon died Jan. 22, 1753, and Mr. Shel- 
 don afterward married Mrs. Ruth ( Harmon) Smith, 
 who bore him nine children : Asaph, Lydia, Ezra, 
 Anna, Alexander, Increase, David, Beulah and Si- 
 lence. Phinehas Sheldon passed away Sept. 17, 
 1807. He served many years as a justice of the 
 peace, and he was active during the Revolutionary 
 war as an ardent supjjorter of the Colonial cause, 
 being a member of a committee of supplies in the 
 town of Suffield. Of his children, Alexander, the 
 fifth by the second marriage, graduated from Yale 
 College and became a doctor by profession. He 
 married Miriam King, of Suffield. Settling in 
 Montgomery county, N. Y., he became a leading 
 politician of that State, representing his district in 
 the State Legislature, in the Lower House, of which 
 body he was the speaker for a session, and later 
 served one term as representative in the lower 
 branch of the Congress of the United States. His 
 son. Smith Sheldon, was the founder of the Sheldon 
 & Co. publishing house in New York City. Alex- 
 ander Sheldon's daughter, Delia, married Clinton 
 Jackson, and their son. Rev. Sheldon Jackson, D. 
 D., became moderator of the Presbyterian General 
 Assembly of the United States ; he had served 
 previously as superintendent of Presbyterian mis- 
 sions in Alaska, where he was also commissioner 
 of education, appointed by the Government, and 
 under the auspices of the Government, he carried 
 out his idea of introducing reindeer into the ter- 
 ritory. 
 
 David Sheldon, the youngest son of Phinehas 
 by his second marriage, was a prominent farmer 
 of West Suffield, and resided in the house on his 
 farm in which he was born, and which is still 
 standing, now occupied by Edwin J. Sheldon. 
 David Sheldon married Betsey Hall, and both he 
 and his wife were endowed with wonderful tenacity 
 of life, she dying at the age of ninety years, while 
 he survived until ninety-three years old. Their 
 son, David Newton Sheldon, became a doctor of 
 divinity in the Baptist Church, visited Paris, France, 
 as an exponent of its doctrines, later visited Halifax, 
 Nova Scotia, on a similar mission, and finallv be- 
 came president of A\'aterville College, of Maine. 
 He was also an author of some repute, and his work 
 on "Sin and Redemption" was very widely read. 
 Late in life a change came over his religious con- 
 viction and he became a-L"nitarian. His son, Henry 
 N. Sheldon, also attained eminence, becoming a 
 lawyer of note in Boston, Mass.. and later a judge 
 of the Supreme Court of the State. Rev. Charles 
 M. Sheldon, of Topeka, Kans.. author of "In His 
 Steps" and other religious literature, is also a lineal 
 descendant of Capt. Jonathan Sheldon, of Suffield, 
 through his son, Asa, who settled in New Alarlboro, 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Benjamin Sheldon, the youngest son of Phinehas 
 Sheldon, by his first marriage, was born on the 
 homestead Jan. 11, 1733, and outlived the struggle 
 for American indepenclence. in wliich he partici- 
 pated a short time. In 1806 he built the hoUse in 
 
908 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 which our subject now resides, and passed all his 
 life on this farm, where his death occurred Sept. 
 23, 1815. On January 8, 1784, he married Eliza- 
 beth King, and they became the parents of eight 
 children, whose births and deaths are recorded as 
 follows: Benjamin, Jan. 20, 1785, July 10, 1789; 
 Elizabeth, Dec. 28, 1786, Oct. 3, 1838 (she married 
 Adam Smith) ; Phinehas, Feb. 2, 1789, April 5, 
 1790; Diantha, Sept. 29, 1791, Oct. 23, 1825 (un- 
 married) ; Ruby, July 31, 1793, Sept. 13, 1871 (un- 
 married) ; Deborah, March 16, 1795,, Sep^, 25, 1839 
 (unmarried) ; Benjamin, Aug. 22, 1797, Oct. 15, 
 1825; and John Adams, Aug. 4, 1800, June 15, 
 1867. The mother of this family passed away 
 March 20, 1825. 
 
 John Adams Sheldon, father of our subject, 
 was born Aug. 4, 1800, on the home farm, and 
 spent the greater part of his life on the farm now 
 owned by his son, Deacon Benjamin Sheldon. Later 
 he moved to the farm now owned by his grandson, 
 Edwin J. Sheldon, where he ended his clays June 
 15, 1867. In his early manhood he had been a 
 Whig in politics, later became a Republican, and 
 for two years served as selectman of the town of 
 Suffield. On Dec. 3, 1829, he married Miss Han- 
 nah Eliza Stevens, a daughter of Deacon Viranus 
 Stevens, of West Suffield, and this marriage was 
 blessed with five children: Benjamin, the subject, 
 of this sketch ; William Stevens, born Jan. 20, 1833 ; 
 Mary, born Sept. 15, 1835, died March 28, 1837; 
 Harriet Eliza, born June 26, 1837, died June 5, 
 1839'; and Edwin, born May 31, 1840, died Nov. 
 26, 1866. The mother of these children died Oct. 
 II, 1 87 1, a most devout member of the Congre- 
 gational Church, and her remains were interred, like 
 those of the Sheldon family of West Suffield, in 
 the cemetery at that place. 
 
 Deacon Benjamin Sheldon received a very good 
 English education, begun in the district schools of 
 AVest Suffield, and finished in the Connecticut Liter- 
 ary Institute, Suffield, well known as one of the 
 best educational institutions of the State. For 
 four seasons after graduation he taught school in 
 West Granby, Poquonock, and Hartford, teaching in 
 winters and working the farm summers, as .was the 
 custom in those days, and achieving a fair reputa- 
 tion as an instructor. He then went to Madison 
 county, N. Y., where for two 3'ears he was em- 
 plo^'ed as a clerk in a mercantile house, thence re- 
 turning, 1853, to the home farm, and after recuper- 
 ating his somewhat impaired health he taught school 
 again two seasons, one each in Suffield and Windsor 
 Locks. In year 1861 he assumed the care and man- 
 agement of the old homestead of 125 acres, which 
 he soon owned by purchase, made some improve- 
 ments' on the place, and, after reaping a comfort- 
 able competence through his labors in general farm- 
 ing — he having since 1871, for conscience sake, 
 discarded the raising of tobacco — now enjoys in 
 dignified ease the reward of a well-spent and useful 
 life. 
 
 Deacon Sheldon was united in marriage, in 
 
 Suffield, Sept. 3, 1859, with Miss Caroline Mather, 
 a native of Windsor, and this marriage has been 
 blessed with four children: (i) Charles Benjamin, 
 who was born May 23, i860, graduated from the 
 Connecticut Literary Institute, and in 1882 from the 
 State Normal School, and now manages the old 
 home farm; he married, June 20, 1888, Lettie Aus- 
 tin, daughter of Alfred F. Austin, and has three 
 children: Alfred- Charles, born April 20, 1893; 
 Walter Austin, Dec. 18, 1894; and Lawrence 
 Mather, May 12, 1897. In politics he is a Repub- 
 lican ; served on the local school board from 1887 
 until 1893; was elected justice of the peace in 1896; 
 was re-elected in 1898; and stands high in the es- 
 teem of the public generally. (2) Harriet Eliza, 
 who was born Sept. 20, 1861, died July 22, 1889. 
 (3) Sarah Jane was born Dec. 5, 1863, is now the 
 wife of Edwin S. Seymour, of Suffield, and is the 
 mother of five children : Harriet Esther, Carrie 
 May, Mary Emma, Ruby Sheldon and Frances 
 Mather. (4) John Adams, who was born May 5, 
 1867, died Sept. 9, 1889. After nearly thirty happy 
 years of married life, Mrs. Caroline Sheldon passed 
 away Feb. 15, 1889, and two children were called 
 away the same year, a sad affliction, indeed, to the 
 bereaved husband and father. 
 
 In politics Deacon Benjamin Sheldon was first 
 a Whig, later becoming a Republican, and by the 
 latter party was nominated as a candidate for the 
 State Legislature, but, owing to the immaturity at 
 that time of the later powerful factor in the politics 
 and government of the nation, he was defeated at 
 the polls. In 1884 he became a Prohibitionist for 
 conscience sake, and, though claiming to be inde- 
 pendent in politics, and belonging to no party, has 
 for the most part ever since worked in the interests 
 of this party, by which he was also nominated for the 
 State Legislature ; however, owing to the same con- 
 dition of affairs that had existed when he was the 
 candidate of the Republican party, he again failed 
 on election day. In 1864 he was selected by the 
 members of the Congregational Church of West 
 Suffield as deacon, and since 1866 has been treasurer 
 of the ecclesiastical society connected with the Con- 
 gregational Church. He has, in fact, been an ardent 
 and active church worker all his days, has been 
 Sunday-school teacher and superintendent, and in 
 every office he has been called upon to fill has served 
 faithfully and satisfactorily. The Deacon is well 
 read in Biblical and modern history. He is of a 
 kind and genial disposition, and is respected by his 
 fellow citizens of all classes. 
 
 HON. THOMAS DO WD (deceased) was an 
 honor to his race in his day, was a leader among 
 men and was frequently intrusted with positions of 
 trust and responsibilitv by his fellow townsmen, 
 and when the end of his useful life occurred left 
 the rich inheritance of an untarnished name to his 
 surviving family. He was a descendant in the 
 eighth generation from Henry Dowd, who came 
 from Guilford, County of Surrey, England, in 1639, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 909 
 
 (with a colony under Rev. Henry Whitfield, and set- 
 tled in Guilford, Connecticut. 
 
 lileazer Dowd, father of Thomas, was a son 
 of CornwcU Dowd, and was born in Middlelown, 
 Conn., where he learned the trade of blacksniilh- 
 ing. Later he moved to W'ethersfield, where he fol- 
 lowed his trade for many years, and afterward to 
 iSpringlield, Mass., dying there at the home of his 
 daughter, ilrs. Ellsworth Chapin. Eleazer Dowd 
 married Laura Cornwell, and their union was 
 crowned with eight children: Laura, born in 1812, 
 was first married to Henry Cook, later to Judge 
 EHsha Sill, and lived in Cuyahoga h'alls, Ohio; E. 
 'Gaylord, born Aug. 8, 1814, married Olive AL Wells, 
 and was a carriagemaker in Wethersfield and later 
 in Hartford, where he died March 28, 1899, the 
 last of the family; Henry, born in 1816, was a 
 tinner b\- trade, but later a hotel keeper in Cuya- 
 ' hoga Falls, Ohio, married JNIaria Pease, and died 
 in Norwich, Conn., in 1877; Thomas, the subject of 
 this sketch, was born Sept. 3, 1818; jNIartha, born 
 in 1821, married Oliver Woodworth, who owned 
 paper mills in \\'aterford, but resided in New Lon- 
 don, which city was his home ; ]\Iary, born in 1822, 
 died in 1827; Horace, born in 1825. married La- 
 vinia White, and, lied in 1S83 in Norwich; and 
 Mary, born in ^' f, was married to Ellsworth 
 ■ Chapin, of Sprin^tivd, Massachusetts. 
 
 Thomas Dowd, the subject proper of this mem- 
 oir, was born in Middletown, Conn., was educated 
 in the common schools of that city, and when a young 
 man came to Hartford, where for a number of years 
 he was employed as a bookkeeper by Isaac Hills 
 & Sons, grocers on State street. On quitting this 
 «mploy he for a short time carried on a grocery 
 on his own account, and later entered the employ 
 of Joseph S. Woodruff, who kept a meat market in 
 the city hall, at the same time managing his farm 
 in East Hartford. 
 
 Thomas Dowd was most happily united in mar- 
 riage, in 1839, with Miss Nancy Williams, who was 
 born Oct. 21. 1815, a daughter of Ezra and Nancy 
 (Hills) Williams. These two families — the ^^'ill- 
 iams and the Hills — were among the early pioneers 
 of the town of East Hartford, and the farm on 
 "which Mr. Dowd lived and died and which is now 
 occupied by his descendants, was purchased from 
 the Indians by an early member of the Williams 
 family. To the union of ]\Ir. and Airs. Dowd came 
 five cliildren ; .\rthur H., born in 1840, died in 
 1844; Anna Josephine is now living on the home- 
 Stead ; Louisa W. is also at home ; T. Winthrop is 
 unmarried and living in Sullivan county, N. Y. , 
 and Clara A. is the wife of Alfred C. Howe, a 
 native of Shelbourne Falls, who is now managing 
 the Dowd estate (to this marriage two children 
 have been born. Louise Nancy, on Nov. 5, 1896, and 
 Eleanor J. \".. on Nov. 6, iSgq). 
 
 Mr. Dowd was a Republican in politics, and 
 represented his town in the State Legislature in 
 1861, just at the opening of the war of the Rebel- 
 lion. He was very patriotic, and although he did 
 
 not serve in the war he recruited soldiers, paid 
 them their bounties and assisted all he could at 
 home, and was the prime mover in causing the 
 erection of the soldiers' monument at East Hart- 
 ford and in collecting the money for that purpose. 
 During his early manhood he was a member of the 
 Light Guards under Col. (afterward Gov.) Sey- 
 mour. Mr. Dowd was elected town treasurer in 
 1865, and served five terms; served as assessor and 
 later as tax collector, and was registrar of electors 
 at the time of his death, a position he had held from 
 its creation in 1868. He was diligent, faithful and 
 efficient in every position he held. Fraternally he 
 was a member of the Odd Fellows, and was captain 
 of Putnam Phalanx, of Hartford, commanding the 
 first company eight years ; he commanded the 
 Phalanx on the occasion of the battalion's pilgrim- 
 age to the Nathan Hale monument, in South Cov- 
 entry, several years ago. He was on the major's 
 Stat? for seven years. Mr. Dowd's death took place 
 Feb. 21, 1888; he had enjoyed good health nearly 
 all his life. He was followed to the grave by his 
 widow Dec. 20, 1893, and their remains were in- 
 terred at East Hartford. Mr. Dowd had an ex- 
 tensive acquaintance, and was greatly respected for 
 his many sterling qualities, his family sharing this 
 honorable position. Mr. Dowd was prominently 
 identified with the establishment of the Hockanum 
 Ecclesiastical Society, and did much to contribute 
 to its well-being. 
 
 PHILO ANDREWS. The Andrews family is 
 of good old Colonial stock, and the subject of this 
 sketch, a prominent resident of New Britain, is of 
 the eighth generation in descent from John An- 
 drews, an early settler at Farmington, or. as the old 
 records have it, "ffarmingtowne." This worthy 
 pioneer became one of the eighty-four original pro- 
 prietors of that town, which was at one time known 
 as Tunxis. from the tribe of Indians located there. 
 Flis homestead was situated about two miles north 
 of the present village, on the east side of the river, 
 near the canal aqueduct built in 1823. His wife 
 Mary, and three sons and one daughter, united with 
 the Congregational Church in Farmington on April 
 2, 1654, and on Alay 9, 1658, the name of John An- 
 drews was added to the list of members. 
 
 (II) Joseph Andrews, fourth son of the pioneer, 
 was born at Farmington May 26, 1651. and was 
 baptized there in April, 1654. About 1677 he mar- 
 ried, his first wife's name being Rebecca, and their 
 homestead was located about the center of Newing- 
 ton, then a part of Wethersfield. His name appears 
 on the tax-list of Wethersfield in 1693. The first 
 record found concerning his real estate is of a vote 
 of the town. March 19. 1^83. or '84. by which he was 
 given a small piece of land, near his mill, upon 
 which he built a house and barn. To this property 
 he seems to have added from time to time, as the 
 ".Andrews Memorial," an interesting history of the 
 family, states that he became an extensive lancf 
 holder. At the time of his death, which occurred 
 
i 
 
 910 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 April 2y, 1706, he was regarded as one of the repre- 
 sentative men of the town. 
 
 (III) Dr. Joseph Andrews, eldest son of Joseph 
 (II), was born in 1678, and died Jan. 18, 1756. He 
 was a successful physician of the parish of New- 
 ington, Wethersfield, and is mentioned in the public 
 records of "Dr. Joseph Andrus." He left an estate 
 valued at ii8o, 9s, 8d, and seems to have been active 
 in religious work, taking a prominent part in the or- 
 ganization of the church in his parish. In May, 
 1715, Joseph Talcott and Aaron Cook were ap- 
 pointed by the General Court as a committee to fix a 
 location for the "meeting-house" to be built by the 
 Society, and they chose a site within thirty rods of 
 the Doctor's residence. On Nov. 18, 1706, Dr. An- 
 drews married Sarah Curtis, of Southold, L. I., 
 who died May 23, 1760. 
 
 (IV) Elijah Andrews, third son of Dr. Joseph, 
 •was born Feb. 16, 1719, and died of cancer Sept. 
 3, 1792. On Feb. 21, 1745, he married Phoebe Hurl 
 hurt, who died Nov. 13, 1772. Traditiorl says that 
 he resided on Wolcott Hill, north of the present 
 brick school house. 
 
 (V) Elijah Andrews, Jr., third son of Elijah 
 (IV), was born at Newington Oct. 16, 1752, and 
 was baptized Oct. 21, of that year. He became a 
 tanner and shoemaker, learning the business with 
 Deacon Timothy Stanley, of New Britain, and by 
 his industry gained a fair competence. His disposi- 
 tion was kind and his manner courteous, while his 
 conscientious piety won him the respect of all who 
 knew him. He died at his home on the Farming- 
 ton road, near Bass river bridge, on Nov. 24, 1839, 
 aged eighty-seven years. On March 2, 1775, he 
 married Rachel Gridley, who was born ^^ov. 10, 
 1753. daughter of Ebenezer and Azuba (Orvis) 
 Gridley, of Kensington and Farmington, and died 
 Oct. 20, 1836, when she was aged eighty-three, 
 They reared a large family of children, and accord- 
 ing to the "Andrews Memorial" all "were remark- 
 ably' fine-looking when grown to maturit}^" 
 
 (VI) Ebenezer Andrews, second son of Elijah 
 and Rachel (Gridley) Andrews, and the grand- 
 father of our subject, was born Dec. 24, 1778, and 
 baptized July 7, 1793, by John Smalley, D. D., then 
 pastor of the Congregational Church of New Brit- 
 ain. He learned the carpenter's trade with Deacon 
 John Osgood, of New Britain, and followed it suc- 
 cessfully for many years. Fie was a man of amiable 
 disposition, modest and unassuming, and was uni- 
 versally respected. He served in the militia, hold- 
 ing rank as an officer, and on Oct. 6, 181 1, he united 
 with the First Congregational Church at New Brit- 
 ain. In October, 1800, he married Miss Mary Gris- 
 wold, who was born in 1783, daughter of Ashbel 
 and Elizabeth (Woodruff) Griswold, and he re- 
 sided on the main I'oad between New Britain and 
 Farmington, at the old Griswold homestead, which 
 he bought and improved. He died Aug. 5, 1827, 
 and his widow died Oct. 18, 1858, in Rochester, 
 New York. 
 
 (VII) Philo Andrews, our subject's father, and 
 
 the third son of Ebenezer (VI), was born i\Iay 8. 
 1806, and died Dec. 20, 1831. He married Miss- 
 Amelia Kelsey, who was born April 20, 1807, daugh- ; 
 ter of Samuel Kelsey, of Kensington, this count^ . 
 and for some years after his marriage resided at 
 the Kelsey homestead. By occupation he was a 
 shoemaker, his shop being located on the home- ; 
 stead, and as his means increased he bought a farm. . 
 north of the Kelsey property. He was a man of 1 
 iine appearance and much ability, but his death, at 
 the age of twenty-five, cut short a promising career. 
 His wife, who died May 7, 1 871, at the age of sixty- 
 four, was active in religious work as a member of 
 the Methodist Church at New Britain. They had 
 two sons, Samuel Kelsey and Philo, our subject. 
 Samuel Kelsey Andrews, born Sept. 18, 1829, in- 
 herited with our subject the Kelsey homestead from 
 his mother, and the growth of the city in that direc- 
 tion made it very valuable property. Although of 
 a retiring disposition, he was a respected citizen of 
 his town, his excellent judgment in business and 
 other affairs being fully recognized. Politically he 
 was a Democrat, and while he never sought office, 
 he served at one time on the local board of relief. 
 His death occurred Feb. 6, 1872. 
 
 (VIII) Philo Andrews, tht subject proper of 
 this biography, was born May , 18:^1, on Stanley 
 street, New Britain, and was educated chiefly in 
 the academy and private schools of that town. His- 
 mother was a successful teacher, and devoted much 
 attention to the education of her sons, in whose abili- 
 ties she took natural and justifiable pride. At the 
 age of sixteen he went to Hartford to take a position 
 as clerk in the dry-goods store of Wellis & Kellogg, 
 with whom he remained until their failure, a year 
 later. After clerking a short time in another store 
 in Flartford he found employment in the lock de- 
 partment of Russell & Erwin's factory at New Brit- 
 ain, and when Augustus & Gad Stanley established 
 their rule factory (on the site of P. & F. Corbin's 
 present shop) he entered their employ. As time 
 passed he took a contract for the company, in part- 
 nership with Elford B. Eddy, and after twenty 
 years in the factory, at the death of his brother, he 
 retired in 1872 with a fair competence, his property 
 including a farm adjacent to the city, which is now 
 being encroached upon by the rapid development of 
 the place, and has risen greatl)' in value of late 
 years. In early years Mr. Andrews was a Demo- 
 crat, but since 1872 he has voted the Republican 
 ticket at every National election. He has never been 
 particularly active in politics, but has at times been 
 requested to take office, but refused. However, he 
 has been a member of the Sewer committee, and has 
 served one term as assessor and two years ( 1896-97) 
 as alderman from the Second ward, acting as a 
 member of the committee on Streets. For fortv- 
 seven years he has been a member of Trinity Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church at New Britain, in which he 
 has held various offices, and is now trustee. For 
 fourteen years he was superintendent of the Sunday- 
 school. 
 
COM MEMO RATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 yii 
 
 On Nov. 8, 1853, Mr. Andrews married Miss 
 Mary L. JJutlcr, who was born April 21, 1832, 
 daughter of Martin ijiitlcr, a well-known resident of 
 West Hartford. Their only daughter, Ella Maria, 
 born Sept. 23, 1854, married Edward W. i liomp- 
 son, formerly of IJroadalbin, N. Y., and now a 
 druggist at New Britain. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson 
 have two sons : Frederick K., born June 8, 1876, 
 who married I\liss Anna L. Emmons, of New lirit- 
 tain; and Harold E., born April 1, 1881, now a 
 student in the high scliool. 
 
 AIDSES LUOAilS (deceased), son of Jonathan 
 and Hannah. (iSarber) Loomis, was born August 
 ! 13. 1805, on the farm now owned and occupied by 
 his daughter, Mrs. Louisa Hubbard, and always re- 
 sided there, the present brick residence having been 
 built by him in 1838. He was a hard worker, having 
 been trained to habits of industry 'from boyhood, 
 and he not only carried on farming successfully, bui 
 , was engaged in the manufacture of brick. He was 
 I over six feet in height, and well-built, with a large 
 frame, and even after his retirement from business 
 at the age of seventy-two, he contmued his accus- 
 tomed activities to some extent. Honesty and in- 
 tegrity were leading" traits in his character, and he 
 was a loyal and patriotic citizen, and a helpful 
 worker in the Congregational Church at Windsor, 
 \ -contributing liberally and serving as a member of 
 the licclesiastical Society. He placed a high esti- 
 mate on education, and was an earnest advocate 
 for better schools in his town. In politics he was 
 first a Whig, later a Republican, but he never sought 
 office, and beyond voting regularly did not take an 
 active share in party work. ITe died Oct. 24, 1888, 
 leaving a good estate, but his descendants can find 
 in the inheritance of his honored memory a better 
 source of satisfaction, and though of an humble, 
 retiring disposition he left a lasting influence for 
 god behind. Born at an age before modern inven- 
 tions were thought of, and hardships were the com- 
 mon lot in life, he was from the beginning a hero, 
 and as he advanced in years strove to do his part 
 toward building up a country and the improvement 
 of his own town that would in after years be a 
 blessing and happiness to others. 
 
 On May 3, 1834, Mr. Loomis married 2^Iiss 
 Nancy C. Loomis, daughter of Asher Loomis and 
 Rocinda (Cook), of Windsted. She was a gentle 
 lovable lady. She died Sept. 23, 1886, and the re- 
 mains of both repose in the cemetery at Windsor. 
 They had two children : Jane, born Sept. 24, 1838, 
 died Oct. 29, 1857; and Louisa (widow of F. B. 
 Hubbard), born April 27, 1845. 
 
 The first ancestor of the late Aloses Loomis, 
 
 of whom any record has been preserved, was (I) 
 
 Joseph Loonn's, a native of England, who came to 
 
 "Windsor in 1668. (H) Deacon John Loomis, the 
 
 j next in the line of descent, was born in England, 
 
 I in 1622. (HI) Sergt. Daniel Loomis, son of Deacon 
 
 ' John, was born June 16, 1657. (IV) Isaac Loomis, 
 
 I born Aug. 23, 1694, married Hannah Eggleston. 
 
 (V) Joseph Loomis, son of Isaac, was born Aug. 29, 
 1725, and was married Jan. 23, 1752, to Keziah 
 Loouns, by whom lie had a son Jonatiian. 
 
 (VI) Jonathan Loomis was born March 25, 
 1757, and served as a soldier in the Revolutionary 
 arm)-, in i8oi he married Hannaii Barber, and he 
 died in 1814, leaving three sons: Moses, the subject 
 proper of this memoir; Timothy (Nov. 17, 1808- 
 Juiy 23, 1829); and Jonathan Jr., (Aug. 0, 181 1- 
 Nov. — , 1874), who was one of the tallest men in 
 this section in his day. The family was left in some- 
 what limited circumstances, and the mother spun 
 and wove in order to keep her children together, her 
 old spinning-wheel being now a prized relic in the 
 house of Mrs. Louisa L. Hubbard. Mrs. Jonathan 
 Loomis was a daughter of -Moses Barber, one of the 
 leading pioneers of Windsor, in whose house was 
 held one of the first three schools ever opened in the 
 town. ITe was a soldier in the French and Indian 
 war, and his powderhorn, bearing the date of 1758, 
 is now in Mrs. Hubbard's possession. I^loses Barber 
 was a direct descendant of Thomas Barber, one of 
 the first settlers of Windsor, and a volunteer in tlie 
 early Indian wars under Capt. Mason. 
 
 Louisa Loomis, the only surviving child of the 
 late Moses Loomis, was born in the town of Wind- 
 sor, Hartford county. After completing the course 
 of study offered in the Stony Hill school she at- 
 tended Windsor Academy for a time, and then lived 
 at home until her marriage to Franklin B. Hubbard, 
 She and her husband began housekeeping in Bloom- 
 field, but in 1869 they removed to Hartford, and 
 after his death she returned to the old Loomis 
 homestead, where she has since resided. She is 
 a member of the various auxiliary societies con- 
 nected with the Congregational Church at Wind- 
 sor, and is vice-regent of the Abigail Wolcott Ells- 
 worth branch of the Society of Daughters of the 
 American Revolution. 
 
 Franklin B. Hubbard was born Oct. 31. 1841, 
 in the town of Bloomfield, this county, son of Trum- 
 bull and Rhoda (Barber) Hubbard. He was a de- 
 scendant of George Hubbard, who was born in Eng- 
 land in 1601, a descendant of the Vikings, and died 
 March 18, 1684, in Middletown, Conn. His name 
 first appears as a settler of Hartford in 1639. Fle 
 married Elizabeth Walls, and they had seven chil- 
 dren. Dosethius Hubbard, of the fifth generation 
 in descent from George, was born Nov. 8. 1762, 
 and died Dec. 24, 1831. He married Tamar Hitch- 
 cock, daughter of Dr. Hitchcock, of Bloomfield, 
 and they became the parents of nine children, of 
 whom Trumbull, born April 7, 1806, died April 3, 
 1886. On Nov. 23, 1836, he married Rhoda Bar- 
 ber, who was descended, on her mother's side, from 
 Sir Francis Drake, and. on her father's side, of 
 Thomas Barber, one of the first settlers of the town. 
 
 F. B. Hubbard was reared a farmer boy, and fol- 
 lowed agricultural pursuits more or less throughout 
 his entire life. For a number of years he was also 
 interested in brick making at Hartford, where he 
 died Feb. 26, 1887, his remains being interred at 
 
912 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Bloomfield. Politically he was a Republican, and 
 whiie he was never an aspirant for official honors, 
 he fulfilled every duty of citizenship, winning the 
 esteem of all classes in the community. His death 
 cut short a most promising career, which was not the 
 less useful because of his unassuming disposition. 
 On March 22, 1865, he married Miss Louisa Loomis, 
 and three children blessed the union : ( i ) Anna L. 
 Hubbard, who was educated in the Hartford gram- 
 mar and high schools, and is an estimable lady ; she 
 married Btu"ton S. Loomis, of Windsor, and has two 
 children, Grace H. and Theodore R. (2) Alvin L. 
 and (3) Rosa A. (twins) were born May 26, 1885, 
 and are living with their widowed mother. 
 
 DEACON JEDEDIAH DEMING died at his 
 home in Newington June 26, 1899, after a life of 
 industry, and rich in those rare possessions which 
 only a high character can give. For manv years 
 he labored with all the strength of a great nature, 
 and all the earnestness of a true heart, for the bet- 
 tering of the world about him, and when he was 
 called to the rest and reward of the higher world 
 his best monument was found in the love and re- 
 spect of the community in which he had lived so 
 many years. 
 
 Mr. Deming was born March 15, 1820, in a 
 house a little below his last residence, but upon 
 the same farm. His father. Jedediah Deming, Sr., 
 born in 1790, was a farmer by occupation, took an 
 active part in church work, and supported the Whig 
 party, but never took much interest in political af- 
 fairs. He died in 1867. His wife, who bore the 
 maiden name of Mary Lusk, was a daughter of 
 Maj.-Gen. Lusk. She was born in 1790 and died 
 in 1827. The Deacon's grandfatner, Elias Dem- 
 ing. was also born on the old homestead, and was 
 a direct descendant of John Deming, who came to 
 this country from England and located in Wethers- 
 field about 1 716. 
 
 Deacon Deming received a liberal education, and 
 at an early age becaine thoroughly familiar with 
 every department of farm work. He always re- 
 mained upon the old homestead, comprising 125 
 acres of valuable land, and successfully engaged 
 in agricultural pursuits until fifty years of age, 
 when he laid aside business cares. In November, 
 1846, he married Miss Nancy Angeline Whaples, 
 a lady beloved by all, and noted for her kindness 
 and benevolence to the poor. She was a member 
 of, and active worker in, the Newington Congre- 
 gational Church, where until her death, in 1877, her 
 sweet voice was prominent in the choir. By that 
 union there were two children : ( i ) Ellen Amanda, 
 born in 1852, was married to Frank H. Corbin, and 
 had three children, of whom Jedediah Deming, born 
 June 18, 1878, is the only survivor; he is now a 
 successful farmer upon the Deming homestead, 
 where he and his mother reside. Walter F., born 
 July 8, 1880, died in June, 1882. The other child 
 died in infancy unnamed. (2) Alice Cornelia, 
 born in 1856, married Daniel J. Clark, pastor of 
 
 the Congregational Church of East Haven, and has 
 one son, Harold Deming, born Oct. 13, 1884. Dea- 
 con Deming was again married, in 1881, his second 
 union being with Mrs. Augusta E. Griswold Mor- 
 ris, of Washington, D. C, widow of John Morris, 
 a Yale graduate, who took a very active part in po- 
 litical aflfairs, was executive clerk in the United 
 States Senate, and editor of a Charleston (S. C.) 
 newspaper. 
 
 Deacon Deming cast his first Presidential vote 
 for William Henry Harrison and took great interest 
 in that campaign. He joined the Republican party 
 on its organization and cast his last ballot for Will- 
 iam McKinley. In 1855 he was elected to the 
 State Legislature from Wethersfield, which then 
 included Newington, and during that term the bill 
 was passed prohibiting the continuance of the coun- 
 ty court, for which he worked untiringly. In 1881 
 he was again elected to that body, and he also served 
 as selectman in Newington at various times. He 
 succeeded his father as deacon in the Congregational 
 Church, and was ever one of its most influential 
 members. At his funeral Rev. Herbert Macy re- 
 ferred to the existence of the Newington Congre- 
 gational chapel as having been doubtful if Deacon 
 Deming had not risen in his seat, after the needs of 
 the church in this direction had been presented 
 from the pulpit, and volunteered his help by nam- 
 ing his subscription toward the cause, and he urged 
 others to do the same. He was a very kind-hearted 
 man, charitable, benevolent, honorable and trust- 
 worthy, and was looked up to by all. 
 
 CHAUNCEY D. HOLCOMB, one of the pro- 
 gressive and successful farmers of West Simsbury, 
 was born at Barndoor Hills, Granby, March 11, 
 1830. The Holcomb family are descendants of one 
 of the first settlers of Simsbury, and many of its 
 representatives have held positions of honor and 
 trust, both in Colonial days and under the present 
 government. ]\Iany also took an active and import- 
 ant part in the great struggle for freedom. 
 
 Thomas Holcomb, the founder of the family in 
 America, came from England, it is supposed, on 
 the ship "Mary and John." He settled in Dorches- 
 ter, Mass., and in 1634 was there made a freeman. 
 Thence he removed to the town of Windsor, and 
 settled at Poquonock, where he engaged in farm- 
 ing, and where he died Sept. 7, 1657. He repre- 
 sented Windsor and Hartford at the framing of the 
 constitution of the Colony of Connecticut in 1639. 
 He married Elizabeth, who later, in 1658, married 
 James Eno, becoming his second wife. The chil- 
 dren born to Thomas and Elizabeth Holcomb were 
 as follows : Elizabeth, who married in 1654 Josias 
 Ellsworth, of Windsor ; Mary, who married Oct. 3, 
 165s, George Griswold, of Windsor; Abigail, bap- 
 tized Jan. 6, 1638, who married June 11, 1658, 
 Samuel Bissell, of Windsor; Joshua, baptized Sept. 
 27, 1640; Sarah, baptized Aug. 4, 1642; Benajah, 
 born June 23, 1644; Deborah, born Oct. 15, 1646, 
 who died in 1649; Nathaniel, born Nov. 4, 1648; 
 

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 ^.Cx/^-O^C^ft/ oclS'^^-^'^ ''^' t-j 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 013 
 
 Dcbyrah (2), born l-'t-b. 15, 1650, whn inarriLMl 
 March 5, 1668, Daniel liirge, of Windsor; Jona- 
 than, l)orn -March 23, 1O52. 
 
 Nathaniel Holconib, son of Thomas, was born 
 in W iiulsor Nov. 4, 1648. He removed to Massa- 
 coe, now Simsbury, where he engaged in farming 
 through life. He represented the town of Sims- 
 bury in the General Assembly for the years 1703, 
 1704, 1705, 1706, 1720 and 1722. On Feb. 2/, iC>jo. 
 he married ^larv Llliss, who was born in Springfield. 
 .Mass., and their children were: Xathaniel, born 
 June II, 1673; Mary, born Mav 17, 1O75; Jonathan, 
 born in 1678; John, born in 1680, married March ly, 
 1706, Anna, .daughter of John I'athline; Esther, 
 born in 1682, married Feb. 17, 1708, Brewster Hig- 
 ley ; Catharine, born in 1689, married Jan. 22, 1707. 
 Joseph Messenger; Sarah, born in 1691, married 
 Dec. 17, 1722. Samuel Barbone ; Benjamin, born 
 Feb. 15, 1697, married Oct. 12, 1727, Hannah Case. 
 
 Xathaniel Holcomb, son of Nathaniel, and 
 grandson of Thomas, was born in the town of Sims- 
 Iniry, now Granby, where he grew to manhood and 
 was engaged in farming all his life, and was a large 
 land owner and a stock and grain grower. He 
 married Nov. I, 1695, Martha Bucll, of Simsburv, 
 who bore him children as follows : Nathaniel, born 
 CJct. 25, 1696, married Oct. 9, 1717, Thankful 
 Hayes, of Simsbury; Elizabeth, born Alardi 13, 
 1699-1700, died April 13, 1700; Martha, born March 
 15, 1701, died Jan. 29, 1725 (she married Feb. 21, 
 1723, Jonathan Buttolph) ; Jonathan was born Nov. 
 25, 1702; Elizabeth, born Jan. 14, 1704, married Jo- 
 -scph Wilco.x Feb. 28. 1725 ; Judah died at the age of 
 ninety-eight years : David ; ]\lary ; Benjamin ; Sa- 
 rah ; and Peter was born in 1715. Nathaniel, father 
 of these children, married for his second wife, Jan. 
 
 17, 1723, Sarah Owen, widow of Joseph Owen, of 
 \Vindsor. He was a deacon of the church, and was 
 a member of the General Assembly in 1748 and 
 1749. In business he was successful, and in char- 
 acter above reproach. 
 
 Peter Holcomb, son of Nathaniel, was bom in 
 1715, in that part of Simsbury which now com- 
 prises the town of Granby. There he grew to man- 
 hood, and engaged in farming all his life. He 
 was a lieutenant in the State militia, and gave sev- 
 eral sons to the cause of the Revolution ; one son 
 died in the French and Indian wars. He married 
 first, Oct. 15, 1740, Margaret Case, widow of Jacob 
 Holcomb, who died July 27, 1737. The children 
 born to Peter and ^largaret Holcomb were : ( i ) 
 Martin, born July 27, 1741, married Deiva Spen- 
 cer. (2) Jacob, born April i, 1743, died in the 
 French and Indian war. (3) Nodiali, born Sept. 5, 
 1744, died Feb. 22, 1745. (4) Margaret, born Feb. 
 
 18, 1746, married Col. Pettibone, of Norfolk, Conn. 
 ( 5 ) Rushmore, bom Nov. 30, 1747, died young. 
 (6) Nodiah (2), born Oct. 4, 1749, married Aphia 
 Butler, of Granby. ^Margaret, first wife of Peter 
 Holcomb, died C)ct. 14, 1750, and for his second 
 wife he married, Dec. 10, 1751, Tryphenia Goss, 
 who Ijore him children as follows: (7) Ashel, 
 
 58 
 
 born Oct. 15, 1752, married Abigail Hoskins, of 
 Simsbury; (H) Theodocia, born May 16, 1754, died 
 Nov. 25', 1775; (9J Keziah, born Nov. 2^, 1755. 
 married Elijah Spencer, of Suffield ; (10) I'ryphe- 
 nia, born Dec. 10, 1757, died Nov. 12, 1775; (11) 
 Peter, born July 24, 1759, married Zillah Hoskins, 
 of Simsbury; (i2j Ebenezer, born May 14, 1761, 
 married Chloe Bacon; (13) Cyrus, born Dec. 14, 
 1762, married Anna Cadey, of Hartland ; (14J Ja- 
 cob was born Oct. 27, 17O4.; (15) Abel, born Nov. 
 2, 1706, married Roxey Higly, of Simsbury; (16) 
 Beulah, born Sept. 8, 1768, died young; (17; 
 Naomi, born May 12, 1771, married Taylor Higly, 
 of Simsbury; ( i8j Deborah, born July 15, 1774, 
 never married, and lived to be over seventy-five. 
 Jacob Holcomb, son of Peter, was the grand- 
 father of our subject. He was born Oct. 27, 1764, 
 and was not yet in his 'teens when the Revolutionary 
 war began, but he took the part of a soldier in that 
 great struggle. He located on the homestead at 
 Barndoor Hills,' now Granby, and there spent his 
 life, being a land owner, and engaged extensively in 
 farming. He was active in public matters, and 
 when the town of Granby was taken from Sims- 
 bury he was a strong supporter of the change. He 
 lived to the ripe old age ot ninety-two years, and was 
 buried in Granby. In politics he was an Old-line 
 Democrat. Fie married, Feb. 22, 1791, Theodosia 
 Beacon, born in 1766, who bore him children as fol- 
 lows : (I) Chester, born Dec. 17. 1791 ; (2) Ora- 
 tor, born April 25, 1794; (3J Theodosia, born Feb. 
 5, 1796, married Nelson Reed; (4; Chauncey, born 
 Aug. 12, 1798; (5j Pliney, born April 15, 1803, 
 died young. Theodosia, wife of Jacob Holcomb, 
 died Aug. 6, 1804, and for his second wife he mar- 
 ried, Jan. 22, 1805, Susan Roe, born in 1775. She 
 bore him several children. (6) Pliney, born 
 March 28, 1806; (7) Sylvester, born ^larch 27, 
 1809; (8) Charles R., born Jan. 6, 1812, died in 
 1897. Susan, the second wife, died Oct. 17, 1834, 
 and for his third wife Jacob Holcomb married. Nov. 
 9, 1836, Hannah Holcomb, widow of his brother 
 Ashel. Jacob Holcomb died Oct. 15, 1856. 
 
 Orator Holcomb, father of our subject, was born 
 April 25, 1794, on the old homestead in Granby:- 
 attended the public schools of the district, and as- 
 sisted in the work of the farm. When a voung man 
 he, with little help from his parents, bought a farm 
 near the old homestead, and there spent his life, en- 
 gaged principally in general farming, dairying and 
 
 stock raising. 
 
 He lived to the age of eightv-three 
 
 years, and died on his farm in 1877. I" politics he 
 was a Democrat. He was noted for his honestv and 
 upright character, and was deeply attached to his 
 home and family. In his religious views he was 
 liberal, and always lived up to the Golden Rule. He 
 married, in Granby, Cyrena Reed, who was born in 
 West Granby, a daughter of David Reed, a well-to- 
 do farmer of West Granby. To this union nine chil- 
 dren were born : Covil, deceased : Harriet, who 
 married James Ebby, of Enfield : Luna, who mar- 
 ried Horace Griffin ; Munson, now living in Granby; 
 
914 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Osborn, of Aurora, Kane Co., 111. ; Chauncey D., our 
 subject; Ann, who died j'oi.ng; Electa, who mar- 
 ried Wadsworth Pond, of Boston, Mass., and Burt, 
 who died in 1899 at Westfield, Mass. The mother 
 of our subject died on the farm in 1870 aged seventy 
 years, and was buried in Granby cemetery. She 
 was a member of the Granby Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, a good Christian woman, and a devoted 
 mother and wife. 
 
 Chauncey D. Holcomb, the suDJect of this sketch, 
 attended the district schools of Granby, also the 
 Granby Academy. He was reared on the farm, and 
 remained with his parents until he was twenty-two 
 years old, but during his youth he worked out among 
 the farmers in Granby. At twenty-two he started 
 in business for himself, peddling jewelry and silver- 
 ware, traveling through the States of Massachu- 
 setts, York State and Vermont, and continued in 
 that business for six years. He then returned 
 home, was married, and settled down to a farmer's 
 life in West Simsbury, settling on the homestead of 
 his father-in-law, where he has since been engaged 
 in tobacco culture and dairying and general farm- 
 ing. He has added largely to the original farm, and 
 is now operating a tract of 250 acres, upon which he 
 has made many improvements. Besides farming he 
 has engaged in stock dealing, and for several years 
 has handled carriages, wagons, etc., selling in the 
 local markets. He is a man of good business judg- 
 ment and ability, is a good judge of stock, and a 
 successful farmer and stock raiser. Mr. Holcomb 
 is one of Simsbury 's most progressive citizens, is a 
 stockholder and director of the Simsbury Creamery 
 Company, and takes a deep interest in all enterprises 
 that are beneficial to the town and people. He is 
 honorable in his dealings, and noted for his honesty 
 of purpose. In 1859 he married, in West Sims- 
 bury, Hannah Buell, a native of that village, and 
 daughter of Peter O. Buell. The marriage of our 
 subject has been blessed with five children: Anna 
 was educated in the district schools and the Con- 
 necticut Literary Institute, Suffield, and is a school 
 teacher ; Flora, who attended the Connecticut Lit- 
 erary Institute, is the wife of Frank Alford, of West 
 Simsbury, and has one son, Stuart A. ; Irene also 
 attended the Connecticut Literary Institute, and 
 married Elbert Wilcox, of Granby, now a resident of 
 Springfield, Mass., by whom she has two children, 
 Helen J. and Howard H. ; Buell T., who studied at 
 the Connecticut Literary Institute, is living at home ; 
 Dexter is at home. Mr. Holcomb is a member of 
 St. Mark's Lodge, F. & A. M., of Simsbury. In 
 political faith he is a Democrat, but is not an active 
 politician. The family are members of the Con- 
 gregational Church. Mr. Holcomb has won, by his 
 business successes, his public spirit, his integrity and 
 loyalty, the general regard and respect of the com- 
 munity in which he lives. 
 
 HOSEA DAYTON HUMPHREY traces his 
 line of descent from Michael Humphrey, of England, 
 who is believed to have come to America prior to 
 
 1648, although the precise date is uncertain. He 
 married Priscilla, a daughter of Matthew Grant, of 
 Windsor. His second son was Samuel H., a lieu- 
 tenant in the Colonial militia, who was born at 
 Windsor, Conn., May 15, 1659, and married (prob- 
 ably at Windsor) Mary Mills. She was a daugh- 
 ter of Simon and Mary (Buel) Mills, and was born 
 Dec. 8, 1662. Fie removed to Simsbury, about 1669, 
 and became an influential citizen of the place. 
 
 The next m Inie of descent was Ensign Samuel 
 Humphrey, who was born at Simsbury, May 17, 
 1686. He was a prosperous trader and man of 
 prominence in the community. He was the father 
 of Lieut. Samuel (2), also of Simsbury, who was 
 born Oct. 15, 17 10, and married Mary, a daughter 
 of Joseph S. Wilcox and his wife, Abigail Thayer. 
 She was born in 1719. Their son, Theophilus, was 
 born, probably in 1744, at West Simsbury, now 
 Canton. He was the hrst deacon of the First Con- 
 gregational Church in that town, and filled the office 
 many years. He was twice married, his hrst wife 
 being Hepzibah Cornish, and his second, Diana 
 Averill. 
 
 Following the genealogical record, the next in 
 order is Hon. Loin Humphrey, the grandfather of 
 the gentleman whose name appears at the head of 
 this memoir. He was born Dec. 31, 1771, at West 
 Simsbury; was an enterprising and successful 
 farmer, and owned a large estate. He was a man 
 of talent and influence ; for twenty years or more 
 a justice of the peace, and a member of the Legisla- 
 ture in 1824 and 1829. He was first selectman for 
 three or four years, and held other minor offices. 
 He bore the title of captain. He died at Canton 
 (formerly Simsbury) Nov. 16, 1854. He married 
 Rhoda Case, whose parents, Hosea and Rhoda Case, 
 were residents of the same town as himself. 
 
 Hosea Dayton Humphrey, the son of Loin 
 Humphrey, and father of the present owner of the 
 name, was born at Canton, Aug. 3, 1809. He was 
 a lawyer by profession, and a man of high educa- 
 tion. He graduated from Amherst College, and 
 read law in the office of Henry Starr, Esq., of Cin- 
 cinnati, Ohio. He traveled from Connecticut to 
 Ohio On horseback, and finally located at Crawfords- 
 ville, Ind., about the year 1832, where he engaged 
 ill practice. He entered into partnership with Ben- 
 jamin T. Ristine, the firm name being Humphrey 
 & Ristine. Mr. Humphrey was a strong Democrat 
 and his partner an equally pronounced Whig, and 
 during the Harrison campaign of 1840 they were 
 active on opposite sides, the former opposing Mr. 
 Harrison's candidacy, although he was his personal 
 friend. Fle was a man of intense individuality and 
 strongly marked characteristics. Not long after 
 the founding of Wabash College, which was estab- 
 lished in 1834, he was offered, and accepted, the 
 chair of mathematics in that institution. He died 
 Sept. 20, 1845. On Sept. 23, 1835, at Warren, 
 Conn., he married Caroline, a daughter of George 
 and Lorain (Carter) Starr, who was born July 8, 
 181 1. They were the parents of six children: 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 915 
 
 Henry, George Starr, Frank Warren, Austin Rus- 
 sell, Flora and Hosea Dayton. 
 
 The last named was born at Crawfordsvillc, Ind., 
 Jan. i8, 1846. He received a rudimentary educa- 
 ! tion in public and select schools at Warren, and 
 ' completed his scholastic course at the "Gunnery" at 
 W'asinngton, Conn., passing through the entire 
 curriculum, with the exception of the languages. 
 In 1862 he graduated and came to New Britain. 
 Here his first employment was as a clerk for Swift 
 & Whittlesey, whose place of business was an old 
 building standing on the site of his present store. 
 ; He remained with this tirm for five years, and then 
 i accepted the position of shipping clerk at the Mall- 
 eable Iron \\'orks. In a year, however, he re- 
 lumed to work for Air. Whittlesey, who had pur- 
 chased Mr. Swift's interest in the concern, and con- 
 ! dnued to occupy a clerical positioii for some three 
 I years, but in 1874 bought the interest of his employ- 
 j er's new partner, a Mr. Felt, and was admitted as 
 • a partner, the firm name becoming F. W'hittlesey & 
 ( Co. In 1887 Air. Humphrey purchased his part- 
 i ner's interest and entered upon a new era in his 
 I prosperous business career. He is to-day one of the 
 '■ oldest dry-goods merchants in New Britain. In 
 addition to his private business he has been for 
 eighteen years auditor of the Stanley W'orks, and 
 I for the past three years a director in the New Britain 
 ' Savings Bank. He is a man of broad, well-educated 
 public spirit, an illustration of which fact is afforded 
 by his connection with the securing of a better water 
 supply for New Britain. Air. Humphrey was in- 
 strumental, with other members of the water board, 
 in securing from the State Legislature, in the face 
 of great opposition, the charter by which the city 
 of New Britain was enabled to take the waters of 
 Roaring brook, in the town of Wolcott, six miles 
 distant, and convey them to Shuttle Aleadow^ reser- 
 voir, thus insuring a permanent water supply for 
 many years to come. The work of laying pipes, etc. 
 was done at a time most advantageous ; had it been 
 delayed two years it would have cost the citv at 
 least $150,000 more. The plan was thoroughly 
 feasible, but its execution involved a municipal out- 
 lay of some $300,000, and to secure its adoption was 
 a task of no small magnitude. Being elected a 
 member of the board of water conuuissioners for 
 ; three terms, Air. Humphrey with his colleagues 
 was able to secure its accomplishment, therebv plac- 
 t ing the city under a heavy and lasting obligation. 
 Politically Air. Humphrey has always been an 
 ardent Republican, and an active worker for his 
 party's success. For six years he was a member of 
 the town committee, and has also served as chair- 
 man of the committee for the Third ward. Sociallv 
 he is a man of affable manners and genial disnosi- 
 tion. a true friend, and liberal in his contributions 
 to the cause of charity. He is a member of the 
 New Britain Club, as well as of the Order of the 
 Lnited American Alechanics and the A. O. U. W., 
 and is a past regent in the Royal .\rcanum. His 
 religious creed is that of the Congregational Church, 
 
 of which he is an active, liberal and consistent mem- 
 ber. He is connected with the South Congrega- 
 tional Church of New Britain, has been superm- 
 tendent of the junior department of its Sunday- 
 school for six years, and is now clerk and member 
 of the society's conmiittee. 
 
 On Oct. 4, 1871, Air. Humphrey married Harriet 
 Loomis, who was born at New Britain Feb. 
 14, 1847, '^"d they have two children : Howard 
 Starr and Flora Loomis. The elder was born Oct. 
 6. 1875, graduated from the Sheffield Scientific 
 School of Yale College in 1897, antl for a time was 
 connected with the importing firm of A. B. Heine 
 & Co., of New York, being now with the I'arker 
 Shirt Company, of New Britain. The daughter. 
 Flora Loomis, is a pupil at the New Britain high 
 school, in the class of 1901. 
 
 GEORGE E. FIADLEY, deceased. A some- 
 what detailed history of Air. Hadley's family may 
 be found in the biographical sketch of Reuben W. 
 Hadley on another page. 
 
 George E. Hadley was born in Dudley, Wor- 
 cestershire, England, on Feb. 13, 1839, a son of 
 George Hadley. He was educated in the schools 
 of his native place, and after coming to Winsted at- 
 tended night school and received some private in- 
 struction from a Air. Pease, who was connected 
 with the Normal School. -His training in the or- 
 dinary English branches was fairly good, and the 
 knowledge acquired in his boyhood has been sup- 
 plemented by a course of well-directed reading, he 
 having always kept himself closely in touch with the 
 history of passing events, as well as with general 
 current literature. 
 
 In the spring of 1854 Air. Hadley went to work 
 in the shovel and tongs shop, of which his father 
 was superintendent. On the purchase of the busi- 
 ness by Russell & Erwin and its removal to New 
 Britain he entered the employ of that concern, 
 with whom he was connected for forty years, en- 
 joying the distinction of being the oldest employe 
 in consecutive service in the employ of the house. 
 On the death of his father he assumed the contract 
 held by him, and continued to perform his part there- 
 under until Jan. 12, 1899. He was one of the last 
 two contractors to surrender his privilege, in the 
 execution of which he had been singularly success- 
 ful, having, at times, as many as twenty-six men 
 in his employ. Air. Hadley died Oct. 16, 1899. 
 
 Air. Hadley was always an active w^orker in the 
 cause of the Republican party, both locally and 
 nationally. He represented the Third ward of the 
 city of New Britain in the council in 1876 and 
 again in 1886 and 1887. He was appointed a mem- 
 ber of the fire commission during the first year 
 of its organization, and was from i860 to 1870 a 
 member of the volunteer department. With the 
 institution of the paid fire department of New 
 Britain he connected himself with that branch of 
 ihe city's service, filling the post of foreman of Hose 
 Company No. i for two years and acting as assistant 
 
916 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 chief for one year. His natural fondness for mil- 
 itary service led him to enlist in the State militia, 
 in which he was commissioned first as second lieu- 
 tenant, and afterward rose to the grades of first 
 lieutenant and captain in Company E, of the 12th 
 Regiment. He held the latter rank at the time of 
 his resignation. Socially he was a member -of Har- 
 mony Lodge, No. 20, A. F. & A. M., and of the 
 Royal Arcanum ; was also a director in the New- 
 Britain Building & Loan Association. His re- 
 ligious faith was that of the M. E. Church, of which 
 body he was a devout and consistent member. 
 
 To Mr. Hadley's marriage with Anna J. Allen 
 have been born two children, one of whom died 
 in infancy, the other being Edward W. The mother 
 of these died in 1871, and in 1873 Mr. Hadley mar- 
 lied Helen T. Jackson, daughter of William and 
 Harriet (Lewis) Jackson, of Bristol. Of this union 
 were born William L., Robert G. and Helen May. 
 
 HON. ABNER SLADE HART, a well-known 
 and highly esteemed citizen of CJnionville, Hart- 
 ford county, was born July 15, 1823, in Barkhani- 
 sted, Litchfield Co., Conn., and is a descendant of 
 Deacon Stephen Hart, who was born in Braintree, 
 England, in 1605, and came to the New World on 
 a vessel which dropped anchor in Massachusetts 
 Bay about 1632. After living for a time in Cam- 
 bridge, Mass., he came to Hartford with the Hook- 
 er Colony, in 1635, and tradition says that the town 
 was called Hart-ford from the ford he discovered 
 and used near the foot of what is now Morgan 
 street. He took the lead in settling among the 
 Ttmxis Lidians in Farmington, and bought a large 
 tract of land in what is now called Cider Broolv. 
 He was one of the first representatives in 1647. 
 He was twice married, his second wife being Mar- 
 garet, widow of Arthur Smith. He and his first 
 wife were constituent members of the church or- 
 ganized at Earmington in 1652. 
 
 (II) Thomas Hart, the third son and youngest 
 child of Deacon Stephen Hart, was born in Wind- 
 sor, Conn., Oct. 24, 1649, and on reaching man- 
 hood married Ruth, daughter of Anthony Hawkins, 
 a distinguished man of Earmington. He took a 
 very prominent part in both military and civil af- 
 fairs; was commissioned ensign in May. 1678, and 
 lieutenant in 1693. He was deputy to the General 
 Court in i6q^ ; was deputy from Earmington in 
 1690, 1692, 1694, 1695, 1696, 1697, 1698, 1699, 1700, 
 1704, 1705 and 1706; was speaker of the General 
 Court in 1700, 1704, 1705 and 1706; commissioner 
 for Earmington in 1692, 1693, 1694, 1695 and 1697; 
 and justice for Hartford county in 1698, 1701, 1702, 
 1703, 1704, 1705 and 1706. He inherited a por- 
 tion of his father's homestead in Earmington ; was 
 a man of wealth, activity and usefulness, and he 
 and John Hooker were the two most prominent men 
 of the town and conspicuous in the Colony. Capt. 
 Hart died Aug. 27, 1726, and was bu.'ied with mil- 
 itary honors. 
 
 (III) Hawkins Hart, the next in direct descent 
 
 to our subject, was born in Earmington in 1677, 
 and was married, Sept. 7, 1701, to Sarah Roys. 
 On Oct. 4, 1705, he moved to Wallingford, Conn., 
 where he died May 24, 1735. He represented Wall- 
 ingford in the General Court for nine consecutive 
 years, from 1714 to 1723. 
 
 (IV) Nathaniel Hart, born in Earmington June 
 19, 1702, was married, Dec. 21, 1727, to Martha, 
 daughter of Capt. Stephen and Elizabeth (Roys) 
 Lee, and died Oct. 2, 1750. He had eight children,, 
 of whom Hawkins was the fourth in order of birth. 
 
 (V) Hawkins Hart, the grandfather of our 
 subject, was born in February, 1736, in Meriden, 
 Conn., and throughout life followed the carpenter's 
 and joiner's trade. He was married, Feb. 12, 1761, 
 to Abigail Hall, a daughter of Peter and Rebecca 
 (Bartholomew) Hall, and died May 26, 1824. He 
 served with distinction as a lieutenant in the Rev- 
 olutionary war. He had nine children, of whom 
 Hawkins Hart, the father of our subject, was eighth 
 in the order of birth. 
 
 (VI) Hawkins Hart was born in Wallingford 
 Jan. 28, 1781, and in 1789 removed with his par- 
 ents to Barkhamsted, where he died Oct. 8, 1836. 
 He was also a carpenter and joiner by trade. On 
 Dec. 5, 1805, he was united in marriage with Miss 
 Lois Slade, who was born April 6, 1785, and they 
 became the parents of eleven children : Chester, 
 born July 16, 1806, married Julia Case, and is de- 
 ceased ; Rebecca, born March 6, 1808, died in April, 
 1842; Betsey, born May 6, 1810, died Feb. 6, 1822; 
 William H. H., Dorn Aug. 28, 1812, married Ehza 
 Scovil, and died while serving in the Union army; 
 Fanny, born Nov. 10, 1814, died Jan. 3, 1816; Fanny 
 Amilla, born Jan. 2, 1816, died in January, 1840; 
 Sarah, born Jan. 24, 1818, is a resident of Belvi- 
 dere. 111. ; Olive, born Sept. 2, 1820, died Feb. 5, 
 1822; Abner S., our subject, is next in the order 
 of birth ; Lois, born Sept. 14, 1825, died in Decem- 
 ber, 1825 ; and Hannah A., born July 8, 1827, is a 
 resident of Brodhead, Wisconsin. 
 
 Abner S. Hart was reared in Barkhamsted, and 
 was educated at a select school. After the comple- 
 tion of his education he engaged in teaching school 
 for fourteen years, alternating this occupation with 
 farming during the summer months. In t866 he 
 established himself in the drug business at River- 
 ton, Litchfield Co., Conn., and three years later 
 was appointed postmaster at that place, which po- 
 sition he filled for twelve years. Selling out his 
 business to his sons, Mvron and Leverett C, he 
 came to Unionville, Hartford county, and in March, 
 1878, opened a general store in company with his 
 son, H. W. Hart, under the name of A. S. Hart 
 & Son. In April, 1896, feeling some of the in- 
 firmities of old age after being in active business 
 pursuits for a period of more than fifty years, he 
 sold his interest in the store to his son, H. W. Hart, 
 who now carries on the business under the name 
 of H. W. Hart & Co. 
 
 In April, T848, Mr. Hart was united in marriage- 
 with Miss Julia Rose, who died June 8, 1863, leav- 
 
■M 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 917 
 
 ing three children: (i) Myron, born Jan. 17, 1849, 
 married Carrie Ransom, now deceased, and resides 
 in Springfield, Mass. ; his children are Gertrude, 
 Mamie, Julia and Elma. (2) Leverett C, born 
 Sept. 9, 1850, is engaged in the grocery business on 
 Albany avenue, Hartford, Conn. ; he married Sarah 
 •Gilbert, and has two children, Berdina and Myrtle. 
 (3) Henry W., born Aug. 8, 1858, has been en- 
 gaged in mercantile business in Unionville since 
 1S96. He married Jennie Amidon, ana has one 
 child, Aleta. Mr. Hart was again married, at 
 Barkhamsted, his second union being with Mrs. 
 Alargaret Maria (Driggs) Williams, a daughter of 
 Sterlmg and Flavia (Brace) Driggs. Her father, 
 who was an old resident of Barkhamsted, died Nov. 
 27, 1882. 
 
 Socially Mr. Hart is affiliated with Evening 
 Star Lodge, F. & A. M., and religiously is a mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which his 
 wife also belongs. Politically he was first a Whig, 
 later a Republican, and cast his first Presidential vote 
 for Henry Clay in 1844. He has been honored with 
 a number of local offices, including that of acting- 
 school visitor, which he creditably filled for four- 
 teen years, has also been chairman of the board of 
 relief, and in 1887 represented Farmington in the 
 State Legislature. In all his varied relations of 
 life he has maintained a character and standing that 
 has impressed all with his sincere and manly pur- 
 pose to do by others as he would have others do 
 by him. 
 
 HENRY H. NICHOLS (deceased), who was 
 for many years one of the leading and progressive 
 citizens of Plantsville, was born in Trumbull, Conn., 
 May 14, 1840, a son of Abijah M. and Permelia 
 Nichols. He continued to make his home in his 
 native town until 1862, when he came to Plants- 
 ville and accepted a position with the S. Stow Man- 
 ufacturing Co., since merged into the Peck, Stow 
 & Wilcox Co., with which he was connected until 
 his death, and by faithful and satisfactory service 
 he advanced to the position of foreman and shipper 
 of the tinners' machines and tools manufactured by 
 their Plantsville branch. He enjoyed to a remark- 
 able degree the confidence of his employers, and 
 was highly respected by those working under him. 
 
 On April 13, 1876, Mr. Nichols was united in 
 marriage with Miss Kate Spellman, a daughter of 
 William L. and Eliza (Beckwith) Spellman, of 
 Plantsville, and to this union was born one son, 
 Harry M., on April 6, 1878. Industrious, frugal 
 and economical, Mr. Nichols acquired a handsome 
 competence, and was able to leave his family in 
 ■comfortable circumstances. He was public-spirited 
 and progressive., and always took a deep interest in 
 everything pertaining to the material prosperity 
 ■of the village in which he resided. He was one of 
 "the directors of the Southington Water Co., and was 
 identified with other enterprises which had for 
 their object public improvement. He was a prom- 
 inent member of Friendship Lodge, No. 33, F. & A, 
 
 M., and was an ardent supporter of the Republican 
 party. He died March 2, 1896, honored and re- 
 spected by all who knew him. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY ROBINSON. The Rob- 
 inson family, from which this well-known resident 
 of Collinsville is descended, is one of the oldest in 
 the New England States, the line being traced to 
 Rev. John Robinson, who is regarded as the Father 
 of Congregationalism. He was born in one of the 
 midland counties of England in 1575, and in 1592 
 he entered Corpus Christi College, at Cambridge,, 
 England, where he received a fellowship in 1598. 
 This he resigned in 1604, having become converted 
 to the Puritan faith, and from that time his life was 
 devoted to preaching its doctrines. He intended to 
 come to America, but he died in the town of Leyden, 
 Holland, March i, 1625, aged fifty years, during the 
 plague. He married Bridget White, and had 
 children : James (or John) ; Bridget, who married 
 May 26, 1627, John Grynwich, a student of theol- 
 ogy ; Isaac ; J\Iercy ; Fear ; and Jacob. 
 
 Isaac Robinson, born in 1610, came to New 
 England in 1631, and settled first in Plymouth, 
 Mass. He was a freeman of the Colony in 1653. 
 He removed to Scituate in 1636; to Barnstable in 
 1639 ; to Falmouth in 1663 ; and in 1673 went to Tis- 
 bury, on Martha's Vineyard, where he remained 
 until November, 1701. He then returned to Barn- 
 stable, where he died in 1704, aged ninety-four 
 years. For over ten years he had been a member 
 of the Barnstable Church. On June 27, 1636, he 
 married Margaret Hanaford, of Scituate, a half-sis- 
 ter of Edward Foster, who came from Kent, Eng- 
 land, in 1633, and settled in Scituate. They had 
 children as follows : Susanna, born in 1637, died in 
 childhood ; John, born in 1640, married Elizabeth 
 Weeks; Isaac, born in August, 1642, was drowned 
 at Falmouth Oct. 6, 1668; Fear, born in 1644, rnar- 
 ried Samuel Baker; and Mercy, born in 1647, mar- 
 ried William Weeks, March 16, 1669. The mother 
 of this family died soon afer the birth of the last 
 child, and by his second wife, Mary, Mr. Robinson 
 had children as follows : A daughter, born June 6, 
 1649, died in infancy; Israel, born in 1651 ; Jacob, 
 born in 1653; Experience; Joab ; Isaac; Mary; Pe- 
 ter; and Thomas. 
 
 Lieut. Peter Robinson was born in Barnstable, 
 or Falmouth, about 1654, and made his home in 
 Scotland, Windham Co., Conn. His wife, Experi- 
 ence Manston, was a daughter of John Manston, of 
 Tisbury. She died at their home in Scotland April 
 30, 1727. They had a large family of children, as 
 follows: Sarah, born 1688, who was married Nov. 
 15, 1725, to Hezekiah Mason: Abiah, wife of Rich- 
 ard Andrews ; Israel, born in 1696, who married Sa- 
 rah Sabin; Peter; Thomas; Abigail, born in 1701, 
 who was married Sept. 30, 172c;, to Elihu Palmer; 
 Simeon, who married Jerusha Kingsley : Benjami-n, 
 who married Jerusha Bringham ; Joseph, bom in 
 1706, who married Mehitable Read; Isaac and Ann, 
 (twins), born Aug. 28, 1798; Mary, wife of John 
 
918 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 I 
 
 Johnson ; Rhoda, who married Xoah Carpenter ; 
 JNIartha ; and Elizabetli. 
 
 Peter Robinson, son of Lieut. Peter, was born 
 in 1697, and was married June 30, 1725, to Ruth 
 Fuller, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Thack- 
 erj Fuller, of ^lansrteld. He died March 22, 1785, 
 and his wife on Jan. 9, 1795, their remains being 
 buried in Scotland cemetery. They had twelve 
 children: Samuel, born July 6, 1726; Experience, 
 April 22, 1728; Peter, May 19, 1730; Elizabeth, 
 Nov. 6, 1732; Joab, Aug. 14, 1734; Nathan, July 
 ^9' 173'j; Abner, the next in the line of descent; 
 Ruth, Dec. 14, 1740; Eliab, Aug. 22, 1742 (who 
 married Lucy Williams) ; Rachel, March 30, 1744; 
 Bathsheba, July 31, 1746; and Joshua, Sept. 24, 
 1748, who was married in 1771 to Sybil Webb. 
 
 Capt. Abner Robinson, a soldier of the Revolu- 
 tionary army, was bom at the homestead in Scotland' 
 Feb. 22, 173S, and died there Nov. 24, 1815. By 
 occupation he was a farmer and blacksmith, employ- 
 ing in his shop and on his farm three hired men. 
 On receiving the news of tne battle of Lexington all 
 four enlisted and went to Boston, the shop was 
 closed, and the farm was run bv his wife and daugh- 
 ters, the eldest of whom, when he went away, was 
 but twelve years old. Fie was ensign of a company 
 at the battle of Punker Hill, and later became lieu- 
 tenant and captain, serving in the latter capacity to 
 the close of the war. On April 7, 1763, he married 
 Mehitabel Palmer, daughter of Eliezer Palmer, of 
 Scotland. She died Oct. 15, 1819. They had chil- 
 dren as follows: Philena, born March 24, 1764; 
 Lois, Nov. 15, 1765; Mehitabel, Jan. 29. 1768: Ab- 
 ner, ^March i, 1770, who married Clarissa Webb; 
 Mary, April 10, 1772; Elizabeth, Aug. 6, 1774; 
 Septimus, who is mentioned belov>-; and Polly, 
 March 30, 1780. 
 
 Septimus Robinson, son of Abner, was born in 
 Scotland April 14, 1777, and died there Sept. 14, 
 1842. His life was spent in agricultural pursuits. 
 In 1850 he represented \\'indham in the State Leg- 
 islature. He was married Feb. 6, 1803, to Sarah 
 "\\'ebb, who was born Jan. 31, 1782, daughter of 
 Stephen and Content (Hewett) Webb, and died at 
 Hartford Dec. 27, 1852. They had the following 
 children: Marcia Pamela, born Aug. 19, 1805, was 
 married Sept. 14, 1831, to Thomas J. Litchfield, of 
 Hartford; Henry Webb, father of our subject, is 
 mentioned more fully below; Nathan Leach, born 
 Dec. 13, 1810, was married Nov. 23, 1835, to Louisa 
 C. ^latson, of Glastonbury; William Pitt, bom 
 Nov. 20, 1813, died Jan. 29, 1852 ; Alfred Augustus 
 was born Oct. 3, 1815; George Edward, born" April 
 6, 1823, died ;\Iay 23, 1845. 
 
 Henry Webb Robinson, father of our subject, 
 was born in Scotland June 6, 1807, and after receiv- 
 ing a common-school education learned the black- 
 smith trade. He located at Collinsville, then South 
 Canton, where he found employment in the Collins 
 Ax Factory, which was then in its infancy, onlv 
 eight other men being then employed, namelv : 
 Charles Morgan, foreman; Myron H. ]Morgan and 
 
 Thomas H. Smith, ax makers ; Charles Beach, 
 blacksmith; Daniel Bourne, striker; David Lane, 
 grinder; \\'illiam Brainerd, grinder; Elisha F.irn- 
 ham, poHsher. Henry W. Robinson remained 
 with the company until his death, which occurred 
 on Atig. 18, 1874, making a period of forty-six 
 years of active service. He was a Democrat until 
 the Civil war; when he became a Republican, but 
 never sought office, and was a member of the Uni- 
 versalist Church. Mr. Robinson married Caroline 
 AL Willoughby, of Canterbury, Windham Co., 
 Conn., and they had four children, of whom two^ 
 lived to maturity ; William Henry ; and Julia, wife i 
 of John E. Wheelock, of Collinsville. The mother, 
 who was a devout member of the Congregational 
 Church, died Oct. 4, 1893, on her eighty-fourth 
 birthday. 
 
 ^^'illiam Henry Robinson was born at Collins- 
 ville Sept. 16, 1835, and attended school there. At J 
 the age of eighteen he went to Bristol, where he \ 
 w'orked in a store for seven 3'ears, afterward re- 
 turning to Collinsville and engaging in mercantik- 
 business with John E. Wheelock. In 1862 he en- 
 tered the Collins Works, being employed first in , 
 making bayonets, and for the past thirty-seven years | 
 he has worked for them in difTerent capacities, and 
 for several years has been engineer in the shops. 
 He was married, Jan. 30, 1861, to Sophia E. Allen. 
 daughter of Deacon Frederick Allen, of Bristol. She 
 died April 22, 1864, leaving no issue, and was buried 
 at Bristol. On June 2, 1869, Mr. Robinson mar- 
 ried Minerva A. Hotchkiss, of Pine Meadow, Litch- 
 field county, and daughter of Willard Hotchkiss. 
 Our subject is a Republican, but no office seeker, 
 and in religious convictions is a member of the Epis- , 
 copal Church. Socially he belongs to Eclectic ' 
 Lodge No. 64, I. O. O. F., Collinsville, and to Cus- 
 ter Council No. 85, O. U. A. M., of Hartford, being 
 a charter member. 
 
 The Hotchkiss family, of which Mrs. Robinson 
 is a member, is also of pioneer stock. Samuel 
 Hotchkiss, the first of this name in this country, 
 was a native of the county of Essex, England, and 
 came to New Haven, Conn., in 1641. In August, 
 1642, he married Elizabeth Cleverly, and his death 
 occurred Dec. 26, 1663. -Of his six children, John, 
 born in 1643, was marrie4 Dec. 4, 1672, to Eliza- 
 beth Peck, daughter of Henry Peck ; Samuel, born in 
 1645, was married in 1678 to Sarah Talmage; 
 James was born in 1647; Joshua is the next in the 
 line of descent; Thomas, born Dec. 16, 1654, was 
 married Nov. 26, 1677, to Sarah Williams, and died 
 in 171 1 ; Daniel, born June 8, 1657, was married to 
 Esther Sperry June 20, 1683, and died in 1712. 
 
 Joshua Hotchkiss was born Sept. 16, 1651, and 
 was a prominent citizen of New Haven. Eignt 
 children were born to him : Mary," born April 30, 
 1679 ! Stephen, who is mentioned below ; Martha, 
 born Dec. 14, 1683, who married Thomas Brooks in 
 1702; Priscilla; Abraham; Desire; Isaac; and 
 Jacob, who remained on the homestead. 
 
 Deacon Stephen Hotchkiss was born Aug. 12, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 919 
 
 1681, and spent his life in Cheshire, Conn., where 
 he owned property. On Dec. 12, 1704, he "married 
 EHzabeth Sperry, of New Haven, and they had 
 twelve children: Joshua, born Aug. 26, 1705; 
 Elizabeth, born in 1706; Mary, born Jan. i, 1708, 
 who married Nathan Barnes ; Hannah, born Jan. 10, 
 1710, who married Stephen Atwater; Elizabeth (2), 
 born Feb. 18, 1712; Deacon Gideon, born Dec. 5, 
 1716, who was the father of nineteen children, and 
 attained the age of ninety-one years ; Stephen, the 
 next in line of descent; Silas, born Nov. 22, 1719, 
 who married Widow Olcott ; Hannah, born Feb. 23, 
 1722; Bathashua, born Sept. .1, 1724, who married 
 Ralph Lines; Benjamin, born Feb. i, 1728, who 
 married Elizabeth Roberts ; and Noah, who was 
 born Nov. 24, 1736, and died Jan. 16, 1760. 
 
 Stephen Hotchkiss was born Dec. 20, 1718, and 
 died May 16, 1807. He married (i) Thankful 
 ' Cook, who died Sept. 14, 1760, and on March 2, 
 ' 1762, he married Anne, widow of Daniel Johnson, 
 and daughter of Eaven and Rachel Royce. She 
 died, and he was married a third time, Sept. 13, 
 1782, to Thankful Brooks, a widow. He had in all 
 seven children. Of these, Esther, born Oct. 23, 
 1743, died Oct. 15, 174Q. Thankful, born March 
 
 14, 174s, was married to Stephen Cook. Susannah, 
 born Aug. 3, 1747, died Oct. 15, 1749. Esther (2) 
 was born June 9, 1750. Susannah, born July 20, 
 1752, married Zebulon Frisby, who died May 21, 
 1806; she entertained Gen. Washington while he 
 was marching through Burlington, Conn., and her 
 death occurred there in 1838. Stephen, born July 
 
 15, 1754, died Feb. 15, 1802. Samuel is mentioned 
 more fully below. 
 
 Samuel Hotchkiss, a soldier in the Revolutionary 
 war, was born in Cheshire, Conn., Oct. 22, 1755, 
 and died March 19, 1843. He settled in Burling- 
 ton, and engaged in farming. He was married in 
 1777 to Rachel Upson, of Bristol, who was born in 
 1754, and died June 23, 1833. Of their children, 
 Mary Newell, born August, 1779, married Daniel 
 Andruss. Isaac, born May, 1781, married Lucy 
 Goodsel, and was killed July 14, 1819, by falling 
 in the barn. Rachel, born in March, 1783, was re- 
 markable for her beauty; in 1804 she married Capt. 
 John Spencer, who was born Aug. 8, 1782, and by 
 whom she had ten children; she died in May, 1820. 
 Zenas, born in December, 1785, married L^^dia 
 Phelps. Lucretia married Elisha Cleveland. Sam- 
 uel is mentioned below. Anson, born June 10, 
 1793, married Chloe Cook, and died May 11, 1856. 
 Lovisa, born in 1794, was the second wife of Capt. 
 John Spencer, referred to above. Carlos, born in 
 1797, married Phila Clark, and settled in Burling- 
 ton, on the old homestead. 
 
 Samuel Hotchkiss was born in Burlington Oct. 
 5, 1789, and died in New Hartford Jan. 6, 1859. 
 He was a woodworker by occupation, and he took 
 an active part in politics as a Whig, serving as a 
 member of the Legislature. He was a Free- 
 mason, and religiously a member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church. On May 29, 1814, he was married 
 
 to Chloe Marsh, who was born Sept. 21, 1792, and 
 they had children as follows : Eliza Ann, born 
 April 19, 1815, died June 14, 1817. Abigail Marsh, 
 born Nov. 2, 1816, married Selden Millard, and 
 died June 15, 1898, at Areata. Willard is men- 
 tioned below. Wolcott, born July 17, 1820, died 
 Dec. 7, 1839. Correll Upson, born July 22, 1822, 
 was married April 14, 1850, to Laura Boyden; their 
 daughter, Miss Louise Hotchkiss, has been a school 
 teacher of Collinsville. Eliza Ann, born May 29, 
 1824^ was married May 22, 1846, to Francis N. 
 HoUey, of Torrington, and died May 15, 1866. Mi- 
 nerva Rossiter, born June 2, 1826, was married Sept. 
 19, 1846, to Nelson G. Hinckley, of Hartford. Rob- 
 ert was born June 9, 1828. Harriet, born May 28, 
 1830, died Jan. 24, 1874. George, born Feb. 21, 
 1833, now deceased, was a resident of Eureka, Cal. 
 Eugene, born June i, 1839, died in Iowa Sept. 21, 
 
 1845. ■ 
 
 Willard Hotchkiss, father of Mrs. Robinson, 
 was born Aug. 18, 1818, at New Hartford, near 
 Town Hill, and died May 18, 1868. He received 
 a common-school education, and learned the trade 
 of pattern maker, which he followed in New Hart- 
 ford in connection with farming, becoming a suc- 
 cessful man financially. He was prominent in local 
 affairs, and held various offices, including that of 
 justice of the peace, being elected on the Republi- 
 can ticket. On July 23, 1843, hs was married at 
 Pine Meadow, Litchfield Co., Conn., to Sarah Cro- 
 mack, who was born at Leeds, England, Jan. 25, 
 1825, daughter of Samuel Cromack. She died in 
 1897, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Codaire, of 
 Canton. Their children were : Mary, wife of 
 Bentley Frazier, has one daughter, Clara, who is 
 married to George Wilcox, and has one son, Frazier 
 Bentley. Isabella married W. S. Gould, of South- 
 ington, Conn., and had two sons, Willard J. and 
 Harry H. (deceased) ; Willard J. married Emma 
 Nelson Clark, and nas two children, Doris Clark and 
 Clark Gould ; Minerva A. is the wife of William H. 
 Robinson, our subject. Alfred, deceased, formerly 
 a merchant in Collinsville, left one son and one 
 daughter, Nellie T. and Edwin A. (now a student 
 at McGill University). Jennie Lind, wife of G. A. 
 Codaire, has had six children : Bessie H., Minnie 
 R., Alfred H., George A. (deceased), and Ruth and 
 Robert, twins, the latter deceased in childhood. Wil- 
 lard, a farmer of Burlington, married Belle Wilson, 
 of Harwinton, daughter of Cyrus Wilson, and 
 has two sons, Willard E. and Henry H. 
 
 ROLLIN W. NEALE, the well-known super- 
 intendent of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., of 
 Southington, was born in that town Dec. 7, 1828, 
 a son of Jeremiah and Charlotte (Hills) Neale. 
 
 The father was also born in Southington, in 
 1802, and for many years was engaged in the man- 
 ufacture of stocks, collars, shirts, etc., in Plants- 
 ville, but later turned his attention to the manu- 
 facture of brass goods in company with others, 
 and for a time was a member of the firm of Wight- 
 
920 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 man & Neale, merchants of Southington Center. 
 In his family were the following children : Rollin 
 W., our subject; Walter S. ; Joel, born March 21, 
 1835, who died in December, 1839: Anna F., wife 
 of Dr. Charles E. Sanford ; Sarah J., wife of John 
 Lines; Henry H., who died Sept. 14, 1862, while 
 in the Union service dnring the Civil war,' and is 
 buried in Rockville, Md. ; Elmira L., who is the 
 widow of Charles Minor, who died July 21, 1899; 
 and Charles J. 
 
 Our subject's maternal grandparents were Elias 
 and Sally (Curtis) Hills, of Plainvdle. The grand- 
 father was born in that place, and was a wheel- 
 wright and builder by trade. His parents were 
 Chauncey and Eleanor (Gillette) Hills, of Farm- 
 ington, and his wife's parents were Abner and 
 Mabel (Squires) Curtis, of the same town. The 
 Hills are said to be descended from William Hills, 
 a native of England, who came to America in 1632 
 and was one of the original settlers of Hartford, 
 where he died in 1683. 
 
 Jeremiah Xeale, the paternal grandfather of our 
 snjjject, was born in Southington in 1737, and was 
 married, Dec. 4, 1780, to Anna Fuller. He lived 
 in \\'cst street, where he died Nov. 8, 1827, and his 
 wife died Dec. 9, 1823, at the age of sixty-six years. 
 His father, John Xeale, was born in Southington 
 Oct. 28, 1719, and was a son of Edward Neale, 
 who died in Southington in .\pril, 1768. The latter 
 is supposed to have been a son of Edward and 
 Maria ( Hart ) Xeale, early settlers of Westfield, 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Rollin W. N^eale, subject of this sketch, was 
 reared in Southington, and educated in the public 
 schools and Lewis Academy. He began his busi- 
 ness career as a mill hand in Plantsville in 1846, 
 and since 1850 has been in the employ of the con- 
 cern now merged into the Peck, Stow & \\'ilcox 
 Co. For a number of years he was engaged in con- 
 tract work for them, and he has held his present 
 responsible position of superintendent since 1880. 
 His labors have always given the utmost satis- 
 faction, and he has the entire confidence and respect 
 of his employers, as well as of those working under 
 him. He is an earnest and faithful member of 
 Gospel Mission Chapel, and politically is an advocate 
 and supporter of Prohibition. 
 
 Mr. Neale has been twice married, his first 
 wife being Martha Harrison, a daughter of Rollin 
 and Harriet (^ileshuruH Harrison, of Southing- 
 ton, and to them was born one daughter, Alice E. 
 For his second wife he married Addie T. ]\Iorse, 
 a daughter of Barzillai and Jennette (Dawson) 
 Morse, of West Haven, Conn. Mrs. Neale died 
 Nov. 20, 1895. 
 
 HON. CHARLES DIMON PARSONS, who 
 has entered into rest, was one of those rare char- 
 acters whom to know is to love, and whose daily life 
 is a daily lesson. "The memory of the just is 
 blessed." 
 
 Mr. Parsons was born at East Hampton, L. L, 
 
 in August, 1826, and at the age of sixteen years 
 entered upon a four-years' apprenticeship to the 
 carpenter's trade at Sag Harbor, L. L Three years 
 after becoming a journeyman he removed to Man- 
 chester (1849) and entered the employ of Colum- 
 bus Parker, then the leading builder of the town. 
 At the end of a year he determined to embark in 
 business on his own account as a contractor and 
 builder. At that time the town was rapidly grow- 
 ing, and buildmg was being pushed on every hand. 
 The tireless energy which was one of Mr. Parsons' 
 prominent characteristics soon enabled him to forge 
 ahead of his comiDetitors. His business steadily in- 
 creased, and at times he had scores of rpen in his 
 employ, his reputation for skill, fidelity and "push" 
 bringing him contracts from many of the neigh- 
 boring towns. For many years he continued in 
 this line of work, during which period he erected 
 many of the dwellings and not a few of the mills 
 in Hartford county that were put up by Cheney 
 Bros., and the work of this firm finally became so 
 large that he abandoned taking other contracts and 
 entered their emplov, at a large annual salary, as 
 su])erintendent of their operations. This position 
 he filled with characteristic energy and integrity 
 until about twelve years before his death when he 
 gave it up to engage in farming. To this pursuit 
 he brought the same qualities which had already 
 won for him such phenomenal success in the world 
 of business. His farm at Manchester Green was a. 
 model, his stock always sleek and well cared for, 
 his farm buildings commodious and well arranged, 
 and his home an ideal one, ruled by love that was 
 enlightened and purified by the guiding principle 
 of Christianity. 
 
 Politically ^Ir. Parsons was a Republican, and 
 at no time throughout his long and useful life did 
 he seek office ; yet in such high esteem was he held 
 by his fellow citizens, who well knew his fearless- 
 ness in defense of principle and his incorruptible 
 integrity, that in 1878 he was elected a represent- 
 ative of the town in the State Legislature, and in 
 1879 was chosen the first selectman. The latter 
 office he held continuously until the time of his 
 death, with the exception of one year, when he de- 
 clined a renomination. To the performance of his 
 public duties he gave the same thoughtful, consci- 
 entious care that he devoted to the conduct of his 
 private affairs, and his long retention in office te'ls, 
 more eloquentlv than words, the story of a faithful, 
 intelligent administration of the town's business. 
 
 Charles D. Parsons passed from the world on 
 April 4, 1890, leaving behind him a fragrant mem- 
 ory. If he had faults, they were superficial ; his 
 many virtues were inwrought in the very fibre of 
 his nature. He was a devout and consistent mem- 
 ber of the First Congregational Church, and served 
 several years as a member of the committee of the 
 First Society ; and his daily life, even in its minor 
 and commonplace details, gave evidence of the con- 
 trolling influence of a sincere Christian faith. His 
 mind was of a fine order, well trained and always at 
 his command; while his physical manhood was 
 
p 
 
I 
 
 1 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 921 
 
 ■equally well developed. Neither his brain nor his 
 hand was ever iale. His capacity for work appeared 
 to know no limit, yet it was equaled by his intense 
 desire to be always "up and doing." It was said of 
 him after his death that "his work can never be 
 measured by years ; gauged by that standard, it is 
 no figure of speech or exaggeration of facts to say 
 that they would have fully rounded out a century." 
 
 Mr. Parsons' first wife was Elizabeth Miller, 
 by whom he had one daughter, Elizabeth H., now 
 the wife of Henry H. Schellenger, of East Hamp- 
 ton, Long Island. 
 
 On Nov. 5, 1867, Mr. Parsons was married to 
 Miss Ellen, daughter of Edwin and Fannie (With- 
 rel) Perry, 'of Manchester. The fruit of their 
 union was one son, Charles Foster, born Aug. 20, 
 1869. Mrs. Parsons and son still survive our sub- 
 ject, and reside at Manchester. 
 
 JULIUS ALONZO CASE ' (deceased) was 
 for many years one of the most highly esteemed 
 and valued citizens of Wethersfield. A native of 
 Hartford county, he was born in Poquonock, in the 
 town of Windsor, Dec. 13, 1832, and was a worthy 
 representative of one of the oldest and most hon- 
 ored families of Windsor and Simsbury, a full ac- 
 count of which will be found elsewhere. 
 
 Julius Case, father of our subject, was born in 
 Simsbury, May 22, 1790, a son of Amasa and Mercy 
 (Hillyer) Case, also natives of that town. The 
 former served in the Revolutionary war as a private 
 in the company commanded by Capt. Joel Case. 
 When a young man Julius Case removed to Windsor 
 and took up his residence in Poquonock, where he 
 engaged in farming throughout the remainder of his 
 life, dying there Nov. 11, 1834, and his remains 
 were interred in the Poquonock cemetery. He 
 wedded Miss Mary Phelps, who was born Aug. 4, 
 1803, a daughter of Noble Phelps, and died Nov. 
 22, 1843, being laid to rest by the side of her hus- 
 band. Their children were Jane, wife of Robert 
 Moffett, of Akron, Ohio ; Charlotte, wife of Horace 
 Baxter, of Poquonock ; and Julius Alonzo, our 
 subject. 
 
 Julius A. Case was only two years old when his 
 father died, and he was reared by his aunt, Mrs. 
 Phelps. He attended the district schools of his na- 
 tive town and also Wilbraham (Mass.) Academy. 
 When in his teens he went to Hartford, where he 
 clerked in the store of Johnson & Ransom for three 
 years, and at the end of that time purchased Mr. 
 Johnson's interest in the business, which was then 
 conducted under the firm name of Ransom & Case, 
 dry-goods merchants. At the end of two years 
 Mr. Case sold out and formed a partnership with a 
 Mr. Pratt in the wholesale millinery business, under 
 the firm name of Pratt & Case. Several years 
 later Mr. Prentice became a member of the company, 
 and the name was changed to Case & Prentice, and 
 the business was successfully carried on by them 
 until 1878, when they met with reverses. Being a' 
 man of honor, and noted for his honesty, Mr. Case 
 
 sacrificed all that he possessed in the world to meet 
 his creditors, and accepted a position as salesman 
 in the silk department of Brown & Thompson's 
 store, where he spent several years. His health 
 finally broke down, and he died at his home in 
 Wethersfield after much suffering, Sept. 20, 1886, 
 his remains being interred in Cedar Hill cemetery. 
 He was a prominent and active member of the 
 Episcopal Church, and served as vestryman in 
 Christ Church and Trinity Church, Hartford. He 
 was temperate in his habits, domestic in his tastes, 
 was charitable and generous, and was a good cit- 
 izen, a kind friend, and a devoted husband and fa- 
 ther. His business reverses seemed to crush him, 
 however, and blight all of his future hopes. He 
 was one of the original members of the city guard, 
 and was a Republican in politics. 
 
 At Hartford, Sept. 24, 1857, Mr. Case was mar- 
 ried, by Rev. Dr. TurnbuU, to Miss Jane Crosby, 
 who was born in Bridgeport, Conn., June 17, 1839, 
 a daughter of Nathaniel and Jane (Goodsell) 
 Crosby, also natives of that place. She is a most 
 estimable lady still living in Wethersfield. To 
 Mr; and Mrs. Case were born six children : Minnie, 
 born Feb. 14, i860, is the wife of James Anderson, 
 of Wethersfield, and they have four children, Gert- 
 rude, William, James and Frank. William Mather, 
 born Dec. 13, 1862, died June 2, 1866. Frank Burr, 
 born July 16, 1867, died Dec. 27, 1884. Leila Wood- 
 ruff, born Jan. 16, 1871, married Charles Hanmer, 
 and has one child, Charlotte Case. Charlotte Grace, 
 born Jan. 25, 1873, was educated in the district and 
 high schools of Wethersfield, and also St. John the 
 Baptist School, New York, where she was gradu- 
 ated in 1891 ; she taught school in South Windsor 
 one year, and for the past five years has successfully 
 engaged in teaching in the South School, Hartford. 
 Edward Welles, born April 10, 1877, is employed in 
 Buckley & Hanmer's store in Wethersfield. The 
 family are members of the Episcopal Church, and 
 are people of prominence in the community where 
 they reside. 
 
 Mrs. Case traces her ancestry back to Thomas 
 Goodsell, a native of Wales, who came to this 
 country from Liverpool, England, about 1678, and 
 located in East Haven, Conn. In 1679 he married 
 Sarah Heminway. Their son. Rev. John Goodsell, 
 born Dec. 21, 1705, was educated at Yale College, 
 and was appointed the first minister of the Church 
 of Christ, on Greenfield Hill, in 1726. He died in 
 1763. He married Mary Lewis, of Stratford, and 
 among their children was Epaphras Goodsell, who 
 was born May 23, 1742. He married Jane Brad- 
 ley, who was born April 21, 1733, and died Dec. 
 5, 1765. He was sergeant in Capt. Dimon's com- 
 pany, of Fairfield, Conn., in May, 1775 ; and he 
 afterward enlisted, Jan. i, 1777, in Capt. John Mill's 
 company, 2nd Regiment, Connecticut Line, com- 
 manded by Colonel Charles Webb, which regiment 
 was wintered at Vallev Forge in 1777-78, and was 
 present at the battle of Monmouth. 
 
022 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Capt. William Goodscll, son of Epaphras, mar- 
 ried ir'rudence Nichols, a descendant of Sergt. 
 Francis Nichols, a native of England, who located 
 in Stratford, Conn., in 1639, among the first settlers. 
 He married Anna, daughter of Barnabas Wmes, of 
 Southuld. L. 1. Their son, Isaac Nichols, died m 
 Stratford, in 1695. His wife's name was Margaret. 
 Isaac Nichols, |r., son of Isaac, died in Stratford, 
 in 1690. Richafd Nichols, son of Isaac (Jr.) and 
 Mary Nichols, was born Nov. 26, 1678, and was 
 married June 3, 1702, to Comfort Sherman, a daugh- 
 ter of Theophilus Sherman. She died Feb. 11, 
 1726. and he died Sept. 20, 1756. Theophilus 
 iMchols, son of Richard, was born March 31, 1703, 
 and married Sarah Curtis, a daughter of Lieut. 
 Ebenezer Curtis, Jan. 2, 1723. She died Sept. 26, 
 1769. Their son, Philip Nichols, born Jan. 5, 1726, 
 was married Oct. 9, I753- to Mehitable Feet, and 
 died May 13, 1807. He was a man of much mflit- 
 ence in public affairs, and served as magistrate for 
 manv vears. He w^as a large land owner, and also 
 owned several vessels which were engaged in the 
 West India trade. William Nichols, son of Philip, 
 was born March 10, 1755. and married Patience 
 Edwards, of Chestnut Hill. Bridgeport. Their 
 daughter. Prudence, married Capt. William Good- 
 sell, before mentioned, and to them was born a 
 daughter, Jane, wdio married Nathaniel Crosby, 
 the "father of Mrs. Case. ^Irs. Case is also a de- 
 scendant of Capt. John Edwards, who was born in 
 Scotland, in i('.62, and came to this country in 1700. 
 He wedded ^larv Hanford. daughter of Rev. :Mr. 
 Hanford, of Norwalk, and their son, John Edwards, 
 married Rebecca Porter. Patience, daughter of 
 John and Rebecca (Porter) Edwards, married Will- 
 iam Nichols, before mentioned. 
 
 DANIEL KINGSBURY, M. D., of Glaston- 
 bury, is one of the oldest and best-known physi- 
 cians of this section, and although now less active 
 than in past years, his advice is constantly sought 
 in difficult cases, and he has a large ofifice prac- 
 tice. 
 
 The Doctor was born in Hartford Jan. 22, 1828, 
 aiid soon after his father, Sandford Kingsbury, es- 
 tablished a new home in Tolland county, where he 
 was engaged in farming for many years, his death 
 occurring in 1856. Our subject's mother, whose 
 maiden name was Cynthia Baxter, was a native of 
 Tolland county, and a daughter of Ira Baxter, a 
 well-known farmer. Of the five children of San- 
 ford and Cynthia Kingsbury. ( i ) , a daughter, died 
 in infancy; (2) Simeon married a Aliss Baxter, 
 and settled upon a farm in Tolland county, where 
 he died some years ago; (3) John married Miss 
 Rosetta Pease, and died in ]\Iansfield, where he 
 had been engaged in farming in connection with 
 the stone-mason's trade; (4) Daniel is our sub- 
 ject; (5) Henry, who never married, was a sailor, 
 and died and was buried at sea. 
 
 Dr. Kins'sbury's early educational opportuni- 
 ties were not of the best, as his parents were in 
 
 limited circumstances. He attended a common 
 school for a short time, but was compelled at an 
 earlv age to begin earning his own living. For- 
 tunately he found a home with Dr. Sperry, of Hart- 
 ford, who lived on Hudson street, and at that time 
 had an office on i\Iain street, three doors north of 
 the Centre Church, two stores being between. Later 
 he had an ofifice on Pearl street, and then on Grove 
 street. Our subject began as office boy at seventy- 
 five cents per weey and board, but Dr. Sperry soon 
 became interested in him, seeing even then a prom- 
 ise of the success which he has attained in life. Dr. 
 Sperry encouraged him to study medicine, and after 
 four years of preliminary reading under this kind, 
 preceptor, he attended a course of lectures with the 
 Connecticut Botanical Society, from which he re- 
 ceived a diploma. Early in 1851 he engaged in 
 practice at New London, but spent the following 
 winter with Dr. Sperry. and on June 2, 1852, he 
 opened an office at Glastonbury in the house of Asa 
 Wells. While there he married his first wife, and 
 soon afterward he removed to the house now oc- 
 cupied by the widow of Frary Hale. In 1858 he lo- 
 cated at his present home, which he purchased. 
 \\'liile he has never been active in politics, he is a 
 stanch Republican. He is a memlDer of the F. 
 & A. M., Daskam Lodge, No. 86. He and his fam- 
 ily are members of the Episcopal Church ; at one 
 time he held the office of senior warden, is now 
 treasurer, and has been most of the time since the 
 organization of the parish. 
 
 In October, 1853, the Doctor married Miss 
 Mary Chapman Loomis, a native of Tolland coun- 
 ty, and daugnter of Elmer and Cynthia (Davis) 
 Loomis. Fler father was born in Tolland, Conn. 
 She died Aug. 10, 1859, and on June 12, 1862, our 
 subject married ]\Iiss Lucy ^I. Cone, who was born 
 in East Haddam, Aug. 22, 1829, daughter of Eras- 
 tus and Lucy B. (Beebe) Cone. By his first wife 
 the Doctor had two children: (i) Frances E., born 
 April 13, 1856, was married Dec. 31, i88o,_ to Rev. 
 Thomas H. Gordon, an Episcopal minister at 
 Chews, N. J.; (2) Miss Carrie A. is at home. By 
 the second marriage there are three children : ( i ) 
 Miss Mary A., born Julv 3. 1865, was educated in 
 Germany, and taught school for a time in New 
 York, but is now employed in the Erasmus Hall 
 library. Brooklyn. (2) William Sanford, born Sept. 
 17, 1867, attended a district school and the Glas- 
 tonbury Academy, and later a select school con- 
 ducted by his brother-in-law, Rev. Mr. Gordon, in 
 Faulkland, Del. He then went to the Hartford Pub- 
 lic High School, on graduating entered Trinity Col- 
 lege, later took a course in the Yale Medical School, 
 graduating in 1896, and served for a year as in- 
 terne in St. John's Hospital, Lowell, Mass. He is 
 taking up his father's practice with remarkable suc- 
 cess, and bids fair to maintain the reputation of the 
 Kingsbury name in medical circles. On Sept. 28, 
 1898, he was married to Miss Mary L. Raymond, 
 of Boston, and they reside next door to our subject. 
 .(3) Miss Lucy E., born July 4, 1869, has been a 
 teacher for the past six years in the East liart- 
 
^)ayyi^iL uCuvui^ytAM^^ Jl jty 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 928 
 
 ford High School. She graduated from Mt. Holy- 
 oke (Mass.) College in 189 1. Mrs. Kingsbury 
 has one brother, Israel W. Cone, who is now en- 
 gaged in business in Minneapolis, Minn. He 
 served throughout the Civil war as a member of the 
 26th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. 
 
 DWIGHT SPENCER, one of the represent- 
 ative, prosperous residents of Hartford county, has 
 passed his entire life in the town of Manchester, 
 having been born Jan. 5, 1829, on the farm now oc- 
 cupied by George Slater. 
 
 The Spencer family has been identified with the 
 history of Hartford county from its earliest days, 
 and is of English origin, William Spencer, the 
 first of whom we have record, and the American 
 ancestor of the branch to which our subject belongs, 
 having been born in England. He was a brother 
 of Thomas and Jared Spencer. William Spencer 
 was in Cambridge, Mass., in 1631. and took up his 
 residence in Hartford not long afterward, for he 
 was among the earliest settlers of the place. About 
 1633 he was deputy to the General Court, was 
 representative in 1634 and 1635, and selectman in 
 1639, in the latter year being also appointed, with 
 Mr. Wyllis and Mr. Webster, to prepare the first 
 revisal of the laws. From all this it' will be seen 
 that he was a man of more than ordinary ability 
 and influence. He was married, probablv in Eng- 
 land, his wife's name being Agnes, and they had 
 three children: Samuel; Sarah, born in 1636, who 
 married John Case, of Windsor, afterward of Sims- 
 bury; and Elizabeth. William Spencer died in 
 1690, and Agnes, his widow, subsequently married 
 William Edwards, who was also an early resident 
 of Hartford. 
 
 (II) Samuel Spencer's wife, Sarah, died April 
 24, 1706; he died about 1716. Their children were: 
 Samuel, born in 1668; Sarah, who married Joseph 
 Easton, of Hartford; Hannah, who married Caleb 
 Stanley, of Hartford; Elizabeth, wife of Nathaniel 
 Marsh, of Hartford; Rachel, who married Joseph 
 Cook, of Hartford; Mary, born in 1681, who mar- 
 ried Capt. Cyprian Nichols, a selectman, etc.; Abi- 
 gail, wife of Joseph Simonds, of Hartford ; and 
 Agnes, who first married Nathaniel Humphreys, 
 and afterward John Hubbard, both of Hartford. 
 
 (III) Samuel Spencer, born in 1668, removed 
 from Hartford to Colchester, and then to Bolton, 
 where he died March 26, 1748, at the advanced age 
 of eighty. On Sept. 16, 1696, he was married, at 
 Hatfield, Mass., to Hepzibah Church, daughter of 
 Deacon Edward Church, of Hatfield, and grand- 
 daughter of Richard Church, one of the first set- 
 tlers of Hartford. She passed away Sept. 13, 1745, 
 aged sixty-six years. Their children were: Will- 
 iam, born Feb. 9, 1698, died Sept. 28, 1702; Hep- 
 zibah, born Dec. 28, 1701, was first married to a 
 Mr. Smith, and second to Azariah Dickinson, Jr., 
 
 •both of Haddam; Samuel, born March 8, 1705, 
 married Hannah Shaylor on April 26, 1736, and had 
 several children, of whom only Samuel is mentioned ; 
 
 William, born Aug. 9, 1708, was married in 1735 
 to Hannah Copeley, of Suffield ; Edward, born April 
 29, 171 1, is the next in the line of descent; Sarah, 
 born Sept. 4, 1714, married a JNIr. Downer, and re- 
 moved to Susquehanna county, Penn. ; Caleb was 
 born June 28, 1718, and died young; Job was born 
 June 30, 1722; Philip was born April 30, 1724, in 
 Bolton. 
 
 (IV) Edward Spencer removed from Bolton to 
 Susquehanna county, Penn., and died at Hanover, 
 that State, March 26, 1790. On April 8, 1737, 
 he married Sarah Chapman, who was born Sept. 
 8, 1720, daughter of Jabez Chapman, Esq., of East 
 Haddam, and died Sept. 13, 1786. Their children 
 were as follows: Mehitabel, born March 17, 1739, 
 in Bolton; Edward, born Dec. 31, 1741, in IBolton, 
 deceased Dec. 13, 1750; Ann, born June 27, 1744, 
 in East Haddam; Beaumont, born Jan. 25, 1747, 
 in East Haddam, deceased in February, 1779; 
 Simeon, born Aug. 13, 1749, in Bolton, deceased 
 in that town in 1808; Edward, born March 17, 
 1752, in Bolton; Esther, born Dec. 7, 1754, in 
 Bolton; Josiah, born June 16, 1757, in Bolton, who 
 settled in Wyoming, Penn., and was killed in bat- 
 tle July 3, 1778 ; Sarah, born Dec. 5, 1761, in Bolton, 
 who was married April 26, 1784, to Abraham Lines, 
 and died April 5, 1845 (they had no children). 
 
 (V) Simeon Spencer was married, Feb. 27, 
 1777, to Miss Abigail Dart, of Bolton, who was 
 born Dec. 6, 1757, daughter of Daniel, Jr., and 
 Mercy (Gilbert) Dart, and died in 1849. They 
 reared a large family, of whom we have the fol- 
 lowing record : Daniel, born Dec. 5, 1777, married 
 and went to Pennsylvania, where he died in 1850, 
 leaving a family; Emily, born March 5, 1779, died 
 in Coventry, Conn., unmarried; Jabez Selden, born 
 Dec. 27, 1780, was married Nov. 11, 1804, and died 
 July 23, 1853; Simeon Alanson was born March 
 2, 1783, and died in childhood; Leonard, born Nov. 
 25, 1784, married and moved to Pennsylvania; Levi, 
 born Aug. 14, 1786, married a Miss Mack, of 
 Gilead; Eli was born Aug. 14, 1786, twin of Levi; 
 Roxalina, born May 2, 1788, became the wife of 
 Ruel Loomis (they were the parents of Walter A. 
 Loomis) ; Mercy married Daniel Loomis, brother 
 of Ruel, and died in Coventry ; Rhoda, born Feb. 
 27, 1796, died in Coventry, unmarried; Simeon A., 
 born Jan. 7, 1799, was the father of Dwight Spencer, 
 whose name introduces this sketch. 
 
 (VI) Simeon A. Spencer passed his early years 
 in Bolton, the town of his birth, but at the age 
 of nine he came to the town of Manchester to live 
 with his uncle, 'Squire John Olds, who owned and 
 occupied the farm where George Slater now lives. 
 Here he grew to manhood and passed the remainder 
 of his life, inheriting the farm on the death of his 
 uncle. 'Squire Olds' residence, which was built 
 about 1800, is still standing on this place, in a . 
 good state of preservation. Mr. Spencer was a 
 prosperous farmer, and became well known through- 
 out Manchester, where he was highly respected for 
 his many sterling qualities of character, and be- 
 
924 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 loved by his neighbors and friends for his kindly, 
 helpful life. Liberal with his means and influence 
 to the support of every good cause, generous to the 
 needy and unfortunate, and active in religious work 
 as a member and deacon for years of the Man- 
 chester Congregational Church, he won a place in 
 the hearts of his fellow man, which could only be 
 filled by one of his sympathetic and unselfish dispo- 
 sition, and his death, which occurred vcrv suddenly, 
 from heart disease, was widely mourned through- 
 out the vicinity of his home. Physically he was 
 five feet, nine inches in iieight, and weighted i6o 
 pounds, and he was ever an abstemious man, re- 
 fraining from stimulants in any form or immodera- 
 tion of any kind. He was upright and honorable 
 in all his relations with men, and the inlluence of 
 his honorable life will long bo felt in tlie community. 
 Simeon A. Spencer was married, Oct. 15, 1823, 
 to Miss Clarissa McLean, who was born June 19, 
 1800, and survived him many years, dying Dec. 
 9, 1897. Mr. Spencer passed away Dec. 5, 1864. 
 Five children were Ixirn to this union, as follows : 
 John Olds, who died in June, 1890, was a resident 
 of Xew London, Conn., and up to within a few 
 years of his death was engaged in the wholesale 
 and retail tea business, spending his last years in 
 retirement: Abbie T., who died Oct. 15, 1870, was 
 the wife of George Parkhurst, of Manchester; 
 Dwight was third in tlie order of Ijirth ; Charles 
 S. was a carriage manufacturer of Xew Haven, 
 Conn., where he died Feb. 20, 1869: George M. is 
 a practicing attorney of San Francisco, Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 Dwight Spencer was reared on the farm on 
 which he was born, and commenced his education 
 in the district schools near his home, at Buckland's 
 Corners, where among his first teachers were Walter 
 McKee and Edward H.iyden. For some time he 
 was a student in the Manchester Academy, at Man- 
 chester Center, and the year after leaving this in- 
 stitution taught school in the ^^'est District. After 
 his marriage he continued to make his home on the 
 farm mentioned until 1855, when he purchased and 
 removed to a place in the town of ^lanchester, living 
 thereon until 1876. On April 23. 1852, Mr. Spencer 
 wedded Miss Mary Fitch White, who was born 
 July 7, 1828, daugliter of Miner White, a prominent 
 resident of Manchester, and two children came to 
 this union, Nellie W. and Frank F. The daughter 
 is now the wife of W. H. Childs, of Brooklyn, N. 
 Y.. who was fomierly a successful grain merchant 
 of Manchester, and they have two children, Richard 
 S. and Mary W. Frank F. Spencer is a prominent 
 young business man of ^Manchester, engaged with 
 the Grand Cnion Tea Co. : he married Miss Mary 
 Parker, and thev have two children, Dwight Par- 
 ker and William White. Mrs. Mary F. "(White) 
 Spencer passed away March 6, 1870, and on Mav 7, 
 1885, our subject married for his second wife Miss 
 Lucy G. Ford, who was born Jan. 10, 1845, i" the 
 town of Hebron, daughter of John P. Ford, and 
 granddaughter of Luther Ford, both of whom 
 
 were natives of the town of Hebron. John P. Ford 
 was a lifelong farmer, remaining in the town of He- 
 bron until 1873, when he purchased the fine resi- 
 dence now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Spencer, and 
 where he lived until his death, which occurred Jan. 
 7, 1894, when he was eighty-four years of age. He 
 was a devout member of the Congregational Church ' 
 from the age of fifteen years, and was always an 
 active worker and regular attendant, taking a deep ; 
 interest in religious work. He contributed $5,000 i 
 toward the building of the new Second Congrega- I 
 tional church at Manchester. He married Miss 1 
 Lucy J. King, a native of Vernon, Conn., daughter 1 
 of Joel King, and they had two children, Lucy G., ! 
 .Mrs. Spencer; and Ellen G., who died in 1884. Mrs. 
 Ford, now in her eighty-first year, makes her home 
 with Mr. and Mrs. Spencer. 
 
 Mr. Spencer was active in the commercial life 
 of Manchester for about twenty years as an exten- 
 sive dealer in coal, and he also erected what is known 
 as the S]5encer block, in that town, in 1874. He 
 was never active in public life as an office-seeker or 
 holder, but he has always taken a loyal interest in 
 the progress of his town, and as a prosperous mer- 
 chant was an important factor in the building up of 
 the town in which he has made his home. He is j 
 respected wherever known, and his acquaintance in 
 Manchester and surrounding towns is a wide one. 
 Politically he has always been an ardent supporter 
 of the principles of the Republican party. He and 
 his wife are active and earnest members of the 1 
 Second Congregational Church of Manchester, and | 
 they hold a high place in the esteem of their neigh- . 
 bors and friends, who are numerous in the com- 
 munity. 
 
 HON. HENRY E. PHELPS. Few citizens ! 
 of this section are as widely and as favorably known 
 as this prosperous and enterprising agriculturist of 1 
 Windsor, and his popularity speaks well for his ! 
 personal worth. The following history of his life 
 and ancestry will be of general interest, as any rec- 
 ord of purposeful effort and achievement has for 
 humanity an inspiration. 
 
 Mr. Phelps comes of good old Massachusetts 
 stock, and is not related, so far as known, to the 
 families of that name who have been identified 
 with Windsor from pioneer times. Elijah Phelps, 
 our subject's grandfather, was born in Massachu- 
 setts May 13, 1754, and became a successful farm- : 
 er near Wilbraham, in that State, where he died I; 
 May 16, 1823. His wife, whose maiden name was '■'; 
 Mar)' Gibbs, was born Aug. 16, 1755, and died t 
 ^March 25, 1849, ^t the advanced age of ninety-four 
 years. This worthy couple had the following chil- 
 dren : Nathaniel, born Jan. 22, 177Q,, died June i, 
 1815. Polly, born May 21, 1780, died Feb. 9, 1855. 
 Elijah, born Jan. 31, 1782, died in i8iq. Betsey, 
 born July 12, 1783, died May 2, 18^1. Benjamin, 
 born June 3, 1787, was a hotel-keeper in Sprinc:- 
 field, where he died in 1838. Seth was born on ; 
 April 12, 1789. Asenith, born March 10, 1791, , 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 925 
 
 died Jan. 6, 1832. Francis, born Sept. 9, 1793, died 
 in May, 1836. William was born Oct. 3, 1795; 
 Henry, our subject's father, is mentioned more 
 fully below. Caroline, born March, 1799, married 
 a Mr. Tidd, and lived in New York. Doratha (now 
 deceased) was born March, 1801, and married a 
 Mr. Coman, of New York State. 
 
 Henry Phelps, our subject's father, was born 
 April 20, 1797, at Wilbraham, Mass., and was 
 reared to farm work at the old homestead. As a 
 young man he came to Windsor, being the first of 
 his family to locate there, and although he began 
 in business without other capital than his own 
 ability and energy he managed to acquire a hand- 
 some competence. He became the owner of a farm, 
 near Hayden's Station, and for many years manu- 
 factured brick on the place. About 1836 he bought 
 the "Stiles farm," now occupied by our subject, and 
 the present residence, which is one of the most sub- 
 stantial houses in the town, was partly built by 
 him from brick made in his yards. As a citizen he 
 was much respected, and at times he held local of- 
 fices, being an active Vi/orker in political lines, first 
 as a Whig and later as a Republican. He was 
 a member of the Congregational Church, to which 
 his wife also belonged. His death occurred Feb. 
 
 20, 1875, and his remains were interred in the cem- 
 eter}' at Windsor. In 1819 he married Miss Ra- 
 chel Jacobs, who was born July 19, 1799, and died 
 June 29, 1882. She was the youngest of four chil- 
 dren of William Jacobs (born Dec. 22, 1766) and 
 his wife Sarah Owen (born July. 16, 1768), who 
 were married Feb. 9, 1792. Her father was a cab- 
 inet maker near Hayden's Station for some years, 
 but his last days were spent in New York State. 
 Henry and Rachel Phelps had a large family of 
 children, as follows: Nathaniel G., born Feb. 17, 
 1820, went to Missouri and later to Texas, where 
 he now resides. Samuel O., born April 8, 1823, 
 died in early manhood. Edgar, born Jan. 23, 1826, 
 is a farmer at Wilson's Station, Windsor town ; 
 Mary A., born Nov. 17, 1828, married Chas. Den- 
 slow, and removed to Mendocino, Cal., where she 
 died in 1884; Ebenezer Tidd, born July 9, 1833, 
 died at Needham, Mass., where he was engaged 
 in business as a horse collar maker; Henry E., our 
 subject, was next in the order of birth; William J., 
 born Jan. 12, 1838, was a prominent railroad man, 
 rising from a clerkship to the position of General 
 Passenger Agent of the Connecticut River railroad, 
 and his death occurred at Spring^field, Mass., April 
 
 21, 1882. Abraham, born Jan. 24, 1840, is a ma- 
 chinist at Brooklyn, New York. 
 
 Our subject was born near Hayden's Station 
 Nov. 14, 1834, and for some years attended the 
 schools of his neighborhood and the Bell school 
 in District No. 5, so named because it boasted a 
 bell, which was a rarity in those days. Among his 
 early teachers was Col. Phelps. He also attended 
 the academ}' at Windsor and a private school con- 
 ducted by J. B. Woodford, while he was given prac- 
 tical instruction at home in the ancient and honor- 
 able science of agriculture, under the able direction 
 
 of his father. Having a desire to see something of 
 the world he went West, and later settling at Pe- 
 tersburg, Pike county, Ind., spent two years as a 
 clerk in a store ; but this experience satisfied him, 
 and since his return home he has followed farming 
 at his present homestead. For a time he worked 
 the place "on shares" for his father and afterward 
 for his mother, but he now owns it, having pur- 
 chased the claims of the other heirs. He has twen- 
 t3'-five acres, and is engaged to some extent in rais- 
 ing tobacco. He is a thrifty manager, obtaining 
 good results from his work, and in addition to the 
 cares of his farm he is interested in other lines, be- 
 ing director in the Moore's Park Driving Associa- 
 tion and a stockholder in the Windsor Creamery, 
 which he helped to organize as a member of the 
 first board of directors. In politics he is a strong 
 Republican, and he has served his town as first se- 
 lectman, tax collector and representative in the Gen- 
 eral Assembly. Socially he and his wife are prom- 
 inent, and he belongs to Washington Lodge, No. 
 70, F. & A. M., at Windsor, and to the Episcopal 
 Church, in which he holds the office of vestryman. 
 
 On Oct. 18, 1876, Mr. Phelps married Miss Su- 
 san Olin, and one daughter, Carrie E., brightens 
 their home. Mrs. Phelps possesses unusual mental 
 gifts, and when she first met her husband was en- 
 gaged in teaching in Windsor. She was born April 
 22, 1853, at Packersville, Conn., daughter of George 
 W. and Zippiette Elizabeth (Green) Olin, and was 
 the third youngest in a large family of children. 
 
 CORNELIUS ANDREWS is a descendant, in 
 the seventh generation, of John Andrews, one of the 
 early settlers of Connecticut, who emigrated from 
 England with his wife, Mary, in 1640. From him 
 the line of parentage runs as follows: Daniel (Sr.), 
 Daniel (Jr.), Hezekiah, Ezekiel, Alfred and Cor- 
 nelius. The family has ever been one of the most 
 honored in the State, and a biographical record of 
 this branch, even though necessarily brief, cannot 
 fail to be of deep interest. 
 
 John Andrews, the American progenitor, was 
 one of the first eighty-four proprietors of the ancient 
 town of Tunxis, now Farmington. He was an in- 
 telligent man, of simple tastes and plain habits, and 
 cultivated a farm some two miles north of the pres- 
 ent location of Farmington, at what came to be 
 called Waterville, in 1871. The property remained 
 in the possession of his descendants imtil the year 
 last mentioned. His wife, Mary, united with the 
 Congregational Church, April 12, 1654, and he him- 
 self on May 9, 1658. They were the parents of 
 nine children : Mary, John, Hannah, Abraham, 
 Daniel, Joseph, Rachel, Stephen and Benjamin. 
 
 Daniel Andrews, Sr., was born in 1650. His 
 name occasionally appears in the town records of 
 those early days as taking part in public business, 
 and in 1702 the General Assembly, having been in- 
 formed that great differences had arisen in Far- 
 mington about the choice of town officers, confirmed 
 the appointment of John Hooker, Samuel Gridley, 
 
926 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 John W'adsworth, Samuel Cowles and Daniel An- 
 dross. The latter name, as spelled, is without doubt 
 a corruption of Andrews. He was a large land- 
 holder, and left several distinct parcels of realt)' at 
 his death. He united with the Church, May 24, 
 1692, and died April 16, 1731, in his eighty-second 
 year. He was the father of ten children, whose 
 names and dates of birth are as follows: 
 Daniel, Jr., March 9, 1672; Mary, Dec. 9, 1674; 
 Joseph, Aug. 10, 1&76; Tliomas, June 3, 1678; 
 John, June 10, 1680; Martha, July 17, 1682; Han- 
 nah, Jan. 13, 1684; Paul, June 2, 1686; Stephen, 
 Aug. 6, 1689; and Ebenezer, Aug. 28, 1692. 
 
 Daniel Andrews, Jr., the eldest son, married, 
 Oct. 30, 1707, Alabel, a daughter of Jacob and 
 Margery (Ingersoll) Goff, of Wetherstield. She 
 was born Oct. 31, 1690. Her family claimed re- 
 lationship with Gofi'e, the regicide. In 1729 
 Daniel and his brother, John, gave a note, or 
 bond, for £50, to the town of Newington, in con- 
 sideration of permission to connect themselves 
 with the "Great Swamp Society," a parish lying 
 in the town of Farmington. His home was near 
 the boundary line between the towns of Farming- 
 ton and \\ ethersfield. He died Aug. 21, 1748, 
 in his seventy-seventh year, and his widow on 
 May 9, 1768, at the age of seventy-seven years and 
 six months. He was buried near the southwest 
 corner of Christian Lane cemetery in Mew Britain, 
 his grave being marked by a red sandstone. His 
 eight children were as follows: Joseph, born about 
 1711; Abigail, July 22, 1713; Mabel, Jime 6, 1715 ; 
 Eunice, Sept. 18, 1717; Daniel, May 12, 1720; 
 Hannah, Sept. 8, 1723; Jacob, June 24, 1729; and 
 Hezekiah, Aug. 14, 1731. 
 
 Hezekiah Andrews, the youngest child of 
 Daniel Andrews, Jr., was born on the homestead. 
 He was the first of those who "owned the half- 
 way covenant," and became a full member of the 
 Congregational Church in full communion on Aug. 
 17, 1768. He built the first saw-mill on the Quin- 
 nipiack river (called the "Pond river" in the early 
 records), although a fulling mill had been prev- 
 iously established on that stream a little below the 
 "Dead Swamp," and it is probable that there had 
 already been a saw-mill erected near the "Great 
 Pond" in White Oak. His wife was Anna Stead- 
 man, a daughter of Thomas Steadman and Mary 
 Sage. She was born on Steadman Hill, in Weth- 
 ersfield, June 20, 1736, and married Mr. Andrews 
 May 26, 1757. Shortly thereafter her parents re- 
 moved to New Britain. Hezekiah Andrews was 
 of a gentle, quiet temperament, respected by all 
 who knew him for his many virtues, and beloved 
 because of his amiable sympathetic disposition. He 
 died April 19, 1796, at the age of sixty-four, leav- 
 ing a very considerable estate, accumulated from 
 his farm and mill through his own industry and 
 thrift. His widow united with the church Dec. 
 6, 1802, and followed him to the grave on Sept. 
 17, 1809, aged ■ seventy-three years. The issue of 
 their marriage was a family of eight children, 
 
 named and born as follows: Hezekiah, June 22, 
 1758; Anna, Sept. 6, 1760; Lois, Dec. i, 1763; 
 Elizabeth, June 8, 1766; Hannah, June 11, 1768; 
 Be Thankful, April 17, 1771; Rebecca, March 21, 
 1773; and Ezekiel, May 25, 1775. 
 
 Ezekiel Andrews, son of Hezekiah" and grand- 
 father of Cornelius Andrews, inherited his father's 
 homestead, together with the saw-nnll and a large 
 farm, much of the latter consisting of woodland. 
 In person he was rather above the average height 
 and of singularly handsome — almost faultless — 
 form and features. While he inherited from his 
 mother a proud spirit and indomitable will, his 
 impulses were generous and noble. He was pubhc- 
 spirited and patriotic. In May, 1809, Gov. Jona- 
 than Trumbull commissioned him a captain in a 
 militia regiment, and he was ever afterward given 
 that title. He also served through the war of 
 1812 with the same rank. While deficient in the 
 training to be derived from study at school, his 
 education was obtained in the broader field of eii- 
 ! ergetic action. He was fearless in the face of dan- 
 i ger, resolute in action and strong in endurance. 
 He was a hard worker, and at his death, which oc- 
 curred at New Britain on Sept. 3, 1852, he left 
 real property exceeding $16,000. The bounty lands 
 to which he was entitled as a soldier were only 
 partially entered by him, the remainder being 
 claimed and reduced to ownership by his widow. 
 He was a member of the Congregational Church. 
 Mr. Andrews was twice married. His first wife 
 was Roxana Hinsdale, a daughter of Elijah Hins- 
 dale, of New Britain, by his first wife, Ruth Bid- 
 well. She was born June 10, 1778, and was the 
 mother of his large family of children. She was 
 an earnest Christian and a member of the same 
 church as her husband. She died Jan. 14, 1832, 
 aged fifty-four years. She left behind her some 
 most interesting literary reminiscences of her own 
 religious experience and spiritual life. The chil- 
 dren of this marriage were as follows, their names 
 and the dates of their birth being given below: 
 Alfred, Oct. 16, 1797; Thesta, Dec. 16, 1798; Al- 
 lura, April 16, 1801 ; Edwin Norton, June 27, 1804; 
 Mary Bidwell, April 13, 1807; Ezekiel, July 19, 
 1809; Nathan Hosmer, June 22, 1812; Roxana, 
 April 6, 1815; Jane Louisa, Feb. 2, 1818; Elijah 
 Hinsdale, Aug. 11, 1820; and Ellen Maria, Sept. 
 18, 1824. On Oct. 21, 1833, Mr. Andrews married 
 for his second wife Fluldah Goodrich, the widow 
 of Luther Moses, who was born Jan. 6, 1788, at 
 Simsbury, Conn. She died at Hartford May 10, 
 1 871. 
 
 Alfred Andrews, son of Ezekiel, and next in 
 line of descent from John, was a man of versatile 
 genius and rare moral worth. He attended the 
 district schools and an Episcopal academy at 
 Cheshire, Conn. In 1815, at the age of eighteen, 
 he began teaching the common branches in the 
 common schools, and later became an instructor 
 in academic branches. He had a natural aptitude 
 for the work, and, being an earnest Christian 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 927 
 
 worker, began his career as a Sunday-school teacher 
 ■ in 1816. For fifty-five years he labored in the 
 '. latter field, as teacher and superintendent, and it 
 may be said of him that as a secular and religious 
 instructor he probably trained the minds of nearly 
 or quite four thousand pupils. No good work 
 appealed to his sympathy in vain, and he was a 
 zealous worker in the cause of temperance. Kis 
 home was nearly opposite that of his father ana 
 grandfather, on the southern side of West Main 
 street, about two miles west of the center of the 
 city of New Britain. The house was built in 1820, 
 and is still standing, near the Quinnipiack and 
 Gilbert rivers, the first named of which flows inio 
 Long Island Sound, while the latter is a tributary 
 of the Connecticut, into which it empties near! 
 Middletown. While yet a j^oung man Mr. Andrews 
 was a partner in the firm of A. & E. Andrews, 
 manufacturers of wagons and carriages, who made 
 the first cast-iron plow ever turned out in that 
 locality. In 1836, however, losses occasioned by 
 a disastrous fire and Southern repudiation forced 
 the concern to the wall. He was a pronounced 
 anti-slavery man, and it is likely that his failure 
 thus brought about did not tend to modify his po- 
 litical views. He filled several offices of public 
 trust and was repeatedlj' called upon to act in the set- 
 tlement of estates. He was always an active worker 
 in the cause of religion, having been appointed on 
 the standing committee in 1823, and made deacon 
 in the First Congregational Church of New Britain 
 on Oct. 23, 185 1. He took a lively interest also in 
 the genealogical history of both his own and his 
 wife's families, of both of which he published 
 historical memorials. He entered upon this work 
 con ainore, and completed the former in 1870 and 
 the latter a few years later, after he had reached 
 the age of seventy-five. Previously, in' 1867, he 
 had published the "Ecclesiastical History of New 
 Britain," the preparation of which he had com- 
 menced nine years before. He went to his reward 
 April 13, 1876. 
 
 Mr. Andrews was twice married. His first 
 union was with Caroline Bird, daughter of Abijah 
 Hart, of New Britain and New York City, and 
 his wife, Anna Hall, of Middletown. She was born 
 April 15, 1798, at New York, where she was a 
 school teacher before her marriage, which was 
 solemnized Dec. 16, 1818. She died Aug. 22, 1823, 
 of spotted fever, in her twenty-sixth year, leaving 
 two children: Julia Ann, born Nov. 15, 1819, 
 and Caroline Hart, born Dec. 4, 1822. Mr. An- 
 drews' second marriage took place Sept. 15, 1824, 
 when he wedded Mary, daughter of Joseph Ship- 
 man and Polly Lee. She was born April 14, 1805, 
 and in her earlier years was a school teacher. She 
 "bore her husband four sons and four daughters: 
 Margaret, Aug. 30, 1826; Eliza Shipman, April 
 8, 1828; Edwin Norton, Sept. i, 1833; Cornelius, 
 Nov. I, 1834: Alfred Hinsdale, Dec. 2.s, 1836; Jane 
 _Louisa, April 22, 1842; Herbert Lee, Tune 6, 1844; 
 ■Jane Louisa (2), Aug. 10, 1847. The youngest 
 
 daughter married Lyman A. Mills, now lieutenant- 
 governor of Connecticut. 
 
 Cornelius Andrews, a citizen of New Britain, 
 whose name appears at the commencement of this 
 article, was, as has already been said, born Nov. i, 
 1834, and he was baptized in the following May. 
 He graduated from the New Britain high school 
 at the age of eighteen. He remained at his father's 
 home, and still resides on the old homestead, which 
 he owns, and to which he has made valuable modern 
 additions. Although having learned a mechanical 
 trade, he prefers an agricultural life, in which lie 
 has met with success. He has also been some- 
 what interested in the manufacture and sale of 
 school furniture. 
 
 While taking no active part in politics, Mr. 
 Andrews' political faith is that of his ancestors, 
 and his affiliations are with the Republican party. 
 His religious creed is also that of his forefathers dur- 
 ing half a dozen generations. He united with the 
 First Congregational Church of New Britain on 
 April 8, 1854, and has always taken a deep interest 
 in promoting its welfare. For two years he has 
 been clerk and standing committee of that body. 
 In 1899 he was elected deacon to fill the office 
 formerly held by his father. On June 25, 1862, 
 he was married to Miss Ann Eliza Andrews, a 
 daughter of Samuel J. and Chloe Ann (Francis) 
 Andrews, of Wethersfield. Mrs. Cornelius An- 
 drews was born Jan. 19, 1836, and had been a 
 school teacher. Two children have blessed thei"- 
 union : Mary Lincoln, born April 14, 1865, who 
 died at the age of twenty-eight years ; and a son, 
 born Oct. 31, 1871, who died on the day of his 
 birth. 
 
 NORMAN LOOMIS ANDERSON (de- 
 ceased) was in his day one of the best-known and 
 prosperous agriculturists and officials of the town 
 of East Hartford, where he was born May 7, 1830, 
 on his father's homestead. 
 
 The Andersons are of Scottish origin, and Nor- 
 man Anderson, father of Norman Loomis Ander- 
 son, was born on the present family homestead 
 July 8, 1799, and there passed his entire life, dying 
 in 1864. He married Emeline Culver, who died in 
 1887, the farm being now occupied by Mrs. Nor- 
 man L. Anderson and A. S. Bidwell, who married 
 a niece of our subject. 
 
 Norman L. Anderson received his preliminary 
 education in the district schools of his native town, 
 and later attended the academy in East Hartford, 
 now known as Wells' Hall, after which he re- 
 turned to the homestead, which he materially as- 
 sisted his father in improving. Being the second 
 in a family of seven and the eldest having become 
 settled in life, he naturally became the main reliance 
 of his father in the management of the home place, 
 even assisting in the erection of the present dwelling 
 about i860. 
 
 In the year last named Mr. Anderson married 
 Miss Jennette Burnham, daughter of Alfred and 
 
928 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Eliza ( Dart ) Burnham, and granddaughter of Ely 
 Burnham. a descendant of one of the earliest set- 
 tlers of Hartford comity. -Mr. and JMrs. Alfred 
 Burnham had a family of three children, Jennette, 
 Mrs. Anderson, being the eldest; Martha died 
 voung and was buried in the X'ernon cemetery; 
 and Alfred married, and died in Norfolk, Neb. 
 Mrs. Anderson was born in South Windsor Jan. 
 ID, 1833, lived in Vernon and then in Rockville, 
 Tolland county, until her marriage, when she came 
 with her husband to her present home. Xo chil- 
 dren having been born to Mr. and Mrs. Anderson 
 they adopted, as their own, Emma Brewer, men- 
 tioned above as the wife of A. S. Bidwell. She 
 was born in 1856, daughter of Elisha C. and Sarah 
 (Anderson) Brewer, the former a prominent citi- 
 zen of East Hartford, the latter a sister of Mr. 
 Anderson. Emma Brewer passed the greater part 
 of her earlv years with Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, 
 who most tenderly cared for her until her mar- 
 riage. 
 
 Mr. Anderson served as selectman of his town 
 in 1874, and also filled several minor offices, in all 
 of which he was faithful and efficient, and as as- 
 sessor he was ever impartial and just. In religious 
 faith he was a Spiritualist, and consequently liberal 
 in his views, as he was with his purse in aid of the 
 religious societies of his neighborhood. He was 
 a profound reader and possessed a remarkably re- 
 tentive memory, which enabled him to keep pace 
 with current affairs and make his mark as one of 
 the remarkable men of his neighborhood. A lov- 
 ing husband, an affectionate and steadfast friend, 
 he passed away Nov. 13, 1889, leaving a void in 
 his familv and in the community never to be filled. 
 
 HON. SHERMAN SANFORD. The pros- 
 perity of any community depends upon its business 
 activity, and the enterprise manifest in commercial 
 circles is the foundation upon which is builded 
 the material welfare of town. State and Nation. 
 The most important factors in public life at the 
 present day are therefore men who are in control 
 of successful business interests, and such a one is 
 ]\Ir. Sanford, whose attention is now principally 
 given to lumbering. 
 
 Our subject was born in the town of Avon, 
 Hartford county, jNIarch 18, 1835, and belongs to 
 one of the old families of the county. His grand- 
 parents, Jesse and Ellanor (Collins) Sanford, were 
 farming people, and spent most of their lives in the 
 town of Berlin. The father, Jesse Sanford, Jr., 
 was born, reared and educated in Berlin, but when 
 a young man removed to Avon, where he followed 
 farming" throughout his active business life. In 
 politics he was first a Whig and later a Republican, 
 and as one of the leading and influential citizens of 
 his town he was elected to the State Legislature. 
 He died in Avon at the advanced age of eighty- 
 eight years. There he had married Miss Almira 
 North, and to them were born four children: (i) 
 Ellen, who died in childhood; (2) Edmund, who 
 
 died leaving three sons, Henry (now deceased), 
 Frank and Charles; (3) Truman, deceased; and 
 (4) Sherman, our subject. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of our subject were 
 passed in Avon, at the schools of which locality he 
 received his earlier education, later attending a 
 select school in Norfolk, Conn. In Avon he con- 
 tinued to make his nome, engaged in farming and 
 lumbering, until 1861, when he removed to his 
 present residence in Unionville, which had been built 
 ijy hmi. Uf late years his principal business has 
 been that of lumbering. 
 
 In Avon JNlr. Sanford was united in marriage 
 with Miss Flelen M. Humphrey, of Pennsylvania, i 
 and to them were born five children: (i) Ed- 
 win, a resident of Unionville, married Flora Mason, 
 and had three children, Edwin (deceased), Helen 
 and Harold. (2) Clara is deceased. (3) Will- 
 iam died in ii. fancy. (4) Bertha married Gustave 
 Lawson, of West Haven, Conn. (5) Blanche is 
 the wife of Oliver Tew, of Unionville. 
 
 Mr. Sanford's political support is always given 1 
 to the Republican party, and in his community he 
 ranks among its most honored counselors. He j 
 has been called upon to fill a number of minor of- 1 
 fices, and in 1884 capably represented the town of 
 Farmington in the State Legislature. He is a > 
 member of the Congregational Church of Union- 
 ville, to which his wife and daughter also belong, 
 and commands the respect and confidence of all 
 with whom he comes in contact. 
 
 RANKIN FAIMILY. This family, while not 
 one of the oldest in Hartford county, j,s among the 
 most distinguished, many of its members having | 
 been noted for ability in various lines of effort, es- i 
 pecially in connection with religious and reformatory ' 
 movements. The family originated in Scotland, and 
 is first mentioned in an account of the troubled times 
 in the latter part of the seventeenth century, when • 
 two brothers of the name were assassinated. In 
 1689 others of the family fled to County Donegal, 
 Ireland. William Rankin, of County Donegal, had 
 three sons, Adam, John and Hugh, who came to 
 America in 1720, landing at Philadelphia, Penn., 
 and all settled upon farms in Chester county, Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 John Rankin was married in Ireland to Jane 
 McElvee, and two sons, Thomas and Richard, were 
 born there. Richard, who removed to Augusta 
 county, V^a., at the close of the Revolutionary war, ' 
 had five sons : John, Richard, Joseph, Anthony and 
 James. 
 
 Thomas Rankin, son of John, was a farmer in 
 Pennsylvania, and at the close of the Revolutionary 
 war sold his property for Continental money, which 
 proved worthless. In 1784 he went to Greene 
 county, Tenn., where he and his descendants made 
 the name notable for good citizenship. The office 
 of ruling elder in the New Bethel Church, Greene 
 county, Tenn., was held by him and others of the 
 family for ninety-five consecutive years. Thomas 
 Rankin lived to the age of eighty-eight years, and 
 
^^Q^/Li^y-ryU^^ri^ -g^b-??-^^^Ap^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 929 
 
 had twelve children. Of his six daughters no rec- 
 ord has been preserved, but the sons were : John 
 (1754-1825) ; Richard (1756-1827) ; William (1758- 
 1833) ; Samuel (1760-1828) ; Thomas (1762-1821) ; 
 and James, born 1770. The first four sons fought 
 under Washington for American independence, and 
 five were elders in the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 Richard Rankin, son of Thomas, married Jane 
 Steel, and to them were born eleven sons and one 
 daughter. Four of the sons — Samuel S., Thomas, 
 David and William — served in the war of 1812 
 with Jackson. Four — John, William, Alexander 
 and Robert — were Presbyterian ministers, and many 
 of their descendants are now in the ministry. 
 
 Rev. John Rankin, son of Richard and Jane 
 Rankin, was born in February, 1793, on a forest 
 farm in eastern Tennessee, and grew up with few 
 advantages except those which would tend to the 
 development of a strong physique. Occasionally 
 he was permitted to spend a few months at the dis- 
 trict school, two miles from his home, but the 
 greater part of his education was secured by his 
 own exertions, the result being that he had wise 
 confidence in the conclusions of his own investiga- 
 tions. This enabled him to maintain in after years 
 his position on slavery, though almost alone in the 
 defense of truths which he accepted and advocated. 
 As early as his seventh year the Holy Spirit in- 
 fluenced his mind to prayer, and gave him a deep 
 desire to be a possessor of the religion of the 
 Savior, but not having the nurture .and care so 
 easily obtained in our times he passed years in doubt 
 and in conflict with such doctrines as those of pre- 
 destination and . God's Sovereignty. When he at 
 last gave his heart to Christ, he determined to 
 obtain an education and preach the Gospel. Ac- 
 cordingly he entered Washington College, eastern 
 Tennessee, where he was graduated in 1814, and 
 in the meantime he had married Miss Jane Lowry, 
 a granddaughter of Rev. Samuel Doake, D. D., the 
 president and founder of the college. She among 
 other accomplishments knew how to use her needle 
 and shears, so that she made her husband's wedding 
 coat, and he made his own shoes. In 1816 he was 
 licensed by the Presbytery of Abingdon, and in the 
 fall of 1 81 7, with his wife, and child, later Rev. 
 Adam L. Rankin, started for Ohio, a few articles 
 of furniture being carried in their two-wheeled 
 carriage, drawn by one horse. He had not yet 
 discovered the fact that the Bible condemned slav- 
 ery, but with his sympathetic nature he could not 
 live where it existed, so he determined to seek a 
 free State. Fie was persuaded, however, while pass- 
 ing through Kentuck)', to preach in Concord, where 
 he had stopped for the Sabbath, and at the urgent 
 request of the church members he remained with 
 them for four years, finally arriving at his destina- 
 tion, Ripley, Ohio, in May, 1822. For forty-four 
 years he was pastor of the Presbyterian Church 
 . there, but while laboring to build up the cause of 
 Christ as a pastor, a new work seemed to be thrust 
 upon him, viz. : the discussion of the question of 
 59 
 
 slavery from a Bible standpoint. , Flis brother, 
 Thomas, had written him a letter informing him 
 that he had purchased a slave. The letter was 
 dated Dec. 2, 1823, and he at once began a series 
 of letters on the question in the Castigator, published 
 at Ripley; these letters were afterward published 
 in book form, and a copy fell into the hands of 
 Lloyd Garrison, who wrote to the author, acknowl- 
 edging his indebtedness for the argument, and 
 closing with the words: "With profound and lov- 
 ing veneration of his anti-slaverv disciple and hum- 
 ble co-worker in the cause of emancipation." So 
 that Mr. Rankin is entitled to some regard as a 
 teacher of the great Abolitionist. 
 
 Mr. Rankin's book was adopted by the Ameri- 
 can Anti-Slavery Society, and he was appointed for 
 one year a lecturer for the society, his congrega- 
 tion consenting to release him for that period of 
 time. In furtherance of this same work he and 
 Dr. Boynton were the chief instruments in form- 
 ing the American Reform Tract and Book Society, 
 Mr. Rankin being chosen president and Dr. Boynton 
 corresponding secretary, and for many years he was 
 one of the mainstays of the society. It published 
 many tracts and articles from his pen, all urging 
 obedience to the Golden Rule : "Whatsoever ye 
 would that men should do to you, do ye even so to 
 them," and that other truth: "God will punish na- 
 tional sins by national judgments." After resign- 
 ing his position in Riplev, Ohio, Mr. Rankin 
 preached for some years in Ohio and Kansas, where 
 his beloved wife died, after many years of intelli- 
 gent and untiring work as a helpmeet. He was- 
 pastor of the church at Richmond, Ohio, and or- 
 ganized the church at Lyndon, Ivans., while he filled 
 other pulpits as opportunitv offered until age and 
 its infimfities came on. His last days were spent 
 at the home of his granddaughter, Mrs. Lida Gray, 
 at fronton, Ohio, his death occurring March 19, 
 1886. He was a remarkable man, abounding in 
 labors for the cause of Christ and humanity, and 
 as a preacher and expositor of Scripture he had 
 few equals. His Scotch-Irish parentage was fa- 
 vorable to an evenly-balanced temperament, and his 
 mental faculties had been developed, strengthened 
 and sanctified by a sensible early education in piety, 
 making his character one of singular strength, force 
 and beauty. For years his home on the hilltop 
 above Ripley was known to the panting fugitives 
 as the entrance to the "Lhiderground Railroad," 
 which would take them safely to Canada, and it 
 is said that many of the incidents in "Uncle Tom's 
 Cabin" were furnished by those whom he had 
 aided to escape. He was a born reformer, and 
 naturally opposed everything which he conceived to- 
 be contrary to the welfare of the human family, 
 especially slavery and intemperance. In almost 
 every town in the southern part of the State the 
 voice of John Rankin was heard in strong and 
 fearless utterances against the curse of slavery. 
 For a quarter of a century he lived to see the 
 slaves free men, and his name will ever live in his- 
 
930 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tory and in the affection of tlie race for which he 
 did so much. On Thursday, ^[ay 5, 1892, a mon- 
 ument was unveiled and dedicated in Ripley, Ohio, 
 to his memory, as the Pioneer Abolitionist, it be- 
 ing in the form of a bronze bust modeled by Mrs. 
 Ellen Copp, his granddaughter. On the pedestal 
 is inscribed : 
 
 Blulin '^Innkin 
 
 1703-1SS6 
 
 ^anc Luiuri] his uitfc 
 Fn-rriam's Krnu-s. 
 
 The ceremonies were atlonded by many of their 
 children and descendants. 
 
 The thirteen children of John Rankin are as 
 follows: Adam L., a minister, served as captain in 
 the 113th Reg. 111. \'. I., during the Civil war; 
 Isabelle Jane; David; Richard Calvin, first lieu- 
 tenant of Company 14, 12th O. V. I., went at the 
 first call as first sergeant of the 4th Independent 
 Company, of an Ohio \ olunteer Infantry Regiment, 
 serving from August, 1862, to July, 1865, and his 
 death occurred May 17, iSqg, at Ripley, Ohio; 
 Samuel Gardner W ilson is mentioned below more 
 fully; Julia Doake ; John Thompson went out with 
 Ii6th Illinois, and was afterwards made quarter- 
 master of a U. S. colored regiment ; Andrew Camp- 
 bell, a physician, was assistant surgeon of the 88th 
 111. V. I., and was retained several months after 
 the war in charge of Hospital No. 5, at Camp 
 Nelson, Kentucky ; Mary Eliza ; William Alexander 
 was commissioned as captain and assistant quarter- 
 master, and served on the staff of Col. LeGrange, 
 Gen. jMcCook, commanding. First Div. C. C. AI. 
 D. M., and later of Gen. \N'ilson, commanding, 
 C. C. M. D. M. ; Lucinda ; Arthur Tappan, now in 
 Utah, was a Presbyterian minister, stationed for 
 twenty-five years at Greensburg, Ind. ; Thomas 
 Lovejoy. Rev. John Rankin gave more sons for 
 the defense of the Union than any other minister, 
 and it is claimed that to Jane Lowry Rankin be- 
 longed the proud distinction of being the mother of 
 more soldiers in the Civil war than any other 
 woman, and all of them were officers. 
 
 Samuel Gardner Wilson Rankin was born in 
 Ripley, Ohio, Dec. 28, 1822. It was not unnatural 
 that the question of liberating the slaves commanded 
 much of the boy's attention, as the method of free- 
 ing the slaves in a secret manner familiarly known 
 as the "Underground Railroad" originated at his 
 father's house. J\Ir. Rankin attended school and 
 graduated at a college then located in Ripley, and 
 afterward studied for the ministry at Lane Sem- 
 inary, in Cincinnati. While at the seminary he 
 came under the instruction of Dr. Lyman Beecher, 
 and first met Harriet Beecher Stowe. In the latter 
 part of the forties he took his first pastorate, at 
 Sardinia, Ohio, and about 1850 he came to Con- 
 necticut, having received a call to the Center Con- 
 gregational Church in Portland, where he remained 
 
 nine years. On leaving Portland he became pastor 
 of a church in Westchester, and in 1863 he removed 
 to Glastonbury, purchasing the Andrew T. Hale , 
 place on jMain street, where he died Nov. 20, 1897. I 
 During the latter years of his life he devoted con- : 
 siderable time to farming, but many pulpits in the 
 vicinity were supplied by him during his residence 
 in Glastonbury, and he filled a place in the com- 
 munity that, because of his diverse gifts, no one else j 
 can fill. He could deliver an excellent sermon, ( 
 give an address appropriate for a national holiday, f 
 a political meeting or a donation party with singular I 
 effectiveness, or give an interesting account upon 1 
 the lecture platform of his family experiences and ' 
 efforts for the sla\-es. When it came to business '; 
 affairs his good judgment and thorough and prac- 
 tical knowledge of men and affairs always favored 
 him, and being endowed with a- keen intellect and 
 strong will he easily mastered many questions that > 
 would have annoyed a less versatile man. He was ■ 
 extremely fond of liorses and few knew the pe- 
 culiarities of the animals better than he, or more 
 thoroughly enjoyed driving them. He voted for 
 William Henry Harrison m 1840, and it was an 
 easy step for him to pass froxn the Whig party to 
 the Republican and vote for John C. I'remont in 
 1856. A man of wide and lasting sympathies, he 
 made many friends, and he was a loyal supporter of 
 the Congregational Church during his residence in 
 Glastonbury, uniting with it by letter in 1864. He 
 also held several town offices, and he was also con- 
 nected with the Christian Commission, doing effi- 
 cient work. 
 
 On Aug. 27, 1845, Mr. Rankin married Dolly 
 Goodrich, whom he met in Cincinnati. She was 
 born in Portland, Conn., Aug. 30, 1823, and died 
 Jan. 31, 1893. Among her ancestors was Rev. 
 Timothy Stevens, the first minister in Glastonbury. 
 Of the children of Samuel and Dolly Rankin, the 
 eldest, Susan J., born May 25, 1846, married H. 
 E. Loomis, a farmer in Glastonbury ; Samuel F., 
 born Aug. i.i, 1852, died May 12, 1854; Helen P., 
 born Sept. 8, 1854, married D. W. Williams, of the 
 firm of J. B. Williams & Sons, of Glastonbury, the 
 originators and manufacturers of Yankee Shaving 
 Soap; John D. (twin of Helen) is mentioned be- 
 low ; Lucy Virginia, born Jan. 14, 1857, married 
 Milton S. Tracy, and resides in Glastonbury on the 
 homestead (to her we are indebted for much of this 
 information) ; Charles G. (mentioned below) was 
 born Oct. 2, 1859, and is now a physician in Glaston- 
 bury ; Hepsibah, born Jan. 24, 1863, died in the 
 same year. 
 
 John Delos Rankin was born Sept. 8, 1854, 
 in Portland, Conn., while his father was filling a 
 pastorate there. He accompanied his parents to 
 Glastonbury when he was nine years old, and his 
 education was begun in the district school of that 
 town. Later he attended Williston Academy, and 
 on leaving school he turned his attention to busi- 
 ness, his strong love for horses naturally leading 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 931 
 
 him into a career as a dealer in these noble ani- 
 jmals. Going west he formed a partnership with J. 
 I Warren Kiefer, Jr., son of Gen. Kiefer, of Spring- 
 ' field, Ohio, and located on Mr. Kiefer's ranch near 
 ' Superior, Neb., engaging in buying and selling 
 Texas horses. The}' would buy the animals in 
 lots of 500 in Texas and drive to Nebraska, where 
 they were sold, the trip from Nebraska to Texas and 
 return requiring a whole summer. They were 
 among the largest dealers in horses in the West, 
 and at one time they made a shipment of ten car- 
 loads of horses from Wind River Mountain, in 
 Wyoming, by special train, and all were sold in two 
 weeks. Lat?r Mr. Rankin went to Oregon, con- 
 tinuing in the same line of business, and he shipped 
 horses to almost every State in the Union. His 
 judgment as to the good or bad points of a horse 
 was remarkably accurate, and his eners;v and en- 
 terprise were leading factors in his success. He 
 remained in the West about fifteen years, and then 
 came to Glastonbury and purchased the farm for- 
 merly known as the "John Moseley" place. He 
 here engaged in dealing in Iowa horses, and he was 
 also an extensive tobacco grower, and in 1899 
 planted about fifteen acres. Like his father, he is 
 a strong Republican, but never held office. In re- 
 hgion he inclined toward the Congregational 
 Church, of which his widow is a member. He was 
 married, in Tilden, Neb., to Miss Sadie Harvey, 
 a native of that place, and they had five children : 
 the first, Willard, died in infancy and is buried in 
 Nebraska; Samuel H., John D., Jr., Anita and 
 Charles are at home. Mr. Rankin died March 
 14, 1900. 
 
 Charles Goodrich Rankin, M. D., a well- 
 known physician of Glastonbury, was born Oct. 
 2, 1859, in Portland, Conn. After receiving an 
 elementary education in the common schools and 
 the academy at Glastonbury he entered Williams 
 College, where he was graduated in 1882, with the 
 degree of A. B. He has also taken the Master's 
 degree. The same year he began the study of med- 
 icine with his uncle, Dr. A. C.Rankin, and in March, 
 1886, he was graduated from the Chicago Medical 
 College, connected with the Northwestern Uni- 
 versity. For one year he served as assistant physi- 
 cian at the Armour Medical Mission in Chicago, 
 and he then practiced at Reynolds, Neb., for two 
 years, and at Southbury, Conn., for three, but since 
 1890 has been in active practice at Glastonbury. 
 He has a large general practice, and enjoys the 
 confidence and esteem of his fellow townsmen in 
 an unusual degree. Politically he is a Republican, 
 and has served as health officer of Glastonbury 
 since October, 1893, was the town treasurer in 
 1896-97, and is now director and treasurer of the 
 Glastonbury Public Library, which owes its exist- 
 ence in a great measure to his personal efiforts. 
 He belongs to the American Medical Association, 
 the Connecticut Medical Society, and the Hartford 
 City and County Medical Societies. Dr. Rankin was 
 married, Jan. i, 1887, to Miss Lucretia Barret Pink- 
 
 ham, who was born June 14, 1861, in Loda, 111., 
 daughter of Frederick and Mary (Barret) Pink- 
 ham. Her father was a sailor, and a descendant 
 of good old New England stock, his ancestors hav- 
 ing settled near Nantucket, Mass., in pioneer times. 
 Dr. Rankin and his wife have one son, William 
 Goodrich, born July 12, 1896. 
 
 EDWARD PATRICK CARROLL, one of 
 East Hartford's best-known market gardeners, and 
 one of the very few gardeners in the town exclu- 
 sively devoted to that branch of farming, com- 
 bines among his many estimable qualities rare 
 business ability and that hearty geniality which 
 makes him ever companionable. For twenty years, 
 or since April, 1880, he has been a wholesaler of 
 vegetables as the junior member of the firm of E. 
 P. Carroll & Co., who have one of the most thor- 
 oughly equipped and well-appointed gardens for 
 supplying the Hartford trade with garden truck. 
 
 Mr. Carroll is a son of Edward J. and Mary 
 (Ruth) Carroll, a sketch of whom appears else- 
 where. Our subject in his youth attended the pub- 
 lic schools of East Hartford and Hartford, com- 
 pleting his education with a course at Hannum's 
 Business College, Hartford. He began active life 
 as a market gardener at the place where he is now 
 located, the land having been used for that pur- 
 pose for man_v years ; it was formerly the home of 
 John B. Smith. Mr. Carroll has proven a very 
 successful business man. He possesses a thorough 
 knowledge of gardening in every detail, is progres- 
 sive in his methods, and by reading and experiment 
 is ever ready to make improvements and keep 
 abreast with modern requirements. 
 
 On Nov. 15, 1893, Mr. Carroll married Miss 
 Annie B. Mulligan, a native of Hartford, and 
 daughter of James Mulligan, who for forty years 
 was foreman in the shops of Lincoln & Co., iron 
 founders and manufacturers ; he was a brother of 
 John Mulligan, who in his lifetime was president 
 of the Connecticut River railroad. Mrs. Carroll is 
 a graduate of the New Britain Normal School, class 
 of '89, and prior to her marriage taught school 
 three years. To Mr. and Mrs. Carrol] have been 
 born two children : Edward C. and Ellen C. Our 
 subject and wife are members of St. Mary's Cath- 
 olic Church at East Hartford. In politics he is a 
 stanch Republican, is a member of the town Repub- 
 lican committee, and for several years served as a 
 justice of the peace. Fraternally he is a charter 
 member of Nutmeg Lodge, No. 55, A. O. U. W., at 
 East Hartford. He was one of the original commis- 
 sioners of the East Llartford Fire District, and at 
 the close of his first term was honored by a re- 
 election for a term of three years. During his term 
 of service this commission have introduced electric 
 lighting, have purchased the water works from the 
 East Hartford AVater Co., and are now (1900) con- 
 structing a system of sixteen miles sewerage. Mr. 
 Carroll takes an active interest in all that pertains 
 to the prosperity and growth of his town. In De- 
 cember, 1893, Mr. Carroll completed the commodi- 
 
932 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ous and tasteful modern home which he now oc- 
 cupies, and which is equipped with every conven- 
 ience that the town affords. 
 
 Thoroughly progressive and alert to every im- 
 provement and advancement, well-informed in hor- 
 ticultural, political and current affairs, having at- 
 tained a commendable share of success and prosper- 
 ity, Mr. Carroll is devoted to his work, developing 
 the same grand characteristics that honored his 
 father, and evincing to the many who know him a 
 standard and highly-respected type of American 
 citizenship. 
 
 D.W'ID E. ilARSHALL. Among the rural 
 communities of Hartford county a high quality of 
 citizenship prevails, the members of the old pio- 
 neer families being especially noted for their abil- 
 ity and personal worth. The subject of this sketch, 
 a leading agriculturist of the town of Windsor, 
 is deserving of prominent mention in this volume 
 as a man whose progressive and enterprising busi- 
 ness methods, and regard for all the best interests 
 of the community, make him a valuable and valued 
 citizen. 
 
 Mr. Marshall comes of good Colonial stock, 
 and by intermarriages he is related to the Phelps, 
 Griswokl, A\'olcott, Wilton and other leading pio- 
 neer famines. His first direct ancestor of whom 
 we have record was (I) Capt. Samuell Marshall, 
 one of Windsor's first, settlers. He had a lot in 
 the palisade in 1637 before Huit's party came, so 
 he probably came with W'areham's party, or in 
 1633. He was probably born in Dorchester, Eng- 
 land, 161 5. On May 6, 1652, he married Mary 
 (daughter of Lt. David and Catherine) Wilton. 
 \\'hen King Philip's war broke out he was actively 
 engaged in military service; was appointed (Oct. 
 14, 1675) ensign in }>Iaj. Treat's army, and was 
 one of the five captains who led the Connecticut 
 forces in the famous attack on the Xarragansett 
 fort, Dec. 19, 1675, where he fell at the head of 
 his troops. AXlndsor lost in him an honored citizen 
 and a brave soldier. Capt. Samuell Marshall had 
 nine children, namely: Samuell, born May 27, 
 1653 ; Lydia, Feb. 18, 1655 ; Thomas, April 23, 1659, 
 died voung; David, July 24, 1 66 1 ; Thomas, Feb. 
 18, 1663; Mary, i\Iay 8, 1667, died Aug. 25, 1683: 
 Eliakim, July 10, 1669; John, April 10, 1672; and 
 Elizabeth, born Sept. 27, 1674. 
 
 (II) David Marshall, a son of Capt. Samuell, 
 was born July 24, 1661, and married Abigail Phelps 
 Dec. 9, 1686. They had the following children: 
 Abigail, born Jan. 9, 1688; Hannah, born Dec. 8, 
 1689; David, born April 14, 1692. 
 
 (III) David JMarshall (2), the next in the line 
 of descent, was born April 14, 1692, and married 
 Sarah Phelps Dec. 15, 1721. Their children were 
 David, born June i, 1723, died 1725; Sarah, born 
 April 4, 1727; David, born Oct. 21, 1728; Han- 
 nah, born Feb. 15, 1730-31. 
 
 ( IV) Lieut. David Marshall (3), our subject's 
 great-grandfather, was born Oct. 21, 1728, and died 
 
 March 13, 1776. He married Naomi Griswold, 
 who died Sept. 30, 1824, aged eighty-nine. They 
 had the following children: Naomi, born Sept. 30, 
 
 1758, died March 19, 1830; Sarah, born March 21, 
 
 1759, died Feb. 6, 1761; Elisha, born April 16, 
 1763, died aged twenty-seven; Elihu, born March 
 21, 1765; Olive died in August, 1846, aged eighty- 
 four. 
 
 {\) Capt. Elihu Marshall, the grandfather of 
 our subject, was born March 21, 1765, and. became 
 a farmer Iiy occupation. Fie married Sabrina Gris- 
 wold, daughter of Joab and Elizabeth (Collins) 
 Griswold. They had the following children: 
 Chaunccy, born 1794, died May 8, 1838, at Little 
 Falls, N. Y. ; Elizabeth, born 1796, married Guy 
 Griswold (she died at Poquonock Nov. 30, 1856) ; 
 Elisha died Sept. 24, 1803, aged five years ; Elihu. 
 our subject's father, comes next; Gaylord died 
 Sept. 15, 1803, aged twelve months; Elisha Gay- 
 lord, born March 24, 1805, was a physician and 
 died at the old homestead Oct. 13, 1857; David died 
 at Seneca Falls, N. Y., Aug. 19, 1834, aged twenty- 
 five years. 
 
 (VI) Elihu MARSHALL,our subject's father,was 
 born July 12, 1800, on the estate now owned by our 
 subject. Being reared a farmer boy, he had only 
 a district-school education, but he made the best 
 of his advantages, and taught successfully when a 
 young man. His reading was extensive in later 
 ye'ars, and he was recognized in local affairs. In 
 politics he was first a Whig, later a Republican, and 
 he was always a regular voter. With the exception 
 of a few years spent in the paper-mill business in 
 New York State with a brother, he passed his life 
 at the old homestead, his attention being given to 
 agricultural pursuits. 
 
 On June 10, 1829, Mr. Marshall married Miss 
 Mary Caroline (^riswold.born March 3, i8o6,daugh- 
 ter of John and ;\Iary Griswold. Mary Griswold 
 was one of several daughters of Dr. Elihu Griswold, 
 who married Mary, a daughter of Dr. Alexander 
 Wolcott, the son of Gov. Roger and great-grand- 
 son of Henry Wolcott, the Pilgrim. Mrs. Mar- 
 shall was a descendant of Edward Griswold ; she 
 was a devout member of the Congregational 
 Church, and while her -husband was not connected 
 with anv denomination he contributed generously 
 to religious works. He died March 7, 1876, Mrs. 
 ^Marshall on April 18, 1871, and the remains of 
 both were interred in the cemetery at Poquonock. 
 
 Our subject is one of a family of seven chil- 
 dren, the others being: Frances Elizabeth, born 
 March 21, 1830, died July 24, 1843. Mary Caro- 
 line, born March 13, 1833, married Charles Spen- 
 cer; she died in Chicago Aug. 13, 1866. Ellen 
 Griswold, born Oct. 24, 1834, died Dec. 18, 1841. 
 Anzonetta Rebecca, born Nov. 27, 1836, is the 
 widow of Sidney Morgan and resides in Syracuse, 
 N. Y. Estelle Wilhemina, born July i, 1840, mar- 
 ried Jerome E. Fuller, of Poquonock, and died 
 July 21, 1900. Ellen Elizabeth, born Aug. 8, 1846, 
 is now Mrs. Addison Lamphear, of Poquonock, 
 
Xa-j^ 
 
Z^Ki^-^^-i^^^^ 
 
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 o 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 933 
 
 (VII) David E. Marshall, who represents the 
 seventh generation of his family in this country, 
 was born at his present residence Aug. ii, 1843, 
 and was educated in the schools of District No. 8 
 and in the academy at Windsor Center. He was 
 trained to farm work as a boy, and has always re- 
 sided at the homestead, an attractive estate compris- 
 ing more than sixty acres of excellent land. Polit- 
 ically he is in sympathy with the Republican party 
 in National affairs, but he does his own thinking, 
 and at times votes independently when local issues 
 seem to require it. 
 
 On Dec. 30, 1875, Mr. Marshall married Miss 
 Charlotte A, Phelps, who was born Oct. 6, 1854, 
 a daughter of Eli and Abigail (Humphrey) Phelps, 
 well-known residents of Poquonock, of whom an 
 account is given elsewhere. Her education was 
 begun in the same schools which our subject had 
 attended a few years earlier, but on completing the 
 course there she was given opportunities for more 
 advanced study in the Connecticut Literary Insti- 
 tute, Suffield, acquiring an excellent preparation for 
 her duties as the mistress of a refined home. Two 
 children have blessed the union : David Wilton, 
 horn July 15, 1877, and Carrie Phelps, born June 
 22, 1883, both of whom reside with their parents. 
 The family is identified with the Congregational 
 Qiurch, of which Mrs. Marshall and her daughter 
 are active members. 
 
 LORENZO PORTER and JAMES TODD 
 LEE. The first American ancestor of these brothers 
 was John Lee, who came to America in 1634. It 
 is known that he was born Aug. 8, 1620, in Essex, 
 England, and probably at Colchester, and he left 
 England while yet a mere child, under the care 
 of William Westwood, for a year living with that 
 gentleman at Cambridge, Mass., and in 1635 remov- 
 ing with him to Hartford, Conn., where he passed his 
 early years. There is no authentice record as to his 
 course of educational training, but it is supposed that 
 lie studied under the tutorship of Samuel Stone, a 
 famous pedagogue of that day, who died in 1659. 
 In 1640 white men first settled in the territory where 
 the town of Farmington now stands, and the follow- 
 ing year young Lee, then in his early manhood, 
 joined their company, and became one of the eighty- 
 four original proprietors of the town. The terri- 
 tory acquired by them embraced an area fifteen 
 miles square, and included the present towns of 
 Farmington, Southington, Bristol, Burlington, New 
 Britain, Berlin and Kensington. Many hundred 
 acres of land were assigned to him, and portions 
 of the same, lying in Southington, Bristol and New 
 Britain, are yet owned by his descendants, the title 
 thereto having remained in the family for 250 years. 
 In 1658 he took to himself a wife, Mary, a daughter 
 of Deacon Stephen Hart. 
 
 Stephen Lee, second son of John Lee, was the 
 first settler in the tract which came to be called 
 the "Great Swamp" in 1707, Kensington in 1720 and 
 New Britain in 1754. He took an active part in 
 
 effecting the organization of the New Britain So- 
 ciety, and was a substantial man, accounted wealthy 
 for his time; and his home, long known as the 
 "Hinsdale House," has been described by an earlv 
 chronicler as "one of the grandest houses in New 
 Britain," and remained standing until 1834. On 
 Oct. I, 1690, he married Elizabeth Royce, a daugh- 
 ter of Isaac and Elizabeth (Lathrop) Royce, and 
 died June 7, 1753. 
 
 Dr. Isaac Lee, son of Stephen Lee, born at 
 Kensington, was a physician of wide repute at 
 Farmington and Middletown, as well as at the place 
 of his nativity. On Dec. 3, 1713, he married Mary 
 Hubbard, who was born at Hartford in February, 
 1688, a daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Kirby) 
 Hubbard. Dr. Lee died Aug. 6, 1780. His son. 
 Col. Isaac Lee, in 1754 gave New Britain her name. 
 The Colonel was thrice married, first, on July 10, 
 1740, to Tabitha, a daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth 
 (Galpin) Norton, who was born at Kensington 
 Dec. 20, 1718, and died Nov. 2, 1770. His second 
 marriage was on Dec. 30, 1772, to Elizaibeth Grant, 
 of East Windsor, who died May 17, 1782, and on 
 Oct. 9, 1783, he was united to Mrs. Mary Hall, 
 widow of Amos Hall, and daughter of Ephraim 
 Johnson, of Wallingford. Col. Lee died Dec. 13, 
 1802, and his widow on Dec, 22, 1810. He was 
 a man of prominence in the community, and his 
 •name frequently occurs in the records of town, 
 church and State. No one of his day exerted a 
 more potent influence upon public affairs, both civil 
 and religious, and for many years he was familiar- 
 ly called the "Father of the Town." For thirty 
 years he was a magistrate, administering justice 
 with wisdom and impartiality, and his counsel was 
 constantly sought in matters affecting the general 
 policy of the Colony and later of the State. With 
 the exception of four years he represented his town 
 in the Colonial Assembly from 1761 to 1775, in 
 the State Legislature from its first session, in 1776, 
 until 1779, and again from 1783 to 1791. He was a 
 member of that earnest and devoted band of patriots, 
 members of the General Assembly of the Colony, 
 who, headed by Gov. Jonathan Trumbull and other 
 State officers, took the oath of fidelity to the United 
 States in October, 1776. 
 
 During the dark days of the Revolution and 
 throughout the years which followed Col. Lee stood 
 shoulder to shoulder with the patriots of his time, 
 and shared with them the arduous duties and the 
 grave responsibilities of those years when wisdom 
 and statesmanship alone could guide the ship of 
 State through a tempestuous sea and along a 
 rocky coast. He served for many years in the 
 militia, being appointed captain in the Sixth Co- 
 lonial Regiment in May, 1767, lieutenant-colonel 
 in the following October, and colonel of the 15th 
 Regiment in 1775. His manner was courtly and 
 dignified, his presence commanding. He was one 
 of the two citizens of New Britain — Rev. Dr. Smal- 
 ley being the other — who were always accorded a 
 respect akin to reverence. His physical strength 
 
934 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was extraordinary, and he was noted for his agihty 
 and remarkable powers of endurance. On the eve 
 of his tirst marriage an attempt was made to steal 
 the bride, and in foiling it the Colonel severely 
 wounded seven men. The custom was abandoned 
 from that date. 
 
 Isaac Lee, son of Col. Isaac Lee, married Abigail 
 Goodrich on j\lay 25, 1773. She was born Oct. 
 30, 1753, and died April 9, 181 1. She was a daugh- 
 ter of Jedediah and Alary Goodrich, the latter being 
 a descendant of Rev. Samuel Hooker. On Oct. 29, 
 1812, Air. Lee married a second time, his wife behig 
 Mrs. Betsey Lusk, a daughter of Major Peter Cur- 
 tiss, of Farmington, and widow of David Lusk, 
 of New Britain. Isaac Lee died April 11. 1828, 
 and his widow on Aug. i, of the same year. He 
 inherited the homestead, and was by occupation a 
 farmer, owning a considerable portion of the land 
 included within the present city limits of Xew 
 Britain. He was conspicuous for both his piety and 
 liis public spirit. 
 
 Thomas Lee, second son of Isaac Lee, was born 
 Nov. 28, 1776, and married Electa Riley, of North- 
 ampton, Alass., a daughter of John and Huldah 
 (Porter) Riley. She was born Dec. 13, 1776, and 
 died Dec. 5, 1826, was a woman of remarkable 
 strength of character, and became the mother of 
 a large family. Thomas Lee and his father were 
 among the earliest manufacturers of New Britain, 
 and built and conducted the first general store in 
 the village. Thomas Lee repeatedly represented 
 the town of Berlin in the Legislature, was judge 
 of probate, postmaster and always an active politi- 
 cian. He died Aug. 20, 1840. 
 
 Lorenzo Porter Lee, son of Thomas, was born 
 April 12, 1800. He was married at Christ church, 
 Hartford, on Nov. 3, 1828, to Jeanette Todd Hills, 
 who was born June 2y, 1805, and was the niece and 
 adopted daughter of the eminent physician and 
 specialist. Dr. Eli Todd, of Hartford, the superin- 
 tendent of the Retreat for the Insane. Lorenzo 
 P. Lee died on June 17, 1889, his wife surviving 
 him until Jan. 2, 1891. They were the parents of 
 nine children, a brief mention of whom is given, 
 (i) Lorenzo Todd was born Jan. 27, 1830, and died 
 Jan. 23, 1834. (2) Franklin Hills was born Nov. 
 3, 1832. At the outbreak of the Civil war he 
 enlisted in the 2d Wis. V. I., from which he received 
 an honorable discharge, but on recovering from a 
 wound he re-enlisted, the second time in the First 
 Connecticut Artillery, in which he served with 
 distinction, gaining the reputation of the best gunner 
 in the regiment. He was mustered out Sept. 25, 
 1865, and died, at Fulton, Ark., Jan. 3, 1879. (3) 
 Jeanette was born Alarch 9, 1834, and married 
 William G. Coe Alay 27, 1856. (4) James Todd 
 was born Dec. 9, 1835. (5) Theresa was born 
 Nov. 20, 1837. (6) Lorenzo Porter was born Jan. 
 17, 1839. (7) Susan was born Oct. 4, 1841, and 
 died Jan. 27, 1842. (8) Alice was born June 6, 
 1843, and married Albert S. Wells Sept. 8, 1868. 
 
 (9) Ella, born Aug. 16, 1846, married Leonard 
 Doig on June 10, 1873, and died Dec. 5, 1875. 
 
 Lorenzo Porter Lee was one of the first to en- 
 gage in manufacturing in New Britain. He was a 
 leading and public-spirited citizen, and was identi- 
 fied with many business ventures, in all of which 
 he was successful. His worth was recognized by 
 his fellow townsmen, who honored him by elect- 
 ing him to many important offices, the duties of 
 which he discharged with remarkable ability. He 
 represented the town of Berlin in the General As- 
 sembly, and was New Britain's first postmaster, his 
 commission bearing the signature of John Quincy 
 Adams, Feb. 12, 1828. He was an omnivorous 
 reader, and this trait, together with his extraor- 
 dinarily retentive memory, joined to acute powers 
 of observation, made him one of the best informed 
 men of his time. Ilis mind was singularly clear and 
 logical, and although he never entered the profession 
 of the law he was constantly consulted by his friends 
 and neighbors on legal questions, frequently draft- 
 ing contracts and other documents, but always re- 
 fusing to accept compensation for services. He was 
 kindly and generous, and a liberal contributor to 
 the cause of religion. He took a deep interest in the 
 history of his family, and was the vice-president 
 of the Lee Association, at its first gathering, in 
 1884, being the oldest man present. Fie was also 
 one of the oldest Masons in the State, and was 
 buried at New Britain with high honor by that fra- 
 ternity. 
 
 James Todd Lee, son of Lorenzo P. Lee, was 
 born Dec. 9, 1835. He married, at Manchester, 
 England, Caroline Wake, a native of Yorkshire, 
 in which county she was born Sept. 18, 1845. For 
 twenty years he represented the firm of Lee, Tweedy 
 & Co., of New York City, in Europe, as their pur- 
 chasing agent. He owned an interest in this great 
 wholesale dry-goods house, and during his long 
 connection with it crossed the Atlantic probably 
 eighty times. At the meeting of the Lee Associa- 
 tion, held in August, 1896, he was chosen president,. 
 a position for which his family pride and affection, 
 no less than his urbane courtesy, well qualified 
 him. He is the father of four children: Percy 
 Howard, Leslie William, Ida Caroline and Ella 
 Beatrice. Percy H. was born Oct. 5, 1868, at A'lan- 
 chester, England. Leslie W. was born at the same 
 place March 26, 1871, and is an artist of great 
 promise, with studio at New York. Ida Caroline 
 was born March 5, 1873, at Manchester, England, 
 and died in New York April 12, 1878. Ella Beat- 
 rice, born at A'lanchester Aug. i, 1874, died in Man- 
 chester, Alarch 21, 1876. 
 
 Lorenzo Porter Lee (2) was born Jan. 17, 1839, 
 and on June 20, 1878, married Clara L., a daughter 
 of the late D. W. Smith, of Williamsport, Penn. 
 Mr. Lee served during the Civil war in Company 
 F, 8th N. Y. V. I. For nineteen and a half years, 
 he was in the employ of Russell & Erwin as a com- 
 mercial traveler, his route extending over the entire 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 935 
 
 country, he resigning that position on Jan. i, 1884. 
 About this time he and his brother, James Todd 
 Lee, erected the Lee block. Adjacent to this stands 
 the first brick residence ever built in New Britain, 
 and beneath its roof Lorenzo's children were born. 
 The home of his grandfather, Thomas Lee, stood 
 upon the site of the Judd block, where his progeny, 
 one and all, were born. 
 
 The brothers have done much toward the up- 
 building and beautifying of the city. In 1884 the dry- 
 goods firm of Lee Bros. & Co. was founded. After 
 eight or ten years of successful business they em- 
 barked in the grocery trade, from which they re- 
 tired in 1898. Their mutual affection is as earnest 
 as in the days of their childhood, yet their political 
 views are widely divergent, James T. being a Dem- 
 ocrat and Lorenzo P. a Republican. The former 
 was elected city treasurer in 1889, but cared so little 
 for the office that he failed to qualify. Both are 
 among the most prominent and tiniversally respected 
 citizens of New Britain. 
 
 HON. WARREN C. HUMPHREY (deceased) 
 was for many years a leading resident of Canton, 
 and his active and faithful work in sustaining the 
 progressive movements of his day in his locality 
 has given him a lasting place in the memory of his 
 fellow citizens. 
 
 Mr. Humphrey worthily represented a family 
 which has long been prominent in this section, and 
 traced his descent from Michael Humphrey, a pio- 
 nerr settler, through Samuel (i), Samuel (2), Sam- 
 uel (3), Theophilus and Loin Humphrey. Samuel 
 Humphrey (3), our subject's great-grandfather, 
 was iDorn in Simsbury, in 1710, and in 1734 re- 
 moved to West Simsbury, where he engaged in 
 farming. He died at his home in 1760, his re- 
 mains being interred in the West Simsbury cem- 
 etery. In 1734 he married Mary Wilcox, daughter 
 of Nathaniel Wilcox, and they had the following 
 children: Samuel, born in 1734, died in 1804, mar- 
 ried Prudence Mills ; Elizabeth, born in 1737, died 
 in 1816, married Thomas Dyer; Hannah, born in 
 1740, died in 1821, married Benjamin Mills; Will- 
 iam, born in 1742, died in 1773, married Hepzibah 
 Merrill ; Theophilus is mentioned below ; Mary, 
 born in 1746, died in 1830, married Daniel Morgan, 
 
 Deacon Theophilus Humphrey, our subject's 
 grandfather, was born in 1744, and died in 1826. 
 The greater portion of his life was spent in farm- 
 ing in West Simsbury, but for a few years previous 
 to 1782 he resided in Simsbury. His first wife. 
 Hepzibah Cornish, was born in 1742, daughter of 
 Elisha Cornish, and died in 1800. His second wife, 
 Diana Averit, was born in 1752, and died in 1843. 
 He had the following children, all by the first 
 union: James, born in 1765, died in 1830, married 
 (first) Keturah Case and (second) Dradama Gar- 
 rett; Hepzibah, born in 1767, married Jesse Bar- 
 bour; Alvin, born in 1769, died in 1847, was (first) 
 married to Alviha Case, and (second) to Mary 
 Hayes; the next child died in infancy; Amelia, 
 
 born in 1774, died in 1808, married Jonathan Bar- 
 bour; Theophilus, born in 1776, died in 1851, mar- 
 ried (first) Cynthia Hayden, and afterward Miss 
 Cornish ; Loin is mentioned below ; Phinny, born in 
 1780, died in 1852, married Rhoda Higley, daugh- 
 ter of Seth Higley; Thalia, who was born in 17S2, 
 married Thomas Engden; Dudley, born in 1784, 
 died in 1826, married Elizabeth Humphrey ; and 
 Kezalia, born in 1786, died in 1818, married Stephen 
 Atwater. 
 
 Hon. Loin Humphrey, father of Warren C. 
 Humphrey, our subject, was born Dec. 31, 1777, 
 in West Simsbury, now Canton. With only a 
 limited education he was successful in life, his ca- 
 reer showing what industry, enterprise, large- 
 heartedness and a naturally keen intellect could 
 accomplish in his environment. For two terms he 
 served as a representative in the State Legislature, 
 and he held the office of justice of the peace of 
 Canton for twenty years, having first been appointed 
 in 1831. At various times he served as selectman 
 and in other local offices^ but notwithstanding his 
 public duties he was one of the most practical 
 farmers in his district. His death occurred at his 
 home in Canton, Nov. 16, 1854. On Oct. 18, 1798, 
 he married, in West Simsbury, Miss Rhoda Case, 
 who was born April 14, 1780, and died Oct.- 21, 
 1847. She was a daughter of Hosea Case, Jr., and 
 granddaughter of Deacon Hosea Case. Her mother, 
 whose maiden name was Rhoda Case, was a daugh- 
 ter of Amos Case. Loin and Rhoda Humphrey 
 had the following children : Loin Harmon, born 
 July 13, 1799, married Sophia Chidsey; Austin 
 Nelson, born May 10, 1801, died April 20, 1884, 
 married Amelia Higley ; Eunice Delight, born April 
 2, 1803, died Sept. 21, 1875, married, on Aug. 7, 
 1821, Pomeroy Higley; Hosea Sherman was born 
 Dec. 21, 1805, and died Feb. 16, 1809; Hosea Day- 
 ton, born Aug. 31, 1809, died Sept. 18, 1845, married 
 Caroline Starr; Warren Canfield, our subject, is 
 mentioned below; Rhoda Florinda, born Oct. 18, 
 1814, married, on Aug. 17, 1837, Ben Ristinc, a 
 resident of Crawfordsville, Ind. ; Sarah Eleanor 
 was born Feb. 25, 1819, and died April 15, 1831 ; 
 Susan Maria, born April 6, 1820, married, on Sept. 
 2, 1841, Hon. Oliver C. Adams, son of Gen. Ezra 
 Adams; a child, born March 18, 1824, died March 
 19, 1824; Eliza Lavinia, born Aug. 26, 1825, died 
 Oct. 21, 1840. 
 
 Our subject was born in Canton May 30, 181 1, 
 and was in the prime of his manhood during the 
 anti-slavery struggle, with which he identified him- 
 self until its close. He was a man of practical ed' 
 ucation, received in the public schools, and his talent 
 and strong character made him a natural leader. 
 He was one of the first three to vote the anti- 
 slavery ticket in Canton Center, and was one of the 
 youngest members of the first anti-slaverv conven- 
 tion, held in Hartford in 1835-36, when the audience 
 was driven from the city hall and compelled to 
 seek private quarters in order to listen to the ad- 
 dress of Mr. Lovejoy, whose brother, E- P- Love- 
 
936 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 joy, had been murdered in Alton, 111., but a short 
 time before. Just before the organization of the 
 Republican party the Free-Soil party nominated 
 their last candidate for United States senator from 
 the Third District of Connecticut, and Mr. Hvuu- 
 phrey was their choice. Though he failed of clec- 
 tiort to that position he served the Rcpulilican party 
 afterward in many local offices, including that of 
 justice of the peace, and in 1859 ^"d 1872 he repre- 
 sented Canton in the State Legislature. Socially 
 he was much esteemed in his community, and as a 
 music teacher and public singer he achieved notable 
 success. He was a member of the Congregational 
 choir for sixty years, dating from the time he was 
 eighteen years old, and he was a member of the 
 Church for fifty years, and a deacon for twenty- 
 five years. On Sept. 4, 1835, Mr. Humphrey mar- 
 ried Mary A. Adams, daughter of Gen. Ezra 
 Adams. She died March 21, 1843, and on April 
 3, 1844, he married Mrs. Eliza Ann Moses, who 
 died April 3, 1S73. On Oct. 22, 1874, he formed 
 a third union, this time with Mrs. Henrietta R. 
 Cidwell, who is mentioned below. Mr. Humphrey 
 died Feb. 6, 1896. He left no children. 
 
 Mrs. Henrietta R. Humphrey, the widow of our 
 subject, is a descendant of one of the oldest fam- 
 ilies of Massachusetts. Her father, Hiram Pike, 
 was born in New Marlboro, Mass, May 25, 1799, 
 and was reared a farmer. He married Olive Rood, 
 who was born in Canaan, Conn., Sept. 25, 1797, 
 daughter of John Rood, and soon afterward set- 
 tled" in Canton, where he spent the rest of his life 
 in agricultural pursuits. He died Nov. 13, 1838, 
 his wife on July 21, 1887, and their remains were 
 interred in the cemetery at New Hartford. They 
 had the following children: Julia A., born June 
 20, 1826, married, on Jan. 25, 1849, William Wil- 
 cox; Henrietta R. is the wife of our subject; 
 Celestia, born June 17, 1829, married William Wil- 
 cox ; Olive, born Aug. 9, 1830, married Nelson 
 Humphrey; IMark H., born Feb. 4, 1832, died in 
 1892 ; ]\Iary E., bom July 5, 1833, married Ed- 
 mund Chapin; John R., born Nov. 26, 1836, is now 
 a farmer of Canton ; Aretus, born March 2, 1837, 
 died Aug. 30, 1837; and Catharine, born Feb. 11, 
 1839, married William Case, of New Hartford. 
 Mrs. Humphrey was born in New Marlboro, Mass., 
 June 27, 1827, and now resides at Canton, where 
 she has spent much of her life. She is a good 
 Christian woman, and possessed of much business 
 ability. Her first husband was Albert Frederick 
 Bidwell, and by him she had five children, three of 
 whom are now living: Frederick A., George E. 
 and Thomas Scott. 
 
 GEORGE WILCOX, trustee, elder and busi- 
 ness manager of the Church Family of Shakers, 
 Shaker Station, in the town of Enfield, was born 
 in Foster, Providence Co., R. I., JNIarch 14, 1819, 
 a son of David and Betsey (Fry) Wilcox, natives 
 of the same town and county, who, with a family 
 
 of five sons and one daughter, joined the Shaker 
 Community of Enfield in 1827. Both parents lived 
 and died v/ith the Shakers, the father passing away 
 April 5, 1836, and the mother in August, 1877. 
 Their children were:- Richard, John, George, Dan- 
 iel, Phebe and Ezra. Of these, Richard was killed 
 by accident in 1884; Daniel drifted away, married 
 and reared a family, and died in Quincy, 111., at 
 the age of fifty-six; Ezra died April 6, 1836, at the 
 age of eleven ; and John died Feb. 4, 1900, aged 
 eighty-three. George and Phebe still survive and 
 are members of the Church Family of Shakers, 
 Enfield. 
 
 In the latter part of the eighteenth century 
 there was an active revival of religion through the 
 various churches in this region. In due time they 
 heard of a small band of people located near Al- 
 bany, N. Y., who had migrated from England in 
 the year 1774, and were preaching and practicing 
 a true Christian life, after the pattern of the 
 Apostolic Ciuuxh shortly after the crucifixion of 
 Jesus, embracing the principles of peace, virgin 
 purity and comnumity of goods. Finally some of 
 the subjects of the revival visited those strange 
 people, and ultimatelv became convinced and con- 
 verted to their doctrine, and after awhile some of 
 those people visited Enfield and planted their testi- 
 mony in the hearts and souls of a few families, 
 principal among them being the Meachams, Tif- 
 fanys, Billings, Slate Allen and others with their 
 families, who grew up and established these com- 
 munity families, living together as brothers and sis- 
 ters. They have contmued thus, with various ac- 
 cessions, for something over one hundred years. 
 
 George Wilcox, our subject, has been identified 
 with the Church Family of Shakers since the age of 
 eighteen years, one year after the death of his father. 
 He has been an elder since 1844, first as assistant 
 to Elder Asa Tifi'any, whom he succeeded upon the 
 retirement of the latter in 185 1, and this important 
 position he has since successfully continued to fill, 
 having supervision of over one thousand acres of 
 land belonging to the Church Family. The North, 
 South and Church Families have in all about three 
 thousand acres in one body. 
 
 The Shakers are engaged principally in agri- 
 cultural pursuits, but also own and operate a ma- 
 chine shop, a sawmill and a gristmill. They deal 
 to some extent in stock, and grow their own dairy 
 stock. They sell from eighty to one hundred and 
 twenty-five tons of hay annually. The work is 
 done principally by the members of the commun- 
 ity, though in the busy season outside help is some- 
 times employed. The women do fancy work, which 
 is disposed of to visitors. 
 
 At tne age of eighty-one Elder Wilcox is hale 
 and heartier than most men of sixty, and bids fair 
 to reach the century mark. He is a genial and 
 courteous gentleman, and has served in the ca- 
 pacity of trustee for thirty years, and as chairman 
 of the board of trustees for the. three families in 
 Enfield during the latter part of that time. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 937 
 
 ELAM S. KILBY, for many years a prominent 
 business man of Kensington, is a native of Weth- 
 ■ersfield, Hartford county, born March 14, 1848. His 
 grandfather, who died while he was very young, 
 was a farmer, and his father, Franklin Kilby, was 
 a blacksmith. 
 
 Franklin Kilby was born in 1818 in Wethers- 
 field, and died July 4, 1870. Both his name and 
 trade harmonize with the sturdy integrity of his 
 character. In 1840 he was married to Harriet 
 Slater, of New Britain, who passed away when 
 young Elam was a child of six years, and was laid 
 to rest in her native town. During her fourteen 
 years of married life she bore her husband three 
 children: Benjamin Franklin, Hattie and Elam 
 S. The eldest son received serious injury while a 
 child, but lived until 1893, in which 3'ear he died, 
 unmarried, at the age of forty-nine. Hattie mar- 
 ried Abraham Howell, a tea merchant of New 
 Britain. After the death of his first wife Franklin 
 ■ Kilby married Mary Ann O'Rouke, of Wethers- 
 I field, and of this union four children were born, 
 two daughters and two sons. The eldest child, 
 Lena, married Edward Carter, of Los Angeles, Cal. ; 
 James E., the first-born son, is serving in the 
 United States army at Wingate, N. M. ; Frederick, 
 the second son, also located in the regular army 
 in 1882, but since that year his family has heard 
 nothing of his whereabouts ; Isabella, the youngest 
 child of the second marriage, is now the wife of 
 Elmer Ripple, of Berlin, who is in the employ of 
 the Russell & Erwin Co., of New Berlin. Mr. 
 Kilby's second wife survives him, making her home 
 with her daughter, Mrs. Ripple. At the outbreak 
 of the Civil war FrankHn Kilby, despite his forty- 
 three years, felt his pulse throb and his heart beat 
 •quicker when Beauregard fired the first Rebel gun 
 aimed at Sumter. He promptly enlisted in the 
 Conn. V. I., his regiment being the first three-year 
 one to go to the front from the State. 
 
 Such early education as Elam S. Kilby received 
 was obtained at the Wethersfield common schools, 
 but necessity compelled him to go to work at an 
 early age, his first practical experience being as a 
 farm hand. He worked some seven months for 
 Deacon Stanley Griswold, of Wethersfield, and 
 about the same length of time for Deacon Stillwell, 
 earning six dollars a month. His next employers 
 were Franklin Griswold and Deacon Chauncey 
 Welles, for each of whom he worked one summer. 
 He then removed from Wethersfield to Kensington, 
 where he secured work as a polisher in the shops 
 of the Hart, Bliven & Meade Co. After a year 
 he entered the "square" department of the same fac- 
 tory, where he was employed for eighteen months. 
 At the expiration of that period (in 1871) he opened 
 the "Kilby House," near the Berlin station of the 
 N. Y. & N. H. railroad. In mentioning this, his 
 first business venture on his own account, attention 
 should be directed to the fact that on coming to 
 Kensington Mr. Kilby's entire cash capital con- 
 sisted of three dollars, and the fact that within two 
 
 and a half years he was able to undertake an en- 
 terprise of this sort speaks volumes for his industry, 
 sobriety and economy. For twenty-one years he 
 remained in charge of the original "Kilby House," 
 which he conducted with such skill and attention 
 to business that in 1892 he erected a new "Kilby 
 House," on the line of the New Britain and Berlin 
 trolly road. He continued to manage this estab- 
 lishment until 1897, when he leased the hotel to 
 John Carey. Since then he has devoted himself to 
 the conduct of his livery stable, which is one of 
 the best equipped of its size in the county. Through 
 business sagacity, perseverance and integrity he has 
 accumulated a comfortable competence. In 1896 
 he erected a handsome modern residence adjoin- 
 ing his new hotel. In addition to his hotel property 
 and residence he owns eight dwellings in Kensing- 
 ton, besides several business buildings, known as 
 Kilby's Corners, which he put up in the immediate 
 vicinity of the "Kilby House," as well as the post- 
 office building, the storerooms occupied by Nelson 
 Taylor and by the West Market, the adjacent bar- 
 ber shop and the building nearest the Berlin depot. 
 He is also a property owner in New Britain, among 
 his other holdings there being the Fielding block 
 on Main street, adjoining Dennis Riordan's dry- 
 goods store. 
 
 On Aug. 31, 1869, Mr. Kilby was married to 
 Miss Annie M. Cushman, who was born in East 
 Hartford April 5, 1853, and they have one child, 
 a son named Louis Elam. The latter was edu- 
 cated at the Kensington common schools and the 
 New Britain high school, and after graduating 
 from the last named institution took a commercial 
 course at Hannum's Business College in Hartford. 
 For two years he was engaged in the grocery busi- 
 ness in Kensington with William Taylor under the 
 firm name of Kilby & Taylor, and is at present 
 connected with the W. L. Davis Brick Co. ; he also 
 has charge of his father's business in New Britain. 
 He has been a grand juror since he was twenty-two 
 years of age, and in 1898, greatly against his wish, 
 was nominated by the Democratic party for the 
 office of representative, but was defeated. 
 
 Mr. Kilby is thoroughly independent in poli- 
 tics, his motto being "men rather than party." For 
 himself, he has never sought office, finding that the 
 successful conduct of his own extensive business 
 affairs called for all his time, thought and energy. 
 He is a member of the Sons of Veterans and of 
 Meriden Lodge, No. 35, B. P. O. E. He is one 
 of the best-known men of either Kensington, Berlin 
 or New Britain, in all of which places his frank, 
 genial nature, no less than his high moral char- 
 acter, has made for him many friends. 
 
 Mrs. Elam S. Kilby, whose maiden name, as 
 has been said, was Annie M. Cushman, is descended 
 from original Puritan stock, some of the best blood 
 of the early Pilgrims of New England coursing 
 through her veins. She is of the eighth genera- 
 tion in direct line from Rev. Robert Cushman, who 
 was born in England before the year 1600. He 
 
938 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was one of the passengers on the ''Speedwell," 
 the sister ship of the "^^layflower," which sprang 
 a leak and was obliged to return to port, while the 
 "Mayflower" proceeded on her voyage. In 1621, 
 however, Robert Cushnian crossed the water, land- 
 ing at Plymouth, where he preached the first ser- 
 mon ever heard in New England. He remained at 
 Plymouth for a few months, when he was sent to 
 England as an agent for the Colony, and while pre- 
 paring to return to America he died. His son, 
 Thomas, who was a boy of fourteen years when he 
 accompanied his father to the New World, became 
 a ruling elder in the church, dying in that part uf 
 I'lymouth which afterwaril became a portion of 
 Kingston. He was the father of a family of sons, 
 one of whom, Isaac, was the first minister settled 
 at Plympton. He also had a numerous progeny, 
 one of his sons, Nathaniel, being the great-great- 
 grandfather of Mrs. Kilby. Nathaniel settled at 
 Lebanon and his eldest son, also named Isaac, re- 
 moved to Stafford, Conn., where he died in 1813, 
 aged seventy-seven years. Tins Isaac (2), Mrs. 
 Kilby's great-grandfather, had three sons, David, 
 Solomon and Jonas. Solomon was born Oct. 13, 
 1778, and was the father of ten children, the young- 
 est of whom, Ambrose, was the father of Annie 
 ]\I. (now Mrs. Elam S. Kilby). He was born in 
 West Stafford Feb. 18, 1813, and after' leaving 
 school worked upon his father's farm. In Feb- 
 ruary, 1837, he married Abigail L. Stowe, the 
 daughter of a farmer of Mooers, N. Y. Six chil- 
 dren were born to them, whose names and dates of 
 birth are as follows: Lucinda. Oct. 31, 1839; 
 Candice, in 1841 : Jefferson, Feb. 18, 1846; Erskine, 
 Aug. 25, 1848: Annie M., April 5, 1853; and 
 Arthur J., April 5, 1855. 
 
 HON. EDWIN MORGAN RIPLEY, .M. D., 
 
 of Unionville, has won for himself an eminent po- 
 sition in the medical world- He is a man of deep 
 research and careful investigation, and his skill 
 and ability have won him a large and lucrative 
 practice. Prominence in his profession comes 
 through merit alone, and the high position which 
 he occupies attests his superiority. 
 
 The Ripley family is of English origin, and their 
 coat of arms is thus described : Per chev. dove- 
 tailed, and vert., tnree lions ramp., countercharged. 
 Crest, a demi-lion, ramp-reguard, vert., collared or 
 holding between the paws an escutcheon per chev. 
 or. The first to come to the New World was Will- 
 iam Ripley, who with his wife, two sons and two 
 daughters, left Hingham, England, in 1638, and 
 located in Hingham, Mass. For his second wife 
 he married Elizabeth, widow of Thomas Thaxter, 
 on Sept. 29, 1654. He died July 20, 1656. His 
 children were John, who died Feb. 2, 1684 ; Abra- 
 ham ; Sarah, who was married, Oct. 18, 1653, to 
 Jeremiah Beale; and another daughter. 
 
 (II) John Ripley, of this family, had land 
 granted him at Hingham, Mass. He married Eliz- 
 abeth Hobart, daughter of Rev. Peter Hobart, the 
 
 first pastor of the church at Hingham. They had 
 seven children; John, born Jan. 20, 1655, died 
 Sept. 7, 1720; Joshua, born May 9, 1658, died May 
 18, 1739; Jeremiah, born in September, 1662; Jo- 
 siah, born May 12, 1667; Peter, born Oct. 21, 1668, 
 died April 22, 1742; Rebecca, born Jan. 18, 1670, 
 died Oct. i, 1670; and Hezekiah, born Dec. 15, 
 1672. 
 
 (III) Joshua Ripley was married, Nov. 28, 
 1682, to Hannah, daughter of William Bradford, 
 Jr., deputy governor of the Plymouth Colony, and 
 granddaughter of Gov. William Bradford, who 
 came to this country in the "Mayflower" in 1620. 
 She was born May 9, 1662, and died May 28, 1738. 
 From Hingham, Mass., Joshua Ripley and wife 
 moved to Norwich, Conn., Oct. 10, 16S8, and to 
 Windham March 23, 1691. He was the first town 
 clerk and treasurer of the latter place, and also 
 served as justice of the peace. Flis children were 
 Alice, who was born Sept, 17, 1683, and married 
 Samuel Edgerton, of Norwich, Conn. ; Hannah, who 
 was born March 2, 1685, and married Samuel 
 Webb, of Wmdham ; Faith, who was born Sept. 
 20, 1686, and married Samuel Bingham ; Joshua, 
 born May 13, 1688; Margaret, born Nov. 4, 1699; 
 Rachel and Leah (twins), born April 17, 1693; 
 Hezekiah, born June 10, 1695, died Feb. 7, 1779; 
 David, born May 20, 1697, died Feb. 16, 1781 ; 
 Irene, born Aug. 28, 1700, married Samuel Man- 
 ning; and Jerusha anu Ann (twins), born Nov. i, 
 1704, the former of whom married Edward Brown, 
 the latter wedding Dr. Wheat. 
 
 (IV) Joshua Ripley, born May 13, 1688, died 
 Nov. 18, 1773. On Dec. 3, 1712, he wedded Mary 
 Backus, of Windham, Conn., by whom he had nine 
 children: IMary, born Nov. 18, 1714, married 
 Joshua Abbe, and died in October, 1769; Phineas, 
 born Nov. 21, 1716, died Aug. 4, 1746; Hannah, 
 born June 12, 1719, died Nov. 18, 1773; Nathaniel 
 was born June 30, 1721 ; Elizabeth, born Nov. 4, 
 1724, married John Ald^n ; Joshua was born Oct. 
 30, 1726; Ebenezer, born June 22, 1729, died June 
 
 11, 1811; William was born Feb. 12, 1734; and 
 John, born March 31, 1738, died Jan. 27, 1823. 
 
 (V) John Ripley, born March 31, 1738, died 
 Jan. 27, 1823. He was rnarried, June 7, 1769, to 
 Abigail Marsh, of Hartford, and had eleven chil- 
 dren: Henrietta, born March 13, 1770, died Oct. 
 23, 1795; Elisha Payne, born Dec. 12, 1771, died 
 May 26, 1773; Abigail, born Sept. 28, 1773, died 
 Nov. 24, 1777; Polly, born Nov. 3, 1775, died Nov. 
 22, 1779; Hannah, born Oct. 7, 1777, died Oct. 
 10, 1777; Lucy, born Sept. 12, 1778, died Jan. 23, 
 1853 ; John Bradford, the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was next in the order of birth; William Brad- 
 ford, born July 14, 1784, died Sept. 15, 1785 ; Jabez, 
 born May 24, 1786, died in 1822 ; Oliver, born Nov. 
 
 12, 1788, died April 19, i860; and Julia, born May 
 x6, 1792, married Henry Terry, of Enfield, Conn., 
 April 29, 18 ID. 
 
 (VI) John Bradford Ripley was born July 6, 
 1780, and died May 14, 1852. He made his home 
 in Hartford for many years, and served as sheriff 
 
f^X^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 989 
 
 of the county, but about 1812 he moved to Bland- 
 ford, ^lass., where he engaged in farming until his 
 death. He married Elizabeth Barnard, of Hartford, 
 and to them were born twelve children : Hen- 
 rietta, born Sept. 11, 1803, married Edwin Bar- 
 nard, of Waterville, Wis. ; Mary Bradford, born 
 ;\Iarch 21, 1805, married Horace Newberry, of 
 South Windsor, Conn. ; Abigail Marsh, born Jan. 
 30, 1S07, married H. B. Harris, of Blandford, 
 Mass.; John Darrow, born Jan. 15, 1809, died 
 March 4, 1886; Oliver, born Oct. 19, 1810, died 
 March 23, 1892; Frederick A., born Aug. 8, 1812, 
 died July 21, 1891 ; William Johnson, father of our 
 subject, is next in the order of birth ; Henry ]May, 
 born ]\lay 4, 1816, died Nov. 17, 1840; Elizabeth 
 Lane, born May 2, 1818, married David Bates, of 
 Blandford, I\Iass. ; Lucy, born Nov. 8, 1820, married 
 Dr. P. AL Hackley, of Berlin, W is. ; James Dyer, 
 born Oct. 13, 1822, lives in Granville, jNIass. ; and 
 Edwin Barnard, born Nov. 27, 1823, lives in South 
 Windsor, Connecticut. 
 
 (Vn) Rev. William J. Ripley, an Advent min- 
 ister, was born in Blandford, Mass., Aug. 30, 1814, 
 and died Jan. 15, 1884. He first married Weltha 
 Noble, who died April 17, 1842. Later he mar- 
 ried Eveline Jones, a daughter of Orville Jones, 
 and to them were born two children : Edwin M., 
 our subject; and Orville H., born May 24, 1864. 
 The mother died Sept. 22, 1899. , 
 
 (Vni) Dr. Edwin M. Ripley, whose name in- 
 troduces this sketch, was born at Pleasant Valley, 
 in the town of Barkhamsted, Litchfield Co., Conn., 
 July 31, 1847, and was educated for his profession 
 at the New York Eclectic Aledicax College, from 
 which he was graduated Feb. 11, 1871. Immedi- 
 ately afterward he formed a partnership with Dr. 
 Albert Fox, of Pawling, N. Y., with whom he en- 
 gaged in practice for a year, when ill health com- 
 pelled him to return home. A year later he went 
 to South Dover, N. Y., where he practiced his pro- 
 fession for nearly four years with great success, 
 and in 1876 came to L^nionville, Conn., opening 
 an office in Merriam's block. In his many years' 
 practice in this place he has met with gratifying 
 success, and is widel)^ known as a learned physi- 
 cian and agreeable gentleman. Dr. Ripley has 
 been president of the Connecticut Eclectic Medical 
 Association for three years : has been a member of 
 the National Association since 1879, and was sec- 
 retan- of Section A, World's Fair Medical Con- 
 gress, held in Chicago in 1893. He is local medi- 
 cal examiner for the .^tna Life, Travelers, the 
 IMasonic Life Association of Trenton, N. J., Hart- 
 ford Life, New York Life and National Life In- 
 surance Companies, and the Ancient Order of 
 L'nited Workmen. He is not a believer in the germ 
 theory of disease, and is an active enemy of com- 
 pulsory vaccination, concerning which he has writ- 
 ten some interesting papers. 
 
 Dr. Ripley is quite prominent in Masonic cir- 
 cles; has been master of Evening Star Lodge, No. 
 loi, F. & A. il. ; in 1893 was elected grand patron 
 
 of the Order of the Eastern Star, and is now patron 
 of Adah Chapter, No. 30, O. E. S. He has also been 
 receiver of Centennial Lodge, No. 41, A. O. U. 
 W., for the past eight years. Since making his 
 home in Unionville Dr. Ripley has also been prom- 
 inent in political affairs, having been elected rep- 
 resentative in 1889, the only Republican in the 
 town elected to office that year. In 1892 he was 
 nominated for governor by the Peoples party, and 
 in 1896 was the Democratic nominee for comptroller 
 of the State. 
 
 On Feb. 10, 1870, the Doctor married Miss 
 Helen E. Elton, daughter of the late Romeo Elton, 
 of Burlington, Conn., and they have two sons : 
 Edwin Elton and Herbert Jones. The latter is 
 a member of the firm of Woodford & Ripley, 
 brokers, N0.7, Central Row, Hartford. Herbert 
 J. Ripley enlisted in Company K, First Conn. \^ols., 
 for service in the Spanish-American war, and 
 served until the regiment was discharged. 
 
 CHARLES ROBERT HAAVLEY, a member 
 of the well-known firm of Sanford & Hawley, 
 lumber and hardware dealers of Unionville, is one 
 of the most enterprising and energetic business men 
 of that place. He has done much to promote its 
 commercial activity, advance the general welfare 
 and secure the material development of the town 
 and is tlierefore numbered among its most valued 
 citizens. 
 
 A native of Hartford county, Mr. Hawley was 
 born in the town of Avon July 31, 1859. His grand- 
 father, Zera Hawley, M. D., was also a native of 
 that town, was a graduate of Yale College, and was 
 the first dentist in New Haven, but his last days 
 were passed in Avon. He married Miss Harriet 
 Sherman, of New Haven, and to them were born 
 three children : Edward ; Harriet, wife of George 
 Woodruff; and Robert, father of otir subject, all of 
 whom are now deceased. 
 
 Robert Hawley was born, reared and educated 
 in New Haven, and throughout his active business 
 life engaged in farming. In Avon he was united 
 in marriage with Miss Maria Hamlin, a native of 
 Litchfield, Conn., and to them were born six chil- 
 dren : Margarette. a resident of Guilford, Conn. ; 
 Marion, wife of Frank Sanford, of Unionville; 
 Clarence, a merchant of Guilford ; Harriet, also a 
 resident of Guilford: Charles Robert, our subject; 
 and Ellsworth, of Guilford, who married Maria 
 Clark and has three children, Ellsworth, Sherman 
 and Robert. During the Civil war the father ert- 
 listed in Company A, i6th Conn. Y. I., and after 
 three months of active service was killed in the 
 battle of Antietam. The family then removed to 
 Guilford, where all now reside with the exception 
 of our subject and Mrs. Sanford. 
 
 Charles R. Hawley is indebted to the schools of 
 Guilford for his educational advantages, and there 
 he continued to make his home until 1884, being 
 employed for a time as bookkeeper by D. N. Ben- 
 ton, a general merchant, and by the Sachem's Head 
 
940 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Canning Co. In 1884 he went to Seattle, Wash., 
 where he was hookkeeper for the Puget Sound 
 Iron Co., and thence returned to Connecticut. He 
 has since resided in Unionville. and has carried on 
 business as a member of the firm of Sanford & 
 Hawley with marked success. 
 
 In Guilford, Conn., Mr. Hawley married Ali^s 
 Harriet E. Fowler, a native of that place, and they 
 have two children: .Marguerite and Clarence 
 Kent. He was made a Freemason in St. .Albans 
 Lodge, No. 38, F. & A. M., at Guilford, but now 
 belongs to Evening Star Lodge, No. loi, F. & 
 A. M. He and his wife are members of the Con- 
 gregational Church at Unionville. Mr. Hawley 
 is liighl)- respected and esteemed b\- all who know 
 him. 
 
 NATHANIEL W. FRENCH. Perhaps the 
 highest tvpe cf character is displayed by the ju- 
 dicial miiid. He who can carefully weigh evidence 
 and dispense justice evenly, especially among his 
 friends and neighbors, must ]X)ssess that clear in- 
 sight into the groundwork of human right which 
 sooner or later appeals strongly to the people, and 
 to maintain the judicial office continuously through 
 a period of thirty or more years is the best evi- 
 dence of worth and integrity. In the town of Glas- 
 tonbury "Squire" French, as he is popularly called, 
 is one of the best known citizens, representative of 
 its best and most typical interests. 
 
 Mr. French was born in Coventry, Conn.. June 
 3, 1823, a son of Eleazor and Fannie (Wood- 
 ward) French, and the descendant of an old New 
 England family. Aaron French, his grandfather, 
 migrated more than a century ago from western 
 J\lassachusetts with his brother. John, and settled 
 in Coventry, Tolland county. He married Abigail 
 Brown, and to them were born nine children: (i) 
 Stephen, who left home when young and was never 
 heard from; (2) Eleazer, father of our subject; 
 (3) John, who was one of the first post mail riders 
 in Connecticut (carried the mail horseback), and 
 who later migrated with his family to Orleans coun- 
 ty, N. Y., where he farmed: (4) Jonathan, who 
 also migrated to Orleans county, N. Y. ; (5) Selah,- 
 who became a farmer of ]\Ieredith, N. Y. ; (6) 
 Irene, who married Nathan Dexter, and lived in 
 Coventry; (7) Oliver, who when a boy ran away 
 and enlisted in the army during the war of 1812, 
 imder the name of John Rose (too young to carry 
 a musket, he served as a teamster, and participated 
 in the battle of French Mills: he married Jane 
 Doane and was a farmer at Coventry until his 
 death) ; (8) Nabby, who died unmarried in Cov- 
 entry; (9) Aaron, who was a stage driver (he 
 married Avis Dart, lived in Avon, Conn., and died 
 there of smallpox). 
 
 Eleazer French, the father of our subject, was 
 bcrn in Coventry Feb. 20, 1783. He received a fair 
 schooling for his time, and in his youth acquired the 
 shoemaker's trade, which he followed for a time, 
 and, as was then customary, bousrht leather and 
 
 went from house to house in the fall of the year, 
 remaining at each house until all the needed cob- 
 bling was completed. Fie made a pair of top-boots 
 for Col. Porter, who commanded the regiment that 
 went to the defense of New London. Later he en- 
 gaged in farming in North Parish, Coventry, where 
 he remained until his death. He was a man of 
 more than ordinary intelligence, and lived to the 
 ripe old age of eighty-three years, passing away 
 Aug. 12, 1866, and was buried in Coventry. He 
 married, April 30, 1807, the acquaintance of his 
 boyhood. Miss Fannie Woodward, who was born 
 April 13, 1792, daughter of Nathaniel and Eliza- 
 beth (Ellsworth) Woodward. She died Oct. 15, 
 1869, and was buried beside her husband in Cov- 
 entry. The family of Eleazer and Fannie French 
 consisted of eight children : ( i ) Eleazer W., born 
 in 1807, was a cooper in early life, and for some 
 years a resident of Illinois. He married Amanda ' 
 lirundage, and in later life farmed in Coventry, 
 where he dietl. (2) Mary E., born in 1809, mar- 
 ried Charles Lee, a blacksmith of Vernon, whence j 
 they removed to the old homestead in Coventry, 1 
 ancl there died. (3) Oliver B., born in 181 1, mar- 
 ried Jane K. F'rench, and was a farmer in Geneseo, 
 Henry Co., 111., where he died, leaving a daugh- 
 ter, a grandson and a great-grandson. (4) Annie ' 
 E., born in 1818, married Henry Goodwin, a farmer 
 of Covcntrv. (5) John B., born in 1821, married 
 Jane Porter. Fle was a blacksmith, and lived and 1 
 died in Coventry. (6) Nathaniel W., our subject, 1 
 was the sixth child. (7) Daniel A., born in 1826, ' 
 married Dorcas Bissell, followed blacksmithing ] 
 many years, and now lives retired in Coventry. 
 (8) Abbie S., born in 1833, is the widow of Ro- 
 land Clark, a farmer of Mansfield. : 
 
 Nathaniel W. French, our subject, when a child 
 of six years went to live with his uncle, Nathaniel 
 Woodward, who was a bachelor and resided at 
 Coventry. He received a good common-school ed- 
 ucation, and at the age of seventeen years began 
 teaching school. Eager for a higher education, at 
 the age of twenty-one he was a student for three 
 terms at Williston Seminary, East Hampton, Mass. 
 Proceeding to Hartford, he there took a boat for 
 Springfield, and thence proceeded to East Hamp- 
 ton, where he remained nine months, being a school- 
 mate during that time of Judge Calhoun. His 
 funds exhausted, he returned to the home of his 
 uncle, remaining there until the latter's death, in 
 1843. Inheriting a portion of the latter's farm, our 
 subject went to New York, where for two years he 
 was employed as bookkeeper by Samuel Smith in 
 the Knickerbocker brewery. He then returned to 
 Coventry and taught school during the winter 
 months, farming in summer. In all he taught six- 
 teen winters. During the winter of 1848-49 he 
 taught at Hillsdale, Mich., then the terminus of 
 the Michigan Southern railroad, holding school in 
 an old dry-goods store, fitted up with slab seats, his 
 pupils numbering 103, ranging in age from three 
 to twenty-one years. 
 
 Returning to Coventry in the spring of 1849, 
 
^ 
 
 .^ 
 
 «\ 
 
 N^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 c:^ 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 941 
 
 our subject married, May 5, 1850, Miss Catherine 
 P. Brown, who was born July 22, 1824, daughter 
 of Zolvah and Mary (White) Brown, her mother 
 being a descendant of Elder John White, a wealthy 
 and prominent citizen of Middletown. To our 
 subject and wife were born two children, N. 
 Dwight and Charles B., both now deceased. N. 
 Dwight was born Dec. 29, 1853. He conducted a 
 grocery and meat market at SufiSeld and Windsor 
 avenues, Hartford, until failing health compelled 
 him to give up business. He died March 20, 1883, 
 and was buried in Glastonbury, the remains later 
 being removed to Cedar Hill cemetery. He mar- 
 ried Ada G. .Tylor, and their one child, Anna E., 
 is now also deceased. Charles B., the second son, 
 was born Dec. 7, 1858. He died unmarried Oct. 
 3, 1885, and was buried in Glastonbury. Mrs. 
 French is a memoer of the Congregational Church. 
 
 In 1853 our subject removed from Coventry to 
 Glastonbury, and for thirty years he was employed 
 by the Curtis Manufacturing Co. in Naubuc. He 
 purchased a farm near the river, and in 1867 bought 
 his present place from Frederick Sellew, and has 
 since engaged in farming in connection with his 
 other duties. In 1875 he built for his son a resi- 
 dence immediately south of his own home. In pol- 
 itics our subject was in earlier life a Henry Clay 
 Whig, giving him his first vote in 1844. Upon the 
 organization of the Republican party, in 1856, Mr. 
 French gave it his support, and has since been & 
 loyal advocate of its principles. About 1859 he 
 was elected justice of the peace, and he held that 
 office until age exempted him from service. After 
 the death of 'Squire Wells he was for many years 
 the only trial justice in town, and for a time held 
 covirt nearly every day. He was a member of the 
 board of relief, and in 1880 was elected from his 
 town to the State Legislature, serving in the House 
 as clerk of the committee on Forfeited Rights. 
 'Squire French is now a notary public, and is fre- 
 quently called upon to draw deeds and other legal 
 documents. He has perhaps written more wills 
 than any other man in Glastonbury. 
 
 'Squire French is a citizen of the highest in- 
 tegrity, and his advice and counsel are frequently 
 sought, not only by his friends and acquaintances 
 in Glastonbury, 1 ut by the residents far and wide 
 in the surrounding country. He is widely known, 
 and wherever known most highly respected, his 
 sterling character, keen business judgment arid pub- 
 lic spirit commending him warmly to all right-think- 
 ing people. 
 
 LEWIS BISSELL (deceased), late of the town 
 of East Hartford, was of the eighth generation of 
 his name to live in the State of Connecticut, the 
 line of descent being as follows : 
 
 (I) John Bissell, born in 1591 or 1592 in the 
 County of Somerset, England, came to Plymouth, 
 Mass., in 1628. Previous to 1640 he removed to 
 Windsor, this county, and in 1648 or 1649 he was 
 granted by the Colony of Connecticut the sole 
 
 right to run a ferry across the Connecticut river 
 near Hayden's Station. This old ferry is still 
 operated, but has been moved further down the 
 stream. He died in Windsor in 1677. (II) Sam- 
 uel, born in England, died in Windsor. (Ill) 
 John, born in Windsor in 1659, died in 1684. (IV) 
 Capt. John, born in Windsor in 1682, died in Bol- 
 ton, Conn., March 8, 1771. (V) Capt. Ozias, 
 born in Bolton May 13, 1732, died in Vernon, 
 Conn., March 16, 1828. (VI) Ozias, born in 
 Bolton in 1779, died in Andover, Ohio, in 1853. 
 (VII) Lewis G., born Aug. 15, 1801, in Man- 
 chester, Conn., died in South Windsor Nov. 24, 
 1892. (VIII) Lewis is our subject. 
 
 The dates of birth and death having been given 
 of the heads of the eight generations, with the 
 exception of the present, which will be mentioned 
 further on, it is necessary to mention only the 
 principal events which marked the life of each fam- 
 ily head from the fourth generation in the State 
 up to the present time, to give a fair idea of the 
 importance of the family. 
 
 Capt. John Bissell (fourth generation, 1682) 
 joined the legal fraternity of Hartford in 1714 
 and was appointed King's Attorney for Hartford 
 county in 1727. He was early at Bolton, where he 
 was a selectman in 1721 and 1722, had land set out 
 to him in the first apportionment of town lands in 
 1722, and in October of that year was elected and 
 confirmed lieutenant of the company or train-band 
 of Bolton, was later promoted to the captaincy, 
 and in May, 1739, was appointed a justice of the 
 peace, after which he was more frequently desig- 
 nated as "Squire." He also represented the town 
 in the Assembly, and was in many ways a prominent 
 man. On Feb. 22, 1711, Capt. Bissell married Han- 
 nah Denslow, to which union were born four chil- 
 dren : John, Elisha, Ozias and Sarah. 
 
 Capt. Ozias Bissell (fifth generation, 1732) lived 
 and died in that part of Bolton now known as 
 Vernon. He served nine years in the French war, 
 was at the battle of Lake George in 175S, was 
 taken prisoner at Havana in 1762 and was held 
 nearly eight months. He served as a private in the 
 Second Company, First Regiment, raised for the 
 subjection of Crown Point in April, 1775, and was 
 in service twenty-eight weeks (the Point surrender- 
 ing in May). He raised one of the first companies 
 of the Revolutionary war by the Colonies against 
 Great Britain, and was appointed first lieutenant 
 of the Second Company, Fourth Regiment (his 
 commission dated April, 1775), marched to Boston, 
 took part in the siege of that city and was then 
 promoted to captain. He was at the battle of Long 
 Island in August, 1776, and was taken prisoner 
 March 12, 1778; after his release he was com- 
 missioned captain of the First Battalion, Connecti- 
 cut Line, served nine months, and June 2, 1779, 
 was appointed to captain of a foot company in 
 Col. Wells' regiment, and with the latter was cap- 
 tured near Horseneck, Conn., Dec. 10, 1780, and 
 
942 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 held till June, 1781. He had served five years and 
 eight months in the war of the Revolution, was in 
 three general actions and seven skirmishes, was 
 thrice wounded, once severely, was twice taken pris- 
 oner and held in all about two years. He was 
 well acquainted with Ethan Allen, and he, his sons 
 and grandsons saw about 125 years in the military 
 service of the Colonies and the States. 
 
 The first wife of Capt. Ozias Bissell was ]Mabel 
 Roberts, and his second wife was Sarah Hoffman. 
 His children, in order of birth, were: David, a 
 farmer, who fell from a load of hay and broke his 
 neck; Tyler; Benjamin, a hotelkeeper in Chicago, 
 who with his son was burned to death in a railroad 
 accident in the West : Orville, for twenty years a 
 policeman in Brooklyn, N. Y. ; Ozias, of whom 
 further mention will be made : Caroline, who was 
 married to Capt. Peter Buckland, the latter drowned 
 in the Hockanum river at Oakland in 1829; Fanny, 
 married to Ralph Owen, of Belchcrtown, Mass. ; 
 Lucretia, married to a -Mr. Rice. The Captain was 
 small of stature, but his children were all large. 
 He was very wiry and active, and at an advanced 
 age his pranks on the dancing floor were remark- 
 abie. At a very advanced age, also, he with his 
 son, Ozias, made the trip on foot from Ohio to 
 Connecticut, a distance of 600 miles, within twelve 
 days. His death took place March 16, 1828. 
 
 Ozias Bissell (sixth generation, 1779), born in 
 Bolton, worked when a young man as a farm hand. 
 At Manchester he met and married Sarah Bidwell, 
 eldest daughter of Hon. Zebulon Bidwell, a native 
 of Tolland county. Conn. Mr. Bidwell was a Rev- 
 olutionary soldier, was very wealthy and prominent 
 and was a member of the United States Congress. 
 Ozias Bissell began life a poor young man, but 
 he had the nerve and intelligence that characterized 
 his ancestors. He began by clearing off new land, 
 buying woodland with his savings ; from this he 
 chopped oft' the trees, converted them into cord- 
 wood, hauled it to Hartford and sold it, and lived 
 in ^Manchester, in that part now known as Oalc- 
 land, until the fall of 1833, when he went to Ohio 
 and located in the town of Andover, Ashtabula 
 county, took up his home in the then wilderness, 
 and there remained until his death. His wife, Mrs. 
 Sarah (Bidwell) Bissell, had met a sudden and 
 tragic death at their home in Connecticut the 
 evening of July 25, 1831. Just after supper she 
 was passing from the kitchen to the parlor through 
 the hall, a light shower of rain prevailing at the 
 time. A string of gold beads encircled her neck, 
 and in her hand she bore a bunch of keys. Sud- 
 denly there was a flash of lightning, and she was 
 the victim of the so-called electric fluid. Sixteen 
 of the gold beads of her necklace and the keys in 
 her hand were melted, and she was no more. 
 
 The six children that survived their parents, 
 Ozias and Sarah Bissell, were Lewis Glover, father 
 of our subject; Nelson, who married a Miss Percy, 
 of Stafford Springs, Conn., went to Ohio with his 
 father, caught a severe cold while digging a well 
 
 and died from its effects, leaving one son, John, 
 a carpenter of Stafford Springs, Conn. ; Sarah also 
 went to Ohio with her father, married a Mr. Per- 
 kins, and died in Andover, aged seventy-nine years, 
 leaving three children ; Ozias, Jr., a farmer of South 
 Windsor, also went to Ohio, but returned, married 
 Miss Alary Parker, of Talcottville, and died at 
 the age of sixty-five years, the father of three chil- 
 dren, of whom one son was killed in the army ; Law- 
 rence B. is mentioned further in the paragraph fol- 
 lowing; and Emma, Mrs. Manley, died aged sixty- 
 five years in Ohio. 
 
 Lawrence P>. Bissell, son of Ozias, Jr., was born 
 Alarch 25, 1814, was a farmer until twenty-one 
 years of age and then became a mechanic, for fifty 
 years filling the position of foreman in variou.s 
 factories — twenty-seven in a coft'ee-mill in Meriden. 
 In 1883 he retired to South Windsor. His first 
 wife was Sabra Carrington, of Farmington ; his 
 second and present wife is a native of South Wind- 
 sor, was the Widow Elmina Greene when he mar- 
 ried her, and is a daughter of Chester and Martha 
 (Fowler) Barber. Lawrence B. Bissell has two 
 children : Louise, widow of Nathan Upham, of 
 Brooklyn, N. Y. ; and Julius B., judge of the Court 
 of Appeals and a prominent attorney of Denver, 
 Colorado. 
 
 Ozias Bissell, Jr., was a powerful man, stood six 
 feet in his stockings, and weighed from 165 to 180 
 pounds. He was a great worker and started in life 
 by cutting wood into two-foot lengths and hauling 
 it to Hartford, then a great market for fuel of the 
 length mentioned ; frequently he cut a load by 
 moonlight and hauled it to market next morning. 
 He was a member of the Congregational Church 
 and in politics was a Whig, but had no aspiration 
 for public office. While living in Manchester he 
 was the captain of a militia company, but an ac- 
 cidental cut of his knee-pan incapacitated him from 
 further military service. He eventually acquired a 
 competency, but met with death through a peculiar 
 accident. While mowing with a scythe, his foot 
 was caught in a hole, throwing his body forward 
 upon the implement, which cut a gash in his side, 
 the result being that he died a few days later. 
 
 Lewis Glover Bissell (seventh generation, 
 1801) was reared in Manchester and there received 
 the schooling afforded by the meager opportunities 
 of his early youth. He was reared on the home 
 farm, and while still assisting his father found time 
 to learn the shoemaker's trade, at which he worked 
 during the winter seasons for several years during 
 his early manhood, and later had a well-appointed 
 shop on his own farm, which the neighboring man- 
 ufacturers supplied with batches of work at con- 
 tract prices. 
 
 Lewis G. Bissell married, in Lebanon, in 1824, 
 Miss Parmelia Beckwith, who was born June 29, 
 1802, in that town, and descended from one of 
 its oldest families. He then went to housekeeping 
 near Oakland, in the town of Manchester, on an 
 acre of ground which had been given him by his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 943 
 
 father to enable him to vote. He made improve- 
 ments from year to year, however, and in the fall 
 of 1833 removed to South Windsor, purchased sev- 
 enty acres, and continued to purchase until he owned 
 a tract half a mile square. This farm he improved 
 until it was the best in the town, but this place at 
 his death did not represent one-half of his posses- 
 sions. He made all his wealth at his trade and by 
 farming — through hard work and not by speculation. 
 He never cultivated tobacco, although he allotted 
 to his sons several small plats for that purpose. 
 His chief attention, as a farmer, was devoted to 
 live stock, and some of his oxen netted him $350 
 per yoke. Mr. Bissell was six feet in height, was 
 wiry and tough and weighed about 160 pounds. 
 
 In his earlier days Mr. Bissell was a very so- 
 ciable and companionable man, but as years rolled 
 on he became a constant reader and a close student 
 of the Bible. He was a member of the Methodist 
 Church at North Manchester, in which he was a 
 class leader. In politics he was a Whig and took 
 pride in voting at every election from his majority 
 until his latest hour, but thought more of his own 
 business than he did of politics. He was noted for 
 his physical strength in his early manhood, and it 
 is related of him that, at. Burnside, he once lifted 
 a piece of machinery that weighed 500 pounds, 
 and at another time took up a barrel of cider at the 
 press and placed it in his wagon unaided. A fore- 
 noon's work to him was equal to a full day's work 
 to the average man ; even at the age of eighty-five 
 years he cradled grain, and at the age of eighty- 
 seven mowed, with a scythe, one and one-half acres 
 of grass in a forenoon. He was one of the most 
 prosperous of farmers, as well as one of the most 
 honored of men, in his neighborhood. He lived 
 to be ninety-one years and three months old, and 
 absolutely wore himself out. His remains were in- 
 terred in Wapping cemetery, beside those of his 
 wife, who departed this life. Jan. 16, 1872. 
 
 The children of Lewis G. IBissell and wife were : 
 Harriet, who lived to be sixty-nine years old, and 
 died unmarried in March, 1896, in South Windsor; 
 Lewis, whose name opens this article ; George, who 
 lives in retirement in East Hartford ; and Charles 
 H., a farmer of South Windsor. 
 
 Lewis Bissell (eighth generation) was born in 
 Manchester July 6, 1829, on a piece of land that had 
 been presented to his father in order to qualify 
 him for voting under the law as it then stood. 
 His education was' received in the common schools, 
 then greatly inferior to what they are at this day, 
 and in the old Manchester Acadeniy, from which 
 he graduated. He worked on the home farm until 
 twenty-five years of age and the work was hard 
 enough as well as plentiful, election day, in April, be- 
 ing about the only holiday farmer lads were per- 
 mitted to enjoy. 
 
 In the fall of 1854 Mr. Bissell married for his 
 first wife Miss Cornelia A. Palmer, a native of 
 Vernon and a daughter of Uriah and Theresa 
 (Strong) Palmer, Theresa Strong being connected 
 
 with a prominent old family of Bolton. On this 
 occasion Mr. Bissell's father presented him with 
 some land, valued at $500, on which to begin house- 
 keeping, besides which he had saved $700, which 
 he had earned by working out when his father did 
 not need his services at home. Mr. Bissell was 
 also a natural trader when young and a shrewd 
 buyer of grain, which he had ground into flour 
 and which he sold in Hartford, realizing some 
 money from this enterprise. He began farming 
 on his newly acquired place, on which he lived 
 until 1859, and then farmed at other places until 
 1862, when his health failed and he relinquished 
 the vocation. In 1867 he bought and located at 
 Griswold Place, the old Bissell farm in Manchester, 
 erected new buildings thereon, and in 1871 moved 
 to East Hartford, where he made his home until 
 his death, Sept. i, 1900. However, he still retained 
 important real estate interests there. In 1890 he 
 erected his fine dwelling on Main street, one of 
 the best houses in the town. 
 
 By his first marriage Mr. Bissell had born to 
 him one child, Robert P., now a merchant of Man- 
 chester. Mrs. Cornelia A. Bissell was called away 
 Aug. 7, 1892, and on Jan. 2, 1893, Mr. Bissell 
 married Miss Ida Griswold, a native of Manchester 
 and a daughter of E. Hubbard and Harriet (White) 
 Griswold, the latter a daughter of Minor White. 
 E. Hubbard Griswold was a school teacher in his 
 younger days and achieved a fine reputation as an 
 instructor ; his four daughters were also highly 
 educated and followed the same vocation. They 
 were : Ella, Mrs. Joseph Albertson, of Manchester ; 
 Ida, who taught twelve years in Manchester, and is 
 now the wife of Lewis Bissell; Hattie, Mrs. Bart- 
 lett, of Danielson, Conn. ; and Elsie, Mrs. Howard 
 C. Gaines, of East Hartford. 
 
 Mr. Bissell's life in Manchester was one of the 
 greatest activity. He engaged extensively in build- 
 ing operations and erected the largest business 
 block in the village, including the hall that bore 
 his name. A Republican in politics, he was called 
 upon to fill the office of selectman, and in this 
 position served six consecutive years, two as first 
 selectman, though in his later years he withdrew 
 from politics. After moving to East Hartford he 
 did much toward the substantial improvement of 
 the town and built a number of residences. He 
 settled several estates, and no man was so frequently 
 called to appraise property as he. He himself 
 owned a large number of building lots and other 
 realty in the town and elsewhere, and was thor- 
 oughly posted as to the valuation of property. A 
 number of years ago he foresaw the future of 
 East Hartford's building property, and invested ad- 
 vantageously. His sound judgment and strict integ- 
 rity won for him a competency, and this statement is 
 substantiated by the fact that he began his business 
 life with but Kttle capital, but won a standing among 
 the most substantial residents of Hartford county. 
 
 At the time of his death Mr. Bissell was a mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church at East Hart- 
 
944 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 furd, and was up to a short time previous a mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church at North Man- 
 cliester, with which he united when a resident of 
 that town; he fully livetl up to its teachings. His 
 funeral services were coiuiucted by Rev. W. B. 
 Tuthill, pastor of the First Congregational Church, 
 and were largely attended. 
 
 OLIVER PHELPS MILLS. The salubrious 
 air of this section is certainly favorable to longev- 
 ity, and the subject of this sketch, a highly-es- 
 teemed resident of the town of Windsor, is one of 
 many who can bear testimony to the fact, more 
 than threescore and ten years havmg passed over 
 his head without imjiairing his health or clouding 
 his jovial, genial nature. His long and useful life 
 has won him many friends, and the following his- 
 tory will be read with more than usual interest. 
 
 '.Mr. Mills was born Jan. 2, 1827, in the same 
 house which he now occupies as a residence, and 
 his ancestors were prominent among the pioneer 
 farmers of the county. Deacon Elijah Mills, his 
 grandfather, was born in Bloomficld, but removed 
 to Windsor in early manhood, and for one year 
 was employed by Daniel Talcott, receiving ninety- 
 six dollars. Later he engaged in business on his 
 own account, as a brickmaker and farmer, and 
 through his thrift and enterprise he accumulated 
 a comfortable competence. Pie was a man of av- 
 erage size and weight, and was industrious in his 
 hal)its. As a citizen he was much respected, and 
 his interest in all political affairs of his time led to 
 his support of the Federal party. He was accident- 
 ally killed in 1 831, at the age of seventy years, while 
 hauling w'ood from the forest, the load having fallen 
 ofif and thrown him under a cart wheel, which ran 
 over his body. He was married, in Windsor, to 
 Huldah Drake, who survived him some years, and 
 they had eight children : Oliver was killed in boy- 
 hood by a kick from a horse, while leading it from 
 the stable ; Alathina married Frederick Mills, of 
 Bloomtield, and died in the "Black River country," 
 Xew York State; Huldah married (first) Horace 
 Turner, of Hartford, and (second) Roswell Marsh, 
 of Kew Hartford: Samuel W. is- a resident of 
 Windsor town, this county ; Laura married Rev. 
 Ebenezer Latimer, a Methodist clergyman, both 
 now deceased; Oliver W., our subject's father, is 
 mentioned more fuUv below ; Timothy D., a very 
 ingenius man and natural mechanic, who resided 
 in Windsor, died fifty or more years ago (he mar- 
 ried Sarah W'ells, of Wethersfield, who now lives 
 in Hartford, at the age of ninety-three years) ; 
 Julia A., who died in Hartford, married (first) 
 Trumbull Hubbard, of Bloomfield, and (second) 
 Henry Goodwin, of New Hartford, Connecticut. 
 
 Oliver W. Mills was born in Windsor in July, 
 1796, and became a successful agriculturist, making 
 his home at our subject's present farm, where he 
 died July 3, 1866. He made many improvements 
 on the place, erecting all the buildings, and was 
 interested in tobacco raising to some extent, while 
 for many years he also conducted a brick yard, his 
 
 efforts being rewarded by substantial success. 
 While he never sought official honors he was ac- 
 tive in local politics, tirst as a Whig and later as a 
 Republican, and his opinion on all subjects was 
 respected among his associates. In early life he 
 was a Congrcgaiionalist, afterward uniting with the 
 Episcopal Church, and when St. Gabriel's church 
 was built in Windsor he made a liberal contribu- 
 tion to the work. For many years he served as 
 vestryman. Whatever the weather might be he 
 never failed to drive to church, as he was a most 
 rigid observer of the Sabbath. On Feb. 23, 1825, 
 ^lr. Mills married i\Iiss Annie Theresa Phelps, who 
 was born in 1804, on "the Island," in Windsor town, 
 and died June 30, 1896, aged ninety-two years. 
 Our subject was the eldest of their five children. 
 Helen A., born Oct. 30, 1828, was married, May 
 12, 1853, to Nathan F. Drake, v^fhom she survives, 
 now residing in Hartford. Mary A., born Sept. 
 27, 1835, married Daniel Mason, and lives in Union- 
 ville. Conn. Alfred W., born May 5, 1838, is a 
 resident of Charlton City, Mass. Arthur M., born 
 March 7, 1845, was in Canada when last heard 
 from. 
 
 Oliver P. Mills attended the "brick school" in 
 District No. i, of Windsor, and has a good word 
 for the efficiency and thoroughness of the methods 
 of instruction then in force. He also spent two 
 winters in study at the high school in Amherst, 
 Mass., and two in Williston Seminary, at East- 
 hampton, Mass. His vacations were spent at home, 
 where he assisted his father in farming and brick- 
 making, and on leaving school he was employed 
 by his father for a time. In February, 1849, '^^ 
 started for California with Oliver M. Drake, a 
 neighbor, and others from this section, and at New 
 York they shipped aboard the "Henry Lee" for 
 the trip around Cape Horn. The voyage lasted 
 seven months, a head wind at the Cape delaying 
 them at that point for six weeks. On landing in 
 San Francisco he engaged in mining operations, 
 but as he did not meet with success he went to 
 Sacramento, where he found employment at ten 
 dollars a day with a Mr. Schwartz, a German 
 ranchman, his skill as an ox driver proving to be an 
 advantage to him in securing the place. He would 
 have remained, but John Lattimer, a member of 
 his party from Bloomfield, was threatened with 
 fever, and requested him to return home with him. 
 As they were warm friends Mr. Mills gave up his 
 position temporarily, as he supposed, and came 
 back, taking the Panama route, but as his parents 
 objected to his going so far from home again he 
 finally decided to stay near them, and engaged in 
 the meat business near New Hartford, doing his 
 own butchering ; after a year he sold out, as a 
 partnership upon which he had entered had proven 
 unsatisfactory. For about fourteen years follow- 
 ing he was in a similar business on his own ac- 
 count, and during that time he bought a farm near 
 New Hartford, which he conducted in connection 
 with his other work. In 1864 he removed to the 
 town of Windsor, where he rented a farm, and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 945 
 
 n 1867 he purchased his father's old homestead, 
 .vhere he has since resided. As a general farmer 
 le is notably successful, also carrying on a profit- 
 ably dairy business, and is well known as a dealer 
 .n cattle. He still attends to the duties of his farm, 
 and is remarkably active for a man of his years. 
 Politically Mr. Mills is an ardent Republican, and 
 for some time he held ^-he office of justice of the 
 peace. In religious faith he is a Congregationalist, 
 and as a chairman of the church committee and 
 credential committee he has been active in the af- 
 fairs of the society at Windsor. 
 , On May 3, 1859, Mr. Mills was married, at 
 Windsor, to Miss Sarah E. Loomis, and three chil- 
 dren have blessed the union: Annie E., born Nov. 
 9, 1863, married Theo E. Phelps, of Omaha, Neb.; 
 Oliver W., born April 10, 1867, resides at the home 
 place; and Charles H., born July 26, 1873, is also 
 residing at home. 
 
 I Mrs. Mills passed away Dec. 19, 1899, at the 
 'age of sixty-five years, after a short illness from 
 pneumonia. She was a most estimable woman, 
 and her husband takes pride in acknowledging the 
 fact that her advice and aid were of great assist- 
 ance to him in his career. She was born April 7, 
 1834, daughter of Collins and Sally (Capen) 
 Loomis, well-known residents of Windsor, of whom 
 an account appears elsewhere, he being a noted 
 blacksmith. Her education was obtained in part 
 at the Bell school, in part at Mr. Woodford's private 
 school in Windsor, and later she learned mil- 
 linery at ^ Hartford, where she was employed for 
 several years previous to her marriage as a ckrk 
 in a millinery establishment. 
 
 JOHN HEMINGWAY, who is now success- 
 fully engaged in the insurance and real-estate busi- 
 ness in Southington, was born in that town Feb. 27, 
 1842, a son of Ruel and Mary Ann (Dudley) Hem- 
 ingway. 
 
 The father, a farmer by occupation, was born in 
 1812, and spent almost his entire life in Southing- 
 ton, where he died in 1863. He was a son of Abi- 
 hua Hemingway, in early life a farmer and oyster- 
 man of East Plaven, who prior to 181 5 removed bv 
 ox-team from that place to Southington ■ and there 
 died. Our subject's maternal grandfather, Elias 
 Dudley, was a stone-cutter bv trade, and a resident 
 of Cheshire, Conn., where his death occurred. He 
 married Laura Preston, daughter of Titus and Abi- 
 gail (Merrimanj Preston, of Wallingford. His 
 parents were Jedediah and Lois (Merriman) Dud- 
 ley, also residents of Wallingford, the former a 
 native of England, and a farmer by occupation. 
 
 John Hemingway was reared in Southington, 
 and educated in its public schools and Lewis Acad- 
 emy. After attaining his majority (1863) he en- 
 tered the United States service, in New Haven, and 
 served as commissary clerk, procuring the supplies 
 for from 500 to 800 soldiers. During this year his 
 father died, and Mr. Hemineway returned to South- 
 ington and took charge of the farm left him, which 
 
 60 
 
 he afterward sold. In 1868 he went to New Haven 
 as shipping clerk for Blair & Dudley, having an in- 
 terest in the business, and when in January, 1860, 
 the firm opened a store in New York Mr. Heming- 
 way became connected with that branch of the busi- 
 ness until July, 1870; he then returned to Southing- 
 ton, and built his present residence. In 1871 he 
 was appointed coUecter of taxes by the selectmen," 
 and was elected by the people to that office for the 
 eight succeeding terms. Since 1872 he has been in- 
 terested in the fire-insurance business, and is now 
 representing twenty-four of the leading companies 
 of the world. He also deals in real estate in South- 
 ington and vicinity, and in his undertakings is meet- 
 ing with good success. In 1882 he was associated 
 with the late R. A. Neal and Samuel Pratt in the 
 organization of a National Bank in Southington, 
 and obtained the charter, solicited subscriptions, and 
 collected in the first installments of nearly one hun- 
 dred thousand dollars before the cashier was se- 
 cured, and he was a director up to 1890. He is also 
 a director of the Middlesex Mutual Assurance Co., 
 of Middletown, Conn., and at present is president 
 of the board of fire commissioners. 
 
 Mr. Hemingway has been twice married, and 
 by the first union has two daughters, Rosalind and 
 Jennie. His present wife was in her maidenhood 
 Miss Lanette O. Woodruff, a daughter of Ard and 
 Orpha A. (Cowles) Woodruff. She is a repre- 
 sentative of an old Southington family, and is ay 
 member of Hannah Woodruff Chapter, D. A. R. 
 J'raternally Mr. Hemingway is connected with 
 Friendship Lodge No. 33, F. & A. M., and Unity 
 Council No. II, O. U. A. M. ; politically he is identi- 
 fied with the Republican party. In 1880 he was 
 appointed postmaster at Southington by President 
 Hayes, was re-appointed in 1884 by President Ar- 
 thur, and filled the office for eight years and five 
 weeks with credit to himself and to the satisfaction 
 of the general public. In 1888 he was elected a 
 representative from the town to the General As- 
 sembly, and served on the committee on Insurance, 
 as clerk. For the past five years he has been a 
 member of the board of wardens and burgesses of 
 Southington, and he is now (1900) serving as 
 superintendent of streets. 
 
 WILLIAM WARNER, a substantial citizen 
 and prominent agriculturist of South Glastonbury, 
 where for more than thirty-five years he has been 
 engaged in his chosen vocation, is widel}' and favor- 
 ably known throughout his section of the country, 
 Mr. Warner is descended from a sturdy New Eng- 
 land ancestry in both paternal and maternal lines,, 
 who by marriage were allied with some of the old- 
 est and most prominent families of Hartford coun- 
 ty, among them being the Robbins, the Boardmans 
 and the Hales. 
 
 . (I) William Warner, the emigrant ancestor of 
 this branch of the family, was born Oct. 20, 1594,. 
 in Boxted, county of Essex, England, a son of Sam- 
 uel Warner. He came to America and settled in. 
 
946 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1 
 
 Ipswich, Colony of Massachusetts, in 1637, and 
 died there in 1648. P'rom this first American an- 
 cestor our subject is in tlie eighth generation, his 
 line of descent being through Daniel, William, 
 Daniel {2), William (3), John and Levi Warner; 
 while on his mother's side he is descended from 
 Isaac Larkin, who was born in Boston, Alass., and 
 settled in Wethersfield, Conn., in 1745. 
 
 (il) Daniel Warner, son of \\ lUiam the emi- 
 grant, born in England, in 1618, married Elizabeth 
 DeniKT. He died at Ipswich, xMass., m 1688, and 
 she passed away in 1659. 
 
 (Hi) William Warner (,2), son of Daniel, bom 
 in 1640, at Ipswich, Mass., married, in 1667, Han- 
 nah Kobbins. Ele located in Wethersfield, Conn., 
 in 16O0, and died in 1713 or 1714. His wife died in 
 1714. He bore the titles of deacon and lieutenant, 
 and served as deputy to the General Assembly for 
 Wethersfield in 1O97, 1700, 1703, 1704, 1706, 1708, 
 1709, 1710. 
 
 (,1\ ) Daniel Warner {2), son of William (2), 
 born in 1680, in Wethersfield, married in 1706, Mary 
 Boardman, born in 1683. 
 
 (V) William Warner (3), son of Daniel (2), 
 born in 1715. married in 1752, Prudence May, born 
 in 1726. 
 
 (VI) John Warner, son of William (3), born 
 in 1762, in Wethersfield, married in 1784, Abigail 
 Hale, who died in 1840. He died in 1838. He was 
 a farmer throughout life. His children were : John, 
 married Rebecca Coleman, and was a farmer in the 
 southern part of Wethersfield ; Prudence marrieil 
 George Coleman, a farmer, and lived and died iij 
 Wethersfield; Abigail married Oliver Wells, a 
 farmer, and lived in Wethersfield, where both died ; 
 Clarissa married Chauncey Wells, a farmer, and 
 lived in Wethersfield ; and Levi, who was the fa- 
 ther of the subject of this sketch, is referred to in 
 the following. 
 
 (VH) Levi Warner was born Dec. 22, 1800, 
 in W'ethersfield. His father was a large farmer, 
 and young Levi was reared on the farm, and re- 
 mained occupied in rural pursuits throughout his 
 life time. He married, in 1822, Sarah Larkin, who 
 was born Aug. 25, 1803, in Wethersfield, where she 
 died April 13, 1887. He died Oct. 11, 1872. Their 
 children were : ( i ) Mary W'arner, born Aug. 25, 
 1823, married May 15, 1850, Sylvester Seymour, a 
 farmer. (2) William Warner, our subject, born 
 Aug. 16, 1825, is referred to farther on. 
 
 (3) Samuel L. Warner was born June 14, 1828, 
 at Wethersfield. After having completed the course 
 in the common schools in his native village, he 
 went through a preparatory school. He taught 
 school for four years in his early life, and subse- 
 quently studied law with Judge Matson, of Hart- 
 ford, after which he entered Yale Law School. He 
 completed his course by a two-years' stay at the 
 Harvard Law School, and in 1854 was admitted 
 to the Bar in Suffolk, Mass. He returned to Hart- 
 ford, intending to practice law in that city, but 
 through the influence of Gov. Seymour he obtained 
 
 the appointment of executive secretary to Gov. 
 Pond. Gov. Pond was taken ill, and the duties of 
 the olSce devolved upon Mr. Warner, who dis- 1 
 charged them with great credit. In the spring of 
 1854 he removed to the town of Portland, Coim., 
 and commenced the practice of law. His increased : 
 business made it necessary for him to open an office 
 in Middletown, where he afterward resided anu 
 made a reputation for himself. In his earlier days 
 of i)ractice the best talent of the State was repre- 
 sented at Middletown court, and he- had occasion to . 
 come into contact with such men as Hon. Charles ! 
 J. IMcCurdy, Lion. William D. Shipman, Hon. L. 
 S. Poster, Hon. Isaac Toucey, R. G. iJaldvvin, Henry 
 Dutton, Charles Chapman, Thomas C. Perkins, and i 
 others of like celebrity. iVIr. Warner's application 
 to and study of his cases soon made him proficient 
 and successful in his practice. His continued sue- }. 
 cess made him popular with the people, and in 1862 .1' 
 he was elected mayor of the city, an office he held 
 four years. It was chiefly owing to his labors that , 
 the present system of water works were established j 
 and placed on a substantial basis. In 1858, during i 
 his residence in Portland, he represented that town 
 in the State Legislature. At the close of his term 
 as mayor of Middletown he was nominated for Con- 
 gress, but was defeated by his opponent. Gov. Eng- 
 lish. The following term he again received the 
 nomination of the Republican party, and was elected 1 
 by a large majority. In 1865 the Republicans again ! 
 honored him with the nomination, but he declined - 
 to accept. He was a member and one of the secre- j 
 taries of the convention that nominated Abraham | 
 Lincoln for President for a second term. In 1861 1 
 Mr. Warner purchased the Nehemiah Hubbard !; 
 homestead on Main stret, Middletown, where he re- i 
 sided up to the time of his death. It has been said 
 by some of the judges of the Supreme Court of 
 Errors that none of the briefs submitted to them 
 showed more or better preparation than his. In 
 his examination of witnesses he was always severe, 
 and if he became convinced of the untruthfulness of 
 a witness he spared him not at all, but often caused 
 him humiliation and confusion by a pitiless examina- 
 tion that nothing but truth could withstand. He 
 delivered the address at both the Lincoln and Gar- 
 field memorial services held at the North Church, 
 and also delivered the oration at the Centennial cel- 
 ebration of Middletown, held July 14, 1884. As a 
 historical address it was carefully prepared, and ; 
 could not have been improved upon. Mr. Warner 
 was interested in many cases of large interest during 
 his life, the last of which was the Brainard will case, 
 in which he appeared as counsel for the heirs in 
 connection with Judge Elmer, of Middletown, and 
 together they won a splendid victory. There is 
 hardly a man of legal age in Middlesex county that 
 lias not heard of Mr. Warner before the Superior 
 Court, where he practiced almost exclusively. For 
 some years before his death he had been a sufferer 
 from stomach troubles, and at times was confined ro 
 his house. During his last illness little hope was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 947 
 
 entertained for his recovery after a few days of his 
 affliction. His case was heard of with regret by a 
 i large circle of friends and members of the legal pro- 
 fession generally, in whose estimation he stood high. 
 On April 30, 1855, Mr. Warner was married to Mary 
 \ E., daughter of John Harris, of Norwich, and by her 
 jhad two children: Harris, born Oct. 26, 1861, and 
 I Charles W., born Nov. 20, 1863. 
 ■ (4) Levi Warner was born Oct. 10, 1830. After 
 four years of study under the direction of his brother 
 I Samuel L., late of Middletown, at Yale Law School 
 ; and at Cambridge, Mass., he was admitted to the Bar 
 I at Boston, Mass., in January, 1858. In that same 
 ; year he was admitted to the Middlesex County Bar 
 in Connecticut. In 1858 he opened an office for the 
 , practice of law at Norwalk, Conn., where he has 
 since practiced, and later one in Bridgeport, same 
 , State. He is a resident of Norwalk. He was a mem- 
 ber of the XLVth United States Congress. He mar- 
 ried in June, 1865, Mary S. Adams, of Norwalk, 
 Connecticut. (5) Sarah A. Warner, born May 16, 
 1832, married Nov. 28, 1861, Ira Standish, who was 
 a farmer in Wethersfield ; she died July 6, 1891. (6) 
 John Warner, born Sept. i, 1835, married (first) 
 March 21, 1864, Cornelia Dix. She died, and he 
 married, Feb. 16, 1869, Catherine Buckley, and is 
 now residing in Wethersfield, engaged in farming. 
 (7) George Francis Warner, born Sept. 10, 1837, 
 married teb. 7, 1871, Harriet Hale; he is a farmer 
 in Wethersfield. (8) Albert E. Warner, born Dec. 
 J2, 1839, married, Nov. 28, 1867, Mary Hanmer. 
 
 (Vill) William Warner, our subject, was born 
 Aug. 16, 1825, in Wethersfield, on the farm now oc- 
 cupied by his brother George F. He attended the 
 district schools of his native town, and the Wether- 
 field Academy for several winters, one of his teach- 
 ers being Charles Hungerford. He remained at 
 home until his marriage, then lived on a part of the 
 home farm until 1864, in which year he purchased 
 his present farm of Gen. James T. Pratt, which was 
 known as the "HoUister place." Here he has since 
 been engaged in general farming and tobacco grow- 
 ing. Mr. Warner has been progressive and kept 
 pace with the times, improving and making attract- 
 ive his home and the farm. He bears the esteem, re- 
 spect and good will of the community in which he 
 has so long lived, and where his ancestors for so 
 many previous generations have lived, and has been 
 successful in his life work. The active management 
 of the place is now left to his son William F. Mr. 
 Warner's political affiliations are with the Demo- 
 cratic party, but though active in its welfare he has 
 never been persuaded to accept office. 
 
 On March 27, 1850, our subject was married, 
 to Adeliza Deming, born April 11, 1827, in Weth- 
 ersfield, daughter of Henry and Mary (Wells) 
 Deming, he being a carpenter and farmer by 
 occupation. To tnis union have been born chil- 
 dren as follows : ( i ) William Franklin, born April 
 12, 1852, married Rosella Matson, and they have 
 two children, Mary A., and Harris C. William F. 
 is now managing and carrying on the homestead. 
 
 (2) Arthur C, born March 31, 1856, died June 18, 
 1870. (3) Frederick, born Sept. 7, 1859, died Oct. 
 13, 1859. (4) Levi Francis, born Nov. 11, 1864, mar- 
 ried June 12, 1895, Elsie H. Young, a native of 
 Montreal, Canada, and has one child, Robinson, born 
 April 30, 1898. He is a successful physician in New 
 York. Mr. Warner belongs to no church or secret 
 society. 
 
 WILLIAM P. WICKHAM. Merit, if real, is 
 ofttimes non-assertive. The possessions of marked 
 abilities and qualities of distinction are not un- 
 usually found in individuals of quiet and retiring 
 manner. The subject of this sketch is a prominent 
 farmer, genial but unostentatious, possessing many 
 traits that are prized and honored by his fellow 
 men, winning success in his chosen vocation, and 
 developing a character during his lifelong residence 
 in Hartford couxity that is most highly respected. 
 
 Mr. Wickham is a representative of an old New 
 England family. He was born at Glastonbury 
 April 30, 1840, son of John Wickham, and grand- 
 son of Flezekiah Wickham, both residents of Glas- 
 tonbury, the latter of whom was a son of Hezekiah. 
 
 Grandfather Wickham was twice married. By 
 his first wife, Mary (Miller), he had three children: 
 Joseph ; Lucy, who married a Mr. Ransom ; and 
 Lucretia, who married a Mr. Loveland. By his 
 second marriage, to Elizabeth Perrin, there was 
 only one child, John, the father of our subject. 
 Hezekiah Wickham was a deacon in the Congrega- 
 tional Church of Glastonbury (East Parish) for 
 about twenty-six years, and served in the war of the 
 Revolution. 
 
 John Wickham, the father, had an intimate ac- 
 quaintanceship with the .hardships and difficulties 
 of life. He was "put out," as the expression was, 
 at the tender age of three years, and as a boy 
 had very limited educational advantages. He 
 grew up on the farm, married Miss Malinda Cul- 
 ver, a native of Hebron, Conn., daughter of Ben- 
 jamin Culver, and settled in Glastonbury. Soon 
 after marriage misfortune overtook him in the 
 form of a fire, which swept away all his earthly 
 belongings, but, nothing daunted, he renewed his 
 efforts to win comfort and independence, and 
 triumphed in goodly measure. He became a highly 
 respected and influential citizen, reared an excel- 
 lent family, lived to the age of sixty-four years in 
 comparative affluence in his later years, and be- 
 queathed to his children the heritage of a good 
 name and an upright example. His widow survived 
 to the age of seventy-nine years and six months, 
 and both were buried in Manchester Center cem- 
 etery. ' Their children were as follows : Horace 
 J., a retired manufacturer of Manchester, who be- 
 gan life without means and became a successful 
 man ; Maria, now Mrs. Albert Brewer, of Bloom- 
 field ; Jane, who married Frank Smith, and is now 
 deceased; William P., our subject; and Emma, 
 who marriea Samuel Newberry, of South Windsor. 
 
948 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 The early days of William P. Wickham wero 
 spent in the district schools near the residence of 
 his parents; later he attended the East Academy 
 at .Manchester. He was reared on the farm, and 
 except for a short time spent in New Haven re- 
 mained at home, assisting his father, until his mar- 
 riage, (Jet. 8, 1861, to Aiiss Ann S. Sanders, who 
 was born in Windham county, Vt., May 30, 1839. 
 a daughter of Oren and Sally (Canedy) Sanders. 
 She was the youngest of nine children, all of whoui 
 except one, Aaron, who died at the age of eighteen 
 months, lived to maturity, as follows : Susan, de- 
 ceased; Thomas, of Hadley, Mass.; Sarah, de- 
 ceased ; Benjamin, of Canton, Conn. ; Joseph, de- 
 ceased ; Lucy, deceased ; Fylura, now Mrs. H. J. 
 Wickham, of Manchester, Conn. ; and Ann S., the 
 wife of our subject. Oren Sanders, the father, 
 lived to the age of seventy-seven years; his wife 
 died at the age of sixty-seven. Ann S. began her 
 own support at the age of nine years. At fourteen ; 
 she began teaching school at the salary of one doi- 1 
 lar per week, and "boarded round," often walking- 
 one and one-half miles between temporary home 
 and school house. Later she received one dollar 
 and a half per week for her educational work. 
 She was employed when a young lady in New- 
 Haven, and worked in a factory where cases for 
 daguerreotypes were made. 
 
 Mr. Wickham lived with his parents, and en- 
 gaged in farm work for some time. For a year lie 
 lived at Sturbridge, Mass. He was night watch- 
 man for two years -at the Government Envelope 
 Works in Hartford. Returning to ^lanchester he 
 conducted a farm for his brother for some time, 
 and in 1888 he removed to the property which he 
 now occupies, known then as the Jeremiah Strong 
 farm. After renting it for a year Islr. Wickham 
 purchased the place, and here he has ever since most 
 successfully followed farming. To Mr. and Mrs.. 
 Wickham have been born the following children : 
 Almeron W., of Burnside, Conn., foreman in a pa- 
 per-mill, for two years State representative from 
 East Hartford, and a prominent citizen of that town : 
 Edward J., a dairy farmer of Manchester; Anna 
 M. ; Neva L. ; and Horace C. Of these Almeron W. 
 married IMargaret IMcCabe, in April, 1885, and they 
 have two children, William E. and Martha E. Ed- 
 ward J. married Ada Dawes, in June, 1887, and they 
 have ifour children, Hattie A., Edna A., Raymond 
 E., and Leila S. Anna M. married George E. 
 Churchill, of Newington, in August, 1888, and they 
 have two children, Almeron S. and Louisa A. 
 Mr. Churchill was representative in 1899, from 
 the town of Newington in the State Legislature. 
 Neva L. married Charles P. Cummings, in April, 
 1893, and their children are George W. and Horace 
 C. Horace C. married (first) Grace M. Hills in 
 March, 1896; she died in July, 1897, and he wedded 
 (second) Ida F. Bancroft, in April, 1900. 
 
 In politics Mr. Wickham is a stanch Democrat. 
 In 1899 he served as treasurer of the school district. 
 Himself and wife are members of the Hillstown 
 
 Grange. They are attendants at the Congregational 
 Church, and are good Christian people, kind-hearted 
 and hospitable, and have reared a family which is es- 
 sentially creditable. Mr. Wickham has one of the 
 best kept farms in Hillstown, and is a self-made man 
 in the fullest and best sense of the term. 
 
 JOHN EDWARDS TRYON. Our rural com- 
 munities are noted for a high type of citizenship, 
 and the subject of this sketch, a leading agricult- 
 urist of the town of Glastonbury, furnishes an ex- 
 cellent example. His line homestead, which is 
 beautifully situated on the bank of the Connecticut 
 river, in the southwestern part of the town, shows 
 wise and energetic management, and in the various 
 movements which make for progress in his locality 
 he has always taken a prominent share. 
 
 The Tryon family is of good Colonial stock, 
 and Elizur Tryon, our subject's grandfather, was 
 a well-known agriculturist in Glastonbury in his 
 day, and was also interested in river traffic. He 
 built the old house which stands near our subject's 
 residence. He reached the age of ninety-one, whik 
 his wife, whose maiden name was Lucy Kilbourn, 
 lived to be ninety-four. They had a large family 
 of children. 
 
 Noah Tryon, our subject's father, was born in 
 the house mentioned above, and his life was spent 
 mainly in farming at the homestead, although he 
 was at one time engaged in fishing along the Con- 
 necticut as a business. He received in his youth 
 such educational advantages as were afforded in the 
 district schools and the local academy, and as a 
 citizen he was highly esteemed for his excellent 
 qualities of character, serving with ability in various 
 town offices, and in 1842-43 as a member of the 
 State Legislature. In political sentiment he was 
 a Democrat. Mr. Tryon was a captain in the State 
 militia, and offered his services during the war of 
 1812. He died at the age of eighty-two years, 
 while his wife, Elizabeth (Goodrich), a native of 
 Chatham, was ninety-one at the time of her death, 
 and the remains of both now rest in the old Church 
 cemetery in South Glastonbury. Mr. Tryon was 
 an Episcopalian in religious connection. Our sub- 
 ject was the youngest in a family of five children, 
 the others being: Henry R., a mason in Flartford, 
 married (first) Jane Stevens and (second) a Mrs. 
 Gregory; he died March 18, 1898. Noah G. lo- 
 cated in the South, and died in Shreveport, La.,, 
 ill 1862. Elizabeth married Nelson Shephed, a 
 farmer of Portland. Ann J. married Joseph Wil- 
 cox, a farmer of Cromwell. 
 
 Our subject was born Aug. 31, 1828, in the 
 house in which he now resides. As a boy he at- 
 tended the district schools and the academy in 
 South Glastonbury, then conducted by Orange 
 Judd, and he also studied at the "Grist Mill Sem- 
 inary" for a time. He relieved his father of much 
 of the care of the homestead until the death of the 
 latter, when he took sole charge of the place, carry- 
 ing on general farming. Mr. Tryon owns some 
 300 acres in the town. His genial nature is un- 
 
l//&-i^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 949 
 
 affected by his close attention to business, and he 
 £nds time for active work in the local Grange, in 
 which he has served as master. In politics he was 
 a Democrat until 1855, and in 1856 he helped to 
 organize the Republican party in Hartford. He 
 represented his town in the Legislature in 1863- 
 64, and has served four terms as selectman and 
 seven years as road commissioner. He and his 
 family are members of St. Luke's Episcopal Church 
 .at South Glastonbury, and at present he holds the 
 office of vestrj'man. 
 
 In 1850 Mr. Trj'on married Miss Julia Stevens, 
 daughter of Joseph Stevens, a well-known agri- 
 culturist of Glastonbury. She died in 1853, S-^d 
 Sept. 17, 1856, he married Miss Ruhamah F. Sparks, 
 a native of East Glastonbury. By his first mar- 
 riage he had two children : Julia E. married Al- 
 bert EI. Clark, of Glastonbury, and has three chil- 
 dren, Herbert E., Maoel and Elizabeth Goodricn; 
 John G. is at home. By the second marriage there 
 were four children : James H. ij at home ; Charles 
 Osmar, who married Annie Hollister, resides in 
 South Glastonbury, and is an energetic and enter- 
 prising fruit grower and a leading citizen, hav- 
 ing served as representative in the Legislature in 
 1897; Anna P., who is at home, is an accomplished 
 
 I 3'oung lady, having finished her education at Mt. 
 
 ' Holyoke Seminary; Edward S. is engaged in busi- 
 ness in Hartford as a joiner and builder. 
 
 J. BURDETTE HUBBARD. This prominent 
 citizen of Hartford county was born in the town of 
 Glastonbury Jan. 4, 1844, his father, Jonathan Hub- 
 bard, being a native of the same place. He is a 
 grandson of Ira Hubbard, a cabinet-maker by trade, 
 who was a farmer in the later years of his life. Mr. 
 Hubbard's mother was Mary Andrews, daughter of 
 Elisha Andrews, a large OTvner of real propertv 
 in jManchester, and it was there that Mrs. Hubbard 
 was born. J. Burdette Hubbard was the only child 
 of his parents. Jonathan Hubbard removed from 
 Glastonbury to Manchester in 1854. He, like his 
 father, was a cabinet-maker, but had supplemented 
 his knowledge of that trade by learning painting as 
 well. Yet he, too, loved the soil, and after coming 
 to IManchester he took up his residence on the farm 
 now owned by Conrad Kish, where he died in 1880, 
 at the age of threescore. Both he and his first wife 
 were members of the Congregational Church. Af- 
 ter her death he married again, his second spouse 
 being Miss Mary Willis, who bore him two chil- 
 dren, Mary and Jennie, both of whom are still liv- 
 ing in Manchester. 
 
 J. Burdette Hubbard was ten vears old when 
 his father moved from Glastonbury to Manchester. 
 At the age of sixteen he went to New Britain, to 
 learn the trade of a painter with his uncle. Seven 
 years later he and his uncle removed to Cleveland, 
 Ohio, where they engaged in business, and where, 
 after fourteen months, his uncle died. ]\Ir. Huh- 
 bard thereupon returned to Manchester, and began 
 working at his trade in the employ of Cheney Bros. 
 
 i;i the spring of 1868. In 1871 he was made fore- 
 man of their painting department. He remained 
 with this firm until the spring of 1893, when he en- 
 gaged in business for himself. He has a well- 
 stocked store, carrying wall-paper as well as paints 
 and painters' supplies, and in addition to this is an 
 extensive contractor in painting and paper-hanging. 
 
 On Nov. 29, 1868, Mr. Hubbard was married ■ 
 to Miss Emma J. Kenney, the only child of Chester 
 W. and Sarah (Evans) Keeney, and granddaugh- 
 ter of George W. Keeney, all of whom were born 
 in I\Ianchester. Her father began life as a poor 
 boy, and rose to be a successful, prosperous manu- 
 facturer of paper, having learned the practical trade 
 in his youth. His first mill was at Buckland's 
 Corners. Later ne formed a partnership with 
 Patrick Eitzgerald, and established a factory in the 
 western part of the town of Manchester. He sub- 
 sequently disposed of his interest in the business to 
 Mr. Eitzgerald and associated himself with Hud- 
 son White, their copartnership continuing until Mr. 
 Keeney's death, on Sept. 22, 1896, at the age of 
 seventy-six years. 
 
 ]\Ir. Hubbard is a member of King David Lodge 
 No. 31, I. O. O. E., Manchester; ^^lanchester Lodge 
 No. 73, E. & A. M. ; Pythagoras Chapter No. 17,- 
 R. A. M., Hartford; Wolcott Council No. i, Hart- 
 ford; Washington Commandery No. i, K. T., of 
 that place ; and the Mystic Shrine, Sphinx Temple. 
 He is a Republican in politics, and was a member 
 of the Legislature in 1887. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hubbard are members of the Episcopal Church of 
 South Manchester. 
 
 EDWIN G. LEWIS, a leading citizen, promi- 
 nent merchant and popular official of Southington, 
 was born in that town June i, 1858, a son of Henry 
 and Sarah H. (Gridley) Lewis, representatives of 
 pioneer families of Southington, being descendants 
 of the Roots, Gridleys and Harts. 
 
 The progenitor of the. Lewis family in America 
 was William Lewis, a native of England, who came 
 to this country on the ship "Lion," landing in Bos- 
 ton Sept. 16, 1632. He was admitted a freeman 
 the following November, and joined the Braintree 
 company which in August, 1633, removed to New- 
 town (Cambridge). In 1636 he came with a com- 
 pany to Hartford, but in 1659 again moved, be- 
 coming one of the founders of Hadley, Mass., which 
 town he represented in the General Court in 1662. 
 In 1664 he lived in Northampton, Mass., and in the 
 fall uf 1677 removed to Earmington, Conn., where 
 he died Aug. 2, 1683. 
 
 (II) William Lewis, son of the founder of the 
 family in the New World, was born in England, and 
 in 1644 was a resident of Earmington, where he 
 served as the first recorder after the incorporation 
 of the town. His first wife was Mary Hopkins, his 
 second Mary Cheever. He died Aug. 18, 1690. 
 
 (III) Samuel Lewis, son of William, Jr., was 
 born Aug. 18, 1648, and died Nov. 28, 1752. He 
 held the military rank of sergeant. 
 
950 
 
 COMMEMORATU'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (I\") Nathan Lewis, son of Samuel, was born 
 Jan. 23, 1707, and was married July 28, 1730, to 
 Mary Gridley, daughter of Samuel and Alary 
 (Humphrey I Gridley. He lived in the Marion dis- 
 trict of Southington, where he died Sept. 7, 1799. 
 
 (V) Job Lewis, a son of Nathan, was born April 
 20, 1731, and was married Nov. 13, 1755, to Han- 
 nah, daughter of Rev. Jeremiah and Hannah (Burn- 
 ham) Curtiss, of Southington. He was a tanner 
 and shoemaker by trade, and lived in the northern 
 part of Southington, where he died Dec. 5, 1813. 
 
 (V'l) Selah Lewis, son of Job, was baptized 
 Sept. 2, 1764, and was married Jan. 1, 1792, to Mary 
 Carter, daughter of Abel and Rhoda (Lewis) Car- 
 ter. He was a large land holder and merchant, and 
 lived in the northern part of bouthington, where he 
 died Sept. 12, 1827. 
 
 (VH) Henry Lewis, son of Selah, and grand- 
 father of our subject, was born Dec. i, 1806, and 
 married for his first wife Elizabeth Root, a daugh- 
 ter of Nathaniel and Sally ( Dunham) Root. Sne 
 was the grandmother of our subject. For his sec- 
 ond wife he married Nabby C. Carter, daughter of 
 John and Esther (Tinker) Carter. 
 
 (\'ni) Henry Lewis, the father of our subject, 
 was born in Southington Alay 28, 1832, and was 
 there reared and educated, graduating from Lewis 
 Academy. On Dec. 24, 1854, he married Sarah 
 Gridley, daughter of Edwin and Esther (Hart) 
 Gridley, and by this union three children were born : 
 Rosella, wife of Charles S. Judd : Edwin G., our 
 subject; and Laura E., wife of E. E. Crawford. 
 After his marriage the father engaged in farming 
 for a time, and later was in the employ of Peck, 
 Smith & Co. On July 19, 1862, he commenced re- 
 cruiting a company in Southington, which was mus- 
 tered into the United States service as Company E, 
 20th Conn. \'. L, and of which he became second 
 lieutenant. On Sept. 11, of that year, they left 
 New Haven, and joined the Army of the Potomac. 
 Mr. Lewis participated in the battles of Chancellors- 
 ville, JNIay 3, 1863, and Gettysburg July 3, 1863, af- 
 ter which his regiment joined the Army of the 
 Cumberland. In January, 1864, he was commis- 
 sioned first lieutenant of Company K, same regi- 
 ment, and May 15 of that year he was slightly 
 wounded at the battle of Resaca. Four days later 
 he participated in the capture of Cassville, and a 
 month later was taken ill and removed to the hos- 
 pital in Nashville. He rejoined his company Aug. 
 15, and accompanied Gen. Sherman on his march 
 to the sea, arriving in Savannah Dec. 11, 1864. 
 While there engaged in cutting a road for a bat- 
 tery, with his company, he was struck by a stray 
 shot and wounded below the knee, from the effects 
 of which he died Dec. 26, 1864. His remains were 
 brought back to Southington, and interred in Oak 
 Hill cemetery. He was a brave and conscientious 
 officer, and was honored and trusted by his com- 
 mand. 
 
 (IX) Edwin G. Lewis, whose name introduces 
 this sketch, was reared in Southington and com- 
 
 pleted his education at the Lewis high schDol, fro-n 
 which he was graduated in 1875. He then engaged 
 in clerking in the shoe store of C. D. Barnes, and 
 while thus employed gained an excellent knowledge 
 of every detail of the business. He served in that 
 capacity until 1885, when he purchased a half inter- 
 est in the business, and in 1895 ^^^ became sole pro- 
 prietor, being now at the head of a large and flour- 
 ishing business, and numbered among the leadintj 
 business men of the town. 
 
 On Nov. 19, 1885, Mr. Lewis married Miss Min- 
 nie J. Dunham, a daughter of Robert C. and Jose])h- 
 ine (Park) Dunham, of Southington, and they have 
 one daughter, Marian H. Mr. Lewis is a promi- 
 nent member of the First Congregational Church, 
 and has been clerk and treasurer of the Society for 
 over fifteen years. Socially he affiliates with 
 Friendship Lodge No. 33, F. & A. M. ; Triune 
 Chapter No. 40, R. A. M. ; S. S. Woodruff Caiui) 
 No. 21, S. of V'. : and the Order of LTnited .Vmcrican 
 ^Mechanics. Politically he is a supporter of the Re- 
 publican party and its principles. In June, 1879, he 
 was appointed assistant town clerk ; was elected 
 clerk of the borough in 1889; and town clerk and 
 treasurer in 1896, still serving as town clerk and 
 treasurer, and borough clerk. His official duties 
 are always conscientiously discharged, and he is 
 nuniDcred among the valued and useful citizens of 
 his comnumity. 
 
 CHARLES H. ROSE has during his twenty- 
 eight years' residence in Manchester, become well- 
 known to the citizens of that town and the surround- 
 ing country as a successful business man, and as a 
 citizen of integrity and upright character. 
 
 Air. Rose was born July 15, 1857, in the town 
 of Bolton, Conn., where he lived up to the age of 
 nine years, after which his home was in Willimantic, 
 this State. He received his education in the latter 
 place, attending the public schools, and when thir- 
 teen years of age began working in the silk mills of 
 that town, remaining there until his removal to Man- 
 chester, in 1872. For a time he was employed in the 
 Cheney silk mills here, and subsequently for a year 
 was engaged as clerk in the Union Manufacturing 
 Co.'s store in Manchester, in 1877, entering the drug- 
 store of Moses Scott, with whom he clerked for 
 three vears. At the end of this period, on April i, 
 1880, he purchased the business of Mr. Scott, con- 
 tinuing same in the original building until it was de- 
 stroyed by fire, on Jan. 4, 1889, when he bulit the 
 fine three-story brick block in which he is now lo- 
 cated, on the same lot. His building is one of the 
 finest modern structures in the town, and his drug 
 store is one of the most completely equipped in Hart- 
 ford county to be found outside the city of Hart- 
 ford. Mr. Rose is manager of the Telephone Ex- 
 change and Postal Telegraph Cable, which are lo- 
 cated in his store, and in the other store in the build- 
 ing he carries on a well-stocked news stand. As a 
 progressive and obliging business man he has made 
 an enviable reputation throughout this part of the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 951 
 
 jcounty, and his success has been well deserved, for 
 ;he has risen by his own efforts, widening his inter- 
 ,ests until he has made for himself a firm footing 
 among the substantial citizens of this locality. Un- 
 til Cleveland's administration Mr. Rose was acting 
 [postmaster of Manchester under Mr. Scott, and in 
 ; 1898 he was appointed to the office, which he is now 
 holding to the satisfaction of all concerned. 
 
 In December, 1880, Mr. Rose was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Jessie Tuffs, and they have had a 
 family of five children : C. Jriarold ( who is de- 
 ceased), Bessie M., Ernest L., Arline W. and Leslie 
 , C. They attend the Methodist Church, of which 
 Mr. Rose has. been a member for about twenty years. 
 Fraternally he holds membership with King David 
 Lodge No. 31, i. O. O. F., and A. O. U. W., of 
 Manchester. His political allegiance is given to the 
 j Republican party. 
 
 CHARLES MARION SMITH, the pioneer 
 coal dealer of East Hartford, and that type of a 
 citizen whom any community might feel proud to 
 claim, was born in East Haddam, Conn., Nov. 25, 
 1851. He was brought by his father to the home 
 of his grandparents in East Hartford in the sum- 
 mer of 1854, and is the only male representative of 
 
 I his generation of the family now living in the town. 
 
 ' Elihu Smith, grandfather of our subject, was a 
 farmer, and lived on Forbes street. East Hartford, 
 south of Maple street, on the same farm which is 
 
 I now owned and occupied by Charles M. He was 
 born in Glastonbury, however, in 1801, a son of Ebe- 
 nezer Smith, who conducted a grist-mill where 
 Clark's paper-mill now stands. Elihu Smith mar- 
 ried Mrs. Sophronia (House) Porter, widow of 
 Anson Porter, of East Hartford, and to them were 
 born two children, Augustus Stanley and Elihu, the 
 latter of whom went to California in 1849, and is 
 row a resident of Georgetown, that State. Elihu 
 Smith was a short, straight man and weighed from 
 125 to 130 pounds. He was a good farmer, a man of 
 good business ability and strict integrity, and his 
 advice was often sought by his neighbors, by whom 
 he was frequently entrusted with the settlement of 
 estates. He was cjuite prominent in public affairs 
 in East Hartford, and filled a. number of offices, 
 serving as assessor, selectman, justice of the peace 
 (for a number of years) and representative in the 
 State Legislature. He died Jan. i, 1879, and his 
 remains were interred in the Hockanum cemetery, 
 Mrs. Elihu Smith died at the age of eighty. She 
 was a daughter of John House, of Glastonbury, 
 who was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. By 
 her marriage to Anson Porter she became the 
 mother of two sons: Albert, a millwright, of East 
 Hartford, and Anson, who first located in Bloom- 
 field, and next in Farmington, where he is now fol- 
 lowing his trade of wagonmaker. 
 
 Augustus Stanley Smith was born April 6, 1825, 
 in East Hartford, on the place where our subject 
 now lives, but when a young man went to East Had- 
 dam, and there married Electa Swan. In early 
 
 manhood he learned the trade of shoemaking in 
 New Hartford, Conn., after which he went to East 
 Haddam, and for years worked for Silliman Bros. 
 To his marriage with Miss Electa Swan, Charles 
 JNIarion was the only child born, and he was a mere 
 infant at his mother's death in March, 1854. Au- 
 gustus S. Smith married a second time, but within 
 a few years again lost his wife, after which he sold 
 his home in East Haddam, and removed to New 
 London, where he engaged in the retail shoe trade. 
 In that city he married Sarah M. Chipman, who has 
 borne him one son, Stanley A., now yardmaster for 
 the Central Vermont Railway Company, in that 
 city. 
 
 Charles M. Smith was reared from infancy in 
 East Hartford town by his grandfather, Elihu 
 Smith, on the farm he now owns, and first attended 
 the South Middle district school, with the Misses 
 Julia Bidwell and Silena Stevens as his teachers. 
 He was thoroughh^ trained by his grandfather in 
 general farming, which was generally followed un- 
 til the cultivation of tobacco was introduced. At 
 the age of twenty-five years he married Miss Emma 
 Smith, a native of New Hartford, and a daughter 
 of Edmund Smith. To this union were born five 
 sons : Edmund S., a printer by trade, and married 
 to Julia Wolcott, of East Hartford; Frank E., at 
 home ; Charles D. ; G. Robbins ; and Joseph J. Mrs. 
 Emma Smith passed away June 27, 1885, a sincere 
 member of the Congregational Church. Mr. 
 Smith's present wife, whom he married Dec. 3, 
 1890, bore the maiden name of Ida Lee Ensign, and 
 is a daughter of Owen L. and Anna Eliza Ensign, 
 of Willow Brook. To this union has been born one 
 child, Marion E. 
 
 In September, 1882, Charles M. Smith em- 
 barked in the coal trade in East Hartford, and was 
 the first to receive shipments of coal by rail. He 
 also handles fertilizers, and carries on farming and 
 tobacco growing, owning a total of 117 acres, partly 
 in Glastonbury and partly in East Hartford. In 
 politics Mr. Smith is a Republican, and he has filled 
 several offices, having served as selectman two or 
 three terms, being first elected in 1879; as chairman 
 of the board of assessors, for three years ; has been 
 on the town committee, and has served as its treas- 
 urer several years, and is secretary and treasurer of 
 the South Middle school district; he was treasurer 
 of a committee of the Congregational Society of 
 Hockanum before tbe organization of the congrega- 
 tion, and although not a member of the Society, yet 
 handles its funds. Mr. Smith has also been a mem- 
 ber of the Putnam Phalanx since March, 1886, and 
 holds the rank of sergeant. He is a useful, enter- 
 prising, public-spirited citizen and business man, 
 and none is better or more widely known, and few 
 as highly esteemed. 
 
 CHARLES KELLOGG ATWOOD is one of 
 the leading and influential citizens of Newington, 
 and has taken an active part in promoting its sub- 
 stantial improvement and material development. 
 
952 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 For many years he has been prominently identified 
 witli the agricultural interests of the community, 
 and still owns and operates a fine farm of ninety 
 acres, which is under excellent cultivation and well 
 improved. 
 
 Air. Atwood was born Dec. 24, 1820, in the house 
 where he still lives, the farm having been in the 
 possession of the family for several generations. Dr. 
 Thomas Atwood, a native of England and a captain 
 in Cromwell's army, was the founder of the family in 
 the New \\'orld, and settled in Wethersfield, Conn., 
 where he died. His son Josiah was the first to lo- 
 cate on the farm in Xewington town (in what was 
 then Wethersfieldj, Hartford county, where our 
 subject now resides. There the birth of Asher At- 
 wood, our subject's great-grandfather, and Ezekiel 
 Atwood, grandfather of our subject, occurred; the 
 latter was a soldier for a short time during the 
 Revolution, being only sixteen years old at the lime 
 of his service. The father, Josiah Atwood, was 
 born on the same place, and spent his entire life 
 there, owning at the time of his death 400 acres of 
 land. He died in 1863, at the age of sixty-nine 
 years, and his wife, who bore the maiden name of 
 Prudence Kellogg, died in 1868, at the age of 
 seventy-seven years. She was born on the Kellogg 
 homestead in Newington, a half-mile west of the 
 church, and was a daughter of .Martin and Hannah 
 (Kobbins) Kellogg. Josiah Atwood was a promi- 
 nent man in hi« dlay, served as county commissioner 
 for three years, and was once candidate of his party 
 for State senator, but was defeated. He was a 
 major in the Connecticut militia. Charles K., our 
 subject, is the eldest in his family of seven chil- 
 dren. Josiah Elbert, a farmer, was killed on the 
 third-rail road in the western part of Xewington in 
 August, 1898. Thomas Robbins is engaged in 
 farming with our subject. John Alitchelson, now- 
 living on a farm near Wichita, Kans., was graduated 
 from Trinity College in 1849, as valedictorian of his 
 class, and later engaged in the practice of law in 
 Princeton, 111., finally removing to Wichita, Kans., 
 where he was judge of the city court. Harriet Pru- 
 dence married John S. Kirkham, of Newington, and 
 is now deceased. Mary Kellogg is the present wife 
 of John S. Kirkham. Julia Norton, who was in- 
 jured at the time her brother was killed, makes her 
 home with our subject. 
 
 Charles K. Atwood, the subject of this sketch, 
 passed his boyhood and youth upon the home farm, 
 and his primary education was obtained in the pub- 
 lic schools of Newington. Subsequently he at- 
 tended school in Glastonbury and Berlin for one 
 term each ; was for a time a student in the academy 
 in Newington; and for one year took a private 
 course of study under the direction of Rev. Dr. 
 Brace, then pastor of the Congregational Church of 
 Newington. In 1839 he entered Yale, where he 
 pursued the regular course, and was graduated in 
 1843, after which he studied law in Hartford for 
 one year with Gov. Toucev. and for the same length 
 
 of time with Francis Fellows. He was admitted to 
 the Bar during the March term of court, 1846, and 
 for a time successfully engaged in practice in Hart- 
 ford, but finally, in response to his father's urgent re- 
 quest, he returned home to assist in carrying on 
 his large farming interests, and has since remained 
 on the old homestead, his time and attention being 
 devoted to agricultural pursuits. 
 
 Mr. Atwood is a gentleman of culture and re- 
 finement, and keeps well posted on the leading ques- 
 tions and issues of the day. He has always been a 
 stanch Democrat in politics, but being opposed to 
 the free coinage of silver at a ratio of sixteen to one 
 he voted for Palmer and Buckner in 1896. In 1872 
 he was elected to the State Legislature as the first 
 representative from Newington, which the year 
 previous had been separated from Wethersfield. At 
 the first town meeting he was made first selectman, 
 and most acceptably filled that office for several 
 years, until he refused to hold it longer. Frater- 
 nally he is a member of Newington Grange. Since , 
 1870 he has served as deacon of the Congregational jj 
 Church, and has always taken a prominent part in ' 
 church work. During the long years of his resi- 
 dence here he has championed every movement de- 
 signed to promote the general welfare, has sup- 
 ported every enterprise for the public good, and has 
 materially aided in the advancement of all social, 
 educational and moral interests. 
 
 JAMES HENRY HASKINS, one of the best- 
 known and most progressive of the tobacco raisers 
 of Suffield, was born in Washington, Berkshire 
 Co., Mass., Aug. 11, 1829. 
 
 Amos Haskins, grandfather of James H. Has- ' 
 kins, was a native of Salisbury, Conn., where he 
 was reared to manhood, and whence he removed 
 to Washington, Mass., there engaging in farming 
 and stock raising. He married Lovisa Bills, and 
 the union was blessed with nine children, as fol- 
 lows : Orrin, Amos, James, John, Charles, Sara, 
 Lovisa, Mary and Nancy, all now deceased with 
 the exception of Mary, who lives in Joliet, 111., 
 and Charles, who makes his home in Rockford, 
 same State. The father of this family was a Whig 
 in politics. He and his wife both died on his farm 
 ill Washington, in the faith of the Congregational 
 Church. 
 
 Orrin Haskins, father of our subject, was born 
 in Washington, Mass., was reared on the home farm 
 and was educated in the comon schools. When quite 
 a youth he was drafted for the war of 1812, and was 
 stationed at Boston. He served as selectman of his 
 native town for some years, and he followed agri- 
 cultural pursuits on the old homestead until 1847, 
 when he sold his place and came to Suffield, Conn., 
 purchasing the place known as the Beamont farm. 
 There he passed away in 1853, in the fifty-eighth 
 year of his age. He was very liberal in his church 
 views, and in politics was a Democrat, but was no 
 office seeker. Orrin Haskins married Celestia 
 
y^^^^^^-<^ /^/^^^^^^^i^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 953 
 
 Spellman, a native of Granville, Mass., and to this 
 union were born seven children : Levi, who died 
 at the age of eleven years; James H., our subject; 
 Saloma, wife of Jarvis Norcott, of Becket, Mass. ; 
 Maria, who married Andrew I3arnes, of Middle- 
 field, Mass. ; Marion, deceased ; Sarah, who died 
 , when two years old ; and a twin that died unnamed. 
 I After the death of Orrin Haskins his widow mar- 
 ' ried George Fuller, but of this union there was 
 no issue. The mother of the above named family was 
 a pious member of the Congregational Church ; she 
 died in 1876, and her remains were reverently laid 
 to rest beside those of her husband in the Suffield 
 cemetery. 
 
 James H. Haskins, the subject proper of this 
 sketch, received only an ordinary district-school 
 education in Washington, Mass., and was eighteen 
 I years of age when he came with his parents to 
 I Suffield, Hartford Co., Conn., remaining with them 
 until the father's death, when he paid off all claims 
 and assumed sole charge of the farm. He made 
 extensive improvements thereon, and engaged 
 largely in the cultivation of tobacco, as well as in 
 general farming and stock raising, until 1892, when 
 he came to his present home. Here he has also 
 made extensive improvements and is ver)^ pleas- 
 antly domiciled. He owns one hundred acres, and, 
 as he thoroughl)' understands the theory and prac- 
 tice of agriculture, has met with complete success 
 in his various operations. His surroundings speak 
 well for his industry, taste and skill, and his farm 
 is a model of its kind. 
 
 Mr. Haskins was joined in matrimony, April 
 25, 1854, in Suffield, with Miss Mary Ann Hast- 
 ings, a native of the town, and a daughter of Will- 
 iam and Lydia (Remington) Hastings, also na- 
 tives of Suffield. This marriage has been blessed 
 with five children : Ida M., who died young ; 
 James O. ; William Henry, who passed away at 
 the age of four years; Nellie M., wife of Apollos 
 Fuller, of Suffield ; and Charles Edward, the pres- 
 ent occupant of the old homestead in Suffield owned 
 by his grandfather and later by his father. Charles 
 E. Haskins married Lizzie K. Fuller, who has 
 borne him one son, Edward N. 
 
 In politics Mr. Haskins is a Democrat, and at 
 different times he has been a candidate for repre- 
 sentative to the State Legislature, but the town 
 being strongly Republican he was defeated. He 
 served as a selectman of Sufifield from 1881 until 
 1883, during his last year in that incumbency being 
 instrumental in bringing about a final settlement 
 of the boundary line between Suffield and Granbv, 
 which had been in dispute for several years. After 
 the case had been in litigation for a time the court 
 appointed a commission of three men to settle the 
 question, and most of the points were decided ac- 
 cording to Mr. Haskins' original claim. Our stib- 
 ject has also served as a grand juror. He and his 
 wife, with their surviving children, are adherents 
 of the Baptist Church, and all are highly respected 
 for their individual merits. 
 
 WALTER WING COWLES has done his full 
 share in adding lustre to a name already respected 
 and "familiar as household words" in Hartford 
 county, especially in Manchester and the neighboring 
 towns. His trout preserve, one of the finest, if not 
 the finest, in the State of Connecticut, is known to 
 all who have any interest in that direction in this 
 part of the country. 
 
 Mr. Cowles was born Feb. 15, 1844, on the farm 
 in the town of Manchester where he makes his 
 home, son of Francis W. Cowles, and grandson of 
 Stephen Cowles, a native of Springfield, Vt., who in 
 about 1834 came with his family to Hartford coun- 
 ty. Conn., locating at Hilliardville, where he began 
 work in the woolen mills. The trip was made in 
 the winter time, with sled and ox-team. Stephen 
 Cowles passed away in 1847, at the advanced age of 
 ninety-two years. He was tall and spare in build, 
 tlis family consisted of nine children: Stephen, 
 Austin, Eliza, Francis W., Paulina, Nancy, Martha, 
 Mary and Walter. 
 
 Francis W. Cowles was born July 4, 1805, in 
 Springfield, Vt., and in early manhood came to 
 Hartford county, where he became one of the most 
 influential men of his day. He was a self-made 
 man, having few opportunities in his younger life, 
 for when a mere boy he began work in the Hilliard 
 woolen mills, and when sixteen years of age he went 
 to Buckland's Corners, where at that time there was 
 a hotel and stage stables located on the old stage 
 road between Boston and Hartford. Here he was 
 employed until he reached his majority, when he 
 purchased the old tavern, and he conducted it suc- 
 cessfully until 1846, when he removed to the farm 
 now owned and occupied by his son Walter W. in 
 Manchester town. He carried on general farming 
 and stock raising, breeding Jersey cattle, and for 
 the first few years had a general store in connection 
 at Buckland's Corners. Mr. Cowles became inti- 
 mately identified with the history and advancement 
 of Hartford county, and his personal worth and pop- 
 ularity may be estimated from the fact that up to 
 the time of his death he and Dr. C. W. Jacques and 
 Ralph Cheney were the only Democrats who repre- 
 sented the town of Manchester in the Legislature 
 since it was set off from the town of East Hart- 
 ford, in 1834. A more complete mention of this 
 esteemed citizen will be found in the sketch of his 
 son, Clinton W., elsewhere. 
 
 On Nov. 12, 1834, Francis W. Cowles was mar- 
 ried to Miss Harriet Wing, of East Hartford, daugh- 
 ter of Sylvanus Wing, and they had a family of five 
 children : Albert F., who is a farmer of Manchester 
 town; Harriet, who died in i8_s8: Clinton W., a 
 prominent citizen of Manchester ; Walter W. ; and 
 Martha J., deceased wife of Dwight A. Moulton, 
 of California, who is at present assistant State treas- 
 urer of that State. Mr. Cowles' death occurred in 
 Manchester, March 10, 1880, when he was seventy- 
 four years of age. 
 
 During his early life Walter W. Cowles re- 
 
954 
 
 COMMEMORATIJ'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ceived every opoprtunity for obtaining a good ed- 
 ucation, attendmg the common schools of tne home 
 neighborhood, the Suffield high schools and Lit- 
 erary Institute of Suffield, and iiast Grenwich Sem- 
 inary, remaining at school until he was twenty 
 years of age. Returning to the home farm, he was 
 engaged tnereon until ui i86y he and his brother, 
 Clmton W., engaged in the hotel business at Alan- 
 chester, having purchased the "Weaver Hotel," 
 which has since been known as the "Cowles Hotel." 
 After 1873 our subject had entire charge of the 
 business until 1881, when he again took up his res- 
 idence on the farm, and here he has since remained. 
 This is a highly improved and valuable tract of 200 
 acres, and in addition to extensive operations in gen- 
 eral farming j\lr. Cowles is engaged in stock-rais- 
 ing and the care of his trout preserve, breeding Jer- 
 sey cattle and a standard gradeof linedriving horses. 
 
 While on a sununer visit to the seashore, in the 
 vicinity of Plymouth, Mass., Mr. Cowles became in- 
 terested in the trout preserves so numerous in that 
 locality, and recalling the fact that a large number 
 of springs start up on his farm m various parts of 
 the estate, feeding the brook which runs its entire 
 length, he was convinced that he could make a suc- 
 cess of the industry at home. 1 he idea took sub- 
 stantial form in 1895, when be had his first pond, 
 covering an area of three acres, made, and in 1897 
 a second, about the same size, was constructed. Be- 
 sides there are dozens of pools along the little stream, 
 and Mr. Cowles at present has at least 500.000 young 
 trout, and about four tons of two and three-year-old 
 fish. The place is equipped with every facility for 
 the successful conduct of this business, our subject 
 owning his own trout hatchery, etc., and in 1899 he 
 gave four million trout eggs to the State to be used 
 in stocking streams. His fish find a ready market, 
 selling at from sixty cents to one dollar per pound. 
 In this connection Mr. Cowles has become especially 
 well known, for he w^as instrumental in passing a 
 bill through the Legislature during the past session 
 making it lawful to market trout from Feb. I to 
 Oct. I, the previous law having limited the time to 
 three months in the year, from April i, to July i. 
 Mr. Cowles has also been closely identified with the 
 affairs of his owm locality, and has served efficiently 
 as road commissioner (for eleven years) and jus- 
 tice of the peace, giving unbounded satisfaction. 
 Like all the members of his family, he is a stanch 
 supporter of the Democratic partv. Fraternally 
 he is a member of Manchester Lodge, No. 73, A. 
 F. & A. M. 
 
 On May 28, 1879, Walter W. Cowles was mar- 
 ried to Miss Hattie Fuller, a native of Manchester, 
 and their union has been blessed with five children : 
 Florence, born June 6, 1880: Clinton W., Dec. 7, 
 1882; Arline, Nov. 17, 1888 fwho died Feb. i, 
 1893) ; Robert, Oct. 8, 1894: and Mark, July 23, 1899. 
 
 SAMUEL C. THRALL. The Thrall home- 
 stead in the town of Windsor is one of the most 
 valuable estates in Hartford county, and is of spe- 
 
 cial interest to the historian, as it has been in the 
 possession of the family from pioneer times. The 
 fertility of its broad acres, extending along the 
 banks of the Farmington river, has never been ex- 
 hausted, the judicious use of scientific methods of 
 farming having prevented the failure of soil so 
 often deplored in otir older settlements. The pres- 
 ent commodious brick residence was built in 1879, 
 taking the place of a building erected by William 
 Thrall, our subject's uncle, and it is one of the 
 largest and most substantial in this section. The 
 subject of this sketch is a man whose long and use- 
 ful life has won for him the respect and esteem of 
 the entire community, and in giving a prominent 
 place to the following history we are but paying a 
 just tribute to his personal worth. 
 
 The spelling of the family name was somewhat 
 varied in the old days, the records giving it as 
 Thrale, Thrail, Trail and Thrall. The first an- 
 cestor of whom a definite account has been pre- 
 served was William Thrall, who came to Windsor 
 before the Pequot war, in which he took an active 
 part. In 1646 he joined with Rolsert Winslow in 
 the purchase of "Hoyte's Meadow" from Simon 
 Hoyte, and later he settled there with his family. 
 As they were quite a distance from any neighbors 
 and were thus exposed to sudden night attacks from 
 the Indians, the Court exempted him from the duty 
 of "watch and word," to which all able-bodied men 
 in the settlement were liable. Ever since his time 
 the land has been the home of the Thralls, suc- 
 cessive generations maintaining the reputation of 
 the family for thrift, industry, public spirit and all 
 that constitutes good citizenship. 
 
 David Thrall, our subject's grandfather, fol- 
 lowed farming at the homestead throughout his 
 life. He married Zuhma Denslow, and had four 
 sons: Joel, William, Harvey and Horace. There 
 were also several daughters, of whom Sarah mar- 
 ried Elijah Griswold; Mary married Hezekiah Gris- 
 w^old, and moved to New York State ; another 
 daughter, Hulda, never married. 
 
 Hon. Horace Thrall, the father of our subject, 
 was born July 26, 179S, in a house which stood a 
 short distance to the east of the present residence 
 of our subject. He was always engaged in agri- 
 cultural pursuits, and his fine mental gifts and high 
 character gave him much influence among his wide 
 circle of acquaintances. Politically he was a strong 
 Democrat, and at times he served in local offices of 
 trust and responsibility, while for one term he rep- 
 resented his town in the State Legislature. On 
 March 14, 1855, h^ married Miss Eliza J. Wilson, 
 who was born Aug. 16, 1806, daughter of Capt. 
 Calvin and Submit (Denslow) Wilson. Her father 
 was a Revolutionary soldier, and a leading citizen of 
 Windsor town, residing in Poquonock. She died 
 April 22, 1846, and Dec. 25, 1848, Mr. Thrall mar- 
 ried Miss Elizabeth Elliott, who was born July 6, 
 1816, and died May 17, 1850. On March 14, 1854, 
 he married Juliana Treadway Huntington (widow 
 of Simeon Huntington), who was born Sept. Ii, 
 1808, and died May 16, 1880. His death occurred 
 
d^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 955 
 
 Jan. 31, 1865, and was Strangely predicted by himself. 
 On Sunday, Jan. 29, 1865, he hitched up a team of 
 black colts, that he owned, and went out for a drive. 
 He returned shortly before noon, apparently as well 
 as ever, as he was a well-preserved man, but took to 
 his bed almost at once, stating to his family that he 
 was going to die on the Tuesday following at 10 
 p. M. It seemed unlikely, but on Monday he settled 
 up his affairs, talking as intelligently as ever and 
 dictating all dispositions to be made of his prop- 
 erty. His son Thomas M. was to have been mar- 
 ried on Feb. 14, but fully believing that he would 
 not live until that day he requested that the cere- 
 mony be performed during his lifetime, and it 
 was solemnized on Jan. 31, the day he died aged 
 sixty-nine years and six months. As he had pre- 
 dicted the hour of his departure from this earth, 
 watch was closely kept. He showed' no signs of 
 passing away until the clock struck ten on Tuesday 
 evening, when he suddenly lost consciousness, and 
 one hour later had passed away. This strange oc- 
 currence attracted wide notice, and was witnessed 
 by many. 
 
 Mr. Thrall had a large family of children, all 
 by his first marriage: (i) Charles W., born Sept. 
 19, 1824, died Jan. 14, 1862, at Poquonock, unmar- 
 ried. He was a farmer and merchant, and at one 
 time a gristmill owner. (2) Horace H., born July 
 7, 1825, died December, 1897. For twenty-two 
 years he was engaged in paper-mill work, being a 
 foreman for much of that time, and he was also 
 interested in mercantile business at Poquonock and 
 later in farming. He was a leading Democrat, and 
 served as second selectman for many years. In 
 November, 1856, he married Charlotte A. Watrous, 
 and they had two daughters, Gertrude A., wife of 
 W. G. Clark, of Poquonock; and Eliza M., wife of 
 Leroy Sykes, of Sui^eld. (3) Laura Z., born Jan. 
 30, 1829, married Salmon Clark, Sept. 8, 1850, and 
 died in Windsor, Dec. 22, 1883. She had three 
 children, Eliza A., Charles O., and a twin of the 
 latter who died in infancy. (4) Oliver W., born 
 July II, 1830, was a farmer at the homestead, where 
 he died Dec. 28, 1892, unmarried. (5) Joseph G., 
 born Sept. 14, 1831, is a resident of the town of 
 Windsor. On Sept. 8, 1880, he married Vesta E. 
 Bartlett. (6) Samuel C. is mentioned more fully 
 below. (7) Edward F., born Feb. 6, 1837, married 
 Flavia A. Howe. (8'> Thomas M., born Nov. 23, 
 1840, died May 21, 1889 (further mention is made 
 of him elsewhere). (9) Willard A., born Aug. 24, 
 .1842, is a farmer of the town of Windsor, and is 
 known as the pioneer peach grower of that locality, 
 and the most extensive one. He received excellent 
 educational advantages, as he had four years at 
 Windsor Academy, and two years at private school 
 in Poquonock. He is one of the prominent Demo- 
 crats of the town, and is exceptionally popular as an 
 official, his work as assessor being quite thorough 
 and efficient. He married Miss Helen Churchill, of 
 Little Falls, N. Y., and has three children, Henry 
 ■ W., Howard C, and Laura H. 
 
 Samuel C. Thrall was born at the homestead 
 May 30, 1833, and was educated at the old brick 
 school house in District No. 7, of Windsor, where 
 many of the best citizens received their early in- 
 struction. Among his first teachers were Jeff Aus- 
 tin and a Mr. Barlow. He was reared to farm 
 work, and on leaving school turned his attention to 
 the management of the old farm. He and his broth- 
 ers were all healthy, muscular boys, Oliver being the 
 heaviest, our subject the lightest, and at one time 
 the nine children, including the sister, had a com- 
 bined weight of more than two thousand, two hun- 
 dred pounds ! As the work of the homestead did 
 not require the constant help of all the boys, some 
 of them were employed by neighboring farmers, but 
 in i860 Oliver, Joseph, Samuel, Thomas and Wil- 
 lard formed a partnership and took charge of the 
 homestead. Desiring more land, they purchased 
 tracts from time to time until they had a farm which 
 taxed even their energies to cultivate. The part- 
 nership lasted several years, the utmost harmony 
 prevailing in their settlements, which were infor- 
 mally made between themselves, but as one after an- 
 other married the immense estate was divided, and 
 our subject is now the only one remaining at the 
 homestead proper. While he is in excellent health, 
 being physically and mentally active, he has re- 
 tired from business, the control of the farm being 
 given to his nephew, Frederick H. Thrall. Al- 
 though our subject has never married, his material 
 needs have been well cared for, as his brother Thom- 
 as married a most excellent wife and settled at the 
 homestead, which is a model of neatness and com- 
 fort under her skillful management. In his manner 
 Mr. Thrall is unassuming, and his kindliness of 
 heart is well known, as he has alwavs been ready to 
 aid in any case of need. It is a rule in the family 
 that no one shall ever be turned from the house hun- 
 gry, and hospitality is never refused to ibe way- 
 farer. Like all of his family he is a stanch Demo- 
 crat, and takes keen interest in the party's welfare, 
 but beyond voting regularly he is not active in the 
 practical work of the organization. 
 
 WILLIAM PEARCE, the well-known superin- 
 tendent of the Atwater Manufacturing Co., Plants- 
 ville, has the distinction of having won the proud 
 American title of a self-made man. He possesses 
 fine ability in mechanical lines, and this, together 
 with his great determination and energy, has enabled 
 him to overcome all the difficulties and obstacles in 
 his path, and work his way steadily upward to pros- 
 perity. 
 
 Mr. Pearce was born in Aylesbury, Buckingham- 
 shire, England, Dec. 23, 1846, a son of Edward and 
 Sarah (Mead) Pearce, who came to America in 1848 
 and located in Hartford, Conn., where the father 
 conducted a bakery for a short time. He then re- 
 moved to Glastonbury, Conn., and engaged in the 
 manufacture of spectacles until 1870. when he came 
 to Southington and worked in the shops, first with 
 the H. D. Smith Co., and later with the Atwater 
 
956 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Manufacturing Co. He died in Southington, April 
 27, 1884. In his family were the following chil- 
 dren: Charlotte, wife of Robert ^IcXaughton ; Ed- 
 ward T. ; William; Mary, wife of William Ferry, 
 and later of Robert Svvanton; and Mercy, wife of 
 Richard Cowles. 
 
 Mr. Pearce was two years old when brought by 
 his parents to the United States, and in Hartford 
 county he was reared and educated, attending th.e 
 public schools. In early life he served a three-years" 
 apprenticeship to the machinist's trade with Wood- 
 ruff & Beach, of Hartfurd, and later worked as a 
 journeyman for ten years. In January, 1875, ^"^ 
 entered the employ of J. B. Savage & Co., of South- 
 ington, as foreman of their machinery department, 
 and served in that capacity for three and one-half 
 years. In July, 1878, he accepted the superintend- 
 ency of the Atwater Manufacturing Co., of Plants- 
 ville, which rcsoonsible position he has since most 
 creditably filled. He has also been a director of and 
 stockholder in the company for fifteen years. Mr. 
 Pearce is of an inventive turn of mind, and has taken 
 out some forty different patents, among the most im- 
 portant being an ox-shoe, reducing the cost of man- 
 iifacture from seventy-five dollars to eleven dollars 
 per ton; also a patent nail-puller, the object of 
 which is to pull the nail straight as well as easily, 
 that it may be used a second time or more, and at 
 the same time lessen the cost of production. He 
 has also made several inventions on carriage coup- 
 lings, now used extensively throughout the world, 
 the Atwater Manufacturing Co. being the principal 
 manufacturer of these in the United States. Mr. 
 Pearce is known among his fellow townsmen for his 
 reliability in all trade transactions, and justly merits 
 their confidence and regard. Socially he is a mem- 
 ber of William Perry Lodge. Xo. 50, K. P. 
 
 In 1866 Mr. Pearce was united in marriage with 
 Miss Eva F. Brown, a daughter of George L. and 
 Alma A. (Cook) Brown, of Providence, R. I., and 
 to this union two children have been born ; Edward 
 U. ; and Bertha G., now the wife of William Hartlev. 
 
 JOHN DEXTER ANDREWS, secretary and 
 treasurer of the Collinsville Savings Society, is a 
 man whose probity and sound busmess judgment 
 lend strength and prestige to any enterprise with 
 Avhich he may be connected. The bank has a sur- 
 plus of about $65,000, the largest percentage of any 
 savings bank in the State, and since Mr. Andrews 
 tiecame associated with the institution the number 
 of depositors has increased from 400 to 1,700. Mr. 
 Andrews is a self-made man, having begun his 
 career as a carpenter and joiner, contractor and 
 huilder with no capital except his abilities, and his 
 success affords a pleasing illustration of the old 
 adage, "Where there's a will there's a way." 
 
 Our subject was born March 15, 1833, in Ash- 
 iield, Mass. At an early day three brothers named 
 Andrews came from England, one settling in Mas- 
 sachusetts, one in Connecticut and one in Georgia. 
 James Andrews, cur subject's grandfather, was 
 
 born in Massachusetts, and made his home there 
 throughout life. He died at the age of fifty, but 
 his wife, Sarah, lived to the advanced age of 
 eighty-four, her death being caused by a fall from 
 a coach in a runaway. They had several children, 
 among whom was a son, Rodolphus. 
 
 Rodolphus Andrews, our subject's father, was 
 born and reared in Massachusetts and became a 
 farmer and general mechanic, being able to make 
 almost anything from a waterwheel to a clock. He 
 located at Ashfield, Mass., and later in New York 
 State, and his death occurred in Illinois in 1856. 
 His wife, Lois Kellogg, who died in 1843, was a 
 native of New Hartford, and a daughter of Capt. 
 Michael and Sarah Kellogg. Her family has been 
 prominent in New England from an early period, 
 and numbers among its members Clara Louise Kel- 
 logg, the famous singer. Capt. Michael Kellogg 
 resided at Xew Hartford, and, realizing the value 
 of the water ]50wer at the Xorth End, he built the 
 first mill there, disregarding both advice and crit- 
 icism from less acute and far-sighted btisiness men. 
 Our subject was the youngest of a family of six 
 children. ( i ) The first child, a son, died in in- 
 fancy. (2) Almira died at the age of twenty-one. 
 (3) Louise married Andrew Slawson, and died at 
 Piqua, Ohio, leaving four children. (4) Sarah 
 married Charles Van Velzor, of Princeton, 111, 
 and had six children, four of whom are living. (5) 
 George W., a bridge builder, died at Rockport, 
 Ohio, leaving a widow and three children. 
 
 In 1837 the family removed to Baldwinsville, 
 X. Y., then a newly settled district, and as our 
 subject was then about four years old his early 
 recollections cover an interesting phase of pioneer 
 life. At fourteen he came to Connecticut to re- 
 side with an uncle, George Kellogg, of Winsted, 
 later spent two years with an uncle in New Hart- 
 ford, and then went to the home of another uncle, 
 where he remained until he reached the age of eight- 
 een. He learned the trade of carpenter and joiner 
 in New Hartford, and while serving his apprentice- 
 ship refused a tempting offer to break his agree- 
 ment with his employer. The latter rewarded him 
 by giving him his time after two and one-half 
 years, and in September, 1854, he settled himself 
 ill business in Collinsville. Many houses in that 
 vicinity stand as evidence of his skill. 
 
 In 1858 Mr. Andrews became connected with 
 The Collins Company and later entered the machete 
 department, spending two and one-half years in the 
 handle room ; for some years he took contracts for 
 the company. In 1869 the foreman of the machete 
 department died and Mr. Andrews took the posi- 
 tion of foreman, which he held nearly twenty-three 
 years, resigning June 15, 1891. In the meantime he 
 became interested in the Collinsville Savings So- 
 ciety, in which he served as chairman of the board 
 of trustees for some time, and in 1891 he took his 
 present position. In 1868 he opened a grocery in 
 Collinsville, in partnership with Mr. Codding, under 
 the name of tne LTnion Trading Co., with the ob- 
 
C^^^ aU i>^^cyf 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 957 
 
 ject of providing the necessaries of life at low 
 cost. The people of the village had previously been 
 obliged to pa)' exorbitant prices for such supplies, 
 and their patronage of the new firm showed their 
 lappreciation of the fair dealing which characterized 
 'its transactions, the business amounting to about 
 '$20,000 annually. The store was kept open only 
 at night, and Mr. Andrews, after his work as fore- 
 man in the shop during the day, would spend his 
 evenings over the books, but in 1883 he withdrew 
 from the firm. Politically he is a Republican, and 
 at one time was a "Know-nothing." For years he 
 was active in local affairs, and he has served as 
 grand juror and trial justice, and for twelve years 
 was a justice of the peace, but of late he has been 
 obliged to devote his attention more exclusively to 
 business. His kindness of heart found ample scope 
 for action during his judicial service, as his good 
 advice led to the reform of many evil-doers. Our 
 subject is a man of liberal mind, eminently just in 
 his opinion of men and affairs, and, while he had 
 but Hmited advantages in youth, his keen observa- 
 tion of life and his wide range of reading have 
 given him a good practical education. Physically 
 he has never been robust, but by constant care he 
 has avoided serious illness, his love of out-door 
 sports in youth having contributed much to his 
 good health. He is a member of the Masonic fra- 
 ternity. 
 
 In November, 1859, Mr. Andrews was married 
 in Collinsville, to Miss Abbie Jane Horton, daugh- 
 ter of Leonard and Delia Horton, residents of that 
 place. Three children were born of the union : 
 Hattie C, who died aged five years ; May, who died 
 at the age of two and one-half years ; and J. 
 Leonard, who died aged three and one-half years. 
 
 i 
 
 HIRAM EMERSON HODGE, the present 
 first selectman and a leading citizen of Marlboro, 
 is a worthy representative of an old and honored 
 New England family. His paternal grandparents 
 were Benaja and Rhoda Hodge, of South Glaston- 
 bury, where the grandfather followed the occupa- 
 tion of farming until his death. They had a family 
 of nine children, whose names and dates of birth 
 were as follows: Hiram, Oct. 20, 1797; Hatsel, 
 March 19,, 1799; Selden, May 27, 1801 ; Benjamin, 
 Jan. 6, 1805; Orin, Nov. 6, 1809; Prudence, Nov. 
 IS, 181 1 ; Rhoda, Nov. 8, 1813; Lucy, July 17, 1815; 
 and Alsup, July 22, 1818. 
 
 Alsup Hodge, the father of our subject, was 
 born in South Glastonbury on the farm now occu- 
 pied by his son-in-law, Roderick Hollister, and there 
 spent his entire life^ his time and attention being de- 
 voted to agricultural pursuits. He died June 11, 
 1877. -^^ rnarried Miss Betsy Pearson, who was 
 borri April 23, 181 1, and died at the home of her 
 daughter, Mrs. Hollister, in South Glastonbury, Jan. 
 3, 1898. In the family were three children, of whom 
 our subject is the youngest. Emeline, born Dec. 15, 
 1845, is the widow of Ansel Bidwell, a teamster of 
 North Glastonbury; and Olive, born July 29, 1848, 
 
 was married June i, 1872, to Roderick Hollister, a 
 farmer of South Glastonbury. 
 
 Hiram E. Hodge, our subject, was born on the 
 home farm in South Glastonbury, March 23, 185T, 
 and attended the district schools and also a select 
 school held in the basement of the M. E. Church 
 in East Glastonbury, presided over by E. M. An- 
 thony, a minister. On leaving school, at the age of 
 sixteen years, he returned home, and aided in the 
 work of the farm and also did teaming for his father, 
 who operated a stone quarry which was located upon 
 his place. For many years our subject was also in- 
 terested in burning charcoal. In early life he spent 
 one year working on a farm in Batavia, N. Y. After 
 his return to Connecticut he was married, and lived 
 on the home farm for a couple of years. He then 
 went to East Hampton, Middlesex county, where he 
 engaged in charcoal burning for Hudson Hollister, 
 and in 1878 came to Marlboro and purchased the 
 W. L. Hills place. He did teaming for the Marl- 
 boro Mills while they were in operation, and car- 
 ried the mail between Marlboro and East Hampton, 
 making two trips daily. He also hauled stone, 
 wood, etc. Subseauentlv he purchased his present 
 farm from William Dickinson, then comprising 221 
 acres, but he has since added to it a ninety-acre 
 tract, and now has a fine farm of 311 acres, which 
 he has placed under a high state of cultivation, and 
 on which he is now successfully engaged in general 
 farming. 
 
 On Jan. 21, 1875, Mr. Hodge was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Lavina Root, a native of East 
 Hampton, and a daughter of Henry and Fidelia 
 (Archer) Root. To the assistance of his thrifty wife 
 our subject attributes much of his success. They 
 have six children: Leslie, who is now living in 
 Westchester; Harrison, who died young, his death 
 resulting from a kick of a horse ; and ^Dwight, Har- 
 old, Grace and Jennie, all at home. The family is 
 one of which any parent might be justly proud. 
 
 Mr. Hodge is a hard-working, energetic man, 
 and his success is due entirely to his own well-di- 
 rected labors. He attends the Methodist Church, 
 and politically affiliates with the Democratic party, 
 taking a very prominent and influential part in 
 political matters as one of the leading members of 
 the party in Marlboro. He was chosen selectman 
 in 1894, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899 and 1900, and when 
 representative in 1894-5, received two-thirds of the 
 vote of the town, which fact plainly indicates his 
 popularity, and the confidence and trust that his 
 fellow citizens repose in him. 
 
 ANDREW J. SHIPMAN, one of the best- 
 known hotel men in the Eastern States, was born 
 Jan. 12, 1830, son of Samtiel Shipman, and grand- 
 son of John Shipman. 
 
 John Shipman was born in Rocky Hill, and was 
 a man of no little prominence in the community, 
 being a large land owner. He married a Miss Hol- 
 lister, by whom he had four children : Samuel, our 
 subject's father; John, who died in childhood; and 
 
968 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Catherine and Julia, both of whom married men by 
 the name of Hunt. Ji^hn Shipman attained the ex- 
 traordinary age of ninety-two years, and died en- 
 joying the esteem of the entire community in which 
 he passed his life. 
 
 Samuel Shipman, the father of Andrew }., was 
 born in 1783, in Rocky Hill, Conn. He received 
 his early education at the district schools, and at the 
 age of eighteen began the life of a farmer, which 
 pursuit he followed until 1837, in that year remov- 
 ing to Rocky Hill, where he purchased the well- 
 known "Rocky Hill Hotel." He changed the name 
 to "Shipman's Hotel," and under the management 
 of himself and his successors it became one of the 
 most famous country hostelries of New England. 
 He was a jovial and popular landlord, and familiarly 
 known as "Uncle Sammy." The house is of great 
 antiquity, having been built by Simeon Williams one 
 hundred and fifty years ago, and was also famous 
 for its fish and game dinners, being particularlv 
 noted for the many excellent ways in which shad 
 was served. It was a favorite resort of the wealthy 
 citizens of .Hartford, among whom may be named 
 the TrumbuUs, the Stewarts, and a i\lr. Colt (one 
 of Mr. Shipman's best patrons), of the Colt's Arms 
 Company, whose establishment was frequently vis- 
 ited by officers connected with the armies of foreign 
 countries, and occasionally by scions of royalty it- 
 self, who were anxious to become familiar with the 
 improvements which Mr. Colt's inventions had 
 wrought in the manufacture of fire arms. On the 
 occasion of such visits as these it was JNIr. Colt's 
 custom to take his guests aboard his little steam 
 yacht "Dauntless" and carry them down the Con- 
 necticut river to "Uncle Sammy's" tavern, for a 
 dinner of shad or game. The house was situated 
 on what was known as the old jMiddletown turn- 
 pike, running from Hartford to New Haven, and 
 was extensively patronized by travelers along the 
 route. Samuel Shipman married 2\Iaria Rogers, 
 daughter of Asa Rogers, of Hartford, and a sister 
 of the well-known Rogers brothers, manufacturers 
 of silver plated ware. She became the mother qf 
 five children; of whom Andrew J. (our subject) was 
 fourth in the order of birth ; Frank, the eldest, was 
 also a well-known hotel man, of East Haddam, 
 where he died in 1863; Albert died in 1867; Maria 
 lost her life through an accident, in 1835 ; and Ellen 
 is the widow of Henry Smith, of Hartford. Samuel 
 Shipman died in March, 1875, and his wife, who 
 was seventeen years his junior, having been born in 
 1800, survived him only four years. He was a sol- 
 dier of the war of 1812. 
 
 Andrew J. Shipman was quite young when his 
 father took charge of the "Rockv Hill Hotel." He 
 attended the district schools of his native place, and 
 supplemented the training there received by a course 
 in Ellington Academy. Both by instinct and train- 
 ing his inclinations were bent in the direction of 
 hotel-keeping. At the age of twenty he went to 
 Hartford, where he became clerk in the "United 
 States Hotel," holding that position for a year. The 
 
 next year he passed at a hotel in Wallingford, and 
 from that point went to Pittsburg, Penn., where he 
 was similarly employed for four years. From Pitts- 
 burg he removed to New York City, and after being 
 employed for two years in a hotel there went to 
 Wilmington, N. C, where he remained until the 
 outbreak of the Civil war, in 1861. Returning to 
 New York, he soon found employment in his own 
 chosen pursuit; and from that time forward his 
 summers were spent at Newport, R. I., where he was 
 steward of the famous "Ocean Hotel." The latter 
 post he occupied for thirty-one consecutive years, 
 alternating his summers (during a portion of the 
 period) by performing the duties of steward in the 
 "Fifth Avenue Hotel," in New York. In 1897 he 
 retired from active ousiness pursuits, and bought his 
 father's old hotel at Rocky Hill, which he converted 
 into a modern residence for himself and family. 
 Mr. Shipman is naturally much attached to the old 
 homestead, where his father passed so many suc- 
 cessful years and attained such an enviable reputa- 
 tion as a host. liis father's record and associations 
 are also a source of legitimate pride to him. Mr. 
 Shipman is a Democrat in political sentiment, and 
 was elected to the State Legislature in 1889 and 
 1890. Fie is a member of the O. U. A. M. 
 
 On Dec. 27, 1865, our subject married Miss Mat- 
 sie J. Godbee, the daughter of James and Mary 
 (Rogers) Godbee, of Sag Harbor, L. I. They have 
 had no children of their own, but have reared four 
 boys, one from infancy. 
 
 James Godbee was a sea captain, his first mari- 
 time experience having been gained as a cabin boy 
 on a whaling vessel, on which he shipped when he 
 was but sixteen years of age. His first cruise lasted 
 three years, and from that time until 1847 he fol- 
 lowed a sea-faring life almost without intermission. 
 In the year last mentioned, in company with several 
 other men of Sag Haroor, he bought and fitted out 
 the bark "Hamilton," on which the owners made a 
 voyage to California. Arrived at San Francisco, he 
 disposed of his interest in the vessel and purchased a 
 schooner, with which he engaged in the trade along 
 the California coast, dealing in vegetables and fruits. 
 On his return trip to the East the vessel on which 
 he sailed was wrecked off the coast of lower Califor- 
 nia, but he, with a few others, was rescued, and 
 succeeded in saving some valuable express packages 
 committed to his charge, which he safely delivered 
 upon his return to New York. 
 
 Shortly after his return to his home at Sag 
 Harbor Mr. Godbee secured a government contract 
 for the building of life-saving stations along the 
 Long Island coast, which he carried out with the 
 fidelity and keen business sense which character- 
 ized all his business career. He was much trusted 
 by his fellow citizens, who frequently sought his ad- 
 vice, which was always freely given. He was one 
 of the trustees of the Sag Harbor Savings Bank, 
 and retired from active bus'ness in 1880, because of 
 failing eyesight. He died in 1886. His widow is 
 still living, at the ripe old age of eighty-five years. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 959 
 
 and makes her home with her daughter and son-in- 
 law, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew J. Shipman. Mr. and 
 
 I Mrs. Godbee had a family of hve children: J. Ed- 
 gar, now of Hartford, who is secretary of the 
 Woven Wire Mattress Co. ; Ellen, widow of B. J. 
 
 i Hurand, who resides in New York City ; Mary, Mrs. 
 
 ! Theodore Fields, deceased; William L., of Bridge- 
 
 thampton, L. I.; and Matsie J., Mrs. Shipman. 
 
 CAPT. ARTHUR B. KEENEY is descended 
 from a long-lived ancestry, who have been born and 
 bred on the old homestead farm in Hartford county, 
 which they have tilled for more than one hundred 
 ■ years. His g'reat-great-grandfather was Tell Kee- 
 ney, and his son, Richard Keeney (our subject's 
 great-grandfather), attained the phenomenal age 
 of 105 years. His grandfather, Russell Keeney, 
 died at the age of eighty-eight, and his father. Por- 
 ter Keeney, lived to be nearly eighty. All his pa- 
 ternal forefathers were farmers. 
 
 Russell Keeney married Jerusha Dart, and had 
 five children: Porter (our subject's father), Betsey 
 (who married Ira Keeney), Minnda (who became 
 the wife of Horace Keeney), Woodruff and Hulda. 
 Porter Keeney, our subject's father, married 
 Emily Bidwell, who was born April 19, 1806, and 
 died April 17, 1897, two days before reaching her 
 ninety-first birthday. To their union were born ten 
 children, a brief mention of some of whom will be 
 of interest: Electa was born April 2, 1826, and 
 died Feb. 8, 1838; Sanford was born Oct. 11, 1827, 
 and died at his home in South Manchester May 5, 
 1891 ; Edwin was born April 13, 1830, and is now a 
 merchant of New London; Riley, born Aug. 13, 
 1832, died at the age of thirty, on Aug. 9, 1862, at 
 Alexandria, Va., having served in the 5th (or Colt's) 
 Regiment, Conn. V. I. ; Emily A. ( i ) was born 
 Sept. 9, 1835, and died Feb. 6, 1838; Emily A. (2) 
 was born May 2, 1838, and married James Lyons, of 
 South Manchester, where she still resides ; Sarah 
 R. was born Oct. 22, 1840; Harriet, born July 19, 
 1843, became the wife of Asa G. Hills, of Mount 
 Pleasant, Iowa; one daughter, born in 1845, lived 
 only a short time ; Arthur B. is referred to below. 
 The father of this family (Porter Keeney) was born 
 July 24, 1805, and died April 8, 1885, twelve years 
 before his wife; he was buried in the East ceme- 
 tery of Manchester. 
 
 Arthur B. Keeney was born March 25, 1849, on 
 the farm on which his father took up his residence 
 shortly after marriage. It is situated in Glaston- 
 bury, just across the town line from the old Keeney 
 homestead, in the town of Manchester. His early 
 education was obtained at the common schools, and 
 the first twenty years of his life were spent upon 
 his father's farm. For ten years following he was 
 employed in Cheney Bros.' silk mill, and at the expi- 
 ration of that period he returned to the home of his 
 S boyhood, where he has lived ever since. His pres- 
 ! ent farm embraces seventy-four acres, including the 
 "home place" of fourteen acres. On May 9, 1870, 
 1 he married Miss Rose Wetherell, a daughter of 
 
 William and Frances (Watrous) Wetherell, the lat- 
 ter a direct descendant of John Alden, of Plymouth 
 fame. One child has come to this union, Harry W., 
 born Aug. 7, 1872, who on June 9, 1897, married 
 Miss Dorothy M. Hall, of Manchester. 
 
 For several years Mr. Keeney served in the State 
 militia, with marked distinction. The date of his 
 enlistment in the ist Regiment, Conn. N. G., was 
 Nov. 10, 1871. On April 9, 1877, he rose to the rank 
 of sergeant, and on Nov. 9, 1877, was commis- 
 sioned second lieutenant. He was made first lieu- 
 tenant May 14, 1878, and captain Sept. i, 1879. On 
 Dec. 19, 1882, he tendered his resignation, which 
 was accepted. His son enlisted in the same com- 
 pany Feb. 16, 1891, and he also rose gradually to 
 the rank of captain, receiving his commission July 
 29, 1896, and having the distinction of being the 
 youngest captain in the brigade. He resigned in 
 1898. 
 
 Capt. Keeney is a Republican in politics. In 
 1896 he was elected tax collector of Manchester, and 
 has been re-elected for the fourth time, holding the 
 office for five years. He is a member of the First 
 Congregational Church of Manchester Center, and 
 also belongs to the A. O. U. W. 
 
 WILLIS WILCOX MILDRUM, now post- 
 master at East Berlin, possesses the aptitude of the 
 native of Connecticut for mechanical skill, and has 
 been connected with various prosperous industrial 
 enterprises of his native State. He is a man of' 
 strong, earnest convictions, which are manifested 
 by him as a citizen and in the various relationships 
 which constitute the career of every useful member 
 of society. Mr. Mildrum believes it the duty of 
 every man to give his attention to politics, and in 
 church, fraternal, social and business life he ranks 
 high among his fellow townsmen. 
 
 Mr. Mildrum was born in East Berlin, Oct. 6, 
 1846, son of William Augustus and Adelia M. (Wil- 
 cox) Mildrum, and grandson of Orrin Mildrum. 
 The father was a contractor with the Peck, Stow & 
 Wilcox Co., of East Berlin, making tinman's tools. 
 Our subject attended the public schools until the age 
 of sixteen, when he entered a photograph gallery at 
 Meriden. A little later he abandoned photography 
 to learn the tool-maker's trade with the Peck, Stow 
 & Wilcox Co., remaining with that highly prosperous 
 company for six years, when he began business for 
 himself as a partner in the firm of D. C. Callender 
 & Co., jewelers at New Britain and Meriden, and 
 the firm being composed of D. C. & F. E. Callender, 
 and our subject. Disposing of his mercantile inter- 
 ests, Mr. Mildrum remained for a time at Newing- 
 ton, and was then offered and accepted the superin- 
 tendency of the Corrugated Metal Co. Fie next be- 
 gan the manufacture of fine jewels for surveyors' 
 and electrical instruments, which business he still 
 conducts, also making jewels for all kinds of com- 
 passes. 
 
 Mr. Mildrum received his appointment of post- 
 master at East Berlin, June 22, 1898. His com- 
 
960 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 mission was signed by President McKinley July 9, 
 1898, the office having been made a Presidential one 
 during the-second administration of President Cleve- 
 land. In politics our subject is an ardent Republi- 
 can, and since early mannood he has taken an active 
 interest in public 'affairs. Por about fifteen years 
 he served on the school board, anu he was also a 
 member of the town executive committee. He has 
 been offered and has declined a number of political 
 offices. Mr. Mildrum is a prominent member of 
 Washington Lodge, No. 81, P. & A. AL, of Crom- 
 well, and has filled the chairs of senior warden, 
 master and deacon in the lodge. 
 
 On Oct. II, 1871, Air. Mildrum married Miss 
 Anna Shelden Webster, who was born Feb. 28, 
 1847, daughter of John and Lydia Prances \\"ebster, 
 of Newington. They have two daughters, Clare 
 Elizabeth and :\Iiriam Lydia. Clare Elizabeth, born 
 ]\Iarch 28, 1873, married' April 27, 1899, Rollin Col- 
 vert Bastress, of Shamokin, Penn., at present civil 
 engineer for the American Bridge Co. ; she is a grad- 
 uate of the New Britain high school, and of Mt. 
 Holyoke College, South Iladley, Mass., class of 
 1898. Miriam Lydia, born April' 24, 1875. attended 
 the New Britain high school, and later the Northfield 
 Training School ; on June 6, 1900, she became the 
 wife of A. W. A. Eden, of Brownstown, Jamaica, 
 West Indies, who is a civil engineer, now with the 
 American Bridge Co. at East Berlin. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Alildrum are members of the Sec- 
 ond Congregational Church of Berlin, and he is a 
 member of the standing committee of the church. 
 The daughters are members of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church of East Berlin. 
 
 EDWARD F. THRALL. Among the brave 
 men who helped to make up the quota from Con- 
 necticut during the early call for defenders of the 
 Union in the dark days of the Civil war was the sub- 
 ject of this sketch, now a well-known resident of the 
 town of Windsor. His prompt response as a young 
 man to his country's need was characteristic, and 
 his honorable record in private life is no less an 
 indication of personal worth and manly qualities. 
 An active career as a merchant has been followed 
 by many years of quiet attention to agricultural 
 pursuits, and he and his gifted wife now reside 
 upon an attractive farm near Poquonock. 
 
 Mr. Thrall was born in the town of ^Mnd5or, 
 Feb. 6, 1837, son of Horace and Eliza ^Mlson) 
 Thrall, whose histor}' is given elsewhere. He was 
 reared to farm work at the old homestead, and as a 
 boy attended the school of District No. 7, his native 
 ability being shown in his quick grasp of knowl- 
 edge under conditions by no means equal to those 
 of the present day. His progress in mathematics 
 was especially noteworthy, and at the age of sixteen 
 he began the study of the science of navigation un- 
 der Capt. Hamilton, of the ship "Prudence." For 
 three and one-half years he "sailed the ocean blue," 
 visiting many of the principal ports on the globe 
 
 and during his time he secured an excellent knowl- 
 edge of navigation. On his return home he found 
 employment in a paper-mill at Poquonock, begin- 
 ning at the work requiring least skill, but with ha- 
 bitual thoroughness he soon mastered the details, 
 and was raised to the most responsible position in 
 the shop. After a time he resigned to engage in 
 the grocery business at Poquonock, which he con- 
 tinued for a number of years. The outbreak of the 
 Rebellion aroused his patriotism, and, leaving his 
 business in the hands of his brother Horace, he en- 
 listed in Company A, 22d Conn. V. I., for the term 
 of three months, and served eleven ; he went out as 
 corporal. When finally discharged from the ser- 
 vice he resumed his business in partnership with his 
 brother, but encountered serious losses, his strict 
 sense of honor compelling him to pay every dollar 
 of indebtedness accruing from them. Later he pur- 
 chased a farm at Poquonock, going heavily in debt, 
 and he has since devoted much of his attention to its 
 management. The place was in poor condition, 
 and many would have thought it impossible to make 
 it productive ; but through the energetic application 
 of connnon sense he has made it one of the most 
 productive farms of the locality. 
 
 In making his way in the world Mr. Thrall has 
 never followed the path of self-denial, as he be- 
 lieves in enjoying the good things of earth, and he 
 has not onlv surrounded himself at home with the 
 evidences of wealth and artistic taste, but travel has 
 given to him and his accomplished wife the benefits 
 of a wider outlook. Many winters have been spent 
 by them in tne Southern States or in Cuba, and 
 wherever they have been they have not failed to 
 attract the friendship of the best people, their own 
 qualities of character being a magnet to draw the 
 esteem of superior natures. Mr. Thrall's genial, 
 jovial manner is in no way changed by prosperity, 
 and he is as approachable as in the days of financial 
 trial, which have served to deepen his generosity 
 and strengthen his brotherly sympathy with all who 
 are in need. Time is beginning to tell upon his phys- 
 ical vigor, and, while he could once do a day's work 
 with the best, he has contented himself for the fif- 
 teen years past with supervising the labor of others 
 on the farm. He is an admirer of good horse-flesh, 
 and can often be seen driving some fine specimen 
 from his well-kept stables. His interest in the ad- 
 vancement of agricultural affairs is shown by his 
 years of active work in the Poquonock Grange, of 
 which he was a charter member. He is also identi- 
 fied with various social orders, including Robert O. 
 Tyler Post, G. A. R., at Hartford; he was a char- 
 ter member of the O. U. A. M. lodge at Windsor, 
 but he is now retired from same. As a matter of lo- 
 cal improvement he has given much time to the de- 
 velopment of Moore's Park, being treasurer of the 
 corporation, and any project which promises to ben- 
 efit the community receives from him substantial 
 aid. Politically he is a Democrat, and although a 
 wealthy man and a money lender he supported the ,• 
 Chicago platform in 1896, disregarding the argu- ^i 
 
^/i^<k V <Ajlu>a^ 
 
^djM/rXJ^cS d" C^^U^L^^ 
 
I 
 
 m 
 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 961 
 
 ments of many of his friends. In that year he was 
 the party candidate for State Senator, and at dif- 
 ferent times he served as delegate to conventions, 
 State, Senatorial, etc. When urged to become a 
 candidate for local office he has almost invariably 
 declined, preferring to devote his energies to his pri- 
 vate business, but he filled the position of selectman 
 ably .some years ago, and has served ten years on 
 the board of relief, as assessor, etc. 
 
 In 1864 Mr. Thrall married Miss Flavia A. 
 Howe, and tnree children have blessed the union : 
 Charles, who died Nov. 3, 1898, aged thirty-one 
 years ; Frank E. who died when three months old ; 
 and Leliaone, who in 1898 married George Merwin, 
 of Windsor, a son of J. J. Merwin, of Windsor, and 
 is connected with the Phoenix Insurance Co., of 
 Hartford. Mr. and Mrs. Merwin reside with her 
 parents in Windsor, and are highly esteemed in the 
 best social circles of that city. She possesses elo- 
 cutionary powers of no small order, and has assisted 
 in many public entertainments. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Thrall have also reared two boys, Nicholas Manelli, 
 who had his home with them, for fourteen years, and 
 is now a business man of Bridgeport, Conn. ; and 
 another, now living in the town of Windsor, who 
 shared their roof for seven or eight years. 
 
 Mrs. Flavia A. Thrall, whose magnetic person- 
 ality and wonderful powers as a spiritual healer 
 have won world-wide notice, is deserving of special 
 mention in this volume. One who is at all skeptical 
 concerning the efficacy of mediumistic healing has 
 but to read a few of the thousands of testimonials 
 that have come to her unsolicited, or to converse 
 with the people who have known her from child- 
 hood, and have seen with their own eyes the results 
 of her work. Her immense practice, both at home 
 and at her office in Hartford, speaks for itself as to 
 her fame and popularity, while the character and 
 standing of her patients, who number among them 
 some of the most aristocratic and intelligent peo- 
 ple, prove that her methods are of genuine worth 
 and value. Clergymen, lawyers and even physi- 
 cians, eminent in their profession, have consulted 
 her, and her patients include adherents of every 
 creed or belief. Her remarkable powers enable her 
 to diagnose a case unerringly and, where medicines 
 are necessary, she prescribes strictly herbal prep- 
 arations, which operate like magic. Although she 
 has never advertised, ner marvelous cures could not 
 escape public attention, and calls for her aid have 
 come from every State in the Union and various 
 European countries, the ''absent treatments" being 
 given with perfect success. Her gift has not been 
 utilized by her as a source of revenue only, as her 
 highest charges to the wealthy are but trifling in 
 comparison with the relief given them, while hun- 
 dreds of poor people have been cured entirely with- 
 out charge. She is a native of the town of Windsor, 
 and daughter of Cyrus Howe, a well-known citi- 
 zen of that section. He was of Scotch-Irish blood, 
 but owing to religious persecution in Ireland his 
 family was compelled to go elsewhere for freedom 
 
 61 
 
 of conscience, and as a young man he came to Amer- 
 ica and located at Windsor, being one of the first of 
 his nationality to settle there. For sixty-eight years 
 he was a Freemason, being one of the oldest in the 
 United States. For many years previous to his 
 death he was a member of the Spiritual Harmomcal 
 Society at Poquonock, its constitution having been 
 written by him, and Mr. and Mrs. Thrall are now 
 leading supporters of the organization. His wife, 
 Sarah (Phelps), also deceased, was a daughter of 
 Timothy and Ruth (Wilson) Phelps, and a member 
 of one of the oldest families in Windsor. Mrs. 
 Thrall was the youngest of five children, of whom 
 only one other is now living, Maria, widow of 
 Charles Darby, of Windsor. 
 
 During her early days Mrs. Thrall attended Dis- 
 trict School No. 7, of the town of Windsor, obtain- 
 ing a good practical education for that day. As a 
 child she manifested powers beyond the ordinary, 
 but so far were they then misunderstood that her 
 parents regarded them with uneasiness, fearing 
 them as evidences of mental blight. Her clair- 
 voyant power was characterized by herself in child- 
 ish phrase as "seeing away off." At the age of 
 fourteen her ability as a healer was revealed to her, 
 and, having accepted the call to this high service, 
 she has practiced for forty-seven years, during which 
 she has performed some of the most remarkable 
 cures on record. 
 
 HENRY DWIGHT HAWLEY, a prominent 
 and representative citizen of Farmington, was born 
 in that town May 25, 1828, and is a representative 
 of one of the oldest families of the State, as he 
 traces his ancestry back to (I) Joseph Hawley, 
 a farmer and tanner of Stratford, Conn., who was 
 born in 1603, and in 1646 married Katharine Bird- 
 sey. 
 
 (II) Samuel Hawley, the next in direct descent, 
 was also a farmer and tanner by occupation. He 
 was born in 1647, and was married, May 20, 1673, 
 to Mary, daughter of Thomas and Ann (Welles) 
 Thompson. 
 
 (III) Capt. Joseph Hawley, born June 6, 1675, 
 was married June 7, 1697, to Elizabeth, daughter 
 of Timothy and Joanna (Birdsey) Wilcoxon, of 
 Stratford. 
 
 (IV) Joseph Hawley, born March 25, 1702, was 
 the great-grandfather of our subject. 
 
 (V) Gad Hawley, the grandfather, was born in 
 Farmington Sept. 9, 1746, and was married Feb. 
 8, 1776, to Lydia Gillett, of Avon, Connecticut. 
 
 (VI) Amon Hawley, the father of our subject, 
 was born in Farmington July 12, 1785, and died 
 Dec. 16, 1863. Throughout life he made his home 
 in the house where he was born, and there his death 
 occurred. By occupation he was a farmer. On 
 Oct. 27, 1814, he was united in marriage with Miss 
 Flora Thompson, of East Avon, Conn., who was 
 born March 3, 1788, and died Feb. 17, 1866. They 
 were the parents of six children, of whom our sub- 
 ject is the youngest, the others being as follows : 
 
962 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Lydia Mariette, bom Feb. 23, 1817, died Jan. 22, 
 1899; ^Mary Ann, born Jan. 23, 1819, died Feb. 19, 
 1819; Lucy Ann, born Aug. 23, 1822, was married, 
 March i, 1848, to Charles Richards; Harriet Statira, 
 born April 11, 1824, was married, April 20, 1846, 
 to Charles Ramsey, and died April 5, 1899; and 
 Charles Augustin,' born April 24, 1826, died Aug. 
 10, I8.^4. 
 
 Henry D. Hawley, subject of this sketch, was 
 educated in the schools of Farniington and Hart- 
 ford, and throughout his active business career has 
 successfully engaged in general farming on a part 
 of the original ancestral acres in the former place. 
 Upon this farm he erected, in 1873, a comfortable 
 residence adjoining the old homestead, and has made 
 many other useful and valuable improvements, which 
 add greatly to the attractive appearance of the 
 place. Since 1849 he has been a faithful and earnest 
 member of the Congregational Church, and for 
 almost a quarter of a century lias filled the office of 
 deacon, always taking quite an active and prominent 
 part in churcn work. His life has been manly, his 
 actions sincere, and his example is well worthy of 
 emulation. 
 
 On April 30, 1867, Mr. Hawley married Miss 
 Elizabeth Ann Keeler, a daughter of John Kceler, 
 of Ridgefield, Conn., and to them were born five 
 children: Charles Dwight, born March 23, 1868, 
 is a farmer; Henry Keeler, born June 3, 1870, was 
 graduated from Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, in 
 1899, and is now preparing for the ministry ; John 
 Anion, born July 8, 1873, is also a graduate of 
 Oberlin College and the Theological Seminary of 
 Hartford, Conn., and is now pastor of the Congre- 
 gational Church of West Avon, Conn. ; Willie 
 Moses, born Nov. 19, 1876, died Feb. 24, 1877; and 
 Flora Eliza, twin sister of Willie, has been educated 
 at Oberlin College. 
 
 WASHBURN EDGERTON is one of the most 
 prosperous and hio-hly esteemed agriculturists of 
 West Granby. Old age is not necessarily a synonym 
 of weakness or inactivity. It need not suggest, as 
 a matter of course, want of occupation or helpless- 
 ness. This is worthily illustrated m the life of Mr. 
 Edgerton, as he still gives his attention to his farm- 
 ing operations and his extensive business interests. 
 
 Mr. Edgerton was born in West Granby April 
 20, 1820, and is a worthy representative of a fam- 
 ily that has been identified with that portion of 
 Hartford county for over a century and a half. His 
 great-grandfather, Ebenezer Edgerton, was born in 
 Long Meadow, Lebanon, Conn., and on coming to 
 Hartford county located at Simsbury (then West 
 Granby), where he engaged in farming and stock 
 raising until called from this life. His sympathies 
 were with the Colonists during the struggle for in- 
 dependence, and he took an active part 111 the Rev- 
 olutionary war. Religiously he was a member of 
 the Congregational Church. 
 
 Jacob Edgerton, grandfather of our subject, was 
 born on the old homestead in West Granby, and 
 there spent his entire life, following the occupa- 
 
 tion of farming. His education was limited, as 
 schools in those days were few and the teachers were 
 very incompetent. He was a successful farmer, a 
 good citizen and highly respected by all who knew ]_£■ 
 him. He owned a tract of 300 acres near the pres- Ip) 
 ent home of our subject, and there both he and his 
 wife died, their remains being interred in West 
 Granby. Both were true and earnest Christians, 
 and in politics he v\'as a Jeffersonian Democrat. 
 He married JMiss Nancy Lee, of Granby, and to 
 them were born eighteen children : Alanson, 
 Nancy, Lee, Desiah, Charlotte, Lester, Ashel, Jef- 
 ferson, Josephus, Jude, Jerusha, IVIaria, Angeline, 
 Willis, Margaret, Caleb and two who died in in- 
 fancy. 
 
 Alanson Edgerton, father of our subject, was 
 born on the okl homestead, was educated in the 
 common schools of the neighborhood, and remained 
 with his parents until he attained man's estate. On 
 leaving the parental roof he located upon a tract of 
 sixty acres of land, where he engaged in farming 
 for some years, but finally purchased one hundred 
 acres in West Granby, where he engaged in general 
 farming and stock raising until his death, in 1851. 
 A man of high moral character and upright and 
 honorable in all his dealings, he commanded the 
 respect and confidence of all with whom he came 
 in contact. His pohtical support was given to the 
 Democracy. He married Asenath Case, a native 
 of Barkhamsted, Conn., and a daughter of Simeon 
 Case. Five children were born of this union : 
 Asenath, now the wife of Thomas Scott Gould; 
 Washburn, our subject; Alonzo, a resident of West 
 Granby ; and two who died in infancy. The mother 
 departed this life in 1873, and was laid to rest by 
 the side of her husband in West Granby cemetery. 
 
 Washburn Edgerton received only a common- \ 
 school education, pursuing his studies in district 
 school No. 3, West Granby. On leaving home, at 
 the age of thirty-two years, he located upon one 
 of his father's farms, comprising eighty acres, to 
 which he has added 300 acres in subsequent years, 
 being now the largest owner of farming land in 
 West Granby. In connection with general farming 
 he has also extensively engaged in stock raising 
 and dealing with good success, and still attends to 
 his business interests. 
 
 In 1852, in Granby, Mr. Edgerton was united in 
 marriage w-ith ]\Iiss Adaline Wilcox, a native of 
 that place, and a aaughter of Owen and Harriette 
 (Holcomb) Wilcox, and to them were born eight 
 children: Kossuth B., at home; Eva, who died at 
 the age of three years ; Hattie, who died at the age 
 of five years ; Lutia, who first married Willis Clark, 
 and after his death wedded James McCuther, of 
 Simsbury; Asenath, wife of Edward C. Hayes, of 
 North Granby ; Lucinda, who died at the age of 
 sixteen ; Willis Washburn, a farmer of Granby 
 town ; and Adelaide, who died at tne age of thirty- 
 five. The children have been provided with good 
 practical educations, which have well fitted them 
 for life's responsible duties. The wife and mother, 
 who was a most estimable woman, was called to [ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 963 
 
 ler final rest in 1865, aged thirty-eight years, and 
 vas buried in West Granby. 
 
 In early life iMr. Edgerton was a supporter of 
 he Democratic party, but when the Civil war broke 
 uit he gave his allegiance to the Republican party, 
 vith which he has since been identified. He has 
 illed a number of local offices, such as juryman, 
 school director and as member of the board of re- 
 ief, the duties of which he has most faithfully and 
 ronscientiously discharged. In religious faith he is 
 1 member of the M. E. Church at West Granb)-, 
 md in all the relations of life he has been found 
 true to every trust reposed in him, while as a busi- 
 ness man and citizen he ranks among the best in 
 his community. 
 
 FREDERICK R. CURTIS. Elected and re- 
 elected, for three successive terms, as town clerk of 
 Glastonbury, an office which he now fills, the subject 
 bf this sketch has only thereby attested a measure 
 :of the high esteem in which he is held. He pos- 
 sesses that cordial personality, that friendliness of 
 manner and willingness to oblige, which character- 
 ize a man of kindly disposition and broad human 
 sympathies. 
 
 The advent of the Curtis family in the annals 
 of Glastonbury and vicinity occurred more than a 
 'half century ago, and to it is due the credit for 
 'founding an important industry. J. S. Curtis, great- 
 ';uncle of our subject, migrated from Massachusetts, 
 and started in Glastonbury the Curtis factory, man- 
 ufacturing silverware, spectacle rims and silver work 
 of various kinds. A silver-plating industry was 
 established at Curtisville, now called Naubuc, and 
 here was manufactured the first German silver in 
 America. It was hauled by wagon to Waterbury 
 and then rolled to the desired thickness. Russell 
 Curtis, a brotner of J. S., was the grandfather of 
 our subject. He was a skilled mechanic, and spent 
 the greater part of his life at Springfield, Mass., 
 later coming to Connecticut with his son, George 
 R. Curtis, the father of our subject, and passing 
 away at tiast Hartford. 
 
 George R. Curtis was born in Springfield, Mass., 
 Oct. 17, 1823, and he there received a good com- 
 mon-school education. Upon his arrival at Curt.s- 
 ville lie opened a store, became the first postmaster 
 at Curtisville, and for many terms served as justice 
 of the peace. In politics he was a Democrat, and 
 he served as a member of the school board and as 
 Ischool visitor. He was the first Democratic registrar 
 under the law which required a registrar from each 
 political party. He was a man of superior intel- 
 ligence and keen judgment, was conservative, and 
 his opinions were held in esteem so high that fre- 
 quently his advice was sought by friends and neigh- 
 bors. He married, Jan. i, 1845, Elizabeth R. 
 Forbes, who was born jJec. 17, 1822, daughter of 
 Orrin (born April 18, 1794) and Mary (Treat) 
 i-orbes (born Nov. 15, 1801), his second wife. Or- 
 ■rin Forbes was a grandson of Capt. Moses Forbes, 
 an officer of the Revolutionary army. The mother 
 of our subject died Oct. 22, 1886. To George R. 
 
 and Elizabeth R. Curtis were born three children : 
 Julia, who died in young womanhood ; Celia, who 
 married Winfield S. Bremer, and lives at Meriden; 
 and Frederick R., our subject. 
 
 Frederick R. Curtis was born July 4, 1850, in 
 Glastonbury, and attended the district schools. 
 When a boy he removed with his parents to New- 
 ark, N. J., and attended the schools of that city. 
 His parents removing to East Hartford, Conn., 
 and residing on Naubuc avenue, Hockanum, he at- 
 tended the East Hartford high school under Joseph 
 O. Hurlbut, and later received instruction in Bryant 
 & Stratton and Remington's Business College, at 
 Hartford. While yet a student at school he met 
 with a painful and serious accident. He fell on 
 the ice and sustained injuries which made him a 
 cripple for life, and an attack of typhoid fever fol- 
 lowing his mishap confined him to the sick room 
 for many weary months. From the effects of this 
 accident he has never fully recovered. When con- 
 valescent he secured employment in the store of 
 F. C. Covell, of Glastonbury, and later, during 
 the first administration of President Cleveland, he 
 succeeded Mr. Covell as postmaster. When the ad- 
 ministration again changed William E. Gates was 
 appointed postmaster, and our subject became his 
 assistant. After leaving the store of Mr. Gates 
 our subject accepted a position with S. P. Turner, 
 where he is now employed. 
 
 Mr. Curtis was married, June 29, 1892, to Miss 
 Minnie J. Couch, who was born in Glastonbury 
 April 26, 1864, daughter of Jerome and Clarissa 
 (Dart) Couch, old and highly respected residents 
 of the town. In politics Mr. Curtis is a Democrafe. 
 In July, 1896, he was elected town clerk of Glas- 
 tonbury to fill a vacancy occasioned by the resigna- 
 tion of Clinton O. Talcott, and twice since then has 
 he been re-elected. He is also a justice of the 
 peace and notary public. He is one of the estimable 
 citizens of Glastonbury, a man of splendid personal 
 character and very popular. 
 
 THOMAS FAGAN, an old and experienced 
 farm.er of Bloomfield, was born in Coianty Carlow, 
 Ireland, June 16, 1816, and is a son of Patrick Pa- 
 gan, who was a farmer of that county. He comes 
 of good stock, and the family has attained some 
 prominence, two of our subject's brothers having 
 become prominent attorneys in Dublin, Ireland. 
 
 Thomas Fagan attended the parochial schools 
 of his native town, receiving a good education, and 
 was reared to agricultural pursuits. After leaving 
 school he served a regular apprenticeship to the 
 tailor's trade, at which he worked before coming 
 to America. In 1845 he left the Emerald Isle, and 
 after a voyage which lasted from April i until 
 June 6 landed at the United States. With the ex- 
 ception of two or three years since his arrival in 
 this country he has made his home in Bloomfield, 
 and has here confined his attention exclusively to 
 farming. 
 
 ]\Ir. Fagan n.arried, in Bloomfield, Miss Mary 
 Cullen, and their union was blessed with five chil- 
 
96 i 
 
 COMMEMDRATIFE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 dren, born in the following order: ^lary A., de- 
 ceased wife of Hezekiah E. Case: ;Michael J., de- 
 ceased; Thomas H., of Bloomfield ; James E., also 
 of Bloomfield and one of the town assessors; and 
 John C, in California. Mrs. Pagan died April 
 21, 1899, and her remains were interred in St. Ber- 
 nard's cemetery, Tariffville. Air. Pagan has voted 
 with the Democratic party ever since he was nat- 
 uralized. He has lived. in strict accordance with 
 the teachings of the Catholic Church, of which he 
 has been a lifelong member, and to the support ot 
 which he has liberally contributed of his means. 
 He retains all his faculties, enjoying good health, 
 and takes much interest in current events, reading 
 the daily papers regularly. His days have been 
 passed industriously and temperately, and he has 
 won for himself the unfeignetl respect of all his 
 neighbors. 
 
 HEXRY CASE RICE, a well-known citizen 
 and worthy representative of die agricultural inter- 
 ests of Farmington, was born in the town of Gran- 
 ville, Ohio, Peb. 10, 1834, and is a son of Rev. 
 Sedgwick Rice, a Baptist clergyman, who was born 
 in Wallingford, Conn., a descendant of one of the 
 honored pioneer families of that place, and died in 
 1840. 
 
 In Farmington. Conn., Rev. Mr. Rice married 
 Miss Caroline Case, of Canton, this State, a daugh- 
 ter of Ozias Case, and granddaughter of Capt. Dud- 
 ley Case, both residents of Canton. Five children 
 were born to this union : Sylvester Woodrufif. who 
 was captain of a colored company during the Civil 
 war, and died in Baton Rouge, La. ; (korge Sedg- 
 wick, who is now living in Hartford, Conn. : Henry 
 Case, our subject : James M., who died in Australia ; 
 and Sarah, deceased at the age of nine years. 
 
 Henry C. Rice was reared on a farm in Durham, 
 Conn., and attended the public schools of the neigh- 
 borhood. One of his teachers was Deacon Gaylord 
 Newton, father of Hon. Henry Newton, of New 
 Haven, Conn. In early life our subject learned the 
 trade of silver-plating with the firm of James L. 
 Howard & Co., of Hartford, and followed the same 
 for a few years. Later he engaged in carriage-mak- 
 ing at \Mllimantic, Conn., with his brothers Sylves- 
 ter and George, until after the breaking out of the 
 Civil war, when, in 1862, they discontinued busi- 
 ness. Our subject then removed to Springfield, 
 INIass., and for fourteen years was engaged in the 
 manufacture of guns in the L^nited States Armory. 
 In 1S76 he came to Farmington, and here he pat- 
 ented (April 8, 1879) Rice's ''calf weaner and cow 
 muzzle," since which time he has been engaged in 
 its manufacture and sale in connection with farm- 
 ing. In 1884 he opened the "Elm Tree Inn." He 
 now owns and operates a fine farm of 200 acres in 
 ■ Farmington, and in his labors is meeting with a 
 well-deserved success. This place has been in the 
 family of his maternal ancestors since the original 
 purchase from the Indians, when the town of Farm- 
 insrton was settled. Mr. Rice takes a commendable 
 
 interest in public affairs, especially educational mat- il 
 ters, and for many years has been an efficient mem- 
 ber of the school board. 
 
 In Middletown, Conn., Mr. Rice married Miss 
 Jessie Jamieson, and to them have been born four 
 children : Agnes C, Harry S., Jessie M., and John 
 Wier (of New York City). 
 
 JOHN P. GRISVvOLD. The Griswold family 
 is one of the oldest in this section, and the higli 
 character maintained by its members in every gen- 
 eration has invested the name with an enviable pres- 
 tige. The direct descendants are now numerous, 
 while intermarriages with other leading families 
 have established wide connections. Among the 
 notable representatives of the name in this genera- 
 tion is the subject of this biography, an enterpris- 
 ing young agriculturist of Windsor town, whose 
 estate, while yet a boy in years, has won him a 
 high reputation for business abihty. In giving a 
 brief account of his career it will be of interest to 
 trace his line of descent from one of the pioneer 
 settlers of Windsor, George Griswold. 
 
 Levi Griswold, a son of George, married Zuba 
 Griswold, and had the following children : Ware- 
 ham, our subject's great-grandfather; Hiram, a 
 lilacksmith by trade, who died in Windsor town : 
 Jerome, a wheelwright by trade, wdio followed farm- 
 ing near Poquonock on a small scale in his later 
 years; Jason, a farmer, who died in Onondaga coun- 
 ty, N. Y. ; ]\Iyra, wdio married William Thrall, and 
 died in New York State ; Candace, who married 
 a Mr. Filer, and died in New York State ; Gilbert, 
 a mechanical genius, who lived in Windsor for some 
 time, but spent his later years in Hartford ; "Will- 
 iam, formerly a farmer in Windsor town; Edwin, 
 who died in \\'indsor ; and Lucia Ann, whO' married ' 
 (first) Cadwell Strickland, (second) Daniel De- 
 well and (third) a Mr. Gaines. She died in the 
 summer of 1897 at the residence of her son, F. G. 
 Strickland, in Windsor, being the last survivor of 
 the family. 
 
 A\'areham Griswold, the great-grandfather of 1 
 our subject, was born Sept. 29, 1792, in a house 
 which was built in 1761, and is still standing, near 
 the latter's residence. He was a stanch Democrat 
 and a regular voter, but avoided public life, never 
 allowing his name to appear as a candidate for any 
 office. Throughout life he was an opponent of 
 secret societies, his ideal being always to be "open, 
 bold and brave." By occupation he was a farmer, 
 and with the exception of two years spent at 
 Bloomfield he resided at the homestead where he 
 was born. He was of distinguished appearance,, 
 fine physique, weighing about 200 pounds, and lived 
 to the age of seventy-one, his remains being in- 
 terred at Poquonock. Mr. Griswold first married 
 Sylvia Clark, who died in 1848 ; she was born in 
 what is now known as Blue Hills, where her fa- 
 ther, Asel Clark, (a very large man physically),, 
 was a prominent and influential citizen. The chil- 
 dren of this union were : Olive H., who married 
 
^{k^€ (fe^( 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 965 
 
 Roland Fox, of East Hartford, now deceased ; 
 Wareham A., our subject's grandfather; George M., 
 a resident of Poquonock, who died in 1853, leaving 
 one son, George M. ; Delia (deceased), who mar- 
 ried Nathan Franklin, and removed to New York ; 
 Candace, who married George H. Muller, and died 
 in New York ; Samuel S., who died at Poquonock ; 
 John R., a farmer of Windsor; Thomas N., 
 once a farmer and later a hoti;l-keeper at 
 Windsor, and now a resident of New York; 
 Juliette, who married Samuel Phillips, and died, in 
 New York; Mary, widow of Horace Gorton, of 
 .Hartford, Conn. ; and Sylvia, who died at the age 
 of two years. , 
 
 Wareham Aralzie Griswold, our subject's grand- 
 father, was a successful farmer, and resided near 
 the present homestead. He died June 2, 1881, and 
 wife, Hannah A. (Pinney), on Aug. i, 1890. He 
 ,was an influential citizen, was tirst selectman of 
 Windsor for a number of years, represented the town 
 in the General Assembly of 1865, and held various 
 other offices of the town. Physically he was a very 
 large man, standing nearly six feet in height and 
 weighing 360 pounds. 
 
 Allen P. Griswold, our subject's father, was 
 born Oct. 25, 1844, the only child of Wareham A. 
 and Hannah A. Griswold. He was educated in the 
 local schools and the academy at Windsor, and 
 became a farmer by occupation, his prudent and 
 energetic management enabling him to leave a 
 handsome competence to his children. In politics 
 he was a Democrat, and at times held local offices, 
 serving as juryman and as member of the school 
 board. In 1867 he married Miss Eliza M. Mack, 
 and for six years they resided with his parents, 
 then removing to the present homestead, where he 
 made many improvements. Mr. Griswold was of 
 medium height — five feet, eight inches — and thick- 
 set. He died Sept. 26, 1889, at a comparatively 
 early age, and his remains were laid to rest in the 
 Poquonock cemetery. His wife died Feb. 12, 1892. 
 They had one daughter, Jeannette, who died in 
 infancy, and five sons : John P., Allen M., Ware- 
 ham P., Aaron C. and Thomas N., all of whom are 
 living. 
 
 John P. Griswold v\'as born Aug. 25, 1869, a' 
 the old homestead near his present residence, and 
 his education was begun in the schools of District 
 No. 7, of Windsor town. Later he studied for one 
 term at a grammar school in Poquonock, and three 
 terms at Windsor Academy, his bright and active 
 mind enabling him to take full advantage of these 
 opportunities. On the death of his father he was 
 appointed guardian of his younger brothers, and 
 took charge of the farm, a fine estate of 154 acres, 
 the business being conducted under the firm name 
 of Griswold Bros. In 1897 Allen M., having at- 
 tained his majority, had his share set off, but the 
 others have kept their shares together. Our sub- 
 iject is a scientific farmer, his progressive manage- 
 ment seeming to secure good results under almost 
 any circumstances, and he is justly regarded as one 
 of the substantial citizens of his locality. Politic- 
 
 ally he is independent, out previous to 1896, when 
 he voted for McKinley, he gave his support to the 
 Democratic party in National issues. In local elec- 
 tions he selects the "best man," and while he is not 
 an office seeker he does not shirk his duties as a 
 citizen, and for some time served acceptably as 
 treasurer of School District No. 7. 
 
 In 1897 Mr. Griswold married Miss Mary J. 
 Brown, of Hartford, daughter of George T. and 
 Augusta (Fox) Brown, well-known citizens of that 
 place. 
 
 SETH VINTON. In every community there 
 are a few men in whom the people have trust. 
 These individuals are named by men of property 
 as the executors of their wills ; they are selected 
 by heirs or courts to administer estates, and for 
 positions requiring business capacity and fidelity of 
 trust these exceotional men are usually selected. 
 To say that Seth Vinton has often been called upon 
 to assume fiduciary relations with his fellow men, 
 to assume for minors, legatees and other bene- 
 ficiaries the management of their property, is to 
 strike the keynote to his character. There is thg 
 ring of the true metal. He has passed the third 
 quarter of a century and is hale and hearty ; has 
 lived all this time in the town of South Windsor, 
 and has established a character that stands out mas- 
 sive and clear in the annals of the town. 
 
 Mr. Vinton was born July 7, 1824, on a farm in 
 what is now the south part of Wapoing, where his 
 father, William Vinton, settled about 1808. When 
 the Vintons came to this property it was the south 
 section of East Windsor. Two wood-cutters, named 
 Hitchcock and McKinney, had cleared off the tim- 
 ber, and the tract became the Vinton homestead. 
 John Vinton, who settled at Lynn, Mass., prior to 
 1643, was the founder of the American familv. The 
 descent to our subject is as follows: (i) John, 
 of Lynn; (2) John, of Woburn; (^) Samuel; (4) 
 David; (5) Seth; (6) William; and (7) Seth, our 
 subject. William Vinton, the father, came to South 
 Windsor from the town of Willington. He mar- 
 ried, April II, 1822, Miss Esther Crandall, a na- 
 tive of Tolland. He was a prominent member of the 
 Third Congregational Church in East Windsor, now 
 the Congregational Church at Wapping, and served 
 as deacon. He died in 1847, leaving eight children, 
 as follows : William ; Seth ; Chelsea Crandall ; 
 Samuel; Esther E., Mrs. Little; Clarissa, Mrs. Wil- 
 son; Mary C, Mrs. Page; and John Randolph. 
 
 Seth Vinton received his education at the Sev- 
 enth District school, and in his youth assisted in 
 the work of the farm. Agriculture was then quite 
 differently conducted from present methods. The 
 principal crops were rye, corn, oats, buckwheat and 
 potatoes, and stock was raised extensively. William 
 Vinton raised a crop of twenty acres of rye, reap- 
 ing it with a sickle. Neighboring farmers in win- 
 ter conducted a small bootmaking shop at Wapping. 
 A brick yard or two flourished in the neighborhood. 
 Tobacco raising became general about 1852. Prior 
 to that year few farmers raised over two acres in 
 
906 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 one season. But the industry grew rapidly, and 
 when the Civil war opened it had become one of 
 the heaviest in the town. From 1862 to 1865 the 
 acreage doubled. 
 
 Our subject was intimately connected with these 
 shifting developments. He had as a boy assisted 
 his father on the farm, and when his father died 
 the bovs assumed tlie management of the farm, but 
 Seth soon took the principal charge, gradually 
 purchased the interests of the other heirs, and has 
 ever since occupied and cultivated the home place. 
 Under his careful management it has been brought 
 to a high degree of efficiency, and now includes more 
 than eighty acres, thirty-three of which are devoted 
 to pasturage. Mr. Vinton still devotes considerable 
 attention to general farming, and raises several acres 
 of tobacco each year. 
 
 The public service of our subject has been long 
 and honorable. He was the first voter "made" in the 
 town of South Windsor after it was set off from 
 East Windsor in 1845. Since the formation of the 
 Repul)lican party he has been a stanch adherent of 
 its principles. During the Civil war he was chair- 
 man of the Republican town committee. He was 
 also one of tne town committee for raising volun- 
 teers, and three of his brothers, Chelsea C, Sam- 
 uel and John Randolph, were volunteers. In i860 
 and 1861 he served as constable; from i860 to 1862 
 and again in 1875 he was chosen collector; in 1865 
 he was elected to represent his town in the State 
 Legislature ; from 1858 to 1894 he served continu- 
 ously as justice of the peace. 
 
 In school work Mr. X'inton has always been 
 deeply interested. For over forty-five years, or 
 ever since the establishment of the bixth School 
 District, in 1853, he has been its clerk and treas- 
 urer. For many years he has been chairman of the 
 district committee. When the Wrapping high school 
 was built he served as chairman of the building 
 committee. For three years he was chairman of 
 the high school committee, and for the past four 
 years he was chairman of the school board of South 
 Windsor. 
 
 J\Ir. Vinton has also been active in church work. 
 At the age of twent}--three he became a member of 
 the Second Ecclesiastical Society, and has ever since 
 been prominent in its history. For six years he 
 was the society's collector, and he has repeatedly 
 served on its committees. In the Sunday-school 
 he was for many years librarian. 
 
 In 1866 ]\ir. Mnton married i\Iiss Ann Risley, 
 who lived on an adjoining farm, and who is a 
 lineal descendant of Elder Brewster, of the "Ma}'- 
 flower." To our subject and wife have come four 
 children: Esther J\I., who was born Jan. 27, 1867, 
 married Clinton Williams, of Manchester, in 1895, 
 and has one son, Frank V., born Feb. 21, 1897; 
 John Randolph, born Dec. 26, 1868 ; Mary Brewster, 
 born March 25, 1871 ; and Annie Louise, born Feb. 
 10, 1874. Mr. Vinton has always been a great 
 reader, and is the possessor of one of the finest 
 libraries in the town of South Wmdsor. This in- 
 
 cludes over 200 choice volumes, and is especially 
 rich in authoritative works upon American his- 
 tory, a study in wliich j\Ir. Vmton is profoundly 
 interested and thoroughly versed. He has won m 
 enviable success in life's battle, and ranks as one 
 of the most highly esteemed citizens of South 
 Windsor. 
 
 WOLLENBERG BROTHERS is the name of 
 a well-known hrm of Farniington, composed of 
 Gustav A. W. and Paul F. W. WoUenberg, dealers 
 in flour, feed and grain. They are wide-awake. 
 energetic business men, of known reliability, ami 
 are meeting with well-deserved success in their un- 
 dertakings. Natives of Pomerania, Prussia, Ger- 
 many, the former was born Dec. 30, 1856, the latter 
 on June 21, 1861, and in that country the elder was 
 educated. In 1871 they accompanied their parents, 
 Christo])hcr Wilhelm and Caroline (Flagenian) 
 WoUenberg, on their emigration to America, and 
 located first in Ft. Lee, N. J., where the father en- 
 gaged in flower gardening for a time. Since 1875, 
 however, he has made his home in Farmington, 
 Hartford Co., Conn., and followed general farm- 
 ing for a time. In 1895 he retired from business. 
 In his family were six children, namely : Gustav 
 A. ; Paul F. W. ; Olga A., now the wife of Louis 
 Horn, of Philadelphia, Penn. ; Ida A.; Linda A.; 
 and Elizabeth, who died in infancy. 
 
 During the residence of the family in Ft. Lee, 
 X. J., Paul F. WoUenberg attended school, and 
 lie has acquired a good education in the public 
 and private schools of this country. He is active 
 in church work, being superintendent of the Farni- 
 ington Congregational Sunday-school and presi- 
 dent of the Plainville Sunday-school Union. As 
 manager, he had charge of a creamery in Wake- 
 field, R. I., for five years, having served an ap- 
 prenticeship of two and one-half years in that busi- 
 ness in Farniington, and later returned to the cream- 
 ery for four vears and a half. On Feb. 5, 1895, he 
 and his brother, Gustav A., bought the mill at 
 Farniington belonging to J. E. and Edmund Cowles, 
 and he has since devoted his entire time and at- 
 tention to the milling business, while his brother 
 carries on market gardening with good success. 
 At Peacedale, R. I., Sept. 14, 1897, Paul F. W. 
 WoUenberg married Miss Edith M. Fison, a na- 
 tive of England, and the}' have one son, Christopher 
 Herbert, born May 7, 1899. 
 
 HENRY ALONZO CASE has, with the ex- 
 ception of a brief period of four years, been identi- 
 fied with the interests of Hartford county through- 
 out life, and has made for himself an honorable rec- 
 ord well worthy of perpetuation. Years of quiet 
 usefulness and a life in which the old-fashioned vir- 
 tues of sincerity, industry and integrity are ex- 
 emplified have a simple beauty that no words can 
 portray. Youth has its charms, but an honorable > 
 and honored old age, to which the lengthening years ] 
 have added dignity and sweetness, has a brighter ^5 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 967 
 
 radiance, as if some ray from the life beyond al- 
 ready rested upon it. 
 
 The Case family is one of the oldest in New 
 England, and was founded here by John Case ( i ) , 
 a native of England, whence he came to America, 
 making his New World home first in the town of 
 Windsor, Hartford Co., Conn., whence, in 1669, 
 he removed to the town of Simsbury, settling at 
 Weatogue, where he engaged in farming and stock 
 raising the rest of his days. He died there Feb. 
 21, 1703-4. He married Sarah Spencer, who was 
 born in 1636, a daughter of William Spencer, and 
 died March 3, 1691. The children born to John 
 Case (i) and his wife, Sarah, were as follows, 
 their names and dates of birth being given : Eliza- 
 beth, 1658; Mary, June 22, 1660; John, Nov. 5, 
 1662; William, June 5, 1665; Samuel, June i, 1667; 
 Richard, April 27, 1669; Bartholomew, October, 
 1670; Joseph, April 6, 1671 ; Sarah, Aug. 14, 1676; 
 and Abigail, May 14, 1862. The mother of these 
 dying, Mr. Case for his second wife married Mrs. 
 Elizabeth Loomis, daughter of John Moore and 
 widow of Nathaniel Loomis. She died without 
 issue July 23, 1728, aged ninety years. Of the 
 above family, 
 
 William Case was born at Windsor, Conn., and 
 came to Simsbury with his parents. In 1685 he 
 married Elizabeth Holcomb, daughter of Joshua 
 Holcomb, who was a son of Thomas Holcomb, the 
 emigrant, who settled in Windsor. Seven chil- 
 dren came to this union, as follows : Elizabeth, born 
 September, 1687; William, March 22, 1690; James, 
 March 12, 1692; Rachel, Dec. 10, 1694; Mary, Aug. 
 23, 1696; Joshua, June i, 1698; and Mindwell, 
 March 21, 1700. Of these, 
 
 James 'Case was born in Simsbury, and was a 
 lifelong farmer, dying in 1759; his remains were 
 interred in Simsbury cemetery. He married Esther 
 Fithen, of Simsbury, a native of Jersey, one of 
 the Channel Isles, and the names and dates of birth 
 of their children are as follows : James, March 
 5, 1716; Josiah, April i, 1718; Esther, March 14, 
 1720; Rachel, Aug. 14, 1722; and Amasa, Oct. 18, 
 1 73 1. Of these, 
 
 Amasa Case, great-grandfather of Henry A. 
 Case, was born at Weatogue, town of Simsbury. 
 He was married five times, his tirst wife being 
 Elizabeth Hoskms, by whom he had children as 
 follows :" Amasa, born Oct. 29, 1753, married Mercy 
 Hillyer ; Aaron, born June 16, 1755, was the grand- 
 father of our subject; Ehzabeth, born Aug. 5, 1756, 
 married Roger Wilcox; Stephen was born Oct. 6, 
 1758; Mercy, born Jan. 2, 1760, married (first) 
 Gideon Case, and (second) Daniel Bacon; Mehit- 
 abel, born March 8, 1762, married Abram Pinney; 
 Apollos, born Aug. i, 1768, married Polly Frazer; 
 Ruth was born Sept. 30, 1770; Julius, born Feb. 
 20, 1773, died May 17, 1777; and Enoch, born May 
 ID, 1774, died July, 1797. The other wives of 
 Amasa Case were, respectively, Mrs. John Viets, 
 Mrs. Griswold, Mrs. Cornish and Mrs. Graham, 
 by whom he had no children. 
 
 Aaron Case, the grandfather of our subject, was 
 born in the town of Simsbury, and received but a 
 limited education. He followed farming, and was 
 a large land owner in what is now the town of 
 North Bloomfield, where he spent his entire life. 
 He was prominent in political and church affairs, 
 being a stanch supporter of Jefifersonian principles 
 in his later days, and an adherent of the Episcopal 
 Church. He served as warden and vestryman in 
 St. Andrew's Church, North Bloomfield, and was 
 widely and favorably known in the community. 
 He died in 181 1, and was buried in Scotland cem- 
 etery, North Bloomfield town. His wife, who bore 
 the maiden name of Margaret Meacham, was born 
 in 1763, and died in 1835, being laid to rest by his 
 side in Scotland cemetery. To them were born 
 seven children: Margaret Lodemia, wife of 
 Ebenezer Sheppard ; Lydia, wife of William Moore ; 
 Newton, who married Laura Roberts ; Betsey, wife 
 of Aurora Case; Aura, wife of William Griswold; 
 Sophia, wife of Johnson Brace; and Zelah, father 
 of our subject. 
 
 Zelah Case was born on the old homestead in 
 North Bloomfield town Oct. 22, 1799, and received 
 a good practical education in the schools of the 
 neighborhood. He became the owner of over 500 
 acres of land in that section, and in connection with 
 general farming engaged in the culture of tobacco 
 and in stock raising. He was an enterprising and 
 successful business man, and one of the best known 
 and most highlv respected citizens of the town, 
 where his entire life was passed. In political senti- 
 ment he was a stanch Democrat, but being quite 
 domestic in his tastes he cared nothing for the 
 honors or emoluments of public office. On March 
 13, 1823, he married Miss Jennette C. Benton, who 
 was born Oct. 31, 1802, a daughter of Thomas and 
 Mary (Bunce) Benton, and the children born of 
 this union were as follows : Mary Jennette, born 
 Feb. 23, 1824, became the wife of Edward P. 
 Thompson, of East Granby, and died Jan. i, 1899; 
 Henry A., the subject of this sketch, is next in the 
 order of birth; Edward Benton, born Feb. 9, 1828, 
 is a resident of Hartford; Kate H., born June 19, 
 1830, was married, Aug. 29, 1852, to George T. 
 Aitchison; Charles Z., born Jan. 20, 1833, is a 
 salesman and auctioneer, living in Hartford ; Jennie 
 S., born Jan. o, 1836, was married, Nov. 24, 1859, 
 to Frederick Allen, and died Aprd 14, 1899; Wat- 
 son G., born July 17, 1838, died Oct. 11, 1857; Hat- 
 tie S., born May i, 1841, was married, Nov. 17, 
 1864, to Walter C. Goodwin, who died Oct. 30, 
 1899; Margaret, born Sept. i, 1843, was married, 
 Oct. 6, 1870, to William W. Bartholomew. The 
 father died on his farm April 14, 1872, the mother 
 on March 8, 1891, at the ripe old age of eighty- 
 eight years and four months, and both were laid to 
 rest in Scotland cemetery. Thev.were consistent 
 Christian people, holding membership in the Episco- 
 pal Church, and they reared a family in which they 
 took a just pride. 
 
 Henry A. Case, whose name introduces this re- 
 
968 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 view, was born on the old liomestead in North 
 Bloonifield town Dec. i, 1825. and there spent his 
 boyhood davs, workino^ on the farm durinof the sum- 
 mer season and attending^ the local schools during 
 the winter months. As the teachers in those days 
 were not always well qualified for their labors his 
 opportunities for acquiring a good education were 
 not of the best, but being a close student and pos- 
 sessing a retentive memory, he made the most of 
 his advantages. He can relate many interesting in- 
 cidents that happened seventy years ago, and has 
 an e.xcellent memory for dates. On attaining his 
 majority he left home and started out to make his 
 own way in the world, working the first year as 
 a farm hand. In 1849 he commenced learning the 
 miller's trade in the Ellsworth mill at Spoonville, 
 where he remained two years, and in 185 1 went to 
 New York City, where he obtained employment as 
 head miller at the Sanderson Mills, corner of Twen- 
 tv-ninth street and Eleventh avenue. Four years 
 were thus passed, and the following year he was 
 employed in the same capacity by the firm of Seeley 
 & Close, after which he rented a niill at Nos. 221- 
 22^^ West Twenty-si.xth street. He put in a port- 
 able engine, and o])erated it for seven months as a 
 flour and feed mill, grinding feed principally for 
 the New York Consolidated Stage Co. Returning 
 to Connecticut in the s]5ring of 1855. Mr. Case lo- 
 cated in East Granby town, Hartford county, and 
 purchased the mill at Spoonville, together with 115 
 acres of land, tor twenty-seven years he devoted 
 his time and attention to grinding flour and feed. 
 He also added a sawmill to his plant and engaged 
 in the manufacture of lumber, and in the mean- 
 time operated his farm, on which he made extensive 
 and valuable improvements, including the erection 
 of a fine residence, good barns, tobacco sheds, etc. 
 He sold his gristmdl in 1882. but still retains the 
 sawmill, which is now carried on by his son, who 
 also operates the farm. Mr. Case was one of the 
 first to grow tobacco to any extent in Spoonville, 
 and in most of his business enterprises he met with 
 well-merited success, becoming quite well-to-do. 
 
 In East Granby town Mr. Case was married, in 
 1859, to Miss Almira Antoinette Holcomb, a na- 
 tive of the town of Simsbury, and a daughter of 
 Amasa and Almira Antoinette (Rice) Holcomb. 
 She died Oct. 13, 1871, and was laid to rest in 
 Scotland cemetery. She was a good Christian 
 woman, a member of the Episcopal Church, and an 
 aft'ectionate wife and mother. Four children were 
 born of that union : Harry W. is mentioned below ; 
 Hattie May, born April 10, 1863. is now the wife 
 of Arthur S. Campbell, of New York City ; Nor- 
 wood Thompson, born Jan. 30. 1866. is a stock 
 dealer ; and Antoinette ^largaret, born June 4, 1868, 
 is at home. The children were all well-educated, 
 and the younger daughter is a young lad}' of cul- 
 ture and refinement, who takes a deep interest in lit- 
 erature and art. Mr. Case was again married, Aug. 
 20, 1872, his second union being with Miss Laura 
 S. Hopkins, a native of Rensselaer county, N. Y., 
 and a daughter of Alexander Hopkins. 
 
 On the evening of Dec. 10, 1890, Mr. Case retired 
 seemingly in his usual health, with his facultie."; ^ 
 unimpaired, but on awakening ne.xt morning found ^ 
 that he had been deprived of his sight, the optic 
 nerve being decayed. With the hope of recovering 
 his sight, he spent thousands of dollars, and visited 
 the leading specialists in Hartford, New York and 
 Boston, but all to no avail. He bears his misfortune 
 with Christian fortitude, however, is very cheerful, 
 and of a genial, social disposition. He is a good 
 conversationalist and entertaining companion, and 
 in his wife has found a faithful helpmeet — one will- 
 ing to share all of his misfortunes and .trials. He is 
 noted for his upright character and honesty of pur- 
 ])ose, and his friends are many throughout the 
 county. I'olitically lie is a stanch Democrat, and in 
 early life took quite an active and prominent part in 
 local politics. In 1869 he was elected to represent 
 East Granby town in the State Legislature, which 
 he did in a most able and satisfactory manner. He 
 has lieen a lifelong member of St. Andrew's Episco- 
 pal Cluirch, and for several }-ears served as vestry- 
 man. 
 
 H.\RUV W. C.\SF,, the eldest son of our subject, 
 was born in East Granby town, Jan. 6, 1861, attend- 
 ed the public schools of the locality, and completed 
 his education in the Hartford grammar school. He 
 has s])cnt his entire life upon the home farm, and 
 under the al)le direction of his father early became 
 a thorough farmer and miller, and a successful busi- 
 ness man. He now has charge of the farm and 
 sawmill, and is making a specialty of tobacco rais- < 
 ing. He is much devoted to his father, as are also 
 the other children. He was married. May 3, 1893, 
 to Miss Annie M. Whitehead, who was born Jan. 6, 
 1875, in Simsbury, a daughter of Samuel White- 
 head. Two children bless this union : Marie An- 
 toinette, born Feb. 27, 1894 ; and Harry White- 
 head, born Sept. 3, 1898. Harry W. Case is also a 
 stalwart supporter of the Democracy, and a mem- 
 ber of the Episcopal Church, m which he is now 
 serving as junior warden. He has served as second 
 selectman in the town of East Granby, one term, 
 and takes an active interest in public affairs. 
 
 GEORGE H. MINER. Few citizens of the 
 United States can trace their ancestry through six 
 centuries, and the genealogy of the subject of this 
 sketch, a prominent resident of Hazardville, is of 
 more than usual interest. 
 
 Mr. Miner is of tne eighteenth generation in 
 direct descent from Sir Henry Miner, of Somer- 
 setshire, England, who died in 1359, leaving four 
 sons, Henry, Edward, Thomas and George. There 
 are two accounts preserved as to the knighting of 
 this ancestor, whose name was originally Henry 
 Bullman, and at this late day it is impossible to 
 make definite choice between them. According to 
 one, he resided at Mendippe Colles Minerarij, Men- 
 dippe Hills, in the County of Somerset, and would 
 appear to have been a man of wealth and influence, 
 for when King Edward III passed through the 
 place in 1346, on his way to make war against the '. 
 
— ^^ ytyy^^ 
 
1 
 
 ! 
 
 ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 969 
 
 French, Henry Bullman proffered his services, with 
 those of a hundred domestics and other menials, all 
 armed with battle-axes. In recognition of his loy- 
 alty and valor the King knighted him, conferring 
 .upon him a coat of arms, and changed his name to 
 ''Miner. The other tradition is to the effect that some 
 silver mines of the King had been mismanaged by 
 the different officials placed in charge, and he had 
 been defrauded of large revenues. Henry Bullman 
 proved faithful and successful in their management, 
 and as a reward was given the name of "Miner" 
 and a coat of arms. The shield of the coat of arms 
 was ''armorial gules," or according to another state- 
 ment it had "perpendicular gules (or red lines), and 
 a fesse between three plates argent." The crest was 
 a Knight's helmet and a hand grasping a battle- 
 axe, the battle-axe at one end, and a javelin at the 
 other. The coat of arms is said to have been con- 
 ferred in 1339, which was seven years previous to 
 the war with the French, and hence does not agree 
 with the statement that it was conferred because 
 ■of valor displayed in that war. 
 
 (H) Henry Miner, son of Henry (Bullman) 
 Miner, married Henreta Hicks, and had two 
 sons, William and Henry. His wife was the daugh- 
 ter of Edward Hicks, of Gloucester, from whom, as 
 appears by the paling of their arms, have descended 
 the Hicks of Beverston Castle. Henry, the sec- 
 ond son, served in the army of King Richard H, in 
 
 1384. 
 
 (HI) William Miner, the next in line of de- 
 scent, married a Miss Hobbs, of Wiltshire, and had 
 two sons, Thomas and George. 
 
 (IV) Thomas Miner, son of William, married 
 a Miss Gressleys, daughter of Cotton Gressleys, of 
 the County of Stafford, and his children were Lod- 
 ovick, George and Mary. 
 
 (V) Lodovick Miner, son of Thomas, married 
 Anna, daughter of Thomas Dyer, of Staughton, in 
 the County of Huntingdon, England. He had three 
 sons, Thomas, born in 1436; and (twenty-two years 
 later) George and- Arthur (twins), both of whom 
 served the house of Austria. 
 
 (VI) Thomas Miner, son of Lodovick and 
 Anna (Dyer) Miner, married Bridget, daughter 
 of Sir George Hervie de St. Martin, of the County 
 of Middlesex. He died in 1480, leaving two chil- 
 dren, William and Anna. 
 
 (VII) William, son of Thomas and Bridget 
 ; Miner, married Isabella Harcope de Frolibay. He 
 
 swore to avenge the death of the two young Princes, 
 1 murdered in the tower of London. At his death he 
 left ten sons. 
 
 (VIII) William Miner, eldest son of William 
 and Isabella (Harcope de Frohbay) Miner, had 
 two children, Clement and Elizabeth. He died Feb. 
 ^3' 1585) and is buried in 'the church at Chew- 
 Magna, in the Priest's Cl'ancell, about four feet 
 from the wail. The coat of arms is engraved on 
 the stone. By the records and registers of the 
 church it is evident that his name was William 
 Myner, and they agree with the stone as to date and 
 
 place, and he must have been the head of the fam- 
 ily, as appears by the coat of arms. 
 
 (IX) Clement, son of William Miner, suc- 
 ceeded to his father's estate. He married and had 
 four children. His death occurred March 31, 1640, 
 and he is buried at Chew-Magna, in the County of 
 Somerset. 
 
 (X) Thomas Miner, second son of Clement 
 Miner, was born April 23, 1608, at Chew-Magna, 
 County of Somerset, England, and died Oct. 23, 
 1690, at Quiambogue, in the town of Stonington, 
 Conn., being the first of the family to come to Amer- 
 ica. His wife, Grace, daughter of Walter Palmer, 
 was born in 1608, and they were married April 
 20, 1633. He was called lieutenant, and it is said 
 that he held a commission as such in the Eng- 
 lish army; that he came to America in 1630, re- 
 turned to England the following year, sold his com- 
 mission, and came again to America in the year 
 1633. Another account says that he came to Amer- 
 ica with Governor Winthrop and his family in the 
 ship "Arabella," arriving at Salem, Mass., June 14, 
 1630, and with Governor Winthrop settled in 
 Charlestown, Mass. He is said to have removed 
 to Hingham, Mass., in 1635, and to New London, 
 Conn., in 1645. At New London he was given a 
 lot on which he built a house the same vear ; his 
 seventh son, Manassah, was the first male child born 
 in New London town. In 1652 or '53, ne took up a 
 tract of land east of Weguetequock Cove, three 
 miles from Mystic, and built a house. His father- 
 in-law purchased of Governor Haynes, of Connecti- 
 cut, three hundred acres of land in the Colony of 
 New London, which had been granted to Governor 
 Haynes for a farm. This tract included the land 
 on which the house of Thomas Miner stood, and 
 Palmer agreed to give Miner one hundred pounds 
 value, in such c'attle as Governor Haynes might se- 
 lect from Palmer's herd, to satisfy him for his 
 claim. The contract is dated July 15, 1653, and in it 
 Miner reserved the right to occupy his house until 
 he should build another at Mistuxet, now called 
 Quiambogue, in the town of Stonington, Conn. This 
 house was built in 1653, and here he lived until his 
 death in 1690. It is said that he held every office 
 in the gift of his townsmen, serving for some time 
 as deputy magistrate, selectman, chief military of- 
 ficer, and he was town clerk for a number of years. 
 This Thomas Miner had twelve children, and is 
 the progenitor of nearly all the Miners in America. 
 
 (XI) Clement Miner, fourth child and fourth 
 son of Thomas and Grace (Palmer) Miner, was 
 born in Hingham, Mass., probably in 1638, and his 
 death occurred in 1700. He married the widow 
 Frances Willey on Nov. 26, 1662, and had six chil- 
 dren. 
 
 (XII) Joseph Miner, second child and eldest 
 son of Clement and Frances Miner, was born Aug. 
 6, 1666. He married Elizabeth Comstock on March 
 12, 1689, and had two children, Joseph and Eliza- 
 beth. 
 
 (XIII) Joseph Miner, son of Joseph and Eliz- 
 
970 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 abeth (Comstock) Miner, was bom March 3, 1690. 
 On Feb. 21, 1713, he married Grace Turner, by 
 whom he had eight children. 
 
 (XIV) Jesse Miner, second son of Joseph and 
 Grace (Turner) Miner, was born Aug. 13, 1716. 
 He married Jane W'atrous, and had twelve children. 
 
 (X\\) Turner Miner, eldest son of Jesse and 
 Jane (Watrous) Miner, was born Nov. 12, 1738, and 
 died at New London, Conn., April 23, 1802. He 
 was a shoemaker, and owned a small place in the 
 suburbs of New London, Conn. During the Revo- 
 lutionary war he was a Tory, but while his sympa- 
 thies were with England they did not lead him to 
 any overt acts. At the massacre of l-'ort Griswold, 
 and the burning of New London by the British on 
 Sept. 6, 1781, he withdrew with his family from the 
 city into the country. On Jan. 23, 1760, he married 
 Rebecca Moore, and they had fifteen children. 
 
 (X\T) Jesse Miner, seventh child and third 
 son of Turner and Rebecca (Moore) Miner, was 
 born in New London, Conn., Feb. 4, 1770, and died 
 at \"ernon. Conn., Nov. 29, 1S58. He married Bet- 
 sey W'atkins, Nov. 17, 1793. and she bore him four 
 children : Lucy, Harry Watkins, Olive and Dudley 
 Turner. After his marriage he settled upon a farm 
 in Manchester, Conn., but he later purchased a 
 farm in Vernon, Conn., where he died. During the 
 war of 1812 he was in the employ of the govern- 
 ment, transporting large, heavy masts and other ship 
 tmiber across the country to New London for war 
 vessels. In his old age he received a pension of 160 
 acres of government land in Iowa, which he sold 
 for $50. 
 
 (XVII) Harry Watkins Miner, son of Jesse and 
 Betsey (Watkins) Miner, and the father of our 
 subject, was born in Manchester, Conn., Sept. 5, 
 1798, and died at Rockville, May 16, 1858. On 
 April II, 1827, he married Mehitaliel, daughter of 
 Benjamin and Sally Griswold, of Windsor, Conn., 
 and they had two children, who grew to maturity: 
 George Henry and Francis Alfred. In his early 
 manhood he conducted a saw and grist mill, but 
 in later life he followed farming at Rockville, in 
 the town of Vernon, Tolland Co., Conn. He took 
 an active part in military affairs, and at one time was 
 captain of a company. 
 
 (XVIII) George Henry ^Miner. the subject of 
 this sketch, was born at Vernon, Conn., July 26, 
 1835, and grew to manhood in Rockville; he was 
 educated in the public schools of that town, and in 
 the Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, Mass., and 
 on attaining his majority purchased an interest in 
 the Granite Paper Mills, at Vernon, Conn., where 
 he was engaged in the manufacture of paper seven 
 years. He then sold, and purchased an interest 
 in the PhcEnix Cotton and Warp Mills, of Vernon, 
 with which he was connected nearly seven years. 
 In the fall of 1876 he located at Hazardville Station, 
 where he held the position of station agent seven 
 years, and in 1883 he settled at Hazardville, where 
 he was employed as foreman of the yard hands for 
 the Hazard Powder Co. for seven years. Since 1890 
 he has practically lived a retired life. 
 
 On April 11, 1857, Mr. Miner married for his 
 first wife. Miss Phebe A. Fuller, daughter of Wil- ^ 
 lard and Deborah (Moore) Fuller, of Vernon, iH 
 Conn. She bore him five children, of whom three 
 lived to maturity, viz. ; Emma L. ( Mrs. Francis M. 
 Packard), Harry W., and Edward F. Mrs. Phebe 
 A. Miner died at Rockville, May 14, 1868, and on 
 June 22, 1870, our subject married JNIiss Mary S. 
 Aludge, daughter of William C. and Sophronia 
 (Gowdy) Mudge, of Vernon, Conn. Mr. Miner and 
 his wife are active members of the M. E. Church, at 
 Hazardville, and both are highly esteemed in so- 
 cial life. He also belongs to Fayette Lodge, No. 
 69, F. & A. M., of Rockville, and politically he 
 affiliates with the Republican party. 
 
 SAAIUEL VERNON, who is at the head of 
 the manufacturing department of the Rainbow 
 Book Bindery, has occui)ied that responsible posi- 
 tion ever since the department was created, in 1890, 
 and is a j^ractical, enterprising and wide-awake 
 business man. He was born in Leroy, Genesee Co., 
 N. v., Aug. 17, 1863, and belongs to a family 
 noted for its business ability, being a son of Miles 
 and Elizabeth (Radley^ X'ernon, whose sketch ap- 
 pears elsewhere. 
 
 Mr. Vernon was a child of two years when his 
 parents removed to Middlesex county, N. J., where 
 he was reared to manhood, workmg on the farm 
 during the sunnner season and attending the local 
 schools throujrh the winter months. The greater 
 part of his education, however, was obtained in 
 School No. 35, Brooklyn, N. Y., and completed by 
 a course in Brown's Business College, of the same 
 city. During his boyhood he learned thoroughly of 
 what hard work consists, and on leaving the farm 
 took up the trade of book binding. In 1889 he came 
 to Rainbow, Conn., and the following year took 
 charge of the bindery, of which he is still at the 
 head — an honored and trusted employe of the com- 
 pany. He thoroughly understands the business in 
 its various departments, and having charge of the 
 special department of the mill that turns out a 
 distinctly superior product great credit is reflected 
 upon him. Mr. Vernon is half owner of Rainbow 
 Park, one of the popular resorts in the vicinity of 
 Hartford, and for which his enterprise is partially 
 responsible. He also owns his comfortable home 
 at Rainbow, and is one of the valued citizens of the 
 little village, manifesting considerable interest in its 
 welfare by encouraging anything likely to prove of ' 
 interest or benefit to the place. 
 
 Mr. Vernon married Miss Fanny Phelan, a 
 native of West Suffield, Conn., and a daughter of 
 M. D. Phelan. She is a member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church, toward which our subject is a liberal 
 contributor, and which he attends with her. He has 
 one son, Ralph Radley Vernon, born July 9, 1899. 
 
 CHARLES MERRIMAN. It has often been 
 said, and with truth, that the insurance business of 
 Mr. Merriman, subject of this sketch, is one of the , 
 most prosperous and extensive in Hartford county, V 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 971 
 
 outside of the city. It has been conducted since 1887 
 by our subject, and the end of its growth is not yet. 
 It inchides risks m South Windsor, East Hartford, 
 Glastonbury, Marlboro, East Windsor, also in Hart- 
 ford, Manchester and various towns along the Sound 
 and elsewhere in the State. The aggregate losses 
 paid out through this agency in twelve years ex- 
 ceed $120,000. Success is usually the result of a 
 combination of causes. In that of our subject one 
 01 two are especially conspicuous. He is the repre- 
 sentative of a family of splendid vitality and energy. 
 Moreover, he possesses a personality of that charm 
 which invites trade relations. Most men like to do 
 business with a gentleman. 
 
 The Merriman family has descended from one 
 Walter Merj^man (as the name -was formerly 
 spelled), who in 1745 settled at Harpswell Center, 
 on the coast of Maine. Walter Meryman, the son 
 of Walter and Betsey (Potter) Meryman, was 
 j born (at Harpswell) in 1751, and in 1771 married 
 ■ Miss Elizabeth Webber. Joseph Meryman, the 
 grandfather of our subject, was the son of Walter 
 and Elizabeth (Webber) Meryman, and was born 
 at Harpswell, Oct. 25, 1788. He was a sea cap- 
 tain, and was married to Miss Eunice Martin, who 
 vvas born June 9, 1794, daughter of Capt. Matthew 
 Martin, of Harpswell. Capt. Joseph Meryman re- 
 moved with his family in 1826 from Maine to Hart- 
 ford, Conn. He was a man of powerful physique, 
 and was known to have carried a barrel of flour 
 under each arm. He was engaged in the West 
 Indies trade, taking the New England products to 
 Cuba and Jamaica, and returning with cargoes of 
 molasses and tropical produce. His death was un- 
 timely. As master of the brig "Eight Sons," owned 
 by S. and W. Kellogg, of Hartford, merchants in 
 the West Indies trade, he sailed from Berbice, Brit- 
 ish Guiana, and was lost at sea with the entire crew 
 in April, 1834, the vessel never being heard from 
 again. ■ He left a widow, Eunice, who died Sept. 14, 
 1849, ^nd three children: Thirsah, born April 5, 
 1813, who married Ferdinand D. Hughes, Oct. 25, 
 
 jj 1837, and died Dec. 19, 1844; Joseph, father of our 
 
 1 subject; and Matthew M., born June 9, 1823, for 
 many years associated in business with his brother 
 
 ,, Joseph, at Hartford, where he died Feb. 16, 1882. 
 
 1| Joseph Merriman, the father of our subject, was 
 
 born at Harpswell, Maine, Oct. 27, 1815. It was 
 he who changed the spelling of the family name 
 from Meryman to Merriman. He came with his 
 father to Hartford in 1826, when about ten years 
 old, and the year following the family moved across 
 the river to a house in the meadow south of Hart- 
 ford Avenue, then known as "the island," because 
 during freshets it was entirely surrounded by the 
 high waters. He attended the little school which 
 stood on Dorr street (now Market), in Hartford. 
 Being eighteen years of age when his father was lost 
 at sea, he at once began the battle of life for himself. 
 He clerked for a year in a general store for $25 and 
 his board; was then employed by Lester Sexton, a 
 Bridge street clothier, at an annual salary of $75 
 and board, a sum which to the young man seemed 
 
 princely. Soon after Mr. Sexton removed to New 
 Orleans, and the young clerk was given the oppor- 
 tunity of buying the stock with his promissory 
 notes and engaging in business without capital, an 
 opportunity which he seized. For four years he de- 
 rived no net income from his business. The next 
 year he cleared $1,000 above expenses. In 1840 he 
 removed his store from Bridge street (now Mor- 
 gan) to State street. In 1851 he became a whole- 
 sale clothing merchant on Asylum street, Hartford, 
 and later extended his business to New York. He 
 remained in active business for thirty-nine years, 
 from 1834 to 1873, and during his long business 
 career he never asked for an extension of a note nor 
 paid less than one hundred cents on a dollar — an ex- 
 traordinai'y record, for he experienced the panics 
 of 1837, 1857 and 1873. 
 
 In other branches of business Mr. Merriman 
 also became prominent. He was a member of the 
 first board of directors of the Phoenix Insurance Co., 
 organized in 1854, serving continuously until his 
 death in 1895. In 1857 he was elected a director of 
 the ^tna National Bank. He was interested in- 
 large real-estate transactions in Hartford, East 
 Hartford and elsewhere. In 1885, in connection 
 with Henry G. Beaumont, he bought the old Wells 
 property and opened Wells avenue. In 1859 he 
 was elected president of the Hartford Bridge Co., 
 and from that year until the bridge was bought 
 by the five towns in 1889 he was at the head of 
 same. During that time there was a reduction of 
 thirt3'-seven and one-half per cent in the tolls, and 
 during his administration the causeway was mac- 
 adamized from the bridge to Main street. 
 
 In 1854, when the old Whig party was giving 
 place to the Republican party, Mr. Merriman be- 
 came interested in politics. When, two years later. 
 Gen. Fremont was a candidate for President against 
 James Buchanan, he took charge of the campaign 
 in East Hartford, and carried it for Fremont by 
 a majority of one hundred and one. In 1857 he was 
 chosen State representative, serving on the commit- 
 tee on Banks, and in 1864 he was chosen State sen- 
 ator. In 1875 he was elected selectman, and he also 
 filled the office of town auditor several times. For 
 many years he was chairman of the Center Ceme- 
 tery Committee. 
 
 Mr. Merriman was married, Sept. 26, 1838, to 
 Miss Eliza Bemont, daughter of Levi Bemont, and 
 she bore him one child, who died in infancy. Mrs. 
 Merriman died Oct. 31, 1842, and for his second 
 wife he married in Suffield, April 16, 1844, Miss 
 Jane Eliza Bemont, who was born in East Hartford 
 Aug. 21, 1819, daughter of Ambrose Bemont. By 
 this union there were four children : Frank Beau- 
 mont, born June 22, 1846, died at East Hartford 
 April 12, 1897; Joseph Martin, born Nov. i, 1852, 
 died at Northampton, Mass., July 22, 1872 ; Charles, 
 subject of this sketch, born March 20, 1855 ; and 
 Jennie Eliza, who was born Feb. 2, i86o, married 
 Nov. 15, 1881, Rowland K. Erving, and died Feb. 
 15, 1885, in East Hartford. Mrs. Merriman died 
 Nov. 5, 1873, ^nd for his third wife Joseph Merri- 
 
972 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 man married, in 1885, Miss Harriet E. Bemont, who 
 died Dec. 25, 1889. Joseph Merriman died Sept. 7, 
 1895, aged eighty years. He had been an excep- 
 tionally \yell-preseryed man, and to his eightieth 
 year had been sick but very little. He possessed 
 business ability of a high order, and with it integrity 
 and industry. He was fully impressed with the du- 
 ties of a citizen, and attended almost every meet- 
 ing in the town called for political purposes or in- 
 volving the public welfare, and in his later years 
 he related many thrilling and interesting reminis- 
 cences of the town nieelings during his early life. 
 He was a prominent -Mason, a member of Orient 
 Lodge at East Hartford. When a young man he 
 united with the North Baptist Church of Hartford, 
 and in later years he attend the churciics at East 
 Hartford, contributing liberally to their support, and 
 assisting notal)'\' in the construction of the Episco- 
 pal church. 
 
 Charles Merriman, the subject pro]5er of this 
 sketch, was the third son of Joseph and Jane (Be- 
 mont) Merriman. He was born in East Hartford, 
 •and his boyh.ood days were spent on the Merrow 
 Place, on Alain street, which his father purchased 
 in 1856. His early education was obtained in a pri- 
 vate school conducted by Miss Ann Ayres, in the 
 Center district school. Then for two years he 
 attended the Hartford Public High School. He 
 early developed a taste for business and in 1871, at 
 the age of sixteen years, he entered the store of his 
 father at Xos. 14 and 16 Ford street, Hartford. 
 Two years later his father retired from the whole- 
 sale business, and for several years our subject was 
 a salesman in the retail clothing store of Frank B. 
 Merriman, his brother — conducted in the Boardman 
 block. Asylum street. In the autumn of 1876 Charles 
 I\Ierriman began business for himself by purchas- 
 ing from \\'alter A. Loomis the largest grocery then 
 in East Hartford, located in the rear of what is 
 now Vinton's store. In February, 1877, while only 
 twenty-one years of age, he was appointed postmas- 
 ter at East Hartford. It is interesting to note in this 
 connection that his nephew, E. H. Merriman, was 
 afterward made postmaster at the age of twenty- 
 four years. For eleven years our subject conducted 
 the grocery business successfully, selling his flour- 
 ishing establishment in 1887 to H. W. \'inton, and 
 the same year purchasing the fire insurance busi- 
 ness of Ezra E. Smith, started by the latter in 1865. 
 For the past thirteen years Air. Merriman has de- 
 voted his energies to the further development of 
 that business, and he has succeeeded in a man- 
 ner that has won wide recognition and commenda- 
 tion. The main companies represented by Mr. 
 Smith were the /Etna, Hartford and Phoenix, of 
 Hartford, and the Home, of New /ork. To these 
 Air. Alerriman has added, among others, the Insur- 
 ance Company of North America, the London and 
 Liverpool and Globe, the North British and Mer- 
 cantile, the National Fire, the Connecticut Fire, the 
 IMiddlesex Alutual, the Hartford County Alutual, 
 and the New London Co. Mutual. The policies 
 •on considerably more than one-half the insured 
 
 buildings in East Hartford are carried through this 
 agency, while the business has extended to many 
 other towns in the county and State. 
 
 In politics Air. Alerriman is a Republican. He i| 
 has been active in politics and in educational af- J 
 lairs, and has filled various local offices. From 1891 ll 
 to 1894 he held the position of treasurer of the Cen- 
 ter school district. For sixteen years he has served 
 as town treasurer, and he is now filhng that posi- 
 tion, running in recent years on both tickets. At 
 the formation of the fire district Air. Alerriman was 
 made its treasurer. He was candidate on the Re- 
 publican ticket in 1885 for representative, but that 
 was a Democratic year in East Hartford. 
 
 Air. Alerriman was married, Jan. 17, 1884, at 
 Hartford, to Aliss Lizzie E. Ranney, who was born 
 in East Hartford July 26, 1859, daughter of James 
 H. and Alary J. (Elmer) Ranney. To our subject 
 and wife have been born the following children: 
 Joseph Al., horn in 1887, died in June, 1891 ; Chas. 
 Russell, born Alay 29, 1891 ; Helen and Irene 
 (twins), born in November, 1895; Charlotte, born 
 Nov. 24, 1898. Air. Alerriman is a member of the 
 Royal Arcanum at East Hartford. Mrs. Alerriman 
 is a member of the Episcopal Church, and an active 
 worker among the King's Daughters of East Hart- 
 ford. 
 
 In 1885 Air. Alerriman bought the first lot on 
 Wells avenue, which had been opened the year pre- 
 vious, and built the first residence on the street. 
 In 1894 he purchased the ex-Senator Garvan resi- 
 dence on Alain street, where he now resides. Air. 
 and Mrs. Alerriman possesses a delightful home, 
 where they frequently entertain. They are promi- 
 nent in the social affairs of the town, moving in the 
 best circles, and dispensing that rare hospitality 
 which is the fruitage of kindliness and all the graces 
 and accomplishments of social life. 
 
 W^A.RREN WESLEY COOPER, of Sufifield, 
 is one of the best-known business men of that sec- 
 tion, and it is safe to say that no better example can 
 be found of the value of integrity, allied to courage, 
 foresight and energy than is afifordea by his success- 
 ful career. Beginning life as a poor boy he must 
 inevitably have missed many opportunities for se- 
 curing an independent foothold in the commercial 
 world had he not commanded the entire confidence 
 of men of wealth, whose shrewd and discriminating 
 judgment as to his reliability led them to extend him 
 abundant credit. At the present time his numerous 
 interests include the most extensive mercantile busi- 
 ness in his town, and his advice and co-operation is 
 frequently sought in corporate enterprises, his con- 
 nection with a project being considered a sign of 
 assured success. 
 
 Mr. Cooper was born May 13, 1839, in the town 
 of Luzerne, Luzerne Co., Penn., and is of good New 
 England stock, his ancestors having been residents 
 of Sufifield. Jacob Cooper, his grandfather, who was 
 a farmer of Sufifield, married Rebecca Spooner, and 
 both died in that town. 
 
TTT^^-^f^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 97a 
 
 Rev. Alden S. Cooper, the father of our subject, 
 was a well-known clergyman of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, for some time was connected with the 
 Troy Conference, but about 1843 he removed to Ver- 
 mont. He married Miss Nancy Pomeroy, whose 
 family has long been prominent in the vicinity of 
 Westfield, Mass. bhe died in 1845, leaving three 
 children, Samuel Alden, Warren Wesley and Charles 
 Seymour; one died in infancy. 
 
 Our subject was but four years old when his 
 parents located in Essex, Vt., and his education was 
 obtained in the aistrict schools of that locality. Al- 
 though he was an apt scholar, he did not care for 
 books, and never hesitated to sacrifice schooling for 
 the sake of doing some work by which he could 
 earn a few cents. His father, who fully appre- 
 ciated the benefits of a good education, offered to 
 send him to better schools, but as the boy knew that 
 the expenses of the other sons told heavily upon the 
 family exchequer he preferred to follow his natural 
 inclination, and begin earning money, rather than 
 be an additional tax to his father. He was full of 
 energy, never being idle, and from the i.ge of twelve 
 years managed to keep his time practically occupied 
 with work for others. For eleven months he. was 
 employed as a farm hand at four dollars per month, 
 and, as he established a reputation for promptness 
 and efficiency, he found no difficulty later in secur- 
 ing work with farmers in that locality. He spent 
 some time as a farm hand in the town of Fairfax, 
 Vt., but, having resolved to seek a more profitable 
 field of efifort, he left Vermont in the fall of 1857 
 with the intention of going to Worcester, Mass. 
 While on the wav he learned of a situation in Nor- 
 wich, Conn., but on going there to make inquiries 
 found it unsatisfactory and decided to come to Suf- 
 field, where he arrived Sept. 8, 1857, with just eight- 
 een dollars in his possession. He was not long in 
 securing work as a driver on the stage line between 
 Suffield and Windsor Locks, that being prior to the 
 advent of railroads in the vicinity. His wages were 
 fourteen dollars per month "and found," which 
 seemed liberal to him ; but he had determined to 
 find some steady trade, and after two months. as a 
 driver he entered Edward Austin's carriage shop 
 as an apprentice in the wood-working department, 
 at forty dollars per year and board. Sickness com- 
 pelled him to abandon the work, and on his recovery 
 he began to look about for other employment, but 
 Mr. Austin prevailed upon him to return to his 
 shop, where he was employed for seven years. He 
 then went to Marietta, Ohio, with a surveying party, 
 and engaged in the oil business with his brother, S. 
 A. Cooper, as a leaser. He also spent some time in 
 the vicinity of Charleston, W. Va., but after a year's 
 absence he returned to Suifield and resumed work 
 as a carriagemaker with G. S. Austin, continuing 
 five years. He then began working as a joiner in 
 summer, while during the winter seasons he made 
 packing cases, and, as he had gained a knowledge of 
 
 the undertaker's business witn Mr. Austin, he be- 
 came interested in that, his present outfit and equip- 
 ment in this line being thoroughly modern and com- 
 plete in detail. 
 
 In 1874 ]\'Ir. Cooper made his first venture in the 
 coal business. The yard at Suffield, which had been 
 established by the railroad company soon after the 
 opening of the line, having proved unprofitable, the 
 first manager desired to dispose of it, and offered it 
 to Mr. Cooper, who thought he could make it a suc- 
 cess if he had a chance. The price was $1,200, a 
 sum which then looked large to him, but on visiting 
 the owners in New York and telling them of his 
 lack of capital they readily acceded to his proposi- 
 tion to buy it on time. The dealers also offered to 
 send him coal on terms that he could meet, and in 
 many ways the advantage of having a good reputa- 
 tion was manifested, in fact, more credit was of- 
 fered him tnan he could judiciously accept. On 
 Oct. 29, 1874, he took charge of the yard, and, from 
 selling 1,200 tons the first year, the business has 
 now increased to about 3,500 tons annually. At 
 first Mr. Cooper did much of the work of the yard 
 himself, many hundreds of tons having been shoveled 
 by him from the cars into his shed, and nothing was 
 allowed to stand in the way of prompt service to his 
 customers, orders being filled after six p. m. as read- 
 ily as before. From the start he prospered, always 
 managing to meet his obligations on time, and of 
 all the thousands of dollars worth of paper -which 
 he has had afloat during his mercantile career not 
 one note ever 'went to protest." As_his capital 
 accumulated he increased his facilities, building 
 sheds and other structures, including a store for 
 general merchandise. The coal business formerly 
 conducted by Prank Fuller was absorbed into his 
 own, and he has also gone extensively into business 
 as a dealer in grain, lumber, hardware, lime, wood, 
 cement, fertilizers and other commodities, his tradi 
 being larger than that of any other merchant in the 
 town. He does a large trucking business, and al- 
 together keeps from six to ten horses constantly 
 at work to meet the demands of his various lines of 
 enterprise, while from twelve to fifteen workmen 
 are employed the year round, the number being en- 
 larged in busy seasons to about thirty. Real estate 
 investments have naturally attracted , his attention, 
 and at one time he carried on farming in connection 
 with his other business. He has built seven resi- 
 dences in Suffield village, and in 1898 he completed 
 his present elegant home, one of the best in the town, 
 which is noted for the beauty of its ^Drivate houses. 
 
 One would think that the care of all these dif- 
 ferent interests would be sufficient for one man, 
 but Mr. Cooper's business-liKe methods permit him 
 to carry on an apparently unlimited amount of work, 
 and as president of the Suffield Electric Light Co. 
 and a stockholder in the Suffield Water Co. he 
 has done much to insure the prosperity of both ven- 
 tures. His success in business cannot be attributed 
 
974 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 I 
 
 to penuriousness, as he believes in enjoying the good 
 things of Hfe, and in his deahngs with the public 
 he has been inclined to err on the side of generosity, 
 having occasionally met with losses through trust- 
 ing people when he did not really expect to be paid. 
 He gives substantial aid to all measures for local 
 improvement, and for many years he has been in- 
 fluential in religious work as a member of the Bap- 
 tist Church, in which he has at times held office. 
 Politically he is a strong Republican, but the pres- 
 sure of business has prevented him from taking 
 an active share in partisan work, although he served 
 acceptably two vears as first selectman. 
 
 Our subject's first wife, Miss Alarlha J. King, 
 daughter of Seth King, of Suffield, died March 14, 
 1895, leaving no children. On Aug. i, 1898, he 
 married Mrs. Jennie (Loomis) Drake, widow of 
 William B. Drake, and a descendant of one of the 
 oldest families of Suffield. Mr. Cooper and his 
 wife are much esteemed sociallv, the latter being 
 an active member of the Congregational Church, 
 and he is connected with several fraternal orders, 
 including Gideon Granger Lodge INo. 62, K. P., 
 and Lodge No. 59, F. & A. AL, at Suffield. 
 
 ADDISON BRYANT STOCKWELL. In ihe 
 respect that is accorded by the world to men who 
 have made tl'.eir way to success through their own 
 efforts, we find an unconscious recognition of the 
 intrinsic worth of character which can endure the 
 rough discipline of life and gain new strength from 
 the experience. Among the self-made men whose 
 histories lend interest to this volume none stand 
 higher in public esteem than does this well-known 
 resident of \\ indsor Locks, who began his career 
 as a bread-winner at an age when most boys are 
 in school, and has gained a substantial competence. 
 
 Mr. Stock well comes of good New England 
 stock, his ancestors in the paternal line having 
 come from England at an early date. Walter Stock- 
 well, his grandfather, was born at Thomaston, 
 Conn., but became a farmer at Northampton, 
 Hampshire Co., Alass., where he died in 1850, aged 
 nearly one hundred years. 
 
 Erastus Stockwell, our subject's father, was 
 born in Northampton, ]\Iass., and for many years 
 was engaged in farming there. His death occurred 
 in 1861. He married Miss Rucksbee Bryant, of 
 Chesterfield, Slass., a cousin of William Cullen 
 Bryant, the famous poet. She had two sisters and 
 two brothers, all now deceased. 
 
 Our subject was born April 13, 1835, at the 
 old home in Northampton, and his education was 
 obtained in the public schools of that locality. At 
 the age of fourteen he became self-supporting, work- 
 ing for two years on a farm, after which, for six 
 years, he was employed at the Round Hill Water 
 Cure. In i860 he came to Windsor Locks to en- 
 gage in mercantile business, buying out T. B. Perse, 
 and locating at the store now occupied by James 
 Keevers. After five years he disposed of this busi- 
 ness and opened a livery and sale stable, in con- 
 
 nection with which he conducts a wood and coal 
 business, and also deals extensively in wagons, har- 
 ness, blankets and whips. As a citizen he has al- 
 ways been noted for his progressive spirit; he is 
 a member of the Republican party, but has never 
 aspired to political office. In religious faith a Con- 
 gregationalist, he and his family are leading mem- 
 bers of the church at Windsor Locks. Mr. Stock- 
 well is identified with the Temple of Honor, and is 
 prominent in the Masonic fraternity, with which he 
 united in Suffield, being a charter member of Euclid 
 Lodge, No. 109, A. F. & A. M. ; a member of 
 Washington Chapter, No. 30, R. A. M. ; Suffield 
 Council, No. 23, R. & S. M. ; Washington Com- 
 mandery. No. i, K. T., at Hartford, and of Sphinx 
 Temple, Order of the Mystic Shrine, at Hartford. 
 In i860 Mr. Stockwell was married, in Windsor 
 Locks, to Miss Catherine Rooney, of Poughkeepsie, 
 N. Y., and four children have blessed the union, 
 all of whom have been well educated : Emma died 
 in 1884; Frank, who is in the drv-goods business 
 at Saginaw, Mich., married Miss Alice Prunell, and 
 has three children, Bessie, Frank and Luther. Lula 
 ij at home. Harriet married A. N. Sliepard, of 
 Portland, Conn., and has two childien. Nelson and 
 Dorothea. 
 
 BENJAMIN VERNON, superintendent of the 
 Rainbow Paper Mill, at Rainbow, this county, has 
 won an enviable reputation for executive ability by 
 his successful management of the extensive inter- 
 ests under his charge. Possessing a complete mas- 
 tery of the workings of all departments of the es- 
 tablishment, his energetic foresight forestalls 
 emergencies and keeps everything in perfect run- 
 ning order, while his admirable methods of dealing 
 with the workmen inspire them with confidence and 
 respect. 
 
 The Rainbow Paper Co., of which Mr. Vernon 
 is superintendent, does a large business, making a 
 specialty of railroad work, and being able to supply 
 all kinds of bound or unbound material. Their 
 patrons include the principal railroad corporations 
 in the United States, the New York Central and 
 the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroads 
 giving large orders. The mill, which is now owned 
 wholly by Richard Vernon, a brother of our sub- 
 ject, has been in the Vernon family for a number 
 of years, having been taken on a mortgage by Ver- 
 non Bros., paper dealers, of New York City, on 
 the failure of William C. Hodge, the former owner, 
 to whom they had advanced a large sum of money. 
 To the efficient management of our subject is chiefly 
 due the present satisfactory condition of the busi- 
 ness, which has been converted into a profitable en- 
 terprise, and was kept open without an interruption 
 during the recent financial depression that caused 
 the suspension or permanent failure of many con- 
 cerns in similar lines. 
 
 The Vernon family is of good old English stock, 
 and Richard Vernon, our subject's great-great- 
 grandfather, was an admiral in the British navy, 
 ivtembers of the family were prominent among the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 975 
 
 pioneer settlers of America, and Mt. Vernon, the 
 home of Washington, was named in honor of them. 
 Richard Vernon, the grandfather of our subject, 
 was a resident of Devonshire, England, and a man 
 of position and wealth, being a ship owner of prom- 
 inence. He married Elizabeth Wills, and nad five 
 sons: Samuel, of the firm of Vernon Bros., men- 
 tioned above; Aliles, our subject's father; Thomas, 
 a member of the firm of Vernon Bros. ; Charles W., 
 a Baptist minister ; and Richard, who was for many 
 years a sea captain, and made his home for a time 
 in the United States. 
 
 Miles Vernon, our subject's father, was born in 
 1816 in Devonshire, England, and married Miss 
 Elizabeth Radley, a native of the same county, born 
 in 1818. Her father, Richard Radley, owned a 
 large estate there, and he and his family were of 
 excellent social standing. On coming to the United 
 States Miles Vernon located first in Genesee coun- 
 ty, N. Y., where he owned a fine farm, and later 
 removed to the vicinity of Woodbridge, N. J., con- 
 Itinuing agricultural work there until his death, 
 which occurred Feb. 14, 1888. He was the first to 
 import Devonshire cattle into tne United States. 
 He left valuable real estate at Woodbridge, which 
 is still in the possession of the family. His esti- 
 mable wife survived him but a few years, dying 
 Jan. 12, 1890. They had the following children: 
 IGeorge R., head of Vernon Bros. & Co., paper 
 imakers, No. 22 Read street, New York; Charles, 
 head salesman of above company ; Miss Elizabeth ; 
 Richard, now sole owner of the Rainbow Paper 
 Mill, who resides in Madison, N. J., and has an 
 office at No. 239 Broadway, New York; Miles, of 
 the firm of S. E. & M. V ernon. No. 69 Duane street. 
 New York; Benjamin, our subject; Thomas, a sales- 
 man for the Rainbow Paper Mill; and Samuel, of 
 whom a sketcn appears elsewhere. 
 
 Benjamin Vernon was born June 15, 1856, at 
 Leroy, Genesee Co., N. Y., and was reared to farm 
 work, acquiring valuable habits of industry. In 
 the winter he usually attended the local schools, but 
 at times he studied in private schools near his home. 
 Later he took a course in a business college in 
 Brooklyn, and in 1876 he left home to make his 
 way in the world, going to Colorado, then a terri- 
 tory. His first vote was cast after the admission of 
 the State for Gov. Pitkin, the first executive. He 
 ■'spent some time in the San Juan district, and in 
 the vicinity of Mineral Point and Ouray, gaining 
 an interesting: experience of border life. About 
 1878 he went to Arizona, traveling 1,500 miles on 
 horseback, and visited the (now) town of Tomb- 
 stone when but one house stood on the site. He 
 'also made a trip to New Mexico, and in all spent 
 ■about five years in the West, being sometimes em- 
 ;ployed in various capacities and at other times en- 
 igaging in business for himself. His work in quartz 
 jmills gave him his first practical knowledge of ma- 
 ichinery, and as he generally held responsible posi- 
 tions he learned also to manage workmen, the ex- 
 fperience proving a most useful one. When he re- 
 |turned home, in 1881, he expected to go back to 
 
 the West, but at the urgent recjuest of his parents 
 gave up the plan. In 1886 Mr. Vernon went to 
 Rainbow in the interest of Vernon Bros., of New 
 York, and in 1888, after learning the practical de- 
 tails of the business, he took the place of super- 
 intendent. He has built an attractive residence at 
 Rainbow, and now owns a large tract of farming 
 land, much of which is devoted to tobacco raising. 
 Since his removal to the village he has shown a 
 loyal interest in all that concerns its development, 
 and he is rightly regarded as one of the most 
 popular citizens of the town. Politically his sym- 
 pathies have always been with the Republican party 
 in State and National issues, but he votes independ- 
 ently on local questions, according to his judgment 
 as to fitness of candidates. Beyond voting regularly 
 he leaves partisan work to others, as his business in- 
 terests require his undivided attention. Fraternally 
 he is identified with Washington Lodge, No. 70, 
 F. & A. AL, at Windsor. While he is not a church 
 member he and his wife attend the Congregational 
 Church at Poquonock, to the support of which he is 
 a liberal contributor. 
 
 On June 7, 1888, Mr. Vernon married Miss 
 Nellie B. Kay, and two children brighten their home : 
 George Kay and Dorothy. Socially the family is 
 much esteemed. Mrs. Vernon was born at New 
 Brunswick, N. J., of Scottish ancestry, and her 
 father, William Kay, was a well-known paper- 
 maker. John C. Kay, Mrs. Vernon's grandfather, 
 was the first to introduce the process of callendering 
 paper in the web at Trenton, N. J., about 1850. 
 
 E. L. COBB, of Windsor, is a man whose ster- 
 ling qualities of character have won for him a high 
 standing in the community. For many years he has 
 been prominent among that intelligent and influen- 
 tial body of citizens known as the Masonic frater- 
 nity, in which he has attained the thirty-second de- 
 gree, and in local affairs he manifests a public spirit 
 and freedom from self-seeking which are most com- 
 mendable. 
 
 By his upright life he sustains well the prestige 
 of a good old family name that has been held in 
 honor in New England from an early date and 
 which was borne by several "minute men" in the 
 trying times of the Revolution. The first ancestor 
 of whom any record has^ been preserved came to 
 America in 1643 from the vicinity of Plymouth, 
 England, and settled first at Scituate, Mass., and 
 then in Rhode Island, while later generations lo- 
 cated in Litchfield county, Connecticut. 
 
 Nathaniel Cobb, our subject's great-grandfather, 
 was a blacksmith by occupation, and made his home 
 at Colebrook, Connecticut. 
 
 Jacob B. Cobb, the grandfather of our subject, 
 followed agricultural pursuits, and for some years 
 before his death he resided in Windsor. He 
 died at the age of eighty-seven m Canton, 
 Conn., while on a visit, but his remains were 
 buried in Windsor. His wife, Hannah Spencer, 
 was ninety-two }'ears old at death. They had 
 ten children, of whom two are still living: M. 
 
97(j 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 I 
 
 Huntington, of Philadelphia, and Charlotte E., 
 widow of Timothy Phelps, of Windsor. The 
 former is a well-known journalist, being now 
 on the editorial staff of The Philadelphia North 
 American, while he was formerly a writer for the 
 New i'ork Tribune, under Horace Greeley's man- 
 agement, and private secretary to Simon Cameron 
 during his term as Secretary of War. He is a well- 
 preserved man and is still active in public affairs, 
 holding the position of chief clerk of the Lnited 
 States Mint in Philadelphia. 
 
 Hiram Cobb, our subject's father, was born at 
 Colebrook, Conn., and was the eldest son and sec- 
 ond child. He was reared to farm work, his educa- 
 tion being limited to the common schools of the 
 locality, but learned the carpenter's trade in his 
 vouth, and for many years was engaged in business 
 as a builder, although at one time (soon after his 
 removal to Windsor in 1855) he was interested in 
 the tobacco business. Politically he was a Demo- 
 crat until the formation of the Republican party, in 
 which he became an earnest worker. During the 
 war he served as Deputy Provost Marshal, and he 
 was postmaster at Windsor under the administra- 
 tions of Lincoln and Grant. 1 le was five feet eleven 
 inches in height, with a large, biny frame, and 
 weighed about one hundred and seventy pounds, 
 and enjoyed robust health until stricken with paral- 
 ysis, from which he died in Windsor, Oct. 30, 1895, 
 aged seventy-two years. W'hile still a resident of 
 Colebrook he married Miss Harriet Hawley, a na- 
 tive of that town, who survives him and now re- 
 sides with our subject. She is a daughter of Elisha 
 Hawley, a native of Norfolk, Conn., and belongs to 
 an old and highly respected family, which inchides 
 among its members United States Senator Hawley. 
 Our subject is the elder of two children, and his 
 only sister, De Ette, is now Mrs. John G. Caulk- 
 ins, of Winsted, Connecticut. 
 
 Mr. Cobb was born Oct. 18, 1848, at the old 
 home in Colebrook, but as his parents removed 
 to ^\'indsor during his childhood his education 
 was chiefly gained in the academy there. He also 
 took a course in Bryant & Stratton's Business Col- 
 lege, Hartford," in preparation for commercial life, 
 as his early training in carpentering and farm work, 
 under his father's direction, had proved those occu- 
 pations to be congenial. From early boyhood he was 
 employed occasionally by neighbors, but his time wac 
 spent mainly at home until 1873, when as the car- 
 penter business was dull, he found a situation in New 
 Haven as a bookkeeper for Lewis Osterweis, a 
 prominent cigar manufacturer. His faithfulness and 
 reliability made his services invaluable, and for 
 twenty-two years he remained with the firm, but an 
 attack of LaGrippe in 1895 compelled him to re- 
 linquish his work. After a year or two he took a 
 similar position with The E. S. Kibbe Co., whole- 
 sale grocers, in Hartford, where he is now em- 
 ployed. 
 
 In 1872 he completed his substantial residence on 
 Maple avenue, W^indsor, and on June 26th of that 
 
 year he married Miss Sarah Mack, a lady of un- 
 usual ability and strength of character, whose as- 
 sistance has been invaluable to him. She was borrt 
 Aug. 13, 1 85 1, a daughter of William and Sarah 
 (Ware) Mack, well-known residents of this county, 
 of whom an account is given elsewhere. Four 
 children have blessed our subject's home: Mabel E., 
 Bertha H. (who died in infancy), Edna J., and 
 Newton Hawley. Mrs. Cobb is a believer in Chris- 
 tian Science, while our subject is a member of the 
 Methodist Church. Both are popular in social life, 
 and Mr. Cobb in identified with Washington Lodge, 
 No. 70, F. & A. M. ; Pythagoras Chapter No. 17, 
 R. A. M., at Hartford; Harmony Council No. 8, 
 R. & S. M., at New Haven; New Haven Com- 
 mandery No. 2, Knights Templar ; E. G. Storer ; 
 Lodge Perfection ; Elm City Council Princes of ', 
 Jerusalem A. & A. S. R., and New Haven Chapter 
 Rose Croix A. i& A. S. R., all of New Haven ; L:i 
 Fayette Consistory, S. P. R. S., and Pyramid Tem- 
 ple of the Mystic Shrine, at Bridgeport ; was thrice 
 Illustrious Master of Harmony. Council No. 8, R. 
 & S. M., in 1889, and Eminent Commander of New 
 Haven Commanucry No. 2, K. T., in 1894. While 1 
 he takes keen interest in the political issues of the 
 day and always votes the Republican ticket at Na- ' 
 tional elections, he supports the "best man" in local 
 contest. 
 
 WILLIAM GIBSON FIELD, Esq., of Enfield. 
 Hartford count v, was born in the city of Easton, 
 Northampton Co., Penn., Oct. 25, 1841. His fa- 
 ther was Dr. Cridland Crocker Field, a graduate ' 
 of the Lniversity of Pennsylvania, an eminent physi- 
 cian and surgeon of fifty years' practice, whose 
 surgical operations were referred to in lectures de- 
 livered before the students of the university, and in 1 
 the obituary notice of him that appeared in the 
 London Lancet. He died in 1887, leaving a large 
 sense of loss in the communitv. 
 
 Dr. Field held friendlv and professional rela- 
 tions with Profs. William E. Horner, William Gib- 
 son, D. Hayes Agnew and Samuel Gross ; and many 
 medical men were prepared in his offices for the uni- 
 versity and for successful practice. He was born ; 
 Feb. 18, 1819, on board of the American ship "Ann," 1 
 on the arrival of his parents from England, within 
 the bounds of Queens county, N. Y. Capt. Crocker 
 wrapped him in the American flag. They went to 
 Northampton county, Penn., thence to Philadelphia, 
 where the father practiced medicine in company with 
 Dr. Physick, Dr. McClellan and others, and where 
 the son was educated generally and especially for 
 the profession, being a private student of Prof. 
 William E. Horner, the author of a noted work on 
 Anatomy. They returned to Northampton county, 
 settling finally in Easton, the county seat. The 
 mother of the subject of this sketch was Susannah 
 (Freeman) Field, who was born at Freemansburg, ^ 
 Northampton Co., Penn., and died lamented by all .' 
 who knew her, especially by those who had been the 
 
i 
 
» 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 
 recipients of her open-handed charity. His pa- 
 ternal grandparents were Richard and Phoebe 
 (Cridland) Field. 
 
 Richard Field was brought up at Dudley Hill, 
 Bradford, Yorkshire, England, and after graduating 
 at the University of London he became a member 
 of the Royal College of Surgeons. Henry M. Field, 
 D. D., of New York City, brother of the late Cyrus 
 W. Field, projector of the Atlantic cable, in a work 
 printed privately for the use of the family, and 
 sent by him to the subject of our sketch, quotes 
 Osgood Field, Esq., an American long resident 
 in London, as follows : "Hubertus de la Feld was 
 in England within a year or two of the Conquest, 
 and in all probaDility came over with the Con- 
 queror. He was of the family of the Counts de 
 la Feld, of Colmar, in Alsatia, on the German bor- 
 der of France, who trace back to the darkest period 
 of the middle ages, about the sixth century. Prob- 
 ably not a dozen families in Europe can prove so 
 high an antiquity. The ancestors of the English 
 de la Felds had been seated at the Chateau de la 
 Feld for centuries before, and so early as the 
 gloomiest times that followed the fall of the Roman 
 Empire. They held lands (according to the feudal 
 system) probably granted to them for military serv- 
 ices by William the Conqueror — the original spel- 
 ling of the family name "Feld" being derived from 
 the verb to fell ; field land being opposed to wood- 
 land, and meanmg land where the trees have been 
 felled. Mr. Osgood goes on to say that "the first 
 appearance of the Field family without the prefix 
 'de la' was in tnat part of the West Riding of York- 
 shire which borders upon Lancashire;" and it was 
 in Yorkshire that W. Gibson Field's paternal grand- 
 father, Richard Field, grew to man's estate. A 
 branch of the Field family probably went from 
 Saxony through France to England. Richard Field 
 spent the last years of his life in America. His 
 wife, Mr. Field's paternal grandmother, Phcebe 
 (Cridland) Field, was born in Leicestershire, Eng- 
 land, her father being a great woolen manufacturer. 
 Members of the Cridland family have held posi- 
 tions of public trust in England, and several Brit- 
 ish consuls to this country were of the same stock. 
 Mr. Field's paternal great-grandfather was John 
 Field (whose son Richard is above referred to), 
 and he lived to be over one hundred years old, at 
 which age he mowed grass, as (so tradition says) 
 his father did at the same age. John Field went 
 from Saxony to Yorkshire, taking with him his 
 then infant son, Richard. W. Gibson Field, a few 
 .years ago, received a letter from the late Stephen 
 J. Field, late a justice of the supreme court of the 
 United States, regarding the Field family in Eng- 
 land. Cyrus W. Field, years ago, sent him a book 
 of family biographies. In the Field ancestral line 
 the name of John Field, the astronomer, is found, 
 from whom the Field family coat of arms is de- 
 rived. 
 
 Mr. Field's maternal grandparents were Jacob 
 and Susanna (Butz) Freeman. (For Jacob Free- 
 man, Freemansburg, Penn., was named ; and he was 
 a number' of times elected to public office). His 
 maternal great-grandparents (male line) were 
 Edward and Susan (Laubach) Freeman. (Ed- 
 ward Freeman's father was Richard Freeman, who 
 came from England about 240 years ago, settled 
 first in'Alaryland and afterward removed to North- 
 ampton county, Penn.). His maternal great-grand- 
 parents (female line) were George and Catherine 
 (Dreisbach) Butz. (George Butz's father possibly 
 came from Saxony). His maternal great-great- 
 grandparents were Michael and Elizabeth (Mes- 
 singer) Butz, and his maternal great-great-great- 
 grandparents were Michael and Elizabeth Messin- 
 ger ; and Michael Messinger was a member of the 
 "committee of observation" of Northampton coun- 
 ty, Penn., formed at Easton on Dec. 21, 1774, with 
 the view of furthering the cause of American 
 independence. [2 Penn. Archives XIV., p. 549.] 
 The number of medical men that came from each 
 ancestral line is remarkable. Both of Mr. Field's 
 brothers, George B. Wood Field and B. Rush Field, 
 are physicians. 
 
 Mr. Field fitted for college at the Easton (Penn.) 
 high school, where he was graduated in 1858, his-, 
 commencement theme being "The Three-fold Cul- 
 ture in Education." When at this school he looked 
 forward to going to Harvard. A number of his- 
 addresses delivered during the high-school course- 
 were published. He was the first president of the- 
 high school alumni association, and, as such, at 
 the centennial year banquet, held in July of that 
 year, at Abie's Opera House in Easton, Penn., he- 
 made the welcome address to the class of 1876, the- 
 prominent educational authorities of the city being 
 present. The address was printed in the daily- 
 press. 
 
 In 1862 he was graduated at Lafayette College, 
 with the degree of A. B., his theme being "In- 
 centives to Action," and during his course there 
 he was connected with the Washington Literary 
 Society, all of whose important offices he filled. 
 Among the elections given him by the society was 
 that of junior orator, to represent in part the so- 
 ciety at the annual junior exhibition held July 29,. 
 1861. The subject of his oration was "True Cour- 
 age." He was a contributor to the "Lafayette 
 Monthly Magazine." 
 
 At the beginning of the Senior year he- was ad- 
 mitted to Harvard College, and was graduated, with 
 the degree of A. B., with the class of 1863, the class 
 numbering among its members Historian John 
 Fiske, Artist E. D. Boit, and Charles S. Fairchild, 
 of President Cleveland's first cabinet. Among 
 others at Harvard at the time were sons of Lincoln, 
 Everett, Emerson and Holmes. While at Harvard 
 he was a contributor to the "Harvard Magazine." 
 
 After being graduated at Harvard College, he- 
 
978 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 entered the Harvard Law School, wliere he was 
 graduated July 19, 1865, with the degree of LL. 
 B. During his connection with this institution he 
 attended the law lectures of Parker, Washburn and 
 Parsons, so well known, through their published 
 works, to the legal profession. He also heard the 
 lectures of Louis Agassiz, Oliver VV. Holmes, etc. 
 He was sccretarv of the Law School Parliament and 
 president of the Parker Club. On July 19, 1865, 
 he received the degree of LL. iJ. from Harvard. 
 He received the degree of A. ^L from both Harvard 
 and Lafayette Colleges. He is a member of the Con- 
 necticut \'allcy Harvard Club. 
 
 Mr. I'ield entered the law offices of the late ex- 
 Gov. Reeder, of Kansas fame, and of the late chief 
 justice of the Pennsylvania supreme court, Plenry 
 Green, in Easton, Penn., and on Nov. 21, 1865, 
 on motion of the latter, he was admitted to the Bar 
 of Xorthampton county, Penn., of which Easton 
 is the county seat, and practiced law there a number 
 of years. 
 
 On Eeb. 4, 1867, he was elected secretary of 
 the Farmers' & Mechanics' Institute of Northamp- 
 ton county, Penn., whose exhibition building is one 
 of the largest and finest in Pennsxlvania. He was 
 re-elected five limes and then declined re-election, 
 receiving a vote of thanks for past services. 
 
 During his residence in Easton he became the 
 founder and editor of The Easton Daily Dispatch, 
 the first number of which appeared May 16, 1874. 
 Just prior to the starting of this newspaper he was 
 offered and declined the editorship of the Easton 
 Daily Argus. Before he embarked on a newspaper 
 enterprise of his own he had, during a sojourn in 
 Brooklyn, connected himself with the editorial de- 
 partment of the Brooklyn Daily Times. 
 
 While a citizen of Easton IMr. Field accepted a 
 number of invitations to deliver public addresses. 
 On ^^^ashington s birthday, 1866, he delivered an 
 oration before the Washington Literary Society of 
 Lafayette College on the "Character of Washing- 
 ton." By request he repeated the oration before the 
 Young Men's Missionary and Christian Associa- 
 tion, of Bethlehem, Penn.. and it was afterward 
 published in the "Young Men's Alonthl)'," of Tren- 
 ton, New Jersey. 
 
 As an alumnus of the Washington Literary So- 
 ciety of Lafayette College he was appointed one of 
 the executive committee to furnish, in behalf of the 
 society, its handsome and spacious hall. The work 
 was accomplished and the hall dedicated April 7, 
 1881, on which occasion Mr. Field made an address 
 that appeared, among other addresses made on that 
 occasion, in pamphlet form. 
 
 The superintendent of public ins':ruction of 
 Northampton county, Penn., appointed Mr. Field to 
 deliver an address before the Teachers' Institute, 
 convened, in annual convention, in the court house 
 in Easton, Nov. 19, 1883. It appeared in print on 
 the day of its delivery. Of this address the late 
 
 Rev. Dr. Andrew P. Peabody, at one time acting 
 president of Harvard University, and one of the 
 greatest scholars and literary men of his day, said 
 that he "could give it no higher praise than to say 
 that it was worthy of a graduate of Harvard." 
 
 Mr. Field also made political speeches, prior to 
 Presidential elections, in several counties in Pennsyl- 
 vania. He has also written many articles for 
 various periodicals and newspapers. A number of 
 these have appeared in "Beecher's Magazine." In 
 one of a number of articles contributed by him to 
 the "Lafayette College Monthly" (September, 1871) 
 he made the original ]M-oposition for the formation 
 of a National College-Men's Union for literary and 
 other friendly contests. This proposition thrilled 
 the students of the colleges and universities of the 
 country. Articles on the subject, written by him, 
 also a])peared in the I^cw York Tribune and the 
 Nczo York Times. In the article in the "Lafayette 
 Monthly" Mr. Field shows what must be the benefits 
 of such a society to college-bred men, to colleges 
 and ti> the public. He adds: "Thomas Hughes, 
 Dr. Chapin and others have remarked that college- 
 bred men do not exercise the commanding influence 
 that they should and can exercise in American pol- 
 itics. We conceive that this is the result of a want 
 of consciousness of power on the part of college- 
 bred men. The power exists — the consciousness of 
 it only needs to be supplied, and this can be fur- 
 nished by a central, representative society of col- 
 lege-bred men. The numbers and resources of such 
 a society would surprise even college men them- 
 selves, and they would be excited to uncommon ef- 
 forts in the common cause. It might in time prove 
 to some incredulous ones that 'knowledge is power.' 
 Although ignorance in motion is more powerful 
 than intellect at rest, brains and ballots combined 
 will tell." On Feb. 19, 1874, the proposition was 
 acted on, and a convention assembled, to take the 
 initiative, at Hartford, Conn. All are familiar with 
 the intercollegiate contests held since that time. 
 These contests stimulate friendly and fruitful emu- 
 lation among the students of the colleges of the 
 land. 
 
 Mr. Field was, by appointment of the governor 
 of California, a commissioner for that State in 
 Pennsylvania. Passing over other appointments 
 and elections to honorary membership of societies, 
 he was appointed, by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Stevens, 
 of Pennsylvania, lay reader of the Episcopal Church 
 in South Easton, now a part of the city of Easton, 
 Penn., of which his brother, B. Rush Field, is mayor. 
 He was a member of the vestry of Trinity Epis- 
 copal Church of that city, superintendent of its 
 Sundajr-school, and a director of the Y. M. C. A. 
 
 On Feb. 20, 1883, he was elected to represent 
 the Fourth ward of the city of Easton in the board 
 of control (educational) for a term of three years, 
 leading his party ticket in the number of votes re- 
 ceived ; and, Feb. 16, 1886, he was re-elected for 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 979 
 
 another term, and served for a time as president of 
 the board. On May 5, 1887, then intending to 
 leave the city of Easton, he presented his resignation 
 to the board of controL A resolution of regret 
 was passed by the board on account of his resigna- 
 tion and intended departure from the city. He 
 was a member of the executive committee of the 
 board appointed to make preparations for a public 
 Cottingham memorial celebration, in honor of the 
 third-of-a-century services of city school superin- 
 tendent W. W. Cottingham, the official longest in 
 service of the kind in the United States. The cele- 
 bration took place in Easton April 28, 1887, was 
 participated in by public bodies, schools and citizens, 
 and was a great success. Mr. Cottingham still 
 fills the superintcndency. 
 
 During 1887 Mr. Field removed from Easton, 
 Penn., to Brooklyn, N. Y. On Oct. 25 of that 
 year he was married, at the "Massasoit House," 
 Springfield, Mass., by his Harvard classmate. Rev. 
 Thomas W. Bishop, of Salem, Mass., to Miss Edna 
 M. Potter, of Suffield, Conn., daughter of the late 
 Simeon T. and Mary (Ives) Potter, of Enfield, 
 Conn. Mr. and Mrs. Field shortly afterward took 
 up their residence in Brooklyn. On May 14, 1888, 
 on motion of Horace Graves, Esq., Mr. Field was 
 admitted by the Supreme Court of New York, sit- 
 ting at Poughkeepsie, to practice law in all the 
 courts of New York State. During his residence 
 of about ten years in Brooklyn he continued in the 
 practice of law in that city and in New York.. 
 
 In 1897 certain interests and family reasons pre- 
 vailed to induce Mr. and Mrs. Field to remove from 
 Brooklyn to Enfield, Hartford Co., Conn. Mrs. 
 Field had bought an ancestral and original colonial 
 house in that town, built, 130 years ago, by her great- 
 great-grandfather, Capt. Ephraim Pease, a pros- 
 perous merchant, contractor and large land owner 
 in Enfield during the French war. He was born 
 there in 1719 and died in 1801, the bell that he 
 donated to the First Congregational Church tolHng 
 almost all day on the date of his funeral. He had 
 entertained Washington, when, as commander-in- 
 chief of the Continental army, he passed through 
 Enfield. Washington afterward, in a letter to a 
 friend in England, wrote of stopping at the hospit- 
 able mansion of Capt. Ephraim Pease, "situated 
 on, Enfield street, north of the Field House." This 
 letter was seen and read by the late Senator James 
 Dixon when in England, on his wedding tour ; and 
 this fact he related to a reliable and long-time oc- 
 cupant of the Capt. Pease homestead, from whom 
 the information came to C. Terry Knight, the author 
 of an article on Enfield that appeared in a late num- 
 ber of "The Connecticut Quarterly." In that man- 
 sion, now owned by Matthew G. Anderson, Jr., 
 tradition says vvere quartered British foldiers of 
 the Revolution, probably a part of Burgoyne's army, 
 surrendered in October, 1777. One of the finest 
 elms on Enfield street, rooted on land owned by 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Prior, grew from a sapling that 
 Capt. Pease planted in honor of the birth of his 
 daughter, Sybil, who, in 1768, married Rev. Elam 
 Potter, Mrs. Field's paternal great-grandfather. 
 It was deemed quite honorable then, as now, to 
 marry the minister. "Capt. Pease gave the site and 
 erected the house (now the Field House) for the 
 home of the distinguished couple. It was accord- 
 ingly well built and the artistic decorations, inside 
 and outside — including paneled walls, rich hand- 
 made moulclmgs, toothed cornices, carved balusters, 
 tiled fireplaces and the stately recess in the front 
 hall for the 'old clock on the stairs' — were more 
 or less elaborate for the times, and indicate the 
 wealth and pride of a father whose young daughter 
 was to become the bride of a young and promising 
 clergyman. When a large fireplace was being torn 
 out, preparatory to remodeling, a sermon of the 
 long-ago, that had slipped from the mantlepiece, 
 dropped out. Appreciating the value and beauty of 
 shade trees, he planted those old and majestic but- 
 tonwoods along the front of the property that still, 
 with the elms and maples, adorn that part of the 
 street. He thoroughly furnished the house for the 
 young housekeepers, placing, in addition, three negro 
 slaves — Okro, Csesar and Flora by name — at their 
 service." Eight children were born to these first 
 occupants. Rev. Elam Potter was a noted preacher 
 of Enfield, traaitions of whose earnestness in the 
 cause of Christ, in behalf of his people, and in ef- 
 forts for the abolition of slavery, have come down 
 to us. He was ordained in 1769 as pastor of the 
 First Congregational Church of Enfield, and con- 
 tinued as such seven years. An "Historical Notice 
 of the Congregational Church in Enfield" says that 
 at this time an excitement -broke out concerning 
 "church order;" and in 1770 a new society was 
 formed, called "The Second Ecclesiastical Society 
 of Enfield" (aiming at "Strict Congregationalism") 
 — the members of which were called "Separatists" — 
 which has completely disappeared. This subject is 
 fully and ablv treated in a thesis entitled "A Sketch 
 of The Strict Congregational Church of Enfield, 
 Ct.," presented to the Hartford Theological Sem- 
 inary, for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, by 
 Rev. Oliver W. Means, M. A., now pastor of The 
 First Congregational Church of Enfield. "Rev. 
 Elam Potter made repeated tours into the Southern 
 States in behalf of the negroes in bondage," nar- 
 rates C. Terry Knight, in an article appearina: in 
 a late number of "The Connecticut Quarterly Mag- 
 azine ;" " and the memorial to the General Assembly 
 of Connecticut, praying that the negroes in this 
 State be released from slavery, was, perhaps, in 
 part, a result of his influence." 
 
 The abolition of slavery in a number of the 
 States \~i2iS gradual, Pennsylvania setting the ex- 
 ample ; and it has been well said that only second in 
 honor and importance to the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence was the act of the Pennsylvania Legis- 
 
9SJ 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lature of 1780, inaugurating its abolition in that 
 State. Connecticut was the earliest among her 
 sister States to follow the precedent thus set. In 
 this State slavery was never directly established by 
 statute; but it was indirectly sanctioned by various 
 statutes, and frequently recognized by the courts, 
 so that it may be said to have been indirectly estab- 
 lished by law. W. O. Blake, in his "History of 
 Slavery and the Slave Trade," says that "Negro 
 and Indian slavery was authorized in Connecticut 
 in 1650: antl in the same year the Colony passed acts 
 making man-stealing a capital ofl'cnce, the Colony 
 of New Haven shortly after passing similar acts." 
 [Henry Wilson's "Rise and Fall of tlie Slave Power 
 in America," Vol. I., pp. 6-372.] Few negro slaves 
 were imported into the State; and in 1774 (Oc- 
 tober session at New Haven) tne importation of all 
 slaves was prohibited by the following act, viz. : 
 
 "An Act for prohibiting the Importation of 
 Indian, Negro and Mulatto slaves. 
 
 "Whereas the increase of slaves in this Colony 
 is injurious to the poor and inconvenient: 
 
 "Be it enacted by the Governor, Council and 
 Representatives, in General Court assembled, and 
 by the authoritv of the same — That no Indian, 
 Negro or Mulatto slaves shall, at any time here- 
 after be brought or imported into this colony by 
 sea or land, from any place or places whatsoever, 
 to be disposed of, lett or sold, within this colony. 
 
 "Be it further enacted by the authority afore- 
 said, That any person or persons, who siiall here- 
 after, contrary to the true intent of this act, import 
 or bring any Indian, Negro or Mulatto slave or 
 slaves into this colony to be disposed of, left or 
 sold within the same, or who, knowing such slave 
 or slaves to be so imported and brought into this 
 colony, shall receive or purchase tnem, or any of 
 them, shall forfeit and pay into the Treasury of this 
 colony the sum of one hundred pounds lawful money 
 for every slave so imported, brought into this col- 
 ony, received or purchased, to be recovered by bill, 
 plaint or information, in any court of record proper 
 to try the same. And it shall be the duty of all con- 
 stables and grand jurors to enquire after and make 
 presentment of all breaches of this act." 
 
 After the termination of the Revolutionary war, 
 the Legislature, to effect the gradual abolition of 
 slavery in Connecticut, in the Revision of 1784, 
 enacted the following: 
 
 "An Act concerning Indian, Mulatto and Negro 
 Servants and Slaves. 
 
 "Be it enacted by the Governor, Council and 
 
 Representatives, in General Court assembled, and 
 
 by the authority of the same — • 
 
 ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 
 
 "And Whereas sound policy requires that the 
 Abolition of Slavery should be effected as soon as 
 may be consistent with the rights of individuals 
 and the public safety and welfare — 
 
 "Therefore — Be it enacted by the authority 
 
 aforesaid — That no Negro or Mulatto child that 
 shall, after the first day of March, one thousand, 
 seven hundred and eighty-four, be born within this 
 state shall be held in servitude longer than until 
 they arrive to the age of twenty-five years, not- 
 withstanding the mother or parent of such child was 
 held in servitude at the time of its birth; and such 
 child, at the age aforesaid, shall be free; any law, 
 I usage or custom- to the contrary notwithstanding." 
 
 In May, 1797, a Connecticut statute enacted that 
 no Negro or Mulatto child that should be born 
 within the State after the first day of August of 
 that year should be held in servitude longer than 
 "until they should arrive at the age of twenty-one 
 years." 
 
 As early as Alay, 171 1, provision was made for 
 the emancipation of slaves by their owners, who 
 were nevertheless held to be responsible for their 
 maintenance should the slaves ever come to want: 
 
 ".\n .\ct relating to slaves and such in particular 
 as shall happen to become servants for time : 
 
 "It is ordered and enacted by the Governor, 
 Council and Representatives in General Court as- 
 sembled, and by the authority of the same — That 
 all slaves set at liberty by their owners ; and all 
 Negro, Mulatto or Spanish Indians, who are ser- 
 vants to masters for time, in case they come to want 
 after they shall be set at liberty, or after the time of 
 their said service be expired, shall be relieved by 
 such owners or masters respectively, their heirs, 
 executors or administrators ; and upon their or 
 either of their refusal so to do, the said slaves and 
 servants shall be relieved by the selectmen of the 
 towns to which thev belong; and the said selectmen 
 shall recover of the said owners or masters, their 
 heirs, executors and administrators, all the charge 
 and cost they were at for such relief in the usual 
 manner, as in the case of any other debts." 
 
 In October, 1777, the following Act, or Proviso, 
 was passed : 
 
 "An Act in addition to and alteration of an Act 
 entitled — An Act concerning Indian, Mulatto and 
 N egro servants and slaves : 
 
 "Whereas it stands enacted in said Act — 'That 
 all slaves set at liberty by their owners, and all 
 Negro, Mulatto or Spanish Indians who are ser- 
 vants to masters for time, in case they come to want 
 after. they shall be so set at liberty, or after the time 
 of their said service be expired, shall be relieved 
 by such owner, or master respectively, their heirs, 
 executors or administrators :' 
 
 "Therefore Be It Enacted by the Governor, 
 Council and Representatives in General Court As- 
 sembled, and by the authority of the same — 
 
 "That if any master, or owner, of any servant, 
 or slave, shall apply to the selectmen of the town to 
 which he belongs, for liberty or license to emanci- 
 pate or make free any such servant or slave, it shall 
 be the duty of such selectmen to inquire into the 
 age, abilities, circumstances and character of such 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 981 
 
 servant or slave; and if they, or the major part of 
 them, shall be of the opinion that it is likely to be 
 consistent vv^ith the real advantage of such servant 
 or slave, and that it is probable that the servant, 
 or slave, will be able to support his or her own per- 
 son; and that he or she is of good and peaceable 
 life and conversation, such selectmen, or the major 
 part of them', shall give to the owner, or master of 
 such servant or slave a certificate, under their hands, 
 of their opinion in the premises ; and that the mas- 
 ter or owner of such servant or slave hath liberty 
 to emancipate and set at liberty such servant or 
 slave. And .if the master or owner of any servant 
 or slave shall, on receiving such certificate, emanci- 
 pate and set at liberty such servant or slave, he, 
 his heirs, executors and administrators, shall be 
 forever discharged from any charge, or cost, which 
 may be occasionea by maintaining or supporting 
 the servant or slave made free as aforesaid — any 
 law, usage or custom to the contrary not withstand- 
 ing." 
 
 There were seventeen slaves in Connecticut as 
 late as 1840; and there had been 2,759 ii'' the State 
 in 1790. The repeal of the "Black Law," enacted 
 in May, 1833, for the purpose of suppressing the 
 colored school of Miss Prudence Crandell, in Can- 
 terbury, showed an advance in liberal thought. 
 [The foregoing facts relating to slavery in Con- 
 necticut have been derived from various sources, 
 but special acknowledgment is due, in this connec- 
 tion, to George S. Godard, Assistant State Libra- 
 rian of the Connecticut State Library, Hartford; 
 and also to State Comptroller Thompson S. Grant 
 for facilities.] At the time of its gradual abolition 
 in Connecticut, slavery had ceased to be as remuner- 
 ative as it had once been in the State. 
 
 After the death of Rev. Elam Potter (1794) 
 his eldest son, Elam Obediah Potter, "a prominent, 
 useful and influential citizen, who served the town in 
 various capacities for many years," bought the 
 homestead, which afterward was, in succession, 
 owned and occupied by Rev. F. L. Robbins ( a for- 
 mer pastor of The First Congregational Church of 
 Enfield), Eben Parsons and Deacon Albert Par- 
 sons, at whose death, in 1883, the property passed 
 into the hands of his heirs, from whom it was 
 bought back by Mrs. W. Gibson Field into the orig- 
 inal ancestral line. Two granddaughters of Rev. 
 Elam Potter, viz., Mrs. Elizabeth Dwight and Miss 
 Mary Potter, are now living in Enfield. On her 
 father's side (maternal line) Mrs. Field is, through 
 her grandmother, Abigail Terry, eighth in direct 
 descent from Gov. William Bradford, who came 
 over in the "Mayflower." Abigail Terry married 
 Ephraim Pease Potter, son of Rev. Elam Potter, 
 the last named being Mrs. Field's great-grandfa- 
 ther. Mrs. Field is the daughter of the late Simeon 
 T. Potter (a son of Ephraim Pease Potter) and 
 Mary Ives, his wife, and the granddaughter (ma- 
 ternal line) of the late James Ives and Charlotte 
 
 Remington, his wife (late of Suffield, Conn.), the 
 latter being a daughter of the late Deacon Reming- 
 ton, of Hasting's Hill. James Ives reared a nu- 
 merous and widely-respected family ; he was an 
 energetic business man, and conducted successfully 
 a number of industries. One of his sons, Cornelius 
 Ives, was for years a successful merchant in Au- 
 gusta, Ga., and afterward a financier in New York 
 City, who achieved a competence. He died a few 
 years since, at the ripe age of eighty-four. Milton 
 D. Ives, another son of James Ives, was the last 
 Ives occupant of the old Suffield homestead, and a 
 widel3'-known citizen of that town. Mrs. Field 
 attended the Wilbraham (Conn.) Wesleyan Acad- 
 emy, and the Connecticut Literary Institution at 
 Suffield, her native town. 
 
 In the mansion on Enfield street, of many hon- 
 orable associations, was born one of Enfield's most 
 successful and popular physicians, Dr. Edward 
 Field Parsons. Mr. and Mrs. W. Gibson Field 
 have made this their home, and to it have made 
 some additions, following the colonial lines. Mr. 
 Field, at Enfield, is conveniently situated with ref- 
 erence to business in Hartford and Springfield, be- 
 ing on the line of the New York, New Haven & 
 Hartford railroad. Since leaving Easton, Penn., 
 Mr. Field has written considerably for the press. 
 He returns each year to attend to business in New 
 York, Brooklyn ana Easton, Penn., where he owns 
 property. 
 
 SAMUEL H. WILSON, one of Windsor's 
 best citizens, and one who is now doing more for 
 the community at Wilson's Station that any other 
 man, is a native of that little suburb, born June 19. 
 1844. He traces his ancestry back to Samuel and 
 Mary (Griffin) Wilson, who were married May i, 
 1672. Their son. Deacon John Wilson, born May 
 24, 1686, wedded Mary Marshall, and to them was 
 born a son, Joel, April, 17, 1718, who married Abi- 
 gail Loomis and had a son Moses, born Sept. 11. 
 1748. Moses Wilson married Hulda AUyn, and 
 they were the parents of Henry, who was born 
 in 1785, and married Eleanor Loomis. This couple 
 were the grandparents of our subject. 
 
 Henry Wilson, Jr., our subject's father, was 
 born Feb. 11, 1810, and was educated in the com- 
 mon schools of his day, which were much inferior 
 to those of the present time. When a young man 
 he entered into partnership with his father, and to- 
 gether they engaged in farming and brick making 
 until the latter's death. When the property was 
 divided the son took the portion in the town of 
 Windsor, on which he ever afterward made his 
 home. He was a very successful farmer, and was 
 widely and favorably known. He was a man of 
 ordinary build. In politics he was a stanch sup- 
 porter of the Democratic party. On Nov. 17, 1842, 
 he m.arried Miss Susan A. Newberry, who was 
 born in Bloomfield, Conn., Dec. 13, 1810, a daugh- 
 ter of Frederick Newberry. He died Nov. 17, 1852, 
 
982 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and liis wife, who was a consistent member of the 
 Baptist Church, passed away June 3, 1884, the re- 
 mains of both being interred in the Congregational 
 cemetery at Windsor. Their children w-ere Samuel 
 H., our subject: Daniel L., who died young; Fred- 
 erick N., who is mentioned farther on ; and Hul- 
 dah S. 
 
 Samuel H. Wilson began his education in the 
 Bucktown district school, and Charles Clark (now 
 deceased ) was one of his first teachers. He thor- 
 oughly enjoyed his school days ; took an active in- 
 terest in nis studies ; and later attended Deacon 
 Woodford's private school at Windsor and the 
 Connecticut Literary Institute at Suffield for one 
 year. He spent his vacations on the home farm 
 with his widowed mother, and when his school days 
 were over he helped her in its inanagement and 
 operation, and also taught for one term in the home 
 district. 
 
 When he attained his majority the property was 
 divided, and he continued farming for three or four 
 years. During this time he produced some tobacco, 
 but being disgustet! with the use of that weed, he 
 stopped raising it in 1867. A year or so later he 
 embarked in the n'.anufacture of brick on a very 
 moderate scale, at first em])loying only two men, 
 and doing all work by hand. Each year saw im- 
 proNcments made to his ];lant, and its producing 
 capacity made greater, until in 1896 he made five 
 million bricks. In connection with that business he 
 had also conaucted a sawmill for some years, and 
 in 1896 added planing machinery and other equip- 
 ments to his plant, which now turns out all kinds of 
 wood, from the rough lumber to house finishings 
 of all descriptions. It is an extremely modern and 
 up-to-date establishment, and in addition to reduc- 
 ing and shaping native woods, Mr. Wilson converts 
 heavy pine from the southeast and northwest into 
 house finishings. He also cuts frorii one thousand 
 to fifteen hundred cords of wood annually, and 
 buys thousands of cords of wood on the stump, the 
 cutting and hauling of which give work to many. 
 During the summer season he has in his employ 
 from sixty-five to seventy men, and in the winter 
 from twenty to twenty-five, as well as many teams 
 the year round. 
 
 Mr. Wilson was united in marriage with Miss 
 Eliza H. Parsons, a representative of one of the 
 first families of Enfield, she being a daughter of 
 Albert and Helen (Raynolds) Parsons. She was 
 formerly a school teacher, and is a lady of excellent 
 education, who has been of great assistance to her 
 husband, as his business interests are extensive. 
 She keeps his books, and is a thorough business 
 woman. Their only child, Helen R., is the widow 
 of Walter Morrison, whose death a few weeks after 
 their marriage was a severe blow to all. He had 
 been a faithful and efficient employe of our sub- 
 ject, and was an excellent 3roung man. 
 
 Mr. Wilson is a Prohibitionist from principle, 
 and whlie not a politician he takes an active interest 
 in the growth of the party that will suppress the 
 
 liquor traffic. He was instrumental in having the 
 postoffice established at Wilson's Station, and was 
 its first postmaster, a position that his duty as a 
 citizen compelled him to accept, but his deputy has 
 charge of the same. He is a prominent member 
 of the Memorial Baptist Church at Hartford, with 
 which he united by letter from the First Baptist, 
 where he united early in his teens, a'nd has since 
 been an active worker in the church, exerting an in- 
 fluence such as only a true Christian will. He is very 
 devout in all church matters, is a man of great hon- 
 esty of purpose, is true to every impulse, and his 
 Christian character is manifest in his every-day 
 life. His kindness of heart is proverbial, and he 
 has lost many thousand dollars by unscrupulous 
 persons taking advantage of his desire to aid oth- 
 ers. He is generous almost to a fault, in public- 
 spirited and enterprising, and is an extremely valu- 
 able man in his connnunity. Fie is very popular 
 with his employes, all of whom receive the great- 
 est consideration and kmdness. 
 
 Fkedericiv N. Wilson, brother of our subject, 
 was born July 12, 1848, at Wilson's Station, where 
 he now resides. He attended the Bucktown dis- 
 trict school, Mrs. S. John Mills (now deceased) 
 being his first teacher, and later was a student in 
 the private schools of Deacon Woodford at Wind- 
 sor, and James Bird on Pavilion street, Hartford. 
 This was followed by a course at the Connecticut 
 Literary Institute, Suffield. When his school days 
 were over he spent a year or two on the home farm, 
 after which he engaged in teaming for a short ttuie. 
 and for a year was in a store at Long Meadow, 
 Mass., as he had taken a course in a commercial 
 college at Hartford. He worked as a machinist iit 
 Hartford for ten years, and, being a natural me- 
 chanic, he took up watch and clock repairing. With 
 some instruction he was soon able to do excellent 
 work in that line, and continues to engage in the 
 same at the present time. His sympathies are usu- 
 ally with the Democratic party, but he is not strictly 
 partisan, supporting the man whom he believes best 
 qualified to fill the office. He is a thorough Chris- 
 tian gentleman, highly respected for his sterling 
 worth and strict integrity ; is a member of the First 
 Baptist Church of Hartford, and has served as su- 
 perintendent of the Sabbath-school for several years 
 as Wilson, Conn., which was started by his mother 
 about fifty years ago. 
 
 COLLINS BENJAMIN GRIFFIN. The Grif- 
 fin family is descended from distinguished English 
 ancestry, and the subject of this sketch, a prominent 
 agriculturist of West buffield, is of the fifth genera- 
 tion in descent from John Griffin, a native of Eng- 
 land, who came to America in Colonial times and 
 settled in the town of Windsor. He had been 
 granted a large tract of land in that town, with 
 other tracts elsewhere, and became a man of in- 
 fluence, his refinement and high character being 
 appreciated in the new community. While chas- 
 ing a heifer one day he grew over-heated, and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 983 
 
 stopped for water at what is niw called Lord Grif- 
 fin's spring, near Rainbow, took a sudden chill, and 
 died at the spring. His remains were interred in 
 the old cemetery at Windsor. 
 
 Benoni Griffin, son of the pioneer, was born 
 and reared in Windsor, and made farming his oc- 
 cupation. In early manhood he removed to what 
 is now Granby township, where he owned a large 
 amount of land and for many years was prominent 
 in local affairs. During the Revolution he refused 
 to take up arms against England, but at different 
 times he furnished cattle, sheep and other supplies 
 to feed the American army. He married a Spanish 
 lady, Mary DeLacy, and had eight children : Peter, 
 Benjamin, Neinian, Phineas, Levi, Abram, Betsey 
 (Mrs. Thomas Holcomb), and Martha. 
 
 Levi Griffin, our subject's grandfather, was 
 born in Granby, in 17 — , and resided there through- 
 out his life upon a fai-m. He owned a valuable es- 
 tate and was an influential citizen, his education be- 
 ing excellent for that day. In politics he was a 
 Democrat, and he took keen interest in public ques- 
 tions. He was an ensign in the State militia, and 
 during the war of 1812 went to Middletown, Conn., 
 with his company, intending to go to the seat of 
 war; but word came that peace was declared, and 
 he returned home. He and his wife, whose maiden 
 name was Sarah Holcomb, ched at their homestead, 
 their remains being interred in the old Granby cem- 
 etery. They had the following children : Sarah and 
 Mary (twins), who died in childhood; Levi (de- 
 ceased), who settled in the West; Lyman; and Sim- 
 mons. 
 
 Lyman Griffin, our subject's father, was born 
 Jan. 22, 1800, and after completing the course of 
 study offered in the district schools he attended the 
 high school at Simsbury and a select school at Ta- 
 riffville, conducted by Cicero Holcomb. He was 
 reared to farming on the homestead, but as a young 
 man became interested in the Farmington canal and 
 invested his fortune in two boats. When the canal 
 was abandoned he lost heavily, and had to begin 
 life anew. For some years 'he followed farming at 
 the old home, and in 1870 he removed to a farm in 
 West Suffield, where his remaining years were 
 spent, his death occurring Nov. 28, 1885. Politically 
 he was a Democrat, but he never sought office. His 
 religious views were liberal, but for years he sang 
 in the choir of the Episcopal Church at Granby. 
 In 1830 he was married in Granby to Miss Llarriet 
 Davis, who still resides at the homestead, being re- 
 markably strong mentally and physically for a lady 
 of eighty-seven years. She was born in Granby, 
 May 30, 181 3, a daughter of Silas and Matilda 
 (Griffin) Davis, well-known residents of that lo- 
 cality. Eleven children were born to Lyman and 
 Harriet Griffin, namely: Chauncey, born Feb. 26, 
 
 1831, resides in Suffield; Rensselaer, born Sept. 23, 
 
 1832, resides on a farm in West Suffield; Sarah, 
 who died Jan. 29, 1895, married Andrew Jackson 
 Davis, of Marion county, Ohio; Mary (deceased) 
 married Edgar Davis ; Justin E. is a resident of 
 
 West Suffield; Collins B., our subject, was sixth 
 in the order of birth ; Miss Henrietta resides at the 
 homestead; Jennie (deceased) was the wife of Will- 
 iam Viets, of Copper Hill; Adaline died in child- 
 hood; Catharine is the wife of Lyman Bristol, of 
 Canton Center, and Lewis died in infancy. 
 
 Collins B. Griffin was born May 10, 1842, in 
 Granby, where his education was begun, and as he 
 was but a boy when the family removed to West 
 Suffield he continued his studies in the district 
 schools, attending during the winter only. For 
 some years of this time he made his home with Mrs. 
 Dennison, and at seventeen the latter placed 'him 
 in charge of her farm. Since Mrs. Dennison's death 
 Mr. Griffin has conducted the estate, carrying on 
 general farming, dairying, and tobacco culture, and 
 by his industry and honesty has won a high repu- 
 tation in the locality. Some years ago the old resi- 
 dence was destroyed by fire, but Mr. Griffin has re- 
 placed it with a modern building, while his barns, 
 tobacco sheds and other improvements are of sub- 
 stantial nature. He is a stanch Republican in poli- 
 tics, although he does not aspire to office, and he 
 is active in religious work as a member of the Con- 
 gregational Church, in which he has been a deacon 
 for four years past. On June 4, 1867, he was mar- 
 ried in Suffield to Miss Emeline Matilda Phelon, 
 daughter of Julius and Julia E. (Mecum) Phelon, 
 prominent citizens of West Suffield. Mrs. Griffin, 
 though now in ill-health, is a lady whose influence 
 for good is recognized among her a«sociates. They 
 had two daughters. Miss Sarah L., born Oct. 21, 
 1868, graduated from the Normal School at New 
 Britain, and taught in the public schools with suc- 
 cess until her death March 27, 1900; and Miss Ber- 
 tha King is at home. 
 
 WILLIAM T. BARBER, of East Windsor, a 
 worthy representative of one of the oldest families 
 in the county of Hartford, is of the seventh genera- 
 tion of his family in the State, and descends from 
 Thomas Barber, who came from England in early 
 Colonial days, located in Windsor, Conn., and was 
 also an early resident of Hartford, where his name 
 appears on the records as far back as 1637. His 
 descendants have been most prominent in the af- 
 fairs of the Slate — religious, oificial, social and com- 
 mlercial. The line of descent of our subject's branch 
 of the family from the original colonist is as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 Josiah Barber, son of Thomas, the colonist, was 
 born Feb. 15, 1653, and was known as Lieut. Josiah ; 
 in 1677 he married Abigail Loomis, daughter of 
 Lieut. Nathaniel Loomis ; her death took place Feb. 
 9, 1700, and his occurred Dec. 14, 1729. Jonathan 
 Barber, great-great-grandfather of our subject, was 
 born in 1693, and died Nov. 2, 1772 ; his wife, Rachel, 
 was born in 1696, and died March 24, 1778. OHver 
 Barber, great-grandfather, was born Jan. 29, 1736, 
 and died in 1820; his wife, Anna Root, of Westfield, 
 Mass., was born in 1743, and died in 1823. Horace 
 Barber (i), grandfather, was born in 1776, and 
 
984 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 died in 1839; his wife. Lydia Phelps, was born in 
 Hebron. Conn., in 1779, and died in 1833. He and 
 his son Buckley Phelps. :[ather of our subject, will 
 be spoken of in detail in the following paragraphs. 
 
 Horace Barber was the first of the family to lo- 
 cate at Warehouse Point, in East Windsor town, 
 although they had resided in its vicinity for years. 
 He established a sliipyard at the end of the bridge, 
 and started at building sloops, rapidly increased his 
 business, built vessels of a larger class, and had a 
 great deal of money invested in sea-going vessels, 
 when the "embargo" act went into effect, and he 
 was' financially ruined, but not crushed. He began 
 life anew with enhanced business vigor. He found- 
 ed what was afterward the famous Barber Distil- 
 lery, and although the business was new to him, 
 his product became a favorite with consumers, so 
 he again waxed wealthy, and paid up in after years 
 every dollar he owed when he failed in ship-buikl- 
 ing. although some of the notes he had given had 
 accrued interest in excess of the principal. 
 
 The children born to Horace and Lydia ( Phelps) 
 Earlier were Buckley Phelps ; Caroline L., who was 
 married to a Mr. Durdctt, of New York; and Hor- 
 ace. Jr. The last named graduated from Wash- 
 ington College and later from the Harvard Law 
 School, was a professor in a Southern college, and 
 prominent in the South as a politician. He was a 
 bachelor. 
 
 Horace Barber, grandfather of \\^illiam T., was 
 a short, corpulent man. but ver\' active. He held 
 the office of deputy sheriff at one time, and at an- 
 other was a justice of the peace. His house was 
 headquarters for the jiromincnt men of the day. and 
 was noted for the rare entertainments given therein, 
 which exceeded the usual events of the kind. Mr. 
 Barber joined the Episcopal Church, and was one 
 of the principal founders of the church in Ware- 
 house Point, in which he became a leader, and in the 
 faith of which he passed away. 
 
 Buckley P. Barber, father of William T., was 
 born March 21, 1798, and died Aug. 22, 1878. He 
 married Harriet Thompson, who was born Jan. 6. 
 1803. and died Sept. 29, 1876, and the remains of 
 both were interred at Warehouse Point. They were 
 the parents of four children : ( i ) Caroline L., born 
 Jan. 18, 1823, was first married to Rev. J. Marshall 
 Wiley, of Ellington, a son of Judge Wiley. Rev. 
 Mr. Wiley was secretary of the Diocese of Connecti- 
 cut, and for several years was rector of St. John's 
 Church at Bridgeport, of which he had charge at 
 the time of his death. His widow married George 
 S. Sandford, who is now also deceased, and she 
 resides on Strawberry Hill, in Stamford. (2) Will- 
 iam T. is second in the family. (3) Elizabeth O. was 
 married to A. B. Redfield. of Hartford, and died at 
 Warehouse Point. (4) Horace, the youngest, re- 
 sides at Warehouse Point. He married Caroline 
 Wadsworth Allyn, and had one daughter, Gene- 
 vieve, who, died in Menton, France, Feb. 6, 1890. 
 
 Mr. Barber first entered business at Warehouse 
 Point as a merchant, but at his father's death took 
 
 charge of the distillery, and operated it until he 
 transferred it to his two sons, William T. and Hor- 
 ace. He was a fine looking, well-built man ; was 
 a strong Democrat, and served one term in the Leg- 
 islature ; was broad-m'inded and liberal, and freely 
 contributed to every project designed to promote the 
 welfare of the public. 
 
 William T. Barber was born in Warehouse 
 Point, July 7, 1825, and was educated at Judge 
 Hall's boarding school in Ellington, and at the Con- 
 necticut Literary School, Suffield. At the age of 
 seventeen years he went to New York as a clerk for 
 Wm. Sloane, and in this employ continued until his 
 marriage. In New York, Nov. 3, 1847, l'€ wed- 
 ded Miss Marv J. Post, who was born in that eitv 
 Dec. 29, 1827, and died in Hartford, Conn., April 
 13, 1882, her remains being interred at Warehouse 
 Point. She was a daughter of Gerardus and Susan 
 (Abbott) Post, the former of whom was of Dutch 
 descent, and the latter a native of New Orleans, 
 La., of French origin, her family bearing the name 
 of Labortout. in 1855 Mr. Barber returned to 
 Warehouse Point and erected a dweUing, in which 
 he and his family pass the summers. For eight 
 years he was associated here with his brother in the 
 distillery management, but aside from that business 
 care he has- led a retired life, though not a secluded 
 one. 
 
 In politics Mr. Barber is a Democrat, and he has 
 always been very popular with his party, for which 
 he has done some energetic work. In 1856 he was 
 elected to the State Legislature, and was again 
 elected to that honorable body in 1872. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Barber were born five children: 
 William T., Jr., born Oct. 6, 1848, died in 1852. 
 Josephine K., born in New York Feb. i, 1851, is 
 unmarried, and resides with her father. Bethuel 
 and Buckley P. (2) (twins), were born in Ware- 
 hous Point, Feb. 26, 1853; but one died when eight- 
 een months old, and the other at the age of six 
 years. jMargaret Louise, born Jan. 6, 1855, is the 
 widow of Frank Schlesinger, to whom she was mar- 
 ried Dec. 10, 1890. Mr. Schlesinger was a son of 
 August Schlesinger, a native of Lausanne, Switzer- 
 land, who married a Miss Pitkin, of East Hartford, 
 a direct descendant paternally of William Pitkin, 
 the Colonial governor in 1766, and, maternally, of 
 the Wolcotts. Frank Schlesinger was born in Con- 
 necticut, and first married Miss Jennie Brisbane, of 
 Charleston, S. C, who died in New York City in 
 October, 1887. Frank Schlesinger died April 14, 
 1893. It is to be regretted that this branch will soon 
 become extinct, as far as the name is concerned, 
 Mr. Barber having no male children to perpetuate it. 
 
 LEWIS W. LADD, who for twenty-seven years 
 was proprietor of the "Windsor Hotel," at Ware- 
 house Point, is one of the most popular hotelmen 
 in Connecticut and. in fact, the fame of his estab- 
 lishment has extended throughout adjacent States. 
 Perfect order and cleanliness, a thoroughly satis- 
 factory cuisine, prompt and efficient service and 
 
<hr 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 985 
 
 unfailing courtesy to guests are not always to be 
 found in a srnall town, and the rare combination has 
 so won the appreciation of the traveling public that 
 many have heard of the excellence of the "Windsor 
 Hotel" who have no other knowledge of Ware- 
 house Point. When Mr. Ladd took charge in 1871 
 the hotel was small and of no reputation beyond 
 local limits, but under his progressive management 
 it was soon raised to the rank of a first-class house 
 with all modern improvements, making it attractive 
 to the best class of guests. In June, 1898, Mr. Ladd 
 retired from active business, selling the furnishings 
 and renting the building, and at present he resides 
 in Poquonock, where he is enjoying a well-earned 
 leisure, the fruits of his past years of effort. 
 
 Mr. Ladd was born Jan. 21, 1841, in the town 
 of Sprague (then Franklin), New London Co., 
 Conn., and is of good pioneer stock, his descent be- 
 ing traced from Enoch Ladd, the progenitor of all 
 of the name in the United States. Septa Ladd, our 
 subject's father, was a well-known agriculturist of 
 New London. county, and he and his wife, Patty A. 
 Ladd, had a large family of children, mostly boys. 
 The sons were all robust and stalwart, but none 
 are now living except our subject and Charles H., 
 a farmer at the old homestead. Three of the 
 daughters also survive: Sarah A., widow of Mr. 
 Burdick; Jane (Mrs. Rufus Ladd); and Adeline 
 (Mrs. Barbour). 
 
 Being reared a farmer boy, Mr. Ladd had only 
 a district-school education, and at the age of twenty- 
 one he left home to take a position as a jack-spin- 
 ner in a mill in South Coventry, Conn. With char- 
 acteristic adaptability and accuracy he quickly 
 learned the details of the trade, becoming an ex- 
 pert, and for twelve years he followed the busi- 
 ness, spending some time at Merrow Station and 
 Stafford, Conn. His health became impaired, ne- 
 cessitating a change, and in 1870 he rented the "El- 
 hngton House," at Ellington, Conn., which he con- 
 ducted for a year. In 1871 he took charge of his 
 present hotel at Warehouse Point, and after a few 
 years as a tenant purchased the property. In ap- 
 pearance he suggests the ideal landlord which he 
 has proved himself to be, his portly, well-propor- 
 tioned frame, six feet in height and weighing 230 
 pounds, indicating good living, while his genial 
 manner sets every one at ease in his presence. So- 
 cially he and his family are promment. He is iden- 
 tified with Wolcott Lodge, No. 60, F. & A. M., at 
 Stafford. In politics he is a gold Democrat, but he 
 has never sought official honors, restricting his ef- 
 forts on behalf of the party to the regular casting 
 of his own vote. 
 
 In June, 1861, Mr. Ladd married Miss Jennie 
 Graham, of Willington, Conn., who died in 1870, her 
 remains being interred at her native place. Subse- 
 quently he married Miss Mary A. Lyon, a native 
 of Boston, who was for many years an efficient 
 helpmeet to him in his business. On March 23, 
 1898, he former a third matrimonial union, this time 
 
 with Mrs. Philomina Metcalf, a native of France. 
 Mr. Ladd has had two children, both by his first 
 marriage: (i) Elmer L. died at the age of two 
 and one-half years. (2) Jennie R. married Charles 
 W. Moody, formerly a prominent insurance man 
 of New Haven, but now residing in Pasadena, 
 Cal., and has two sons, Graham and Wilbur. Mrs. 
 Philomina Ladd, who is much esteemed among her 
 circle of friends, was born March 29, 1844, a daugh- 
 ter of Eloi and Pauline Bayard. She married 
 (first) Samuel Metcalf, a skilled mechanic, who 
 was superintendent of a mill at Poquonock for 
 a number of years, and was well known in 
 the Masonic Fraternity, in which he attained the 
 32d degree. Of the three children born to this 
 union the eldest, Henry Metcalf, is manager of 
 the Grand Union Tea Co., of Hartford ; Thomas 
 W. Metcalf resides at Poquonock ; and Emma died 
 in childhood. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ladd have a fine home on the bluff 
 overlooking the river, ' and surrounded by hedges 
 and drives. 
 
 JAMES H. PRATT, secretary and treasurer 
 of the BlaKeslee Forging Co., is one of the leading 
 business men of Southington, and is rapidly work- 
 ing his way to a foremost position among the prom- 
 inent manufacturers of the county. Genuine suc- 
 cess is not likely to be the restilt of mere chance or 
 fortune, but is something to be labored for and 
 sought out with consecutive effort. It is in this 
 way that our subject has prospered. 
 
 Mr. Pratt was born in Southington Aug. 3 
 1853, 3.nd is a son of Daniel Pratt, who was also 
 of Southington nativity, born Oct. 2, 1S21, and was 
 for many years engaged in farming at what is known 
 as Clark Farms, but since his retirement from act- 
 tive business, in 1891, he has resided with our sub- 
 ject. In 1836 he married Nancy D. Beardsley, a 
 daughter , of William D. and Elvira (Stevens) 
 Beardsley, of Naugatuck, Conn., and to their union 
 four children were born, of whom three reached 
 years of maturity: Caroline E., wife of John H. 
 Holt ; Frederick W. ; and James H. 
 
 Eli Pratt, the paternal grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Wolcott Nov. 3, 1781, and died 
 Aug. 25, 1858. He, too, was an agriculturist, and 
 lived at Clark Farms, Southington. He was dea- 
 con in the Congregational Church from 181 5 to 
 1858, and was highly respected by all who knew 
 him. On March 28, 1803, he married Abigail Hitch- 
 cock, a daughter of David and Hannah (Doolittle) 
 Hitchcock. Her father was born June 29, 1742, 
 and lived in the southwestern part of Southington, 
 where he died July 27, 1814. He was a son of Ben- 
 jamin Hitchcock, who was born March 25, 1696, 
 and was married, Oct. i, 1718, to Elizabeth, daugh- 
 ter of Joseph and Esther (Benedict) Ives. Ben- 
 jamin Hitchcock held the military rank of captain. 
 He lived in Cheshire, Conn., where he died Feb. 
 12, 1767. His father, John Hitchcock, was mar- 
 ried, Jan. 18, 1670, to Abigail, daughter of Nathaniel 
 
986 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Merriman, of New Hampshire, and about 1676 he 
 removed from New Haven to WaUingford, where 
 he died July 6, 17 16. He was a son of Matthias 
 Hitchcock, tile founder of the family in the New 
 World, who came from London to Boston in 1635 
 on the ship "Susan and Ellen," and in 1639 be- 
 came one of the first settlers of New Haven. He 
 died in November, 1669, at the aee of fifty-nine 
 years. 
 
 Stephen Pratt, the great-grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Saybrook, Conn., June 30, 1740, 
 and was thrice married, his first wife being Phebe 
 Atkins, the second Hannah Davidson and the third 
 Phebe Andrews. Pie had nine children. For sev- 
 eral years he served as a soldier in the French and 
 Indian war before movint;- to Southington, where he 
 died in 1823. 
 
 Christopher Pratt, the father of Stephen, was 
 born Nov. 4, 1712, and was married. June 14, 1739, 
 to Sarah Pratt, daughter of Daniel Pratt. They 
 had seven children, ilis d-cath occurred in WaU- 
 ingford. 
 
 Ensign William Pratt, the father of Christopher, 
 was born about 1674, and was married, Oct. 8, 1700, 
 to Hannah Hough. He lived in Pautapaug, and 
 was prominent in civil and military affairs. 
 
 Joseph Pratt, father of Ension Pratt, was a 
 large land holder in the Pautapaug Quarter, and 
 also in the town of Hebron. He died Aug. 12, 
 1703, at the age of fifty-five years. 
 
 Lieut. William Pratt, father of Joseph, was the 
 progenitor of the family in this county. He is 
 supposed to have gone with Rev. Thomas Hooker 
 to Newtown (now Cambridge), Mass., in 1633, 
 and thence to Hartford. Conn, in June, 1636, he 
 married Elizabeth Clark, daughter of John Clark, 
 of Saybrook, afterward of Milford, and formerly 
 of Great Alundon, Hertfordshire, England. Lieut. 
 Pratt attended the General Court as a deputy to 
 the twenty-third session, which convened in Hart- 
 ford May 9, 1678, and died the same year. 
 
 Lieut. Pratt was a son of Rev. William and 
 Elizabeth Pratt, of Hertfordshire, England, the 
 former of whom was baptized at Baldock in Octo- 
 ber, 1562, was inducted rector of the parish of 
 Stevenage, in Hertfordshire, Dec. 6, 1598, and died 
 in 1629, aged sixty-seven years. Rev. William 
 Pratt was a son of Andrew Pratt, who was born at 
 Baldock, a son of Thomas and Joan Pratt, of that 
 place. Andrew was born in February, 1539, just 
 one hundred years previous to the date when the 
 settlers of Hartford drew their home lots. 
 
 James H. Pratt, whose name introduces this 
 sketch, remained on the homestead until eighteen 
 years of age, attended the public schools and Lewis 
 Academy, and also took a course in Yale Business 
 College, New Haven. He began his business career 
 as clerk in a general store in Cheshire, in 1871, and 
 the following year came to Southington and ac- 
 cepted a similar position in the store of Pratt & 
 Neale. In 1875 he purcnased Mr. Neale's interest, 
 and business was then conducted under the firm 
 
 name of Pratt Bros, until 1878, when he bought 
 his brother's interest, being alone in business until 
 1888. Subsequently he was employed as a travel- 
 ing salesman for the Atwater Manufacturing Co. 
 for several years, and in 1895 assisted in organizing 
 the Blakeslee Forging Company, successors to 
 Blakeslee & Co., was elected its first secretary and 
 treasurer and is still filling those positions. 
 
 In September, 1877, Mr. Pratt married Miss 
 Nellie A. Kibbey, daughter of William B. and 
 Alartha (Wheeler) Kibbey, of Newport, N. H., 
 and to them have been born two children, Leila E. 
 and Florine, both of whom are now deceased. Mr. 
 Pratt is indejjendent in politics, and in his social re- 
 lations is a Knight Templar, being a member of St. 
 Elmo Commandery. 
 
 FRANKLIN BARNES BRADLEY, a promi- 
 nent representative of the business and industrial in- 
 terests of Hartford county, is now secretary and 
 treasurer of the Bridgeport Power Co., of Bridgeport, 
 and also senior member of the firm of F. B. Brad- 
 ley & Son, brokers, of Hartford. His home, how- 
 ever, is in Southington. Tireless energy, keen per- 
 ception, honesty of purpose and good business abil- 
 ity, are numbered among his chief characteristics, 
 and have brought to him a well-merited success. 
 
 Mr. Bradley was born in Southington, Feb. 20, 
 1843, ^ son of Amon and Sylvia (Barnes) Bradley, 
 a sketch of whom, together with a record of the early 
 ancestors of our subject, will be found elsewhere. 
 He was reared in his native town, and began his 
 education in its public schools, but later attended 
 Lewis Academy, and prepared for college at Hop- 
 kin's grammar school. New Haven. Pie then en- 
 tered Yale, from which he was graduated in 1864, 
 at the age of twenty-one years. 
 
 From 1865 to 1867 Mr. Bradley was associated 
 with his father in general merchandising in South- ( 
 ington, and during the following two years with 
 Frederick Woodruff. In 1869 he went to Cleve- 
 land, Ohio, where with A. L. Lewis, under the firm 
 name of Bradley & Lewis, he established the first 
 carriage bolt manufactory of that city, and later 
 the name was changed to Bradley, Lewis & Co., 
 when. Samuel Armstrong was admitted a partner. 
 Mr. Bradley, after continuing in the business for 
 three years, sold out his interest, and then returned 
 to Southington. In 1873 he was elected secretary 
 and treasurer of the Southington Eyelet Co., which ■' 
 position he held until 1880, and in 1882 and 1883 was 
 secretary and treasurer of the Excelsior Knife Co., 
 of Torrington, Conn. In the year 1884 he became 
 identified with the Bridgeport Power Co., of Bridge- 
 port, Conn., and soon afterward was elected sec- 
 retary and treasurer of the company, which posi- 
 tion he still retains. This company rents rooms with 
 power, and manufacture carpenters' steel and iron 
 squares. In 1894, with his son, Amon Edward, 
 Mr. Bradley established the Beaton & Bradley Co., 
 of Southington, manufacturers of floor and ceiling *i 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 98T 
 
 plates and steam-fitters' specialties, but in 1899 
 they sold out their interest in that line, and have 
 since engaged in business at Hartford as commis- 
 sion brokers, under the firm name of F. B. Bradley 
 & Son. 
 
 Mr. Bradley was married, June 16, 1869, to 
 Miss Julia A. Arnold, a daughter of Ethan and 
 Mary A. (Thompson) Arnold, of Manchester, 
 Conn., and to them have been born one son, Anion 
 Edward, who is now associated with his father in 
 business. The wife is a member of Hannah Wood- 
 ruff Chapter, No. 36, D. A. R., was its organizing 
 regent, and by it was presented a gold medal, the 
 certificate of an hereditary life membership in the 
 National Mary Washington Association. Mr. 
 Bradley belongs to Friendship Lodge, No. 33, A. F. 
 & A. M. ; Triune Chapter, No. 40, R. A. M. ; and 
 Temple Council, No. 32, R. & S. M. In his re- 
 ligious views he is lioeral, and in political sentiment 
 he is a Democrat. He has held various local offices, 
 the duties of which he has most capably and satis- 
 factorily discharged, and as a public-spirited and 
 progressive citizen he gives his support to every 
 enterprise calculated to prove of public benefit. 
 
 PFULO B. COE, a retired merchant of Tariff- 
 ville, and one of its most substantial and highly 
 respected citizens, has throughout his long and pros- 
 perous life ever been identified with the best in- 
 terests of Hartford county. He is a native of the 
 county, as was his father before him. 
 
 Phineas Coe, his grandfather, one of the pio- 
 neers of Hartland, was born in Durham, Conn., in 
 1753. As a young man he was prominent, and in 
 1770 he was quartermaster of the Fourth Regiment 
 in the Revolutionary war. "Possessing the true pio- 
 neer spirit, he came with his brother, Asher, to Hart- 
 ford county from Durham, and cleared up a farm 
 in the woods near Hartland Hollow. He married, 
 Oct. 15, 1780, Miss Rhoda Banning, who was born 
 in 1761, and when four years of age was brought 
 by her parents from Haddam, Conn., to Hartland. 
 She made the journey on horseback, with her fa- 
 ther, clinging to a strap which he had fastened 
 around his waist. In Hartland Phineas Coe raised 
 his family and lived to a good old age, representing 
 his district in the Legislature nine terms. He was 
 a well-known and skillful timber hewer, and he 
 hewed much of the timber for the old church at 
 Hartland. His grandson, our subject, when a boy, 
 scored timber for him. Phineas Coe died in Sept- 
 tember, 1832, his wife surviving until Feo. 3, 1839. 
 Their children were as follows: Elijah, who was 
 drowned in the "Narrows," in Hartland Hollow ; 
 Miles, the father of our subject; Anson, who mar- 
 ried Hannah Haines, and in 1818 migrated to Ver- 
 non, Ohio ; Polly, who married De Witt Clark, and 
 lived and died in Hartland ; Sally, who married Hor- 
 ■ ace Emmons ; and Elijah, who at the age of eleven 
 years, while returning from school, jumped over a 
 fence, fell on a snag, and sustained injuries from 
 which he died. 
 
 Miles Coe, the father of our subject, was born 
 in Hartland Jan. 5, 1783. As a pioneer farmer boy 
 he was reared at Hartland, living on the place of 
 his birth until eleven years of age, when with his 
 parents he moved to the farm where he remained 
 through life. He was known as Deacon Coe, al- 
 though he had never held that office in church, but 
 his Christian character was so clear, his every act 
 so characterized by honesty and fairness, that the 
 name came to nim naturally, and was always applied 
 by his friends and neighbors in the highest terms 
 of respect. Himself ana wife were members of the 
 Congregational Church, and were active in church, 
 work. Miles Coe was a lieutenant in a regiment 
 of State militia, but a cut which he received in the 
 knee prevented further official advancement in mil- 
 itary organizations. He acquired considerable prop- 
 erty, and was a successful and well-known farmer 
 of Hartford county. In 1801 he married Lucy Bor- 
 den, who was born in Hartland March i, 1784, 
 daughter of Russell Borden, who migrated with all 
 his family except Lucy to Ohio, going by ox-team, 
 the journey consuming six weeks. To Miles and 
 Lucy Coe were born children as follows : ( i ) Phin- 
 eas, born Jan. 23, 1802, died July 3, 1812. (2) 
 Elijah, born Aug. 24, 1804, was a farmer and later 
 a boarding-house keeper at Ware, Mass., near which 
 town he died April 16, 1880. (3) Rhoda,_ born 
 June 24, 1806, married Francis Clark, and died in 
 Hartland April 20, 1861. (4) Fanny, born June 26, 
 1808, married Anson Burnham, and died in Dixon, 
 111., July 31, 1883. (5) Louisa, born Nov. 12, 1810,. 
 married kuel Stevens, and died May 15, 1855, from 
 the effects of an accident, being thrown from a 
 buggy. (6) Betsy, born Nov. 25, 1812, married 
 Milo Miller, and died at West Granville, Mass.,. 
 Aug. 4, 1859. (7) Minerva, born Oct. 12, 1814, 
 married William Moss, and died at Peoria, 111., in 
 January, 1879. (8) Phineas, born Nov. 7, 1816, 
 was a farmer early in life, then moved to New 
 Haven, where he died Nov. 30, 1893; he married 
 Elvira Banning. (9) Abigail, born Feb. 21, 1819, 
 now lives at Great Barrington, Mass., the widow 
 of David Merwin. (10) Philo B. is the subject of 
 this sketch. (11) Charles, born Nov. 9, 1823, was 
 a farmer in early life and later worked in a mill 
 at Cheshire, in which town he died Nov. 5, 1876; he 
 married Julia A. Roe. (12) De Witt, born Sept.. 
 12, 1826, was a soldier in Company E, 29th Conn. 
 V. I., during the Civil war, and died at Westfield,. 
 Mass., July 3, 1887; he married Dollie A. Hamil- 
 ton. The father died Feb. 14, 1853, the mother on 
 Sept. 26, 1870, ana they were buried at Hartland,- 
 Philo B. Coe was born at Hartland Oct. 26, 
 1821. In his boyhood days he attended the district 
 schools, where discipline bordered on tyranny, and 
 wherein the desks were ranged around the sides of 
 the room. He also had the advantage of a train- 
 ing in a select school at Hartland, and at the age of 
 nineteen years, naving successfully passed an ex- 
 amination in spelling, geography, grammar and 
 arithmetic, he begran teaching school for eleven dol- 
 lars per month, and "boarded around." He was a 
 
98S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 product of the pioneer -farm. He was brought up 
 to work in a day when boys had to work, and when 
 a Connecticut farmer raised everything consumed 
 in his home except sugar and spices. He remained 
 at home until he was twenty-one, when he went to 
 Granville, Alass., and in partne. ship with his 
 brother-in-law, Ruel Stevens, embarked in the kmi- 
 ber business, reducing native timber. For three 
 years he was thus engaged. He then, with his 
 brother Phineas, purchased a farm in Hartland Hol- 
 low, and ihev operated the place jointly until 1850. 
 In that year he bought the hotel at East Hartland, 
 which had been conducted by AX'atson Gibbons. 
 
 Mr. Coe married, Jan. 2, 1850. Miss Ann F. 
 Moses, who was born in Canton, Conn., Nov. 5, 
 1830, a daughter of Festus and Amanda (Miller) 
 Moses, the former a native of Canton, the latter of 
 Avon. Festus Moses was a farmer, and in early 
 3-ears had taught school. His family consisted of 
 six children, four of whom Hved to adult age, and 
 two of whom are now living: Ann F., the wife of 
 our subject; and Emily, widow of William M. 
 Clark, of Granby, Connecticut. 
 
 JNIr. Coe continued in the hotel ousiness for five 
 years, then entered into partnership with Watson 
 Gibbons, under the firm name of Gibbons & Coe, 
 and they conducted a general merchandise store at 
 Hartland until 1867, in which year Mr. Coe re- 
 moved to Tariffville and engaged m the mercantile 
 business with Frederick Pickett, under the name of 
 Coe & Pickett. 2^Ir. Coe continued actively and suc- 
 cessfully in business until March, 1893, when the 
 partnership was dissolved, his interest being sold to 
 Henry Higinbotham, and he retired from active 
 life. Since then he has enjoyed the fruits of a 
 successful business career. In the fullest sense of 
 the term he has been a self-made man, beginning 
 life with no financial resources of his own. 
 
 In politics Mr. Coe has been a Whig and Repub- 
 lican, and in his younger years he was active in po i- 
 tics. For twelve vears he was postmaster at Hart- 
 land. In 186S he was appointed postmaster at Tar- 
 ifi^ville, and served continuously, except during the 
 first term of President Cleveland, as long as he re- 
 mained in business. For over thirty years Mr. Coe 
 has been a member of St. jMark's Lodge, F. & A. 
 M., at Simsbury. Himself and wife are believers 
 in the Christian Science faith. Thev have a pleas- 
 ant home, where they live in comfort, and enjoy 
 the highest esteem of their many friends. Mr. Coe 
 has spent manv years of active life in business, and 
 has well typified by his keen mind and well-pre- 
 . served physique the material blessings of industry 
 and energy. He has been in close contact with his 
 fellow men in various public and business relations, 
 and through them all has borne a name and a char- 
 acter of the hignest integrity. Mr. and Mrs. Coe 
 have adopted one child, Nellie R., born Aug. 11, 
 1856. She marriea Joel Loomis, of Tariffville, 
 and has three children: Ida, Katie and Nellie M. 
 Ida Loomis married Fred M. Davis, and has two 
 children : Ruth L. and Howard C, the great-grand- 
 children of our subject. 
 
 ALBERT E. HOLCOMB, a thoroughly repre- 
 sentative farmer and one of the better class of citi- 
 zens of the town of Windsor, was born Oct. 25, 
 1843, O'l the farm he now owns and occupies. 
 
 Elihu Holcomb, his father, was born in Flart- 
 land. Conn., Feb. 28, 1803, a son of Moses and ' 
 Plannah Holcomb, who were both representatives of 
 well-to-do and prominent families, and reared a 
 family of which they had reason to be proud, the 
 sons being Wells (died in Hartland), Elihu, Uri, 
 Elijah B. and Enos. The grandfather was a farmer 
 by occupation, and died in Flartland, while his wife 
 spent her last days at the home of her son, Elihu, 
 and died there Oct. 10, 1847. The other children 
 of their family were as follows : Uri, a wagon- 
 maker by trade, died in Granby ; Elijah B. (known 
 as Billings) was a merchant of Peoria, 111. (he had 
 a son who was killed in the Custer massacre) ; 
 Caroline married George D. Lane, and died in Ohio; 
 Emiline married Daniel Chapman, and died in Wis- 
 consin ; Catherine married a Mr. Waters, and died 
 in Hartford ; Cornelia died unmarried, when seven- 
 teen, and is buried in Hartland ; Laura married a 
 Mr. Downs, and died in Chicago, 111.; and Enos 
 died in Cuba when comparatively a young man. 
 
 The first sixteen years of his life Elihu Holcomb 
 spent in Hartland, and attended the district schools 
 which were much inferior to those of the present 
 day. He then learned the wagonmaker's trade, 
 which he followed until ill health forced his re- 
 tirement. P^or some time he was a partner in a 
 silk mill that was operated by water power at Ladd 
 brook, it being the pioneer mill of the kind in 
 Windsor, to which place he removed from Hartford. 
 He worked at his trade as a journeyman in several 
 Connecticut towns, but finally settled down to farm- 
 ing upon the place now known as the Holcomb farm. 
 He was a thorough and systematic agriculturist, 
 but did not confine his attention solely to that oc- ' 
 cupation, as he conducted a grocery store for thirty 
 years in connection with' the operation of his land. 
 In Poquonock, March 20, 1832, he was united in 
 marriage with ]\Iiss Aliriam Phelps, who was born 
 near that place, in the town of Windsor, Dec. 18, 
 1812, a daughter of Eli and Miriam (Case) Phelps. 
 Her father, whose sketch appears elsewhere, was 
 born Aug. 16, 1746, and died in 1829. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Holcomb became the parents of five children: 
 Cornelia E., born Oct. i, 1834, married Nathan 
 Prcuty, and died in Spencer, Mass. ; Sarah A., born " 
 March 23, 1838, lives with our subject on the old 
 homestead; Helen A., born Feb. 12, 1841, is the 
 wife of William Best, of Windsor; Albert E. is 
 next in the family; and Wells F., born June 21, 1850, 
 resides with our subject. The father died Nov. 
 30, 1885, the mother on Oct. 6, 1852, and the re- 
 mains of both were interred at Poquonock. Po- 
 litically he was a Democrat until the Maine law 
 agitation, when he joined the Whig party, and on 
 its dissolution became a Republican. He always \ 
 took considerable interest in political affairs and ' \1 
 
^-^f^Z^^^^'^^M'^^^^^-^i^-eC' 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 989 
 
 was a regular voter, but he was no politician .in the 
 sense of office seeking, though he served at one 
 time as justice of the peace in the town of Windsor. 
 He was an active and prominent member of the 
 Methodist Church at Windsor Center, and always 
 attended church and Sunday school as long as he 
 was able to ride a distance of three miles to the 
 house of worship. He was a quiet man, who never 
 sought publicity, but was always doing good, and 
 was one of the valued and honored citizens of the 
 community in which he lived. 
 
 During the winter months, when his services 
 were not needed on the home farm, Albert E. Hol- 
 comb attended school in District No. 8, town of 
 Windsor, and completed his education by a short at- 
 tendance at a select school in Poquonock. With 
 the exception of a few days in a season, when work- 
 ing for neighboring farmers, he spent his boyhood 
 and youth under the parental roof, and under the able 
 direction of his father obtained a thorough knowl- 
 edge of every department of farm work. 
 
 On March 2, 1869, Mr. Holcomb married Miss 
 Martha J. Keney, who was born in Bloomfield, 
 Conn., Aug. 2, 1847, a daughter of Osmyn and 
 Elizabeth J. (Huntley) Keney. Her father died 
 in 1866, her mother in May, 1853. In their family 
 were only two children, the younger being John M., 
 a carpenter of Windsor. Mrs. Holcomb supple- 
 mented her district-school education by a course in 
 the Bloomfield Academy. By her marriage to our 
 subject she has become the mother of five children: 
 Clara, who died when nearly two years old; Louis 
 E., who is engaged in farming on his father's 
 place in Poquonock; and Alice M., Bertha J. and 
 Herbert A., all at home. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Holcomb located on a 
 farm adjoining the old homestead, where he re- 
 mained until, in the spring of 1886, he purchased the 
 interests of the other heirs in the home place, which 
 he now owns with the exception of the residence. 
 He is a substantial farmer, and a quiet, unassum- 
 ing and conservative man, whose opinions carry 
 weight. The neat and thrifty appearance of his 
 place denotes his careful supervision, and shows 
 conclusively that he thoroughly understands his 
 chosen calling, while as a tobacco grower he has 
 been most successful. He is a member of Po- 
 quonock Grange. Since casting his first Presiden- 
 tial vote for Abraham Lincoln, in 1864, he has been 
 a stalwart supporter of the Republican party, is now 
 most efficiently serving his seventh year as as- 
 sessor, and in 1889 ably represented the town of 
 Windsor in the State Legislature. 
 
 JOHN M. TPIOMPSON. This gentleman's 
 name, like a giant tree in a forest of weather-beaten 
 oaks, stands prominent among those of representa- 
 tive citizens of East Windsor. The family in Hart- 
 ford county traces its ancestry to a mother and 
 eight children, natives of the North of Ireland, were 
 Scotch-Irish, Protestants in religion, and who came 
 
 to this county in 1 720, settling in Irish Row, now 
 known as Melrose. 
 
 Samuel Thompson, one of the children alluded 
 to above, was born in 1691, and died in 1782. His 
 wife, Elizabeth, whose maiden name was presum- 
 ably McKnight, was born in 1686, and died in 1776, 
 and among their children was a son named James, 
 born in 1724, and died June 20, 1790. He married 
 Elizabeth Betty, who was born in 1739, and died in 
 1825, the mother of a large number of children, 
 among whom were the following: Col. William, 
 who was born in 1762, and died in 1829, the father 
 of Deacon W. H. Thompson, now living in Mel- 
 rose; Samuel, born 1763; John McKnight, the 
 grandfather of our subject; Charles, born in 1776; 
 James, born in 1780, died in 1829; and Elizabeth, 
 ijorn May 20, 1778. 
 
 John McKnight Thompson was born Jan. 8, 
 1768, and died Feb. 22, 1841. He was one of the 
 stalwart pioneers of East Windsor, cleared away 
 the brush and erected the first house on the Thomp- 
 son homestead, and became one of the most promi- 
 nent and influential citizens of the town and a factor 
 in its progress. He married Miss Sabra, a daugh- 
 ter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Wells) Allen, born 
 July 29, 1774; she died March 28, 1858. They had 
 the following children : Chauncey, born Oct. 24, 
 1794, died Dec. 18, 1869, who first married So- 
 phronia Chapman Nov. 16, 1819, and later, on 
 April 6, 1845, wedded Anna Coy ; Robert, born Jan. 
 12, 1796; John, April 22, 1798; Elizabeth, Sept. 
 10, 1800; James Allen (father of our subject), 
 Sept. 4, 1802; Mabel, Oct. 20, 1804; Sabra, March 
 2, 1807; Samuel Wells, Dec. 18, 1809 (died March 
 12, 1811) ; Samuel Wells (2), Jan. 12, 1812; and 
 George, Aug. i, 1816. 
 
 James Allen Thompson was born on the home- 
 stead Sept. 4, 1802, was educated in the district 
 schools, and followed the vocation of farming 
 throughout life. He was a gentleman of more than 
 ordinary mental caliber, and stood very high in the 
 esteem of his fellow citizens. On Jan. 8, 1829, he 
 married J\liss Maria Barber, a daughter of George 
 and Betty (Wolcott) Barber, and to this union came 
 five children: Harriet, born Sept. i, 1831, mar- 
 ried Deacon George Dart, and is living in Vernon, 
 Tolland Co., Conn. ; John M., the subject of this 
 sketch, born Sept. 26, 1833 ; two children, both 
 named James Allen, died in infancy; and Albert 
 James, born July 12, 1845, is now a resident of 
 Oregon. Mrs. Maria Thompson was called from 
 earth July 28, 1845, dying in the faith of the Con- 
 gregational Church, deeply mourned by her husband 
 and surviving children, and, indeed, by all who had 
 known her. Her husband then made his home 
 with his daughter, with whom he lived in South 
 Windsor until he closed his eyes in death Sept. 6, 
 1864. In politics Mr. Thompson was firrt a Whig, 
 and after the distintegration of that party he be- 
 came a consistent Republican. He served as a cap- 
 tain in the local volunteer cavalry, but his advanced 
 age at the opening of the Civil war precluded his 
 taking a part in that struggle. 
 
990 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 At the death of Mrs. Maria Thompson the fam- 
 ily separated, and John ^I. Thompson entered upon 
 life's struggle at the early age of twelve year^. He 
 was first employed as a farm hand in Ellington, 
 Tolland county, by John jMcCray, and after three 
 and one-half years of this work returned to East 
 Windsor, Hartford county, and found employment 
 in a grist and saw mill. Later he purchased the old 
 homestead on which he had been born, and which, 
 at the time of his purchase, comprised only thirty- 
 five acres, but by economy and skill he increased 
 its dimensions to sixty acres, materially improved 
 it, and converted it into one of the best farms of 
 its size in the town ; it is now occupied by his son, 
 Howard A. 
 
 In 1859 John M. Thompson married Miss Erne- 
 line Bradley, who was born in Ellington March 3, 
 1836, a daughter of Elijah and Lorenza (Taylor) 
 Bradley. To this union came two children : Henry, 
 born May 23, i860, died Oct. 5, same year; How- 
 ard A., born June 3, 1875, married, Dec. 25, 1897, 
 Miss Eudell S. Buslicr, a native of South Windsor, 
 and a daughter of David and Anna (White) Busher. 
 Mrs. Emeline Thompson died Dec. 27, 1875, h'^'" 
 remains being interred in Windsorville, and Oct. 
 3. 1876, Mr. Thompson married Miss Maria Dart, 
 a native of W'apping, Hartford county, and a daugh- 
 ter of Adron and Wealthy (Avery) Dart. This 
 worthy lady died Dec. 22, 1895, and her remains 
 also lie at rest in Windsorville. Mr. Thompson's 
 third marriage took place in East Windsor Oct. 
 20, 1898, Miss Sarah M. Bowen becoming his wife. 
 She is a cultured and refined lady, a native of 
 Rhode Island, and a daughter of Willis and Lura 
 (Aldrich) Bowen, the latter a native of Willington, 
 Conn. After his last marriage Mr. Thompson re- 
 moved from the old homestead to his present farm, 
 near Broad Brook, purchased in 1898. 
 
 In politics Mr. Thompson is a Republican, and 
 has been ever since the formation of the party ; in 
 religion he is a Congregationalist. His life has 
 been one of industry and thrift, as well as of pur- 
 ity, and should serve as an inspiration to the boy 
 who is situated as he was when but twelve vears 
 of age. His early educational advantages were 
 meager, but with a strong intellect he has seized 
 every available opportunity to improve himself, and 
 to-day stands, as a man and citizen, second to none 
 in Hartford county. 
 
 EDWARD NEWTON S:\IITH is a leading 
 representative of the business interests of Thomp- 
 son vi lie, where for the past eight years he has suc- 
 cessfully conducted a drug store. Of good executive 
 ability and sound judgment, he has won success by 
 his well-directed, energetic efforts, and the pros- 
 perity that has come to him is certainly well de- 
 served. 
 
 Mr. Smith was born Aug. 29, 1855, in the 
 village which is still his home, a son of John 
 Cotton and Julia A. (Reed) Smith, natives of 
 Sufiicld and Windsor, Hartford count3^ respecc 
 tively. The paternal grandfather, Newton Smith, 
 
 was a farmer of Suffield, and also a peddler 
 of clocks, but the later years of his life were spent 
 in Boston, where his death occurred. The ma- 
 ternal grandfather. Nelson Reed, was a native of 
 Granby, Hartford county, and a farmer by occupa- 
 tion. John C. Smith, our subject's father, estab- 
 lished the first livery stables at Windsor Locks and 
 Warehouse Point, and one of the first at Thompson- 
 ville, where he located in 1850. A few years later 
 he retired from the livery business to devote his 
 entire attention to veterinary surgery, in which ca- 
 pacity he is widely remembered. He died in 1891, 
 leaving a widow and two children : Mary C, now 
 Mrs. J. P. Townson, and Edward N., our subject. 
 Mrs. Smith was born in Windsor, in 1818, and 
 early in the '30s located in Thompsonville, where 
 she opened a millinery and dressmaking establish- 
 ment, engaging in active business there until 1884 — 
 a period of over haif a century. When the railroad 
 was extended trom Hartford to Springfield she 
 was among the passengers on the first train to go 
 over the road. For fifty years she owned and re- 
 sided in the house where her deatn occurred Dec. 
 2, 1894. I 
 
 Reared in Thompsonville, Edward N. Smith | 
 pursued his early studies in the public schools of j 
 the village, and later took a course at the Eastman 
 Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., where he 
 was graduated in 1876. During the winter of 1876- 
 yy Mr. Smith attended the Philadelphia College of 1 
 Pharmacy, and again during the winter terms of 
 1879-80 and 1880-81, and was graduated from that 
 institution in pharmacy March 10, 1881. In 1869 
 he began his business life as clerk in the drug store 
 of Dr. L. H. Pease, at Thompsonville, remaining i 
 with him two years, and then accepted a similar po- | 
 sition with William A. Campbell, for whom he 
 worked five years. Subsequently he conducted the ' 
 same store for N. M. Pease for fourteen years, 
 and in 1891 purchased the store which he has since 
 so successfully conducted. He is one of the most 
 popular business men of Thompsonville, and a leader 
 in public affairs. 
 
 On Jan. 26, 1893, Mr. Smith was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Sarah, a daughter of James and 
 Elizabeth Crossley, of Thompsonville, formerly of 
 Highland. Socially he is quite prominent, being 
 a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
 lows, a thirty-second-degree Mason, and past master 
 of Doric Lodge, No. 94, A. F. & A. M., of Thomp- 
 sonville. Politicallv he is identified with the Re- 
 publican party, and as a pubHc-soiritcd citizen he 
 is thoroughly interested in whatever tends to pro- 
 mote the welfare of his town or county. 
 
 HON. JAMES C. GOURLEY, the present rep- 
 resentative from the town of Windsor Locks in 
 the State Legislature, is a man whose talents and 
 energy have brought him up from the ranks of an 
 enviable position in business, political and social 
 circles, and the following brief account of his life 
 will be of more than usual interest. 
 
 Mr. Gourley belongs to a race which has pro- , 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 991 
 
 duced many men of enterprise and ability, both his 
 parents having been natives of the North of Ire- 
 land. James Gourley, his father, was educated in 
 the North of Ireland, and came to America in early 
 manhood, locating first in Thompsonville, Hart- 
 ford Co., Conn., where he learned the trade of jack- 
 spinning, at which he was employed for some years. 
 In 1 87 1 he removed to Windsor Locks to take a po- 
 sition in the mills of the Medlicott Co., with whom 
 he remained until failing health compelled him to 
 resign; he died Dec. 17, 1896. He was an excellent 
 citizen, and always took an active interest in the 
 issue of the day, being a stanch Republican politic- 
 ally. He and his estimable wife, Mary (Chestnut), 
 to whom he 'Was married in Thompsonville, were 
 for many years active members of the Episcopal 
 Church at Windsor Locks; she died April 26, 1896. 
 They had seven children : Emma J., wife of 
 Charles Longden, of Bridgeport; James C, whose 
 name opens tnis article; William, Albert, Samuel, 
 Frederick and George, residents of V\^indsor Locks. 
 , James C. Gourley was born at Thompsonville 
 I April 5, 1862, and his education was begun there, 
 ' but when he was nine years old the family removed 
 to Windsor Locks. At the age of ten years he en- 
 tered upon his career as a breadwinner, being em- 
 ployed in the carding-room of the stockinet mill at 
 Windsor Locks, and from that time his schooling 
 was restricted to three months each year. In 1880 
 he began an apprenticeship to the machinist's trade 
 ; with George P. Clark, with whom he remained 
 j eighteen years, being assistant foreman for five 
 years and superintendent seven years. In the mean- 
 time he became prominent in local politics as a 
 member of the Republican party, and for three 
 years he served on the board of selectmen of his 
 town. In November, 1898, he was elected to the 
 Legislature, where his abilities have already won 
 gratifying recognition. 
 
 In September, 1887, Mr. Gourley was married, 
 in Windsor Locks, to Miss Mary J. Steele, daugh- 
 ter of Louis Steele, a leading citizen of Cromwell, 
 Conn., and they have two sons, Irving J. and Nel- 
 son A. Mr. Gourley and his accomplished wife have 
 a prominent place in social life, and are members 
 of the Episcopal Church at Windsor Locks, in which 
 he was junior warden for three years, and for four 
 years past has served as treasurer. He also affil- 
 iates with Euclid Lodge, No. 109, A. F. & A. M., 
 Washington Chapter, No. 30, R. A. M., and Suf- 
 field Council, at Suffield. 
 
 JASPER H. BIDWELL, for many years a lead- 
 ing business man of Collinsville, is a veteran of the 
 Civil war and a public-spirited citizen, whose serv- 
 ices in various official positions are so well appre- 
 ciated by his fellow citizens that his nomination on 
 the Democratic ticket has been uniformly endorsed 
 by the Republicans. For seventeen years past he 
 has been town treasurer, and he served, ten years 
 as judge of probate, declining a renomination in 
 1899. 
 
 The Bidwell family is well-known in Hartford 
 county, and Col. Jasper Bidwell, our subject's grand- 
 father, was born within its limits, and passed his 
 life as a farmer in Canton. He died in 1847, aged 
 seventy-eight years, and his wife, Lucy Richards, 
 died in 1874, when over ninety years of age. They 
 had two children : Sherman and Edmund. Sher- 
 man lived and died in Canton, but his five children 
 all settled elsewhere. Thomas Bidwell, the grand- 
 father of Col. Jasper Bidwell, came from Hartford 
 and settled in Canton (then West Simsbury) in 
 1740, east of Indian Hill, the farm remaining with 
 the direct descendants until about 1885. 
 • Edmund Bidwell, our subject's father, was a na- 
 tive of the town of Canton, born in 1799. He at- 
 tended academies near his home during boyhood, 
 but his desire for knowledge led him to seek a more 
 liberal education by private study. When about 
 thirty-five years old he married Charlotte Dyer, 
 daughter of Caot. Zenas Dyer, of Canton town. 
 About 1840 he located upon a farm in East Grahby, 
 where he died m 1847, at the age of forty-eight 
 years. His widow died in 1891, aged seventy-two. 
 They had three children: A daughter who died 
 aged eighteen months; Jasper H., our subject; and 
 Daniel W., a resident of Collinsville. 
 
 Jasper H. Bidwell was born Jan. 6, 1843, i" 
 East Granby, and when four years old accompanied 
 his widowed mother to the town of Canton. He 
 attended the schools of Collinsville, and at four- 
 teen went to East Hampton, Mass., where he spent 
 three years in Williston Seminary, graduating in 
 i860. In April, 1861, he enlisted in Company C, 
 2d Conn. V. I., for three months, being stationed 
 at Washington, D. C, and during this brief term 
 of service he participated in the first battle of Bull 
 Run. In August, 1862, he re-enhsted, in Company 
 E, i6th Conn. V. I., as company clerk, and soon 
 afterward accompanied his regiment to Washing- 
 ton to join the forces under McClellan. At the 
 battle of Antietam he was struck on the right shoul- 
 der by a piece of shell which burst over his head, 
 the missile penetrating several folds of his blanket, 
 rolled with his overcoat. At the time he was climb- 
 ing over a wall, and the shock injured his back 
 and shoulder seriously, but he managed to keep up 
 with his comrades until night. On examinatiori 
 his right arm was found to be paralyzed, and Col. 
 Beach appointed him his orderly for the remainder 
 of the engagement, his duty being to carry mes- 
 sages on horseback. After the battle he was sent 
 to H hospital, and while there he assisted in caring 
 for his captain, Babcock, of Collinsville, who had 
 been shot through the neck. He rejoined his regi- 
 ment, but after a time was taken sick, and while on 
 the march was left at the home of James Brown, 
 near Snicker's Gap, Va., where he remained six 
 weeks. The family sympathized with the Southern 
 cause, but the sick soldier won their good-will, and 
 when "Mosby's Guerrillas" were reported near they 
 took him to the house of a relative, in a more se- 
 cluded place. When able to return North he was 
 
992 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 guided one night by a young daughter of the fam- 
 ily to Berlin, tne journey bemg made on horseback. 
 He made himself known to the provost marshal, and 
 was sent to a convalescent camp near Alexandria, 
 but did not regain his health sufficiently to justify 
 him in rejoining his regiment, and in February, 
 1863, he was discharged. 
 
 Air. Bidwell returned home weighing but one 
 hundred pounds, but gradually recuperated his 
 strength, and for several years he was employed in 
 the office of the Adams Express Co. at Norwich. 
 He then spent two years in the oil region of Penn- 
 sylvania, connected with O. B. Miller and Simeon 
 Leland, of "Metropolitan Hotel" fame, owning a 
 patent for drilling wells with tubing. For one year 
 following he was engaged in the hardware business 
 with his brother at CoUinsville, and the next four 
 vears he spent as a clerk in the office of the Collins 
 Company. In 1873 he entered the H. S. Collins 
 bank, and in 1885 he became a partner in the bank 
 of H. S. Collins & Co., and continued in the general 
 banking business until May 10, 1899, the firm be- 
 ing then succeeded by the Canton Trust Co., of 
 which he is president. The building in which the 
 bank is situated belongs to the CoUinsville Savings 
 Society, and the new firm is composed of the peo- 
 ple of the town, Mr. Collins withdrawing on ac- 
 count of his advanced age. 
 
 Although Judge Bidwell is identified with the 
 Democratic party he is not a blind follower, and 
 in 1896 cast his vote for sound money. He is a 
 member of the INIasonic fraternity, and he and his 
 family are highly esteemed sociallv. In October, 
 1874, he was married, in Canton, to Miss Corinne 
 Beckwith. daughter of Oliver Beckwith, a well- 
 known citizen of Canton. Thev have no children 
 of their own, but Mrs. Bidwell's nephew, Oliver 
 R. Beckwith, now a young man of twenty-three, 
 and a member of the Hartford Bar, was reared by 
 them as their son from the age of two years. 
 
 EDWIN DWIGHT FARNHAM. The ex- 
 tensive cultivation of tobacco in South Windsor, 
 beginning about a third of a centur3r ago, brought 
 large financial returns to the growers and created a 
 demand for skillful buyers and packers. One of the 
 young men, a native of the place, experienced in the 
 growth of the plant, perceived the opportunity, 
 seized it, and has become one of the best-known to- 
 bacco bu}-ers and packers in the State. 
 
 Edwin Dwight Farnham was born in the town 
 of East Hartford Jan. 22, 1844, in the house on 
 North Main street now occupied by John H. Burn- 
 ham. The Farnham family is of English extrac- 
 tion, coming from the county of Surrey, where 
 there is a town named Farnham, now the seat of 
 the Bishop of Winchester. Our subject's line of 
 descent is traced back to Ralph Farnham, a native 
 of England, who with his wife, Alice, and three 
 children sailed from Southampton, England, April 
 6, 1635, in the brig "James," and landed in Boston 
 June 3. His son, Ralph (2), born in England in 
 
 1633, married Elizabeth, daughter of Nicholas Holt, U 
 of Andover, Mass. Their second child, Ralph (3), ' 
 born June i, 1662, married, on Oct. 9, 1685, Sarah 
 Sterling. Their seventh child, Nathaniel, bom July 
 25, 1695, married Hannah Preston, and had eleven 
 children, of whom Jeremiah, the eighth in the fam- 
 ily, was our subject's great-grandfather. In 1774 
 he married Lucy Durkee, and their son, Rufus, born 
 in 1775, married, in 1801, Betsey Grover. 
 
 On his mother's side Mr. Farnham is descended 
 from Elder John Strong, who was born in Taunton, 
 England, and formed one of the Warham com- 
 pany, who in 1630 settled Dorchester, Mass. He 
 brought a wife and family, but they died shortly 
 after the arrival in the New World, and in 1630 he 
 married Abigail, daughter of John Ford. He set- 
 tled in Windsor, Conn., about 164=;. Elder Strong's 
 son. Return Strong, married Sarah, daughter of 
 Rev. John Warham, who was one of the party that 
 went overland from Dorchester to Windsor, being 
 among the first settlers in the latter place. Return 
 Strong's son, Samuel, married Martha Buckland, 
 and their son, Samuel, Jr., married Martha Stough- 
 ton. Their son, Alexander, married Abigail Rice, 
 and their daughter, Flannah, married Thomas Snell, 
 who was our subject's maternal grandfather. 
 
 Augustus I'^arnham was born Feb. 11, 1816, in 
 Ashford, Conn., the youngest child of his parents, 
 and on Nov. 28, 1838, married Miss Persis Strong 
 Snell. About 1839 they moved to East liartford, 
 where their children, seven sons, were born, as fol- 
 lows : Edward Augustus, Edwin Dwight, Edgar , 
 Augustus, Marcus Albert, Andrew Ellery and Alvin 
 Elliott (twins), and Charles Fremont. All but 
 Dwight, Edgar and Ellery died in infancy. The 
 father was a carpenter by occupation. On locat- 
 ing in East Hartford he associated himself in busi- 
 ness with the late Sylvester G. Farnham, a distant 
 relative, and later he went into business for himself. 
 He first lived on Governor street, but in a short 
 time moved to the house now owned by John H. 
 Burnham, which he bought, in I041, of Abner M., 
 Eleazer and three other Burnhams. All but the 
 eldest of the seven boys were born in this house. 
 Atigustus Farnham moved to South Windsor in 
 1858. 
 
 The early education of our subject was obtained 
 in the North District school and the East Hartford 
 Academy. Of the latter institution J. O. Hurlburt, 
 well remembered by many old residents, was princi- , 
 pal. Mr. Farnham also attended Salmon Phelps' 
 private school, and later the South Windsor high 
 school and the East Windsor Hill preparatory 
 school. On Aug. 22, 1862, he enlisted for one year 
 in Company G, 25th Conn. V. I., Col. George P. 
 Bissell, Capt. Charles H. Tallcott, of Glastonbury, 
 being in command of his company. In August, 
 1863, Mr. Farnham was mustered out with his regi- 
 ment. He had served in Gen. N. P. Banks' 19th 
 Army Corps, in the Department of the Gulf. , 
 
 In July, 1863, while our subject was still in serv- ,j 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 993 
 
 ice, his father died. Returning to South Windsor, 
 Dwight took charge of the farm, though he was but 
 nineteen years old. Tobacco he made his principal 
 crop, and for some years the prices were very high. 
 In 1876 Mr. Farnham began to pack tobacco, buymg 
 on his own account and selling again. He let out 
 his farm on shares, and went out on the road to 
 sell leaf tobacco. His purchases have been very 
 carefully chosen, and have gone to manufacturers 
 from his warehouse. In his business Mr. Farnham 
 has prospered. He has customers of twenty years' 
 standing, who rely exclusively upon his judgment 
 and information. He has the reputation among 
 the leaf toba.cco trade of handling a fine line of 
 goods. 
 
 Mr. Farnham is an attendant of St. John's 
 Church, of East Hartford. He belongs to D. C. Rod- 
 man Post, No. 65, G. A. R. ; is also a member of 
 Evergreen Lodge, No. 114, F. & A. M. ; Pathagoras 
 Chapter, No. 17, R. A. M.; Wolcott Council, No. 
 I ; and Washington Commandery, No. i, K. T. In 
 politics he is a Republican. For six years he was 
 an assessor, and for eight years served as chair- 
 man of the school board. Mr. Farnham is inter- 
 ested in aboriginal history, and has a fine collection 
 of Indian relics. In an amateur way he is fond of 
 the study of entomology and other branches of 
 natural history. He is a close student, and upon a 
 wide range of subjects is a well-read man. He 
 possesses a large and well-selected library, and is 
 intimately acquainted with its contents. 
 
 Mr. Farnham has been twice married. By his 
 first wife, Martha J. Ellsworth, daughter of Rufus 
 Abbey, he had three children, two of whom died in 
 infancy. The third, Wallace S., is now a student 
 at Columbia Law School. His present wife was 
 Miss Sarah E. Tudor, a native of South Windsor, 
 whom he married in 1894. Mr. Farnham owns a 
 highly-improved farm of forty-two acres, which 
 he superintends, giving most of his attention to 
 tobacco raising, in connection with his other busi- 
 ness. He is one of the most prominent and pro- 
 gressive men of the town. His intimate and lead- 
 ing connection for a score of years with the prin- 
 cipal industry of South Windsor has made him an 
 influential factor in its development and prosperity. 
 Prominent alike in- social, public and business af- 
 fairs, and with a taste alike for the lore of the past 
 and for the latest discoveries in science, he 'is a citi- 
 
 ; zen at once prominent and useful, filling with credit 
 to himself and with satisfaction to others the multi- 
 form duties and obligations imposed upon those 
 
 j whom talent and industry have placed in positions 
 of responsibility and trust. 
 
 I ASHBEL COMFORT HARMON. The Har- 
 
 I mon family is one of the oldest in this section, and 
 
 the well-known citizen of Suffield whose biography 
 
 IS here presented traces his descent from the first 
 
 ^ settlers of that town. While the family is now 
 
 \ scattered widely, being found in all parts of the 
 
 63 
 
 Union, it is still numerously represented in Hart- 
 ford county, and its members have always been 
 characterized by sterling personal worth as citizens, 
 their thrift and enterprise in private life contributing 
 to the wealth of the community, and their patriotism 
 and courage being proved by gallant service in the 
 field in time of war. 
 
 The family originated in England, and about 
 1636 three men of the name came to Boston. For 
 a time all resided in the village of Roxbury, Mass., 
 but later one went to Pennsylvania and another to 
 Maine, while John htarmon, the direct ancestor of 
 our subject, located in 1640 in Springfield, Mass., 
 with his family, benig one of the first settlers there. 
 This well-known pioneer was born in England in 
 161 1, and died in Springfield in 1661. Ten of his 
 descendants in the third and fourth generations 
 served in the Revolutionary war, three going from 
 Suffield. 
 
 (II) Nathaniel Harmon, son of the pioneer, was 
 born in Springfield, Mass., March 13, 1653, and 
 died at Suffield May 2, 1712. His wife was Mary 
 Skinner. He and his brother, Joseph, became in- 
 terested in trading with the Indians, and for manv 
 years were the principal partners of that noted 
 trader. Col. Pynchon, the original proprietor of the 
 site of Springfield. In 1670 Nathaniel located at 
 Suffield, then Southfield, which remained a part of 
 Hampshire county, Mass., until 1749. They had 
 routes througn the forest in all directions, and col- 
 lected large quantities of fur, their sheds in Suffield 
 being always covered with skins stretched for dry- 
 ing. Their land lay near the brook west of the vil- 
 lage, and they also bought land at Warehouse Point,, 
 where they established a storage place for furs, 
 
 (III) Natnaniel Harmon, son of Nathaniel, and 
 next in the line of descent, was born July 30, 1695,. 
 and died Feb. 10, 1774. He married, first, Sarah 
 Smith, who was born Oct. 7, 1694, and by this mar- 
 riage he had one child, Phineas. By his second 
 wife, Hannah Miller, he had five children. 
 
 (IV) Phineas Harmon, our subjeat's great- 
 grandfather, was born June 4, 1720, and died May 
 31, 1802. On May 17, 1744, he was married, in 
 Suffield, to Hannah Barber, a native of Spring- 
 field, Mass., born Dec. 8, 1720, who died in Suf- 
 field. On Feb. 11, 1749, he married Dorcas Hast- 
 ings, who was born in Suffield June 14, 1731, and 
 died Nov. 14, 18 16. By his first marriage he had 
 three children: Elijah and Elisha, both of whom 
 died in infancy; and Elijah (2), who died Nov. 
 13, 1776. in Westfield, Mass. By the second mar- 
 riage there were eleven children, whose names with 
 dates of birth are as follows : Flannah, Oct. 5, 1750 ; 
 Ezekiel, April 17, 1752; Gad, Jan. 20, 1754; Gains! 
 Jan. 25, 1756; Hannah, June 25, 1758; Nathaniel, 
 May 31, 1760; Thaddeus, March 11, 1762; Heulah, 
 March 23, 1764; Phineas, April 22, 1766; Paul, 
 Aprd 22, 1768; and Ehsha, April 28, 1770. 
 
 (V) Paul Harmon, our subject's grandfather, 
 lived to the advanced age of eighty-four years, his 
 death occurring Nov. 13, 1852. He was a tall, slim 
 man, and was a successful farmer in Suffield. He: 
 
994 
 
 :OMMEMORArirE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 purchased the farm on which our subject was born, 
 being the first Harmon to own it, and his remaining 
 years were spent there. PoHtically he affiliated with 
 "the Whig party, in which liis sound judgment and 
 higli character made him a vakied worker. His 
 first wife, Eunice Remington, who was born May 
 15, 1774, died Sept. 15, 1817, and the remains of 
 both now rest in the cemetery in ^^'est Suffield. His 
 second wife was Polly (Holton) Parsons, and after 
 her death he married Charity (Phelon~) Phelps. 
 By his first marriage he had twelve children: (i) 
 Julius, bom Sept. 16, 1794, died Nov. 18, 1795. (2) 
 Julia, born Aug. 13, 1796, died Feb. 10, 1798. (3) 
 Zenas, born Nov. 4, 179S, married Julia Kent, and 
 died Feb. 4, 1867, in Warren, ^'t. He was a fanner, 
 and his son, William P., now resides on the old 
 homestead in ^'ermont. (4) Julia, born July 31, 
 1800, married Frederick Gillett Nov. 7, 1819, and 
 died in Granville, Mass., Dec. 17, 1835. He after- 
 ward married Xaomi Linker, and his death occurred 
 in Westfield, ilass., Ang. 30. 1865. (5) Phineas, 
 born Nov. 7, 1802. married Mary Grosvenor, and 
 died Jan. 31 ,,1833, in Suffield, where he was engaged 
 in farming. (6) Paul, born Nov. 14, 1804, was mar- 
 ried (first) to Abigail Gillett, (second) to Lucinda 
 H. Sterns, and (third) to Sarah C. Phillips. By 
 occupation he was a carpenter and farmer : he died 
 Nov. 23, 1883, in Omaha, Neb. (7) A child born in 
 1806 died the same year. (8) Eunice L., born Jan. 
 17, 1809, married Zopher St. John, of Simsbury, 
 Conn., who died Feb. 20, 1872. She survived him 
 and died Jan. 5, 1899, at Simsbury. (9) Martha 
 F., born Nov. 29, 1810, married Thomas Gillett, 
 Avho died in Suffield Oct. 18, 1880, and her death 
 occurred April 7, 1887, in the same town. (10) 
 Chloe, born Oct. 28, 1812, married John Talbott, 
 and died in Centreville, Mich., in 1837. (11) Han- 
 nah M., born July 3, 1814, married Lucius A. Cut- 
 ler, and died in Paterson, N. J., Aug. 22, 1840. 
 (12) Julius (2), our subject's father, is mentioned 
 more fully below. By his second wife Paul Harmon 
 had one son, James, born July 2, 1821, now a re- 
 tired farmer at East Warren, Vermont. 
 
 (VI) Julius Harmon, father of our subject, was 
 born Aug. 17, 18 17, on the homestead purchased by 
 Paul Harmon. His educational opportunities were 
 meager, but as he was always fond of reading he 
 became well informed, especially in science and his- 
 tory. In mathematics he showed unusual aptitude 
 from childhood, and he learned algebra without a 
 teacher. His excellent memory enabled him to re- 
 tain any knowledge once gained, making his con- 
 versation most interesting and instructive, and few 
 men in the locality had as many friends as he. As 
 a young man he began to learn the carpenter's trade, 
 and while helping to build the Congregational 
 church at West Suffield he was crippled for life. 
 B}' some mistake the scaffolding was removed from 
 the belfry before the tools were brought down, and, 
 as no other way of recovering them could be de- 
 vised, the foreman asked for a volunteer who would 
 .climb up on a rope and get them. Mr. Harmon, 
 
 then about twenty years old, offered to make the 
 attempt, but the support of the rope broke and he 
 fell, injuring his spine so much that both lower 
 limbs withered, leaving them without a particle of 
 strength. Plis arms were strong, however! and he 
 managed to go about freely in a three-wheeled car- 
 riage, being a frequent and welcome caller at the 
 homes of his friends. He took great interest in pol- 
 itics, being a stanch Republican, but, owing to his 
 physical disabilities, never held office notwithstand- 
 ing his popularity. He always resided at the home- 
 stead, where he died Oct. 9, 1879, and his remains 
 are interred in West Suffield. At the time of his 
 accident he was engaged to Miss Caroline E. Lane, 
 of Suffield, a most estimable young lady, and when 
 he learned that he was to be crippled permanently 
 ■he offered to release her, but she nobly declared her 
 wish to share his lot, and they were married soon 
 afterward, in 1838. As his father was then an old 
 man, he began housekeeping at the farm, and, al- 
 though it was in poor condition, he brought it to 
 a highly productive state, and made a handsome in- 
 come from it in later years. In ihis work his wife 
 was an efficient helper, bearing much of the responsi- 
 bility, but in spite of her years of hard work she is 
 well-preserved and enjoys excellent health. She 
 now (1900) resides at Cedar Bluffs, Neb., with her 
 son, William J., at the age of eighty-three, hav- 
 ing been born March 7, 1817. Her parents, Ashbel 
 and Ann (Stocking) Lane, were well-known resi- 
 dents of Suffield, and her family has long been prom- 
 inent in that locality. Of their four children, all 
 lived to adult age, and their strict and careful home 
 training fitted them for honorable positions in life. 
 Our subject, the eldest of the quartette, will be men- 
 tioned below. (2) Adelaide Eunice, born Aug. 
 26, 1846, married John Lewis, and died in Oak 
 Park, 111., April 21, 1881. Mr. Lewis is a prominent 
 attorney of Chicago, having written several books 
 on law, and he now resides at Oak Park, 111., near 
 Chicago. (3) William J., born June 30, 1849, has 
 a large farm in Cedar Bluffs, Neb., and is a very 
 successful farmer. As a boy he learned the carpen- 
 ter's trade in Suffield with George Crane, and also 
 became proficient as a surveyor, being employed at 
 one time by the government to make surveys in 
 different parts of the West. (4) Franklin S., born 
 Oct. 13, 1853, is a carpenter of Omaha, Nebraska. 
 (VII) Ashbel C. Harmon was born March 6, 
 1841, and began his education in the Sheldon street 
 school, in Suffield, Miss Caroline Rose, Miss Pin- ' 
 ney and Benjamin Hathaway being among his early 
 teachers. Later he attended a select school in Suf- 
 field, taught by Palmer Gallup, and spent three terms 
 at the Connecticut Literary Institute. He has never 
 been afraid of work, and in his boyhood he ren- 
 dered valuable assistance to his parents. He fol- 
 lowed farming on his own account for some time 
 after his marriage, and then removed to the village 
 of Suffield, where he engaged in the meat business, 
 but in 1869 he bought the original tract of land i 
 owned by Nathaniel- and Joseph Harmon, at Suf- ~.i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 995 
 
 field. Since that date he has been interested in ag- 
 riculture, and in i8 — he purchased another farm in 
 Suffield, but in 1884 an accident compelled him to 
 o-ive up active work. He possesses the confidence 
 of his fellow citizens to a rare degree, but, although 
 he is a strong Republican, he has never cared to 
 enter the race for official honors. His duties as a 
 citizen are never shirked, however, and in 1884 he 
 sat on the first jury ever called in the new court 
 house at Hartford. His military record is an hon- 
 orable one, beginning with his enlistment, Aug. 25, 
 
 1862, in Company G, 22d Conn. V. I., as a private. 
 He remained in the service nearly a year, being 
 never absent from duty except one night when he 
 was ill from the effects of improper rations. The 
 regiment was mustered into service at Hartford 
 Sept. 20, 1862, and Oct. 2, 1862, they left Hart- 
 ford on a steamer for New York City, where they 
 took a train for Washington. Their winter quarters 
 were at Miner's Hill, near Falls Church, Va. (eight 
 miles from Washington), and early in February, 
 
 1863, they were ordered to Hunter's Chapel, near 
 Arlington, to assist in constructing fortifications 
 on the farm of Gen. Robert Lee, overlooking the 
 capitol and guarding Long Bridge. On April i 
 they embarked on a steamer at Alexandria for Nor- 
 folk, Va., and later they went to Suiifolk by rail. 
 They participated under Gens. Getty and Gordon, 
 Gen. Peck being in suprem.e command, in the de- 
 fense of Suffolk, during Longstreet's siege, support- 
 ing the 8th and 21st Connecticut Regiments and 
 a Michigan battery, and for weeks were compelled 
 to stand "under arms" for two hours before day- 
 break each morning, expecting an attack. The 
 siege was raised May 3, 1863, and the regiment 
 transported to West Point, on York river, where 
 they arrived at night. Entrenchments were hastily 
 thrown up in anticipation of a night attack, but 
 after three weeks of occupation the post was aban- 
 doned and the entire force taken to Yorktown 
 Plains, where it was encamped directly in front of 
 McClellan's massive entrenchments and in sight of 
 the old Rebel rifle-pits, and near the scene of Corn- 
 wallis' surrender during the Revolutionary war. 
 On June 9 the regiment took part in the advance 
 on Richmond, marching by way of Williamsburg 
 and the Chickahominy river to Diascum Bridge 
 and Chickahominy Church. They were afterward 
 joined by the force of Gen. Dix, which moved by 
 way of the York river, the whole expedition being- 
 known in history as the "Blackberry Raid." Re- 
 turning to Yorktown, the 22d Regiment embarked 
 June 26 by steamer for home, arriving at Hartford 
 June 29, and were mustered out July 7, 1863, but 
 the hardships and exposure of camp life had so in- 
 jured our subject's health that he was ill for more 
 than eighteen months from malaria. He has never 
 lost his interest in military matters, and is an active 
 member of Samuel Brown Post, No. 56, G. A. R., 
 at Thompsonville, and secretary and treasurer of 
 the Veterans Association of Suffield. 
 
 On Oct. 7, 1868, Mr. Harmon married Miss 
 Sarah J. Fuller, daughter of Joseph and Cordelia 
 
 (Smith) Fuller, prominent residents of Suffield, 
 of whom further mention is made elsewhere. She 
 was an amiable and accomplished woman, a grad- 
 uate of the Conservatory of Music at Salem, Conn., 
 and for some years was organist of the Congrega- 
 tional Church in Suffield. She died Dec. i, 1871, 
 and Mr. Harmon married her sister, Miss Caroline 
 R. Fuller, who nas been a most efficient helpmeet. 
 Her early education was secured in the schools of 
 Suifield and at Westfield, Mass., and before she 
 reached the age of eighteen she taught successfully 
 at Mittineague, Mass., where her father was then 
 interested in founding the town. Afterward she 
 was employed in the graded schools of Suffield and 
 Thompsonville, tnis county. Mr. Harmon served 
 as secretary of the Congregational Church, and on 
 the society's committee, while for eight years he was 
 secretary and treasurer of the Sunday-school. 
 
 ALBERT R. WELLS, for many years a well- 
 known prosperous general merchant of Bloomfield, 
 is a native of Pepin, Wis., born June 15, 1856, and 
 is a son of Eastern-born parents. 
 
 Isaac Newton Wells, father of Albert R., was 
 born in Wethersfield, Conn., in 1830, a son of Ros- 
 siter Wells, also a native of Wethersfield, and a 
 lifelong farmer by vocation. Isaac N. was edu- 
 cated in the common schools of his native town 
 and was reared an agriculturist. To his marriage 
 with Miss Kate Butler were born two children, be- 
 sides Albert R., to-wit: Frank Newton, of New 
 Britain; and Carrie S., married to E. T. Griswold, 
 of Bloomfield. In 1854 Isaac N. Wells removed 
 from Connecticut to Rock Island, III, thence to 
 Pepin, Wis., and while in the West was engaged 
 in the tinsmith Dusiness. On his return to Con- 
 necticut, in 1868, he engaged in farming, and for 
 thirty years followed this calling at Bloomfield 
 with unvarying success. In politics a stanch Repub- 
 lican, Mr. Wells lias served his fellow citizens two 
 or three terms as selectman and assessor as well as 
 on board of relief of Bloomfield, and filled the office 
 to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. In this 
 town he had the misfortune to be bereft of his be- 
 loved wife in 1876, and he later removed to South- 
 ington, where he now resides, and is the treasurer 
 of the Beacon & Corbin Manufacturing Co. Fra- 
 ternally he is a member of the F. & A. M., and as 
 a citizen enjoys the esteem of all who are favored- 
 with his acquaintance. 
 
 Albert R. Wells, the subject proper of this bi- 
 ographical notice, attended school at Pepin, Wis., 
 until twelve years of age, later attending school at 
 Wethersfield, Conn., two years, and also a school 
 at Bloomfield, during the winter season in each 
 case, while his summers were passed in aiding his 
 father on the home farm until he was nineteen vears 
 old. He then began his business life as a driver of 
 a seed wagon through the States of New Hamp- 
 shire and Vermont, for Comstock & Ferry, of Weth- 
 ersfield, Conn.; later he drove through Delaware 
 and Maryland. 
 
 In 1878 Mr. Wells also engaged in the flour. 
 
996 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 grain and feed business, and erected a mill at Bloom- 
 field, and this trade he successfully carried on alone 
 sixteen vears, or until in 1894, when he associated 
 himself with Wallace C. Dean, and under the firm 
 name of Wells & Dean bought the general store of 
 C. D. Strictland, which, in conection with the mill, 
 they operated so successfully that in January, 1898, 
 Mr. Wells leased the mill to the Daniels ivlill Co. 
 for the term of five years, and the firm have since 
 confined themselves to merchandising — handling 
 coal, tlour and feed, in addition to the usual variety 
 of merchandise carried in first-class general stores. 
 Through their alTability and desire to please their 
 patrons, and their strict integrity, they succeeded in 
 gaining the most prosperous trade of the town. 
 
 On March 19, 1878, at Bloomfield, Mr. Wells 
 was united in marriage with Miss Estelle F. Gillette, 
 a daughter of Amos H. Gillette, but this lady was 
 untimely called away by death, Dec. 17, 1895. To 
 the marriage came three children : Albert G., born 
 Aug. 10, 1S82, died April 13, 18S3; Ethel K., born 
 July 19, 1S84; and Xina E., born Dec. 19, 1887. On 
 Sept. I, 1897, ^Ir. Wells was happily married to 
 Miss Jennie iL. Coburn, of Carlstadt, New Jersey. 
 
 In politics J\lr. Wells is a Republican. In Octo- 
 ber, 1896, he was elected town clerk, being the first 
 Republican elected to that office in Bloomfield, as 
 the Democrats led by a majority of from eighty to 
 one hundred. On Oct. 31, 1897, he was appointed 
 postmaster at Bloomfield, and efficiently filled that 
 office till his removal to Southington, July i, 1899, 
 when he resigned, also the office of town clerk, and 
 accepted a position as assistant secretary and travel- 
 ing salesman for the Beaton & Corbin Mfg. Co. 
 
 Fraternally Mr. Wells is a member of the 
 Knights of the Maccabees, the Patrons of Hus- 
 bandry and of the F. & A. M. In religion he is a 
 Congregationalist, and it may be added no man in 
 Bloomfield was held in higher esteem than Albert R. 
 Wells. 
 
 H. S. FRYE, president of the New England 
 Tobacco Growers Association, and one of the most 
 prominent and influential citizens of Poquonock, was 
 born in Winsted, Litchfield Co., Conn., Dec. 23, 
 1844, a son of Artemas and Mary E. (Johnson) 
 Frye. The family was founded in the New W'orld 
 during Colonial days by two brothers, one of whom 
 settled in Massachusetts, the other in Maine, and it 
 is from the former that our subject is descended. 
 Senator Frye, of Maine, belongs to the same branch. 
 The paternal grandfather of our subject was a Revo- 
 lutionary soldier, and lived in Andover, Mass., where 
 he died when over ninety years of age. His wife 
 died at about the same age, at the home of her son, 
 Artemas. 
 
 Artemas Frj-e was born in Andover, Mass., and at 
 an early age commenced life for himself empty-hand- 
 ed. With his father he learned the tanner's and cur- 
 rier's trade, and also learned scythe making, which 
 he followed when a young man in Winsted, Conn. 
 In later vears he became a stockholder in the Win- 
 
 sted Manufacturing Co., and in the spring of 1865 
 removed to Rainbow, where he engaged in farming 
 and raising tobacco for several years, but finally 
 returned to Winsted ; in 1874 he became a resident 
 of Toquonock, where he bought, from the estate 
 of George Blanchard, the farm that our subject 
 now owns. He died there in the fall of 1897, and 
 his wife, who was a native of Litchfield county^ 
 Conn., passed away in 1888, the remains of both 
 being interred in the I'oquonock cemetery. To them 
 were born two children : George, who died in in- 
 fancy ; and H. S., the subject of this review. Po- 
 litically he was first a Whig, but later he refused 
 to support that party, as he was a strong Abolition- 
 ist, and it had no Abolition plank in its platform. 
 He joined the Republican party on its organization, 
 and always advocated a protective tarifl:. He was 
 the youngest in the family, and his early educa- 
 tional privileges were limited, as during his child- 
 hood, his father, who had once been quite wealthy, 
 had lost most of his property; he was, however, a 
 great reader, and became a well-informed man. 
 
 • H. S. Frye attended the common schools near his 
 boyhood home, and later the Windsor Academy, 
 when George W. Standish was at the head of that 
 institution. He was eighteen years of age when 
 his parents removed to Rainbow, and as his father 
 had always engaged in mechanical pursuits he took 
 charge of the farming, and has made that occu- 
 pation his life work. He married Miss Eliza R. 
 Luck, who was born in England, but was reared 
 in Windsor. Their only child, Jennie, now Mrs. 
 Allison H. Brown, has one daughter, Mabel, and 
 lives with our subject. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Frye is a Republican, 
 keeps well posted on the issues and questions of the 
 day, and, while not a politician, takes an active 
 interest in the success of his party. At local elec- 
 tions he votes for the man whom he believes best 
 qualified to fill the office, regardless of party ties, 
 and as a public-spirited citizen he encourages any 
 movement for the benefit of his town and county. 
 Socially he is a member of the Masonic Lodge at 
 Windsor. He was one of the original members of 
 the New "England Tobacco Growers Association, 
 was a member of its executive committee until the 
 death of the president, Silas G. Hubbard, and was 
 then elected to till the vacancy, being re-elected at 
 each succeeding election. He is thoroughly posted 
 on every detail of the tobacco business, from the 
 planting of the seed until thi manufactured article 
 is consumed by the public, and in all its intermediate 
 stages ; has probably spent more time in study and 
 research of what will be of benefit to the tobacco 
 growers than any other man in the State; and is 
 therefore well qualified to hold his present respon- 
 sible position. It has also fitted him for work in 
 the interests of the tobacco crop in tariff legisla- 
 tion. The Connecticut crop being a distinct grade 
 of tobacco from that raised in any other section, 
 its interests are its own, and not in common with 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 997 
 
 other tobacco-producing States, so that the matter 
 of beneficial legislation to it does not have agitators 
 elsewhere. Mr. Frye is a practical tobacco grower, 
 as he has been interested in the business from boy- 
 hood, and his services as the head of the New 
 England Tobacco Growers Association have been 
 of inestimable value, and such as only a man of his 
 knowledge and skill could render. He is well 
 known in tobacco circles all over the United States, 
 and is perfectly familiar with all tobacco tariffs 
 and legislation pertaining thereto. Mr. Frye is a 
 very pleasant man, an entertaining talker, is un- 
 ostentatious in manner, and is an excellent and 
 valued citizen of the community in which he lives. 
 
 EMORY F. MILLER, who is at present serv- 
 ing as first selectman of the town of Avon, has been 
 prominent in his locality for years as a prosperous 
 farmer and dairyman, and he comes of a family 
 whose members have always occupied a high place 
 among the citizens of the town from its early days. 
 Mr. Miller is of English descent. The first an- 
 cestor of whom we have record was William Miller, 
 who came from the old country about 1635 and 
 settled in Northampton, Mass. He had a son, Eb- 
 ■enezer (i), who also lived in Northampton, Mass.; 
 he had three sons, Jonathan, John and Ebenezer 
 (2). This Ebenezer (2) came to Farmington (now 
 Avon) and bought a large farm in 1747; he died 
 there in 1777, and was buried in the hrst cemetery 
 ill Avon. In 1762 he was one of the largest land 
 owners in the town. A member of the Congre- 
 gational Church, he held the office of deacon therein. 
 He had four sons, Job, Joseph, Noah and Reuben, 
 the last named being the great-grandfather of our 
 subject. 
 
 Reuben Miller was born on his father's farm in 
 Farmington (now Avon), and passed his entire 
 life in his native town, owning and operating a large 
 tract of land. He learned the trade of cooper in 
 -early life, following same to some extent, engaged 
 in hotel-keeping, and was quite a noted huntsman 
 in his day, in his varied occupations becoming wide- 
 ly known in the vicinity. He was a stanch Demo- 
 crat of the Jeffersonian stripe. By his wife, Sarah 
 (Miller), he had five children: Solomon (who 
 removed to Hartland), Ebenezer, Eleanor, Sarah 
 and Olive. The father died on his farm, and was 
 interred in the old family cemetery. 
 
 Ebenezer Miller, grandfather of the gentleman 
 whose name opens this sketch, was born on the 
 Miller homestead at Cider Brook, and like his fa- 
 ther became a farmer, in addition engaging to some 
 €xtent in stock raising. For ten years he broke and 
 sold a team of young oxen annually. He received 
 . only such advantages for schooling as the public 
 I institutions of the time afforded, but he was a man 
 ' of unusual strength of mind and body, was noted 
 far and wide for his industry and intelligence, and 
 took a prominent part in the life of the community. 
 His feats in reaping gave him a wide popularity. 
 
 and people came for him far and near to assist in 
 barn raisings and various occasions of the kind. 
 He was a hard working man, bore a high reputa- 
 tion for honesty and uprightness in all his dealings, 
 and was a leader in local affairs, taking a leading 
 part in the workings of the Democratic party in his 
 section, though he never sought office. He was 
 also active in church matters, holding membership 
 with the Baptist Society, and often led prayers in 
 the minister's absence. Ebenezer Miller married 
 Diantha Hutchinson, who was born in Farmington, 
 now Avon, daughter of John Hutchinson, and eleven 
 children were born to this union: Sarah (Mrs. 
 Richard Humphrey) ; Ebenezer; John H. ; Diantha, 
 who died unmarried; Nancy (Mrs. Luther Wood- 
 ford) ; Cynthia, who married Estherus Fairfield; 
 Truman Harlon ; Thede, who died unmarried; 
 Betsey (Mrs. Ephraim Woodruff, of New Britain) ; 
 Flenry Virgil, who was killed by lightning when 
 seventeen years old; and Eliza Ann (Mrs. Hiram 
 Chapel, of Hartford). The father died Jan. 11, 
 1851, at the ripe old age of eighty-three years, the 
 mother passing away Nov. 6, 1837. 
 
 Truman H. Miller was born Jan. 12, 1805, on 
 the home farm in Avon town, and received his ed- 
 ucation in the district schools, supplementing his 
 early training by close reading and observation, and 
 becoming a well-informed man. He was reared to 
 agricultural pursuits on the paternal homestead, 
 and finally settled down to farming, though during 
 his earlier manhood he traveled over the eastern 
 states selling jewelry and silverware, and made a 
 success of that business. When he engaged in the 
 calling of his ancestors on his own account he pur- 
 chased a farm of 150 acres, on which he made nu- 
 merous improvements, and he successfully con- 
 ducted a general farming, stock raising and dairy 
 business, taking a deep interest in the appearance 
 of his property, which under his able management 
 became quite valuable. Like his father he was one 
 of the leaders of the Democratic party in his locality, 
 but not an aspirant for public honors of any kind, 
 preferring a quiet life, devoted to his private af- 
 fairs. He was highly respected for his honesty and 
 many sterling qualities of character, and was one of 
 the substantial citizens of his day. Mr. Miller passed 
 away Jan. I7. 1862, aged fifty-seven years, and was 
 laid to rest in the olu family cemetery in Avon. He 
 was married, in Thompson, to Miss Julia A. Chapin, 
 a native of Boston, whose parents, Joseph and Sarah 
 (Jacobs) Chapin, of Thompson, died in the island 
 of Trinidad, and five children were born to their 
 union: Delia T., who died at the age of twenty- 
 two j^ears ; Augustus C. (deceased at the age of 
 forty-nine), who married Elizabeth Gray; Joseph, 
 who died in Boston at the age of nineteen years ; 
 Charles H., who married Frances Bishop ; and Em- 
 ory F. Mrs. Miller died Jan. 5, 1882; she was a 
 member of the Baptist Church, and a woman of 
 Christian character, who won the respect of all who 
 knew her. Mr. Miller also held membership with 
 the Baptist Church. 
 
998 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Emory F. Aliller was born July ii, 1844, in the 
 town of Avon, and he commenced his education in 
 the home district, later attending the Avon high 
 school. He remained on the farm, assisting his 
 father, up to the ag-e of seventeen, when he went 
 to Boston for a }ear. He was eighteen when his 
 father died, and he continued to operate the home 
 farm in partnership with his brother, Charles, until 
 18S2, when the latter removed to another farm, 
 our subject remaining with his mother on the home- 
 stead. He has always made his home here, and 
 he cultivates 154 acres, devoting his land to gen- 
 eral crops and tobacco, and in addition engaging 
 rather extensively in stock farming and dairying. 
 Mr. iMiller takes special interest in the appearance 
 of his home and farm, on which he has made nianv 
 improvements from time to time, building good 
 barns and outbuildings, and in various wavs add- 
 ing to the value of the place, which is ably managed 
 and systematically cultivated. He is up-to-date in 
 all his methods so far as practicable, and he is ranked 
 among the prosfressive and enterprising agricult- 
 urists of this section, where he is well and favor- 
 ably known. i\Ir. Miller has been active in local 
 affairs, and like his forefathers is a stanch Demo- 
 crat in political faith, and one of the wheel-horses 
 of the part\' in this vicinity. Though not an office 
 seeker he was honored with election in 1873 to the 
 ofifice of first selectman of the town, which he filled 
 for two terms. In 1886 he was again elected, this 
 tune holdmg the position for eight years, and in 
 1898 his fellow citizens re-elected him to that in- 
 cumbency, which he still retains. J\Ir. Miller's lono- 
 service in this important office is sufficient evidence 
 of his ability and fidelity to duty, but it is due to him 
 to say that he has in his public capacity displayed 
 only the same traits which have characterized his 
 private life— strict attention to the details of his 
 work and thoughtful and intelligent management 
 qualities which could not fail to bring about satis- 
 factory results. Air. iMiller keeps thorougnly posted 
 on public events and matters of general interest, and 
 he IS highly esteemed as an intelligent, substantial 
 Citizen of the town in which he has spent his life. 
 Besides the office mentioned he has served several 
 times as grand juror in Avon. 
 
 In January, 1874, in Avon, Mr. Miller was 
 married to Miss Sarah Andrews, a native of East 
 Granby, and a daughter of Frederick Andrews of 
 that town. They had one child, Nellie, who died 
 in infancy; Mrs. iMiller passed away May 5, 1877, 
 and was buried in the family cemetery. On May 
 22, 1879, J^ir. i\Iil!er for his second wife wedded 
 Miss Eliza Wadsworth, who was born in Hartford, 
 a daughter of Sydney Wadsworth, and a grand- 
 daughter of Elisha Wadsworth, of Hartford. Two 
 children have come to this union : One that died in 
 infancy, and Lucy. Our subject supports religious 
 work and enterprises, though he is not connected 
 with any particular denomination, and he and his 
 wife have many friends in the town of Avon. 
 
 RANSFORD AVERY PARKER. Few citi- 
 zens of this section, outside of public life, are as 
 well known as this venerable resident of Ware- 
 house Point, whose career, though quiet and seem- 
 ingly uneventful, has won for him the respect of a 
 large circle of friends. A pleasing evidence of his 
 popularity, which is fully shared by his estimable 
 wife, was seen on the occasion of the celebration 
 of their golden wedding in October, 1897, when a 
 good company assembled at their home. A cane for 
 Mr. Parker and a valuable clock for his wife were 
 presented as tangible tokens of friendship by the 
 guests, most of whom were members of the same 
 church with whom their host and hostess have been 
 identified for half a century, and the good wishes of 
 the entire community were expressed in the exer- 
 cises of the happy occasion. 
 
 Mr. Parker was born Jan. 0, 1827, at Long 
 Meadow, Alass., and is of good old Vermont stock. 
 Joseph Parker, his father, was a native of Sharon, 
 Vt., and a.s a Dov walked from that olace to Spring- 
 field, Mass., to learn the mason's trade. After com- 
 pleting his term as an apprentice he remained in the 
 vicinity of Sprinsfield for some time, and in 1829 
 came to Connecticut, locating at Warehouse Point. 
 He became the leading contractor and builder of his 
 day in that section, the locks at Windsor Locks hav- 
 ing been constructed by him after his arrival. He 
 also built the Phelps woolen mills, the old "Chap- 
 man House," and the Sexton woolen mills, at Ware- 
 house Point, the last named on the site now occupied 
 by the Simons silk mills. He died in 1855, and he 
 continued his work until two years previous. By his 
 first wife. Miss Harriet (David), of Stafford, Conn., 
 he had seven children : Albert B., deceased ; John 
 E., a resident of the town of East Windsor; Rans- 
 ford A., our subject; Harriet, who married Charles 
 Thomas, and is deceased ; Elmira, who married 
 William Zimmerman, and died in 1892 ; Eugene, 
 who died in Broad Brook in 1862; and Leonidas, a 
 fruit grower in California. 
 
 Ransford A. Parker was two years of age when 
 his parents settled at Warehouse Point, where be 
 grew to manhood. When only nine years of age 
 he began working on a farm for his board and 
 clothes, and at eighteen he bought his time from his 
 father, paving him $50. In 1846 he began raising 
 tobacco in the vicinity of Warehouse Point at two- 
 and one-half cents per pound, and later he cultivated 
 twenty acres of tobacco near Springfield, Mass., re- 
 ceiving eight cents a pound for some of his crop. He 
 then went to the vicinity of Hartford, to the farm of 
 Solomon Porter, president of the State Bank of 
 Hartford, and remained one year, and since that time 
 he has raised tobacco in the neighborhood of Ware- 
 house Point. At first he rented land for the pur- 
 pose, but in 1856 he purchased eighteen acres just 
 across the tovyn line in Enfield township. This he 
 still owns, and from time to time he has added to 
 his holdings until now he has about seventy acres, 
 raises all the way from five to fifteen acres of to- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 999' 
 
 bacco yearly. During the winter months he has 
 turned his attention to buying tobacco, his practical 
 knowledge making his juagment of value to dealers, 
 and for thirty-five years he has bought for George 
 B. Barnes, of Hartford, and for six years for J. H. 
 Simons, of Warehouse Point. In politics he is a Re- 
 publican, and he takes a prominent part in religious 
 work as a member of the Methodist Church at Ware- 
 house Point, of which he has been a trustee and stew- 
 ard for forty years. On Oct. 31, 1847, Mr. Parker 
 married Miss Harriet Johnson, and four children 
 were born to them : ( i ) William R., a tobacco 
 grower, resides at Warehouse Point. (2) Harriet 
 E. married Frank Cooper, and died in 1877. (3) 
 Miss Georgiana is at home. (4) Henrietta died 
 when three years old. 
 
 Mrs. Parker, who has proved an efficient help- 
 meet to her husband, is a native of Hereford, Que- 
 bec, Canada, where her parents resided about twenty 
 years, moving there soon after their marriage. Dur- 
 ing Mrs. Parker's childhood they located in Hines- 
 burg, Vt., where she received an excellent education 
 in the public and private schools. Her fine mental 
 gifts were apparent from an early age, and at nine- 
 teen she began teaching at New Hartford, N. Y. She 
 also taught in her native town, and in 1845 came to 
 Warehouse Point, where she first met Mr. Parker, 
 their marriage occurring two years later. Her 
 grandfather, Stephen Johnson, a native of South 
 Vernon, Vt., was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
 army. Stephen Johnson (2), Mrs. Parker's father, 
 was born and reared at South Vernon, and married 
 Miss Lucretia Streeter, of the same town. He died 
 in 1870, at the age of eighty-two years, and his wife 
 in 1874, aged seventy-three. They had six children: 
 Mary A., who married Lewis Hall; Harriet (Mrs. 
 Parker) ; Stephen, who resides in the town of Ell- 
 ington, Tolland Co., Conn. ; Elizabeth L., who mar- 
 ried Marshall Parker, of Springfield, Mass. ; Char- 
 lotte, who died at the age of fifteen ; and Helen M., 
 who became the wife of Frank Remington, of Colo- 
 rado, and died May 16, 1899. 
 
 WILLIAM O. HAYDEN. This favored region 
 is, above all, fortunate in the quality of its citizenship, 
 and its present prosperity and hope of progress is 
 based upon the enterprise, foresight and public spirit 
 of such men as this well-known agriculturist of 
 Windsor town. From an early period the Hayden 
 family has been prominent in that locality, their res- 
 idence at Flayden's Station dating back to 1640, and 
 its members iii every generation have maintained the 
 prestige of the name by their sterling qualities of 
 character and honorable lives. A comprehensive 
 genealogy of the family was published in 1888, hav- 
 ing been compiled by J. H. Hayden, of Windsor 
 Locks (an uncle of our subject), after years of labor 
 and research, and therefore we will not attempt to go 
 into detail as to their settlement in Windsor, but will 
 simply trace briefly our subject's line of descent from 
 William Hayden, the progenitor of the family in 
 America. 
 
 (I) William Hayden was born in England, and 
 came to the New World in 1639. He located in 
 Windsor in 1 640, and his death occurred Sept. 27, 
 1669, at Kenilworth, now Clinton, Conn. On Sept. 
 2, 1885, the "William Hayden Memorial Stone" was 
 dedicated at Hayden's Station in honor of this pio- 
 neer, a flint boulder weighing more than two tons 
 having been prepared with an appropriate inscrip- 
 tion, his descendants in all parts of the United States 
 co-operating in the project. He had three children, 
 Daniel, Nathaniel and Mary. 
 
 (II) Lieut. Daniel Hayden (Sept. 2, 1640- 
 March 22, 1712-13) was the first Hayden born in 
 Windsor. On March 17, 1664, he married Hannah 
 Wilcoxson, of Stratford, Conn., who died April 19, 
 1722, and their children were as follows: Daniel, 
 Hannah, Nathaniel, William (i), William (2), Sam- 
 uel, Ebenezer, Mary. 
 
 (III) Samuel Hayden, born Feb. 28, 1677-7S, 
 died at Harwinton, Conn., Oct. 12, 1742, and his 
 wife, Ann Holcomb, of Windsor, died June 13, 1756. 
 They had six children: Anna, Samuel, Nathaniel, 
 Joseph, William and Sarah. 
 
 (IV) Nathaniel Hayden, known as "Deacon 
 Nathaniel," was born June 18, 1709, and died Nov. 
 14, 1803. In 1737 he married Naomi Gaylord, who 
 died April 7, 1803, aged eighty-seven. Their chil- 
 dren were : Ann, Nathaniel, Hezekiah, Levi, Naomi 
 and Martin. 
 
 (V) Levi Hayden, our subject's great-grand- 
 father, was born May 28, 1747, and died Aug. 4, 
 1 82 1. In 1772 he married Margaret Strong, who 
 died May 10, 1812. His second wife was a widow, 
 Mary Kent, of Suffield. He had nine children, all 
 by his first marriage: Levi, Ellen, Hezekiah, 
 Strong, Martin, Clara, Anson, William and Ellen. 
 
 (VI) Levi Hayden, grandfather of our subject, 
 was born July 31, 177^, and died Jan. 30, 1839. On 
 Oct. 30, 1800, he married Wealthy Haskell, and they 
 had the following children : Lucinda H., Marv Ann, 
 Nathaniel, Oliver, Elizabeth Bissel, Jabez Haskell, 
 Samuel Strong, Hezekiah Sydney, Augustus Henry, 
 Sarah Nichols and Levi Gaylord. 
 
 (VII) Oliver Hayden, our subject's father, was 
 born Dec. 3, 1807, at cur subject's present home- 
 stead, and was reared as a farmer boy, receiving 
 only a common-school education. The Hayden gen- 
 ealogy says of him: "Inheriting a good physical 
 constitution, he applied himself diligently to either 
 farm work or brick making as occasion required, 
 and after his elder brother fell out by reason of dis- 
 abilit}' he became (next to his father) the leader of 
 his younger brothers in work and frolic, both of 
 which were vigorously and harmoniously pushed. 
 He early became an advocate of total abstinence 
 from all intoxicating liquors, and continued in that 
 practice till his death." After reaching his majority 
 he spent a year or two in Western New York, then 
 for several j^ears resided in Windsor Locks, where he 
 was associated with the men who were prominent 
 in molding the institutions of the then infant village. 
 About 1840 he bought one of the Owen farms in 
 
1000 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 East Granby ; he died at Hayden's Station July lo, 
 1893. and was buried in East Granby. 
 
 :sh-. riavden was a supporter of every good work 
 in the community, and an active and intiuential mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church, in which he held 
 office. Politically he was first a Whig, later a Re- 
 publican, and for many years he took a prominent 
 part in local affairs. Hi's integrity was unquestioned, 
 and as a successful farmer and good business man 
 he acquired a most comfortable competence. On 
 Nov. 29, 1837, he married Aliss Jane Owen, of East 
 Granby, who was born July 5, 1812, the daughter of 
 George C. Owen, and a descendant of John Owen, 
 one of the first settlers of Windsor. Six children 
 were born of this union : ( i ) Sydney H., born Dec. 
 II, 1838, enlisted in 1862 in Companv B, i6th Conn. 
 Vol. Inf., was taken prisoner and confined for some 
 time in Andersonville prison. Later he was trans- 
 ferred to Florence, S. C, and was offered freedom 
 if he would take the oath of allegiance to the South, 
 but he declined. Finally he was exchanged, and after 
 a visit to his home in East Granby, on furlough, he 
 again went to the front, but his enfeebled health com- 
 pelled him to return home, where he died April 4, 
 1865. He never married. (2) Theodosia, born 
 Sept 16. 1S40, died Dec. 14, 185 1. (3) Owen, born 
 Mav 5, 1844, died March 2. 1847. (4) Catharine J., 
 born April 22, 1846, married Charles H. Clark, and 
 died April 16, 1872, leaving no chddrcn. (5) Miss 
 Abby L., born April 30, 1849, resides with our sub- 
 ject. (6) William O., our subject. The mother died 
 Oct. 20, 1S93, and the remains of both parents are 
 interred in the cemetery at East Granby. 
 
 (Vni) William 0. Hayden was born Feb. 12, 
 1852, in East Granby, and his education was begun 
 in the schools of District No. i, of that town, ?^Iiss 
 Margaret Bates, jNIiss barah Alderman and 2\liss 
 Mary Griswold being among his early teachers. Fie 
 also attended a select school in East Granby, taught 
 by a Mr. Folsom from Dartmouth College, and 
 later he studied for a time at W' ilbraham College, his 
 vacations being spent in assisting his father at the 
 farm. After his marriage he continued to reside 
 with his father, the house having been especiallv ar- 
 ranged to accommodate two families, but in x-Vpril, 
 1893, he removea to his present home at Hayden's 
 Station, known as the "Levi Hayden Farm." It is a 
 fine estate and one of the historic places of the town, 
 the house, which is in an excellent state of preserva- 
 tion, having been built in 1737. Isir. Hayclen is ex- 
 tensively engaged in raising tobacco in addition to 
 general farming, and also wholesales large quantities 
 of milk from his dairy. He gives personal attention 
 to the management of the place and many improve- 
 ments have been made under his direction, the most 
 notable one being a dam in the brook near his house, 
 from which he gets a supply of ice for family use, 
 and pumps water for all his buildings by means of a 
 hydraulic pump. His sound business judgment and 
 well-proven integritv have won the confidence of his 
 fellow-citizens, and he is frequently chosen to act as 
 guardian and trustee for others. While thoroughly 
 
 progressive in his ideas he is of a quiet disposition, 
 and does not aspire to public life, the only offices 
 ever held by him having been those of assessor of 
 East Granby town and school commissioner (many 
 times). His first Presidential vote was cast for 
 liayes and Wheeler, and since boyhood he has been 
 an ardent Republican. His wealth enables him to 
 give effective aid to any movement which promises 
 to benefit the community, and he recently donated 
 the land for the A. M. E. Church at Hayden's Sta- 
 tion. JNlr. Hayden while not a member of that 
 church has served as one of its officers, for several 
 years was on the Church committee, and served as 
 collector. 
 
 On Jan. i, 1878, Mr. Hayden was married, in 
 East Granby, to ]\lis3 Katherine M. Mills, who was 
 bom April 7, i860, daughter of Gustavus and Sarah 
 ( Whitmore) Mills, highly esteemed residents of this 
 county. Three bright and promising sons have been 
 liorn to them : Haskell A., now a clerk in Flart- 
 ford ; Owen W. ; and Oliver. The family is prom- 
 inent socially, and i\irs. Hayden is a leader in relig- 
 ious and philanthropic enterprises in her locality, be- 
 ing an active member of the Congregational Church. 
 
 HILLS BROTHERS. Success in any line of 
 effort is not won without strenuous endeavor, and 
 if one were to searcii for the secret of the marked 
 prosperity of this well-known firm of agriculturists 
 and stock raisers, the answer would be found in 
 their untiring attention to the details of their work. 
 
 As stock men they have few equals and no su- 
 periors in the L^nited States, and here is seen the 
 result of the most scrupulous application of scien- 
 tific methods of breeding, combined with generous 
 yet judicious feeding, and a kindly sympathetic at- 
 tention to the wants of all animals under their care. 
 Their fine estate of one hundred acres near Hay- 
 den's Station is admirably adapted to this busi- 
 ness, iBodern buildings supplementing the natural 
 advantages, and stock raised there has frequently 
 been found to surpass the best of the far-famed 
 products of the "Blue Grass Region," and from 
 time to time has been exhibited throughout the 
 country, receiving extensive notices in the stock 
 journals. A yoke of six-year-old oxen weighing 
 4,600 were the especial pride of the firm, but other 
 noted specimens of their raising in the past include 
 two. famous grade Durham cows that weighed 2,500 
 and 3,000 at six years ; the latter, which brought an 
 enormous price, was placed on exhibition in all 
 parts of the United States. As citizens Henry and 
 Stephen Hills are noted for the same progressive 
 spirit that has brought them their high reputation 
 in the business world, and no local enterprise prom- 
 ising benefit to the public is allowed to fail for the 
 want of their co-operation and support. They have 
 done much to secure good roads in their locality, 
 and to their influence is largely due the establish- 
 ment of a depot at Hayden's Station, the land for 
 the side track having been donated by them. A 
 
STEPHEH HILLS 
 
HEHRY W. HILLS 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1001 
 
 few years ago Stephen Hills started a subscription 
 for the purpose of improving the old Palisade cem- 
 etery at Windsor, where interments were made as 
 early as 1633, and by his personal efforts he suc- 
 ceeded in collecting $9,000. With this the once 
 neglected spot was made a beautiful and attractive 
 place under the care of the First School Society, 
 of which Mr. Hills is still a leading member. In 
 fact, to mention the enterprises in which the broth- 
 ers have assisted would be to make a list of all the 
 public measures undertaken in their locality since 
 they came to the years of discretion. 
 
 The Hills family originated near Shanklin, in 
 the Isle of 'Wight, and the name was formerly 
 spelled Hill. Members of the family came to this 
 country at an early day, locating at East Hart- 
 ford. The first to settle at Windsor was the grand- 
 father of tne brothers, Capt. Stephen Hills, a na- 
 tive of East Hartford, born Oct. 11, 1750, who be- 
 came the owner of a large tract of land at Windsor, 
 where his remaining years were spent. His wife, 
 j\label (Woodbridgej, who was born Feb. 18, 1750, 
 was a member of an old and aristocratic family 
 of this section. This worthy pioneer couple had 
 twelve children (five sons and seven daughters), 
 among tliem being Henry Woodbridge Hills and 
 Stephen Hills, of New York, noted cotton mer- 
 chants of their aay. Another of the sons, Heze- 
 kiah, was the first to settle at the present farm. 
 
 Hezekiah Hills, the father of the members of 
 the present firm of Hdls Brothers, was born May 
 12, 1789, in the town of Manchester, Hartford 
 county, the seventh child and the second son in 
 the family. Owing to the changes of residence made 
 by his parents his schooling was obtained in dif- 
 ferent places, but notwithstanding nis meager ad- 
 vantages he showed much mental ability, and ex- 
 celled in mathematics. Having been reared to farm 
 work, he gave his attention to agriculture in ma- 
 ture life, spending many years in the care of the 
 present homestead, which came into his possession 
 soon after its purchase by his brother. He was 
 an excellent manager, always obtaining good re- 
 sults, but as he suffered from rheumatism for many 
 years previous to his death he retained only a gen- 
 eral oversight of the estate. His sterling qualities 
 of character won him the respect of all who knew 
 him, and his death, which occurred July 26, 1856, 
 M'as sincerely lamented in the community. His es- 
 timable wife, Esther (Drake), died Jan. 6, 1878, 
 and the remains of both now rest in the old cem- 
 etery at Windsor. Mrs. Esther (Drake) Hills was 
 born in Windsor July 26, 1795, the daughter of 
 Lemuel and Esther (Burnham) Drake, and belonged 
 to a pioneer family of that locality. Her ancestors 
 came originally from England, the line of descent 
 being traced through to Sir Francis Drake. Her 
 early educational privileges were better than was 
 usual at that time, and when but a girl she taught 
 school successfully in District No. i, town of Wind- 
 
 sor, while looking after the welfare of a numerous 
 family of sisters and brothers, her mother having 
 died some years before. Possessing rare mental 
 ability and a strong constitution, she was one woman 
 in a thousand, and her remarkable faculties remained 
 unimpaired until the last, notwithstanding a life of 
 incessant industry. While she and her husband 
 were not church members they were deeply relig- 
 ious, and the evidences of their faith were seen in 
 their daily life. The old custom of beginning the 
 Sabbath at 6 p. m. on Saturday and ending it at 6 
 p. M. on Sunday was strictly observed in their home. 
 They had three children : Henry W., Stephen and 
 Eliza Woodbridge, all of whom reside at the old 
 homestead. 
 
 Miss Eliza Woodbridge Hills is greatly beloved 
 for her kindness of heart, which she manifests in 
 generous deeds. As a devout member of the Epis- 
 copal Church, she has contributed liberally to its 
 work, but her benefactions are by no means re- 
 stricted to that channel. During her youth she spent 
 much of her time in New York City, and, in spite of 
 delicate health, she took a prominent part in the best 
 social circles. Her tastes are decidedly artistic and 
 literary, her conversation showing an intimate ac- 
 quaintance with the great works of the masters in 
 both lines, and her wide culture and her alert inter- 
 est in all that pertains to intellectual growth make 
 her companionship valued among a refined and select 
 group of friends. 
 
 Henry W. and Stephen Hills were born and 
 reared at their present homestead, and their educa- 
 tion was begun in the old school in District No. 6, 
 of Windsor, then considered the best in the town. 
 Later they attended Windsor Academy, but their 
 father's failing health compelled them to turn their 
 energies to the work of the farm when they might 
 otherwise have been in school. As their father was 
 extensively engaged in tobacco growing, in which 
 line he was a pioneer in his town, they were early 
 instructed in the best methods of dealing with that 
 crop, and they have continued to made it a specialty 
 up to the present time, meeting with their usual suc- 
 cess. Their farm is a model of neatness and sys- 
 tem, and they keep a large dairy, the product being 
 disposed of at wholesale. The house, which was 
 erected in 1800, is comfortable, and is an attractive 
 specimen of the old style of architecture, having 
 been one of the first in the town to be built with its 
 gable end to the street. In State and National poli- 
 tics both brothers are stanch Republicans, but in 
 local elections they vote for the men and measures 
 which they deem best for the people. Although 
 their public spirit, sound judgment and well-proved 
 integrity have caused them to be frequently men- 
 tioned for office they have always avoided the politi- 
 cal arena, both preferring the activities of private life. 
 
 HENRY ARASTUS SHELDON, one of West 
 Suffield's respected citizens and prominent agricul- 
 turists and fobacco growers, is a native of Connect!- 
 
1002 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 cut, having been born July i, 1850, in West Suf- 
 field. 
 
 The Sheldon family is one of the oldest in the 
 State, and descended from a Colonial family of Eng- 
 lish origin, that came from that rart of the Comity 
 of Essex nearest London. Isaac Sheldon, an ances- 
 tor of our subject, was born in Windsor, Hartford 
 Co., Conn., in 1629, and when a young man removed 
 to Northampton, i^Iass., engaged in farming, and 
 there married ^lary Woodford, later bringing his 
 family to what is now known as Suffield, Conn., 
 where he passed the remainder of his life. His son, 
 Jonathan, was born May 29, 1689, settled in West 
 Suffield, built a fine dwelling on his large estate, 
 and was well known as Captain Jonathan Sheldon, 
 as he was in command of a company of militia. The 
 dvv-elling is still standing, and is now owned by 
 Charles L. Austin. On Dec. 30, 170S, Capt. Sheldon 
 married INIary Southwell, and their tlaughter, Mary, 
 was married to the Rev. Jonathan Judd, an inmate 
 of the Captain's house, while on probation as a minis- 
 ter of the Congregational Church at West Suffield. 
 Another daughter. Silence, became the first wife of 
 Rev. John Graham, who for forty years was a min- 
 ister of the same church in West Suffield, and to 
 this marriage were born ten children. After the 
 death of his first wife. Rev. Graham married Widow 
 Smith, whose maiden name was Deborah King, and 
 she bore him seven children, the voungest of whom 
 was Dr. Sylvester Graham, a well-known Presbyte- 
 rian divine, elocutionist and vegetarian, and whose 
 name is well-Known thoughout the world as the 
 originator of the bread and flour which bear his 
 name. 
 
 Jonathan Sheldon, a son of th.- Captain, was born 
 in 171 1, on the old homestead, and all his life was 
 engaged in the pursuit of agriculture. He married 
 Sarah Kent, and died on his farm Feb. 12, 1761, six 
 years before the death of his father. In religion he 
 was a Congregationalist, while his wife was a Bap- 
 tist, but the remains of both were interred in the 
 same grave in the West Suffield cemetery. Their 
 son, Jonathan, was born on the homestead' Dec. 28, 
 1737, and passed all his mature life on the farm now 
 owned by Hezekiah S. Sheldon. He married Abi- 
 gail Loomis in 1762, and they had six children: 
 Jonathan, Nov. 29, 1763; Gad, Feb. 28, 1765; Oba- 
 diah, Oct. 23, 1766; Jared, Oct. 23, 1768; Arastus, 
 Oct. 29, 1770 ; and Abigail, Oct. 3, 1772. The father 
 of this family died on his farm Feo. 10, 1814, a mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church and a sincere 
 Christian. 
 
 Hon. Arastus Sheloon, the grandfather of our 
 subject, was educated in the district schools of his 
 town, settled down to farming on the old homestead, 
 on which he made many improvements, and there 
 passed the remainder of his life. He was an ad- 
 herent of the political principles of Thomas Jeiifer- 
 son and became a representative in the State Legis- 
 lature. He married Eunice King, Nov. 16, 1796, 
 and nine children were born to the marriage : James, 
 March 17, 1798; Obadiah Loomis, May 24, 1800; 
 
 Horace, Sept. 21, 1802; Jared, Sept. 23, 1804; Gad, 
 Dec. 30, 1806; Francis (father of our subject), Feb. 
 4, 1809; Julia Ann, Jan. 14, 181 1 (she liecame the 
 wife of Jared Smith, of Massachusetts) ; Alfred J., 
 Jan. 18, 1813; and Eliza A., Feb. 24, 1816 (who 
 married Sylvester Pomeroy). The mother of these 
 children passed away Feb. 20, 1830, the father on 
 JMarch 27, 1840, and the remains of both lie at rest 
 in the West Suffield cemetery. 
 
 Francis Sheldon, fatlier of our subject, was born 
 on the old homestead in West Suffield, where he 
 grew to manhood. He settled on a part of the home- 
 stead, on a tract of 200 acres, whereon he built a 
 fine dwelling-house, barns, etc., besides otherwise 
 greatly improving the property. He spent his entire 
 life in West Suffield, dying there Dec. 15, 1876, and 
 was buried in West Suffield cemetery. .\.s a Demo- 
 crat of the old school he was prominent in public 
 afi'airs. and at one time served in the State Legisla- 
 ture, also as selectman of his town, and in other local 
 offices. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon was twice married, first time to 
 Cornelia Pomeroy, and she bore him one child, Cor- 
 nelia, who became the wife of Clinton H. Nelson, 
 and died Nov. 13, i865. Mrs. Cornelius Sheldon 
 died, April 24, 1837, and lies buried in West Suf- 
 field cemetery. For his second wife Francis Sheldon 
 wedded Sophia Pomeroy, and three chiMren blessed 
 this union: Andrew, who died May 19, 1874; Em- 
 ily J., wife of William F. Baldwm, of Flartford, 
 Conn., and Henry A., the subject proper of this 
 sketch. The mother of this family died March 29, 
 1894, and her remains were interred in West Suf- 
 field cemetery. 
 
 Henry A. Sheldon, whose name introduces this 
 sketch, attended the public schools of Suffield, also 
 the Connecticut Literary Institute, and was reared 
 to agricultural pursuits on the home farm. After 
 the death of his father he took charge of the home- 
 stead, comprising a tract of 150 acres of fine land, 
 and has since operated it successfully. He has made 
 extensive improvements thereon, and engaged in 
 tobacco growing, stock raising and dealing, also in 
 dairying — in fact he is to-day one of the most exten- 
 sive general farmers in West Suffield. 
 
 On Oct. 20, 1880, in the town of Granby, Henry 
 A. Sheldon was united in marriage with Mary A. 
 Rice, who was born in Granby, a daughter of Levi 
 Rice, and three children were born of this union; 
 Francis H., born Sept. 5, 1881 ; Louise S., May 29, 
 1885 ; and Alice E., July 16, 1893. In politics Mr. 
 Sheldon is a stanch supporter of the Democratic 
 party, and has served his town and county in various 
 offices of trust, silch as selectman of Suffield and 
 member of the school committee and the board of re- 
 lief. He is widely and favorably known in the coun- 
 ty, and justly merits the respect and regard accorded 
 him by his fellow citizens. 
 
 CHARLES P. MERWIN. The story of this 
 gentleman's life is a record of wholly honorable at- 
 tainment. In these latter days, when what we call 
 
xZ^.^c^^.a^. t^,^ . ci:>r'2<_^e^-i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lOOS 
 
 success is so generally won by devious ways of dis- 
 honesty, cunning and brutal selfishness, that strides 
 rough-shod to fortune over the wrecks of others' 
 lives, it is a grateful task to tell of one who set his 
 mark high, and, following hand in hand with honor, 
 reached his goal, leaving for those who knew and 
 loved him a fragrant memory. 
 
 Such of the records of Mr. Merwin's ancestors 
 as the writer has at hand are as follows : William 
 Arnold in 1639 settled in Providence Plantation, and 
 his son Benedict was governor of Rhode Island for 
 a term of eight years. Gov. Arnold married Dama- 
 rius, daughter of Stickney Westcott, one of the 
 close and faithful friends of Roger Williams who 
 joined that intrepid and broad-minded leader in his 
 protest against the prevailing narrowness of the 
 Puritans of that time in the Old Colony of Massa- 
 chusetts, and followed with the liberal few to the 
 shores of Narragansett Bay, to live and thrive under 
 a banner whose emblems were ''Equality" and "Un- 
 selfishness." A granddaughter of this Colonial gov- 
 ernor married Thomas Tibbals, of Milford, whose 
 son Ambrose Tibbals married Dorothy Thompson. 
 a granddaughter of Thomas Welles, who was dep- 
 uty-governor of Connecticut four years, and gov- 
 ernor in 1655 and 1658. It was from this union, 
 after several generations had intervened, that the 
 father of our subject was descended. 
 
 Marcus Merwin, at the time of the birth of his 
 son Charles, lived in West Haven, Conn., and soon 
 afterward moved to Norfolk, Va., where he was in 
 business for a few years. Then returning North, 
 he permanently settled on that portion of the Mer- 
 win estate at that time known as Merwin's Point, 
 now, however, transformed into one of the most 
 charming summer cities by the sea, called Wood- 
 mont. 
 
 When eighteen years of age, after an education 
 sufficiently complete, Charles P. Merwin went to 
 New Haven, and was employed by one of the lead- 
 ing wholesale grocery houses, after a few years of 
 diligent service becoming a partner in the firm. He 
 was married in 1870, and had four sons. On ac- 
 count of poor health he sold his business in New 
 Haven and bought out a brick business in Berlin ; 
 to this he brought his indomitable energy, making a 
 success, his yard being second to none in New Eng- 
 land. He died in October, 1893, leaving a wife and 
 three sons, the oldest of whom, R. Clifford Merwin, 
 a Yale graduate, is now president of the C. P. Mer- 
 win Brick Co. 
 
 CFIARLES DICKINSON. The Dickinson 
 family has been long prominent in the history of 
 Connecticut. The first progenitor in this State was 
 Nathaniel, who settled at Wethersfield, in 1637, be- 
 ing one of the first inhabitants of that place. He was 
 a man of more than ordinary local prominence, hav- 
 ing served as town clerk and representative in the 
 General Assembly in 1646 and 1656. From Wethers- 
 field he removed to Hadley, Mass., where he died. 
 
 The great-grandfather of Charles Dickinson was 
 named William. He was a resident of Southington, 
 where he carried on the business of a tinner. He 
 was the father of four children, Daniel D., Asher, 
 Sarah and Julia. 
 
 Daniel Dickinson, the grandfather of Charles, 
 was a farmer, who owned considerable real estate 
 and was regarded throughout his life as a thrifty and 
 prosperous citizen. His distinctive characteristic, 
 outside of his integrity, was his pride, he enjoying 
 the reputation of being the proudest man in the en- 
 tire county. He was an extensive grower of fruit, 
 particularly of apples, and a manufacturer of cider in 
 large quantities. The latter product he marketed at 
 New Orleans, obtaining therefor an average price 
 of ten dollars per barrel. In the process of manu- 
 facture he was strictly conscientious, frequently 
 sending his son, Rollin, to Middletown, to purchase 
 sweet apples, in order that the due proportion of 
 sweet and acid juice might be honestly preserved. 
 His scrupulousness in this regard afforded an index 
 to his entire moral character, and his consistent 
 character and life as a member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church of Southington was never called in 
 c[uestion. 
 
 Rollin Dickinson, the father of Charles, was 
 reared upon his father's farm, and attended the dis- 
 trict schools which were nearest the place of his- 
 birth. He was a man of far more than ordinary 
 abilitv, and endowed with a singular gift for pulpit 
 oratory. He was a peddler by occupation, and while 
 engaged in the prosecution of liis trade was accus- 
 tomed to speak, from Sunday to Sunday, in every 
 school house where opportunity was offered, and 
 'wherever he was known he was much beloved, being" 
 a man whose personal magnetism made itself every- 
 where felt. He was the first inventor of the lucifer 
 match, his device necessitating the dropping of a 
 stick tipped with brimstone into a bottle of liquid 
 phosphorus. As a matter of course, the user found 
 it necessary to buy not only the sticks, but also the 
 phosphoric acid. Perceiving the inherent defects- 
 of his device as readily as did those who used it, Mr. 
 Dickinson employed a young man by the mane of 
 Morton Judd (afterward Deacon Morton Judd, of 
 Wallingford) to go to New York, to learn the art of 
 match-making as it was then carried on by the best 
 manufacturers. How much he may have learned 
 through the report of his representative cannot be 
 easily told, but it is certain that he subsequently en- 
 gaged in the manufacture of matches at Southing- 
 ton, where he turned out a fairly good match for the 
 period. Later, he engaged in the manufacture of 
 four-wheeled wagons, and he is said to have been 
 the pioneer in this branch of mechanical industry in 
 the State. He is known as the founder of Plants- 
 ville, where he established a factory for the manu- 
 facture of brass and iron shovels and tongs. The 
 beginning was of the most modest description, but 
 through judicious management, and after several 
 changes of hands, it developed into the present ex- 
 tensive plant of Wightman, Dickinson, Judd & Co. 
 
1004 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In addition to his business as a manufacturer Mr. 
 Dickinson for many years conducted a store at 
 Soutiiington, in whicn his son, Charles, first obtained 
 his experience as a druggist. The father, although 
 not a pharmacist, conducted a dispensary, which he 
 sold in 1817. In his religious faith and observance 
 he was a strict puritan, being particularly noted for 
 the strictness with which he observed the Sabbath. 
 His religious connection was with tiie Uajitist denom- 
 ination, and he died in that faith in 1842. He was. 
 public-spirited and influential, ana his death was re- 
 garded as a cause for public regret. Mr. Dickinson 
 married Alarilla Judd. daughter of John Judd, of 
 New Britain, anu the issue of their union was four 
 children: ^largaret. born in 1824, married to Sam- 
 uel Upson, of Soutiiington ; Charles ; Judson D., 
 born in iS3i.who served in the Civil war, and died in 
 1867; and Jane AI., born in 1836, wlio married John 
 Cook, lived in Winsted, and died in the year 1872. 
 After Mr. Dickinson's death his widow married Gil- 
 man Hinsdale, who contlucted an express business 
 between New Britain and Hartford. 
 
 Charles Dickinson, whose name opens this arti- 
 cle, was tern in Soutiiington, on Sept. 8, 1826. His 
 educational advantages were sucli as were incident 
 to the times. He attended the district school, and 
 as soon as he was aole began work upon a farm. 
 His father was anxious that he should receive a bet- 
 ter training, sending him for a year to an academy, 
 and offering him an opportunity to attend college, 
 but young Dickinson preferred an active life to the 
 seclusion more or less inevitable to that of a student. 
 A year after he had left school the father sold his 
 farm, and in 1844 Charles came to New Britain, 
 where he entered the employ of M. & O. S. Judd, 
 house builders. He continued in their employ for 
 several years, when he oegan work for the Russell 
 & Erwin Co., with whom he remained for two or 
 three years, never losing an opportunity to work 
 during extra hours, thus gaining money for over- 
 time. Upon the building of the Hartford & Provi- 
 dence railroad the company engaged him as consta- 
 ble, to repress the disorder incident to the con- 
 struction of the line. This position he filled for some 
 four years, and for two years was collector of school 
 taxes. In 1857 he purchased the interest of Mr. 
 Hale in the firm of Hale & Dickinson, which had 
 been formed in 1852, with the intention of buying 
 out Hubbard & Kellogg. After various changes in 
 title and mutations in interests, the firm name be- 
 came C. & J. Dickinson, Charles having admitted 
 into partnership his brother, who had served with 
 distinction during the Civil war. The partnership 
 between the brothers continued until the death of the 
 junior member of the firm, since which time Charles 
 Dickinson has conducted the business alone. He is 
 the oldest druggist in business in New Britain, and, 
 v\"ith one exception, the oldest in the countv. His 
 success is lareelv attributable to the scrupulous hon- 
 esty with which he has conducted his business — it 
 being radically opposed to his principles to carry 
 any other than fresh drugs. 
 
 j\[r. Dickinson is a member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church. In politics he was originally a Whig, 
 and since the organization of the Republican party 
 he has allied himself with that body. For two years 
 he was a member of the common council of New 
 Britain, serving as chairman of the committee on 
 Streets. He is a member of Harmony Lodge No. 
 20, A. F. & A. M. Our subject married Anna Maria 
 Hayes, of East \Vindsor, a daughter of Solomon 
 Hayes, and two daughters (twins) have been born 
 to them, Fannie Louisa and Anna Maria. Anna Ma- 
 ria died in infancy, in December, 1850; Fannie Lou- 
 isa married F. H. Alford. 
 
 JOHN W. PURTILL, the well-known paper 
 manufacturer of South Glastonbury, has been very 
 successful in business, and, as a result of his ener- 
 getic and progressive methods, has built up a flour- 
 ishing village in the community. 
 
 The subject of our sketch was born Feb. 4, 1847, 
 and, like many others of our liberty-loving citizens, 
 comes from the land of the oppressed, Ireland ; he 
 landed on the shores of the New World when little 
 over one year old. His parents first settled in the 
 beautiful town of Wapping, Conn., where the first 
 eight years of his life in the New World were spent. 
 In 1858 the family moved to Manchester, and here 
 our subject spent twenty-eight years in education 
 and preparation for the different positions he so ac- 
 ceptably filled in after life. At Alanchester he at- 
 tended the district schools, and after leaving them 
 spent one year in St. Bonaventura College. On re- 
 turning home he found employment in the Union 
 Mills, Manchester, as mule spinner, and after two 
 years spent in this preparatory work accepted a po- 
 sition with the Mutual Manufacturing Co., in their 
 cotton mills, as second liand in their spinning room, 
 and by strict attention to the business of his em- 
 ployers he rose by successive steps to overseer of 
 both spinning and carding, and later became super- 
 intendent of the entire works. 
 
 In 1882 the Manchester Warp & Yarn Co. was 
 organized, with the subject of our sketch as agent 
 and manager, Mr. Purtill continuing in this posi- 
 tion until 1886, when an opportunity presented 
 itself, in Glastonbury, for him to occupy a larger 
 field. He bought the extensive cotton mills known 
 as the "Wasuc Mills," and removing to Glastonbury 
 has since cast in his lot with this enterprising com- 
 munity. By remodeling the mills to harmonize with 
 modern ideas, and by adding very largely of new 
 machinery, the plant was put in condition to manu- 
 facture specialties in cottons, which found a ready 
 market, and the mills were run very successfully un- 
 til November, 1888, when they were entirely de- 
 stroyed by fire. After the fire Mr. Purtill trav- 
 eled through the South for six months, investigat- 
 ing the availability of that section as a cotton manu- 
 facturing center, and, while impressed with the many 
 advantages which the South offered to wide-awake 
 men from the North in this new field, then just 
 
 i 
 
KjyOt/iyClJC-A^ 
 
i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1005 
 
 Dpening, did not think best to sunder business ties, 
 md leave associations that had been so dear to him 
 for so many years, and so concluded to still con- 
 linue business at the old stand. In 1889 the pres- 
 ent paper mills were erected, and they have been 
 Dperated very successfully up to the present time. 
 
 In 1886 Mr. Purtill was married to Catherine 
 Grace Moroney, of Hillstown, and to this union six 
 :hildren have been born: Willie, Grade, Francis, 
 Eddie, Leo and Agnes. 
 
 WILLIAM R. BEST was one of the well- 
 known founders of the Best Manufacturing Co., of 
 Windsor. He, was born in Durham, England, April 
 16, 1836, a son of Robert and Sarah (Robinson) 
 Best. 
 
 The father who was a paper maker in England, 
 resolving to try his fortune in America, took passage 
 in 1845 on a sailing vessel at Liverpool, for America, 
 landing at New York after a voyage of four weeks 
 and three days. The following year he was joined 
 by his wife and four children. He found employ- 
 ment in the Congress Mill at Rainbow, Conn., and 
 the family first located at that place. Later they re- 
 moved to Poquonock, where he was employed as 
 superintendent of a paper-mill, later leasing the Con- 
 gress Mill at Rainbow from William H. Imley for 
 five years ; but after operating it for two years, he 
 sold the lease to Mr. Imley, by whom he was re- 
 tained as superintendent for some time. After the 
 failure of that gentleman in 1857, Mr. Best left 
 Rainbow and went to Windsor Locks, where he 
 leased a paper-mill, which burned down a few 
 months later. Being thus unemployed, he one day 
 strolled into Holbrook's factory, where globes and 
 such school appliances were made. The globes were 
 then made of wood and required much work. He 
 conceived the idea of making them from pasteboard, 
 and was the first to manufacture that style of globes 
 for school purposes. For some time he was in the 
 employ of Mr. Holbrook, and then went to Westfield, 
 Mass., where he worked in the Chaflin mill. Subse- 
 quently he started a new mill at West Springfield, 
 Mass., and had charge of the department for pre- 
 paring the rags for paper for some years, remain- 
 ing there until old age necessitated his retirement. 
 In early life he predicted the possibility of making 
 paper from anything that had fibre, and his whole 
 life was devoted to the art of paper making, being- 
 engaged in its manufacture before machines were 
 used. 
 
 Being a skilled mechanic, a good workman, and 
 reliable in all things, Mr. Best was seldom out of a 
 position. He assisted in building the Congrega- 
 tional church at Poquonock, helped to buy their or- 
 gan, and always rented a pew in that church. In 
 politics he was a stanch Republican. He died in 
 October, 1891, at the age of seventy-seven years, 
 and the mother of our subject departed this life in 
 1846, just two weeks after her arrival in America. 
 By this union there were four children, William R. 
 being the eldest. (2) John enlisted during the Civil 
 
 war in the 19th Conn. V. I., from Norwich, and was 
 killed at Fort Steadman, near Petersburg; he left a 
 widow and two children. (3) Robert enlisted at 
 West Springfield, Mass., in the loth Mass. V. I., 
 and was twice wounded, first at Fair Oaks, when he 
 was sent to the hospital at Baltimore, Md., and later 
 during the battle of the Wilderness. While serving 
 as color sergeant he was taken prisoner, and for 
 some time was confined in Libby prison and, later, 
 in Andersonville, but on the approach of Gen. Sher- 
 man's army, he, with others, was taken away and 
 sent to Florence, S. C, where he died from starva- 
 tion and cruelty. (4) Sarah is now the wife of Al- 
 vin Foster, of Springfield, Mass. For his second 
 wife Robert Best married a Miss Simmons, a na- 
 tive of England, and^to them were born two chil- 
 dren: (i) Joseph, who died at the age of twenty- 
 one years; (2) a daughter, who died at the age of 
 three months, and at whose birth the mother died. 
 The third and last wife was Jane Hemmingway, of 
 Tariffville, Conn., who was also a native of England, 
 and by her he had three children: George, a resi- 
 dent of Orange, Mass. ; Edwin, a resident of West 
 Springfield, Mass. ; and Mary, now Mrs. Crozier, of 
 West Springfield. 
 
 William R. Best began his education in England, 
 and to a limited extent attended the district schools 
 of Hartford county after his emigration to America. 
 As a boy he was employed in the paper mills, with 
 which he was connected until nineteen years of age, 
 when he learned the cigar maker's trade at Poquo- 
 nock under Mr. Hungerford, serving a three-years 
 apprenticeship. Soon afterward, however, he re- 
 turned to the paper-mill, and for some time alter- 
 nated the occupations of cigar and paper making. In 
 1858 he went to New Haven, where he worked as a 
 cigar maker for Burton Warner until his enlistment 
 in the Union service during the Civil war. In Octo- 
 ber, 1862, he joined Company A, 27th Conn. V. I., 
 as a private, and his first engagement was at Fred- 
 ericksburg. He participated in all of the battles 
 and skirmishes in which the regiment took part until 
 he was taken prisoner at the battle of Chancellors- 
 ville, May 3, 1863. He was first sent to Libby prison, 
 Richmond, Va., and later to Belle Isle, where he 
 remained two weeks, and was then paroled, being- 
 sent to the parole camp at Annapolis. He rejoined 
 his regiment at Washington, D. C, while they were 
 on their way home, their term of service having ex- 
 pired. He was honorably discharged July 27, 1863, 
 and returned to New Haven, Conn., where he re- 
 mained until coming to Windsor early in the year 
 1865. Here he first worked for Samuel Case in the 
 cigar business, but in 1870 assisted in organizing a 
 stock company, known as the Best Manufacturing 
 Co., which is still in active business. At one time 
 they employed a large number of men and made 
 millions of cigars annually. 
 
 Mr. Best was united in marriage with Miss 
 Helen Holcomb.a native of Windsor and a daughter 
 of Elihu and Marian (Phelps) Holcomb, whose 
 sketch appears elsewhere. One child was born of 
 
1006 
 
 COMMEMOR'ATH^'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 this union : Augusta M., now the wife of Ralph C. 
 ]-'icl<ering, of Windsor. Mr. and Mrs. Best occupy 
 a comfortable home on Pleasant street, Windsor, 
 wnich was erected by our subject. A man of high 
 character and undoubted integrity, the success that 
 he has achieved in life is certainly well deserved, 
 and he justly merits the* confidence and respect so 
 freely accorded him by his fellow citizens. Politi- 
 cally'he is a stanch Republican ; sociallv he is a mem- 
 ber 'of Robert Tyler Post, G. A. R., of Hartford. 
 
 SHELDON J. GRANT. This veteran of the 
 Civil war, for whom meritorious service in the field 
 won a captain's commission, and who actively par- 
 ticipated throughout the four-years' conflict, _has 
 been a prominent citizen of the town of South \Mnd- 
 sor through the greater part of his long and event- 
 ful career. 
 
 :\lr. Grant was born in the present residence of 
 the Hackett family, Nov. 13, 1829, at Wapping, in 
 South Windsor, the birthplace of every Grant in his 
 line of descent from Tahan Grant, Jr. He is of the 
 eighth generation in descent from Matthew Grant, 
 who sailed from Plymouth, England, in the ship 
 "Marv and John" in 1630, and settled first in Dor- 
 chester, afterward coming overland with Capt. Ma- 
 son in October, 1635. He finally settled in what is 
 now Windsor. His lot was in the PaHsado, and his 
 house on the site of what is now the Hill school 
 house. His sons, Samuel and Tahan, came across 
 the river and took up a tract of fertile land in what 
 is now East Windsor Hill, Tahan being the ancestor 
 in the second generation of the subject of this 
 sketch. From Sanniel, Sr., Ulysses S. Grant was de- 
 scended through his son Noah, grandson Noah, 
 great-grandson of the same name, and the general's 
 father, Jesse R. Sheldon J. Grant is descended in the 
 following line from the emigrant ancestor Matthew : 
 (i) Matthew, (2) Tahan, (3) Tahan, Jr., (4) 
 Thomas, (5) Samuel Rockwell, (6) Gustavus. {7) 
 Hiram, (8) Sheldon J. 
 
 Our subject is connected by marriages during 
 these generations with most of the Old Windsor 
 and many of the Hartford families. Among his 
 direct ancestors are William Wadsworth, father of 
 Capt. Joseph Wadsworth, who hid the Colonial char- 
 ter in the Charter Oak ; John Webster, who was gov- 
 ernor of the Colony in 1656; John Porter, who 
 traced his ancestry back to the time of Norman in- 
 vasion of England. On his mother's side he is de- 
 scended from Gov. Tbeopilus Eaton, first governor 
 of the New Haven Colony. In the war of the Rev- 
 olution five of his ancestors were engaged, one of 
 whom, Capt. Matthew Grant, responded to the "Lex- 
 ington alarm," and another, Joseph Hosmer, was or- 
 derly to Gen. Montgomery, on the Quebec expedi- 
 tion ; a third, William Avery Morgan, was a ser- 
 geant at Bunker Hill. 
 
 Hiram Grant, father of our subject, married Mi- 
 riam Hosmer, who died in 1830, when Sheldon J. 
 was a boy, and for a time he lived with his grand- 
 father, a resident of Wapping. When his father 
 
 married a second time, however, he returned home, 
 and there remained until he was twenty-one vears of 
 age, receiving a good common-school education and 
 assisting in the work of the farm. 
 
 When he reached his majority Mr. Grant began 
 the manufacture of cigars, and that business he con- 
 tinued successfully for more than ten years, or until 
 the Civil war brought intense excitement and 
 aroused an exalted patriotism througnout the North. 
 At the first flush of the coming struggle Mr. Grant 
 did not enust, but when it became evident that a 
 serious war was before the country he closed his 
 business and arranged to go to the front. He en- 
 listed, in Septembei:, 1861, in Company H, 12th 
 Conn. V. I., which he helped to form, and mustered 
 in at Hartford as a sergeant. The regiment joined 
 the army of Gen. Banks, in service at New Orleans. 
 \Miile there Sergt. Grant was detailed for about six 
 n;onths as assistant superintendent of the contraband 
 department, v.'hich lookeu after the colored refugees, 
 about 30,000 of the former slaves being provided 
 for by this department. Following the capture of 
 New Orleans, Sergt. Grant, after the important 
 work performed in this department, was tendered 
 and accepted a commission as captain of Company 
 C. 99th Regiment United States Colored Troops. He 
 was with his company and regiment in Gen. Banks' 
 Red River Campaign, participated in the battle of 
 Pleasant Hill and other minor engagements, and 
 his regiment assisted in the construction of the dam 
 across the Red river. He was at the engagement 
 of Fort Butler, which began at eight o'clock in the 
 evening and lasted until four o'clock the next morn- 
 ing. After the Banks campaign had ended, Capt. 
 Grant was assigned with his regiment to Fort Jef- 
 ferson, and thence, in December, 1864, was as- 
 signed to the island of Key W'est. A month later 
 his company and regiment, together with six com- 
 panies of the Second U. S. Colored Troops, went on 
 a campaign through Florida. In a skirmish at Nat- 
 ural Bridge, Plorida, he was wounded in the head 
 by a minie ball, and was sent to a hospital at Key 
 West ; he had been there about six weeks when he 
 was placed aboard a gunboat destined to Fortress 
 Monroe, and was on his way home on a thirt3'-days 
 furlough when Lee surrendered. 
 
 Receiving his discharge, our subject returned to 
 his paternal home. His father died in 1866, and the 
 Captain remained on the farm with his mother until 
 his .marriage, in 1867, to Miss Harriet K. Morgan. 
 The same year he moved to the farm in South Wind- 
 sor, where he has lived ever since, owning sixty- 
 eight acres of land, and carrying on tobacco grow- 
 ing extensivelv. To Mr. and Mrs. Grant have been 
 born six children: Ralph M., an attorney at law; 
 Minnie, wife of Everett Scott, principal of the Mel- 
 rose high school ; Carrie L., at home ; Arthur S., a 
 student at Wesleyan University ; Mary H. and Clar- 
 ence S., deceased. 
 
 Capt. Grant was elected a representative to the 
 State Legislature for 1879 and 1880. He is a Re- 
 publican in politics, and for many years has been 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1007 
 
 active in the local councils of his party, for more 
 'than twenty years serving as registrar of voters. For 
 Hie past two years he has been acting school visitor. 
 In church work Capt. Grant has been active, hav- 
 ino- been a lifelong member of the Methodist Episco- 
 pat Church, and for over thirty years leader of the 
 ■church choir. Since 1867 he has filled the office of 
 Ichurch trustee. He has also been a prominent Sun- 
 'day-school worker, having been superintendent for 
 manv years. Capt. Grant is a leading member of 
 Robert Tyler Post, G. A. R., and ranks as one of 
 the most prominent and public-spirited men of South 
 Windsor. 
 
 OWEN R: HAVENS is a characteristic repre- 
 sentative of the intelligent farming class which dis- 
 tinguishes Hartford county, a man whose energy 
 and practical gifts have brought hmi success in his 
 chosen calling, and, united to his mental capabilities, 
 have also made him prominent as a leader in the 
 wider interests of pubhc life. 
 
 The Havens family has long been identified with 
 Hartford county, of which our subject's great- 
 grandfather, Thomas Havens, was a native, born m 
 Wethersfield. He married Lucinda Adams, of that 
 place. William W. Havens, the grandfather, was 
 also born in Wethersfield, and married Mary Water- 
 bury, of Waterbury, Conn., by whom he had eight 
 children, five sons and three daughters: William, 
 John, Simeon, Thomas, Ebenezer G., Irene, Mary 
 and Hulda. 
 
 Ebenezer G. Havens was born in Wethersfield, 
 receiving his education in the common schools, and 
 in his native place married Melvine M. Ruick, of 
 Granby, Conn., by whom he had two children : Owen 
 R. and Nellie M.. the latter, who has not married, a 
 trained nurse in Brooklyn, N. Y. The mother dying 
 in 1861, the father subsequently wedded Jennie Mar- 
 tin, and to that union were also Dorn two children: 
 Leila and William. Mr. Havens was a stanch Re- 
 publican in political sentiment, though he took no 
 active part in party afl:airs. His religious connection 
 was with the Congregational Church. He passed 
 away in February, 1899. 
 
 Owen R. Havens was born Aug. 23, 1856, in 
 Wethersfield. He was reared to farm life, remain- 
 
 i ing at home until he reached the age of twenty, and 
 attended the schools of Wethersfield and Rocky Hill, 
 acquiring a good, practical education. Commencing 
 life on his own account, he embarked in the butcher 
 business in New Hartford, Conn., continuing same 
 some twenty months, at the end of which time he 
 
 , sold out. For a number of years thereafter he was 
 engaged on the farm with his father during the 
 summer season, and in the winter sold seed, travel- 
 ing through the States of New York, Pennsylvania, 
 Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts 
 and Connecticut during the nine seasons he followed 
 that business — five with Comstock & Ferry and four 
 
 \ with Johnson. Robinson & Co. Having decided to 
 settle down to agricultural pursuits, Mr. Havens 
 purchased the fa:rm in the town of Rocky Hill where 
 
 he has since resided, and which is now in a fine state 
 of cultivation. He has devoted his land to general 
 crops, principally hay and cereals, has bought and 
 sold hay, and has also bred some fine horses, being 
 an ardent admirer of good horseflesh. As a farmer 
 he stands second to none, and he takes no less pride 
 in the appearance and neatness of his place than in 
 the remunerative side of his cahing, as his beautiful 
 home and surroundings testify. 
 
 Mr. Havens' activity in politics, as a strong sup- 
 porter of the Republican partv, and his zeal for the 
 public welfare, have given him a reputation and in- 
 fluence which reaches beyond the bounds of his lo- 
 cality. With the exception of one vear, he has 
 served since 1892 as first selectman, has been dele- 
 gate to the Republican State Conventions since 1893, 
 and in 1892-93 served in the State Legislature, dur- 
 ing his term acting as member of the committee on 
 Labor. His public services have been marked by 
 clean business methods, effective, energetic and sat- 
 isfactory to his constituents, and his high personal 
 reputation has no doubt been the most potent factor 
 in his success as a public man, winning him the con- 
 fidence of his fellow citizens to a degree which no 
 other quality could command. 
 
 On May 27, 1887, in Hartford, Mr. Havens was 
 married to Miss Lillian W. White, who was born 
 and reared in Hartford, daughter of William FL 
 and Laura Parsons (Wilder) White. Mr. and Mrs. 
 White had two children, the son, William, dying 
 when four j^ears of age, previous to the death of the 
 father, who oassed away when Mrs. Havens was 
 five years of age. Mrs. White married again, be- 
 coming the wife of Leonard Dannels, a miller and 
 leading business man of Hartford, who died in 1892. 
 She died in 1896. There were no children by that 
 union. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Havens have traveled quite ex- 
 tensively all over the United States, having jour- 
 neyed as far as California, and Mrs. Havens is 
 a woman of intellect and many accomplishments. 
 They unite with the Congregational Church at 
 Rockv Hill. Mr. Havens is a member of St. John's 
 Lodge, No. 4, F. & A. M., Hartford. 
 
 L. P. CLARK & SONS. The value and effi- 
 ciency of sound business methods as applied to agri- 
 cultural operations is clearly seen in the work of 
 this well known firm, generally known as Clark 
 Brothers, now noted as being among the most ex- 
 tensive growers of tobacco and fruit in Windsor 
 town. Their fine farm at Poquonock is conducted 
 in a thoroughly scientific manner, and the results are 
 seen in the large yields and superior quality of the 
 crops raised, while enterprise and wise foresight 
 enable the firm to so place their product upon the 
 market as to bring satisfactorv financial returns. 
 
 The senior member of the firm is an excellent 
 representative of the sturdy New England type of 
 farmer. He was born Aug. 19, 1825, in Windsor 
 village, son of Harry and Chloe (Riley) Clark. His 
 schooling was limited, and when nine years old he 
 
1008 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 began working for farmers in the neighborhood, 
 while at sixteen he entered upon an apprenticeship 
 to tiie carpenter's trade, which he followed for some 
 years. During this time he was employed by the 
 Hartford Carpet Co., at Tariffville, Conn., and for 
 four \-ears he worked in the United States Armory 
 at Springfield, Mass. His mother's sister, Mrs. 
 Elisha Barber, died in the winter of 1861-62, leaving 
 him a small farm, and in 1863 he engaged in agri- 
 culture, which he has continued ever since, although 
 at times he has done some work at his old trade. 
 In the spring of 1865 he bought his present farm, 
 then known as the Guy Griswold farm, and by hard 
 work and judicious management he has made it 
 one of the most productive estates of its size in the 
 town. Notwithstanding a long life of industry he 
 is well preserved, a slight defect in hearing being 
 the only indication of age. In manner he is quiei 
 and unassuming, and as a citizen he is held in high 
 esteem, his success in business having been won by 
 strictly honest methods. Politically he is a strong 
 Republican, of Whig antecedents, but he has never 
 sought or held office. 
 
 In May, 1849, Mr. Clark married Aliss Cather- 
 ine McKnight, who was born March 2, 1830, at 
 Great Falls, N. H., daughter of Thomas and Mary 
 (Porter) McKnight. During their lift)' years of 
 wedded life she has been an unfailing comfort to 
 him and he acknowledges with manly ])ride the value 
 of her advice and practical help as factors in his 
 success. They have had two sons, Albert H., and 
 Robert L., both members of the firm and thoroughlv 
 competent business men. 
 
 Albert H. Cl.vrk, who was born Sept. i, 1853, 
 at Tariffville, was for a time engaged in mercantile 
 business at Poquonock, but at present he devotes his 
 entire time to the interests of the firm of Clark 
 Bros. On April 19, 1900, he was married to Miss 
 Ida A. Hardy, a resident of Hoi yoke, ]\Iass., who 
 was born in Poquonock, a daughter of George F. 
 and Jane (Smith) Hardy. Her father is dead, and 
 her mother resides in ^Manchester, Hartford county. 
 
 Robert L. Cl.\rk was born at Tariffville, Jan. 
 28, 1856, and became associated with the business 
 at an earlj' age. He married Miss Hattie L. Day, 
 who died in March, 1886, leaving one son, Frank 
 S., who was born in October, 1878, and is now en- 
 gaged in farming in his own account. The broth- 
 ers are aggressive and shrewd managers, and, hav- 
 ing been trained under the watchful care of their 
 father, there is no department of farm work with 
 which they are not familiar. Their land is in three 
 tracts, of thirty-one, thirty-five and one hundred 
 acres, respectively, the latter being the homestead. 
 All are equipped with extensive tobacco sheds and all 
 modern improvements, and are in high state of culti- 
 vation. Their crops of tobacco for 1900 consisted of 
 some thirty-four acres with an average yield of 
 about a ton to the acre, and 1800 potmds of sorted 
 stock. As practical growers the brothers are al- 
 ways ready to co-operate in any movement of inter- 
 est to the tobacco trade, while they are no less help- 
 
 ful in general agricultural development, having as- 
 sisted in organizing Poquonock Grange, of which 
 they are still leading members, Albert PI. being 
 lecturer of same. \Vhile they vote the Republican 
 ticket on State and National issues, they are inde- 
 pendent in local aft'airs, looking only to the question 
 of fitness of candidates, and neither of them has time 
 or inclination for public life, their business requir- 
 ing their close attention. 
 
 CHARLES L.\RUE AUSTIN, farmer, stock 
 raiser and tobacco grower. West Suffield, is one of 
 Plartford county's most capable, energetic and suc- 
 cessful business men. A native of Connecticut, he 
 was born Sept. 16, 1848, on the farm in the town of 
 Suffield, where he is yet residing. 
 
 Gustavus Austin, grandfather of our subject, was 
 born in Suflield, and was a son of Caleb Austin, who 
 was a farmer and land owner in that locality. Gus- 
 tavus Austin was for the most part a self-educated 
 man, having attended only the district schools in 
 his boyhood ; but he amply made up for deficiencies 
 in this respect by home study and close observation 
 of men anil things. He was, moreover, well versed 
 in ancient history, and deeply read in Bible lore. 
 In his younger days he peddled Yankee notions in 
 New York State and Connecticut, and in all his 
 ventures was very successful. In 1819 he bought 
 the Capt. Jonathan Sheldon farm, now owned by 
 our subject, and there passed the rest of his days, 
 dying in 1855, at the patriarchal age of ninety-one 
 years. His remains are interred in West Suffield 
 cemetery. In many respects Gustavus Austin was 
 a remarkable man — ambitious but^ honorable ; argu- 
 mentative though not quarrelsome; and possessed 
 of the happy faculty of always making friends, and 
 of the still happier faculty of keeping them. In 
 politics he was an Old-line Whig, but at no time in 
 his long career was he ever an office-seeker. In 
 church matters he was active, as a leading member 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he was 
 a class-leader and exhorter. He married Lydia C. 
 Kent, who was a member of a Suffield family, and 
 five children were born to them : Thomas J., Gus- 
 tavus, Benjamin Franklin, Caleb and Lydia C. The 
 mother of these, who was a good Christian woman, 
 a member of the Baptist Church, died on the old 
 farm in 1866, at the ripe old age of ninety-two years. 
 
 Thomas J. Austin, father of our subject, was 
 born in 1804, in Suffield, where in the district schools 
 he received his earlier education, later attending the 
 Connecticut Literary Institute, after which he taught 
 school in Suffield for a time. When yet a young 
 man he clerked in a store in Windsor, in which ca- 
 pacity he remained several years, later taking up 
 farming on the old homestead, where he operated 
 a tract of 200 acres, engaging in tobacco growing 
 and general farming. His health being not of the 
 best, however, he passed his later years in retire- 
 ment, and lived to a ripe age, dying on the farm 
 in 1891, at the age of eighty-seven years. His 
 
'^z^>c>2^. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1009 
 
 remains lie buried in West Suffield cemetery. In 
 business he was uniformly successful, and was un- 
 assuming, domestic and temperate in his habits, 
 noted for the uprightness of his character and his 
 proverbial honest dealing, living up to the golden 
 rule. On June 2, 1847, he married Miss Charlotte 
 L. Hayden, who was born in Hartland, Conn., Oct. 
 25, 1824, a daughter of Ransom B. and Hannah 
 (Mattocks) Hayden, and granddaughter of Col. 
 Nathaniel Hayden, of Windsor, Conn. Four chil- 
 dren blessed this union, as follows : Charles L., the 
 subject proper of these lines ; Gustavus, who died 
 young; Nellie L., wife of Robert M. Zug, of De- 
 troit, Mich. ; ,and L. Corrie, at home. The mother 
 of this family is yet living at the old homestead, 
 universally respected for her m.any virtues and hon- 
 ored years. 
 
 Col. Nathaniel Hayden, great-grandfather of 
 Charles L. Austin, was born March 30, 1775, in 
 Torrington, Litchfield Co., Conn., a son of Augustin 
 and Cynthia Hayden. He married Sally Ransom, 
 of Barkhamsted, Litchfield county, who died at 
 Warehouse Point, April 26, 1873, aged ninety-two 
 years, having long survived her husband, who had 
 passed away June 20, 1819, aged forty-four years. 
 At one time he was a colonel of a regiment in his 
 district. Their children were as follows : Betsy, 
 born Jan. 24, 1800, married Elias Beach, of Water- 
 bury; Ransom B. is mentioned below; Nathaniel, 
 born in 1805, married Sarah Root; Austin, born in 
 March, 1807, married Sarah Ann Cook; Sarah, 
 born Jan. 19, 1810, married Orrin Olmsted River- 
 ton; Almira, born Sept. 17, 1812, married John 
 P. Chapin, of Enfield, and moved to Ohio; Emily, 
 born in May, 1815, married Nathaniel Gaylord, of 
 Hartland; and Addison, born in 1817, married Har- 
 riet Pierson. 
 
 Ransom B. Hayden, grandfather of Charles L. 
 Austin, was born June 2y, 1802, and died at West 
 Suffield, in April, 1886. He married Hannah Mat- 
 tocks', and had children as follows : Charlotte L., 
 the mother of our subject; Osman M.,-born Dec. 
 29, 1826, now living in Laporte, liid. ; Sarah J., 
 Mrs. F. N. Warner, born Oct. i, 1832; Nathaniel, 
 born May, 1834; who married Lizzie J. Todd ; and 
 Georgianna, born May 5, 1837, married to Samuel 
 Hanchett, of Westfield, Massachusetts. 
 
 Charles L. Austin, whose name introduces this 
 memoir, attended the public schools of his native 
 place, and also the Connecticut Literary Institute 
 at Suffield. On account of the impaired health of 
 his father, he remained on the home farm, having 
 charge of it at the early age of sixteen years, and 
 from that time on has successfully managed it and 
 attended to all the business pertaining to it. He has 
 made many improvements upon the property, in- 
 cluding the building of substantial and commodious 
 barns, at the present time operating 140 acres. He 
 makes his home vi^ith his mother and sister, being 
 yet unmarried. In politics he is a Republican, and 
 
 64 
 
 in 1886 he was elected on that ticket to the State 
 Legislature, while there serving on the committee 
 on Roads, Bridges and Rivers. Socially Mr. Aus- 
 tin is a charter member of the O. U. A. M. Lodge 
 at Sufiield, and he is one of the most popular citi- 
 zens of his community. 
 
 ALBERT RALSAY SHEPARD, a prosperous 
 and well-known farmer and dairyman of West 
 Simsbury, is a native of the town, born Dec. 2, 1851. 
 His father, Daniel Ralsay Shepard, was a black- 
 smith, and for several years worked in the Collins 
 Works at Collinsville. He then returned to West 
 Simsbury, where he married Lydia Moses, a daugh- 
 ter of Daniel Moses, and they had five children: 
 Miles M., who died while serving in the Civil war 
 from exposure after the battle of Antietam ; Joseph- 
 ine F., deceased wife of Samuel Ashwell, of Rocky 
 Hill; Alfred M.; Albert R. ; and Ameha, who was 
 married to Elliott H. Latimer. Both parents died 
 in West Simsbury, in the faith of the Congrega- 
 tional Church. 
 
 Albert R, Shepard was but two years of age 
 when he lost his father, and he therefore began 
 working out among the farmers in different parts of 
 the county at an early age. He acquired his edu- 
 cation in the district school, and at the age of 
 eighteen years bought the Miles Moses farm, where 
 he engaged in tobacco-growing, falsing dairy stock, 
 and general farming. In 1892 he bought the Dr. 
 Holcomb farm, of forty acres, and is now engaged in 
 general farming and dairying ; for fifteen years he 
 conducted the Simsbury Creamery. 
 
 Mr. Shepard married, at West Simsbury, in 
 April, 1874, Miss Evvie Mary Brown, daughter of 
 Lafayette G. Brown, and one child was born to 
 this union, Carrie, now the wife of Leon R. Rowley, 
 of Simsbury. Mr. Shepard is in politics a liberal 
 Republican, but has never been an office-seeker; in 
 religion he is a Congregationalist, and he is a mem- 
 ber of the Grange. Pie is domestic in his habits, is 
 temperate and industrious, and is highly respected 
 for his many excellent traits of character. 
 
 The Moses family, from whom, the mother of 
 Mr. Shepard descended, was one of the oldest to 
 settle in Hartford county. The first of the name 
 to come to America was John Moses, a shipwright, 
 who sailed from England in 1630 or 1635, and 
 landed at Plymouth, Mass. His son John settled in 
 Windsor, Conn., prior to 1647. was a soldier in 
 Capt. John Mason's troop ,of .horse, and married 
 Mary Brown May 18, 1653, his death taking place 
 Oct. 14, 1683, and that of his wife Sept. 14, 1689. 
 They were^ the parents of eleven children : John, 
 born June 15, 1654, died Aug. 31, 1714; William, 
 born Sept. i, 1656, died Nov. 27,' 1681 ; Thomas,, 
 born June 14, 1658, died July 29, 1681 ; Mary, born 
 May 13, 1661, married SamiUel Farnsworth ; Sarah, 
 born Feb. 2, 1662, married Samuel Butler ; Natiian- 
 iel ; Dorcas ; Margaret, born Dec. 2, 1666 ; Timo- 
 thy, born in February, 1670; Martha, born Marcli 
 8, 1672, died Jan. 30, 1689; and Mindwell, born Dec.- 
 
1010 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPEIICAL RECORD. 
 
 13, 1676, married Sergt. John Thrall._ and died 
 Jan. 6, 1697. 
 
 John Moses, son of John (2), settled on his 
 father's farm in Simsbury, near Mount Phillip, and 
 married Deborah Thrall July 14, 1680; she died 
 May 16, 1715, the mother of twelve children: John, 
 born April 26, 1681, died in 1759; Deborah (i), 
 born Oct. i, 1682, died in 1683: William, born 
 March 25, 1684, died July 14, 1745: Thomas, born 
 May 8, 1685, died Feb. 6, 1773; Joshua, born Oct. 
 3, 1689, died Feb. 6, 1773; Deborah, born Jan. 12, 
 1691, married Richard Roberts; Caleb (i) ; Othniel 
 (i), born Jan. 10, 1696; Caleb (2), born Jan. 4, 
 1698, died Alarch 24, 1787; Othniel (2), born Sept. 
 6, 1701, died Sept. 11, 1701; Mary, born Sept. i, 
 1702, married Jacob Fuller Jan. 27, 1721 ; and Mar- 
 tha, born in 1705, died July 9, 1764. 
 
 Caleb J\Ioses, son of John (3), was born in 
 Simsbury, was a farmer all his life, and lived to 
 reach the great age of eighty-nine years. He mar- 
 ried, Sept. 15, 1726, Hannah Beeman, and became 
 the father of six children : Caleb, born May 8, 
 1727, died Feb. 18, 1773: Daniel, born June 22, 
 1729, died Sept. 8, 1776; Abel, born June 24, 1733; 
 Ashbel, born in December, 1735 : Michael, born 
 Sept.' 12, 1737, died March 14, 1797: and Lucy, 
 born Alay g, 1740, married Nathaniel Humphrey. 
 
 Daniel Moses, the second of the above family, 
 moved to West Simsbury in 1756, and settled on a 
 farm near Canton. He married Mary Wilcox, who 
 was a daughter of Azariah Wilcox, born in 1732, 
 and died in 18 16. Daniel Moses was a soldier in 
 the Revolutionary army, died in New York Sept. 8, 
 1776, and was buried at North Canton, Conn. To 
 his marriage with Mary Wilcox seven children were 
 born: Daniel, born in 1758, died in 1805; Ridger, 
 born Feb. 13, 1761, died in 1828; Zebina, born April 
 15, 1764, died March 23, 1815; Lois was married 
 to Andrew Riley in 1781 ; Sibyl married Mather 
 Roberts ; Charlotte married Job Phillips ; ]\Iary 
 married Hezekiel Andrev\'s. 
 
 Daniel Moses, eldest child of Daniel, was also a 
 soldier in the Revolution, and later was a farmer 
 at North Canton. He married Anne Edgerton, and 
 to this union were born five children : Daniel, born 
 April 17, 1791, died Dec. 7, 1836; Titus; Norman, 
 born in 1797, died Feb. 10, 1861 ; Ann died jMarch 
 21, 1876; and Anna married Grove Goddard. 
 
 Daniel Moses, son of Daniel (2), and grand- 
 father of our subject, married Lydia Amelia, daugh- 
 ter of Peter Frederic and Roxanna (Case) Buell, 
 who were married April 15, 1788; he died June 10, 
 1827, aged sixty-three years, and she died Dec. 21, 
 1839, aged seventy-three years. The children of 
 Daniel and Lydia A. Moses were: Daniel, born 
 June 25, 181 1, died Nov. 23, 1877 ; Miles, born June 
 12, 1813, died Aug. 19, 1864; Lydia, born June 28, 
 1815, died May 16, 1876, the wife of Daniel R. 
 Shepard, father of our subject; Marcus, born Nov, 
 23, 1818; Uriah, born Dec. 5, 1821 ; Betsey, born 
 July 25, 1826, now the widow of Dr. N. W. Hol- 
 comb; and Celia, born May i, 1832. 
 
 Lafayette G. Brown, father of Mrs. Albert Ral- 
 say Shepard, was born in New Hampshire April 29, 
 1829. His father, John Brown, was one of the 
 twelve children born to Josiah Brown, and was Init 
 twelve years old when he left the parental abode. 
 Until forty years of age he labored as a farm hand, 
 and then bought a farm in New Hampshire. He 
 married Hilary S. Wilson, a daughter of Lura Wil- 
 son, and a native of the State, and to this marriage 
 were born five children : Harriet, who was married 
 to George R. Hilliard ; Julia, married to John Board- 
 man ; Catherine, married to Artemas Stephens ; Dor- 
 cas, deceased wife of Moses Boyden ; and Lafayette 
 G. Tlie father was a Democrat in politics, and 
 both he and his wife died in the faith of the Free- 
 will Baptist Church. 
 
 Lafayette G. Brown received a limited common- 
 school education, and was but nine years old when 
 he started out to work, at $3 per month and board. 
 He was variously employed in New Hampshire until 
 eighteen years of age, when he came to Hartford, 
 Conn., where he worked tv^'o years, and then moved 
 to Springfield, Mass., where he became watchman 
 for the Agawani Canal Co.'s 3'achts; two years later I 
 be came to CoUinsville, Conn., and worked in the I 
 ax factory at that place for fourteen years, during 
 seven of which he had charge of the steel depart- 
 ment. In 1868 he came to Bushy Hill, in Simsbury 
 town, bought the Curtis farm of one hundred acres, 
 and engaged in tobacco-growing, general farming 
 and dairying. 
 
 Mr. iBrown married, Sept. 9, 1852, in Vermont, 
 Miss Caroline White, who was born in that State 
 Jan. 27, 1831, and was a daughter of Daniel White, 
 one of the pioneer settlers of Wardsboro, Vt., from 
 the suburbs of Boston, a^^d his wife, Mary Durant, 
 a descendant of the French Huguenots, who took 
 refuge in England at the time of the persecution of 
 Protestants in France. She died Aug. 27, 1900. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Brown were born four children, 
 Mrs. Shepard being the eldest ; Emma J., born Aug. 
 7, 1855, was married to John T. Shaw, of Simsbury, 
 Nov. 23, 1875 ; Harry L., born July 27, 1867, is mail 
 agent on the railroad between New York and 
 Springfield, and married in 1895 Josie Myers; Per- ; 
 ley W., born Aug. 6, 1869, is adjuster of claims of - 
 the New Haven Consolidated Railroad Co. Mr. 
 Brown was first a Republican in politics, but later 
 a Prohibitionist, and has served as selectman (two 
 years) and assessor. He is prominent as a member 
 of the Congregational Church, and is a highly re- ; 
 spected citizen. 
 
 JOSIAH WHITE, the well-known contractor 
 and builder of Windsor, is a man whose abiljty and 
 personal worth are recognized wherever he is 
 known. He comes of good old Puritan stock, his 
 ancestors having settled in New England at an 
 earl}' period, and in his rise through discouraging 
 circumstances to his present honorable position in 
 life he has shown himself worthy of his name. ; 
 
 The first ancestor of whom a definite record is ,j 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1011 
 
 |o-iven was Elder John White, who was born in 
 England, and came to this country only twelve 
 years after the "Mayflower" Pilgrims. The exact 
 place of his birth is not known, and the date, which 
 is placed between 1595 and 1605, is only inferred 
 from the ages of his children and other data which 
 have been handed down. On June 22, 1632, he 
 sailed from Land's End, England, in the ship 
 '■L3'on," accompanied by hfs wife, Mary, and sec- 
 ond child, and on Sunday, Sept. 16, they landed at 
 Boston, Mass. He settled in Newtown (now Cam- 
 bridge), Mass., where he was admitted as a free- 
 man on March 4, 1633. Tn February, 1635, at the 
 first election in Cambridge, he was elected a select- 
 man (one of seven). In June, 1636, he removed to 
 Connecticut, and settled in Hartford, being one of 
 the chief of the original proprietors there. His 
 home lot was on Elen street (now Governor's 
 street). Religious dissensions caused John White 
 and others to leave Hartford and settle in Hadley, 
 on the Connecticut river, near Springfield, Mass. 
 He was among the founders of Hadley, and was 
 chosen selectman in 1662, 1663 and 1665, and also 
 served as representative (or deputy, as it was then 
 styled) to the General Court or Legislature of Masr 
 sachusetts, sitting in Boston. No account of his 
 first wife, Mary, has been preserved, but it is prob- 
 able she died after his removal to Hartford. By his 
 second wife, Mrs. Martha Mould, he had no chil- 
 dren. Of the six children of the first marriage 
 three were born in England: Mary married Jona- 
 than Gilbert; Nathaniel is mentioned more fully be- 
 low ; John married Sarah Bunce ; Daniel married 
 Sarah Crow ; Sarah married Stephen Taylor ( she 
 was subsequently remarried) ; Jacob, born Oct. 8, 
 1645, married Elizabeth Bunce. 
 
 (H) Capt. Nathaniel White, son of Elder John 
 White, was born in England in 1629, three years 
 before his father came to America. By his first 
 wife, Elizabeth, he had children as follows : Na- 
 thaniel, Elizabeth, John, Mary, Daniel, Sarah, Jacob 
 and Josie. 
 
 (HI) Deacon Nathaniel White was born at 
 Middletown, Upper Houses, Conn., July 7, 1652. 
 He removed to Hadley about the time of his mar- 
 riage to Elizabeth Savage, March 28, 1678, and 
 died there Eeb. 15, 1742, aged eight-nine years. 
 His children were: Elizabeth, Nathaniel, John, 
 Sarah, Josie, Daniel, Jacob, Mary, Elizabeth (2), 
 William and Ebenezer. 
 
 (IV) Ebenezer White, the next in the line of 
 descent, was born in Hadley, April 9, 1701, and 
 resided at the homestead, where he died March 23, 
 1733- He was married, Oct. 28, 1730, to Ruth 
 Atherton, and had two children, Rachel and Eb- 
 enezer. 
 
 (V) Ebenezer White, our subject's great-grand- 
 father, was born in Hadley in 1733, and died Oct. 
 
 i II, 1817. He served as a soldier in the Revolu- 
 ■,,tionary army. His wife was Sarah Church, of Am- 
 5'herst, and they had three children: Sarah, Jonathan 
 J and Elijah. 
 
 (VI) Elijah White, our subject's grandfather, 
 was born June 28, 1778, and died Nov. 24, 1856. 
 He was a leading farmer of Hadley, and was active 
 in local politics as a member of the Whig party, 
 while he showed his patriotism by service in the army 
 inthewarof 1812. On Dec.24, 1799, he married Lucy 
 Pierce, who lived to the age of seventy-four years. 
 Her mother lived to be over one hundred years 
 old, and was the mother of eleven children, all but 
 one of whom lived to be over seventy-five, and that 
 one died at forty-five. Of the others, four lived to 
 be over ninety years old. Five children were born 
 to Elijah and Lucy White: Josiah, our subject's fa- 
 ther ; Samuel Sumner, deceased, who was a farmer at 
 Hadley, Mass.'; Ebenezer, who removed to Ra- 
 cine county. Wis., and died there ; Margaret Smith, 
 who married Lewis Tower, and died in New York 
 State; and Delia, who married Elijah Stall, and died 
 in Hadley, Massachusetts. 
 
 (VII) Josiah White, father of our subject, was 
 born at Hadley Aug. i, 1800, and grew to manhood 
 there, engaging in farming as an occupation. In 
 1850 he removed to Racine county, Wis., and his 
 last years were spent at Owosso, Mich., where he 
 died June 5, 1882, in his eighty-second year. He 
 was married, in Chesterfield, Mass., to Hannah J. 
 Gushing, who was born in that town Feb. 5, 1798, 
 daughter of Abel Gushing and his wife, whose 
 maiden name was Wilder. The Gushing family 
 has been prominent in New England from Colonial 
 times, and her ancestors were early settlers at Hing- 
 ham, Mass.- She died in 1863, in Carson Valley^ 
 Nev. Of their children, the eldest, Amaryllis Cas- 
 sandra, married Alonzo Kellogg, and died in Had- 
 ley, Mass., aged twenty-six years; Harriet mar- 
 ried N. C. Murray, and died in Portsmouth, Ohio; 
 Adaline married C. Frayer, of Racine county. Wis., 
 and died in Michigan ; May, who never married, 
 died in Nevada, aged thirty years ; Susan died at 
 Hadley, aged nineteen years ; Josiah, our subject, 
 is mentioned below ; Sarah married Henry Towell, 
 and resides in Michigan ; Rumina married Henry 
 Williams, of Mason City, Iowa; arid Alma Chris- 
 tiana died when three years old. 
 
 (A/TII) Josiah White was born May 18, 1831, 
 at the old home at Hadley, and was educated in the 
 common schools and the academy at that place, his 
 opportunities being by no means as good as he de- 
 sired. As a scholar he was much above the average, 
 his work in mathematics winning special notice, 
 and doubtless, if he could have had the education 
 that his talents justified, he would have made a 
 brilliant success in professional life. At fifteen he 
 entered upon an apprenticeship to the carpenter's 
 trade with Mr. Griswold, of Unionville, Conn., at 
 fifty dollars for the first three years, and one hun- 
 dred dollars for the fourth and fifth. On complet- 
 ing his term he followed the trade as a journey- 
 man, locating first at Somers, where he spent eight- 
 een years, and where he was in independent busi- 
 ness. On April 20, 1869, he removed to Windsor, 
 where he bought a farm, and during the next nine 
 
10 1 1' 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years he devoted his time to agricukure. He then 
 sold his property and settled in Windsor village, 
 where he soon established a large business as a 
 builder. The best homes erected in the town since 
 he resumed his trade have been built by him, and 
 his reliability and skill have brought him important 
 contracts in'othcr places, including Hartford. His 
 own residence, on Spring street, Windsor, was 
 built in 1890, and is one of the most tasteful and 
 comfortable homes in the village. 
 
 On March 16, 1851, Mr. White was married. 
 in Somers, Conn., to Aliss Hannah C. Pease, a na- 
 tive of that town, born Alarch 7, 1S30. She died 
 April 22, 1886, and her remains were interred in 
 the cemetery at Windsor, where she left many 
 friends. She was a daughter of Azel Pease and a 
 granddaughter of Stephen Pease, a Revolutionary 
 soldier, and a prominent citizen of Somers. Her 
 mother, whose maiden name was Hannah Ashley, 
 was a native of Springfield, Mass. Four children 
 have brightened our subject's home: (i) Hattie M. 
 died aged thirty-two years. (2) Charles J., for- j 
 merly a carpenter at Windsor, died ^larch 24, 1886, j 
 leaving seven children. ( 3 ) Xcllie A. married W. ; 
 C. Faxon, of Hartford. (4) ^liss May A. is at 
 home. The family is much esteemed socially, and 
 our subject is a member of the Congregational 
 Church, to which his lamented wife also belonged. 
 He is identified with the Temple of Honor, and at 
 times has held oftice in the Grand Lodge and served 
 as a member of the Grand Council. He was a 
 charter member of Custer Council, O. U. A. M., 
 at Flartford, and in his younger days was an active 
 worker in the I. O. O. F., having united with Toti- 
 tuck Lodge, No. 33, at Somers, and on one occasion 
 he represented same in the Grand Lodge. Po- 
 litically Air. White is a Prohibitionist, but in former 
 years he affiliated with the Republican party. As 
 he has never used liquors or tobacco he can ap- 
 preciate the benefits of temperance, and his vigorous 
 health, in spite of his hard work and his sixty-eight 
 years, furnishes an excellent illustration of the 
 worth of his theories. Li manner he is quiet and 
 unassuming, but he has a high reputation as a 
 citizen. His leisure time has always been given to 
 reading, and his remarkable memory has enabled 
 him to acquire a wide range of knowledge on gen- 
 eral topics. 
 
 SOLOMON RICHARDS, a well-known grain 
 dealer of Unionville, who has for almost half a 
 century been actively and prominently identified 
 with the business interests of that place, was born 
 in the town of Farmington, Hartford Co., Conn., 
 April 23, 1829. His father, George Richards, was 
 born in the same place. May 25, 1799, and was a 
 son of Solomon Richards, a native of Wyoming, 
 Penn., whose father was killed in the Wyoming 
 massacre. At the age of nine years our subject's 
 grandfather came with his family on foot to Mid- 
 dletown, Conn., and for many years resided on the 
 place now owned by our subject, where he was en- 
 
 gaged in farming. He died at the ripe old age of 
 eighty-one years. He married Aliss Mary Wood- 
 ruff, of Farmington, and to them were born three 
 children: Patty, Mary and George. 
 
 George Richards, the only son, and the father 
 of our subject, acquired a good practical educa- 
 tion in the schools of Farmington, and when a 
 young man engaged in teaching school. In 1832 
 he purchased a half-ip^rest in property at Union- 
 ville, on which stood** mill, which was enlarged, 
 and which burned Jan." 9,* 1887. As a member of 
 the firm of Young & Richards, he continued mill- 
 ing until 1847 when he purchased his partner's in- 
 terest. He served as postmaster of Unionville from 
 the establishment of the office at that place until the 
 close of President Johnson's administration in 1868, 
 and always took quite a prominent part in public 
 affairs. He was one of the original members of 
 the Congregational Church at that place, and was a 
 member of the building committee when the first 
 house of worship was erected. His death occurred 
 in 1880, and his wife, who in her maidenhood was 
 Miss Lucy Williams, of New Hartford, died in 
 1878. They had three children: Lucas, who died 
 in December, 1895; Solomon, our subject; and 
 Milo, who died at the age of four years. 
 
 Solomon Richards received his early education 
 in the public schools of Farmington, and later at- 
 tended the grammar schools of Hartford. In July, 
 185 1, he was made a member of the firm of George 
 Richards & Co., consisting of his father and brother, 
 Lucas. Our subject is still interested in the busi- 
 ness, and is now in partnership with Richard 
 Condon. 
 
 ^Ir. Richards was first married, in Waverly, 
 111., in 1851, to Miss Margaret M. Miller, by whom 
 he had one daughter, Nellie C, who was born June 
 22, 1853, and is now the wife of F. B. WoodruiT, 
 of Southington, Conn. On Dec. 30, 1858, at 
 Southampton, Mass., he was united in marriage with 
 Myra E. Lyman, and to them was born one son ; 
 George Lyman, now a physician of Fall River, 
 Mass., who married Mary Robinson, and has two 
 children : Lyman G. and Helen Frances. Mr. 
 Richards was again married, Sept. 12, 1876, in 
 Leominster, Mass., his third union being with Fran- 
 ces A. Haskell. 
 
 In political sentiment Mr. Richards is a Re- 
 publican. He has been an active and consistent 
 member of the Congregational Church since 1848, 
 and has been a deacon of the same for many years. 
 His strict integrity and honorable dealing in busi- 
 ness commend him to the confidence of all ; and he 
 is one of the honored and highly-respected citizens 
 of Farmington. 
 
 CHARLES EMERY ROWLEY was born at 
 Hebron, Tolland Co., Conn., Oct. 12, 1854, a son of 
 David Eleazer Rowley, and a grandson of Elizur 
 Dunham Rowley. His grandfather was a small 
 farmer. He married Lydia Skinner, of Hebron, and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1013 
 
 besides David E. his children were as follows : John 
 R. ; JNIary R. ; Emmeline R., who married George i 
 Wilcox; Julia, the wife of Frederick iMiller; Abbie, | 
 married to Chatfield Russell; Harriet, now ]\Irs. 
 Strickland; and Sarah R., who died in childhood. 
 Our subject has a book which has been in the Row- 
 le}' family for over one hundred years, and which 
 contains dates of births in the family as far back as 
 1769. 
 
 David E. Rowley was also a fanner. His early 
 years were spent at Middle Haddam, where for 
 eight years he worked upon the farm of an uncle. 
 Returning to the old homestead, he remained for 
 five years, when he bought a small farm in East 
 Berlin. He passed another five years there, and 
 then purchased what was known as the Seldon 
 farm, comprising ^bout forty-eight acres, in the 
 Beckley Quarter of Berlin town. There he spent 
 the remaining twenty-five )-ears of his life, devoting 
 himself chiefly to the raising of vegetables. He 
 was a man noted for his industry and thrift, and 
 was reasonably successful. He died Aug. 8, 1892, 
 of apoplexy, aged sixty-four years, four months. 
 His political creed was that of the Democratic 
 party, yet he was in no sense a politician. Himself 
 and family were members of the Methodist Church. 
 On Nov. 27, 1853, at East Hampton, Conn., Mr. 
 Rowley married Sarah Brainard Rich, Rev. Mr. 
 Tawbush performing the ceremony. Two sons 
 blessed this union : Charles Emery, whose name 
 opens this sketch; and John Clarence, born May 12, 
 1857, at Hebron. On Jan. i, 1889, the latter was 
 married, at Northbridge, ;\Iass., to Mabel Vernon 
 Adams, Rev. J. H. Childs performing the ceremony. 
 They have one son, Stanley Edward, who was born 
 Nov. 2, 1893, in the Beckley Quarter, town of 
 Berlin. 
 
 Mrs. David E. Rowley was born Feb. 21, 1833, 
 at Middle Haddam, and her family is one of the old- 
 est and most respected in the county. Her parents 
 were Oliver and Molanthy Rich, the former of whom 
 died Nov. 19, 1848, aged thirty-nine years, the lat- 
 ter Feb. 7, 1869, aged fifty-six. They had a family 
 of eight children: Nelson W., born June 29, 1831, 
 died Oct. 18, 1864; Sarah B., born Feb. 21, 1833; 
 Asel J., born Sept. 21, 1834 (deceased) ; Benjamin 
 F., born Oct. 6, 1836; Susan E., born Oct. 3, 1840 
 (married Warren W'right) ; James S., born June 
 29, 1842 ; George A., bom Aug. 11, 1844 : and Fannie 
 Lavinia, born June 8, 1847 (she married Isaac Bacon, 
 and is deceased). 
 
 Charles Emery Rowley lived at home in the 
 
 Beckley Quarter, until he arrived at man's estate. 
 
 His early educational advantages were not of the 
 
 best, being confined to attendance upon the district 
 
 schools and one year's inst-uction at Lee iVcademy. 
 
 At the age of sixteen he left school to battle with 
 
 I the world. That he has overcome obstacles and 
 
 \ conquered success is due to his tenacity of purpose, 
 
 his unflinching couragfe, and his unswerving in- 
 
 \ tegrity. After serving an apprenticeship of three 
 
 )' years at the carpenter's trade, he followed it, for a 
 
 time, at New Britain, going to Waterbury in 1875. 
 In 1883 he began taking contracts as a carpenter 
 and builder in his own name, but after two only 
 moderately successful years thus spent he entered 
 the employ of Tracy Brothers, of Waterbury, with 
 whom he remained for several years. The firm was 
 doing an extensive business, and he worked for them 
 later at New Britain, living in Plainville, when he 
 again began business on his own account. His 
 success has been remarkable. During the last five 
 years he has erected sixty houses, the first being 
 at the corner of Dwight and Stanley streets, and 
 at present (October, 1900) he has four contracts 
 under way, and several upon which he has not yet 
 commenced work. 
 
 Mr. Rowley is recognized as one of the leading, 
 solid men of New Britain. For him the "day of 
 small things," which marked the incipiency of his 
 business career, has become a mere memory of the 
 past. Industry, integrity, and sound judgment and 
 eommon sense, have been the foundation stones upon 
 which he has built his success. Politically he is 
 a Democrat, although on local issues he is no blind 
 partisan. He is a regular attendant upon the serv- 
 ices of the Methodist Church, of New Britain, and 
 is a member of Harmony Lodge, No. 20, A. F. & 
 A. M. 
 
 Mr. Rowley was married, in Waterbury, March 
 8, 1884, to Adah Leona, a daughter of Myron C. 
 and Susan H. Teeter, Rev. Dr. Joseph Anderson 
 performing the ceremony. To this union came one 
 daughter, Adah Susan, born July 9, 1885, in Water- 
 bury, who died there Feb. 17, 1886. 
 
 "Mrs. Rowley was born Sept. 17, 1848, in the 
 town of Salisbury, daughter of Myron C. Teeter, 
 who was born Aug. 16, 1817, in New York State, 
 and died June 9, 1883, in Waterbury, Conn. He 
 was a carpenter by trade. On Oct. 9, 1843, he was 
 married, by Esquire Barlow, of Oblong, to Susan 
 Husted Barlow, who was born July 7, 1828, in Salis- 
 bury, and is still living, married to her third hus- 
 band. Mr. and Mrs. Teeter had a family of three 
 children: John Milton, born July 7, 1844, served 
 in the Civil war, and was killed June 9, 1863, at 
 the battle of Cold Harbor ; Adah Leona is the wife 
 of our subject; Susie Angeline, born July 3, 1852, 
 at Cornwall Bridge, town of Sharon, Litchfield Co., 
 Conn., was married, April 14, 1870, in Wlnsted, to 
 Edward Scott Wheeler, of Southbury, Conn., Rev. 
 Charles AVeatherby performing the ceremony. Mr. 
 W'heeler is a pinmaker in the New England Pin 
 Factory, Winsted, where he has been employed for 
 thirty-three years, and is a very industrious work- 
 man. His father, the late William W^heeler, of 
 Southbury, carried on blacksmithing. 
 
 WILLIAM BROWN De BLOIS, late an offi- 
 cer of the Connecticut State Prison at Wethers- 
 field, and a worthy citizen of that town, was born 
 in Newport, R. I., Jan. 15, 1830, of French de- 
 cent, being able to trace his ancestry back to Stephen, 
 king of England. His grandfather, Stephen De. 
 
lOU 
 
 COMMEMDRATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to 
 
 Blois. was a native of France, and belonged to a 
 Huguenot family. He was a gentleman of leisure, 
 and" on coming to this country made his home in 
 Newport, Rhode Island. 
 
 John De Blois, father of our subject, was also 
 a man of leisure, was a Whig in politics, and an 
 Episcopalian in religious belief. He made his home 
 in Newport, and was numbered among its most 
 highly respected citizens. He married Miss Sarah 
 Scott^ who was of Scottish descent, and died in New- 
 port in 1835, she passing away in 1835. Their chil- 
 dren were John and Louis George, both sea captains ; 
 Jane, wife of Seth Scott; Edward T., a merchant 
 planter ; and William B., our subject. 
 
 William B. De Blois was only five years of age 
 when his father died. He was educated in the 
 schools of his native city, and there learned the cab- 
 inetmaker's trade. For some time he was employed as 
 instructor in the cabinet department of the State 
 prison of Rhode Island, and in the same capacity 
 became in 1856 connected with the Connecticut 
 State Prison, with Capt. William Willard. Later 
 he was appointed an officer in that institution, which 
 position he most capably and satisfactorily filled 
 until 1898, when, after thirty-six years' connection 
 with State prison work, he retired, and is now 
 spending his declininsr years in ease and quiet at 
 his beautiful home in Wethersfield. 
 
 During the Civil war Mr. De Blois served in the 
 Union army four years, first as a member of Com- 
 pany D, 1st R. I. V. I., under Capt. Nathaniel 
 Brown and Col. Burnside, with which command he 
 participated in the first battle of Bull Run, and later 
 as a member of Company B, 12th Conn. V. I., under 
 Capt. Grannis and Col. H. C. Deming. He took part 
 in the battle of Georgia Landing, Oct. 27, 1862 ; was 
 present at the capture of the gunboat "Cotton,"' 
 Jan. 14, 1863 ; was in the siege of Port Hudson from 
 May 23 to July 7, 1863 : at the battles of Win- 
 chester, Va., Sept. 19, 1864., Fisher's Hill, Sept. 22, 
 1864, and Cedar Creek, Oct. 19, 1864: and several 
 other engagements. He also participated in the 
 grand review at Washington, D. C, at the close of 
 the war, and was mustered out with the rank of 
 corporal. He is now an honored member of John 
 M. J^Iorris Post, No. 66, G. A. R., of Wethers"field, 
 in which he has served as commander, and is one 
 of the most highly esteemed citizens of his corn- 
 munity. In his political affiliation he is a Republi- 
 can, and his support is never withheld from any 
 enterprise which he believes will prove of public 
 benefit. 
 
 In Wethersfield, in December, i860, Mr. De Blois 
 married Miss J\Iartha Coleman, and to them were 
 born two children: (i) Edward A., a gentleman of 
 good business ability and genial disposition, for 
 many years connected with the Pope Manufacturing 
 Co., in whose interests he traveled extensive!)-, sever- 
 ing his connection with that firm July S, 1900, to 
 assume control of the De Blois Manufacturing Co. 
 He is a cyclist of note, and has won a number of 
 prizes as a rider. (2) Hettie Griswold is now the 
 
 wife of Lewis N. Crane, principal of the high school 
 at Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, N. Y., and they have 
 two children, Frances Marian and Lewis De Blois 
 Crane. 
 
 The Coleman F.\mily, to which Mrs. De 
 Blois belongs, was founded in Wethersfield by John 
 Coleman, who was married in 1695, to Hannah 
 Wright, a daughter of James Wright. She died 
 Aug. I, 1741. Their children were Mary, born Dec. 
 13' 1695; John, May 12, 1698; Thomas, June 6, 
 1701 ; Hannah, Sept. 25, 1704; and Elisha, Oct. 8, 
 1707. 
 
 Elisha Coleman, of this family, became a farmer 
 and land owner of ^\'cthersfield. He married Ann 
 Rose, and they had three children : Peleg, born Aug. 
 19, 1738; Ann, Dec. 22, 1739; and Zadock, Aug. 
 27, 1746. 
 
 Peleg Coleman, the next in direct descent, spent 
 his entire life as a farmer in Wethersfield, and died 
 April 12, 1823. He married Rebecca Dickinson, 
 who was born Feb. 23, 1741, and died 1775, both be- i 
 ing laid to rest in Wethersfield cemetery. They I 
 had seven children: Thomas, born Feb. 10, 1761, 
 died June i. 1818; Sarah, born Jan. 2, 1763, died 
 May 20, 1848; Elisha, born Jan. 2, 1765, died June 
 23, 1823; George, born Feb. 4, 1767, died young; 
 Anna, born Feb. 23, 1769, died Oct. 9, 1850; George, 
 born July 10, 1771, and John, born July 10, 1773. 
 
 Elisha Coleman, a son of Peleg and Rebecca 
 (Dickinson) Coleman, was a lifelong resident of '■ 
 Wethersfield, and a farmer bv occupation. He i 
 married Flannah Loveland, who was born in 1765, 
 and died May 5, 1819. Thei' had eleven children : 
 John, born Jan. 22, 1788, died Aug. 13, 1819; 
 Horace, born Oct. 21, i7QO, died Oct. 16, 1805; 
 Hannah, born Jan. 17, 1792, mj.rried Samuel Wood- 
 house, the grandfather of Samuel N. Woodhouse, 
 of Wethersfield; Elisha, born Sept. 10, 1794, died 
 Sept. 6, 1795; Elisha (2d), born March 3, 1797, 
 died Oct. 20, 1798; Abigail, born Nov. 29, 1799, 
 married Nathan Pelton ; Eliza, born Nov. 20, 1801, 
 married Henry Buck, of New Haven, Conn. ; Sally, 
 born Dec. 17, 1803, married A. Holmes; William, 
 born Dec. i, 1805, married Mehitable Griswold, 
 daughter of Simeon Griswold, and died Aug. i, 
 1839 (these were the parents of Mrs. De Blois) ; 
 Chauncey, born Dec. 3, 1807, married (first) Sarah 
 Rose Willard, and (second) Sarah Coleman, and 
 had one child, Mary Robbins, who married John 
 H. Phelps, of Wethersfield, and had one child, ,■ 
 Ruth; and Maria, born Dec. 25, 1810, died un- 
 married. 
 
 HENRY DENISON ALDEN. One of the 
 busiest, most energetic and most enterprising men 
 of Enfield is Henry D. Alden, an extensive brick 
 manufacturer. He bears in his veins some of the 
 best blood of the early colonists, and is in every 
 way a splendid type of our best American citizen- 
 ship. 
 
 Mr. Alden was born in Enfield, at the home- ^ 
 stead where he now resides, Oct. 7, 1850, a son of ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1015 
 
 Edmund B. and Frances Augusta (Denison) Alden, 
 the former a native of Enfield, the latter of Orwell, 
 Bradford Co., Penn. The paternal grandfather, 
 Seth Alden, was a son of Col. Amos Alden, who 
 was among the early settlers of Enfield, where he 
 became a large land owner. The Colonel was a son 
 of Jonathan Alden, who was a son of Eleazur and 
 grandson of Joseph Alden (2). The father of the 
 last named, who also bore the name of Joseph, was 
 a son of Capt. John Alden, who came from England 
 in the "Mayflower'' in 1620, as the list of passengers 
 shows, and located in Plymouth, Massachusetts. 
 
 WilHam G. Denison, our subject's maternal 
 grandfather, • was born in Stonington, Conn., in 
 1788, married Esther Strickland, and died at Staf- 
 ford, Conn. His parents were George and Abby 
 (Palmer) Denison, and he traced his ancestry bqck 
 through the following to George Denison, the pro- 
 genitor of the family in America: George and Jane 
 (Smith) Denison; George and Lucy (Gallup) Deni^ 
 son; William and Sarah (Stanton) Denison; and 
 George and Ann (Borodell) Denison. George 
 Denison, the last mentioned, was a pioneer of 
 Roxbury, Mass. His first wife, Bridget Thomp- 
 son, died in 1643, and he then returned to Eng- 
 land, where he served under Cromwell in the 
 army of the Parliament and won distinction. 
 Being wounded at Naseby, he was nursed at 
 the home of John Borodell by the latter's daughter, 
 whom he afterward married. With her he returned 
 to Roxbury, Mass., and finally settled in Stoning- 
 ton, Conn. He died at Hartford, Conn., Oct. 23, 
 1694, at the age of seventy-six years, while visit- 
 ing that village on special business. His wife, Ann 
 Borodell, died Sept. 26, 1712, at the advanced age 
 of ninety-seven years. They were both remarkable 
 for their magniticent personal appearance, and so- 
 cially were quite prominent in Stonington, where 
 Mrs. Denison was known as "Lady Ann." Mr. 
 Denison was a caotain of a company of militiamen, 
 and had no equal in any of the Colonies in success- 
 fully conducting war against the Indians. Miss 
 Calkins, in her early history of New England, says 
 of him : "Our early history presents no character of 
 bolder and more active spirit than Capt. George 
 Denison. He reminds us of the border men of Scot- 
 land. In emergencies he was always in demand, 
 and he was almost constantly placed in important 
 public positions." 
 
 Edmund B. Alden, our subject's father, spent his 
 entire life in Enfield, where he owned and op- 
 erated a farm, and also engaged in the manufacture 
 of brick. He died Feb. 15, 1895, honored and re- 
 spected by all who knew him. Flis children were 
 Henry D., our subject; Julia A., wife of Rockwell 
 B. Wilson ; and Martha J. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of Henry D. Alden were 
 spent on the old homestead, where he has always 
 lived, and his education was acquired in the public 
 schools of Enfield and a private school of Long- 
 meadow, Mass. He began his business career by 
 learning the art of brick-making under the able in- 
 
 struction of his father, and, including the period he 
 was associated with him, has been engaged in the 
 manufacture of brick for thirty years, i he capacity 
 of his plant is 2,000,000 brick annually, and the 
 product is of the very best quality that can be made. 
 Mr. Alden is public-spirited and progressive, and 
 takes an active interest in all affairs that pertain to 
 the welfare of the community in general. He gives 
 his support to every worthy enterprise for the public 
 good, and is now most efficiently and acceptably 
 serving his third term as first selectman of Enfield. 
 Politically he is an ardent Republican, and religiously 
 is a member of the First Presbyterian Church. 
 
 CHARLES F. STRUNZ, the efficient superin- 
 tendent of F. D. Glazier & Son's woolen mill at 
 South Glastonbury, and a highly-esteemed citizen 
 of that place, was born in Saxony, Germany, April 
 27, 1854.. 
 
 William Strunz, his father, was a native of 
 the same Kingdom, where he was employed at fac- 
 tory work until his emigration to America, in 1855. 
 On landing in this country he took up his residence 
 at Warehouse Point, in the town of East Windsor, 
 Hartford Co., Conn., where he was employed in a 
 woolen mill for a time. He then removed to Broad 
 Brook, and for many years was boss weaver or 
 overseer in the weaving room of the Broad Brook 
 Woolen Mills, but spent his last years in retire- 
 ment from active labor. He died in Broad Brook, 
 and his remains were interred in Windsorville. In 
 his native land he married Miss Louise Deisner, who 
 was also born in Saxony, and died in the town of 
 Enfield, Hartford county, near Broad Brook, her 
 remains being interred beside those of her husband. 
 Their children were as follows : Adolph, a paper- 
 hanger and decorator, livine in Broad Brook ; Her- 
 mena, who died unmarried; Otto, who married Addie 
 Thompson, and is engaged in the coal and wood busi- 
 ness in Bristol; Charles F., our subject; Frank, 
 who married Lena Shaynach, and is a millwright 
 in the Broad Brook mills ; Albert, who is employed 
 as bookkeeper in a railroad office in San Francisco, 
 Cal. ; Henry, a lawyer, who resides in Florida ; and 
 William, a photographer of California. 
 
 Our subject was but a mere infant when 
 brought to this country and is indebted to the 
 district schools of Broad Brook for his educational 
 privileges. After leaving the school room he en- 
 tered the mill at that place, finding work in the 
 carding room, and he steadily worked his way up- 
 ward until he became a wool sorter. Subsequently 
 he spent a few months in Colorado, and on his 
 return East located in Maynard, Mass., where he 
 was employed for a couple of years. At the end of 
 that time he went to Plymouth, same State, where 
 he remained two years, and was next employed 
 as loom fixer in a mill at Worcester, Mass., for a 
 short time. In 1884 he came to Glastonbury and 
 entered the service of F. D. Glazier & Son, as loom 
 fixer, but in 1894 was appointed superintendent, 
 succeeding; Frederick Dixon, and is now most credit- 
 
1016 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ably and acceptably filling that position. He is an 
 expert mechanic, one who thoroughly understands 
 every department of the work, and is therefore well 
 qualified to fill the responsible position which he 
 now holds. 
 
 In 1882 j\lr. Strunz was united in marriage with 
 Miss Alary Grant, of Maynard, i\Iass., who was 
 born in New York. They have one of the most 
 pleasant homes in South Glastonbury, and here their 
 many friends arc always sure of a heart\- welcome. 
 They are prominent members of the South Glaston- 
 bury Congregational Church, and Mr. Strunz has 
 held the office of chairman of the Society committee. 
 Politically he is a Renublican. 
 
 CHARLES FORGUSON .MORRISON, fore- 
 man of the carding department of the Hartford 
 Carpet Co., of Thompsonville, and a prominent and 
 infiuential citizen of that village, was born at Xew 
 JMills, near Ayr, Scotland, Oct. 3, 1831, a son of 
 John and Elizabeth (^Uarber) Alorrison, who came 
 to America in 1832 and located in Craftsbury, Vt. 
 For about five years the father engaged in farming 
 at Peacham and liarnet, that State, and in 1837 
 came to Thompsonville, Conn., and entered the 
 employ of the Thompsonville Carpet Co. as a 
 weaver, remaining there until 1839, when he re- 
 moved to Saxon ville, Alass., where he held a similar 
 position for two years. He afterward worked in 
 Norwich, Conn., North Grafton and Roxbury, 
 Mass., and finally returned to Saxonville, where tlie 
 last five years of his life were spent, and where he 
 died in 1848. 
 
 It was during his infancy that Charles F. Mor- 
 rison was brought to the United States, and his 
 boyhood and youth were passed in New England 
 at the various places where his parents resided. To 
 a limited extent he attended the common schools, 
 but is practically self-educated. He learned the 
 trade of a worsted spinner at Greenville, now a 
 part of Norwich, Conn., where he started a mill 
 as manager for Ripley, Cannon & Co., and was in 
 their employ and others for six years, six months 
 of this period being in business on his own account. 
 In the^ fall of i860 he went to Rifton Glen, Ulster 
 Co., N. Y., where he was employed as superintend- 
 ent of the Rifton Glen Worsted Mills for eleven 
 years. In 1871 he came to Thompsonville and en- 
 tered the employ of the Hartford Carpet Co., hav- 
 ing now served as foreman of their carding and 
 spinning department for twenty-eight years. He 
 is thoroughly familiar with every department of 
 the work, and is also a most capable business man, 
 therefore well qualified to fill the important posi- 
 tion which he holds. He is a stockholder in the 
 Phoenix National Co. and the Orient Fire Insurance 
 Co., of Hartford, and also in the Canadian South- 
 ern railroad. 
 
 Mr. Morrison was married, Oct. i, 1854, to 
 Miss Mary, daughter of Nathan and Betsey (Shat- 
 tuck) Lawrence, of Pepperell, Mass., and to them 
 
 were born four children : Elizabeth ; Charles, de- 
 ceased ; Agnes, who married Addison Brainard, and 
 died leaving one child, Agnes ; and Ida, deceased. 
 Mr. Morrison and his family are active and promi- 
 nent members of the First Presbyterian Church, 
 and he is also affiliated with Doric Lodge, No. 94, 
 A. F. & A. M., of which he has been treasurer 
 twenty-three years. Flis political support is always 
 given to the men and measures of the Republican 
 party, and he served as justice of the peace of 
 Enfield from 1874 for about twenty consecutive 
 years, also represented the town in the State Legis- 
 lature during the session of 1877. Success is not 
 measured by the heights which one may chance 
 to occupy, but by the distance between the start- 
 ing point and the altitude he has reached'; therefore 
 Mr. Morrison has gained a most brilliant success — ■ 
 a just reward of meritorious, honorable effort, which 
 commands the respect and admiration of all. 
 
 WILLIAM MORGAN LASBURY, a native of 
 Broad Brook, Hartford county, and superintend- 
 ent of the Broad Brook Woolen Mills, was bom 
 Nov. 15, 1857, is a son of George and Sarah (Mor- 
 gan) Lasbury, and paternally is of English de- 
 scent. 
 
 George Lasbury was born in Bradford, England, 
 Sept. 25, 1819, the eldest in a family of thirteen 
 children. At the early age of nine years he was 
 obliged to leave home and school, in order to earn 
 a trirte to aid in supporting himself and parents, 
 who were not wealthy, and whose family expenses 
 were constantly increasing. He was first employed 
 as a mill hand, and later as an overseer of fulling 
 in the woolen-mills of his native town. In 1840 
 he married Miss Fannie Sylcox, and one year later 
 sailed alone for America. After a voyage of six 
 weeks he arrived in Boston, Mass., on the same 
 day his eldest child was born in England, and a year 
 and a half later was joined by his wife and child in 
 Webster, Worcester county, same State. To this, 
 his first marriage, were born four children : Edwin, 
 living in Hartford, Conn. ; Elizabeth, now deceased ; 
 Emma, married to H. O. Willey, and living in Broad 
 Brook ; and Addie, deceased. Mrs. Fannie Lasbury 
 died about 1853, and in 1855 ^^^r. Lasbury married 
 Miss Sarah Morgan. This union was blessed with 
 three children : Mattie, living in Broad Brook ; Will- 
 iam M., the subject of this sketch; and George B., 
 now engaged in the real estate business in Omaha, 
 Neb. Mrs. Sarah Lasbury was called from earth 
 in September, 1865, and Mr. Lasbury afterward 
 married Mrs. Esther Allen, widow of John Allen, 
 who had been a soldier in the Civil war. Mrs. 
 Esther Lasbury is a native of Broad Brook : she has 
 borne Mr. Lasbury four children, in the following 
 order: Charles J., living in Cleveland, Ohio; and 
 Ralph C, James and Harry, still living with their 
 parents. 
 
 George Lasbury was employed as overse.er of 
 fulling in the Broad Brook Woolen Mill for twenty- 
 two years, was temperate, capable and attentive to 
 
-'iA-^-'^-^o^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1017 
 
 his duties, and, moreover, frugal, saving sufficient 
 from his salary to purchase a neat little farm in the 
 south part of Broad Brook, on which he is now re- 
 siding in peace and comfort. He is a highly- 
 respected citizen, and a stanch Republican in pol- 
 itics. 
 
 William M. Lasbury was educated in the public 
 schools, later attending the Eastman Business Col- 
 lege at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., from which he grad- 
 uated in February, 1877. He then returned to 
 Broad Brook, and for two years was engaged with 
 his brother, Edwin, in a general store; in 1880 he 
 purchased from G. D. Winslow a grocery store 
 on the corner .of Main and Canton streets, in Hart- 
 ford, but at the end of two years, on account of 
 ill health, sold the business to a Mr. Peard and ac- 
 cepted a position as bookkeeper for Belding Brothers 
 & Co., silk manufacturers of Rockville. In May, 
 1884, he resigned his position, and in June came 
 to Broad Brook and entered the Broad Brook 
 Woolen Mills, first as bookkeeper, from which po- 
 sition he was advanced to that of clerk and pay- 
 master, and in 1888 was promoted to the position 
 of assistant superintendent under Alexander Sem- 
 ple; he also served in the same capacity under Su- 
 perintendents Buttery, James Gilmore, L. C. Werner 
 and B. B. Hanson, and at the death of Agent Han- 
 son, Jan. II, 1898, was appointed to his very re- 
 sponsible position. The Broad Brook Woolen 
 Mills Co., it may be added, is a very extensive con- 
 cern, employs about 350 hands, has a very large 
 output, and owns most of the larger business places 
 of the town ; so some idea may be formed of the 
 onerous and complex duties which Mr. Lasbury is 
 called upon to perform. 
 
 Mr. Lasbury was united in marriage, at Hart- 
 ford, Sept. 27, 1880; to Miss Nellie P. Davenport, 
 a native of Broad Brook, and a daughter of Henry 
 A. and Parmelia (Landon) Davenport, which union 
 has been crowned with two very bright and amiable 
 children: Alma Louise, born Dec. 31, 1883, and 
 Howard Alonzo, born t)ec. 24, 1885, both still at- 
 tending school. Mr. Lasbury and family worship 
 at the Congregational Church, of which he is clerk, 
 and of which his daughter is also a member, and to 
 the support of which they contribute most liberally. 
 
 Politically Mr. Lasbury is a Republican. Fra- 
 ternally he is a member of Oriental Lodge, No. 
 Ill, A. F. & A. M., of Broad Brook. Socially he 
 and his wife, a most estimable lady, with their chil- 
 dren, stand very high in the esteem of the residents 
 of Broad Brook, and deservedly so, as Mr. Lasbury 
 has taught his children the sublime moral lessen 
 which has been the rule of his life, and which is 
 inculcated by the motto "What is worth doing is 
 worth doing well." 
 
 F. W. DANKS, train dispatcher on the Central 
 
 |v,; New England railway, at Hartford, and founder 
 
 ii* and proprietor of the Puritan Bottling Works at 
 
 I Tariffville, was born in the latter town Feb. i, 
 
 I 1869, and is a son of Moses M. and Mary (Green) 
 
 Danks, natives of Kidderminster, Worcestershire, 
 England. 
 
 Moses Danks in youth learned carpet-weaving, 
 for which industry Kidderminster is most famous, 
 was married there, and in 1859 came to the United 
 States, followed in a short time by his wife. He 
 located in Thompsonville, Conn., and later came 
 to Tariffville, as an expert on the particular line of 
 velvet carpet weaving. He had a brother, Walter, 
 who died in Lowell, Mass., and a sister who was 
 married, reared a family and died in Philadelphia ; 
 and he also has two brothers and a sister still resid- 
 ing in England, the entire family following the car- 
 pet industry. Mr. Danks enlisted in 1861, in Com- 
 pany D, Conn. V. I., at Hartford as private, was 
 wounded at the battle of Fredericksburg, Va., and 
 was mustered out in 1865, as corporal. After 
 making a visit to Kidderminster, England, he re- 
 turned to Tariffville and started a hotel, and was 
 conducting this hostelry at the time of his death, 
 in 1880, at the age of foity-five years, his widow 
 surviving until 1884, when she died at the age of 
 fifty. In politics Mr. Danks was a Republican, in 
 religious faith an Episcopalian. 
 
 F. W. Danks, the only child born to his parents, 
 was educated in the district schools of Tariffville, 
 with Miss Mary Richards as his first teacher. Soon 
 after leaving school, at the age of twelve years, he 
 entered the railway office at Tariffville (the Hart- 
 ford and Connecticut Western), to learn telegraphy 
 and agents' work, O. W. Merrill being the agent. 
 When he had become competent to take charge of 
 an office he was appointed agent at Chapinville, 
 in Litchfield county. Conn., for the Hartford & 
 Connecticut Western road, but after a few months' 
 work in that village he returned to Tariffville and 
 worked as extra agent for r^earl' a year. Upon the 
 death of his mother he went West, and worked in 
 Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri, 
 in both railway and commercial departments of 
 telegraph business. A year later he returned East, 
 and accepted a situation with the Baltimore & 
 Ohio Telegraph Co., at New Haven as operator. 
 Later he went to Boston and other places in New 
 England, being employed in stock brokers' offices, 
 for eighteen months, then went West again, and for 
 one year worked for the C. B. & Q. Railway Co., 
 at Kansas City, Mo., as clerk in the local freight 
 department. On returning to the East he was em- 
 ployed in stock brokers' office work in Providence, 
 R. I., and Newburyport, Mass., until appointed to 
 a position in the dispatcher's office of the New York 
 & New England railroad, at East Hartford, as op- 
 erator and dispatcher, later engaged with the Phil- 
 adelphia & Reading railroad, at Hartford, as op- 
 erator, and in March, 1895, became train dispatcher 
 on the Philadelphia, Reading & New England rail- 
 road, at Hartford, which position he still holds. 
 
 In July, 1898, Mr. Danks, with a partner, started 
 the Puritan Bottling Works at Tariffville, in the 
 manufacture of carbonated beverages ; he soon after- 
 ward became the sole owner. The superiority of his 
 
1018 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 output has given him a line of patronage equal to 
 that of older competing iirms, and, being a young 
 man of decided push and energy, manages his bot- 
 tling establishment with unvarying success, while 
 still attending to his railroad duties. 
 
 Mr. Banks is a member of St. Mark's Masonic 
 lodge, at Simsbury, and also of Lincoln Lodge, 
 K. of P., at Hartford, and in politics is a Re- 
 publican, but he does not hold himself bound 
 by party ties. He married Aliss Henrietta Nor- 
 ton, of Newburyport, Mass., and owns and re- 
 sides in the dwelling occupied by his father. Since 
 boyhood he has been self-supporting, and is recog- 
 nized as one of the most enterprising and reliable 
 of the younger business men of Tariti'ville. 
 
 JULIUS JACOB BAXTLE. The subject of 
 this sketch is the eldest son of Jacob and Catherine 
 (Handelj Bantle. His father, coming as a poor 
 j'oung emigrant to Glastonbury, has attained a 
 goodly measure of success, and the indomitable 
 traits that won him success have been inherited by 
 our subject, who is a young and progressive farmer, 
 following his calling near the scenes of his birth and 
 boyhood. 
 
 Mr. Bantle was born July 5, i860, in that part 
 of Glastonbury, known as Hopewell, his father then 
 being an emploj-e of the mill located there. Our 
 subject attended the Naubuc school, and among his 
 teachers were Miss Helen Wadsworth and Miss 
 Phelps, now Mrs. George Hale. At the age of six- 
 teen his school days ended. He worked for a time 
 on his father's fami, then found employment at low 
 wages in a factory, where he remained about a year. 
 Choosing farming for his life work, he came to his 
 present farm, cleared the land and reduced it to 
 its present high state of cultivation, erecting sheds 
 and barns, and making other improvements. On Feb. 
 22, 1883, he was married to Miss Mary, who was 
 born July 29, 1861, a daughter of John Braasch. of 
 Glastonbur}', and the marriage was blessed with 
 one child, Jennie, born Nov. 17, 1890. The mother 
 passed away in August, 1893, and was buried in St. 
 James cemetery, Glastonbury. On May 23, 1900, Mr. 
 Bantle wedded Mrs. Helen Bowers, who was born 
 July 19, 1863, a daughter of William Smith, of Chap- 
 lin, Conn. The family attend the Episcopal Church. 
 
 In politics Mr. Bantle is a Democrat, but he has 
 never sought nor desired public office. Fraternally 
 he is a member of Daskam Lodge, No. 86, F. & 
 A. M. His well kept farm is the best evidence of 
 his industry and success, and he grows each year 
 about ten acres of tobacco. 
 
 FRANCIS NEWELL WARNER, a leading 
 and prominent farmer and tobacco grower of War- 
 nertown, West Suffield, is now the oldest living 
 representative of the Warner family in Hartford 
 county. It is many years since the family became 
 identified with the county, and its various mem- 
 bers have won for the name an enviable distinction 
 by their intelligence and worth. 
 
 Our subject's grandfather, Isaac Warner, was 
 the first to locate in what is now known as War- 
 nertown, and he had two brothers, John and Rich- 
 ard, who also made their home in West Suffiekl. 
 He was a large land owner in the town, and was 
 quite extensively engaged in general farming and 
 stock raising. He met with excellent success in 
 his life work, and was quite a prominent man in 
 his day. in politics he was a Democrat, in re- 
 ligious faith a Baptist. Both he and his wife died 
 on their farm in Warnertown, and were interred in 
 the Phelps burying ground near that place. In their 
 family were five children: Curtis, Isaac, Julia, 
 Maria, and Ada (who died young). 
 
 Curtis Warner, the father of our subject, was 
 born on the old homestead in Warnertown, and, 
 receiving a good education in the district schools, 
 he successfully engaged in teaching for several 
 terms. When a young man he also peddled tin- 
 ware and Yankee notions in Connecticut, Massa- 
 chusetts and New York, but after his marriage set- 
 tled down to farming, buying a tract of 150 acres 
 of land, known as the Trumbull farm, upon which 
 he spent the remainder of his life, engaged prin- 
 cipally in dairying, stock raising, general farming 
 and tobacco growing. He made many improve- 
 ments upon his place, and was quite successful in his 
 business undertakings. In Worthington, Mass., he 
 was united in marriage with Miss Permelia Cush- 
 man, a native of Southwick, that State, and a daugh- 
 ter of Silas Cushman, and they became the parents 
 of three children, as follows: Charles C. (deceased), 
 who was the father of Mrs. Edmund Halladay, of 
 Sufifield; Francis N., our subject; and Ellen M., 
 wife of Jarvis W. Case, a carriage manufacturer 
 of West Suffield. The parents both died on the 
 home farm, the father in 1856, the mother in 1884, 
 and their remains were interred in the West Suf- 
 field cemetery. They were sincere Christians and 
 faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and in politics Mr. Warner was an Old- 
 Line Whig. 
 
 Francis N. Warner was born Nov. 19, 1830. 
 He attended the district schools of Warnertown 
 and also the Connecticut Literary Institute, Suffield, 
 after which he successfullv engaged in teaching 
 school in Granby, Conn., and Southwick, Mass. He 
 then returned to the home farm, of which he took 
 complete charge after his father's death, and has 
 since continued to engage in general farming, to- 
 bacco culture, stock raising and dairying with most 
 gratifying results. In 1869 he erected upon his 
 place one of the finest residences in Warnertown, 
 and has made manv other improvements thereon. 
 
 Mr. Warner was married, Oct. 6, 1857, to Miss 
 Sarah J. Hayden, who was born in Hartland, Hart- 
 ford county, and is a daughter of Ransom B. and 
 Hannah (Mattocks) Hayden, and granddaughter : 
 of Col. Hayden, of West Hartland. The children ^j 
 born of this union were : Clara Gertrude, who died ^5 
 

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1019 
 
 at the age of sixteen years ; Arthur Francis, a 
 farmer, who married Alma M. Thompson, of Can- 
 ton, Conn. ; Lottie Grace, who died at the age of 
 five years ; Fanny May, who died at the age of three 
 years; and Harry Curtis, who married Edith M. 
 Hunt, of Southwick, Mass., and lives on the home- 
 stead of his father. A granddaughter, Grace Eve- 
 lyn, daughter of Harry Curtis Warner, was born 
 March i8, 1900. 
 
 In 1892 Mr. Warner was elected, on the Re- 
 publican ticket, to represent the town of Suffield in 
 the State Legislature, and was an influential mem- 
 ber of that body for one term. He has served as 
 selectman for three terms and as jvistice of the 
 peace for several years, and his official duties have 
 always been most promptly and efficiently dis- 
 charged. He possesses in a full measure the fine 
 ennobling qualities for which his ancestors were 
 noted, and though quiet and unassuming in man- 
 ner he makes friends, and has the happy faculty of 
 being able to retain them. 
 
 Col. Nathaniel Hayden, grandfather of Mrs. 
 Francis N. Warner, was born in Torrington, Litch- 
 field Co., Conn., March 30, 1775, a son of Augustin 
 and Cynthia (Filer) Hayden. He married Sally 
 Ransom, of Barkhamsted, Litchfield county, who 
 died at Warehouse Point, April 26, 1873, aged 
 ninety-two years, having long survived her hus- 
 band, who had passed away June 20, 1819, while 
 in his forty-fourth year. At one time he was col- 
 onel of a regiment in his district. Their children 
 were as follows : Betsy, born Jan. 24, 1800, married 
 Elias Beach, of Waterbury ; Ransom B. is men- 
 tioned below; Nathaniel, born iu 1805, married 
 Sarah Root; Austin, born March, 1807, married 
 Sarah Ann Cook; Sarah, -born Jan. 19, 1810, mar- 
 ried Orville Olmsted, of Riverton ; Almira, born 
 Sept. 17, 1812, married John P. Chapin, of Enfield, 
 and moved to Ohio; Emilv. born May, 1815, mar- 
 ried Nathaniel Gaylord, of Hartland ; and Addi- 
 son, born in 1817, married Harriet Pierson. 
 
 Ransom B. Hayden, father of Mrs. Francis N. 
 Warrier, was born Jan. 27, 1802, and died at West 
 Suffield, in April, 1886. He married Hannah Mat- 
 tocks, and they had children as follows : Charlotte 
 L., born Oct. 25, 1824, is now the widow of T. J. 
 Austin; Osman M., born Dec. 29, 1826, is living 
 in Laporte, Ind. ; Nathaniel, born in 'May, 1834, 
 married Lizzie J. Dodd ; -Sarah J. (Mrs. F. N. War- 
 ner), born Oct. i, 1838; and Georgianna, born May 
 5, 1842, married Samuel Hanchett, of Westfield, 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 ISAAC M. QUINN has been engaged at farm- 
 ing and carpenter work in the town of Manchester 
 i for over thirty years, and he is respected wherever 
 I known as an industrious and thrifty man, and a 
 \ good citizen of the community where he has made 
 ) his home for so many years. 
 > Mr. Quinn was born March 17, 1840, at East 
 
 Hampton, Long Island, on the farm of his parents, 
 John and Eliza A. Quinn, and there grew to 
 manhood. He received his education in the public 
 schools of his native place, and having been reared 
 to farming began work in that line when twelve 
 years of age, on Gardiner's Island. When sev- 
 enteen he commenced to learn the carpenter's trade, 
 at which he served an apprenticeship of three years, 
 remaining in the neighborhood of his birthplace until 
 i860, when he came to Hartford county, locating at 
 Manchester. Here he worked at his trade until his 
 enlistment, on Aug. 11, 1862, in Company H, i6th 
 Conn. V. I., which was mustered in at Hartford 
 and sent first to Washington, D. C, and thence to 
 Frederick City, Md., where he was hurt in the knee 
 and sent to Baltimore. He was at University Hos- 
 pital, Newton, Md., from Sept. 17, 1862, until the 
 following March, rejoining his command at Suffolk, 
 Va., and subsequently took part in skirmishes at 
 Suffolk and at Newbern, N. C, thence going to 
 Plymouth, same State, where he was on garrison 
 duty. The company was next sent to Roanoke to 
 relieve recruits, and also did garrison duty at that 
 place. Mr. Quinn received his discharge June 24, 
 1865, at Newbern, and returned to Manchester, 
 where he has ever since resided. He has been en- 
 engaged at his trade the greater part of the time in 
 connection with general farming, having acquired ■ 
 a neat farm of forty-eight acres, which' under his 
 careful management has become a well-improved 
 and valuable piece of land. Mr. Quinn's prosperity 
 has been earned by faithful attention to the demands 
 of his work and well-directed industry, which at the 
 same time have won him the good will and respect 
 of all with whom he has come in contact, and he is 
 in every way deserving of the comfortable income 
 which he now enjoj^s. 
 
 On Aug-. II, 1862, our subject was united in 
 marriage with Miss Julia E. Hill. They have no- 
 children. Mr. and Mrs. Quinn are members of the 
 Congregational Church at Manchester Center. Po- 
 litically he sympathizes with the Republican party. 
 
 JOSEPH V\^. HOLCOMB, a prominent farmer 
 and tobacco grower of East Weatogue, Simsbury, 
 has risen steadily in the estimation of his fellow 
 men by his force of character, his sterling integrity,, 
 and his active championship of causes which pro- 
 mote the general welfare of society. In his advance- 
 ment he has been ably seconded by a devoted and 
 intelligent wife, who shares his active and courag- 
 eous nature and who is a most worthy helpmeet. 
 
 Our subject was born in Granby, Hartford coun- 
 ty, March 4, 1853, a son of Edmund and Harriet 
 E. (Gavette) Holcomb, and brother of Gavette B. 
 Holcomb, of East Weatogue. He was educated in 
 the district schools of Granby, and at the Connecti- 
 cut Literary Institute, Suffield, under Prof. Shores,, 
 grew up on the old homestead, and remained with 
 his father until of age. With a taste for travel, he 
 visited Paris, Edgar Co., Ill, where he spent one 
 year, engaged in various occupations. Thence he 
 
1020 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 moved to Texas, where he spent some time. Re- 
 turning to Granbv, he remained on the homestead 
 until iS8i, when he came to East Weatogue, Sims- 
 bury, and bought a tract of 120 acres, known as the 
 Humphrey farm, where for the past eighteen years 
 he has been engaged in tobacco culture, dairying 
 and general farming. 
 
 i\lr. Holcomb married, Oct. 24, 1879, Mary Ellen 
 Lowrev, born in Burlington, Conn., daughter of 
 Alfred'and Elnora (Goodsell) Lowrev, granddaugh- 
 ter of Thomas Lowrey, great-granddaughter of 
 Daniel Lowrey, who was a corporal in the Revolu- 
 tion, and great-great-granddaughter of Thomas 
 Lowrey. Daniel Lowrey was a native of Hartford 
 county, and was of Irish and Scottish descent. He 
 was a land owner and a farmer of the town of Farm- 
 ington, now riainvillc, where he died and was 
 buried! Thomas Lowrey, the grandfather of Mrs. 
 Holcomb, was born July 21, 1778. He removed in 
 1802 from Plamvule to WhigviUe, where, in 1814, he 
 erected a shop and became a cloth manufacturer, 
 and where he continued in active business until his 
 death, in 1840. He was buried in the South cem- 
 etery of Burlington. In politics he was a Whig, 
 and in religion a member of the Dautist Church of 
 Bristol. He married, Aug. i, 1803, I'attie Weed, 
 who was born April 3, 1782, at Plymouth, Conn. 
 .To Thomas and Pattie Lowrey were born ten chil- 
 dren : William, born June 23, 1804; Alfred, father 
 of ^Irs. Holcomb, born March 22, 1806; Annie, 
 born Feb. 6, 1808, married Horatio Sperry ; Pattie, 
 born March 30, 1810, married Luther L. Tuttle ; 
 Mary, born March 8, 1812, married George Lang- 
 •dorn : Caroline, born April 20, 1814, married (first) 
 Sheldon \'ose, and (second) Edward Bunnell, her 
 deceased sister's husband ; Jennette, born May 20, 
 1816, married Edward Bunnell ; Thomas, born Nov. 
 12, 1818; David, born July 2, 1821 ; and Mamre, 
 "born Aug. i, 1824, married V. H. Hotchkiss, of 
 New York. 
 
 Alfred Lowrey, the father of Mrs. Holcomb, 
 received only a common-school education. He ac- 
 quired the clockmaker's trade, and in connection 
 with farming followed his trade in the employ of 
 William Jones, and also for himself at W^hig^ille 
 and at Burlington, where he died July 21, 1872. 
 He was buried in Case's cemeterv, Burlington. He 
 married, at New Hartford, Elnora Goodsell, who 
 was born in New Hartford, daughter of Capt. Jo- 
 siah and Eunice (Lester) Goodsell, and grand- 
 daughter of Samuel Goodsell (who was also a 
 soldier in the Revolution), and of Andrew Lester. 
 To Alfred and Elnora Lowrey were born five chil- 
 dren : Adeline, wife of Alfred Norton, of Bristol ; 
 Augustus Alfred, who married Ida Beach, and 
 lives at Whigville ; Lester Lewis, who married Lil- 
 lian Bunnell, and lives at Whigville ; Martha, who 
 married Arthur Nearing ; and Mary Eleanor, wife 
 of our subject. Four children have been born to 
 our subject and wife: Eleanor Angelina, Ethel 
 May, Edmund Alfred and Theona Lowrey. 
 
 Mrs. Holcomb was educated in the district 
 
 schools of Burlington, Conn., and also in the State 
 Normal School at New Britain, Conn., from which 
 institution she was graduated in January, 1876. She 
 then taught school in the Lhiion District, Simsbury. 
 She is a member of the Advanced Grange, Sims- 
 bury, of which she served as master one term, being 
 the first lady in the State of Connecticut to fill that 
 office, and takes an active part in the Grange work; 
 she is also an active member of the Daughters of 
 the American Revolution, Abigail Phelps Chapter, 
 Simsbury. Mrs. Holcomb is a lady of refined taste, 
 finislied education and elevated character. She is 
 dce])ly attached to home, husband and family. 
 
 Our subject served as deputy sheriff for six 
 years under Sheriff Preston. He is a stanch Demo- 
 crat, but not a seeker for political preferment. Fra- 
 ternally he is a member of the F. & A. M., St. 
 Mark's Lodge, Simsbury, and is also a leading mem- 
 ber of the Grange. His wife and eldest daughter 
 are members of tJie Congregational Church. 
 
 JAMES ORRIN HASKINS, a leading tobacco 
 grower and general agriculturist of Suffield, is a 
 native of the town, born Feb. 21, 1859. He was 
 educated in the public schools, and at the Connecti- 
 cut Literary Institute, and this instruction was sup- 
 plemented by an attendance at the Eastman Busi- 
 ness College, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., from which 
 he was graduated. He remained under the pa- 
 rental roof until twenty-one years of age, when he 
 embarked in a business career on his own account, 
 purchasing thirty-five acres of his present farm 
 from E. A. Fuller; the balance of the place is 
 known as the John A. King farm, and here he has 
 since industriously devoted his attention to the 
 branches of agriculture already mentioned, and also 
 to dairying to a considerable extent. He is noted 
 for his honesty and honorable dealing, and through 
 his personal efforts he has succeeded in erecting 
 one of the most pleasantly located homes in Suffield 
 township, fitted with modern improvements. He 
 has also erected some of the largest tobacco sheds 
 in the town, one being 34x160 feet in dimensions; 
 another 34x80; two 22x48; and one 30x40, all be- 
 ing supplied with the most effective accessories. 
 He now operates 140 acres of land, and his phe- 
 nomenal success is due entirely to his good man- 
 agement and foresight. 
 
 Mr. Haskins is one of the leading and most 
 popular Democrats of his town. In 1897 he was 
 elected selectman of Suffield, and came within only 
 thirty-three votes of being selected chairman of the 
 -board, notwithstanding the fact that the body was 
 almost purely Republican. He was re-elected to 
 the office in 1898, and by the same sweeping popu- 
 lar vote. He has also served as a member of the 
 school board, is the present treasurer of same, and 
 one of its trustees, and in 1888 was nominated by 
 the Democracy as its candidate for the State Legis- 
 lature. However, the town being overwhelmingly 
 Republican, he was defeated. For ten years he was 
 
» 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1021 
 
 also a registrar of votes in Suffield. He has likewise 
 filled several positions of honor and trust in business 
 institutions, being a trustee of the Suffield Sav- 
 ings Bank, and a member of the financial com- 
 mittee; secretary of the Kent Library committee; 
 and an active member of the Suffield Agricultural 
 Society, of which he has been secretary for the past 
 six years, and is the present treasurer ; and a mem- 
 ber of the New England Tobacco Growers Associa- 
 tion. He belongs to the O. U. A. M., of Suffield, 
 He has been very active in support of all' measures 
 that tend to the growth and prosperity of his com- 
 munity. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Haskins took place at 
 Westfield, Mass., in i88.-^, to Miss Emma E. Bush, 
 daughter of Seth Bush, a well-known citizen of that 
 place, and to this union was born one child that 
 died in infancy. Mrs. Haskins is a highly intelli- 
 gent and refined lady ; she is a member of the Bap- 
 tist Church. 
 
 Ashel Bush, grandfather of Mrs. Haskins, was 
 a son of a Revolutionary soldier and a native of 
 Westfield, Mass., where he was a holder of a large 
 farming estate, and verv prominent as a citizen. 
 He married Miss Sallie Noble, by whom he had six 
 children: Seth, Ashel, Luke, Edwin, Mary (who 
 married Thomas O. Kneil), and Amelia (who mar- 
 ried Ephraim Crary) . The father of this family was 
 an ardent Jeffersonian Democrat ; both he and his 
 wife died on the old homestead, and their remains 
 lie interred side by side in the Westfield cemetery. 
 
 Seth Bush, the father of Mrs. Haskins, was 
 born in Westfield, Mav 5, 1820,. and, although his 
 schooling was quite limited, was a man of close 
 observation, kept well posted on the current events 
 of his day, and was a progressive farmer, making 
 a specialty of fattening cattle; in 1878 he shipped 
 to the English markets eighteen head, the combined 
 weight of which was 36,300 pounds. He also culti- 
 vated tobacco extensively, and was known as the 
 "Prince of Tobacco Growers" of the Connecticut 
 Valley. On Jan. 20, 1847, he married Miss Lucy 
 A. Kellogg, a daughter of Alva Kelloeg, a promi- 
 nent citizen of Southwick, Mass.. and this marriage 
 was blessed with five children : Homer, a farmer of 
 Westfield, Mass. ; Lucy A., single ; Mary K., wife 
 of E. S. Chipley, of Atlanta, Ga. ; Emma E., the 
 wife of Mr. Haskins ; and William S., still on the 
 old homestead. The father of this family died 
 in June, 1894, the mother in 1895, and their re- 
 mains lie interred in Pine Hill cemetery, at West- 
 field. 
 
 James O. Haskins, beside being one of the most 
 popular residents of Suffield, is one of the most 
 charitable and progressive, and he and his wife en- 
 joy the unfeigned friendship of the entire com- 
 munity, although here and there might be found 
 a few, who may not, like the majority, hold Mr. 
 Haskins in high regard on account of political dif- 
 ferences; outside of party antagonism, however, 
 he has not an enemy in the world. 
 
 MORTON SANFORD. The family of which 
 the subject of this sketch is a worthy and repre- 
 sentative member has possessed, in combination 
 with talent of a high order, an energy and capacity 
 for work that has given it prominence through gen- 
 erations. At the age of seventeen Mr. Sanford ran 
 away from home to enter the service of his coun- 
 try. His father. Dr. George W. Sanford, was for 
 many years one of the most distinguished medical 
 practitioners of Hartford county. His grandfather,- 
 Joseph Sanford, was a contractor during the war 
 of 1812. Our subject is at present keeper of the 
 State poor farni, a work with which at similar in- 
 stitutions various members of the family have been 
 long and most successfully engaged. 
 
 Joseph Sanford, the grandfather, was a native 
 of East Granville, Mass. There he acquired the 
 tanner's trade, and for his time carried on in that 
 town quite an extensive business. During the war 
 of 18 12 he maoe a large contract to supply the gov- 
 ernment with leather, and invested a large amount 
 of money in hides ; but at that tim.e the process of 
 tanning was slow, requiring a year to convert hides 
 into leather, and the war closing before he had com- 
 pleted his contract he sustained a heavy financial 
 loss. The latter years of his life were spent on a 
 small farm near Bloomfield, Conn., purchased for 
 him by his son, George W. Joseph Sanford was a 
 member of the Congregational Churcn. He mar- 
 ried Hopie Wilmot, a native of Northfield, Conn., 
 and to them were born children as follows : George 
 W., the father of our subject; Hopie, who married 
 a Mr. Trumbull, and removed to Ohio ; Hannah, who 
 m.arried Henry Neil, of Sherborn, Mass. ; Roena, 
 who married Reuben Barker, and removed to Mich- 
 igan; Joseph, who died in infancy; Joseph D. (2), 
 who married Mary Smith, was at one time a mer- 
 chant of Tariffville, and later resided at Granby, 
 Conn. ; and a daughter who married a Mr. Botham. 
 Joseph Sanford, the father of these children, died . 
 about 1846, and was buried at Tariffville. 
 
 Dr. George W. Sanford, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Litchfield, Conn., Dec. 20, 1807. 
 He received a good education, completing a course 
 at Dr. Cooley's classical school, at East Granville, 
 Mass., graduating in 1827, studied medicine, and 
 several years later began its practice at Granville, 
 Mass. In 1836 he graduated from the Medical 
 Department of Williams College. Shortly before 
 1830 he located at Tariffville, where he continued 
 in active practice for over sixty years. While on 
 his way to Tariffville he passed through the toll- 
 gate at North Bloomfield without paying toll. As 
 he passed on a young lady who was attending the 
 toll-gate rushed after him, and threatened to pros- 
 ecute the young phj-sician if he did not make the 
 legal payment. The Doctor related the incident to 
 a friend wnom he met a little later along the road, 
 expressed his admiration for the girl, and said he 
 intended to make her acquaintance. She was Miss 
 Jane Elizabeth Adams, born in Bloomfield, Conn., 
 Sept. II, 1813, daughter of Ambrose and Catherine 
 (Eno) Adams. The acquaintance was made, ripened 
 
1022 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 into love, and Dr. Sanford married the young lady 
 Feb. 4, 1830. 
 
 The extended practice of Dr. Sanford at Tariff- 
 ville was eminently successful, and he quickly be- 
 came one of the leading citizens of the town. In 
 1835 he became a member of the hlartford County 
 Medical Society (at the time of his death being its 
 oldest living member), was elected president of the 
 society in 1874, and again in 1881 ; was a member 
 of the' State Aledical Society, and of the American 
 Medical Association. During President Grant's ad- 
 ministration ne was sent to Washington as a dele- 
 gate to the American Aledical Association. He 
 was also a member of the Lyceum of Natural His- 
 tory of the Berkshire Medical Institute. 
 
 The latter years of Dr. Sanford's life were 
 marked by a misfortune, which, however, did not 
 deter him from continuing his practice. In 1885 
 he became totally blind. He was thrown from his 
 carriage Feb. 21, 1883, and again on May 3, of the 
 same year, the shock causing a congestion of the 
 nerve of the eye, which produced blindness. Yet 
 he continued to practice. His patients visited him, 
 and he diagnosed many cases while blind, as his 
 skill was most remarkaljle. His usefulness, how- 
 ever, was not limited to his profession. He was 
 a prominent member of society, and as a public- 
 spirited citizen accomplished great good. For many 
 years he was a prominent member of the Baptist 
 Church, and often when the church was in debt 
 and in urgent need of funds he at his own expense 
 and inconvenience made trips and solicited funds. 
 In politics he was a Whig, and later a Republican. 
 For many years he served as a justice of the peace, 
 was postmaster during the administrations of Presi- 
 dents Harrison and Tyler, for fiftv years was school 
 visitor, and for several years was keeper of the town 
 poor. He served in the House of Representatives 
 three terms, in 1845, 1871 and 1875. In 1845 he 
 was a member of the committee on Banks, and dur- 
 ing the two later terms he served on the committee 
 on Humane Institutions. He was widely known 
 throughout the country, and numbered among his 
 friends many prominent men. Fraternally he was 
 a Freemason. 
 
 The children of George W. and Jane Eliza- 
 beth (Adams) Sanford were as follows : (i) Jane 
 Geraldine, born June 16, 1831, married Charles L. 
 Roberts, both dying at Tariffville. (2) George 
 Ambrose, born Nov. 26, 1832, died of tvphoid fever 
 at Tariffville Feb. 5, 1851. (3) Joseph'Willis, born 
 Sept. I, 1835, is now factory foreman at Water- 
 bury, Conn., having charge of all outside work for 
 the Scoville Manufacturing Co. He married Emma 
 Woodward, of Hartford, by whom he had one child, 
 Frank Willis. She died Nov. 17, 1867, and for 
 his second wife he married, Oct. 24, 1871, Susan 
 Goodman, who bore him one daughter, Mary Ellen. 
 (4) Marvin H., born Sept. 20, 1837, died Dec. 8, 
 1896. (5) James Homer, born May 8, 1840, died 
 March 25, 1892, at Meriden, Conn., where for many 
 years he was connected with the street departm.ent. 
 
 (6) Ophelia, born April 15, 1842, died of typhoid 
 fever Sept. 16, i860. (7) Morton is the subject of 
 this .sketch. (8) Mary, born July 11, 1846, died 
 Feb. 8, 1847. (9) Mary Alice, born Nov. 27, 1847, 
 died July 11, 1848. (10) Henry W., born Feb. 4, 
 1850, a resident of New Haven, was for many years 
 keeper of the almshouse there, and is now super- 
 intendent of the New Haven Ice Co. (11) George 
 Ambrose (2), born Aug. 15, 1852, is a resident of 
 Winsted, Conn. (12) Ellen B., born Uct. 28, 1S55, 
 died Aug. 19, 1870. The first wife of Dr. Sanford 
 died March 9, 1872. and for his second wife he mar- 
 ried Ada L. Eno, who now survives, a resident of 
 New Britain. Dr. Sanford died at Tarift'ville Sept. 
 23, 1892, aged eighty-five years, and in his death the 
 town lost one of its most valuable residents. 
 
 Dr. Sanford commanded universal respect. He 
 was kind antl benevolent in disposition, and his 
 deliberate judgment and advice were greatly sought. 
 He stood foremost in the community as a public- 
 spirited man, in ecclestiastical and municipal af- 
 fairs, as well as in his profession. He was very 
 popular, and unselfish to a marked degree. He de- 
 lighted in rendering a service to others, though 
 often at great inconvenience and expense to him- 
 self. His faculties were unimpaired to the last, and 
 he retained through life the kind regard and re- 
 spect of the people whom he had known and served 
 for over sixty years. 
 
 Morton Sanford, our subject, was born at Tar- 
 iffville July 16, 1844. Fie received in his boyhood a 
 good common-school education, and among his early 
 teachers were D. B. Rice, Miss Mary Pease and 
 ^liss Ellen Holcomb. He attended the academy at 
 Tariffville at the time Norman Sackett was at the 
 head of it, and then became a student at the Bloom- 
 field Academy, where Mr. Shumley taught. When 
 not attending school he was working on the farm. 
 At seventeen years of age, on the breaking out of 
 the Civil war, ne went away from home, and at 
 Meriden endeavored to go out as hostler in the 
 First Connecticut Light Artillery. The following 
 year he enlisted, becoming a private in Company E, 
 25th Regiment, Conn. V. I., Col. George P. Bissell. 
 His first engagement was a skirmish at Baton 
 Rouge, La. Leaving that city, the regiment made 
 a feint at Port Hudson, and there our subject saw 
 the entire fleet pass up the river, and saw Lieut. 
 George Dewey blow up the gunboat "Mississippi." 
 He remained with his company and regiment 
 through all its campaigns and engagements, until 
 discharged at the expiration of his term of service, 
 Aug. 26, 1863. He had been promoted to corporal 
 at Irish Bend, April 14, 1863. 
 
 Returning to Tariffville, Mr. Sanford clerked 
 one year in the store of D. C. Hayes. Thence be 
 engaged in farm work, but later accepted a posi- 
 tion as clerk with J. F. Smith & Co., New Hartford, 
 where he remained five years. After again working 
 on the farm for a short time he returned to i^ew 
 Hartford, and took charge of the town poor, re- 
 maining in that work until November, 1896, when 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1023 
 
 he resigned to take charge of the institution at Tar- 
 iffville vvliere the State poor are sheltered and cared 
 for, a well-known institution, which had previously 
 been in charge of his brother, Marvin H. Sanford. 
 In Februar}', 1898, after falling this position for 
 more than a year, he entered into a contract with 
 the State to keep the State poor for a period of three 
 lyears. In connection with this work he carries on 
 a farming and dairying business, and in 1899 lie en- 
 gaged also in the ice business at Tariffville. 
 
 Mr. Sanford married, Jan. 22, 1866, at Bloom- 
 field, Miss Mary A. Goodman, who was born at 
 West Hartford Jan. 5, 1844, eldest of the two 
 daughters of James and Sally (Tuttle) Goodman. 
 Her father was a farmer, and her sister, Susan A., 
 married Joseph W. Sanford, of Waterbury. Before 
 her marriage Mrs. Sanford had attended the Bloom- 
 field Academy, and taught school at Bloomfield and 
 West Hartford. To our subject and wife were 
 born five children: Jane E., wife of Rev. W. W. 
 
 , West, a Baptist minister ; Edward M., at home ; 
 Frederick M., a medical student at Western Penn- 
 sylvania Medical College ; Ada L., at home ; and 
 
 j William A., who died in infancy. 
 
 i In politics Mr. Sanford is a Republican. He 
 served three vears as constable, and was re-elected, 
 but declined to serve longer. He is an active mem- 
 ber of Joseph Toy Post, G. A. R., at Simsbury. 
 Himself and wife are prominent members of the 
 Baptist Church, in which he has filled various of- 
 fices, and for years was superintendent of the Sab- 
 bath-school. He is an earnest, influential, highly- 
 respected citizen, and his family is a prominent 
 factor in the social life of Tarififville. 
 
 WILLIAM H. PEASE. The biographies of 
 successful men teem with illustrations that those 
 traits of character which seem most widely dis- 
 tributed, and most easily acquired, are most fruit- 
 ful of prosperity and progress. Energy and good 
 judgment, application and intelligence, are the 
 weapons with which adverse fate can be fearlessly 
 faced and vanquished. These dominant traits won 
 for the father of our subject a position of worth and 
 independence. They have happily marked the con- 
 tinued success of his son. 
 
 Our subject was born in the town of Simsbury 
 (now Bloomfield) March 15, 1845, son of Edward 
 and Mary (Kenworthy) Pease. Edward Pease was 
 born in County Kildare, Ireland, May 15, 1810, 
 ; son of English parents. His father, William Pease, 
 grandfather of our subject, was the son of an Eng- 
 lishman, who at ope time owned a large tract of 
 land, upon which now stands the city of Leeds, 
 England. William hved at Norwich, England, and 
 there married Isabella Barker. He removed to 
 Ireland to take charge of a factory as superintend- 
 ent, and there died when Edward, the father of our 
 subject, was but six weeks old. Edward Pease 
 was well educated in the schools of Ireland, and 
 at the age of seventeen years came to America. A 
 hand weaver of broadcloth by trade, he found em- 
 
 ployment at Middletown, Conn. A few years after 
 his arrival in America, on June 9, 1832, at Ware- 
 house Point, Conn., he married Mary, daughter of 
 Jolm Kenworthy. She was born in England, and 
 came to the United States with her father from 
 Yorkshire, England. 
 
 After his marriage Edward Pease settled in Tar- 
 ififville, and remained there until the panic of 1837 
 closed the woolen mills and threw him out of em- 
 ployment. Possessing some means, the acquisition 
 of a western farm seemed the most attractive course 
 for him to follow. By canal-boat and other crude 
 methods of transportation he made his way slowly 
 westward with nis little family, and at Jackson, 
 Mich., built a log cabin, in which he lived four years. 
 The country was new, and its hardships and priva- 
 tions were seriously felt. He returned to his old 
 home in Tariffville for a year, then once more es- 
 sayed a life in the western wilderness. Conditions 
 were more intolerable than before, and again the 
 ambitious mechanic packed his worldly goods, 
 turned his face toward the rising sun, and regained 
 the attractive environment of Hartford county. He 
 located temporarily at Tarififville, and soon after- 
 ward removed to near Scotland church, in Bloom- 
 field. There he wove rag carpets, ana conducted a 
 small general merchandise store. In 1848 he opened 
 a grocery and drug business at Tariffville, contin- 
 uing same successfully until 1864, in which year 
 he purchased a farm in Bloomfield and engaged in 
 agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred 
 Dec. 31, 1873. His widow still survives, and resides 
 in Bloomfield, an active and well-preserved old lady. 
 Edward Pease was a man of sturdy self reliance, 
 was thoroughly self-made, and prospered financially 
 in his business undertakings. He was a heavy 
 stockholder in the ^tna Insurance Co., and the de- 
 structive conflagrations at Boston and Chicago bore 
 heavily upon that company and its members, the as- 
 sessments of Mr. Pease to meet those losses ag- 
 gregating over $13,000. In politics he had been a 
 Democrat previous to the Civil war, but when the 
 first gun was fired at Fort Sumter he became a 
 stanch Republican and supporter of the administra- 
 tion. For several years he was postmaster at Tar- 
 iffville, and he was a most highly-respected citizen, 
 prominent and public-spirited. He left at his death 
 considerable property, all of which had been ac- 
 cumulated by his own efforts. To Edward and 
 Mary Pease were born six children : Jane, who 
 died aged eighteen years ; Isabel, who died in Mich- 
 igan, at the age of four years ; Mary, who married 
 George F. Abies, and died at Granby; William H., 
 our subject; Franklin, who died at Tariffville, aged 
 six years ; and Edward T., a druggist at Hartford, 
 and a resident of Bloomfield. 
 
 William H. Pease, our subject, was born in the 
 "Old Mitchelson homestead," and attended the 
 schools of the district until the age of twelve. He 
 then attended a private school for three vears, taught 
 by a Mr. Sackett, in Tariffville, and his education 
 was completed in the Connecticut Literary Institute, 
 
1024 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 at Suffield, Conn. He remained at home with his 
 parents, and as a young man, when not in school, 
 he aiways had work to do. When he was about 
 twenty years of age his parents removed to the 
 farm in Bloomheld, and there he began farming. 
 In 1870 he married Aiiss Jennie L. Smitn, of South- 
 ington, Corni., daughter of Lester Smith, and after 
 his marriage locared on his father's farm, in con- 
 nection wiui its cukivatioii conducting a grocery 
 business at North Bloomfield for about fifteen years, 
 in which he was eminently successful. For several 
 years he was during that period postmaster at North 
 Bloomfield. In 1S83 he disposed of his grocery and 
 went into the undertaking business at North Bloom- 
 field, in which he has ever since been engaged. In 
 1890 he removed tl:e business to iarilTville, erect- 
 ing all tb.e necessary builiHngs, and constructing 
 a commodious home on Church street. Of his two i 
 children, Franklin E. is manager of the paper and | 
 curtain department for Caulkins & Post, of Middle- | 
 town. Conn.; he married Eva L. Lumis, and has j 
 one child, Herbert R. Nellie M., a graduate of the ! 
 State Normal School, is teaching. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Pease are active members of the 
 Baptist Church, and very prominent in religious > 
 ■ life of the communitv. He has been junior deacon 
 of the church for years, and is superintendent of the , 
 Sabbath-school. In politics he is a stanch Repub- 
 lican, but not an office seeker. He is unostentatious 
 in manner, and a thoroughly good business man, 
 one who possesses the good-will and esteem of his 
 fellow men, and who enjoys a large measure of 
 success. Besides attending to his undertaking busi- 
 ness he also grows tobacco. Socially he is a mem- 
 ber of St. Mark's Lodge, F. & A. M., at Sims- 
 bury, and ranks high among the better type of citi- 
 zens in Hartford county. 
 
 C. EDWARD BUCKLAND. One of the most 
 enterprising and popular young business men of 
 Glastonbury is the subject of this sketch, who is 
 general agent of the Mutual Life Insurance Co., 
 of New York, at Hartford. He has had an ex- 
 tensive experience in his line at Hartford, and his 
 business career has been attended with marked 
 success. 
 
 Mr. Buckland is a representative of an old New 
 England family. His grandfather, Timothy Buck- 
 land, was born in East Hartford Nov. 13, 1780, 
 and in that town followed through life the trade 
 of joiner. He married Typhena Hills, who was 
 born March 8, 1785, daughter of Jonathan Hills, 
 an East Hartford farmer. Their five children were' 
 as follows : Julia, born March 20, 1805, married 
 Tallman Ryder, a farmer of Willington ; Frances, 
 born July 4, 1810, married William Shelton, a hat- 
 ter of Windsor; Cornelia, born Dec. 20, 1814, mar- 
 ried William Kellock, a mechanic of New Jersey ; 
 Lee H., born Feb. 6, 1821, married Cornelia Ryder, 
 a sister of Tallman Ryder, and lives on Franklin 
 avenue, Hartford, the sole survivor of the family; 
 Charles, the youngest of the family, was the father 
 
 of our subject. Timothy Buckland died June 16, 
 1864, his wife surviving him eight years. 
 
 Charles Buckland, the father of our subject, 
 was born June 17, 1828, in East Hartford, neai 
 the river, on what is now Governor street. He 
 attended the district schools, and in his youth ac- 
 quired the trade of silversmith, which he followed 
 until he attained his majority. Then, seeking a 
 more active life, he went on the Connecticut river 
 as master of a schooner which his father owned. 
 Later he was first mate on various freight and pas- 
 senger steamers, including "The City of Hartford" 
 and the "Granite State," and was aboard the latter 
 steamer when she sank. In later life Charles Buck- 
 land left the water, and returning to Glastonbury 
 there followed farming and dealt in fertilizers, in 
 partnership with Samuel Flardin, until his death, 
 Oct. 17, 1894. He was buried in St. James cem- 
 etery, Glastonbury. On Feb. 4, 1852, he had mar- 
 ried Miss Ann Eliza Gaines, who was born Dec. 
 23, 1830, at Glastonbury, daughter of Chauncey 
 and Betsey (Hurlbut) Gaines. To Charles and 
 -Vnn Eliza Buckland were born two children: Eva, 
 born March 23,-1853, died Nov. 11, 1892; and 
 C. Edward, our 'subject. 
 
 The latter was born in Glastonbury Feb. 4, 1859, 
 and was educated in the Glastonbury schools and 
 at Glastonbury Academy, then under Prof. L. T. 
 Brown. His school days ended, our subject re- 
 turned to the old homestead, and there engaged 
 in farming until 1888. In that year he went to 
 Hartford and engaged in the insurance business 
 with his brother-in-law, F. A. Griswold, under the 
 firm name of Griswold & Buckland, No. 721 Main 
 street, representing the Northwestern Life Insur- '. 
 ance Co., of Mil\Vaukee, Wis. This business was | 
 most successfully continued for eleven years, Mr. 
 Buckland retiring July i, 1899, to accept at a hand- 
 some salary his position of general agent at Hart- 
 ford, for the Mutual Life Insurance Co., of New 
 York, a position which he has filled ever since. 
 
 Mr. Buckland was married, Nov. 22, 1882, to 
 Miss JNIary R. Griswold, who was born at Wethers- 
 field July 20, 1863, daughter of Albert C. and Caro- 
 line L. (Goodrich) Griswold. Thi Griswold family 
 is one of the oldest in Wethersfield. , James Gris- 
 wold, the grandfather of Mrs. Buckland, was born in 
 Griswoldville or Wethersfield, son of Ozias and 
 Anna (Stanley) Griswold. James was a cloth 
 dresser at Griswoldville, and a farmer, owning a 
 tract of land in Wethersfield. In politics he was a 
 Whig and later a Republican, and he and his wife 
 were members of the Congregational Church. He 
 married Miss Lucy Robbins, a native of Wethers- 
 field, daughter of Capt. Waite Robbins, an officer 
 in the Revolutionary army, and their children were 
 as follows: Lucy Robbins, born Nov. 9, 1812, mar- 
 ried George Smith, of Wethersfield ; James Stanley, 
 born Nov. i, 1815, was a farmer of Wethersfield, 
 and married three times (his wives were Prudence 
 W'ells, Lucy Swift and Eunice Clark) ; Martha , 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1025 
 
 Amelia, born Oct. 21, 1817, died in 1833; Waite 
 Robbins was born June 15, 1820; Nancy, born Jan. 
 13, 1823, died unmarried; Mary Morgan was born 
 Dec. 2, 1825 ; Albert Clinton, the youngest child, 
 was the father of Mrs. Buckland. 
 
 Albert C. Griswold was, born in Griswoldville 
 Sept. 4, 1827, and received a good education in the 
 schools of Wethersfield, and at the Connecticut 
 Literary Institute. He taught at the Wethersfield 
 Military Academy, at Hartford, and elsewhere, and 
 after his marriage removed to Durham, where he 
 engaged in farming. After his father's death he 
 occupied the old homestead for many years, and 
 then removed to Rocky Hill, where he died Dec. 
 20, 1893. At Rocky Hill he had married Miss 
 Caroline Louise Goodrich, daughter of William 
 Goodrich. She still survives, a resident of Wethers- 
 field, and a lady of refinement. To Albert C. and 
 Carohne L. Griswold were born six children : Will- 
 iam G., born May 4, 1854, married in 1879 Minnie 
 G. Adams, daughter of William W. Adams, a 
 farmer of Wethersfield, and has seven children ; 
 Frederick Albert, born March 30, 1856, married 
 Mary F. Stillman, daughter of Henry A. Stillman, 
 and has nine children (he is engaged in the insur- 
 ance business at Hartford) ; Alma L. married Dr. 
 Julius Griswold, a resident at Portland ; Mary R. 
 is the wife of our subject; Samuel married Susie 
 C. Day, of Hartford, and resides at Rochester, N. 
 Y. ; and Nellie M. is the wife of Rev. R. H. Macy, 
 a Congregational minister of Newington. 
 
 The family of our subject and wife consists of 
 six children: Malcolm G., born Dec. 31, 1887; May 
 Louise, born July 12, 1889; Edward, Jr., born Nov. 
 
 4, 1891 ; Frederick Albert, born Feb. 16, 1896; Mar- 
 jorie, born June 7, 1898; and one whose name is 
 not given. 
 
 For several terms Mr. Buckland has served as 
 tax collector, and he is now a member of the school 
 committee. Earlier in life he was a Democrat, but 
 he now votes the Republican ticket. He is a promi- 
 nent Freemason, a member of Daskam Lodge 
 No. 86, F. & A. M.; Pythagoras Chapter; Wash- 
 ington Commandery, Knights Templar, of Hart- 
 ford ; the Mystic Shrine ; Lodge of Perfection A. A. 
 
 5. R. ; Cyrus Goodale Chapter, Rose Croix ; and 
 Consistory. Mr. and Mrs. Buckland are active 
 members of the Congregational Church, of which 
 he has been librarian for the past twenty years, and 
 of which he is now clerk. The home of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Buckland is one of the cheeriest and most 
 hospitable in Glastonbury. They have a wide cir- 
 cle of friends and acquaintances, and both are most 
 highly esteemed. 
 
 EDWARD BREWER, well-known as one of 
 East Hartford's enterprising business men since 
 1873, was born in East Hartford Meadow Sept. 16, 
 1849, a^d is a descendant of the old Colonial Brewer 
 family to which many allusions are made in this 
 volume, and in some instances biographies in de- 
 es 
 
 tail are given, and who have been prominently 
 identified with East Hartford for over two hundred 
 years. 
 
 Janeway Brewer, father of our subject, was born 
 in Hockan'um, Conn., April 24, 1810, and was a 
 son of Reuben and Eunice Moriah (Hills) Brewer, 
 and a twin of Jane, who was married to Ralph Hills, 
 of Hockanum. Reuben Brewer was born Feb. 23, 
 1778, and died Nov. 8, 1844, and his wife, a daugh- 
 ter of James and Mehitable Hills, was born Sept. 
 19, 1778, and died in May, 1853. [A more extended 
 mention of Reuben Brewer will be found in the 
 biography of Hoadley C. Brewer, elsewhere.] 
 
 Janeway Brewer learned the carpenter's trade 
 under Noah Wheaton at Hartford, and on Feb. 7, 
 1833, was married to Sarah Marble, who was born 
 July 20, 181 1, and by whom he had the following 
 named children: William E., born Jan. 19, 1834, 
 now residing at East Hartford Meadow; Charles 
 M., born June 14, 1836, living in Hartford ; Ralph 
 C, born Dec. 15, 1839, a resident of East Hartford 
 Meadow ; Frank J., born Nov. 9, 1846, who lived in 
 Hartford, and after marriage died in that city ; and 
 Edward, whose name opens this sketch, the youngest 
 of the family. Mr. Brewer was an excellent car- 
 penter, and one of the prominent residents of East 
 Hartford Meadow. He built three houses for him- 
 self, and resided in all of them at different times. - 
 In politics he was a Democrat, and an earnest sup- 
 porter of Stephen A. Douglas, but was never him- 
 self an office seeker. At the age of eighty years he 
 was a well-preserved man, and lived until Jan. 14, 
 1892, his wife having died Dec. 16, 1857, '" the 
 faith of the Congregational Church. 
 
 Edward Brewer was born in the second of the 
 three houses erected by his father, and this house 
 is still standing on Pleasant street. East Hartford 
 Meadow. He was educated in the village school, 
 and among his teachers were Joseph O. Hurlburt, 
 Salmon Phelps and Ephraim Rood. He still has a 
 great regard for the schools of his boyhood, and 
 believes that their thoroughness will compare fav- 
 orably with the schools of to-day. 
 
 In 1857 Mr. Brewer lost his mother, and at the 
 age of thirteen years he went to live with Ira Hills, 
 with whoni he remained two years, doing chores, and 
 in the winter attending school under J. O. Hurlburt 
 at Church Corners ; later he lived with Samuel Kel- 
 logg, doing such work as his age permitted. He 
 next entered the grocery store of George W. Darlin 
 as clerk, and two years later went to Hartford to 
 learn carpentering with James T. Porter, at forty 
 dollars and board for the first year, and eighty dol- 
 lars for the second year ; but he left at the end of 
 thirteen months and returned to his father, under 
 whom he finished learning his trade. Just after 
 serving out his apprenticeship, instead of follow- 
 ing carpentering he went into the butcher business, 
 in partnership with Charles E. White. Albany, N. 
 Y., was headquarters for New England cattle buy- 
 ers, and from that city steers were driven to Hart- 
 ford and here slaughtered. At the close of a year 
 he sold his interest to Mr. White, removed to East 
 
1026 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Hartford from East Hartford Meadow, and then 
 •with F. B. Clark followed butchering in East Hart- 
 ford ten years and six months, when he sold his 
 share in the business to Mr. Clark April i, 1885, and 
 formed a partnership with William A. Foley, under 
 the style of Brewer & Foley ; this partnership lasted 
 ten rears and three months, when, on July i, 1895, 
 the firm dissolved, since when Mr. Brewer has con- 
 ducted business on his sole account, and Oct. i, 
 1899, was the twenty-sixth anniversary of his en- 
 trance into the butcher trade. Mr. Brewer has 
 erected two houses on Central avenue, and Sept. i, 
 1899, moved into his present handsome dwelling. 
 
 On ]\lav 12, 1873, ]\Ir. Brewer married Miss 
 Irene Smith, at Hartford. She is a daughter of 
 Philander Smith, was born June 30, 1853, in West 
 Daven]iort. Delaware Co., X. V., and has borne her 
 husband live children : Sarah F., Janeway E., Will- 
 iam E., Edward (deceased at the age of five months) 
 and Flerbert G., the survivors all at home. 
 
 In politics I\Ir. Brewer is a Democrat on general 
 principles, but is not partisan in matters of conse- 
 quence, as, for instance, on the question of National 
 finances, he voted for McKinlcy and sound money. 
 Fraternally he is a member of Orient Lodge, No. 
 62, F. & A. M., of East Hartford. As a business 
 man his methods have always been fair and hon- 
 orable, and his honesty has stood the test of years. 
 His name is one of the most respected in his town, 
 and his individual merits have won for him the un- 
 feigned friendship of the whole community. 
 
 JOHN S. TAFT. Three times during the Civil 
 war the subject of this sketch, then a boy, sought 
 to enlist. His youth and the opposition of his par- 
 ents led to his rejection thrice, but the fourth time, 
 toward the close of the memorable struggle, and 
 while he was yet a boy of only sixteen years, he 
 succeeded in getting to the front and seeing some 
 active service before the conflict ended. 
 
 Mr. Taft was born in Leicester, Worcester Co., 
 Mass., Aug. 20, 1848, the only son of Joseph and 
 Ann Taft, who came from England in 1847. When 
 seven years of age our subject came with his par- 
 ents to Connecticut,- but two years later returned to 
 Massachusetts. He received a fair common-school 
 eaucation, and when fifteen years of age began 
 working for himself in a woolen mill at Merrow 
 Station, Mansfield, Tolland Co., Conn. He con- 
 tinued to work in the mills until he succeeded in en- 
 listing, at Hartford, in December, 1864, in Company 
 E, isi Connecticut Heavy Artillery, for three years 
 or during the war, and joined the batter)^ at Peters- 
 burg, Ya., Feo. 8, 1865, where he participated in his 
 first engagement. He remained at Petersburg until 
 April 3, and was finally mustered out at Fort Oroke, 
 Alexandria, A'a., Sept. 25, 1S65, being discharged at 
 Hartford Oct. i. 
 
 After his discharge from the army Mr. Taft lo- 
 cated at Willington, Tolland county, and a year later 
 he entered the factory in that town, continuing to 
 work in tne mills until 1880. In 1884 he came to 
 South Windsor and settled on the farm which he 
 
 now occupies. Fie is engaged in gardening and to- 
 bacco growing. 
 
 ]\lr. Taft has been twice married. His first wife, 
 whom he wedded in 1876, was Clara E. Brewin, and 
 to them were born four children : George B., Joseph 
 r., Edith Al. and Clara E. The second and pres- 
 ent wife of our subject was Miss Mary M. Bond, 
 whom he married Aug. 20, 1887. Mr. Taft is a 
 Republican in politics, and is a member of G. A. R. 
 Post No. 71, of Rockville. He is one of tne rep- 
 resentative citizens of South Windsor, and is highly 
 esteemed for his many estimable cpialities. 
 
 HENRY RICHARDS BURNHAM, a retired 
 farmer and highly-respected citizen of East Hart- 
 ford, was born in South Wimlsor, Hartford county, 
 March 4, 1842, and was educated in the district 
 school and at the East Flartford Academy. 
 
 Elijah Burnham, grandfather of Henry R., was 
 born in East Hartford, but lived in South Windsor, 
 then a ])art of East Windsor, in the latter years of 
 ins life, and was a gentleman of considerable prom- 
 inence in nis neighborhood. He married a Miss 
 Austin, who bore him seven children, in the follow- 
 ing order: Horace, who married Elgiva Elmore, 
 and lived and died a farmer in South Windsor; 
 Henry, father of our subject ; Julius, who married 
 Laura Hills, and was a farmer of East Hartford, 
 where he died ; Austin, who married Frances 01m- 
 stead, and is now a farmer of East Hartford ; Mary, 
 widow of William Williams, who was also a farmer 
 in East Hartford ; Lucy, who was married to a Mr. 
 Converse, a farmer in Wisconsin, in which State 
 he- died, near W yocena ; and Susan, who was mar- 
 ried to Reuben Parker, and lived in Wisconsin, near 
 Milwaukee, but lived in East Hartford. 
 
 Henry Burnham, father of our subject, was born 
 in South Windsor Jan. 22, 1808, received a common- 
 school education, and after quitting school worked 
 in an a.x factory in Collinsville, thence returning to 
 tne homestead in South Windsor. He married Miss 
 Mary Richards, daughter of Jonali and Nancy Rich- 
 ards, and to this union were born three children : 
 Willard G., who married Sarah Williams, and is 
 now living in South Windsor; Henry R., the sub- 
 ject of this sketch ; ana Roland, who married Aman- 
 da Starks, and is now engaged in farming in South 
 Windsor. The father of this family was a very 
 successful farmer, and, aided by his children, ac- 
 quired a large estate. He was called away in 1875, 
 but his widow survived until 1894, and the remains 
 of both were interred at South Winasor. 
 
 Henry R. Burnham, after leaving school, re- 
 turned to the home farm, on which he lived until his 
 marriage, which took place April 15, 1880, to Mrs. 
 Sarah Hollis, widow of Henry D. Hollis, and daugh- 
 ter of Alexander H. and Ella S. (Allen) Bingham. 
 To this marriage no children have been born. The 
 year previous to his marriage Mr. Burnham had 
 purchased his present farm, known as the "Ralza- ; 
 man Gillman" place, and up to 1886 cultivated to- j 
 bacco ; he then turned his whole attention to market \ 
 gardening, which he carried on until 1898, when he ^( 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1027 
 
 raised another crop of tobacco. He then rented his 
 .and, and is now enjoying- in quiet the fruits of his 
 sarly industry. 
 
 Mr. Burnham has never cared for pohtics, and 
 has not voted since 1880. He is a member of the 
 U. U. A. M., and has been a trustee of the same. 
 He is not a member of any religious society, but 
 Mrs. Burnham is a regular attendant at the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church. Mr. Burnham started in 
 life without any assistance from his people, and 
 ins success is due entirely to his own efforts. He 
 i.< a pleasant man, and an entertaining conversa- 
 tionalist ; is upright in his walk through life, and 
 honorable in all his dealmgs, and is much esteemed 
 for his unaffected kindness and sterling personal 
 merits! 
 
 HERMAN MARTIN SALSTRUM was born 
 ;at Horsens, Denmark, May 7, 1870, son of Berndt 
 .Magnus, and grandson of August Salstrom. His 
 father is a botanist and gardener, whose scientific 
 knowledge caused his selection for the post of State 
 gardener, which he filled for ten years. He is a 
 man of markea ability, and a member of the Swedish 
 Lutheran Church. He married Marie Andresen, by 
 iwhom he has been the father of children as follows : 
 iHerman M., Alga, Nels, Olga, Christine, Hjalmar, 
 Oxel, Elsie, Germanus and Wilhelm. Herman and 
 Alga are twins ; Olga resides in Chicago. 
 
 Herman M. Salstrum was educated in the schools 
 of Sandseryd, a suburb of Jonkoping, Smaland, 
 Sweden. He left school at the age of eleven, but 
 studied in the evening under a private tutor, thus 
 acquiring a good knowledge of the elementary 
 branches. His first employment was in two fish 
 n'.arkets, working in each on alternate days. After 
 three or four years spent in this work he entered the 
 postofiice at Safsjo, where he remained for two 
 years. His next situation was at Wrigsted, a place 
 some sixteen miles distant, where he entered the em- 
 ploy of J. P. Johanson, a dealer in clothing, as well 
 as in groceries and table delicacies. After two and 
 a half years he went to Goteborg, where he was a 
 clerk for Carl Johnson, the largest retail merchant 
 of the place. This employment also lasted two and 
 a half years, when he went to Christiania, Norway, 
 and entered the employ of Johan Christiensen Carl 
 Johans Gade.a dealer in clothing and shoes. After 
 remaining three years with him he resolved to seek 
 better fortune in the New World, and in 1892 came 
 to America, landing in New York on July 9. From 
 there he went to Marbledale, Conn., where he went 
 to work for F. M. Ford, being employed at raising 
 and cutting tobacco. A month later he found em- 
 ployment with Sperry Brothers, as a tobacco sorter, 
 .remaining with that firm, however, only a few 
 months, and subsequently worked for men bv the 
 name of Green and Shoverling, in New Milford, 
 'Conn. He remained at New Milford until March, 
 t'1895, when he went to Lynn, where, for three 
 nnonths, he worked in a shoe factory. On July 16, 
 1 1895, he removed to New Britain, and opened a 
 < small store at No. 54 Church street, carrying a stock 
 
 of hats and shoes. In May, 1897, he changed his 
 place of business to No. 40, in the same street, and 
 m June, 1899, enlarged it by adding the premises 
 adjoining. Here he has a large stock, and has built 
 one of the most extensive trades in his own line in 
 the city, employing four clerks constantly, and on 
 Saturday and Monday evenings has nine additional 
 men constantly at work. 
 
 From what has been said it may be seen that Mr. 
 Salstrum is wholly a self-made man. From. the po- 
 sition of a boy in a fish market to that of proprietor 
 of an extensive and prosperous business is a long 
 stride, but he has taken it successfully. Industry, 
 integrity and thrift have been the corner-stones on 
 which he has built his success. In commercial mat- 
 ters he is noted for his unquestioned probity; in 
 private life he is genial and generous. He is fond 
 of social pleasures, and is a member of the Knights 
 of Pythias and of the Wega. He belongs to the 
 Swedish Lutheran Church, and politically is a Re- 
 publican, although taking no active part in politics. 
 He married Miss Amanda Hahn, of New Milford, 
 and they have two children, Hugo and Beatrice. 
 
 WILBUR F. GRANT. This enterprising and 
 public-spirited citizen of Manchester was born on a 
 farm in the town of South Windsor, Hartford coun- 
 ty, March 5, 1840, the fifth in a family of six chil- 
 dren born to Willis S. (son of Gustavus) Grant 
 and Emily Belcher. Both his father and his pa- 
 ternal grandfather were born in South Windsor. 
 Of his brothers and sisters, William C, the eldest, 
 and Sydney D., the fourth in order of birth, are de- 
 ceased ; Norman O. is a farmer of South Windsor ; 
 Bersheba was the v/ife of Capt. Henry Nettleson ; 
 and Helen M., now deceased, was married to Frank 
 Stevens. 
 
 Wilbur F. Grant was reared at the old home- 
 stead, and received his early education in the school 
 of District No. 7, supplementing same with study 
 in the Manchester high school. When he was six- 
 teen years old he entered the employ of Samuel 
 Rockwell & Son, of Hartford, as a clerk, and re- 
 mained with them for six years. At the expiration 
 of that period he formed a co-partnership with 
 Flenry Willard, for the conduct of a mercantile 
 business. In 1863 Mr. Grant disposed of his in- 
 terest in the firm to his partner, and began farming 
 on property purchased from his father's estate, con- 
 tinuing there until 1864, when he exchanged farms 
 with his brother, Norman, who still resides there. 
 In 1883 he erected a new house, and he has made 
 many extensive improvements on the property since 
 it came into his hands. He makes a specialty of 
 raising fine Jersey cattle, and also carries on a large 
 and profitable dairy business, besides marketing six 
 to twelve tons of tobacco yearly. In addition to his 
 farm he also owns a grocery and meat and vege- 
 table market in Manchester, which he opened in 
 1892. In the management of this last mentioned 
 enterprise he has associated with himself his son, 
 Walton W. 
 
 Mr. Grant has been twice married, first, in 1867, 
 
10_'8 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to Miss Estella Johnson, of Manchester, who was 
 the mother of the son already mentioned. After her 
 death he married, on July 29, 1879, ^liss Henrietta 
 A. Morse, of New Britain. In politics Mr. Grant 
 is a Democrat. He has a wide circle of acquaint- 
 ances, and is justly esteemed by the community at 
 large bv reason of his marked enterprise and his 
 recognized probity. 
 
 EDGAR BREWER, farmer, breeder of fine Jer- 
 sey cattle, and dealer in grain, flour, feed, etc., at 
 Hockanum, town of East Hartford, is of the sixth 
 generation in direct descent from Thomas Brewer, 
 the ancestor of most of the Brewers in Connecti- 
 cut. [For complete genealogy see sketch of P. S. 
 Brewer.] 
 
 Daniel Brewer (4), father of our subject, was 
 born Feb. 22, 1796, in the town of East Hartford, 
 Hartford Co., Conn., tenth in the family of twelve 
 children born to Daniel (3) and Mary (Risley) 
 Brewer. Daniel Brewer (4) was reared to farm 
 life, and acquired such education as was obtainable 
 at the common schools of the time, assisted by the 
 practical experiences of every-day life. He pos- 
 sessed a remarkably retentive memory, and by much 
 reading stored his mind with useful information. 
 At the age of nineteen he left home with a party of 
 young men, who were employed by 1. L. Skinner 
 to work on a government road at that time being 
 built from Washington, D. C, to the West. With 
 others of the party he walked all the way to 
 Wheeling, Va., and after laboring on the said road 
 for several months returned to Connecticut, the en- 
 tire distance being made on foot. 
 
 After his marriage ( which will presently be re- 
 corded) !Mr. Brewer and his wife commenced do- 
 mestic life in Brewer street, Hockanum, in a small 
 house at that time known as "the old oil mill house,'' 
 and two years thereafter purchased land on Main 
 street, meantime making many improvements to 
 the home. A very industrious man, he devoted his 
 energies to market gardenine- and general farming, 
 and from time to time, as his means increased, he 
 bought more land, until he owned about one hun- 
 dred acres. He was one of the early tobacco 
 growers, at a time when each family manufactured 
 into cigars the product of their farms, and alto- 
 gether was one of the best and most prosperous 
 farmers in the community. A Whig in politics, 
 he held some of the minor town offices, although 
 he was too devoted to his duties on the farm to 
 take much interest in public affairs. 
 
 On Feb. 23, 1819, Daniel Brewer was married 
 in West Springfield, Mass., by Rev. Griswold, to 
 Miss Sarah V'iets, who was born July 16, 1798, 
 in W"estfield, Mass. [For history of the Viets 
 family, of which she was a member, see sketch 
 of Levi Clinton Viets, elsewhere.] Nine children 
 were born to this union, to wit: Arthur Elsworth, 
 born Nov. 19, 1819, learned the trade of tinner, but 
 became a farm.er and resides in Staffordville, Conn. ; 
 
 Hansey Sophia is the widow of William Jones, of 
 East Hartford ; Charlotte Amelia is the deceased 
 wife of Edward D. Hewlett ; Caroline is the widow 
 of William S. Avery, and resides with Mrs. Hansey 
 S. Jones; Edgar, our subject, is next in the order of 
 birth ; Joy Hamlet is deceased ; Julia Arabel mar- 
 ried Cyrus Knight, and died in Warwick, Mass. ; 
 Roswell Henry died in childhood ; and Roswell 
 \iets is also deceased. The parents of this family 
 both died in 1883, the father in July, in his eighty- 
 eighth year, the mother in October, in her eighty- 
 sixth year. 
 
 Edgar I'rewer, the subject proper of this re- 
 view, was born June 17, 1830, in the old house 
 standing ne.xt north of his present residence, Flocka- 
 num, and received his education in part at the dis- 
 trict school on High street, later in the academy 
 presided over by that distinguished pedagogue, 
 Salmon Phelps, and finally taking lessons in book- 
 keeping at a private school. At the age of eight- 
 een he went to Rockville, Conn., to learn the sad- 
 dlery trade, but after a year there he finished learn- 
 ing his trade in New London, and from time to time 
 was required at home to assist his father on the 
 farm. In 185 1 he went to Hartford, to fill the po- 
 sition of general assistant or manager, salesman 
 and bookkeeper for P. V. Flail, proprietor of a 
 saddlery and harness shop there. In 1861 he pur- 
 chased the business, and for some twelve years 
 thereafter carried it on successfully, his time being 
 taken up alternately between the store and the farm, 
 in which latter he by that time had an interest. 
 
 In the fall of 186S Henry S. Sawyer, of Hart- 
 ford, and Mr. Brewer formed the firm of Sawyer & 
 Brewer, to deal in hand lawn mowers, the first 
 ones manufactured in this country, and in fact, the 
 first made in any country that could be operated by 
 one person. They were of the type invented by 
 Amariah M. Hills, and the contract for their manu- 
 facture was given to Landers, Frary & Clark, of 
 New Britain. The introduction and sale of them 
 devolved on Mr. Brewer, who in this work put 
 in the hardest year's labor of his life, and the credit 
 for its unusual success is due to him alone. The 
 mower was shown and operated by him in many 
 of the public parks in this country, and, although 
 a new thing to the people, sold so sttccessfully that 
 the sales reached nearly $100,000 the first year. The 
 second year $30,500 worth was sold, on one order, 
 to the Ames Plow Company, of Boston. In 1871 
 the Hills Archimedvan Lawn Mower Comoanv was 
 formed, Mr. Brewer taking the position of general 
 sales agent. In 1872 he was chosen president of the 
 company, and continued in that capacity for nine 
 years, during which period the value of stock 
 doubled. The manuiacture of the mowers was done- 
 by the Hills Archimedean Lawn Mower Company, 
 at Colt's Armory, new styles, of several sizes, were 
 perfected, and the original style was remodeled to 
 meet the requirements of foreign markets, half of 
 
Sc^c^a^^-C^^^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1029 
 
 their production for several years being sold in 
 Europe. Throughout his connection with the com- 
 pany it enjoyed prosperity, and led all others in the 
 manufacture and sale of lawn mowers. They were 
 the pioneers of their line, and Mr. Brewer took 
 great pride in the success of the concern, and the 
 subsequent disaster that overtook the firm was a 
 matter of personal sorrow to him. 
 
 In connection with his farming interests Mr. 
 Brewer is an extensive breeder of Jersey cattle, of 
 which breed no man in the State has a better knowl- 
 edge, or is a better judge — in fact he is a universally 
 acknowledged authority on Jerseys. In 1868 he 
 made his first purchase of Jersey stock, buying 
 two cows and a bull (descendants of early importa- 
 tions by John A. Taintor and John F. Norton), 
 and now has some thirty head, though at one time 
 he owned as many as fifty-five. He sent for ex- 
 hibition in the Columbian herd at the World's Fair 
 his cow "Sayda III," 17,317. Though twelve years 
 old she gave fifty pounds of milk, or two pounds 
 four ounces of butter on her one-day's trial for se- 
 lection. At her best she has made twenty-four 
 and one-half pounds of butter in seven days. She 
 was one of the famous ten cows that went through 
 the three tests, a period covering nearly or quite 
 SIX months, and she was pronounced by superintend- 
 ent Fuller a "representative Jersey." She also had 
 a daughter in the supplemental herd, whose butter 
 record (the only one reported) was twenty-two 
 pounds eleven and one-half ounces in seven days — 
 six and one-half months after calving. Mr. Brewer 
 had previously sold her to Banker C. A. Sweet, of 
 Buffalo, to be exhibited by him. In 1894 Mr. 
 Brewer lost his world-famed Jersey bull, "Koffee's 
 iVoble," 14,631, a grandson of the famous Island- 
 bred cow "Coomassie," and one of her very best, 
 as his entire pedigree was made up of some of 
 the most famous names on the Island. Prominent 
 breeders pronounced him the best Jersey bull living 
 in his day, and he was valued in his prime at fully 
 $10,000.. Mr. Brewer is a member of the Con- 
 necticut Jersey Breeders Association. John O. 
 Couch, of Middlefield, professional buyer for the 
 Havemeyers and other large owners of Jerseys, 
 styles him "the best posted in Jersey literature of 
 any man in Connecticut." Hon. R. A. Potter, ex- 
 president of the Dairymen's Association of Con- 
 necticut, has paid him an equally high compliment. 
 His work in the introduction of the best strains 
 of Jerseys has made him known to lovers of blooded 
 stock throughout the country. He is kept in cor- 
 respondence with breeders from Maine to Cali- 
 fornia, and is frequently visited by parties who have 
 journeyed hundreds of miles for the sole purpose 
 of examining his herd of Jerseys. He also does a 
 considerable flour, grain and feed business under 
 the firm name of Edgar Brewer & Son. 
 
 Mr. Brewer built his beautiful home in Hocka- 
 num, which is surrounded with all the comforts 
 
 that make life worth living, and takes a just pride 
 in it. He is also justly proud of the fact that the 
 large apple trees in the yard he grew from seeds 
 sown with his own hand, while the beautiful row of 
 maples in front of the place, as well as those 
 in the lawns, were all- planted by himself. 
 
 In November, 1854, Edgar Brewer was united 
 in marriage with Miss Ellen S., daughter of George 
 King, of Hartford, and four children have been born 
 to them : Cassius King, a farmer of East Hartford ; 
 Helen Eugenia, who died in her sixteenth year; 
 Robert Henry, deceased in infancy; and R. Mont- 
 gomery, who assists his father in the farm and 
 other interests. Mr. and Mrs. Brewer attend the 
 services of the Congregational Church, and he was 
 a member of the building committee at the time the 
 church was erected at Hockanum. In politics he is 
 a Republican, though taking no special interest in 
 the affairs of the party, and has declined to accept 
 nomination for office. He is very popular in the 
 community, and is considered one of the county's 
 most loyal and public-spirited citizens. 
 
 EDWARD D. DICKINSON is an energetic and 
 successful tobacco grower and farmer of Glaston- 
 bury, has a thorough knowledge of the tobacco busi- 
 ness, and is one of the largest growers in the town. 
 A son of Nathaniel and Mary (Rich) Dickinson, 
 he was born April 22, 1S49, in Marlboro, Hartford 
 county, in a house which was located in the northern 
 part of that town and has since been torn down. 
 [The ancestral history of the family is given in the 
 sketch of Julius G. Dickinson, elsewhere.] 
 
 The early education of our subject was acquired 
 in the district schools and finished at the Penfield 
 Hill school, in the eastern part of the town of Port- 
 land, which was a very good school in those days. 
 On laying aside his text books, at the age of four- 
 teen years, he returned home, where he followed 
 farming until nearly twenty-one, and then went to 
 East Hampton, Conn., forming a partnership with 
 a cousin, Nathan R. Hall, under the firm name of 
 Hall & Dickinson, and engaging in getting out tim- 
 ber and lumber, such as railroad ties, poles, piles, 
 ship timber, etc., m which business they continued 
 about two years with success. On selling out the 
 business to a companv, Mr. Dickinson went to Port- 
 land, Conn., where for six months he served as fore- 
 man in the Brainard brown-stone quarries, having 
 a number of men under him, many of whom w-ere 
 much older than he. The following spring, in 1872, 
 he came to Hockanum, in the town of East Hart- 
 ford, and was employed for a year by J. Knox Hall 
 as a farm hand, endeavoring to learn in this way 
 something of tobacco culture. In 1875 he and his 
 brother, Charles R., leased land of Henry Daniels, 
 Henry Holmes and Alonzo Roberts, in Hockanum, 
 where they cleared a tract of new land and planted 
 it in tobacco, raising the first crop on what is now 
 some of the best tobacco land in East Hartford. 
 They raised about seven and a half acres annually 
 for three years, and met with success in the under- 
 
m 
 
 1030 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 taking. After his marriage, in 1875, our subject 
 located on the farm where he now resides, it being 
 occupied by his fafher-in-law, Russell Sellevv, who 
 for many years conducted a restaurant on Main 
 street, Hartford. The farm was not cultivated, as 
 Mr. Sellew devoted his entire time to his cafe, and 
 when Air. Dickinson took charge of the same it was 
 in a "run-down" condition. He erected all of the 
 outbuildings, has improved the same from time to 
 time, and has added to the farm, which when he 
 took possession consisted of twent3'-five acres. In 
 connection with his farm work he also engaged e.x- 
 tensively in buying and selling cattle. In 1899 he 
 raised twelve acres of tobacco, which was sold in the 
 field to the same buyer who has [nirchased our sub- 
 ject's crop for a number of years past. 
 
 On Sept. 7, 1875, Mr. Dickinson married Miss 
 Ella S. Sellew, who was born June 7, 1858, a daugh- 
 ter of Russell and Mary (Manning) Sellew. The 
 father was born March 7, 1829, and died Jan. 30, 
 1873, and the mother was born Dec. 20, 1827, and 
 died Sept. 14, 1882. In their family were three chil- 
 dren, the others being Plorence E.', who died at the 
 age of eleven years; and Alice Al., now the wife 
 of Cassius Raynesford, of Ellis, Ellis Co., Kan. 
 Our subject purchased her interest in the old home- 
 stead. Mr. and iVirs. Dickinson have one child. 
 Bertha May, who was born June 4, 1876, and was 
 married, Nov. 28, 1894, to Ansel Bidwell, a son of 
 Ansel and Emeline (Hodge) Bidwell, of the same 
 town ; he is a soap manufacturer of South Glaston- 
 bury, and resides with our subject. They have two 
 children: Leon Russell, born Dec. 23, 1895; and 
 Edward Dickinson, born April 12, 1897. 
 
 Mr. Dickinson and his family attend the Congre- 
 gational Church, and he affiliates with the Demo- 
 cratic party, of which his father was also a sup- 
 porter. He has served as grand juror and assessor, 
 and has filled other minor offices. Socially he is a 
 prominent member of Elm Lodge, No. 53,'!. O. O. 
 F., in which he has passed all the chairs, and at one 
 time was also connected with the Grange and the 
 Order of United American Mechanics. He is a 
 man of jovial disposition, is wide-awake and en- 
 ergetic, and tne success that he has achieved in life 
 is due entirely to his own industry, perseverance 
 and good management. 
 
 Ch.\rles R. Dickinson, a brother of our sub- 
 ject, now residing in Rockville, Conn., was born 
 on the old homestead in Marlboro, Aug. 29, 185 1, 
 and received a district-school education, which was 
 completed when he was fourteen years of age. 
 When about twenty he and his brother embarked 
 in the tobacco business in East Hartford, and fol- 
 lowed the same until 1875, when he went West, 
 visiting Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin and 
 Illinois. He workea in various places at the joiner's 
 trade, and conducted a hotel in Hampshire, Kane 
 Co., 111., for six months. Returning to Connecticut, 
 he located on the home farm in Marlboro, and like 
 his brother he engaged in getting out timber for 
 cross ties, poles, etc. He operated the farm for 
 
 about ten years, and then went to Ellington, Tol- \ 
 land Co., Conn., where he purchased a house and lot, 
 being engaged in the wholesale and retail dressed 
 meat business at that place for many years. In No- 
 vember, 1899, li^ moved to Rockville, Conn., where 
 he now* resides. He is a member of the Ellington 
 Congregational Church, and a supporter of the Dem- 
 ocratic party. In 1881 Mr. Dickinson married Miss , 
 Fannie Ferguson, a daughter of Samuel A. Fergu- i 
 son, a wagonmaker of Marlboro, and they have one '' 
 son, Mcrton V., at home. 
 
 FHILIP JOHN BRIDEAUX. As a stock 
 breeder the subject of this sketch is rapidly acquir- 
 ing a reputation which is extending far and wide. 
 He was born in the Island of Jersey, the original 
 home of the famous Jersey breed of cattle, and his 
 ancestors for generations have been noted breeders 
 of cattle. As a boy our subject became an expert 
 judge of cattle, and in adult life he adopted the oc- 
 cuoation of his father. He exportea stock from his 
 native island to America, and realizing the vast op- , 
 pcr'tunities in this country he finally came to the I 
 United States. His successes here are briefly re- 
 counted in the following sketch. 
 
 Mr. Brideaux was born in the Island of Jersey 
 Sept. 2, 1852, son of John and Mary (LeGresley) 
 Brideaux, and grandson of John Brideaux. Both \ 
 his father and his grandfather were farmers and 
 breeders of fine Jersey cattle on the Island, where 
 tlie former was born in 1S13, and lived to the age i 
 of sixty-eight years. He was a progressive and en- 1 
 ergetic nian, and these traits his son, our subject, 
 has inherited. The mother of our subject was born ^ 
 April 14, 1818, and died in England, where she is I 
 buried. Their family consisted of three sons, of 
 whom Philip John was the youngest. John Francis, .| 
 born in September, 1846, died in 1898; he had one 
 daughter, Amelia. Elias John, born in August, 
 1849, married Maryann Pirouet, and they had 
 twelve children, of whom Walter P., the fourth son, 
 came to this country in 1899 to learn farming and 
 cattle breeding, making his home with his uncle, our 
 subject. 
 
 Philip J. Brideaux received his education in Eliz- 
 abeth and Victoria Colleges, England, and at the age 
 of eighteen years took charge of the home farm, 
 his brothers having previously married. This farm 
 he continued to operate until he migrated lo America 
 in May, 1889, with his wife, whom he had married 
 ii! England Sept. 27, 1883. She was Miss May Eliz- : 
 abeth Prigg, born Jan. 27, 1856, daughter of John 
 and Maria (Bowles) Prigg, born Aug. 17, 1829, and 
 Jan. 27, 1829, respectively. 
 
 Before coming- to the United States Mr. Brid- 
 eaux bred Jersey cattle for shipment to this country, 
 and was the largest breeder of stock on the Island 
 of Jersey. From the time he was ten years old his 
 father would send him to all the fairs on the Island, 
 which were considered very important events in the 
 farm life of that place, and the boy thus developed 
 quite an interest in cattle. He became an authority 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1081 
 
 in judging cattle, and was frequently chosen judge 
 in contests, being but twenty-four when he acted 
 as judge in the principal fairs in England — the 
 Royal Agricultural Show, the Roval Counties" and 
 the London Dairy Show. 
 
 Mr. Brideaux determined before locating per- 
 manently in the United States to acquaint himself 
 more fully with the methods of American farmers. 
 Accordingly he took charge of the dairy business on 
 a large farm near Easton, Penn.. remaining there 
 about a year. He then went to Lunenburg, Mass., 
 where he held a similar position for two years, then 
 went to New Britain, Conn., and took charge of one 
 of the farms owned by Theodore Stanley, of Cedar 
 Hill, where he remained a year. The four years' 
 experience was enough. Mr. Brideaux purchased 
 the farm of eighty-six acres in Newington, known 
 as "Maple Grove," and resumed on his own account 
 the breeding of fine cattle. It has been said that 
 he has the finest lot of Jersey cattle in the county, 
 or perhaps that are raised anywhere in the world. 
 He justly prides himself in the unsurpassed quality 
 of his stock, a fact that has been frequently attested. 
 He keeps regularly from thirty to forty head of 
 full-blooded Jerseys. Although competition has 
 been very keen, he has always taken the best prizes, 
 and at the Reading meeting (England) in 1887 he 
 took first prize for the best cow of any breed with 
 two of her offspring. At the Connecticut Dairy- 
 men's Association Convention, held in 1898 at Hart- 
 ford, Mr. Brideaux received the first prize or sweep- 
 stakes for the best butter, havmg ninety-seven and 
 one-half points out of a possible one hundred. This 
 was the first time in the history of the Association 
 that the creameries were defeated in this contest. 
 Mr. Brideaux also raises the first potatoes of the 
 season. 
 
 Mr. Brideaux and his estimable wife are mem- 
 bers of the Grace Episcopal Church of Newington, 
 of which he is a vestrj^man. He is a member of the 
 Grange. Mrs. Brideaux is a lady of education and 
 culture, having graduated in 1876 from the Salis- 
 bury (Wiltshire) Normal Training College. She 
 followed teaching until her marriage. 
 
 ALFRED MERRIMAN, a well-known and 
 highly-respected citizen of Plantsville, now in the 
 employ of the Atwater Manufacturing Co., was 
 born on what is known as the Gad Andrews farm, 
 ill Southington, May 23, 1831. 
 
 Our subject traces his ancestry back to Nathaniel 
 Merriman, who was born in England in 1614, and 
 settled in New Haven as early as 1639. In October, 
 1665, he was confirmed sergeant of the New Haven 
 train-band by the General Court. In 1672 he re- 
 moved to Wailingford, and was there confirmed 
 lieutenant of the train-band. On Nov. i, 1675, he 
 was captain of the Troop of Dragoons in New 
 Haven county, and in 1691-92 was by vote continued 
 captain. He signed the plantation covenant in New 
 Haven in 1639; in 1673 was on a committee to fix 
 the boundary between Wallingford and other towns ; 
 
 and was several times deputy to the General Court 
 from Wallingford. He died there Feb. 13, 1694, 
 aged eighty years. His son, John Merriman, was 
 born in New Haven in February, 1659, and married 
 for his first wife Hannah Lines, and for his second 
 Elizabeth Peck. He was the father of Rev. John 
 Merriman, who was born Oct. 16, 1691, and was 
 married, Feb. 24, 1726, to Jemima Wilcox. He was 
 a Baptist minister, and was among the first to join 
 that denomination in Wallingfora in 1729. In 1738 
 he became pastor of the Baptist Church at that place, 
 resigned in 1750, and removed to the southwestern 
 part of Southington, where he died Feb. 17, 1784. 
 His son, John Merriman, was born in Wallingford, 
 Sept. 12, 1728, and died in Southington, April 13, 
 1801. The latter was the father of Chauncey Merri- 
 man, a soldier of the Revolutionary war, who was 
 married Feb. 13, 1777, to Sarah Ives, of Cheshire. 
 This worthy couple were the grandparents of our 
 subject. 
 
 Anson Merriman, father of our subject, was 
 born in Southington, Oct. 21, 1786, and was married 
 Oct. 31, 1810, to Jerusha Bacon, daughter of Joel 
 Bacon, of Westfield, Conn. She died March 18, 
 1822, and he was again married, Sept. 18, 1822, his 
 second union being with Fanny Hubbard, of Sand- 
 isfield, Mass. He at one time owned v\'hat is now 
 known as the Gad Andrews farm, which he sold in 
 1832, and purchased a place on Shuttle Meadow, 
 ilow owned by his son Josiah. At various times he 
 engaged in manufacturing articles, such as brass 
 combs, buttons wound with sewing silk, hames, 
 brooms, carriaee bolts, etc., and was the first to dis- 
 cover and manufacture cement. He died Sept. 2, 
 
 1853- 
 
 Our subject was only about two years old when 
 
 the family removed to the farm on Shuttle Meadow, 
 now owned by his brother, and he acquired his edu- 
 cation in the common schools of the neighborhood 
 and at Lewis Academy. In early life he served a 
 three-years apprenticeship to the carpenters trade 
 with Lyon & Ballard, of Meriden, and later worked 
 at the same as a journeyman for twenty-five years, 
 but for the past twenty years has been employed as 
 a machinist by the Atwater Manufacturing Co. 
 
 On Nov. 8, 1853, Mr. Merriman was united in 
 marriage with Miss Ann Amelia Meserole, daughter 
 of Jacob and Mahala Meserole, of Astoria, Long 
 Island. By that union were born two children : Ida, 
 who died April 28, 1874, aged nineteen years ; and 
 Estella, wife of Eben White. The mother of these 
 died Feb. 17, 1876, aged forty years, eight months, 
 and for his second wife our subject, on Nov. 30, 
 1880, married Miss Henrietta Howell, also of As- 
 toria. Both Mr. and Mrs. Merriman hold member- 
 ship in the Plantsville Congregational Church, and 
 are highly respected and esteemed by all who know 
 them. Politically he is a Republican. 
 
 ELMER GEORGE CLARK whose home is on 
 Farmington avenue. West Hartford, has for many 
 years been prominently identified with the agricult- 
 
1032 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ural interests of Hartford county, and in his labors 
 has met with marked success. 
 
 Air. Clark was born in New Haven, Conn., Nov. 
 II, 1840. a son of Dorus and Atlanta (Hotchkiss) 
 Clark. The father was born at No. 7, Washing- 
 ton street, Hartford, in 1807, and on Nov. 4, 1822, 
 was bound out until twenty-one years of age to 
 Durrie & Peck, at New Haven, to learn the book- 
 binder's trade, which he subsequently followed for 
 a time in that city, and later engaged in the grocery 
 business there. He was a member of the New 
 Haven Greys. There he married Miss Atlanta 
 Hotchkiss who was born Sept. 22, 1810, and died 
 Sept 22, 1862, and he died in New Haven, Oct. 14, 
 1882. He was struck by a train at Madison, Conn., 
 and for two or three years before his death was un- 
 able to attend to Lusiness. In his family were five 
 children : Sheldon, who spent his entire life in New 
 Haven, where his death occurred ; Ellen S., a resi- 
 dent of that city ; Elmer, who died at the age of 
 four years; Elmer G., our subject; and Adella M., 
 wife of Thomas G. Shepard, of New Haven. 
 
 Dorus Clark, grandfather of our subject, was 
 born June 7, 1763, a son of Josiah and Martha 
 (Benton) Clark, who were married July 13, 1762. 
 Josiah Clark was born in 1737, and died ]May 13, 
 1818, while his wife was born in 1741, and died 
 Nov. 8, 1815. They had only two children: Dorus 
 ■and Eunice, the latter born May 23, 1765, and died 
 Dec. I, 1774. Dorus Clark followed the cabinet- 
 maker's trade, and resided at the old homestead at 
 No. 7 Washington street, Hartford. On Aug. 29, 
 1786, he married Clarissa Barnard, who was born in 
 1765, and died June 4, 1846; he died March 13, 
 1877. In their family were nine children: Chauncey, 
 born Nov. 19, 1787, died April 20, 1792; Eunice, 
 born Feb. 27, 1789, died Dec. i, 1872; Martha, born 
 March 17, i79i,died June i, 1849; Alargaret, born 
 Feb. 9, 1793, died Nov. 26, 1869; Clarissa, born 
 Dec. I, 1794; Chauncey, born Oct. 18, 1798, died 
 Dec. 26, 1845; Hannah, born Nov. i, 1800, died 
 Sept. 14, 1893; Dorus, born Nov. 4, 1807, died Oct. 
 14, 1882; and George, born Feb. 5, iSii, died June 
 28, 1889. 
 
 When only three j'ears old Elmer G. Clark came 
 to West Hartford to make his home with his aunt 
 Hannah, wife of George Giddings, and his education 
 was begun at the school in Quaker Lane. Later he 
 attended the Webster public high school, in New 
 Haven, and the high school at West Hartford. For 
 a number of years he successfully engaged in farm- 
 ing on the Giddings homestead in West Hartford, 
 and on Nov. i, 1890, removed from that place to his 
 present home on Farmington avenue. West Hart- 
 ford. He is the owner of 400 acres of fine farming 
 land, which he has placed under excellent cultivation 
 and successfully operates, being a thorough and 
 systematic farmer, and a man of good business 
 ability. Public-spirited and enterprising, he is con- 
 nected with all matters pertaining to public improve- 
 ment, and has most creditably filled the offices of 
 selectman of the town and chairman of the board 
 
 of relief for many years. Fraternally he is a mem- 
 ber of the Grange, and has been a member of Wyllvs 
 Lodge, No. 99, F. & A. M., since 1864. 
 
 On Oct. 28, 1863, in South Windsor, Conn., Mr. 
 Clark was united in marriage with Miss Frances 
 Augusta Grant. They have one son, George Dorus, 
 born Nov. 12, 1869, who has been connected with 
 the United States Bank since seventeen years of age, 
 and is also a member of Wyllys Lodge, No. 99, F. 
 & A. M. 
 
 Mrs. Clark is a descendant, on both sides of 
 the family, of Alatthew Grant, who was born Oct. 
 27, 1601, and died in Windsor, Conn., Dec. 16, 1681, 
 Her father, Horace Grant, was born at Wapping 
 in 1807, a son of Elliott and Chloe (Fenton) Grant, 
 and spent his school days in the town of South 
 Windsor. He was town clerk for many years, and 
 also filled the office of justice of the peace. Re- 
 ligiously he was a member of the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church of South Windsor, and died in that 
 faith, at Wapping, March 15, 185 1. lie was mar- 
 ried in Wapping. Jan. 12, 1834, to Miss Lucina 
 Grant, daughter of Gustavus Grant. She was born 
 there, Jan. 11, 1813, and died there, Nov. 19, 1884. 
 In their family were six children: Ida Eliza, born 
 Oct. 12, 1835, was married, Feb. 10, 1856, to An- 
 drew Jackson Fowler, now of St. Paul, Minn. ; Jus- 
 tina Mary, born Aug. 21, 1837, was married in 
 South Windsor, Oct. 12, 1859, to William Ozias 
 Bissell, who died at Baton Rouge, La., during the 
 Civil war, and on Dec. 9, 1865, she married Edwin 
 j\l. Thrall, of Windsorville; Frances Augusta, born 
 Nov. I, 1840, is the wife of our subject; Bradford 
 Horace, born April 27, 1842, was married at Wap- 
 ping, Dec. 31, 1863, to Josephine Maria Pierce, and 
 died in Manchester, Conn., July 6, 1900; Frederick 
 Sanford, born Aug. 5, 1844, was married, Nov. 30, 
 1870, to Alary Jane Talcott, and lives in Parkville, 
 Conn.; and Laura Alaria, born Oct. 16, 1847, was 
 married, June 8, 1869, to Frank Avery, now of 
 Manchester. 
 
 ARTHUR C. ROBERTS is one of the substan- 
 tial citizens of the town of Windsor, and his career 
 gives evidence of his ability and enterprise. As 
 an agriculturist he has followed progressive 
 methods, and in general business lines his dealings 
 have been marked by a far-sighted acumen which 
 his gained him the confidence of financiers. 
 
 Mr. Roberts comes of an old and highly-re- 
 spected family, and his paternal grandfather, Judah 
 Roberts, was a wealthy, prominent agriculturist of 
 Litchfield county, residing at Hitchcockville (now 
 Riverton ) , and also owned valuable real estate at 
 Windsor. This worthy citizen was born in 1763, 
 "and died June 17, 1839, at the home of his son, 
 Cicero, in Windsor, his remains being interred in 
 Windsor cemetery. His wife, Mercy (Eno), was 
 born in 1784, and died Aug. 30, 1841, at Windsor. 
 They had a large family of children, as follows : 
 Samuel resided near Detroit, Mich., for some years, 
 and then removed to Colorado, wdiere he died; he 
 
4. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1033 
 
 .:ad three children, Wilham, Walter and Mary, 
 who reside at Roberts Landing, Mich. Eno (de- 
 :eased) resided in New Hartford, Conn., and had 
 ;hree children, now living. Judah (deceased) had 
 two children, who reside in the West. Cicero, our 
 subject's father, is mentioned below. Thankful 
 married D. C. Y. Moore, and died in Colebrook, 
 Conn.; they had a family of four children, Osbert 
 (deceased) ; John A. and Roberts C, living at Rob- 
 ertsville. Conn; and Marilla (deceased). Laura was 
 twice married, and died in Wayne county, Penn. 
 Esther became the first wife of Julius Ransom, of 
 Windsor, and died near Honesdale, Penn., at the 
 home of her sister; she had one son, Roberts, now 
 residing near Honesdale. 
 
 Cicero Roberts^ the father of our subject, was 
 born Aug. 16, 1821, at Riverton, where he grew to 
 manhood, his education being obtained in the local 
 schools. For many years he was engaged in teach- 
 ing with a degree of success which stamped him 
 as possessing a superior mind, of rare force of char- 
 acter. About 1840, at the age of nineteen years, 
 he removed to Windsor, where he taught in nearly 
 every district, but he was especially identified with 
 the schools of District No. 4. Many of the best 
 citizens of the town were among his pupils, and 
 entertain a grateful recollection of his efficiency as 
 an instructor, his methods having been much in ad- 
 vance of his time. For many years he devoted 
 his spare time to farming, having located on a tract 
 which had once belonged to his father, and in this 
 he was also successful, at his death leaving a hand- 
 some competence, gained in a manner which estab- 
 lished for him a high reputation for integrity. He 
 was noted for his energy and industry, which doubt- 
 less hastened his death, and his public spirit was 
 manifested in many ways, the remark being made 
 when he passed away that "few could have been 
 taken that would be missed as much as he." While 
 he was not a strict Methodist in belief, he was an 
 active worker in that church, contributing liberally 
 and serving in various offices, including that of 
 chorister, which he held for many years. In pol- 
 itics he was a Republican, and voted regularly, but 
 he never sought or held office. His death occurred 
 Feb. 13, 1875, his remains being interred in the 
 family lot in Windsor cemetery. Throughout his 
 life he showed a great love for his home, and it 
 was there that the best qualities of his character had 
 full play. His first wife, Julia (Loomis), of Wind- 
 sor, died Oct. 12, 1847, aged twenty-five years, leav- 
 ing no children. He then married Miss Julia 
 Stoughton, who was born in Windsor in 1824, a 
 daughter of Harvey Stoughton, and died Dec. 7, 
 1865. His third wife, Celestia A. Gillett, born in 
 1829, died Aug. 8, 1889. He had two children, 
 both by the second marriage: Emma Frances, who 
 ; died in 1868, at the age of seventeen ; and Arthur 
 I C, our subject. An adopted daughter, Mabel H., 
 I 'ilied Dec. 20, 1885, at the age of eighteen. 
 
 Our subject was born Nov. 6, 1859, at the old 
 home between Windsor and Poquonock, and began 
 his education in the schools of District No. 4, his 
 father being one of his early teachers. For a time 
 he attended the grammar and high schools of Hart- 
 ford, and took a partial course at Hannum's Busi- 
 ness College, in that city ; but as he was yet in his 
 "teens when his father died he was compelled to 
 gain much of his knowledge of business methods 
 through practical effort in the management of his 
 estate. Having always assisted in the work at 
 home, he was familiar with the details, and he is 
 known as an excellent manager. In 1878 he re- 
 moved to his present farm, which had been sold 
 by his father, but was forfeited by the buyer through 
 failure to complete the payments. He is interested 
 in many business enterprises in his locality, being 
 a leading stockholder in the Windsor Creamery, 
 and has added to his inherited wealth through his 
 judicious investments. 
 
 On Oct. 29, 1890, Mr. Roberts married Miss 
 Nellie W. Clark, daughter of John L. and Naomi 
 M. (Willes) Clark, well-known residents of Frank- 
 lin, New London Co., Conn., and they have one 
 child, Edith Clark, born Aug. 17, 1899. Mrs. 
 Roberts is much esteemed among a large circle 
 of friends, and is an efficient worker in the Con- 
 gregational Church at Windsor, in which Mr. Rob- 
 erts is prominent as a member of the Society's 
 committee. Politically he is a Republican, but is 
 not especially interested in partisan work, although 
 he considers it his duty to vote at all elections. 
 He takes keen interest in all educational affairs, and 
 some time past has served as secretary and treas- 
 urer of School District No. 6, of Wiridsor, and at 
 present (1900) is one of the school visitors. 
 
 CHARLES ALLEN ATKINS, Jr., was born in 
 Mansfield, Tolland Co., Conn., Jan. 20, 1852,, a 
 son of Charles A. Atkins, who was a native of 
 New Britain. 
 
 Charles A. Atkins, Sr., was of a disposition 
 which may be said to have been at once roving and 
 energetic. While yet a young man, with such cap- 
 ital as he could command, he started in business on 
 his own account as a peddler, driving a wagon 
 through the towns of Connecticut, and finally ven- 
 tured over the western line of the State and en- 
 tered the City of New Yory. While engaged in 
 disposing of his wares on Broadway, one of the 
 passers-by on that thoroughfare, attracted by nis 
 cries, paused to listen to his argumentative and 
 exhortatory discourse. Perceiving that he pos- 
 sessed the elements of a first-rate salesman in 
 an unusual degree, the stranger introduced him- 
 self, and opened a conversation. Mr. Atkins' 
 interviewer proved to be a Mr. Wilson, of Wil- 
 son, Mann & Co., Nev/ York, and as a result 
 of the conversation he entered into a contract with 
 the company to serve as one of their commercial 
 travelers for a term of six years. At the expiration 
 
1084 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of that period he was admitted into partnership, 
 the business relations extending over several years. 
 They dealt wholesale in dry goods, and the business 
 done was extensive in volume and profitable in char- 
 acter. ■ In 1852 j\lr. Atkins withdrew from active 
 connection with the firm, although still retaining his 
 interest in the business, and that year, on account of 
 ill health, returned to Mansfield, where he remained 
 for a year, in an efl:"ort to recuperate his strength. 
 In 1854 he returned to New York, but ill health pre- 
 vented him from remaining there, and he returned 
 the same year to his early home, where he continued 
 to reside for ten vears. He then went to Tolland 
 county, remaining there for five years. The years 
 between 1870 and 1872 he spent at Windsor Locks, 
 from which place he removed to Hartford, where he 
 engaged in the real-estate business, until his death, 
 in 1887, after he had reached the age of sixty-nine 
 years. Air. Atkins married Caroline Phillips, by 
 whom he had three children, Charles A., Jr., being 
 the eldest ; Frederick resides in Hartford and John 
 is a resident of Chicago, Illinois. 
 
 Charles A. Atkins, Jr., received his first educa- 
 tional training in the district schools of the locality 
 of his residence, supplementing same by attendance 
 at the Connecticut Literary Institute, Suffield. After 
 graduation from that school he went to Hartford, 
 where he entered the employ of C. T. Marston & 
 Co., a prominent wholesale lumber firm of that city. 
 He remained with this firm for eighteen years, dur- 
 ing the last five of which he held the responsible 
 position of lumber buyer for the company. In 1888 
 he came from Hartford to Manchester, where he has 
 since engaged in business on his own account as a 
 dealer in all descriptions of lumber, shingles and 
 laths, and his success has been most pronounced. 
 Notwithstanding Mr. Atkins" business is located in 
 Manchester, he still resides in Hartford, going and 
 returning daily. He has just completed a beauti- 
 ful and expensive home on Kenyon Heights, one of 
 the most fashionable locations in the citv. 
 
 On July 10, 1876, Mr. Atkins was married to 
 Miss Lizzie West, of Rockville, and they have had 
 six children — Edward and Florence and four who 
 died in infancy. Mr. Atkins is a Republican in 
 politics, socially belongs to the Manchester Wheel 
 and Social Club, and is a highly esteemed member 
 of the community. He has repeatedly been urged to 
 enter the political field, but has steadfastly declined, 
 feeling that his business, which has been constantly 
 growing since its inception, requires his undivided 
 attention. 
 
 CHARLES OTT, an industrious and respected 
 farmer on Forbes Street, East Hartford, was born in 
 Colchester, Westchester County, N. Y., April 23, 
 1861, and is a son of Jacob and Mary (Trump) 
 Ott. 
 
 Jacob Ott was born in Werchburg, Germany, in 
 1835, received but a limited education, learned the 
 trade of weaver, and in 1857 came to America with 
 the hope of bettering his condition in life ; in this 
 
 hope he was not disappointed, as he at once found 
 employment with a farmer in Westchester county, 
 N. Y., at fifteen dollars per month. In that countv 
 he married, in i860, Mary Trump, a native of 
 Bayern, German}', who in 1850 embarked on a sail- 
 ing-vessel at Havre, France, and after a voyage of 
 twenty-eight days landed at New York City, where 
 she was employed as a domestic until her removal 
 to AVestchester county some months later. In 1864 
 Mr. Ott brought his family to East Hartford, Conn., 
 purchased the "Grassell" farm, and his family now 
 comprises, beside Charles, our subject, who is the 
 eldest born, three children : Mary, who is married 
 to. Henry Allen, and is living in Hartford ; Emma, 
 wife of Sherman Wrisley, of Glastonbury ; and 
 Carrie, still at the home of her parents. 
 
 Charles Ott was reared from infancy to man- 
 hood in East Hartford. He received a common- 
 school education, and assisted his father on the home 
 farm until his marriage, May 8, 1884, to Miss Mary 
 March, daughter of John and Mary (Bantly) March, 
 and born Feb. 9, 186 1. John March, her father, 
 was born April i, 1830, in Wittenberg, Germany, 
 served four years in the army, sailed from Bremen • 
 and landed in New York, and thence came direct : 
 to Hartford county. Conn., where his brother-in- 
 law, Anton Bantly, then lived. Here he married an 
 old schoolmate, Mary Bantly, who was born in Wit- 
 tenberg in 1831, and who bore him three children: 
 Mary, Emma and John. The father passed away 
 at Hockanum in 1877, but the mother is still living, 
 at an advanced age, at the home of her daughter, 
 Emma March, in the village named, where her son 
 John also resides. To the marriage of Charles Ott 
 and Mary Alarch have been born six children : 
 Emma, Alary, Charles, Grace, Elsie and Carrie. 
 
 In 1884 Mr. Ott purchased his present farm 
 from Louis Frye, and here he raises from four to 
 six acres of tobacco annually. He is very attentive 
 to his vocation, and has as neat a place as there is 
 in the neighborhood. In politics he is a Republican, 
 but devotes more attention to his farm and farm 
 topics than he does to politics and party gossip and 
 discussion. He and his family attend the A'lethodist 
 Church, and have an excellent standing in the re- 
 spect of the community, Mr. Ott being quiet and 
 unassuming in his demeanor, and strictly upright in 
 every transaction, whether of a business character 
 or otherwise. 
 
 EDWARD JOSEPH CARROLL, a highly- 
 respected self-made resident of East Hartford, and 
 one of its oldest Irish-born citizens, has raised him- 
 self from a poor boy to a position of affluence 
 through his personal exertions and his natural apti- 
 tude for business, notwithstanding the fact that 
 his early education was quite limited. 
 
 Air. Carroll was born Oct. 3, 1835, in County 
 Dublin, Ireland, a son of Joseph and Mary (Hef- 
 fern) Carroll, the former of whom came to the 
 United States in 1841 and located in Scotland (now 
 Burnside), Conn., where he found employment 
 
^^ 6oiAAMkyr-lL ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1035 
 
 in the Henry Hudson paper-mill, being a paper- 
 maker by trade. Edward Carroll, the father of 
 Joseph, was also a papermaker, came to America 
 about 1845, and found employment in the same 
 mill in Scotland, Conn. Later he removed to Rock- 
 ville, Tolland county, where he died in 1850, at the 
 age of sixty-nine years. His wife, who had borne 
 the maiden name of Elizabeth Burns, died in Ire- 
 land, the mother of nine children, of whom Joseph, 
 Edward, Robert, Christopher, Martha and Bridget 
 came to the United States — the boys being all paper-- 
 makers. One son, George, remained in Ireland 
 until he reached adult age, and the others died 
 young. Of those who came to America, Edward 
 died in Rockville, Conn. ; Christopher died at Wind- 
 sor Locks; Robert died in Rochester, N. y^., where 
 he had become a merchant; Martha was married 
 to James Malley, and died in Bridgeport, Conn. ; 
 and Bridget, who married Jonn Toppen, died at 
 Windsor Locks. 
 
 Joseph Carroll was born in County Dublin, Ire- 
 land, about 1S05, and the year after his arrival in 
 America (1841) he was joined by his wife and four 
 of his children — Edward J., Mary A., John F. and 
 Joseph — who had passed a year in Richmond, York- 
 shire, England, at the home of Mrs. Carroll's 
 mother. In September, 1842, the wife and children 
 mentioned embarked at Liverpool, on the sailing 
 vessel "Chester," and after a reasonably short voy- 
 age of four weeks landed at New York City, whence 
 they came by boat to Hartford, Conn., and from 
 Hartford to Scotland (or Burnside). There the 
 family lived for a number of years, or tmtil 1870, 
 when they removed to East Hartford, and a few 
 years later to Hartford, where the father died at 
 No. 199 Shelaon street, when seventy-seven years 
 old, and the mother in February, 1896, at the age 
 of eighty-two years. They were both devout mem- 
 bers of the Catholic Church, and their remains were 
 interred in the North Catholic cemetery. Joseph 
 Carroll was very energetic and industrious up to the 
 time he was stricken with paralysis, when he lost 
 his sight, and for nine years immediately preced- 
 ing his death was deprived of the use of his eyes. 
 Hi.<; wife was a noble example of womanhood, and, 
 like her husband, was highly respected by many 
 warm-hearted friends. The children born to this 
 venerable couple numbered eleven, as follows : Ed- 
 ward J., our subject; Mary A. (now Mrs. Patrick 
 Garvan), of Hartford; John F., who enlisted in 
 Company E, Twenty-fourth Connecticut Volunteers, 
 in 1862, fell before Port Hudson May 25, 1863, and 
 was buried where he fell (he went out as sergeant, 
 but his company was divided, and he was acting as 
 a private at the time of his death. He was a 
 brave soldier and greatly honored, the Sons of Vet- 
 . erans camp at East Hartford being named after 
 him) ; Joseph, who died a few months after the fam- 
 ily came to America; Theresa (now Mrs. Peter J. 
 Gilligan), of Holyoke, Mass.; Elizabeth, who was 
 a Sister of Mercy and diea in a convent at Hartford ; 
 
 Joseph E., a contractor and builder in East Hart- 
 ford ; Miss Martha and Miss Agnes, who reside in 
 Hartford ; Frank, who died in the same city, at the 
 age of thirty-five years ; and there Miss Annie, the 
 youngest, also makes her home. 
 
 Edward J. Carroll, it will have oeen noticed, was 
 but seven years of age when he came to Connecti- 
 cut. His limited education was acquired in the 
 district school of Burnside under sucn teachers as 
 Mr. Woodbridge, Miss Ayers, Mr. Lyman and 
 Walter McKee; when less than thirteen years old 
 he quit school, as his parents were poor, and it was. 
 necessary he should earn a trifle toward the support 
 of the large family. He had never studied gram- 
 mar, but being possessed of a keen intellect he kept 
 up his studies later in hfe; to-day anyone, judging 
 from his conversation, would class him among col- 
 legians. At the age of thirteen he went to work 
 in the Hudson paper-mill, and his hrst worx was at 
 "laying ofif for the cutter." He advanced in the work,, 
 learned all its details, and worked in the mill until 
 twenty-seven years old, and then for a few weeks 
 worked in Colt's Armory, at Hartford. In April, 
 
 1862, he entered Sharp's rifle works, and while there 
 employed decided to serve his adopted country in the 
 preservation of the Union. He was given authority 
 to recruit a company, which became Company E, 
 Twenty-fourth Connecticut Volunteers, and left 
 Hartford in October of the same year. He was 
 then appointed lieutenant and commissioned by 
 Gov. Buckingham. He first made his headquarters 
 at Middletown, then, in November, went to Center- 
 ville, R. I., and early in December, 1862, joined 
 Banks' expedition for New Orleans. With his 
 regiment Lieut. Carroll took part in all its marches 
 and engagements until February, 1863, when, the 
 regiment having been reduced to eight companies,, 
 there was a superfluity of officers, and Lieut. Car- 
 roll resigned his commission, and returned home. 
 Lie virtually served as captain of his company, all 
 through, from the time it first went into camp, the 
 captain proper, George A. Denslow, being absent 
 most of the time. 
 
 Lieut. Carroll reached Connecticut in February, 
 
 1863, and in April resumed work at the Hudson 
 mill in Burnside (which had changed proprietors 
 in the meantime), and there he remained until April, 
 1865, when he embarked in the paper and paper- 
 stock business at No. 245 State street, Hartford. 
 For the first year he conducted this business on his 
 sole account, and then, in partnership with Patrick 
 Garvan, he established the firm of E. J. Carroll & 
 Co. ; this style was maintained until February, 1877, 
 when Mr. Carroll sold his interest to his partner, 
 but remained with Mr. Garvan 'n the store on the 
 road until September, 1893, since when he has been 
 engaged on his individual account as a dealer in 
 paper and paper-stock. 
 
 Edward J. Carroll was joined in matrimony, June 
 23, 1859, at St. Patrick's Church, Hartford, with 
 Miss Mary Ruth, a native of County Kilkenny, Ire- 
 
1036 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 I 
 
 land, and a daughter of John and Ann (Powers) 
 Ruth, born Dec. 24, 1836. John Ruth came to the 
 United States when Mrs. Carroll was ten and one- 
 half years of age, and died in East Hartford in 
 November, 1868; his wife survived until Novem- 
 ber, 1880, when she passed away at W'aterbury, 
 Conn., where she had been living the later years of 
 her life with a son. To Mr. and ^Irs. Carroll have 
 been born nine children: Joseph R., an insurance 
 agent, and Edward P., a gardener, both of East 
 Hartford; Anna E., with her parents; Christopher 
 J., now an undertaker of Kansas City, Mo. ; Ruth, 
 a teacher of East Hartford : Agnes, a Sister of 
 ]\Iercy of Hartford ; May. a teacher, of East Hart- 
 ford ; and Alonzo, also in business in Kansas City, 
 Missouri. 
 
 Mr. Carroll has been a resident of East Hart- 
 ford since 1865. He built his first dwelling on 
 Burnside avenue, by which act he transformed a 
 blackberry hill into a pleasant home, planted a num- 
 ber of rock maple trees in front of his dwelling, 
 where they still form a delightful snade, as well as 
 presenting an ornamental appearance to the avenue, 
 and he occupied these premises until 1872, when he 
 removed to the corner of }ilain and Orchard streets, 
 living there until, in 1S80, he came to his present 
 home on Main street — the "John B. Smith home- 
 stead." 
 
 In politics Mr. Carroll is a sound Democrat, and 
 is very popular with his party. Although he has 
 never sought public office for the sake of any re- 
 ward attached thereto he has felt it to be his duty 
 to fill any position to which his fellow citizens might 
 have invited him, and in this spirit of patriotism has 
 served as assessor two vears, justice of the peace 
 ten years, and also as school committeeman, and as 
 a member of the High School Building committee, 
 as a chairman of the Center School committee, and 
 as chairman of the High School committee. 
 
 IMr. Carroll and family are members of St. 
 IMary's Catholic Church, contribute liberally to its 
 support, and are leaders in Catholic circles. In 
 fact, the. first Catholic services held in the town of 
 East Hartford were at the house of the father of 
 our subject, in 1852, at Burnside, and so continued 
 once a month for several years. In 1872, at a 
 meeting of the Catholic residents of East Hartford, 
 Mr. Carroll, our subject, was appointed secretary 
 and treasurer of a committee selected for the pur- 
 pose of raising funds with which to erect a church 
 edifice, and he succeeded in collecting $1,800 before 
 anv steps had been taken, even to secure a pastor. 
 He was also on the committee that purchased the 
 Woodbridge lot, on which St. Alary's church now 
 stands, and was otherwise active in carrying out the 
 plans of the Catholics to secure a permanent house 
 of worship and found a congregation, which plans, 
 it will have been seen, culminated in success. Since 
 July, 1873, Mr. Carroll has likewise acted as pew 
 collector. 
 
 There are few, if any, warmer friends of edu- 
 
 cation in the town than j\Ir. Carroll. He has given • 
 his children every advantage in this respect. He 
 is a charter member of Rodman Post, No. 65, G. 
 A. R., at East Hartford, was its first junior vice' 
 commander, rose to the rank of senior vice-conj- 
 mander, and then to commander, and for the past 
 ten years has served as quartermaster. 
 
 Probably no better estimate of Mr. Carroll's 
 standing and character can be presented to the 
 reader than that furnished in .the following extract 
 from a local newspaper: "Mr. Carroll is a man 
 of untiring industry, of seldom-erring judgment, 
 of great companionship, warm geniality and hos- ■ 
 pitaiile disposition. In his opinions he is broad and § 
 charitable, always meeting" with the utmost courtesy 
 those who disagree with him, and allowing them 
 every right to their own views. He is open to con- 
 viction, and is ready to admit his mistakes, which 
 are few and far between — far fewer that with the 
 average man. His family ties are particularly happy, 
 and. his family among the most popular of the young 
 people in East Hartford, sharing their father's judg- 
 ment, industry, broad-minded liberality, genial com- 
 panionableness and unfailing courtesy." 
 
 CHARLES MAPLES JARVIS, vice-president 
 of the .American Bridge Co., stands to-day in the 
 front rank of Hartford county's most prominent 
 business men. 
 
 Mr. Jarvis is of the seventh generation in de- 
 scent from (I) William and Esther Jarvis, the for- 
 mer of whom was one of the original settlers of 
 Huntington, Long Island. (II) Capt. Samuel Jar- 
 vis, son of (I) William, married Naomi Brush, 
 and by her had two sons : Bishop Abraham and 
 Stephen. Of these, (III) Stephen Jarvis married 
 Rachel Starr. Their son, (IV) Samuel Jarvis, mar- 
 ried Abigail Sanford, and their son, (V) Henry 
 Jarvis, married Mariette Sanford. Their son, (VI) 
 Henry Jarvis, was the father of (VII) Charles M. 
 Jarvis bv his wife, Rachel (Peters). 
 
 Charles Maples Jarvis was born in Deposit, 
 Delaware Co., N. Y., April 16, 1856. At that time 
 his father was operating a line of stages between 
 New York City and Owego, N. Y., having the con- 
 tract for delivering the United States mails between 
 Owego and New York City in forty-eight hours. 
 W'hen our subject was two years old his parents 
 moved to Binghamton, N. Y., .and he received his 
 early education at the public schools of that place. 
 Entering tne Sheffield Scientific School of Yale 
 University, he graduated with his class in 1877, 
 having taken the course in civil engineering. In 
 April, 1878, he was offered a position as engineer 
 with The Berlin Iron Bridge Company, of East 
 Berlin, Conn., the company at that time being known 
 as The Corrugated Metal Company. They had then 
 about twenty employes, and did a ■ business of 
 about $20,000 a year. For two or three years Mr. 
 Jarvis did the entire work of making all the draw- 
 ings, estimates, and a portion of the contracts, and , ' 
 
■-m- 
 
 {2^tyLy(^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1037 
 
 also kept the books. The history of the Berhn 
 Iron Bridge Co. is the history of the life of Charles 
 M. Jarvis, as he has given his entire time and at- 
 tention to the development of this enterprise, and 
 has made it one of the most successful of the many 
 successful Connecticut corporations. 
 
 The Berlin Iron Bridge Co. (Corrugated Metal 
 Co.) tegan the manufacture of iron bridges with 
 the incoming of lAr. Jarvis as engineer, and almost 
 immediately took front rank. The dense population 
 and close connection of towns in New England by 
 improved highways then, as now, called for the con- 
 struction of the best class of highway bridges, and 
 The Berlin Iron Bridge Co., recognizing this, soon 
 took the lead, especially in the New England States, 
 as furnishing the best bridges designed for the 
 heavy trafiSc required in this section. Later they 
 extended their business into other parts of the coun- 
 try, in fact, with the development of foreign com- 
 merce, into all parts of the world. In 1880 came a 
 demand for something different than the ordinary 
 wooden frame for manufacturing buildings. Mr. 
 Jarvis was the first to recognize this, and The Ber- 
 hn Iron Bridge Co., under his management and en- 
 gineering guidance, were the pioneers in this line, 
 and have had more part in the development of 
 structural iron and steel for the construction of 
 manufacturing buildings than all other companies 
 in America, their work in this line appearing as 
 evidence of the engineering and executive ability of 
 Mr. Jarvis in every State of the Union, and in al- 
 most every foreign nation. 
 
 In 1886, at the death of S. C. Wilcox, Mr. Jar- 
 vis was placed at the head of the affairs of The 
 Berlin Iron Bridge Co., and under his leadership 
 the business of the company has been marvelously 
 developed, so that now (1900) over five himdred 
 men are employed, part at East Berlin, and others 
 in all parts of the world, erecting steel bridges and 
 buildings; and the business of $20,000 per annum 
 which was done when Mr. Jarvis first came to East 
 Berlin, in 1878, has grown one hundred fold, or to 
 over two million dollars per year. 
 
 In May, 1900, The Berlin Iron Bridge Co., to- 
 gether with twenty-six other leadmg concerns in the 
 same line of business, were combined into one large 
 corporation, known as the American Bridge Co., 
 and Mr. Jarvis' engineering and executive ability 
 was recognized by those associated in this vast en- 
 terprise — those who were formerly his competitors — 
 by his election to the position of vice-president of 
 the company, in charge of the operating depart- 
 ment, comprising twenty-seven manufacturing 
 plants and an army of men in the field erecting 
 these bridges, buildings and all classes of metalHc 
 structures in ah parts of the world. 
 
 Mr. Jarvis was married, May 27; 1880, to Mary 
 Morgan Bean (a direct descendant of Miles Mor- 
 gan, of Massachusetts), of Binghamton, N. Y., by 
 whom he has one child, Grace Morgan Jarvis, at 
 this time (1900) fourteen years of age. 
 
 THOMAS CHANDLER HANCOCK, a well- 
 known citizen and representative farmer of South- 
 ington, was born in Scitico, town of Enfield, Hart- 
 ford Co., Conn., Nov. 20, 1841, and is a son of Hart 
 and Lucretia (Chandler) Hancock, the former a 
 native of Somers, the latter of Enfield. The father 
 was a blacksmith by trade, and followed that occu- 
 pation in Enfield Street and Scitico for many years, 
 but in 1882 he removed to Plantsville, where he died 
 in December, 1887, at the 'age of eighty-one years. 
 His children were Louisa, wife of George Spencer; 
 Horace H. ; and Thomas C. The paternal grand- 
 father of our subject was Alpheus Hancock, of 
 Somers, Conn., also a blacksmith by trade, who 
 married Sarah Steele. His father, William Han- 
 cock, was a soldier of the Revolutionary war. The 
 maternal grandparents of our subject were Thomas 
 and Mary (Steele) Chandler, farming people of 
 Enfield. 
 
 The subject of this sketch passed his boyhood 
 and youth in Enfield, and received a common-school 
 education. At the age of fifteen years he began his 
 business career as an employe in the plow works of 
 Clark & King, of Scitico, and remained there until 
 i860, when he went to Windsor Locks and worked 
 in the gun shops of Denslow & Chase until 1862. 
 On Sept. I, of that year, he enlisted in Company C, 
 25th Conn. V. I., and with his regiment took part in 
 the battle of Irish Bend, La., and in the siege of Port 
 Hudson. In the former engagement he was 
 wounded twice in the right arm. On the expiration 
 of his term of enlistment he was honorably dis- 
 charged from the service at Hartford, Aug. 26, 1863. 
 
 On his return from the war Mr. Hancock located 
 in Springfield, Mass., where he was in the employ 
 of the Smith & Wesson Manufacturing Co. until 
 1868, when he removed to Providence, R. I., and 
 was connected with the Providence Tool Co. for 
 three years. In 1871 he came to Southington, where 
 he was in the employ of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox 
 Co., the Atwater Manufacturing Co., and the H. D. 
 Smith Co., for twelve years, being with the last- 
 named firm for six years of that time. In 1887 he 
 located on the farm where he now resides, and has 
 since devoted his energies to agriculture with most 
 gratifying success. 
 
 Mr. Hancock has been twice married, his first 
 wife being Miss Ellen Duty, daughter of David and 
 Eliza (Goodwell) Duty, of Hampden, Mass., and 
 to them were born two children : Luella, wife of 
 George L. Clark ; and Henry. For his second wife 
 our subject married Evaline Branch, a daughter of 
 Fayette and Adeline (Proper) Branch, of Mooers, 
 Clinton Co., N. Y. By this union two children vi^ere 
 born, Leon and Lena (twins), both of whom are 
 now deceased. Fraternally Mr. Hancock is a Mas- 
 ter Mason, and a member of Trumbull Post, No. 16, 
 G. A. R. ; politically he is a stanch Republican. 
 
 WILLIAM SYLVESTER BRANDEGEE is a 
 leading and prominent citizen of Berlin, his name 
 being inseparably connected with the industrial and 
 
1038 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 business interests of the place. He is a man of 
 keen discrimination and sound judgment, and his 
 executive ability and excellent management have 
 brought to the concerns with which he is connected 
 a high degree of success. o o • fi 
 
 Mr Brandegee was born Dec. 15, 1K50. '" tne 
 house where he now lives, and belongs to an old 
 Connecticut family of English origin, tracing his 
 ancestrv back to Jacob Brandegee, who was born 
 in Nine Partners, in 1729, and whose mother bore 
 the maiden name of Brock. He was engaged in the 
 West India trade, running vessels from Rocky HiU, 
 Conn., and died at sea. March 25, 1765. On Oct. 
 II, 1752, he married Abigail Dunham, ot Hart- 
 ford, who was born in 1737, and died in 1825. 
 
 Capt. Elishama Brandegee, son of Jacob, was 
 born in Christian lane, Berlin, April 17, 1754, and 
 was a sea captain, also engaged in the W est India 
 trade and in merchandising in Berlin, where he died 
 Feb. 26, 1832. During the Revolutionary war he 
 enlisted,' Alay 5, 1775. in the 2nd Company, 2nd 
 Regiment, of Connecticut, which was organized un- 
 der Capt. Wvllvs as a Continental regiment. lie 
 was recruited' in Middlesex county, and participated 
 in the battle of Bunker Hill, after which lie was de- 
 tached and joined Capt. Hanchett's company, Sept. 
 I, 1775. He took part in the assault on yuebec, 
 Dec. 31, 1775, Gens. Arnold and Montgomery com- 
 manding, and after that engagement was taken 
 prisoner. Capt. Brandegee was married, ]\Iarch 10, 
 1778, to Mrs. Lucy (Plumb) Weston, of Middle- 
 town, who died Feb. i, 1827, and the remains pf 
 both were interred in the South burying-ground, 
 Berlin. 
 
 Elishama Brandegee, son of Capt. Elishama. and 
 grandfather of our subject, was born in Berlin, Nov. 
 5, 1784. He conducted a store on Berlin street, 
 near where Brandegee Hall now stands, and also 
 engaged in the manufacture of thread. He was a 
 man of excellent ability, and was quite prominent in 
 business affairs. He married Emily Stocking, who 
 was born in Cromwell, Conn., Nov. 29, 1793. The 
 Stocking family was founded in Massachusetts in 
 1633, and three years later one of its representa- 
 tives, George Stocking, came to Hartford with Rev. 
 Thomas Hooker. In 1650 they were among the 
 first settlers of Middletown, Conn., and Samuel 
 Stocking was the first deacon of the first church at 
 that place. 
 
 John Brandegee, the father of our subject, was 
 born Aug. 18, 1826, in Berlin, and throughout his 
 active business life engaged in merchandising in that 
 town until about twelve years before his death. He 
 died June 6, 1881. and was laid to rest in the South 
 burying-ground, Berlin. In 1845 he married Miss 
 Mary Ann Norris Bulkeley, of the same town, who 
 was born March 18, 1822, a daughter of Dr. Syl- 
 vester Buckley. She is still living, and makes her 
 home with our subject in Berlin. 
 
 During his boyhood William S. Brandegee at- 
 tended Abbott's school, Hartford, and the Gunnery, 
 Washington, Conn., and was graduated from the 
 
 former institution. At the present time he is not 
 actively engaged in any business, l)ut devotes his 
 time to looking after his investments. He is the 
 owner of a factory in Bridgeport for wood-turning 
 of all kinds. The new shop, the finest in the place, 
 is 200x50 feet in dimensions, and three and a half 
 stories in height, is supplied throughout with au- 
 tomatic machinery, and was completed in November, 
 1899. Here employment is furnished 150 men. In 
 1884, -\lr. Brandegee built Brandegee's Hall in 
 Berlin. He has one of the finest homes on Berlin 
 street, and also owns a beautiful cottage at Pine 
 Orchard, where he spends most of the summer 
 season. 
 
 In 1884, Air. Brandegee was united in marriage 
 with Aliss Elizabeth A. Reed, a native of Newing- 
 ton, and a daughter of James B. Reed, of Berlin, and 
 they have three children : Alary Elizabeth, born 
 July 23, 1887; Alarjorie, born June i, 1889, and 
 Frank Augustus, born Aug. 15, 1890. 
 
 Mr. Brandegee is a man of undoubted ability, is 
 a practical electrical engineer, a botanist and pho- 
 tographer, and devotes considerable time to the 
 study of these sciences. He is very fond of out- 
 door sports, and at his summer home finds ample 
 opportunity to indulge in such diversions. He owns 
 two yachts — a naphtha, "Mollie," and a sloop yacht, 
 "Commodore ;'' is a member of the Sachem Head 
 Yachting Club, at Sachem Head, Conn. ; is presi- 
 dent and director of the Berlin Driving and Ath- 
 letic Association ; and is affiliated with the Inde- 
 pendent Order of Odd Fellows. He is of a very 
 genial and social nature, and is very popular, hav- 
 ing a most extensive circle of friends and acquaint- 
 ances, who are alwavs sure of a hearty welcome at 
 his hospitable home. 
 
 EPHRAIM HORACE ANDREWS, justice of 
 the peace, and a prominent citizen of Southington, 
 was born in East Haddam, Conn., Jan. 15, 1849, ^ 
 son of Ephraim and Rhoda A. (Scofield) Andrews, 
 also natives of East Haddam. His paternal grand- 
 parents were Gideon and Jemima (Sawyer) An- 
 drews. The former, a ship carpenter by trade, lived 
 in East Haddam for many years, but died in Port- 
 land, Connecticut. 
 
 The father of our subject also followed the ship 
 carpenter's trade in early life, but later was captain 
 of a vessel. Our subject has in his possession a cer- 
 tificate given his father by the United States Govern- 
 ment for meritorious service rendered in provision- 
 ing the forts at Pensacola, Fla., during the Semi- 
 nole war. He was also captain of militia at East 
 Haddam, where he died in 1848. In 1836 he mar- 
 ried Miss Rhoda A. Scofield, a daughter of Nathan 
 and Phebe (Ackley) Scofield, of East Haddam, and 
 to this union nve children were born, four of whom 
 reached years of maturity : William A., Joseph, Nel- 
 son H. and Ephraim H. 
 
 Ephraim H. Andrews, our subject, passed his 
 boyhood and youth in East Haddam and New Brit- 
 ain, Conn., and was educated in the public schools 
 and Pine Grove Seminary, South Windham, grad- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1039 
 
 lating from the latter institution at the age of four- 
 een years. In 1867 he commenced the study of den- 
 istrv in New Britain, and later engaged in the prac- 
 ice of that profession there and in Southington for 
 . welve years, having located in the latter place in 
 1879. 
 
 in 1870 Mr. Andrews was united in marriage 
 with Aliss Mary E. Andrews, of Kiver Point, R. I., 
 by whom he had five children : Joseph N. ; Elsie I., 
 wife of Harry M. Merwin; Harry H. ; William W., 
 who enlisted in the Spanish-American war in Febru- 
 ary, 1899, as a member of Troop K, 5th United 
 States Cavalry, and is now stationed at Porto Rico ; 
 .and Rhoda M. For his second wife Mr. Andrews 
 married Martha J. Hubbard, of Fair Haven, Con- 
 necticut. 
 
 j\lr. Andrews is quite a prominent and active 
 member of several civic societies, being past noble 
 grand of Eureka Lodge, No. 75, I. O. O. F. ; past 
 chancellor commander of William Berry Lodge, No. 
 50, K. P. ; ex-captain of Ouinnipiac Division, No. 17, 
 U. R. K. P. ; oast warden of Ouinnipiac Lodge, No. 
 291, N. E. O. P. ; past councillor of Unity Council, 
 No. II, O. U. A. M.; and past sachem of Wonx 
 Tribe, No. 28, L O. R. M. Mr. Andrews is also 
 a charter member of Southington Hook and Lad- 
 der Compan}' No. i, and religiously is a member 
 of the Baptist Church. The Republican party 
 finds in him a stanch supporter of its principles, 
 and his fellow citizens, who place in him the ut- 
 most confidence, have called upon him to serve 
 as grand juror of Southington seven years; justice 
 of the peace fourteen years ; and night watchman 
 since 1881. 
 
 CHARLES ' FREDERICK SPLETTSTOES- 
 ZER, a prominent German-American citizen of Ber- 
 lin, whose life has been devoted to agricultural pur- 
 suits, was born in the northern part of Germany 
 Sept. 19, 1845. His father, John Splettstoeszer, also 
 a farmer by occupation, was born Feb. 3, 1803, and 
 spent his entire life in Germany. He married Lou- 
 ise Sedoe, who was born in 1812, and also died in 
 the Fatherland. 
 
 Our subject received a good practical education 
 in the public schools of his native land, from which 
 he was graduated at the age of fourteen years, and 
 after laying aside his text-books he worked for dif- 
 ferent men as a shepherd until coming to America, 
 in 1868. He took passage at Hamburg on the "Sem- 
 bria," which now lies at the bottom of the North 
 Sea, and arrived in New York in May, 1868. Com- 
 ing to Hartford county. Conn., he found employ- 
 ment on the farm of Jacob Dicks, a tobacco dealer 
 of Newington, and remained with him until the fol- 
 lowing October. He then went to New Britain, 
 and entered the service of a Mr. Trout, caring for 
 his horse for about six months. He next worked in 
 Multhrop's brickyard for about two years, and for 
 the same length of time was foreman on the farm of 
 Jacob Dicks. At the end of that period he came to 
 Berlin, where he operated the N orris Bailey farm 
 
 for sixteen years, and then bought an adjoining farm 
 of eighteen acres, on which he erected a pleasant 
 residence and good barn in 1893. He is now suc- 
 cessfully engaged in raising general produce. 
 
 On Aug. 7, 1872, Mr. Splettstoeszer was united 
 in marriage with Miss Susan Weckesser, of Chris- 
 tian Lane, Berlin, who was born May 15, 1854, a 
 daughter of Henry and Katherine (Elie) Weckes- 
 ser, of that place. To our subject and his wife have 
 been born three children: Lena Alvena, born Jan. 
 23, 1874, is the wife of Frank H. Dohrenwend, of 
 Berlin; Henrietta Louise, born March 14, 1879, 
 works in Corbin's box factor}^ in New Britain, and 
 resides at home; and Carl John Frederick, born 
 May 27, 1890, is also at home, and is a student in 
 district school No. 6. 
 
 In 1 89 1 Mr. Splettstoeszer took out his natural- 
 ization papers in New Britain and Hartford, and 
 now supports the Democratic party, though he takes 
 little interest in politics. Being a great reader, he 
 is a well-informed man, and takes an active interest 
 in educational matters. He is one of the substantial 
 German citizens of Berlin, and is nighly respected by 
 all who know nim. He attends the Congregational 
 Church, of which his wife is an earnest member. 
 
 GEORGE HENRY NOBLE, one of the young 
 and progressive farmers and tobacco growers of 
 SimslDury, is a member of one of the old Connecticut 
 families. His great-grandfather, Roswell Noble, 
 was a native of Simsbury, and in his youth was a 
 drummer boy in the Revolutionary army. He was 
 a son of John Noble, brother of Phineas, Elijah and 
 William Noble, who were of English descent. Ros- 
 well Noble was a cloth dresser by trade, and made 
 his home in Hop Meadow. By his first wife, Su- 
 sanna, he had two children, Roswell and Sylvester. 
 For his second wife he married a widow, Mrs. Anna 
 (Wordsworth) Francis. He attended the Congrega- 
 tional Church. He died at his home Sept. 9, 1841, 
 aged eighty-three years, and was buried in Simsbury 
 cemetery. 
 
 Roswell Noble, grandfather of our subject, was 
 born in Hop Meadow, town of Simsbury, and re- 
 mained a resident thereof throughout life.. He was 
 drafted into the military service during the war of 
 1812. He was a member of the Congregational 
 Church, and in politics was a Democrat. He mar- 
 ried Betsy Case, a native of Simsbury, daughter of 
 Abel and Anna (Tuller) Case, the former of whom 
 was a soldier of the Revolutionary army. Abel 
 Case was a son of Josiah and Mary (Hoskins) 
 Case, grandson of Joseph Case, and great-grandson 
 of John Case. Anna Tuller was the daughter of 
 Ezekiel Tuller, of Simsbury. To Roswell and 
 Betsy Noble were born five children : Henry J., 
 who married Susan M. Babcock, and died at his 
 home in Simsbury April 13, 1900; Laura S., de- 
 ceased ; Chester T., father of our subject ; Roswell, a 
 resident of East Granby, who married Ellen Hol- 
 comb ; and Everett, of Hartford. Roswell Noble, 
 the grandfather of our subject, was a well-known 
 
1040 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 farmer. He owned and operated until his death, m 
 1843, at the age of fifty-one years, a farm of 110 
 acres, and was prominent in the attairs of the town. 
 
 Chester T. Noble, the father of George H., was 
 born in Simsbury in 1824. He received in his youth 
 a good common-school education, and like his father 
 became a lifelong farmer, engaging in that work on 
 his father's farm as a boy. After his marriage he 
 began farming for himself in the East Weatogue 
 District, Simsbury. Several years later he removed 
 to the St. John farm, near Hoskins Station, or the 
 Westover Plains District, where he made extensive 
 improvements, erecting a fine dwelling-house, barn, 
 tobacco sheds, etc., and engaging extensively in to- 
 bacco culture and in general farming. He operated 
 a tract of no acres of land, and was not only a 
 successful farmer but a man of considerable promi- 
 nence in the town, noted for his integrity and fine 
 sense of honor, and possessing a genial disposition, 
 which made him many warm personal friends. In 
 church views he was liberal, and in ])olitics he was a 
 Democrat. He married Sarah IJurr, a native of 
 Bloomfield, daughter of James and Nancy (Wells) 
 Burr, old and respected citizens of Connecticut. To 
 Chester T. and Sarah Noble were born five children : 
 Charlotte E., wife of Henry M. Goddard. of Sims- 
 bury; Alice B., at home; Warren C, at home; 
 George H., our subject; and Burton J. The father 
 died on his farm in February, 1SS2, and the mother 
 survived until Jan. 21, 1899, dying in the seventy- 
 fifth year of her age. She had been a good Christ- 
 ian woman, and was a consistent member of the 
 Congregational Church. 
 
 George Henry Noble was born in the town of 
 Simsbury Sept. 27, 1864. He attended the public 
 schools of the Westover Plains District, and was a 
 student at McLean Academy. Simsbury. In voca- 
 tion he has successfully followed in the footsteps of 
 his ancestors. Since the death of his father he has 
 been operating with his brother Burton the home 
 farm. They are engaged extensively in tobacco 
 growing, in dairy and general farming, and in stock 
 raising and dealing. They are young men who are 
 successful because they have thoroughly learned 
 their business, and apply themselves to it with en- 
 ergT,- and well-directed effort. They are noted for 
 their industry and integrity, are temperate in habits, 
 unassuming- in manners, and highly respected. In 
 politics our subject is a Democrat. At the home, 
 his sister, Alice B., a lady of culture and accomplish- 
 ments, is the presiding spirit. 
 
 HON. GEORGE WYLIE MILLER. The 
 hardy and intelligent sons of Scotland make ex- 
 cellent citizens, their ideals of life coinciding with 
 the progressive spirit of a new country, and the 
 subject of this sketch, a prominent resident of Ware- 
 house Point, is a worthy representative of the race. 
 In the fullest sense of the term he is a self-made 
 man, even his education having been gained through 
 his own efforts, and his present standing, in busi- 
 ness, political and social life, furnishes a striking 
 
 illustration of the possibilities which lie before an 
 enterprising youth. 
 
 Mr. Aiiller was born July 22, 1841, at Paisley, 
 Scotland, a son of George and Catherine (Wylie) 
 Miller, who had a family of six children: John, 
 now deceased : Catherine, wife of William Brodie, 
 of Brooklyn, N. Y. ; Elizabeth, wife of John Brodie, 
 of Brooklyn, N. Y. ; Marion, who died in infancy; 
 Agnes, who died in 1877 ; and George W. The 
 mother died in 1848, at Tariffville, Hartford coun- 
 ty, and the father subsequently married Martha 
 Malcolm, by whom he had one son, Hugh. The 
 father died in 1872, in Thompsonville. 
 
 When George W. Miller was about a vear old 
 his ]iarents came to America, locating first in Tar- 
 ift'ville, this county, in 1848 they removed to New 
 York City, but remained only one year, when they 
 came back to Plartford county and settled at Ware- 
 house Point. He attended the public schools of 
 the different places in which the family resided, 
 and at the age of twelve years he began his career 
 as a breadwinner, taking a position in the old Sex- 
 ton woolen-mills, at VVarehouse Point, where he 
 vvas employed about eight years. In 1862 he went 
 to Hartford -to work in the Providence railroad 
 shops, and in 1883 returned to Warehouse Point to 
 take the post of master mechanic in the Simons 
 silk mills, which he has held ever since; his long 
 term of service is, in itself, an evidence of his abil- 
 ity and fidclitv. His personal worth is recognized 
 not only by his employers, but by his fellow citi- 
 zens generally, and in 1895 he was elected on the 
 Democratic ticket as a member of the Legislature, 
 where he served with credit. He is active in re- 
 ligious work, being identified with the Episcopal 
 Church at Warehouse Point. It would be difficult 
 to find a citizen whose influence has been more 
 constantly directed toward promoting the good of 
 his community. 
 
 On May 14, 1865, Mr. Miller married Miss Mary 
 Sunderland, wlio died April_30, 1898. Of their two 
 sons, the elder, Ernest J., is a clerk in the employ 
 of Case, Lockwood & Brainard, of Hartford ; George 
 H. died at the age of twelve years and eight months. 
 
 STEPHEN WILLARD, one of the highly re- 
 spected and honored citizens of Wethersfield, v/here 
 he is successfully engaged in general farming and 
 seed growing, was born in that town Oct. 14, 1827, 
 a son of Stephen and Rhoda (Latimore) Willard. 
 and an uncle of Stephen Francis Willard, president 
 of the Comstock Ferre Co., of Wethersfield, in 
 whose sketch may be found a full account of the 
 Willard family. 
 
 Our subject was reared in much the usual man- 
 ner of farmer boys of his day upon tne home farm, 
 and spent a number of years with the firm of Com- 
 stock & Ferre. On leaving their employ, in 1865, he 
 went to Oneida county, N. Y., where he was en- 
 gaged in farming until 1 88 1, when he returned to 
 Wethersfield, and has since carried on farming and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1041 
 
 seed growing on the old Samuel Wells homestead, 
 near Wolcott Hill, with good success. 
 
 iVIr. Willard was hrst married, in Wethersfield, 
 to Miss Harriet D. Pelton, a native of that place, 
 and a daughter of Nathan Pelton. By that union 
 he had six children : Stephen, now a resident of 
 Stockton, Cal. ; Harriet E. and Mary, both residents 
 of Wethersf eld ; Eliza, who lives in Wethersfield ; 
 Oliver, who aiea in infancy ; and Martha, a school 
 teacher, who resides in Wethersfield. The mother 
 of these children died in 1890, and in 1892 Mr. Wil- 
 lard was again married, his second union being with 
 Mrs. H. Amelia (Welles) Blinn, widow of George 
 Blinn. Our subject is an active and faithful mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he 
 has filled the offices of trustee, steward and treas- 
 urer, and his sterling worth and strict integrity have 
 gained for him the confidence and high regard of 
 those with whom he has been brought in contact. 
 
 The Welles family, to which Mrs. Willard be- 
 longs, is one of the oldest and most honored families 
 of Wethersfield. There her grandfather, Samuel 
 Welles, was Dorn Dec. 10, 1753, a son of Joseph and 
 Mary (Robbins) Welles, and a descendant of 
 George Thomas Welles. [A full history of the fam- 
 ily appears elsewhere.] Throughout life Samuel 
 Welles followed farming in Wethersfield, where he 
 owned a tract of land. He was a member of the Light 
 Horse Guards in the Revolutionary war, and devoted 
 seven years of his life to that conflict. Religiously 
 he was a member of the Congregational Church. He 
 died in Wethersfield, and was buried there. On 
 April 19, 1787, he married Anna Griswold, a native 
 of the same town and a daughter of Ozias Griswold, 
 and they became the parents of nine children, whose 
 names and dates of birth are as follows : Anna, 1788 ; 
 Samuel, Aug. 5, 1789; Ashel, Feb. 7, 1791 ; Polly 
 Griswold, Feb. 14, 1793; Sarah, June 14, 1795; Ab- 
 igail, Aug. 25, 1797; Laura (wife of Moses Mor- 
 ris), March 8, 1800; Mabel, July 30, 1802; and 
 Nancy, Nov. 11, 1804. 
 
 Ashel Welles, father of Mrs. Willard, was born 
 on the old homestead in Wethersfield, where he spent 
 his entire life in agricultural pursuits, and was edu- 
 cated in the schools of the neighborhood. He made 
 many improvements upon his place. A man of 
 prominence in his community, and a Republican in 
 politics, he was honored with a number of local of- 
 fices, including those of selectman, assessor and jus- 
 tice of the peace. He married Miss Tryphena Ward, 
 a native of New York State, and to them were born 
 nine children : Martha, who died in the West ; 
 Nancy, who died in Waterbury, Conn. ; H. Amelia, 
 wife of our subject; Ashel, who died in the West; 
 William, who died -on the homestead ; Elizabeth, 
 wife of John Wilcox, of Bristol, Conn. ; Martin, who 
 operates the home farm ; Mary Ann, wife of Albert 
 D. Griswold, of Rocky Hill ; and Charles, who died 
 young. The parents both died on the old homestead, 
 and were buried in the old Wethersfield cemetery. 
 Mrs. Willard is an intellectual lady, well posted and 
 a good consistent Christian. 
 
 66 
 
 GEORGE H. AND JOHN H. GRAY. In 1852 
 two English lads, brothers, came' to America, friend- 
 less and alone. Their experiences in the new land 
 for a few years was trying. One attained a good 
 position, whicu he resigned to enlist in the army 
 during the Civil war. He was never heard from 
 agam. The other is the subject of this sketch. 
 
 Mr. Gray was born in the suburbs of London, 
 England,. Nov. 25, 1836, a son of Cornelius and 
 EHzabeth (Trivett) Gray, and a grandson of Flugh 
 Gray. The father was a teamster, and is yet living, 
 a resident of England. The grandfather was a farm- 
 er of some repute and a zealous Episcopal Church- 
 man. Our subject was one of four children. When 
 a child he attended in England a public school, where 
 the pupils were obliged to sew and knit to help pay 
 the expenses of the school. Later he attended a 
 private school. He left school to become a groom 
 with one of the wealthy families, and went to Scot- 
 land, where he remained several weeks, then re- 
 turned to England. At the age of sixteen years, in 
 August, 1852, in company with his brother John 
 Henry Gray, he sailed from London for America, 
 landing at New York. They secured positions as 
 stable boys at a race track on Long Island, where 
 they remained several weeks. The boys then started 
 afoot for Vermont. On the road above Harlem 
 they fell in with a drover, who offered them positions 
 in his father's Vermont pottery. But at Roxbury, 
 Mass., they met a farmer who invited them to work 
 on his farm on trial. They remained two weeks, 
 received twenty-five cents each for their services.., 
 and left. The brother proceeded to Waterville, 
 Conn., where he secured work at his trade, that of a 
 knitter. Our suoject worked for about two months 
 on the farm of a lawyer, then for a similar period 
 tried blacksmithing, which he found too hard. He 
 began farming for George Langworth, at Rosebury, 
 Mass., became his farm foreman, and remained in his 
 service about ten years. Starting in 1862 for New 
 Britain, where his brother had been foreman in the 
 Sergeant knitting factory, he learned at New Haven 
 that his brother had enlisted in New Jersey in the 
 Civil war, and he has never heard from him since. 
 Arriving at Berlin, he began work on the farm of 
 Norris P. Dunham, but soon after enlisted at New 
 Haven, in Company F, 14th Conn. V. I. However, 
 he was not accepted on account of the defects of his 
 left leg that had been broken. Until the following- 
 March he was employed by Henry M. Robbins, of 
 Newington, then became farm foreman for Amos 
 Crittenden, of the same town, and remained in that 
 position for tnree years. He left in 1867 to take 
 charge of the farm of Mrs. Olive S. Seldon, and has 
 ever since remained in Berlin. After Mr. Seldon's 
 death he built his home on property willed to him 
 by Mrs. Seldon. 
 
 Mr. Gray married, Jan. 4, 1867, Miss Sarah Isa- 
 bella Whapples, who was born in Newington, Feb. 
 22, 1847. To our subject and wife were born three 
 children, all of whom died in childhood : John Hor- 
 ace, born Nov. i, 1869, died Sept. 19, 1877; Hattie 
 
1042 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Isabelle, born April 22, 1875, died Oct. 4, 1877; and 
 Cora Johnson, born Sept. 26, 1878, died I'eb. 9, 1882. 
 All are buried in Church street cemetery, .\e\ving- 
 ton. 
 
 ;\Ir. and Mrs. Gray :re members of the Second 
 Congregational Church of Berlin. In politics our 
 subject has been a Democrat since his naturalization, 
 March 21, 1S72, though in local elections he votes 
 for the best man. He has served as justice of the 
 peace, was for three years on the school committee, 
 and is now clerk of the 7th District school commit- 
 tee. For nearly six years he was a member of Com- 
 pany F, 1st Connecticut National Guard, of Weth- 
 ersfield, having been enrolled Aug. 15, 1864, and dis- 
 charged Jan. 17, 1870. For some time he was a 
 member of the Knights of the Silver Cross, of Hart- 
 ford. Mr. Grav is a veterinary surgeon of consid- 
 erable note, and has practiced in Xewington, Xew 
 Britain, Cromwell, Berlin, and Rocky Hill. He is 
 a wide-awake and intelligent, and since 1894 has 
 been the Beckley Quarter correspondent for the 
 Berlin Nczcs. In public affairs he displays that 
 judgment and ability which add greatly to his value 
 as a citizen. 
 
 Mrs. Oli\e S. Seldox was the widow of Sim- 
 eon Seldon, a wealthy farmer, who died at their 
 home at Haddam. One son and one daughter also 
 died there. With her two surviving sons she moved 
 to Church street, in the Beckley Quarter, and there 
 her two sons preceded her to the grave, Simeon in 
 the fall of 1866, and Lora in February, 1867. Airs, 
 Seldon died Dec. 25, 1868, aged about eighty years. 
 She had granted to Geo. H. Gray a tract of twenty- 
 eight acres. The balance of her property, amount- 
 ing to $9,526,36, she bequeathed to Berlin School 
 District No. 7, the interest to be used for school 
 purposes, it was allowed to accumulate until 1895, 
 when the board of trustees erected from the fund a 
 new brick building, the finest school structure in 
 Berlin. There was property of Mr. Seldon in Had- 
 dam, which went to his heirs. 
 
 ISAAC PORTER BOTSFORD, a representa- 
 tive and prominent citizen of Cromwell, Middlesex 
 Co., Conn., whose home is just across the line from 
 Berlin, Hartford county, was born April 11, 1837, 
 in Blue Hills, Kensington, Berlin, where W. J. Cor- 
 rigan now lives. He traces his ancestry back to (i) 
 Henry Botsford, one of the colony that settled the 
 town of Milford, Conn. It is believed that he trav- 
 eled overland from Massachusetts to \^''ethersfield, 
 Conn., in 1639, here joining the colony then form- 
 ing under Rev. Peter Predden to settle the town of 
 Milford, Conn. His wife Elizabeth joined the 
 church at that place in 1640. An inventorv of his 
 will shows that he had property valued at eighty- 
 seven pounds and four shillings. He had six chil- 
 dren, whose names and dates of birth were as fol- 
 lows : Elnathan, 1641 ; Mary, 1640; Elizabeth, 
 1643 : Hannah, 1645 : Hester, 1647; and Ruth, 1649. 
 
 (II) Elnathan Botsford, the only son of this 
 pioneer, was born in Milford. He was baptized 
 
 Aug. 4, 1641, and died in August, 1691. On Dec. 
 12, 1664, he married Elizabeth, daughter of John 
 h'letcher, and they had one daughter. For his sec- 
 ond wife he married Hannah, daughter of Timothy 
 Baldwin, and to them were born eleven children. 
 
 (Ill) Timothy Botsford, born in 1678, was mar- 
 ried Feb. 14, 1705, to Alary Peck, daughter of Jo- 
 seph and Alary (Camp) Peck, and they had four 
 children. He died in 1767. 
 
 (I\') Timothy Botsford, born in April, 1708, 
 probably in Alii ford, followed the occupation of 
 farming. Fie was married, Jan. 6, 1735, to Lydia 
 Smith, daughter of Timothy Smith, and to them 
 were born five children. He died Feb. 23, 1774, 
 his wife on Aug. 26, 1787. 
 
 (V) Isaac Botsford, a native of Alilford, was 
 born June 25, 1742, and died Sept. 22, 181 1. In 
 early life he was a school teacher and jeweler, but 
 later followed the occupation of farming. He was 
 a very small man, weighing only ninety pounds. 
 Isaac Botsford and his dog went in the same notch. 
 He married Esther Frost, a daughter of Stephen and 
 Hester Frost, and to them were born four children, 
 
 j of whom Isaac, the father of our subject, was the 
 youngest. 
 
 ] ' (\T) Col. Isaac Botsford, born in Alilford Oct. 
 
 ; 7, 1786, was commander of the old 17th Regiment, 
 Connecticut State Alilitia. He owned and operated 
 
 I 175 acres of land, and also had a factory near his 
 
 ' home in Kensington, where he engaged in the manu- 
 facture of tack hammers, buttons and "kettle ears." 
 He invented and had made the first die which would 
 cut, stamp and punch at one stroke. He was a 
 strong anti-slavery man, and always took a deep in- 
 
 Y terest in military affairs. For a number of years he 
 served as deacon of the First Congregational Church 
 of Kensington, and he was highly esteemed by all 
 who knew him. OnN^ov. 12, 1821, he married Miss 
 Alelissa Hart Porter, who was born in Berlin, Hart- 
 ford county, Sept. 22, 1802, a daughter of Russell 
 and Alatilda (Wilcox) Porter. Of the seven, chil- 
 dren born to them, five died in infancy. Of the 
 other two our subject is the younger. Ellen, born 
 Alay 31, 1833, married Elijah Beach, of Cheshire, 
 now deceased. Their son. Frederick Elijah, born 
 June 12, 1863, is now doctor of physics in the scien- 
 tific department of Yale College. The father of our 
 subject died Aug. 14, 185 1, the mother on May 2?,., 
 1886. 
 
 (VII) Isaac P. Botsford, the subject of this 
 sketch, passed his boyhood in Blue Hills, Kensing- 
 ton, formerly known as "Blow Hills," and acquired 
 his education in the schools of Berlin. At the age 
 of eight he commenced working for his father in 
 the shop, and was thus employed until the latter's 
 death. Then going to Meriden, Conn., he learned 
 the machinist's trade, which he followed for several 
 years. He was in Cincinnati, Ohio, when the war 
 of the Rebellion broke out, and from there went to 
 New York. For about three years he traveled 
 through the New England and A'liddle States, sell- 
 ing lamps and oils, and was the first man traveling 
 out of New York who carried a catalos^ue contain- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1043 
 
 ing cuts of lamps in colors, as they had formerly car- 
 ried samples altogether. While on one of his trav- 
 eling tours, in 1864, he stopped in East Berlin to 
 visit his grandfather, and while here Samuel C. Wil- 
 cox offered him a position with the Roys & Wilcox 
 Co., but he did not at first accept, though he finally 
 consented to help them for two months, and worked 
 for the company as a tool-maker for ten years. On 
 account of ill health he then resigned, and later was 
 induced to engage in the manufacture of trusses, to 
 which he has since devoted his attention, and in 
 which business he has been very successful, having 
 a large patronage. He also treats his patients, and 
 takes measurements and fits them with trusses made 
 to order. As already mentioned, he now lives in 
 the town of Cromwell, Middlesex county, just across 
 the line from Berlin, Hartford county, and in the 
 house built in 1812 by his grandfather, Russell Por- 
 ter, on land which was included in the one-mile 
 square, deeded to Daniel Wilcox. This property 
 has passed from one generation to another, and our 
 subject still owns fifteen acres of the tract, which he 
 now rents to others. Here he has resided since 1870. 
 
 On April 13, 1865, Mr. Botsford was united in 
 marriage with Miss Emma Ann Penfield, who was 
 born in Berlin Feb. 23, 1840, a daughter of Titus 
 and Julia (North) Penfield. They have one son, 
 Charles Porter Botsford, a physician of Hartford, 
 with office at No. 1393 Main street. He was born 
 Sept. 22, 1870, and began his education in the schools 
 of Berlin. He graduated from the Middletown 
 high school and then entered the Medical school of 
 Yale College, from which he was graduated in 1894. 
 The following two years he spent in the Hartford 
 Plospital, from which he received a diploma, and at 
 the end of that time he opened his present office in 
 Hartford. He has already met with excellent suc- 
 cess in his chosen profession, and has built up a 
 large practice. 
 
 Politically Mr. Botsford is identified with the 
 Republican party ; socially he is a member of Wash- 
 ington Lodge, No. 8r, E. & A. M., of Cromwell. 
 He attends the Second Congregational Church, of 
 Berlin, of which his wife is a member, and com^ 
 mands the respect and esteem of all with whom he 
 comes in contact, in either business or social life. 
 
 OWEN L. ENSIGN, of Silver Lane, East Hart- 
 ford, is a worthy representative of the old and hon- 
 ored family whose name appears so frequently in 
 this work as descendants of James Ensign, the 
 English-born gentleman, who founded the family in 
 America, and whose progeny is traced in full from 
 his time until the present in the biographies of 
 Charles A. and F. Howard Ensign. As Owen L. 
 Ensign is of the seventh generation, a brief recapitu- 
 lative mention of the line of descent may here be 
 made with no impropriety : Of the first generation, 
 James died in America in 1670 ; of the second, David 
 was born in 1645 ; of the third, was Thomas ; of 
 the fourth, Moses (i) was baptized in 1732-34; of 
 the fifth, Moses (2) was born Dec. 4, 1759, and 
 
 died Nov. 30, 1821 ; of the sixth, Moses (3) was 
 born Sept. 6, 1791, and from him descends Owen L., 
 our subject. 
 
 It is necessary, however, to revert to the record 
 of Moses Ensign, father of our subject. He was 
 born in 1791, on the ground on which Owen L. now 
 lives, but the house has been torn down by the latter 
 and a modern dwelling erected in its stead. Moses 
 Ensign received but a limited education ; however, 
 being a man of unusual intelligence he was quite 
 competent to make his way through the world at all 
 times. He early learned stone-cutting, and followed 
 that trade all his life, and the pursuit of it was in 
 fact the cause of his death; while engaged in con- 
 structing the vault for the Connecticut Valley Bank 
 at Hartford he overstrained his back in lifting a 
 heavy stone, and, while convalescent, ran in haste all 
 the way to Wethersfield in order to anticipate an- 
 other man in the recording of a deed, this exertion 
 causing a relapse, resulting in his death a year la- 
 ter, Dec. 8, 1829. His widow survived until 1864. 
 
 Moses Ensign was married. May 20, 1820, to 
 Miss Martha Risley, a native of East Hartford, born 
 in 1790, a daughter of John Risley. Of this mar- 
 riage the issue was four children : Charles A., 
 whose life sketch is given in full elsewhere ; Elizur 
 R., born Feb. 22, 1824; Jeanette F., born Feb. 19, 
 1828, who married Ira Anderson March 12, 1850, 
 and is now deceased; and Owen L., whose name 
 opens this article. 
 
 Owen L. Ensign was born Alay 13, 1829, in 
 the house built by his paternal grandfather on the 
 spot where he now lives. As he was but a few 
 months old when his father died, his boyhood days 
 were passed at the home of his mother, his maternal 
 grandfather, John Risley, making his home with 
 her. He started to learn shoemaking under his 
 brother Elizur, remained at it a year and a half, and 
 then went to boating, running a sloop on the Con- 
 necticut river and Long Island Sound for twenty 
 years, when he sold his last vessel, which was named 
 "Ida Lee," in honor of his first-born child. 
 
 On Dec. 20, 1855, Owen L. Ensign married Miss 
 Anna Eliza Ensign, a daughter of Harry Ensign, 
 and this union has been blessed with three children, 
 of whom, however, the eldest, named Ida Lee, born 
 June 9, 1859, died Aug. 14, i860; the second chdd, 
 also named Ida Lee, was born May 31, 1862, was 
 married Dec. 3, 1890, to Charles M. Smith, whose 
 biography may be found elsewhere, and has two chil- 
 dren: Marion, born in 1893, and Owen Lee, born 
 June 22, 1900; the third child, Grace Abbey, was 
 born Sept. 28, 1867, and was married April 5, 1893, 
 to James G. Harvey, who was born in Windsor Aug. 
 23, 1868, and now assists Mr. Ensign in operating 
 the home farm. The family attend the Congrega- 
 tional Church, and in politics Mr. Ensign is a stanch 
 Democrat, but has never been an office seeker. 
 
 The entire life of Mr. Ensign has been passed in 
 the town of East Hartford town, and worthilv passed 
 in the performance of the duties that have fallen to 
 him. It is the citizen who quietly, conscientiously 
 
1014 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and faithfully performs the labor of each day, as it 
 passes, that is of the most value in a community, and 
 to this class Mr. Ensign belongs. He has made 
 many substantial improvements on his farm, and in 
 1875 erected his Dresent fine dwelling, on the site of 
 that of liis grandfather, which he demolished, al- 
 though there were many dear and tender reminis- 
 cences clinging to it — but Mr. Ensign is a man of 
 progress. He is a very genial gentleman, kind and 
 charitable, and his wife is his equal in these amiable 
 qualities, while his daughter, Mrs. Harvey, a mem- 
 ber of the household, partakes largely of the happy 
 disposition of her parents. 
 
 HANS OUTZEN HANSEN, a well-known 
 dairyman and agriculturist of the town of Glaston- 
 bury, owns a fine farm of one hundred acres near 
 South A-Ianchester. He is intelligent and observing, 
 but has always been conservative in his methods, 
 his wise management bringing excellent results. 
 
 Mr. Hansen was born July 8, 184S, in Schles- 
 wig, in the southern part of Denmark, which territo- 
 r}' passed into the possession of the German Govern- 
 ment in 1864. The late John Peter Hansen, our sub- 
 ject's father, followed farming there throughout 
 his life, and his widow, whose maiden name was 
 Annie Margretha Nelsen, was born there, and still 
 resides at the old homestead. This worthy couple 
 had the following children : Ti'lda married .Vnton 
 Hansen, and resides in our subject's native town ; 
 Hans O., our subject, is mentioned more fully be- 
 low; Margareta married Theodore Aggerbeck. and 
 settled in Chicago, 111. ; Sarah married Mr. Knar- 
 hoi, and resides at Alsen, Schleswig; John, a 
 
 blacksmith, married Magretha , and settled in 
 
 Chicago : and Samuel married Miss Christine Hen- 
 drickson, and resides in Chicago, where he is en- 
 gaged in the bottling business. 
 
 Our subject received a common-school educa- 
 tion in his native land, and gained a thorough 
 knowledge of the details of agricultural work, be- 
 ing often employed on different farms near his home. 
 When he attained his majority he came to America, 
 sailing from Hamburg on the steamer "City of 
 London," of the Inman Line. The day after his 
 arrival in New York he came to Hartford, where 
 he secured employment at hauling clay and driving 
 a dump-cart. Later he was employed in a screw 
 shop on Sheldon street, and for two years he worked 
 in Colt's factory. In 1874 he removed to Glaston- 
 bury, and after renting his present farm from 
 Henry Perkins for two years he purchased it. 
 The place then comprised eighty-five acres, but he 
 has since added fifteen acres. He makes a special- 
 ty of dairying — ^although he also has a large tract 
 under cultivation to small crops — and at present 
 he keeps about twenty cows, and conducts an ex- 
 tensive milk route in South Manchester. He is a 
 Republican in politics, and an Episcopalian in re- 
 ligion, he and all his family being members of the 
 church at South Manchester. 
 
 I 
 
 In 1874 Mr. Hansen married Miss ]\Iary Hansen, 
 a native of Schleswig, daughter of Lawrence and 
 Anna Lucy Hansen. Six children have blessed the 
 union : Annie, born March 8, 1875 ; Magretha, 
 born Jan. 10, 1877, who married Frank Root, a 
 painter in Hartford; Louise, born March 27, 1879; 
 Jennie, born March 17, 1881; Adella, born July 4, 
 1883; and Hansine, born June 5, 1886, who died 
 Feb. 12, 1890. 
 
 ITURACE PARSONS KINGSBURY is one of 
 die most highly esteemed citizens of Glastonbury, 
 his genial manners and unassuming generosity win- 
 ning him warm friends among all classes. Although 
 \rc\si the age of threescore and ten he is still active 
 in business, and is a leading worker in the Con- 
 gregational Church, with which he united many 
 years ago. 
 
 Air. Kingsbury's ancestors settled in Connecti- 
 cut at an early date, and his grandfather, Joseph 
 Kingsbury, was a well-known farmer there. This 
 worthy citizen married Ruth Benton, and they had 
 six children: (i) Sophia married Hon. Willard 
 Hutchinson, of Coventry, a prominent citizen, who 
 served as selectman and also representative. He 
 was a farmer and school teacher by occupation. 
 (2 J Mary married Daniel Burnap, a farmer and 
 jeweler in Andover. (3) William is mentioned be- 
 low. (4) Joseph married Amelia Reynolds, a 
 sister to our subject's mother, and lived upon a 
 farm in Andover. (5) Harvey married Polly 
 Wright, and settled on a farm. (6) Royal, who 
 married Emily P""oote, was a physician, and lived 
 and died in Alarlboro. 
 
 William Kingsbury, our subject's father, was 
 born and reared in Andover, his education being se- 
 cured in the common schools, and became a well- 
 to-do farmer. His death, which occurred at his 
 home in Andover in 1853, was the result of an ac- 
 cident at the raising of a building. He married 
 Susan Reynolds, a native of East Hartford, and 
 daughter of Horace and Hannah (Bidwell) Rey- 
 nolds, the former a well-known blacksmith in East 
 Plartford, who did work for the army. William 
 and Susan Kingsbury had eight children, of whom 
 the eldest, William B., is unmarried, and resides 
 on the home farm in Andover. Charles R., who 
 died in 1896, was a farmer in Andover. Horace P. 
 is the subject proper of this sketch. Henry M., 
 twin of our subject, is mentioned below. Ann Eliza 
 was an invalid, and died in early womanhood. 
 Emilv M. died in Andover unmarried. Ruth 
 Sophia resides with her brother, William, in And- 
 over. Mary Jane married Frederick Root, of Meri- 
 den, where she died. 
 
 Our subject was born Sept. 29, 1820, in Andover, 
 and his education was begun in a district school 
 there. He also studied for a short time at a select 
 school in Coventry, and on leaving school he taught 
 for one winter. He then entered a "Yankee No- 
 tion" shop in Coventry, where he was engaged in 
 
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1045 
 
 making ladies' spool stands for about three years. 
 Returning home, he spent some time working out 
 as a farm hand, receiving from ten dollars to twelve 
 dollars a month, which was then considered very 
 good wages. He went to Rockville to work in the 
 ■ Frank Mill," which later burned and was rebuilt, 
 and for a time he worked in the repair shop of the 
 Collins Co., at Collinsville. He also worked in 
 Holj'oke, Mass., and in February, 1852, located at 
 Glastonbury, entering the employ of J. B. Williams 
 as driver of a team and general farm hand. In 
 1855 he went West, and was gone about five months, 
 jight-seeing, and on his return he took a position in 
 the shop of Mr. Williams, making shoe-blacking, 
 ink, soap, etc. While there he enlisted, on Aug. 
 25, 1862, in Company G, 25th Conn. V. I., with 
 .the late Capt. Charles Talcott and Col. Bissell; was 
 jin Louisiana under Gen. Banks, and took part in the 
 : engagements at Irish Bend and Port Hudson, being 
 present at the surrender of the latter place, in July, 
 1863. Our subject returned to Hartford with his 
 regiment, and was mustered out Aug. 26, 1863, one 
 iyear and one day from the date of his enlistment, 
 which had been for nine months only. He resumed 
 his work for Mr. Williams, remaining two years, 
 and for one summer was employed in Bristol in a 
 i gristmill. In 1866, failing health compelled him to 
 return to Glastonbury, and he has ever since been 
 in the employ of Mr. Williams. Mr. Kingsbury 
 takes great delight in visiting the places of interest 
 in his native country, and has made several ex- 
 tended trips. He visited California in 1886, and has 
 been to almost every G. A. R. encampment since 
 that time. Although a stanch Republican, he has 
 never cared for ofifice. He is a member of Robert 
 0. Tyler Post, No. 50, of Hartford, and is as un- 
 wavering in his loyalty to his comrades in peace 
 as in battle. Learning that three soldiers were buried 
 in the potter's field in Glastonbury, he quietly bought 
 a lot and had their bodies removed to it ; as he never 
 told of it the occurrence would have passed unknown 
 to the world had it not been found out and revealed 
 by others. 
 
 Henry M. Kingsbury has always followed 
 farming, and resides in Coventry, Tolland county. 
 He married Emily Watrous, and they have a fam- 
 ily of eight children: Nathaniel, who is married 
 and living in Michigan; Mary E., married: Will- 
 iam H. ; Annie A. ; Charles S. ; Jennie W. ; Horace 
 , L. ; and Joseph H. The father is a Republican in 
 politics, has held various minor offices, and is a 
 member of the Congregational Church. 
 
 WINFIELD S. CHURCHILL. Generally 
 speaking, the farmers of Rocky Hill are noted 
 throughout Hartford county for their intelligence 
 and progressive spirit. Among the most prominent 
 of these is Winfield S. Churchill, who was born in 
 ■ the town of Wethersfield, June i, 1861. 
 
 Justus Churchill, his father, was captain in the 
 
 Governor's Horse Guards. He also was a farmer, 
 and besides attending to his work as an agricultur- 
 ist conducted a meat and produce market in the 
 town of Wethersfield. He married Abigail Harris, 
 of that place, the issue of the marriage being six 
 children, of whom Winfield S. was fifth in the 
 order of birth. The others were Charles M., at 
 present a resident of Parkville, Hartford county; 
 Clara, who married Samuel Ashwell, of Rocky Hill ; 
 Frank, a biographical sketch of whom may be found 
 elsewhere ; Prudence, now Mrs. W. R. Griswold, 
 of Rocky Hill ; and Belle, who died in her fourteenth 
 year. 
 
 Winfield S. Churchill was raised upon the pa- 
 ternal farm and educated at the Wethersfield high 
 school. At the age of sixteen, he left his father's 
 roof to take up his home with his brother Frank, 
 a farmer at Rocky Hill. There he lived until he 
 attained his majority, when, his skill and integrity 
 being recognized by Justus L. Bulkley, the latter 
 proffered him the position of foreman and manager 
 of his extensive farm, which post young Churchill 
 consented to accept. This responsible post he has 
 ever since filled, discharging its duties with an 
 ability and fidelity alike satisfactory to Mr. Bulkley 
 and in the highest degree creditable to himself. 
 Through industry and sound judgment he has ac- 
 quired a comfortable competence. He owns a charm- 
 ing home in Rocky Hill, and is erecting another fine 
 residence in that town, and is also the owner of a 
 handsome dwelling at No. 18 Francis avenue, in 
 Hartford. 
 
 On Nov. 10, 1886, Mr. Churchill was united in 
 marriage to Miss Sarah W., daughter of Henry C. 
 Robinson, of Rocky Hill. Mr. and Mrs. Churchill 
 are the parents of one child, a son named Justus H., 
 now eight years of age. Our subject is a strong 
 Republican, and enjoys a deservedly high reputation 
 as one of the most enterprising and successful young 
 business men of the town in which he resides. 
 
 NATFIAN A. DOOLITTLE, a forger of King 
 bolts for the Atwater Manufacturing Co., of South- 
 ington, was born in North Haven, New Haven Co., 
 Conn., March 2'j, 1844, a son of Abram and Marah 
 (Moss) Doolittle. He is the eldest of their four chil- 
 dren, the others being Julia, wife of Frank Butler; 
 Marcus ; and Wilson. The father was born in Ver- 
 mont, and about 1836 removed to North Haven, 
 Conn., where he engaged in farming, and also op- 
 erated a saw and cider mill. He died there at the 
 age of forty-seven years. He was a son of Michael 
 Doolittle, whose later days were spent in North 
 Haven, where his death also occurred. Our sub- 
 ject's maternal grandparents were Samuel and De- 
 light Moss, of North Haven. 
 
 Reared in North Haven, Nathan A. Doolittle re- 
 ceived a limited education in the public schools of 
 that town, and remained at home until twenty-five 
 years of age. In 1870 he came to Southington, 
 where he has since been in the employ of the At- 
 
1046 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 water Manufacturing Co. He is an expert work- 
 man, and commands the confidence and respect of 
 his employers. 
 
 Mr. Doolittle was married, Oct. i, 1868, to Aliss 
 Ida A. Payne, a daughter of Edwin B. and Gertrude 
 (Miles) Payne, of Cheshire, and to them has been 
 born one daughter, Lottie, now Airs. Wallace Hills. 
 Mr. Doolittle is a member of the Congregational 
 Church, and socially of the Knights of Pythias, and 
 politically is identified with the Democratic party. 
 He has held the office of constable for several years, 
 and is faithful in the discharge of both public and 
 private duties. 
 
 ERNEST WILDER MILDRUM, a prominent 
 business man of East Berlin, was born on the old 
 Mildrum homestead at that place Feb. 8, 1866, and 
 is a son of William A. Mildrum, of East Berlin, 
 who is mentioned more fully elsewhere. 
 
 Our subject is indebted to the district schools 
 of the community for his educational privileges, 
 and on leaving school, at the age of sixteen years, 
 he entered the employ of his father, who was then 
 a contractor in the "divider" department of the 
 Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co.'s works. Subsequently 
 he formed a partnership with his father, and four 
 }-ears later, when the latter died, April 25, 1892, 
 he took complete charge of the department. He 
 has also done contracting in other lines for the 
 same company, and at times has employed as many 
 as twenty-five men. As a business man he is en- 
 ergetic, industrious and reliable, and commands the 
 confidence and respect of all with whom he comess 
 in contact. 
 
 On June 24, 1891, ^Ir. IMildrum was united in 
 marriage with Jiliss jNIary Galpin, who was born 
 July 24, 1868, a daughter of Henry N. Galpin, of 
 Berlin, and they have one child, Elizabeth, born 
 J\lay 7, 1894. They are influential and prominent 
 members of the Congregational Church of Berlin, 
 and take an active part in its work, while Mr. Mil 
 drum has been a member of the Standing or Church 
 committee for two different terms. At elections 
 he supports the men and measures of the Repub- 
 lican party. 
 
 AARON JOHNSON. This energetic and pro- 
 gressive young merchant of South Manchester is a 
 native of Sweden, having been born at Hal- 
 land Koinge, Nov. 6, 1857. His father was a well- 
 to-do farmer, and his early educational advantages 
 were good, his attendance at the common schools 
 being supplemented by a course in an agricultural 
 school. 
 
 Mr. Johnson remained upon his father's farm 
 until he reached the age of twenty-two, when he 
 concluded to try his fortune in the New World, 
 where so many of his countrymen had found happy 
 homes and became substantial citizens of the great 
 republic. Accordingly, in 1879, he crossed the ocean, 
 going from New York at once to South Manchester, 
 
 Conn., where he soon found employment in Cheney 
 Bros.' silk mill, remaining with that firm for two 
 and one-half years. Another year he spent as clerk 
 in a hotel in the same village; and at the end of. that 
 time he entered the store of W. PI. Cheney as sales- 
 man. In 1890 he was made superintendent of the 
 grocery, crockery and woodenware department, 
 which position he continued to hold imtil 1895, Mr. 
 Cheney having meanwhile, in 1895, sold the business 
 to C. D. Strickland & Sen. In the fall of 1895 Mr. 
 Johnson embarked in business on his own account. 
 He began his venture in the most modest way, open- 
 ing a grocery store in the basement of his dwelling 
 house, at No. 17 Chestnut street, employed but one 
 clerk, and made part of his deliveries in a basket. 
 But he was industrious, economical, courteous and 
 honest, and his trade grew steadily from the begin- 
 ning. \\"ithin six months it had reached such pro- 
 portions that he fountl it necessary to greatly en- 
 large his quarters, and in the fall of 1896 he erected 
 the building which forms the main portion of his 
 present store, a structure 32x45 feet in dimensions. 
 The number of his customers continued to increase, 
 however, and the following year (1897) he greatly 
 enlarged this building, making it ninety feet deep, 
 and adding a second story. Here he carries an ex- 
 tensive, well-assorted stock of both staple and fine 
 fancy groceries, employing eight clerks, and having 
 five teams, which are almost constantly engaged in 
 delivery. His store occupies the site on Chestnut 
 street below ^Monument Park, where he started in 
 such humble fashion but little more than four years 
 ago. 
 
 In 1885 Mr. Johnson married Miss Christina 
 ]Magnell, and they have had four children. Ger- 
 trude, Florence, Mildred and Maud. Our subject 
 is generous and public-spirited, always ready to 
 lend his aid to any enterprise looking to the good 
 of his town or county. He is a Repuljlican in poli- 
 tics, and in religious connection a member of the 
 Swedish Lutheran Church. The story of a career 
 such as his is full of instruction and encourage- 
 ment, telling, as it does, how much may be accom- 
 plished through firm resolve, aided by perseverance 
 and integrity. As ^Ir. Johnson looks back upon his 
 past life he can say, with pardonable pride, that he 
 is self-made in the best sense of that too often per- 
 verted term. When he arrived in South Manchester 
 his- entire worldly possessions amounted to but twen- 
 ty-eight dollars. To-day he owns the finest store of 
 its kind in Manchester, besides a handsome modern 
 residence and other valuable town property, all 
 earned through his own toil and energy. 
 
 RUFUS WILLIAM MORSE. For the past 
 forty years the subject of this sketch has had a 
 contract in the tinners' machine department of the 
 Peck, Stow & Wilcox shops, and in that of one 
 of their predecessors. No more extended statement 
 would be necessary to emphasize the mechanical 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1047 
 
 skill, the fidelity, the scrupulous care and the good 
 judgment of our subject. He is one of the oldest 
 and most faithful employes of that manufacturing 
 company, the reputation of which has become world- 
 wide. 
 
 Mr. Morse was born in Holderness, Grafton 
 Co., N. H., Oct. 4, 1823, son of Stephen Nois and 
 Elizabeth (Gordon) Morse. The father was born 
 in Pembroke, N. H., and by occupation was a paper- 
 maker, junior member in the firm of Cheney & 
 Morse. To himself and wife were born seven chil- 
 dren, of whom our subject is the second: Clymena 
 Butler (deceased); Rufus W. ; Stephen Ambrose 
 (deceased) ; Elizabeth Augusta (deceased) ; Herman 
 Ladd, a resident of East Bridgewater, Mass. ; 
 Sophia Ann, a resident of Quincy, Mass. ; and 
 Charles Myron (deceased). Stephen Nois Morse 
 was one of the early Abolitionists, and one of the 
 most highly-respected citizens in the community in 
 which his active and useful life was spent. 
 
 The education of Rufus W. Morse was received 
 in the district schools. His first employment was 
 as an apprentice to the wagonmaking trade, but 
 the labor was hard and, moreover, too quiet for 
 the active temperament of our subject. He aban- 
 doned it for the machinist's trade, for that purpose 
 entering the shops of the Lowell Machine Co., where 
 he remained three years, completing his apprentice- 
 ship. 
 
 Mr. Morse then rounded out his practical knowl- 
 edge and skill by a little journeyman travel. For 
 eight months he worked at his trade at Gloucester, 
 N. J., then went to Boston, Mass., and was then 
 employed successively at Laconia, N. H., one year; 
 Lawrence, Mass., two years; Colt's Armory, Hart- 
 ford, Conn., two years ; and East Bridgewater, 
 Mass., one year. Our subject then settled down. 
 He secured a position with the Roys & Wilcox 
 Co., at East Berlin, where he has ever since been 
 employed. He came to East Berlin in December, 
 1854, and has remained there ever smce. When the 
 Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co. was organized Mr. Morse 
 continued in the service of the new company as a 
 machinist. For the past forty years he has had a 
 contract in the tinners' machine department. 
 
 Mr. Morse married, Aug. 27, 1849, Miss Lu- 
 cinda Pease Cox, who was born Aug. 6, 1827, at 
 Holderness, N. H., daughter of William and EHz- 
 abeth (Folsom) Cox. To our subject and wife 
 were born two children, both of whom died in in- 
 fancy. In politics Mr. Morse was formerly a Whig, 
 and is now a Republican ; he has never sought office. 
 He is a stanch advocate of temperance, having been 
 a member of the Sons of Temperance. Both him- 
 self and wife are members of tne Free Baptist 
 Church. By his work every man is properly judged. 
 This criterion, applied to the life career of Mr. 
 Morse, places him in a most favorable light. He has 
 unostentatiously yet enthusiastically taken up his 
 chosen work and exhibited a rare fidelity and sterling 
 
 worth throughout his many years of residence at 
 East Berlin. He holds the high esteem and respect 
 of his fellow citizens, and counts as his close and 
 lasting friends all who know him well. 
 
 JOHN GEISELMAN,one of the most respected 
 farmers of East Hartford, was born in Witten- 
 berg, Germany, Sept. 8, 1837, and is a son of John 
 and Mary Geiselman, who were farming people m 
 moderate circumstances. 
 
 John Geiselman, father of our subject, was born 
 in Wittenberg in 1793, was a farmer in a small way, 
 and was noted for his honesty. He married Mary 
 Bentley, who was born in 1799, and was the widow 
 of Joseph Bentley, by whom she had three children : 
 Mary B. and Joseph, who died in Germany ; and 
 Anton, who came to America, served in a Con- 
 necticut regiment during the Civil war, and died 
 in East Hartford July 4, 1897. By Mr. Geiselman 
 she had children as follows: Pauline, who died 
 in Germany; John, the subject of this sketch; Peter, 
 still in the Fatherland ; Frances, wife of Anthony 
 Bantley, who aied in Hockanum in 1891 ; and 
 Agatha, who was married to Joseph Gallon, and 
 died in Hartford in 1893. 
 
 John Geiselman, whose name opens this article, 
 attended school, in accordance with the German 
 law, until fourteen years of age, when, his father 
 having died in 1850, he started out to work on 
 neighboring farms for a recompense of from six 
 to eight cents per day, the price usually paid to 
 farmer lads of his age. At the age of twenty years 
 he was drafted into the German army, served two 
 years and four months, and was then furloughed, 
 subject to recall at any time to fill the regulation 
 term of service, eight years. On May 13, 1866, Mr. 
 Geiselman, with his wife and son, Simon, who was 
 born in Wittenberg, Germany, Oct. 26, 1864, em- 
 barked on the steamer "Teutonia," at Bremen. The 
 trip across the ocean was made in fair weather, 
 and the serenity was marred only by a fire which 
 destroyed one of the masts of the vessel, and caused 
 some agitation among; the passengers, but with 
 1,400 souls on board the "Teutonia" arrived safely 
 at New York City. Thence Mr. Geiselman and wife 
 came to Connecticut by steamer, landing in Hart- 
 ford, where Mr. Geiselman found, by. pre-arrange- 
 ment, his half-brother, mentioned above, and also, 
 found employment in Colt's Armory, where he 
 worked nearlv a year. He then learned stone-cut- 
 ting under Gallon & Cup, with whom he worked un- 
 til the dissolution of the firm, after which, having 
 become an expert, he was retained in the employ of 
 Joseph Gallon, the successor to the business, until 
 he has worked, in all, fifteen years at his trade. 
 
 On June 16, 1863, Mr. Geiselman was united 
 in marriage to Miss Agatha Cameron, daughter of 
 Martin and Teresg, (Wilhelm) Cameron, who were 
 the parents of six. children : Christen and Ignace, 
 who died in Germany ; Mary, still living in that 
 
1048 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 country : Wendell and Elizabeth, who died there ; 
 and Agatha, I\Irs. Geiselnian. To the marriage of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Geiselman were born five children : 
 Simon, born Oct. 26, 1864, married Cora A. Hills, 
 and has one child, Samuel H., born March 4, 1891 ; 
 he is a prosperous farmer in East Hartford. John, 
 born June 7, 1867. married Fannie E. Erving, and 
 has two children, Elsie M., born Alay 18, 18 — , 
 and Ruth S., born D(ic. 5, 18 — ; .they are also liv- 
 ing in East Hartford. Elizabeth, born Jan. 28, 1868, 
 died Oct. 26, 1872. liertha, born Nov. 15, 1870, 
 died July 4, 1872, in Hartford, where her remains 
 were interred. Louisa, born Jan i, 1874, was mar- 
 ried to Charles Bartlett, of Windsor, in 1895, and 
 has one child, Irene A., born June 7, i89(). The 
 family attend the South Congregational Church. 
 j\lr. and Mrs. Geiselman occupy their own modem 
 dwelling, which also shelters Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett 
 and their child. Mr. Geiselman has been very in- 
 dustrious and temperate, and has won for himself 
 not only a conifortal)lc competence, but the esteem 
 of all his neighbors. 
 
 CHARLES SHI I'M. VX, a venerable and high- 
 ly-respected agriculturist of South Glastonbury, has 
 learned the art of "growing old gracefully," and al- 
 though near the eightv-first milestone in life's jour- 
 ney his faculties are keen, and his manner is as 
 genial as in younger days. He can read small print 
 without glasses, and often does a large day's work 
 on his farm, as a pastime. 
 
 ^Ir. Shipman comes of a well-known Connecti- 
 cut family. His grandfather, Stephen Shipman, was 
 born Feb. 20, 1750, probably in Hebron, and be- 
 came a leading settler in South Glastonbury. This 
 worthy citizen was a shipbuilder, and also conducted 
 a store in South Glastonbury for some years. He 
 owned a large amount of real estate there, including 
 the Masonic Hall property, and donated to the town 
 the land formerly occupied by , the Sixth District 
 school, under the condition that it should revert to his 
 heirs if used for other than educational purposes. In 
 his later years he seems to have met with reverses, 
 and his death occurred Feb. 8, 1834. On Aug. 4, 
 1790, he married Eunice Rae, daughter of Gideon 
 Rae, of Roxbury, Mass., and a cousin of Vice-Presi- 
 dent Hannibal Hamlin. She survived him some 
 years, and died in Illinois. Of their children : ( i ) 
 Reuben, born July 31, 1791, married Miss Blinn, 
 of Berlin, and engaged in farming in Rocky Hill 
 and later in Barry, III, where he died. (2) Charles, 
 our subject's father, is mentioned below. (3) 
 Eunice, born Jan. 18, 1796, married Shepherd Rob- 
 bins, of Boston, Mass. (4) Stephen, ' born Sept. 
 3, 1798, was married twice, and settled on a farm 
 at Barry, 111. (5) William Henry, born Aug. 28, 
 
 1804, married (first) Harriet , and (sec- 
 
 ind ) Eliza . In early manhood he went to 
 
 Ilhnois to engage in farming, but later returned 
 to Connecticut, and became an oyster dealer in Fair 
 
 Haven, acquiring a large fortune. He died there, 
 and his widow still resides in their old home. (6) 
 James Madison, born April 26, 1808, was a farmer, 
 and died at New Clayton. 
 
 Charles Shipman, our subject's father, was born 
 Aug. 27, 1793, at the present homestead, and re- 
 ceived a common-school education. He followed 
 farming, and was also employed in the Portland 
 quarries, but finally settled upon the home farm, 
 which was encumbered with debt. This he paid, 
 and for many years he followed the even life of a 
 farmer, his death occurring Oct. 4, 1878. His re- 
 mains were interred at South Glastonbury. He 
 married Sally Gillam, a native of Portland, who 
 was born Aug. 26, 1798, and died Sept. 26, 1862. 
 They had the following children : ( i ) George, 
 born Feb. 27, 18 18, married Ruth Goodrich, and 
 was a farmer in Glastonburv and later at Barry, 
 Pike Co., 111., w^here he died. (2) Charles, our 
 subject, was the next in order of birth. (3) Will- 
 iam, born Aug. 7, 1822, was a soldier in the Civil 
 war ; ne married Lucy Jones, and was employed in 
 a factory for some time previous to his death. (4) 
 Elizabeth, born Sept. 2, 1824, married John Flanch- 
 ett, a machinist in Glastonbury. (5) Horace, bom 
 Feb. 26, 1828, was a stage driver, farmer and livery- 
 stable keeper. He married Susan Manwarren, and 
 located in Illinois, and later in Iowa. (6) Stephen, 
 born July 2, 1832, married Rebecca Wright, and 
 settled on a farm in Glastonbury. (7) Eunice, born 
 July 7, 1834. married Ellery Treat, of Willow Brook, 
 in the town of East Hartford. (8) John, born 
 June 8, 1836, married Harriet Bidwell, and resides 
 on a farm in Glastonbury. He served in the Civil 
 war. (9) Mary, born March 15, 1838, died March 
 20, 1838. (lo) Henry Martin, born Jan. 26, 1841, 
 married and resides in Danbury, Conn. ; he was in 
 the 25th Conn. V'. I. during the Civil war. 
 
 Charles Shipman was born Jan. 16, 1820, in 
 the house now occupied by him as a residence. He 
 attended the district school near his home, and also 
 an academy at South Glastonbury conducted by 
 Elihu Burritt, famous as the "learned blacksmith." 
 He was reared to farm work, the "chores" taking 
 much of his time morning and evenmg as a Doy, 
 and with the exception of the years from 1844 to 
 1872, when he made his home some two miles away, 
 he has resided at the old homestead, the manage- 
 ment of the place devolving upon him as his fa- 
 tlier's health failed. He is a Republican in politics, 
 and has held various minor offices ; socially he be- 
 longs to the Glastonburj' Grange, and in religious 
 faith to the Congregational Church at South Glas- 
 tonbury, of which he and his family are leading 
 supporters. 
 
 On April 28, 1844, Mr. Shipman married Miss 
 Eliza Cadwell, who was born in Hartford March 
 17, 18 18, a daughter of Ashbel Caawell, but being 
 orphaned at an early age was reared by William 
 Holmes, of Buckingham. She died April 19, 1886, 
 
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1049 
 
 and was buried at South Glastonbury. Of the six 
 children of this union the eldest, (i) Isabella, born 
 May 15, 184s, married Deacon Edward Thompson, 
 a merchant of Glastonbury, now retired. (2) Miss 
 Ellen is at home. (3) Edward, born June 8, 1849, 
 married Charlotte Noble, and now resides on a 
 farm in Glastonbury. (4) Flora E., born May 2, 
 1 85 1, married Franklin Taylor, of Glastonbury, who 
 was a letter carrier in Hartford for fourteen years. 
 (5) Frederick, born Jan. 2, 1856, married Mary 
 Maynard, a farmer in Glastonbury, and both are 
 now deceased. (6) Emma, born Jan. 9, i860, mar- 
 ried George H. Hale, of Glastonbury. 
 
 WILLIAM L. HUNTTING. In the Connecti- 
 cut river valley there is perhaps no better known 
 tobacco man, nor one more successful, than the sub- 
 ject of this sketch, a prominent resident of East 
 Hartford. It would be difficult to find a better il- 
 lustration of the self-made man, by which is meant 
 one whose native talents and energies enable him 
 to rise superior to any circumstances. The career 
 of our subject has amply demonstrated his ability 
 to take care of himself under adverse conditions, 
 to which many men would have succumbed. Grit 
 and determination were the forces that carried him 
 successfully through every critical emergency. 
 
 The ancestry of our subject is one of the oldest 
 in the land, dating back into history through a 
 period of over two hundred and fifty years to John 
 Huntting, a pioneer of Dedham, Mass., one of two 
 brothers who founded the Huntting family in Amer- 
 ica. One branch of the family, that from which our 
 subject is descended, removed to Long Island, and 
 the land now owned by David H. Huntting, upon 
 which our subject's father was born, has been in 
 the family name from the original patent. It has 
 been a prominent family, and connected with other 
 well-known names in American history. 
 
 Mr. Huntting was born at East Hampton, Suf- 
 folk Co., Long Island, N. Y., Nov. 22, 1840, eldest 
 son of Jeremiah and Joanna A. (Hand) Huntting. 
 The father was the eldest son of Jeremiah Hunt- 
 ting. The grandfather, who was also an eldest son, 
 was a carpenter by occupation in early life, and 
 later a farmer. The father of our subject in early 
 life was apprenticed to the shoemaker's trade, 
 learned it, and for a short time in his youth followed 
 it. But he believed that the most honorable busi- 
 ness in which a man can engage is farming, and 
 that vocation he followed through life. He mar- 
 ried Miss Joanna A. Hand, who was a member of 
 one of the old Long Island families. Both parents 
 of our subject were members of the Presbyterian 
 Church. In politics the father was a Democrat 
 until the repeal of the "Missouri Compromise," 
 when as a stanch Abolitionist he, like thousands of 
 other Democrats, joined the Republican party. In 
 ' stature Jeremiah Huntting was short, and in that 
 ) respect he resembled not his paternal ancestors. 
 
 but the Hedges, his father's mother being a member 
 of that family. When the Civil war broke out Jere- 
 miah Huntting, the father of our subject, was in- 
 volved in obligations which ruined him financially. 
 The first effect of the war upon property was to 
 depress values, and it was under that initial in- 
 fluence of the great struggle that the property of 
 Jeremiah Huntting was sold at a sacrifice. A little 
 later values rose, and the property was worth much 
 m.ore than the obligations to satisfy which its title 
 passed from Mr. Huntting. He met every obliga- 
 tion, however, possessing that sterling character 
 which won lasting respect. He was one of the in- 
 fluential men of the community in which he lived. 
 He died in 1867, aged fifty-four years. His wife 
 survived until December,. 1898, dying at the age of 
 seventy-six years. The children of Jeremiah and 
 Joanna A. Huntting were as follows: (i) Will- 
 iam L., whose name introduces this sketch; (2) 
 Charles H., a wholesale fruit and canned goods 
 merchant on Ann street, Hartford; (3) Jeremiah, 
 of East Hampton, Long Island; (4) David H., a 
 farmer of East Hampton; (5) Samuel, who died 
 unmarried at East Hartford in 1887; (6) John P., 
 a farmer of East Hartford; (7) Mary E., now Mrs. 
 Joseph Dayton, of East Hampton; (8) Edward, 
 manager of the East Hampton Lumber Co., at East 
 Hampton. 
 
 William L. Huntting in his childhood days re- 
 ceived such education as the schools of the neigh- 
 borhood afforded, which was about three months a 
 year. As the eldest of the family he had an abun- 
 dance of work to do on the farm. His father was 
 an extensive land owner, and tne education our 
 subject received was largely of a practical nature. 
 At the age of sixteen years he shipped before the 
 mast on the whaling vessel "Neva," of which his 
 uncle, George Hand, was master, from Greenport, 
 L. I. ' She made a thirty-two-months voyage, going 
 north almost to Point Barrow and to Behring Straits, 
 and to the islands along the Alaskan peninsula— ex- 
 cellent whaling grounds a half-century ago. After 
 this voyage our subject returned home, and for 
 seven or eight months attended Clinton Academy. 
 His primary object was to better equip himself m 
 mathematics as a basis for navigation. 
 
 Mr. Huntting then began a second voyage, which 
 proved more momentous to his fortunes. He sailed 
 on the "Odd Fellow," as boat steerer. She left on 
 a whaling voyage, going to the LaPlata river. South 
 America, for sperm whale, a voyage of fifteen 
 months. While on this trip he was taken sick with 
 rheumatism of the heart, and became so ill that he 
 was landed and left in the hospital at Santa Cath- 
 erina, Brazil, presumablv to die. The "Odd Fel- 
 low" 'sailed away without him. Benjamin Lindsay,' 
 of New Bedford, Mass., was then United States 
 consul at Santa Catherina, and was very kind to 
 the abandoned young sailor, after his recovery giv- 
 ing him employment as manager of a store which 
 
1050 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he was conducting. At that time kerosene or lamp 
 oil was being introduced into Brazil by Mr. Lindsay. 
 With the latter our subject remained until June, 
 1865, when, exchanging his savings into the cur- 
 rency of the United States, he found himself in 
 possession of $700, and with that amount sailed for 
 Long Island. When he had left home a few years 
 before his father was in comfortable circumstances, 
 and in that condition he expected to find him. The 
 reduced financial straits of his father was a double 
 disappointment to our subject, for he had expected 
 to return to South America and engage in business 
 with the help of his father. But under the changed 
 conditions he went to work at home to aid in sup- 
 port of his father's family. His illness had not 
 wholly left him, and for that reason he decided not 
 to return to sea. Moreover, the whaling business 
 was rapidly declining, and had ceased to be profit- 
 able. For a short time he was at a loss to know 
 what to do. It was the only time in his career that 
 he was "out of a job." But he possessed determina- 
 tion and energy, and accepted the oest position that 
 presented itself, which was that of salesman for 
 the Champion Washing Machine. In that capacity 
 he came to East Hartford in the spring of 1866. 
 His partner, Mr. Conklin, quit the business and 
 followed carpenter work, but our subject was a 
 better salesman, ana for four years he sold washing 
 machines very successfully, making the business 
 win. But he had a weather eye for better business 
 opportunities. It came in the tobacco industry, 
 which has become so prominent and valuable in the 
 Connecticut river valley. In 1869 he raised a small 
 crop of tobacco, less than a half-acre. The follow- 
 ing season he raised tw-o acres, realizing $750 for 
 the crop. In 1871 he began buying tobacco, and he 
 has raised and bought tobacco every year since, 
 building up a large business, and m recent years 
 representing as buyer Hoffman & Co., of New York. 
 Samuel Huntting, the brother of our subject, had 
 come to East Hartford, and in partnership with 
 him the firm of William L. Huntting & Co. w-as 
 established. After the death of the brother the old 
 firm name was retained, and since then the two 
 sons of our subject, \Mlliam S. and Henry J., have 
 been admitted to partnership, the firm name con- 
 tinuing William L. Huntting &. Co. • - 
 
 .Mr. Huntting was married, at East Hartford, 
 March 26, 1867, to Miss Marianna Howlett, daugh- 
 ter of Eleazer P. and Eliza (Deming) Howlett, of 
 East Hartford, and four children have been born to 
 them: Kate M., who married F. E. Fuller, of East 
 Hartford ; LiUie M., at home ; William S. ; and 
 Henry J. Ever since his marriage, except one year 
 when he lived on what is now the corner of Central 
 avenue and Main street. Mr. Huntting has resided 
 on the old homestead of his father-in-law. He is 
 a prominent j\Iason, being a charter member of 
 Evergreen Lodge, F. & A. M., and is a charter mem- 
 ber of Elm Loage, No. 63, Knights of Pythias, 
 
 East Hartford. He was also a member of the 
 Knights of Honor during the existence of that or- 
 ganization. Mr. Huntting cast his first Presidential 
 vote for Gen. U. S. Grant. In 1876 he voted for 
 Samuel J. Tilden, and he has since supported the 
 Democratic party. He has held various local of- 
 fices, anil in 1880 was elected to represent his town 
 in the State Legislature. He was chosen a delegate 
 to the Kansas City Convention, which met July 4, 
 1900, and at that convention was chosen to repre- 
 sent his State on the notification committee of the 
 Vice-Presidential nominee, attending the ceremonies 
 at Indianapolis. At the Hartford Convention, held 
 Sept. 20, 1900, Mr. Huntting was unanimously 
 nominated for the office of comptroller on the Dem- 
 ocratic ticket. In educational matters Mr. Huntting 
 has always taken a keen interest, and was secre- 
 tary of the Duilding committee when the East Hart- 
 ford high school was erected ; he is still a member of 
 the high school committee. 
 
 Mr. Huntting has made his own way in the 
 world, and is entitled to the signal success which 
 he has won in the battle of life. At East Hartford 
 he ranks as one of its most substantial and in- 
 fluential citizens. His early experience was severe, 
 but he has come out of his years of struggle and 
 hardship with admirable victory. 
 
 HENRY S TANNARD BRAINARD, deceased. 
 We are now permitted to touch briefly upon the 
 life historv of one who retained a personal asso- 
 ciation with the affairs of Enfield town for many 
 years, and one whose ancestral line traces back to 
 the early Colonial period. His life was one of hon- 
 est and earnest endeavor, and due success was not 
 denied him. 
 
 Mr. Brainard was born in Haddam, Conn., Feb. 
 21, 1817, and died in Enfield Jan. 19, 1896. He was 
 a son of Roswell and Laura (Sherman) Brainard, 
 and a grandson of Ansel and Hannah (Dart) 
 Brainard, tlie latter a daughter of Joseph and Abi- 
 gail (Brainard) Dart. Ansel was a son of Lieut. 
 Josiah and Lois (Hurlbut) Brainard, of Haddam 
 Neck, the former of whom took an active part in 
 the Revolutionary war as lieutenant of a company 
 in the Continental army. He was a son of Josiah, 
 the sixth child of William and Sarah (Bidwell) 
 Brainard. Josiah Brainard, just mentioned, was 
 constituted a member of the Congregational Church 
 in Aliddle Haddam at its formation, Sept. 24, 1740. 
 He built a house on Quarry Hill, and was twice 
 married, his first wife being Sarah, his second Han- 
 nah Spencer. His father, William Brainard, was 
 the fifth child of Daniel Brainard, who was the 
 progenitor of the family in this country. Daniel 
 was brought frcm England when a lad of eight 
 years, and located in Hartford, Conn., living with the 
 Wyllys family until he attained his majority. He 
 became a proprietor and settler of Fladdam, Conn., 
 about 1662, and was a prosperous, influential and 
 
 I 
 
^< 
 
 ^'-t--«---»--~«Y' 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1051 
 
 lighly-respected citizen of tiiat town, where he 
 erved as justice of the peace and as deacon in the 
 hurch. He was twice married, first to Hannah 
 Spencer, daughter of Gerrard Spencer, of Lynn, 
 vlass., and (second) to Mrs. Hannah Sexton, a 
 vidow. All of his eight children were by his first 
 ,vife. 
 
 Henry S. Brainard, whose name introduces this 
 sketch, grew to manhood on Haddam Neck, town of 
 Haddam, and received a good common-school and 
 academic education. Before attaining his twenty- 
 first year, his father died suddenly, and he succeeded 
 to the quarry business, which he successfully con- 
 ducted until his removal to Enfield, in 1855. Among 
 the principal structures for which he furnished the 
 stone was Fort Hamilton, N. Y., which was erected 
 under the supervision of Robert E. Lee, then a 
 government engineer, and later a prominent general 
 in the Confederate army. At the time of the erec- 
 tion of the fort Mr. Brainard became personally ac- 
 quainted with that gentleman, and later kept up a 
 pleasant correspondence with him for some time. 
 On coming to Enfield our subject turned his at- 
 tention to agricultural pursuits, having purchased 
 the large and productive farm of Samuel A. Stil- 
 man, located on the main road a half-mile north of 
 Thompsonville. The place was then conducted as 
 a dairy farm, a milk route having been established, 
 and he carried it on as such up to the time of his 
 death, being regular as clock work as to time. In 
 1863 he went to Chicago, 111., to superintend the 
 working of a quarry at that place, conducted by a 
 stock company under the name of Cook, Brainard 
 & Douglas, but in 1865 he returned to Enfield. He 
 Avas a thorough business man and a careful financier. 
 He neither believed in extravagance, nor the neglect 
 or slighting of anything. No part of his large farm 
 was ever neglected ; his spacious buildings were al- 
 ways kept in repair; and his implements and tools 
 were carefully housed when not in use. His resi- 
 dence and its surroundings always had a well-kept 
 and inviting appearance. 
 
 Mr. Brainard was twice married, his first wife 
 being Miss Hannah M. Brooks, a daughter of Noah 
 and Hannah (Cone) Brooks, of Middle Haddam, 
 Conn., and when she died, leaving no children, he 
 married her sister. Miss Ursula B. Brooks. Seven 
 children were born of this union : Ursula M. ; 
 Alvah S. ; Norman W., who was a soldier in the. 
 Union army during the Civil war, and died at Alex- 
 andria, Va., in June, 1865 ; Cornelia O. ; Almira 
 F., deceased ; Laura H., who married Henry G. 
 Risley. and died March 25, igoo; and Charles H. 
 Mrs. Brainard's maternal grandfather was John 
 Cone, of Maromas, Conn., whose wife was Sus- 
 annah Brainard, a descendant of William and 
 Daniel Brainard, above mentioned. 
 
 Socially Mr. Brainard was a member of Doric 
 Lodge, No. 94, A. F. & A. M., of Thompsonville ; 
 politically he was a Republican, and an advocate 
 of Prohibition principles. He served as select- 
 
 man in Enfield for two years, and his advice and 
 counsel were often sought on many questions. It 
 is but just and merited praise to say of him that, 
 as a business man, he ranked among the ablest ; as 
 a citizen he was honorable, prompt and true to every 
 engagement; and as a man he held the honor and 
 esteem of all classes of people. 
 
 A. H. BROTHERS, the well-known and pop- 
 ular superintendent of the Health Underwear Mills, 
 at Poquonock, is one of the most practical and com- 
 petent men in his line in the State, and his efficiency 
 is shown by his long retention in the service of one 
 firm, having been with his present employers for al- 
 most a third of a century. He is a product of the 
 Green Mountain State, apd like most of her sons 
 is steadfast, honorable and reliable in all things and 
 under all circumstances. 
 
 ]\Ir. Brothers was born in the town of Hart- 
 ford, Windsor Co., Vt., June 29, 1847, ^ son of 
 Oliver and Ann (Howard) Brothers, natives of 
 Canada and England, respectively. In their fam- 
 ily were ten children, of whom nine are living at 
 the present writing, and one son, William, is a 
 skilled millman at Rochdale, Mass. Reared in his 
 native town, A. H. Brothers received such educa- 
 tional advantages as the locality afforded, pursuing 
 his studies mainly in the "little red school house." 
 His parents were people of limited means, and at 
 an early age he began the battle of life for himself. 
 When sixteen he commenced his career as a mill- 
 man, first as piecer in J. C. Parker's mill at Quechee, 
 Vt., where white flannel was the sole product. From 
 that place he went to other mills, working for a 
 time in Franklin and Laconia, N. H., and readily 
 became familiar with branches of the business re- 
 quiring- more skill. He was also employed in the 
 Burlington Woolen Mills, at Burlington, Vt., and 
 the ^tna Mills, in Massachusetts. In March, 1868, 
 he entered the employ of Austin Dunham & Sons, 
 becoming overseer of the spinning-room in the mill 
 at Naugatuck, Conn., and from department over- 
 seer was advanced until, in June, 1887, he was made 
 superintendent and manager of the Health Under- 
 wear Mills at Poquonock. He has entire charge of 
 the plant for the preparation of the raw material 
 as well as the one for manufacturing the finished 
 garments, and has the entire confidence and re- 
 spect of his employers. 
 
 Mr. Brothers married Miss Jeanette Eastman, 
 of Fairlee, Vt., and they have one daughter, Lilly 
 J., now the wife of Thomas Metcalfe, of Poquonock. 
 While not a politician in the sense of office seek- 
 ing, he has always supported the Republican party 
 by ballot and sympathy, but has declined to be- 
 come a candidate for official honors. He is unas- 
 suming in manner, yet exerts a valuable influence 
 and is an excellent citizen, such as any community 
 might be proud to claim. He is a self-made man in 
 the fullest sense of the term, having worked his 
 way upward from the lowest position in his busi- 
 
1052 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 iiess to the higlu-st. I"i-atcnially he is a member of 
 the Masonic Order, uniting with the lodge at Nau- 
 gatuck, and rehgiously ix)th he and his estimable 
 wife arc members of the Congregational Church. 
 
 STEPHEN BELDEN CHURCHILL (de- 
 ceased ) was for many years one of the best-known 
 and most highly respected citizens of W'ethersfield, 
 and a representative of one of its oldest and most 
 honored families. 
 
 Mr. Churciiill traced his ancestry back to Baron 
 Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough, who belonged 
 to the British nobility. The first of the name to 
 come to W'ethersfield was Josiah Churchill, a native 
 of England, who on coming to the New World first 
 located in Watertown, Mass., and from there re- 
 moved to A\'atertown (now known as ^^'ethersfield), 
 Conn, where he spent the remainder of his life, and 
 where he owned an estate. He married Miss Eliz- 
 abeth, daughter of Nathaniel Foot, of W'ethersfield, 
 and to them were born eight children: Mary, Ixjrn 
 March 24, 1639: Elizabeth, who was born Alay 15, 
 1642, and was married, in 1660, to Henry Buck ; 
 Hannah, who was born Nov. i, 1644, was married, 
 in 1666, to Samuel Royce ; Ann, who was born in 
 1647, and married a Mr. Rice; Joseph, born Dec. 2, 
 1649; Benjamin, born May 16, 1652; Sarah, who 
 was born Nov. 1, 1657, and married Thomas Wick- 
 ham ; and one that died in infancy. 
 
 Jesse Churchill, the grandfather of our subject, 
 spent his entire life as a farmer in Wethersfield, and 
 was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, a member 
 of Capt. Hale's company. He was married June 15, 
 1778, to Miss Elizabeth Belden. Among their chil- 
 dren was Levi Belden Churchill, father of our sub- 
 ject, who was born March 24. 1797, and spent his 
 life in Wethersfield. engaged in butchering and agri- 
 cultural pursuits. He died July 25, 1863, and was 
 buried in Wethersfield. He married iNIiss Abigail 
 Griswold, a daughter of Justus Griswold. She was 
 born Aug. 23, 1798. and died Jan. i. 1867. The 
 children of this union were Justus Griswold, who 
 was born Nov. 5, 1816, and died Aug. 23. 1874; 
 Prudence Wells, born April 11, 1819, who married 
 James Griswold, and died June 12, 1856; Levi, bom 
 April 24. 1824, who married Mary Jane Blinn, and 
 ■died Aug. 15, 1862; Stephen Belden, our subject; 
 Abigail Maria, born Oct. 12, 1832, who married, 
 April 3, 1855, Capt. John Standish ; and Hannah 
 Elizabeth, born Oct. i, 1836, who married Bert 
 Elisha Blinn. 
 
 Stephen B. Churchill was born Jan. 21, 1830, 
 and was educated in the district schools and Weth- 
 ersfield Academy. On laying aside his text-books 
 he turned his attention to farming and butchering, 
 and throughout life followed those occupations on 
 the old Churchill homestead in the town of Wethers- 
 field. He was also extensively engaged in the rais- 
 ing of fruit, being one of the largest producers in 
 his section of Hartford county. He was noted for 
 
 his industry, honesty and honorable dealing, was a 
 devoted husband and father, and a good citizen. 
 Religiously he was a member of the Congregational i^ 
 Church, and politically was identified with die Re- JP 
 l)ublican party, but though often urged by his friends • 
 he would never consent to enter the race for public 
 office. He died Dec. 2, 1879, honored and respected 
 by all who knew him. For a number of years Mr. 
 Churchill was a lieutenant in the First Company, 
 Governor's Horse Guards, having risen from the 
 ranks, and on the death of his brother Levi was ten- 
 dered his commission, that of captain. Owing to 
 an accident, however, in which his arm was broken, 
 he resigned. 
 
 On May 5. 1857, in Newington, Conn., Mr. 
 Churchill married Miss Esther Emilia Blinn, a na- 
 tive of Newington, and a daughter of Elisha and 
 Esther (Griswold) Blinn. She is a lady of refine- 
 ment, and has taken a deep interest in the educa- 
 tion of her children. She is a consistent and faith- 
 ful member of the Congregational Church of Weth- 
 ersfield. To our subject and his wife were lx)rn 
 eight children: .Mice Amelia, born July 11, 1858, 
 married Edmund L. Smith ; Elizabeth Maria, born 
 July 22, i860, married Clifford E. Clark; Emma 
 Abigail, born Aug. 24, 1862, married William S. 
 Morris, of Wethersfield; Levi Belden, born Oct. 10, 
 1S64. married Cjrace Watrous Perry, and has three 
 children, Levi B., Oace Watrous and Jesse Stephen ; 
 Stephen, born Nov. 30. 1867, married Lillie P. Gris- 
 wold, a native of Bridgeport, and a daughter of 
 James Dixon Griswold (a granddaughter of James 
 Stanley and Prudence Wells (Churchill) Griswold, 
 and great-granddaughter of James and Lucy (Rob- 
 bins) Griswold), and they have one child, Blanche 
 May; Frederick Griswold, born May 16, 1870. was 
 married .\pril 4, 1900, to Alice Gertrude Wooley, of 
 Wethersfield, and resides on the homestead; Nellie 
 May, born July 30, 1872, married Edwin McDon- 
 ough, and has one child, Gertrude; and Hattie 
 Mabel, born Oct. 28, 1875, married Hiram F. Shep- 
 ard, and has one child, Frederick Churchill. To- 
 gether the sons operate the old homestead farm, and 
 are extensively engaged in general farming, dairy- 
 ing, fruit and market gardening. They are enter- 
 prising and progressive business men of temperate 
 and industrious habits, and are widely and favor- 
 ably known. Politically they all support the Re- 
 publican party. 
 
 HENRY W. ENSIGN. Those individuals who 
 live a life of noble struggle and achievement, and 
 who in their declining years gradually lay aside the 
 burdens of active care and live in well-merited busi- 
 ness retirement, amid the peace and calm of home 
 and friends, among associates of many years, are 
 fitting exemplars of human history, not only for 
 their own intrinsic worth, but for the guidance and 
 spur of a younger generation. Among the repre- 
 sentative men of Simsbury none perhaps is more 
 
^-C^^y^ ^ -j^S^U-i^^-^^^^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 105S 
 
 [ighly honored than he whose name appears 
 bove. 
 
 Henry W. Ensign, retired farmer of the East 
 Veatogue District, Simsbury, was born in the Hop 
 ileadow District, now Simsbury Center, Feb. i6, 
 821. Tlie Ensign family were old settlers of New 
 England. The name is of Saxon origin. It first ap- 
 jeared in Childham, near the cathedral town of Can- 
 erbury, England, where there was an Ensign manor, 
 md the family arms were formerly placed in the 
 ; church of Childham. The name appears to have 
 Deen in the counties of Essex, Norfolk and Kent, 
 says Stiles' "History of Ancient Windsor." 
 - James Ensign, the first of that name who came 
 ;o America, settled in Cambridge, Mass. In 1634 
 ae removed with the Rev. Thomas Hooker party to 
 Hartford, Conn., where he was a prominent citizen 
 ind one of the organizers of the Second Church. He 
 died in November, 1670. His wife Sarah died in 
 May, 1676. They had one son, David, who married 
 Mehitable Gunn, daughter of Thomas Gunn, of 
 Windsor, Conn. They were divorced by mutual 
 consent. She afterward, in 1685, married Isaac 
 Sheldon, a widower, of Windsor, who died July 27, 
 1708, aged seventy-nine years, she surviving him. 
 David Ensign married for his second wife Sarah 
 Wilcox, or Wilcoxson, who died Feb. 3, 171 7-18 
 He moved to West Hartford, and was the original 
 organizer of the church there. He died Dec. 12, 
 1727, aged eighty- two years. The children of David 
 and Sarah (Wilcox) Ensign were David, James and 
 Thomas. Thomas married Hannah Shepard, daugh- 
 ter of John and Rebecca (Greenhill) Shepard. 
 Moses, son of Thomas and Hannah Ensign, was 
 born in South Windsor, where he engaged in farm- 
 ing. He in 1731 married Love Andrews, daughter 
 of Thomas and Love (Knight) Andrews. Isaac, 
 son of Moses and Love (Andrews) Ensign, was 
 born in West Hartford, where he learned the trade 
 of blacksmith. About 1771 he moved to Simsbury, 
 where he followed his trade, owning a shop at the 
 Center, near the old cemetery. There he spent his 
 life. He was a man highly respected, and was one 
 of Simsbury's best citizens. He married Luranah 
 Pettibone, daughter of Jacob and Jemima (Cornish) 
 Pettibone. The ten children of Isaac and Luranah 
 (Pettibone) Ensign were as follows: Isaac; 
 Isaiah ; Ariel ; Zebe ; Zopher ; Bildad ; Eri ; Moses ; 
 Love, who died young; and Luranah, who married 
 Oliver Phelps. 
 
 Bildad Ensign, son of Isaac and Luranah En- 
 sign, and the father of our subject, was born May 
 10, 1788. He engaged through life in agricultural 
 pursuits. In 181 1 he removed to New York State 
 j and located at Oswego, where he spent four years, 
 I also farmed in Granby, and spent the balance of his 
 > life in Simsbury. He was noted for his industry 
 ;- and frugal habits, but met many reverses not through 
 any fault of his own, but through kindness of heart 
 \ in helping others. He was temperate in his habits, 
 
 a kind husband and an indulgent father. He served 
 the town of Simsbury as constable, and also as col- 
 lector of taxes, and was a Democrat in politics until 
 the war of the Rebellion, when he became a Republi- 
 can. He never sought political office or honors, 
 but was content to perform his duty as a citizen as 
 he saw it. Honest and honorable in his dealings, 
 he did not accumulate an abundance of this worla s 
 goods, but he left a name that is highly respected. 
 He was a Christian man, and a consistent member 
 of the Congregational Church. He died in 1865, 
 and was buried in Simsbury cemetery. Mr. Ensign 
 married in Granby Melissa Holcomb, born in Gran- 
 by, daughter of Increase and Mary (Reed) Hol- 
 comb. Increase Holcomb was a Revolutionary sol- 
 dier, a son of Reuben Holcomb, and a grandson of 
 Reuben Holcomb. His wife was a daughter of 
 Capt. Martin (also a Revolutionary soldier) and 
 Mary (Moore) Reed. The children born to Bildad 
 and Melissa Ensign were: Melissa Eunice, born 
 Dec. 25, 1817, married Joseph Barnes, of Windsor; 
 Eveline, born in 1819, died in infancy; Henry Watts 
 is our subject; Eveline, born in 1823, died young; 
 Caroline Elizabeth, born in March, 1830, married 
 William Gardiner; Mary Luranah, born Sept. 29, 
 1834, married Elijah Young, and they are living in 
 Cleveland, Ohio. The mother of our subject died 
 in 1853, and was buried in Simsbury. She was a 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, a good 
 Christian woman, and the best of wives and mothers, 
 and gave her children a good Christian training. 
 She was a woman of rare beauty and of genial dis- 
 position. 
 
 Henry W. Ensign attended the public schools of 
 the district of Hop Meadow, his first school teachev 
 being Annise Chapman. He also attended private 
 schools for two terms, and the Connecticut Literary 
 Institute, at Suffield. He remained at home, assist- 
 ing his father in the farm work, until he was twenty 
 years old, when he taught school at Agawam, Mass., 
 in the winter, receiving $14 per month. He worked 
 at farm labor in summer at $12 per month, and 
 taught school one winter in Madison county, N. Y., 
 at $12.50 per month; one term at Bushy Hill, Sims- 
 bury, where he received $12 per month; and eight 
 terms in other districts of Simsbury. 
 
 In 1847 Mr. Ensign moved to Bushy Hill, where 
 he bought a farm of sixty-nine acres, to Vi^hich he 
 added fifty-five acres, operating altogether 125 acres, 
 and engaged principally in tobacco growing and gen- 
 eral farming. On that farm he spent nineteen years 
 of his life, making notable improvements in the prop- 
 erty. Selling the farm, he moved to the East Wea- 
 togue District, where lie bought the Roswell Phelps 
 farm, and has since been engaged in dairy and gen- 
 eral farming and in tobacco growing. He is now 
 living retired. Mr. Ensign has served as adminis- 
 trator for a number of estates, having been ap- 
 pointed by the courts, and has also been executor of 
 several wills. He was tax collector of Simsbury for 
 
1054 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a number of years, having been appointed first bv 
 the selectmen and later elected by the votes of the 
 people, and his services as a tax collector were very 
 satisfactory. He served also as assessor, and was 
 on the school committee for a number of years, 
 taking a deep interest in educational affairs. In 
 1858 he was elected to the State Legislature on the 
 Whig ticket, and served on the committee on Edu- 
 cation; he was again elected to the Legislature in 
 1865, on the Republican ticket, and served on the 
 committee on Divorce. He cast his first Presidential 
 vote for Henry Clay, the W'hie candidate, and his 
 last for William AlcKinley. Mr. Ensign has al- 
 ways taken a deep interest in public affairs. So- 
 cially he is a member of X'illage Lodge, F. & A. ^L. 
 Collinsville. He is a man of unusual intelligence, 
 well informed on all the leading events, has traveled 
 extensively in the W est as far as the Pacific coast, 
 and is a keen observer of men and events, possess- 
 ing a remarkable memory for a man of his age. He 
 is a most interesting conversationalist, is genial in 
 disposition, and commands the highest respect 
 among his many friends and acquaintances. 
 
 On March 18, 1847, in the City of New York, 
 Mr. Ensign married, at the home of her brother, 
 Rebecca Jane Curtiss, born Dec. 9, iSig, in Sims- 
 bury, Conn. To our subject and wife children were 
 born as follows: (i) James Curtiss, a fruit and 
 grain grower of central California, married Geor- 
 gia Ellen Baker, of Alissouri. and has seven chil- 
 dren — Henry Wilson, who married Maggie Syfers, 
 and has one child, Gladys Pearl ; Etta Baker, who 
 married Samuel H. Weddell, and has two children, 
 Ella Gertrude and Hugh Ensign ; Luella Mattie, 
 who died at the age of ten ; Daisy Rebecca ; George 
 Curtiss; Ploward Carlton; and Walter Calvin. (2) 
 Sarah Jane was educated in the district schools, and 
 also in the State Normal School, and has taught in 
 the public schools of Granby, Simsbury, Bloomfield, 
 and in Healdsburg, Sonoma Co., Cal. She is a 
 member of the Daughters of the American Revo- 
 lution, Abigail Ji^helps Chapter, Simsbury. (3) 
 George Henry, a boy of great promise, was drowned 
 at the age of fourteen years. (4) Ella Barnes and 
 (5) Emma Barnes were twins. Th.e latter died 
 when five years old. The former was educated in 
 the district schools of Simsbury and Hartford, and 
 the Connecticut Literary Institute, Suffield, and has 
 taught school one term in Simsbury. She is a 
 member of the Daughters of the Revolution, and is 
 secretary of Abigail Phelps Chapter. She has trav- 
 eled to many parts of the West, including California. 
 Both daughters of our subject are at home with 
 their father, caring for him in his old age. They 
 are ladies of culture, refinement and education. 
 
 Mrs. Ensign died, in 1891, in the Baptist faith, 
 on the farm, after more than forty years of happy 
 wedded life, and was buried in Simsbury cemetery. 
 She was in her younger years a school teacher, was 
 a woman of education and refinement, lived a good 
 
 Christian life, and was an excjllent wife and mother. 
 Her father, Timothy Hale Curtiss, was born in Ber- 
 lin, Conn., son of Ebenczer and Rebecca (Latimer) 
 Curtiss, and moved to Simsbury with his parents, 
 when young. He was a direct descendant of 
 Thomas Curtiss, who came to VVethersfield, Conn., 
 in 1639, from England, where he was born in 1598. 
 Timothy Hale Curtiss married Sarah McCombs, a 
 daughter of Capt. Andrew and Rebecca (Good- 
 rich) McConibs. Airs. Ensign had three brothers, 
 Timothy McCombs, Ebenezer Goodrich and James 
 Hale. 
 
 ALONZO LYMAN LATIMER, president of 
 the Simsbury Creamery Co., has his home in West 
 Simsbury, of which place he is one of the most 
 prominent and successful residents, and where he 
 was born Feb. 12, 1845, tl^c place being then known 
 as Canton. 
 
 The first member of the Latimer family to settle 
 in this town was Giles, a well-to-do farmer, who 
 located here about 1763. He was twice married, 
 and lost his first wife in 1808 ; his own death oc- 
 curred in 1829, at which time he had five children: 
 Giles, George, Roswell (who died in 1830), Gar- 
 ner and James. 
 
 Garner Latimer, the youngest save one of these 
 five, was the grandfather of the subject of this 
 sketch. He was born in Canton (now Simsbury), 
 and owned and cultivated a large tract of land, 
 now owned by our subject, which land he greatly 
 improved, and on it passed the remainder of his 
 life, engaged principally in general farming and 
 stock raising. He was a Democrat in politics, and 
 in religion held to the faith of what was known as 
 the Independent Church. To his marriage, with 
 Miss Esther Kirtland, were born four children: 
 Harvey, Lorinda J., Laura, and Lyman (father of 
 our subject). 
 
 Lyman Latimer, born and reared on the old 
 farm, was educated in the district school of Canton, 
 and married Nancy C. Goddard, a daughter of 
 Truman Goddard. He owned a fine farm, which he 
 devoted chiefly to stock growing and general agri- 
 culture, was a substantial and respected citizen, and 
 a good Christian, attending the Independent Church. 
 In politics he was a Democrat, but was never an 
 office seeker. His wife was a devout member of 
 the M. E. Church. Both ended their days on ' 
 the home farm, their remains being interred in the 
 cemetery at North Canton. Their six children were 
 named, in order of birth : Ann M., deceased wife of 
 William Carter ; Alonzo L., the subject of this 
 sketch ; Elliott, a resident of Weatogue ; Emma, mar- 
 ried to Eugene Messenger ; Miles, deceased ; and 
 Eliza, the wife of George Deno. 
 
 Alonzo L. Latimer received a district-school ed- 
 ucation in Canton, and at the age of eleven years 
 started out to make a living for himself. He was 
 an industrious lad, and used his earnings ju- ^, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1055 
 
 iciously, economizing as he went along. Part of 
 16 time he worked in the knife department of the 
 ;onins Co., at Colhnsville, and part at Coh's 
 i.rmory, in Hartford, until 1866, when he bought 
 ae Willis Bacon farm of one hundred acres, near 
 is old home, and later purchased his father's orig- 
 i iial homestead, and the Morgan Case farm, all of 
 ' /hich he improved. On the farm which is his pres- 
 nt home he erected a fine dwelling, barns, tobacco 
 heds, etc., at a cost of $10,000, and is now one 
 )f the most extensive tobacco-growers in West 
 Mmsbury, beside which he conducts a large gen- 
 •ral and dairy farm, owning, as he does, over 300 
 icres of arable land. 
 
 On April 9, 1873, Mr. Latimer married, in 
 Simsbury, Miss Estella Siddell, a native of the town, 
 ind a daughter of Robert Siddell, and to this union 
 lave been born five children, of whom the first died 
 n infancy. The second born, Belle, was educated 
 n the district school, at the New Britain Normal 
 school, and at Huntsinger's Business College, and 
 s now a bookkeeper in Hartford. Edith and Lena 
 2;raduated from the Connecticut Agricultural Col- 
 lege, class of 1900. Ralph is attending the local 
 school. 
 
 In politics Mr. Latimer is a Republican, and for 
 twenty years has been tax collector. His position 
 as president of the Simsbury Creamery Co. is quite 
 a responsible one, and in this company he is also a 
 stockholder and director. In religion he is liberal 
 in his views, but the Scriptures are his guide in 
 all his transactions, as he was formerly a regular 
 attendant at the Methodist Episcopal Church, to 
 which his family belong. Fraternally he is a mem- 
 iber of St. Mark's Lodge, No. 36, F. & A. M., at 
 Simsbury. Mr. Latimer is a self-made man, is pro- 
 gressive and useful in his community, and is one 
 cf its foremost citizens. 
 
 Robert Siddell, the father of Mrs. Latimer, 
 was born in Yorkshire, England, and was but six 
 years of age when brought to America by his par- 
 ents, Abram and Johanna (Woodhead) Siddell, 
 who located in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., where the 
 father followed his trade of weaver until 1854, when 
 he brought his family to Simsbury, Conn., and 
 here he and his wife passed the remainder of their 
 . lives, dying in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. They were the parents of five children: 
 i Abram; Sarah, married to Thomas Morton; Han- 
 nah, wife of George Ellsworth : Mary, who was 
 married to Robert Dyson; and Robert, the father 
 of Mrs. Latimer. Robert Siddell was reared to 
 blacksmithing, but was also a farmer. He was a 
 Republican in politics, held many local offices at 
 Simsbury, whither he came from Massachusetts, 
 I and in 1873 was elected to the State Legislature 
 ■; from Simsbury. Mr. Siddell married Miss Maria 
 '-Potts, a native of Johnstown, N. Y., and a daugh- 
 I ter of George and Elizabeth Potts, and to this mar- 
 I riage six children were born: Mary, now Mrs. A. 
 I H. Warner, of Bristol; George A., of Springfield, 
 
 Mass. ; Sarah, married to Charles Keyes ; Belle, the 
 wife of Watson Woodford ; Estella, now Mrs. Lati- 
 mer; and Herman, of Springfield, Mass. The 
 mother of this family was also a member of the 
 Methodist Church, and she, like her husband, en- 
 joyed the esteem of the entire community. 
 
 CHARLES HENRY HOLLISTER, of Ber- 
 line, who for many years has been engaged in the 
 insurance business, is well and favorably known to 
 the insurance men in the several localities of his 
 operations. 
 
 Mr. Hollister was born July 15, 1856, at Wind- 
 sorville, in the town of East Windsor, Hartford 
 county. His father, Henry Hollister, was born 
 June I, 1816, at Red Hook, Dutchess Co., N. Y., 
 and resided in several different localities in that 
 county between the age of three and ten years, his 
 father, a farmer by occupation, changing his place 
 of residence a number of times during that period. 
 In about 1826 the family went to Livingston Manor, 
 on the Hudson river, and two years later moved to 
 Philmont, N. Y., young Henry attending school a 
 portion of the time at those various points, and 
 working at the last-named place the greater part 
 of the year in the woolen mills until eighteen years 
 of age, when he commenced life for himself. In 
 1836 he went to the town of Vernon, Conn., and 
 for three years worked in the Frank Satinet Mill, 
 in the vicinity of Rockville (then Vernon). From 
 1840 to 1848 he was superintendent of the Somer- 
 ville Manufacturing Co. Following this he went 
 to Willimansett, Mass., and for a time, associated 
 with a Mr. Smith, he operated a small mill under 
 the firm style of Smith & Hollister. Owing to ill 
 health he gave up business, going to Ellington, 
 Conn., and there resting for two years. In about 
 1855 he moved to Windsorville, where he leased 
 a woolen mill and operated it some three years, 
 during that time being asociated in the enterprise 
 with a Mr. Phillip, under the firm style Phillip 
 & Hollister, and later operating it alone under lease, 
 at the expiration of which time he purchased the 
 property. This mill he operated until 1864, then 
 sold out the business to P. C. Allen and removed 
 to Springfield, Mass. After a short residence 
 in that city, he moved to Hartford, Conn., 
 and was there variously occupied for a period, 
 handling wool and tobacco among other things. 
 In 1870 he purchased the Ravine Mills, at Hamp- 
 den, Mass., and operated them for several years, 
 retaining his residence, however, at Hartford. 
 In 1875 he purchased a farm of 103 acres, lo- 
 cated on the New York, New Haven & Hartford 
 railroad, one mile south of Berlin Center, upon 
 which the family now reside. In 1855 Mr. Hol- 
 lister represented the town of Ellington iri the State 
 Legislature. In 1886 he was a member of the 
 board of selectmen of the town of Berlin. 
 
 On Nov. 2, 1841, in Vernon, Conn., Henry 
 Hollister was married to Julia Jerusha Hunt, born 
 
105(5 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 March i, 1819, in Vernon, daughter of Erastus and 
 Tryphenia (Clark) Hunt. To the union were born 
 children as follows: Julia Elizabeth, Harriet Viola 
 and Charles Henry. The mother of these children 
 was a member of the Congregational Church. She 
 died iMay 29, 1899, greatly beloved and esteemed 
 by a host of friends and acquaintances. The elder 
 daughter is identified with the same Church of 
 which her mother was a member. 
 
 Charles H. Hollister, our subject, received his 
 elementary education in the common schools of 
 Windsorville, Conn., then attended the public 
 schools at Hartford ; was graduated from the Wads- 
 worth street school in 1870, and for two years at- 
 tended the high school. After his school days were 
 over he engaged in the insurance business in the 
 ofrice of C. C. Kimball, of Hartford, then and 
 now general agent for a number of large insurance 
 companies, and remained with Mr. Kimball until 
 1882, when in November, having been chosen book- 
 keeper for the Corrugated Metal Co., he left Mr.' 
 Kimball to assume the duties of the new charge. 
 In January following, by which time the company 
 had become the Berlin Iron Bridge Co., he was 
 chosen its secretary and treasurer. One year later he 
 was made special agent and adjuster of the Northern 
 Assurance Association of London, England, which 
 was under the management of Alfred M. Bullard, of 
 Boston, in which city Mr. Hollister made his head- 
 quarters, having charge of the business in the New 
 England States, in November, 1884, he was made 
 special agent and adjuster of the ^tna Insurance 
 Co., of Hartford, Conn., with headquarters at El- 
 mira, N. Y. This position he retained until 1893, 
 changing his headquarters in, 1888 to Albany, N. 
 Y. Owing to sickness he removed, in 1893, to 
 Berlin, Conn., the place of residence of the family. 
 During our subject's active business career, when 
 in good health, he was an energetic and industrious 
 business man, of good ability, and was successful. 
 Like his father, his affiliations in National affairs 
 are with the Democratic party, though in local af- 
 fairs he makes no political distinction, voting for the 
 best man for the place. Socially he has been quite 
 prominent and popular. He is a member of the 
 Underwriters Association of New York, of which 
 he was the second vice-president at the time of 
 his sickness causing his retirement from active 
 business. He has been a member of the New York 
 Association of Supervising and Adjusting Fire In- 
 surance Agents since 1885. He is a charter mem- 
 ber of the Albany (N. Y.)- Social Club; is also a 
 member of Ivy Lodge, No. 397, F. & A. M., of 
 Elmira, N. Y. ; and of Lodge No. 62, B. P. O. E., 
 of the same city. 
 
 SIMEON FRANCIS WETHERELL, known 
 throughout the State of Connecticut as one of the 
 oldest paper manufacturers in this part of the coun- 
 try, was born Dec. 19, 1820, in Middletown, Middle- 
 sex Co., Connecticut. 
 
 The Wetherell family has been identified with 
 Hartford county for over a century, our subject's 
 great-grandfather, Seth Wetherell, having located 
 here in 1789, coming from Wareham, Mass., with 
 his family. They made their home in what is now 
 the town of East Hartford, Seth Wetherell finding 
 work at his trade, that of anchor maker, in the 
 anchor factory which then stood on the 'site now oc- 
 cupied by the Hartford manilla paper mills, and 
 which was subsequently converted into a powder 
 mill. He erected a house on the place where the 
 widow of William Wetherell now lives, and his 
 death is supposed to have occurred there. 
 
 Simeon Wetherell, grandfather of our subject, 
 was eighteen years of age when the Wetherell family 
 came to Hartford county, and he walked the entire 
 distance from Wareham, carrying a pack on his 
 back. He learned the trade of an anchor maker with 
 his father, and when the plant was changed to a 
 powder mill continued working there. Later he 
 was employed at the powder mills (located on the 
 site now occupied by the Keeney & White paper 
 mills) which were blown up about 1836, five men 
 losing their lives thereby. Simeon Wetherell was 
 a resident of Manchester for many years, and passed 
 his declining days in that town, where he died at 
 the advanced age of eighty-four. He married Miss 
 Elizabeth Case, and they became the parents of six 
 children: Betsey, Simeon, Jr., Seth, Vashti, Jo- 
 seph, and Phila. 
 
 Simeon \Vetherell, Jr., was born May 24, 1794, 
 in what is now the town of Manchester, then the 
 Parish of Orford, town of East Hartford, Hartford 
 Co., Conn., and there grew to manhood. He gained 
 a thorough knowledge of the trade of powder maker 
 under his father, in the mill run by John Mather, 
 which occupied the present site of the Foulds paper 
 mill at Alanchester, and subsequently engaged at that 
 occupation in the mills at Mansfield and Middle- 
 town, Conn. In about 1829 he returned to Manches.- 
 ter, and in 1836 started a powder mill in that town 
 along the Hartford road, on the stream which was 
 formerly known as Hop brook, conducting same 
 until 1841, when it was blown up through the care- 
 lessness of employes. A few years later he pur- 
 chased and removed to a farm near East Haddam, 
 which he afterward sold, buying another near Mid- 
 dletown, on which he lived until the time he re- 
 turned to Manchester for a time. He passed his 
 closing years, however, in Middletown, making his 
 home with his son Horace, and his death occurred 
 there in 1871. Mr. Wetherell was known as a suc- 
 cessful and careful powder maker, and had a more 
 than ordinarily thorough understanding of the busi- 
 ness in all its details, but he would submit to no dic- 
 tation in his work, and as a result made numerous 
 changes in employ. However, he was never in want 
 of employment, his efficiency and trustworthiness . 
 never failing to secure him a position. Simeon 
 Wetherell married Miss Almira Fitch, who preceded ^', 
 him to the grave, dying in 1870. Both were earnest 
 
"^ 
 
 ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1057 
 
 members of the Congregational Church. Their 
 family consisted of ten children, of whom Francis 
 N. was drowned at the age of two years; Esther, 
 widow of Ralph Cutler, makes her home in the town 
 of Manchester; Simeon F., subject of this sketch, is 
 next in the family ; Ehzabeth is the widow of A. B. 
 Snow; Ralph is a resident of Clarks, Nebraska; 
 Horace is deceased; Wells is a farmer in Manches- 
 ter town; Mary, deceased, was the wife of William 
 Tuffs ; Henry W. is deceased ; Martha is the widow 
 of Gardiner Wells. 
 
 Simeon F. Wetherell was about eight years of 
 age when his' father returned to Manchester, and 
 here he received his primary education, the first 
 school he attended being at Manchester Green. He 
 subsequently attended a school taught by Nathaniel 
 Keeney, in the little house located where the main 
 street crosses the railroad in the village of Manches- 
 ter; the old school building is still standing, back of 
 the Catholic church, in a good state of preservation. 
 Later he was a pupil in the select schools taught by 
 Chauncey Keeney and Mr. Sedgewick (in the base- 
 ment of the old church at Manchester Center), en- 
 joying unusual advantages for those days. At the 
 age of nineteen he began working in ihe paper mill 
 of Peter Rogers, a small establishment, remaining 
 there about a year. For four years after leaving 
 this employ Mr. Wetherell was engaged in the Good- 
 win paper mills, at Buckland, then known as the 
 Hollow mills, and in 1845 he went to Middletown 
 and rented a paper mill, which he conducted for two 
 years on his own account. His next venture was 
 at Colchester, where he erected a mill of his own, 
 and he carried on business there until 1859, when he 
 sold out and went to Andover, Conn. He worked in 
 the paper mills there for a few months, in i860 re- 
 turning to Manchester, where he entered the employ 
 of Lewis Bunce & Sons, in the Bunce paper mills, 
 continuing with them until 1869. For the year fol- 
 lowing he was with Fitzgerald & Sons, and then 
 passed one winter in Jersey City, New Jersey. 
 
 At the end of this time Mr. Wetherell began 
 business for himself again, purchasing a mill at 
 Rainbow, Hartford Co., Conn., in partnership with 
 Monroe House and Edwin Bunce, with whom he was 
 associated in the manufacture of paper until 1882, 
 when he sold his interest in the concern. Not long 
 , afterward he bought the home in Manchester which 
 he has ever since occupied. In 1883, in company, 
 with Frank W. Carpenter, his son-in-law, he pur- 
 chased the Rockdale paper mills, at Newington, 
 Hartford county, and this co-partnership lasted un- 
 til February, 1899, when Mr. Wetherell sold his 
 share in the establishment to Mr. Carpenter, and he 
 has since leased the old mill at Rainbow, where he 
 formerly carried on business for so many years. He 
 is now giving his time to the management of same, 
 ■'' and though in his eightieth year he is as active and 
 ) energetic as a man in his prime, enjoying perfect 
 ; health and mental faculties unimpaired, though he 
 has always been an indefatigable worker, sparing 
 
 67 
 
 neither labor nor pains to make his enterprises suc- 
 cessful. He is thoroughly conversant with all the 
 details of the business in which the active years of his 
 life have been passed, and his familiarity with every- 
 thing concerning the making of paper has given 
 him a wide notoriety and high standing among man- 
 ufacturer:, in this State. During the fifty-eight 
 years of his experience in this line he has made an, 
 enviable reputation as a business man of sound 
 judgment and unquestioned integrity and reliability,, 
 a good manager and a friend of progress, champion- 
 ing and adopting any changes in process or mate- 
 rial which he is convinced will improve his product 
 or benefit the trade. 
 
 Mr. Wetherell has a strong personality, is firm: 
 in his likes and dislikes, and has gained a position 
 of influence in his special line which is not always 
 the lot of even a veteran to attain. He has always 
 been devoted to his business interests to the ex- 
 clusion of outside affairs, but he has taken a public- 
 spirited, interest in the welfare of his town and 
 county, and though never an office seeker or holder 
 he has supported every movement which in his opin- 
 ion would promote the advancement of the commu- 
 nity or benefit the citizens of Manchester in generaL 
 His contributions to church work and religious en- 
 terprises have also been liberal, though he is not 
 connected with any denomination. In political sen- 
 timent he was originally a Whig, changing with the- 
 party when it was merged into the Republican or- 
 ganization. 
 
 Mr. Wetherell was married Feb. 4, 1844, to Miss- 
 Jane A. Vorra, who was born Aug. 31, 1820, daugh- 
 ter of Erastus and Aurelia (Evans) Vorraj^ and' 
 they have four daughters : Maria J., who lives with.- 
 her parents; Emma, widow of Arthur H. Rogersy 
 and Minnie, widow of Alfred Bidwell, both living 
 in Manchester ; and Ellen M., wife of Frank W. 
 Carpenter, a paper manufacturer of the town of 
 Newington, as above mentioned. On Feb. 4, 1894, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wetherell celebrated their Golden 
 Wedding quietly at home, surrounded by their 
 family. 
 
 ISAAC PORTER, a grandson of Rev. Isaac 
 Porter, and a son of Richard S. Porter, was born' 
 at Granby Dec. 20, 1833. Both his father and 
 grandfather were natives of the same town, the 
 grandfather being pastor of the Congregational 
 Church in that place for over forty years. The 
 wife of Rev. Isaac Porter was Mary Smalley, a 
 daughter of Rev. Dr. Smalley, the first Congre- 
 gational minister to settle in New Britain. The 
 only child born of this union was Richard S. Por- 
 ter, who became the father of Isaac, whose name 
 appears at the head of this paragraph. 
 
 Richard S. Porter attended the common schools 
 of his time, and was for two years a student at 
 Yale College. At the end of his Sophomore year 
 he left the university to associate himself with 
 Stephen W. Cornwell in the manufacture of tools^ 
 
1058 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tongs and oilier varieties of hardware, at Granby. 
 After carrying on this business for several years, 
 he removed to New Britain, and entered the employ 
 of the Stanley Companv. with whom he remained 
 until, some years later, he received an appointment in 
 the postoffice as an assistant to IMarcellus Clark. 
 While filling this position he met with a railroad 
 accident which resulted in the loss of one of his legs. 
 He was a man of sterling character, and held in 
 high esteem by his fellow citizens, who elected him 
 to the office of town clerk, which he filled with fidel- 
 ity and distinction for many years. In his religious 
 creed he was a Congregationalist. Politically he 
 was a Whig prior to the formation of the Republi- 
 can party, after which he affiliated with that organi- 
 zation, and was an intense party man. By his mar- 
 riage with Betsey Cornwall he became the father of 
 five children : Alfonso Cornwell, Frederick Whit- 
 tlesey, Alortimer Stanley, Isaac and Mary Smalley. 
 Alfonso C. Porter went to Chillicothe, Ohio, when a 
 youth of fifteen years, and there engaged in the 
 lightning-rod business. At the outbreak of the Civil 
 war he enlisted at Cincinnati, and was made quar- 
 termaster. He died soon afterwards. Frederick 
 ^\'. was also a soldier, serving during the last eight- 
 een months of the struggle in the First Connecticut 
 Artillery. He is at present one of the successful mer- 
 chants of New Britain, and is engaged in business 
 as a jeweler. JMortimer Stanley's inclination was 
 for the life of a sailor, and when he was but little 
 more than sixteen years old he shipped before the 
 mast. At the age of twenty-one he had risen to be 
 a captain of a vessel owned by a Manchester firm, 
 engaged in the \\'est India trade. In 1861 he sur- 
 rendered this position to offer his services to the 
 Government, and was commissioned ensign on the 
 flagship of the West Gulf Squadron. At the close 
 of the war a lieutenancy in the navy was offered him, 
 but he declined the honor, preferring to return to 
 the merchant marine. He died in Australia, in 1871, 
 after having sailed all over the world. 
 
 Isaac Porter received a good elementary educa- 
 tion in the English branches at the common schools 
 of Granby, New Britain and Stockbridge, and for a 
 time attended the academy at the last-mentioned 
 place. As a boy he made the most of the advantages 
 offered him, and in later life he has supplemented 
 earl)' deficiencies in his education by a well-directed 
 course of reading. At the age of sixteen he left 
 school to learn the trade of a jeweler and engraver 
 with the old firm of Churchill & Stanley, and served 
 an apprenticeship for five years. On becoming a 
 journevman he went to Philadelphia, where he 
 opened an establishment of his own. In 1857 he 
 removed to Cincinnati, where he entered into part- 
 nership with his brother, Frederick W. Two years 
 later the firm was dissolved, and Mr. Porter re- 
 turned to New Britain to take charge of the shops of 
 the New Britain Jewelry Co. In 1861 he went back 
 to Philadelphia, where he became overseer for a 
 
 ^Ir. Barber. In the spring of 1862 his patriotic 
 spirit prompted him to enuilate the example of his 
 elder brothers, and he, too, enlisted in the military 
 service of the United States, joining the 68th P. V. 
 I. This regiment was known as the Scott Legion, 
 and he was made orderly sergeant of Company A. 
 His record as a soldier is a story of heroism, bravery 
 and endurance. F"or gallantry at the battle of Fred- 
 ericksburg he was made second lieutenant, and after 
 passing through the fearful carnage on the hotly- 
 contested field of Chancellorsville he was put in 
 command of his compau}-. Fie led his men at Get- 
 tysburg, where he lost his left arm. He was to 
 have been regularly commissioned as captain, but 
 for some unexplained reason he never received the 
 "coveted parchment. It was not long, however, be- 
 fore he returned to the armv, becoming a member 
 of the 22nd Regiment, N'eteran Reserve Corps, which 
 participated in the defense of Washington against 
 Early "s attack. The regiment with which he was 
 connected was sent to Troy, N. Y., and later to In- 
 dianapolis, to assist the State forces in enforcing the 
 draft. A raid was made upon a disaffected county 
 in Indiana, and two or three hundred men arrested. 
 The regiment also did duty at Columbus, Ohio. 
 Our subject was sent home on waiting orders, and in 
 the spring of 1866 went to North Carolina, where 
 he remained until discharged, in 1867. 
 
 On his return to New Britain Mr. Porter was 
 appointed deputy sheriff, and filled that position for 
 three years. P'rom 1874 to 1891 he was a city con- 
 stable, and in 1876 he was elected town clerk. The 
 latter office he held, through one re-election after 
 another, for fifteen years, his nomination coming 
 from the Republican party, of which he is a stanch 
 and active member. For twenty-nine years his fa- 
 ther and himself held office in New Britain, a record 
 of honorable service which is not easy to surpass. 
 No breath of scandal ever sullied the reputation of 
 either father or son, who walked among their towns- 
 men with erect head and a '"-conscience void of of- 
 fense." 
 
 On April 25, 1892, Mr. Porter founded the firm 
 of Porter & Allen, to conduct business as general 
 auctioneers and dealers in second-hand goods. In 
 December, 1893, the name of the firm was changed 
 to the I. Porter Co., and on March 3, 1894, the I. 
 Porter Co. was incorporated, Mr. Porter becoming 
 secretary and treasurer. The concern does a very 
 large business, and is one of the largest and most 
 prosperous houses in the city. 
 
 Mr. Porter is a magnificent specimen of the self- 
 made man wdio does not ruin the architecture by 
 egotism or selfishness. He is acute, yet charitable; 
 shrewd, but generous ; unaffected, although urbane. 
 Fie is a member of Harmony Lodge, No. 20, A. F. 
 & A. M., and of Giddings Chapter, in both of which 
 he has been prominent. He also belongs to Stanley 
 Post, G. A. R. He married Elizabeth, a daughter 
 of Deacon Daniel Fairchild, of Stockbridge, Mass., ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1059 
 
 and they have two children : Nellie, the wife of Ed- 
 ward F. Huntington; and Alfonso Briggs, who is 
 connected with his father in business. The family 
 attends the Congregational Church. 
 
 FRANK R. UPSON, a member of the well- 
 known firm of Upson Brothers, prominent grocers 
 of Southington, was born in that town Oct. 14, 1855, 
 and is of the eighth generation in direct descent 
 from Thomas Upson, the founder of the family in 
 this county. The latter resided in Hartford as 
 early as 1638, and his name appears among the 
 . ' lirst settlers and proprietors of Farmington. He 
 ' was married,. in 1646, to Elizabeth Fuller, and died 
 July 19, 1655. 
 
 (IIj Stephen Upson, son of Thomas, was born 
 in Farmington about 1650, and was married Dec. 
 29, 1682, to Mary Lee, daughter of John and Mary 
 (Hart) Lee, of Farmington. Prior to his mar- 
 riage he settled in Waterbury, Conn., where he 
 held the offices of surveyor and grand juror, and 
 was three times deputy to the General Court. He 
 died in 1735, his wife on Feb. 15, 1715. 
 
 (HI) Thomas Upson, son of Stephen, was 
 born March i, 1692, and was married in 1732 to 
 Rachel Judd, daughter of Deacon Thomas Judd. 
 He lived in Waterbury until February, 1722, when 
 he removed to that part of Southington which is 
 now Wolcott. He died Sept. 2, 1761, his wife on 
 July 13, 1750. 
 
 (IV) Amos Upson, son of Thomas, was born 
 March 17, 1734, and was married Feb. 27, 1766, 
 to Sarah Woodruff, daughter of Hezekiah and 
 Sarah (Macon) Woodruff. Sne died in April, 
 1798, and for his second wife he married Mrs. 
 Dorcas Alford, of Kensington. He died July 8, 
 1810. 
 
 (V) Amos Upson, son of Amos, Sr., was born 
 in Southington March 14, 1771, and was married 
 May 8, 1793, to Keziah Root, daughter of James 
 and Mercy (Woodruff) Root, of Southington. She 
 was born in 1771, and died Feb. 13, 1859; he passed 
 away April 17, 1819. 
 
 (VI) Levi Upson, son of Amos, Jr., was born in 
 1795, and married Lovisa Todd. They lived in 
 what is known as the Marion District of South- 
 ington, and were the paternal grandparents of our 
 subject. 
 
 (VII) Capt. Andrew Upson, the father of our 
 subject, was torn May 18, 1825. In 1845 he en- 
 
 I tered Yale College, and Vv^as graduated in 1849. The 
 
 ' same year he began teaching school at Salem, N. 
 
 J. ; the following year taught at Wellsboro, Penn., 
 
 and later taught a short time in Corning, N. Y. 
 
 On April 18, 1850, he was united in marriage with 
 
 j Miss Elizabeth Lewis Gridley, and to them were 
 
 ! horn four children: Ida M., wife of Wilbur A. 
 
 Tajdor; Frank R., our subject; William C, who 
 
 is his partner in business ; and Mary B., deceased. 
 
 In 1852 the father located on his farm in South- 
 
 I ington, and two years later represented the town 
 
 in the Legislature. When the Civil war broke 
 out he was decided and outspoken in his loyalty to 
 his country, and in 1862 joined Company E, 20th 
 Conn. V. I., receiving the appointment of lieu- 
 tenant. He accompanied his regiment to the field, 
 and was engaged in the various movements which 
 mark its history. At the battle of Chancellorsville 
 he was taken prisoner, and spent two weeks in Libby 
 prison, at the end of which time he was paroled. 
 After rejoining his command he went West with 
 the regiment, and was soon promoted to a cap- 
 taincy. While guarding the depot at Tracy City, 
 Tenn., he was wounded by a band of guerrillas, 
 and died Feb. 19, 1864. His career, though brief, 
 gained for him a conspicuous and honored place in 
 his country's history. 
 
 Root Gridley, the maternal grandfather of our 
 subject, was born July 9, 1798, first married Sarah 
 Frisbie, and second Betsey Lewis, of Farmington, 
 the latter being the grandmother of our subject. 
 She died May 19, 1875, and he passed away July 
 9, 1853. His father, Asahel Gridley, was born in 
 Southington May 22, 1764, and was married Sept. 
 3, 1787, to Hannah Root, daughter of Elisha and 
 Lucy (Curtiss) Root. She died Feb. 22, 1794, at 
 the age of twenty-nine years, and he on May 20, 
 1818. He was a son of Joseph Gridley, of South- 
 ington, who was born Oct. 30, 1716, and died Jan. 
 8, 1805. Joseph's parents were Joseph and Hannah 
 (Lewis) Gridley, of Farmington, and later of 
 Southington. Joseph Gridley, Sr., died Dec. 7, 
 1770. He was a son of Samuel and Mary (Hum- 
 phrey) Gridley, of Farmington, and a grandson of 
 Thomas Gridley, a native of England, who came 
 to the New World at an early day, and resided in 
 Hartford, Conn., where he was married Sept. 29, 
 1644, to Mary Seymour. They removed to Farm- 
 ington, Conn., and from there to Northampton, 
 Mass., where he died. 
 
 (VIII) Frank R. Upson, whose name intro- 
 duces this sketch, has always made his home in 
 Southington, and he was educated in its public 
 schools and at Lewis Academy. In 1873 he entered 
 the employ of J. F. Pratt, as clerk, and served in 
 that capacity with him and others until 1880, when 
 he formed a partnership with F. C. Slate, as Slate 
 & Upson, in the dry-goods and grocery business 
 in Southington. The following year he purchased 
 Mr. Slate's interests, and engaged in business alone 
 until 1884, when his store was entirely destroyed 
 by fire. After a settlement was made with the in- 
 surance companies he formed a partnership with his 
 brother William C, under the firm name of Upson 
 Brothers, and 'in June, 1884, embarked in the grocery 
 business, in which line of trade they have since 
 successfully engaged. 
 
 On Oct. 31, 1883, Mr. Upson was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Hattie A. Holcomb, a dauohter of 
 Edwin B. and Sarah (Soper) Holcomb, of Wind- 
 sor Locks, Conn., and they have three children : 
 Leila H., Bessie M. and Allan G. Mr. Upson is a 
 
1060 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 stalwart supporter of the Republican party, and 
 has served as burgess of Southington. He is a 
 member of the First Congregational Church; is 
 secretary of the board of hre commissioners; is a 
 member' of Atlantic Encampment and Eureka 
 Lodge, No. 75, 1. O. O. F. ; R. A. Xeal Lodge, No. 
 56, A. O. U. i\L ; and S. S. Woodruff Camp, No. 
 21, S. of V. 
 
 GEORGE NELSON GAMBELL (deceased) 
 was one of the best-known and most respected citi- 
 zens of Suffield, Hartford county, where he was 
 born June 9, 1816, a son of Hiram and Clarissa 
 (Newton) Gambell, the former of whom wa,s a na- 
 tive of \ermont, the latter of the town of Suffield. 
 Hiram Gambell became a farmer and cigar-box 
 manufacturer in Suffield. 
 
 George N. Gambell was educated in the district 
 schools of Suffield, and in his early youth assisted 
 his father in the manufacture of cigar boxes; later 
 he passed several years on the Connecticut river, ply- 
 ing, as a boatman, between Hartford, Conn., and 
 Springfield, ilass. Later he engaged in the manu- 
 facture of cigars, finally settling down to farming 
 and tobacco raising, and, as a hard-working and fru- 
 gal man, met with success, from a financial point of 
 view, in all his enterprises. In politics he was a 
 Democrat, but never accepted public office. He was 
 a good Christian and a strictly temperate man, was 
 upright and charitable, and respected by all who 
 knew him for his honorable dealings and his moral 
 character. 
 
 Mr. Gambell first married Miss Agnes Hunter, 
 a native of Scotland, whose father, James Hunter, 
 also a native of Scotland, located in Thompsonville, 
 Conn., where he was engaged as a merchant. To 
 this marriage came one child, Sarah A., who was 
 born Oct. 19, 1854, and on Oct. 7, 1874, married 
 Charles T. Remington, son of Stephen and Emeline 
 (Kent) Remington. They have four children liv- 
 ing: George Nelson, Clara Emma, Estella IMay, 
 and Ruth Gambell ; their third child, Edith Lilliam, 
 died at the age of four months. Mr. Remington is 
 a farmer by occupation. The family are members 
 of the Baptist Church of Suffield. Mrs. Agnes 
 Gambell passed away in Suffield, Dec. 25, 1854, a 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of 
 Thompsonville, and her remains were laid to rest 
 in the Suffield cemetery. In 1856 Mr. Gambell mar- 
 ried Miss Margaret Hunter (a half-sister of his first 
 wife), who was born in New York City, and is a 
 daughter of James "and Rachel (Boyd) Hunter; to 
 this union no children were born. 
 
 Mr. Gambell was called from earth Dec. 28, 1891, 
 his death taking place on his farm, and his remains 
 were interred in the Suffield cemetery. He was a 
 most affectionate husband, as well as a noble- 
 hearted man, and his memory is still fondly cher- 
 ished by his widow and the large circle of friends 
 in Suffield who were proud of his acquaintance dur- 
 ing his long and useful Hfe. His widow, who still 
 
 makes her home on the old farm, is a consistent 
 member of the Thompsonville Presbyterian Church, 
 p. lady of refinement and charitable impulses, and m 
 honored by all who know her. |P 
 
 \\1LLIAM T. HARTMAN. The large in- 
 dustries of New England are complex organisms, 
 requiring in their various departments and various 
 kinds of employment talent of a new and unusual 
 order. Adapability has been one of the salient 
 traits that have been required in the growth, and 
 the men who are at the head of the various depart- 
 ments may be considered to be possessed of unusual 
 ability. Among them is the subject of this sketch, 
 who is the superintendent of the lock department 
 of the P. & F. Corbin Works. 
 
 Mr. Hartman was born in New Britain July 
 31, 1857, son of Charles A. TIartman, a native of 
 Saxony, Germany. The father was born Sept. 19, 
 1822, and was educated in his native land. There 
 he learned the trade of dyer, which he followed 
 after his migration to this country for some years 
 in a carpet factory in Philadelphia. In the early 
 'fifties he came to New Britain, and here he be- 
 came a tinner and galvanizer. He was in service 
 during the Civil war as a member of Company D, 
 Twentieth Conn. V. I., and after the expiration of 
 his term of enlistment returned to New Britain, 
 where he continued to reside until his death, in 
 August, 1889. He was a member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church, and, fraternally, of Harmony Lodge, \ 
 F. & A. M. Mr. Hartman married Catherine Mack,. 
 a native of \\"urtemberg, Germany, and they had 
 three children : Katie S., who married Piatt D. 
 Osborne; William T. ; and Frederick A., who is | 
 now a resident of St. Louis', Mo. The mother is 
 still living. 
 
 William T. Hartman attended the public schools 
 of New Britain until at the age of fourteen years 
 he had partially completed the high-school course. 
 Had he remained he would have graduated before 
 the age of sixteen. He has continued study since 
 his school days ended, and by self-education has ma- 
 terially supplemented the excellent schooling he 
 received in his boyhood. After two years spent in 
 various kinds of employment Mr. Hartman, Jan. 
 17, 1873, ■^vas appointed timekeeper with P. & F. 
 Corbin, and held that position for about five years, 
 or until shortly before he had attained his ma- ■ 
 jority. He was then promoted to the position of 
 foreman in the lock department, having under him 
 about fifty men. He had by diligent application fit- ; 
 ted himself for a responsible position, and attained 
 it before he was twenty-one years old. However, 
 he did not at this point cease his efforts to become 
 more fully the master of the situation, but added 
 to his knowledge constantly, and he is now super- 
 intendent of the entire lock department, and has 
 charge of from 125 to 150 men. In a way Mr> 
 Hartman may be said to have created the respon- \ 
 sible position which he occupies. He has grown \' 
 
^ 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1061 
 
 into it, and has applied to the perfection of the 
 work tlie information with which he has suppHed 
 himself. 
 
 In politics Mr. Hartman has always been a 
 Republican. He cast his first Presidential ballot for 
 James A. Garfield, and has taken an active part in 
 local and State politics, for years serving as a 
 member of the town Republican committee, of which 
 he was elected chairman in September, 1898. He 
 took an active part in the State campaign of that 
 year, and is one of the leaders among the younger 
 men of his party in New Britain. In 1893 he be- 
 came a member of the council, filling a vacancy, 
 and in 1894-95 he was chairman of the committee 
 on Supplies. Fraternally he is a member of the 
 New England Order of Protection and of the 
 United Workmen, both of New Britain. 
 
 Mr. Hartman was married. May 24, 1882, to 
 Miss Minnie A. Haslam, who died Nov. 30, 1888. 
 He subsequently wedded, Feb. 19, 1890, Electa C. 
 Andrews, daughter of Charles W. Andrews, of 
 Whitneyville, Conn. By his first marriage Mr., 
 Hartman has two children : Clarence, born June 
 27, 1883; and Gertrude, born June 15, 1886. By 
 his second marriage he has also two children : E. 
 Kathryn, born July 21, 1891 ; and Bernice C, born 
 Nov. 8, 1894. The entire family belong to the South 
 Congregational Church. 
 
 MORTIMER J. VINING, a well-known 
 farmer and tobacco grower of the town of East 
 Windsor, Hartford Co., Conn., was born in South- 
 M'ick, Hampden Co., Mass., Oct. 22, 1849. 
 
 Truman Vining, grandfather of subject, and also 
 a native of Southwick, was born in 1796, and mar- 
 ried Mary Steer, who was born in 1794. Truman 
 Vining was for many years a peddler of Yankee 
 notions throughout the Southern States, and died 
 in 1875; his wife survived him until 1879, and the 
 mortal remains of both lie interred in Southwick. 
 They left two children: Rhoda, who was married 
 to Willis Dibble, and lived in Southwick ; and Ward, 
 father of subject. 
 
 Ward Vining, likewise born in Southwick, re- 
 ceived a good corrimon-school education, and learned 
 the trade of cigarmaking. In 1847 he married Miss 
 Jane Cecilia, a native of Granby, Conn., and a daugh- 
 ter of Willis and Emily (Moore) Reed, to which 
 ■ union were born nine children : Gertrude, who was 
 married to Hinman Dibble, and died in Granby ; 
 Jasper, residing in Southwick; Mortimer J., our 
 subject; Lester, Morton, Jane (wife of Edward 
 Gillett), all living in Southwick; Etta, married 
 to Edward Knott, of Westfield, Mass.; Foster, in 
 Southwick; and Hattie, who died young. Ward 
 Vining worked diligently at his trade until his 
 enlistment in Springfield, Mass., during the war of 
 jnhe Rebellion, in Company E, 26th Mass. V. I., 
 land served until 1865, when he returned home. In 
 ) his prime Mr. Vining was an athletic man, fond 
 '■ of out-door sports, and an enthusiastic hunter, but 
 
 he has now retired to private life, and is living in 
 ease at Southwick. In politics he was first a Whig, 
 later a Republican, and in religion he is a Meth- 
 odist. His beloved wife died March i, 1896, and 
 her remains were laid to rest in Southwick. 
 
 Mortimer J. Vining, after receiving a fair com- 
 mon-school education, left the parental roof and^ 
 began life's struggles alone. He was first employed 
 in Granby, Conn., for a short time, then returned 
 to Southwick, and for five years was employed in 
 farming; he next came to East Windsor, Conn., 
 managed a farm for Col. Gowdy four years, then 
 lived in South Windsor one year, and afterward for 
 eleven years was employed at the "Parsons House" 
 in Broad Brook. With his savings during all these 
 years he purchased his present farm of 135 acres, 
 near Melrose station, where he has ever since been 
 engaged in tobacco growing and general farming, 
 meeting with unvarying success. 
 
 Mr. Vining was united in marriage, in 1873, at 
 East Hartford, Conn., With Miss Mary Thompson, 
 a daughter of Joseph and Celestia (Shepherd) 
 Thompson, the former a native of Rhode Island, 
 the latter of Blandford, Mass. Mrs. Vining re- 
 ceived a sound public-school education, lived at 
 home until her marriage, and is a most pleasant 
 lady ; she possesses a marvelously retentive memory. 
 The union of Mr. and Mrs. Vining has been graced 
 with six children : Susie Celestia, born Dec. I, 
 1873, is now the wife of E. M. Granger, of Mel- 
 rose; Scott, born Feb. 7, 1875, is living in Spring- 
 field, Mass. ; Grace Marian, born Feb. 3, 1876, died 
 m 1886; Ward Mortimer, born Aug. 6, 1878, died 
 in 1886; Stanley Shepherd, born Feb. 19, 1879, 
 also died in 1886; and Barry Allen, born Aug. 6, 
 1889. The family attend the Congregational 
 Church, and are highly respected within and with- 
 out its pale. Mr. Vining has led a temperate and 
 industrious life, and owes his financial success to 
 the habits of self-reliance he acquired while yet a 
 mere boy. 
 
 GOODSEL AUSTIN CODAIRE, a well-known 
 horticulturist and market gardener of the town of 
 Canton, is the owner of a fine farm at Cherry Brook, 
 and its orderly, thrifty management and neat and 
 attractive appearance show rare executive ability. 
 
 The Codaire family is of French origin, and 
 its members have been noted for culture for genera- 
 tions. Peter Codaire, our subject's grandfather, was 
 born in France, and came to America soon after the 
 close of the war of 1812, locating in Addison coun- 
 ty, Vt. He engaged, in farming and stock raising, 
 devoting special attention to breeding sheep. 
 
 Belina Codaire, our subject's father, was born 
 and reared in Addison county, Vt., and became a 
 leading agriculturist, dairyman and stock raiser of 
 that locality, the breeding of sheep being a specialty 
 with him, as with his father. He was a Republican 
 in politics, and wielded much influence in local af- 
 fairs, but never sought or held office. In religious 
 
1062 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 faith he and his wife were Methodists. He died at 
 his homestead in 1878. His wife, who was born in 
 Vermont, of French ancestry, died in 1896 at the 
 homestead. Of their twelve children seven are liv- 
 ing: Ellen, wife of William A. Hendrick, of Spring- 
 iield, Mass. ; George W., a resident of Rocky Hill, 
 Conn.; Goodsel A., our subject; Lewis B., a farmer 
 in Vermont ; Mary E. ; John D. ; and Watson, a 
 salesman. 
 
 Our subject was born July 13. 1854, at \"er- 
 gennes, Addison Co., Vt., and his education was be- 
 gun in the local schools. At the age of eighteen he 
 went to Springfield, Mass., where he attended school 
 two years, and on returning home he continued his 
 studies in the high school. He taught school in 
 Vermont for several years, an 1 then came to Hart- 
 ford county and taught at Rocky Hill, Berlin and 
 New Hartford being principal at the latter place 
 for four years. For three years he clerked in a 
 store, and in 1886 he bought his present farm, a 
 tract of sixty acres, forn;erly known as the Orvil 
 Case farm. Mr. Codaire gives much attention to 
 dairying and the raising of small fruits and garden 
 produce, and at one time he raised tobacco. His 
 success in life reflects the more credit upon him be- 
 cause it has been gained through his own efforts, 
 and his industry, snmd judg:nent, strict temperance 
 views and domestic habits make him a valuable 
 citizen. He is a member of CoUmsvuie Orange, 
 is a strong Republican in politics, and is a mem- 
 ber of the town school committee, and school visi- 
 tor, although he has never been an office seeker. 
 Mr. Codaire was married in New Hartford to Miss 
 Jennie L. Hotchkiss. daughter of ^^■illard Hotchkiss, 
 a well-known citizen of that town. She was a 
 teacher for several years previous to their mar- 
 riage, and her culture and refinement are reflected 
 in her home life. Six children have blessed the 
 union : Bessie H. ; Minnie R. ; Alfred H. ; George 
 A., deceased; and Ruth and Robert (twins), the 
 latter of whom died in childhood. 
 
 WiLLARD Hotchkiss, the father of Mrs. Jennie 
 L. (Hotchkiss) Codaire, descended from one of the 
 early and prominent families of New England, 
 being in the seventh generation from Samuel Hotch- 
 kiss^ the emigrant ancestor of the family in this 
 country, who was a native of the County of Essex, 
 England, and came to New Haven, Conn., in 1641. 
 The line of Willard Hotchkiss' descent was through 
 Joshua, Deacon Stephen, Stephen, Samuel and 
 Samuel Hotchkiss (2). 
 
 Willard Hotchkiss was born Aug. 18, 1818, near 
 Town Hill, in New Hartford, Litchfield Co., Conn. 
 After receiving a good common-school e'lucation 
 he learned the trade of patternmaker, and followed 
 it in connection with farming. He was a m.an of 
 local prominence and influence, and served his town 
 variously in official relations, including that of jus- 
 tice of the peace. He was a stanch Republican. 
 On July 23, i8zi:3, Mr. Hotchkiss married Sarah 
 Cromack, a native o'f Leeds, England, daughter of 
 
 Samuel Cromack. She died in 1897, at the home of 
 her daughter, Mrs. Codaire, of Canton. Her chil- 
 dren were: Mary (Mrs. Bently Frazer), Isabell 
 (Mrs. W. S. Gould, of Southington), Minerva A. 
 (Mrs. William H. Robinson), Alfred (deceased, 
 formerly a merchant in Collinsville), Jennie L, 
 (Mrs. G. A. Codaire), and Willard (a farmer of 
 Burlington). [An extended history of the Hotch- 
 kiss family appears in the sketch of William H. 
 1-iobinson, elsewhere.] 
 
 HUGH CHESXEY, a well-known and pop- 
 ular florist of Farmington, was born in Wigtown- 
 shire, Scotland, Oct. 15, 1858, a son of Hugh and 
 Mary (Fitzsimmons) Chesncy, also natives of Wig- 
 townshire, where the father was engaged in the re- 
 tail shoe business until 1864, which year witnessed 
 the emigration of the family to the United States. 
 During his residence in this country the father fol- 
 lowed the same business in New York City until his 
 death, which occurred in 1872. His wife died in> 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1884. In their family were 
 eight children : Alexander and Annie, both de- 
 ceased ; Robert, a florist of Montclair, N. J. : EH^a- 
 beth, Margaret and Mary, all residents of Brook- 
 Ivn, N. "S". ; Janet, of Scotland; and Hugh, our sub- 
 ject. 
 
 Hugh Chesney was only six years old when 
 brought by his parents to America, and he was 
 reared and educated in New York City and Brook- 
 lyn. At the age of fifteen years he began serving a 
 five-years' apprenticeship with Peter Henderson, a 
 florist of Jersey City, and from eighteen to twenty 
 years of age he was employed by a Miss Gregory, 
 in New Haven, Conn., after which he was employed 
 at various other places until 1889, when he came to 
 Farmington and succeeded Alfred Hardy in the 
 florist business. During the ten years that have 
 since passed his business has steadily grown, and 
 he now enjoy an excellent trade. He is a man 
 of fine artistic taste, and is thoroughly conversant 
 with every department of the business, so that his 
 success was almost assured from the start. Li fra- 
 ternal matters he is an Odd Fellow. 
 
 In Middletown, N. Y., Mr. Chesney married 
 Miss Lillian Conkling, and to them have been born 
 five children: Janet, Frances Eugenia (deceased), 
 Lillian, Hugh, Jr., and Dorothy. ; 
 
 ELISFIA CURTIS BREWER, one of the old 
 and most highly-respected residents of that part of 
 the town of East Hartford known as Silver Lane, 
 was born Nov. 5, 182 1, on the place now occupied 
 by Norman Brewer, in the sairie town, and is a son 
 of George Brewer, and grandson of Daniel Brewer, 
 a genealogy of this ancient New England family be- 
 ing given in the biographies of William H. and Philo 
 S. Brewer, brothers of Elisha C, elsewhere. 
 
 Elisha C. Brewer lived on his birthplace until \ 
 he was twelve years old, when his father sold the ^; 
 farm and purchased property on Main street, near [ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 10(33 
 
 Willow Brook. Young Brewer then worked at 
 various places until i860, when he bought his pres- 
 ent farm, at that time known as the "Timothy Ris- 
 ley farm," paying for it, in part, with his economized 
 earnings. Here he has made many extensive im- 
 provements, among which are his present large and 
 conveniently arranged dwelling, erected in 1875. 
 Here he first started raising tobacco, but for the past 
 sixteen or- seventeen years has been engaged in 
 ■ raising vegetables and melons, achieving especial 
 success in the culture of the last named, and it 
 is an undisputed fact that "Curt" Brewer's melons 
 are the finest. raised in the State of Connecticut, and 
 famous wherever introduced; he also has the rep- 
 utation of owning one of the best cultivated farms 
 in the town of East Hartford. 
 
 Mr. Brewer was first united in marriage, in 1849, 
 with Miss Sarah Anderson, sister of the late Nor- 
 man L. Anderson, and to this marriage were born 
 two children : Mary, who died young ; and Emma, 
 who was born in 1856, made her home from child- 
 hood with h.er uncle, Norman L. x-\nderson (her 
 mother having died in 1858), and is now the wife 
 of A. S. Bidwell. The second marriage of Mr. 
 Brewer was with J\Irs. Delia Babcock, 7icc Bliss, 
 v,'idow of Charles Joseph Babcock. Mrs. Brewer 
 is a native of East Hartford, and a member of one 
 of the most respected families of the town, who re- 
 sided on Bliss Hill, so named in honor of the fam- 
 ily. To this marriage have been born three chil- 
 dren, in the following order: (i) Harriet Eliza- 
 beth Brewer, who was born Sept. 7, i860, is mar- 
 ried to Ralph JNIorse, of Silver Lane, and is the 
 
 ■ J mother of two children, Fred Brewer, born Nov. 
 ; 27, 1883, who is now a bright young lad, with a 
 most tenacious memory, and well posted on his- 
 torical events (he is a valuable assistant to his 
 grandfather in the culture of his melons) ; and Will- 
 iam Everett, born May 16, 1888, who is attending 
 school. (2) Fannie Adelia Brewer, born Dec. 2, 
 1862, married William S. Smith, a joiner by trade. 
 He is now in the Klondj'ke gold region, and most 
 
 1 1 favorable reports have been received from him, 
 
 ' Mrs. Smith meanwhile m.aking her home with Mr. 
 Brewer, the subject of this sketch. (3) Mar}' Eve- 
 line Brewer, born Oct. 6, 1864, died July 5, 1870, 
 and was buried in East Hartford. 
 
 Mrs. Brewer is of a very kind and loving dis- 
 
 ' position, and Mr. Brewer is good-humored and 
 pleasant at all times. In politics he is a Democrat, 
 but has never felt any desire for office, taking more 
 pride in his reputation as a melon grower than any 
 official title within the gift of his fellow citizens. 
 The family attend the Congregational Church, live 
 closely up to its tenets, and enjoy the full esteem 
 
 ' cf all their neighbors. 
 
 JACOB WILLIAM BANTLE. The sterling 
 
 traits of industry, thrift, fidelity and good business 
 
 I judgment are none too common to command es- 
 
 1 teem and respect, or to ensure success in life to 
 
 their fortunate possessor. The name of Bantle in 
 Glastonbury is synonymous with the best type of 
 citizenship, and one of its worthy representatives 
 is the subject of this sketch, a young farmer and 
 tobacco grower, who is a son of Jacob and Cath- 
 erine (Handel) Bantle. The father was born in 
 Wittenberg, Germany, in 1830, and in 1857 mi- 
 grated to America, settling soon after in Glaston- 
 bury, where he has since become one of its in- 
 fluential and prominent citizens. 
 
 Our subject was born in Glastonbury July 5, 
 1862. He was reared on his father's farm, attend- 
 ing the district schools and receiving a good educa- 
 tion, then devoting himself on the home farm to 
 the mastery of agriculture, which he has made his 
 life pursuit. He remained faithfully on the paternal 
 homestead until his marriage, Dec. 31, 1885, to 
 Amelia Tenner, who was born May 6, 1864, daugh- 
 ter of John and Frederick (Handel) Tenner. To 
 our subject and wife have been born four chil- 
 dren: Edith Rose, born Nov. 14, 1886; Bertha 
 Emma, born Oct. 21, 1888, who died Aug. 14, 1890, 
 and is buried in St. James cemetery; Elsie Amelia, 
 born Sept. 25, 1891 ; and Ernest Jacob, born July 
 26, 1900., 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Bantle settled upon his 
 present home, which from an uncultivated state he 
 has brought to a high degree of fertility. He 
 grows annually about ten acres of tobacco, and is 
 one of the highly-respected ana successful young 
 farmers of the town. Himself and wife are active 
 members of the M. E. Church, and they are mem- 
 bers of the Order of the Eastern Star, our subject 
 being a member of Daskam Lodge, No. 86, F. & 
 A. M. In politics Air. Bantle is a Democrat, and 
 he is now serving as a juror. He believes in and 
 practices the virtues of industry and hard work, 
 and has at heart the best interests of the community 
 in which he lives. 
 
 GEORGE DESIRE BOYER. Canada has fur- 
 nished to the LTnited States many bright, enter- 
 prising young men, who have left the Dominion to 
 enter the business circles of this country, with its 
 more progressive methods, livelier competition and 
 advancement more Cjuickly secured. Among this 
 number is Mr. Boyer, who is now living retired in 
 Berlin, Hartford county. 
 
 Mr. Boyer was born at St. John, Chrysostome, 
 Canada, Nov. 22, 1840, a son of Joseph and Mar- 
 garet Boyer. His father was captain of a company 
 during the Canadian rebellion, and was the only 
 one of the company that escaped. While he was 
 in hiding his future wife, to whom he was engaged 
 at the time, carried him provisions, and on her re- 
 turn home from one of these trips one very warm 
 day she received a sunstroke. The remedies used 
 to save her life left her deaf and dumb, but she 
 regained her health, and they were married after the 
 close of the rebellion. In their family were sev- 
 en children, four sons and three daughters, George 
 
1064 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 D. being the eldest. On his return to the United 
 States from a visit home our subject brought his 
 second eldest sister with him. She soon married 
 and moved to near Trov, N. Y., wliere she died in 
 1866. 
 
 The early life of George D. Boycr was not a 
 very pleasant one. The father was in limited cir- 
 cumstances, and the children had but few advan- 
 tages. During his boyhood and youth our subject 
 worked hard, and he was unable to attend school 
 until after he attained his majority. He worked 
 at whatever he could find to do, and saved all that 
 he possibly could above wh.at he gave to his father. 
 After reaching the age of twenty, he attended the 
 St. John's mission school for two years. As he 
 adopted the Protestant religion, his father refused 
 to have anything more to do with him, and he was 
 thrown upon the world to fight life's battles empty- 
 handed and unaided. 
 
 After leaving school, at the age of twenty-two 
 years, Air. Boyer turned his attention to the car- 
 penter's trade, which he mastered through hard 
 study and practical experience. He took a con- 
 tract to build a dwelling-house adjoining the school 
 house, and for this work, which required five months 
 to complete, he received $300. Coming to the 
 United States Dec. 2, 1864. he located in South 
 Adams, Mass., where he found employment chopping 
 wood in the mountains, and on Dec. 24, 1864, 
 while at work accidentally cut olT four toes on his 
 right foot. His injury proved so severe that he was 
 unable to work from Dec. 24 to Feb. 27. He then 
 resumed his former occupation, and was thus em- 
 ployed until April i, 1865, after which he worked 
 at the carpenter's trade in Adams until April, 
 1868. He then went to Vineland, N. J., where he 
 worked for a few months, and from that time intil 
 1870 was not actively engaged in anv business, 
 other than farming to some extent and occasionally 
 speculating in some product. In 1870 he came to 
 New Britain, Conn., where he worked at the car- 
 penter's trade until July, 1871, and later was sim- 
 ilarly employed in Kensington until 1877. During 
 the following three years he rented and operated a 
 small farm, and in 1880 leased the farm of 165 acres 
 now owned by Aaron W. Hall, upon which he made 
 his home for five years. Having met with success 
 in his undertakings, he was able to purchase the 
 place at the end of the fifth year, and was quite ex- 
 tensively engaged in farming and dairying, selling 
 the milk in New Britain. On account of ill health, 
 ■brought on by continued hard labor for many years, 
 he was obliged to sell his farm in 1894, Aaron W. 
 Hall being the purchaser, and then removed to the 
 
 E. S. Tubbs place, on the BerHn and JMeriden road, 
 where he owns three and a half acres of land and 
 is engaged in gardening, being unable to perform 
 the more arduous labors of general farming. 
 
 On Nov. 21, 1866, Mr. Boyer married Miss 
 Alfarata Tinnej^, who was born in South Adams, 
 
 Mass., June 14, 1852, a daughter of Peter L. and 
 Emily L. (Wright) Tinney, both of whom died in 
 that place. The father was a teamster by occupa- 
 tion, working with his own team, and carried on a 
 small place of his own, where he raised all kinds of 
 fruits and vegetables. Mr. and Mrs. Boyer had two 
 children: George Herbert, born July 21, 1870, was 
 married, June 16, 1897, to Lottie Cushman, of East 
 Hartford, and is now a dyemaker in Corbin's fac- 
 tory, New Britain. Emily Alfarata, born Aug. 21, 
 1873, died April 7, 1892, and was buried in West 
 Lane cemetery, Kensington. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Boyer are active members and 
 liberal supporters of the Methodist Church of Ken- 
 sington, and take an interest in everything calcu- 
 lated to advance the moral or material welfare of 
 their town and county. He is also a member of 
 New Britain Lodge, No. 20, F. & A. M., and was 
 a member of the Kensington Grange until it dis- 
 banded. He took out his naturalization papers in 
 Hartford, in 1876, and since that time has been a 
 stanch supporter of the Republican party and its 
 principles. He has served on the grand jury, and 
 in 1895 was elected first selectman, but at the end 
 of a year resigned the oflfice, as its duties required 
 too much of his time, and his health was poor. 
 While in office, however, he did more toward secur- 
 ing good roads than any other selectman, and has 
 always had the welfare of his adopted country at 
 heart. 
 
 J. BUR WELL NEWTON, M. D., is one of the 
 younger members of the medical fraternity in Hart- 
 ford county, but his prominence is by no means 
 measured by his years — on the contrary he has won 
 a reputation which many 'older practitioners might 
 well envy, and has built up a large practice in 
 L'nionville and Farmington. 
 
 The Doctor is a native of Durham, Conn., born 
 Nov. 15, 1870, and is a direct descendant of Rev. 
 Thomas Hooker, the founder of the Hartford Col- 
 ony. The Doctor's father, John Burwell Newton, 
 was also born in Durham, son of Deacon Samuel 
 Newton. For some time he was a traveling sales- 
 man in the Barbadoes and Jamaica, but his last 
 days were spent in Durham, where he died in 1875. 
 He married Mary G. Tucker. 
 
 John Burwell Newton began his education in 
 the public schools of Durham, and later studied in 
 the Academy at East Greenwich, R. I. Subse- 
 quently he attended the New York Homeopathic 
 Medical College and Flower Hospital, New York 
 City, from which he was graduated with the class 
 of '94, on June i of which year he opened an office 
 in Unionville, succeeding to the practice of Dr. 
 E. C. King, now of Hartford. He is now serving 
 as county medical examiner and health officer, and 
 is also surgeon for the New York, New Haven & 
 Hartford Railway Co., and for the Fire Department. 
 He is a member of the Connecticut State Homeo- 
 
I 
 
 11 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1065 
 
 pathic Medical Society, the American Institute of 
 IJomeopathy, and the Hahnemann Society of New 
 York. Fraternally he is a prominent Mason, be- 
 longing to Evening Star Lodge, No. loi, F. & A. 
 M., of Unionville; Columbia Chapter, No. 31, R. 
 A. M., of Collinsville ; Lee Council, R. & S. M., of 
 Collinsville ; Washington Commandery, K. T., of 
 Hartford, and Sphinx Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. 
 He also belongs to the Knights of Pythias, and to 
 the Grand Lodge, K. of P., of Connecticut. The 
 Doctor is a pleasant, genial and polished gentle- 
 man, of high social qualities, and is very popular, 
 having a most extensive circle of friends and ac- 
 quaintances. 
 
 In New York City Dr. Newton was united in 
 marriage with Miss Martha G. Mansfield, a daugh- 
 ter of Albert Mansfield, of Worcester, England. 
 They have had one child, Doris Mansfield, born 
 Dec. 28, 1898. 
 
 GEORGE ROWLAND CASE is one of the 
 busiest, most energetic and most enterprising men 
 of the town of Granby, where he is successfully 
 carrying on operations as a farmer and tobacco 
 grower, and has met with more than ordinary suc- 
 cess in his undertakings. He has also been prom- 
 inently identified with public affairs, and his fellow 
 citizens, recognizing his worth and ability, have 
 called upon him to fill important official positions 
 of honor and trust. 
 
 Mr. Case was born in Barkhamsted, Litchfield 
 Co., Conn., Dec. 17, 1837, but is a representative 
 of an old and highly-respected Hartford county fam- 
 ily. Deacon Joseph Case, son of John Case (i) (a 
 sketch of whom appears elsewhere), married Annie 
 Eno, of Simsbury, Hartford county, and the names 
 and dates of birth of their children are as follows : 
 Joseph, Feb. 2, 1700; Jacob, March 19, 1702; a son, 
 born and died 1706; Benajah, 1710, died 1748; 
 Josiah, 1716; Hezekiah, 1719, died 1848; David, 
 1722 ; and Joel, 1724. Of these, 
 
 Josiah Case, great-grandfather of George R. 
 Case, married Mary Haskins July 23, 1742, and the 
 names and dates of birth of their children are as 
 follows: Hezekiah, Aug. 11, 1743; Mary, Sept. 
 30, 1745; Zera, Sept. 15, 1747; Andrew, Aug. 15, 
 1750; Josiah, Feb. 19, 1753; Ozias, Nov. 2, 1755; 
 Abel, Nov. 3, 1758; and Oliver, June i, 1761. 
 
 Oliver Case, grandfather of George R. Case, 
 was born in the town of Simsbury, Hartford coun- 
 ty, whence when a young man he moved to Bark- 
 hamsted, Litchfield county, where he engaged in 
 farming until life's labors were ended, his remains 
 being interred at that place, as were also those of 
 his wife, Jemima. He was a soldier- of the Revo- 
 lutionary war, was a Whig in politics, and he and 
 his family held membership in the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church. He married Jemima Case, who was 
 born in West Simsbury (now Canton), Conn., a 
 I daughter of Lieut. Richard and Ruth Case, the for- 
 1 mer of whom was a son of Sergeant Richard Case, 
 
 and a great-grandson of John Case (i). The 
 mother of Mrs. Jemima Case was a daughter of 
 Amos and Mary (Holcomb) Case, and a great- 
 granddaughter of John Case (i). The children 
 born to Oliver and Jemima Case were as follows: 
 Oliver, Amy, Newton, Namaan (who died in Ohio), 
 Hiram, Japhet (who died in 1897), and Flilpha. 
 
 Hiram Case, father of George R. Case, spent 
 the greater part of his life upon the old homestead 
 at Barkhamsted, which he successfuUy operated 
 from the time his school days were over until he 
 was fifty years of age. He then sold the place and 
 moved to West Granby, Hartford county, where 
 he purchased a tract of one hundred acres known 
 as the Higley farm. He made extensive improve- 
 ments upon the farm and successfully engaged in 
 tobacco culture and general farming. In his po- 
 litical affiliations he was first a Whig, later a Re- 
 publican, but never cared for the honors or emolu- 
 ments of public office. In West Granby he married 
 Eunice Higley, a native of that place, daughter of 
 Capt. Asa Higley, and granddaughter of Asa Hig- 
 ley, a soldier of the Revolutionary war. The fam- 
 ily is one of the oldest and most highly-respected 
 in New England. To Mr. and Mrs. Case were born 
 six children : Adune, who died young ; George R. ; 
 Anna M., who married Howard Wilcox (both are 
 now deceased) ; Charles B. and Asa, both farmers 
 of Granby town; and John, who died young. The 
 father departed this life Jan. 11, 1879, the mother 
 Dec. 25, 1888, and both were buried in West Gran- 
 by cemetery. 
 
 The subject of this review began his educa- 
 tion in the public schools of Barkhamsted, and after 
 the removal of the family to West Granby he at- 
 tended the Granby Academy. On laying aside his 
 text books he aided his father in the operation 
 of the home farm, and after the latter's death took 
 charge of the place, which he has since success- 
 fully managed. Economical, industrious and enter- 
 prising, he has succeeded in adding to his landed 
 possessions until he now has 245 acres of valuable 
 land, under a high state of cultivation. He is one 
 of the most extensive tobacco growers in his sec- 
 tion, and is also interested in general farming and 
 dairying. He keeps a fine herd of Jersey cattle, 
 and also considerable poultry. He was married, 
 May 14, 1878, to Miss Betsy Matilda Messenger, 
 a native of Granby, and a daughter of Mrs. Sally 
 (Seymour) Messenger. They have two children: 
 John H., born May 26, 1881 ; and Anna, born Aug. 
 26, 1883, both now attending school. 
 
 During the Civil war Mr. Case enlisted, at Hart- 
 ford, in October, 1861, as drummer boy in the regi- 
 mental band, loth Conn. V. I., and spent one year 
 in the service, being with the army at the battles of 
 Roanoke and Newbern. He was ill in the regi- 
 mental hospital for a short time, and was discharged 
 at Newbern in 1862. He cast his first Presidential 
 vote for Abraham Lincoln, in i860, and has always 
 been a stanch supporter of the Republican party. 
 
1066 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 He filled the office of school director, and in 1882 
 was elected to the State Legislature. Socially he 
 is a member of St. Mark's Lodge, No. 91, F. & 
 A. M., while in religious faith he and his family are 
 connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 of which he is a trustee, and in which he has served 
 as choir leader for over a quarter of a century. 
 
 CHARLES NELSON COLBURN, powder- 
 maker, was born in Brooklyn, Conn., Jan. 17, 1858, 
 a son of Nelson Royal and Lucinda De Lacey 
 (Colburn) Colburn. His paternal grandfather. 
 Royal Spaulding Colburn, who was a carpenter by 
 trade, and in later life a farmer, spent all his life 
 in Brooklyn. He married a Aliss Sherman. The 
 maternal grandfather of our subject was Charles 
 Dwight Colburn, a resident of Dayville and Killing- 
 1}', Connecticut. 
 
 Nelson Royal Colburn, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was a carpenter by trade, and for many years 
 was head carpenter for tlie Hazard Powder Co., 
 at Hazardville, where he located in 1862. and where 
 he died Feb. 4, 1897. His children were Charles 
 Nelson, James .\lfred, Sarah Emcline (now Mrs. 
 Edgar P>ench), Benjamin Warren and Caroline 
 Isabelle. 
 
 Charles N. Colburn was reared in Hazardville 
 from the age of four years, was educated in the 
 public schools, and began life for himself as a 
 teamster and farmer. On attaining his majority he 
 spent a year on a stock farm in Nebraska, then re- 
 turned to Hazart'ville and engaged in farming and 
 teaming up to 1883. He was then in the employ 
 of the Hazard Powd3r Co. for two years, follow- 
 ing with three years employment at Pomfret, Conn., 
 where he had charge of fitting machinery for road- 
 scrapers. In 1886 he returned to Hazardville, and 
 has since been in the employ of the Hazard Powder 
 Company. 
 
 On Oct. 27, 1886, Mr. Colburn married Nella 
 Frances, daughter of Welcome Baker, of Putnam, 
 Conn., and of the children born to this union three 
 survive : Lucinda De Lacey, Nelson Royal and 
 Shirley Louise. Mr. Colburn is politically a Re- 
 publican. He is an attendant and supporter of the 
 Episcopal Church, and is one of the most popular 
 and respected citizens of Hazardville. 
 
 THOMAS NEWTON GRISWOLD. Perhaps 
 no family name among those of the early settlers of 
 Connecticut can be called more talismanic, or better 
 calculated to awaken memories of distinguished ser- 
 vice, faithfully rendered, than that of Griswold. It 
 is intimately and inseparably associated with every 
 stage of the State's history, and indissolubly im- 
 pressed upon everj' phase of the progress of the 
 Commonwealth, since the earliest days of Colonial 
 history. 
 
 The lineage of the family may be traced, in an 
 unbroken chain of descent, from Humphrey Gris- 
 wold, a "Lord of the Manor" who flourished in the 
 
 sixteenth century. The Malvern estate came into 
 his possession in 1600, and the heritage still re- 
 mains with the English branch of the family. In 
 1679 Malvern Hall, with the Coat of Anns, was 
 mentioned in English records as belonging to 
 Humphrey Griswold. He died in 1671, and was 
 succeeded by his brother, Rev. Henry Griswold, who 
 died about 1720. From him the title passed to his 
 eldest son Humphrey, and on the latter's death, in 
 1772, to his younger son, Henry. Henry dying 
 without male issue, the estate and title passed to Rev. 
 Matthew Griswold, a justice of the peace for the 
 County of Warwick. On his death, in 1778, he left 
 a daughter, Mary, who became the wife of David 
 Lewis. She died without surviving male issue, but 
 leaving three daughters, Magdalene, Anne Maria 
 and Eliza. The eldest married the fourth Earl of 
 Uysart, Anne Maria, the fifth, and Eliza died a 
 spinster. A male heir in the direct line being still 
 wanting, the Malvern estate and the Arms of Gris- 
 wold passed to Henry Griswold Lewis, a son of 
 David Lewis by a second marriage. The next heir 
 was Lieut. -Col. Ednnmd Alcysey Griswold, who 
 was succeciled by his uncle, Flenry ^Vigley, M. A., 
 who assumed the surname of Griswold, and whose 
 descendants are still owners of the ancestral estate 
 and Arms. 
 
 The American branch of the Griswold family 
 claims as its first known English progenitor Mat- 
 thew Griswold, Esq., of Kenilworth, Warwickshire, 
 an uncle of Humphrey Griswold, the first Lord of 
 the Manor above named. He had three sons, Thom- 
 as, Edward and Matthew. Of these, Matthew, the 
 youngest, was the first to come to America. While 
 yet very young he joined a company of pilgrims col- 
 lected from \Varwickshire, Worcestershire, Somer- 
 setshire and Devonshire, under the leadership of 
 Rev. John Warham, which left England during the ' 
 reign of Charles I, and landed on the shores of Alas- 
 sachusetts on Dec. 30, 1630. Nine years later Ed- 
 w^ard Griswold joined his brother Matthew, and the 
 two removed from Massachusetts to Connecticut, 
 Edward settling at Windsor and the younger brother 
 at Saybrook. 
 
 In 1645 another member of the Griswold family, 
 Michael by name, emigrated from England to Con- 
 necticut, and settled at Wethersfield. His descend- 
 ants-are numerous, and man}' of them are among 
 the most prominent citizens of that section of the ; 
 State. He himself may be reckoned among Weth- 
 ersfield's pioneers. He was born in 1610. He 
 bought land, and, being by occupation a mason, , 
 erected thereon a fine house, besides making other 
 improvements. There he passed the remainder of 
 his days, dying Sept. 26, 1684, highly esteemed for 
 his many admirable qualities. He married Ann 
 
 , by whom he was the father of three sons and 
 
 five daughters: Thomas B., born in 1646; Hester, 
 May 8, 1648; Mary, Jan. 28, 1650; Michael, Feb. 14. 
 1652; Abigail, June 8, 1655; Isa, Sept. 30, 1658; < 
 Jacob, April 15, 1660; and Sarah, Sept. 30, 1662. \' 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1067 
 
 Jacob Griswold, the youngest son, located on that 
 portion of his father's land now known as Griswold- 
 ville, was an extensive land owner, and carried on 
 general farming. He was a member of the First 
 Congregational Church of Wethersfield. He died at 
 his home on July 22, 1739, and his grave is in the 
 Wethersfield cemetery. On Dec. 10, 1685, he mar- 
 ried Mary Francis, a daughter of Robert Francis, 
 also of Wetherlfiel'd. She died April 25, 1735. The 
 children of Jacob Griswold and his wife were : John, 
 born Sept. 25, 1686; Mary, June 19, 1688; Jacob, 
 March 20, 1690; Ann, Aug. 14, 1693; Sarah, March 
 19, 1696; Hester, March 13, 1697; Josiah, Jan. 4, 
 1701 ; Eliza, Oct. 25, 1702; Ephraim, Sept. 23, 1704; 
 and Lydia, Sept. 4, 1707. 
 
 Josiah Griswold, the third son and seventh child, 
 was a man of considerable pfominence. He served 
 as major of the First Connecticut Regiment during 
 the French and Indian war, taking a conspicuous 
 part in that struggle. He had large holdings of 
 realty, and was a successful farmer, as was his fa- 
 ther before him. He built a handsome residence, 
 and his farm was well improved. He was a church 
 member, and an upright and useful citizen. He 
 died May 9, 1760. He married, Aug. 17, 1727, 
 Mabel fielding, of Wethersfield, whose parents 
 were Josiah and Mabel (Wright) fielding. She 
 was born Feb. 9, 1707. The issue of Josiah Gris- 
 wold's marriage was twelve childrea, of whom we 
 give names and dates of birth of nine : Josiah, Jan. 
 30, 1728; Mabel, May 6, 1730 (died Dec. 13, 1736) ; 
 John, April 30, 1732; Jacob, Jun§ 30, 1734; Ozias, 
 Jan. 16, 1735; Justus, Dec. 26, 1737; Mabel (i), 
 Junp 13, 1740; Mary, March 5, 1741 ; and Daniel, 
 Dec. 24, 1748. 
 
 Ozias Griswold was the great-grandfather of 
 Thomas Newton Griswold. His birthplace was 
 Griswoldville, and he followed in the footsteps of his 
 father and grandfather, becoming a farmer and 
 passing his entire life in Wethersfield. He was a 
 member of the Congreg-ational Church. He died 
 Dec. 4, 1815, having completed his eightieth year. 
 He was twice married, and was the father of fifteen 
 children. His first wife, whom he married in 1760, 
 was Anna Stanley, and his second was Mary Fran- 
 cis, who died Puly 26, 1825. The children by first 
 wife were: Anna W.,,,born Sept. 12, 1762, married 
 Samuel_ffi£Jies, and died Sept. 15, 1828; Mary W., 
 born March 18, 1764, marrie d Elisha W elles, and 
 died Nov. 11, 1834; Lucy, born April 20, 1765, died 
 Sept. I, 1773; John, born Nov. 30, 1766, died Aug. 
 7, 1774; Justus, born April 26, 1768, married.j^rur 
 dence Welles, and died Aug. i, 1803; Samuel, hoixir- 
 JanT^iS^ 1770, married Eunice Collins, and died 
 Nov. 21, 1833; Lydia W., born Oct. 6, 1771, became 
 Mrs. John Woodbridge, and died April 26, 1826; 
 Ozias, born Aug. 7, 1773, married Joanna Steele, 
 and died Oct. 22, 181 5 ; Thomas, born July 11, 1775, 
 died Feb. 24, 1850 ; Lucy M., Mrs. Ephraim Willard, 
 born April 17, 1777, died June 20, 1865 ; John, born 
 April 9, 1779, married Esther Welles, and died Feb. 
 
 26, 1826; Sarah, born March 20, 1781, died in July, 
 1800; James, born Aug. 21, 1783, married Lucy 
 Robbins; Mabel, born Feb. 26, 1786, died in June, 
 1805 ; and Nancy Clark, the wife of Guy Morgan, 
 born Sept. 16, 1788, died Oct. 2, 1853. 
 
 Thomas N. Griswold is a grandson of the 
 Thomas above named, the ninth child and fifth son 
 of Ozias Griswold. He was a prominent citizen of 
 Griswoldville, a member of the Congregational 
 Church, and noted for his scrupulous integrity. His 
 farm covered a large area, and in addition to farm- 
 ing he was engaged, with his brother James, in the 
 business of dressing cloth. He was a Whig, and 
 active in promoting his party's success. His fellow 
 townsmen held him in great respect, both for his 
 probity and for his capability in counsel and action. 
 He died Feb. 24, 1850. 
 
 On Jan. 22, 1799, Mr. Griswold was married to 
 I^Iary Wolcott, who was born at Wethersfield Aug. 
 24, 1779, a daughter of Ehsha and Mary (Welles) 
 Wolcott, and granddaughter of Joseph Welles. She 
 died June 4, 1847. Their seven children were : 
 Thornas, born Dec. 7, 1799; Franklin, born Dec. 27, 
 1801, died June 27, 1814; Stanley, born June 22, 
 1804, died in August, 1862 ; Mary Welles, born 
 Aug. II, 1806, who married Welles Adams, and 
 died April 27, 1865 ; Mabel, born Nov. 20, 18 10, 
 died Sept. 19, 181 1 ; Mabel (2), born Aug. 18, 181 2, 
 who became Mrs. George Stillman ; and Franklin 
 W. (2), born March 28, 1815, died Sept. 21, 1886. 
 
 Thomas Griswold was the father of the gentle- 
 man whose name appears at the opening of this 
 sketch. His early educational advantages were lim- 
 ited to attendance upon the district schools of his 
 day, but these he improved to the utmost, and sup- 
 plemented them, throughout his life, by well-directed 
 reading. He was a man of superior native ability, 
 with a well-stored, well-disciplined mind. He was 
 an agriculturist, arid besides being a successful gen- 
 eral farmer, was one of the pioneer seed-growers of 
 Wethersfield, his carefully selected, well-packed out- 
 put selling all through the United States and Can- 
 ada. The business was carried on under the firm 
 name of Thomas Griswold^ & Co., and is at present 
 conducted by his son, Thomas Newton. Mr. Gris- 
 wold was one of the solid men of his town. He 
 was progressive in his ideas, and upright in his 
 deahngs ; 'enterprising, industrious, public-spirited 
 and charitable ; a true friend, and faithful and loving 
 in every domestic, relation. In religious faith he was 
 a Congregationalist ; politically he was a stanch 
 Whig in early life, and later a Republican. He' 
 died Oct. 13, 1878, having lived to see the country 
 which he loved pass triumphantly through three 
 wars — that of 1812, the struggle with Mexico, and 
 the contest of 1861-65. On May 4, 1830, he mar- 
 ried Jerusha, a daughter of Joseph and Lucy (Rob- 
 bins) Welles, and a granddaughter of Thoioas 
 Welles, who carried a musket through the war for 
 Independence. Mrs. Griswold was born Feb. 28, 
 1811, and died Dec. 27, 1898. She bore her bus- 
 
1068 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 band five sons and two daughters: (i) Joseph 
 Wehes, born Aug. 24, 1831, removed from Wethers- 
 field to Milwaukee, where he engaged in the cloak 
 manufacturing business, later removing to Chicago, 
 111. He married Mary Chapman in September, 
 1857. (2) Thomas Newton, the subject of the pres- 
 ent article, was the second child. (3) Charles Fay- 
 ette was born i\larch 22, 1836. (4) Edward Pay- 
 son, born Aug. 6, 1838, went to Milwaukee and en- 
 tered into partnership with his brother Joseph, in the 
 cloak business, and removed with him to Chicago; 
 he died in Evanston Jan. 19, 1899. (5) Mary Ann 
 was born March 3, 1841, and died Dec. 3, 1875. (6) 
 Robert Southgate was born Feb. 9, 1849. (7) Je- 
 rusha Frances, the youngest, was born May 30, 1851, 
 and died Aug. 16, 1854. 
 
 Thomas Newton Griswold was born Jan. 30, 
 1834, and was reared upon the paternal farm. His 
 educational opportunities were better than those af- 
 forded to most boys of his time. His course in the 
 Wethersfield common schools and academy was sup- 
 plemented by attendance at the schools of Hartford, 
 and during the winter months he taught school at 
 New Britain and Wethersfield. In due time he was 
 taken into partnership by his father, and after the 
 latter's death he and his brothers conducted the busi- 
 ness as partners for several years. Mr. Griswold 
 and his sons finally purchased their interest, and 
 since then have conducted the business under the 
 original style of Thomas Griswold & Co. In addi- 
 tion to seed growing he cultivates peaches and small 
 fruits, of which he is one of the heaviest shippers 
 at Wethersfield. He had his home in Griswoldville 
 until 1856, in which year he bought the Coleman 
 farm, on Huckleberry Hill, where he erected a fine 
 residence, with commodious farm buildings, and a 
 large, well-arranged warehouse. I\Ir. Griswold en- 
 joys the unqualified respect of the community. His 
 business methods are clean and honorable, and his 
 private life is w-ithout reproach. In politics he is a 
 Republican, has been a member of the school board 
 for many years, and (in 18S8) was elected a member 
 of the Legislature. He is a man of deep and earn- 
 est religious convictions, attesting his faith by his 
 works. For four years he was a deacon in the Con- 
 gregational Church, and has been a teacher in its 
 Sunday-school from boyhood. For many years he 
 was a member of the choir, and at no time has he 
 failed to shoulder his due share of the weighty re- 
 sponsibilities resting upon the few who are fitted to 
 assume the positions of leaders in church work. 
 
 On March 10, 1858, Mr. Griswold married Jen- 
 ette, a daughter of Henrv Goodrich Butler, of Weth- 
 ersfield, and seven children have blessed the mar- 
 riage: Henry Wilson, born Jan. 26, 1859, died 
 June 6, 1868; Fanny Augusta, born March 25, 1861, 
 died Dec. i, 1865; Frank Newton, born March 10, 
 1864; Frederick Irving, May 3, 1867; Wallace But- 
 ler, Jan. 27, 1869 (married Ava Lee Howard, and 
 is at present a grower and shipper of seed at Lin- 
 
 coln, Neb.) ; Jennie Welles, Jan. 18, 1872 (unmar- 
 ried and living at l-jonie) ; and Thomas Henry, May ^ 
 5, 1875 (died'jan. 21, 1881). " 
 
 Rlrs. Griswold's family (the Butlers) are also 
 among the oldest and most highly-respected in 
 Wethersfield. The first of that name in the town 
 was Ensign Samuel Butler. Flis son James mar- Ji 
 ried Hannah Edwards, and from this union sprang T 
 William Butler, who was born Feb. 8, 1715, and 
 died ]\Iay 7, 1786. He married Lucy Goodrich, by 
 whom he had five children : William, born April 
 16, 1741, died Jan. 3, 1799; Margaret, born Dec. 22, 
 1742, died Sept. 30, 1750; 1 heodore, born Sept. 26, 
 1744; Roger, born April 20, 1746, died July 28, 
 1799; and Chloe, born Nov. 7, 1850, married to 
 William Welles. 
 
 Roger Butler, the great-grandfather of Mrs. 
 Griswold, was a Wethersfield farmer, a man of sub- 
 stantial means, and held in high repute. On Feb. 
 24, 1776, he married Hannah Hanmer, of Wethers- 
 field, who died Feb. 23, 1780, and three children 
 were born to this union : Lucy ; Roger, who died 
 unmarried ; and Hannah, wife of Samuel Wolcott, 
 who died in New York. For his second wife he 
 married Lucretia Pratt, who was born May 31, 
 1755, and two children were born to them: Char- 
 lotte, who married Sluman Welles ; and Harry 
 Goodrich, Mrs. Griswold's grandfather. The last 
 named of the Butler family married Mary Letta 
 Woodhouse, by whom he had children, viz. : Hen- 
 ry, the father of Mrs. Thomas N. Griswold; Mar- 
 tha, who married Andrew Southworth ; Mary, who 
 became the wife of Otis Beiden ; Eliza Ann, who 
 married Chauncey Winship, of Hartford ; William ; 
 Frances M., who married Walter Havens, of Hart- 
 ford : and Charles. 
 
 HON. JOHN E. GRISWOLD (deceased). 
 The Griswold family is one of the oldest and most 
 prominent of this section — as old as the settlements 
 at Windsor and Hartford. Edward Griswold, the 
 emigrant ancestor of the Windsor (Conn.) branch 
 of the famil}' in America, to which our subject be- 
 longs, came from Kenilworth, Warwickshire, Eng- 
 land, in 1639, and settled at Windsor, in the Colony 
 of Connecticut. Later he removed to the town of 
 Killingworth (now Clinton), in Middlesex county. 
 
 Elihu Griswold, the father of the subject of this 
 sketch, was a native of Windsor, where his ances- 
 tors before him had lived. He married in that 
 town, and children were born as follows : John 
 E., born Dec. 8, 1803, is referred to farther on; 1 
 Mary C, born March 3, 1806, married Elihu Mar- 
 shall, a farmer of Windsor, whose family history 
 with a portrait of himself appears elsewhere ; Eliz- 
 abeth married Charles Hollister, of East Hartford; 
 and Rebecca married Sidney Secton, of Simsbury. 
 The parents of these children both died at the old 
 Griswold homestead, and their remains rest in one 
 of the gravevards of Windsor town. /, 
 
/^^y-^'^T'-i^^ 
 
 -u^^^iuy 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1069 
 
 The old Griswold house, which has sheltered 
 several generations of the family, and where now 
 are residing the Griswold sisters, daughters of the 
 subject of this sketch, has something of a history 
 itself, and it is still regarded with curiosity as some- 
 thing widely different from the houses built in the 
 early days when its plans were drawn. It is said 
 that upwards of a hundred years ago one Pinney, 
 an Englishman of dignity and supposed wealth, 
 purchased the land on which the present home 
 stands, and began the erection of what he termed 
 a house of the old English style. There was con- 
 siderable mystery surrounding his movements, and 
 at last it was discovered that he was a counter- 
 feiter of money, and was carrying on his opera- 
 tions in the cellar of his new home. Finally, be- 
 coming alarmed, he fled the country, leaving every- 
 thing behind him. The property was subsequently 
 purchased by Elihu Griswold, and the unfinished 
 old English house was completed on an American 
 plan, and stands to-day a combination of the two 
 styles of architecture. A spacious hall, twelve feet 
 high, runs entirely through the house, while the old- 
 time parlor or reception room of the same height, 
 spacious and inviting, speaks of a generous old- 
 time hospitality. 
 
 John E. Griswold, our subject proper, was born 
 Dec. 8, 1803, in the town of Windsor. He passed 
 his boyhood alternating between work on the farm 
 and attendance through the winters at the neigh- 
 boring district school. He married Nov. 4, 1832, 
 Miss Caroline Griswold, daughter of Warren and 
 Caroline Griswold, and though of the same name 
 not a relative. They settled after their marriage 
 on the old homestead, where they passed the re- 
 mainder of their lives, and where their children 
 were reared. Here the mother died March 27, 
 1866, aged fifty-eight years, the father on Jan. 26, 
 1888, aged eighty-four years, and the picture of 
 him appearing in this volume was taken the year 
 before he died. Mr. Griswold had been occupied 
 throughout life in farming, and was a model 
 farmer, too, keeping his place in good order, and 
 was ever abreast of the times in scientific methods 
 of agriculture, being especially accomplished in the 
 best methods of tobacco growing. He was a man 
 of good information and practical ideas, and gen- 
 erally succeeded in whatever he undertook. His 
 political affiliations were with the Democratic party, 
 and though not an office-seeker he filled positions 
 of trust and honor, among tliem that of representa- 
 tive from his town in the General Assembly of the 
 State, giving to the discharge of his duties in that 
 body intelligence and dignity. He also served as 
 treasurer of the school board. His children, only 
 two in number, Harriet B. and Sarah E., are still 
 living, and reside, as is stated in the foregoing, at 
 the old home, where they have been in charge of the 
 household affairs since the mother's death and cared 
 for the father in his declining years; both are re- 
 
 spected and esteemed by their many friends and 
 acquaintances. The farm for years has been and 
 is still under the management of Jerome E. Fuller, 
 whose wife, formerly Miss Estelle Marshall, daugh- 
 ter of the late Elihu Marshall, is a cousin of the 
 Griswold sisters. 
 
 JULIUS H. COTTON, one of the most re- 
 spected residents of East Hartford, and the ex- 
 tremely popular floor-walker for the well-known 
 firm of Brown, Thomson & Co., of Hartford, is a 
 native of the town of East Hartford, and descends 
 from a family that has been identified with the his- 
 tory of the town for generations past and gone, but 
 will here be traced only from his grandfather down. 
 
 David Cotton, grandfather of our subject, was a 
 sea-faring man, and in all probability died at sea. 
 He had married Anna Jones, who was born in East 
 Hartford in October, 1760, and to this union were 
 born seven children: David, Jr., born Jan. i, 1788, 
 was a cordwainer by trade, and lived in Hartford. 
 Anna, born Feb. 14, 1790, was married to Calvin 
 Elton, a merchant at Hartford. Mabel, born May 
 5, 1791, died young. Jerusha, born March 29, 1793, 
 was first married to a Mr. Miller, and after his 
 death to Nathan Cobb, then lived for a time in Ver- 
 mont, and later moved to JanesviUe, Wis., where 
 she died. Harry was the father of our subject, of 
 whom mention will be made further on. George, 
 born July 12, 1797, first married Esther Kilbourne, 
 and second Mary Griswold, of Manchester ; he was 
 a carpenter, lived for some time in East Hartford, 
 and died in Manchester, his remains being interred 
 in East Hartford. William, born April 28, 1799, 
 died young. 
 
 Harry Cotton, father of Julius H., was born in 
 East Hartford Meadow April 19, 1795, received a 
 district-school education, and after his marriage to 
 Clarissa H. Kingsley opened a tavern, in 1832, his 
 sign reading, "H. Cotton, Entertainment." In a his- 
 tory of East Hartford, compiled by J. O. Goodwin, 
 it is said, under the head of "Public Houses and Sale 
 of Liquors," that "Cotton's tavern and store, on 
 the corner of Tolland turnpike and Burnside ave- 
 luie, was formerly owned by Euodias Bidwell, and, 
 probab'y, by his ancestors before him. One Biddell 
 is put down in an almanac of 1763 as keeper of a 
 public house in East Hartford. It was bought by 
 Mr. Henry Cotton in 1832. In the good old times, 
 before the days of railroads, this was quite a sta- 
 tion on the road, and the jocund spirits of the 
 neighborhood passed many a sociable evening here." 
 Of course, the "Mr. Henry Cotton," mentioned in 
 the above extract, means "Harry" Cotton, father of 
 cur subject. 
 
 Clarissa H. Kingsley, whom Flarry Cotton mar- 
 ried, was a daughter of Alpheus and Eunice (Will- 
 iams) Kingsley, the former of whom was a drum- 
 major during the Revolutionary war, and in the 
 latter }'ears of his life received a pension from the 
 Government of the United States for services ren- 
 
1070 
 
 COMMEMOR'ATU'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 clered. To the marriage of Harry Cotton and wife 
 were born the following named children: Han- 
 nah Jerusha. born Aug. 15, 1828, died Tan. 31, 
 1829; Harriet J., born Jan. 22, 1830, was married 
 June 18, 1862," to John X. Standish. a maclnnist, 
 who died in New York in 1887 (their one child, 
 Carrie De Witt, died in infancy, Aug. 25, 1S63) ; 
 Summer H., the third child of Harry Cotton, was 
 born April 25, 1832, married Mary Hatch, and 
 served as a locomotive engineer on the Boston & 
 Albanv railroad; the fourth child, Julius H., is 
 the subject of this sketch ; Leander, the fifth child, 
 born Feb. i, 1837, was toll collector on the bridge 
 a! the foot of Hartford avenue for many years, 
 and later became a hotel-keeper in Virginia ; Henry ; 
 1;.. the voungest of the family, was lx)rn Feb. i, 1 
 1839, i*^ machinist by trade, is married to Judith | 
 Howe, and is living in Boston, Mass. The later 
 vears of the father of this family were passed in 
 retirement at the home of our subject, where he 
 died Feb. 7, 1876, at the advanced age of eighty- 
 one years, his widow surviving until April 17, 1881, 
 when she expired, at the age of eighty-two years. 
 Julius H. Cotton, the gentleman whose na.ne 
 stands at the opening of this article, was born June 
 25, 1835, in the hotel occupied by his father in 1832, 
 and which stood on the spot on which Julius H. 
 now lives in '"single blessedness." He was edu- 
 cated primarily in the brick school house on North 
 Main street, and then attended Wells Academy, 
 and was under the instruction of Prof. Hurburt 
 until sixteen years of age, when he went to Hart- 
 ford, and began his business life as an errand boy, 
 sweeper-out, etc.. for Lorin Sexton, dry-goods mer- 
 chant, whose store occupied the ground on which 
 the store of Wise, Smith & Co. is now situated. 
 For the first year he received a salary of twenty- 
 five dollars and board, at that time considered to be 
 a very fair rate. This salary was increased year 
 bv year until he relinquished his situation five years 
 later and entered the employ of F. & H. Burge, 
 where the Cheney block now is, remaining with that 
 firm several j'ears as clerk and floor-walker. He 
 next acted in the same capacity for Pease & Foster 
 for some time, and next for Wetherby, Knoitss & 
 Co. for ten years. After the dissolution of this 
 firm he was employed by Knouss and J. S. Ives, 
 in the Chenev block, being with them until their 
 failure, and since 1880 has been head floor-walker 
 for Brown, Thomson & Co., the largest firm in 
 itL- line in Hartford.. Mr. Cotton is probably the 
 most popular floor-walker in the State of Connecti- 
 cutj and his influence, acquaintance and popularity 
 are far more than local. He draws patronage for 
 his firm from all the territory surrounding Hart- 
 ford, and from the neighboring cities, and these 
 patrons come to him because they know they can 
 rely on his honest advice and sound judgment as 
 to purchases, and because of their appreciation of 
 the discipline observed by the salespeople under his 
 management. 
 
 In 1882 Mr. Cotton erected his present hana- 
 some dwelling in East Hartford, which he occupied 
 in the summer season only, his winters being passed 
 in Hartford in close proximity to the place of busi- 
 ness of his employers, as he is always desirous of 
 being "on deck." Genial and pleasant, he is 
 "downright liked" by everybody, and is honored for 
 having climbed, step by step, from the lowest round 
 of the ladder that leads to fortune until he has 
 reached its apex. In politics Mr. Cotton is a Re- 
 publican, ancl his religious devotions are paid at 
 the Pearl Street Church in Hartford, to the teach- 
 ings of which he lives up both in letter and in spirit. 
 
 JOHN CLARENCE ROWLEY, a thorough 
 and skillful farmer, and a business man of ability, 
 is a worthy representative of the agricultural in- 
 terests of Berlin. 
 
 Mr. Rowley is a native of this State, born in 
 Hebron, Tolland county, May 12, 1857, and was 
 alx)ut two years old when the family removed to 
 Chatham, Conn. There he began his education in 
 the common schools, but at the age of seven be 
 accompanied his parents on their removal to East 
 P.erlin, where the following four years were passed. 
 After the death of Mrs. Olive Selden, of Berlin, 
 Dec. 25, 1868, his father, David Eleazer Rowley, 
 purchased her farm and located there. The family 
 have made many improvements upon this property, 
 which consists of fifty acres under excellent culti- 
 vation, and since his father's death our subject has 
 had charge of the same. He completed his educa- 
 tion in the Beckley schools at the age of sixteen 
 years, and has since devoted his time and attention 
 to agricultural pursuits, meeting with marked suc- 
 cess in his labors. His farm is pleasantly located 
 on the continuation of Church street, Newington, 
 and is one of the most desirable places of its size 
 m the locality. 
 
 On Jan. i, 1889, ^Ir. Rowley was united in 
 marriage with Miss Alabel Vernon Adams, who was 
 born in Charlton, Mass., a daughter of Amos and 
 Clarissa (Smith) Adams, of Charlton. They have 
 one son, Stanley Edward, who was born in Beck- 
 ley, Nov. 2, 1893. 
 
 Like his father before him, Mr. Rowley is a 
 stanch supporter of the Democratic party and its 
 principles, but has always declined official posi- 
 tions, preferring to devote his entire attention to 
 his farming interests. He is a member of Pequot 
 Council, No. 24, Sr. O. U. A. M., of Berlin, in 
 which he has passed all the chairs, and is also a 
 member of Berlin Grange, No. 24. He attends the 
 Berlin Congregational' Church, of which his wife 
 is a member, while their son attends the Sunday- 
 school. 
 
 FREDERICK WALDO DOOLITTLE, a 
 
 prominent farmer of Cheshire, New Haven Co., , 
 Conn., and an enterprising flour and feed merchant j 
 of Milldale, Hartford county, was born on the old jj 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1071 
 
 homestead in the former place, where he now re- 
 sides, a son of Levi and Eunetia (Hemingway) 
 Doolittle, natives of Cheshire and North Haven, 
 respective!)'. 
 
 The paternal grandfather, Levi Doolittle, Sr., 
 was also a native of Cheshire, and a farmer by occu- 
 pation. He married Esther Tuttle. The paternal 
 great-grandparents of Mr. Doolittle were Ezra and 
 Sarah (Hall) Doolittle, farming people of Cheshire. 
 The maternal grandfather, Augustus Hemingway, 
 was also born in New Haven county, and spent most 
 of his life as a farmer in North Haven. His wife 
 was in her maidenhood Miss Julina Blakeslee, and 
 his parents were Samuel and Sarah (Brad ey) Hem- 
 ingway, of North Haven. Mr. Doolittle's father 
 was reared in Cheshire, and in 1847 located on the 
 farm now occupied by his son, making his home 
 there until his death, which occurred June 30, 1898, 
 when he was eighty years of age. He was a con- 
 sistent and faithful member of the Congregational 
 Church of Plantsville, and belonged to the Grange 
 in Cheshire. His political support was given to 
 the men and measures of the Republican party, and 
 he represented his town in the State Legislature in 
 1871, and also served as selectman three years. In 
 his family were three children : Elizabeth, wife of 
 George W. Cook, of Wallingford ; Frederick W. ; 
 and Lina B. 
 
 During his childhood Frederick W. Doolittle 
 pursued his studies in the common and private 
 schools, near his home. He has always lived on 
 the old homestead, and since reaching man's estate 
 has successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits. 
 Since 1S97 he has also conducted a flour and feed 
 store in ^lilldale, and in this undertaking has pros- 
 pered, having built up a large and profitable trade. 
 He, too, is a member of the Congregational Church 
 pf Plantsville, and of the Patrons of Husbandry, 
 Grange No. 23, of Cheshire, while politically he is 
 identified with the Republican party. He is held 
 in high regard in the community where he has so 
 long made his home, and those who know him 
 best are numbered among his warmest friends, a 
 fact which indicates an honorable and upright ca- 
 reer. 
 
 JUDAH DRYDEN VIETS, an old-time farmer 
 of Bloomfield, was born in the town of East Granby, 
 Hartford county, Feb. 2, 1823, and paternally is 
 of remote German extraction, as will be seen from 
 the following genealogical record of the family in 
 America. 
 
 Dr. John A^iets, a highly-educated physician for 
 his day and generation, came from Germany in 
 1710, and settled in Simsbury, Conn., where, to him- 
 self and his wife, Catherine, four children were 
 born : Catherine, Henry, John and Mar}^. His son, 
 Capt. John Viets, great-grandfather of Judah Dry- 
 den Viets,was born in Simsbury, Conn., Nov. 3, 1712, 
 was reared a farmer, for a time was employed in cop- 
 per mines, and was also an extensive trader. His 
 
 homestead is now in the possession of Virgil E. 
 Viets. Capt. John Viets married, Dec. 12, 1734, 
 Lois Phelps, who was born March 10, 171;^, 
 and was a daughter of Nathaniel Phelps. To this 
 marriage were born ten children: John, Roger, 
 Seth, Eunice, Lois, Abner, Catherine, Daniel, Ros- 
 annah and Luke. The father of this family died 
 April 8, 1777, and the mother Nov. 12, 1810. 
 
 Capt. Abner Viets, grandfather of our subject, 
 was born in Simsbury Feb. 15, 1747, led the life of 
 a farmer, and died in Granby July 27, 1826. His 
 farm is now in the possession of his grandson,, L. 
 C. Viets. Mary, wife of Abner Viets, was born 
 June 27, 1751, and died Sept. 4, 1825, the mother 
 of ten children: xA.bner, born June 29, 1772, died 
 Nov. 18, 1825 (his wife's name was Sarah) ; Mary, 
 born May 18, 1774, married Henry Viets, and died 
 April 7, 1805; ]3enoni, born Feb. 13, 1777, died 
 Feb. II, 1852, married Esther Dewey; Samuel, born 
 Jan. 17, 1779, died March 6, 1814, married Susan 
 Pratt; Eunice, born Dec. 27, 1780, married Enoch 
 Kellogg; Dan, born Oct. 17, 1783, married Beulah 
 Phelps, and died Dec. 20, 1866; Annice was born 
 ]\larch II, 1785; Levi, born June 15, 1786, mar- 
 ried Sarah Dibble, and died Dec. 22, 1857; Eliza- 
 beth, born April 30, 1790, married Russell Loomis; 
 and Apollos was born July 25, 1794. 
 
 Dan Viets, father of Judah Dryden Viets, was 
 born in Simsbury, Conn., Oct. 17, 1783. He was 
 reared a farmer, and for years resided in the west 
 part of East Granby. He married, Jan. i, 1812, 
 Miss Beulah Phelps, a daughter of Judah Phelps, 
 and born Feb. 21, 1790. To this marriage nine 
 children were born : Mary A. Louisa, born Feb. 
 
 15, 1813, was married to Lemuel Holcomb, and died 
 July 12, 1890; Annis Samantha, born Feb. 3, 1815, 
 was married to Aralza Griffin, and died Dec. 13, 
 1885 ; Julia Ann, born Aug. 17, 1816, married Rich- 
 ardson Griffin, and died May 26, 1897; Harriet 
 Newell, born Jan. i, 1818, married (first) Gilbert 
 Griffin and (second) Milton Griffin, and died Dec. 
 19. 1897; Apollos Phelps was born Sept. 20, 1819; 
 Judah Dryden, born Feb. 2, 1823, is our subject; 
 Dan Alexander was born Nov. 11, 1824; Joseph 
 Franklin, Feb. 6, 1827 ; and Benjamin Erskine, 
 June 12, 1828. The mother of this family was 
 called away Feb. 6, 1862, and the father died in 
 East Granby Dec. 20, 1866, a member of the Epis- 
 copal Church, and in politics a Republican. 
 
 Judah Dryden \'iets, after finishing his educa- 
 tion in East Granby, served an apprenticeship of 
 three years at carriage-making, which trade he fol- 
 lowed twelve years. He then engaged in farming 
 and tobacco raising. On Oct. 28, 1846, he mar- 
 ried Miss Caroline E. Rowley, who was born Jan. 
 
 16, 1826, a daughter of Silas Rowley, of Bloom- 
 field, where Mr. and Mrs. Viets now reside. To 
 this marriage have been born three children: (i) 
 Albert Andrew, who was born Dec. 9, 1847, ^i^^" 
 ried, on Sept. 29, 1868, Miss Mary C. Rowley, born 
 Feb. 8, 1849, and became the father of one child. 
 
107 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 May Alberta, who was born Sept. 27, 1871, was 
 married to Herbert Risley, of East Hartford, and 
 died Feb. 12, 1898. (2) Hattie Phelps, born April 
 24, 1856, is the wife of J. L. Rowley. (3) ^Minnie 
 Holcoaib \iets, born Aug. 7, 1858, the youngest 
 child, is married to D. C. Newberry. 
 
 HEZEKIAH HALE (deceased) was for many 
 years one of the prominent and highly-respected 
 citizens of Glastonbury. He was a man of unu- 
 sually active temperament, and spent many years of 
 his life in travel in the prosecution of enterprises 
 away from his own State. 
 
 Mr. Hale was a native of Glastonbury, and a 
 representative of an old and prominent family. He 
 was born Sept. 4, 1814, the eldest son of Heze- 
 kiah Hale, Sr., a large farmer, and grandson of 
 Gideon Hale, Sr. Hezekiah Hale, Sr., had a family 
 of six children: Hezekiah, our subject; Asaph C, 
 who married Adaline Blish; Cecelia JMaria, who 
 married Joseph Brown, a banker of Troy, Ohio; 
 Darwin C., who died unmairicd; Pamela, who mar- 
 ried James Telford ; and Eunice Cordelia, who mar- 
 ried George Aylesworth. 
 
 Hezekiah Hale received a good common-school 
 education, and attended also a select school under 
 Rev. William Lockwood, and Elihu Burritt, the 
 "learned blacksmith." He had no taste in his youth 
 for farm work, and when he left school began to 
 learn the mason's trade with Gideon Kinne. But 
 he was bent upon a life on the water, and at the age 
 of twenty-two shipped aboard a vessel under Capt. 
 Horace Hale, his first trip being to the West Indies. 
 Later he made whaling voyages to the South Seas, 
 and visited the Sandwich Islands, sailing around the 
 world three times. In 1850 he became an Argo- 
 naut, and remained for two years in California, 
 in his search for gold meeting with fair returns. 
 He returned to Connecticut, but in 1857 again went 
 to California as a gold miner, and thence proceeded 
 to Washington Territory, where he remained a 
 year. Returning to Glastonbury, he remained here 
 a short time, leaving to engage in cattle buying 
 at Peoria, III, in partnership with Joseph Brown 
 and James Telford. Thence he went to Lafayette, 
 Ind., where he resided for a short time. In 1866 
 he returned to his native town, and located upon 
 the farm which he continued to operate success- 
 fully until his death, Sept. 28, 1890. He had mar- 
 ried, Jan. 19, .1856, Miss Marcia Maria Turner, 
 and to them were born two children, William Tur- 
 ner and Wallace Lester. William T. was born Nov. 
 4, 1S56, and is now a farmer and stock dealer of 
 Glastonbury. He married Addie Steares, and has 
 one child. Pearl Esther, born Sept. 23, 1883. Mr. 
 and jNIrs. Hale are active workers in the Grange. 
 Wallace Lester was born Feb. 6, 1866, resides on 
 the home farm with his widowed mother, conducts 
 the largest ice business in Glastonbury, and is a man 
 of excellent business ability. In politics he is a 
 
 Democrat, but he is liberal in local elections. He 
 is a member of Putnam Phalanx. 
 
 j\I.\Rci.\ M.vRi.v (Turner) Hale, widow of 
 Hezekiah Hale, was born Sept. 5, 1824, on the 
 old Turner homestead in Glastonbury, daughter of 
 \\'iLLi.\.M H. and B.\THSHEi!.\ B. (Wrlsley) 
 Turner, and granddaughter of William H. Turner, 
 Sr., the first of the family in Glastonbury. The 
 latter was drowned in the Connecticut river, in 
 1810, nearly in front of Mrs. Hale's .home. Mrs. 
 Hale's father was a man of unusual intellectual 
 power, and was one of the most prominent citizens 
 of the town, which he represented in the State 
 Legislature; he held various town offices, including 
 that of selectman. In politics he was ^ lifelong 
 Democrat, and fraternally he v/as a Freemason, 
 being a member of Columbia Lodge, F. & A. M., ( 
 South Glastonbury. He served in the war of 1812 
 at New London, and later, when peace was de- 
 clared, was on duty aboard a vessel at Sacket's Har- 
 1)or. He commanded for many years a coasting 
 vessel, operating from the Connecticut river to 
 various Atlantic ports, and also worked at the trade 
 of siiipbuilding. He was a close acquaintance of 
 Cornelius X'anderbilt, who was then engaged in 
 the same business. Mr. Turner predicted the day 
 of his death months before it occurred. He mar- 
 ried (first), in 1812, Miss Mary Nicholson, and 
 their only child, Fidelia, born in January, 1813, 
 died at the age of eight months. After the death 
 of his first wife Mr. Turner married Miss Bath- 
 sheba Brewster Wrisley, a native of Marlboro, 
 daughter of Samuel and Mary (Fluxford) Wrisley. 
 Samuel \\^risley was a soldier in the Revolution- 
 ary army, serving as conductor of teams and as 
 captain in his regiment. To William H. and Kath- 
 sheba B. Turner, were born five children: Marcia. 
 Maria is the widow Of our subject. William H., 
 born Oct. 23, 1826, married Elizabeth C. Richards, 
 of New London, April 16, 1851, and had one son, 
 C. R. ; he was a school teacher, merchant and in- 
 surance agent, and a man of unusual brightness of 
 mind. Wells, born Nov. 13, 1828, was married 
 Oct. 2, 1854, to Isabella Plummer Benton, now de- 
 ceased, and has one son, Sturgis P. E. Turner, a 
 merchant at Naubuc. At the age of sixteen Wells 
 Turner entered the mercantile house of H. B. Chaf- 
 fee & Co., at Hartford, and continued several years 
 as salesman, later forming a co-partnership with 
 his brother at South Glastonbury ; after his 
 brother's decease he conducted the business alone 
 until the store was burned, in January, 1856, since 
 when he has lived at the homestead. Wallace, born 
 March 16, 1830, died in infancy. Helen Mar, born 
 June 7, 1836, died unmarried May 14, 1876. She 
 possessed rare psychic gifts, often healing the mem- 
 bers of her family of pain by the laying of her 
 hands upon them, and her courage and will-power ; 
 were indomitable. Her trance sermons and ad- \; 
 dresses were forcible and eloquent, and listened to \ 
 
^"M^&€.& 
 
 'yt.^-^rT'Z-.C-^^-^ 
 
 
 (/a^ ^^tp^y^fi-t^t^fL Ji-^^U^ ^^^-^Vf^/^^u^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RF.COHD. 
 
 1073 
 
 with much interest by all who were privileged to 
 hear her. She was a warm advocate of equal 
 rights, and of all humanitarian reforms. 
 
 Marcia Maria Turner in her early girlhood at- 
 tended the district schools on "The Green," but 
 after the age of twelve years had private teachers, 
 attended Airs. Draper's Seminary, Hartford, and 
 Williston Seminary, Easthampton, Mass. She was 
 a devoted wife, and is a kind and affectionate 
 mother. Possessing a memory of remarkable re- 
 tentiveness, she is a recognized authority on geneal- 
 ogy and local history, and many consult her in mat- 
 ters of history. Mrs. Hale is remarkably intelli- 
 gent, is' a brilliant conversationalist, possesses that 
 rare gifted quality of mind that approaches 
 prophecy, and is a firm believer and exponent of 
 spiritualism. Her knowledge of past events is un- 
 surpassed, and in the community in which she lives, 
 and throughout a wide circle of friends and ac- 
 quaintances, she is held in the highest esteem. 
 
 SHERMAN WINCHELL, a representative 
 farmer and highly-respected citizen of Kensington, 
 was born there June i, 1852, on the Eliza Dickenson 
 farm, which adjoins his present place. 
 
 Winchell, which is a Saxon name and signifies 
 angle, was no doubt derived from the town of Win- 
 chelsea, which was prominent in England at the 
 time the Romans were in power there. The earliest 
 mention of the word Winchel as a proper appella- 
 tion is Feb. 13; 1293, when Robert Winchelsey was 
 elected archbishop of Canterbury. He succeeded 
 to this dignity Sept. 2, 1294, and died May 11, 1313. 
 He was the tenth in succession from Thomas a 
 Becket. To him was addressed the celebrated bull 
 of Pope Boniface VHI, dated June 27, 1299, in 
 which the pontitt asserted his own claim to the 
 throne of Scotland, with which Edward I was then 
 at war, and over which he asserted his royal author- 
 ity. The town of Winchelsea, now an insignificant 
 and dilapidated village in the south of England, 
 was a place of importance in the Roman period. 
 It was then located at the mouth of the Rother, a 
 small river separating the Counties of Kent and 
 Sussex, but between 1280 and 1287 it was des- 
 troyed by the encroachments of the sea. The coat 
 of arms of the Winchel family was "Ar. three 
 eagles' wings, sa." Argent in heraldry signifies 
 white, and sable signifies black ; thus the coat of 
 arms was three black eagles' wings on a white field. 
 
 The first of the family to come to America was 
 Robert Winchel, who was born probably in the 
 south of England, but perhaps in Wales. His son 
 Nathaniel was born probably in England, before 
 1635, and was brought by his parents to Dorchester, 
 Mass. He was married April 8, 1664, to Sarah 
 Porter, daughter of Thomas Porter, of Farming- 
 ton, Conn. She was born in that place in 1646, 
 and died in Windsor, Oct. 7, 1725, while his death 
 occurred at the same place March 8, 1699. Their 
 son, Nathaniel Winchel, was born in. Windsor Aug. 
 
 68 
 
 7, 1665, and died in Farmington Oct. 4, 1741. He 
 was a farmer and weaver by occupation, and was a 
 sergeant in the military service. In early life he 
 removed to Turkey Hill, in Windsor, and later to 
 Farmington. He was married March 15, 1693, to 
 Alary Graves, of Hartford. He took a very active 
 part in religious afliairs, and on Dec. 8, 1713, was 
 present at the annual meeting of the Great Swamp 
 parish (now Kensington), near the southeastern 
 boundary of Farmington. He was chosen to take 
 care and get fire wood for Mr. Burnham, the min- 
 ister, and Dec. 8, 1714, was chosen one of the 
 moderators. On Dec. 6, 1716, the Society voted 
 "to give Nathaniel Winchel ten shillings for his 
 son's beating the drum on the Sabbath for the year 
 past, to be paid in Air. Burnham's rate this year." 
 On Jan. 7, 1716-17, the Society by vote seated the 
 inhabitants in the meeting-house, and Nathaniel 
 Winchel, Sr., was one of the six to occupy the "first 
 seat in the square body." The Daughters of the 
 Revolution of Berlin now have their charter framed 
 with wood taken from the first Congregational 
 Church built in Kensington. 
 
 Hezekiah Winchel, son of Nathaniel, was born 
 in Windsor June 20, 1697, and died in Kensington, 
 Dec. 27, 1760. He wedded Mary Cole, of Farm- 
 ington, who died in Blue Hills, New Britain, Jan. 
 3. 1794. He removed from Windsor to Kensing- 
 ton April 22, 1752. He was a farmer by occupa- 
 tion, and he built what was for many years known 
 as Winchell's Alill, now the chisel shop of the Hart 
 Manufacturing Co. A petition for the division 
 of the parish of Kensington in the town of Farm- 
 ington (not granted) was signed by Solomon, 
 Hezekiah and Hezekiah Winchel, Jr. He and his 
 wife were faithful members of the Church of Ken- 
 smgton. B3' will he left a farm to each of his three 
 surviving sons. 
 
 Solomon Winchel, son of Hezekiah and Mary 
 ( Cole) Winchel, was born in Kensington, Feb. 3, 
 1728, and died Sept. 18, 1786. He was a clothier 
 and dresser of cloth, and also engaged in the mill- 
 ing business. On Aug. 23, 1753, he was married 
 to Sibyl Hooker, who was born in Kensington in 
 1725, and died in 1820. Mr. Winchel lived in a 
 house situated west of and opposite to the residence 
 of Isaac Porter. His father bequeathed him the 
 farm owned by the late Jairus Winchell. 
 
 By will Hezekiah AMnchel left to his son Daniel 
 a farm on the mountain of Kensington. The home 
 of the latter was on the north side of the road 
 a few rods west of the present residence of Edward 
 Carey. Daniel was a soldier of the Revolutionarv 
 war, and had two sons in the service, William and 
 Ira, the latter of whom fell at Bunker Hill. His 
 gun is now in the possession of our subject. 
 
 Solomon Winchell, Jr.. the great-grandfather 
 of, our subject, and the son of Solomon, Sr., was 
 born in Kensington Jan. 30, 1755, and died July 
 2, 1810. For thirty years he followed the miller's 
 trade and operated a mill built about 1720, which 
 
1074 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was run as a gristmill until 1867, and then sold 
 til the Hart Manufacturing Company. He was mar- 
 ried, June 15, 1786, to Eunice Doolittle, who was 
 burn in Berlin in 1763, and died Feb. 26, 1791. 
 He was again married, Jan. 30, 1792, his second 
 union being with Chloe Atkins, of Blandford, Mass., 
 who was born in 1772, and died Alay 18, 1848. 
 The house in which Solomon lived is still stand- 
 ing just north of the old mill site. 
 
 Jairus Winchell, grandfather of our subject, 
 was born in Kensington July 24, 1794, and was a 
 farmer by occujjation. He was over si.K feet tall. 
 During the war of 1812 he entered the service, and 
 was stationed at New London, Conn. Later he 
 served as a member of the State Legislature. He 
 married Cecelia Weldon, who was Ijorn in 1799 
 in Derlin, and whose father was a minister. She 
 died April 25, 1849, and he passed away Oct. 16, 
 1S79, their remains being interred in the South 
 burying-ground of Kensington. 
 
 Eli Winchell, father of our subject, was born 
 in Kensington Jan. 4, 1824, and throughout life 
 followed the occupation of farming with good suc- 
 cess, becoming a large land owiiier. He cast his 
 ballot with the Democratic party, and held several 
 town offices, Ijut never took a very active part in 
 political affairs. On April 4, 1850. he married 
 I\Iiss Lucinda Goodrich, of Rocky Hill, a daughter 
 or Marvin Goodrich, a farmer and mason. She 
 was born July 5, 1829, and died June 20, 1883, sur- 
 viving her husband but two days, his death occur- 
 ing June 18, 1883. Both were laid to rest in the 
 South burying-ground of Kensington. 
 
 Reared upon the home farm, Sherman Win- 
 chell, subject of this review, acquired his earlv edti- 
 cation in the common schools of Kensington, and 
 later attended the grammer school of New Britain. 
 His school days over, he returned to the home 
 farm, and at the age of twenty commenced work 
 in the chisel shop of the Hart [Manufacturing Co., 
 of Kensington, where he remained about a year, 
 but not being pleased with his employment he again 
 turned his attention to agricultural pursuits on the 
 old homestead. Li 1878 he and his father erected 
 thereon a commodious and pleasant residence, with 
 all modern improvements, and, being surrounded 
 by a beautiful lawn, it is one of the most at- 
 tractive homes of the locality. As an agriculturist 
 Mr. Winchell has met with well-deserved success, 
 and is not only one of the most highly-esteemed 
 and honored citizens of his community, but is also 
 one of its most substantial farmers. He has al- 
 ways been a stanch supporter of the men and 
 measures of the Democratic party, and has held 
 several minor offices. He and his wife attend the 
 Kensington Congregational Church. 
 
 On Dec. 25, 1877, ^I'"- Winchell was united in 
 marriage with Miss Sarah Jones, who was born 
 April 29, 1853, in New York City, a daughter of 
 \Mlliam and Jane Jones, the former now deceased. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Winchell have had two children: 
 
 Lillian, born April 6, 1879, died March i, 1898, 
 and her death was a sad blow to loving parents 
 and many friends ; she was a very bright girl, music- 
 ally inclined, and was educated in the Kensington 
 schools. Delos Irwin, born Dec. 30, 1880, was edu- 
 cated in the schools of Kensington and New Brit- 
 ain, and is now at home with his parents. 
 
 JOSEPH ALBISTON, one of Manchester's 
 successful farmers, is a son of Rev. Roger Albiston, 
 a Alethodist clergyman, who settled in Manchester 
 in 1854, when Joseph was a boy of five years. He 
 was a farmer, as well as a preacher. He was twice 
 married, his first wife (our subject's mother) be- 
 ing Lavinia Bowker. By her he had six children, 
 Joseph being the fourth. The others were : Roger 
 W., at New Bedford, i\iass. ; John B., now living 
 at New Britam ; Lavinia, for several years a teacher 
 in the Manchester public schools, but now deceased ; 
 Esther A., of New Britain ; and James H., also a 
 farmer in the town of Manchester. Rev. Roger 
 Albiston's second wife was Mrs. Irene Loveland, 
 of Glastonbury. He died in East Glastonbury, in 
 1893, at the age of seventy-five years, and his widow 
 then went to live with her son in Glastonbury, where 
 she still makes her home. 
 
 Joseph Albiston was born April 14, 1849, iii ^^h^ 
 town of Mansfield, Tolland county, and his edu- 
 cational advantages were such as were afforded 
 by the public schools of Manchester. He re- 
 mained with his parents on their farm until his 
 marriage, to Miss Rose M. Avery, which took place 
 Sept. I, 1875, he being then twenty-six years old. 
 The first years of his married life were devoted to 
 farming. His father being well advanced in years, 
 he then returned to the paternal domicile, assumed 
 the management of the farm, and has lived there 
 ever since. Here his first wife died in 1885, leav- 
 ing two daughters, Gertrude L. and Martha A. In 
 1888 he married Miss Ella M. Griswold, of Man- 
 chester. The property, which is now his, embraces 
 twenty acres of the best land in Hartford county, 
 is highly improved, and is one of the very few 
 farms in the county which is irrigated. Mr. Al- 
 biston devoted himself almost wholly to fruit cul- 
 ture, in which he has been eminently successful, 
 raising some of the choicest fruits and vegetables 
 that come upon the market. 
 
 CYPRIAN H. HART is a native of Bristol, 
 Hartford county, born March 10, 1830, son of Joel 
 and Sarah (Bowers) Hart, who had a family of 
 six children : Lucy, Nancy, Sabina, Calvin, Cyp- 
 rian H. and Almon. Of this family Cyprian H. 
 is the only survivor. 
 
 When our subject was eight years of age his 
 parents removed to New Britain, but five years 
 afterward returned to their old home, where the 
 father died in 1844. After the death of his father, 
 Cyprian H. Hart found himself obliged to begin 
 tlie battle of life in earnest, and his first experience 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1075 
 
 was at Burlington, where he worked during one 
 summer for seven doUars per month. From there 
 he went to the town of Newington, where he worked 
 during the succeeding winter for OHver Richards, 
 receiving only his board by way of compensation, 
 although he was permitted to attend the district 
 school. In the spring, there being no session of the 
 school to take up his time, he received eight dol- 
 lars per month. Becoming dissatisfied, he deter- 
 mined to seek better fortune in the town of Ply- 
 mouth, whither he walked all the way from New- 
 ington, as his slender means would not permit him 
 to indulge in any other mode of locomotion. There 
 he secured employment with a clockmaker, who 
 paid him seven dollars a month, but in a short time 
 he returned to Burlington. There he found work 
 with a maker of baby carriages and hand sleds, 
 from whom he received ten dollars per month and 
 his board. From Burlington he removed to South 
 JMeriden, and there for five years was employed 
 in a cutlery establishment, at the expiration of that 
 period going to New Britain, where he was in the 
 service of the Corbin Manufacturing Co. four years. 
 His next departure was the purchase of a farm 
 of 114 acres, eighty of which he still owns, and on 
 which he yet makes his home. 
 
 Mr. Hart was married, April 4, 1852, to Miss 
 Eliza Perdue. They are the parents of two chil- 
 dren, the elder of whom, C. C. Hart, is a member 
 of the firm of Hart, V/ells & Co., wholesale seeds- 
 men of Wethersfield. The younger son, Arthur, 
 is also a merchant in the same town. 
 
 Mr. Hart conducts a general farm and dairy 
 business, in which he has been very successful. He 
 is held in high regard throughout the community, 
 and has served for eighteen years as selectman, al- 
 though not continuously, his first election having 
 been in 1871. He is a Democrat in politics, and 
 was elected by that party to the Legislature, in 
 1863. He is a member of the Wethersfield Grange. 
 
 NEWTON WELLES BALDWIN'S family, 
 like many other of the old families of the town of 
 Berlin, is of English descent. His grandfather, 
 Ira Merritt Baldwin, a farmer, was a native of New 
 Hartford, and married Rhoda Welles, of Newing- 
 ton, whose family owned extensive tracts of land 
 in the West. Both are deceased, and both have 
 their last resting-place in Berlin. 
 
 Newton Plenry Baldwin, one of eight children 
 of Ira Merritt Baldwin, and the father of Newton 
 Welles Baldwin, was born in Kensington, April 19, 
 1842. He received his education in the common 
 schools of his birthplace, and at the Edward Robbins 
 private school in the same town. He was reared 
 upon his father's farm, and in the autumn of 1862 
 enlisted, together with his brother Ira, in Com- 
 pany A, of the 25th Connecticut Volunteers, a nine- 
 months' regiment. His experience in the life of a 
 soldier was in camp in East New York, from which 
 point the regiment was sent to Louisiana, where 
 
 it took part in some severe engagements. His 
 brother received several wounds, but he himself 
 passed through his term of service unscathed. After 
 being mustered out at Hartford he returned to the 
 paternal farm, where he continued to reside until 
 his father's death. Some seventeen years ago he 
 purchased 135 acres of land from Albert Viberts, 
 on which he still makes his home. In politics he is 
 a Republican, having left the Democratic party 
 many years ago. He has held the offices of justice 
 of the peace and constable, and is deservedly held 
 in high esteem in the community, no less for the 
 uprightness of his character than on account of the 
 keenness of his intellect and the soundness of his 
 judgment. Both he and his wife, as well as his 
 older children, are members of the Congregational 
 Church, of which he is a liberal supporter. 
 
 Mr. Baldwin married Ellen M. Hurlburt, a 
 daughter of George and Clarissa (Langdon) Hurl- 
 burt. She was born in Kensington, where both her 
 parents-are buried. Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin are the 
 parents of eleven children : Ira Merritt, Newton 
 Welles, George Hurlburt, Julius, Rhoda Antoinette 
 (deceased), Delia Angeline, Wilbur, Lena Viberts, 
 Laura, Ellen and Reuben. 
 
 Newton Welles Baldwin, the second in this 
 family, was born Sept. 15, 1870, at Kensington. 
 In his boyhood he attended the Third District 
 school of Kensington, his preceptors being Miss 
 Alice Peck, Zana Stocking, Inez Upson, and James 
 Roche, now Judge Roche, of New Britain, a pop- 
 ular and successful lawyer. He grew to manhood 
 upon the farm, and on March 23, 1892, six months 
 before his twenty-second birthday, was married to 
 Miss Carrie, a daughter of Harry and Lizzie Mead, 
 wdio was born in New York City, May 7, 1873. He 
 has been a successful business man, industry and 
 probity, energy and perseverance having character- 
 ized his career from the outset. Although yet a 
 )^oung man, his fellow townsmen have shown their 
 confidence in his worth by twice electing him to 
 ofhce, having chosen him constable in 1897, and 
 justice of the peace in 1898. The last named posi- 
 tion he still holds. He bought his present home 
 in 1894, a fertile, well-cultivated farm of sixty-six 
 acres, on which he raises a large quantity of produce, 
 besides considerable live stock, in the propagation 
 and rearing of which, as in all his other under- 
 takings, he has met with remarkable success. In 
 the winter months he dresses stock, which he sells 
 through the surrounding country. For two years 
 past he has also conducted a milk business, and in 
 October, 1898, was given the agency of the Bradley 
 Fertilizer Co., of Boston. He has quite a, reputa- 
 tion as an honest dealer in fancy new milch cows, 
 of which he handles a large number. In connection 
 with his farming interests he has been in this busi- 
 ness four years, and is becoming known in Berlin 
 and surrounding towns as "Young Baldwin the cow 
 trader." 
 
 From what has been said, it may be seen that 
 
1076 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Rlr. BakKvin is a ycung ir.an cf rciiaikablc activity 
 and energy. He is csseatiaLy a self-ina;Je man, 
 liaving- commenced the battle of life for himself 
 while a mere youth of twenty years, without other 
 capital than a clear brain, indomitable purpose, a 
 sound physique, and a high sense of moral recti- 
 tude. All that he has he owes to his own tireless 
 industry and good business sense. Both himself 
 and Airs. Baldwin are consistent and valued mem- 
 bers of the Congregational Church, and Mr. Bald- 
 win is a teacher in the Sunday-school. In politics 
 his affiliation has always been with the Republican 
 party. 
 
 JAiMES BLIXX REED. It is to chance that 
 the town of Berlin is indebted for one of its most 
 estimable citizens. As an English lad of twenty- 
 two \'ears the subject of this sketch, in 1859, m^de 
 an excursion trip from his home to Liverpool, and 
 while there an acquaintance pursuaded him to em- 
 bark for America. 
 
 Our subject was born July 18, 1837, in Bucking- 
 hamshire, England, about sixty miles from London, 
 a son of James and Elizabeth- (Whaftles) Reed. 
 The father, born in 1804, was a wholesale and retail 
 butcher, supplying the London markets, and lived 
 to the age of seventy-five years ; the mother sur- 
 vived until 1885, both dying in England. James 
 B. Reed attended the public schools of England to 
 the age of sixteen years, then for two terms was a 
 pupil in the Newport high school, and later took 
 special instruction in night school. His father 
 wished him to continue his studies, but the boy's 
 tastes were for work. He acquired his father's 
 trade, and worked at it until his departure, Sept. 
 5, 1859, for America, in the ''Benjamin Adams." 
 They had a stormy passage, one of the roughest 
 voyages within the experience of the sea-faring 
 captain, but finally reached New York. For a- 
 time the friendless emigrant boy worked in a meat- 
 market in New York, and he held various tempor- 
 ary positions until Febuary, i860, when he came to 
 Newington, Hartford Co., Conn. For two years 
 he worked on the farm of Deacon Whittlesey, after 
 which he rented the Charfes Francis farm for one 
 year, and then the Henry Butler farm for five years. 
 In 1871 he became a renter of the Mrs. Emily Bower 
 farm, in Kensington, where he remained three years. 
 Then, after renting successively the Horace Dun- 
 ham farm for a year, and the Edward Cowles farm 
 for five years, he in 1880 came to "Lower Lane," 
 Berlin, and purchased the W. W. Norton farm of 
 fifty acres, where he has since resided, engaged in 
 active farm life. He has greatly improved his 
 property, constructed barns and sheds, and now 
 owns and operates a most excellent farm, raising 
 general products. 
 
 Mr. Reed was married, Nov. 13, 1861, in New- 
 ington, to J\Iiss Eliza Keyes, a native of Scotland, 
 and to our subject and wife have been born six 
 children : Elizabeth Amelia, wife of William S. 
 
 Brandegee, of Berlin; Annie, who died, aged three 
 months ; Jean Mary, Emma Louise, and Anna, all 
 three at home; and George James, an art-student 
 in sculpture at Hartford. Mr. Reed, our subject, 
 is a member of the Congregational Church. 
 
 HON. LOUIS J. MULLER is one of the pros- 
 perous young men of New Britain, who has been 
 not only successful in his business affairs, but has 
 attained considerable eminence in the public and 
 social relations of life. He is a native of the citv 
 of Bremen, Germany, born Jan. 20, 1856, son of 
 John Muller, and grandson of Michael Muller. a 
 native of Bavaria. The grandfather, Michael Mul- 
 ler, was a weaver by trade, and was supervisor for 
 his brother, John, a wealthy man, who was the 
 owner of many looms. The Mullers were one of 
 the leading families of Bavaria, and the grand- 
 mother of our subiect. the wife of Michael Muller, 
 was a graduate of Erlangen College. Michael Mul- 
 ler died in Germany. 
 
 John IMuller, father of our subject, was born in 
 Bavaria about 1821, and there received a thorough' 
 education. He learned the trade of his father, 
 traveling extensivelv throughout Bavaria and Aus- 
 tria as a weaver. He enlisted in the German armv 
 for the Schlcswig-Holstein war, and durln? his 
 term of service acquired the trade of cigarmaker, 
 which he followed for a time in Bremen, where he 
 married Aliss Sophia Myer. In i860, with his wife 
 and family, he emigrated to America, establish- 
 ing a cigar business in New York, which he con- 
 ducted until the spring of 1866. He then removed 
 to Cromwell, and became a member of the firm of 
 Kirby & Companv, engaging extensively in the 
 manufacture of cigars and tobacco-packing. In 
 1871 he removed to New Britain, where he estab- 
 lished a cia:ar factory, and operated it until 1877, 
 when he disposed of it to his son, Louis J., our 
 subject. John Muller was a man of energy and 
 good business ability. In politics he was a Demo- 
 crat. He had six children who reached maturity, 
 two sons and four daughters, as follows: Jennie, 
 who married Herman Witte, a foreman of West- 
 field ; Henrietta, wife of Charles Witte, a veteri- 
 nary surgeon ; Louis J. ; Augusta, wife of Paul R. 
 Yogelgesang; Annie, wife of J. C. Lincoln, a coal 
 dealer; and William G., a vocal teacher. John 
 Muller, the father, died in 1880, his widow in 1893. 
 
 Louis J. Muller was four years old when 
 brought by his parents across the ocean to the new 
 land. He was educated in the public schools on 
 North Moore street, New York City, and was grad- 
 uated from the academy at Cromwell, which has 
 since become a public school. Our subject was 
 an apt pupil, and when at the age of fifteen his 
 school days ended he was well equipped mentally 
 for the battle of life. His education has been con- 
 tinuous from boyhood through the extensive course 
 of reading he has followed, in history, in current 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1077 
 
 literature and in events of the day. Entering the 
 cigar factory of his father in 1874, at Cromwell, he 
 readily acquired the trade, and in 1876 went to 
 New York as a salesman of leaf tobacco. Return- 
 ing home he gave active attention to the cigar man- 
 ufacturing trade of his father, and the latter soon 
 shifted to his young and capable shoulders the en- 
 tire business. Mr. Muller has applied himself dili- 
 gently and faithfully to the work, and has long since 
 established his footing as one of the most efficient 
 3'oung business men of the city. He has erected 
 a new factory, and now employs about twenty men 
 in the manufacture of Havana and domestic cigars. 
 Without neglecting his business he has mingled 
 prominently in the political affairs of New Britain. 
 His allegiance is given to the Democratic party, 
 and he was successively elected to the Legislature 
 in 1889, 1891 and 1893, during his service acting as 
 clerk of the committee on Capitol Furniture and 
 Grounds, one of the most important committees of 
 that body. He also served for six years as member of 
 the school board, being elected in 1891 and again in 
 1893. In whatever work or duty he undertakes, 
 Mr. Muller applies himself to a whole-souled de- 
 gree, and the public affairs which thus received his 
 attention were most commeiidably conducted. 
 
 Mr. Muller is a large social factor in the city. 
 He is affiliated with many of the local orders and 
 fraternities, including the Elks, and the I. O. O. 
 F., both lodge and encampment, Rebekah and uni- 
 formed degree, serving for two years as captain of 
 the latter. He is a member of the Independent 
 Order, of Red Men, and of the Turner Society, 
 The Gentleman's Driving and Wheel Club, and 
 Putnam Phalanx. 
 
 In 1882 Mr. Muller married Miss Louise Sier- 
 ing, of New Britain, and they have three children : 
 Louise, Maud and Margaret. The family are 
 members of the First Congregational Church of 
 New Britain. The record of Mrs. Muller's family 
 will be found in connection with the sketch of Will- 
 iam Siering, elsewhere. 
 
 EDWARD KILLAM, a well-known citizen of 
 Thompsonville, and a prominent representative of 
 the agricultural interests" of Enfield, was born in 
 that town Nov. 9, 1829, a son of Henry and Abigail 
 (Pease) Killam. 
 
 Mr. Killam comes of Puritan stock, and both his 
 grandfathers fought for American independence in 
 the Revolutionary war. His paternal grandfather, 
 Eliphalet Killam, was a native of Enfield, and a 
 farmer by occupation. He traced his ancestry back 
 through Lot and James Killam, one of the first set- 
 tiers of Enfield, and a descendant of z\ustin Killam, 
 of Salem, Mass., the founder of the Killam family in 
 America. All the ancestors of our subject who have 
 been residents of Enfield were farmers, and his 
 father and grandfather both owned a large tract of 
 land on Enfield street, now divided into lots and 
 
 small farms. The grandfather married Submit 
 Abbe, and to them were born ten children, as fol- 
 lows : Lot ; Eliphalet ; Tabitha, wife of John Olm- 
 sted ; Jemima, wife of James Ingraham ; George; 
 Submit, wife of John Abbe ; Flenry ; Timothy ; 
 Sarah, wife of Roswell Abbe ; and James. Of these, 
 Flenry Killam, the father of our subject, was born 
 on the old homestead on Enfield street, Oct. 15, 
 1789, and died Sept. 28, 1863. In early manhood 
 he married Abigail Pease, daughter of Edward 
 Pease, who was a descendant of John Pease, one 
 of the first settlers of Enfield. Eleven children were 
 born of this union : Harriet, wife of George W. 
 Lloyd ; Evaline, wife of Theodore Pease ; Abigail, 
 wife of Samuel Bidwell ; Ann, wife of Henry C. 
 Farnham ; Henry ; James ; Julia, wife of John Rob- 
 inson ; Edward ; Eliphalet ; Frederick ; and William, 
 
 Edward Killam, our subject, passed his bo)diood 
 and youth on the old homestead, and received a 
 common-school and academic education. In early 
 life he started out to make his own way in the 
 world as a peddler of tinware, and followed that 
 vocation for five years with good success, although 
 he began business with a whip and fifty cents as 
 capital. In 1854 he removed to Woodstock, Wind- 
 ham Co., Conn., where he purchased a farm and 
 resided until 1876. He then returned to Enfield, 
 and is now successfully engaged in business as a 
 dealer in fruits and vegetables in Thompsonville. 
 
 Mr. Killam has been twice married, his first 
 vvife being Hannah Child, a daughter of Charles 
 and Almira (Holmes) Child, of Woodstock, Conn., 
 and a second cousin of Oliver Wendell Holmes, the 
 poet. Two children were born of that union: 
 Charles H. ; and Julia E., wife of Burdette Rowlee. 
 For his second wife Mr. Killam wedded Miss Mary 
 R. Alden, daughter of Seth and Mary Ann (Grover) 
 Alden, of Enfield, and a direct descendant of Capt. 
 John and Priscilla (Mullen) Alden, who came to 
 Plymouth, Mass., in 1620, in the "Mayflower." 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Killam hold membership in the 
 First Presbyterian Church of Enfield, and are justly 
 deserving of the high regard in which they are 
 uniformly held. He casts his ballot with the Re- 
 publican party, and has served as clerk of School 
 District No. 2, of Enfield, for about ten years. He 
 bears a high character for sterling integrity, and 
 his life has ever been such as to commend him to the 
 confidence and esteem of all with whom he has come 
 in contact. 
 
 GARRETT WORTHINGTON SMITH, a 
 dealer in sporting goods, bicycles, etc., and one of 
 Southington's enterprising business men, was born 
 in Plymouth, Litchfield Co., Conn., Dec. 12, 1862, 
 and is a son of Frederick Byington and Fannie E. 
 (Morey) Smith, natives of Naugatuck and Kent, 
 Conn., respectively. 
 
 Mr. Smith's paternal grandfather, Horace Smith, 
 was also a native of Naugatuck, and a blacksmith 
 
1078 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and machinist by trade. He was the originator of 
 the wood back suspender button, and was one of the 
 first manufacturers of buttons in New England, 
 being engaged in that business for several years. 
 He married Polly \\'ebster, of Southington. Our 
 subject's maternal grandfather was Alfred Morey, 
 of Kent, Litchfield county. Frederick B. Smith, 
 the father of cur subject, was reared in Naugatuck, 
 and in early life learned the machinist's trade. In 
 i8So he located in the Milldale District of South- 
 ington, where he engaged in farming until his 
 death, which occurred in 1887. His children were 
 Garrett W. ; Jilattic M., wife of Eben F. Francis ; 
 Benjamin E. ; and Alfred M. 
 
 In his native State our subject grew to manhood, 
 and was provided with a good common-school ed- 
 ucation. He began his business career as a shop 
 hand in the bolt shop of Clark Brothers, .Milldale, 
 where he was employed for three vears, and in 1884 
 entered the employ of the Peck, Stow & \\'ilco.x 
 Co., remaining with them on day and contract work 
 until 1893. On Sept. 29, of that year, he embarked 
 in his present business in Southington, and has 
 built up a large and lucrative trade. He is an en- 
 ergetic and progressive business man, and the suc- 
 cess that he has achieved is certainly well merited. 
 
 On Sept. 20, 1894, Mr. Smith married Miss 
 Allene M. Brown, a daughter of Wesley and May 
 Brown, of Newark, K. J., and they have three chil- 
 dren, Frederick and Fannie, twins, and Mattie 
 Maud. In his political afliliations Mr. Smith is a 
 Democrat, and he most capably served as constable 
 of Southington two years. In religious faith he 
 is a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. 
 
 AARON COOK, Jr., is a well and favorably 
 known resident of the town of Manchester, and a 
 son of Aaron Cook, Sr., who in his early years was 
 one of the prominent men of this section of Hart- 
 ford county in both business ana public circles. 
 Maj. Aaron Cook, the founder of this family in 
 America, was an officer in the British army, and a 
 soldier in the Revolutionary war. The grandfa- 
 ther of our subject was also named Aaron. 
 
 Aaron Cook, Sr., was born Dec. 7, 1808, at 
 Ashford, Windham Co., Conn., and learned the 
 blacksmith's trade with his father, following same 
 in his native place for a number of years. On June 
 3. 1837. he was united in marriage with Miss 
 Mabel Lyman, daughter of Benjamin Lyman, and 
 in 1839 they removed to Manchester Green, where 
 Mr. Cook opened a blacksmith shop in connection 
 with his father-in-law, who about the year 1820 
 invented the first cast-iron plough. About 1830 
 he had invented a cast-iron hub for wagons, etc., 
 and they manufactured hubs and ploughs for a 
 number of years, the building which they used as 
 a factory standing to-day in Aaron Cook's yard ; 
 it is now used as a storehouse. The partnership 
 lasted until 1854, when Mr. Cook embarked in 
 business with Patent Fitch, working granite and 
 
 stone quarries in Bolton. In 1864 he sold his in- 
 terest in this line to Seth Belden, and returned to 
 the farm in the town of Manchester, where the 
 family had been living during this period. In 
 liis connection with different interests in and around 
 Flartford county Mr. Cook became widely known, 
 and gained an enviable position among the able 
 and successful business men of his day, and his 
 good judgment and efficiency made him the choice 
 of the people as representative to the State Legis- 
 lature on three different occasions. He also served 
 several years as justice of the peace, and in his 
 career as a public official gave evidence of the high 
 order of executive ability which marked his man- 
 agement of his private affairs, discharging the 
 duties of his incumbencies with credit to himself 
 and entirely to the satisfaction of his constituents. 
 In political sentiment he was a Republican. Fra- 
 ternally he held membership for many years in 
 the Masonic and Odd P'ellovvs societies, belong- 
 ing to Manchester Lodge, No. 73, A. F. & A. M. 
 In religious connection he was a member of the 
 Manchester Center Congregational Church. To 
 Aaron and ^label (Lyman) Cook were born four 
 children: Mabel, who died in 1896; Aaron, Jr.; 
 Benjamin L., living in New York City, who holds 
 the position of superintendent of the salesroom of 
 the Nonotuck Silk Mills, of Florence, Mass. ; and 
 Mary E., born in 1856, who is the wife of John 
 M. \\'illiams, of Manchester. The mother passed 
 away in 1886, at the age of seventy years. Mr. 
 Cook attained the age of ninety years and six 
 months, and died at the old home in Manchester 
 June 19, 1899, honorea and esteemed by a wide 
 circle of friends and acquaintances whom he had 
 gathered about him in his long and useful life. 
 
 Aaron Cook, Jr., the eighth of the name in 
 direct line, was born Sept. 12, 1842, on the farm 
 in the town of Manchester, where he still makes 
 his home, and he received his education in the 
 neighborhood of his birthplace, attending the com- 
 mon schools and Manchester Academy. When 
 twenty-two years of age he entered the machine 
 shop of Keeney Bros., at Manchester Green, where 
 he remained two years, and then for three years 
 was in the employ of -the Hartford Eyelet Co., at 
 Flartford. Returning to Manchester he took up 
 agricultural pursuits, which he continued for ten 
 years, resuming work at his trade of machinist 
 with the Colt's Arms Co., Hartford, with whom he 
 remained imtil 1896. He has since been occupied 
 vs'ith the care of his farm, which is a very de- 
 sirable tract of thirty acres, well improved, and 
 yielding him a good income. Like his father, he 
 has always taken his place among the best citi- 
 zens of the community, but he is not active in pub- 
 lic affairs beyond casting his vote and giving his 
 influence to matters which concern the local wel- 
 fare. His political support is given to the Repub- 
 lican party. On Sept. i, 1862, Mr. Cook enlisted 
 in Company A, 25th Conn. V. I., was mustered in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1079 
 
 at Hartford, and saw active service in the engage- 
 ment at Irish Bend, siege of Port Hudson, in which 
 vicinity he remained six months, and later at 
 Donaldsonville. He was honorably discharged Aug. 
 26, 1863, at Hartford, with the rank of sergeant, 
 but was acting orderly sergeant. Fraternally Mr. 
 Cook is a Freemason, holding membership with 
 Manchester Lodge, No. 73, of Manchester, of which 
 he is past master, having served three years as 
 master of that body. 
 
 On Sept. 17, 1867, Mr. Cook was married to 
 Miss Hattie J. Richardson, and they have had 
 children as follows : Edith, born Feb. 4, 1870, is 
 a teacher in the kindergarten schools of East Hart- 
 ford. Frank Aaron, born March 24, 1872, is fore- 
 man in the plant of the Hartford Cycle Co., and re- 
 sides in East Hartford. Richard G., born Sept. 
 I, 1873, is a machinist in the machine shops of the 
 Colt's Arms Co., Hartford; he is a first-class ma- 
 chinist and has had charge as foreman of a num- 
 ber of shops in different cities. Arthur, born Oct. 
 24, 1874, is proprietor of the Lyman Spring Soda 
 Works, bottles mineral waters and soda in all 
 flavors, and also owns a steam cider-mill, manu- 
 facturing pure apple cider and cider vinegar. 
 
 JOSEPH E. CARROLL, one of East Hart- 
 ford's leading contractors and builders, has for 
 more than thirty-five years successfully followed 
 carpentering in the town of his nativity and youth. 
 , He has become one of the town's best citizens, 
 building up a most excellent business, and dis- 
 playing those sterling traits of character which are 
 ever the foundation and the guide of good citi- 
 zenship. 
 
 Mr. Carroll was born at Burnside (then Scot- 
 land), Hartford county, March 21, 1848, son of 
 Joseph and Mary (Heffern) Carroll, a sketch of 
 whose lives appear elsewhere. Our subject at- 
 tended the district schools and later the East Hart- 
 ford high school, when Joseph O. Hurlburt was one 
 of its teachers. Llis school days ended when he 
 was sixteen and he immediatel)^ began an ap- 
 prenticeship of three years at the trade of joiner, 
 vifith his brother-in-law, Patrick Garvan. For his 
 services he received the first year fifty dollars and 
 board ; the second year one hundred dollars and 
 board ; and the third year one hundred and fifty dol- 
 lars and board. At tne conclusion of his apprentice- 
 ship he began working for his old employer at two 
 dollars and a half per day. From an ordinary 
 workman, young as he was, Mr. Carroll soon be- 
 came the foreman for his brother-in-law, at a sal- 
 ary of four dollars per day. He developed rare 
 ability in planning and directing work, and in the 
 disposition of his men. After remaining with Mr. 
 Garvan for twelve or more years, our subject be- 
 gan business for himself. He has since then been 
 actively engaged in contracting and building houses, 
 the field of his operations having been mainly in 
 East Hartford, but he also does considerable work 
 
 in Hartford. Mr. Carroll employs a number of 
 men, and oversees the work. He has built many 
 of the homes in East Hartford. His own sub- 
 stantial home on Central avenue. East Hartford, 
 he built in 1876, when there were only three houses 
 on that street, and there he has ever since resided. 
 He is a skillful mechanic, and his work has al- 
 ways been strictly honorable and honest. His 
 sterling and upright character, combined with his 
 energy and ability, have made his business highly 
 successful, and he has accumulated a comfortable 
 competence. 
 
 Mr. Carroll was married, Nov. 23, 1874, to Miss 
 Lizzie Maher, of Manchester, who was born in 
 that town Sept. 15, 1852, daughter of Patrick 
 Maher. To Mr. and Mrs. Carroll have been born 
 ten children, three of whom died in childhood ; those 
 surviving are Louis J., a student at the Hartford 
 Seminary; William E., Mabel A., John F., Alice 
 G., Robert L. and Mary J. Mr. and Mrs. Carroll 
 are members of St. Mary's Catholic Church at 
 East Hartford. In politics our subject is a stanch 
 Democrat; he has served as assessor in his native 
 town, and in every sense commands the confidence 
 of the comnumity in which he lives. Influenced 
 in his childhood by the teachings of a good Chris- 
 tian mother, taught early in life the distinction 
 between right and wrong, he has fulfilled the 
 promise of his careful training and become one of 
 the town's good citizens, establishing a name and a 
 character above cjuestion, evincing" a commendable 
 interest in enterprises of public welfare, winning 
 that competence which his active mind, his in- 
 dustrious habits, and his sterling principles made 
 doubly sure. He was a poor boy, but has become 
 one of the town's most prominent residents. 
 
 JULIUS G. DICKINSON, a well-known gen- 
 eral merchant of East Granby, is a man whose 
 sound common sense and vigorous, able manage- 
 ment of his affairs have been important factors in 
 his success, and with his undoubted integrity of 
 character have given him an honorable position 
 among his fellow men. 
 
 Mr. Dickinson was born in Marlboro, Hart- 
 ford county, Jan. i, 1855, and belongs to a family 
 of English descent, which is one of the most highly 
 respected in that section. Nathan Dickinson, the 
 great-grandfather of our subject, lived in Marl- 
 boro, and was a farmer, occupying the farm now 
 owned by Mrs. Elizabeth Dutton, sister of our sub- 
 ject. Nathan Dickinson was married three times. 
 By his first wife, who died shortly after marriage, 
 he had no children. By his second wife, Mehitable, 
 he had three children : Mehitable, who married 
 (first) a Mr. Chapman, (second) a Mr. House and 
 (third) a Mr. Hollister ; Sarah, who died single; 
 and Nathan, who located in New York State, and 
 whose descendants are scattered throughout the 
 West. Nathan Dickinson, Sr., for his third wife 
 married Hannah Bancroft, of Windsor, by whom he 
 
1080 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 had four sons and one daughter, namely: Wol- 
 cott, who married Hannah House, of Glastonbury; 
 Jesse, who married Anna Welch, of East Hampton ; 
 Seth, grandfather of our subject ; Abner, who 
 married Abigail Curtis, sister of Mary, above, and 
 lived in East Glastonbury; and Hannah, who mar- 
 ried a Mr. Carrier, and located in Pennsylvania, 
 where there is now quite a settlement of the de- 
 scendants. 
 
 Seth Dickinson, the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Marlboro, and there followed 
 farming all his life, becoming one of its most sub- 
 stantial citizens and an extensive land owner. His 
 father had given each of his sons a tract of his 
 large farm, and Seth Dickinson lived on the land 
 thus inherited. He and his wife died in Marlboro, 
 and were buried there. In politics he was a Demo- 
 erat. He married Mary Polly Curtis, a native of 
 South ^^'indsor. and the representative of an hon- 
 ored New England family, and to them were born 
 nine children, namely: Mary, who married Har- 
 vey Tryon, of Glastonbury, and passed the latter 
 years of her life in Marlboro ; Jerusha, who mar- 
 ried Harvey Loveland, of CJlastonbury, and lived 
 in Marshfield. \'t. ; Clarissa, who died single; Syl- 
 vira, widow of Elias Brown, of W'illimantic ; Seth 
 B., who married Mary Howard, of L\ine ; Xancy, 
 wh.o died young: Jemima, who married Chapman 
 C. Hall, of Chatham, where she now lives ; Cypha, 
 who married Horace White, of Stonington ; and 
 Xathan R., the father of our subject. 
 
 Nathan R. Dickinson, our subject's father, was 
 born on the old homestead Dec. 26, 1824, and re- 
 ceived a liberal education in the common schools 
 of his day. During his minority he remained at 
 home with his parents, and his entire life was de- 
 voted to agricultural pursuits. He became the 
 owner of the old homestead, comprising 300 acres, 
 which he successfully operated, and in connection 
 with general farming engaged in the cultivation of 
 tobacco on a small scale and followed lumbering 
 quite extensively, dealing principallv in railroad 
 ties and rough lumber. In Middlesex county. 
 Conn., he was united in marriage, in September, 
 1846, with ^iiss JNIary Rich, who was born Feb. 
 8, 1826, in Chatham, daughter of Russell and 
 Phcebe (Cole) Rich. Children were born to Nathan 
 R. and ]\Iary (Rich) Dickinson as follows: (i) 
 A. Elizabeth, born May 24, 1847, married Francis 
 A. Dutton, a farmer of Marlboro, who died Dec. 
 30, 1894, and she is now living in Marlboro. (2) 
 Edward, born April 22, 1849, married Ella Sellew, 
 and is a farmer of Glastonbury. (3) Charles, born 
 Aug. 28, 185 1, married Fannie Verguson. He is 
 a meat dealer in Ellington. (4) Julius G., our 
 subject, was fourth in the family. (5) William, 
 born July 3, 1857, married Lillie Bigelow, and 
 lives in Windsor. (6) Lillian, born Sept. 5, 1859, 
 died March 6, i860. (7) Russell, born April 12, 
 1862. married Julia Aniac, and is a resident of 
 Santa Anna, Cal. (8) Ida Belle, born Dec. 22, 
 
 1864, married Edwin Loomer, of Andover. He is 
 now a merchant in Plainfield. The mother died 
 Sept. 22, 1870, the father on May 9, 1879, and 
 both were laid to rest in the Methodist Episcopal 
 cemetery in Marlboro. They were sincere and 
 faithful Christian people, members of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church, and their lives were in 
 harmony with their professions. Politically the 
 father was identified with the Democratic party, 
 and always stood firmly by its principles. 
 
 During his boyhood and youth Julius G. Dick- 
 inson attended the common schools, where he made 
 the most of his advantages, and by reading and 
 study in subsequent years he has become a well- 
 informed man. He was reared on the home farm, 
 and remained with his father until twenty years 
 of age, when he began working by the month at 
 farm labor, receiving thirty dollars per month. 
 During the four years he was thus employed he 
 managed to save a little money, and after his mar- 
 riage operated rented land in East Hartford town, 
 where he remained ten years, successfully engaged 
 in the cultivation of tobacco. Being thrifty and 
 economical, his capital had steadily increased dur- 
 ing that time, and in 1889 he came to East Granby 
 and purchased the store of Charles Roadstrand, a 
 general merchant of that place. This was his first 
 expe:-'.ence in the mercantile trade, but by close 
 application and a determination to succeed he soon 
 mastered the details of the business, which he 
 is now conducting so successfully. He receives a 
 liberal share of the public patronage, and has horses 
 upon the road delivering goods. Possessing good 
 business ability and sound judgment, he has by 
 industry, energy and perseverance risen from a poor 
 farmer boy to a successful merchant, his store being 
 valued at several thousand dollars. During Presi- 
 dent Harrison's administration he served as post- 
 master- at East Granby, and is now a member of the 
 school board. Prior to 1888 he was a Democrat 
 in politics, but he is now an ardent supporter of 
 the Republican party. 
 
 In 1879, in East Hartford town, Mr. Dickinson 
 was united in marriage with Miss Mary Persons, 
 a native of Herkimer county, N. Y., and a daugh- 
 ter of Henrv Persons. She is a lady of good edu- 
 cation, and has proved a faithful helpmeet. They 
 have two children: Addie and Henr}^, both at- 
 tending school. 
 
 ELI HAYES (deceased) was born on Long 
 Hill, South Windsor town, in 181 1. a son of John 
 and Sibyl (Starcks) Hayes, the former of whom 
 was by calling a farmer. 
 
 Eli Hayes was reared to farm work, and, as 
 his parents died when he was young, he began to 
 work out early. Although he was small, and the 
 youngest of a large family, he possessed an im- 
 mense amount of grit and endurance, earned a fair 
 wage, and saved it. In 1849 h^ made a trip to 
 California with a party from Hartford, but as his 
 
ELI HAYES. 
 
1 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1081 
 
 health was not good he returned to Connecticut, 
 and for several years thereafter was employed in 
 the powder mills at Hazardville and elsewhere. 
 In later life he resumed the vocation of his earlier 
 3'ears, farming. He also bought and sold several 
 crops of tobacco late in life, and invariably made 
 money in his every undertaking. He was a man 
 of few words, but of deep thought and sound judg- 
 ment; cautious and prudent in making investments, 
 weighing each trade thoroughly in his mind and 
 acting afterward with celerity, one way or the other. 
 
 In 1890 Mr. Hayes wedded, in South Windsor, 
 the widow of James R. Mills. This estimable lady, 
 who is beloved by all who know her, bore the 
 maiden name of Eliza J. Starkes, and was born in 
 South Windsor, a daughter of Horace and Betsey 
 (Bidwell) Starkes; her mother was born in East 
 Hartford, and descended from a well-known and 
 respected pioneer family of that town. To the first 
 marriage of Mrs. Hayes were born two children : 
 Helen, now the wife of R. F. Painter, of East Hart- 
 ford; and Walter. By her second marriage there 
 was no issue. 
 
 Mr. Hayes never took any particular interest in 
 the politics of his town, county or State, but ad- 
 hered strictly to his private business, in which he 
 made money, if he did not gain any special glory. 
 He was of slight build, never very robust, but never- 
 theless wiry and sinewy. He was very abstemious, 
 never tasted a drop of spirituous liquor, and never 
 used tobacco in any form, except in handling it 
 as a dealer. From a poor boy he raised himself to 
 a position of solidity in the ranks of the well-to-do 
 farmers of his town, and died in South Windsor 
 May 25, 1893, an honored man. His widow, a very 
 pleasant lady, lives on Bragg street, in East Hart- 
 ford, respected by all who know her. 
 
 W. W. LOOMIS, a well-to-do agriculturist of 
 the town of Windsor, is one of the most highly-es- 
 teemed citizens of that locality. While he is out- 
 spoken and independent, his jovial disposition wins 
 and maintains friendship, and his influence is a 
 recognized factor in the life of the community where 
 he has resided from childhood. 
 
 Mr. Loomis is of the eighth generation of his 
 family in this country, and an account of his an- 
 cestry will be an appropriate introduction to his 
 personal history. (I) Joseph Loomis, the first an- 
 cestor of whom we have a definite record, was born 
 about 1590, and became a woolen draper at Brain- 
 tree, England. He sailed from London April 11, 
 1638, in the ship "Susan and Ellen," and landed 
 at Boston July 17, 1638. In the fall of 1639 he 
 came to Windsor, where he bought land in 1640, 
 and he died there Nov. 25, 1658. 
 
 (II) Nathaniel Loomis, the fourth son and 
 .sixth child of Joseph, was born in England, and 
 came to America with his father. In 1654 he was 
 m.ade a freeman in Windsor, and he was admitted 
 to the church there on May 3, 1663. He died 
 
 Aug. 19, 1688. His wife, Elizabeth Moore, was a 
 daughter of John Moore. 
 
 (III) David Loomis, son of Nathaniel, was 
 born Jan. 11, 1668, and married Lydia Marsh on 
 Dec. 8, 1692. 
 
 (IV) Eliakim Loomis, the next in the line of 
 descent, was born July 27, 1701, and died March 
 29, 1753. He married Mary Loomis Dec. 4, 1735. 
 
 (V) Simeon Loomis, our subject's great-grand- 
 father, was born May 29, 1741, died July 31, 1778. 
 He was married March 23, 1769, to Keziah Moore, 
 who died Feb. 7, 1778. Their children were: 
 Anna, Job, Amelia, William, Elihu and Keziah. 
 
 (VI) Job Loomis, the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born March 29, 1771, and died Aug. 10, 
 1842. He married Polly Allen, and children as 
 follows were born to them: Simeon, Willard, 
 Simeon (2), Harris, Lester and Henry. Job 
 Loomis was a large man, and his sons were of fine 
 physique. For many years he followed tne wheel- 
 wright's trade exclusively, his boys cultivating his 
 farm for him. 
 
 (VII) Willard Loomis, our subject's father, 
 was born Jan. 12, 1805, and became a farmer and 
 hrickmaker by occupation, beginning on his own 
 resources. His death occurred Dec. 16, 1840, from 
 the effects of an attack of mumps, and his remains 
 vvcre interred in Windsor cemetery. Politically 
 he was a Democrat, but he never aspired to office. 
 Although comparatively young at the time of his 
 death, he had gained an excellent reputation as a 
 business man and a citizen, and his loss was much 
 lamented among a large circle of friends. He mar- 
 ried Miss Abigail Warner, who survived him with 
 two children: (i) W. W., our subject, and (2) 
 Abigail M. The latter married Gilbert Loomis, 
 and died in Omaha, her remains being brought 
 back to Windsor for burial. Her two sons, George 
 W., of Omaha, and Charles M., of Denver, Colo., 
 hold responsible positions in the employ of the 
 Burlington & Missouri River Railway Co. Our 
 subject's mother was born Sept. 15, 1807, at the 
 present homestead, daughter of George and Abby 
 G. (Mills) Warner. After the death of her hus- 
 band she resided at the Warner homestead, dying 
 there at the advanced age of seventy-three years. 
 Her father, who was a tanner by occupation, for- 
 merly owned the homestead in partnership with his 
 brother, Loomis Warner, and they built the old 
 portion of our subject's present residence; later 
 they divided the property, George continuing to 
 occupy the old house. 
 
 (VIII) W. W. Loomis was born June 27, 1830, 
 at his present homestead, and was but ten years 
 old when his father died. His education was be- 
 gun in the Stony Hill school. Miss Ellen Mather 
 being his first teacher, and he still recalls with 
 affectionate esteem the instructors whose strict but 
 wholesome discipline made his school life of last- 
 ing value to him. Later he attended Windsor 
 Academy for a time, but as his widowed mother 
 
1082 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and grandmother needed his assistance he was fre- 
 quentl)- sent out to work among neighboring farm- 
 ers and brickmakers from the age of eleven years. 
 He was clever and strong, and being also indus- 
 trious and faithful was able at sixteen to compete 
 with any man in those lines of work, and while still 
 in his 'teens he took charge of his present farm, 
 then owned by his grandmother Warner. In early 
 manhood he purchased a tract of land adjoining 
 the old homestead, goint;; in debt for it, and this 
 is still a portion of his Uirm. At the time of the 
 building of the depot at Windsor, for the steam 
 railway, he was appointed by Elijah Alford as the 
 first station agent, but the work was not congenial, 
 and after six tnonths he gave it up in order to devote 
 his attention to agriculture. He is a leading mem- 
 ber of Poquonnck Grange, and has always been 
 a stanch supporter of the Democratic party, serv- 
 ing at times in local offices, including that of select- 
 man. He and his wife are prominent in the work 
 of the Congregational Church at Windsor, and for 
 some time he was on the social committee. 
 
 On Feb. 14, 1863, Mr. Loomis married jMiss 
 Lucy M. Wilson, of Windsor, who died March 17, 
 1872. His second wife, formerly Miss Eliza- 
 beth B. Lincoln, was born June 25, 1845, at 
 Oakham, Mass., daughter of Emory and Eliz- 
 beth F. (Keep) Lincoln. She received an ex- 
 cellent education, having studied at the famous 
 school at ]Mt. Holyoke. Mass., and for twelve years 
 previous to her marriage taught successfully in the 
 Young Ladies Seminary at Woodbury, N. J., and 
 in the schools of Berkley, Clarksboro and Jeflfer- 
 son, N. J., and Windsor, Conn. 'Sir. Loomis has 
 had five children, all by the first marriage: Ed- 
 win C, a meat dealer at Windsor ; Delia \V., who 
 died at the age of seventeen ; Fannie B., now Mrs. 
 Arthur ]\Iather, of Hartford; Walter ^L, a farmer 
 in Windsor ; and Lucy, who died in infancy. 
 
 PHILIP S. LIPPS (deceased) was in his day 
 one of the most respected and popular foreign-born 
 citizens that ever resided in Suffield, Hartford coun- 
 ty. His birth took place Dec, 11, 1830, in Alsace, 
 then a province of France, but now belonging to 
 the German Empire. He was one of seven children 
 born to Samuel Lipps, who brought his familj^ to 
 America when Philip S. was quite young and set- 
 tled in New York City, where he followed his trade 
 of tinsmith and where Philip S. secured a good 
 English education in the common schools and after- 
 ward learned cigarmaking. 
 
 After having thoroughly mastered his trade, 
 Philip S. Lipps came to Suffield, Conn., and for 
 several years worked for Henry Endress, as a jour- 
 ne^anan. In 1865 he started a cigar manufactory 
 on his own account, and this he personally super- 
 intended for thirty-three years, or until his death, 
 doing a very extensive and lucrative business. He 
 became one of Suffield's best known citizens, took a 
 deep interest in the welfare of his adopted town 
 
 and its people, and, although a strong Republican 
 in politics, was content to work for the success of 
 his party at the polls, without expectation of re- 
 ceiving official position as a reward. He simply 
 acted from political conviction. He was a man of 
 excellent moral character, was temperate in habit, 
 industrious in his business, well informed in the 
 history of his adopted country, and kept posted on 
 the current events of his day. 
 
 In 185 1, in North Granby, Conn., Mr. Lipps 
 married Miss Emeline Church, a native of that 
 town, and a daughter of David and Emily (Hol- 
 comb) Church, also natives of Granby, but to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Lipps no children were born. The death 
 of Mr. Lipps took place Nov. 10, 1898, at his home, 
 his death resulting from cancer of the stomach, 
 after months of intense suffering, through which he 
 was faithfully attended and nursed by his loving 
 and devoted wife. He was a consistent member of 
 the Baptist Church, and also of Apollo Lodge, No. 
 69, F. & A. M., of Suffield. He was an affection- 
 ate husband, a true friend, and a good citizen, and 
 his loss was deeply deplored by his disconsolate 
 widow and a host of sorrowing friends. 
 
 Mrs. Lipps, who is a lady of excellent business 
 tact, now conducts the business left to her care 
 by her husband, and is most successfuUv managing 
 it. She is greatly respected by all who know her 
 for her intelligence, business ability and determina- 
 tion of character, as manifested in the control of 
 her btisiness. 
 
 AARON J. LOOMIS. Executive ability of a 
 rare order has characterized the business career of 
 this well-known merchant, banker, manufacturer 
 and general business man, whose success as an 
 organizer of large enterprises has been demon- 
 strated in different parts of the United States. A 
 handsome competence, gained by his own fore- 
 sight and enterprise, permits his retirement from 
 active business at a comparatively early age, his- 
 interests being so well arranged that his personal 
 attention is not required. After spending many 
 years in close application to his various enterprises 
 elsewhere, placing them upon a sure footing, he 
 has returned to the home of his boyhood at Wind- 
 sor, where he is held in high esteem as a citizen. 
 Wholly free from false pride, he is always ap- 
 proachable, and n-e enters readily into any move- 
 ment that gives promise of benefit to his town. 
 
 Mr. Loomis was born in Windsor Dec. 12, 1841, 
 and is a member of one of the oldest families of 
 that town, being a descendant of Joseph Loomis, 
 who was born in Braintree, England, about 1590, 
 and settled in Windsor in the fall of 1639. 
 
 (II) Joseph Loomis, the eldest son of this noted 
 pioneer, was born in England, and accompanied 
 his father to Windsor, where he died June 26, 1687. 
 He married (first) Sarah Hill ana (second) Mary 
 Chauncey, who became the mother of Stephen. 
 
 (III) Stephen Loomis, through whom the line 
 
%l 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 loss 
 
 of descent was continued, was born Sept. i, 1668, 
 and died in 1712. On Jan. i, 1691, he married 
 Estlier Colt, who died Nov. 6, 1714. 
 
 (IV) Stephen Loomis, Jr., was born July 21, 
 1693, and died in 1769. On Dec. 7, 1715, be mar- 
 ried Mabel Hoskins. 
 
 (V) Charles Loomis, our subject's great-grand- 
 father, was born Feb. 8, 1718. He was married, 
 July 3, 1750, to Constant Eggleston. 
 
 (VI) Aaron Loomis, grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was Dorn March 21, 1768, and died March 
 31, 1839. He married Betsey E. Marshall, and re- 
 sided upon a farm in Windsor. 
 
 (VII) Collins Loomis, our subject's father, was 
 born Dec. 4, 1804, and always resided at the old 
 family homestead. In his youth he learned the 
 blacksmith's trade, which he followed throughout 
 his life in connection with the management of his 
 farm. He was a large man, possessed of great 
 physical strength, but did not live to the allotted 
 limit of mail's years, his death occurring Nov. 24, 
 1858, when he was aged fifty-four. As a citizen 
 he was progressive, placing a high estimate upon 
 schools, and as he had a comfortable income his 
 children were given good educational privileges. 
 Politically he was a Democrat, but not especially 
 active in partisan work, preferring to devote his 
 energies to his private affairs. On Oct. 28, 1829, 
 Mr. Loomis married Miss Sally Capen, who was 
 born Dec. 16, 1800, in Hartford, on what is now 
 Main street, between Russel and Avon streets. 
 She died Sept. 7, 1889, and her remains now rest 
 beside those of her husband in the cemetery at 
 Windsor. The Capen family has long been prom- 
 inent in Hartford (Capen street having been named 
 after her brother), and her father, Josiah Capen, 
 who was born in Braintree, Mass., in August, 1772, 
 once owned a farm within the present limits of the 
 city, and by occupation he was both a butcher and a 
 farmer ; he died Nov. 5, 1843. His wife, Betsey 
 (Wadsworth), was born in Hartford Aug. 3, 1776, 
 and died at Andover, Conn., March 4, 1871, aged 
 ninety-four years and seven months. Our subject 
 was the youngest of five children born to Collins and 
 Sally Loomis: (i) Samuel C, born April 2, 1831, 
 was a blacksmith in V/indsor, where he died June 
 14, 1876; (2) Sarah E., born April 7, 1834, mar- 
 ried O. P. Mills, of Windsor; (3) Henry L., born 
 July 12, 1837, died in New Hartford May 27, 
 1874; (4) Abigail M., born July 24, 1839, died 
 Aug. 10, 1864, unmarried; (5) Aaron J. was born 
 Dec. 12, 1841. 
 
 (VIII) Aaron J. Loomis first attended the 
 "Bell School" in Windsor, Cicero Roberts and 
 Spencer Clapp being among his early teachers. At 
 seventeen he entered the academy at Suffield, and 
 on leaving that institution he went to Tariffville, 
 where he was employed by a butcher for a short 
 time. Having gained a practical knowledge of the 
 business he formed a partnership with his brother 
 Henry, and established a meat market in New 
 
 Hartford. They built up a large trade in that 
 vicinity, having many customers in Collinsville, but 
 after a few years our subject sold out to his brother 
 and went to Lakewood, N. J., then a manufacturing 
 town, with no promise of its present popularity as 
 a winter resort. Mr. Loomis engaged in a hotel 
 and livery business there and, although both lines 
 of work were new to him, he met with his usual suc- 
 cess. After nine years he disposed of his hotel, but 
 retained the livery business, to which he added a 
 lumber, coal and wood business, under the firm 
 name of the A. J. Loomis Co., Limited, now the 
 most extensive concern in that line at Lakewood. 
 About the same time he established a plant for 
 making inside furnishings for houses, and a box 
 factory, the latter having since been removed to 
 Hertford, N. C, where an extensive business is 
 carried on under the firm name of Major & Loomis. 
 Lakewood possessed no banking facilities during the 
 early years of his residence there, and in 1889 he 
 took an active part in the organization of the Lake- 
 wood Trust Co., of which he was president until 
 1893, his well-proven integrity being a tower of 
 strength to the institution. In 1893 he returned 
 to Windsor to reside, but he still owns a handsome 
 house at Lakewood, as well as much valuable busi- 
 ness property. In politics he has always been a 
 Democrat, and while in Lakewood he was prom- 
 inent in local affairs, serving as township treas- 
 urer and as a member of the town committee, and 
 lending his influence to various movements which 
 tended to the benefit of the village. 
 
 On May 11, 1864, Mr. Loomis was married, 
 in New Hartford, to Miss Helen Beaney, and five 
 children have blessed the union : Miss May is at 
 home; Warren W. is a student in Brown Uni- 
 versity; and three, Walter, Frank and Wallace, 
 died in infancy. 
 
 ELI FREEMAN, a well-known and honored 
 citizen of West Suffield, was born in New Marlboro, 
 Berkshire Co., Mass., April 22, 1818, and belongs 
 to a family of English extraction which was 
 founded in the old Bay State during early Colonial 
 days. His great-grandfather, Eli Freeman, was 
 the second settler of New Marlboro, where he en- 
 gaged in farming throughout the remainder of his 
 Hfe. 
 
 Silas Freeman, our subject's grandfather, was 
 born in New Marlboro Oct. 11, 1746, being the first 
 male child born in that town. He took an active 
 part in the Revolutionary war, was a farmer by 
 occupation, and was quite a prominent citizen of 
 his native place, where he spent his entire life, 
 dying there Sept. 8, 1837. His wife, who bore the 
 maiden name of Elizabeth Kasson, was born Feb. 
 8, 1750, and died Feb. 10, 1831, the remains of 
 both being interred in the New Marlboro cem- 
 etery. In their family were ten children, v/hose 
 names and dates of birth and death were as fol- 
 lows : Alice, April 15, 1769 — Aug. 6, 1857; Sibyl, 
 
1084 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 April 2, 1 771 — Dec. 20, 1850; Silas, April 28, 1773 
 — Oct. 19, 1855 ; W'ealthy, April i, 1775— Nov. 13, 
 1855; James, Feb. 20, 1778— Jan. 20, 1869; Kasson, 
 Aug. 24, 1780 — March 14, 1872; Heman, i\Iay 28, 
 1784— ^larch 8, 1789; Calvin, Sept. 10, 1787— 
 j\Jarch 9, 1S77; Heman, iMay 25, 1790— Aug. 14, 
 1874; and Eliza, March 20, 1796 — Aug. i, 1884. 
 Calvin Freeman, the father of our subject, was 
 born and reared in New Marlboro, and engaged in 
 farming there for some years. He was married in 
 that town to Miss Janthe Cole, who was born in 
 July, 1786. Her father, Asa Cole, was also one 
 of the heroes of the Revolutionary war. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Freeman were born six children : Guy, 
 a farmer, who married Lucinda Austin, and died 
 in Suffield, Hartford county; Jay, a farmer, who 
 married Harriet Kmelinc Phelps, and is still living 
 in West Suffield, at the age of eighty-seven; Louise, 
 who died unmarried at the age of thirty-seven 
 years; Eli, our subject; Elizabeth, who died un- 
 married at the age of twenty-two; and Mercy, de- 
 ceased, who (first) married William Lyman and 
 (second) George I'utncy. In 1828 the father 
 hrought his family to Suffield, Hartford Co., Conn., 
 and purchased the Pomeroy farm in West Suffield. 
 This was a tract of 117 acres, seventeen of which 
 were woodland, and here he carried on general 
 farming, stock raising and dairying until life's la- 
 bors were ended. He made extensive improve- 
 ments upon the place, including the erection of a 
 fine brick residence and a good barn. He lived to 
 the advanced age of ninety years, dying in the arms 
 of our subject Alarch 9, 1877, and his remains were 
 interred in West Suffield cemetery. He was well- 
 known and highly respected, and his fellow citizens 
 honored him with a seat in the State Legislature. 
 He was temperate in all his habits, and never used 
 strong drink or tobacco in any form. In political 
 sentiment he was a stalwart Democrat, and in re- 
 ligious faith was a Universalist. His wife was 
 not a member of any church. She died on the 
 home farm Oct. 17, 1850, and was also buried in 
 West Suffield cemetery. 
 
 Eli Freeman was only ten years old when he 
 accompanied the family on their removal to West 
 Suffield, where he attended the district schools and 
 also the Connecticut Literary Institute, which was 
 then in its infancy. For a short time he clerked in 
 a store, but as the occupation was not congenial 
 he returned to the home farm and has since devoted 
 his time and attention to agricultural pursuits, as 
 an extensive tobacco grower, stock raiser and gen- 
 eral farmer. He has erected a brick addition to 
 his residence, and made other improvements upon 
 the place which add to its value and beauty. He 
 tenderly cared for his parents until they were called 
 to the world beyond. 
 
 In Suffield, Nov. 30, 1847, Mr. Freeman was 
 tmited in marriage with Miss Sarah E. Johnson,who 
 was born in Becket, Mass., Nov. 20, 1828, and 
 they became the parents of two children: (i) 
 
 Wilbur Kasson, who now operates the home farm, 
 niarried Mary Esther Alderman, a native of East 
 Granby, Hartford county, and a daughter of James 
 A-lderman, and to them were born two children, 
 Sarah Edna and Charles Wilbur, the latter of whom 
 died at the age of eight years. (2) Ada Eliza- 
 beth married Newton Lewis, and died in 1885. 
 ■J'he family are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and Wilbur K. is a Democrat in politics. 
 Iij 1897 Mr. and Mrs. Freeman celebrated their 
 golden wedding. They are passing quietly down 
 the sunset hill of life, enjoying the esteem and con- 
 fidence of their neighbors and the afliection of their 
 many friends. Politically Mr. Freeman is a Jef- 
 fersonian Democrat, but has never cared for po- 
 litical preferment, though he has served as a mem- 
 ber of the school committee. 
 
 John Johnson, Mrs. Freeman's grandfather, 
 was a resident of \\'indsor, Hartford county. When 
 a young man he enlisted in the Continental service 
 during the Revolutionary war, and never returned 
 home, his life being sacrificed that his country 
 sliould be free. His only child, John Johnson, Jr., 
 was born in Windsor after his father entered the 
 army. When a young man he went to Otis, Berk- 
 sh.ire Co., Mass., and from there moved to Becket, 
 same county, where he engaged in farming, making 
 that occupation his life work. There he married 
 Rhoda Clark, a daughter of Jonathan Clark, and 
 tc them were born four children : Mary Ann, de- 
 ceased wife of Gideon Flale ; Henry, who died when 
 a young man ; Catherine P., deceased wife of War- 
 ren Wright; and Sarah E., wife of our subject. 
 From Berkshire county, Mass., Mr. Johnson came 
 to Suffield, Hartford Co., Conn., and purchased the 
 Jarvis King farm, now owned by George A. Har- 
 man. Both he and his wife died in West Suffield, 
 and were laid to rest in the West Suffield cemetery. 
 They were consistent members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, and were widely and favorably 
 known. 
 
 WILLIAM S. JUDD, the popular and efficient 
 postmaster at New Britain, is a man whose ability 
 and personal worth have been put to the test in 
 manv positions of trust, in both business and po- 
 litical life. As a descendant of an old and hon- 
 ored family he demonstrates the sturdy strength 
 of will of our New England stock, having made 
 his own way to success without extraneous aid, 
 and has the enviable record of more than thirtv 
 years of active business connection with the manu- 
 facturing firm of P. & F. Corbin. 
 
 Mr. Judd's family became identified with Farm- 
 ington at an early day, and has always been promi- 
 nent in the various movements which have brought 
 about the development of this section. Thomas 
 Judd, the original settler, came from England and 
 settled at Cambridge, Mass., in 1633 or 1634. His 
 home lot of four acres, in that part of Cambridge 
 called the "West End," on the northeast side of 
 
 \ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1085 
 
 the highway to W^atertown, was granted in Au- 
 gust, 1634. He was admitted freeman of the Col- 
 ony May 25, 1636. In 1636 he removed to Hart- 
 ford, Conn.j^ and it is probable he was one of that 
 company (of about a hundred men, women and 
 children) who departed from Cambridge on the 
 last day of May, 1636. His house lot in Hart- 
 ford was on the south side of the Wyllys home lot, 
 which is distinguished by the Charter Oak, and 
 both lots extended westward to the highway leading 
 to Wethersfield. Thomas Judd was one of the first 
 proprietors and settlers of Farmington, removing 
 from Hartford probably in 1644, and his home lot 
 was the third lot from the north end of Main street, 
 on both sides, and extended westward to the Farm- 
 ington river. Farmington first sent deputies — 
 Stephen Hart and Thomas Judd — to the General 
 Court in May, 1647. Thomas Judd was subse- 
 quently sent a deputy in 1648-49-51-57-58-59-61- 
 62-63-66-68-70-77-78-79. He was a member of the 
 church under the care of Rev. Thomas Hooker and 
 Rev. Samuel Stone, both at Cambridge and Hart- 
 ford, and was one of the seven pillars of the church 
 of Farmington at its organization. Stephen Hart 
 was the first deacon, and Thomas Judd the second.- 
 He died Nov. 12, 1688, when about eighty years of 
 age. 
 
 (H) William Judd, born about 1633-1636, mar- 
 ried Mary Steele March 30, 1658; he died in 1690. 
 
 (HI) John Judd, born in Farmington in 1667, 
 died in 1717. 
 
 (IV) William Judd, born in Farmington in 
 1698-99, married Ruth Lee, March 14, 1723. He 
 died Sept. i, 1751. 
 
 (V) Capt. William Judd, our subject's great- 
 grandfather, was born July 20, 1743, in Farming- 
 ton, and after graduating from Yale College, in 
 1763, studied law, and was admitted to the Bar 
 of Hartford county about 1765. For many years 
 he followed his profession successfully in Farming- 
 ton, where he held the office of justice of the peace 
 for some time, and in his later years he was active 
 and influential in public affairs, serving in the 
 Connecticut Legislature and achieving a reputa- 
 tion for ability which extended far beyond local 
 limits. During the Revolutionary war he was cap- 
 tain in the Connecticut regiment commanded by 
 Col. Willis, his commission being signed by John 
 Hancock. He was one of the charter members of 
 the Connecticut Branch of the Society of the Cin- 
 cinnati, a beneficiary and fraternal order organized 
 in 1786, the parent society having been formed three 
 years earlier. His certificate of membership was 
 signed by President Washington, and the Society, 
 which meets every fourth of July, is one of the 
 oldest and most aristocratic in the country. Capt. 
 Judd died at Farmington Nov. 13, 1804. His wife 
 was Elizabeth Mix, daughter of Ebenezer Mix, of 
 West Hartford. 
 
 (VI) William S. Judd, our subject's grand- 
 father, was born in Farmington Jan. 10, 1766, and 
 
 v.'as graduated in 1787 from Harvard College. He 
 appears to have been actively interested in politics, 
 having served a term as postmaster in New Haven, 
 but his party affiliations are not known. For many 
 years he was engaged in mercantile business in 
 New Haven, and in 1808 had a partner and car- 
 ried on' an extensive trade with the West Indies. 
 Late in life he removed to Middletown, and his 
 last years were spent in retirement in New Britain, 
 where he died March 27, 1835. His wife, Esther 
 (Stanley), was a daughter of Col. Gad Stanley, 
 a promment citizen of New Britain. Their chil- 
 dren were : William Henry, Maria Mix, Philip Sam- 
 uel and Thomas S. Of these, Thomas S. was ed- 
 ucated in Washington College (now Trinity), Hart- 
 ford, and became an Episcopal minister^ having 
 charge of the parishes of Monroe (Conn.) and 
 Windom (N. Y.). 
 
 (VII) Philip S. Judd, the father of our subject, 
 was a native of Farmington, born Oct. 14, 1801, 
 and received a good education for his time, the 
 family having always shown a high appreciation 
 of mental attainments. In early manhood he en- 
 tered business life as a clerk in New Britain, and 
 later he was employed as a bookkeeper by Alvin 
 North (now North & Judd) and by Landers & 
 Smith (now Landers, Erary & Clark). He took 
 keen interest in religious work, and was one of the 
 original members of St. Mark's Episcopal Church 
 of New Britain. He married Miss Elizabeth 
 Howd, daughter of James Howd, of East Hart- 
 ford, and a descendant of an old Colonial family, 
 which was represented in the Revolutionary army. 
 They had the following children : Esther Maria, 
 born April 15, 1836, married Edward Yates, of 
 New Britain; Thomas Henry, born Aug. 14, 1840, 
 died in 1861 ; William Samuel, our subject, is men- ■ 
 tioned more fully below ; Alfred Stanley, born June 
 18, 1847, and who was employed for many years 
 as a shipping clerk for the Stanley Works, in New 
 Britain, died Feb. 22, 1900. The father passed 
 away May 3, 1851, and the mother on Sept. 9, 
 1883. 
 
 Our subject was born July 7, 1844, in the town 
 of New Britain, where he obtained a good public- 
 school education. Through the efforts of his 
 mother, a lady of rare mental gifts and strength 
 of character, his attendance was continued until 
 he reached the age of sixteen, his course in the 
 high school being taken while J. W. Tuck was prin- 
 cipal. On leaving school he spent three or four 
 years as a clerk in different establishments, and in 
 October, 1865, he entered the employ of P. & F. 
 Corbin. He began in the packing room, but as 
 business increased he was made shipping clerk. 
 His fidelity and efficiency brought him further pro- 
 motion as the head of the order department, which 
 position he held until his appointment as postmaster. 
 From boyhood he was interested in politics, his s3Tn- 
 pathies being with the Republican party, and for 
 years he has been a leading worker in the local 
 
1086 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 organization. From 1874 to 1877 he represented 
 the Third ward in the city council, and in 1881-85- 
 S6-87-88-89-90 he was elected alderman, making; 
 seven years service in that office. During this time 
 he was chairman of the Finance committee one 
 term, and a member of the committees on Streets 
 and Claims. For a number of years he wasa mem- 
 ber of the board of health, serving as its chairman 
 for one year after he left the council, and in 1893 
 he was elected to the office of selectman, fron,i 
 which he resigned Feb. 15, i8q8. On Jan. 10, 1898, 
 he was appointed postmaster by President McKin- 
 ley, and since Feb. 15, of that year, he has served 
 acceptably in the position. Socially he and his fam- 
 ily are prominent, and he is a leading member of 
 the Baptist Church of New JJritain, in which he 
 has served as deacon for many years. He also be- 
 longs to the Improved Order of Heptasophs; the 
 Order of United American JNIechanics, in which 
 he has been State councilor for Connecticut ; and 
 to the Society of the Cincinnati, mentioned above, 
 having been president of the Connecticut branch. 
 In 1867 Mr. Judd married Miss Helen G. Hart, 
 a daughter of Deacon William Hart, a highly-re- 
 spected citizen of New Britain, and three children 
 have blessed the union : ( i ) Laura Jane, born Sept. 
 2, 1870, married O. Bertini, of New Britain, and has 
 three sons, ITarold A., Robert J. and Norman F. 
 (2) William H., born May 7, 1877, graduated from 
 the New Britain high school, and is now a clerk 
 in the National Bank of that city. (.3) Thomas 
 H., born Feb. 17, 1879, graduated from the New 
 Britain high school, and is now employed as assist- 
 ant postmaster. 
 
 ROBERT SUGDEN comes of an inventive and 
 manufacturing stock, his father, Robert Sugden, 
 having been one of the earliest inventors and man- 
 ufacturers of cotton-looms in New England. His 
 first patent was granted in 18 13, and the original 
 document is regarded as an heirloom in the family, 
 bearing as it does the signatures of James Madi- 
 son, President, and James ^Monroe, Secretary of 
 State. Our subject's mother was Marv Wales, a 
 daughter of Major Nathaniel Wales, of Revolution- 
 ary fame, who recruited the first troop of horse 
 in Massachusetts to take part in the struggle for 
 American independence ; he was the leader of the 
 funeral of John Hancock. 
 
 Robert Sugden was born July 23, 1819, at 
 Eraintree, ]\Iass. He was the eldest of five children 
 born to his parents, the others being William E., 
 who is president of the Hartford Mutual Insur- 
 ance Co. ; Mary and Elizabeth, both of whom re- 
 side in Braintree; and Nathaniel W., deceased. 
 Our subject was an infant when his parents moved 
 to Middletown, and it was there he grew up and, 
 like most New England boys, received his educa- 
 tion in the district schools which were provided 
 for the training of the young idea. In 1839 the 
 family removed to Rocky Hill, where Air. Sugden 
 
 lived until 1846. He was then twent3'-seven years 
 of age, and the mechanical instinct born in him 
 began to assert itself in no uncertain way; farm 
 lite was not to his taste, and turning his back upon 
 the parental roof he went to Middletown, where 
 he engaged in manufacturing. There he remained 
 until 1849, when, having found his original venture 
 more or less successful, he returned to Rocky Hill 
 and organized a stock company under the name of 
 the Rocky liill Cast Iron Manufacturing Co. In 
 1852 he disposed of his interest in that concern, and 
 two years later formed a partnership with Mr. But- 
 ler for the manufacture of cast-iron shears, the 
 firm name being Butler, Sugden & Co. In 1864 he 
 purchased his partner's interest in the business, 
 which he conducted alone until 1868. That year 
 the factory burned down, and in 1871 Mr. Sugden 
 returned to Middletown, and engaged in the manu- 
 facture of rubber goods, which he carried on for 
 three years ; in 1877 ^^^ removed to New Britain, 
 vhere he accepted a position as foreman in the 
 foundry of Landers, Frary & Clark. This post he 
 occupied for twenty-one years, with credit to him- 
 self and satisfaction to his employers. In Novem- 
 ber, 1898, he returned to Rocky Hill, where he has 
 ever since resided. 
 
 C)n Feb. 6, 1844, ^Ir. Sugden was married to 
 Miss Emily W. Robbins, and they have four chil- 
 dren: Robert A., who resides in New York; 
 Amelia M., wife of Henry C. Churchill, of Boston; 
 Abbie E., who died in 1868; and Emily R. 
 
 In politics Mr. Sugden is a Republican, hav- 
 ing been originally a Whig, and represented his 
 town in the Legislature of 1869. He has also 
 served his fellow citizens as selectman, and is held 
 in universal respect in the community. He is a 
 member of the Congregational Church, and active 
 in every good work looking to the advancement of 
 the cause of Christianity, the benefit of the commun- 
 it}-, and the general good of his fellow men. 
 
 JOHN SAMUEL ROWLEY, a worthy repre- 
 sentative of the agricultural interests of the town 
 of Newington, was born in Chatham, Conn., Dec. 
 5, 1832, and is of Welsh descent. 
 
 The family was founded in this country by three 
 brothers, but one returned to Wales on business, 
 and was never heard of again. Our subject's pa- 
 ternal grandfather drove an ox-team for the Con- 
 tinental troops during the Revolutionary war, and 
 was present at the battle of Bunker Hill. The fa- 
 ther, Eleazer Dunham Rowley, was born in East 
 Haddam, Conn., in 1786, and married Miss Lydia 
 Skinner, of Hebron, Conn. Their remains were 
 interred in Young Street cemetery, Chatham. In 
 their family were the following children: Abby, 
 Harriet, Julia, Sarah, Mar)', Emeline, David and 
 John S. All are now deceased with the exception 
 of Julia and our subject. 
 
 John S. Rowley remained on the home farm in 
 Chatham until twenty-seven years of age. At the 
 
 / 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1087 
 
 age of sixteen he purchased the place from his fa- 
 ther and cared for the family for some years. On 
 disposing of the farm he went to Portland, Conn., 
 where he purchased property and engaged in ag- 
 ricultural pursuits for five years, and on selling 
 that place, to William J. Slew, he came to New- 
 ington in 1864 and bought twenty acres of Walter 
 F. Brown. This place, which is known as "Golden 
 Knoll farm," is one of the most attractive in the 
 community. On July 19, 1894, about 5 p. m., light- 
 ning struck Mr. Rowley's barn during a heavy 
 storm, and he lost forty tons of hay, thirty shocks 
 of rye, three horses, two cows (one a fine black 
 Jersey), one bull, several sets of harness, farm im- 
 plements, plows, wagons, etc. He immediately 
 built a larger and better barn, and all the buildings 
 upon his place are models of neatness and thrift. 
 
 On Nov. 3, 1857, Mr. Rowley married Mrs. 
 Charlotte J. Randall, of Hartford, daughter of 
 Ozias and Clarissa Cooley, who died at Mr. Rowley's 
 home, and were buried in North cemetery, Hart- 
 ford. Mrs. Rowley was killed Nov. 5, 1895, by 
 a train on the Berlin branch of the New York, New 
 Haven & Hartford railroad, while driving with her 
 daughter. The daughter was badly injured, and 
 the horse had her neck broken. The children born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Rowley were Frederic Dunham, 
 Sept. 9, 1858; Clara Lydia, Dec. 29, i860; Fannie 
 Etta, Aug. 10, 1864; Hattie Isabelle, Nov. 19, 
 1866; and Frank Hills, Oct. 6, 1869. The eldest 
 died July 22, 1868, and Fannie Etta died July 20, 
 1865. Clara Lydia was married, May 12, 1881, to 
 VVilliam G. Wells, and in 1891 moved to California, 
 where he owns and conducts a ranch. On March 
 29, 1899, they returned to Connecticut on a visit. 
 In their family were six children, all born in New- 
 ington. Conn., with the exception of the youngest, 
 who was born in Orange, Cal., as follows : Will- 
 i.im Clifford, born June 21, 1882; George Rowley, 
 April 21, 1884; Lottie Isabelle, Aug. 29, 1886; 
 Edith Cornelia, April 19, 1888; Alice May, Jan. 2, 
 1890 (died five days later) ; and Grace Louise, July 
 27, 1895. Frank Hills Rowley, son of our subject, 
 is a farmer and dairyman, residing on a farm ad- 
 joining that of his father. He was married, in 
 the Episcopal Church, New Britain, Nov. 12, 1891, 
 to Katherine Clark, and they have five children: 
 Katherine Clara, born Oct. 22, 1892 ; Henry Frank, 
 June 30, 1894; Norman Edward; Sept. i, 1896; 
 Charlotte Mary, Sept. 17, 1898; and Jennie Isabella, 
 Sept. 27, 1900. 
 
 Mr. Rowley was- again married, July 29, 1896, 
 his second union being with Mrs. Anna Eliza Bur- 
 rows, of Willimantic, Conn. Her parents, Samuel 
 and Eliza Perkins, who were farming people, died in 
 Willimantic, and were buried there. By her .for- 
 mer marriage Mrs. Rowley had three children: 
 Gertrude, born in 1876; Grace, born in 1877; and 
 Clinton C, born in 1881. 
 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Rowley are consistent mem- 
 bers of the Congregational Church, and also be- 
 
 long to Newington Grange, and he affiliates with 
 the Masonic fraternity and the Junior Order 
 L'nited American Mechanics. Politically he is a 
 Democrat. He is upright and honorable in all 
 things, and his word is considered as good as his 
 bond. 
 
 OSBORNE FAMILY, from which Mrs. James 
 T. Hill, of Sufifiield, descends, were among the early 
 settlers of the State, and the surviving members 
 are classed with its most prominent and respected 
 citizens. 
 
 David Osborne, great-grandfather of the lady 
 n^entioned above, was a native of Goshen, Litch- 
 field Co., Conn., and was a hero of the war of the 
 Revolution. After the close of that struggle he 
 settled with his family in Granby, where he en- 
 gaged in farming until his decease. William Os- 
 borne, son of David, was born in Granby, was 
 reared to farming, and married Betsey Wilcox, 
 also a native of Granby. To this union were born 
 eleven children, in the following order: William 
 and Riley, deceased ; James, still living at the ad- 
 vanced age of eighty-six years ; Louise, who died 
 in Iowa ; Linus, deceased ; Melzar, who went to 
 Arizona; Lydia, married to Edwin B. Alderman, of 
 South Riverside, Cal. ; Lewis, who died in Cali- 
 fornia ; David, who lives in Iowa ; Henry, a resi- 
 dent of Plainville, Conn. ; and Leverett, who died 
 in California. William Osborne, the father, was 
 first a Democrat in politics, but later became a 
 Prohibitionist, and had always been noted for his 
 temperate habits and upright life. He lived in 
 Otis, Mass., many years, but died at an advanced 
 age in Anamosa, Iowa. 
 
 William Osborne, the eldest child in the above 
 named family, and the father of Mrs. James T. Hill 
 was born in Otis, Berkshire Co., Mass., in 1807. He 
 was thirteen years of age when the family moved 
 to Westfield, where he grew to manhood, receiv- 
 ing his education in the public schools. In that 
 city he was for some years engaged in the man- 
 ufacture of whips, and also carried on a lumber 
 business. In 1858 he came to Suffield, Conn., and 
 bought the Cobb farm of fifty-four acres, erected 
 a dwelling, barns and tobacco sheds, and devoted 
 liis attention to tobacco growing, stock raising and 
 general farming. He was very successful in all 
 his enterprises, and attained considerable prom- 
 inence in the community. First a Whig in politics, 
 he later became a Democrat, but was never a seeker 
 after office. In his church views he was liberal, 
 but always lived up to the golden rule, and was 
 renowned for his nice sense of honor, integrity and 
 temperance. He was affable in manner and gen- 
 erous to a fault, and was honored and respected 
 wherever known. 
 
 Mr. Osborne married, at Agawam, Hampden 
 Co., Mass., Miss Betsey Bailey, a native of Groton, 
 New London Co., Conn., and a daughter of Nathan 
 Bailey. This union was blessed with four children : 
 
1088 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 j\Jaria, wife of Henry Bramen, of Spring-field, 
 Mass.; William U., who died in 1873; Alary L., 
 who died young; and Ida Henrietta, the wife of 
 James T. iiill, of Suffield. 
 
 i\lRS. Ida H. (Usbokxe) Hill was educated 
 in the district schools of Suffield, and at the Con- 
 necticut Literary Institute, in the same town, and 
 ill ib8o was married to James T. Hill, who was 
 born in Shutesbury, Franklin Co., Mass., a son of 
 Oliver Hill. In politics Mr. Hill is a Republican, 
 and he and his wife are members of the Baptist 
 Church. They reside on the old Osborne home- 
 stead in Suflield, where Mr. Hill is engaged in 
 general farming and tobacco growing and is pros- 
 pering. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hill 
 have been born : Bessie Alaria and Bertha Mary 
 (twins), who are remarkably bright girls, and are 
 now students at the Connecticut Literary Insti- 
 tute, and are well advanced in their studies. 
 
 Mrs. Betsey (Bailey) Osborne, mother of Mrs. 
 Hill, died at the home of her daughter on the farm 
 March 17, 1885, a devout member oi the Baptist 
 Church and a truly good woman, and her remains 
 are interred in the Suffield cemetery, beside those 
 of her husband, who passed away Dec. 6, 1890. 
 
 Mrs. Hill is a lady of culture, with esthetic in- 
 stincts and love of art, and is well read in current 
 literature. She is, moreover, blessed with sound 
 business judgment, and as a housekeeper is un- 
 excelled in the county. She and husband enjoy 
 the confidence and respect of the entire community 
 in which they live, and the children are the admira- 
 tion of the neighborhood. 
 
 CHARLES WOOD^^■ORTH LATHROP. 
 There has been for a generation or longer upon 
 the streets of Burnside, in the town of East Hart- 
 ford, no more familiar figure, none more welcome, 
 none of kindlier disposition, than that of the genial, 
 whole-souled, self-made man whose name appears 
 at the beginning of this sketch. By the usual meas- 
 urements of financial success Mr. Lathrop must be 
 accredited in the comnnmitv in which he lives with 
 a orominent place. But it is not by that standard 
 that he is best known, nor is it recognized by him- 
 self. He is admired for his unostentatious manner, 
 perhaps, above his other happy and sterling traits, 
 for he is utterly destitute of that feeling of pride 
 which grows profusely in the shadow of success. 
 He is a plain-going man, in whose soul ever sparkle 
 the gems of kindness and good cheer. His father 
 often said to his boys, "you can be something, or 
 nothing." The maxim, as applied to the career of 
 our subject, reveals positive results. 
 
 Mr. Lathrop's paternal grandfather was an in- 
 dustrious and prosperous farmer of Lebanon, Conn. 
 He reared a large family, among whom were 
 Henry, a liveryman of Norwich, Conn. ; Leonard, 
 a farmer of Andover, Conn. ; Elisha, a farmer of 
 New London county; Erastus, a farmer of Leba- 
 
 non; Harvey, the father of our subject; and one 
 daughter. 
 
 Harvey Lathrop, the father of our subject, 
 lived in Lebanon, where in addition to farming he 
 was engaged quite extensively in getting out lum- 
 ber and handling timber. After his sons had 
 grown up and left him he sold his farm and removed 
 to New London, where he built a nice home and 
 passed the remainder of his years. He married 
 Octavia Woodworth, and their children were as 
 follows; Albert, a liveryman of East Hartford; 
 Charles W., our subject ; Harriet L., widow of Will- 
 iam Smith, of Norwich ; Henrietta, who married 
 Charles D. Browning, and died in Norwich ; Ed- 
 win, a resident of Norwich, who died while on a 
 visit to Syracuse, N. Y. ; Arthur, a coal dealer and 
 successful business man of Norwich, Conn. ; Oli- 
 ver, who enlisted during the Civil war in the Eighth 
 Regiment, Conn. \'. I., and was killed at Antietam ; 
 John, a resident of JNIontville, Conn. ; Fanny, widow 
 of a Mr. Kingsley, of Lebanon ; and Fred, who mar- 
 ried, and died at the age of thirty-four years, 
 leaving two children. The father was a man whose 
 every act toward his fellow men was well meant. 
 He was most highly respected and was well 
 known. He was a Whig and later a Republican 
 in politics, but was not a politician. He lived to 
 the age of sixty-nine years, and his wife to the age 
 of sixty-tlu-ee years. Both were members of the 
 Congregational Church. 
 
 Charles W^ Lathrop, our subject, was born at 
 Lebanon, Conn., Dec. 31, 1833. On his father's 
 farm, which was one of the best in Lebanon, situated 
 on the old Colchester and Norwich turnpike, he 
 passed his boyhood. His early schooling he re- 
 ceived in the district schools, and among his school- 
 mates was Solomon Lucas, later a leading member 
 of the Norwich Bar. At the age of eighteen years 
 Mr. Lathrop started out in life for himself. His 
 uncle, Oliver Woodworth, of Scotland (now Burn- 
 side), was a paper-maker in the mill of Goodwin 
 & Co., now operated by F. R. Walker & Son, and our 
 subject with a cash capital of twelve cents, but 
 with sturdy constitution, a character that had been 
 formed on equally rugged and firm principles, an 
 ambition to make his way in the world, and the 
 reserve qualities of industry and thrift, became 
 an employe in .the same mill. During the first 
 year he worked as a loft man. In the winter fol- 
 lowing he returned to Lebanon to attend school, 
 and in the spring he entered the employ of the 
 late Giles Forbes. Thence he returned to his old 
 position in the mill, where he remained until 1855. 
 In that year he bought the company's team and 
 began the trucking business. Mr. Lathrop started 
 with an ordinary truck wagon in the business, which 
 he followed for about thirty-five years, and in which 
 he grew to be one of the landmarks of the town. 
 His team were a pair of ordinary draft horses, each 
 1,500 pounds in weight. His work for the milL 
 
f 
 
 i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1089 
 
 was done by the ton, his pay being seventy cents a 
 ton, and though the roads were far inferior to what 
 they are now Mr. Lathrop made his two trips a 
 day regularly, seldom missing, even when heavy 
 rains had turned the old-time East Hartford roads 
 into lakes of mud, or on the worst winter days, 
 when snow was piled in drifts five or six feet high. 
 In 1858 he went to Hartford, and for two years 
 teamed for Bill & Baldwin. He then returned to 
 Burnside. 
 
 In 1862 Mr. Lathrop enlisted in Company A, 
 Twenty-fifth Conn. V. I., a company and regiment 
 which contained many men who afterward became 
 prominent. The regiment was in the expedition of 
 Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, of Louisiana, and was 
 present at the siege of Port Hudson. Mr. Lath- 
 rop was detailed with six others from his brigade 
 on wagon duty during a portion of the siege. While 
 at the Springfield landing one afternoon the detail 
 caught sight of three hundred Confederate cav- 
 alry raiding down on the landing. The other six 
 fell into the clutches of the "Johnnies," but Mr. 
 Lathrop contrived to bring his wagon and team 
 and their load of rations away in safety, though 
 the Confederate troopers followed in hot pursuit 
 for four miles. One of their bullets struck a for- 
 ward wheel, and dozens of others whistled by the 
 driver's ears during the chase. In August, 1863, 
 Mr. Lathrop bought one-third of the interest in 
 Baldwin & Downing's truck business. Then he 
 bought the team of F. R. Walker, who had come 
 into ownership of the upper mill, and went 
 into his employ as teamster. Until 1892 Mr. Lath- 
 rop followed this occupation. His trip from the 
 mill to the steamboat dock was made with the 
 regularity and reliability of a pendulum. Leaving 
 his hom.e at 6:30, he would reach Main street at 7, 
 and the dock shortly after 7:30. Such was the 
 regularity of his trips that William L. Huntting, 
 if his clock ran down at night, would set the hands 
 at 7 o'clock when he saw Mr. Lathrop's team pass- 
 ing in the morning. With the exception of one 
 year Mr. Lathrop had fine luck with his horses, 
 but in that year he lost $1,000 worth. He figures 
 that the tolls he paid to the old bridge company 
 amounted to something over $7,000. In March, 
 1892, he sold out his business to G. Dwight Burn- 
 ham ; his outfit included two wagons, five horses, 
 and the necessary harnesses and equipments. 
 
 Mr. Lathrop was married, Jan. 8, 1856, to Miss 
 Harriet E. Bliss, who was born May 28, 1833, 
 daughter of Ira and Paulina (Rowell) Bliss, of 
 Burnside. Ira Bliss was a Vermonter by birth, 
 and his wife was a native of New York State. To 
 Ira and Pauline Bliss were born five children : 'Delia 
 P., now Mrs. E. C. Brewer, of Silver street. East 
 Hartford; Harriet E., wife of our subject, and 
 Hayden W., of Hartford, twins; Julia E., who died 
 aged fifteen years ; and Sarah E., who died young. 
 Ira Bliss was a papermaker by trade, and in later 
 life acted as station agent at Burnside. He was 
 
 69 
 
 assassinated by two young men, who assaulted 
 him Feb. 21, 1876, inflicting injuries which re- 
 sulted in his death nine days later. He was a 
 highly-respected citizen, and a member of the Con- 
 gregational Church, and in politics a stanch Re- 
 publican. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Lathrop was 
 blessed with two children: Julia, wife of Henry S. 
 Camp, a meat dealer of Norwich, Conn., who has 
 one " son, Charles Lathrop Camp ; and Lelia, who 
 died in 1880, at the age of sixteen. Mr. Lathrop 
 erected his excellent home on Burnside avenue, 
 which contains all the conveniences and appoint- 
 ments of a modern residence. His wife attends 
 the First Congregational Church of East Hart- 
 ford. In politics he has been an enthusiastic Re- 
 publican since the organization of that party. In 
 the autumn of 1892 he was elected to the board of 
 selectmen, and he filled that office continuously for 
 some time, with the exception of one year, his pop- 
 ularity being attested by the large votes he has re- 
 ceived ; later he served as second selectman of East 
 Hartford, and proved a painstaking official, uni- 
 formly kind and courteous, and ever ready and 
 willing to bestow a favor when consistent with 
 his line of duty. He is widely known and where- 
 ever known is favorably known. 
 
 WILLIAM BALLANTINE KING is one of 
 the old and honored citizens of the town of Suf-- 
 field, and a worthy representative of one of it& 
 prominent pioneer families. He was born July 18, 
 1823, in that town, where eight generations of the 
 family have made their home. There is an old 
 age that is a benediction to all that comes in con- 
 tact with it, that gives out of its rich stores of 
 learning and experience, and grows stronger intel- 
 lectually and spiritually as the years pass. Such is 
 the life of Mr. King, an encouragement to his as- 
 sociates, and an example well worthy of emulation 
 to the young. 
 
 James King, the first of the family to locate in 
 the town of Suffield, was a farmer by occupation, 
 and an extensive land owner. He spent his last 
 years here, and made many improvements upon his 
 property. He was married, in 1655, to Miss Bithia 
 Beldrake, and both died here, being buried in Suf- 
 field cemetery. 
 
 William King, the son of this worthy couple, 
 was born in the town of Suffield, and made farm- 
 ing his life work. He also owned large tracts of 
 land in this section, where he always made his 
 home. He was quite active in religious affairs, 
 and was a consistent member of the Congregational 
 Church. Both he and his wife were buried in Suf- 
 field cemetery. 
 
 One of their sons, William King, was one of 
 the most prominent and influential citizens of Suf- 
 field, and a deacon in the Congregational Church, 
 to which he gave a communion set of solid silver 
 that is still in use, highly prized by the congrega- 
 
1090 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tion. He was one of the founders of that church, 
 and at his death was laid to rest in its cemetery. 
 He lived during the struggle for independence, was 
 a farmer and stock raiser by occupation, and was 
 well liked and highly resjjectcd by the entire com- 
 munity. He married a Miss Hathaway, and to them 
 were born seven children : William, Seth, Appolis, 
 Mrs. Fuller, Mrs. Adams, ]Mrs. Pickett and Mrs. 
 Lcavitt. 
 
 Seth King, the second son in this family, and 
 the grandfather of our subject, was born on the 
 old King homestead, and received a common-school 
 education. In 1759 he served as lieutenant and 
 adjutant-general in the militia, and in the great 
 struggle for freedom he bore his part with the 
 Colonial troops, participating in the battles on Long 
 Island. The flint-lock gun and powder-horn which 
 he carried during the Revolution are now in the 
 possession of our subject. He was quite a pros- 
 perous farmer, and one of the foremost citizens of 
 Suffield town, highly respected by all who knew 
 him. He was a consistent member of the Congre- 
 gational Church, and a Whig in politics He mar- 
 ried Lydia Ballantine, of Washington, Berkshire 
 Co., Mass.. and to them were born six children : 
 Sarah, wife of Horace Smith, of Amherst ; Seth, 
 who married Anna Moore ; John, father of our 
 subject ; Lydia, wife of Ephra iMathew ; Mary, wife 
 of Henry Loomis, of Suffield ; and Lucy, who died 
 unmarried. The mother of these children, who 
 was a true Christian woman, died in Suffield at 
 the age of ninety-three years, and was buried there. 
 
 John King was also born on the old home- 
 stead, where he spent his entire life as an agri- 
 culturist, and was educated in the district schools 
 of the neighborhood. He took quite an active and 
 prominent part in local politics, as a supporter of 
 the Whig party, was temperate in all his habits, 
 and was a deacon in the Congregational Church, 
 to which he belonged. He married Sally Stocking, 
 of Glastonbury, Hartford county, a daughter of 
 Ashel Stocking, a well-known citizen of the coun- 
 ty, and to them were born two children: William 
 B., our subject; and Martha, who died young. 
 The mother died in 1829, and the father subse- 
 quently married Prudence Baker, of .\mherst, 
 ]\lass., by whom he had four children: Osmyn B. ; 
 ^Martha ; Jane, widow of James Kimball, of Am- 
 herst, Mass. ; and John, who died in Suffield. Mrs. 
 Prudence King died on the home farm in 1876, 
 Mr. King in 1869, and both were laid to rest in 
 Suffield cemetery. 
 
 After attending the district schools for some 
 time, William B. King became a student in Suffield 
 Institute, which occupied the site of the present 
 Kent Librar}^. Only five of Suffield's citizens are 
 now living who attended that^ institute with our 
 subject. He completed his education at Amherst 
 Academy, Hampshire Co., Mass. He was a close 
 student, a good scholar, and was noted for his pen- 
 manship. At the age of nineteen he left home and 
 
 went to New York, where he shipped aboard a sail- 
 ing vessel for the Bermudas, and, as he had studied 
 navigation at school, his assistance was very val- 
 uable to the captain and mate in taking observa- 
 tions. After spending about six months in coast- 
 ing round the Bermudas, he returned to his home. 
 I'or three years he followed teaching in South- 
 wick, Mass., and for two years taught school in 
 Buffalo, N. Y. At the end of that time he re- 
 turned to his home in the town of Suffield, took up 
 the manufacture of brick, which he continued to 
 follow for twenty years, many of the foundations of 
 the houses in Suffield being built of his brick, as 
 well as a ntimber of public buildings, including the 
 town hall. His own residence, erected in 1855, 
 was also built of brick which he made. Since giving 
 up that business he has turned his attention to farm- 
 ing, dairying and stock raising, and has met with 
 well-merited success. 
 
 In 1856 Mr. King was united in marriage with 
 Miss Mary R. Wright, of Holyoke, Mass., a daugh- 
 ter of Eber and Oral (Chapin) Wright. Her 
 grandfathers, Col. Abel Chapin and Capt. Ebenezer 
 Wright, bore a prominent and active part in the 
 war of the Revo'.ution. Four children were born 
 to our subject and his worthy wife: (i) Sarah mar- 
 ried George H. Hill, of Springfield, Mass., and they 
 liad three children, Josephine, Lucy and Herbert. 
 (2) Harriet Weight is the wife of William Hamblen, 
 of Springfield, Mass. (3) William B. died young. 
 (4) John A., at home, married Minnie Cutting, of 
 Spring'field, Mass., and they have one child, Will- 
 iam, who is of the eighth generation of the family 
 to be born in Suffield town. 
 
 Mr. King has always taken an active interest in 
 educational affairs, and has most efficiently served 
 as a member of the school committee. He is an 
 ardent supporter of the Republican party, there 
 never having been a Democrat in the fa;nily, but 
 he has never cared for political preferment. For 
 over fifty-eight years he has been a member of the 
 Congregational Church, and has served as superin- 
 tendent of and teacher in the Sunday-school. His 
 life is exemplary in many respects, and he has 
 ever supported those interests which are calculated 
 to uplift and benefit humanity. 
 
 GILES LANGDON DUNHAM, a prominent 
 and representative farmer of Southington, was 
 born on the farm where he now resides July 16, 
 1832. His father, Chauncey Dunham, was born 
 March 29, 1786, and lived in the old homestead now 
 occupied by our subject. He was twice married, 
 first to Rosanna Root, and on Dec. 23, 1824, to 
 Sylvia Langdon, a daughter of Capt. Giles and 
 Sarah (Carter) Langdon. The father of our sub- 
 ject was a consistent and faithful member of the 
 Congregational Church, and was highly respected 
 by all who knew him. He died Sept. 29, 1880, but 
 his widow is still living (Sept. 27, 1900), in good 
 health, with her faculties very little impaired. She 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1091 
 
 was born July 27, 1800, and on July 27, 1900, cele- 
 brated her one hundredth birthday. She was in- 
 vited to go to the Southington Agricultural Fair, 
 Sept. 4, accepted the invitation, and while there 
 enjoyed a ride in an automobile. She is spoken of 
 as being the first centenarian to ride in an auto- 
 mobile. 
 
 Cornelius Dunham, the paternal grandfather of 
 our subject, was born in 1740, and was married, 
 Feb. 2, 1764, to Jemima Andrews, daughter of 
 Jonathan and Susannah (Richards) Andrews. He 
 also lived on the old homestead in Southington, 
 where he kept a tavern for many years, and was 
 noted for his hospitality. He died Feb. 23, 1819. 
 His father, Gideon Dunham, the first of the name to 
 reside in Southington, is supposed to have come 
 from Martha's Vineyard. He died April 27, 1762. 
 
 Giles Langdon, the maternal grandfather of our 
 subject, was born in Southington May 24, 1763, 
 and was married Jan. 20, 1785, to Sarah Carter; 
 daughter of Abel and Mary (Coach) Carter, of 
 Southington. He held the military rank of cap- 
 tain, and died Feb. 11, 1847. His father, Giles 
 Langdon, Sr., was born July 22, 1720, and was 
 married, Nov. 4, 1751, to Ruth Andrews, daughter 
 of Stephen and Ruth (Barnes) Andrews. He died 
 in December, 1777. He was a son of Joseph Lang- 
 don, who was born in Farmington in March, 1688, 
 and was married, Dec. 24, 171 3, to Rachel Cowles, 
 daughter of Samuel and Rachel (Porter) Cowles. 
 He also lived in Southington. His father, Joseph 
 Langdon, of Farmington, was married, in October, 
 1683, to Susannah Root, daughter of John -and 
 Mary (Kilbourn) Root, and died April 8, 1749, 
 at the age of about eighty-nine years. He was a 
 son of John Langdon, of Farmington, who . was 
 deputy to the General Court in October, 1668, was 
 made a freeman in October, 1669, and admitted to 
 the Farmington Church July 12, 1653, afterward 
 serving as deacon of the same. He died in 1689. 
 His father, George Langdon, the progenitor of the 
 family in this county, is first found in Wethers- 
 field, and later in Springfield and Northampton, 
 Mass., where he died Dec. 29, 1676. 
 
 Giles L. Dunham, our subject, was reared to 
 agricultural pursuits upon the old homestead, and 
 there he has spent his entire life with the exception 
 of seven years, when he resided in New Haven and 
 followed various occupations. He is a thorough 
 and systematic farmer, and has met with well- 
 merited success in his labors. He is an active mem- 
 ber of the First Congregational Church of South- 
 ington, and is an ardent supporter of the Repub- 
 lican party. 
 
 Mr. Dunham has been twice married, his first 
 wife being Miss Nancy Robinson, a daughter of 
 Lester and Nancy (Augusta) Robinson, of Bristol, 
 and by that union he had two children: Ida A., 
 Avife of Winfield S. Pease, died Dec. 12, 1894; and 
 Louise R. is the wife of Frank H. Barnes. For 
 his second wife, he married Miss Julia Piatt, a 
 
 daughter of Joseph and Mehitable (Thompson) 
 Piatt, of Middlebury, Conn., who removed from 
 that town to Southington in 1863. Her paternal 
 grandparents were Gideon and Lydia (Sperry) 
 Piatt. By his second marriage Mr. Dunham has 
 one daughter, Clara T. 
 
 SCOVILLE J. HAMILTON, a lumber manu- 
 facturer and farmer of the Meadow Plain District, 
 Simsbury, has won success in life through his un- 
 deviating adherence to the sterling principles of 
 honesty, duty and industry, combined with ready 
 tact and keen judgriient. He is a man of recog- 
 nized business ability, but is no less honored for his 
 character. He is enterprising and progressive, and 
 these qualities also have contributed not a little to 
 his material advancement. 
 
 The Hamilton family is of Scottish extraction, 
 and among the settlers of Massachusetts. His 
 grandfather, Jonathan Hamilton, was a resident of 
 Tolland, Mass. Jonathan Scoville Hamilton, the 
 father of our subject, grew to manhood in his native 
 home, and when a young man removed to New 
 Hartford, Conn., and there learned the machinist's 
 trade. For several years he worked at his trade 
 in the shops of D. B. Smith, and later he was with 
 the Chapmans. Early in the 'fifties he removed 
 to Simsbury, having decided to turn his attention 
 to farming, purchased the Reuben Tuller farm, at 
 Bushy Hill, and there spent several years, engaged 
 in stock raising, tobacco growing and general farm- 
 ing. He then purchased the Curtis farm, in the 
 Meadow Plain District, and there remained, en- 
 gaged in agricultural pursuits until his death in 
 1884. He was actively engaged in the stock, dairy 
 and tobacco branches of farming. He married in 
 New Hartford, Flora Tuller, a native of Simsbury 
 and daughter of Reuben Tuller, and three children 
 were born to them : Winifred F., who married R. 
 S. Smith, and is now deceased; Emily E., wife of 
 F. Ellsworth, of Hartford; and Scoville J., our sub- 
 ject. The mother died on the farm in 1879. She 
 was a member of the Congregational Church, a de- 
 vout Christian woman, a faithful wife and eft'ection- 
 ate mother. 
 
 Scoville J. Hamilton, our subject, was born at 
 Bushy Hill, Simsbury, June 21, 1858. His educa- 
 tional advantages were slight. He attended the 
 district schools, but the work on the farm called for 
 much of his time even as a boy, and as the only son 
 in his father's family the management was gradu- 
 ally shifted to his young shoulders. It was a duty 
 which he felt he could not avoid. Though filled 
 with the same ambitions as other young men to 
 strike out for himself, ' he remained on the farm 
 until the death of his father, in 1883, caring for his 
 parents and their afifairs in their old age. Then 
 Mr. Hamilton's career in his own behalf began. 
 He started in the lumber business in Simsbur}', 
 buying the C. C. Mill portable sawmill, and has 
 since continued in the lumber manufacturing busi- 
 
1092 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 iiess, in connection with farming, buying tracts of 
 timber and rechicing it to lumber. In 1894 Mr. 
 Hamilton purchased the John Case farm, a tract of 
 sixty-five acres, and is now engaged largely in to- 
 bacco growing and general farming. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton marrietl, at Meadow Plain, Sims- 
 bury, in 1887, Belle E. Latimer, a native of that 
 town, daughter of Franklin A. Latimer. The Lat- 
 imer family are among the best citizens of Sims- 
 bury. l''i-anklin A. Latimer, father of Mrs. Hamil- 
 ton, was born at Aleadow Plain, a son of Ariel 
 Latimer, and a grandson of W'aite Latimer. Frank- 
 lin .\. Latimer was educated in the district schools 
 near his home, and also at Westfield, Mass., and 
 at the Connecticut Literary Institute, Suffield. He 
 taught school during the winter months, and worked 
 on the Farmington canal in summer, at first driv- 
 ing a team, from which position he rose to that of 
 captain of a canal-boat, plying between New Haven 
 and Xorthampton. After the canal was abandoned 
 lie began farming, and settled on the homestead, 
 where he engaged in general farming, stock rais- 
 ing and tobacco growing on a tract of 125 acres, 
 on which he made many improvements, and where 
 he spent the remainder of his life He was in every 
 sense a self-made man. beginning life a poor boy, 
 and gaining a start through his industry and thrift. 
 He was elected selectman of the town of Simsbury, 
 but never sought office. In pchtics he was a Re- 
 publican. In manner he was unassuming, domestic 
 in his habits, temperate, kind and generous. He 
 died on his farm Dec. 28, 1898, and was buried in 
 Avon. He w-as a member of the Congregational 
 Church. He married, in Bloomfield, Elizabeth R. 
 Case, born in Bloomfield, daughter of Hart H. and 
 Rose B. (Pinney) Case, and to them three children 
 were born: Belle E., wife of Scoville J. Hamilton, 
 our subject; Clara E., wife of Wilber A. Snow, of 
 Middletown ; and Franklin A., who married Clara 
 A. Rockwell, and lives at Springfield, Mass. The 
 mother died in 1883, and is buried in Avon ceme- 
 tery. Franklin A. Latimer was noted for his hon- 
 esty, honor and genial disposition. 
 
 Hart H. Case, the maternal grandfather of Mrs. 
 Hamilton, was a son of Hezekiah Case, a grandson 
 cf Jedediah Case, and a great-grandson of Deacon 
 Joseph Case. [A full sketch of this illustrious Con- 
 necticut family appears elsewhere]. 
 
 In politics Mr. Hamilton is a Republican. Him- 
 self and wife are members of the Congregational 
 Church at Avon. Mrs. Hamilton was educated 
 in the public schools, and at the Connecticut Literary 
 Institute, Suffield, and for six years taught school 
 ill Simsbury, Bloomfield and Farmington. She is 
 a member of Abigail Phelps Chapter, Daughters 
 of the American Revolution. 
 
 WILLIAM COX JOHNSTON, a well-known 
 and highly respected citizen of Southington, was 
 born in Bridgeport, Conn., June i, 1862, and is a 
 son cf John M. and Margaret A. (Cox) Johnston, 
 
 tl:e former a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, the 
 latter of St. Helen's England. The paternal grand- 
 father, James Johnston, was a son of Samuel and 
 Esther (Baird) Johnston, and married Elizabeth 
 Alaxw-ell, a daughter of James and Molly (Baird) 
 Maxwell. James Maxwell was a butcher of Edin- 
 burgh, and James Johnston and his father, Samuel 
 Johnston, were both plumbers and gas-fitters by 
 trade. 
 
 John M. Johnston, the father of our subject, 
 was born Jan. i, 1832, and was reared in Edinburgh, 
 Scotland, where he served a seven-years' apprentice- 
 ship to. the shoemaker's trade. In 1851 he came 
 to America, and worked at his trade nearly two 
 years in New York City, after which he followed 
 the same vocation in Bridgeport, West Hartford, 
 Tarift'ville and Southington, Conn., having made 
 his home in the last-named place since 1878. Dur- 
 ii;g the Civil war he enlisted, Sept. i, 1862, in Com- 
 ■pany A, 47th N. Y. V. I., and after seventeen 
 months of arduous service was honorably discharged 
 on account of disability. Fie is now a member 
 of Trumbull Post, No.' 16, G. A. R., of South- 
 ington, and is an honored and highly-esteemed citi- 
 zen of the town. On Feb. 28, 1853, he married 
 Margaret A. Cox; a daughter of James and Mar- 
 garet (Lytle) Cox, of St. Helen's, England, and to 
 them were born nine children ; only tnree grew to 
 maturity, William C, Alabel I. and E. Louise, and 
 our subject is now the only survivor. 
 
 William Cox Johnston was reared and educated 
 in this State, and since starting out in life for him- 
 self has followed various lines of business, in which 
 he has met %vith excellent success, having accumu- 
 lated a fine property. Since 1878 he has been 
 a resident of Southington, and has won a foremost 
 place among the representative citizens of the 
 town. 
 
 Mr. Johnston has been twice married, his first 
 ■\vife being Lucy Gunn, a native of England, and for 
 his second wife he married Louise Herthal, a gradu- 
 ate-of the Lewis Fligh School, in Southington, class 
 of 1892, and a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth 
 (Anding) Herthal, natives of Hessen Cassel, Ger- 
 many. By the last marriage he has one son, Henry 
 Flerthal Johnston. Religiously Mr. Johnston is a 
 member of the Baptist Church, and socially is a 
 member of the Friendship Lodge, No. 33, F. & 
 A. M.; and Triune Chapter, No. 40, R. A. M. Po- 
 litically he affiliates with the Republican party, and 
 gives his support to every measure which he be- 
 lieves will prove of public good. 
 
 HON. JOHN O. PHELPS (deceased), for- 
 merly a member of the Connecticut Legislature, was 
 for m^any years a leading resident of the town of 
 Windsor, in Hartford county. As a business man 
 he displayed marked ability, and on turning his at- 
 tention in later years to agriculture he applied th" 
 same acumen in planning of details and thorough- 
 ness of execution to that work which had charac- 
 
JOHH O. PHELPS 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1093 
 
 terized his efforts in other lines. Always public- 
 spirited, he took keen interest in all that pertained 
 to the welfare of the community in which he re- 
 sided, while he was prominent politically as a mem- 
 ber of the Democratic organization, serving in vari- 
 ous offices of responsibility and trust. 
 
 Mr. Phelps was born Sept. 15, 1822, in the 
 town of East Windsor, and was descended from a 
 highly-respected family of this section. Levi 
 Phelps, the grandfather of our subject, was a well- 
 known farmer of East Windsor. Levi C. Phelps, 
 our subject's father, was also engaged in agriculture 
 in this county, many years of his life being spent 
 in East 'Windsor, but later he removed to Geneva, 
 Ohio, and finally to Illinois, where his death oc- 
 curred. His wife, whose maiden name was Martha 
 Fish, died during his residence at Geneva. Thev 
 had a large family of children, of whom the follow- 
 ing lived to adult age : Salome married Mosley Os- 
 borne, and died in East Windsor. John O. is men- 
 tioiied below. Eliza married Frederick Drake, of 
 Windsor Locks and survived him, dying in 1899; 
 she left seven children. Martha married David Os- 
 borne, of Windsor, whom she survives, and they 
 had one child, Martha, who became the wife of 
 Louis Clapp, of Poquonock, and died leaving four 
 children ; Mr. Osborne was a soldier in the Re- 
 bellion. Maria first married William R. Spring, 
 and they had one child, Josephine, who married 
 Charles Hunt, of Flatbush, N. Y. Henry resides 
 in Windsor. Edgar is deceased. Jamon settled in 
 Illinois. 
 
 As the eldest son of a poor farmer, John O. 
 Phelps had but limited educational advantages, and 
 in addition to assisting in the work at home he hired 
 out at times to his neighbors as soon as he was old 
 enough to earn wages. On Nov. 24, 1844, he was 
 married, in \\'indsor town, to Miss Maria Lam- 
 berton, and soon afterward began housekeeping at 
 Windsor Locks, where he was employed at that time 
 as a wood chopper. Later he removed to W^indsor 
 Center, on the river road, and engaged in the brick- 
 making business, continuing several years, and on 
 retiring from that enterprise he located on a farm 
 belonging to his great-aunt, Sarah Phelps, for 
 whom he cared during her declining years. In the 
 latter 'sixties he settled upon the present homestead 
 in Windsor town, where he died Sept. 3, 1894, his 
 remains being interred in Poquonock cemetery. He 
 left a handsome competence, but his best bequest 
 to his loved ones is the memory of an honored name, 
 won by 3'ears of upright living. His only child, 
 Ella, married Henry J. Fenton, and died at Wind- 
 sor, Nov. 12, 1889, leaving three children: John 
 O., Nettie C. (Mrs. A. G. Barnes), and Harry F., 
 who resided with their grandmother after Mr. 
 Phelps' decease. 
 
 Mrs. Maria (Lamberton) Phelps, to whose in- 
 telligent advice and assistance her husband owed 
 much of his prosperity, was born in Windsor town. 
 May 29, 1827, a daughter of William and Alura 
 
 (Skinner) Lamberton, her father being a well- 
 known agriculturist. She was one of a family of 
 ten children-^iive sons and five daughters — of 
 whom one sister and three brothers are living. 
 Mrs. Phelps died on Nov. 11, 1899, after a brief ill- 
 ness, and was buried at Poquonock. She had been 
 gradually "wearing out" for several years. 
 
 John O. Fenton, who now has charge of the 
 Phelps property, is a great-grandson of Lester 
 Fenton, a resident of Vernon, Conn., who died in 
 U^ethersfield. He had a family of five children, of 
 whom Frederick madehis home in Poquonock, where 
 he married Cornelia Griswold, and both died there. 
 They had two children, Henry J. and Nettie, the 
 daughter djang young. Frederick Fenton was in 
 his day one of the authorities in tobacco raising 
 in Windsor, and Hid much to bring that branch of 
 agriculture to its present state in his section, mak- 
 ing many experiments in that line. The farm of 
 J. O. Phelps, consisting of sixt3'-five acres, is now 
 conducted by his grandson, John O. Fenton, and 
 is devoted entirely to tobacco raising. Henry J. 
 Fenton was born in Poquonock, and engaged in 
 farming during his active years. He is now living 
 in Hartford. John O. Fenton is a member of the 
 ^Masonic Fraternity, uniting with the lodge at 
 Windsor. 
 
 JOHN FLAM CASE, one of Simsbury's best- 
 known citizens, a descendant' of one of the earliest 
 pioneers of Hartford county, the representative of 
 a familv who for almost two and a half centuries 
 has been prominent in the history of Connecticut, 
 is now an extensive poultry raiser and farmer. In- 
 capacitated for many vocations by the loss of a 
 limb, in consequence of a desperate wound received 
 in battle at Antietam, he has nevertheless attained 
 commanding prominence as a citizen and success 
 in business undertakings. Honored by his fellow 
 men for his generous contributions to the weal 
 and progress of society, public-spirited and capable 
 in the management of affairs, Mr. Case has been an 
 active and influential factor in tne history of his 
 native town. 
 
 The Case familv is one of the oldest and most 
 numerous in Hartford county. John Case, the 
 founder of the American branch, was a native of 
 England, and emigrated to America in the early 
 settlement of the Colonies, coming to Windsor from 
 the old family home at Aylesham, England, where 
 many of them now reside. They were a noted 
 family as far back as the time of Oliver Cromwell, 
 and accumulated fortunes by furnishing leather 
 for his army, being tanners and farmers ; they have 
 held this contract ever since. Thejr hold all the 
 lands around Aylesham, so that the town is said 
 to be '"Cased" in, and are called a clan by them- 
 selves there. Their lands surround the possessions 
 of Anne Boleyn, who became the wife of King 
 Henry VIII, and was afterward beheaded, and they 
 are closely related to the Boleyns by inter-marriage. 
 
1094 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 The records of Aylesham show that they came from 
 York to Alj^esham in the year 1200, and members 
 of the family in Connecticut and Ohio have copies 
 of their coat of arms. 
 
 John Case remained in \\'indsor until the spring 
 of i66y. He then came to Simsbury, and settled at 
 Weatogue ; was elected the first constable of Sims- 
 bury Oct. 14, 1669, and about 1672 represented the 
 town at the General Court or Assembly. He died in 
 Simsbury Feb. 21. 1703-4, and was buried there. He 
 was a land owner and farmer, and a prominent citi- 
 zen. He married for his first wife Sarah, daughter 
 of William Spencer, of Hartfordu She died Nov. 3, 
 1691, and for his second wife he married Elizabeth 
 (Moore) Loomis, who was born at Windsor in 
 1638, and died July 23, 1728; she was a daughter 
 of John Moore, of Windsor, and the widow of Na- 
 thaniel Loomis, of Windsor. The children of John 
 and Sarah (Spencer) Case were as follows: (i) 
 Elizabeth, born in 1652, died in 1718, married, in 
 1684 Joseph Lewis, who died in 1702, and for her 
 second husband wedded John Tuller, who died Oct. 
 9, 1718. (2)- Alary, born June 22, 1660. died in 
 1725. married (first) William .\lderman, who died 
 in 1697, and for her second husband James Hillyer, 
 who died in 1725. She had seven children. (3) 
 John, born Nov. 5, 1662, died in 1733. In 1684 he 
 married Mary, daughter of Thomas Olcott, of 
 Hartford. She died ,in 1685. and he married, in 
 1693, Sarah, daughter of Joshua Holcomb, of Sims- 
 bury. The three sons born to John were Daniel, 
 Jonathan and John. (4) William, born June 5, 
 1665, married, in 1695, Elizabeth Holcomb, daugh- 
 ter of Joshua Holcomb, and their children were 
 Elizabeth, James (who married Esther Fithen), 
 Joshua, Mindwell, Rachel (who married Benjamin 
 Adams), and Alary (who married Joseph Adam^). 
 (5) Samuel, born June i, 1667, died in 1725. He 
 married (first) Mary, daughter of Jonathan West- 
 over, of Simsbury, and for his second wife Eliza- 
 beth, widow of Samuel Thrall, and daughter of 
 Josiah Owen. He had thirteen children, the sons 
 being Samuel, Nathaniel. Jonathan, Caleb, Azri- 
 krim, Benjamin and Pelatiah. (6) Richard, born 
 Aug. 27, 1669, died in 1746. He married, in Au- 
 gust, 1701, the daughter of Philip Reed, of Con- 
 cord, Mass. His sons were Richard, Timothy and 
 Edward. (7) Bartholomew, born in October,'i67o, 
 died in 1725. He married, in 1699, Mary, daughter 
 of Lieut. Samuel Humphrey, and had nine children, 
 his Sons being Thomas, Amos, Isaac and Abraham. 
 
 (8) Joseph, born April 6, 1674. died Aug. 11, 1748. 
 
 (9) Sarah, born Aug. 14, 1678, died in 1704. She 
 married Joseph Phelps, Jr., of Windsor. 
 
 Joseph Case, born at Terry's Plains, Simsbury, 
 April 6, 1674, married, April 6, 1699, Anna Eno, 
 daughter of James Eno, of Simsbury. The chil- 
 dren born to Joseph and Anna Case were : One 
 that died in infancy; Joseph, born Teb. 2, 1701, 
 died Jan. 5, 1760: Jacob, born March 19, 1702; 
 
 Josiah, born Feb. i, 1715; Hezekiah, born April 26, 
 1719; Jacob; Benajah; Daniel and Joel. 
 
 Joseph Case, son of Joseph, was born at Terry's 
 Plains, Simsbury, Feb. 2, 1701. He was a deacon 
 of the church, and was a farmer at Meadow Plam. 
 He married Hannah Humphrey, and their children 
 were: Joseph, born Nov. 30, 1722, died July 29, 
 1742 (he married Mary Tuller, who died in 1760) ; 
 Hannah, born in March, 1725; Asiel, born March 
 23, 1729; Hosea, born Alarch 3, 1731; Jedediah, 
 born March 30, 1733; Solomon, born March 11, 
 1735; and Benajah, born Aug. 10, 1738. 
 
 Jedediah Case, born March 30, 1733, died Jan. 
 II, 1818. He was a farmer and a large land owner 
 in Meadow Plain, where he spent his entire life. 
 He married. May 10, 1758, Mary Hart, of Farm- 
 ington, and his children were as follows : Jedediah, 
 born July 13, 1759, died April 28, 1858; Elihu, born 
 Jan. 15, 1761, died Jan. 13, 1822; Humphrey, born 
 Aug. '29, 1762; Phebe T., born Aug. 12, 1765, died 
 Feb. 18, 1823; Hezekiah, born March 11, 1769; 
 Elizabeth, born Feb. 2, 1771 (married ELhu Tul- 
 ler) ; Horatio Gates, born Sept. 27, 1777, died in 
 July, 1853 (the grandfather of our subject) ; Ruth, 
 born Alay 10, 1778, died March 15, 1838 (married 
 Asaph Tuller, of Simsbury). Jedediah, the eldest 
 of this family, had a son Nathan, born April 14, 
 1784, who was a lifelong farmer. He married 
 Lucy Moses, who was born June 9, 1786, daughter 
 of Michael Moses, and died in January, 1836. They 
 had four sons, Jay, Nathan Lee, Emerson and Mill- 
 ner, and Nathan L. became the father of Mrs. 
 F'ranklin Alford, of Avon. 
 
 Horatio G. Case, the grandfather of our subject, 
 was born in- Simsbury, and was an extensive land 
 owner and farmer. He owned and operated a large 
 tract of land in Meadow Plain, where he built a 
 fine dwelling-house and made other extensive im- 
 provements. He was a large grower of rye. He 
 represented the town in the Legislature, was a 
 prominent Whig, and very active in politics. In 
 middle life he lost his hearing, but aside from that 
 iiifirmity he retained all his faculties to a ripe old 
 age. He died on his farm, and was buried in Sims- 
 bury. He married in Sirnsbury, Hepzibah Corn- 
 ish, daughter of Sergt. Elisha and Hepzibah (Hum- 
 phrey) Cornish, of Simsbury. To Horatio G. and 
 Hepzibah Case were born eleven children : Nelson ; 
 Elam ; Mary, v.'ho married Jury Wilcox ; Samuel 
 H. ; John V. ; Julia, who married Elisha Case, of 
 Canton ; J. Marcus, who lived on the old homestead ; 
 Cordelia, who married James E. Brockett ; and three 
 who died young. The grandparents were members 
 of the Congregational Church. 
 
 Elam Case, father of our subject, was born on 
 the old homestead in the Meadow Plain District, 
 and grew up on the farm. When a young man he, 
 like many other young men of his day, engaged in 
 selling clocks, traveling through the Southern 
 States, principally in North Carolina. After his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1095 
 
 return home he settled on a part of his father's 
 farm, a tract of lOO acres, where he spent the bal- 
 ance of his life, and where he died. He was one 
 of the first raisers of tobacco in that section, and 
 also followed general farming and dairying. In 
 politics he was an Old-line Whig and later a Re- 
 publican. He was a member of the Congregational 
 Church. He married, in East VVeatogue, Sims- 
 bury, Ruth Case, born in East Weatogue, daugh- 
 ter of Philander Case, and to them were born five 
 children : Nancv, who married Henry C. Smith, 
 of Fair Haven; Julia C, who married L. H. Chid^ 
 say, of Avon, Conn. ; Sarah R., who married 
 George' J. Case, of Canton; John Elam, our subject; 
 and Charles B., who is now on the homestead farm. 
 The parents died on the farm, and were buried in 
 Simsbury. They were good Christain people, faith- 
 ful and sincere in every relation in life. 
 
 John Elam Case, our subject, was born April 
 1 6, 1 84 1. He attended the district schools of 
 Meadow Plain, and also Maple Grove Academy 
 and the high school of Avon, Conn., was reared on 
 the farm, and remained with his parents until Au- 
 gust, 1862, when he enlisted at Simsbury in Com- 
 pany E, i6th Conn. V. I., under Col. Frank Beach 
 and Capt. Babcock, and was mustered in at Hart- 
 ford. He went to the front with the company, and 
 participated in the battles of South Mountain and 
 Antietam ; at the latter engagement he was shot in 
 both legs, Sept. 17, 1862, and was taken home. The 
 left leg had to be amputated at the thigh, Dr. Ells- 
 worth of Hartford, performing tne operation, and 
 after great suffering he recovered, but was unable to 
 perform any manual labor. Taking up the study 
 of music, he became proficient in the art, and also 
 in connection with its practice sold music. Later 
 for three years, he sold tickets at the Batlett Tower, 
 on Tallcott Mountain, town of Simsbury. Re- 
 moving to Fair Haven he obtained the position of 
 contractor in a corset factory, during which time 
 he continued the study of music. He then returned 
 to the old homestead in Simsbury, in the Meadow 
 Plain District, where he has lived ever since, en- 
 gaged in poultry raising, etc. He is the organizer 
 of the Case Orchestra, of which he is the teacher, 
 and is one of the best musicians in his part of Hart- 
 ford county. He is a stanch supporter of the Re- 
 publican party, and has filled all the offices within 
 the gift of the people of Simsbury, having served 
 as assessor, tax collector, member of the school 
 committee, of the school board, and as grand juror. 
 He was elected to the Legislature in 1872, just two 
 hundred years after John Case, the founder of the 
 family in Simsbury, represented the town in the 
 Colonial Assembly, and was again elected in 1889. 
 He was appointed to serve on the committee on 
 Cities and Boroughs, but on account of a deadlock 
 no business was transatted. Our subject also filled 
 the office of door-keeper of the Legislature for six 
 years. He was appointed notary public of the 
 
 State of Connecticut by Gov. Lounsbury, and re- 
 appointed by Gov. Cooke. Mr. Case is a member 
 of Village Lodge, No. 29, F. & A. M., and Columbia 
 Chapter of Collinsville ; is also a member of the 
 Veteran Masonic Association of the State ; is now 
 past comm.ander of Capt. Joseph R. Toy Post, No. 
 83, G. A. R., of Simsbury, and has filled all the 
 the offices of the post except chaplain. He was a 
 member of Advance Grange, of Simsbury. Li re- 
 ligious connections he is a member of the Congre- 
 gational Church of Avon, is chairman of the church 
 society, and a member of the society's committee. 
 
 Our subject was married, in 1875, at Bloomfield, 
 to Luretta Sophronia Humphrey, born in Bloom- 
 field, a daughter of George and Sophronia (Hamb- 
 lin) Humphrey. Mr. and Mrs. Case have one 
 child living, John E., Jr., who was educated in the 
 district schools of Meadow Plain, and graduated 
 from the West Middle District grammar school of 
 Hartford, in April, 1893 ; he also graduated from 
 the Hartford Business College, and is now a tele- 
 graph operator and ticket agent for the N. Y., N. 
 H. & H. R. R. Co., at Easthampton, Massachu- 
 setts. 
 
 The Humphrey family, of which Mrs. Case is 
 a descendant, dates back to one of the earliest colon- 
 ists of New England, Michael Humphrey, who was 
 among the first settlers of Simsbury, and was en- 
 gaged with John Griffin there in the manufacture 
 of tar and turpentine, which was shipped bv his 
 brother, of St. Malo, France, to the British nav3^ 
 He came of a noted English family, who trace their 
 ancestry back to Sir Richard De Bohun Homfrey, 
 a relative qf William the Conqueror, by whom he 
 was knighted for bravery during the battle of Flod- 
 den Field. His great seal is often found on an- 
 cient English records. He was also a descendant 
 of Sir John Homfrie, whose picture, on his char- 
 ger, with coat of arms, now hangs in the British 
 Museum. Michael Humphrey's son Samuel mar- 
 ried Mary Mills. Their son Charles was bom in 
 East Weatogue, and was a farmer. He married 
 Hepzibah Pettibone, daughter of Samuel Pettibone. 
 Their son Abraham was born on the farm, and 
 became quite a prominent citizen. He married Lois 
 Merrills, of New Hartford, who married, after her 
 husband's death, Benoni Humphrey. The children , 
 born to Abraham and Lois Humphrey were as fol- 
 lows : Sophia, born in 1761 ; Abraham, born in 1763, 
 married Marv Case; Lot, born in 1764, died Jan. 
 8 1835; Ralph, born March 4, 1766, died in May, 
 1836; Lois, born in 1766. 
 
 Lot Humphrey, who was born in 1764, in Sims- 
 bury, married, Oct. i, 1784, Chloe Moses, a daugh- 
 ter of Michael Moses, of Simsbury. She was born 
 . in 1763, and died May 5, 1829, in Bloomfield. Lot 
 Humphrey, at the age of sixteen years, served in 
 the Revolutionary army, and he witnessed the hang- 
 ing of Major Andre. He died Jan. 8, 1835, in 
 Bloomfield. The children born to Lot and Chloe 
 
1096 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Humphrey were; Sarah, horn in 1786. married 
 Robert Case; -Mahala, born in 1788, died Aug. 3, 
 1843; Persia, born in 1790, married Calvin Cald- 
 well; Lyman, born Feb. 22, 1792; Trumbull, born 
 in 1794, died July 30, 1797; Harriet, born in 1796, 
 married Oliver Burr; Melissa, born in 1798. mar- 
 ried Orson Alills; Flora, born Oct. 15, 1803, died 
 Aug. 12, 1869. 
 
 Lyman Humphrey, grandfather of Mrs. Case, 
 was born Feb. 22, 1792, in Simsbury. He mar- 
 ried, Jan. I, 1812, Hannah, daughter of Select 
 Francis, of \\'cst Hartford, born Jan. 2},, 1794. 
 Tliey settled in IJloomfield. where they resided 
 through life, and celebrated their Golden Wedding 
 in 1862. They lived happily, were prosperous peo- 
 ple, and good Christians. The children born to Ly- 
 man and Hannah Humphrey were as follows ; 
 Trumbull, born Oct. 12, 1812; Chloe, Dec. 18,. 
 1813 (married Moses Cassett) ; George, .-\pril 14, 
 1816 (father of Mrs. Case) ; Hector F. and Mary 
 Ann, Dec. 3, 1819; William. Feb. 15, 1S21 (mar- 
 ried Roxana A. Pratt) ; Amelia. May 27, 1822 (died 
 young) ; Laura Alaria, Oct. 24. 1823 (died in July, 
 1847) • Goodwin Sheldon, May 18, 1825 (married 
 Charlotte L. Pardee) ; Cordelia, born April 2'B<. 1827 
 (married Charles Watkins) ; Henry and Henrietta, 
 twins, born Nov.. 19, 1828 (the former married 
 Cornelia Augusta Hart, the latter married Wilbert 
 Reed). 
 
 George Humphrey, the father of Airs. Case, 
 was born in Bloomfield, where he was educated, 
 and engaged in farming all his life. He was also 
 engaged in the manufacture of doors, blinds and 
 sashes, and spent his entire life in Bloomfield. He 
 married at Avon, Sept. i. 1837, Sophronia. daugh- 
 ter of Levi and Agnes (Hoskins) Hamblin, born 
 July 22, 1818, at Becket, Alass. The children born 
 to George and Sophronia Humphrev were: Edward 
 George, born Sept. 22, 1838, married Samantha G., 
 daughter of Chancey Holcomb ; Luretta Sophronia, 
 born March 31, 1849, married John Elam Case, our 
 subject; Harriet Alarion, born Feb. 3, 1853. married 
 Chester Francis Goodwin ; Franklin Waldo was 
 born April 11, 1859. George Humphrey, the father 
 died in Simsbury, in 1895, and is buried in Bloom- 
 field. The mother made her home in Aleadow 
 Plain with Airs. Case. She died Jan. 16, 1900, in 
 Simsburv, and is buried in the family lot in Bloom- 
 field. 
 
 Air. and Airs. Case have a pleasant home, and 
 wide circle of friends. The wife and mother is a 
 lady of gentle manners and refined taste; she is a 
 member of Abigail Phelps Chapter, D. A. R. Air. 
 Case adds to his popularity by his genial disposi- 
 tion and his fund of accurate information. 
 
 Charles B. Case, the brother of our subject, was 
 born on the homestead in Aleadow Plain Dec. 21, 
 1843, ^iid received his education in Maple Grove 
 Academy and the high school of Avon. He is un- 
 married, and devotes his life to farming on the old 
 homestead, being engaged in tobacco culture and 
 
 in dairy and general farming; he is a director of 
 the Avon Creamery. In politics he is a Repub- 
 lican. 
 
 SAAIUEL PURNELL (deceased) was a na- 
 tive of England, having been born at South Trow- 
 bridge May 7, 1849. He died at South Manchester, 
 Hartford county, Alarch 12, 1897, of pneumonia, 
 after an illness of but one week. 
 
 Air. Purnell came to this country with his par- 
 ents when a child, the family settling in Rockville, 
 Hartford county, where he attended the public 
 schools until he reached the age of eighteen years, 
 when he entered the employ of Alessrs. H. & J. 
 Johnson, wholesale grocers of Hartford, as travel- 
 ing salesman. While thus engaged he acquired an 
 intimate knowledge of the tea business, and later 
 became a wholesale dealer in teas, conducting an 
 extensive and profitable business for several years 
 in Hartford. So thoroughly competent a judge 
 was he of this commodity that New York importers 
 regarded him as one of the leading experts of New 
 England. In early manhood Air. Purnell estab- 
 lished himself at South Alanchester, and after 
 boarding for a short time purchased real estate 
 and built the residence on Alain street which is now 
 tJie property of Henry E. Gates. He soon began in- 
 vesting in other real estate, and the business de- 
 velopment of South Manchester owes much to his 
 soimd judgment and progressive spirit. His first 
 purchase was the homestead plot of what had for- 
 merly been the farm of Ira Keeney, the property 
 fronting on Alain street, and extending from the 
 line of Park street on the north to Oak street on 
 the south, and back about five hundred feet, to the 
 dry brook. At that time the land lay considerably 
 north of the village, but Air. Purnell had the sa- 
 gacity to perceive that it was situated directly in 
 the path of the ultimate movement of the center of 
 population. For several years he made no effort 
 either to sell or to improve any portion of his pur- 
 chase. His first sale was to Ferris Bros., who 
 bought the lot on which their block now stands. 
 They were the pioneers in the movement north- 
 ward, and Air. Purnell disposed of no more lots 
 for two or three years. The next purchasers were 
 the builders of what are now the "American 
 Hotel" and the Weldon block. 
 
 Mr. Purnell, seeing that the tide of business had 
 fairlj' set in his direction, commenced developing 
 the remainder of his property. He began at the 
 northern end, where he erected what is now known 
 as the Park building, at that time the most pre- 
 tentious business block in town, with the single 
 exception of Cheney's store. Critics and wiseacres 
 were not wanting who prophesied that a store sit- 
 uated so far from the business center would never 
 be occupied, but Air. Purnell smiled, and the ten- 
 ants came, and calls for more stores in that neigh- 
 borhood soon followed. He laid a broad paved and 
 curbed sidewalk in front of his entire property, and 
 

 f 
 at 
 
 ^'^^\ _\v^ i\^^[^ 
 
 
 j4 
 
 Hh^^ - . ^jP-j 
 
 .'m 
 
 '^■'- -^ 
 
 HflH^^HIv^ 
 
 
 
 ^^^^^^^I^B ''^^I^V 
 
 
 
 - ^l^B^s '^ wKI^^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1097 
 
 within a few years built the "Orford Hotel," a hos- 
 telry containing fifty rooms, with three large stores, 
 a hall, and a large billiard room. A small block, 
 Park annex, south of the hotel, and a one-story store 
 between the two nearly filled his front line, where 
 ten years before had stood the fence of the open 
 farm lot. While developing the front of his prop- 
 erty, however, Mr. Purnell did not neglect the rear. 
 Neat double tenement houses were built on a new 
 street which he opened on the eastern line, and a 
 3'ear before his death a livery stable in the rear of 
 the Park building was completed. Through his 
 cjuiet but persistent efforts he succeeded in trans- 
 forming 'his lot into the business center of the vil- 
 lage. With the single exception of the hotel, which 
 proved to be rather in advance of the demands of 
 the place, his buildings have returned a good in- 
 terest on his investment, and. the soundness of his 
 judgment has been abundantly demonstrated. 
 
 Mr. Purnell was of a retiring disposition, yet 
 while mingling little in general society he was ex- 
 ceedingly companionable with his friends. His 
 tastes were those of a refined, cultivated gentleman. 
 He read much, his favorite authors being Shakes- 
 peare and Thackeray, and so familiar was he with 
 the works of the greatest of English dramatic poets 
 that he might almost be said to have had his plays 
 "at his tongue's end." While not a member of any 
 church he was always ready to contribute to the ad- 
 vancement of Christianity, and one of the last acts 
 of his life was to tender the free use of his hotel for 
 the entertainment of the Methodist Conference. 
 
 Our subject was twice married. By his first 
 wife, Ella Page, of Springfield, he had three chil- 
 dren : Gertrude O., Harry and Maude. His sec- 
 ond marriage, in 1889, was to Elizabeth M. Finlay, 
 of South Manchester, and by this union there were 
 four children: Helen M., Dorothea, Elizabeth 
 and Katharine. Mrs. Parnell is a member of the 
 Second Congregational Church. 
 
 SOLOA'ION FINCH, who for many years has 
 been successfully engaged in the livery business in 
 Southington, was born in that town Feb. 2, 1813, 
 a son of Samuel and Hannah W. (Jones) Finch. 
 
 Ebenezer Finch, his paternal grandfather, was 
 born in Branford, Conn., in 1749, and Nov. 29, 1773, 
 married Ruth Foote, of Northford. They re- 
 moved to Southington, locating on the farm pre- 
 viously occupied by Deacon Thomas Hart. The 
 grandfather died Sept. 4, 1825. His children were 
 Caleb A., Jesse F., Solomon, Samuel, Ruth and 
 Eunice. The father of our subject was born in 
 Southington Nov. 10, 1784, and also lived on the 
 Deacon Hart place, where he died Feb. 25, 1841. 
 On Nov. 28, 1808, he married Hannah W., daugh- 
 ter of Nathaniel and Content (Johnson) Jones. She 
 died May i, 1875, at the age of eighty-seven years. 
 In their family were four children : Theron ; Solo- 
 mon ; Samuel' H. ; and Eunice, wife of Horatio 
 
 Dunham, all deceased with the exception of our 
 subject. 
 
 Solomon Finch spent his boyhood and youth in 
 Southington, and received a common-school edu- 
 cation. At the age of thirteen he began life for 
 himself as a shop hand, working in various shops 
 in Southington and adjoining towns until he at- 
 tained his majority, when he again attended a term 
 of school, under Jesse Olney. Subsequently he 
 peddled clocks through New York State for a short 
 time, and in 1836 took an eight-months' trip through 
 Alabama, peddling and repairing clocks, and auc- 
 tioneering Yankee notions, etc., for $25 per month 
 and expenses. On his way to that State, while 
 crossing the Natural Bridge in Virginia, the horse 
 ran away, smashed the wagon, and jumped off the 
 bridge ; Mr. Finch afterward learned that the animal 
 was a noted runaway. At the end of the eight 
 months Mr. Finch, after earning more money than 
 any two peddlers in his company's employ, was 
 "beaten" out of his wages, and left without means 
 in Cahaba, Ala. This circumstance proved to be 
 the turning point of his life. In 1837 he practiced 
 dentistry in the same State, and then joined a 
 theatrical troupe, of which W. R. Hart was mana- 
 ger and proprietor, spending five years on the stage 
 in the Southern States and Cuba. After a varied 
 experience of a year and a half he returned to 
 Southington, in 1844, and engaged in the practice 
 of dentistry here until 1853, when he made a trip 
 to California, and followed the same profession in 
 San Francisco for two years. Owing to ill health he 
 then returned home, and on June 20, 1855, embarked 
 in the livery business, in which he has successfully 
 continued up to the present time, and has occupied 
 his present stand since 1859. He also practiced 
 dentistry in Southington and Bristol more or less 
 for some years, and finally drifted into the practice 
 of veterinary surgery, in which he has met with 
 almost phenomenal success. 
 
 In 1848 Mr. Finch was united in marriage with 
 Mrs. Arabella (Witham) Buck, of Southington, 
 and they have two children living: Ella G., wife 
 of John A. Brooks ; and Daisy Anne, wife of Dr. 
 James H. Osborne. Fraternally Mr. Finch is a 
 prominent member of Friendship Lodge, No. 33, 
 F. & A. M., of Southington, of which he was master 
 four years, and politically he is a stanch Democrat. 
 Fle has most creditably served his town as assessor, 
 grand juror and selectman, and was its representa- 
 tive to the State Legislature in the sessions of 1849 
 and 1873. 
 
 JULIUS BOND, an honored and highly-re- 
 spected citizen of Plantsville, who is now living 
 retired, was born in Canterbury, Windham county, 
 this State, Nov. 21, 1828, a son of Joseph and 
 Esther (Ford) Bond, and is of English descent, 
 tracing his ancestry back to William Bond, one of 
 the first settlers of Massachusetts. 
 
1098 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Our subject began his education in the common 
 schools near his boyhood home, and then attended 
 the Worcester Academy, where he was fitted for 
 college. In 1856 he was graduated from Brown 
 University, at Providence, R. I., and spent the fol- 
 lowing two years in McHenry county, 111., where 
 he supplied pulpits in different Baptist Churches, 
 having been licensed to preach, though not an or- 
 dained minister. Returning to Connecticut in the 
 fall of 1862, he located in Plantsville, and deciding 
 on account of a difficulty of the throat to engage 
 in other work, entered the employ of the Plant 
 Manufacturing Co. as bookkeeper, continuing with 
 them until 1875, when he became connected with 
 the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., and served them in 
 the same capacity until his retirement from busi- 
 ness, Sept. I, 1899. 
 
 Mr. Bond was married, in 1856, to Miss Julia 
 E. Rogers, daughter of Hiram and Elizabeth 
 (Flint) Rogers, of Hartford; Mr. Rogers moved 
 to Illinois late in life. To this union were born 
 seven children, six of whom are still (1900) liv- 
 ing: Edith B.. wife of W. G. Haves; George R. ; 
 Adelia, wife of E. A. Marsh ; Catherine ; Emily, 
 wife of Rev. William J. Tate ; and William Gil- 
 bert. j\Ir. Bond is an earnest, consistent Christian 
 gentleman, and an active member of the Baptist 
 Church of Plantsville, of which he is serving as 
 clerk. His political support is given to the Re- 
 publican party. His honorable and useful career 
 is in many respects well worthy of emulation. 
 
 EUGENE S. CLARK, of Poquonock, is prom- 
 inently identified with the tobacco industry, lioth as 
 a grower and dealer, and is conceded to be an author- 
 ity on the culture and care of that plant. He has 
 had, at times, as much as sixty-two acres under 
 cultivation, and probably raises as large an amount 
 annually as any man in Connecticut, while he pos- 
 sesses the practical judgment and business acumen 
 which enabled him to place his product on the mar- 
 ket in an advantageous way. For many years he 
 has been the head of a leading firm of tobacco 
 dealers and jobbers in Hartford, and his reputation 
 in commercial circles is of the best. 
 
 Mr. Clark is a representative of a family which 
 has been prominent in Windsor from an early date, 
 and is of the seventh generation in descent from 
 (I) Hon. Daniel Clark, a noted lawyer, who was 
 secretary of the Colony of Connecticut in iC-.^i, and 
 again in 1664 to 1666. This worthy pioneer pur- 
 chased, in 1664, a triangular tract of land lying on 
 what is now Bloomfield avenue, Windsor, and there 
 he made his permanent home, his death occurring 
 Aug. .12, 1710, in his eightieth year. By his first 
 wife, Mary (Newberry), he had a son, Samtiel. 
 
 (II) Samuel Clark, the next in the line of de- 
 scent, was born July 11, 1661. He married Mehit- 
 able Thrall, daughter of Timothy Thrall, and had 
 a son, Samuel. 
 
 (III) Samuel Clark, son of Samuel and Mehit- 
 able Clark, was Dorn Nov. 10, 1688. He married 
 Abigail Owen, of Simsbury, daughter of Josiah 
 Owen. 
 
 (IV) David Clark, our subject's great-grand- 
 father, was born in 1725, and married Rachel Moore, 
 by whom he had twenty-one children. 
 
 (V) Russell Clark, the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Poquonock, and lived to the age 
 of seventy-seven, his remains being interred in the 
 cemetery at Poquonock. As a business man he was 
 enterprising and successful, having an extensive 
 trade as a cabinetmaker? and for many years he 
 made a specialty of coffins. The homestead was 
 substantially improved during his occupancy, and 
 the house in which our subject now resides was built 
 by him. He married, Oct. 3, 1838, Sarah W. 
 Mather, and had five children : Gilbert, Bradley 
 and Samuel, all of whom died in Poquonock ; Fan- 
 nie, who married a Mr. Griffin, and died in Bloom- 
 field ; and Sydney, who died in Poquonock. 
 
 (\T) Hon. Samuel Clark, our subject's father, 
 was born and reared at the present nomestead, and 
 from an early age was active in business affairs, his 
 first money being earned at stripping tobacco from 
 the stalks at twenty-five cents per day. He learned 
 the papermaker's trade, t)ut did not follow it, as his 
 attention was turned in early manhood to inde- 
 pendent ventures, in which he made a large fortune, 
 his ability and thorough application to business 
 making his enterprises uniformly successful. For 
 forty years ne conducted a general store at Po- 
 quonock, his stock including dry-goods, groceries 
 and liquors, as was then the custom in similar es- 
 tablishments, and he also engaged extensively in 
 tobacco growing and had a cigar factory at the 
 village," his various lines of business employing 
 many men and bringing large sums of money to 
 the locality. His credit was of the best, and he 
 was well-known throughout the county, his sterling 
 qualities of character winning him a host of friends. 
 In politics he was a strong Democrat, and for six- 
 teen years he was postmaster at Poquonock, while 
 he also served at one time as a member of the State 
 Legislature. He was a small man, weighing from 
 140 to 145 pounds, but had a good constitution, and 
 lived past the average of three-score and ten, his 
 death occurring at Poquonock in September, 1881. 
 He believed in enjoying the good things of life 
 as they came. Mr. Clark married Cordelia Blanch- 
 ard, who survived him, dying at the age of eighty- 
 nine, at the residence of their youngest daughter, 
 then in Springfield, Mass. They had four children : 
 Frances, who married Byron Barnard, and died at 
 Poquonock, in the house where she was born ; Eu- 
 gene S., our subject; Emerist (Mrs. John Miller), 
 of Boston; and Hortense (Mrs. Theron Holcomb), 
 also of Boston. 
 
 ( VH) Eugene S. Clark was born Aug. 30, 1833, 
 at his present home, and his education was begun 
 
p 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1099 
 
 in the schools of Poquonock, T. M. R. Randall be- 
 ing one of his early teachers. For two years he at- 
 tended a school at East Hampton, Mass., but not- 
 withstanding his father's earnest wish that he should 
 continue his studies in more advanced institutions, 
 he felt too strongly inclined toward business life, 
 and as a boy liked nothing better than to be in the 
 store. After a time he became a member of the 
 firm of Samuel Clark & Son, and from boyhood he 
 has been interested in tobacco growing, his farm 
 in Bloomfield town being devoted to that crop. In 
 1869 he formed a partnership with H. H. Clark, of 
 Akron, Ohio, and engaged in business at Poquonock 
 as dealer's in leaf tobacco under the title of E. S. 
 Clark & Co. ; in 1896 the firm became Clark, Dimond 
 & Clark, their establishment being located at Nos. 
 225-227 State street, Hartford. Mr. Clark has re- 
 sided at the old homestead throughout his life with 
 the exception of fourteen years spent in Hartford ; 
 and his residence is one of the most attractive in 
 the town. While he is a thoroughly progressive 
 business man, his disposition is unassuming and 
 quiet, and his religious creed is based upon the 
 Golden Rule. He takes a hearty interest in all pub- 
 lic matters, being a stanch Democrat, but has never 
 sought or held office. Mr. Clark has all his life been 
 a lover of ourdoor sports, and has been a great 
 fisher and hunter. He built, in Poquonock, the 
 first and only trout hatchery, probably the first in 
 the State, and some years ago gave an exhibition at 
 the Fair in Hartford which was highly educational 
 and interesting. For years he has been the first 
 to catch the shad and the lampreys that run up the 
 Farmington river, and he has particular skill as a 
 caster of the fly in trout fishing. He has enjoyed 
 good health, and is possessed of a wonderful con- 
 stitution, but for two years he has been a little less 
 active than formerly. 
 
 Mr. Clark married Miss Jennie E. Potter, a mem- 
 ber of a prominent famil}^ of Hartford, and two chil- 
 dren have brightened their home : ( i ) Mabel H., 
 born July 16, 1882, in Poquonock, is now being ed- 
 ucated in the St. Joseph convent, in Hartford ; she 
 is a natural musician. (2) Harold LeRoy, born 
 in Hartford, Oct. 20, 1888, is living in Poquonock. 
 
 The Potter family, from which Mrs. Clark is 
 descended, was founded in this country by Nathan 
 Potter, a native of England, and members of same 
 were among the early settlers of Rhode Island. 
 Daniel Potter, father of Mrs. Clark, was born in 
 Voluntown, Conn., July 3, 18 18, came to Hart- 
 ford in 1837, and for years engaged in the shoe 
 business. He now resides with his daughter. He 
 married Hannah Boardman Dunham (now de- 
 ceased), who bore him two children: Jennie E. 
 (Mrs. Clark), and Clayton, now a resident of Phil- 
 adelphia. 
 
 EDWIN ARMSTRONG RUSSELL was born 
 in Russell, Hampden Co., Mass., July 5, 1833, a 
 descendant of one of the oldest families of Con- 
 
 necticut. He is of English extraction, his great- 
 great-grandfather, William Russell, the first of his 
 name to settle here, having come from England and 
 taken up his residence in New Haven, where he 
 followed his trade of stonecutter the remainder of 
 his days. 
 
 Richard Russell, Jr., grandson of William Rus- 
 sell, and grandfather of Edwin A. Russell, was born 
 in New Haven, where he grew to manhood and 
 was educated in the district schools. While still 
 a young man he removed to Russell, Hampden Co., 
 Mass., there settling on a farm of 130 acres on 
 which he made many improvements, and where he 
 passed the remainder of his life. He married Miss 
 Sarah Yale, of Bristol, Hartford Co., Conn., a lady 
 of unusual intelligence, and to this marriage nine 
 children were born : ( i ) Simeon, who married a 
 Connecticut lady and became the father of five 
 children, Griswold, Fanny, Auduma, Whitney and 
 Loomis. This family first removed to Ohio, and 
 thence to Michigan, where they spent the remain- 
 der of their lives. (2) Thomas spent most of his 
 life in Russell, Mass., but died in Burlington, Conn., 
 the father of two children, Elizabeth, who mar- 
 ried Benajah S. Brockett, of Blandford ; and Sarah, 
 who became the wife of Andrew Hull, of Burling- 
 ton. (3) Louisa married William Henry, who 
 died in Ohio. (4) Matilda never married. (5) 
 Almon married and had a family of five children, 
 Almon, Amanda, Sarah, Celestia and Rodney; they 
 removed to Ohio, settling in Medina county. (6) 
 Abel was the father of our subject. (7) Yale re- 
 moved to Ohio, and settled in Franklin county. His 
 family consisted of four children, Cornelia. Darwin, 
 Wilson H. and Amanda. (8) Lydia, who was mar- 
 ried to Joseph Henry, a son of William Henry, 
 lived and died in Ohio. (9) William died yoimg. 
 The father of this family was a Whig in politics, 
 and in religion a Congregationalist ; his remains 
 now lie interred in the cemetery at Russell. His 
 wife died in Medina county, Ohio, at the great age 
 of ninety-nine years, nine months and some days. 
 
 Abel Russell, father of Edwin A. Russe'l, our 
 subject, was born in 1800, in Russell, Hampden Co., 
 Mass., and educated in the district schools. He 
 spent the major part of his life on the old home- 
 stead of 150 acres, engaged in general farming, 
 dairying and stock raising ; later he removed to the 
 town of Blandford, in the same count)', was there 
 engaged several years in agricultural pursuits, and 
 finally came to Suffield, Conn., where he died at 
 the home of our subject in 1871, his remains being 
 interred in the cemetery at Blandford. He was a 
 consistent member of the Congregational Church, 
 in Blandford, and in politics was first a Whig, later 
 a Republican. He was very domestic in his habits, 
 was strictly temperate, and was greatly respected 
 for his sterling honesty and Christian character. 
 He married (first) Emeline Loomis, a native of 
 Southampton, Mass., and a daughter of Curtis 
 Loomis, which marriage was blessed with three 
 
1100 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 children : Almon, residing in Sullfield, Conn. ; Ed- 
 win Armstrong, the subject of this sketch; and 
 EHzabeth, who married Alexander H. Lewis (both 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lewis died in Springfield). The 
 mother of our subject died in 1853, at Russell, and 
 Mr. Russell afterward married Betsey (Ellsworth), 
 the widow of James Morton, of Blandford, where 
 she passed away without issue. 
 
 Edwin Armstrong Russell received his prelim- 
 inary education in part at the public schools of his 
 native town, and in part at its select schools, which 
 was supplemented by an attendance at the West- 
 field Academy. For several terms, during his 
 earlier manhood, he taught school, and also learned 
 and worked at the carpenter's and joiner's trade. 
 He spent ten years on fhe old homestead in Russell, 
 but in 1866 sold the farm and came to Suffield, buy- 
 ing his present farm of sixty acres, and here for 
 thirty-three years he has devoted his time and at- 
 tention to the cultivation of tobacco, to dairying, 
 and to general farming, meeting with uniform suc- 
 cess. 
 
 Mr. Russell was united in marriage, in 1855, at 
 Blandford, with Miss Sarah Louise Tinker, a native 
 of Blandford. and a daughter of David Parks and 
 Marv Elizabeth ( Hamilton 1 Tinker, who were of 
 English descent and old settlers of Blandford. One 
 child, Henry B. Russell, has blessed this marriage. 
 He received his elementary education in the public 
 schools of Suffield, later graduated at the Con- 
 necticut Literary Institute, of Suffield, and finally 
 graduated from .-Vmherst (^ilass.) College. He is 
 now a journalist and author of some repute. In 
 1896 he wrote the biographies of McKinley and 
 Hobart, and since has written the "History of In- 
 ternational ^Monetary Conferences," "Sketches of 
 the Klondike and Alaska Gold Fields," and also 
 a "History of the Late \\'ar with Spain." He mar- 
 ried Miss Louise Clark, daughter of Silas W. Clark, 
 of Suffield, and thev have had one child, Fordham 
 Clark. 
 
 Edwin A. Russell is a Republican, and is an 
 active worker for the success of his party. He 
 served his fellow citizens of Russell as selectman 
 and assessor for several years, and was also a mem- 
 ber of the school board of that town. In Suffield 
 he has served as chairrsan of the ooard of select- 
 men for three years, and as a member and chairman 
 of the school board. He was one of the organizers 
 of the Suffield Creamery Co., its president for sev- 
 eral vears, and has been superintendent of the 
 creamery from its start, in 1889. Mr. Russell is 
 prominently identified with the Congregational 
 Church in Suffield, was superintendent of the Sun- 
 day-school of same for several years, and has been 
 a deacon in his church since 1870, being recog- 
 nized as one of the pillars of the society. He is 
 a useful citizen, of the highest respectability, and 
 his amiable wife shares with him the esteem of' all 
 who know them. 
 
 PAUL THOMSON. This well-known resi- 
 dent of West Hartford is one of the leading foreign- 
 born citizens of that town, and in his successful 
 business career has shown the characteristic thrift 
 and enterprise of his race. Beginning with no cap- 
 ital except that acquired by his own industry, he 
 built up a large trade as a market gardener, and 
 is to-day quite well-to-do. 
 
 Mr. Thomson was born in Perthshire, Scotland, 
 April 15, 1846, a son of William and Annie (Mc- 
 Arther) Thomson, lifelong residents of Perthshire, 
 and descendants of old Scottish families. The fa- 
 ther was quite an extensive farmer, and both par- 
 ents were devout members of the Presbyterian 
 Church. They had a family of seven Children : 
 Robert, now deceased ; James, a resident of Hart- 
 ford, Conn.; Jessie, in New Zealand; William, a 
 banker of Glasgow, Scotland; Paul, our subject; 
 John, deceased ; and Annie, wife of George M. 
 Stearns, of Springfield, Massachusetts. 
 
 Paul Thomson acquired his education in the 
 public schools of his native land, and as soon as old 
 enough to be of any assistance commenced to aid 
 his father in the operation of the home farm, thus 
 acquiring a good practical knowledge of the occupa- 
 tion he has chosen as a life work. In 1871 he em- 
 igrated to America, and resided in Hartford for 
 three months prior to coming to West Hartford. 
 For a year he was in the employ of Joseph Daven- 
 port, and in 1872 bought the J. B. Powell farm, five- 
 eighths of a mile south of West Hartford Center, 
 on which he raised tobacco and garden produce for 
 ten years. Fie then devoted his entire time and at- 
 tention to market gardening, selling to the whole- 
 sale trade, in which business he met with most ex- 
 cellent success, continuing same until the spring of 
 1899, when he rented his gardening land, built 
 greenhouses, and now devotes his entire attention 
 to the cultivation of flowers, making English violets 
 a specialty. 
 
 On June 24, 1880, at Keene, N. H., Mr. Thom- 
 son was united in marriage with Miss Nettie D. 
 Metcalf, and to them have been born three chil- 
 dren : William Wallace, Carlyle Clififord and Ru- 
 pert Roy. Mr. and Mrs. Tliomson are both earnest 
 and consistent members of the Congregational 
 Church of West Hartford, and take an active and 
 prominent part in its work, Mr. Thomson having 
 been a member of the committee of the Ecclesiasti- 
 cal Society for a number of years, while his wife is 
 now president of the local work department. He is 
 master of the West Hartford Grange. Politically 
 he supports the men and measures of the Republican 
 party, and efficiently served as justice of the peace 
 in 1897 and 1898. 
 
 JOB COWING, a well-known resident of the 
 town of Suffield, has been identified with the agri- 
 cultural interests of that locality for many years, 
 and the honesty and uprightness of his character, 
 
» 
 
 ^LyO^ytA.^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1101 
 
 as shown in his daily life, have won him the respect 
 of the community. He and his estimable wife have 
 spent more than half a century of happy wedded 
 life and are still enjoying excellent Health, the after- 
 noon of their existence being brightened by com- 
 forts gained through their united efforts in former 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Cowing comes of good Colonial stock, his 
 grandfather, Gathelius Cowing, a native of Massa- 
 chusetts, having served as a soldier in the Revolu- 
 tionary army. 
 
 Job Cowing, our subject's father, was born in 
 Scituate, Plymouth Co., Mass., but removed in early 
 manhood to Chesterfield, Hampshire Co., that State, 
 where he made his permanent home and engaged 
 in farming and stock raising. In politics he was 
 a Whig, and as a citizen he was held in high esteem. 
 By his first wife, Rachel Coleman, he had one 
 daughter. Electa, who married George Kendall, of 
 Northfield, Mass. His second wife, Sybil King, of 
 West Hampton, Mass., was a woman of rare worth, 
 and was greatly beloved by her family and asso- 
 ciates. She died in Chesterfield in 1857, he in 1856. 
 They had children: Aurelia, deceased wife of R. 
 Gurney ; Elvira, married to Ansel Thyer ; Cynthia, 
 married to Jacob Loomis ; Dexter, deceased ; Eunice, 
 who died unmarried ; Fannie, deceased wife of 
 Jason Thyer; Job, our subject; Charles, next in :he 
 order of birth; Sybil, deceased wife of Spellman 
 Stevens ; Sumner, deceased ; and Austin. 
 
 Job Cowing was born Aug. 31, 1820, at the old 
 homestead in Chesterfield, Mass., and was reared 
 as a farmer boy, receiving only a district-school 
 education. When a young man he went to Orange 
 county, N. Y., to learn the millwright's trade, which 
 he followed for many years. After ten years he 
 removed to Northampton, Mass., and later he spent 
 six years at Stamford, Bennington Co., Vt., where 
 he became interested in the lumber business. He 
 then came to this section to engage in farming, and 
 settled upon Capt. Simon Ivendall's farm, in Suffield, 
 where he has since resided. In addition to general 
 agriculture, he devotes much attention to dairying 
 and stock raising, and by his able management he 
 has gained satisfactory results in all these lines. 
 Throughout his life he has been a firm believer in 
 the policy of the Democratic party, and while he 
 has not been an office seeker he has not shirked the 
 duties of citizenship, and at one time served as as- 
 sessor of Suffield. He is a man of sound judgment 
 and extensive reading, and in religion he bases his 
 faith upon the underlying principles of all creeds 
 rather than in those of any one denomination. 
 
 On Dec. 25, 1844, Mr. Cowing was married, in 
 Port Jervis, N. Y., to Miss Eleanor Cole, daughter 
 of Josiah Cole, a prominent citizen of Paterson, 
 N. J. Their home is marked by the influence of 
 Mrs. Cowing's refined taste, and their eight chil- 
 dren have been reared in a way to make them a 
 credit to their parents: (i) Walter is a black- 
 smith of Southington. (2) Julia married Senator 
 
 George F. Kendell, of Suffield. (3) Laura mar- 
 ried Irvin Lindsay, of Meriden. (4) Fanny mar- 
 ried Arthur Tildon, of Terryville, Conn. (5) 
 Frank resides in Meriden, where he is chief engin- 
 eer of the Fire Department. (6) James resides 
 in Toronto, Canada. (7) Miss Helen is at home. 
 (8) Addie married Ernest Austin, of Suffield. 
 
 WATSON GIBBONS, one of the oldest resi- 
 dents and most highly-respected citizens of the 
 town of Hartland, is the possessor of a handsome 
 property which now enables him to spend his years 
 in the pleasurable enjoyment of his accumulations. 
 The record of his life, previous to 1884, is that of 
 an active, enterprising, methodical and sagacious 
 business man, and who bent his energies to the hon- 
 orable accjuirement of a comfortable competence 
 for himself and family. 
 
 Mr. Gibbons was born in Granville, Mass., Feb. 
 18, 1812, and is a representative of an old and hon- 
 ored New England famil)', of Scotch-Irish extrac- 
 tion. His grandfather, Peter Gibbons, who was a 
 tanner and shoemaker by trade, was born in Durham, 
 Conn., April 20,1730, and during his younger years 
 was a subject of Great Britain, but lived to see the 
 Colonies throw off the yoke of oppression and be- 
 come free and independent. He made his home in 
 Granville, Mass., where he died in 1792. He was a 
 member of the Presbyterian Church and a most con- 
 sistent Christian. His wife Sarah was born Jan. 31, 
 1 73 1, and died in Granville many years ago. In their 
 family were twelve children : Elizabeth, born Nov. 
 7. 1752; Peter, Aug. i, 1754; Lemuel, Oct. i, 1756; 
 Bildad, Feb. 2, 1759; Mary and Sarah (twins), 
 Dec. 31, 1760; Timothy, Feb. 22, 1762; Sarah (2), 
 May 5, 1764; Eli, Aug. 28, 1767; Jedediah Howe, 
 Feb. 18, 1770; Mary, Aug. i, 1772; and Hannah, 
 April 5, 1775. 
 
 Jedediah Howe Gibbons, the father of our sub- 
 ject, received only a limited education in the pub- 
 lic schools of his day, and throughout life followed 
 the occupation of farming. When a yoimg man he 
 purchased a tract of one hundred acres of land, to 
 the cultivation and improvement of which he de- 
 voted his energies until called from this life, Aug. 
 4, 1849, I'lis remains being interred in Granville 
 cemetery. He was noted for his upright character, 
 v,'as honored and respected by all, and was a Whig 
 in politics, but never an office seeker. He married 
 Elizabeth Cowdrey, who was born in Hartland, 
 Conn., in 1770, a daughter of Moses Cowdrey, one 
 of the old and respected settlers of that town. She 
 was a good Christian woman, and a faithful wife 
 and mother. She departed this life at Granville, 
 in 1844, and was laid to rest in the cemetery there 
 In the family were nine children, whose names and 
 dates of birth were as follows: Carlos, July 12, 
 1793; Dumaras, April 13, 1796; Philura, Oct. 25, 
 1798; Amoret, Aug. 20, 1800 (died June 4, 1802) ; 
 Hiram B., Sept. 26, 1802; Amoret, Feb. 19. 1804: 
 Elizabeth, Oct. 10, 1806; Martha, Jan. 6, 1810 
 
1102 ■ 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (died Tulv 13. 1810); and Watson, Feb. 18, 
 1812. 
 
 During liis bo_\hood our subject attended the 
 district schools, but his educational advantages were 
 meager, as his father was well advanced in life 
 and his services were needed on the home farm. 
 He struggled liard to support his parents in com- 
 fort, but labored under disadvantages on account 
 of his limited education. He was, however, am- 
 bitious, energetic and enterprising, and at the age 
 of sixteen started out in the world for himself, 
 selling farm produce in Hartford; in his trucking 
 business he used ox-teams. Thus he laid the foun- 
 dation of a useful and successful business life. 
 With the first money which he saved he paid off 
 the mortgage on his father's farm, and then as- 
 sumed charge of the same, caring for his parents 
 in their old age. In 1836 Timothy Cooley, a gen- 
 eral merchant, offered Mr. Gibbons an interest in 
 his business without putting in any capital, as that 
 gentleman fully appreciated the sterling qualities 
 
 and good business ability of the young man. 
 
 He 
 
 had, however, saved $400, and this he invested in 
 the business, which was successfully conducted un- 
 der the firm name of Cooley & Gibbons for four 
 years. In 1839 they started a branch store at East 
 Hartland, with Mr. Gibbons in charge, and when 
 he withdrew from the firm in 1841 he kept the store 
 at that place, being successfully engaged in mer- 
 cantile business there until 1884, during which time 
 he had three partners: Lyman Remington, for 
 two years; John J. Phelps, for the same length of 
 time ; and Philo P. Coe, for twelve years. In 
 1884 he leased his store to Fred Harding, and has 
 since lived retired from all business cares. For 
 half a century he had successfully engaged in gen- 
 eral merchandising, was also a dealer in lumber, 
 and had farming interests. A man of strict in- 
 tegrity, he was known far and wide for his upright, 
 honorable business career, and for the success that 
 he achieved in life he deserved great credit, for he 
 started out for himself empty-handed and rose to 
 a position of affluence entirely through his own 
 industry, perseverance and good management. 
 
 On April 30, 1834, in Granville, Mass., Mr. 
 Gibbons was united in marriage with Miss Eliza- 
 beth C. Parsons, a daughter of Oliver Parsons, 
 Esquire. She died June 3, 1882, and was buried in 
 East Hartland. She was a most estimable lady 
 and a good Christian. J\Ir. Gibbons was again 
 married, his second union being in November, 
 1882, with Mrs. Almira H. (Colton) Emmons, a 
 native of Granby, Conn., and a daughter of Lemuel 
 and Polly (Watson) Colton. By her first hus- 
 band, Darius Emmons, she had five children: Al- 
 mera, wife of Wesley Miller; Almeron (twin of 
 Almera), who became a resident of Kansas, and 
 died in January, 1898, aged fifty-five years; Irving 
 D., a resident of Hartland; Mary J., who died in 
 Boston in 1897, at the age of forty-eight years; 
 and Arthur, who died at the age of four years. 
 
 Mr. Gibbons has an adopted son, Watson E. Gib- 
 bons, his nephew, who is a native of Granville, 
 Mass., and a son of Hiram and Cynthia (King) 
 Gibbons, the former a brother of our subject. 
 Since a child of four years he had made his home 
 with our subject, being well-reared and educated, 
 and is now a traveling salesman for a mercantile 
 house in Springfield, Mass. He wedded Mary 
 Bannon, of tliat place, and has four children : Lena, 
 Grace, Sadie and Edward. In politics he is a Re- 
 publican. 
 
 Mr. Gibbons cast his first Presidential vote for 
 the Whig candidate in 1836, and continued to sup- 
 port that party until the organization of the Re- 
 publican party, when he joined its ranks, and has 
 since been identified therewith. In 1881 he was 
 elected to the State Legislature, and most ably and 
 satisfactorily represented- Hartland town in that 
 body. He has also most creditably filled a number 
 of local offices, including those of selectman, town 
 clerk, judge of probate, administrator in the set- 
 tlement of numerous estates, and postmaster at 
 East Hartland for four years. He is a consistent 
 member of the Congregational Church, and his life 
 has ever been in harmony with his profession. Mr. 
 Gibbons was made a Freemason in Tariffville many 
 years ago, and is a charter member of St. Mark's 
 Lodge, No. 91, F. & A. M., of Granby. 
 
 BURTON S. LOOMIS. The practical develop- 
 ments of modern scientific research have brought 
 into service a high class of talent, electrical science 
 being especially attractive to the keen minds of 
 the young men of to-day. The subject of this 
 biography, who is now connected with the Eddy 
 Electric Manufacturing Co., at Windsor, has made 
 a special study of the mechanisms by which Na- 
 ture's powerful fluid is converted into the servant 
 of man, and by his intelligent work as a machinist 
 has gained the respect, as well as the confidence, 
 of his employers. As a citizen Mr. Loomis is 
 thoroughly progressive and his elegant home in 
 Windsor, built in 1894, gives indication of artistic 
 taste and generous culture, his fondness for read- 
 ing being shown by an excellent collection of books 
 on current topics. 
 
 Mr. Loomis was born in Windsor March 10, 
 1868, the only child of Newton S. and Susan (Cas- 
 well) Loomis. In the paternal line he traces his 
 descent from Joseph Loomis, who was born about 
 1590 at Braintree, County of Essex, England, and 
 came in the fall of 1639 to Windsor, where he 
 died Nov. 25, 1658. In 1640 he purchased prop- 
 erty there, and his descendants in the town have 
 always been among its thrifty, "fore-handed" citi- 
 zens. 
 
 II. Deacon John Loomis, who was born in 
 England in 1622, died Sept. i, 1688, in Windsor. 
 He was married, Feb. 3, 1649, to Elizabsth Scott, 
 daughter of Thomas Scott, of Hartford. 
 
 III. Sergeant Daniel Loomis, who was born 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1103 
 
 June i6, 1657, died June 25, 1740. On Dec. 23, 
 1680, he married Mary Ellsworth, daughter of 
 Josiah Ellsworth, and on July 9, 1713, he mar- 
 ried Hannah Drake, a widow. 
 
 IV. Benjamin Loomis, the next in the line of 
 descent, was born Feb. 7, 1699, and died Jan. 2, 
 1763. On Dec. 9, 1725, he married Joanna Alford. 
 
 V. Sera j ah Loomis was born Dec. 4, 1740, and 
 died in 181 1. He was married, Oct. 24, 1767, to 
 Sybil Loomis. 
 
 VL Ira Loomis, our subject's great-grandfa- 
 ther, was born Feb. 13, 1770, and died Jan. 9, 
 1842. On March 5, 1798, he married Rosamond 
 Warner, of Scotland, Conn., who died Sept. 18, 
 1849. 
 
 VII. Ira Loomis, Jr., grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born May 2, 1802, and died Sept. 19, 
 1 89 1. In his youth he taught school for a time, 
 but his later years were spent at the old home- 
 stead in farming and brickmaking, in which he 
 gained a comfortable competence. On Feb. 12, 
 1834, he married Eliza Sheldon, of Sufifield, daugh- 
 ter of Deacon Samuel Sheldon, and she survived 
 him only ten months. 
 
 VIII. Newton S. Loomis, our subject's father, 
 was born in Windsor Jan. 17, 1835, and was edu- 
 cated in the Stonv Hill district school, and in the 
 Connecticut Literary Institute at Suffield. In the 
 meantime he assisted in the work of the farm, but 
 as he was not inclined to settle down to that busi- 
 ness he became a clerk in a grocery in Hartford 
 soon after leaving school. About 1857 he made a 
 prospecting tour through Minnesota and other west- 
 ern States, but after an absence of a year and a 
 half he decided that there was "no place like home" 
 and returned to the old farm. His time until his 
 retirement was spent in agricultural pursuits, and 
 after some years at the homestead he removed to 
 Bloomfield, where he spent thirteen years. He then 
 returned to the town of Windsor, and in April, 
 1893, he located at Windsor Center, but he died 
 on the 5th of May of that year. His remains were 
 taken to Bloomfield for interment. He was a mem- 
 ber of a political organization, in i860, called the 
 "Wide-awakes," and voted for Lincoln (first term). 
 On June 4, 1863, he married Miss Susan Caswell, 
 who was born in Hartford Dec. 23, 1835, and is 
 still living at the homestead. She received an ex- 
 cellent education in girlhood in the common and 
 select schools, and is held in high esteem in the 
 community where she has resided for so many 
 years. Her father, Edwin Caswell, was proprietor 
 of Washington market, Hartford, but during her 
 childhood he engaged in farming in West Hart- 
 ford, where she was reared. Her mother's maiden 
 name was Bethiah Wells, and Mrs. Loomis was 
 the fifth child and third daughter in a family of 
 eleven children, all of whom lived to maturity. 
 
 IX. Burton S. Loomis attended the schools of 
 the Southwest district of Bloomfield, his parents 
 being then residents of that town, and Miss Lilian 
 
 Humphrey was his first teacher. When he was 
 Sixteen years old the family returned to Windsor, 
 and afterward he studied for two terms in Han- 
 num's Business College, Hartford, thus laying a 
 good foundation for success in business life. On 
 leaving home in 1888 he went to Wahoo, Neb., 
 where he spent one year in the offices of the Bur- 
 lington & Missouri railroad as agent's clerk. Later 
 he spent a year and a half as a cashier at New 
 Castle, Wyoming, and had the privilege of voting 
 for Francis M. Warren, the first governor of that 
 State, who was elected on the Republican ticket. 
 Altogether he remained about three years in the 
 West, a few months being spent as a baggage mas- 
 ter at Aurora, Neb., but as his father's health was 
 failing he came back home in November, 1890, to 
 assist in the management of the farm. In the 
 spring of 1892 he entered the employ of the Eddy 
 Manufacturing Co., with whom he has since con- 
 tinued. On Nov. 14, 1894, he married Miss Annie 
 L. Hubbard, daughter of Franklin B. and Louisa 
 (Loomisj' Hubbard, whose biographical sketch ap- 
 pears elsewhere. Two children have blessed this 
 union, Grace Htibbard and Theodore R., both liv- 
 ing. Mr. Loomis is a Methodist, and member of 
 the ofificial board of the M. E. Church, but his wife 
 is a member of the Congregational Church, and 
 they are popular among a refined and cultured 
 social circle. Politically Mr. Loomis is a stanch 
 Republican, as was his father before him, and his 
 first Presidential vote was cast for Benjamin Har- 
 rison, at Windsor, in 1892 ; he has never entered 
 the arena as an office seeker. 
 
 HENRY JACKSON DEWEY, the well-known 
 superintendent of the Granby Creamery, is a lead- 
 ing representative of the agricultural interests of 
 the town of Granby. A man of excellent busi- 
 ness ability and broad resources, he has attained 
 a prominent place among the substantial citizens of 
 his part of the county, and is recognized as a 
 leader in public affairs. 
 
 Mr. Dewey was born in the town of Granby 
 Oct. S, 1826, and belongs to an old and distin- 
 guished New England family, which has a prom- 
 inent representative in the hero of Manila. The 
 first of the family to locate in Granby, then Sims- 
 bury, Conn., was David Dewey, a Baptist minister, 
 who took up his residence at what is now known as 
 Bushy Hill, where he engaged in farming, and also 
 preached throughout the surrounding country. As 
 he lived prior to the Revolutionary war, and did 
 not wish to pay taxes to the British government, 
 his cow was taken from him and sold for that pur- 
 pose. . He died in Granby, and his remains were 
 interred in the cemetery there. This worthy gentle- 
 man was the great-grandfather of our subject. 
 
 David Dewey, Jr., the grandfather, was born 
 at Bushy Hill, and spent his entire life in the town 
 of Granby, as one of its highly-respected citizens 
 and well-to-do farmers and stock raisers. During 
 
1104 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the Revolutionary war he enhsted as a private in 
 the Colonial service under Capt. Phillips, and 
 valiantly fought until independence was achieved. 
 He was twice married, his second wife being Le- 
 vina Holcomb, daughter of Asa llolconib, and to 
 them were born seven children : David ; John, fa- 
 ther of our subject ; Samuel ; Eli ; Deborah ; Joseph ; 
 and Levina, wife of Joseph Day. The parents of 
 these children both died on the old ho-iiestead at 
 Bushy Hill, and were buried in Granby cesnetery. 
 They were consistent members of the Baptist 
 Church, and highly esteemed by all who knew them. 
 
 John Dewey, our subject's father, was born on 
 the old homestead Oct. i6, 1786, and was edu- 
 cated in the district school taught by .Miss Rebecca 
 Adams. He was one of the defenders of the coun- 
 try during the war of 1812. He remained on the 
 old homestead until 1818, when he moved to the 
 farm now owned and occupied by our subject, a 
 tract of fifty acres, where he engaged in general 
 farming, stock raising and dairying throughout 
 the remainder of his life. He died there July 16, 
 1853, and was buried in Granby cemetery. His 
 political support was always given to the men and 
 measures of the Democratic party, and he most ctbly 
 represented his town in the State Legislature. He 
 filled other official po.sitions, such as selectman, and 
 his public and private life were alike above re- 
 proach. He was married, in the town of Granby, 
 to Miss Julia Hayes, who was born in North 
 Granby, near the Massachusetts line, a daughter 
 of Phineas Hayes. Of the six children born of 
 this union, one died in infancy : Julia died unmar- 
 ried ; Henrv J. is mentioned below : Hilton is a 
 resident of Mississippi : Emma lives with our sub- 
 ject; and Hattie is the wife of Horace R. Chidsey. 
 The mother, who was a consistent member of the 
 Baptist Church, died in i860, and was laid to rest 
 beside her husband. 
 
 Henry J. Dewey w-as educated in the public 
 schools of his native town, grew to manhood on 
 the paternal farm, and after the death of his fa- 
 ther succeeded to the place, increasing its extent 
 from time to time until he now has 140 acres of 
 valuable land, which he has placed under a high 
 state of cultivation. He has always followed gen- 
 eral farming, dairying and stock raising, keeping 
 a fine herd oi Jersey cattle, and in 1882 he became 
 interested in the organization of the Granby Cream- 
 ery Co., of which he has ever since been a director 
 and stockholder. In 1884 he was appointed super- 
 intendent, and his good business ability and ex- 
 cellent management have brought to the concern a 
 high degree of success. Annually the company man- 
 ufacture 206,000 pounds of butter, which finds a 
 ready sale at the highest market price in Hartford, 
 New Haven, Waterbury and other Connecticut 
 towns, and in this way over $40,000 a year are dis- 
 tributed among the farmers of Granby. The suc- 
 cess of the enterprise is certainly due in a large 
 
 measure to Mr. Dewey, and through it he has pro- 
 moted the welfare of the community. 
 
 In December, 1857, in Westfield, Mass., Mr. 
 Dewey was united in marriage with Miss Laura 
 Searle. a native of Southhampton, that State, and 
 a daughter of Job and Laura (Tuller) Searle, an 
 old and respected family. Five children were born 
 to them: (i) William H., living on the home- 
 stead, is his father's partner in business, and is 
 <-! Republican in politics. He married Llattie Wells, 
 and has five children, Edith, Wells, Ralph, LeRoy 
 and Maurice. (2) Lizzie is the wife of Samuel 
 Frederick Holcomb, and has had four children, 
 Tudor, Laura, Lena (who died when eighteen 
 months uld ) , and one who died in infancy un- 
 named. (3) Emma A. is the wife of George F. 
 Clark, of North Granby, and has two children, 
 Ellis F. and Laura D. (4) Julia died in infancy. 
 (5) Nellie May, a cultured and refined lady, was 
 married, April 27, 1899, to Leroy.H. Wilcox; she 
 is now serving as secretary of the Granby Creamery 
 Co. The wife and mother died from a cancer, in 
 1893, and was laid to rest in Granby cemetery. 
 She was a consistent member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, and a most estimable lady. 
 
 In early life Mr. Dewey was a Democrat, but 
 since the organization of the Republican party, in 
 1856, he has fought under its banner, and has taken 
 quite an influential part in local politics. In 1876 
 he was elected and served one term as State rep- 
 resentative, was selectman of the town of Granby 
 four terms, and has also been a member of the board 
 of relief and of the school board. Socially he is 
 affiliated with St. Mark's Lodge, No. 91, F. & A. 
 M., and religiously is a member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, in which he has served as 
 steward. He is a genial, pleasant gentleman, and 
 is quite a popular and influential citizen of his 
 community. Among his most cherished posses- 
 sions are a number of old relics which belonged to 
 his father and grandfather. 
 
 WALTER SMITH. Industry, thrift and sound 
 judgment make a combination of equalities which 
 will win success in any line of effort, and the his- 
 tory of this well-known resident of Windsor town 
 shows that he possesses them in a high degree. Com- 
 ing to this country without any other capital than 
 his own ability and energy, he has won a substantial 
 competence by his own endeavors, and his attractive 
 homestead near Windsor village is a tangible evi- 
 dence of his success. 
 
 Mr. Smith was born Oct. 22, 1828, in Gloucester- 
 shire, England, a son of George and Rebecca ( Shel- 
 ton) Smith, the latter of wdiom was a daughter of 
 Samuel Shelton, and of the same family as the 
 Sheltons of Connecticut. His father, who was em- 
 ployed in a factory for many years, died when our 
 subject was but two years old, leaving three chil- 
 dren : Harriett, who married Timothy Hunt, and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1105 
 
 died in England; Walter, the second in order of 
 birth; and George, a resident of Talcottville, Conn. 
 The mother was married some years later to Will- 
 iam Bendell, by whom she had three children : 
 Charles, deceased; Frederick, a resident of Man- 
 chester, Conn. ; Elizabeth, who married and died in 
 England. Charles possessed unusual ability, espe- 
 cially in mechanical lines, and our subject cherishes 
 a miniature, full rigged, three masted ship made by 
 l;im, which shows remarkable skill. He served ten 
 years in the British navy, also five years in the 
 United States navy, and was drowned in April, 
 1876, at Poquonock. 
 
 During boyhood our subject had but limited ed- 
 ucational opportunities, as his mother found it 
 difficult to make a livelihood for her little family,and 
 each of the children was obliged to help as early 
 as possible. At the age of eleven Mr. Smith found 
 work in a mill, and as the mill law then required 
 children so employed to be given some instruction 
 every day he was not entirely deprived of a chance 
 to study. At sixteen he left the mill, his health 
 being impaired, and for some time followed various 
 occupations, giving especial attention to gardening, 
 in which he became known as an expert. For two 
 years he had charge of a gentleman's garden, for 
 one year of that time also having charge of a farm 
 in Gloucester. In April, 1854, Mr. Smith was 
 married, in England, to Miss Elizabeth Rogers, who 
 died in September, 1856, and in 1857 he came to 
 America, having saved enough money from his 
 earnings. He sailed from Liverpool and had a 
 trying voyage, the ship finally striking a rock off 
 Cape Sable, but after 700 passengers had endured 
 a night and part of a day of keen anxiety they were 
 safely towed into harbor at Shelburne, N. S. Mr. 
 Smith proceeded thence by schooner to Halifax, 
 where he worked in public gardens for five weeks, 
 but his health being poor he left by steamer for 
 Boston, and from that point he made a prospecting 
 tour for work. His first employment was as a farm 
 hand, in a marKet garden near Jersey City, his 
 former experience in that line being of great value 
 to him. Before leaving England he had decided 
 to locate at Rockville, Conn., where he had an 
 uncle, Samuel Shelton, and after a time he carried 
 out his plan, securing work on a farm there and 
 later in a mill. The panic of 1857 closed the mill, 
 and in January, 1858, he went to Windsor, where 
 he found employment in a woolen factory. His 
 characteristic thoroughness soon won the confidence 
 of his employers, and three departments of the es- 
 tablishment were placed in his charge, but in the 
 spring of 1864 he resigned to engage in farming, 
 which occupation he found not only profitable but 
 healthful. He is still regarded as an expert in the 
 business, especially as a cleanser and fuller, and at 
 times has returned to the mill for short periods to 
 perform some work requiring more than ordinary 
 skill. His first home was on what is known as 
 Cook's Hill, near Windsor village, and early in 
 
 70 
 
 1863 he removed to his present farm, which he pur- 
 chased from Dr. Preston. Under his able and 
 scientific management it yields a handsome income, 
 and in the afternoon of his long and busy life he 
 is surrounded by well-earned comforts. Mr. Smith 
 is now practically retired from hard work, and with 
 his good wife is spending the latter years of his 
 life in leisure, respected by all. He is regarded as 
 one of the leading farmers of the county, and his 
 business transactions will bear the closest scrutiny, 
 his word being as good as his bond everywhere. 
 Politically he is independent, with inclinations 
 toward the Democratic party, and while he is inter- 
 ested in public affairs he has always declined to be- 
 come a candidate for office. 
 
 After coming to America Mr. Smith married 
 Miss Mary Ryan, a native of the North of Ireland, 
 who was brought to the United States in childhood. 
 By his first marriage he had one daughter, Edith 
 A., widow of J. F. Read, of Cambridgeport, Mass. 
 By the second he has had one son, Walter G., born 
 Feb. 23, 1862, who has rented and runs the home- 
 stead farm, which is devoted to general crops. He 
 married Miss Edith Hunt, of Talcottville, and they 
 have two children, Ruth Amelia and Edith Harriet, 
 The family is much respected socially. Mr. Smith 
 is a member of the Episcopal Church of Windsor ; 
 his wife is a member of the Baptist Church. In. 
 1874 they made a visit to England, his brother. 
 George, and family, accompanying them on their re- 
 turn, and now living in Talcottville. 
 
 DANIEL NEWTON FROST. The deserved 
 reward of a well-spent life is an honorable retire- 
 ment from business, in which to enjoy the fruits of 
 former toil. To-day, after a useful and beneficial 
 career, Mr. Frost is quietly living at his pleasant 
 home in West Suffield, surrounded by the com- 
 fort that earnest labor has brought him. 
 
 A native of Hartford county, Mr. Frost was 
 born in East Windsor March 22, 1826, of Eng- 
 lish ancestry. The first of the Frost family to cross 
 the Atlantic and take up residence in the New 
 World were three brothers, natives of England, 
 one of whom located in Maine, another in Boston, 
 Mass., and the third in Connecticut. The last 
 named was William Frost, who settled in AVindsor, 
 Hartford county, some time between 1632 and 
 1635, and there spent the remainder of his life. He 
 had four children : Andrew, a lawyer, of Fair- 
 field ; Daniel, a resident of Windsor ; Mary ; and 
 Sarah. 
 
 Josiah Frost, the great-grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Willington, Tolland Co., Conn., 
 where he was reared, but when a young man he 
 removed to Ellington, same county, where he en- 
 gaged in farming until called from this life. He 
 and his wife both died in Ellington, and both were- 
 buried there. In their family vi'ere nine children,, 
 whose names and dates of birth were as follows : 
 Samuel; Aaron, 1747; David, Feb. i, 1750; Maryv 
 
1106 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 April 15, 1752: Xoah, April 8, 1755 (settled in 
 Springfield, Mass.): Ephraim, Oct. 4. 1757: Reu- 
 ben, Sept. 18, 1760: Joel, Mav 16, 1763; and Sarah, 
 May S, 1765. 
 
 Aaron Frost, our subject's grandfather, was 
 born and reared in Ellington, and on leaving there 
 came to East Windsor, Hartford county, where he 
 owned a large tract of land and successfully en- 
 gaged in farming until his death, which occurred 
 Aug. 3, 1817. In politics he was a Whig, and in 
 religious faith a Congregationalist. He first mar- 
 ried Miss Parnel Wood, by whom he had two 
 children : Parnel. who married Dudley Granger, of 
 Suffield ; Aaron, who died young. On Aug. 13, 
 1777, he wedded Maggie Hammond, who was born 
 in 1750, and died P'eb. 18, 1837. being laid to rest 
 in East \\'indsor cemetery. She, too. was a faithful 
 member of the Congregational Church. The chil- 
 dren of this union were Aaron, born June 2, 1778; 
 Alpha, July 30, 1782; Seth, Oct. 10, 1789; and 
 Solomon, Jan. 24, 1791. 
 
 Solomon P'rost, the father of our subject, was 
 born in East Windsor, and received but a common- 
 school education. On reaching manhood he be- 
 came engaged in farming on a tract of 200 acres 
 of land, upon which he made many improvements, 
 and was extensively interested in the raising of 
 tobacco, rye, corn and stock. He made his home 
 in East Windsor throughout life, and at his death, 
 in 1854, his remains were interred in Windsor- 
 ville. His political support was given to the Whig 
 party, and he always took an active part in public 
 affairs. He was an earnest member of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church, and was held in high re- 
 gard bv all who knew him. In East \\'indsor he 
 married Miss Nancy Pasco, a daughter of James 
 Pasco. She held membership in the Congrega- 
 tional Church, and died in that faith in 1853, and 
 they now sleep side by side in the Windsorville 
 cemetery. To this worthy couple were born eleven 
 children: Cynthia, deceased, who married (first) 
 Norman Pasco, and (second) James Burnham ; 
 David, deceased ; JNIary, \vho wedded Calvin Col- 
 ton, and died at the home of our subject; James, 
 deceased; Daniel N., our subject; Nancy, now the 
 widow of Joseph Allen, of Stafford, Conn., who 
 was a soldier of the Civil war ; Harvey and Henry, 
 twins, both deceased ; Sarah, widow of Monroe 
 Farnsworth, of Mundale, Mass. ; Julia, deceased 
 wife of George Richardson ; and Jane, who died 
 young. 
 
 Daniel N. Frost is indebted to the district schools 
 of East Wmdsor for his educational advantages, 
 and upon the home farm he acquired his business 
 training. After attaining his majority he started 
 out in life for himself, as a farmer upon a tract 
 of land which he purchased and greatly improved. 
 Several years later, however, he sold the place and 
 went to lUinois, but remained there only a short 
 tmie. Returning to Hartford county, in 1858, he 
 purchased the Johnson farm of fifty-six acres in 
 
 West Suffield township, upon which lie has since 
 made his home. For many years he was actively 
 engaged in general farming, stock raising and to- 
 bacco growing, but is now living retired, leaving 
 the operation of the farm to his son-in-law, Frank 
 O. Culver. 
 
 On Dec. 27, 1851, in Tolland, Alass., Mr. Frost 
 was united in marriage with Miss Louise Frost. 
 She traces her ancestry back to David Frost, who 
 was born in Ellington, Conn., Feb. i, 1750, a son 
 of Josiah Frost, and when a young man moved to 
 Granville, Mass., where he spent the remainder of 
 his life, as a farmer. His son, Arial Frost, was a 
 lifelong resident of Massachusetts, and was also 
 a farmer by occupation. He was born in Gran- 
 ville, and died in Tolland. He married Rhoda 
 Smith, and had four children : Anzolette ; Eli ; 
 Smith, the father of Mrs. Frost ; and Marilla, who 
 married John Moody, and is still living in Tolland, 
 Mass. Smith Frost was born in Tolland, and 
 throughout his active business life engaged in farm- 
 ing there. He was a Democrat in politics until the 
 Civil war broke out, and then became an ardent 
 supporter of the Republican party. In Tolland he 
 married Miss Rowena Barnes, of that place, and 
 to them were born four children: Louise, wife of 
 our subject; Arial, a resident of Granville, Mass.; 
 Abbie, deceased wife of Thomas Harrington ; and 
 Allen S., a resident of Otis. The parents, who 
 were devout members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and earnest, consistent Christian people, 
 both died in Tolland. 
 
 Three children were born to our subject and 
 his wife, namely: (i) Mary, born Sept. 23, 1854, 
 died Jan. 10, 1885. She married. May 20, 1873, 
 Freeman Andrew Mann, and had four childreUj 
 Edwin F., Florence Ada, Walter Paul (deceased) 
 and Mary B. (2) Walter Pasco, born Sept. 17, 
 1856, married Emma Mclntyre, and has five chil- 
 dren, Daniel Newton, Casper David, James Mcln- 
 tyre, Myra and Walter Pasco. (3) Minnie, born 
 ]\Iay 28, 1858, married Frank Culver, who now 
 carries on the old homestead, and they have three 
 children, Chauncey Newton, Edwin Arthur and 
 William Bennett. Mr. Culver was born in Bland- 
 ford, Mass., June 29, 1856, a son of John and Polly 
 (Stewart) Culver, and in 1882 came to Suffield, 
 Hartford county, where he has since engaged in 
 stock dealing and farming. In politics he is a 
 Republican. 
 
 Mr. Frost also gives his support to the men and 
 measures of the Republican party, but has never 
 taken any active part in political affairs aside from 
 voting. He was a member of the school committee 
 for several years, and has always given his support 
 to those measures which he believed calculated to 
 advance the educational, moral or social welfare of 
 the community. In his life work he met with well- 
 deserved success, and is now able to lay aside all 
 business cares. He has found a worthy helpmeet 
 in his estimable wife, who is a lady of marked in- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1107 
 
 telligence, and being a great reader she has be- 
 come well informed on the leading questions and 
 issues of the day. 
 
 STRONG HAYDEN BARBER. The Barber 
 family is one of the oldest in this section, and the 
 subject of this sketch, a leading resident of Wind- 
 sor, now occupies a homestead' which has been in 
 the family since 1640, when the land was granted 
 to Thomas Barber, his ancestor, in recognition of 
 his gallant service as a soldier in the Pequot war. 
 
 (I) Thomas Barber came from England in the 
 summer of 1635 with the Saltonstal colony, as a ser- 
 vant of Francis Stiles, who had been commissioned 
 b> Sir Richard Saltonstal, Knight, and other lords 
 and gentlemen, to enclose lands at Windsor, Conn., 
 and erect dwellings for the colonists. A party from 
 Dorchester were ahead of him and disputed his 
 right, so that he was not able to carry out the de- 
 sign of his coming, but notwithstanding the op- 
 position of the "Dorchester Party," Thomas Barber 
 and others of the party finally settled at Windsor, 
 
 where he was married, in 1640, to Jane . 
 
 During the Pequot war he was in the thickest of 
 the struggle on the inside of the fort, and received 
 honorable mention from Capt. Mason for his valor 
 on that occasion, being one of the very few to re- 
 ceive such notice. His term of service expired in 
 1640, and in October of that year a lot of land had 
 been granted him, our subject's present homestead 
 being a portion of same. After some years he re- 
 moved to Simsbury, where he contracted to build 
 the first church, but he lost money on the venture 
 and the citizens there gave him a tract of land, upon 
 which he settled permanently, his death occurring 
 there. Of his children, the eldest, Thomas, set- 
 tled in Windsor or near Simsbury ; Josiah mar- 
 ried Abigail Loomis, and lived and died in the 
 southern part of Windsor; Samuel was the direct 
 ancestor of our subject, and is mentioned more 
 fully below ; John settled in Springfield, Mass. ; 
 Hannah married a Mr. Gillett, and settled in Suf- 
 field; and Mary married a Mr. Hale, and also re- 
 sided in Suffield. 
 
 (H) Samuel Barber, who was born in 1648, 
 built the first house that was erected by a Barber 
 on the old tract, this house stanaing nearly op- 
 posite the present Windsor Cannery. In 1676 he 
 married Ruth Drake, who was born in 1657, and 
 their children were as follows : Samuel married 
 Ziba Brown, and lived in Windsor ; William mar- 
 ried Esther Brown, and settled in Windsor ; Ben- 
 jamin married Hannah Lewis, and also settled in 
 Windsor; Joseph, a resident of Windsor, married 
 Mary Loomis; David married Hannah Post, and 
 settled in Hebron, Conn.; John is mentioned be- 
 low ; Ruth married William Phelps, and settled in 
 Windsor ; Mary married Peter Brown, of Windsor ; 
 Elizabeth married Daniel Loomis, and resided in 
 Windsor; Sarah married, first, Stephen Palmer, 
 and later a Mr. Phelps, of Westfield, Connecticut. 
 
 (HI) John Barber was born in 1696, and was 
 the first of the family to reside at the present home- 
 stead of our subject. In 1717 he married Jane Al- 
 ford, who was born in 1698, and they had the fol- 
 lowing children : John married Deborah Loomis, 
 and settled at Harwinton, Conn. ; Jane married 
 David Thrall, of Windsor; Naomi married Daniel 
 Barber, and settled in Windsor town ; Gideon mar- 
 ried (first) Hannah Gillett, and (second) Mary 
 Hoskins, a widow (born Clark), and settled at 
 Windsor, but later removed to Manchester, Vt., 
 where he died; Asahel died in infancy; Asahel (2) 
 married Mary Collyer, and settled in Harwinton, 
 Conn.; Reuben married Sarah Mariman, and also 
 settled at Harwinton ; Jerusha married Jonah Bar- 
 ber, of Windsor; David married Mary Brown, and 
 settled at Windsor ; Noah married Sybil Booth, and 
 resided in East Windsor; Joel settled in Simsbury; 
 Jerijah is the next in the line of descent to our 
 subject; and Ruth married (first) Titus Burr, and 
 (second) Ebenezer Burr. 
 
 (IV) Jerijah Barber, our subject's great-grand- 
 father, was born in 1739, and died in 1792. He 
 served in the Revolutionary army, and was for 
 many years engaged in business as a tanner, being 
 the founder of the tannery at Mill Brook, above 
 Windsor. In 1765 he married Loanna Filley, who 
 was born in 1744, daughter of Amos Filley, and 
 died in 1793. Among his children was a son 
 Jerijah. 
 
 (V) Capt. Jerijah Barber, our subject's grand- 
 father, was born in 1766, and died in 1820. He was 
 a prominent citizen of his day and locality, and 
 was the last of the family to conduct the tannery 
 business. He was as straight as an arrow, and 
 was active in military affairs as captain of the 2d 
 Company, 1st Regiment, Connecticut Militia. In 
 1808 he built the house in which our subject now 
 resides. By his first wife, Deborah Dexter, to 
 whom he was married May 26, 1796, he had two 
 children: Fidelia, who married Alonzo Bridges; 
 and Deborah, who married Solomon Phelps, and 
 died in New York State. On May 27, 1806, he 
 married Anna Hay den, who was born in 1779, the 
 daughter of Capt. Nathaniel Hayden, and died in 
 1858. By this marriage there were six children: 
 Nathaniel H., born in May, 1807, died in January, 
 1888, was a leading Republican, and at one time 
 served as State Senator for this district. He never 
 married, and always resided at the present home- 
 stead. He owned water power at Mill Brook, where 
 he conducted an extensive saw-mill business, and 
 also had a brickyard. Rhoda Ann Lyman, born 
 Nov. 3, 1808, died at the age of thirteen years. 
 Mary J., born Feb. 24, 1811, died in childhood. 
 John H., our subject's father, is mentioned below. 
 Samuel Thomas, born Sept. 24, 1815, died in in- 
 fancy.' Samuel J., born in 1817, died at the age 
 of four years. 
 
 (VI) John H. Barber was born March 10, 1813, 
 in the house that our subject now occupies, and 
 
1108 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was educated in the schools of that locality, ex-. 
 Governor E. D. Morgan, of New York, being one 
 of his school mates. Being reared to farm work, 
 he followed that occupation at intervals during his 
 life, but for years he was the leading member of the 
 firm of Barber Bros., in sawmill and brickyard busi- 
 ness. He was a well-built man, and very indus- 
 trious, and was regarded as a shrewd and success- 
 ful financier. His integrity was never doubted, and 
 as a citizen he was held in the highest esteem. Po- 
 litically he was a Republican, and although he never 
 cared for office he served for some time as treas- 
 urer of school district No. 4. In religious work 
 he was active as a member of the First Congrega- 
 tional Church, in which he was deacon for many 
 years and also a teacher in the Sabbath-school. He 
 died Dec. 9, 1873, at the homestead where he had 
 resided' through his life. On Dec. 23, 1846, he 
 married Aliss Clarissa Hay den, who was born in 
 Bennington, N. Y., May 19, 1821, daughter of 
 Strong and Louisa (Loomis) Hayden. She sur- 
 vived him, her death occurring Jan. 14, 1891, and 
 the remains of both are buried in Windsor ceme- 
 tery. They had six children, as follows: James 
 H., born July 20, 1849, died, in 1868, of typhoid 
 fever; Strong H., our subject; Mary G., born April 
 
 1853, died in August, 1853; Milton, born Dec. 16, 
 
 1854, died Alay 23, 1856; Gerald Thomas, born 
 Aug. 18, 1858, died in 1871 ; and Clara L., born 
 Nov. 18, 1862, is now 2klrs. George M. Wrisley, of 
 Windsor town. 
 
 (\TI) Strong Hayden Barber, our subject, who 
 is the representative male descendant of this gen- 
 eration, was born at his present homestead Oct. 
 12, 185 1. His education was begun in school dis- 
 trict No. 4, i\Iiss Fowler, J\liss Griffin and Cicero 
 Roberts being among his early teachers. In tnose 
 days the school sometimes had eight}' pupils en- 
 rolled in one room. Later Mr. Barber attended 
 Windsor Academy, under Prof. Standish, and the 
 State Agricultural College at Amherst, Mass., 
 where he studied several years. He learned easily 
 and rapidly, being especially apt in mathematics, 
 and his studies were intermingled with active work 
 at home, where he became familiar with all the de- 
 tails of farm management. 
 
 On Aug. 20, 1877, Mr. Barber married ]Miss 
 Jennie H. Clark, a native of Willimantic, Conn., 
 and daughter of John and INIary Wing (Hovey) 
 Clark, well-known residents of that city. Soon 
 after his marriage Mr. Barber settled near his pres- 
 ent home, but in 1888 he removed to the old house, 
 which he remodeled and improved, making one of 
 the most comfortable and attractive residences in 
 the town. He has always been prominent in busi- 
 ness life, taking part in most of the important en- 
 terprises projected in his locality, and for years he 
 was one of the principal stockholders in the Wind- 
 sor Creamery and the Windsor Canning Factory. 
 In every way he has given his influence toward 
 building up his community and attracting a de- 
 
 sirable class of settlers, but his ventures are quite 
 free from visionary or reckless methods, and un- 
 dertakings approved by him seem to succeed. A 
 number of homes have been built upon his lands, 
 and he is now one of the heaviest taxpayers and 
 land owners of the town, while he is also inter- 
 ested extensively in western real estate and other 
 interests. 
 
 In politics Mr. Barber was a Republican until 
 1888, when he became an ardent supporter of the 
 Prohibition party. For two years he was justice of 
 the peace, and his interest in educational affairs 
 is shown by twenty-five years of efficient service as 
 clerk of School District No. 4. He and his esti- 
 mable wife are prominent in social life, and are 
 leading members of the Congregational Church at 
 Windsor, in which he is now senior deacon. He 
 has also served as treasurer of the church, teacher 
 in the Sabbath-school, treasurer of the Ecclesias- 
 tical Society, and a member of the music commit- 
 tee. His home is brightened bv four clever chil- 
 dren: Mary PL, Harry C. (a student in the col- 
 lege at Amherst, Mass.), Robert H. and Ken- 
 neth W. 
 
 WILLIAM WILSHIRE SAVAGE (deceased), 
 in his lifetime a prominent and influential citizen 
 of Wethersfield, was born in Plartford April 29, 
 1829, and belonged to an honored old New Eng- 
 land family, some of whose representatives were 
 noted for their military success, while others were 
 prominent sea-faring men. 
 
 Capt. Florace Savage, father of our subject, 
 was born in Hartford in 1799, and in April, 1815, 
 shipped as cabin boy on the brig "Commerce," of 
 Hartford, owned by Riley & Brown, Josiah Sav- 
 age & Co. and Luther Savage, all of that city, and 
 commanded by Capt. James Riley. The crew was 
 composed of James Riley, captain ; George Williams,, 
 first mate ; Aaron Savage, second mate ; William 
 Porter, Archibald Robbins, Thomas Burns and 
 James Clark, seamen ; Horace Savage, cabin boy - 
 and Richard Deslile (colored), cook. They sailed 
 with freight to New Orleans, La„ and from there 
 took a load of tobacco and flour to Gibraltar, where 
 they landed their cargo in safety. They then sailed 
 for Cape Verde Island, but during the voyage the 
 vessel was lost off the coast of Africa, and the crew 
 was captured by the natives and held for a ransom. 
 The British consul, William Wilshire, obtained 
 their release, and for him Capt. Savage afterv/ard 
 named his son, the subject of this sketch. A full 
 account of this wreck and capture was written and 
 published by Capt. Riley many years ago. After 
 abandoning the sea the father of our subject engaged 
 in general mercantile business in Matamoras, Mex- 
 ico, where he owned property, and where he spent 
 the remainder of his life, dying in 1881, at the ad- 
 vanced age of eighty-two years. 
 
 William W. Savage was reared in this county, 
 and received a good English education in the dis- 
 
I 
 
 ^^^.^. ^a>>oa^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1109 
 
 trict and high schools. During the gold excite- 
 ment in California, in 1849, he went to that State, 
 where he remained several years, and while there 
 lost the use of his right arm, from paralysis. He 
 then returned to his old home in Wethersfield, and 
 after regaining the use of his limb, followed the 
 sea, and was a pilot on the Connecticut river for 
 many years. He finally located on the old Judge 
 Williams farm, on Broad street, where he spent the 
 remainder of his life in farming, and where he died 
 April 3, 1895, his remains being interred in the 
 Cedar Hill cemetery. In his political views he was 
 a Republican, and in his church relations was a 
 consistent and faithful member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church. As a citizen he was honorable, 
 prompt and true to every engagement, and as a man 
 he held the honor and esteem of all classes of 
 people, of all creeds and political proclivities. 
 Throughout his career of continued and far-reach- 
 ing usefulness his duties were performed with the 
 greatest care, and during a long life his personal 
 lionor and integrity were without blemish. 
 
 On June 9, 1869, Mr. Savage was married, in 
 Hartford, to Miss Elizabeth Blinn, who was born 
 in Wethersfield Sept.. 10, 1826, and is still living 
 on the farm which her husband left her. She is 
 a most estimable lady, an earnest Christian, and a 
 faithful member of the Congregational Church of 
 Wethersfield. 
 
 Levi Blinn, father of Mrs. Savage, was a na- 
 tive of Wethersfield, and a member of one of the 
 oldest families of that town. In 1810 he married 
 Miss Nancy Woodruff, who was born in Farming- 
 ton Dec. II, 1 78 1, and they became the parents 
 of the following children: Nancy Adelia, born 
 Dec. I, 181 1, married Walter Adams, and died 
 Jan. 28, 1891 ; Cornelia, born Dec. 27, 1813, mar- 
 ried (first) Chester Wilcox, and (second) Bulkley 
 Edward, and died May 8, 1878 ; Harriet, born July 
 16, 1816, married Henry E. Rhodes, of New Brit- 
 ain; Lucy Ann, born May 5, 1823, married Francis 
 J. Calhoun, of Hartford, and is still living; Eliza- 
 beth, born Sept. 10, 1826, is the widow of our sub- 
 ject; and Levi, born Dec. 17, 1832, died young. 
 The father of this family died in Wethersfield, and 
 was laid to rest in Cedar Hill cemetery, and the 
 mother died in Hartford, and was interred in the 
 same cemetery. They were highly respected and 
 esteemed by all who knew them. 
 
 T. E. DUNCAN, for some time the popular 
 superintendent of the Hartford Paper Co.'s plants at 
 Poquonock and Rainbow, is one of the well-known 
 and prominent business men in that line, and by a 
 thorough practical training was well-qualified to 
 till his responsible position. He was born in Green- 
 ville, Conn., July 18, 1855, and belongs to a family 
 that has been quite prominently identified with 
 paper manufactories in the United States, 
 
 Thomes Duncan, father of our subject, was born 
 in Scotland, Aug. 13, 1832, a son of Thomas Dun- 
 
 can, Sr., and is descended from excellent Scottish 
 stock. He was educated in the parochial schools 
 of his native land. The first nine months after his 
 arrival in this country he spent in New Jersey, and 
 for over forty years he was a resident of Connecti- 
 cut, where he became prominently identified with 
 religious, political and other interests, his home 
 being in Poquonock. For many years he has 
 been engaged in the manufacture of paper, being one 
 of the leading manufacturers in Hartford county 
 during his residence here, and he is thoroughly 
 familiar with every department of the work, from 
 the office and management to the lowest position. 
 He is connected with the Hartford Paper Co., the 
 Globe Sulphite Boiler Co., and the Duncan Co., of 
 v/hich latter he is treasurer and general manager. 
 He was superintendent of the Plartford Paper Co.'s 
 Mills, at Poquonock, for a number of years, on 
 Nov. I, 1897, removing from that place to New 
 York City. The plant of the Duncan Co. is one of 
 the largest in the country, in completed state. Mr. 
 Duncan is thoroughly a self-made man, his success 
 in life being due to his own industry, enterprise 
 and good management, and he is widely known 
 as a business manager. During his residence in 
 Poquonock he was one of the most valuable and 
 influential citizens of the place, being especially 
 prominent in religious matters. He was a deacon 
 in the Congregational Church, was one of its fore- 
 most members and liberal supporters, and is an 
 influential representative of the denomination 
 throughout the State, being a member of the Con- 
 nedticut Congregational Club. The loss to the 
 church at Poquonock, in his departure, was a most 
 severe one. Mr. Duncan took an active interest in 
 all enterprises for the good of the community, and 
 twice served as representative in the State Legisla- 
 ture from Windsor, being elected on the Republican 
 ticket. He is a gentleman of most engaging person- 
 ality, and has hosts of friends in Hartford county. 
 
 Thomas Duncan has been twice married, his 
 first union being with Miss Grace Yule, who was 
 born June 14, 1834, and died Feb. 15, 1867. To 
 them were born five children: T. E., our subject; 
 John C, a well-known man in the paper trade, 
 now residing in Mechanicsville, N. Y. ; Grace, who 
 died while attending Mt. Holyoke Seminary ; Agnes, 
 who married Nelson R. Lord, of Poquonock, 
 where she died April i, 1897; and Elizabeth, wife 
 of Dr. Eggleston, of Meriden, Conn. For his sec- 
 ond wife Mr. Duncan married Mrs. Janet Gillies 
 Wilbur. The Duncan family has been one of the 
 most popular in Windsor. 
 
 During his boyhood, T. E. Duncan received the 
 education necessary to fit him for a successful busi- 
 ness life, and when entering his 'teens began to 
 secure a good practical knowledge of the manufact- 
 ure of paper. In the fall of 1869 he commenced 
 work at the very bottom, as his father's influence 
 did not serve to help him to secure a better position 
 beyond what ability would justify. His first 
 
1110 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 duties were in the rag room, but he steadily worked 
 his way upward, gaining an excellent knowledge 
 of each department as he advanced. On his 
 father's retirement as manager of the Hartford Pa- 
 per Co.'s mills he seemed a fit successor, and was 
 given the position which he so efficiently and satis- 
 factorily filled until his removal to Mechanicsville, 
 N. Y., where he is now located. 
 
 Mr. Duncan was united in marriage with ]\[iss 
 Lucinda Davis, a daughter of Humphrey Davis, 
 a veteran of the Civil war, and they now have four 
 children : Grace B., Edgar T., Roy Leslie and 
 Earl H. The parents are both active and prom- 
 inent members of the Congregational Church, in 
 which Mr. Duncan has served as secretary and 
 superintendent of the Sabbath-school. He is the 
 kind of a man wdio wields an excellent influence in 
 any locality, and is a true type of our best American 
 citizenship, being always ready to aid any under- 
 taking for the good of the public. While his at- 
 tention has been well occupied by his business af- 
 fairs, he yet found time to serve his fellow citi- 
 zens as representative to the State Legislature in 
 1893. This honor came unsolicited, but in the ca- 
 pable discharge of the duties of the office the people 
 found that their faith in his ability was correct. 
 He is an earnest advocate of a high protective tariff, 
 and, as a Republican, takes quite a prom.inent part 
 in local politics. I'raternally he is a member of 
 the Masonic Lodge at Windsor, and of the Grange 
 at Poquonock. 
 
 MRS. HARRIET ARABELLA (SPEXCER) 
 FULLER is a native of Suffield, born Jan. 5, 1850, 
 and is descended from one of our oldest and most 
 honored families, of which an account is given 
 below. Her education was obtained in the com- 
 mon schools of Suffield and at Lexington, ]\Iass., 
 with a supplementary course in the Connecticut 
 Literary Institute, and on April 25, 1877, she mar- 
 ried William F. Fuller, a prominent tobacco dealer 
 of Hartford. Two children blessed the union : 
 Bessie Y., born Feb. 24, 1881, was graduated from 
 the Connecticut Literary Institute ; and William 
 S., born Oct. 28, 1885. 
 
 The Spencer family is descended from (I) 
 Michael Spencer and his wife Elizabeth, residents 
 of the parish of Stratford, Bedfordshire, England, 
 the line being traced through twelve generations 
 to our subject. 
 
 (II) Jerad Spencer, son of Michael, was born 
 in the parish of Stratford, where he was baptized 
 
 May 20, 1576. He married Alice , and 
 
 had five sons, all of \vhom came to America. 
 Thomas settled in Hartford ; John returned to his 
 native country ; William located in Hartford ; Jerad 
 in Haddam, Conn. ; and Michael in Cambridge, 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 (III) Thomas Spencer, known as Sergeant 
 Thomas, was the progenitor of the Suffield branch. 
 He was born March 27, 1607, at the old home in 
 
 Bedfordshire, England, and on coming to Amer- 
 ica with his four brothers located first at Cam- 
 bridge, IMass., in 1632. In 1635 he removed to 
 Hartford with Rev. Thomas Hooker's company, be- 
 ing among the first settlers in that town. He served 
 in the Pequot war in 1637, being promoted to the 
 rank of sergeant, and later he received a grant of 
 sixty acres of land for his good service. By his 
 first wife, he had three children : Adaiah, Thomas 
 and Samuel. By the second there were six chil- 
 dren., viz.: Jerad; Sarah, who married Thomas 
 Huxley ; Elizabeth, who married Samuel Andrews,. 
 of Hartford ; Flannah ; Mary ; and Martha, who 
 married a Mr. Benton. 
 
 (IV) Thomas Spencer, the next in the line of 
 descent, was born in Hartford, Conn., and settled 
 at Suffield, Conn., in time to be made a voter at the 
 first town meeting. He located on a tract of land 
 known as the "Norton & Morgan Place," on Main 
 street, originally High street, and there engaged 
 in. farming. Pie died July 23, 1689, and was buried 
 in Suffield. His wife, Esther (Andrews), daugh- 
 ter of William Andrews, died in Suffield March 
 
 6, 1698. They had seven children : Abigail, 
 Thomas, Samuel, William, Anna, Elizabeth and 
 Esther. 
 
 (V) Samuel Spencer was born in Suffield, where 
 he was engaged in farming many years, his death 
 occurring Nov. 23, 1743. He was married, March 
 18, 1700, to Elizabeth Mancroft, a daughter of 
 Daniel Mancroft, of Roxbury, Mass., and two 
 children were born to them: Thomas and Daniel. 
 
 (\T) Thomas Spencer was born Jan. 13, 1702, 
 in Suffield, and there he spent his life, engaged in 
 farming. He served as a lieutenant in the French 
 and Indian war. He died Feb. 14, 1764, at his 
 home in Suffield, and his remains were buried in 
 Suffield cemetery. His wife, Mary (Trumbull), a 
 relative of Gov. Jonathan, Trumbull, of Connecti- 
 cut, was born in Suffield Dec. 2, 1701, and died in 
 1755. They had nine children: Elizabeth; Thomas 
 and Mary, who both died in infancy; Ann; Mary, 
 who died in infancy ; Mary ; Thomas ; Eliphalet ; and 
 Hezekiah. 
 
 (VH) Plezeiviah Spencer was born Dec. 16, 
 1740, and engaged in farming in Suffield, where 
 he died in August, 1799. On March 4, 1762, he 
 married Olive Natt, who was born in Wethersfield 
 Oct. II, 1735, and died Feb. 2, 1771. Five chil- 
 dren were born to this union. His second wife 
 was Deborah Easton, to whom seven children were 
 born. 
 
 (VIII) Hezekiah Spencer, son of (VII) Heze- 
 kiah by the first marriage, was born in Suffield 
 April 30, 1766. He was a farmer by occupation, 
 and in politics was a stanch Whig, while for many 
 years he was a leading member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church, to which his family also belonged. 
 On June 5, 1793, he married Jerusha Nelson, who^ 
 was born in Suffield Dec. 17, 1771, and d'.ed Aug. 
 
 7, 1834. Four children were born to them : Heze- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 nil 
 
 I 
 
 kiah; Mindwell, who married Julius Sheldon; Al- 
 fred; and Jane, who married H. P. Kent. 
 
 (IX) Hezekiah Spencer, our subject's great- 
 grandfather, was born in Suffield, and was en- 
 gaged in farming there throughout life. He mar- 
 ried Cecelia Spencer, and had four children : Thad- 
 deus H., Israel L., Calvin C, and Jennie C, who 
 married F. P. Loomis. 
 
 (X) Alfred Spencer, our subject's grandfather, 
 was born on the Spencer homestead July 12, 1801, 
 and was educated in the district schools of Suffield, 
 where he was engaged in farming in later years. 
 He died Oct. 17, 1838, and was buried in Suffield. 
 On Oct. 16, 1823, he married Harriet King, who 
 was born in Suffield Sept. 30, 1802, and died Dec. 
 15, 1844. Three children were born to them: Al- 
 fred ; Bethenia, who married James M. Pendleton, 
 of Westerly, Washington Co., R. I.; and Harriet, 
 who married James F. Pendleton, of the same place. 
 
 (XI) Alfred Spencer, the father of our subject, 
 was born on the old homestead Jan. 21, 1825, and 
 died Dec. 30, 1891. He was educated in the dis- 
 trict schools of Suffield and the Connecticut Lit- 
 erary Institute, became an extensive dealer in to- 
 bacco, and owned a- large amount of land. On 
 March 26, 1846, he married Caroline Frances Reid, 
 of Colchester, Conn., who was born Oct. 22, 1827, 
 and died Aug. 31, 1898, on the homestead. They 
 had eight children: James P., born Sept. 6, 1848; 
 Harriet A., our subject; Alfred, born Oct. 29, 1851, 
 married Ella S. Nichols, of Suffield, and is now the 
 president of the ^tna National Bank of Hartford ; 
 Mary Reid, born March 15, 1853, died Oct. 7, 
 1853 ; Clinton, born Jan. 2, 1856, served as a mem- 
 ber of the Legislature from Suffield in 1899; Carrie 
 E., born Dec. 7, 1857; Jennie, born July 20, 1859, 
 married George M. Montgomery, of Windsor 
 Locks; and Samuel Reid, born Nov. 4, 1871, now 
 a resident of Windsor Locks. 
 
 The Fuller family is also well-known in this 
 section, the first to locate in Suffield being Joseph 
 Fuller and his wife, Abigail Dibble, who were mar- 
 ried Feb. I, 1681, and resided for a time in Ipswich, 
 Mass., previous to coming to Connecticut. 
 
 (II) Joseph Fuller, the next in the line of de- 
 scent, married Bathsheba Hanchett. 
 
 (III) Joseph Fuller, born May 29, 1772, mar- 
 ried Rebecca Norton. 
 
 (IV) Apollos Fuller was a farmer in Crooked 
 Lane, in the town of Suffield, and was one of the 
 influential men of that locality in his day. He 
 married and had a large family of children, among 
 whom was a son William. 
 
 (V) William Fuller was thrown upon his own 
 resources at an early age, but through his energy and 
 ability became successful in business. Although 
 self-educated, he taught school in early manhood. 
 His first home was on Feather street, and later he 
 removed to the corner of Main street and Crooked 
 Lane, where his remaining years were spent, his 
 death occurring at the age of seventy. He was 
 
 prominent in religious work as a member of the 
 Baptist Church, and politically was first a Whig and 
 then a Republican, his work for party success being 
 limited, however, to voting regularly. His wife, 
 Emily Granger, who died at the age of fifty-nine, 
 was a daughter of Thaddeus and Silent (King) 
 Granger. They had three children: Wil'-iam H. ; 
 Catherine, who died when seven years old; and 
 Edward A., a well-to-do tobacco dealer of Suffield. 
 (VI) William H. Fuller, father of WHliam F., 
 mentioned above, was a graduate of Brown Uni- 
 versity, and for some years conducted book stores 
 in Springfield, Mass., and Hartford, Conn. He 
 tiien took charge of the old Eagle Mills Paper Co.'s 
 interest at Stony Brook, and later engaged in in- 
 surance business. For twenty-two years he was 
 deputy collector of Internal Revenue. He died Dec. 
 28, 1890, in Suffield, where his last years were 
 spent in retirement. His wife, Sarah A. Hare, of 
 East Brookfield, Mass., died in Suffield Jan. 23, 
 1888, leaving three children : William F. ; Charles 
 S., cashier of the First National Bank of Suffield ; 
 and Emily A., widow of I. Luther Spencer, of Suf- 
 field. ' ■ 
 
 EDWARD P. EMMONS was born at New 
 Haven, Ohio, Nov. 20, 1833. When he was a child 
 of four or five years his parents removed to Connec- 
 ticut, settling at East Haddam. Thirteen years after- 
 ward they made their home at West Hartford, and 
 subsequently moved to Guilford, where they resided 
 for four years. 
 
 Edward P. Emmons attended the common 
 schools, also the Robinson Institute at Guilford, 
 and when he was a youth of eighteen or nineteen 
 years his father rem.oved to New Britain, and en- 
 gaged in business there as a painter, employing his 
 son as an assistant.. In 1861 the young man bought 
 his father's interest, and conducted the es ablish- 
 ment alone. In 1871, he added the sale of wall- 
 paper to dealing in paints, and paper hanging has 
 now become an important feature of the business, as 
 are also house and sign painting. From 1866 to 
 1879, Mr. Emmons had a partner, George D. Stew- 
 art, the firm name being Emmons & Stewart. With 
 this exception he has carried on his afifairs alone. 
 As a business man he has a record of which he may 
 justly feel proud. For thirty-eight years he has 
 occupied the same location, although he has doubled 
 his frontage. During the busy seasons he not in- 
 frequently employs twenty men. His life story 
 is a tale of hard work, sobriety, thrift, sound judg- 
 ment and success. Fair dealing in business and 
 probity in small matters have won for him the re- 
 spectful esteem of his fellow townsmen. In private 
 life he is affable, courteous and generous; a man of 
 the class of whom New Britain is justly proud. He 
 is an attendant upon the services of the First Con- 
 gregational Church, and a liberal contributor to the 
 cause of religion and to charity. He is a member of 
 Harmonv Lodge, No. 20, A. F. & A. M., and of the 
 
1112 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Order of United American Mechanics; he has al- 
 ways been a RepiibHcan in pohtics, National and 
 State, although independent in his action in local 
 affairs. He has never been an aspirant for office. 
 Mr. Emmons married Charlotte, a daughter of \Vill- 
 iam and Anna Miller, formerly of the Beckley 
 Quarter. Four children have been born to them: 
 Ida, (George, Charles X., and Annie E. The two 
 first named (hed in infancy, and .-\nnic E. is the wife 
 of ImccI K. Thompson, of New Britain. 
 
 The following statement of ^Ir. Emmons" an- 
 cestry will be found of interest, for which the pub- 
 lishers acknowledge their obligations to "Andrews' 
 Genealogical and Ecclesiastical History." N. F. 
 Emmons was admitted to the Church on Aug. 6, 
 1854, on a letter lircsented from the church in (Juil- 
 ford, of which Rev. E. E. Hall was pastor. The 
 baptismal name given was Xoadiah Franklin, and 
 Mr. Emmons was said to have been the son of 
 Noadiah Emmons and his wife, Betsey Cone. The 
 elder Noadiah was born Feb. 23, 1782. N. Fw 
 Emmons married Nancy Carpenter, of Norwich, 
 Conn., a daughter of James and Elizabeth Carpen- 
 ter. Mrs. N. F. Emmons died Aug. 27, 1837, and 
 April 10, 1849, Noadiah F. Emmons married Ame- 
 lia S., daughter of Childs and Sarah (Porter) 
 Goodman. She was born Sept. 24, 1824. His chil- 
 dren by his first wife were Edward Payson, who 
 was born Nov. 20, 1833, at New Haven, and mar- 
 ried Charlotte Miller, on June 15, 1837; and Ade- 
 line, who was born May 25, 1836, at Defiance, Ohio, 
 and died when only two years old. By his second 
 wife lie became the father of Alexander Franklin, 
 born April 4, 1850, at Guilford ; Adeline Elizabeth, 
 born July 13, 1852; Mary Sophia, born March 8, 
 i860, who died within three weeks after birth; and 
 Harriet Amelia, born July 4, 1861. 
 
 WILLIAM J. COX, the well-known and pop- 
 ular grain merchant, was born Dec. 31, 1850, in 
 Bloomfield, same county, and is the survivor of 
 the three children born to the marriage of John 
 and Amy (Young) Cox, his twin sisters having died 
 unnamed. The mother was called away when our 
 subject was three and one-half years old. 
 
 John Cox was born in England, in the town of 
 Thames, about the year 1809, a member of a family 
 of seven. He learned the trade of miller in his na- 
 tive town, and in 1847. accompanied by his brothers, 
 George and Isaac, embarked on board a sailing ves- 
 sel at Liverpool, and after a voyage of five weeks 
 duration landed at the city of New York, whence 
 he came direct to Glastonbury, Conn. He found 
 employment in a gristmill, where the Naubuc Paper 
 Co.'s mills now stand, and in which he continued 
 about one year, when the Hartford steam mill was 
 put in operation by his brothers, George and Isaac, 
 whom he at once joined, and remained with them 
 three years. Mr. Cox then went to Bloomfield, 
 where, in company with a Mr. Gillett, he operated 
 a gristmill a few years, and then bought the Gaines 
 
 oil mill, which he conducted until, in 1857, he re- 
 moved to Hartford and purchased a grocery from 
 a Mr. Steele, on Albany avenue. This business 
 occupied his attention three years, when he returned 
 to Bloomfield and rented the mill he had formerly 
 operated, and of this he held possession until 1865, 
 when he removed to East Windsor Hill and pur- 
 chased the Dry Brook mill, operating same with 
 success until his death, which occurred in 1889. 
 
 By his marriage to Amy Young, a native of 
 Hartford, ]\Ir. Cox had three children, as men- 
 tioned above. His second marriage was to Louisa 
 Martenson, also a native of Hartford, and to this 
 union were born seven children, in the following 
 order : Louisa, who is married to Horace Granger, 
 and is living in East Flartford ; Edward, who mar- 
 ried Mary Fowler, and is also residing in East 
 Hartford ; George, who married Marie Allen, and 
 lives in Vernon ; Isaac, married to Jennie Brewer, 
 and making his home in Hockanum ; Frank, who 
 married Carrie Williams, and lives in Naubuc; 
 James, who is also married, and is living in Hart- 
 ford ; and Howard, who married Bertha Arnurius, 
 since deceased, and is a resident of East Flartford. 
 
 William J. Cox, whose name opens this article, 
 and now a prominent business man of East Hart- 
 ford, was educated in the schools of the various 
 districts in which his father's business interests re- 
 quired him to reside from time to time, but he 
 was an apt pupil, and acquired a sound knowledge 
 of everything taught in the common schools of his 
 youthful days. At the age of twenty years he left 
 the paternal home, and for three years was em- 
 ployed on the farm of G. H. Sloan, from which 
 time on he became self-sustaining, which, indeed, 
 11; might be said he had been for some years pre- 
 viously. He next went to Scantic, where for one 
 year he was employed in Osborne's mill, and then 
 went to Broad Brook, where for several years he 
 worked for S. G. Parsons ; then went to Farming- 
 ton, and shortly afterward came to Hockanum and 
 purchased his present business concern from George 
 L. Wheeler; in this he has since, by honest deal- 
 ing and affable treatment of his patrons, met the 
 same success which had crowned all his previous 
 undertakings. 
 
 Mr. Cox was united in marriage, Dec. 3, 1877, 
 with Miss Helen Parsons, daughter of Solomon G. 
 and Rhoda (Bissell) Parsons, natives of East AVind- 
 sor, and to this union has been born one son, How- 
 ard Orren, whose birth took place May 20, 1879, 
 and who is now assisting his father in the grain 
 business. 
 
 In politics Mr. Cox is a Republican, but has 
 never sought office, neither has he ever joined any 
 secret society. He and his wife a.nd son attend the 
 Fourth Congregational Church at Hartford, and 
 all do their full share in contributing to its sup- 
 port. They lead truly Christian lives, not at all 
 ostentatious in their outward manifestations of 
 piety, but quietly conducting themselves in such a 
 
i 
 
 ^^L^T^-U^ 
 
 ^J '^'7^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1113 
 
 manner that the sincerity of their convictions is 
 fully evident to all with whom they come in con- 
 tact. 
 
 Mr. Cox, although quiet and retiring in man- 
 ner, is a shrewd, keen business man. He worked 
 hard in his earlier years, and, being temperate in all 
 things, was able to put by a good share of his earn- 
 ings, which he invested sagaciously and judiciously. 
 His present grain business he has greatly increased 
 since he first purchased it. In 1898 he built a store 
 and warehouse on Main street, opposite the depot 
 in East Hartford, where he does a wholesale and 
 retail feed business in connection with his mill at 
 Hockanum, and his urbanity and strict integrity 
 have established for him an enviable reputation in 
 business circles. He owns a very neat and pretty 
 dwelling, which is the abode of complete domestic 
 felicity, as well as of a genuine hospitality. 
 
 EDWARD CONE TALLMADGE, one of the 
 most popular and public-spirited citizens of East 
 Granby, has been and is distinctively a man of 
 affairs, and one who has wielded a wide influence. 
 A strong mentality, an invincible courage, a most 
 ■determined individuality have so entered into his 
 make-up as to render him a natural leader of men 
 and a director of opinion. 
 
 Mr. Tallmadge was born in Springfield, Mass., 
 Dec. 27, 1830, and belongs to a family of English 
 origin which was founded in New England at an 
 early day. His grandfather, Daniel Tallmadge, was 
 a native of New Haven .county. Conn., and spent 
 his entire life near the city of New Haven, where 
 he was engaged in farming. He took an active part 
 in the Revolutionary war, and participated in many 
 battles. He was one of the prominent and influ- 
 ential citizens of his community, and was highly 
 esteemed by all who knew him. He died in 1832, 
 and was buried at New Haven. He was twice mar- 
 ried, and had several children. 
 
 Marcus M. Tallmadge, our subject's father, was 
 born in 1798, near New Haven, where he was 
 reared and educated, and where he also learned the 
 gunsmith's trade with Eli Whitney, working at the 
 same for several years in both New Haven and Mid- 
 dletown, Conn. Removing to Springfield, Mass., 
 he was employed in the Springfield Armory until 
 1840, and for the following five years conducted a 
 hotel in West Springfield, and also engaged in 
 farming. In 1845 he returned to Spring- 
 field, where he engaged in general merchan- 
 dising for seven years, and in 1852 came to 
 Granby, Hartford Co., Conn., where he carried on 
 a hotel and engaged in farming for several years; 
 be spent his last days in retirement from active labor 
 in East Granby, near Tariffville, where he died 
 Nov. 22, 1879, his remains being interred in Spring- 
 field, Mass. He was a self-educated man, and well 
 posted on current topics and events. Politically 
 he was an ardent Democrat, but no office seeker, 
 and religiously was an active and prominent mem- 
 
 ber of the Episcopal Church, in which he served as 
 vestryman and warden. In 1824, he married Miss 
 Abigail Andrews, who died Oct. i, 1875, in East 
 Granby, Conn, her remains being interred at Spring- 
 field, Mass. To this worthy couple were born the 
 following children : Elizabeth died young. Julia 
 married George Church, and both are now deceased. 
 Edward C. is next in the order of birth. Andrew 
 Jackson and Rachel Jackson were twins, the former 
 died in May, 1844 ; the latter was a school teacher for 
 many years, and made her home with our subject. 
 Thomas enlisted during the Civil war in the 9th 
 Conn. V. I., under Col Cahill, and died in New Or- 
 leans in November, 1862. Henry H. is engaged in 
 the real-estate and insurance business in Washing- 
 ton, D. C. ; he served three years in the Civil war 
 in a Connecticut battery. Marcus Morton died at the 
 age of seventeen years ; and Lewis Cass is a resident 
 of Chicago, 111. He also was in the war under Gen. 
 Banks. As the twins of the family were named 
 for Andrew Jackson and his wife, that President 
 sent to the father a picture of himself and wife, 
 painted on ivory and mounted in gold. This Ss 
 still in the possession of our subject and his sister 
 Rachel, by whom it is highly prized. 
 
 Edward C. Tallmadge ajttended khe public 
 schools of West Springfield, Mass., and also the 
 academy at Westfield, that State, then under the 
 direction of Rev. M. Beebe. At the age of fifteen 
 he commenced clerking in a store in Springfield, 
 receiving $40 (first year) per year, and his board, 
 and remaining there until 1852, when he came to 
 Granby, Conn., with his parents. At the age of 
 twenty-four he was appointed postmaster at Granby, 
 and after filling the position two years connected 
 himself with the V. B. Palmer Advertising Agency, 
 of New York, Philadelphia and Boston, continuing 
 thus until Feb. i, 1858. He was then given a 
 position in the Treasury Department at Washington, 
 D. C, under Howell Cobb, Secretary of the Treas- 
 ury, James Buchanan, President, and remainel until 
 June, 1869, during the administrations of Buchanan, 
 Lincoln, Johnson and Grant, receiving first $1,200 
 per year, and, later, $1,600. While residing in that 
 city he became interested in the real-estate and in- 
 surance business with his brother, being a member 
 of the firm of Tallmadge Bros., and continued this 
 connection until 1878, when he returned to East 
 Granby, Connecticut. 
 
 Mr. Tallmadge has since taken an active and 
 prominent part in public affairs, and in 1880 most 
 ably and acceptably represented East Granby in the 
 State Legislature; by a Republican speaker he was 
 appointed teller of the House, and also served on 
 several important committees. He was elected by 
 the people to the office of justice of the peace, which 
 he filled for fourteen years, and his rulings were 
 always fair and impartial. He has also been a 
 juryman for twenty years from East Granby, in 
 the courts of Hartford, a member of the board of 
 relief, grand juror, constable and assessor. His 
 
1114 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 official duties have always been most promptly and 
 efficiently discharged, winning the commendation 
 of even his political enemies. He is imwavering in 
 his support of the Democracv, and is a recognized 
 leader in the ranks of his party in East Granby. He 
 is now living retired near TarifTville, but still takes 
 an active interest in public affairs, and keeps well- 
 informed on the issues and questions of the day. 
 
 SELDEN PHILO SEARS, who passed away 
 Jan. lo, 1900, was a prominent citizen of West Hart- 
 ford, and one of the men who make old age seem 
 the better portion of life. 
 
 ^Nlr. Sears was born in the town of Chatham, 
 Middlesex Co., Conn., July 21, 1813, and traced his 
 ancestry back to Richard Sears, whose birthplace 
 is unknown, and who came to this country prior to 
 1632. He died in Yarmouth, Plymouth Colony, in 
 1676. 
 
 (II) Capt. Paul Sears, son of Richard, was 
 born Feb. 20, 1637, and died in Yarmouth, Mass., 
 Feb. 20, 1707. He took the oath of fidelity in 1657, 
 and held a captain's commission in the militia. In 
 1658 he married Deborah W'illard, who died ]\Iay 
 13, 1721, and to them were born ten children. 
 
 (III) Paul Sears, a son of the Captain, was born 
 in Yarmouth June 15, 1669, and died I-"eb. 14, 1739. 
 In 1693 he was married, in Harwich, to Mercy 
 Freeman, who was born Oct. 30, 1674, and died 
 Aug. 30, 1747; her mother was a granddaughter of 
 Elder William Brewster. In their family were 
 twelve children. 
 
 (R") Joshua Sears, born in Yarmouth, Mass., 
 Nov. 20, 1708, died in Middletown, Conn., Sept. 
 27, 1753- In Eastham, Mass., Feb. 10, 1731, he 
 married Rebecca Alayo, who was born Oct. 10, 171 3, 
 and they had twelve children. 
 
 (^') Capt. Elkanah Se^rs, born in Harwich, 
 Mass,, April 12, 1734, died in East Hampton, Conn., 
 Nov. 24, 1816. He removed with his parents to 
 Middletown, Conn., in 1746, and after his marriage 
 lived on a farm west of Pocotopaug Lake. After 
 the Revolutionary war broke out he equipped a 
 privateer, which he commanded, ana which wa.s 
 captured by the British, but he escaped from cap- 
 tivity at night by eluding the sleepy guards. In 
 1780 he was a member of a committee to provide 
 necessities for the army. After the war he engaged 
 in mechanical and agricultural pursuits. In Middle- 
 town he was married, Jan. 6, 1757, co Ruth White, 
 a daughter of Joseph \Miite, of that place, and to 
 them were born six children, 
 
 (VI) Willard Sears, the father of our subject, 
 and the next in direct descent, was born Sept. 8, 
 1760, and died Aug. 23, 1838. He was a lifelong 
 resident of Chatham, Conn., where he followed the 
 cooper's trade, and was also a soldier in the Revo- 
 lutionary war; and fifty years after the close of that 
 struggle he drew a pension of about twenty-three 
 dollars and sixty cents per annum. On Nov. 23, 
 1785, he married Rhoda Bailey, who was born in 
 
 March, 1766, and died Feb. 17, 1794. To that 
 union three children were born. Willard Sears was 
 again married. May 22, 1796, his second union be- 
 ing with Mrs. Betsey (Clark) Strong, who died 
 Jan. 9, 1831. To them were born seven children, 
 of whom our subject is the youngest. Elijah C, 
 another son, was born June 23, 1805, and is still 
 living, making his home in South Dakota. 
 
 (\'II) Seldon P. Sears was reared and educated 
 in Chatham, and as soon as old enough began to 
 assist in the labor of the home farm. Pie started 
 out in business for himself by working in the quar- 
 ries, before he had attained his majority, continuing 
 his residence in Chatham until 1855, when he came 
 to Elmwood, W'est Plartford, and there made his 
 home imtil his death, being engaged in general 
 farming and the culture of strawberries. During 
 his latter years he lived retired. i\Ir. Sears was a 
 consistent and faithful member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church, and was highly respected by all who 
 knew him. In JMarlboro, Plartford county, Nov. 
 29, 1843, he was united in marriage with Miss Eve- 
 line Dickinson, who was born May 6, 1812, and they 
 became the parents of four children : Prescott A. 
 and Newman E. are both mentioned below ; Alida 
 A., born June 2, 1852, died Feb, 2, 1877; and 
 David Edward, born May 23, 1854, died Feb, 23, 
 1879. Mr, and Mrs. Sears had a happy wedded life 
 of over fifty-six years. She is still living at this 
 writing (1900). On ]\Iay 22, 1899, Mr. Sears joined 
 the Sons of the American Revolution as an original 
 son. 
 
 (VIII) Prescott Arnold Sears was born at 
 Chatham Oct. 16, 1846, and was educated m the 
 schools near his home there and at Elmwood. In 
 early life he was engaged in farming and the milk 
 business, but for the past fifteen years he has de- 
 voted his attention principally to market gardening 
 in West Hartford, and due success has not been 
 denied him. He, too, is a member of the Con- 
 gregational Church, and commands the confidence 
 and esteem of all with whom he comes in contact, 
 in either business or social life. On March 12, 
 1878, he was married, in South Hadley Falls, Mass., 
 to Miss Julia, daughter of Nathan and Julia A. 
 (Barrett) Roberts, and to them have been born three 
 children : Charles Edward, who died in childhood ; 
 Sarah, born June 2, 1886; and Clara, born Mav 18, 
 1889. 
 
 (VIII) Newman Eliada Sears was born in 
 Chatham Sept. 16, 1848, and during his boyhood 
 pursued his studies in the schools of West Hartford. 
 Since attaining man's estate he has been interested 
 in stock breeding and the poultry business. He, 
 too, holds membership in the Congregational Church 
 of West Hartford. On Oct. 21, 1884, he was united 
 in marriage with Miss Florence Smith, a daughter 
 of Henry and Helen (Niles) Smith, of East Hamp- 
 ton, Conn., and by this union five children have 
 been born, their names and dates of birth being as 
 follows: Helen Alida, Sept. 12, 1886; Selden 
 
'ty 
 
 '-e^cA^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1115 
 
 Philo, May lo, 1888; Dan Niles, July 18, 1891 ; 
 Charlotte Strong, May 4, 1893 ; and Ruth Willard, 
 July 31, 1894. Dan Niles died at birth, but the 
 others are still living. 
 
 GEORGE FRANKLIN WOODFORD, a prom- 
 inent dairyman of Bloomfield, senior member of the 
 firm of Woodford Bros., was born in the dwelling 
 which is still his home, Sept. 8, 1862. His grand- 
 father, Jeremiah Woodford, was a native of the 
 town of Avon, Hartford county, and married in 
 Bloomfield, Miss Hannah Latimer, daughter of 
 Capt. George and Hannah (Loomis) Latimer, the 
 former of Bloomfield, and the latter of Windsor, 
 Conn. The children born to this marriage were 
 Jeremiah, Hannah, George, Harriet and Lester, all 
 now deceased. 
 
 Lester Woodford, the youngest son of Jeremiah 
 and Hannah (Latimer) Woodford, was born on 
 the homestead in Bloomfield Sept. 22, 1821, in the 
 house erected by his father in 1820. He was edu- 
 cated in the Old Farm school where his mother, 
 before her marriage, had been the first teacher. 
 In Westminister, Vt., he married Miss Clarissa A. 
 Peck, daughter of Shubael Peck. Miss Peck had 
 been a teacher in the West Hartford (Conn.) 
 schools, and was well qualified for the profession. 
 To this marriage were born five children : Mary 
 Josephine; Harriet E., who married R. W. Barrett, 
 of Hartford, and became the mother of four chil- 
 dren, Marion L., Fred W., Edward L. and Robert 
 E. ; George L., deceased;- George F. ; and Sidney 
 J. The father of this family continued to farm 
 in the town of Bloomfield until he died, March 21, 
 1887; his wife survived until Jan. 11, 1897. 
 
 George F. Woodford spent his school days in 
 Bloomfield, and also attended a business college at 
 Hartford. He is extensively engaged in dairying, 
 selling cream to the Windsor creamer}^ and milk 
 to peddlers. 
 
 To the marriage of Mr. Woodford, March 26, 
 1890, with Miss Helen A. Wilcox, daughter of John 
 Wilcox, have been born five children : Lois Wil- 
 cox, Edna Almeda, Harriet Jennette, Ruth Wright, 
 and an infant son. Mr. Woodford is a member 
 of Hiram Ladge, No. 98, F. & A. M., and also of 
 the Grange at Bloomfield. A Republican in politics, 
 he in 1897 and 1898 served as selectman of the 
 town, filled the office of justice of the peace four 
 years, and is at present town collector. He is a 
 member of the Congregational Church. 
 
 John Wilcox, of Bloomfield, Conn., was born 
 Aug. 24, 1825, in that town when it was included 
 in the town of Simsbury. His great-grandfather, 
 Eli Wilcox, was born in East Granby, Conn., in 
 1744, and died in 1836, and Daniel Wilcox, his 
 grandfather, lived for some time in East Granby, 
 later in Hartland, and died in Bloomfield, also in 
 1836. Daniel Wilcox was twice married: (first) 
 to a Miss Phelps, of Granby, and (second) to 
 Mehitable Webster; he was a blacksmith by trade, 
 
 and made guns during the RevokDtionary war. 
 Eli Wilcox, son of Daniel, and- father of John Wil- 
 cox, married in January, 1809, Miss Lois Eno, 
 daughter of Sergt. Reuben Eno (who served in 
 the Revolutionary war) , and to this union were born 
 nine children : Jane C, Homer, Emily, Gad and 
 Amanda, all deceased ; and Asher, Jeannette, Cyrus 
 and John. In politics the father was a Democrat. 
 He died in Bloomfield Sept. 20, 1862, aged eighty- 
 six years; his wife, Lois Eno Wilcox, died Sept. 
 8, 187s, aged ninety-one. 
 
 Homer Wilcox married Catherine Hubbard; he 
 died Jan. 12, 1853, leaving a widow and four chil- 
 dren who moved to Wisconsin. Gad Wilcox mar- 
 ried Mrs. Hetta Lay Stannard, of Westbrook, Conn. ; 
 he died in May, 1895, leaving one child, Ida Jen- 
 nette. 
 
 John AVilcox was reared on his father's farm, 
 and was educated in the public school of the Dun- 
 caster District, also at the select school in Granby. 
 He still resides on the old homestead, and for 
 many years has been engaged in farming, in asso- 
 ciation with his brother Asher. On March 22, 1857, 
 he married Miss Susan M. Wright, daughter of 
 Orimel B. Wright, of Westbrook, Conn., and to 
 this union have beei" born four children: Helen 
 A., wife of George F. Woodford ; Benjamin Wright ; 
 John Asher, who married Miss Ellen Morton, at 
 Redlands, Cal., Oct. 31, 1894; and Emily J. 
 
 Mr. Wilcox is a member of the Congregational 
 Church. In politics he is a Democrat, and for thirty 
 years has held a town office, and in 1864 was 
 elected to the State Legislature. At present he 
 is one of the selectmen of the town, and has always 
 taken a deep interest in its prosperity. Mr. Wil- 
 cox has been a member of Hiram Lodge, No. 
 98, F. & A. M., at Bloomfield, since 1866, and is 
 one of the most respected residents of Bloomfield. 
 
 WILLIAM HUTTON, of the firm of Hutton 
 Brothers, prominent merchant tailors, clothiers and 
 dealers in gents' furnishing goods, Southington, 
 was born in Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland, 
 Oct. 3, 1852, a son of James and Ann (McCowan) 
 Hutton. The father, a joiner by trade, came to 
 America in 1882, and located in Southington, Conn., 
 on what is known as the Spring Lake property, 
 where he died in the fall of 1893. His childrer. 
 were Peter, John, William, James, Duncan and 
 David. 
 
 Our subject was reared in his native land, »re- 
 ceived a fair common-school education, and served 
 a four-years' apprenticeship at the tailor's trade in 
 Auchterarder and Perth. In 1872 he emigrated to 
 America, and located in Hartford, Conn., where 
 he worked at his trade until the spring of 1873, 
 when he came to Southington, and in the fall of the 
 same year embarked in business for himself, in 
 which he has since continued, taking his brother 
 Peter as a partner in 1879. Since then the busi- 
 ness has been conducted under the firm name of 
 
1116 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Hutton Brothers. They carry a high class of goods, 
 and have built up an excellent trade. 
 
 On Aug. 12, 1875, ]Mr. Hutton was united in 
 marriage with JMiss Isabella M. Cowans, a daugh- 
 ter of William and Isabella (Moncrieff) Cowans, 
 of Perth, Scotland, and two children have been 
 born to them: Esthel Irene, born April 19, 1882, 
 died Jan. 15, 1896; Ruby Isabella was born Nov. 
 25, 18S6. j\Ir. Hutton is an active member of the 
 First Baptist Church uf Souihington, of which he 
 is a trustee, and is also treasurer of the Sabbath- 
 school. He is a prominent member of the Masonic 
 Traternity, belonging to Friendship Lodge, No. 33, 
 F. & A. M. ; Triune Chapter, No. 40, R. A. j\I. ; 
 and St. Elmo Commandcry, No. 9, K. T.,of Meriden ; 
 and is also a member uf Eureka Lodge, No. 75, 
 I. O. O. F. His political support is always given 
 to the men and measures of the Republican party. 
 j\lr. Hutton is now vice-president of the Oak Hill 
 Cemetery Association, a member of the school board 
 and served two years as a member of the board of 
 burgesses of Southington. 
 
 I'liTER HuTTOX, of the iirm of Hutton Brothers, 
 was also born in Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland, 
 Dec. 31, 1847. Both his paternal and maternal 
 grandfathers were named Peter. In his native town 
 he grew to manhood, and in 1870 crossed the broad 
 Atlantic, first locating in Colchester, Delaware Co., 
 N. Y., where he spent five years. In January, 1876, 
 he came to Southington, and was employed in the 
 clothing store of his brother William until 1879, 
 when he was taken into the business as a partner. 
 He was married, Sept. 19, 1879, to Miss Christiana 
 Lindsav, daughter of Thomas Lindsay, of Dela- 
 ware county, N. Y., and to them have been born 
 five children: Lindsay, Bessie, Hazel, Leslie and 
 Douglass. Peter Hutton is also a prominent mem- 
 ber of the First Baptist Church of Southington, of 
 which he is now a deacon and trustee, and in poli- 
 tics is a Republican. 
 
 JA^NIES PAL]MER has had a career since com- 
 ing to America which has been, in many respects, 
 exceptional. An Irish immigrant, without either 
 money or mechanical training, and working as an 
 unskilled laborer for small wages, he has made for 
 himself a competence by the mere force of his own 
 industry and thrift, aided by sagacious foresight. 
 
 i\lr. Palmer was born in 1827, in County Down, 
 in the northern part of Ireland, and was raised upon 
 a farm. He is one of six children born to Thomas 
 Palmer and Ann Milligan, and worked as a farm 
 laborer in the "old country" until he had reached 
 his twenty-first year. In 185 1 he embarked at Bel- 
 fast, in a sa-iling-vessel for New York. The voy- 
 age proved long and tempestuous. When about 
 three weeks out of port the craft encountered violent 
 storms, which carried away her mainmast and did 
 other serious damage, in consequence of which it 
 was forty-five days before she reached her destina- 
 tion. From New York i\Ir. Palmer came to Man- 
 
 chester, Conn., and for a year worked upon a 
 farm, at the scantv remuneration of fifty cents per 
 day. At the expiration of that period he found em- 
 p!o}ment as driver with David D. Hubbard, of 
 Glastonbury. The original agreement provided 
 for a term of fourteen days only, but some idea 
 may be formed of the mutual satisfaction between 
 the contracting parties Avhen it is told that their 
 connection extended over twenty-one years. Early 
 in the 'seventies Mr. Palmer returned to Manchester, 
 where he has resided ever since. Through hard 
 work, sobriety and economy, and by dint of sav- 
 ing, joined to judicious investment, he is at present 
 the owner of three houses there, besides his own 
 handsome home. He has been twice married. Ptis 
 first wife was Miss Lizzie McOubery, by whom 
 he became the father of three children: Lucy J., 
 lames T., and Mary A. His second union was 
 with Miss Annie Moffett. There is no issue of the 
 latter marriage. i\Ir. Palmer is an active and 
 earnest member of the Second Congregational 
 Church. 
 
 CHARLES LYMAN JENCKS, a member of 
 the firm of Jencks Brothers, lumber dealers of East 
 Hartford Meadow and Manchester, is probably as 
 fair an example of the practical and successful busi- 
 ness man as can be found in East Hartford Meadow, 
 or, indeed, elsewhere. In his case, good sound 
 sense, combined with unerring judgment, has pro- 
 duced efliects that no collegiate education could have 
 brought about, as essential as the latter is deemed 
 to be for the attainment of success in any of the 
 multifarious vocations in life; yet the education of 
 Mr. Jencks was not altogether meager. 
 
 Ciiarles L. Jencks was born in Agawam, Mass., 
 Aug. 18, 1864, a son of John H. and Caroline (Ris- 
 ky) Jencks, the latter a daughter of Lyman Risley, 
 a biography of whom will be found elsewhere. He 
 was a child when brought to East Hartford Meadow 
 by his parents, attended the local schools, and then 
 the Brown school in Hartford, from which he grad- 
 uated with the class of 1879. He then became a 
 bookkeeper for S. Marston & Co., lumber dealers 
 of East Hartford Meadow, whose business at the 
 death of Mr. Marston was continued by Lyman 
 Risley, the surviving partner, and the maternal 
 grandfather of Mr. Jencks. Under the new owner- 
 ship Mr. Jencks became salesman, buyer and gen- 
 eral manager. He had applied himself diligently 
 from the beginning of his connection with the busi- 
 ness, had mastered its every detail, and was quite 
 well fitted for his new responsibilities. On April 2, 
 1888, Mr. Jencks and his brother, John L., became 
 partners with their grandfather, under the firm 
 name of Lyman Risley & Co., and this was the 
 style until Jan. i, 1894, when it was changed to 
 Jencks Brothers. 
 
 The firm of Jencks Brothers is one of the push- 
 ing, energetic, hustling business concerns of the 
 town. They have introduced many new up-to-date 
 
^ 
 
 //-L-C^C^ 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 HIT 
 
 features and methods in its conduct, and although 
 it is the oldest in its line in the town it is always 
 ahead in its processes. Both of the brothers are 
 keen and farsighted, keep well abreast of the wants 
 of the trade, and more frequently in advance of 
 them, always being prepared to meet any possible 
 demand, and generally anticipating it. They not 
 only supply the demands of the local trade, but 
 draw from every direction, and their stock con- 
 stantly on hand is so complete that it surpasses that 
 of many of the large yards of larger cities. They 
 are among the most prosperous business men of 
 the town, and deserve to be, as none give closer at- 
 tention to. the details, or are more prompt in filling 
 orders. 
 
 As their business increased the Jencks Brothers 
 found it necessary to increase their facilities for 
 meeting its demands, and in 1899 established a 
 branch yard at Manchester, in order to relieve the 
 pressure at the home office, and the combined busi- 
 ness of the two yards exceeds that of any one 
 firm in the same line in Hartford county. 
 They have also recently purchased some manu- 
 facturing land, and added to their business that of 
 manufacturing lumber. The brothers are yet in the 
 early prime of manhood, and their excellent busi- 
 ness judgment furnishes abundant evidence of this 
 fact. In addition to their lumber business the 
 brothers' investments in real estate have been ex- 
 tensive. They have erected houses on their prop- 
 erty, which in some instances they have sold, and in 
 others still hold, but altogether they have done much 
 to build up and increase the prosperity of the 
 village. 
 
 Charles L. Jencks first, married Carrie G. Ris- 
 ley, who bore him four children : Harold E., Her- 
 bert L., Miriam E. and Lillian A. Later he married 
 Mamie D. Mikklesen, who has borne him one child 
 — Dorothy E. Li politics Mr. Jencks is a Repub- 
 lican, but beyond regularly casting his vote for his 
 party's candidates he takes no further interest in 
 politics than keep posted in his country's progress. 
 
 Charles L. Jencks has for years been an admirer 
 of fine horses, a trait probably inherited from his 
 grandfather Risley, by whom he was practically 
 reared. He is a member of the Gentlemen's Driv- 
 ing Club of Hartford, and as a means of recreation 
 and of gratifying his admiration and tastes has 
 devoted considerable of his spare time to the breed- 
 ing and raising of the noble animal, and has had 
 some of the best and speediest ever owned in the 
 town. His well-equipped stable has a string of 
 animals that would delight the eye of any horse- 
 man, and among the speedy ones are "Bowgun," 
 2:1414, "Mockingbird," 2:i5>4, and "Handy Girl" 
 — the latter probably the most renowned mare in 
 Hartford county. Mr. Jencks is an expert driver, 
 and at matinees at the Gentlemen's Driving Club 
 has been adjudged to be the best amateur whip in 
 East Hartford. 
 
 As citizens the Jencks Brothers are ttseful and 
 
 patriotic, and are ever ready to aid with their means 
 and influence any project designed for the public 
 eood. As business men their name stands untar- 
 nished. 
 
 LUTHER R. MATTHEWS, a trusted employe 
 of Clark Bros. & Co., of Southington, was born in 
 that town, Oct. 3, 1833, a son of Jesse and Huldah 
 (Hitchcock) Matthews, both representatives of old 
 and highly-respected Connecticut families. 
 
 Amasa Matthews, the paternal grandfather, a 
 joiner by trade, married Lucy Thorp, of Southing- 
 ton, and died July 15, 1844, aged sixty-two years. 
 He was a son of Moses Matthews, who was bap- 
 tized Aug. 14, 1757, and married Amy Mallory, of 
 East Haven, who died Dec. 17, 1833, aged seventy- 
 two years, while he died March 8, 1834. His par- 
 ents were Moses and Huldah Matthews, of South- 
 ington, where tha former died Oct. 23, 1806, the lat- 
 ter March 3, 1790. Moses was a son of Thomas 
 and Abiah (Parker) Matthews, of Wallingford, 
 Conn. Our subject's father was born in Southing- 
 ton, in 1803, and died July 8, i860, while the mother 
 was born March 26, 1800, and died Feb. 19, 1875. 
 In their family were seven children: Luanna, wife 
 of Julius Talmadge ; Elizabeth, wife of Moses Chan- 
 dler ; John H. ; Luther R. ; Franklin L. ; Mary J.,. 
 wife of Norman Winchell; and Fanny, wife of 
 Luther J. Smith. 
 
 Caleb Hitchcock, the maternal grandfather of 
 our subject, who held the military rank of captain, 
 was born May 17, 1760, and died March 10, 1828. 
 On April 10, 1809, he married Julia Thorp, who 
 died May 2, 1851, aged seventy-two years. His 
 parents were Samuel and Tamar Hitchcock, the 
 former born April i, 1730, and died in Southington, 
 May 8, 1798; the latter died Dec. 7, 1816, aged 
 eighty years. Samuel was a son of Benjamin 
 Hitchcock, who was born March 25, 1696, and was 
 married Oct. i, 1718, to Elizabeth, daughter of 
 Joseph and Esther (Benedict) Ives. He also held 
 the military rank of captain, and made his home in 
 Cheshire, where he died Feb. 12, 1767, his wife, 
 Aug. 8, 1762, aged sixty-two years. His father, 
 John Hitchcock, was married, Jan. 18, 1670, to Abi- 
 gail Merriman, daughter of Nathaniel Merriman, 
 of New Hampshire. About 1676 John Hitchcock 
 removed from New Haven to Wallingford, where 
 he died July 6, 1716. He was a son of Matthias 
 Hitchcock, who was born in 1610, and in 1635 sailed 
 on the ship "Susan and Ellen" for Boston. He 
 was one of the first settlers of New Haven, and one 
 of the proprietors who signed the civil compact 
 June 4, 1639. He died in November, 1669, at the 
 age of fifty-nine years. 
 
 Luther R. Matthews, whose name introduces this 
 review, was reared in Southington, and received a 
 common-school education. At the age of eighteen 
 years he entered the bolt factory of Bristol & Morse, 
 and was with them and other bolt manufacturers 
 until the breaking out of the Civil war, when he 
 
1118 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 offered his services to his country, enlisting Sept. 
 17, 1 86 1. He became a private in Company K, 
 Sth Conn. V. I., in 1862 was made a corporal, and 
 the following year, while in front of Petersburg, 
 was promoted to the rank of sergeant. He parti- 
 cipated in nearly all the engagements in which his 
 regiment took part, and at the battle of Antietam, 
 Sept. 17, 1862, was wounded and taken prisoner, but 
 was re-captured a week later and again joined his 
 regiment. He was honorably discharged froni the 
 service Sept. 17, 1864, and returned home. Since 
 then Jie has been emplo}-ed in the forging depart- 
 ment of the bolt works of Clark Bros. & Co., at 
 Milldale, Southington. 
 
 ]n July, 1857, Air. Matthews was united in mar- 
 riage with Aliss Mary E. \'an Horn, a daughter of 
 Charles and Caroline (Consolloy) \an Horn, of 
 Philadelphia, Penn., and to them have been born 
 three children : Louie W. ; Cora L., wife of Waldo 
 Stillman; and Eldora L. Mr. Alatthews is an 
 honored member of Eureka Lodge, No. 75, L O. O. 
 F.; Union Lodge, No. 17, Daughters of Kebekah; 
 William Berry Lodge, No. 25, K. P. ; and Trumbull 
 Post, No. 16,' G. A. R. Politically he is an ardent 
 supporter of the Republican party, and is as true 
 to his duties of citizenship in days of peace as in 
 times of war, when he followed the old flag to vic- 
 tory on many a Southern battlefield. 
 
 LE\T CASE. A long and useful life has won 
 for this well known resident of Canton the respect 
 and confidence of his fellow citizens, and has re- 
 flected credit upon a family name which has been 
 associated for generations with the best interests 
 of this section. Air. Case is a descendant of John 
 Case, a pioneer of Simsbury, of whom further men- 
 tion is made elsewhere in this volume, the line be- 
 ing traced through seven generations. 
 
 (II) Joseph Case, son of John, the pioneer, 
 was born in Simsbury April 6, 1674, and died Aug. 
 II, 1748. On April 6, 1699, he married Anna 
 Eno, a daughter of James Eno, of Windsor, who 
 was born April 10, 1682, and died June 10, 1760. 
 They had the following children: Joseph, born 
 Feb. 2. 1700; Jacob, the next in the line of descent; 
 a son, born in 1705, died Aug. 19, 1705; Benajah, 
 born in 1710, died after 1748; Josiah, born Feb. 
 I, 1716; Hezekiah, born April 26, 1719, died be- 
 fore 1748; David, born in 1722, died after 1748; 
 Joel, born Alay 30, 1724. 
 
 (III) Jacob Case, the next in the line of de- 
 scent, was born Alarch 19, 1702, in Aleadow Plain, 
 Simsbury, and in 1730 located at Case's Farms, 
 Simsbury, where he became an extensive land owner, 
 and followed agricultural pursuits. He died there 
 July 23, 1763. On Oct. 28, 1728, he married Abi- 
 gail Barber, who was born in 1706, and died Jan. 
 8, 1779. They had the following children: Abi- 
 gail, born Jan. 12, 1730, married Daniel Hoskins, 
 and died June 20, 1806; Sarah, born June 5, 1733, 
 married Elijah TuUer, and died Dec. 20, 1798; 
 
 Jacob was born June 19, 1735 ; Jesse was born 
 May 19, 1738; Anna, born April 9, 1740, married 
 Deacon Solomon Case, and died April 6, 1817; 
 Alartha, born Alay 21, 1743, died Dec. 30, 1748; 
 Aloses was born Sept. 18, 1746; and A'lartha, born 
 April 12, 1749, died April 5, 1834. 
 
 (_I\') Jesse Case, born May 19, 1738, settled 
 upon a farm in West Simsbury,near "Case s Farms," 
 and his death occurred there Oct. 3, 1807. He 
 was married, Nov. 20, 1766, to Sarah Humphrey, 
 who was born in 1743, daughter of Capt. Noah 
 Humphrey, and died Alarch 13, 1818. They had 
 ten children : Jesse, born July 20, 1767, is men- 
 tioned below; Sarah, born Dec. 4, 1768, married 
 Samuel Leet; Augustus, born May 31, 1770, mar- 
 ried Hannah Hoskins, and died March 17, 185^ ; 
 Asenath, born June 30, 1772, died in 1776; Abigail, 
 born Oct. 13, 1774, died Aug. 5, 1825; Gideon, 
 born Feb. 26, 1779, married Persis Seward, and died 
 Alay II, 1822; Hannah, born Sept. 19, 1781, mar- 
 ried Edmund O. Sullivan ; Charlotte, born Jan. 
 
 24, 1785, married Allen Barber; Salome, born in 
 N'ovcmber, 1786, died Jan. 10, 1788. 
 
 (V) Jesse Case, son of Jesse, and grandfather 
 of our subject, was born in West Simsbury July 
 
 20, 1767, and died Feb. 11, 1842. Like his ances- 
 tors he followed farming as an occupation, and he 
 owned a large tract of land in Canton. He was a 
 deacon in the Congregational Church at Canton 
 Center for many years, and politically was a stanch 
 \\hig. His education was good for his time, and 
 in his early manhood he taught school, while he 
 always showed keen interest in educational affairs 
 in his community, serving as school visitor. On 
 Oct. 3, 1 79 1, he married Sarah Cornish, who was 
 born April 20, 1773, and died June 6, 1815. On 
 Jan. II, 1816, he married Lydia Church, who was 
 born in Hartland, June 22, 1778, daughter of Rev. 
 Aaron Church, and died Aug. 28, 1862. By. his 
 first marriage he had the following children : Jesse 
 O., born Oct. 29, 1792, married Chloe Gleason ; 
 Justin, born Jan. 4, 1795, died June 22, 1802; Ever- 
 est, born Dec. 19, 1796, is mentioned below; Sarah 
 born Oct. 31, 1798, married Ezekiel H. Wilcox; 
 Newton, born June 7, 1801, died April 12, 1807; 
 Elmira was born April 15, 1803; Justin (2), born 
 A'larch 11, 1805, married Rachel H-. Talcott, and died 
 Oct. I, 1841; Newton (2), born Alarch 12, 1807, 
 married Lemira B. Hurlburt; Rowena, born Nov. 
 27, 1809, died Jan. i, 1834; Abigail was born Aug. 
 
 21, 1 812. Bv the second marriage there were two 
 daughters : Lydia C, born Dec. 5, 1817, died April 
 9, i82o;Lydia (2), born April 25, 1820, died Feb. 
 
 25. 1894- , . , ^ , 
 
 (VI) Everest Case, our subjects father, was 
 born in Canton Dec. 19, 1796, and died July 31, 
 1866, his remains being interred in the cemetery 
 at Canton Center. He received a common-school 
 education and became a cooper by trade, having 
 served an apprenticeship with Calvin Case, and he 
 also owned a small farm. He was domestic in his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1119 
 
 tastes, avoiding any official honors and duties, but 
 he was well inlormed on the isues of his time, and 
 was first a Whig and later a Republican, sympathiz- 
 ing with the anti-slavery movement from the start. 
 He was also strongly anti-Mason in the days when 
 that question was agitated politically, while in his 
 religious views he was liberal. Un Jan. 6, 1820, he 
 married Lucy Case, who was born iVIarch 9, 1794, 
 daughter of Silas and Mary Case, and died Nov. 
 24, 1859. She was a descendant of John Case, the 
 ■ pioneer, through his son, Bartholomew Case, who 
 was born in Smisbury, and married iVIary, daughter 
 of Lieut. Samuel Humphrey. Everest and Lucy 
 Case had . the following children : Sarah, born 
 Oct. 22, 1820, married John Green, Jr., and died 
 Nov. 15, 1898; Levi, our subject, was second in the 
 order of birth; Orestes, born March 23, 1823, died 
 Oct. 5, 1824; Emeline, born Nov. 12, 1824, died 
 Aug. 2, 1853, unmarried; Orestes (2), born May 
 15, 1826, was married Aug. 4, 1852, to Sophrona 
 Woodruff, of Hartford, and died March 3, 1899; 
 Lucy JMaria, born May 18, 1828, died Aug. 14, 
 1828; Miss Helen Rowena, born Aug. 15, 1829, re- 
 sides in Collinsville ; William Wirt, born Jan. 26, 
 1834, was a soldier in the Civil war (he was mar- 
 ried first on May i, 1862, to Eliza E. Humphrey, of 
 Bloomfield, and later to Harriet Irene Dexter, of 
 Coventry) ; Nathan, born Nov. 25, 1836, died Dec. 
 
 15. 1857; Lucy Ann, born July 9, 1838, died Sept. 
 
 16, 1838. 
 
 (VII) Levi Case was born Jan. 4, 1822, and 
 was educated in the district schools near the home- 
 stead, arid the village schools of North Canton and 
 Canton Center. For several winters he taught in 
 district schools at Canton, Granby, Simsbury, and 
 Barkhamsted, his summers being spent in farm 
 work, and for many years he has resided at his 
 present homestead, a small farm. For more than 
 fort}- years he followed surveying, and for thirty 
 j'cars he was a notary public, having been first ap- 
 pointed in 1854 by Gov. Dutton. He was a justice 
 of the peace for six years, and a selectman for two 
 years, and has served on the local board of relief 
 for many years, while in all movements for the bene- 
 fit of the community his influence is felt on the side 
 of progress, the temperance question being espe- 
 cially important in his opinion. He cast his first 
 vote for Henry Clay, and on the disorganization of 
 tlie Whig party became a Republican. His able 
 articles on historical and other topics in the public 
 press have attracted favorable comment, and he is 
 a correspondent of various newspapers. In relig- 
 ious faith he is a Congregationalist, and his la- 
 mented wife was a member of that Church. Mr. 
 Case was married in Ohio, March 3, 1859, to Eunice 
 Case, who died July 20, 1883, her remains being 
 interred at Canton Center. She was born in Sims- 
 bury July 18, 1821, daughter of Asa L. and Ro- 
 sannah (Buel) Case, granddaughter of Asa and Lois 
 (Dill) Case, and great-granddaughter of Deacon 
 Hosea Case. Of the two children born to this 
 
 union, (I) Asa Levi, born ;\Iarch 9, i860, resides 
 at the homestead, and is interested in market gar- 
 dening; he is a printer by trade. Like his father 
 he is a Republican in politics, and a member of the 
 Congregational Church. He was married, March 18, 
 1885, to Annette E. Pyatt, who was born in Farm- 
 ington; daughter of Samuel S. and Candace (W^eb- 
 ster) Pyatt, and they have had three children : Hor- 
 ace Asa, born March 17, 1886; Charles Archibald, 
 Jan. 12, 1888; and Rosa Candace, Oct. 31, 1890. 
 (2) Rosa Lucv, born March 30, 1864, died May 
 2, 1884. 
 
 JOHN ERWIN MORTON, who owns and 
 conducts the most extensive general business in Man- 
 chester, is one of that town's wide-awake and enter- 
 prising merchants, and ranks among her substan- 
 tial citizens. 
 
 Mr. jMorton was born Nov. 6, 1852, in the town 
 of South Windsor, Hartford county, and there 
 passed the early years of his life on his parents' 
 farm. His early education was acquied in the com- 
 mon schools of his native town, and was supple- 
 mented with study at the high school of Ellington, 
 Tolland Co., that State, whither his parents had 
 removed when he was a youth of sixteen. At the 
 age of eighteen our subject went to Stafford Springs, 
 Tolland county, where he commenced his mer- 
 cantile career as clerk in the store of L. W. Crane, 
 with whom he continued for three years. Return- 
 ing to Ellington he remained there a few months, 
 and then came to Manchester, with whose business 
 interests he has since been identified. Having pur- 
 chased the store of Levi Drake, he continued same 
 seven years, and for some time afterward, on ac- 
 count of ill health, was not engaged in any social 
 business. When able to resume work he started 
 on the road with confectionery, and he subsequently 
 carried on merchandising in the Union Manufactur- 
 ing Co.'s store, purchasing the business of Park- 
 hurst & Hayes. Mr. ]Morton began the erection 
 of his present store building in 1889, and the struct- 
 ure was completed in 1890, on May 17 of Vvhich 
 year he opened the general business which he has 
 ever since successfully conducted. The building, 
 a three-story brick, 40x50 feet in dimensions, is 
 the largest store building in Manchester, and is 
 completely stocked with a line of dry goods, boots 
 and shoes, men's furnishings, etc., besides grocer- 
 ies, Mr. Morton aiming to meet the demands of 
 all his patrons. He gives careful attention to the 
 details of his business, and the requirements of a 
 constantly increasing custom, and by his courtesy 
 and obliging ways has made numerous friends 
 among those with whom he has had dealings, and 
 has become widely known in and around i\Ianches- 
 ter, both as an honorable and upright man, and as 
 a business man of enterprise and sound judgment. 
 The second story of his building is used as a store- 
 room, and the third for an opera and hall room. 
 Though business interests claim his time altogether. 
 
1120 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. ]Morton has become identified with the most 
 pubhc-spirited citizens of JManchester as one who 
 has the welfare of his town and county at heart, 
 and will give his support to any worthy undertaking 
 for its advancement or improvement. His political 
 sympathy is given to the Republican party. Mr. 
 Morton is not a member of any church, but he con- 
 tributes generously toward church work and Chris- 
 tian enterprises. 
 
 JOHN L. JliNCKS, of the firm of Jencks 
 Brothers, the popular lumber dealers of East Hart- 
 ford Meadow, as well as of South Manchester, 
 was born Aug. 2, 1865, in East Hartford Meadow, 
 in the house that stands immediately north of the 
 dwelling of Lyman Risley, his maternal grandfa- 
 ther, of whom a biographical sketch is given else- 
 where. In the sketch of Charles L. Jencks will be 
 found the family history of our subject — John L. 
 and Charles L. being the brothers who constitute the 
 lumber firm. 
 
 John L. Jencks attended the "Meadow" school, 
 with a Mr. Chafl'ee and Charles Anurews as teach- 
 ers, and next attended the "Brown ' school in Hart- 
 ford until 1 88 1, when he entered the lumberyard 
 owned by his grandfather, Lyman Risley, at East 
 Hartford Meadow, and worked for small wages, 
 at anything and everything — hauling lumber, piling 
 lumber, and caring for the horses. As his knowl- 
 edge of the business increased, so did his salary. 
 With his savings he bought from his grandfather 
 an interest in the business, and on April i, 1888, 
 he and his brother formed a partnership with the 
 grandfather under the firm style of Lyman Risley 
 & Co. A few years later the brothers bought the 
 entire interest of the grandfather, who wished to 
 retire from business, and the firm name is now 
 Jencks Brothers. Their trade rapidly increased 
 from the start, and is now immense, ramifying 
 through Hartford, East Hartford, JManchester, 
 South Windsor and other towns and villages. 
 
 Both the brothers Jencks have a strong liking 
 for fast horses, yet keep them almost solely for 
 pleasure and recreation, as they but seldom enter 
 them in races for purses. John L. Jencks has the 
 finest matched team in all New England, but his 
 favorite animal .s "Capt. Jencks," a roan stallion. 
 
 On Oct. 7, 1885, John L. Jencks was united in 
 marriage with Miss Carrie L. Brewer, who was 
 born March 22, 1864, a daughter of George C. and 
 Julia A. (Hurlbut) Brewer, natives of Hockanum. 
 This union has been blessed with two children: 
 Ethel M., born Sept. 9, 1887, and Percy C, born 
 October 13, 1889. The family attend the South 
 Congregational Church, of which Mrs. Jencks is 
 a devout member; in politics Mr. Jencks is a Re- 
 publican, but is too busy a man o give much heed 
 to party affairs; neither has he time to spare to at- 
 tend any secret organizations. In their business the 
 brothers are thoroughly practical, Charles L. at- 
 
 tending to the office work ; John L. having the yard 
 management, and they keep the trade on a constant 
 boom. 
 
 RICHARD J. MOMMERS. This gentleman;, 
 the present superintendent of the manufacture of 
 velvet in the mill of Messrs. Cheney Bros., is a son 
 of Theodor and Katharin (Seves) Mommers. The 
 father was a manufacturer of velvets at Lobberich, 
 near Crefeld, Prussia, which city is the center of that 
 ii'-dustry in Germany. Richard J. Mommers was • 
 born there March 19, 1846. He received a colle- 
 giate education, graduating from Kempen gymna- 
 sium, a preparatory school for the university, at 
 the age of nineteen. 
 
 On leaving this college Mr. Mommers at once 
 began the battle of life, in which he was destined 
 to play no mean part, and to win a substantial re- 
 ward. He was apprenticed for a term of three 
 years to a mercantile firm of Cologne, that he might 
 become thoroughly familiar with the general prin- 
 ciples that underly trade, as well as with the minor 
 details of a business career. While acquiring this 
 information the young clerk received no compen- 
 sation, and met all his expenses from his own purse, 
 the instruction which he received being considered 
 ample payment for the service which he rendered. 
 Young Mommers after completing his apprentice- 
 ship returned to Lobberich, and entered the employ 
 of his father, who, as has been said, was a manufac- 
 turer of velvets. He remained in his father's fac- 
 tory until 1878, when he embarked in a manufactur- 
 ing business of his own, but of a very different de- 
 scription. He erected a machine shop in Crefeld, 
 and began making looms for the weaving of silk 
 and velvet fabrics. In the spring of 1880 members 
 of the firm of Cheney Bros., of South Manchester, 
 visited Crefeld, and were so pleased with Mr. Mom- 
 mer's looms that they placed an order with him for 
 a number of them, stipulating that Mr. Mommers 
 should accompany them to the Connecticut mills, 
 and personally supervise their erection and instal- 
 lation. Accordingly, when his task was completed 
 the firm tendered him the position which he now 
 holds. He accepted the offer, and has filled the 
 post uninterruptedly since 1880, sending for his 
 family the following year. , 
 
 Richard J. Mommers was married in 1872 to 
 Miss Matilda Janssen. They have four children, 
 Paul, Matilda, Richard and Ellen, aU of whom are ^ 
 living. Mr. Mommers is a Republican in his poli- ' 
 tical creed. He is not a member of any religious 
 body, but attends the Episcopal Church and con- 
 tributes to its support. 
 
 CAMPBELL PHELPS CASE. In the life of 
 the subject of this sketch has been demonstrated 
 the ability of an individual, bereft of father's care 
 in early childhood, to take up for himself the battle 
 of life and guide his way patiently but surely toward 
 the goal of success. Content to till the soil and fol- 
 

 l^Z^c 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1121 
 
 low the ways of his fathers, our subject has amply 
 shown the merit of his success. 
 
 Mr. Case is a representative of the Case family 
 which was founded in Simsbury, Hartford county, 
 in 1669, by John Case, and is seventh in the line of 
 descent from that ancestor, as follows : John Case, 
 Jr.; John, son of John and Mary (Olcott) Case; 
 Capt. John, son of John and Abigail (Humphrey) 
 Case, born Feb. 19, 1718, a soldier of the Revolu- 
 tionary war; Levi Case; Levi Phelps Case; and 
 Campbell Phelps Case. Capt. John Case, the great- 
 grandfather of our subject, married Sarah Barber, 
 Nov. 7, 1745, and their children were: John, born 
 in October, 1746; Giles,, born Feb. 20, 1748, died 
 Feb. 5, 1754; Seth, born Sept. 29, 1749; Sarah, 
 born July 27, 1751 ; Asa, born June 11, 1753 ; Mary, 
 born Jan. 2, 1755 ; Giles, born May 24, 1757 ; George, 
 born March 4, 1759; Levi and. Judah, twins, born 
 Dec. 14, 1760; Abigail, born Nov. 28, 1763. Capt. 
 John Case died Nov. 16, 1776, his wife Dec. 19, 
 1805. 
 
 Levi Case, the grandfather of our subject, born 
 in Simsbury, Dec. 14, 1760, one of twins, was edu- 
 cated in the district schools, and was a farmer. He 
 spent his entire life in Simsbury He married Polly 
 Humphrey, of Simsbury, and four children born to 
 them were : Polly ; Agnes ; Levi Phelps, father of our 
 subject; and Jairus, who was a graduate of Yale 
 Medical College, was a prominent physician, practic- 
 ing in Granby all his life, and was the father of 
 Hon. William C. Case, the well-known criminal law- 
 yer of Hartford. 
 
 Levi Phelps Case, the father of our subject, was 
 born in Simsbury, and received a district-school 
 education. He was a man of ability, through hard 
 study obtained a good common-school education, 
 and taught school during the winter months, both in 
 Simsbury and in Hartland. When a young man he 
 removed to Barkhamsted, Litchfield, Co., Conn., 
 where he engaged in farming, and owned a tract of 
 land. Later in life he removed to Hartland, locat- 
 ing in East Hartland, where he bought a tract of 
 500 acres, and erected the first steam sawmill in that 
 section, engaging in the manufacture of lumber. 
 He also engaged in dairy and general farming, and 
 here spent the balance of his life, dying in 1850, and 
 was buried in East Flartland cemetery. He was a 
 Whig in politics, a pronounced anti-slavery man, a 
 member of the Congregational Church, and a man 
 of enterprise and progressive ideas, noted for his in- 
 dustry, honesty and honorable dealings. He was 
 temperate in his habits, a good Christian, and a kind 
 father and loving husband. Mr. Case married in 
 Barkhamsted, Harriet Jones, who was born in 
 Barkhamsted, daughter of Elijah Jones, of that 
 town. The children born to Levi Phelps and Har- 
 riet Case were as follows : Cornelius, who died 
 young; Harriet,, who married Frank Holbrook, of 
 Pompey, N. Y. ; Julia, who was a school teacher, 
 unmarried; Campbell Phelps, our subject; Helen, 
 who died young; and Lucian, now of Syracuse, N. 
 
 71 
 
 Y. The mother died at her home in East Hartland 
 in 1870, and was buried in East Hartland ceme- 
 tery. She was a member of tne Congregational 
 Church. 
 
 Our subject was only five years old when his 
 father died. He remained at home with his mother, 
 attending the district schools of East Hartland, 
 and working on the farm until his mother's death, 
 when he removed to Pompey, N. Y. There he was 
 engaged at farm work for two years, receiving $300 
 per year. In 1874 he came to Simsbury, worked for 
 one year as a farm hand, and then entered a ten-acre 
 tract of land and grew tobacco for one year. He 
 next rented the farm which he now owns, a tract 
 of 100 acres, which he operated for four years, and 
 was engaged principally in tobacco culture and 
 dairying. In 1880 he bought the farm owned by 
 Lucius Goodrich, where he is now extensively and 
 successfully engaged in dairy, tobacco and general 
 farming, keeping a stock of forty-five head of Jer- 
 sey cows, and he has made many improvements 
 upon his farm. He is also a stock dealer, and be- 
 longs to the Tobacco Growers Association of New 
 England. Mr. Case is temperate, honest and up- 
 right in character. He started in life a poor boy, 
 and has succeeded through hard work. He is a 
 Republican in politics, and was a member of the 
 board of relief. Himself and family are members., 
 of the Congregational Church. 
 
 Mr. Case was married in Hartland to Mj'ra. L.- 
 Banning, who was born in Hartland, daughter of 
 Edwin Banning, of that town. To our subject and 
 wife have been born three children: Charles, edu- 
 cated in the district schools, also in the State Agri- 
 cultural College, and the Hartford Business College,, 
 is at Flartford ; Jesse is at home ; Ida May is 
 at schooL Mrs. Case is a member of one of the 
 oldest families of Hartland. She is a lady of re- 
 fined tastes, and has been a good helpmate, aiding; 
 materially in the substantial progress which her 
 husband has made as a citizen of Simsbury. 
 
 BUEL DAVID HODGE is numbered among- 
 the elderly residents of West Sufifield, by whose peo- 
 ple he is held in that reverence and respect accorded 
 those whose lives have been distinguished by integ- 
 rity and usefulness. He was born in East Gran- 
 ville, Mass., March 6, 1828, and belongs to a fam- 
 ily of English origin, which was founded in New 
 England during Colonial days. His grandfather, 
 Asa Hodge, was a native of Glastonbury, Hartford: 
 Co., Conn., where he was reared and married, and. 
 engaged in farming there during his early life, but 
 his last years were spent upon a farm in Westfield, 
 Mass. He was a good Christian gentleman, and lib- 
 eral in his religious views. 
 
 Henry Hodge, father of our subject, was born, 
 reared and educated in Glastonbury, Conn., where 
 he also followed farming. There he married Eliza- 
 beth (Betsy) Harmon, and to them were born five 
 children : George, a resident of Glastonbury ; BueL 
 
1122 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 D.. our subject; Harriet, deceased, who (first) 
 married Chauncey Barker and (second) William 
 Caswell : Emily, widow of Amos Sampson, of South- 
 wick, Mass.: and Julia, widow of William Howell, 
 of Catskill, X. Y. The father with his family re- 
 moved to East Granville, Mass., where he followed 
 farming- until called from this life. He made many 
 improvements u]X)n his place, and was quite a suc- 
 cessful agriculturist. In political sentiment he was 
 a Democrat, and in his religious views he was lib- 
 eral. His wife also died in East Ciranvilk'. and both 
 were laid to rest there. 
 
 Buel D. Hodge is indebted to the district schools 
 of East Granville, Mass., for his educational advan- 
 tages. At the age of twelve years he left the paren- 
 tal roof, and co.nmenced earning his own living, 
 doing chores for neighboring farmers while he still 
 attended school. Leaving East Granville in 184(1, 
 at the age of eighteen years, he came to Suffield 
 town, Hartford Co., Conn., where he worked as a 
 farm hand for two years. He then obtained a posi- 
 tion at packing cigars for Neland Loomis, with 
 whom he remained for fifteen years, and was sim- 
 ilarly employed by a Mr. Austin for two years. 
 Later he spent two years as foreman of the George 
 W. Loomis cigar factory, and afterward packed 
 cigars in Hartford for a time. Returning to Suffield, 
 he drove a stage, and carried the United States mail 
 from Windsor Locks to Suffield for a short time, 
 and then purchased a tract of land from James 
 Hastings, in West Suffield. where he engaged in to- 
 bacco growing and general farming for nine years. 
 He then rented the B. Loomis farm of 100 acres, at 
 Suffield Center, and after operating it for nine years 
 he in 1885 bought his present farm, from Charles 
 Taylor. This is located in West Suffield, and has 
 been greatly improved by our subject, who is still 
 actively engaged in dairying, farming and tobacco 
 raising. Though quiet and unassuming in manner, 
 he makes many friends, and is held in high regard 
 by all with whom he has come in contact, in either 
 business or social life. Formerly he was a sup- 
 porter of the Democratic party, but since 1888 he has 
 voted with the Prohibitionists, being a strong tem- 
 perance man, willing to do all in his power to abol- 
 ish the liquor traffic. 
 
 In Suffield, in 1855, Air. Hodge was united in 
 marriage with Miss Marietta Cartter, a native of 
 Turin, Lewis Co., N. Y., and to them were born four 
 children : Clara, now the wife of Charles D. Warner, 
 of Ansonia, New Haven Co., Conn. ; Emma E., wife 
 of Francis Leroy Ashley, agent at Windsor Locks 
 for the New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail- 
 road Co. ; Nellie, wife of Elihu S. Cook, of Hartford ; 
 and Lucy B., wife of Lawrence Hern, of Ansonia. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hodge are both faithful members of 
 the Congregational Church, and have the respect 
 and esteem of all who know them. Socially he is a 
 member of Apollo Lodge No. 69, F. & A. M., Suf- 
 field. 
 
 The Cartter Family, to which Mrs. Hodge be- 
 
 longs, is an old and honored one in New England. 
 During the Colonial period Charles Carter, a native 
 of England, came to America and located in Maine. 
 While living there a plot was formed by the Indians 
 to destroy the town on the Penobscot river, and a 
 sc[uaw was to give the signal for the Red men to 
 advance. Through threats Mr. Carter obtained 
 from the squaw what the signal meant; then killed 
 her ; put out the fire ; and built another near the 
 falls. The Indians came down in their canoes, went 
 over the falls, and were drowned. The town was 
 thus saved, and William III, then king of England, 
 in honoring Mr. Carter for his bravery, changed 
 his coat of arms, and added the second "t" to the 
 name, which has since been spelled by the family 
 Cartter. Mrs. Hodge's grandfather was Charles 
 Cartter, whose father was in the Revolutionary war. 
 Her father, who also lx)re the name of Charles, was 
 a native of New York State, and in early life learned 
 the blacksmith's trade at Turin, N. Y., where he 
 followed it until after his marriage. After coming 
 to Connecticut, he worked in Collin's ax factory for 
 some time, and later followed his trade in Tariflf- 
 ville. East Granby and Suffield, Hartford county. 
 In Turin, N. Y., he married Lucy Coats, a native 
 of that place, and a daughter of James Coats, a 
 soldier of the war of 1812, and a pioneer of Lewis 
 county. The children born of this union were as 
 follows: Mary Ann, wife of James G. Hastings; 
 George, who died young; Mariette, wife of our sub- 
 ject ; Alarian, widow of John Cline, of Windsor 
 Locks, Conn. ; Maria, wife of Theodore Fitzgerald, 
 of Rochester, N. Y. : Marilla, deceased ; Charles W., 
 deceased ; Martha, wife of Eugene K. Comstock, of 
 New London, Conn. ; George, who was drowned in 
 die Potomac river while serving as a soldier in the 
 Civil war ; Jame Monroe, deceased ; Mina, wife of 
 John Butler, of Groton, Conn. ; Julius, deceased ; 
 Medora, deceased wife of Joshua Loomis, of East 
 Hampden, Mass. The parents both died in West 
 Suffield, and were laid to rest there. They were 
 consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and honored and respected by all who knew 
 them. 
 
 HENRY M. BEECHER, an honored and high- 
 ly esteemed citizen of Plantsville, who is now liv- 
 ing retired, free from business cares and respon- 
 sibilities, was born in Woodbury, this State, March 
 12. 1830, a son of Benjamin Dutton and Permelia 
 'Tuttle) Beecher, natives of Cheshire and Pros- 
 pect, Conn., respectively. The paternal grandfa- 
 tiier, Benjamin Beecher, a prominent farmer of 
 Cheshire, accumulated a fine property, and he 
 deeded a house and barn, with one hundred acres 
 cf land to the Home Missionary Society forever, 
 the income thereof to be used to spread the gospel. 
 This was in 1802 and 1805, when the Society was 
 first organized, and the property was leased for 
 999 years, and afterward, by special act of the Leg- 
 islature, was sold to the lessee. Mr. Beecher mar- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1123 
 
 ried Esther Barrett, and they had eleven children. 
 He died in February, 1835. 
 
 Benjamin D. Beecher, the ninth in the family, 
 was born Nov. 2, 1791, and died Jan. 17, 1868. 
 He was reared in Cheshire, and during the war of 
 1812 conducted a shop in Southington, where he 
 was engaged in the manufacture of fanning mills 
 tor cleaning wheat and grain of all kinds, his own 
 invention, and the first of that nature in the coun- 
 try or the world, as well as one of the best. He 
 carried on that business for several years, and in 
 1832 invented the first screw propellers used on 
 canal and steam boats, the first being made in 
 Cheshire, for use on the Farmington canal ; they 
 are now used on all ocean steamers and war vessels 
 throughout the world. In 1837 he built a boat 
 using his propeller for use on the Erie canal; this 
 boat was made in three sections, held together by 
 central pivots so it could be separated while passing 
 through the locks. Among the many other things 
 Mr. Beecher invented were a screw cutter, a horse- 
 power corn sheller, and a threshing machine which 
 he manufactured in New York City. For a num- 
 ber of years he made his home in Woodbury, Conn. 
 His wife, Permelia, was a daughter of Moses and 
 Demorest (Hitchcock) Tuttle, of Cheshire. Her 
 father was a soldier and pensioner of the Revolu- 
 tionary war, having enlisted at Cheshire and served 
 tinder Capt. Bradley and Col. Douglass. The Tut- 
 ties were among the pioneers of Prospect and 
 Cheshire, and William Tuttle, the founder of the 
 family in America, was at one time the owner of 
 the land now occupied by Yale College. To Ben- 
 jamin D. Beecher and wife were born six chil- 
 dren ; Luther, a successful business man and mil- 
 lionaire of Detroit, Mich., who died in 1892 ; Sophia, 
 wife of Janes Porter; Hiram and Ira, both de- 
 ceased ; Amelia, deceased wife of John Fenton ; 
 and Henry M., our subject. 
 
 The early life of Henry M. Beecher was passed 
 in Prospect and Southington, and he learned the 
 machinist's trade in South Boston, where he re- 
 m.ained six years. For a time he was in the employ 
 of Peck & Co., of Southington, and from there 
 went to Watertown, where he was engaged in get- 
 ting out machinery for the manufacture of pins. 
 In 1858 he entered the employ of the firm now 
 known as the H. D. Smith Co., of Plantsville, and 
 had charge of their machinery department for fif- 
 teen years at one time, and five years at another. 
 For thirteen years he was also engaged in the man- 
 ufacture of Peck's drops, for forging purposes, in 
 the city of New Haven, and he retired from active 
 business in 1890, in 1894 removing to Plantsville, 
 where he has since made his home. He seems to 
 have inherited much of his father's inventive 
 genius, and during his business career invented 
 a carriage shaft coupling, dies for forming carriage 
 shaft shackles, carriage clips, blank and dies for 
 making same, plate for carriages, carriage spring 
 clips, dies for forging carriage shackles, eyes, clip 
 
 King bolts, machinery for making axle clips, and 
 a design for a carriage slip pad. 
 
 Mr. Beecher was married, April 10, 1854, to 
 Miss Sarah M. Payson, a daughter of Hiram and 
 Philena (Fuller) Payson, the former a native of 
 Rhode Island, the latter of South Coventry, Conn.^ 
 and both of Revolutionary stock. To our subject 
 and his wife has been born one daughter, Ida P., 
 now the wife of Jesse Mallory. 
 
 During the Civil war Mr. Beecher enlisted, Nov. 
 14, 1861, in Company A, ist Connecticut Cavalry> 
 and took part in the battles of Moorefield, W. Va., 
 April 3 and 22, 1862; McDoweh, Va., May 8, 
 and Franklin, Va., May 11. He was honorably 
 discharged from the service Aug. 25, 1862, and is 
 now a member of Admiral Foote Post, No. 17, G. 
 A. R., of New Haven ; he also belongs to Wooster 
 Lodge, F. & A. M., of the same place. Politically 
 he is a supporter of the men and measures of the 
 Republican party. Mr. Beecher's career has been 
 one of usefulness, and be has not only met with 
 well-deserved success, but has gained the confidence 
 and high regard of those with whom he has come 
 in contact, in either business or social life. 
 
 CHARLES EDGAR FINCH, a well-known 
 and highly esteemed citizen of Southington, was 
 born in that town, Dec. 3, 1834, a son of Augustus 
 E. and Mirza (Lowry) Finch. His paternal grand- 
 father was Asahel Finch, a native of Wolcott, New 
 Haven county, and a farmer by occupation. He 
 spent his last years in Waterbury, Conn. The 
 maternal grandfather was Richard Lowry, a carpen- 
 ter and joiner by trade, and a resident of Southing- 
 ton. He married Polly Cogswell. Our subject's 
 father was born in Wolcott, and was reared upon a 
 farm. In earl)' manhood he removed to Southing- 
 ton, where he worked as a machinist and mechanic 
 on tinners' machines for Seth Peck & Co.. and their 
 successors, for forty years. He died in New Haven, 
 July 10, 1879. His children were Dennis ; Charles 
 E. ; Lowry; and Anna, wife of J. R. Cook. 
 
 Charles E. Finch grew to manhood in Southing- 
 ton, where he attended the common schools and 
 Lewis Academy, and at the age of sixteen years 
 entered the shop of Peck, Smith & Co, as an employe 
 on general job work. Subsequently, as a machinist 
 and engineer, he remained in their employ until 
 1870, and was then connected with the tool depart- 
 ment of the Southington Cutlery Co. for one year. 
 In 1872 he entered the employ of the yEtna Nut Co. 
 as a machinist, and remained with them until 1878, 
 after which he spent one year with the Meriden 
 Screw Co., at Meriden, Conn. ; but in June, 1879, hs 
 returned to the yEtna Nut Co., of Southington, 
 where he has since held the position of engineer. 
 
 On June 23, 1868, Mr. Finch married Miss 
 Sarah Freeman, daughter of Caleb and Jane 
 (Gardiner) Freeman, of Waterbury, and of the 
 children born to them six are living: Charles E., 
 Jr., a graduate of the Lewis high school, South- 
 
1124 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ington, began a successful career as a school teacher 
 at the age of eighteen years, and became principal 
 of the Prattsville school of Aleriden from 1892 
 to 1895. In the latter year he married Miss Mary 
 Beatty, of Meriden, and removed to Ouincy, Mass., 
 where he has since held the important position of 
 master of the Wollaston and Massachusetts Fields 
 schools. Caleb, the second son, was educated in 
 the common schools of Soulhington, and is now 
 a machinist and toolmaker, holding the position of 
 foreman of one of the departments of the Scoville 
 Manufacturing Co., at Waterbury; he married 
 Daisy Tiffany. The other children of the family 
 are Harry B., George AL, Helen M. and How- 
 ard M. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Finch are earnest members of 
 the Gospel Mission Chapel of the Second Advent 
 Church, and are held in high regard by all who 
 know them. He has been a member of Friend- 
 ship Lodge, No. 33, F. & A. i\l., since twenty-one 
 years of age, and f>olitically has always been a 
 supporter of the Republican party and its prin- 
 ciples. 
 
 JOHN SMYTH (deceased), for many years a 
 prominent farmer and tobacco grower of Enfield, 
 and a leading coal merchant of Thompsonville, was 
 born Nov. 25, 1835, in Cork, Ireland, son of John 
 Henry Smyth, also a native of County Cork. The 
 father was three times married, and by the first wife 
 had one daughter, Mary, who became the wife of 
 David Humphress. To the second union were born : 
 John, whose name opens this article ; ^largaret, who 
 died in California ; Susan and Ellen, residents of 
 California ; Alichael, a wealthy resident of that 
 State ; Anthony, of Coloi ado ; and \\^illiam, of Cali- 
 fornia. By his third marriage John H. Smyth had 
 one daughter. He died in Ireland. 
 
 Our subject came to America about 1848. and 
 located in Enfield, Hartford Co., Conn., where for 
 ten years he was in the employ of the Lusk family. 
 He then followed the occupations of farming and 
 teaming on the place now occupied by his widow, 
 and was also engaged in the coal and wood busi- 
 ness at Thompsonville for fourteen years. Being 
 a man of enterprise and keen business sagacity, he 
 was successful, accumulated money, and left his 
 family a comfortable competence at his death. April 
 16, 1898, since when his widow has very success- 
 fully continued his extensive business. 
 
 About 1854 Mr. Smyth was married to Margaret 
 Roche, and to this union were born five children : 
 John H., of Chicago; Elizabeth, wife of Dr. Andrew 
 Creighton : William, deceased ; James, a dentist ; and 
 Edward, deceased. His second wife was Ellen 
 A., daughter of John and Mary (O'HaHoran) 
 Boucher, of East Windsor, and formerly of Cork, 
 Ireland. To this union were born seven sons : 
 Thomas, Francis, George, Henry, Charles, Richard 
 and Raymond, of whom the last named died Dec. 
 6. 1898.' 
 
 Mr. Smyth in religious connection was a mem- 
 ber of the Catholic Church, in which his family now 
 hold membership. In politics he was a Democrat, 
 and he served as a member of the board of relief 
 one term. 
 
 LEMUEL STOUGHTON ELLSWORTH, of 
 Simsbury, can lay claim to being a member of one 
 of the most distinguished families of New Eng- 
 land. To the Ellsworth family, commonwealth and 
 church, the civil and military service, commerce and 
 agriculture have owed a debt since Colonial days 
 for men eminent for their piety, patriotism, learn- 
 ing, statemanship and sound sense. The men are 
 celebrated in local, State and National affairs, and 
 there have been Ellsworths whose fame has re- 
 sounded through two continents. Linked to the 
 family by marriage are other prominent New Eng- 
 land names, so that through the veins of the pres- 
 ent generations courses some of the best blood 
 of the men who chose voluntary exile in preference 
 to proscription and persecution because of re- 
 ligious faith. It is from such ancestors as these 
 that Lemuel S. Ellsworth is a worthy descendant. 
 
 The first American progenitor of the family to 
 settle in Connecticut was Sergt. Josias Ellsworth,. 
 who took up his home in Windsor, where he died 
 Aug. 20, 1689. His early residence is known as. 
 the house of Chief Justice Ellsworth. His son,, 
 the great-great-great-grandfather of Lemuel S., was 
 Lieut. John Ellsworth, one of the earliest settlers 
 of Ellington. The latter married Esther White,, 
 born at Hartford in 1671, a daughter of Daniel 
 White. Their si.x children were named John, Daniel, 
 Esther, Anna, Martha and Ann. Lieut. Ellsworth 
 was accidentally killed at his home Oct. 26, 1720, 
 his widow surviving him until Sept. 7, 1766. John, 
 the first son of this union, who was known as- 
 Capt. John Ellsworth, lived at East Windsor. He 
 was married, Nov. 8, 1734, to Ann, daughter of Rev. 
 Timothy Edwards. Their children were John, Sol- 
 omon, Frederick and Ann. Capt. John Ellsworth 
 died Jan. 4, 1784, and Mrs. Ellsworth on April 11, 
 1790, at the advanced age of ninety-one years. 
 Solomon (Lieut.) Ellsworth, the great-grandfa- 
 ther of Lemuel S., was born April 30, 1737. He 
 married, Dec. 27, 1758, Mary, a daughter of Abner 
 Moseley, of Glastonbury, who was born Dec. 8, 
 1737. Lieut. Solomon died Oct. 19, 1822, and his 
 widow four months later, Feb. 16, 1823. They 
 were the parents of thirteen children : Mary, Ann, 
 Solomon, Elizabeth, Stoddard, Abigail, Abner 
 Moseley, John, Marilda, Timothy, Timothy (2), 
 Joseph and Ann (2). Of this large family, Abner 
 Moseley Ellsworth, the grandfather of Lemuel S., 
 was horn Jan. 4, 1771, and on Dec' 31, 1797, mar- 
 ried Elsie, a daughter of Hugh Thompson, who 
 was born May 8, 1766. They were the parents of 
 four children. The eldest, Frederick, was born Nov. 
 8, 1798, and died June 7, 1827. Mary Moseley, 
 the second child, born Aug. 28, 1800, married Asa 
 
^-^ CLy/^'^' 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1125 
 
 Y. Mann, and died at Forsyth, Ga., April 9, 1870, 
 without issue. The second daughter and third child, 
 Martha Stoughton, was born Aug. 29, 1802, mar- 
 ried Samuel M. Hayden, of Essex, Conn., and died 
 at Forsyth, Ga., April 26, 1857. The youngest 
 child, Abner Moseley, Jr., born July 13, 1804, was 
 the father of L. S. Ellsworth. The grandfather, 
 Abner M., Sr.,- died Dec. 24, 1853, his wife hav- 
 ing preceded him to the grave on Nov. 20, 1840. 
 Mr. Ellsworth's father married Lucy Wetmore 
 Stoughton, a descendant of Elder Brewster, on 
 April 26, 1832. She was born July 15, 1806, at 
 East Windsor, and was a member of one of the 
 most highly respected families of that town. He 
 died Sept. 24, 1846, and on Sept. 25, 1866, his 
 widow also entered into rest. Seven children 
 tlessed their union, a brief mention of whom will 
 be found interesting: Frederick, born Jan. 25, 
 
 1833, married Abigail Georgia Phelps, and resides 
 at Hartford. Samuel Hayden was born April 7. 
 
 1834, and went South while very young ; he returned 
 home to die, in July, 1856, at the age of twenty- 
 two. Lucy Stoughton, born March 12, 1835, mar- 
 ried Rev. Samuel B. Forbes, of Hartford, and died 
 at Simsbury June 23, 1863 ; she was a woman of 
 remarkable personal beauty, and exceptionally 
 lovely character. Sarah Elsie was born Nov. 18, 
 1837, and died Jan. 26, 1841. Lemuel Stoughton 
 is the subject of the present biographical sketch. 
 John, born Jan. 7, 1842, left Philip's Academy, 
 Andover, Mass., at the outbreak of the Rebellion, 
 to enter the Union army; after his return from the 
 war he completed his course at Andover, spent 
 one year in Williams College, and studied law 
 with Messrs. Hubbard and McFarland, in 1867 re- 
 moving to California, where he became a successful 
 practitioner; in 1888 he was elected judge of the 
 Superior Court of Almeda county, in which ca- 
 pacity he still serves. Hugh Thompson, the seventh 
 child, was born March 18, 1844; he married Flora 
 English, of Danbury, Conn., and later removed to 
 California, where he died in 1872. 
 
 Lemuel S. Ellsworth was born at the Ellsworth 
 homestead on Rye street, in East Windsor, Jan. 
 9, 1840. When he was but six years old his fa- 
 ther died, and his boyhood and youth were spent 
 much as were those of other young men reared 
 upon Connecticut farms in those days. His scho- 
 lastic education was obtained in the district schools, 
 and at an academy at East Windsor Hill. On 
 Oct. 17, 1866, he married Miss Anna J. Toy, who 
 v/as born in Simsbury Feb. 23, 1842, a daughter 
 of that old and prominent citizen of Simsbury, 
 Rev. Joseph Toy, a biographical sketch of whose 
 life and labors may be found on another page. 
 The year following his marriage Mr. Ellsworth 
 moved to Brooklyn, Cal., where he erected a plant 
 for the Toy-Bickford Fuse Co. His connection 
 with that company there lasted until 1871, when 
 he returned to Hartford, remaining there until 
 1876, in which year he settled in Simsbury. Here 
 
 lie has since resided, and until 1888 was engaged 
 in agricultm'al pursuits. Since then he has been 
 identified with the Ensign, Bickford & Co., of Sims- 
 bury, although still . retaining his farming inter- 
 ests, which he continues to supervise. His resi- 
 dence is one of the finest in Simsbury, and the 
 family occupy a high social position. In politics 
 Mr. Ellsworth is an ardent Republican, taking a 
 lively interest in his party's success. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ellsworth are the parents of five 
 children: Lucy Stoughton, born Feb. i, 1868, at 
 Brooklyn, Cal, died April 13, 1870; George Toy, 
 born April 24, 1869, at the same place, died Oct. 
 24, 1869; Annie Stoughton, born Sept. 22, 1873, 
 is now Mrs. Emmet Schultz, of Arlington, N. J.; 
 Henry Edwards, born March 27, 1878, was grad- 
 uated from Yale University in the class of 1900; 
 and John Stoughton, born Aug. 21, 1883, it at pres- 
 ent preparing for college. 
 
 JAMES J. MERWIN, a prominent and influ- 
 ential citizen of Windsor, and one of its leading 
 business men, was born March 18, 1837, in Milford, 
 Conn., where his ancestors located at an early day. 
 He is descended from Miles Merwin, the progenitor 
 of the family in America, who located at Merwin's 
 Point, Milford, in 1645. 
 
 Jared Merwin, our subject's father, was a shoe 
 manufacturer at Milford. He was twice married, 
 his first wife being Miss Sarah G. Stow, by whom 
 he had two sons : Charles, who is now engaged 
 in teaching in Oakland College; and James J., our 
 subject. By his second union there were three 
 sons and one daughter, of whom Albert, a resi- 
 dent of Milford, has charge of the machine depart- 
 m.ent of the Eureka Hose Co., of Jersey City; 
 George, a grocery merchant at Waterbury, died in 
 Milford; and Sarah M. married Nelson L. Stow, 
 a prominent citizen of Evanston, 111., where they 
 now reside. 
 
 The first seventeen years of his life James J. 
 Merwin spent in Milford, where he attended the 
 common schools and later graduated at the high 
 school. Going to New Haven at the age of seven- 
 teen, he entered the store of George W. Goodsell 
 as bookkeeper, and remained in his employ for 
 ten years as head bookkeeper. His preparation 
 for that occupation was received at Robbin's Busi- 
 ness College, New Haven. 
 
 In 1865 Mr. Merwin wedded Miss Mary A. 
 Hodge, a native of Westville, Conn., and a daugh- 
 ter of George L. and Hannah (Pelton) Hodge. 
 They now have four children, one son and three 
 daughters, the latter being Sadie M., Mary G. 
 and Frances G., all at home. George J., the son, 
 is one of the best known young men in Windsor, 
 and is employed in the office of the Phoenix Mutual 
 Life Insurance Co., of Hartford. He married Miss 
 Leliaone Thrall, of Windsor. 
 
 In 1866 Mr. Merwin came to Windsor and en- 
 
1126 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tered into partnership with George L. Hodge, his 
 father-in-law, and Senator George W. Hodge, his 
 brotiier-in-law, in the manufacture of paper, the 
 firm being known as "Hodge, Son & Co." Upon 
 the deatli of George L. Hodge our subject left the 
 firm antl went into the paper business on his own 
 account, at Holyoke, Mass., for eight years, at the 
 end of which time he returned to Windsor to re- 
 side, and opened an insurance otftce. He has built 
 up a large business in that line, and the insurance 
 companies which he now represents are the Spring- 
 field ; Caleilonian ; Continental; Delaware; Nevv 
 York L'ndorwriters Agency ; Niagara ; Phoenix, of 
 Hartford; Boston, of Boston; Middlesex Mutual; 
 and h'idelity and Casualty. Upon his return to 
 the town of Windsor from Holyoke he also be- 
 came interested in the undertaking business, which 
 he has since followed uninterruptedly. 
 
 Mr. Merwin is a prominent worker in the Re- 
 publican party in the town of Windsor, and is one 
 of its stanchest supporters. He has served as a 
 member of the grand jury for six years, notary 
 pulilic for eighteen years, justice of the peace ten 
 years, and was assessor seven years. In 1896 lie 
 was elected to the State Legislature by the largest 
 majority (318) ever given a candidate for that 
 office. While a member of that body he served as 
 a member of the committee on Humane Institu- 
 tions, of which Gov. Lounsbury was chairman. On 
 Julv 25, 1900, Gov. Lounsbury appointed Mr. Mer- 
 win a member of the State Board of Trustees of the 
 State Historical ^Museum and Library, known as 
 the "Old Stone House," at Guilford, Conn. ]\Ir. 
 Merwin is one of Windsor's best-known citizens, 
 and possesses probably as thorougn an acquaint- 
 ance with the town and its people for the past twen- 
 ty-five years as any man Avithin its borders. He 
 and his wif&are connected with the Baptist Church, 
 in which he has served as deacon and superintend- 
 ent of the Sunday-school, and tne family is prom- 
 inent in the church and the best social circles of 
 the community. 
 
 HENRY HAMLIN NEWELL, a prominent 
 and successful merchant of Alarion, and one of the 
 most energetic and progressive business men of 
 Southington, was born in that town Aug. 23, 1867, 
 and traces his ancestr)' back to (I) Thomas Newell, 
 one of the original settlers of Farmington, and the 
 founder of the family in Hartford county. He 
 was born in Herefordshire, England, and located 
 in Farmington about 1640. In Oct., 1669, his name 
 is on the list of freemen ; and in 1672 he was one 
 of the eighty-four proprietors of that town. The 
 following year he was one of the preliminary 
 committee to visit what is now Waterbury, for 
 the purpose of examining the land for settlement, 
 and the same year was one of the petitioners for 
 '"liberty of planting same." He signed the articles, 
 but did not join the new settlement. He died 
 Sept. 13, i( 
 
 (II) Samuel Newell, son of Thomas, was born 
 in 1660, and was married, Dec. 20, 1683, to Mary 
 Hart, daughter of Thomas and Ruth (Hawkins) 
 Hart. Fie held the military rank of ensign, and died 
 Feb. 15, 1753. 
 
 (III) Samuel Newell, son of Samuel, Sr., was 
 born in Farmington Feb. 19, 1686, and was mar- 
 ried, Aug. 8, 1 7 10, to Sarah Norton, daughter of 
 John and Ruth (Moore) Norton. He located in 
 the south end of Southington Parish, and there 
 died Feb. 11, 1751. 
 
 (IV) Asahel Newell, born May 5, 1725, was 
 the son of Samuel, Jr., and also lived in the south 
 end of Southington, where he died April 5, 1769. 
 He married Hannah Woodruff, daughter of Daniel 
 and Lydia (Smith) Woodruff. 
 
 (V) Samuel Newell, son of Asahel, was born 
 Jan. 28, 1763, and was married Dec. 11, 1786, to 
 Martha Lewis, daughter of Lemuel and Sarah 
 (Royce) Lewis. He died Atig. 13, 1804. 
 
 (VT) Levi Newell, son of Samuel, and grand- 
 father of our subject, was born June 28, 1792, and 
 married Julia Hamlin. He died Oct. 15, 1869. 
 
 (\TI) Henry J. Newell, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Southington Jan. 9, 1827, and 
 was married, Sept. 8, 1863, to Sophia Bayrer, a 
 daughter of William and Mary (Rexroth) 13ayrer, 
 of the Marion District of Southington, formerly of 
 Erbach, in Oden Wald, Germany. By that union 
 two children were born: Henry H., our subject; 
 and Layette, wife of Edwin S. Todd. By a former 
 marriage the father also had two children ; George, 
 deceased ; and Flora J. 
 
 (VIII) Henry H. Newell, whose name intro- 
 duces this review, grew to manhood in Southington, 
 and was educated in its public schools. He began 
 business life as a partner of Newell & Todd, in 
 the general mercantile business at Marion, in 1888, 
 and in 1889 continued the same business as a part- 
 ner of his father. When his father died, two years 
 later, he succeeded to the establishment, which he 
 has since carried on in a highly commendable man- 
 ner. He is a wide-awake, energetic business man, 
 of known reliability, and enjoys a good trade. On 
 April 23, 1893, he was united in marriage with 
 Miss Lillian Dunham, a daughter of Dwight and 
 Laura Dunham, of Southington, and to this union 
 two children have been born, Ruth and Gladys. 
 Mr. Newell is a supporter of the Republican party, 
 and has most creditably and satisfactorily served as 
 postmaster of Marion since 1894. Socially he is 
 a member of Eureka Lodge, No. 75, I. O. O. F. 
 
 NORMAN aDELBERT BARNES, the well- 
 known secretary and treasurer of the Atwater Man- 
 ufacturing Co., and a prominent business man of 
 Southington, was born in Marion, in that town, 
 Aug. 18, 1843, ^nd is a representative of quite an old 
 Connecticut family, tracing his ancestry back to 
 Stephen and Mary Barnes, who were among the 
 first settlers of Branford, Conn., and were from 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1127 
 
 Long Island. Their son Stephen was born Jan. 
 2, 1704, and was married, Jan. 5. 1726, to Martha 
 Wheadon, of Branford. They removed from Bran- 
 ford to Southington during its early settlement, and 
 located in the southwestern part of the town, where 
 he died March 27, 1777, and his wife March 18, 
 1773, the latter being the first interred in the Plants- 
 ville cemetery. 
 
 Jonathan Barnes, son of Stephen and Martha 
 (Wheadon) Barnes, was born Feb. 2, 1731, and was 
 married, Aug. 4, 1757, to Elizabeth, daughter of 
 Hezekiah and Sarah (Macon) Woodruff, of South- 
 ington. He died Jan. 7, 1807, and she Feb. 8, 1814. 
 Their son, Joel Barnes, was born in 1779, and mar- 
 ried Rebecca Stevens, a daughter of Jared and 
 Elizabeth (Tyler) Stevens, of Southington. He 
 died March 15, 1819, and his wife passed away 
 Aug. 13, 1827. Their children were Caroline, wife 
 of Lewis Botsford ; Norman S. ; Matilda, wife of 
 Joseph Neal ; Emma, wife of Lambert E. Sloper ; 
 Rosanna, wife of Alfred Lewis ; Joel H., the father 
 of our subject ; and Reuben. Joel H. Bai-nes, a me- 
 chanic by trade, was born in Southington June 7, 
 1813, and was married, Aug. 28, 1836, to Anna 
 B. Clark, a daughter of Seth and Chloe (Bailey) 
 Clark. Their children were Franklin H. ; Matilda 
 A. ; Norman A., our subject ; and Ann E., wife of 
 William Cook. 
 
 Reared in Southington, Norman A. Barnes ac- 
 quired a good practical education in the common 
 schools and in Lewis Academy, and began life for 
 himself as a teacher, an occupation he followed suc- 
 cessfully for six or eight years. He then engaged 
 in clerking in the store of Anion Bradley & Co., 
 until the dissolution of that firm. In 1866 he em- 
 barked in mercantile business with Merit N. Wood- 
 ruff, as M. N. Woodruff & Co., and was a member 
 of the firm for two years. When the ^tna Nut 
 Co. was organized, in 1868, he was elected secre- 
 tary and treasurer of the same, a position he held 
 for about four years. He, with others, was after- 
 ward engaged in the manufacture of velocipedes for 
 about a year, and then removed to Simsbury, where 
 he was accountant for the distillery firm of Will- 
 iam Konold & Bro. for five years. In 1873 he en- 
 tered the employ of George W. M. Reed & Co., 
 wholesale merchants of New Haven, and remained 
 with them until 1878, when he became connected 
 with the Atwater Manufacturing Co., of Southing- 
 ton. He Vifas soon elected to the offices of secretary 
 and treasurer, which position he has held ever 
 since, to the entire satisfaction of the company, 
 and with credit to himself. 
 
 On Oct. 9, 1873, Mr. Barnes was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Alice B. Bradlev, a daughter of 
 Amon and Sylvia (Barnes) Bradley, of Southing- 
 ton. She died June 30, 1897, leaving one son, Brad- 
 ley H., who was born Jan. 27, 1883. Religiously 
 Mr. Barnes is a member of the First Baptist Church 
 of Southington, and fraternally he belongs to 
 Friendship Lodge, No. 33, F. & A. M., of the same 
 
 place. His political support is always given to 
 the men and measures of the Democratic party, and 
 since the consolidation of the school districts he 
 has been a prominent factor in the board of ed- 
 ucation, at the present writing (1899) serving as 
 president of that body. 
 
 MISS HELEN M. KING, the present historian 
 of Sybil D wight Kent Chapter, of the D. A. R., at 
 Suffield, is the only representative in that locality 
 of a well-known family, her father, the late Abel 
 King, having been for many years a leading busi- 
 ness man of the town. 
 
 As the only child and heir of his large estate. 
 Miss King became familiar with business methods 
 under his instruction, and so capable did she prove 
 to be as a pupil that in his later years he regarded 
 her as a valued adviser. She still takes personal 
 control of her business, managing it with rare 
 skill and discretion, her securities being among the 
 most desirable held in the town. To a careful edu- 
 cation, obtained in the Connecticut Literary Insti- 
 tute, at Sufiield, she has added by a liberal course 
 of reading, and as her summers are always spent in 
 travel she has learned much by observation, giv- 
 ing her a most intelligent view of life and making 
 her conversation full of interest. She is prom- 
 inent in the best social circles of Suffield, and is a 
 generous contributor to local philanthropies and to 
 the work of the Baptist Church, of which her par- 
 ents were also members. Among other organiza- 
 tions to which she belongs is the Suffield Woman's 
 Club, a reading society, and she is a charter mem- 
 ber of the local chapter of the D. A. R., her num- 
 ber in the order being 15,464. 
 
 The King family is of Colonial stock, and our 
 subject's ancestors were among the pioneer settlers 
 of Ipswich, Mass. The first of whom we have any 
 definite account was James King, who was born 
 probably in England, and is known to have lo- 
 cated in Ipswich prior to 1672. About 1678 he 
 came with his family to Suffield, of which town he 
 was one of the original proprietors. 
 
 (II) James King, son of the pioneer, was born 
 at Ipswich, Mass., March 14, 1675, and probably 
 came to Suffield with his father. He amassed a 
 considerable landed estate, which is still enjoyed by 
 his descendants. He was married, June 23, 1698, 
 to Elizabeth Huxley, daughter of Thomas Huxley, 
 of Hartford, Conn. She died Aug. 20, 1745, and 
 he survived her some years, dying July 15, 1757- 
 
 (III) Ebenezer King, son of James King (II), 
 was born Dec. 8, 1706, and died June 17, 1781. On 
 March 30, 1727, he married Abigail Seymour. 
 
 (IV) Dan King, son of Ebenezer King, was 
 born Oct. II, 1741, and died at East Suffield Sept. 
 I, 1833, at the age of ninety-two. On Sept. 13, 
 1767, he married, for his first wife, Thankful Brown- 
 son, by whom he has a son Benoni. 
 
 (V) Benoni King, son of Dan King, born Oct. 
 22, 1774, died Aug. 12, 1854, aged seventy-nine 
 
1128 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years, nine months and twenty days. By occupa- 
 tion he was a farmer. On June 15, 1797, lie mar- 
 ried Parnel Parmalee, who died Jan. 15, 1843, aged 
 seventy-three years and three months. They had 
 the fo'lowing- children : Jemima M., born May 29, 
 1800, died Oct. i, 1829, unmarried; Abel, our sub- 
 ject's father, is mentioned more fully below; and 
 Maria, born Nov. 11, 1809, married Henry But- 
 ton, and died in New Haven Sept. 7, 1889, Icaving- 
 one child, Robert E. Button, who is a locomotive en- 
 gineer on the New York, New Haven & Hartford 
 railroad. 
 
 (VI) Abel King, the father of our subject, 
 was born Dec. 9, 1804, in East street, SufReld, and 
 died Jan. 19, 1890, aged eighty-five years, one month 
 and ten days. He was educated in the common 
 schools of his time, such as they were, and, as he ; 
 possessed a strong and active intellect, he made the j 
 most of his opportunities, mathematics being his 
 favorite study. His boyhood was spent upon a 
 farm, but in his 'teens he was in poor health, and | 
 nc one thought that he would Hvc to old age. His 
 father had but a small farm, and was unable to give 
 him a start in life, but he began his mercantile career 
 as a small groceryman near Boston Neck, in part- 
 nership with Mr. Francis. They prospered from 
 the start, and after a time the partnership was dis- 
 solved, Mr. King retiring, and engaging in the 
 manufacture of cigar boxes, in which he was quite 
 successful. His factory at Boston Neck had water 
 power, Mr. King having built a dam at that point, 
 and he also equipped the mill with machinery for 
 grinding grain, to accommodate the farmers of 
 that vicinity. He was well known as a straight- 
 forward business man, and this reputation stood him 
 in good stead when he began the business of buy- 
 ing tobacco from farmers. In those days tobacco 
 was bought from farmers and packed at home, and 
 then sold to New York and Philadelphia dealers 
 by the packers instead of the ^rrowers. Allen 
 Loomis was Mr. King's partner in many of his 
 early ventures, and later he was engaged in busi- 
 ness with Neland Loomis. For many years he 
 was associated with the best men of Sufiield, but 
 as his wealth increased he carried on operations 
 alone. Failing health caused him to give up general 
 business, and in 1864 he sold the mill and retired 
 from active business. 
 
 Although he seemed weak physically, ^Ir. King 
 was of good build and well proportioned, and had 
 an excellent constitution, as he came of a robust 
 family. Politically he was a stanch Democrat, with 
 a keen regard for the value of his vote, but as a 
 business man he could not neglect his private af- 
 fairs for politics. He was well posted on current 
 events, and read papers daily, but was not a book- 
 worm. In disposition he was quiet, and although 
 inclined to sociability was a man of few words, 
 being seldom known to argue. For many years he 
 resided in Boston Neck, later removing to Suffield, 
 where he remodeled his home and spent his last 
 
 years in comfort. While he was fond of travel, 
 his business kept him from indulging his taste to 
 any great extent until declining strength made him 
 prefer the quiet of home life. On April 7, 1831, he 
 married Miss Aurelia Gerald, by whom he had 
 one child, our subject. 
 
 Mrs. Aurelia (Gerald) King was born Sept. 
 22, 1804, at Warren, Vt., and died Dec. 23, 1885, 
 her remains being interred in the old cemetery at 
 Sufiield, where her husband was also laid a few 
 }-ears afterward. She came of an excellent family, 
 and her great-grandfather, Thomas Gerald, came 
 from Scotland in Colonial times and settled in East 
 Hartford. When the Revolutionary war broke out 
 he enlisted from that town in the American army, 
 and his gallant service is a source of just pride to 
 his descendants. His only son, Thomas, Jr., mar- 
 ried Asenath Hastings, daughter of Benjamin Hast- 
 ings, of Suffield, and removed to Warren, Vt., where 
 he was an early settler, and during the war of 1812 
 he met his death while serving as a soldier. His 
 widow then returned to Suiilield, bringing her seven 
 children, among whom was Aurelia, our subject's 
 mother. 
 
 GEORGE LUCIUS WARNER. There are in 
 every community men of great force of character 
 and exceptional ability, who by reason of their ca- 
 pacity for leadership became recognized as foremost 
 citizens, and bear a most important part in public 
 affairs. Such a man is Mr. Warner, who is prom- 
 inently identified with the agricultural and political 
 interests of West Suffield, Hartford Co., Connecti- 
 cut. 
 
 Mr. Warner was born in Warnertown, West 
 Suffield, Jan. 24, 1858, and is a worthy representa- 
 tive of one of its most prominent families. The 
 Warner family was founded in Suffield probably 
 about 1690, by John Warner, who married Eliza- 
 beth Mighel. Their family was as follows: John, 
 born May i, 1694; Sarah, Sept. 7, 1696; Eleanor, 
 April 13, 1698; Daniel, July 23, 1700; Samuel, Feb. 
 3, 1702; Elizabeth, May 27, 1705 ; and Samuel, Aug. 
 19, 1707. 
 
 John Warner married Elizabeth French in 1722, 
 and their children were : Elizabeth, born in Decem- 
 ber, 1722 ; John, Aug. 9, 1723 ; Sarah, July 26, 1727; 
 Daniel, June 30, 1729; Nathaniel, Aug. 9, 1731 ; 
 Thankful, Dec. 5, 173—; Richard, Dec. 3, 1735; 
 Samuel, April 5, 1738; Moses, March, 1741 ; and 
 Aaron, June i, 1746. 
 
 John Warner married Mary ■, probably 
 
 in 1754, and their children were: John, born in 
 1756; Richard, born in 1758; and Isaac, born Aug. 
 24, 1760. AH three lived in West Suffield. 
 
 Isaac Warner was a large land owner in the town, 
 and was quite extensively engaged in general farm- 
 ing and stock raising. He met with excellent suc- 
 cess in his life work, and was quite a prominent 
 man in his day. In politics he was a Democrat, 
 and in religious faith was a Baptist. On March 8, 
 
Hi 
 
 z 
 cc 
 
 UJ 
 
 o 
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 CD 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1129 
 
 I 
 
 1786, he married Adah Phelps, and both he and his 
 wife died on their farm in Warnertown, the latter 
 July 29, 1824, and were buried in the Phelps ceme- 
 tery near that place. In their family were chil- 
 dren as follows: Adah, born Aug. 2, 1786; Isaac, 
 Jan. 5, 1788; Julia, July 24, 1790; Curtis, June 5, 
 1793; Stillman, Sept. i, 1797; and Moriah, Aug. 
 17, 1799. 
 
 Isaac Warner was born on the old homestead 
 in Warnertown, acquired his literary education in 
 the district schools of the neighborhood, and obtained 
 an excellent knowledge of farming, which he made 
 his life 'work. He, too, was an extensive land 
 owner, and very successful in business. On June i. 
 1815, he married Miss Sarah Phelps, and both died 
 on their farm, he on Nov. 13, 1871, being laid to 
 rest in the Phelps cemetery. Their children were 
 Isaac Lucius, father of our subject, born March 
 6, 1816; Wilham Wintnrop, born Dec. 4, 1818; and 
 Julia Ann Sarah, born Nov. 2, 1822, wife of Lavatus 
 Noble. All are now deceased. 
 
 Isaac L. Warner, our subject's father, was born 
 in Warnertown, and after attending the district 
 schools for some time he became one of the first 
 students at the Connecticut Literary Institute, where 
 he prepared himself for teaching. He taught in 
 the public schools of Southwick, Mass., and North 
 Granby, Conn., during the winter months, and en- 
 gaged in farming through the summer season. He 
 owned 200 acres of valuable land and made his 
 home on the farm now occupied by our subject, be- 
 ing extensively engaged in general farming, stock 
 raising, dairying and tobacco culture. He erected 
 a fine residence upon the place, good barns and to- 
 bacco sheds, and made many other improvements. 
 He died there Jan. 29, 1887, and was buried in the 
 West Suffield cemeterv. He was widely and favor- 
 ably known, and was quite popular with a large 
 circle of friends. In political sentiment he was a 
 Democrat. At Summer Hill, N. Y., he was mar- 
 ried, in January, 1856, to Miss Laura M. Hatha- 
 way, a daughter of Ebenezer and Sybil (Bassett) 
 Hathaway, and granddaughter of Ebenezer Hatha- 
 way, Sr., a soldier of the Revolutionary war. Our 
 subject is the only child born of this union, and 
 his mother, who is a refined and highly-respected 
 lady, still resides with him on the home farm. 
 
 George L. Warner is also indebted to the dis- 
 trict schools and the Connecticut Literary Institute 
 for his education. Reared on the home farm, he 
 soon obtained an excellent knowledge of agricult- 
 ural pursuits, and has made that occupation his 
 life work. Like his father he makes a specialty of 
 tobacco growing, stock raising and dairying, and 
 has also prospered in his undertakings. On April 
 25, 1894, in West Suffield, he was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Mattie May Root, a beautiful and 
 cultured young lady, a daughter of the late Francis 
 C. Root, who was a prominent citizen of West Suf- 
 field. They have one son, Edwin George. 
 
 Mr. Warner is one of the most prominent rep- 
 resentatives of the Democratic party in his com- 
 munity, and in the fall of 1898 was a candidate for 
 the State Legislature, but failed of election, as the 
 party is largely in the minority in Suffield town. 
 He has been a member of the school committee, and 
 is quite popular in educational, social and political 
 circles. 
 
 SHERMAN FENN GUERNSEY, a member of 
 the firm of Neal & Guernsey, leading druggists of 
 Southington, was born in Plymouth, Conn., Nov. 
 4, 1844, and is a representative of an honored old 
 family, whose identification with the State dates 
 from its earliest settlement. 
 
 Tradition says that John Guernsey, the progeni- 
 tor of the family in America, emigrated from the 
 Isle of Guernsey, near England, and located in Mil- 
 ford, Conn. (II) Joseph Guernsey, son of John, 
 appears at Milford in 1638, not as a planter, but as 
 an after planter. He married Hannah, daughter of 
 Samuel Coley, Sr., April to, 1673. (Ill) Joseph 
 Guernsey (2), son of Joseph, was born January 13, 
 1674, and married (first) Elizabeth Disbrow, of 
 Horseneck, who probably died in Milford, and 
 (second) her sister, Eleanor Disbrow. Later he 
 removed to Woodbury, where his wife died Sept. 
 ^5> ^753> aged seventy-seven years, and he died 
 Sept. 15, 1754, aged eighty. (IV) Joseph Guernsey 
 (3), son of Joseph (2), was born in 1700, married 
 Rachel Merchant, and located in Waterbury. (V) 
 Abijah Guernsey, son of Joseph (3), was born about 
 1743, and married Lucy Bellamy, daughter of Jo- 
 seph Bellamy, D. D., of Woodbury; she died May 
 22, 1819, aged sixty years. His second wife was 
 named Araminta. (VI) William Guernsey, the third 
 child of Abijah, was born Jan. 25, 1784, and was 
 married March 13, 1805, to Hannah Parker, of 
 Wallingford, by whom he had five children : Nancy 
 Ann, Joshua Sherman, Philena, John J. and Rebecca. 
 (VII) Joshua Sherman Guernsey, son of William, 
 was born in Watertown, Sept. 27, 1807. As a case- 
 maker he worked in the clock shops at Terryville, 
 but he died in Plymouth April 11, 1844, at the age of 
 thirty-seven years. He married Lucy E., daughter 
 of Giles Fenn, a tailor by trade, and later in life a 
 farmer, who died in Thomaston, Sept. 10, 1887. 
 By this union were born three children who grew to 
 maturity : William R., Charles E., and Sherman F., 
 our subject. 
 
 After receiving a common-school education Sher- 
 man F. Guernsey left home, in i860, at the age of 
 sixteen years, and went to Hartford, where he served 
 an apprenticeship of two and a half years at the 
 drug business, and later was employed for a year 
 and half in another drug store of that city. The 
 following two years he spent as a clerk in a drug 
 store in Plainville, and on Jan. i, 1867, he located in 
 Winsted, Conn., where, as a member of the firm of 
 Pond & Guernsey, he engaged in the drug business 
 for three 3'ears and three months. On selling out 
 
1180 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he returned to Hartford, where he was engaged in 
 the same hne of trade for five and a half years, and 
 in the spring of 1876 came to Soulhington, where 
 for three years he served as a drug clerk. At the 
 end of that time he again emharked in business on 
 his own account, as a member of the firm of Pratt, 
 Neale & Co., afterward Neale, Guernsey S: Co., and 
 since 1886 \eale & Guernsey. They carry a well- 
 selected stock of drugs, patent medicines, etc., and 
 have one of the leading business houses of the 
 village. 
 
 On June 29, 1869. Mr. Guernsey was united in 
 marriage with JMiss Hatlie E. liarnes, a daughter of 
 Ransom and Jane (Pettit) Barnes, of Plainville, 
 and they have one son, Ploward C. Socially j\Ir. 
 Guernsey is a member of Friendship Lodge, Xo. 33, 
 F. & A. M., and religiously is an influential member 
 of the Congregational Church, takes an active part 
 in its work, and is now serving as deacon and super- 
 intendent of the Sabbath-school. His political sup- 
 port is given to the men and measures of the Repub- 
 lican party ; he represented Southington in the State 
 Legislature in 1S97, is now chairman of the town 
 school committee, and also a member of the Lewis 
 high school committee. (Jur subject's life has been 
 one of industry and perseverance, and the success 
 that he has achieved is due entirely to his own un- 
 aided efiforts. 
 
 JOHX CHESTER WARNER, a leading and 
 influential member of the agricultural community 
 of \\'ethersfield, was born in that town July 10, 
 1845, and is a son of Horace ana Abigail H. 
 (Hillis) Warner, of whom more extended mention 
 is made in connection with the sketch of William 
 H. Warner, elsewhere. 
 
 The primary education of our subject was ob- 
 tained in the district schools of h.is native town, 
 and later he attended the Wethersfield Academy, 
 the South school of Hartford, and the Eastman 
 Business College, Poughkeepsie, X. Y., graduating 
 from the last named institution. His earlv life was 
 spent under the parental roof. Mr. Warner began 
 his business career, when a young man, as a travel- 
 ing salesman for the seed firm of Comstock, Ferre 
 & Co., with whom he remained eight years, travel- 
 ing through the New England States, New York, 
 Pennsylvania, Delaware and Marjdand. Subse- 
 quently he was similarly employed by the firm of 
 A. H. Dunlap & Sons, seed merchants of Nashua. 
 N. H., with whom he spent six years, and at the end 
 of that period returned to Wethersfield to resume 
 the occupation to which he had been reared. He 
 now makes his home on Broad street, and in con- 
 nection with general farming is interested in dairy- 
 ing, stock raising, .tobacco culture and seed grow- 
 ing. He is a wide-awake, energetic business man, 
 and in all his undertakings has met with marked 
 success, not confining his attention entirely to agri- 
 cultural lines, for he is a stockholder in a bank, 
 railroad and insurance company, and is a stock- 
 
 holder in and president of the Warner & Bailey 
 Clothing Co., of Hartford. 
 
 On Dec. 17, 1884, Mr. Warner was united in 
 marriage with Miss Mary Sophia- Hale, a native of 
 Wethersfield, and a daughter of Simeon and Mary 
 Sophia (Welles ) Hale, whose home is also on Broad 
 street, Wethersfield. The father was born in that 
 town Nov. 13, 1820, a son of iiimeon and Lucy 
 (Covell) Hale, and the mother was born April 19, 
 1821, a daughter of Gurdon and Sophia (Wood- 
 house) Welles. He died Dec. 18, 1899. 
 
 Mr. Warner attends the Episcopal Church, while 
 his wife holds membership in the Baptist Church, 
 and he is connected with the CJrange. Since attaining 
 his luajority he has affiliated wnth the Democratic 
 party, and for twentv years he served most effec- 
 tively as district chairman of the County Demo- 
 cratic Committee. He takes a deep interest in every- 
 thing pertaining to the welfare of his town and 
 county, and his genial, pleasant manner makes him 
 very popular with all classes and wins him many 
 friends. 
 
 L. B. GRIFFIX. The attractions of this favored 
 region are most esteemed by those who have traveled 
 widely, and are prepared to appreciate the beauties 
 of its scenery and the charm of a cultured and refined 
 social life. The subject of this sketch, a retired 
 manufacturer residing at Warehouse Point, has 
 made a wise choice of a spot for a permanent home, 
 and he is regarded as a valuable acquisition in the 
 best circles in that locality. 
 
 Mr. Griffin was born Sept. 24, 1842, at X'orth 
 Hartland, \'t., and comes of good New England 
 stock. His youth was spent chiefly in his native vil- 
 lage, and after completing a course in the local 
 schools he attended Kimball L'nion Academy, in 
 INIeriden, X^. H., for a time. In 1862 he was engaged 
 in manufacturing guns at Windsor, Vt., in the em- 
 ploy of Lampson, Goodnow & Yale, who had a gov- 
 ernment contract, continuing about four years. In 
 1866 he went to Amherst, j\Iass., to enter the employ 
 of the Roper Gun Co., and in 1868 was employed 
 by the Smith & Wesson Arms Co., of Springfield, 
 Mass. His thorough knowledge of the business, 
 combined with rare executive ability, gained him 
 a high reputation in his line of work, and in 1871 he 
 entered the emplov of the Winchester Repeating 
 Arms Co., of Bridgeport, Conn., with whom he re- 
 mained until 1888, meanwhile advancing from tool 
 maker to assistant superintendent of the gun de- 
 partment ; they removed their works to N^ew Haven 
 in 1872. After leaving their employ he went to 
 Crayford, England, as superintendent of the small 
 arms factory of the Maxim & XTordenfelt Gun & 
 Ammunition Co., remaining until January, 1889, 
 when he returned to America. Having decided to 
 retire from business, he located at Warehouse Point, 
 where he has entered heartily into various progres- 
 sive movements. His interest in educational af- 
 fairs has been shown bv effective work on the East 
 
2^^^W.^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1131 
 
 Windsor school board, to which he was elected in 
 1890, and again in 1896, while he is also a trusted 
 adviser in the local Democratic organization. While 
 in New Haven he served as alderman from the 
 Ninth ward from 1881 to 1883. Socially he is 
 identified with the Masonic Order, being a member 
 .of Vermont Lodge, No. 18, F. & A. M., at Windsor, 
 Vermont. 
 
 On April 19, 1863, Mr. Griffin married Miss 
 Addie A. Stocker, who died Nov. 13, 1867, leaving 
 one son, William H., now a resident of New Haven. 
 On April 19, 1873, he married Miss Annie E. Dun- 
 ham, of Warehouse Point. Their only child, Carrie 
 P., died in infancy. 
 
 JUSTUS L. BULKLEY. The family to which 
 Justus L. Bulkley belongs claims descent from an 
 English clergyman, Peter Bulkley. Gershom 
 Bulkley, his son, who married Sarah Chauncey, was 
 the first of the family to be born on American soil. 
 Their son Edward, was born at Concord, Mass., and 
 removed with his parents to Wethersfield, Conn., 
 where he died Aug. 2y, 1748. He married Dorothy 
 Prescott, by whom he had eleven children, one of 
 whom, Peter Bulkley, was the progenitor of Justus 
 L. Bulkley. 
 
 Peter Bulkley was born March 11, 1712, and 
 was twice married, his first wife being Abigail 
 Curtis, to whom he was united April 2, 1741, 
 and who died Nov. 27, 1762. On Jan. 26, 1769, he 
 married Christian Smith. He was for some time 
 a justice of the peace of Hartford county, and his 
 life was mainly devoted to farming. He died April 
 4, 1776. His children were Joseph, who was born 
 Jan. 28, 1742, and married Mary Williams, May 3, 
 1776; x^bigail, born April 13, 1743, who became the 
 wife of Nathaniel Miller, of Rocky Hill ; Oliver, 
 born Dec. 5, 1744, who died at sea in 1776; Solo- 
 mon, born March 21, 1747, who married Martha 
 Williams Jan. 6, 1776; Dorothy, born July 17, I749, 
 who died in infancy ; and Justus, born Dec. 24, 
 1752, who married Mabel Boardman March 27, 
 1781, and after her death wedded Lucretia Church- 
 ill, and later Mehitabel Culver. 
 
 The eldest of this family, Joseph Bulkley, who 
 was born Jan. 28, 1742, married Mary Williams 
 May 3, 1776. She was born Jan. 3, 1756, and died 
 Dec. 23, 1848. Her father was Moses Williams, 
 a prominent merchant of Rocky Hill, and for many 
 years a justice of the peace. He also represented 
 his town in the State Legislature. The children 
 of Joseph and Mary Bulkley were : Mary, born Dec. 
 18, 1778, who married Joseph Butler; Rhoda, born 
 Jan. 21, 1781, who married W3dlis Williams; Ralph, 
 born Sept. 14, 1783, who became the husband of 
 Elizabeth Bradford; John, born Oct. 28, 1785, who 
 died June 6, 1806; Edmund, born Dec. 6, 1787, 
 married to Nancy Robbins ; Joseph, born Oct. 28, 
 1789, who graduated from Yale University in 1810, 
 was for thirty-six years a practicing lawyer in New 
 York City, and passed away at Rocky Hill on March 
 
 21, 1851; Henry, born Jan. 11, 1793, married to 
 Martha Tucker; and Walter Williams, born Sept. 
 15, 1797, who married Lucy Robbins. 
 
 The children of Edmund and Nancy (Robbins) 
 Bulkley were: Joseph Edmund, born Eeb. 9, 1812, 
 married- Mary Lawrence Bicknell ; Justus Robbins, 
 born June 15, 1813, married Mary R. Adams; 
 Julius Huntington, born March 9, 1815, died at 
 Washington, D. C, July 30, 1833 ; Susan Mansfield, 
 born April 30, 1825, died of cholera in New York, 
 Sept. 30, 1832. 
 
 Joseph Edmund Bulkley, the father of Justus 
 L., was born at Rocky Hill, Eeb. 9, 1812. At the 
 age of thirteen years he left home, going to New 
 York City, where he took a clerical position. Early 
 in life, however, he established himself in the whole- 
 sale hide and leather business, in which, through in- 
 dustry and diligence, he built up and carried on an 
 extensive and lucrative trade, later becoming an 
 importer. As his sons reached maturity, he asso- 
 ciated them with himself as co-partners. He mar- 
 ried on Oct. 23, 1837, Mrs. Mary Lawrence Bick-'^^ - _- 
 nell, a daughter of John Lawrence, oi J:i-%wfiertr^./jUftrW)0 ^ 
 I. They adopted a daughter by the name of Eliza- 
 beth L., who married George A. Wells. Their 
 own children were as follows: Edmamd William, 
 born Oct. 2, 1838, and married to Caroline J. 
 Turner; Justus Lawrence, born July 4, 1840; Jo- 
 sephine, born Dec. 13, 1 841, and married to Theodore 
 M. Barnes; Mary L., born Aug. 24, 1843, who be- 
 came the wife of Eerdinand S. Entz ; and Marguer- 
 ite, born June 13, 1847, who became the wife of 
 Samuel C. Reed. 
 
 Justus L. Bulkley was born in the city of New 
 York July 14, 1840. He enjoyed excellent educa- - 
 tional advantages in youth, and graduated from the 
 Washington Institute at the age of eighteen. His 
 education completed, he at once began in earnest 
 the battle of life, in which he was destined to achieve 
 marked success. As has been said, his father and 
 brother were engaged in the importation and sale of 
 hides and .leather, and conducted an extensive 
 wholesale trade in these commodities. He entered 
 their establishment as a clerk, but was later admit- 
 ted to the firm„and after the death of his brother and 
 father he continued alone until the spring of 1899, 
 when he retired. He owns the old family home- 
 stead at Rocky Hill, where every'summer he spends 
 a few weeks, the place being endeared to him by 
 many tender and pleasant memories of his child- 
 hood, it having been the birthplace of both his father 
 and grandfather. On May 15, 1871, he was mar- 
 ried to Miss Laura E. Caldwell, of Germantown, 
 Penn., and to them have been born three children : 
 Joseph E., a graduate of Yale Colleege ; Josephine ; 
 and Helen C. 
 
 OSCAR BENJAMIN VIBERT, breeder of 
 fancy poultry, Hazardville, was born in East Hart- 
 ford, Conn., Feb. 23, 1842, a son of Oliver and 
 Nancy (Loomis) Vibert, both natives of Hartford 
 
1132 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 county. His paternal grandparents were Timothy 
 and Nancy (Risley) Mbert, also natives of Hartford 
 county;, his maternal grandfather was Benjamin 
 Looniis, of W'indsorville, a major in the militia 
 during the old militia days. l'.oth grandparents 
 were farmers. 
 
 Oliver Vibert, the father of our subject, was a 
 prominent farmer of East Hartford, where he spent 
 most of his life, but died in Glastonbury. His chil- 
 dren were: Oscar B., Edwin, Adelaide (Mrs. W'm. 
 Juckcttj, Watson, and Nancy. 
 
 Oscar Benjamin \'ibert was reared in East Hart- 
 ford, where he received a common and private 
 school education. In the seventeenth year of 
 his age he began an apprenticeship at the 
 bootmaker's trade, serving two years. Then 
 followed a brilliant career as a soldier, Air. 
 Vibert on .Vug. 19, 1861, enlisting in Company 
 A, Seventh Conn. \ol. Inf. ; he re-enlisted as a vet- 
 eran in December, 1863, in the same company and 
 regiment. He was wounded May 16, 1864, at 
 Drury's Bluff, \'a., and was transferred to the 
 Seventeenth Company, Second Battalion, V. R. C, 
 Dec. 22, 1864, and was honorably discharged Aug. 
 8, 1865. Mr. \'ibert participated in many engage- 
 ments, among the important ones being those at 
 Fort Pulaski, Ga. ; James Island, S. C. ; Pocataligo, 
 S. C; Morris Island, S. C; Fort Wagner, S. C. ; 
 Olustee, Fla. ; Chester Station, Va. ; Bermuda Hun- 
 dred, \'a. ; and Drury's Bluff, "Va. At the latter 
 engagement, May 16, 1864, a bullet struck his rifle 
 and left hand, and burst, knocking him senseless. 
 Thirteen pieces of lead entered his head and face, 
 and eight were removed by Dr. George C. Jarvis, 
 of Hartford, on the field. He also removed one 
 Oct. 9, 1868, and four remained, two of which have 
 since come out. Air. \'ibert participated in fre- 
 quent expeditions along the Atlantic coast, from 
 Charleston, S. C, to St. Augustine, Fla., which 
 divided his regiment for many months into small 
 battalions, one of which, consisting of Companies 
 A, B, I, and K, under command of Lieut. -Col. Daniel 
 C. Rodman, led the charge on Morris Island, S. C, 
 July 10, 1863, and at Fort Wagner, July 11, 1863. 
 The attack on Fort Wagner was made at night. 
 The Seventh Connecticut gained and carried one 
 front of the fort, but the supporting regiments were 
 imable to endure the heavy fire, and fell back in dis- 
 order before reaching the fort, leaving the Seventh 
 Battalion entirely unsupported. Holding their po- 
 sitions more than an hour, nearly surrounded and 
 out-numbered five to one, their only officer, Lieut. - 
 Col. Rodman, dangerously wounded, and no rein- 
 forcements being sent to their aid, they had to re- 
 treat two miles down an open beach, under an 
 enfilading fire of artillery and infantry, without 
 cover or support, losing 104 out of 191 officers and 
 men. The general commanding reported that the 
 "Seventh Connecticut has covered itself with 
 glory." Our subject was one of the participants in 
 this glory, and is one of the eleven survivors of his 
 
 company that fell back from the fort. On his re- 
 turn from the war he located in East Hartford, 
 where he lived until 1892; then removed to Haz- 
 ardville, where he has since resided. 
 
 On May 4, 1870, in Enfield, Mr. Vibert married 
 Anna K., daughter of Charles S. and Mary A. 
 (Ribble) Scattergood, natives of Philadelphia, and 
 she bore him two children: Helena, now Mrs. 
 Helena A. Vibert Porter, who has one daughter. 
 Hazel L. ; and Rollo O., deceased. Mr. Vibert was 
 an honorary member of Rodman Post, No. 65, G. 
 A. R., of East Hartford, Conn., later receiving an 
 honorable discharge on his removal to Hazard- 
 ville. Conn. In politics he is a Republican. 
 
 WILLIAM S. MORRIS, one of Wethersfield's 
 most progressive citizens and successful market 
 gardeners, was born in that town July 19, 1858. 
 
 Our subject's paternal grandfather, Moses Mor- 
 ris, a native of Massachusetts, came to Connecti- 
 cut when a young man, locating in Wethersfield, 
 where he followed the trade of a carpenter and 
 joiner and also engaged in farming, spending the 
 remainder of his life here. While driving home 
 from Hartford he fell from the seat of his wagon 
 to the ground, and died from the effects of the fall. 
 His remains were interred in the Wethersfield cem- 
 etery. He was widely known and hignly respected, 
 was a consistent member of the Congregational 
 Church, and in politics a Whig. In Wethersfield 
 he married Miss Laura Welles, who was born 
 March 8, 1800, a daughter of Samuel and Anna 
 (Griswold) Welles, and a granddaughter of Ozias 
 Griswold. Her father was a soldier in the Rev- 
 olutionary war. To Mr. and Mrs. Morris were 
 born three children : Samuel W., the father of 
 our subject; Frank, a merchant of Columbia, S. C. ; 
 and John M., who was a chaplain in the Civil war, 
 and later a clerk in the United States Congress. 
 
 Samuel W. Morris, our subject's father, attended 
 school in Wethersfield, but the greater part of his ed- 
 ucation was obtained through his own unaided ef- 
 forts. In early life he learned the blacksmith's 
 trade, and followed the same throughout his busi- 
 ness career in connection with farming. He spent 
 three years in Milwaukee, Wis., and from there 
 went to central Illinois, where he passed the fol- 
 lowing four years, after which he returned to Weth- 
 ersfield ; he subsequently spent four years in North 
 and South Carolina, at the end of that time again 
 returning to Wethersfield, and throughout the re- 
 mainder of his life lived in Hartford county, pass- 
 ing his last days in Newington, where he died, and 
 was buried in Wethersfield. He was a consistent 
 member of the Congregational Church, and an 
 ardent supporter of the Republican party. In Weth- 
 ersfield he married Jane Hastings Savage, a daugh- 
 ter of Horace Savage, and sister of William Savage. 
 [A sketch of the Savage family will be found else- 
 where.] To Samuel W. and Jane H. (Savage) 
 Morris were born the following children: Frank 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1138 
 
 Savage, who died at the age of twenty-six years; 
 William S., our subject; Charles H., who died at 
 the age of nineteen years; Laura, who died at the 
 age of seventeen; Hattie E., who died at the age 
 of fifteen ; Mary, wtio died at the age of thirteen ; 
 and John R., who died when young, in the South. 
 For her second husband the mother married Charles 
 S. Daniels, but had no children by that union. She 
 was a faithful member of the Bagtist Church. 
 
 Our subject accompanied his parents on their 
 various removals, and his early education, obtained 
 in the pubHc schools of Wisconsin, Illinois and the 
 South, was supplemented by a course in the Weth- 
 ersfield high school. Throughout his active busi- 
 ness life he has followed the occupation of farm- 
 ing, and for several years past has resided on the 
 old Savage farm, on Broad street, Wethersfield, 
 where he has erected a fine residence and made 
 many other improvements, which add greatly to the 
 value and attractive appearance of the place. Here 
 he is extensively engaged in market gardening, 
 finding a ready sale for his products in Hartford. 
 Industrious, energetic and enterprising, he has met 
 with well-deserved success in his labors, and has 
 become quite well-to-do. 
 
 In 1887 Mr. Morris married Miss Emma 
 Churchill, a native of Wethersfield, and a daugh- 
 ter of the late Stephen Churchill, a sketch of whose 
 family is given elsewhere. Our subject and his 
 wife have had seven children : Frank Stephen, Mabel 
 Churchill, Nellie J., William Savage (deceased at 
 the age of seven years), Emma A., Ethel May and 
 Alice Ruth. Politically Mr. Morris is identified 
 with the Republican party, and fraternally is con- 
 nected with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
 lows and the Grange, to which latter his wife also 
 belongs. They are members of the Congregational 
 Church, and are held in high regard by all who have 
 the pleasure of their acquaintance. 
 
 MISS JULIET NILES, a resident of Windsor 
 (Poquonock), is now the only representative in 
 that locality of a family which has long held a 
 prominent place in the social, political and busi- 
 ness life of this section. The old homestead in 
 Poquonock, where she resides, has been occupied 
 by the family since 1780. To an excellent educa- 
 tion, obtained in the schools of Westfield, Mass., 
 and the Pratt Street Seminary, Hartford, she has 
 added through reading and observation, and she 
 has the mental and physical poise which accompany 
 vigorous health. She has always taken a lively in- 
 terest in the events of the time, and her accurate 
 memory makes her conversation on the circum- 
 stances of the three generations through which her 
 life has passed very interesting. 
 
 The first ancestor of this family of whom a 
 definite account is now obtainable was Rev. Ben- 
 jamin Niles, a clergyman of the Baptist Church, 
 who resided for many years at Lyme, Conn. He 
 married Lucy Sill June 30, 1743, and their 
 
 children were: Benjamin, born Sept. 20, 1744, who 
 died young; Phebe, born Sept. 4, 1746; Mary, 
 born Feb. 17, 1748, who married a Mr. Dean; 
 Joseph, born Jan. 7, 1750, who was a wealthy resi- 
 dent of Spencertown, N. Y. ; Moses, the grand- 
 father of our subject; and Thomas, born July 2, 
 1760, who accompanied Moses to Poquonock, but 
 later removed to a farm at Spencertown, N. Y., 
 where he died leaving a valuable estate. 
 
 Moses Niles was born at Groton, Conn., Aug. 
 31, 1752, and settled on the homestead in Poquonock 
 in early manhood, the present residence having 
 been built by him previous to 1780. By occupa- 
 tion he was a blacksmith, his shop being located on 
 the brook, a short distance north of the residence, 
 and his skill as a workman won him a high reputa- 
 tion throughout the surrounding country. On 
 Oct. 12, 1780, he was married, in Poquonock, to 
 Miss Naomi Marshall, who was born Sept. 30, 1758, 
 daughter of David Marshall. He died Nov. 24, 
 1789, at the homestead, at a comparatively early 
 age. His wife survived him a number of years, 
 bringing up their family to lives of usefulness, 
 and her death occurred March 19, 1830. Of their 
 five children none are now living: Pamelia died 
 in infancy; Naomi, born Feb. 6, 1783, married Dr. 
 Chauncey Pease, of Enfield, later of Hartford; 
 Richard is mentioned more fully below ; John M., 
 formerly United States Senator from Connecticut, 
 was one of the most honored statesmen of his day; 
 Pamela married Cyrus Griswold, of Poquonock. 
 
 Hon. Richard Niles was born Feb. 23, 1785, 
 in the same house in which our subject resides, 
 and his educational privileges were restricted to 
 an attendance at the local schools. As he was but 
 four years old when his father died, a sense of re- 
 sponsibility was develofted at an early age through 
 the need for assisting his mother in the care of 
 the younger children and the work of the farm. 
 Being exceptionally studious, he not only took ad- 
 vantage of every opportunity for instruction, but 
 studied diligently in private, and at an early age 
 was competent to teach. In this work he was very 
 successful, being employed for the winter term dur- 
 ing several years in the most important schools of 
 the locality, and at one time he received $16 per 
 month, the highest rate then paid. In the mean- 
 time he continued to give attention to farming, 
 and as a young man he became interested in the 
 manufacture of paper, building a mill near the 
 mouth of Stony brook, in partnership with Samuel 
 Hollister. Before the plant was put into opera- 
 tion the partners retired and he became associated 
 with Samuel HolHster, an experienced paper man- 
 ufacturer, with whom be conducted the mill for 
 some time. He then sold his interest and joined 
 Arunah Soper in building a large mill below the 
 bridge at Poquonock, of which he afterward be- 
 came the sole owner. This he operated until its 
 destruction by fire, and after a time he began to 
 build the stone mill now occupying the same site. 
 
1134 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 His death occurred before it was completed, but 
 his heirs finished it, and after renting; it for some 
 time sold it. His activit\- and energy enabled him 
 to carry on the management of a large farm in ad- 
 dition to other enterprises, and he was regarded 
 as one of the leading citizens of his town. In pol- 
 itics he was a Democrat, and for many years he 
 held an influential place in the local organization, 
 serving as representative in the State Legislature, 
 and holding various town oftk-es, including that of 
 selectman. In religious affairs he was especially 
 active in the Universalist Church, and his broad 
 mind made him a ready supporter of advanced 
 thought in all directions. 
 
 On May ", 1810, Mr. Niles was married, at 
 Pofjuonock. to ^liss Christiana Griswold, and their 
 happy union was ended by his death on June 19, 
 1846. Mrs. Christiana Niles was born May 23, 
 1784, daughter of Isaac and Christiana (Holcomb) 
 Griswold, and lived to the good old age of ninety- 
 four years and eleven months, dying April 26, 1879. 
 Even then her health seemed good, and her faculties 
 but little impaired, but a fall from the doorstep of 
 the old home caused injuries which resulted in 
 her death. Her long and useful life endeared her 
 to the community as well as to her immediate fam- 
 ily, and the memory of her high character will ever 
 be an inspiration to all who knew her. ( i ) Juliet, 
 our subject, who was born March 10, 181 1, is the 
 eldest of a family of six children. (2) Lucadia 
 C, born June 25, 1813, was married Aug. 22, 1850, 
 to Elisha Marshall Pease, now deceased, who for 
 several terms was governor of Texas, and now re- 
 sides in Austin, Texas. She has had three children : 
 Carrie A., married George Graham, and died in 
 Austin (she had five children, ?\Iarshall P.. George 
 T., Walter P., Richard N. and Carrie M.) ; Julia 
 M., now a resident of Austin; and Annie A., de- 
 ceased. (3) Moses R., born July 15, 1818, died 
 Jan. 3, 1819. (4) Augusta E., born in July, 1820, 
 died March 14, 1822. (5) Maria H., born Nov. 
 3, 1822, was married. May 14, 1851, to Rev. Clark 
 R. Moore, and died Nov. 30, 1874, at Boston High- 
 lands. They had three children, Julia Edith, Emma 
 P. and Mary Niles. (6) Augusta P., born April 
 7, 1825, was married, Oct. 6, 1846, to Eliphalet 
 Ladd, and died March 16, i860. She had three 
 children: Christine, born Dec. i, 1847, married 
 Fabian Franklin, professor of mathematics in the 
 Johns Hopkins University, and has one child, Mar- 
 garet Ladd. Henry, born June 12, 1850, who re- 
 sides in Austin, Texas, married Bessie Hoxie, and 
 has one child, Henry Hoxie Ladd. Jane Augusta, 
 born Oct. 31, 1854, married, July 3, 1889, Alfred 
 JMcCordie, and has three children, Christine Ruth, 
 Fletcher and Malcomb. 
 
 Christine Ladd Franklin, granddaughter of 
 Richard Niles, daughter of Eliphalet and Augusta 
 Niles Ladd, of Portsmouth, N. H., has won a rep- 
 utation as a scientific investigator and writer upon 
 scientific and other subjects. She graduated at 
 
 Vassar College in 1869, and, for some years, while 
 engaged in teaching various branches of science, 
 devoted herself largely to the study of advanced 
 pure mathematics. During this time she made con- 
 tributions to the "Educational limes" (London) 
 and other mathematical publications; and in 1878 
 her application to be admitted as a graduate student 
 in the Johns Plopkins University was granted 
 (owing to the strong recommendation of Sylvester, 
 the illustrious professor of mathematics at this uni- 
 versity), though no woman had been allowed that 
 privilege before, and very few have received it 
 since. At the close of her first year's residence 
 she was placed on the footing of a Fellow for the 
 following year, an honor, which was twice renewed. 
 During her residence at the Jonns Hopkins she 
 published several mathematical papers, and a paper 
 on "The Algebra of Logic." Since that period 
 her work has lain chiefly in the field of physiolog- 
 ical optics, the explanation of color-perception be- 
 ing the chief subject of her researches. The theory 
 constructed by her to account for the phenomena of 
 color-vision is regarded by some of the foremost 
 authorities on the subject as more satisfactory than 
 any other yet devised. She has, for a number of 
 years, had charge of the department relating to 
 this subject in the "Psychological Review" (edited 
 by Prof. Cattell, of Columbia, and Prof. Baldwin, 
 of Princeton), and she has been entrusted with 
 the chief work in the same department for the 
 large "Dictionary of Philosophy and Psychology," 
 of which she is one of the associate editors, Prof. 
 Baldwin being the editor-in-chief. Besides the 
 article on logic already mentioned, Mrs. Franklin 
 has published several other important articles on 
 the same subject, and has been a frequent con- 
 tributor of reviews and other articles to "The Na- 
 tion," ''Science," and other periodicals. 
 
 HON. JOHN MILTON NILES. Few histories 
 in this volume possess as great an intrinsic interest 
 as this brief record of one of Hartford county's 
 most distinguished sons, who, as statesman, politi- 
 cian, author and editor, wielded commanding in- 
 fluence in the troubled times that marked the earlier 
 half of this century. To his foresight and disin- 
 terested effort was due, in a large measure, the 
 prompt response of Connecticut in the great move- 
 ment which resulted in the formation of the Re- 
 publican party, and, while he did not live to see the 
 triumph of his principles, doubtless to his prophetic 
 vision was vouchsafed an assurance of the mighty 
 work to be accomplished by that organization. The 
 followiing account, taken from Stiles' "History of 
 Ancient Windsor," written by Hon. Gideon Welles, 
 of Hartford, reveals the outlines of a life of en- 
 deavor that could not well have been spared among 
 the influences which have shaped the course of the 
 nation. 
 
 Senator Niles was born at Windsor Aug. 20, 
 1787, son of Moses and Naomi (Marshall) Niles. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 l1135 
 
 Losing his father in early childhood, his educa- 
 tional advantages were restricted to the opportuni- 
 ties afforded by a common district school, such as 
 they were at the close of the last century. As he 
 realized their defects he resolved upon further study, 
 and being limited in his means, and deeming him- 
 self too old for collegiate advantages, he accord- 
 ingly entered at once upon a course of systematic 
 and laborious work, which he followed up with 
 such assiduity as for a time to impair his health. 
 With an inquisitive and keenly discriminating in- 
 tellect, fond of statistics, and a memory that re- 
 tained every incident and event that came within 
 his reading and observation, his mind became a 
 great storehouse of facts that were easily at com- 
 mand, and made him always formidable to political 
 and legislative opponents. Few men associated 
 with him in the public councils were more con- 
 versant with history, better understood the science 
 of government, or had more deeply investigated 
 the political and civil institutions of our own and 
 other countries. Madison's administration covered 
 a time of high party excitement, sharpened by the 
 commercial restrictions which the Federal admin- 
 istration had deemed necessary to prevent our coun- 
 try from becoming involved in wars that were then 
 sweeping over almost the whole of the civilized 
 world. Mr. Niles, while yet a student in the of- 
 fice of John Sargeant, was a zealous Republican and 
 supporter of the administration and policy of Mr. 
 Madison. The Courts and Bar, as well as the State 
 authorities, were almost unanimously of the op- 
 posite politics. Diffident and unassuming in his 
 manners, but earnest and firm in his convictions, 
 Mr. Niles was frank in the avowal of his opinions 
 and principles, and the reasons by which he was 
 governed. A portion of his leisure he devoted to 
 political essays, most of which were published in 
 the "American Mercury," at Hartford. Being at- 
 tached, however, to his profession, and his circum- 
 scribed means rendering it necessary that he should 
 attend to something else than political controversies 
 for a livelihood, he contemplated migrating to some 
 other State. With this in view he visited Ver- 
 mont, New York and Pennsylvania, but returned 
 to Connecticut, undecided and without any definite 
 plan for the future. It was while at Harrisburg 
 in 1815 that he formed his first slight acquaintance 
 with James Buchanan, William J. Duane and Joel 
 B. Sutherland, then young men of about his own 
 age, and each of them for the first time members 
 of the Pennsylvania Legislature. This acquaint- 
 ance was twenty years after renewed with each, 
 under widely different circumstances. 
 
 The termination of the war and retirement of 
 Mr. Madison extinguished political issues that had 
 been long in controversy, and led to a dissolution of 
 the National party organizations which had for 
 years divided the country, but during the general 
 anxiety on Federal politics that characterized the 
 Monroe administration, public action became con- 
 
 centrated on local differences within the States. 
 In Connecticut there was a growing disquietude in 
 regard to the old order of things, and the dynasty 
 in power steadily refused to yield to innovations. 
 The times were auspicious for the reformers to 
 press their views, and radical changes were de- 
 manded, the most prominent of which were an 
 extension of the right of suffrage, religious equality, 
 and a written constitution defining and limiting 
 the power of government. Mr. Niles embarked in 
 these reformatory measures with zeal, energy and 
 ability, and more than any other man, perhaps, con- 
 tributed to the evolution of parties which followed. 
 To forward his views and give them efficiency, 
 he, with the co-operation of others, established, in 
 January, 1817, the Hartford Times, a paper that 
 acquired an immediate local position and influence. 
 He was for several years the exclusive editor of 
 that paper, and for thirty years continued to be a 
 liberal contributor to its columns. In 1821 the 
 General Assembly appointed him one of the Asso- 
 ciate Judges of the County Court for the county of 
 Hartford, an appointment which he filled eight 
 years and then declined to hold it longer. In 1826 
 he was elected a representative from the town of 
 Hartford to the General Assembly. The Republi- 
 cans nominated him as their candidate for the Sen- 
 ate in 1827, but, being friendly to the election of 
 Gen. Jackson, a portion of the party refused to sus- 
 tain him, and he was consequently defeated. This 
 proceeding contributed perhaps to his activity, as 
 it certainly gave him prominence in instituting and 
 organizing what was subsequently known as the 
 Democratic party which elected and sustained 
 Gen. Jackson. 
 
 In the spring of 1829 Mr. Niles was appointed 
 postmaster at Hartford, a place he resigned on 
 receiving from Gov. Edwards the executive ap- 
 pointment of Senator in Congress, the post having 
 been made vacant by the death of Nathan Smith. 
 This appointment was confirmed by the Legisla- 
 ture when it assembled, and he represented the State 
 in the Senate until March, 1839. He was the Demo- 
 cratic candidate for Governor in 1839, and again in 
 1840. In the latter year Pres. Van Buren tendered 
 him the offi'ce of Postmaster-General, and ithe 
 Senate unanimously confirmed his nomination. 
 Retiring with Mr. Van Buren in March, 1841, he 
 was again in 1842 re-elected to represent Connecti- 
 cut in the Senate of the United States. This place 
 he held until the expiration of the term, in 1849, 
 when he relinquished official life, although he re- 
 tained to the close of his days an abiding and lively 
 interest on all political subjects. In the Senate 
 he took an active part in the proceedings and de- 
 bates steadily during his whole career. Although 
 not a brilliant speaker, he was a ready, interesting 
 and instructive debater, one whose accurate knowl- 
 edge, acute and just discrimination, and sound 
 common sense, were acknowledged and appreciated 
 by men of all parties. The financial cjuestions which 
 
1136 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 called into existence the Whig and Democratic par- 
 ties generated intense animosities, and to some ex- 
 tent affected social intercourse. The unyielding firm- 
 ness and uncompromising character of Senator 
 Niles, particularly when principles were involved, 
 led many to misunderstand and misapprehend his 
 genial and kindly nature. There was less partisan 
 bitterness in his last than in his first senatorial 
 term in consequence of the adjustment and final 
 disposition of the exciting financial questions that 
 had agitated and convulsed the country, and he 
 was not one who desired to perpetuate differences 
 when the causes which led to them ceased to exist. 
 No man more fully recognized the utility and 
 necessity of party organization to accomplish and 
 carry into effect imjx)rtant measures based on fun- 
 damental principles, but under no circumstances 
 would he abandon or surrender those principles to 
 the mandates of organization. This was in his view 
 a perversion and abuse of party to which he would 
 not submit. It was an axiom with him that party 
 and organization must be subordinate and subsidiary 
 to principles, and principles should never be sec- 
 ondary or sacrificed to party. Hence, on repeated 
 occasions when the party with which he acted took 
 a new position, he was brought into conflict with 
 valued friends, eventuating lo some extent in a 
 change of associates but not of principles. This 
 v.'as the case in 1820, when the party which revo- 
 lutionized the State neglected, as he conceived, to 
 carry to their fulfillment reforms with which they 
 commenced. Again in the election of Jackson, and 
 the bank controversy at a later period, he disre- 
 garded the old organization with which he had 
 been connected because, as he alleged, it was faith- 
 less to the principles which originated it. The 
 bank and kindred measures he denounced as cen- 
 tralizing, as an invasion of the reserved rights of 
 the States, and an unwarrantable assumption of 
 power by the Federal Government. Though as- 
 sailed with unsparing virulence, he ably vindicated 
 his adherence to principles which he deemed funda- 
 mental and essential. The acquisition of large ad- 
 ditional territory from Mexico near the close of 
 his senatorial service brought the subject of ex- 
 tending and nationalizing slavery prominently be- 
 fore the country. Incidental to, and connected 
 with, this subject was the territorial policy of the 
 government, which it was proposed to change in 
 order to strengthen the organization on these new 
 issues. Promptly, and at the threshold, Senator 
 Niles met the question, and denounced the scheme 
 as a perversion of the objects, purposes and prin- 
 ciples of the Democratic party, whose mission was 
 of a dift'erent character. Adhering to the primitive 
 doctrine of strictly construing the constitution, and 
 limiting the authority of the Federal Government 
 to the powers granted, he deemed that Congress 
 could not legislate slavery into the territories or 
 delegate that power or permission to others. No 
 obligation of party or allegiance to organization 
 
 could swerve him or induce him to sacrifice his 
 conscientious convictions on this subject, for his 
 opinions were deliberately formed, and essential 
 principles were involved. With all the ardor and 
 sincerity of his earlier years he opposed what in his 
 view were the centralizing tendencies of the ad- 
 ministration. As the controversy progressed, his 
 opinions became more decided and his feelings more 
 interested, and believing the emergency required 
 extraordinary efforts he, at the age of sixty-eight, 
 projected the establishment of a new daily paper 
 and the organization of a distinct Republican party, 
 to act in concert with others in the different States 
 who were commencing a similar movement. While 
 earnestly engaged in the prosecution of these la- 
 bors of disinterested political duty, a cancerous af- 
 fection developed itself in his system. Undeterred 
 by this affliction, he persevered in what he consid- 
 ered to be his dtuy to its consummation. Through 
 his instrumentality, the Hartford Press was estab- 
 lished, being first published in February, 1856. A 
 Kepublican State Convention was held in March 
 of the same year, and the Republican party was 
 forthwith organized, but his disease in the mean- 
 time had made such progress as to compel him to 
 discontinue his labors. His last public effort and 
 his last appearance among his fellow citizens was 
 at the Republican Convention in March. He 
 breathed his last on the 31st of May, 1856, in the 
 sixty-ninth year of his age. 
 
 Senator Niles, besides his political labors, em- 
 ployed his pen in other fields as an author. His 
 first undertaking was that of editing the re-publica- 
 tion of an English work, entitled "The Independent 
 Whig," a large quarto of over five hundred pages, 
 published in 1816. This was followed, in 1819, 
 by a "Gazetteer of Connecticut and Rhode Island," 
 in the compilation of which he was assisted by his 
 brother-in-law. Dr. John C. Pease. He also pre- 
 pared a very useful and serviceable book, called 
 "The Civil Officer," of which several editions were 
 published. "A History of Mexico and the South 
 American Republics," written by him, ran through 
 many editions. He also wrote a biography of 
 Oliver H. Perry, a quarto volume of about 400 
 pages, as well as numerous pamphlets, orations 
 and addresses on political, agricultural, financial 
 and miscellaneous subjects, which during a period 
 of forty years emanated from his prolific pen, and 
 which had extensive circulation and influence. His 
 speeches in the Senate were many, and on almost 
 every important question before that body while 
 he was a member. Some of them were very ef- 
 fective, and distinguished for great research and 
 argumentation. Those on the Bank, the Deposits, ^ 
 the Expunging Resolutions, the Independent Treas- 
 ury, the Tariff, the Mexican war and the Jefferson 
 Ordinance, as applicable to the newly acquired ter- 
 ritory, may be specified as among his ablest efforts. 
 Mr. Calhoun, with whom he often and widely dif- j 
 fered, awarded him the possession of the most J 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1137 
 
 ready and accurately discriminate mind of any mem- 
 ber of the Senate. Col. Benton said, that not only 
 were his opinions eminently sound and correct, but 
 that his political and moral courage exceeded that of 
 his associates. Silas Wright declared he always 
 distrusted the accuracy of his own conclusions 
 when he differed from Senator Niles. Such were 
 the estimates of some of the master minds of the 
 Senate, men with whom he was associated in daily, 
 social and official intercourse for years. The re- 
 mark publicly made by Mr. Van Buren, that "Sen- 
 ator Niles spoke as Franklin wrote," conveys a 
 correct impression of the matter and manner of 
 the man.. Indeed, his marked traits were good, 
 practical common sense, without pretension, unas- 
 sumingly but honestly and fearlessly expressed. 
 
 President Van Buren showed his high appre- 
 ciation of the qualities and abilities of Senator Niles 
 by tendering him unsolicited a seat in his cabinet, 
 and that, too, when the department was laboring 
 under serious embarrassments. The reforms which 
 he introduced into the department not only con- 
 tributed to its immediate relief, but constituted the 
 basis of future action in the administration. He 
 promply discontinued the transportation of mails 
 on Sundays except on the principal routes, and ad- 
 vised another great reform which was soon carried 
 into effect, namely : The reduction of the rates 
 of postage, as a means of promoting mail facilities 
 and thereby increasing the revenue, a proposition 
 that was to many a seeming paradox. 
 
 Senator Niles was twice married, but left no 
 children. In the fall of 1824 he married Mrs. Sarah 
 Howe, a native of Worcester county, Mass., who 
 died in the autumn of 1842. His second marriage 
 was with Miss Jane H. Pratt, of Columbia county, 
 N. Y., in the latter part of 1845. She died in the 
 summer of 1850. A considerable portion of the 
 years 1851 and 1852 he spent in visiting the various 
 countries of Europe. Unostentatious, plain and 
 frugal, Mr. Niles acquired by industry and economy 
 a handsome estate. Humane and benevolent, he 
 exercised active charity during life, and dying desired 
 to alleviate suffering humanity. Besides numerous 
 legacies to individuals, he bequeathed twenty thou- 
 sand dollars in trust to the City of Hartford, as 
 a charity fund, the income from which he directed 
 to be annually distributed to the poor. This noble 
 benefaction to the city of his adoption was the 
 crowning act of a useful and well-spent life. 
 
 JOHN GANTLEY, second selectman of the 
 town of Windsor Locks, is a man whose sterling 
 qualities of character have won the confidence of 
 his fellow citizens in a marked degree. As a busi- 
 ness man he is able and successful, and in his career 
 as an official he has given to the public affairs the 
 same careful attention which has brought satisfac- 
 tory results in his private enterprises. 
 
 Mr. Gantley was born April i, 1858, in the town 
 of Windsor, and like many of our successful men, 
 
 78 
 
 is of Irish ancestry. His grandparents, Herbert 
 and Margaret (Hessian) Gantley, passed their lives 
 in County Galway, Ireland, upon a farm. 
 
 Patrick Gantley, our subject's father, was born 
 March 17, 1821, in County Galway, where he was 
 educated, and in 1852 came to America with his 
 sister JMar}^ locating in the town of Windsor Locks. 
 For five years he was employed by a farmer in 
 South Windsor, and later he engaged in tobacco 
 growing, purchasing the present family homestead 
 in Windsor Locks in 1859. He built the present 
 residence and farm buildings, and his last days were 
 spent there in well earned comfort, his death oc- 
 curring April 20, 1894. On Oct. 13, 1856, he was 
 married in Windsor Locks to Miss Mary Cunniff, 
 daughter of Patrick and Mary (Kilgarf) Cunniff, 
 natives of County Galway, who survives him. Our 
 subject was the eldest of twelve children born to. 
 this worthy couple, the others being: Mary, a resi- 
 dent of Windsor Locks ; Margaret, who died in in- 
 fancy; James, of Windsor Locks; Thomas, a resi- 
 dent of the same town, who married Delia Con- 
 nors; Margaret; Katie; Patrick, a butcher at 
 Windsor Locks, who married Katie Kelley ; Edward 
 D. ; Elizabeth C. ; Annie C. ; and Francis C. 
 
 John Gantley was reared at the homestead, his 
 education being obtained in the public schools of 
 Windsor Locks. Since the death of his father he 
 has carried on the farm in partnership with his 
 brothers James, Thomas and Francis, under the firm 
 name of Gantley Brothers, and they now do an ex- 
 tensive business as dairymen and growers of leaf 
 tobacco. Our subject has always taken an active 
 interest in public affairs, and is a stanch supporter 
 of the Democratic party. For three years he was- 
 auditor of his town, and at present he is serving his 
 fourth term as selectman. In religious faith he is . 
 a Catholic, and he and his family are leading mem- 
 bers of St. Mary's parish. 
 
 On June 26, 1895, Mr. Gantley was married, in 
 the town of Windsor Locks, to Miss Nellie Mc- 
 Carty, daughter of Charles and Ellen McCarty, the 
 former of whom was a native of Cork, Ireland, 
 coming to the United States when a young man. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Gantley have two sons : James, born 
 Nov. 7, 1896; and John Timothy, born March 20, 
 
 HENRY W. BARBOUR, a leading and repre- 
 sentative farmer of Farmington, was born in New 
 Britain July 29, 1840, and belongs to one of the early 
 families of the county, being a grandson of Lewis 
 Barbour, who was born and reared in the town of 
 Burlington, and there spent the early part of his 
 life. Subsequently he made his home in Farming-- 
 ton, where he followed agricultural pursuits, and 
 from there removed to Harwinton, Conn., where 
 he died. By his wife, Polly (Frisbie), he had three 
 children : Augustus Lewis, Augusta and Mary. 
 
 Augustus L. Barbour, father of our subject, was 
 born in the town of Burlington in 1814, and was 
 
1138 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 educated in the schools of BurHngton, Farniington 
 and New Britain. In Farmington he was married, 
 in 1836, by Dr. Noah Porter, to Miss Ann Thomp- 
 son, a daughter of Asaliel Thompson, and to them 
 were born four children : Frederick L., now de- 
 ceased : Henry W., our subject; and Theodore A. 
 and ^\"altcr E., both deceased. The father followed 
 farming in New Britain for some years, and later 
 made his home in New York State for a time. 
 
 The subject of this sketch began his literary ed- 
 ucation in the schools of Farniington, while living 
 with his uncle, Mr. Thompson, .ind 'ater attended 
 the Simeon Hart Boarding School, at Farniington, 
 and the Farniington Academy. In 1861 he re- 
 sponded to his country's call for aid in her efforts to 
 crush out the Rebellion, enlisting in Company A, 
 2Sth Conn. \\ I., and he was in the service for a 
 year. In 1862 he embarked in the life insurance 
 business at Hartford, as general agent for the Con- 
 tinental Insurance Co., which position he held for 
 about a year. On account of the death of his uncle, 
 Mr. Thompson, he then returned home and took 
 charge of the estate. Later he sold that property 
 and bought his present fami, which he has since 
 successfully operated. He is also interested in other 
 business, but gives the greater part of his time and 
 attention to agricultural pursuits. 
 
 In Pleasant \'alley. Conn., in 1868, Mr. Barbour 
 was united in marriage with Miss Harriet \\ . 
 Youngs, a daughter of Daniel Youngs, and to them 
 has been born one child, Anna. Fraternally our 
 subject is an honored member of Burnside Post, 
 G. A. R. He is a member of and deacon in the 
 First Congregational Church of Farniington, and 
 chairman of the committee of the First Ecclesiasti- 
 cal Society. He is also secretary of the school 
 board, and was acting visitor for some years ; is vice- 
 president of the Farmington Savings Bank ; treas- 
 urer of the Cemetery Association ; and superintend- 
 ent of the Farmington Creamery. His devotion 
 to the public welfare has made him a valued factor 
 in the community where he resides, as he materially 
 aids in the advancement of all social, educational 
 and moral interests. 
 
 MARSHALL NOTT. Hartford county has 
 many well-to-do and successful farmers who are 
 the architects of their own fortune, and who are 
 numbered among its most useful and valued citi- 
 zens. Among these is the subject of this personal 
 history, who for over thirty years has owned and 
 operated his present farm in the northeast district 
 of Farmington. 
 
 A native of Connecticut, Mr. Nott was born in 
 Glastonbury, April 11, 1825, a son of John and 
 Elizabeth (Blinn) Nott. The father was born in 
 the town of Rocky Hill, this county, and throughout 
 life followed his trade of boot and shoe making. 
 In the family were five children, namely : Julius and 
 Edward, both deceased; Marshall, our subject; 
 
 Selah, a resident of Hartford ; and William, a resi- 
 dent of Bristol. 
 
 Marshall Nott was educated in the public schools 
 of Rocky Hill, which he attended until fifteen years 
 of age, and then went to Griswoldville, in the town 
 of \V'ethersfield, where he remained eleven years, 
 working in the chisel shop at Dividend, Conn., after 
 leaving that place, and later in the hammer shop at 
 Cromwell. • I'^or two years he was employed in the 
 car shops at Hartford, and afterward in Colt's fire- 
 arm works. Subsequently he engaged in farming 
 in Rocky Hill for a short time ; worked in Glaston- 
 bury ; and was engaged in the milk business on Park 
 street, liartford, two years ; and on Blue Hills ave- 
 nue, six years. In 1868 he purchased his present 
 farm in the northeast district of Farniington, where 
 he engaged in farming and also in the wood busi- 
 ness with marked success. Returning to Gris- 
 woldville, he bought land and built a cottage, there 
 to pass the remaining days of his life. 
 
 In Rocky Hill Mr. Nott married Miss Mary Ann 
 Whitman, born in South Coventry, Conn., Dec. 12, 
 1834. Wherever known they are held in high re- 
 gard, and they have a host of warm friends in the 
 community where they have so long made their 
 home. 
 
 JAMES COLTER, one of the most respected 
 foreign-born citizens of West Sufifield, and an enter- 
 prising farmer and tobacco grower, is a native of 
 Maybrick, County Down, Ireland. He was born 
 May I, 1839, and is a son of James and Mary 
 (Sloan) Colter, natives of the same town and mem- 
 bers of the Presbyterian Church. The father was a 
 farmer. The family consisted of five children : 
 ^largaret, now the wife of Simon McCarel, of West 
 Sufifield; James, our subject; Joseph, deceased; 
 Mary Jane and Eliza, also deceased, as are the fa- 
 ther and mother, who died in their native land. 
 
 James Colter, whose name opens this article, was 
 educated in the national schools of Ireland, and, 
 until twenty years of age, worked on the home farm, 
 when, desirous of seeing the New World, he set 
 sail at Liverpool, England, with a single pound 
 sterling, after paying his passage money. Landing 
 at Philadelphia, he at once proceeded from there 
 to New England, as he had a half-brother living in 
 Agawam, Mass., and at Feeding Hills, in the same 
 county, found employment as a farm hand at $12 
 per month. A year later, in 1861, he came to 
 Sufifield, Conn., where he was employed by W. P. 
 Allen at farming, his wages being $360 per annum, 
 and for him he labored until 1876, when, having 
 saved the greater part of his earnings, he bought 
 his present farm of fifty acres, then known as the 
 Granger tract, and here he has since been success- 
 fully engaged in tobacco growing, dairying and gen- 
 eral farming. On this property he has made won- 
 derful improvements, including one of the finest 
 dwellings in the vicinity, barns, tobacco sheds, etc., 
 at a cost of over $7,000. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1139 
 
 In April, 1875, in Suffield, Mr. Colter married 
 Miss Martha Mary Graham, who was born in the 
 same county as himself, and is a daughter of Samuel 
 and Harriet (Nicholson) Graham, the former of 
 whom died at his home in Ireland, and the latter in 
 West Suffield, Conn. To Mr. and Mrs. Colter have 
 been born seven children : Sarah Jane and Samuel 
 J., both still at home ; Joseph ; Herman ; Florence ; 
 and two that died in infancy. The parents have 
 taken and still take a deep interest in the education 
 of the surviving children, all of whom are phenom- 
 enally intellectual. Mrs. Colter is also a lady of 
 rare intelligence, and is noted for hsr excellent 
 housekeeping. 
 
 The Graham family, of which Mrs. Colter is a 
 descendant, is of Scottish origin, and famous in 
 their native land. Samuel Graham, grandfather 
 of Mrs. Colter, was born in the County of Gallo- 
 way, Scotland, whence he moved to County Down, 
 Ireland, where he ended his days, dying in the faith 
 of the Presbyterian Church. To his marriage with 
 Sarah Nicholson, also of Scottish lineage, were born 
 seven children : John, who passed his life in County 
 Down ; Thomas, who made his home in Scotland ; 
 James, who came to the United States and settled 
 in Philadelphia, Penn. ; Samuel ; Ann, who married 
 Andrew Hamilton, and with him settled in St. John, 
 New Brunswick; Jennie, who married Samuel 
 Livingston, and went with her husband and family 
 to Indiana, settling in Lake City (eight of her chil- 
 dren — Robert, John, Samuel, James, Thomas, Hart- 
 ford, Moses and William — became soldiers in the 
 Civil war) ; and Bettie, wife of Robert Hamilton. 
 
 Samuel Graham, the father of Mrs. Colter, was 
 a native of Dromore, County Down, Ireland, passed 
 his whole life as a farmer at his birthplace, and died 
 in 1875. Like all the Grahams, he was a Presby- 
 terian, and was a stanch supporter of the British 
 Crown. To his marriage were born seven children : 
 Robert, now of Suffield, Conn. ; William J., of 
 Warnertown; Sarah Jane, wife of Samuel Barr, 
 of Suffield; Martha Mary, wife of James Colter, 
 subject of this sketch; Margaret Ann, who married 
 George Fertion; Lizzie, wife of Daniel Cole; and 
 Agnes, now Mrs. John Barresford, of West Suf- 
 field, at whose home the venerated mother of the 
 family passed from earth, having brought her chil- 
 dren to America a short time after the death of her 
 husband. 
 
 Mr. Colter, a quiet, unassuming man, and a 
 gentleman of refined tastes, is quite domestic in his , 
 habits, but is recognized as one of the most ener- 
 getic and progressive men of his town. His honor- 
 able walk through life, and his upright, dealings have 
 won for him the esteem of all his neighbors, and 
 the good-will of all who know him. In politics he 
 is a Republican. 
 
 EDWIN HILLS, a well-known manufacturer 
 of saddlery hardware and other specialties, is one of 
 the prominent citizens of Plainville, and the lives of 
 
 few business men furnish a more worthy example of 
 the wise application of sound principles and safe 
 conservatism than his. The story of his success is 
 short and simple, containing no exciting chapters, 
 but his business and private life is pregnant with 
 interest and incentive, no matter how lacking in 
 dramatic action — the record of a noble life, consist- 
 ent with itself and its possibilities in every particular. 
 Mr. Hills was born in Plainville, March ii, 1842, 
 and is a descendant of William Hills, a native of 
 England, who came to America in 1632, and was 
 one of the first settlers of Hartford, where he died 
 in 1683. Our subject's great-grandfather, Chaun- 
 cey Hills, was born in Farmington, in 1761, and 
 followed the occupation of farming throughout 
 life, dying June 21, 1731. He married Eleanor 
 Gillette, who was born in 1760, and died Oct. 26, 
 1836. 
 
 Elias Hills, our subject's grandfather, was born 
 in what is now Plainville, Feb. 26, 1782, and was a 
 wheelwright and builder by trade. He was married, 
 March 8, 1800, to Sally, daughter of Abner and 
 Mabel (Squires) Curtiss; of Farmington, and they 
 had a family of eleven children : Harriet, wife of 
 James Hamlin; William, who married Charlotte 
 Purdy ; Charlotte, wife of Jeremiah Neale ; Hiram, 
 who married (first) Betsey A. Ludington and 
 (second) Olive Augur; George, who married 
 (first) Charlotte Eddy and (second) Caroline Eddy ; 
 Eliza, wife of Amon Woodruff ; Franklin, who mar- 
 ried Huldah C. Parmalee; Julia, wife of Leonard 
 A. Wheeler; Sheldon, who married (first) Almeda 
 N. Recor and (second) Nancy E. Clark; Sally M.; 
 and Jeannette E., wife of Emner Mclntire. For his 
 second wife the grandfather married Mrs. Lydia 
 (Barnes) Pitkins. 
 
 Hiram Hills, our subject's father, was born in 
 Plainville, Oct. 9, 1810, and spent his entire life 
 there, engaged in the manufacture of wooden hames. 
 He also owned and operated a saw, shingle and grist 
 mill, a sash and blind factory, and was interested in 
 the grain business. He was one of the founders 
 of the Plainville Water Co., and at the time of his 
 death was sole owner. Mr. Hills always took a 
 great interest in public affairs and in the growth and 
 development of Plainville, and in 1869 was the fir.st 
 representative from that town to the State Legis- 
 lature. He was a member and officer of the Con- 
 gregational Church, and was highly esteemed and 
 respected by all who knew him. He died June 25, 
 1875. For his first wife he married Betsey A. Lud- 
 ington, and to them were born seven children : Jus- 
 tin; Burritt; Mariette, wife of Elbert Manchester; 
 Edwin ; Aldine, wife of Lorenzo O. Strickland ; 
 Jane E., wife of Charles Sutliff ; and Wallace. His 
 second wife was Olive Augur. 
 
 Our subject grew to manhood in Plainville, and 
 was educated in its public schools. He began his 
 business career in partnership with his father, in the 
 manufacture of wooden hames, which connection 
 existed for three years, andat the end of that time he 
 
1140 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and his brother Burritt purchased the father's inter- 
 est and continued the business together for ten 
 years, or until 1875, since which time oiu- subject 
 has carried it on alone. He has a large plant, em- 
 ploying sixty hands and manufacturing 300 pairs of 
 iron hames per day, besides a variety of harness 
 trimmings. He makes various articles of his own 
 invention, and caters to the kitchen hardware trade 
 in five and ten cent articles, the demand for which 
 exceeds the capacity of his plant. 
 
 Mr. Hills has been twice married, his first wife 
 having been Alzina Welch, daughter of Henry L. 
 Welch, of riainville, and to them were born two 
 children, Antoinette and Grace L. For his second 
 wife he married Emma Bullen, daughter of Wdliam 
 F BuUeii, of English descent, and by this union he 
 has one son, Edwin. Religiously Air. Hills is a 
 member of the Congregational Church, and politi- 
 cally he is a Republican. 
 
 OLIVER CLARK. The subject of this sketch, 
 save for the two years when he was in business in 
 Hartford, has been a lifelong farmer, devoting a 
 half-century to that vocation. He has been a prosper- 
 ous and progressive farmer, but not a farmer only. 
 Mr. Clark, while giving strict heed to the demands 
 of his business, has been ever interested in aflfairs re- 
 lating to the common good. He has been public- 
 spirited. He has fostered industries. He has con- 
 tributed his services whenever occasion required. 
 
 Mr. Clark was born near Wapping, in the town 
 of South Windsor, Dec. 14, 1828, son of Norman 
 Clark, a native of East Windsor, and grandson of 
 Capt. Oliver Clark, an officer in the State militia. 
 Norman Clark was married three times. His only 
 child by his first wife, Emily Loomis, was Oliver, 
 the subject of this sketch. Norman Clark was a 
 farmer by occupation, and in religious faith was a 
 member of the Congregational Church. He died in 
 Poquonock July 31, 1878. 
 
 Our subject was reared on his father's farm in 
 South ^^'indso^, and received a good common-school 
 education. He has always resided in the town of 
 his nativity, except during the years 1854 and 1855, 
 when he conducted a wholesale meat business at 
 Hartford. J\Ir. Clark was married May 28, 1850, 
 to Abbie Snow, by whom he had four children: 
 Emily, now deceased ; Amelia, wife of Wilbur Hills ; 
 Joseph N., deceased ; and Ann Eliza, who died in 
 April, 1876. The mother of these died Jan. 12, 
 1876, and on May 24, 1877, Mr. Clark married Miss 
 Alice B. Pruden, born in Hartford, a daughter of 
 Nathaniel Pruden. Two children were born to 
 this latter marriage : Oliver P., who is at home ; and 
 Albert N., deceased. Mr. Clark is the owner of 
 117 acres of land, variously located, the home farm 
 comprising thirty-five acres. He carries on tobacco 
 growing extensively, and is also engaged in the 
 dairy business and in general farming. 
 
 Mr. Clark has served for seven years as select- 
 man of South Windsor, and for three years has been 
 
 assessor. In 1873 ^^ was elected as a representa- 
 tive to the State Legislature. He was one of the 
 promoters of the Wapping high school and one of 
 Its organizers, serving on the building committee. In 
 politics he is a Democrat. Mr. Clark has been pres- 
 ident of the Wapping Creamery Co., and for four- 
 teen years has been a director of the same. He has 
 been prosperous in business affairs, and is one of 
 the leading and well-respected citizens of the town 
 of South Windsor. 
 
 SAMUEL ASH WELL was born Aug. 15, 
 1843, in the town of Bloomfield, Hartford Co., Conn. 
 He was one of a family of five children born to 
 James and Mary Ann (Somerfield) Ashwell, of 
 whom two died in infancy ; Elizabeth, William and 
 Sanuiel growing to maturity. The Ashwells are 
 of English origin, our subject's father and mother 
 having been born in England. 
 
 When Samuel was about five years old his 
 mother died, and he was sent to live with an aunt. 
 At the age of eight years he was put to work upon 
 a farm, in consideration receiving his board and 
 clothing, attending school in the winter. When 
 seventeen years old he v^falked a distance of three 
 miles morning and evening to attend the winter 
 term at the Bloomfield Academy. In the following 
 spring the Civil war broke out, and on Aug. 8, 
 1 86 1, before his eighteenth birthday, he enlisted for 
 three years in Company C of the First Squadron, 
 Conn. Cavalry, and subsequently, at New York, 
 was transferred to the Harris light cavalry or 2d 
 N. Y. He received his "baptism of fire"' in a charge 
 upon the Rebel cavalry near Falmouth, Va., in the 
 spring of 1862, when the Army of the Potomas ad- 
 vanced to Fredericksburg. The Rebels fled, but 
 one of their bullets killed Lieut. Decker, who led 
 the charge. He was in numerous cavalry fights, in- 
 cluding Aldie and Brandy Station, and in the Stone- 
 man raid and the famous Wilson raid, also in the 
 second battle of Bull Run. 
 
 On Oct. 12, 1863, ne and several of his regi- 
 ment were captured by Rebel cavalry near Warren- 
 ton, Va., and taken to Richmond. From there he 
 was sent to Belle Isle, where he \.'as held a prisoner 
 for five months, when he was paroled and sent tO' 
 Annapolis, Md. For several weeks Mr. Ashwell 
 was confined in the hospital with rheumatism, the 
 result of privation and exposure in prison. As 
 soon as able he rejoined his regiment at the front. 
 He was honorably discharged and mustered out of 
 service at New York City, Sept. 15, 1864. 
 
 In 1867 Mr. Ashwell commenced farming for 
 himself on a small farm in West Rocky Hill, to- 
 which he has added about one hundred acres, erected 
 nearly all new buildings, and is now carrying on 
 quite a large dairy and poultry business, and is 
 successful in both pursuits. As a side issue he also 
 sells grain and feed. He is respected by his neigh- 
 bors and fellow citizens, having held the office of 
 assessor ten years, has been one of the board of 
 
//ci^i<7^.c.^^ <^^2^./^^r^<^ 
 
1 
 
 I 
 
^COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1141 
 
 relief at different times nearly as many more ; select- 
 man three years ; tax collector three years ; and is 
 now chairman of the school board and justice of the 
 peace. He has also served one term in the Legis- 
 lature, of which body he was elected a member in 
 1886. 
 
 In politics Mr. Ashwell is a Republican, and in 
 religious faith a Congregationalist, being a mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Churcn of Rocky Hill. 
 Socially he is connected with the F. & A. M. ; with 
 the Grange at Rocky Hill, of which he was the first 
 master, and with the O. U. A. M., in which he has 
 passed all tne chairs. 
 
 On July 2, 1867, Mr. Ashwell was united in 
 marriage to Miss Josephine S. Shepard, of Sims- 
 bury, and their imion was blessed with four chil- 
 dren, (i) William M. received a good practical 
 education in the common schools and at Huntsin- 
 ger's Business College, and is now engaged in 
 farming in Rocky Hill. He first married May 
 Griswold, daughter of Daniel C. Griswold, and by 
 that union had two children. May Josephine and 
 W. Miles. For his second wife he married Miss 
 Minnie Naylor, of New Haven. (2) Albert S. 
 is living at home. (3) Lizzie J. married Frederick 
 Belden, a farmer of Rocky Hill. They have no chil- 
 dren. (4) Florence A. attended the grammar 
 school at New Britain, completed the course at 
 Huntsinger's Business College, and is now engaged 
 as stenographer at Jveney Park, Hartford. 
 
 The mother of these died March 3, 1889, and on 
 June 4, 1891, Mr. Ashwell wedded Mrs. Clara H. 
 Mandeville, widow of Horace Mandeville, and 
 daughter of Justus Churchill, of Wethersfield. 
 
 HENRY W. HAMILTON, farmer and tobacco 
 grower of the town of East Windsor, traces his 
 family to one of three brothers who came from Scot- 
 land to America about the year 1650 and settled in 
 Massachusetts — one in Eastham, on Cape Cod; one 
 in Brookfield, in what is now Worcester county ; and 
 the other in SDme unknown locality — and from the 
 Cape Cod settler the subject of this sketch descends. 
 
 Daniel Hamilton, great-grandfather of subject, 
 who was born in Eastham, on Cape Cod, about 1740, 
 was the founder of the East Windsor (Conn.) fam- 
 ily. He married Hannah Sparrow, also a native of 
 Eastham, to which marriage were born seven chil- 
 dren : Paul, Daniel (grandfather of subject), Ben- 
 jamin, Theodore, Richard, Const:int and tiannah. 
 He came to Connecticut from Massachusetts, pur- 
 chased in Tolland county the farm now owned by 
 the widow of Franklin Miller, and here died in 
 1784. His eldest son, Paul, who was a hero of the 
 Revolutionary war, was a local Methodist preacher 
 of marked ability. 
 
 Daniel Hamilton, grandfather of our subject, 
 married Mollie Braman, a native of East Windsor, 
 and had born to him a family of nine children : Eli, 
 who was born 1798, and lived and died in Ellington ; 
 Elam, who went South, and probably succumbed 
 
 to the yellow fever; Daniel, Jr., who went to 
 Tomah, Wis., and there died ; John, the father of our 
 subject; Abigail, who married Levi Hayes, of South 
 Windsor, Conn. ; Olive, who was married to Robert 
 Rogers, of Ellington, and died in 1835 ; Mrs. Sallie 
 Silkworth, of New York, who died in 1836; Martha, 
 who was married to James S. Pearson, of Ludlow, 
 Mass., and died in 1839; and Lydia, who died young 
 in 1829. The father of this family died in 1852, a 
 member of the Congregational Church, and his 
 remains were laid to rest beside those of his wife 
 in the cemetery at Ellington. 
 
 John Hamilton, father of subject, was born in 
 East Windsor in 1819, and was a son of Daniel and 
 Molly (Beaman) Hamilton. He received such edu- 
 cational advantages as the district schools of his 
 early days afforded, was reared on his father's 
 farm, and in due course of time became a prominent 
 and influential citizen, serving at one time as select- 
 man, and dying, an honored man, March 17, 1887; 
 he was survived by his wife, who did not pass away 
 until May 4, 1896. Seven children were born to 
 the marriage of John Hamilton, as follows : !\Iilo 
 and Arlon J., who live in Ellington ; Sarah, wife 
 of John O. Walker; Henry W., our subject; Carrie, 
 who is married to Frederick Eest, and lives in 
 Springfield, Mass. ; Arthur, who lives with his 
 sister, Mrs. Walker, in Ellington ; and Emma, who 
 died in infancy. 
 
 Henry W. Hamilton, the subject proper of this 
 sketch, was born Oct. 4, 1854, received a solid pub- 
 lic-school education, and lived on his father's farm 
 until twenty-one years of age, when ht married Miss 
 Ella Lavonne Barber, daughter of Aurelius and 
 Lucy (Fuller) Barber, of whom mention is made 
 elsewhere. He then bought his present farm of 
 forty acres, known as the Wolcott-Barber place, on 
 which he has made many substantial improvements. 
 
 To his marriage with Miss Barber one child, 
 Howard Leslie, was born July 29, 1876. This 
 young man is a graduate of the Rockville high 
 school, and is now a teacher at Melrose. 
 
 In politics Henry W. Hamilton is a Republican, 
 and in religion he is a Methodist. No better illus- 
 tration of the success which follows persistent and 
 well-directed effort, combined with integrity, can be 
 found in East Windsor town, than that which has 
 attended Henry W. Hamilton and his amiable wife. 
 
 FRANKLIN MILLS ALFORD, now living in 
 the village of Avon, was for many years one of the 
 leading business men of this section, and occupies a 
 substantial position among the well-to-do residents 
 of Avon town. He is a native of same, born Oct. 15, 
 1840, a son of Daniel M. Alford, and a grandson of 
 Nathaniel Alford, who in their day were also well- 
 known citizens of the town. 
 
 Daniel M. Alford was born in Avon town 
 Sept. 26, 1796, and here grew to manhood on his 
 father's farm, gaining a thorough knowledge of ag- 
 ricultural pursuits, which he followed for the most 
 
1142 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 part throughout his busy hfe. He received his ed- 
 ucation in the neighboring district scliools. In his 
 earlier manhood, for some years following his mar- 
 riage, he was engaged in peddling in the South, 
 selling clocks and dry goods, but it was as a farmer 
 that he was most successful, and he owned an-l culti- 
 vated a tract of 200 acres, on which he made many 
 improvements. In addition to raising general crops 
 he grew tobacco, carried on dairying, and engaged to 
 a considerable extent in stock raising, beconnng well- 
 known as a prosperous business man and able 
 manager in his locality. He took a deep interest 
 in the ]iubhc welfare and advancement of his town, 
 and had the confidence and respect of his neighbors 
 and fellow citizens generally, a fact which was proved 
 by his frequent election to positions of trust and re- 
 sponsibilit)-. He served his town as selectman, 
 justice of the peace and in other incumbencies, with 
 credit to himself and to the satisfaction of all con- 
 cerned, displaying marked ability in his various ca- 
 pacities. He was always a stanch Democrat in po- 
 litical affiliation. Mr. Alford married IMiss Emira 
 Mills, of Canton, Hartford county, who was a 
 daughter of Joel Mills, and a granddaughter of 
 Jared Mills, a" Baptist minister. Eight children were 
 born to this union : Rollin, who is deceased ; Juliette, 
 Mrs. Andrew Chidsey, deceased ; Emerson, deceased, 
 formerly a resident of Plainvillc, Conn. ; Louisa, 
 widow of Albert Andrews, living in New Haven; 
 Ephraim A., deceased; Lucy Ann, widow of Asa 
 Hoskins, of Simsbury; Sarah Jane, wife of A. J. 
 Mallory; and Franklin Alills, whose name intro- 
 duces these lines. The father of this family passed 
 away Aug. 17, 1873, on his farm in Avon town, 
 and was laid to rest in Avon cemetery. Religiously 
 he was a member of the Baptist Church, and he 
 was a man of quiet habits, domestic in his tastes, 
 and fond of his home and family. Mrs. Alford's 
 death occurred Sept. 12, 1880, in Avon, and she was 
 buried by the side of her husband. She was also 
 a devout member of the Baptist Church, and was 
 a good Christian woman, widely loved for her many 
 sterling qualities. 
 
 Franklin M. Alford attended the district schools 
 of Avon in his boyhood, completing his education 
 in the high school at Collinsville. He remained 
 on the homestead until nineteen years of age, when 
 he commenced life on his own account, his first 
 employment being in a store at New Britain. Tir- 
 ing of indoor work after several months' experi- 
 ence there, he returned to the farm, where he con- 
 tinued until his enlistment, in 1862, at Hartford, as 
 a member of Company I, i6th Conn. V. L, under 
 Capt. Drake, Col. Beach commanding. The com- 
 mand was sent to Washington and thence to Ar- 
 lington Heights, where they went into camp. They 
 followed Lee through Maryland, and took part in 
 the battle of Antietam, where our subject was 
 wounded Sept. 17, 1862, a ball passing through his 
 right leg, near the knee. He was taken to field 
 hospital and later to the hospital at Chester, Penn., 
 
 where he received his discharge in January, 1863. 
 Returning home he rested until his health was re- 
 cuperated, after which he found employment in the 
 axe factory at Collinsville, where he spent six 
 months, engaged in making bayonets for the army. 
 He spent several months following in Minnesota 
 for the benefit of his health, returned home for a 
 short period, and in 1864 made another trip to 
 Minnesota, where he was engaged in selling tin- 
 ware, meeting with good success. On his return 
 to Connecticut he purchased a farm of seventy acres 
 in Berlin, Hartford county, where he took up gen- 
 eral farming and the culture of tobacco; he also 
 engaged extensively in dairy farming. At the end 
 of that time he turned his attention to the m;aiu- 
 facture of fuse, in which he continued for three 
 years, when the establishment was blown up; he 
 eventually returned to agriculture, following same 
 until 1887. Mr. Alford has always maintained the 
 highest reputation for honesty and uprightness in 
 all his dealings, and being of a genial disposition 
 made numerous friends among those with whom he 
 came in contact. He is noted for his common 
 sense and straightforwardness in all his actions, and 
 has always commanded the respect of his fellowmen. 
 Mr. Alford was married in Avon, in 1867, to 
 Miss Lucy R. Case, a native of the town, who was 
 reared and educated here ; she finished her literary 
 training in the New Britain high school. Three 
 children have blessed this union : Grace M., who 
 died in infancy; Florence M. ; and Lila F. The 
 second daughter received her education in the dis- 
 trict schools and Connecticut Literary Institute, 
 and was engaged in teaching in Avon for two years 
 prior to her marriage to William E. Johnson, who 
 is chief engineer at the Hartford water works ; they 
 have had four children, one who died in infancy, 
 Hurlburt L., Florence Ruth and Alford W. Lila 
 F., now the wife of Henry C. Whitman, of West 
 Hartford, also attended the district schools and the 
 Connecticut Literary Institute, at Suffield. In relig- 
 ious matters the family unite with the Congrega- 
 tional Church. Mr. Alford is a stanch member of 
 the Republican party, but he is no politician, and 
 has never sought or desired official preferment. 
 He enjoys life thoroughly, is fond of a good horse, 
 and has owned some fine animals. 
 
 Nathan Lee Case, father of Mrs. Alford, was 
 in his day one of the prosperous and respected citi- 
 zens of Avon, in which town he was born March 
 19, 1809, a son of Nathan and Lucy (Moses) 
 Case. Nathan Case was born April 14, 1784, a 
 son of Jedediah Case, and was a lifelong farmer. 
 He married Lucy Moses, who was born June 9, 
 1786, a daughter of Michael Moses, and died in 
 January, 1836. They had five sons. Jay, Nathan 
 Lee, Millner, Gardner and Emerson. Nathan Lee 
 Case received his education in the schools of the 
 home district and at Ellington, and taught school 
 for several years in his earlier manhood ; was also 
 engaged in selling clocks through the South. After 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1148 
 
 his marriage lie settled down to agricultural pur- 
 suits, and he became one of the extensive farmers 
 and landowners of this section, well and favorably 
 known in his own town, where he served as town 
 treasurer, and was actively identified with affairs 
 in general. He was prominent in the ranks of the 
 Republican party as a loyal worker for local in- 
 terests, and was an earnest member of the Con- 
 gregational Church, in which he held the office of 
 deacon. Mr. Case married Miss Abigail Hurlburt, 
 who was born June 30, 1814, a daughter of Samuel 
 Hurlburt, of West Hartford, and they had two chil- 
 dren, Nathan Burton, who went West ; and Lucy 
 R., Mrs. Alford. The father died in Avon April 
 29, 1893, the mother on Dec. 15, 1895, at the home 
 of our subject, and they sleep their last sleep in 
 Avon cemetery. 
 
 GEORGE LINCOLN HAWLEY, a progressive 
 and energetic agriculturist of Farmington, was born 
 in the Northeast District of that town Aug. 30, 
 1863, and is a son of Edward Norman Hawiey, 
 who spent his entire life in Farmington, engaged 
 in agricultural pursuits. Politically the father was 
 an ardent Republican, and religiously he was an 
 active and consistent member of the Congregational 
 Church of West Hartford. In the town of Avon, 
 Hartford Co., Conn., he was united in marriage with 
 Miss Lydia Hawiey, and to them were born two chil- 
 dren : Walter Edward, deceased ; and George Lin- 
 coln, our subject. The parents are both deceased, 
 honored and respected by all who knew them, the 
 father passing away June 13, 1894, the mother in 
 1885. 
 
 Our subject received a good practical educa- 
 tion in the common schools of the Northeast Dis- 
 trict of Farmington, which he attended until seven- 
 teen years of age. Three years later he commenced 
 peddhng ice for the Trout Brook Ice Co., in whose 
 employ he remained three summers, while he worked 
 one winter for the J. S. Burden Pickling Co. 
 For a short time he was employed in Coe's bras3 
 factory in Torringlon, Conn., and in an iron foundry 
 in New Haven. Subsec|uently he again worked 
 for the Trout Brook Ice Co., for two years, and was 
 with a Mr. Bingham in the ice business for one 
 summer. During the following two years he drove 
 a team for the Jewell Bottling Co., and in April, 
 1894, returned to the home place in Farmington, 
 which is a part of the ancestral farm of the Hawiey 
 family. He has displayed excellent ability and 
 sound judgment in the management of his business 
 affairs, and the neat and thrifty appearance of his 
 place plainly indicates that he thoroughly under- 
 stands the occupation to which he now devotes his 
 energies. 
 
 In New Haven Mr. Hawiey was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Mary Kelley, and to them have 
 been born one son, George Edward, at this writing 
 four years old, and the light of his parents' home; 
 and one daughter, Lena Lydia, one year old. 
 
 MAX ERTEL, one of the most popular and 
 prosperous young German residents of East Wind- 
 sor town, is a native of Dresden, Saxony, now a 
 part of United Germany, having been born Julv 22, 
 1862. 
 
 Mr. Ertel was well educated in the public schools, 
 and at the early age of fourteen years, having 
 finished his studies, he went to Radeburg to learn 
 the trade of barber, and there lived four years. 
 On April 24, 1881, he sailed from Bremen on the 
 steamship "Neckar," and, after a pleasant passage 
 of thirteen days' duration, landed in New York 
 City, where he remained two days only, coming 
 thence to Rockville, Conn., where he worked a year 
 in a cotton factory and a year as a barber. In 1883 
 he came to Broad Brook and purchased the barber 
 shop owned by Bernard Carney, which stood on 
 the site now occupied by the Middleton general 
 store, and there carried on his trade for eight years, 
 when he moved into his present building, erected 
 for him by the Broad Brook Company. 
 
 On April 12, 1887, Mr. Ertel married Miss Ida 
 Helm, a native of Broad Brook, and a daughter of 
 Louis and Ernestine Helm, their marriage being 
 blessed with four children: Howard, Frederick, 
 William, and Elsie. Mr. Ertel and family attend 
 the Episcopal Church, and are highly esteemed by 
 all who know them, he being very domestic in his 
 habits, industrious and strictly upright in all his 
 transactions. In politics he is a Republican. 
 
 Mr. Ertel has mastered the English language 
 through self-instruction and close attention to the 
 conversation going on about him, and even while 
 at work in the factory carried his English grammar 
 with him, in order to lose no time in acquiring a 
 knowledge of the tongue. In 1894 he visited the 
 home of his childhood, and was gone two months, 
 but decided that the United States suited him well 
 enough, as he here raised himself from compara- 
 tive poverty to be well-to-do and respected, 
 
 WILLARD OILMAN BURNHAIM, who is 
 one of the most extensive tobacco growers in Hart- 
 ford county, owns and occupies a farm in the town 
 of South Windsor, located about four miles from 
 Hartford. During the year 1898 life raised about 
 thirty-two acres of tobacco. 
 
 Mr. Burnham is a native of Collinsville, Hart- 
 ford county, born April 6, 1836, and belongs to an 
 old New England family founded in Connecticut 
 by Thomas Burnham, Sr., of Ipswich, England, who 
 in 1635 sailed from Gravesend, England, for the 
 Barbadoes, soon afterward coming to Connecticut. 
 On iirst locating in Hartford he bought the property 
 on the corner of Main and State streets. In 1659 
 he purchased of an Indian chief a tract of land in 
 what is now the towns of South Windsor and 
 East Hartford, a part of which is still in the pos- 
 session of Mr. Burnham, whose name heads this 
 article. Our subject is of the seventh generation 
 in direct descent from Thomas Burnham, Sr,, 
 
1144 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 through Samuel, Timothy, Ehjah (i), Ehjah (2), 
 and Henr)'. 
 
 Henry Burnham was born on tlie old Burn- 
 ham homestead Jan. 22, 1808, and there grew to 
 manhood, lie then went to CoUinsville, and worketl 
 in an axe factory for about seven years, in 1838 re- 
 turning to the old homestead, where he followed 
 farming the remainder of his life, dying there in 
 November, 1875. On March 8, 1835, at CoUins- 
 ville, he married Miss Mary M. Richards, and they 
 had three sons, W'illard G. being the eldest ; Henry 
 Richards, born March 4, 1842, is a farmer of East 
 Hartford; and Roland Eranklin, born Oct. 13, 1846, 
 is a farmer of South Windsor. The mother died 
 in 1894, and the remains of both parents are in- 
 terred in South Windsor cemetery. 
 
 Our subject received a good common-school 
 education and remained upon the home farm until 
 1863, in that year remo\ing to the farm which he 
 now occupies, and he has ever since resitled there. 
 Through life Mr. Burnham has been a farmer. His 
 present home farm contains eighteen acres, but he 
 owns several other tracts of land, amounting in all 
 to eighty-four acres, including wood land and pas- 
 ture land. He has made most of the improvements 
 on the farm, and, though quiet and unostentious 
 has by industry and ability won the rightful repu- 
 tation of being one of Hartford county's most enter- 
 prising and deservedly successful farmers. 
 
 Mr. Burnham was married, April 14, 1863, to 
 Miss Sarah \\'illianis, daughter of Bissell and Nel- 
 lie (Burnham) Williams, and they have had three 
 ■children: Claire, born April 28, 1869, is the wife 
 OT Thomas A. Johnson, and has tliree children. 
 Willard J., Cecile Jilay and Alice Catherine; May, 
 Tjorn Oct. 5, 1871, died July 4, 1872; and Leo, born 
 Jan. 8, 1875, resides with his parents. Mr. Burn- 
 ham is a supporter of the Democratic party. Henry 
 Burnham owns the farm that has descended to him 
 in a direct line from Thomas, Sr. [From the 
 Burnham Genealogy.] 
 
 EDWIN FRANKLIN BURNHAM, a skilled 
 wagonmaker and blacksmith of Burnside, Hartford 
 county, and a greatly respected citizen, was born 
 Ma}' II, 1825, in the house in which he yet lives, a 
 son of Hezekiah and Sarah (I\Iiller) Burnham, the 
 former a native of England. 
 
 Hezekiah Burnham was quite young when, in 
 company with two brothers, he came to America in 
 a sailing-vessel and landed in New York, whence 
 he came direct to East Hartford town and secured 
 employment in the paper-mill at Scotland (now 
 Burnside). Later he kept a grocerj' in the old 
 house that stands immediately north of the house 
 in which the subject of this notice still resides. On 
 Dec. 10, 1809, he married Sarah Miller, a native of 
 Burnside, and to this marriage came seven children, 
 in the following order : Sarah, who was married 
 to Ralph D. Pratt, and lived in St. Louis, Mo. (both 
 are now deceased) ; Emeline, deceased wife of An- 
 
 drew H. Wing, of St. Louis, who left two children, 
 Charles and Nellie; Harriet, married to George S. 
 Phelps and residing at St. Paul, Minn. ; Elvira M., 
 who married Francis Risley, of East Hartford (both 
 are deceased) ; Hezekiah, who married Eleanor Up- 
 son, of Bristol, and is deceased ; Julia, who was 
 married to Nathan C. Greer, of Peoria, 111. (both 
 are deceased) ; and Edwin F., whose name opens 
 this article. 
 
 Edwin Franklin Burnham attended the old Scot- 
 land school house, and later the academy in East 
 Hartford, situated on the site of the present Wells 
 Hall, where he was under the tutorship of Prof. 
 Goodwin and Salmon Phelps. After completing 
 his course of studies at East Hartford he returned 
 to the home farm, engaged in agriculture and team- 
 ing, and then, being of a mechanical turn of mind, 
 and witli keen foresight perceiving an opportunity 
 for opening a blacksmith and wagon repairing shop, 
 he erected a structure for that purpose on his prem- 
 ises, in spite of the jeers of his neighbors; he has 
 been kept busy at this class of work ever since, 
 which fact is pretty good evidence of his skillful 
 and honest work. 
 
 On Dec. 10, 1865, Mr. Burnham was united in 
 marriage with Miss Jane A. Fowler, a native of 
 Hillstown, and a daughter of Roderick and Perme- 
 lia (Hills) Fowler. To this marriage came one 
 son, Frank E., born Aug. 9, 1879, who inherits his 
 father's industrious habits and mechanical skill, and 
 is now assisting in the blacksmith and carriage- 
 repairing shop. He married Miss Eva Scranton, a 
 native of Burnside, and is the father of one child, 
 Mabel, who was born Feb. 24, 1896. Mrs. Edwin 
 F. Burnham died Feb. 13, 1897. 
 
 The Burnham family attend the Methodist 
 Church, and in politics Mr. Burnham is a Republi- 
 can, but has never felt any disposition to hold public 
 office. He is a large, well-built man, of a very 
 pleasant disposition and courteous address, is quite 
 well-to-do, is always at work, and has won the good- 
 will and respect of all who have met him. 
 
 F. H. TOLLES, founder of the Windsor Collar 
 & Cuff Co., at Windsor, has won an established 
 place in the business world in a remarkably short 
 time, and his success affords an excellent illustration 
 of the possibilities before a young man of energy 
 and ability. His enterprise, which has been built 
 up from its foundation through his own efforts, has 
 by no means reached the zenith of its prosperity, 
 and his constantly increasing trade throughout the 
 country has led to the opening of another factory in 
 Chicago, 111., in March, 1898. As the business of 
 making any solid composition into collars and cuffs 
 is comparatively new, defects were unavoidable in 
 the early specimens, and the public is ready to ap- 
 preciate the improvements mad.e by Mr. Tolles, by 
 which all cause for criticism has been removed. 
 
 Mr. Tolles was born Jan. 16, 1867, at Meriden, 
 Conn., son of James Morris and Mary A, (Ken- 
 

i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1145 
 
 worthy) ToUes. The father, who is now a highly- 
 respected resident of Meriden, was born in Litch- 
 field county, this State, and became a brass molder 
 by trade, but ill health compelled him to give up 
 that business two years after his marriage. For a 
 time he followed farming near West Hartford, and 
 afterward near Meriden. Since 1882 he has been 
 a member of the police force of the latter city. His 
 wife is a native of Meriden, and a member of an old 
 family of that locality. Her father, James Ken- 
 worthy, who died in 1898, aged eighty years, was 
 in business at Spoonville, Conn., for some years as a 
 manufacturer of spoons, in partnership with his 
 brother John, and later in life he followed the silver 
 burnisher's trade, his faculties remainibg unim- 
 paired, notwithstanding his advanced age. Our 
 subject was the eldest in a family of five children — 
 three sons and two daughters. 
 
 As a boy Mr. F. H. Tolles attended school in West 
 Hartford and Meriden, and late in the fall of 1879 
 he became an office boy for Manning & Bowman, a 
 Meriden firm. He remained with them a short time, 
 leaving to accept a position at better wages with Ed- 
 ward Miller & Co., of the same city, with whom he 
 spent about a vear. He then entered the Parker 
 Screw shop, again securing better pay, and, being 
 large for his age, he readily adapted himself to any 
 work. In March, 1882, at fifteen years of age, he 
 went to work at his trade, lathe burnishing, at Wil- 
 cox Silver Plate Co., Meriden, Conn., serving three 
 years at same. While he had been successful in 
 every work he had tried, his energy and ambition 
 made the frequent shut-downs unsatisfactory. He 
 was seldom idle when the shops closed, as he would 
 find work at something, and at one time he canvassed 
 for books, making a success of the venture. In Feb- 
 ruary, 1886, he gave up his trade and began taking 
 orders for enlarging pictures, and in this also his 
 success was noticeable. For five years he was em- 
 ployed by N. L. Stone & Co., of Potsdam, N. Y., 
 and he severed his connection with this firm only 
 to become general agent for the A. L. Varney Co., 
 of Albany, N. Y., in the same line, with whom he re- 
 mained three years. While with A. L. Varney 
 Co. he had acted as agent for a Western firm that 
 manufactured waterproof collars and cuffs, in which 
 manner his attention was called to the promising 
 field for business, if properly conducted. As a 
 number of improvements occurred to him he de- 
 cided to go into the manufacture of water- 
 proof collars and cuffs on original lines, and in Jan- 
 uary, 1896, the first product was turned out from his 
 plant, then located in the Hurlbert block, in Hart- 
 ford. Fire drove them out, in June, 1897, and the 
 business was removed to Windsor, where the main 
 factory is now located, the Chicago factory being 
 managed as a partnership. In 1898 finding it diffi- 
 cult to give agents in Western States the prompt 
 service they required from Windsor, G. J. Watson, 
 of East Windsor Hill, and foreman of the factory, 
 , was taken in as partner for the branch business at 
 
 Chicago, 111., and through his able work and over- 
 sight the business has made rapid growth through- 
 out the West. 
 
 The business of placing the goods on the market 
 is done entirely through agents, of whom Mr. Tolles 
 employs over one thousand. They are in all parts of 
 the United States. No business whatever is done 
 with dealers or jobbers, despite the fact that many 
 orders are received from them. The Windsor factory 
 employs from fifteen to twenty, and the industry is 
 one of the most prosperous in the town. Mr. Tolles 
 gives the business his personal attention, and not- 
 withstanding its great volume he is thoroughly fa- 
 miliar with all its details. The products comprise a 
 general line of collars and cuffs, which are made in 
 all the prevailing styles and sizes, with polish or new 
 Imen finish, as desired; also shirt fronts, neckties, 
 and a full line of collars and cuffs for ladies' wear, 
 which are just the thing for s'hirtwaists and for 
 bicycle wear. These goods are all made of solid 
 rubber, no inner lining of cloth, and are not to be 
 confounded with the ordinary celluloid goods. They 
 are waterproof, and will not chip on edge or turn 
 yellow, and contain nothing in any v/ay injurious 
 to the skin. Other specialties are ladies' belts, and a 
 large variety of other useful and ornamental arti- 
 cles, which are all manufactured under the com- 
 pany's own registered trade mark of the "Windsor" 
 waterproof. 
 
 As a citizen our subject is progressive, enter- 
 prising, and his genial, courteous manner has won 
 for him many friends. He married Miss Minnie 
 Rummell, a native of North Manchester, Conn., and 
 they have two children : Ethel F. and May Bell. 
 The family is prominent socially. Socially, our 
 subject is connected with Lincoln Lodge, No. 55, K. 
 P., Hartford ; Hartford Conclave, No. 259, Im- 
 proved Order Hcptasophs, and Capitol Lodge, No. 
 301, N. E. O. P., Hartford, in which latter organiza- 
 tion he is an active' worker. He is a member of 
 the Grand Lodge of Connecticut, and a representa- 
 tive from it to the Supreme Lodge in 1899 and 1900. 
 He is also deputy of Haskell Lodge, Windsor Locks, 
 N. E. O. P. In 1892 Mr. Tolles completed his ele- 
 gant home, on Loomis Ave., Windsor, Conn. ; in 
 1898 built another very desirable residence to rent 
 in Windsor, and in 1899 he built a h.rge iron covered 
 factory building for his collar business. 
 
 WILLIAM BAILEY, the oldest meat dealer 
 in Windsor, and one of its most highly respected 
 citizens, was born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, Eng- 
 land, Oct, 6, 1844, a son of Joseph and Ann (Bailey) 
 Bailey, who were both weavers and followed that 
 occupation when all weaving was done by hand. 
 The father died in England, the mother in Rock- 
 ville. Conn. Our subject is the youngest in the 
 family of twelve children, only four of whom came 
 to the United States. Simeon died in New Jer- 
 sey. Joseph was one of the first Englishmen to 
 work in the mills at Rockville, Conn., and later be- 
 
11 16 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 came foreman of the same. He was a member of 
 the 251 h Conn. \. I., during- the Civil war, and 
 stood high in the community wiiere he lived. Sarah, 
 now the widow of \\'illiam Randall, is a resident 
 of Rockville, and her oldest son, George Randall, 
 is a prominent Republican and postmaster of that 
 place. 
 
 \\'illiam Bailey's early educational advantages 
 were quite meager, but to a limited extent he at- 
 tended school in his native land, and after coming 
 to the United States, the greater part of his edu- 
 cation being obtained in the district of Rockville, 
 Tolland Co., Conn. In company with his brother- 
 in-law, William Randall, he sailed from Liverpool 
 on the "Isaac Webb," and after a voyage of a 
 month landed in New York, in March, 1856. He 
 remained in the vicinity of Rockville, Conn., until 
 1866, being employed in the finishing department 
 of the woolen-mill at that place. Going to Poquo- 
 nock he worked in the woolen-mill there, of which 
 Kellogg & La Prease were the builders and first 
 operators, and here he liecame familiar with every 
 department of the work, being promoted from time 
 to time until he was able to take charge of the mill 
 during the absence of the proprietor. He remained 
 there until 1876, when the product was changed 
 to worsteds. Business being dull at that time along 
 that line, he came to \\indsor Center, where in 
 June of that year he embarked in the butcher busi- 
 ness, at first killing and dressing all his own meat 
 with the exception of the beef. As his trade in- 
 creased, he extended his operations and was soon 
 at the head of a profitable business which he still 
 enjoys. 
 
 Mr. Bailey was united in marriage with ^Nliss 
 Lenora B. Pease, a native of Enfield, Hartford 
 county, and the youngest daughter of Wells and 
 Betsey (Pease) Pease. Two sons have been born 
 to them, namely: (i) William, who is a junior 
 member of the Warner & Bailey Co., clothiers of 
 Hartford, married Harriet Bell, of Windsor; he has 
 served two terms as councilman, and is now serv- 
 ing as alderman in the city council. (2) Arthur 
 A., is bookkeeper at the Eddy Electric Manufac- 
 turing Co., and resides at home; he is chairman 
 of the Republican town committee. In 1896 Mr. 
 Bailey built his present comfortable residence on 
 Loomis avenue, Windsor. 
 
 In early life Mr. Bailey was a Republican, and 
 had that party put a Prohibition plank in its plat- 
 form he would have continued one of its supporters, 
 but since 1886 he has voted with the Prohibition 
 party, being an earnest advocate of the cause of 
 temperance and a member of the Good Templars 
 when that society flourished. Although his edu- 
 cational advantages were poor during his }'Outh, he 
 has by reading and observation become a well-in- 
 formed man, and is especially well-posted on the 
 Scriptures, being a great student of the Bible. In 
 1865 he united with the Congregational Church; 
 was deacon of the church in Poquonock, and in 1884 
 
 was chosen to the same position in Windsor to 
 succeed Deacon Woodford. He also served as 
 superintendent of the Sunday-school for three years 
 and nine months at two diflferent periods. His 
 life is exemplary in all respects, and he has ever 
 supported those interests which are calculated to 
 uplift and benefit humanity, while his own high 
 moral worth is deserving of the highest com- 
 mendation. 
 
 JAMES TROTTER. The extraordinarily suc- 
 cessful business career of Mr. Trotter has resulted, 
 in no small degree, to the benefit of the town of 
 Manchester. Although not yet forty-five years of 
 age, he has accumulated large and valuable hold- 
 ings of real property there, and his public spirit bas- 
 so influenced his management of the same that, 
 while not unmindful of his own interests, he has. 
 done as mucli, if not more, for the upbuilding of 
 that beautiful suburb of Hartford. 
 
 i\Ir. Trotter is a native of County Armagh, Ire- 
 land, born June 11, 1856, the eldest of eleven 
 children of Richard and Jane (Forsytli) Trotter, 
 of whom eight are yet living. The other surviving 
 members of the family, in the order of their birth, 
 are: Alexander, who is in the employ of Cheney 
 Bros, at their mills in Manchester ; William J., and 
 Richard, both of whom reside at Paterson, N. J. ; 
 Robert and George, whose home is in Australia ; and 
 Joseph and Thomas, of Manchester. 
 
 In 1874 James Trotter emigrated to this cotmtry. 
 His first employment in America was in one of the 
 silkmills of Cheney Bros. His industry and thrift 
 stood him in good stead, and little by little he aflded 
 to his savings, until in 1883 he was able to make his 
 first purchase of real estate in ?\Ianchester. He se- 
 lected property on Wells street which he subse- 
 quently sold to Ralph Cheney, and then bought 
 what was known, at that time, as the Knox property. 
 It was so remote from the heart of the town that 
 many older heads advised him against making the 
 transaction, but his sagacity, sound judgment and 
 hard business sense convinced him that he was 
 acting wisely. The result h:^s abundantly justi- 
 fied his prognostications, the property which he 
 purchased on his own judgment at that time being 
 at present among the most valuable in the choicest 
 residence district of Manchester. This piece of 
 ground embraced about eight and one-half acres, 
 and on a portion of it are now located the barn's of 
 the Hartford, Manchester & Rockville Street Car 
 Co. On this land Mr. Trotter has erected eight 
 dwellings, one of which he still owns. In 1896 he 
 bought the sixteen acres popularly called the "Hunt- 
 ington property," one of the most beautiful tracts 
 in Manchester, and has improved it and platted it 
 in lots, some of which he sold, and upon which have 
 been erected nineteen handsome residences ; he has 
 also opened and dedicated streets, etc. In 1897 Mr. 
 Trotter bought, from Mrs. Ann Hunneford, an- 
 other valuable plat, comprising twenty acres. 
 
/^^/^^-'»%/^ c/l.ir-'^UUA^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1147 
 
 whereon have been built six dwellings, two of which 
 he has sold. Among the streets which he has 
 opened are Summit, Orchard, Winter, Trotter, Val- 
 ley, Huntington, and Wadsworth Avenue. In 1899 
 he purchased seventy-five acres known as the 
 "Taintor estate." 
 
 It is difficult to speak too highly of the progress- 
 ive spirit which has ever characterized Mr. Trotter's 
 policy since he began dealing in Manchester real 
 property. His faith in the town's growth has never 
 wavered, and his success is due wholly to this abso- 
 lute confidence based on his intelligent judgment as 
 a business man. Yet while building up a fortune 
 for himself he has adopted no niggardly, selfish 
 scheme for his own aggrandizement at the expense 
 of others, and his fellow townsmen both recognize 
 and appreciate the fact. In politics he is of the Re- 
 publican faith. He makes no profession of religion, 
 but is a regular attendant at Divine service, and a 
 liberal contributor to every good work. 
 
 Mr. Trotter has been twice married. His first 
 wife was Maggie J. McClellan, of East Hartford, 
 whom he married in 1883, and who bore him one 
 child, Eva J. ; mother and daughter both died in 
 1888. Seven years afterward, on Oct. 9, 1895, Mr. 
 Trotter was joined in wedlock to Miss Lucy John- 
 ston, and they have had one son, Alton Victor. 
 
 GEORGE CALVIN HOWE, shipping clerk for 
 the Hartford Carpet Co., and one of the enterprising 
 citizens of Thompsonville, Hartford county, was 
 born Feb. 14, 1840, at Mobile, Ala., a son of George 
 Rice and Sarah Jane (Ryer) Howe. 
 
 Dr. Calvin Howe, our subject's grandfather, was 
 a prominent physician and surgeon of Saccarappa, 
 Maine. He was born at Sturbridge, Maine, Jan. 
 21, 1780, and died at Saccarappa Aug. 26, 1845. 
 During the war of 1812 he served as a contract sur- 
 geon, was captured by the British, and kept prisoner 
 for nine months. On July 3, 1802, he married Abi- 
 gail Cutter, who died at Westfield, Mass., Sept. 20, 
 1855, ^nd by her he had the following children, the 
 eldest born at Windham, Maine, the others at Sac- 
 carappa. Thomas C, born Nov. 20, 1803, died at 
 Detroit, Mich., Jan. 22, 1892; George R., born Nov. 
 4, 1807, died in Brooklyn, N. Y., Feb. 11, 1847; 
 Harrison G. Otis, born July 28, 1810, was lost at sea; 
 Maria, born Feb. 14, 1817, died March 4, 1892; 
 Mary A., born July 2, 1819, died Feb. 17, 1890; 
 Andrew J., born Oct. 16, 1823, died Oct. 9, 1825. 
 
 George Rice Howe, our subject's father, was a 
 sea captain by occupation. On Dec. 13, 1834, he 
 married Sarah J. Ryer, daughter of Michael and 
 Hannah Ryer, and to this union were born the fol- 
 lowing children : George Calvin, Ada B., and Sam- 
 uel B. (who died when only a few years old). Mrs. 
 Ada B. (Howe) Mook is vice-regent of the Col- 
 onial Chapter of the Daughters of the Revolution, of 
 New York City, and curator of the State of New 
 York, of the same order. She has one daughter, 
 Jessie Stanley 
 
 George Calvin Howe was reared in Brooklyn 
 and New York City. He received a common- 
 school education, and losing his father early com- 
 menced working in New York. When the Civil 
 war broke out he enlisted, in July, 1861, and was 
 mustered into the United States service at Riker's 
 Island on Aug. 15, as a private in Company H, An- 
 dersons' Zouaves, afterward the Sixty-second N. Y. 
 V. I. He served three years, when he was honora- 
 bly discharged as sergeant. He participated with 
 his regiment in the battles of Williamsburg, Fair 
 Oaks, Seven Pines, Rappahannock Station, Malvern 
 Hill, Antietam, Gettysljurg, and the battles around 
 Richmond under Gen. Grant. During part of these 
 three years he was brigade and regimental clerk. 
 After his discharge he was clerk in the quartermas- 
 ter's department under Capt. J. T. Wray, of the 
 Army of the Shenandoah, continuing till the sur- 
 render of Gen. Lee at Appomattox. After the close 
 of the war Mr. Howe located in Westfield, Mass., 
 and remained there as clerk and bookkeeper for a 
 grocery and dry-goods firm for two years. Then 
 he moved to Springfield, Mass, holding a similar 
 position in a furniture store, and in June, 1871, lo- 
 cated in Thompsonville, where he has since resided, 
 entering into the employ of the Hartford Carpet Co., 
 as shipping clerk, which position he has held con- 
 tinuously up to the present time 
 
 Mr Howe was married May 23, 1863, at North 
 Adams, Mass., to Josephine Lydia, daughter of 
 Horace and Cynthia (Bradley) Walker, of Walker 
 Flill, Dalton, Mass. She has borne him six chil- 
 dren : George Lyman, born June 15, 1865, who has 
 one son, Willard E. ; Ada Elise (Mrs. Roscoe A. 
 Hutchinson), born March 18, 1867, who has one 
 daughter, Elise D. W. ; Ella, born Feb. 2, 1870, who 
 died Feb. 28, 1872; Will Stanley (cashier and pay- 
 master of The Hartford Rubber Works Co.), born 
 April 16, 1873, who has one son, Stanley M. ; Liz- 
 zie Whitley (a teacher), born Sept. 28, 1876; and 
 Harry Leslie (a student of Trinity College), born 
 April 9, 1881. 
 
 Mr. Howe is a member of the Universalist 
 Church. He is a member and past commander 
 of Samuel Brown Post, No. 56, G. A. R., of Thomp- 
 sonville ; of Abraham Lincoln Circle, Ladies G. A. 
 R., of Springfield, Mass. ; and of De Soto Lodge, 
 I. O. O. F., of that city. In 1884 he became an ad- 
 vocate of the prohibition of the liquor traffic by law, 
 and has voted for that principle ever since. 
 
 LEMUEL C. CASWELL, who for the past 
 seventeen years has been engaged in farming and 
 dairying, the last four years of the time at Bloom- 
 field, was born in Hartford, Conn., Aug. 2, 1843, 
 and is a son of Edwin and Bethia T. (Wells) Cas- 
 well, being the ninth in their family of eleven chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Lemuel Caswell, grandfather of our subject, 
 was a native of Ludlow, Mass., but passed the 
 greater part of his life in Hartford county. Conn. 
 
1148 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lie married Miss Joanette Xcviiis, and died at Lake 
 Chaniplain during the war of 1812-15. 
 
 Edwin Caswell, son of Lemuel and father of 
 Lemuel C, was born in West Hartford, Conn., in 
 1804, and there passed his boyhood years. For a 
 long time he conducted a meat market in Hartford, 
 and also lived for some time in Bloomfield. To his 
 marriage with ^liss \\'ells children were born in 
 the following order : Ann ; Mary ; Edwin and Will- 
 iam, deceased; Susan, wife of N. S. Loomis, of 
 \\'indsor; John, deceased; Charles, a market-man 
 on Asylum street, Hartford; Jane, wife of Fred 
 Kingsley, of Hartford ; Lemuel Chauncey, our sub- 
 ject; Joseph, deceased; and r.enjamin, deceased. 
 The father was a trustee and steward of the Method- 
 ist Episcopal Church at Bloomfield, but during his 
 latter \cars farmed at West Hartford, where his 
 death took place in 1884, his remains being interred 
 at Bloomfield; his wife had died in 1852, and her 
 body was interred at Hartford. 
 
 Lemuel C. Caswell attended school in West 
 Hartford in his earlier boyhood, and later attended 
 the Bloomfield Academy. For fifteen years he 
 ran a butcher's wagon in Bloomfield and West 
 Hartford, and then w-ent into the meat market busi- 
 ness with his brother Charles at Hartford, in which 
 he continued one year. For the past seventeen 
 years, as has already been intimated, he has been 
 engaged in farming and dairying, settling finally 
 in Bloomfield in 1896. 
 
 Lemuel C. Caswell married in Bloomfield, Jan. 
 S, 1871, Miss Mary Ella Goodwin, daughter of 
 Chester Goodwin, and to this union have been born 
 three children : Alary Ella, Anna Josephine and 
 Edwin Lemuel. Mr. and Mrs. Caswell are mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Bloom- 
 field, and for a long time ]\Ir. Caswell was a prom- 
 inent member of the Good Templars society, of the 
 same town. He has always borne a reputation for 
 honest dealing-, and enjoys the respect of all who 
 know him, and this respect is also accorded his 
 wife and family. 
 
 FRANK B. CLARK, the well-known paper 
 manufacturer of Glastonbury, is a self-made man 
 whose history will be of general interest. 
 
 He comes of good old A^ermont stock. On his 
 mother's side he is a direct descendant of William 
 Bradford, second governor of ^Massachusetts. 
 
 Arad W. Clark, his father, was born and reared 
 at Brattleboro, Vt., receiving a district school edu- 
 cation, but came to Connecticut in early manhood, 
 locating first at Granby, where he followed farm- 
 ing for some time. Later, he settled at Glaston- 
 bury, entering the employ of Deacon Duel Higgins, 
 who was prominent for many years in the affairs of 
 that community, and served as deacon in the East 
 Glastonbury Congregational Church and later in the 
 church at South Glastonburv. This removal led to 
 important changes in the life of the young employe, 
 as he was married a few years afterward to Hen- 
 
 rietta Higgins, daughter of the Deacon and his 
 wife, Fannie Blinn, and the remainder of his life 
 was spent in East Glastonbury, in agricultural pur- 
 suits. He was a man of average height, and en- 
 joyed remarkably good health until shortly before 
 his death, which occurred in 1883. Our subject 
 was the youngest of five children. Of the others, 
 (i) Charles died in childhood. (2) Katherine 
 married T. S. Curtis, a farmer in East Glastonbury, 
 and died in 1898, leaving two children, Clayton and 
 Efiie. (3) John D. married Kittie Mandeville, and 
 now resides in Brooklvn, N. Y., where he is suc- 
 cessfully engaged in the steam-heating business. Fie 
 has three children, Frank (named after our sub- 
 ject), Aida and Florence. (4) Dwight, who is in 
 the meat business, married Emma Fick, and re- 
 sides in Ellington, Conn. He has two children. 
 Bertha and Ernest. 
 
 Our subject was born Sept. 26, 1854, in East 
 Glastonbury, near Bucks Corners, on a farm now 
 owned by him, and which was formerly owned by 
 his great-grandfather on the maternal side. He 
 attended the local schools, and Wesleyan Academy, 
 Wilbraham, Mass., where he completed his course 
 in 1878. He then taught school in Glastonbury — 
 two years in the same school which he attended as 
 a boy, and also in another district south of that. 
 At the age of seventeen he bought his father's in- 
 terest in the house and farm, and for a number of 
 years operated the place at night and in his spare 
 time, and worked in the daytime in the Roaring 
 Brook Paper Mill, and also for A. G. Hills. In 
 1 888 he fonned a partnershio under the firm name 
 of the Naubuc Paper Co., for the purchase of Case 
 Bros.' paper factory, at Naubuc. From time to 
 time he bought the interest of his partners, and in 
 1894 became sole owner of the mill. Fire destroyed 
 the original mill in 1893, but Mr. Clark immediately 
 erected the present mill, where he has been doing an 
 extensive business. He employs about twelve men, 
 and makes a specialty of the manufacture of book 
 binder's board, the product being sent to all parts 
 of the country. In 1895 he removed from the old 
 homestead to his present residence. Mr. Clark 
 attends the Congregational Church, and in politics 
 is a Republican. 
 
 On Oct. 3, 1880, Mr. Clark was married to Miss 
 Nellie J. Belden, daughter of Francis and Nancy 
 (Blinn) Belden, who had a family of three chil- 
 dren; all living. The father died in 1896, and the 
 mother resides at Rocky Hill. Mr. and Mrs. Clark 
 have had the following children: Edith M., born 
 July 19, 1881 ; Maude B., Oct. 13, 1883 ; Francis B., 
 Feb. 22, 1885 (died same year) ; and Frank B., Jr., 
 March 11, 1894. 
 
 L. D. FAIRBANKS, a well-to-do farmer and 
 tobacco grovv^er of the town of Windsor, was born 
 Sej>t. I, 1855, in the town of Colerain, Franklin 
 Co., Mass., a son of Rominer S. and Prucia 
 (Sprague) Fairbanks. The father, who spent most 
 
/hm- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1149 
 
 of his life as a farmer, was also born in Colerain, 
 and was a son of Deacon Daniel Fairbanks, a na- 
 tive of Rhode Island, and an active worker in the 
 Baptist Church. In early life the father of our 
 subject was also a member of that church, but later 
 attended the Methodist Church, to which his wife 
 belonged. He died at the age of seventy-one years, 
 she at the age of sixty-two, and both were buried at 
 Colerain, Mass. Our subject is the oldest of their 
 children, the others being Delia, wife of Frank 
 Cutting, of Whitingham, Vt. ; Charles M., a farmer 
 of Colerain ; William P., a farmer of Heath, Mass. ; 
 Prilla D., who died at the age of thirty-two years; 
 Jennie, wife of Albert Davenport, of Colerain; 
 Gertrude; and Oscar, a farmer. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared as a 
 farmer boy, and educated in the common schools 
 near his childhood home, remaining with his par- 
 ents until he attained the age of eighteen years. 
 As soon as his brothers became old enough to take 
 his place in assisting in the work of the home farm, 
 he began working for neighboring farmers, and 
 was thus employed until 1876. In September of 
 that year he came to Hartford, Conn., and entered 
 the employ of his uncle, E. L. Sprague, who was 
 in the peddling business, selling tinware. For sev- 
 eral years Mr. Fairbanks remained with his uncle, 
 traveling over much of Hartford county, and then 
 bought that portion of the business of which he had 
 charge and started out for himself as a peddler. 
 For fourteen years he gave his entire attention to 
 the business, in the meantime purchasing land as 
 his financial resources permitted, and for the fol- 
 lowing few years devoted a part of his time to 
 farming. He would harvest his crop of tobacco, 
 and during the remainder of the year devote his 
 time to peddling; but he gradually retired from the 
 tinware business, and of late years has given his 
 attention whollv to agriculture. He is engaged in 
 general farming, giving special attention to the 
 raising of tobacco. He now owns the old home- 
 stead of his wife, and also has built a new house 
 on Mill street, Windsor, which he rents. This 
 property has all been acquired through his own 
 industrious and economical habits, and for his suc- 
 cess in life he deserves much credit. 
 
 On Sept. 2y, 1877, Mr. Fairbanks married Miss 
 Ellen F. Elliott, who was born June 22, 1856, in 
 Windsor, a daughter of Thomas D. and Mary E. 
 (Rockwell) Elliott, and granddaughter of Alpheus 
 and Silence (Palmer) Rockwell. The father, who 
 was a hatter by trade, died at the age of sixty-three 
 years, the mother at the age of sixtj'-eight. In 
 their family were six children : William R., a 
 farmer of Northfield, Conn. ; Helen, who died at 
 age of two and one-half years ; Charles T., a resident 
 of Windsor; Sarah J., who died at the age of 
 twelve; John B., a resident of Windsor; and Ellen 
 F. (Mrs. Fairbanks), who was reared in Windsor 
 and attended the Windsor Seminary for several 
 terms. To our subject and his wife were born three 
 
 children: Albert L., who died in infancy; and 
 Alfred R. and May P., both at Home. Mr. Fair- 
 banks cast his first vote in Hartford, but since 
 1877 he has made his home in Windsor, and has 
 been prominently identified with public affairs. Po- 
 litically he is a supporter of the Republican party, 
 and for seven years he has most efficiently served 
 as school treasurer of District No. 4. Mrs. Ellen 
 F. Fairbanks departed this hfe April 11, 1899; 
 she was a consistent member of the Methodist 
 Church. 
 
 HERMAN UDE, a well-known tobacco raiser 
 and market gardener, fruit grower and general 
 farmer of West Suffield, was born in Brunswick, 
 Germany, April 26, 1863, and is a son of Henry 
 and Augusta (Hill) Ude, the former of whom is 
 deceased, and the latter still living in the Father- 
 land. 
 
 Herman Ude graduated from the College of 
 Brunswick, and at the age of eighteen years came 
 to the United States, where, in New York City, he 
 worked in a pipe factory for a year. During the 
 five years following he was employed in farm labor 
 at Monterey, Berkshire Co., Mass., and in 1888 
 came to Suffield, Conn., where he worked for the 
 Hemenway family for some time, and then bought 
 the I co-acre tract known as the Frank Harmon 
 farm. On this farm he has made man)- improve- 
 ments, has planted 1,500 peach trees, and owns the 
 only market garden in the neighborhood. He also 
 grows tobacco extensively, and is one of the most 
 enterprising farmers of the town, raising his gar- 
 den truck plants in greenhouse, and even his to- 
 bacco plants under glass. 
 
 In 1890 Mr. Ude married, in Suffield, Miss 
 Mabel Esther Kent, daughter of Martin Kent, and 
 to this union three children have been born, the 
 first of whom died in infancy, the second bearing 
 the name of Jennie Hermenia, and the third, Franz 
 Edward. Mr. Ude is a man of decided talent, is 
 well educated, and is a practical agriculturist in 
 all details, while Mrs. Ude is a lady of culture and 
 refinement, and all their surroundings give token of 
 intelligence and taste. They are members of the 
 Baptist Church ; in politics Mr. Ude is a stanch Re- 
 publican. He began life a poor man, but through 
 intelligent effort has earned a competency ; has 
 expended over $5,000 in improving his present place, 
 and it is now the model farm of the county. He is 
 respected as well as admired for his sagacity, and 
 his kindljr disposition has endeared to him all who 
 know him. 
 
 David Kent, great-grandfather of Mrs. Ude, 
 was born in Southwick, Mass., March 25, 1747, 
 served in the war of the Revolution, and then set- 
 tled down to farming. He married Leomia Car- 
 rington, who bore him three children : Esther, 
 born Sept. i, 1799; an infant that died tmnamed ; 
 and Justus, born Nov. 3, 1803. Justus Kent farmed 
 his tract of 100 acres in his native town of South- 
 
1150 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 wick until 1856, when he sold out and brought his 
 family to Suffield, Conn., bought the Parsons farm 
 of thirty acres, and here died in 1864; he was a 
 deacon 'in the Baptist Church. He first married 
 Eliza Kellogg, of Southwick, Mass., who bore him 
 one child, Kvaline, mother and child soon passing 
 away. ^ir. Kent later married Olive M. Hamil- 
 ton, who was born April 23, 1815, a daughter of 
 Armor Hamilton, a school teacher of Granville, 
 Mass., and to this marriage came five children: 
 Nancv Jane, born June 5, 1836, is now the widow 
 of L.'W. Sampson, of Southwick; Emmerett, born 
 May 2, 1838, is now the wife of Hiram B. Case, 
 of Bloomfield, Conn.; Clifton B., born Aug. 31, 
 1842, is deceased; Alartin H., born June 22, 1846; 
 and Delphine O., born Sept. r8, 1850, is married 
 to Newell T. Talmage, of Southwick. Mrs. Olive 
 M. Kent died Aug. 19, 1852, and Mr. Kent next 
 married Salina ^Merriman, of Westfield, who died 
 in Sufiield. 
 
 Martin H. Kent, father of Mrs. Ude, was born 
 in Southwick, Mass., was educated in Suffield, 
 Conn., and has passed all his life on his late father's 
 farm in Sufiield. On May 29, 1872, he married 
 at East Granby, Dolly Louise Bates, daughter of 
 Anson Bates, and to this union have been born two 
 children, Mabel Esther, wife of Herman Ude; and 
 Jennie Louise, wife of Edward Kuechler, of New 
 York City. The Kent family are all members of 
 the Baptist Church, and, politically, ^Ir. Kent is a 
 Republican. 
 
 Lemuel Bates, a maternal ancestor of Mrs. Ude, 
 was a captain in the Revolutionary war, and before 
 its close purchased, in 1774, a large tract of land 
 in Simsbury (now East Granby), where he passed 
 the remainder of his life. Erastus Bates, his son, 
 was born Oct. 22, 1764, and died in 1826. He was 
 commissioned an officer of Company 4, i8th Regi- 
 ment Connecticut ^Militia, Oct. 12, 1799, but passed 
 all his life on the farm. He married Amelia Higby, 
 daughter of Seth and Mindwell Higby, and to the 
 mariage were born nine children : Anson, born May 
 4, 1799; Daniel, born Aug. 23, 1800, died in 1821 ; 
 Albert, born June 25, 1804, married Lucretia Bates, 
 moved to Medina county, Ohio, and died in 1885; 
 Flora, born ]\Iay i, 1806, married a Mr. Metcalf, 
 removed to Caledonia, j\Iinn., and died in 1877; 
 Carlos, born March 23, 1808, first married Maria 
 Stimpson, later wedded Hannah Stowell, and died 
 Dec. 20, 1878; Milton, born in 181 1, died in 1831 ; 
 Laura, born March 17, 1813, was (first) married 
 to Harvey Trumbull, and (second) to a Mr. Van 
 Daurn, and died in 1884; Alfred, born March 13, 
 1815, married Elizabeth Owen, and died in 1897; 
 and iMindwell, born June 9, 1819, was (first) mar- 
 ried to Henry Johnson, and (second) to Deacon 
 Benjamin Smith, who died in November, 1898. 
 The mother of this family died in 1839, on the farm 
 now owned by Albert C. Bates, and was interred 
 beside her husband in Turkey Hill cemetery. East 
 Granbv. 
 
 Anson Bates, grandfather of Mrs. Ude, was 
 born on the Bates homestead in East Granby, was 
 a member of the Hartford County Bar, also a 
 farmer, and died in East Granby in 1869. He mar- 
 ried Louise Garnet, a native of Virginia, who bore 
 him seven children : Anna Amelia, who died young; 
 \'irginia G., deceased wife of George L. Viets; 
 Ansonia F., wife of Geo'rge W. Sandman, of East 
 Granby; Dolly Louise, wife of Martin H. Kent, and 
 mother of Mrs. Ude ; Ella, who died young, as also 
 did Anson and Louise A. Mrs. Bates died at 
 her home in East Granby, a member of the Epis- 
 copal Church, and her remains were interred in 
 the family cemetery. 
 
 ANTHONY PFEIFFER, a highly-respected 
 citizen of East Windsor, was born in Rhine Hesse, 
 Germany, June 9, 1829, and is a son of Balthas and 
 Elizabeth (Hartleap) Pfeiffer, who were the parents 
 of five children : John, Joseph, Mathias, Anthony 
 and Catherine. 
 
 The father of this family, who was a blacksmith 
 by trade, died when comparatively young, and the 
 mother, shortly after this sad event, sold her home 
 and, with her four children, in April, 1856, em- 
 barked for America, to join the daughter Catherine, 
 who had preceded the little family by three years. 
 After a somewhat tempestuous voyage of forty-two 
 days in a sailing-vessel, the family arrived in New 
 York, whence they came by boat as far as Hartford, 
 and then by wagon to Broad Brook, where Catherine 
 had already located. Here the mother supported her 
 family by keeping boarders, and here passed the re- 
 mainder of her life, dying, at a ripe age, in the faith 
 of the Catholic Church. Of her five children, enu- 
 nierated above, John was a soldier in the war of the 
 Rebellion, and died in a hospital ; Joseph is employed 
 as watchman in Simon's silkmill, at Warehouse 
 Point, Hartford county; Mathias, who was a shoe- 
 maker by trade, died at Broad Brook ; Anthony is 
 spoken of in full farther on ; and Catherine, widow 
 of Frederick Becker, who died in New Britain, now 
 resides with her son Frederick in Hartford. 
 
 Anthony Pfeiffer, the subject proper of this bi- 
 ography, attended the common schools in Germany, 
 as was compulsory, earned a trifle as a farm boy, 
 but lived at home until fourteen years old, and then 
 went to Mainz and worked as a mason's helper until 
 the time came for him to embark for America, where 
 he found employment in the mills of Hartford 
 county. Conn. On May 3, 1857, he married, in 
 Broad Brook, Miss Grace Markt, who was born 
 March 30, 1829, in Ivonigsheim, Wurtemberg, 
 Germany, and was the third in a family of five chil- 
 dren born to Mathias and Anna M. (Lebinger) 
 Markt, namely : Leobold, Josephine, Grace, Joseph 
 and Magdalene. Mrs. Grace Pfeiffer was the only 
 member of her family to come to the United States. 
 She sailed from Antwerp, was twenty-four days on 
 the ocean, and on arriving in New York was de- 
 tained on board the vessel, owing to the crowded con- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1151 
 
 dition of Castle Garden, thus making her .stay on ship- 
 board twenty-six days long. For a short time she 
 worlted as a tailoress in Wihiamsburg, L. I., and 
 then came to Broad Brook, to work as a domestic 
 in the house of Jolm Wolfe, and was so employed 
 when married. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Pfeiffer started housekeeping in 
 Broad Brook, where both were employed in the 
 mills — Mr. Pfeiffer in various capacities, among 
 them that of watchman, and for twenty-three years 
 he served his employers in a most trustworthy and 
 faithful manner in whatever position he was called 
 upon to fill. In 1879 he purchased what was known 
 as the John Marsden farm, of twenty-four acres, 
 east of Broad Brook, and this land he has materially 
 improved ; he has remodeled the dwelling, placed the 
 fences in first-class order, and in many ways has 
 added to its conveniences, so that it is now one 
 of the most valuable places of its size in the town. 
 
 To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Pfeiffer have 
 been born seven children, in the following order: 
 John, Aug. 8, 1859, now a mill worker and farmer 
 in Broad Brook; Joseph, Nov. 10, 1861, a boss 
 spinner in Pittsfield, Mass. ; Elizabeth C, Feb. 16, 
 1863, wife of James Loftus, of Broad Brook; An- 
 thony A., June 24, 1865, a motorman in Spring- 
 field, Mass. ; Anna M., at home with her parents ; 
 Frank, Feb. 14, 1870, died Dec. 16, 1872; and Carl 
 H., Aug., 27, 1874, assisting his sister Anna in 
 taking care of their parents in their declining years. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Pfeiffer and their children are mem- 
 bers of St. Catherine's Catholic Church, at Broad 
 Brook, to the support of which they liberally con- 
 tribute, and in politics Mr. Pfeiffer is a Democrat. 
 
 Mr. Pfeiffer is a well-preserved man for his 
 age, and is still active in his work on the farm. 
 He affords a fine example of what may be accom- 
 plished by a life of sobriety, frugality, industry and 
 integrity — qualities which have won for him the 
 unfeigned esteem of all his neighbors. 
 
 FINTON WALLACE. Among the many his- 
 tories in this volume which convey the lesson of 
 self-help, none shows a more sturdy and courage- 
 ous effort in the overcoming of adverse circum- 
 stances than the following brief record of one of the 
 leading business men of Windsor Locks. 
 
 Mr. Wallace was born March 25, 1832, in 
 Queens County, Ireland, where his ancestors have 
 resided for generations. William Wallace, his 
 grandfather, spent his life in Queens county, and by 
 occupation was a nailmaker. Matthew Wallace, 
 the father of our subject, was also a lifelong resi- 
 dent of that locality, and for many years followed the 
 nailmaker's trade, his death occurring in 1847. His 
 wife, Margaret (Fitzpatrick) died there about 1864. 
 They had a large family of children, of whom six 
 sons and two daughters came to the United States, 
 and of these Finton and his brother Michael are 
 now the only survivors. 
 
 Our subject was eighteen years old when he 
 
 crossed the ocean and he wisely determined to learn 
 a good trade at once. Accordingly he went to Pitts- 
 burg, Penn., where he served an apprenticeship with 
 a blacksmith, and in 1853 he came to this section 
 and spent about a year in Hartford. Later he was 
 employed for five years by Goodwin & Parker, in 
 Waterbury, and in 1859 he settled in Windsor Locks 
 and was employed by the Seymour Paper Co., in 
 their blacksmith shop, remaining with them thirty- 
 three years. About 1889 Mr. Wallace engaged in 
 the grocery business on Spring street, and he now 
 enjoys an extensive and profitable trade in that line. 
 He has always taken an interest in public affairs, 
 and, since his naturalization in 1857, he has been a 
 steadfast supporter of the Democratic party. For 
 six years he served as assessor, and at present he is 
 a member of the local board of relief. 
 
 On June 9, 1856, during his residence in Water- 
 bury, Mr. Wallace was married there to Miss Mary 
 Doran, also a native of Queens County, Ireland, and 
 the following children have blessed the union : Mar- 
 garet; Julia, deceased; Angeline, deceased; Ceha, 
 deceased; Thomas; John; George, a painter at 
 Windsor Locks; Frank, a resident of New Haven; 
 and Sadie, Katie, and Katie (2), all three deceased. 
 Mr. Wallace and his family are prominent members 
 of St. Mary's Catholic Church, and for thirty years 
 he has held the position of collector of pew rents. 
 
 LINNEUS F. TURNER. Success is deter- 
 mined by one's ability to recognize opportunity, 
 and pursue this with a resolute and unflagging en- 
 ergy. It results from continued labor, and the man 
 who thus accomplishes his purpose usually becomes 
 an important factor in the business circles of the 
 community with which he is connected. Mr. Turner, 
 through such means, has attained a leading place 
 among the representative men of Burlington, and his 
 well-spent and honorable life commands the respect 
 of all who know him. 
 
 Mr. Turner was born in Palermo, Waldo Co., 
 Maine, Nov. 29, 1856, a son of Abiel and Sarah 
 (Dunton) Turner. The father, who was of Eng- 
 lish descent, and a farmer by occupation, entered the 
 L'nion army during the Civil war, and was killed in 
 the battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. The mother 
 is still living. Our subject attended the public 
 schools of his native place until nine years of age, 
 when he was obliged to begin earning his own live- 
 lihood, as his father had died two years previously. 
 He first worked as a farm hand at $5 per month 
 for the first year, after that getting from eight to 
 fifteen dollars per month, and was thus employed 
 until fifteen years of age, when he entered the cotton- 
 mills at Salem, Mass., as oiler on spindles, receiving 
 $7.50 per week. 
 
 On leaving there Mr. Turner returned home, 
 where he worked at farm labor until, in 1874, he 
 came to Middletown, Conn., and for one year 
 worked in the kitchen of the insane asylum there. 
 The following six months he was employed in the 
 
1152 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 insane hospital at Taunton, Mass., and then returned 
 to the hospital in JMiddletown, where he remained as 
 an attendant in the wards for six years. During his 
 time he studied hard to obtain an education, and 
 also took up the study of bookkeeping and music. 
 In September, 1880, in company with his brother 
 Leslie, who was also an employe in the insane hospi- 
 tal, he came to Burlington and, forming a partner- 
 ship, they purchased the general store of \V. F. Ses- 
 sons, which they conducted together for seven years. 
 At the end of that time our subject purchased his 
 brother's interest, and has since successfully engaged 
 in business alone. He carries a large and well- 
 selected stock of general merchandise, and has built 
 up an excellent trade. 
 
 On March 29, 1881, at Hartford, Mr. Turner 
 married Miss Carrie E. Beckley, daughter of Lu- 
 ther Beckley, and to them have been born two chil- 
 dren : Roy, who is a student at the Ohio Medical 
 University. Columbus, Ohio; and Lila May, attend- 
 ing the Collinsville high school. Mr. and ^Irs. 
 Turner are both members of the Grange at Whig- 
 ville, and he also belongs to Collinsville Lodge, No. 
 29, F. & A. M. He is a stanch supporter of the 
 men and measures of the Republican party, and has 
 served as auditor and tax collector of Burlington. 
 For twenty consecutive years he has filled the office 
 of postmaster — a longer period than that of any 
 other in Hartford county — being first appointed 
 during President Hayes' administration. He is lib- 
 eral in his religious views, is temperate in habits, 
 and is a man well liked and highly respected by all 
 who know him. 
 
 ELLERY LEE BRE\\'ER, the well-known and 
 highly-respected retired fanner and tobacco-grower 
 of the town of East Hartford, was born Feb. 23, 
 1823, in the house now owned by Norman S. 
 Brewer, south of the Hockanum cemetery, and is a 
 son of Allen and Velina (Bidwell) Brewer, who 
 were the parents of eight children, named Ashbel, 
 Emmeline, Julia Ann, Sherman A., Francis S., Fi- 
 ler}' Lee, Henrietta and Prudence C. 
 
 Allen Brewer was born i\Iarch 23, 1789, on the 
 old homestead near the river bank, and was a pros- 
 perous farmer; he clung to his birthplace until 1834, 
 when he purchased the farm now occupied by El- 
 lery Lee Brewer, erected the dwelling, and here 
 passed the remainder of his life, dying Nov. 19, 
 1853. He served in the war of 1812. His wife 
 passed away Nov. 28, 1855. 
 
 EUery Lee Brewer was eleven years of age when 
 brought by his father to his present farm, which 
 has ever since been his home. His schooling he ob- 
 tained under Solomon Cone, in the old brick school- 
 house on the west side of High street and north of 
 Pewter Pot brook. The school room was of the 
 old-fashioned type. The scholars sat on settees 
 along the walls, and faced the teacher. A long 
 continuous desk ran along the four walls, between 
 
 the walls and the settees, and when the scholars 
 wrote they were obliged to swing their legs over 
 the settees and turn their backs to the pedagogue. 
 Gov. Richard D. Hubbard was an older scholar 
 when Mr. Brewer entered this school. 
 
 His boyhood our subject passed on his father's 
 farm. His brothers as they came of age struck out 
 for themselves, but Ellery at his father's wish re- 
 mained at home to carry on the place. Corn, pota- 
 toes, oats and rye were the main crops prior to the 
 increase in tobacco production. Tobacco was 
 raised, too, in a small way, back early in the century. 
 Mr. Brewer recalls that his father himself made into 
 cigars what little he grew, put them into boxes, 100 
 to a box, papered and branded the box, and in the 
 spring put the boxes on board a sailing-vessel and 
 sold them to New York buyers for a "York shilling" 
 (123^ cents), a box. During the winter Mr. 
 Brewer was busy at boot-making. 
 
 At his father's death Mr. Brewer took entire 
 charge of a farm of thirty-three acres. He turned 
 his attention largely toward stock raising, in which 
 he found considerable profit prior to the competi- 
 tion from the West ; was a lover of fine cattle, in 
 which he dealt extensively at one time. Early in 
 the war tobacco prices increased rapidly, and in 
 two or three years the tobacco acreage in town 
 nearly doubled. Mr. Brewer was among those who 
 tried to make the supply equal to the demand. In 
 1854 he raised only one acre, which was far above 
 the ordinary. In 1861 his planting was three acres, 
 and in 1874 it was seven acres. In 1854 he ob- 
 tained 12 cents a pound, but in 1864 he sold for 25 
 cents, and in 1869, 1870 and 1873 he obtained 55 
 cents a pound. Mr. Brewer's farm now includes 
 about fifty acres. 
 
 The marriage of Ellerv L. Brewer took place 
 April 5, 1854, to Miss Mary W. Porter, daughter 
 of Jonathan and Marv (Wyllys) Porter, and born 
 in East Hartford July 4, 1823. Jonathan Porter 
 died, however, when his daughter, Mary W., was 
 eight years old, and the latter at an early age was 
 obliged to work out in order to aid in the support 
 of the family, but succeeded in securing a good edu- 
 cation in the same school in which Mr. Brevi^er was 
 educated. To this felicitous union two children 
 have been born: Julia Elma, born Nov. 15, 1857, 
 who is still making her home with her parents ; and 
 Edna F., who was born Feb. 17, 1859, and was mar- 
 ried March 10, 1885, to Charles H. Daniels, who 
 was born March 20, i860. Mr. and Mrs. Daniels 
 have two children, Mabel Florence, born Aug. 23, 
 1895, and Percy Raymond, born Dec. 12, 1896. 
 
 Mr. Daniels is a taxidermist of considerable 
 skill, and has two rooms especially constructed in 
 his new home, in one of which he mounts and pre- 
 serves objects of natural history. The other room 
 is fitted throughout with glass cases in which may 
 be seen many fine specimens of his art, including, in 
 variety, from the humming bird to the bald eagle, 
 the American emblem. This fine modern dwelling 
 
%>-0^ty_ ^ h 
 
 'i.^(/V^i^Z^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1153 
 
 was planned and erected by Mr. Daniels in 1898, 
 especially for his and his family's occupancy. 
 
 Mr. Brewer joined the First Congregational 
 Church when he was twenty-five years of age, and 
 has ever since retained his membership. In politics 
 he is a straight Republican, but has never sought 
 nor accepted nomination for public office. He is a 
 very kind and generous gentleman, and with him 
 his mother-in-law made her home until her death, 
 Sept. I, 1875. He began his business life by buying 
 the interests of the other heirs to his father's estate, 
 and with the assistance of his estimable wife soon 
 paid for it all. Through his industry and unswerv- 
 ing integrity he has placed himself among the best 
 and most substantial residents of the town, by all of 
 whom he is most highly esteemed, without excep- 
 tion. He has an excellent memory, and many a 
 pleasant old-time anecdote, many a curious story of 
 by-gone days, and many an interesting reminis- 
 cence of staid citizens in their gay youth, Mr. 
 Brewer has at his command. Two forgotten in- 
 dustries of Hockanum he can describe, industries 
 which have passed from the memory of almost all 
 but the older residents. These are boot-making 
 and salmon fishing. In the middle of the centurv 
 nearly every family in Willow Brook district was 
 occupied in the making of boots for the Hartford 
 market. There were no large boot and shoe facto- 
 ries at the time, and dealers in those commodities 
 bought their raw material and had it made into the 
 form they wished. There was little demand for 
 shoes, and boots had the call. "Stogy" boots in 
 particular were popular. Hartford dealers had the 
 majority of their work done in Willow Brook dis- 
 trict, where a little colony of bootmakers followed 
 the trade summer and winter. Mr. Brewer recol- 
 lects twenty-five families interested in the trade 
 about the year 1840. Some years subsequently boot 
 and shoe factories began to increase and multiply, 
 and the Willow Brook bootmakers began to wrestle 
 with competition. This grew, and their profits kept 
 decreasing until they were glad to turn to tobacco 
 raising when it began to grow more extensive, 
 about 1861-62. 
 
 Mr. Brewer watched with keen attention these 
 mutations, was quick to avail himself of opportuni- 
 ties as they offered and to keep abreast with the 
 times, and now, having secured a competency, re- 
 tires to enjoy in peace — for many years to come, it 
 is hoped by his numerous friends — the fruits of his 
 early industry. 
 
 JAMES B. RYAN. It is probably safe to say 
 that no hotel man in Hartford county has been more 
 popular with the better class of society than the 
 subject of this sketch. The "Elm Tree Inn," over 
 which he presided, is located in the sleepy old his- 
 torical village of Farmington, nine miles from Hart- 
 ford, with which it is connected by a suburban trol- 
 ley line. This hostelry, which has become the 
 Mecca of many pleasant parties, has been gradually 
 73 
 
 evolved from the old Whitmore home of thirty 
 years ago, and because of its delightful location, ex- 
 cellent service and efficient management has become 
 one of the most sought-for places of rest in the 
 county. Mr. Ryan had many years of experience 
 as host before he became proprietor of the "Elm 
 Tree Inn." 
 
 Our subject was born at Moore's Junction, in 
 the northern part of New York, June 5, 1853, and 
 being left an orphan at an early age, he accepted a 
 position in the "Lake House," at Burlington, Vt. 
 During his early school days he was an employe of 
 the "American House," at Winchendon, Mass., and 
 was successfully connected with the "Pequod 
 House," at Athol, Mass., and the "Revere House," 
 at Brattleboro, Vt., after which he traveled for a 
 short time as a salesman for the firm of Holden & 
 Clay, of Boston, Mass. After leaving their employ 
 he successfully conducted a restaurant, billiard hall 
 and bath house at Athol, Mass., and from there re- 
 moved to Orange, same State, to become manager 
 of the "Mansion House." For a time he held a 
 similar position in the "Amherst House," at Am- 
 herst, Mass. ; the "Rockville House," at Rockville, 
 Conn. ; and the "United States Hotel," in Hartford. 
 In May, 1893, Mr. Ryan became proprietor of the 
 "Elm Tree Inn," of Farmington, and in 1895 bought 
 the propert}', which he converted into one of the, 
 most popular and best hotels in the county. Oni 
 Sept. I, 1900, he took possession, as proprietor, of' 
 the "Parson Theater Cafe," which he is conducting- 
 with his customary consideration for the taste andl 
 comfort of his patrons. 
 
 Mr. Ryan married Miss Cora Putnam Rund, a 
 native of Massachusetts. They have no family. 
 Socially he is a member of the Independent Order 
 of Odd Fellows and of the Masonic Fraternity. 
 
 KEIRAN McCABE, a leading cigar manu- 
 facturer of Windsor Locks, has been engaged suc- 
 cessfully in that business for twenty-two years. 
 
 Mr. McCabe was born Aug. 24, 1844, in Kings 
 County, Ireland, but was brought to this country 
 when only seven months old. His father, James 
 McCabe, who was a farmer and tobacco grower 
 by occupation, came to America in 1845, and after 
 residing for a time in Glendale, Mass., and Ware- 
 house Point and Enfield, Conn., settled in 1861 at 
 Windsor Locks; he died there May 4, 1898. His 
 wife, Mary Cone, survived him but a short time, 
 dying in August of the same year. They had thir- 
 teen children, nine of whom are living, and two„ 
 Keiran and Thomas, reside in Windsor Locks. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the schools of En- 
 field and Warehouse Point, and at an early age be- 
 gan work in a cotton mill at Windsor Locks. He 
 continued this occupation for about seven . years, 
 and for three years, from the age of seventeen 
 until he reached his majority, he had charge of 
 two rooms. Finding the business uncongenial, he 
 learned the cigarmaker's trade in Windsor Locks. 
 
1154 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and Suffield, and soon afterward engaged in man- j 
 ufacturing on his own account. On Sept. lo, 1875, 
 he opened his present hquor store, where he con- 
 ducts a profitable business, i'ohtically he was a 
 Democrat untn i8yO, when his convictions on sound 
 money led him to give his sujjport to the Republican 
 party. 
 
 On June 29, 1875, Mr. ^IcCabe married Axiss 
 Margaret Scanell ; their family consists of tv,o i 
 adopted daughters, .Mary and Elizabeth. Mr. 2dc- i 
 Cabe is connected with several social organizations, 
 being an honorary member of the A. O. H., and 
 an associate member of J. H. Converse I'ost, Xo. 
 67, Grand Army of the Republic. ■ 
 
 EDWARD G. FOWLER, a respected citizen 1 
 and a resident of Bloomficld since 1874, was born in 
 Suffield, Hartford Co., Conn., July 15, 1840, and is 
 a son of Gamaliel and Elizabeth Elmina (Humis- 
 ton) Fowler. 
 
 Gamaliel Fowler, father of Edward G., was a 
 son of Lieut. Fowler, a hero of the Revolutionary 
 war, and was born in the town of Suffield, where 
 he passed his life in agricultural jnirsuits. He first 
 married Sallie Noble, of Southwick, Conn., who bore 
 him three children — Newton, Gamaliel and Cor- 
 delia, all of whom have passed away — and to his 
 second marriage, with Elizabeth Elmina Humis- 
 ton, of West Springfield, Mass., were born two 
 children, Elizabeth Latham, deceased, and Edward 
 G., the subject of this sketch. i\lr. Fowler was a 
 man of considerable influence in Suffield, where 
 he taught school, was a chorister and deacon in the 
 Baptist Church, and died, a sincere Christian, in 
 July, 1865, at the age of sixty-eight years. 
 
 Edward G. Fowler passed his boyhood years 
 and early manhood in his native town, working on 
 the home farm, and he also worked for fifteen years 
 in Pratt & Whitney's shop at Hartford. In Feb- 
 ruary, 1866, he married, at East Cornwall, Litch- 
 field Co., Conn., Miss Ellen Jane Thompson, a 
 daughter of Richard Thompson, D. D., a native of 
 England and a Baptist clergyman. To this mar- 
 riage have been born si.x children, in the following 
 order: George Thompson, born June 17, 1867, 
 and married to Eugenia C. Thrall, of Hartford, has 
 a family of three children, Ernest, Henry and 
 Oliver; Minnie May, born Oct. 5, 1868, is married 
 to Samuel E. Spencer, and is the mother of Ethel 
 Orrin, Gladys and Earle Fowler; Maria Louise, 
 born March '28, 1870, is the wife of Charles Chafifee, 
 of Hartford, and has a son, Ralph Gilbert; Albert 
 Lewis was boVn j\Iarch 4, 1872 ; Edward Clarence, 
 July 15, 1874, and Elizabeth Ellen, Dec. 2, 1876. 
 
 In 1874 Mr. Fowler settled in Bloomfield, and 
 here engaged in farming, the vocation with which 
 he became so thoroughly familiar in early manhood, 
 and which, since living in Bloomfield. he has profit- 
 ably followed. Mr. Fowler is a Baptist in his re- 
 ligious faith, and a highly respected member of the 
 church at Bloomfield. 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN PORTER, one of 
 the prominent and highly-respected citizens of South 
 \\'indsor, spent the greater portion of his life as the 
 trained and trusted employe of a large manufac- 
 turing company. After a service of forty-five years 
 with one company, at once honorable and respon- 
 sible, he resigned his position, and settled on the 
 old homestead, which he inherited, there to enjoy 
 the quiet and comparative ease so richly earned. 
 
 Mr. Porter's father, Abiezer Porter, was one of 
 the earliest Argonauts, who, spurred like many other 
 active and ambitious men by the tales of gold dis- 
 coveries on the Pacific slope, sought wealth in the 
 unknown land. He was one of the unfortunates 
 whom death claimed before his dreams were real- 
 ized. In the East he had been successful. He was 
 born in the town of South Windsor, and in his 
 youth had acquired a knowledge of the trade of 
 blacksmith, this proving a stepping-stone to a more 
 important vocation. He became a manufacturer 
 of tacks, brads and shoe nails, and his factory was 
 the present school house at South Windsor, where 
 he for many years actively manufactured nails, un- 
 til the gold fever drew him to the distant western 
 shores of the country. He made the trip over- 
 land successfully, but died in the gold fields some 
 vcars later. Abiezer Porter married Sophia Wood, 
 who bore him seven children : Elizabeth, wife of 
 Hiram S. Anderson ; Edwin A., now living at 
 Genoa, DeKalb Co., 111. ; Frederick A. ; Henry E. ; 
 Leroy L., who was a soldier in the Civil war, and 
 died while in the service ; Charlotte, who died aged 
 six years; and Martin V. B., our subject, all now- 
 deceased except Edwin A. and our subject. The 
 mother died in 1843. 
 
 Mr. Porter was born on the farm where he now 
 lives, Oct. 8, 1833. He was but ten years old 
 when his mother died, and at that age went to 
 Manchester and did chores for his board and clothes. 
 He attended school about two years after his 
 mother's death. In 1850, at the age of about seven- 
 teen years, he began his long and prosperous career 
 in one of Hartford county's manufactories. At 
 Hartford he entered the printing office of the Case- 
 Tiflfany Co., now Case, Lockwood & Brainard, be- 
 ginning in the press-room, and steadily improved his 
 position. When he resigned in 1895 to return to 
 the farm he had been foreman of the book depart- 
 ment for twenty-five years. 
 
 Mr. Porter married, in 1855, Lydia A. Meek, 
 and has two children: Frederick L. and Eleanor 
 E. In politics he is a Democrat. Socially he is 
 a member of Crescent Lodge, K. of P., of Hart- 
 ford. Mr. Porter owns twenty acres of land, most 
 of which is very valuable for tobacco culture, a 
 branch of agriculture to which it is largely devoted. 
 
 ROBERT FRANKLIN WOODFORD, a well- 
 known citizen of Plainville, who follows farming 
 and is also engaged in the coal and wood business 
 as a member of the firm of R. F. Woodford & 
 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1155 
 
 Son, was born in Avon, this county. May 27, 1824, 
 and is a son of Amasa and Almira (Beach) Wood- 
 ford. 
 
 Mr. Woodford's paternal grandparents were 
 Capt. Dudley and Candis (Noah) Woodford. The 
 grandfather, who served with distinction as an 
 officer in the Revolutionary war, was born in 1753, 
 and died in 1803. His parents were Capt. Will- 
 iam and Susannah (Garrett) Woodford. Joseph 
 Woodford, father of Capt. William, was a son of 
 Joseph Woodford, Sr., and a grandson of Thomas 
 Woodford, who was a native of England, and one 
 of the first settlers of Hartford. 
 
 Amasa Woodford, the father of our subject, 
 was born in 1780, and died in 1862. By his first 
 wife, Almira Beach, he had twelve children, ten of 
 whom reached years of maturity : Almira, wife of 
 Edward Miller ; Nancy, wife of Leverett Hart ; 
 Amasa D. ; Elizabeth, wife of Rev. Abel L. Bar- 
 ber; John B.; Maria, wife of George Chidsey ; 
 Harry M. ; Esther, wife of Henry M. Woodford ; 
 Robert F., our subject; and Harvey. The father's 
 second wife was Mrs. Nancy Woodford, his third 
 being Mrs. Fanny Woodford. 
 
 The early life of Robert F. Woodford was passed 
 in Avon, and he was educated in the common and 
 select schools. He began life for himself as a 
 farmer, but later worked for three years in an axe 
 factory in Collinsville, and then purchased a farm 
 in Meriden, Conn., where he lived for fifteen years. 
 The following eight years he spent in New Haven, 
 where for a time he was engaged in business as a 
 contractor and builder, and in 1876 he came to 
 Plainville, where he has since followed farming 
 with most gratifying results. He has also been en- 
 gaged in the coal and wood business since 1882, 
 carrying same on as a member of the firm of R. 
 F. Woodford & Son since 1887. 
 
 Mr. Woodford was united in marriage with 
 Miss Helen E. Bishop, a daughter of Jacob and 
 Diana (Frisbie) Bishop, of Avon, and by that 
 union had four children : Helen M., now Mrs. 
 Abbott F. Dill ; George C. ; Prescott G. ; and Emma 
 D., wife of F. W. Allderidge. For his second wife 
 he married Mrs. Caroline E. (Grisvvold) Moses, of 
 Massachusetts. Mr. Woodford casts his ballot with 
 the Democratic party, and has most creditably served 
 as selectman of Plainville for several terms. He 
 is progressive, public-spirited and enterprising, and 
 has the confidence and respect of all with whom 
 he comes in contact, in either business, social or 
 public life. 
 
 George Clififord Woodford, the junior member 
 of the firm of R. F. Woodford & Son, wood and 
 coal merchants, Plainville, was born in Avon, this 
 county, Dec. 5, 1850, and was reared in his native 
 State, receiving a good practical education in its 
 common schools. By trade he is a joiner, and he 
 followed that occupation for many years, being en- 
 gaged in contracting from 1880 to 1887. Since 
 that time he has been interested in his present busi- 
 
 ness, and has built up an excellent trade. Like his 
 father, he is a very progressive and public-spirited 
 citizen, and has also served as selectman of Plain- 
 ville several terms. Politically he is a Democrat. 
 In 1884 he was united in marriage with Miss Emma 
 A. Miles, a daughter of Benjamin F. and Sarah 
 (Stevens) Miles, of Cheshire, Connecticut. 
 
 C. IRVING PHELAND, an enterprising and 
 progressive farmer and tobacco grower of West 
 Suffield, was born on the old homestead there March 
 7, 1 861. 
 
 The Pheland family is of Irish extraction, and 
 the first to come to the New World was Thomas 
 Pheland, a native of the Emerald Isle, who settled 
 in the Colony of Connecticut, then a part of Massa- 
 chusetts, in 1733- He became a large land owner in 
 West Suffield, and engaged in farming there until 
 his death, Nov. 17, 1769, his remains being interred 
 in the West Suffield cemetery. He had no children 
 of his own, but adopted a son who bore the name of 
 Joseph Pheland, who was born and reared in West 
 Suffield, and there continued to make his home 
 throughout life. He also owned a large tract of 
 land and was engaged in agricultural pursuits. He 
 took an active part in the Revolutionary war as 
 first lieutenant of Company 10, 3rd Massachusetts 
 Regiment, under Capt. Jesse Mclntire. At this 
 time the name became changed, presumably by mis- 
 take in his commission, and he was afterward known 
 as Joseph Phelon. All of his descendants have spelt 
 the name Phelon, with the exception of our subject^ 
 who uses the original spelling. Joseph Phelon was 
 a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Pres- 
 byterian Church. He married Elizabeth King 
 Sept. S, 1754, and died on his farm in Feeding Hills, 
 Nov. 27, 1800, his remains being interred in the 
 old cemetery at Feeding Hill, Massachusetts. 
 
 Thomas Phelon, the great-grandfather of our 
 subject, remained on the old homestead in West Suf- 
 field throughout life. He was also one of the men 
 who valiantly fought for the freedom of the Colo- 
 nies during the Revolutionary war, serving as a 
 private in Company 8, Capt. Harmon, Col. Walcott's 
 Regiment of Connecticut troops. In religious faith 
 he was a Congregationalist, and in political senti- 
 ment a Democrat. He wedded Mary King, of 
 West Suffield, and the children born to them were 
 Thomas, a physician of Cherry Valley, N. Y. ; Jo- 
 seph, a banker of the same place ; Isaac, grandfather 
 of our subject; Mary and Cynthia, who both died 
 unmarried ; and Julius. 
 
 Isaac Phelon never left the old homestead, and 
 made many improvements upon the place; follow- 
 ing the occupation of farming throughout life. He 
 was educated in the common schools. He was well- 
 known and highly respected, and was a supporter 
 of the Democratic party, but never an office seeker. 
 Religiously he was a member of the Baptist Church 
 at Zion's Hill, and at his death he was laid to rest in 
 the West Suffield cemetery. He married Miss Lucy 
 
1156 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Warner, of the same town, and the children born to 
 them were Seymour, who died in West Suffield; 
 Lucia, who married Rufus Rising, and both are 
 now deceased; Dalos (now deceased), who was a 
 resident of Lorain county, Ohio; Cyrus, who died 
 in Suffield ; Thomas, father of our subject ; Carlton, a 
 cigar maker, who died in Rising Corners (his wife, 
 Amoret Rising, is still living) ; and Benjamin, a 
 farmer of West Suffield, who married (first) Lorain 
 Sheldon, a daughter of Charles Sheldon, and 
 (second) Mrs. Ellen Phelon ; and Cynthia. 
 
 Thomas Phelon, our subject's father, was born 
 on the old home farm, Oct. 7, 1818, and was reared 
 there acquiring a good education in the district 
 schools of the town, and the Connecticut Literary 
 Institute. When a young man he went to Ohio with 
 his brother Dalos, and after spending some time 
 there proceeded to Illinois. Chicago was then in 
 its infancy, and, predicting that it would one day 
 become a great city, he wished to invest in real estate 
 there, but was disuaded by his brother. Had he 
 followed his own inclinations he would have un- 
 doubtedly made a fortune. Returning to his native 
 county, he embarked in farming upon the place 
 where our subject now resides, it being then known 
 as the Warner farm. He made many improvements 
 upon the place, and was actively engaged in agri- 
 cultural pursuits there for a number of years, and 
 also in the manufacture of cigars, but is now living 
 retired with our subject. He attends the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, but is liberal in his religious 
 views, and is one of the highly-respected and hon- 
 ored citizens of the community where he has so 
 long made his home. Politically he is identified 
 with the Republican party, but has never desired 
 official honors. At Feeding Hills, JMass., in 1839, 
 he married Miss Daphney Lucinda Phelon, a na- 
 tive of that place, and a daughter of Harry and 
 Clara (Wilcox) Phelon, the latter a daughter of 
 Dr. Wilcox, of Suffield. Nine children were born 
 of this union : (_ i ) Harriet is now the widow of 
 Edward Loomis, of Southwick, J\Iass. (2) Emily 
 is the wife of G. Coming, of New York City. (3) 
 Susan P. acquired her literary education in the dis- 
 trict schools and the Connecticut Literary Institute, 
 and then spent several years in the Union office of 
 Springfield, Mass ; in 1883 she was graduated from 
 the \\"oman's JMedical College of New York City, 
 and was the first woman in Suffield to enter a pro- 
 fession. For the past fifteen years she has success- 
 fully engaged in the practice of medicine in Spring- 
 field, Mass. ; she is the wife of Stephen E. Seymour, 
 a real-estate man of that place. (4) Isaac Henry is 
 now in South Africa. (5) Frank A. is in Boston, 
 Alass. (6) Horace N. is a resident of Philadelphia. 
 (7) Clara L. is the wife of Charles Northrup, of 
 Tottenville, Staten Island, N. Y. (8) C. Irving is 
 next in the family. (9) Harry A. is a carpenter of 
 Hartford. The mother died in 1883, and was buried 
 at Feeding Hills, on land which was given by her 
 father for a cemetery. 
 
 C. Irving Pheland pursued his studies in the 
 district schools of West Sheffield, and was thirteen 
 years old when he went to Springfield, Mass., to 
 begin business life as a clerk in the drug store of 
 Master & Preston. There he remained four years, 
 in the meantime attending night school. While in 
 that city he fell from an elevator and broke his leg, 
 which accident made him lame. Later he was em- 
 ployed as a drug clerk by Herman Krable, of New 
 York City, proprietor of the oldest drug house in 
 the city. While there he graduated in pharmacy, 
 but in 1883 was compelled to give up the business on 
 account of ill health. Returning to the old home- 
 stead in West Suffield, he has since devoted his 
 time to agricultural pursuits, making a specialty of 
 tobacco growing. 
 
 On May 25, 1881, in New York, Mr. Pheland 
 was united in marriage with Miss Ella Stoughton, 
 a native of that city, and a daughter of LaFayette 
 Stoughton. Mrs. Pheland is a lady of culture and 
 refinement. To this marriage has been born one 
 child, Inez P., who is now a student in the Connecti- 
 cut Literary Institute, of Suffield. Our subject is 
 one of the leading and popular citizens of his com- 
 munity, and is an honored member of the O. U. A. 
 M., and Grange, both of Suffield. He affiliates 
 with the Democratic party, and has been chosen to 
 fill a number of local offices of trust, being assessor 
 of the town of Suffield three years, a member of the 
 board of relief, and a member of the school board. 
 
 JOHN HENRY BURNHAM, tobacco-grower, 
 general farmer and prominent citizen of East Hart- 
 ford, is a descendant of an old family which for two 
 hundred and sixty years has been identified with the 
 growth and prosperity of Hartford county. 
 
 Thomas Burnham, tke first of the family to 
 come to America, was born in England in 1617, in 
 1635 sailed from Gravesend for the Barbadoes, and 
 soon afterward came to Connecticut, for the sole pur- 
 pose, apparently, of advancing his fortune. He was a 
 shrewd criminal lawyer, and met with little favor 
 among his Puritan neighbors, and for his defense 
 of Abigail Betts was accused of "blasphemy" in 
 "saving her neck," and was prohibited from further 
 practice in the courts. He owned property at the 
 corner of Main and State streets, in Hartford, mar- 
 ried Ann , and had born to him a family 
 
 of nine children : Thomas ; John, who died .in 1721 ; 
 one whose name is not on record ; Samuel ; Mary ; 
 Anna ; William ; Richard, who married Sarah 
 Humphreys June 11, 1680; and Rebecca, who was 
 married to William Mann, of Wethersfield. 
 
 Thomas Burnham, the eldest son of Thomas, the 
 emigrant, married Jan. 4, 1676, Naomi Hull, daugh- 
 ter of Joseph Hull, of KiUingworth, Conn., and had 
 a family of nine children : Thomas, born April 16, 
 1678, married Elizabeth Strong, and died April 18, 
 1721 ; John was born May 22, 1681 ; Elizabeth, born 
 in 1684, was married March 4, 1702, to Richard 
 Gilman; Sarah, born March 7, 1686, became the 
 
<^9^^W- i/^ y^Lrtx/ir><^^c 
 
 Cl^O'^K. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1157 
 
 wife of a Mr. Mulford ; Naomi, born June 3, K 
 was married May 7^ 1713, to Josiah Gaylord; 
 Charles, of whom further mention will be made, 
 was next in order of birth; Mary, born in 1692, 
 was married to Lieut. John Anderson ; Abigail, born 
 March 25, 1694, was married to Josiah Williams; 
 and Josiah, born Sept. 6, 1696, married, lived and 
 died in Warriner, Massachusetts. 
 
 Charles Burnham, sixth child and third son of 
 Thomas (2), married Lydia, daughter of Jonas 
 Williams. She lived to be one hundred and three 
 years old, and was the mother of three children: 
 Eleazer ; George, who married Bathsheba Dart, and 
 died May i, 1812; and Thankful, who was born 
 in 1740, was married to Timothy Burnham, and 
 died May 22, 1824. 
 
 Eleazer Burnham, eldest child of Charles, was 
 born in 1729, and married Tryphena King, who 
 was born in 1753 and died Nov. 7, 1814, while his 
 own death took place March 4, 181 5. To this couple 
 came three children: Eleazer, born in 1780, mar- 
 ried Sarah Morton, and died May 12, 1816; Phineas, 
 born June 24, 1783, married Abigail Huntley, and 
 died Feb. i, 1830; and Jesse was born May 29, 
 
 1785- 
 
 Jesse Burnham, grandfather of our subject, was 
 reared a farmer and butcher, lived in East Hart- 
 ford, and was considered to be the best butcher in 
 the town. He married Anna Abbey, who was born 
 Aug. 18, 1784, and was a daughter of Nehemiah 
 Abbey, the latter a native of the State of New 
 York, born near Utica, who lived to be one hun- 
 dred and four years old. Jesse and Anna Burn- 
 ham had a family of five children: Mabel Abbey, 
 born Sept. 11, 1811, died Oct. 3, 1825; Levi, born 
 July 6, 1813; Martin, born July 4, 1815, married 
 Fidelia E. Coop Oct. 23, 1836; John Abbey was 
 the father of our subject; and Jesse, born May 31, 
 1820, married Rhoda Jane Signor, Jan. i, 1857. 
 To the latter were born ten children : Jesse, born 
 Sept. 14, 1857, married Alice Wolcott, Dec. 24, 
 1879, arid is now living in South Windsor ; Leander, 
 also of South Windsor, was born Oct. 24, 1858, 
 and married Mary Bidwell April 11, 1883; Estella, 
 born Aug. 30, i860, was married to Frank Farn- 
 ham, of Ellington, April 16, 1885, and now re- 
 sides in East Hartford ; William, born July 16, 1862, 
 married Anna M. House Aug. 29, 1889; Arthur 
 J., born Nov. 21, 1864, died of typhoid fever Oct. 
 29, 1871 ; Alice G., born April 16, 1867, was mar- 
 ried to Edwin Northrop Aug. 22, 1889, and is now 
 living in Quincy, III. ; Howard E., Isorn Sept. 4, 
 1869, died Oct. 4, 1871 ; Edith, born Oct. 3, 1871, 
 died Feb. 4, 1876; Archie S.; and Ida May, born 
 April 6, 1876, was married Aug. 8, 1900, to Arthur 
 L. Brewer, of East Hartford, Conn., and now re- 
 sides in Torrington, Conn. The father of this 
 family, after a brief illiness, died on his homestead 
 Feb. 12, 1876, and December 25, of the same year, 
 Mrs. Burnham was wedded to Charles P. Fair- 
 banks, a native of Middletown, Conn., and a mason 
 
 by trade. To this union have been born two chil- 
 dren, namely : Clarence E., Oct. 31, 1878, and Flor- 
 ence, Oct. 5, 1880, the latter now attending the 
 high school at Hartford. 
 
 John Abbey Burnham, son of Jesse, and father 
 of John H., subject of this sketch, was born July 
 29, 181 7, in the northeast corner of the house now 
 occupied by his son in East Hartford. He was 
 educated at Wells Hall, under Prof. Salmon Phelps 
 and others, and, his parents being comparatively 
 poor, be early left home, learned the trade of 
 painter at Hartford, and contributed largely to their 
 support. He later worked at the manufacture of 
 oil-cloth in a factory that stood near where Morris 
 street intersects the New Haven turnpike, and was 
 there employed when his son, John H., was born. 
 Afterward he was employed a short time as fore- 
 man in the shop of George Burnham, father of 
 Col. George liurnham, on Central Row, Hartford, 
 and later embarked in the grocery trade in a small 
 way in his residence on Retreat avenue. His busi- 
 ness grew, and he removed to the corner of Con- 
 gress street and Maple avenue, where he erected 
 the "flat-iron" building. For eight years he car- 
 ried on a prosperous trade in this triangular block, 
 when failing health compelled him to seek out-door 
 exercise. Consequently he purchased, in 1858, the 
 farm on which his son John H. now resides, and 
 which then comprised but eighteen acres, but which 
 has since been increased by himself and son to 
 thirty-two acres, eight of which are tobacco land. 
 
 Mr. Burnham was united in marriage, Feb. 18, 
 1841, with -Mary Gardner Childs, a native of East 
 Haddam, and a daughter of Buckley I. (born Aug. 
 5, 1789) and Sally Tracy (born May 19, 1792) 
 Childs. Buckley I. Childs was a ship carpenter and 
 ship owner, and had several of his vessels seized 
 during the war of 1812, for which no payment was 
 ever made. Mrs. Mary G. (Childs) Burnham was 
 called from earth Nov. 19, 1892, and John Abbey 
 Burnham died Jan. 16, 1896; the remains of both 
 were interred in the cemetery at East Hartford. 
 Mr. Burnham was a man of small stature, but was 
 an indefatigable worker, and it was while at work 
 in his barn that he accidentally fell from a con- 
 siderable height, and sustained internal injuries that 
 resulted in his death. He was a kind husband and 
 father, a good neighbor, and extremely generous, 
 and noted for strict honesty, and was held in great 
 respect wherever known. His three children were 
 as follows : Thomas Warren, who was born March 
 14, 1846, married Elizabeth Kellogg, of Colchester, 
 Conn., and is in the poultry business in Tully, N. 
 Y. ; John H. is the subject of this biography; and 
 Anna Sarah, wlio was born Oct. 11, 1851, died 
 March 13, 1852. 
 
 John H. Burnham, it will be seen by the fore- 
 going, is of the seventh generation of his name in 
 America. He was born Feb. 14, 1851, on Retreat 
 avenue, Hartford, nearly opposite the hospital, was 
 an attendant at the South school, and was ten years 
 
115S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of age when brought to East Hartford by his par- 
 ents. Here he attended the district school, finished 
 his education at Remington's Business College, and 
 then served a three-years' apprenticeship at car- 
 pentering with Crane & Baisden. Prior to this, 
 he remembers having helpetl to tear down the "Corn 
 house," and to clean up the cellar of the Burnham 
 garrison, in 1859. The latter stood on the north- 
 east corner of his present farm, and was then an 
 old landmark, with a history unto itself. 
 
 After serving out his apprenticeship Mr. Burn- 
 ham returned to the home which his father, at his 
 death, bestowed upon him, and here he has resided 
 ever since. Mr. Burnham had ever been a dutiful 
 son, invariably sought the counsel of his father in 
 affairs of more or less importance, and filially cared 
 for both father and mother in their declining years. 
 
 Mr. Burnham was joined in matrimony. Oct. 
 23, 1873, with ^liss Mary H. Forbes, a most amiable 
 lady, and a daughter of George and Elizabeth G. 
 (Easton) Forbes. Her father, George Forbes, was 
 born March 20, 1821, and died April 13, 1876. He 
 was a farmer at Burnside, and was a very bright 
 man intellectually, but was a cripple nearly all his 
 life from rheumatism. He was a descendant of 
 Capt. James Forbes, the first of the name in Amer- 
 ica, and a grandson of Timothy Forbes, a patriot of 
 the Revolutionarv war. Further particulars re- 
 garding this old familv may be read in the sketch of 
 James S. Forbes, on another page. George Forbes 
 married Elizabeth Goodwin Easton, who was born 
 Aug. 9, 1839, ^ daughter of Ages and Mary (Good- 
 win) Easton. Ages Easton was a surveyor, and 
 some of his instruments are now in the possession 
 of William H. Olmsted, of East Hartford. jNIr. 
 Forbes was very prominent and active in the affairs 
 of his town as a Republican, and was a member of 
 the Legislature in 1867. To him and his wife were 
 born two children, viz. : Alary H. and George 
 Lincoln. I\Iary H. (Mrs. Burnham), who was born 
 in Burnside, there received her preliminary edu- 
 cation, then attended the Hartford Public High 
 School, later a select private school under Aliss 
 Stockbridge, and finished at the Xew Britain Nor- 
 mal School. She afterward taught, with marked 
 success, in South Windsor and in the north dis- 
 trict of Burnside, and was there employed when 
 she was married. Her mother spends her winters 
 with her, but still retains her residence in Burn- 
 side. George Lincoln Forbes, the younger child of 
 George Forbes, was born !May i, 1865, shortly after 
 the assassination of President Lincoln, was educated 
 in the Burnside district schools, the Hartford High 
 School, and the Morse Business College. He then 
 followed the sea for six months, en a vessel be- 
 longing to William Childs, an extensive ship owner 
 of Boston, and a cousin of our subject. After his 
 six months of seafaring Mr. Forbes went to Ala- 
 bama, was there engaged in railroading for a time, 
 and on his return to the North continued in the 
 same business. He was at one time the youngest 
 
 conductor on the Western Connecticut railroad, and 
 is now conductor on the Consolidated railroad, run- 
 ning between New York and New Haven, on the 
 Harlem Division. 
 
 The children born to ]\Ir. and Mrs. John FL 
 Burnham are five in number, viz : Anne May, born 
 June 21, 1875, graduated from the Brown school in 
 Hartford, and was married, Sept. 11, 1894, to 
 Charles Olin, of Willimantic, who is now the editor 
 of the New Britain Record; Mrs. Olin has borne 
 her husband three children — Philip Stuart, born 
 Aug. 10, 1895 ; Charles Burnham, Dec. 19, 1896 
 (now deceased) ; and Florence Burnham, Feb. 21, 
 1S99. Florence Genevra, born Jan. 7, 1878, gradu- 
 ated from the Brown school, afterward attending 
 Miss Smith's young ladies' school in Hartford, and 
 is living under the parental roof. George F. was 
 born Feb. 10, 1882. Eva Elizabeth was tiorn Nov. 
 3, 1887, and Raymond Henry on Nov. 4, 1890. 
 
 Mr. Burnham is not a politician in any sense, 
 but supports the prmciples of the Republican party. 
 He is not a member of any secret order. Relig- 
 iously he holds membership in the Burnside Method- 
 ist Episcopal Church, of which his wife and four 
 children are also members, to the maintenance of 
 which they contribute most liberallv, and to the 
 teachings of which they strictly adhere. Of this 
 church Mr. Burnham is also a steward and trustee. 
 He is a very pleasant and sociable gentleman, and 
 consequently very popular. As a business man his 
 name has never been tarnished with a breath thc.t 
 reflected upon his integrity, and his standing to- 
 day, in business, social and church circles, is one in 
 which he and his family may take a justifiable and 
 commendable pride. 
 
 JOHN E. HIGINBOTHAM. A well-known 
 author has said that the "authentic picture of any 
 human being's life and experience ought to possess 
 an interest greatly beyond that which is fictitious, 
 inasmuch as it has the charm of reality." The his- 
 tories of prominent citizens contained in this vol- 
 ume corroborate this thought, and in the following 
 record of well-directed effort we find an object 
 lesson of lasting value. 
 
 Mr. Higinbotham, who is one of the leading 
 business men of the town of Windsor, is of Eng- 
 lish descent in the paternal line, the first of the 
 family to come to America being his grandfather, 
 William Higinbotham. This worthy citizen was 
 born at Alhorn, England, in 1778. and in early life 
 learned the trade of knitting stockings, a thriving 
 business in those days of knee breeches, and also 
 became a skilled mechanic. As a young man he 
 made his home in this country, and was married, 
 in New York City, to Miss Elizabeth Walton, who 
 was born at Hull, England, in 1789. Later he re- 
 sided for a time in Canaan, Conn., but a Mr. New- 
 berry employed him, and caused his removal to 
 Windsor, where he set up his old-fashioned hand 
 looms in his home, and in addition to his regular 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1159 
 
 work often instructed others in the art. He was 
 a large man, weighing about two hundred and fif- 
 teen pounds, and was an industrious and respected 
 citizen. As the business decHned he retired, and 
 his last days were spent with his only son, Will- 
 iam W., his death occurring June 9, i860, when 
 he was aged eighty-two. His estimable wife passed 
 away on May 27, of the same year, and their re- 
 mains now rest in the cemetery at Windsor. Both 
 were devout members of the Methodist Church. 
 
 William W. Higinbotham, our subject's father, 
 was born in 181 1, in New York, and was but a 
 boy when the family settled in Windsor, where 
 he received his education. During boyhood he was 
 employed for some time in a brick yard at eight 
 dollars per month, and while there became familiar 
 vi'ith the details of the business. He was ambitious 
 and, having an opportunity for renting the yard, 
 found a helper in Col. Loomis, who advanced the 
 required money and thus gave him a start. By 
 hard work and judic.ous management he won a 
 decided success, being worth about $23,000 at his 
 death, and in his later years he purchased different 
 tracts of land and engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits. He was a powerful, robust man, of about 
 220 pounds weight, and lived to the age of sev- 
 enty-three years, dying Nov. 4, 1884. Politically 
 he was a Republican, and although he uniformly 
 avoided public notice he served one year as asses- 
 sor. His home was a comfortable one, as he was 
 not a believer in self-denial, and his children were 
 reared so as to prepare them for lives of useful- 
 ness. Mr. Higinbotham was married, in Bloom- 
 field, Nov. 30, 1836, to Miss Betsey Filley, daugh- 
 ter of Elijah Filley, and a member of a highly- 
 respected family of that town. She was a Methodist 
 in religion, and died in that faith June 6, 1894, 
 aged seventy-six years. They had ten children : 
 Sarah, who married H. N. Griswold, of Windsor; 
 John E., our subject; Walton G., an orange grow- 
 er, at Blanton, Fla. ; Betsey A., who died Sept. 4, 
 1853 ; Miss Amanda, a resident of Seelyville, Penn. ; 
 Ellen, who married Seymour Alden, and died June 
 17, 1886, in Middlebury, Vt. ; Henry, a grocer at 
 Tariffville; Henrietta (twin of Henry), who mar- 
 ried Robert Ransom, of Seelyville, Penn.; Miss 
 Carrie, who resides in Seelyville ; and William, who 
 married Martha Pelton, and settled in Centerville, 
 South Dakota. 
 
 John E. Higinbotham was born Nov. 4, 1841, 
 at Windsor, and began his education in the old 
 schools on "The Green," Judge Barber, Sr., being 
 one of his first teachers. Later ne attended Deacon 
 Woodford's private school for one term, and also 
 the academy, and during this time he assisted in 
 the farm work, and often helped to haul brick from 
 Windsor during the winter seaoon. He remained 
 at home and, as his father became less active, took 
 charge of the farm. At the age of thirty he mar- 
 mied Miss Julia A. Olin, daughter of George W. 
 and Zippiette E. (Green) Olin, of whom an account 
 
 is given elsewhere. For some years he lived in the 
 old family residence, but in the spring of 1896 he 
 removed to another farm on Cook's ' Hill, which 
 he had purchased from Sidney Hayden, and im- 
 proved at great expense, erecting new and commo- 
 dious farm buildings. In 1896 his barn was burned, 
 and Nov. 12, 1897, every building on the place was 
 destroyed by fire, causing the family to return to 
 the old home. Mr. Higinbotham is a successful 
 business man, and is interested in various enter- 
 prises, being a stockholder in Moore's Park Asso- 
 ciation and the Windsor Creamery Co., which he 
 helped to organize, while at one time he was a 
 stockholder in the Windsor Canning Factory. He is 
 also the present treasurer of the Windsor Fire Com- 
 pany, in which he was foreman for fifteen years. Jn 
 politics he is a steadfast Republican, and from 1889 
 to 1896 he served as first selectman, his term cover- 
 ing the period when the greater portion of the pres- 
 ent excellent roads in his town was constructed. The 
 trolley lines were projected and built during that 
 time, as well as the fine iron bridge at Poquonock, 
 and he is remembered as an efficient and able offi- 
 cial. He is prominent in the work of the Poquo- 
 nock Grange, and also belongs to Washington 
 Lodge, No. 70, F. & A. M., at Windsor, and Will- 
 iam S. Pierson Council, O. U. A. M., of which 
 he was a founder and the first inductor. His wife 
 who is highly cultured, and taught school success- 
 fully before her marriage, is an active member of 
 the Methodist Church, and the family is much re- 
 spected socially. Of their two children, Grace I. 
 maried Frederick Lanphier, a dairyman of Poquo- 
 nock, and Arthur O. is at home. 
 
 HENRY HIGINBOTHAM, a prosperous mer- 
 chant at Windsor, is descended from an honorable 
 old family of that town, in which he was born 
 Sept. 25, 1856, his parents being William W. and 
 Betsey (Filley) Higinbotham, of whom full men- 
 tion is made elsewhere. 
 
 Mr. Higinbotham received his rudimentary edu- 
 cation in the district school of Windsor, later at- 
 tended the Windsor Academy, when that capable 
 instructor, Cicero Roberts, held sway, and finally 
 graduated from the New Britain Normal School 
 in 1877, afterward successfully teaching school in 
 East Granby and Simsbury, several terms. He was 
 reared a farmer's boy, had practical ideas as to farm 
 work, and when a young man labored as assiduously 
 as any other ; he also worked considerably in a 
 brick-yard, as his father had been engaged in brick- 
 niaking for years. His first experience in mercan- 
 tile affairs was as clerk for Loomis & Whittlese}^ 
 on Asylum street, Hartford, and after leaving him 
 he worked for H. W. Clark & Co., wholesale mer- 
 chants of the same city. 
 
 Mr. Higinbotham began business on his own ac- 
 count, March i, 1886, in South Ashfield, Mass., 
 where he bought out Arthur W. Harris, and for 
 seven years conducted a prosperous trade in general 
 
1160 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 merchandise, also serving as postmaster of the town. 
 In March, 1893, he purchased the interest of Mr. 
 Coe in the firm of Coe & Pickett, general merchants 
 at Tariffville, Conn., and after two years of partner- 
 ship with Mr. Pickett, he associated himself with 
 J. L. Dewey, at the same stand. On March i, 1899, 
 he sold his interest to J. T. Curtiss, and at the same 
 time bought the business conducted by M. D. 
 Murphy, general merchant, at Windsor, and here 
 he is doing an excellent trade. 
 
 On June 11, 1884, Mr. Higinbotham married 
 Miss Angle L. Fitch, daughter of Charles and 
 Mary (Palmer) Fitch, of Windsor, and to this union 
 have been born three children : Charles W. and 
 Chelsie F., still living, and Earle 1'., who died at 
 the age of two years. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Iliginbotham is a Republican, 
 but. curiously enough, served twice as postmaster 
 iHuler the Democratic President Cleveland's ad- 
 ministration, and, still more curiously, at one time, 
 in 1893, was postmaster, from May to July, at two 
 places — South Aslifield, Mass., and Tariffville, Conn. 
 — and also held a notary-public's commission at the 
 latter place. Fraternally, Mr. Higinbotham is a 
 member of the Masonic Lodge, at Simsbury, and 
 of Summit Lodge, L O. O. F., at Hartford He 
 and his wife are consistent members of the Episcopal 
 Church, in which he served as vestryman and sec- 
 retary at Tarift'ville. 
 
 Air. Higinbotham is a thorough-going, system- 
 atic, business man, and has always borne an untarn- 
 ished name as such. He has realized through his 
 personal efforts a snug competence, and wherever 
 he has lived has been recognized as a progressive 
 and public-spirited citizen. 
 
 LEVI SEDGWICK WELLS traces his lineal 
 descent back through seven generations to Gov. 
 Thomas Wells of Colonial days. In the descend- 
 ing line his ancestry runs as follows : Thomas, a 
 son of the Governor, born in England in 1627 ; Icha- 
 bod, son of Thomas, born at Wethersfield in No- 
 vember, 1660; Jonathan, son of Ichabod, born at 
 Hartford Sept. 17, 1689; Elisha, son of Jonathan, 
 born in 1723 at West Hartford, where he died in 
 1780; Levi, son of Elisha, born in Rocky Plill, Hart- 
 ford county, in 1764; Horace, son of Levi, and fa- 
 ther of Levi S. Wells, born Aug. 11, 1795, in New- 
 ington. His grandfather, Levi Wells, was married 
 Dec. 9, 1790, to Hannah Wells, whose father, grand- 
 father and great-grandfather were named Robert, 
 and who also traced her descent back to Gov. Wells, 
 through another son, John. 
 
 Levi Wells combined the occupations of farmer 
 and shoemaker, tanning his own leather, and being 
 fairly prpsperous in both vocations. He bought his 
 farm, which included a considerable portion of that 
 now owned by his grandson, Levi S., of Timothy 
 Kilbourn, in the spring of 1800, and died at his 
 home on Oct. 23, 1823. His wife, Hannah, had 
 passed away March i, 1809. The children of their 
 
 marriage are Lydia, the wife of Augustus Flagg, 
 who spent his life and died in West Hartford ; Levi, 
 who lived and died in Illinois ; Horace ; Hannah and 
 Elvey became the first and second wives, respect- 
 ively, of Chester Hart; Lemuel W., and Marilla, 
 Mrs. Ralph Shipman. 
 
 Horace Wells, the father of Levi S., inherited a 
 share of his father's estate and bought out the heirs 
 on East street, besides purchasing a portion of his 
 uncle Lemuel's property, at Yonkers, N. Y. He 
 was an industrious, thrifty, careful man, whose, 
 prosperity was largely due to his sound judgment 
 and keen business sense. During his life-time he was 
 regarded as one of the leading men of New Britain, 
 and was twice chosen to represent his fellow citizens 
 in the Legislature. He was a member of the First 
 Congregational Church. He was united in mar- 
 riage to Pamela Sedgwick, who was born Feb. 28, 
 1798, a daughter of Timothv and Lucy Sedgwick, 
 the bride's mother's maiden name having also been 
 Sedgwick. It is rather a singular coincidence that 
 both the paternal and maternal grandmothers of Mr. 
 Wells should have borne the same name as their 
 husbands. The children of Horace and Pamela 
 Wells were named Levi Segwick ; Lemuel R. ; Lu- 
 celia, who married Albert D. Judd, of Wallingford ; 
 and Catherine, who died at the age of seventeen. 
 The father entered into rest Nov. 2, 1865, and his 
 wife survived him for sixteen years, passing away 
 in 1 88 1, at the ripe old age of eighty-three. 
 
 Levi S. Wells was born at New I5ritain Feb. 25, 
 1825, on the old homestead where he yet lives. He 
 attended the school conducted in the old Academy 
 building, which stood near the site of the present 
 Burritt school, named in honor of Elihu Burritt. 
 During one winter he was a pupil at a school in 
 West Jiartford. His text-books were those of the 
 early days, and among them was Adams' Arithme- 
 tic. His boyhood's education was chiefly confined 
 to the "three R.'s," but in them he was well ground- 
 ed. What deficiencies there were in his early train- 
 ing he has, in a marked degree, counterbalanced by 
 a course of well-directed reading in later years. 
 During three or four winters he himself taught a 
 district school at Newington. His life, however, 
 has been mainly devoted to . agriculture. He as- 
 sisted his father in the cultivation of the paternal 
 farm until his brother Lemuel became of age, when 
 the two sons assumed its management, devoting 
 their attention mainly to the raising of fancy cattle. 
 After the death of his brother, which occurred soon 
 after that of his father, he acquired sole ownership 
 of the property, which he has managed ever since. 
 
 While devoting himself chiefly to farming Mr. 
 Wells has also been interested in other business en- 
 terprises. He was one of the original incorporators 
 of the New Britain Savings Bank, in 1862, and has 
 always been a member of its board of directors. For 
 the last twenty-six years ht has been president, 
 being elected in 1874, to succeed William H. Smith. 
 He assists in making the loans, and under his judi- 
 
(3^' f,9(l££< 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1161 
 
 cious management the institution has enjoyed a 
 rapid and remarkable growth. He is also a director 
 of the American Hosiery Co. He has held the 
 offices of selectman and assessor for a number of 
 terms. His political creed was originally that of 
 the "Old-line Whigs," but since the founding of the 
 Republican party he has acted with that organiza- 
 tion, and has been an active worker in promoting 
 its success, both National and local. In 1878 he 
 i-epresented New Britain in the General Assembly, 
 and was a member of the first Legislature to sit 
 in the new capitol. He was the first master of Bur- 
 ritt Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, and has always 
 taken a lively interest in the welfare of the organi- 
 zation. He is vice-president of the Patrons Mutual 
 Fire Insurance Co., an association incorporated un- 
 der State law. He and his wife are members of 
 the First Congregational Church of New Britain. 
 
 In 1848 Mr. Wells married Harriet, a daughter 
 of Robert Francis, of Newington, and by her had 
 three children: Herman F , a farmer living on tne 
 old homestead; Horace L., who graduated from 
 Yale College in 1877, and is now professor of chem- 
 istry in that institution; and Kate, the wife of 
 George Johnson, of Plainville, a car dispatcher for 
 the street railway company. Mrs. Wells died Sept. 
 6, 1896, and on Nov. 24, 1897, he was married to 
 Miss F. Gertrude Treat, a daughter of Robert 
 Treat, of Morris, Litchfield county, a lineal de- 
 scendant of Gov. Treat, of Colonial fame. 
 
 HARRY WOODFORD, a respected and rising 
 young farmer of the town of East Windsor, was 
 born in North Kilworth, England, Nov. 21, 1858, 
 the youngest son of Charles and Charlotte (Ireson) 
 Woodford. 
 
 John Woodford, grandfather of our subject, was 
 born in Husband-Bosworth, and here passed all his 
 life, dying in the faith of the Episcopal Church. He 
 was a farmer by calling. He left two sons, Charles 
 and Benjamin, and the widow lived with Charles 
 for many years, and later with Benjamin. The 
 latter was killed by a railroad train near Market 
 Harborough, his home. 
 
 Charles Woodford was but nine years of age 
 when his father died, and the support of the mother 
 fell chiefly upon him, although he was nobly assisted 
 by his younger brother. At the age of nine years 
 he hired out as a farm lad to Esquire Turville, work- 
 ■ ing as such until fourteen years old, after which he 
 served as a blacksmith's apprentice, learned the 
 trade, and for a few years worked as a journeyman. 
 He then bought a lot in North Kilworth, on 
 which he erected a shop and dwelling, but some years 
 later rented out these premises and removed to 
 Copt-Oak, where he rented a farm from Lord 
 Stamford, living thereon until 1890, when he re- 
 moved to Markfield. There he resumed farming for 
 a few years, but he is now living in retirement, a 
 remarkably well-preserved man of eighty years. He 
 married Charlotte Ireson, a native of Dingley, 
 
 Northamptonshire, by whom he had fourteen chil- 
 dren. She died in March, 1885, in the faith of the 
 Established Church. 
 
 Harry Woodford, whose name opens this 
 memoir, received a good common-school education, 
 remained at home until seventeen years old, and was 
 then apprenticed to a stockinet manufacturer. After 
 having served out his apprenticeship he rented a 
 farm near Copt-Oak, from Lord Stamford, and 
 later conducted an alehouse for a year or so. Hav- 
 ing decided to come to America, he embarked on 
 the "Arizona," at Liverpool, and nine days later, 
 May II, 1 89 1, landed at New York. It had been 
 his intention to seek a home in the West and en- 
 gage in farming, and he had forwarded money to 
 a New York bank to be drawn after his arrival, 
 but by the failure of the forwarding clerk in Eng- 
 land to furnish him with the proper means of identi- 
 fication his money was refused him, and it became 
 necessary for him to seek immediate employment, 
 as he had brought with him only sufficient funds 
 to defray incidental expenses. He then bethought 
 himself of a friend, John Spiby, who was working 
 for John Miller, who lived near Windsorville, Conn., 
 sought him out, and by Arthur Hamilton was given 
 employment that lasted the following summer. The 
 next winter he was employed as a helper in the con- 
 struction of the Rockville school house. He then came 
 to Broad Brook, was employed by James B. Stiles , 
 a few months, and Dec. i, 1892, secured a position 
 in the Broad Brook mill. Some time afterward he 
 wa;s offered by Mrs. Blodgett, a widow, the man- 
 agement of her farm, which offer he accepted, re- 
 linquishing the position in the mill. 
 
 Mr. Woodford now found himself in a position 
 to send for his wife, whom he had married Dec. 
 24, 1885, and who rejoined him two years after his 
 departure from England. Mrs. Woodford bore the 
 maiden name of Annie Birch, and was born in 
 Leicestershire, England, a daughter of George and 
 Hannah (Taylor) Birch. She was educated in the 
 common schools, was reared in the faith of the 
 Established Church, and is a pleasant, hospitable, 
 gracious woman. Mr. Woodford continued in the 
 service of Mrs. Blodgett until the latter's death, in 
 1897, and then purchased the farm, which he still 
 occupies, blessed with the presence of his wife, and 
 standing among the substantial and respected farm- 
 ers of his town — a good, modest and useful citizen. 
 
 THEODORE E. ELLSWORTH was born 
 March 21, 1831, on his present homestead, and is a 
 member of a well-known family of that locality. 
 Jason Ellsworth, his father, was married three times: 
 (first) to Miss Mary Phelps, (second) to Miss 
 Sarah Morton, and (third) to Miss Nancy Terry. 
 Theodore E. was one of six children born to the 
 first marriage who lived to maturity. 
 
 As a boy Mr. Ellsworth became familiar with 
 the details of agricultural work through assisting 
 his father on the homestead, and his education was 
 
116-2 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 obtained in the local schools and the academy at 
 Westfield, Mass. Earl_\- in 1852 he went to Buffalo, 
 N. Y., thence to Chicago and .Milwaukee, spending 
 the summer in the West, and returning home in the 
 fall. After his marriage he spent a few months in 
 Madison, Wis., and a year in the vicinity of Jackson- 
 ville, Fla., but since 18O8 he has resided at the old 
 home. In September, 1862, Mr. Ellsworth enlisted 
 in the Union army, becoming a private in Company 
 G, 25th Conn. \'. 1., for one year. He was mus- 
 tered in at Hartford and sent to Long Island, and 
 after a short time the regiment went to New Or- 
 leans and Carrollton, La. Their first engagement 
 was at Irish Bend, La., and they also took part in 
 the operations around I'ort Hudson, remaining until 
 the surrender of that place. At the expiration of 
 his term Mr. Ellsworth received an honorable dis- 
 charge at Hartford. 
 
 On Oct. 31, 1866, Mr. Ellsworth married Miss 
 Liiogene Phelps, and three children have blessed 
 the union : Albert 1)., Jannettc and Theodora. 
 
 HENRY LY'DALL, best known in Manchester, 
 Hartford county, as a member of the Lydall & 
 Foulds Paper Co., who have two mills in that town, 
 is a splendid example of the thoroughly self-made 
 man, one who has risen from the bottom round of 
 the ladder to a position of eminence in the business 
 world, and secured the respect and confidence of 
 his fellow men in general. 
 
 Mr. Lydall was born Oct. i, 1831, in Leicester- 
 shire, England, son of James and Mary (West) 
 Lydall, who were the parents of nine children: 
 Maria, Harriet and Eliza, all tliree of whom are de- 
 ceased ; Fanny, who became the wife of William 
 Foulds, and is now living in ^Manchester with her 
 son William ; Charles, who is a resident of New 
 Britain, Conn. ; Isaac, living in Manchester ; Mary, 
 wafe of John Hallam, of Manchester; Henry; and 
 Hannah, Mrs. William Williams, living m New 
 Britain. 
 
 Henry Lydall was but nine years of age when 
 he went to the town of Derby and commenced work 
 in the Darley cotton mills, where he remained for 
 about two years, after which, up to the age of four- 
 teen, he was employed in the Derby silk-mills. He 
 then began to learn the trade of needle-maker, at 
 Sheepshead, at wdiich he served seven years, his 
 parents paying seven pounds at the beginning of his 
 term, during which he received only his board in 
 exchange for his services. At the end of this pe- 
 riod he went to work for a distant relative, John 
 Lydall, by whom he was employed at his trade one 
 year, after which he returned home and took up 
 the manufacture of needles on his own account on 
 a small scale, continuing thus for another year. Then 
 for a short time he was engaged in making the nee- 
 dles for the employes of a knitting factory at Not- 
 tingham, receiving twenty-two shillings per week, 
 at this place. On Sept. 5, 1855, with his wife and 
 two children, he started for America, and after a 
 
 voyage of five weeks and three days landed at Cas- 
 tle Garden, from New Y'ork taking boat to New 
 Haven, Conn., and thence proceeding to New Brit- 
 ain, Hartford county, where one of his brothers was 
 living. He began making needles in this brother's 
 house, using the attic for a work-room, and as busi- 
 ness increased removed his shop thence to a small 
 building in the garden, back of the house. Mr. 
 Lydall continued to manufacture needles in New 
 Britain until the Civil war, at which time his busi- 
 ness had grown to such proportions that he gave 
 employment to eight men, and had a well-estab- 
 lished trade. Turning the management over to his 
 nephew, Wilham Foulds, he enlisted, on Aug. 6, 
 1862, as a member of Company F, 14th Conn. V. 
 L, was mustered in at Hartford, and served until 
 the close of the war, seeing active service during 
 the greater part of this time. He took part in 
 twenty-eight important battles, among them : An- 
 tietam ; Bolivar Heights; F'redericksburg, JJec. 13, 
 18O2; ChancellorsvUle, May 2-3, 1863; Gettysburg, 
 July 2-3, 1863; Falling Waters, Md., July 16, 1863; 
 Auburn, \'a., Oct. 14, 1863; Bristow Station, Oct. 
 15, 1863; Centerville, Va., Nov. 15, 1863; Mine 
 Run, \'a., Dec. 1, 1863; Morton Ford, Va., Feb. 6, 
 1864; Wilderness, May 6, 1864; Laurel Hill, May 
 10, 1864; Spoltsylvania, ^lay 12, 1864; North Anna 
 River, May 24, 1864; Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864; 
 Petersburg, June 16-17, 1864; Deep Bottom, Aug. 
 15, 1864; and Ream's Station, Aug. 25, 1864. Mr. 
 Lydall was taken prisoner at the last mentioned bat- 
 tle, but he escaped the same night. He was with 
 his command continuously except for the three 
 months he was confined to Alexandria hospital with 
 fever, and he received his discharge May 31, 1865, 
 at Hartford, having made a record of which he had 
 every reason to be proud. He was promoted to the 
 rank of sergeant Nov. i, 1863. 
 
 Mr. Lydall returned to New Britain at the close 
 of his military service, and in the fall of 1865 re- 
 moved thence to Manchester, where he has ever 
 since had his home. He resumed work at his trade, 
 having purchased a small olant of James Gaskill, 
 who about that time had invented the process of 
 turning cut needles by machinery, doing aw'ay with 
 the tedious work of filing, etc., which the hand 
 process necessitated. Mr. Lydall has enlarged this 
 establishment from time to time, and at one time he 
 manufactured as many as fifty thousand needles 
 per day. For the past eighteen years he has been a 
 member of the Lydall & Foulds Paper Co., who 
 operate two paper-mills in the town of Manches- 
 ter, but he has now relinquished active business 
 cares for the most part, his sons attending to the 
 rather arduous duties connected with the manage- 
 ment of his interests. Fie now devotes the greater 
 part of his time and attention to looking after his 
 farm and the culture of peaches, finding welcome 
 rest in the change and enjoying to the full the ample 
 competence which has rewarded his busy life. > 
 
 Mr. Lydall is a remarkable e.xample of the self- ^ 
 
^«,^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ilea 
 
 made man. He had no schooling whatever until 
 he was nine years of age. when he commenced to 
 learn reading by attending Sunday-school ; but he 
 gave such promise as a student that when he was 
 nine years old the man for whom he worked sent 
 him an order to attend school for three months. He 
 went to school in all six months, his wages contin- 
 uing just the same, and he supplemented this begin- 
 ning by study at night school and elsewhere, as op- 
 portunity offered, until he had acquired a good prac- 
 tical education. These early experiences, besides 
 developing his strong natural intellect, did as much 
 for the determination and perseverance which have 
 always been such marked traits in his character, 
 and which have proven of inestimable value to him 
 in his later years. He has gained and maintained 
 a high place in the esteem of all who have come in 
 contact with him, in any of the .relations of life, and 
 his success has no doubt been due as much to his 
 manly worth as to his industry and careful business 
 habits. 
 
 On Sept. 4, 1852, Mr. Lydall was united in mar- 
 riage, in his native country, to Miss l.ucy Rogers, 
 who was born July 4, 1831, at Sheepshead, iing- 
 land, and to their union have come children as fol- 
 lows : Annie, born Aug. 2, 1853, is the wife of Hi- 
 ram Oldershaw, of New Britain; Charles A., born 
 May 27, 1855, is a resident of New Britain; William 
 H., born July 31, 1857, is deceased; Isaac E., born 
 June 29, 1859, is deceased; Walter E., born April 
 15, i860, is engaged in the manufacture of paper at 
 Manchester; Edwin A., born June 15, 1862, is a 
 member of the Lydall & Foulds Paper Co., of Man- 
 chester; and Willis J., born Jan. 3, 1867, who has 
 charge of his father's needle factory. The mother 
 passed away May 28, 1898, after an illness of but 
 a few days. The family are identified with the M. 
 E. Church, of which Mr. Lydall has long been an 
 active member, and he has been chairman of the 
 board of trustees for ten years. Socially he holds 
 membership with Stanley Post, G. A. R., of New 
 Britain. He is a Republican in political sentiment, 
 but takes no part in public affairs, though he has 
 always given a loyal support and his influence to all 
 forward movements in the community. 
 
 DANIEL W. BARNES, a highly esteemed resi- 
 dent of the town of Windsor, is a man whose pros- 
 perity demonstrates the fact that farming can be 
 made to pay. Beginning his career without any 
 capital except his own energy and ambition, he has 
 steadily increased the amount of land under his 
 supervision until now he cultivates as much as any 
 other man in the town, and his results have been 
 so uniformally good as to indicate more than ordi- 
 jnary sagacity and skill in management. 
 
 Mr. Barnes was born Jan. 19, i860, on the old 
 Barnes homestead near Poquonock, and belongs to 
 a well-known family. Lehman Barnes, his grand- 
 father, resided at the old farm for many years, and 
 his wife, Anna Bancroft, was a native of East Wind- 
 
 sor. This worthy couple had eight children, the 
 eldest of whom was a boy who died in infancy. Of 
 the others, Lucinda married Edwin Griswold, of 
 Pocj[uonock, both now deceased; Harriet married 
 the late Byron W. Allen, who died July 14, 1890; 
 Horace G. married Eliza Eno, both deceased; John 
 F. married Flora Ann Gridley, both deceased ; Caro- 
 line married Collins Moore, of Bloomfield; Abel 
 H., our subject's father, is mentioned below, and 
 the youngest child died in infancy. 
 
 Abel H. Barnes was born in August, 1833, at 
 the old homestead, and was reared as a farmer boy, 
 receiving only a common-school education. In 
 early manhood he took charge of the home farm, but 
 later he rented other farms, in the same locality, 
 including the Griswold place. For thirteen years 
 he resided in Bloomfield, engaging in dairying and 
 general farming, but since 1885 he has maae h.s 
 home on the "L. Ellsworth faim, ' near Hayden 
 Station, he is well-preserved and is still active, 
 he and his estimable wife being prominent in relig- 
 ious work as members of the Methodist Church, in 
 which he has served as trustee and steward. While 
 he is in sympathy with the Democratic party in many 
 respects, he is not a blind partisan, and votes for the 
 best man wherever he finds him. On Sept, 25, 1857, 
 he married Eliza Witham, who was born Dec. 27, 
 i8_^8, at Winthrop, Maine, and spent some years of 
 
 her girlhood in Lowell, Mass., but at sixteen came to 
 Windsor where she resided until her marriage. Her 
 father Daniel Witham, died during her childhood, 
 and her mother, whose maiden name was Lydia 
 Gould, afterward married Wareham Griswold and 
 settled in Windsor, where she died some years ago. 
 Our subject is the eldest of four children, the others 
 being Anna, who died in childhood ; Flora, now Mrs. 
 Frank Pomeroy, of Hayden Station, and Robert, a 
 druggist of Hartford, who resides in Windsor. 
 
 Our subject's education was begun in the dis- 
 trict school of his native town, but when he was 
 twelve years old his parents removed to Bloomfield, 
 where he attended the academy for a time. He 
 remained at home until his marriage, and for eight 
 years was in partnership with his father, his profits 
 being carefully saved in order to secure for himself 
 a start in life. At twenty-five he married Miss 
 Mary Kitchen, a resident of Bloomfield, where she 
 was a school teacher, daughter of James A. Kitchen, 
 a soldier in the war of the Rebellion, who died a 
 prisoner of war at Florence, being taken at the bat- 
 tle of Andersonville ; he had enlisted for three years 
 from Hartford. Having thus gained an efficient 
 partner in his enterprises, Mr. Barnes' savings en- 
 abled him to rent the old "Colton farm" at Ware- 
 house Point, where he resided two years, and then 
 took a position as foreman for J. H. Simonds, an ex- 
 tensive farmer and tobacco grower, with whom he 
 spent two )fears. In the spring of 1891 he rented 
 the "William Pierson farm" in Windsor, where he 
 has since- resided, and as he has leased other lands 
 in the locality he now- has under his control over 
 
1164 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 250 acres. He makes a specialty of tobacco grow- 
 ing, but is also extensively interested in dairying, 
 liis herd of from forty to fifty cows being one of the 
 largest ill the town. The product of his dairy is 
 largely disposed of at wholesale, but for some time 
 he has conducted a retail route at Windsor, his 
 customers being among the best people in the village. 
 In 1897 he purchased the "L. lillsworth farm" at 
 Haydcn Station, which is operated by his father. 
 During the past year he has purchased the property 
 known as the Tudor farm, where he and his wife 
 first went to keeping house, It goes without say- 
 ing that he is a busy man, one secret of his success 
 being the close attention given to every detail of his 
 business. Although he is a regular voter and a 
 stanch believer in the principles of the Republican 
 party, his time is too much occupied to permit him 
 to assume any official duties. Four attractive daugh- 
 ters brighten his home. Flora, Anna, Eva and 
 Olive Witham, and the family is prominent in social 
 life and in the work of the iMethodist Church, Mr. 
 Barnes and his wife both being active members. 
 During his residence at Warehouse Point he held 
 the office of trustee in the church there. 
 
 CHARLES RILEY WATKINS, an old-time 
 resident and highly-respected farmer and mechanic 
 of Bloomfield, was born in Berkshire county, Mass , 
 August 22, 1822, and is a son of Lawson and Agnes 
 (Hoskins) Watkins. Lawson and Agnes Watkins 
 passed all their lives in Berkshire county, Alass., but 
 their four children came to Connecticut and located 
 in Hartford county, viz.: Horace, now deceased; 
 Charles R., our subject; William R., of Hartford 
 city, and Emma, now deceased. 
 
 Charles R. Watkins passed his school days in 
 Hinsdale, Mass., and his early manhood in his fa- 
 ther's sawmill. He then passed a year at W'est- 
 field, Hampden Co., Mass., and in 1844 came to 
 Bloomfield, Conn. Here for twenty years he worked 
 in T. L. Humphrey's sash and blind factory, also 
 worked as a carpenter and joiner, and in more re- 
 cent years has been engaged in farming with un- 
 varying success. 
 
 Mr. Watkins was united in marriage. May 2, 
 1849, with Miss Cordelia Humphrey, who was born 
 April 28, 1827, a daughter of Lyman and Hannah 
 (Francis) Humphrey, and to this union came three 
 children who grew to maturity : Charles Henry, 
 who was born Dec. 24, 1857, married Mary E. 
 Miller, Dec. 4, 1889, and died April i, 1893, the fa- 
 ther of one child, Charles E., born March 19, 1890. 
 The second child born to Charles R. and Cordelia 
 Watkins was named Emma J., who was born May 
 23, i860, and died Dec. 18, 1888. The third child. 
 Burton L., was born April 4, 1866, and married. 
 May I, 1889, Miss Alice G. Elmer, who was born 
 Feb. I, 1869, and became the mother of three chil- 
 dren, Leroy Burton, born Oct. 4, 1892 ; Harold 
 Julius, June 12, 1894, and Raymond H., Feb. 14, 
 1898. Burton L. Watkins is the present clerk and 
 
 treasurer of the school district of Bloomfield, and 
 fills the position most satisfactorily. 
 
 Charles R. Watkins has for many j^ears been a 
 member of the Congregational Church, and has 
 tully lived up to its teachings. He has served as 
 collector and as a member of the school commmitee 
 of Bloomfield, and has won for himself the general 
 esteem of the community in which he has passed so 
 many years of his useful life. 
 
 HENRY BELDEN WRIGHT, a prominent 
 representative of the agricultural interests of Weth- 
 ersfield, was born in that town March 13, 1829, and 
 belongs to one of its old and most highly-respected 
 families. His grandfather, Elizur Wright, a son of 
 Nathaniel Wright, spent his entire life in Wethers- 
 field, where he owned and operated a farm. He 
 married Ruth Curtis, and to them were born seven 
 children : Joseph ; Mary, wife of William Winship ; 
 Chauncey, deceased ; Elizur ; Ruth and Rhoda, 
 twins, the former of whom married Henry Welles, 
 the latter Thomas Griswold ; and William. The 
 parents died at the old homestead on Jordan Lane, 
 and their remains were interred in the VVethersfield 
 cemetery. 
 
 Joseph Wright, father of our subject, passed his 
 boyhood and youth under the parental roof, and 
 throughout life remained on the old homestead, en- 
 gaged in farming, giving his attention principally 
 to general agriculture. He was a soldier in the war 
 of 1812, and was stationed at New London, Conn., 
 under Capt. Strickland. Politically he was first a 
 Whig and later a Republican. In early life he mar- 
 ried Aliss Nancy Wheeler, of Hartford, by whom 
 he had three children : Joseph, who died at the age 
 of forty years ; Nancy, widow of George W. Skin- 
 ner, of Hartford ; and Mary. For his second wife 
 he married Mabel Dickinson, widow of Henry Bel- 
 den, of Rocky Hill, and daughter of Ozias and Mary 
 Dickinson, the former a soldier of the Revolution- 
 ary war. The only child of this union was our sub- 
 ject, Henry Belden. By her former marriage Mrs. 
 Wright had three children : Otis, who died in New 
 Haven (he married May Butler) ; Daniel, who mar- 
 ried Adaline Smith ; and Henrietta, deceased. The 
 mother, who was a good Christian woman, died on 
 the home farm Sept. 12, 1869, and was buried in 
 Cedar Hill cemetery. In 1871 the father had a 
 paralytic stroke which left him speechless, and he 
 v\'as tenderly cared for by our subject and wife until 
 his death, April 6, 1874. He was laid to rest in 
 Cedar Hill cemetery. Both parents were members ^m 
 of the Congregational Church. ^gi 
 
 Reared upon the home farm Henry B. Wright 
 is indebted to the district schools and the Wethers- 
 field Academy for his educational privileges. At 
 an early age he commenced to aid in the labors of 
 the farm, and throughout his active business life 
 has devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits. 
 He carries on operations in a systematic and me- 
 thodical manner, and in his undertakings has been v 
 
^ MJ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1165 
 
 eminently successful. He has made many improve- 
 ments upon the farm, and in connection with gen- 
 eral farming is engaged in dairying and stock- 
 raising. The place, now comprising some fifty 
 acres, though formerly much greater in extent, has 
 been in his family since 1732. In 1862, at Athol, 
 Worcester Co., Mass., Mr. Wright was united in 
 marriage with Miss Adaline Gray, a native of that 
 place, and a daughter of Alexander and Elvira 
 (Bancroft) Gray. Prior to her marriage she suc- 
 cessfully engaged in teaching. The Republican 
 party finds in Mr. Wright a stanch supporter of ics 
 principles, and in 1879 he was elected on that ticket 
 to represent Wethersfield in the State Legislaure. 
 Being a strong supporter of education, he has served 
 acceptably on the school committee. His public and 
 private duties have always been discharged in a 
 most commendable manner, and he is justly ranked 
 among the valued and useful citizens of his com- 
 munity. Mr. Wright is a liberal supporter of the 
 Congregational Church, of which his wife is a 
 member. 
 
 FRANKLIN JUDE BROCKETT is one of the 
 most prominent and successful agriculturists of the 
 town of Sufifield. One of his leading characteris- 
 tics in business affairs is his fine sense of order and 
 complete system, and the habit of giving careful at- 
 tention to details, without which success in any un- 
 dertaking is never an assured fact. 
 
 Mr. Brockett was born in Russell, Hamden Co., 
 Mass., April 21, 1827, and belongs to a family of 
 Scottish origin, which was founded in New England 
 at an early day in its history. His grandfather, 
 John Brockett, was a native of North Haven, Conn., 
 where he was reared. He served six years in the 
 Revolutionary war, enlisting in the early part of 
 the struggle for nine months under Gen. Hopkins, 
 and serving the term on a privateer, which during 
 that time captured seven British vessels out of a fleet 
 of nine, bringing them all into Boston harbor. He was 
 at Saratoga when Burgoyne was captured. He drew 
 a pension until his death, in 1845, ^t the age of 
 eighty-six. In 1793 he settled in the woods at 
 Blandford, Hampden Co., Mass., and there spent 
 the remainder of his life engaged in farming. On 
 his arrival there he cut down a large hemlock tree, 
 and on the stump built a large oven of clay and 
 mortar, which the family used to bake in for a num- 
 ber of years. Mr. Brockett was one of the well- 
 known and prominent citizens of his community, was 
 a Whig in politics and a consistent member of the 
 Congregational Church. He was three times mar- 
 ried, and by the first wife had two children : Francis 
 and Silas. By the second there were seven : Ithia, 
 Ely, Lydia, Lucy, John, Eunice and Benajah. All 
 are now deceased. 
 
 John Brockett, otir subject's father, was born in 
 Blandford, Mass., where in early life he engaged in 
 farming and also learned the shoemaker's trade. 
 When a young man he removed to Russell, same 
 
 county, and there followed his trade during the 
 winter months, while throughout the summer season 
 he engaged in agricultural pursuits, in this way be- 
 coming quite well-to-do. He made farming his 
 principal occupation, and during his last years fol- 
 lowed it in Westfield, his whole life being passed 
 in Hampden county. He died in 1849, ^t the age of 
 fifty-three years, and his wife, who bore the maiden 
 name of Maria Smith, died in 1847, at the age of 
 forty-nine. They attended the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church, and he was identified with the Whig 
 party. They were married in North Haven, Conn., 
 where she was born, a daughter of Jude Smith, and 
 three children blessed their union: Benajah, who 
 died in Suffield; Julia, wife of Lyman Smith, of 
 Northampton, Mass. ; and Franklin J., our subject. 
 
 Franklin J. Brockett is almost wholly self-edu- 
 cated, though to a limited extent he attended the 
 district schools of Russell and Blandford, Mass., 
 during the winter months, while during the summer 
 he assisted in the operation of the home farm. He 
 lost his parents soon after attaining his majority, 
 and he then took charge of the farm of 100 acres at 
 Westfield, Mass., on which he made extensive im- 
 provements, and which he continued to carry on 
 until 1867. In that year his buildings, valued at 
 $5,000, were destroyed by fire, and he carried only 
 $700 insurance. After this misfortune he sold his 
 land and came to Suffield, Conn., where he purchased 
 fifty-five acres, known as the Joseph Fuller farm. 
 This he has also greatly improved by the erection of 
 a fine residence, a good barn, and tobacco sheds, 
 valued at over ten thousand dollars. He is quite 
 extensively engaged in the raising of tobacco, and 
 is also interested in the dairy business, keeping on 
 hand fifteen cows. He formerly bought and packed 
 tobacco, and in most of his undertakings he has met 
 with well-deserved success. 
 
 At Blandford, Mass., in 1851, Mr. Brockett 
 wedded Miss Maria Eliza Gibbs, a native of that 
 place, and to them have been born two children: 
 (i) John F. was educated in the public schools of 
 Westfield, Mass., and the Connecticut Literary In- 
 stitute, at Suffield, Conn., and is now engaged in 
 farming in Suffield town. He married Genevia 
 Hewes, a daughter of Nathaniel Hewes, of Suffield, 
 and they have four children : Daisy Isabella, Nellie 
 Maria, Franklin N. and Frederick J. (2) David 
 Lester also attended the public schools and the 
 Connecticut Literary Institute, and later graduated 
 at the Eastman Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. 
 Y., and the Hartford Business College. He married 
 Mary Russell, by whom he has one daughter, Mabel 
 Eliza, and they reside with his parents. 
 
 Mr. Brockett is a stanch Republican, but has 
 never been prevailed upon to accept official honors. 
 He is a stockholder in the Electric Light and Water 
 Works at Suffield, also the Suffield Creamery, and 
 is a member of Suffield Grange, No. 27. He has 
 been ably assisted in life by the advice and counsel 
 of his estimable wife, who is an earnest member of 
 
11G6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the Congregational Church, and has proved to him 
 a true helpmeet. In his religious views he is rather 
 liberal, but he has led an upright, honorable life, | 
 Wfhich is exemplary in many respects. He is strictly 
 temperate, having never but once drunk a drop of 
 liquor across a bar, and he has the esteem of his 
 friends and the confidence of his business associates. 
 Capt. Lester Gibbs, father of Mrs. Brockett, was 
 born in Blandford, Mass., and was a son of Samuel 
 Gibbs, who was of English descent, and an old settler 
 of Hampden county, Mass. The Captain was edu- 
 cated in the district schools of the county, and be- 
 came quite a prominent citizen of Blandford, where 
 he successfully engaged in farming and stock deal- 
 ing. He dealt quite extensively in horses and cat- 
 tle, and for many years practiced veterinary surgery. 
 He was an influential member of the Democratic 
 party in his community, as an advocate of Jefljerson- 
 ian principles, held many township and county offi- 
 ces, and also represented his district in the Massa- 
 chusetts State Legislature. He was captain of a 
 company in the State militia. In religious matters 
 he was quite liberal. He wedded i\Iiss Mary Boise, 
 a daughter of David Boise, a prominent farmer of 
 Blandford, and to them were born the following 
 children: Julia B. is now the widow of Edwin 
 Thompson, and a resident of Brooklyn, N. Y. ; 
 Jarvis W. died in 1894; Samuel C. died in Iowa in 
 1894; David B. is deceased; Isabella is a resident of 
 Russell, INIass. ; Maria Eliza is the wife of our sub- 
 ject; Russell died yoimg; Edward and Edson-were 
 twins, the former of whom died in 1895, ^"^1 the lat- 
 ter is now living in Westfield, Mass. The father 
 of these children passed away in 1853, and the 
 mother, who was a faithful member of the Congre- 
 gational Church, died in 1866, the remains of both 
 being interred in Blandford. 
 
 WILLIAiM FREDERICK FLETCHER, a 
 prominent farmer of Enfield, was born in Holden, 
 Worcester Co., ]\Iass., Aug. 6, 1837, a son of Will- 
 iam and Hannah R. (Howe) Fletcher, both natives 
 of Worcester county, Massachusetts. 
 
 Nahor and Chloe (Taft) Fletcher, grandparents 
 of our subject, were also natives of that county. 
 Nahor was a son of Asa, who was a son of Abra- 
 ham, son of Hezekiah, son of Francis, son of Robert 
 Fletcher, who came from England, and settled in 
 Concord, Mass., in 1630. The eminence of the 
 Fletcher family in American history is shown by 
 the single fact that from Robert Fletcher, the 
 founder, have descended sixteen governors of States. 
 The early home of the Fletchers in Concord was 
 the farm on which the famous Concord grape was 
 afterward originated. Ebenezer Taft, the maternal 
 grandfather of our subject's father, was born in 
 1758, and died in 1836. He was the only child of 
 Ebenezer and Bethiah (Fletcher) Taft, of North- 
 bridge, Mass. Ebenezer Taft lived at Mendon, 
 Mass., and was a soldier in the Revolution, enlisting 
 in Rhode Island, and first serving two months in 
 
 Captain Isaac Martin's company. Col. Joseph Whit- 
 ney's regiment; second in Capt. Peter Penniman's 
 company, Col. Job Cushing's regiment, same year. 
 This was in the Northern army, operating against 
 Curgoyne, from Aug. 17, 1777, to Nov. 29, 1777, 
 participating in those desperate battles which re- 
 sulted in the surrender of the invading army in Oc- 
 tober, 1777. In the following year, 1778, Ebe- 
 nezer Taft served six weeks in Capt. Baker's com- 
 pany, Col. Haws' regiment, in Rhode Island. In 
 July, 1780, he enlisted in Capt. Benjamin Reed's 
 company. Col. Nathan Tyler's regiment, com- 
 manded by Lieut. John Benson, on the alarm in 
 Rhode Island. His wife, Mary (Howard), whom 
 he married March 19, 1779, was a daughter of Ben- 
 jamin and Elizabeth (Thayer) Howard, the former 
 being a descendant of Samuel Howard, who settled 
 in Mendon, JNIass., about 1680. 
 
 William Fletcher, father of William F., was 
 born in Mendon, Mass., Feb. 17, 1810. His wife, 
 Hannah R. Howe, whom he married Sept. 8, 1836, 
 was a daughter of Abraham and Eunice (Hastings) 
 Howe, and was born in Holden, Mass., Nov. 25, 
 1815. 
 
 William F. Fletcher, our subject, was reared in 
 Connecticut from the age of four years, coming to 
 the town of Enfield in 1854. He was educated in 
 the common schools, and at the Wesleyan Academy, 
 Wilbraham, Mass. During the Civil war he en- 
 listed, Aug. 27, 1862, in Company F, 22nd C. V. I., 
 and participated in the siege of Suffolk. He was 
 honorably discharged from service July 7, 1863. 
 Air. Fletcher was married, Dec. 7, 1865, to Augusta 
 C, daughter of Henry and Charlotte A. (Allen) 
 Gowdy, of Enfield, and granddaughter of Hill and 
 Roxanna (McGregor). Hill Gowdy was a son 
 of Samuel Gowdy, a pioneer of Enfield. On the 
 maternal side Mrs. Fletcher is a granddaughter of 
 Solomon Allen, of East Windsor, who married 
 Martha Simons, of Enfield. Solomon Allen was a 
 son of David Allen, son of Joshua, son of Samuel, 
 son of John (who was killed at the battle of Bloody 
 Brook, at Deerfield, Mass.), son of Samuel Allen, 
 who settled in Windsor, Conn., in 1635. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher have one son, Henry 
 Frederick. Mr. Fletcher is a member of Samuel 
 Brown Post, No. 56, G. A. R., of Thompsonville. 
 In politics he is a Republican. For six years he 
 held the office of deputy registrar of Enfield; was 
 a member of the board of relief three years, and was 
 selectman for one year. 
 
 G. W. OLIN. Among the most attractive 
 farms in the town of Windsor, is the homestead of 
 our subject, whose enterprise and energy have made 
 him one of the leading growers of general produce 
 in that locality. Being advantageopsly located near 
 Windsor village, he finds a ready market for his 
 crops, and in making the best use of the opportuni- 
 ties afforded by the location, he has shown admir- 
 able judgment. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1167 
 
 Mr. Olin comes of an excellent faniil}', which 
 has been prominent in the vicinity of Plainfield, 
 Conn., from an early period. His grandfather, 
 Daniel Olin, a Revolutionary soldier, owned a farm 
 at Plainfield and followed agricultural pursuits for 
 many years. 
 
 Hon. George W. Olin, our subject's father, was 
 born and reared at Plainfield, and as a young man 
 was employed by the Norwich & Worcester Rail- 
 road Co., as their first station agent there. In those 
 days wood was the only fuel used in the locomotives, 
 and a large amount was kept piled up at Plainfield 
 ready for use. Later he became a farmer, purchas- 
 ing land near Sprague, Windham Co., Conn., and 
 then at Franklin Hill, Conn., but finally he located at 
 Dudley, Mass., where he also bought a homestead. 
 Being ever a friend of education, he removed to 
 Dudley because he wished his children, who were 
 all possessed of more than' ordinary ability, to have 
 the benefit of the schools there. Wherever he re- 
 sided he took a prominent part in local affairs, serv- 
 ing on school committees in several places, and he 
 was elected to the Legislature on the Democratic 
 ticket. While he was of powerful build and 
 seemed robust, he did not attain advanced age, as 
 he died in his sixty-fifth year from cancer of the 
 stomach. He left a comfortable competence, gained 
 solely through his own efforts seconded by the econ- 
 omy and good management of his estimable wife 
 (now deceased), whose maiden name was Zippiette 
 Green. She was a native of Longtown, Conn., and 
 her father, William Green, was a well-known ag- 
 riculturist there. George W. and Zippiette Olin 
 had nine children : Daniel, who settled in the "Far 
 West;" Jane, who married William Adams, of El- 
 lington, Conn. ; Elizabeth, wife of Dwight Bush- 
 nell, of Windsor; G. W., our subject; Julia, Mrs. 
 Jno. E. Higginbotham, of Windsor, who was a suc- 
 cessful teacher before her marriage ; Susan, wife of 
 H. E. Phelps, of Windsor ; Charles, a stationer and 
 paper dealer of Willimantic, Conn. ; Ernest, who 
 was last heard from at Memphis, Tenn. ; and Hattie, 
 Mrs. Edwin Bowise, of Pueblo, Colo., who taught 
 school for a time with marked success. 
 
 Our subject was born April 24, 1848, at the old 
 home in Plainfield. His education was limited to 
 the common schools of the localities where his par- 
 ents resided, and during much of his boyhood he 
 only attended in winter. He remained at home until 
 he reached the age of nineteen ; but as he thought a 
 trade would be more to his liking than farming he 
 then went to Hartford to learn the art of copper- 
 plate engraving and printing. For five years he 
 worked at this business in Hartford, spending most 
 of the time with Case, Lockwood, Brainerd & Co., 
 and his ability and skill gained for him a high repu- 
 tation as a workman, thereby enabling him to com- 
 mand excellent wages. Going to New York City, 
 he was employed for some time by the National 
 Bank Note Co., on the top floor of the Cooper Insti- 
 tute building, and later he worked for the Colum- 
 
 bia Bank Note Co., of Washington, D. C, leaving 
 tliere when a re-organization made it a stock com- 
 pany. His experience of city life has made him 
 turn with appreciation to the wholesome scenes and 
 activities of country life, and it was from deliberate 
 choice that he gave up his trade and devoted his 
 attention to farming. In 1878 he came to Windsor, 
 where some of his sisters had located, and soon af- 
 terward he engaged in market gardening on the 
 farm of Mr. Bushnell, who was also a dealer in meat. 
 After three years Mr. Olin leased the land, which 
 was known as the old "Capen farm," and continued 
 the business on his own account, meeting with such 
 success that he purchased the place in 1887. 
 
 Although he has had his misfortunes like all 
 business men, Mr. Olin always rises superior to 
 them, and his homestead, upon which he has made 
 many improvements, is a tangible reward for his 
 years of hard work. At present he deals more ex- 
 tensively in garden produce than any other man in 
 that^ neighborhood, and while he is of most unas- 
 suming disposition he is regarded as a substantial 
 and valuable citizen. He has an attractive daughter, 
 Minnie, and his interests center in his home to the 
 exclusion of outside affairs. While he is in sym- 
 pathy with the Democratic party in national issues, 
 he has voted but once since attaining his majority. 
 He possesses a fine voice and decided talent for 
 music, and for some years was a member of the 
 choir of the M. E. Church at Windsor. 
 
 JOHN DEEBLE, a well-known traveling sales- 
 man, and one of Southington's leading German 
 citizens, was born in Hersfeld, Province of Nassau, 
 Germany, Mav 29, 1834, a son of Jacob and Eliza 
 (Fuller) Deeble. 
 
 In April, 1854, Mr. Deeble crossed the Atlantic, 
 and landed in New York, where he remained sev- 
 eral weeks, but in August of the same year located 
 in Southington, Hartford Co., Conn. Being a 
 blacksmith by trade, which occupation he had fol- 
 lowed in his native land for six years, including 
 his apprenticeship, he secured employment with the 
 Peck-Smith Co. in that capacity, and after a short 
 time spent with them entered the service of the 
 Plant Manufacturing Co., of Plantsville, where he 
 remained two years. Subsequently he was em- 
 ployed in the Millen Bolt Works, and by Roys & 
 Wilcox, at East Berlin, where he was engaged in 
 forging various implements for about a year. He 
 also spent seven years in the forging department 
 of the Stow Manufacturing Co., Plantsville, and 
 worked on die and drop forging for the Henry D. 
 Smith Co. In the meantime he patented an anti- 
 rudder for the fifth wheel of carriages, which he 
 afterward manufactured in New York City for 
 eight months, and then sold to G. B. Savage, of 
 Southington, managing the business for him three 
 years. From 1874 to 1879 ^i"- I^eeble ran a step 
 machine, for the making of carriage steps, in the 
 factory of the Atwater Manufacturing Co., and 
 
1168 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 while there secured seven patents for ox shoes, the 
 first to be made by machinery in the United States. 
 He met with excellent success in the manufacture 
 of these shoes, turning out from sixty-five to sev- 
 enty tons of the manufactured article per year, and 
 selling them on the road himself. About 1887 G. 
 B. Savage sold out his business to the Scranton 
 Forging Co., of Scranton, Penn., and Mr. Deeble 
 spent seven months in that city, but on account of 
 ill health he returned to his home in Southington 
 at the end of that time. In 1888 he embarked in 
 the fancy grocery trade, in which he successfully 
 engaged until 1899, and is now a traveling salesman. 
 Mr. Deeble has taken out about fourteen patents 
 on ox shoes and other inventions, and has sold the 
 ox shoe patents to the Scranton Forging Co. He 
 has steadily prospered since coming to this coun- 
 try, and has never yet had occasion to regret his 
 emigration. 
 
 On Nov. 26, 1854, Mr. Deeble married Miss 
 Agnes Krollman, daughter of Jacob and Marga'ret 
 (Miller) Krollman, of Southington, formerly of 
 Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany. Of the six children 
 born to them, only two are now living: Charles 
 and Ida Mary. In 1892 Mr. Deeble returned to 
 Germany, to visit his old home and the graves of 
 his parents. The latter he found sadly neglected, 
 but he at once had them put in order, and erected 
 suitable monuments to the memory of his parents. 
 When this had oeen accomplished he invited his 
 brothers and sisters to see what he had done, and 
 tried to impress upon them the fact of the success 
 one can achieve in the New World. After spend- 
 ing two months abroad ilr. Deeble returned to his 
 Connecticut home, content to remain on this side 
 of the Atlantic. He first came to America in search 
 of home and fortune, and his ambitious dreams 
 have been more than realized. He has contributed 
 liberally toward the erection of the Lutheran church 
 in Southington, of which he is an active and prom- 
 inent member : is also a member of the D. O. H. 
 or Harugari Society; is president of the Germania 
 Hall and Liederkranz Society : and politically is 
 a supporter of the Republican party. He is highly 
 respected and esteemed by all who know him, and 
 has many friends throughout the town. 
 
 HENRY A. POTTER is one of the representa- 
 tive agriculturists of Glastonbury town, and his 
 beautiful homestead, which he purchased in a worn- 
 out condition, has been restored by him and brought 
 to a high state of cultivation. 
 
 The Potter family originated in England, and 
 our subject is a descendant of a branch which be- 
 came identified with Rhode Island at an early day. 
 A town in that State is named Potter, and many 
 members of the family now reside in the vicinity of 
 Kingston, R. I. Our subject's grandfather, Henry 
 Potter, followed the sea. and was lost while on a 
 voyage. He had five children, among whom was a 
 daughter Fannie, who married William Babcock, a 
 
 native of Lebanon, Conn., and removed to a farm 
 at Freeport, 111., where both died. 
 
 Thomas Cranston Potter, our subject's father, 
 was born at Kingston, R. I., but his life was mainly 
 spent in Lebanon, Conn., where he followed the 
 blacksmith's trade. He married (first) Harriet 
 Bennett, who was buried at Lebanon, and (second) 
 Lucinda Loomis, of Lebanon, whose remains now 
 rest in the cemetery at Glastonbury. By his first 
 marriage he had two children : ( i ) Julian C, born 
 May 15, 1822, died May 15, 1884. He married 
 Harriet Kendall, of Falls Village, Mass., and was a 
 merchant in Boston. (2) Jane E., born Aug. 25, 
 1830, married William H. Hardy, and lived in Mas- 
 sachusetts. By the second marriage there were six 
 children, of whom three are living: (i) Sarah F., 
 born Nov. 11, 1832, married Jason Stevens, a 
 farmer of Glastonbury, and died Feb. 7, 1882. (2) 
 Mary Angeline, born Dec. 20, 1833, died April 12, 
 1834. (3) Calista Angeline, born Dec. 16, 1835, 
 married Henry C. Robinson, and is living in East 
 Hartford. (4) Lucinda E., born June 2, 1837, 
 died Oct. 2, 1862, unmarried. (5) Henry A. is 
 mentioned more fully below. (6) Mary Ann, born 
 Feb. 5, 1840, and now residing with our subject, 
 married (first) Newton Thrall, of Glastonbury, and 
 (second) Warren F. Childs, of Boston, both now 
 deceased. 
 
 Our subject was born in Lebanon, June 21, 1838, 
 and had only common-school advantages, his fa- 
 ther being a poor man, with a large family. During 
 boyhood he worked away from home at small wages 
 for three or four years, but later returned to the 
 home farm and worked in summer, while attend- 
 ing school in winter. At the age of seventeen and 
 for some time following he was night clerk in the 
 "Hotel Easton," corner of South and Whitehall 
 streets, New York City. After leaving the hotel 
 he went to Andover, Conn., and worked on a farm 
 for two years, and in 1868 he settled at Glastonbury. 
 He located first on Main street, renting land at va- 
 rious places, and in 1877 he purchased his present 
 farm from Ambrose Bidwell, the place containing 
 twenty-five acres, well adapted to general farming, 
 on which he has built sheds, barns and made other 
 substantial improvements. He makes a specialty 
 of fruit and tobacco raising. Politically Mr. Pot- 
 ter is a Democrat, and he served as selectman in 
 1897-98. He is a member of no secret societies. 
 He united with the Baptist Church in Lebanon some 
 years ago, but now attends the Congregational 
 Church in Glastonbury. Mr. Potter occupies a po- 
 sition among the substantial men of his locality, and 
 deserves high credit for the success he has made. 
 
 In 1864 Mr. Potter married Miss Abbie Jane 
 Perry, a native of Norwich, who died in 1883. In 
 1886 he married Miss Amanda White, a native of 
 Hebron, and daughter of James A. and Jerusha 
 (Kellogg) White. There were seven children by 
 the first marriage: (i) Frank H., born April 18, 
 1866, is a farmer in Glastonbury. He married Miss 
 
i/ri/^7.ij^ .V^, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1169 
 
 Mary Grant, and has four children, Hazel, Lillian, 
 Ethel, and one son. (2) James, born Oct. 25, 1869, 
 died June 16, 1870. (3) Alfred N., born July 2y, 
 1872, resides in Seattle, Wash., where he is engaged 
 'in the lumber business. (4) Harry W., born May 
 
 23, 187s, is at home. (5) Edward, born Dec. 7, 
 1877, died Sept. 10, 1883. (6) Lillian, born Nov. 
 
 24, 1879, also died Sept. 10, 1883. (7) Louis M., 
 born April 10, 1882, is at home. Two children 
 were born to the second marriage, both dying in 
 infancy, unnamed. 
 
 James A. White, father of Mrs. Potter, was 
 born in Lebanon, Conn., and was brought to He- 
 bron when a child. He is still living, now (1900) 
 aged eighty-three years. By occupation he was a 
 farmer. Mr. White first married Jerusha Kellogg, 
 who died in August, 1856, and had four children by 
 this union: Edward J. (a farmer in Hebron), 
 Fred K. (deceased), Amanda (Mrs. Potter) and 
 Emma. By his second marriage, to Harriet Rath- 
 bone, there were also four children: Wilfred A., 
 Adele, John B. (deceased), and Harley (deceased). 
 In political sentiment Mr. White is a Republican. 
 
 JUDAH PHELPS, a leading agriculturist of 
 West Sufifield, is a worthy representative of a fam- 
 ily of Hartford county which has been prominent 
 in this section from pioneer times, its members 
 in each generation displaying the sturdy independ- 
 ence of thought and uprightness of character which 
 form the basis of good citizenship. He traces his 
 descent from one of the first settlers of Windsor, 
 namely, 
 
 (I) William Phelps, who was born in 1599 at 
 Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England, son of Will- 
 iam Phelps, and thence removed to Somerset, in 
 Dorsetshire, where he married. In 1630 he came 
 to the New World and located in Dorchester, Mass., 
 being one of the party of Rev. Mr. Warham, of 
 whose church (found in Plymouth, England) he 
 was an original member. He was accompanied 
 hither by his wife, Elizabeth, and five children, 
 and by his younger brothers, George and Richard. 
 On Oct. 19, 1630, William Phelps applied to be 
 made freeman. On Nov. 9, 1630, he was one of the 
 jury empaneled for the trial of Walter Palmer for 
 the murder of Auston Brotchur — the first trial by 
 jury held in New England. In the spring of 1636 
 he removed with his children to Windsor, Conn., 
 where his brother George had located in 1635, and 
 there resided the balance of his life, dying July 
 14, 1672. He held several influential offices. For 
 his second wife he married Mary Dover, a native 
 of England. His children were : William, born in 
 1620; Sarah, in 1623 (married William Wade) ; 
 Samuel, in 1625; Nathaniel, in 1627; Joseph, in 
 1629; Timothy, in 1635 : and Mary, in March, 1644 
 
 ( married Thomas Barber, and settled in Simsbury) . 
 
 (II) Joseph Phelps, son of William^ was born 
 in England, came to America with his parents, and 
 lived in Dorchester and later in Windsor, Conn., 
 
 74 
 
 where he was made freeman in 1664. He finally 
 removed to Simsbury, where he died in 1684, and 
 where his remains were buried. On Sept. 20, 1660, 
 he married Hannah Newton, daughter of Roger 
 Newton. She died in Simsbury in 1671, and on 
 Jan. 9, 1676, he married Mary Salmon, widow of 
 Thomas Salmon. She died Jan. 16, 1682. Chil- 
 dren: Sarah, born in 1662, married John Hill; 
 Joseph, born Aug. 2, 1667; Hannah, born Feb. 
 
 2, 1668-69; Timothy, born in 1671 ; and William, 
 born in 1676 (died in October, 1689). 
 
 (III) Joseph Phelps was born in Windsor, re- 
 moved to Simsbury with his parents, and there 
 spent the remainder of his life. He was a repre- 
 sentative of the town in the General Assembly, 
 1709-27. Joseph Phelps first married Mary Collier, 
 who died in 1697, and on March 9, 1699, he mar- 
 ried Sarah Case, daughter of John and Sarah 
 (Spencer) Case. She was born in August, 1676, 
 and died May 2, 1704. For his third wife Joseph 
 Phelps married May Case (daughter of Richard 
 and Elizabeth Case), who died in September, 1757. 
 He died Jan. 20, 1750, in Simsbury. Children: 
 Joseph, born Oct. 9, 1689; Hannah, Oct. 23, 1693. 
 (married Samuel Humphrey) ; Mary, Oct. 17, 1696' 
 (died Jan. 9, 1713) ; Sarah, Aug. 11, 1700 (died 
 Jan. 14, 1714) ; Damaris, March 5, 1703 (married 
 John Mills) ; John, Feb. 14, 1707 (died Jan. 5, 
 1713) ; Amos, 1708 (married Sarah Pettibone) ; 
 Elizabeth, April, 1709 (married, July 23, 1725, 
 Daniel Hoskins) ; and David, 1710. 
 
 (IV) Joseph Phelps was born in Simsbury Oct. 
 9. 1689. He settled on Turkey Hill, in what is now" 
 East Granby, where he died June 18, 1763. He 
 owned a negro man and woman, and in his will made 
 a proviso that they should be free after his death. 
 On Jan. 7, 1713, in Simsbury, he married Rebecca 
 North, of Farmington, who died Nov. 8, 1732, and 
 on April 23, 1735, he married Hannah Clark, of 
 Hartford, born in 1693, who died Feb. 10, 1765. 
 Children: Hannah, born May 28, 1714 (died June 
 
 3, 1714) ; Joseph, born Oct. 18, 1716 ; Hannah, 
 June 7, 1718 (married Abel Forward) ; Elijah, 
 May II, 1720 (great-grandfather of our subject) ; 
 Ezekiel, March 8, 1723: Rebecca, Jan. 22, 1724 
 (married Joel Harmon) ; Elizabeth, Nov. 24, 1726 
 (married Moses Holcomb) ; Lydia, Sept. 10, 1728 
 (married Jacob Gillette) ; Abel, May 22, 1730 (mar- 
 ried Mary Eno) ; and Hezekiah and Keziah, twins, 
 Feb. 18, 1732 (the former married Hannah Hay- 
 den, the latter James Harmon). 
 
 (V) Elijah Phelps was a native of East Granby 
 (then Simsbury), but settled in early manhood in 
 Suffield, where he engaged in farming and became 
 one of the prominent citizens of that time. He 
 and his wife, Esther Kent, had the following chil- 
 dren: Esther. Ada, Diana, Abigail. Rhoda, Elijah 
 Daniel (a Revolutionary soldier), Judah, and 
 Silas (who married Mary Warner). 
 
 (VI) .Judah Phelps, the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Suffield, and became a prosperous. 
 
1170 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 agriculturist at wliat is now known as Warner- 
 town, in W'-est Suffield, where lie owned a large 
 amount of land, lie was a devout Christian, and 
 his consistent life made him respected throughout 
 the community. While he was born under British 
 rule, he lived to see his country independent and 
 rejoiced in the establishment of free institutions. He 
 married Abigail Bishop, and had children as fol- 
 lows: Judah, Abigail, Israel, Sylvanus, Apollos, 
 Betsey, Beulali, Joel, Anna, Justus, Sally and 
 Judah. 
 
 (VII) Capt. Aix)llos I'helps, our subject's fa- 
 ther, was born in Suffield Feb. 3, 1786, and died 
 there Dec. 3, 1878, at the advanced age of ninety- 
 two years and ten months. For about ten years he 
 was the oldest inhabitant who was a native of the 
 town. He inherited from his parents an excellent 
 constitution, which he never impaired by dissipa- 
 tion, and while several of his brothers were noted 
 for their great physical strength he surpassed them 
 all, standing six feet high, with an erect and com- 
 pact frame, capable of rare endurance. His mar- 
 velous feats in lifting won him the title of the 
 '"Samson of Connecticut," and it is recorded that 
 he once lifted a millstone in Windsor weighing more 
 than 1.700 pounds. He was one of the principal 
 real estate holders of the town of Suffield, owning 
 over 500 acres, and was interested in general farm- 
 ing, dairying and tobacco raising. Although a self- 
 educated man, the schools of that day affording 
 but meager opportunities for learning, he became 
 an able and eloquent speaker, especially on religious 
 topics. In early life he was a Whig, later he be- 
 came a Republican, but he never sought official hon- 
 ors. He was married first, on Alarch 9, 1809, to 
 j\liss Rhoda Griffin, who died March 9, 1841, leav- 
 ing no children. On March 9, 1842, he married 
 Miss Marietta Griffin, who survived him, her death 
 occurring Dec. 31, 1891. and their remains now 
 rest in the Phelps cemetery in West Suffield. Mrs. 
 Phelps was a woman of superior character and a 
 devout member of the Methodist Church, and was 
 much esteemed among her associates. They had 
 seven childrn : Jasper, who died at the age of thir- 
 ty-seven; Judah, our subject; Rhoda, deceased wife 
 of Jason Viets, of East Granby ; Harriet, deceased 
 wife of John La F'loure ; Sarah, who died unmar- 
 ried ; Mary, wife of John B. Cannon ; and Luanna, 
 who died at seventeen. The religious work of 
 Capt. Phelps was so remarkable and produced such 
 lasting eft'ects in this region that it should find a 
 permanent record, and we quote from the sermon 
 preached at his funeral by his nephew. Rev. S. 
 Dryden Phelps, D. D., of New Haven. 
 
 "Capt. Phelps had godly ancestors and pious 
 parents, and though he lived an upright moral life 
 it was not until he was thirty-nine years old that he 
 'experienced religion.' I use this old-time phrase 
 because it pertinently expresses the marked and 
 decisive change wrought in his striking conver- 
 sion. It occurred Feb. 8 or 9, 1825, there being quite 
 
 a religious awakening at the time. He used to think 
 pretty well of himself morally, but a remark made 
 to him by his father produced a deep and lasting im- 
 pression, though at the time it aroused the resent- 
 ment of his soul. It was: T fear I shall have to 
 justify God in your condemnation — what have you 
 done with your convictions?' During three days 
 preceding his conversion his convictions, like those 
 of Bunyan, were deep and pungent. The law-work 
 upon his heart and conscience was powerful. The 
 Spirit of God laid bare his sinful, lost state, and he 
 so clearly saw the Divine justice in his condem- 
 nation that his mind sunk under harrowing despair 
 to such a degree that he even meditated self-de- 
 struction. He attended an evening meeting at his 
 father's, led by Deacon Gillett, and at the close the 
 leader of the meeting asked him if he was not in- 
 terested enough to seek salvation. He thought the 
 devil helped him to a text in reply : 'Can the Ethi- 
 opian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?' 
 The next morning as he went to nis barn, and his 
 --attle and sheep looked at him, he thought how 
 these dumb creatures had fulfilled the design of 
 their Creator, while his life was full of sin and re- 
 bellion. He was reproved and humbled, and fell on 
 his knees for the first time to confess his sins, while 
 the barn seemed to be cracking as if it would fall 
 and crush him to the dust. He went out to help 
 a hired man load some heavy green logs, and his 
 excitement seemed to augment his great strength 
 so that he threw the immense timbers clean over the 
 sled, to the danger of the other man. Under the 
 awful weight of his convictions he wandered away 
 upon the mountain above his residence, and pros- 
 trate under a cedar tree he called upon the rocks 
 and mountain to hide him from the face of a holy 
 God. But at length the conflict ended, and the 
 burden was removed in his passing from death to 
 life, by the manifestation to him of Christ the 
 Saviour of sinners and the author and finisher of 
 his faith. It seemed to him that an angel was near 
 him under the cedar, and also that an evil spirit or 
 dragon sought to reach and overcome the good 
 spirit, but could not. The next morning he went 
 out to the wood-shed and took his ax, but his feet 
 seemed to be fast to the ground while a voice said 
 to him, 'Labor not for the meat that perisheth, but 
 that which endureth unto eternal life.' With this 
 came the dawn of hope. About this time a splendid 
 form seemed to catch him up to Heaven's gate, 
 where he heard wonderful voices and songs, and 
 where he saw lights so brilliant that for three days 
 he was partially blind. He had now come into a 
 new world. The storm and darkness had passed 
 away in the bright shining of the of the Sun of 
 Righteousness which had risen upon his soul with 
 healing in its beams. The change was wonderful. 
 All nature seemed to share in it. The trees clapped 
 their hands for joy. Everything praised God. A 
 calm rapture filled his spirit — it was the inexpress- 
 ible peace of Jesus flowing like a river. He said 
 
 4 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1171 
 
 to a young friend and relative, E. P. Stevens, 'the 
 Saviour leads my soul into green pastures and be- 
 side the still water.' He came to my father's to 
 bring the good news. I remember it well, child 
 as I was. The household came together. His 
 brother Judah was present also. All kneeled down, 
 and uncle Apollos poured out his soul in prayer 
 and thanksgiving to God. It was his first prayer 
 in the presence of others. I can recall now some 
 of the expressions he used, his terms of endear- 
 ment in addressing his Heavenly Father. All wept, 
 but they were tears of sympathy and joy. Mrs. 
 Phelps was converted about the same time, and 
 was a 'devoted and earnest Christian while she 
 lived. He united with the Second Baptist Church 
 in Suffield, being baptized by the pastor. Rev. Cal- 
 vin Philleo, in September, 1825. As an instance 
 of his fidelity, for a number of years after he united 
 with the church, though he haa to go six miles 
 and over a mountain to attend its services, he did 
 not miss on an average one Sabbath in a year. And 
 he was generally present at the Saturday afternoon 
 monthly covenant-meetings, and sometimes at the 
 close of the Sunday sermon, liberty being given, 
 his voice was heard in earnest and impressive ex- 
 hortation. For many years there was a Sabbath 
 evening union prayer-meeting held alternately in 
 the neighborhood, and he frequently led and al- 
 most always took part with these faithful brethren 
 and others, so that the meetings were sustained with 
 great interest and usefulness. His influence was 
 felt for good wherever he went, Christ and His 
 salvation being his great theme. There are sev- 
 eral remarkable instances of this, of which I give 
 a few. In the autumn of 1829, while at work with 
 his men getting in rowen, he felt a strong impres- 
 sion to go to East Granville, Mass. It seemed a 
 Divine call, and he immediately left his work, har- 
 nessed his horse to the wagon, and drove to the 
 village. He called on Elder Silas Root, the Baptist 
 minister, and inquired as to the state of religion 
 in the churcu and place. He replied that it was a 
 low time, and many were dying with scarlet fever. 
 On leaving Elder Root's, and querying what pur- 
 pose the Lord had in his visit, my uncle met a man 
 by the name of Granger, inquiring for cows that had 
 strayed away, and asking if he knew anything of 
 them. Before the interview closed he asked the 
 man if he knew anything about the grace of God. 
 He said 'No.' He then asked him if be would get 
 over the wall and pray if he would pray with him. 
 'Yes,' he said, and there they bowed together be- 
 fore the mercy-seat, and the already convicted sin- 
 ner was then or soon converted. My uncle, went 
 back to the pastor's house, and on invitation put 
 out his horse and stayed over the Sabbath. The 
 Elder asked him to take the pulpit. 'No,' said he, 
 'appoint a prayer meeting at noon.' The meeting 
 was held. A powerful revival followed and many 
 were converted, and what is remarkable there were 
 no more deaths at that time of scarlet fever. As 
 
 my uncle went to Granville on this occasion, he 
 passed the house of Deacon V. Stevens, who had 
 then got out for the first time on crutches after a 
 broken limb, and who felt grieved that his neighbor 
 did not stop and speak to him. On his return my 
 uncle called and apologized for his seeming neg- 
 lect. 'The Lord,' said he, 'impressed me to go to 
 Granville, and to salute no man by the way.' 
 
 "In 1830 he visited relatives in Chenango val- 
 ley, N. Y., and while there, with the blessing of 
 God on his personal labors, a precious revival of 
 religion was enjoyed, many were converted, and the 
 .Baptist Church at Castle Creek was resuscitated 
 from an almost extinct condition, and started on a 
 course of growth and prosperity which it still 
 maintains. Rev. Mr. Philleo, after leaving Suf- 
 field, took charge of a church in Pawtucket, R. I., 
 and in a series of successful revival meetings there, 
 was aided by my uncle, who as requested went 
 there and labored in the meetings, exhorting with 
 power, and praying and conversing from house to 
 house, and saw the salvation of God. I heard him 
 spoken of with interest and gratitude as years 
 afterward I visited there while in college at Provi- 
 dence. He was once a delegate to an ordaining 
 council at Northampton, Mass. He overheard a 
 minister talking of a fast horse, and with what 
 speed he could run. The Captain ventured the in- 
 quiry if he could go as fast as sinners were rushing 
 down to hell. Instead of going to his supper he 
 went to the bank of the Connecticut river and 
 prayed for the outpouring of the Spirit on the coun- 
 cil and the place. There was such a heavenly 
 atmosphere about him that in it the river seemed 
 preternaturally clear and beautiful. He went back 
 and wanted them to have a preliminary prayer meet- 
 ing. There was objection, but at his solicitation 
 one was held at the close of the ordaining services, 
 and it was so deeply interesting that some stayed 
 late into the night. One asked for prayers and was 
 converted. It was the beginning of a blessed revival. 
 I have alluded to his following sermons with ex- 
 hortations. On one occasion, at Busby Hill in 
 Granby, after the preacher had closed his discourse, 
 Capt. Phelps spoke with such power and effect that 
 several dated their conversions from that, time, and 
 similar instances and labors might be mentioned 
 did space allow. A number of boys and young men 
 were from time to time brought up in his household, 
 aud almost all of them were converted and became 
 earnest Christians, as well as his own children. 
 He was a good and helpful neighbor, as well as a 
 kind husband and loving father, and would cheer- 
 fully disoblige himself to accommodate others. 
 He was a useful citizen and true patriot. In his 
 departure a strong link is sundered and his friends 
 and neighbors may well say, in the language of 
 the Scripture, 'How is the strong staff broken and 
 the beautiful rod.' 
 
 "He. possessed great simplicity and humility in 
 his prayers; he told the Lord everything that con- 
 
1172 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 cerned him and asked His guidance. He was quick 
 at repartee; was remarkable now and then for 
 Hashes of genuine wit and humor; but especially 
 for uttering striking, pertinent and even profound 
 thoughts. His imagination was affluent and his 
 conceptions vivid, sometimes outrunning his words 
 and leaving them incoherent. He was more than 
 a match for caviler or skeptic, and would soon 
 silence them by some unlooked-for question or 
 proposition. He had never seriously been sick but 
 once before his last illness, but kept about and at 
 work more or less till within a few weeks of his 
 death. He felt that the end was near, and he calm- 
 ly and even joyously awaited the result, arrang- 
 ing his affairs and settling all matters that he 
 wanted closed up. He said he should go no more 
 out, not even to visit again the precious spot where 
 he had so many hours of comnumion with his 
 Saviour. On the day of his death, in great and 
 sweet patience he said, as he had often said during 
 his sickness, 'Though the earthly house of this 
 tabernacle were dissolved, 1 have a building of 
 God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the 
 heavens." '1 have fought a good light, I have 
 finished my course, I have kept the faith.' He said 
 he had no pain, and had got almost home, and be- 
 fore his body should be laid out he would be walking 
 the golden streets of the New Jerusalem. At last, 
 when asked if all was well with him, he replied, 
 beginning very faintly, but uttering the words with 
 a deepening" emphasis, "Yes, yes, yes.' So, in clear- 
 ness of mind, heavenly peace, and triumphant faith, 
 his long, useful, patriarchal life closed like a child 
 going to sleep. 'His rest shall be glorious.' Oh, 
 is it not emphaticallv true, and a most blessed ex- 
 perience, as among his last words he said, 'I have 
 a hope that I would not part with for mountains 
 of gold or rocks of diamonds.' " 
 
 (Vni) JuDAH Phelps was born Feb. 6, 1845, 
 at his present homestead near Warnertown, and 
 during youth was trained to agricultural work un- 
 der the oversight of his father. He received a 
 public-school education, and has always followed 
 farming as an occupation, being extensively inter- 
 ested at present in dairying and stock raising. 
 His industry and thrift have had their due reward 
 in a fine competence, and he has made investments 
 in other lines of enterprise, including the Suffield 
 Creamery Co., in which he is a stockholder. Po- 
 litically he is a strong Republican, and at times 
 he has held office, having served two terms in the 
 local board of relief, and at present is a member 
 of the school board. He and his wife are much 
 respected, and the family hold a prominent place 
 in social life. 
 
 Mr. Phelps was married, May 2, 1866, to Miss 
 Ellen C. Cannon, of West Sutfield, daughter of 
 William and Olive (Messenger) Cannon, and ten 
 children have blessed the union: (i) Franklin A., 
 born Aug. 22, 1867, is a railroad engineer at 
 Hoh'oke, Mass. He married Anna Hunter, and 
 
 has one child, Vella Irene. (2) Henry W., born 
 Dec. 27, 1868, married Idella Gertrude Houghtal- 
 ing, of Ansonia, who died in April, 1899. (.3) Jud- 
 son L., born Oct. 11, 1870, is a farmer on the 
 homestead. He married Miss Jessie Hubbard, and 
 has two children, Helen and Jasper Apollos. (4) 
 Lawrence C, born April 22, 1874, is a street rail- 
 way motorman in Hartford; he is Unmarried. (5) 
 Miss Rhoda M., born Feb. 18, 1876, resides at home, 
 and is a leader in the best social circles of the neigh- 
 borhood. (6) Benjamin J., born Oct. 4, 1877, is a 
 student at Yale College. (7) Charles D., born 
 Jan. 23, 1880. (8) Myra L., March 4, 1882. (9) 
 Warren J., Jan. 15, 1884, and (10) Nora B., Oct. 
 23, 1885, are all at home. 
 
 ALBERT H. GRANT. Among the most at- 
 tractive homes of this section is that of the subject 
 of this biography, an enterprising young agricult- 
 urist of the town of East Windsor, and in its well- 
 planned arrangements the charms of country life 
 are combined with the improvements that science 
 has devised for comfort, convenience, and the grati- 
 fication of refined and artistic taste. The house, 
 which is heated by steam, is modern in construc- 
 tion, and all the buildings on the farm are supplied 
 with water tlirough pipes, while in every part of 
 the estate are to be seen evidences of the progress- 
 ive ideas and executive ability of its owner. 
 
 Mr. Grant was born March 3, 1867, on a farm 
 near Broad Brook, in the town of East Windsor, a 
 son of Luther and Ann E. (Allen) Grant. As a 
 boy he attended the public schools near his home, 
 while the work of the farm gave him a practical 
 knowledge of the best methods of agriculture. At 
 the age of twenty-two he purchased an interest in 
 his present homestead and engaged in farming on 
 his own account, and so well did he succeed that in 
 1896 he bought the entire title to the place. He 
 owns altogether about 150 acres of land twenty- 
 acres of which lie in the town of Ellington, Tolland 
 county, and in connection with general farming he 
 raises tobacco, planting about twenty acres each 
 year to that crop. Politically he is a Republican, 
 but he has never aspired to office, although he takes 
 keen interest in the issues of the day and is always 
 ready to endorse any worthy movement. 
 
 In 1890 Mr. Grant married Miss Belle Roberts, 
 of the town of Suffield, and two children brighten 
 their home, Boyd and Lynn. 
 
 NELSON ORSINO KEYES, a well-known 
 and highly-respected citizen of the village of Farm- 
 ington, was born in Warren, N. H., May 4, 1847, 
 and is a son of Ezra W. and Julia M. (Clough) 
 Keyes, who died at that place. The father, who 
 was a carpenter by trade, was born in Orford, N. 
 H., but spent the greater part of his life in War- 
 ren. He had a brother, David Keyes, who was a 
 manufacturer of sm.all hardware at Unionville, 
 Conn. Our subject is second in the order of birth 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1173 
 
 in a family of three children, but the others, Ezra 
 and Harvey, are both now deceased. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of Nelson O. Keyes 
 were passed in his native town, where he learned 
 the carpenter's trade with his father. In 1871 
 he came to the town of Farmington, Hartford Co., 
 Conn., there worked for Samuel C. Colt, and made 
 his home in the East Farms District for about thir- 
 teen years. In 1884 he removed to the village of 
 Farmington, where he has since resided, and now 
 has a pleasant home on Main street. For the past 
 five years he has been dealing in agricultural im- 
 plementg to some extent. He is one of the prom- 
 inent and influential citizens of the place, and has 
 been called upon to fill the offices of constable, justice 
 of the peace and selectman, having served in the 
 last named office for nine years. 
 
 On Dec. 24, 1872, Mr. Keyes was married, in 
 Farmington, to Miss Laura A. Chamberlain, also 
 a native of Warren, N. H., and to them has been 
 born one daughter, Helen J. As a citizen Mr. 
 Keyes has the good of the community at heart, and 
 in an official capacity his abilities have all been ex- 
 erted to make his adopted town and county rank 
 among the best in this .great Commonwealth. 
 
 EDWARD BEDELL PECK, of Bloomfield, 
 was born in that town Jan. 29, 1847, which has 
 been the home of the Peck family for at least three 
 generations, although his grandfather was a native 
 of Lyme, Conn. The grandfather, a blacksmith 
 by trade, early settled in Bloomfield, and married 
 a Miss Griswold, of Windsor, and in Bloomfield 
 their children were born in the following order: 
 Jasper, Hayden G., George, Muchin Pinder and 
 Sardis, all deceased, and Mrs. Mary Wilcox. 
 
 Hayden G. Peck, father of our subject, was born 
 in Bloomfield in 1796, and died in Granby in July, 
 1877, but his remains were brought to Bloomfield 
 for interment. He was educated in that town and 
 in Windsor, learned dyeing, dressing and cloth 
 pulling, and had a shop in Simsbury. On Dec. 9, 
 1825, he married Miss Lucinda Griswold, a daugh- 
 ter of Noah Griswold, and aunt of Timothy E. 
 Griswold, whose life history will be found on an- 
 other page of this volume. To this marriage were 
 born seven children : Jane, deceased wife of Dwight 
 Hillman, of Windsor Locks ; Deforest Hayden, of 
 West Hartford ; Luzerne J., of St. Louis, Mo. ; 
 Helen, also the deceased wife of Dwight Hillman, 
 of Windsor Locks; George W., of North Granby; 
 Edward Bedell, our subject ; and Lucius J., deceased. 
 Hayden G. Peck, the father, was for many years 
 in the cloth business in Simsbury, then for seven 
 years peddled throughout the Southern States, and 
 finally settled down to farming in Bloomfield, where 
 his wife died in i860. Mr. Peck was a member of 
 the F. & A. M., was a Democrat in politics, served 
 as selectman of Bloomfield, and died a highly-re- 
 spected citizen. 
 
 Edward Bedell Peck passed his early days in 
 
 the north middle district of Bloomfield, and at the 
 age of thirteen years left the parental roof, and 
 worked as a farm hand until he had attained his 
 majority. On Dec. 16, 1868, he married Miss Cath- 
 erine Malvina Scailes, a daughter of George Scailes, 
 of Granville, Mass., and then returned to Bloom- 
 field, Conn., where he has since lived in a house 
 built by his uncle, George L. Peck, and is engaged 
 in tobacco growing and dairying, lo his marriage 
 with Miss Scailes have been born five children: 
 George G., who died at the age of twenty-five 
 years ; Sadie M., wife of John L. Hague, of South- 
 ington. Conn.; Mary L., wife of A. D. Stevens, 
 of Ivoryton, Conn. ; Ellen M., who died at the age 
 of five years ; and Charlotte R. In politics Mr. 
 Peck is a sound Democrat, rle is a temperate, 
 frugal and industrious man, and he and his family 
 are well entitled to the high regard in which they 
 are held by all their neighbors. 
 
 MRS. SARAH E. BARNEY, a well-known 
 resident of Farmington, belongs to one of the old 
 and honored families of Hartford county. She is 
 a descendant of (I) Jacob Brandegee, who was born 
 in 1729, and died at sea IVlarch 25, 1765. A monu- 
 ment has been erected to his memory in the Berhn 
 cemetery. In 1753 he married Abigail Dunham, 
 and to them were born six children : Elishama is 
 mentioned below; Rhoda, born Oct. 5, 1756, died 
 in 1781 ; Persis was born Aug. 31, 1758; Abigail, 
 born Aug. 31, 1760, died in 1820; Mary, born Dec. 
 18, 1763, died in 1764; and Jacob, born Jan. 4, 
 1765, died in January, 1786. 
 
 (II) Elishama Brandegee, born in Berhn, Conn., 
 April 17, 1754, was a sea captain, at one time en- 
 gaged in the West India trade, and owned the 
 "Minerva," which is supposed to have been cap- 
 tured by the French. He died I'eD. 26, 1832. In 
 1778 he married Mrs. Lucy Weston, who died Feb. 
 I, 1827. They had five children, whose names and 
 dates of birth were as follows: Jacob, Nov. 11, 
 1779; Lucy, July 15, 1781 ; Elishama, Nov. 5, 1784; 
 John, Nov. 19, 1786, and Sally Milner, Aug. 2, 
 
 1793- 
 
 (III) Elishama Brandegee, the father of Mrs. 
 
 Barney, was born in Berlin, Hartford Co., Conn., 
 Nov. 5, 1784, and was reared and educated at that 
 place. Later in life he was for many years one of 
 the most prominent and influential business men of 
 Berlin, where he conducted a large and well-stocked 
 store, and also owned and operated two thread mills, 
 one on the site of the Blair factory, and the other 
 on the site of the Berlin Iron Bridge Co.'s build- 
 ings. As a public-spirited and progressive citizen, 
 he always took a very active and prominent part in 
 town matters, and gave his support to every enter- 
 prise for the public good. 
 
 On Oct. 14, 181 1, for his first wife Elishama 
 Brandegee married Emily Stocking, of Cromwell, 
 Conn., and Nov. 28, 1835, he was again married, 
 his second union being with Mrs. Aruna (Booth) 
 
1174 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mygatt, a daughter of Joseph Booth, of Berlin. 
 By this union was born one child, Juha Sophia. 
 To the first marriage were born seven children: 
 (i) Jacob Sheldon is deceased. (2) Elishama 
 (also deceased) was for over fortv years a prom- 
 inent physician of Berlin. He married I'lorence 
 Stith, of Petersburg, Va., and to them were born 
 eleven children, Townshend S., now a resident of 
 San Diego, Cal. ; Charles, of Farmington, this 
 couiUy ; Florence S., of Berlin ; Robert B., of Farm- 
 ington ; Emilv Stocking and Catherine, both of Ber- 
 lin ; Henry, Edith \'ictorina and Horace S., all de- 
 ceased ; Arthur L., of Berlin; and Edward M., of 
 Helena, Mont. (3) John (now deceased) wedded 
 Mary A. N. Bnlkley, and they had two children, 
 William, a resident of Berlin ; and Mary Emily, 
 deceased. (4) Camillus JMarius is deceased. (5) 
 Marius married Catherine A. Fountain, of New 
 York, and died in 18S5; they had three children, 
 Emily Stocking, deceased ; William Partridge, a 
 physician of New York City ; and Elizabeth Gallan- 
 dette. (6) Henry Justus married Sarah Kipp Mil- 
 ler, of Brooklyn, New York. 
 
 (7) Sarah Elizabeth, whose name introduces this 
 sketch, was united in marriage with Danford 
 Newton Barney, a native of New Vork City, whose 
 father was the founder of the United States Ex- 
 press Co., and a member of the Wells Fargo Ex- 
 press Co. He died four years after their marriage, 
 and Sarah B., the youngest of their two children, 
 died in infancy. Danford Newton Barney, Jr., was 
 born in Berlin, and began his education at Edward 
 Hart's School in Farmington. Later he attended 
 the Hartford Public High School and also Yale 
 College, from which he was graduated with the 
 class of '81. He married Miss Laura Dunham, a 
 daughter of Austin Cornelius Dunham, of the 
 Electric Light Co., and to them have been born four 
 children, i\lary E., D. Newton, Jr., Laura J. (de- 
 ceased), and Austin Cornelius. Elishama Brande- 
 gee, father of JMrs. Barney, passed awav April 10, 
 1854. 
 
 FREDERICK ARTHUR SUTLIFFE, a well- 
 known bookkeeper for the Peck, Stow & Wilcox 
 Co., and a highly-esteemed citizen of Southington, 
 was born in Cooperstown, N. Y., Sept. 18, i860, 
 and was married, Feb. 27, 1884, to Miss Mary J. 
 Vivian, by whom he has two children: Raymond 
 v., born June 28, 1885 ; and Minnie Lazelle, born 
 Nov. 23, 1891. 
 
 Mr. Sutliffe is descended from some of the 
 oldest and most highly-respected Connecticut fam- 
 ilies. His father, Frederick Sutliffe, was born 
 April 15, 1833, in Southington, and was married, 
 Nov. 17, 1859, to Adelaide C. Raymond. He served 
 with credit in the Civil war as a member of Com- 
 pany A, 7th Conn. V. L, and later was a prominent 
 member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He 
 also belonged to the Order of United American 
 Mechanics, the Masonic Fraternity and other so- 
 
 cieties, and was a consistent member of the First 
 Baptist Church of Southington. He died Aug. 
 II, 1890, his wife on Jan. 3, 1876. 
 
 Lucius Sutliffe, the paternal grandfather of our 
 subject, was born in Wolcott, Conn., Jan. 19, 1806, 
 and was married, in March, 1827, to Rachel Foot, 
 daughter of Robert and Diadamia (Hitchcock) 
 Foot. Their children were Samuel M., James, 
 James (2), Frederick, Lucas, Lucius, Charles G. 
 and Anna M. The father of this family died Feb. 
 19, 1899, aged ninety-three years, the mother Oct. 
 
 I, 1893. 
 
 John Sutlift'e, the father of Lucius, was born 
 Feb. 19, 1773, and married Eunice Munson, a daugh- 
 ter of Samuel and Susanna (Tyler) Munson, of 
 Waterbui"y, Conn. He lived in Wolcott, where he 
 died April 23, 1836. He had five children: Anson, 
 Statira, John, Lucius and Lucas. 
 
 Nathaniel SutliiTe, the father of John, was born 
 in Durham, Conn., Dec. 7, 1740, and married Han- 
 nah, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Johnson) 
 Pritchard. He died in 1808, his wife on Jan. 2, 
 1791. Their children were John, Nathaniel, Titus 
 Hannah, Anne, Ruth and Elizabeth. 
 
 Joseph Sutlift'e, the father of Nathaniel, was 
 born in Branford, Conn., in 1712, and was one of 
 the first settlers of Wolcott, locating there as early 
 as 1765. He was a tailor by trade. He died Nov. 
 
 II, 1801, aged eighty-nine years. By his wife, 
 Sarah, he had four children : Joseph, Nathaniel, 
 Anne and Sarah. 
 
 Sergt. Nathaniel Sutliffe, the father of Joseph, 
 was born in Deerfield, Mass., in 1672, and in 1702 
 removed to Branford, Conn., where he became 
 prominent in religious and educational matters. 
 He was also representative to the General Court 
 from 1728 to 1731- He married Sarah Savage, 
 and died April i, 1732, aged sixty years. 
 
 Nathaniel Sutliffe, father of Sergt. Sutliffe, 
 was living in Medfield, Mass., in 1667. His house 
 was burned by the Indians and never rebuilt. He 
 was a settler in Deerfield, Mass., in 1673, and was 
 killed by the Indians in King Phdip's war, at the 
 "Falls fight" (Pesheomsaket), with Capt. Turner, 
 May 19, 1676. He was married, in 1664, to Han- 
 nah Plympton, a daughter of Sergt. John Plymp- 
 ton, who was born in Cambridge, England, and 
 came to America with a party headed by John 
 Winthrop, in 1640. He moved to Deerfield, Mass., 
 in 1673, and when King Philip's war began became 
 chief military officer. He was taken prisoner by the 
 Indians in 1677, and burned at the stake. He joined 
 the "Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company" 
 of Boston in 1642. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is also a direct de- 
 scendant of Gov. Thomas Welles, on the maternal 
 side, as follows : His mother was a daughter of 
 Edwin and Lucy M. (Neal) Raymond, who were 
 married May 14, 1837. The former died June 25, 
 1876, the latter on May 24, 1865. She was a daugh- 
 ter of Elisha and Naomi (Frost) Neal, who were 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1175 
 
 married Dec. 25, 1814. Her father was a son of 
 John and Phebe (Judd) Neal, who were married 
 in 1772. Phebe judd was a daughter of Joseph 
 and Mary (Clark) Judd, who were married in 
 1752. Joseph Judd was a son of Joseph and Han- 
 nah (Bidwell) Judd, who were married April 11, 
 1706. Hannah Bidwell was a daughter of John 
 and Sarah (Welles Bidwell, who were married in 
 1678. Sarah Welles was a daughter of Thomas 
 Welles, Jr., and Hannah Tuttle, daughter of Will- 
 iam Tuttle, one of the first settlers of New Haven. 
 Thomas Welles, Jr., was born about 1627; was 
 quartermaster under Maj. John Mason in 1658; 
 deputy magistrate at Hartford in 1662 and 1663; 
 and was named as grantee in the royal charter of 
 Connecticut. He was the' largest man of his time 
 in Hartford, of strong mind and estimable char- 
 acter. He was killed by a fall from a cherry tree 
 in 1668. His father, Thomas Welles, was born in 
 Northamptonsnire, England, in 1598, and was 
 among the first settlers of Hartford in 1636. He 
 was the first treasurer of the Connecticut Colony, 
 and its fourth governor, 1656-57-58. He died Jan. 
 15, 1659, at the age of sixty-one years, and was 
 buried in Wethersfield, but his remains were after- 
 ward removed to Hartford, and rest with those of 
 several other early governors. 
 
 WILLIAM NATHAN JENNINGS, one of the 
 prosperous and highly-respected farmers and to- 
 bacco growers of South Windsor, has been a life- 
 long resident of the town. He is widely known for 
 his many estimable traits of character, and among 
 his many sterling qualities may be ranked that in- 
 dustry which is the foundation of success, a keen 
 judgment and a high sense of honor and integrity. 
 
 Mr. Jennings was born July 25, 1849, on the 
 farm in South Windsor now occupied by L. D. 
 Chandler, and is a son of Williams and Anna 
 (Main) Jennings. His father was a native of the 
 town of Willington, Conn., where he was born ill 
 the year 1804, the representative of an old Con- 
 necticut family. The father of our subject was the 
 first of his name to locate in the town of South 
 Windsor. To Williams and Anna Jennings were 
 born six children : Phila, who died an infant ; 
 Mariva, deceased; Mary S. ; Phila (2) ; Esther S.; 
 and our subject. The father died in 1895, having 
 reached the venerable age of ninetv-one years. His 
 wife died in 1882, aged sevent3'-eight years. 
 
 Mr. Jennings was three years of age when he 
 moved with his parents from the farm where he 
 was born to the farm where he now lives. Here 
 he grew to manhood, attending the district schools 
 and assisting with the work of the farm. As the 
 only son in his father's family, the work fell largely 
 upon him. Since the age of twenty-one he has 
 successfully carried on the farm. Mr. Jennings 
 married, Dec. 9, 1874, Miss Catherine Bryan, a 
 native of South Windsor, and to them have been 
 born four children: Annie K., Gertrude L., Edna 
 
 and Mary M. Mr. Jennings has seventeen acres 
 of land under cultivation, and gives most of his at- 
 tention to tobacco culture. Himself and wife are 
 consistent and prominent members of the Baptist 
 Church. He is a member of Evergreen Lodge, No. 
 114, F. & A. M., and in politics is a Democrat. 
 Public-spirited, energetic, and honorable in all his 
 dealings, he is a representative citizen of Hartford 
 county. 
 
 FREDERICK JOSHUA ALLEN, a prominent 
 and one of the most prosperous and best-known 
 farmers and tobacco growers of the town of East 
 Windsor, was born May 12, 1845, and is a descend- 
 ant of a very old New England Colonial family, of 
 whom brief mention may be here made. 
 
 About the year 1630, three brothers, Matthew, 
 Samuel and Thomas Allen, came from Braintree, 
 County of Essex, England, and located in Cam- 
 bridge, Mass., but later joined the colony organized 
 by the Rev. Dr. Hooker, of the Congregational 
 Church, and settled in Hartford, Conn., about 1635. 
 It is said that Gen. Ethan Allen, who achieved an 
 imperishable fame during the American Revolution, 
 descended from one of these three brothers, as well 
 as the more prominent of the name now living in 
 New England and other parts of the United States. 
 
 Samuel Allen, the second of the above named 
 brothers, was born in England, in 1588, was one of 
 the earliest settlers of Windsor, Conn., was chosen 
 juror of the town March 5, 1644, and died, a prom- 
 inent and greatly respected citizen, April 28, 1648, 
 his estate being inventoried at seventy-six pounds, 
 eighteen shillings and eight pence. His widow, 
 Ann Allen, then moved, with four of her children — 
 Samuel, Nehemiah, John and Rebecca — to North- 
 ampton, Mass., leaving her daughter Mary behind. 
 At Northampton she was married to William Hurl- 
 burt, and died there Nov. 13, 1687. 
 
 John Allen, the third child born to Samuel Allen, 
 married Mary Hammond, Dec. 8, 1669, and made 
 his residence in Northampton, but was killed by the 
 Indians at the battle of Bloody Brook, in Deerfield, 
 Sept. 18, 1675, leaving the following children: John, 
 born Sept. 30, 1670; Samuel, born Feb. 5, 1673; and 
 Plannah, the date of whose birth is not recorded (as 
 times were troublous), but whose baptism is recorded 
 as June 20, 1675. It is known that two of these 
 children, John and Samuel, by some means, escaped 
 to the South part of Enfield, and thus escaped the 
 massacre at Bloody Brook. On this battlefield a 
 a monument has been erected, bearing the follow- 
 ing inscription : "On this ground Capt. Thomas 
 Lathrop and eighty-four men under his command, 
 including eighteen teamsters from Deerfield, con- 
 veying stores from that town to Hadley, were am- 
 bushed by about seven hundred Indians, and the 
 Captain and twenty-six men were slain, September 
 
 18, 1675." . ^ 
 
 Samuel Allen, son of John Allen, who was killed 
 
 at Bloody Brook, was born Feb. 5, 1673, at North- 
 
1176 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ampton, Mass., and died in 1735. Ik' married 
 Hannah Burroughs in 1700, and Ix'canic the father 
 of four children, all horn in Enfield, in. the following- 
 order: Samuel, in 1702; Joseph, in 1704; Hannah, 
 in 1706: and John, in 1712. 
 
 Joseph Allen, second son of Samuel, who es- 
 caped the massacre at ]>loody Brook, was born July 
 30, 1704, married an Indian maid named ]\lary 
 Hewlett in 1723. He died June 11, 1777, in East 
 Windsor, Coim., where his great-great-grandson, 
 Joseph Trumbull Allen, now lives, and Mary, his 
 wife, died June 28, 1782. To Joseph and his wife 
 were born eight children, in the following order: 
 Hannah, in 1724; Joseph, in 1727; Noah, May 15, 
 1730: David, Xov. 22, 1734; Samuel, June 8, 1736; 
 Hezekiah, Uct. 8, 1739: Mary (date of birth not 
 recorded; ; and Dorcas, June 10, 1742. 
 
 Samuel Allen, the fifth-horn of this last named 
 family, first married Elizabeth Wells, who was born 
 in l--ast Windsor, June 5, 1740, and bore him the 
 following named cliildren : Elizabeth, born April 8, 
 1763 (died Oct. 2, 1838): Samuel, June 16, 1764; 
 Mabel. March 30, 1768; Joshua ( grand fatlur of 
 subject), Alay 18, 1771 ; and Sabra and Elani, 
 twins, July 29, 1774. To the second marriage of 
 Samuel Allen, with Sarah Booth, who was born in 
 Enfield, Dec. i, 1743, the following named children 
 were born: Chester, June 13, 1780: Jabez, Jan. 22, 
 1783, died in infancy : Jabez (2), Jan. 25, 1786; and 
 Sarah, who was born Aug. 1, 1789, and died Oct. 
 4, 1851. The third marriage of Samuel Allen was 
 to Lucy ^Nlarkham, of Enfield, who was born in 
 Long ^leadow, Mass., July 2, 1749, was the widow 
 ot Darius Markham, and died Feb. 3, 1837, Samuel 
 Allen having died Oct. 10, iSiTi. at the age of 
 eighty years. 
 
 Joshua Allen, grandfather of Frederick Joshua 
 Allen, married Abigail Bartlett, Jan. 21, 1796. She 
 was born June 17, 1772, and died July 27, 1863, 
 preceded td the grave by her husband on Feb. 6, 
 1843. Their children were six in number and were 
 born in the following order: Sophia, Jan. 21, 1797; 
 Yvillis, Jan. 26, 1800; Alfred, Aug. 22, 1802 ; Joshua 
 Bartlett, Sept. 28, 1804; Julia Abigail, Feb. 14, 
 1808: and Henry Wells, J\Iay 28, 181 1. 
 
 Henry Wells Allen, father of our subject, was 
 educated in the district schools, the academy in 
 Scantic, and \\'ilbraham University. He was very 
 intelligent and widely known, and for four or five 
 winters taught school, farming in summer. In poli- 
 tics he was a Whig, and served as assessor, select- 
 man, and in 1850 as a member of the State Legis- 
 lature, filling each office with credit to himself and 
 to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. On 
 April 6, 1836, he married Elizabeth Wells Allen, 
 who was born Sept. 18, 18 17, daughter of Elam 
 Allen, both being of the fifth generation from John 
 Allen, who was killed at the battle of Bloody Brook. 
 Henry Wells Allen died July 22, 1881, in the faith 
 of the Congregational Church, and his loss was 
 deeplv deplored, not only by his immediate family, 
 
 but by a wide circle of warm friends and the public 
 at large. To this marriage were bom three chil- 
 dren : i\Iarietta Abigail, May 28, 1837 (^I'l^d Dec. 
 6, 1842) ; Henry Wells, Oct. 24, 1841 (see sketch 
 elsewhere) ; and h'rederick Joshua, the subject 
 proper of this sketch. 
 
 Frederick Joshua Allen received his preparatory 
 education in the district school, and then attended 
 Wilbraham University. He was reared to farming, 
 but for three winters followed the vocation of school 
 teacher. On Jan. i, 1867, he married Elizabeth 
 Mary Potwine, who was born April 25, 1845, ^ 
 daughter of Edward L. and Mary (Bartlett) 
 I'otwine. She was a lady of many womanly graces 
 and virtues, was a loving wife and affectionate 
 mother, and was called from earth Aug. i, 1891, 
 beloved and mourned by all who knew her. She 
 bore her husband four children, viz. : George Ed- 
 ward, born Jan. 14, 1868, married Myrtia Warner, 
 of Enfield, June 22, 1892 ; Frederick Henry, born 
 -April 23, 1873, is now attending Middlebury (Vt.) 
 College; Robert Stephen, born Dec. 12, 1876, is 
 living on the home farm; and ]\Iary Elizabeth, born 
 July 5, 1881, is attending school at Thompsonville, 
 Hartford county, Connecticut. 
 
 Mr. Allen has an excellent farm of 160 acres, 
 and is living in the house built thereon by his grand- 
 father, Joshua Allen, in 181 5. He is a stockholder 
 in the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad, 
 is verv prominent and influential in his community, 
 and is altogether a public-spirited and useful citi- 
 zen. His venerable mother, still an active lady at 
 the age of eighty-two years, is passing her declin- 
 ing years under his filial care. 
 
 SAMUEL DIMOCK. The remote English an- 
 cestor of our subject was Sir John Dymoke, Knight, 
 of Gloucestershire, the hereditary Champion of 
 England, who officiated as such at the coronation of 
 Richard II, in 1377. From that time a Dymoke has 
 always been available at each successive coronation. 
 Sir John Dymoke was the owner and proprietor 
 of the Manor of Scrirelsby and the estates connected 
 therewith, and some of his descendants are to this 
 dav in possession of the same. 
 
 " On gallant steed, in armor bright, 
 His visor closed, and couched his lance, 
 Proclaimeth the monarch's right 
 To England, Ireland, Wales and France. 
 Then bravely cry, with Dymoke bold, 
 Long may the King triumphant reign; 
 And when fair hands the sceptre hold 
 More loudly still, long live the Queen." 
 
 But loyal and devoted as were the long line of 
 D3'mokes to their sovereign, one or two exceptions 
 may be noted. Sir Thomas Dymoke. who had sym- 
 pathized with the Lancastrians in the Wars of the 
 Roses, was beheaded by order of Edward IV in 
 1477. Another Dymoke, who was sheriff of Lin- 
 colnshire, took part in the rising at the North called 
 the "pilgrimage of Graces," under Robert Arke, for 
 
/^^^:?-?>'zi<L-<-'0' 
 
 '^^-5<>7^-:-r-^^^,5^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1177 
 
 which he was persecuted and denounced by his sov- 
 ereign. So much for the ancient line. Thomas 
 Dimoke, son of Edward, from whom all the Di- 
 mocks, Dimmicks and Dimicks in this country de- 
 scended, was the original settler of Barnstable, 
 Mass., emigrating to America about the year 1733. 
 
 Samuel Dimock (i), the first member of the 
 Dimock family to settle in the locality now known as 
 Rocky Hill, Hartford Co., Conn., so far as can be 
 ascertained was a shipbuilder by trade. His son, 
 Samuel Dimock (2), kept a public house, since 
 known as "Shipman's Hotel." The son of Samuel 
 Dimock ,(2) was named Jared Goodrich, and was 
 the father of our subject, whose name appears at 
 the opening of this review. For three generations 
 the family has resided at Rocky Hill, and the pres- 
 ent Samuel Dimock was born Oct. 14, 1824, on the 
 old homestead. Jared G. Dimock was a fife-major 
 in the State militia. On Dec. 17, 1823, he married 
 Sophia Butler, who bore him four children, of 
 whom Samuel is the eldest, the others being: An- 
 drew, who resides in Boston, and is treasurer of the 
 American Shoe Tip Co. ; and Mary Olivia and Se- 
 lina Harper, who are both deceased. Jared G. 
 Dimock was an active worker in the Congregational 
 Church, and an earnest and consistent member of 
 that body for more than fifty years, serving as dea- 
 con of the same until he died, on Christmas Day, 
 1887, at the extraordinary age of eighty-six j^ears. 
 His first wife had long preceded him to the better 
 land, having entered into rest April 30, 1854. His 
 second wife was Sarah M. Robbins, who died July 
 5, 1891. They all sleep in the beautiful cemetery 
 of Rocky Hill. 
 
 Samuel Dimock, our subject, was reared upon 
 his father's farm, received an academic education, 
 and attended a private school in New Haven kept 
 by Gen. Palmer, graduating at the age of sixteen. 
 He at once became a pedagogue, teaching in Mont- 
 pelier, Vt., and towns adjoining his place of resi- 
 dence. After four years of teaching he engaged in 
 mercantile business in Springfield, Mass., and con- 
 tinued thus some years, becoming a buyer, seller and 
 shipper of all sorts of farm products. The last 
 twenty-five years Mr. Dimock, although always a 
 man of affairs, has given his principal attention to 
 conducting his own farm. On Oct. 14, 1846, he 
 was married to Mary Sophia Smith, who died nearly 
 forty years later, April 3, 1886. The following 
 year Mr. Dimock married Miss Ella M. Rhodes, of 
 Wethersfield, and to this union have been born three 
 children : Eleanor Sophia, Samuel Jared and Mary 
 Selina. 
 
 Politically Mr. Dimock is a Republican, and has 
 always taken an active interest in promoting the 
 welfare of his party organization. While never 
 an aspirant for office, his fellow citizens, recogniz- 
 ing his integrity, good sense and general capability, 
 have insisted upon his accepting various posts of 
 distinction. He represented Rocky Hill in the Leg- 
 
 islature during the sessions of 1872 and 1873, was 
 town clerk sixteen years, and has also been town 
 treasurer, superintendent of schools, etc. He has 
 been a notary public thirty years, executor of many 
 estates, and acted in a fiduciary capacity in various 
 ways. He has been a membei' of the Congrega- 
 tional Church for sixty years. 
 
 WILLIAM W. BARBER, a prominent farmer 
 and milk dealer of the town of Wmdsor, is a worthy 
 representative of one of the old and honored fam- 
 ilies of the county. 
 
 Horace I. Barber, father of our subject, was 
 born Feb. 10, 1818, at what is now Wilson Station, 
 son of Horace and Lucy (Wilson) Barber, and 
 during his boyhood and youth attended the Buck- 
 town school, and the Connecticut Literary Insti- 
 tute, Stiffield. When eight years of age he lost his 
 father, and four years later went to Suffield, where 
 he lived with a Mr. Pomeroy and attended school. 
 On the completion of his education he began learn- 
 ing the harness maker's trade in the shop of Bowen 
 & Co., corner of Temple and Main streets, Hart- 
 ford, and subsequently followed that occupation 
 until he embarked in farming. As his father had 
 died at a comparatively early age, he had had little 
 time to accumulate property, and the son had no 
 capital left him to begin life. In 1847, after his 
 marriage, he removed to the town of Windsor, and 
 shortly afterward gave up his trade, and devoted his 
 entire time to agricultural pursuits tipon the farm 
 now occupied by our subject. This place has been 
 in the family since the town was formed, and was 
 successfully operated by the father of our subject, 
 who was engaged in farming exclusively, though 
 earlier members of the family had also followed 
 brick-making upon the farm. He was quite a ro- 
 bust man in his younger days, was a Democrat in 
 politics and at one time served as selectman, but 
 never sought office. He died July 28, 1898, hon- 
 ored and respected by all who knew him, and his 
 remains were interred at Windsor. 
 
 On Aug. 16, 1846, Horace I. Barber married 
 Miss Harriet F. Ntirth, who was born in Genesee 
 county, N. Y., June 28, 1827, and is still living 
 upon the old homestead in Windsor town. She is 
 a member of Grace Episcopal Church of Windsor, 
 and is a most estimable lady. Three sons were 
 born of this union : Horace I., who is now living 
 in the West; Charles N., who taught in the Acad- 
 emy at Windsor, and died at the age of twenty- 
 eight years ; and William W., our subject. Isaiah 
 North, father of Mrs. Barber, was born in Avon, 
 Hartford Co., Conn., March 13, 1802, and was a 
 blacksmith by trade. He first married Harriet 
 Thompson, of Avon, by whom he had one son, 
 William, now a retired lumberman of Kalamazoo, 
 Mich. For his second wife Isaiah North married 
 Miss Mary A. Woodward, who was born near 
 Rochester, N. Y., in 1805, and was a daughter of 
 and Sarah .(Hastings) Woodward (her 
 
1178 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 father was a native of \'ermont, her mother of 
 Lebanon, Conn.). Ten children were born of this 
 union — two sons and eight daughters : Harriet F., 
 mother of our subject; Sarah, widow of Orin Bar- 
 ber, of Hartford ; Helen, who died at the age of 
 eight years; Solomon D., a blacksmith of \\'insted, 
 Conn.; Adelia, deceased wife of John Gridley, of 
 West Hartford; Jane, wife of James C. Hartley, 
 of Hartford ; Helen, who married David L. Aber- 
 deen, and died in Hartford Dec. 14, 1891 ; Mary 
 R., who married Melvin Davenport, and died in 
 Worcester, Mass. ; David W., a manufacturer of 
 hardware at Bridgeport, Conn. ; and Rachel, wife 
 of Charles Case, of Hartford. 
 
 Horace Barber, paternal grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born Nov. 12, 1793, on the farm owned 
 by our subject, and there spent his entire life as an 
 agriculturist. He married Lucy Wilson, and to 
 Ihem were born live children, two of whom reached 
 adult age: Horace 1., father of our subject; and 
 Eliza C, who married William Wells, of South 
 Windsor. The great-grandfather, Eli Barber, was 
 born March 29, 1761, and lived to the extreme' old 
 age of ninety-eight years. He was twice married, 
 his first wife being Mary Forbes, and the mother of 
 all his children. She died Dec. 24, 1817. The 
 children were: Eli H., born in January, 1792, died 
 upon his farm near the old homestead ; Horace was 
 next in the order of birth ; Lorana, born Sept. 23, 
 1796, never married, and died at the age of seventy- 
 one years; Jerusha, born May 30, 1798, married 
 Henry White, of South Windsor, and lived to be 
 over seventy-two; Giles, born April i, 1800, was a 
 farmer, and died unmarried at the age of seventy; 
 Orin, born in December, 1802, died in Utica, N. Y., 
 when a young man ; Abigail, born May 10, 1804, 
 married Lyman Stockbridge, of Hartford; and 
 Mary J., born June 26, 1808, married Lucius Coe, 
 of New York, where she died at the age of over 
 fifty. Eli Barber's parents were Capt. Nathaniel 
 and Hepzibah (Loomis) Barber, the latter a daugh- 
 ter of Ichabod Loomis. Capt. Nathaniel Barber 
 was bom Dec. 5, 1717, and was a son of Nathaniel 
 and Mary (Filley) Barber. Nathaniel Barber was 
 born April 6, 1691, and was a son of Lieut. Josiah 
 and Abigail (Loomis) Barber, the latter a daugh- 
 ter of Nathaniel Loomis. Lieut. Josiah Barber 
 was born Feb. 15, 1653, and was the youngest son 
 of Thomas Barber, who came to Windsor in 1635, 
 with the Saltonstall party, under Francis Stiles, and 
 whom the histories of Windsor town and Hartford 
 county mention as the first of the name in New 
 England. He was twentj'-one j^ears of age in 1635. 
 He was married in New England, and had six chil- 
 dren : John, Thomas, Sarah, Samuel, Mary and 
 Josiah, from whom a numerous family have sprung. 
 
 William W. Barber, subject of this review, was 
 born on the old homestead Nov. i, 1851, and was 
 educated in the Bucktown District school and Wind- 
 sor Academy. Since his school days ended he has 
 given his attention to the cultivation of the home 
 
 farm, and since 1889 has engaged in the retail milk 
 business, having previous to that time sold his milk 
 wholesale. He is thoroughly up-to-date in the 
 management of his farm, is enterprising and pro- 
 gressive in his business methods, and is to-day one 
 of the substantial citizens of the county. He keeps 
 from twenty to twenty-eight cows for dairying. 
 I'olitically Mr. Barber is an ardent supporter of the 
 Democratic party, has been a member of the school 
 committee, and in 1886 represented Windsor town 
 in the State Legislature. In November, 1879, he 
 married Miss Flora L. Pinney, of Bloomfield, a 
 daughter of Samuel and Nancy (AUyn) Pinney. 
 Her father was a son of Judge Pinney, of Elling- 
 ton, and her mother was from Enfield. The chil- 
 dren born to our subject and wife are Florence, 
 Grace, William L, Samuel P. and Charles E. 
 
 JOSEPFI BCTLER FAIRFIELD. Among 
 the Huguenots who fled to England, to escape re- 
 ligious persecution in France, were the ancestors of 
 this well-known citizen of Suffield, and the family 
 has been identified with New England since the 
 coming of the "Mayflower" in 1620, tracing to Miles 
 Standish on his mother's side. Its members in 
 every generation have been noted for their industry, 
 thrift and temperate habits, and while few of the 
 name have accumulated great fortunes it is doubt- 
 less because they are content with enough, and 
 never sought to grasp and hold the share of wealth 
 that of right belonged to others. In such ancestry 
 a man may well take pride, and Mr. Fairfield, wtio 
 is the only representative of his family in Suffield, 
 well maintains the honor and prestige of the name. 
 His ancestors, both the Fairfields and Bulkleys, 
 were of gentle blood, and have coats of arms. 
 
 John Fairfield, our subject's great-great-grand- 
 father, was a wealthy merchant in Boston, but lost 
 his property through endorsing for another. His 
 family was scattered, some of the sons going to 
 ]Maine, others to Canada, while his son John settled 
 ^at Pittsfield, INIassachusetts. 
 
 ^.■^^ John Fairfield, our subject's great-grandfather, 
 -was one of the first to locate at Pittsfield, where he 
 experienced all the vicissitudes of pioneer life, his 
 first night there being spent in a hollow log — the 
 only shelter available. His son John was the first 
 white male child born there. 
 
 John Fairfield (2), son of the pioneer of Pitts- 
 field, and the grandfather of our subject, was a 
 "minute man" during the Revolutionary period. He 
 was born Jan. 8, 1757, in a log fort, and always re- 
 sided at Pittsfield, where he died Oct. 17, 1828, as 
 a result of bursting a blood vessel by over exertion 
 when his house was on fire. Three different times 
 his remains have been disinterred and removed to 
 make way for the city of Pittsfield to grow. In 
 1793 he married, for his first wife. Miss Lucy How- 
 land, of Barnstable, Cape Cod, Mass., who was born 
 June 22, 1768, and in 1801 he married her sister, 
 Elizabeth Howland, who was born June 15, 1783, 
 
U4 ■ , /. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1179 
 
 and died Aug. 23, 1859, at our subject's home in 
 Suffield. By his first marriage he had two chil- 
 dren : John, who died in cliildhood ; and Row- 
 land, a farmer at Newington, this county, who died 
 in 1858. By the second marriage there were eight 
 children: John (2), born April 5, 1802, married 
 Mehitabel Hubbard, and died in Richmond, Berk- 
 shire Co., Mass., at eighty-six years of age ; Lucy 
 H., born May 6, 1804, married William Merriam, 
 and settled in Lorain county, Ohio; Martha, born 
 Feb. 20, 1806, married Seth Coe, and died in Pitts- 
 field, Mass.; Jonathan T. was our subject's father; 
 George W., born March 4, 1810, married Eunice 
 Butler, and died at Pittsfield; Mary E., born June 
 13, 1815, married Charles Pope, and died in Syra- 
 cuse, N. Y. ; Sarah R., born Sept. 13, 1819, married 
 Francis Drake, and died in New York State, Sept. 
 13, 1844; and William W., born April 10, 1824, mar- 
 ried Maria E. Sanford, and died at Penn Yan, New 
 York. 
 
 Jonathan T. Fairfield, the father of our subject, 
 was born at Pittsfield, IMass., March 23, 1808, and 
 died Dec. 2, 1876, in Suffield, this county. He was 
 reared as a farmer boy, and, owing to an affliction 
 in his feet in his youth, he could not even take full 
 advantages of the schoolsnear his home. At thirty- 
 one he married and left the old homestead, locat- 
 ing upon a farm in the same neighborhood, but 
 soon afterward he removed to Hartford, where he 
 engaged in business as a grocer for a time. In 
 1853, when failing health compelled liini to return 
 to a country life, he settled in Suffield, purchasing 
 our subject's present homestead from Maj. John M. 
 Hathaway. With characteristic enterprise, he vent- 
 ured extensively, for that day, into tobacco culture, 
 in connection with general farming, and while his 
 . neighbors thought one and one-half acres a large 
 tract to devote to tobacco alone, he once planted 
 eleven acres with good results, his crop always com- 
 manding the highest prices. He was a large man, 
 "standing six feet in his stockings," and weighing 
 about 180 pounds, while his frame was admirably 
 proportioned. In his early manhood he was noted 
 for his athletic powers, his feats of strength and en- 
 durance, either in sport or as part of a days' work, 
 being remarkable. With all his strength, he was 
 never quarrelsome, and, in fact, his disposition was 
 rather retiring. Like his Huguenot ancestors he 
 was of a strong religious bent. Politically he affil- 
 iated first with the Whigs, later with the Know- 
 Nothings, and finally with the Republican party, of 
 which he was one of the earliest and stanchest cham- 
 pions in Suffield. His wife, whose maiden name 
 was Julia A. Butler, was born in 1809, at Rocky 
 Hill, this county, and died Seot. 19, 1865, the re- 
 mains of both being interred in the old cemetery in 
 Suffield. She was descended from Miles Standish, 
 the Pilgrim soldier, and the Bulkleys, who were en- 
 gaged in shipbuilding at Rocky Hill, Conn., and the 
 West India trade, enterprising and wealthy men of 
 their time. She was a woman of most estimable 
 
 character, and as a young girl enjoyed excellent ed- 
 ucational opportunities, at Dodge's Seminary (af- 
 terward Maplewood Seminary), at Pittsfield, Mass. 
 She was always equal to any emergency, possessing 
 inventive and constructive genius of a high order. 
 Her father, Capt. Joseph Butler, who married Mary 
 Bulkley, was a sea captain for many years. During 
 the war between France and England he lost his 
 ship, which was captured bv the French. Fortu- 
 nately he had secreted some gold pieces in his shoe, 
 and but for these he and his crew would have 
 starved. His loss came under the list known as 
 the "French Spoliation Claims," but when they were 
 being settled ell records of it had been mislaid, 
 and his heirs received no compensation. Of the 
 children of Jonathan T. and Julia A. Fairfield only 
 two lived to maturity: Joseph B., our subject; and 
 Mary E., who was born Oct. 2, 1852, and is now 
 the wife of Franklin S. Harmon, of Omaha, 
 Nebraska. 
 
 Joseph B. Fairfield was born July 11, 1846, in 
 Hartford, and was about eight years old when his 
 parents removed to Suffield. As a child he showed 
 a remarkaole love of learning, and before he could 
 walk he could talk and knew the letters of the al- 
 phabet, and throughout his life he has found no dif- 
 ficulty in mastering any subject to which he turned 
 his attention. His education was begun in the 
 schools of Hartford, and after the removal to Suf- 
 field he attended the district schools near his home. 
 Later he studied three years in a private school 
 taught by Palmer Gallup, whose instruction he 
 values most highly, and later he attended the Con- 
 necticut Literary Institute, in Suffield village. On 
 leaving school he became interested in farming with 
 his father at the homestead, which he has always 
 considered a permanent residence, even when en- 
 gaged in business elsewhere. Fie has made a spe- 
 cialty of tobacco culture, and for years was a dealer 
 in leaf tobacco, his extensive trade keeping him 
 much of the time in New York City, where he had 
 an office. For ten years he was associated with his 
 father-in-law, Joseph Fuller, an experienced insur- 
 ance man, in the fire-insurance business, represent- 
 ing some of the best companies in the country. He 
 has traveled extensively in the United States, and 
 takes keen interest in all the issues of the day, being 
 politically a firm believer in the principles of the Re- 
 publican party. Official life has no attractions for 
 him, but in 1884 he sat on the first jury impaneled 
 in the new county house at Hartford. 
 
 On Sept. 22, 1870, Mr. Fairfield married Miss 
 Mary Fuller, who was born in Suffield. April 16, 
 1848, a daughter of Joseph and Cordelia (Smith) 
 Fuller, and two children have blessed the union : 
 Julia L., born Jan. 24, 1878, died July 12. 1884; and 
 Carolyn May, born Dec. 11, 1885, is at home. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Fairfield are prominent in the social life 
 of their town, and for years have been active work- 
 ers in the Congregational Church and teachers in 
 the Sunday-school, our subject formerly conduct- 
 
1180 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ing a Bible class. For some time he was clerk of 
 the Society, and his service as leader of the choir 
 was continued until the pressure of business com- 
 pelled his absence from the village for long periods. 
 He is a member of Apollo Lodge Xo. 59, F. & A. 
 M. ; a charter member of L\-man Council, O. U. A. 
 M., at Sufiield, and he and his wife are both mem- 
 bers of Suffield Grange. Mrs. Fairfield is a lady 
 of unusual intelligence and force of character ; she 
 was educated in the North Street district school of 
 Suffield, and the Connecticut Literary Institute. She 
 is identified with many |)hilaiUhropic movements, 
 her sympathies being readily enlisted in any worthy 
 cause, and she is president of the Ladies Aid So- 
 ciety and vice-president of the Home Missionary 
 Society. She also belongs to the Suffield Woman's 
 Club, and is a charter member of Sybil Dwight Kent 
 Chapter, of the D. A. R., at Suffield, her number in 
 order being 15,456. 
 
 HEXRY CLAY WOODWARD, one of the 
 most prosperous and substantial agriculturists of 
 Enfield, was born Oct. 27, 1829, on the farm in that 
 town where he now resides, and on both sides comes 
 of good Revolutionary stock. 
 
 The progenitor of the Woodward family in 
 America, Richard Woodward, was born in Eng- 
 land in the year 1589. He embarked Oct. 10, 1634, 
 at Ipswich, England, for New England, making 
 the voyage in the "Elizabeth," and settled im- 
 mediately at Watertown, Mass. His wife's given 
 name was Rose. 
 
 (II) George \\"oodward was born in England 
 in 1621, accompanied his father to America, and 
 died May 31, 1676. 
 
 (III) John Woodward, son of George and Mary 
 Woodward, was born in Watertown, Mass., March 
 20, 165 1, and died in 1728. His second wife was 
 Sarah Bancroft. 
 
 (IV) Joseph Woodward was born in Newton, 
 Mass., Nov. 26, 1688, and died May 30, 1727. On 
 June 24, 1714, he married Elizabeth Silsby. 
 
 (V) Joseph Woodward was born Feb. 26, 1725- 
 26, in Canterbury, Conn., and died July 8, 1814, at 
 Ashford, Conn. He filled many public positions 
 in \\'indham and Ashford, and for twenty-six years 
 held the most important offices in the gift of his 
 townsmen. He served in the Revolutionary war, 
 and was in Boston at the time of its evacuation by 
 the British; there is in existence a letter that he 
 wrote to his wife, while there. On May 19, 1748, 
 he married Elizabeth Perkins, a native of Norv/ich, 
 Conn., who passed away Sept. 28, 1823, at the 
 ripe age of ninety-one years. The record of their 
 children is as follows: Elizabeth, born May 22, 
 1749, died Jan. 18, 1814. Joseph, born May 26, 
 1751. Jason, born July 19, 1753. died July 15, 1821. 
 John was born June 10, 1755. Martha, born Aug. 
 
 13. I757> died Jan. 8, 1847. WiUiam, born Nov. 
 
 14, 1759, served as a soldier in the Colonial army, 
 was taken prisoner at Fort Washington, Nov. 16, 
 
 1776, and remained a prisoner until he died Dec. 
 30, of that year. Abner was the grandfather of 
 our subject, and is mentioned more fully below. 
 Phineas, born June 3, 1764, died in 1776. Othniel 
 was born Sept. 8, 1766. Perkins Bushnell was born 
 Aug. 17, 1770. Levi was born Aug. 19, 1773. 
 
 Abner Woodward was born July 10, 1762, in 
 Ashford, Conn., became an extensive farmer, and 
 died Jan. 28, 1840. He was twice married, first 
 on April 15, 1789, to Miriam Knowlton, who was 
 born Dec. 15, 1766, in Ashford, daughter of Abra- 
 ham Knowlton, and a relative of Col. Knowlton, 
 of Ashford, Conn. ; she was a descendant of Miles 
 Standish, who came over on the "Mayflower." To 
 this union came two children : Llial, born Sept. 
 20, 1790; and Joseph, born Dec. 30, 1792, who d,ed 
 Oct. 17, 1793. i\lrs. Woodward died Aug. 14, 
 1793, in her twenty-seventh year, and for his sec- 
 ond wife Abner Woodward married Eunice Fuller, 
 who was born July i, 1769. To this union came 
 nine children, namely: Joseph, born Nov. 17, I795> 
 died Aug. 31, 1851 ; Jonathan, born Sept. 23, 1797, 
 died Dec. 10, 1875; Jerusha, born June 26, 1799, 
 died Oct. 27, 1847; Jelina, born Sept. 8, 1802 (no 
 date of death) ; Ashbel, born June 26, 1804, died in 
 December, 1885; Otis, born Aug. 10, 1807, died 
 May 26, 1894; Henry, born in 1809, died Dec. 6, 
 1809; Elizabeth Perkins, born in August, 181 1, died 
 FebT 26, 1814; and Royal, born Nov. 13, 1815, died 
 Oct. 2, 1882. According to "Connecticut in the 
 Revolution" [p. 657] Abner Woodward was a 
 pensioner of the Revolutionary war, serving in 
 that struggle through several campaigns. 
 
 (VII) Hial Woodward, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Ashford (other notes say Will- 
 ington). Conn., Sept. 20, 1790. On Feb. 8, 1818, 
 he married Miss Anna Higgins Andrews, daughter 
 of Abram Andrews, of Haddam, Conn., where she 
 was born Dec. 30, 1796. Soon after their mar- 
 riage they located in Enfield, Hartford county. He 
 started the first L'uited States mail coach on the 
 east side of the Connecticut river between Hart- 
 ford, Conn., and Walpole, Mass., running same for 
 seven years. Later he engaged in farming in En- 
 field, and in 1826 settled on the farm now occupied 
 by his son, Henry C, where he passed the remain- 
 der of his life. He was a soldier in the war of 1812- 
 15, serving from Aug. 18, 1814, to Oct. 24, 1814. 
 ["Connecticut in the Revolution." "Connecticut 
 Militia, War of 1812," p. 140]. To Hial Wood- 
 ward and wife were born the following children: 
 Miriam, born Feb. 11, 1819, married Erastus Hem- 
 ingway, by whom she had three daughters, and 
 died [date of death not given]. Anna Maria, born 
 Sept. 21, 1820, became the wife of George L. Wel- 
 ton, had six children, and died April 30, 1880. 
 Emily, born Dec. 14, 1822, married George Lord, 
 had a family of six children, and died Nov. 28, 1884. 
 William, born Oct. 15, 1824, married Abigail Smith, 
 by whom he had five children, and died May 28, 
 1873. Sarah C, born July 2, 1826, married James 
 
t/ C /H^^'t^C^CC^t^ 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1181 
 
 B. Packard, and had two children ; she now lives 
 in Chicago, 111., with her daughter, Mrs. Aaron B. 
 Mead. Abner, born Feb. 7, 1828, married Lucy 
 Harris, who bore him six children; he died May 11, 
 1895. Henry C, born Oct. 27, 1829, is next in the 
 order of birth. Hial, born May 24, 1832, died Sept. 
 10, 1833. Joseph, born Aug. 20, 1835, resides in 
 Montana. Harriet L., born Aug. 24, 1837, is the 
 wife of Caleb L. Packard, and resides in Hart- 
 ford, Conn. The father died at his home in En- 
 field, March 23, 1857; the mother survived him 
 several years, dying Feb. 15, 1875. 
 
 Abram Andrews, our subject's maternal grand- 
 father, was a native of Haddam, Conn. He was a 
 soldier in both the Revolution and tl.e war of 1812, 
 entering the former struggle at the age of sixteen, 
 and serving for several years. For many years he 
 carried on a grocery business at Hartford, Conn., 
 but when the war of 1812 broke out he again 
 offered his services to the government, and died 
 while with his company at Green Bay, Wis. He 
 married Sarah Higgins, of Haddam, Connecticut. 
 
 On the homestead where he now lives Henry 
 
 C. Woodward was reared to manhood, receiving 
 his education in the common schools of the neighbor- 
 hood, and during his youth he learned the carpenter's 
 trade in Hartford, serving an apprenticeship of two 
 and one-half years. In 1856 he went to Charles- 
 ton, S. C, where he was employed as foreman of 
 a gang of slave carpenters for one year, and the 
 following year engaged in contracting on his own 
 account. Returning to Enfield in 1858, he was for 
 several years extensively engaged in contracting 
 and building there and in the surrounding towns, 
 including Boston and Hartford, and at one time em- 
 ployed as many as forty carpenters, besides outside 
 help. He continued in that business until 1877, since 
 when he has devoted his attention to agricultural 
 pursuits, making a specialty of tobacco raising and 
 dairying, and keeping on hand for the latter purpose 
 a herd of twenty cows. He has met with well- 
 deserved success in his undertakings, and besides 
 his home farm he owns valuable propert}' in Wind- 
 sor Locks. 
 
 On May 15, 1861, Mr. Woodward was united 
 in marriage with Miss Adelaide Hall, who was 
 born in Simsbury, Conn., Dec. 31, 1836, a daughter 
 of Joseph N. and Wealthy Ann (Lord) Hall, of 
 Windsor, Conn., where she was reared. 
 
 To this union were born five children : Cassius 
 Henry, born July 20, 1863, was married in 1895 to 
 Miss Sarah Morris, of Ping, Garfield Co., Wash., 
 and has two children, Irene, born Nov. 13, 1896, 
 and Charles Homer, born Sept. 16, 1898; they reside 
 in Idaho. Carrie Hall was born Julv 7, 1865. Her- 
 bert WilHam, born Jan. 17, 1872, died May 25, 1873. 
 Burton Knowlton, born June 30, 1873, was mar- 
 ried June 23, 1897, to Grace E. Pryor, of Enfield, 
 and has two children, Henry Abbe, born April 2, 
 1898, and Burton Knowlton, born April 21, 1899; 
 he is a resident of Troy, N. Y. Mary Adelaide, 
 
 born March 7, 1876, was married June 28, 1899, to 
 Albert M. Jones, who is principal of the boys liter- 
 ary department in Perkins Institute, South Boston, 
 Mass., where they reside. Mr. and Mrs. Wood- 
 ward are faithful members of the First Congrega- 
 tional Church of Enfield, and are held in high regard 
 by all who have the pleasure of their acquaintance. 
 Socially he is a charter member of Doric Lodge, 
 No. 94, A. F. & A. M. Politically he was a Demo- 
 crat until the Greeley movement, in 1872, since 
 which time he has been an ardent Republican. He 
 has always taken an active and commendable in- 
 terest in public affairs, and in 1891 originated the 
 Citizens ticket, which was successful for three 
 years. His life has been manly, his actions sincere, 
 his manner unafifected, and his example is well 
 worthy of emulation. 
 
 Mr. Woodward is descended through his grand- 
 mother, Miriam Knowlton, from Capt. William 
 Knowlton, the ancestor of the American branch of 
 the family, who was a native of Englano. He 
 married, in his native country, Ann Elizabeth Smith, 
 and is supposed to have sailed with his family from 
 the port of London in 1632, bound for Nova 
 Scotia. He was part owner of the ship in which he 
 took passage. Capt. Knowlton died on the voy- 
 age. His widow and children after remaining in 
 Nova Scotia a short time, removed to Ipswich, 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 (II) William Knowlton, born in 1610, died in 
 1655, in Ipswich, Mass., where he had made his 
 home, following the trade of bricklayer. He was 
 a member of the Congregational Church. His 
 wife's name was Elizabeth. 
 
 (Ill)" William Knowlton, born in 1642, lived 
 for a number of years in Ipswich, Mass., where he 
 married, his wife's given name being Susanna. 
 He was fined for having a pack of cards in his 
 house. In 1678 he moved to New York, and in 
 1682 to Norwich, Conn. He died about 1699. 
 
 (IV) Thomas Knowlton, eldest child of Will- 
 iam, above, was married (first), on Dec. 9, 1692, 
 to Marjory Goodhue, who was a granddaughter 
 of Deacon William Goodhue, a prominent citizen 
 of Ipswich, and a representative in the Colonial 
 Assembly for eight years. 
 
 (V) Robert Knowlton was born Sept. 7, 1693, 
 in Ipswich, Mass., and on Nov. 21, 1717, married 
 Hannah Robinson. He moved to Sutton, N. H., 
 and thence to Ashford, Conn., being the first of the 
 Knowltons to settle in that town, where he died 
 Dec. 29, 1794. He was a representative to the 
 Colonial Assembly for sixteen years. 
 
 (VI) Abraham Knowlton, youngest child of the 
 above, was born April 3, 1740, in Ashford, Conn., 
 and on March 21, 1763, married Molly Knox. He 
 died June 14, 1821, at Ashford. Miriam, his third 
 child and second daughter, married Abner Wood- 
 ward, grandfather of Henry C. Woodward. 
 
 Through his great-grandmother, Elizabeth Per- 
 kins, Henry C. Woodward is descended from John 
 
1182 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and Judith Perkins, the former born in England 
 in 1590, died in 1654. 
 
 (II) Sergt. Jacob Perkins, born in 1624, mar- 
 ried in 1647 Ehzabeth Lovell, and died in 1699. 
 
 (III) Deacon Joseph Perkins, born in 1674, was 
 married in 1700 to Martha Morgan, and died in 
 1726. 
 
 (IV) Capt. John Perkins born in 1709, in Nor- 
 wich, Conn., died there in 1761. In 1730 he mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Bushnell, and their daughter Eliza- 
 beth married Joseph Woodward, our subject's 
 great-grandfather. 
 
 CHARLES CHANDLER SHELDON, general 
 farmer and tobacco grower of West Suflield, is a 
 native of Windsor, Conn., born May i, 1834. The 
 Sheldon family is one of the oldest in the sec- 
 tion, and descends from a Colonial family of En- 
 glish origin, which came from that part of the 
 County of Essex nearest London. 
 
 Isaac Sheldon, an ancestor of our subject, was 
 born in Windsor, Hartford Co., Conn., in 1629, 
 and when a young man removed to Northampton, 
 Mass., engaged in farming, and there married Mary 
 Woodford. Later he brought his family to what 
 is now known as Suffield, Conn., where he passed 
 the remainder of his life. His son, Jonathan, was 
 born ]Mav 29, 1689, settled in West Suffield, built 
 a fine dwelling on his large estate, and was well 
 known as Capt. Jonathan Sheldon, as he was in 
 command of a company of militia. His dwelling is 
 still standing, and is now owned by Charles L. 
 Austin. On Dec. 30, 1708, Capt. Sheldon married 
 Mary Southwell, and their daughter, Mary, married 
 Rev. Jonathan Judd, who was an inmate of the 
 Captain's house while on probation as a minister of 
 the Congregational Church at West Suffield. An- 
 other daughter. Silence, became the first wife of Rev. 
 John Graham, who for fifty years was a minister of 
 the same church in West Suffield, and to this mar- 
 riage were born ten children. After the death of 
 his first wife. Rev. Graham married the Widow 
 Smith, whose maiden name was Deborah King, and 
 she bore him seven children, the youngest of whom 
 was Dr. Sylvester Graham, a well-known Presby- 
 terian divine, elocutionist and vegetarian, whose 
 name is widely known throughout the world as the 
 originator of the bread and flour which bear his 
 name. 
 
 Jonathan Sheldon, a son of the Captain, and the 
 great-great-grandfather of Charles Chandler Shel- 
 don, was born in 171 1, on the old homestead, and 
 all his life Vv^as engaged in the pursuit of agricul- 
 ture. He married Sarah Kent, and died on his farm 
 Feb. 12, 1761, six years before the death of his fa- 
 ther. In religion he was a Congregationalist, while 
 his wife was a Baptist, but the remains of both were 
 interred in the same grave in the West Suffield cem- 
 etery. Their son Jonathan, great-grandfather of 
 our subject, was born on the old homestead, Dec. 28, 
 1737, and passed all his mature life on the farm 
 
 new owned by Plenry A. Sheldon. He married 
 Abigail Loomis in 1762, and they had six children: 
 Jonathan, Nov, 29, 1763; Gad, Feb. 28, 1765; Oba- 
 diah, Oct. 22,, 1766; Jane, Oct. 23, 1768; Arastus, 
 Oct. 29, 1770; and Abigail, Oct, 3, 1772, The fa- 
 ther of this family died on his farm Feb. 10, 1814, 
 a member of the Congregational Church and a sin- 
 cere Christian, 
 
 Hon. Arastus Sheldon, the grandfather of sub- 
 ject, was educated in the district schools of his town, 
 settled down to farming on the old homestead, on 
 which he made many improvements, and there re- 
 mained to the close of his life. He was an adherent 
 of the political principles of Thomas Jefferson, and 
 served as representative in the State Legislature, 
 He married Eunice King, Nov. 16, 1796, and nine 
 children were born to the marriage : James, March 
 17, 1798; Obadiah, May 24, 1800; Horace, Sept. 
 21, 1802; Jairus, Sept. 23, 1804; Gad, Dec. 30, 1806; 
 Francis, Feb. 4, 1809; Julia Ann, Jan. 14, 1811 
 (she became the wife of Jared Smith, of Massachu- 
 setts) ; Alfred J., Jan. 18, 1813; and Eliza A., Feb. 
 24, 1816 (who married Sylvester Pomeroy). The 
 mother of these children passed away Nov. 20, 1830, 
 the father on iMarch 27, 1840, and the remains of 
 both lie at rest in the VVest Suffield cemetery. 
 
 Hon. Gad Sheldon, father of subject, was born 
 on the old homestead, was educated in the common 
 schools, and remained on the home place until he 
 attained his majority. Locating in Windsor, 
 Conn., he there conducted a hotel for eight years, 
 and then returning to West Suffield purchased 
 through the Legislature a tract of 106 acres near 
 the East Granby line, which tract had been owned 
 by some culprit who had been sentenced to life im- 
 prisonment. Here Mr. Sheldon engaged in the cul- 
 tivation of tobacco, and in general farming, in 
 connection with stock raising and dairying. He 
 became very prominent in politics, filled the office 
 of selectman several years, was a member of the 
 State Legislature several terms, and for many years 
 was a justice of the peace. He was also very active 
 in church work, and for ten years a deacon in the 
 Congregational Church. He first married, April 5, 
 1831, Miss Lucinda Chandler, who was born in 
 Windsor, Dec. 2, 1808, a daughter of Isaac Chan- 
 dler, This marriage was blessed with three chil- 
 dren: Charles Chandler, the subject of this sketch; 
 Allen Jairus, who was born July 12, 1836, and mar- 
 ried Eliza Baylis ; and Alfred Gad, born Jan, 11, 
 1845, niarried Elizabeth Wright, and now resides 
 in Middletown, Conn, Mrs. Lucinda Sheldon was 
 called from earth Dec. 23, 1862, and Mr. Sheldon 
 for his second wife wedded, Nov. 8, 1863, Harriet C, 
 Dennison, who was born in Southwick, Mass. 
 This lady died Dec. 20, 1893, without isue, Mr. 
 Sheldon had passed away Feb. 8, 1882, and his 
 taking off was deplored as one of the greatest afflic- 
 tions that had befallen the community for many 
 years. 
 
 Charles Chandler Sheldon was primarily edu- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1183 
 
 cated in the public schools of West Suffield, then at- 
 tended the Connecticut Literary Institute, at Suffield, 
 and finished his schooling" at Williston Seminary, 
 Easthampton, Mass. He remained on the home 
 farm as an assistant to his father until twenty-five 
 years of age, when the latter gave him the entire 
 charge of the place ; since then, however, he has 
 purchased a farm of 165 acres, and has been en- 
 gaged in tobacco growing, as well as in the usual 
 branches of farming pursued in the neighborhood. 
 He has also erected for himself a new dwe.ling, fitted 
 with all modern conveniences. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon was united in marriage, Dec. 15, 
 1858, with Miss Helen M. Nelson, a native of Suf- 
 field, a daughter of Horatio King Nelson, and a 
 sister of Clinton H. Nelson, whose sketch appears 
 elsewhere. To Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon have been 
 born three children: Emma H., born Dec. 30, 1859, 
 was educated in the public schools and the Con- 
 necticut Literary Institute, Suffield, taught school 
 herself very successfully in the same town, and is 
 now the wife of Nelson Talmage, of East Granby, 
 to whom she was married April 6, 1898; George 
 Allen, the second child, was born March 9, 1862, 
 married Olive Root, daughter of Francis Root, and 
 has one child, Howard Root, born April 27, 1898, 
 (he is now farming on the old homestead) ; the 
 youngest of the family, Clara Martha, born Aug. 8, 
 1864, was married June i, 1887, to George B. Al- 
 derman, and has three children : Edna Clara, born 
 Jan. 13, 1892; Ethel S., born June 10, 1895, and 
 Edith, born Dec. 25, 1897. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon is a stanch Democrat in politics, 
 and, though not at all eager for public office, has 
 consented several times to accept positions at the 
 hands of his party, with whom he is very popular, 
 among the offices he has held being those of select- 
 man of his native town, assessor, member of the 
 board of relief and justice of the peace. His wife 
 is a most estimable lady, and no family in the town 
 is held in higher esteem by the residents than that 
 of Charles Chandler Sheldon. 
 
 CHARLES C. WOODRUFF. Southington 
 has no more progressive, energetic and skillful agri- 
 culturist than the gentleman whose name introduces 
 this sketch. He was born on his present farm in 
 West street, May 20, 1830, a son of Asahel and 
 Catherine (Langdon) Woodruff. The father, who 
 was born Nov. 26, 1786, died Dec. 15, 1863, and 
 the mother departed this life Feb. i, 1859. She 
 was a daughter of Capt. Giles and Sarah (Carter) 
 Langdon. 
 
 John Woodruff, our subject's paternal grand- 
 father, was born about 1740, and married Catherine, 
 daughter of Stephen and Temperance Bushnell. He 
 died April 18, 1807, his wife, Aug. 20, 1809. His 
 father, John Woodruff, was born April 5, 1708, and 
 was married, Aug. 11, 1729, to Eunice Wiard, who 
 died May 7, 1761. He died on West street, Oct. 
 17, 1794. He was a son of Samuel Woodruff, who 
 
 was born in Farmington, Aug. 26. 1661, and in 1686 
 married Rebecca, daughter of John Clark. About 
 1698 he removed to what is now Southington, and 
 was the first white man to locate there. He died 
 Jan. 8, 1742, and his wife, Aug. 4, 1737. About 
 1640 his father, Matthew Woodrufif, came from 
 Hartford to Farmington, where he was one of the 
 eighty- four proprietors in 1672, and died there in 
 1682. 
 
 Throughout his entire life the subject of this 
 sketch has made his home on the farm where he now 
 resides, and his education was acquired in the dis- 
 trict schools of the neighborhod. As soon as old 
 enough he began aiding in the work of the farm, 
 and has since devoted the greater part of his time to 
 agricultural pursuits with good results. For a 
 period of six years, during early manhood, he was 
 engaged in selling hardware in New York and all 
 of the New England States with the exception of 
 Maine. On Jan. 16, 1872, he was united in mar- 
 riage with Mrs. Sarah (Clark) Weeks, a daughter 
 of Norris and Harriet (Bassett) Clark, of Plain- 
 ville. Mr. Woodruff is one of Southington's most 
 respected and influential citizens, is an ardent sup- 
 porter of the Republican party, and a consistent 
 member of the First Congregational Church of 
 Southington. 
 
 NEELAND LOOMIS MILLER, a worthy rep- 
 resentative of the agricultural interests of West 
 Suffield, was born in East Hartland, Hartford Co., 
 Conn., Dec. 7, 1857. His grandfather, Solomon E. 
 Miller, was also a native of East Hartland, where 
 he owned property and engaged in farming and 
 stock raising throughout life. At his death he was 
 buried there. He was a good Christian man, a mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a Demo- 
 crat in politics. He married Miss Harriet Hoodley, 
 of Hartland, who died in East Hartland, and was 
 laid to rest by the side of her husband. To them 
 were born the following children: Milo; Seth; 
 Myron ; Emily ; Ebenezer Hoodley ; Eugene and 
 Eugenia, twins; Mary; Jane; and one who died in 
 infancy. 
 
 Ebenezer Hoodley Miller, father of our subject, 
 was born in 1825, on a farm in East Hartland, 
 where he was reared, and he received a liberal edu- 
 cation in the common schools near his home. After 
 reaching manhood he engaged in peddling Yankee 
 notions in New York and Connecticut, carrying on 
 that business for two years. He then settled down 
 to farming in East Hartland, where for over half 
 a century he has since engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits, making a specialty of stock raising and dairy- 
 ing. He has met with marked success in his under- 
 takings, and is justly regarded as one of the repre- 
 sentative and most prominent citizens of his com- 
 munity. He has taken an active and influential 
 part in local politics ; has been a lifelong Demo- 
 crat ; has represented Hartland in the State Legis- 
 lature for two terms ; and has filled other offices. 
 
1184 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 such as selectman, etc. In Granby, Hartford coun- 
 ty, Mr. Miller was united in marriage with Miss 
 Mary Phelps, a native of that place, and a daugh- 
 ter of riiilo I'helps, one of the old and honored 
 citizens of Granby. This worthy couple are still 
 living in East Hartland, happy and contented with 
 their lot, well-known and highly respected, and are 
 faithful members of the Congregational Church. 
 To them were born seven children : Philo, a farmer 
 of the town of Granby ; Frank E., a farmer of the 
 town of Sufifield; Neeland L., our subject; Adelia, 
 who died young; Flora A., wife of George Paine, 
 of Springfield, Mass. ; Harriet, in Springfield ; and 
 Mary P., at home. 
 
 During his boyhood and youth Neeland L. Miller 
 attended the district schools of East Hartland, and 
 he worked on the home farm for his parents until he 
 attained his majority, when he started out in life 
 for himself working by the month at farm labor first 
 in the town of Granby. Later he took a farm on 
 shares in Sufifield for two years, and then rented a, 
 farm for three years in Agawam, Mass. Going 
 to North Granby, he rented the A. L. Flolcomb 
 farm, on which he engaged in general farming, to- 
 bacco raising and dairying until 1895, when he 
 purchased the Horace Clark farm of seventy-five 
 acres at West Suffield. Upon this place he has since 
 made many improvements, and to its cultivation has 
 devoted his energies with good success. 
 
 Mr. Miller was married in Granby to Miss Xellie 
 L. Barnes, a native of North Granby, where her 
 parents, Charles and Mary Ann (Fox) Barnes, are 
 still living, honored and respected by all who know 
 them. The father was born in Granby, a son of 
 Samuel Barnes, and in early life learned the wheel- 
 wright's and carpenter's trades, which he followed 
 for a number of years, but of late years has carried 
 on farming in North Granby. He is now eighty- 
 two years of age, and has been a lifelong supporter 
 of the Democracy. In the town of Granby, he wed- 
 ded Mary Ann Fox, a daughter of William Fox, 
 an old settler of the town, and seven children were 
 born of this union : W^illiam JMurray, a resident 
 of North Granby ; Lillie, wife of Henry Strickland, 
 of North Granby; Nellie L., wife of our subject; 
 Frank, a resident of Granby ; Frederick, who died 
 young; Hattie, wife of Henry Brown, of Simsbury, 
 Conn. ; and Cora, wife of Edward Fairchild, of 
 Hartford. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have four chil- 
 dren : Clara Edith, Pearl Neeland, Walter Ray 
 and Arthur Roy. The family attend the Congre- 
 gational Church, and Mr. Miller is identified with 
 the Democratic party. 
 
 CHARLES CURTISS PERSIANI, the popular 
 superintendent of the bolt works of Clark Brothers 
 & Co., at Milldale, was born in New Jersey Jan 7, 
 1S58, and is a son of William U. and Elizabeth A. 
 (Curtiss) Persiani. 
 
 The father was born in this country, of Italian 
 parentage, and held various positions under the 
 
 United States Government. He spent his last days 
 in Omaha, Neb., where his death occurred. In 
 his family were five children who reached years of 
 maturity, namely: Charles C. ; William U.; Flor- 
 ence, now the wife of Arthur I. Maltby ; Geneveive 
 L. ; and Frederick. Our subject's mother was of 
 New England ancestry, and was a daughter of 
 Charles Curtiss, who was a merchant and stage 
 owner, and was also interested in railroading and 
 banking, being one of the promoters of the Dry 
 Dock Savings Bank of New York City, where he 
 died. His wife was a Miss Decker. 
 
 Our subject passed his boyhood and youth in 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., and Milldale, this county, and 
 was prepared for college at a private school in 
 Providence, R. I. In the winter of 1878-79 he lo- 
 cated in Milldale and entered the employ of Clark 
 Brothers & Co., as an apprentice to the machinist's 
 trade, serving three years. With the exception of 
 three years spent with the Peck, Stow & Wilcox 
 Co., and the Walkley Hardware Co., he has con- 
 tinued in the employ of Clark Brothers & Co., work- 
 ing as a journeyman until 1894, when he was ap- 
 pointed to his present position, which he is now 
 filling with credit to himself, and to the satisfaction 
 of his employers and the men under him. 
 
 On Feb. 3, 1886, Mr. Persiani was united in 
 marriage with Miss Emma, daughter of William 
 and Barbara (Reisch) Erbe, of Plantsville, formerly 
 of Germany, and to this tmion have been born two 
 children : Geneveive M. and Charles C, Jr. Mr. 
 Persiani is a supporter of the Congregational 
 Church of Plantsville, and in politics is a Republican. 
 
 SYLVESTER FREDERICK CHARTER. 
 Hartford county has many well-to-do and success- 
 ful farmers who have accumulated what they have 
 of this world's goods through individual effort. 
 Among this class the name of the subject of this 
 notice is entitled to an honorable place. He is now 
 residing in Enfield town, where he is industriously 
 engaged in general fanning and tobacco growing, 
 and is meeting with far more than ordinary success. 
 
 A native of Connecticut, Mr. Charter was born 
 in Tolland, Tolland county, Jan. 19, 1825, and is a 
 son of Samuel and Ruth (Webster) Charter, also 
 natives of Tolland, where the father and grand- 
 fathers, Nathan Charter and Simeon Webster, all 
 engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout life. 
 Reared in his native town, our subject early became 
 familiar with the occupation of farming, and ac- 
 quired his literary education in the common schools 
 of the locality. On starting out in life for himself 
 he worked as a farm hand, continuing to follow 
 that vocation unil 1844, when he went to Hazard- 
 ville, where for one year he was employed as coach- 
 man by the head of the Hazard Powder Company. 
 Later he worked in the powder mills for five years, 
 and for the same length of time was engaged in 
 carting powder from one mill to another. In 1853 
 he purchased a lot of the Hazard Powder Co., and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1185 
 
 erected a brick hotel, which he opened to the pubHc 
 in 1854, successfully conducting the same until 
 1880. In 1855 he set out an elm tree east of his 
 hotel, and it has grown so large that he is now un- 
 able to reach half way around it; it is considered 
 one of the landmarks of the town. While still con- 
 ducting the hotel Mr. Charter purchased the farm 
 of one hundred acres in Enfield town, which he still 
 owns and now occupies, and which is one of the best 
 equipped farms in the locality. Here he has re- 
 sided since 1885, and has successfully engaged in 
 its operation. 
 
 Mr. Charter married Sophronia Page, daugh- 
 ter of Moses Page, of Vermont. They had four 
 children, namely : Frederick, deceased ; Jane ; 
 Martha; and Ellsworth. In his political views Mr. 
 Charter is a stanch Democrat, and for one year he 
 served as assessor of Enfield. His career has ever 
 been such as to commend him to the confidence and 
 esteem of all with whom he has come in contact, 
 and he has a host of warm friends in Hartford 
 county. 
 
 WILLIAM VANDEVEER GODDARD, a 
 well-known and prominent agriculturist of West 
 Granby, was born on the old homestead there, 
 March 7, 1854, and is a representative of one of its 
 old and most highly-respected families. 
 
 Byron Pitt Goddard, his grandfather, was born 
 in Granby, Jan. 7, 1805, and received only the edu- 
 cational advantages afforded by the district school 
 of the town at that day, becoming a self-educated 
 as well as self-made man, and one of Granby 's repre- 
 sentative citizens. As his father died when he was 
 quite young, he was reared by his grandfather, Capt. 
 Richard Case, a welljknown resident of Granby. 
 Byron P. Goddard began his business career in the 
 Collinsville axe factory, and later went to Windsor, 
 where he was employed as an iron worker for some 
 time. In 1843 he turned his attention to farming, 
 in the town of West Granby, where he purchased 
 135 acres of land known as the Huggins tract, and 
 was for forty-five years engaged in farming, 
 stock raising and dairying there. He made some 
 extensive improvements upon the place, including 
 the erection of a good residence and barn. He was 
 a well-posted man on the leading events of the day, 
 and a good conversationalist, and was noted for 
 his upright character and honorable dealings. For 
 over thirty years he was prominently identified with 
 public affairs, filling a number of local offices in the 
 town of Granby, such as selectman and deputy 
 sheriff, and also representing the town in the State 
 Legislature with credit to himself, and to the entire 
 satisfaction of his constituents. That he had the 
 entire confidence of his neighbors and friends is 
 shown by the fact that he was often called upon to 
 settle up estates and perform similar duties. Al- 
 though not a member of any religious denomination,- 
 he lived up to the golden rule, and was quite temper- 
 ate in his habits. In politics he was first a Demo- 
 75 
 
 crat, later a Republican. In Granby, March 8, 1827, 
 he married Miss Abigail Phelps Segar, who was 
 born there May 8, 1801, a daughter of Augustus 
 Segar, a well-known citizen of the township. Of 
 the three children born to this union, Wharton Hora- 
 tio, father of our subject, was the eldest; Mary 
 Jane, born March 20, 1838, married Edward Case, 
 of Bloomfield ; and Byron, born Feb. 7, 1844, is now 
 deceased. The grandfather died Feb. 13, 1888, his 
 v>'ife Jan. 3, 1888, and both were buried in Granby. 
 They had traveled life's journey together for nearly 
 sixty-one years, and were not long separated by 
 death. She was a good Christian woman, and was 
 much respected in the community for her devotion 
 to her husband and family. 
 
 Wharton Horatio Goddard, our subject's father, 
 was born in Granby June 20, 1830, and attended the 
 public schools, also the Granby Academy. Being 
 ambitious to learn, he studied hard to obtain a good 
 education, and often spent his evenings at the home 
 of an old school master who assisted him in fitting 
 himself for the teacher's profession. At the age of 
 eighteen he taught in the Granby Academy, and 
 later had charge of public schools in New Jersey, 
 but on account of his health was forced to give up 
 that noble but ill-paid profession. He then learned 
 the trade of a carriage trimmer, in the carriage 
 works in West Granby, and, as his health did not 
 improve, he commenced studying medical works in 
 order to find out something of his own illness. 
 This led to a desire to enter the medical profession, 
 and he later became a student in a Medical College 
 at Philadelphia, where he was graduated with honors 
 in 1858. He commenced practice in Northumber- 
 land county, Penn., but soon after the breaking out 
 of the Civil war returned to Hartford county, open- 
 ing an office in Tariffville. Desiring to be of some 
 service to his country in her hour of need, Mr God- 
 dard enlisted, in 1862, for nine months, and was 
 appointed second assistant surgeon of the 25th Conn. 
 V. I. With the regiment he went to Baton Rouge, 
 where he was a surgeon in the hospital at that place, 
 and he remained with his comand the full term for 
 which he enlisted. While returning to New York 
 he was violently sick on board ship, but survived the 
 journey, and after landing in New York City was 
 taken to the home of Mrs. William Vandeveer, 
 where he died three days later, Aug. 18, 1863, three 
 days before his regiment was mustered out. The 
 people of his State fully appreciating the sacrifice 
 he had made for his country, had the following 
 written : "Hartford, Conn., July 4, 1867. The State 
 of Connecticut, desiring to recognize in a perma- 
 nent and appropriate form the faithful and heroic 
 service of her citizen soldiers, has, by unanimous 
 vote of the General Assembly of 1867, directed the 
 undersigned to present to Wharton H. Goddard, 
 second assistant surgeon 25th Conn. V. I., this tes- 
 timonial of honor in grateful remembrance of the 
 courage and patriotism by him displayed in the late 
 war for the suppression of the Rebellion, and the 
 
1186 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 preservation of the constitutional libert_v. [Signed] 
 James E. English, Governor of Connecticut, Eph- 
 raiin H. Hyde, Lieutenant-governor, James T. Wart, 
 Speaker of the House." The remains of Dr. God- 
 uard were interred in the Granby cemetery. He 
 was a Republican in politics, was broad-minded and 
 liberal in his views, was a close student and ob- 
 server, was honest in his convictions, and made a 
 host of warm friends by his genial, pleasant manner. 
 
 In Granby, July 3, 1851, Dr. Goddard married 
 Miss Lorinda Emma Hayes, who was born there, a 
 daughter of Dudley and Naomi (Rose) Hayes, 03' 
 Granby. To them were born four children : Will- 
 iam \"., our subject ; Isadore, who died in childhood ; 
 George E., a resident of Baltimore, Md. ; and Frank 
 E., a resident of Hartford. For her second hus- 
 band, Mrs. Goddard married Capt. A. C. Wood, 
 of Brooklyn. N. Y., by whom she had three chil- 
 dren, all now deceased, namely: Leon, Emma and 
 Agnes. The mother died in Brooklyn Jan. 6, 1890, 
 and was buried in Granby cemeterv. She was an 
 earnest Christian woman, a member of the Baptist 
 Church. 
 
 William \'. Goddard, whose name introduces this 
 sketch, was educated in the public schools of 
 Granby up to the age of thirteen, and attended the 
 public schools in New York City two years. At 
 the age of fifteen he commenced life for himself as 
 a cashier, and later became bookkeeper in a grocery 
 store in New York City, where he was employed 
 for two years. He was then employeil by the New 
 York & Harlem Transportation Co., and was con- 
 nected with the passenger boats running from New 
 Y'ork to Harlem, being thus employed for ten years, 
 most of the time as purser, having gradually worked 
 his way upward to that responsible position. The 
 introduction of elevated railroads in the city having 
 destroyed the business for the steamboat company, 
 the latter were compelled to sell their boats, and the 
 last boat was disposed of to the Atlantic Steamboat 
 Co., with which j\lr. Goddard accepted a position 
 as captain of the passenger boat running between 
 New York City and Coney Island. He was thus 
 employed until 1882, in which year, at the request of 
 his paternal grandfather, he returned to Granby, 
 and cared for him during his last years, having com- 
 plete charge of his business affairs. After the 
 grandfather's death he purchased the farm of 130 
 acres, and for the past eleven years has successfully 
 carried on operations there as a general farmer and 
 dairvman. He keeps a herd of Jersey cows, and is 
 meeting with well-deserved success in his under- 
 takings. 
 
 In New York City, in 1878, Mr. Goddard was 
 married to Miss Elmira Naylor Morgan Wright, a 
 native of that place, and a daughter of Morrison and 
 Abbie Navlor (Morgan) Wright, in whose family 
 were ten children. Mrs. Goddard is a well-educated 
 lady, is quite prominent socially, and is an entertain- 
 ing companion. Of the two children born to our sub- 
 ject and his wife, Lilla, an accomplished and attrac- 
 
 tive young lady, died at the age of sixteen years, 
 and her death was a sad blow to her parents ; and 
 Wharton Morrison died at the age of nine months. 
 Air. Goddard is a supporter of the Republican party, 
 has most efficiently served as a member of the acliool 
 committee for a number of years, and is treasurer 
 of the school district. Mr. Goddard is domestic in 
 his tastes, caring nothing for political preferment. 
 He is a member of the Baptist Church, and is a 
 man honored, respected and esteemed wherever 
 known, and most of all where he is best known. 
 
 GEORGE HENRY PAYNE, an energetic and 
 enterprising citizen of the town of Enfield, where 
 he is now successfully engaged in general farming 
 and tobacco culture, is a native of Hartford county, 
 born at Warehouse Point Aug. 10, 1855, and is a 
 son of Henry Humphrey and Lucretia (Nichols)" 
 Payne, both natives of East Windsor, the same 
 county. The father, a pattern maker by trade, was 
 in the employ of the Hazard Powder Co., at Hazard- 
 ville, for twenty-four years, and died in 1896, at the 
 age of si-xty-four. He was twice married, his first 
 wife being the mother of our subject. His second 
 union was with Marietta Taylor, by whom he had 
 four children : Alinnie, now Mrs. Clarence Per- 
 kins ; Frederick E. ; Arthur ; and Herbert. 
 
 George H. Payne, the only child born of the 
 first marriage, was reared in Hazardville from the 
 age of four years, and was educated in the common 
 schools of that place. He started out in life for 
 himself as assistant in the canister shop of John 
 Laws & Co., with which he was connected for four 
 years, and for the following six years was em- 
 ployed in the saltpetre refinery of the Hazard Pow- 
 der Co., since which time he has engaged in vari- 
 ous enterprises, including farming, teaming and to- 
 bacco growing. 
 
 On Nov. I, 1883, Mr. Payne was united in 
 marriage with Miss Rosalia Lucretia French, a 
 daughter of William R. and Mary (Johnson) 
 French, of the town of Enfield, and to them have 
 been bom two children : Alton George and Clar- 
 ence Alfred. Socially, Mr. Payne affiliates with 
 DeSoto Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Springfield, Mass., 
 and Tomtonamo Lodge, No. 23, O. U. A. M., of 
 Hazardville, while politically he is identified with 
 the Republican party. He is now serving his sixth 
 term as selectman of Enfield town, and his official 
 as well as his private duties have always been most 
 faithfully and conscientiously discharged. 
 
 HENRY REVILO CHAPIN, a prominent and 
 progressive citizen of Hazardville, where he is living 
 practically retired, has spent his entire life in En- 
 field town, his birth having occurred there Oct. 17, 
 1833. His parents, Dan T. and Mariva (Sadd) 
 Chapin, were natives of Enfield and East Windsor, 
 respectively. 
 
 Deacon Samuel Chapin, the progenitor of the 
 family in America, came from England in 1642, and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1187 
 
 settled in Springfield, Mass., where he died in 1675. 
 He was a prominent citizen of the town, having 
 been appointed chief magistrate of Springfield in 
 1652, to succeed William Pynchon, his father-in- 
 law. A few 3rears ago a monument was erected in 
 his honor in Court Square, Springfield. He married 
 Alary, daughter of William Pynchon, and had four 
 sons and three daughters : Japhet, born in 1642, 
 died in 1712; he married Abalena Cooley, of Long- 
 meadow, jNIass., and after her death married Dor- 
 othy Root, of Enfield, Conn. ; he was first selectman 
 of Springfield in 1683. Henr)' is mentioned below. 
 Catherine married Nathaniel Bliss in 1676, after 
 his death married Thomas Gilbert, and after his 
 death became the wife of Samuel Marshfield, from 
 whom descended Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, the 
 great and eloquent preacher. David, the next in 
 order of birth, married Lydia Crump. Isaiah mar- 
 ried j\Iary . Sarah married Rowland Thomas. 
 
 Hannah married John Hitchcock in 1667. 
 
 (H) Henry Chapin, the next in the line of 
 descent, married Bertha Colton, of Longmeadow, 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 (HI) Ebenezer Chapin (i), son of above Henry, 
 was born in 1675, and died in 1772. His wife, 
 Ruth, was born in 1682,. and died in 1736. 
 
 (IV) Ebenezer Chapin (2), was born in 171 1, 
 and died in 175 1; Elizabeth, his wife, was born in 
 1 712, and died in 1786. 
 
 (V) Ebenezer Chapin (3), born in 1735, died 
 in 1822. His wife, Mehitable, was born in 1734, 
 and died in 181 1. They had two sons, Ebenezei 
 (4) and Timothy. Ebenezer Chapin (3) was a 
 farmer of Enfield, and a prominent man of his time, 
 active in church work and public aft'airs, and an 
 honored and respected citizen. 
 
 (VI) Timothy Chapin, grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Enfield in 1762, and died in 1858. 
 He was a farmer by occupation. He married, for 
 his first wife, Lecta Barber, born in 1782, by whom 
 he had two children : Reuben and Timothy B. 
 She died in 1804. By his second wife, Susannah 
 Terry, born in 1778, children were born as follows: 
 Dan T., Henry, Gilbert, Joel and Francis. Mrs 
 Chapin died in 1858. 
 
 Dan T. Chapin, our subject's father, spent his 
 whole life in Enfield, and was one of the leading 
 farmers and honored citizens of the community. 
 Although quiet and unassuming in manner, he took 
 an active and influential part in public affairs, serv- 
 ing as selectman of Enfield for thirteen years, and 
 representing the town in the State Legislature for 
 one term. He was born March 8, 1808, and died 
 Sept. 20, 1892. On Oct. 31, 1832, he married 
 Mariva Sadd, daughter of William Sadd, a prom- 
 inent agriculturist of East Windsor, Hartford coun- 
 t}-, and their children were : Henry R., Joseph T., 
 and Diantha M. (wife of Frank W. Parsons). 
 (There are seven generations by lineal descent, in- 
 cluding Ebenezer (i), buried in the Chapin lot in 
 
 the Enfield (Conn.) cemetery, the lot being a double 
 tier one and four rods in length) . 
 
 Henry R. Chapin, the only one of the family 
 now living, was reared in Enfield town, and early 
 acquired an excellent knowledge of every depart- 
 ment of farm work. His education was obtained 
 in the common schools, the Connecticut Literary 
 Institute, Suffield, and Wilbraham Academy, and at 
 the age of seventeen years he commenced teaching 
 school, a profession he successfully followed for 
 seven years. He then turned his attention to agri- 
 cultural pursuits, in which he was likewise success- 
 ful, becoming one. of the prosperous and substan- 
 tial farmers of Enfield. Since 1870 he has prac- 
 tically lived retired, though he has devoted some 
 tmie to the real-estate business. 
 
 On Feb. 10, 1859, ^I^"- Chapin was united in 
 marriage with Miss Sarah M. Allen, a daughter 
 of Alfred and Henrietta (Thompson) Allen, of 
 East Windsor, and a descendant of Deacon Samuel 
 Allen, of Braintree, County of Essex, England, who 
 in 1632 settled in Cambridge, Mass., and was a 
 pioneer of Windsor, Conn., where he located in 
 1635. Her paternal grandfather was Joshua Allen, 
 son of Samuel, son of Joseph, son of Samuel, son 
 of John, son of De^acon Samuel Allen, before men- 
 tioned. Mrs. Chapin's maternal grandparents were 
 Col. William and Tamar (Holton) Thompson, of 
 East Windsor. Col. Thompson served with dis- 
 tinction in the war of 1812, and was a prominent 
 farmer of East Windsor. Mr. and Mrs. Chapin are 
 the parents of four children: Henrietta M., wife 
 of Frederick M. Davis, of Enfield ; Albert H., who 
 married Miss Emilie Dieckmann, Dec. 12, 1898, 
 and lives in Lincoln, Neb. : Ida E., wife of George 
 H. Ulmer, of Rockland, Maine; and Gilbert T., of 
 Lincoln, Nebraska. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Chapin are faithful members of 
 the First Congregational Church of Enfield, and 
 they receive and merit the high regard of the 
 entire community. In political sentiment our sub- 
 ject is a Republican, and he has been called upon 
 to serve as grand juror one year, member of the 
 board of relief one year, and member of the school 
 board of Enfield for nine years. His public and 
 private life are above reproach, for his career has 
 ever been one characterized by the utmost fidelity 
 to duty. Those who know him best are numbered 
 among his warmest friends, and no citizen of En- 
 field is more honored or highly respected. 
 
 RALPH T. IVES, one of the most progressive 
 and enterprising young business men of Southing- 
 ton, who is now manager and treasurer of the 
 Southington & Plantsville Tramway Co., was born 
 in Plantsville Nov. 22, 1870, a son of Heber S. and 
 Lucy E. (Buell) Ives. 
 
 The father was born in Meriden, Conn., in 1S45, 
 and was a son of Othniel and Marv (Howard) 
 Ives, the former also a native of Meriden, the latter 
 
1188 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of \'ermont. The grandfather of our subject was 
 a prominent farmer of JMeriden, and held the office 
 of selectman for many years. The father was 
 reared in his native town and educated in the public 
 school there. In early manhood he, too, followed 
 the occupation of farming, but in 1868 removed 
 to Plantsvillc, where he conducted a general store 
 for twelve years. In i86y he was appointed post- 
 master of that place, and with the exception of 
 four vears, during President Cleveland's first ad- 
 ministration, he held the oflice until his death, which 
 occurred Alay 22, 1894. He also served as tax 
 collector several years. During the Civil war he 
 •was a member of Company K, 8th Conn. V. I., 
 enlisting in September, 1861, was captured by the 
 Rebels at Kinston, N. C, and was sent to Libby 
 prison, where lie remained for- three weeks. He 
 ■was then paroled, rejoined his regiment, and re- 
 mained in the service until honorably discharged, 
 in June, 1865. He entered the service as a private, 
 and was mustered out as second lieutenant of Com- 
 pany E, 15th Conn. V. I. In his family were five 
 children, namely: Susan B., Rali^h T., Harry G., 
 Muriel j\I. and Lucy E. 
 
 Our subject passed his boyhood and youth in 
 Plantsville, where he attended ,the public schools. 
 but his education was completed at the Lewis high 
 school, and in Brown high school of Xewbury- 
 port, JNIass. In i88g he began an apprenticeship 
 at the machinist's trade with the Pratt & W'hitn.ey 
 Co., of Hartford, serving four years, and later he 
 Avorked as a journeyman for two years with the 
 Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., of Southington. He then 
 became connected with the Southern New England 
 Telephone Co., as local manager at Southington, 
 which position he still holds, and since 1897 has 
 been treasurer and manager of the Southington & 
 Plantsville Tramway Co. He is president and 
 treasurer of the Wallineford Gas Light Co., and 
 has already made for himself an enviable reputa- 
 tion in business circles b\- his straightforward, hon- 
 orable course, and his energetic and industrious 
 habits. In politics he is a Republican, and in his 
 social relations is a member of Friendship Lodge, 
 No. 33, F. & A. M., of which he was master in 
 1899. 
 
 JOHN BRAGG, one of the substantial and pros- 
 perous farmers of South Windsor, is a native of that 
 tov^ai, and has been a resident within its borders 
 through his entire life, save when fighting for his 
 country's flag during the dark hours of the Civil 
 ■\\a.Y. 
 
 Air. Bragg was born in South Windsor Nov. 
 7, 1843, 3- son of Sydney and Tirzey Bragg. 
 Tie remained on the home farm until Aug. 7, 1862, 
 when he enlisted in Company H, i6th Conn. V. 
 1., and was mustered in at Hartford. Mr. Bragg 
 saw active service at once, and participated in many 
 of the most memorable and most stubbornly con- 
 tested battles of the war. He was at Antietam, 
 
 Fredericksburg, Suffolk, Gettysburg, Windsor, N. 
 C, and other engagements, and was honorably dis- 
 charged July 15, 1864. Two of his brothers, 
 Cyril and Frank Bragg, were members of the 
 same companv and regiment. 
 
 After his discharge Mr. Bragg returned to South 
 Windsor, where he has lived ever since. In 1870 
 he married Aliss Elizabeth Reader, who is a native 
 of England, and in her infancy was brought to 
 America by her parents, Henry and Mary Ann 
 Reader. To our subject and his wife have been 
 born nine children: Mary A., George S., Ida M., 
 Frederick A., John S., Tirzah E., Cyril E., Bertha 
 I. and Nelson O. J\Ir. Bragg is a member of the G. 
 A. R. Post at South Windsor. In politics he is 
 a Republican. Himself and family are members 
 of the Baptist Chvuxh. 
 
 JACOB BANTLE. No list of the prosperous 
 and influential citizens of Glastonbury would be 
 complete that did not include mention of the in- 
 dustrious and substantial citizen whose name here 
 appears. Mr. Bantle is a native of Wittenberg, 
 Germany, born July 25. 1830, son of Ignace and 
 Celia Fleic Bantle, ami grandson of Mathias Ban- 
 tie, a large and successful farmer of Wittenberg. 
 The father also was an extensive farmer of Wit- 
 tenberg, where he died in 1853, his wife surviving 
 him about six weeks. Their seven children were 
 Jacob, our subject; Anton, a farmer, now living 
 near East Hartford ; jNIichael, a farmer near De- 
 troit, Mich.; John, a farmer near Detroit; Rosie, 
 who married Philip Hiem, of New Britain, and died 
 June 10, 1899; Mary, who lived in New York City, 
 and (lied April 15, 1900; and Johanna, a resident of 
 Switzerland. 
 
 Our subject received a good common-school ed- 
 ucation in his native land and in his yotith worked 
 on his father's farm. He then served six years in 
 the German army. Returning to the homestead, 
 he worked at hard manual labor for $40 per year 
 and board. With his savings he in 1857 purchased 
 a passage aboard a sailing-vessel from Havre to 
 New York, the voj'age consuming forty-two days. 
 With onlv a few dollars in his pocket he proceeded 
 to Hartford, Conn., and thence to Glastonbury, 
 where for a short time he was emplo^'ed by Asa 
 Talcott, father of L. H. L. falcott, of Glaston- 
 bury. Later he worked three years in the woolen 
 mills at South Glastonbury, then for three years 
 in the woolen mills at Eagleville. In 1863 he paid 
 a visit to his native land, remaining six months. 
 Returning to America in 1864 he purchased from 
 Lafa Moody ten acres of land, to which purchase he 
 has since added twenty-five acres. He has erected 
 sheds and made other notable improvements upon 
 the place, and now has a well-tilled farm of thirty- 
 five acres. 
 
 Mr. Bantle was married, Oct. i, 1859, to Cath- 
 erine Handel, who was born June 7, 1840, daugh- 
 ter of John George Handel, and five children have 
 
^>tn (/^d^^^?!^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1189 
 
 blessed this union : Julius J., born July 5, i860, mar- 
 ried Mary Braach, and has one daughter, Jennie 
 (the mother is dead! ; Jacob W., born July 5, 1862, 
 married Ameha Tenner, and has two children, Edith 
 and Elsa; Charles married Lillian Bantle, of Michi- 
 gan; Philip, a carpenter of Glastonbury, married 
 Belle McCurry, and they had four children, only 
 one, Everett, now living; Rosie is the wife of 
 Charles Brucker, of Hartford, and has one daugh- 
 ter, Minnie. In politics our subject is a Democrat. 
 He has never sought office, but in 1883 he was 
 nominated without solicitation for the State Legis- 
 lature, was elected, and served with ability. He has 
 also served his town as justice of the peace. Mr. 
 Bantle is liberal in his church views, and in local 
 affairs is one of the town's most public-spirited resi- 
 dents. His neighbors speak of him as a "good citi- 
 zen." He has prospered in his Hfe vocation, and by 
 his industry, thrift and good judgment has won an 
 ample competence from the fertile acres which he 
 possesses. 
 
 JOHN MASON. The English-born citizens 
 of the United States form a valued element in our 
 civilization, their ideals of citizenship being fully 
 in accord with American progress. During the dark 
 days of the Civil war many served gallantly in the 
 Northern army, and the subject of this sketch, a 
 highly-esteemed resident of East Windsor, was one 
 of three brothers who thus gave proof of their love 
 of freedom. 
 
 Mr. Mason comes of an old family of Yorkshire, 
 England, where his parents, George and Charlotte 
 (Rhodes) Mason, resided for some years after 
 their marriage. In 1847 they came to America with 
 their children, the voyage, which was made in a 
 sailingvessel, lasting thirtyfive days'. They landed 
 at Boston, and soon afterward settled at Warehouse 
 Point, Conn. George Mason died at the home of 
 our subject in 1855 ; his wife survived until 1889. 
 John is the eldest of four children who lived to adult 
 age; Mary A. is the wife of B. Wilson Lord, of 
 East Windsor; George, a veteran of the Civil war, 
 resides at Warehouse Point; and James, a resident 
 of New Britain, Conn., was also in the Uuion army 
 during the Civil war. 
 
 Our subject was born Dec. 14, 1830, in York- 
 shire, England, was apprenticed there to the card- 
 clothing trade, which was a branch of business not 
 recognized in this country. After the arrival of the 
 family at Warehouse Point he worked four and one- 
 half years in the Sexton woolen-mills at that place, 
 and three months in a mill at Broad Brook, and 
 later he went to Plymouth Hollow to take a similar 
 position. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company 
 A, 22d Conn. V. I., for nine months, being mus- 
 tered in at Hartford. During his term of service 
 he spent some time with the forces employed in the 
 defense of Washington, and he also took part with 
 his regiment in the siege of Suffolk, in April, 1863. 
 He was mustered out of the service July 7, 1863. 
 
 On his return home that year, he settled upon his 
 present homestead, where he is successfully en- 
 gaged in general farming, dairying and tobacco 
 growing. 
 
 Mr. Mason was married, Nov. 28, 1854, to 
 Elizabeth, daughter of John and Eliza Holland, of 
 Webster, Mass., and they had two children : Har- 
 riet Eliza, wife of F. H. Bissell, of Old Windsor; 
 and Fannie, wife of R. H. Bartlett, of East Wind- 
 sor. Mr. Mason is a member of Morning Star 
 Lodge, No. 28, F. & A. M. ; and of Converse Post, 
 No. 67, G. A. R. He has supported the Repub- 
 lican party since its organization, having voted for 
 John C. Fremont, in 1856. Mr. and Mrs. Mason 
 are members of, the First Congregational Church 
 of East Windsor, at Scantic. 
 
 NATHANIEL JONES. When a boy of seven 
 years the successful agricultu'rist whose name is 
 mentioned herewith moved with his father's family 
 from Hartford to the town of South Windsor. 
 Here he grew to manhood and received the edu- 
 cation which usually fell to the fortune of country 
 lads a half century ago. He adopted the occupa- 
 tion of his father, followed it with interest and 
 energy, and has prospered. 
 
 The ancestral history in Connecticut dates back 
 five generations to about the year 1714, when Na- 
 thaniel Jones migrated from Massachusetts to Hart- 
 ford. His grandson, Nathaniel, the grandfather 
 of our subject, was a teamster among the patriots 
 who fought for liberty, and his son, John P. Jones, 
 in his early manhood bore the arms of his 'country 
 in the war of 181 2. 
 
 Nathaniel Jones, our subject, was born in Hart- 
 ford, March 19, 1840. Besides attending the com- 
 mon schools he was a student at the academy in 
 South Windsor for one term. He remained on 
 his father's farm until 1871, when he removed to 
 the farm now occupied by Dennis DriscoU. Two 
 years later, in 1873, he removed to the farm which 
 he now owns and occupies, located about five and 
 one-half miles from Hartford, on the old road run- 
 ning from that city to East Windsor Hill. He has 
 since purchased additional land, and now owns sixty 
 acres, twelve of which are on the home place. Mr. 
 Jones raises about ten acres of tobacco yearly, and 
 as a tobacco grower he has been very successful. 
 He has made all the improvements upon his place, 
 including house, outbuilding, sheds, etc. In poli- 
 tics he is a Democrat. 
 
 Mr. Jones was married, April 27, 1878, to Miss 
 Helena M. Abbey, a native of Maine, and a daugh- 
 ter of Henry J. Abbey. To Mr. and Mrs. Jones 
 have been born five children : John Henry, Albertus 
 E., Frederick C, Carroll N. and Lena. 
 
 FRANK ROBERTS BURNHAM, of Bloom- 
 field, was born Oct. 16, 1842, and is of the ninth 
 generation in direct descent from Thomas Burn- 
 ham, the founder of the family in America, who 
 
1190 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 came to the New World in 1649, locating in Hart- 
 ford. Members of the family have attained prom- 
 inence in nearly every walk of life, and they nave 
 been represented in all the different wars in which 
 the nation has been engaged. 
 
 Calvin Burnham, grandfather of our subject, 
 was born Alarch 9, 1776, and died Oct. ir. 1846. 
 He married. May 13, 1803, Clarissa Xorthrup, who 
 was born May 16, 1783, and died Dec. 13, 1806, 
 and on Feb. 27, 1812, he wedded Mary Ford, who 
 was born June i, 1787, and died Sept. 15, 187S. The 
 children l)orn to these marriages were Orvilla C, 
 Shayler F. and Elias E. 
 
 Shayler F. Burnham was born July r. 1813, in 
 Lenox, Alass., and died in September, 1886. He 
 married, June 1, 1837, Iilizabcth Roberts, who was 
 born Oct. 26, i8ii, a daughter of Lem Roberts, 
 and died March 22, 1858. On May 15, 1867, he 
 married Mrs. P'anny Pease, who was born Aug. 
 23, 1828, and died Nov. 2, 1882. Shayler F. Burn- 
 ham settled in Bloomfield at the age of twenty-six 
 years, was a tobacco grower and a speculator, and 
 became a man of nuich prominence as well as of 
 usefulness, being a director in the Farmers & Me- 
 chanics Bank, and in the Collins Co., of Hartford. He 
 served as postmaster, town clerk and representative 
 of Bloomfield, and as county commissioner, and fra- 
 ternally was a member of St. John's Lodge, F. & 
 A M., at Hartford. His children were George Ford 
 Burnham, born Sept. 26, 1839, and Frank Robert 
 Burnham, whose name opens this biography. The 
 former entered the Manufacturers & Alerchants 
 Bank of Hartford as chore boy, and rose steadily 
 until he attained the position of paying teller, which 
 he held until failing health caused his retirement. 
 He died Oct. 3, 1861. 
 
 Frank R. Burnham received his primarv educa- 
 tion in the public schools of Bloomfield, attended a 
 private school in Northampton, Mass., and later 
 took a course at the Eastman Business College, 
 Poughkeepsie, N. Y. In Bloomfield he married Miss 
 Katie \'. Gillette, daughter of Augustus B. Gillette, 
 and to this union were born two children, Grace 
 Gillette and Jeanie Roberts. Mr. Burnham is a 
 strong supporter of the Republican party, but he has 
 never sought political preferment. 
 
 Mrs. Burnham's great-grandfather, Asa Gillette, 
 was born in Bloomfield, a son of Jacob Gillette, 
 and married a Jiliss Case, by whom he had four 
 children, Asa, Fred, James and Harriet. For many 
 years he lived in the West. James Gillette was born 
 in Bloomfield in 1784, and died in 1852. When a 
 lad he was bound out in Simsbury, and in that town 
 married Miss Violet Case, daughter of Benijah 
 Case, to which union were born four children : Eli- 
 zabeth, who was married to Thomas Case, and is 
 now deceased ; James Burton, deceased ; iMariette ; 
 and Augustus B. 
 
 Augustus B. Gillette was born in June, 1823, in 
 Simsbury, Conn., and when a boy went to Ohio, 
 where he began the jewelry business, as a peddler. 
 
 For several years he was in the retail jewelry busi- 
 ness at Warren, Ohio, thence removing to Bloom- 
 ington. 111., where he carried on the wholesale and 
 retail business until about 1875. In that year he 
 located in Indianapolis, Ind., where he was engaged 
 in the wholesale jewelry trade until his death, April 
 I, 1897. He was a member of the Congregational 
 Church. Mr. Gillette was married at Bristol, Ohio, 
 to Miss Eliza Kibbe, who bore him two children: 
 James L., of Moline, 111. ; and Katie V., now Mrs. 
 Burnham. 
 
 JNIariette Gillette, alluded to above, was married 
 in Simsbury, Conn., to Nathaniel Bidwell, son of 
 Nathaniel Bidwell, and grandson of Jonathan Bid- 
 well, and they had one child. Marietta Elizabeth. 
 Nathaniel Bidwell, Sr., was a school teacher for 
 many years, but passed the major portion of his 
 life as a farmer in Bloomfield, and died at the age 
 of eighty years, a member of the Congregational 
 Church, of which he served for a long time as 
 treasurer. 
 
 HENRY Z. THOMPSON, one of the most en- 
 terprising and progressive general farmers and to- 
 bacco growers of the town of East Granby, was born 
 Aug. 2, 1862, on the old homestead where he still 
 resides. The Thompson family is an old and hon- 
 ored one in Hartford county, its members being 
 honest and industrious citizens, who have born their 
 part in its upbuilding and advancement. 
 
 Edn)und Thompson, the great-grandfather of our 
 subject, was a native of Simsbury, this county, 
 \\-here he engaged in farming for a number of years 
 after reaching man's estate, but spent the last years 
 of his life in Bloomfield, where he was honored and 
 respected by all who knew him. The grandfather, 
 who also bore the name of Edmund Thompson, 
 was born and reared in Simsbury, where in early 
 life he learned the trade of carriage making, which 
 he subsequently followed for some time in what is 
 now East Granby. He also became extensively 
 engaged in agricultural pursuits, and was a large 
 land owner in that section of the county. He was 
 a lifelong Democrat in politics, and most ably rep- 
 resented the town of Granby in the State Legisla- 
 ture. He was noted for his honesty and upright 
 character, was very highly respected, and made 
 a host of friends. He married Sophia Pinnev, a 
 native of what is now East Granby, and a daugh- 
 ter of Aaron Pinney, and to them were born three 
 children: Delia, wife of Warhan Griswold; Edward 
 P., father of our subject; and Norwood, deceased. 
 Edmund Thompson died April 21, 1861, his wife 
 on Dec. 6, 1863, and both were buried in the East 
 Granby cemetery. They were consistent Christians, 
 faithful members of the Baptist Church. 
 
 Edward P. Thompson was born Aug. 25, 1819, 
 and began his education in the district schools of 
 Granby town, later attending the schools of Hart- 
 ford and Westfield, and the Suffield Institute. Thus 
 he became a well-educated man, and by subse- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. ' 
 
 1191 
 
 quent reading and observation kept well in- 
 ' formed on the leading questions and issues of the 
 ' day. With his father he learned carriage mak- 
 ing, and carried on that business for many 
 years, meeting with marked success. He also oper- 
 ated the old home farm, on which he made ' ex- 
 tensive improvements, including the erection of a 
 fine residence, good tobacco sheds, barns, etc. He 
 was one of the first tobacco growers in his section 
 of the county, and in that undertaking was also 
 successful. In September, 1841, Mr. Thompson 
 wedded Miss Mary G. Holcomb, a daughter of 
 Fratus Holcomb, and to them was born one daugh- 
 ter, Nancy, now the wife of Judge Martin H. 
 Smith, of Sufheld, Conn. The wife and mothes 
 died Jan. 13, 1843, '^'''d was buried in East Granby. 
 In October, 1843, ■'^'I'"- Thompson was again mar- 
 ried, his second union being with Miss Mary J. 
 Case, a native of Simsbury, now Bloomfield, who 
 was one of a family of nine children born to Zelah 
 and Jennette (Benton) Case. There were five chil- 
 dren by the second marriage: Norwood and Jose- 
 phine, who both died young; Katie M., widow of 
 M. H. Sanford, of Tariffville ; Delia S., wife of 
 William W. M. Ward, now of Denver, Colo. ; and 
 Henry Z., our subject. The father died on the old 
 homestead June 22, 1880, and was buried in East 
 Granby cemetery. He was an ardent supporter of 
 the Democratic party, but never an aspirant for po- 
 litical honors. He was, however, one of the fore- 
 most men of East Granby, was public-spirited and 
 enterprising, and was widely and favorably known. 
 Religiously he was a consistent member of the 
 Baptist Church, to which the mother also belonged. 
 She was a true and earnest Christian woman, much 
 respected by all who knew her ; she died Jan. i, 
 1899, at the home of her son, Henry Z. 
 
 After attending the public schools of East Gran- 
 by for some time Henry Z. Thompson became a 
 student in the Hartford grammar school, and com- 
 pleted his education at Suffield Institute. His en- 
 tire life has been devoted to farming and tobacco 
 culture, and since his father's death he has most 
 successfully managed the old homestead. In 1886 
 he was united in marriage with Miss Mary S. Rose, 
 a native of West Suffield, and a daughter of Morti- 
 mer and Lucy Ann (Sheldon) Rose. In his re- 
 ligious views Mr. Thompson is liberal, and in his 
 social relations is a member of the Grange. Like 
 his ancestors, he is a stalwart supporter of the 
 men and measures of the Democracy, but he has 
 never sought political preferment, though he takes 
 an active interest in the success of his party and 
 does all in his power to advance its interests. He 
 is quite popular in both social and business circles, 
 and has many warm friends in the community 
 where he is so well known. 
 
 ALFRED DRIEU, who holds the responsible 
 position of superintedent of what is known as the 
 old Tunxis Mill of Poquonock, is a worthy illus- 
 
 tration of what may be accomplished by a young 
 man if he be sober, reliable and industrious, even 
 though he is in a strange country and unfamiliar 
 with the language and customs of the people. 
 
 Mr. Drieu was born in Roubaix, Nord, France, 
 March 22, 1854, a son of Louis and Adelaide Drieu, 
 in whose familv were ten children. He attended 
 the schools of his native land, such as his parents' 
 limited means permitted, and they offered him bet- 
 ter advantages, but his ambition did not lie along 
 the line of study. At an early age he manifested 
 a fondness for machinery, displaying an aptness for 
 anything in the mechanical line, and he learned the 
 machinist's trade during his youth. He concluded 
 to come to America, but, being the only son in a 
 large family, this decision was not welcomed by 
 his parents. The promise to return soon served 
 to soothe the anxious mother's heart, however, and 
 in 1876 he sailed from Havre on the vessel "Labra- 
 dor." 
 
 On reaching the shores of the New World, Mr. 
 Drieu came at once to Poquonock and entered the 
 service of his present employers, with whom he 
 has been ever since. This fact alone is evidence of 
 his ability, and he is acknowledged to be one of 
 the most thorough business men in his line in this 
 section of the State. At the end of two 3^ears Mr. 
 Drieu returned to France on a visit, and soon after- 
 ward the entire family, with the assistance of our 
 subject, came to the United States and located in 
 Poquonock, where the parents still reside, the father 
 being overseer of a department in the mill, of which 
 his son is superintendent. The latter was at first 
 overseer in the drawing and spinning department, 
 but has gradually worked his way upward until he 
 now has entire charge of the spinning-mill of the 
 Health Underwear Company. 
 
 Mr. Drieu has been tvi^ice married, his first wife 
 being Miss Henrietta Dumont, a native of France, 
 by whom he had two sons : Louis, an employe in 
 the electric plant of the Hartford Street Railway 
 Co. ; and Alfred, Jr., at home. His present wife 
 bore the maiden name of Philomena Sagert, and 
 is also a native of France. To them have been 
 born four children : George, Rosa, Albert and 
 Lucy. Mr. Drieu is a Republican, and a stanch 
 protectionist, but takes no active part in politics 
 aside from voting. He has not only made his own 
 way in the world from boyhood, but has also been 
 of great assistance to his parents, and is one of the 
 unostentatious and reliable citizens of whom any 
 community might be justh^ proud. 
 
 JASON RUSHMORE VIETS is one of the 
 successful agriculturists of the town of East Granby, 
 and as a citizen is held in high esteem for his 
 sterling qualities of character. While he is not an 
 aspirant for public honors, he does not shirk any 
 duty involved in citizenship, and his iniluence is 
 readily given in support of progressive movements. 
 
 The Viets family is numerously represented in 
 
1192 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 this section, and an extended genealogy appears 
 elsewhere, making it unnecessary to do more than 
 trace briefly the line of descent from Dr. John 
 Viets. a pioneer settler of Simsbury, through the 
 intervening generations to our subject. Dr. John 
 Viets and" his wife Catharine had four children, 
 among whom was a son Henry ; Henry married 
 twice," and had six children, his second wife, Mar- 
 garet Austin, having one son, James; James mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Brown, and had four children, in- 
 cluding a son Festus, our subject's father. Festus 
 Viets (June 12, 1790 — Sept. 24, 1874) married 
 Maria Hathaway (June 24, 1802— Sept. 27, i860), 
 and had ten children, viz.: James Hathaway, a 
 resident of East (".ranby; Harriet Maria (Mrs. 
 Henrv Griffin) : Candace Eliza (Mrs. Linus 
 Hayes) ; Philo Horace ; Adaline Jael, who died in 
 her seventh year; Lamira Jane (Mrs. Willis L. 
 Hayes) ; Daniel Rcnjamin and Annis Susan, who 
 died voung: William Dixon, a resident of Copper 
 Hill ; and Jason R. 
 
 Our subject was horn Jan. 17, 1846, on the 
 old homestead at Copper Hill, where his early years 
 were spent in the helpful and wholesome activities 
 of farm life. At the age of eighteen he left home, 
 and after working for some time as a farm hand 
 he settled, in 1867, on his present farm of one hun- 
 dred acres, a portion of the Viets homestead. In 
 addition to general farming he has been interested 
 in dairying and tobacco culture, making a decided 
 success' of both lines of effort, and his homestead 
 gives evidence of judicious management. He is 
 public-spirited, and has been one of the active 
 workers in the East Granby Grange, serving most 
 of the time as chaplain, while he is prominent in re- 
 ligious work as a member of the M. E. Church at 
 Copper hill, in which he holds the office of steward. 
 Politically he is a Democrat, and his fellow citi- 
 zens have frequently shown their appreciation of 
 his ability and worth by electing him to town of- 
 fices, including those of assessor, member of the 
 school board and second selectman^ and in 1888 
 he was elected to represent the town in the State 
 Legislature. On Dec. 9, 1867, Mr. Viets married 
 Miss Rhoda Phelps, daughter of Apollos Phelps. 
 She died Sept. 14, 1874, leaving one child. Miss 
 Adella M., born ]\Iarch 7, 1869. On Oct. 30, 1876, 
 he was married, at Windsor Locks, to Miss Wil- 
 helmina Grohman, daughter of Peter Grohman, and 
 three children have been born of the union, as fol- 
 lows : J. Edward, Dec. 25, 1878; Lena M., Sept. 
 25, 1883; and P. Grohman, Dec. 6, 1897. 
 
 \A'illiam Dixon \'iets, our subject's brother, was 
 born -Slay 17, 1842, at the homestead, then within 
 the limits of Granby town. From early manhood 
 he has been engaged in farming at Copper Hill, 
 and he is one of the leading citizens of the locality, 
 being an influential worker in the Democratic or- 
 ganization. For twenty years he has been post- 
 master at Copper Hill, his efficiency leaving nothing 
 to be desired, and he takes an active interest in the 
 
 work of the Methodist Church at that village. On 
 Feb. 15, 1872, he married Miss Jennie M. Griffin, 
 who was born March 15, 1849, daughter of Lyman 
 Griffin, and died in 1882, her remains being interred 
 in Copper Hill cemetery. They have three children ; 
 Shermie L., born May 29, 1873, died Dec. 2, 1877; 
 liattie INL, born June 28, 1875, died Dec. 10, 1877; 
 and William L.. born Nov. 2, 1878, is at home. 
 The Hathaway family, to which our subject's 
 mother belonged, is well-known in this section. His 
 grandfather, Ebenezer Hathaway, was a native of 
 Suffield, and followed farming there for some time 
 previous to his removal to New York State, where 
 his remaining years were spent. He married 
 (first) Miss Mchitabel Cowdrey, and (second) a 
 Miss Morehouse, and had ten children, all by the 
 first marriage : Ebenezer, Mehitabel, Jael, Lydia, 
 Candace, Maria, David, Jason, William and Ardon. 
 
 GEORGE EDWIN BAISDEN, the well-known 
 deputy warden of the Connecticut State Prison at 
 \\'etliersfield, was born in the town, of Cromwell, 
 Middlesex Co., Conn., April 30, 1842, and is of 
 English descent. 
 
 James H. Baisden, his father, was born in the 
 Bermuda Islands, and was the son of a sea captain 
 who was lost at sea. He was reared in his native 
 land, and when a young man came to the United 
 States, locating first in Middletown, Conn., and 
 later in Cromwell, where he spent the remainder of 
 his life. He was a wheelwright and house builder 
 by occupation, a Democrat in politics, and a Bap- 
 tist in religious belief, and he was well liked and 
 respected by all with whom he came in contact. 
 He married Miss Marietta Savage, a native of 
 Cromwell, where she also died, and to them were 
 born eight children : James S., a carpenter of Hart- 
 ford; Charlotte J., who married Mandly S. Burdick, 
 of New Britain, foreman in the foundry some fif- 
 teen years; Phoebe, who married L. C. Burdick, of 
 Cromwell, Conn. ; Henry A., a carpenter at Meri- 
 den ; George Edwin ; Charles, of New Britain ; 
 Robert A. Saylor; and George W., a farmer of 
 Madison, Connecticut. 
 
 During his boyhood our subject received only 
 a district-school education, and most of his knowl- 
 edge has been acquired by reading and contact with 
 the world. While still young he commenced work- 
 ing as a farm hand, and was thus employed until 
 seventeen years of age, when he shipped aboard a 
 coasting vessel as cook. From that humble posi- 
 tion he was gradually promoted until he became 
 captain of a coaster, in which capacity he sailed 
 for seven years. Altogether he spent sixteen years 
 upon the water. He then obtained the position of 
 night watchman in the State prison, under Capt. 
 E. B. Hewes, then warden of the institution, and 
 was later appointed overseer in the shops, a posi- 
 tion he acceptably filled for fourteen years. In 
 1889 he was appointed deputy warden, and has filled 
 
tj> 
 
 jCJ fj^M/) 
 
 ^MyOd/yTt 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1193 
 
 that responsible position in a most creditable and 
 satisfactory manner ever since. He is well liked by 
 the officers and men imder him, who have for him 
 the highest respect. 
 
 At Rocky Hill Mr. Baisden married Miss Julia 
 E. Kelley, a native of Kent, Conn., who died leav- 
 ing one child, Robert, now a painter and paper 
 hanger of New York City. In 1883 he was again 
 married, in East Hartford, his second union being 
 with Miss Hattie L. Vibberts, a native of that place, 
 and a daughter of S. Nelson Vibberts. Both he 
 and his wife hold membership in Wethersfield 
 Grange, of which he is now overseer, and he also 
 belongs to the Order of United American Mechan- 
 ics. His political support is given to the Demo- 
 cratic party. He is a self-made man, one whose 
 success in life is due to his own unaided efforts, 
 perseverance and enterprise, and he merits and re- 
 ceives the confidence and high regard of his fellow 
 citizens and associates. 
 
 DWIGHT FRANCIS NEWTON is justly rec- 
 ognized as one of the most energetic and enterpris- 
 ing citizens of the town of Granby, where be is 
 now successfully carrying on operations as a gen- 
 eral farmer and dairyman. A man of progressive 
 ideas, fine attainments, high-minded, who has made 
 the most of his opportunities in life, he has arisen 
 to a foremost place among the representative citi- 
 zens of the community. 
 
 Mr. Newton was born in North Granby, on 
 the Massachusetts line, July 3, 1855, a son of Fran- 
 cis George and Mary E. (Cornwall) Newton. The 
 father was born in Manchester, Conn., Oct. 4, 1833, 
 and is a son of Gorden and Mary Newton, in whose 
 family were only two children, the other being 
 Chauncey, who died in 1869. Francis G. was only 
 two years old when he lost his mother, and he was 
 then taken to the home of Pholetus Cooley, a 
 farmer, with whom he remained until that gentle- 
 man's death, in the meantime attending the public 
 schools of Granby to a limited extent, and assist- 
 ing in the arduous labors of the farm from a very 
 early age. Later he spent two years with a son 
 of his foster-father, and at the age of sixteen be- 
 gan working as a farm hand. For six weeks he 
 was employed by Albert Kent, who paid him fifteen 
 dollars, of which sum he placed ten dollars in a 
 bank, and during the two years he worked as a 
 farm laborer in Hartford county he managed to 
 save ninety dollars. Going to New Yory City, he 
 then shipped as a sailor on a three-deck merchant 
 vessel carrying cotton from Mobile, Ala., to Liver- 
 pool, England. While in the South he contracted 
 smallpox, and it required all the money he had 
 saved to pay his expenses while ill. After two 
 years spent at sea he returned to Granby, and 
 learned the trade of a whip lash cutter with a Mr. 
 Holcomb, with whom be remained two years, and 
 later, in partnership with Anson A. Collins, he 
 embarked in the same business, but a year after- 
 
 ward their shop was destroyed by fire. Mr. New- 
 ton then rented a farm in the town of Granby, which 
 he operated until 1874, and from there removed 
 to a small farm on Granby Street, which he had 
 purchased two years previously from Major Malt- 
 bie. It has now been his home for a quarter of 
 a century, during which time he has engaged in 
 general farming, dairying and poultry raising. His 
 love of country was manifested during the dark 
 days of the Civil war by his enlistment, in 1862, 
 at New Haven, in Company E, 13th Conn. V. I., 
 under Capt. Eugene Tisdale and Col. Birge. With 
 his regiment he went to Ship's Island, and later to 
 New Orleans, where he was taken ill and confined 
 in St. James Hospital for several weeks. As a 
 passenger on an ammunition train on the railroad 
 he, with other volunteers, started to rejoin his com- 
 pany, but a bursting shell caused an explosion on 
 the train, and fifteen men were killed and twenty- 
 five wounded. He was among the latter, having 
 his left hip fractured by a piece of shell, which has 
 resulted in shortening that leg. He was again 
 in the hospital for a number of weeks, and was 
 finally mustered out of service May 12, 1863. He 
 is now a stanch Republican in politics, is temperate 
 in his habits, and is a consistent member of the 
 Congregational Church. 
 
 In 1854 Francis G. Newton married Miss Mary 
 E. Cornwall, a native of Granville, Mass., and a 
 daughter of Ephraim and Lucy (Collins) Corn- 
 wall, representatives of old and respected families 
 of that place. Of the five children born of this 
 union our subject is the eldest; Hattie A., deceased 
 wife of Edward Fowler ; Murray A., a conductor 
 residing in East Hartford, married Eliza Martin, 
 of Holyoke, Mass., who died leaving three chil- 
 dren, Ralph, Lila and Walter, and he has since 
 wedded Louise Silvernail ; and Elmer and George 
 both died young. 
 
 During his boyhood and youth Dwight F. New- 
 ton acquired a good English education as a student 
 in the public schools of Granby, the Enfield high 
 school and the Granby Academy. He remained on 
 the home farm until eighteen years of age, and 
 during the last two years his father paid him $100 
 per year for his services, this being the first money 
 he ever earned. At the age of nineteen he rented 
 a farm of sixty acres at Salmon Brook, town of 
 Granby, and for one year gave his attention to 
 general farming and tobacco culture. In 1875 he 
 entered the cutlery factory of Mr. Maltbie, at Gran- 
 by, as an apprentice, and after spending two years 
 there he, at the age of twenty-three, obtained the 
 position of superintendent at the cutlery factory of 
 Lockwood & McCIintic, in Holyoke, Mass., for 
 seven years filling that position of trust and re- 
 sponsibility to the satisfaction of all concerned. 
 Returning to Granby township, he rented the Wil- 
 bur Holcomb farm for one year, the Allen Holcomb 
 farm for two years, and the farm of the late Chaun- 
 cey Holcomb for two years. During that time, by 
 
1194 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 hard work and economical habits, he managed to 
 save some money, and in 1888 purchased what was 
 known as the Wallace Kendall farm, of one hundred 
 acres, upon which he has made many substantial 
 improvements. He has also added a tract of sixty- 
 five acres to the place. He is interested in stock 
 raising and dairying, having a fine herd of cows 
 U]30n his place, and is a stockhohler in and agent 
 for the Granby Creamery. He is a practical farm- 
 er, enterprising and iirogressive, and as a citizen 
 lends his support to everv measure which he be- 
 lieves calculated to benefit the town or i>eople. 
 
 On Dec. 24, 1878, in Granby, Mr. Newton 
 was united in marriage with Miss Addie C. Ruic_, 
 a native of Granby, and a daughter of John W. 
 and Melissa L. (King) Ruic. Three children have 
 been born of this union : George W., born Nov. 
 21, 1879, was educated in the district schools and 
 a business college of Hartford, and is now at home; 
 Charles F., born June 20, 1883, is stdl in school; 
 and Dwight J., born Jan. 7, i8y5, is at home. Mrs. 
 Xewton is a lady of culture and refinement, is a 
 genial companion, and takes a deep interest in 
 everything pertaining to her husband's success and 
 happiness. 
 
 Mr. Xewton takes an active and prominent part 
 in public aft'airs, and it has ever been his aim to 
 conduct the business of town and county on the 
 same economical basis that he carries on his own 
 afifairs, having always at heart the public good. 
 In 1889 he was elected second selectman, was re- 
 elected in 1894, and in 1895 was elected first select- 
 man of Granby for a term of three years. The 
 duties of the office he discharged in a most credit- 
 able and acceptable manner, and by his prudence 
 and business-like tact during those three years man- 
 aged to place to the credit of the town over seven 
 hundred dollars. In the fall of 1898 he was elected, 
 on the Republican ticket, to the State Legislature, 
 and is now most ably representing the town of 
 Granby in that body. Honorable and upright in 
 all the relations of life, he has won the respect 
 and high regard of all who know him, and is quite 
 popular in business, social and political circles. So- 
 cially he is a member of St. Mark's Lodge, No. 
 91, F. & A. M., of Granby, and he and his family 
 are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 As a business man he has met with well deserved 
 success. 
 
 CLINTON HORATIO NELSON, one of the 
 best-known and most highly-respected farmers and 
 tobacco raisers of West Suffield, was born in that 
 place July 17, 1835, and is of remote English de- 
 scent, the Nelson family being one of the oldest in 
 Connecticut. 
 
 Oliver Nelson, grandfather of Clinton H., was 
 a native of Suffield, was the owner of large landed 
 estates in West Suffield, and was there extensively 
 engaged in stock raising and general farming. He 
 passed all his life on his farm, and died at the com- 
 
 paratively early age of forty-five years, a member of 
 the Congregational Church, and in politics a Whig. 
 He had married Mary King, also a member of one 
 of the old families of Suffield, and to this marriage 
 were born five children : Theodosia died at the age 
 of seventeen; Mary Ann, born March 29, 1801, was 
 married to Harmon Wheeler, and died Jan. 5, 1895 ; 
 Oliver M., born Dec. 1, 1805, is now living in 
 Broad Brook, Conn. ; Horatio King, born Oct. 8, 
 1808, was the father of our subject; and Albert J., 
 born Dec. 9, 1810, died Jan. 28, 1888. All are now 
 deceased with the exception of Oliver M., who has 
 attained the age of ninety-four years. The ven- 
 erated mother of this family died on the homestead 
 nearly a century ago, a consistent member of the 
 Congregational Church, her remains being interred 
 in the West Suffield cemetery. 
 
 Hon. Horatio King Nelson, father of Clinton 
 H. Nelson, received a somewhat limited educa- 
 tion in the pubhc schools, but eventually becjime a 
 well-read man through self-application to study. 
 He was but thirteen years of age when he was 
 deprived by death of his father, and for three years 
 thereafter he worked on a farm for Mr. Luther 
 Loomis, in Suffield. At the age of sixteen he 
 started out on the road as a peddler of Yankee no- 
 tions throughout the States of Connecticut and New 
 York, but later devoted himself almost exclusively 
 to the sale of cigars. He thus passed the better part 
 of his life as a traveling salesman, his stretch of 
 territory eventually reaching to Maine. He was suc- 
 cessful in his line, and allowed his farm, on which 
 our subject now lives, to be mainly conducted by 
 him. He was a temperate man in all respects, was 
 strong and healthy, and in forty-five years was sick 
 two days only. He was highly esteemed in his 
 neighborhood, and although he never sought office 
 he was twice nominated, by the Republican party, 
 without his knowledge, as candidate for the State 
 Legislature, and was each time elected, and in a 
 strongly Democratic district. But his constituents, 
 of whatever party, never had cause to regret their 
 action in elevating him to this important and re- 
 sponsible office. He was originally an Old-line 
 Whig, but with the mutations in politics became a 
 member of the Republican party at its incipiency. 
 
 Horatio K. Nelson first married, in Suffield, 
 Nov. 13, 1834, Mary, the daughter of Joab Owen. 
 Miss Owen was born in Suffield, in 181^. To this 
 marriage were born three children, of whom ( i ) 
 Clinton H., our subject, was the eldest. (2) The 
 next in order of birth was Helen M., who was mar- 
 ried to Charles C. Shelden, of West Suffield ; to 
 this marriage were born three children — Emma H., 
 born Dec. 30, 1859; George A., born March 9, 1862; 
 and Clara M., born Aug. 8, 1864. (3) Mary L. 
 was first married to George L. Pomeroy, and bore 
 him two children — Nelson A., who was born Aug. 
 22, 1868, was educated at the Connecticut Literary 
 Institute, of Suffield, Conn., and the College of 
 Physicians and Surgeons, New York, and is now 
 
1 
 
 ^ 
 
 X 
 
"^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1195 
 
 a physician, practicing in Waterbury, Conn. ; the 
 younger, Herbert, who was born Aug. 12, 1874, 
 died Feb. 12, 1876. George L. Pomeroy died Jan. 
 5, 1875, and his widow married Arthur L. Pom- 
 eroy, to which union came one child. Anna Louise, 
 born May 28, 1880. The mother died Jan. 3, 1885. 
 
 Mrs. Mary (Owen) Nelson died March 22, 
 1847, a devout member of the Congregational 
 Church, and her remains were interred in the cem- 
 etery of West Suffield. On Dec. 5, 1850, Hon. 
 Horatio K. Nelson married Miss Martha J. Stevens, 
 a native of East Granbv, Hartford Co., Conn., a 
 daughter of Justus R. and Martha (Fuller) 
 Stevens,, and a granddaughter of Phineas Stevens. 
 To this union were born two children, Charles J., 
 who died at the age of four years ; and Arabella M., 
 who died when about eighteen months old. Hora- 
 tio King Nelson passed away Jan. 19, 1803, on his 
 farm in West Suffield, and his remains were in- 
 terred in the West Suffield cemetery, where his 
 grave, like his memory, is ever kept green. His 
 widow, a kind and intellectual lady, still resides 
 on the old homestead, a m&nber of the Congrega- 
 tional Church, and respected by all who know her. 
 
 Clinton H. Nelson was educated in the public 
 schools of West Suffield, at the Connecticut Literary 
 Institute of Suffield, and at Williston Seminary, 
 East Hampton, Mass., but, exclusive of his school 
 days, has passed all his life on the homestead, en- 
 gaged in agriculture. At present he operates a 
 tract of one hundred acres in West Suffield, where 
 he is engaged in tobacco growing, stock raising, 
 general farming and dairying, and, being thorough- 
 ly practical, meets with unvarying success. His 
 farm buildings are first-class in every particular, 
 he has remodeled the family dwelling, and all of his 
 surroundings indicate thrift and intelligent manage- 
 ment. 
 
 Mr. Nelson first married, at West Suffield, Miss 
 Cornelia E. Sheldon, a daughter of Francis Shel- 
 don, and Francis, the only child born to this union^ 
 died in infancy. Mrs. Cornelia E. Nelson died on 
 the home farm not long afterward, and in 1873, at 
 Granby, Mr. Nelson married Miss Mary H. Dewey, 
 a native of Granby, and a daughter of William 
 Dewey. To this marriage have been born four 
 children: Howard Dewey, born April 23, 1875, died 
 Jan. 26. 1885; William Horatio, born Sept. 12, 1879, 
 attended the public schools of West Suffield, and 
 later entered the high school at Bristol, Conn , 
 graduating in 1896, after which he entered Yale 
 College, from which he was graduated in June, 
 1900; Harold Clinton, born Feb. 19, 188.^, is a mem- 
 ber of the class of 1901 at the Connecticut Literary 
 Institute, Suffield ; and Christine Louise, born 
 March 11, 1885, is in the class of 1902, of the same 
 institution. 
 
 Aaron Dewey, grandfather of Mrs. Mary H. 
 Nelson, was born in Granby, Conn., in 1781. He 
 married Lovisa Gillett, daughter of Deacon Sam- 
 uel Gillett, and to this marriage were born eight 
 
 children: William, Oct. 8, 1809; Mary, April 29, 
 1811; Watson, Oct. 8, 1813; Wilson, July i, 1815; 
 Willis, July I, 1817; Susan, Jan. 22, 1819; Laura 
 S., Aug. 9, 182 1 ; and Wayne, March 7, 1823. 
 
 Hon. William Dewey, the eldest of the above- 
 named children, was educated in the common 
 schools of Granby, in which town he passed the 
 greater part of his life engaged in agriculture and 
 stock raising. In politics he was first a Whig, later 
 a Republican, and in 1867 represented his district 
 in the State Legislature. On Nov. 30, 1837, he 
 married Eunice, daughter of Philetus Cooley, in 
 Granby, and to this union were born six children: 
 Mary H., wife of Clinton H. Nelson ; L. Belle, who 
 was a teacher in the public schools, and is now 
 the wife of Thomas H. Patterson, of Bristol, Conn. ; 
 Ann Gertrude, Jane Isabella and William Jefferson, 
 all of whom died young ; and one that died in in- 
 fancy. Mrs. Eunice Dewey died Jan. 7, 1890, and 
 her husband passed the remaining years of his life 
 with his daughter, Mrs. Nelson, at whose home 
 he died Nov. i, 1898, in the faith of the Congre- 
 gational Church ; the remains of both were interred 
 in the Granby street cemetery. 
 
 Mrs. Mary H. Nelson is a lady of refinement, 
 having been educated primarily, in the public schools 
 of Granby, and later at the Normal school at New 
 Britain, and Wilbraham Academy. For eight years 
 prior to marriage she taught most successfully in 
 the public schools of Granby, Conn., in Southwick, 
 Mass., and Suffield. Mr. Nelson has been a lifelong 
 Republican, but would never accept public office. He 
 is genial, yet quiet and unassuming in his deport- 
 ment; is honest to the core, and no family in the 
 town of Suffield is held in higher esteem. 
 
 JOHN WESLEY RUIC, a prosperous and hon- 
 ored citizen of the town of Granby, whose time and 
 attention have been given to agricultural pursuits, 
 is a native of the town, born Feb. 2, 1833, and is of 
 Scotch-Irish descent. 
 
 Mr. Rule's paternal grandfather, Owen Ruic, 
 was born in Ireland, where he learned the tailor's 
 trade, and when a young man he crossed the At- 
 lantic and took up his residence in Hartford county. 
 Conn. The American Revolution being then in 
 progress, he was soon afterward arrested as a 
 British spy, and confined in Newgate prison. Prov- 
 ing his innocence, he was released, and later joined 
 the Colonial forces. He remained in the service until 
 hostilities ceased, and his discharge papers, signed 
 by Gen. Washington, are now in the possession of 
 William C. Case, a lawyer of Granby. When in- 
 dependence was secured he located in Granby, 
 where he spent the. remainder of his life, working 
 at his trade and also at farming, and he was num- 
 bered among the highly-respected citizens of the 
 community. He died in Granbv May 13, 1820, 
 aged seventy-eight years, his wife, Elizabeth, pass- 
 ing away on Feb. 12, 181 1, aged fifty-five years. 
 In their family were three children: Owen, a car- 
 
1196 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 penter, who died in Graiiby, and was buried in 
 \\'est Granby cemetery ; Henry, wlio died when a 
 young man; and W'ilham, the father of our subject. 
 
 Wilham Ruic was born in Llranby Dec. 19, 
 1787, and received a common-school education. 
 During his younger years he worked as a laborer 
 among the farmers of Granby, and in this way 
 earned the money with which to purchase iSo acres 
 of land in that town, upon which farm he made his 
 home until called from this life. At the early age of 
 twelve years he began life for himself, and was 
 able to provide a good home for his parents during 
 their declining years. Upright and honorable in 
 all things, he commanded the respect and confidence 
 of all who knew him, and was well posted on the 
 leading events of the day, and very progressive in 
 his ideas. In Granby he was married, Oct. 18, 
 181 1, to Miss Sarah Rice, who was born April 26, 
 1791, a daughter of Jesse and Frances (Rathburn) 
 Rice, natives of Hartford county, and granddaugh- 
 ter of Capt. John and Deziah Rice, the former of 
 whom died Jan. 19, 1802. aged sixty-seven years, 
 the latter Feb. 24, 1821, at the age of eighty-two. 
 Jesse Rice passed away April 21, 1826, in his six- 
 tieth year, his wife, Frances, on May 21, 1849. '" 
 her eighty-first year. Seven children were born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ruic: Elizabeth, born July 19, 1812, 
 was married Sept. 12, 1830, to Willis Phelps, 
 and died Aug. 15, 1865; Eber, born Jan. 31, 1814, 
 was married, May 3. 1842, to Jane Pratt, and died 
 Dec. 31, 1S85; Rhoda, born Sept. 10, 1815, was 
 married, April 29, 1838, to Chester Case, of Can- 
 ton, Conn., and died Feb. 12, 1889; William Orson, 
 born July 10, 1820, was married, July 25. 1847, 
 to Temperance Hutchinson, and died Dec. 28, 1891 ; 
 Jesse \\'ilson, born I'"eb. 22, 1824, was married, 
 April 13, 1853, to Marietta Beach, and died Jan. 
 14, 1856, in Iowa; Henry C, born April 5, 1828, 
 was married, Jan. 12, 1848, to Mary King, of West 
 Suffield, now deceased, but he is still living in 
 Bristol, Conn. ; and John ^^'eslev, our subject, the 
 youngest of the family. The father died May 21, 
 1864, the mother on June 6, 1870, and both were 
 laid to rest in Granby cemetery. They were earnest 
 and faithful members of the I\Iethodist Episcopal 
 Church, in which he served as steward. Politically 
 he was first a Whig, later a Republican, and most 
 faithfully and acceptably represented Granby town 
 in the State Legislature. 
 
 John W. Ruic received a good practical educa- 
 tion in the public schools of Granby and the acad- 
 emies of Granby and Wilbraham, Mass. He early 
 acquired an excellent knowledge of the farm work, 
 and on leaving home, at the age of seventeen, he 
 worked as a farm hand for six years, receiving 
 about $125 a year for his services. For several 
 years he was thus employed, and at the age of 
 twentj-four he was the proud possessor of one 
 thousand dollars, which he had saved from his 
 earnings. He then returned to his home farm to 
 take care of his parents in their old age, and after 
 
 the mother's death continued to carry on the place 
 for a time, but finally sold it and removed to Bushy 
 Hill, where he purchased the Dewey farm of ninety- 
 six acres, owned at that time by a Mr. Miller. He 
 successfully engaged in its operation, in connec- 
 tion with general farming engaging in dairying and 
 tobacco culture until the spring of 1899, when he 
 sold his farm, and now lives retired in Granby. 
 
 On Nov. 26, 1857, in West Suffield, Mr. Ruic 
 was united in marriage with Miss Melissa L. King, 
 who was born there Oct. 7, 1838, a daughter of 
 Artemus and Sophia (Granger) King. Three chil- 
 dren were born of this union: (i) Adelaide C, 
 born Aug. 10, 1858, is now the wife of Dwight 
 F Newton, of Granby. (2) Edward W., born 
 Dec. 7, 1861, died Oct. 2, 1862. (3) Charles W., 
 born Dec. 19, 1864, attended the public schools, 
 the Suffield Literary Institute, and William College, 
 W'illiamstown, Mass., and after graduating from 
 the last named engaged in teaching school for sev- 
 eral years. He then studied law with George Taft, 
 and was admitted to the Bar in 1894. He was 
 married, Dec. 20, 1890; to Miss Sarah Lasher, and 
 they have one child, Kenneth Irvin, born Oct. 11, 
 1895. Our subject's first wife died May 5, 1877, 
 and was buried in Granby cemetery. He was again 
 married, July 2, 1881, his second union being with 
 Miss Susan E. Shepard, who was born Dec. 29, 
 1838, at Bark Hamsted, Conn., a daughter of Joseph 
 and Deidamia (Wilder) Shepard, the former now 
 deceased, the latter still a resident of Bark Ham- 
 sted. 
 
 The Republican party has always found in Mr. 
 Ruic a stanch supporter of its principles, and in 
 1884 he was chosen by the people to represent the 
 town of Granby in the State Legislature, which he 
 did in a most creditable manner. He has also 
 served as selectman for four consecutive terms, has 
 been assessor of the town, member of the board of 
 relief, and also a member of the school board, and 
 his public duties have always been most faithfully 
 and conscientiously discharged. He is one of the 
 oldest and most honored members of St. Mark's 
 Lodge, No. 91, F. & A. M., and attends the services 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He can look 
 back with pride over a well-spent life, in which he 
 has gained for himself a comfortable competence, 
 and won the esteem of his fellow citizens by his 
 straightforward course and honorable dealings. 
 
 MARCUS EUGENE JACOBS has long been 
 conspicuously and successfully identified with brick 
 manufacturing at Berlin and other points, and is one 
 of the respected, solid and influential citizens of the 
 town. In his veins flows an admixture of the "blue 
 blood" of England and that of the North American 
 aborigines, who, as has been sententiously and truth- 
 fully said, are the "only real aristocrats of the west- 
 ern hemisphere." 
 
 The first English progenitors of this family to 
 emigrate from the Old World to tho New were 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1197 
 
 three brothers, who settled on Long Island, from 
 one of whom Mr. Jacobs traces his lineage. His 
 great-great-great-grandfather, whose baptismal 
 name was Bartholomew, married J\Iercy Barnes, 
 Dec. 20, 1666. Forty-one years later, in April, 
 1707, Bartholomew's son, Thomas, was united to 
 Jemima Tuttle. From their union was born Stephen 
 Jacobs, the great-grandfather of Marcus E. He 
 married Hannah Dayton Jan. 11, 1738, and was the 
 father of a son christened Thomas. He, in turn, 
 married Marv (familiarly known as Polly) Cooper. 
 They were the parents of Washington Jacobs (and 
 the name of their son attests their loyalty to the 
 cause of .the Colonists during the struggle of the 
 Revolution), the father of the gentleman who is 
 the subject of this brief sketch. Washington 
 Jacobs was born in North Haven, and was a farmer 
 and extensive land owner. On Dec. 24, 1800, he 
 married Mary, a daughter of Lemuel and Mary 
 (Cooper) ]\lansfield, and he died when his son, 
 IMarcus Eugene, had reached the age of sis months. 
 Marcus E. Jacobs was one of a family of five 
 children. His father's farm of one hundred acres 
 was sold when he was about three years old, and 
 his boyhood was passed at the residence of his 
 grandparents in North Flaven, much after the man- 
 ner of most Yankee boys who have left their im- 
 press on the business and political world. Li winter 
 he attended school at North Haven, and in summer 
 worked upon a farm. He realized, however, early 
 in life, that his future must depend chiefly upon his 
 own effort and industry. His natural inclination 
 was for brickmaking, perhaps because even at that 
 €a!rly age the symmetrical lines and rectangular cor- 
 ners appealed to some latent instinct which was 
 destined to be more fully developed in later life. By 
 the time he was sixteen vears old he had attained 
 such proficiency in his chosen pursuit that Mans- 
 field, W'arren & Stiles gave him the superintendency 
 of their two yards. From that time forward he has 
 never severed his connection with this great indus- 
 try, so indissolubly connected with the foundation 
 and prosperity of the building trades. He remained 
 in the employ of the firm named for ten years, fill- 
 ing the position of manager during the last two or 
 three years of such employment. At the end of 
 this period, in connection with Frederick Bishop, 
 he purchased the yards of Loyal Ives. At the end 
 of three years Mr. Jacobs sold his interest in the 
 business to Mr. Bishop, and formed a partnership 
 with George Ives, at Hamden. This partnership 
 also lasted for three years, when Mr. Jacobs again 
 disposed of his interest to his partner. The next 
 year he spent as superintendent and manager of the 
 Lloulthrop yards, in New Britain, and during the 
 two following years he filled a similar post in the 
 manufactory of Caleb Johnson, at New Field. From 
 that point he removed to Berlin, where he entered 
 into a contract with Frederick Stiles to manufacture 
 brick by the thousand. Mr. Stiles sold a half-in- 
 terest in the works to C. P. Merwin, and Mr. Jacobs 
 
 was placed in charge. After a year thus passed he 
 went to North Haven, where he manufactured 
 brick at an agreed price per thousand for Frank 
 Stiles, for twelve months, when he and Mr. Stiles 
 formed a co-partnership. Their business connec- 
 tion lasted for two years, when Mr. Jacobs once 
 more sold his interest to his partner, and the firm 
 was dissolved. Returning to Berlin, he formed a 
 partnership with George R. Pierpont, under the 
 style of the Berlin Brick Co., and after two years 
 bought out Mr. Pierpont, for the last decade con- 
 ducting the business alone. The capacity of his 
 works is from seven million to eight million brick 
 per annum, and he employs from forty to sixty men. 
 In addition to attending to this extensive business 
 Mr. Jacobs is first vice-president and treasurer of the 
 Berlin Wheel Co., which employs from forty to 
 sixty men, and in which he is the heaviest stock- 
 holder. It was through his efforts that the plant 
 was established at Berlin, in May, 1899. 
 
 In 1 89 1 Mr. Jacobs purchased property on 
 Worthington avenue, in Berlin, on which he has 
 built a handsome home. He has been twice mar- 
 ried. His first wife, to whom he was united in 
 1861, was Miss Sarah Riggs, by whom he had one 
 daughter, Mary Delphine, born Sept. 16, 1869. On 
 her twenty-first birthday she became the wife of 
 Clinton Woods, who was born March 16, 1866, and 
 is connected with the Berlin Brick Co. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Woods have five children, Harold Eugene, 
 born Oct. 6, 1891 ; Earl Jacobs, March 17, 1893'; 
 Marcus and Merton (twins), Jan. 8, 1896; and 
 Pearl Adeline, May 12, 1898. After the death of 
 his first wife Mr. Jacobs, on June 29, 1877, mar- 
 ried Miss Mary Maria Palmer, who was born at 
 North Haven June 3, 1852, a daughter of Jasper 
 E. and Delia Ann (Riggs) Palmer, her father be- 
 ing a farmer. To this second marriage has also 
 come one daughter, Vivian Irene, born Jan. 28, 
 1886, at North Haven. She is a pupil at the Worth- 
 ington private school. 
 
 Mr. Jacobs is a Republican in politics, and 
 earnest in his convictions, nor does this seem strange 
 when it is added that his father was a Whig. His 
 inclination is averse to holding office, yet he has been 
 repeatedly urged to become a candidate for various 
 positions of public trust and responsibility, and in 
 1896 was nominated for the Legislature in the most 
 largely attended Republican caucus ever held in 
 Berlin, by a vote of two to one over his opponent, 
 Daniel Webster. In 1900 he was elected by a large 
 majority to represent the town of Berlin in the Gen- 
 eral Assembly of the State, and, owing to his deep 
 interest in and personal knowledge of the industrial 
 interests of the State, has been made a member of 
 the Manufacturing committee. Socially he is a 
 member of the Grange, a Master Mason, and a 
 member of Pequot Council, No. 24, O. tJ. A. M. 
 
 Mrs. Jacobs and her daughter are members of 
 the Congregational Church, and while Mr. Jacobs 
 himself is not affiliated with any religious body he 
 
1198 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 is a most liberal contributor to the cause of religion 
 and to every charitable work. His philanthropy is 
 as Inroad and spontaneous as it is genuine and un- 
 ostentatious, and in all enterprises looking to the 
 public welfare he takes a deep interest, being always 
 ready to contribute generouslv of effort, time and 
 money. 
 
 Such a career as that of Mr. Jacobs is well worth 
 the attentive study of every young man who hopes 
 to attain success. While all cannot be endowed 
 with the keen intellect, the shrewd business sense 
 and the sound judgment which have been among 
 his prominent characteristics from early childhood, 
 there have been other operative caus'es for his 
 achievements which may be said to be measurably 
 within the reach of all. He has never sought to 
 avoid work: and, while he has never courted re- 
 sponsibilities, he has manfullv faced them as thev 
 have presented themselves. While keen in his per- 
 ceptions, and ever quick to detect dissimulation, he 
 has been always charitable toward human imperfec- 
 tions, and generous, even to his own hurt. It is no 
 cause for surprise tliat his fellow townsmen vield 
 him a full meed of honor and respect. 
 
 PATRICK COXXOR, one of the oldest paper 
 workers now emploved in any of the mills in the 
 vicnnty of Hartford, is a resident of Poquonock, 
 and works at his trade in the Rainbow Paper Mill.' 
 He was born in n.ublin, Ireland. March 15. 1829, 
 a son of John and Julia (.Moran) Connor, who 
 spent their entire lives in that countrv. The father 
 was a successful contractor and became quite well- 
 to-do. Of his nine children onlv two came to the 
 United States: Patrick, the subject of this review; 
 and Miss Lizzie, residing in Hartford. 
 
 The early educational privileges of Mr. Connor 
 were such as the public schools' of his native land 
 afforded at that time, during his vouth working 
 for his father. Later he found emplovment in the 
 iron mines: but wages being low. he, 'in 1862, de- 
 cided to come to America. He sailed from Dublin 
 to Liverpool, and at die ktter place took passage 
 on the sailing vessel "Ascott," which was seven 
 weeks and three days in reaching the harbor of 
 X^ew York. His future wife made' one of the party 
 to which he belonged, and both proceeded at once 
 to Hartford county, as she had relatives living in 
 Rainbow. Our subject obtained work as a farm 
 hand Avith James Alderman, in East Granbv, and 
 in that way obtained a start in the X'ew World. 
 
 At Rainbow, Aug. 31, 1862. J\lr. Connor was 
 united in marriage with Miss Helen ^^'right. who 
 was born in County Dublin, Ireland, in 1828, a 
 daughter of Thomas Wright. Thev began their 
 domestic life in Rainbow, and their little home was 
 furnished with only what was absolutely necessary. 
 Soon after his marriage our subject obtained em- 
 ployment in what is now the Hartford Paper Mills, 
 at Rainbow, but two years later resumed farming. 
 Subsequently he worked for five years in the 
 
 Springfield Paper ^lill at Rainbow, at the end of 
 that time removing to Luzerne county, Penn., where 
 he was employed in a coal mine for a few months ; 
 but not liking the work, he returned to Connecti- 
 cut and again entered the paper mills, being identi- 
 fied with that industry continuously since. He 
 worked in the mill at Windsor Locks for a time, 
 and is now with the Rainbow Paper Mill at Rain- 
 bow. Almost his entire life has been devoted to 
 the manufacture of paper, and from the lowest po- 
 sition he has worked his way steadily upward until 
 he is now a skilled workman. He has resided 
 in Poquonock since 1889, and in 1890 bought his 
 present farm, which is operated by his son while he 
 retains his position in the mill. 
 
 The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Connor were 
 as follows: Katy, now the wife of John Dynon, 
 of Poquonock; Juila and Mary, who both died at 
 the age of twenty-four years ; Lizzie, who died 
 at the age of twenty; John, a papermaker of Rain- 
 bow, who is married and has three children, Nellie, 
 Lizzie and John : Maggie, who died at the age of 
 twenty-three years ; and Thomas F., who carries 
 on the home farm for his father. 
 
 I\[r. Connor is not identified with any political 
 organization, but votes for whom he believes ta 
 be the best man, and supported McKinley at the 
 last Presidential election. He and his family are 
 prominent members of St. Joseph's Catholic Church- 
 at Poquonock, and he suggested the name for the 
 parish. From boyhood he has been honest, indus- 
 trious and energetic, and the success that has come 
 to him is certainly well deserved. At one time he 
 was so unfortunate as to lost $500 in wages due 
 him, but in the main he has prospered and has al- 
 ways paid dollar for dollar. He has been ably 
 assisted in life by the counsel and assistance of 
 his good wife, and they have the respect and es- 
 teem of all who know them. Mr. Connor is ex- 
 ceedingly well preserved for one that has performed 
 the amount of hard work that he has done, is vig- 
 orous and robust, and very active for one of his 
 years. As the result of careful reading, he is a well 
 informed man, and is recognized as one of the 
 best citizens of his community. 
 
 CHARLES HEXRY TOLLES, a prominent 
 and representative farmer of Southington, was born 
 on West street, in that town, March 13, 1S45, and 
 is a son of Henry and Harriet M. (Hitchcock) 
 Tolles. 
 
 Daniel Tolles, the paternal grandfather, was of 
 Scotch descent, his father being a native of Scot- 
 land, and an early settler of Bethany, Conn. The 
 father of our subject was bv occupation a farmer 
 and sawyer. He married Charlotte, daughter of 
 Alfred and Rachel (Grannis) Hitchcock, and by 
 that union had two children : William Frank and 
 Horace A. After the death of his first wife he 
 married her sister, Harriet M., and to them were 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1199 
 
 also born two children: Charles H. and Fred- 
 erick D. 
 
 Our subject was reared in Southington, which 
 has always been his home, and farming has been 
 his chief vocation. On Oct. 12, 1870, he was united 
 in marriage with Miss Sarah E. Andrews, a daugh- 
 ter of William and Theodosia (Evans) Andrews, 
 of Southington, and they have a family of three 
 children: Olive O., Marshall H. and Louis G. 
 
 Fraternally Mr. ToUes affiliates with the F. & 
 A. M., Friendship Lodge, No. 33, Southington, 
 Conn., also with the Order of United American 
 Mechanics, and politically is identified with the Re- 
 publican party. He served as deputy sheriff of the 
 county for two years ; for a score of years has held 
 the office of constable; and for eleven years he had 
 charge of the roads in the western part of South- 
 ington. His public duties have .always been most 
 faithfully and conscientiously discharged, and he 
 merits and receives the confidence and respect of 
 all with whom he comes in contact. 
 
 FRANK J. ALFORD, an enterprising young 
 agriculturist, tobacco grower and dairyman of West 
 Simsbury, was born in that town (then known 
 as Canton) Sept. 20, 1864, and is a son of Emerson 
 Alford, of Plainville. 
 
 Mr. Alford belongs to an old Connecticut family, 
 and his great-grandfather, Samuel Alford, was born 
 in Granby, this county, but spent most of his life 
 in the town of Avon, where he followed the occupa- 
 tion of farming, and where he served as constable 
 for many years. He had a family of six children, 
 namely: Roxie, wife of Truman Woodford; 
 Dorinda, wife of James Blackwell ; Lucy, wife of 
 Henry Humphrey; Jane, wife of Henry Stock- 
 bridge; Daniel M. (grandfather of our subject); 
 and Samuel. 
 
 Daniel M. Alford was in early manhood a 
 trader in the South, and lived for several years in 
 Virginia. Returning to Hartford county. Conn., 
 he purchased a farm in Avon about 1829, and made 
 his home there until called from this life, in August, 
 1873, at the age of seventy-seven years. He mar- 
 ried Miss Elmira Mills, a daughter of Joel and 
 Anna (Russell) Mills, of Canton, this county, and 
 to this tmion the following children were born : 
 Rollin, who was killed by lightning in Illinois ; 
 Juliette, wife of Andrew Chidsey ; Emerson, father 
 of our subject; Ephraim A.; Louisa, wife of Al- 
 bert Andrews ; Lucy A., wife of Asa Hoskins ; Sarah 
 J., wife of Anthony Mallory ; and Franklin M. 
 
 Emerson Alford was born near Front Royal, 
 Va., Dec. 28, 1825, and was four years of age when 
 his parents returned to Connecticut ; he grew to 
 manhood in Avon, receiving a limited education in 
 the common schools. He remainea on his father's 
 farm until eighteen years of age, and then worked 
 as a farm hand for six months. Subsequently he 
 was employed as a peddler for a time, and at the 
 age of twenty located in Collinsville, where he 
 
 worked in an ax factory for ten years, being in- 
 spector in the grinding department the last five 
 years of the time. In i860 he purchased a farm 
 in Simsbury, which he successfully conducted un- 
 til, in 1888, he retired from active labor and moved 
 to New Britain. After residing there for two years 
 and a half he came, in 1890, to Plainville, and here 
 he has since made his home, living a retired life. 
 
 On April 23, 1851, Emerson Alford was united 
 in marriage with Miss Sarah M. Pratt, a daughter 
 of Jeremiah and Celia (Merriman) Pratt, of Green- 
 field, Mass., and to them were born five children, 
 namely: Clara J.; Ephraim B., deceased; Ralph 
 E. ; Frank J., more fully referred to farther on ; 
 and Leon P. Mr. Alford is one of the leading 
 and influential members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church of Plainville, and is now president of its 
 board of trustees. He is a stalwart supporter of 
 the Democratic party, and represented Simsbury 
 in the State Legislature in 1886-87. After a use- 
 ful and honorable career, he can well afford to lay 
 aside business cares and live in ease and retirement. 
 
 Frank J. Alford, our subject, received an ex- 
 cellent education in his younger days, beginning in 
 the district schools of West Simsbury, whence he 
 went to the Wilbraham Academy (Hampden coun- 
 ty, Mass.), and finally graduated from the East- 
 man Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in 
 1887. His first business experience was as a clerk 
 in a variety store at Winsted, Conn., for six months, 
 when he returned to his father's farm in West Sims- 
 bury, on which he was born. In 1888 his father re- 
 tired to Plainville, and young Frank took charge 
 of the farm of 275 acres, since when he has been 
 extensively engaged in tobacco growing, as well 
 as general farming, and he also conducts one of 
 the largest dairies in the town. His success in man- 
 aging these extensive industries has been a subject 
 of general commendation among his neighbors, and 
 everything went on smoothly with him for about 
 five years, when, in 1893, the old dwelling house, 
 in which he was born, was destroyed by fire. By 
 1897 Mr. Alford had completed a new dwelling 
 of modern architecture, containing all the latest 
 conveniences, and commanding a beautiful view. 
 Mr. Alford raises about five acres of tobacco yearly, 
 and has built a substantial shed for curing, etc., 
 98x30 feet ; this crop invariably brings the highest 
 market price. 
 
 In May, 1888, Mr. Alford was united in mar- 
 riage, at West Simsbury, with Miss Flora Hol- 
 comb, a native of the village, and a daughter of 
 Chauncey D. Holcomb, one of West Simsbury's 
 most respected citizens. Of this marriage one child, 
 Stuart Emerson, born in 1897, is the sole offspring. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Alford are members of the North 
 Canton M. E. Church, and fraternally he is a mem- 
 ber of St. Mark's Lodge, No. 36, F. & A. M., at 
 Simsbury; he has also been a member of the 
 Grange. In politics he is a Democrat, and has 
 held the office of assessor of Simsbury five years. 
 
1200 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 CHARLES H. FAULKNER possesses that 
 versatility of character which adapts itself readily 
 to the changing circumstances of the material 
 world, and that singleness of purpose and unfail- 
 ing energy which, combined with the above trait, 
 almost insure a successful career. Those men 
 achieve most who begin life at the bottom of the lad- 
 der, and in this class must be included Charles H. 
 Faulkner. 
 
 Mr. Faulkner's father, John Faulkner, a gar- 
 dener of County Leitrim, Ireland, left his native 
 land during the distressful times that followed the 
 great famine. He was born about 1816, and crossed 
 the oceain in 1848. After living for a short time 
 in \'ermont, he removed to Xew Haven, antl in that 
 vicinity followed his occupation of gardening, also 
 acting as sexton of the Catholic cemetery and of 
 Evergreen cemeter}', in New Haven, for several 
 years. During the early part of the Civil war he 
 enlisted in the 9th Conn. \'. L His wife, however, 
 secured his release because he had passed the age 
 hmit, but he enlisted again, in 1862, becoming a 
 member of Company \, 27th Conn. \'. L, for nine 
 months service. He was at Fredericksburg, and 
 was taken prisoner and confined in Andersonville 
 for a period of nine days. Coming back to Xew 
 Haven he then continued gardening until his death, 
 in 1887. John Faulkner was a man of unusual 
 force of character. He arrived in America without 
 friends, and without knowledge of the customs and 
 manners of the people, but he was intelligent and 
 soon acquired a fund of practical information that 
 was invaluable in his new environment. In poli- 
 tics he was a Democrat, and he was a member of 
 the Catholic Church. He married Ann Dority, who 
 bore him the following named children : Patrick 
 J., who lives in New Haven; Michael C, who en- 
 listed during the Civil war, and is now deceased; 
 John W., a tinsmith of New Haven ; Mary A., wife 
 of James Kelly; Charles H., subject of this sketch; 
 Catharine, wife of Harry Deering, of Brooklyn, N. 
 Y. ; Nellie E., widow of Edward L. Cahill, of New 
 Haven, son of Col. Cahill, of the Ninth Connecti- 
 cut Volunteers; and Frank H., a resident of New 
 Haven. The mother died in 1874. 
 
 Charles H. Faulkner was born at New Haven 
 March 14, 1853, receiving his education there in the 
 Washington street school, and when he completed 
 the course, at the age of fourteen years, he began 
 life for himself as an errand boy for a merchant 
 tailor. Remaining in that capacity about a year he 
 entered the employ of Mr. Seward, in the manu- 
 facture of carriage hardware, and remained with 
 him about four and a half years. Then coming to 
 New Britain Mr. Faulkner was for six months an 
 employe of the Judd factory, on West Main street, 
 next entering the shops of the Stanley Rule & 
 Level Co., and for two years working on rules for 
 Mr. Thornton. He was now twent5'-two years 
 of age. He had had considerable experience in the 
 shops, and decided to assume greater responsibility, 
 
 and accordingly he took a contract for stripping 
 boxwood and ivory for the farmers in making the 
 rules. It was a fortunate acquisition, for Mr. 
 Faulkner made it a complete success to himself 
 financially. He held the contract for twenty years, 
 and at the expiration of that time had seven men 
 working for him. 
 
 Having passed the earlier part of his life in 
 working with dead material, Mr. Faulkner sought 
 a more active life among his fellow men. He wished 
 to deal with men, not matter. In 1894 he left the 
 shops where he had passed so many years and pros- 
 pered, and with courage opened for himself an in- 
 surance and real estate office, devoting especial at- 
 tention to real estate transactions. The new busi- 
 ness venture has proved eminently successful. Mr. 
 Faulkner has ably demonstrated the possession of 
 those qualities which attract and win among men. 
 He has also been prominent in politics, holding 
 allegiance to the Democratic party. In the fall of 
 1889 he was appointed by the selectmen town col- 
 lector, and for four years was annually re-appointed. 
 In the fall of 1894 and again in 1895 he was elected 
 assessor. In April, 1896, he was elected city col- 
 lector for two years, he and R. J. Vance being the 
 only candidates on the Democratic ticket who were 
 elected. A more remarkable political success was 
 scored in the spring of 1898, when he was re-elected 
 to the same office by a majority of thirteen votes, 
 being the only Democrat elected, the majorities of 
 the Republican candidates ranging from 200 to 
 800; in 1900 he was re-elected with ninety-seven 
 plurality. In 1874 Mr. Faulkner enlisted in Com- 
 pany D, First Regiment, Connecticut National 
 Guard. In 1877 he was elected second lieutenant, 
 and he resigned in 1878. In 1890 he was appointed 
 inspector of rifle practice under Col. Erickson, taking 
 the rank of captain of militia, and holding the posi- 
 tion for two years. He is a member of St. Mary's 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 ^Ir. Faulkner married Margaret A. Coogan, 
 daughter of John Coogan, of New Britain, and to 
 this union have been born six children : Frank 
 W., Jennie C, Charles H., Jr., Agnes, Margarette 
 R. and Beatrice. 
 
 JOSIAH HUBBARD MERRIMAN, a lead- 
 ing and successful horticulturist of Southington, 
 was born on the farm where he now resides Dec. 
 15, 1834, a son of Anson and Fanny (Hubbard) 
 Merriman. 
 
 Anson Merriman, a progressive farmer of his 
 day, was born Oct. 21, 1786, and was married, Oct. 
 31, 1810, to Miss Jerusha, daughter of Joel Bacon, 
 of Westfield, Conn. By that union he had six 
 children : Mary M., wife of Giles O. Griswold ; 
 Joel B. ; Anson, Jr. ; Jerusha, wife of Wallace A. 
 Judd ; Lucetta, wife of Alfred Claflin ; and Lydia 
 B., wife of Chester Claflin. The mother of these 
 children died March 18, 1822, and Mr. Merriman 
 was again married, Sept. 18, 1822, his second union 
 
-4AAAyPi/C^i/t< 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1201 
 
 being with Fanny Hubbard, of Sandisfield, Mass., 
 by whom he also had six children : Julia ; Lewis ; 
 Julia (2), who first married Elisha M. Stoddard, 
 after his death Ira Becket, and later became the 
 wife of John Meserole, whom she survives ; Alfred ; 
 Josiah H. ; and Ann E., wife of Josiah Howell. 
 
 Chauncey Merriman, the paternal grandfather of 
 our subject, was married, Feb. 13, 1777, to Sarah 
 Ives. He was a son of John Merriman, who was 
 born in Wallingford, Conn., Sept. 12, 1728, and 
 died in Southington April 13, 1801. The father of 
 the latter. Rev. John Merriman, who was born 
 Oct. 16,, 1691, was a Baptist minister, and was 
 among the first to join that denomination in Wall- 
 ingford, in 1729. In 1738 he became pastor of the 
 Baptist Church at that place, and in 1750 retired 
 and removed to Southington, where he died Feb. 
 17, 1784. He was married, Feb. 24, 1726, to 
 Jemima Wilcox, and lived in the Marion District 
 of Southington. His father, John Merriman, was 
 born in New Haven in February, 1659, and was 
 married, March 28, 1683, to Hannah Lines. After 
 her death he was again married, Nov. 20, 1690, his 
 second union being with Elizabeth Peck. He was 
 a son of Nathaniel Merriman, a native of England, 
 and an early settler of New Haven. In October, 
 1665, he was confirmed sergeant of the New Haven 
 train-band by the General Court. In 1672 he re- 
 moved to Wallingford, and was there confirmed 
 lieutenant of the train-band and captain of dra- 
 goons of New Haven county, Nov. i, 1675. He 
 signed the plantation covenant at New Haven in 
 1639, and in 1673 was on a committee to fix the 
 boundary between Wallmgford and other towns, be- 
 ing a surveyor. He was deputy to the General Court 
 from Wallingford a number of times, and died there 
 Feb. 13, 1694, at the age of eighty years. 
 
 Our subject was reared on the old homestead in 
 Southington, where he lias always made his home, 
 though he spent several years in Illinois and Da- 
 kota. He has ever taken a deep interest in horti- 
 culture, and now has a fine peach orchard covering 
 sixty acres, and containing one thousand trees, and 
 an apple orchard — the largest in the State — of seven 
 hundred trees, principally of the Baldwin variety. 
 He has made a deep and careful study of horticult- 
 ure, and is thoroughly conversant with everything 
 ^ pertaining to the business. He assisted in organiz- 
 ing the Connecticut Pomological Society, of which 
 he is now president, succeeding J. H. Hale ; he 
 wrote the constitution and by-laws of the New Eng- 
 land Tobacco Growers Association, and was its first 
 treasurer. 
 
 On April 22, 1859, ^I'"- Merriman was united in 
 marriage with Miss Anna E. Curtiss, a daughter of 
 Solomon and Sarah (Cook) Curtiss, of Plainville, 
 Conn., and to them have been born three children: 
 Florence E., who married Thomas Martin ; Anna 
 Louise; and Sarah, wife of Elijah Rogers. Only 
 the last named is now living. Mr. Merriman is an 
 active and prominent member of the First Congre- 
 
 76 
 
 gational Church of Southington, of which he is a 
 deacon and teacher in the Sunday-school. He also 
 holds membership in Friendship Lodge, No. 33, 
 F. & A. M.; Unity Council, No. 11, O. U. A. M.; 
 and Union Grange, No. 25, of which he is chaplain. 
 Politically he is a Republican, and gives his support 
 to every enterprise which he believes calculated to 
 advance the moral, intellectual or material welfare 
 of his town and county. 
 
 JOSEPH R. ENSIGN, who, since 1891, has 
 been identified with the Ensign, Bickford & Co., fuse 
 manufacturers, at Simsbury, was born in that vil- 
 lage Nov. 24, 1868, and is the only son of Ralph 
 H. and Susan (Toy) Ensign, whose biography is 
 given in full on another page of this volume. He 
 was prepared for college in the Hartford Public 
 High school, from which he graduated in 1885, and 
 then matriculated at Yale College, from which 
 he graduated with the class of 1889. The degree 
 of Master of Arts was conferred upon him by his 
 Alma Mater in 1891, after a year's study. In 1894 
 he visited Europe. 
 
 On April 5, 1894, Mr. Ensign married Miss 
 Mary J. Phelps, who was born in Simsbury Nov. 
 13, 1865, youngest daughter of Jeffery O. and Jane 
 (Humphrey) Phelps, of whom a full sketch is also 
 given elsewhere. Mrs. Ensign was educated at 
 Miss Haines' School, Woodside, in Hartford, and 
 at Miss Annie Brown's school. Fifth avenue, New 
 York. Mr. and Mrs. Ensign attend the Methodist 
 Church, and Mr. Ensign holds membership with 
 the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity, his college so- 
 ciety. 
 
 HERBERT L. MILLS. Few young men have 
 shown as much business sagacity as this well- 
 known hardware dealer of New Britain, and in his 
 success may be seen the promise of a bright future. 
 As a representative of one of the leading families of 
 the State he ably maintains its reputation for good 
 citizenship, his energies being so far devoted, how- 
 ever, to his business interests. 
 
 Mr. Mills was born Feb. 26, 1868, in Middle- 
 field, Middlesex Co., Conn., son of Hon. Lyman 
 A. Mills, now lieutenant-governor of Connecticut. 
 The late Rev. Charles L. Mills, our subject's grand- 
 father, was for many years an honored minister of 
 the Congregational Church at Andover, Mass. He 
 married Elizabeth Lyman, sister of the late David 
 Lyman (president of the Air Line road), and a 
 descendant of a well-known family. 
 
 Hon. Lyman A. Mills was born Feb. 25, 1841, 
 in Middlefield, then a part of Middletown, and still 
 makes his home there. He received a public-school 
 education only, but from an early age has mani- 
 fested a keenness of intellect which could master 
 the practical problems of life unaided. As a young 
 man he became an official in the Metropolitan Man- 
 ufacturing Co., at Middlefield, not long after its 
 organization in i860, and from that time he has- 
 
\-20-2 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 been prominent in the management of their ex- 
 tensive interests. Until recentl}' he was the man- 
 ager of the Middlefield Plant of the American 
 Wringer Company, and at present he has charge 
 of the gim-siglit business of the late William Ly- 
 man. He also has the care and management of 
 various property and estate interests, and is a di- 
 rector of the American Wringer Co., a trustee of 
 the Middletown Savings Hank, president of the 
 Levi E. Coe Liljrarv .Association, and holds other 
 positions of trust ami responsibility. He has held 
 important town offices by unanimous vote, and in 
 1895 he was a member of the State Legislature, 
 serving on the committee on Finance. Aside from 
 his other business pursuits Mr. Mills has been 
 widely known for thirty years as a successful 
 breeder of Jersey cattle, and in all the lines in 
 which his numerous activities have taken him he 
 has won an enviable name for honoralile dealings, 
 as well as for exceptional business capacity. 
 
 Our subject was prepared for college at the 
 Wilson grammar school, and Dr. Holbrook's Mili- 
 tary College, at Briar Cliff, below Peekskill, X. 
 Y. In 1887 he entered Yale College, where he re- 
 mained one year, taking the academic course, being 
 ranked throughout his stay in the first of the five 
 divisions into which the students were organized. 
 He has always been interested in athletics, and wdiile 
 in the preparatory schools was a member of a base- 
 ball nine and captain of a foot-ball team. On leav- 
 ing Yale, in 18S9, he became a clerk for the Orr 
 &■ Lockett Hardware Co., the largest retailers in 
 that line in Chicago, and in 1892, having gained 
 a thorough kno\\ledge of the business, he pur- 
 chased what was left of the stock of C. D. Lewis, 
 cf New Britain, who was then closing out. As the 
 business was at a very low ebb Mr. Mills had to 
 build it up practically from the start, but he has 
 succeeded in establishing a fine trade. Politically 
 he is a Republican, but has never been actively 
 interested in party managment. In 1892 he mar- 
 ried Miss Bessie D. Kendall, daughter of the late 
 J. P. Kendall, of Chicago, and one child. Cath- 
 erine Lyman, brightens their home. Mr. Mills is 
 a member of the New Britain Club, the Gentlemen's 
 Driving Club, and a Knight of the Ancient Essenic 
 Order, of Hartford. 
 
 HENRY C. GUSSAL\N. It has often been 
 remarked that where energy-, determination and in- 
 tellectual force are present, the emigrant to Amer- 
 ica or his sons often make strides upward in the 
 scale of individual influence and renown with sur- 
 prising rapidity. 
 
 Henry C. Gussman is a native of New Britain, 
 the city in which he now as a prominent lawyer 
 wields a potent influence, but his father came 
 over from the Fatherland, and in his youth our sub- 
 ject imbibed to a certain degree the air and spirit 
 of his German forefathers. The transplantation 
 upon American soil was stimulative, and in the 
 
 personality of Mr. Gussman has developed a char- 
 acter manly, aggressive, public-spirited and able, one 
 which needs must come to the front in American 
 life. Mr. Gussman adopted law as his profession. 
 He has signally succeeded. He has won a wide 
 and commanding practice. His professional edu- 
 cation was largely the result of his own personal 
 efforts. The self-reliance which he thus won has 
 ever since proved most helpful in his advancement. 
 The largeness of his views has not kept him, how- 
 ever, within the borders of practice only. In that 
 liroader field of politics and of public affairs, to 
 which law naturally leads, he has already become 
 eminent. and influential. 
 
 Mr. Gussman was born in New Britain Jan. 
 28, 1857, son of Frederick and Mary (Blume) 
 Gussman. The father was born near Hanover, 
 (jermany, in the year 1828. He was well educated 
 in his native land, and possessing a taste and a 
 talent for music he was educated in that profession. 
 Migrating to America, he located at New Britain, 
 where he became the leader of Gussman's band, 
 consisting of eighteen pieces, four of the musicians 
 being Gussmans, brothers of the leader. The fa- 
 ther of our subject was also a composer of music, 
 and both as teacher and composer enjoyed a wide 
 reputation throughout the State. He was married 
 in New York City to Miss Mary Blume, who was 
 of German extraction, her parents coming from 
 near Hanover. To Frederick and Mary Gussman 
 were born four children : Frederick, who died Jan. 
 6, 1895, aged forty-one years ; Louise ; Henry C, 
 our subject; and Edward, a clerk for D. M. Reed 
 & Co., of Bridgeport, Conn., who died May 5, 1898. 
 The father died Dec. 30, 1862. 
 
 Flenry C. Gussman received his early educa- 
 tion in the public schools of New Britain under 
 Prof. Peck. He then attended Prof. Camp's pre- 
 paratory school, completing the three-years' course 
 in two years, and graduating in 1879. In June 
 of that year he passed his examination for the 
 Scientific Department of Yale College, but remamed 
 out of school for one year. He then entered the 
 Law Department, graduating June 28, 1882. Mr. 
 Gussman worked his own way largely through both 
 preparatory school and college. With his diploma 
 gained, he entered the law office of Hon. Henry C. 
 Robinson, of Hartford, where he remained a year. 
 Then opening an office of his own in New Britain, 
 he for a year combined the duties of law practice 
 and reportorial work on the New Britain Herald; 
 abandoning journalism, he then devoted his entire 
 attention to the practice of law, in which he has 
 been the architect of his own fortune, winning no 
 business through partnership or influence, but by 
 his own individual merit. He has acquired a prac- 
 tice which is second to none in the city, and in his 
 practice he has been universally successful. 
 
 Mr. Gussman has also been active and influential 
 in politics as a lifelong Republican. For three 
 years he was assistant city clerk. In 1888 he was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1203 
 
 appointed prosecuting agent by the county commis- 
 sioners, liolding the office four years, or until there 
 was a poHtical change in the commissionership. In 
 1891 he was appointed clerk of the city and of the 
 police courts by the late Valentine B. Chamberlain, 
 holding the position until the death of the latter, 
 in 1893. For two years he was assistant city at- 
 torney. In 1894 he was appointed, by the city 
 council, city attorney and also prosecuting attorney 
 of the city, a position which he held for two years 
 at that time, and is now again filling. For four 
 years Mr. Gussman has served as chairman of the 
 Republican town committee, and by reason of his 
 German . influence he was largely instrumental in 
 changing the politics of his city. 
 
 Mr. Gussman is quite active in the social and 
 fraternal orders of New Britain. He is a prominent 
 member of Phoenix Lodge, I. O. O. F. ; a member 
 of the Grand Lodge, and was one of its appointive 
 officers under Grand Master Marigold, of Bridge- 
 port ; of the Daughters of Rebekah ; of Comstock 
 Encampment, and of the Uniformed Rank, Canton 
 Foster, Patriarchs Militant; he is an active mem-. 
 ber of the K. of P., and the Knights of Khorassan; 
 also of Mattabessett Tribe, Independent Order of 
 Red Men. He is a prominent member of the 
 Gentlemen's Driving & Wheel Club. In business 
 affiairs he is director and secretary of the New 
 Britain Telephone Co., and of the Hartford Chem- 
 ical Co. He has always taken a deep interest in 
 the public affairs of the city, non-political as wejl as 
 political, is an orator of reputation, incisive and 
 convincing in his public utterances, and with a 
 quick and mastering grasp of whatever issues come 
 under his notice professionally or as a citizen. 
 
 Mr. Gussman was married, Sept. 25, 1884, to 
 Miss Lizzie Baldwin Boardman, of Meriden, daugh- 
 ter of Albert R. and Ellen (Morgan) Boardman. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Gussman has been born one daugh- 
 ter, Leah Boardman. 
 
 F. L. FORD. Sound judgment, combined with 
 fine ability in mechanical lines, has enabled the 
 subject of this biography, a well-known resident 
 of Windsor, to attain a substantial success in life, 
 and he now holds the responsible position of fore- 
 man of the carpenter shop of Pratt & Whitney, 
 in Hartford. He was born in Hartford March 25, 
 1857, a son of Levi and Nettie (Utley) Ford, the 
 former a native of New York State, the latter of 
 Blue Hills, Conn., and a representative of one of 
 the old and highly-respected families of that place. 
 The father was engaged in mercantile business 
 for many years, but is now living retired in Green- 
 liield, Mass. Our subject is the elder of the two 
 children of the family, the other being Alice, who 
 ■died unmarried in Greenfield, Mass., May 24, 1889. 
 
 Reared in Hartford, F. L. Ford attended the 
 Four Corners school in that city during the winter 
 •season, and through the summer months assisted his 
 father. At the age of seventeen he commenced 
 
 learning the carpenter's trade under the direction 
 of F. L. Burnham, and during his apprenticeship 
 received his board and fifty dollars the first year, 
 $100 the second year, and$i50 the third year. On at- 
 taining his majority he was a full-fledged mechanic, 
 but as times were hard and the best joiners re- 
 ceived only one dollar and a half per day he con- 
 cluded to seek other employment, and for one year 
 htld a position in a sewing-machine shop in Or- 
 ange, Mass. From there he went to Brightwood, 
 Mass., near Springfield, and was engaged m build- 
 ing passenger cars for a short time, after which he 
 returned to Hartford, and for some time worked 
 for Mail Bros., contractors, t^or over ten years 
 he has now been with Pratt & Whitney, which is 
 in itself evidence of his mechanical skill and trust- 
 worthiness. He was assistant foreman for some 
 time, and was then promoted to the position of 
 foreman, which he is now so capably and satis- 
 factorily filling. In 1889 he built his present ex- 
 cellent home at the corner of Bloomfield avenue 
 and Spring street, Windsor, and he has also erected 
 a house on Loomis avenue and another on Brown 
 street, which he rents. 
 
 On April 30, 1889,^ in the Fourth Congrega- 
 tional Church, Hartford, Mr. Ford was united in 
 marriage with Miss Matilda Schaal, a daughter of 
 Carl and Matilda Louisa (Doebel) Schaal. Her fa- 
 ther came to the United States in 1869, and now lives 
 in Portland, Conn. Mrs. Ford was born in Witten- 
 berg, Germany, Nov. 6, 1868, and on Aug. 12, 
 1883, started alone for America on the steamer 
 "Moesel," which sailed from Bremen, but was 
 wrecked on icebergs after being out only a few 
 days, and broke to pieces. Over 450 lives were lost, 
 but Mrs. Ford and her traveling companion, a 
 girl friend, were rescued, and taken back to Eng- 
 land in a row-boat. Over two days were spent 
 in that little craft before they were safely landed 
 on the coast of England. They were then taken to 
 Liverpool, and on the steamer "Hermann" pro- 
 ceeded to Baltimore, which they reached Sept. 15. 
 They went to New York by a special train, which 
 was wrecked, forty-five persons being killed. This 
 was indeed a thrilling experience for Mrs. Ford, 
 and one which she will always remember. Until 
 her marriage she supported herself, and she has 
 proved an excellent wife and faithful helpmeet to 
 our subject. They have an interesting family of 
 three children : Alice M., Frederick L. and Ernest 
 A. Mr. and Mrs. Ford are both earnest members 
 of the Congregational Church, and are held in high 
 regard by all who know them. He is a regular 
 voter, and a supporter of the Republican party. 
 Industrious, enterprising and energetic, his success 
 in life is all due to his own well-directed efforts and 
 the assistance of his wife. 
 
 ARTHUR EDWIN COLVIN, a prominent 
 citizen of Hazardville, was born in that village Jan. 
 27, 1850, a son of William and Charlotte (Rose); 
 
1204 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Colvin, who emigrated from Hounslow, England, to 
 America in 1846, and settled in Hazardville, Conn., 
 where the father was for twelve years foreman of 
 the "black hands" department of the Hazard Powder 
 Co. He was killed by an explosion in the mills 
 Sept. 13, 1858. His children, eight in number, 
 were as follows : William S., who is president of 
 the Hazard Powder Co.; Frederick J.; Eliza J., 
 Mrs. William Northrop; Annie M., Mrs. George 
 Smith ; Arthur E. ; Adeline R., Mrs. George Lough- 
 lin; Emma R., Mrs. Albert Prentice; and Henry A. 
 
 Arthur Edwin Colvin, our subject, was reared 
 to manhood in Hazardville, where he has always 
 since resided. He received a limited education in 
 the common schools, for at the early age of eleven 
 years he began his business career in the joiner shop 
 of the Plazard Powder Co. For several years he 
 was in the packing and canister departments, and 
 since 1873 has held the responsible position of ship- 
 ping clerk for the company, with the exception of 
 two years, having been in the employ of the Powder 
 Company since 1861. 
 
 Mr. Colvin was married on Nov. 3, 1873, to 
 Louise J., daughter of Willis and Catherine (Rib- 
 bles) Hare, of Hazardville, and they have four chil- 
 dren : Clifford W., Arthur W., Edward R., and 
 Rena M. Mr. Colvin is a leading member of the 
 M. E. Church of Hazardville, and is one of the trus- 
 tees of same, and is a member of the Sunday school. 
 Politically he is a Republican. 
 
 LUCIUS SAAIUEL BISHOP ranks high 
 among the wealthiest and most honored citizens of 
 Avon town, Hartford county, and though he has 
 lived partially retired for the past fifteen years he 
 still takes an active part in the business life of this 
 section, attending personally to the management of 
 his large interests. The Bishop family is one of the 
 oldest in the countv, and its members have ahvays 
 been classed among the most intelligent and re- 
 spected citizens, taking an active and honorable part 
 in local public affairs, and making an unblemished 
 record as a business man of integrity and unques- 
 tioned ability. 
 
 Our subject comes of good old Revolutionary 
 stock, being a grandson of Thomas F. Bishop, who 
 was a lifelong resident of Farmington, now Avon 
 town. When but fifteen years old he entered the 
 service of his country as a soldier in the Revolu- 
 tion, serving for three years in that struggle, and 
 he took part in the siege of Cornwallis at York- 
 town. Thomas F. Bishop was a large land owner, 
 and engaged extensively in dairy farming and stock 
 raising, which he followed principally all his life.' 
 He was a strong Whig in political sentiment, and 
 though he never sought or held office he wielded a 
 marked influence for good in his neighborhood as 
 a citizen whose opinion was highly valued. He 
 always commanded deep respect wherever he was 
 known, and bore a high reputation for honor and 
 integrity in all his dealings with his fellowmen. 
 
 Mr. Bishop was married, in Avon, to Miss Lucy 
 Foot, and they became the parents of eleven chil- 
 dren, namely: Stella, who married Chester Wood- 
 ford ; Benjamin, who married Betsey Woodford ; 
 Delia, who became the wife of George Woodford ; 
 Samuel, father of our subject; Jacob, who married 
 Diana Frisby; Jeffrey; Lucy, wife of Hiram An- 
 drews; Thomas N., who married Sally Andrews; 
 Geder Pitt; Adeline, who married Albert Bissell; 
 and Joseph, who married Zerviah Woodford. The 
 parents of this family both passed away in 1851, 
 the father at the ripe old age of eighty-eight years, 
 and their remains rest in Cider Brook cemetery. 
 In religious connection they were members of the 
 Congregational Church, and they took a zealous in- 
 terest in the advancement of the Kingdom and all 
 religious enterprises. 
 
 Samuel Bishop was born March 20, 1797, on 
 the old Bishop homestead, and received his ed- 
 ucation in the district schools of Avon town. He 
 grew to manhood on the farm of his uncle, Samuel 
 Bishop, and after his death became the owner of the 
 place, purchasing part of the property, where he 
 made his home until his removal to Avon Center 
 in 1868. He made numerous improvements on 
 the farm after it came into his possession, and was 
 successfully engaged in general agriculture, dairy- 
 ing, stock raising and tobacco culture. He was. 
 prominent in the public as well as the business life 
 of the town, held the office of selectman and various 
 other positions of trust in the locality, and in 1836, 
 and once afterward, represented Avon in the State 
 Legislature, distinguishing himself in every incum- 
 bency for trustworthiness and capacity of a high 
 order. No citizen in this region was held in higher 
 esteem or commanded a greater degree of respect 
 from the community in general, and his high char- 
 ' acter and consistent moral life gave him a strong 
 influence among his townsmen, which was always ex- 
 erted for the public good. Originally a Whig in 
 political affiliation, he became a Republican when 
 the party changed, and was a stanch supporter of 
 the principles of the organization. His life was 
 an exemplary one in every respect, and he sus- 
 tained the reputation which has always been borne 
 by the members of this family for good citizenship 
 and uprightness. Mr. Bishop was married, in Avon, 
 to Miss Minerva Woodford, who was born April 
 20, 1798, in that town, a daughter of Selah and 
 Sarah (Hutchinson) Woodford, and six children 
 were born to this union : Julia Ann, who became 
 the wife of Charles A. Stowe, of Avon ; Lucius S. ; 
 Sarah M., widow of Daniel A. Miller, living in 
 Bristol ; Daniel Franklin, deceased ; Fitch Leverett ; 
 and Mary E., widow of George Phelps, of Avon. 
 The father of this family passed away March 25, 
 1879, at Avon Center, where he always lived after 
 his removal from the farm. The mother followed 
 him to the grave March 123, 1884, and they sleep 
 their last sleep in Avon cemetery. She was a 
 good Christian woman, devoted to her home and 
 
^/-^<^^J^t^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1205 
 
 family, and with her husband was active in the 
 work of the Congregational Church, of which they 
 were members for years. He held the office of 
 deacon. 
 
 Lucius S. Bishop was born Oct. 22, 1822, at 
 the old Bishop homestead in Cider Brook, and dur- 
 ing his boyhood and youth attended the district 
 and high schools of Avon and West Avon, enjoy- 
 ing good educational advantages. He was reared 
 to farming pursuits, obtaining his first knowledge 
 of agriculture under his father's tuition, and when 
 old enough hiring out to neighboring farmers un- 
 til 1849,, when he engaged in that calling on his 
 own account. He acquired a part of the Joseph 
 Bishop farm on Cider brook, and he continued to 
 occupy that place until 1884, meanwhile enlarging 
 operations until he found himself extensively en- 
 gaged in tobacco raising, and dealing in dairy stock, 
 in addition to general agricultural pursuits. During 
 those years he was a tireless worker, and his well- 
 directed industry, combined with habits of thrift, 
 economy and good judgment in investing his 
 means, brought liim in time a handsome fortune. 
 Mr. Bishop deserves to be called a self-made man, 
 and he. is a citizen of. whom Avon may well be 
 proud, for he has advanced to a high standing 
 among her foremost business men by dint of hard 
 work and unceasing effort, and occupies a sub- 
 stantial position among the eminently successful men 
 ot Hartford county. 
 
 In 1884 Mr. Bishop abandoned active work and 
 purchased the home in Avon Center where he has 
 ever since resided, devoting his time and attention 
 to the management of his numerous interests. . He 
 is conservative in financial matters, and enjoys the 
 reputation of being a business man of unquestioned 
 ability, foresight and the highest integrity. He is 
 genial in disposition, and temperate in his habits, 
 in this respect resembling all the members of the 
 Bishop family, who have always been noted for 
 sociability and high moral worth in the county 
 with whose interests they have so long been identi- 
 fied. Our subject's success is indeed remarkable, 
 for he has risen from the bottom round of the lad- 
 der to an enviable position in business circles, and 
 his life is an example to any who complain of lack 
 of principal with which to commence operations, 
 for his only capital was his knowledge of farm 
 work and a pair of willing hands, coupled with 
 perseverance and a determination which never 
 yielded to misfortune. Mr. Bishop has always at- 
 tended closely to his private affairs, and has taken 
 little interest in public affairs beyond casting his 
 vote and giving a public-spirited support to matters 
 relating to the improvement or general welfare of 
 his town. He was originally a Whig in political 
 sentiment, casting his first Presidential vote for 
 Henry Clay in 1844, and when the party merged 
 into the Republican organization he gave his sup- 
 port to the candidates of same, voting for Mc- 
 
 Kinley in 1896. He is liberal in religious opinion, 
 and supports no particular denomination. 
 
 In December, 1849, i" Avon, Mr. Bishop was 
 married to Miss Sarah A. Woodford, a native of 
 that town, born in 18 19, daughter of Chester and 
 sister of Chester R. Woodford. She was an in- 
 telligent and highly-respected woman, a devout 
 member of the Congregational Church, and lived 
 a consistent Christian life, and her death, which 
 occurred June 8, 1887, was widely mourned through- 
 out Avon town.- She was laid to rest in Avon cem- 
 etery. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop had two children — 
 Steward S., who now conducts the home farm, and 
 Stella M., who lives with her father. The son mar- 
 ried Miss Elizabeth Leggett, and they have had a 
 family of five children : Frank, Bertie (who died 
 young), Florence Elizabeth, Stella M. and Sarah 
 Viola. 
 
 JOHN RICHARDSON BROWN, superintend- 
 ent of Gordon Brothers Mills, at Hazardville, was 
 born Jan. 30, 1858, in Selkirk, Scotland, a son of 
 Joseph and Helen (Richardson) Brown. 
 
 The paternal grandparents of our subject were 
 John and Margaret (Roberts) Brown, the former a 
 wool-spinner by trade. She was a sister of the 
 founder of the celebrated firm of George Roberts & 
 Co., manufacturers of Scotch tweeds. Mr. Brown's 
 maternal grandparents, James and Agnes Richard- 
 son, were farming people near Selkirk, occupying 
 the historic residence at Foulshiels, where Mungo 
 Park, the celebrated African traveler, was born. 
 
 Joseph Brown, father of our subject, a clergyman 
 of the Presbyterian Church, came to America in 
 1 88 1, and is now a Synodical missionary of the 
 State of Wisconsin, having charge of the missionary 
 work in that State. 
 
 John Richardson Brown was reared in his native 
 town, and received a high-school education, gradu- 
 ating in 1 87 1. He then entered a wool store, learned 
 the wool business, and passed a term of service, be- 
 ing also engaged in the carding department. In 
 1879 he came to America and located in Philadel- 
 phia, where he was employed as second hand in the 
 woolen factory of James Dalton & Brother, serving 
 them in that capacity two years, and was also for 
 two years employed in a similar capacity with H. B. 
 Rinehart, of the same city. Mr. Brown later took 
 charge of the carding and spinning in the German- 
 town (Penn.) Hosiery Mills (Conyers, Button & 
 Co.), left them to superintend the George Stead 
 Manufacturing Co., manufacturers of woolen yarns, 
 and in 1886 located at Hazardville, Hartford Co., 
 Conn., where he has since held his present position 
 with Gordon Brothers. 
 
 On Dec. 28, 1877, Mr. Brown married Robina, 
 daughter of George and Margaret (Sanderson) 
 Douglas, of Selkirk, Scotland. She has borne him 
 six children : Margaret, Helen, Joseph, Ruby, Mabel 
 and Agnes. In politics Mr. Brown is a Republican. 
 He is an adherent of the M. E. Church, and among 
 
1206 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 fraternal orders is an active member of Doric Lodge, 
 No. 94, F. & A. M., and Washington Chapier, ^o. 
 30, R. A. iM. 
 
 S. JOHN AIILLS, a prominent farmer and 
 brick manufacturer, town of Windsor, was born 
 there March 6, 1824, a son of Samuel W. and Can- 
 dace (Allynj Mills, the latter of whom was born 
 in the house where our subject now lives. 
 
 Deacon Elijah and Hulda (Drake) Mills, his 
 paternal grandparents, had a family of eight chil- 
 dren : Oliver, who was killed in boyhood by the 
 kick of a horse, while leading it from the stable ; 
 Alathina, who married Frederick Mills, of Bloom- 
 field, Conn., and died in the Black river country, 
 N. Y. ; Hulda, who married (first) Horace Turner, 
 of Hartford, and (second) Roswell Marsh, of New 
 Hartford; Samuel W., father of our subject; Laura, 
 who married Ebenezer Lattimer, a Alethodist Epis- 
 copal minister ; Oliver W., who is represented else- 
 where ; Timothy D., a very ingenious man and nat- 
 ural mechanic, who lived in Windsor; and Julia, who 
 married (first) Trumbull Hubbard and (second) 
 Henry Goodwin, and died in Hartford. Deacon Mills 
 was a farmer and brickmaker by occupation. He was 
 born in Bloomfield, and when a young man came to 
 Windsor, where he worked one year for Daniel 
 Talcott for $96. It was here that he met his future 
 wife. Although he began life for himself empty- 
 handed, he was able to leave his family in comfort- 
 able circumstances. He was killed in 183 1, at the 
 age of seventy years. While hauling a load of 
 wood, from his wood lot, the load fell off and the 
 wheel passed over him. His remains were interred 
 in Windsor. He was a man of ordinary build, was 
 a Federalist in politics, and was one of the prominent 
 citizens of his community. He was a devout Chris- 
 tian, a man of the strictest integrity, and was every- 
 where known as Deacon Mills, having held that 
 office in the Congregational Church at Windsor, of 
 which he was an active member. 
 
 Samuel W. Mills, our subject's father, was born 
 in March, 1794, was educated in the common schools 
 of his da\', and, being the eldest son who reached 
 years of maturity, he remained at home, assisting 
 in the work of the farm, until his marriage. He 
 wedded Candace Alh-n, who was born in October, 
 1800, and was the third in order of birth in a family 
 of six daughters, whose parents were Fitz John and 
 Deborah (Phelps) Allyn. Mr. Mills and his wife 
 began their domestic life in the big brick house 
 above Wilson's Station, which he and his father 
 built, and there he carried on farming and brick- 
 making until called from this life, at -the age of 
 sixty years, while his wife died at the age of eighty. 
 In politics he was first a Whig and later a Republi- 
 can, and most acceptably filled the office of justice 
 of the peace, though never an office seeker. Re- 
 ligiously he was a faithful member of the Congre- 
 gational Church at Windsor. Our subject is the 
 eldest in his family of three children; (2) Frederick 
 
 W., a civil engineer, went West, and has not been 
 heard from for thirty years; and (3) Cecelia is the 
 wife of David H. Decker, of New York. 
 
 Reared as a farmer boy, S. John Mills always 
 remained at home with the exception of two winters 
 spent in Amherst, Mass. He attended the district 
 schools until thirteen, one of his first teachers being 
 Miss Laura Barbor, and he further pursued his 
 studies in the schools at Hartford. He was offered 
 better educational advantages, but refused a college 
 course, and remained at home with his father until 
 his marriage. In April, 1852, he wedded Miss Olive 
 E. Drake, who was born in Windsor, Dec. 20, 1831, 
 a daughter of David and Eunice (Eggleston) 
 Drake. The following children were born of this 
 union : Frank V., an ordained minister, was sent by 
 the Presbyterian board as a missionary to China, 
 where he remained seven years. He is married, has 
 one child, Florence B., and now resides in Windsor. 
 Charles W. died in infancy. Myra C, now at home, 
 is a graduate of the Hartford high school, has en- 
 gaged in teaching, and has also been employed as a 
 stenographer. Samuel D. died in infancy, and 
 Samuel J., Jr., was scalded to death when but a 
 child. The wife and mother departed this l;fe Nov. 
 19, 1895, and was laid to rest in the Windsor 
 cemetery. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Mills located on his pres- 
 ent farm, which was the old homestead of his ma- 
 ternal grandfather, one of the prominent and influ- 
 ential citizens of that community. Our subject has 
 always engaged in farming, for several years was 
 also interested in the milk business, selling that prod- 
 uct at wholesale, and is now interested in the manu- 
 facture of brick. Although past his three-score 
 years and ten he is still hale and hearty, but has re- 
 tired from active labor. Being quite a reader, he 
 is well posted on the leading questions and issues 
 of the day, and uses his right of franchise in support 
 of the Republican party and its principles. He has 
 served his fellow citizens in the capacity of select- 
 man, and also as tax collector. Religiously he is a 
 faithful member of the Congregational Church at 
 Windsor. 
 
 CHARLES CURTIS BRONSON, the genial 
 and popular landlord of the "Hotel Bronson," New 
 Britain, was born at Elizabeth, N. J., Nov. 30, 1857, 
 a son of Joseph Bronson, and a grandson of Horace 
 Bronson, both natives of Watertown, Litchfield Co., 
 Conn. His grandfather was a farmer, and his fa- 
 ther a mechanic. The latter served in the Civil war, 
 and died Nov. 30, 1861, at the eai-ly age of twenty- 
 six years. He married Sarah Elizabeth Denman, 
 by whom he had two children : Charles C. ; and 
 Helen Louise, who married Louis Sweiger, of 
 Waterbury. Mrs. Sarah E. Bronson passed away 
 on Christmas Day, 1883. 
 
 Charles C. Bronson completed his schooling at 
 the age of fourteen years, having attended the dis- 
 trict schools of Watertown, and, for three years, an 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. \ 
 
 1207 
 
 academy at the same place. On leaving school he 
 at once began a life of hard work, on a farm and in 
 factories, and at any other line of employment which 
 presented itself. In 1879 he came to New Britain, 
 where he obtained a situation in the P. & F. Corbin 
 factory, displaying such marked mechanical apti- 
 tude that within six months he was given a contract. 
 He continued to carry on this line of work until 
 May 30, 1894, executing several contracts, from 
 time to time, in the till-lock department, sometimes 
 employing as many as a dozen men. In the year 
 last named he went from New Britain to Stamford, 
 where he took charge of the trunk-lock department 
 of the Yale Company. This branch of the corpor- 
 ation's business had just been started, and its prog- 
 ress was so slow that Mr. Bronson, after a year's, 
 experience, determined to embark in a new line of 
 business. Returning to New Britain, on June 3, 
 189s, he entered into partnership with D. Hawley 
 Marion, under the firm name of Marion & Bronson, 
 for the purpose of conducting a hotel, the house, 
 known as the "Columbia Hotel, ' being successful 
 from the day of its opening. On Nov. b, 1898, Mr. 
 Bronson purchased his partner's interest, and from 
 that time conducted the business alone. On June 
 2, 1900, he gave up the "Hotel Columbia" and reno- 
 vated the "Strickland House," making a first-class 
 hotel of same, and has named it "Hotel Bronson;" 
 he took this hostelry Sept. i, 1900. His life has 
 been marked with singular success from the mo- 
 ment of his entering upon an active career in early 
 youth. As a mechanic he was a skilled workman, 
 and as a hotel proprietor he has ever been a genial 
 and popular host. 
 
 On National and State issues jNIr. Bronson has 
 always sympathized with the Republican party, but 
 in local affairs has been thoroughly independent. 
 He is a member of the I. O. O. F., the Knights of 
 Pythias, and the Independent Order of Foresters. 
 As a Pythian he has achieved considerable promi- 
 nence, having passed through the highest degree, 
 and served as delegate and alternate at the sessions 
 of the Grand Lodge. He married Victoria, daugh- 
 ter of Nicholas Rowett, of Litchfield county. 
 
 GEORGE BRIDGE, a well-known and honored 
 citizen of Hazardville, was born in Milton, County 
 of Kent, England, Nov. 7, 1830. 
 
 John and Mary (Prickett) Bridge, his parents, 
 brought their family to America in 1842, and located 
 in Enfield, Hartford county, where the father was 
 employed as packer in the Hazard Powder Mills for 
 about three years, and for the following four years 
 was engaged in the fish and yeast business in 
 Thompsonville. About 1850 he erected the store in 
 Hazardville -now occupied b}^ E. C. Allen, and en- 
 gaged in general merchandising there until 1870, 
 when he retired from business to enjoy a well- 
 earned rest. He was born July 3, 1806, and died 
 April 21, 1873; his wife was born Sept. 10, 1802, 
 and died Jan. 15, 1871. Of their nine children. 
 
 seven reached 3'ears of maturity : George ; John W. ; 
 Ruth, wife of Rev. Henry D. Adams ; Amos D. ; 
 Ephraim; Ebenezer; and Stephen. The paternal 
 grandfather of our subject, Robert Bridge, was a 
 fish and oyster man of Milton, England ; he married 
 Elizabeth Down. His father was John Bridge, a 
 manufacturer of marine supplies at ]\Iilton, who 
 married Anna Gallahawk. John was a son of 
 Stephen Bridge, who started the marine supply busi- 
 ness later carried on by his son. Stephen died in 
 1782; John, in 1803; and Robert, in 1849. Our 
 subject's maternal grandfather, Thomas Prickett, 
 of Faversham, England, married Elizabeth Smith. 
 He was a farmer by occupation, and a son of 
 Thomas Prickett, a shoemaker by trade, who died 
 in Dover, England, in 1781. 
 
 George Bridge was a lad of twelve years when 
 he crossed the Atlantic with his parents and took 
 up his residence in Hazardville in 1842. He received 
 a limited education in the common schools. In the 
 spring of 1842, immediately after his arrival in 
 Hazardville, he entered the employ of the Hazard 
 Powder Co., and has remained with them contin- 
 uously ever since, a period of fifty-seven years. For 
 several years he was foreman of the cooper shop, 
 and it is needless to say that his duties have always 
 been most faithful, capably performed, as his long 
 retention with the company plainly indicates that 
 fact. On Aug. 25, 1862, Mr. Bridge enlisted in 
 Company F, 22nd Conn. \ . I., and participated in 
 the battle of Suffolk, Va., and several skirmishes, 
 being honorably discharged July 7, 1863. 
 
 Mr. Bridge was married. May 10, 1855, to ]\Iiss 
 Jeannette Law, daughter of James and Jane 
 (Crawford) Law, of Thompsonville, and five chil- 
 dren were born of this union : Mary, wife of Arthur 
 W. Gowdy ; John L. ; Henry J. ; Elizabeth, wife 
 of Herbert A. Abbe; and George A., who is a grad- 
 uate of Yale college, of the class of '98, and is now 
 studying medicine at the College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons, New York City. Mr. Bridge and his 
 wife are sincere Christians, and faithful members of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church. Socially he is af- 
 filiated with Samuel Brown Post, No. 56, G. A. R., 
 of Thompsonville, and in politics is identified with 
 the Republican party. He has held the office of 
 justice of the peace and grand juror several terms, 
 and was a member of the Enfield school committee 
 for eight years. His loyalty as a citizen and his de- 
 votion to the interests of his adopted country are 
 above question, and the community is fortunate that 
 numbers him among its members. 
 
 HARRISON HENRY AUSTIN, who is ex- 
 tensively engaged in the cultivation of tobacco in 
 Suffield, and is also a director in the Tobacco Grow- 
 ers Association, was born in Suffield Nov. 28, 1840, 
 and is a member of the remarkable Austin family, a 
 sketch of whom will be found in full detail in the 
 biography of Thomas C. Austin, elsewhere. 
 
 Moses Austin, grandfather of Harrison H., was 
 
1208 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 born in South street, Suffield, and was a son of Na- 
 thaniel Austin, a hero of the Revohitionary war. 
 Moses Austin was one of the best-known citizens of 
 his section of the county, was the owner of a large 
 tract of land, on which he made many essential and 
 substantial improvements, and followed agriculture 
 on a large scale throughout life. He married Caro- 
 line Smith, of Vermont, and they became the parents 
 of six children : Seymour, Homer, Samuel, Albert, 
 Almira (who was married to a Mr. Hamilton), 
 and Caroline (who first became the wife of a Mr. 
 Olds, and later married William Lighthall). The 
 parents died in Suffield, in the faith of the Baptist 
 Church. 
 
 Samuel Austin, father of Harrison H. Austin, 
 was born in South street, Suffield, in 1808. He 
 was largely self-educated, and was a very keen ob- 
 server of men and their actions. He began his 
 business life as a manufacturer of cigars, and later 
 became a grower and manufacturer of tobacco on a 
 large scale: in conjunction with his cigar making, 
 at one time employing over 150 hands in carrying 
 on his industries. He began life as a poor bo_\', but 
 through his inexhaustive energy accumulated a 
 handsome competency, and a fame that extended to 
 all parts of the New England States. In politics he 
 was originally a Whig, on the formation of the Re- 
 publican party becoming one of its stanchest sup- 
 porters, and was its delegate to the National Con- 
 vention which nominated .\braham Lincoln for the 
 Presidency of the United States in i860. He never 
 sought office at the hands of the Republicans, but, 
 on the contrary, they constantly sought his counsel, 
 and his home was the resort of many of the most 
 eminent members of his party, including Horace 
 Greeley and Gen. Hawley, the present United States 
 senator from Connecticut. Among his business po- 
 sitions he held that of a director in the Farmers & 
 jMerchants Bank of Hartford. He married ISIiss 
 Amoretta Gillett, a native of Suffield, Conn., who 
 was a daughter of Calvin and Thankful (Warner) 
 Gillett, and a granddaughter of Corporal Nathaniel 
 \\'arner, who served through the Revolutionary 
 war. To this marriage were born eight children : 
 Calvin, deceased at the age of twenty-four, was 
 married three months before his death to Rosella 
 Haden, of Southwick, Mass., who survives him; 
 William; Louise, deceased wife of Dr. Isl. G. New- 
 ton, of Suffield ; Charles, who died young ; Harrison 
 H., our subject; Phebe, widow of Robert E. Pin- 
 ney, of Suffield; Emma, who died at the age of 
 four years ; and one who died in infancy. The re- 
 mains of Samuel Austin, who was one of the most 
 remarkable men of the State, now repose beside 
 those of his late adorable wife in Suffield cemetery, 
 his death having occurred March 12, 1876, hers on 
 Sept. 12, 1 881. 
 
 Harrison H. Austin was educated in the district 
 school and the Connecticut Literary Institute at 
 Suffield, and at Prof. Dudley's Seminary, North- 
 ampton, INIass., and began his business life with his 
 
 father as a traveling salesman ; later he became his 
 father's partner, and was next associated in the 
 tobacco business with his brother-in-law. Dr. New- 
 ton, until 1876, since which date he has devoted his 
 time chiefly to tobacco dealing, his tract of 200 acres 
 being now under the superintendency of his son, 
 Ernest N. 
 
 Mr. Austin was united in matrimony, Nov. 30, 
 1865, in Heartwellville, Vt., with Miss Hattie 
 Sears Thayer, a native of Berkshire county, Mass., 
 and a daughter of William and Hepsabah (Sears) 
 Thayer, the former a native of Buckland, Mass. 
 Her maternal grandfather, Arsella Sears, and great- 
 grandfather, Jonathan Sears, were both gallant sol- 
 diers of the Revolutionary army. Mrs. Austin was 
 educated in the Connecticut Literary Institute of 
 Suffield, is a lady of more than ordinary intelligence 
 and refinement, is a gifted conversationalist, and 
 holds the honor of being the only woman that ever 
 served in a public capacity in Suffield. She was 
 first appointed a member of the school board in 
 South street district, and later was elected to the 
 office, in which she has served with tact and fidelity 
 for three years. She is well-read generally and 
 keeps fully posted on current events. To Mr. and 
 ]\Irs. Austin the following named children have 
 been born : Samuel H., who, at the time of his death, 
 at the age of fifteen years, was a student in the 
 Connecticut Literary Institute; Grace, who is the 
 wife of Howard A. Standish, of Hartford ; Clarence 
 W., who was educated in the public schools and is 
 a graduate of the Connecticut Literary Institute of 
 Suffield, and a graduate of Yale College, class of 
 '92, was for three years professor of Latin in the 
 Connecticut Literary Institute, was a young man of 
 acknowledged intelligence and ability, and died in 
 Hartford Feb. 8, 1895, under an operation for ap- 
 pendicitis ; Amoretta Gillett, who died in infancy ; 
 Ernest Newton, born August 11, 1874, who is 
 now in charge of the homestead, was married in 1896 
 to Miss Adeline Cowing, daughter of Joel Cowing, 
 and had one child that died in infancy ; and Charles 
 Calvin, born June 4, 1876, who is at present attend- 
 ing the Connecticut Literary Institute. 
 
 Harrison H. Austin has been a director in the 
 Tobacco Growers Association since 1882, and is a 
 man of marked executive ability. In politics he is 
 a Republican, and in religion is a member of the 
 Baptist Church. He was one of the charter mem- 
 bers of the O. U. A. M., and has always been a 
 leader in advancing all measures designed for the 
 promotion of the public welfare. He and his ac- 
 complished wife, with their family, stand high in 
 the social circles of Suffield, and none enjoy a more 
 exalted position in the esteem of the public at large 
 than they. 
 
 COL. ALFRED LOOMIS THOMPSON. It 
 . would be difficult to say in which of several prom- 
 inent fields — social, business and professional — the 
 subject of this sketch is best known. Some men 
 
V-uJU. 
 
 '(M' 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1209 
 
 become identified with one department of human 
 activity, and beyond its sphere of action are un- 
 known. It has been the happy fate of Col. Thomp- 
 son to have won the recognition of liis fellow men 
 in a career that is well rounded, that mingles the 
 business with the social element, that has displayed 
 types of ability at once rare and delightful. Mili- 
 tary affairs have always possessed a fascination for 
 him. Too young to enlist in the army during the 
 Civil war, he as a boy followed with keenest interest 
 the varied fortunes of arms during that memorable 
 struggle, and later became prominent as a mili- 
 tary instructor and as an officer of the National 
 Guard. 'Gifted with a personal presence and man- 
 ner that attracted and inspired, he has filled many 
 positions of honor and commanaing importance 
 among the fraternal orders. Successful in busi- 
 ness, he has been honored by election to public of- 
 fice. He is now city clerk of New Britain. 
 
 Col. Thompson was born in Portland, Conn., 
 Dec. 5, 1851, son of John and Mariette (Case) 
 Thompson, the former a native of Vernon, and the 
 latter of Portland, Conn. His earliest known an- 
 cestor on his mother's side was John Hollister, who 
 came from England and settled in Wethersfield, 
 Conn., in 1642. His earliest ancestor on his fa- 
 ther's side was Hezekiah Bissell, who was one of 
 the founders of the town of Windsor, Conn., early 
 in the eighteenth century. His ancestors figured 
 conspicuously in the Revolutionary war. 
 
 Alfred L. Thompson attended the public schools 
 of Portland and New Berlin, completing his edu- 
 cation in the high school of the latter city. In 1865 
 his father removed from Portland to New Britain, 
 and for two years thereafter our subject assisted 
 him on the farm and attended the schools during 
 the winter. He then became identified with the 
 mginufacturing interests of the city. Entering the 
 works of the Stanley Co. in the fall of 1867, he re- 
 mained until the following spring, and then became 
 an employe of the Basket Co. Here he remained 
 until the fall of 1869, when he entered the high 
 school. In the spring of 1870 he entered the em- 
 ploy of the Stanley Rule & Level Co., remaining 
 until the spring of 1871, when he was employed 
 by the James Minoe Paper Box Manufacturing Co. ; 
 he soon after re-entered the employ of the Stanley 
 Co., where he remained as contractor until 1892. 
 During that year he became military instructor in 
 the academy at Cheshire, Conn. Col. Thompson 
 then engaged in the coal business for three years, 
 from 1893 to 1896. In the latter year he was elected 
 to his present position as city clerk of New Britain. 
 
 In 1884 Col. Thompson was commissioned cap- 
 tain of Company E, 1st Regiment, Connecticut Na- 
 tional Guard, and continued to fill that military of- 
 fice until 1890, when he was elected lieutenant-col- 
 onel of the regiment, from which position he re- 
 tired in the spring of 1898. Col. Thompson is 
 prominently connected with many of the fraternal 
 orders and social organizations of the city. An 
 
 enumeration of the many offices he has filled among 
 the orders will not here be attempted, but the prom- 
 inent standing he holds in the social phase of life 
 is amply attested by the following partial list: He 
 was chief templar of Lincoln Loage, No. 14, I. O. 
 G. T., in 1872; W. C. T., Phoenix Temple, T. of 
 H. and Temperance, in 1876; G. W. T., Grand 
 Temple of Connecticut, T. of H. and T., in 1882 
 and 1887; B. Councilor, New Britain Council, No. 
 8, O. U. A. M., in 1886; State Councilor of Con- 
 necticut, O. U. A. M., from October, 1897, to May, 
 1899; B. C. of i^ady Putnam Council, No. 4, 
 Daughters of Liberty, in 1888; Noble Grand of 
 Phoenix Lodge, No. 52, I. O. O. F., in 1893 ; C. 
 C. of St. Elmo Lodge, No. 21, K. P., in 1892; M. 
 W. of A. W. Harvey Lodge, No. 49, A. O. U. W., 
 in 1892 ; Governor of Trumbull Council, No. 49, 
 P. F., in 1895 ; F. C. of New Britam Council, No. 
 10, C. F., in 1895 ; B. A. of New Britain Conclave, 
 No. 138, I. O. H., in 1896; Guard in Washington 
 Commanderv. No. i, K. T., in 1895 ; J. D. in Cen- 
 tennial Lodge, No. 118, F. & A. M., in 1897; P. 
 P. of New Britain Council, A. B. A., in 1897; 
 Adjutant-general L. L. of the O. 'U. A. M., in 
 1896-1900, and is now Major-general of said organi- 
 zation. 
 
 Col. Thompson was married, June 11, 1873, to 
 Mary S. Packard, who died in 1884. 
 
 HENRY M. ADAMS, superintendent of the 
 Hartford County Temporary Home for Dependent 
 Children, at Warehouse Point, has proved himself 
 well-fitted for that important post. A long career 
 as a successful educator has given him a practical 
 knowledge of childhood's needs and developed a 
 rare power of discipline by kind yet firm methods, 
 and the Board of County Commissioners could not 
 easily have made a more satisfactory appointment. 
 As a veteran of the Civil war Mr. Adams has an 
 especial claim upon the regard of his fellow citi- 
 zens, and he bears a constant reminder of the hard- 
 ships of service in the lasting effects of a wound re- 
 ceived at Antietam. 
 
 Mr. Adams was born Aug. 18, 1840, at Suffield, 
 Mass., a son of James B. and Julia A. (Peck) 
 Adams. When he was only one year old his parents 
 removed to North Canaan, Conn., and nine years 
 later they settled upon a farm near Broad Brook, 
 this county, where he grew to manhood. At the 
 age of twenty he began teaching, but in 1862 he en- 
 listed, becoming a private in Company G, i6th 
 Conn. Vol. Inf., being mustered into service at Hart- 
 ford. His first engagement was at Antietam, Sept. 
 17, 1862, and was, indeed, a "baptism of fire," a 
 minie ball striking him and causing a compound 
 fracture of the right thigh. The wound was re- 
 ceived at 4 p. M., and for forty-three hours he lay 
 upon the battlefield. On being found by the hos- 
 pital corps he was taken to the field hospital at 
 Sharpsburg, Md., and remained there until the fol- 
 lowing spring, when he was removed to a hospital 
 
1210 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 at Big Springs, Md. On April i, 1863, he received 
 an honorable discharge at Hagcrstown, j\Id., and 
 soon after his return to Broad Brook he resumed his 
 work as a teacher. He was thus employed in Broad 
 Brook and vicinity until 1S71, and later he taught 
 one year each at Portland, Meriden, and East 
 Hampton ; two years at W'estville, New Haven 
 county ; five years in Canaan and two in Rockville, 
 being recalled to Canaan, where he spent six years 
 more in successful work in the school room. His 
 health began to fail, his old wound giving him much 
 suffering, and he was obliged to rest for a time, on 
 his recovery engaging in journalistic work, cor- 
 responding for various newspapers and the Associ- 
 ated Press. In 1896 he was appointed to his present 
 position, as head of the Children's Home at Ware- 
 house Point, where he has since resided. 
 
 On Dec. 7, 1871, Mr. Adams married Mrs. Aba- 
 lena H. Allen, a native of Southwick, Mass., and 
 both are prominent in social life and in the work of 
 the Congregational Church at Windsor Locks. 
 In politics Mr. Adams is a strong Republican and 
 has held several town offices, for many years he has 
 been a member of J. H. Convers Post, No. 67, G. A. 
 R., at \\'indsor Locks, of which he is the present 
 commander. 
 
 ENOS E. STOW. Honored and respected by 
 all, there is no man in Southington who occupies 
 a more important position in the business world 
 than the gentleman whose name introduces this re- 
 view, and who was for eleven years president of the 
 Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co. Integrity, activity and 
 energy have been the crowning points of his suc- 
 cess, and his connection with the important indus- 
 try of which he was at the head has been of de- 
 cided advantage to this section of Hartford county, 
 promoting its material welfare in no slight degree. 
 
 Mr. Stow was born in Southington March 16, 
 
 1824, and belongs to an old Connecticut family. 
 His great-grandfather, Solomon Sto\v, of Middle- 
 town, was born in 1706, and wedded Mary, daugh- 
 ter of Daniel and Margaret Belding. Their son, 
 Ebenezer, the grandfather of our subject, was born 
 June 16, 1753, and was married, March 15, 1775, 
 to Ruth Bulkley, a sister of Gersham Bulkley. Eb- 
 enezer Stow died Jan. 14, 1830, his wife Dec. 15, 
 
 1825. Their children were Emily, Margaret, Ur- 
 sula, Roxey (wife of Zenas Hubbard), Enos, Solo- 
 mon, and Rutn (wife of Harry Robinson). 
 
 Solomon Stow, the father of Enos E., was born 
 in Rocky Hill, Hartford county, Sept. 14, 1793, and 
 was married, Oct. 17, 1816, to Eunice Shepard, 
 daughter of Samuel and Thankful (Mallory) Shep- 
 ard. In 1823 he came to Southington and embarked 
 in business as a cabinetmaker with his brother-in- 
 law, Mark Lane, five years later turning his atten- 
 tion to the manufacture of clocks. In 1834 he built 
 a dam and shop on the site partially covered by the 
 bridge over the Ouinnipiack, and engaged in the 
 manufacture of machines for Seth Peck & Co. In 
 
 1847 he became interested in the tin machine busi- 
 ness, in company with his son, Enos, and Hial 
 Grannis, Sr., and in 1849 '^^ associated with him 
 his two sons, Enos and Orson, under the firm name 
 of Solomon Stow & Sons. In 1852 the works were 
 removed to Plantsville, and a joint-stock company 
 was formed, known as the S. Stow Manufacturing 
 Co. 'Mr. Stow d-.ed in 1868, and in 1870 the Peck- 
 Smith JManufacturing Co., the S. Stow JNIanufactur- 
 ing Co. and the Roys & Wilcox Co. were consoli- 
 dated. Later the Wilcox & Treadway Co., of Cleve- 
 land, Ohio, was absorbed, and to-day it is the larg- 
 est concern of its kind in the world. Our subject 
 was chosen president of the company in 1887, and 
 filled that position until Aug. i, 1899, when he re- 
 signed. The success of the company under his 
 management attests his eminent and pronounced 
 ability as a business man. 
 
 Air. Stow was one of the incorporators of the 
 Southington Water Co., of which he is now presi- 
 dent, and is also president of the ooard of fire com- 
 missioners, and one of the directors of the South- 
 ington National Bank. He is a prominent member 
 of the Second Congregational Church of Southing- 
 ton, of wdiich he is a deacon, and he has been elected 
 to various town offices. Pie is a Republican in polit- 
 ical sentiment. He is a courteous gentleman, and, 
 above all, wherever he is found, whether in public 
 or private life, his integrity is above question and 
 his honor above reproach. Southington owes much 
 to him, and numbers him among her valued citi- 
 zens. 
 
 Enos E. Stow has been twice married, his first 
 wife being Miss Matilda Newell, and for his second 
 he wedded Miss Alary A. Ames, a daughter of 
 Anion and Rossannah (Hart) Ames, of Southing- 
 ton. By the last marriage he has three children liv- 
 ing, namely : Mary Eunice, wife of Hiram Roberts ; 
 Frederick Enos, superintendent of the Peck, Stow 
 & Wilcox Co.'s edge-tool works (he married Jen- 
 nie Cowles, of Southington) ; and Bessie Sarah. 
 
 EDWIN W. KELLOGG, one of the successful 
 tobacco growers of the town of Windsor, is a thor- 
 oughly up-to-date and scientific farmer — one who 
 makes a study of his chosen calling. Tobacco is 
 the main crop of the locality, and its culture re- 
 quires scientific farming. Our subject is much more 
 of a reader than the average farmer, and as a re- 
 sult he is a man of broad general information. 
 
 Mr. Kellogg was born in East Winsted, Conn., 
 Nov. 9, 1856, and is the only child of Col. E. S. 
 Kellogg, a gallant officer of the Civil war, who gave 
 up his life in the service of his country. He was a 
 native of Glastonbury, Conn., born Nov. 27, 1824, 
 and a son of Capt. Elisha and Maria (Stratton) 
 Kellogg, who made their home throughout life in 
 Glastonbury. The grandfather was a captain of 
 coasting vessels, and lived to a ripe old age. His 
 wife survived him for a time, but both now sleep 
 in the cemetery at Glastonbury. In their family 
 
d^iylJ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1211 
 
 were the following children : Gustavus, who died in 
 Glastonbury, was a tool-maker by trade, but the lat- 
 ter years of his life were devoted to farming; Col. 
 E. S. was the second son; Ruth married Martin 
 Hollister, and lives in New York State ; Maria mar- 
 ried Thaddeus Wells, and died in Glastonbury; 
 Eliza is the wife of B. Post, of Andover ; Laura, 
 who died in Chicago, first married a Mr. Wood- 
 bridge in New York State, and later a Dr. Brown ; 
 and Lucy married a Mr. Rockwood of New York 
 State. 
 
 Until fourteen years of age Col. Kellogg re- 
 mained 3.t home, and attended the schools of his 
 native town, but on reaching that age he went to 
 New London, Conn., and shipped on a whaling ves- 
 sel. He continued to follow the sea until he was 
 twenty, sailed over much of the globe, and at one 
 time was shipwrecked on the Australian coast. On 
 abandoning the water, in 1849, he went to Cali- 
 fornia, but did not have any success. He then 
 learned tool-making with his brother in Massachu- 
 setts, and continued to follow that trade until the 
 opening of the war of the Rebellion, being em- 
 ployed at that time at Birmingham (now Derby), 
 Conn. He was the first man to enlist in the first 
 three-years company that went from this State, be- 
 coming a member of Company B, 3rd Conn. V. I., 
 which was later changed to the 1st Connecticut 
 Heavy Artillery. He was mustered in as captain 
 of Company B ; was promoted to the rank of major 
 in the ist Artillery, and was sent home as lieut.- 
 colonel when the 19th Conn. V. I. was formed; but 
 when it was changed to the 2nd Heavy Artillery he 
 was given the rank of colonel. He was killed at 
 the battle of Cold Harbor, June i, 1864, and his 
 remains were brought back to Winsted, Conn., for 
 interment. He was a well built man, and a good 
 mechanic ; he was a Democrat, but never a politi- 
 cian ; socially he was a member of the Masonic Fra- 
 ternity; and religiously was an Episcopalian. 
 
 Col. Kellogg left a widow and one son, our sub- 
 ject. He had married, Oct. 23, 1853, Miss Polly 
 G. Brown, who was born in Winsted, Dec. 14, 
 1828, a daughter of Orin and Nancy (Bishop) 
 Brown. Her father, a native of Thomaston, Conn., 
 was a shoemaker by trade, but spent the last years 
 of his active life in farming. He died in Winsted 
 at the age of eighty-four years, his wife at about the 
 age of forty. In their family were nine children, 
 three of whom died in childhood, the others being 
 Hannah, who died at the age of twenty ; Hiram, a 
 skilled mechanic and pioneer in edge-tool making, 
 who died in Riverton, Conn., in 1897 ; Nancy, who 
 died in her 'teens ; Betsey, who married George Kin- 
 ney, and died in Winsted ; Polly G., mother of our 
 subject; and Bradley O., a farmer of East Otis, 
 Mass. Mrs. Kellogg was educated in the public 
 schools and academy at Winsted, and for three 
 years successfully engaged in teaching school, re- 
 ceiving a salary of $1 per week, and boarding round 
 among the scholars. After her husband's death she 
 
 returned to Winsted, where she resided for several 
 years, and then went to Glastonbury, making that 
 place her home until 1872, when, as her son wished 
 to engage in farming, she bought the place in 
 Windsor town where she now lives. She is an in- 
 tellectual and highly respected lady, and is an earn- 
 est member of the Episcopal Church. 
 
 As soon as old enough Edwin W. Kellogg en- 
 tered the public schools of Winsted, where he pur- 
 sued his studies until ten years old, at which time 
 he and his mother removed to Glastonbury, his ed- 
 ucation being completed in the academies at that 
 place and South Glastonbury. On account of ill 
 health he was compelled to leave school at the age 
 of sixteen. As a boy he worked as a farm hand, 
 and it was his desire to devote his life to agricul- 
 tural pursuits. At one time he had an attack of 
 "western fever," and to satisfy this his mother pur- 
 chased the farm in Windsor town which he has since 
 so successfully managed. He is now one of the 
 progressive and substantial farmers of the com- 
 munity, thoroughly conversant with every depart- 
 ment of farm work. In politics he is a Democrat, 
 and, while not an office seeker or a politician from 
 selfish motives, he is one of the counsellors and ad- 
 visers of the party in his section, and has always 
 worked for the party's success, his influence being 
 used for his friends. Socially he is a member of the 
 Masonic lodge at Windsor. Mr. Kellogg married 
 Miss Jennie Pinney, of Bloomfield, and they have 
 had two children : Hattie A., and Elisha S. 
 
 ARCHIBALD WELLINGTON OSTER- 
 HOUDT, a respected grower of tobacco and gen- 
 eral farmer of Suffield, was born in Dutchess county, 
 N Y., Sept. 2, 1850, and on the mother's side is 
 descended from one of the good old Knickerbocker 
 families that first ruled the Empire State ; pater- 
 nally he is also of Dutch descent. 
 
 James Osterhoudt, father of subject, was 
 born in Lackawanna county, Penn., and was a son 
 of Jonathan Osterhoudt, a sea-faring man. James 
 Osterhoudt grew to manhood in his native county, 
 but was still a young man when he went to Red 
 Hook, Dutchess Co., N. Y., where he engaged in 
 dairying and general farming, and where he mar- 
 ried Miss Sarah Lowen, a native of the county, and 
 also of Dutch descent. To their union were born 
 five children, in the following order : John, deceased ; 
 Phebe, wife of Charles R. Hoffman, of Red Hook; 
 Archibald W., our subject; Frank, of White Plains, 
 N. Y. ; and Henry, of Gloversville, N. Y. The fa- 
 ther and mother both died in the faith of the Epis- 
 sopal Church, and were interred in the cemetery at 
 Red Hook. 
 
 Archibald W. Osterhoudt was educated in the 
 public schools of his native town, and also at St. 
 Stephen's College, Allendale, N. Y. At the age 
 of fourteen years he left the latter institution and 
 shipped on board the "Golden Horn," of Prince 
 Edward Island, as an ordinary seaman, and for 
 
1212 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 three years led a sea-faring life, visiting many sea- 
 ports of the world. On his return to Red Hook, he 
 resided on the homestead until 1876, when he came 
 to Connecticut and rented land at Sinisbury, Hart- 
 ford county, and engaged in dairying, tobacco cul- 
 ture and general farming for upward of seventeen 
 years. By this time, through his industry and fru- 
 gal habits, he had acquired some capital, and in 
 1893 came to Suffield and bought two tracts of land, 
 comprising fifty-six acres, from Capt. Hamilton, 
 and engaged in the customary culture of tobacco 
 and general farming. He made many improve- 
 ments on the place, remodeled the dwelling, and 
 has now as fine a farm as any of its size in the county. 
 
 Mr. Osterhoudt was united in marriage, at Red 
 Hook, N. Y., in 1875, with Miss Lula \'an Derbilt, 
 a native of Saugerties, Ulster Co., X. Y., and a 
 daughter of James and Kate (Longerdyke) \'an- 
 Derbilt, and a granddaughter of Peter Van Derbilt, 
 all of true Holland descent. To this marriage have 
 been born two children : George \'., who was edu- 
 cated in his native town of Simsbury at the public 
 schools, and also at the Sufiield Literary Institute 
 and the Business College at Hartford, died Oct. 30, 
 1899; Mary A., also a native of Simsbury, is at- 
 tending high school in Windsor Locks, and is quite 
 an artist in crayon and water colors, considering her 
 age. The family attend the Episcopal Church, 
 and of this church Air. Osterhoudt was a vestry- 
 man at Tariffville for several years. He is an 
 honored member of St. Alark's Lodge, No. 39, F. 
 & A. M., at Granby, and is a temperate, industri- 
 ous and frugal man, and a useful citizen. In poli- 
 tics he is a Republican, but has never been an office 
 seeker. 
 
 Mrs. Osterhoudt is a lady of culture and refine- 
 ment, and is noted for her housekeeping accom- 
 plishments, as well as her literary tastes, and her 
 home gives every evidence of her fitness, in all 
 things to be the wife of a deserving husband. 
 
 HON. FITCH LEVERETT BISHOP, who 
 passed away Jan. 29, 1900, was for many years a 
 representative citizen of Avon town, Hartford 
 county," where he was prominent as a well-to-do 
 farmer and member of the tobacco firm of F. Rip- 
 ley & Co., the most extensive dealers in their line 
 along the Farmington river. He was born Oct. 
 5, 1828, in that town, on the homestead of the 
 Bishop family at Cider Brook. 
 
 Mr. Bishop was a descendant of one of the old- 
 est families of Hartford county, whose members 
 have always been identified with the best in social 
 and public life, taking an active part in the ad- 
 vancement of local interests and distinguishing 
 themselves for public spirit and intelligence as citi- 
 zens and in the conduct of their private affairs. 
 His grandfather, Thomas F. Bishop, was a lifelong 
 resident of Avon, which during his early years was 
 included in Farmington town. When but fifteen 
 years old he entered the service of his country as 
 
 a soldier in the Revolution, serving for three years 
 in that struggle, and lie took part in the siege of 
 Cornwallis at Yorktown. Thomas F. Bishop was 
 a large land owner and engaged extensively in dairy 
 farming and stock raising, which he followed prin- 
 cipally all his life. He was a strong Whig in po- 
 litical sentiment, and though he never sought or 
 held office he wielded a marked influence for good 
 in the neighborhood as a citizen whose opinion was 
 highly valued. He always commanded, deep respect 
 wherever he was known, and bore a high reputation 
 for honor and integrity in all his dealings with his 
 fellow men. Mr. Bishop was married, in Avon, to 
 Miss Lucy Foot, ana they became the parents of 
 eleven children, namely: Stella, who married Ches- 
 ter Woodford; Benjamin, who married Betsey 
 Woodford ; Delia, who became the wife of George 
 Woodford; Samuel, father of our subject; Jacob, 
 who married Diana Frisby ; Jeffrey, who married 
 Dolly Woodford ; Lucy, wife of Hiram Andrews ; 
 Thomas N., who married Sally Andrews; Gedor 
 Pitt ; Adeline, who married Albert Bissell ; and 
 Joseph, who married Zerviah Woodford. The par- 
 ents of this family both passed away in 185 1, the 
 father at the ripe old age of eighty-eight years, 
 and their remains rest in Cider Brook cemetery. 
 In religious connection they were members of the 
 Congregational Church, and they took a zealous 
 interest in the advancement of the Kingdom and 
 all religious enterprises. 
 
 Samuel Bishop was born March 20, 1797, on the 
 old Bishop homestead, and received his education in 
 the district schools of Avon town. He grew to 
 manhood on the farm of his uncle, Samuel Bishop, 
 and after his death became the owner of the place, 
 purchasing part of the property, where he made his 
 home until his removal to Avon Center in 1868. He 
 made numerous improvements on the farm after 
 it came into his possession, and was successfully 
 engaged in general agriculture, dairying, stock 
 raising and tobacco culture. He was a prominent 
 citizen in the public as well as the business life of 
 the town, held the office of selectman and various 
 other positions of trust in the locality, and in 1836 
 represented Avon in the State Legislature, dis- 
 tinguishing himself in every incumbency for trust- 
 worthiness and capacity of a high order. About 
 1872 he was again representative. No citizen in 
 this region was held in higher esteem, or commanded 
 a greater degree of respect from the community in 
 general, and his high character and consistent moral 
 life gave him a strong influence among his towns- 
 men, which was always exerted for the public good. 
 Originally a Whig in political affiliation, he became 
 a Republican when the party changed, and was a 
 stanch suporter of the principles of the organiza- 
 tion. His life was an exemplary one in every re- 
 spect, and he sustained the reputation which has 
 always been borne by the members of this family for 
 good citizenship and uprightness. Mr. Bishop was 
 married, in Avon, to Miss Minerva Woodford, who 
 
% " 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1213 
 
 was born April 20, 1798, in that town, a daughter 
 of Selah and Sarah (Hutchinson) Woodford, and 
 six children were born to this union, namely: Julia 
 Ann, who became the wife of Charles A. Stowe, 
 of Avon; Lucius S., a retired resident of Avon; 
 Sarah M., widow of Dan A. Miller, living in Bris- 
 tol; Dan Franklin, deceased; Fitch Leverett; and 
 Mary E., widow of George Phelps, of Avon. The 
 father of this family passed away March 25, 1879, 
 at Avon Center, where he always lived after his re- 
 moval from the farm. The mother followed him to 
 the grave March 23, 1884, and they sleep their last 
 sleep in Avon cemetery. She was a good Christian 
 woman, devoted to her home and family, and with 
 her husband was active in the work of the Congre- 
 gational Church, of whicn they were members for 
 years. He held the office of deacon. 
 
 Fitch Leverett Bishop remained under the pa- 
 ternal roof until 1852, receiving a thorough train- 
 ing to farm life, and during his boyhood attending 
 the district schools, where he gained a good prac- 
 tical education. In 1852, having caught the "gold 
 fever," he started for California, making the jour- 
 ney by way of Panama, and he spent two years in 
 the "new Eldorado," meeting with reasonable suc- 
 cess in the hunt for gold. After his return, by the 
 same route, he settled down to agriculture on the 
 homestead, where he ever after remained, growing 
 tobacco and carrying on general farming and dairy- 
 ing, in which he became prosperous beyond his ex- 
 pectations. He improved the place constantly after 
 he undertook the cultivation of same on his own ac- 
 count, and the property is now one of the most val- 
 uable in the town, representing as it does the result 
 of years of careful and systematic management. 
 He commenced the tobacco business in 1872, buy- 
 ing and selling, and was a member of the firm of 
 F. Ripley & Co., the largest tobacco dealers along 
 the Farmington river. 
 
 ' Mr. Bishop was an honorable, energetic and ca- 
 pable business man, and the qualities which brought 
 him success in his own affairs were also turned to 
 account in the affairs of the town in which he made 
 his home, for his fellow citizens, recognizing his 
 ability and worth, honored him with election to nu- 
 merous offices of responsibility and trust. He filled 
 the office of selectman of Avon for eight terms, and 
 in 1870 was chosen to represent the town in the 
 State Legislature at New Haven, during his serv- 
 ice in that incumbency acting as member of the 
 committee on Claims. In 1884 he was again elected 
 to the Assembly, serving at Hartford, and during 
 this term was a member of the committee on Cor- 
 porations. Throughout his service as a legislator 
 he distinguished himself for sound judgment and 
 intelligence of a high order and gave unbounded 
 satisfaction to his constituency in Avon, discharging 
 all his duties with a fidelity and regard for the wel- 
 fare of the community he represented which won 
 hearty approval for him at home and in the legisla- 
 tive bodv. He was also assessor of his town. In 
 
 political affiliation Mr. Bishop was always a stanch 
 Republican. He was a self-made man, in the best 
 sense of that often misused term, and the substan- 
 tial position which he occupied in the business 
 world was due entirely to his own ambitious and 
 enterprising efforts. His remains rest in Avon 
 cemetery. 
 
 Mr. Bishop was married, Oct. 9, 1861, at Farm- 
 ington, to Miss Jane E. Andrews, a native of that 
 town, daughter of Amon and Roxana (Goodhue) 
 Andrews, and granddaughter of James Andrews. 
 Three children were born to them, namely : Nellie 
 Stanley received her education in the common and 
 high schools. Sarah Roxana attended the schools 
 of Avon, and completed her education at Miss Por- 
 ter's select school. Mary Belle attended the dis- 
 trict schools and at Farmington; she is an artist 
 of marked ability, studied painting with Miss Rob- 
 erts, Mr. Flagg and Mr. Brandegee, and visited the 
 best studios in Paris, France, taking a very com- 
 plete course of training in her profession, in which 
 she stands high, being now engaged in teaching 
 painting at Berlin. The entire family are noted 
 for their culture and refinement, and their home 
 is one of the most agreeable in Avon, Mrs. Bishop 
 and her daughters delighting in extending hos- 
 pitality to their wide circle of friends in and around 
 the town. Mrs. Bishop completed her education in 
 the high schools of Farmington and West Hart- 
 ford, and subsequently taught school for ten years, 
 in Farmington, Berlin, Plainville, West Hartford 
 and Burlington. She is a refined Christian woman, 
 devoted to her home and actively interested in 
 church work, she and her daughters uniting with 
 the Congregational Society. The entire family are 
 earnest workers for the advancement of educa- 
 tional and social interests, and they occupy a high 
 position among the best and most intelligent people 
 of Hartford county. 
 
 SIRVILIUS ARTHUR GRISWOLD, a repre- 
 sentative and highly respected citizen of Suffield, 
 was born in that place Feb. 19, 1850, and is a son 
 of Arthur W. and Mary (Harrison) Griswold, 
 
 Martin Griswold, the paternal grandfather, a 
 native of Vermont, settled in Suffield in the early 
 part of the nineteenth century, and there engaged 
 in farming until called from this life. He wedded 
 Miss Mary Wallace, and to them were born nine 
 children who reached years of maturity : Laura, wife 
 of Alvah Allen ; Addi ; Ladora, wife of Warner 
 Patton; Martin; Melinda, wife of Elijah Himes; 
 Mary, wife of Alanson S. Burbank; Clark; Sirvil- 
 ius ; and Arthur W. The last-named, who was the 
 father of our subject, was reared in Suffield, where 
 he made his home throughout life, being engaged in 
 agricultural pursuits. His children were Luannah, 
 wife of Loren Hastings ; Sirvilius A. ; and Noyes H. 
 Our subject's maternal grandparents were Benjamin 
 and Mary (Wilcox) Harrison, of Suffield. 
 
 In his native town Sirvilius A. Griswold passed 
 
1214 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his boyhood and youth in much the usual manner of 
 farmer lads of his day. His education was ac- 
 quired in the common schools of the town and the 
 high school of Hadley, Mass. He continued to as- 
 sist in the labors of the home farm until sixteen 
 years of age, and then took up marine engineering, 
 following that occupation until 1898. He operated a 
 ferry between Suffield and Thompsonville for a 
 quarter of a century, but since June, 1898, has been 
 engineer for the Hartford Carpet Co., at Thomp- 
 sonville, though he still continues to make his home 
 in Suffield, where he has always resided. 
 
 On Feb. 2, 1871, ^Ir. Griswold was united in 
 marriage with ]\liss Augusta West, a daughter of 
 Abner and Anna (Shuman) West, of Rcnsselaer- 
 ville, N. Y., and to them was born one daughter, 
 Luannah H., now the wife of Ralph E. Moody. 
 Politically Mr. Griswold is identified with the Dem- 
 ocratic party; socially he affiliates with the Order 
 of United American Mechanics. His genial, pleas- 
 ant manner makes him quite popular, and as a 
 public-spirited, enterprising man he is recognized 
 as a valued citizen of the community. 
 
 AHSS CORDELIA LUCY ARCHER, of Suf- 
 field, is a descendant of one of the most prominent 
 families of that locality, many of its members hav- 
 ing been numbered among the progressive and pa- 
 triotic citizens of the Revolutionary period. Her 
 beautiful residence, which occupies a most attrac- 
 tive location in the town, has long been the center 
 of a refined hospitality, and her position in social life 
 has always been an enviable one. Her wealth in- 
 volves no little care and responsibility, but while she 
 is generous and kind-hearted, she has shown rare 
 business ability in the management of her affairs. 
 Her early educational advantages were of the best, 
 and after completing a district-school course at Suf- 
 field she entered Miss Edward's Episcopal school, at 
 New Haven, Conn. ; I\Ir. Hemenway's private 
 school, Suffield, and the Connecticut Literary In- 
 stitute. Her extensive travel and wide reading 
 of the best literature make her conversation full of 
 interest, and her sympathy for philanthropic and 
 religious work is shown in many ways. For thirty- 
 eight years she has been an active member of the 
 Congregational Church, to which she is a liberal 
 contributor, as were her forefathers from pioneer 
 times. 
 
 Miss Archer's first ancestors in the paternal line 
 of whom we have a definite account were Thomas 
 Archer, a native of England, who came to America 
 in early manhood, and settled in Suffield in 1749. 
 He engaged in farming, and also dealt extensively 
 in indigo, and as a citizen was highly esteemed. He 
 died March 14, 1797, and his wife, Azuba Olds, 
 died Dec. 20, 1806. They had the following chil- 
 dren : Thomas, born March 25, 1750, died Oct. 6, 
 1752 ; May, born March 24, 1752 ; Elizabeth, born 
 June 19, 1753; Sabra, born June 4, 1755; Thomas 
 (2), our subject's grandfather; Azuba, born Nov. 
 
 27, 1762; Lucy, born Nov. 14, 1764; Louisa, born 
 Aug. 22, 1768; Eusebius, born March 22, 1770; 
 and Jemima, born March 23, 1772. 
 
 Thomas Archer (2) was born in Suffield June 17, 
 1758, and was active in the struggle for Indepen- 
 dence. He was prominent in business as a mer- 
 chant, hotel-keeper, and farmer, and was also inter- 
 ested in shipping slaves from Africa. The house 
 which he occupied is now probably the oldest house 
 in the town. On Dec. 21, 1778, he married Roxana 
 Hancock, who died Oct. 24, 1831, and his death oc- 
 curred July 6, 1797. Their children were: Zeno, 
 born June 26, 1779, died in New Orleans Dec. 14, 
 1800; Cynthia, born Sept. 15, 1780, died Aug. 12, 
 1823; Thaddeus, born Slay 9, 1782; Horace, born 
 Feb. 7, 1784, died on the coast of Africa in 1810; 
 Ann Eliza, born Feb. 4, 1786; and Thomas, our 
 subject's father. 
 
 Thomas Archer (3), was born in Suffield, Jan. 
 10, 1793, and became a highly-respected resident 
 and one of the most extensive land holders of the 
 town, a portion of the village of Suffield being built 
 upon his homestead. For some years he conducted 
 a hotel at Suffield, and in 1877 he removed to Suf- 
 field Center, where he died April 21, 1880. On 
 Nov. 30, 1820, he married Lucy Remington, daugh- 
 ter of Capt. Abijah Remington, and a member of a 
 well-known family. She died April 18, 1867, deeply 
 mourned by a large circle of friends. Their chil- 
 dren were given the best opportunities, educational 
 and social, which the time and locality afforded, and 
 all have held honorable positions in life, (i) 
 George, born Sept. 10, 1821, died Aug. 4, 1822. 
 (2) George, born July 4, 1823, is now a prominent 
 citizen of Suffield. (3) Luther, born Feb. 8, 1824, 
 enlisted Aug. 11, 1862, in Company A, 7th Conn. V. 
 I., and was wounded July 11, 1863, at Fort Wagner, 
 S. C. For many years he resided in Suffield, his 
 death occurring July 20, 1878. (4) Horace, born 
 May 20, 1826, resides in Pittsfield, Mass. (S) Cor- 
 delia L., born April 14, 1830, is the subject of this 
 sketch. (6) Mary, born Sept. 5, 1832, married Col. 
 George S. Burnham, of Hartford, and died March 
 10, 1893. (7) Louise L., born Sept. 7, 1834, mar- 
 ried N. S. Pomeroy, of Suffield. (8) Sarah E., 
 born Sept. 6, 1836, married E. D. Morgan (son of 
 Ex-Gov. Morgan, of New York), and died Feb. 
 22, 1880. (9) Helen L., born Oct. 13, 1838, died 
 Sept. 10. 1897, in Suffield, where she was greatly 
 beloved. She always resided with our subject, and 
 was foremost in all good works in Suffield. Gen- 
 erous to a fault, she was especially active in church 
 work, and in Sybil Dwight Kent Chapter, of the 
 D. A. R., of which she was Regent. (10) Isabel, 
 born Feb. 26, 1840, died in May, 1840. 
 
 THOMAS MORRISON, a leading and enter- 
 prising citizen of Enfield, and overseer of the worsted 
 department of the Hartford Carpet Co., at Thomp- 
 sonville, was born in Barnet, Vt., Feb. 9, 1837, a 
 son of John and Elizabeth (Barber) Morrison, both 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1215 
 
 natives of Scotland, who came to America in 1832 
 and located in Craftsbury, Vermont. 
 
 For about five years the father engaged in farm- 
 ing at Peacham and Barnet, that State, and in 
 1837 came to Thompsonville, Conn., and entered 
 the employ of the Thompsonville Carpet Co., as a 
 weaver, remaining there until 1839, when he re- 
 moved to Saxonville, Mass., where he held a similar 
 position for two years. He afterward worked in 
 Norwich, Conn., North Grafton and Roxbury, 
 Mass., and finally returned to Saxonville, where 
 the last five years of his life were spent, and where 
 he died in 1848. His children were Margaret, wife 
 of George Flood ; John ; Ellen, wife of James Rob- 
 bins ; Elizabeth, wife of Henry Butman ; Agnes, 
 wife of James Dreghorn ; Charles F. ; James ; 
 Thomas ; and William. Our stibject's maternal 
 grandparents, Charles and Margaret Barber, of 
 Scotland, also came to the New World in 1832 and 
 settled in Vermont, but after sixteen years spent in 
 this country they returned to their native land, 
 where both died. 
 
 Thomas Morrison was reared in Connecticut and 
 Massachusetts, and received a limited common- 
 school education. When in his eleventh year he 
 began work as a mill hand in a worsted mill, and 
 worked in various sections of the country until his 
 nineteenth year. He then served a three years' ap- 
 prenticeship at the brass finisher's trade in Nor- 
 wich, Conn., and worked as a journeyman at that 
 occupation for one year. During the early part 
 of the Civil war he was employed by the Colt Fire 
 Arms Co., at Hartford, Conn., for a year and a half, 
 and in 1862 enlisted in Company C, 20th Conn. V. 
 I., serving for seven months. On his return from 
 the war he was in the employ of the government, 
 at New York City, in the making of Springfield 
 rifles for a year and a half, and was then made 
 overseer of the worsted department of a carpet mill 
 at Rifton Glen, N. Y., where he remained one year. 
 In 1866 he came to Thompsonville and entered the 
 employ of the Hartford Carpet Co., as a machinist ; 
 from 1867 until 1870 had charge of the carding 
 room, and in August of the latter year was ap- 
 pointed overseer of the worsted department of the 
 mills, which position he has since held to the entire 
 satisfaction of the company. 
 
 Mr. Morrison first married Miss Frances, daugh- 
 ter of John Q. and Mary Cox, of Norwich, Conn. ; 
 she died leaving one son, George M. For his 
 second wife he wedded Miss Mary J. Robinson, a 
 daughter of William and Julia A. Robinson, also of 
 Norwich, and of the six children born to them three 
 still survive: Hattie R., wife of Charles Perkins; 
 George J. ; and Mary Ella, wife of Joseph Leete. 
 His present wife was Miss Mary Pease, a daughter 
 of Arvin and Mary A. (McCandless) Pease, of 
 Enfield, and a descendant of Robert Pease, who 
 came from England to America in the ship "Fran- 
 cis" in 1630, and located in Salem, Mass. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Morrison are earnest members of the First 
 
 Presbyterian Church, and have the respect and es- 
 teem of all who know them. Politically he is in- 
 dependent, supporting the man whom he believes 
 best qualified to fill the office, regardless of party 
 ties. 
 
 SAMUEL BARR, one of the progressive farm- 
 ers and tobacco growers of Suffield, was born in the 
 town of Dromara, County Down, Ireland, July 5, 
 1843, ^nd descends from a Scotch family who in 
 troublous days were all loyal to the Crown of 
 England. 
 
 John Barr, grandfather of Samuel, was born in 
 Rathfryland, County Down, was a farmer, and died 
 a member of the Presbyterian Church. His son, 
 Andrew, was born in Rathfryland, County Down, 
 farmed in his native county until 1862, and then 
 moved to County Antrim, where he passed his years 
 in farming until his death. To his marriage with 
 Elizabeth Orr, in his native county, were born seven 
 children : Elizabeth Jane, still in Ireland ; Martha, 
 deceased; Samuel, subject of this sketch; Mar- 
 garet, married to Daniel Eagleson, a respected 
 farmer of Suffield, who is a native of County An- 
 trim, Ireland ; John, who died at New Bedford, 
 Mass. ; Hannah G., who has been twice married ; 
 and Mary Ann, wife of Andrew Bell, of County 
 Antrim, Ireland. The parents both died in the 
 Presbyterian faith. The father, although loyal to 
 the Crown of England, was a great admirer of 
 the republican form of government. 
 
 Samuel Barr, the subject of this sketch, was 
 educated in the national schools of Ireland, and 
 assisted his father in farming, in both County Down 
 and County Antrim, until 1869, when he came to 
 the United States via Liverpool, England, landed 
 at Boston, Mass., whence he came direct to Suffield, 
 Conn., and here found employment at farm labor 
 with Marvin Lewis, beginning with a debt of $50. 
 Here he worked for nine years, never lost a day 
 through sickness, and at the end of this time found 
 himself possessed of some funds. In 1878 he pur- 
 chased the Hastings farm, a tract of thirty-two 
 acres near Hasting's Hill, on which he expended 
 $4,000 in remodeling the dwelling and erecting the 
 necessary farm buildings, and here he has ever 
 since been engaged in the cultivation of tobacco, 
 general farming and dairying. 
 
 On April 4, 1874, Mr. Barr married, in Suffield, 
 Miss Sarah Jane Graham, also a native of Dromara, 
 County Down, Ireland, and a daughter of Samuel 
 and Harriet Graham, to which union have been born 
 five children : Andrew Samuel and Martha, at 
 home ; William IT., a student at Brown University ; 
 Joseph, a student at the Connecticut Literary In- 
 stitution, Suffield; and Sarah H., at school. The 
 family are members of the Congregational Church, 
 and Mr. Barr is a Republican in politics. In his 
 native land he was a member of the Loyal Orange 
 Asociation. He is noted for his strict integrity, 
 temperance and industry, and through these ad- 
 
1216 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 mirable essentials has lifted himself from compara- 
 tive poverty to comparative affluence. His amiable 
 wife, however, deserves a full share of credit for 
 his success, as she has been, in every sense of the 
 word, a true helpmate. Both they and their chil- 
 dren have won the respect of the community, and 
 they well deserve it. 
 
 MARVIN H. SANFORD (deceased). A man 
 of keen business judgment, courageous, resourceful, 
 untiring in energy, the subject of this sketch pre- 
 sented a splendid illustration of that type of man- 
 hood which by its achievements has made Con- 
 necticut famous in the development of the Nation. 
 To his other admirable traits he added that of quick 
 adaptability, and his versatility was a great gain to 
 Tariffville, the comnuniitv in which he lived, and 
 the welfare of which he aided materially in ad- 
 vancing. He was kind and generous in disposi- 
 tion, quick to respond to the behests of duty and 
 sympathy, and withal a man of superior and notable 
 qualities and attainments. His father was Dr. 
 George W. Sanford. one of the revered medical 
 practitioners of Tariffville. 
 
 Joseph Sanford, the grandfather, was a native 
 of East Granville, Mass. There he acquired the 
 tanner's trade, and for his time carried on in that 
 town quite an extensive business. During the war 
 of 1812 he made a large contract to supply the 
 government with leather, and invested a large 
 amount of money in the purchase of hides ; but at 
 that time the process of tanning was slow, requir- 
 ing a year to convert hides into leather, and the 
 war closing before he had completed his contract 
 he sustained a heavy financial loss. The latter years 
 of his life were spent on a small farm near Bloom- 
 field, Conn., purchased for him by his son, George 
 W. Joseph Sanford was a member of the Congre- 
 gational Church. He married Hopie Wilmot, a na- 
 tive of Northfield, Mass., and to them were born 
 children as follows: George W., the father of our 
 subject; Hopie, who married a Mr. Trumbull, and 
 removed to Ohio; Hannah, who married Henry 
 Neil, of Sherborn, IMass. ; Roena, who married 
 Reuben Barker, and removed to Michigan ; Joseph, 
 who died in infancy; Joseph D. (2), who married 
 Mary Smith, was at one time a merchant of Tariff- 
 ville, and later resided at Granby, Conn. ; and a 
 daughter who married a jNIr. Botham. Joseph San- 
 ford, the father of these children, died about 1846, 
 and was buried at Tariffville. 
 
 Dr. George W. Sanford, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Litchfield, Conn., Dec. 20, 1807. 
 He received a good education, completing a course 
 at Dr. Cooley's classical school, at East Granville, 
 Mass., graduating in 1827, studied medicine, and 
 several years later began its practice at Granville, 
 Mass. In 1836 he graduated from the Medical 
 Department of Williams College. Shortly before 
 1830 he located at Tariffville, where he continued in 
 active practice for over sixty years. While on his 
 
 way to Tariffville he passed through the toll-gate 
 at North Bloomfield without paying toll. As he 
 passed on a young lady who was attending the toll- 
 gate rushed after him, and threatened to prosecute 
 the young physician if he did not make the legal 
 payment. The Doctor related the incident to a 
 friend whom he met a little later along the road, 
 expressed his admiration for the girl, and said he 
 intended to make her acquaintance. She was Miss 
 Jane Elizabeth Adams, born in Bloomfield, Conn., 
 Sept. II, 1813, daughter of Ambrose and Catherine 
 (Eno) Adams. The acquaintance was made, rip- 
 ened into love, and Dr. Sanford married the young 
 lady Feb. 4, 1830. 
 
 The extended practice of Dr. Sanford at Tariff- 
 ville was eminently successful, and he quickly be- 
 came one of the leading citizens of the town. In 
 1835 he became a member of the Hartford County 
 Medical Society, and at the time of his death was 
 its oldest living member, was elected president of 
 the society in 1874, and again in 1881. He was 
 also a member of the State Medical Society, and of 
 the American ]\Iedical Association, and during 
 President Grant's administration he was sent to 
 Washington as a delegate to the American Medical 
 Association. He was a member of the Lyceum of 
 Natural History of the Berkshire Medical Insti- 
 tute. 
 
 The latter years of Dr. Sanford's life were 
 marked bj- a misfortune, which, however, did not 
 deter him from continuing his practice. In 1885 
 he became totally blind. He was thrown from his 
 carriage Feb. 21, 1883, and again on May 3, of the 
 same year, the shock causing a congestion of the 
 nerve of the eye, which produced blindness. Yet 
 he continued to practice. His patients visited him, 
 and he diagnosed many cases while blind, as his 
 skill was most remarkable. His usefulness, how- 
 ever, was not limited to his profession. He was a 
 prominent member of society, and as a public- 
 spirited citizen accomplished great good. For many 
 years he was a prominent member of the Baptist 
 Church, and often when the church was in debt and 
 in great need of funds he at his own expense and 
 inconvenience made trips and solicited funds. In 
 politics he was a Whig, and later a P.epublican. 
 For many years he served as justice of the peace, 
 was postmaster during the administrations of Presi- 
 dents Harrison and Tyler, for fifty years was school 
 visitor. He served in the House of Repre- 
 sentatives three terms, in 1845, ^^/^ '^"d 1875. In 
 1845 he was a member of the committee on Banks, 
 and during the two later terms served on the com- 
 mittee on Flumane Institutions. He was widely 
 known throughout the country, and numbered 
 among his friends many prominent men. Fra- 
 ternally he was a Freemason. 
 
 The children of George W. and Jane Elizabeth 
 (Adams) Sanford were as follows: (i) Jane 
 Geraldine, born June 16, 1831, married Charles L. 
 Roberts, both dying at Tariffville. (2) George 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1217 
 
 Ambrose, born Nov. 26, 1832, died of typhoid fever 
 at Tariff ville Feb. 5, 1851. (3) Joseph WilHs, born 
 Sept. I, 1835, is now factory foreman at Waterbury, 
 Conn., having charge of all outside work for the 
 Scoville Manufacturing Co. He married Emma 
 Woodward, of Hartford, by whom he had one child, 
 Frank Willis. She died Nov. 17, 1867, and for his 
 second wife he wedded, Oct. 24, 1871, Susan Good- 
 man, who bore him one daughter, Mary Ellen. (4) 
 Marvin H., our subject, born Sept. 20, 1837, died 
 Dec. 8, 1896. (5) James Homer, born May 8, 1840, 
 died March 25, 1892, at Meriden, Conn., where for 
 many years he was connected with the street de- 
 partment. (6) Opheha, born April 15, 1842, died 
 of typhoid fever Sept. 16, i860. (7) Morton was 
 born July 16, 1844. (8) Mary, born July 11, 1846, 
 died Feb. 8, 1847. (9) Mary Alice, born Nov. 27, 
 1847, died July 11, 1848. (10) Henry W., born 
 Feb. 4, 1850, a resident of New Haven, was for 
 many years keeper of the almshouse there, and is 
 now superintendent of the New Haven Ice Co. 
 (11) George Ambrose (2), born Aug. 15, 1852, 
 is a resident of Winsted, Conn. ( 12) Ellen B., born 
 Oct. 28, 1855, died Aug. 19, 1870. The first wife of 
 Dr. Sanford died March 9, 1872, and for his second 
 wife he married Ada L. Eno, who now survives, a 
 resident of New Britain. Dr. Sanford died at Tar- 
 iifville Sept. 23, 1892, aged eighty-five years, and 
 in his death the town lost one of its most valuable 
 residents. 
 
 Marvin H. Sanford, our subject, was born at 
 Tarififville Sept. 20, 1837. He was reared and 
 schooled in his native town, attending besides the 
 public educational institutions a number of private 
 schools. As a member of a large family he was 
 thrown largely upon his own resources, and this 
 served to develop within him those qualities of self- 
 reliance and determination which contributed so 
 largely to his success. He engaged successively in 
 various kinds of business, but the best years of his 
 life he gave to the care of those unfortunates whom 
 the State found it necessary to aid. For this labor 
 he: was peculiarly adapted, possessing as he did the 
 humane sympathy and compassion so marked in the 
 long and honorable professional career of his fa- 
 ther. Mr. Sanford was for many years keeper of 
 the State poor and of the poor of surrounding 
 towns, also one of the State prison directors, and 
 was regarded as one of the most efficient men in that 
 line in the State. He was careful, systematic and 
 thoroughly business-like in his methods. 
 
 Mr. Sanford was married, June 9, 1875, to Miss 
 Katie M. Thompson, who was born March 26, 1849, 
 in East Granby, daughter of Edward P. and Mary 
 J. (Case) Thompson; she is now a resident of Tar- 
 ififville. To Mr. and Mrs. Sanford were born two 
 children: Marvin H., Jr., born Nov. 17, 1878, died 
 at the age of seventeen months ; and Edward T., 
 born June 8, 1881. Mr. Sanford died Dec. 8, 1896, 
 and was buried in Scotland Church cemetery, at 
 North Bloqmfield. In politics he was a stanch Re- 
 77 
 
 publican, though in no sense an office seeker. He 
 was a prominent member of Trinity Episcopal 
 Church at Tariffville, of which he was senior war- 
 den at the time of his death. 
 
 SAMUEL DAVID PHELPS, an old-time farm- 
 er and tobacco grower of Suffield, and a highly-re- 
 spected citizen, was born in Enfield Dec. 24, 1834. 
 Isaac Phelps, great-great-grandfather of our 
 subject, was a native of Westfield, Mass., and was 
 the first of the family to settle in Connecticut. He 
 made his home in Enfield, this county, owned ex- 
 tensive tracts of land, and was very prominent as 
 a farmer and influential as a citizen. By his sec- 
 ond wife, Rachel (Jones), was born, among other 
 children, David Phelps, great-grandfather of Sam- 
 uel David. 
 
 David Phelps was born in Enfield town, Hart- 
 ford county, Aug. 25, 1716, was reared on the 
 home farm, and settled in the village of Weymouth 
 after reaching majority. He was the keeper of 
 the pest house, or the house for the isolation of 
 persons afflicted with contagious diseases, and was 
 also a farmer of great prominence. Of old Puritan 
 stock, he was noted for his upright character and 
 gentlemanly demeanor; he died on his farm Jan. 
 13, 1803, at the age of eighty-seven years, and was 
 interred at Enfield. To his marriage with Margaret 
 Coulton, of Long Meadow, Mass., were born eleven 
 children, in the following order: Eldad, Margaret^ 
 Rachel, David (died in infancy), John (died in 
 infancy), Mary, Martha, David (grandfather of 
 subject), John, Beulah and Christeinee. The mother 
 of these children survived until Feb. 16, 1810. 
 
 David Phelps, son of David, and grandfathef 
 of our subject, was born in Enfield May 23, 1753, 
 was a farmer all his life, and married, Feb. j/, 
 1781, Anna Pease, who was born Feb. 16, 1760. 
 This marriage was quite prolific, children as fol- 
 lows being born to them: David, born Oct. 22, 
 1781, died in Sloansville, N. Y., March 18, 1854; 
 he had married Polly Promley, who died Feb. 10, 
 1863. James, born Dec. 22, 1783, married Susan 
 Cariew, who died Dec. 29, 1874, his own death 
 having occurred in Sloansville Aug. 24, 1869. 
 Jabez was born Aug. 22, 1785, and was a carpenter 
 at Warehouse Point, Conn. ; he was three times 
 married, and died June 16, 1887. Polly was born 
 Nov. II, 1786, married a Mr. Crane, and died at 
 Wilbraham, Mass. Roswell, born May 9, 1789, 
 died in 1870, also at Wilbraham. Orris, born 
 Aug. 24, 1791, died Noy. 13, 1799; Sylvester, born 
 July 4, 1793, died March 16, 1861. Anna, bom 
 Feb. 25, 1795, was first married to a Mr. Pasco, 
 and second to Levi Lord. Horace became the fa- 
 ther of our subject. Osee was born March 9, 1799, 
 married a Miss Pease, and died in Enfield. Abigail 
 Pease, who was born March 2, 1801, was married 
 to Horace Plawkins, of Enfield, and died May 12, 
 1851. Nelson, born Sept. 14, 1804, died at Ware- 
 house Point, Conn. The father of this family was 
 
1218 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a soldier of tlie Revolulionary war, was quite active 
 in politics, and in promoting the interests of his 
 town, and in church doctrines was very liberal in 
 his interpretations. 
 
 Horace Phelps, father of subject, was born in 
 Enfield April 23, 1797, and died ^larch 18, 1S62. 
 He was a farmer and tobacco grower, was first a 
 Whig in politics and later became a Republican, and 
 was a devout member of the Congregational Church. 
 To his marriage, .May 10, 1827, with Miss Laura 
 A. Allen, who was born in East Windsor July 16, 
 1804, a daughter of Samuel and ?*Iary Allen, of 
 English descent, there were born twelve children, 
 as follows: Horace, born July 3, 1828. married 
 Susan Clock, and died in Michigan. The second 
 child was born July 17, 1829, and died in infancy. 
 Jabez Allen, born Aiay 26, 1830, died in Michigan 
 Oct. 29, 1862. Charles Sylvester, born -\ug. 30, 
 1831, wedded Martha Pasco, and died in East 
 Windsor, Conn. Mary Ann, born March 28, 1833, 
 is the wife of M. Bancroft, of East Windsor. Sam- 
 uel David, the sixth child, is the subject of this 
 sketch. Albert Francis, born Aug. 18, 1836, died 
 an infant. Albert I'Vancis, born April 19, 1838, 
 married Ellen Eastman, of Long Meadow, and died 
 in 1899. Laura Lucinda, born March 17, 1840, 
 was married, March 19. 18C1, to John Pease. Gil- 
 bert \\'ells, born Feb. 14. 1842, is a farmer of Suf- 
 ricld. George M., born May 25. 1843, married 
 ^linnie Parrington, of South Wind.sor. Fmily 
 Amelia, born Sept. 18, 1847, is married to Walter 
 Newberry, of South Windsor. The mother of these 
 •children died in Enfield Sept. 17, 1870, a sincere and 
 •devout member of the Congregational Church, and 
 ibeloved b\' all who knew her. 
 
 Samuel David Phelps, whose name opens this 
 biographical notice, was educated in a ilistrict 
 school, but by observation has greatly augmented 
 his knowledge of men. of the world, and of nature, 
 and has well qualified himself for the eminent po- 
 sition he now occupies among his fellow citizens. 
 Lentil he reached his majority he remained on the 
 homestead with his father, and then came to Suf- 
 field and farmed until his father's decease. He then 
 returned to the homestead and filially cared for his 
 mother until she w-as called away, and after cul- 
 tivating the farm until 1873 he came back to Suf- 
 field and settled on the farm of Z. Parmalee (his 
 father-in-law^), to which lie added thirty acres, and 
 on which he has made many substantial improve- 
 ments. 
 
 The marriage of Air. Phelps took place ]\Iarch 
 19, 1861, in Sufifiield, to J('liss Marv E. Parmalee, 
 •daughter of Zina and Jemima (Bronson) Parmalee, 
 the former of whom was a carpenter as well as a 
 farmer, and one of the best-known citizens of the 
 neighborhood. Five children have been born to 
 Mr. and Airs. Phelps, the eldest of whom, J. Es- 
 tella, passed away at the age of eleven years. 
 James D. F. is the manager of Bidwell's hard- 
 -ware store, at Windsor Locks ; he is married to 
 
 Clara Cline, but has no children ; in politics he is 
 a Republican. George S. is still on the homestead, 
 is unmarried ; in politics he is also a Republican. 
 Alary, the fourth child, died in infancy. Burton 
 H. is manager of Bidwell's lumber yard at Windsor 
 Locks. 
 
 In politics Samuel D. Phelps is a stanch Re- 
 publican, but has never sought public ofifice, al- 
 though he works effectually for the interests of 
 his party. In his views on religious matters he 
 is very liberal, but no more moral man lives in the 
 town of Suflield. F'raternally he is a member of 
 the O. U. .\. M. He is strictly a self-made man, 
 and through his individual industry and good man- 
 agement has secured a competency that commands 
 fur him a position among the solid men of the town 
 and county. 
 
 W. AI. LO\'ELL, a farmer and dairyman of the 
 'town of Windsor, was born in Rockville, Conn., 
 Jan. 31, 1854, and is a son of W. A. Lovell, a native 
 of- Alillbury, Alass., who at different times was 
 superintendent of the Rock. American and Winder- 
 mere Alills, at Rockville. The grandfather, Ezra 
 Lovell, engaged in school teaching the greater part 
 of his life, and at one time was also a merchant. 
 
 During the childhood of our subject his fa- 
 ther removed to Windsor and accepted the super- 
 intendency of the Windsor Alills. but in i860 went 
 to near Dover. Penn., as superintendent of a mill 
 at that place. Later he returned to Alillbury, Alass., 
 from there went to Westerly, R. I., where he had 
 charge of the mills of Babcock & Morse, and on 
 leaving their employ spent a short time in Laconia, 
 X. H. On again going to Alillbury, Alass., he 
 severed his connection with the milling business, 
 with which he had so long been connected as su- 
 perintendent. He received calls from various parts 
 of the country to start new mills, to do which suc- 
 cessfully required great skill and a thorough knowl- 
 edge of the business. He became well acquainted 
 with dry-goods men in Xew York and Boston, 
 and by them was tendered high salaries to establish 
 mills in different parts of the United States. Sel- 
 dom, if ever, did the mills under his direction prove 
 unprofitable. Coming to Windsor in 1872, he pur- 
 chased a small piece of land, on which he is now 
 living. In Alillbury. Alass., he married A'liss Mary 
 A. Alallalieu. a native of that place, and a daughter 
 of John Alallalieu, a pioneer manufacturer of cot- 
 ton cloth in Adassachusetts or. in fact. New Eng- 
 land. She was a sister of Bishop Alallalieu, who, 
 in searching the history of the family in his travels 
 finds them to be of French Huguenot extraction. 
 The children born to A'Ir. and Mrs. Lovell were as 
 follows : Louisa, now the wife of Dr. S. A. Wil- 
 son, of Windsor ; Alvira, wife of AI. B. Belden, of 
 Brooklyn. N. Y. ; George, a wool sorter by trade ; 
 Edward J., a resident of Brooklyn; W. AT, our sub- 
 ject; Charles F., a resident of Windsor; Emma 
 A., wife of C. T. Welch, of Windsor; and George, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1239 
 
 Emma and Frederick, who all died young. .The 
 mother departed this life May i, 1897; the father, 
 who was born in November, 181 5, is still living, 
 honored and respected by all who know him. In 
 politics he is a Republican. 
 
 W. M. Lovell, whose name introduces this 
 sketch, received the greater part of his education 
 at Millsbury, Mass., where he attended the high 
 school. During his boyhood he spent much of his 
 time around the mills of which his father had charge, 
 and quite frequently worked in the same. He often 
 spent the summer months at the home of his 
 brother-in-law, Jasper Morgan, in Windsor, and 
 during his 'teens worked for nim. In 1880 he went 
 to New York, and entered the employ of another 
 brother-in-law, Mr. Belden, who was engaged in 
 the wholesale paper business. Two years later he 
 returned to Windsor, and in December, 1882, bought 
 his present place, known as the Capt. James Loomis 
 farm. It was once a large farm, but part of it 
 has since been sold. Here Mr. Lovell is now en- 
 gaged in the raising of tobacco and in the dairy 
 business. He was one of the original stockholders 
 of the Windsor Creamery Co., and was also a stock- 
 holder of the Windsor Canning Factory when it 
 was owned by a stock company. 
 
 On April 25, 1880, Mr. Lovell married Miss 
 Emma A. Briggs, who was born at White Pigeon, 
 Mich., Jan. 31, 1853, a daughter of Henry S. and 
 Elmyra (Fay) Briggs, natives of Boston and Ware, 
 Mass., respectively. The father was born in Feb- 
 ruary, 1826, and from Springfield, Mass., removed to 
 Michigan, where he served as conductor on the 
 Southern Michigan railroad for some years. Later 
 he went to Terre Haute, Ind., where he spent eleven 
 years in the machine shops, and then returned to 
 Springfield, Mass. About 1864 he came to Hartford, 
 and for some time was engaged in the restaurant 
 business on Main street, between Pratt and Church 
 streets, conducting a very popular resort and one of 
 the largest businesses of the kind in the city up to 
 that time. He now makes his home with Mr. and 
 Mrs. Lovell; his wife died at the age of fifty-two 
 years. In their famly were two children, the 
 younger being Otis H., now superintendent of a 
 paper-mill at Holyoke, Mass. Mrs. Lovell is a 
 graduate of the Hartford Public High School. 
 , They have a family of four children : Edith F., 
 born June 21, 1881 ; Fay M., July 17, 1883 ; Arthur 
 W., March 12, 1889; and Jarvis B., June 9, 1894. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lovell are both faithful members of 
 the Congregational Church at Windsor, and are 
 well-known and highly respected. In politics he is 
 a stanch Republican. 
 
 ORLANDO LEWIS DART. To a student of 
 human nature there is nothing of greater interest 
 than the study of the career of a self-made man, and 
 the analysis of the principles and methods which 
 have enabled him to distance others who have had 
 
 a more advantageous start. In the biography of 
 this well-known merchant of Suffield there is much 
 to instruct as well as interest, and any ambitious 
 youth might find, "between the lines," a helpful ob- 
 ject lesson. 
 
 Mr. Dart was born Dec. 7, 1857, in Somer,-,, 
 Conn., and comes of good old Connecticut stock, 
 his ancestors having settled in New London county 
 at an early date. Levi Dart, his father, was born in 
 Springfield, Mass., and is now living retired in Suf- 
 field, at the advanced age of seventy-seven. His 
 estimable wife, whose maiden name was Clarissa 
 Ferry, is a native of Stafford, Conn., and has also 
 reached the allotted limit of three score and ten, but 
 both are hale and hearty, being still actively inter- 
 ested in their accustomed work and in the pro- 
 gressive movements of their town, where they are 
 held in high esteem. They have had four children, 
 of whom our subject is the only survivor : ( i ) Susan 
 died at the age of sixteen. (2) Lovillo married Miss 
 Angle Latham, of Northfield, Vt., and died in 
 Somers, leaving two daughters, Grace A. and Clara 
 L., both now employed in business houses in Suf- 
 field. (3) Orlando L. is the next in order of birth. 
 (4) Lizzie died at Somers in November, 1898, un- 
 married. 
 
 As a boy Orlando L. Dart attended the district 
 schools of Somers, and spent one term at Wilbraham 
 College, but the work of the homestead occupied 
 much of his time until he was twenty-one. Farm 
 life was not to his liking, and for years he cherished 
 the determination to enter mercantile business as 
 soon as his majority was reached. Accordingly 
 he secured a position as clerk in the store of W. P. 
 Fuller, of Somers, with whom he remained four 
 years, and he then engaged in business on his own 
 account, purchasing a store in Somerville from C. 
 W. Wright. After a year and five months the store 
 was burned, causing him quite a loss, but Mr. Dart 
 v,-as not discouraged and in two weeks had com- 
 pleted arrangements for buying out his former 
 competitor, W. E. Dow, who conducted a general 
 store in the village. On taking charge, Mr. Dart 
 added a meat market to the other lines, and after 
 three years he sold out all but the meat business, 
 which he continued one year. In 1887 he removed 
 to Suffield, becoming a member of the firm of Dart 
 & Standish, successors to H. D. Sackett. Not long 
 afterward the stock of E. H. Hamblin was purchased 
 by his firm, and that of Mather & Rogers, and when 
 the latter firm went out of business Mr. Dart bought 
 H. D. Austin's share in their stock, thus enlarging 
 his own considerably. On Sept. 11, 1894, Mr. Dart 
 became sole owner of the business, which has stead- 
 ily increased under his able management. His 
 patrons include the best families of Suffield, and his 
 strict honesty has won him the respect and confidence 
 of the community, while his genial disposition and 
 unvarying courtesy have gained him a host of 
 friends. While he has always been a strong Re- 
 publican,, he refuses to become a candidate for any 
 
1220 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 office, and when elected constable in Suffield he de- 
 clined to qualify. Socially he and his wife are 
 prominent, and he is identihed with Gideon Granger 
 Lodge, No. 62, Knights of Pythias, and Lyman 
 Council, No. 35, O. U. A. iM., at Suffield, both of 
 which he helped to organize. 
 
 On June iS, 1883, Mr. Dart married jNliss Ella 
 Pease, daughter of Cyrus and Maria (Loomis) 
 Pease, highly-respected residents of Lebanon, Conn. 
 Two children have blessed this union : Alson, who 
 died at the age of eleven years ; and Rena E. still 
 living. 
 
 JOSEPH G. THRALL, a son of Horace and 
 Eliza (Wilson) Thrall, whose sketch appears else- 
 where, is one of a large family of boys, all born and 
 reared on the old homestead on the banks of the 
 river in the town of Windsor. He was born Sept. 
 14, 1831, and is the eldest now living. He is one 
 of the best known citizens of the town where his en- 
 tire life has been passed, and "Joe" Thrall, as he is 
 known by almost every man, woman and child in his 
 community, is the type of a man whose value and 
 worth is easier estimated after he is gone — a man 
 whose generosity and kindness has never allowed 
 him to turn a man from his door hungry or cold. 
 The old-fashioned country boy has become a man of 
 no little general information, the result of reading 
 and observation, is unostentatious in manner to an 
 unusual degree, and is well known and highly re- 
 spected. He does not condenm any man who differs 
 with him in opinion, but admires the one who has 
 an opinion of his own with a reason for it. 
 
 Mr. Thrall acquired his education in the brick 
 school house in District No. 7, town of \\'indsor, 
 and among his first teachers was Eunice Phelps. 
 He was reared as a farmer boy, and after the death 
 of his father he and four brothers took charge of 
 the old homestead, which they operated together 
 until they were married. In 1879 out subject wedded 
 Miss Vesta E. Bartlett, a native of Cummington, 
 Mass., and a daughter of Ephraim Bartlett, who 
 died when she was quite young. After his death 
 she lived in Hartford, Conn., and for several years 
 successfully engaged in teaching school in Windsor 
 and elsewhere in Hartford county. She is a lady of 
 more than ordinary intelligence, is cultured and re- 
 fined, has served as a member of the school board, 
 and is highly esteemed by her acquaintances and 
 friends. She is sixth in the order of birth in a fam- 
 ily of eight, children, as follows : Rhoda ; Aroline ; 
 Lucius, a bookkeeper in Wethersfield, Conn. ; Er- 
 mina D., the widow of Joseph Suhanek, late of 
 Hartford ; Alice, the widow of Edwin Burdick, and 
 living near Boston, Mass. ; Vesta E. (Mrs. Thrall) ; 
 Eliza ; and Flora, wife of Arthur Ulrich, of Plart- 
 ford, three of whom have passed away, Rhoda, Ar- 
 oline and Eliza. The mother of these children bore 
 the maiden name of Salome Tower. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Thrall have two children : Oliver J. and Alice M. 
 
 In 1879 ■^-''- Thrall pu'xhased his present home 
 
 in the town of Windsor, and removed there a fevv 
 months after his marriage, since which time he has 
 given his attention to the cultivation and improve- 
 ment of the place. In politics he is a silver Dem- 
 ocrat, and though not an office seeker takes a deep 
 interest in the success of his party. He is a Spirit- 
 ualist, and his religious views are the result of many 
 years of study and reading. He gives liberally to all 
 charitable enterprises, and endeavors to treat his 
 fellow men as he would have them treat him. He 
 has not made the accumulation of property his sole 
 ambition, but takes life easily and has traveled con- 
 siderably over the United States. 
 
 ABEL C. ADAMS (deceased) was in his life- 
 time a leading citizen of Tariffville, town of Sims- 
 bury, where for generations the Adams family have 
 been very prominent. 
 
 Mr. Adams was born Nov. 4, 1823, at the cor- 
 ner of Main and Winthrop streets, in the village 
 above named, and was a son of Abel Adams, and 
 a grandson of Abel Adams, who enlisted as a private 
 in the Revolutionary war, at the age of nineteen. 
 May 9, 1775. Our subject's father was the owner 
 of extensive tracts of land. He married Vashti 
 Griswold, and they had three sons and two daugh- 
 ters : James, Thomas, Abel C, Charlotte and Caro- 
 line. The elder daughter lived to adult years, but 
 died unmarried, and the younger died soon after her 
 marriage. James, the eldest son, married Abbie 
 Blakesley, was for years a merchant in Tariffville, 
 and at his death left five children, James G., Albert 
 E., Charles A., Lottie H. and Frederick C. These 
 children were reared to maturity by Abel C. Adams, 
 the subject of this sketch, although the father left 
 considerable property. Thomas, the second son of 
 Abel, married Caroline Hoskins; he also was a 
 merchant, later a farmer, and acquired a comfort- 
 able competence ; he died in Tariffville, and his 
 widow now resides in Windsor. Abel Adams, the 
 father, was a merchant at Tariffville, and trained 
 his three sons in the same vocation. He lived tO' 
 be over seventy years of age, and died in the Epis- 
 copal faith ; his wife preceded him to the grave, 
 and the remains of both now rest in the Scotland 
 cemetery. 
 
 Abel C. Adams attended the schools of his native 
 town, and later the Connecticut Literary Institute, 
 at Suffield, and then entered his father's store. How- 
 ever, he preferred farming, and was still a young" 
 man when he entered upon this calling, although 
 he did not himself do any manual labor. 
 
 On April 29, 1858, Mr. Adams married, in 
 Granby, Miss Martha Moore, who was born in 
 that town March 25, 1836, a daughter of Horace 
 and Polly (Reed) Moore. Horace Moore was born 
 in Southwick, Mass., April 23, 1792, a son of Hor- 
 ace and Sarah (Nate) Moore, and his wife was 
 born in Granby, Conn., March 23, 1805, a daughter 
 of Martin and Bernice (Kendall) Reed. Horace 
 Moore, father of Mrs. Martha Adams, was a fine 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1221 
 
 scholar, and taught school successfully for a number 
 of years during the winter season; in summer he 
 peddled Yankee notions, whips, cigars, etc., and was 
 a pioneer peddler through the West, although he had 
 a broken leg and only twenty-five cents in cash 
 at the age of twenty-one years. After marriage he 
 settled at Granby and engaged in farming, of which 
 he made as fine a success as he had in peddling. 
 He erected many fine buildings, and his dwelling- 
 was one of the best in Granby. He lived to be sev- 
 enty-five years of age, and bis wife to be seventy- 
 one. Their children were named as follows : Ezra 
 died at the age of two years ; Mary died at four ; 
 Martha is now Mrs. Adams; Henry W. died in 
 1858; and Mary (2) died in 1867. Of this family, 
 Mrs. Adams was the only one to reach adult years. 
 Although her father was one of eight children, not 
 one of these is now living, and as Mrs. Adams" 
 cousins. Homer P. and Birney J. Moore, of Cali- 
 fornia, have no children, the name will go out with 
 them. 
 
 Mrs. Martha Adams was educated at the Con- 
 necticut Literary Institute, in Suffield, and later 
 graduated from the New Britain Normal School. 
 At the age of sixteen she taught school at South- 
 wick, Mass., receiving two dollars per week and 
 "boarding around;" she later taught the North 
 school, at Hartford, and was teaching at Tariffville 
 when she met her late husband. 
 
 In politics Mr. Adams was a strong Republican, 
 and he held various town offices, besides serving 
 several years as deputy sheriff, under High Sheriff 
 Lewis Goodrich, of Simsbury. Mr. and Mrs. Adams 
 had a family of five children: Henry, born April 
 18, 1859, is a druggist in Spring Hill, Kan. ; Hor- 
 ace M., born Sept. 6, 1861, was traveling auditor for 
 the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe eating-houses 
 from Kansas City to Los Angeles for fifteen years, 
 and is now in business in Tariffville ; Martha V., 
 born Jan. 14, 1865, is the wife of Dr. C. M. Woos- 
 ter, of Tariffville; Abel C, born June 24, 1869, is a 
 druggist at Unionville, Conn. ; and Frank E., born 
 Oct. 17, 1872, is also a druggist at Unionville. The 
 sons are well-to-do business men, and give evidence 
 of having been carefully reared and well-taught. 
 
 Mrs. Adams, since the death of her husband, in 
 1877, has resided in the house which was his home 
 from the age of six years. She is a member of the 
 Episcopal Church, and is active in its work, doing 
 good wherever and whenever she can. She is also 
 a member of the King's Daughters, and is one of the 
 most highly esteemed ladies in her town. 
 
 OLIVER WOLCOTT KELLOGG, a highly- 
 respected farmer and tobacco grower of East street, 
 Suffield, was born in West Suffield, Conn., April 
 8, 185s, is a descendant of one of the oldest Puri- 
 tan families of New England, and traces his an- 
 cestry in this country to three brothers of Scottish 
 origin, but of English birth, who came from Eng- 
 land to this country in 1640, and were known as 
 
 Lieut. Joseph Kellogg, of Hadley, Mass.; Samuel 
 Kellogg, of Hatfield, Mass.; and Daniel Kellogg, 
 of Norwalk, Conn. From an old will on file in the 
 State Library at Hartford, Conn., dated June 4, 
 1657, the following extract is made: "All my houses 
 and lands in Farmington I give to John Kellogg 
 and two sisters, Jane and Kate, in Old England," 
 a palpable evidence of the antiquity of the Amer- 
 ican family. 
 
 Some of the earlier Kelloggs were deacons in 
 the Congregational Church, some were selectmen, 
 and some were officers in the army of the Kmg. 
 Samuel Kellogg, of Hatfield, married, Nov. 24, 
 1664, Sarah, widow of Nathaniel Gunn, and daugh- 
 ter of Robert Day, of Hartford, Conn. Their chil- 
 dren were born as follows: Samuel, April 11, 1669; 
 Nathaniel, June 4, 1671 ; Ebenezer, June 7, 1674; 
 and Joseph, Sept. 19, 1676. On Sept. 19, 1677, 
 Mrs. Kellogg and her infant son Joseph were slain 
 by the Indians, and March 20, 1679, Mr. Kel- 
 logg married Sarah Root, of Westfield, Mass. Their 
 children were John, born April 25, 1680, died in 
 Hatfield; Thomas, born Oct. i, 1681, died about 
 1757; and Sarah, born April 14, 1684, was mar- 
 ried to Abraham Morton, of Hatfield, May 8, 
 1 70 1. Samuel Kellogg, the father, died July 17, 
 
 1751- 
 
 Samuel Kellogg (2), born in Hatfield, April 
 
 II, 1669, married Hannah, daughter of Nathaniel 
 Dickinson, Jr., and about 1702 removed to Col- 
 chester, Conn., where he died in 1708; his wife died 
 Aug. 3, 1745, leaving four children: Samuel, born 
 May 18, 1694; Joseph, born June 18, 1696; Han- 
 nah, born Sept. 11, 1699; and Eunice, born Aug. 
 3, 1701. 
 
 Deacon Joseph Kellogg, second child born to 
 Samuel Kellogg (2), was married, at Colchester, 
 to Abigail Miller, Oct. 23, 1717. It is recorded 
 that he sold his right in his father's Hatfield estate 
 to his brother Samuel, Feb. 28, 1722, for fourteen 
 pounds sterling. From Colchester Deacon Joseph 
 removed to Hebron, about 1729, and from Hebron 
 to Marlboro, in Hartford county, where he died. 
 His children were named Joseph, Daniel, Mercy, 
 Moses, Elijah, Ezekiel, Abigail, Samuel and Ben- 
 jamin. 
 
 Ezekiel Kellogg, sixth child of Deacon Joseph 
 Kellogg, was born Nov. 12, 1732, and married Ann 
 Owen July 2, 1758 .In Granby is recorded a deed 
 given by Elijah Messenger to Ezekiel Kellogg, 
 Sept. 21, 1770, in the ninth year of the reign of 
 King George III. The following named children 
 were born to the marriage of Ezekiel and Ann 
 Kellogg: Lydia, born in Hebron, Nov. 24, 1759, 
 died in East Hartford, July 4, 1836; Oliver, born 
 in Marlboro, Nov. 30, 1761 ; Rachel, born in East 
 Hartland Jan. 10, 1763; Ann, born Jan. 23, 1766; 
 and Ezekiel, born June 14, 1773. The mother of 
 these died in Hartland, June 21, 1773, seven days 
 after the birth of the youngest child. The father 
 was admitted to the communion of the Congre- 
 
1222 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 gational Church Xov. 14, 1773; he died in Hart- 
 land, of smallpox, June 16, 1785. He was pos- 
 sessed of considerable poetic ability, was the author 
 of a work on the Revolutionary war, and some of 
 his productions are still in the possession of the 
 Kellogg family. 
 
 Ezekiel Kellogg, youngest son of Ezekiel, men- 
 tioned above, was born in Hartland, June 14, 1773, 
 and married Luna Clark Dec. 8, 1796. He was a 
 farmer, and died in Southwick, Mass., Nov. 18, 
 1828. His children were as follows : Friend, born 
 June 19, 1797, died April 2, 1839; Polly, born Nov. 
 I, 1799, died -May 17, 1804; Harvey, born May 17, 
 1801. died July 22, 1876: Eliza, born Aug. 9, 1802, 
 married Justus Kent, and died July 5, 1830; Will- 
 iam, born April 12, 1804, died in Georgia, Oct. 13, 
 1827; Wilson, twin of William, died May 24, 1871 ; 
 Lewis, born July 4, 180(1, died Aug. 2, 1821 ; Anna, 
 born July 18, 1808, married Shepherd Eaton, and 
 died near Painesvillc, Ohio, Nov. 21, 1836; Edwin, 
 born Aug. 23, 1810, died Sept. 30, 1828; Lyman, 
 born Feb. 5, 1813, died in \4rginia, Jan. 17, 1898; 
 Mary, born Feb. 28, 181 5, married George Town- 
 send, of Ohio, and died near Warren, that State ; 
 and Oliver W., father of our subject, was born 
 July 9, 1817. ?>Irs. Luna (Clark) Kellogg mar- 
 ried for her second husband Augustus Collins, of 
 Granville, and there passed the remainder of her 
 life, dying Oct. 23, 1842. 
 
 Oliver Wolcott Kellogg was educated in the 
 common schools of Southwick, Mass., whence he 
 went to Manlius, N. Y., and later to Geneva, there 
 attending a course of lectures in medicine. Re- 
 turning to Manlius, he remained one year, and then 
 entered Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, 
 from which he graduated at the age of twenty-five 
 years. He began practice in West Suffield, Conn., 
 in 1842, continuing there for seventeen years, and 
 also engaged in farming. In 1859 h^ removed 
 to Suffield Center and practiced until 1864, at which 
 time he moved to Ellington, Conn., where he bought 
 a farm on which he resided two years, and then 
 returning to Suffield bought the Rising home, re- 
 sumed practice, and here died Dec. 12, 1891, after 
 fifty years of professional work. 
 
 In politics he was first a Republican, but later 
 became a Prohibitionist, was very active in the 
 cause, and was nominated by the Prohibition party 
 as its candidate for the State Senate from the third 
 district. He served as a member of the school com- 
 mittee, as superintendent of the Congregational 
 Sunday-school in Suffield and West Suffield, and as 
 deacon of the church in West Suffield, and was one 
 of the most useful and respected residents of Suf- 
 field. Dr. Kellogg was married in Southwick, Mass. 
 to Miss Eliza Smith Fletcher, a native of New Ips- 
 wich, N. H., and a daughter of Rev. Thomas and 
 Elizabeth (Pratt) Fletcher, the former a Presby- 
 terian divine ; her grandfather and great-grand- 
 father were also named Thomas ; the latter was a 
 soldier under King George. Rev. Thomas Fletcher 
 
 died in Southwick, Mass., and his widow at the 
 home of her son in Westfield, Hampden Co., Mass., 
 in the faith of the Presbyterian Church. Their 
 children were : Eleanor Read, the eldest daughter, 
 was married to Dr. John Scoville, of Cornwall, 
 Conn,, and both died in Sheffield, Mass. ; William 
 Otis was a banker in Westfield, Mass. ; tlarriett 
 Newell, who lives in Westfield, is the wife of Lewis 
 R. Norton, president of the Hampden Bank; Dwight 
 died young; Eliza Smith is the mother of our sub- 
 ject. The children born to the marriage of Dr. 
 Oliver W. Kellogg were named as follows : Mary 
 Eveline died when nine years old ; Thomas Fletcher 
 died at the age of four years ; Eliza Harriet died 
 when si.xteen months old ; Harriet Maria died at 
 the age of five years; Oliver W. is our subject; 
 and Eliza Fletcher lives in Suffield, caring for her 
 mother, who has reached the ripe age of eighty- 
 four years. 
 
 Oliver W. Kellogg, our subject, graduated from 
 the Connecticut Literary Institute, and early began 
 work on his father's farm in West Suffield; he re- 
 moved with his parents to Ellington, but returning 
 to Suffield worked one year in Luce's (now Clark's) 
 grist-mill. He next moved to Feather street (now 
 East), and in 1892 purchased the Kinney farm, of 
 sixt_\- acres, on which he has made very extensive 
 and valuable improvements, and has successfully 
 cultivated tobacco, etc. 
 
 Mr. Kellogg was united in marriage, Jan. i, 
 1879, with Miss Libbie Chapell, who was born in 
 \\ ashington, Mass., a daughter of Amos and Maria 
 G. (Bottumj Chapell. Peter Chapell, grandfather of 
 Mrs. Kellogg, married Miss Rhoda Lee Congdon, 
 who was born in New London, Conn., and to this 
 union were born twelve children : James, who died 
 in 1896 ; Mary Ann, who died at the age of eighteen 
 years ; Rhoda, who married Lorenzo Webb ; Eliza, 
 who was married to Nelson Stewart, but is now de- 
 ceased ; Rachel, who married Francis W. Joy, of 
 Plainfield, Mass. ; Melissa, wife of Justin Ferguson, 
 of Hinsdale, Mass. ; Amos, father of Mrs. Kellogg ; 
 Enoch, deceased ; Sarah D., widow of Ebenezer Bal- 
 lentine, anl living in Hartford, Conn. ; Harriett E., 
 deceased wife of William Ballentine, of Springfield, 
 Mass. ; William, who died in infancy ; and Wilson, 
 also deceased. 
 
 Amos Chapell, father of Mrs. Kellogg, was 
 born June 19, 1825, married Miss Maria G. Bottum 
 in September, 1855, and in 1867 came from Wash- 
 ington, Mass., to Suffield, and bought the H. K. 
 Granger farm. They have had two children : Lib- 
 bie, Mrs. Kellogg ; and Willis Lincoln, a druggist 
 of Hinsdale, Mass. Amos Chapell was first a 
 Democrat in politics, but since the Civil war has 
 supported the Republican party. He and his genial 
 wife are now residing in retirement in Suffield. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. O. W. Kellogg has come one child, 
 Lawrence Chapell, born in 1886, who is a bright lad. 
 
 Mr. Kellogg is a Republican in politics. He is 
 a member of the Cone:regational Church, and for 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1223 
 
 four years was church librarian. He is a genial 
 and agreeable gentleman, is very popular, and with 
 his wife stands very high in the esteem of the com- 
 munity. 
 
 FREDERICK GEORGE GODDARD, a well- 
 known farmer and tobacco grower of the town of 
 East Granby, belongs to that class of citizens who 
 started out in life with naught but an abundance of 
 determination and indefatigable industry, and who 
 have succeeded through their own diligence, energy 
 and economy. He was born Oct. i6, 1851, in that 
 town, when it still formed a part of the town of 
 Granby.' His grandfather, Datus Goddard, was a 
 native of Bushy Hill, town of Granby, and as a 
 farmer spent his entire life in that town. He was 
 a Democrat in politics, and was well-known and 
 highly respected. He married a Miss Case, and to 
 them were born five children : Newell, Byron, Wat- 
 son, George D. and.Almira. 
 
 George D. Goddard, father of Frederick G., was 
 a native of the town of Granby, and received a 
 common-school education. Throughout his active 
 business life he worked as a farm laborer, and he 
 spent his last days with his son Frederick, who pro- 
 vided for him in his old age. He died at the home of 
 his son Frederick on Nov. 27, 1893, and was buried 
 in East Granby. His political support was always 
 given to the Democracy. In early life he married 
 Miss Mary Clark, of New London, Conn., by whom 
 he had five children : Elizabeth, now the widow of 
 Henry Griswold; William, who died near New 
 Milford, Conn. ; Frederick G. ; Albert ; and Jesse. 
 The mother, who was a consistent member of the 
 Congregational Church, passed away in 1862, and 
 was laid to rest in East Granby cemetery. 
 
 Frederick G. Goddard, whose name opens this 
 sketch, was only eleven years old when he lost 
 hifj mother, and the following ^^ear he commenced to 
 earn his own livelihood, working as a farm hand for 
 small wages. His school privileges were necessarily 
 limited, though he attended the common schools 
 for a short time. He continued to work for others 
 for twenty-six years, during which time, by his 
 thrift and industrious habits, he managed to save 
 about $3,300, which, in 1890, he invested in sixty- 
 eight acres of land, known as the Talbott farm. 
 Here he has since resided, and has devoted his time 
 and attention to tobacco raising and general farm- 
 ing, meeting with a fair degree of success in his 
 labors. 
 
 On April 22, 1890, in Simsbur)'-, Mr. Goddard 
 was united in marriage with Miss Emma M. Nye, 
 a native of Blandford, Mass., and a daughter of 
 Welcome and Margaret (Fair) Nye, who are still 
 living. Two children have come of this union : 
 Howard W., born Jan. 17, 1892, and Freda O., 
 born Jan. 28, 1894, both now in school. The family 
 attend the Congregational Church, and Mr. Goddard 
 is identified with the Democratic party. His wife 
 is a lady of marked ability, well educated and re- 
 
 fined, and belongs to an old and highly-respected 
 family. Upright and honorable in all the relations 
 of life, Mr. Goddard has won the confidence and 
 esteem of all with whom he has come in contact, 
 and his frieuds are many throughout Hartford 
 county. 
 
 GEORGE REMINGTON. Scientists tell us 
 that energetic and well-directed toil is conducive 
 to health and long life, and in the career of this 
 highly-esteemed resident of Suffield we find an illus- 
 tration of the theory. Beginning life a poor boy, 
 he passed through years of hard work before he 
 gained his present handsome competence, and yet, 
 at the advanced age of seventy-eight, he is as strong 
 as manjr men of fewer years. 
 
 Mr. Remington comes of a good old family, and 
 is now the only representative of his generation in 
 the town. Stephen Remington, his grandfather, 
 who was a resident of Suffield, had two sons, one of 
 whom went West, his descendants being now scat- 
 tered. 
 
 Stephen Remington (2), our subject's father, 
 was a farmer at Hasting's Hill, in the town of Suf- 
 field, and, as he started in life on his own resources 
 and was disabled for some years previous to his 
 death, he was not very successful financially. He 
 died in 1827, at the age of fifty-one. In early man- 
 hood he married Miss Chloe Gillett, a native of 
 Granville, Conn., who died in 1824, aged forty-seven. 
 She was a most estimable woman, industrious and 
 faithful to her sense of duty, and during the long 
 illness of her htisband the care of the family and 
 management of affairs devolved chiefly upon her. 
 The labor-saving methods and appliances of the 
 present day were unknown, and she did the family 
 washing at a stream near the old home. Of the 
 twelve children none are now living except our 
 subject, (i) The eldest, Myron, went West soon 
 after his marriage, but returned to Suffield, where 
 he died at the age of thirty-nine, leaving seven chil- 
 dren, one of whom was in the Civil war. (2) Albert 
 engaged in farming in early life, but his health 
 failed, and he settled in Springfield, Mass., where he 
 died aged seventy-four. He married Emeline Mor- 
 ley, of Agawam, Mass., who died aged sixty-five, 
 and they had six children : Margaret E., a resident 
 of Suffield ; Julia, who lived only six weeks ; Robert 
 A., who enlisted during the Civil war in the ist 
 Massachusetts Cavalry, and was starved to death 
 while a prisoner at Andersonville ; Henry \N., a 
 hotel clerk at Boston, Mass., and a hotel keeper at 
 Newark, N. J., who died Dec. 25, 1870; M. Jennie, 
 who married E. Pember, and died in Plainville, 
 Conn. ; and Sarah Grafton Reed, who died in Jan- 
 uary, 1879, unmarried. (3) Almon, twin of Albert, 
 died in Suffield, aged thirty-six years, leaving five 
 children. (4) Ann married Elihu S. Ta^dor, of Suf- 
 field, and had three children. (5) Sibyl married John 
 Fuller, of Suffield. (6) Amy married Norman Hast- 
 ings, of Suffield, and had seven children. (7) Jane 
 
1224 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 married Nathaniel Curtis, of Suffield, and had five 
 children, one of whom served in the Civil war. (8) 
 Marietta never married. (9) Stephen, who was a 
 wheelwright at Suffield, had four children, one of 
 whom served in the Civil war. (10) Thomas, who 
 was a farmer in the town of Suffield, had two chil- 
 dren. (11) George is mentioned more fully below. 
 (i2j Chloe married Norman .Adams, of Suffield, 
 and had six children. 
 
 George Remington was born March 15, 1821, 
 at the old home on Hasting's Hill, and was but si.x 
 3-ears old when his father died. His attendance at 
 tilt local schools was limited, as there was much work 
 to do at home, and all the children began to earn 
 money as soon as possible to help support the family, 
 the girls doing spinning for neighbors at seventy- 
 five cents per week. The homestead was taken by 
 Almon Remington, who purchased a quit claim from 
 the otiier heirs as they came of age, paying one hun- 
 dred dollars to each one. Our subject remained at 
 the farm imtil he was about seventeen and a half 
 years old, when he spent six moiUhs with John Rice, 
 a farmer, receiving eight dollars per month, with 
 a bonus of three dollars for being steady. In the 
 fall of 1838 he went to Northampton, Mass., to 
 learn the blacksmith's trade, with the understanding 
 that he would receive thirtv dollars the first year, 
 thirty-five dollars the second, forty dollars the third, 
 and forty-five dollars the next si.x months. After 
 one year and two months he left the place, and never 
 had a penny for his hard work. Returning to Suf- 
 field, he "did chores" for his board from January 
 till .April I, 1840, and then entered upon a two-years' 
 apprenticeship to Francis Nichols, a blacksmith, at 
 fifty dollars per year. At the expiration of his 
 term he was employed at $200 per year for three 
 years, and later worked for a few months for Eli- 
 phalet Moran, whose shop stood just south of our 
 subject's present home. Having determined to en- 
 gage in business on his own account he rented this 
 shop, and three years later bought it, with a house 
 and lot north of it, where he has since made his 
 home. 
 
 Mr. Remington was known as a skilled work- 
 man, and for many years his trade kept him working 
 early and late. In one week he shod several oxen 
 and as many as ninety horses, pointing all the nails, 
 and filled numerous small orders for repairs or gen- 
 eral blacksmithing. His constitution was strong 
 and his body, while never fleshy, was wiry and mus- 
 cular, giving him great endurance. About the time 
 of the breaking out of the Civil war his health began 
 to fail, and for two years he worked as a farm hand 
 in order to recuperate. For the next five years he 
 had charge of the Hathaway farm, and since giving 
 up that position he has lived in comparative retire- 
 ment, although the care of his real-estate holdings 
 and making of private loans on securities occupies 
 some of his time. At present he is a director in 
 the Suffield National Bank, and his wealth and rep- 
 utation for sagacity in financial affairs make him 
 
 one of the substantial citizens of the town. Polit- 
 ically he was a Democrat until 1896, when his opin- 
 ions on the currency question led him to vote for 
 McKinley. He has never sought political office, 
 but has not shirked the duty of a good citizen, and 
 when the new school house was built in Suffield he 
 served as chairman of the building committee. He 
 and his estimable wife are leading members of the 
 liaptist Church, and for ten years he was chairman 
 of the committee of that Society. 
 
 On May 30, 1849, •''^I'"- Remington was married 
 in Suffield, to Miss Eliza A. F'uUer, who was born 
 June 25, 1830, a daughter of George and Eliza 
 ( l*"uller) Fuller, prominent residents of that town. 
 Her education was obtained in the Connecticut Lit- 
 erary Institute, at Suffield, and in the schools of 
 East Hampton and Westfield, Mass., and she is ex- 
 ceptionally cultured and intelligent. She was one of 
 of a family of five children, of whom three lived to 
 iv.aturity: Mary E., a resident of Warehouse Point; 
 Eliza A., Mrs. Remington; and George H. 
 
 EDWARD GUSTAVUS NEALE (deceased), 
 for many years a leading contractor of Southing- 
 ton, was prominently identified with the upbuilding 
 and development of that town. Some time ago he 
 laid aside all business cares to spend the remainder 
 of his life in ease and quiet, enjoying the fruits 
 of former toil, and he entered into eternal rest April 
 20, 1900. 
 
 Mr. Neale was born in Southington Jan. 24, 
 1825, a son of Joseph and Hester B. (Moulthrop) 
 Neale, who were married Oct. 20, 1812, and had 
 four children: Charles E., Orsephus Billings, Sarah 
 M. and Edward G. For his second wife the fa- 
 ther married Matilda Barnes, of Berlin, by whom 
 he had one daughter, Caroline, now the wife of 
 Edward Miller, of Meriden, Conn. Joseph Neale 
 was born in Southington Nov. 10, 1784, son of 
 Elijah and Silence Neale, of that town, and died 
 Oct. 28, 1834. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of Edward G. Neale 
 were passed in Southington, where he attended the 
 common schools and served an apprenticeship of two 
 and one-half years to the carpenter's trade with 
 De Witt Upson, of the Marion District. He then 
 followed that occupation until 1889 as an extensive 
 contractor and builder, erecting many of the prin- 
 cipal residences in Southington and vicinity, among 
 which we may mention : 1847, Baptist church, 
 Springfield, Mass. ; 1848, with Samuel Woodruff, 
 ariother contractor, Lewis Academy, Southington ; 
 1S50, North End school house, Southington; 1851, 
 Ira B. Andrews house, Marion, Conn.; 1850-51, 
 O. B. Neale house, Marion; 1852, Lester Smith 
 (now O. N. Lamson) house, Berlin avenue; 1854, 
 Bennet Lewis house, Marion ; 1855, William Smith 
 house, Plantsville ; 1855, Selah Thorp saw-mill, Mt. 
 Vernon, Conn. ; 1856, William Churchill house, Cen- 
 ter street; 1856, John White house, Plantsville; 
 1857, three houses for D. Ruggles, Milldale; 1858, 
 
6 
 o 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1225 
 
 Ira Frost house, Marion; 1859, Stephen Pratt house, 
 Berlin avenue; 1868, John Gridley house (now Mrs. 
 
 F. L. Stevens)., Meriden avenue; 1869, Edward 
 
 G. Neale tenement house, Academy Hill; 1869, 
 Dennis Bristol house, Bristol street; 1870, E. C. 
 Stillman house, Academy Hill; 1871-72, Edward 
 G. Neale's late home, Academy Hill; 1871-72, Wal- 
 ter S. Atwood house, Milldale ; 1871, Edwin Dick- 
 erman house, Dickerman Corners ; 1873, three houses 
 for the Cutlery Co., Oak Flill Summit; 1873, Enoch 
 Nichols jewelry store and house. Main street; 1873, 
 Horatio Dunham house and barn, Shuttle Meadow ; 
 
 1873, Edward G. Neale house, Oak street, South- 
 ington ; 1873, Abigail Beach house, Berlin avenue; 
 
 1874, Leonard Beecher (now S. F. Guernsey) house. 
 Main street; 1884, L. D. Frost (now Howard Will- 
 iams) house. Main street; the William Wightman 
 and the Stacy houses, on Wolf Hill ; and many 
 others. In i88q Mr. Neale entered his son's store, 
 and remained there for five years, but at the end 
 of that period he laid aside all business cares, and 
 lived retired, enjoying a well-earned rest. 
 
 On July 29, 1847, Mr. Neale married Miss 
 Rhoda S. Pratt, who was born Aug. 14, 1828, a 
 daughter of Col. Seth and Abigail L. (Smith) 
 Pratt, of Southington, and a granddaughter of 
 Deacon Eli and Abigail (Hitchcock) Pratt. To 
 this marriage was born one son, Charles Edward, 
 who is mentioned below. Mr. Neale was a con- 
 sistent member of the First Congregational Church, 
 to which his widow also belongs, and took an active 
 interest in its work, while he served as deacon for 
 several years. He and Deacon Miles H. Upson, of 
 Southington, supported the Marion Sunday-school 
 for years, having founded the first Sunday-school 
 there. Politically he was indentified with the Re- 
 publican party, and held the offices of grand juror 
 and member of the school committee. After an 
 honorable and useful career, he could well afford to 
 lay aside all business cares and live in ease and re- 
 tirement, surrounded by a large circle of friends 
 and acquaintances. . 
 
 Charles Edward Neale, the only child of Ed- 
 ward G. and Rhoda S. (Pratt) Neale, was born in 
 Plainville May 9, 1849, and was educated in the 
 common schools, the Lewis high school, and Wells 
 Business College, New Haven. He began life for 
 himself as a school teacher, and successfully followed 
 that vocation for two years in Southington and 
 vicinity, also for one year in Meriden. He then 
 engaged in clerking in J. H. Elliott's general store 
 at Plantsville for one year, and for a like period was 
 with J. F. Pratt, of Southington, with whom he 
 entered into partnership in general merchandising in 
 1876, this connection existing three years. Mr. Pratt 
 then sold his interest to S. F. Guernsey, and the busi- 
 ness has been conducted under the firm name of 
 Neale & Guernsey up to the present time. They 
 are among the most prominent and leading mer- 
 chants of Southington, and enjoy an excellent trade. 
 
 On Dec. 26, 1885, Mr. Neale was united in mar- 
 
 riage with Miss Lizzie A. Lord, daughter of Charles 
 and JuKna (Maynard) Lord, of Southington, and 
 of the children born to them four are living : Charles 
 Edward, Jr., Alma, Margery and Harold. Mr. 
 Neale is one of the solid and reliable business men 
 of Southington, is a genial and courteous gentle- 
 man, and is held in high regard by all who know 
 him. Religiously he is a member of the Congre- 
 gational Church; politically he is a stanch Repub- 
 lican. 
 
 JAMES ROLAND HAYES, senior member of 
 the firm of J. R. Hayes & Son, undertakers, gen- 
 eral farmers and tobacco growers of North Granby, 
 was born there Nov. 4, 1821, and belongs to one of 
 the oldest families of the town of Granby, the name 
 being inseparably connected with the history of 
 Hartford county for over two hundred years. In 
 the family have been many men of prominence in 
 business, professional and public life, including 
 President Hayes. 
 
 Obediah Hayes, the grandfather of our subject, 
 was born June 14, 1754, in Simsbury (now North 
 Granby), and was a son of Daniel Hayes (2). 
 Throughout life he engaged in agricultural pursuits 
 there, and also conducted a hotel in a house still 
 standing, which was erected by him over 130 years 
 ago. He was widely and favorably known, and 
 served as school commissinoer in his district in 
 1795- Oi^ Sept. 25, 1780, he married Miss Ahinoam 
 Holcomb, who was born March 18, 1757, a daughter 
 of Joshua and Mary (Griffin) Holcomb. Her fa- 
 ther was a grandson of Thomas Holcomb, the pro- 
 genitor of the family in America. Eleven children 
 were born of this union : Obediah was born Sept. 
 24, 1781 ; Ahinoam, born Sept. 29, 1782, was mar- 
 ried in 1809 to Oliver Coe, and died in New York, 
 June 12, 1867; Cephas was born Sept. 19, 1785; 
 Amherst was born March 3, 1788; Bethsheba, born 
 June 6, 1790, married Adijah Dibble; Chester was 
 born March 12, 1792; Roland, born May 3, 1794, 
 was the father of our subject ; Harvey was born May 
 23, 1797; Gordon was born April 24, 1798; Nancy, 
 born Aug. 24, 1800, died in 1882 ; and Homer was 
 born Feb. 7, 1803. The father of these children 
 died May 23, 1817, and the mother, who was a con- 
 sistent member of the Congregational Church, de- 
 parted this life Sept. 10, 1844, the remains of both 
 being interred in North Granby cemetery. 
 
 Roland Hayes, our subject's father, was born 
 on the old home farm in the town of Granby, May 
 3, 1794, and received only a common-school educa- 
 tion. For many years he worked in the foundry of 
 Stephen W. Cornwall, as a brass molder, and then 
 engaged in farming upon a tract of sixty acres of 
 land, but a few years prior to his death he removed 
 to Southington, Conn., where he lived retired until 
 cabled from this life, May 18, 1877, his remains 
 being interred there. During the war of 18 12 he 
 was drafted, but hostilities ceased before he was 
 called into service. For some time he was captain 
 
1226 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of a local company in the volunteer militia, and was 
 always known as Capt. Hayes. In political senti- 
 ment he was a Whig, and in his religious views was 
 liberal, but he and his family attended the Congre- 
 gational Church and contributed to its support. On 
 Aug. 27, 1817, he marHed Miss I'atience liarnes, 
 who was born .Vpril 14, 1797. a daughter of Thomas 
 and Phoebe Barnes. She died in Southington, Aug. 
 16, 1870, and was also buried in the cemetery there. 
 Seven children constituted the family : Sojihia, born 
 May 9, 1820, married James Goddard, and both are 
 now deceased ; James R., our subject, is ne.xt in the 
 order of birth ; Caroline E.. born Aug. 24, 1825, died 
 Feb. 27, 1827; 1-Vanklin B., born Dec. 30, 1827, 
 died in middle life; Frances M.. born Dec. 18, 1830, 
 married Jonathan W'alkley, of Southington. and died 
 June 8, i860; Lucia E.. born .\ug. 20, 1842, was 
 married Sept. 8, 1868, to W. W. W'oolcott, of 
 Georgia ; and Xancy Elizabeth became the wife of 
 Henry A. Barraclough, of Los .Angeles. California. 
 
 Like most farmer boys of hi.s day, James R. 
 Hayes assisted in the work of the farm during the 
 summer season and attended school through the win- 
 ter months, pursuing his studies in the public schools 
 of the town of Granby and Granby .\cademy, under 
 the instruction of Jefferson Coolcy. He was a close 
 student, and soon fitted himself for the teacher's 
 profession, which he followed for several years 
 during the winter, receiving $12 per month. Learn- 
 ing the wheelwright's trade, he engaged in that 
 business as a journeyman in North Granby for ten 
 years, but for the past thirty-five years has devoted 
 his attention to agricultural pursuits upon his pres- 
 ent farm. He was one of the first in the town of 
 Granby to engage in the cultivation of tobacco, and 
 is now one of the largest tobacco raisers in the com- 
 munity. Since 1888 he has been in partnership 
 with his son in operating a fine farm of 100 acres 
 in North Granby, besides a large tract of mountain 
 land, and for over a third of a century has done a 
 successful business as an undertaker, being for many 
 years the only one in Granby. 
 
 On Oct. 23, 1846, Mr. Hayes was united in mar- 
 riage with J\Iiss Almira Clark, who was born in 
 Hartland, in August, 1826, a daughter of Jabin and 
 Laura (Butler) Clark, and to them have come three 
 children: (i) Marshall Clark, born May 14, 184S, 
 was educated in the public schools and the high 
 school at Greenwich, R. L, and is now engaged in 
 business with his father. He was married. May 29, 
 1877, to Ella Merriam, a daughter of Ahira and 
 Roxy (Kendall) Merriam, and they have three chil- 
 dren: Harold Merriam, born Nov. 18, 1882; Her- 
 bert Kendall, March 11, 1884; and Annie E., Sept. 
 7, 18S8. Marshall C. Hayes is a Republican in 
 politics, and a member of the Congregational Church 
 of Granby, in which he is serving as deacon. (2) 
 Caroline, born Sept. 12, 1849, died Feb. 8, 1852. 
 (3) Flora Edna, born April 22, i860, has for a num- 
 ber of years been a successful teacher, and now has 
 charsre of a school at Blue Hills, Hartford. She is 
 
 the widow of Dr. W. W. Stratton, and has one child. 
 Hazel Louise. 
 
 Mr. Elayes is a stanch supporter of the Repub- 
 lican party and its principles, and has ever taken an 
 active and prominent part in local politics, being 
 elected to the State Legislature in 1875 and filling 
 that ofiice for one term. He has also served as 
 selectman four terms, assessor of the town, justice 
 of the peace, a member of the board of relief and 
 member of the school board and school committee. 
 His public duties were always most promptly and 
 faithfully discharged, winning the commendation 
 of all concerned. Fraternally he is the oldest mem- 
 ber of St. Mark's Lodge, No. 91, F. & A. M. For 
 fifty-two years he and his estimable wife have trav- 
 eled life's journey together, sharing its joys and 
 sorrows, its adversity and prosperity, and now in 
 their declining days are surrounded by a host of 
 friends and ac(|uaintances who appreciate their ster- 
 ling worth. 
 
 WARREN GRIDLEY BUNNELL. There is 
 particular satisfaction in reverting to the life history 
 of the honored and venerable gentleman whose 
 name introduces this review, since he has for many 
 years been prominently identified with the agricult- 
 ural and political interests of Burlington, and has 
 attained a position of distinctive prominence in the 
 town where he was born and where he has retained 
 his residence until the present time, being one of 
 the revered patriarchs of the community. 
 
 Mr. Bunnell was born near Burlington Centre 
 April 6, 1819, and belongs to one of the oldest fam- 
 ilies of that locality. He is the oldest man in the 
 town of Burlington, born there. His grandfather, 
 Lemuel Bunnell, was born in 1767, in Hartford 
 county, and when a young man located in Burling- 
 ton, where he purchased a tract of thirty acres of 
 land for $300. At that time he was quite poor, and 
 had only one dollar and eighty cents to pay upon 
 his property, but he worked hard and finally man- 
 aged to pay ofl: the debt. Throughout life he en- 
 gaged in agricultural pursuits, and he died upon 
 his farm Feb. i, 1809. His wife, who bore the 
 maiden name of Marial Benham, was born in 1772, 
 and died April 7, 1852. The remains of both were 
 interred in Burlington cemetery. In their family 
 were five children : Hezekiah, a manufacturer of 
 linseed oil, who died in Burlington ; Polly ( Mrs. 
 Elton); Theda (Mrs. Smith); Joel, father of. our 
 subject; and Sybil (Mrs. Wheeler). 
 
 Capt. Joel Bunnell, our subject's father, w.as 
 born Feb. 5, 1793, received a district-school educa- 
 tion, and during his youth learned the trades of tan- 
 ner, currier and shoemaker. Throughout the 
 greater part of his life he followed shoemaking, 
 going from house to house making shoes, then 
 known as "whipping the cat." He was a man of ' 
 good business ability and sound judgment, and be- 
 came quite well-to-do, owning over 700 acres of 
 land in Burlington, where he also engaged in farm- 
 
'yfL.u^' ^ ^^— ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1227 
 
 ing and stock raising. He was a captain in tlie 
 State militia, and during tiie war of 1812 was 
 drafted, serving for six months at ]\e\v London, 
 Conn. In his rehgious views he was liberal, and 
 in political sentiment was first a Democrat and 
 later a Republican, but never an office seeker. He 
 died in Burlington July 4, 1876, honored and re- 
 spected by all who knew him. He married Miss 
 Fanny Gridley, a daughter of Ruil Gridley, who was 
 a farmer in Harwmton, Conn., and there died. 
 Mrs. Bunnell was born March 13, 1798, and died 
 April 30, 1887, being laid to rest by the side of her 
 husband, in Burlington Centre cemetery. Our sub- 
 ject is the eldest of their children. Lemuel W., 
 born June 12, 1823, married Jennette E. Clark, who 
 died Jan. 3, 1847, at the age of twenty-six years, 
 and he then married Serena Aldrich, who still lives ; 
 they had two daughters, Fannie (Mrs. Jenkins), of 
 Plainville, and Clara, deceased wife of Robert P. 
 Bissell; Lemuel W. Bunnell died in Plainville, 
 Conn., April 23, 1890. Norris W. was born Nov. 
 10, 1825. Sheldon L., born Jan. 19, 1828, died 
 July 8, 1878. Adaline A., born June 24, 1832, is 
 a resident of Burlington Centre. 
 
 Warren G. Bunnell, our subject, attended the 
 district schools of Burlington, also the Burlington 
 Academy, and in early life learned the carpenter's 
 and joiner's trade mainly through his own unaided 
 efforts. He has devoted considerable time to the 
 trade ; has also engaged in general farming, sheep 
 raising and the cultivation of tobacco, and is still 
 operating the farm. He has been interested in house 
 moving for a number of years, and has moved many 
 buildings in Hartford and Litchfield counties. His 
 apparatus for this work is of his own invention, and 
 the blocks he uses weigh over 100 pounds each. The 
 chain weighs over 400 pounds, and is the only one 
 of the kind in the county ; it is 275 feet in length, 
 and cost one hundred dollars in New York. Mr. 
 Bunnell has moved three churches, raised (each) 
 one pair of rafters, also over one thousand feet of 
 lumber, besides the iron. He has raised shops, 
 saw-mills and gristmill, three stories each, also flag 
 poles of over one hundred feet in height (in Bur- 
 lington) , when he was over eight}'-one years old, he 
 raised a flag pole, with copper ball and weather 
 vane six feet long and weighing about fifty pounds. 
 In addition to all this he raised a church bell, and 
 a house that required forty-five jackscrews. Mr. 
 Bunnell has made many improvements upon his 
 farm, and although eighty-one years cf age he is 
 still very active, and attends to all of his business 
 affairs. He is progressive, industrious, temperate 
 and honest, and is numbered among the leading 
 and foremost citizens of Burlington. 
 
 In 1858 Mr. Bunnell married Miss Eunice Har- 
 riet Bradley, daughter of John L. and Harriet Brad- 
 ley, and to them were born three children : Alice 
 H., now the wife of Clarence Alderman, of Farm- 
 ington ; Lutie W., who for a time was engaged in 
 school teaching, and is now the wife of Charles 
 
 Barnes, of New Britain ; and Celia G., living at 
 home, who is now treasurer of the school board of 
 the district, and has the honor of being the first 
 woman elected to a political office in the town of 
 Burlington. 
 
 Mr. Bunnell is a man of broad and liberal ideas, 
 is well read, and thoroughly posted on all the lead- 
 ing events of the day, and is quite popular with all 
 classes of people, iie is a strong advocate of tem- 
 perance, and has signed as many as six cold-v>fater 
 warrants for the arrest of liquor men. At one time 
 he was active in the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 in which he served as trustee, but he is now liberal 
 in his views. In early life he affiliated with the 
 Know-Nothing party, and is now a stanch Republi- 
 can in politics. He has been appointed to the offices 
 of justice of the peace and grand juror in Burling- 
 ton; and has been treasurer of the town, handling- 
 all the money; and for over thirty years has been 
 sealer of weights and measures. His offices have 
 all come to him unsolicited, however, as he has 
 never had political aspirations. 
 
 BURTON D. PHELPS, a prominent dairyman 
 of the town of Windsor, is a native of New Boston, 
 Berkshire Co., Mass., born March 4, 1857, and is 
 descended from a family whose connection, if any, 
 with the family of the same name in Windsor, is 
 very remote. His parents were O. W. and Eliza- 
 beth (Deming) Phelps, and he is the eldest in their 
 family of six children, three sons and three daugh- 
 ters, of whom the sons and one daughter are still 
 living. 
 
 During his boyhood our subject came to Hart- 
 ford to live with his maternal grandfather, Eleazer 
 Deming, a farmer by occupation, with whom he re- 
 mained until the latter's death. He was reared on 
 the farm and provided with good educational ad- 
 vantages, better even than he took advantage of, 
 though he attended the common schools of Hart- 
 ford. After his grandfather's death he worked as 
 a farm hand ten years for his uncle Wellington 
 Deming, and here secured an excellent knowledge 
 of every department of farm work. 
 
 In Hartford, Mr. Phelps was married, Sept. 25, 
 1883, to Miss Florence Newton, who was born in 
 Royal Oak, Mich., April 2, 1862. Her ancestors 
 were originally from Long Meadow, Mass., but her 
 father, Daniel W. Newton, was a native of Michigan, 
 a son of Isaac and Anna (Simons) Newton, who in 
 1835 removed to that State and became pioneers 
 of Oakland county. The father married Miss Eu- 
 nice Stephenson, and they spent their entire mar- 
 ried life in JNIichigan, where they died. They had 
 two children : Annie, who died in childhood : and 
 Florence, wife of our subject. At the age of eight 
 years the latter came East, and until sixteen lived 
 hi Massachusetts, after which she made her home 
 in Hartford until her marriage. Our subject and 
 his wife. now have one son, B. Ernest, born Aug. 
 19, 1891. 
 
1228 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Phelps rented a farm 
 from his uncle, Wellington Deming, and lived there 
 until April, 1890, when he removed to his present 
 farm, known as the George Peck farm. This he 
 bought and by subsequent purchase has added to 
 it until he now has seventy-five acres of valuable 
 land, on which he has made many improvements 
 which add to its attractive appearance. From boy- 
 hood he has been familiar with dairy work, and as 
 a retailer is now extensively engaged in that busi- 
 ness. He is an active, energetic and progressive 
 business man, who believes in enjoying life as he 
 goes along. His political sympathies are with the 
 Republican party, but he supports men according to 
 fitness rather than politics, and has never been an 
 office seeker. His wife is a member of the Woman's 
 Relief Corps, No. 6, au.xiliary to Robert O. Tv- 
 ler Post, G. A. R., of Hartford. 
 
 DEACON HENRY HUMPHREY. The 
 Humphrey family is one of the oldest in this coun- 
 try, and its members have made the name honored 
 in civil and military life, several having served in 
 the Revolutionary army. 
 
 The first of the name to settle in this section 
 was Michael Humphrey, and through his son, Lieut. 
 Samuel, the subject of this sketch, a well-known 
 resident of Canton, traces his descent. Lieut. Sam- 
 uel Humphrey was born in 1656 in Windsor, and 
 resided during a portion of his life in Massacoe, now 
 Simsbury. Samuel Humphrey, son of Lieut. Sam- 
 uel, was born in Simsbury May 17, 1686, and was 
 made a freeman of that town in 1717. He was 
 pound keeper for a number of years, and also 
 served as collector, constable, and surveyor of high- 
 ways. He was married on Feb. 23, 1709, to Han- 
 nah Phelps, who was born Oct. 25, 1693, daugh- 
 ter of Joseph and Mary Phelps, of Simsbury, who 
 died in 1710, and was buried in Simsbury. On 
 Feb. 26, 1712, he married Marv Fuller, who was 
 born Nov. 27, 1692, daughter of John and Eliza- 
 beth (Case) Fuller. In December, 17 14, he mar- 
 ried Lydia North, of Farmington, daughter of Na- 
 thaniel North. She died Aug. 8, 1730, and in Octo- 
 ber, 1 73 1, he married, for his fourth wife, Mary 
 Orton, of Litchfield county. Conn. By the first 
 marriage there was one child — Samuel, born Oct. 
 15, 1710, who married Mary Wilcox, and died July 
 7. 1755; and one by the second — Abel, born March 
 13, 1714, who married Jemima Warner. The chil- 
 dren of the third marriage were: Lydia, born Nov. 
 7, 1715, married, on Aug. 19, 1737, in Simsbury, 
 Capt. Daniel Wilcox; Elizr.beth, born July 9, 1717, 
 married, on Aug. 27, 1735, Joseph Wilcox; Ezekiel 
 is mentioned below; Tryphena, born Jan. 29, 1722, 
 married, on June 11, 1739. Dr. Samuel Barbour, 
 son of Samuel and Mercy (Holcomb) Barbour, and 
 died in 1752; Mary married, on April 10, 1746, 
 Sergt. Ezra Wilcox; Daniel, born June 5, 1726, 
 married Lucy Marshall, and died March 23, 1814; 
 Isaac died Aug. 3, 1732. Of the children of the 
 
 fourth marriage Ashbel, who was born April 19, 
 1732, and dieu in May, 18 13, married for his first 
 wife Lois Coldwell, for his second Lurena Wor- 
 cester, for his third Mrs. Amy Reed, for his fourth 
 a widow whose name is unknown, and for his fifth 
 Clarion Hanson. Isaac, born Nov. 27, 1735, mar- 
 ried Esther North, and died Oct. 13, 1788. Thomas, 
 born Oct. 27, 1735, died in 1818, was first married to 
 Elizabeth Hopkins, and afterward to Jane Flint. 
 Eunice married Jacob Holatred. Charles, born Feb. 
 13. 1743. <J'ed in 1822, married Normie Worcester. 
 Lois, born Aug. 26, 1745, married David Wright, 
 of Oxford, Conn. Noel, born Nov. 21, 1747, died 
 June 10, 1819, married Sarah Marshall. Daniel 
 was born in 1749, and died in 1800. 
 
 Capt. Ezekiel Humphrey, the next in the line 
 of descent, was born Aug. 28, 17 19, in Simsbury, 
 where he grew to manhood. In 1743 he settled in 
 West Simsbury and engaged in farming. He rep- 
 resented Simsbury in the General Assembly in 1777 
 and 1779, and in many ways showed his sympathy 
 with the American cause during the war of the 
 Revolution. He died in 1795, and his wife, Eliza- 
 beth Pettibone Humphrey, who was born in Sims- 
 bury in 1724, died in \\'est Simsbury in 1792. By 
 this marriage tliere were ten children, viz. : Ezekiel, 
 born May 28, 1746, married Rhoda Scott, and died 
 in 1802; Elijah, born Sept. 20, 1748, married Chloe 
 Wilcox, and died in 1788; Elizabeth, born in 1750, 
 married (first) Lieut. Daniel Case, and afterward 
 Elihu Case, and died in 1808; Frederick, born Dec. 
 9, 1753, married (first) Ruth Fuller and (second) 
 Sarah Wilcox, and died in 1821 ; George is men- 
 tioned below; Anna, born in 1758, married Reuben 
 Humphrey, and died in April, 1826; Giles, born in 
 1760, married Elizabeth Case, daughter of Deacon 
 Abraham Case; Chloe, born June 28, 1762, married 
 Capt. Asher Humphrey, and died June 31, 1813; 
 Betsey, born Feb. 12, 1767, married Sylvester Hum- 
 phre3^ and died Feb. 15, 1845; Lydia, born in 1769, 
 was first married to Alexander Humphrey, and aft- 
 erward to Samuel Webster. 
 
 Col. George Humphrey, our subject's great- 
 grandfather, was born in 1756, in West Simsbury, 
 and died in 1813. He lived at home until the Revo- 
 lutionary war broke out, when he became a promi- 
 nent soldier in the American army, filling many im- 
 portant offices. At the close of the war he returned 
 to the homestead, known as Parsonage farm, and 
 with his brother, Frederick, started a blacksmith 
 shop. He was probate judge in his native town 
 for several years, also justice of the peace, and in 
 1792 he was elected to the State Legislature. On 
 Aug. 7, 1777, he married Elizabeth Pettibone, who 
 was born in Simsbury in 1756, daughter of Capt. 
 Abraham and Jerusha (Pinney) Pettibone, and died 
 Sept. 22, 1784. On June 5, 1785, he married 
 Rachel Humphrey, who was born Oct. 12, I755> 
 daughter of Ensign Oliver and Sarah (Garrett) 
 Humphrey, and died in 1831. His children were 
 
X 
 
 ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1229 
 
 as follows: Clarissa, born July 19, 1780, married 
 in 181 1, Elisha Dyer, son of Thomas Dyer. George 
 is mentioned below. Jerusha, born Dec. 2, 1783, 
 died June 11, 1784; Elizabeth, born Feb. 22, 1786, 
 married Dr. Dudley Humphrey, and died in Orwell, 
 Bradford Co., Penn. Cornelia, born July 30, 1787, 
 married Abraham Griswold, and died Jan. 14, 1869, 
 at Gustavus, Ohio. Decius, born April 19, 1789, 
 married Laura Adams, and died June 14, 1878. 
 Stella, born Oct. 26, 1790, married Lester Cone^ 
 and died on Oct. i, 1846, at Monroeville, Huron 
 Co., Ohio. Emily, born Oct. 17, 1792, married 
 Ralph Meecham, and died Dec. 17, 1862, at Mecca, 
 Trumbull Co., Ohio. Laura, born Aug. 24, 1795, 
 married on Feb. 18, 1814, Deacon Lancel Foote, 
 and died Sept. 19, 1880. Hector, born June 8, 
 1797, married Mariette Mott, was president of the 
 college at Annapolis, Md., and died June 28, 1857. 
 George Humphrey, the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born July 23, 1782, in what was then 
 West Simsbury, now Canton, Conn., where he grew 
 to manhood. Like his father he was a soldier, 
 serving in the war of 1812, also in Algeria, where 
 he was taken prisoner. He died in 1836. By his 
 marriage to Candice Case there were the following 
 children: George, the father of our subject, who is 
 mentioned below; and Harriet, born Dec. 23, 1806, 
 who died Aug. 23, 1877, unmarried, in Canton, 
 Conn. By his second marriage, in 1816, a daugh- 
 ter, Estella, was born in 181 7, who married Isaac 
 Beckmith in 1834; her second husband was William 
 S. Dewey. 
 
 George Humphrey, the father of our subject, 
 was born Aug. 15, 1804, at New Hartford, Conn., 
 and died at Smyrna, Chenango Co., N. Y., Aug. 
 13, 1883. Being among the early settlers he was 
 forced to put up with many of the hardships of 
 pioneer life, living in a log house and working hard 
 to clear the land. By persistent effort, however, 
 he made many improvements upon his farm, among 
 them a fine dwelling. He was a good man, liberal 
 in his church views, and in politics was a Demo- 
 crat, but never an office seeker. On Oct. 12, 1825, 
 he married, at Canton, Conn., Louise Mills, daugh- 
 ter of Gardner and Mary F. (Skinner) Mills, of 
 that place. She died at their home Jan. 19, 1839. 
 By this marriage there were the following children : 
 Alfred F., born Oct. 8, 1826, died March 18, 1898; 
 Louren E., born Dec. 22, 1828, died in California; 
 Lucy, born Oct. 4, 1830, married, in 1853, William 
 G. Hallock, and died April 2, 1874; Anson W., born 
 Feb. 8, 1833, died Dec. 31, 1833; Clarissa, born 
 Nov. 5, 1834, died Dec. 20, 1834; George H., born 
 May 25, 1836. Mr. Humphrey married for his sec- 
 ond wife, on Oct. 30, 1839, Louisa Webb, a good 
 Christian woman, who died at Smyrna, N. Y., July 
 31, 1877. By this union there were the following 
 children: Estella, born July 27, 1840, married Vin- 
 cent Goodsell, and afterward Lawson Hutchins ; 
 Theron, born April 23, 1842, married Ellen Fifield 
 Feb. 22, 1865; our subject is mentioned below; 
 
 Edwin, born Aug. 29, 1847, in Georgetown, N. Y., 
 married on May 27, 1868, Abigail Walrod; Francis, 
 born Sept. i, 1849, died Oct. 28, 1852; Solon, born 
 July 26, 1851, married on Sept. 10, 1872, Mary E. 
 Wynn, and resides at Smyrna, New York. 
 
 Deacon Henry Humphrey, our subject, was born 
 at Smyrna, N. Y., Sept. 3, 1845, and was given a 
 common-school education. At the age of twenty, 
 desiring to start in life for himself, he went to 
 Canton, Conn., where for four years he worked as 
 a farm hand for his brother and William G. Hal- 
 lock. After another year spent in operating a rent- 
 ed farm he bought a tract of one hundred acres, 
 and engaged in tobacco culture, dairying and 
 stock raising. Though he started in life poor, push 
 and energy have in his case had their reward, as 
 his farm now testifies by extensive improvements. 
 In the fall of 1898 he met with one reverse, how- 
 ever, his barn, worth $3,500, being destroyed by 
 fire, but fortunately the loss was partly made good 
 by the insurance. Mr. Humphrey is much re- 
 spected in his community, and is a director of the 
 Canton Creamery Association. He has served on the 
 town school committee, to which he was re-elected 
 at the last town meeting, has been a member of the 
 board of relief for some time, and since 1888 has 
 been a deacon in his church at Canton Center. Po- 
 litically he is a Republican. On Jan. 27, 1869, he 
 married, in Canton, Calcie Mills, who was born in 
 Canton, Aug 3 1,1847, daughter oi Elizur and Betsey 
 (Case) Mills. She was educated in a select school in 
 Canton Center, and after she was sixteen taught 
 school for a number of terms. Like her husband she 
 is a church member. Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey have 
 had two children: Ernest, born Nov. 13, 1883, who 
 died Nov. 16, 1883 ; and Alice Estella, born June 
 21, 1888, who is attending school. 
 
 The Mills family, of which Mrs. Humphrey is 
 a member, was also of pioneer stock, her ancestors 
 having come from Yorkshire, England, at an early 
 day. Simon Mills, the first of the family of whom 
 we have record, was a resident of Windsor previous 
 to 1669, as he then removed from that town to Mas- 
 sacoe, now Simsbury, settling at Weatogue, East 
 Simsbury. On Feb. 23, 1649, he married Mary 
 Buel, and they had the following children: Mary, 
 born Dec. 8, 1662; Hannah, born in 1665; Simon 
 (i), born in May, 1667, who died at an early age; 
 John, who is mentioned below ; Sarah, born in 
 September, 1670; Abigail, born in 1672; Elizabeth, 
 born in 1674; Prudence, born in 1676; and Simon 
 (2), born in 1678. 
 
 John Mills, the next in the line of descent, was 
 born in January, 1668, in Windsor, Conn., and 
 at an early age removed with his parents to Wea- 
 togue, Simsbury, where he grew to manhood. He 
 had married Sarah Pettibone, an English woman of 
 good family, and had fairly settled down to life as a 
 farmer when he died, leaving four children : John ; 
 Benjamin and Joseph, twins ; and Sarah, who died 
 in 1797, at the age of loi years. She was married 
 
1230 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ihrec times, first to Samuel Tuller, next to Francis 
 Garrett, and afterward to Joseph Woodford. The 
 widow of Mr. JMills married for lier second hus- 
 band Deacon Jolm Humphrey, and had chiklren : 
 John, Hannah, lienajah, Alichael, and Rev. Daniel 
 (who was the father of Gen. David Humphrey). 
 
 Joseph Mills was born in Simsbury, in the Wea- 
 togue District, in 1694, and died April ly, 17S3. 
 In 1742 he settled in West Simsbury, where he be- 
 came a large land owner and prominent citizen. 
 He married, m 1724, Hannah Adams, who was born 
 in 1709, and died in September, 1776. Of their 
 children, Joseph, born in 1726, died in 1795, was 
 married four times, his first wife being Lois Case. 
 Michael, born in 1728, died in 1819, married Mer- 
 cy Lawrence. Hannah, born in 1731, died in 1796, 
 married Ebenezer Fields. Samuel, born in 1734, 
 died in 1803, married a Miss Curtis. Amasa, born 
 in 1736, died in 1821, married Lucy Curtis, daugh- 
 ter of Peter Curtis. Benjamin, born in 1738, died 
 in 1829, married Hannah Humphrey. Ezekiel, born 
 in 1740, died in 1805, married Ursula Pheljis. Dan- 
 iel was born in 1742, and died in 1779. Simon was 
 born in 1744, and died in 1778. Andrew, born in 
 1746, died in 18 13, married Naoma Humphrey. 
 Sarah, born in 1748, died in 1805, married Joseph 
 Cowles, and afterward Asa Foote. Thankful, born 
 in 1750, died in 1776, married Charles Wilcox. 
 Ephraim is mentioned below. Ruth, born in 1753, 
 died in 1789, married James Andrews. Many of 
 the sons mentioned above were prominent in the 
 Revolutionary war, several being captains and one 
 a colonel. Five of them were deacons in churches. 
 
 Ephraim Mills, the great-grandfather of our 
 subject's wife, was born April 19, 1751, in West 
 Simsbury, and died there in 1818. His first wife 
 was Rosanna Foote, who was born in 1754, daugh- 
 ter of Capt. John Foote, and died in 18 14. His 
 second wife was Bethia Johnson. By his first mar- 
 riage there were ten children : one died in infancy ; 
 Rosanna, born Sept. 17, 1780, married Arnold P. 
 Humphrey; Ephraim, born Oct. 19, 1782, married 
 (first) Sarah Case, widow of Orange Case, and 
 afterward Emma Tuller ; Phcebe, born ]\Iarch 28, 
 1784, married Stephen Davis; Simeon, born in 
 1786, died in 1787; Simeon (2) is mentioned be- 
 low; Andrew, born in April, 1789, died Oct. 14, 
 1792; Ruth, born Nov. 8, 1792, married Chancey G. 
 Griswold ; Andrew (2), born in 1793, died Jan. i, 
 1804: Norman, born Aug. 21, 1795, married Sophia 
 Andrews. 
 
 Simeon ilills, the grandfather of Airs. Hum- 
 phrey, was born Sept. 22, 1787, at West Simsbury, 
 now Canton, where he spent his entire life. By 
 occupation he was mainly a farmer, although he 
 was engaged in teaming on the Albany and Hart- 
 ford turnpike for a number of years. He was a 
 well-known citizen, a member of the Congregational 
 Church, and in politics at first a Whig and after- 
 ward a Republican. His remains were interred in 
 the cemetery at Canton Center. He was married 
 
 first to Anna D, Angilis, later to Abbah Buel, and 
 third to Clarinda Humphrey, His children were as 
 fellows: George, Stiles, Elizur, Maryette, Aurelia 
 and Sarah Ann. 
 
 Elizur Mills, the father of Mrs. Humphrey, was 
 born in Canton, and died there March 2, 1861. In 
 early life he acted in various capacities — as farmer, 
 teamster, and for a while as a hand in the Collins 
 ax factory. When the rush to California set in 
 Air. Mills was one of the fairly successful adven- 
 turers. He went by the way of Panama, in com- 
 pany with his brother. Stiles, and he nearly lost 
 his life. After four years, during which he ac- 
 quired considerable property, he returned to Can- 
 ton and settled upon a farm. Pie was a highly-re 
 sjiected citizen, a man of hberal church views, and 
 in politics at first a Whig and later a Republican. 
 Pie was married in Canton to Betsey Case, who 
 died in 1890, and was buried in Canton Center cem- 
 etery. She was the daughter of Giles and Mary 
 Case, and granddaughter of Eli and Athildred 
 (Curtis) Case. Mrs. Humphrey was the youngest 
 of a family of four children. (i) Archibald 
 Lewis, born Oct. 7, 1839, was a soldier in the Civil 
 war, and is now a farmer in Cherry Brook, Canton ; 
 he was deacon in the church in Canton Center for a 
 number of years. In 1872 he married Mary 
 Loomis, who died in 1893, and they had four chil- 
 dren, Lewis (born Jan. 24, 1874), Irene, Irwin and 
 Cora. (2) Belvider died in infancy, and (3) an- 
 other son of the same name died when he was 
 twenty years of age. 
 
 ISAAC WINTHROP WARNER, a thorough 
 and skillful agriculturist of the town of West Suf- 
 field, resides on a farm near where he was born, 
 July 22, 1856. 
 
 Mr. Warner's grandfather, Isaac Warner, was 
 born on the old homestead in Warnertown, same 
 town, and was a son of Isaac Warner and brother 
 of Curtis W^amer. He acquired his literary educa- 
 tion in the district schools near his home, and ob- 
 tained an excellent knowledge of farming, which 
 he made his life work. He was very successful, 
 and was an extensive land owner. He spent his 
 entire life in Warnertown as a general farmer, 
 dairyman and stock raiser, and made many improve- 
 ments upon his place, including the erection of a 
 pleasant residence and good barns. He married 
 Miss Sarah Phelps, and to them were born three 
 cliildren : Isaac L., William W., and Julia Ann 
 (wife of Lovatus Noble), all now deceased. The 
 grandparents died upon their farm, and were buried 
 in the Phelps cemetery, near Warnertown. 
 
 William W. Warner, our subject's father, was 
 born upon the home farm Dec. 4, 1818, and was 
 educated in the district schools and the Connecticut 
 Literary Institute. _ During his younger years he 
 engaged in peddling Yankee notions throughout 
 Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York, but 
 after his marriage he turned his attention to agri- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1231 
 
 cultural pursuits upon his father's farm, where he 
 remained for several years, and then removed to 
 the place where our subject now resides. It com- 
 prises sixty-four acres, which he improved by 
 building a fine residence, and barns, thereon, and to 
 its cultivation he devoted his energies until called 
 from this life Jan. 4, 1873, his remains being in- 
 terred in the family burying-ground in Phelps ceme- 
 tery. His political support was ever given to the 
 men and measures of the Democratic party, and he 
 was a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. He married Miss Emily M, Phelps, a 
 daughter of Cromwell and Teresa (Rising) Phelps, 
 and three' children were born of this union : Sarah, 
 wife of James A. Oris wold, of Eas.t Granby, Hart- 
 ford county; Isaac W., our subject; and Emily M., 
 wife of Richard D. Cannon, of North Granby. 
 The mother, who was also an earnest and consistent 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, died 
 on the home farm, Jan. 19, 1859, and was laid to 
 rest in the Phelps cemetery. 
 
 The primary education of our subject, acquired 
 in the district schools of Warnertown, was supple- 
 mented by a course in the Connecticut Literary In- 
 stitute. He was only sixteen years of age when 
 his father died, and lived with his maternal grand- 
 mother, to whom he proved a great comfort and 
 help. He took charge of the home farm, which 
 he has since so successfully operated, and has de- 
 voted his time to general farming, dairying, stock 
 raising and tobacco culture. He is recognized as 
 one of the most enterprising, progressive and pub- 
 lic-spirited citizens of his community, and his aid 
 is never withheld from anything which he believes 
 will prove of public benefit. He is a quiet, un- 
 assuming man, yet makes many friends. In his 
 political affiliations he is a Democrat. 
 
 On Oct. 4, 1881, Mr. Warner was united in 
 marriage with Mrs. Martha (Birge) Mason, a native 
 of Southwick, Mass., and a daughter of Horace 
 and Lucy (Stiles) Birge. They have one child, 
 Charles I., who was born in 1883, and is now at- 
 tending school. Mrs. Warner is a lineal descend- 
 ant of Richard Birge, who came from Dorchester, 
 Mass., and settled in Windsor, Conn., in 1636, and 
 also of Matthew Grant, who came over from Eng- 
 land in 1630, in the ship "Mary and John," and 
 settled in Windsor, Conn., in 1635. 
 
 •WILLIAM LUCIUS PHELPS, an enterpris- 
 ing and progressive agriculturist of West Suffield, 
 is deserving of special mention in this volume as a 
 man who has made his own way in life, and the 
 outline of his career as given below cannot fail to 
 afford a helpful object lesson. His popularity as 
 a citizen is a tribute to his personal worth, which 
 is best known to those who have watched most 
 closely his steady advancement. 
 
 Mr. Phelps belongs to a well-known pioneer 
 family, tracing his descent from William Phelps, a 
 native of Tewkesbury, England, who came to Amer- 
 
 ica in 1630 with a colony of which Rev. Mr. War- 
 ham was the head. There were three brothers, Will- 
 iam, George and Richard, in the party, but Richard 
 went to the Barbadoes five years later, and all trace 
 of him has been lost. George settled in Maine, 
 while William came to Windsor in 1636. His first 
 wife, who had accompanied him from England 
 with their five children, died in Dorchester, Mass., 
 and after his removal to Windsor he married Mary 
 Dover, who also came from England with Mr. War- 
 ham's party. He died in 1672, at his home on the 
 road between Poquonock and Windsor. 
 
 Judah Phelps, our subject's great-grandfather, 
 resided at the present site of Warnertown, West 
 Suffield. He married Abigail Bishop, and among 
 his children were two sons, Israel, our subject's 
 grandfather; and Apollos, known as Capt. Apollos, 
 a prominent citizen of West Suffield in his day. 
 
 Israel Phelps was born at Warnertown, and 
 spent his entire life in West Suffield, where he 
 owned and cultivated a large tract of land. As 
 a citizen he was much respected, his broad and lib- 
 eral views of Christian doctrines and duty being ex- 
 emplified by an upright life. He died in 1855, and 
 his wife, Teresa (Rising), died in 1878, the remains 
 of both being interred in the Phelps burial ground 
 in West Suffield. 
 
 Israel L. Phelps, father of our subject, was born 
 on the old Warner homestead at Warnertown, where 
 he grew to manhood. He engaged in farming on 
 property now owned by William J. Graham, and he 
 ciied there in 1867, at a comparatively early age. 
 \'\niile he never sought political prominence, he was 
 a stanch Democrat, and, like his father, he was lib- 
 eral in his religious views. He married Miss Eliza- 
 beth C. Gibbons, of Granville, Mass., daughter of 
 Willi,am Gibbons, and had three children : Flora 
 B., deceased; William L., our subject; and Teresa 
 Jane ("Jennie"), now the wife of George Pomeroy, 
 of Franklin, N. Y. The mother, for her second 
 husband, married Justus M. Pease, and both are 
 still living in Warnertown. Of the two children 
 born to this marriage, Clare E. married Bradford 
 Goodrich, and Grove M. is at home. 
 
 William L. Phelps was born Jan. 30, 1864, at 
 Warnertown, and was but three years old when 
 deprived of a father's care. He remained with his 
 mother for some years, during which he availed 
 himself of the limited educatonal opportunities af- 
 forded by the local schools, but at the age of eleven 
 he left home to work for Isaac Warner, with whom 
 he spent seven years, receiving only his board and 
 clothing. At eighteen he went to Granville, Mass., 
 where he was employed at farming and other labor 
 until 1892. He then returned to West Suffield,, 
 securing employment with Oliver C. Rose, and, as 
 his habits were frugal, he managed at the end of three 
 years to buy his present homestead of one hundred 
 acres, formerly known as the King farm. Here 
 he has made many improvements from time to 
 time, while by his industry he gains a comfortable 
 
1232 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 income from the place, tobacco raising and dairy- 
 ing occup_\ing his attention in connection with gen- 
 eral farmmg. Politically he affiliates with the Re- 
 publican party, and in religion he holds to the deep, 
 broad principles which underlie all faiths, rather 
 than to any denominational interpretations. In 
 i8yi he was married, in Westfield, Mass., to Miss 
 Marietta Seymour, whose intelligent aid has been 
 a factor in his success. She is a native of Brad- 
 ford county, Penn., and a daughter of Milton Sey- 
 mour, a respected resident of that section. Four 
 children brighten our subject's home: Brainard B., 
 Esther S., Arlene M. and Jennie ]\I. 
 
 JOHN HENRY CONNLEY, general manager 
 of the Berlin Brick Co., Berlin, is a native of New 
 York State, born March 17, 1858, at Fishkill on the 
 Hudson. 
 
 John A. Connley, his father, born Oct. 14, 1829, 
 in Orange county, N. Y., is also a brickmaker by 
 trade, and for a time conducted a brick plant in 
 Haverstraw, N. Y. ; but in 1878 he gave up that 
 business, and after three years with T. G. Peck & 
 Co., at Haverstraw, he became superintendent for 
 the Nayatt Brick Co., at Providence, R. I. At the 
 end of eight years with that firm he resigned, and 
 for the past several years has been with the Ouin- 
 nipiac Brick Co., of New Haven, Conn., as superin- 
 tendent. In political affairs he was a Democrat up 
 to 1896, but in that year he "turned his coat," be- 
 coming a Republican. He held various town offices 
 in Grassy Point, N. Y., while a resident in that place. 
 In religious faith he is an attendant of the Congre- 
 gational Church ; socially he is a member of the 
 F. & A. J\I. 
 
 On Sept. 27, 1854, John A. Connley married 
 Martha Saunters, who was born April 29, 1834, a 
 daughter of Stephen Saunters, of Fishkill, N. Y., 
 and a brief record of their children is as follows : 
 (i) Miss Sarah M., born Sept. 13, 1856, lives at 
 home. (2) John H. is our subject. (3) George 
 Benson, born Oct. 19, 1862, is a bookkeeper in the 
 Shoe & Leather Bank, New York ; on May 14, 1885, 
 he married Ada F. Siver, of Fishkill, New York. 
 
 John H. Connley, the subject proper of these 
 lines, was a few months eld when his parents re- 
 moved from Fishkill on the Hudson to Haverstraw, 
 N. Y., in which latter city he received his educa- 
 tion, partly in the common schools, partly in a se- 
 lect school. At the age of sixteen he commenced 
 to learn the brickmaking business with his father, 
 and in 1881 went to Hamden, New Haven Co., 
 Conn., where he became superintendent of H. P. 
 Shares, manufacturer of bricks, and remained in 
 that position nine years. Following this he was 
 foreman for one year tmder his father, who was 
 superintendent of the Nayatt Brick Co.'s works at 
 Providence, R. I., after which he and his brother 
 George B. leased the yard, and for three years car- 
 ried same on under the firm name of Connley Bros. 
 Our subject then removed to Berlin, Hartford Co., 
 
 Conn., to fill the position of general manager of the 
 Berhn Brick Co. At the end of two years he su- 
 perintended the erection of the William L. Davis 
 brickyards at Berlin, and remained there as super- 
 intendent two years. In 1898 he returned to the 
 Berlin Brick Co., as their general manager (his 
 present incumbency), having full charge of the 
 brickyard. Like his father before him, he is a thor- 
 oughly skilled brick manufacturer, fully understand- 
 ing the business in every detail, and, moreover, giv- 
 ing his undivided personal attention to all the de- 
 partments of the work, as he is always found at 
 his post of duty. Of Mr. Connley 's perfect famil- 
 iarity with every branch of the business, and of his 
 superior management, the all-round completeness 
 and orderly system to be found in the works of the 
 Berlin Brick Co. are in themselves ample evidence. 
 On Dec. 22, 1880, John H. Connley was mar- 
 ried to.Mattie Elizabeth Buchanan, who was born 
 July 15, i860, a daughter of Robert and Nancy 
 Emily (Briggsj Buchanan, the former a mariner, 
 late of Haverstraw, N. Y. Two children have been 
 born to this union: Grace E., born Sept. 18, 1881, 
 graduated from the New Britain high school in 1900. 
 Jessie E. was born Aug. 16, 1884. The family are 
 highly esteemed and respected. Mr. Connley at- 
 tends the Congregational Church, of which his wife 
 is a member, and fraternally he unites with the A. 
 O. U. W., belonging to the lodge at North Haven. 
 In political sentiment he is a Republican. 
 
 AUGUST VOIGT. The German-born citizens 
 maintain a high ideal of citizenship, and the sub- 
 ject of this sketch, a well-known resident of New 
 Britain, has shown in his career the energy and 
 public spirit which characterizes the race. For a 
 number of years he has been superintendent of the 
 butt department of the Stanley Works, while in the 
 promotion of general business interests and in the 
 v/ork of municipal improvements he has taken an 
 active and influential part. 
 
 Mr. Voigt was born March 12, 1858, in Burg, 
 near Madgeburg, Prussia, where his ancestors in 
 both paternal and maternal lines resided. Henry 
 Voigt, our subject's father, was born in Burg, Dec. 
 14, 1827, son of David Voigt, and received a public 
 school education, attending from hs seventh to his 
 fourteenth year. As he was quite young when his 
 father died, he was obliged to turn his attention to 
 the work of bread-winning at an early age, and 
 served an apprentceship as a cloth weaver. Ac- 
 cording to the custom in Germany he then traveled 
 three years, working at his trade, and during the 
 Revolution of 1848 was serving in the German army, 
 in which he remained three years. He then settled 
 in Burg, but the introduction of the power-loom in- 
 terfered with the trade, and in 1865 he came to 
 America, hoping to better his condition. He lo- 
 cated first in Collinsville, Hartford Co., Conn., where 
 he was employed in a shop as an axe-grinder, and 
 six months later he settled in New Britain, finding 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1233 
 
 employment in the Stanley Rule & Level Co. His 
 ability and skill were soon recognized, and he be- 
 came a contractor, retiring in 1886, after twenty 
 years of successful work, with a comfortable com- 
 petence; he still resides in New Britain. He is of 
 a quiet disposition, his time having always been spent 
 at home when not in the factory, and his fondness 
 for reading has enabled him to keep well-posted on 
 current events. Politically he is a Republican, but 
 he has not been active in party affairs. He and his 
 family attend the Lutheran Church of New Britain, 
 and he belongs to a local lodge of the L O. O. F. 
 (in which he has passed all the chairs), and to the 
 German' Benevolent Society, which latter he helped 
 to organize. His estimable wife, Elizabeth Kuehne, 
 was born in Burg, Prussia, Sept. 17, 1833, daughter 
 of Christopher Kuehne. August is the elder of two 
 sons born to Henry Voigt and his wife ; the younger, 
 Henry J., born Jan. 19, 1869, is now foreman of the 
 pattern-making department of the Russell & Erwin 
 factory. 
 
 August Voigt was educated in the schools of 
 New Britain, and his studies were interrupted at the 
 age of eleven, in order that he might assist his father 
 on the contract above mentioned. In 1873 he returned 
 to the public schools for six months, and at the same 
 time also took private instructions. Solely by his 
 own efforts he became proficient in the German 
 language, which he reads and writes readily. On 
 finally leaving school, in 1873, he began to learn the 
 machinist's trade with the Bank Lock Co., remain- 
 ing with that company until 1876. After a short 
 time spent with P. & F. Corbin, he was in the spring 
 of 1877 employed by Russell & Erwin. In February, 
 1878, Thomas Conklin, general superintendent of 
 the Stanley Rule & Level Co., sought his services, 
 and after a short time he gave up his former posi- 
 tion to enter the latter employ. In 1881 he was em- 
 ployed as machinist and toolmaker in the Stanley 
 Works, and in 1886 became foreman in the butt 
 department, of which he was made superintendent 
 in 1891, since which time the capacity has been 
 doubled. For some time he has been a director in 
 the New Britain Co-operative Savings & Loan As- 
 sociation. 
 
 Mr. Voigt is active in local politics as a Repub- 
 lican, and has been treasurer of the town of New 
 Britain since 1893. He was also prominent in the 
 se\yer depa,rtment for the city for eight years, from 
 1891 to 1898 serving as a member of the sewer com- 
 mission, from which he resigned in the summer of 
 1898, and during that time he served as chairman 
 with the exception of one year. He attends the 
 South Congregational Church, and he and his fam- 
 ily are much esteemed socially. Mr, Voigt is a 
 member of the following orders and societies : Har- 
 mony Lodge, F. & A. M. ; Gerstaecker Lodge, No. 
 96, I. O. O. F., New Britain; and the Encamp- 
 ment of the same order (he has passed all the chairs 
 in the lodge, and has served as deputy of the State 
 
 78 
 
 order) ; the Turner Society ; the German Benevo- 
 lent Society ; and the New Britain Driving Club. 
 
 In 1879 Mr. Voigt married Miss Theresa Young, 
 daughter of Frederick Young, of New Britain, 
 formerly a resident of Canton, Conn., and four chil- 
 dren have blessed the union. 
 
 EDWIN C. LOOMIS, an energetic and reliable 
 young business man who in the past ten years has 
 built up a profitable trade as a meat dealer, in the 
 town of Windsor, was born there, Feb. 8, 1864, a 
 son of W. W. and Lucy M. (Wilson) Loomis, 
 whose sketch appears elsewhere. 
 
 Mr. Lomis was educated in the Stony Hill dis- 
 trict school and the academy at Windsor, and as a 
 young man worked on his father's farm, also at 
 brickmaking, which was extensively carried on in 
 the vicinity of his home. One summer he clerked 
 in the grocery store of L. Mullalet, Jr., of Windsor, 
 and at the age of twenty-one paid a visit to the West, 
 going as far as Denver, Colo., and stopping at other 
 western cities. Returning to Connecticut, he em- 
 barked in farming and gradually became interested 
 in his present business, depending entirely upon his 
 own resources. His first experiences were not very 
 encouraging, but this did not dishearten him as it 
 would have done many a young man. Benefiting 
 by his failure, he steadily persevered in his new- 
 undertaking until at length success crowned his- 
 efforts. He commenced business on a small scale,, 
 and at first his efforts at selling meat in the winter 
 only were successful, but since 1890 he has carried: 
 it on all the year round, and has the leading busi- 
 ness of the kind in the town, his route extending 
 throughout Windsor. Fair dealing, courteous treat- 
 m.ent and the highest quality of goods have been im- 
 portant factors in his success, and he has the confi- 
 dence and esteem of his many patrons. 
 
 On May 20, 1891, Mr. Loomis married Miss 
 Anna Bancroft Strickland, a native of Westfield, 
 Mass., born Sept. 25, 1867, and a daughter of James 
 V. and Ellen L. (Bancroft) Strickland. Her father 
 v/as, born near Poquonock, Conn., in 1835, a son of 
 Cadwell Strickland, and the mother was born in En- 
 field, Conn., in 1839, a daughter of Caleb O. and 
 Chloe (Wolcott) Bancroft, the former a relative of 
 the great historian, George Bancroft, and the latter a 
 relative of Gov. Wolcott, of Connecticut. James 
 V. R. Strickland, who was reared near Poquonock, 
 was valedictorian of his class when he graduated 
 from the academy at that place, and completed his 
 education by two terms' attendance at the East 
 Hampton (Mass.) College. He was a skilled math- 
 ematician and at the age of seventeen years began 
 teaching, a profession which he successfully fol- 
 lowed for some time. He also engaged in farming. 
 For several years he resided in Westfield, Mass., 
 and was living there at the time of his marriage, 
 but later returned to the town of Windsor, Hart- 
 ford Co., Conn. He was a prominent member oi 
 
1234 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the Democratic party, and a highly respected citizen 
 of the community, and represented that town in 
 the State Legislature in 1874. He died in January, 
 iSyj, at which time he was residing on "the Island" 
 at Windsor, and his widow, a highly respected old 
 lady, now finds a pleasant home with our subject. 
 In their family were only two children who reached 
 years of maturity: Mrs. Anna B. Loomis, and H. 
 W., of Windsor. Our subject and his wife have 
 three children, whose names and dates of birth are 
 as follows: Henry S., June 20, 1892; Marian C, 
 Nov. 27, 1893; and .Marshall W.. May 7, i8y6. 
 
 In April, 1892, Mr. Loomis removed to his pres- 
 ent home, known as the Gilbert Loomis farm, and 
 has since greatly improved the place, supplying it 
 with all modern conveniences and accessories such 
 as are found on a model farm of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury. He has a very comfortable home where hospi- 
 tality reigns supreme. He is a Democrat, but takes 
 no active part in politics aside from voting regularly, 
 and both he and his wife are consistent members 
 of the Congregational Church at Windsor. 
 
 ALBERT H. GALPIX, a popular and influential 
 citizen of \\'ethersfield, was born in that town, 
 June 16, 1847, and is a worthy representative of 
 one of its most honored families. 
 
 Samuel Galpin, his grandfather, was born in 
 Berlin, this county, but when a young man came to 
 Wetliersfield, where he spent the remainder of his 
 life as a stone-cutter and farmer, owning and opera- 
 ing a small farm here. He was a stanch supporter 
 first of the Whig and later of the Republican party, 
 and took quite an active and prominent part in pub- 
 lic alYairs. He was a very popular man in his com- 
 munit}-, and was honored with a number of town 
 offices, serving eighteen years as assessor of Weth- 
 ersfield : one year as a member of the board of re- 
 lief ; fifteen years as selectman ; nine years as col- 
 lector of State and county taxes ; twenty years as 
 justice of the peace; and one year as town clerk. 
 He also filled other local offices, and was a director 
 of the State prison for a time. He was also a 
 member of the school board fifteen years, county 
 commissioner three years, and in 1839 represented 
 Wetliersfield in the State Legislature. In church 
 matters he also took an active interest, and was a 
 faithful member of the Congregational Church, in 
 which he served as deacon for a number of years. 
 For thirty-seven years he was clerk of the Eccle- 
 siastical Society, and he was commissioned to hold, 
 loan and collect parsonage money for twenty-eight 
 years, and was collector of the first Ecclesiastical 
 Society for four years. He was also called upon 
 to act as administrator and executor for thirty- 
 four estates, and was notary public for six years. 
 His fellow citizens placed the utmost confidence in 
 him, and he was found true to every trust re- 
 posed in him, either in public or in private life. He 
 married Caroline Woodhouse, of Wethersfield, who 
 was also a member of the Congregational Church, 
 
 and both died and were buried in Wethersfield. 
 They had four children : Albert ; Samuel ; John ; 
 and Caroline, wife of Albert Wells. 
 
 Albert Galpin, the father of our subject, was 
 born and reared in Wethersfield, and was practically 
 a self-educated man. He engaged in farming 
 tliroughout the greater part of his life, and like 
 his father he was called upon to fill many public 
 positions of honor and trust. He filled the office 
 of town clerk of Wethersfield for over forty-three 
 years ; was justice of the peace fifteen years ; and first 
 selectman. He took a very active part in school 
 matters, and was a stanch supporter of our public- 
 school system. Politically he was first a Whig 
 and later a Republican, and religiously was a con- 
 sistent member of the Congregational Church. As 
 an honorable and upright man, and good Christian, 
 he had the full confidence of his fellow citizens, and 
 he was also called upon to settle a large number of 
 estates. In Farniington, Conn., he married Miss 
 Esther 2^1. Washburn, a daughter of Charles Wash- 
 burn, of Granby, Conn., and to them were born 
 two children: Albert H., our subject; and Hubert 
 D., a resident of Illinois. The parents both died 
 on the home farm, and were buried in Wethersfield 
 cemetery. 
 
 During his boyhood Albert H. Galpin attended 
 the district schools of Wethersfield, and later the 
 academy of that town and a school in New York. 
 His education completed, he returned to the home 
 farm and remained with his parents, engaged in gen- 
 eral farming and tobacco growing. In 1892 he 
 was appointed town clerk, and the following year 
 was elected to that office, which he has since so 
 creditably filled. He also served as town treasurer 
 for six years, and justice of the peace for eighteen 
 years. Politically he is identified with the Repub- 
 lican party, and fraternally affiliates with the Grange. 
 He is well posted on the leading questions and is- 
 sues of the day, and is a man well-known and 
 highly respected in his community. 
 
 HORACE W. TREAT. In Hartford county 
 the two chief vocations in life, agriculture and 
 manufacture, are often blended. The genius of 
 the workshop is highly developed in the sons of 
 Connecticut, and the independence and healthful- 
 ness of farm life often run counter to that speciali- 
 zation. Not uncommonly a young man has made 
 a successful venture in the great field of manufacture, 
 and later in life has retired to the freedom of the 
 farm. A typical and prominent instance is pre- 
 sented in the life of our subject. 
 
 Mr. Treat was born Oct. 8, 1832, in the town of 
 Glastonbury, Hartford county, and there he was 
 reared to manhood, receiving his education in the 
 district school and high school of his native town, 
 also spending two terms at the Connecticut Liter- 
 ary Institute at Suffield. He acquired a knowledge 
 of the blacksmith's trade, working at it steadily 
 for two years, and then opened a shop of his own 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1285 
 
 at Rockville, Conn. He was enterprising and wide- 
 awake, and soon after he was successfully operating 
 a large carriage shop in which he became a manu- 
 facturer of carriages, and did an extensive and suc- 
 cessful business. In 1879 Mr. Treat moved to the 
 farm, in the town of South Windsor, which he now 
 owns, and where he has ever since resided. It 
 is a well-improved property of sixtx'-five acres. 
 Mr. Treat is engaged in general farming and dairy 
 business, and has a fine stock of Jersey cattle. 
 
 Mr. Treat was married, in 1858, to Miss Anna 
 L. Corey, and two children were born to them : 
 Carrie L., who died at the age of two and one-half 
 years, arid Irving C, who is now a hardware mer- 
 chant of Hartford. Mrs. Treat died in 1898. 
 
 In politics Mr. Treat is a member of the Pro- 
 hibition party. He is a prominent citizen of South 
 Windsor, and one whose abundant success in life 
 is an honor to himself, and a credit to the intelli- 
 gent and progressive community in which he lives. 
 
 JAMES LUMAN LEWIS, a prominent farmer 
 and road commissioner of Southington, was born 
 on the old homestead in the Marion District of that 
 town, Nov. I, 1838, and is a son of Luman and 
 Patience Maria (Foot) Lewis. 
 
 Our subject received a good practical education 
 in the common schools of Southington, and re- 
 mained at home until eighteen years of age, when 
 he went to work on the New Britain reservoir, be- 
 ing thus employed for two years and eight months. 
 Subsequently he was connected with the Frost 
 Manufacturing Co., at Marion, for three years, 
 and was superintendent of the Southington town 
 farm for the same length of time. In 1864 he re- 
 moved to Farmington, and served as superintend- 
 ent of the town farm there for the long period of 
 twenty-six years, at the same time acting as road 
 commissioner for twenty-four years. Returning to 
 Southington in 1890, he has since successfully en- 
 gaged in farming in that town, and has also filled 
 the office of road commissioner in a most satisfactory 
 manner. He is progressive and enterprising, and 
 never withholds his support from any measure which 
 he believes will prove of public benefit, or will in 
 any way promote the welfare of his town and county. 
 Politically he affiliates with the Republican party. 
 
 On Feb. 28, 1862, Mr. Lewis married Miss Alice 
 Riley, a daughter of Daniel and Mary (McKier- 
 nan) Riley, natives of County Leitrim, Ireland, 
 and to this union three children have been born, 
 namely: Anna M., now the wife of Adelbert Leo- 
 nard; Alice E., wife of Lewis W. Morris; and 
 Mabel E. 
 
 ROBERT SOUTHGATE GRISWOLD was 
 born at the old homestead of the Griswold family 
 at Griswoldville, Hartford county, Feb. 9, 1849. 
 He is a son of Thomas Griswold, and his line of 
 descent from Michael Griswold, who settled at 
 Wethersfield in 1645, is fully traced in the bio- 
 
 graphical sketch of his brother, Thomas Newton 
 Griswold, which appears elsewhere. 
 
 Robert S. Griswold received excellent educa- 
 tional advantages. His preliminary studies were 
 pursued at the academies of Wethersfield and East 
 Hampton, and in 1867 he graduated from the State 
 Normal School at New Britain. Both before and 
 after graduation he taught school with marked svtc- 
 cess, and there can be little question that to this 
 experience he owes, in part, those habits of appli- 
 cation and self-control which have distinguished 
 him throughout his life. In 1868, before he had 
 reached his majority, his father admitted him as 
 a partner in the firm of T. Griswold & Co., of 
 which old and well-known house he remained a 
 member twenty-two years, during which period he 
 traveled in its interest through New England and 
 Canada, as well as over the central, southern, and 
 western States. In 1890 he disposed of his inter- 
 est in the business, and since that date has resided 
 at the old homestead — now comprising nearljr no 
 acres, he having added forty acres — which he has 
 greatly improved, and where, in addition to seed- 
 growing, he carries on general and dairy farming. 
 He is also a director and stockholder in the Spring- 
 brook Creamery Company. 
 
 Mr. Griswold takes a keen and active interest 
 ill public affairs, and is always ready to support and 
 aid any project for the real good of the commun- 
 ity in which he lives, or of the general common- 
 wealth. Politically he is a stanch Republican, and 
 his fellow citizens have honored both him and them- 
 selves by repeatedly electing him to office. F'or 
 four years he was school overseer, and in 1896 was 
 sent from Wethersfield to the State Legislature, in 
 which body he served as a member of the commit- 
 tee on Fisheries and Game. For six years he was- 
 a private in the Governor's Horse Guards. He is 
 a member of the Wethersfield Grange, in which he 
 has acted as chaplain for one year and filled the 
 chair of master for one year. In religious belief 
 he is a Congregationalist, both himself and his fam- 
 ily being members of that denomination, and has 
 been a deacon in the church, and a teacher in the 
 Sunday-school for more than thirty years, his life 
 during that long period furnishing the best evi- 
 dence of the sincerity of his Christian profession. 
 Although not yet past middle life, he occupies the 
 position of one of Wethersfield's leading and most 
 influential citizens, and has a firm hold upon the 
 affections and respect of its people. 
 
 On' Dec. 17, 1873, Mr. Griswold married Ida 
 Louise Griswold, who was born Sept. 30, 1853, at 
 Waterbury, . Conn., a daughter of Justus Welles 
 Griswold, of Wethersfield. She, like her husband, 
 is a graduate of the State Normal School at New 
 Britain, was for two years a teacher, and is a lady of 
 fine mental powers, which have been highly devel- 
 oped, of instinctively refined tastes, and of a gentle, 
 generous disposition. To this marriage have been 
 born nine children: (i) Mabel Welles, born April 
 
1236 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 12, 1875, died Oct. 26, 1881. (2) Annie Louise, 
 born Jan. 30, 1877, graduated from the Hartford 
 High School, and taught school at Newington, 
 Conn,, before her marriage, June 27, 1899, to H. 
 Seymour White, of Wethersfield, who is in the in- 
 surance business. (3) Ida Alay, born Oct. 24, 
 1879, graduated from the State Normal School 
 at New Britain in 1899, and is now successfully 
 engaged in teaching at New Milford, Conn. (4) 
 Maude Agnes, born June 25, 1882, is a stenog- 
 rapher in the employ of the Hartford County Fire 
 Insurance Co. (5) Mary Elizabeth, born July 10, 
 1884, attends grammar school at Hartford. (6) 
 Thomas Welles, born July 23, 1886, attends the high 
 school at Wethersfield. (7) Robert Southgate, 
 born July 24, 1889, and (8) Marion Kirkham, born 
 Sept. 10, 1894, attend the public schools of the 
 home neighborhood. (,9) Joseph Welles was born 
 June 25, 1899. 
 
 WILLIAAI F. GRISWULD, one of the most 
 enterprising and successful dairy farmers of Rocky 
 Hill town, was born in the town of W'cthersfield, 
 Hartford county, Jan. 5, 1861. When he was but 
 five years old his parents removed to the farm 
 where he now lives, and here he grew to man- 
 hood. He obtained his early education in the dis- 
 trict schools ; this was supplemented by attendance 
 at the Brown public school, of Hartford. He re- 
 mained on his father's farm until his marriage to 
 Miss Alargaret A. Williams, a young lady of Rocky 
 Hill, and a daughter of Horace Williams. Their 
 marriage took place in 188S, and has been blessed by 
 the birth of seven children : Frank, Albert, Hayden, 
 Helen, Mary, Arthur, and Leonard. After his mar- 
 riage he removed from his father's farm to the 
 center of Rocky Hill, but he returned to the old 
 home after two years. 
 
 i\[r. Griswold carries on a yery extensive dairy 
 business in addition to his general farming, having 
 A herd of eighty-five cattle, including forty-five cows, 
 besides ten horses. His farm is a large one, cov- 
 ering over one hundred acres, and on it he raises 
 fruit extensively. In 1897 he set out one acre of 
 raspberry bushes and another of strawberry plants, 
 and in 1898 four hundred peach and one hundred 
 plum trees; he increased his peach orchard in 1899 
 to 2,000 trees, and in 1900 set out an apple orchard 
 of 300 trees. He disposes of his milk in the city 
 of Hartford, selling about seven hundred quarts 
 daily, and employing two teams in his delivery. 
 Mr. Griswold is a Democrat in politics, and in 
 1895 was chosen selectman of his town. He is a 
 member of the Congregational Church, and of Rocky 
 Hill Grange. 
 
 ■ GEORGE WASHINGTON LAMPHIER, 
 Sr., one of the most prominent residents of Can- 
 ton, is a thoroughly self-made man, his present 
 prosperity having been gained by persevering in- 
 dustry and careful management. He was born Feb, 
 
 II, 1829, at Goshen, Litchfield Co., Conn., and 
 comes of good New England ancestry. His grand- 
 father, Asa Lamphier, was a sea captaitj, and re- 
 sided in ixhode islanu. 
 
 George Lamphier, our subject's father, was born 
 Feb. 22, 1804, in Rhode Island, where he was 
 reared, but came to Connecticut in early manhood, 
 and purchased a farm at Goshen, where his remain- 
 ing years were spent. He was an industrious, en- 
 terprising man, always making improvements, and 
 his hard work won him substantial success, as 
 he became the owner of two fine farms, comprising 
 more than 300 acres. Fie was liberal in his relig- 
 ious views, and was highly esteemed for his up- 
 right character. In politics he was a Democrat, 
 but he did not seek office. On Jan. 12, 1827, in 
 Stonington, Conn., Mr. Lamphier married Miss 
 Betsey Robinson, a native of that place, born Aug. 
 I, i8qo, daughter of George Robinson, a sea cap- 
 tain. She was a loving wife and mother, and an 
 active member of the Baptist Church, Mr. Lam- 
 phier died May 19, 1883, his wife surviving until 
 Feb. 24, 1890; they were buried in Cornwall Hol- 
 low. Six children were born to their marriage: 
 Elizabeth, wife of George H. Crandall; Homer, 
 who died at the age of nineteen years ; George W., 
 our subject; Joseph C, a resident of Litchfield, 
 Conn.; Benjamin Franklin, who resides in Goshen; 
 and Lucretia Jane, deceased, who never married. 
 
 George W, Lamphier was educated in the dis- 
 trict schools of Goshen, the high school in Cornwall, 
 and the seminary in Amenia, N. Y. For ten years 
 he taught during winter in the schools of Canaan, 
 Norfolk and Goshen, his summers being spent on 
 the farm. He was economical and thrifty, and by 
 1856 had saved money for the purchase of the 
 homestead, a tract of 170 acres, where he engaged 
 in farming for ten years. In 1866 he sold out and 
 removed to the Norton Case farm, at Canton Cen- 
 ter, which contains 150 acres, and where he has 
 since been engaged in general farming, dairying 
 and tobacco culture; for three years he conducted 
 a store at the Center. In 1885 Mr. Lamphier was 
 appointed postmaster, which office he held twelve 
 years, and he has also served as assessor, justice 
 of the peace, and member of the board of education, 
 being one of the leading workers in the local Demo- 
 cratic organization. Socially he and his family are 
 much esteemed, and they are identified with the 
 Congregational Church at Canton Center, in which 
 he has held the office of deacon since 1881. 
 
 On Sept. 3, 1856, at Canton Center, COnn., Mr. 
 Lamphier married Miss Emily Maria Richardson, 
 who has proved a most efficient and intelligent help- 
 meet. They had five children: Edwin P., a resi- 
 dent of Winsted, Conn., married Ella J. Sisson, 
 daughter of Giles A. Sisson ; Emily Lucretia mar- 
 ried Rev. Clarence H. Pease, son of Henry Pease, 
 of Hartford, Conn, ; George Washington, Jr,, a 
 farmer, married Hattie L. Humphrey, of Canton- 
 Center; Origen R., also a prominent farmer, mar- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1237 
 
 ried (first) Alice Burdick, of New Hartford, Conn., 
 and (second) Annabelle Wilcox, of Higganum; 
 and A. Alfred, a resident of Torrington, Conn., 
 married Lulu Case, of New Hartford. 
 
 Mrs. Lamphier was born Nov. 22, 1838, in 
 Windsor, daughter of Joiin Richardson, a well- 
 known farmer of Canton, born in 1786. He mar- 
 ried Emily Marble, of East Windsor, born in April, 
 1806. They lived a number of years in Windsor, 
 but their last years were spent in Canton. Mr. 
 Richardson died April 12, 1853, his wife Oct. 10, 
 1882. They had ^ family of eleven children, eight 
 of whom are still living: Delia (Mrs. Herbert E. 
 Landon), John, Editha (deceased), Adahne (de- 
 ceased), George, Samuel, Emily Maria, William, 
 Danford (deceased), Lavinia (Mrs.- John B-. 
 Brown), and Alice (Mrs. Alfred Sperry). 
 
 William Richardson, Mrs. Lamphier's grand- 
 father, was an Englishman. About the year 176S 
 he was taken by a press gang, and pressed intj the 
 English military service, but escaped, left England, 
 and coming to America found his way to Windsor. 
 On May 23, 1775, 'he enlisted in -the Fourth Con- 
 necticut Regiment, Col. Hinman's, and served at 
 Ticonderoga and die siege of Boston. George Pit- 
 kin of Hartford was his captain, and Ozias Bissel 
 another captain. William Richardson had a good 
 Revolutionary record. About the year 1779 he 
 married Editha, daughter of Aaron and Editha 
 (Skinner) Booth, of East Windsor, and they had 
 five children: Clarinda married Benjamin Pease, 
 lived in Enfield, and died at the age of eighty-seven 
 3'ears. Harriet was married in 1808 to Eli Hos- 
 kins, and lived in Windsor, attaining the age of 
 over eightv vears. Mary married Thomas Malay, and 
 lived at Warehouse Point. John has been men- 
 tioned. Editha married Orrin Lord. WilLitm 
 Richardson, the father of these children, died when 
 they were young, the mother surviving him for a 
 number of vears. 
 
 ■ WALTER EMORY STANNARD, a well 
 known traveling salesman for the firm of George 
 W. Woolley & Son, casket manufacturers, of Hart- 
 ford, was born in Southington, June 15, 1846, a son 
 of Nathan E. and Rachel (Woodruff) Stannard, 
 and grandson of Josiah and Lydia (Hubbard) Stan- 
 nard, natives of Haddam and Windsor, Conn., re- 
 spe^ctively. 
 
 The father of our subject was born in Haddam, 
 July 17, 1810, and died Nov. 20, 1888. His early life 
 was passed in Haddam. He was a shoemaker by 
 trade, but followed farming the greater part of his 
 life, and also engaged in the hotel business in New 
 Haven and Southington. His tastes strongly in- 
 clined him to military affairs, and on May 14, 1841, 
 lie was appointed by the State as major of the 14th 
 Regiment of Infantry, and as Colonel of the same 
 regiment May 13, 1844. Prior to this he had been 
 appointed quartermaster-sergeant, July 7, 1836, and 
 as adjutant, Aug. 18, 1837. His wife was born 
 
 Jvlay 8, 1812, and died March 16, 1893. Her par- 
 ents were Bushnell and Harriet (Hart) Woodruff, 
 the former a son of John and Catherine (Bushnell) 
 Woodruff. John Woodruff was a son of John and 
 Eunice (Wiard) Woodruff, and a grandson of 
 Samuel and Rebecca (Clark) Woodruff". Samuel 
 Woodruff was the first white settler in what is now 
 the town of Southington. His parents were /Mat- 
 thew and Hannah Woodruff, the former of whom 
 removed from Hartford to Farmington about 1640, 
 and was one of the eighty-four proprietors of that 
 town in 1672, having been admitted a freeman in 
 1657. 
 
 Our subject, who is an only son, was reared in 
 Southington, and during his boyhood pursued, his 
 studies in the public schools and in the Lewis high 
 school. At the age of fourteen he began his busi- 
 ness career as an emplo)'e in the Capt. Savage bolt 
 shop, where he remained two years, and then en- 
 tered the general store of Joel Woodruff, as clerk, 
 serving in that capacity seven years. , The following 
 year he spent as shipping clerk for the H. D. Smith 
 Co., of Plantsville, and subsequently he was . ship- 
 ping contractor for the Atwater Manufacturing Co., 
 for the same length of time. For a short time he was 
 with the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., and for; two 
 years was engaged in the manufacture of packing 
 boxes. Later he was employed -as shipping clerk 
 and salesman for the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., 
 for the long period of seventeen years, and then 
 traveled one year for the Dana Hardware Co. of 
 Boston. Since 1895 he has been a traveling sales- 
 man for George W. Woolley & Son, casket manufac- 
 turers, of Hartford, and has most ably represented 
 their interests on the road, having built up an ex- 
 cellent trade. 
 
 On July 2, 1867, Mr. Stannard was united in 
 marriage with Miss Frances M. Barker, a daughter 
 of Charles H. and Mary (Seymour) Barker, of Had- 
 dam, Conn. In his political affiliations he is a 
 Republican, and religiously he is a, member of the 
 First Baptist Church. He also belongs to Friend- 
 ship Lodge, No. 33, F. & A. M., and Unitv Council, 
 No. II, O. U. A. M. He was the first foreman of 
 Fire Company No. i, of Southington, and after 
 serving as such seven years was appointed second 
 assistant engineer, in which capacity he served three 
 years, being honorably discharged Sept. 22, 1893. 
 His pleasant, genial manner makes him hosts of 
 friends, and he is very popular with his associates. 
 
 WILLIAM GAY HUMPHREY, a well-known 
 resident of Canton, is a man whose integrity and 
 genial nature have won for him the respect and 
 friendship of all who know him. He is a farmer 
 b}- occupation, having, since the death of his father, 
 taken full charge of the family homestead, an eighty- 
 acre tract, where he is engaged in stock raising, to- 
 bacco growing, and dairying. 
 
 Mr. Humphrey comes of the best Connecticut 
 pioneer "ancestry, and was born May 31, 1860, upon 
 
1238 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his present homestead, son of Alfred F, and Lydia 
 (Griswold) Humphrey, and a brother of George 
 Frankhn Humphrey. [An account of the ancestry 
 will be found elsewhere.] He first attended the 
 district schools of Canton, and later studied in 
 Wilbraham Academy and a business college at Hart- 
 ford. Un Oct. 8, 1885, he married Miss Cora B. 
 Case, daughter of George J. Case, ami grand- 
 daughter of Jarvis Case, and they have two chil- 
 dren : Harold W. and Ruth Mildred. The family is 
 popular socially, and Mr. Humphrey belongs to 
 three different lodges, the A. F. & A. M., the Grange, 
 and the Knights of the Maccabees. He and his 
 wife are members of the Congregational Church at 
 Canton Center, and politically he is a firm Repub- 
 lican, although he has never aspired to any office. 
 
 Mrs. Humphrey is a descendant of James and 
 Esther Fithen Case, early settlers in Simsbury. 
 These worthy pioneers had a son, Capt. Josiah Case, 
 born in Simsbury, who settled in Canton about 1743, 
 who had a son, Capt. Fithen Case, Mrs. Humphrey's 
 great-grandfather. Capt. Fithen Case was lx)rn 
 in what is now Canton, in 1758, and settled at East 
 Hill, Canton, on the farm still owned by his grand- 
 son, George Jarvis Case. He married Amarilla 
 Humphrey, who was born in 1764, and died in 1845, 
 and they had children as follows : Mariah, born jn 
 1781, married M. Moses Case, and died in 1856; 
 Fithen, born in 1784, married Statira Phelps, and 
 died in 1853; Mamre, born in 1786, married Abra 
 Phelps; Josiah W., born in 1790, married Agnes 
 Case, and died in 1830; Salma, born in 1792, died 
 in 1794: Lavinia Charity, born in 1794, married Col. 
 Salmon Merrill: Jasper, born in 1796, married Flora 
 Humphrey; ^Melissa, born in 1799, married Ithuel 
 Gridley; Jarvis, born in 1801 died in 1865; Julia, 
 born in 1805, married Ithuel Gridley, who after her 
 death married her sister Melissa. 
 
 Gen. Jarvis Case, grandfather of i\Irs. Hum- 
 phrey, resided on the homestead at East Hill, and 
 was engaged in farming. He was made a brigadier- 
 g'eneral in the State ^lilitia in March, 1840. He was 
 a member of the Episcopal Church, and politically 
 was a Democrat, and took an active part in local 
 affairs. In 1828 he married Lucia Adams, who was 
 born in North Canton, daughter of Ezra Adams, 
 and their children were as follows : Lucia Hellen, 
 born April 13, 1830, died Oct. 13, 1885 ; Mary Jane, 
 born jMay 15, 1832, died Oct. 15, 1853: George 
 Jarvis, born Nov. 15, 1835, was the father of Mrs. 
 Humphrey; Anna L., born Jan. 12, 1839, married E. 
 N. White, of East Hill, Canton ; Ellen M., born 
 Nov. I, 1845, married E. E. Woodford, who died 
 Aug. 6, 1879. 
 
 George Jarvis Case, father of Mrs. Humphrey, 
 received his education in the Canton district schools 
 and the Canton Center Academy, and has been en- 
 gaged all his life in stock raising, dairying and to- 
 bacco growing. In 1894 he bought the Harry Case 
 farm of 240 acres, which he operates in connection 
 with the homestead. He was a United States 
 
 ganger four years, and for ten years has been con- 
 nected with the government weather bureau, still 
 retaining the latter connection. Mr. Case is a Mason, 
 belonging to Village Lodge, No. 29, A. E. & A. M. 
 Mr. Case was married, in Meadow Plain, Simsbury, 
 Feb. 20, 1861, to Sarah Ruth Case, daugiitc;r of 
 Elam, and sister of John Elam Case, of Meadow- 
 Plain. They had the following children: Alice M., 
 born Aug. 16, 1862, died Dec. 26, 1863; Cora Belle, 
 born May 23, 1865, is the wife of our subject; 
 George Burton, born Sept. 23, 1867, is a musician 
 of Hartford. 
 
 WILLIAM FRANCIS TOLLES, an honored 
 veteran of the Civil war, and a popular citizen of 
 Plantsville, was born on West street, Southington, 
 April II, 1835, a son of Harry and Charlotte (Hitch- 
 cock) Tolles. 
 
 Mr. Tolles' father was a native of Bethany, 
 Conn., and a son of Squire Tolles, in whose family 
 were thirteen children, twelve of whom grew to 
 maturity. By occupation he was a farmer and 
 sawyer. During the 'twenties he removed to Bris- 
 tol, Conn., and m 1831 came to Southington, where 
 he died in i860, at the age of fifty-three years. For 
 his first wife he married Charlotte Hitchcock, a 
 daughter of Alfred and Rachel (Grannis) Hitch- 
 cock, of Southington, and by that union two sons 
 were born: William Francis, our subject; and 
 Horace A., who was a member of Company A, 7th 
 Conn. V. I., under Gen. Butler, during the Civil 
 war, and was killed at Bermuda Hundred. The 
 second wife was Harriet M. Hitchcock, a sister of 
 the first, and to them were also born two sons : 
 Charles H. and Frederick D. The latter was also 
 in the service for less than a year during the war of 
 the Rebellion, and died in New York City, in June, 
 1865. 
 
 William F. Tolles grew to manhood in Southing- , 
 ton, and is indebted to its public schools and Lewis 
 .Academy for his educational advantages. At the 
 age of seventeen he entered the employ of Henry A. 
 Miller, a bolt manufacturer, and was with him and 
 others in that line of business until after the break- 
 ing out of the Civil war, when he enlisted, becoming 
 a private in Company E, 20th Conn. V. I. He was 
 promoted to corporal June i, 1864, and later to cor- 
 poral of the color guards, participated in all the 
 engagements of his regiment, and was wounded 
 in the battle of Bentonville. After three years of 
 faithful and arduous service on Southern battle- 
 fields he was honorably discharged, in 1865, and 
 returned to his home in Southington. Since the war 
 he has been engaged in farming, and in the fish and 
 fruit business, and has also been in the employ of the 
 Atwater Manufacturing Co., the Peck, Stow & 
 Wilcox Co., and since 1883 with the H. D. Smith 
 Co., in the finishing department of their carriage 
 hardware works. 
 
 On Feb. 15, i860, Mr. Tolles was united in 
 marriage with Miss Alice M. Finch, a daughter of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1S89 
 
 Capt. James W. and Polly (Lowly) Finch, of Water- 
 bury, and to this union two children have been born : 
 Bertha A., wife of W. H. States ; and Mayme F. 
 Religiously Mr. Tolles is an earnest member of the 
 Congregational Churcn, and socially is a member 
 of the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order 
 of Odd Fllows, the Daughters of Rebekah, and the 
 Grand Army of the Republic, in which latter he is 
 now (1900) serving as post commander. Politically 
 he is a Republican, and for eighteen years has most 
 creditably served as constable of Southington. 
 
 CALVIN L. TRACY was born Jan. 29, 1822, 
 on his father's farm in the town of Bolton, Tolland 
 Co., Conn., being the seventh in a family of nine 
 children born to Calvin Tracy and his wife, Sarah 
 Loomis, natives of Coventry, Tolland county. The 
 other children were : Rosanna ( who married Asa 
 Manley, and is now deceased), Barnabas, Ripley, 
 Huntington, Mariah, Selden, Royal and Caroline E. 
 Calvin L. is the only member of the family now 
 living. 
 
 Calvin L. Tracy was yet a boy when the family 
 moved to Columbia, Conn., and thence to Coventry. 
 He remained with his father until he reached mature 
 years, attending school during the winter months, 
 and working on the farm through the summers, 
 and enjoyed fairly good educational advantages, 
 the instruction received at the common schools being 
 supplemented by a course at a select school and at an 
 academy. When aged nineteen he began teaching, 
 employing the long summer vacations In working 
 at the carpenter's trade. Six years were thus passed, 
 and in 1847 (being then twenty-five years old) he 
 was married to Hannah W. House, of Glastonbury, 
 and removed to Rockville, where he worked at his 
 trade for fourteen years. In 1861 he purchased 
 his present farm of sixty acres, in the town of Man- 
 chester, Hartford county, which has ever since been 
 his home, and divides his time between farming and 
 occasional carpenter work. 
 
 Calvin L. Tracy has been twice married. His 
 first wife was Miss Hannah Flouse, one of his 
 former pupils, who bore him two children : Sarah 
 is now the wife of George B. Greener, of Norwich, 
 Conn., and Milton S. is superintendent of a hard- 
 v/are manufacturing company at Rocky Hill. The 
 mother of these children died March 21, 1859, and 
 on Jan. 31, 1861, he married her sister. Miss Martha 
 J. House. To the second union have been born 
 four children : Hattie, wife of H. H. G. Ingalls, a 
 paper manufacturer of Castleton, N. Y. ; John C, 
 who conducts a jewelry store at Willimantic, Conn. ; 
 Elbert H., who died in 1886; and Mary E., wife of 
 Robert Richmond, of South Manchester, Conn., who 
 holds a responsible position v/ith Cheney Brothers. 
 
 Politically Mr. Tracy is a Republican, although 
 for many years supporting the Prohibition party. 
 He has never sought office, but served as justice of 
 the peace for one term. He is a member of the 
 First Congregational Church of Manchester, in 
 
 which body he has held various offices, among them 
 being those of deacon and superintendent of the 
 Sunday-school. 
 
 ANDREW J. KEENE, a well-known business 
 man of Unionville, is a native of Hartford county, 
 his birth occurring in Southington, May 15, 1874. 
 
 Patrick Keene, his father, was born in County 
 West Meath, Ireland, and when a young man em- 
 igrated to America, and took up his residence in 
 Southington, Conn., where he worked as a moulder 
 for Peck, Stow, Wilcox & Co., for thirty-eight years. 
 He was a well-educated man, and was highly re- 
 spected and esteemed by all who knew him. In 
 Southington he married Miss Anna A. Brennan, 
 who is still residing at that place. Of the twelve 
 children born to them, our subject is the youngest, 
 and only four are now living: Patrick F., whose 
 present address is No. 19, Park street, Hartford; 
 Mary A. and Margaret L., both of Southington; 
 and Andrew J., our subject. 
 
 Andrew J. Keene, beter known as "Doc," was 
 educated in the North Center school of Southington, 
 and for five years worked in the screw shop of the 
 Southington Cutlery Co. Coming to Unionville 
 in 1893, he worked for his brother, Edward W., 
 for three years, and on Feb. 28, 1896, opened the old 
 "Brooklyn House" as a member of the firm of Keene 
 & Haller. Six months later he purchased his part- 
 ner's interest, and has since been alone in business. 
 In October, 1898, he erected his present building, 
 and has since engaged in the liquor business at that 
 place. On Sept. i, 1900, he bought the "Plainville 
 Inn," in Plainville, Conn. Although a young man, 
 he has met with remarkable success in his business 
 career, and has already become quite well-to-do. 
 Socially he is a member of the Hartford Lodge 
 of Elks, No. 19, and of the Foresters of America. 
 
 Mr. Keene was married at Unionville to Miss 
 Mary A. Morrissey, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
 William Morrissey, and they have two children : 
 Joseph Andrew and Anna Mildred. 
 
 MARANTHON H. KEENEY is a native-born 
 son of Connecticut, having been born in Manchester 
 Aug. 9, 1843. His father was Chauncey Keeney, 
 a farmer, who was born in 1795, and died in 1850. 
 His mother was Mary A. Case, who died in 1881, 
 at the ripe age of seventy-three years. 
 
 Mr. Keeney can justly lay claim to being a mem- 
 ber of a family distinguished for its patriotism. 
 Five sons were born to his parents : Alvin, who 
 died in childhood ; Albert W., who served as a 
 private in the loth Conn. V. I. during the war of 
 the Rebellion, and is now a farmer in the town of 
 Manchester; Hiram G., a prosperous farmer of 
 the same town ; Amandor C, who was a private 
 soldier in the loth Conn. V. I., and fell Oct. 6, 
 1864; and Maranthon H., a brief sketch of whose 
 life and military service is given below. 
 
 The family took up their residence on the same 
 
1240 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 farm where our subject now resides when he was 
 a lad of eight years. It was there that he received 
 his early education, in the district schools, and it 
 was there that he grew to early manhood. In 1862 
 his soul had become so enkindled by patriotic en- 
 thusiasm that he could remain at home no longer, 
 and on Aug. 12, 1862, he joined the ranks of the 
 privates in Company H, of the i6th Conn. V. I. 
 The regiment was mustered in at Hartford, prompt- 
 ly sent forward to Washington, and received its 
 first "baptism of fire" on the hard-fought field of 
 Antietam. In that battle ^Ir. Keeney was wounded 
 in the right forearm by a ball from a minie rifie. 
 He was sent to the Lincoln hospital, at Washing- 
 ton, and thence to the convalescent camp at Alex- 
 andria, \'a., but failing sufficiently to recuperate 
 he was honorably discharged on April 2, 1863. 
 Inmietliately thereafter he returned to the old farm, 
 wliere he has lived ever since, and where he still 
 is actively engaged in agricultural pursuits. 
 
 On Jan. 11, 1879, Mr. Keeney was married to 
 Miss Susan F. Belknap, and ten children have 
 blessed their union: Alfred 11., Cassia M., Irving 
 E., Wilmer E., Chauncey D., Jesse M., Sylvia A., 
 Luna M., Warren B. and Loren A. Mr. Keeney is 
 a Republican in politics, and a member of Drake 
 Post, No. 4, G. A. R., of Manchester. 
 
 SHERWOOD FITCH RAYMOND, an active 
 farmer, and one of the most successful and substan- 
 tial men in Hartford county, comes of an ancestry 
 devoted to agriculture, both his grandfather and fa- 
 ther having been farmers. 
 
 Lemuel Raymond, grandfather of Sherwood F., 
 was born in Huntington, ]\Iass., and was an influen- 
 tial citizen of Norwich (now Huntington). He 
 married ^liss i\Iary Raymond, who bore him one 
 son, also named Lemuel, the father of Sherwood F. 
 Lemuel Raymond (2) was born in 1796 at Colches- 
 ter, Conn., was a thrifty and successful farmer, and 
 was held in high esteem in the community in which 
 he lived. He married ]\Iiss ]\Iinni M. Dowd, born 
 in ]\Iadison, Conn., in 1804. Both he and his wife 
 have entered into their reward, JMr. Raymond dying 
 in i860, and their remains rest in the cemetery at 
 Colchester. 
 
 Sherwood F. Raymond was born Aug. 8, 1846, 
 in New London, where his parents resided before 
 removing to Colchester. His early education was 
 obtained at the common schools of the last named 
 place, and this training was supplemented by a two- 
 years" course at Bacon Academy. Even here he 
 showed that high order of intelligence and that deep 
 devotion to principle which have characterized him 
 through life, and have made him esteemed as a friend, 
 a citizen and a man. On leaving school he returned 
 to his father's farm, aiding in the farm work until 
 he attained the age of twenty-one. Upon reaching 
 his majority, however, in the strength and determi- 
 nation of his strong young manhood, he resolved to 
 set about hewing his own way through life, and 
 
 building his own fortune. Going from Colchester 
 to Berlin he began farming on what was commonly 
 known as the "Deacon Wilcox Homestead," which 
 he later inherited from the Wilcox estate, and to 
 which he has added by purchase until he now owns 
 one of the best farms in the town of Berlin. Mr. 
 Ra3'mond has greatly improved the place, making 
 it one of the most attractive homes on Berlin street, 
 that thoroughfare noted for its handsome and pic- 
 turesque residences. In addition * j his farming in- 
 terests he is a director in both the Golden Ridge 
 Creamery and the ]\Iattabessett Canning Companies. 
 The first-named was organized in 1890, and has an 
 annual output of 7,000 pounds of butter, marketed 
 in Hartford, Springfield, New Britain and other 
 New England towns. The Mattabessett Co. was 
 incorporated March 2, 1896, and sells its canned 
 \-cgetables to jobbers in New York, Boston and 
 Springfield. The concern also deals in corrugated 
 iron to a considerable extent. In politics Mr. Ray- 
 mond is a Republican, although his activity in busi- 
 ness has prevented him from taking any prominent 
 part in politics. He has never desired — far less 
 sought — any office. 
 
 Mr. Raymond's character exhibits a rare com- 
 bination of strength and flexibility, of shrewdness 
 with generosity, of personal amiability with un- 
 bending moral principle. Liberal in his benefac- 
 tions, and broadly charitable in his judgment of his 
 fellow men, hospitable, sympathetic, and ever ready 
 to forgive, he is fearless and uncompromising in his 
 maintenance and advocacy of what he believes to be 
 right. Since early manhood he has been a leading 
 member of the Congregational Church, and his daily 
 walk and life have constantly exemplified the sin- 
 cerity and vitality of his religious profession. The 
 advancement of evangelical Christianity has been 
 more to him than the hope or prospect of worldly 
 gain, and his great influence with his fellow towns- 
 men is due rather to his irreproachable character 
 and blameless life than to the high order of mental 
 ability and sound business sense for which he has 
 always been distinguished. Yet, broad-minded and 
 of aggressive individuality, he has not failed to 
 stamp his impress upon the course of public af- 
 fairs. In religious matters he has been promi- 
 nent in both his Society and on the church commit- 
 tee, and in January, 1899, was chosen a deacon. His 
 strength — physical, mental and moral — as well as 
 his worldly wealth, has always been at the com- 
 mand of his Master. 
 
 HORACE J. WARD, Judge of the Probate 
 Court, and a well-known resident of Riverton, is 
 entitled to distinction as one of the most progressive 
 and enterprising men of the town of Hartland, 
 and is a worthy representative of a prominent and 
 distinguished family that has been identified with 
 the business interests of Hartford county for many 
 years. Upon the commercial activity of a commu- 
 nity depends its prosperity, and the men who are 
 
u^T^^ "f^^c 
 
 ^yn^ <s7>3 
 
 oC 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1241 
 
 now recognized as leading citizens are those who 
 are at the head of extensive business enterprises. 
 
 The first of tlie Ward family to leave the old 
 home in England and come to the United States 
 were James and Michael Parker Ward, brothers, 
 who werS natives of Yorkshire, and had received 
 onl)'' a limited education in the schools there, as 
 their parents were poor. With 'the hope of better- 
 ing their financial condition they came to America 
 to seek their fortune, embarking on a sailing vessel 
 in 1823. The younger, Michael Parker Ward, the 
 father of our subject, was born in 1809, and there- 
 fore was a mere lad when he landed in New York, 
 a stranger in a strange land, without a shilling in 
 his pocket. The captain of the ship, taking pity on 
 him, gave him the hospitality of his home until 
 he could make another trip to England, but the 
 boy was ambitious, and did not wish to eat the 
 bread of idleness, so started out to seek employ- 
 ment. Visiting the towns along the Hudson, he 
 at length found work in a calico printing mill, and 
 as his employers noted his willingness to work he 
 was soon given a position in the color department 
 of the factory, where he made himself generally 
 useful. For a time he was employed as helper 
 to the color mixer, who did not wish to impart to 
 the boy the art of mixing colors, but Mr. Ward 
 was very observant, and wishing to learn the busi- 
 ness he used all possible means to secure an ex- 
 cellent knowledge of the same. He studied hard 
 at home during his leisure hours, and soon mastered 
 the art. At the early age of twenty he was em- 
 ployed as superintendent of a cotton printing mill 
 in Hudson, N. Y., where he spent two years, hav- 
 ing entire charge of all the departments during 
 that time. 
 
 In 1 83 1 Michael P. Ward removed to North 
 Adams, Mass., and leased the calico printing miii 
 of Turner & Laflin, who were doing an unprofitable 
 business, and in connection with his brother James 
 formed a partnership under the name of John 
 Ward's Sons. Their great energy and business ca- 
 pacity soon brought them success, and in the space 
 of three years their profits exceeded $60,000. At 
 the termination of three years. Turner & Laflin not 
 wishing to extend the lease, the Wards were com- 
 pelled, in order to continue their business, to lo- 
 cate elsewhere. Consequently, in 1836, they came 
 to Hartford county. Conn., and at Riverton, town 
 of Hartland, constructed a calico printing mill, in 
 wliich they invested $60,000. Here business was 
 carried on under the firm name of John Ward & 
 Sons, the father, John Ward, having come to Amer- 
 ica in 1830. He was superintendent of the outside 
 part of the business. He spent the remainder of 
 his life with his sons, and died in Riverton in 1863. 
 In politics he was a Democrat, and in religious be- 
 lief an Episcopalian. In his family were seven 
 children: Four sons — James, Peter, Michael Par- 
 ker and Charles — and three daughters, all of whom 
 came to the New World and died here. 
 
 The firm of John Ward & Sons met with re- 
 markable success, doing a business of over $400,000 
 per year. However, one of their, agents in New 
 York embezzled $75,000, which, on account of the 
 stringency of the money market at that time, crip- 
 pled their business for a time, and forced the firm 
 into an assignment; yet the business was continued 
 under their management, and finally all claims were 
 adjusted satisfactorily with all creditors. The busi- 
 ness was continued until 1852, when, on account of 
 lack of transportation facilities, the long distance 
 that the freight had to be carted, and the great 
 changes that railroads brought about, and the gen- 
 eral trend of business, the firm was dissolved. 
 
 Upon the dissolution of the firm, Michael in- 
 vested extensively in Western lands and securities, 
 which netted a good profit. He lost a large amount 
 by the great Chicago fire, but his losses did not dis- 
 courage him, and he finally overcame all obstacles 
 in the path to success. In 1855 he organized the 
 Eagle Company of Riverton, Conn., manufacturers 
 of all kinds of grass and grain scythes, corn knives 
 and grass hooks, of which he was president, man- 
 ager and agent for many years, and one of its di- 
 rectors during the whole period of its existence. 
 The success which this company enjoyed, and the 
 reputation of their goods, were in a good measure 
 due to the foresight and business judgment of its 
 founder. This company retired from business in 
 1894, returning to the stockholders full payment 
 for their stock and a handsome dividend besides. 
 Mr. Ward was also interested in the lumber indus- 
 try in the West, for a number of years operating 
 four steam sawmills, and also an extensive flour- 
 mill. 
 
 Michael Ward was a man of exceptionally good 
 business ability, a keen observer, and a fine judge 
 of character. He made and lost three fortunes, yet 
 he managed to save enough to keep him in comfort 
 during his declining years, and leave his family well 
 provided for by his judicious investments. He was 
 well known throughout the New England States 
 as a prudent and capable business man, whose 
 word was as good as his bond. Kind and genial 
 in disposition, he made many friends, and had the 
 happy faculty of being able to retain them. He 
 served as selectman of the town and represented 
 Flartland in the State Legislature, and could have 
 held any office in the gift of the people of his 
 community, but' his ambition was not along po- 
 litical lines. He was a supporter of the Republican 
 party, and a consistent member of the M. E. 
 Church. Mr. Ward died at his home in Riverton in 
 1894, honored and respected bv all who knew him, 
 and he was laid to rest in Riverton cemetery. In 
 North Adams, Mass., he had married Miss Sarah 
 Ormold, a native of Lancashire, England, who died ■ 
 in 1888, and was also buried in Riverton cemetery. 
 She was a good Christian woman, a consistent mem- 
 ber of the Episcopal Church. To this worthy 
 couple' were born thirteen children : Sarah, de- 
 
1242 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ceased: I'cter, wlio died vouiie;; Mary J., deceased; 
 John, at home: Josephine, wife of ex-Gov. Lorman 
 Cook, of Connecticut : George, a resident of River- 
 ton, Litchfield Co., Conn.; Horace J., our subject; 
 Charles, deceased : \ictoria, wife of Clayton H. 
 Case, of Hartford; Emma, at home; Isabelle, wife 
 of Frank Gates, a druggist of Winsted. Litch- 
 field county : Clarence, at home, who has served 
 as selectman of the town of llartland. and in 1S94 
 was elected judge of probate for two years; and 
 William, a resident of Denver, Colorado. 
 
 Horace J. Ward, whose name introduces this 
 review, was born in Riverton, Hartford county, 
 June 17, 1845, and his early education was obtained 
 in the public schools of that town, after which he 
 was for three years a student in the Connecticut 
 Literary Institute, Suffield. In 1878, in company 
 with his brothers William and George, he embarked 
 in the manufacture of papjr, under the firm name 
 of Ward Bros., and thev expended $20,000 in con- 
 verting a cloth printing mill into a desirable plant 
 for their business. Later, when this was destroyed 
 by fire, they erected another mill, and continued 
 business there quite successfully until 1893, when 
 they sold out to a Massachusetts firm. Since then 
 our subject has devoted his attention to his private 
 interests. He seems to have inherited nuich of his 
 father's business ability, and has always carried 
 forward to successful completion whatever he has 
 undertaken. Since attaining his majority he has 
 been actively identified with local political affairs, 
 first as a Democrat, but since 1876 as a stanch sap- 
 porter of the Republican party. In 1870 he was 
 elected to the State Legislature, and again in 1892, 
 and served the citizens of the town of Hartland 
 well and faithfully for two terms. He has also been 
 selectman for several terms, and the cause of ed- 
 ucation has always found in him a firm friend. In 
 1896 he was elected probate judge, to succeed his 
 brother Clarence, and has since filled that office 
 with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction 
 of the general public. His decisions are always 
 fair and impartial, and he is absolutely fearless in 
 the discharge of his duties. 
 
 JOEL AUSTIN GRIDLEY, one of the most 
 progressive and enterprising farmers of Southing- 
 ton, w-as born in that town Alarch 11, 1831. His 
 father, Solomon D. Gridley, was also born in South- 
 ington, July 14, 1805, and was married, Nov. 24, 
 1829, to Miss Wealthy P. Dunham, a daughter of 
 Sylvanus and Theodosia (Peck) Dunham. The 
 children born of that union were Joel A. ; George 
 C. ; Solomon H. ; Sarah B. ; Charles A. ; Wealthy 
 Ann, wife of Frederick Woodrui?; and Wilmer D. 
 
 Joel Gridley, the paternal grandfather of our 
 subject, was born in Southington in 1777, and was 
 married, Oct. 25, 1802, to Amanda Woodruff, 
 daughter of Amos and Phebe (Hart) Woodruff. 
 He died Aug. 26, 1821, and she died Feb. 27, 1870, 
 at the advanced age of eightv-eight vears. His 
 
 father, Noah Gridley. was born in 1722, and was 
 married, Aug. 15, 1751, to Sarah, daughter of Rev. 
 Jeremiah and Hannah (Burnham) Curtiss. Noah 
 Gridley died May 15, 181 1, at the age of ninety 
 years, and his wife departed this life Aug. 6, 1806. 
 He was a son of Joseph Gridley, who was born in 
 Farmington in 1684, and married Hannah, daughter 
 of Samuel Lewis.* He made his home in South- 
 ington, where he died Dec. 7, 1770, aged eighty- 
 six years. His father, Samuel Gridley, was born 
 in Hartford Nov. 25, 1647, but was reared in Farm- 
 ington, where he died in 171 2. Prior to 1680 he 
 married Esther Thompson, tlaughter of Thomas and 
 Ann (Wells) Thompson, of Farmington. After 
 her death he was again married, Dec. i, 1798, his 
 second union being with Mary Humphrey, of Sims- 
 bury. He was a blacksmith by trade, and a man of 
 considerable prominence, his name occurring fre- 
 quently in Colonial records. His father, Thomas 
 Ciridley. was tb.e progenitor of the family in Amer- 
 ica. He came from the County of Essex, Eng- 
 land, in 1631, and first located in Massachusetts, 
 but in 1639 came to Hartford, and was at Wind- 
 sor Sept. 5, 1639, being one of the thirty men sent 
 from Windsor to the Pequot war under Capt. Ma- 
 son. Sept. 29, 1644, he was married, in Hartford, 
 to Mary Seymour. He appears to have been in- 
 terested in the settlement of Nonatuck (North- 
 ampton), Ma.^s., but he died in Hartford in 1655. 
 
 Joel A. Gridley, the subject of this review, grew 
 to manhood on the farm where he now resides, and 
 early became familiar with all the duties which 
 fall to the lot of the agriculturist. His literary ed- 
 ucation was obtained in the common schools, Lewis 
 Academy, the Connecticut Literary Institute, of 
 Suffield, and Madison Laiiversity, of Hamilton, N. 
 Y., and he was thus well fitted for life's responsible 
 diities. His principal occupation since leaving 
 school has been that of farming, and most of his 
 life has been spent on the old homestead. 
 
 On Oct. 23, i860, Mr. Gridley wedded Miss 
 Mary Ruth Arnold, a daughter of Ethan and Mary 
 A. (Thompson) Arnold, of Manchester, Conn., and 
 to them were born three children : Genevra A., 
 wife of Frank W. Dunham ; Emmons D. ; and How- 
 ard E., deceased. Religiously Mr. Gridley is a 
 member of the Baptist Church of New Britain, and 
 politically he is connected with the Democratic 
 party. 
 
 HON. ALBERT A. BARNES, who for a 
 decade and more has been the efficient superintend- 
 ent of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., of East Ber- 
 lin, and who throughout his mature life has been 
 one of the substantial men and useful citizens of the 
 town, was born Jan. 7, 1845. 
 
 Levi R. Barnes, our subject's father, was a na- 
 tive of Southington, born in 1807, learned the busi- 
 ness of clock making, and was one of the first to 
 engage in the manufacture of the old-style time- 
 piece of that period in his section of the country. 
 
^.^--^'y^f'^''^ ^^i:^^'*-*--^-^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1243 
 
 His factory occupied the site of the present Dudley 
 mill, in East Berlin. His wife, who was formerly 
 Miss Julia A. Wilcox, was a native of Berlin, born 
 in 1812. Their marriage was blessed with children 
 as follows: Malvina; Rodolphus, who for years was 
 chief engineer of the Panama Railroad Co.'s steam- 
 ers at Panama ; Lyman W. ; and Albert A. ; all are 
 now deceased excepting the subject of this sketch. 
 The parents of these children were good, substan- 
 tial people, plain and unassuming, who held the es- 
 teem and respect of the community in which they 
 lived. Mr. Barnes' death occurred in 1880, and his 
 wife passed away in 1864. 
 
 Albert A. Barnes passed his early boyhood in 
 and attended the public schools of his native town. 
 At the early age of fourteen he began the struggle 
 of life for himself, as a clerk in a store in Middle- 
 town, receiving for his services the first year his 
 board and $30 in cash. Leaving his employers at 
 the end of the year, he returned to East Berlin, and 
 for a short time was in the employ of the Roys & 
 Wilcox Co. From here he went to Hartford, and 
 for about one year worked in the Sharps Rifle Fac- 
 tory. From Hartford he went to New Haven, and 
 for another year he was occupied in the works of 
 the Whitney Fire Arms Co. Following this he was 
 for a brief period otherwise engaged in labor at 
 New Haven and Middletown, then again entered 
 the employ of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., of 
 East Berlin, his duties being in the packing room. 
 A year later he accepted the position of passenger 
 and freight agent at East Berlin, being the first 
 freight agent at that point, and he also sold the first 
 ticket for passenger transportation from that depot. 
 He most efficiently performed the duties here devolv- 
 ing upon him for eleven years, gaining popularity, 
 .and establishing a reputation as an obliging and ac- 
 commodating agent. In 1887 Mr. Barnes was ten- 
 dered and accepted the position of superintendent 
 of the works at East Berlin of the Peck, Stow & 
 Wilcox Co., a position he has since most creditably 
 filled, showing executive ability of high order. 
 
 Politically Mr. Barnes has been identified with 
 the Democratic party, and such has been his fitness 
 for public business and his popularity that he has 
 been favored with nearly all of the various town 
 offices. In 1878 he was elected to the General As- 
 sembly and was a member of that body at the time 
 of the holding of the last session in the old State 
 House^ at Hartford, and the first in the new one. 
 For a period of ten years he served as president of 
 the board of education of Berlin. His religious 
 connections are with the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, of which he was one of the first members 
 of the society in the town, and for twenty-one years 
 served as superintendent of the Sunday-school. He 
 is a member of the K. P. lodge at East Berlin, and 
 has served as chancellor commander of same a num- 
 ber of terms. He was the first vice-president of the 
 East Berlin Building Association, and the first presi- 
 
 dent of the Mattabessett Canning Co. Few men 
 have more friends and enjoy greater popularity, and 
 deservedly so, than the subject of this sketch. 
 
 On June 9, 1869, Mr. Barnes was married to 
 Miss Emilie Bunce, of East Berlin, Conn., a daugh- 
 ter of George and Harriet (Bulkeley) Bunce, a 
 sketch of whom appears elsewhere. She received 
 her education in the public schools of East Berlin. 
 To this marriage have come three children : Wini- 
 fred E., who was graduated in the class of 1896 from 
 the New Britain high school ; Mabelle W., who was 
 graduated from the New Britain high school in 1897, 
 and is a member of the class of 1901 at Wesleyan 
 University, Middletown; and Albert Delos. The 
 family reside in a neat and comfortable home built 
 to suit their own tastes, located on Main street. The 
 parents also own the property adjoining them, in 
 which reside the family of Julius B. Barnes, son of 
 the late Rodolphus Barnes, and the adopted child of 
 our subject. He married Grace Frary, and is now 
 connected with the American Bridge Co. m New 
 York City. 
 
 HON. CHARLES A. ENSIGN, secretary and 
 treasurer of the Tariffville Lace Co., of Hartford 
 county, was born in the village of Tariffville March 
 31, 1850, and is a son of Dr. Charles W. and 
 Melissa (Case) Ensign, who were the parents of 
 two children : Charles A., the subject of this sketch ; 
 and Laura, who was married to Samuel F. Cadwell, 
 of Hartford, in which city she died in 1887. 
 
 Dr. Charles W. Ensign was a son of Austin 
 and Laura (Beach) Ensign, and of him it was 
 written, in the "Memorial History of Hartford 
 County," 1886, as follows: "Dr. Charles W. En- 
 sign was born in West Hartland. He was grad- 
 uated in 1844 from the University of the City of 
 New York, and commenced the practice of medicine 
 in Tarifliville, town of Simsbury, the same year, as 
 an Old-school physician. He became a Fellow of 
 the Connecticut Medical Society, enjoyed the es- 
 teem of his brother practitioners, and was respected 
 in the community in which he lived. Becoming 
 convinced of the truth and value of the homeo- 
 pathic system in 1855, he openly practiced accord- 
 ing to its principles, and in consequence was ex- 
 pelled from his society. In 1857 he joined the 
 Connecticut Homeopathic Society, and remained a 
 member until his death." 
 
 The Ensign family originated in England, and 
 can be traced back as far as 1563. Its arms appear 
 in the church at Childham, where Ensign Manor is 
 located, near the cathedral town of Canterbury, and 
 the name was well-known in the counties of Essex, 
 Norfolk and Kent. James Ensign was the first of 
 the name to come to America. His first location 
 was at Cambridge, Mass., but in 1634 he came to 
 Hartford with Rev. Thomas Hooker's colony. He 
 died in November, 1670, his wife Sarah passing 
 away in May, 1676. Their son David, the first 
 of the name born in Hartford county, was the pro- 
 
li'44 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 genitor of the generations whicn have since been 
 born here. 
 
 Charles A. Ensign attended school in Tariff- 
 ville until fourteen years old, and then went to 
 Muscatine, Iowa, and for some time was there 
 employed as a clerk, but failing health compelled 
 his return to Connecticut. Here he learned car- 
 pentering under a Mr. Shaw, and in 1876 again 
 went West to engage in bridge construction along 
 the line of the Louisville & Nashville railroad. He 
 returned to Connecticut to take charge of the bridge 
 building departn'ient of the New England railway. 
 In 188.4 1"-' returned to Tariffville and began busi- 
 ness as a contractor and builder, and some of the 
 finest homes in Hartford county, including his own 
 attractive home at the corner of Elm and Center 
 streets, Tariffville, stand to-day as monuments of his 
 care and skill. In July, 1898, Mr. Ensign became 
 identified with a business concern which was super- 
 seded by the Tariffville Manufacturing Co., and in 
 February, 1899, was one of the incorporators of 
 the Tariffville Lace Co., of which he is now the 
 secretary and treasurer. 
 
 While not too strongly partisan, Mr. Ensign 
 is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party, and 
 in 1874 was elected to the General Assembly from 
 Simsbury ; he was at that time the youngest mem- 
 ber of that august body, being but twenty-four 
 years of age. He is a member of St. Mark's Lodge, 
 No. 36, F. & A. M., at Simsbury, and a charter 
 member of the K. of P. Lodge at the same place. 
 He married Mrs. Sarah Toy Curtiss, a daughter of 
 the late Joseph Toy, who comes from one of the 
 most respected families of Simsbury, of which vil- 
 lage Mr. Ensign is one of the most progressive and 
 valued citizens, ever holding the best interests of 
 the community at heart, and ever ready to respond, 
 when called upon, to aid. financially and otherwise, 
 any project designed to promote the welfare of the 
 public. 
 
 HOWARD MERRITT STEELE, one of the 
 prosperous young business men of New Britain, di- 
 rected his education largely toward a commercial 
 and business training, beheving that practical knowl- 
 edge is the more valuable, yet he did not neglect 
 those more general lines of study the aim of which 
 is mental training. 
 
 Mr. Steele was born in New Britain Aug. 24, 
 1872, son of Dwight Newell Steele, and attended 
 the schools of his native place until he had reached 
 the middle year of the high-school course. Then 
 for two years, in 1888 and 1889, he attended Doane 
 College, at Crete, Neb., taking an elective course, 
 choosing studies in part with a view to a business 
 career. After leaving school he worked for his 
 uncles for a time, and was then for three years as- 
 sistant bookkeeper for Landers, Frary & Clark. He 
 was promoted to the position of bookkeeper, which 
 he retained for two years, and had not yet reached 
 his twenty-first birthday when he had under him 
 
 two bookkeepers. The position was a most excel- 
 lent one for a young man of his age, but he was 
 obliged to relinquish it on account of failing eye- 
 sight. 
 
 Mr. Steele then formed a partnership with a 
 Mr. Lyons, in the wholesale and retail grain trade, at 
 the corner of Biglow and Chestnut streets, New 
 Britain, and six months later sold out to his partner. 
 In March, 1895, he purchased the livery and board- 
 ing stables of W. T. Holbrook, assigned, and re- 
 named them the "Park Stables," of which he is still 
 proprietor, in addition operating the electric express, 
 hi connection with the Connecticut Lighting & 
 Power Co. He owns the largest barn in New Brit- 
 ain, and also the largest boarding stables, having 
 eighteen horses and twenty-two boarders. He has 
 six hacks, and is prepared to supply any demand. 
 Air. Steele has been successful in all the branches of 
 business in which he has engaged. He applies him- 
 self to his business, and owes his success to his indi- 
 vidual efi'orts. He is a member of Lexington 
 Lodge, No. 72, I. O. O. F. ; the O. U. A. M. ; and 
 Harmony Lodge, No. 20, F. & A. M. 
 
 In September, 1893, Mr. Steele was married to 
 Aliss Minnie Rhodes, daughter of Franklin Rhodes, 
 the ice dealer of New Britain, and a member of an 
 old Connecticut family. To Mr. and Mrs. Steele 
 has been born one child, Ruth. 
 
 THOMAS STANDISH, of Wethersfield, Conn., 
 was one of the early settlers of the town, 1631- 
 1635, having been naturally attracted to the fertile 
 valley of the Connecticut by popular interest at 
 the time. He is supposed to have been a nephew of 
 Miles Standish of Puritan fame, and came to this 
 country soon after the founding of Plymouth. There 
 is a marked characteristic resemblance between the 
 descendants of this branch and the descendants of 
 Allies Standish. Little is known of the family, 
 except that they were of nobility, being of the 
 Standishes of Duxbury and Standish Hall, Eng- 
 land. 
 
 Thomas Standish was an influential citizen, and 
 by the first records of the town owned extensive 
 property. He served the Colony in the Pequot war, 
 and received a grant of land in 1671, on that ac- 
 count, a part of which is still in the possession of his 
 descendants. He died here Dec. 5, 1692, at the 
 ripe age of eighty years, and his wife, Susannah, 
 died Nov. 30, 1692, at the age of sixty-eight. They 
 had tliree children: (i) Thomas, (2) Sarah, and 
 (3) Eunice. 
 
 Their only son, Thomas Standish, Jr., spent his 
 entire life in Wethersfield as a general farmer, 
 and his remains were interred in the Wethersfield 
 cemetery. He was married, Marcn 20, 1690, to 
 Mary Church, a native of Hartford, and a daugh- 
 ter of Thomas Church. By that union he had 
 four children: (i) Thomas, bom March 10, 1691, 
 died single, 1749; (2) John, born Aug. 11, 1693; 
 (3) Eunice, born May 31, 1698, married Capt. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1245 
 
 John Williams; and (4) Josiah, born April 8, 1701, 
 married Hannah Butler. The wife and mother died 
 Jan. 20, 1705, and Thomas Standish was again 
 married, Oct. 26, 1706, his second union being 
 with Rebecca Hunn, by whom he had two children : 
 (i) Rebecca and (2) Jeremiah (twins), born Dec. 
 22, 1709 (Rebecca married Hezekiah Butler; Jere- 
 miah married Hannah Wise. To them were born 
 three children: Hannah, Oct. 24, 1768; Josiah, 
 Aug. 27, 1770; Lois, Oct. 9, 1772). 
 
 Josiah Standish, a son of Thomas, Jr., was born 
 on the home farm in Wethersfield, and throughout 
 life followed agricultural pursuits there. On March 
 27, 1733, he married Hannah Butler, who was born 
 in Wethersfield Sept. 26, 1705, a daughter of James 
 and Hannah (Edwards) Butler, and died July 8, 
 1744. They had three children: (i) John, born 
 March 2, 1735; (2) Hannah, wife of Lemuel Dem- 
 ing, born March 22, 1739; (3) James, born Jan. 
 22, 1742, died unmarried April 18, 18 17. 
 
 John Standish, son of Josiah and Hannah (But- 
 ler) Standish, lived to see the American people gain 
 their independence, and his sympathies were with 
 the Colonies in their efforts to throw off the yoke 
 of British oppression. He was widely known and 
 highly respected, and was a man of prominence in 
 his community. He died July 29, 1798. On May 
 21, 1785, at the age of fifty years, he married a 
 neighbor, Eunice Tryon, daughter of Abijah and 
 Eunice Frances Tryon, born March 17, 1763, died 
 Dec. 18, 1837, at the age of twenty-two, whom he 
 had waited for, having told her mother that she 
 was a fine baby and he would wait for her. To them 
 were born seven children, as follows: (i) Han- 
 nah, born July i, 1786, was killed by a sleigh Jan. 
 20, 1789; (2) Josiah, born Jan. 29, 1788, died April 
 20, 1790; (3) John, born March 29, '1790, married 
 Namoni Crawford, and removed to Bridgeport, 
 Conn, (they had five children, Laura, Harriett, 
 Eunice Frances, Nancy and James Tryon) ; (4) 
 Nancy, born April 12, 1792, married Jared Butler, 
 of Wethersfield (they had three children, Josiah, 
 born Aug. 11, 181 3 ; Lucy Ann, born Dec. 25, 181 5 ; 
 and Jared, born Aug. 20, 1818) ;-(5) James, born 
 Feb. 2, 1794, married Cynthia Wells;. (6) Laura, 
 born Aug. i, 1795, married Capt. Timothy Griswold 
 April 19, 1821 (had three children, Jane, Myles 
 Standish and Isabella) • (7) Josiah, born Aug. 29, 
 1798, died young. 
 
 James Standish throughout life was engaged in 
 farming on the old homestead in Jordan Lane, 
 and was also interested in dairying and stock rais- 
 ing. He made many improvements upon his farm, 
 and was noted for his industry and honorable deal- 
 ings. He was well read, and took a deep interest 
 in educational affairs; was a stanch supporter of 
 the Democratic party ; was liberal in his religious 
 views ; temperate in habit and ■ genial in disposi- 
 tion. He died upon his farm Jan. 12, 187 1, and was 
 laid to rest in Wethersfield cemetery. He was mar^ 
 ried, April 2, 1826, to Miss Cynthia Wells, a daugh- 
 
 ter of Jonathan Wells, descendant of Gov. Wells, 
 of Hartford. She was born Feb. 26, 1799, and died 
 March 16, 1885. Li their family were seven chil- 
 dren, namely : ( i ) James, born Jan. 27, 1827, mar- 
 ried Jerusha Griswold Nov. 26, 1854; (2) Cynthia, 
 born 1829, died unmarried; (3) Capt. John New- 
 ton, born Nov. 19, 1831, died May 18, 1888, mar- 
 ried Abigal M., daughter of Levi and Abigal Gris- 
 wold Churchill, Aprd 4, 1855, and they removed to 
 Bridgeport (they had six children, John N., born 
 Feb. 3, 1856; Miles Shephen, born Oct. 9, 1857; 
 Rose Maria, born Dec. 13, i860; Harriett Isabella, 
 born Nov. 30, 1863; George Wells, born Aug. 14, 
 1865; and Frank Ernest, born Nov. 25, 1869, died 
 Feb. 19, 1881); (4) Ira, born Julv 5, 1833, died 
 Dec. 30, 1895, married Sarah, daughter of Levi and 
 Sarah Larkin Warner (to them were born five chil- 
 dren, Annie, born April 26, 1863, died May 6, 1879; 
 Alice, born May 9, 1865; Minnie, born Aug. 11, 
 1868; Bertha, born March 28, 1870; and Rose, 
 born June 13, 1875) ; (5) Mary Louise, born 1836; 
 and (6) Nancy, born 1838, both unmarried and 
 living in Wethersfield; and (7) Annie Rose, born 
 Feb., 1842, died Aug. 22, 1851. 
 
 James Standish was reared on the old home- 
 stead in Jordan Lane, and was educated in the dis- 
 trict schools of Wethersfield and the Wethersfield 
 Academy. He also studied civil engineering and 
 surveying, and prepared himself for school teach- 
 ing. On hearing that his brother John had failed 
 to pass the teacher's examination before the board 
 of education at Farmington, he resolved that he 
 would secure a teacher's certificate, and accordinglv 
 one winter day walked across the country through 
 the woods from Wethersfield to Farmington, passed 
 a successful examination, and got the school. For 
 some time he taught through the winter months, 
 while in summer he engaged in farming and also 
 surveying. After his marriage he located on Hart- 
 ford avenue, near the State prison. He has since 
 made many improvements upon his place, and has 
 successfully engaged in general farming, stock rais- 
 ing and dairying. - He is a stanch supporter of the 
 Democratic party, but has never sought political 
 honors. He is liberal- in religious views, , and is 
 widely known and highly respected. 
 
 On Nov. 26, 1854, Mr. Standish married Miss 
 Jerusha Griswold, a native of Wethersfield, and a 
 daughter of Jacob and -Elizabeth (Churchill-) Gris- 
 wold, and to them were born nine children : ( i ) 
 Thomas, sketch of whom follows. (2) Wyllys 
 Wells, sketch of whom follows: (3) James, born 
 Oct. 27, 1859, died Aug. 3, 1861. (4) Jonathan 
 Edward and (5) Mary EHzabeth (twins), born 
 Sept. 13, 1863 ; Jonathan married Harriett, daugh- 
 ter of David and Harriett Taylor, April 15, 1896 
 (have one child, Marian, born Feb. 13, 1898) ; Mary 
 m.arried Charles C. Hart, of Rocky Hill, April 21, 
 1886 (have three children, Frank Standish, bom 
 Sept. 9, 1887; William Griswold, born July 26, 
 1892; and Everett Herbert, born July 10, 1894). 
 
1246 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (6) Jared Butler, born Sept. 4, 1866, married 
 Martha Louise, daughter of Charles and Eliza 
 Densmore Perkins, of Bridgewater, \'t., Jan. 30, 
 1895 (the)' have one child, Erland Alyles, born Oct. 
 IT,, 1896). (7) Hannah Tryon, born Nov. 15, 
 1868, married Arthur W. Howard, M. D., Oct. 10, 
 1894 (they have one child, ^lildred Standish, born 
 April 19, 1898). (8) James Herbert, sketch of 
 whom follows. (9) Emma Louise, born Feb. 3, 
 1877 is unmarried. 
 
 Thomas Standish was born in Wethersfield Oct. 
 1, 1855, and attended the district schools and the 
 academy of Wethersfield, also the Hartford Public 
 High School. In 1876 he and nis brother Wyllys 
 ojjened a store in Wethersfield, but at the end of 
 five years he sold his interest in the business and 
 moved to Des Moines, Iowa, where he spent one 
 year. On his return to Wethersfield he was en- 
 gaged in the carriage business for five years, and in 
 May, 1892, was appointed secretary and treasurer 
 of the Birkery Manufacturing Co., of Hartford, 
 which positions he has since most creditably filled. 
 He is a Knight Templar, member of St. John's 
 Lodge, F. & A. M., of Hartford, and belongs to 
 the Congregational Church. In politics he is a 
 ■Democrat, and at one time was the nominee of 
 his party for representative from Wethersfield, but 
 failed of election as the Republican party is largely 
 in the majority here. He was married, in Weth- 
 ersfield, April 14, 1892, to H. Leila Bailey, daugh- 
 ter of Arnold and Nancy (Lockwood) Bailey, and 
 they have two children : Lorea, born Feb. 24, 1893 ; 
 and Helen Lockwood, born April 9, 1898. 
 
 Wyllys Wells Standish, son of James, born in 
 Wethersfield Nov. 24, 1857, was educated at the 
 district schools and the academy of Wethersfield. 
 He was connected in the grocer}- and ice business 
 with his brother Thomas from 1876 to 1881, when 
 the partnership was mutually dissolved. He con- 
 tinued it alone for a few years, then selected the 
 ice business, which he has carried on since. Mr. 
 Standish was married, Aug. 14, 1878, to Carrie 
 M., daughter of Asa and Mary E. White, of Plain- 
 field, N. J. They have three children: Harrv Asa, 
 born June 21, 1880, and Frederick White, born 
 Oct. 29, 1882, both employed in the office of the 
 Central New England R. R. ; and Guilford Wells, 
 born May 23, 1885, living at home in Wethers- 
 field. Mr. Standish, politically, is a Democrat, and 
 is an influential member of that party. He has 
 held the office of committeeman of the public school 
 in his district for several years, and also serves 
 the public as justice of the peace. He is a member 
 of Charter Oak Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Hartford. 
 
 Dr. James H. Standish, the youngest son, was 
 born in Wethersfield Dec. 9, 1871, and began his 
 education in the district schools. Later he was 
 graduated from the Wethersfield nigh schools and 
 then entered the Collins street classical school of 
 Hartford, where he prepared for college. In 1892 
 he entered the Medical University of New York 
 
 City, from which he graduated in 1895, and then 
 spent one )'ear in the Childrens and Infants hospital 
 oi- Randall's Island (New York), after which he 
 returned to Hartford, where he has since been suc- 
 cessfully engaged in practice. He is a member of 
 the City, County and State Medical Socities, and of 
 the I. O. O. F. He was married, June 14, 1898, to 
 Nettie Grace Adams, a native of Baltimore, and a 
 graduate of the Western Female Seminary of that 
 city. She is a daughter of George C. and Flannah 
 M. (Snow) Adams. The Doctor and his wife have 
 one child, Welles Adams, born June 7, 1899. In 
 politics the Doctor is a Republican in religion 
 he and his wife are Congregationalists. 
 
 FIART. The branch of the Flart family of 
 which the late George Ilart, of New Britain, was 
 a descendant, and of which the latter's son, Will- 
 iam Henry Hart, now a prominent citizen of that 
 city, where for years he has been identified with the 
 manufacturing company known as the Stanley 
 Works (of which he is president), is a distinguished 
 member, is one of the oldest as it is also one of 
 the most prominent families of Connecticut. 
 
 William H.Hart is in the eighth generation from 
 Deacon Stephen Hart, his first American ancestor, 
 the line of his descent being through Stephen Hart 
 (2), Stephen (3), Daniel, Stephen (4), Stephen 
 ( 5 ) , and George. 
 
 (I) Deacon Stephen Hart, born about 1605, 
 at Braintree, County of Essex, England, came to 
 Massachusetts Bay about 1632, and located for a 
 time at Cambridge, Mass., being one of the fifty- 
 four settlers at that point. He became a proprietor 
 at Hartford, Conn., in 1639, and was one of the 
 eighty-four proprietors of Farmington, Conn., in 
 1672. 
 
 (II) Stephen Hart (2), son of Deacon Stephen 
 Hart, born at Braintree, County of Essex, Eng- 
 land, located at Farmington, Conn., where J-.e was 
 made a freeman in May, 1654. 
 
 (III) Stephen Hart (3), son of Stephen Hart 
 (2), born in 1662 in Farmington, married, in 1689, 
 Sarah, daughter of Samuel Cowles. 
 
 (IV) Daniel Hart, son of Stephen Hart (3), 
 born in 1707, in Farmington, married, in 1734, 
 Abigail, daughter of Thomas Thompson, and lived 
 in New Britain, Connecticut. 
 
 (V) Stephen Hart (4), son of Daniel Hart, 
 born in 1744 in New Britain, married, in 1767, 
 Rhoda, daughter of Charles Stedman, of Wethers- 
 field, Conn. He was a farmer, and lived in Stanley 
 Quarter at the foot of Clark Hill. 
 
 (VI) Stephen Hart (5), soh of Stephen Hart 
 (4), and the father of the late George Hart, of 
 New Britain, was born Oct. 21, 1775, in New 
 Britain, married, June 25, 1797, Sally, daughter of 
 Ezra and Lucy (Stanliff) White, of Chatham, 
 Conn., born June 14, 1775. He was a farmer, and 
 lived at the old home of his father and grandfa- 
 ther, at the foot of Clark Hill 'in Stanley Quarter. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1247 
 
 He died in 1816, his wife passing away in 1859. 
 Their children were : Shephen, Edmund, George, 
 Emily, Philip, William, Henry and Ebenezer. 
 
 The late George Hart, of New Britain, son of 
 Stephen Hart (5), and the father of President 
 William Henry Hart, was born March 16, 1801, 
 in Stanley Quarter, New Britain, Conn., and there 
 passed the early years of his life before going to 
 West Hartford, where he -passed three years in 
 learning the shoemaker's trade. This completed, 
 3'oung Hart began his business career by purchasing 
 a stock of shoes, which he conveyed by wagon to 
 Augusta, Ga., where he sold out his stock during the 
 winter and returned the following year to New 
 Britain. Later, in New Britain, he engaged in the 
 manufacture of coffee-mills, in which, however, he 
 was not successful ; then entered the employ of 
 the brass works of North & Stanley, and worked 
 over hours to lic|uidate the indebtedness of some 
 $600.00 incurred in the previous coifee-mill ven- 
 ture. Not content as an employe, the young man 
 later and before the day of railroads established a 
 daily stage express and freight line to Hartford, 
 in which business his tact, enterprise and fidelity 
 brought him success. For many 3'ears he carried 
 nearly all the passengers, express and frieght be- 
 tween these two places. He continued this busi- 
 ness with strict fidelity and care until the comple- 
 tion of the New Haven and Hartford railroad in 
 1839, when he transferred his teaming and stage 
 line to the little station east of Rhodes place known 
 as Green Swamp. After the completion of the 
 Hartford, Providence & Fishkill railroad, Jan. i, 
 1850, Mr. Hart was appointed station master for 
 New Britain, and did most of the trucking to and 
 from the station. He also ran an omnibus line for 
 a number of years to Berlin Junction until the build- 
 ing of the New Britain branch road in 1865. By 
 that time he acquired a competenc}', and was not 
 thereafter engaged in active business, except farm- 
 ing on a small scale. During his active life Mr. 
 Hart was a very industrious and hard-working man. 
 He was of temperate habits, possessed of great 
 physical endurance, also blessed with a rugged con- 
 stitution, and, not until the failure of his eyesight 
 and the infirmities of age laid him aside, could he 
 be content to give up employment. 
 
 Mr. Hart united with the Church of Christ in 
 New Britain Aug. 6, 1831, and was one of the 120 
 original members who formed the South Congrega- 
 tional Church, and was the last surviving male 
 member of that number. Mr. Hart lived to the 
 advanced age of ninety years, dying Oct. 27, 1891. 
 At that time the New Britain Daily Herald said : 
 "Mr. Hart was a man of great simplicity of char- 
 acter, and frankness combined with a high sense 
 of honor and the strictest integrity." 
 
 On March e, 1826, Mr. Hart married Mary 
 Griswold, daughter of Ebenezer and Mary (Gris- 
 wold) Andrews. She was born Oct. 22, 1809, 
 and died Aug. 10, 183 1. To *-his marriage was 
 
 born one son, Charles, who died Feb. 27, 1837, at 
 the age of ten years. Mr. Hart married (second) 
 Sept. II, 1832, Elizabeth F., daughter of Cyrus and 
 Nancy (North) Booth. She was born Oct. 31, 
 181 1, and died April 25, 1862. To this marriage 
 was born one son, William Henry. Mr. Hart mar- 
 ried (third), May 6, 1863, Elizabeth, widow of 
 William Perry, of South Windsor, and daughter 
 of Job Elsworth, of East Windsor. She was born 
 Sept. 21, 1823. 
 
 William Henry Hart, son of George and 
 Elizabeth F. (Booth) Hart, acquired his educa- 
 tion in the public schools of New Britain, being a 
 student therein at the time of the organization of 
 the High School department. His studies were 
 somewhat interrupted, however, as a portion of each 
 day was spent in assisting his father in his duties 
 as station agent of tjie Hartford, Providence & Fish- 
 kill railroad, mainly in the bookkeeping department 
 from 1850 to 1854, and in this capacity we find him 
 selling tickets at the station in New Britain at the 
 opening of the road from Willimantic to Bristol 
 Jan. I, 1850. 
 
 It is with the Stanley Works, however, that 
 Mr. Hart is best and most widely known, as he 
 has been connected with that company for nearly 
 half a century. On May 16, 1854, two years after 
 the founding of the Stanley Works, William H. 
 Hart, at the age of nineteen years, was elected 
 secretary and treasurer of that corporation, and has 
 held the latter position until the present time. For 
 forty years the general management of the business 
 has fallen upon his shoulders. For the first twenty- 
 five years it was a hard struggle to overcome the 
 disadvantages of insufficient capital, undesirable lo- 
 cation as regards freighting facilities, lack of ex- 
 perienced workmen in sheet metal, coupled with the 
 difficulty of securing a market for the product in 
 competition with an old and well-established manu- 
 facturer in a good locality and with abundant capi- 
 tal. In later years he has been ably assisted by the 
 officers of the company, his five sons and his son- 
 in-law. Mr. Hart was elected president Feb. 14, 
 1885, continuing in that capacity to the present 
 time. His whole buiness life has been coincident 
 with the growth of the Stanley Works. At the 
 outset of their business career, the capital of the 
 company was $30,000. This has been increased 
 from time to time, until now the nominal capital is 
 $500,000, but the actual aggregate is over one mil- 
 lion dollars, it has increased its operating force 
 from about twenty in 1852 and 1853 to about 1,200 
 in 1900. 
 
 Mr. Hart is a member of the South Congrega- 
 tional Church, and was elected clerk and treasurer 
 in 1857. He has been a director of the New Britain 
 National Bank for more than thirty years, and is 
 now the senior member of that body. He is a mem- 
 ber of the board of managers of the New Britain 
 Institute, and was president of the New Britain 
 Club in 1898-99. He is also a member of the ex- 
 
1248 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ecutive committee of the New Britain General Hos- 
 pital, and is now president of the Young Mens 
 Christian Association. 
 
 On Sept. 19, 1855, Mr. Hart married Martha 
 Peck, who was born in New Britain May 12, 1837, 
 daughter of Ehiathan and Mary (Dewey) Peck. 
 The children of Mr. and Airs. Hart are as follows: 
 (i) Charles W. (deceased;, born Aug. 8, 1S58, 
 died July 25, 1875. (2) George P., born Aug. 22, 
 i860, married Mary Doen, daughter of Edward 
 and llelcn (Bassette) Doen, of New Britain; they 
 have three children, Margaret, Mervin Stanley and 
 Donald Richards. (3) Howard Stanley, born July 
 9, 1867, married Bessie Stanley, daughter of James 
 and Minerva Wilcox (Case) Stanley, of New 
 Britain; their children are Alice, William H. and 
 Stanley. (4) Alartha Elizabeth, born May 9, 1869, 
 is the wife of E. Allen Moore^ son of Nelson A. 
 and Ann M. (Pickett) Moore, of Kensington; they 
 have two children, Barbara and Allen. (5) Ed- 
 ward Herbert, born Oct. 12, 1870. (6) Maxwell 
 Slansbury, born April 15, 1873, married Louise, 
 daughter of Theodore E. and Louise (Lockwood) 
 Smith, of New Britain. (7) Walter H., born Aug. 
 4, 1874, married Louisa Chamberlain, daughter of 
 the late Judge \'. B. Chamberlain and his wife, 
 Anna (Smith) Chamberlain, of New Britain. 
 
 CHARLES HOOKER RISLEY. Connecticut 
 has won an eminent place in the nation by virtue of 
 her manufactures, superiority in which is due to the 
 inventiveness of her people. It is not uncommon 
 perhaps to meet within the borders of the State a 
 "natural-born" mechanic, but wherever found they 
 are fitly regarded as the rich material from which 
 greatness is developed. The subject of this sketch, 
 a well-known citizen of Berlin, is the possessor of 
 mechanical aptitude of a high order. His life has 
 been full of achievement, change and progress. 
 Combined with energy, his talents have made his 
 life a busy one, though interrupted at times by fail- 
 ing health. 
 
 Mr. Risley was born Nov. 27, 1853, in a house 
 he still owns and until recently occupied, located in 
 the southern part of Berlin, on the turnpike from 
 Meriden to New Berlin, son of William Hollister 
 and Mary Elizabeth (Hooker) Risle)', and grand- 
 son of Shubal and Ann (Hollister) Risley. The 
 grandfather was a farmer of Berlin and a citizen of 
 prominence, serving as selectman, justice of the 
 peace, and in other local positions of trust. He was 
 born Dec. 17, 1795, and died Oct. 29, 1852. William 
 Hollister Risley, the father of our subject, was born 
 in Berlin, and was a well-to-do farmer of that town, 
 a stanch Democrat in politics, and active in public 
 affairs. He served three times in the State Legisla- 
 ture as member from Berlin, and was repeatedly 
 elected selectman of the town. For his first wife 
 he married Myrana Wilcox, of Westfield, Conn., 
 and for his second wife Mary Elizabeth Hooker, the 
 mother of our subject, a native of Kensington, 
 
 daughter of Seth and Electa (Leonard) Hooker, 
 and a descendant of Rev. Thomas Plooker, who set- 
 tled in Hartford in 1O36. Her ancestors were sol- 
 diers in the Revolutionary army. She died W"hen 
 her son, Charles Hooker Risley, was only nine days 
 old, and was buried in the South cemetery, Berlin. 
 For his third wife the father of our subject married 
 Frances Aliles, of Meriden, who is yet living, a resi- 
 dent of Kensington. 
 
 Charles Plooker Risley attended the schools of 
 Berlin until he was eighteen years old. Pie then 
 took charge of the saw and feed mills owned by his 
 father, and later was for eighteen months a sales- 
 man in the hardware and crockery store of Blrdsey 
 & JMiles, at Meriden. Returning home for a short 
 time, he decided to learn the printing trade. En- 
 tering the employment of William Kelsey, who dealt 
 in printing material, he was given at the expiration 
 of one year full charge of the printing department, 
 resigning this position six months later and starting 
 a printing estabhshment at Berlin. Beginning with 
 hand power, he continued to improve until he had 
 at Berlin a thoroughly equipped plant, which he 
 operated successfully for several years, during 
 which time he did all the printing for the Peck, 
 Stow & Wilcox Co. In 1884 he removed his plant 
 to Meriden, and in partnership with his brother, 
 William Miles Risley, operated a large printing es- 
 tablishment. In 1885 he purchased his brother's 
 interest, and for another year operated the plant 
 alone, but ill health, superinduced by overwork, 
 obliged him to give up his business. He returned 
 to Berlin, and after a period of time devoted to re- 
 cuperation accepted the position of general superin- 
 tendent and engineer in the office of the Phoenix, at 
 Southington. Six months later he resigned his po- 
 sition to take charge of the mill at Berlin, which he 
 purchased, converting it into a jobbing plant, put- 
 ting in circular saws, and operating it until 1896, 
 when on account of ill health he closed the plant. 
 The same year he removed to the junction of the 
 road near his home the building he had occupied as 
 a printing office, and converted it into a "Bicycle 
 Rest," dealing also in confectionery, cigars, tobacco, 
 notions, etc. In May, 1900, Mr. Risley settled in 
 Berlin village, on property he recently purchased 
 of Miss Kate North, known as the Booth place. He 
 still owns his farm and the mill, both located in the 
 town of Berlin, 
 
 On June 10, 1892, Mr. Risley was married to 
 Miss Harriet Abigail Beckley, daughter of Ralph H. 
 and Abigail Beckley, of Meriden, her father being 
 the second son of Squire Luther Beckley, of Berlin. 
 Squire Luther Beckley was born Oct. 11, 1778, and 
 was one of the best-known men of Berlin in his 
 day. He founded the first Sunday-school ever or- 
 ganized in Berlin, and was also prominent ki Ma- 
 sonic circles. In 1803 he married Sarah Flagg, 
 who was born Aug. 10, 1785. He died Jan. 11, 
 1841. The Beckleys are among the oldest residents 
 of Berlin, and descendants of early pioneers. WilK 
 
I 
 
 i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1249 
 
 iam Beckley, of Torrington, youngest son of Squire 
 Luther Beckley, and the only survivor of his large 
 family, has in his possession the original grant of 
 land given to Richard Beckley, the first Beckley 
 who came from England, the grant being given by 
 the King with the specification that there should be 
 a public house kept on said land. The house was 
 erected in the year 1658, and kept as a public house 
 for eighty-seven years, always remaining in the 
 Beckley family. 
 
 Our subject was an incorporator of the Berlin 
 Savings Bank, and is one of its present directors. 
 He was one of the chief promoters of the Golden 
 Ridge Creamery, and is now a stockholder in the 
 company. He is also a director in the Mattabessett 
 Canning Co. In politics he is a stanch Democrat. 
 Mrs. Risley is a member- of the Congregational 
 Church, of which he is an ardent and liberal sup- 
 porter. Both are active and prominent in Grange 
 work, members of Berlin Grange, No. 24, in which 
 Mr. Risley has held all the offices and was master for 
 one year, in 1898; and are also members of the 
 State and National Grange. Among the fraternal 
 orders he holds active membership in the Masonic 
 Order at Meriden; the Ancient Order of Foresters 
 at Meriden; Good Shepherd Lodge; and Pequot 
 Council, No. 24, O. U. A. M., of Berlin, in which 
 he holds the office of treasurer. 
 
 NEWTON R. HURLBURT, first selectman of 
 New Britain in 1899, has, by the practice of those 
 qualities which inspire confidence and respect among 
 his fellow men, risen almost silently and without 
 ostentation in the public esteem until he is now held 
 to be one of its foremost and most sterling citi- 
 zens. He has made his own way, unaided by ex- 
 traneous circumstances, and, by his own force of 
 character and the high tyjpe of patient, modest citi- 
 zenship he exemplified, he has won a way to the 
 hearts and esteem of his numerous friends and ac- 
 quaintances. 
 
 Mr. Hurlburt's great-grandfather shouldered a 
 musket and fought for liberty during the Revolu- 
 tionary struggle. His grandfather was a substan- 
 tial farmer of Wethersfield, Conn., who died leav- 
 ing three sons and four daughters: Belden and 
 John, lifelong residents of Wethersfield; James, 
 father of our subject; Hannah; Laura (Mrs. 
 Charles Mitchell) ; Jerusha (who married Mr. 
 Chappel) ; and Abigail (who married Mr. Ward). 
 
 James Hurlburt was a native of Wethersfield. 
 He followed farming, first in his native town and 
 then in Bloomfield, whence after a residence of 
 two years he removed to New Britain, where, in 
 the Stanley Quarter, he purchased a farm of about 
 seventy-five acres and lived for ten years. He re- 
 moved to North Guilford, and there spent the bal- 
 ance of his life. James Hurlburt was a man of 
 quiet manner, careful and prompt in business affairs, 
 industrious and successful in the management of 
 his land. He was a representative citizen, not 
 79 
 
 active in political life, but alive to public duty, and 
 in political opinion a Democrat. He married Har- 
 riet Deming, of iNewington (then Wethersfield), 
 who bore him children as follows: Fanny, who 
 married Ralph Grisvvold, of Middletown, Conn.; 
 Harriet, wife of John S. Watrous, of Middletown; 
 Newton R., subject of this sketch; Henry, of Mid- 
 dletown; James, who was drowned when a resi- 
 dent of that town; Silas, a tinsmith of Dunkirk, 
 N. Y. ; Emma, deceased wife of Robert Rowland, 
 of Hartford; Brazilla, a tinsmith, now deceased; 
 Albert, who died young; and Alice, wife of Henry 
 Parmelee, of Middletown. 
 
 Newton R. Hurlburt was born in Wethersfield 
 Jan. 28, 1837. He was educated in the common 
 schools, attending school in winter and working in 
 summer. At the age of sixteen his school days 
 ended, and in the following year, 1854, he went to 
 Otto, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., where he served 
 an apprenticeship to the trade of tinsmith, and for 
 some time later worked as a journeyman. Return- 
 ing East he lived at Hartford, New London and 
 elsewhere, finally locating, in i860, at New Britain, 
 where he has passed most of the time since. He 
 followed his trade for many years, but has also en- 
 gaged in farming and pursued various other occu- 
 pations. An industrious, hard-working mechanic, 
 he has by his own sturdy efiiorts made his way in 
 life. In politics he is a Democrat. In 1896 he 
 was .elected third selectman on the town ticket with 
 Charles H. Smith and William S. Judd, but by 
 the death of Mr. Smith and the resignation of Mr. 
 Judd he became first selectman, and in the fall of 
 1898 he was elected to that office by popular vote 
 for the term of one year, receiving the handsome 
 majority of 1,222, the largest ever received by any 
 candidate in the town. In his official career Mr. 
 Hurlburt has been highly successful, giving it the 
 same painstaking attention and care which he has. 
 ever bestowed upon his own private affairs. 
 
 Mr. Hurlburt married Miss Jane Slater, daugh- 
 ter of Elam Slater, one of the old settlers of New 
 Britain, and for many years one of its efficient and 
 esteemed selectmen. 
 
 JOSEPH SPENCER (deceased) descended 
 from one of the oldest and most prominent fam- 
 ilies of the town of East Hartford, Hartford coun- 
 ty, and the old homestead on Silver street and 
 Spencer street (the latter named after the family) 
 has been continuously occupied and tilled by five 
 generations of the name, and is now in the posses- 
 sion of the sole survivor of the honored old family, 
 Miss Jane A. Spencer, at whose demise it will pass 
 into the hands of strangers, or at least of persons 
 who will not bear the good old family name. 
 
 The first member of the Spencer family to be- 
 come identified with the history of East Hartford 
 came here at a date so remote that it has passed 
 from the memory of man, and even his Christian 
 name has faded into oblivion. It is known, how- 
 
1250 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ever, that he erected a mansion at the corner of 
 Alain and .Mill streets, where the post office now 
 stands, and that his death occurred in 1687. It is 
 known, moreover, that he was the father of several 
 sons, the name of one of whom is on record as 
 Tliomas, and it is also known that Thomas had 
 three sons, Timothy, Thomas and Gideon, who, 
 when East Hartford was still in the wilderness, 
 settled adjacent to the present Spencer homestead, 
 cleared the land, and wrought out a spacious farm. 
 Gideon Spencer erected the large dwelling whicli 
 still stands across the street from the present Spen- 
 cer mansion, and which, in its day, was one of the 
 finest in East Hartford, and is still kept, after a 
 lapse of over one hundred and fifty years, in an ex- 
 cellent state of repair, having never passed out of 
 the possession of the family. Gideon died in this 
 dwelling, and his remains were interred in the 
 Spencer street cemetery. 
 
 John Spencer, son of Gideon, ai.d the fatlier of 
 Joseph Spencer, the subject proper of this sketch, 
 was born June 24, 1746, married Miriam ^ilcKee, 
 and became the father of eight children: John, 
 Jr., born Sept. 10, 1770, died unmarried in 1836, 
 when his remains were laid to rest in the Spen- 
 cer street cemetery, where the ashes of all the de- 
 ceased members of the Spencer family are interred ; 
 Merion, born Sept. 24, 1772, died Xov. 17, 1857; 
 Sarah was born Oct, 9, 1774, and died unmarried 
 May 4, 1843; U"Vid, born in 1776, died in 1802; 
 Jerusha, born Oct. 21, 1778, was married to Jere- 
 miah Killbourne in 1807, and died Jan. 10, 1858; 
 Joseph was born Jan. 26, 1781, and is the subject 
 of this sketch ; Timothy, born Feb. 18, 1784, mar- 
 ried ]\Iary Goodwin March 31, 181 1, and died May 
 30, 1855; George, the youngest, was born Nov. 
 15, 1786, and died, unmarried, March 11, 1868. 
 
 Joseph Spencer received a sound education, as 
 good as could be secured in the schools of his neigh- 
 borhood during the winter months, and, like other 
 rustic lads, passed his summers on the home farm. 
 Agriculture became the occupation of his life. After 
 the death of his father, in 1829, he assumed con- 
 trol of the farm, his brother and sisters being 
 single at that time and making their home in the 
 mansion built by their grandfather, Gideon Spen- 
 cer. On May 11, 1815, Joseph Spencer married 
 Miss Ann Se)'mour, born in 1783, in Hartford, a 
 daughter of George and ]\IabeI (Spencer) Seymour, 
 and the same year erected the house now occupied 
 by his daughter, Miss Jane A. Spencer. Mrs. Spen- 
 cer was an intelligent and kind-hearted woman. To 
 the marriage of Joseph Spencer and Ann Seymour 
 were born three children: Emily, born June 19, 
 1820, who died in 1894; Julia jNIarion, born Alarch 
 15, 1823, who died in 1892; and Jane Annie, the 
 only survivor of the family, born April 20, 1826, 
 now the occupant of the old homestead. 
 
 Joseph Spencer, it will readily be surmised, 
 was during his long and useful life a very prom- 
 inent factor in the affairs of East Hartford, although 
 
 he was very domestic and unostentatious in his 
 habits. A AVhig in politics, he filled various town 
 offices, and in the local management of his party's 
 affairs wielded a strong intiuence, his advice never 
 going unheeded. \Mth his family he was a con- 
 stant attendant at the Congregational Church, and 
 was a most liberal contributor, financially, to its 
 support. His farm, one of the most extensive in 
 the town, was finely tilled at all times, and was 
 devoted to raising the better class of products, no 
 part of it ever having been used for the cultiva- 
 tion of tobacco — an unusual circumstance in the 
 neighborhood. On this estate he passed his entire 
 life, and died, one of the most honored of men, 
 in December, 1857. 
 
 HON. CHARLES E. HART is of the eighth 
 generation in lineal descent from the sturdy Puri- 
 tan, Deacon Stephen Hart, who was well-known 
 and widely respected among the members of the 
 Massachusetts Bay Colony. The direct paternal 
 hnc of descent is as follows: Stephen (i), Stephen 
 (2), Stephen (3), Daniel, Stephen (4), Stephen 
 (5), and Ebenezer. 
 
 The first of the line to settle in New England 
 was Deacon Stephen Hart, who was a member of 
 that devoted band who preferred liberty of con- 
 science to fortune, station or native land. He was 
 born at Braintree, Essex, England, about 1605, and 
 came to join his co-religionists and compatriots 
 about 1632. His first location was at Cambridge, 
 Mass., he being one of the fifty-four original set- 
 tlers at that point. In 1639 he went westward as 
 far as Hartford, where he became a landed pro- 
 prietor. In 1672 he joined a party of eighty-four 
 persons who w'ere the original proprietors of Farm- 
 ington. His son, Stephen Hart (2), was born at 
 Braintree, England, and located at Farmington, 
 where he was made a freeman in May, 1654. 
 Stephen Hart (3), son of Stephen Hart (2), was 
 born at Farmington in 1662, and was married, in 
 1689, to Sarah, daughter of Samuel Cowles. Daniel 
 Hart, son of Stephen (3), came into the world in 
 1707. He was also a native of Farmington, at which 
 place, in 1734, he married Abigail, a daughter of 
 Thomas Thompson. He made his home at New 
 Britain. Stephen (4), son of Daniel, was born in 
 1744 at New Britain. In 1767 he was united in 
 marriage to Rhoda, daughter of Charles Stedman, 
 of Wethersfield. He was a farmer, and his home 
 was in what was then known as the Stanley Quar- 
 ter, at the foot of Clark's Hill. His son, Stephen 
 (5), who was the grandfather of Charles E., was 
 born Oct. 21, 1775, at New Britain, and on June 
 25, 1797, at the age of nearly twenty-two years, 
 married Sallie, a daughter of Ezra and Lucy 
 (Stancliff) White, of Chatham, Conn. He was 
 also a farmer, and made his home at the resi- 
 dence of his father and grandfather, at the foot of 
 Clark's Hill, in the Stanley Quarter. He passed 
 away in 1816, his wife surviving him until the year 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1251 
 
 1859, when she, too, entered into rest, at the age 
 of eighty-four years. Their children were : Stephen, 
 Edmund, George, Emily, Philip, William, Henry 
 and Ebenezer. 
 
 From what has been said with regard to the 
 genealogy of Mr. Hart's family, it will be seen 
 that his father, Ebenezer Hart, was a son of 
 Stephen Hart (5), of New Britain. He was born 
 at that place July 31, 1814, and was married, at 
 Warehouse Point, Jan. 6, 1842, to Mary Pease, a 
 daughter of Walter and Eliza (Filer) Pease, 
 through whom our subject is descended from Roger 
 Filer, a Revolutionary soldier, who was wounded 
 at the battle of Long Island. Mrs. Ebenezer Hart 
 was born Jan. 5, 1824, at Enfield, Conn. In 1871 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hart removed to Wellsburg, Che- 
 mung Co., N. Y., where he engaged in the hotel 
 business. Later he returned to his native State, 
 taking up his residence at New Haven, where he 
 also became a host. He died in that city, of an 
 affection of his liver, on Sept. 12, 1874, at the 
 age of sixty years. His remains were taken to 
 his native place. New Britain, for interment. Two 
 children were born to his marriage: Charles Ed- 
 win, Oct. 14, 1842; and Lillian Chase, April 18, 
 
 1853- 
 
 Charles Edwin Hart was married, on June 18, 
 1867, to Miss Jennie Wainwright, who was born 
 at Manchester, N. J., June 13, 1844, a daughter 
 of John Wesley and Jane (Skidmore) Wainwright, 
 of that city. Children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hart as follows: NelHe Irene, born June 17, 1868, 
 died May 28, 1869, at New Britain; Lillian Wain- 
 wright, born June 3, 1870, graduated from Wesleyan 
 University in 1892; Harry Emile, born Dec. 7, 
 1872, graduated from Yale College in 1894, and is 
 now practicing law in New Britain ; Etheline Louise, 
 born April 25, 1876, graduated from Rye Seminary 
 in 1895 ; and Charles Edwin was born March 3, 
 1884. 
 
 On Jan. i, 1868, Mr. Hart entered the employ 
 of the Stanley Co., at New Britain, as super- 
 intendent of a department, and since 1890 he has 
 'been mechanical superintendent. He has been 
 quite prominent in public affairs in New Britain. 
 For two terms he was a member of the city coun- 
 cil. In 1876 he was elected to the Legislature, on 
 the Democratic ticket, and during his term was 
 secretary of the committee on Corporations. He is 
 a member of the Sons of the Revolution, serving 
 on the board of managers of that order ; and of 
 Lodge No. 79, F. & A. M., of New Haven. 
 
 WALTER. CADWELL, a worthy representa- 
 tive of the agricultural interests of West Hartford, 
 was born in that town June 10, 1830, and belongs to 
 one of its old and highly esteemed families. 
 
 Mr. Cad well is a lineal descendant from (I) 
 Thomas Cadwell, whose name appears on record in 
 Hartford as early as 1652. In 1658 he married 
 Elizabeth, widow of Robert Wilson, and daughter 
 
 of Deacon Edward Stebbins, who resided for a time 
 on the corner of Front and State streets, in Hart- 
 ford. Their family comprised ten children. Thomas 
 Cadwell died Oct. 9, 1694. The line of descent of 
 Walter Cadwell is through (II) Samuel (i), 
 (III) Samuel (2), (IV) Samuel (3), (V) Samuel 
 (4), and (VI) Elizur. 
 
 (I) Thomas Cadwell and his wife Elizabeth 
 had children as follows : Mary, Edward, Thomas, 
 William, Matthew, Abigail, Elizabeth, Samuel, 
 Hannah and Mehitabel. 
 
 (II) Samuel Cadwell, born April 30, 1675, 
 son of (I) Thomas, married March 6, 1707-08, 
 Mary Clark, of Hartford. Children were: Mary, 
 Samuel (2), Elizabeth, and Joseph. 
 
 (III) Samuel , Cadwell (2) (son of Samuel 
 (i)), born Nov. i, 1710, and his wife Elishaba 
 had children as follows: Mary, Mary (2), Samuel, 
 Samuel (2), Joseph, Timothy, Mary Ann, Elishaba, 
 Sarah, Charles, and Aafon. 
 
 (IV) Samuel Cadwell (3) (son of Samuel 
 (2)), born Jan. i, 1743, married Ruth, widow of 
 John Merry, and their children were : Ruth, Phcebe, 
 Rhoda, Samuel, Horace, Martin, Uriah, and 
 Susannah. 
 
 (V) Samuel Cadwell (4) son of Samuel (3)), 
 born in 1770, married Rhoda Kellogg, who was born 
 in 1775, and died Oct. 15, 1856, aged eighty-one 
 years. Mr. Cadwell died Oct. 9, 1836, aged sixty- 
 six years. They resided in the northern part of the 
 town of West Hartford. Their children were: 
 Samuel; Rhoda K., who married Benjamin Gilbert; 
 Elizur; Julia^, who married Nelson Tuller.of Bloom- 
 field, Conn., later of Woodbury, Mid'dleford, and 
 Fairhaven, Conn., where he died a patriot of the 
 Revolution; Timothy; Eltrudor; Susannah; James 
 M. ; and George W. 
 
 (VI) Elizur Cadwell (son of Samuel (4)), 
 father of our subject, was born August 4, 1798, and 
 spent his entire life, with the exception of four 
 years passed in Bloomfield, in the northern part of 
 West Hartford. He, too, was a farmer, and in 
 politics was a Democrat. On May 5, 1829, he was 
 married to Mrs. Lydia (Fish) Kelsey, who was 
 born Aug. 6, 1796, and died Dec. 23, 1884, aged 
 eighty-eight years. His death occurred Nov. 19, 
 1869, at the age of seventy-one years. They had 
 four children, our subject being the eldest; Ruth, 
 now deceased, born Dec. i, 1832, married Ashel 
 Morley; Lura, born April 12, 1833, married George 
 Steele, and is deceased; and Adeline, born Jan. 5, 
 1841, died Oct. 6, 1845. 
 
 Reared in West Hartford and Bloomfield, Conn.; 
 Walter Cadwell is indebted to the schools of those 
 places for his educational privileges. On April 
 23, 1862, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary 
 Jane Marcy, and three children were born of this 
 union : Helena Alice, now the wife of Walter H. 
 Way, of Pittsfield, Mass., by whom she has one 
 daughter, Margaret; and Mary Helen and Walter 
 Edwin, both now deceased. 
 
1252 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In 1865 Air. Cadwell purchased the Sedgwick 
 farm, in W est Hartford, and there he has since made 
 his home, engaged in farming. He was also inter- 
 ested in the meat business until 1880, and in his 
 labors has met with marked success. His pohtical 
 support is always given to the men and measures 
 of the Democratic party, and he has most capably 
 and satisfactorily served as assessor of his town and 
 as member of the board of relief. For nearly 
 twenty years he has been an active and consistent 
 member of the Congregational Church, and when 
 his present term expires he will have served as 
 deacon of the church for over a dozen years. 
 
 HENRY A. KING (deceased) was for many 
 years one of the highly respected and honored citi- 
 zens of Hartford county, the last forty years of his 
 life being spent in West Hartford, where he en- 
 gaged in agricultural pursuits. 
 
 Mr. King was born in the city of Hartford in 
 1814, and wlien a young man lived with Selden 
 Hill, in West Hartford. In early life he learned the 
 art of hair dressing with John Spencer, and as a 
 hair dresser was in business first at Nantucket, 
 Mass., and later in the Hills block, at Hartford, 
 Conn. Subsequently he was engaged in the willow 
 work and fancy-goods business in the latter city 
 until 1850, when he moved to \\'est Hartford and 
 turned his attention to farming. In Hartford he 
 was united in marriage with Miss Roxanna Spencer, 
 a descendant of an old Connecticut family, and to 
 them were born the following children: Anna and 
 Lucy, who both died in infancy ; Henry F., who was 
 connected with the \'ermont Farm Alachine Co., 
 and died in April, 1896; Emma, wife of P. D. Barn- 
 hart, of Denver, Colo. ; Lizzie, wife of Charles 
 Hunter, of Washington, D. C. ; John A. S., who 
 is engaged in the drug business in Newark, N. J.; 
 and James Augustus, who is mentioned below. 
 
 jMr. King was a man of progressive ideas, and 
 held advanced views on school matters. He took a 
 very active and prominent part in public affairs 
 in Hartford, and was numbereed among the most 
 valued and useful citizens of his community. In 
 political sentiment he was first a Whig, and later 
 a Republican, and in religious faith was a Congre- 
 gationalist, being a member of the church at West 
 Hartford. His wife died in 1876, and he passed 
 away Feb. 24, 1890, honored and respected by all 
 who knew them. 
 
 James A. King was born in West Hartford Aug. 
 29, 1852, and was educated in the schools of West 
 Hartford and Hartford city. At an early age he 
 commenced to assist his father in the operation of 
 the home farm, and together they continued to. 
 carry on farming until the latter's death. His 
 life has principally been devoted to that pursuit, 
 although he has engaged to a limited extent in truck- 
 ing and grading. He is a straightforward, capable 
 business man, one who commands the respect and 
 confidence of all with whom he comes in contact. 
 
 Fraternally he is a member of West Flartford 
 Grange and of the Ancient Order of United Work- 
 men, at Hartford. He was married in West Hart- 
 ford to Miss Eva Eunice Steele, a daughter of Sey- 
 mour Lewis Steele, a granddaughter of Sherman 
 Steele, and a greatgrauddaughter of Elpaphero 
 Steele. 
 
 TOW^NSEND BARTHOLOxMEW WICK- 
 WIRE, a prominent business man and universally 
 respected citizen of the town of Berlin, is of the 
 seventh generation in direct descent from John 
 W^ickwire. Through his maternal grandmother he 
 is in the thirty-ninth generation in descent from 
 Charlemagne. 
 
 The Wickwire family is of English origin, and 
 the first American progenitor was John Wickwire, 
 the great-great-great-great-grandfather of Town- 
 send B. His name appears in a list of the residents 
 of New London, Conn., in 1675-76, and in the latter 
 year he married Mary Tonge, who was born Sept. 
 17, 1656, a daughter of George and Margery Tonge. 
 His home was in that part of New London origi- 
 nally called Pequot or North Parish, and now known 
 as Montville. His wife's sister, Elizabeth, married 
 Fitz John Winthrop, for nine years governor of 
 Connecticut. He himself was a soldier in King 
 Philip's war, and took part in the hardly-fought 
 battle in the Great Swamp, on Dec. 19, 1675, where 
 the power of the Narragansetts was broken. For 
 his gallant service during this war he received from 
 the General Court a grant of 140 acres of land. In 
 1684 he was named by Gov. Winthrop as one of the 
 seventy-seven grantees of New London in the pat- 
 ent issued Oct. 14, that year. He was the father 
 of eight children, and died in March or April, 1712. 
 His will apportioned among his children £300 in 
 money, and a considerable quantity of land. 
 
 Christopher Wickwire, a son of the above, 
 was born in New London Jan. 8, 1680, and was 
 the great-great-great-grandfather of Townsend B. 
 He was baptized with six others Sept. 21, 1724, by 
 Rev. James Hillhouse. He passed the latter years , 
 of his life at Salem, where he was an extensive land 
 owner. Mr. Wickwire's great-great-grandfather, 
 James Wickwire, Sr., was born in 1725, and bap- 
 tized Oct. 23, 1726. He married Mary Grant, who 
 bore him six children. He ended his days in Mil- 
 lington, a parish of East Haddam. Here, prob- 
 ably, his son, James Wickwire, Jr., was born Sept. 
 28, 1759. The latter was the great-grandfather of 
 the subject of this brief biographical sketch. His 
 business was that of a tanner and manufactuier of 
 leather, and he served with distinguished gallanti^y 
 in the Revolutionary war, enlisting in Col. Charles 
 Webb's regiment before he had reached the age of 
 seventeen. He marched with Washington to New 
 London, whence the troops were transferred by 
 vessel to New York. For a year his regiment was 
 stationed in and around that city and Brooklyn, aid- 
 ing in the erection of fortifications. It also par- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1253 
 
 ticipated in the battle of White Plains. On April 
 25, 1779, he married Sarah Barnes, by whom he 
 was the father of ten children. She was born in 
 1760, and was a daugrhter of Enos and Abigail (Nor- 
 ris) Barnes. Alvin Benjamin Wickvvire, son of 
 James, and the grandfather of Townsend Bartholo- 
 mew, was born July 7, 1796, at Litchfield. His 
 wife was Sallie Miranda Humiston, born in Wash- 
 ington, Conn., April 4, 179.S. Three children were 
 born to them, all of whom are yet living. He was 
 a farmer, and received a pension as a soldier of the 
 war of 18 1 2, during which struggle he served as a 
 musician. 
 
 Manley Horatio Wickwire, the father of Town- 
 send B., was born Sept. i, 1834, in Warren, Conn. 
 He was educated at the district schools and at the 
 private school of J. C. Howard, after graduating 
 from which institution he taught school for three 
 years, when he entered Taft's general store, at Ash- 
 ley Falls, as a clerk. Two years later he bought a 
 half-interest in the business, the firm name becom- 
 ing Taft & Wickwire. This partnership continued 
 for two years, when Mr. Wickwire purchased Mr. 
 Taft's interest, and for the next six years he con- 
 ducted the business alone. At the end of that time 
 he disposed of it, and, buying a farm in Sheffield, 
 Mass., devoted himself to agriculture for three 
 years. His next venture was in the cutting of tim- 
 ber and the manufacturing of it into lumber for 
 the market, in which business he is still engaged, 
 having cleared thousands of acres of timber-land 
 in Connecticut and Massachusetts. In 1896 he and 
 Roger S. Austin purchased outright the plant and 
 business of the Wallingford Wheel Company, of 
 Wallingford, Conn., and a stock company was 
 formed, known as the Wheel & Cycle Bar Co. The 
 concern manufactures all descriptions of wheels, as 
 well as stock for the repair of same. Manley H. 
 Wickvvire is president of the company, the other 
 officers being Roger S. Austin, vice-president and 
 treasurer, and L. R. Hall, secretary. These gen- 
 tlemen, with Charles M. Jarvis, Frank L. Wilcox, 
 Marcus E. Jacobs and Edward Ailing, constitute the 
 board of directors. In April, 1899, a substantial 
 brick factory was built in Berlin, and the plant was 
 removed and installed there during July following. 
 In 1894, Mr. Wickwire, Sr., removed to Berlin, 
 where he yet resides. He is a member of Cincin- 
 natus Lodge, F. & A. M., and in politics is a 
 Republican. His fellow townsmen of Sheffield, 
 recognizing his intellectual capacity and his high 
 moral worth, repeatedly elected him to posts of 
 grave responsibility and high trust. He served as 
 first selectman during the war of the Rebellion, and 
 at various times held all the other town offices. 
 
 On Sept. 10, 1856, Mr. Wickwire married Paul- 
 ine Bartholomew, of Sheffield, where she was born 
 in 1835. The fruit of the marriage consisted of 
 five children. The eldest, Lillian E., married Dr. 
 Frank L. Smith, of Sheffield, and is now deceased. 
 Fannie E. became the wife of Henry R. Little, of 
 
 Torrington. Nellie Pauline is now Mrs. George 
 H. Robinson, of Newtonville, Mass. Arthur Man- 
 ley married Louise, a daughter of Charles Dutcher, 
 of Brooklyn. Townsend B. was the youngest. Mrs. 
 Wickwire died Oct. 4, 1882, and was buried at 
 Sheffield. On Dec. 17, 1884, Mr. Wickwire mar- 
 ried Miss Meroa Brainard, who was born March 
 30, 1855, and is a daughter of Samuel Newell 
 Brainard and Charlotte F. Williams, his wife, of 
 Colchester, Conn. Mr. and Mrs. Wickwire attend 
 the Congregational Church, his wife being a mem- 
 ber of that communion. 
 
 Townsend B. Wickwire was born March 31, 
 1869, on his father's farm in Sheffield, Mass. When 
 he was six years old his family removed into the 
 town, and it was at the Sheffield district schools 
 that he began his education, finishing his scholastic 
 training by a course at the Eastman Business Col- 
 lege, at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. He graduated at 
 the age of nineteen, and went at once to Colchester, 
 Conn., where his father was engaged in the lumber 
 business. For five years he acted as an assistant 
 to his father, laying a strong foundation for a robust 
 physical constitution, and gaining his first practical 
 knowledge of men and business affairs. In 1894 he 
 removed to Berlin, where he engaged in the sale 
 of coal and feed, continuing same up to the present 
 time. In building up this business his good judg- 
 ment, and his well-earned reputation for unswerv- 
 ing integrity, have stood him in good stead. On 
 Jan. I, 1900, Mr. Wickwire became superintendent 
 of the Berlin Wheel Co., the duties of which posi- 
 tion he is ably discharging, despite the many de- 
 mands upon his time and attention. 
 
 On Jan. i, 1894, Mr. Wickwire married Eliza- 
 beth Margaret Jones, who was born Jan. 11, 1870, 
 daughter of William and Catherine (Carrier) Jones, 
 of Colchester. Mr. and Mrs. Wickwire are the par- 
 ents of one child. Grant Townsend, born Aug. 26, 
 1896. 
 
 Mr. Wickwire is one of the most enterprising and 
 successful young business men of Berlin. But 
 thirty-one years old, he is already a prosperous mer- 
 chant, and can justly boast that his achievements 
 have been largely due to his own unaided efforts. 
 His kindly, generous, genial, whole-souled nature 
 has won for him whole troops of friends. He is a 
 member of Pequot Council, No. 24, Sr. O. U. A. 
 M., of Berlin. He united with the Congregational 
 Church at Sheffield, and is now identified with the 
 church at Berlin, being also a member of the choir. 
 His wife belongs to the same communion. Mr. 
 Wickwire is an ardent Republican in politics. 
 
 STEPHEN FRANKLIN WILLARD is a de- 
 scendant of an ancient and noble English family, to 
 whom reference is found in the early records of the 
 Counties of Sussex and Kent. The name is familiar 
 to every reader of either English or American his- 
 tor)', being associated with the records of State, 
 Church and Army. An admirable sketch of the 
 
125i 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 family was prepared and published by the late 
 Joseph Willard, of Boston, from which have been 
 gleaned some of the historical facts hereinafter set 
 forth. 
 
 Simon Willard, the first of the name known to 
 have settled in this country, was three times married. 
 His first nuptials were celebrated in England, his 
 bride being Mary Sharpe, of Horsemonden. His 
 second wife was Elizabeth Dunster, a sister of Rev. 
 Henry Dunster, one of the early presidents of 
 Harvard College, and after her death he was united 
 to her cousin, Alary Dunster. She survived him, 
 and became the wife of Deacon Xoyes, of Sudbury, 
 Mass. Simon Willard was one of the prominent 
 men of his day and generation. Tradition says of 
 him that he was hardy and courageous, and thor- 
 oughly imbued with the religious fervor of his times. 
 He was the father of seventeen children, of whom 
 we give a brief enumeration : {i ) Mary married 
 Joshua Edmunds. (2) Elizabeth died in infancy. 
 (3) Elizabeth {2) became the wife of Robert Blood, 
 of Concord, on April 8, 1653, and died Aug. 27, 
 1690. (4) Dorothy died in infancy. (5) Josiah 
 married Hannah, daughter of Thomas Hosmer, a 
 distinguished citizen of Hartford, and for some 
 years made his home in that city, but finally re- 
 moved to Wethersfield, where he taught school, 
 dying there in July, 1674. (6) Samuel was born 
 at Concord, ]Mass., in January, 1639, and graduated 
 from Harvard College in 1659. He became a min- 
 inster, and first settled in Groton. In 1678 he was 
 installed over the old South Church in Boston, and 
 continued pastor until his death, Sept. 12, 1707. For 
 the last six years of his life he was also vice or act- 
 ing president of Harvard College. His first wife 
 was Abigail, a daughter of Rev. John and Alary 
 (Launce) Sherman, of \\'atertown, Alass., and she 
 dying Aug. 8, 1664, he, in 1679, married Eunice 
 Tyng, whose father, Edward Tyng, was a prominent 
 and influential citizen of the same place ; she died 
 in Boston Jan. 14, 1720. (7) Sarah, born June 27, 
 1642, at Concord, Alass., married Nathaniel How- 
 ard, of Charlestown, July 2, 1666, and died Jan. 
 
 22, 1677; the following year (1678) Air. Howard 
 married Sarah Parker. (8) Above Hope was born 
 at Concord Oct. 30, 1646, and died at Lancaster 
 Dec. 26, 1663. (9) Simon, born at Concord Nov. 
 
 23, 1649, married Alartha, daughter of Richard and 
 Joanna Jacobs; he removed to Salem, where for 
 many years he was deacon of the First Church ; he 
 was twice married, his second wife being Priscilla 
 Butholph. (10) Mary, born at Concord Sept. 7, 
 1653, became Jan. 22, 1671, the wife of Cyprian 
 Stevens, of Lancaster. (11) Henry, born June 4, 
 1655, at Concord, married Alary Larkin, of Groton, 
 July 18, 1674; she died about the year 1688, and 
 in 1689 he married Dorcas Cutler. (12) John, also 
 of Concord, born Feb. 12, 1656, married Oct. 31, 
 1690, Alary Hayward, a daughter of John Hayward, 
 and died Aug. 23, 1726. (13) Daniel, born Dec. 
 29, 1658, was twice married, first on Dec. 6, 1683, to 
 
 Hannah, a daughter of John Cutler ; she died Feb. 
 22, 1690, and he afterward married Alary iViills, a 
 daughter of Jonathan ALUs. He died Aug. 23, 
 1708. (14) Joseph, born at Lancaster June 4, 
 
 1660, was a sea captain, and died in June, 1721. 
 (15) Benjamin, born in 1665, married Sarah Lakin, 
 born in February, 1661, whose father, Job Lakin, 
 was an ensign in the militia. (16) Hannah, born 
 Oct. 6, 1666, became the wife of Capt. Thomas 
 Brintnall Alay 23, 1693. (^7) Jonathan, the 
 youngest child, born Dec. 14, 1669, married Alary, 
 a daughter of Alajor Thomas Brown. 
 
 The children of Josiah and Hannah (Hosmer) 
 Willard were eight in number: (i) Samuel, born in 
 Hartford Sept. 19, 1658, married Sarah Clark on 
 June 6, 1683, and settled at Saybrook, where he died 
 in 1713. (2) Josiah, born March 13, 1660, died 
 unmarried. (3) Simon, born at Wethersfield, mar- 
 ried Alary Gilbert. (4) Dorothy, the eldest daugh- 
 ter, was also born at Wethersfield, and June 15, 
 1682, married John Belden, of that place, who was 
 born June 12, 1658. (5) Stephen, born in Wethers- 
 field in 1667, died July 22, 1814. (6) Thomas, 
 born in 1670, married Abigail Bradley, and re- 
 moved to Guilford, now Aladison. (7) John died un- 
 married. (8j Hannah was married Alay 18, 1698, 
 to Capt. Janna Aleigs, of Guilford. 
 
 Simon Willard, third son of Josiah, was born in 
 
 1661. He removed from Wethersfield to Newing- 
 ton, but on what date it is not known, and is be- 
 lieved to have been the first white settler in that 
 section, where he spent the remainder of his life, 
 engaged in farming. On Feb. 12, 1691, he married 
 Alary Gilbert, and by her became the father of 
 nine children. Airs. Willard was born Nov. 18, 
 1670, and died Dec. 6, 1712. He died Jan. 8, 1726, 
 at Newington ; on his monument was inscribed "the 
 first male laid in this yard." The names of their 
 children, and some necessarily brief and imperfect 
 biographical data relative to them, are given below : 
 (i) Josiah was twice married, his first wife be- 
 ing Hannah, a daughter of John Alontague, and 
 his second, Elizabeth Filer; he was a farmer, and 
 died Alarch 9, 1757. (2) John was born Aug. 20, 
 1694, and married Alargaret Smith, a daughter of 
 Simon Smith, of Hartford ; he died at Stockbridge, 
 Alass., in July, 1762, his wife surviving until Alay 
 17, 1785. (3) Benjamin, born Oct. 31, 1696, died 
 Sept. 15, 1712. (4) Alary, born Alarch 29, 1700, 
 was married to Jonathan Griswold. (5) Hannah, 
 born April 27, 1702, became the wife of Jacob- 
 Whapples, of Newington. (6) Simon, born May 
 28, 1704, died in early life. (7) Ephraim, born 
 June 30, 1707, married Lydia, a daughter of Jacob 
 Griswold, of Wethersfield. (8) Daniel, born July 
 30, 1710, married Dorothy Deming, of Newington; 
 he died in 1800. (9) Benjamin (2) was born Sept. 
 15, 1712, the day upon which the first Benjamin died. 
 
 Ephraim Willard, the seventh son of Simon, was 
 a farmer in Wethersfield. He was a member of the 
 Congregational Church. On Aug. 17, 1738, he mar- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1255 
 
 Tied Lydia Griswold, daughter of Jacob and Mary 
 (Fi'ancis) Griswold, tlie latter a daughter of Robert 
 Francis. Mrs. Willard was born Sept. 4, 1707, and 
 died in April, 1770. Ephraim Willard ched March 
 30, 1766. Both are buried at Wethersfield. Five 
 children were born to them : Stephen, Feb. 9, 1740 
 (mentioned below) ; Elizabeth, April 26, 1741 ; 
 Mary, Feb. 17, 1743; Simon, Jan. 25, 1746; and 
 Justus Gilbert, Nov. 28, 1747. Simon in later life 
 removed to New York State. 
 
 Stephen Willard was a resident and prosperous 
 farmer of Wethersfield. On March 24, 1768, he 
 married Anna Harris, a daughter of Thomas Har- 
 ris, of the same town. Both himself and wife were 
 devout and consistent members of the Congrega- 
 tional Church. The names and dates of birth of 
 their nine children are as follows : Stephen, Jan. 
 30, 1770; Anna, Sept. 28, 1771 ; Polly, Aug. 11, 
 1773; Wealthy, April 13, 1775 (died Apnl 2, 1777) ; 
 John, July 24, 1777 (died at sea) ; William, Oct. 
 3, 1779 (died young) ; Wealthy (2) (died Oct. 
 29, 1842); Thomas, Aug. 11, 1781 ; and William 
 (2) (father of the late William Willard, warden of 
 the Connecticut State Prison), Nov. 21, 1783 (died 
 March 8, 1832). 
 
 Stephen Willard, eldest of the above family, 
 was born on Broad street, Wethersfield, Jan. 30, 
 1770, and like his ancestors became a farmer, was 
 a prominent citizen in his day, an upright man, 
 highly esteemed, and exemplified in his daily life 
 the principles of the religion which he professed. 
 He married Martha Robbins, and after her death 
 wedded Rhoda, a daughter of Solomon Latimer. 
 His first wife bore him seven children : George ; 
 Walter; Eliza, who married Samuel Latimer, of 
 Wethersfield; Alary, who became the wife of Caleb 
 Griswold, of the same town ; Stephen, who died in 
 childhood ; Chauncey, who removed to South Caro- 
 lina; and Sarah, who married Chauncey Coleman, 
 of Wethersfield. There were six children born 
 of the second marriage: Thomas, July 5, 1816; 
 Charles, May 25, 1818; Martha and Amelia (twins) 
 July 25, 1820; Amelia (2), June 21, 1822; and 
 Stephen, Oct. 13, 1827. Amelia (i) died Nov. 25, 
 1821, and Amelia (2) married Horace Fuller, of 
 Windsor; Martha married Oliver Wolcott, of 
 Wethersfield. 
 
 Thomas Willard, the eldest child of Stephen 
 Willard by his second marriage, was born in the 
 old Willard homestead on Broad street, in Wethers- 
 field. His education was of a practical character, 
 M'ell calculated to fit him for an active business life. 
 His boyhood and youth were pasesd under the 
 healthful, refining influences of home life, and work 
 upon the farm developed his physical strength. 
 While yet in early manhood, prompted b}' a desire 
 for change and a hope of bettering his fortune, he 
 went to St. Louis, Mo., where for several years 
 he was engaged in mercantile business. On his re- 
 turn to Wethersfield he conducted for a few years 
 a general store on Broad street, after which he en- 
 
 gaged in farming on the home farm where he was 
 born, following this pursuit during the remainder 
 of his life, until, in i860, he was visited by an 
 apoplectic stroke, which incapacitated him from ac- 
 tive work. Fie died April 22, 1876. In politics he 
 was first a Whig, later a Republican. As a husband 
 and father he was gentle, sympathetic and indul- 
 gent ; as a friend, genial, generous and true ; as a 
 citizen, patriotic and public-spirited. 
 
 On March 6, 1850, Mr. Willard married Eliza- 
 beth, a daughter of Jacob Griswold, of Griswoldville. 
 She was a woman of fine native mental power, a 
 member of the Congregational Church, and a Chris- 
 tian whose faith and piety controlled her every act. 
 She was a devoted wife and mother, a true friend to 
 all who were suffering or in want. She died May 
 3, 1899, aged seventy-eight. She and her husband 
 are both buried in Wethersfield cemetery. Five 
 children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Willard: 
 Stephen F. ; Emma A., who died July 21, 1893, un- 
 married ; Clayton T-, a farmer of Griswoldville, 
 who married Leila F. x^dams, on March 16, 1886, 
 and is the father of one child, Warren Adams, 
 born Oct. 7,-1887; and JNIary E. and Lizzie H., both 
 of whom live on the old homestead. 
 
 Stephen F. Willard was born at Wethersfield 
 Feb. 7, 1 85 1, was edticated in the public and high 
 schools of Wethersfield, and remained with his par- 
 ents on the home farm until he attained his majority. 
 He then began his business career as a traveling 
 salesman for the Comstock-Ferre Seed Co., his route 
 covering the New England States, filled this position 
 for two years, and has been connected with the com- 
 pany from that time to the present; he is a stock- 
 holder and director, and since 1898 has held the of- 
 fice of president. Mr. Willard is a man of quick 
 perceptions, methodical and accurate, hard-working 
 and persevering. He is a member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church. In politics he is a Republican. On 
 Sept. 7, 1875, iri Missouri, he married Irene, a 
 daughter of John and Martha (Wells) Havens. 
 Five children have been born to them : Arthur, 
 Thomas, Edward, Frank, and John. 
 
 The genealogy of the Griswold family, from 
 which Mr. Willard is descended, through the ma- 
 ternal line, is one of interest. Through seven gen- 
 erations he traces his ancestry back to Michael 
 Griswold, the first white settler in Wethersfield. 
 Coming down the ladder of lineal descent, by gen- 
 erations as though by rounds, we have Jacob, son of 
 Michael ; Major Josiah, who was the father of 
 Josiah (2), and grandfather of Josiah (3) ; the 
 latter's son Jacob was the father of Jacob(2), whose 
 daughter Elizabeth, was the mother of Stephen F. 
 Willard. Jacob Griswold, his great-grandfather, 
 married, on Feb. 2, 1793, Abigail, a daughter of 
 Thomas Harris, Jr., of Weathersfield. She was born 
 June 6, 1773. They became the parents of five 
 children: Jacob, born Aug. 26, 1794; Jerusha, Aug. 
 30, 1796; Harris, Oct. 20, 1801 ; Alfred, Dec. 13, 
 1805; and Albro, Dec. 8, 1808. Jacob Griswold, 
 
1256 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Willarcrs maternal grandfather, was born Aug. 
 26, 1794, was a cloth dresser and farmer, and died 
 May 14, 1854. On Jan. 22, 1818, he married 
 Elizabeth Churchill, and they had six children, 
 of whom Josiah was born Nov. 15, 1818; Elizabeth, 
 born Dec. 10, 1820, married Thomas Willard ; Levi, 
 born May 22, 1823; Ralph 11., born July 24, 1827; 
 Jacob, born June 22, 1830; and Jcrusha, born April 
 II, 1833. The father was a man of distinguished 
 character for many admirable traits, and was uni- 
 versally regarded as a good man and true. The 
 mother attained the age of ninetv-three vears, dving 
 Jan. 29, 1888. 
 
 ZERAH J. HINMAN. The Hinman family, 
 of which this well-known resident of Canton is a 
 worthy representative, is one of the oldest in New 
 England. 
 
 According to tradition Scrgt. Edward Ilinman 
 was a member of the bodyguard of King Charles 
 I. being sergeant at arms, but some time during 
 that unhappy king's persecution he fled from the 
 wrath of Oliver Cromwell and came to America. 
 His coat of arms bore the motto, "True as the dial 
 to the sun." In 1652 he settled at Stratford, Conn., 
 where he became an extensive land owner and prom- 
 inent citizen. He was the owner of Oldside Mill, 
 between Stratford and what is now Bridgeport. 
 \\'ith Capt. Underbill he was one to offer military 
 service to Peter Stuyvesant, of New York, but 
 the offer was bluntly rejected — the wary Dutch 
 governor evidently preferring to meet his Indian 
 foe alone rather than trust to his English friends. 
 Edward Hinman died at his home on Nov. 26, 1681, 
 his remains being interred in the cemetery at Strat- 
 ford. In 165 1 he married Hannah Stiles, daughter 
 of Francis Stiles, of Windsor, Conn, and they had 
 the following children : Sarah, born Sept. 10, 1653 ; 
 Titus, June, 1655; Samuel, 1658: Benjamin, Feb- 
 ruary, 1662; Hannah, July 15, 1666; Mary, 1668; 
 Patience, 1670 (who married on Jan. 10, 1694, John 
 Burrough) ; and Edward, mentioned below. 
 
 Edward Himiian (2) was born in 1672, at Strat- 
 ford, Conn., where he spent his entire life, being 
 extensively engaged in farming. He was one of 
 the first Episcopalians in Stratford ; and when Rev. 
 INIr. Pigot opened to the people of Stratford the 
 Church of England he was one of those who asked 
 that the Churchmen might be sifted from the Con- 
 gregationalists. By his marriage to Hannah Jen- 
 nings there were the following children ; Jonah 
 A., born Nov. 5, 1700, who settled in Newark, N. 
 J.; Hannah, born March 3, 1702; Zachariah, born 
 Jan. 27, 1704; Samuel, mentioned below; Justus, 
 born Dec. 28, 1707; Ebenezer, born Oct. 5, 1709, 
 who died young; Sarah, born in 1711 ; John, born 
 Nov. 4, 1713 ; Rachel, Dorn Dec. 4, 1715 ; Ebenezer, 
 born Aug. 16, 1717; Amos, born Oct. 18, 1720; and 
 Charity, born June 6, 1723. 
 
 Capt. Samuel Hinman was born in 1705 in Strat- 
 ford, and died in 1784 in Goshen, Litchfield Co., 
 
 Conn. He was well educated, and after moving to 
 Goshen, where he was one of the original pro- 
 prietors, he made a business of surveying land for 
 the settlers. His family consisted of ten children: 
 Lois, who married a Norton ; Sarah, born July 5, 
 1731 ; Wilkinson, born July 8, 1733; Samuel and 
 Alary, twins, born July 26, 1736; Joseph, born 
 Alarch 7, 1738; Phineas, born March 31, 1740; 
 -Vsher and Lewis (a soldier in the Revolution), 
 twins, born March 13, 1742; and Wait, born in 
 1748, who married Mary Home, of Wallingford. 
 
 Asher Hinman, one of the twins, was born in 
 Cioshen, Litchfield Co., Conn., March 13, 1742, 
 and died in 1809 in Canton. When a young man he 
 removed to what is now Canton, where he became 
 a farmer and a large land owner. In 1786 he re- 
 moved to another part of the same town, on the 
 west side of the Farmington river. He married 
 Mary Harris, who died in 1821, and they had the 
 following children: Eliza, who married Uriah 
 lieach ; Amasa, born in 1768, who married Polly 
 Hinman ; Zerah, who is mentioned below ; Rhoda, 
 who married Moses Mills, Jr. ; Philip Harris ; Cretia, 
 who married Elias Mills; Arad, who married Polly 
 Richards ; and Asher, who married Eunice Alder- 
 man, and died in 1852. 
 
 Zerah Hinman, the grandfather of our subject, 
 was born in 1771 in Goshen. He spent the greater 
 part of his life in Canton, where he was a farmer, 
 and owned extensive tracts of land. He was also 
 a road builder, and a contractor for keeping in re- 
 pair the Albany and Hartford turnpike. The house 
 and many of the other improvements upon the 
 homestead were made by him. While a man of 
 domestic habits he was not a recluse, was a charter 
 member of the A. F. & A. M. lodge, and a prom- 
 inent worker in the. Congregational Church. In 
 politics he was known as a Whig. He died on 
 his farm in 1848, and was buried in the Dyer cem- 
 etery, at Canton. Mr. Hinman married Anna Mills, 
 who was born in Canton, daughter of Moses and 
 Abigail Mills, and granddaughter of Peter Mills, 
 a well-known pioneer, of Dutch descent. By this 
 marriage there were ten children : Holden, Liman, 
 Zerah, Warren, Lewis, Eliza (i), Ann, EHza Ann 
 ( 2), Julius (the father of our subject), and Hector. 
 Eliza (i) and Ann died when young. Eliza Ann 
 (2) married for her first husband Rufus Moses, 
 and for her second Warren C. Humphrey. 
 
 Julius Hinman, the father of our subject, was 
 born at Canton, where he made his home through- 
 out life. After receiving a good common-school 
 education he helped his father carry on the home- 
 stead until he became of age, when he went into the 
 Collins ax factory. Able, industrious and con- 
 scientious, he soon rose to the position of inspector, 
 which place he filled for a number of years, giving 
 entire satisfaction. But to him farming held out 
 greater inducements than ax inspecting, and so, 
 having prudently saved his earnings, he bought a 
 tract of 600 acres comprising what was known as 
 
'"^ 
 ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1257 
 
 the Wilcox farm. He made many improvements 
 upon his homestead, and being a man of rare busi- 
 ness abihty became very successful. If, as has been 
 said, "helpfulness is holiness," the respect which 
 was paid to Mr. Hinman in his community was not 
 without its cause. He was deeply interested in 
 education, and gave liberally for the support of the 
 public schools. He was well informed upon the 
 topics of the day, and being a good Democrat he 
 took the Hartford Times for over sixty years. 
 Physically he had an iron constitution, and he lived 
 to be eighty-five years old, working up to the last. 
 In July, 1895, while passing over a railroad cross- 
 ing pear ■ his home, he was struck by a train and 
 killed outright. He was buried in the Dyer cem- 
 etery at Canton. On March 6, 1842, Mr. Hinman 
 married Laura Mills, daughter of Moses MiUs, of 
 New Hartford, and they had two children, both of 
 whom died in infancy. Mrs. Hinman died July 22, 
 1850, her remains being interred in the Dyer cem- 
 etery. On April 17, 1856, Mr. Hinman married Mrs. 
 Pluma Rice Drake, who was born in Barkhamsted, 
 daughter of Gideon P. and Filura (Griffin) Rice, 
 and is still living on the homestead with our sub- 
 ject; she is a well-educated, refined woman. By 
 her first husband, Mr. Marquis, she had one child, 
 Charlotte Frances, who married Weston Barnes, 
 and had six children-. By Asel Drake, her second 
 husband, she had one child, Nettie, who married 
 John North. Of the six children born to her mar- 
 riage with Mr. Hinman, (i) Laura, born in 1857, 
 married Willard B. Case, of Canton. (2) Zerah 
 J., our subject, is mentioned below. (3) Anna re- 
 ceived a high-school education, and married Willard 
 Hosmer, of Torrington. (4) Mary graduated from 
 the Collinsville high school, and after teaching nine 
 years married Ellis Clark, of Bakersville. (s) 
 Hattie L. married Thomas S. Bidwell, of Canton 
 Center. (6) Clara Belle, who taught school for 
 seven years, married Willard Rice, of Hartford. 
 
 Our subject was born March 3, 1859, ^^ Canton, 
 and was given a good common-school education. 
 Being the only son he always lived at home, and 
 after the death of his father he inherited the home- 
 stead, of 600 acres, where he became one of the 
 most extensive dairymen in his section, making 
 about 3,000 pounds of butter yearly. Being a pro- 
 gressive man he has made many improvements upon 
 the homestead, carries on various branches of agri- 
 culture, stock raising, etc. Socially he is a mem- 
 ber of the A. F. & A. M., Village Lodge, No. 29, 
 of Columbia Chapter, No. 31, R. A. M., and is a 
 prominent Granger. He is liberal in his church 
 ■uiews, and in politics is a Democrat, but he never 
 aspires to office. 
 
 On Jan. 30, 1884, Mr. Hinman married, in Roots- 
 town, Portage Co., Ohio, Miss Jennie Hinman, who 
 was born in Portage county April 12, i86i, daugh- 
 ter of Lloyd and Mary (Lewis) Hinman, and 
 great-granddaughter of Zerah Hinman, who was 
 the grandfather of our subject. She is a highly cul- 
 
 tivated woman, and like her husband popular in 
 society, and a member of the Grange, in which she 
 has held office. Mr. and Mrs. Hinman have had 
 four children: Robert, born Nov. 14, 1884; Lewis, 
 born April 12, 1888 (who died at an early age) ; 
 Howard A., born Aug. 21, 1890; and Julius L., born 
 July 4, 1892. 
 
 LEVI B. BOUGHTON traces his lineage back 
 to Shubaal Boughton, his great-great-grandfather, 
 of Stephentown, N. Y., whose name appears in the 
 parish records of St. John's church, Stamford, as 
 having been baptized at Norwalk, Conn., on June 
 2, 1749, and in the same parish register it is stated 
 that he was the son of John and Sarah Bouton. The 
 reader's attention will at once be attracted by the 
 variation in the orthography of the name. It is 
 supposed, on good authority, that this John Bouton, 
 mentioned as the father of Shubaal Boughton, was 
 either a grandson or great-grandson of one John 
 Bouton, a Huguenot, who fled from France to Eng- 
 land because of religious persecution, and who was 
 given free transportation to the American Colonies 
 on condition of his taking the oath of allegiance to 
 the British Crown. He is said to have been a son 
 of Count Nicolas Bouton, and is known to have 
 sailed from England in 1635, landing at Boston in 
 December of that year, at the age of twenty years. 
 
 However this may be, the family genealogical 
 history from the time of Shubaal Boughton is com- 
 plete. He married Mary Hodge, and removed from 
 New England to Dutchess county, N. Y., in early 
 life. By trade he was a weaver, but his ambition 
 was to become a land owner and a farmer. Ac- 
 cordingly, in 1795, he removed to Rensselaerville, 
 in Albany county, N. Y., where he pre-empted a 
 claim on government land, which he cleared and 
 improved. These rather meager facts are all that 
 can be definitely told concerning him, except that 
 his marriage is supposed to have occurred about 
 1766, before leaving Connecticut, and that he was 
 known as a "Quaker," or Friend. His wife, Mary 
 Hodge, was born Oct. 15, 1747, and died at Rens- 
 selaerville on Nov. 15, 1817. The next ancestor of 
 Levi B. Boughton, in the direct line of descent, was 
 Ira Boughton, the son of Shubaal, who was born 
 at Stephentown, N. Y., July 12, 1768, married Anna 
 Dean; and died Feb. 28, 1848. His wife was born 
 March 6, 1761, and died in November, 1827. Their 
 son, John, was born April 2, 1797. He married, in 
 1818, Justina Miller, who was born in 1797, and 
 passed away in 1833. He died at New Fairfield. 
 His son, Harvey M. Boughton, the father of Levi 
 B,, was born in Chautauqua county, N. Y., in 1824, 
 and married Maria Harvey. He was a blacksmith, 
 and spent the greater part of his life at Stanwich, 
 Conn. He was much devoted to social pleasures, 
 although not at all an active worker he was fairly 
 successful in business, his native ability being of a 
 high order. He met his death through violence, 
 under the- circumstances narrated below. Being 
 
1258 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the tenant of a double house, he sublet a portion of 
 it to another family, named Leach. A dispute arose 
 over the ownership of some grapes growing on the 
 premises, and in the course of the altercation which 
 followed Mr. Boughton's jugular vein was cut. He 
 died Feb. 28, 1882. 
 
 Levi B. Broughton was born Dec. i, 1845. For 
 him life's work of toil began while he was a mere 
 boy of fifteen years. L'p to that age he had been 
 given such limited educational advantages as his 
 father's slender purse and the imperfect teaching 
 of the common schools of Lewisboro, N. Y., ren- 
 dered possible. In i860 he went out into the world 
 to seek what the future might have in store for him. 
 His first employment was in a hat factory at Dan- 
 bury, Conn., where he worked until the breaking 
 out of the Civil war. when he enlisted in Company 
 D, nth Conn. V. L He was soon promoted to 
 corporal, second sergeant, and later orderly ser- 
 geant in Companies A and C, of the same regiment. 
 After being reduced to the ranks he once more be- 
 gan to mount the ladder of non-commissioned pre- 
 femien, rising to be corporal in Company C. He 
 was under fire at Antietam and Fredericksburg, 
 participated in the siege of Petersburg, and was 
 mustered out of the service in 1865. 
 
 Returning to Danbury Mr. Boughton found em- 
 ployment in a fur factory, but soon left that place 
 for Sullivan county, N. Y., where he did business 
 in contracting for hemlock bark and lumber for 
 shipment. In 1872 he entered the employ of the 
 New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Co., 
 as a helper, later serving as a conductor for four 
 years, and being appointed yardmaster in 1877, 
 which responsible post he held for six years. While 
 acting as conductor he ran the fast through train 
 from Hartford to the Harlem river, when the trains 
 of that description were first run upon the New 
 Haven road. He left the service of the company to 
 enter that of a malleable iron concern, and in Octo- 
 ber, 1884, went to work for Russell & Erwin. He 
 remained with that firm as superintendent of outside 
 matters until September, 1897, when he went to live 
 upon his farm, and was for a short time engaged in 
 the manufacture of squirrel and bird cages, springs 
 and picture hooks. On April i, 1898, he was ap- 
 pointed superintendent of the town farm, which 
 position he still holds, having been re-appointed in 
 the spring of 1899. His conduct of the affairs of 
 this institution has been of so admirable a character 
 as to win universal commendation, and has drawn 
 forth especial encomiums from the State Board of 
 Charities. 
 
 Mr. Boughton's success in life has been princi- 
 pally, if not wholly, due to his own unaided ef- 
 forts. He is, in a great degree, self-educated, hav- 
 ing been an extensive and discriminating reader ; 
 yet his broader education has been obtained through 
 contact with the world. His mind is keen, his dis- 
 position generous, and his charity liberal. Consci- 
 entiously discharging every dut}', great or small, 
 
 with which he is entrusted, he has never failed to 
 win deserved recognition from his employers, al- 
 though more than once he has "stepped down and 
 out" from a post of trust in favor of some man 
 whose domestic responsibilities included the care of 
 a wife and children. Affable and courteous, he 
 possesses a good judgment of men and an executive 
 capability which is rarely found in men who, like 
 him, have climbed the ladder of success with no 
 friendly hand to aid. Politically he is a Republi- 
 can, although his innate distaste for thrusting him- 
 self forward has prevented him from taking any ac- 
 tive part in politics. He is a member of Harmony 
 Lodge, No. 20, A. F. & A. M., and of the United 
 Order of Pilgrim Fathers. In religious faith he is 
 a Methodist. 
 
 Mr. Boughton was married, Sept. 7, 1867, to 
 Miss Lucy M. Ingrick, a daughter of Reuben and 
 Zillah Ann (French) Ingrick, and granddaughter 
 of George and Lucy (Berton) Ingrick, of Gra- 
 hamsville, N. Y., at which place Mrs. Boughton 
 was born x'Vpril 26, 1853. Mr. and Mrs. Boughton 
 have one son, Charles D., a farmer, who married 
 Helena Maron, of New Britain, and has three sons 
 — Peter, Levi and Charles — and one daugh:er — Lucy 
 Ann. 
 
 ANSON WHEELER BRISTOL is one of the 
 prominent agriculturists of the town of Canton, and 
 as a soldier, business man and citizen he has made 
 an honorable record. He was born June 9, 1840, 
 at Cherry Brook, town of Canton, and comes of 
 excellent ancestry. His grandfather, Philo Bristol, 
 a native of New Haven county, married Nabby 
 Lyman. 
 
 Noah R. L. Bristol, our subject's father, was 
 born at Oxford, New Haven county, and received 
 a good common-school education. For several terms 
 he taught school in New York State, but was still 
 a young man when he located in Canton. There 
 he followed the cooper's trade for a time, but later 
 he purchased the Rufus Teller farm, at Cherry 
 Brook, and engaged in general farming. In poli- 
 tics he' was first a Whig, afterward a Republican, 
 and he took a prominent part in local affairs, rep- 
 resenting the town in the State Legislature, and 
 serving several years as selectman and town clerk. 
 He was a man of temperate habits and domestic 
 tastes, and was noted among the business men of 
 his acquaintance for his honesty and uprightness. 
 In his religious views he was liberal, while his wife, 
 a most estimable woman, belonged to the Congrega- 
 tional Church. His death occurred in 1861, his re- 
 mains being interred at Canton Center, and his wife, 
 whose maiden name was Mary Barber, survived him 
 many years, passing away in 1887. They had four 
 children : Volney R., who died in middle age ; 
 Keziah, who married George VV^hite, of Bristol ; 
 Burton H., who was killed in a mine in Idaho ; and 
 Anson W., our subject. 
 
 Mrs. Mary Barber Bristol was a native of Can- 
 
^ 
 
 ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1259 
 
 ton, and a member of one of the oldest families of 
 tl:is section. Thomas Barbour or Barber, the first 
 of the ilame to come to America, settleu in Wind- 
 sor. Samuel Barber, son of Thomas, located in 
 Simsbury, where he died about 1725. He married 
 Mercy Holcomb, granddaughter of Thomas Hol- 
 comb, the pioneer. After his death she removed 
 with her children to West SimsDury, near Cherry 
 Brook, where she died in 1787, at the ripe age of 
 ninety-six years. They had the following children: 
 Samuel ; Thomas ; Jonathan ; John ; Mercy, who 
 married Ephraim Buel ; and Sarah, who married 
 John Case. 
 
 Dr. Samuel Barber, son of Samuel and Mercy 
 (Holcomb) Barber, was born in Simsbury in 1714. 
 He married (first) Tr3rphena Humphrey, v/ho was 
 born in 1722, daughter of Samuel Humphrey, and 
 died in 1752. His second wife, Hannah (Hum- 
 phrey), was born in 1726, daughter of Capt. Noah 
 Humphrey, who was captain of a company that 
 went to Havana in 1762. She died in 1819, at the 
 home of her son, Giles, grandfather of our sub- 
 ject. By his first marriage Dr. Samuel Barber had 
 seven children: Samuel, born in 1740, married a 
 Miss Cowles, and died in 1780; Timothy, born in 
 1742, married Keturah Riley, and died in 1817; 
 Joseph, born in 1744, married Leah Grover, and died 
 in 1807; David, born in 1746, married Deborah 
 Adams; Elijah, born in 1748, married Sarah Petti- 
 bone, and died in 1820; Ezekiel, born in 1750, mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Goddard, and died in 1806; and 
 Daniel, born in 1752, died in 1776, while serving 
 in the Revolutionary army. The children of the sec- 
 ond marriage were: Tryphena, born in 1755, who 
 married Nathaniel Johnson; Joel, born in 1757, who 
 married Mary Phelps; Hannah, born in 1759, who 
 married Aaron Rauls; Sarah, born in 1761, who 
 married John George Bandell, and died in 1829; 
 Asabel, born in 1763, who married Mary Cellar, and 
 died in 185 1 ; Jesse, born in 1766, who married 
 Hepzibah Humphrey, and died in 1813; and Giles, 
 our subject's grandfather. 
 
 Giles Barber, born in 1769, was a farmer and 
 stock raiser, and spent his entire life in Canton, 
 where he died in 1826. He married Mary Garrett, 
 a lady of French descent, and had ten children: 
 Flavey, who married Anson Wheeler ; Mary, our 
 subject's mother; Julia, Mrs. Ezekiel T. Case; Dia- 
 dama, Mrs. Selden White; Catharine, Mrs. Will- 
 iam McLoud ; Volney G., who married Ellen At- 
 kins, of Bristol ; Lucian, who settled in the West, 
 ■where he died ; Ouincy, who died in childhood ; 
 Jesse L., who married Melissa Andrews, and Linus, 
 who died unmarried. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the district and 
 high schools of his native town, and remained at 
 home until 1862, when he enlisted at Hartford in 
 Company I, 22d Conn. V. I., under Col. George 
 S. Burnham and Capt. Charles Whittlesey, the regi- 
 ment being assigned to the 5th Corps. He served 
 in this command for one year, and was discharged 
 
 in July, 1863. On his return nome he engaged in 
 farming, dairying and tobacco culture, and in 1886 
 he sold out and bought the Oliver H. Bidwell farm, 
 a tract of no acres, where he has made many im- 
 provements and is engaged in tobacco culture, dairy- 
 ing, stock raising and general farming. He is a 
 stockholder and director in the Canton Creamery 
 Association. In 1884 Mr. Bristol was elected to 
 the State Legislature, where he served on the com- 
 mittee on Towns and Boroughs. He was a member 
 of the board of relief at one time, and served as 
 town clerk for eleven years, giving general satis- 
 faction. Socially he and his family are much es- 
 teemed, and he and his wife belong to the local 
 Grange. He is also a member of Edward R. Lee 
 Post, No. 78, G. A. R., of New Hartford. 
 
 On Nov. I, i860, Mr. Bristol was married, in 
 Canton, to Miss Sarah E. Williams, born in Brook- 
 lyn, N. Y., Oct. 31, 1841, a daughter of Absalom 
 and Margaret (Rogers) Williams, the former a 
 native of Massachusetts, born in 1810, the latter of 
 New Jersey, born in 1816; they died June 26, 1858, 
 and in 1896, respectively. Of our subject's chil- 
 dren, (i) Minnie E., born Sept. 13, 1861, received 
 a district-school education, and taught school in 
 Canton Center previous to her marriage to George 
 E. Bidwell, a prominent farmer of East Granby; 
 she has one son, Jasper Warren, born June 11,. 
 1883. (2) Burton E., born Jan. 29, 1863, died in 
 infancy. (3) Burton N., born Nov. 9, 1864, was- 
 educated in district schools and the Connecticut 
 Literary Institute, and is now in the grain busi- 
 ness in Collinsville. He married Miss Lizzie Case, 
 daughter of Hosea and Ruth Case, and they have 
 four children, Amy Luella, born July 26, 1889; 
 Richard, May 25, 1892; Robert M., May 30, 1893; 
 and Edward R., June 2, 1894. (4) Mortimer L., 
 born Dec. 29, 1868, was educated in the schools 
 of Collinsville and Moody, also at the Maine Uni- 
 versity, and taught for some time in public schools ; 
 he is now a draughtsman in Colt's fire-arms factory. 
 He married Miss Rosa Bill, of Hartford, and they 
 have one daughter, Grace Bidwell, born Nov. 10, 
 1895. (5) Anson W., Jr., born April 25, 1871, 
 graduated from the Collinsville high school, and is 
 now engaged in general farming at Canton Center. 
 He married Miss Mae Smith, daughter of James 
 Smith, of Collinsville, and they have had three chil- 
 dren, Florence Smith, born March 29, 1894; Stuart 
 Arthur, June 20, 1896; and Herman Harvey, March 
 22, 1899. (6) Mary Margaret, born Aug. 27, 1873,, 
 was educated in the Collinsville high school, and 
 is now a teacher in the Hartford public schools. (7) 
 Helen B., born May 21, 1878, is the wife of Samuel 
 D. Richardson, and has had two children, Danford 
 Ward, born July 23, 1896, and one whose name is 
 not given, born Aug. 3, 1900. (8) Ruby S. and 
 (9) Roscoe C. (twins), were born Sept. 23, 1880, 
 and the former died Feb. 12, 1882. Roscoe C. com- 
 pleted a course in the high school at Collinsville,. 
 and is now a clerk in New Hartford. ( 10) Christa 
 
1260 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 E., born Dec. 25, 1885, is attending the Collinsville 
 high school. (11) Sterhng W., born Oct. 20, 1887, 
 and (12) Katherine B., born Jan. 22, 1890, are at 
 home. 
 
 MRS. REBECCA P. (ALLEN) HATHA- 
 ^^'AY, authoress (noiii dc pliiiuc "Grace Appleton"), 
 was born in Enfield, Conn., a lovely old elm-shaded 
 town on the eastern bank of the Connecticut river. 
 Her ancestors on both paternal and maternal sides 
 of the house were among the very earliest settlers 
 of the town, coming through the wilderness from 
 the Salem Colony and locating in this spot. 
 
 Our subject at the age of thirteen removed with 
 her parents and family from Enfield to Chicopec, 
 Mass., at the high school of which place (at that 
 time one of the most noted schools of the State under 
 the charge of Prof. Calvin S. Penneli, a nephew of 
 Horace JNIann, later of Oberlin), she and a younger 
 brother, Adams, received their educational training. 
 
 She graduated therefrom in 1849 ^'"J removed 
 with the family to New York City, where she be- 
 came assistant editor of various newspapers and 
 niagazines published b\- her eldest brother, Edward 
 P. Allen, and continued with him up to the time of 
 his death, in 1859. 
 
 In i860 ^liss Allen was married to Col. Samuel 
 Hathaway, of Worcester and New York City, in 
 which city they resided at the time of the outbreak 
 of the Civil war, and took earnest part in the stir- 
 ring events of that period, and the enthusiastic re- 
 ceptions and banquets given to the different New 
 England regiments as they passed through the city 
 CI' route for the fields of battle. 
 
 Later, coming into possession of the old country 
 home in Enfield, where her idolized brother, Ed- 
 ward, had breathed his last, and in which she had 
 been left a life interest, she and her husband re- 
 moved there (though still keeping on with his busi- 
 ness in New York), and there continued to reside 
 for thirty-five years, until the destruction of the old 
 homestead with all its barns and outbuildings, and 
 their contents, including a valuabk herd of Alder- 
 ney and Guernsey cattle, by incendiary fire, in the 
 autumn of 1896. On that occasion Mrs. Hatha- 
 way barely escaped with her life, losing nearly 
 everything they possessed — a collection of old ma- 
 hogany furniture ; old silver ; many valuable manu- 
 scripts and choice books ; a cabinet of minerals ; 
 all of her jewelry and most of their clothing. A 
 new house was erected last year on the same site, 
 by their son, where they are again settled and able 
 to give hospitable welcome to friends. 
 
 During the past years, under different pen- 
 names, Mrs. Hathaway has been corresponding for 
 dift'erent newspapers throughout the country, also 
 contributing poems and prose articles to different 
 magazines and periodicals. 
 
 In the disastrous fire, above referred to, was lost 
 a collection of her poems nearly ready for the press, 
 as well as a manuscript volume of poems and an- 
 
 other of short stories, about to be issued, written 
 by her son, Harold Gray Hathaway, who passed 
 from earthly life in 1894. He was a young writer 
 of much promise in both poetry and prose, and had 
 he been spared would have made a name in the 
 literary world. 
 
 Her eldest son, Allen Bigelow Hathaway, also 
 a terse and graphic writer, is connected with the 
 Massachusetss J\lutual Life Insurance Co. in Spring- 
 field, Mass., though residing at home. 
 
 Among the many poems that have emanated 
 from the pen of "Grace Appleton," and become most 
 generall}- known and admired, may be mentioned 
 the following: "The Evening Hearthstone," "Mother 
 in Heaven," "Beautiful River," "To a Night-Bloom- 
 ing Cereus," "Under the Roses," "On Whirl the 
 Months Immortal," and "The Funeral of Gen. 
 Grant." There is a peculiar charm and fascination 
 about her poems that is irresistible and enchanting, 
 suggesting that ideas, rhythm and meter are created 
 as it were impromptu, without forethought or effort 
 on her part, and given to the world just as they 
 sing themselves into existence. 
 
 OLIVER THOMAS BISHOP is one of the 
 foremost citizens of the town of Avon, where for 
 years he has been prominent in both business and 
 civic circles as one of the ablest and most progressive 
 citizens in the community. He is a native of the 
 town, born Feb. 18, 1833, and comes of a family 
 whose members have always been identified with 
 the best in social and public life in Hartford county, 
 taking an active part in the advancement of local 
 iiUerests, and distinguishing themselves for public 
 spirit and intelligence as citizens and in the conduct 
 of their private affairs. 
 
 Mr. Bishop's grandfather, Thomas F. Bishop, 
 was a lifelong resident of Avon, which during his 
 early life was included in the town of Farmington. 
 ^Vhen but fifteen years old he entered th& service 
 of his country as a soldier in the Revolution, serv- 
 ing for three years in that struggle, and he took 
 part in the besiegement of Cornwallis, at Yorktown. 
 Thomas F. Bishop was a large land owner, and 
 engaged extensively in dairy farming and stock rais- 
 ing, which he followed principally all his life. He 
 was a strong Whig in political sentiment, and 
 though he never sought or held office he wielded a 
 marked influence for good in his neighborhood as 
 a citizen whose opinion was highly valued. He 
 always commanded deep respect wherever he was 
 known, and bore a high reputation for honor and 
 integrity in all his dealings with his fellow men. 
 Mr. Bishop was married in Avon to Miss Lucy 
 Foot, and they became the parents of eleven chil- 
 dren : Stella, who married Chester Woodford ; Ben- 
 jamin, who married Betsey Woodford ; Delia, who 
 became the wife of George Woodford ; Samuel, who 
 married Minerva Woodford ; Jacob, who married 
 Diana Frisbie; Jeffrey, who married Dolly Wood- 
 ford; Lucy, wife of Hiram Andrews; Thomas N., 
 
4 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1261 
 
 father of our subject; Gedor P.; Adeline, who mar- 
 ried Albert Bissell; and Joseph, who married Zer- 
 viah Woodford. The parents of this family both 
 passed away in 1851, the father at the ripe age of 
 eighty-eight years, and their remains rest in Cider 
 Brook cemetery. In rehgious connection they were 
 members of the Congregational Church, and they 
 took a zealous interest in the advancement of the 
 JJingdom and all religious enterprises. 
 
 Thomas N. Bishop was born June 2, 1804, in 
 the town of Avon, and there, on the old home- 
 stead, passed his entire life. He received his edu- 
 cation in the district schools of the home neighbor- 
 hood, and took up farming as his life vocation, he 
 and his brother Gedor Pitt operating 200 acres of 
 land. In addition to general agricultural pursuits 
 he was engaged in teaming, dairying and stock 
 dealing, and he made a signal success of all his un- 
 dertakings, acquiring in his busy Hfe a handsome 
 competence. His ability and good judgment gained 
 for him the confidence of his fellow citizens in the 
 town, and he was honored with election to various 
 offices of trust, serving faithfully as selectman and 
 in other important positions. In 1850 he repre- 
 sented Avon in the State Legislature, discharging 
 his duties in that incumbency with the same re- 
 gard for the wishes of his constituency as he dis- 
 played lesser offices, and he lived an upright, con- 
 scientious Christian life, earning and retaining the 
 highest esteem of all with whom he came in con- 
 tact, in any of the relations of life. He possessed 
 a genial, sociable disposition, which won for him 
 friends on all sides, was temperate in all his habits, 
 and with a character strong and a high sense of duty 
 was in every way fitted for the important position 
 he occupied among his fellow citizens. He was 
 married in Farmington to Miss Sally Andrews, 
 and their union was blessed with four children: 
 Oliver Thomas; James N., who occupies the home- 
 stead; Fanny, wife of Charles H. Miller; and Jef- 
 frey, who was drowned when eleven years old. The 
 father passed away in 1864, in his sixtieth year, 
 the mother on Oct. 18, 1893, at the home of her 
 son, Oliver, in Avon, and they were buried in Cider 
 Brook cemetery. Mr. Bishop was a Whig in po- 
 litical affiliation. Mrs. Bishop was a woman of 
 fine Christian character, devoted to her home and 
 family, and beloved by all who had the pleasure of 
 her acquaintance. 
 
 Oliver T. Bishop received his primary school- 
 ing in the home district, later attending the Con- 
 necticut Literary Institute, Suffield, and West Hart- 
 ford Academy, where he received a thorough, prac- 
 tical training for the business of life. He was reared 
 to farm life, remaining on the home place until 1875, 
 he and his brother James undertaking the man- 
 agement of the farm after their father's death. Mr. 
 Bishop has since made his home at the Center, 
 where in 1881 he embarked in the mercantile busi- 
 ness with which he has ever since been connected, 
 at first in company with George N. Phelps, with 
 
 whom he was associated for six years. In 1887 
 he bought out Mr. Phelps' interest in the store, 
 which he conducted alone until 1898, when his 
 nephew, Harry P. Bishop, was taken into partner- 
 ship, and they are now doing business under the 
 firm name of O. T. Bishop & Co. The business 
 has always remained at the original location, and 
 though he entered mercantile life without any pre- 
 vious knowledge of its demands, or experience of 
 any kind in that line, Mr. Bishop has met with 
 flattering success, a success which, if it stood alone, 
 would do him great credit. But it is not alone' as 
 a general merchant that he has attained a prom- 
 inent position in this locality. He has become in- 
 terested in the tobacco business, and as a member 
 of the firm of F. Ripley & Co. has given the same 
 careful attention to that line which won him suc- 
 cess as a storekeeper. Though it would seem that 
 his commercial affairs were sufficient to absorb all 
 his time and attention, Mr. Bishop has found time 
 to serve his fellow men to an unusual extent, and 
 his executive ability and capacity as a manager 
 have been of great value to the town in which he 
 has passed his busy life, for he has been called upon 
 to serve in every office in the gift of his townsmen, 
 and it is needless to say has given universal satis- 
 faction as a public servant. 
 
 Mr. Bishop was first appointed postmaster under 
 President Arthur, and served four years, was re- 
 appointed in the Harrison administration, serving 
 four years, and is now filling his third term in that 
 incumbency, with the same efficiency which char- 
 acterizes all his work. He has held the offices of 
 selectman, chairman of the board, justice of the 
 peace for many years, tax collector for eight years, 
 member of the board of relief, school visitor, clerk 
 of the school committee, town treasurer for several 
 years — an office he still fills — and notary public since 
 1886. In 1876 he was elected town clerk, and served 
 for fen years consecutively, and receiving re-elec- 
 tion to that position in 1892 has held the office ever 
 since, in every instance discharging nis duties in 
 a manner which could not fail to win the approval 
 of all concerned, and never disappointing his sup- 
 porters as a consistently public-spirited and trust- 
 worthy man, working for the welfare and advance- 
 ment of his town in any capacity. He has always 
 been a friend of education, and gives his hearty sup- 
 port to any measures which he beheves will benefit 
 the public schools. In i860 Mr. Bishop represented 
 the town of Avon in the State Legislature. It 
 would be difficult, indeed, to find a citizen better 
 known or more higlily respected throughout his 
 part of Hartford county, and it is conceded bj' all 
 that Mr. Bishop has fully deserved the high stand- 
 ing he enjoys in the community, for he has been 
 devoted to its interests from early manhood, and 
 has done all in his power to give Avon a place 
 among the most progressive and well-improved 
 towns in the county. Like his father before him, 
 he has a pleasant, friendly disposition, which has 
 
12G2 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 gained for him nosts of friends wherever he goes, 
 and his personal worth has gone far toward 
 strengthening the position which his intehectual 
 ability has won. He is liberal in religious matters, 
 endeavoring in his dealings with his fellow men to 
 follow the Golden Rule. Politically he has always 
 been an ardent Republican, and an active worker 
 in the ranks of the party. He is thoroughly fa- 
 miliar with matters pertaining to his town, county 
 and State, and, keeping abreast of the times, is well 
 informed on leading public events. 
 
 .In 1875 Mr. Bishop was united in marriage, 
 at Beverly. Mass., with Aliss Frances E. Prince, 
 a highly educated and cultured lady, who was born 
 Aug. 6, 1847, in Beverly, daughter of Warren 
 Prince, of that town. She was a school teacher 
 before her marriage. Three children have been born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Bishop: (i) Mabel L., born in 
 1878, received her early education in the private 
 and district schools of Avon, was graduated from 
 McLean Seminary in 1895, and with the class of 
 '99 from Wellesley (Mass.) College; she has high 
 literary attainments. (2) Elsie P., born in 1880, 
 attended the district and private schools, and in 
 1897 was graduated from AIcLean Seminary ; she 
 is specially proficient in painting and music, and 
 gives promise of talent as an artist. (3) Carlton 
 T., born in 1882, attended the district schools, grad- 
 uated from Williston Academy, East Hampton, 
 Mass., in 1900, and in the fall of that year entered 
 Yale College; he is quite a student of mathematics. 
 The family occupy a high position socially, and 
 their home is one of the most desirable and pleas- 
 ant in the town, being the center of a delightful and 
 refined hospitality. 
 
 HON. MARTIN W. FRISBIE, one of the 
 leading and influential agriculturists of Southing- 
 ton, was born in that town Oct. 29, 1840, a son of 
 Martin and Sarah (jMoore) Frisbie. The father, 
 a prominent farmer of Southington, was also born 
 in that town Oct. 12, 1S03, and spent his entire life 
 on the old homestead, fie was married Sept. 23, 
 1827, to Sarah Moore, and to them were born five 
 children : Martin and Sylvester, both deceased ; 
 Thankful, deceased wife of Frank B. Hays ; Sarah 
 L., who married (first) William H. Harrison and 
 (second) Edward W. Twichell ; and Martin W., 
 our subject. 
 
 Ichabod Culpepper Frisbie, the paternal grand- 
 father of our subject, formerly of Bradford, Conn., 
 located in Southington, where he was married, Dec. 
 1 5-' i/SS' to Thankful Moss, a daughter of Elihu 
 and Esther (Clark) Moss. To them were born 
 seven children : Sylvester ; Amon ; Sarah, wife of 
 Root Gridley ; Lucy, wife of Chauncey Porter ; 
 Phila, wife of Hopkins Carter ; Samuel ; and Mar- 
 tin. Ichabod C. Frisbie was in the Revolutionary 
 war. He represented the town in the Legislature, 
 and held many positions of trust. 
 
 Roswell Moore, the maternal grandfather of 
 
 our subject, was born in Southington June 23, 1761, 
 and was married Oct. 8, 1787, to Lovina Phillips. 
 He was a prominent man of his town and held many 
 important offices, representing Southington in the 
 Legislature for twenty-one sessions, and serving as 
 justice of the peace for many years. He died April 
 9, 1847, 1^'s wife on July 25, 1843. His father, Ros- 
 well iVloore, Sr., of Shuttle Meadow, was born in 
 East Windsor j\lay 17, 1728, and made his home 
 near Shuttle Meadow Lake. He was married June 
 30, 1755, to Desire Dunham, a daughter of Gideon 
 Dunham, and died Dec. 13, 1794. He was a son of 
 John Moore, who was born March 21, 1694, and 
 was married Dec. 2, 1724, to Abigail Stoughton. 
 For several years he made his home in East Wind- 
 sor, Conn., but died at Lake George, N. Y., Aug. 
 12, 1758. His father, John Moore, was born in 
 Windsor June 26, 1665, and was married Feb. 8, 
 1693, to Abigail Strong. He made his home in 
 East Windsor. He was a son of John Moore, who 
 was born in Windsor Dec. 5, 1645, and lived and 
 died there. On Sept. 21, 1664, he married Hannah 
 Goffe. His father, who also bore the name of John 
 Moore, was the founder of the family in the New 
 World, locating in Dorchester, Mass., in 1630, and 
 in 1635, was among the first to locate in Windsor, 
 Conn. He was frequently called upon to serve as 
 juror, was deputy to the General Court from Wind- 
 sor in 1662, 1665, 1667 and 1674, and was a prom- 
 inent man of his day and generation. He died Sept. 
 18, 1677. 
 
 Martin W. Frisbee, whose name introduces this 
 sketch, was reared on the old homestead, and pur- 
 sued his studies in the public schools of the neigh- 
 borhood and later in Lewis and Bacon Academies. 
 Throughout his entire business career he has fol- 
 lowed the occupation of farming, and has met with 
 well-deserved success in his labors. During the 
 Civil war, he laid aside all personal interests, and 
 on August 8, 1862, enlisted in Company E, 20th 
 Conn. V. I., with which he served as corporal for 
 three years, participating in all of the engagements 
 in which the regiment took part. He was hon- 
 orably discharged at New Haven, in June, 1865, 
 and returned home to resume the more quiet pur- 
 suits of farm life. 
 
 Mr. Frisbie has been twice married, his first 
 wife being Miss Julia Bradley, and his second Miss 
 Charlotte Carter, a daughter of Charles and Lydia 
 (Upson) Carter. By the second union he has four 
 children : John C, Martin M., Sarah E. and Lena. 
 Religiously he is a member of the First Congrega- 
 tional Church of Southington, and fraternally he 
 is a member of Trumbull Post, No. 16, G. A. R., 
 of the same place, of which he is past commander, 
 and also of Union Grange, P. of H., of which he 
 was the first master. He has been a member and 
 chairman of the board of relief of Southington 
 for many years, and represented the town in the 
 State Legislature in 1879 and 1880. In all the re- 
 lations of life he has been found true to every trust 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1263 
 
 reposed in him, and as an honored citizen and rep- 
 resentative man of the community he is worthy the 
 high regard in which he is uniformly held. Po- 
 litically he is a Republican. 
 
 DAVID H. CARRIER, a successful agricult- 
 urist of Glastonbury, is one of the representative 
 self-made men of that town, and holds the esteem 
 and confidence of the community in a marked de- 
 gree. 
 
 Mr. Carrier's ancestors were early settlers in Col- 
 chester, New London Co., Conn. Thomas Carrier, 
 with his sons Richard and Andrew, took up claims 
 there about the year 1700, coming from Andover, 
 Mass., where Martha, his wife, was executed as a 
 witch in 1692. Thomas Carrier had belonged to 
 the bodyguard of King Charles I of Great Britain, 
 and was notorious for Heetness of foot even after he 
 was more than one hundred years old. He was a 
 Welshman, and it is claimed by his descendants that 
 he was 113 years old at the time of his decease, May 
 16, 1735. Oui" subject is descended from his son 
 Andrew, who married Mary Adams Jan. 11, 1704. 
 In tracing the genealogy we find that Andrew Car- 
 rier, Jr., was born Feb. 2, 1705, and married Ruth 
 Adams Dec. 27, 1733. Samuel Carrier was born 
 Jan. 6, 1739, and was married to Rebecca Rock- 
 well Dec. 16, 1765. Nine children were born to 
 them, the last one being Oliver, who was born Aug. 
 2, 1784. He engaged in farming in his native town, 
 and died there Sept. 23, 1809. He married Jerusha 
 Ingraham, a near relative of the noted pioneer in 
 clock manufacturing at Bristol, Conn., aid they had 
 three children: Joseph, our subject's father; Emily, 
 who married Bishop Root, of Hebron, Conn., both 
 now deceased; and Oliver, a farmer, v/ho died in 
 Colebrook, Conn. The mother for her second hus- 
 band married Benjamin Root, of Hebron, Conn., 
 and they reared a family of five children. 
 
 Joseph Carrier was born July 18, 1805, .in Col- 
 chester, 'Westchester Society, New London Co., 
 Conn., where he was reared, receiving the average 
 education given to boys of his day. As a young 
 man he followed the blacksmith's trade, but much 
 of his life was spent in farming, at "West Hartland, 
 Conn. He was noted for the success he had in 
 bringing to a stage of productiveness a run-down 
 farm, several farms of that town having felt the 
 quickening impulses of his ability. He was one of 
 the leading citizens of the town in his day, holding 
 various local offices, and serving as a representative 
 in the State Legislature in 1854. He died March 
 9, 1886. Joseph Carrier married Chelsea M. Hu.x- 
 ford, who was born in Marlboro, Conn., Feb. 8, 
 1807, a daughter of Gamaliel and Chelsea (Hos- 
 ford) Huxford, the former born July 6, 1779, the 
 latter on Aug. 9, 1782. Her father was a soldier in 
 the war of 1812, stationed at New London, Conn. 
 Joseph and Chelsea M. Carrier had the following 
 children : Selden, a blacksmith by trade, who settled 
 in West Hartland, where he died; David H., men- 
 
 tioned more fully below ; Miletus, who served in the 
 Civil war, in Company E, 25th Conn. "V. I., and 
 died July 15, 1863, in New Orleans, of wounds re- 
 ceived in battle at Port Hudson; Joseph, who set- 
 tled in the West; Dudley, now residing in Middle- 
 town, Conn. ; Samuel, who occupies the old home- 
 stead in West Plartland; and Lorintha, who mar- 
 ried George F. Clark, now of Granby Station, 
 Connecticut. 
 
 Our subject was born Feb. 25, 1830, at West 
 Hartland, where he attended a district school and 
 the academy during boyhood. He remained at 
 home until ha attained his majority, when he went 
 to Windsor, Conn., and secured employment as a 
 farm hand. Proving himself a good worker and 
 an efficient manager, he soon became foreman on a 
 large farm belonging to Mrs. Susan A. Wilson, in 
 that part of Windsor now known as Wilson Sta- 
 tion. His wages were good for that time, ranging 
 from $20 per month at the beginning to $28 per 
 month as his responsibilities increased. After man- 
 aging Mrs. Wilson's farm for six years he rented it 
 for three years, and in 1862 he purchased a part 
 of his present homestead in Glastonbury, form- 
 erly known as the "Abner Mosley place." In his 
 farming operations he has devoted special attention 
 to dairying, and the cultivation of tobacco and gar- 
 den vegetables. In the spring of 1879 he. bought 
 ar;d moved to an adjoining place with twenty-hve 
 acres of land. Two acres more of meadow land 
 were purchased in 1895, making a total of seventy- 
 five acres in the farm. In politics Mr. Carrier is in- 
 dependent so far as local affairs are concerned, but 
 he is an earnest believer in the principles of the 
 Prohibition party. He is a charter member of Glas- 
 tonbury Grange, No. 26, P. of H., 'and was the first 
 master of same. He was one of the incorporators 
 of the Patrons Mutual .Fire Insurance Co., of Con- 
 necticut, and is now a director and member of the 
 executive committee of same. He and his wife are 
 members of the First Baptist Church of Hartford. 
 Since settling in Glastonbury the family have at- 
 tended the Congregational Church in that place. 
 
 On April 26, 1859, Mr. Carrier married Miss 
 Mary J. Spelman, who was born April 26, 1829, in 
 East Granville, 2^Iass., daughter of William H. and 
 Jane (Clark) Spelman, natives of Massachusetts 
 and Connecticut, respectively. He was a farmer 
 and carpenter by occupation. They had three chil- 
 dren William H., Cordelia Jane, and Mary J. (Mrs. 
 Carrier). 
 
 ]Mr. and ]\Irs. Carrier have had five children: 
 Byron Spelman married Phebe Chapman, of Han- 
 over, Conn., and resides in- Manchester, where he 
 is engaged in mercantile business ; they have four 
 children, Helen, Gertrude, Raymond Chapman and 
 Frederick Howard. Lucy Lorintha died Jan. 24, 
 1899, unmarried; she was a graduate of the Con- 
 necticut Literary Institute, Suffield, and became an 
 accomplished woman, devoting her life to teaching; 
 she was an active member of the Grange, and was 
 
1264 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 highly esteemed by a wide circle of acquaintances. 
 Frederick Wilson also graduated from the Con- 
 necticut Literary Institute, and then entered Brown 
 University, Providence, R. I. ; ne died during his 
 Sophomore year, at the age of twenty-three. Will- 
 iam Harmon married Nellie Adeline Atwater, of 
 Cheshire, Conn., and they hav;; one child, \\ illiam 
 Harmon, Jr. George Huxford, who also graduated 
 from the Connecticut Literary Institute, married 
 Kate L. Dunham, of Hockanum. These two sons 
 reside in Glastonbury, where they are engaged in 
 farming upon the home acres. 
 
 SHERMAN BLAKESLEE. Everywhere in 
 our land are found men who have worked their own 
 way from humble beginnings to leadership in com- 
 merce, the great productive industries, the manage- 
 ment of financial affairs, and in controlling iho vems 
 and arteries of the traffic and exchanges of the coun- 
 try. It is one of the glories of our nation that it is 
 so. Prominent among the self-made men of South- 
 ington is the subject of this sketch, now president 
 of the Blakeslee Forging Co., and a prominent and 
 enterprising citizen of Plantsville. 
 
 Mr. Blakeslee was born in Prospect, New Haven 
 Co., Conn., Nov. 3, 1S40, a son 01 Sherman and 
 Nancy M. (Mix) Blakeslee. The father was born 
 in Watertown, Conn., Sept. 5, 181 5, and in early life 
 was engaged in the manufacture of spoons at Pros- 
 pect and later at Cheshire. At one time he was also 
 interested in general merchandising at Cheshire and 
 Yalesville. His children were Sherman, Lauren, 
 George \V., J\Iary E., and Laura E. Our subject 
 is a descendant of Samuel Blakeslee, a native of 
 England, and a blacksmith by trade, who came to 
 this country and' settled in Boston, Mass., about 
 1630, but later removed to New Haven, Conn. 
 Manning Blakeslee, our subject's paternal grand- 
 father, was a farmer of New Haven county, whose 
 wife was Sally Wilmot. The maternal grandfa- 
 ther of our subject, William Mix, lived at dift'erent 
 times in Wallingford and Prospect, and was the 
 first manufacturer of the Britannia spoon in Amer- 
 ica. His wife was, in her maidenhood, Laura Hall, 
 of Wallingford. 
 
 Sherman Blakeslee spent his boyhood and youth 
 in New Haven county, where he attended the com- 
 mon schools, and he began his business career as a 
 shop hand. In 1868 he located in Plantsville, and 
 was associated with the firm of H. D. Smith & 
 Co., as a contractor for the manufacture of car- 
 riage joints, until 1877, when he embarked in the 
 manufacture of carriage hardware and special drop 
 forgings as a member of the firm of Blakeslee & Co. 
 This firm existed until 1896, when it was incorpor- 
 ated as the Blakeslee Forging Co., our subject being 
 chosen president, in which capacity he still serves. 
 To his able management is due the success of the 
 enterprise. 
 
 J\Ir. Blakeslee has been twice married, his first 
 wife being Miss Bertha Carroll, the second Miss 
 
 Olive S. Adams, a daughter of Orson S. and Eunice 
 (Robbins) Adams, of Plantsville. By the second 
 marriage he has one son, Dewey S., born Nov. 19, 
 1882. i\Ir. Blakeslee is an earnest member of the 
 Congregational Church, with which his wife also 
 unites, and also belongs to Friendship Lodge, No. 33, 
 F. & A. M. His political support is always given 
 to the men and measures of the Democratic party, 
 and he is now efficiently serving as burgess of 
 Southington. 
 
 BULKELEY. The Bulkeley family is traced 
 back to a remote period of English history, and 
 the name is derived from a ridge of mountains in 
 the County Palatine of Chester, being originally 
 spelled Buclough (larger mountains). The founder 
 of the family was Robert Bulkeley, Lord of the 
 IManor of Bulkeley. [For a detailed account of the 
 different branches in England and Ireland see Chap- 
 man's Bulkeley Genealogy, Lyson's Magnolia, 
 King's History of Chester.] 
 
 In Grammoret's "Memories" it is stated that 
 Henry, first Viscount Bulkeley, married Lady Sophia 
 Stewart, sister of the Duchess of Richmond. Of 
 their daughters, the eldest married the Duke of 
 Berwick, son of King James II and Arabella 
 Churchill, sister of the great Duke of Marlborough. 
 A second daughter married Lord Clare, ancestor of 
 Marshall Thormond. This is the family of Talbot, 
 Earls of Tyrconnel, a descendant of whom, Dick 
 Talbott, founded the town of Ontario, named after 
 him. Bulkeley (Bedfordshire) descendants of Rev. 
 Peter Bulkeley, founder of Concord, Mass., 1635. 
 The family descended from Robert Bulkeley, Lord 
 of the Manor of Bulkeley, County Palatine of Ches- 
 ter, in the reign of King John, 1199-1216. Arms: 
 sa, a chev., ar. between three bulls' heads ar., af- 
 fronte. Crest, out of a ducal coronet or, rampant. 
 Motto: Nee temere nee tiinide (neither rashly nor 
 timidly). 
 
 The following is taken from family records : 
 
 Robert Bulkeley, Lord Buclough, County Che- 
 shire, A. D. 1200. 
 
 William De Bulkeley. 
 
 Robert De Bulkeley, son and heir of William, 
 married a daughter of Butler of Bewsey, Warring- 
 ton. William De Bulkeley, 1302, married Maude, 
 daughter of Sir John Davenport. 
 
 Robert Bulkeley owned Eaton in Davenham and 
 Alstanton. His wife's name was Agnes. 
 
 Peter Bulkeley, of Haughton, married Nicols, 
 daughter and heiress of Thomas Bird, by whom he 
 had lands in Alpraham. 
 
 John Bulkeley, of Haughton, married Arderne, 
 daughter and heiress of John Fitley, of Woose 
 Salop. 
 
 Hugh De Bulkeley, of Woose, married Hellen, 
 daughter of Thomas Wilbraham, of Woose. 
 
 Humphrey Bulkeley, of Woose, married Grisell, 
 daughter and heiress of John Molton, of Mol- 
 ton. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1265 
 
 William Bulkeley, of Oakley, married Beatrice, 
 daughter of William Hill, of Bunsingstall. 
 
 Thomas Bulkeley, of Woose, Salop, married 
 Elizabeth, daughter of Randall Grosvenor, of Bell- 
 aport. 
 
 Edward Bulkeley, D. D., rector of Odell, Bed- 
 fordshire, prebendary of Litchfield, married Olive 
 Ilsby, of Lincolnshire. 
 
 Thomas, first Viscount seated at Baron Hill, 
 near Beaumaris, Isle of Anglesey, was advanced by 
 King Charles I to the dignity of Viscount Bulkeley, 
 June 6, 1643, and made master of the King's house- 
 hold. He left five sons. Henry, one of the sons, 
 married Lady Sophia Stewart, sister of the beauti- 
 ful Duchess of Richmond. Of the daughters of 
 Henry, one married the Duke of Berwick, son of 
 King James H, of England. The other daughters, 
 all celebrated for their beauty, were Charlotte, Hen- 
 rietta and Laura. The former married Lord Clare 
 (killed at Ramillies). He was an ancestor of the 
 Marshall Thormond. 
 
 Rev. Peter Bulkeley was born at Odell, Bedford- 
 shire, Jan. I, 1583. At sixteen years of age he 
 was admitted to St. John's College, Cambridge, of 
 which he was chosen fellow, receiving the degree 
 of Bachelor of Divinity. He succeeded his father 
 in the rich benefice of Odell, and soon became cele- 
 brated for his eloquence, and especially for his 
 vigor and courage in denouncing the scandals of the 
 time. Incurring the ill will of Archbishop Laud, 
 he was soon, in common with many other brilliant 
 lights of the Established Church, silenced for non- 
 conformity. He now determined to leave the coun- 
 try, and, converting property to the amount of 
 i6,ooo into money, lie eluded the vigilance of the 
 authorities, who had orders to prevent his departure, 
 and embarked on the ship "Susan and Ellen" in 
 1635, while his wife, Grace Chetwoode, Sailed on 
 another vessel, leaving a few days later. 
 
 Rev. Peter Bulkeley, in 1635, soon after his ar- 
 rival, settled in Concora, Mass., where a monument 
 now stands marking the site of his house. His 
 church, organized in 1636, July 5, was the twelfth 
 in the Colony. His distinguished reputation, his 
 noble birth and his wealth excited no envy among 
 his colleagues. All loved and admired him, for his 
 life was spent in good works and noble self-sacrifice. 
 He died in 1659, at the age of seventy-five years. 
 The famous divine, Rev. Cotton Mather, in preach- 
 ing his funeral sermon, said: "When he came 
 abroad in the world a good benefice befell him, 
 added unto the estate of a gentleman, left him by 
 his father, whom he succeeded in the ministry at 
 the place of his nativity, which one would imagine 
 was temptation enough to keep him out of the wil- 
 derness ; nevertheless the concern which his renewed 
 soul had for the pure worship of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ and for the planting of evangelical churches 
 to exercise that worship caused him to leave and 
 sell all, in hopes of gaining the 'Pearl of great 
 price' among those who first peopled New England 
 
 80 
 
 upon those glorious ends. To this country he 
 therefore came, in 1635, and having been for a 
 while at Cambridge, he carried a good number of 
 planters with him up further into the woods, where 
 they gathered the Twelfth Church then founded in 
 the Colonies and called the town by the name of 
 Concord. Here he buried a great estate while he 
 raised one still for almost every person whom he 
 employed in the aflfairs of his huslDandry. He had 
 many and goodly servants, whom, after they had 
 lived with him a fit number of years, hfe still dis- 
 missed with bestowing favors upon them, and so 
 took others after the like manner to succeed them in 
 their service and his kindness." Thus he cast his 
 bread upon the waters and into the earth, not ex- 
 pecting the return of this his charity to a religious 
 plantation until "after many days," but "after many 
 days," if the good old man could have returned 
 from his grave, he would have seen, celebrating 
 the 250th anniversary of the founding of Concord, 
 a vast concourse, among them the proudest and best 
 names in the land, many of them his lineal de- 
 scendants, all of them vieing with one another in 
 rendering homage to his memory. Ho-w touching 
 are the lines (translated from the Latin) that he 
 wrote as he felt death stealing over him : 
 
 I've reached the evening of my mortal day, 
 A sluggish mass of clay is this my frame^ 
 
 Yet grant, O God, that while I live I may 
 Live to the glory of Thy holy Name, 
 
 And if in life I may not honor Thee, 
 
 From such dishonor may death set me free. 
 
 Whether within Thy holy courts below, 
 I preach salvation unto dying men. 
 
 Or in Thine upper Temple, with the flow 
 Of angel quirings blend my raptured strain. 
 
 Living or dying. Thine I still would be. 
 
 My life and death, alike, are due to Thee. 
 
 His wife. Lady Grace Chetwoode, was a daugh- 
 ter of Sir Richard Chetwoode, of Souden, and his 
 wife, Dorothy, daughter of Sir Robert Needham, 
 of Shevington, County Salop. Sir Richard was a 
 son of Richard Chetwoode, of Chetwoode, County 
 Bucks. He was a gentleman of the Privy Chamber 
 of King Edward VI. His will is dated July 6, 
 1559. His wife was Agnes, sole daughter and 
 heiress of Baron Woodhull, of Woodhull, County 
 Bedford, and Anne, his wife, daughter of Sir John 
 Smith Kent, Baron of the Exchequer. Richard 
 Chetwoode was a son of Roger Chetwoode, of Rus 
 and Wurlestine, Countv Chester, who married, 1522, 
 Ellen, daughter of Thomas Masterton, of "The 
 Wyche," Countv Chester. Tradition states that 
 Grace Chetwoode before arriving in America was 
 taken seriously ill, and lying in a trance for three 
 days was thought to be dead. Being a Lady she 
 was not buried at sea, but on being removed to the 
 shore manifested signs of life, recovered, and shortly 
 after gave birth to her child. In commemoration 
 of their compulsory departure from their native 
 land, the child was given the name of Gersham 
 
1266 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (an exile). From this Gersham Bulkeley are de- 
 scended those whose descent we trace. 
 
 The Rev. Peter Bulkeley also brought over 
 with him Rev. Edward Bulkeley, a son of his first 
 wife, Jane Allen, daughter of Thomas Allen, of 
 ■Ijoldington, whose nephew was the Lord ]\Iayor of 
 London. 
 
 Gersham Bulkeley, the third son of Rev. Peter 
 Bulkelev, was born Dec. 6, 1636, and was graduated 
 at Harvard College in 1655, before completing his 
 nineteenth- year. He married, Oct. 26, 1658, Sarah, 
 tlaughter of President Charles Chauncey, of Har- 
 vard. She was born in Ware, England, June 13, 
 1631, and died June 19, 1669. Rev. Gersham 
 preached for a time at New London and Wethers- 
 field, 1665 to 1667. Becoming interested in chem- 
 istry and philosophy, and noting the absence of 
 proper surgeons in the Colony, he determined to 
 adopt the practice of medicine and surgery, and 
 was appointed by the General Court in 1675 sur- 
 geon to the army against the Indians. He died 
 at Wethersfield Dec. 2. 171 3. The inscription on 
 liis monument says : '"He was honorable in his de- 
 scent, of rare abilities, extraordinary industry, ex- 
 cellent learning, master of many languages, ex- 
 quisite in his skill in divinity, physic and law, and 
 of a most exemplary and Christian life." One of 
 Jiis sons, John, was the first minister in Colchester. 
 
 Jidward Bulkeley, the fifth child of Rev. Ger- 
 sliam and Sarah Chauncey, was born in 1673, and 
 married, 1702, Dorothy Prescotf, of Concord, Mass. 
 He died in 1749, aged seventy-five. His monument 
 at Rocky Hill, surmounted by his arms, described 
 him as "Hon. Capt. Edward Bulkeley, Esq." His 
 wife was a daughter of ]\Iaj. Jonathan Prescott, 
 of Concord, who died in 1729, and his wife, Rebecca 
 Bulkeley, only daughter of Hon. Col. Peter Bulke- 
 ley, born in 1641, son of Rev. Edward Bulkeley, 
 mentioned before as son of Rev. Peter Bulkeley, 
 founder of Concord, by his first wife. 
 
 Justus Bulkeley was born in Wethersfield Dec. 
 26, 1752, the j^oungest of the six children of Peter 
 and Abagail Curtis Bulkeley. For years he was 
 engaged in mercantile business on the bank of the 
 Connecticut river, near Rocky Hill. Joseph, his 
 brother, whose descendants live in New York, was 
 also a merchant, and ran a vessel from tne West 
 Indies, bringing rum and carrying out produce. 
 
 Col. W'illiam Bulkeley, born Dec. 7, 1797, in 
 Wethersfield (now Rocky Hill), was one of the nine 
 children of Justus and Alabel Boardman Bulkeley, 
 'Gov. Bulkeley 's ancestors to Colchester. Col. 
 jBulkeley was educated in the common schools and 
 •the academy at Wethersfield, and in early life went 
 to Berlin, where he learned the business of manu- 
 facturing tinman's tools. He went West with a 
 'brother, and on his return started in business with 
 horse-power, but later added an engine. Six or 
 -eight men were employed in making tools, and for 
 -eight years he emplo}-ed about twenty men in manu- 
 facturing spoons, having taken the business of a 
 
 man who failed, and for whom he had made tools. 
 For some time he conducted a grocery in Middle- 
 town, and about seventy-five years ago he pur- 
 chased the present family homestead at Berlin, now 
 occupied by his son, ^\'illiam. His shop, which 
 has been deserted since his death, still stands op- 
 posite the residence, and the old sign, J. & W. 
 Bulkeley (Justus & William Bulkeley), which was 
 painted seventy years ago, is still there. Col. Will- 
 iam Bulkeley died Nov. 10, 1878, in his eighty- 
 first vear, and until the last he continued his interest 
 in business and current events. He was prominent 
 in politics, and spent two terms as representative 
 in the State Legislature, having been elected the 
 last time in 1857. He was selectman in 1850, when 
 the town was divided from New Britain, also dur- 
 ing the Civil war, and again in 1868. At a special 
 town meeting, June 26, 1850, Ira Cole and William 
 Bulkeley were selectmen and signed a call for a 
 town meeting, at which meeting it was voted to 
 relinquish all claim to two representatives and con- 
 sent forever hereafter to have btit one representa- 
 tive to the General Assembly of Connecticut. For 
 ten years Col. Bulkeley served as assessor, and his 
 military title was gained as an officer in the 6th 
 Connecticut Alilitia. He was married, Sept. 10, 
 1827, at the present family residence, to Caroline 
 Beckley, a native of Wethersfield, and a descend- 
 ant of Richard Beckley, the first settler at Berlin. 
 They had the following children : William, men- 
 tioned below; George Hart, born April 27, 1837, 
 who died when two years old; and Julia Carohne, 
 born Sept. 9, 1839, who stays at home with her 
 brother, William. 
 
 William Bulkeley, son of Col. William, and 
 one of the leading residents of Berlin, was born 
 July 18, 1829, in the same house in which he now 
 resides. He attended the local academy and a pri- 
 vate school taught by Rev. Joseph Whittlesey, and 
 at the age of eighteen began to assist in his father's 
 business, the tools being then made by hand. Fie 
 has always resided at the homestead, an attractive 
 estate of twenty-five acres, but he has not much 
 time to devote to its management. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Board of Trade, and has served as presi- 
 dent of the Beriin Savings Bank since the death of 
 Alfred North, the former president, in 1892. Flis 
 judgment in business affairs is much respected, 
 and he has been appointed administrator of more 
 estates than any other man in Berlin. His disposi- 
 tion is modest and unassuming, and as a public 
 official he carries out the convictions that he is 
 simply a servant of the people. Like his father he 
 was first a Whig and then a Republican, and he 
 was the last man in Berlin to vote the Whig ticket. 
 In local elections he votes for the best man, while 
 his popularity is seen from the fact that both parties 
 have endorsed him for the office of town clerk. In 
 1865 he was chosen representative, the session 
 meeting at Hartford. P. T. Barnum was also a 
 member that year. Mr. Bulkeley served ten years 
 
/fclZccout/u 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1267 
 
 as -registrar of voters, three years as collector of 
 taxes, and fourteen years as town clerk and treas- 
 urer, having been first elected to the latter office 
 Oct. 4, iS8o. He is a member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church and Ecclesiastical Society, and he 
 was prominent in Sunday-school work in his 
 younger days, serving several years as librarian. 
 The public library in Berlin, formerly a pi-ivate 
 library, is much indebted to him, as he was one 
 of the promoters of the movement to revive and re- 
 model it on the present plan. 
 
 HENRY BUCK, late postmaster at Addison, 
 was the owner oT a large general store, the first 
 established in the place. He was a self-made man, 
 his success being dtie to conservative business 
 anethods and untiring industry, and the story of his 
 life will be of general interest. 
 
 Mr. Buck was born July 12, 1856, in Fromen- 
 see, Germany, where his family is well known, the 
 name, however, being spelled Bauch, and pro- 
 nounced accordingly. His father, Lawrence Bauch, 
 a lifelong resident of Fromensee, married Katrina 
 Katzman, of the same town, and had six children 
 as follows : Mary, who resides in Waterbury, 
 Conn., with her brother Lawrence; John, who mar- 
 ried Charlotte Fladd, and resides in Glastonbury ; 
 George, who married, and settled in Hartfora ; 
 Henry, our subject; Valentine, a tailor in Glaston- 
 hury, unmarried ; Lawrence, who married and set- 
 tled in Waterbury. 
 
 Henry Buck received a limited school educa- 
 tion in his native town, and at an early age began 
 to learn the tailor's trade, under August Klopperd, 
 of Germany. He received no wages and had hard- 
 ly anything to eat, being obliged at times to take 
 potatoes from the pot while his employer was nor 
 looking in order to satis f}' his hunger. He served 
 ■only two years of his time, having made up his mind 
 to come to America, and, as he had no money, 
 funds were sent him by his relatives in Addison, 
 He sailed from Saxony on a steam vessel and after 
 a voyage lasting thirteen days landed in New York, 
 coming to Hartford bv boat and then to Addison. 
 His brother, John, was already located there, and 
 through his assistance our subject secured work 
 in Crosby Woolen Co.'s Mills, where he remained 
 about three years, when the firm discontinued busi- 
 ness. With his earnings he purchased an old horse 
 -and wagon, of which he said, "their aggregate age 
 was fifty years," and began peddling notions, 
 watches and jewelry through the State of Con- 
 necticut. This business he continued successfully 
 for eight years, and in 1883 he built the store and 
 residence which he afterward occupied. The town 
 was then known as Eagleville, and in 1889 the name 
 was changed to Addison and a postoffice established, 
 our subject being tr.e first postmaster. He was 
 a Democrat in politics, and was not identified with 
 ;any fraternal organization. 
 
 On May 4, 1880, Mr. Buck was married to 
 
 Miss Katherine Eberhart, who was born March 
 30, 1862, at Wittenberg, Germany, the daughter of 
 Jacob and Katherine (GeigerJ Eberhart. Her 
 mother now resides at our subject's late home. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Buck had one child, Ruth Washing- 
 ton, born February 22, 1885. Mr. Buck passed 
 away in August, 1900. 
 
 EDMUND SANFORD (deceased), through 
 the long years of his identification with Hartford 
 county, enjoyed the highest respect of his fellow 
 citizens by reason of his strict integrity and sterling 
 worth. His devotion to the public welfare also 
 made him a valued factor in public life, and by his 
 death Avon was deprived of one of her best citizens. 
 
 Mr. Sanford was born in Avon, Jan. 16, 1824, 
 and was educated in the schools of that town. 
 At the age of twenty-five years he went to Louisi- 
 ana, where he was overseer on the plantation of 
 S. & R. Tillotson, and while there he married Miss 
 Mary Elizabeth Tillotson, a daughter of Ira Tillot- 
 son. On his return to Connecticut, in 1850, he en- 
 gaged in farming and lumbering in Avon, and there 
 continued to make his home until called from this 
 life in 1892. He was a faithful and consistent 
 member of .the Congregational Church of Union- 
 ville, and in politics was an ardent Republican. 
 His worth and ability were widely recognized, and 
 he was elected to various local offices, including 
 those of selectman and assessor, and in 1871 he 
 represented Avon in the State Legislature. Three 
 children were born to Edmund and Mary E. (Til- 
 lotson) Sanford, namely : ( i ) Henry Tillotson, born 
 in May, 1852, died in 1883. (2) Frank, born Dec. 
 23, 1853, "is mentioned below. (3) Charles Jesse, 
 born in July, 1865, is a farmer of Avon. He wedded 
 Miss Mary Gillespie, and has five children — Eliza- 
 beth, Harriet, Ruth, Frances and Edmund David. 
 
 Frank Sanford pursued his studies in the 
 schools of Avon and Unionville, and when his ed- 
 ucation was completed turned his attention to farm ■ 
 ing and lumbering, being first engaged in business 
 with his father and uncle, Sherman Sanford, of 
 Unionville. In 1884 he was engaged in business 
 as a dealer in lumber, hardware and building ma- 
 terial in Unionville, becoming a member of the 
 firm of Sherman & Frank Sanford. At the end 
 of a year his uncle retired from business, and 
 our subject formed a partnership with C. R. Hawley, 
 under the firm name of Sanford & Hawley ; they 
 have since successfully carried on operations, and 
 have enlarged the business, carrying a large line of 
 agricultural implements, fertilizers, etc. From the 
 beginning their trade has steadily increased, and 
 their patronage now comes from a territory many 
 miles in extent. 
 
 In Unionville Frank Sanford was united in 
 marriage with Miss Marion Hawley, a daughter 
 of Robert Hawley, of Avon, who was killed in 
 the battle of Antietam during the Civil war. Three 
 children haye been born of this union, namely; 
 
1268 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Alarian Conklin, Truman Frank and Robert Haw- 
 ley. Socially Mr. Sanford is a member of the 
 Ancient Order of United Workmen, and religiously 
 is a member of the Congregational Churcli and 
 Society in Unionville. 
 
 JMUZZY FAMILY. — .\drian James Muzzy, 
 born in Bristol, Conn., Jan. 24, 1851, has long been 
 prominent in his town and State. He was founder, 
 in 187O, of the dry-goods firm of A. J. Aluzzy & Co., 
 the largest house of its kind in the locality; was 
 chief promoter and charter member of the Bristol 
 & i'lamville i'ramway Co., of which he is a directoi 
 and its secretary; and is president of the ^Masonic 
 Building Co. He is a member of the Masonic fra- 
 ternity and Royal Arcanum ; clerk of Trinity Parish 
 for over twenty years, of which church and society 
 he is an active member; has served as director of 
 the Y. j\l. C. A., and as superintendent of the West 
 Cemetery Association ; member of Farmington 
 Country Club, and New Britain Club ; director in 
 New Britain Hospital, Bristol Press i'ublisliing Co., 
 and Board of Trade ; Son of the American Revolu- 
 tion; member of the State Legislature, 1891-97; and 
 Republican State Senator from the Fourth District 
 in 1899, serving as chairman of the committee on 
 Appropriations, and on E.xecutive Nominations. 
 Mr. Muzzy is interested and active in all measures 
 for public welfare or private good. His ancestry, as 
 far as traced, is as follows : 
 
 Muzzy (also spelled Muzzey). (Ij Robert 
 IMuzzey, freeman at Ipswich, Alass., in 1634, had 
 wife Bridget; came probably in the "Alary and 
 John" with two brothers, John and Abraham. Chil- 
 dren : Joeph, b. 1628, m. Esther Jackman ; Robert-; 
 Benjamin'; Mary m. John Seuter; and Ellen. 
 
 (II) Benjamin', third son of Robert, b. 1630, at 
 Maiden, Mass., moved to Cambridge Farms (now 
 Lexington), Mass., and became ancestor of all of 
 that name in Lexington. He m. Alice Dexter [see]. 
 His name appears on the "Records of the Early 
 Proprietors of Boston," in various large land trans- 
 actions in and around Boston — 1673 to 1687, inclu- 
 sive. Children: Benjamin", b. 1657; Joseph, b. 
 1658-9; Richard; Sarah, m. John Waite. 
 
 (III) Benjamin-, eldest son of Benjamin', b. 
 April 16, 1657, d. May, 1732; m. Sarah Langhorne 
 [see]. The signature of Benjamin Muzzy-, together 
 with that of John Hancock, appears as witness to a 
 will, now in Lexington Museum. He was one of 
 the largest tax-payers in Lexington, a subscriber 
 toward the erection of the first meeting-house, and 
 on committee to purchase land for the support of the 
 ministry. He was constable, 1694; assessor, 1700; 
 tything-man, 1716. In 171 1 the town bought land 
 from him for a public common, he himself contrib- 
 uting liberally toward its purchase. [Histories of 
 Lexington, Spencer and Cambridge; Savage, Hud- 
 son, Draper, etc.] It was this same common upon 
 which the battle of Lexington was afterward fought, 
 April 19, 1775. He was the g. g. f. of Isaac Muzzy 
 
 (unmarried), who was one of the eight men killed 
 at this first battle of the American Revolution, and 
 whose name appears on the Lexington monument. 
 Three other descendants of Benjamin w,ere also in 
 the engagement: John, who was one of fourteen 
 men wiio faced the British while the others rallied , 
 Amos, whose house was ransacked by the British; 
 and Ihaddeus. Children of Benjamin- and Sarah; 
 Mary, b. 1683 at Cambridge; John', b, 1685-86; 
 
 Benjamin", b. 1689, m. Patience ; Richard, 
 
 drowned 1719; Amos, b. 1699; Bethiah, b. 1701, m. 
 
 Fiske ; and Thomas. 
 
 (I\'j John', b. 1085-86, was ip. three times. ITis 
 first wife, Elizabeth (Bradshaw), was the mother of 
 John- (below). John' was the first "inn-holder" at 
 Lexington. 
 
 (V) John= (deacon), b. May 12, 1714, at Lex- 
 ington, moved to Spencer, Mass., 1738-39; m. Ab- 
 igail Reed (dau. of Benjamin Reed. She was b. 
 .March 30, 1720, at Lexington, d. February, 1756). 
 Had fifteen children, all ot whom lived to maturity, 
 of whom John^ was probably the eldest. Deacon 
 John m. a second time, but had no children by that 
 union. 
 
 (VI) John=, b. Dec. 9, 1737, m. Mary Ball [see]. 
 Was taken to Spencer, Alass., when two years old, 
 by his father. Deacon John. During the American 
 Revolution he, with his father, served on the Com- 
 mittee on Correspondence. Among his children 
 was Isaac'. 
 
 (VTl) Isaac', b. at Spencer, Mass., 1775, m. 
 (first) Aug. 6, 1797, Sally Ball (dau. of Daniel 
 Ball, who was b. at Framingham, Mass., Dec. 29, 
 1722, moved to Brookfield 1752, and, later to Spen- 
 cer; he m. Elizabeth Prouty). Children, b. to 
 Isaac' and Sally (Ball) Muzzy: Rebecca, Betsy 
 Horace ( ?) and Isaac-. By his second marriage 
 (with Sally May J Isaac' had no children. 
 
 (VHI) Isaac-, first of the family in Connecticut, 
 b. at Spencer, Mass., July 25, 1803, d. in Connecti- 
 cut Feb. 5, 1865 ; m. May 23, 1823, Hannah Minerva 
 Mix [see]. Children: (i) Henry Isaac, b. 1824 [see 
 below]. (2) Chloe Jane, b. 1825 (m. Hiram Spel- 
 man. Child, Adelbert m. Gertrude Pilgrim ; four 
 children — Frank, Minnie Leslie and ). (3) Han- 
 nah Minerva, b. 1828 (m. Josiah Pierce; three chil- 
 dren: (a) Dwight m. Fannie Lloyd, and had three 
 children. May Louise, Franc Elsie, and William 
 Lloyd, (b) Frank died unmarried, (c) William m. 
 Edna Scofield, and had two children, Henry Frank- 
 lin and William Ernest, (d) Harry m. Minnie Den- 
 ny, and had two children, Charles Frank and Will- 
 iam Burr). (4) Franklin, b. 1832, d. 1855, unmar- 
 ried. (5) Lyman, b. 1836, d. 1861, unmarried. (6) 
 William Wallace, b. 1846 (m. Anna Lee, 1872 ; child, 
 Edward Winfield, who served in the Spanish war). 
 
 (IX) Henry Isaac, b. March 19, 1824, at Bris- 
 tol, Conn., m. Mary Elizabeth Beach May 18, 1843 
 [see]. Children: (i) Clarence Henry (served in the 
 Civil war), b. 1845 (m. Ellen E. Wilcox, and had 
 two children, (a) Leila, who m. William Coe, and 
 
^JK 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1269 
 
 has one child, Hazel; (b) Robert). (2) George 
 Franklin, b. 1847 (served in navy during the Civil 
 war),d. 1865, unmarried. (3) Charles Edwin, b. 1849 
 (m. Frances Emma Strickland) . (4) Adrian James 
 [see sketch], (5) Frederick, b. 1853, d. 1874, un- 
 married. (6) Alice Elizabeth, b. 1855 (m. Frank 
 Winston; children, (a) Ella, (b) Ernest). (7) Ella 
 Jane, b. 1856 (m. Lewie Strong; child, Roy). (8) 
 Frank Lyman, b. 1858, m. (first) Emily Wilcox ; one 
 child died; m. (second) Augusta Funck; child, Dor- 
 othy). Member of the firm of A. J. Muzzy & Co. 
 (9) Mary Minerva, 1861-1863. (10) Mary Eliza- 
 beth, 1864-1873. (II) Arthur George, b. 1866 (m. 
 Martha Ellen Thomas; one child, Ruth). (12) Har- 
 riet Beach, b. 1868. 
 
 (X) Adrian James (our subject), b. Jan. 24, 
 185 1, m. May 22, 1873, Florence Emlyn Downes 
 [see]. Children: (i) Leslie Adrian, b. Nov. 25, 
 1876, d. July 18, 1880. (2) Floyd Downes, b. Nov. 
 14, 1878, d. Jan. 14, 1881. (3) Adrienne Florence. 
 
 (XI) Adrienne Florence Muzzy, born April 19, 
 1885, member of class of 1901, Bristol High School. 
 She is the only living representative of the eleventh 
 generation in this line.. 
 
 Dexter. (I) Richard Dexter, townsman, Bos- 
 ton, 1642; Charlestown, 1644; had wife Bridget 
 
 ; children: John, b. about 1640; Sarah, 1644; 
 
 Elizabeth ; Alice ; and, perhaps two others. (H) Alice 
 Dexter, b. at Maiden, m. Benjamin^ Muzzey, who 
 was ancestor of all of that name in Lexington, Mass. 
 Children [see Muzzy]. (HI) Benjamin- Muzzy m. 
 Sarah Langhorne [see]. (IV) John^ Muzzy m. Eli- 
 zabeth Bradshaw. (V) John- Muzzy m. Abigail 
 Reed. (VI) John^* Muzzy m. Mary Ball [see]. (VII) 
 Isaac^ Muzzy m. Sally Ball. (VIII) Isaac- Muzzy 
 m. Hannah Minerva Mix [see]. (IX) Henry Isaac 
 Muzzy m. Mary Elizabeth Beach [see]. (X) Adrian 
 James Muzzy m. Florence E. Downes [see]. (XI) 
 Adrienne Florence Muzzy, b. 1885. 
 
 Ball. The Arms of the New England Balls 
 were like those of the Virginia Balls, except for a 
 different crest. Both arms were : "Argent, a lion 
 passant sable, on a chief of the second three mullets 
 of the first." The Virginia crest was a lion ; the New 
 England crest was : "A stag trippant ppr." The mot- 
 toes were different, the New England motto being : 
 ■ "Semper Cavete." The following is probably the Ball 
 line, though not yet fully proved: (i) John Ball. 
 
 (II) Nathaniel Ball, Concord, had wife Mary ; 
 
 children : John d. 1649 '> Nathaniel, b. and id. 1649 ; 
 Ebenezer; Eleazur; John, b. 1660. (Ill) Eleazur, 
 b. (probably) about 1653 to '58. (IV) Eleazer (Dea- 
 con), b. at Concord, Mass., 1698. Was one of the 
 first settlers at Rutland, 1719; removed to Spencer, 
 1758. (The Balls here were on the committee on Cor- 
 respondence at Spencer). (V) Mary Ball m. John^ 
 Muzzy, of Spencer [see]. 
 
 (VI) Isaac^ Muzzy m. Sally Ball (Spencer, 
 Mass.) (VII) Isaac-Muzzy m. Hannah Minerva 
 Mix (Bristol, Conn.) [see]. (VIII) Henry Isaac 
 Muzzy m. Mary E. Beach [see]. (IX) Adrian 
 
 James Muzzy m. Florence E. Downes [see]. (X) 
 Adrienne Florence Muzzy b. 1885. 
 
 Langhorne. (I) Thomas^ Langhorne, Cam- 
 bridge, Mass., 1644; m. Sarah Green [see]. Children: 
 Thomas-, b. 1647; Sarah, 1649; Elizabeth; Mary; 
 Samuel, 1660; Mercy, 1662; Patience, 1664. Fie 
 was "town drummer." D. May 6, 1685, aged. six- 
 ty-eight years. (II) Sarah Langhorne, b. Feb. 26, 
 1649, 3-t Cambridge, Mass., in a house near the site 
 of the "University Press Pub. Co.," m. Benjamin- 
 Muzzy, and d. Jan. 28, 1710, at Lexington, Mass. 
 Had seven children [see Muzzy]. (HI) John^ 
 Muzzy m. Elizabeth Bradshaw. (IV) John" Muzzy 
 (deacon) m. Abigail Reed. (V) John^ Muzzy m. 
 Mary Ball [see]. (VI) Isaac^ Muzzy m. Sally Ball. 
 
 (VII) Isaac^ Muzzy m. Hannah M. Mix [see]. 
 
 (VIII) Henry Isaac Muzzy m. Mary E. Beach 
 [see]. (IX) Adrian James Muzzy m. Florence E. 
 Downes [see]. (XI) Adrienne Florence Muzzy, 
 b. 1885. 
 
 Green. (I) Bartholomew Green came to New 
 England in 1633 ; freeman at Cambridge, Mass., 
 
 May 14, 1634; d. 1635. His wife, Elizabeth , 
 
 d. Oct. 28, 1677, aged eighty-eight. Children: 
 Samuel, Nathaniel, Sarah and Phebe; all in Cam- 
 bridge in 1658. (II) Sarah Green, dau. of Bar- 
 tholomew, m. Thomas Langhorne, probably about 
 1646; had seven children [see Langhorne]. (Ill) 
 Sarah Langhorne m. Benjamin- Muzzy [see]. 
 (IV) John^ Muzzy m. Elizabeth Bradshaw. (V) 
 John- Muzzy m. Abigail Reed. (VI) John^ Muzzy 
 m. Mary Ball [see]. (VII) Isaac^ Muzzy m. Sally 
 Bah. (VIII) Isaac= Muzzv m. Hannah M. Mix 
 [see]. (IX) Henry Isaac Muzzy m. Mary E. Beach 
 [see]. (X) Adrian James Muzzy m. Florence E. 
 Downes [see]. (XI) Adrienne Florence Mnzzy, 
 b. 1885. 
 
 Mix. (I) Timothy Mix, b. 1725, d. Jan. 23, 
 
 1800, m. Elizabeth , b. 1734, d. 1804. His 
 
 will dated Jan. 14, 1800. (II) Ashbel Mix, b. 1760, 
 d. Feb. 15, 1807, m. Hannah Byington [see]. Child., 
 Hannah Minerva and others. (Ill) Hannah Min- 
 erva Mix, b. April 28, 1805, d. Dec. 9, 1861, m. 
 Isaac- Muzzy (first of the name in Connecticut) 
 May 23, 1823 ; had six children [see Muzzy] . (IV) 
 Henry Isaac Muzzy m. Mary Elizabeth Beach 
 [see]. (V) Adrian James Muzzy m. Florence E. 
 Downes [see]. (VI) Adrienne Florence Muzzy, 
 b. 1885. 
 
 Byington. (I) Joseph'- Byington, Bristol, b. 
 1736, d. Aug. 25, 1798; m. (first) 1757 Jemima 
 Hungerford, who d. 1759; m. (second) Hannah 
 Spencer, 1760. Children: Isaac, b. 1761 ; Noah, b. 
 1762; Isaiah, b. 1764; Martin, b. 1767; Clarissa, b. 
 1770. Hannah Spencer d. 1771. He m. (third) 
 Hannah Warren, Feb. 20, 1772. Children: Han- 
 nah, b. Nov. 10, 1773 ; Meliscent, b. 1775 ; Chloe, b. 
 1777; Joseph-, b. 1778; Asahel, b. 1780; Enos, b. 
 1781; Newell, b. 1787. Hannah (Warren) Bying- 
 ton was b. 1752, and d. May 13, 1819. Joseph^ 
 Byington served as lieutenant in the war of the 
 
1270 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 American Revolution, and his name appears on the 
 records from the "Lexington Alarm," in 1783. (II) 
 Hannah Byington, dau. of Lieut. Joseph and Han- 
 nah (Warren) Byington, b. Nov. 10, 1773, d. June 
 27, 1836; m. Ashbel ^Mix [see]. (HI) Hannah 
 Minerva Mix m. Isaac- Muzzy [see]. (IV) Henry 
 Isaac Muzzy m. Mary E. Beach [see]. (V") Ad- 
 rian James Muzzy m. Florence E. Downes [see]. 
 (VI) Adrienne Florence Muzzy, b. 1885. [From 
 Joseph Byington's Bible record ; tombstones ; Conn. 
 Records, &c.] 
 
 Be.'\cii. The family of Beach (or Beche) de- 
 rives its descent from the ancient family of De la 
 Beche of Aldworth, County of Berks, England. 
 The family of Thomas' Beach, of Milford, Conn., 
 1646, is traced back to 1200 [Beach-Sanford Gen- 
 ealogy]. He m. Sara Piatt, dau. of Deacon Richard 
 Piatt, and had six children, of whom Thomas- is 
 said to have been one, but this lacks proof, so the 
 name is omitted below. (I) Thomas- Beach, free- 
 man, d. 1743; m. 171 1 Hannah Atwater. Children: 
 Damaris, b. 1714; Amzi, 1716; Abigail, 1718; Elea- 
 nor (or Elnory), 1721 ; Landa (or Landrey), 1727; 
 Samuel, 1729; Asa, 1732; Hannah, 1739. {l\) 
 Landa (or Landrey) Beach, b. March 5, 1727. at 
 IMilford, m. 1749 Abigail Baldwin (dau. of Lieut. 
 Nathan and Elizabeth (Rogers) Baldwin). They 
 lived together nearly seventy-four years. He d. 
 Feb. 25, 1824, aged ninety-seven, and she on Dec. 
 24, 1823, aged ninety-six years. They left 7 chil- 
 dren ; 72 grandchildren; 192 great-grandchildren; 
 and 7 great-great-grandchildren. Children were: 
 Thomas-' (later of Burlington), David (PlyniOLUh), 
 Thaddeus (who had twelve children; (Plymouth), 
 Abigail Ann (m. ]\Ierwin). Samuel (who had ten 
 children), Hannah and Sarah. Landa did service 
 in the war of the American Revolution. (Ill) 
 David Beach moved to Plymouth, Conn., about 
 1800; m. Elizabeth Merwin (dau. of John ]\Ierwin, 
 of Milford). She d. 1858. Children :" John, b. Mil- 
 ford; Eli, b. Plymouth; Nathan; Daniel; Lewis; 
 Betsy; Nathan- (his wife was living in 1899) ! Mer- 
 ritt ; Henry. David did guard service in the Ameri- 
 can Revolution. (IV) Eli Beach, b. (probably) 
 after 1800, in Plymouth, m. Electa Lane. (V) 
 Mary Elizabeth Beach, b. Plvmouth, Conn., July 
 21, 1825, d. May 24, 1881 ; m. May 18, 1843, Henry 
 Isaac JMuzzy, of Bristol; had twelve children [see 
 Muzzy]. (VI) iVdrian James Muzzy m. Florence 
 E. Downes. (VII) Adrienne Florence Muzzv, b. 
 1885. 
 
 Glover. (I) Henry Glover, New Haven, 1647, 
 or earlier, came to New England, probably in the 
 "Elizabeth," from Ipswich, 1634, at the age of twen- 
 ty-four years. He m. Elinor (or Helena) Wakeman 
 (sister of John, of Hartford) ; was freeman 1662, 
 and proprietor 1685. He was a prominent man, 
 "who was at once supporter and critic of the gov- 
 ernmental system." His name, with that of his 
 wife, appears on many w-ills, agreements, etc., as 
 trustee and guardian; d. 1689. Children: Mary, 
 
 1641; Mercy, 1643; Hannah, 1646; John, 1648; 
 Abigail, 1651-52; Sarah, 1655. (II) Mercy Glo- 
 ver, bapt. Aug., 1643, m. Moses Mansfield, 1664;, 
 had children: Abigail, and probably others [see 
 Mansfield]. (HI) Abigail Mansfield m. John At- 
 water. (IV) Hannah -\twater m. Thomas- Beach 
 [see]. (\') Landa Beach m. Abigail Baldwin. 
 (\T) David Beach m. Elizabeth Merwin. (VII) 
 Eli Beach m. Electa Lane. (VIII) Mary E. Beach 
 m. Henry I. Muzzy [see]. (IX) Adrian James 
 Muzzy m. Florence E. Downes. (X) Adrienne 
 Florence Aluzzy, b. 1885. 
 
 M.\xsFiELD. (I) Richard Mansfield, New Haven, 
 as early as 1643, d. Jan. 10, 1655; m. Widow Gilian 
 
 . Children : Aloses, Joseph, and possibly others. 
 
 (II)]\Ioses Mansfield, b. 1640, perhaps in England, 
 d. October, 1703 ;m. (first) Mercy Glover, 1664 (m., 
 second, Abigail, dau. of Dcp.-Gov. Bishop). Was a 
 valuable man in town business, 1673, and represen- 
 tative 1676-77; was assistant governor of Connecticut 
 colony 1690-1701 ; was assistant judge of Probate 
 Court, and judge of County Court, was major of mil- 
 itia, and lieutenant and captain in the Indian wars. 
 For distinguished service in routing a large party of 
 Indians he received an extensive tract of land within 
 the limits of the town of Mansfield, which was named 
 in his honor. Children : Abigail, Samuel, and others. 
 (Ill) Abigail Mansfield, dau. of Moses and Mercy 
 (Glover) Mansfield, m. Sept. 13, 1682, John At- 
 water (probably son of Joshua Atwater and Mary 
 Blackman, dau. of Rev. Adam Blackman). (IV) 
 Hannah Atwater, dau. of John Atwater, b. Dec. 17, 
 1692, m. Thomas- Beach, May 19, 1711 [see]. (V) 
 Landa (or Landrey) Beach m. Abigail Baldwin. 
 (VI) David Beach m. Elizabeth Merwin. (VII) Eli 
 Beach m. Electa Lane. (VIII) Mary Elizabeth 
 Beach m. Henry I. Muzzy [see]. (IX) Adrian James 
 iMuzzy m. Florence E. Downes [see]. (X) Adrienne 
 Florence Muzzy, b. 1885. 
 
 DowxES Family, called also Downs, Dounis,. 
 Dunes, Downe, and (anciently) de Dunes. "Downes" 
 is the oldest spelling known of the present form of 
 the name. Arms : Sable, a stag lodged argent. 
 Used sometimes with helmet, having closed visor. 
 There is historical mention of the Downes family in 
 A. D. 864. [Omeraud's Histories; Herald's Visita- 
 tions; Conn. Records, etc.] 
 
 The original estates of "de Dunes" at Maccles- 
 field, England, may still be seen, with much of in- 
 terest connected therewith. All of this name whc> 
 came to America prior to a certain date given by 
 the College of Heralds in England are said by them 
 to have been of this ancient family. John Downes,. 
 the regicide, who signed the Death Warrant of 
 Charles I, belonged to this family and used its Arms. 
 The first of the name in America was Richard, Vir- 
 ginia, 1619 [N. E. Gen. Reg.] 
 
 (I) John Downes, New Haven, Conn., as early 
 as 1646, when he appears on the Colonial Records 
 as witness in Court; took Oath of Fidelity April 4, 
 1654; freeman and land-owner; was friend of the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1271 
 
 regicides in New Haven ; ni. Mary . Had several 
 
 children. [A Downes Genealogy is in preparation 
 giving these in full.] 
 
 (II) Ebenezer Downes, fourth child of John and 
 Mary, b. April 3, 1667, m. Nov. 28, 1694, Mary (dau. 
 of John Umberfield (or Umphreyville) . Ebenezer d. 
 171 1, and was buried in West Haven. 
 
 (III) Seth^ Downes, b. 1704, m. Mercy Sperry 
 [see] June 8, 1727. 
 
 (IV) Seth- Downes, b. 1730, m. Sarah Wilmot 
 1751 [probably dau. of Benjamin Wilmot, in New 
 Haven .1647.] 
 
 (V) David Dov/nes, b. 1760, d. Dec. 17, 1838, 
 buried at Buck's Hill, near Waterbury; m. Mary 
 Chatterton [see] ; children : John, 1783 ; Patty, 1785 ; 
 Ephraim, 1787; Polly, 1790; Sukej^ 1793; Delia, 
 1795; Anson, 1797; Samuel, 1799; Anna, 1802. 
 David Downes served in the war of the American 
 Revolution, and received pension. 
 
 (VI) Ephraim Downes, b. Dec. 20, 1787, d. 
 Dec. 8, i860, m. Cloe Painter [see]. He was one 
 of the early clockmakers of the country, beginning 
 181 1, sending his clocks to many States — south and 
 west; retired from business 1842-43. He was rep- 
 resentative to General Assembly from Bristol two 
 or three terms ; first selectman for several years ; 
 one of the founders of Trinity Church, Bristol ; a 
 prominent Freemason, and Jetifersonian Democrat. 
 He is buried in the old burying-ground on Downes 
 Street, near his homestead. Children : ( i ) Rosetta, 
 b. and d. 1822. (2) Franklin, b. June 12, 1824, d. 
 Aug. 24, 1898. (3) George, b. March 6, 1826, d. 
 Sept. 20, i860, m. Henrietta Payne; no children. 
 (4) Robert Carleton, b. April 19, 1828, was a "forty- 
 niner." He resides at Sutter Creek, Cal., is a mem- 
 ber of the Society of California Pioneers, also of 
 Trinity Church, Bristol, Conn. He m. Gertrude 
 Williams Oct. 7, 1856 ; children : Helen Eliza ; Carle- 
 ton Robert ; Walter Ephraim ( who is m. and has 
 tvv'o children) ; and George Frederick. (5)Chloe 
 Adeline, b. Feb. 16, 1830, d. June 11, 1891, m. 
 George F. Perry; one child, Mary Adelaide. (6) 
 Delia Adelaide, b. March 23, 1832, resides at the 
 Downes homestead, Bristol ; m. William Ives Mor- 
 gan, a "forty-niner;" children: Helen Adeline, who 
 m. George P. Fessenden, and has one son, Robert ; 
 William Carleton, who m. Annie Lynch; Tenta 
 Louise, deceased ; Katie Ives, deceased ; and James 
 Edward,' who m. Irene Getm.an, and has one son, 
 William. (7) Helen Eliza, b. Jan. 20, 1834, m. Ho- 
 bart Bishop, son Frederick ; all deceased. 
 
 (VII) Franklin Downes, b. June 12, 1824, d. 
 Aug. 24, 1898 ; buried in cemetery on Downes Street, 
 Bristol. He followed the clock business of his fa- 
 ther for a time, but later was a dealer in grain. He 
 m. Emeline Upson [see] Nov. 4, 1844; children: 
 Ella Augusta, who m. Dr. Charles R. L^pson (Yale) ; 
 Florence Emlyn, who m. Adrian J. Muzzy; Fannie 
 Ada, who m. Thomas F. Barbour, and had two chil- 
 dren. Ruby (deceased) and Marguerite; Frank 
 Ephraim, who m. Mary Annetta Sprague; Mabel 
 
 Gertrude, who m. Reese McCloskey, and has a son, 
 Downes. 
 
 (VIII) Florence Emlyn Dov/nes, b. May 22, 
 1851, m. Adrian James Muzzy [see] May 22, 1873; 
 children: Leslie Adrian (deceased) ; Floyd Downes 
 (deceased) ; Adrienne Florence. Organizing regent 
 of the Katherine Gaylord Chapter, D. A. R., and a 
 life member of the National Society ; author and 
 illustrator of D. A. R. Prize Biography of "Kather- 
 ine Gaylord, Heroine," and other articles. Descended 
 from a number of the first settlers of America, and 
 has a long line of Old World ancestry. 
 
 (IX) Adrienne Florence Muzzy, b. April 19, 
 1885. 
 
 Clark (Clarke, Clerk, Gierke), Downes line. 
 The name was originally Clerk (pronounced with 
 broad English a, as in Darby), and meant at first 
 only an ecclesiastical teacher. Later it came ta 
 apply to all those employed in duties the discharge 
 of which demanded a knowledge of reading and 
 writing. (I) James Clark, first planter and orig- 
 inal settler of New Haven, 1638, m. Widow Wake- 
 field, Oct. 17, 1661, but she was his second wife, as- 
 he had a soia Ebenezer 1651, and had family of four 
 in 1643. He had a daughter Mary; and a son John. 
 (2), who later moved to Stratford. He signed the 
 Original Agreement entered into by the first settlers- 
 of New Haven, and lived and died here. He is said 
 to have been a son of Mate Clark, of the "May- 
 flovi'er." (II) Marv Clark m. William Chatterton 
 [see]. (Ill) Samuel Chatterton (i) m. (IV) 
 
 Samuel Chatterton (2) m. Abigail . (V) 
 
 Samuel Chatterton (3) m. Mary Smith [see]. (VI> 
 Mary Chatterton m. David Downes [see]. (VII) 
 Ephraim Dov.'nes m. Cloe Painter [see]. (VIII > 
 Franklin Downes m. Emeline M. Upson [see]. (IX) 
 Florence E. Downes m. Adrian J. Muzzy [see]. 
 (X) Adrienne Florence Muzzy, b. 1885. 
 
 Sperry. (I) Richard Sperry (i), b. in Eng- 
 land; New Haven, 1649; m- Dennis ; 
 
 friend of the "Regicides" who signed Death War- 
 rant of Charles I, after their arrival in New Haven. 
 (II) Richard Sperry (2), b. Jan. 20, 1652, m., Dec. 
 16, 1680, Martha Mansfield (dau. of Joseph and 
 Mary Mansfield, and granddau. of Richard and Gil- 
 lian Mansfield). (Ill) Mercy Sperry, b. Jan. 9, 
 1702, m., June 8, 1727, Seth Downes, Sr. [see]. 
 (IV) Seth Downes, Jr., m. Sarah Wilmot (prob- 
 ably descendant of Benjamin, of New Haven). (V)j 
 David Downes m. Mary Chatterton [see]. (VI). 
 Ephraim Downes m. Cloe Painter [see]. (VII) 
 Franklin Downes m. Emeline M. Upson [see]., 
 (VIII) Florence E. Downes m. Adrian J. Muzzy 
 [see]. (IX) Adrienne Florence Muzzy, b. 1885. 
 [From G. S- Skilton ; Conn. Records, etc.] 
 
 Cpiatterton. (I) William Chatterton was in 
 New Haven as early as 1656; took Oath of Fidelity 
 1657; and is mentioned in 1685 as one of the pro- 
 prietors. He m. Mary Clark about 1659-60, dau. 
 of James Clark, original settler of New Haven, 
 1638, said to be son of Mate Thomas Clark, of the 
 
1272 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 "Mayflower." Children of William and Mary 
 (Clark) Cliatterton, b. at New Haven: Sarah, 1661 ; 
 Hannah, 1663 ; Mercy, 1664; Mary, 1666; John, 1668; 
 Samnel, 1671 ; perhaps others. (H) Samnel Chat- 
 terton (i), b. June 10, 1671, m. (Ill) Samuel Cliat- 
 terton (2), b. Sept. 15, i6y6, d. 1733, m. Abigai! 
 
 ■ . (IV) Samuel Chatterton (3), b. April 11, 
 
 1729, d. June 20, 1762, m. Alary Smith [seej. (V) 
 Mary Chatterton, b. 1760, d. Oct. 29, 1829, buried 
 at Buck's Hill, near Waterbury ; ni. David Dovvnes 
 [see]. (VI) Ephraini Downes m. Cloe I'ainter 
 [see]. (VH) Franklin Downes m. limeline M. 
 Upson [see]. (VIH) Florence E. Downes m. 
 Adrian J. Muzzy [see]. (IX) Adrienne Florence 
 Muzzy, b. 1885. This Chatterton family has sev- 
 eral coats of arms. 
 
 Smith (Downes line). (I) George Smith.origi- 
 
 nal settler of Xew Haven, in 1638, m. Sarah . 
 
 Cliildren: Sarah; Alartha, 1642; Flannah, 1644; 
 Mercy, 1646; John, 1647; Elizabeth, 1649; Samuel, 
 1651; Ebenezer, 1653; Joseph, 1655; Nathan, 1656. 
 (H) Joseph Smith (i), b. Aug. 14, 1655, m. May 6, 
 1680, Lydia Bristol (or Bristow), b. 1658. (She was 
 dau. of Henry Bristol, original settler of New Haven. 
 1638, and his second wife, Lydia Brown. He had 
 three children by his first wife : and by his second : 
 L)dia-, b. 1658; John, 1659; Marv, 1661; Hannah, 
 1663; Abigail, 1666). (HI) Joseph Smith (2), b. 
 March 30, 1681, m. Annah Hale Oct. 30, 1702 ; she d. 
 ]\Iarch 15, 1723-24. Joseph m. (second) Esther 
 Peck Mix, widow. (R') Israel Smith, b. Awg. 15, 
 1705, m. Hannah Gilbert Nov. 12, 1730. (V) Mary 
 Smith m. Samuel Chatterton (3) [see]. (VI) Mary 
 Chatterton m. David Downes [see]. (VII) Ephraim 
 Downes m. Cloe Painter [see]. (VIII) Franklin 
 Downes m. Emeline M. Upson [see]. (IX) Flor- 
 ence E. Downes m. Adrian J. Aluzzy [see]. (X) 
 Adrienne Florence Muzzy, b. 1885. [From New 
 Haven Vital Statistics.] 
 
 Painter. (I) John Painter, b. 1720, d. July 
 27. 1796, buried at Plymouth Hill, Conn. Called 
 "Mr." upon his tombstone. He m. Deborah Wel- 
 cher (or Welshire) at what is now Meriden (then 
 Wallingford), March 17, 1738. She d. March 26, 
 1794, and is buried beside her husband. Children: 
 Lot, Eunice, Elizabeth 1757, Thomas Welcher 1760, 
 John- 1763, and others. John Painter served in the 
 French war, "in Col. Whiting's regiment." He 
 taught school in Plymouth, Conn., for forty winters. 
 (11) Thomas Welcher Painter, b. Sept. 25, 1760, d. 
 March 27, 181 7. He m. March 28, 1787, Lusina 
 Dunbar, who was b. 1769 and d. July 4, 1854. Both 
 are buried on Plymouth Hill, Conn. [Lusina Dun- 
 bar, dau. of John Dunbar, who m. Temperance Hall, 
 of Wallingford, and had sixteen children, ten being 
 daughters]. Children: Chester, b. 1787, m. four 
 times; Sarah m. Silas Hoadley (veteran clock- 
 maker) ; Lusina m. Butler Dunbar, ancestor of Bris- 
 tol Dunbars ; William m. Polly Barnes and settled in 
 Ohio; Cloe (or Chloe) m. Ephraim Downes [see] ; 
 Edward; Laury, d. 1884, m. William Byington; Ed- 
 
 ward, b. 1803, m. Clorinda Palmer, and had Frank- 
 lin (1833), Julia (1835), Edward (2) (1837), Mar- 
 garet (1841), Cornelia (1842), Ida (1845), Robert 
 (1847;. Thomas Welcher Painter served as a boy, 
 in the American Revolution. (Ill) Cloe Painter, b, 
 Jan. 16, 1796, d. Dec. 27, 1861, m. Ephraim Downes 
 F'eb. 7, 1822. Children [sec Downes]. (IV) 
 Franklin Downes m. Emeline M. Upson. (V) Flor- 
 ence E. Downes m. Adrian James Muzzy. (VI) 
 Adrienne Florence Muzzy, b. 1885. [From Meriden 
 and Plymouth Records.] 
 
 UrsoN. (I) Thomas' Upson, England, in Hart- 
 ford as early as 1638, with Hooker's company. Had 
 home-lot on what is now Albany avenue in 1639. 
 Removed early to Farmington (Tunxis), where he 
 was original settler and proprietor. He m. Eliza- 
 beth Fuller July 23, 1646. He d. in Farmington July 
 19, 1665. Ciiildren : Thomas'-, Stephen, Mary, Han- 
 nah, and Elizabeth. 
 
 (II) Stephen Upson, b. 1650, d. 1735. On Dec. 
 29, 1682, he m. Mary Lee [see]. He left Farm- 
 ington before his marriage, and became proprietor 
 in Waterbury (Mattatuck) Dec. 19, 1679; was sur- 
 veyor; school committeeman; grand juror; often 
 townsman ; on committee to settle Woodbury 
 bounds ; deputy to General Court three times ; ser- 
 geant in 1715, and had seat with veterans in meet- 
 ing-house in 1729. Children : Mary, 1683, m. 
 Welton; Stephen, Jr., 1686; Elizabeth, 1689, m. 
 Bronson ; Thomas-, 1692-93; Hannah, 1695, m. 
 (first) Richards and (second) Bronson; Tabitha, 
 1698, m. Scoville; John, 1702; Thankful, 1706, m. 
 Blakeslee. 
 
 (III) Thomas- Upson, b. March i, 1692-93, d. 
 Sept. 29, 1 76 1. On Jan. 28, 17 19, he m. Rachel 
 Judd [see]. He was the second settler in Wolcott, 
 Conn., John Alcock, ancestor of Louisa M. Alcott, 
 being the first. He had the title of "Mr.," was 
 clerk in 1732, and "lived and died respected and 
 esteemed." Children: Thomas'", 1719; Mary and 
 John, 1721 ; Josiah, 1724; Asa, 1728; Timothy, 
 1731; Amos, 1734; Samuel, 1737; Truman (or 
 Freeman), 1739. 
 
 (IV) Samuel Upson, b. March 8, 1737, m. April 
 5, 1758, Ruth Cowles [see], d. Feb. 25, 1816. He 
 settled in Wolcott, and was a very active and in- 
 fluential man in town affairs, being on several 
 committees "respecting our Town Privileges," on 
 petitions to the General Court, on Prudential, So- 
 ciety, school and meeting-house committees ; was 
 moderator, surve)'or, chorister ; on committees to 
 "Dignify the Meeting-house," and to "seat the 
 Meeting-house by age ;" to divide the town poor, 
 and settle accounts w'ith neighboring towns. He 
 served in the war of the American Revolution, first 
 as private, later as captain. Children: Mary, 1759; 
 Archibald, 1761 ; Isaac, 1763; Obed, 1767; Mar- 
 ve}^ 1769; Samuel and Ruth, 1772; Jerusha, 1775; 
 Manly, 1777; Betsey, 1779. 
 
 (V) Harvey Upson, b. Nov. 11, 1769 d. Sept. 
 II, 1857. On Nov. 28, 1796, he m. Rachel Wheeler 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1273 
 
 [see]. He was deacon of church for twenty-five 
 years, and bore the mihtary rank of captain. He 
 was a "good man, faithful and true," but not active 
 in public affairs. Children: Samuel Wheeler, 1798; 
 Jerry, 1800; Marshall, 1803; Lois Melissa, 1805; 
 Marcus, 1807; Harvey Woodward, 1810; Lucian 
 and Lucius, 1815. 
 
 (VI) Samuel Wheeler Upson, b. Oct. 8, 1798, 
 d. Sept. 6, 1890. On March 28, 1820, he m. Sally 
 M. Stevens [see]. They lived together nearly sev- 
 enty-one years. He was among the earliest Abo- 
 litionists of the country, and a strong believer 
 in total abstinence. Buried at Waterbury, Conn. 
 Six children: (a) Charles Dwight, b. 1821, m. 
 Martha Hotchkiss and (second) Harriet Perkins; 
 had three children, all of whom died, one in Civil 
 war. (b) Albert Stevens, b. 1823, m. Eliza Porter 
 and (second) Mary Grant; had three children, of 
 whom William is deceased; Cornelia m. Frederick 
 Stevens, and has three children, Olive, Edna and 
 Ruth; Lilian Rachel m. Frederick Reed, (c) Erne- 
 line M., b. 1824 [see below], (d) Clark Wheeler, 
 b. 1826, d. 1876; he was a doctor, and was a sur- 
 geon in the Civil war. He m. Catherine Price; 
 children, Albert, Lilias, Lily, Adah, Charlie, Ar- 
 thur, Edward. Adah m. Horace Robbins, and has 
 one child, Maud. Charlie m. Eva Glazier, and has 
 four children, Clark, Edward, Ruby, and an in- 
 fant. Arthur m. Jennie Etz, and has two children, 
 Frank and Albert, (e) Marshall Ashmun, b. 1830. 
 No children. Died 1894. (f) Ambrosia Minerva, 
 b. 1831, died 1899; m. Elbert McLendon, of the 
 Confederate army, and has one child, Elbert. 
 
 (VII) Emeline M. Upson, b. Dec. 5, 1824, 
 d. Jan. 4, 1899. "The Flower of her race." On Nov. 
 4, 1844, she m. Franklin Downes. Children: (a) 
 Ella Augusta, b. 1848, m. Dr. Charles R. Upson; 
 (b) Florence Emlyn, b. 1851, m. Adrian James 
 Muzzy; three children, Leslie Adrian, Floyd 
 Downes, and Adrienne Florence; (c) Fannie Ada, 
 b. 1854, m. Thomas F. Barbour; two children. Ruby 
 and Marguerite; (d), Frank Ephraim, b. 1857, m. 
 Mary Annetta Sprague; (e) Mabel Gertrude, b. 
 1863, m. Reese McCloskey; one child, Downes Mc- 
 Closkey. 
 
 (VIII) Florence Emlyn Upson, b. May 22, 1851, 
 m. May 22, 1873, Adrian James Muzzy [see]. Chil- 
 dren : Leslie Adrian, deceased ; Floyd Downes, de- 
 •ceased ; Adrienne Florence. 
 
 (IX) Adrienne Florence Muzzy, b. 1885. 
 [From Wolcott History.] 
 
 Steele. (I) John Steele, called "Mr." came to 
 this country from Essex, England, and settled in 
 
 Cambridge, Mass., 1630-32. He m. Rachel , 
 
 who d. 1653. He removed to Hartford, Conn., 
 before Hooker's party (probably in 1634) ; house 
 was on Main street, north of Atheneum. His name 
 is on the Founders Monument in Old Center Church 
 burying-ground, although he died in Farmington 
 1665. He was one of the eight men appointed by 
 General Court of Massachusetts "to arovern the 
 
 people of Connecticut for the space of a year next 
 coming March 3,- 1635-'6," and was one of the five 
 present at the First Court of Connecticut "holden 
 att Newtown" (or Hartford) April 26, 1636. He 
 was Colonial Secretary for three years — 1636-'38- 
 '39; deputy from 1638 to 1647, and later; town 
 registrar "in Hartford from 1639 to 1645, when 
 he removed to Farmington, where he was town 
 clerk by request of Assembly. Children : John- (m. 
 Ruth JuddJ, Samuel, Lydia, Mary (m. William 
 Judd), Daniel, Hannah, Sarah (m. Thomas Judd). 
 
 (II) Mary Steele m. March 30, 1658, William 
 Judd. She d. Oct. 27, 1718. Children [see Judd]. 
 
 (III) Thomas Judd (Deacon) m. ; lived at Water- 
 bury and Wolcott. (IV) Rachel Judd, m. Thomas 
 Upson [see]. (V) Samuel Upson m. Ruth 
 Cowles [see]. (VI) Deacon Harvey Upson m. 
 Rachel Wheeler [see]. (VII) Samuel Wheeler 
 Upson m. Sally M. Stevens [see]. (VIII) Eme- 
 line M. Upson m. Franklin Downes [see]. (IX) 
 Florence E. Downes m. Adrian J. Muzzy [see]. 
 (X) Adrienne Florence Muzzy, b. 1885. [From 
 Lee Genealogy; Hinman; and Conn. Records.] 
 
 Hart. (I) Stephen Hart (Deacon), b. at 
 Braintree, County of Essex, England, 1606, d. at 
 Farmington, Conn., March, 1683. Probably came 
 to America 1630-32; settled at Braintree, then at 
 Cambridge, Mass., where he was one of the fifty- 
 four First Settlers, being on records as such. But 
 in 1635 he joined Hooker's party to Hartford, 
 Conn., and was deacon in Mr. Hooker's Church. 
 He was an original proprietor in Hartford, his 
 home-lot being on what is now Front street, on the 
 river bank; was in Mason's expedition against the 
 Pequots, 1637; in 1640 joined the Farmington party 
 as an original proprietor; was one of the seven 
 deacons in the First Church here, 1652, being the 
 .first on the list. They were designated the "Seven 
 Pillars of the Church." He was exceedingly active 
 and influential in church and state ; was one of ' 
 the first representatives from the town in 1647, 
 and held the office several years. He also pur- 
 chased land of the Indians in Avon, which for 
 150 years was known as Hart's Farm. His home- 
 lot in Farmington was opposite the meeting-house, 
 and included what is now Miss Porter's school. 
 Stephen Hart m. first in England, where several 
 of his children were born. He m. (second) Mar- 
 garet, widow of Arthur Smith. The Lee Geneal- 
 ogy does not state which of these was mother to 
 his children, who were: Sarah (m. Thomas Porter) ; 
 
 Mary; John (m. Sarah ); Stephen, 1634; 
 
 Mehitable (m. John Cole) ; Thomas, 1643 {™- 
 Ruth Hawkins). (II) Mary Hart, b. about 1630- 
 31, m. John Lee 1658; (m. (second) 1692, Jedediah 
 Strong). She d. Oct. 10, 1710. Children [see Lee]. 
 (Ill) Mary Lee, b. Aug. 14, 1664, m. Stephen 
 Upson [see]. (IV) Thomas- Upson m. Rachel 
 Judd [see]. (V) Samuel Upson m. Ruth Cowles 
 [see]. (VI) Harvey Upson m. Rachel Wheeler 
 [see]. (VII) Samuel Wheeler Upson m. Sarah 
 
1274 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ]\1. Stevens [see]. (VIII) Emeline M. Upson m. 
 Franklin Dovvnes [see]. (IX) Florence E. Dovvnes 
 m. Adrian J. Muzzy [sec]. (X) Adrienne Flor- 
 ence Muzzy, b. 1885. [Lee Genealogy; iMeniorial 
 Hist, of Hartford County.] 
 
 Lee, also called Lea, Leigh, Lay, Ley, De Lee, 
 De la Lee, and Lega, and signifies "pasture, meadow, 
 or grass-land" There are several Lee Arms. (I) 
 John Lee came from Colchester, County or Essex, 
 England, 1634, under guardianship of William 
 Westwood. lie was b. in 1620, d. Aug. 8, 1690, 
 '"aged seventy years." He settled first in Cam- 
 bridge, JNlass., and later went with Hooker's party 
 to Hartford, Conn., 1O35. When John Lee became 
 of age he joined the Farmington First Settlers, 
 and was proprietor there 1641. In 1657 he was 
 constable of the town, at that date being chief 
 executive officer of town. In 1658 he m. Mary Hart 
 [see]. Their home-lot was the one now occupied 
 by Miss Porter's famous school. Children: John, 
 1659; Mary, 1664; Stephen, 1669; Thomas, 1671; 
 David, 1674; Tabitha, 1677. (II) Mary Lee, b. 
 Farmington Aug. 14, 1664, m. Dec. 29, 1682, 
 Sergt. Stephen Upson, of Waterbury. Children: 
 Thomas-, and other children [see Upson J. She 
 d. Feb. 15, 1716. (IIIj Thomas^ Upson m. Rachel 
 Judd [see]. (1\') Samuel Upson m. Ruth Cowles 
 [see]. (V) Harvey Upson m. Rachel Wheeler 
 [see]. (\T) Samuel W. Upson m. Sally :\I. Stevens 
 [see]. (VII) Emeline M. Upson m. Franklin 
 Downes [seel. (\TII) Florence E. Downes m. 
 Adrian J. Muzzy [see]. (IX) Adrienne Florence 
 Muzzy, b. 1885. 
 
 Judd. (I) Thomas' Judd (Deacon), b. 1608 
 in England, emigrated 1633, settled at Newtowne 
 (Cambridge), Mass. ; moved to Hartford 1636. His 
 home-lot adjoined the Wyllys place, of Charter 
 Oak fame; removed to Farmington 1644, a"d was 
 proprietor there, home-lot on Alain street ; was sec- 
 ond on the list of deacons — "seven pillars of the 
 church ;" was representative to General Court 1646, 
 and served fourteen to seventeen sessions. After 
 thirty-five years' residence in Farinington he moved 
 to XTorthampton, Mass., where (1682) at the age 
 of seventy-four years he was chosen one of the 
 selectmen. He d. Nov. 9, 1688, aged eighty. Chil- 
 dren : \^'illiam, Elizabeth, both b. between 1633 
 and 1635; Thomas, 1638; John, 1640; Benjamin, 
 1642; Mary, 1644; Ruth, 1646; Philip, 1649; Sam- 
 uel, 1651. (II) William Judd, b. between 1633 
 and 163s, m. March 30, 1658, Mary Steele [see]. 
 He d. 1690. His home-lot in Farmington was on 
 Main street, though he owned several other lots. 
 Estate inventoried £673. Children: Mary, 1658; 
 Thomas^ 1662; William, 1664; John, 1667; Rachel, 
 1670; Samuel, 1673 ; -Daniel, 1675; Elizabeth, 1678. 
 (Ill) Thomas^ Judd, known as Deacon Thomas 
 Judd, of Waterbury, b. 1662 (bapt. Aug. 13), lived 
 on Cole street, near East Main, Waterbury. In 
 1732-33 he moved to Wolcott (then called Far.n- 
 ingbury), where "Judd's Hill" is named for him. 
 
 Children: Rachel, and others. (IV) Rachel Judd, 
 b. 1694, d. July 13, 1750, m. Thomas Upson [see]. 
 
 (V) Capt. Samuel Upson m. Ruth Cowles [see]. 
 
 (VI) Deacon Flarvey Upson m. Rachel Wheeler 
 [see]. (VII) Samuel Wheeler Upson m. Sallv M. 
 Stevens [see]. (\ III) Emeline M. Upson m. Frank- 
 lin Downes [see]. (IX) Florence E. Downes m. 
 Adrian J. Muzzy [see]. (X) Adrienne Florence 
 Muzzy, b. 1885. [Lee Genealogy.] 
 
 Cowles. The name is also written Cowl, Coul,. 
 Cowle, Coule, Coules, Coales, Coale, Cole, Colles, 
 and originated at the battle of Hastings, 1066; 
 the founder having worn a hood, or cowl, at this 
 battle, (i) John Cowles, b. in England about 1598, 
 came to Hartford 1635-39; Farmington, 1640; Had- 
 ley, Mass., 1659; Hatfield, 1660, where he d. 
 1675; member of General Court of Con- 
 necticut; townsman, and one of the "seven, 
 pillars" of the church in Farmington. He mar- 
 ried Hannah , who d. at Hartford 1683. 
 
 Their wills are on file at Northampton and Hart- 
 ford. Had seven children. (11) Samuel Cowles,. 
 b. 1639, d. April 17, 1691, Farmington. In 1661 
 he m. Abigail Stanley, dan. of Timothy Stanley. 
 Had eleven children. (HI) Isaac^ Cowles, b. March 
 23, 1675, ^- ^^^- 7. 1756, was ancestor of the Farm- 
 ington Cowlescs : representative to the General 
 Court, 1726; ensign, 1717; lieutenant, 1723; cap- 
 tain of train-band, 1731. He was married three 
 times, first to Mary Andrews — Jan. 2, 1696 — five 
 children ; second to Sarah Andrews, 1709 — one 
 child; third to Elizabeth Smith, 1716 — six chil- 
 dren. Mary Andrews, dau. of Daniel Andrews, d. 
 July 19, 1708. Her son, Isaac-, was b. 1702. (IV) 
 Isaac- Cowles, b. April 21, 1702, d. Sept. 29, 1737. 
 He resided in Southington, and was a wealthy land 
 owner: ensign, 1736. He was m. twice, first Jan. 
 2, 1728-29, to Ruth North; second Nov. 11, 1736, 
 
 to Jerusha ■ , who d. Nov. 4, 1752. Children : 
 
 Mary, 1729; Ruth, 1731, d. ; Judah, 1734; Isaac, 
 bapt. Jan., 1736 (children of Ruth North, who 
 d. probably Jan., 1736). Child of Jerusha Cowles 
 was Ruth (2), b. 1737, a few days after the death 
 of her father. (V) Ruth Cowles, b. Oct. 8, 1737, 
 m. April 5, 1759, Capt. Samuel Upson [see]. 
 Children : Mary, Archibald, Isaac, Obed, Harvey, 
 Samuel, Ruth, Jerusha, Manly, Betsey. (VI) Har- 
 vey Upson (Wolcott), captain and deacon, m. 
 Rachel Wheeler [see]. (VII) Samuel Wheeler 
 Upson m. Sally M. Stevens [see]. (VIII) Eme- 
 line M. Upson m. Franklin Downes [see]. (IX) 
 Florence E. Downes m. Adrian J. Muzzy [see]. 
 (X) Adrienne Florence Muzzy, b. 1885. [From 
 Family Tree of Capt. C. D. Cowles. U. S. A. ; 
 Histories and Records of Southington and Wol- 
 cott.] 
 
 Wheeler. (I) Wheeler m. Lois , 
 
 who was b. about 1686, and d. Sept. 11, 1767, aged 
 eighty-one. They were m. (probably) about 1706- 
 1715. (II) James Wheeler (captain 1756), b. 1716, 
 d. July 9, 1768. On May 19, 1736, he m. Sarah 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1275 
 
 Johnson. They Hved in Derby. Had fifteen chil- 
 dren, the third being Samuel. (Ill) Samuel 
 Wheeler, b. Sept. 24, 1739, d. Aug. 23, 1778. On 
 April 28, 1763, he m. Lois Fairchild, who d. Sept. 
 29, 1805. Children : Lois, 1764; Abel, 1765 ; Eunice, 
 1767; Daniel, 1769; Levi, 1770; Anna, 1773; 
 Rachel, 1775 ; Hannah, 1777. (IV) Rachel 
 Wheeler, b. Aug. 25, 1775, ra. Capt. Harvey Up- 
 son Nov. 28, 1796. Found in old papers : "Our 
 mother, Rachel Wheeler Upson, was found dead 
 in her bed on Thanksgiving Day Morning, Nov. 
 2y, 1851." Children: Samuel Wheeler, Jerry Mar- 
 shall, Lois, Melissa, Marcus, Harvey Woodward, 
 Lucian and Lucius [see Upson]. (V) Samuel 
 Wheeler Upson m. Sarah M. Stevens [see]. (VI) 
 Emeline M. Upson m. Franklin Downes [see]. 
 
 (VII) Florence E. Downes m. Adrian J. Muzzy. 
 
 (VIII) Adrienne Florence Muzzy, b. 1885. [From 
 History of Derby ; old Bible record, and papers of 
 Samuel Wheeler Upson.] 
 
 ■ Stevens. [This line, with its branches, in- 
 cludes many New England names, such as : Davis, 
 Morrill, Stedman, Cooke, Kimberly, Stowe, Biggs, 
 Gregg, Stocking, Hopkins, Smith, Clark, Canfield. 
 Crane, Hawley, Hubbell, Meigs, Morehouse, Silli- 
 man. Walker, Prudden, Brinsmeade, Boyse, Jack- 
 son, Bostwick, etc., with many Old England names 
 as well.] (I) John Stevens, b. about 1607, d. 
 April II, 1662. Had lived at Caversham, south 
 
 of Oxfordshire, England. He m. Elizabeth , 
 
 (who d. May i, 1694, aged eighty), came to Amer- 
 ica from Southampton in the "Confidence" 1638; 
 settled at Newburyport, Mass., and later was fifth 
 on the list of First Settlers at Andover, Mass. ; was 
 sergeant, etc. His tombstone is still to be seen at 
 Andover. Among his children was Timothy. (II) 
 Timothy Stevens (Deacon), b. at Newbury, Mass., 
 Sept. 23, 1641, d. Jan. 31, 1708. He moved to 
 Roxbury. On March 12, 1665, he m. Sarah Davis 
 (b. Feb. 16, 1647, dau. of Tobias and Sarah Morrill 
 Davis, and granddau. of Isaac Morrill). Had ten 
 children: Timothy-, 1666; Sarah, 1668; John, 1670; 
 Joseph, 1673; Elizabeth, 1675; Maria, 1678; Han- 
 nah, 1680; Samuel, 1682; Abigail, 1685; Nathaniel, 
 1688. Deacon Timothy Stevens was Feoffee of the 
 Roxbury Free School in 1684. (Ill) Timothy- Stev- 
 ens (Rev.), b. at Roxbury, Mass., Jan. 28, 1666; 
 Harvard, 1687; ordained, 1693; first "orthodox" 
 minister, at Glastonbury, Conn., 1693. He m. (first) 
 Eunice Chester, none of whose children lived to 
 marry. He m. (second) Alice (or Allice) Cooke, 
 widow of Rev. John Whiting [see Cooke]. They 
 had eight children: John, b. 1702, d. 1717; Eunice, 
 b. and d. 1704; Martha, b. 1705, d. 1717; twin 
 sons, b. and d. 1707; Timothy, b. 1709, m. Flannah 
 Orris; Joseph, Id. 1711, m. Jerusha Stow [see] ; 
 Benjamin, b. 1714, rn. Deborah Dickinson. Rev. 
 Timothy was closely identified with the growth 
 of Glastonbury in every particular. He d. April 
 14, 1726. Many facts concerning him are upon 
 the records, and a copy of his will gives great in- 
 
 sight to his life and character, and is a unique 
 document. He is buried in the old Glastonbury 
 burying-ground, near the site of the church which 
 he founded. His wives, Eunice and Alice, lie • 
 here also, all three having tables of stone. He 
 is said to have had a third wife, Dorothy; but if 
 so, she left no children. (IV) Joseph Stevens, 
 b. Aug. 15, 171 1, m. (first) Mary Treat, and had 
 one child, Joseph, b. 1733 (who d. on the Jersey 
 prison ship during the American Revolution). He 
 m. (second) Jerusha Stow, Oct. 14, 1736 [see 
 Stow]. Had children: Thomas, 1739; Mary and 
 Jerusha, 1741 ; Samuel, 1742; Elijah, 1744; Mary, 
 1746; Elisha, 1748; David, 1750; Jonathan, 1752; 
 Jerusha, 1754; James, 1757; Peter, 1759; Ashbel, 
 1 761 ; and Daniel. Of these eleven brothers, nine 
 did active service in the war of the American Revo- 
 lution : Joseph d. on prison ship ; Samuel was master 
 of a privateer; Elisha served as a private by sea 
 and land for seven years ; Ashbel, a lad of fourteen, 
 was taken prisoner, carried to Halifax, and never 
 heard of again; John, Elijah, David and James 
 were all in service; Peter was a minute-man; 
 Thomas was a shipbuilder in Glastonbury; Daniel, 
 a "wealthy Liverpool trader, lost two heavy ships, 
 and a wholesale store of goods" when the British 
 took Philadelphia. (IV) Elisha Stevens, b. Oct. 
 I, 1748, d. March 8, 1813. He m. (first) Mary 
 Miller, who had three children, and m. (second) 
 Agnes Kimberly, at South Britain, Conn., Dec. 
 ID, 1780. Had eleven children: Oliver, 1782; Ash- 
 bel, 1783; Rebecka, 1784; Ransom, 1786; Barzilla, 
 1788; Milton, 1790; Clarissa, 1792; Hershel and 
 Harvey, 1794; Alfred, 1796; Minerva, 1798. Lived 
 in Naugatuck, Conn., where both Elisha and Agnes 
 are buried. Elisha served seven years in the Ameri- 
 can Revolution, and fragments of a journal kept 
 by him during the war are still in the family. He 
 was at Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, Val- 
 ley Forge and other important points, being pres- 
 ent at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. 
 (VI) Oliver Stevens, b. July 18, 1782, m. Huldah 
 Clark [see]. He was a lawyer and teacher, and 
 prepared lads for college. He was much inter- 
 ested in genealogy, and left at least two mss. con- 
 cerning his family. Children of Oliver and Huldah 
 (Clark) Stevens: Sally Maria, 1802; Elisha Clark, 
 1803; Emeline, 1805 (living in 1901 at Danbur)'-, 
 Conn.) ; Elvira, 1807; Livonia, 1809; Horatio Kim- 
 berly, 1812; George Leander, 1815; Charles Trac}^, 
 1818; James and Julia, 1821 ; Maryett, 1824; nearly 
 all of whom lived to good old age. Oliver Stevens 
 is buried at Naugatuck. (VII) Sally Maria 
 Stevens, b. at Derby, Conn., Nov. 20, 1802, m. 
 Samuel Wheeler Upson, and d. Dec. 15, 1892. 
 Both are buried in Waterbury, Conn. They lived 
 together over seventy years. Six children [see 
 Upson]. (VIII) Em'eline M. Upson, m. Franklin 
 Downes [see]. (IX) Florence Emlyn Downes ni. 
 Adrian J. Muzzy [see]. (X) Adrienne Florence 
 Muzzy, b. 1885. [From Boston Records; Glaston- 
 
1276 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 bury History ; Conn. Records ; old tombstones ; mss. 
 by Oliver Stevens etc.] 
 
 Ki.MBEULY. (Ij Agnes Kimberly m. Elisha 
 Stevens, soldier of the American Revolution. She 
 was b. in South Britain, Conn., about 1755, and 
 d. at Xaugatuck, Conn., April 28, 1837. She had 
 a brother Thomas. Her mother's name was possi- 
 bly Lois, as "Mrs. Lois Kimberly, d. 1802, aged 
 eighty-seven," is buried near Agnes in Naugatuck. 
 Her descent is doubtless from Thomas Kimberly, 
 New Haven settler, who had seven or eight chil- 
 dren. [See Stevens]. [Kimberly Notes: (i) Thomas 
 Kimberly, New Haven, 1638 (New England, 1635). 
 (2) Eleazer Kimberly, Glastonbury. (3) Thomas" 
 Kimberly, Glastonbury. (4) John Kimberly, 1719, 
 had two sons and ten daughters. (5) Possibly 
 Agnes may have been one of these daughters. Or 
 it may be: (i) Thomas Kimberly, 1635, New Haven. 
 (2) Abraham Kimberly, Albemarle county, Caro- 
 lina, and Stratford, Conn. (3) Abraham- Kimber- 
 ly, Stratford. (4) Abraham" Kimberly, New- 
 town, Conn. (5) Abraham* Kimberly, Newtown, 
 Conn., m. in 1760. (6) Agnes Kimberly. As this 
 is uncertain, the above is only olTered suggestively.] 
 
 Cooke. [Savage; Whitney Genealogy; Rjollin 
 Cooke, historian.] Cooke Arms — Sable, three bend- 
 lets argent. ( i ) Thomas Cooke, Gentleman, of Great 
 Yealdham, County of Essex, England, was de- 
 ceased in 1640. (H) Joseph' Cooke, second son 
 of Thomas, was b. in England in 1608, m. Eliza- 
 beth , and came to New England with 
 
 brother George in 1635, in the "Defence." Jo- 
 seph served as selectman of Cambridge, Mass., in 
 1635-45 ; town clerk, 1635-41 ; magistrate, 1648 to 
 '57 ; representative, 1636-41 ; also had charge of 
 military company of which his brother George was 
 captain, upon the latter's return to England. Later 
 Joseph also returned to England, and was resid- 
 ing at Stannaway, County of Essex, in 1665, at 
 which date he conveyed New England property 
 to his son. Children of Joseph^ and Elizabeth 
 Cooke: Joseph^, b. 1643; Elizabeth; ^lary; Grace; 
 Ruth. (HI) Joseph- Cooke, b. Dec. 27, 1643, i" 
 Cambridge, Mass., d. about February, 1690; Har- 
 vard, 1660-61. On Dec. 4, 1665, he m. Martha 
 Stedman, b. June 3, 1646, (dau. of John and Alice 
 Stedman, of Cambridge). He was a representative, 
 1671-80; lieutenant, 1677; and was in King Philip's 
 war. Children of Joseph^ and Martha Cooke : John, 
 b. 1667, d. 1684 ; Elizabeth, b.1669, d. 1687-88 ; Jo- 
 seph", b. 1671^; Alice (or Allice), b. about 1673; 
 Haynes, b. 1677-78. (IV) Alice Cooke, b. about 
 1673, in Cambridge, Mass., d. March 10, 1714, at 
 Glastonbury, Conn. She m. (first) Rev. John 
 Whiting (Harvard), who was scalped by Indians 
 hi Septemi)er, 1697; and in October and November, 
 same year, the two children of John and Alice 
 Whiting also died. On Jilay 9, 1701, Alice married 
 Rev. Timothy Stevens. Her father and both hus- 
 tands were Harvard graduates. [For children, see 
 Stevens.] She is buried in the old Glastonbury 
 
 cemetery. (V) Joseph Stevens m. Jerusha Stovv 
 [see]. (\T) Elisha Stevens m. Agnes Kimberly 
 [see]. (^ H) Oliver Stevens m. Huklah Clark 
 [see]. (\TII) Sally M. Stevens m. Samuel W. 
 Upson [see]. (IX) Emeline M. Upson m. Frank- 
 lin Downes [see]. (X) Florence E. Downes m. 
 Adrian J. Muzzy [see]. (XI) Adrienne Florence 
 Muzzy, b. 1885. 
 
 Stow. (I) John Stow, Roxbury, Mass., m. Eliz- 
 abeth Bigg (or Bigge). Had children: Thomas^ 
 and others. The line of Elizabeth (Bigg) Stow is 
 as follows : John Bigg, England, m. either a Scotch- 
 ford or a Saxbie. Son Hope, daughter Mary, and 
 
 others. Hope Bigg m. Rachel in England. 
 
 In 1635 she came to New England, a widow. liad 
 children: Elizabeth, Patience, and two others (Pa- 
 tience m. a Foster, and had Smallhopes, who in turn 
 m. and had Plopestill [A. Bates, authority]). (II) 
 Thomas' Stow, son of John Stow, m. Mary Cregg 
 (Gregg or Grigg). Had children: Thomas- and 
 others. (HI) Thomas'- Stow m. Bethia Stocking 
 [see] Oct. 16, 1675, and lived at Aliddletown. He 
 d. March 19, 1730, she on Nov. 6, 1732. Children: 
 Bethia, b. 1678; Samuel, 1681-82; Bethia, 1685; 
 Mary, 1688; Thomas, 1691 ; Hannah, 1696; Joseph, 
 1703; Jerusha, about 1705. (IV) Jerusha Stow, 
 dau. of Thomas-, b. 1705, m. Joseph Stevens Oct. 
 14, 1736, being his second wife. Had twelve chil- 
 dren [see Stevens]. (V) Elisha Stevens m. Agnes 
 Kimberly [see]. (VI) Oliver Stevens m. Huldali 
 Clark [see]. (VII) Sally J\I. Stevens m. Samuel 
 W. Upson [see]. (VIII) Emeline M. Upson m. 
 Franklin Downes [see]. (IX) Florence E. Downes 
 m. Adrian J. Muzzy [see]. (X) Adrienne Florence 
 Muzzy, b. 1885. [In the New England Genealogical 
 Register for 1848 reference is made to "Honest 
 John Stow," who wrote a History of London, and 
 who preserved, by printing, the names on Battel 
 Abbey Roll. Whether connected with New England 
 John Stow is not determined.] 
 
 Stocking — Hopkins. (I) George Stocking, 
 England. (II) Samuel Stocking, b. (probably) in 
 England, m., May 27, 1652, Bethia Hopkins, dau. of 
 John Hopkins and Jane (Strong), of Hartford. 
 [John Hopkins was in Cambridge, Mass., in 1634, 
 and is believed by the genealogical editor of the 
 Mail and Express, New York, to have been son of 
 Stephen Hopkins, of the "Mayflower," and to have 
 followed his father from England on a later ship.] 
 Children of Samuel and Bethia (Hopkins) Stock- 
 ing: Hannah, 1654; Samuel, 1656; Bethia, 1658; 
 John, 1660; Lydia, 1663; George, 1665; Ebenezer, 
 1667; Stephen, 1673; Daniel, 1677. Samuel Stock- 
 ing lived at Middletown ; freeman, 1654 ; representa- 
 tive, 1665-69-74. Was deacon. He probably served 
 in King Philip's war, as he was made sergeant in 
 1677. He d. Dec. 31, 1683. (Ill) Bethia Stocking, 
 dau. of Samuel and Bethia (Hopkins) Stocking, b. 
 Oct. 10, 1658, m. Thomas Stow Oct. 16, 1675, d. 
 Nov. 6, 1732. Children : Jerusha, and others [see 
 Stow]. (IV) Jerusha Stow, b. about 1705, m. Jo- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1277 
 
 seph Stevens Oct. 14, 1736, being his second wife. 
 Had twelve children [see Stevens]. (V) Elisha 
 Stevens, and Agnes Kimberly [see]. (VI) Oliver 
 Stevens and Huldah Clark [see]. (VII) Sally M. 
 Stevens and Samuel W. Upson [see]. (VIII) Eme- 
 line M. Upson and Franklin Downes [see]. (IX) 
 Florence E. Downes and Adrian J. Muzzy [see]. 
 (X) Adrienne Florence Muzzy, b. 1885. 
 
 Old World Names. Descendants of Arthur 
 Bostwick, who came to New England in 1641, may 
 trace their lineage through him for many centuries 
 back in the Old World. The direct line of Bost- 
 wick is given elsewhere. Arthur Bostwick was of 
 the twenty-first generation from Osmer, Baron de 
 Bostok, 1080, A. D. Fifteen generations back of 
 Arthur, Flawise de Kevelioc, Countess of Lincoln, 
 m. Sir Warine (or Warren) de Bostok, Knight. 
 Through her many names of note are introduced into 
 the Bostwick line. Some of these are as follows : 
 Simon de Montfort III, her grandfather, which 
 name brings in John Lackland, King of England ; 
 Henry II, first of Anjou to rule in England ; Henry 
 I, King of England (called Beauclerc) ; William the 
 Conqueror; Robert the Magnificent (called Robert 
 le Diable) ; Richard the Good; Richard the Fear- 
 less ; William Longswood ; Hrolf, a Norwegian 
 Pirate, and others.. Through Amicia, wife of Simon 
 de Montfort III, come such names as Robert de 
 Beaumont, Earl of Leicester and Lord Chief Jus- 
 tice of England ; Louis d' Outre Mer, King of 
 France, who m. dau. of Henry I, of Germany ; 
 Charles the Simple, King of France ; Edward the 
 Elder; Alfred the Great; Egbert, first King of all 
 England ; Alkmund, King of Kent ; Cerdic the Sax- 
 on, King of Wessex, ancestor of the English royal 
 line ; Woden, "Mighty Warrior," of whom John 
 Speed says, speaking of the Saxons, "These all 
 claim their descent from Prince Woden, called by the 
 Latins Othinus, and who is deduced by our anti- 
 quaries, as hath been said, from the eldest son of the 
 Patriarke Noah, and is accounted the most noble of 
 all the progenitors of the Saxon Kings." Woden 
 flourished in the third century. Between Woden 
 and Noah, the ancient chronicles give a list of fif- 
 teen generations, including Shem, son of Noah. 
 This leads into the Bible chronicle, where a few 
 generations more land one in the Garden of Eden. 
 Coming into this dii^ect line from either side are 
 such names as these : Witikind the Saxon ; Hugh 
 le Grande ; Hugh Capet ; Arnoul, Bishop of Metz ; 
 Pepin le Gros, etc.; Charles Martel (the "ham- 
 mer") ; Charlemagne; Bernard, King of Italy; the 
 Counts of Vermandois ; Louis le Debonnaire, Em- 
 peror of the West (the "Holy Roman Empire") ; 
 Judith of Bavaria (house of Guelph) ; Charles le 
 Chauve (the Bald), King of France and Em.peror 
 of the Romans; Louis le Beque (the stammerer) ; 
 Charles the Simple, King of France ; Counts of 
 Flanders; Carloman, King of Aquitaine and Bur- 
 gundy ; Henry the Fowler, Emperor of Germany ; 
 Otho the Great, Emperor of Germany; Jarodishas, 
 
 Grand Duke of Russia; Erick, an Irish Dalreadian 
 chief ; Aidan, monarch in North Britain ; Eocha the 
 Passionate, a Scottish Dalreadic King (called Ach- 
 ius) ; Kenneth MacAlpine, Scottish King and King 
 of Picts, and founder of the Scottish monarchy; 
 Constantine, King of Scotland; Donald II, King 
 of Scotland; Malcom I, King of Scotland; Mac- 
 Kenneth, King of Scotland; Duncan I, King of 
 Scotland (Shakespearean character, murdered by 
 Macbeth) ; Malcolm Canmore, King of Scots, who 
 defeated Macbeth (Shakesperean character) ; Ed- 
 mund the Magnificent, King of England ; Edgar the 
 Peaceful, King of England ; Aethelred the Unready, 
 King of England ; Edmund Ironsides, King of Eng- 
 land; Edward the Exile, King of England; Mar- 
 garet, Queen of Scotland (called Saint Margaret) ; 
 besides many other historical names. [Authorities 
 include: Old English Records; Herald's Visita- 
 tions ; Histories of various countries ; Historical So- 
 ciety Publications, Royal Genealogies, etc.] 
 
 The following is taken from Bostwick Genealogy 
 [by Henry A. Bostwick] ; Savage ; Milford Records, 
 Histories, etc. 
 
 (I) Osmer, Baron de Bostock, A. D. 1080. (II) 
 Hugh. (Ill) Richard. (IV) Roger. (V) Sir 
 Gilbert. (VI) William m. Margaret de Vernon. 
 
 (VII) Sir Warren de Bostoc, Knight, Lord of Bos- 
 toc, m. Hawise Kevelioc, Countess of Lincoln. 
 
 (VIII) Gilbert de Bostoc m. Elinor Poole. (IX) 
 Sir Wiliam de Bostok m. Elizabeth Audley. (X) 
 Philip de Bostok m. Maria de Vernon. (XI) Sir 
 Adam de Bostok, Knight, m. Joan, dau. of V\^illiam 
 de Brereton. (XII) Sir William de Bostok m. dau. 
 of William de Multon. (XIII) Adam de Bostok 
 m. Margaret, dau. of Sir John de Wettinhale. (XIV) 
 Adam de Bostok m. Janet, dau. of Sir Henry de 
 Bradshaw. (XV) Sir Ralph de Bostok, Knight, 
 m. Isabel Lawton. (XVI) Sir Adam de Bostock, m. 
 EHzabeth, dau. of Sir Hugh Venables. (XVII) 
 William I3ostock m. Ellen, dau. of Adam Bostock. 
 (XVIII) George Bostock m. Emma Holt. (XIX) 
 Robert Bostock (d. 1583) m. Emma Bromfield. 
 (XX) Arthur Bostock (1559-1627) m. Ellen Den- 
 nis. (XXI) Arthur Bostwick came to America in 
 1641. He m. (first) Jane Whittel, in England. 
 Came from Cheshire ; was in Stratford, Conn., be- 
 fore 1650; m. (second) Widow Ellen Johnson. 
 
 (XXII) John Bostwick, Sr., b. in England, came to 
 America with his father when young. About 1666 
 he m. Mary Brinsmade. Had six children: John, 
 Jr., 1667; Zechariah, 1669; Joseph, 1672; Mary, 
 1674; Elizabeth, 1677;. Jane, 1680. Lived and died 
 in Stratford. [Mary was dau. of John Brinsmade 
 (or Brinsmeade), in New" England in 1637, and his 
 
 wife, Mary . He was townsman 1662, 
 
 and representative to General Court 1 669-1 671 ; d. 
 1673. He had seven children: Mary, 1640; John, 
 1643; Daniel; Zachary; Paul; Samuel; Elizabeth.] 
 
 (XXIII) John Bostwick, Jr., b. May 4, 1667, of 
 Stratford (Derby and New Milford), where his 
 name is second on the list of "First Twelve Set- 
 
1278 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tiers." Deed of land dated Dec. 2, 1709. Stuart 
 says: "He was an energetic citizen, and bore his 
 full share of official work in the colony." He ni. 
 Abigail Walker, of Stratford, 1688 [see WalkerJ. 
 He d. 1747, over eighty years of age. Had ten 
 children: John", b. 1686; Robert, b. 1691; Eben- 
 ezer, b. 1693; Joseph, b. 1695; Nathaniel, b. 1699; 
 Lemuel, b. 1704; Sarah, b. 1706; Daniel, b. 1708 
 (first white nude child b. in Xew Milford) ; Mary, 
 b. 1714-15; Hannah, b. 1716. (XXIV) Lemuel 
 liostwick, sixth son of John- IJostwick. 1). at Strat- 
 ford 1704, moved to New Alilford 1727; was one 
 of the choristers of First Congregational Church 
 from 1741 for many years, and "sang his way on 
 until eighty-seven years of age, then departed this 
 life," "a man of unblamcable character — line com- 
 manding person — whom everybody delighted to 
 meet." On Sept. 5, 1729, he m. Anna Jackson, of 
 Stratford. Her ancestry has not yet been found. 
 She d. at Hinesburg, At., in 1800, aged ninety-two. 
 Children: Eunice, b. 1733-34; Isaac (who was cap- 
 tain of the first company which left Milford for 
 Boston in the American Revolution) ; and Anna. 
 (XX\') Eunice Bostwick, dau. of Lemuel and 
 Anna, b. in New I\Iilford Jan. 2^, 1733-34. m. Jona- 
 than Clark, at New ^lilford, Jan. 18, 1753. Had 
 five children: Huldah. b. Sept. 15, 1754; Heze- 
 kiah, b. June 22, 1757; Anna, b. April 24, 1759; 
 George, b. Sept. 7. 1761 ; Anna, b. Oct. 3, 1764. 
 (XXV'I) George Clark, son of Jonathan and Eunice, 
 b. Sept. 7, 1761, m. Mary Smith [see Smith |. 
 (XX\II) Huldah Clark ni. Oliver Stevens [seej. 
 (XXXIH) Sally Maria Stevens m. Samuel W. Up- 
 son [see]. (XXIX) Emeline M. Upson m. Frank- 
 lin Downes [see]. (XXX) Florence E. Downes m. 
 Adrian J. Muzzy [see]. (XXXI) Adrienne Flor- 
 ence IMuzzy, b. 1885. [From Stratford and Wood- 
 bury Histories; New Slilford History; New Mil- 
 ford Church Record ; Stuart's Life of Jonathan 
 Trumbull, etc.] 
 
 Clark. (I) Jonathan Clark m. Eunice Bost- 
 wick, of New Milford [see], Jan. 18, 1753. Had 
 five children : Huldah, Hezekiah, Anna, George, 
 Anna. (II) George Clark, b. Sept. 7, 1761, at New 
 Milford, m. Mary Smith [see]. He was a ship- 
 builder and merchant. Had four daughters and one 
 son, the latter dying young. Daughters : Alary m. 
 Joseph Bostwick; Hepzibah ; Ophelia; Huldah. 
 (Ill) Huldah Clark, dau. of George and Mary 
 (Smith) Clark, b. Jan. 22, 1783, m. Oliver Stevens 
 [see]. Children: Sallv Maria, Elisha Clark, Eme- 
 line (living January, 1901), Elvira, Livonia, Hora- 
 tio Kimberly, George Leander. Charles Tracy, twins 
 died, IMaryett. (IV) Sally JMaria Stevens m. Sam- 
 uel W. LTpson. (V) Emeline M. Upson m. Frank- 
 lin Downes. (VI) Florence E. Downes m. Adrian 
 J. Muzzv. (VII) Adrienne Florence Muzzy, b. 
 1885. 
 
 AA'alker. (I) Robert Walker, b. 1607, in 1623 
 was living in Manchester, Lancashire, England, was 
 in Boston in 1632, when he united with church. 
 
 In 1669 he was one of the founders of the "Old 
 South" Church. He d. May 29, 1687. His widow, 
 
 Sarah , d. Dec. 21, 1695. Had twelve 
 
 children: Elizabeth, 1635; Zechariah, 1(337; John, 
 1639; Sarah, 1641; Jacob; Joseph, July, 1646; 
 Thomas and J\Iary, who d. young; Timothy; Elia- 
 kim; Mary; John. (II) Joseph Walker, sixth child 
 of Robert and Sarah, b. July, 1646, came when a 
 young man to Stratford. In 1667 he m. Abigail 
 
 I Pruddcn [see]. Joseph d. November, 1687, and his 
 widow m. Richard Hubbell, Sr. Joseph and Abigail 
 had five children: Robert, Sarah, Johannah (or 
 Joanna), Abigail and Mary. (Ill) Abigail Walker, 
 b. February, 1671-72, m. John Bostwick, Jr. [see]. 
 (IV) Lemuel Bostwick m. Anna Jackson. (V) 
 Eunice Bostwick m. Jonathan Clark. (VI) George 
 Clark m. Mary Smith [see]. (VII) Huldah Clark 
 m. Oliver Stevens [see]. (VIII) Sally M. Stevens 
 m. Samuel AV. Upson [see]. (IX) Emeline M. 
 Upson m. Franklin Downes [see]. (X) Florence 
 E. Downes m. Adrian J. Muzzy. (XI) Adrienne 
 Florence Aluzzy. [See New England Genealogical 
 Register for 1847, History of Stratford, Savage, 
 Boston Records, etc.] 
 
 PuuDDEN. (I) Rev. Peter Prudden, one of the 
 "Fathers of New England," and founder of Mil- 
 ford, Conn., was b. at Edgton, Yorkshire, England, 
 in 1601. Ordained for ministry in England. Was 
 a non-conformist cf Church of England. Sailed 
 from Bristol, England, in the "James," leading a 
 company from Hereford and other western counties. 
 Arrived at Boston July 26, 1637, two months being 
 the average time from England to America. They 
 joined Eaton's company to Ouinnipiac (New Ha- 
 ven). The Sunday following their arrival, April 
 i8, 1638, Rev. Mr. Davenport preached to the peo- 
 ple in the morning, under a spreading oak, near the 
 
 j northeast corner of George and College streets, near 
 Yale College ; and Rev. Mr. Prudden preached in the 
 afternoon, at the same place, the second sermon ever 
 given in New Haven, his text being : "The voice 
 of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way 
 of the Lord." Prudden and his company received 
 house-lots ; but during the summer of 1638 Prud- 
 den, preaching at Wethersfield, found several dis- 
 satisfied families, who were willing to go with him 
 and his company to the place now called Milford. 
 On Feb. 12, 1639, they received a formal deed of 
 land from Ansantaway, Sachem of the Wepowaugs, 
 and removed thither in the autumn. Prudden's 
 salary was £48, and fire wood. His house and 
 George Clark's were the two fortified houses in 
 Milford. The first burying-ground was a part of 
 Mr. Prudden's home-lot. A tablet in the First Con- 
 gregational church at Milford, on the site of the 
 first church there, has an inscription by Cotton 
 Mather: "I am sure 'tis a blessed child of God 
 whose name is before us, who, besides his other ex- 
 cellent qualities, was noted for a singular faculty to 
 sweeten, compose, and qualify exasperated spirits, 
 and stop or heal all contentiones. Whence it was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1279 
 
 that his town of Milford enjoyed peace and truth 
 all his days. He continued an able and faithful 
 servant of the churches until the fifty-sixth year of 
 his age, when his death was felt by the Colony as a 
 fall of a pillar which made the whole fabrick to 
 shake." Peter Prudden has also a large memorial 
 stone at the entrance to the Milford Memorial 
 Bridge, inscribed with his first text at New Plaven. 
 He m. Joanna Boyse, at Edgton, County of York, 
 England. Had five daughters and three sons : Jo- 
 anna, bapt. 1640; Elizabeth, 1643; Abigail, 1647; 
 Sarah, 1650; Mildred, 1653; John, 1646 (Harvard, 
 1668) ; Samuel ; Peter, died young. Peter Prud- 
 den left a good estate here, and lands in England. 
 (H) Abigail Prudden, b. 1647, m., Nov. 14, 1667, 
 Joseph Walker [see]. She d. 1717. After Walker's 
 death she m. Richard Hubbell [see]. Joseph and 
 Abigail had five children : Robert, Sarah, Johannah 
 (or Joanna), Abigail and Mary. (HI) Abigail 
 Walker, b. February, 1671-72, m. John Bostwick". 
 (IV) Lemuel Bostwick m. Anna Jackson. (V) 
 Eunice Bostwick m. Jonathan Clark. (VI) George 
 Clark m. Mary Smith [seel. (VII) Huldah Clark 
 m. Oliver Stevens [see]. (VIII) Sally M. Stevens 
 m. Samuel W. Upson [see]. (IX) Emeline M. Up- 
 son m. Franklin Downes [see]. (X) Florence E. 
 Downes m. Adrian J. Muzzy [see]. (XI) Adrienne 
 Florence Muzzy, b. 1885. [New England Genealog- 
 ical Register, 1847; Savage; Atwater's History of 
 New Haven; Glastonbury History.] 
 
 Canfield, spelled also Camfield, Campfield, 
 Camphile, Canfyld. (I) Sergt. Thomas Canfield, 
 probably brother of Matthew, came to Milford from 
 New Haven about 1647. Had four acres of land iu 
 Milford, received for "supporting a gate." He m. 
 Phebe Crane, dau. of Jasper Crane [see], about 
 1652 (?). Admitted to church, 1657; representa- 
 tive to General Court from Milford, 1674 and 1676; 
 is called lieutenant on tax list, 1686. In will, dated 
 Feb. 23, 1687, he mentions three married daus., 
 Sarah, Phebe, Elizabeth ; and three unmarried. Also 
 sons Thomas and Jeremiah, also "son, John Smith." 
 He d. 1689. Has block in Memorial Bridge to 
 Founders of Milford. (II) Phebe Canfield, b. May 
 8, 1656, d. May 3, 1730, m., Jan. 23, 1671-73, Sergt. 
 John Smith. Children: John (3) ; Thomas; Sam- 
 uel ; Ebenezer ; Joseph ; Abiah ; Nathan ; Joseph — 
 eight boys. (HI) Joseph Smith (i) m. Mary 
 Clark [see]. (IV) Capt. Joseph Smith m. Widow 
 Jemima (Hubbell) Bostwick [see Hubbell]. (V) 
 Mary (Polly) Smith m. George Clark. (VI) FIul- 
 dah Clark m. Oliver Stevens. (VII) Sally M. Ste- 
 vens m. Samuel W. Upson. (VIII) Emeline M. 
 Upson m. Franklin Downes. (IX) Florence E. 
 Downes m. Adrian J. Muzzy. (X) Adrienne Flor- 
 ence Muzzy. 
 
 Crane, spelled also Crayne and Grain. "The 
 
 name of Crane often appears among the Records 
 
 of Meetings in England before 1630, as one of the 
 
 Governors and Company of the New England Col- 
 
 • ony to be planted in Massachusetts Bay." [Hin- 
 
 man.] The Cranes had several coats of arms. (I) 
 Hon. Jasper Crane (called variously "Mister" Crane, 
 Esquire, Jasper Crayne, Sr., and "that good old 
 saint Jasper Crane," etc.) was an important and 
 one of the first settlers of New Haven Colony; 
 signed "Fundamental Agreement" June 4, 1639, at 
 a meeting "held at the barn of Mr. Newman;" was 
 one of the surveyors who laid out town plat of New 
 Haven, locating grants, settling division lines, dis- 
 puted titles, etc. ; was selectman, and one of civil 
 managers, 1639-1641 ; was made freeman, 1644, and 
 "freed from watching and trayning;" merchant 
 trader in Fair Haven and Branford, 1644-45 and 
 1652 ; built house on east side of Fair Haven green, 
 1644-45. In 1653 he was one of the first deputies 
 to the General Court of Electors from Branford, 
 which office he held five years. In 1654 he (with 
 others, such as Sherman, Leete, Lewes, Treat, etc.) 
 was invested with power as magistrate to assist in 
 the governments of the plantations of New Haven, 
 Milford, Branford, Guilford and Stamford. In 
 May, 1658, he was chosen magistrate of New Haven 
 Colony, and held this office till 1663. In 1664-65, 
 on the union of New Haven Colony with Hartford, 
 Jasper Crane was ordered b)' General Assembly to 
 be assistant to General Court, holding this position 
 three years, as well as the office of magistrate of 
 Connecticut for same period, and justice of county 
 court of New Haven, 1664-65. In 1667-68 he sold 
 property in Branford and moved to Newark, N. J., 
 of which place he had been one of the projectors in 
 1665. Here he and Robert Treat, afterward gov- 
 ernor of Connecticut, were the first magistrates. 
 [Treat's daughter Mary m. Crane's son Azariah.] 
 They represented Newark at General Court the same 
 year; were deputies, 1669-70; deputies and magis-i 
 trates, 1671-72, when Treat returned to Connecti-i 
 cut, and Crane held same offices 1675. He "died, 
 an old man," at Newark, about 1681. Children are 
 given probably as follows: Phebe, 1633; John, 
 1635; Hannah, 1639, m. Thomas Huntington; De- 
 liverance, bapt. 1642; Mercy, 1645; Azariah (some- 
 times given as Micah), 1647; Jasper, Jr., 1651 ; and 
 it is said there was also Bell, who may have come 
 between John and Hannah, in 1637. (II) Phebe 
 Crane m. Thomas Canfield probably about 1652 [see 
 Canfield]. (Ill) Phebe Canfield m. Sergt. John 
 Smith. (IV) Joseph Smith (i) m. Mary Clark. 
 (V) Capt. Joseph Smith m. Jemima (Hubbell) 
 Bostwick, widow. (VI) Mary (Polly) Smith m. 
 George Clark. (VII) Huldah Clark m. Oliver Ste- 
 vens. (VIII) Sally M. Stevens m. Samuel W. Up- 
 son. (IX) Emeline M. Upson m. Franklin Downes. 
 (X) Florence E. Downes m. Adrian J. Muzz_v. (XI) 
 Adrienne Florence Muzzy, b. 1885. [From Hin- 
 man : various town histories, and Conn. Records.] 
 Smith. (I) John Smith (i), b. 16—, 1684; 
 settler of Milford, Conn., 164O, is presumed to have 
 been one of the Hertfordshire men who could not 
 leave England with Prudden in 1637, as they de- 
 sired ; probably came direct to New Haven in 1639 ; 
 
1280 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 left property over £513. He m. Grace Hawley, who 
 d. 1690, supposed sister of Joseph Hawley, Strat- 
 ford. Children of John and Grace (Hawley) 
 Smith : Ephraim, b. 16.14, m- Abigail Briscoe ; John 
 (2), bapt. 1646, ni. Phcebe Gantield; Mary, b. 1648, 
 m. Dr. Abel Gunn; Ebenezer, b. 1650, d. young; 
 Mercy, b. 1652; Mehitable, b. 1655, ni. Edward 
 Camp. (II) John Smith (Sergt.), bapt. Aug. 27, 
 164O, d. Jan. 8, 1732; lived in -Milford. On Jan. 
 23, 1672-73, he m. rhebe Canfield (or Camplield), 
 dau. of Sergt. Thomas Canlield and Phoebe (Crane). 
 Tombstones are in ^Milford cemetery. Children of 
 John (2) and Phuebe (Canfield) Smith: John (3), 
 b. 1674, m. Ruth Briscoe; Ihomas, .March, I'v/. 
 m. Hannah Camp; Samuel, 1679; Ebenezer, 16S3- 
 1744, m. Sarah Collins; Joseph, d. young; Abiali, 
 1686; Nathan, 1O89, m. Plannah Tibbals; Joseph 
 (i), bapt. 1694, m. i\Iary Clark. (IH) Joseph 
 Smith (i), bapt. April 15, 1694, ni., July 7, 1720. 
 Mary Clark, dau. of George and Rebecca Clark, 
 Milford. Mary d. Feb. 23, 1773. Moved to Brook- 
 field, Conn. Children of Joseph (i) and Mary 
 (Clark) Smith: George, 1721-1800; ilary, 1723- 
 1795; Abiah, 1727-1819; Joseph (2), 1730-1810; 
 Amos, 1732-1807; Ann, 1734-1758. Joseph S;nith 
 (i) was the first magistrate in Brookfield, "the 
 finest old magistrate ever lived," states a descend- 
 ant living at Danbury. (IV) Joseph Smith (2), 
 captain in Revolutionary war (Connecticut Rec- 
 ords), b. Jilarch 15, 1730, d. Aug. 10, 1810. He m. 
 Jemima Hubbell, widow of Gershom Bostwick, of 
 Brookfield [see Hubbell]. Children of Capt. Joseph 
 
 and Jemima Smith: Abel (m. Sarah ), 
 
 Prude, Jemima, Joseph (3) (m. Patty Wilmot). 
 Eli, and Mary (called Polly). Capt. Joseph Smitli. 
 his wife Jemima, also their daughter Mary and her 
 husband, as well as Abel and Sarah., are well re- 
 membered by the descendant mentioned above. 
 Capt. Joseph was a first selectman of Brookfield, 
 1788, and representative in 1789. Pie is buried at 
 Hawley ville. (V) Marv (Pollv) Smith m. George 
 Clark [see]. (VI) Huldah Clark m. Oliver Ste- 
 vens [see]. (Vll) Sally Maria Stevens m. Samuel 
 W. Upson. (VIII) Emeline JNI. Upson m. Franklin 
 Downes. (IX) Florence E. Downes m. Adrian J. 
 Muzzy. (X) Adrienne Florence iMuzzy, b. 1885. 
 
 Hubbell. This name comes from Hubba's Hill 
 (Hub-hill, Hubbill, Hubbell), which was so called 
 from Hubba, the Dane, chief of a band of barbarians 
 who plundered and destroyed in England, about 
 867, an interesting account of which is given in the 
 Hubbell Genealogy. One of the Hubbell Arms con- 
 tains the Danish Raven, the ensign carried by 
 Hubba, originally the mark of the God Odin, which 
 "fell from heaven" upon the Danish army, was cap- 
 tured by Britons, and used by them in war for three 
 centuries, when it gave way to the cross. It is sup- 
 posed that the Connecticut Hubbells came from 
 Walter Hubbell, who had a merchant house in Ply- 
 mouth, England, and d. 1515. His son William 
 carried on the business, and m. Annie Mimant, a 
 
 French lady. He d. 1576, very old. He left one 
 son, Francis, who m. (second) Sophia Brown. In 
 1615 Francis started for the West Indies and was 
 never heard of again. In 1651 his widow 
 Sophia, was alive at Plymouth, England, having 
 two sons, Francis and Edward. It is prob- 
 able that Richard, who came to America, was 
 a son of cither Francis or Edward Hubbell, of Ply- 
 mouth, England. (Fl Richard Hubbell (i), b. 
 1627-28 in' Great Britain, d. Oct. 23, 1699. Prob- 
 ably came to America about 1645-47. In New 
 I Haven, March 7, 1647. M., in 1650, Elizabeth 
 Meigs [see]. Was nlanter in Guilford, Conn., Feb. 
 25, 1653-54. In 1664-65 removed to Fairfield coun- 
 ty, where he was a leading citizen, and an extensive 
 land owner and dealer. Is called sergeant, on rec- 
 ords. He, with his son Richard, was among the 
 nine original members of the First Church of 
 Stratford, now in Bridgeport. ITe left an estate of 
 over i8i6. Children of Richard and Elizabeth 
 (Meigs) Hubbell: John, b. about 1652, at New 
 Haven, d. 1690; Richard (2), b. 1654; James, b. 
 1656; Elizabeth, b. 1659; Ebenezer; Mary; all in 
 Guilford; Martha, about 1664-65, in Fairfield coun- 
 ty. His first wife, Elizabeth, d. about or before 
 1672; and his second wife, whose initials on tomb- 
 stone are also "E. H.," d. early in 1688. Children of 
 second wife: Samuel, Abigail, Sarah, James (Fair- 
 field), Richard m. (third), in 1688, Abigail Prudden 
 W'alker. Fler children were : Joseph, b. about 1690, d. 
 1700; John, b. 1691 [sec Prudden and Walker]. (II) 
 Richard Hubbell (2), b. at Guilford 1654, d. 1738. 
 Removed with his parents to "Fayrefield" when 
 about eight years old. On Nov. 5, 1685, he m. 
 (first) Rebecca Morehouse (dau. of Samuel More- 
 house, d. 1687, and Rebecca , of Fairfield). 
 
 Rebecca Hubbell d. April 2, 1692, leaving children: 
 Peter, b. 1686; Ebenezer, 1687; Elizabeth, 1689; and 
 infant son, Jonathan, b. March 25, 1692. Richard 
 m. his second wife the same year, and had seven 
 more children between 1694 and 1709. He was a 
 wealthy planter, and held many offices of trust ; was 
 one of the nine original members of the First Con- 
 gregational Church of Stratford Parish (now 
 Bridgeport), to which church he willed a silver 
 tankard valued at £55, which was in use at least 
 150 years later. He was lieutenant, and was select- 
 man for ten years ; was also auditor, constable, sheep 
 master, on scho 1 and various other committees. 
 
 (III) Jonathan Hubbell, son of Lieut. Richard Hub- 
 bell and Rebecca Morehouse, b. March 25, 1692, d. 
 Sept. 6, 1766. Moved to Newtown, and m. Peace- 
 able Silliman, Nov. 18, 1713. Children: Daniel, 
 Ichabod, Richard, Hannah, Elizabeth, Jemima, Hep - 
 zibah, Beulah, Ithamar, Rebecca, Silliman and 
 Jeptha. Jonathan's will is dated Nov. 24, 1768. 
 
 (IV) Jemima Hubbell, dau. of Jonathan and Peace- 
 able, b. (probably) about 1724-25, m. (first) Ger- 
 shom Bostwick, and (second) Capt. Joseph Smith, 
 of Newtown, June 13, 1754 [see Smith]. She is 
 called Jemima Smith in her father's will. (V) 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1281 
 
 Mary Smith, dau. of Capt. Joseph and Jemima, m. 
 George Clark. (VI) Huldah Clark m. Oliver Ste- 
 vens. (VII) Sally M. Stevens m. Samuel W. Up- 
 son. (VIII) Emeline M. Upson m. Franklin 
 Downes. (IX) Florence E. Dovvnes m. Adrian J. 
 Muzzy. (X) Adrienne Florence Muzzy, b. 1885. 
 [Flubbell Genealogy.] 
 
 Meigs (or Meggs). (I) Vincent Meigs, b. 
 1570, came from Dorsetshire, England, and settled 
 first at Weymouth, Mass. ; was living in New Haven, 
 Conn., 1647, owning what is now corner of Church 
 and Chapel streets ; removed to Guilford, then to 
 Killingworth, where he d. 1658. Will is dated Sept. 
 2, 1658. (II) John Meigs, b. in England in 1600, 
 m. Tomasine Fry, sister of William Fry, in England, 
 1630. Was first in Weymouth, Mass., then in New 
 Haven, Conn., 1647, Guilford, 1654, and Killing- 
 worth, 1663 ; made freeman here in 1669. Was a 
 tanner, and had large estate. Owned some books, 
 one a Greek and Latin Dictionary. His will is in 
 existence. He d. at Killingworth Jan. 4, 1672. (Ill) 
 Elizabeth Meigs, dau. of John, m. Richard Hub- 
 bell (i) [see]. (IV) Lieut. Richard Hubbell m. 
 Rebecca Morehouse. (V) Jonathan Hubbell m. 
 Peaceable Silliman. (VI) Jemima Hubbell (Bost- 
 wick) m. Capt. Joseph Smith [see]. (VII) Mary 
 Smith m. George Clark [see]. (VIII) Huldah 
 Clark m. Oliver Stevens [see]. (IX) Sally M. 
 Stevens m. Samuel W. Upson [see]. (X) Eme- 
 line M. Upson m. Franklin Downes [see]. (XI) 
 Florence E. Downes m. Adrian J. Muzzy [see]. 
 (XII) Adrienne Florence Muzzy. [From Hubbard 
 Genealogy.] 
 
 HON. PHILIP CORBIN, a leading American 
 manufacturer, widely known in the business world 
 as founder and president of the great hardware 
 manufacturing corporation of P. & F. Corbin of 
 New York and New Britain, president and treas- 
 urer of the Corbin Cabinet Lock Co., president of 
 the New Britain Machine Co., vice-president of the 
 New Britain Savings Bank, director of the Hart- 
 ford National Bank, of Hartford, the Mechanics 
 National Bank, of New Britain, and also of the 
 Hartford Steam Boiler Insurance Co., of Hartford, 
 and formerly a city official of New Britain and 
 member of the House of Representatives and State 
 Senate of , Connecticut, was born in Willington, 
 Conn., Oct. 26, 1824. 
 
 The family name of Corbin is of great antiquity 
 in England, and is enrolled among the armigeri of 
 Staffordshire, Suffolk and other counties. In the 
 annals of that kingdom Walter Corbin is men- 
 tioned in 1272; and- Geoff I'y Corbin, presumably 
 his ancestor, in 1194. They were of Norman ori- 
 ■gin, and were probably descendants of Robert Cor- 
 bin of Normandy, mentioned in Magr. Rotul. Scac- 
 carri Nonnannise in 1180-1195. The first of the 
 name mentioned in American records is, singularly 
 enough, Robert Corbin, who came from England 
 and settled at Casco Bay, near Portland, Maine. 
 
 81 
 
 "Corbyn Sound" there was named after him. He 
 was a man of education and consequence. In the 
 Colonial records for the year 1658, still preserved 
 in the State House at Boston, his name appears 
 signed by himself to a report of the commission 
 sent out to that region by , the Massachusetts Legis- 
 lature for the purpose of bringing settlers thers 
 into closer touch with the Massachusetts govern- 
 ment, his signature testifying to his recognition of 
 its authority, and his willingness to be governed 
 by its laws. He was killed by Indians, and, al- 
 though married, left no issue. 
 
 The subject of this sketch traces his ancestry 
 to James Corbin, born at Roxbury, Mass., in 1667, 
 probably a son of John Corbin, of Roxbury, who 
 IS supposed by Savage [New Eng. Gen. Diet.] to 
 have been a son of Clement Corbin, or Corbyn, of 
 that town. It is possible that John was a brother 
 or nephew of Robert Corbin, of Casco Bay ; and 
 the fact that he, too, fought the Indians makes this 
 seem probable. John Corbin was one of sixteen; 
 white men who, with a body of fifty-two "praying 
 Indians," Eliot's converts, left Boston on July 6, 
 1675, (during the King Philip's war), under com- 
 mand of the intrepid Capt. Isaac Johnson of Rox- 
 bury, marched into Rhode Island, and took part in 
 the Fort Fight at Mount Hope, Dec. 19, 1675, 
 where, at a heavy loss of life to the attacking party, 
 the savage Narragansett tribe was destroyed [Hist, 
 of Roxbury]. James Corbin is recorded as an orig- 
 inal settler and proprietor of Woodstock, Conn., in 
 1686. He married at that place, April 7, 1687,. 
 Flannah Eastman. He was living at Dudley, Mass >. 
 in 1732, and died there. His sons were James, Jr.,. 
 Clement, Philip, Samuel, and Elisha, all born 
 probably at Woodstock, where the first three were- 
 married, although all subsequently became residents' 
 of Dudley. Each of these brothers was a man ot 
 weight and distinction in the community. James 
 was chosen "field driver" in 1732; Clement, "town 
 treasurer" in 1741, and "captain" in 1744; Philip, 
 a "tytheing man" in 1739, and a "constable" in 
 1746; Samuel, "surveyor" in 1737, "constable" in 
 1739, and "selectman" in 1759; and Elisha, a "con- 
 stable" in 1750. 
 
 Philip Corbin married Jan. 13, 173 1, Dorothj 
 Barstow. One of their sons, Lemuel, the great- 
 grandfather of our subject, is first mentioned in 
 the records of the town of Dudley as a young man 
 who (in 1759) was given leave with orders tO' 
 build a pew at the rear of the church. He was 
 chosen "constable" in 1768, and became "captain" 
 in 1781. In the history o£ Union, Conn., it is re- 
 corded that "Philip Corbin, son of Lemuel and 
 descended from James Corbin, came to Union, from 
 Dudley, Mass., in 1793." The historian further 
 says : "He was a man of more than ordinary powers 
 of body and mind, which, guided by stern integrity,, 
 gave him an influence largely felt wherever he went. 
 He was a farmer, owning a large tract of land ; 
 manufactured potash in considerable quantities, and' 
 
12S2 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 at one time owned part of the Alashapaug sawmill. 
 He was selectman a number of years ; represented 
 the town in Legislature in 1814 and 1815; and 
 was a prominent and intluential member of the 
 Church. ' His wife, Rhoby liealy, of Dudley, 
 bore him six children, of whom i'hilip, Jr., the 
 third son, born at Union April 4, 1797, went to live 
 at Wellington, whence he removed in 1833 to West 
 Hartford, where he died July 24, iSSi. On No- 
 vember 29, iSjg, he married Lois Chaffee, of Ash- 
 ford, Conn., by whom he was the father of ten 
 children, who lived to maturity. Philip Corbin, 
 the third of this large family, is the subject of this 
 sketch. 
 
 One of eight sons, Philip Corbin was brought 
 up with his brothers on his father's farm. In 
 the labor incident to its management, and in outside 
 work, these lads all developed wonderfully vigorous 
 physical frames, and acquired habits of industry 
 and self-reliance which went far toward taking tiie 
 place of the higher schooling from which they were 
 in a measure debarred by their parents' limited 
 means. Philip, however, after attending the dis- 
 trict schools, had the advantage of one and one- 
 half terms at the West Hartford Academy, and at 
 tiie age of fifteen, when he took up farm work, 
 was a well-informed and promising lad. Strong, 
 active and willing, he did a man's work and earned 
 a man's wages, which he turned over to his father 
 for the family's support. Finding himself pos- 
 sessed of decided mechanical tastes, he quitted 
 farm work when nineteen years of age, and (in 
 March, 1844) went to New Britain, Conn., where 
 he secured employment with Russell & Erwin, and 
 later in the lock shop of North & Stanley. He 
 had not been thus employed a year before he felt 
 sufficient confidence in his skill to bid for a con- 
 tract on his own account. Filling it to the satis- 
 faction of those with whom it was made, he took 
 another contract, and, calling his vounger brother, 
 F"rank, to his aid, made him his partner. From the 
 profits of their venture they deducted merely suffi- 
 cient for their expenses, paying the surplus loyally 
 to their father. In 1849 P. & F. Corbin, in partner- 
 ship with Edward Doen, as Doen, Corbin & Co., 
 built a small shop, put in machinery worked by 
 horse-power (steam having been introduced then 
 only on a limited scale), and on a joint capital of 
 less than a thousand dollars launched themselves 
 as manufacturers. 
 
 Their first aim was to make articles not made 
 bv others, in competition with European firms. 
 They began with ox-balls, for tipping horns of 
 cattle, window springs, lamp hooks, etc., and 
 changed to other products when competition pro- 
 duced what they had made. The success of the 
 enterprise was so immediate— the brothers being 
 skillful and earnest workmen who did most of the 
 manual labor themselves — that they soon drew 
 three of their vounger brothers, William (died 
 
 i860), Andrew, and George S. (died 1899), into 
 the business, giving each in turn a share in its 
 management. In 1853 the firm was re-organized as 
 a joint-stock company, the style "P. & F. Corbin" 
 being retained, hrom their original productions 
 they soon branched out into the manufacture of 
 certain kinds of locks, bolts, hinges, latches and 
 general builders hardware. Plain and low-priced 
 goods were made at first, but in 1808 new fields 
 were entered upon, and the company turned out 
 more ornamental goods than any other manufac- 
 turer liien made. The P. & F. Corbin Co. was the 
 first to use the bronzing process patented by Hiram 
 Tucker, of Boston. The articles, styles and designs 
 made have been innumerable, and the quantities 
 vast and increasing constantly. The company has 
 supplied bronze hardware for the State, Navy and 
 War Department Buildings at Washington, D. C, 
 the Post Office and Sub-Treasury at Boston, and 
 many other public buildings; and for many great 
 offices, business and government structures every- 
 where, including many large banks and insurance 
 companies, and the fine State Capitol at Hartford. 
 When the brothers began as employers of labor 
 they had ten workmen in their pay. For years past 
 they have had upward of eighteen hundred on their 
 pay roll, this number including a large corps of 
 inventors, artists, designers and pattern-makers, in 
 addition to other skilled hands. The works and 
 main offices of the company are at New Britain, 
 Conn., and constitute an important feature in that 
 thriving center. Many large buildings make up 
 these works, which cover several acres. Stores 
 with full stocks of the firm's products are main- 
 tained also in New York City, in Chicago and in 
 Philadelphia. The catalogue and price list of tne 
 company's productions takes the form of a beau- 
 tifully illustrated bound volume of about eight 
 hundred pages, which is sent to all parts of the 
 world. 
 
 In a degree probably far ahead of any other 
 manufacturing concern, this company goes into the 
 finer quality of goods, and the excellence and ar- 
 tistic character of these is not surpassed in any 
 country. In 1882 the Corbin Cabinet Lock Co. was 
 organized for the manufacture of cabinet locks, 
 cabinet and miscellaneous hardware. Of this cor- 
 poration, also, Philip Corbin is president and treas- 
 urer. From the inception of the business he has 
 been the prime factor in its conduct and develop- 
 ment ; and to-day, although seventy-five years of 
 age, he directs its vast operations with the vigor, 
 sagacity, keenness of oversight and executive ability 
 of a man of sixty or less. Still a man of vigor- 
 ous frame, excellent health and quick mental per- 
 ceptions, his appearance, energy and decision are 
 a marvel and belie his years. He has added to- 
 his multifarious duties in other directions those at- 
 taching to the office of president of the New Britain 
 Machine Co. Of the six brothers who formerly 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1288 
 
 were active in the business lout two are now living; 
 William Corbin died in i860, Waldo Corbin in 
 18 — , and George S. Corbin in 1899. 
 
 More than half a centur)^ ago Mr. Corbin was 
 one of the most active men of his town and count}' 
 in political affairs. Originally a Whig, he held 
 office in New Britain as a member of that party, 
 being induced to serve as warden of the borough 
 before its incorporation, and as a member of the 
 Common Council subsequently. He was water 
 commissioner of the city for many years, and the 
 addition to the city water works was supervised 
 largely by him. As a Republican he was elected to 
 the State Legislature in 1884, and served as chair- 
 man of the committee on Insurance. The knowl- 
 edge and skill he possesses in mechanical matters, 
 and the habit of inspection and criticism, have been 
 of vast service to him in his public life, enabling 
 him to get at and comprehend technical merits of 
 all measures submitted. In 1888 he was elected 
 State senator, the interests of the district demand- 
 ing that he should accept this office. He discharged 
 the obligations laid upon him with exceptional zeal 
 and ability, proving one of the most conscientious 
 and industrious members of the Legislature. 
 
 Mr. Corbin is a man of singular plainness, di- 
 rectness of manner, remarkable simplicit)', sincerity 
 and frankness. His 'natural ability is self-evident, 
 and impresses the beholder at once. Strong, fear- 
 less and broad-minded, his democratic style sits 
 well upon his massive frame and becomes his sim- 
 plicity of life and speech. There is a sincere cor- 
 diality underlying- his character which unmistak- 
 ably attracts and attaches to him hosts of friends. 
 A noble product of the plain, manly and indus- 
 trious life of New England, he is a credit to his 
 forbears, as well as to the institutions of his coun- 
 try and era, and an honor to the business element 
 of America. 
 
 Mr. Corbin was married, June 21, 1848, to 
 Francina T., daughter of Henr^r W. Whiting, of 
 New Britain. Three children were born to this 
 union, of whom two are now living, viz. : Charles 
 F., associated with his father in business ; and 
 Nellie L., wife of William Beers, of New Britain. 
 
 JAMES KILLAM ANDREWS, who passed 
 away Nov. 3, 1899, was one of Glastonbury's best- 
 known business men, and a member of an old Con- 
 necticut family, being of the eight generation in 
 descent from John Andrus, who came to America 
 about i6]p2. This worthy pioneer was one of the 
 eighty-four proprietors of Tunxis, now Farming- 
 ton, in Hartford county, and was a man of wealth 
 and prominence. He died in 1681, and Mary, his 
 wife, died in 1694. By some of his descendants 
 the name is still spelled Andrus, but in other 
 branches it is written Andrews. The children of 
 John and Mary Andrus were : Mary, born 1643, 
 married Thomas Barnes ; John, born 1645 J Han- 
 nah, born 1647, married Obediah Richards; Abra- 
 
 ham, born 1648, married Sarah Porter ; Daniel, born 
 
 1649; Joseph, born 1651, married Rebecca ; 
 
 Rachel, born 1654, married Ezekiel Buck, of Weth- 
 crsfield ; Stephen, born 1656, died young; and Ben- 
 jamin, born 1659, married Marj' Smith. 
 
 Daniel Andrus, third son of John and Mary 
 Andrus, lived in Farmington, and in 1672 he was 
 recognized as one of the eighty-four proprietors. 
 He was a prominent man, and was mentioned on 
 the records as one of the "townsmen." He died 
 April 6, 1 73 1. His wife's name is not known, but 
 they had a large family, as follows : Daniel, Jr., 
 born March 9, 1672, married Mabel Goff Oct. 30, 
 1707; Mary, born Dec. 9, 1674, married Isaac 
 Cowles; Joseph, born Aug. 10, 1676, married Su- 
 sannah Hough; Thomas, born June 3, 1678; John, 
 born June 10, 1680, married Mary Goff; Martha, 
 born July 17, 1682; Hannah, Jan. 13, 1684; Paul, 
 Jan. 2, 1686; Stephen, born Aug. 2, 1689, mar- 
 ried Abigail Dodge; and Ebenezer, born Aug. 28, 
 1692. 
 
 Daniel Andrus, Jr., made his home near the 
 line between Wethersfield and Farmington. He 
 died Aug. 21, 1748, and his wife, Mabel Goff, who 
 was born Oct. 31, 1690, died May 9, 1768. They 
 had eight children : Joseph, born 171 1 ; Abigail, born 
 July 22, 1713; Mabel, boi'n June 6, 1715, married 
 Charles Kelsey; Eunice, born Sept. 18, 171-, mar- 
 ried James Ke'lsey ; Daniel, born May 12, 1720, mar- 
 ried Eunice Kelsey; Hannah, born Sept. S, 1723, 
 married James Judd; Jacob, born Jan. 24, 1729, 
 married Eunice Emmons ; Hezekiah, born Aug. 14, 
 1 73 1, married Anna Steadman. 
 
 Joseph Andrus, born 171 1, was married, Dec. 
 13, 1733, to Elizabeth Wilcox, a widow, and later 
 he married Theoda Penclal. He located in South 
 Glastonbury at a place called "Shingle Hollow," 
 and by occupation he was a farmer and mechanic. 
 He had three children: Daniel, born 1734, is men- 
 tioned below; Joseph, born April 17, 1745, in Glas- 
 tonbury, was married. May 25, 1769, to Susannah 
 Brooks, of that town; and John, born in Glaston- 
 bury. 
 
 Daniel Andrus, eldest son of Joseph, was born 
 in "Shingle Hollow." In 1777 he took the oath 
 of fidelity in Glastonbury, and he was in the Revo- 
 lutionary war as a member of the Second Com- 
 pany, 5th Regiment Militia. He lived on the farm 
 now occupied by our subject, and his death oc- 
 curred Dec. 3, 1818. His wife, Anna Eddy, of 
 Glastonbury, died Dec. 10, 1827. They had chil- 
 dren as follows : John married Lucy Eddy ; Molly 
 married Jacob Judd, of New Britain, Conn. ; Dorcas 
 married Ephraim Bidwell ; Anna married Thomas 
 Lewis ; Phebe married Ephrapas Chapman, of Glas- 
 tonbury ; Rachel, born 1776, married David Taylor, 
 of South Glastonbury ; Charles died at the age of 
 eighteen years ; Daniel, Jr., is mentioned below ; 
 Betsey, born Dec. 15, 1785, married Luman Taylor, 
 of Glastonbury. 
 
 Daniel Andrus, son of Daniel and Anna An- 
 
1284 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 driis, and the grandfather of our subject, was born 
 June 4, 1780, on the old home farm, where he 
 passed his life in agricultural pursuits. lie was a 
 tine specimen of the race, being healthy, vigorous 
 and athletic. The Middlctown correspondent of 
 the Evening Press, under date of Alay 29, 1871, 
 had this to say respecting him : "A Mr. Andrus, of 
 South Glastonbury, aged ninety-one years, walked 
 from that town to I'ortland on Sunday last to at- 
 tend services at Trinity Church. He stepped olif 
 as smart as any young man and read the services 
 without the aid of spectacles." He died Nov. 11, 
 1871, and was buried with Masonic honors, hav- 
 ing been one of the leading members of Columbia 
 Lodge, F. & A. AL, of South Glastonbury. He was 
 married, Alarch 3, 181 1, to Laura Stevens, a de- 
 scendant of Rev. Timothy Stevens, the first min- 
 ister at Glastonbury. She was born March 20, 
 1786, and died IMarch 19, 1857. They had three 
 children: Harriet Maria, born May 5, 1814, mar- 
 ried Samuel Andrus, of Hartford ; I'.mily, born May 
 26, 1817, was married, Dec. 25, 183S, to Capt. Will- 
 iam W. Abbey ; and George Stevens, born March 
 30, 1819, married Louise H. Killam. 
 
 George Stevens Andrews was born and reared 
 on the homestead, later occupied by our subject, 
 and his education was obtained in the local schools. 
 He entered the employ of the Colt Manufacturing 
 Co., of Hartford, and was engaged in the work of 
 "stocking pistols ;" later he went to England, and 
 was employed in Colt's factory there. He fol- 
 lowed this line of work until past middle age, when 
 he suffered the loss of the sight of his left eye. He 
 then returned to his native town, developed the 
 quarry of feldspar which abounded on his farm, 
 and built the mill for grinding the product, being 
 engaged in that business until his death, which 
 occurred in 1891. He was a prominent citizen, and 
 a leading Democrat, and served in the Legislature 
 and on the board of selectmen. On Nov. 17, 1841, 
 he married Louise Hillard Killam, who was born 
 in 1822, at Preston, opposite Norwich, Conn., daugh- 
 ter of James and Caroline (Holden) Killam. Her 
 father was engaged in tool manufacturing, and in 
 later years was a farmer in South Glastonbury. 
 George S. and Louise H. Andrews had four chil- 
 dren, as follows : George H., born June 18, 1846, 
 married Isabelle Robertson, .and settled in Mid- 
 dletown ; he was a contractor ard mason, and did 
 ornamental work in the plastering line, and was 
 completing work on the cathedral in Hartford, and 
 employed in ornamental work on the "Allyn 
 House" in that city, when he died, Feb. 8, 1S99. 
 James K., our subject, was next in the' order of 
 birth. Jessie Louise, born July 23, 1850, was mar- 
 ried, Dec. 29, 1870, to Robert Mitchell, the present 
 town clerk of Portland. Edward died in infancv. 
 James Killam Andrews was born Feb. 25, 1848, 
 in the house he occupied at the time of his death, 
 and his education was such as was then obtainable 
 in the district school. On leaving school he was 
 
 employed on the home farm and in his father's 
 mill, the grinding of feldspar having become an 
 important business, and he assisted his father in 
 managing the business until the latter's death, when 
 ho purchased the interest of the other heirs in the 
 farm and feldspar mill, operating both. The feld- 
 s])ar is found in various quarries near the mill, 
 which he controlled, his entire product consisting 
 of nearly 5,000 pounds daily, all ground to the fine- 
 ness of Hour, it is shipped to Manchester, where 
 it is made into a scouring cake called "Bon Ami" 
 (good friend). The cakes are sold all over the 
 world, and the business increased steadily under 
 our subject's management. He was a Democrat in 
 politics, and was chosen selectman in 1893, serv- 
 ing on the board two terms. He attended the 
 Episcopal Church, and socially was much esteemed, 
 his family sharing with him the good opinion of 
 the communitv. 
 
 In 1873 Mr. Andrews was inarried to Miss 
 Emily CrijJiJs. a native of Wabaunsee, Kans., and 
 daughter of Samuel Cripps, a blacksmith and 
 wagon-maker of that town. The children born to 
 this union are: (i) Harry J. married Miss Grace 
 Endress, and has one son, James Henry, born Nov. 
 20, 1899; they are living in South Glastonbury, 
 Mr. Andrews being employed as overseer in the 
 grinding mill; (2) Alice is at home; (3) Daniel 
 \\'. assists in the work of the farm; and (4) Lena 
 Belle is at home. 
 
 STEPHEN MORGAN WELLS, Sr., one of 
 Wcthersfield's most prominent agriculturists and 
 highly-respected citizens, was born Sept. 25, 1830, 
 on what is known as the Wells farm in that town, 
 and belongs to one of the oldest and most dis- 
 tinguished-families of Connecticut, many of its 
 rci^resentatives having held honorable and responsi- 
 ble positions in county. State and National affairs 
 from Colonial days down to the present time. The 
 family is of French and English origin, and was 
 founded in England at the time of the Norman 
 Conquest. By one branch of the family the name 
 is spelled Welles, w'hile others, including our sub- 
 ject, spell it Wells. 
 
 The first to come to America was Thomas 
 Wells, one of the first governors of Connecticut. 
 He was born in the County of Essex, England, in 
 1598, and came to this country with the early set- 
 tlers as secretary to Say and Seal, who afterward 
 returned to England. He located in Saybrook 
 about 1636, and later removed to Hartford, becom- 
 ing one of the first magistrates of that town. Sub- 
 sequently he filled the office of governor, and held 
 other public positions. He died Jan. 14^ 1659, or 
 1660, and was buried in Hartford. For his first 
 wife he married Elizabeth Hunt, who died in 1640, 
 and for his second he wedded Elizabeth Foote, 
 vridow of Nathaniel Foote, and sister of John Dem- 
 ing, one of the first settlers of Wethersfield. She 
 died July 28, 1683, aged eighty-eight years. The 
 
^A, yni£^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1285 
 
 -^ 
 
 children of Gov. Wells were as follows : Ann, bom 
 in England, in 1619, was married, April 14, 1646, 
 to Thomas Thompson, of Farmington, who died 
 April 25, 1655, ^"d for liei' second husband she 
 wedded Anthony Hawkins, of Farmington; John, 
 the next in order of birth, is mentioned below; 
 Robert, born in England in 1624, died in 1659 ; 
 Thomas was born in England in 1627; Samuel 
 was born in 1630; Sarah, born in 1632, was mar- 
 ried in February, 1653, to Capt. John Chester, of 
 Wethersfield, who died Feb. 23, 1698, and she died 
 Dec. 16, 1608; Mary bom in 1634, died young; 
 and Joseph was born in Hartford in 1637. 
 
 (II) John Wells, son of Gov. Wells, was bom 
 in England, in 1621, and came to America with 
 his parents. He made his home in Stratford, Conn., 
 where he died in 1659. He held several public 
 offices, and was one of the leading citizens of his^ 
 town. In 1647 he married Elizabeth Curtis, sister 
 of William Curtis, of Stratford, and daug'hter of 
 John Curtis, one of the first settlers of that town. 
 She was again married, in 1662, her second hus- 
 band being John Wilcoxson, of Stratford, bv whom 
 she had three children : Flannah, born Feb. 14, 
 1664; Elizabeth, born in July, 1666; and Mary, 
 born in April, 1668. Mr. Wilcoxson died in 1690. 
 The children of the first marriage were John, born 
 in 1648; Thomas and Robert (twins), bom .in 165 1 ; 
 Temperance, born in 1654; Samuel, born in 1656; 
 and Sarah, born Sept. 28, 1659. 
 
 (III) Robert Wells, son of John, was bom in 
 Stratford, but spent the greater part of his life in 
 Wethersfield, where he owned land and engaged in 
 farming. He was captain of a militia company, 
 and was quite a prominent man in his community. 
 He died on his farm in Wethersfield in June, 1714, 
 at the age of sixty-three years. In that town he 
 was married, in 1675, to Elizabeth Goodrich, a 
 native of Wethersfield, and a daughter of Ensign 
 William Goodrich. She died Feb. 17, 1697, and 
 
 for his second wife he married Mary . In 
 
 his family were the following children : Thomas, 
 born in 1676, lived in Wethersfield. He was mar- 
 ried, Sept. 28, 1699, to Hannah Warner, who died 
 Sept. 18, 1738, and for his second wife he married 
 Sarah Robbins. daughter of Capt. Joshua Robbins. 
 He died Sept. 21, 1741, and she on Dec. 3. 1744. 
 John, born in June, 1678, died young. Joseph, 
 next in the order of birth, is mentioned below. 
 Prudence was married, Oct. 2T, 1700, to Rev. 
 Anthony Stoddard, pastor of the Congregational 
 Church at Woodburv, and died in March. 1714. 
 Robert married Sarah Wolcott, daughter of Sam- 
 uel and Judith (Appleton) WolcOtt. Gideon mar- 
 ried Hannah Chester, of Wethersfield, Nov. 30, 
 1716, and died March 26, 1740, and for his second 
 husband she wedded Jonathan Hale, of Glastonbury. 
 
 (IV) Joseph Wells, son of Robert, was born in 
 Wethersfield in September, 1680, and became a 
 large land owner and prosperous farmer of that 
 town, where he died in 1744, and was there laid 
 
 to rest. On Jan. 6, 1709, he married Hannah 
 Robbins, who was bom in Wethersfield June 10, 
 1688, a daughter of Capt. Joshua and Elizabeth 
 Robbins. They had eight children, whose names 
 and dates of birth were as follows : John, Nov. 13, 
 1710; Prudence, Feb. 12, 1712; Esther, May, 1716; 
 Hannah, Aug. 5, 1718; Joseph, Sept. 17, 1720; 
 Eunice, March 25, 1723; Joshua, September, 1726; 
 and Christopher, December, 1729. 
 
 (V) Joshua Wells, son of Joseph, was quite 
 a land owner in what is known as the Wells Quarter 
 of Wethersfield, and throughout life followed the 
 occupation of farming. He died and was buried 
 in that town. Religiously he was a member of the 
 Congregational Church. He married Experience 
 Dickinson, also a native of Wethersfield, and a 
 member of the same Church. Their children were 
 Experience, born Aug. 14, 1758; Hannah, Oct. 
 26, 1759; Joshua, March 26, 1761 ; Levi, Oct. 17, 
 1762; Gideon, July 15, 1764; Prudence, Oct. 30, 
 1766; Pamela Aug. 30, 1768; Abigail, Jan. 20, I77r; 
 and Daniel, June 15. 1773- 
 
 (VI) Gideon Wells, son of Joshua, and grand- 
 father of our subject, was born on the Wells farm 
 in Wethersfield, received a fair education for that 
 tmie, and became quite a prominent citizen in his 
 comm-unity. He died March 19, 1810, and was 
 buried in Wethersfield cemetery. In March, 1789, 
 he married Emily Hart, who was born July 16, 
 1764, a daughter of Josiah and Abigail (Sluman) 
 Hart, and their children were Sluman, born June 
 
 12, 1790; William Hart, Dec. 15, 1792; Emily, Oct. 
 
 13, 1796; Romanta, May 4, 1798; Dudley, Aug. 
 13, 1800; Mary, Dec. 30, 1802; Pamela, May 3, 
 1806: and Prudence April 2, 1808. 
 
 (VII) Romanta Wells, father of our subject, 
 was born on the old Wells homestead, and there 
 spent his entire life as an agriculturist, being- one 
 of the pioneer seed and tobacco growers of Weth- 
 ersfield. He received only a district-school edu- 
 cation, but became a well-informed man, and was 
 held in high regard by all who knew him. Po- 
 litically he was first a Whig, later a Republican, 
 and in religious faith was an active and prominent 
 member of the Congregational Church. He died 
 upon his farm, Aug. 13, 1861, and was laid to 
 rest in Wethersfield cemetery. He wedded Mary 
 Anne Morgan, a native of Wethersfield, and a 
 daughter of Stephen Morgan, who lived first in 
 New London, Conn., and later in Wethersfield. 
 Our subiect is the eldest of the children born of this 
 union ; Emily Hart married Rev. Samuel P. Leeds, 
 of Flanover, N. H. ; Gideon, a prominent lawyer 
 of Springfield, Mass., married Marietta Gilbert, 
 daughter of Rev. M. S. Gilbert (he died in i8q7) : 
 Dudlev, residing at Wells Farms, married Felicia 
 FI. Hammer, of Wethersfield. and has four chil- 
 dren, Marv Ann, Hannah C. Churchill. Gideon and 
 James Dudley ; and Romanta married Emma Louise 
 Tuttle, and is engaged in tlie drug business in 
 Chicago, 
 
1286 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (\'lllj Stephen iM. Wells, whose name intro- 
 duces this review, attended the district schools of 
 Wcthcrsfield, also the Wethersfield Academy, and 
 completed his education at a high school in west- 
 ern New York, where he studied surveying and 
 civil engineering. In 1851 and 1852 he was em- 
 ployed as a surveyor for the Lake Shore railroad 
 in that section of the Empire State, and later was 
 with the Providence & Fishkill railroad, now the 
 Highland Branch & Consolidated road; but after 
 the death of his father he returned to Wethers- 
 field and located on the old homestead, upon which 
 he has made many useful and valuahle improve- 
 ments. For a number of years he was extensively 
 engaged in the seed business and in general farm- 
 ing, and he is now interested in the dairy business 
 a,' a stockholder and director of the Spring Brook 
 Creamery, of which he was president for a num- 
 ber of years and is now vice-president. Since 1876 
 he has bred Ayrshire cattle, and is an active member 
 of the Ayrshire Breeders Association, serving on 
 the executive board since the association was or- 
 ganized. 
 
 On March 5, 1856, in Xew London. Conn., 
 l\Ir. Wells married Miss Sarah Crannell Tate, a 
 native of that place, and a daughter of \\'iltiam 
 Tate. To them were born eight children: \'ir- 
 ginia Tate, ^Fay t8, 1857: Anne Morgan, Oct. 
 6. 1859; Dudley, ]\[av 17. 1861: F.maline C, Aug. 
 26, 1862: William Tate, July 26, 1864 (he mar- 
 ried Grace Woodhouse Capron. and is now with 
 the .^tna Insurance Co. at Hartford) ; Stephen 
 Morgan, Jr.. Sept. 6. 1866 Che was married. Oct. Q, 
 1895, to Ella Washburn Sessions, and resides in 
 Bristol. Conn.) ; Sarah Crannell. Julv 31. 1869: and 
 Emily Hart, July 30. 1871. The wife and mother, 
 who was a consistent member of the Congregational 
 Church, died June 18. 1882, and was buried at 
 Cedar Hill. For his second wife Tslv. Wells mar- 
 ried Harriet jNIerriman Woodhouse. a native of 
 Wethersfield, and a daughter of the late Samuel 
 Woodhouse, and sister of Samuel N. Woodhouse, 
 a prominent citizen of Wethersfield. She was the 
 widow of Cornelius E. Capron, of New Britain, 
 bv whom she had Grace Woodhouse, who was mar- 
 ried June 19, 1895. to AVilliam Tate Wells, a son 
 of our subject, and has had two children, Harriet 
 Merriman and William Tate, Jr. 
 
 JMr. Wells takes a deep interest in local affairs, 
 especially educational -matters, and was active in 
 the building of the Wethersfield high school. As 
 a progressive farmer he is deeply interested in 
 matters agricultural, is a member of the State 
 Board of Agriculture and the State Experiment 
 Board, and was a charter member of Wethers- 
 field Grange. For many years he was chairman 
 and secretary of the State Agricultural Societv. 
 As a breeder of pure Ayrshire stock, for several 
 years his herd took prizes at many of the State 
 and National exhibitions, which won for him a wide 
 reputation. He was the first president of the Spring 
 
 Brook Creamery, and held that position for sev- 
 eral years. 
 
 Mr. \\'ells has always taken an active part in 
 educational matters ; was chairman of the board of 
 school visitors of Wethersfield, and during his ad- 
 ministration the Wethersfield high school was 
 built. He is a stanch supporter of the men and 
 measures of the Rei)uljlican party, and though he 
 works hard for its interests he has never been 
 an office seeker. In 1865 he was elected to the 
 State Legislature, and most capably served as rep- 
 resentative for one term ; he has twice received the 
 nomination for State senator, and, though defeated, 
 ran ahead of his ticket. He is a genial and pleas- 
 ant gentleman, keeps well informed on the leading 
 events of the dav. and is a faithful member of the 
 Congregational Church. 
 
 HON. ALFRED E. PHELPS, a prominent 
 business man of Xaubuc, has an extensive trade in 
 coal, and is also interested in tobacco growing and 
 general agriculture. His excellent judgment and 
 knowledge of the world are combined with an agree- 
 able personality, which has made him popular in 
 social and political life. 
 
 Mr. Phelps' familv has resided at Glastonbury 
 for many years, his grandfather, Abram Phelps, a 
 blacksmith by trade, having resided near the site 
 of the brick school house, south of the ixist office, 
 and later in a house on Naubuc avenue, where his 
 death occurred. This Avorthy citizen married a 
 Miss Pelton, of Portland, Conn., and had five chil- 
 dren : Harriet married Frederick Cooley, of Glas- 
 tonburv. and now resides in Worcester. Mass. 
 Philo F., our subject's father, is mentioned below. 
 Cynthia Ann married Samuel Clark, of East Hart- 
 ford, and both are now deceased. Franklin F. set- 
 tled in Worcester, Mass., in early manhood, en- 
 gaging in the stove and tinware business. He 
 
 married Sabria , and died in 1888. Eliza 
 
 married Henry Smith, who died in 1898, and she 
 now resides in New Haven, where her three sons 
 are in business. 
 
 Philo F. Phelps, father of our subject, was born 
 Aug. 14, 1818, at the old homestead on Naubuc 
 avenue, and received a district-school education 
 in his youth. As a young man he engaged in boat- 
 ing on the Connecticut river, and for many years he 
 was captain of a schooner which carried stone and 
 brick from Portland, Conii., to Flartford. When 
 he finally retired from this business he opened the 
 coal yard now operated by our subject, and by 
 his excellent judgment he succeeded in establishing 
 it upon a sound basis. At his death, which oc- 
 curred April 9, 1891, he left a large estate. Polit- 
 ically he was a Democrat, and at times he held local 
 offices, including those of selectman and member 
 of the board of relief. His wife, Ann S. Wrisley, 
 who died Dec. 18. 1880. was a native of Glaston- 
 bury, and daughter of George S. and Sarah 
 (Keeney) Wrisley. Our subject was the eldest of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1287 
 
 a family of five children. Of the others (2) Sher- 
 man S. married Mary Moyer, of Philadelphia, and 
 in later years was a farmer in Glastonbury. At 
 one time he was captain of the tug boat "Mabel," 
 that ran between Hartford and New York City, 
 and he was on board when it blew up in 188 1. (3) 
 Estella now resides in Glastonbury. (4) Helen, 
 widow of Clarence Stevens, also resides in Glaston- 
 bury. (5) Emma J. married Roswell Hollister, 
 and they are living in Hartford. 
 
 Alfred E. Phelps was born Dec. 2, 1847, ^" 'i 
 house on Main street, Glastonbury, and as a boy 
 attended the common schools of that town. On 
 leaving school he assisted his father on the schooner 
 for a time, and afterward served an apprenticeship 
 to the engineer's trade with James Forsey, of Nau- 
 buc. He spent several years in Mr. Forsey's fac- 
 tory, but later engaged in the coal business with his 
 father, and since the death of the latter he has had 
 full charge. His business is now one of the largest 
 in the county in that line. In politics he is a Dem- 
 ocrat, and for one term, 1887-88, was selectman,while 
 for two terms he has been tax collector, and in 1887 
 served as representative. He is a member of Das- 
 kam Lodge, No. 86, F. & A. M., in which he has 
 passed all the chairs ; and he also belongs to Pyth- 
 agoras Chapter, No. 17; Wolcott Council, No, i; 
 Washington Commandery, No. i ; and the Mystic 
 Shrine. The family is identified with the Episcopal 
 Church. 
 
 Mr. Phelps was married, on June 4, 1872, to 
 Miss Isabel S. Griswold, a native of Glastonbury, 
 daughter of James M. and Sarah (Sellew) Gris- 
 wold, farming people of that town. The only son 
 of this union, William G., was born April 27, 1877, 
 and lives at home, assisting his father in business. 
 He is a graduate of a Hartford business college. 
 
 SAMUEL C. TREAT (deceased) was the son 
 of a farmer in the town of Glastonbury, where he 
 was born July 19, 1820. His early education was 
 acquired in the district schools and the academy, 
 after completing which he learned the trade of a 
 mason and stonecutter. 
 
 At the age of twenty-one our subject left the 
 paternal roof and began the battle of life for him- 
 self, working at his trade in the town where he was 
 born. Two years later (1843) he married Miss 
 Catherine Willis, also a native of that place, born 
 Aug. 25, 1820, and the same year he purchased a 
 small farm in Glastonbury, paying for it out of his 
 savings from his daily toil. After five years spent 
 there he returned to his father's farm, remaining- 
 for a short time, and meantime still working at his 
 trade. In 1848 Mr. Treat bought another farm, 
 in the town of Bolton, Tolland Co., Conn., on 
 which he remained for a few years, removing 
 thence to Manchester; he there purchased several 
 acres of land, on which he resided until death 
 claimed him in 1898, and where his widow still has 
 her home. After coming to Manchester Mr. Treat 
 
 carried on a remunerative business as a contracting 
 mason, and accumulated a comfortable competence, 
 retiring from active business about fifteen years 
 before his death. He was a quiet, unassuming man, 
 of kindly disposition, whose life, if not eventful, 
 was crowned with its full meed of success. Com- 
 mencing life with no capital other than skillful, 
 willing hands, an active brain and a keen sense of 
 integrity, he made his own fortune and left a 
 moderate estate, including three tenement houses 
 in Manchester, besides other valuable property. In 
 politics he was a Democrat. 
 
 Mr. Treat's marriage was blessed with three 
 children: Edward C, born Feb. i, 1846, who died 
 July 15, 1889; Susie A., born July 15, 1849; ^^icl 
 Samuel, born Dec. 14, 1854. The daughter married 
 Arthur Parsons, of Brooklyn, in which city she is 
 still living, and has had six children, Clinton, lier- 
 bert, Bessie, Alfred, Robert and Harold. 
 
 THOMAS GRANT ALCORN, M. D., a rising 
 young physician of Enfield, was born in the village 
 of Thompsonville Sept. 21, 1867, son of John and 
 Barbara (Hamilton) Alcorn, natives of Counties 
 Antrim and Tyrone, Ireland, respectively. 
 
 Dr. Alcorn's paternal grandparents were Mat- 
 thew and Sarah (McCaughen) Alcorn, naitives, re- 
 spectively, of Counties Derry and Antrim, Ireland. 
 His great-grandfather, Andrew Alcorn, also a na- 
 tive of Ireland, married a Miss McCoy, a native of 
 Scotland. One of the great-grandfathers of our 
 subject was John McCaughen, also a native of Scot- 
 land, and a linen manufacturer in the North of 
 Ireland. The maternal grandparents were Samuel 
 and Jane (Hamilton) Hamilton, of County Tyrone, 
 Ireland. 
 
 Dr. Alcorn's parents came to America in 1847, 
 and settled in Thompsonville, where the father, a 
 machinist by trade, entered the employ of the 
 Thompsonville Carpet Works Co., now the Hartford 
 Carpet Works Co., and, with the exception of nine 
 years, when he was in the employ of the Enfield 
 Stockinet Co., he was connected with them until 
 his death. May 17, 1899. His family was as fol- 
 lows: Eliza (Mrs. Charles S. Morrison), John S., 
 Matthew (deceased), Isabel, Thomas G., Mary, 
 Emma and Charles. 
 
 Thomas Grant Alcorn was reared in Thompson- 
 ville, and educated in the public schools of that vil- 
 lage and at the Connecticut Literary Institute, Suf- 
 field, being a graduate of both. In 1889 he began 
 the study of medicine in Washington, D. C, at- 
 tending between times lectures at Columbia Uni- 
 versity, and later he entered the office of Dr. E. F. 
 Parsons, of Thompsonville, and was a student there 
 for four years. He attended lectures at the College 
 of Physicians and Surgeons, Boston, one year, and 
 took a post-graduate course at Boston City Hos- 
 pital in 1898. During the four years he was as- 
 sociated with Dr. Parsons he practiced his profes- 
 sion in Thompsonville, and is now rated among the 
 
1288 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 leading practitioners of that village. In politics 
 he is a Republican. He is a member of the United 
 Presbyterian Church. 
 
 GEORGE PERRY L.VNGDON (deceased) 
 was for man)' years prominently identified with the 
 business interests of Soulhington, and was a recog- 
 nized leader in commercial circles. He was a na- 
 tive of Alabama, born in Marion Sept. 9, 1842, but 
 belonged to an old and honored family of Hartford 
 county. 
 
 The first to come to the Xew World was George 
 Langdon, who located in Wethersfield, this county, 
 about 1636, but later removed to Springfield, Mass., 
 and from there to Northampton, where lie died 
 Dec. 29, 1676. 
 
 (H) John Langdon, son of George, was born 
 in England, and lived in Farmington, this county, 
 where he served as deputy to the General Court 
 in October, 1668. He was made a freeman in 
 October, 1669, and died in 1689. 
 
 (HI) Joseph Langdon, son of John, also made 
 his home in Farmington. He was married in Octo- 
 ber, 1683, to Susannah, daughter of John and Mary 
 (Kilbourn) Root, and died April 2, 1749. 
 
 (lY) Joseph Langdon, son of Joseph, Sr., was 
 born in Farmington in March, 1688, and was mar- 
 ried Dec. 24, 1713, to Rachel, daughter of Samuel 
 and Rachel (Porter) Cowles. He lived in South- 
 ington, where his death occurred. 
 
 (V) Giles Langdon, son of Joseph, Jr., was born 
 July 22, 1720, and was married Nov. 4, 1751, to 
 Ruth Andrews, daughter of Stephen and Ruth 
 (Barnes) Andrews. He died in December, 1777. 
 
 (\'I) Giles Langdon, son of Giles, Sr., was 
 born in Southington ^lay 24, 1763, and was mar- 
 ried Jan. 20, 1785, to Sarah Carter, daughter of 
 Abel and Mary (Coach) Carter, of Southington. 
 He was a farmer by occupation, and held the mili- 
 tary rank of captain. He died Feb. 11, 1847. 
 
 (A'H) Perry Langdon, son of Giles, Jr., and 
 grandfather of our subject, was born in Southing- 
 ton March 12, 1786, and in that town followed 
 farming throughout life, dying there April 15, 
 1869. He was married May 5, 1814, to Lucy Hart, 
 daughter of Col. Samuel and Rosanna (Clark) 
 Hart 
 
 (Vni) Augustus Perrv Langdon, the father 
 of our subject, was born in Southington April 11, 
 1815, and was married IMarch 30, 1837, to Lu- 
 cretia Benjamin, daughter of John E. and Harriet 
 (Lewis) Benjamin. By this union two children 
 were born : Lewis, who married Abb)' Wight- 
 man ; and George P., our subject. The father re- 
 moved to Marion, Ala., where he engaged in busi- 
 ness until his death, Oct. 22, 1853. 
 
 (IX) George P. Langdon, the subject of this 
 sketch, remained in his native place until twelve 
 j'ears of age, when he came to Southington, Conn., 
 and spent the following six years here. He then 
 went to Dubuque, Iowa, but after a sojourn there 
 
 of six years returned to Southington, where he 
 continued to make his home throughout life, with 
 the exception of two years spent in the cotton com- 
 mission business in Mobile, Ala. For a number of 
 years he engaged in the drug business in South- 
 ington. He was essentially a business man, and 
 took no part in public affairs except to exercise his 
 right as a voter. Politically he was a Democrat. 
 He died Dec. 28, 1884, honored and respected by all 
 who knew him. 
 
 On Feb. 22, 1867, Mr. Langdon was united in 
 marriage with Miss Julia P. Willcox, of South- 
 ington, and to them were born three children who 
 reached years of maturity: William Augustus, 
 George Perry (who niarried Wilhelmina Racher, 
 of Southington) and Clarence Willcox. 
 
 WiLLi.\M Willcox, Mrs. Langdon's father, was 
 born May 2, 1816, and was married July i, 1840, 
 to Sally Ami Bristol, a daughter of Julius and 
 Sally (Barnes) Bristol. He was a man of promi- 
 nence in Southington, held the office of selectman, 
 and was one of the leading members of the Uni- 
 tarian Church. His father, Francis W. Willcox, 
 was born July 8, 1787, and was married June 30,' 
 1808, to Paulina Andrews, daughter of Josiah and 
 Rebecca (Bishop) Andrews. He was a farmer by 
 occupation, and lived in the Flanders District of 
 Southington, and later at Southington. He was a 
 Democrat in politics, and being one of the lead- 
 ing and inlluential men of the town he was called 
 upon to serve as judge of probate, selectman, and 
 member of the Legislature (for the period of sev- 
 enteen years). He died March 19, 1861, and his 
 wife died Aug. 8, 1866, at the age of eighty years. 
 He was a son of Justus Willcox, who was born in 
 I\Iiddletown in 1750, and a grandson of Elijah 
 Willcox. 
 
 , CLINTON W. COWLES is entitled to a fore- 
 most rank among the prominent and wealthy citi- 
 zens of Hartford county, and he belongs to a fam- 
 ily whose members have for the last half century 
 taken an active part in the affairs of this section of 
 the State. He is a native of the town in which he 
 makes his home, having beert born July 9, 1841, 
 near Buckland's Corners, in Manchester. 
 
 Stephen Cowles, grandfather of the gentleman 
 whose name introduces these lines, was a native of 
 Springfield, Vt., and in about 1834 came with his 
 family to Hartford county, Conn., locating at 
 Hilliardville, where he began work in the woolen 
 mills. The trip was made in the winter time, with 
 sled and ox-team. Stephen Cowles passed away in 
 1847, at the advanced age of ninety-two years ; he 
 was tall and spare in build. His family consisted 
 of nine children, namely: Stephen, Austin, Eliza, 
 Francis W., Paulina, Nancy, Martha, Mary and 
 Walter. 
 
 Francis W. Cowles, father of our subject, was 
 born July 4, 1805, in Springfield, Vt., and in early 
 manhood came to Hartford county, where he be- 
 
lr<r-aiJU<^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1289 
 
 came one of the most influential men of his day. 
 He was a self-made man, having few opportunities 
 in his )'ounger life, as wiien a mere boy he began 
 work in the Milliard woolen mills, and when six- 
 teen years of age he went to Buckland's Corners, 
 where at that time there was a hotel and stage 
 stables located on the old stage road between Bos- 
 ton and Hartford. Here he was employed until 
 he reached his majority, when he purchased the 
 old tavern, and conducted it successfully until 1846, 
 when he removed to the farm now owned and oc- 
 cupied by his son Walter W. in Manchester town. 
 He carried on general farming and stock raising, 
 breeding Jersey cattle, and for the first few years 
 had a grocery business in connection at Buckland's 
 Corners. Mr. Cowles became intimately identified 
 with the history and advancement of Hartford 
 •county, and his personal worth and popularity may 
 be estimated from the fact that up to the time of 
 his death he and Dr. C. W. Jacques and Ralph 
 ■Cheney were the only Democrats who represented 
 the town of Manchester in the Legislature since it 
 was set off from the town of East Hartford. The 
 following article, written by his intimate friend and 
 boyhood companion, Judge James Campbell, at the 
 time of his death, best describes a character in which 
 were combined those qualities of head and heart 
 which go to make the able business man, the faith- 
 ful official, the true friend and loving parent: 
 
 One after another the old landmarks of Manchester 
 Tiave been removed until we come to the last with two or 
 three exceptions; and when we count the remaining few we 
 involuntarily exclaim, "Our Father, where are they?" Mr. 
 Cowles moved into Manchester with father when a mere 
 child and the town was his home until his death. Manches- 
 ter then belonged to East Hartford and was known only by 
 the "five-mile tract." At an early day he took an active 
 interest in public affairs, more especially all matters per- 
 taining to his own town. He had an ardent, sanguine tem- 
 perament, and therefore whatever he did was done earn- 
 estly and zealously. He had a retentive memory and was a 
 -close observer of passing events, so that up to his last sick- 
 ness he probably could give a better history of Manchester 
 than any other man living therein. He always was a Demo- 
 crat, of the old Jackson school, in whom there was no guile, 
 and was in earlier years what may truthfully be denomina- 
 ted a partisan politician. But notwithstanding all this he 
 had the confidence of his townsmen to such an extent as to 
 be often elected to important offices in the town. He 
 became a leadmg man in political matters, in both town and 
 county. He served his town in the capacity of selectman 
 several years, administering its affairs economically and 
 wisely. He \Vas made justice of the peace for years in suc- 
 cession, and this much can be truthfully said of our dt-parted 
 townsman and neighbor, no public trust committed to his 
 hands suffered loss. Once he was put in nomination for 
 sheriff of his county and would have been elected had it 
 not been for the treachery of professed friends. It is true, 
 but this truth need not be smothered, that sometimes his 
 political zeal got so far the upper band of his judgment that 
 he allowed his tongue to send a poisoned arrow into the 
 ■quivering flesh of some good Whig or Republican, and this 
 might be his tried fnend and neighbor. But such an offense on 
 reflection was sure to bring regret, and no man was more 
 ready to withdraw that arrow with a tender hand and mol- 
 lify the wound with the oil of repentance than was the sub- 
 ject of this brief memoir. Mr. Cowles had not the heart or 
 the ability to carry in his bosom for any length of time a 
 grudge against any man. My departed neighbor had noth- 
 
 ing visionary about him. With peculiarly sharp perceptive 
 faculties, his whole mind as restless as the ocean and a 
 body seemingly indifferent to rest or sleep, all presided over 
 by sound practical judgment and good common sense, he 
 necessarily attracted to him those in search of an adviser, 
 and his counsel was often sought by those in trouble, and 
 was uniformly and cheerfully given, and when followed 
 there was seldom cause for regret. Mr. Cowles was known 
 more extensively in neighboring towns than any other un- 
 pretending man in Manchester. It was no unusual thing 
 for him to be called into neighboring towns to aid in settling 
 neighborhood difficulties or other important matters. He 
 was a thorough, sagacious business man, and at his death 
 had accumulated quite a fortune, and was surrounded not 
 only by the comforts and conveniences, but also many of 
 the luxuries of a thriving well-to-do New England farmer. 
 He was a kind husband and a sympnthizing, indulgent 
 father. He was a domestic man. The writer of this has 
 often heard him say that the real happiness that had fal- 
 len to his lot had been found in his own home with his 
 family around him and that all the rest was but a mere 
 shadow. Mr. Cowles enjoyed in his reclining years what 
 many other fond parents have failed of, wliich was the 
 unswerving devotion and constant loving attention of his 
 children. His wants by them were anticipated and were 
 cheerfully as well as bountifully supplied. There were times 
 when Mr. Cowles paid serious attention to the subject of 
 religion, but he never became a member of any Church. 
 He was, however, a constant attendant upon divine service 
 on the Sabbath and contributed for its support liberally at 
 the North Manchester Second Congregational Church for 
 many years. 
 
 The writer was intimately acquainted with the subject 
 of this notice for more than forty years. He had faults and 
 he had no desire to extenuate them. He had virtues and he 
 had no desire to eulogize them. This much he can say of a 
 truth, that no man within the circle of his acquaintance ever 
 so freely subjected himself to the judgment of superficial 
 observers as did Francis W. Cowles. He made little or no 
 effort to conceal his faults. He was faithful and confiding 
 to his friends and forgiving to his enemies. Only a few hours 
 before the fatal shock that deprived him of consciousness, 
 anticipating its near approach, yet in full possession of all 
 his mental faculties, he called his family around him and 
 with fortitude and calmness unusual at such hour, even to 
 the most heroic faith, gave particular directions about his 
 funeral, requesting to be buried by his Masonic brethren. 
 Neighbor Cowles is gone. He will be greatly missed in the 
 town of Manchester and deeply mourned by his many 
 friends. 
 
 Francis W. Cowles was married, Nov. 12, 1834, 
 to Miss Harriet Wing, of East Hartford, daughter 
 of Sylvanus Wing, and they had a family of five 
 children, namely : Albert F., who is a farmer of 
 Manchester town; Harriet, who died in 1858; Clin- 
 ton W. ; Walter W., a prominent citizen of Man- 
 chester; and Martha J., deceased wife of Dwight 
 A. Moulton, of California, who is at present as- 
 sistant State treasurer of that State. Mr. Cowles' 
 death occurred in Manchester March 10, 1880, 
 when he was seventy-four years of age. 
 
 Clinton W. Cowles passed the first few years of 
 his life at Buckland's Corners, when five years of 
 age removing with his parents to the farm in Man- 
 chester town where he grew to manhood, the place 
 now occupied by his brother Walter W. Cowles. 
 He received his education in the public schools, first 
 attending district school No. 7, where among his 
 early teachers were Harriet, Jane and John Will- 
 iams. Continuing on the farm with his father un- 
 til the breaking out of the Civil war, he in 1861 
 
1290 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 went out as sutler's clerk, serving as such from 
 Nov. I, 1861, until March, 1862, in \'irginia and 
 Maryland ; he was in the engagement at Antietam. 
 He was then appointed headquarter sutler of Gen. 
 Condin's brigade, holding that po.sition until his 
 return, in 18O4, to Manchester, where he opened a 
 mercantile business at Buckland's Corners on his 
 own account. In 1868 Mr. Cowles sold out this 
 establishment and started the first livery stable at 
 North ^lanchester, the following spring purchasing 
 what was then known as the "Weaver Hotel" and 
 since as the "Cowles Hotel," which he conducted 
 in partnership with his brother ^\■alter W. until 
 1881 and subsequently alone until 1887. l-'rom that 
 time to the present he has rented the hotel and liver\-, 
 devoting his attention entirely to his real-estate in- 
 terests in the town, which are extensive, and his 
 farms. He owns two tracts in Manchester of 100 
 acres each, his home place in that town consisting 
 of fifty acres, a fifty-acre place near South .Man- 
 chester and a seventy-acre farm at Manchester 
 Green. For a number of years Mr. Cowles has also 
 been engaged in settling estates, ami he carries on 
 an insurance and broker's business in connection 
 therewith. Like his father, he enjoys the confidence 
 and esteem of his townsmen to an uinisual degree, 
 and his opinion is frequently souglit at home and 
 elsewhere in matters of difficulty, his ability as an 
 arbitrator being unciueslioned. Like his father in 
 politics also, he is a strong Democrat, and though 
 not a politician in the ordinary sense of the term 
 he has held various offices, giving eminent satisfac- 
 tion in every incumbency. He represented his dis- 
 trict in the Legislature in 1879 '^"^l again in 1887. 
 In 1879 li<^ ^^■'^s elected selectman of Manchester, 
 re-elected in 1880 and continued in office until 1883, 
 and holds the office at the present writing. Fra- 
 ternallv he holds membership with ^Manchester 
 Lodged No. 73, F. & A. M. 
 
 On March 4, 1869, .Mr. Cowles was united in 
 marriage with Aliss Nellie A. Annis, who was born 
 in the town of Manchester, daughter of Charles 
 Annis, and they have had children as follows: 
 Francis W., who died when two years of age ; Hat- 
 tie W., now the wife of Charles W. Holeman. of 
 Bridgeport, Conn., a collector for Mr. Hicks ; Edith 
 F., wife of Charles J. Strickland, of ^lanchester; 
 and Walter W., who lives at home. 
 
 WILLIAM HAYWARD, who passed away in 
 August, 1899, '^^'^s a well-known brewer, of the 
 firm of Mathewson Brothers & Co., of Thompson- 
 ville, and one of the public-spirited and progressive 
 citizens of that place. He was born in London, 
 England, July 10, 1846, a son of George and Char- 
 lotte (Sturgnell) Hayward, also natives of Lon- 
 don. The father, who was a brewer by trade, came 
 to America about i860, and followed his vocation 
 in Canada, Troy, N. Y., New York City and Al- 
 bany. He died in Albany in 1879. 
 
 Our subject was reared in his native city, and 
 
 commenced learning the brewer's trade there, but 
 completed his apprenticeship in Albany, N. Y., 
 where he located in 1865. In 1874 he came to 
 Thompsonville, Conn., and was employed in the 
 Mathewson brewery until 1895, when he became a 
 member of the firm of Alathewson Brothers & Co.,. 
 with which he was connected until his death. The 
 success that he achieved in life was due to his own 
 industry, enterprise and good management, for he 
 started out to make his own way in the world 
 empty-handed. 
 
 In 1875 Mr. Hayward married Miss Kate, 
 daughter of Henry I'ontifi.x, of Thompsonville, and 
 they became the parents of two children : Fannie 
 L. (now the wife of Robert Rosley) and Bertha. 
 Mr. Hayward was a pleasant, genial gentleman, a 
 member of the Episcopal Church, a Democrat in 
 politics, and a member of Doric Lodge, F. & .\. 
 ^I., of Thompsonville. 
 
 RICH.VRD F. BROWN, j\I. D., one of the ris- 
 ing young physicians of Xew Britain, attested his 
 devotion to the profession he has adopted by the 
 splendid rank he acquired in his medical training. 
 He is young in years, but in the practice of a few 
 years has already estalilished for himself an en- 
 viable reputation as a physician. 
 
 The Doctor's father, James D. Brown, is a na- 
 tive of Brighton, Sussex county, England, where 
 he was born in 1828. When a young man he was 
 a member of the First King's Dragoon Guards, and 
 was one of a detachment sent to Ireland to capture 
 Smith O'Brien. While there he met a young Irish 
 lass. Miss Katherine Donohue, who was employed 
 at the home of Dr. John Peel. She was the daugh- 
 ter of Peter Donohue, a herdsman or overseer on 
 a large estate. An attachment sprang up, but cir- 
 cumstances prevented an immediate marriage. 
 Young Brown emigrated to America in 1853, and 
 his marriage to Katherine Donohue occurred Dec. 
 12, 1854, upon her arrival in America. In their 
 family of children were the following: Amelia 
 married and lives in New Britain ; James Francis 
 is deceased ; Margaret married F. E. Brady, of New 
 Britain ; Charles married a Miss Prelman ; Emma 
 is bookkeeper for Oldershow & Liddell, of Park 
 street; Richard F. is subject of this sketch. After 
 his arrival in America James D. Brown located 
 first in Newington, Conn., and followed the trade 
 of polisher. For a time he was a contractor at 
 Corbin's, and he then removed from New Britain 
 to Kensington, where for twenty-seven years he 
 worked for Jonathan Hart. He was a poor man 
 when he came to America and was without friends, 
 but he rapidly pushed to the front by the exercise 
 of energy and ability, and he became one of the 
 best mechanics in his line, acquiring also consider- 
 able property. In politics he was a strong Repub- 
 lican, and in religious faith an Episcopalian. 
 
 Richard F. Brown was born in Kensington, 
 Conn., Sept. i, 1870. He was educated in the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1291 
 
 high school, under Prof. Peck, and was graduated 
 in 1889. Entering the Medical School of Yale Col- 
 lege Oct. 2, 1889, Dr. Brown was graduated there- 
 from June 15, 1892, completing the regular course 
 of medicine. While at school he did special work 
 in pathology under Profs. White and Wheeler. Dur- 
 ing his second year he won the second prize of 
 $75 in a class of twenty-two. Dr. Brown began his 
 practice at New Britain in August, 1892, and has 
 since followed it continuously with great success. 
 He is a member of the medical societies of New 
 Britain, of Hartford county, and of Yale. He is a 
 member' of the American Protective Association, 
 and for two years has been examiner for Court 
 Charter Oak, Foresters. 
 
 VVILLIAM JOSEPH COYLE, M. D. Few 
 physicians in this section are better known than 
 the subject of this sketch, whose practice extends 
 over a wide radius from his home in the attractive 
 village of Windsor Locks. His thorough profes- 
 sional training was based upon an excellent col- 
 legiate education, which had prepared him for an 
 unusually useful career, and he is not only a suc- 
 cessful physician, but his interests extend to all 
 that pertains to good citizenship. 
 
 Dr. Co3de was born Feb. 8, 1853, '™ the North of 
 Ireland, a section which has produced many of our 
 ablest men. His father, James Coyle, was a farmer 
 by occupation, and came to this country about 1855, 
 locating at Waterbury, Conn. He married Mary 
 O'Brien, by whom he had eleven children, viz. : 
 James, of Waterbury, Conn. ; Fanu}', who resides in 
 Philadelphia, as does Delia, who is next in the 
 order of birth; Mary, Mrs. Deheron, of Providence, 
 R. I. ; Sarah, wife of Frederick Austin, of Water- 
 bury, Conn. ; Peter and Thomas, who were killed 
 by the cars at Jersey City in 1874; John, of New 
 South Wales, Australia : two who died in infancy ; 
 and William Joseph, who is the j'oungest. The 
 parents both died in AVaterburv, Conn., the father 
 in 1879, and the mother in 1881. 
 
 As a boy William J. Coyle studied in the schools 
 of Waterbury, and after graduating from the high 
 school he attended successively St. Hy.acinthe Col- 
 lege, in Quebec, the University of Niagara, St. 
 John's University, at Fordham, N. Y., and Montreal 
 Grand Seminary. Then he began the study of med- 
 icine with Dr. North, of Waterbury, and later en- 
 tered the medical and surgical department of Buf- 
 falo University, at Buffalo, N. Y., from which he 
 was graduated Feb. 24, 1885. During the succeed- 
 ing spring, summer and fall he took his brother-in- 
 law's practice at Binghamton, N. Y., and in the 
 following winter located at Windsor Locks, Conn., 
 v/here he soon built up a large country practice in 
 the towns of Windsor, East Windsor, Windsor 
 Locks, East Granby, Suffield and Enfield, At pres- 
 ent he is medical examiner for the Northwestern 
 Mutual Insurance Co., the Knights of Columbus, 
 the Catholic Benevolent Legion, and the Hive of the 
 Ladies of the Maccabees of the World. He is also 
 
 active in local affairs, having been a valued member 
 of the school board for the past twelve years. 
 
 On Jan. 14, 1880, Dr. Coyle was married, at 
 Auburn, N. Y., to Miss Mary Elizabeth, daughter 
 of James and Mary Ann Mulheron, and five chil- 
 dren have brightened their home : Mary, Annie, 
 Loretta, William and Bruce. In religious faith the 
 Doctor is a Catholic, and he and his wife are promi- 
 nent members of St. Mary's Parish, Windsor Locks. 
 
 JOHN L. KELLY, A. B., M. D., one of the 
 younger medical practitioners of New Britain, has 
 evinced in the opening of his career the advantages 
 which come professionally to the graduate of med- 
 ical science in its present advanced stage of develop- 
 ment. He has given special attention to the mastery 
 of the more recent discoveiies, and in his practice 
 during the past several years has attained more than 
 the usual degree of success. 
 
 Dr. Kelly was born March 7, 1868, at New 
 Britain. His father, John J. Kelly, is a native of 
 Limerick, Ireland, where he was born in the year 
 1846. His youth was passed in his native land, 
 assisting his father, John Kelly, a carpenter, in the 
 manufacture of small wooden articles. He received 
 a good schooling, and when about twenty years of 
 age emigrated to America, locating about 1866 at 
 Petersburg, Va., where for a time he was employed 
 as foreman on a large plantation. Later he removed 
 to New Britain, where he worked for a time for 
 the Corbins, and later entered the Stanley works, 
 polishing butts, and becoming a contractor with 
 profit and success. This business he followed for 
 about fourteen years, when he retired. John J. 
 Kelly is in religious faith a Roman Catholic, and in 
 politics a Democrat, though he has never taken an 
 active part in party affairs. He is distincth^ a self- 
 made man, and has been successful in life. He 
 married Catherine Mead, of New Britain, daugh- 
 ter of John Mead, now deceased. 
 
 John L. Kelly was educated in the public schools 
 of New Britain, and was graduated in 1888. For 
 a period of about nine months with each firm he 
 was then bookkeeper for P. F. McCarty and John 
 E. Stack, successively. In the fall of 1890 he en- 
 tered Holy Cross College, at Worcester, Mass., 
 where he remained three years and was graduated 
 in 1892, taking the degree of A. B. In the fall of 
 1892 he entered the Medical School of Yale Col- 
 lege, whence he was s;raduated in 1896. During his 
 professional course Dr. Kellv made a special study 
 of bacteriology, then rising into prominence in the 
 medical world. In September, 1896, Dr. Kelh^ be- 
 gan practice at New Britain. He has attained great 
 success, due largely to the close application which 
 he has ever bestowed upon his merlical education. 
 He has followed general practice, devoting consid- 
 erable attention to diagnosis. Dr. Kelly is a mem- 
 ber of the New Britain Medical Society. Fraternally 
 he belongs to Lodge No. 10, Order of Chosen 
 Friends, and to Court Friendly, No. 45, Foresters. 
 It is to his credit that his professional training is 
 
1292 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 due lai",L;cl\- lu his own efforts, and this circumstance 
 lias aided not a little in advancing- him well to the 
 front ranks of the medical fraternity. 
 
 The Doctor was married, in June, 1899, to Miss 
 Nellie Emmett, of New Britain. The family is 
 one of the oldest in the State. 
 
 HON. NELSON FRANKLiX TAVLOU, who 
 for several years has been prominently identified 
 with the public affairs of Kensington and the town 
 of Berlin, was born in Wilmington, N. C, March 
 12, 1850, a son of George Taylor, who was born in 
 Oswego, N. Y.. May 12, 1819, and was a represen- 
 tative of an old New York family. 
 
 The father s])ent his early life 'in Oswego, but 
 after the death of his mother, which occurred when 
 he was young, the family came to Berlin, Conn. 
 He learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed 
 at Mobile, Ala., for two years: but as the climate 
 there did not agree with his health he returned to 
 Berlin at the end of that time. The next year, how- 
 ever, lie removed to North Carolina, and while resid- 
 ing there returned to Connecticut and was married 
 July 2, 1845, '^^'' i^fiss Harriet Maria Hale, who was 
 horn in South Glastonbury, Jan. 26, 1825, a daugh- 
 ter of Josiah and Fannie AFaria (I'idwelH Hale. 
 With his bride Mr. Taylor returned to North Caro- 
 lina, where he made his home for about eb-n-en years 
 in all, conducting a general store near Wilming- 
 ton. He was also quite an extensive dealer in tur- 
 pentine. In 1854 he returned to Berlin, Conn., and 
 purchased a farm of one hundred acres in the Fourth 
 district of Kensington, operating same until his 
 death, wh'ich occurred Dec. 29, 1891. He was a 
 liberal-minded man : physically was of medium 
 height ; was a stanch supporter of the Democratic 
 party, but gave little attention to politics, though he 
 filled the office of magistrate, and w-as a consistent 
 member of the Kensington ^lethodist Church. Tn 
 his family were nine children, three of whom are 
 still living, (i) George Loveland, born in North 
 Carolina. l\rarch 8. 184S. was a farmer of Kensing- 
 ton; he died Sept. i, 1899. He married IN lary j\lc- 
 Grath, of Southington, who was born March 31. 
 185.=;. a daughter of Thomas and Julia (AMieeler) 
 McGrath. and they had two children. Frederick 
 George and Cora ]\Iay, both Ixirn in the house where 
 the mother of our subject now lives. The former 
 was born Jan. 29. 1877, and 'is now a bookkeeper 
 for the Russell & Erwin Co.. at New Britain. Conn. 
 The latter was born May i, 1880, and is at home. 
 (2) Nelson F. comes next in the order of birth. (3) 
 Jason M., l>orn in 1839, is mentioned elsewhere. 
 
 Nelson F. Tavlor attended the Kensington dis- 
 trict school, pursnino- Ijis studies under the direction 
 of Libbie Cole, Abbie Barnes, and James Wheeler, 
 one of the best teachers of his dav. As his father 
 had lost hcavilv in the South, and was in rather 
 limited circumstances on his return to Berlin, he was 
 compelled to work hard, and was able to attend 
 school only about four years. On Nov. i, 1866, at 
 
 the age of sixteen years, he left home and went to 
 Hartford, where he clerked in the shoe store of 
 Leonard Goddard for five years. The following 
 two years he spent upon his father's farm in Berlin, 
 and then went to Meriden, where he worked in sev- 
 eral shops at a "rouge buffing," finally accepting a 
 ])Osition with the Meriden Britannia Co., where he 
 remained sixteen years. Returning to iSerlin, Mr. 
 Taylor was elected first selectman in 1889, and lor 
 the following six years gave his attention to the 
 duties of that office. In 1891 he was elected deputy 
 sheriff, and while 'in that office some of the most im- 
 portant cases ever heard in Hartford county were 
 tried. He was more successful in capturing law- 
 breakers than any other man who has filled that 
 office here. He has served as constable for the past 
 fifteen years, and was postmaster at Kensington 
 for four years during President Cleveland's second 
 administration. Believing that "to the victor be- 
 longs the si)oils." as soon as President McKinleywas 
 elected he sent in his resignation to Congressman 
 Henry, but his record as postmaster was ilie cause 
 of his being retained in that office for six months 
 after his time expired. He has also held other offi- 
 cial positions, such as school committeeman, and in 
 1888-89 represented Berlin in the State Legislature. 
 In October, 1899, he was elected first selectman, 
 and again in 1900, and he is now serving on the 
 board as chairman, th'is being his eighth year in that 
 capacity — the longest period any one has held that 
 office ; he has also served on the board in all eleven 
 years. Although a Democrat in a town which is 
 strongly Republican, he has been elected to the 
 various offices on his merits, his constituents know- 
 ing full well that the affairs of the town are and will 
 be well looked after under his administrations. In 
 fact he is extremely popular among a large circle of 
 friends, by whom he is held in the highest esteem. 
 
 Mr. Taylor has always taken a deep interest in 
 the affairs of every office he has held, and has filled 
 the same with credit to himself an.d to the entire 
 satvsfaction of his constituent... While serving as 
 ]wstmaster he succeeded 'in getting an outgoing mail 
 from Kensington which was a great convenience 
 to the public, and consequently the revenue of the 
 office was materially increased. He is now serving 
 as chairman of the Democratic central committee of 
 Connecticut, and has been instrumental in securing a 
 large vote for his party. In 1894 he purchased 
 Lou'is Kilby's interest in the grocery store of Kilby 
 & Taylor, the latter being his son, and was engagod 
 in that business in Kensington near the Berlin depot, 
 under the firm name of Taylor & Co., until 1900, 
 when he closed out the business. 
 
 On Sept. 21, 1869, Mr. Taylor married Miss 
 Bessie Bidwell. who was born Dec. 17. T849, a"d died 
 March 13, -1881, leaving one son, William Flarvey, 
 who was born in Meriden, Dec. ig, 1872, and was 
 engaged in business with his father. Mr. Taylor 
 was again married. May 15, 1882, his second union 
 being with Migs Adela Maria Warner, who was 
 
y/ilur^^i^^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 12S8 
 
 born Sept. 19, 1858, a daughter of Charles E. and 
 Ann (Bronson) Warner, of New Britain, who 
 graduated from the New Britain Normal, and taught 
 school several years in Kensington. By the second 
 marriage there is also a son, Harry Edmond, who 
 was born Sept. 7, 1883, and is now in the office of 
 Russell & Erwin's factory, New Britain. He at- 
 tended the schools of Kensington and the Normal at 
 New Britain, and took a commercial course at 
 Mourse's Business College. The w'ife and mother 
 is a member of the Congregational Church, but Mr. 
 Taylor holds membership in the Methodist Church 
 of Kensington. Socially he belongs to Mattabesett 
 Tribe, No. 14, I. O. R. M. ; is a charter member of 
 Meriden Lodge, New England Order of Protection ; 
 a member of the American Mechanics ; Independent 
 Order Foresters; and Putnam Phalanx, Hartford. 
 
 HON. JEFFERY O. PHELPS (deceased) was 
 born in Simsbury, Hartford county, Aug. 3, 1820, 
 and descended from one of the oldest, wealthiest 
 and most numerous families of Windsor as well 
 as Simsbury, whose members have been famous as 
 soldiers, statesmen, jurists and financiers. 
 
 The Phelps family of Simsbury trace their an- 
 cestry to William Phelps, who came from Tewkes- 
 bury, England, where he was born in 1599, and was 
 one of New England's early colonists. His sons, 
 Joseph, born in England about 1629, died in Sims- 
 bury in 1684; Joseph (2) was born here Aug. 20, 
 1667; Lieut. David, May 7, 1710; Maj.-Gen. Noah, 
 Jan. 22, 1740; Col. Noah A., May 3, 1762; Jeffery 
 O. (father of our subject), Feb. i, 1791 ; and Jef- 
 fery O. (the subject of this sketch), Aug. 3, 1820. 
 
 William Phelps came to America in the ship 
 "Mary and John," and landed in Hull, Mass., May 
 30, 1630. He lived five years in Dorchester, Mass. ; 
 then came with the first settlers to Windsor, Hart- 
 ford county, where he died July 14, 1672, the father 
 of seven children: Richard was born in 1619; 
 William first married Isabella Wilson, and later 
 Sarah Pinney; Samuel married Sarah Griswold, 
 and died May 15, 1669; Nathaniel married Eliza- 
 beth Copley, and moved to Northampton; Joseph 
 was the first of the family to settle in Simsbury ; 
 Timothy, who was born Sept. i, 1639, married 
 Mary Griswold, and died in 1719; and Mary was 
 married to Thomas Barber, of Simsbury. 
 
 Joseph Phelps, above mentioned, on coming to 
 Simsbury settled on a tract of land under Talcott 
 Mountain. On Sept. 20, 1660, he married Hannah 
 Newton, a daughter of Roger Newton, and to this 
 union were born Joseph (2), Hannah, Timothy, 
 Sarah and William. Mrs. Hannah Phelps died in 
 1675, and Joseph in 1684 
 
 Joseph Phelps (2) was born in Windsor, and 
 died in Simsbury Jan. ID, 1750. He first married 
 Mary Collier, of Hartford. His second wife was 
 Sarah Case, daughter of John and Sarah (Spencer) 
 Case, of Simsbury; she died May 2, 1704, and 
 Joseph next married Mary Case, daughter of Rich- 
 ard and Elizabeth (Purchase) Case. His third 
 wife died Sept. 10, 1757. To the first marriage of 
 
 Joseph Phelps (2) were boi-n three children: Jo- 
 seph, Oct. 9, 1689, settled at Turkey Hill; Han- 
 nah, Oct. 25, 1693, was married to Samuel Hum- 
 phrey; Mary, Oct. 17, 1696, died Jan. 9, 1713. 
 fo the second marriage were born Sarah, Aug. 11, 
 1700, who died June 14, 1714, and Damaris, March 
 5, 1703, who married John Mills, of Canton. To 
 the third marriage were born four children : John, 
 Feb. 14, 1707, died Jan. 5, 1713; Elizabeth, April 
 7, 1709, married Daniel Hoskins July 23, 1725; 
 Lieut. David, May 7, 1710; and Amos, who mar- 
 ried Sarah Pettibone. 
 
 Lieut. David Phelps, son of Joseph (2), a na- 
 tive of Simsbury, married, April 25, 1731, Abigail 
 Pettibone, who was born in the same town April 
 22, 1706, and was a daughter of John (Jr.) and 
 Mary (Bissell) Pettibone. David Phelps was com- 
 missioned lieutenant of militia in 1756, served in 
 the French and Indian war, and died of smallpox 
 Dec. 10, 1760, his remains being buried at Sims- 
 bury. His widow married Deacon David Strong, 
 of Bolton, and died Oct. 17, 1787, and in her honor 
 the chapter of the D. A. R. at Simsbury was named. 
 The children born to Lieut. David Phelps and his 
 wife were ten in number: David, born May 7, 1732, 
 died July 9, of the same year; David (2), born 
 March 26, 1734, was the ancestor of the Dodge 
 family of Simsbury; Abigail, born Nov. 5, 1735, 
 was married (first) to a Mr. Griswold and (second) 
 to Amasa Case; Elisha, born Oct. 17, 1737, was a 
 captain in the Revolutionary war, and died in Al- 
 bany, N. Y., July 14, 1776; Maj.-Gen. Noah was 
 born Jan. 22, 1740; Rachel, born Dec. 10, 1741, was 
 married to Col. Daniel Humphrey, a delegate to the 
 convention that ratified the Federal Constitution; 
 Ruth was born Sept. 15, 1743; Sarah, Oct. 15, 1745; 
 Susannah, Jan. 4, 1748; and Lois, March 27, 
 1750. 
 
 Maj.-Gen. Noah Phelps, great-grandfather of 
 our subject, married Lydia Griswold, of Poquonock, 
 a daughter of Capt. George Griswold, of Windsor. 
 She was born April 25, 1743. and died Sept. 17, 
 1821, having lost her husband March 4, 1809. The 
 children born to the General and wife were five in 
 number: Noah A., mentioned below; Lydia G., 
 born Feb. 25, 1764; Chandley Conway, Oct. 22, 
 1766; George G., Aug. 18, 1773 (died in Ohio); 
 and Elisha, Nov. 16, 1779. The last named was 
 one of the prominent men of the State. He owned 
 the first piano and the first Brussels carpet in Sims- 
 bury. He was an attorney, and represented his 
 district in Congress. On April 16, 1810, he mar- 
 ried, at Middletown, Conn., Lucy Smith, and they 
 had one son, who became governor of Missouri 
 and a member of Congress ; and two daughters, one 
 of whom, Lucy Jane, married Amos R. Eno, whose 
 biography appears elsewhere ; Mary A. married 
 John Allen, of Saybrook. Gen. Phelps, who was 
 iDorn on the cast side of the Farmington river, set- 
 tled in the village of Simsbury some years after his 
 marriage, and lived on the property now owned by 
 the Amos Eno heirs. He was identified with sev- 
 eral industries of the town, and was very promi- 
 
mi 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 iicnt, especially in iiiililar\- circles, lie was coni- 
 niissioiicd a lieulenant in ihe militia in ijji, cap- 
 tain in 1774, lieutenant-colonel in 1777, bi"iL;a(lier- 
 general in 17^2, and major-general in I7y6, and the 
 documents pertaining thereto are now in the pos- 
 session of Dr. Henry ]£no, of Saugatuck, Conn. 
 Gen. Phelps, among other daring deeds, passed 
 alone through the enemy's lines at Ticonderoga, 
 was there shaved, gathered all the information he 
 desired, and was being rowed back across the river 
 enroute to his own corps when the oarsman sus- 
 pected him to be an American. He started to return 
 to the British lines, but the General, being the 
 stronger man of the two, compelled the ferryman 
 to finish the trip. It was due to the information 
 thus gleaned by. Gen. (then Capt.) IMielps that 
 Ethan Allen planned his attack on and cajstured 
 Fort Ticonderoga the day following. Gen. Phelps 
 also served as the second judge of probate at Sims- 
 bury, and as justice of the ])eace. as well as sheriff, 
 and was the owner of considerable property. 
 
 Col. Noah Amherst Phelps, grandfather of our 
 subject, died June 19, 1817. On July 31, 1784, 
 he married Charlotte W'ilco.x, who was born April 
 4, 1766, and died Dec. 15, 1831, the mother of the 
 following named children: Charlotte Melissa, born 
 Oct. II, 1786, married Frederick Jewett, of Ciranby, 
 and died Dec. 29, 1871. Xoah A., Jr., born Oct. 
 16 1788, married (first) Delia Clark, of Pjloom- 
 field, and (second) Catherine St. John, of New 
 Haven ; he was State comptroller at one time, was 
 well known all over the State, and died in Sims- 
 bury. Jeffery O. was the father of our subject. 
 Fanny Rosanna, born March 8, 1795. marrie<l J-ona- 
 than Pettibone, Jr., and died Aug. 22, 1877. in 
 Willimantic, Conn. Hector F., born July 25, 1797, 
 was a farmer, married Roxanna Selina Barnard, 
 and died Feb. 10, 1874. Emma Maria, born Dec. 
 10, 1799, was married to William Mather, Jr., and 
 died March 21, 1862. Guy Rowland, born April i, 
 1802, became a physician, later manufactured pro- 
 prietary medicines, and was the founder of the Con- 
 necticut IMutual Life Insurance Co., realizing a 
 large competence ; his death took place in !March, 
 1869, in Hartford, his remains being interred in 
 Simsbury; his only child is -\Iiss Antoinette Ran- 
 dolph Phelps, of Hartford. George Dwight Phelps, 
 the youngest of this family, was born April 16, 
 1804, and when a young man went to New York 
 City, l>egan his business life as a clerk in a drug 
 store at the corner of ^^'all and Water streets, later 
 became proprietor, acquired a large estate through 
 his own efforts, and died Aug. 31, 1872. The 
 father of these graduated from Yale College with 
 the class of 1783, studied law. and practiced in 
 Simsbury. He was a colonel of militia, was active 
 in public aft'airs. frequently serving as member of 
 the State Legislature, and at the time of his death 
 was postmaster. At one time he kept a tavern at 
 Simsbury which was extraordinarily popular. He 
 was kind and generous and a leader among men. 
 
 Jeft'ery Orson Phelps, father of our subject, was 
 
 born in East Weatogue District, and was four 
 years old when his jjarents settled in Plop Bottom 
 -Meadow, Simsbury village, taking possession of the 
 house built in 1771 by Elisha Phelps, a brother of 
 .Maj.-Gen. Noah I'helps. When twelve years old 
 Jeffery O. left school, and at that early age com- 
 menced working out at chopping wood for thirty- 
 live cents per cord. Boy as he was, while at this 
 work, he communed within himself, "Pll own this 
 land, some time," and so it came to pass. He vol- 
 unteered for the war of 1812, was appointed pay- 
 master, and did all his own menial work, drawing 
 pay for such servant hire, as otificers of his rank 
 were entitled to do. Thus he secured his start in 
 life, and after serving three months returned to 
 his home, was soon afterward appointed deputy 
 sheriff, and for thirty years filled the office. On 
 March 20, 1820, the property he had worked on as 
 a boy was oft'ered for sale at auction, and Mr. 
 Phelps became the purchaser. In 1826 he took a 
 contract to construct three-quarters of a mile of the 
 New Haven & Northampton canal at Simsbury; 
 this was heavy work, but he made monej' out of it. 
 Henry Farnham, chief engineer, was favorably im- 
 pressed with the way i\Ir. Phelps did his work, 
 and secured for him a jxjsition as overseer, which 
 he retained until 1848. 
 
 While serving as sheriff i\Ir. Phelps was ap- 
 pointed judge of the old county court, served two or 
 three years, and was also postmaster at Simsbury, 
 where he likewise kept a tavern, and rented lodg- 
 ings at twelve and one-half cents per night. Nat- 
 urally, as sheriff' and judge, the attention of Mr. 
 Phelps was called to the statutes of the count)' and 
 State, so he instructed himself in the laws, and 
 being of a quick and comprehensive intellect he 
 so improved himself in this line that, comparatively 
 uneducated as he was, he was hired to prepare 
 cases for such lawyers at Isaac Toucey, Mr. Hun- 
 gerford, Charles Chapman and Martin Wells, and 
 finally was admitted to the Bar. 
 
 In June, 1853, occurred a memorable disaster on 
 the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad, 
 and Mr. Phelps was at once selected as attorney 
 for the company in settling up claims for damages, 
 this work calling him all over the United States. 
 In the celebrated case of the alleged fraudulent 
 issue of stock in the same railroad, by Robert 
 Schuyler. ^Mr. Phelps represented the company be- 
 fore the Legislature of the State of New York, in 
 order to prevent that body from making the alleged 
 fraudulent issue valid, and in this effort he suc- 
 ceeded. For seventeen years he was in the employ 
 of this companjr and others, and during his career 
 he settled up many of the heaviest claims ever 
 brought against the New York, New Haven & 
 Hartford road. All this time he resided at Sims- 
 bury, but had an office in New Haven for a part of 
 the period, and he practiced law up to his death, 
 which occurred March 21, 1879. 
 
 Mr. Phelps was twice married. His first wife, 
 who bore the maiden name of Pollina Salome Barn- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1295 
 
 -ard, was a native of Simsbury, and a daughter of 
 Ebenezer and Marj' (Pinney) Barnard. She died 
 April 6, 1828, the mother of four children : Eb- 
 enezer B., born Aug. 21, 1817, died in 1863; Jeffery 
 O. is the subject of this sketch; Mary P., born 
 Oct. 15, 1822, became the wife of Nathaniel B. 
 Stevens, of Winsted; and Charlotte W., born April 
 3, 1825, was married to Dudley P. Ely, and died 
 in Williamsburg, N. Y. Mr. Phelps for his sec- 
 ond wife wedded, on Jan. 2, 1829, Lydia G. Hum- 
 phrey, who was a granddaughter of Gen. Noah 
 Phelps. She died childless June 6, 1866, she, her 
 husband and his first wife all dying at the home of 
 Jeffery O. Phelps, the subject of this sketch. 
 
 Mr. Phelps was a Democrat, but not much of 
 a politician. He was born in the faith of the Con- 
 gregational Church, but was never a member of 
 any of its congregations. As the Methodist Church 
 was weak and small in his day, he sympathized with 
 it, and asked its members to raise $1,000 to aid in 
 erecting a church edifice, agreeing to supply the 
 balance, w'hich he did, and the present Methodist 
 meeting-house was completed in 1840. He was a 
 constant reader of the Bible, was liberal, and helped 
 those in need, but was exacting in business trans- 
 actions. He was an interesting conversationalist, 
 deliberate in speech, was not slow in expressing his 
 opinions, touch whom they might, and never said 
 a word he had to "take back." He was self-made, 
 and left property valued at over $400,000, but had 
 never been a speculator. Physically he was well 
 formed, and his weight was about 200 pounds. 
 
 Jeffery O. Phelps, son of Judge Jeifery O. 
 Phelps, spoken of in full in the foregoing para- 
 graphs, attended school at Simsbury, in the Hop 
 Meadow District, with Nancy Chapman as one of 
 his first teachers. In 1838 he went to Amherst Col- 
 lege for eleven weeks, and in the fall of 1839 at- 
 tended the Connecticut Literary Institute, at Suf- 
 field, and here ended his schooling. He began work 
 by driving a canal team for a short time, and then 
 joined his father and brother in the multiple pur- 
 suits of the former. 
 
 On Oct. 24, 1852, Mr. Phelps first married, at 
 the town of Brainbridge, Chenango Co., N. Y., 
 Miss Jane Humphrey, daug'hter of Austin N. and 
 Amelia (Higleyj Humphrey. Mrs. Phelps was 
 born in Canton, Conn., Feb. 16, 1826, but removed 
 to New York with her parents, and after her mar- 
 riage returlied with her husband to Connecticut. 
 For four years they lived with Jeffery O. Phelps, 
 Sr., in the house in which her husband was born, 
 and in which her eldest two children had their 
 birth. Four children in all came to grace this union : 
 Harriet H., Jefferv O. (3), Charlotte W. and 
 Mary J. Of these, Harriet H., born Aug. 14, 1856, 
 was married to Aaron L. Eno, and had three chil- 
 dren, Jane H., Sarah G. and Harry P. Jeffery O, 
 (3), born Aug. 30, 1858, graduated from Williston 
 Seminary, was for some 3'ears secretary and treas- 
 ■urer of the Iowa Mortgage Co., and is now in the 
 
 iron business in Hartford ; he married Bertha G. 
 Adams, daughter of Hiram and Jane (Griswold) 
 Adams, of Bloomfield, and has one child, Jeffery O'. 
 (4). Charlotte W. was born Dec. 27, i860, in the 
 house to which her father had removed from the 
 home place, and just opposite his late residence ; 
 she is one of the well-known ladies of the D. A. R., 
 is married to James K. Crofut, in the iron trade 
 at Hartford, and has had one child, Charlotte, born 
 Nov. I, 1885. Mary J., born Nov. 13, 1865, is the 
 wife of Joseph R. Ensign, of Simsbury. 
 
 Mrs. Jane (Humphrey) Phelps was called from 
 earth April 30, 1874, and Aug. 13, 1879, ^-^r- 
 Phelps married Miss Eleanor A. Crandall, who was 
 born in Oswego, N. Y., Feb. 19, 1849. This lady 
 is highly educated, has fine literary taste, was a suc- 
 cessful school teacher, is an active member of the 
 Methodist Church and of the D. A. R., and one of 
 the leading ladies of Simsbury. 
 
 In politics Mr. Phelps was a Democrat, and 
 never voted any other ticket, save with one excep- 
 tion, in 1896, when he cast his vote for a warm 
 personal friend, Lorrin Cooke, the Republican can- 
 didate for governor. He was himself elected to the 
 Lower House of the General Assembly in 1856, and 
 the same year was also town clerk. In 1867 he 
 served in the State Senate, representing the Third 
 District. He likewise served in every office — with 
 the exception of that of probate judge — within the 
 gift of the people of his town, and was true as 
 steel in every position, so held. At the time of his 
 death he was and had been for a number of years 
 president of the board of trustees of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church at Simsbury. 
 
 As a farmer Mr. Phelps was one of the most 
 extensive in the State. In 1865 he and his father 
 owned 2,500 acres, but from time to time such tracts 
 as they were unable to utilize for cultivation them- 
 selves were disposed of by sale until, at the father's 
 death, the total retained reached but i,575 acres; 
 yet Mr. Phelps continued to be, and for fifty years 
 had been, the largest landholder in Simsbury, own- 
 ing at his death 500 acres under cultivation, and 
 paying taxes in Hartland, Windsor, Canton, South- 
 wick, Bloomfield and Simsbury towns. In his latter 
 years he farmed simply because he wanted to keep 
 himself employed. Some of his hands worked for 
 him thirty-five years, and right in Simsbury some 
 worked for him from ten to fifteen years. No man 
 knew better than he how to handle help, and his 
 helpers were his friends. He went on the bond of 
 many a poor young man, at a time when it meant 
 everything to the latter. He was very public- 
 spirited, was ever favorable toward local improve- 
 ments, and contributed freely toward the promotion 
 of all that promised to be beneficial to Simsbury. 
 When the Hartford & Connecticut Western rail- 
 road was projected, about thirty years ago, he and 
 his father were among the first to .recognize its 
 advantages to Simsbury, and were among its most 
 enthusiastic promoters ; at the time of his death 
 
1296 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Phelps was a uirector in tin.' company, as he hail 
 previously been a director in the .National Exchange 
 JJank of Hartford. 
 
 Mr. Phelps was a hard worker from boyhood, 
 but was physically well preserved almost to the last, 
 although his eighty years of toil had begun to show 
 somewhat plainly ; at the same time his mentality 
 was unimpaired, and his memory still retentive. 
 He was a thorough gentleman, and had probably 
 a larger number of warm-hearted friends m Hart- 
 ford and adjoining counties than any other resi- 
 dent of Simsbury. The inevitable came Aug. 6. 
 1899, when he passed away at his home in bmis- 
 bury, and his remains were interred on the 9th, in 
 the Simsbury cemetery, being followed to the grave 
 by the largest cortege ever seen in the town. 
 
 PARK BREWSTER. This well-known and 
 deservedly esteemed citizen of Manchester has 
 passed the greater part of his active life as a 
 teacher in the States of Connecticut and Xew York. 
 He was born at Preston, Xew London Co., Conn.. 
 Sept. 15, 1823, son of Ephraim S. and Hulda 
 (Giddings) Brewster, who while he was a mere 
 child of three years moved to Mystic, and from that 
 place — seven years later — to Greenville. 
 
 At nine years of age Mr. Brewster began work- 
 ing in the cotton and woolen mills at Mystic, at- 
 tending the district school as opportunity offered. 
 His early education, however, was mainly received 
 from his father, a man of scholarly training and 
 ripe education, and was supplemented by study at 
 Greenville, Norwich and in the Standish (Conn.) 
 Grammar school. 
 
 Mechanical pursuits and factory life not prov- 
 ing congenial to the }outh, he at the age of twenty 
 began his pedagogical career at Lisbon, Conn. 
 His next engagement was at Mystic, where he 
 taught for two winters, and thence he went to 
 Norwich (now Norwich Falls), the following year 
 removing to North Hempstead, Queens county. 
 Long" Island, at which place and in its immediate 
 vicinity he followed his chosen profession for 
 twenty-seven years. This period was followed by 
 a year spent as instructor in the Bacon Academy, 
 and he was subsequently engaged at East Williams- 
 burg, near Brooklyn, where he taught five years. 
 At the expiration of that time (1880) he came to 
 Manchester, Conn., where he had purchased a val- 
 uable property, and after teaching on Spencer street. 
 South Manchester, returned to a well-earned rest. 
 He is now spending the autumn of his life in scholar- 
 ly leisure and intellectual cultivation. 
 
 In 1853 Mr. Brewster was married to Miss 
 Eunice Wheeler. They had no children, but adopt- 
 ed Eunice Boyce, who is now the wife of John P. 
 Wheeler, with whom Mr. Brewster makes his 
 home, Mrs. Brewster having died in 1891. Our 
 subject is a devout member of the Second Congre- 
 gational Church of Manchester and an earnest 
 worker in the cause of temperance. He believes 
 
 in carrying his religious convictions into the field 
 of politics, and has therefore allied himself with the 
 Prohibition party. 
 
 GEORGE W. LAWRENCE, M. D., is one of 
 the most popular and successful physicians of Ber- 
 lin, although he is one of the younger representa- 
 tives of the profession. A native of New Hamp- 
 shire, he was born in Roxbury April 2, 1869, and 
 traces his ancestry back to the first settlers of Con- 
 cord, Mass. They have all been modest and unas- 
 suming people. Abbott Lawrence, minister to Eng- 
 land under President (irant, was a member of the 
 same family. 
 
 George Sylvester Lawrence, father of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Xaslwia, N. H., Feb. 6, 1833. 
 Throughout the greater part of his active business 
 life he was engaged in lumbering, but owing to ill 
 health he was finally obliged to turn his attention 
 to farming, and is now living a retired life with our 
 subject. On account of his health he removed to 
 Lynn, Mass., when the Doctor was two years old, 
 and two years later located on the original Law- 
 rence homestead in I'epperell, Mass. After resid- 
 ing there for a year he purchased a farm near that 
 place, in the same town, and upon it made his home 
 until 1898, since which time he has lived with our 
 subject, iri East Berlin, Conn. He was married, 
 April I, 1864, to Miss Cynthia Hopkins, who was 
 born Nov. 14, 1847. In their family were only two 
 children, the elder, Elsa Elizabeth, who was born 
 Jan. II, 1866, dying at the age of six years, and 
 lier remains being interred at Hollis, New Hamp- 
 shire. 
 
 Dr. Lawrence accompanied his parents on tlieir 
 various removals, and grew to manhood on the 
 home farm. At the age of five years he began his 
 education in the schools of Pepperell, Mass., and 
 completed the high-school course at that place at 
 the age of fifteen. He then entered Lawrence 
 Academy, from which he was graduated in 1887, 
 after pursuing both the classical and scientific 
 courses. He entered Williams College, of Will- 
 iamstown, jNIass., and after leaving there became a 
 student in the Medical School of Yale College, 
 from which he was graduated in 1890. In August, 
 1889, he received the complimentary vote of the di- 
 rectors of the New Haven Hospital, appointing him 
 on the house staff, and he served there as house 
 ph}-sician and house surgeon until February, 1 891, 
 when he was given a diploma by the directors. By 
 a thorough education and his hospital experience 
 he was thus well fitted to engage in private prac- 
 tice. Coming to Southington, Hartford county, he 
 had the practice of Dr. W. G. Steadman for eight 
 months, and then returned home to take a much 
 needed vacation. While there he took the examina- 
 tion of the Massachusetts Medical Society, and be- 
 came a "fellow"' of that fraternity. 
 
 On Nov. 9, 1893, Dr. Lawrence was united in 
 marriage with Miss Letitia Reeder, of New Hope,- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1297 
 
 Bucks Co., Penn., who comes of a very prominent 
 family belonging to the Society of Friends, being a 
 daughter of Eastburn and Eleanor (Kenderdine) 
 Reeder. Her father was the first food and dairy 
 commissioner of Pennsylvania, and is a very prom- 
 inent man in that State. The Doctor and his wife 
 have one child, Ruth Eleanor, born Nov. 14, 1898. 
 
 After his marriage Dr. Lawrence moved to 
 Cromwell, Conn., Dec. 5, 1893, and purchased the 
 practice of Dr. J. Francis Calef, now surgeon-gen- 
 eral of Connecticut. The practice was so large that 
 it was almost impossible for him to take care of it, 
 and at length he was obliged to give it up, Feb. 
 I, 1895, on account of ill health, selling out to Dr. 
 Charles E. Bush. On Feb. 15, as a member of the 
 staff of physicians and surgeons, he entered Crom- 
 well Hall, a retreat for those suffering with mental 
 and nervous diseases, and was connected with that 
 institution until Sept. i. On Oct. 5, 1805, h^ opened 
 an office on Wilcox avenue, East Berlin, but later 
 moved to Grove street, which property he pur- 
 chased in July, 1896. He has succeeded in build- 
 ing up an excellent practice, which extends through- 
 out East Berlin, Berlin, Westfield, West Cromwell, 
 Rocky Hill, Beckley and Kensington, and he often 
 receives special calls from Middletown and New 
 Britain. He is consulting surgeon to the New 
 Britain Hospital, and is medical examiner for all 
 of the old line insurance companies doing business 
 in his territory. He has been eminently successful 
 in his chosen calling, has established a very large 
 private practice, and is exceedingly popular with 
 his patients and fellow townsmen. 
 
 Dr. Lawrence is a trustee and prominent mem- 
 ber of Mattabessett Lodge, No. 25, K. P., of East 
 Berlin ; is a member of the D. E. L, of Yale Uni- 
 versity ; and also of the Yale Medical Associa- 
 tion, and the Connecticut Medical Society. Polit- 
 ically he is a Republican, but votes independent of 
 party lines at local elections, and is a member 
 of the consolidated school committee. Religiously 
 he is a member of the Methodist Church of East 
 Berlin, while his wife is connected with the So- 
 ciety of Friends. 
 
 D. C. Y. MOORE, M. D., was born at New 
 ■ Boston, Mass., July 24, 1869. He grew to early 
 manhood at Robertsville, Conn., to which place his 
 parents had , removed when he was a child of two 
 years, and his early education was begun at the 
 common schools of that town, and carried on at the 
 high schools of Winsted and Torrington, being 
 completed at the University of New York. 
 
 At the age of eighteen our subject began the 
 study of medicine in the office of Dr. Walter 
 Holmes, then a resident of Riverton, Conn., but now 
 practicing at Chester, Vt., and remained under his 
 preceptorship for three years, during the last two 
 of. which he was principal of an academy at New 
 Greenwoods. Dr. Holmes was a practitioner of the 
 Allopathic school, but his young student had devoted 
 
 82 
 
 not a little time and thought to the consideration 
 of the principles underlying the teachings of Hahne- 
 mann. Therefore it came about that when he was 
 prepared to matriculate at a medical school he se- 
 lected the New York Homeopathic Medical Col- 
 lege, entering that institution at the age of twenty- 
 two, and graduating in 1895, having taken a four- 
 years course. The eighteen months succeeding 
 graduation he spent as an assistant in the' Flower 
 and Brown Streets hospitals. New York, and in 
 May, 1897, he entered upon practice in bis native 
 State, and in the following September he located 
 permanently in South Manchester. For two years 
 he has practiced in that town with marked success, 
 the number of his patients constantly increasing. 
 Although yet a young man he has achieved reputa- 
 tion alike among his professional brethren and his 
 patients. He is a member of the State Homeopathic 
 Aledical Society. 
 
 Dr. Moore is connected with Phoenix Lodge, A. 
 F. & A. M., of New Hartford, and is a member of 
 the King David Lodge, L O. O. F., of Manchester. 
 His religious creed is that of the Congregational 
 Church, with which he is united. 
 
 On May 30, 1895, the Doctor was married to 
 Miss Ida M. Quilter, of Hartford. 
 
 HORACE BOWER, deceased. While childhood 
 and youth have their distinctive charms, a greater 
 interest invests, to the thoughtful mind, a personality 
 which has garnered up the wealth of long ex- 
 perience, and carries the impress of years of useful 
 activity. The subject of this biography, who at- 
 tained the good old age of ninety-four, was one of 
 the most highly-esteemed residents of Windsor, he 
 and his estimable wife passing the afternoon of life 
 in comfort in the same house which they occupied 
 during their sixty-four years of happy wedlock, 
 and enjoying better health than many people of 
 middle age. Mr. Bower, during his ninety-third 
 summer, mowed regularly the public green in front 
 of his home, "just for exercise." His hand was 
 steady, his step firm, and except for impaired eye- 
 sight he showed few signs of his years. 
 
 Mr. Bower was probably of German descent in 
 the paternal line, although according to some au- 
 thorities the family originated in Holland. The 
 name was variously spelled in the early days, ap- 
 pearing in the records most frequently as Bower, 
 Bowers or Bowe, and the first ancestor of whom 
 we have any account was John Bower, who came to 
 Windsor. John Bower, our subject's grandfather, 
 was a well-known citizen of East Windsor in his 
 day. 
 
 John Bower (2), the father of our subject, 
 was born in East Windsor,- and for many years 
 carried on business in Windsor as a shoemaker, 
 work of that sort being then done exclusively to 
 order in custom shops. In politics he was a stead- 
 fast supporter of the Democratic party. He lived 
 to the age of eighty-nine years, while his wife,. 
 
1298 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Kuby Palmer, a native of Pigeon Hill, in the town 
 of Windsor, was eighty-four at the time of her 
 death. The remains of both now repose in the cem- 
 etery at Windsor. This worthy couple had five 
 children : T'anny, .Mrs. Roswell Blodgctt, who re- 
 sided with our subject for eleven jears previous to 
 her death; Sydney, deceased, formerly a prominent 
 resident of VV'indsor; Cynthia, who married Horace 
 Barker, and died in West Suffield ; Horace, our sub- 
 ject; and Anson G., a shoemaker by trade, who 
 died in DeKalb, 111., some years ago. 
 
 Our subject was born July 18, 1805, near Wind- 
 sor, and his education was limited to the schools of 
 that locality, his natural abilities enabling him, how- 
 ever, to make good use of his opportunities, such 
 as they were. As he was always fond of reading, 
 until his eyesight began to fail, he kept well-posted 
 on current topics. As a young man he engaged in 
 shocmaking with his brother Sydney in the build- 
 ing which he afterward remodeled for his residence, 
 and about 1830 they purchased land near Windsor 
 village, where they carried on farming for some 
 years. In 1849 they divided the property, which had 
 by that time become very valuable, and our subject 
 retired from the shoemaking business in order to 
 give his attention to the work of opening a new 
 addition to the village. He laid out a number of 
 building lots. Prospect street running through his 
 tract, and the prices received demonstrated his 
 sound judgment in undertaking the enterprise. As 
 an ardent Democrat he always took keen interest 
 in local affairs, and for twenty-two years he served 
 as town clerk, having succeeded his brother Sydney 
 at the latter's death. For some time he was school 
 committeeman, while he filled the office of town 
 treasurer until he declined to serve longer. As an 
 official he was painstaking and faithful, and his 
 ability and zeal in party work made him one of 
 the most influential Democrats of the locality. From 
 1840 he was a member of the Methodist Church at 
 \\'indsor, and in 1843 he was appointed treasurer of 
 that society, an office which he held continuously 
 for fifty years, while he was a member of the board 
 of trustees until his decease, March 18, 1900. In 
 general church work he took an active part, espe- 
 cially in his younger days, and his gifts as a musi- 
 cian were made effective by his long service as a 
 leader of the choir. Music was a delight to him 
 from boyhood, and at an early age he began to play 
 the violin, upon which he became a fine performer, 
 but of late he had ceased to practice. 
 
 On Nov. 18, 1835, Mr. Bower married ^liss 
 Nancv A. Welch, and two children blessed the 
 union: (i) W. H., born Jan. 14, 1843, at Wind- 
 sor, went to St. Charles, 111., at the age of eighteen, 
 and engaged in the drug business ; for ten years he 
 has resided in ^^^indso^, being employed as a piano 
 tuner bv John 'SI. Gallup & Co., of Hartford. He 
 was married, in St. Charles, to Miss Emma Cham- 
 berlain, by whom he has had two children, Fred- 
 erick B. and J\Iaud A. Frederick B., who has a 
 
 fine tenor voice and much talent as a musician, is 
 organist of the Unitarian Church and superintend- 
 ent of music in the schools of Manchester, N. H. 
 He married Miss Frances L. Williams, of Windsor, 
 and has one daughter, Clarice. Maud A. married 
 li. L. Goslee, and has one son, Leonard B. (2) 
 Nancy A., only daughter of our subject, married 
 Anson H. Ellsworth, a prominent citizen of Fuller- 
 ton, Neb., and her children are taking honorable 
 positions in life, one of her sons being county clerk 
 and another county surveyor. 
 
 Mrs. Bower, whose earnest Christian character 
 was a strong support to her husband in all his 
 work, was born in Windsor Jan. 23, 1814, daughter 
 of Lemuel and Nancy (Benton) Welch, and died 
 March 11, 1900, just a week before our subject. 
 Fler father was a well-known tavernkeepcr in Wind- 
 sor. She had one brother, Lemuel A., who died in 
 Windsor, and a sister, Julia E., a resident of East 
 Granby, who married (first) Stanton Babcock, and 
 (second) Richard Phelps, both now deceased. 
 
 HON. GEORGE WHITEFIELD PRATT (de- 
 ceased), of East Hartford, was an his lifetime 
 one of the most prominent and honored men of his 
 day, as well as one of the most philanthropic and 
 useful. lie was born Jan. 29, 1812, in a house in 
 Silver Lane that has long since been demolished, 
 was named after the famous Methodist divine of the 
 last century, and was a son of Eliab and Dorcas 
 (Williams) Pratt. 
 
 Deacon Eliab Pratt was born March 26, 1767, 
 a son of Eliab and Margaret Pratt, and married 
 Dorcas Williams Jan. 14, 1792. To that union were 
 born nine children, as follows: Eli, Oct. 6, 1792; 
 Emily, Dec. 21, 1793; Abner, Jan. 14, 1795; Solo- 
 mon, April 20, 1796; Williams, Feb. 11, 1798; Dor- 
 cas, July 23, 1799; Luther, Aug. 31, 1800; Mary, 
 Jan. 8, 1803 ; and George W. The mother died 
 July 12, 1849, St the advanced age of eighty-one 
 years. 
 
 George W. Pratt was of the sixth generation in 
 descent from John Pratt, a native of Hereford, 
 England, who came to Hartford from the Massa- 
 chusetts Bay Colony, with Rev. Mr. Hooker, in 
 1634, and the line of descent is through John, Jr., 
 Jonathan, Eliab, Eliab, Jr., to George W. In 1681 
 John Pratt, Jr., came into possession of the strip- 
 of land on what is now Silver Lane, which has 
 ever since been held by the Pratt family. 
 
 LTntil fifteen years of age George W. Pratt re- 
 mained on his father's farm, receiving his education 
 at the old Willow Brook school house, which stood 
 in the middle of the road until 1830, and it is 
 thought that his only surviving schoolmates are 
 Deacon Ashbel Brewer and J. Fitch Comstock. The 
 chief products of East Hartford farms in the youth- 
 ful days of George W. were potatoes, corn, rye, 
 flax and wood, the culture of tobacco not then be- 
 ing thought possible at the North. From the age 
 of fifteen until he was twenty-one George W. Pratt 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1299 
 
 served an apprenticeship in the jeweh-y establish- 
 ment of Church & Rogers, in Hartford, then worked 
 ior some years for various other firms. In 1844 he 
 went to New York, and took a position as travel- 
 ing salesman for Nichols, Goodwin & Co., jewelers, 
 on Maiden Lane. In 185 1 he went into business 
 .as senior member of the firm of Pratt, Limbard & 
 Co., at No. 22 John street, who did business as 
 jewelry jobbers, and also had a jewelry factory on 
 Elm street, and in this business Mr. Pratt re- 
 mained until 1892. In the meantime, however, 
 .after twenty-two years' absence on the road and in 
 New York, he had returned to the Connecticut 
 homestea,d and made this his headquarters, his 
 -brother, Williams Pratt, who hitherto had charge 
 of it, having died in 1866, after which date George 
 W. remained here, supervising his New York firm 
 by mail or occasional visits in person. 
 
 In politics Mr. Pratt was a Democrat, and a very 
 popular one. In 1873 his party sent him to repre- 
 sent his town in the State Legislature, and so well 
 -satisfied were they with their choice that they re- 
 -turned him the following year, when the Legislature 
 met for the last time in New Haven. During his 
 second term Mr. Pratt was a member of the com- 
 mittee on Banking. In 1874-75 he was on the 
 .State Bridge Commission ; in 1875 ^^^ was first 
 .selectman, and was on the board the ensuing year : 
 in 1876 and 1877 he was a grand juror. He was 
 a member of the building committee of the Hock- 
 -anum Congregational Church. 
 
 Mr. Pratt had many entertaining reminiscences 
 •of the old days back in the dim dawn of the cen- 
 tury. One bright June morning, when he was five 
 Tears old, he was watching his father's men swing- 
 ing their scythes in the meadow grass when a queer 
 little craft with crazy, top-heavy paddle boxes, came 
 puffing up the river. It bore the name '"Experiment." 
 The little boat was probably the first to steam on 
 the Connecticut river. When LaFayette journeyed 
 ■from Boston to Hartford by stage, in i82z|., be took 
 dinner at the tavern which is now the house of 
 Henry R. Hayden. Henry Phelps was the tavern- 
 keeper. It was raining when the huge coach with 
 its four panting horses came to a stop. Mine Host 
 Phelps was at the block, and escorted the venera- 
 ble patriot into the bulilding, where doubtless both 
 were refreshed by a comfortable toddy or two. 
 
 In 1825 there was but one painted house on Sil- 
 ver Lane. The others were an naturcl. In a few 
 years, however, the v/hite with green blinds, which 
 for fifty years was the only combination, began to 
 come in. Mr. Pratt recalled when pickerel and rock- 
 perch were thick in the Hockanum river, and on 
 one occasion he caught seventy-two shad in the 
 stream back of Sam Forbes', with but one cast of 
 his net. 
 
 Mr. Pratt was twice married, in 1833 to Mary 
 Morris, of Wetbersfield, who died without issue in 
 1875. In 1876 he married Anna Hills, born Sept. 
 17, 1854, a daughter of Frederick W. and Jane 
 
 (Pratt) Hills, and to this marriage were born three 
 children: Anna, born Feb. 11, 1881, still under the 
 parental roof, who is a musician of more than ordi- 
 nary ability; Lena W., born Feb. 15, 1886; and 
 George W., born May 20, 1889. 
 
 Mr. Pratt enjoyed excellent health during the 
 latter years of his life, until about seven weeks prior 
 to his death, which occurred in 1897. In alluding 
 to this sad event, the "Jewelers Circular," of New 
 York, of May 12, 1897, announced that "News was 
 received in New York Monday of the death, in 
 East Hartford, Conn., of George W. Pratt, one of 
 the oldest jewelers of New York. Death was caused 
 by no particular disease, but simply by the infirmi- 
 ties of old age." 
 
 Mr. Pratt was a gentleman of whom any com- 
 munity might well feel proud, and was one of the 
 most prominent men of the town. He exerted an 
 extended influence for good, and there was no move- 
 ment for the benefit of his fellow men, that came 
 within his cognizance, but found his ready aid, mor- 
 ally and financially. He was a kind, loving and in- 
 dulgent husband, a stanch friend, and left an un- 
 sullied name as a priceless inheritance to his chil- 
 dren. His remains rest in the East Hartford ceme- 
 tery, and his memory is revered by the entire pop- 
 ulation. 
 
 JULIAN N. PARKER, M. D., is the son of a 
 farmer of Tolland county, Conn., having been born 
 in Mansfield, July 3, 1840. His early education 
 was received at the common schools of his native 
 village, and at the Connecticut Literary Institute, 
 Suffield, from which he was graduated with dis- 
 tinction. 
 
 Dr. Parker had not yet attained his majority 
 when the country was startled by the booming of 
 guns in Charleston Harbor, and on Sept. i, 1861, 
 he enlisted as a private in Company D, 21st Conn. 
 V. I. After a few months service he was assigned 
 to duty as hospital steward of his regiment and 
 served as such until the close of the war, being 
 finally mustered out at New Haven July i, 1865. 
 He participated in all the battles, sieges, skirmishes 
 and reconnoisances in which his regiment was en- 
 gaged, among the most noteworthy being the hard- 
 fought battles of Fredericksburg Dec. 13-14, 1862, 
 Drury's Bluff May 16. 1864, and Cold Jiari)0]- 
 June 5, 1864, and the tedious and memorable siege 
 of Petersburg. After receiving his discharge he 
 returned home and began readmg medicine under 
 the preceptorship of Dr. Norman Brigham, of 
 Mansfield, but shortly afterward matriculated at 
 Yale College, graduating in 1868. The next two 
 winters he spent at the College of Physicians & 
 Surgeons, New York, practicing his profession at 
 Mansfield during the summer months, and in the 
 autumn of 1869 he went abroad to continue his 
 professional studies at the celebrated "L'Ecole de 
 Medicine," at Paris. 
 
 On Dr. Parker's return to America, in the sum- 
 
1300 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 mer of 1870, he established himself at Mansfield, 
 where he continued in practice for two years, re- 
 moving to Manchester in April, 1872. he has re- 
 mained in the latter town since that date. He is 
 enthusiastically devoted to his profession, is a hard 
 student and a profound thinker, and that he has 
 been eminently successful goes without saying. 
 
 Dr. I'arker keeps the memory of his military 
 service fresh through his connection with Drake 
 Post, No. 4, G. A. R., of Manchester. He also 
 keeps in touch with his brother practitioners through 
 the County and State Medical Associations, of both 
 of which bodies he is an esteemed member. Fra- 
 ternally he belongs to Uriel Lodge, No. 3, F. & 
 A. M.,'of .Mansfield. 
 
 On June 8, 1871, the Doctor was married to 
 ^liss Caroline Shepard. 
 
 HECTOR CHAl'MAX. The name Chapman 
 js of Saxon origin, and is one of tlie many sur- 
 names derived from trades or occupations, the 
 word meaning market-man or merchant. 
 
 Robert Chapman, wno is supposed to have been 
 the first of the name to come to America, was from 
 Hull, England, and landed at Boston in August, 
 1635. In November of that year he settled at Say- 
 brook, Conn., and on April 29, 1642, he married 
 Ann Blith, who died Nov. 20, 1685. His death 
 occurred Oct. 13, 1687, and according to family 
 tradition, which fixes the date of his birth as l6i6, 
 he was over seventv years old. The subject of this 
 sketch, a prominent business man of Glastonbury, 
 is a direct descendant of William Chapman, an 
 early settler at New London, Conn. The name 
 of this pioneer first appears on the New London 
 records in 1657, and at a meeting in 1663 the fol- 
 lowing was entered upon the book of town grants : 
 "William Chapman hath given him thirty ackers 
 of upland bounded towards the South with ~S.iv. 
 Douglas his land and towards the east with the 
 small brook that leads to Jordan river and towards 
 the north with Arkanbukie Meadow and towards 
 the west with a ledge of rocks and a tree marked 
 on four sides." At a town meeting Aug. 25, 1691, 
 it was "Voated that whereas William Chapman 
 had formerly allowed him by the town three pounds 
 for his sextons place the yeare, they now add thirty 
 shillings more and order him five pounds per year 
 for sweeping the meeting house, and galleries and 
 ringing the bell." He died Dec. 18, 1699, leaving 
 an estate appraised at £28 os 6d. His will was 
 signed April i, 1669. His wife's name is unknown, 
 but thev had seven children, as follows : John, born 
 November, 1653, living at Colchester in May, 1748, 
 nearly ninety-five years old; William; Samuel, born 
 1665, died Nov. 2, 1758; Joseph, born 1667; Jere- 
 miah, born 1670 ; Sarah ; and Rebecca. 
 
 (II) William Chapman, son of William the pio- 
 neer, is supposed to have settled in Groton, Conn., 
 in 1690. He married Hannah Lester, daughter of 
 Daniel Lester, about 1690, and had four children: 
 
 William, born March, 1691 ; Jonathan; Solomon; 
 Mary (whether she married or not is uncertain). 
 
 (III) Solomon Chapman married, but the name 
 of his wife is imknown. Their children were : 
 Jonah ; Jonathan, who removed to Deerfield, Mass., 
 married Susan Sweet, and had a family ; Solomon ; 
 David ; John ; Sanniel ; William married a Miss 
 Pease, and had several children ; Lydia married 
 Joseph Sweet; Betsey married a Mr. Flarris; 
 Susan married Jonathan Sweet; Phebe married 
 Levi Hodge; and Sarah married Jonathan Chapel. 
 
 (IV) Jonah Chapman, son of Solomon, was 
 one of the first of the name to reside in Glaston- 
 bury. He married Lydia Taylor, and had chil- 
 dren as follows : Amasa ; Azel ; Epaphras, born 
 1777; Betty married Jonathan Daniels, of Hebron; 
 Lydia married Daniel Hale ; Sally, born March 5, 
 1767, married Frederick Goodrich; Susan married 
 Aaron Loveland ; and Phebe died young. 
 
 (V) Azel Chapman, grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, and son of Jonah, was a ship carpenter and 
 lived in South Glastonbury. He died shortly before 
 our subject's father was born, his death being 
 caused by a fall from a mast of a vessel. He was 
 married in 1789 to Nabby Hale, and had twelve 
 children: Lovina, ' born December, 1790, died at 
 fourteen years of age; Julia, born December, 1791, 
 married William House; Alvan, born 1792; Electa, 
 born Jan. 22, 1794, married Benjamin Taylor; 
 Orrin ; Anson, born May 17, 1798 ; Silas died young ; 
 Silas (2) also died young; Nancy, born March 
 27, 18^, married Chester Hale ; Ralph, born Feb. 
 2, 1802: ^lelinda married Arnold Keeney ; and Azel, 
 our subject's father. 
 
 (VIj Azel Chapman was born March 17, 1808. 
 in South Glastonbury, about three miles east of 
 the South Glastonbury main road. His schooling 
 was limited as his mother was left with a large 
 family, and he was obliged to support himself from 
 a very early age. He worked at various places, 
 sometimes receiving harsh treatment which he did 
 not deserve; but being very industrious he nearly 
 always had employment. He worked in Portland 
 quarries for many years, and afterward bought a 
 small farm in South Glastonbury which he oper- 
 ated for about eight years. He then sold it to Ansel 
 Chapman and removed to North Glastonbury, rent- 
 ing a farm from Esq. Wells for about four years, 
 and later he bought the Wells hotel and farm. In 
 1 86 1 he discontinued the hotel business and de- 
 voted his attention to farming until his death, which 
 occurred Aug. 31, 1883. The old hotel is now oc- 
 cupied by Charles Chapman as a residence. Azel 
 Chapman raised the house one story, after he took 
 possession, to accommodate his large trade. In 
 his day it was the scene of a great deal of gaiety 
 and pleasure, being on the road between New 
 London and Hartford, where parties could con- 
 veniently stop. Azel Chapman was married Aug. 
 6, 1828, to Eunice Atresta House, and had four * 
 children: Albert, born Feb. i, 1830 (now deceased). 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1301 
 
 married M.ary Ann Stevens, and settled in Glaston- 
 l)ury, where he followed the joiner's trade; Hester, 
 born July 4, 1832, married William Stevens, a 
 farmer in Glastonbury; Hector, our subject, was 
 third in the order of birth ; Charles, born April 
 26, 1843, married Henrietta Wright, and resides in 
 Glastonbury. He is mentioned more fully below. 
 
 Hector Chapman, our subject, was born March 
 27,, 1836, in Matson Hill District, where his fa- 
 ther owned a farm. The family moved to the hotel 
 when our subject was four years old, and he at- 
 tended a district school in that locality. On leav- 
 ing school he spent a year at home and then, at 
 the age of twenty, entered a general store in South 
 Manchester. His entrance upon mercantile life was 
 at an unfortunate time, the panic of 1857 interfer- 
 ing with business, so that after a year and a half 
 he returned to Glastonbury, and for four years 
 managed a farm which he had purchased. He then 
 went to Hartford, and was in mercantile business 
 with W. S. Bronson, on Asylum street, for ten 
 years, when he withdrew from the firm and bought 
 a store in New Haven, continuing in the same line. 
 Two years later he sold out this business, and re- 
 moved to Glastonbury, where he built a store on 
 ■Colchester avenue, and engaged in a stove and 
 tinware business, a furniture line being added later. 
 After some years he bought the "Thaddeus Wells 
 place" from W. E. Gates, and in 1890 he erected 
 his present business block, the finest in the town of 
 Glastonbury. He is an industrious worker and his 
 pleasant manners have won for him many friends. 
 
 Mr. Chapman was married, April 20, 1857, to 
 Miss Ellen Winslow a native of East Hartford, 
 and a daughter of Daniel Winslow, a prominent 
 citizen of that town. Three children have blessed 
 the union: (i) Alice married Alfred A. Welles, 
 a mechanic in Glastonbury; (2) Arthur died young; 
 and (3) Lela married Dr. Julius E. Kinney, of 
 Denver, Colo., a successful specialist in lung and 
 stomach diseases. The family is identified with the 
 Episcopal Church, our subject and his wife being 
 active members. Politically Mr. Chapman is a 
 stanch Republican, and at present he is serving as 
 justice of the peace. He is a member of Daskam 
 Lodge, No. 86, F. & A. M., also of Elm Lodge, 
 I. O. O. F., and has held offices in both, being 
 District Deputy Grand Master in the I. O. O. F. 
 at the present time. 
 
 CHARLES CHAPMAN, a highly-respected 
 resident of Glastonbury, was born April 26, 1843, 
 in a house that stands north of his present home. 
 
 Mr. Chapman received a district-school educa- 
 tion, while assisting in the work of the home farm, 
 and later he practically took charge of the place, 
 relieving his father from care in his old age. , Since 
 the death of the latter he has conducted the^farm, 
 devoting his attention, as before, to tobacco culture 
 and general farming. He resides in a house which 
 was occupied by his father as a hotel for many 
 
 years. His genial disposition is appreciated among 
 a large circle of acquaintances, and socially he is 
 identified with Elm Lodge, No. 53, L O. O. F., at 
 Glastonbury. In religious belief he is liberal, and 
 in politics he affiliates with the Democratic party, 
 his interest being limited, however, to voting reg- 
 ularly. Mr. Chapman married Miss Henrietta 
 Wright, a native of Glastonbury, and daughter of 
 Charles and Caroline (Foster) Wright. They have 
 children as follows: (i) Robert Azel, born May 
 24, 1872, was married, on Nov. 30, 1896, to Anna 
 Lee, of Glastonbury, and has one child, Olive, born 
 Nov. 7, 1898; (2) Bertha L., born Sept. 26, 1878; 
 and (3) Lena, born June 5, 1881, are at home. 
 
 FREDERICK W. PECK, M. D. If Puritan 
 and early Colonial ancestry mean anything in the 
 achievement of men of the present generation there 
 is every reason why the life of the subject of these 
 lines should be prosperous and successful, for in 
 various lines his ancestry extends back to the times 
 when the eastern shores of the continent were first 
 peopled with earnest, liberty-loving colonists. 
 Achievement has already come to this young physi- 
 cian, not merely in the practice which he has at- 
 tained in a brief period of time but in the acquire- 
 ment of a thorough medical education by his own 
 unaided efforts. 
 
 Dr. Peck is eighth in the line of descent from 
 Deacon Paul Peck, who emigrated from England 
 to Massachusetts, and about 1635 came with Thomas 
 Hooker from that Colony to Connecticut, and set- 
 tled at Hartford. The old Peck homestead was lo- 
 cated just back of the capitol. The line of descent 
 comes through (2) Samuel Peck, (3) Samuel 
 Peck and (4) Zebulon Peck to the latter's son 
 Lament Peck, the great-grandfather of our sub- 
 ject. Zebulon Peck settled at Bristol and there 
 Lament Peck was born. The latter was a farmer, 
 and became one of the largest landowners of the 
 town. He married Rachel Tracy, of Marlboro, 
 who bore him six sons and three daughters, as 
 follows: Richard, Tracy, Epaphroditus, Nehemiah, 
 James Ghoram, Neoman, Sally (who married Cap- 
 tain Bunnell), Susanna (Mrs. Sylvester Rich, of 
 Bristol) and Rachel (Mrs. Israel Russell, of Mid- 
 dletown). 
 
 Nehemiah Peck, grandfather of our subject, 
 was born in 1793 at Bristol, Conn. He followed 
 farming through life, and like his father became 
 an extensive landholder. He married Miss Mar- 
 tha Scoville, daughter of Seeley Scoville, of Plym- 
 outh, descendants of the Waterbury Scovilles. To 
 Nehemiah and Martha Peck were born eight chil- 
 dren, as follows : James, who died in infancy ; 
 Mary, who married Charles Shumway; Nehemiah, 
 deceased; James G., father of our subject; David 
 Brainard, formerly colonel of the Seventh Regi- 
 ment, Vermont Volunteer Infantry, and now re- 
 siding in Cleveland, Ohio; Susan, who died young; 
 Sarah Bunnell, who married Percey Rice, of Cleve- 
 
1302 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 land, Ohio; and William Henry Harrison, born 
 in 1841, captain in the Jlh \'t. V\ I. Xehemiah 
 I'eck, father of this family, in addition to his agri- 
 cultural interests seized the meager commercial and 
 manufacturing opportunities of his day, and made 
 frequent trips to the South, selling clocks. He 
 was a thrifty man, and one of the substantial citi- 
 zens of Bristol, noted among other things for his 
 accurate and extensive geographical knowledge. 
 He died in 1861, aged sixty-eight years, surviving 
 his wife twelve years. 
 
 James G. Peck, father of Dr. Peck, was born 
 May 28, 1 83 1, at Pompey, Onondaga Co., N. Y. 
 When six years old he settled with liis parents in 
 North Haven and thence came in 1843 to New 
 Britain. He was educated in that city, and also 
 attended the schools in Hartford and Williston for 
 a short time. His school days ended when he was 
 twenty years of age, but not his education, for he 
 has not only learned the practical lessons of life 
 but has dipped constantly into books and current 
 literature, and thus become one of 'the well-in- 
 formed men on all matters of public interest. He 
 was reared a farmer, but, acquiring the trade of 
 house carpenter, has followed same for over thirty 
 3'ears. From 1852 to 1861 he lived in the western 
 part of Illinois, but since that time has been a resi- 
 dent of \ew Britain. Inheriting Whig political 
 predilections from his father, he voted for General 
 Scott, and has been a Republican since the organi- 
 zation of that party in 1856. He is a member of the 
 Congregational Church of New Britain. Mr. Peck 
 married Rebecca Smalley Clark, who was born in 
 February, 1832, and died Dec. 30, 1891. She was 
 a daughter of Dan and ]\Iary (Whittlesey) Clark, 
 and both lines of her ancestry extend back to the 
 beginning of American history. The paternal line 
 descends from John Clark, one of the earliest emi- 
 grants from Scotland to America, and the line 
 comprises (2) John Clark, of Berlin, Conn., (3) 
 John Clark, (4) Dan Clark, (5) ;Mathew Clark, 
 (6) Dan Clark, and (7) Rebecca Smalley Clark. 
 The maternal ancestry of Rebecca S. (Clark) Peck 
 is as follows: (i) John Whittlesey, (2) John Whit- 
 tlesey, (3) Eliphalet Whittlesey, (4) Eliphalet 
 Whittlesey, (5) Eliphalet Whittlesey, (6) David 
 W^iittlesey, (7) Mary (Whittlesey) Clark and (8) 
 Rebecca S. (Clark) Peck. Mary (Wittlesey) 
 Clark was the granddaughter of Rev. John Smalley. 
 Dan Clark, father of Mrs. Rebecca S. (Clark) 
 Peck, was a prominent citizen of Hartford county. 
 He was a colonel of militia, and quite eminent in. 
 military circles. He was a farmer by occupation, 
 and later in life removed to Boone county, Iowa. 
 To James G. and Rebecca S. (Clark) Peck were 
 born four children : Charles Scoville, Martha Eliza- 
 beth, James Stanley (a hardware merchant of New 
 Haven), and Frederick W., subject of this sketch. 
 
 Frederick W. Peck was born in New Britain 
 Oct. 28, 1 866. He was educated in the public 
 schools of New Britain, finishing the prescribed 
 
 course at the age of seventeen years, and at once 
 entered the shops of Landers, Frary & Clark, where 
 he served an apprenticeship of four years at the pat- 
 tern maker's trade. He then worked at Corbin's 
 for more than five years. During the period of 
 about ten years which he thus spent at his trade 
 Dr. Peck was a constant student of mechanics, and 
 became proficient in all branches of the meihanical 
 arts which had reference to his trade. But he de- 
 termined to practice the healing art, and diligently 
 set himself to perfect his preparation for that pro- 
 fession. He attended the New York Homeopathic 
 College for two years, and then spent one year in 
 the University at Cleveland, from which he was 
 graduated in 1897. He has supplemented his pro- 
 fessional education with a summer course at Long 
 Island. 
 
 In April, 1897, after receiving his diploma. Dr. 
 Peck began practice at New Britain, and he has since 
 met with most gratifying success. If self-education 
 is the best, the most lasting and thorough, and there- 
 is good reason for believing that it is, the success of 
 Dr. Peck carries wtith it a sufficient explanation. 
 He is a member of the American Institute of Ho- 
 meopathy, and of the Connecticut Flomeopathic So- 
 ciety. In politics he is a Republican, and in relig- 
 ious faith a member of the Congregational Church. 
 
 Dr. Peck married Miss Sarah Babbitt, a daugh- 
 ter of Herbert Babbitt, of JNIorris, Conn., and they 
 have one son, James F., born Dec. 19, 1899. 
 
 CARROLL LIVINGSTON DUDLEY. This 
 versatile, successful and well-known business man 
 of East Berlin has inherited from his father a ca- 
 pacity for work and the management of enterprises,, 
 but has devoted his attention largely to milling, 
 in which line he has won deserved distinction, gained 
 by a thorough and comprehensive mastery of its 
 details. 
 
 Julius Dudley, the father, was born in 1804,- 
 and was one of the political, social and commercial 
 leaders in East Berlin a generation ago. Possessing 
 an active temperament, and an aptitude for busi- 
 ness affairs, he managed for a time a vessel trade 
 between the coasts of New Jersey and New York. 
 For a time he operated a tannery. In politics he was- 
 in ante-bellum days an unswerving Democrat, but 
 when the smoldering fires of civil war broke out 
 he espoused the principles of the Republican party. 
 He was county surve)-or from Killingworth, and 
 for two sessions represented the town in the State- 
 Legislature. He was a brigadier-general in the- 
 Connecticut State militia, commanding the Nevr 
 Haven and New London companies. He married 
 Jerusha Stevens, and both are buried in Wilcox 
 cemetery. East Berlin. 
 
 Carroll Livingston Dudley, our subject, was- 
 born at Killingworth Aug. 23, 1843. He received 
 his early education in- the schools of New Bruns- 
 wick, N. J., to which city the parents removed 
 when he was four years of age, later attending a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 130S 
 
 private school on Staten Island. At the age of six- 
 teen Mr. Dudley began work in his father's tan- 
 nery and leather works at Durham, Conn., where he 
 remained about a year. He then started for himself 
 a gristmill at Durham, which he operated for a year 
 or longer. With that experience he came to Berlin 
 and leased the old Beckley gristmill, in the Beckley 
 Quarter, which he managed for about two years. 
 Removing to East Berlin, he purchased the J. & E. 
 North gristmill, in that city, and has operated it 
 continuously ever since, in connection therewith 
 operating also a jobbing blacksmith shop. Mr. 
 Dudley in 1892 purchased property from F. C. Wil- 
 cox, on Main street. East Berlin, and also owns sev- 
 enteen acres of land adjoining his home. He takes 
 pleasure in farming as a diversion from what has 
 been his long and successful career as a miller. 
 
 Mr. Dudley married Miss Julia Isabelle Dick- 
 enson, daughter of Ferdinand Dickenson, of Ber- 
 lin. He and his wife are attendants of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church of East Berlin. In politics 
 " he is a stanch supporter of Republican principles, 
 but he is not a politician in the sense of seeking 
 office or of participating actively in the political af- 
 fairs of the town. He is a member of Mattabessett 
 Lodge, No. 25, K. of P., of East Berlin, and also a 
 prominent member of R. O. Clark Uniformed Rank, 
 K. of P., officiating as captain of the latter organi- 
 zation in 1897-98, and filling offices in the K. of P. 
 lodge. He is a prosperous business man, and de- 
 serves individual credit for his success, for financial 
 reverses which befell his father in later years com- 
 pelled our subject to begin his business career pen- 
 niless, and to carve out his future for himself. 
 
 EDWARD F. PARSONS, M. D., has occupied 
 a conspicuous position in civil life as well as in the 
 circle of his profession for nearly forty years, and 
 he has never been found wanting, in either the pub- 
 lic spirit to advocate beneficial changes, or the abil- 
 ity to carry his projects to a successful end. 
 
 The Doctor is descended, on both paternal and 
 maternal sides, from the best of that sturdy stock 
 which has given New England birth and New Eng- 
 land training a significance in itself a recommenda- 
 tion of good citizenship and high mental and moral 
 qualities, and his successful career as a physician 
 has given new distinction to a name already honored 
 throughout the State of Connecticut, and specially 
 in Hartford county. Philip Parsons, the first of 
 whom we have record, was born in Massachusetts, 
 and came to Enfield, Conn., when seventeen years 
 old. His fourth son, Nathaniel Parsons, was the 
 Doctor's great-grandfather. He married Alice Col- 
 lins, who was of the fourth generation in direct 
 descent from Gov. Bradford, and a daughter of 
 Rev. Nathaniel and Alice (Adams) Collins, the for- 
 mer the first Congregational clergyman who set- 
 tled in Enfield. Their son, Shubael Parsous, mar- 
 ried Lucy Pease, and they had a son, Eben, who 
 was the father of our subject. Shubael and Eben 
 
 Parsons both followed the wheelwright's trade. 
 Eben Parsons married Maria Raynolds Parsons, and 
 through her the Doctor is also descended from old 
 Congregational stock, her great-grandfather. Rev. 
 Peter Raynolds, having been the second pastor of 
 the First Congregational Church of Enfield. He 
 came hither in 1725, being the first of the name to 
 settle in the town, and made his home in Enfield un- 
 til his death, in 1766. Mrs. Maria Raynolds Par- 
 sons traced her ancestry .from Capt. Nathaniel Ray- 
 nolds, the first American ancestor, through Capt. 
 Peter, Rev. Peter, Peter and Capt. Samuel. 
 
 Edward Field Parsons was born Nov. 21, 1833, 
 in Enfield. At the age of thirteen years he went to 
 Farmington, this county, where he prepared for col- 
 lege in the private school of Simeon and Edward L. 
 Hart, in 1850 matriculating at Williams College, 
 from which institution he was graduated in 1854. 
 He commenced the study of medicine June 15, 1855, 
 at Saint Johnsbury, Vt., and was graduated in 1858 
 from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New 
 York, having attended lectures one year at Dart- 
 mouth College, one year at Jeft'erson Medical Col- 
 lege, Philadelphia, and one year at the College of 
 Physicians and Surgeons of New York. The first 
 six years of his professional life were spent in New 
 York City, whence in 1864 he returned to Hartford 
 county, making his home in Thompsonville, where 
 he has remained to the present day. Dr. Parsons' 
 abilities and learning, iio less than the skill which 
 he has shown in the active duties of his calling, 
 have made him prominent among the successful 
 physicians of the period, and he now stands among 
 the most prominent members of the profession in his 
 county and State. 
 
 Though thoroughly devoted to his life work, 
 Dr. Parsons has nevertheless kept in touch with the 
 various lines of progress in which intelligent minds 
 are interested, and he has found time to serve his 
 fellow citizens in different capacities, his ability 
 proving no less valuable when exercised in matters 
 of public welfare than it has in his private afi'airs. 
 For twenty-five years he was a member of the board 
 of school visitors of Thompsonville, public educa- 
 tion being a special object of his attention and care, 
 and it was no doubt due, in part at least, to his in- 
 fluence that the town of Enfield voted to consolidate 
 the school districts, as he was an enthusiastic cham- 
 pion of the town management of the schools. In 
 1887 he was lionored with election to the State Leg- 
 islature on the Republican ticket, and during his 
 term served on the cominjttee on Insurance. In 
 professional connection the Doctor is a member of 
 the American Medical Association, and of the Con- 
 necticut State Medical Society, and socially he 
 unites with the Temple of Honor. He attends the 
 First Presbyterian Church of Thompsonville, of 
 which he is an active member and an elder. 
 
 Dr. Parsons has been thrice married. In i860 
 he wedded Miss Mary H. Bowman, daughter of Col. 
 Amory H. Bowman, of New Braintree, Mass., and, 
 
1304 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 she dying in 1875, he married, for his second wife, 
 in 1876, Miss Ella Bates, of Worcester, Alass. Her 
 death occurred in August, 1879, and in 1881 he 
 married Miss Margaret J. Harrison, daughter of 
 William and Isabella Harrison, of New York City. 
 
 EMERSOX ELHiU OLCOTT. The career of 
 this well-known resident of Glastonbury affords an 
 excellent example in industry and enterpriscj as 
 he started in life without ca])ital, antl has' attained 
 substantial success. 
 
 Among the first settlers of the town of Hart- 
 ford was Thomas Olcott, an Englishman. Well- 
 educated, and bringing with him the ripe experi- 
 ence and suljstantial rewards gained in years of 
 mercantile business in England, he was well fitted 
 to assist in the building up of the commerce of the 
 new colony, and as a dealer in furs established an 
 extensive and profitable trade. On arriving in 
 America he spent some time in Massachusetts, vis- 
 iting the various seaboard settlements, and resid- 
 ing last in Newtown (now Cambridge). The ad- 
 vantages of this section were apparent to his far- 
 sighted judgment, and he located permanently in 
 Hartford, purchasing from Edward Hopkins the lot 
 now occupied by the "American Hotel," on the 
 east side of the Public Square, fronting on Alain 
 street, and bounded on the other sides by Pearl, 
 Trumbull and Asylum streets. The title was trans- 
 ferred to him by Edward Hopkins, to whom it 
 was given in the original distribution of land in 
 the town, and remained for many generations in 
 the possession of the Olcott family. Thomas Ol- 
 cott died in 1654, when about forty-five years of 
 age, leaving three sons and two daughters. His 
 wife Abigail died Alay 26, 1693, aged seventv- 
 eight years, and was interred May 29, following. 
 Their children were as follows : Thomas, Samuel, 
 John (baptized Feb. 3, 1649), Elizabeth (baptized 
 Dec. 7, 1649) and Hannah. 
 
 (H) Thomas Olcott, of Hartford, son of 
 Thomas, the pioneer, is supposed to have been living 
 in 1719. His wife Alary survived him, and died 
 May 3, 1721, at Windsor, Conn. They had the fol- 
 lowing children : Abigail, who died Alarch 14, 
 1688, at Springfield, Alass., while on a visit to 
 relatives ; Alary ; Thomas : Samuel, who died Alay 
 10, 1696; and John, wdio was drowned in the river 
 while bathing. 
 
 (HI) Thomas Olcott, third in the line of de- 
 scent, was born in 1712, and died in 1788. He mar- 
 ried an attractive young woman named Phcebe who 
 survived him many years, dying at Canton, Conn., 
 in 1814. By this marriage there were eight chil- 
 dren : Isaac, Thomas, Abel, Phineas, Isaiah, Lydia, 
 Elizabeth, and Rachel. 
 
 (IV) Isaac Olcott, our subject's great-grand- 
 father, was born at New Hartford, Conn., in 1762. 
 On Alarch 10, 1778, he enlisted in the Revolution- 
 ary armv, where he served for four years under the 
 following officers : Capt. Herman Robinson, Col. 
 
 Swift, Capt. Not, Capt. Smith, and Gen. Waterbury. 
 He took part in the skirmish at Putnam's Steps, and 
 was probably an eye-witness to Putnam's ride down 
 the steps. On Aiay 6, 1833, he made application 
 for a pension, but the claim was not allowed until 
 after his death, whicli occurred April 23, 1834. 
 He married the widow of Elihu Smith, and had 
 only one child, Isaiah. 
 
 (V) Isaiah Olcott, our subject's grandfather, 
 was born in Glastonbury in July, 1799. He was one 
 of the first pilots on the Connecticut river, and was 
 on the "Oliver Ellsworth" when that vessel blew 
 up. In his later years he was employed in the 
 Curtis factory, the last year of his Mfe being spent 
 m retirement. On Feb. 3, 1830, he married Julia 
 Waterman, daughter of Jahez and Anna Water- 
 man, and they had four children: (i) Isaac Isaiah, 
 a well-known resident of Glastonbury (to whom 
 we are indebted for much of this information), born 
 Sept. II, 1 83 1, married Ellen E. Rislcy, of Madi- 
 son county, N. Y. (2) Jahez Waterman, born 
 Nov. 6, 1823, married Louis Ferguson ; they had 
 one son, Isaac Waterman, a very bright and prom- 
 ising young man, who was instructor of manual 
 training at the school at Norwich at the time of 
 his death, June i, 1894. (3) Elihu Smith, bora 
 Sept. 13, 1835, is mentioned below. (4) George 
 Henrv, the voungest son, born Nov. 7, 1837, died ni 
 1856.' 
 
 (\I) Elihu Smith Olcott, our subject's father, 
 was born Sept. 13, 1835, in Natibuc, Conn., in the 
 house now occupied by Isaac Olcott. He received 
 a common-school education in an old frame build- 
 ing since replaced by a brick structure. After leav- 
 ing school he was employed by the Curtis Manu- 
 facturing Co. in various capacities until his en- 
 listment in August, 1862, in Company G, Twenty- 
 fifth Connecticut Volunteers. Under command of 
 Capt. Charles Talcott, and Col. George Bissell, 
 president of the bank that bore his name, they first 
 went into camp at Hartford, later proceeding to 
 Long Island, where they remained until December. 
 They then went on a steam vessel to New Orleans, 
 and after encamping a short time above that city 
 they wintered at Baton Rouge. In the following 
 Alarch they moved toward Port Hudson, where 
 they lost the first man in their regiment in a picket 
 skirmish. Later they marched to Donaldsonville 
 and then to Red River, fighting on the way a spir- 
 ited battle at Irish Bend, in which they were vic- 
 torious. For forty-five days they were at Port 
 Hudson, the city being under continued bombard- 
 ment, and after the surrender, which took place 
 July 8, 1863, they returned by boat to Donaldson- 
 ville. The Rebels were endeavoring to fortify, but 
 they dislodged them. They then started for Hart- 
 ford, where Elihu Olcott was mustered out Aug. 
 26, 1863, his time having expired. Returning to 
 Glastonbury, he has since been almost continuously 
 in the employ of the Curtis Manufacturing Co., 
 now known as the Williams Manufacturing Co. 
 
cT cf. ^c^x^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1305 
 
 On Nov. 29, 1855, Mr. Olcott married Miss Jane 
 Adams, who was born in 1831. She is the adopted 
 daughter of Russell and Mercy M. (Griswold) 
 Adams, the former a miller and farmer of South 
 Wethersfield. Four children were born of this 
 union: (i) Emma G. (deceased), born Dec. 13, 
 1856, married Perkins C. Bennett, now a resident 
 ■of Providence, R. I.; (2) Emerson E. is mentioned 
 more fully below; (3) Harry E., born July 21, 
 1869, is mentioned elsewhere; and (4) Frank L., 
 born Jan. 15, 1872, died Sept, 12, 1892, and was 
 buried in Glastonbury. 
 
 Emerson E. Olcott was born Dec. 7, 1859, 
 in Naubuc, and during his early years attended the 
 common and select schools of the locality, work- 
 ing in the long summer vacations to pay his ex- 
 penses. On leaving school he became a burnisher 
 in the American Sterling Co.'s shops, at Naubuc, 
 his father being the overseer in that department 
 at the time. The work was paid for "by the piece," 
 and our subject's industry enabled him to make 
 excellent wages. After a short time he went to 
 Wallingford to take a position in the shop of Wallace 
 & Sons. On returning to Glastonbury he worked 
 at various occupations, and in 1886, having saved 
 his earnings carefully, he bought four or five acres 
 of land, upon which he built his present residence. 
 This tract formed the nucleus for his farm of 
 fourteen acres, where he now carries on general 
 farming and a stone quarry on the place also 
 promises well as an investment. After the fire of 
 1894 destroyed a business block in Glastonbury, he 
 purchased the land and built a store, which he 
 opened in 1895 with a stock of groceries. He and 
 his brother Harry E. conducted this business in 
 partnership until 1898, when our subject with- 
 drew, preferring to give his attention to agricult- 
 ure and the management of his quarry, in connec- 
 tion with which he keeps several truck teams 
 constantly employed in hauling stone. Mr. Olcott 
 is a Republican in politics, and has served as first 
 selectman two years (1894-95), and was second 
 selectman in 1896. Socially he belongs to the I. O. 
 •O. F., Elm Lodge, No. 53, has held offices in the 
 same, and is also a member of Monitor Council, No. 
 62, O. U. A. M. He and his wife are members of the 
 Congregational Church at Glastonbury, and the 
 family takes an active interest in church work. 
 
 'On May 29, 1878, Mr. Olcott was married to 
 Miss Queria Bidwell, daughter of Ambrose and 
 Jane (Chapman) Bidwell, natives of Glastonbury. 
 The children born to this union are: Lena, who 
 was married Nov. 28, 1899, to George AfHick, of 
 Glastonbury; Bertha, Willard and Ethel, at home; 
 Leslie, who died April 28, 1898; and Raymond, at 
 home. 
 
 WILL P. LANDON, chief clerk of the New 
 York, New Haven & Hartford Railway Co., with 
 headquarters at East Hartford, was born in Hop- 
 kinton, N. Y., Sept. 5, 1858, and is a son of Daniel 
 
 and Caroline M. (Phelps) Landon, descendants of 
 old Colonial families, and on the paternaLside of 
 Welsh extraction. Daniel Landou, the great-great- 
 grandfather, was born in 1736, lived in Litchfield 
 county. Conn., and was a grandson of James Landon, 
 the progenitor of the family in America. The great- 
 grandfather of our subject went to Lansdowne, 
 Canada, and reared a large family, of whom Sam- 
 uel lived to reach adult years. 
 
 Samuel Landon, grandfather of our subject, mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Bradley, a native of County Carlow, 
 Ireland. The Bradley family were Orangemen, and 
 the father of Elizabeth, who was an officer of dra- 
 goons in Ireland, came to Canada, where he had 
 charge of a gentleman's estate. Samuel Landon 
 was a contractor, and while engaged in building a 
 bridge at Lansdowne, one of his men failing to do 
 work to his liking, he seized hold of a timber to 
 lift, and sustained injuries that resulted in his death. 
 His children were five in number : Joshua, who went 
 to Minnesota, where all trace of him was lost ; Ed- 
 ward, who was reared in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., 
 and died in West Hartford, Conn., in 1896; Daniel, 
 father of our subject; Mary J., who was married to 
 Henry Bradley, and died in Canada; and Lucinda, 
 who was married to George DeLong, of Watertown, 
 N. Y., and there died. 
 
 Daniel Landon, father of our subject, was born 
 March 30, 1832, in Lansdowne, Ontario, Canada, 
 and was educated in the common schools of his na- 
 tive town. He learned shoemaking, and about the 
 time he was twenty-one years old located in Hopkin- 
 ton, N. Y., worked awhile as a journeyman, and 
 then engaged in trade for himself. In August, 1862, 
 he enlisted in Company G, io6th N. Y. V. I., but be- 
 fore the regiment left for the front he was promoted 
 from private to corporal, and then to sergeant. He 
 participated in eleven battles, and at Monocacy, Md., 
 July 9, 1864, he was shot through and through, but 
 thought himself hit by a spent ball only. While 
 kneeling to load his rifle, he was a second time shot 
 through and through, the ball barely missing the jug- 
 ular vein. He was sent to the Jarvis hospital, at Bal- 
 timore. When sufficiently recovered to move about 
 he was assigned to duty in the convalescent hospi- 
 tal, and in April, 1865, was granted a furlough 
 home. Here he was taken worse, the furlough was 
 extended, and he was transferred to the Veteran Re- 
 serve Corps, but was not assigned to any company. 
 As he was the senior officer of his company when he 
 was shot — it had been so riddled — a lieutenant's 
 commission was awaiting him on his return, but he 
 was not able to get back before the war closed. He 
 engaged in farming. His death took place April 
 23, 1879 ; for eleven years he had suffered from 
 hemorrhage of the lungs, but his great will-power 
 prolonged his life. In politics Daniel Landon was 
 a stanch Republican, and at different times filled 
 such offices as justice of the peace, constable and 
 collector. Fraternally he was a Freemason, and in 
 religion a Congregationalist. 
 
1806 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 The marriage of ^Ir. Landon to Miss Caroline 
 jM. riielps took place at Hopkinton, X. Y., Jan. 6, 
 1852. Miss Phelps was bom in that town Sept. 
 21, 1832, a daughter of William S. and Laura (Pal- 
 mer) Phelps. Laura Palmer was a daughter of 
 Richard S. Palmer, who was a soldier in the war of 
 1812, was a Baptist c!erg}'man, and was the first 
 settled minister of that denomination in St. Law- 
 rence county, N. Y. William S. Phelps was born 
 in Orwell, Vt., and was a son of Jacob and Lucy 
 (Webster) Phelps, the latter of whom lived to the 
 great age of ninety-six years. Jacob Phelps was a 
 native of Pittsfield, Mass., and was the first to lo- 
 cate in St. Lawrence county, N. Y. His father, 
 Elnathan Phelps, was a soldier of the Revolutionary 
 war, and had served in the I'Vcnch and Indian wars. 
 Elnathan was a son of William, who, in turn, was 
 a son of \Mlliam, who was a son of Nathaniel, who 
 settled in Xorthfield, Mass., and was a son of Will- 
 iam, who came from England in 1630, and to Wind- 
 sor, Conn., in 1635, and here died in 1672. 
 
 The children born to Daniel and Caroline M. 
 Landon numbered six, as follows : Herbert, born 
 March 9, 1853, is a farmer in Stockholm, X. Y. : 
 Ella, born in September, 1855, is now Mrs. Henry 
 Johnson, of Hartford, Conn. ; Will P. is the subject 
 of this sketch ; Elizabeth, born in April, 1862, is 
 unmarried, and resides in Buffalo, X. Y. ; Lucy, 
 born in January, 1870. is married to W'illiam A. 
 DriscoU, of Parkville, Conn. : and Raymond D., born 
 June 6, 1872, resides in Hartford. The mother of 
 this family also resides in Hartford, and is a mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church. She is a re- 
 markably well-preserved lady, and to her retentive 
 memory the publishers are indebted for many of the 
 facts here given, in relation to the early history of 
 the Landon and Phelps families. 
 
 Will P. Landon attended the district schools of 
 his native town until twelve years of age, and v.-as 
 then employed at hard work on his father's farm, as 
 the ill health of the father precluded his doing much 
 work, although he had relinquished his trade and 
 resorted to farming, in the vain hope that outdoor 
 life would prove a remedy for the disorder result- 
 ing from his wounds — hemorrhage of the lungs. 
 At the age of sixteen years young Landon en- 
 tered a store in the town as clerk, passed two years 
 in this employment, and then returning to the farm 
 continued to work thereon tmtil his father's death. 
 After this he entered a drug store in Canton. N. 
 Y., and after clerking a short time went out as a 
 traveling salesman for the Thatcher Drug Co., of 
 Potsdam, N. Y., but as this business did not agree 
 with him he relinquished it at the end of eight 
 months. He then for a time lived v.-ith an uncle. 
 L. D. Atwood, on a farm. 
 
 In June, 1881, Mr. Landon was joined in mat- 
 rimony with Miss Mena Cooper, of Massena 
 Springs, St. Lawrence Co., XT. Y., and began house- 
 keeping in Hopkinton. Soon after this happy event 
 he was employed as clerk at the "Hatfield Hotel," 
 
 at Massena Springs, and later at a mill in Parish- 
 ville, in the same county, whence he came to Con- 
 necticut. Here he was employed as clerk for Henry 
 T. Hart, of Burnside, Hartford county, and in every 
 position thus held he constantly enhanced his repu- 
 tation as a reliable and competent bookkeeper. 
 
 In October, 1887, Mr. Landon entered the em- 
 ploy of the Xew England Railway Co., as clerk, this 
 being the year when the company's shops were 
 erected at East I lartford, and he has ever since held 
 the confidence of the managers. Although the di- 
 rectorship has changed several times, he has been 
 retained each administration, and no better evidence 
 of his ability can be cited than this fact, and the 
 fact that, in July, 1894, he was appointed chief 
 clerk — his present position. 
 
 In 1893 Mr. Landon erected an elegant home 
 on Burnside avenue. East Hartford, but subsequently 
 sold this and purchased another on the same avenue 
 — his present residence. Fraternally Mr. Landon is 
 a member of Orient Lodge, F. & A. M., and of 
 Sonquasson Tribe, of Red Men, of Hartford ; he 
 was a memlx'r of Lincoln Lodge, K. P., of Hart- 
 ford, but later became a charter member of Elm 
 Lodge, K. P., of East Hartford, and is also a charter 
 member of LaFayette Council, O. U. A. M., of the 
 same town. In religion he is an Episcopalian, and 
 in politics a Republican, in the success of which 
 party he takes a keen interest. Socially he mingles 
 with the best circles of Hartford and East Hartford, 
 and enjoys the esteem of all with whom he meets 
 in this respect, as well as that of the public in gen- 
 eral. He is fond of a good horse and keeps a good 
 driver, and delights in "'caring for his own horse." 
 He has made his own way through life from the 
 age of twelve years, and is well entitled to the high 
 esteem in which he is held. 
 
 \VILLIS FRAXK ROCKWELL, one of the 
 oldest business men in the State of Connecticut, was 
 born in the town of Wintonburg Jan. i, 1827, a son 
 of Joel and Monimee (Pinney) Rockwell. 
 
 Joel S. Rockwell, grandfather of Willis F., was 
 a native of Scotland, but early came to Connecti- 
 cut and became a farmer at Wapping, Hartford 
 county, married a Miss Ladd, of Scottish ancestry, 
 and passed the remainder of his life on his farm. 
 
 Joel Rockwell, son of Joel S. and father of 
 Willis F., was bom at Wapping, where he lived 
 until seven years of age, from that time until he 
 reached his majority residing with a family named 
 Harding, in Granville, Mass. He then took up a 
 tract of land in Ohio, on which he lived one year 
 only. On returning to Connecticut he engaged in 
 the retail butcher trade, and also owned a farm of 
 200 acres. He married, in Bloomfield, Moniinee 
 (Pinney) Clark, widow of Joel Clark, by whom she 
 had one child, Delia Clark. To the marriage of 
 Joel and Monimee Rockwell were born seven chil- 
 dren, in the following order: Joel C, now in Flor- 
 ida; Willis Frank, the subject of this sketch; O. P.,. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1307 
 
 John Scott and John C, all three deceased ; George 
 L., in the real-estate business at Providence, R. I. ; 
 and Alice Z., deceased. Mr. Rockwell was a Whig 
 in politics, and died on his farm in 1867, at the 
 age of seventy-two years. 
 
 Willis F. Rockwell was educated in the Old 
 Farm district of Bloomfield, and at the Connecticut 
 Literary Institute, Suffield. He then served a five 
 years apprenticeship at carriage making with Anson 
 H. Porter, at Bloomfield Center, after which he en- 
 gaged, in the same business on his own account in 
 Tariffville. But within two weeks be was taken sick, 
 and while thus confined his shop was destroyed 
 by fire. He then went into the retail meat business 
 in the Washington market at Hartford City, at 
 which he continued nineteen years, after which he 
 engaged in the same line, in the wholesale tradfe, 
 and is now the oldest butcher and dealer in meats 
 in New England, and, to show the extent of bis 
 trade, it may be mentioned that, in 1897, of sheep 
 alone he slaughtered iipward of ten thousand. 
 
 Mr. Rockwell was united in marriage, in Bloom- 
 field, April 12, 1849, with Miss Catharine N. Filley, 
 daughter of Haskell H. Filley, and this marriage 
 has been graced with four children, born in the 
 following order : Frank D. is a salesman for Inger- 
 man Swift, in the wholesale meat business, and is 
 married to Miss E. A. Clark; Willis E. married 
 Miss O. E. Kenyon, and has been blessed with two 
 children — Willis K. and Percy; Kate G. is the 
 wife of David S. Hall, and has one child — Frank 
 D. ; and Ida M., born Aug. 5, 1863 (who died when 
 five months old). 
 
 Willis F. Rockwell is master of Hiram Lodge, 
 No. 98, F. & A. M. at Bloomfield, and has been 
 a member of the fraternity for thirty-four years. 
 He is also a member of Bloomfield Grange, P. of 
 H. In politics he was first a Whig, but on the or- 
 ganization of the Republican party joined its ranks, 
 and by this party ha's been elected a member of the 
 board of education, and the board of relief. So- 
 cially he stands very high in the esteem of the com- 
 munity in which he has passed so many years of a 
 long and useful life. 
 
 LEONIDAS D. CHANDLER, who, as a farmer, 
 tobacco grower, legislator, and one of the foremost 
 public-spirited citizens of South Windsor, has won 
 a reputation of high degree and evinced a character 
 of many sterling qualities, possesses those elements 
 of enterprise and industry which constitute the 
 ground work of American life. As an adventurous 
 pioneer in the western country, and as a gallant 
 soldier during the Civil war, he displayed those ad- 
 mirable traits which lead to recognition and dis- 
 tinction. 
 
 Mr. Chandler was born in the town of East 
 Hartford, near Burnside, Oct. 14, 1836, son of 
 Charles M. and Mary (Vibert) Chandler. His fa- 
 ther was a native of Franklin, N. H., who when a 
 young man removed from that State to Hartford 
 
 county, Conn., and there married. By trade he 
 was a papermaker. To Charles M. and Mary 
 Chandler were born three children : Leonidas D., 
 our subject; Rose, who died in infancy; and Har- 
 riet, wife of Charles M. Pelton, of East Hartford. 
 Our subject was seven years old when his fa- 
 ther died, and at ten he began working out on 
 neighboring farms, attending school during the win- 
 ter months. His education, however, was not neg- 
 lected, for besides attending the common schools he 
 was a student for a time at the East Windsor Hill 
 Seminary. In 1857, when he attained his majority, 
 he went West and for two years remained at Olms- 
 ted, Harrison Co., Iowa. In the spring of 1859 he 
 drove three yoke of oxen from Iowa to Colorado. 
 He entered the mountains and located on Clear creek, 
 , where he engaged in prospecting and mining, and 
 the following winter returned to Iowa, making the 
 journey the same way he came, by ox-team. In 
 Iowa he remained until July 4, 1861, when he en- 
 listed in Company B, 4th Iowa V. I. Fie was mus- 
 tered into the service at Council Bluffs, Iowa. Pro- 
 ceeding to St. Louis the regiment was stationed foi 
 a time at Jefferson Barracks, guarding the rail- 
 road. Proceeding to Raleigh, Mo., the 4th Iowa 
 there went into winter quarters. In January, 1862, 
 it moved to Springfield, and Mr. Chandler partici- 
 pated soon after in the sharp engagement at Pea 
 Ridge. He marched through the country to Helena, 
 Ark., where a slight engagement occurred. Pro- 
 ceeding down the river to Milliken's Bend, the regi- 
 ment was attached to the 15th Army Corps under 
 Sherman, and participated in the battle of Arkansas 
 Post. The next engagement of our subject was at 
 Port Gibson, then at Jackson, Miss. Returning, 
 he was present at the siege of Vicksburg, and was 
 also engaged in a number of skirmishes. At Chick- 
 asaw Bayou, Dec. 29, 1862, he was wounded. He 
 was honorably discharged at Vicksburg, Sept. 16, 
 1863. 
 
 Returning to South Windsor, the young soldier 
 engaged in farming. He was married, in 1870, to 
 Miss Celia M. King, daughter of Benoni O. and 
 Lucinda (Sadd) King, of South Windsor. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Chandler have been born three children: 
 Grace, wife of Harry S. Powers, of South Windsor ; 
 Charles V. ; and Fred L., at home. 
 
 Mr. Chandler owns about forty acres, most of 
 which is fine tobacco land, located about six miles 
 from Hartford, and tobacco growing is his chief oc- 
 cupation at present. Mr. Chandler is a Republican 
 in politics, and one of the leading spirits of his 
 party in South Windsor ; for many years has been a 
 member of the Republican committee. In 1879 he 
 was elected to the State Legislature on the Repub- 
 lican ticket, and in 1898 he was elected registrar of 
 South Windsor. Socially he is a member of Rod- 
 man Post, No. 65, G. A. R., at East Hartford ; Ever- 
 green Lodge, No. 114, F. & A. M., at the same place ; 
 Pythagoras Chapter, No. 17, R. A. M., and Wolcott 
 Council, of Hartford. Mr. Chandler is a member of 
 
1308 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the Army and Xavv Clulj of Hartford, and since 
 i86y has been a member of the X'eteran Foot Guard 
 of Hartford. 
 
 HON. HENRY D. BARNARD, one of the old- 
 est and best-known residents of North Bloomfield, 
 was born at his present home Aug. ii, 1828. and is 
 a descendant of one of the most ancient famihes of 
 New England. 
 
 Sergeant Joseph Barnard, great-great-grandfa- 
 ther of our subject, was supposed to have de- 
 scended from Francis Barnard, who came to Amer- 
 ica from Ipswich, England, in the ship "Francis," 
 in 1634. The place and date of birth of Sergt. Jo- 
 seph Barnard are unknown, as well as place and date 
 of death, but it is on record that he married Abi- 
 gail Griswold Oct. 4, 1705, and that she died in 
 1747, the mother of si.x children: Sarah, born 
 Sept. 23, 1706; Joseph, March 19, 1708; Ebenezer, 
 Sept. 8, 1710; Ann, Feb. 28, 1712; David, Nov. 3, 
 1714; Francis, Sept. 9, 1719. 
 
 Francis Barnard, great-grandfather of Henry 
 Dwight Barnard, was born in XMndsor, Conn., at 
 the date above named, removed to Simsbury, Conn., 
 and was the father of twelve children, born in tlie 
 following order: Francis; Lucretia, Nov. 11, 1743; 
 Lydia, Feb, 23, 1746; Irana, Oct. 23, 1747; Moses 
 and Aaron, Dec. 12, 1750; Elizabeth and Sarah, in 
 1755; Ebenezer, Sept. 12, 1757; Samuel, March 9, 
 1759; Elihu, May 28, 1762; and Caroline, April 22, 
 1765. The name of the mother of this family is 
 not given, nor dates of marriage and death. 
 
 Francis Barnard, grandfather of our subject, 
 was born within the present limits of Bloomfield, 
 Conn., here passed his life in farming, and died 
 about 1830. He was thrice married, (first) to Eliza- 
 beth Phelps, (second) to Chloe Mills, and (third) 
 to Diodema Brown. To his first marriage were 
 torn Oliver and Elizabeth : to his second were born 
 Chloc, Charlotte, George (father of our subject), 
 Ira, Asa, Harriet, Francis and Rhoda. 
 
 George Barnard, father of Henry D. Barnard, was 
 torn in what is now the town of Bloomfield Feb. 22, 
 1785, learned the blacksmith's trade with Joshua 
 Latham, and this, together with farming, was his 
 life-long occupation. He married, Oct. 15, 1805, 
 ]\Iiss Sally Higley, who was born Nov. 30, 1785, 
 and this union was blessed with twelve children as 
 follows: George A., July 23, 1806, died Aug. 10, 
 1808; Caroline, Dec. 29, 1807, died March 4, 1816; 
 George A. (2), Aug. 7, 1809, died March 26, 1885; 
 Harriet, Feb. 23, 1811, died March 29, 1896; Chloe, 
 March 29. 1814, died Oct. 8, 1830: (larlos, Aug. i, 
 • 1816, died March 5, 1817; Caroline (2), Jan. 9, 
 1818, died Jan. 8, 1852; Amelia C. (now Mrs. 
 Smith, of Buffalo, N. Y.), Feb. 20, 1820; Eliza- 
 beth, Sept. 29, 1821, died July 2, 1851 ; James, Oct. 
 21, 1823, died Oct. 19, 1839; Mary A., March 17, 
 1826, now wife of S. B. Newberry, of Bloomfield, 
 Conn., and mother of two children — Charles C. 
 and Annette Goodwin ; and Henry D., whose name 
 
 opens this sketch. The father of this family was 
 called away April 19, 1863, a deacon of the East 
 Granby Baptist Church, and was followed to the 
 grave by his wife Nov. 20, 1870. 
 
 Hon. Henry D. Barnard was educated in the 
 district school of North Bloomfield, and at the high 
 school in Simsbury. On Nov. 22, 1857, he married, 
 at East Granby, Miss Sophia R. Alderman, daugh- 
 ter of Irijah Bissell and Anice (Rockwell) Alder- 
 man. Mrs. Barnard was born Sept. 29, 1832, and 
 died Dec. 7, 1876, the mother of six children, viz.: 
 Amelia S., born Nov. 23, 1858, died July 16, 1880; 
 Mary E., born May 9, 1861, died Aug. 25, 1887; 
 George, born March 5, 1863, died March 28, 1890; 
 William H., born June 18, 1865, died at the home of 
 his father Feb. 4, 1900; Ira, born July 30, 1869, 
 and Alice, born March 9, 1872. The living chil- 
 dren are members of the Baptist Church. Mr. 
 Barnard has passed all his active days in farming, 
 and has been quite prominent in local politics and 
 the management of the affairs of his town. In 
 1882 he was elected a member of the Legislature on 
 the Democratic ticket and took an active part in the 
 proceedings of that body, and he has also served as 
 assessor of his town, in which office he has given 
 indisputable satisfaction. 
 
 CLARK ALLEN COREY, whose sudden death 
 is still fresh in the minds of his fellow citizens, was 
 one of the honored and highly esteemed residents 
 of the town of Suflield, Hartford county. He was 
 born May 3, 1826, in Laneslxiro, Berkshire Co., 
 Mass., and belonged to an old New England family 
 of English descent. 
 
 Abel Corey, his grandfather, was a native of 
 Rhode Island, where he was reared, thence when a 
 young man removing to Hancock, Berkshire Co., 
 Mass., where he followed farming throughout the 
 remainder of his life. Religiously he was a member 
 of the Congregational Church. In his family were 
 ten children: Otheonile, Millie, Catherine, Clark, 
 Hamilton, Harty, Thomas, Freeburn. Elsie and 
 Amy, all of whom lived and died in Hancock with 
 the exception of Clark, the father of our subject. 
 
 Clark Corey was born in Hancock, Mass., and 
 grew to manhood upon his father's farm, his educa- 
 tion being acquired in the district schools of the 
 neighborhood. On leaving the parental roof he en- 
 gaged in farming on his own account near Lanes- 
 boro, Mass., where he remained until 1830, and 
 later followed the same occupation at Washington, 
 that State, but the last few years of his life were 
 spent at Pittsfield, where he owned a small farm. 
 He died there, and his remains were interred at 
 Washington. Politically he was first a stanch Whig 
 and later a Republican, and always took quite an 
 active and influential part in local affairs, filling a 
 number of offices, such as selectman, etc. He was 
 a true Christian gentleman, and a faithful member 
 of the Congregational Church. In Hancock he mar- 
 ried Miss Sarah Allen, a native of Stephentown, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1309 
 
 N. Y., and to them were born four children : Daniel, 
 deceased; Mary Ann, who married Nathan Clark 
 (both died in Sufheld) ; Clark Allen, our subject; 
 and Elsie, deceased wife of Albert Mecum, of 
 Becket, Mass. The mother, who was also a con- 
 sistent member of the Congregational Church, died 
 in Washington, Mass., and was buried there. For 
 his second wife the father married Olivette J. Her- 
 rick, by whom he had three children: Ann Maria, 
 deceased wife of Jonathan Bidwell, of Bloomfield, 
 Conn. ; William H., who died in infancy ; and Ellen, 
 wife of D. W. Thrall, of Hartford. 'The mother 
 of this family was also a member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church. She died at the home of her daugh- 
 ter, in Bloomfield, being laid to rest in Bloomfield 
 Centre. 
 
 Clark A. Corey, whose name introduces this 
 sketch, was only four years old when taken by his 
 parents to Washington, Mass., and in the district 
 schools of that locality he obtained his education. 
 During his minority he remained upon his father's 
 farm, and on starting out in life to make his own 
 way in the world he found employment with Jones 
 Rudd, a lumberman and general dealer of Becket, 
 Mass., with whom he remained for several years, 
 or until that gentleman's death. Of an ambitious 
 nature, he succeeded in working his way upward, 
 attaining the position of superintendend of the lum- 
 ber yard and agent in charge of all the outside 
 business. After Mr. Rudd's death he turned his 
 attention to farming, and as there was but one 
 blacksmith in Becket opened a blacksmith shop, 
 though he had no previous knowledge of the busi- 
 ness. Receiving the support of the people of the 
 community, he persevered in his new undertaking, 
 and soon became an expert blacksmith, being con- 
 sidered the best ox-shoer in the country. He was 
 quite proficient in everything pertaining to the busi- 
 ness, and successfully followed the same for several 
 years. Later he was interested in the butcher busi- 
 ness in partnership with Hope Ames for two years, 
 and then accepted the position of foreman for the 
 firm of Wheeler & Clafliin, the latter of whom was 
 afterward governor of Massachusetts. As foreman 
 Mr. Corey was engaged in constructing roads, and 
 preparing foundations for a tanyard in Fulton coun- 
 ty, N. Y., having loo men working under him in 
 cutting timber and preparing the foundations. It 
 was the largest plant of the kind in the county, the 
 yard being 400 feet long, the bark house, 100x40 
 feet; the dry house, 180x40 feet; the wood house, 
 100x40 feet; and the leach house, 150x30 feet. 
 After its completion our subject worked in that sec- 
 tion, building roads, bridges, dams, etc., and pre- 
 pared the foundation for a smaller tannery for the 
 same firm, the yard being 250 feet long. He also 
 built seven miles of plank road, and had the entire 
 confidence of his emploj'ers and the respect of the 
 men working under him. 
 
 In 1870 Mr. Corey came to Suffield, Conn., and 
 bought a tract of eighty acres in West Suffield, 
 
 known as the Pomeroy farm, on which he made his 
 home until his death. He made many improvements 
 upon the place, and for some time was actively en- 
 gaged in the cultivation of tobacco, general farming, 
 dairying and stock raising, and raised the well- 
 known stallion, "Harry Morgan, Jr." From the 
 effects of neuralgia and rheumatism he was de- 
 prived of the use of his lower limbs for fifteen years 
 before his death, but being dissatisfied with an idle 
 existence he devoted his time to putting in cane 
 bottoms in chairs, etc., as he was a natural me- 
 chanic, able to do almost anything in the mechanical 
 line. He was ever a hard worker, a close observer, 
 was temperate in his habits, and very genial in dis- 
 position. In early life he was a supporter of the 
 Whig party, and was later a pronounced Republican, 
 but cared nothing for official honors. At one time 
 he was a member of the Know-Nothing party. He 
 was a good Christian man, a member of the Congre- 
 gational Church, and highly respected by all who 
 knew him. Mr. Corey passed away Nov. 10, 1899, 
 after an illness of only about thirty hours. 
 
 On Feb. 4, 185 1, in Milford, Mass., Mr. Corey 
 married Miss Clarinda Smith, a native of that place, 
 and a daughter of Obediah Smith. Four children 
 were born to them : James A., a railroad man of 
 Kansas; Jessie, who died young; Effie S., wife of 
 Frederick Scott, of Suffield ; and Grace. The wife 
 and mother died in Becket, Mass., in 1862, and was 
 buried there. Mr. Corey was again married, in 
 i866,his second union being with Mrs. Abby(Keck) 
 Claus, widow of E. Piatt Claus, by whom she had 
 three children, two of whom died in infancy ; the 
 other; Ida J., is the wife of Charles Washburn, of 
 Westfield, Mass. By his second union Mr. Corey 
 had one child, Annie M., who married Burton M. 
 Gillett, and has one child, Abby Adelia. They live 
 with Mrs. Corey. 
 
 Mrs. Abby Corey is a native of Oppenheim, N. 
 Y., and is a daughter of Moses and Elizabeth 
 (Smith) Keck. Her maternal grandfather was a 
 soldier in the Revolutionary war. She is a lady of 
 marked intelligence and refinement, and a good 
 housewife, excelling in cooking and making pickles, 
 jams, preserves, etc., and her home is adorned by 
 many articles made by herself, such as rugs, car- 
 pets, etc. In 1899 she entered the garden contest 
 of the New England Homestead Co., and was one 
 of the prize winners. She is also one of the most 
 extensive poultry raisers in the town. Mrs. Corey 
 has been quite successful in canvassing for books, 
 and possesses more than ordinary business ability 
 and sound judgment. 
 
 HON. SAMUEL D. DRAKE, formerly repre- 
 sentative in the State Legislature from the town 
 of Windsor, is one of the most highly respected 
 residents of that locality, his sound judgment and 
 sturdy independence of thought and action having 
 won the esteem of all classes. 
 
 Mr; Drake was born in this county July 9, 
 
1310 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1828, at what is now known as Wilson Station, 
 and is the oldest male representative of an old fani- 
 . ily of Windsor town, now less numerous than for- 
 merly. His grandfather, David Drake, Sr., was 
 a farmer near Wilson Station. His first wife died 
 a few years after the birth of their son, David, Jr. 
 
 David Drake, Jr., our subject's father, was born 
 and reared at the old homestead, and became a 
 farmer and brick-maker by occupation. He ac- 
 quired a fair competence, and had a comfortable 
 home, his children being given a good start in life. 
 In politics he was a stanch Democrat, and con- 
 sidered it a duty to cast his ballot at every elec- 
 tion. He died at the age of sixty-three, and his 
 wife, Eunice Egglcsion, also a native of \\ indsor 
 town, survived him some years, being seventy 
 years old at her death. Of their five children, 
 the eldest, Elmira, died unmarried, at the age of 
 twenty ; Nathan, who died in Hartford, was a mer- 
 chant tailor by occupation ; Oliver, who was en- 
 gaged in the grocery business in Hartford at the 
 time of his death, was one of the famous "forty- 
 niners," having been a member of O. P. Mills' 
 party, which sailed in February, 1849, for Cali- 
 fornia, via Cape Horn; Samuel D., our subject, 
 was fourth in the order of birth ; Olive E., the 
 youngest, is the wife of S. John ^lills, of Windsor 
 town. 
 
 Among the brightest memories of our sub- 
 ject's early life are his school days in the old Buck- 
 town District school, which had the reputation of 
 being the hardest to govern of any in the. town, 
 some teachers being unwilling to undertake the 
 task. Although he joined heartily in the merriment 
 that frequently reigned there, he managed to secure 
 a fair store of knowledge. As a young man he 
 continued to assist his father in farming and brick- 
 making, with which he became familiar in boy- 
 hood, and when thirty years old he carried out 
 a long cherished desire to become a railroad man, 
 the sight of a train rushing by having always 
 awakened within him the wish to be upon it. He 
 was first employed as a brakenian on a passenger 
 train on the Hartford, Providence & Fishkill rail- 
 road, then running only between Willimantic and 
 Bristol, and after a few months was promoted to 
 the post of baggage-master between Hartford and 
 Providence. As he showed marked aptitude for rail- 
 road work it was not long before he was made "ex- 
 tra man," being called on to fill any unexpected va- 
 cancy from conductor to agent. For five years he 
 filled this responsible position satisfactorily, and 
 for eighteen years he was passenger conductor, his 
 record as an almost unerring collector of fares be- 
 ing a remarkable one. The high esteem in which 
 he was held b}- the company was shown b_y the fact 
 that he was often taken from his regular run and 
 placed in charge of large excursion trains, where 
 his well-proven efficiency would be of especial 
 value. In 1878 his health became sotnewhat af- 
 fected, and he left the road, notwithstanding the 
 
 expressed regret of his employers. As he had 
 purchased his present farm some time previous, 
 he settled down to agricultural work, in which he 
 has now spent about twenty years. A comfortable 
 competence, the result of his own efforts, enables 
 him to enjoy the good things of life, and he owns 
 other property in the town besides his home. He 
 is fond of driving, being an exceptionally good 
 reinsman, and he always has a fine horse or two in 
 his stables. Fishing is another form of recreation 
 in which he takes pleasure, . and in former years 
 he often spent his summers at Moosehead Lake, 
 Maine, in order to enjoy that sport. As a stanch 
 Democrat he has done much effective work in local 
 
 I politics, but he is not a strict partisan, and will vote 
 for a good man whatever ticket his name may be 
 on, while his own support is derived from the best 
 people of all parties. For ten years he served as 
 tax collector, and at one time he was elected town 
 clerk, but declined to qualify. In 1883 he was a 
 
 : member of the General Assembly, his able service 
 winning universal approval. 
 
 At the age of thirty-three Mr. Drake married 
 Miss Eliza Capen, daughter of Harry Capen, a 
 well-known citizen of Windsor, and since locating 
 at their present home they have taken a prominent 
 place in the social life of the town. Both are mem- 
 bers of the Episcopal Church, in which our sub- 
 ject is a vestryman, and for some time he had 
 charge of the sale of seats. Fraternally he is iden- 
 tified with St. John's Lodge, No. 4, F. & A. M., 
 at Hartford. 
 
 ELIHU NORMAN SHEPARD, an old-time 
 and well-known citizen of Bloomfield, was born 
 April I, 1 82 1, in the town of Farmington, just 
 across the road from his present residence. He 
 traces his maternal genealogy to George and Eliza- 
 beth (Watts) Hubbard, the former of whom was 
 born in the eastern part of England in 1601, and 
 whose name appears on the records of Hartford, 
 Conn., in 1639, he having come hither overland 
 from Boston, in 1635 or 1636, and having here 
 married Elizabeth Watts, in 1640. 
 
 Elihu Norman Shepard has passed his entire 
 life in the towns of Farmington, Windsor and 
 Bloomfield without removing from the home farm. 
 His father, Elihu Shepard, was born on the Bloom- 
 field portion of this farm in 1794, and died March 
 8, 1873. He married, Oct. 20, 1818, Mary Hub- 
 bard, a lineal descendant of the George and Eliza- 
 beth (Watts) Hubbard, alluded to in the preced- 
 ing paragraph. Mary Hubbard was a daughter 
 of Dosethius and Tamar (Hitchcock) Hubbard; 
 Dosethius was a son of Nathaniel and Mary (Cad- 
 well) Hubbard; Nathaniel was a son of John and 
 Agnes Spencer (Humphreys) Hubbard; John was 
 a son of Samuel and Sarah (Kirby) HublDard, and 
 Samuel was a son of George and Elizabeth (Watts) 
 Hubbard, the founders of this family in Connect- 
 icut. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1311 
 
 To Elihu and Mary (Hubbard) Shepard were 
 born seven children, namely : Mary J., born Oct. 
 -22, 1819, and married to Martin B. Holcomb; 
 Elihu Norman, the subject proper of this sketch; 
 Alma Melissa, born Dec. 25, 1S22, and married to 
 William Whiting, of South Willington; Laura 
 Maria, born Nov. 6, 1824, died Dec. 30, 1833; 
 Weltham, born Jan. 11, 1830, died Sept. 26, 1830; 
 Theron, of Hartford, born June 6, 1832, and Maria, 
 who was born Nov. 23, 1833, and died May 31, 
 1839. The mother of this family, who was born 
 Aug. 17, 1798, died Dec. 19, 1882. 
 
 Thomas Shepard, paternal grandfather of our 
 subject, was a son of Thomas, was married four 
 times, ' his first wife being the mother of Elihu. 
 The great-grandfather, the grandfather and the 
 grandmother all died on the homestead now oc- 
 cupied by our subject. 
 
 Elihu Norman Shepard spent his boyhood days 
 in the southwest district of Bloomfield, where he 
 attended school. He first married, in Bloomfield, 
 Feb. 16, 1847, Miss Emily Brown, daughter of 
 Nathan Brown. This lady died Aug. 24, 1882, 
 and at West Hartford May 31, 1883, Mr. Shepard 
 married Augusta M. West, who died Sept. 30, 
 1889; for his third wife he selected Harriet O. 
 ■Clark, whom he married March 11, 1891, in New 
 Britain, but this lady died March 17, 1893, and 
 May 15, 189s, Mr. Shepard married his fourth 
 wife — Mrs. Esther A. Barber, in West Hartford. 
 The present Mrs. Shepard is a member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and, with her hus-' 
 band, enjoys the vv^arm respect of all her neigh- 
 bors. Mr. Shepard, in politics, was first a Whig 
 and is now a Republican, but has never sought po- 
 litical position. 
 
 GEORGE BIDWELL, deceased, was in his day 
 one of the prosperous, respected farmers of the 
 town of Manchester, for thirty years prior to his 
 decease occupying and cultivating the farm on 
 which his widow still resides. He was born Jan. 
 25, 1816, in the town of Vernon, Tolland Co., 
 Conn., son of George Bidwell and grandson of 
 Zebulon Bidwell, both of whom were natives of 
 Manchester, Hartford county, born on the same 
 farm. Our subject was the eldest of two children; 
 the other, Mary A., became the wife of Dr. Will- 
 iam Woodbridge, of Brooklyn, Conn., and died in 
 1874. 
 
 George Bidwell received his education in the 
 common and private schools of Andover, Conn., 
 and became familiar with farm life at an early age. 
 He was fourteen when his father died, and he and 
 his mother subsequently carried on the home farm, 
 on which he remained until his removal to Man- 
 chester in 1850, when he settled on the farm where 
 the remainder of his life was passed. He was suc- 
 cessfully engaged in general agricultural pursuits, 
 .and at the time of his decease owned 100 acres in 
 Manchester town, besides a tract of forty-five acres 
 
 in Vernon, Tolland county, deriving a good in- 
 come from his land. On March 19, 1837, Mr. 
 Bidwell was united in marriage with Miss Janet 
 Millard, who was born March 26, 1818, in the 
 town of Manchester, daughter of Elijah JNIillard, 
 a native of the same town, and granddaughter of 
 Andrew Millard, who was a soldier in the Revo- 
 lutionary war. In the family of children born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bidwell, were the following: Estella 
 A., who is the wife of Albert Fuller, of Hartford; 
 George A., who is mentioned more fully below; 
 Melvin, born July 3, 1848, who died when two 
 years old; and Jane A., born Sept. 10, 1850. Mr. 
 Bidwell passed away Sept. 7, 1880, widely mourned 
 in the community where he had made his home 
 for so many years, and his remains were interred 
 in the Center cemetery. He was an active member 
 of the Second Congregational Church of Man- 
 chester, in which he was ever a zealous worker, 
 contributing liberally of his time and means to 
 Church work and interests. Politically he was a 
 strong believer in the principles of the Republican 
 party. Though now over eighty years of age Mrs. 
 Bidwell is as active as many women of fifty, and 
 she has always shared the esteem in which her hus- 
 band was held by all their neighbors and friends. 
 In religious connection she has also been identi- 
 fied with the Second Congregational Church of 
 Manchester for many years. 
 
 George A. Bidwell was born in 1845,' in Vernon, 
 Tolland Co., Conn., and received his education 
 in the common schools of Manchester and in Wil- 
 braham (Mass.) Academy. During his earlier 
 manhood he was engaged in mercantile business, 
 at Munson, Mass., and from 1880 to 1881 in the 
 town of Manchester, but after his father's death 
 he returned to the home farm, where he has since 
 resided with his mother and attended to the culti- 
 vation of the place. He is a stanch Republican in 
 politics, and he has been quite active in local af- 
 fairs, having served several years as constable, 
 and for three years as deputy sheriff under Sheriff 
 Bissell. 
 
 On Oct. 31, 1866, Mr. Bidwell married Miss 
 Frances J. Keeney, and they have two children — 
 Georgia M., who is now the wife of Roland F. 
 Cashman; and Homer G., who lives with his par- 
 ents. 
 
 HON. PHILIP WADSWORTH, a retired 
 business man of Brookside, town of Suffield, Hart- 
 ford county, was born in New Hartford, Litchfield 
 county, March 7, 1832, and is of remote English 
 descent, the Wadsworth family being one of the 
 very earliest to settle in New England. 
 
 Seth Wadsworth, grandfather of our subject, a 
 native of this State, was an agriculturist of Hart- 
 ford county. He was a brother of Gen. Jeremiah 
 Wadsworth (who was attached to the staff of Gen. 
 Washington), and took a very active part with the 
 patriot army during the Revolutionary war. Seth 
 
1312 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Wadsworth married Mary Strong, and to their 
 union were born four children : Hesakiel, Tertius, 
 Timothy and Daniel. Seth and his wife died in 
 Farmingion, and there their remains repose side by 
 side. 
 
 Tertius Wadsworth, father of Philip Wadsworth, 
 grew to manhood in Farmington, his native town. 
 He began his business life in New Hartford, Litch- 
 field county, as a merchant, and was also interested 
 in manufacturing, later removing to Hartford, where 
 he became interested in banking and insurance, was 
 a director in the St:.te Bank of Hartford for many 
 years, and was also a director in the Connecticut 
 Fire Insurance Co. of Hartford. He was the own- 
 er of a great deal of real estate in the city of Chicago. 
 111., and was altogether a prominent factor in busi- 
 ness and public affairs, although he never sought 
 political honors. He was first a Whig, and later a 
 Republican, and voted simply as a matter of prin- 
 ciple. Mr. Wadsworth married Polly Seymour, a 
 native of New Hartford, and to this marriage were 
 born six children, of whom the three eldest, James. 
 Elisha S. and Julius, are deceased ; Tertius lives in 
 Chicago ; Philip is the subject of this sketch ; and 
 Mary S. died young. Mr. and Mrs. Wadsworth 
 died in Hartford, in the faith of the Congregational 
 Church, and greatly honored by all classes. 
 
 Philip Wadsworth, whose name opens this 
 sketch, was educated in the schools of Hartford 
 and at Williston Seminary, Easthampton, Mass. 
 In 1853 he went \\'est, located in Chicago, which 
 was then in its infancy, and for years was a leading j 
 business man of that city, and largely engaged in j 
 the wholesale woolen business. In 1889 he with- 
 drew from the trade and returned to Connecticut, I 
 settled in Suffield. and is now enjoying he pleas- 
 ures of a retired life. He resides in one of the finest ' 
 mansions in Hartford county, formerly the prop- ] 
 erty of his father-in-law. Parks Loomis, and in re- [ 
 modeling this magnificent home — known as Brook- 
 side — there has been expended over $50,000. 
 
 Mr. Wadsworth has always taken a very active 
 part in public affairs, especially in Chicago. He 
 was one of the early aldermen of that city, was one 
 of the commissioners that had control of the build- 
 ing of the Illinois State House, and was one of the 
 first Republicans in the State. He was a personal 
 friend of Abraham Lincoln, and strongly supported 
 him on his first nomination for the Presidency of 
 the United States. In 1862 Mr. Wadsworth was ap- 
 pointed by President Lincoln Internal Revenue col- 
 lector for the First Congressional District of Illi- 
 nois, and ably filled the office many years. In 1895 
 Mr. Wadsworth was elected on the Republican 
 ticket as a member of the Connecticut State Legis- 
 lature from the Sufifield district, and it is needless to 
 add that he served his people ably and faithfully. 
 
 Mr. Wadsworth was united in marriage with 
 Miss Georgiana Loomis, a daughter of Parks and 
 Emily (Hathaway) Loomis, of Sufifield, and two 
 children were born to their union: Philip, who died 
 
 at the age of two years ; and Emily, who was mar- 
 ried to Charles Schwartz, a prominent business man 
 of Chicago, anil also well known in Suffield as the 
 builder of Brookside, who died in Chicago in 1893; 
 his remains were brought to Suffield and here in- 
 terred. The two children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Schwartz — Wadsworth and Philip — still survive, to 
 cheer her widowed life. She makes her home in 
 the Brookside mansion, is a regent in the Daugh- 
 ters of the American Revolution, S. Dwight Kent 
 Chapter, Sufifield, and is a lady of refined taste and 
 culture. 
 
 TRUMAN HALE, of East Hartford, is a 
 striking example of what is usually termed a "self- 
 made man," one who, by industry, strict integrity 
 and earnest endeavor, has raised himself from com- 
 parative indigence, and stands to-day among the 
 leading and substantial citizens of his town. 
 
 Mr. Hale was born in South Glastonbury, Hart- 
 ford county, Dec. 30, 1828, and is presumably of 
 remote Welsh descent, as tradition has it that in 
 an early day of the Colonies a Mr. Hale came 
 from Wales, settled in what is now West Hartford, 
 and was noted for his immense strength. Another 
 Mr. Hale (of no consanguinity) settled at Was- 
 saic, across the State line, in Dutchess county, N. 
 Y., and also became renowned for his physical 
 strength. Mr. Hale, of West Hartford, hearing 
 of the prowess of the other, determined to chal- 
 lenge him to combat, and started to journey to 
 Wassaic for that purpose. On the road he met the 
 Wassaic Hale, carrying a barrel of cider, which 
 he set down in order to exchange the customary 
 salutations; but w-hen Mr. Hale, of West Hart- 
 ford, saw the other raise the barrel to his lips and 
 drink from the bung-hole, he decided that discre- 
 tion was "the better part of valor," and also de- 
 cided not to "try conclusions" with him — at least, 
 not just then. 
 
 Ephraim Hale, grandfather of Truman Hale,, 
 was born in Glastonbury, Conn., was a shoemaker 
 and cobbler and lived and died in his native town, 
 \vhere his remains repose beside those of his wife, 
 who bore the maiden name of Morley. They reared 
 a large family. 
 
 Chester Hale, son of Ephraim, was also born 
 in Glastonbury, about 1795, and there received a 
 meager education, as he early left school to work 
 in a stone quarry, in which he was employed for 
 several years. He then purchased a farm in South 
 Glastonbury, and in 1818 married Miss Nancy 
 Chapman, -who was born in 1800, a daughter of 
 Ashel Chapman. To this union were born six chil- 
 dren : Henry, born in 1822, was a butcher, quarry- 
 man and farmer, married Clara Chapman, passed 
 all his life in Glastonbury, and died in 1898 ; Hector 
 died yovmg; Titus, born in 1825, married Mary 
 Strong, was a farmer, and is living in retirement 
 at Portland, Conn. : Truman is the subject of this 
 memoir; Hudson, born in 1830, learned toolmak- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 131e 
 
 ing', married JMar)^ Boyd, and is now farming in 
 Portland; Obed, born in 1832, was reared to farm- 
 ing, married Celesta Hale (Ht?e' Bidwell), died in 
 Glastonbury about 1875, and was buried in South 
 Glastonbury. Chester Hale, the father, died in 
 1854, and his widow died at the home of their son 
 Titus, in Portland, in 1881. 
 
 Truman Plale attended school in South Glaston- 
 bury, receiving his first instruction from -Wealthy 
 Ann Buck, and after his father's removal to North 
 Glastonbury finished his education in the ''brick 
 school house." He located in Portland, living there 
 until his father's death, when he settled on his 
 present place, and here filially cared for his mother 
 for several years. At the age of twenty-one years 
 he had a capital of ten dollars, and began his busi- 
 ness life by raising tobacco in a small way. He 
 carried his first year's crop back of his buggy seat 
 to the purchaser, Osmond Wells, who paid him 
 twelve cents per pound delivered at Glastonbury. 
 But mark the progress he has made in life by hon- 
 esty and diligence. He now has seven acres un- 
 der cultivation in tobacco on his home place, owns 
 another farm, as well as several houses which he 
 rents, has made many extensive improvements on 
 his homestead in the shape of tobacco sheds and 
 other substantial out-buildings, and in 1892 erected 
 his present dwelling, a fine specimen of archi- 
 tectual skill. His out-buildings alone represent an 
 outlay of $10,000. 
 
 Mr. Hale in politics is a Democrat of the most 
 rigid type, is very popular with his party as well 
 as with his fellow-citizens in general, and has been 
 invited to accept nomination for several responsible 
 offices, but has always declined ; nevertheless, he 
 has considered it his duty to render service in an 
 official capacity in a minor way, and for thirty-five 
 years has acted as school tax collector, is now serv- 
 ing on the grand jury, and has often served as 
 juryman in the various courts of the county and 
 State. He is a member of no secret order. He 
 is a constant attendant at the Episcopal Church, 
 to the support of which he most liberally contributes. 
 Mr. Hale is excellently well preserved, and is a 
 gentleman of very pleasing personality. He has 
 never married. 
 
 Since 1862 George R. Bailey and family have 
 made their home with Mr. Hale. Mr. Bailey was 
 born in Lebanon, Conn., Dec. 8, 1834, and when 
 nine years of age located in Glastonbury, living 
 there until 1862, when he came to East Hartford 
 and took up his residence with Mr. Hale. In 1854 
 he married Miss Josephine Miller, a native of Had- 
 ■dam. Conn., and daughter of Leonard and Louisa 
 (Dickinson) Miller. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey have 
 had two children: George, born Aug 8, 1857, died 
 April II, 1862, and his remains are interred at 
 East Hartford; Agnes L., born June 27, 1858, is 
 married to Charles E. White, a resident of East 
 Hartford and a well-to-do citizen, and they have 
 one son, George Truman, born May 26, 1878, who 
 
 83 
 
 has always made his home with his grandmother, 
 Mrs. Bailey. Mr. Bailey is at present engaged in 
 peddling meat; he has an excellent reputation as a 
 strictly conscientious business man. 
 
 HON. EDWARD W. PRATT, D. D. S., mem- 
 ber of the State Legislature from East Hartford, and 
 one of the most able members of the dental profes- 
 sion in Hartford county, was born Aug. 11, 1862, 
 in Essex, Middlesex Co., Conn. Dr. Pratt is a soii. 
 of Hon. Edward W. and CorneHa M. (Doane) 
 Pratt, and is of the ninth generation from Lieut.- 
 William Pratt, the first of the name to settle in New- 
 England, who is supposed to have come from Eng- 
 land with Rev. Thomas Hooker to Newtown Uiow 
 Cambridge), Mass., in 1633, and from there to Hart- 
 ford, Conn., in June, 1636. Lieut William Pratt 
 was twenty-three times a member of the General 
 Court. He married Elizabeth Clark, a daughter 
 of John Clark, first of Saybrook and later of 
 Milford. 
 
 Ensign John Pratt, son of Lieut. William, was 
 born in 1644, and married in 1669 Sarah Jones, 
 daughter of Thomas Jones, of Guilford. John Pratt 
 was a holder of extensive lands in Saybrook and 
 also in Hebron, Conn., and first settled in the old 
 parish of Saybrook, on land given him by his fa- 
 ther about 1672 ; he fell heir to the paternal home- 
 stead on Essex Point in 1678, when he removed 
 thereto. He was a blacksmith by trade, and his- 
 shop stood at or near the spot occupied in 1864 by 
 Elias Pratt, of the seventh generation from the first, 
 settler. He was also several times a representa.- 
 tive to the General Court. 
 
 John Pratt, son of Ensign John, was hatti in 
 1 67 1, at Saybrook, and in 1697 married Hannah 
 Williams, who bore him nine children. 
 
 Lieut. John Pratt, son of John, was born in 1703, 
 and in 1732 married Mary Webb, by whom he had 
 five children. 
 
 Asa Pratt, son of Lieut. John, was born in 
 1734, and in 1759 married Abigail Dennison, by 
 whom he had eight children. He died in 181 1, and 
 his wife in 1830. 
 
 John Pratt, son of Asa, was born in 1763, mar- 
 ried Hester Kirtland, in 1788, and had born to him 
 six children; he resided in Essex, and died in 1827, 
 his widow surviving until 1849. 
 
 Elias Pratt, son of John, was born Feb. i, 1801^ 
 and in 1825 married Abigail Pratt, daughter of Ash- 
 bel and Elizabeth Pratt. Elias was a blacksmithi- 
 and in 1864 had his shop on or near the point in 
 Essex formerly occupied by Ensign John Pratt, al- 
 luded to above. He died when seventy-six years 
 old. The children born to Elias and Abigail Pratt 
 were: Susannah, Edward W., Edwin, Juha L,, Au- 
 gustus, Julia and James. 
 
 Edward W. Pratt, son of Elias, and father of our- 
 subject, was born July 31, 1828, and was of the 
 eighth generation from the original emigrant, 
 Lieut. William Pratt. Edward W. Pratt learnedi 
 
1314 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 blacksmithing from his father, and made a specialty 
 of the ironing of vessels. He was a man of great 
 intelligence, was well read, and in politics was a Re 
 publican, and as such prominent and popular. Hq 
 served as selectman, was registrar of Vital Statis- 
 tics, and was twice elected to represent Essex in the 
 State Legislature. He was a Freemason, and a 
 man of great inriuence in the community at large, 
 and a sincere Christian, one whose integrity had 
 never been questioned. He was a robust man, and 
 never experienced a day's sickness, his lamented 
 death, occurring at the age of sixty years, being 
 caused by a fractured limb. His widow still re- 
 sides in Essex, revered and beloved by all who know 
 her. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Edward 
 W'. Pratt were as follows : Cornelius R., who is a 
 real-estate dealer in Umaha, Neb. ; Sydney K., who 
 was cashier of the Harlan Iowa Bank, and died at 
 the age of thirty-two years; Julia E., of Hampden, 
 \'a. ; Edward W., the subject of this sketch; Abbie 
 M., of Esse.x, still unmarried; John H., mate on a 
 trading schooner; and -Mar}- X., who tlied when 
 one year old. 
 
 Hon. Edward W. i'rall, the subject of this 
 .sketch, and of the ninth generation of this family in 
 America, attended the school in Essex until four- 
 teen years of age, and afterward the South and High 
 schools in Hartford until sixteen, when he returned 
 to Essex. At the age of seventeen years he secured 
 a position as teacher of a school in the village of 
 Ivoryton, Essex town. Jn the summer of 1880 
 he went to Harlan, Iowa, clerked in a general store, 
 and was also connected with the Harlan Herald, a 
 journal conducted by his brother Cornelius. Some 
 months later he returned to Connecticut, and wa^ 
 ■employed at Ivoryton by Comstock, Cheney & Co., 
 as a shaper of piano keys, but soon afterward en- 
 gaged in the study of dentistry, spending three days 
 each week in the office of Dr. F. A. Shailer, a grad- 
 uate of the Philadelphia Dental College, and at that 
 time a successful practitioner of Essex. The other 
 three days of the week Mr. Pratt passed in the fac- 
 tory of Tiley & Pratt, as bone sawyer, and thus 
 •earned the money to pay for his tuition. He con- 
 tinued thus until the fall of 1882, when he entered 
 the Philadelphia Dental College, from which he 
 graduated in 1885, and in a class of seventy-three 
 students tied with two others in the competition for 
 first honors. In May, 1885, he began the active prac 
 tice of his profession in Glastonbury, and toward 
 the close of his stay there alternated three days each 
 week in practice at East Hartford. Finall}-, in the 
 fall of .1891, he relinquished his Glastonbury prac- 
 tice and settled in East Hartford permanently, and 
 he has since stood foremost in his profession in this 
 thriving town of 6,000 population. In 1891, also, 
 he erected his excellent dwelling on Main street, in 
 which he has his office. 
 
 In 1889 Dr. Pratt was joined in matrimony with 
 JMiss Charlotte Holmes, daughter of Ambrose and 
 Julia P. (Hardin) Holmes, of Glastonbury, and 
 
 this luiion has been blessed with one child, Ever- 
 ett D., born Dec. 4, 1895. 
 
 The Doctor is an enthusiastic Republican in 
 politics, and that he is popular with his party is 
 shown by the fact that he was elected to represent 
 East Hartford in the State Legislature in 1899, 
 after the shortest residence in the town, with but 
 one exception, of anv person ever elected to this high 
 office ; in the Legislature the Doctor served very 
 ably and satisfactorily as chairman of the committer' 
 on Capitol Furniture and Grounds. He was also the 
 first president of the Republican Clul) of Glaston- 
 bury, and first president of the East Hartford Re- 
 publican Club, and has ever been most active in 
 promoting the success of his party. Fraternally the 
 Doctor is past master of the Masonic lodge at East 
 Hartford, and past regent of Council No. 1237, 
 Royal Arcanum, same place, and while he was regent 
 the membership of the council was more than 
 doubled. Mrs. Pratt is a consistent member of the 
 Congregational Church. 
 
 Dr. Pratt is recognized as one of the most skilled 
 in his profession, and his practice is large and lu- 
 crative. He keeps fully abreast of dental progress. 
 He is emphatically a self-made man, has been in- 
 dustrious and hardworking from childhood up, even 
 assisting in his father's blacksmith shop when a 
 boy. He is now in most comfortable circumstances, 
 is classed among the best and most useful of East 
 Hartford's citizens, and well deserves the high es- 
 teem in which he is universally held. Pleasant 
 courteous, polished in manner, of fine appearance 
 and athletic build, his magnetism makes friends 
 for him wherever he may be. 
 
 HENRY C. SPRING, :\1. D., the rising young 
 physician and surgeon of Bloomfield, was born in 
 Bristol, Hartford Co., Conn., Nov. 13, 1873, and is 
 a son of Charles F. and Annie (Smith) Spring, the 
 former a native of Collinsville, Conn., and now liv- 
 ing in retirement at Bristol, and the latter a native of 
 England. Two children were born to this highly- 
 respected couple, Etta B. (of Bristol) and Henry C. 
 
 Henry C. Spring received his education at the 
 district school of Bristol, graduated from the high 
 school of the same town, and then attended the 
 btisiness college at Hartford ; he next entered the 
 Medical department of Columbia L'niversity, at 
 Washington, D. C, studied two years, and grad- 
 uated from the iledical Department of the Uni- 
 versity of the City of New York with the class of 
 1897. His first professional experience was had in 
 the Bellevue and Fordham hospitals, and in the 
 lying-in hospitals of New York, and in July, 1898, 
 he located for the active practice of his profession 
 in Bloomfield, Conn., where his abilities have already 
 won full recognition, and where he has laid the fomi- 
 dation of a permanent and lucrative practice. The 
 Doctor is a social favorite in the town, and frater- 
 nally is a member of Hiram Lodge. No. 98, F. & A. 
 M., of Bloomfield. He is unmarried. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1315 
 
 THOMAS HANCOCK, a well-known retired 
 ■citizen of Windsor Locks, is deserving of prominent 
 mention in this volume as a man whose inilustr}- and 
 thrift have enabled him to gain for himself an hon- 
 orable place in life. 
 
 Air. Hancock was born in December, 1830, in 
 Dublin, Ireland, son of Thomas and Lucy ( Butler ) 
 Hancock. The father, who was a paper maker by 
 occupation, died in Dublin in 1836, and his wife 
 £pent her last days with her son in Windsor Locks, 
 dying in 1859. There were three children ni the 
 family : Ann, who came to America with her mother 
 and died at Windsor Locks in i8yi ; Thomas ; and 
 Joseph, of Holyoke, Massachusetts. 
 
 As a bo}' Thomas Hancock attended school in 
 Dublin, and also learned the paper maker's trade. 
 In 1850 he left home to seek a better field for labor, 
 and after working a year and a half at his trade in 
 Scotland he went to England, where he was simi- 
 larly employed for a few months. In 1852 he came 
 to America, locating first in JManchester, Conn., 
 where he remained two years, and in 1855 settled 
 in Windsor Locks, entering the employ of the Sey- 
 mour Paper Co. L'ntil 1888 he held a responsible 
 position with that firm, and he then retired from 
 active business, li.^ving accumulated a handsome 
 competence. He has always shown keen interest in 
 local afifairs, being an ardent Democrat, and he has 
 served three years as selectman of his town, while 
 at present he is doing eflicient work in the cause of 
 education as a member of the school board.' 
 
 In 1854 Mr. Hancock was married in Manches- 
 ter, Conn., to Miss Margaret McKenzie, who died 
 in Windsor Locks in 1866, and in 1879 he was unit- 
 ed in marriage with Miss Bridget Farrell, of \A''ind- 
 sor Locks. He has had a family of six children, 
 all by the first marriage : Henry, deceased ; Lucy ; 
 Margaret; Thomas, a resident of Holyoke, Mass.; 
 iMary, deceased; and Sarah. In religious faith Mr. 
 Hancock is a Catholic, and he and his wife are prom- 
 inent members of St. Alary's Parish, Windsor 
 Locks. 
 
 ALBERT J. TERRY, a prominent and progres- 
 sive agriculturist of the town of Enfield, and who 
 belongs to one of the oldest and best of New Eng- 
 land families, was born Jan. 13, 1842, on the farm 
 which he now owns and occupies. 
 
 Christopher Terry, his grandfather, was born in 
 Enfield, lived on this same farm all his life, and 
 was a man of considerable prominence in his day. 
 He married Hannah Griswold, and by her had chil- 
 dren as follows : Mabel, Mrs. Lyman Granger ; Dor- 
 cas, Mrs. Solomon Wells; Christopher H., of whom 
 further mention will presently be made ; and Maria, 
 Mrs. Daniel B. Allen. 
 
 Christopher H. Terry, father of Albert J., like 
 his father, was a native of Enfield, and was also a 
 lifelong farmer on the old homestead, well and favor- 
 ably known in the community. He married Sarah 
 JMcKnight, who was born in Ellington, Tolland Co., 
 
 Conn., daughter of a farmer of that town, and chil- 
 dren as follows were born to them: Mabel M., Mrs. 
 David Bancroft; Loren C, who married Belle 
 Miller; Albert J., our subject; and Herbert H., de- 
 ceased. 
 
 Albert J. Terry, whose name introduces this 
 sketch, has, with the exception of a portion of his 
 school days, always resided on the Terry homestead 
 in the town of Enfield. He received a liberal edu- 
 cation at the common schools of the neighborhood 
 of his home, followed by a three years course at the 
 Wesleyan Academy, in Wilbraham, Mass. Farm- 
 ing has been his life work, and like his forefathers 
 he has met with the success his industry, perseve- 
 rance and sound judgment have so well merited. 
 
 On Jan. 11, 1869, Mr. Terry was united in mar- 
 riage with tiarriet E. Pease, daughter of Theodore 
 and Evaline (Killam) Pease, all of Enfield. Our 
 subject and his wife are members of the First Con- 
 gregational Church of Enfield ; politically he is a Re- 
 publican. As one of the public-spiritecl representa- 
 tive citizens of the county, Mr. Terrj' deserves 
 more than a mere passing notice in the pages of this 
 volume. 
 
 WEBSTER N. CASE. The Case family is 
 one of the oldest in this section, and is descended 
 from John Case, a pioneer of Windsor, the subject 
 of this sketch tracing his descent from the pioneer 
 through his son, Capt. Richard Case, who located at 
 Terry's Plains at an early date. 
 
 Sergt. Richard Case, son of Capt. Richard Case, 
 was born at Terry's Plains in 1710, and died at West 
 Simsbury in 1769. About 1737 he went to West 
 Simsbury, a part of Canton, and settled on what is 
 known as East Hill, where he spent the rest of his 
 life, engaged in agriculture. He married Mercy 
 Holcomb, of Simsbury, who was born in 1712 and 
 died in West Simsbury in 1780. By this union 
 there were children as follows : Richard, born in 
 1734, married Ruth Case. Joab, born in 1735, died 
 in 1758. Sylvanus, who was born in 1737, and died 
 1817, married for the first wife Caroline Humphrey, 
 and for his second wedded Hepzibah Humphrey, a 
 widow, who died in 1818. Simeon is mentioned be- 
 low. Eli, born, in 1741, married Athildred Curtis, 
 and died in 1804. Uriah, born in 1743, died in 1826, 
 was married (first) to Susannah Lawrence, and 
 (second) to Eunice Hill. Edward, born in 1748. 
 married Teruah Lawrence, and died in 1798. 
 Mercy, born in 1752, married Abram Moses, and 
 died in 1818. Naoma, born in 1755, married Es- 
 ther Brown, and died in 1850. 
 
 Simeon Case, son of Sergt. Richard Case, was 
 born in 1739 in Simsbury, but his youth was mainly 
 spent in West Simsbury, where he grew up. When 
 a young man he went to what is now West Granby, 
 this county, which became his permanent residence 
 and there he engaged in farming. He lived to the 
 good old age of eighty-four years, and died at the 
 homestead in 1823. His wife, Mary, who was born 
 
131G 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in 1739, and died in 1834, was also a descendant of 
 the Case family, being a daughter of Amos and 
 Mary (Ilolconibj Case. She, too, lived to be very 
 old, dying at their hoine at West Granby at the age 
 of ninety-five. Their children were as follows : 
 Simeon, born in 1759, married Phoebe Burr, and 
 died in 1819; Titus, born in 1764, married Amy 
 Reed, and died in 1816; Mary, born in 1771, died in 
 182 1 ; Obed, born in 1765, married Rachel Emmons, 
 and died in 1849; Eliphalet, born in 1770, married 
 Rachel Case, and died in 1847; Ashbel is mentioned 
 below ; Alexander, born in 1774, married Mindwell 
 Case, and died in 1824; Francis, born in 1777, mar- 
 ried Jemima Case, and died in 1845; Robert, born in 
 1780, married Clarissa Case; Peter; and Elizabeth 
 married Reuben Russel. 
 
 Ashbel Case, grandfather of our subject, was 
 born in 1762, in West Granby, where he became a 
 large land owner and spent the greater j)art of his 
 life, engaged in farming. He died in 1816. His 
 wife was Polly (I'razierj Case, and they had chil- 
 dren as follows: Syrena, born Sept. 24, 1801. mar- 
 ried Daniel Reed; Henry, born Sept. 24, 1803, mar- 
 ried Ruby Reed ; Philo is mentioned below ; Alli- 
 son ; Milton ; Octavia, born Oct. 9, 1813, was unmar- 
 ried ; and Avery. 
 
 Philo Case, the father of our subject, was born 
 Nov. 23, 1805, at Barkhamsted, but much of his life 
 was spent at West Granby. After completing his 
 education at the district schools he set up store keep- 
 ing at West Granby, and later he went to Barkham- 
 sted and continued the business, being also engaged 
 in farming there. He was a thoroughly upright 
 man, and a member of the ^^lethodist Church. Ir 
 politics he was first a stanch Whig and later a Re- 
 publican, but he never sought public offices. He 
 died at his home in Barkhamsted, and was buried 
 in West Granby cemetery. While in West (iranby 
 he married Olive Case, of that town, daughter of 
 Noah Case. Like her husband, she was a member 
 of the Methodist Church. She died at \\'est Granby, 
 her remains being interred in the cemetery at that 
 place. Of this union there were five child; en : Loyal, 
 who now lives in Ohio; ^^'ebster N., our subject; 
 Charles, a resident of Jefferson county, Ohio ; Wal- 
 ter ; and Emily, who married Herbert Case, of 
 Barkhamsted. 
 
 On the maternal side our subject is also descend- 
 ed from John Case. Xoah Case, Sr., son of John 
 (3) and Abigail (Humphrey) Case, was born Oct. 
 4, 1715. and died Dec. 17, 1798. On May 5, 1740, 
 he married Myrian Holcomb, eighth daughter of 
 John and Mary Holcomb. She was born Jan. 18, 
 1719-20. ^Ir. and Mrs. Case lived near the south- 
 west comer of the present town of Granby, where 
 she died April 5, 1795. Their children were: Noah, 
 Jr., of whom mention is made below ; Amy, born 
 Nov. I, 1744, married Titus Reed ; iNIyrian, born 
 Sept. 7, 1746, died Aug. 23, 1750; Roger, born Aug. 
 7, 1748; Abner,born Aug. 14, 1752, married Hannah, 
 daughter of Elisha Case, and died Oct. 6, 1807; 
 
 Ruth, born June 10, 1754; Darius, born March 7,. 
 175O, married, on ^lay b, 1782, Mary Giddings, 
 and tlied Dec. 19, 1801 ; Lydia married James, sou 
 of Capt. Josiah Case, of West Simsbury. 
 
 Noah Case, Jr., was born Jan. 10, 1740-41, and 
 died Sept. i, 1807. He married Mary Adams, bom 
 in 1742, daughter of Lieut. David Adams, and they 
 lived in Case Street, near the southwest corner of 
 Granby, wdiere she died Oct. 7, 1791. Their chil- 
 dren were as follows: A child, born Feb. 3, 1763,. 
 died Feb. 3, 1763. Levi, born Dec. 25, 17 — , died 
 
 I Jan. I, 1859, married for his first wife Anna Spen- 
 cer, and for his second wife wedded Lucia Farn- 
 ham. Abigail married Levi Humphrey, of Norfolk, 
 C(_)nn. ^I indwell, liorn in 17 — , died Aug. 2, 1820, 
 married Alexander Case, son of Simeon Case, Sr. 
 Rachel, born in 1775. died in 1821, married Elipha- 
 
 i let Case, Sr., son of Simeon Case, Sr. Myrian mar- 
 ried for her first huslxmd Richard Adams, and for 
 
 ; her second husband wedded Eli Phelps. Sarah 
 married John Bramin. Mary married, Dec. 26, 1787, 
 Joel Fuller, of Cases l-'arm, and died May 22, 1805. 
 Xoah was the grandfather of our subject. 
 
 Noah Case (3) "as born July 7, 1782, and died 
 
 j April 13, 1879. ^'■i l^'^'-'- 3^ 1804, he married Olive 
 
 ! Case, born March 27, 1784, daughter of Deacon 
 Richard Case (3). She died Jan. 20, 1864. They 
 had nine children: T'letliuel, lx)rn Oct 31, 1803. died 
 Sept. 24, 1898, married on Sept. 13, 1831, Clement 
 Goddard. Morris, born Nov. 9. 1807, died ^Nlay 31, 
 1814; Marvin, born March 3, 1810, died Sept. 27, 
 1857, married Maria Wilcox. Everett, born R'larch 
 
 , 14, 1812, married, on Nov. 22, 1836, Emily Flos- 
 kins. Morris, born April 25, 1814, and died May 
 7, 1880, was married Sept. 22, 1859. Norton, born 
 Dec. 26, 1815, married, Nov. 14, 1858, for his first 
 wife, Eliza Case, and after her death he wedded 
 Charlotte Case. Jay, born July 2, 1818, died Aug. 
 
 i 15, 1889, married Maria, widow of his brother Mar- 
 
 ■ vin Case. Olive, born March 24, 1824, died Dec. 
 
 j 19. 1862, has been mentioned above as the mother 
 of our subject. Orrin, born June 11, 182 — , married. 
 Dec. 24, 1867. H. Barljour. 
 
 \^'ebster N. Case, our subject, is a man whose 
 present prosperity is entirely the result of his own 
 industry and good management. Born at \\''est 
 Granby April 11, 1850, he spent the first years of his 
 life in that town and in Barkhamsted, attending the 
 district schools ; and later he went to live with his 
 uncle Jay, at North Canton, with whom he remained 
 twelve years, working upon the farm. Having 
 saved money from his earnings, he bought the ila- 
 son Case farm, a tr:.ct of 135 acres at North Canton, 
 upon which he made improvements. He makes a 
 specialt}' of tobacco raising and dairying. As a citi- 
 zen he is highly respected, and he has many warm 
 friends. He is both a trustee and a steward of the 
 Methodist Church. Being domestic in his taste, he 
 has never sought political honors, although he is a 
 stanch Republican. Li 1887 Mr. Case married Cora 
 Merrills, of Winsted, Conn., who died at their home 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1317 
 
 in North Canton, and was buried in Winsted. For 
 his second wife he married, in 1897, Mrs. Lila 
 (Church) Hart, daughter of Orville and Ellen 
 (Case) (Thurch, and widow of Walter Hart. Mrs. 
 Case was educated in the district schools of Bark- 
 hamsted, her native town, and she was for four years 
 a public-school teacher. She has three children 
 from her first marriage: Lena, Belle and Orville. 
 By his first marriage Mr. Case had one child, de- 
 ceased in infancy. 
 
 HENRY HUNTINGTON LOOMIS, deceased, 
 Among the representative citizens of Hartford 
 county, unostentatious in manner of life, content to 
 labor and enjoy the rewards of honest effort, suc- 
 cessful, perhaps, in the full measure of modest am- 
 bition, courageous, faithful, and held in high esteem 
 for many personal qualities, must be named the sub- 
 ject of this sketch. He was a native of Connecti- 
 cut, born in the town of Coventry, Tolland county, 
 June 4, 1822, son of Samuel and Irene (Tracey) 
 Loomis. 
 
 Henry H. Loomis was reared on his father's 
 farm, and received a good common-school educa- 
 tion. He remained on the farm until he was twenty- 
 one years of age, when he married and began life 
 for himself, wedding, April 19, 1843, ^^ss Hannah 
 Snell, of Willington, Tolland Co., Conn. After 
 liis marriage he remained for one year on his father's 
 farm in the town of Coventry, and in the spring of 
 1844 removed to East Hartford. A year later he 
 purchased a farm in the town of South Windsor, 
 where he lived for six years. Mr. Loomis in 1851 
 moved to the farm which he cultivated until his 
 •death, Sept. 18, 1899, and which was his home for 
 forty-eight years preceding his decease. He owned 
 about thirty-four acres, which he devoted to gen- 
 eral farming and tobacco growing, his land being 
 imder a high state of cultivation and quite pro- 
 ductive. V 
 
 Of the children born to our subject and wife four 
 are now living: Henry E., a farmer of Glastonbury; 
 Hannah P., wife of J. Warren Stowe, who lives at 
 Scitico ; Melissa A., wife of Henry E. Pitkin, of 
 South Windsor; and Mary E., widow of Samuel T. 
 Eurnham. The family are members of the Congre- 
 gational Church. In politics Mr. Loomis was a 
 Kepublican. 
 
 • ISAAC BURDETT PHELON, for many years 
 an esteemed citizen of the town of Suiifield, and a 
 well-known dealer in ice, milk and wood, as well 
 as a successful grower of tobacco, was born in West 
 Suffield Nov. 2, 1831, on the Phelon homestead, a 
 son of Isaac Seymour and Sabra (Bartlett) Phelon. 
 Isaac Seymour Phelon, father of our subject, 
 was also born in West Suffield, was educated in the 
 district school, and was reared on the home farm. 
 AVhile still a young man he secured a tract of 200 
 acres, part of it from the old homestead, and on this 
 tract he passed his life in general farming and to- 
 
 bacco growing. In Southwick, Mass., he married 
 Sabra Bartlett, a native of Rhode Island, of Scot- 
 tish descent, and to this marriage were born four 
 children: Isaac Burdett, the subject of this memoir; 
 Jane, deceased wife of Daniel G. Viets, of Thomp- 
 sonville. Conn. ; Charles, who died in the Civil war ; 
 and Menzo, who died young. In politics Isaac S. 
 Phelon was a supporter of the Jeffersonian Democ- 
 racy; he never sought office. In religion he was 
 liberal in his views, but was a sincere Christian, 
 and was noted for his integrity and strict sense of 
 honor. He died at his home in 1840, while still in 
 the prime of life, and two months before his young- 
 est child was born. His widow, who was a truly 
 Christian woman, succeeded in rearing her children 
 in respectability and to be a credit to the communi- 
 ty. She died at the home of her son, Isaac Bur- 
 dett, her remains being interred in West Suffield. 
 
 Isaac Burdett Phelon received a good common- 
 school education. He was only nine years of age 
 when his father died, and for four years after this 
 sad event lived with his grandfather, to Avhom he 
 was bound, but the circumstances were not to his 
 liking, and he had, besides, a desire to see the great 
 West. Accordingly he traveled through Pennsyl- 
 vania, Ohio, Illinois and Iowa, returning to his na- 
 tive State within a few months, however, and find- 
 ing employment with Eli Freeman, of West Suf- 
 field, for whom he worked eight consecutive years. 
 He then returned to the homestead, in which he 
 bought the interest of the other heirs with the sav- 
 ings from his earnings during his years of outside 
 labor. To the original tract he added ten acres, 
 making a total of seventy-six, on which he made ex- 
 tensive improvements at a cost of several thousand 
 dollars, and engaged in the cultivation of tobacco 
 
 and general farming until 1878, when he moved to 
 Boston Neck and purchased the Stony Brook farm, 
 of seventy acres, where he has since been engaged 
 in the same line of agriculture, adding dairying and 
 the handling of ice and wood. For the past twenty 
 years he has stored and handled 3,000 tons of ice 
 annually, and to his other industries he has added 
 stock raising, and is credited with the ownership 
 of some of the finest stock in this section of the 
 State. 
 
 Mr. Phelon was married in Agawam, Mass., to 
 Miss Eliza M. Arnold, a daughter of Smith Arnold, 
 and a lady of refinement and culture, as all the sur- 
 roundings of her present home clearly indicate. To 
 this marriage four children have been born : Calvin, 
 who is a farmer in West Suffield, and is married to 
 Lula Wood; Alice Marian, who died young; Al- 
 fred B., a hotel man of Flartford; and Arthur, at 
 home. The family attend the Baptist Church ; Mr. 
 Phelon is quite liberal in his views of religion. In 
 politics he has been a life-long Democrat, and he has 
 filled the office of constable of his town for seven- 
 teen years. He is a keen observer, but of genial 
 disposition, and is honored as a man of strict in- 
 tegrity. Through his sole personal efforts he has 
 
1818 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 realized a competence, and his individual merits 
 have won for him the high regard of all classes in 
 the community. 
 
 JOSEPH R. CARROLL, the very popular gen- 
 eral agent of the Manhattan Life Insurance Co. and 
 the Alassachusctts Mutual Accident Association, 
 with headquarters at Hartford, was horn in East 
 Hartford May 24. i86i, a son of E. J. and Mary 
 (Ruth) Carroll, a biography of whom may be found 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Mr. Carroll was educated in the common .schools 
 and at Osgood's Commercial College, antl after 
 leaving school was employed by O. D. Woodruff & 
 Co., dealers in hats and furs at Hartford, being 
 connected with that firm as head clerk and travel- 
 ing salesman for ten years. But the insurance 
 business proved an attraction to him, and in Febru- 
 ary, 1895, he accepted the agency of the Manhat- 
 tan Life, and in October, 1895, was appointed gen- 
 eral agent at Hartford for the Massachusetts Mutual 
 Accident Association. Hartford, as is well known, 
 is the headquarters of more insurance companies 
 than any oth.er city of its size in the world, but Mr. 
 Carroll, being of a genial disposition, and affable 
 and gentlemanly, has kept his principals well to the 
 front in the competition for business. 
 
 Mr. Carroll was united in marriage with Miss 
 Carrie M. Rovce, a native of Livingston county, N. 
 Y., and to this union have been born three children, 
 of whom one died unnamed : Marguerite died in 
 childhood: Pauline Marie survives." Mr. and Mrs. 
 Carroll are devout memlK-rs of St. Mary's Catholic 
 Church of East Plartford, are among the most 
 liberal contributors to its support, and' live fuUv 
 up to its teachings. In politics Mr. Carroll is one 
 of the most active and popular young Democrats 
 of East Hartford, and in 1890 and 1891 served the 
 town as tax collector. Fraternally he is a member 
 of the Sons of Veterans, and has performed his 
 duty toward this association by serving as captain of 
 John F. Carroll Camp, Xo. 27. As a citizen he is 
 public-spirited and useful, and as a business man is 
 irreproachable in every respect. He is ever alert 
 and energetic, and does mere business than anv man 
 of his years in the city of Hartford — that city of 
 cities in the insurance line. 
 
 L. Z. SKINNER, 'M. D., one of the rising young 
 members of the medical profession in Hartford' coun- 
 ty, and a successful practitioner of Windsor, has 
 by dint of his own energy and perseverance secured 
 a good education, and by professional merit has 
 built up a large and constantly-increasing practice, 
 though he came to Windsor an entire stranger to 
 every one, and had several old practitioners with 
 whom to compete. 
 
 Dr. Skinner was born April i, 1866, in AVater- 
 ville. Nova Scotia. On the paternal side he is of 
 good old Colonial stock, his great-grandfather hav- 
 ing removed from New Haven, Conn., to Nova 
 
 Scotia. His descendants are now quite numerous, 
 and the Skinner family in St. John, New Bruns- 
 wick, is a ])rominent and wealthy one. His son 
 Sanuiel located at that place, becoming one of its 
 leading citizens and successful manufacturers, and 
 the latter's son Charles represented the city in Par- 
 liament. David Skinner, the Doctor's grandfather, 
 was a well-to-do and intluential citizen of Nova 
 Scotia, where his father, ]\Iartin Skinner, has spent 
 his entire life as a prosperous and successful farmer. 
 Martin Skiimer married Sarah Pineo, a representa- 
 tive of one of the best families of Nova Scotia, 
 her ancestors being of aristocratic French extrac- 
 tion, and three sons were born of this union, of 
 whom two are still living: L. Z., our subject; and 
 an older brother, who is a farmer of Nova Scotia. 
 At his birthplace Dr. Skinner grew to manhood, 
 assisting in the labors of the farm, and attending the 
 local school until 1884. Wiicn fifteen he began 
 applying himself more closely to his books, and in 
 1884 entered school at Berwick with the intention 
 of preparing for the profession of teacher. At the 
 age of eighteen he entered upon the duties of that 
 profession in the ])rimary department of the graded 
 schools of Waterville. Later he was promoted to 
 higher grades, successfully taught in different 
 places, and became a principal, continuing to en- 
 gage in teaching for several years. In the mean- 
 time, however, he was also interested in other busi- 
 ness, and at one time engaged in general merchan- 
 dising in partnership with his brother, to whom he 
 later sold out. Fie commenced reading medicine 
 under the direction of Dr. Miikilcmas, a very prom- 
 inent physician and successful practitioner of Ber- 
 wick, N. S., and subsequently entered Baltimore 
 Medical College, where he was graduated in the 
 class of 1894. The same year he opened an office 
 in Windsor, and has steadily worked his way upward 
 until he now enjoys an excellent practice. Being 
 of a self-reliant and independent nature, he. paid 
 his own way through school, though not obliged to 
 do so, and his success is due entirely to his own 
 efforts. As a citizen he stands high in the esteem 
 of all who know him, and as a practitioner is sec- 
 ond to none in Windsor. Politically he is a stanch 
 Republican, and socially is a member of Washing- 
 ton Lodge, F. & A. M., at Windsor, and was at 
 one time a member of the Independent Order of 
 Foresters in Nova Scotia. 
 
 LUMAN LILLIE, a well-known tobacco grower 
 of West Suffield, Hartford county, and one of its 
 highly-respected citizens, was born in Winchester, 
 Litchfield Co., Conn., Nov. 7, 1842, and is of Eng- 
 lish and Scottish extraction. During the days of 
 Cromwell the Lillies were supporters of the king, 
 and from their home in England were driven to 
 Scotland, whence the)' later emigrated to America, 
 settling in the Colony of Vermont, where they be- 
 came good citizens and supporters of our free insti- 
 tutions. Caleb Lillie, the grandfather of our sub- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1819' 
 
 ject, was a native of the Green JNIountain State, was 
 a farmer by occupation, and owned land at Pownal, 
 Bennington count}-, where he made his home until 
 called from this life. 
 
 Jason Lillie, our subject's father, was born at 
 Pownal where he was reared and educated. At the 
 age of eighteen he left home, and walking to Con- 
 necticut located in Winchester, Litchfield county. 
 For four years he was employed as traveling sales- 
 man by the Halbit Scythe Co., selling scythes in 
 Connecticut, New York.A-^ermont andiNIassachusetts. 
 The following two 3'ears he engaged in farming for 
 Hulbert & Tuttle, in Litchfield county, and in 1846 
 came to Suffield, Hartford county, where he rented 
 the Spencer farm for sixteen years, and the Dr. Kel- 
 logg farm for two years. Coming to West Suffield 
 in 1864, he bought the James Harman farm, of sixty- 
 five acres, on which he engaged in tobacco culture 
 and general farming until life's labors were ended. 
 Li Winsted, Litchfield count)', he was united in mar- 
 riage with iliss Julia Hart, a native of that place, 
 and a daughter of Samuel Hart, and to them were 
 born four children: Luman, subject of this sketch; 
 William, a farmer of West Suffield ; Sylvia J., an 
 estimable lady who keeps house for our subject; and 
 Francis J., who died in middle life. The parents 
 both died on the old homestead, and were buried in 
 West Suffield cemetery. They were sincere and 
 faithful members of the Baptist Church, and in his 
 political views the father was a Democrat. He was 
 a strong temperance man, and was highly esteemed 
 for his sterling worth and strict integrity. 
 
 Luman Lillie was only four years old when 
 brought by his parents to Suffield, and after attend- 
 ing the district school for some time he completed 
 his education in the Connecticut Literary Listitute, 
 under the instruction of H. A. Pratt, then principal. 
 At the age of eighteen years he commenced teach- 
 ing school, and successfully followed that profes- 
 sion for one term in Suffield and one term in Rain- 
 bow, Hartford county. Since then his life has 
 been devoted to agricultural pursuits, and on the 
 death of his father he took charge of the old home- 
 stead, where he has since successfully engaged in 
 general farming and raising tobacco. He is a quiet, 
 unassuming man, industrious and enterprising, and 
 gives his political support to the men and measures 
 of the Democratic party. He is liberal in Jiis relig- 
 ious views, and he and his sister, who lives with 
 him, hold membership in the Baptist Church. 
 
 THOjMAS BOSTICK, farmer, dairyman and 
 tobacco grower, was born in the village of Thomp- 
 sonville, town of Enfield, March 10, 1861, a son of 
 Randall and Anna (Joy) Bostick. 
 
 Mr. Bostick's father was born in England, and 
 his mother was a native of Ireland. After his mi- 
 gration to the United States, Randall Bostick began 
 business as a peddler of vegetables at Enfield. He 
 possessed marked business abilitv, and in 1875 he 
 purchased the farm in Enfield now occupied by his 
 
 son, George E. Bostick, the brother of our subject. 
 Randall Bostick was married in 1858, at the early 
 age of eighteen years, and his family consisted of 
 seven children, as follows : John, Thomas, Nellie 
 (Mrs. Barton Prickett), Randall, Anna (Airs. 
 Colts), George E. and Benjamin. 
 
 Thomas Bostick, our subject, was reared in En- 
 field, educated i'n the public schools, and began life 
 as a famier ; he purchased the farm he now occupies 
 in 1891, and is engaged in dairying and tobacco 
 growing. In 1883 he married Sarah, daughter of 
 Stephen and Mary (Shepherd) Goodwin, of Eng- 
 land, and they have four children, Herbert, Stephen, 
 Ila and Annie. He is a progressive citizen, a mem- 
 ber of the Episcopal Church, and in politics is a 
 Republican. 
 
 WILLIAM JAMES REINSCH, a leading 
 undertaker and popular business man of Southing- 
 ton, has made his own way in the world from an 
 early age, and through his own well-directed efforts 
 and untiring industry has already achieved success, 
 though he is comparatively a young man. 
 
 A native of Hartford county, Mr. Reinsch was 
 born in Manchester, Nov. 29, 1869, son of Theodore 
 and Susan (Waddellj Reinsch. During his boy- 
 hood the father came to America and located in 
 New York City, where he worked as a confectioner. 
 In 1855 he canie to Manchester, Conn., where he was 
 employed as a weaver until 1895, in that year remov- 
 ing to Middletown, where he now resides. By his 
 first wife he had five children : William J., our sub- 
 ject; Mary, deceased; Herman; Minnie, Mrs. Ches- 
 ter; and Wilson. For his second wife he wedded 
 Mary Ann Sanderson, and to them were born two 
 children, Edward and Susie. 
 
 The early life of our subject was spent in Alan- 
 chester, where he attended the public schools to a 
 limited extent, but his educational privileges were 
 meager, as at the age of eleven years he commenced 
 work in the cotton mills of the Union Manufactur- 
 ing Co., where he remained three years. He then 
 entered the woolen mills of B. C. Apel, and remained 
 there until 1893, when he located in Southington, and 
 was in the employ of W. S. Gould three years-. On 
 May 30, 1896, he embarked in the undertaking busi- 
 ness on his own account, and has since successfully 
 continued in that line. 
 
 Mr. Reinsch was married. May 31, 1892, to Miss 
 Anna Reed, a daughter of George and Ann Reed, 
 of Ireland, and they have three children, William, 
 Susan and Harold. Mr. Reinsch is a supporter of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is a member 
 of the Royal Society of Good Fellows, the Knights 
 of the Maccabees, the Knights of Pythias, and the 
 Independent Order of Red Men. In his political 
 affiliations he is a Democrat. 
 
 THOMAS W. MITCHELL comes of a family 
 of "distinguished English descent. His grandfather 
 was born in the city of York. Reuben Mitchell, 
 
1320 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 father oi T. W. Alitchell, was born in Leicester, and 
 married Jane Covvlam, a member of an ancient Scot- 
 tish family, whose father, WiUiam Cowlam, was a 
 resident of Dumfries. 
 
 Jxeubcn Mitchell was considered one of the best 
 mechanics in the L'nited Kingdom, and is said to 
 have held the first contract for building engines 
 ever signed in luigland. As an engine builder and 
 general machinist lie was remarkably successful, and. 
 was not without education of a superior order. 
 He had a brother who was a master in Rugby School, 
 and another who was an exciseman in London, as 
 well as one who was a teacher in that city. Reulu'ii 
 JMitchell passed his last days in New Britain, where 
 he died ^larch 31, lyoo. His widow still resides 
 in that city. Their children were as follows: Ter- 
 esa, who married Fred W. l-'isher, both now de- 
 ceased; Thomas \\'. ; Edwin K., who is now superin- 
 tendent of the electric railway service at I'ort .Madi- 
 son, Iowa; Joseph is in the employ of the General 
 Klectric Company at Schenectady, and has charge 
 of what is known as the Niagara plant; Elizabeth, , 
 ■who became the wife of John Foulds, of Lynn, | 
 Mass., foreman of the vacuum department in 
 Thompson & Hanston's plant at that place; Jennie, 
 married to John Blake, of New Biitain; Lucy, now 
 the wife of Joseph Caunt, a shoe manufacturer of 
 Lynn ; Hattie, who married James Caunt, a brother 
 of Joseph; and Reuben. 
 
 Thomas William .Mitchell was born in Lough- 
 borough, Leicestershire, England, .^lay u, 1855. 
 His birthplace was within three miles of the ground 
 xipon \>-hich occurred iiie bloody battle of Bosworth 
 Field, in the War of the Roses. His rudimentary 
 education v^as of raiher a meager sort, yet he im- 
 proved to the utmost such advantages as he had ; 
 still, his true education was obtained in the broader | 
 field of active life and practical experience. At the 
 age of twelve years he was apprenticed to a j 
 cabinet-maker at Nottingham, a place celebrated 
 alike for its production of lace and for 
 its propinquity to the home of Lord Byron. For 
 five years he led the life of an apprentice, availing 
 himself of such opportunities as were afforded for 
 attendance upon evening schools. After mastering 
 his trade he determined to woo fortune in the Xew 
 World and emigrated to America, coming directly 
 to New Britain after landing at New York, his fa- 
 ther having preceded him as a settler in that city 
 in 1869. His first employment in his new home was 
 as a wood-worker in one of the departments of the 
 New Britain Knitting Co., where he remained five 
 3'ears. At the expiration of that period he went to 
 \vork for William H. Geddings, a furniture dealer i 
 on Church street, where he was er.iployed at his old 
 trade for ten or eleven years. By that time, through 
 industry, integrity and thrift, he had accumulated 
 enough money to enable him to embark in business 
 on his own account. He formed a partnership with 
 H. E. Johnson, under the firm name of T. W. Mitch- 
 ell & Co., which concern is vet doing business at the 
 
 location in whicli it started. Their line of trade is 
 furniture and upholstery, and In the last-mentioned 
 branch of business the}- arc regarded as one of the 
 leading firms of the city. Their display rooms are 
 extensive and well arranged, and their trade has 
 steadily increased from the incepliGU ul their enter- 
 prise. 
 
 The career of Mr. Mitchell affords a striking il- 
 lustration of the possibilities open to young men of 
 earnest purpose and high moral sense to attain suc- 
 cess in New England. He has attained a high degree, 
 yet his success is well deserved, ^^'hile his business 
 sense is keen, his impulses are generous and his 
 charity broad. During the last si.x or seven years 
 he has taken an active interest in politics, and has 
 been three times a delegate to the State convention 
 of the Republican party ; and has been a member of 
 the Sub-way conunission. He was one of the earliest 
 members of St. Elmo Lodge, No. 21, of New Britain, 
 having connected himself therewith in March, 1880. 
 In 1882 he was elected chancellor commander, being 
 the youngest man who ever filled that responsible 
 office. The same year he was chosen district dep- 
 ut\-, and In 1887 elected grand master of the ex- 
 chequer, but owing to his absence fremi the floor at 
 the time of his election he was disqualified from ac- 
 cepting the office. In 1898, in conjunction with 
 grand chancellor Fred E. Chessen, of Waterbury, 
 he was appointed a member of the committee on 
 Mileage and Finance. He is also connected with 
 the ]. O. O. F., but has taken a far less active inter- 
 est in this order : and belongs to the Sons of St. 
 George, having attained the rank of past president, 
 after serving two terms in the executive chair. He 
 is a director in the Sovereign Trading Co., and 
 treasurer of the Republican Savings & Loan Asso- 
 ciation, of New York. 
 
 Mr. Mitchell married Hattie E. Johnson, daugh- 
 ter of John Johnson, of Bristol, Conn. Her family 
 is also of English origin and from Leicestershire. 
 To their union have been born three children : 
 Charles R., Nellie M., and Ralph J., all of whom 
 live at home. 
 
 A. N. GRAA'ES, proprietor of the "Suffield 
 House," Suffield, is deservedly popular as a landlord, 
 and his hotel is regarded by the traveling public as 
 among the best to be found in an\' small town in the 
 State. Since it came under his management it has 
 been greatly improved, a story having been added, 
 and the entire place fitted up with steam heat and 
 other modern conveniences, while the cuisine is ex- 
 cellent. In his care of his guests, Mr. Graves is 
 ably seconded bv his clever wife, and one of the at- 
 tractions of the place is its quiet and home-like at- 
 mosphere, in which all are left free to enjoy them- 
 selves without the obtrusive conversation so often 
 bestowed upon the stranger in small hotels. 
 
 Mr. Graves was born May 21, 1856, at Middle- 
 field, Mass., on a mountain farm which was the 
 birthplace of four generations of the familv. Ste- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1821 
 
 phen Graves, his grandfather, resided at the old 
 homestead, where he followed farming, but although 
 he owned a large amount of land it was so rocky 
 and hilly that his hard labor brought meagre re- 
 turns. Dwight E. Graves, the father of our subject, 
 was born and reared at the old farm, and for some 
 years of his early manhood had charge of the place, 
 but he afterward settled in Suffield, where he died 
 in January, 1885, aged over sixty years. He was a 
 tall man, measuring six feet, one inch, in his stock- 
 ings, and weighed about 170 pounds on the average. 
 His associates held him in high esteem for his ex- 
 cellent qualities, but while he took an intelligent in- 
 terest in the questions of his time, and was a 
 stanch Republican in politics, he did not aspire to 
 official position in the community. He married Miss 
 Mary Root, also a native of Middlefield, Mass., who 
 survives him, and now resides in Worcester, Mass. 
 This worthy couple had seven children: Edward, 
 who is in business in Worcester, Mass., as a dealer in 
 meat and groceries ; Henry S., who was superintend- 
 ent of the city poor farm at Worcester, Mass., and 
 died in the spring of 1899 5 W. S., a grocer and meat 
 dealer at Worcester; Alary, deceased; A. N., our 
 subject; Charles C., butcher and grocer at Windsor 
 Locks; and Elmer, who is in the meat business in 
 Hartford. All of the sons are large men, their com- 
 bined weight at present being 1,284 pounds, and all 
 are prosperous in business and respected in society. 
 During his boyhood Mr. Graves learned habits of 
 industry, working on the • old homestead, and his 
 educational opportunities were limited to an irreg'u- 
 lar attendance in the district schools. His parents, 
 who shared the high appreciation of learning which 
 is common among New England people, desired bet- 
 ter privileges for their sons, but their circumstances 
 prevented them from fulfilling their wishes. At the 
 age of fifteen Mr. Graves left home and came to 
 Suffield, where he boarded with his brother Henry, 
 then a butcher in that town, whom he assisted in 
 the meat business by driving a delivery wagon ; in 
 the meantime he attended the Connecticut Literary 
 Institute for two terms. Later he succeeded to his 
 brother's business, continuing thus until 1884, and 
 for two years he conducted a livery stable and coal 
 yard at Windsor Locks On Nov. i, 1888, he 
 bought the "Suffield House," with the livery and 
 sale stable in connection, and the management of 
 this property has since occupied much of his time. 
 His trade in horses is extensive, and he is known as 
 an excellent judge of their good points, his admira- 
 tion for them having made him a keen observer from 
 his boyhood. He owns some of the best bred ani- 
 mals in Suffield, including a prominent colt, "Quar- 
 ter Bar," by "Temple Bar," and his favorite driving 
 team is composed of "Lottie Fallis" and "Bijou," 
 each of whom has made a record of 2:21^. In 
 March, 1898, as his successor in the meat business 
 had abandoned the enterprise, Mr. Graves again 
 established a meat market in order to have one in the 
 village, and in addition to all his other lines of busi- 
 
 ness he carries on farming. Previous to 1897 he was 
 extensively engaged in tobacco culture, having 
 twenty-four acres under cultivation during one sea- 
 son, and he is one of three members of a syndicate 
 formed for the purpose of growing tobacco exten- 
 sively, the firm name being The Bissel, Graves Co. 
 In the summer of 1899 they grew sixty-six acres of 
 tobacco, and in 1900, seventy-five acres. As a cit- 
 izen Mr. Graves is progressive and liberal, always 
 willing to help any cause that will help Suffield, 
 and, like all his brothers, is a firm supporter of the 
 Repubican party. His tastes do not incline toward 
 public life. Socially he is connected with Gideon 
 Granger Lodge, No. 62, K. of P. ; Lyman Council 
 of the O. U. A. M. (being a charter aiiember of 
 both) ; and with the Masonic Fraternity. 
 
 Mr. Graves married Miss Alma Smith, and they 
 have one son, Howard D., born Sept. 8, 1891. Mrs. 
 Graves is a native of Ashford, Conn., born July 
 4, i860, and was reared in Mansfield, this State, 
 where her parents, A. P. and Alma (Lilley) Smith, 
 settled during her childhood. Her father now re- 
 sides in Tacoma, Wash. Of his nine children, two 
 sons and two daughters lived to adult age, Mrs. 
 Graves being the youngest. 
 
 NICHOLAS J. BAKER. The firm 6f Baker 
 & Eagan. ladies' and gents' furnishers, at Windsor 
 Locks, conducts one of the leading mercantile estab- 
 lishments of that locality, and in the success which 
 has attended their enterprise from the start we may 
 see the results of sound business acumen allied to 
 untiring energy. The store is advantageously lo- 
 cated on Main street, nearly opposite the depot, and 
 a well selected stock attracts the custom of the best 
 class of people, while correct business methods and 
 perfect reliability have won general confidence. 
 
 Nicholas J. Baker, the senior member of the 
 firm, was born May 3, 1865, at Brattleboro, Vt. His 
 education was obtained in the public schools of 
 Holyoke, Mass., and at the age of nineteen years 
 he located at Windsor Locks, his first employment 
 being in the factory of J. R. IMontgomery & Co., 
 with whom he remained three years and a half. In 
 1887 he formed a partnership with Edwin P. Eagan 
 and engaged in their present business, to which he 
 has given his entire attention, not even diverting 
 any portion of his time to politics. He is a member 
 of the New England Order of Protection, and the 
 Ancient Order of Hibernians, and he and his family 
 are much esteemed socially. He. was married in 
 Windsor Locks to Miss Mary Sheridan, and they 
 have four children : Nellie, Joseph, James and Rose 
 Marion. 
 
 Edwin P. Eagan^ the junior partner, was born 
 at Bloomfield, Conn., May 19, 1864. Thomas Eagan, 
 his father, was a native of Galway, Ireland, and 
 came to the United States when a young man. He 
 remained for a time in the town of Windsor Locks 
 but later removed to Bloomfield, while for twenty- 
 eight years past he has been engaged in farming in 
 
1322 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the town of Liranb)-. lie was married in Windsor 
 Locks, Conn., to Miss Mary E. (.iilligan, also a native 
 of Gahvay, Ireland, and they have the following- 
 children: Michael \\'., a Pinkerton's detective; John 
 C, foreman of the docks at Smithburg; Thomas L., 
 of Windsor Locks ; Catherine and Maggie, deceased ; 
 and Edwin P. 
 
 Edwin P. Eagan spent his early years in Granby, 
 Conn., wiiere. he attended the public schools, and 
 when twelve years old began to learn the steam- 
 fitter's trade in Hartford, Conn. He followed same 
 niiie years, most of the time in Windsor Locks, 
 Conn., but since 1887 he has been connected with 
 the firm of Baker & Eagan, in whose success his 
 ability and foresight has been a recognized factor. 
 He and his wife are leading members of St. Mary's 
 Catholic Church at \\'indsor Locks, and he also be 
 longs to the Knights of Columbus, the Ancient 
 Order of Hibernians, and the Catholic Benevolent 
 Legion. He was married in Windsor Locks to Miss 
 Emma Baines. who died Aug. 12, 1896. leaving two 
 children : Edwina and William A. On April 20, 
 1898, he was married, in Thompsonville, Conn., to 
 JNliss Nellie Callahan. 
 
 DANIEL LA\"ERTY is one of the substan- 
 tial citizens of Poquonock.this county, who are of 
 alien birth, and who have, by their own unaided 
 exertions, raised themselves to their present pros- 
 perous condition. 
 
 Mr. Laverty was born in Count\- Antrim, Ire- 
 land, in 1837. a son of Daniel and Mary (Di.Kon) 
 Laverty, who were well-to-do farming people in 
 the Emerald Isle. The children in the family were 
 Patrick, now a fanner of Avon Springs, X. Y. ; 
 John, of whom all trace was lost after he entered 
 a New York regiment during the Civil war ; James, 
 a farmer of Avon Springs, N. Y. ; Daniel, our sub- 
 ject; and Bridget, iXIary and Ella, all deceased. 
 The mother and daughters all died in Ireland with- 
 in two years, and as this broke up the family the 
 father sold his property preparatory to coming to ; 
 America. Patrick was the first of the familv to 
 emigrate, was soon followed by John and James, 
 and later by the father, who died in Williamsburg, 
 New York. 
 
 Our subject had been bound out to a Mr. ilc- 
 Guire, a farmer in Ireland, and was the last of the 
 family to come to the New World. He was educated 
 in the public schools of his native land, and was a 
 lad of twelve years when he went from Belfast to 
 Liverpool, and there took passage on board the 
 "Richard JNIorris" for New York, arriving in that 
 city^ after nine long weeks spent upon the water. 
 His first work here was at screening sand, at 
 Williamsburg, N. Y., but he received no pav for his 
 five weeks of labor. Later he worked by the dav at 
 any employment such as a boy could do, and he 
 was an exceptionally good and steady boy. He cared 
 for a gentleman's horses part of the time. During 
 the construction of the Seymour paper mills at 
 
 I Windsor Locks, Conn., he went there to do work 
 as a mason's tender, but being small for his age 
 the boss seemed to think him loo light for the work, 
 and suggested his becoming an apprentice to learn 
 the bricklayer's trade, which he did. During his 
 two years and nine months' apprenticeship he re- 
 ceived only his board, some cheap clothing, and 
 $7.50 in money. Since then he has made brick- 
 laying his life work, and followed it in several New- 
 England towns. 
 
 On Feb. 11, 1857, at Windsor Locks, Air. 
 Laverty was united in marriage with Miss Mary 
 McCaffrey, who was born in County P'ermanagh, 
 Ireland, in November, 1836, a daughter of Patrick 
 and Ann (McGuire) McCaffrey. The father was 
 the first of the family to come to the United States, 
 and was working as a laborer in a paper mill at 
 Rainbow, Conn., when joined by his family, who 
 crossed the Atlantic from Liverpool on the "\A'est 
 Point, " which was eighteen days in reaching the 
 harbor of New York. Mrs. Laverty was nine years 
 old at this time. The parents of both died in Po- 
 quonock, in 1886, within a month. In their family 
 were four children, two sons and two daughters, 
 but one of the sons died in Ireland, at the age of 
 four years. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Laverty have been born the 
 following children: Mary A., widow of Robert 
 Earnan, of Poquonock ; James, at home; John, a 
 resident of Rainbow ; Lizzie, who died in infancy ; 
 Katy, wife of Thomas Denhy, of Winsted, Conn. ; 
 Nellie, who died in childhood ; Daniel, a resident 
 of Poquonock ; \\'illiam, a resident of Hartford ; 
 Fred, who died at the age of two years ; and Nellie 
 (2), at home. 
 
 Mr. and ^Irs. Laverty began housekeeping at 
 Windsor Locks in a very unpretentious home, later 
 lived in Springfield, Mass., Poquonock and Hart ■ 
 ford, and then returned to Poquonock, where they 
 have resided permanently since 1864. His first 
 work here was on the construction of the upper 
 mill for the Health Underwear Co., and he has 
 since been employed on all of the principal build- 
 ings erected in Poquonock and Rainbow, as well 
 as on many of the large brick mills built through- 
 out New England. He has built an excellent home 
 
 .of his own in Poquonock, and though he started 
 out in life for himself empty-handed he is now one 
 of the substantial citizens of the place. Honest, 
 industrious and enterprising, J\Ir. Laverty com- 
 mands the respect and confidence of all who knov/ 
 him, and his friends are man}' in Hartford countw 
 Politically he is a stanch Democrat, and religiously 
 he and his family are members of St. Joseph":; 
 
 Catholic Church, Poquonock. 
 
 EMERSON A. HOUGH is one of the lead- 
 ing pharmacists of this section, having conducted 
 a drug store at Collinsville for the past thirty-three 
 years, and as a member of the Connecticut Phar- 
 maceutical Association he has been especially active. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1328 
 
 six years of efficient work on the executive com- 
 mittee testifying to Iiis interest. He is also promi- 
 nent in public affairs, being an active worker in the 
 Republican party, and for twenty-one years he held 
 the office of postmaster at CoUinsville, his service 
 extending from Grant's administration to that of 
 Harrison. 
 
 Mr. Hough was born in CoUinsville Nov. 24, 
 1842, son of Josiah Hough, and grandson of Rob- 
 ert Hough, and is of Scottish descent in the pa- 
 ternal line. Josiah Hough was born and reared 
 in Glastonbury, this county, and in early manhood 
 located at CoUinsville. He was a carpenter and 
 joiner by trade, and for some years was employed 
 by the Collins Co., in the construction of their 
 buildings, but for several years previous to his 
 death he was engaged in the manufacture of boxes, 
 as a contractor with the firm. Politically he was 
 a Democrat, but did not aspire to office, and for 
 many years he and his wife were identified with 
 the Congregational Church. He married (first) 
 Miss Laura Rice, of Barkhamsted, Litchfield coun- 
 ty, by whom he had six children : Jane E., widow 
 of Henry A. Gleeson ; Henry J., a resident of 
 Brooklyn, N. Y. ; George R., a railway engineer, re- 
 siding at Claj'ton, 111. ; Dayton E., also a railway en- 
 gineer ; Lucelia, wife of H. E. Harrington, a promi- 
 nent citizen of Hartford, and a deacon in the Congre- 
 gational Church; and Emerson A., our subject. 
 The mother of this family died in CoUinsville, 
 where her remains are interred, and the father 
 afterward married Miss Caroline E. Brockett, of 
 Simsbury, and after her death wedded Sarah Hum- 
 phrey. Lie had no children by either union. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the public schools 
 of CoUinsville, and on leaving the high school 
 secured a position as clerk in a drug store there, 
 belonging to Mr. Polk. The Civil war having 
 aroused his patriotic ardor, he on Nov. 18, 1861, 
 enlisted in Company H. 12th Conn. V. L, under 
 Col. Henry C. Demming, of Hartford, and Capt. 
 Joseph R. Toy, of Simsbury. After six months 
 he was ordered to New Orleans and appointed 
 hospital steward by order of Maj.-Gen. B. F. 
 Butler, serving in the medical department until 
 October, 1864, when he was discharged. On his 
 return home he took his old position, continuing 
 with Mr. Polk about two years, and in November, 
 1867, engaged in business on his own account. He 
 is an excellent business man, as is shown by his 
 success, and he owns the fine building known as the 
 Harrington block, in which his store is located. 
 Mr. Hough was one of the organizers of the Farm- 
 ington Valley Agricultural Association, and is now 
 secretary and a member of the board of trustees. 
 His fondness for fine horses is one of his traits. 
 Socially he is much esteemed, his genial man- 
 ners and sterling qualities of character having won 
 for him a host of friends. He and his family are 
 identified with the Congregational Church, of 
 which he has served as treasurer since 1869, as a 
 
 member of the choir since 1864, and as chorister 
 since 1870. He also belongs to Village Lodge, 
 No. 29, F. & A. M., at CoUinsville. 
 
 On May 23, 1866, Mr. Hough was married 
 in CoUinsville to Miss Sarah A. Bidwell, and three 
 children have blessed the union: (i) Frederick J., 
 a graduate of the CoUinsville high school, is a 
 shipping clerk with the Collins Co. He married 
 Miss Etta Tilly, and has tvi^o children, Leonard 
 and Marion. (2) Harold W. completed a course 
 in the high school, and is employed by the jLtna 
 Life Lisurance Co., at Hartford. (3) Miss Flor- 
 ence B., who also graduated from the high school, 
 is at home. Mrs. Hough is a member of a well- 
 known family, being a descendant of Thomas Bid- 
 well, a pioneer of Canton, of wnom an account is 
 given elsewhere. Her father, Franklin A. Bidwell, 
 is a prominent resident of CoUinsville. Her mother, 
 whose maiden name was Lucia Ann Dyer, was a 
 ■daughter of Zenas and Sarah (Chidseyj Dyer, of 
 Canton. 
 
 PATRICK NOLAN, a well-known citizen and 
 representative farmer of the town of Newington, 
 was born in King's County, Ireland, March 13, 
 1836, a son of John and Elizabeth (Carlyle) Nolan, 
 farming people. When our subject was about six- 
 teen years of age the father came to America, but 
 soon returned to his native land, where both he 
 and the mother died. The paternal grandfathei, 
 John Nolan, was a farmer in Ireland; and the 
 maternal grandfather, Joseph Carlyle, was a pay- 
 master in the British army. 
 
 Patrick Nolan received a rather limited educa- 
 tion, as at an earl)^ age he was obliged to work 
 hard, and had no time for study. Fie assisted his 
 father in the operation of the farm tmtil he at- 
 tained his majority, and then determined to try his 
 fortune on this side of the Atlantic, where he be- 
 lieved better opportunities were afi^orded ambitious 
 and industrious young men. He sailed from 
 Oueenstown to Liverpool, and there took passage 
 on the steamer "Wilburn," which finally reached 
 Halifax, Nova Scotia, after a voj^age of twenty - 
 three days. After working at that place one month 
 he came to Hartford, Conn., where for two years he 
 assisted a blacksmith in Sharp's rifle factory. He- 
 then became employed on the Springfield, Flart- 
 ford & New Haven railroad, on which he worked 
 as a section hand for three years and four months, 
 and then was made section boss, a position he 
 creditably filled for over thirty years, finally re- 
 tiring because the bad weather was detrimental to 
 his health. Soon after being made section fore- 
 man he purchased fourteen acres of land in New- 
 ington, upon which he has a pleasant, six-room 
 residence, where he is now living retired, enjoying 
 the fruits of former toil. 
 
 In February, 1876, Mr. Nolan married Miss 
 Katherine Donahue, of Hartford, and the}^ have 
 three children: Elizabeth, born in February, 1877, 
 
1324 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 is a typewriter in the employ of the Pope Mann 
 facturing Co. ; Alary, born in Alay, 1878, is the 
 wile of John Hoye, a contractor, of Kensington; 
 and James, born July 23, 1885, is attending school 
 in Hartford. Air. A'olan lakes a just pride in giv- 
 ing his children good educational advantages, some- 
 thmg which he regrets he did not receive. He is 
 a self-made man, whose success in life is due entirely 
 to his own well-directed etTorts and industry, is 
 pulilic-spirited ancl progressive, and is highly re- 
 spected by all who know hhn. In his political 
 views he is a Democral. His estimable wife holds 
 membership in the New liriiain Catholic Chiwch. 
 
 JOHN PINCHES. Instances arc not uncom- 
 mon of emigrant boys conn'ng to America from 
 luirnpcwhereconditions are dilierent and where per- 
 haps opportunities for advancement are fewer, and in 
 the new land rising by their own unaided efforts un- 
 <ler strange environment to prominent and responsi- 
 ble positions in life. The details of a life career of 
 this kind are most interesting, for they come closer 
 to nature's heart than do the growth of human 
 nature under more favorable conilitions. The sub- 
 ject of this sketch is an emigrant from England — 
 he has risen to eminence in the life of New Britain, 
 and the outlines of his success are herewith nar- 
 rated. 
 
 Air. Pinches' father, John Pinches, was a small 
 farmer living in Shropshire, England, and son of 
 a farmer who raised a family of four sons and 
 three daughters, of whom Richard became a miner 
 of Shropshire; James was a farmer of the same 
 place; and Elizabeth married a Mr. Shooker, of 
 Shropshire. The grandfather was a member of the 
 Episcopal Church. John Pinches, the father of our 
 subject, tilled a farm of about 100 acres in his native 
 place, and was prosperous and thrifty, fairly well 
 educated, and holding allegiance to the Episcopal 
 Church. He married Jane Partridge, who was one 
 of a faniily of seven children — Thomas, William, 
 Samuel, Ann (Airs. James Pinches), Jane, Betsey 
 (Airs, ^^'illiam Hotchkiss) and Sarah (Airs. Rich- 
 ard Tage) — born to \Mlliam and Alary (Berguin) 
 Partridge ; the father was a farmer and blacksmith 
 of Shropshire. To John and Jane (Partridge) 
 Pinches were born five children, namely : William,' 
 a farmer in England ; Thomas, a railroad man in 
 England ; Samuel, a farmer in Shropshire ; John ; 
 and James, who lives in England. The father is 
 still living in England, at the age of eighty years. 
 The mother died in July, 1849. 
 
 John Pinches was born Feb. 27, 1847, at the 
 "Hovers," Shropshire. He received a fair edu- 
 cation in the "rate" school of his native village, 
 but he describes the schools as being "of the com- 
 monest kind." He owes his education very largely 
 to his own application in the later years of his 
 life, for his school days ended when he was about 
 twelve years of age, lie like most bo)'s in the neigh- 
 "borhood being expected at that age to earn his own 
 
 support. He engaged in farm work, which occupa- 
 tion he followed continuously until his twentieth 
 year, when he decided to come to America. Land- 
 ing in New York in 1867 he proceeded to North- 
 ford, and there secured work with Henry Bunnell, 
 remaining there for three months. The methods 
 of American farming were not wholly to his liking, 
 and going to North Haven he engaged in brick- 
 making, receiving $45 jicr month anil board, the 
 highest wages then paid in the yard. When the 
 season ended he went to South Aleriden and began 
 an ai)prenliceship at table-knife grinding. He was 
 earning $3.50 per day when he was stricken with 
 typhoid fever, and at the advice of his physician 
 he abandoned that occupation. Deciding to learn 
 the joiner's trade he served an apprenticeship at 
 Aleriden and for six years after its completion 
 worked as a journeyman. Air. Pinches then re- 
 solved to enter the building and contracting busi- 
 ness. He was not yet thirty, but concluded that he 
 had mastered his occupation and was able to suc- 
 ceed in a somewhat wider field. His marked suc- 
 cess was perhaps beyond his anticipations. After 
 following the business for a short time in Hart- 
 ford he established himself, in the spring of 1876, 
 in New Britain, and soon was in command of a large 
 trade, continuing for about twelve years as a con^ 
 tractor and builder in that city. Pie employed from 
 twenty-five to 100 men and erected some of the 
 best buildings of the city, building the New Britain 
 opera house, three churches — the Universalist, the 
 Swedish Lutheran and the German Lutheran^ 
 and a portion of St. Alary 's church. He also put 
 up many of the buildings for the Corbin works and 
 the Stanley Rule & Level Company, built the 
 Plumanson & Beckley factory, and that of North 
 & Judd, and was regarded for many years as the 
 principal contractor of New Britain. During this 
 time Air. Pinches was gradually working into the 
 business of manufacturing architectural and orna- 
 mental wood work, both inside and outside, and 
 also bank and office furnishings and church seats. 
 Pie has been engaged in the latter business for 
 about eleven years, his trade extending through- 
 out Connecticut and to New York and other neigh- 
 boring States. At one time, when the P. & F. Corbin 
 manufactured postoffice boxes, he did the wood 
 work for them. He has built up a large and profit- 
 abe business, proceeding often along original lines 
 and making for himself the trade which he has since 
 enjoyed. 
 
 In politics Air. Pinches is a Republican. While 
 not active in political life he has represented the 
 Fourth ward in the board of aldermen, serving on 
 the committee on Street Encroachments as chair- 
 man, and as a member of the committee on Build- 
 ing Encroachments. He is a prominent Mason, 
 belonging to Centennial Lodge, Giddings Chapter, 
 Washington Commandery and Sphinx Temple ; is 
 also a member of Putnam Phalanx, No. 4, of the 
 Roval Arcanum; and of the Knights of Pvthias. 
 
(l})^^viHif^/j^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1325 
 
 In religious connection he is a member of the 
 Methodist Church, in which he holds the office of 
 steward. 
 
 Mr. Pinches was united in marriage, Alay 14, 
 1874, to Miss Hattie L. Beckwith, daughter of 
 Francis E. Beckwith, of Springfield, and they have 
 had five children, as follows : John, Francis- W-., 
 Charles Wesley, Richard B. and Robert P, 
 
 GEORGE FOOT LEWIS, the well-known and 
 popular superintendent of the New Britain Water 
 Supply Co., of Southington, was born in the Marion 
 District bt that town Dec. 29, 1833, a son of Lumau 
 and Patience Maria (Foot) Lewis. The father, 
 who is still living, was born March i, 1803, and 
 was married Nov. 22, 1826, to Miss Patience Alaria, 
 daughter of Robert and Diadamia (Flitchcock) 
 Foot. To this union were born the following chil- 
 dren : Addie C. ; George F. ; Emma J., wife of 
 Bernard Kennedy; James L. ; Sarah JNI., wife of 
 Joseph C. Long; and Dwight H. 
 
 Reuben Lewis, our subject's paternal grandfa- 
 ther, was born Aug. 16, 1772, and wedded Mary 
 Hall, daughter of Curtiss and Rachel (Beecher) 
 Hall, of Wolcott. She died June 19, 1843, 3.g^<i- 
 sixty-eight years, and his death occurred March 
 28, 1836. His father, Capt. Nathaniel Lewis, was 
 born in December, 1747, in Soutnington, and was 
 married Feb. 15, 1769, to Sarah Gridley, who died 
 Aug. II, 1809. He lived on the mountainside in 
 the eastern part of Wolcott, and was prominent 
 in town and church affairs after it was set off from 
 Southington. He died Feb. 24, 1839, and on his 
 gravestone is inscribed "an honest man." He was 
 a son of Nathan Lewis, who was born Jan._ 23, 
 1707, and was married July 28, 1730, 'to Mary Grid- 
 ley, a daughter of Samuel and Mary (Humphrey) 
 Gridley. He made his home in the Alarion District 
 of Southington, where he died Sept. 7, 1799. He 
 was a son of Samuel and Elizabeth Lewis. Samuel 
 Lewis was born Aug. 18, 1648, held the military rank 
 of sergeant, and died Nov. 28, 1752. His father, 
 William Lewis, was born in England, and in 1644 
 was a resident of Farmington, Hartford Co., Conn., 
 where he served as the first recorder of the town 
 after its incorporation in 1645. He was married 
 (first) to Mary Hopkins, of Windsor, and (second)" 
 to Mary Cheever, of New Haven. His death oc- 
 curred Aug. 18, 1690. He was a son of William 
 and Felix Lewis, who came from England in the 
 ship "Lion," and landed in Boston in September, 
 1632. He was admitted a freeman in November 
 of that year, and joined the Braintree company, 
 which in August, 1633, removed to Newtown 
 (Cambridge). In 1636 he came with a company 
 to Hartford, and in 1659 again moved, becoming- 
 one of the founders of Hadley, Mass., which town 
 he represented in the General Court in 1662. He 
 resided in Northampton, Mass., in 1664, and in 1677 
 removed to Farmington, Hartford Co., Conn., where 
 he died Aug. 2, 1683. 
 
 Reared in his native town, our subject was ed- 
 ucated in its public schools and Lewis Academy, 
 and in early life learned the stone mason's trade, 
 which he tollowed more or less for fifty years. 
 For fourteen years he was superintendent of the 
 Southington town farm, and he was commissioner 
 of highways from 1865 to 1880. From 1880 to 
 1892 he resided in New Britain, engaged as a 
 stone mason, in contract work. In the spring of 
 1892 the Shuttle Meadow Reservoir construction 
 was begun, and Mr. Lewis was appointed inspector. 
 He also built the stone work, and on its com- 
 pletion was appointed superintendent of the com- 
 pany, which responsible position he has since most 
 satisfactorily filled. 
 
 Mr. Lewis has been twice married. By his first 
 wife. Amy A. Cowles, a daughter of Henry and 
 Lydia (Thorp) Cowles, of Mt. Vernon, Southing- 
 ton, were born two children, Frank G. and Ed- 
 win PI. For his second wife he married Mrs. Ellen 
 Steele. 
 
 During- the Civil war Mr. Lewis enlisted, Sept. 
 4, 1 86 1, in Company A, 7th Conn. V. I., and he 
 participated in all of the engagements in which his 
 regiment took part. He was wounded in the battle 
 of James river, and was taken prisoner at jMorris 
 Island, in the charge on Fort Wagner, being 
 sent to Libby prison, where he was incarceratea 
 for ninety-three days ; he made his escape at the 
 end of that time, and rejoined his regiment at 
 Deep Bottom. In September, 1864, Mr. Lewis was 
 honorably discharged at Fortress Monroe, and re- 
 turned to his home. In politics he is a Republican, 
 and fraternally he is a member of Friendship 
 Lodge, N. 33, F. & A. M., of which he has been 
 an officer for eight years; of Trumbull Post, No. 
 16, G. A. R. ; and of the Association of Ex-Prison- 
 ers of the Civil war. 
 
 JAMES HOLLEY. Among the brave men 
 who helped to fill Connecticut's quota during the 
 Civil war was this well-known citizen of New 
 Britain, who spent three years in active service with 
 the First Connecticut Light Battery. Of this 
 courageous and efficient body of men Gen. Terry, 
 of the Union army, once said: — "It may not have 
 been the best battery in the service, but it was the 
 best I have ever seen," and among his comrades 
 Mr. Holley was recognized as one of the best gun- 
 ners in the ranks. The energy and sagacity which 
 placed him in the lead in his work as a soldier, have 
 been applied no less successfully to his private du- 
 ties, and for twenty-six years he has been con- 
 nected with the Rule shop in New Britain, holding 
 a responsible position as inspector and contractor. 
 
 Mr. Holley was born in 1843 in the town of 
 Kingsbury, Washington Co., N. Y., and is of Eng- 
 lish descent in the paternal line. Three- brothers 
 of the name came from England at an early day 
 and settled in Connecticut. Our subject's great- 
 grandfather Holley resided for some time near 
 
 i 
 
132G 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Xew London, but removed to Washington county, 
 X. Y., when tliat locality was considered on the 
 frontier line. 
 
 lienjaniin Holley, our subject's grandfather, 
 was born near New London, and was only six 
 months old when his parents went to New York 
 Slate, where he grew to manhood. He became 
 the owner of a large farm there, in the town of 
 Kingsbury, Washington county, and was one of 
 the mlluential men of the locality in his day. Me 
 married and became the father of si.x children, 
 viz.: — JJaniel, our subject's father; Jjenjamin, who 
 went to Cook count}'. 111., and afterward settled 
 elsewhere in that State ; James, who became a farmer 
 at Napoleon, Mich., where some of his tlcscend- 
 ants reside; Richard, a farmer at the homestead 
 in Washington county, N. Y.; Lucy, wife of .Mason 
 Slade of Washington county, N. Y., and Betsey. 
 Daniel Holley, father of our subject, was born 
 on the homestead, and as a young man was en- 
 gaged in the lumber business, making a specialty 
 of cutting large spars for ships. The spars were 
 hauled to the Hudson and rafted to market, the 
 business proving a profitable one. Later he en- 
 gaged in general farming in his native town, where 
 he owned about 120 acres of land, and for some 
 years he was especially interested in raising cattle, 
 horses and sheep, and in growing grain. He was 
 a thrifty man, and had unusually good judgment, 
 as his business success demonstrated, while he also 
 as a Republican took an active interest in political 
 questions. He died in December, 1890, in his eighty- 
 fourth year, and his wife Rosella N'aughn, died 
 in .\ugust, i8y2, aged eighty-nine years. She was 
 born in Rhode Island, of Holland ancestry, and 
 her family was numerously represented in Wash- 
 ington county, N. Y., where a town was named 
 in their honor. Six children were born to Daniel 
 and Rosella Holley, as follows : Jane, who married 
 (first J Lucius Ogden and (second) Charles Ferris, 
 of Sandy Hill, N. Y. ; Viola, wife of William 
 Burnham, residing near the old homestead ; Esther, 
 who married Hiram Cole, both now deceased , 
 George, a farmer in the town of Kingsbur)-, \\"ash- 
 ington Co., N. Y. ; James ; and Alfred, a farmer near 
 the old homestead. 
 
 James Holley secured his education in the dis- 
 trict schools at Sandy Hill, his attendance being- 
 limited to the winter months. As he was fond of 
 reading he has added greatly to his early store of 
 knowledge, especially in history, and he is well 
 acquainted with the best fiction. At seventeen he 
 began to learn the carriage maker's trade, pass- 
 ing the greater part of his apprenticeship in Wind- 
 sor Locks. His work there was interrupted by his 
 enlistment in the First Connecticut Light Batterv, 
 which was assigned to service in the Department 
 of the South, and was under the command suc- 
 cessively of Generals Foster, Stevens and Terry. 
 After spending some time at James Island, S. C, 
 they went to Fortress Monroe in 1864, and were 
 
 sent up the James river with Gen. I!. V. Butler's 
 force, landing at Bermuda Hundred. Mr. Holley 
 took part in the fighting in front of Rctersburg, 
 and was in the engagements at Dry Lane, Chester s 
 Station and Proctors, but was not injured. For 
 two years he served as a gunner, declining op- 
 portunities for promotion, but at the time of his 
 discharge he held the rank of corporal. ' The 
 winter after his return he spent in driving a team, 
 but in the spring he found employment with K. 
 Hortoji & Son. For six years he was with the 
 Bank Lock Co., and then a Air. Bailey, a contractor 
 in the Rule shop, employed him for a time, eleven 
 months being spent in Hartford. Since that time 
 he has been connected with the Rule shop, and at 
 present he is a contractor in the plane department 
 with eight men under his direction, and is also em- 
 ployed as an inspector in the same department. His 
 efforts have brought him a good degree of success 
 financiall}-, aiul his industry and reliability are shown 
 by the fact that he has been out of work just half 
 a day since i860. I'olitically he is a Republican so 
 far as National issues are concerned, but he votes 
 independently in local elections. As a good citizen 
 he takes an active interest in municipal affairs, and 
 in 1894- '95 he served as city collector, an elective 
 office. 
 
 Mr. Holley married Miss Alice E. Eddy, daugh- 
 ter of Albert Eddv, of New Britain, formerly a 
 resident of Forestville, Conn. Of their two children 
 Grace R. married R. G. Cleveland, a druggist at 
 Waterville, Conn. ; and Flora is at home. The 
 family is much esteemed in social life, and is identi- 
 fied with the work of the Methodist and Baptist 
 Churches at New Britain. Mr. Flolley is a leading- 
 member of the Order of United American Me- 
 chanics, and was one of the organizers of Euclid 
 Lodge, No. 109, F. & A. M., at Windsor Locks. 
 
 CHARLES F. CLEAVELAND, a leading 
 merchant of Windsor Locks, has been in business 
 for a quarter of a centurj', and his name has become 
 a synonym for enterprise, thrift and foresight. 
 
 Mr. Cleaveland is descended from good New 
 England ancestry and was born Nov. 8, 1856, at 
 Staft'ord, Conn. Paine Cleaveland, his father, was 
 born at Tolland, Conn., in 1831, and for some time 
 was engaged in the blacksmith's trade at Stafford- 
 Springs under the firm name of Cushman & 
 Cleaveland, for many years he resided in Wind- 
 sor Locks. For a few years after his removal to 
 that town he was employed by the Farist & Windsor 
 Steel Co., but later he became connected with the 
 Windsor Locks Steel Co. He is an excellent citi- 
 zen, and he and his wife are devout members of the 
 Methodist Church. During the Civil war he showed 
 his patriotism by a year of service in the army, 
 enlisting from Stafford in Company D, 25th Conn. 
 V. I., under Capt. Foster. He married Miss Caro- 
 line A. Needham, a native of Wales, Mass., and 
 has three sons : Orange, a deputy warden in the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1327 
 
 Hartford county jail; Charles F. ; and George A., 
 a resident of Windsor Locks, who was formerly 
 with Gordon & Stowe, of Norwich, and later with 
 P. G. Gordon, of New London, in the paper stock 
 business. 
 
 The education of Charles F. Cleaveland was 
 begun in the schools of Stafford, and he also at- 
 tended the public schools of Windsor Locks for a 
 time. On April i, 1873, at the age of sixteen, he 
 entered upon his business career as a clerk in the 
 general store of J. H. Adams, and so faithfully and 
 well did he perform his duties that he was taken 
 into pai'tnership a few years later under the title 
 of J. H. Adams & Co. Mr. Adams died Nov. 18, 
 1 89 1, and on Dec. 17, 1891, Mr. Cleaveland pur- 
 chased his interest, and has since carried on the 
 business alone, with constantly increasing trade. 
 As a citizen he is public-spirited, taking an active 
 part in local affairs, and at present he is serving as 
 a member of the school board of his town. 
 
 In 1883 Mr. Cleaveland was married, at Hol- 
 yoke, Mass., to Miss Mary E. Hunter, daughter of 
 John Hunter, a well-known citizen of that place, 
 and three children have blessed the union : Lottie 
 A., Charles F., Jr., and Carrie A. Mr. Cleaveland 
 and his estimable wife are prominent in social life, 
 and are identified . with tlie Methodist Episcopal 
 Church of \\'indsor Locks, Mr. Cleaveland being 
 a member of the official board of the Church. He 
 is an active member of Euclid Lodge, No. 109, A. 
 F. & A. M., of which he is treasurer. 
 
 GEORGE N. AHL, a young and much re- 
 spected market gardener of East Hartford Meadow, 
 Hartford county, was born in Greenfield, Mass., 
 July 30, 1862, a son of Michael and Margaret 
 (Stuckert) Ahl, natives of Germany. 
 
 Michael Ahl, son of John Ahl, was reared to 
 farming in German}-, but when a young man sailed 
 from Havre, France, for the L^nited States, landed 
 in New York, and thence went at once to Greenfield, 
 Mass., where for several years he was employed 
 in a cutlerv factory. He then purchased a farm 
 near Springfield. j\Iass., engaged in market garden- 
 ing and general farming for several years, and 
 finally came to East Hartford jMeadow, Conn., 
 purchasing a farm from Air. Buddy, on which he 
 still resides., In Massachusetts he married Mar- 
 garet Stuckert, a native of Darmstadt, Germany, 
 and to this union were born five children : John, 
 who married Flora Fish, and is farming his land 
 at Agawam, Mass. ; George N., the subject of this 
 article; Michael, who married Freda Schultz, and 
 is also farming at Agawam ; Henry H., who passed 
 four years in Europe as a student in drawing and 
 oil painting, and is now an artist of acknowledged 
 merit, in Springfield, Mass. ; and Louise, who is 
 married to \Mlliam Michael, and living in Bristol, 
 Connecticut. 
 
 George N. Ahl, our subject, early came to East 
 Hartford JNIeadow, attended the district school, and 
 
 then the Brown school, in Hartford, after quitting 
 which he went to the Agawam (Mass.) farm. 
 There he lived until 1894, when he returned to East 
 Hartford Meadow, where his father, some years 
 previously, had purchased the home farm, on which 
 he has since lived. On April 4, 1894, ]\Ir. Ahl 
 married Miss Ophelia Grouse, a native of Agawam, 
 Mass., and a daughter of George and Augusta 
 (Voegel) Grouse, and this marriage has been 
 blessed with one daughter, Tryphena, born Nov. 
 26, 1895, a very bright and interesting child. 
 
 In politics Mr. Ahl is a Republican, but has 
 never been an office seeker, neither has he ever 
 been a member of any secret society ; his religious 
 associations are with the Congregational Church. 
 He is successful as a gardener, is an excellent 
 business man, and his quiet demeanor and pleasant 
 manners have won him the respect of all who know 
 him. 
 
 JOHN WARNER, a leading farmer and hon- 
 ored citizen of Wethersfield, was born in that town 
 Sept. I, 1835, a son of Levi and Sallie (Larkin) 
 Warner. 
 
 Our subject attended the district schools of his 
 native town and also the ^^"ethersfield Academy, 
 receiving a good English education, which has been 
 of much practical benefit to him in later years. In 
 early life he also became familiar with all the 
 duties which fall to the lot of the agriculturist, 
 and has made farming his life occupation. His 
 home is on Broad street, and he is now especially 
 interested in stock raising and tobacco culture, in 
 connection with general farming. L'pright and hon- 
 orable in all his dealings, he is well liked and highly 
 respected, and has many warm friends throughout 
 the county. Religiously he is a member of the 
 Episcopal Church of Wethersfield, and politically 
 is identified with the Democratic party. 
 
 On March 23, 1864, Mr. Warner married IMiss 
 Cornelia S. Dix, who was born Dec. 14, 1838, a 
 daughter of William and Lucy (Barrett) Dix. 
 She died Feb. 16, 1869, and was buried in Weth- 
 ersfield. There were two children by that union : 
 Ralph Dix, born May 9, 1865, died Dec. 10, 1891 ; 
 and John, born Aug. 12, 1867, died April 20, 1868, 
 Mr. Warner was again married, Nov. 26, 1872, 
 his second union being with Miss Catherine E. 
 Bulkley, also a native of Wethersfield, and a daugh- 
 ter of Frederick and Nancy B. (Riley) Bulkley, 
 whose ancestors were early settlers of that town. 
 Capt. John Riley, the maternal grandfather of 
 Mrs. Warner, was married in Rocky Hill, and he 
 and his wife had the following children; Nancy 
 B., born July 16, 1792, was married Oct. 6, 1814, 
 to Frederick Bulkley, and died Dec. 24, 1857; 
 Lucy, born Dec. 29, 1796, died July 6, 1824; Seth, 
 born Oct. 4, 1797, died in New York in September, 
 1850; Horace, born Sept. 29, 1798, was married 
 May 14, 1835, to Grace Hudson See, and died 
 May 12, 1842; John, born in 1800, was married 
 
 Lj 
 
1328 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 April 2, 1823, lo Eliza S. Larkins, and tiled Xov. 
 18, 1845; Lydia, born Ma\- 10, 1804, was married 
 Jan. 31, 1837, to Richard Sniitli, and died Xov. 
 14, 1877; ^laria, born Jan. 27, 1806, was married 
 in Detroit, Mich., to Joseph i'elers, and died July 
 5, 1841 ; Louise, born Aug. i, 1808, died unmarried 
 Nov. 9, 1882; and James, born Sept. 2, 1810; was 
 married in May, 1834, to Charlotte A. Derrie. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Warner were born three ciiil- 
 dren : Kate iUilkley, born Oct. 11, 1873, ^^''^s mar- 
 ried Oct. 12, 1891. to Jomes X. Hale, and died Aug. 
 23, 1893. Gertrude Edwards and Grace Chctwood, 
 twins, were born Dec. 7, 1875, and the latter died 
 Oct. 19, 1890. The former is a graduate of the 
 Wethersfiekl higli school. Mrs. Warner and her 
 daughter are ladies of culture and retinement, and 
 are (juite prominent socially in the coiunuinity where 
 they reside. They hold membersliip with our sub- 
 ject in the \\'etherslield Cirange, and Mrs. Warner 
 is an earnest member of the Congregational Church. 
 
 JOHX CHRISTLVX XIELSON. Scarcely 
 more than ten years ago the subject of this sketch, 
 a native of Denmark, who had just served his time 
 in the army of his fatherland, landed in New York 
 with $20 in his pocket, his entire fortune. A 
 stranger in a strang'e land, with no trade, and only 
 some knowledge of Danish farming, his best and 
 only capital was the determination within him to 
 grow in prosperity as an American citizen. He 
 is yet a young man, but is succeeding beyond ex- 
 pectation. 
 
 Mr. Nielson was born in Denmark Jan. 14, 
 1865, son of Christian and Annie (Peterson) 
 Sieerskil. His father, born in 1833, was a life- 
 long farmer of Denmark, prosperous and indus- 
 trious. John Christian received a good common- 
 school education in his native laiid, and remained 
 on his father's farm until he arrived at the age of 
 twenty. He then entered the army, to serve the 
 prescribed term, and afterward w^orked two years 
 as a farm hand for Yans Larson, receiving $65 per 
 annum, besides board and clothes. Determining 
 to come to America, the young inan sailed May 15, 
 1889, on the steamer "Iceland," from Copenhagen. 
 He arrived at X"ew Y'ork Jime i, and the next 
 morning expended a portion of his $20 capital 
 in the purchase of a ticket for passage by boat 
 to Hartford. After visiting a cousin there, Peter 
 Peterson, for about a week, our subject found em- 
 ployment on a farm in Simsbury owned by a ^Ir. 
 McRoy, a blacksmith. He remained there three 
 months, and then for six months worked for the 
 Belting Co. Subsequently, for two years, Mr. Niel- 
 son worked as a farmer in Unionville. 
 
 Ambitious to become his own employer,- Mr. 
 Nielson in 1892 rented a farm of Henry C. Rice, 
 in Farmington, and operated it successfully for 
 six years. They were years of the closest applica- 
 tion to the duties of the farm, and by the energy 
 and intelligence which he placed into the work the 
 
 lease proved quite profitable to our subject. From 
 a farm hand to tenant was one step, from tenant 
 lo land owner was another, and the latter step 
 j\lr. Xielson took in 1898, by the purchase, on Feb. 
 27, of a farm of eighty-live acres in Newington. 
 Uesides operating his land, raising large quantities 
 of corn, potatoes, etc., for he is a man of unusual 
 energy and industry, Mr. Nielson conducts a large 
 milk business in New Uritain. His farming has 
 already proved highly profitable, and its success is 
 due to the fact that he attcntls strictly to his busi- 
 ness, and never tires of its labors. 
 
 Mr. Xielson was married, }ilay 29, 1894, to 
 Miss Elizabeth ■Margaret Sweeney, of Hartford, 
 a native of St. Thomas, Canada. To our subject 
 and wife two children have been born : Jessie Rice 
 and Annie Marie. Mr. Xielson has become an 
 earnest and entiuisiastic American citizen. He en- 
 dorses the principles of the Democratic party, but 
 in the choice of local officials votes for the man he 
 thinks best fitted for the place. By his busmess 
 ability and industry our subject is rapidly making 
 his presence felt in the community in which he 
 lives, and is regarded as one of its best type of 
 citizens. 
 
 WILLIAM C. UPSON is a wide-awake and 
 enterprising business man of Southington, a mem- 
 ber of the firm of Upson Brothers, the leading 
 grocers of the place. He was born in that town 
 June 9, 1859, a son of Capt. Andrew and Elizabeth 
 L. (Gridleyj Upson, of whose ancestry a full ac- 
 count is given in connection with the sketch of 
 Frank R. Upson, on another page of this volume. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the Lewis Academy, 
 and in 1876 began his business career as clerk in 
 a grocery store, being thus employed until June, 
 1883, when he formed a partnership with his 
 brother Frank R., and has since engaged in the 
 grocery trade on his own account, with most grati- 
 fying results. On i\Iay 24, 1882, he was united 
 in marriage with Miss Fannie E. Sutliff, a daugh- 
 ter of Lucas and Harriet E. (Langdon) Sutlifif, 
 of Southington, and to them have been born two 
 children : Clifford Andrew and Kenneth Sutliff. 
 
 Air. Upson has been a member of the South- 
 ington fire department since its organization, first 
 as private of Hook and Ladder Company No. i ; 
 as first assistant foreman six years ; as foreman ; 
 and in January, 1898, was appointed chief engineer 
 of the Department. He is quite popular in social 
 circles, and is a member of Eureka Lodge, No. 75, 
 I. O. O. F. ; Wonx Tribe, No. 28, I. O. R. M., in 
 which order he holds one of the State offices ; and 
 S. S. Woodruff Camp, S. of V. Politically he is 
 identified with the Republican party. 
 
 RAYMOND S. CASE, treasurer of the Case 
 Manufacturing Company, is one of the most pro- 
 gressive, enterprising and energetic business men 
 of Unionville. Although he is still a young mail 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1329 
 
 his popularity in business circles is established on 
 a firm basis — that of his own well-tested merit. In 
 1889 A. Willard, A. Welles and C. Frank Case 
 established in Unionville the Case Manufacturing 
 Company, buying the Cowles' paper-mill, and iu 
 October, iSyS, the company was incorporated with 
 A. Willard Case as president ; C. Frank Case, vice- 
 president ; Raymond S. Case, secretary and treas- 
 urer. They do a large and profitable business as 
 manufacturers of paper. 
 
 Our subject was born in Manchester, Hart- 
 ford count}-, October 16, 1875, and is a son of A. 
 Willard Case, of that place. He attended the 
 public schools of Manchester for some time, was 
 also a student in the Hartford Public High School, 
 and began his preparation for Brown University 
 under a private tutor, but was obliged to give up 
 study on account of his eyesight. For three 3'ears 
 thereafter he held the position of general man- 
 ager in the Windham Paper Company's mill at 
 Chaplin, Conn., and in September, 1897, was made 
 manager of the mill at Unionville, with which he 
 has since been connected. He still holds that respon- 
 sible position in connection with that of secretary 
 and treasurer of the company, and under his able 
 management the mill has proved quite profitable. In 
 Somerset, Mass., Mr. Case was married, in June, 
 1898, to J\iiss Ethel Bei-nice Leonard, a daughter 
 of Henry B. Leonard, propi'ietor of the Mt. Hope 
 Iron Works. 
 
 JOSEPH P. NORTON, an enterprising and 
 successful young agriculturist of East Windsor, is 
 the manager of a fine homestead of 150 acres near 
 Broad Brook and another tract of fifty acres near 
 AVindsorville, and his able management has won 
 him an enviabe reputation. As a citizen he has 
 shown himself to be public-spirited, and his fel- 
 low townsmen, recognizing his ability, have al- 
 ready called him to an official position, as select- 
 man, seldom given to one of his age. 
 
 Mr. Norton was barn Aug. 11, 1870, on the 
 homestead, son of Peter and Bridget (Concannon) 
 Norton, who had a family of six children, three 
 sons and three daughters. Our subject was feared 
 to farm work, and his education was begun in- 
 the schools of Broad Brook, but he also attended a 
 night school in Hartford for some time. Like many 
 farmers' sons he thought country life uncongenial, 
 and at the age of nineteen he began the study of 
 telegraphy, in which he became so proficient that 
 when only twenty years old he was appointed agent 
 and operator at South Windsor. This position he held 
 four years, but in the meantime the wholesome life 
 of a farmer assumed a more attractive aspect in 
 his mind, and on giving up telegraphy he returned 
 to the old homestead, where he has since been en- 
 gaged iji general farming and tobacco culture. 
 From his youth he has been an ardent Democrat, 
 and in 1897 he was the candidate of that party for 
 the office of third selectman, to which he was duly 
 
 84 
 
 elected in company with George A. Ellis and H. W. 
 Talcott. 
 
 In 1897 Mr. Norton was married to Miss Au- 
 gusta Krah, and one child, Margaret, has blessed 
 the union. In religious faith he is a Catholic, and 
 he and his estimable wife are active members of the 
 church at Broad Brook. 
 
 NELSON STAPLES, the leading merchant of 
 East Glastonbury, is a veteran of the Civil war and 
 has made an enviable record for good citizenship. 
 
 Mr. Staples was born in East Glastonbury Jan. 
 4, 1840, son of Shubael Staples, and grandson of 
 Septius Staples, a native of New York who settled 
 in Hebron, Conn, and was employed there at vari- 
 ous occupations during the later j'cars of his life. 
 Shubael Staples, our subject's father, was born in 
 Hebron and was one of a large family of children. 
 As a young man he engaged in any work that would 
 bring an honest dollar and for many years he was 
 employed in Spark's (now Crosby's) mill at East 
 Glastonbury, where he died. He married Miss 
 Fannie Valentine, a native of that town, who sur- 
 vived him. They had two children : Nelson, and 
 Elizabeth J., wife of Dewitt C. House, of East 
 Glastonbury, a local preacher of the M. E. Church, 
 who is employed in Crosby's mill. 
 
 At the time of our subject's birth the family 
 occupied the place where Henry Lingler resides, 
 but the old house has since been torn down. He 
 attended the district schools and a select school 
 which was conducted in the basement of the Meth- 
 odist church, and at eighteen years of age began 
 to earn his own livelihood in the factory of the 
 Curtisville Manufacturing Co., at Naubuc, then 
 Curtisville. He worked by the piece, and, being- 
 industrious, managed to make fair wages. After 
 one year he went to Cobalt, Middlesex Co., Conn.,, 
 to work in a factory owned by Bailey & Brannon, 
 remaining six months. He then went to Hart- 
 ford and was employed for a short time by Rogers 
 & Co., in their silver plating establishment, and 
 later he was employed in the finishing department 
 of the Crosby Manufacturing Co., at East Glaston- 
 bury. While there he responded to his country's- 
 call for defenders, enlisting, in 1862, in Company 
 G, 25th Conn. V. I., under the late Capt. Chas. 
 Talcott. He served in the Louisiana Campaign un- 
 der Gen. Banks, and although the regiment was or- 
 ganized for nine months service they were kept 
 out over a year, our subject being absent from his 
 command only one day. They were mustered out 
 in Hartford, in 1863, and Mr. Staples returned to 
 his place in the mill, where he worked continu- 
 ously until September, 1894. He became an expert 
 finisher and after leaving that place he worked in 
 factories in Mystic and New Britain for a couple 
 of years, but finally returned to East Glastonbury 
 to engage in business on his own account. He 
 built his present building and opened a general 
 store, the largest in the place, and his increasing 
 
1380 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 trade is an evidence of his promptness, thorough- 
 ness and honesty. 
 
 On Nov. 23, 1864, Mr. Staples was married to 
 Miss Katherine J. Andrews, who was born Dec. 
 21, 184-I., in South Glastonbury, daughter of Albert 
 and Alvira (Dickinson) Andrews. Her father is 
 a joiner and farmer of East Glastonbury, and a 
 highly-esteemed citizen. Four children were born 
 of this union : ( i ) Edith J. married Raymond 
 Russell, a salesman in Hartford, and they have one 
 daughter; (2) Everett M. married Florence An- 
 drews, and resides in New Britain, where he is em- 
 ployed as a brick layer; (3) Frank \V. married Alice 
 Judd, a native of New Britain, and resides at the 
 laomestead, assisting his father in the work of the 
 farm and store. (4) Miss INIyrtis Belle is at home. 
 
 ^Ir. Staples is a Republican in politics, and 
 has held the otlfice of justice of the peace. He is a 
 member of Stanley Post G. A. R., of New Britain, 
 and he and his wife are prominent members of the 
 M. E. Church of East Glastonbury, of which he is 
 now steward. 
 
 HENRY FRICKE, an honest, hard-working 
 German farmer of East Hartford Meadow, Hartford 
 county, was born in Prussia, Germany, March 10. 
 1835, and was a young man not yet of age when his 
 father, also named Henry, who was a mason by 
 trade, was called away by death, leaving some prop- 
 erty to his widow and four sons. 
 
 Flenry Fricke, the subject of this sketch, re- 
 ceived a common-school education in his native 
 kingdom. Soon after the death of his father he 
 sailed, in company with his mother and three broth- 
 ers, Frank, Augustus and Charles, on board the 
 ship "Wayland," from Bremen for New York ; after 
 a voyage of forty-nine days they arrived at their 
 destination, in the fall of 1854. From New York 
 the family came at once by steamboat to Hartford, 
 Conn., and rented a dwelling. Our subject, being 
 the eldest son, immediately sought and found work, 
 having learned the trade of mason under his fa- 
 ther, and was thus the main support of the family 
 as long as they lived together, which they did until 
 his marriage, the younger brothers in the meantime 
 having found employment at various occupations, 
 and by degrees became something more than self- 
 supporting. 
 
 Henry Fricke married, at Hartford, JNIiss ]\lary 
 Stein, a native of Switzerland, who was but four 
 years of age when brought to the United States by 
 her parents. After marriage Air. Fricke continued 
 his residence in Hartford until failing health obliged 
 him to abandon the mason's trade, and he resorted 
 to the collecting of paper stock and also dealt in 
 tinware, a line of business he has since followed. 
 Since coming to East Hartford Meadow he has. in 
 addition to his paper stock business, buying, etc., 
 carried on fanning, owning a seventy-four-acre 
 tract of fine land. 
 
 In religion Mr. and ]\Irs. Fricke are Protest- 
 
 ants, in which faith they are rearing the seyen chil- 
 dren who have blessed their union: Edwin, Albert, 
 Everett, Lillian, Robert, Oscar and Florence. In 
 politics Mr. Fricke was once a Democrat, but is now 
 a stanch Republican, and fraternally he is a mem- 
 ber of Beethoven Lodge, I. O. O. F., and of the 
 Germania Association, both of Hartford. Mr. 
 Fricke is still a well-preserved man, although he has 
 done a great deal of hard work, and his life in 
 America has ])een so upright and industrious as to 
 win for him the warm esteem of all who know 
 him. 
 
 CHARLES FRICKE, a highly-respected farm- 
 er, live stock and poultry raiser, and tobacco grow- 
 er, of East Hartford, was born in Saxony, Prussia, 
 Feb. 3, i8-|0, the youngest of the four children 
 horn to Heiu'v Fricke. of whose familv more may 
 be found in the sketch of Henry Fricke, above. 
 
 Charles Fricke attended school in his native 
 land until fourteen years of age, as the law requires, 
 and was fourteen years old when he arrived in the 
 Uniteti States, on the ship "Wayland," in com- 
 pany with his mother and three brothers. On ar- 
 riving in Hartford the family took up their resi- 
 dence on Front street, and in that city young 
 Charles worked at various callings — at harness- 
 making, in a restaurant, and in a bakery, and for 
 awhile for Smith, Bowen & Co., at Hartford, until 
 his mother bought the present farm in East Hart- 
 ford from Adam Boardman, and built sheds, barns, 
 etc.; on this place she passed the remainder of her 
 life. Here Mr. Fricke grows about three acres of 
 tobacco annually, besides carrying on general farm- 
 ing operations, as indicated at the opening of this 
 brief article. He is very industrious and thrifty, 
 and is quiet and retiring in disposition. 
 
 In politics I\Ir. Fricke is a Republican, but has 
 never sought office ; in religion he is a Lutheran. 
 He is still a bachelor. 
 
 GUSTAVUS ARNURIUS, an industrious and 
 prosperous farmer of Hockanum, town of East 
 Hartford, was born in Saxony, Germany, Dec. 11, 
 1825, a son of Gottlieb and Fredericka (Sanders) 
 Arnurius. 
 
 Gottlieb Arnurius was a mason by trade. He 
 was a corporal in the German army, fought against 
 Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo, and after a 
 charge against a battery on a hill there were left 
 of his regiment but himself and one comrade ; for 
 his bravery on this and other occasions he was dec- 
 orated with an iron cross, a silver cross, and a "war 
 medal." He and his wife both died in Germany. 
 Their family were: One who died in infancy; 
 Carl, who also died young; August, who came to 
 the United States (with our subject), and was 
 drowned in the Eraser river, Colorado, wit]? seven 
 or eight others ; Gustavus, whose name opens this 
 sketch ; and Frederick, a public singer of continental 
 reputation, who died in Germanv. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1831 
 
 Gustavus Arnurius attended the public schools 
 ■of his native country, in accordance with the law, 
 T-intil fourteen years of age, and was then employed 
 in the silver mines until their humidit}- brought on 
 rheumatism, and he was obliged to quit. He then 
 went to Berlin, where he learned lock-making, and 
 later the machinist's trade, at which he worked in 
 the large shops in Borcig until March i8, 1848, 
 when, the Revohition having broken out, he re- 
 turned home, having determined to come to America. 
 He started for Hamburg, via Berlin, and in the 
 latter city was arrested by mistake, but was soon re- 
 leased, with profuse apologies, and sent on his v/ay. 
 From Hamburg he sailed for Liverpool, England, 
 there embarked on the sailing vessel "Jamestown," 
 and after a voyage of seven weeks, during which a 
 mutiny took place, landed in New York City, July 
 4, 1850. Unable to find employment, and being 
 without money (as he had been robbed soon after 
 his arrival), "Not even a cent to bujr a glass of 
 ■water, if it would have cost that much," he found 
 liis way to Hartford, where he was engaged first 
 .at $1 per day for a month, then at $1.25, and then, 
 iDeing an expert machinist, at much better wages, 
 ;so that, at the close of a year, he had saved $600. 
 His board and lodging cost him from $8 to $9 per 
 iponth, and his washing and mending he did him- 
 self. He was thus enabled, in 1851, to send to Ger- 
 many for his sweetheart in Berlin, Francisca Schultz, 
 who was born in that city May 13, 1831, and who 
 sailed from Hamburg for America as soon as pi^ac- 
 ticable ; she was seven weeks on the voyage, came to 
 Fast Hartford, and their wedding took place July 
 13. 1851. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Arnurius started housekeeping in 
 Hartford, lived there a year, and then settled in 
 Fast Hartford, where he purchased twelve acres 
 •of his present farm, to which further allusion will 
 lie made. He left Colt's machine shop at Hartford 
 in 1861, and was employed in the armory at Spring- 
 field, Mass., where he earned from $90 to $100 jicr 
 month, and, as no w»rk was too fine for him, he was 
 retained for three years ; he then returned to Hart- 
 ford, where he was again sought for, and was eni- 
 "ployed in Colt's Armory two years longer, when 
 lie bought the farm where he has resided ever since. 
 His original tract of twelve acres Mr. Arnurius in- 
 creased to nineteen, but has since sold a part of it. 
 His first habitation here was in a somewhat dilapi- 
 dated condition, as the snow and rain beat through 
 the roof, but in 1859 he erected a substantial and 
 liandsome dwelling, which he still occupies. 
 
 Seven children have been born to Mr. and ]Mrs. 
 Arnurius, as follows : Anna died in young woman- 
 hood ; Fmma also died young ; Oscar, a skilled me- 
 ■chanic, was for a time superintendent of the Eddy 
 Machine Co.'s Electric works in Windsor, but is now 
 emploved in Hartford ; Armand died young ; Bertha 
 was married to Howard Cox, and became the mother 
 •of one child, Frances Myrtle, who is now living with 
 IMr. Arnurius, the mother having passed away ; 
 
 Osmond died in infancy ; and Hattie is living witli- 
 her parents. Mr. Arnurius and his family attend 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in politics Mr. 
 Arnurius is a Republican in his predilections, being 
 neutral, however, in local matters. Fraternally he 
 is a member of Orient Lodge, No. 62, F. & A. M., 
 and of the L O. R. M. lodge at Hartford. 
 
 Mr. Arnurius is a good, earnest citizen, has 
 reared his family in respectability, and has all his 
 life been temperate, industrious and frugal, and the 
 fact that he has made himself what he is to-day, 
 notwithstanding the fact that he began life in Amer- 
 ica without one cent, well entitles him to the high 
 regard and unfeigned esteem in which he is every- 
 where held. 
 
 JOHN SHIELDS, a greatly respected and pros- 
 perous farmer, stock raiser and tobacco grower of 
 East Weatogue, town of Simsbury, Hartford coun- 
 ty, was born in County Down, Ireland, the only son 
 in a family of four children born to Adam and 
 Martha (Jameson) Shields, natives of the same 
 county, and members of the Presbyterian Church. 
 The father was an industrious farmer, in moderate 
 circumstances. 
 
 John Shields, our subject, received but a limited 
 education in the common schools of his native coun- 
 t}-, as, being the only son, he was needed at home 
 to aid his father, and he also assisted on the farms 
 of the neighbors, thereby contributing to the support 
 of the family, with, which he remained until 1869, 
 having in the meantime married, an event to which 
 allusion will be made further on. In the year men- 
 tioned Mr. Shields felt it incumbent upon himself 
 to better his condition, so far as this world's good 
 are concerned, and with this object in view he 
 sailed from Liverpool with his wife and child, on 
 the steamer "Virginia," and in due course of time 
 landed safely in New York, from that city coming 
 to Bloomfield, Hartford Co., Conn. Here he found 
 employment as a farm laborer, and worked for one 
 man seven years, at $400 per year, leaving in the 
 hands of his employer, during this period, $980, 
 for which he took a note, having full confidence in 
 his employer's honor. No doubt this confidence 
 was not misplaced, but still it was disastrous, as 
 the gentleman died, and when the estate was settled 
 i\Ir. Shields was compelled to accept one-third of 
 his claim, thus losing over $600 of his hard-earned 
 money. From Bloomfield Mr. Shields removed to 
 West Hartford, where he secured the superintend- 
 encv of Charles Pond's farm, which position he 
 held thirteen years. By strict economy he accumu- 
 lated sufficient means to buy k fifty-five-acre farm at 
 Fast Weatogue, Simsbury town (on which he set- 
 tled in 1889), formerly belonging to George Phelps. 
 Here Mr. Shields engaged in tobacco growing, 
 dairying and general farming, and a few years later 
 bought eighty acres from Hon. J. O. Phelps, ad- 
 joining his first purchase, and with his sons is now 
 cultivating the entire tract of 135 acres, on which 
 
1332 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he has erected a fine tobacco shed and made many 
 other improvements. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Shields to Agnes Ritchie 
 took place in the town of Killinchv, County Down. 
 She was born in the same county, a daughter of 
 James and Ann i Hayes) Ritchie, also natives of 
 County Down. Mrs. Shields is a woman of intel- 
 ligence, and her hus])and's success through life is 
 largely attributable to her heljiing hand and econom- 
 ical habits. To this marriage have been born six 
 children: James, who was born in County Down, 
 Ireland, and was brought to America by his par- 
 ents when a child, was educated in the district 
 schools of Hartford county, Conn., and is now as- 
 sisting his father on the farm (he is married to 
 Lizzie Oliver, of Hartford): John .-\dam, .\gnes 
 Mary, William Hamilton, Samuel and Lizzie Martha 
 are all still at home. 
 
 ]n politics Mr. Sluelds and his eUlest son are 
 Republicans, and in religion, although reared in the 
 Presbyterian faith. Mr. Shields, with his family, 
 affiliates with the Congregationalists, and regularly 
 attends their house of worship. Mr. Shields is 
 noted for his hon(irable conduct and straightforward 
 methods of dealing with his fellow citizens, and is 
 of a very genial disoosition, although very quiet and 
 unassuming in manner. He has readied his pres- 
 ent position in life through his skillful manage- 
 ment, industry and strict integrity, and well de- 
 serves the high esteem in which he is held by all his 
 neighbors. 
 
 LL\T"S C(_)lv.\\\ALL, a well-known farmer 
 and cider manufacturer of lierlin, Hartford county, 
 has for many years been actively identified with the 
 business interests of that locality. Although he has 
 passed the eightieth milestone on life's journev, he 
 has the vigor of a much younger man, and in spirit 
 and interests seems yet in his prime. Old age is 
 not necessarily a synonym of weakness or inactivitv. 
 
 Mr. Cornwall was born in the W'estfield District 
 of Middletown, Conn., Jan. 30. 1820, and belongs to 
 a family which was founded in Middlesex county 
 in 1650. His ancestors were of English descent. 
 One was a sergeant in the Pequot Indian war, and 
 his great-grandfather, Lieut. Xathaniel Cornwall, 
 was an officer in the Revolution, in which conflict 
 three of his sons were killed. Our subject's grand- 
 father, who also bore the name of Xathaniel, was 
 one of the first farmers of Middlesex count}', and 
 was a large land owner. The father, David Corn- 
 wall, was born in Aliddletown in 1783, and died at 
 the comparatively early age of forty-four vears. He 
 also followed the occupation of farming, and ac- 
 quired about seventy-five acres of land. It is be- 
 lieved that if he had lived he would have become 
 quite wealthy. He married Prudence Johnson, who 
 was born in INIiddletown in 1790, a daughter of 
 Elijah Johnson, and died in 1864. 
 
 Our subject was reared on the home place, and 
 received a fair education in the public schools of 
 
 Middletown, which he atlentled during the wirUcr 
 nionths. while throughout the summer he aided in 
 the labors of the farm. At tlie age of seventeen 
 years he went to New Haven, where he clerked in 
 the grocery store of his uncle, David T. Johnson, 
 for about a year, working practically for his board 
 and clothes, as he received very little money. Re- 
 ttuMiing home, he assisted in the operation of the 
 farm fiir aliout ten years, and then again went to- 
 Xew Haven, where he worked for his tmcle at the 
 joiner's trade about a year, and later for iHliers 
 in the same line of work. Subsequently he was 
 two years in the employ of the Derby Building & 
 Lumber Co., of Derby, Conn., and then speculated 
 in cattle for about a year. .\s he was a natural 
 mechanic, he next embarked in wagon and carriage 
 building with his brother-in-law, in I'-ast ISerlin, un- 
 iler the firm name of Cornwall & Dickson, which 
 liartnership lasted about one year, and he then ]jur- 
 chased the carriage and wagon works and black- 
 smith shop of John Ciraham, deceased, on Berlin 
 street, where he carried on business until his plant 
 was destroyed by fire, in iH(i^. After renting and 
 operating a farm for a short time, he leased the 
 Amos Iiotsford property, and turned his attention 
 to the raising of tobacco. He also dealt in that 
 commodity to a considerable extent, and the venture 
 proved quite profitable. He now owns a fine farm 
 of 100 acres in Berlin, which is under excellent 
 cultivation, and in 1870 purchased a cider-mill which 
 adjoins his property, antl which he has since suc- 
 cessfully operated, manufacturing cider for others, 
 as well as using the apples from his own ten-acre 
 orchard in this way. 
 
 In September, 1852, Mr. Cornwall married iliss 
 Sarah Ellen Piatt, who was born in ^lilford. Conn., 
 in 1830, a daughter of Col. Piatt. To them were 
 born eight children : Ida May, born in 1863, a 
 widow, residing at home ; ^^'illiam Piatt, who died 
 in Los Angeles, ,Cal. ; Henry, who resides at home ; 
 Edward, who married a lady named Elton, and is 
 now connected with the Stanley Rule & Level Co., 
 in Xew Britain; Lillie Maria; David Tryon ; Linus, 
 born Dec. 12, 1864; and Lottie Elizabeth. 
 
 At Xational elections ilr. Cornwall supports the 
 Republican ticket, but in town politics usually votes 
 for the man whom he considers best Cjualified for 
 the office. He has been offered the position of se- 
 lectman, but does not care for office, preferring to- 
 devote his undivided attention to his business in- 
 terests. He is a great reader, and is well informed 
 on X'ational aft"airs and subjects of general interest. 
 Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic Fra- 
 ternity, and both he and his wife attend the Con- 
 gregational Church. 
 
 JULIUS BULKLEY. This prominent citizen 
 of Rocky Hill is a son. of Henry AV. and ]\Iartha 
 (Tucker) Bulkley, who had a family of five sons 
 and four daughters, Julius being eighth in the order 
 of birth. He was born Oct. 13, 1857, in the town 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1333 
 
 ■with whose interests he has been for many years 
 identified. His father died while he was a mere 
 youth, and at the age of sixteen he began work as 
 clerk in a store at Glastonbury. After four and 
 one-half years spent thus, the recollections of his 
 old home brought him back to Rocky Hill, where 
 he engaged in farming. Besides his line of general 
 work he is an extensive fruit grower, having a large 
 and valuable peach orchard. 
 
 I\Ir. Bulkley was married, Jan. 22, 1890, to Miss 
 Dorothy Stephens, who has borne him three chil- 
 dren — Herbert C, Julius William and Jessie D. Mr. 
 Bulkley. is a member of one of the oldest and most 
 respected families in Rocky Hill town, and has been 
 singularly successful in all that he has undertaken, 
 having brought to bear upon every enterprise both 
 native ability and tiained judgment. In politics he 
 belongs to the Republican party. 
 
 THOMAS DEXXiS, Jr., a well-known brick 
 manufacturer and enterprising business man of \\'est 
 Hartford, was born in Haverstraw, X'. Y., Sept. 5, 
 1856, a son of Thomas and Eliza (Wise) Dennis, 
 natives of England, where the father was engaged in 
 the manufacture of brick for some time. 
 
 At the age of thirtv Thomas Dennis, Sr., emi- 
 grated to the Xew World, and located in Haver- 
 straw, X. Y., but he now makes his home in Xew- 
 ington, Hartford Co., Conn., where he has been ex- 
 tensivelv engaged in the brick business for about 
 a quarter of a century. In his family are nine chil- 
 dren : William H. and James, both residents of 
 Newington ; Sarah Ann, wife of George Walker, 
 of X'ew Britain, Conn.; George, also a resident of 
 Xew Britain ; Thomas, our subject ; Annie, wife of 
 George Rollings, of Berlin, Conn. ; Joseph, of West 
 Hartford; John E., of Xewington: and Elizabeth, 
 •wife of William King, of West Hartford. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the public schools 
 of Haverstraw, X'. Y.. and X'ewington, Conn., and 
 during his youth learned the art of brick making 
 with his father at the latter place. In 1889 his fa- 
 ther and brother James came into possession of the 
 plant of the ^^'est Hartford Brick & Ice Co., and 
 Thomas, Jr., has since had charge of the same as 
 superintendent, a position he has most capably and 
 satisfactorily filled. The firm name is now Dennis 
 & Co. Our subject has been a resident of West 
 Hartford for the past ten years, and has become 
 ■widelv and favorably known in this section of the 
 countv. In Xew Britain, Conn., he married Miss 
 Eliza Orton, and they have five children : Eddie, 
 A^'alIace, ^label, Gracie and Oliver. 
 
 OLR'ER A. BECKWITH, Jr., a prominent and 
 influential citizen of Unionville, who is now living 
 practically retired from business cares and respon- 
 sibilities, was born in Bristol, Hartford Co., Conn., 
 July 28, 185 1, and is a son of Oliver A. Beckwith, 
 Sr., whose birth occurred in the town of Burling- 
 lon, Hartford county, in 1826. The grandfather, 
 
 Lot Beckwith, was a resident of Burlington in early 
 manhood, from there removed to Xewington, and 
 later took up his residence in Canton, where he died. 
 He was one of the original clock peddlers selling in 
 the South, but for many years his time and atten- 
 tion were devoted to farming and butchering in 
 Canton. He married Miss Marian Allyn, whose 
 father was a sea captain, and to them were born 
 four children : Oliver Allyn, the father of our sub- 
 ject; Marian, deceased wife of Samuel F. Stevens, 
 of Detroit, Mich., by whom she had one son, Fred- 
 erick B. ; Samuel, deceased ; and James, who died in 
 infancy. 
 
 Oliver A. Beckwith, Sr., was rea/ed and edu- 
 cated in Xewington and Canton, and was one of the 
 early commercial travelers from Boston, handling 
 gents' furnishing goods. At one time he conducted 
 the Union Trading Company's store for the Clock 
 Companies in Bristol, and later a store for the Bris- 
 tol Copper Mining Company at that place. He then 
 engaged in mercantile business on his own account 
 in Gollinsville, Conn., from i860 to 1889, and sub- 
 secpiently had charge of the book and stamp depart- 
 ment for the Banner Tobacco Company at Detroit, 
 Mich., but is now liviner retired with his son in 
 Unionville. He has taken quite a prominent part in 
 public affairs, and while a resident of Collinsville 
 served as deputy sheriff of Hartford county. He 
 was married, in Hartford, to Miss Sarah J. Thomp- 
 son, a daughter of Silas Thompson. She died in 
 Collinsville in 1894. They had three children: 
 Oliver Allyn, Jr.. our subject; Corinne B., wife of 
 Jasper H. Bidwell, of Collinsville ; and Minnie, de- 
 ceased. 
 
 During his boyhood Oliver A. Beckwith, Jr., 
 pursued his studies in the schools of Edgewood, 
 Canton and Collinsville, Conn. After reaching man- 
 hood he was engaged in general mercantile busi- 
 ness with his father for a short time, and then en- 
 tered the employ of the Michigan Stove Company, 
 of Detroit. On his return to Connecticut he worked 
 for O. D. Hunt & Co., in Winsted, for a time, and 
 later conducted a general store at Collinsville. In 
 1880 he came to Unionville, and after traveling for 
 the Standard Rule Company about a year, he built 
 the store now occupied by Adams Brothers, and 
 engaged in general mercantile business there. Sub- 
 sequently he was interested in the wall paper busi- 
 ness, selling all over the State, but he is now liv- 
 ing retired from business, enjoying the fruits of his 
 former toil 
 
 Mr, Beckwith was married, first, in Detroit, to 
 Miss Carrie O. Perry, by whom he had one son. 
 Ohver Russell, who is a graduate of the Collinsville 
 high school, and was also graduated from Cornell 
 University with the class of 1898 ; he read law with 
 T. C. Maltbie, in Hartford, and was admitted to 
 the Bar in 1899. For his second wife our subject 
 married Miss Martha E. Fuller, of Unionville, a 
 daughter of George H. Fuller, and to them has 
 also been born one son, Royce Edward. Fra- 
 
1334 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE' BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ternally Mr. Beckwith is a member of the Order of 
 United American Mechanics. He has traveled ex- 
 tensively throughout Europe and over the greater 
 part of the United States, and has acquired the 
 knowledge and culture which only travel can bring. 
 Travel and his social, genial nature have made him 
 an enterprising companion, and he is a stanch and 
 loyal friend, fond of good fellowship, and devoted 
 to those who have liis confidence. 
 
 HEXRY H.VLSEV, a representative and prom- 
 inent agriculturist of the town of Windsor, was 
 born Sept. lo, 1842, on the farm where he now re- 
 sides, and is the only male representative of his 
 generation of the family now living. 
 
 Mr. Halsey traces his ancestry back to Philip 
 Halsey, who was born at Southampton, Long Island. 
 N. Y.. in 1760. a son of Zehidon and Sarah ( Sayre I 
 Halsey. He was a tanner and shoemaker by trade, 
 and was one of the men wdio fought so bravely for 
 the independence of the Colonies during the Revo- 
 lutionary war. When independence was declared 
 his regiment was on the retreat from Xew York, 
 and, passing through Westchester countv, X. "S'.. 
 were discharged at White Plains. He started for 
 home, but hearing that a company of British dra- 
 goons were in the vicinity of his father's house 
 he and his comrades crossed the island to Oyster 
 Point, then by boat crossed the Sound, and entered 
 the Connecticut river. He made his wav to ^\'ind- 
 sor, where he afterward married Esther Moore, a 
 daughter of Elisha Moore, and to them came three 
 sons: Phdip, born July 6. 1783: Henry, our sub- 
 ject's grandfather, born Oct. 17, 1784: and James 
 L., born Sept. 2, 1787. The father of these died 
 in 1846. 
 
 Henry Halsey was a sea captain and in com- 
 fortable circumstances. He was three times mar- 
 ried, first to Abigail AUvn. second daughter of Col. 
 Job AUyn, and a sister of Timothv Allyn, who at 
 one time was proprietor of the "Allyn House" in 
 Hartford. The only child born of this union was 
 Henry A., father of our subject. For his second 
 wife Air. Halsey married Laura, a daughter of Dr. 
 Christopher Wolcott, and the widow of Capt. Ells- 
 worth Mather. By this marriage there were two 
 daughters : Marv Richards and Charlotte L. His 
 third wife was Eunice Talcott. The grandfather 
 died in \Mndsor. 
 
 Henry A. Halsey, father of our subject, was 
 born at the foot of Stony Hill, in early life fol- 
 lowed shoemaking and tanning near liis home, and 
 in later years engaged exclusively in farming. He 
 received a fair education for his 'day, was a man 
 of sound common sense and good judgment, well 
 posted, and his opinions carried weight on almost 
 anv subject. He was one of the most prominent 
 and popular men of his town, and most creditably 
 filled the office of selectman for some time. In 
 politics he was a Democrat. Physically he \veighed 
 about 130 pounds, and was rather thin. He mar- 
 
 ried Miss Fanny Maria Ellsworth, a daughter of 
 Giles Ellsworth, and the c'.-.ildren born of this union 
 were as follows : Abigail, wife of F. D. Hughes^ 
 of Larimore, X. Dak.; Fanny, who died unmarried 
 at the a,ge of thirty vears ; Henry, our subject;. 
 Eunice, wife of Frederick tlalsey, of St. Joseph. 
 Aio. ; and Ellen, who died unmarried at the age o£ 
 twenty-six. 
 
 During his boyhood and youth Henry Halsey 
 pursued his studies in the Stony Hill district school, 
 Windsor Academy, and also Deacon Woodford's 
 private school for a few winters. He was reared 
 in much the usual manner of farmer boys, and re- 
 mained at home until he entered the service of his- 
 country during the dark days of the R,ibellion, en- 
 listing in October, 1861, for nine months, in Com- 
 jjany A, 22d Conn. \'. J. While at Yorktown, \'a.„ 
 he was off duty for a short time on account o£ 
 sickness, but with that exception was in active serv- 
 ice with his regiment until honorably discharged, 
 July 7, 1862. On his return home he worked for 
 his father for a time, and in 1868 went to Long 
 Branch, Xeb., where his brother-in-law, Frederick 
 Halsey. had located the year previous, and there 
 he was enga.ged in farm work for four years. On 
 his return to Connecticut, in 1872, he commenced 
 farming on his own account upon rented land, and 
 has since given special attention to the raising o£ 
 tobacco, which has proved a profitable source of 
 income to him. He has always resided upon the 
 old homestead, but the house which his grandfather 
 erected thereon was destroyed by fire April 8, 1890, 
 and has since been replaced by our subject's pres- 
 ent conifortal)le liunie, which was JDuilt on the same 
 site. 
 
 On Dec. 25, 1878, Mr. Halse\- was united inr 
 marriage with Miss Tosephine C. Watrous, of Ches- 
 ter. Conn., and to them have been born two chil- 
 dren : Harry A. and Howard P., both at home. 
 Politically Mr. Halsey is a Democrat, but at towit 
 elections votes for wdiom he considers the best man, 
 regardless of party affiliations. He is a quiet, unas- 
 suming man, upright and honorable in all the rela- 
 tions of life, and is one of the highly respected as 
 well as substantial citizens of his community. His 
 wife is a member of the Episcopal Church, and a: 
 most estimable lady. 
 
 JOHX J. O'AIELIA, foreman of the East Wind- 
 sor branch of the X'ew York, Xew Haven & Hart- 
 ford railroad, and also a prosperous tobacco grower 
 of the town of East \\'indsor, was born in County 
 Galway, Ireland, Anril 12, i8_i4, and is a son of 
 John and Emily (Burke) 0']\lelia, the latter of 
 whom is still living in Ireland at the age of sixty- 
 five years. John O'Melia, father of John J., was a 
 well-to-do farmer, and was entitled to the privilege 
 of voting — a distinction accorded onlv those pos- 
 sessed of landed property. His wife's parents, John 
 and Emily Frances (Blake) Burke, were also prop- 
 erty owners and in good circumstances. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1835 
 
 John J. O'Melia, the eldest of a family of six 
 sons and five daughters, was educated in the pa- 
 rochial schools of his native county, and worked at 
 farming and road contracting in Ireland until twen- 
 ty-seven years of age, when, having saved from his 
 wages sufficient money to pay for his passage, he 
 embarked Feb. 21, 1881, at Queenstown. on board 
 the steamer "City of Richmond." and after a not 
 unpleasant voyage of eleven days landed in New 
 York City, whence he came to Connecticut, and for 
 seventeen months worked at farming for his uncle, 
 Henry Burke, near Rockville. Tolland county, at $8 
 per month and board. He then went to work as a 
 section hand on the section of the New York & New 
 England railroad between }vIelrose and Rockville, 
 and eleven months later was promoted to be fore- 
 man oh the section between East Long Meadow 
 and Springfield, Mass., being two months later 
 transferred to the Melrose section on the Spring- 
 field division, on which he was employed until 1S98. 
 when he came to the East \\'indsor (Conn.) section. 
 
 On Feb. 13, 1897, [Mr. O'Melia purchased the 
 Chapin farm of 130 acres of very desirable land, 
 one mile south of Broad Brook, Hartford county, 
 and here engaged in tobacco growing, hiring help 
 to do the labor, but overseeing the work himself: 
 he still retains his position as a railroad employe, 
 however, in which capacity he punctually performs 
 his duties. 
 
 Mr. O'Melia was united in marriage with Aliss 
 Mary E. Norton, a native of Broad Brook, and a 
 daughter of Peter and Bridget Norton, and this 
 tmion has been blessed with two children : Mar- 
 garet Mabel and Emily Frances, who are being 
 reared in the faith of the Catholic Church, the par- 
 ents being members of St. Catherine's Congrega- 
 tion. 
 
 In politics Mr. O'^NIelia is an ardent Democrat, 
 and, although the character of his employment pre- 
 vents his taking an active part at the polls, he is 
 always to be found at the caucuses and conventions 
 of his party, in which his voice is frequently heard, 
 and in which his labors have received the warm ap- 
 probation of the party leaders. Mr. O'Melia is a 
 thorough railroad man, is honest and industrious, 
 and by these qualities has raised himself from the 
 condition of a poor young man, with a capital of 
 only one sovereign when he arrived in the United 
 States, to. the position of atiluence, as well as in- 
 fluence, which he now enjoys. 
 
 ISAAC WHITE KING, a substantial citizen 
 and prosperous farmer of South Windsor, has de- 
 scended from ancestors on both sides who were 
 early emigrants to New England and of its best 
 citizens. 
 
 Mr. King is a descendant in the eighth gen- 
 eration from Capt. John King, of Northampton, 
 Mass., the line of his descent being through Thomas, 
 Thomas (2), Zebulon, Alexander, Roderick and 
 John Newberry King. 
 
 (I) Capt. John King, the emigrant ancestor, 
 was born in 1629 in Northampton, England. At 
 the early age of sixteen, in 1645, he came to Amer- 
 ica, locating in Northampton, Mass. In 1656 he 
 married Sarah, daughter of Deacon William Hor- 
 ton, theirs being the second marriage celebrated 
 in the town. The town granted him a homestead 
 on King street. At his suggestion, or in honor of 
 him, it is thought, the town took its name. He was 
 a tanner by trade, an estimable member of the 
 Church and community, often serving as select- 
 man. His wife died in 1683, and he was married 
 again, this time to Sarah, widow of Jacob Mygatt, 
 and daughter of William Whitney. Capt. King 
 died in 1703, and his second vi^ife passed awav in 
 
 1705- 
 
 (II) Thomas King, son of Capt. John King, 
 the emigrant, born in 1662, married for bis third 
 wife a lady who died in 171 1, the year in which he 
 himself died. 
 
 (III) Thomas King (2), son of Thomas King. 
 (R') Zebulon King, son of Thomas King, born 
 
 in 1717, married, in 1743, Keziah Loomis. She 
 died in 1782, and he in 1793. He located in what 
 is now South Windsor, Connecticut. 
 
 (V) Alexander King, son of Zebulon King, born 
 in 1749, married, in 1781, Abigail Olcott. She died 
 in 1837, and he in 1831. 
 
 (VI) Roderick King, son of Alexander King, 
 born April 20, 1790, married, Dec. 26, 1813, Sally, 
 daughter of John Newberry, who was born June 
 27' 1793- Both died in 1866, and were buried in 
 one grave, he passing away January 17, and she 
 January 20. 
 
 (VII) Flon. John Newberry King, son of Rod- 
 erick King, and the father of Isaac White King, 
 was born March 24, 1822. He married, Dec. 25, 
 1848, Julia Ann, daughter of Isaac and Adocia 
 (White) Keeney, and a direct descendant of Peri- 
 grene White, who, it is said, was the first white 
 child born after the landing" of the Pilgrim Fathers. 
 Mr. King was one of the first to introduce tobacco 
 growing in the town of South Windsor ; was among 
 the first to build tobacco sheds, and to engage ex- 
 tensively in the cultivation of that plant. He was 
 one of the substantial men of his period, a man of 
 good ability, excellent judgment and an all-round 
 good and useful citizen. He was a farmer all 
 throtigh his active, busy life, which was lived in a 
 manner worthy of his New England ancestry, and 
 which is to the credit of his posteritv. For many 
 years he was active and prominent in the councils 
 of the Democratic party of his section. He served 
 that party on its central committee and in 1879 rep- 
 resented his town in the General Assembly of the 
 State. He was prominently identified with the Ma- 
 sonic Fraternity, and was the principal mover in 
 organizing Evergreen Lodge, No. 114, F. & A. M., 
 of which he was a charter member, and for a num- 
 ber of 3'ears its worshipful master. He was suc- 
 cessful in the management of his business interests. 
 
133G 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and accumulated a competence, holding consider- 
 able property mostly in his town, also in East Hart- 
 ford. Mr. King died in 1895, aged seventy-three 
 years. The children born to John X. antl Julia A. 
 (Keeney) King were: Isaac White, born Dec. 10, 
 1849; Wilbur J., born June 5, 1862, died in Octo- 
 ber, 1897; Julia Emily, born Xov. 2. 1855. married 
 Frederick Hill, of South Windsor. Conn. ; Louise, 
 born June 6, 1858, is at home ; and Louis, a twin 
 of Louise, died in infancy. 
 
 Isaac White King, son of John Xewberry King, 
 was born Dec. 10. 1849, on what is now the E. IJ. 
 Kil>ley farm in South Windsor. Conn. He received 
 his elementary education in the public schools of 
 liis native town, and then attended the Connecticut 
 Literary Institute, Sufficld. His main occupation 
 through life has been that of an agriculturist, though 
 for several years in tlie early 'nineties he traveled for 
 a Xew York house, and for a time was in the serv- 
 ice of the Erie Railroad Co. in his boyhood and 
 early manhood the growing of tobacco in South 
 ^^'indsor was new to this section, and from its start 
 he has from long experience become quite pro- 
 ficient in a knowledge of that branch of his vocation. 
 In other words he understands tobacco growing 
 most thoroughly, and is a thorough, all-round farm- 
 er. He has a farm of some 150 acres, which is a 
 portion of the old home place owned by his father. 
 The improvements which he has himself made are 
 good, and the neat appearance of the surroundings 
 give evidence of the taste and care of tlie occu])ant. 
 JMr. King is a man of broad and lil)eral views which 
 reading and an acquaintance with the outside world 
 give one, and he is one of the foremost farmers 
 of his section. He is prominent in both Masonic 
 and Odd Fellow circles ; is a member of Pythagoras 
 Chapter, Xo. 17, R. A. 'Si., of Hartford ;' was for- 
 merly a member of Evergreen Lodge, Xo. 114, F. 
 & A. M., of South Windsor; is also at this time a 
 member of Wolcott Council, and Washington Com- 
 mandery, X'^o. i, K. T., of Hartford, and of Con- 
 necticut Consistory, thirty-second degree. He is also 
 . a member of Crescent Lodge. Xo. 25. I. O. O. F.. 
 of East Hartford. 
 
 On Sept. 7, 1S75. ^i''- King was married to 
 Miss Emily L. Doten, who died Sept. 6, 1876; and 
 on Dec. 28, 1880, he was married to Ida L., daugh- 
 ter of Henry J. and Flavilla (Goodrich) Abbey. 
 She was born in Bingham. ^Maine. To this mar- 
 riage have come two children : Clinton Thomas 
 and Mctor Linwood. 
 
 CHARLES jMORRIS WOOSTER. M. D., of 
 Tariffville, town of Simsbury, is one of the most 
 successful practitioners of medicine in Hartford 
 county. He is a native of Bridgewater, Litchfield 
 county, born Jan. 13. 1857, a son of Peter and 
 Caroline (Morris) Wooster, the former a son of 
 John Wooster, and the latter a daughter of Ros- 
 well and Laura (Canfield) Morris. Several fa- 
 
 mous plu'sicians descended from the Canfield 
 familx'. 
 
 Sergt. Edward Wooster. the emigrant ancestor 
 of Di". Wooster. of Tariffville. born in 1622, in 
 England, was among the first settlers at Milford, 
 Conn., about 1642. A General Court record, dated 
 Oct. 24, 1651, granted him a piece of land free 
 from taxation, provided he start the cultivation of 
 hops. Of his first wife nothing seems to be def- 
 initely known, but history relates that he was con- 
 nected with the family of Francis French, possibly 
 bv marriage. His first wife dying, he in 1669 mar- 
 rieil Tabitha, daughter of Henry Tomlinson, of 
 Stratford, Conn. Twelve of his children are re- 
 corded as sharing in the distribution of his estate 
 in 1694. Sergt. Wooster and three other families 
 were the first settlers in Derby, Conn, (afterward 
 Okl Town), in i')54. For twenty years he was the 
 leading man of the ])lantation. Sergt. Wooster, in 
 locating at Derby, probably had in view the rais- 
 ing of hoi)s on the meadow lands l)elow Ansonia, 
 which were well adapted for that purpose ; and it 
 was in pursuit of this object that he dug a trench 
 from where the lower Ansonia bridge was down to 
 the Meadow, where the bed of the Xaugatuck now 
 is, to irrigate that part of the meadow or low land, 
 and by this race the river course became changed 
 in a])out fifty years. Here in the deep wilderness 
 Sergt. Wooster lived with his family and three 
 neighbors some dozen years, trusting the Indians 
 to a marvelous degree, little dreaming that his 
 grandson and his familv would be celebrated in 
 greatness the world over, and that his own name 
 thereby would go down in sublime honor to the 
 end of the greatest republic ever established. His 
 death occurred in 1689. 
 
 Timothy Wooster, son of Sergt. Edward, born 
 in 1670, married, in 1699, Anna Perry. 
 
 Timothv Wooster (2), son of Timothy, born 
 in 1699. married (first), in 1727, Abigail Harger, 
 who died in 1736. and (second), in 1737, wedded 
 Sarah Bowers, who died in 1749. 
 
 The grandson of Edward Wooster, the emi- 
 grant, referred to in the foregoing, was the dis- 
 tinguished Gen. David W^ooster, of Revolutionary 
 fame, and who had previously been of great serv- 
 ice to his country in the earlier wars, bearing 
 a distinguished part in the expedition against Louis- 
 burg in 1745. The General, himself a graduate of 
 ^'ale College, married a daughter of Thomas Clapp, 
 president of the college. Major-Gen. Wooster fell 
 mortally wounded Ijetween Danbury and Redfield, 
 in 1777. while serving his native country. 
 
 Jabez Wooster. born in 1728, son of Timothy 
 (2), and the great-great-grandfather of Dr. Woos- 
 ter, in 1774 bought land in the town of Bridge- 
 water (then X'ew Milford). and is described in the 
 records as Lieut. Jabez Wooster. He seems to 
 have been searching for mineral lands, as he laid 
 out several tracts on Rockv ]\Iount, Falls Mount and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1387 
 
 "Wolf Pit Mount, and dug for iron, but without 
 success. He also purcliased a homestead a httk 
 east of the Housatonic river, about a mile south 
 of the so-called Great Falls, which he leased to 
 a company for 999 years, giving- it the privilege of 
 digging for minerals, of which he was to have 
 a percentage, if any were found. He built a house 
 •on this land and engaged in farming, as did two 
 generations following, and the old house, of old- 
 style architecture, with the back roof slanting al- 
 jiiost to the ground, is still standing. Jabez Woos- 
 ter had two sons, Peter and Isaac. 
 
 Peter Wooster was born in 1762, and died 
 -Sept. 12, 1798. He married Betsey Canfield Jan. 
 16, 1787, and became the father of two children, 
 John and Susannah. 
 
 John Wooster, the grandfather of Dr. Woos- 
 ter, was born March 27, 1790, and was reared on 
 h.is father's farm. When a young man he nearly 
 lost his life through a log rolling over him, mak- 
 mg an indentation in his skull, which caused pres~ 
 sure on the brain, but was successfully remedied 
 Idv the then difficult operation of removing a small 
 piece of the skull, the brain being afterward protect- 
 ed by inserting a silver shilling beneath the skin, and 
 over the spot from which the piece of skull had 
 Ijcen removed. He received a good common-school 
 education, and early began teaching among the best 
 of his time. As soon as he became of age he ap- 
 plied all his energies to the redeeming of his fa- 
 ther's farm, and to the buying of his sister's inter- 
 est therein, by farming in summer and teaching in 
 winter for many years. He married Jerusha Lock- 
 wood, daughter of David and Sarah Lockwood, 
 and became the father of four children, viz. : Mary 
 E., Peter, David and Susan. Of these, Mary E. 
 was married to Harmon Treat, and had six children, 
 Helen J., Julia A., Emily A., D. Allen, Susan C. 
 and H. Wooster. Peter, the second child of John, 
 was the father of our subject. David, the third, 
 first married Emily C. Sherman, by whom he was 
 the father of three children, Edward S., Edith E. 
 and John S. : the second wife of David was Mrs. 
 Angie Boland. 
 
 John Wooster was a Whig in politics, and was 
 once elected from the New Milford district to the 
 State Legislature. He also held many of the town 
 offices, including those of assessor, constable, justice 
 of the peace and selectman, all of which he filled 
 for years, arid was often spoken of as the "Old Se- 
 lectman." He settled up many estates in a most 
 satisfactory manner, and in his record-keeping was 
 systematic in every detail, no better accounts being 
 kept by anv of the incumbents, of the offices which 
 he held. In the prime of life he met with a sec- 
 ond accident, which incapacitated him for hard la- 
 bor, his knee being badly injured by his being 
 thrown from a wagon, but his great popularity, 
 strict integrity, and methodical habits kept him con- 
 stantly in office until he retired from politics, at the 
 time Bridgewater was incorporated. He was a firm 
 believer in Christianity, and his wife was a mem- 
 
 ber of the Congregational Church, which he also 
 attended regularly, and to the support of which he 
 freely contributed'. A year or so before his^ last ill- 
 ness he retired from farming and went to live with 
 his daughter Susan, at Bridgewater, where his 
 death took place May 29, 1858. 
 
 Peter Wooster, father of the Doctor, was born 
 in Litchfield county, and, with his three brothers- 
 in-law, was an early manufacturer of hats at 
 Bridgewater. He had been reared on the farm, but 
 with his own resources started in the business men- 
 tioned, which he adhered to until his retirement, on 
 a competency, having sold his interest in what was 
 known as the Union Hat Co. to the Sanfords. To 
 his marriage with Miss Caroline INIorris were born 
 three children: Laura, who was married to Rich- 
 ard Randall, and died in Bridgewater: Dr. Charles 
 j\L, the subject of this sketch: and Edward R., 
 who lives on the farm that the father retired to on 
 relinquishing hat manufacturing. 
 
 Peter Wooster was a sound Democrat, and 
 though no office seeker was elected to office at 
 various times, twice representing Bridgewater in 
 the State Legislature. He was selected as admin- 
 istrator of several estates, and was appointed guar- 
 dian for many minor heirs. His name was synony- 
 mous with honesty, and when he spoke he weighed 
 l-iis words and meant what he said. Although he 
 had received but a country-school education, he 
 early became a school teacher, a student of theol- 
 ogy and history, and was altogether a man of re- 
 markable endowments. He was first a Congrega- 
 tionalist, but, on studying the doctrines of that 
 church, he of his own volition changed his faith 
 and united with the Episcopal Church, of which his 
 wife was also a member. He was a well-built 
 man, and weighed 190 pounds. Although of a re- 
 tiring disposition, he was invariably called upon to 
 address all public gatherings that he attended, be- 
 ing a most interesting talker. He wielded a power- 
 ful influence with his neighbors, always for good. 
 ]\Ir. Wooster lived to be over seventy years of age, 
 and his wife died when just seventy. 
 
 Roswell Morris, father of Mrs. Caroline Woos- 
 ter, mother of Dr. Charles M. Wooster, was born 
 in Newtown, Fairfield Co., Conn., May 27, 1795, 
 and was the second of four children born to Amos 
 and Eunice (Clark) Morris, the former of whom 
 was born in Bridgeport, Conn., Sept. 28, 1762. 
 Roswell had two brothers, Levi and Curtis, and 
 one sister, Martha, all born in Newtown, from 
 which village the family removed to Bridgewater 
 in the spring of 1 800, Roswell being then five years 
 of age. There they resided until 1833, when they 
 removed to West Barringtori, Mass., where the par- 
 ents passed the last eight years of life, dying within 
 four days of each other. Levi Morris married 
 Polly H. Smith, and Curtis Morris married Abi- 
 gail Curtis for his first wife, and Cynthia J.Frink 
 for his second. Martha Morris was married to 
 Oranp-e Smith. To the marriage of Roswell ^lorns 
 with Laura Canfield, daughter of John and Phebe 
 
1838 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 CaiitieKl, Nov. 2b, 1818, were born lour children, 
 of whom the eldest. Cornelia, was married to Henry 
 B. Younij. and became the mother of live children 
 — Stanley Al.. Marv C, Calvert H., Frederick A., 
 and Alartha C. ; Caroline, the second child, became 
 the mother of Dr. W'ooster, the subject of this 
 sketch; Mary, the third child, was never married; 
 and the fom-th, Azra C, married Sarah E. Mallett, 
 who bore him three children — Gertrude E., Mary 
 A. and S. Eugenia. 
 
 The Morris family being of good Scottish stock, 
 Roswell Morris inherited much of the shrewdness 
 and intellectuality of that hardy race, and, like 
 many of Xew England's sons, started in life with 
 no other capital than his strong arms, a stout heart 
 and a common-school education. He set out from 
 his home in Liridgewater. Conn., then known as 
 New Milford, and journeyed as far as New Jer- 
 sey, walking most of the way. He taught school 
 m that State one or two years, then returned to 
 Bridgewater, and for a time worked on the farm 
 of his elder brother, Levi. By degrees he paid for 
 a farm a short distance west of Bridgewater, on 
 which he ])assed the remainder of his life. But 
 when he settled on his farm he did not relinquish 
 teaching, in which profession he had attained a fine 
 reputation, and for manv winters taught the Center 
 school. After school hours he would go into the 
 woods with his team, and haul wood, often by moon- 
 light. As a teacher he had the faculty of being 
 as a bo\- with the boys when out of school, but once 
 inside the school house door as rigid as iron. For 
 manv years Mr. Alorris was constable at Bridge- 
 v.ater, and later was deputy sheriff, for the duties 
 of which office he was well c|ualified, being strong, 
 fearless, of quick perceptions and sound judgment. 
 
 An anecdote of the youthful days of !Mr. Morris 
 may not be out of place at this point, and will serve 
 to illustrate his characteristic promptitude. Dur- 
 ing the war of 1812 he was plowing in the field, 
 when his father came to him and represented that 
 he had been drafted, and was wanted immediately. 
 Roswell replied. "I am ready," and quickly un- 
 h.itched his team. His father, perceiving that he 
 was likely to get the worst of the joke, explained 
 that he had been jesting, and requested the young 
 man to hitch up again and resume his work ; but 
 Roswell replied. "If you have been trying that game, 
 }-ou will get no more work from me to-day." 
 
 Mr. IMorris was always ready to do a neigh- 
 borly kindness, such as to watch at the bedside of 
 the sick, or to perform any personal service that 
 could be of any benefit to another, and was very 
 charitable to the poor when he had the means to 
 aid that class. In politics he was a Whig, and at 
 the death of that party became a Democrat. He 
 held at different times almost every town office, 
 and was often employed in the settlement of es- 
 tates. When Bridp-ewater was incorporated he was 
 elected one of its first selectmen, and rendered ef- 
 ficient service in making an amicable settlement be- 
 tween the new town and New Milford. 
 
 On Xov. 26, 1868, Air. Morris celebrated his 
 Golden Wedding, when there gathered about him 
 neighbors, friends, children, grandchildren and 
 great-grandchildren, who presented him with a 
 gold-headed cane. For many years Mr. Morris 
 v.-as warden of St. Mark's Episcopal Church, to 
 which he was warmly attached, and held this po- 
 sition at the time of his death, Sept. 22, 1874. Late 
 in life he was greatly afflicted with rheumatism, and 
 suffered constant pain, but as long as crutches could 
 help him to church he was in his seat. 
 
 Dr. Charles AI. Wooster was reared in Bridge- 
 water, where he attended a select school ; he next 
 attended the Adelphic Institute, at New Milford, 
 where he was prepared for college, to pay his ex- 
 penses at which he taught school in the meantime. 
 He entered in 1875, took his early instruction in the 
 study of medicine muler Dr. Bacon, of New Alil- 
 ford, and Drs. Du Bois antl King, of Bridgewater, 
 and graduated from the University of the City of 
 Xew York in 1879. He then came to Tarififville 
 to locate temporarily, as his health was poor, but 
 he liked the town and its inhabitants, and has 
 made his home here ever since, having secured a 
 lucrative practice. 
 
 Dr. Wooster marrietl Miss Martha V. Adams, 
 who was born in Tariffville Jan. 14. 1865, a daugh- 
 ter of Abel C. and Alartha (Moore) Adams, a-, 
 biography of whom appears on another page. She 
 was educated at the ladies' seminary of Hartford, 
 and at the Connecticut Literary Institute, Suffield, 
 and is a highlv cultivated and estimable lady. She 
 iias Ijorne her husband two children — Laura Vivian 
 and Charles A., and the family occupy one of the 
 most beautiful homes in Tariffville, erected by the 
 Doctor in 1898. The Doctor and his wife are 
 members of the Episcopal Church, of which he has 
 been senior warden for several years. 
 
 In politics Dr. \\'ooster is a Democrat, but in 
 1896 advocated the gold standard as redemption 
 money. He has the full confidence of his party, is 
 popular with the public, and has been elected to 
 several public offices, sucn as school visitor, health 
 officer, medical examiner, etc. In his fraternal 
 relations he is a member of the Masonic lodge at 
 Simsbury. the Hartford County Medical Society, 
 and the Connecticut State Medical Society. The 
 Doctor is an unassuming man. and inherits his 
 father's rigid regard for his word ; as a citizen his 
 position is second to none, and as a practitioner he 
 is foremost. He comes from a family that had in 
 it no drunkards, no insanity, no stains or scandal 
 of any kind, and he is himself setting a bright ex- 
 ample, as his forefathers set, for coming genera- 
 tions. 
 
 DANIEL AVEBSTER FISH. The highest 
 type of American citizenship is produced on the 
 farm, where conditions are such that the full and 
 best energies of a man are brought into requisition 
 in the ordinary pursuits of life. Daniel W. Fish, 
 the subject of this sketch, was born on a farm, was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 138& 
 
 reared on a farm, and early in his boyhood days 
 he became identified with the development of the 
 farm. He has ever possessed that crowning quality 
 of success, unfailing industry, and ranks among 
 the best citizens of Newington. 
 
 Mr. Fish comes of an old New England fam- 
 ily. His paternal great-grandfather, John Fish, 
 came to Bloomfield, this county, and settled on a 
 farm. He married Lydia Lathrop, who bore him 
 six children : John, Electa, Nancy, Simeon, Miller 
 and Lydia. Mrs. Fish lived to the advanced age of 
 • eighty-nine years. 
 
 Miller Fish, the grandfather of our -subject, was 
 born at Bozrah, Conn., June 5, 1792, was reared m 
 Bloomfield. and there learned the blacksmith's trade, 
 but engaged in farming. On March 6, 1822, he mar- 
 ried Miss Ann Goodwin, daughter of Hezekiah 
 Goodwin, and from 1824 to his death, in May, 1862, 
 lived on the farm which his son, H. G. Fish, now 
 owns. He was a member of the Baptist Church of 
 Bloomfield. He had three children : Samuel, born 
 Jan. 9, 1823, died Aug. 2, 1825; Samuel (2), father 
 of our subject; and H. Goodwin, born June i, 1828, 
 a farmer of Bloomfield. 
 
 Samuel Fish, the father of our subject, was 
 born in Bloomfield July 2, 1826, was reared to farm- 
 ing, and in his youth attended the local schools. He 
 married Emeline, daughter of Daniel and Rhoda 
 (Filer) Webster, of Bloomfield, and for thirty years 
 engaged in farming and tobacco growing in Bloom- 
 field. He then removed to Avon, where he followed 
 tobacco raising until his death, July 2, 1885, at the 
 age of fifty-nine years. He was a stanch Demo- 
 crat in politics. His wife was early in life a mem- 
 ber of the Baptist Church, but later attended the 
 Congregational Church. After the death of her hus- 
 band she lived with her daughter, Mrs. Ellsworth, 
 at West Hartford, until her death, at the age of 
 sixty-six vears. To Samuel and Emeline Fish were 
 born children as follows-: John H., of Newington; 
 Sarah M., Mrs. John Ellsworth, of West Hartford; 
 Daniel W.. our subject; Augustus M., of Newing- 
 ton ; Luella, who married George Nichols, and died 
 at Avon : Norton, of Avon town ; Dwight W., of 
 Bloomfield ; and ; Edgar W., of Bloomfield. 
 
 Daniel W. Fish was born in Bloomfield June 
 20, 1852, and his boyhood days were spent on his 
 father's farm. At the age of twelve years he went 
 to work on* the farm of Alartin Holcomb, and there 
 remained four ^^ears, after which he was employed 
 for six consecutive years on the farm of Walter 
 Cadwell, in West Hartford. Mr. Fish then removed 
 to Newington, and there engaged in the. meat and 
 grocery business with his brother John H., continu- 
 ing same until April i, 1894, when the brothers dis- 
 solved partnership, our subject withdrawing from 
 the business. He removed to the farm in Newing- 
 ton formerly owned by his father-in-law, Willis P. 
 Davis, and has since successfully operated same. 
 
 Mr. Davis married Miss Martha Elizabeth 
 Davis, who was born in Newington Sept. 19, 1850, 
 
 daughter of Willis P. and Mary (Tucker) Davis, 
 who were married Oct. 11, 1840, and who in 1841 
 came to Newington. Willis P. Davis was born 
 April 2, 1816, and died Nov. 16, 1891. His wife,, 
 born July 14, 1822, still survives, and is living at 
 the home of our subject. To David W. and Martha 
 E. Fish have been born four children : Willis Sam- 
 uel, July 7, 1880; Mattie Lucretia, Aug. 7, 1881 ;, 
 Mary Emeline, May 4, 1884; and Sarah Adeline, 
 June 24, 1888. They are pupils at the Newington 
 Center school, receiving the best educational ad- 
 vantages which the town affords. Mr. and Airs., 
 Fish and their older children are members of the 
 Newington Congregational Church, of which he is- 
 at present sexton. In politics he is a stanch Demo- 
 crat, and he is now serving as a member of the 
 school committee. He is an industrious farmer,, 
 operating a place of thirty-seven acres of productive 
 land, and raising largely corn, potatoes, and other- 
 vegetables. Mr. Fish has many friends, and in his. 
 personality typifies the high character of the Con- 
 necticut farmer and business man. 
 
 HARRY BROOKS CURTISS, a leading farm- 
 er and highly esteemed citizen of Southington, was- 
 born in the southern part of that town Nov. 26, 
 1821, and is a lineal descendant of William Curtiss, 
 a native of England, who came to this country with 
 his mother, Airs. Elizabeth Curtiss, and located in 
 Stratford, Conn., in 1639. There he died Dec. 21, 
 1702. He was known by the title of "captain." 
 
 (II) Zachary Curtiss, son of William, was bom 
 in Stratford in November, 1659, and married Han- 
 nah Porter, daughter of Nathaniel and Hannah 
 (Groves) Porter, of Windsor. 
 
 (III) Rev. Jeremiah Curtiss, son of Zachan^ 
 was born in Stratford in 1706, was graduated from 
 Yale College in 1724, and was ordained pastor of 
 the Congregational Chvjrch in Southington Nov. 13, 
 1728. On Jan. 7, 1730, he married Hannah Burn- 
 ham, daughter of Rev. William and Hannah (Wol- 
 cott) Burnham, of Kensington. 
 
 (IV) Samuel Curtiss. son of Rev. Jeremiah, 
 was born Nov. 15, 1737, and lived at Stillmwe Cor- 
 ners, where he diecl Alay 15, 1801. For his first 
 wife he married Margaret Root, and for the second 
 wedded Mary Ann Day, a daughter of Aaron and 
 Susannah (Stanley) Day. 
 
 (V) Leverett Curtiss, son of Samuel, and grand- 
 father of our subject, was born in 1776, and was 
 married, Jan. 25, 1796, to Ruth Barnes, a daughter 
 of Asa and Sarah (Atkins) Barnes. He lived in 
 the South End of Southington,, where he died Oct> 
 12, 1826, and his wife on April 9, 1850, at the ripe 
 old age of seventy-eight years. 
 
 (VI) Carles Curtiss, the father of our subject, 
 was born in Southington Feb. 22, 1798, and was- 
 married, Oct. 29, 1820, to Jerusha Brooks, daugh- 
 ter of Benajah and Lydia (Johnson) Brooks. 
 
 Our subject has spent his entire life on the old 
 Curtiss homestead in the South End of Southing- 
 
1340 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ton, and his time and attention have been devoted to 
 agricuhural pursuits with good resuhs. He is widely 
 and favorably known, and his fellow townsmen hold 
 him in high regard. He was united in marriage 
 with Miss Elizaljeth Copps, a daughter of Chester 
 and Betsey (Holbrook) Copps, of Southington, and 
 to this union have lieen two children, who reached 
 years of maturity: Laura (wife of C. W. Blatch- 
 ley) and \\'illiam L. 
 
 William L. Ciktiss was born b'eb. 24, 1856, 
 and was reared on the home farm, early becoming 
 familiar with every dejiartnient of farm work. He 
 was educated in the jniblie schools and Lewis Acad- 
 emy, and since attaining his majority has followed 
 market gardening with good success. He is a mem- 
 ber of the I'lantsville Congregational Church, and 
 is an ardent supporter of the Republican i)arty. On 
 Feb. 21. 1S80, he married -Miss Cora V>. Rngg, a 
 daughter of Charles and Jane ( Sloi)er ) Kugg. and 
 they have four sons : Carlos \\'., I'ayette C. Harry 
 R. and Kenneth ^^'. 
 
 DE.-VCOX FRAXKLLX IJRr-.WLR (deceased) 
 was in lifetime one of the most highly-resi)ected 
 citizens of East Hartford, and was of flie fifth 
 sjeneration from Thomas lirewer, the founder of 
 the family in Connecticut, who came from Lynn, 
 ]\Iass.. and first located in (llastonbury, thence re- 
 moving to East Hartford, where many of his de- 
 scendants still reside. 
 
 Thomas Brewer, then, who may be designated 
 as of the first generation in Connecticut, was born 
 in :\lassachusetts in 1658. was married. July 13, 
 1682. in Glastonbury. Conn., his wife's name being 
 Sarah, and had ten children: Mary, born Julv 25, 
 1684: Thomas, born Feb. 17, 1686-87, w'ho "mar- 
 ried Sarah, daughter of Richard Goodale, !Mav 4, 
 1710; Hezekiah, born Feb. 23, 1690; Sarah, born 
 Dec. 9, 1692: Joseph, born March 20. 1694-95, 
 ■who married Dinah Smith ^May 29, 1727; Benja- 
 min, born Aug. 13. 1697: Daniel, born :\Iarch 25, 
 1699, who married Eleanor Goodale. and in his 
 diary, dated at that place Jan. 19, 1719, it is stated 
 ■"Purchased one acre of land near the plains and 
 adjoining river at Churchell's Landing, now Good- 
 speed, Portland, Conn., of Joanna Wilcox, 1727. and 
 paid ten pound's ;"' L^-dia, born July 27, 1701 ; Acme 
 (or Naomi), born Sept. 28. 1703: and Alexander. 
 
 Alexander Brewer, of the second generation, 
 was born Oct. 5, 1706. resided in Glastonbury, and 
 died in ^Middletown in 1750, leaving his widow. 
 Thankful, and his son, Joseph, as administrators 
 of his estate, valued at £109, 8s. 6d. The children 
 born to Alexander and Thankful Brewer were nine 
 in numlier, and were named as follo^^vs : Thomas, 
 Hezekiah. Joseph, Benjamin, Daniel, j\Iary, Sarah 
 G., Lydia L. and Amy P. 
 
 Daniel Brewer, named above, of the third gen- 
 eration, married ^lary Slate, and reared a large 
 family, of whom Julius Brewer, father of the sub- 
 ject of this sketch, was the fourth child and son. 
 
 Julius Brewer, of the fourth generation, was 
 
 born near the Connecticut river, west of High 
 street, in Hockanum, in 1802, and was a repairer of 
 shoes, a carpenter and a fisherman. On Dec. 31, 
 1826, he married Raechel Goodale, of East Hart- 
 ford, who bore him seven children : Louisa Julia, 
 widow of Louis Jackson, and residing in Higli 
 street, Hartford ; Martha, who is married to Frank 
 Morton, of A\'ethersfield, a polisher by trade, now 
 living in Hartford ; Deacon Franklin, whose name 
 opens this biographical sketch ; Sarah, deceased wife 
 of Comfort Bogue, who lived near Xew London; 
 Maria, deceased wife of Charles Sniith, who lived 
 in Po(|uonock, in the town of W'indsijr: Jennie, 
 wife oi Charles Conant, a ilour merchant of' Bos- 
 ton ; and Matilda, who married David Hills, and 
 is residing in Hartford. Julius Brewer, father of 
 these children, died Oct. 21, 1856, at the home of 
 his daughter, Mrs. Louisa J. Jackson, in Hartford. 
 
 Deacon I'ranklin Mrewer. of the fifth genera- 
 tion, was born in Hockanum Jan. 8. 1833. and was 
 lui fortunate in not receiving a proper education in 
 childhood. His father was poor, and young Frank- 
 lin was obliged to leave home at an early age to 
 earn his living, and also to contribute to the sup- 
 .jiort of the family. He was first employed by 
 ])aniel Winslow, near Hillstown, remaining in his 
 employ several years, and on his return to Hock- 
 anum made his home with Edwin Brewer, his 
 cousin, under whom he learned the bootmaker's 
 trade (marrying in the meantime), and was en- 
 gaged in this calling when the war of the Rebellion 
 broke out. Patriotic to the core, he offered his 
 services to defend the Hag at the first call for vol- 
 unteers, but an accident which he had in youth, a 
 fall from aii apple tree, incapacitated him for serv- 
 ice in the army, and was a cause for his rejectment, 
 very niuch to his disappointment. Later he was 
 drafted, served sixteen days, and was then dis- 
 charged on account of the same disability. The 
 war destroyed the boot trade with the South, and 
 during its continuance Mr". Brewer made his home 
 with Anson Forbes, his father-in-law, but on the 
 revival of the boot and shoe industry resumed his 
 trade, made boots for Hunt, Holbrook & Barber, 
 of Hartford, and so continued until he purchased, 
 from the heirs of Mrs. Polly Forbes, his wife's 
 grandmother, a tract of fifteen acres of land. He 
 built tobacco sheds thereon, and in 1876 erected the 
 dwelling now occupied by his widow and son, Clif- 
 ford F. Here he engaged in tobacco growing and 
 farming until the close of his life. 
 
 Deacon Brewer was joined in matrimony, X^ov. 
 24, 1858, with Miss Esther Forbes, who was born 
 Feb. 6, 1836, a daughter of Anson and Lucy (Por- 
 ter) Forbes, descendants of old and respected fam- 
 ilies of East Hartford town. Anson Forbes was 
 born July 30, 1806, and died in July, 1887; his 
 wife was born Aug. 13, 1806, and survived until 
 Nov. I. 1881. Mrs. Brewer is one of the five chil- 
 dren born to her parents, of whom two only are 
 now living, Ellery S. (a farmer in Hockanum) 
 and Mrs. Brewer. This marriage of Deacon Frank- 
 
"'^L^e^z^iA^yiy^ 
 
 \ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1341 
 
 lin and Esther Brewer was blessed with two chil- 
 dren : Clayton A., born Dec. 15, 1869, who died 
 Jan. 4, 1873; and Cliflford F., born March 5, 1879. 
 Clifford t. Brewer was educated in the East Hart- 
 ford district and high schools, from which latter 
 he graduated in 1895, in a class of nine, of which 
 he was the treasurer. He then entered the Hart- 
 ford Public High School, and was in the Junior 
 class when the death of his father took place, and 
 he was recalled home to take charge of the farm, 
 which he has since conducted in a masterly manner. 
 Deacon Brewer, when young, united with the 
 ^lethodist Church, but in later years joined the 
 Congregationalists, of which denomination he be- 
 came a deacon, and in the faith of which he passed 
 away May 11, 1896, honored and beloved by all 
 who knew him. He was a self-made man, and 
 left to his widow and son a comfortable home, and 
 a name of which they may well feel proud. 
 
 THOMAS S. HALL, a prominent resident of 
 Xew Britain, is numbered among the self-made men 
 of that thriving town, and, while his enterprise and 
 ability reflect credit upon him, his successful efforts 
 in his chosen line of business have helped in the de- 
 velopment of the locality. 
 
 Mr. Hall was born Nov. 6, 1827, in Newbern, 
 X. C, and is of English descent in the paternal 
 line. Thomas F. Hall, his p-randfather, was born 
 of English parentage in the Bermuda Islands, but 
 later in life made his home in North Carolina. He 
 married Miss Frances Alexander, of Mecklenburg, 
 N. C. a descendant of one of the signers of the 
 Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, which 
 was dated one year earlier than that of Philadel- 
 phia. The children of Thomas F. Hall were : Mary, 
 who married William S. Webb, of Norwalk, .Conn. ; 
 Frances, wife of Charles Dewey, of North Caro- 
 lina, and George A. 
 
 George A. Hall, our subject's father, was born 
 in 1799, in Newbern, N. C, and for many years 
 was successfully engaged in mercantile business 
 there. He died in 1831, and his wife, whose maiden 
 name was Emily Dewey, died in 1838. Thev had 
 four children, viz. : Elizabeth, wife of Robert Bur- 
 ney ; George, who died in childhood; Thomas S., 
 our subject; and Mary A., who died in childhood. 
 
 As a boy Thomas S. Hall attended school in 
 Newbern, receiving a good academic education, and 
 at the age of seventeen he became a clerk in a gen- 
 eral store in that city. In 1847, at the age of twen- 
 ty, he removed to New Britain, the home of his 
 mother's ancestors, where he was employed for a 
 time in the office of North & Stanley. In 1849 he 
 engaged in mercantile business there in partnership 
 with Gad Stanley, a grandson of Col. Gad Stanley, 
 mentioned below. On the dissolution of the firm, 
 in 1849, he began the manufacture of levels, try 
 squares, and similar articles as a member of the 
 firm of Hall & Knapp. He was the pioneer in this 
 line of business, ancl in 1857 h's firm was re-organ- 
 ized as the Stanley Rule & Level Co., now one of the 
 
 leading concerns of this section. For a few years 
 Mr. hall was in mercantile business with a Mr. 
 Bowers, but in 1861 he sold out and went to New- 
 York City. Later he became connected with the 
 New Britain Knitting Co., and for twenty-one years 
 he acted as their superintendent and agent. In 
 1887 he engaged in real estate business under the 
 firm name of Hall & Peck, the partnership continu- 
 ing until 1898. Politically he is a strong Repub- 
 lican, and at times he has been called to accept town 
 office as selectman, assessor and member of the 
 board of relief. He has always taken an active part 
 in municipal aft'airs, serving as a member of the 
 Council and the Board of Water Commissioners, 
 and has been chairman of said board for five years — 
 a longer term than that of any other of the present 
 members. He was instrumental in introduciiig the 
 "Roaring Brook" supph", which has doubled the ca- 
 pacity of the works. In religious faith he is a 
 Congregationalist, and for nine years he has been a 
 member of the standing committee of the church in 
 New Britain. In 1851 he married Miss Julia A. 
 North, daughter of Henry and Lauretta (Smith) 
 North, of New Britain. Two children of the union 
 died in childhood, Mary E. at ten years of age, and 
 Emily L. at six years. 
 
 In the maternal line Mr. Hall is descended from 
 several well known families, notably the Deweys and 
 Stanleys. His mother, Mrs. Emily (Dewey) Hall, 
 was a member of one of the old families of New Brit- 
 ain, and a distant relative of Admiral Dewey, of 
 the LTnited States Navy. Her father, Oliver Dewey, 
 was a farmer in early life, but removed to Newbern, 
 N. C, and engaged in business as a riierchant, be- 
 ing one of the leading citizens of the town for 
 many years. His death occurred in 1841. His 
 wife, Mary Stanley, was born Aug. 2, 1772, the 
 daughter of Col. Gad Stanley, of Revolutionary 
 fame, and died in 1848. They had six children, 
 namely: George S., born May 30, 1794; Emily, 
 born June 27, 1796; Henry, born Aug. 19, 1798; 
 Adeline, born Oct. 12, 1802; Mary, born Sept. 3, 
 
 hi8o4; and Oliver S., bora Dec. 22, 1807. 
 \J The Stanley faniilv traces its ancestrv from 
 John Stanley, a native of England, who started for 
 America about 1634, but died on the ocean. His 
 wife's name is not known. Of his three children, 
 John became the progenitor of the family in this 
 country; Ruth, born in 1629, married Isaac i\Iore, 
 and the youngest was born in 1634 and died the 
 same year. Capt. John Stanley, son of John (i), 
 was born in England in 1624, and as he was still 
 a minor when his father died was placed under the 
 care of an uncle at Cambridge, Mass., and removed 
 with him to Elartford in 1636. As a bov he took 
 part in the Pequot war, and during King Philip's 
 war he served as lieutenant and captain. For many 
 years he was a leading citizen of Farmington, hold- 
 ing offices of high responsibility. He married ( first ) 
 Sarah Scott, and (second) Sarah Stoddard, and 
 had eight children. John, Thomas, Sarah, Tim- 
 
1342 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 othv, Elizabeth and Isaac were, born of the first 
 marriage, and by the second there were two chil- 
 dren, Abigail and Elizabetli. Thomas Stanley, son 
 of Capt. John, was born in l''amiington Aov. i, 
 1049, '"""-l' died April 14, 1713. His wife, Anna 
 Peck, died May 13, 1718. They liad two children, 
 Thomas and Anna. Thomas Stanley (2) was born 
 Oct. 31, 1696, and died Oct. 13, 1755. He married 
 Esther Cowles, who died JiUy 22, 1776, and they 
 reared a large family of children. Col. Gad Stan- 
 ley, mentioned above, was born March 21, 1735, the 
 youngest son of Thomas and Esther (Cowles) Stan- 
 ley. He engaged in farming extensively, and with 
 one exception was the wealthiest member of the 
 Church at ]'"armington, with which he united in 
 17O8. By his ability and address he ultimately be- 
 came one of the leading men of this section. He 
 took keen interest in military afTairs, serving as 
 captain in the local militia, and warmly espoused 
 the cause of the Colonies in their resistance to the 
 oppression of the mother country. He acted on 
 various committees for his town during the troublous 
 times just preceding the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence. When the war actually broke out he was 
 prompt in resorting to arms. Just at that time two 
 British vessels appeared off New London, and an 
 express was sent into the country to convey the 
 alarming intelligence. He arrived in New Britain 
 on the close of the Sabbath, and just before the 
 close of the afternoon service. As soon as the 
 blessing was pronounced Capt. Stanley stepped for- 
 ward, and with a loud voice gave notice to his com- 
 pany to appear on parade before the meeting-house 
 door next morning. The spirit thus manifested 
 ^•rieved the heart of the good clergyman, who, as 
 a lover of law and order, had the sentiment of 
 loyalty to his Sovereign warm in his heart. "What," 
 he exclaimed, "will you fight against your King?" 
 ""'Yes," replied one of the sergeants, "and I would 
 kill ham as quick as I would a black snake if I 
 could catch him." Capt. Stanley was present in 
 the battle of Long Island, Aug. 27, 1776, a dis- 
 astrous day for the American troops, all of whom 
 ■were raw recruits, while their enemy were the dis- 
 ciplined troops of England and Germany. Capt. 
 Stanley maintained his position as long as it was 
 possible, and at last, when the retreat was ordered, 
 succeeded by a masterly maneuver in leading off his 
 regiment safely past the British forces. He was 
 subsequently made a colonel, and ever afterward re- 
 tained that title. During this summer his fifth 
 child, a son, was born. The joyful news was re- 
 ported to the absent father with the request that he 
 ■should say what his name should be. In due time 
 the answer was sent: "If he turn out a likely lad, 
 it might be well to call him Gad." After the war 
 Col. Stanle}'- served in nearly every important of- 
 fice in the town. He was representative from 
 Farmington from 1778 to 1782, and from Berlin 
 from 1785 to 1804 continuously. His name was 
 associated with Col. Lee and others in school and 
 
 parish aft'airs, in securing the incorporation of Ber- 
 lin as a district town, and in attendmg to highways 
 and town expenses generally. 
 
 On Oct. 29, 1 707, Col. Stanley married Mary 
 Judd, daughter of John and Mary (Burnham) JudJ, 
 and granddaughter of Rev. William Burnham, of 
 Kensington, a lady well-born and bred, descended 
 from the Wolcotts and the Appletons, who were 
 reputed to be of the bluest blood of the Colonies. 
 He died Jan. 10, 1815, aged seventy-nine, and his 
 wife Jan. 8, 1818, aged seventy years. 
 
 DEXXIS ROSE, a resident of Bloomfield since 
 about the year 1849, was born in Granville, Mass., 
 July 15, 1830, and is a son of Isaac and Louisa 
 (Clark) Rose, also natives of Granville. 
 
 Isaac Rose, son of Noahdiah and father of Den- 
 nis, was a school teacher in his early manhood, and 
 later became a farmer. To his marriage with Miss 
 Louisa Clark, his first wife, were born six chil- 
 dren, named as follows : Juliette ; Emeline L., mar- 
 ried to William Moore, of Granville ; Harriet, now 
 Mrs. Chauncey Newberry ; Mrs. Beulah Moore, de- 
 ceased ; Dennis, whose name opens this sketch ; and 
 Rhoda. For his second helpmate, Isaac married 
 Mary Ann Crocker, and to this union were born 
 Mrs. Lucy Baker, of Cape Cod, Mass. ; Emerson, 
 who married a Miss Scudder, and resides in New 
 Orleans, La. ; and Emma, wife of William Shaw, 
 of Bridgeport, Conn., in which city Isaac, the fa- 
 ther, ended his days. 
 
 Dennis Rose attended the public schools of 
 Granville, and resided in that town until about nine- 
 teen years of age, when he came to Bloomfield and 
 lived with Chauncey Xewberry until 1866. On 
 Oct. 31, 1866, he married Miss Maria Goodwin 
 Latimer, daughter of Elihu Latimer, at Bloomfield, 
 of which town she is a native. The only child re- 
 sulting from this union is George Dennis, who was 
 born Oct. 22, 1870. Mr. Rose has always voted 
 with the Democratic party and has served as a mem- 
 ber of the School Committee. He has ever held the 
 respect of the members of his community, and has 
 led a life of gemtine usefulness, although he has 
 never aspired to public office or position for the 
 sake of either fame or profit, being content to fol- 
 low his vocation in quiet, and being satisfied with 
 the esteem which has been bestowed upon him as 
 a reward for his present merit. 
 
 JAMES A. HOWARD, an ex-soldier, who 
 owns one of the neatest and best-kept farms in 
 the town of East Hartford, was born in North 
 Scituate, R. I., Aug. 3, 1844, a son of Woodbury 
 Howard, and a grandson of G. F. Howard, the lat- 
 ter a native of East Douglass, Mass. He went to 
 Florida and there died, leaving his widow with 
 nine young children. 
 
 Woodbury Howard, also a native of East Doug- 
 lass, was an expert carpenter, and erected many of 
 the finest buildings in Rhode Island, Connecticut 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1343 
 
 anol Massachusetts. Among others he worked on 
 the Wauregan mill, Conn., and for seven years was 
 foreman of the carpenter work on the magnificent 
 mansion erected for Alexander Duncan, at Provi- 
 dence, R. I. At Chestnut Hill, Conn., he married 
 Matilda Fuller, a native of Killingly, to which union 
 were born eight children: Maria, who married (first) 
 Thomas Gilson, and (second) Joseph Midgely; Su- 
 san J., who died in infancy; James A., the subject 
 of this sketch; Jane Helen (twin sister of James 
 A.), who died in young womanhood; Stephen G., 
 who went to California, but of whom trace is lost ; 
 Martin L., who was a carpenter, and died in St. 
 Louis, Mo., leaving one son ; JMary Ella, married to 
 Amos Plumb, of Windsor, Conn. ; and Annie, wife 
 of Rev. William C. Townsend, of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, and living in Greenfield, Mass. 
 The father of this family died at a ripe old age; 
 the mother is still living, and makes her home with 
 one of her daughters. 
 
 James A. Howard, after a brief attendance at 
 common school, entered a cotton factory as sweeper, 
 and worked sixteen hours per day at $1.25 per 
 week, but he advanced by degrees, working for sev- 
 eral years as tender, lapper and spinner. He was 
 next employed in a factory at Danielsonville, and 
 was there at work when the Civil war broke out. 
 He then enlisted in Company K, 7th Conn. V. I., 
 and was the smallest man in his regiment, which was 
 in command of Col. Terrv, under Gen. J. Hawley. 
 The regiment was first placed in camp at New 
 Haven, then was sent forward to Washington, An- 
 napolis and Fortress jNIonroe, and was the first to 
 open the bombardment at Hilton Head, and for 
 bravery and meritorious conduct in front of the 
 enemy Mr. Howard was awarded a medal. On one 
 occasion he was the bearer of a message to Gen. 
 Q. A. Gilmore, and on the trip was accompanied 
 by a negro driver ; when he hacl nearly reached his 
 destination the colored driver was killed by a burst- 
 ing shell, but Mr. Howard delivered his message, 
 although the trip looked like one to certain death. 
 On another occasion, while engaged in unloading 
 ammunition and ordnance from a vessel, the derrick 
 rope broke, and its burden fell on one of Mr. How- 
 ard's nether limbs, crushing it in a shocking man- 
 ner. It was the determination of the surgeon to 
 amputate the mutilated member, but by the inter- 
 cession of one of his ofiicers the limb was saved, 
 though it has caused him hourly pain ever since, 
 and a small pension is allowed him in consequence. 
 He served out his three-years term of enlistment, 
 and returned to Rhode Island with an honorable 
 discharge. 
 
 Mr. Howard took up the vocation of wool sorter 
 in Rhode Island, at which he became very expert, 
 and remained in his native State from 1864 until 
 1883, during which time he was for ten years fore- 
 man in shops in which wool sorting was the spe- 
 cialty. He then came to Hartford, and was em- 
 ployed by William H. Post & Co., carpet dealers. 
 
 as carpet layer, shortly afterward entering the em- 
 ploy of the City Water Works Co., as gate-tender. 
 Leaving this employ, he made a contract with John 
 Belcher to operate that gentleman's farm and sup- 
 port him all his life, the compensation to be the own- 
 ership of the farm itself at the death of the proprie- 
 tor. Mr. Howard kept his contract, and now owns 
 the farm, consisting of thirty-five acres, which he 
 has greatly improved, and on which, in 1885, he 
 erected his present handsome dwelling. 
 
 Mr. Howard was first married to Lucy ]\I. Con- 
 nell, a native of Summit, R. I., who passed away 
 childless. He subsecjuently married Sarah E. Haz- 
 ard, of Dexter, R. I., and to this marriage was 
 born one child, that died in infancy. In pc^itics 
 Mr. Howard is a Democrat, and in his re-ffgious 
 views is quite liberal. Fraternally he is a member 
 of Lodge No. 99, F. & A. M., of West Hartford. 
 He is a hard-working husbandman, unostentatious 
 in his demeanor, and has the sincere respect of 
 ever^'body in his neighborhood and wherever, else 
 he is known. 
 
 JOHN GORDON WILLOUGHBY is one of 
 the prominent representatives of the agricultural 
 and industrial interests of the town of East Granby, 
 where he is now successfully carrying on opera- 
 tions as a general farmer, and also owns and con- 
 ducts a flour and feed mill at Tariffville. He was 
 born on the old homestead near Tarifl:ville Jan. 8, 
 1867, and belongs to a family of English origin 
 which was founded in America by Lord Willoughby, 
 who crossed the Atlantic in Colonial days, and took 
 up his residence in A'irginia. 
 
 A\^illiam Willoughby, the grandfather of our 
 subject, was a native of New London, Conn., born 
 Nov. 7, 1807, and was a son of John Willoughby, 
 a well-known citizen of that place, ^^'illiam Will- 
 oughby was reared to manhood in New London, 
 and received a liberal education for those days. 
 When a young man he removed to Bloomfield, now 
 North Bloomfield, where he engaged exclusively 
 in agricultural pursuits for many years. In later 
 life he located on Hatchet Hill, now East Granby, 
 where he purchased the farm now owned by our 
 subject, and there spent the remainder of his life, 
 being tenderly cared for in his old age by his 
 son Gordon C. He died Sept. 6, 1887, honored 
 and respected by all who 4vnew him. Politically he 
 was first a Whig and later a Republican, and re- 
 ligiously was liberal in his views. He married Miss 
 Caroline Clark, of Bloomfield, a daughter of Ira 
 Clark, a native of the same town, and to them was 
 born one son, Gordon Clark,, father of our subject. 
 The wife and mother died on the farm in East 
 Granby town in 1886, and she and her husband 
 now sleep side by side in Scotland cemeter}-, North 
 Bloomfield. 
 
 Gordon Clark Willoughby was born IVIarch 14, 
 1837, in Bloomfield, and received a good practical 
 education attending both public and select schools in 
 
1344 
 
 COMMEMOR'ATJVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 early life. Throughout his active business life he 
 engaged in farming and tobacco raising, and was 
 also niterestecl in milling, erecting the first grist- 
 mill at Tariffville, and operating it successfully for 
 many years. He was a man of good business abil- 
 ity and sound judgment, and, being a great reader, 
 he was always well posted on the leading events 
 of the day, as well as political interests and is- 
 sues. In connection with his other business in- 
 terests he engaged in packing tobacco quite e.x- 
 tensively, ancl in all his undertakings met with 
 well-merited success. He had one of the finest 
 homes in East tiranby, and everything about the 
 place was in perfect harmony with it. Jhe Re- 
 publican party always found in him an ardent sup- 
 porter of its principles, and in 1880 he was elected 
 by a large vote to represent East Granby town 
 in tile State Legislature, being tlie first Republican 
 to fill that office in the town. He was a man of 
 temperate haliits, and was liberal in his religious 
 views; but always adhered strictly to the Golden 
 Rule. He was well liked and universally respected, 
 and in his death, which occurred Aug. 4, 1898, the 
 community realized that it had lost one of its most 
 valuable citizens. His remains were interred in the 
 family burial plat in Scotland cemetery. On Jan. 
 3, 1866, in Xorth Bloomfield, Mr. W'illoughby mar- 
 ried Miss Jennie ^1. Barnard, a lady of culture and 
 refinement, who is much esteemed for her many 
 virtues. She was born in Hloomfield, attended the 
 Bloomfield public schools, and later the academy 
 at that place, from which she was graduated, and 
 for four years successfully engaged in teaching. 
 To this marriage were born five children : John G., 
 our subject; \\'illiam B., who married j\Iary A. 
 ^lerwin, and is engaged in farming in East Granby 
 town; one who died in infancy; Martha C., post- 
 mistress and bookkeeper at Tariffville ; and Ed- 
 ward C, who is attending school. The mother 
 still lives on the home farm near Tariffville. 
 
 John Barnard, our subject's maternal grand- 
 father, was born in Bloomfield in 1821, and was one 
 of a family of six children born to Francis and 
 Arabella (Hoskins) Barnard. He received a good 
 common-school education, and throughout life en- 
 gaged in farming in Bloomfield town. He was 
 noted for his honesty and honorable dealings, and 
 was highlv respected by the entire community. 
 Politically he was a Democrat, and in religious con- 
 nection was a member of the JNIethodist Episcopal 
 Church. In 1844 he married IMiss Martha J. 
 Barnard, a daughter of Milton Barnard, an old 
 settler of Bloomfield, and to them came two 
 children : John '\l., who was born Oct. 16, 1846, 
 and died in 1869, being buried in Scotland cem- 
 etery; and Jennie ^I., mother of our subject. 
 ^Ir. Barnard died in 1847, at an early age, and 
 was also laid to rest in Scotland cemetery. 
 His widow subsequently married Lorenzo Hoskins. 
 She died Sept. 4, 1897, and was buried in Scotland 
 cemetefv. 
 
 During his boyhood and youth John G. \\"\\\- 
 oughby attended the public schools of East Granby 
 town, and in 1885 graduated from the Hartford 
 Business College. He began his business career ia 
 his father's mill, where he remained until a88.S, 
 and then removed to Bloomfield, where he spent 
 one year. In 1889 he located on the farm on 
 Hatchet Hill, and has since extensively engaged in 
 tobacco culture and general farming. He was also 
 engaged in the manufacture of lumber, owning 
 a sawmill in East Granby, and in 1892 rented his 
 father's gristmill, which he now operates, dealing 
 in Hour, feed, etc. Ambitious, energetic, and pos- 
 sessing good business al)ility, he has already met 
 with excellent success in life, and undoubtedly a 
 brilliant future awaits him. He is a recognized 
 leader of the Re]niblican party in East Granby, and 
 in 1896 was the nominee of his party for representa- 
 tive, but wiiliilrew in favor of George L. Viets. 
 
 In 1889 ^Ir. W'illougliljy was married in East 
 Granby to Miss Nellie Healey, a native of Granville, 
 Mass., and a daughter of Nathaniel and Jane 
 (Clark) Healey, and they have one child, "Ward 
 Coe, born in 1893. The family are members of the 
 Baptist Church and hold a position of prominence 
 in the best social circles of the community in which 
 they live. 
 
 HON. WILLI.VM H. I-TLLEY. Few residents 
 of Windsor have worked as assiduously for the 
 promotion of the best interests of that locality as 
 lias the well-known citizen whose history is out- 
 lined in this sketch. As a business man he is en- 
 terprising, far-sighted and successful, while he has 
 also found time to assist effectively in religious, 
 philanthropic, educational and political affairs, his 
 influence always cast on the side of progress. 
 
 }ilr. Filley is a representative of an old and hon- 
 ored pioneer family of this section, and is of the 
 eighth generation in direct descent from (I) Will- 
 iam Fiiley. (II) Samuel Filley, son of William, 
 the pioneer, was born Sept. 24, 1643. (HI) John 
 Filley. the next in the line of descent^ was born 
 Feb.' 10, 1677. (IV) John Filley, son of John, 
 was born Nov. 4, 1709, and married Rebecca Drake, 
 by whom he had one child, John. ("V) John Filley, 
 our subject's great-grandfather, was born April 18, 
 
 1737- 
 
 (\ I) Horace Filley, the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born Nov. 16, 1779, and died March 5, 
 1857. He was a prominent agriculturist of Wind- 
 sor in his day, owning a large tract of land, and 
 he took an active part in public movements in his 
 town. He married Lucy Hayden, of Vermont, a 
 daughter of Isaac Hayden, and had two children: 
 Horace H., our subject's father; and Miss_ Julia, 
 born Dec. 29, 1817, who is still living in Windsor. 
 
 (VII) Horace H. Filley was born Oct. 15,. 
 1809^, at the old homestead, in the house which 
 stood on the site of our subject's present residence. 
 He was educated in the public schools and the 
 
\K-I)WiaAjiA^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1345. 
 
 academy at Windsor, and as a young man be- 
 gan business on borrowed capital, having no re- 
 sources except his native ability and energy. For 
 many years he followed brick-making successfully, 
 and for some time in later life he was engaged m 
 farming. He was a man of average height and 
 build, and intellectually was noted for shrewdness 
 and conservatism, his jud^gment being regarded as 
 i-emarkably sound. His business methods were 
 characterized by strict integrit)^, and his prosperity 
 was achieved without penuriousness, his family hav- 
 ing every reasonable comfort and advantage. Re- 
 alizing the value of a good education, he endeavored 
 to secui-e for his children hetter opportunities than 
 he had enjoyed, and in addition to practical literary 
 training he had them instructed in music and other 
 accomplishments. In politics he was a stanch Re- 
 publican, but while he cast his vote regularly, and 
 was interested in the success of the party, he could 
 not be called a politician. For many years he was 
 a leading member of the Congregational Church 
 at Windsor, in which he frequently served as com- 
 mitteeman. He died Oct. 14, 1884, when within 
 less than one hour of being seventy-five years old. 
 
 Mr. Fillej' married Miss Irene Francis, a native 
 of Windsor, who is still living, at the age of sev- 
 enty-eight, and makes her home with her daughter, 
 Mrs. Welch. Although she has been an invalid for 
 years she shows great vitality, and is greatly re- 
 spected in the community for her admirable qual- 
 ities of character. Our subject is the eldest of a 
 family of five children. (2) Joseph, born July 4, 
 1847, died in 1864. He had left home to enlist 
 in the army, but was taken ill with typhoid fever 
 and brought home, where he died. (3) Henry, 
 born in November, 1850, died of typhoid fever soon 
 after the death of his brother Joseph. He was a 
 very bright youth, intelligent and full of promise. 
 (4) Mary S., born in January, 1853, married E. 
 A. Welch, of Windsor. (5) Jennie, born' April 2, 
 1857, married Rev. G. H. Judson, and for a num- 
 ber of vears has been a missionary in China. 
 
 (A^II) William H. Filley was born Aug. 25, 
 1845, at the old home, and was educated in the 
 schools of Windsor and neighboring towns. On 
 completing a high-school course he engaged in busi- 
 ness, his inclination for commercial life having been 
 manifested at an early age. As a mere boy he 
 had bought tobacco in and around Windsor for 
 William Harrison, of Westfield, Mass., and it was 
 on his suggestion that his father undertook tobacco 
 growing as a branch of his business. The details 
 of the management of his father's brickyard were 
 also speedily mastered by the youth, and as a young 
 man he became interested in the wood and lumber 
 business, his father's skilled judgment occasionally 
 reinforcing his own, although, as a rule, he de- 
 cided questions independently. His ventures were 
 uniformlv profitable, and while still in his 'teens 
 he formed a partnership with H. H. Ellsworth, a 
 bovhood friend, and they have ever since been as- 
 sociated in their biisiness operations, no other firm 
 
 85 
 
 in Windsor approaching them in activity and en- 
 terprise. 
 
 In early manhood Air. Filley took charge of his 
 father's brick yard, w'hich he conducted until 1896, 
 often making 1,000,000 bricks a year. He also as- 
 sumed the management of the farm when a young 
 man, and later purchased the most desirable por- 
 tions, which he still retains as a homestead. He is 
 one of the most extensive growers in Connecticut, 
 and is successful as a buyer, being at present the 
 head of the well-known firm of Filley & Welch,, 
 of Windsor, dealers in leaf tobacco. His success 
 in every tmdertaking has caused him to be sought 
 as a member of various corporate enterprises, and 
 he is a stockholder in the Windsor Creamery, and 
 a member of the Moore's Pai-k Driving Associa- 
 tion, in which he was for several years a leader, 
 his liking for good horses being shown by the ex- 
 cellent specimens owned by him at times. For 
 some time he was a stockholder in the AVindsor 
 Creamery Co., serving as treasurer for two years, 
 and when the compan)' failed he and Mr. Ellsworth 
 bought the plant, and with characteristic energy re- 
 organized it and built up the business, until it is 
 to-day the most substantial concern in the town. At 
 present Mr. Filley owns a large amount of real 
 estate in the West, in addition to his property irt 
 Windsor. One secret of his success is the close 
 familiarity with the details of the management of 
 his varied interests, which enables him to secure 
 the best results, and while he had the advantage 
 of an excellent start in life he may justly be cred- 
 ited with being to a great extent the architect of his 
 own fortune. Politically he is active as a member 
 of the Republican party, and while he would pre- 
 fer to devote his attention to his private interests 
 he has been a regular attendant at caucuses and 
 conventions. For over ten years he has served as 
 town treasurer, and in 1893 he was a member of the 
 Legislature. 
 
 In 1882 Mr. Filley built a handsome and corrr- 
 modious brick residence at the corner of Broad and' 
 Elm streets, Windsor, where he maintains the old-- 
 time hospitality of the family. His amiable wife,, 
 who was formerly J\Iiss Julia Buckland, is one of 
 the few remaining- descendants of a family which 
 was prominent in that localit}' from the early days. 
 Of the three children who have blessed this union 
 the eldest, Hattie E., married Arthur Loomis, of 
 Windsor, and has one son, George F. Mrs. Loomis' 
 is an artist of more than ordinary ability and skill, 
 and her work commands high praise. Alice G., now 
 Mrs. T. D. Harvey, of Windsor, is also highly 
 accomplished. Joseph H. resides at home. The 
 family is prominent in the best social circles, and 
 is identified with the Congregational Church of 
 Windsor, Mr. Filley being a member of the churcfs 
 committee. He also belongs to Poquonock Grange,, 
 and was one of the organizers of Windsor Grange,. 
 No. 3. He is a charter member of W. S. Piersors 
 Council, O. U. A. M., at Winds'or, and is welF 
 known as a thirty-second degree Mason, his name 
 
1346 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 being enrolled in Windsor Lodge, F. & A. ]\I. ; 
 Washington Conimandcrx , K. i ., Hartford ; the 
 Mystic Shrine at Ilartford (transfc-rred from 
 Bridgeport _) ; and Xorwich Consistory. 
 
 AMLLIAM MOORE FOWLER, a well-known 
 and honored citizen of Berlin, was born in what is 
 now West Cromwell, Conn., -\ug. 17, 1828, a son 
 of Anson and Sallie (Bouge) Fowler. In their 
 family were two children, the younger being Laura 
 Ann, who died in West Cromwell, and was buried 
 there. The mother was a native of Tolland, Mass. 
 The father was a farmer in moderate circum- 
 stances. For his second wife he married Clemenca 
 Lovcland, of Glastonbury, Conn., by whom he had 
 four children, the only one now living being Mrs. 
 Caroline Posco, a widow, of \\'est Cromwell. Our 
 subject's paternal grandfather, Julius Fowler, who 
 was a well-to-do farmer of West Cromwell, mar- 
 ried a lady named Moore, of Massachusetts, and 
 to them were born six children. 
 
 Our subject was reared on the home farm, and 
 acquired his education in the Cromwell schools. 
 On leaving school, at the age of eighteen years, 
 he commenced learning the blacksmith's trade with 
 John Graham, in East Berlin, remaining with Mr. 
 Graham until that gentleman's death, in all nine 
 )ears. He then entered the employ of the Roys 
 & A\'ilcox Co., of East Berlin, as a journeyman 
 blacksmith, and remained with them until the con- 
 solidation of the P.eck, Stow & Wilco.x Co. In 
 1863 he became a contractor in the blacksmithing 
 department of their works, which he still controls, 
 and now has three men working under him. 
 
 Mr. Fowler was married Oct. 5, 1852, to Harriet 
 Hubbard Graham, who was born in East Berlin 
 April 10, 1833, a daughter of John and }tlary 
 (Hubbard) Graham. Five children have been born 
 of this union : William 2\Ioore, Jr., born Ma)'' 27, 
 1857, now operates his father's farm on Hudson 
 street, Berlin; Alfred Edward, born in 1861, died 
 at the age of two months ; Frederick Brown, born 
 Nov. 24, 1864, is a joiner of Berlin; Charles Henry, 
 born Aug. 10, 1867, is a resident of San Jose, 
 Cal. ; and Emma Jane, born Feb. 24, 1870, is at 
 home. 
 
 In early life ]\Ir. Fowler cast his first ballot 
 with the Democratic party, but since 1858 he has 
 been a stanch Republican. Although he has never 
 cared for office, he has served as tax collector in 
 his town. He is a member of Harmony Lodge, 
 No. 20, F. & A. M., of New- Britain, and was one 
 of the charter members of the lodge which was 
 started in Berlin, and in which he passed all the 
 chairs. He is also a member of the chapter ^nd 
 council of the same fraternity, and he and his wife 
 and daughter belong to Berlin Grange, No. 24. 
 In 1859 Mr. Fowler was made superintendent of 
 the Sunday-school of the Methodist Church, and 
 held that position for several jears, but he now 
 holds membership in the Congregational Church 
 
 of Berlin, ami was elected superintendent of its 
 Sunday-school in 1890. He also belongs to the 
 Ecclesiastical Societ)- of Berlin, and is a member 
 of the church committee. He takes an active and 
 prominent part in all church work, and his hon- 
 orable, upright life commends him to the confidence 
 and esteem of all with whom he comes in contact, 
 in either his business or social relations. 
 
 DEX.XIS MOYNIHAX, an industrious and 
 successful tobacco grower and farmer of East 
 Hartford, has been identified with this section for 
 several years. He is a native of County Cork, Ire- 
 land, and a son of Dennis and Hannorah (Flealy) 
 Moynihan, both natives of the same county. 
 
 Dennis ]\loynihan, the father, was a laborer in 
 the old country, and lived there until 1891, when he 
 and his wife were sent for by our subject, who fil- 
 ially cared for them at his home in East Hartford. 
 The father was born in 1817, and died July 6, 1900. 
 The mother was born in 1828. Of their children the 
 following are still living: Mary, in Melbourne, 
 Australia; Dennis, the subject of this sketch; John, 
 living somewhere in the United States ; Michael, in 
 East Hartford, and employed in the railroad round- 
 house ; Jerry, supposed to be living in West Vir- 
 ginia, as no authentic record of his death has been 
 received; Timothy, who married Mary Nicholson; 
 and Hannorah, widow of Will Reardon, who was 
 killed by a trolley car in East Hartford, where she 
 still has her home. 
 
 Dennis Moynihan received but a limited educa- 
 tion, and worked as a laborer in Ireland until about 
 twenty-five years of age, when, in company with his 
 sister Hannorah (now widow of Will Reardon), 
 he sailed from Cork in the "City of Chester," and 
 after a voyage of nine days landed in New York. 
 The}- came thence to South \Vindsor, Conn., where 
 Dennis found employment with Martin Reardon at 
 $15 per month, and with him remained two years. 
 He next worked for Tim Kelliner, and then for 
 Dan Malone, and was with the latter when he mar- 
 ried Miss ]\Iaggie Bevins, a native of County Tip- 
 perary, Ireland, who came to the United States in 
 1885. This marriage has been blessed with four 
 children, born as follows : Hannorah, April 22, 
 1889; Mary, Nov. 22, 1890; Dennis, Nov. 7, 1893; 
 and Henry, Sept. 27, 1894. 
 
 IMr. !\Ioynihan bought his present farm in East 
 Hartford in 1891. It then comprised fifteen acres 
 only, but by industry and good management he has 
 increased it to twenty-three acres, ten of which are 
 under cultivation in tobacco. That Mr. Moynihan 
 is temperate and economical, as well as industrious, 
 is shown by the fact that he paid his passage to 
 America from his savings, landed in this country 
 poor, and made his first purchase of land also from 
 his savings. He is now well-to-do, and besides 
 taking good care of his wife and children has been 
 able to care for his aged parents. 
 
 j\lr. Moynihan and his familv are devout mem- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1347 
 
 hers of St. Mar3''s Catholic Church. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Knights of the Maccabees, and in politics 
 is liberal. Though ver}- quiet in demeanor, he is a 
 jovial, kind-hearted man, and a good and useful 
 citizen, one whose many excellent traits of character 
 have won for him the respect of the entire commu- 
 jiity. 
 
 LOUIS A. CLAPP, a well-known citizen and 
 a prosperous farmer of the town of Windsor, was 
 born there Jan. 14, 1857, a son of Alexander and 
 Jane (Bailey) Clapp, the Clapp family being an old 
 one in ,New England, and descendants ot Roger 
 Clapp, who came hither from England in the early 
 Colonial days. 
 
 Alexander Clapp, father of Louis A. Clapp, was 
 born in VVethersfield in June, 1815, a son of Ros- 
 well and Susan (Pease) Clapp, the former of whom, 
 was a sea captain in his earlier .days, but later be- 
 came a merchant at Wethersfield. He had three 
 sons, of whom Alexander was the eldest ; the second, 
 William, settled at Brodhead, Wis., of which State 
 his son Thomas became attorney-general ; and the 
 third, Charles, lived in Windsor, and reared a large 
 family. Alexander Clapp when about six years 
 old went to live with the family of John M. Niles, 
 at Poquonock, and remained there until eighteen, 
 during which period he attended the district school 
 and Windsor Academy. When about nineteen 
 years of age he took charge of a farm for a Mr. 
 Griswold, and worked for that gentleman until his 
 first marriage, which was to Huldah Griswold, 
 daughter of his employer. She was soon called 
 away, and Mr. Clapp next married Jane Bailey, who 
 was iDorn in South Coventry, Conn., in 1825. To 
 this second marriage were born eight children, in 
 the folowing order: Charles D., who died unmar- 
 ried at the age of thirty-five years ; Lucy J., who 
 was married to W. H. Atwood, of New Haven, and 
 -died in Windsor; Susan P., a highly-educated lady, 
 of Hartford ; Mary, who died when two years old ; 
 Mary H., who died at the age of twenty-four years ; 
 Louis A., the subject of this sketch; Irving B., and 
 Robert L. 
 
 Alexander Clapp was in politics a Democrat, 
 and very popular with his party. In 1856, 1869, 
 1870 and 1874 he was elected representative from 
 his district, and he also filled many town offices, such 
 as first selectman, justice of the peace, grand juror 
 (for years), assessor, and member of the board of 
 relief. He was appointed drum-major by Gov. 
 Buckingham at a time that required the appointee 
 to be thorough in his line of duty. He was always 
 present at his party's conventions, in which he took 
 a leading part, and at public gatherings invaria- 
 bly introduced the orator of the day. All the lead- 
 ing men of the State were acquainted with him, and 
 his influence was much more than local. He was 
 charitable and kind to all, and was everywhere re- 
 spected. He measured about five feet, ten inches, 
 in height, and weighed 160 pounds. His death 
 
 took place in 1879, and that of his widow in 1895, 
 and the remains of both rest side by side in the cem- 
 etery at Poquonock. 
 
 i^ouis A. Clapp was educated at "Elm Grove" 
 school, under Roswell H. Phelps, and was reared to 
 manhood on his father's farm. He was about 
 twenty-one years old when his father died, and, being 
 the eldest living son at that time, the responsibility 
 of caring for the farm and family fell to his lot. 
 A man ot more than ordinary intelligence, he proved 
 himself to be fully competent for the duties that thus 
 devolved upon him, for, although his schooling 
 began and ended at Elm Grove, he was a close home 
 student, and acquired a great deal of useful knowl- 
 edge through reading practical standard works on 
 the arts and sciences, as well as literature of the 
 highest class. 
 
 In the fall of 1882 Mr. Clapp (first) married 
 Miss Martha L. Osborn, a native of East Windsor, 
 and a daughter of David L. Osborn, an ex-soldier. 
 He continued to live on the old homestead and to 
 manage the farm for his mother until 1883, when 
 he purchased the Roswell Miller farm with his own 
 accumulations, and this has since been his place of 
 residence. Mrs. Martha L. Clapp passed away in 
 August, 1890, the mother of four children, of 
 whom Grace M. is still living; Claire B., while play- 
 ing on a piece of timber floating in a pool on the 
 farm, fell off and was drowned, July 16, 1897; John 
 O. still survives ; and Arthur died in infancy. Mr. 
 Clapp next married Mrs. Clara F. Packard, of 
 Springfield, Mass., who was formerly a school 
 teacher for a number of 3"ears at Rockville, Conn. 
 She has been for some time an active member of 
 the Congregational Church. In politics Mr. Clapp 
 is non-partisan. He believes in a protective tariff, 
 but at local elections votes for the candidates best 
 fitted to fill the office sought. He has himself 
 avoided all overtures made to him to accept office, 
 but as a matter of duty has served one term as as- 
 sessor, and has been a committeeman in his school 
 district. 
 
 Mr. Clapp is proficient in music, and no doubt 
 inherits this gift from his father, the drum-major. 
 He is a member of Putnam Phalanx, is its snare- 
 drummer, and has accompanied this organization in 
 its visits to many noted gatherings and celebrations 
 throughout the United States. As a drummer he 
 is a graceful manipulator of the "sticks," and he 
 has taught in this line on scientific principles. He 
 has frequently been called upon to act as judge in 
 drum contests all over the State, and has thus offi- 
 ciated in several State contests. As a violinist, also, 
 he has more than a local reputation, although he has 
 confined his performance on this instrument chiefly 
 to local entertainments. 
 
 Mr. Clapp is emphatically a self-made man in 
 the business sense in which that term is used, and 
 through his own good management has secured for 
 himself his comfortable home, his enviable position 
 in society, and his high standing as a useful and 
 
1348 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 pubiic-spirited citizen. As a tobacco-grower he 
 stands among the most successful, iuis crop is 
 always well prepared and marketed in the best con- 
 dition, and he was a pioneer in the practice of put- 
 ting paper around tobacco bundles. He has greatly 
 improved his farm since first taking possession of 
 it, and now has one of the finest in the town. 
 
 HEXRY 'SI. ROSE is one of the most enterpris- 
 ing and progressive agriculturists of West Sufrield, 
 and has been remarkably successful as a tobacco- 
 grower. In business aft'airs he is energetic, prompt 
 and reliable, and his life history most Jiappily illus- 
 trates what ma\- be attained by faithful and con- 
 tinued effort in carrying out an lionest purpose. 
 
 Mr. Rose was born in \Vest Sutfield Center 
 April 22,, 18O0, and belongs to a prominent old fam- 
 ily of Hartford county, more fully mentioned else- 
 where. Mortimer Rose, his father, was born on the 
 old homestead in West Sutifield in 1822. He was a 
 brother of James B. Rose, and first cousin of Oliver 
 Kose, of \\'est Suffield. He attended the district 
 schools near his boyhood home, and was later a 
 student in \\'il]iraham (Mass.) Academy. During 
 his minority he assisted his father in the labors of 
 the farm, and later he and his brother James B. en- 
 gageil in mercantile business, under the firm name 
 of James B. & M. Rose, until 1865. They also be- 
 came interestetl in other lines, such as general farm- 
 ing and milling, and were extensive tobacco grow- 
 ers, dealers and manufacturers of cigars, doing a 
 large and profitable business. When Mortimer Rose 
 withdrew from the firm he had $25,000. He pur- 
 chased the old homestead, then owned by his brother 
 James B., and upon that place — a tract of fifty-two 
 acres — made many improvements and engaged in 
 general farming, tobacco culture and stock raising 
 for twenty years. Being a man of excellent business 
 ability he met with good success in most of his 
 undertakings, but during the Civil war he lost quite 
 heavily, as the cigars manufactured by the firm 
 were sold in the South. Mr. Rose died upon his 
 farm in 1885, and was laid to rest in West Suffield 
 cemetery. He was a supporter of the Democratic 
 party, but never took an active part in politics, nor 
 would he accept office. The cause of education, 
 however, always found in him a firm friend, and in 
 all his habits he was strictly temperate. Though not 
 a member of any church, he Avas faithful in his ob- 
 servance of the Golden Rule, and had the confidence 
 and respect of all who knew him. He was noted 
 for his integrit}', and in the business world bore an 
 enviable reputation for fair dealing. Mr. Rose 
 married ]\Iiss Lucy Sheldon, of Suffield, a daughter 
 of John Horace and Mary Ann (Loomis) Sheldon, 
 representatives of old families in Suffield. Mrs. 
 Rose is a lady of refinement ; she now makes her 
 home in \\'est Suffield. The children born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Rose are Henry AI., our subject; Mary, 
 wife of Henry Z. Thompson, of East Granby; Mar- 
 tha, wife of Benjamin Alderman, of East Granby; 
 
 Alexander C, a grocer_\-man of Hartford; and James 
 B., a farmer of \\'est Suffield. 
 
 h\ the district schools of West Suffield Henry 
 
 j M. I'iose acquired his literary education, and upon 
 
 j the home farm obtained an excellent knowledge of 
 
 agricultural pursuits. He has spent his entire life 
 
 on the old homestead, coniprismg fifty-five acrss,. 
 
 which he has successfully operated since 1886, and 
 
 ujjon which he has erected a good barn and tobacco 
 
 sheds, and made man\- other improvements whicii 
 
 j add to its value and attractive appearance. He is 
 
 i engaged in general farming and dairying, bttt makes 
 
 ; a specialty of the raising of tobacco, and has dealt 
 
 I in the product to some extent. 
 
 Jn 1886, in Suffield, Sir. Rose was united in 
 marriage with .Miss Lena J. King, a native of that 
 town, and a daughter of Cyrus and Sarah (Casej 
 . King. They have two children: Helen S., born in 
 ' i8SS; and hlorcnce King, born in 1893. Jn his re- 
 ligious views Mr. Rose is liberal, and in politics is 
 independent, h'or si.x years he was a member of the 
 school committee, and lie has ever given his support 
 to those enterprises whicli he believes calculated to- 
 advance the educational, moral and social welfare of 
 I the community in which he lives. Fraternally he is 
 I a charter member of the O. C A. ^L, in Suffield. 
 
 \ HEXRY HART CHAPAL\X, an enterprising 
 and progressive young farmer of Newiiigton, is 
 
 ; a native of the town of which he is now a promi- 
 nent resident, born Sept. 5, 1S67, son of Charles 
 Edward and Mary (Halej Chapman, sketch of 
 whom appears elsewhere. 
 
 Henry Hart Chapman was educated in the 
 "Bell" school of Xewington, and at the conclusion 
 
 i of his school days remained on the farm of his 
 father, assisting in the careful, thorougii and suc- 
 
 ; cessful methods of farming there employed until 
 1896, wdien, on account of ill health, he went to 
 California. He secured employment as salesman 
 in the grocery of Herbert E. Andrews, in Glendale, 
 Los Angeles county. But the climate did not 
 bring the desired relief. Sir. Chapman was suffer- 
 ing from inflammatory rheumatism, and the damp 
 nights were unfavorable, so that he grew -worse 
 rather than better. He remained nearly two years,, 
 and returned to Xewington Nov. 11, 1897, continu- 
 ing on the farm with his parents until March 15, 
 1898, when he purchased from G. D. Mills the farm 
 of 150 acres on Xewington avenue, turnpike, four 
 miles east of New Britain, where he now resides. 
 It is familiarly known as the "Jacob DJck place," 
 and was once the site of a tavern and inn. Mr. 
 Chapman is a prosperous farmer, and his success 
 is attributed to his indefatigable industry. The 
 farm produces large crops of corn, potatoes, etc., 
 and has extensive pasture and meadow land. 
 
 Mr. Chapman married, Jan. 15, 1896, i\Iiss 
 Maria Louise Rogers, w'ho was born in Hartford 
 Oct. ID, 1868, the younger daughter of Stephen and 
 Maria Louise (Devoe) Rogers. Stephen Rogers- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1849 
 
 ■\vas a native of \\'aterford ; his wife was born in 
 Yonkers, N. Y.. and died soon after the birth 
 •of her daughter Alaria, Mrs. Chapman. To Mr. 
 and j\Irs. Chapman have come two children : Charles 
 Wells, born in Glendale, Cal., Jan. i6, 1897; and 
 Richard Henry, born Sept. 27, 1898. Mrs. Chap- 
 man is a member of the Park Methodist Church 
 at Hartford. Mr. Chapman is a member of Our 
 Brothers Council, No. 41, Sr. O. U. A. M., of New- 
 ington. He is actively interested in farming, and 
 the improvements which he has made on his land 
 are bringing ample returns in largely increased 
 productiveness. Though yet a young man, he has 
 displayed ripe judgment in the management of his 
 property, and is one of the most progressive agri- 
 culturists of Xewington. 
 
 GEORGE W'ASHIXGTON SAXDMAX, an 
 energetic and successful farmer and tobacco grower 
 of the town of East Granb}-, was born in CarroUton, 
 Ky., April 29, 1859, and is of German descent, be- 
 longing to a very old and respected family of Lan- 
 caster county, Penn. His great-grandfather, Law- 
 rence Sandman, was a well-to-do farmer and land 
 owner of that county, where he was born in 1735 
 and died Feb. 17, 1810. His wife Mary was born 
 in 1744, and died June 18, 1848, at the extreme old 
 age of one hundred and four j-ears. 
 
 Charles Sandman, the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born April 21, 1787, and spent his entire 
 life in Lancaster county, Penn. There he was mar- 
 ried, Feb. 16, 181 5, to JNIiss Amelia Yerkes, who 
 was born Aug. 6, 1792, and they became the par- 
 ents of the following named children : i\'Iary Ann, 
 born Feb. 4, 1816, married William Abbott; Char- 
 lotte, born Dec. 8, 1817, died Oct. 13, 1821 ; Mahala, 
 born X^ov. 19, 1819, married Michael Getman, of 
 Saratoga, X^. Y., and died June 13, 1842; Christian 
 A\'., born Jan. 8, 182 — , died Sept. 22, 1823; Will- 
 iam Y., born Xov. i, 1824, died X^ov. 5, 1824; 
 Charles Randall, born ^larch 6, 1827, was the fa- 
 ther of our subject; and Charlotte, born July 4, 
 1829, died Dec. 13, 1829. The family was well 
 known in Lancaster county arid highly respected. 
 There the grandfather died Aug. 15, 1851, after 
 which his wife came to Sufiheld, Hartford Co., 
 Conn., and spent the remainder of her life with her 
 children, dying here Feb. 2, 1859. She was a good 
 Christian woman. 
 
 Charles Randall Sandman, our subject's father, 
 was born, reared and educated in Lancaster county, 
 Penn., where he also learned the trades of a cabinet 
 maker, joiner and cigar maker, at which he worked 
 in his native county for some years. With his little 
 family he then came to Connecticut and took up his 
 residence in Sufifield, Hartford county, where he fol- 
 lowed cigar making until 1857. During that year 
 he removed to the "blue-grass region" of Kentucky, 
 locating in CarroUton, where he engaged in carpen- 
 tering until after the Civil war broke out. Being a 
 strong Cnion man, he did some valuable service for 
 
 the North as a spy, and when this was discovered 
 by the Rebels he was ordered to leave. All his prop- 
 erty and belongings were destroyed, and he was 
 forced to move. Taking with him his family, he 
 went to Indiana, where he remained long enough to 
 earn the money with which to carr}- them East, and 
 in 1862 we again find him a resident of Suffield, 
 Hartford count}-, where he engaged in cigar making 
 for several years. Later he followed the trade of a 
 carpenter and joiner in East Granby, continuing thus 
 up to the time of his death, which occurred Dec. 3, 
 1867, his remains being interred in Suffield cemetery. 
 j He was a good man, well liked b\' all who knew him, 
 j and at all times was a loyal and patriotic citizen. He 
 made great sacrifices for his country during the Re- 
 bellion, and in its interest lost all that he possessed. 
 Politically he was an uncompromising Republican, 
 but never an office seeker. Mr. Sandman was twice 
 married, and b_v the first union had one child, ]\Iary 
 Ann, born Jul)' 30, 1847. His second marriage was 
 with Miss Sarah Elliott, who was born in England, 
 and was eleven years of age when brought by her 
 parents to the United States. Her father, Robert 
 Elliott, was a native of the same country, and in 
 America made his home in Lancaster county, Penn. 
 The children born to Mr. and J\lrs. Sandman were 
 as follows: Amanda Frances, born Aug. 22, 1849, 
 died July 26, 1850; Charles Randall, born July 12, 
 1852, died in December, 1852 ; Amelia ]Mahala, born. 
 Oct. 30, 1853, died April 19, 1854; Emogene, born 
 June 27, 1855, was married, Dec. 3. 1874, to Eugene 
 Bills, and they have two children, Grace and Elliott, 
 both at home ; Ida L., born April 6, 1857, married 
 Charles \Villiams, of Suffield, Hartford county ; 
 George W., our subject, is next in the order of birth ; 
 Robert Anderson, born Oct. 7, 1862, is a farmer of 
 the town of East Granby ; and Charles Grant, born 
 Jan. 22, 1866, is also a farmer of East Granby. The 
 mother departed this life i\Iarch 10, 1897, and was 
 buried in Suffield cemetery. She and her husband 
 were both earnest and consistent members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 George W. Sandman came with his parents on 
 their return to Suffield, and he attended the public 
 schools of that place and town of East Granby, com- 
 pleting his education in the Suffield Institute. As 
 he was quite young when his father died, he was 
 early obliged to earn his own livelihood, and he 
 worked as a farm hand in the town of East Granby, 
 until 1883, during which year he was there married 
 to Miss Ansoma S. Bates, a lady of culture and re- 
 finement, and a daughter of Anson Bates, a lawyer, 
 now deceased. Of the three children born to this 
 union, Arthur is deceased, and another died in in- 
 fanc}- unnamed, Howard G. being the only one liv- 
 ing. Soon after his marriage, Mr. Sandman removed 
 to Cleveland, Ohio, where he spent one year as con- 
 ductor on a street car. The following year he 
 passed in Massachusetts, and in 1885 he returned to 
 the town of East Granby, locating upon his father- 
 i in-law's farm, at that time a tract of eighty-six acres. 
 
1850 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Here lie lias since made his home and has devoted 
 his energies to agricultural pursuits, making a spec- 
 ialty of tobacco culture, being one of the largest pro- 
 ducers of tobacco in the town. He affiliates with the 
 Republican party, and is a stanch supporter of its 
 principles, but has never been an aspirant for office. 
 He is a member of the Grange, and he and his fam- 
 ily attend the Congregational Church. They are 
 widely and favoraljly known, and have many friends 
 in the C(.)mnnniity where they reside. 
 
 WILLIAM CASEY, a well known and promi- 
 nent citizen of Enfield, was born in County Cork, 
 Ireland, June 17, 1820, a son of John and Katherine 
 (Dinecn) Casey. 
 
 Mr. Casey was reared to manhood in his native 
 country, where he served a seven-years apprentice- 
 ship at the blacksmith's trade, and later worked as 
 a journeyman three years, in Irelaiul. In 1850 he 
 came to America and settled in Enfield, where he car- 
 ried on the blacksmith's trade for many years, and, 
 to use his own ])hrase, "does a bit of it yet." He 
 has also, since 1884, conducted a livery stable in 
 Hazardville. and has accumulated a competency. 
 Mr. Case\- married IJridget Dorgan, a daughter of 
 AVilliam and Catherine (Shea) Dorgan, of Enfield, 
 and to this union were born eight children, three 
 of whom survive: John, Katherine (who is a Sister 
 of Mercy), and Mary. Mrs. Casey died March 7, 
 1896. aged sixty-five years. Politically Mr. Cascv 
 is a Democrat, and in religious faith he is a Roman 
 Catholic. 
 
 ROBERT COSMOS ELLRICH, a well- 
 known machinist, pattern-maker and inventor, re- 
 siding in Southington, was born on the ship "Cos- 
 mos," March 30. 185^. v.hile his parents. Frederick 
 Robert August and Wilhelmena (Miller) Ellrich, 
 were crossing the Atlantic, with the intention of 
 making their future home in America. They were 
 natives of Saxony, Germany. Landing in New 
 York, they made their home there for nine years, 
 and in 1861 removed to Xew Haven, Conn., in 1868 
 becoming residents of Southington. The father, a 
 blacksmith by trade, followed his vocation during his 
 residence in these places. He died in Plantsville, 
 July 6, 1870. 
 
 Our subject accompanied his parents on their 
 various removals, and during his boyhood obtained 
 a limited education in the common schools. At the 
 age of thirteen years he entered the employ of the 
 Plant ^lanufacturing Co., New York City, and con- 
 tinued with them there and at Plantsville up to 
 1869. when he entered the employ of what is now 
 the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., to learn the pattern- 
 maker's trade, which he followed twelve years. In 
 1 88 1 the Ellrich Hardware Co. was formed as a stock 
 companv. with George S. Allen, president ; T. At- 
 •water Barnes, of New Haven, secretary ; Sherman 
 Blakeslee. treasurer: and Robert C. Ellrich, super- 
 intendent. As manufacturers of hardware spec- 
 
 ialties this company existed for ten years. Since 
 1891 Mr. Ellrich has been in the employ of the Peck,. 
 Stow & \Vilcox Co., as a machinist and pattern- 
 maker. He is also the inventor and patentee of 
 some twenty-five specialties manufactured by thenv 
 among the latest being the New Triumphant meat 
 cutter, the New Ideal cutter, and the Ellrich solid 
 bar wrench ; there is such demand for the latter that 
 the firm cannot fill the orders fast enough. 
 
 On April 10, 1878, Mr. Ellrich was united in 
 marriage with Aliss Emma P'eucht, a daughter of 
 Jacob and Amelia l-'eucht, of Southington, and 
 they have three children : Etta L., Robert G. and 
 Charles N. Politically Mr. Ellrich is a Republican^ 
 and fraternallv he is a member of Friendship Lodee. 
 No. 33, F. & A. M. 
 
 1 '.VTRICK J. LEE. The Lee family is probably 
 of English extraction, although for several genera- 
 tions past resident in County Clare, Ireland. Eotlx 
 the father and grandfather of Patrick J. Lee were 
 tenant fanners, and men of considerable local prom- 
 inence. Michael Lee married a Miss Bryan, and 
 was the father of four sons and three daughters: 
 Dennis, John, Michael, Thomas, Bridget, Margaret 
 and Honora. John Lee, the father of Patrick J., 
 emigrated from Ireland to America in 1851, but 
 was attacked with illness during the voyage, and 
 died within four days after landing at New York. 
 He married Margaret I'itzpatrick, by whom he had 
 two children — Michael J., born in 1838, and Patricic 
 J., who was born in October, 1842. His wife died 
 in 1853. 
 
 Patrick J. Lee was a lad of scarcely ten years- 
 when he accompanied his mother to New Britain, 
 His early educationad advantages were such as the 
 district schools of that day aft'orded, his mother's 
 limited means not enabling her to do what her mater- 
 nal heart prompted. Had he followed his own bent 
 cultivating those native powers of the mind which 
 have brought about his success, his course in later 
 life might have been dilYerent. As it was, he found 
 it necessary to leave school at the age of thirteen^ 
 and the education and general information which' 
 enabled him to hold his own in any controversy he 
 acquired through his ow"n unaided efforts. As a 
 boy he worked in shops at New Britain, and on 
 reaching the age when maturity and love of adven- 
 ture join in stimulating a desire for change, he set 
 out from Connecticut for California, whither his 
 brother, ]\Iichael. had already preceded him, in 1858. 
 He made the trip via the Isthmus, the time con- 
 sumed being twenty-eight days. Even as a young" 
 man he manifested that enterprise which he always 
 showed in later life, and which was the nucleus of 
 his success. In company with his brother he trav- 
 eled through Oregon, Idaho, IMontana and Nevada. 
 From Helena he returned to New Britain in 1869, 
 and entered into the grocery business in connection 
 with his brother, Michael J., and Daniel Flynn, the 
 firm continuing in existence for seven years. At the 
 
 i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1351 
 
 end of that time JMichael J. retired, and 2^Iessrs. Lee 
 & Fl3-nn conducted the business together, it being 
 located for twenty-seven years at No. l6 Sexton 
 street. In 1897 they closed their grocery, but con- 
 tinued in the wholesale liquor business, being pio- 
 neers in that line of trade in New Britain. In that 
 year Mr. Flynn died, and Mr. Lee purchased the 
 interest theretofore held by him, and conducted the 
 business alone until his death, on December 4, 1898. 
 It is now in care of T. F. Lee, at No. 300 Main street. 
 
 Mr. Lee was a man of imusually good business 
 judgment and endowed with wonderful energy. He 
 dealt extensively in real estate and was a large land 
 owner. He accumulated, through his own exer- 
 tions a handsome fortune, leaving an estate valued 
 at $70,000. He was a man of broad views and was 
 distinguished for his public spirit, always taking an 
 interest in every measure looking to the upbuilding 
 of the city. He was one of the original promoters 
 of the Opera House Company and a director and 
 large stockholder therein. He was a Democrat in 
 politics and an active worker in his party's interests. 
 For several years he represented the Fifth ward in 
 the City Covmcil, with advantage to his constituents 
 and honor to himself. In social life he was genial, 
 courteous and generous. He was an active member 
 of the Knights of Columbus and of St. Patrick, 
 being a charter member of both organizations, and 
 treasurer of tlie latter from the date of its establish- 
 ment in New Britain until his death. He was also 
 a member of the Catholic Legion. Fie was a Roman 
 Catholic in faith, and belonged to St. Mary's parish, 
 contributing liberally to the cause of religion, as 
 well as to public and private charities. His death 
 was deeply mourned, not only bv his own personal 
 friends and acquaintances, but by the communit)'; 
 at large. 
 
 Mr. Lee married Bridget, a daughter of John 
 Cloughessy, of County Clare, Ireland, and to them 
 were born five children: John A., who graduated 
 from Yale College in 1895, and is now practicing 
 medicine in Brooklyn ; Thomas F., who is manager 
 of the estate ; and Jilargaret, Frederick and Robert 
 C, who are living at home. Thomas F. Lee was 
 educated at the New Britain High School, but left 
 that institution in 1894, a year before graduation, 
 to enter into business as an assistant to his father. 
 He is an enterprising young- business man, posses- 
 sing the qualities of mind and heart which made 
 his father successful and so widely beloved. 
 
 LEWIS ALFRED MORAN, a prominent cit- 
 izen of Windsor Locks, is deserving of special men- 
 tion in this volume as a man of enterprise and abil- 
 ity. For many years he has been identified with 
 the business interests of his village, which he has 
 seen develop from a mere hamlet to its present size, 
 and his influence is also felt in local affairs, although 
 he is not a politician in the strict sense of the word, 
 and is disinclined to enter the arena as a candidate 
 for official honors. 
 
 ]\Ir. ]\Ioran is of Scottish descent in the paternal 
 line, but his ancestors came to New England dur- 
 ing Colonial times. Gaylord Moran, his grandfa- 
 ther, was born in the town of Suftield, Hartford 
 county, where he passed his life in agricultural pur- 
 suits. He married Deborah Parmelee, a member of 
 another Sufifield family, and they had the foUowingi 
 children: Eliza (Mrs. King), William, Phcebe, 
 Caroline, Alfred, J\Iary and George, all now de- 
 ceased. 
 
 Alfred Moran, the father of our subject, was a 
 native of Suffield, where he received a common- 
 school education. As a young man he learned the 
 carpenter's trade, but for many years be was en- 
 gaged in tobacco raising in addition to that work. 
 He was much respected for his excellent qualities 
 of character, and at times held minor town offices. 
 Mr. Moran married Julia A. Lamberton, who was 
 born in Fredonia, N. V., a daughter of James Lam- 
 berton, formerly of Windsor, Conn., and Lewis A., 
 our subject, is the eldest of four children born to 
 this worthy couple ; Edward William and Heiiry 
 James reside in Suffield; and Martha died in 
 mfancy. 
 
 Lewis A. Moran was born Feb. 25, 1839, at the 
 old homestead in Suffield, and was educated in the 
 schools of that locality. He learned the carpenter's 
 trade with his father, and for some time was em- 
 ployed as a journeyman in Springfield, Mass., Hart- 
 ford, Conn., and Cleveland, Ohio. In 1871 he en- 
 gaged in the meat business at Windsor Locks, t^ut 
 in 1889 he sold out to C. C. Graves and resumed his 
 former work as a carpenter. At present he is also 
 interested in the raising of tobacco, in partnership 
 with his brothers, and is regarded as a substantial 
 citizen. He is not a member of any church or social 
 organization; politically he is a strong Democrat, 
 and for two terms he served as selectman, but on 
 being elected to the offices of town clei-k and treas- 
 urer he declined to accept. 
 
 In 1868 Mr. Moran was married, at ^Nlamaro- 
 neck, N. Y., to Miss Rebecca Sherrer, who died in 
 1873, leaving two children: Ernest Lewis, a resident 
 of East Windsor ; and Rebecca Lydia. In 1879 
 Mr. Moran was married in Windsor Locks to Miss 
 Lily T. Whipple, by whom he has had two children : 
 Emma (deceased) and Raymond A. 
 
 JAMES BIRMINGHAM, a well-to-do agricul- 
 turist of the town of East Windsor, is a typical 
 self-made man, and in the following record of his 
 career there is much to arouse respect and esteem. 
 He has. placed his reliance upon industry and per- 
 severance rather than "luck," and by making the 
 most of circumstances, however discouraging, has 
 made his way to a substantial success, his fine farm 
 near Broad IBrook village being a tangible evidence 
 of prosperity. 
 
 Mr. Birmingham was born in 1836 in County 
 Galwav, Ireland, son cf jMichael and Nora Bir- 
 mingham"; his father was a farmer and stock herd- 
 
1352 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 or. \\'hen a boy Mr. Birmingham learned to make 
 liimself useful in various lines of work, as his par- 
 ents had but limited means, and for the same rea- 
 son his educational privileges were meagre. Work 
 was scarce and wages low, and on growing to man- 
 liood he found no chance to .gain a competence and 
 establish a home for himself. He married Miss 
 Kate Healey, a native of tlie same county, and for a 
 lime worked at any labor that could be obtained, 
 but finally concluded to come to the United States 
 in order to better his condition. Having; saved the 
 passage money from his earnings, he left his wife 
 and family, which then consisted of two sons, and 
 made the voyage in 1865. and soon after landing 
 came to Windsor Locks, where he earned his first 
 American dollar as a tender to the masons employed 
 in the construction of the Stockinet mill. He was 
 faithful and industrious, the hope of sending for his 
 beloved wife and children being a constant inspira- 
 tion. In the following spring lie was employed as 
 a farm hand by Jabez S. Allen, with whom he re- 
 mained eight years, and later he worked three years 
 on the farm of Levi Webster, his long terms of ser- 
 vice with these thorough-going managers showing 
 his reliability and efficiency, l-lvery cent that he 
 could spare was sent to his wife, and in 1875, after 
 a separation of ten years, she and the childVen re- 
 joined him, the voyage being made in ten davs on 
 the "Adriatic," of the White Star line. Soon after- 
 ward ^Ir. Birmingham bought his ])resent farm, 
 where he has made many improvements, and with 
 the help of his estinialile wife and enterprising sons 
 he has made it a valuable homestead. While he is 
 a man of strong character, as shown 1)\- his history, 
 his manner is quiet and unassuming, and as a neigh- 
 bor and a citizen he is much esteemed. Politicallv 
 lie affiliates with the Democratic partw and he and 
 his family are leading members of St. Catharine's 
 Catholic Church at liroad lirook. His four chil- 
 dren would do credit to any parents. ( i ) Michael, 
 a resident of Hartford, married Jennie Dunn, and 
 has two daughters, Mame Frances and Christine 
 Agatha. (2) Patrick F. also resides in Hartford. 
 <3) James, a promising young agriculturist, now 
 takes charge of the farm, and relieves his father of 
 business cares. (4) :\[iss Katy resides at home. 
 
 CHARLES FREDERICK [MICHAEL, pro- 
 prietor of the "Commercial House," at Bristol, is 
 a self-made man whose career shows the value of 
 enterprise and energy when wisely directed. 
 
 Mr. Michael was born April 12, 1849, in Katz- 
 huette, Province of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Ger- 
 many, son of Christian and Laura (Tischer) 
 IMichael. His paternal grandfather, Nicholaus 
 Michael, was born in that province, and spent his 
 ^ntire life in his native land. Bv occupation he 
 was a wood chopper. He fought with the Prus- 
 sian army against Napoleon Bonaparte in 1812, be- 
 ing taken prisoner at Moscow, and after gaining his 
 liberty returned to his native province, where he 
 •died about 1854. He married Barbara Baumann, 
 
 who survived him, and died in Union Cit)-, Conn. 
 They had a large family of children : ( i ) Carl, 
 who died in Terryville, Conn., married Lena Troll, 
 who died in Germany, and they had five children, 
 of v\-hom two are livmg — Emma, wife of Andrew 
 Karlman, of Terryville ; and Frank, who resides in 
 New York. (2) Louisa married Heinrich Heinze, 
 and both died in (Germany. They had four chil- 
 dren — Laura, residing in Lynn, Mass. ; Emil, resid- 
 ing in New York City ; and Egbert and Edmund, 
 residing in Newark, N. J. (3) Christian, our 
 subject's father, is mentioned more fully below. 
 (4) Caroline was married (first) to Heinrich Troll, 
 and (second) to Christian Schwabe, and now re- 
 sides in L'nion City, Conn. By the first union she 
 had two children — h'redericka, wife of Emil Mathes, 
 of Terryville ; and Miss Emma, who resides in 
 Union City. Bj' the second union there were three 
 children — Hattie, wife of Charles Rasguin, of 
 Union City : Adeline, wife of Thomas Clator, of 
 Toledo, Ohio: and Fred, now residing in Cleve- 
 land, Ohio. (5) Heinrich died in boyhood. (6) 
 I'rcderick served in the war of the Rebellion, and 
 died of consumption in Terryville some six years 
 after his discharge. (7) Henry served five years 
 in the Mexican war. also fought in the Rebellion, 
 and died in New York about 1897. (8) Otilla 
 married Henry Scherr, and resides in New York 
 City. They have six children living. (9) Adeline 
 married Charles Clump, and resides in Cleveland, 
 Ohio. 
 
 Christian Michael, our subject's father, came to 
 America in 1859, and remained at Meriden, Conn., 
 with his sister, ]Mrs. Henry Sc'herr, for about two 
 months. He then removed to New Britain, where 
 he resided until February, 1862, and has since made 
 his home at Terryville. His wife died in March, 
 i8c)7. Our subject was the eldest of a family of ten 
 children, of whom three died in childhood. Of 
 the others, Louis resides in Bristol. Louisa, wife 
 of Carlton B. Ives, resides in Bristol. Lillian is the 
 wife of George Scherr, of Bristol. Conrad resides 
 in Terryville. Minnie married Louis Burg, of 
 Bristol. Emma died at the age of sixteen. 
 
 Charles F. Michael was ten years old when he 
 came to America with his parents, and his educa- 
 tion was gained partly in his native land. He 
 attended the public schools of Meriden and New 
 Britain, and later entered the employ of J. B. Sar- 
 gent, of New Britain, with whom he remained only 
 six months, as the family removed to Terryville. 
 There he worked at the manufacture of cabinet 
 locks for a year, and was afterward engaged with 
 Eli Terry, a manufacturer of clock springs, until 
 the closing up of that business. He was next em- 
 ployed by the Eagle Bit & Buckle Co., with whom 
 he learned the business of silver plating, and re- 
 mained until the firm dissolved, when he entered 
 the -employ of Ga3-Iord, Mix & Co., mail bag lock 
 manufacturers. Two years later this business was 
 purchased by the Eagle Lock Co., and Mr. Michael 
 remained with the latter firm until 1872, when he 
 
C. J^ ^c^£ucU. 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1353 
 
 removed to W'insted, Conn., and kept a billiard 
 saloon for a year. In 1873 he removed to Bristol, 
 and on Aug. 31, of that year, he purchased the land 
 upon which the "'Commercial House" now stands. 
 On the following day ground was broken and 
 work commenced, and on April i, 1874, he opened 
 his hotel under the name of the "Bismark House." 
 In 1875 he sold out the hotel and removed to Terry- 
 ville, where he remained two years, but on his re- 
 turn to Bristol he resumed the management of the 
 hotel, which in the interval had been renamed the 
 "Commercial House." Some six years later he 
 again sold out the hotel, but a year later resumed 
 its management. In 1889 he again sold out, but 
 since 1890 he has operated the hotel continuously. 
 He is also builder and owner of the Bristol Opera 
 House, and treasurer and manager of the Bristol 
 Journal, the only daily paper in the borough of 
 Bristol. He and his family are much esteemed so- 
 cially, and he belongs to Pequabuck Lodge, No. 
 48, I. O. O. F., being a charter member; the Daugh- 
 ters of Rebekah, same order ; Adelphi Lodge, No. 
 12, New England Order of Protection; Bristol 
 Lodge, No. 28, A. O. U. W. ; and Guttenburg 
 Lodge, No. 570, D. O. H. He has always been 
 a Democrat, and was elected justice of the peace, 
 but did not serve. He served one term on the 
 board of burgesses, when Dr. E. P. Woodward was 
 warden. 
 
 On March 23, 1872, Mr. Mic'hael was married, 
 at Terryville, to Miss Katie Burg, who was born 
 in Greenfield, Mass., daughter of Theobald and 
 Elizabeth Burg, natives of Germany. Five chil- 
 dren have blessed the union : Louise Frances, born 
 March 16, 1873. who was married, Feb. 22, 1898, 
 to Charles Russell Riley, of Bristol ; William Burg, 
 born Feb. 19, 1875, who- was married, May 12, 
 1898, to Miss Louise Ahl, of Agawam, Mass. i Fred- 
 erick Burg, born May 5, 1877 ; George Burg, born 
 July 17, 1880: and Ruth Burg, born May 12, 1894. 
 
 DAVID KINGHORN, an expert horseshoer of 
 East Hartford, is a native of New York City, and 
 was born June 27, 1858, the eldest of the six children 
 that constituted the family of Henry and Martha 
 (Ralston) Kinghorn, natives of Scotland. David 
 Kinghorn, the father of Henry, had a family. of 
 four sons and one daughter, all of whom came to 
 America, and of whom two are still living : George, 
 a carpenter in Hartford, Conn. ; and Mrs. Lawson, 
 a resident of Gallipolis, Ohio. 
 
 Henrv Kinghorn learned his trade of horse- 
 shoer in his native land, came to the United States 
 while yet single, and in New York married Martha, 
 a daughter of ]\Iatthew Ralston, who brought his 
 family from Scotland to New York, and there passed 
 the remainder of his life. To Henry and Martha 
 Kinghorn were born four sons and two daughters, 
 the sons being David, the subject of this sketch ; 
 William, of Silver street. East Hartford ; Harry, a 
 blacksmith of Hartford ; and James, who died in 
 Hartford at the age of thirty-eight vears. In 1862 
 
 Henry Kinghorn brought his family to Hartford, 
 and here he died at the age of about fifty years; 
 here his wife also died, when forty-eight years old. 
 Both were devout members of the Presbyterian 
 Church, and in politics Mr. Kinghorn was a Re- 
 publican, but took only a voting interest in the party. 
 He was an exceptionally good mechanic, capable of 
 converting iron into any implement usually made 
 from that metal, and was able to support his family 
 comfortably. He was of a quiet, inoffensive dis- 
 position, and greatl}' respected by his associates and 
 neighbors. 
 
 David Kinghorn, the subject of this notice, was 
 a child of four years when brought to Hartford by 
 his parents. He first attended the old stone (public) 
 school on Market street, and afterward the Brown 
 school, and at the age of fifteen years left his studies 
 to learn horseshoeing under his father, for whom 
 he worked until the death of the latter. He then 
 assumed charge of the business on his own account, 
 and followed it at No. 10 Charles street until 1897, 
 when he located in East Hartford, where he had 
 previousl}^ resided for several years ; he established 
 his shop on Governor street, where he now owns 
 a three-story tenement and his own dwelling, which 
 is a double house, with his shop on the rear of the 
 lot. 
 
 Mr. Kinghorn married Miss Mary Kearnen, a 
 native of New York, and to this union have been 
 born three children, Elizabeth, David and Francis, 
 all of whom are deceased. Mrs. Kinghorn is a 
 member of St. Mary's Catholic Church at East 
 Hartford, and socially Mr. Kinghorn is a member of 
 Hartford Lodge, No. .19, B. P. O. E. In politics 
 he is a Republican, but, while he votes regularly, he 
 takes little interest in party politics, and as a rule 
 at town elections votes for the candidate he thinks 
 best fitted to execute the duties of the office to be 
 filled. 
 
 Mr. Kinghorn inherits much of his father's 
 skill as a mechanic, and has built up an excellent 
 business in his line, in which he has had twenty- 
 five years' experience. He is an industrious, strictly 
 temperate and reliable citizen, and has won the re- 
 spect of all other worthy citizens of his town. He 
 still owns the blacksmith shop at No. 10 Charles 
 street, Hartford, which is in charge of his brother 
 Harry. He is self-made, in the fullest sense of the 
 term as ordinarily applied to successful men of 
 business, and deserves full credit for having at-, 
 tained his present high standing. 
 
 WILLIAM H. WARNER, at present (1900) 
 serving as one of the selectmen of Wethersfield, is a 
 wealthv farmer and influential citizen of that town. 
 He was born Oct. i, 1853, and belongs to a family 
 reckoned among the earliest and most respected in 
 Wethersfield. A genealogical history of the Warner 
 family may be found elsewhere, but it is worth 
 while to trace Mr. Warner's ancestry back for a 
 few generations, in the present connection, with a 
 
1354 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 view of afforiling the reader a partial view of his 
 family connections. His great-grandfather, John 
 Warner, Sr., and grandfather, John Warner, Jr., 
 were also natives of W'etherstield, and lived on the 
 farm now occupied by our subject's brother, John 
 C. Warner. 
 
 Horace Warner, father of William H., was born 
 in Wethersfield, and there grew to manhootl. His 
 education was of a practical rather than a theoreti- 
 cal character, and was of a sort well calculated to 
 lay a solid foundation for a successful business ca- 
 reer. He was a large grower of produce — par- 
 ticularly onions — which he shipped to New York 
 and other markets, earning a moderate, though sat- 
 isfactory, profit. He was broad-minded on all ques- 
 tions, and a man of sincere convictions. Politically 
 he was a Democrat, although not a "hide-bound" 
 partisan. His religious opinions were liberal. His 
 life was blameless, and in the community in which 
 he lived, and where his daily walk was as an open 
 book, his character for probity was never ques- 
 tioned, while his amiabilitv and generosity made for 
 him many friends. He died Aug. i6. 1883, in the 
 enjoyment of tlie undisguised respect of the towns- 
 people of Wethersfield. 
 
 In January, 1840, Mr. \\arner married Abigail 
 H. Hills, whose father w^as a deacon in the Congre- 
 gational Church of Buckingham. Hartford county. 
 She died Nov. 4, 1878. a communicant of the Episco- 
 pal Church : her remains rest in Cedar Hill cemetery. 
 Mr. and Mrs. \\'arner were the parents of five sons 
 and two datighters, of whom two sons, born ?klarch 
 16, 1841, and Feb. 4, 1848, respectively, died in in- 
 fancy. Those who reached .maturit}^ were : Ellen 
 Maria, born June 15, 1842, married Josiah G. Adams 
 Dec. 30, 1863 : John Chester was born July 10, 1845 J 
 Rosalie Rebecca, born June 14, 1849, died Sept. i, 
 1871 ; Frederick ^^'alton was born April 4, 1851 ; 
 and William H. was born Oct. i, 1853. 
 
 William H. Warner was educated in the district 
 schools, at W'ethersfield Academy, and at Cheshire 
 College, an Episcopal educational institution. At 
 the age of nineteen, inspired by a desire to see more 
 of the world, and in the hope of finding better for- 
 tune than seemed to be offered by his native to\vn, 
 he went ^^'est. He first found employment in In- 
 dianapolis, with Pettis, Ives & Co., and also went to 
 St. Louis, where he worked for three years in a 
 clerical capacity, and later was traveling salesman 
 .for a Chicago house for the same period. At the 
 end of this time he returned home and entered the 
 store of Brown & Thomson, at Hartford, passing 
 another three years in this employ, when he deter- 
 mined to abandon mercantile life and become a 
 farmer. Since forming this resolve he has followed 
 agriculture, 'in which he has met with well-deserved 
 success, and in adition to his farm work he has an 
 agency for the sale of agricultural implements. He 
 is enterprising and progressive, and thoroughly well 
 informed on all important topics of the day ; an in- 
 dependent thinker, yet not self-opinionated. In his 
 
 private business his sense of honor is high, and as 
 a citizen he is always ready to bear his full share of 
 public burdens. That he is held in high esteem is 
 shown by the fact that in 1896 he was elected a 
 selectman, and has held the otifice ever since, through 
 re-election. He and his wife are members of the 
 Grange, in whose prosperity he takes a lively inter- 
 est, and in which he holds the office of overseer. 
 Politically he is a Democrat. Plis religious faith 
 is that which he learned from his mother in child- 
 hood ; he is a vestryman in the Episcopal Church, 
 and a liberal contributor to its support and work. 
 
 On Aug. 12, 1884, Mr. W^arner was married to 
 Miss Rose Chapman, a daughter of Frederick Tal- 
 cott and Elizabeth Hale (Gilbert) Chapman, of 
 Wethersfield, antl two children have been born to 
 tiicm : Elizabeth Hale Clia])man (at present a pupil 
 in the high school) and Abigail Rose. 
 
 OLIX LYMAX WETHERELL. A wide- 
 awake and enterprising business man, and a skilled 
 meclianic, the subject uf this sketch has become one 
 of the successful citizens of Newington. A native 
 of that town, he was born on Cedar street, July 4, 
 1845, ^"d is a son of Lyman and Prudence (Mor- 
 gan ) Wetherell, natives of Glastonbury and Weth- 
 ersfield. Hartford Co., Conn., respectively. The 
 jiaternal grandi)arents, Marcus and Rohama (Bid- 
 well j Wetherell, were residents of Glastonbury, and 
 their remains are interred at that place. As a life 
 occupation the father and grandfather both followed 
 blacksmithing, the former conducting a shop where 
 our subject is now engaged in the same business. 
 There Lyman Wetherell died in 1890, aged seventy- 
 two years, and his w^ife passed away at Elmwood 
 in i8y8, aged eighty-one; both were laid to rest in 
 Xewington cemetery. 
 
 Olin L. Wetherell obtained his literary education 
 in the public schools of Newington, and at the early 
 age of nine years commenced learning the black- 
 smith's trade in his father's shop, his first work 
 being pointing nails. Leaving home at the age of 
 twenty-two years, he went to I'roy. X. Y., where for 
 ten years he was employed as a tool sharpener and 
 stone cutter in the monumental works of W. H. & 
 L. L. Dyer. The following four years he devoted 
 to stone cutting for a Mr. Manson, in Albany, N. 
 Y., and for six months was engaged in the same 
 business in Saratoga, and later in Stony Creek for 
 the same length of time. Returning to Albany, he 
 resumed work with his former employer, with whom 
 he remained a year, at the end of that time coming 
 to Newington, where he assisted his father until the 
 latter's death. He then took charge of the shop, 
 and has since conducted the same with marked suc- 
 cess, winning a liberal patronage by fair and hon- 
 orable dealing and first-class work. 
 
 In 1869 Mr. Wetherell married Miss Lillie 
 Richards, datighter of Francis G. and Priscilla (Re- 
 nough) Richards, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and they have 
 one daughter, Augusta, who was born ]May 4, 1882, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 135& 
 
 and is now attending school in Newington. Socially 
 Mr.Wetherell is a member of Wyllys Lodge, No. 99, 
 F. & A. i\I., of West Hartford ; Uur Brothers Lodge, 
 No. 41, Sr. O. U. A. M., of Newington; and the 
 Colony of Pilgrim Fathers, No. 45, of Newington. 
 He is one of the most prominent representatives of 
 the Republican party in his community, and is now 
 serving as chairman of the Republican executive 
 committee of Newington. Through his able man- 
 agement the party has come off victorious at all re- 
 cent elections with the exception of that of 1897, 
 when there was a split in the party ranks. Our 
 subject has capably filled the positions of constable 
 and grand juror, and a trust reposed in him has 
 never been misplaced. 
 
 JOHN COLLINS, a leading grocer of Plants- 
 ville, is a self-made man who, without pecuniary 
 advantages at the commencement of life, battled 
 earnestly and energetically, and by indomitable 
 courage and integrity has achieved success. By 
 sheer force of will and untiring effort he has worked 
 his way upward. 
 
 ]\Ir. Collins was born in County Kerry, Ireland, 
 Dec. 23, 1844, ^ son of John and Jane (McCarthy) 
 Collins, who came to America in 1849, and located 
 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. There our subject 
 was educated in the common schools, and there he 
 remained until fifteen years of age. In 1859 he be- 
 came a resident of Plantsville, Hartford Co., Conn , 
 where he was employed in the bolt shop of the 
 Plant Manufacturing Co. until 1863, and then 
 worked as a molder for the Peck, Smith & Wilcox 
 Co., until 1868. In the latter year he embarked in 
 the grocery business, to which he has since devoted 
 his time and attention with most gratifying results. 
 He is now the oldest merchant, in years of continu- 
 ous business, in Plantsville. He erected his pres- 
 ent block in 1870, and has the best appointed store 
 in the place. 
 
 In November, 1872, Mr. Collins married Miss 
 Hannah Carmody, a daughter of John and Plannah- 
 Carmody, of Plantsville, and to them were born 
 two daughters, Maggie and Annie. Mr. Collins 
 is a member of the Catholic Church, and of the 
 Ancient Order of Hibernians. He is unswerving 
 in his allegiance to the Democratic party, and has 
 most efficiently served as a member of the board of 
 assessors four vears, and as a member of the board of 
 burgesses for the same length of time. 
 
 RANSOM W'RISLEY. There are few people 
 in the vicinity of Glastonbury who do not know 
 Capt. Ransom Wrisley, there are none who know 
 him who are not warm in their expressions of 
 friendliness and regard. He is a successful farmer 
 and in earlier life followed the sea. One of his 
 m.emorable experiences was the spectacle of the 
 history-making fight between the "Monitor" and 
 the "Merrimac." Capt. Wrisley was at Hampton 
 Roads, sailing his schooner, the "Marietta Smith," 
 
 and is one of the few surviving eye witnesses of 
 that terrific and momentous battle of the first iron- 
 clads. 
 
 The Wrisley family is an old one in the annals 
 of Connecticut, and George Wrisley, the grand- 
 father of Capt. Ransom Wrisky, was familiarly 
 known as "'Uncle George Wrisley," and was one 
 of the most prominent men of his time; he erected 
 the house at Glastonbury now occupied by our 
 subject. He was a lifelong farmer, thrifty and 
 prosperous, and at one time owned land three miles 
 in length, extending from Glastonbury to Wethers- 
 field. He reared a large family. His remains rest 
 in the old cemetery at Glastonbury. 
 
 George Smith Wrisley, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was born in the home now occupied by hia 
 son. He received the common schooling which the 
 times afforded, and early in life applied himself 
 to farming, a .vocation which he followed all his 
 years. For some time prior to his death, in 1859, 
 he was an invalid. He married Miss Sarah Keeney, 
 who was born and reared on Keeney street, Glaston- 
 bury, one of the four daughters of Ashbel Keeney, 
 a farmer, the others being Mrs. Daniel Winslow, 
 Mrs. David King and Mrs. Giles House. To 
 George Smith and Sarah Wrisley were born three 
 children — Winthrop, Ann and Ransom. Winthrop 
 became a sailor, in early life sailing a boat between 
 Portland quarries and various ports along the 
 coast, and later in life sailing on the Great Lakes ; 
 his first wife was Emma House, and after her death 
 he married a lady from Michigan. Ann married 
 P. L. Phelps, and lived in Glastonbury. 
 
 Ransom Wrisley was born in July, 183 1, in the 
 house which he now occupies. He received a fair 
 education in his boyhood years, but early mani- 
 fested a liking for the water, and was first em- 
 ployed by Samuel Colt in boating stone, which 
 was used in the construction of the factory. He was 
 a favorite employe of the famous manufacturer who 
 often referred to Mr. Wrisley as "My Captain." 
 Later Capt. Wrisley purchased a vessel, and was 
 engaged in carrying government stones to the 
 South during the Civil war, and he would stop at 
 various ports and take on a cargo of coal. Mrs. 
 Wrisley frequently accompanied her husband on 
 these coastwise voyages. They often sailed the 
 Potomac when that river was crowded with vessels, 
 and it was while thus engaged that Capt. AVrisley 
 put into Hampton Roads one day with his schooner 
 "Marietta Smith," and witnessed the thrilling naval 
 engagement between the little "Monitor" and the 
 formidable "Merrimac." Later he ran the schooner 
 "L. Benedict." After the war Capt. Wrisley 
 gave up sailing and returned to the home farm, 
 which he has since occupied. 
 
 Capt. Wrisley married Miss Elizabeth Smith, 
 who was born Nov. 14, 1833, daughter of Shubael 
 and Mary (Wrisley) Smith, and was one of a 
 family of eleven children. To our subject and wife 
 have been born no children, but they have given a 
 
1356 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 home to several, among them Mary E. Dunnel, 
 adopted by our subject when slie was a girl of five 
 years, and who is now the wife of William Afflick, 
 of Glastonbury. In politics Capt. Wrisley is Ci 
 Democrat, but he has never sought office. He is 
 prominent in the fraternal orders of Glastonbury 
 and has been a ^lason for forty-two years, being 
 one of the oldest in the town, a member of Daskam 
 Lodge, No. 86. He is also a charter member of 
 the I. O. O. F. lodge at Glastonbury, and a mem- 
 ber of Monitor Council, No. 6i, O. U. A. M. Mrs. 
 \\'risley is a member of the Episcopal Church. 
 Capt. Wrisley has a wide circle of friends ami ac- 
 quaintances, is a successful farmer, and by his 
 popular characteristics wields a wide influence for 
 good throughout the community. 
 
 FREDERICK ALBERT BIDVVELL.a success- 
 ful agriculturist of Canton, has been prominently 
 identified with public affairs in that town for 
 many years, and is now holding the office of select- 
 man. He belongs to an old and well-known. fam- 
 ily, being a ilcscendant t)f John I'.idwell, a pioneer 
 settler in Hartford. 
 
 Thomas Bidwell, the first of the name to locate 
 in Canton, was born in Windsor in 1701, son of 
 John Bidwell. About 1740 he removed to what is 
 now the town of Canton and engaged in farming, 
 and his death occurred there in 1746, his remains 
 being interred in Town Hill cemetery, at Xew 
 Hartford. He married Ruhama Pinney, and had 
 four children: .Vbigail. born in 1734, married 
 Thomas Cone, and died in 1810; Ruhannah Cor 
 Hannah) married James Cornish, and died in 1814; 
 Thomas is mentioned below : and Prudence mar- 
 ried Aaron Pinney. ]\Irs. Bidwell survived her hus- 
 band, and afterward married Ephraim Wilcox, bv 
 whom she had five children : Philander, Martin, 
 Asa, Jehiel, and Chloe (who married Elijah Hum- 
 phrey). 
 
 Thomas Bidwell (2), son of Thomas, was born 
 in 1738, and was but two years old when the fam- 
 ily located iii Canton, where he resided at the 
 homestead throughout life, making farming his oc- 
 cupation. He died in 1802, and his wife, Esther 
 Orton, who was born in 1737, died in 1823, in her 
 eighty-seventh year. Of their six children, the eld- 
 est, Jehiel. born in 1760, was taken prisoner at 
 Fort Washington in November, 1776, and died in 
 1777, from the effects of the hardships endured; 
 Riverius, born in 1762, died in 1822, and his wife, 
 Phebe Roberts, died in 1837; Thomas is next in the 
 line of descent : Norman, born in 1768, married 
 Falla Hills, and died in 1849; Lois, born in 1773, 
 married Dr. Abram Peet, and died in 1828; Jasper, 
 born in 177s. married Lucv Richards, and died in 
 1848. 
 
 Thomas Bidwell (3), son of Thomas (2), was 
 born in 1764 in Canton, where he engaged in 
 farming all his life, and was highly esteemed as 
 a citizen. He attained the ripe old age of eighty- 
 
 three _\'ears, and his death occurred in 1848. His 
 wife, Lavinia Humphrey, who was born in 1765, 
 and died about the same time as her husband, was a 
 daughter of Oliver and Sarah (Garrett) Humphrey. 
 Her father was the first magistrate in West Sims- 
 bur\-, and was a son of Jonathan, grandson of 
 Sanuiel, and great-grandson of Michael Humphrey, 
 a pioneer of Simsbury. The following children 
 were born of this marriage : Thomas is mentioned 
 below: Lucien married (first) Emily Graham, 
 daughter of Freeman Graham, and later wedded 
 Hannali Graham, a half-sister of his first wife; 
 Harriet married Aaron Lyon: Flora married Lu- 
 ther lligly: and Sarah M. was the second wife of 
 Luther Higly. 
 
 Thomas Bidwell (4), our subject's grandfa- 
 ther, was born in 1792, and became a well-known 
 farmer and stock raiser of Canton. He was indus- 
 trious and honest, and his life was based upon 
 Christian principles. He married Dencey Case, 
 daughter of ( )zias and Mary (Hill) Case, and they 
 had three children : h'ranklin A., who married 
 Lucia Ann Dyer, daughter of Zenas Dyer, of Can- 
 ton ; Mary, who married Theron Merrill, son of 
 Isaac Merrill ; and .Mljert Frederick, father of our 
 subject. 
 
 .■\lbert ]■'. r.idwell was born in Canton Jan. 5, 
 1 81 8, and was educated in the schools of that town. 
 As he was quite young when his father died he was 
 reared by his grandfather and his uncle, Jasper 
 Bidwell, and in early manhood settled upon our sub- 
 ject's present homestead in Canton Center, where he 
 engaged in general farming, tobacco growing, stock 
 raising and dairying. He was industrious and en- 
 terprising, mak'ing many improvements upon the 
 place, and his home and the comfort and welfare 
 of his family were his chief interests. He neglected 
 no dutv as a citizen, and was a leading Republican, 
 serving as selectman and in various other offices. 
 For many years he was a prominent member of the 
 Congregational Church. His death occurred Nov. 
 4, 1873. his remains being interred at Canton Cen- 
 ter. He was married, ilarch 20, 1845, to Hen- 
 rietta R. Pike, a native of New Marlboro, Mass., 
 and a daughter of Hiram and Olive (Rood) Pike. 
 Of their five children: (i) Mary E., born June 
 8, 1847, died Nov. 27, i8b7; (2) Hiram P., born 
 Jan. 31, 1849. married Gertrude Burr, of Bloom- 
 field, and died June i, i8q2, leaving two children, 
 Edna G. and Frederick H. : (3) Frederick A. is 
 mentioned more fullv below; (4) George E., born 
 Dec. 21,1858, is a prominent farmer of East Granby : 
 (5) Thomas S., born March 29, 1861, a well-known 
 citizen of Canton Center, operates the farm of 
 Deacon Warren C. Humphrey. On Nov. 15, 1888, 
 he married Harriet Seville Hinman, who was born 
 in Canton, daughter of Julius Hinman, and they have 
 had three children — Clara Louise, born Dec. 6,1889 • 
 Burton Thomas, born Aug. 26, 1891 ; and Leland 
 j Hinm-an, born Aug. 14, 1895. The mother of our 
 I subject was married a second time, in 1874, to Dea- 
 
'^. 6L.^U^:}6u^^^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 135i 
 
 con Warren C. Humphrey, who died Feb. 6, 1896, 
 and whose sketch appears elsewhere. 
 
 Our subject was born in Canton Center Dec. 
 16, 1850, and was educated in the district schools 
 of the town and at Wilbraham Academy, Wilbra- 
 ham, Mass. He has been engaged in farming on 
 the homestead, of which he took charge after his 
 father's death, the farm containing 136 acres, and 
 carries on general farming in connection with 
 dairying, stock raising and tobacco growing. He 
 is one of the leading Republicans of the town, and 
 in 1889 was a member of the State Legislature ; has 
 also served three years as assessor, and is now serv- 
 ing his eleventh year as selectman. In religious 
 faith he is a Methodist, and has been steward of 
 the church and superintendent of the Stmday- 
 school. Socially he is a member of Village Lodge, 
 No. 29, F. & A. M., and Cawasa Grange, in which 
 latter he held the rank of master for four years. 
 
 On Nov. 19, 1874, Mr. Bidwell was married, in 
 Canton, to Miss Sadie M. North, who was born in 
 Berlin, daughter of John and Abigail M. (Austin) 
 North, and granddaughter of John and Harriet 
 North, of Berlin, of whom further mention is made 
 elsewhere. Four children have blessed the union : 
 Mary; Albert Frederick, who completed the course 
 of study in the local schools and spent two )r.ears at 
 Storr's Agricultural College ; and Sarah and Isa- 
 belle, now attending the public schools of Canton 
 Center. 
 
 WALLACE G. WRISLEY is one of the push- 
 ing and energetic business men of Windsor, carry- 
 ing on operations as a farmer and dealer in coal, 
 lumber, ice, brick and woods, and also does a gen- 
 eral trucking business. He was born in Windsor 
 in January, 1849, the eldest in a family of si.x chil- 
 dren, four sons and two daughters, born to Walter 
 and Elizabeth (Gates) Wrisley, natives of Glaston- 
 bury and West Hartford, Conn., respectively. For 
 years they made their home in Windsor, where 
 both died, the father at the age of sixty-five, the 
 mother at the age of fifty-four years, and they were 
 buried there. 
 
 At the tender age of eight years Wallace G. 
 Wrisley began to work away from home, and has 
 since been dependent upon his own resources for 
 a livelihood. His lot was that which falls to a poor 
 boy, and while attending the Stony Hill district 
 school in winter he did chores for his board. When 
 a lad he worked for Deacon Paine, and later for 
 William Mills for several j'ears. Subsequently he 
 was a student at Windsor Academy under Prof. 
 Standish for a time, but his educational advantages 
 were meager. At the age of fifteen he was well 
 developed, and able to do a big day's work. Wlien 
 sixteen he practically had charge of the farm work 
 for J\Ir. Mills, and showed good executive ability 
 and sound judgment in its management. After 
 the death of his employer he remained upon his 
 farm for a short time, and at the age of eighteen 
 returned to his father's home. Together he and 
 
 his father embarked in the wood business — reduc- 
 ing timber into fire wood, and selling the same by 
 the cord. On attaining his majority he had a cap- 
 ital of $250, saved from his earnings. For some 
 years he carried on the wood business exclusively, 
 but later became interested in brick-making and 
 bought land as his means permitted. From time to 
 time he has increased his landed possessions, so 
 that his present propertj' represents several pur- 
 chases. For over twenty years he has been engaged 
 in cutting and storing ice, as well as in the sale of 
 same, carrying on this in connection with his farm- 
 ing and lumber operations, and in 1894 he estab- 
 lished his present prosperous coal business, being 
 now one of the most extensive coal dealers in Wind- 
 sor. He has made his home in AVindsor Center since 
 the spring of 1874. 
 
 Mr. Wrisley was united in marriage with j\Iiss 
 Lecta Mack, who was born in Windsor Jan. 24, 
 1850, a daughter of George A. and Eliza M. (Rey- 
 nolds) Mack. Her mother died Feb. i, 1852. Her 
 father was station agent at Windsor for many years, 
 and one of its well-known and honored citizens. 
 His parents were William and Charlotte (Allen) 
 Mack, the former born in 1783, a son of Andrew 
 and Sally (Pease) Mack. Andrew Mack was one 
 of the Hessian soldiers in the Revolutionary war, 
 was captured at Ticonderoga, imprisoned at New- 
 gate Prison, and joined the Federal army when 
 released. Charlotte (Allen) Mack, the grandmother 
 of Mrs. Wrisley, was a relative of Ethan Allen, of 
 Revolutionary fame. To our subject and his wife 
 have been born the following children: Mack A., 
 Walter B., Annie, George F., Lizzie, Wallace G.. 
 Joseph and Lillian, all living with the exception of 
 Wallace G. 
 
 As a Republican Mr. Wrisley takes an active in- 
 terest in political aflfairs, has served his fellow citi- 
 zens as constable and deputy sheriff, and for years 
 was a member of the jury list. He is a charter mem- 
 ber of the O. U. A. M. at Windsor, and he and 
 his family attend the Congregational Church, to 
 which they are liberal contributors. Integrity, ac- 
 tivity and energy have been the crowning points of 
 his success in life, and his connection with various 
 business enterpi'ises and industries has been a de- 
 cided advantage to Windsor, promoting its ma- 
 terial welfare in no uncertain manner. 
 
 SAMUEL J. MILLS, a highly respected agri- 
 culturist of Bloomfield, is a native of the town, and 
 was born July 16, 1833. His father, Ammi Mills, 
 was a son of Elihu Mills, an extensive farmer, and 
 was also a native of this tdwn, born in t8oo. Ammi 
 Mills married Miss Rebecca Loomis, daughter of 
 Jacob Loomis, and they became the parents of nine 
 children, four of whom reached the years of ma- 
 turity, viz.: Susan R. (who died in 1846), Samuel 
 J., Anson A. and Gustavus D. The other children 
 died in childhood. The father of this family died in 
 March, 1848, a member of the Congregational 
 
1358 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Church, and the mother in 1854, in the same 
 faith. 
 
 Samuel J. Mills was preliminarily educated in 
 the district school of llloomfield, and subsequently 
 attended the Suffield institute and the high school at 
 Hotchkissville, in the town of Woodbury, but at the 
 €arlv age of eighteen years the management of the 
 hom'e farn; was thrust upon him, and this has been 
 his care up to the present time. 
 
 Un Nov. 8, 1854, Mr. Mills was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Antoinette \'. Whilmore, and this 
 felicitous union has been blessed with two children — 
 Hattie Virginia and William J.— the latter of the 
 firm of Basse, Mills & Co., of Holyoke, Mass. Mr. 
 Mills is a Democrat in politics, but is very popular 
 with all parties, and at one time was the candidate 
 for selectman on both the Democratic and Repub- 
 hcan tickets. He served as first selectman of the 
 town in 1862, 1863 and 1868, and for eight years was 
 town treasurer. Fraternally he is past master of 
 Hiram Lodge, No. 98, F. & A. M., at Bloomfield. 
 and is also a member of Pythagoras Chapter, of 
 the same order, at Hartford. 
 
 WALDO ERASTUS GILBERT, who for 
 nearly thirty years has been a valued and trusted 
 ■employe of the P. & F. Corbin Manufacturing Co., 
 of New Britain, fifteen years of which period he 
 has been foreman of their packing department, is 
 a native of the town, and in it, with little excep- 
 tion, his life has been passed. 
 
 Born Jan. 21, 1856, Mr. Gilbert is a son of 
 Moses Gilbert, and a grandson of Moses Gilbert, 
 both natives of Berlin. The grandfather in his 
 earlier life followed an occupation at the time en- 
 gaging the attention of many New Englanders — 
 that of peddling clocks through the South. He 
 Avas in the business for a time on his own account, 
 and had perhaps a dozen or more men selling for 
 him. Later he carried on farming in the town of 
 Berlin. His son Moses, our subject's father, in 
 his early life was a sea-faring man, but later was 
 occupied as a general painter. He married Lucilla 
 J., daughter of Jefferson Steele, and a native of 
 Berlin. During the Civil war Moses Gilbert per- 
 formed honorable service in defense of the L'nion 
 as a member of the 14th Conn. V. L 
 
 Our subject's boyhood was passed in the towns 
 of New Britain and Berlin, his father having re- 
 moved to Berlin when the son was six years of age, 
 and returned to New Britain some five or six years 
 later. Young Gilbert received his education in the 
 common schools of those towns, attending in Berlin 
 the old No. 6 district school, in Christian Lane, in 
 the neighborhood of the old Gilbert homestead. 
 From the age of twelve to fifteen, while living in 
 New Britain, young Gilbert underwent an opera- 
 tion on his limbs which necessitated his confine- 
 ment to the house for quite a period, and he was 
 thereby deprived of attendance at school. When 
 he was about fifteen his parents again moved to 
 
 Berlin, where for a time the son again was in 
 schcKjl. In 1872 he entered the employ of the lock 
 department of the P. & F. Corbin ^Manufacturing 
 Co., at New Britain, there beginning a career with 
 a small industry with which he has grown up, and 
 assisted materially in the development, though only 
 an employe, by his fidelity to duty in the care of his 
 daily performance of every trust assigned to his 
 charge during a ]>eriod of nearly a third of a cen- 
 tury. During this time he has been an eye witness 
 to the great cliaiige wrought by the activity, in- 
 dustry and ability of the men who have been at 
 the head of an enterprise which, from a small be- 
 ginning, has become a great manufactory, the largest 
 of its kind in the Lhiited States, where are em- 
 ployed nearly 2,000 hands. After eighteen months' 
 service with this company our subject left it, and 
 for six months was employed at the Russell & Er- 
 win factory. Returning to his former employers, he 
 accepted a position in their packing department, 
 and as packer ix'rformed service from 1874 to 1885, 
 when, owing to faithfulness and ability, he was re- 
 warded by promotion to the position of foreman of 
 the packing department of the concern, a position 
 he has since etiliciently filled. In 1897 Mr. Gilbert 
 purchased pro])erty on Dwight street, in New Brit- 
 ain, and on the ground built a business block and 
 nice home. F~or a time he was here engaged in the 
 grocery business, which was mainly in charge of his 
 family, as he himself retained his position in the 
 Corbin factory, but he sold the business after a 
 year and a half. In his political views our subject 
 is a stanch Republican, and from boyhood has been 
 interested and active in politics. He served on the 
 school committee in Berlin, and also as a justice of 
 the peace. Socially he is prominent, being a mem- 
 ber of Lexington Lodge, No. 72, I. O. O. F., at 
 New Britain; and of St. Elmo Lodge, No. 21, K. 
 of P., at the same place, in which he has served as 
 past chancellor, also three times representing his 
 lodge at the grand lodge. New Haven. He is a 
 member of other orders, in which he takes a great 
 interest, giving of both his time and money to their 
 support. For five j'ears he was a member of Com- 
 pany D, 1st Regiment, Conn. N. G., and when hon- 
 orably discharged he was serving as quartermaster- 
 sergeant of his company. He contributed an article 
 on the company which was published in the Neiv 
 Britain Daily Nezvs May 20, 1899, and was widely 
 read and favorably commented on. His religious 
 connections are with the Congregational Church. 
 
 On Dec. 23, 1876, Mr. Gilbert was married to 
 Delia C. Coyne, and to this marriage have come 
 children as follows : Harry Waldo, Lillie A., Lucilia 
 Ruth, and Ethel (now deceased). 
 
 DEXTER FULLER REMINGTON, the lead- 
 ing agriculturist and tobacco grower of Suffield, 
 Hartford county, was born July 7, 1845, on the 
 farm on which he still resides, known as the Fuller 
 farm. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1359 
 
 Thomas Remington, his father, was born at 
 Hastings Hill, this county, and when still )-oung 
 was taken to the Fuller farm, where he grew 1o 
 manhood, and passed his remaining years in the 
 cultivation of his 300-acre tract. He married Mary 
 Fuller, daughter of John and Mary (Remington) 
 Fuller, and to this union were born two children : 
 Jane M., who was married to H. K. Ford ; and Dex- 
 ter F., whose name opens this sketch. Thomas 
 Remington was called from earth Aug. 12, 1872, 
 and his wife died Feb. 9, 1887; no more honored 
 couple ever lived in Suffield. 
 
 Dexter F. Remington was educated in the pub- 
 lic schools of Suffield, the select schools of Spring- 
 field, Mass., and the Connecticut Literary Institute, 
 Sufifield. He remained on the home farm until 
 twenty years of age, and then located in Spring- 
 lield, where he engaged in the grain trade with his 
 cousin, Frank Remington. A year later he re- 
 turned to the homestead, where he has remained 
 ever since, devoting his attention chiefly to the cul- 
 tivation of tobacco, in connection with general farm- 
 ing, dairying, stock raising and dealing, his farm 
 retaining its original dimensions of 300 acres. 
 
 Mr. Remington was married, in Springfield, 
 Sept. 23, 1866, to Miss Elizabeth Parker, who was 
 born at Warehouse Point, Conn., was educated at 
 the high school of Springfield, Mass., and is a lady 
 of more than ordinary culture. She is a daughter 
 of Marshall P. and Elizabeth (Johnson) Parker, 
 natives of Vermont, the former of whom was one 
 of the most eminent citizens of Springfield, where 
 he died in 1898. His father, Iric Parker, was a 
 soldier of the war of 1,812, and the father of Iric 
 was a hero of the war of the Revolution. 
 
 To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Remington have 
 been born four children: (i) George D., who was 
 educated in the district schools of Sufifield, Wilbra- 
 ham Academy, and the Business College of Hart- 
 ford, is now farming on the old homestead; he 
 married Margaret Crawford, a native of Scotland, 
 and they have one child, Marion. (2) Thomas R. 
 was also a student in the Suffield Literary Institute, 
 and is also on the old homestead. (3) Mildred 
 E., a student of the same Institute, is a young lady 
 of refined character and genial disposition. (4) 
 Edith Cooper, the youngest of the family, is still 
 at school. . 
 
 Mr. Remington and his sons are Republicans 
 in politics. He is a member of the O. U. A. M. 
 at Suffield, and he and his family attend the Baptist 
 Church. No family in Sufifield stand higher in the 
 esteem of the community, and no more useful and 
 progressive man resides in Sufifield than Dexter 
 Fuller Remington. 
 
 ARTHUR HUMISTON MERRIMAN, who 
 is prominently identified with the agricultural in- 
 terests of Southington, was born in that town April 
 S, 1866. 
 
 Our subject is a worthy representative of an hon- 
 
 ored old Connecticut family, which was founded in 
 this country by Nathaniel Merriman, who was born 
 in England about 1614, and was one of the pioneers 
 of New Haven, where he located as early as 1639. 
 In October, 1665, he was confirmed sergeant of the 
 New Haven train-band by the General Court. In 
 1672 he removed to Wallingford, where he was 
 confirmed lieutenant of the train-band; on Nov. i, 
 1675, was appointed captain of the Troop of Dra- 
 goons raised in New Haven county, and in 1691-92 
 was by vote continued in that office. He signed the 
 Plantation Covenant at New Haven in 1639, and 
 in 1673 was on a committee to fix the boundary 
 lines between Wallingford and other towns. He 
 served as deputy to the General Court from Walling- 
 ford, and died there Feb. 13, 1694, at the age of 
 eighty years. His son, John Merriman, was born 
 in New Haven in February, 1659, and was married, 
 March 28, 1683, to Hannah Lines, of that city. 
 Their son. Rev. John Merriman, was born Oct. 16, 
 1 69 1, and was married, Feb. 24, 1726, to Jemima 
 Wilcox. He was a Baptist minister, and was among 
 the first to join that denomination in Wallingford, 
 in 1729. In 1738 he became pastor of the Baptist 
 Church of that place, in 1750 resigning and retir- 
 ing to the southwestern part of Southington, where 
 he died Feb. 17, 1784. His son, John Merriman, 
 was born in Wallingford Sept. 12, 1728, and died 
 in Southington April 13, 1801. The latter was the 
 father of Caleb Merriman, great-grandfather of our 
 subject, who was born June 8, 1768, and was mar- 
 ried, June I, 1801, to Elizabeth, daughter of Eb- 
 enezer Allen, of Middletown, Conn. He lived on 
 the West mountain road. The grandfather, Eb- 
 enezer Merriman, a lifelong resident of Southing- 
 ton, was born March 19, 1807, and was married, 
 April 12, 1835, to Eliza Hall, a daughter of Sylves- 
 ter Hall, of East Haddam. He was for many years 
 employed in the shops of Plantsville. 
 
 John B. Merriman, our subject's father, was born 
 in Plantsville June 16, 1836, and spent his entire 
 life in Southington, being for many years an em- 
 ploye of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co. He died 
 in the spring of 1899, at the age of sixty-three 
 years. On April 9, 1862, he married Philinda 
 Humiston, daughter of John Humiston, a native of 
 Rutland, Vt., who spent most of his life on the 
 farm now occupied by our subject, and died there. 
 To John B. Merriman and wife were born five chil- 
 dren, four of whom reached years of maturity: 
 Arthur H., our subject; Nettie, wife of Elbert At- 
 wood ; Ella ; and Joseph. 
 
 Our subject was reared on the old Humiston 
 homestead, where nearly all" his life has been passed, 
 and where he is now successfully engaged in agri- 
 cultural pursuits and the manufacture of cider. In 
 June, 1894, he was united in marriage with Miss 
 Carrie Andrews, daughter of Elmer and Caroline 
 E. (Sizer) Andrews, of Wolcott, and to them have 
 been born three children : Edson A., Irving H. and 
 Warren E. Mr. Merriman afifiliates with the Inde- 
 
1360 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and casts his ballot 
 for the men and measures of the Republican part}-. 
 He is an enterprising and public-spirited citizen, 
 takes a deep interest in the public welfare, and does 
 all in his power to advance the interests of his town 
 and county. 
 
 GEORGE F. DAY is one of the prominent citi- 
 zens of the town of Alanchester, where he success- 
 fully conducts a general store, besides being in- 
 terested in other lines of trade, to which more 
 particular reference will be made in a succeeding 
 paragraph. He is one of the town's oldest and 
 most successful merchants. Mr. Day was born 
 upon a farm in Franklin county, Mass., Sept. 9, 
 1839, and comes of a long-lived, stalwart ancestry, 
 his father reaching the age of ninety, and his grand- 
 father dying at ninety-seven, while neither ever 
 found it necessary to consult a ])hysician. 
 
 George F. Day attended the common schools of 
 his home district, and later the academy at Deer- 
 field, and at the age of fourteen began the study 
 of telegraphy. His aptitude and application were 
 such that when but fifteen years old he was given, 
 a position as operator and placed in charge of a 
 railway station office. After nine months' ex- 
 perience he was obliged, through failing eyesight, 
 to abandon the work and seek a new source of live- 
 lihood. He thereupon learned the moulder's and 
 painter's trades, which he followed for some time, 
 and in 1874 he came to Alanchester, Conn., and 
 opened a general store, in partnership with J. W. 
 Hall, the firm continuing for twenty years, when 
 Air. Day purchased his partner's interest therein, 
 and has since conducted the business alone. Be- 
 sides carrying a large assorted stock of general 
 merchandise he also deals extensively in hay, grain 
 and feed, as well as in wagons and buggies, and. 
 in addition, conducts a well-equipped and flourish- 
 ing livery stable. In the conduct of these large busi- 
 ness interests his energy, no less than the iron con- 
 stitution which has come down to him through two 
 generations, stand him in good stead. Xo detail 
 escapes his personal notice, and he devotes to busi- 
 ness cares an average of seventeen hours daih- — a 
 record which, it is safe to say, cannot be equaled in 
 the county, if in the State. 
 
 Air. Day is a Republican in politics ; sociallv he 
 is a member of the Alasonic Fraternity, and the 
 Knights of Honor. He was married, in 1876, to 
 A'Irs. Henry T. Lawrence, who has Ixjrne him two 
 children : Oliver, and one that died in infancy. 
 
 HON. L. R. LORD, the efficient and popular 
 postmaster at Poquonock, is a representative of the 
 best type of American citizenship. As a business 
 man his ability is well known, as he has made his 
 own way to success, while his honorable record as 
 a soldier in the L^nion army fully demonstrates his 
 patriotism and manly courage. For many years he 
 has served ably in official positions, including that 
 
 of member of the Connecticut Legislature, and his 
 popularity is shown by the fact that he has held 
 the office of postmaster in the village during every 
 Republican administration since 1882. The key- 
 note of his career may be said to have been devo- 
 tion to duty from the time when, as a poor boy, 
 lie assisted his parents with his scanty earnings, to 
 the present day, in which, as a prosjierous and re- 
 spected citizen, he uses his wealth and influence to 
 advance the best interests of his community. 
 
 Air. Lord was born at Poquonock Jan. 28, 1835, 
 and is a descendant of an old and highly respected 
 tamily, his ancestors having been engaged in farm- 
 ing in this section for several generations. He is 
 a grandson of Gabus E. Lord, and son of Constant 
 S. Lord. Our suliject's father married Elizabeth 
 I\ye, and settled upon a farm in East Windsor, 
 but the last eleven years of his life were passed at 
 the home of our subject, where he died at the ad- 
 vanced age of eighty-three years. He and his wife 
 had a family of nine children, five sons and four 
 daughters, our subject being fourth in the order of 
 birth. Of the sons only two others are now liv- 
 ing: Samuel L., a resident of California; and 
 Harlow A., a resident of Hartford, Conn. The 
 other two met their death as soldiers in the Ciyii 
 war, Andrew J. being killed at Atlanta, while serv- 
 ing in Company A, 20th Conn. V. I., and Orton L. 
 at Antietam, while a member of Company A, 8th 
 Conn. V. I. 
 
 Owing to the limited circumstances of his par- 
 ents Air. Lord had but meager educational ad- 
 vantages in youth, and at the age of twelve years 
 he began working in Ellington for his board, re- 
 maining a year and a half. After a short interval 
 he found employment on a farm at $8 per month, 
 his wages being given to his parents, and when 
 seventeen he entered a machine shop at Alanches- 
 ter, with the intention of learning the trade. One 
 winter's work sufficed to show him that the busi- 
 ness was not congenial, and in the spring he be- 
 gan to peddle tinware, making a trip to western 
 New York and back. An attack of typhoid fever 
 in the fall kept him at home for some time, and 
 he then secured work in a gristmill in East Wind- 
 sor, where he continued until his enlistment, in 
 August. 1862, in Company G, 25th Conn. V. I. 
 He served a little over a year, being honorably 
 discharged In September, 1863, and during this 
 time was always fit for duty, participating in all 
 the marches and engagements of his regiment. On 
 his return he rented the Osborne mill, in East 
 ^^'indsor. but his health failing after several years 
 he was obliged to give up that line of work. In 
 1872 he bought from C. R. Hatheway, now de- 
 ceased, the mercantile business at Poquonock, which 
 he has since conducted, the firm being at first 
 Moshier & Lord. In 1878 Allr. Aloshier retired, 
 and for three years the firm was known as Lord 
 & Co., later becoming Lord & Tourtellotte, and 
 on the death of the junior partner Air. Lord's son 
 Nelson R. entered the firm, which has since con- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1361 
 
 tinned as Lord & Son. In addition to his mercantile 
 business Mr. Lord gives close attention to the 
 management of his homestead, a fine estate near 
 Poquonock, and an orchard of 1,500 peach trees, 
 set out by him, is his special pride. Politically he 
 has been identified with the Republican party since 
 its organization, his first vote having been cast for 
 John C. Fremont, and at various times he has held 
 oifices of responsibility and trust. For some years he 
 was on the school committee of East Windsor, serv- 
 ing as treasurer of the district, and for more than 
 twenty years he has been treasurer of the "night 
 school district" in Pocjuonock. Li 1881-82 he rep- 
 resented the town of Windsor in the State Legis- 
 lature, and in the latter year received appointment 
 to his position of }x>stmaster at Poquonock. 
 
 Mr. Lord's first wife was Miss Ellen M. Bar- 
 ber, daughter of Henry Barber, a well-known resi- 
 dent of East Windsor. She died June 14, 1882, 
 and he subsequently married Miss Frances H. Car- 
 ter, of Hartford, daughter of Francis B. Carter, a 
 prominent citizen of that place. By the first mar- 
 riage there were two sons : Nelson R., of the firm 
 of Lord & Son ; and Clinton, who> is at home. - To 
 the second union have been born three children : 
 L. Roland, Genevieve and Jasper. Mr. Lord and 
 his wife are popular in social life, and are leading 
 members of the Congregational Church, in which 
 he has been treasurer for twenty years, and has 
 also served some time on the church committee. 
 His genial disposition and courteous manner have 
 won him a host of friends, and he is a valued 
 worker in the Masonic Fraternity and the G. A. R., 
 belonging to Converse Post, No. 57, Windsor Locks. 
 
 ANDREW B. WEST, a well-known contractor 
 and builder of Hartford, was born Dec. 15, 1832, in 
 Cazenovia, Madison Co., N. Y., and comes of an 
 old Connecticut family. 
 
 Ephraim West, his grandfather, was born in 
 Tolland, Conn., and passed his life there in agri- 
 cultural pursuits. He received a good education 
 for his time, and was especially noted for his skill in 
 mathematics, being the compiler of an arithmetic. 
 He was a man of wealth and prominence, holding 
 various town offices, and enjoyed excellent health 
 up to the time of his death, at the age of ninety- 
 four. Upon religious subjects he held verv strict 
 views, and for many years he was a leading member 
 of the Congregational Churcli in Tolland. His 
 wife, Ruth Cobb, a native of Vermont, died Jan. 4, 
 1838, aged sixty-seven. Their eleven children all 
 are now deceased. 
 
 Bicknell West, our subject's father, was born in 
 Tolland, and grew to manhood at the old farm, 
 obtaining a common-school education. He made 
 his permanent home in Cazenovia, N. Y., where he 
 purchased a farm, became a higlily respected citi- 
 zen and an active member of the Congregational 
 Church. A short time before his death he went to 
 Wisconsin on a visit, and died there suddenly from 
 apoplexy, at the age of seventy years. He mar- 
 
 ried Catherine Ehle, who was born in Sullivan 
 count}-, N. Y., of German parentage, her father 
 following farming there throughout his life. Mrs. 
 West died at the age of thirty-one years, and of her 
 five children only three are now living : Andrew B. , 
 John P., a resident of Brownton, Minn. ; and Orson, 
 who resides in Ellington, Connecticut. 
 
 Andrew B. West left Cazenovia in boyhood, 
 going to Tolland in a wagon with his father's fam- 
 il}-. There he was reared, and attended the com- 
 mon and high schools, also taking a course in the 
 Suflield Literary Institute. He then learned the 
 carpenter's trade, and went to Hartford as a jour- 
 neyman, later becoming foreman. When the "Al- 
 lyn Plouse" was built, in 1857, he was foreman, and 
 after this directed the work and soon went into part- 
 nership with James A. Foley (later known as Sig- 
 ner Foli), as contractors and builders. Their busi- 
 ness constantly increased up to 1861, when his 
 partner went abroad, and Mr. West has carried it 
 on successfully since, having at different times 
 other partners. He is now located at No. ioij^2 Hud- 
 son street, in the vicinity of the largest contractors 
 in the city, and is the oldest in that line of business ; 
 at times he employs over one hundred men. When 
 he settled in Hartford there were less than 20,000 
 inhabitants, while the population is now 80,000. 
 In 1S65 he practicall)' knew every man in the city, 
 and he now has a large accjuaintance. He has 
 probably put up more buildings than any other man 
 in his locality, among them being factories, churches 
 and a large number of the finest business blocks 
 and dwellings in the city. He has also built many 
 structures outside of the city, including three fac- 
 tories in Waterbury, and Charles Benedict's house, 
 at Waterbury, costing $55,000, one of the finest in 
 the State. 
 
 In 1855 Mr. West married Miss Mary L. La- 
 patvgh, a native of Westerlo, Albany Co., N. Y., 
 where she received an excellent education. Her fa- 
 ther, H. W. Lapaugh, was a leading farmer and 
 prominent citizen of that locality. Mr. and Mrs. 
 West have had two children : Albert N., an archi- 
 tect in Boston, who married i^ynda Kelly ; and 
 Frank H. B., who died aged seventeen. In poli- 
 tics Mr. West is a Republican, but he has refused 
 all offices ; he attends the Congregational Church, 
 with which his family has long been identified. 
 
 CHARLES PHELPS HATCH, of Plartford, 
 well known as a musidan, was born Sept. 25, 1856, 
 in Le'banon, Connecticut. 
 
 Samuel Orville Hatch, his father, was born June 
 22, 1S09, in Lebanon, Conn. He learned the ma- 
 chinist's trade, and became a skillful workman, but 
 as this work did not agree with his health he en- 
 gaged in farming, utilizing his mechanical skill by 
 building on his farm a large shop, which he fitted 
 up with a good set of tools for working- in both 
 wood and iron ; there he made many of his farm 
 tools, and did all his own repairing. He was very 
 enterprising, and followed farming in Franklin and 
 
13d2 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Lcbanun with marked success, the sale of five 
 bushels of "Early Rose" potatoes for $500 having 
 been one of his notable achievements. He was the 
 first to manufacture sorghum molasses in any 
 quantity in this section, anil his sound judgment 
 was seen in various wise innovations and improve- 
 ments upon old methods. His hospitable nature 
 Avon him a host of friends, and he was also noted 
 for his musical gifts. A\'hile the greater portion 
 of his life was spent in Lel)anon, his death oc- 
 curred in South \\indhani. Conn., July 9, 1887, 
 w hen he was aged sevent\-eight vears. Mr. Hatch 
 married Hiniice Tenny Armstrong, who was born 
 in Franklin, Conn., Feb. 27, 1819, and died June 13. 
 1877. Of their ten children the following are still 
 living : Eliza ; Henry C, of South Windham ; Hattie, 
 who married W. C. Backus, of South Windham ; 
 Adella, wife of Eugene Kinney; Charles 1'., our 
 subject; Carrie L. ; and Lilly L. 
 
 Charles I'helps Hatch passed his early years 
 amid the healthful environments of farm life, and 
 he received a good jjractical education in the com- 
 mon schools of Lebanon. At the age of fifteen 
 he went to Soutli Windham to enter the employ of 
 the Adams Nickel I'lating Co.. where his skill and 
 ability in all business entrusted to him led to his ; 
 promotion to the post of foreman of a room. This , 
 lie held for six years, his salary being raised from | 
 time to time until he received $3 per day, but as his j 
 reputation as a musician increased his time was de- 
 \oted to the work of teaching, and filling orchestra 
 and band engagements. He was but twelve years 
 old when he began to play the cornet, taking an 
 alto part with a band, and after practice under 
 Prof. Goodspeed he became one of the leading cor- 
 net players in the latter's organization. Mr. Hatch 
 has kept a record of all the engagements filled by 
 him in different bands and orchestras, and the list 
 is a remarkable one. including engagements in near- 
 \\' every town in the State. For eleven seasons he 
 filled an engagement as cornet soloist witli Prof. 
 JNIiller's orchestra, at Watch Hill, R. L, a popular 
 summer resort. In February, 1881, he came to 
 Hartford on trial as a cornet soloist in Colt's Band, 
 and Atkins & Severn's Orchestra, then under the 
 famous leader, T. G. Atkins. At the end of the 
 week the leader notified him that he had completely 
 filled all expectations, his services being engaged 
 for the winter. The following season he returned 
 to Watch Hill, and in the fall began an engage- 
 ment with the Severn's Orchestra, in Hartford, 
 which lasted thirteen years. He also taught music 
 successfully, having probably had more pupils on 
 the cornet than any other man in the State, and 
 liis records hold the names of manv who have done 
 credit to his instruction. His work as leader was 
 begun with the Weed Band, of Hartford, later 
 known as the Pope Band, but after three years he 
 resigned, in January. i8q2. His services were now 
 immediatelv sought, to instruct a number of bands 
 throughout the State, among them the Hartford 
 Citv Band, from which latter he received a yearly 
 
 salary of ?i,ooo, probably the largest ever paid a 
 band leader in this State, During this time oc- 
 curred his memorable contest with the -Musical 
 L'nion, in which he carried his ideas of right and 
 justice to a hartl-won victory, his courage bjing 
 admired even by his opponents. 
 
 In 1893, at the end of his second year as leader 
 of the Hartford City Band, in consideration of the 
 esteem in which iSIr. Hatch was held by the public 
 it was considered advisable, in the interest of the 
 success of the band, for the organization to deed 
 the property over to him, that the prestige of his 
 name could be eni]iloyeil, the band to be known as 
 Hatch's Military Band. This was done by a 
 unanimous vote, and the results have shown the 
 wisdom of the action. Under his leadership, by 
 hard and persistent work, the band has been pro- 
 gressive, in evidence of which is the remarkable 
 fact that at a series of concerts given the first year 
 at Laurel Park, when 130 selections were played, 
 no of them. were new and special selections. Mr. 
 Hatch can uniform thirty-five men and furnish prac- 
 icallv anv number of instruments, and under his 
 progressive management the work is constantly 
 growing in musical force and value. In 1893 he also 
 organized the I'.eeman & Hatch Orchestra, in which 
 is associated the very best talent in the city, and 
 which has become famous and extremely popular 
 throughctit the State, having engagements nearly 
 every night in the week. In 1899 they filled 285 
 engagements, including the greatest receptions in 
 the State, and in June alone they played forty-five 
 engagements, among others at the graduating ex- 
 ercises of the State Normal Schools. Mr. Hatch 
 furnished twenty-six pieces of the Beeman & Hatch 
 Orchestra for the Governor's ball in 1899, and re- 
 ceived the credit of rendering the best music ever 
 furnished on znx of these memorable events. For 
 some time ^Ir. Hatch was a pupil of Louis Schrieber, 
 of New York, who is one of the finest cornetists in 
 the world, and who toured this country with Ole 
 Bull as cornet soloist, and for some time was first 
 trumpeter in Thomas' Orchestra. Our subject has 
 given his entire attention to his work, keeping ever 
 on the watch for possible improvements, and he 
 now has 'one of the largest musical libraries in the 
 State. Such devotion will command success in any 
 field of efiort. and for twenty years past the Press 
 throughout New England has given the highest 
 praise to his work in different lines. 
 
 In addition to his labors in the musical world, 
 Ivlr. Hatch had a general agency, for New Eng- 
 land and other States, for a number of popular 
 and standard subscription books, among which 
 were Porter's "Historv of the Civil War," "Per- 
 sonal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant," and James 
 G. Blaine's "Twenty Years in Congress." For a 
 time he was also interested in the manufacture of 
 the first really compact folding music stand on the 
 niarket, known as Hatch's Patent J\Iusic Stand. 
 While actively engaged in this business he also 
 manufactured toys for a while. It is seldom that 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1S63 
 
 ;such practical business abilit}' is associated with 
 .tine musical taste, but in J\Ir. Hatch's success may 
 be seen that potent working of still other factors, 
 Jiis high character, genial nature and perfect man- 
 ners winning for him friends and opportunities 
 wherever he goes. He is a member of Charter 
 Oak Lodge, No. 2, I. O. O. F. ; Charter Oak Coun- 
 col, No. 3, Order of American Mechanics ; the Im- 
 proved Order of Red Men; and, Putnam Phalanx, 
 but his evenings are too constantly filled with his 
 work to pemiit him to attend the meetings. He 
 is a Republican in politics, and has received the 
 nomination to various local offices, his popularity 
 making him a desirable candidate. His musical 
 beadquarters are at No. 104 Asylum street, and his 
 residence at No. 18 Windsor avenue, where his wife 
 presides with gracious hospitality. 
 
 Mr. Hatch was married Sept. 14, 1889, to Miss 
 Mabel L. Swain, who also possesses fine musical 
 taste, and is in full sympathy with her husband's 
 labors. She was born in Suffield, Conn., da,ughter 
 of Reuben James and Annabelle L. (Greene) Swain, 
 prominent residents of that town, and was one of 
 five children, of whom three are living : Lena, the 
 wife of WilMam Kay, of Wallingford, Conn. ; Mrs. 
 Hatch : and Nettie, who married Louis Cressy, of 
 Hartford. 
 
 EDWARD AVILBUR MERRIMAN, propri- 
 •etor of the "Ideal Pharmacy,'' and one of the most 
 popular and progressive citizens of Bristol, is a 
 native of Connecticut, born Feb. 8, 1856. in Terr);-- 
 ville, town of Plymouth. Litchfield county, and is 
 -of English, Scottish and French descent. 
 
 Joseph Merriman, Jr., his great-grandfather, was 
 l^orn Nov. 3, 1772, a son of Joseph Merriman, Sr., 
 who was drowned at Camps Mills, Litchfield Co., 
 Conn., in the year 1776. Joseph, Jr., married Betsey 
 Swift, who was born June 25, 1772, and their chil- 
 dren were as follows: Eliza, born May 26, 1797, 
 died March 26, 1845 ' George, a sketch of whom 
 follows; Julia, born Aug. 29, 1801, died Nov. 5, 
 1816; Electa, born June 25. 1803, died Oct. 5, 1862; 
 Mary, born May 8, 1805, died July 15, 1838; Emily, 
 born June 7, 1807, died March 6, 1890; Joseph, 
 born April 8, 1810, lived in Michigan (it is thought 
 lie is now deceased) ; and James, born April 12, 
 1815, died July 10, 1857. The father of this family 
 was a lifelong farmer, for a number of years owning 
 a farm at Chestnut Hill, and finally moving to one 
 in the western part of Litchfield county, where he 
 ■died Nov. 15, 1829; his Wife passed away June 11, 
 1840. 
 
 George Merriman, grandfather of Edward W., 
 was born Sept. 24, 1799, in Litchfield, Conn., where 
 he followed farming and carpentry. He died Feb. 
 19, 1894, a member of the Congregationaf Church 
 ■of ]\lilton. During his active lifetime he put up 
 no fewer than ninety-nine frame buildings. On 
 Nov. 30, 1820. he married Mary A. Cables, born 
 July 19, 1804, in South Farms. Litchfield county, 
 ■who died Oct. 13, 1884. . On Nov. 30, 1870, they 
 
 celebrated their Golden Wedding. Their children: 
 Clarinda Jane, born May 20, 1822; Alanson Hall, 
 born April 24, 1827; Harriet, born March 21, 1830, 
 died Aug. 18, 1833; George Elmore, a sketch of 
 whom follows; Harriet Eliza, born May 8, 1836; 
 and Eugenia, born Feb. 16, 1843. 
 
 Alary A. (Cables) Merriman, wife of George 
 Merriman, above, was a daughter of William and 
 Hannah (Treadwell) Cables, of Warren, Conn., 
 highly respected farming people, who had fourteen 
 children, nearl}- all of whom lived to advanced ages, 
 Mrs. JNIary A. Merriman being the last one in this 
 numerous family to pass away. Their names and 
 dates of birth and death are as follows : Wheeler, 
 Jan. 15, 1788, Aug. 29, i860; Benjamin, April 29, 
 1789, March 10, 1845; Judson, Aug. 8, 1790, March 
 12, 1791;, Judson, March 11, 1792, Dec. 30, 1873: 
 Stephen, Sept. 27, 1793; Nancy, June 12, 1795; 
 Sally, Feb. 8, 1797, August, 1856; Esther, Aug. 
 8, 1798, Oct. 14, 1872; William, Nov. 8, 1799, Nov. 
 19, 1880; Hannah, Feb. 5, 1801, Dec. 3, 1876; 
 Luc)^ Feb. 9, 1803, May 28, 1884: Mary A. (Mrs. 
 Merriman), July 19, 1804, Oct. 13, 1884; Harriet, 
 Jan. 15, 1806, Dec. 4, 1875; James T., Aug. 8, 
 1810, Sept. 16, 1S73. 
 
 George Elmore Merriman, father of Edward 
 W., was born Sept. 5, 183 1, in Litchfield, Conn., 
 where he was reared and educated. By trade he 
 is a diemaker, toolmaker and machinist, and from 
 Sept. 12, 1848, to 1883, he was in the employ of 
 the Eagle Lock Co., Terryville, during which time, 
 from 1865 to 1883, he was foreman of the machine 
 room. For several years he also owned a 'drug 
 business in Terryville, which was managed by his 
 son, our subject, Mr. Merriman continuing his me- 
 chanical work. From Terryville he removed to 
 Bristol, where he bought out the grocery and pro- 
 vision store of Henry Skinner on Main street, near 
 the "Bristol House." After about a year, how- 
 ever, he gave up the business, and in 1886 re- 
 moved to New Britain, where he has since been fore- 
 man of the Harvard Pin Lock Department in the 
 works of P. & F. Corbin. He is an excellent me- 
 chanic, familiar with all branches of machine work. 
 
 On May 17, 1855, George E. Merriman mar- 
 ried Emily Amanda Curtiss, born Sept. 20, 1830, 
 in Camden. N. Y., a daughter of Eli Curtiss, and 
 a brief record of their five children is as follows : 
 (i) Edward W. and (2) Willis (twins), the former 
 of whom is the subject proper of this sketch, the 
 latter dying when six months and three days old. 
 (3) Elsie Amelia, born May 20, i860, is now liv- 
 ing in Columbus, Ohio, v\diere she is a teacher of 
 music in Miss Phelps' school, and also gives private 
 lessons — vocal and on the piano. Among her other 
 accomplishments she is a fine contralto singer, and is 
 the author of musical compositions, one of which, 
 "Nature Songs and Stories," is well worthy of 
 soecial notice, claimed by good critics to be the 
 finest work of its kind ever published for home, 
 school and kindergarten. (4) Bennett Curtiss, born 
 Oct. 25, 1864, is a diemaker in P. & F. Corbin's 
 
1364 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 factory, New Britain ; lie married Dec. 7, 1889, 
 Bertha Parsons, and they have two chiHdren, Clara 
 Elsie, Ixjrn Feb. 5, i8yi, and Dwight Elmore, Jan. 
 15, 1890. (5) George Robert, born Jan. 2J, 1869, 
 is a machinist in P. & I'. Corbin's factory. New 
 Britain; he is an excellent tenor singer. George 
 E. Alerrinian, the father, was a member of the 
 Tcrryville Congregational Church; in jjolitics he 
 is a Republican. 
 
 Edward W. Merriman, of whom we more par- 
 ticularly write, received a liberal education at the 
 common schools of his native place and then for 
 six months worked in the Eagle Lock Co.'s shop, 
 where his father was employed. On Oct. 1. 1874. 
 Dr. A. AI. Kessler and George E. Merriman (our 
 subject's father) formed a partnership in the drug 
 ])usiness in Terry ville, and our subject entered their 
 employ to learn the business under Dr. Kessler, who 
 devoted his time outside of practice to the store 
 and Mr. iMerriman's instruction. At the end of 
 one year the Doctor's interest was bought by George 
 E. Merriman, who was the owner until bought out 
 in 1881 by our subject, he meantime having had the 
 management of the store. In January, 1884, he sokl 
 out to Xewell M. Plumb, in whose emplov he re- 
 mained until .\pril i, following. 
 
 Accompanied by his wife Mr. Merriman then 
 spent several weeks in an extended triji through- 
 out the \\ est, traveling as far as Wichita, Kans., 
 after which he locateil in 15ristol, Conn., on June 2, 
 1884, entering the employ of Merriman liros.. drug- ' 
 gists, and remaining until Nov. 20, 1887. At that 
 time he went to New Britain, and became manager : 
 of the "Corner Pharmacy," owned by Frank \\'. 
 Mix, which position he held until ]ilav 15, 1889, 
 when he resigned, and July 15. 1889. opened a 
 drug business in Bristol in the .Austin Curtiss block. 
 North Main street, whence on Jan. 6, 1896, he re- 
 moved to the Skelly block, same street, his place ', 
 of business being known as the "Ideal Pharmacy.'' 
 On Oct. 18, 1882, Edward W. r^Ierriman mar- 
 ried Ida Valura Sibley, born Sept. 29, 1857, in 
 Sutton, A^^orcester Co., j\Iass., and two children have ! 
 graced this union : ( I ) Thurston Cables, born April 
 13, 1886. is attending the Bristol high school: and 
 (2) Dana Sibley, born Oct. 23, 1891, is attending 
 the Bristol graded schools. 1 
 
 Mrs. Ida \". Alerriman is a daughter of .\lden j 
 Wheeler and Sarah J\Iiranda ( Fuller) Sibley, of | 
 Sutton, Worcester Co.. Mass.. and is of English 
 and Scottish descent. ( i ) John and Richard Sib- 
 ley (the former of whom was the progenitor of 
 the family of which i\Irs. Merriman is a menilier) 
 came to America in 1629. in the fleet of that year 
 from England. This John was a selectman in 
 Salem, Mass., and was sent to the General' Court 
 a!. Boston. The line in descent from him is as 
 follows: (IT) Joseph was a member of the thirty 
 original families of Sutton, IMass., as wer? also 
 his brothers John and Jonathan. (Ill) William. 
 (IV) Elijah was a drummer in the Revolutionary 
 army. (V) Daniel, Sr., was a member of the 
 famous "Sutton minute-men," serving about two 
 
 years as a private under Capt. Ebenczer Learned ;. 
 ht took part in many decisive engagements, includ- 
 mg the battles of Bunker Hill, White Plains and 
 Saratoga, and saw some very severe service, for 
 which lie received a pension of £40. (\T) Daniel,. 
 Jr., was a lifelong tarmer in Sutton, and consid- 
 ered liy all who knew him to be one of the noblest 
 works of God — a good and honest man. (Vli) 
 Alden Wheeler, who occupied the old family home- 
 stead, later carrying on a general store in Sutton, 
 was born May iS, 1822, and died June 10, 1858; 
 bis wife was born Aug. 21, 1823, and died Oct. 
 11, 1865. Mrs. Ida \'. Merriman is a member of 
 Katherine Gaylord Chapter, No. 18, Daughters of 
 the American Revolution, Bristol. 
 
 Edward W. JMerriman is a member of the fol- 
 lowing societies : Franklin Lodge, No. 56, F. & 
 A. M., of Bristol; Pequabuck Chapter, No. 32, R., 
 A. M., of Bristol ; Doric Council, No. 24, of New 
 Britain ; and the Eastern Star, Olivet Qiapter, No^ 
 29, of Bristol, of which his wife is also a member;, 
 cf the Royal Arcanum, Reliance Council, No. 753, 
 Bristol ; of the I. O. O. F., Stephen Terry Lodge, 
 No. 59, Bristol ; Knights of Pythias, Ethan Lodge, 
 No. 9, Bristol ; and Knights of Khorassan, Hira 
 Temple, No. 90, New Jjritain. In religious faith 
 lie and his wife are members of the Congrega- 
 tional Church, and she is prominently identified 
 with the Daughters of the Covenant and the Ladies 
 Missionary Society. In politics Mr. Merriman is 
 a pronounced Republican, but has never sought 
 public office. 
 
 COL. JACOB L. GREENE, of Hartford, presi- 
 dent of the Connecticut Alutual Life Insurance Co., 
 was born Aug. 9, 1837, at Waterford, Me., son of 
 Capt. Jacob H. and Sarah Walker (Frye) Greene. 
 Capt. Greene was a man of stanch character, of 
 great vigor and of intellectual force, positive con- 
 victions and strong religious views. He was a 
 son of Thomas and Tabitha (Holt) Greene, and 
 a great-grandson of Lieut. Thomas Greene, a resi- 
 dent of Rowley. Mass., from which town he went 
 into the war of the Revolution, serving from the 
 alarm at Lexington until its close. After the war 
 he located in Waterford, Me. On his maternal 
 side Col. Greene is descended from John Frye, 
 who came from England and settled in Newburg, 
 Mass., in 1738. From this first American ancestor 
 Col. Greene is in the seventh generation, his line 
 being through Samuel. John. Gen. Joseph, one whose 
 name is not given, Samuel and Sarah W. Gen. 
 Joseph Frye was a soldier from youth and from 
 what follows it will be seen that his military mantle 
 fell on his posterity. He served in the expedition 
 against Louisburg, and was in command of a regi- 
 ment a't the surrender of Fort William Henry on 
 Lake George, in 1757, in the French and Indian 
 war. For his services he was, in 1762, granted a 
 township of land, six miles square on either side of 
 Saco river. He settled in the territory comprised 
 in the township afterward named in his honor. 
 On the outbreak of the Revolution he was called to 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1365 
 
 Cambridge to assemble and organize the patriot 
 -troops. He was made a brigadier-general by the 
 Provisional Congress, then promoted to major-gen- 
 eral. Two of his sons were officers in the service, 
 Joseph as captain, and Nathaniel as lieutenant. 
 Col. Greene's mother was a woman of many virtues, 
 art able, winning and graceful, and a woman of great 
 intelligence and force of character, thoroughly de- 
 voted to the welfare and advancement of her chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Col. Greene from early boyhood was of studious 
 Jiabits and sought every avenue open for intellectual 
 .attainment. He became a student in Michigan Uni- 
 versity, which school, then just opening, offered the 
 inducement of free tuition. After completing a 
 course of study there, and was prepared for the 
 practice of law, he located at Lapeer, iviich. About 
 this time the war of the Rebellion broke out, and 
 ji'oung Greene enlisted as a private in the 7th Mich. 
 A'. I. He was soon after made a non-commissioned 
 ■officer, and went with the skeleton of his regiment 
 to the School of Instruction at Fort Wayne, Ind., 
 ^\-here it remained for two months. It was then 
 filled up, and in August was sent to the front. 
 Young Greene was soon advanced to a first lieu- 
 tenancy, but owing to an extended prostration by 
 .sickness he was laid up for nearly a year. On his 
 recovering in the spring of 1863 he was appointed 
 Kraptain in the loth Michigan Cavalry, and set about 
 recruiting a company. While so engaged his friend, 
 George A. Custer, was appointed a brigadier-gen- 
 eral, and assigned to the command of the Michigan 
 Cavalry Brigade. He telegraphed Greene, oft"ering 
 him the position of assistant adjutant-general on his 
 staff', and asked him to join at once without wait- 
 ing for appointment by the President. He reported 
 to Custer Jul)' 23, 1863, and served on his staff 
 Avithout rank or pay for several weeks. He was 
 then appointed captain in the 6th Michigan Cav- 
 -alry, and on Sept. 10 was appointed assistant ad- 
 jutant-general with the rank of captain by the 
 President and assigned to duty with Gen. Custer, 
 and served with him until the battle of Trevellyan 
 Station, where he was taken prisoner, June 11, 
 1864, and was confined in Libby, Macon, Charles- 
 ton and Columbia prisons. While at Charleston, 
 S. C, Col. Greene was one of the Union officers 
 placed under the Union fire by the Rebel author- 
 ities. Later he was removed to Columbia and 
 "there paroled, but was not literally exchanged until 
 April 8, 1865, although at the time of parole he 
 was transferred to the Union lines. After his ex- 
 change he returned to the front, joining Gen. Custer 
 at Bufkeville Junction, April 10. Col. Greene par- 
 ticipated in the review of the Army of the Potomac 
 ■at Washington, after which he accompanied Gen. 
 Custer to New Orleans, and went with him up the 
 ~RtA river to Alexandria, where a division of cav- 
 alry was organized. Thence Custer advanced into 
 Texas, having been made commander of the central 
 division of Texas and of the cavalry in the depart- 
 
 ment, with headquarters at Austin. Col. Greene 
 was made chief of staff in both commands. Mean- 
 while he had been promoted to the full rank of 
 major, and was brevetted lieutenant-colonel for dis- 
 tinguished gallantry. When Custer was mustered 
 out as a major-general of volunteers, Col. Greene 
 applied for his muster-out, and finally received it 
 in April, 1866, one year after the close of the war. 
 
 After his muster-out the Colonel returned East, 
 where he passed four years at Pittsfield, Mass., be- 
 coming assistant secretary of the Berkshire Life 
 Insurance Co. He began his insurance career as 
 an agent with that company, but his executive ability 
 soon manifesting itself, he was given a position on 
 the office staff. On June i, 1870, he was made 
 assistant secretary of the Connecticut Mutual Life 
 Insurance Co., of Hartford, Conn., and in the fol- 
 lowing April became secretary. In March, 1878, 
 he succeeded the late James Goodwin to the presi- 
 dency of the company. To this honorable position 
 as executive officer of one of the largest insurance 
 organizations in the United States he has brought the 
 qualifications of great ability, absolute fidelity, a 
 clear conception of duty, and a loyalty to principle 
 which neither surrenders nor compromises. 
 
 As a citizen Col. Greene's abilities and habits 
 of industry lead him into various useful activities. 
 He is a frequent and popular speaker at meetings 
 of religious and scholastic bodies, and has been se- 
 lected as the orator of the day on several important 
 State occasions. He is a man of superior intellec- 
 tual endowments, which render him not only an able 
 business manager, but a thoroughlv useful citizen. 
 He is senior warden of Trinity Church, a lead- 
 ing member of the Church Temperance Society and 
 trustee of the bishop's fund. Socially he is a mem- 
 ber of the Connecticut Society of the Sons of the 
 Revolution ; Society of Colonial Wars ; and of the 
 Loyal Legion. He is a trustee in the Watkinson 
 Library, the Church Home and other local organi- 
 zations. He is a director and vice-president of the 
 Connecticut Trust & Safe Deposit Co., and a di- 
 rector of the Society for Savings ; a director also 
 of the Hartford Fire Insurance Co., and of the 
 Phcenix National Bank. 
 
 JULIAN R. 'HOLLEY, secretary and treasurer 
 of the Bristol Brass & Clock Co., was born in Mans- 
 field, Conn., May 16, 1855, the voungest of the 
 twelve children born to Perry and Lois' (Fenton) 
 Holley, both now deceased. 
 
 Perry Holley was a native of Rhode Island. 
 He was a trip-hammersman, and passed the greater 
 part of his life in Mansfield', Conn., where his death 
 took place. He was a Methodist in religious faith, 
 and in politics a stanch Democrat. Of the twelve 
 children born to him and his wife, who was a 
 daughter of Elisha Fenton, eight were named as 
 follows: Anstice D., who is ma'"''ied to WilHam E. 
 Fenner, of Mansfield : George Gilbert, a trip-ham- 
 mersman, 'living in Fiskdale, Mass. ; Flarriet Phi- 
 
1366 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 leta, now a widow ; ^lary Ellen, of ^Mansfield, who 
 first married Edmond Simons and afterward Nor- 
 man Dunham, both of whom are deceased ; Lovisa 
 A'l., who is now living in Meriden. the wife of 
 Geory-e M. Clark; Dwight Storrs, a machinist fore- 
 man in l'"orcstville ; Perry E., living- in W'aterbury ; 
 and Julian R.. the subject of this sketch. The other 
 four died quite young-. 
 
 Julian R. HoUey attended the common schools 
 of Alansfield until fifteen years of age, and then 
 passed through the curriculum of the Eastman 
 Business College, Poughkeepsie, X. Y. His first 
 business experience was as clerk in the grocery 
 of J. M. Todd, in Forestville, for about five years, 
 when they formed a i^artnership under the firm 
 name of Todd & Holley : a year later Mr. Holley 
 sold his interest in the concern and came to Bristol. | 
 Here he entered the office of the rolling-mill de- I 
 partment of the Bristol l^>rass & Clock Co. as book- ' 
 keeper, filling the position four or five years, was 
 then made secretary, and a vear later assistant treas- 
 urer. In i8()3. at the death of Air. Atkins, the du- 
 ties of the treasurer were entrusted to him, and he , 
 now holds the dual position of secretar\- and treas- 
 urer. 
 
 Mr. Holley is Democratic in politics, and is the j 
 present auditor of the borough of Bristol, which i 
 •office he has held several years. He stands very 
 high in the Masonic order, being a member of 
 Franklin Lodge, Xo. 56. F. & A. M. ; the present 
 treasurer of Pequabuck Chapter, X'o. t^i, R. A. Al.; 
 and has filled the chairs in both lodge and chapter. 
 He is a member of Sphinx Temple, Shriners, of \ 
 Hartford, and the thirty-second degree. Scottish \ 
 Rite Masons, of Xorwicli ; is also a member of the 
 Royal Arcanum, of which he is a trustee ; is secre- 
 tarv and treasurer and a director in the Alasonic 
 Building Co., which built and owns the large brick 
 block occupied bv A. T. Muzzy & Co. ; and a di- 
 rector in the Bristol X'ational Bank. 
 
 Mr. Holley was married. June 10, 1896. to Miss 1 
 Calista Vinton Brockett. who was born Julv 20. \ 
 1865. and is a daughter of Deacon Asahel and ! 
 Mariett (Bradley) Brockett. of whom a full his- i 
 tory is given elsewhere in this volume. Two chil- j 
 dren have blessed the marriage of Mr. and Airs. 
 Holley: Julian Laurence, born Aug. 25, 1898: and 
 Margaret Storrs. boni Oct. 31, 1899. Mr. and Airs. 
 Holley worship at the Baptist Church. 
 
 JOHX' H. FISH. Among the qualities which 
 bring men into prominence, and bv degrees that are 
 almost imperceptible raise them into the esteem and 
 confidence of their fellow' men, are straightforward 
 business methods, an interest in and support of 
 policies for public improvement, and education. 
 When these combine with industrv and good judg- 
 ment the result is, almost invariably, not only a 
 man who is held by his fellow men in high esteem, 
 ■but one who by his own force of character wins 
 his w-ay to prominence and leadership. The above 
 traits are attributable to John H. Fish, a resource- 
 
 ful, self-made man, a prosperous and leading busi- 
 ness man of Newington. 
 
 Air. Fish comes of an old Xew England family^ 
 His paternal great-grandfather, John F^ish, came 
 to PdcKimfield from Bozrah, Xew London Co., Conn.,, 
 and settled on a farm. He married Lydia Lathrop,. 
 who bore him si.x children, John, Electa, Nancy, 
 Simeon, Aliiler and Lydia, and lived to the ad- 
 vanced age of eighty-nine years. 
 
 Aliller Fish, the .grandfather of our subject, was- 
 born at Bozrah, Conn., June 5, 1792. He was 
 reared in Bloomfield, and there learned the black- 
 smith's trade, but was engaged in farming. On. 
 March C), 1822, he married Miss Ann Goodwin, 
 daughter of Hezekiah (Io;)dwin, and from 1824 un- 
 til his death, in Alay, 1862, lived on the farm which 
 i:is son, H. Goodwin Fish, now owns. He was- 
 a memlicr of the Baptist Church of Bloomfield. 
 He had three children: Samuel, liorn Jan. 9, 1823,. 
 died Aug. 2, 1825; Samuel (2), father of our sub- 
 ject: and H. Goodwin, Ixirn Jvuie 1, 1828, a farmer 
 of Bloomfield. 
 
 Samuel l-'ish. the fatlier of our subject, was born 
 in Bloomfield July 2, 1826. Fie was reared as a 
 farmer lad, and in his youth attended the local 
 .'^chools. He married Emeline, daug-hter of Daniel 
 and Rhoda (Filer) Webster, of Bloomfield, and for 
 thirty years enga.ged in faniiin,g and tobacco grow- 
 ing in Bljomfield. Fie then removed to Avon, where 
 he followed tobacco raising until his death, July 
 2, 1885. at the age of fifty-nine years. He was a- 
 stanch Democrat in politics. His wife was early 
 in life a member of the Baptist Church, but later 
 attended the Congregational Church. After the 
 death of her liusband she lived with her daughter. 
 Airs. EllswortJi, at West Hartford, until her death, 
 at the age of sixty-six years. To Samuel and' 
 luiieline Fish were born children as follows : John 
 H., of X'ewington ; Sarah AI., Airs. John Ellsworth,, 
 of West Hartford ; Daniel W., of Newington ; Au- 
 gustus AT, of Newington ; Luella, who married 
 George X^ichols, and died at Avon ; X^orton, of Avon- 
 town ; Dwight W., of Bloomfield ; and Edgar W., 
 of Bloomfield. 
 
 John H. Fish was born in Bloomfield Alarch 4,- 
 1850. As a boy he attended the schools of the 
 South Atiddle district, and among his early teachers- 
 were Aliss Sylvia Burr, Miss Hattie Clements and 
 Francis Barber. It is a testimonial both to his own 
 studious habits and to the efficiency of his teach- 
 ers that Air. Fish still retains for these old schools 
 only the kindest memories. Later he attended' 
 West Hartford high school, under Aliss Pratt. 
 But circumstances beckoned him to a more active 
 life. At the age of seventeen he began farming 
 for Alartin Burr, as a full hand. Fie also worked 
 for Lorenzo Burr, receiving $20 per month. He 
 was a good hand, and though scarcely more than a 
 boy held 'his own bes-de full-grown men. In the 
 spring of 1868. when about eighteen years of age, he 
 came to West Hartford and entered the employ of 
 W^alter Cadwell, a butcher. For three years he re- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 136r 
 
 mained in his employ, and was then admitted to 
 partnership, the firm being Cadwell & Fish. This 
 was before the advent of western beef, the firm kill- 
 ing home-grown beef. Two _vears later the part- 
 nership was dissolved. Mr. Fis'h engaged in the 
 grocery business at West Hartford for a short time, 
 and in November, 1874, came to Newington and 
 engaged in the meat business. He built a market, 
 and has ever since continued successfully in that 
 line. Possessing unusual energies he has also prose- 
 cuted in addition to the meat trade a number of 
 other enterprises. Opening a grocery immediately 
 after he, settled in Newmgton, he conducted it until 
 quite recently, when he sold out. He has for many 
 _\ears engaged in the coal and fertilizer trade. He 
 has also done considerable work as a contractor, 
 building macadamized roads in East Hartford and 
 New -Britain, and also in Portland, Connecticut. 
 
 On Jan. 11, 1878, INfr. Fish married Adalaide 
 C. Braman, who was born in West Hartford Nov. 
 26, 1846, daug^hter of Milton and Caroline (Wilcox) 
 I'.raman. Milton Braman was a farmer of West 
 Hartford, a Democrat in politics, and died at New- 
 ington at the age of sixty-six years. His wife, 
 \vho was a devout member of the Congregational 
 Church, lived to the age of seventy-two years. They 
 had three children : Ellen A., who died aged twenty- 
 two years; Adalaide C, wife of our subject; and 
 Louis D., who died unmarried aged twenty-two 
 }'ears. Mrs. Fish in her girlhood attended the 
 West Hartford Academy, and later a private school 
 in the same town conducted by Miss Gleason, The 
 family of Mr. and Mrs. Fish consists of four chil- 
 dren : Alfred Braman, who married Alice M. Latti- 
 mer, of Newington. and lives in that town; Nellie 
 E., an accomplished musician, and now a student 
 at the New Britain Normal School ; Walter J., at 
 home ; and Edith M., student at a private school 
 in Hertford. 
 
 In politics Mr. Fish is a Democrat, but though 
 in sympathy witb most of the principles of that 
 party he is a sound-money man. He has served 
 as selectman continuouslv from 1886 to 1892, and 
 was again elected in i8q8. In the fall of 1896 he 
 was elected to the State Legislature. Mr. and Mrs. 
 ^""ish are prominent members of the Congregational 
 Church. Mr. Fish has served as chairman of the 
 church committee, and as a member of the standing 
 committee. He is a stanch advocate of education, 
 and has given his children finished training; his 
 family has by its attainments amplv attested the 
 ■\yisdom of that course. Ever ready to lend en- 
 couragement to any worthy cause, keen in judg- 
 ment and successful in business. Mr. Fish possesses 
 all the attributes which endear him to right-thinking 
 people. 
 
 FRANCIS WILLIAM FAWCETT. a cheery 
 and spirited farmer and gardener of Newington, 
 a soldier of the Civil war, has spent in America 
 more than fifty years of a life of unusual interest 
 and adventure. He came to this country when a 
 
 boy of twelve years, industrious, buoyant, and not 
 afraid of hard work. He has dwelt in many States, 
 experienced the vicissitudes of fortune in various 
 phases, and has won from life a competence and a 
 rich experience. 
 
 Mr. Fawcett was born in Bradford, England, 
 May 31, 1835, son of Robert and Jane (Booth) 
 Fawcett, and grandson of John and Jane (Cop- 
 stick) Fawcett. The grandfather was a successful 
 English farmer, and the father also a farmer and 
 laborer. The mother of our subject died shortly 
 after his birth, and his twin sister died at birth. 
 In 1847, at the age of twelve years, our subject 
 left the land of his forefatliers and sailed for 
 America in the "Ocean Monarch," then the largest 
 vessel afloat. The passage, which was rough, con- 
 sumed six weeks and one day, and the vessel on 
 her arrival ran upon the rocks at Plymouth, and 
 was in imminent danger of destruction. Crew and 
 passengers threw overboard immense casks of 
 crockeryware to lighten the vessel, and the passen- 
 gers were finally rescued by the "Mayflower." 
 
 Arriving at Boston, our subject associated him- 
 self with the Enfield Shakers, and remained with 
 them for two years, at the expiration of which 
 time his father arrived from England. Mr. Faw- 
 cett had saved the sum of $258 wlien his father 
 arrived, and he decided to run away, a step which 
 he often afterward regretted. Thus leaving the 
 Shakers, he went to Prescott, Mass., and there 
 bought twelve acres of land, upon which he re- 
 mained until the arrival from England of his sis- 
 ter, Jane, and her husband, Adam May. The fa- 
 ther sold the farm to jNIr. Mav. Our subject 
 agreed to buy his time from his father until he was 
 of age, for $300. He went to Fitchburg, and hired 
 out to a carpenter for his board and $10 per month, 
 expecting to learn the carpenter's trade, but he 
 never received any money, and accordingly re- 
 mained only until the following September. Pen- 
 niless, he walked to Worcester, Mass., a distance 
 of forty miles, and there engaged with a carpen- 
 ter, named Cephus Meade, for two months at $10 
 per month and board. At the end of the two 
 months winter came on, and work was slack. Our 
 subject then went to South Brookfield, where he 
 worked during the winter at the shoemaker's 
 trade. With one John Durant he then hired as a 
 farmer for eight months, at $10 per month. At 
 the expiration of his eight months he had saved 
 $100, earning part of it for overtime, etc. With 
 this $100 he made his first payment to his father 
 for his time. Mr. Fawcett resumed work in the 
 shoe shop, and in the spring he hired with another 
 shoemaker, remaining with him ■eight months, at 
 $16 per month. The following winter he started 
 a shoe shop of his own in South Brookfield, con- 
 tinuing in business for himself until spring, when 
 an opportunity occurred to work at the carpenter's 
 trade during the summer, starting in at $1 per 
 day, and later getting $1.50 per day. In the fall 
 
1368 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he went into the shoe business again, but, as the 
 trade of repairing was very dull, he worked in the 
 woods with his father, chopping at 50 cents per 
 cord, and during the winter chopped 150 cords of 
 wood at Rattle Snake Den, in i'rescott. The next 
 suninicr he worked at the carpenter's trade at $1.50 
 per day. 
 
 At the age of twenty-one years and six months 
 ~Mv. Fawcett paid his father the remaining $200 
 on his time, in the fall of the next year, while 
 working at carpentering, he fell with the scaffold- 
 ing a distance of twenty-eight feet, and broke his 
 right leg in several places, which laid him up for 
 the remainder of the winter. In the spring he 
 again worked for a time at the carpenter's trade. 
 In 1857 he went to Clifton, Monroe Co., Wis., and 
 settled on a government claim of 160 acres. He 
 improved the laiul, hut as he had no money he went 
 to La Crosse, anil there for a time engaged in raft- 
 ing. Returning to his claim in the spring, he pur- 
 chased a team of oxen, and gave a mortgage on 
 his farm as security for payment, lie ])lanted his 
 land in wheat, but the blight ruined his crop, and 
 the mortgagee promptly foreclosed. Penniless, 
 but not disheartened, he visited the eastern part of 
 Wisconsin, where relatives were living, and worked 
 at the carpenter's trade for one year, after which 
 he returned to I'rescott, Mass., finally settling in 
 Springfield. 
 
 W hen the war broke out our subject was an 
 attendant at the North Hampton Hos])ital for the 
 Insane. At the fall of Fort Sumter he immediate- 
 ly enlisted, becoming a private in Company F", 
 31st Alass. \'. 1. He was the patriotic leader of 
 the attendants at the hospita'., and his enlistment 
 influenced six others to enlist in the same coun'-y. 
 He had been in the service but six months when, 
 at the battle of Biloxi, ^iliss., he was shot in the 
 right leg, near the previous fracture. He was then 
 taken to the Massachusetts General Hospital, 
 where he remained tliree months. The wound he 
 received so badly crippled him that he could not 
 return to his regiment. He went to I'rescott, and 
 later to Springfield, where he worked in the Ar- 
 mory until the close of the wa: . After he receiv d 
 his honorable discharge he worked at his trade in 
 Spring-field. 
 
 \\'hen the railroad bridge at \\'arehouse Point 
 was changed from a wooden to an iron structure 
 Mr., Fawcett obtained a position on the same, and 
 later bought the old timbers taken from the bridge 
 and sawed them into kindling wood. Working 
 with a handsaw -was too slow work, so he rigged 
 up machinery and sawed the timbers bj^ machinery. 
 He also had the contract with a cork factorv at 
 Springfield to keep the cork shavings cleared 
 away, and the shavings he also sold for fuel. The 
 selling of the wood and cork shavings proved prof- 
 itable. He began to speculate in timber land, and 
 was very successful. Springfield, j\Iass., was then 
 booming, and all his speculations prospered. He 
 bought land and built houses, until he had an in- 
 
 come of over $500 per month from his rents ; he 
 also owned a meat market and grocery; his busi- 
 ness interests were piling up, until he had more 
 than he could look after. He declined an offer of 
 $45,000 for a one-half interest in all his belongings. 
 The panic of 1875 came on, and at the same time 
 a very severe attack of rheumatism, brought on by 
 overwork, compelled him to take to his bed, where 
 he remained for over a year. Employes conducted 
 systematic theft, and his property gradually but 
 surely slipped from his grasp, while he was unable 
 to rise from his bed and attend to his business in- 
 terests. F'inally, in April, 1876, the house over his 
 head was sold, and he was compelled to vacate. 
 
 Mr. Fawcett then went to Windsor, and, still 
 full of perseverance, borrowed $100 and went into 
 the kindling wood business again. He remained 
 in Windsor about nine months, when he found a 
 small place, between Flartford and Windsor, which 
 he could rent for $5 per month. He remained 
 there four years, and peddled wood in Hartford. 
 The wood business in Hartford was then very good, 
 as ^Ir. F'awcett was one of only two men who 
 were engaged in the business there to any extent. 
 Before he had been awav from Springfield one 
 year he had paid all his indebtedness and was a 
 free man. In 1881 lie removed to Newington, 
 where he purchased fourteen acres of land, togeth- 
 er with a large house and barn. There he has since 
 resided. He also keeps about 100 hens, and re- 
 tails eggs and garden truck in Hartford. He is 
 still very active, and looks after his farm in a care- 
 ful and exacting manner. 
 
 Mr. F'awcett was married in 1863 to Miss Ma- 
 linilia D. Scott, of Springfield, and to this union 
 was born a daughter, Alinnie D., in 1864, and a 
 son, George Robert, in 1865. The son died at the 
 age of six months, of brain fever. Mr. Fawcett 
 is a member of Robert O. Tyler Post, No. 50, G. 
 A. R., of Hartford. In politics he is a stanch Re- 
 publican. He is a member in good standing of 
 the Methodist Church of Springfield, Mass., and 
 by his long and brave contest with adverse fate 
 has most admirably demonstrated the sterling and 
 victorious fiber of his nature. 
 
 JOHN FRANKLIN AXTELLE, M. D., a 
 well-known phvsician of Hartford, was born Aug. 
 28, 1854, at ]\Iorristown, N. J., son of Stephen D. 
 and Nancv (Sutton) Axtelle. 
 
 The family is of English origin, and John Ak- 
 style, the first of the name of whom we have an 
 account, was a member of a religious order in Hert- 
 fordshire, England, about 1533. John Axtelle, our 
 subject's grandfather, was a prominent man of Mor- 
 ristown, N. J., and also made a high reputation as 
 a singer and teacher of music, being gifted with 
 an exceptionally fine voice. Stephen D. Axtelle, the 
 father of our subject, served in the Civil war, en- 
 listing from Washington, Ind. After marriage his 
 home was in St. Louis for a time, but soon after 
 the close of the war he removed to ]\Iinneapolis, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1869 
 
 -Minn., where he was engaged in business as a dealer 
 in farm implements until his death, in 1873. As 
 -a citizen he took an interest in furthering the best 
 interests of the communit}- where he made his home, 
 and he was active in political affairs while in St! 
 Louis, ^ serving as assessor. His widow still re- 
 sides in Alinneapolis, and the Doctor has two 
 brothers and two sisters there. 
 
 The Doctor attended the schools of Minneapolis 
 ■during boyhood, and after the death of his father 
 went to Elgin, 111., to enter the emplov of the 
 Elgin Watch Co. Having a desire to enter the medi- 
 cal profession, he improved everv opportunity for 
 stud}', and for two }-ears was under the direction 
 of Profs. Whitford and Clark, of Bennett Medical 
 College, Chicago. He then removed to Lancaster, 
 Penn., and studied for four years with Prof. S. T. 
 Davis, and later he made a thorough study of sur- 
 gery in Bellevue Hospital Aledical College and Long 
 Island Hospital College, from which he was grad- 
 uated in 1878 with honors. Before engaging in 
 active practice he spent a year as assistant to Prof. 
 Davis, and in 1879 located in Hartford, where his 
 acquaintance was then limited to three people. He 
 did not leave the city until twelve years later, when 
 \vi made a trip to San Francisco and Yellowstone 
 Park. His attention to his professional duties, to- 
 gether with his ability and acquired skill, soon won 
 him recognition, and he is not only widely known, 
 but is regarded as one of the best practitioners of 
 Hartford. For some time he attended to the prac- 
 tice of the late Dr. Campbell, and at present he is 
 medical e.xaminer for twelve different orders and 
 several insurance companies. As a member of the 
 City, County and State Medical Societies, and the 
 American Medical Association, he has done much 
 active work, and his articles in the "Journal of the 
 American Medical Association" have Ijeen copied in 
 all the prominent medical publications in this coun- 
 try and Europe. 
 
 The Doctor was married, in Hartford, to Mrs. 
 Ella M. Norvel. Fie is popular in social life, being 
 a member of the Hartford Club : the Knights of 
 Pythias ; the I. O. O. F. ; and the Masonic fraternity, 
 Ijeing a thirty-second-degree Mason, and a charter 
 member of Sphinx Temple, J\l3'stic Shrine, in which 
 he holds an official position. 
 
 CHARLES ALLEN GRISWOLD, a well- 
 I^nown tobacco dealer of West Hartford, is rapidly 
 working his way to a foremost position among, the 
 prominent business men of his section of the coun- 
 ty. Genuine success is not likely to be the result 
 of mere chance of fortune, but is something to be 
 labored for and sought out with consecutive effort. 
 Fully appreciating this fact, JNIr. Griswold has la- 
 bored untiringly, and although comparatively a 
 young man he has already attained a success which 
 many an older man might well envy. 
 
 Mr. Griswold was born in West Hartford 
 Sept. 16, i860, and is a representative of one of 
 5ts old and honored families, being a great-grand- 
 
 son of Ozias Griswold, who followed farming in 
 West Hartford throughout life, and there died 
 about 1816. He married Joanna Steele, and had 
 six children : Chester, Sally, Allen S., Thomas, 
 Joanna and Lucy. Allen Steele Griswold, the 
 grandfather of our subject, was born in West 
 Hartford in 1809, and died there iNIay 19, 1874. 
 He was educated in the Center school district, 
 where he spent the greater part of his life, en- 
 gaged in farming. He was a memljer of the Con- 
 gregational Church; in politics was first a Whig 
 j and later a Republican; and was one of the repre- 
 sentative citizens of his community. He was mar- 
 ried in West Hartford to Miss Mary Jane Steele,' 
 a daughter of Papphero Steele. She died in Feb- 
 ruary, 1883. In their family were five children: 
 Alary Jane, wife of Jason G. Shepard, of West 
 Hartford ; Samuel Allen, a resident of the same 
 place; Charles Steele, father of our subject; and 
 Henry Ozias and Seth Papphero, both of West 
 Hartford. 
 
 Charles Steele Griswold has spent his entire 
 life in West Hartford, and is now engaged in the 
 tobacco business with our subject, not only raising 
 that product, but also buying and packing it for 
 market. He married Miss Lucia J. Bishop, daugh- 
 ter of Joseph Bishop, of West Hartford, and to 
 them were born four children: Charles Allen, our 
 subject; Gertrude, who died in infancy; Joseph 
 H. ; and Ethel V. 
 
 The primary education of our subject was ob- 
 tained in the public schools of West Hartford, and 
 later he was a student in Williston Seminar}-, at 
 Easthampton, JNIass. On returning home he 
 worked for his father until 1890, when he became 
 a partner in the business. As tobacco growers 
 and dealers they have built up quite an extensive 
 trade,- and employ on an average sixteen men in 
 their warehouse. 
 
 j\Ir. Griswold was married, in West Hartford, 
 April 12, 1880, to Miss Mary Emma, daughter of 
 Timothy Sedgwick, and they have two children: 
 Ruby Louise Hawthorne, born May 6, 1882 ; and 
 Charles Sedgwick, born May 4, 1889. Mr. Gris- 
 wold is a member of Gamma Sigma fraternity of 
 ^Villiston Seminary, and also belongs to the Grange 
 and to Wyll}-s Lodge, No. 99, F. & A. M. In re- 
 ligious belief he is a Baptist. For several years 
 he has been an influential member of the Republi- 
 can town committ£)2, and at present he is also a 
 member of the board of assessors. 
 
 GEORGE HARRIS HALL, contractor of the 
 trunk hardware department of J. H. Sessions & 
 Sons' factory, Bristol, is a native of that town, 
 born Nov. 26, 1854, and he comes of good old 
 Y,evi England stock, being a lineal descendant of 
 John Hall, the emigrant. 
 
 This John Hall appears first at Boston, after- 
 ward at New Haven. Fie evidently was not an 
 original settler in New Haven, as his name does 
 not appear in any list which has been discovered 
 
1370 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 until after 1650. ^^'he^ce he came is uncertain. 
 The name (Hall) is a ditticu.t one to trace on ac- 
 count of the great number of original settkrs bear- 
 ing that cognomen, twenty-eight having come to 
 America prior to 1660, seven of whom bore the 
 given name of John. That John Hall, of Boston, 
 Xew Haven and Wallingford, was an emigrant 
 appears quite evident from certain events in his 
 life's history. He moved to Wallingford after the 
 settlement had commenced, which accounts for the 
 non-appearance of his name on the first I'lantation 
 covenant of 1669-70. His sons John, Thomas and 
 Samuel were signers of that instrument. His 
 name appears on the covenant of 1672, and it is 
 quite certain that he had been some time in the 
 place. In 1675 himself and his son John were 
 chosen selectmen of Wallingford. 
 
 John Hall. Sr., was freed from training in 1665, 
 being then in his sixtieth year, ami most certainly 
 was in New Haven as early as 1639, and at Wal- 
 lingford about the year 1670, with the early set- 
 tlers there. He died early in 1676. liy his wife, Jane 
 (Woolen), he had children as follows: John, bap- 
 tized Aug. 9, 1646, died Sept. 2, 1721 : Richard, 
 born July 11, 1645; Samuel, born May 21. 164O, 
 died March (or May) 5, 1725; Sarah, baptized 
 Aug. y, 1646; Thomas, born March 25. 1649, 
 Jonathan, born April 5, 1651; and David, born 
 March 18, 1652, died July 17, 1727. 
 
 Samuel Hall, great-great-great-great-grand- 
 father of our subject, went to Wallingford with 
 the first planters in 1670. I5y his wife, Hannah 
 (Walker), whom he married in Ma\', 1668. and 
 who died Dec. 20, 1728. he had children as fol- 
 lows: John, born Dec. 23, 1670; H,annah, March 
 II, 1673; Sarah, June 20, 1677; Samu;l, Dec. 10, 
 1680 (died June 15, 1770); Theophilus, Feb. 5, 
 1686: and Elizabeth, March 6, 1690. 
 
 Samuel Hall, great-great-great-grandfather of 
 our subject, married Lois, daughter of Nathaniel 
 and Esther Royce, and the names and dates of 
 birth of their children are as follows : Theophilus, 
 April I, 1707: Samuel, June 8, 1709 (died Dec. 
 24, 1771): Hannah, July 15, 1711; Sarah, Dec. 
 6, 1713; Alehitabel, April 25, 1716; and Esther, 
 Nov. 7, 1 719. 
 
 Samuel Hall, great-great-grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, married Sarah Hall Dec. 7, 1731. and the 
 names and dates of birth of their children are as 
 follows: Samuel (i), July 11, 1732 (died in in- 
 fancy) : Hezekiah, Dec. 27, 1733 : Louisa, June 
 30, 1736; Sarah, Dec. 5, 1737; Esther, Jan. 21, 
 1740; Love, April 30, 1742; Elizabeth, Jan. 23, 
 1745: Samuel (2), Feb. 28, 1750 (died Feb. 27, 
 1821) ; and Damaris, Jan. 23, 1754. 
 
 Samuel Hall (2), great-grandfather of our 
 subject, married ]\Iay 10, 1774, Elizabeth Parsons, 
 \vho died Sept. 27, 1823, the mother of children as 
 follows: Samuel, born Dec. 2, 1776; Hezekiah, 
 June II, 1778; George, Aug. 13, 1780; Marilla, 
 Dec. 28, 1782: Richard, Jan. 26, 1785; and Jared, 
 Aug. 24. 1792 (died April 24, 1865). 
 
 Jareil Hall, grandfather of our subject, mar- 
 ried Rebecca Hall, and had children as follow";: 
 Carolme, born Nov. 13, 1819; ^Villiam D., Dec. 6, 
 1821 ; Lharles D., Dec. 13, 1824; Lucy, March,. 
 1827. He was a farmer, and also served in the 
 war of 1812. 
 
 L"ii.\ULiis DiCKER.M.\N H.\LL, father of our sub- 
 ject, was born Dec. 13, 1824, in Wallingford,. 
 Conn., where he received a liberal common-school. 
 education. Until he was about twenty years of 
 age he assisted in the labor of his father's farm, 
 and then entered the sjxjon factory of Hall & El- 
 j ton, where he iiamained some ten j'ears. Moving 
 to Valesville, Conn., at the end of that time, he for 
 two years worked in Charles Parker's spoon fac- 
 tory, after which, in 1854, he came to Bristol, and 
 entered the employ of Holmes & Tuttle, which. 
 firm was changed, in 1857, to the ISristol Brass &. 
 Clock Co., with whom he continued until 1894. 
 He resigned in that year, on his seventieth birth- 
 day, after a connection of forty years with the 
 same business, during which time he was foreman 
 L-f the works from the time the firm became the 
 Bristol Brass & Clock Co. until 1891. He is now 
 living in retirement, ai.d enjoying a well-earned 
 rest. He attends the services of the Episcopal 
 Church, while in politics he is a Republican. 
 
 On March 17, 185 1, Charles D. Hall was united 
 in marriage with Laura Amanda Hall, who was 
 born Sept. 25, 1828, daughter of Lyman and Sina 
 (Button) Hall, of Valesville, Conn.; she died ia 
 Bristol, Conn., Junt 2O, 1897. Their children are 
 as follows: (i) Charles Lyman, born Aug. 4,. 
 1852, is a farmer at Sulphur Springs, Lewis Co., 
 Wash.; (2) George H. is our subject; (3) Will- 
 iam Dickerman, born April 8, 1856, is a farmer 
 at Seattle, Wash. ; and (4) Alberta May, born 
 2klay 12, 1865, lives at home with her father. 
 
 George H. Hall, the subject proper of this 
 sketch, received his education at the Third Dis- 
 trict school, Bristol, and at the age of sixteen 
 years commenced working in the factory of J. H, 
 Sessions & Sons, in the same town, in 1880 be- 
 coming a contractor in the trunk hardware depart- 
 ment, in the press room, and with this firm re- 
 mained until 1896. In that year he received the' 
 appointment of foreman and salesman for the 
 Codling Mfg. Co,, in which firm he was a stock- 
 holder. In Alay, 1899, he again accepted his old 
 position as foreman of the trunk hardware depart- 
 ment of J. H. Sessions & Sons' facto.ry, being 
 called to same on account of his thorough famil- 
 iarity with the institutions of that firm. 
 
 On March 19, 1873, Mr. Hall was married to 
 Aliss Jessie Althea Wooding, who was born April 
 28, 1856, daughter of Lawson Jared Wooding, of 
 Bristol, and six children have been born to them, 
 four of whom died young, the others being: Law- 
 son Wooding, born Aug. 8, 1883, at present at- 
 tending the Bristol high school ; and Dwight Har- 
 rison, born Sept. 28, 1888, also attending school. 
 In 1897 Mr. Hall built a modern improved dwell- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1371 
 
 ing-house on Summer street, Bristol, one of the 
 most pleasant homes in Bristol. 
 
 Mrs. Hall is a member of Prospect M. E. 
 Church, of which Mr. Hall is a regular attendant. 
 He is a stanch Republican, served as tax collector 
 in 1888-89-90, and in 1895 and 1897 was elected a 
 representative, in 1897 being chairman of the 
 House committee on Manufactures. Socially he is 
 affiliated with Franklin Lodge, No. 40, F. & A. 
 M., Bristol, and of Ethan Lodge, No. 9, K. of L., 
 Bristol, of which he was the first chancellor com- 
 mander; has also been captain of the Uniformed 
 rank, Hull Companj^, No. 5, being still a member 
 thereof. In municipal matters Mr. Hall has al- 
 ways taken an active interest in the Bristol Fire 
 Department from boyhood, for eight years served as 
 chief, and at present is a member of the board of 
 Fire commissioners, having been first elected in 
 1892. 
 
 A progressive and energetic citizen, our sub- 
 ject is quick to respond to any call pertain- 
 ing to his party, or to the general benefit of the 
 town, and he is recognized as an enterprising and 
 Ijrogressive citizen, held by all in the highest re- 
 gard. 
 
 THOMAS LEVITT, the leading truck man in 
 Bristol, with his office in the freight depot of the 
 New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad, was 
 born in Enfield, Conn., Jan. 21, 1845. 
 
 William Levitt (deceased), father of our sub- 
 ject, was born in England, where he married Miss 
 Agnes Herd, and where four of his eight children 
 were born. He was a miller by trade, came to 
 America in 184/]., and while at work in the woolen 
 mill at Broad Brook, Conn., lost an arm. He sym- 
 pathized with the Republican party, but took little 
 interest in politics, and he never belonged to any 
 secret society. The eight children born to- Will- 
 iam and Agnes (Herd) Levitt were: Elizabeth, 
 who is married to C. D. Parsons, lives in Burling- 
 ton, Conn. ; Sarah Ann, married to H. K. Parsons, 
 is living in Florence, Mass. ; George has lived in 
 Harrisburg, Va., since the Civil war ; John died 
 in infancy; Thomas is the subject of this sketch; 
 Robert lives in Mystic, Conn. ; Mary married 
 William Fulton, and lives in Florence, Mass. ; and 
 William resides in Rockville, Connectcut. 
 
 Thomas Levitt at the age of ten years forsook 
 his studies in the common schools of Enfield, and 
 for three years worked as draw boy for the Hart- 
 ford Carpet Co., at Thompsonville. The follow- 
 ing three years he worked in the Broad Brook 
 woolen factory, and then, for two years, drove the 
 'bus from Warehouse Point to the Warehouse 
 Point depot. He then went to Springfield, Mass., 
 where he was employed as a teamster nearly thr)2e 
 years. About this time his father lost his arm, 
 and young Levitt returned to Broad Brook, and 
 for three years drove a four-horse team between 
 that village and Hartford, before railroad commu- 
 nication had been opened. His next work was in 
 
 the machine shop of the Broad Brook woolen mill, 
 for two years, and for the following^ three years 
 he was employed in a gristmill in the same village. 
 On April i, 1875, Mr. Levitt came to Bristol. 
 Here he bought the trucking business that had been 
 conducted by Alvie West and Asher C. Bailey as 
 two dift'erent concerns, which he consolidated, 
 making of them the finest truck house in the State, 
 as he constantly employs from twelve to twenty 
 men, seven wagons, and sixteen or twenty horses. 
 
 The marriaige of Mr. Levitt to Miss jNIatilda 
 Neuschler, a daug'hter of Ferdinand Neuschler, of 
 Broad Brook, took place April 19, 1871, and this 
 union has been graced with one daughter, Idella 
 Agnes, a charming young lady, born April 20, 
 1879. Mr. and Mrs. Levitt are ardent workers in 
 the Prospect M. E. Church, in which he was a class- 
 leader tor years, and is at present distridt steward, 
 while Mrs. Levitt is a member of the Ladies' Aid 
 and Missionary Societies. 
 
 Fraternally Mr. Levitt stands very high as a 
 Freemason, having reached a degree beyond which 
 there is but one other, and that one but a few of 
 the "brothers" care to take. He is a member of 
 Franklin Lodge, No. 56, F. & A. M., of Bristol; 
 of Pequabuck Chapter, R. A. M., also of Bristol ; 
 of Washington Commandery, Knights Templar ; 
 of Sphinx temple, Shriners, at Hartford ; of Nor- 
 wich Consistory, No. 32, and Scottish Rite, or 
 Thirtv-second degree. Masons. He is also a mem- 
 ber of the O. U. A. M., of Bristol. 
 
 ]Mr. Levitt is of Republican proclivities, but 
 has never made a race for office, although he has 
 frequently been solicited to do so. He is emphati- 
 cally a "self-made" man, as he has raised himself 
 to his present responsible position from that of a 
 penniless boy when he started out at the age of ten 
 years. 
 
 LEMUEL LEE STEWART, ex-warden of 
 the town of Bristol, is a leading contractor and 
 builder of that locality, and has erected the larger 
 number of the churches, schools and factories, to- 
 gether with manv of the finest residences, of the 
 borough. 
 
 Mr. Stewart was born April 25, 1844, at New 
 Perth, near Georgetown, Prince Edward Island, 
 and is of Scottish ancestry in the paternal line,- 
 while his mother's family was of English origin. 
 James Stewart, our subject's grandfather, was the 
 first of the family to come to America. He settled 
 at Three Rivers, near Georgetown, Prince Edward 
 Island, being one of the earliest settlers of that 
 section, and there spent the remainder of his life, 
 engaged in shipbuilding and agricultural pursuits. 
 He married a Miss McClearn, and had the follow- 
 ing children : Donald, Charles, John, James, Isabelle, 
 Christy, Jessie and Catherine, all deceased. 
 
 Charles Stewart, our subject's father, was born 
 in 1802, in Perthshire, Scotland, and was but an 
 infant when his parents came to America. Thb 
 larger portion of his life was spent on Prince Ed- 
 
1372 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ward Island, but in the autumn of life he removed 
 u. the LSernmdas, where lie died. His faithful wife, 
 I'^sther (Ciay), survives him, and resides with her 
 5on James H., in Boston. She comes of a well- ! 
 known family, and her father, Ephraim Gay, was 
 Jjorn in iJclfast, JNIaine. At an early date he and 
 his brother and their families, comprising in all 
 twelve persons, crossed from Belfast, Maine, to 
 I'rince Edward Island in an open boat, and niaile 
 for themaclves permanent homes. Charles and 
 J^^sther Stewart had eleven children, of whom 
 three died in infancy. The others were: Mary, 
 wife of Donald Shaw, of i'rincte Edward Island; 
 Catherine, wife of George Howard, of Philadel- 
 jjhia; Elizabeth, wife of Henry Whitney, of Phil- 
 lipston. Alass. ; Jessie, wife of Edwin Coffin, of 
 Charlotte-Town, Prince Edward Island; Henry; 
 James H. ; Lemuel L. ; and Charles. 
 
 Lemuel L. Stewart remainetl at the home farm 
 until he reached the years of eighteen years, when 
 he removed to Mystic, Conn., and spent two years 
 working at the carpenter's trade. He then went 
 to I'hiladelphia, and during the Rebellion was a 
 carpenter with the army. Western Department. 
 In 1865 he returned to .Mystic, where he spent the 
 following two Mears, in 1867 removing to Boston, 
 !Mass., and in 1868 to W'aketield, Mass., where he 
 resided until 1878. In that year he removed to 
 Kansas, but on returning in 1880 he located in 
 Bristol, where he has since resided. Mr. Stewart 
 served as burgess of the borough one year, asses- 
 sor one year, and was elected to the position of 
 warden of the borough in 1897. serving three 
 rears. He affiliates with the Republican party, and 
 both he and his wife are consisiient members of the 
 ^lethodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 ^Ir. Stewart was married in Philadelphia, April 
 23. 1865, to Geierstein Spencer, a native of Houl- 
 ton. ]^Iaine. and a daughter of Joseph Millette and 
 Elizabeth S. ( Bonney I Spencer. They have had 
 three children : Charles \\"infield. born at East 
 Boston Jan. 20. 1868, resictes in Bristol ; Ida Lee, 
 Lorn in Wakefield, Mass., Nov. 3, 1871, is the wife 
 of William H. Rutledge, of New Canaan, Conn., 
 and has one child, Ida ; and Miss Mary Esther, 
 born in Larned, Kan., ^lav 23, 1880, is at home. 
 
 The Spencer family is of English extraction, 
 but it cannot be traced further back than James 
 Spencer, Mrs. Stewart's grandfather, a native of 
 Greenbush, Maine. He married Annie Ayres, 
 daughter of ^^'illiam Ayres, and the children were 
 James. \'alentine, Joseph M., and Lincoln and 
 Annie, twins, all now deceased. Joseph iNIillette 
 Sptncer was born at Greenbush. ?\Iaine. and there 
 spent the earlv portion of his life. In 1864 he re- 
 moved to Gloucester City, N. J., where he engaged 
 in lumbering and shipbuilding. He married Eliza- 
 l)eth Small Bonney, and they had the follovv'ing chil- 
 dren : Plicebe Ann; Geierstein (Mrs. Stewart); 
 Mary E., wife of Arthur H. Pa'"sons, of Bristol ; 
 Zachariah Taylor, residing in Texas ; Winfield 
 Scott, residing in Glencoe. Ala. ; and Adelaide N., 
 
 Augustus J., Joseph and Clara Ella, all deceased, 
 the maternal great-great-grandniother of Mr. 
 Stewart, Mrs. Carter, was formerly a Miss Pow- 
 ers, and a sister of the mother of Horace Cjreeley. 
 Polly Sparks, the maternal grandmother of Mrs. 
 Stewart, was a daughter of John Sparks, who was 
 born in Cherryfield, Maine. She married Abail 
 Bonney, and their ciiildren were: Robert, David, 
 ( )tis G., Elizabeth S., Mary, George Thomas, and 
 Joel, all deceased; and John, who is living. 
 
 CHARLES EDWARD PRIOR, secretary and 
 treasurer of the Security Company of Hartford, 
 was born in Moosup, Windham Co., Conn., Jan. 24, 
 1856, a son of Erastus L. and Sarah L. (Burleson) 
 Prior. 
 
 Taken by his i)arents to Jcwett City, in i860, 
 a considerable portion of the life of Mr. Prior was 
 passed there, and the ijublic schools of the town of 
 Griswold afforded him the means of securing a good 
 education. The year 1873 saw the beginning of his 
 business career, when he began work in the office 
 of the Norwich & Worcester Railr()ad Co., in Nor- 
 wich. Two years: later he returned to Jewett City 
 to accept a position in the office of the Ashland 
 Cotton Co.. where he was soon advanced to the 
 ]X)sition of lx)okkeeper and paymaster for the pros- 
 jjcrous cor])oration. In 1883 Mr. Prior was elected 
 secretary and treasurer of the Jewett City Savings 
 Bank, and a few years later was made a corpora- 
 tor and director in that institution. Cnder his care 
 the bank developed rapidly, and became a well- ■ 
 known institution, his acknowledged ability in the 
 management of its affairs winning and holding the 
 public confidence to an unuiual degree. During 
 liis official connection with the bank there was a 
 great gain in deposits, a large premium account was 
 charged oft', and the surplus was quadrupled. In 
 1891, the Hon. George M. Landers, bank commis- 
 sioner, pronounced it "one of the very few model 
 banks of the State." 
 
 In December, 1894. Mr. Prior was tendered 
 the position of assistant treasurer of the Security 
 Company of Hartford, and Jan. 28, 1895, com- 
 menced his labors with that corporation. On March 
 2. 1896, he became secretary and treasurer of the 
 Company. The Hartford Coiirant of March 3, 
 said, "Mr. Prior, who becomes treasurer after a 
 year's experience as assistant treasurer, has rec- 
 ommended himself to the patrons of the Company 
 and to all others who have made his acquaintance, 
 and has fully justified his reputation acqttired as 
 treasurer of the Jewett City Savings Bank." In 
 January, 1901, he was added to the board of trus- 
 tees- of the Security Company. His abilities are 
 prized even outside of the Company he has served 
 so well, and in January, 1899, he was elected one of 
 the auditors of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insur- 
 ance Company. 
 
 Mr. Prior is almost as widely known in musi- 
 cal as in business circles. When fourteen years of 
 age he became organist at the Congregational Church 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1373. 
 
 in Jewett City, holding the position eight years, and 
 it was at that time that his first musical composi- 
 tions came to light. He is associate author of three 
 Sunday-school singing books, "Spicy Breezes," 
 "Sparkling and Bright," and "Our Best Endeavor," 
 and has written quite a variety of miscellaneous 
 music. Since 1881 he has been an honorary member 
 of the Worcester County (Mass.) Musical Associa- 
 tion. 
 
 In early life Mr. Prior united with the Jewett 
 City Baptist Church, and for many years served that 
 body acceptably as choir leader and organist. He 
 was also the first president of the Y. P. S. C. E. 
 in his home church, holding the office several years ; 
 and since coming to Hartford he has continued his 
 activity in church work. For four years he was 
 superintendent of the Asylum Avenue Baptist Sun- 
 day-school, and president of the Young People's 
 Society. He was for several years treasurer of the 
 Baptist Young People's Union of Connecticut, treas- 
 urer and musical director of the Connecticut Baptist 
 Bible School Union, and a member of the executive 
 committee of the State Sunday-school Association. 
 He is now (1901) vice-president of the Hartford 
 Baptist Union, and a director of the Y. M. C. A. 
 
 Mr. Prior was united in marriage with Miss 
 Mary E. Campbell, and they have one son, Charles 
 Edward Prior, Jr., at present teller of the Security- 
 Company, and tenor of the Center Church choir. 
 Our subject is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, 
 and in 1884 and 1885 served as master of Mt. Ver- 
 non Lodge of Masons (Jewett City), and on Dec. 
 5, 1897, was knighted in Columbian Commandery, 
 Knights Templar of Norwich. 
 
 GEORGE WHITEFIELD AVERY, M. T). 
 (deceased), son of David and Rebecca (Morgan) 
 Avery, and a descendant of Capt. James Avery, of 
 Groton, was born in Hampton, Conn., in 1836, and 
 died in Hartford in February, 1893, after a few 
 days' illness. 
 
 In 1861 Dr. Avery, then in charge of the New 
 Haven Hospital, joined the 9th Conn. V. I., and 
 w^ent with Gen. Butler to Ship Island, and later 
 to New Orleans, where he remained for ten years, 
 at first in hospital service, later, for a year, as 
 sheriff of the city. In 1872 he removed to Hart- 
 ford, where he was greatly esteemed and beloved 
 bv his patients and friends, many of whom still 
 feel that his place can never be supplied. Rev. 
 Dr. Parker, of the South Congregational Church, 
 said at the funeral service : "It was my great 
 privilege to know Dr. Averv verjr intimately. Our 
 minds and hearts were congenial, and circumstances 
 brought us together in a friendship that was strong 
 and precious, and, on his part, as imselfish, gen- 
 erous, tender and pure as the love of good women. 
 
 "The fundamental elem.ents of good, manly char- 
 acter are sincerity and truth. Who that knew Dr. 
 Aver5' could fail to perceive the nredominance of 
 these elements in his character? He was as true- 
 i 
 
 minded and true-hearted a man as can be found,, 
 and he pursued and obeyed truth with eagerness 
 and delight. He scorned m his own downright and 
 emphatic way whatever lacked the soundness of sui- 
 cerity. Doubtless he was frequently too frank and 
 outspoken for his own advantage, but it was not in 
 his nature to wear any disguises, or to lay gifts 
 on the altar of the goddess Prudence. It is good 
 to have such men in the community. It is good to 
 have them in the church. It is a great privilege to 
 have their companionship, and to live in the at- 
 mosphere of their influence and friendship. 
 
 "But this truthfulness and sincerity were very 
 beautifully commingled and adorned in Dr. Avery 
 with the kindliest and tenderest feelings that flourish 
 in the human heart. He did not dole out, but poured 
 out the love of his large heart. The cordial of his 
 appreciations, of his encouragement, of his minis- 
 trations, was like precious wine. 
 ■ "Dr. Avery's Puritan pedigree was written all 
 over him, and his Puritan inheritance was in the 
 very grain and fiber of his being. Unyielding 
 as a rocky cliff in what he deemed was right and 
 dutiful, it needed no stroke of prophet's rod, but 
 only the simplest touch of nature, to cause the rock 
 to part and issue abundance of living and refresh- 
 ing waters. He was a man of reverent, earnest and 
 truthful Christian faith. He questioned much, he 
 felt the stress of mystery all about and before him.,, 
 but he bowed in humble, adoring faith before God 
 and Jesus Christ. He had anchorage for his soul 
 in the unseen and eternal." 
 
 ROSWELL DOANE SPENCER was born in 
 Springfield, Bradford Co., Penn., and is of English 
 extraction. His great-grandfather, Nathaniel 
 Spencer, a native of England, came to America 
 about 1777, and located in the town of Chatham, 
 Middlesex Co., Conn. Subsequently he returned 
 to England to reclaim some propertv, which he 
 obtained, but was lost at sea while returning to his 
 family in the New World. His wife was in her 
 maidenhood Lydia Mack. 
 
 Hollister Spencer, onlv child of the above, and 
 the grandfather of our subject, was born in Chat- 
 ham, Conn., in 1778, and was there reared to man- 
 hood. He became a farmer and also a sailor. He 
 married Theda Sexton, and to them was born a son, 
 Diodate, our subject's father, whose birth occurred 
 in Chatham in 181 2. In early manhood he was 
 employed in the Maromas quarries of Middletown, 
 Conn., and assisted in quarrying the stone used in 
 the construction of Girard College, Philadelphia. 
 In 1836 he married Miss ]\Iartha H. Doane, a na- 
 tive of Fladdam, Conn., and a daughter of Ros- 
 well and Hester K. (Chapman) Doane, of that 
 place. Two children were born of this union : Ros- 
 well Doane (our subject) and Robert Emmett. Soon 
 after his marria,?e Mr. Spencer, with others, went 
 to Spring-field, Bradford Co., Penn., making the 
 trip with a six-ox-team. He cleared a farm there. 
 
1874 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 but about 1846 returned to Connecticut, locating 
 at East Haddam, where he was more or less en- 
 gaged in merchandising for eighteen years. In 
 1803 he went to Burlington, Penn., where he en- 
 gaged in farming and later in mercantile business. 
 His death occurred there June 10, 1870. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of Roswell D. Spencer 
 were passed in Pennsylvania and Connecticut, and 
 he received only a meager common-school educa- 
 tion. At the age of eleven years he began his busi- 
 ness life in his father's store, and from fourteen 
 until twenty-two, a period of eight years, he was 
 employed in the manufacture of britannia spoons 
 at East Haddam, Conn. In 1862 he entered the 
 emplov of Gates Brothers, general merchants of 
 Colchester, this State, serving them in the capacity 
 of clerk until 1867, when he embarked in general 
 merchandising on his own account in the town of 
 East Haddam, in which line of trade he success- 
 fully continued there for fourteen years. In 1881 
 he located at Thompsonville, where for eight years 
 he also engaged in merchandising, selling out in 
 1 889, and in 1892 he engaged in the banking busi- 
 ness at that place with his son, Robert E., tmder the 
 firm name of R. D. & Robert E. Spencer, the bank 
 being founded by the latter in September, 18S7. He 
 is now living in Xew Britain, this county. 
 
 In i860 Mr. Spencer was united in marriage 
 with Miss JNIary Helen Mather, a daughter of E. 
 ^^'atrous and Elizabeth (Foster) Mather, of East 
 Haddam. Five children were bom of this union : 
 Agnes I., Robert E., Herbert D. (deceased). R. 
 Donald and Plelen !M. ]\Ir. Spencer is a member 
 and senior warden of the Episco]3al Church of 
 Thompsonville, and is a Knight Templar Mason, 
 a member of the blue lodge, chapter and command- 
 ery. His political support is always given to the 
 Democracy, and he has served as selectman of En- 
 field for one term. As a citizen he has manifested 
 a commendable interest in everything that is calcu- 
 lated to promote the general welfare. 
 
 XILES GLOVER WHITE, a prominent resi- 
 dent of West Hartford, who is engaged in business 
 in Xew York City, is a descendant of Philip \Miite, 
 who came from England at an early day and located 
 in Lynn, Mass. He was at one time a light dragoon. 
 He married a Miss Ramsdale, of Lynn, and re- 
 turned to England, leaving his wife and child, 
 Philip White, Jr., in Lynn. He is supposed to 
 liave been lost in the English Channel. His prop- 
 erty in England was advertised for years, but his 
 \ - son would do nothing about it. 
 
 Philip White (2) was born in Lvnn, JMass., 
 April 12, 1760, and died Oct. 17, 1845. Before 
 the Revolutionary war he lived with his uncle, Ezra 
 Ramsdale, in Lynn, and then moved with him to 
 Chatham, Conn. For seven and a half vears he 
 fought for American independence as a soldier of 
 the Continental army. Being small of stature, he 
 went by the names of "Frostbitten" and "Little 
 ;Devil." He married Olive Rowley, a daughter of 
 
 Eleazer Rowley, of Moodus, Conn. She was born 
 ni that place April 22, 1764, and died April 21, 
 1856. J\lr. and Mrs. White lived at Chatham, prob- 
 ably on the J. X. \Miite place. They had seven chil- 
 dren : (i) Hepsabeth, born Sept. 13, 1784, died Aug. 
 5, 1873. (2) Aloses, born Nov. 3, 17S6, died Oct. 
 7, 1843. H^ married (lirst) Nancy Loomis and 
 (second) Sarah Gillett, and had one son and three 
 daughters. (3) Olive, twin sister of Moses, mar- 
 ried Thomas Almy, and had one son and three 
 daughters. She died April 21, 1856. (4) Nabby, 
 born March 19, 1789, died July 21, 1809. At the 
 age of nineteen she married a Mr. Buel, and re- 
 moved to Pennsylvania. On the trip she caught a 
 severe cold in fording a stream, and died from the 
 effects of the same. (5) Philip (3) is mentioned 
 more fully below. (6) Sarah, or Sally, born April 
 1, 1797, died Aug. 15, 1883. She was married 
 in 1816 to Charles Markham, and they had three 
 sons and three daughters. (7) Caroline M., born 
 .-\ug. 22, 1800, died Jan. 12, 1878. She married 
 Titus Strong, and they had one son. 
 
 Philip White (3), born Feb. 3, 1795, married 
 Lucy Xiles, and they had nine children: (i) 
 Glover Moses, father of our subject, was born Sept. 
 26. 1819, and died Aug. 26, 1872. He was at one 
 time superintendent of the Mill Stone Point quarry, 
 al Watcrford, Conn., and was engaged in the 
 granite business, in Xew York City, as a partner 
 of Thomas Crane. He wedded Miss Mary Post 
 Alarkham, who was born June i, 1824, and died 
 Jan. 12, 1887. Their only child was Niles Glover, 
 "the subject of this sketch. (2) Caroline M., born 
 Xov. 10. 1821, died Sept. 27, 1881. She married 
 I'l'oses Sisson, and had one son, Henry, who died 
 when about two years old. (3) John N., born 
 Dec. 28. 1824, died Feb. 11, 1890. He resided in 
 Chatham. Conn., and married Julia Thomas, by 
 whom he had three children — Frank S., born July 
 14. i8s2: Lucv X.. Aug. 28, 1855: and Grace S., 
 March' 8. 1869. (4) Francis P. and (5) Olive M. 
 both died in Xorwich, Conn. (6) Alfred B., born 
 Sept. 2, 1829, spent his school days in Chatham, 
 and when a youngf man traveled in the South for 
 the firm of Case, Lockwood & Brainard, for a year. 
 Later he engaged in bell manufacturing at East 
 Hampton, Conn., under the firm name of Veazey 
 & White, consolidating the factories of J. C. Hall 
 & Co., Hiram A^eazey and White & Barton. In 
 1882 he retired from business and removed to West 
 FTartford, Conn., where he now lives retired. He 
 married Ehnina A. Daniels, and they have two 
 sons — Glover M., born Jan. 13, 1870; and Alfred 
 r... Jr., horn June 14, 1877. They form the firm of 
 G. A[. White & Co., dealers in feed and ,grain, at 
 East Hartford. (7) Lucy Adaline married Francis 
 \Y. Brainard, and had two daughters. (8) Nabbie 
 Eleanor, born in 1832, married Emerson E. Niles, 
 of Albany, X". Y., and had one son. (9) Brockway 
 J. married Levina Bevin, and had one son, Fred- 
 erick, who was adopted by Moses Sisson, and bears 
 his name. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1375 
 
 Niles Glover White, whose name introduces 
 this sketch, was born in Chatnam, Conn., Nov. i, 
 1850. He is of the third generation of practical 
 ^■ranite-cutters in his family, having. served a regu- 
 lar apprenticeship to the trade in New York City, 
 and entered the firm of Thomas Crane & Co., con- 
 sisting of Thomas Crane and his father. Upon the 
 death of his father he and Thomas Crane continued 
 the partnership, and did business under the name 
 of Thomas Crane & Co., at No. 340 Madison street, 
 New York City, but our subject now carries on 
 the business as the White Granite Co., at Long 
 Island, City, New York. He is a man of keen per- 
 ception, unbounded enterprise' and good executive 
 ability, and occupies an enviable position in business 
 -circles. 
 
 At Guilford, Conn., Aug. 27, 1873, Mr. White 
 was united in marriage with Miss Mary Cornelia 
 Bishop, who was born there Aug. 27, 1853, a daugh- 
 ter of Elisha Chapman and Charlotte Griffin (Fow- 
 ler) Bishop, 'io this union seven children have 
 been born, whose names and dates of birth are as 
 follows: Mary Bishop, Aug. 16, 1874; Nellie Fow- 
 ler, Dec. 29, 1876; Edna, June 30, 1879; Olive, Aug. 
 14, 1881 ; Lottie, Dec. 17, 1883; Bishop, Oct. 14, 
 1885; and Prentice, May 24, 1891. 
 
 In connection with his New York business Mr. 
 White is also senior member of the firm of White 
 & Whitmore, mantel, tile and interior marble deal- 
 ers of Hartford. He has made his home in West 
 Hartford since March 24, 1880. He is president 
 of the Prospect Casino Company, a family club, 
 and is quite popular in social as well as in business 
 ■circles. 
 
 ARTHUR iMANNING, a prominent and rising 
 young mechanic and agriculturist of Manchester, 
 was born Oct. 13, 1861, in Manchester, just across 
 the line of East Hartford town, and is the youngest 
 of the ten children thai blessed the marriage of 
 Charles F. and Lydia A. (Hilbord) Manning. 
 
 Charles F. Manning was born in Tolland, Conn., 
 in 1817, received his education in the common 
 schools and at an early age learned the blacksmith's 
 trade. Being an expert, he was for ten years master 
 mechanic for the New York, New Haven & Hart- 
 ford Railroad Co., and later for Woodruff & Beach 
 (now Beach & Co.). on State street, Hartford, and 
 finallv purchased a farm in Hillstown on which he 
 passed the remainder of his life, dying in 1876, 
 shortly after his return from the Centennial Ex- 
 position in Philadelphia. The ten children born to 
 his marriage, in 1841 or 1842, to Miss Lydia A. Hil- 
 bord, a native of Scotland, Conn., were: Sarah Jane,' 
 who is married to Mark Aspinwall. and resides in 
 Coventry, Tolland county ; Charles F. and Julia, 
 who both died young ; Edward, who married Fanny 
 Leonard, and is now living in Glastonbury, Hart- 
 ford county; Chester, who married Phebe Hyde, 
 and is now occupying the farm in Manchester on 
 which our subject was born ; Richard, who married 
 Ella Green, and is at present foreman in the Cheney 
 
 Co.'s silk factory, at South Manchester; Delia and 
 Charles, who both died young; Silena S., who is 
 married to Howard Geer, a resident of St. Louis, 
 Mo. ; and Arthur, the subject of this biography. 
 
 Arthur Manning received a good district-school 
 education, learned the carpenter's trade, and was 
 later employed for five years in that capacity at the 
 Cheney Co.'s silk mill. He continued to live at 
 home with his parents until one year after his mar- 
 riage, when he purchased his present farm of seven- 
 ty acres, which he has since conducted with abundant 
 success in addition to following his trade. 
 
 On May 4, 1882, Mr. Manning was married to 
 Miss Carrie M. Hills, daughter of William H. Hills, 
 one of the most prominent and respected residents 
 of Hillstown. Five children have crowned this 
 union, as follows: Gertrude, born Jan. i, 1885, 
 is now attending the Willimantic high school ; Ethel, 
 born July 19, 1887, is still under the parental roof; 
 Lester Arthur, born Oct. 13, 1889, died in March, 
 1894, and his remains lie interred in Spring street 
 cemetery; Bessie was born May 30, 1892, and Beulah 
 Nov. 4, 1895. 
 
 Mr. Manning is a member of King David Lodge, 
 No. 57, I. O. O. F., and in politics is a Democrat. 
 His farm is under a high state of cultivation, and 
 five acres of the seventy are devoted to tobacco 
 growing. He began his business life with but a 
 small capital, but has been very industrious, has 
 always been willing to turn his hand to anything 
 by which he could earn an honest dollar, and, being 
 an excellent mechanic, has never lacked employ- 
 ment. Aided by his excellent and estimable wife, 
 whose affable manners and pleasant disposition have 
 won for her the love and friendship of the entire 
 community, Mr. Manning now finds himself in very 
 comfortable circumstances, and justly deserves the 
 high esteem in which he is held by all his neighbors. 
 
 JOHN SHEEHAN, a prominent resident of 
 New Britain, is a successful business man, and as 
 a citizen has made his influence a recognized factor 
 in local aft'airs. 
 
 Mr. Sheehan was born in New Britain Jan. 22, 
 1859, and is of Irish ancestry in both paternal and 
 maternal lines. Thomas Sheehan, his father, was 
 a native of County Clare, Ireland, born about 1829, 
 and received a limited education in the schools of 
 that country. In 1850 he came to America, locating 
 immediately in New Britain, where he was employed 
 for a time as a common laborer -and afterward be- 
 came a contractor with P.'& F. Corbin and the 
 Landers & Frary Co. In this line he was success- 
 ful, but after twelve years he engaged in the grocery 
 and liquor businesss, opening a store on Lafayette 
 street, about 1872, ancl continuing same imtil his 
 death, which occurred in 1885. For some time he 
 tarried on a truck and drav business in addition to 
 liif other interests, and in all his enterprises he dis- 
 played the energy and shrewd judgment wdaich 
 command success. He was a leading member of 
 St. Mary's Catholic Church at New Britain, and 
 
 / 
 
1376 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 politically was a strong Democrat, although he never 
 look an active share in party work. He married 
 Sarah Mead, and they had twelve children, as fol- 
 lows : Thomas S., i'atrick and .Michael, all now 
 Ueceased; Katharine; John, and Hanora, who are 
 living; James, Martin, and William, deceased; 
 :Mary and Helen, who are living; and Sarah, de- 
 ceased. 
 
 Our subject attended ihe old town school on Myr- 
 tle street. New Britain, until he was seventeen years 
 old, receiving a good English education. On leav- 
 ing' school he turned his attention to his father's 
 lousiness, and removed to a new building at No. 124 
 High street, where he remained about ten years. 
 In^SyS he built his present store at No. 120 High 
 street, where he enjoys a large custom. He is a 
 director in the Xew Liritain Brass Co.. of which he 
 was an incorjwrator, and his judgment in business 
 maters is considered exceptionally good. In politics 
 he is a Democrat, and he takes an active part in 
 municipal affairs, having served as a councilman 
 from the Fifth ward, in 1891-92-93, and was alder- 
 man for five years, from 1894 to 1898, inclusive. 
 Mr. Sheeliaii married Miss Bridget DeWitt, 
 daughter of Michael DeWitt, a native of Ireland, 
 and" now a respected citizen of Xew Britain. Six 
 children brighten his home : Sarah, Thomas, John, 
 Frederick, Helen and Katliarine. He and his family 
 are popular sociallv, and he is an active worker in 
 the Ancient Order' of Hibernians and the Order of 
 Foresters, having served as treasurer in both, and 
 belongs to the order of Knights of Columbus, a 
 Catholic organization. 
 
 DWIGHT A. HARRIS, superintendent of the 
 water works of the city of New Britain, is a man 
 whose energies have been disciplined by the stren- 
 uous effort to overcome adverse conditions in youth, 
 and his present high standing reflects great credit 
 upon him. His sound judgment, developed by self- 
 reliant work in earlier years, is of recognized value 
 to the city, and the water-works system, under his 
 able and efficient management, has been a success- 
 ful venture, and is constantly increasing in extent 
 and usefulness. 
 
 ]\Ir. Harris was born Sept. 17, 1849. in She- 
 bovgan Falls, W'is., and comes of a family \vhich 
 has long been noted for industry and enterprise. 
 Asel Harris, our subject's grandfather, was born 
 in 1790, and spent much of his life in the 
 town of Middleville, Herkimer Co., N. Y., ^Vhere 
 he engaged extensively in farming. He was an 
 excellent citizen, but was somewhat reserved in his 
 manner, and never took an active part in public 
 aft'airs, preferring to devote his attention to his 
 business in which he was very successful. For 
 manv vears he was a leading member of the Meth- 
 odist Church in his locality, and died in that faith. 
 His wife was Mariah Bushnell, of New York. Of 
 their children Richard was a produce and commis- 
 sion merchant in New York City ; Walter and 
 Gailord also reside in New York Citv ; William W. 
 
 is mentii_>ned below; Erastus was a carpenter; and 
 l-.mma married Seymour Jackson, then of Fairfield, 
 Herkimer Co., N. \' ., and now a farmer in Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 William W. Harris, our subject's father, was- ' 
 born June I, 1818, in F'airheld, N. Y., and received 
 a district-school education. He learned the car- 
 penter's trade in his native town, and in 1847 
 went to Slieboygan F'alls, Wis., where he was 
 connected with a sash and blind factor)' for sev- 
 eral years. Soon afterward he removed to Boon- 
 ville, N. Y., and resumed his trade. He was a man 
 of good mental ability, but his retiring disposition 
 kept him from achieving the prominence which 
 others, less worthy, gained readily. In religious faith 
 lie was a Presbyterian, and in iwlitics he affiliated 
 with the Re];ublican ])arty. although he was never 
 active in partisan work. His estimable wife, whose 
 maiden name was Jane .\dclia Jackson, was born 
 Feb. 21, 1819, and died I""eb. 17, 1887; he 
 survived her but a few years, dying Jan. 18, 
 1898. The Jackson family is well known in 
 Herkimer county, N. Y. and our subject's ma- 
 ternal grandfather, General John Jackson, born 
 Dec. 30, 1795. died in 1830 at the age of thirty-five 
 vears, a successful farmer, and took a prominent 
 part in military affairs as an officer in the State 
 militia. Hester Neeley Jackson, wife of General 
 Jackson, was born Nov. 13, 1797, and died Sept. 
 2. 188 1. Four cliildren were Ijorn to William H. 
 Harris and wife: Mary, who married Rosell Pitcher; 
 Dwight .Augustus, our subject: -\nna G., who died 
 at the age of eighteen ; and Nettie M., wife of ^^'ill- 
 iam p. Sipplle, of Boonville, New York. 
 
 Dwight .A. Harris was educated mainly in the 
 public schools of Boonville, and his love of reading 
 has led to private study of various topics. On 
 leaving school, at the age of eighteen, he learned the 
 tinner's trade, serving an apprenticeship at Boon- 
 ville. For a few years he followed the trade as 
 a journeyman, but he gave it up to become a guide 
 in the .\dirondacks. His five years in that occupa- 
 tion brought good financial returns, and many in- 
 teresting experiences. He shot many deer, and dur- 
 ing the close seasons, in company with Samuel 
 Dunokin, engaged in trapping otter, marten 
 and mink, often having 50G traps set. In vis- 
 iting his line of traps he would often spend two 
 weeks, as they covered a range from ten to thirty 
 miles. In June, 1872, he came to New Britain 
 to work for W. J. Bulkeley in the steam and gas 
 piping business, and his ability and skill so im- 
 pressed the coipmunit}- that when a superintendent 
 was wanted for the new water-works system, in 1883. 
 he was chosen for the place, which he has held ever 
 since. He is also engineer of fire engine No. 2, 
 New Britain. Politically jNIr. Harris is a Repub- 
 lican, but he is not especially active in the work of 
 the party, and socially he is identified with the Order 
 of United American Mechanics ; the I. O. O. F., 
 Phoenix Lodge, No. 52, and with Lodge No. 19, B. 
 P. O. E. 
 
 \ 
 
-^.-Ayv. 
 
 /^-^Z^-X^«-<? 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1377 
 
 RALPH GILLETT, former president of the 
 State Mutual Fire Insurance Co., of Hartford, 
 Conn., whose death occurred April 17, 1894, was 
 descended from ancestors on both sides who were 
 among the earliest colonists of New England. 
 
 Rev. Nathan Gillett. the father of Ralph, was a 
 native of Connecticut; his father, Nathan (afterward 
 called Major), together with his brother, Capt. 
 Zacherus, were among the first to respond to the 
 "Lexington Alarm" from Simsbur}-, Conn. They 
 belonged to the first company of volunteers, and they 
 afterward faithfully served their country as true 
 soldiers and throughout the Revolntionar)- period. 
 The}' probably remembered the motive which their 
 fathers had when they came to the rough coast of 
 New England, a few generations before. Nathan 
 and his brother Jonathan Gillett first settled in 
 Dorchester, Mass., and Nathan is recorded as a land 
 holder and was admitted a freeman in 1634. In 
 1635 he left Dorchester and removed to Old Wind- 
 sor, Conn. It is said that the old family of Gilletts 
 first fled from France to Dorchester in England, 
 in consequence of religious persecution. 
 
 Rev. Nathan Gillett, the father of our subject, 
 married Lydia Jones, the daughter of Capt. Samuel 
 Jones, of Hebron, Conn. The Rev. Isaac Jones, of 
 Litdifield, Conn., in 1822 furnished this history of 
 his ancestors, in connection with that of Capt. Sam- 
 uel Jones, and of Dr. Anson Jones, who afterward 
 became the second President of the Republic of 
 Texas. 
 
 This family are descendants of Col. John Jones, 
 one of the judges who pronounced sentence against 
 Charles I, King of England, who was executed 
 June 30, 1649. On the accession to the throne of 
 Charles II, in 1660, Col. Jones, with nine other 
 judges, was condemned and executed. Col. Jones 
 married Henrietta, sister of Oliver Cromwell, and 
 their son, Hon. William Jones, married, in 1639, 
 Hannah, daughter of Theophilus Eaton, afterward 
 first Governor of the Colony of New Haven, Conn.,, 
 and came with him to America. From this Will- 
 iam Jones, the first American ancestor of this branch 
 of the Jones family, the subject of this sketch was 
 in the sixth generation, the line of his descent 
 being through Isaac, Capt. Samuel and Lydia Jones. 
 
 From this Isaac Jones descended many men who 
 made their mark in their various callings of life, 
 among them Hon. Joel Jones, the first president of 
 Girard College, and Hon. Anson Jones, the second 
 president of the Republic of Texas. Capt. Samuel 
 Jones, son of Isaac, born in Saybrook, Conn., in 
 1695, married, in 1719, Rachel Dibble, and settled 
 in Hebron, Conn., where he died in 1733, and she 
 in 1765. Of their eight children. Lydia, daughter of 
 Captain Samuel, became the mother of our sub- 
 ject. Capt. Samuel was an officer in the' French 
 and Indian war. under Gen. Putnam, and his com- 
 mission under King George II is in the possession of 
 his grandson, Alfred S. Gillett, of Washington, D. 
 C, together with letters written b)^ his grandfather 
 while in the service. 
 
 67 
 
 The Rev. Nathan Gillett graduated at Williams 
 College in about 1798.' He entered as minister in 
 the Congregational Church, and became pastor of 
 a church of Gilead Society, in Hebron, Conn., in 
 1799, and remained their pastor till 1824. He re- 
 moved from there to jNIonson, Mass., that his sons 
 might be placed in the Monson Academy, and his 
 other children have the advantage of good school 
 facilities. He later settled in Madison county, N. 
 Y., and remained there ten years. He returned to 
 Connecticut and died in Ellington, Conn., in 1845. 
 There he lies buried in the family lot of the Gilletts, 
 and strange that this old town was once a part of 
 Windsor, where his fathers settled two hundred 
 and fifty years ago. He was a man of very fair 
 talents, a clergyman of the old school, unassum- 
 ing and unostentatious. He married the daughter 
 of Capt. Samuel Jones, in the old parish where he 
 was settled. She was born in 1781 and died in 1865. 
 She was a woman of the most sterling character 
 and intelligence, and possessed of great virtues. 
 Of her children, other than our subject, Alfred .S. 
 Gillett is still living (he organized the Girard Fire 
 and Marine Insurance Co. of Philadelphia in 1853, 
 and was its first secretary, became its vice-presi- 
 dent, and is now its president) ; Albert J. died in 
 Hartford, in 1865; and Edwin Nathan died still 
 . later in Illinois. 
 
 Ralph Gillett, our subject, was born in Gilead, 
 Conn., Oct. 14, 181 1.' He received a classical edu- 
 cation, and was prepared to enter college. He was 
 an excellent Greek and Latin scholar, while prepar- 
 ing for future advancement, but like most min- 
 isters' sons he found himself poor, and abandoned 
 his pursuit after classical literature or knowledge. 
 He went to work in a country store in Ellington. 
 He afterward became the owner of the Ellington 
 High School propertv, established and owned by the 
 late Judge John Hall, and at one time one of the 
 most prosperous preparatory schools in the State. 
 In 1849 he moved from Ellington to Hartford, and 
 entered the general field of fire and life insurance, 
 becoming general agent for several companies. He 
 was the first president of the City Fire Insurance 
 Co., of the Charter Oak Fire Insurance Co., and of 
 the L^nion Fire Insurance Company. He was a 
 strong advocate of the mutual system in both fire 
 and life insurance, and became the president of the 
 State Mutual Fire Insurance Co., which has recently 
 re-insured and disposed of all its liabilities. His 
 death, as already recorded, occurred April 17, 1894, 
 and it can be well said of him that he was methodi- 
 cal in all his business transactions, liberal in his 
 charities, during his lifetime probably giving away 
 more in charity than he left of estate. His only 
 living relatives on the Gillett side are Albert B. Gil- 
 lett. Mrs. Thomas R. Loomis, and Mrs. Mary P. 
 Smith, all residing in Hartford. 
 
 IRA PECK. From the inscriptions on a sub 
 stantial brown stone monument standing in Spring 
 Grove cemeterv, Hartford, it is learned that Ira 
 
137S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Peck was born Xuv. 15, i/yo, and died July 4. 
 1870. and that his wife Penelope was born i'eb. 13, 
 ij\)0. and died March 12, i8()y. 
 
 i'he birthplace ot AJr. Peck was in the town of 
 W'allingtord, Conn., but soon after his advent into 
 the world his father, John Peck, established a home 
 for the family in Farmington. He was descended 
 from an historic New England family of the Colon- 
 ial period. The Connecticut Pecks are descend- 
 ants of Joseph, of Milford, Deacon William and 
 Henry, of New Haven, each becoming the ancestor 
 or progenitor of a numerous race. Deacon W ill- 
 iam I'eck, the ancestor of the branch ot tiie Peck 
 family to which our subject belongs, was born in 
 London, England, in lOoi, and with his wife 
 Elizabeth, and one chdd, Jeremiah, came to New 
 England in the ship •■Hector" in 1637, with the 
 company of which Gov. Eatun and Rev. John Daven- 
 port were the leaders, and was one of the planters 
 or founders of the Colony of New Haven in the 
 spring of 1638. Deacon Peck was a merchant and 
 a man of high standing in the colony. He was a 
 deacon in the church at New Haven from 1659 to 
 the time of his death, in 1694. Eroni this emigrant 
 ancestor our subject is a descendant in the seventh 
 generation, the line of his descent being through 
 John, John (2), Samuel, Samuel (2), and John (^3). 
 
 (li) John Peck, son of Deacon William, the emi- 
 grant, born in 1638, settled in Wallingford in 1672, 
 and died there in 1724. 
 
 I ni) John Peck (2). son of John, born in 1674, 
 was a resident of Wallingford, where he was a 
 ckacon of the church, and died in 1771, at the ad- 
 vanced age of ninety-seven years. 
 
 {l\') Samuel Peck, son of John (2). Iwrn in 
 1704, was a prominent man in the town of Wal- 
 lingford, where he died in 1755. 
 
 (V) Samuel Peck (2), son of Samuel, lived and 
 died in the town of Wallingford. his death occur- 
 ring in 1815, when he was aged eighty-one years. 
 ■ (VI) John Peck (3), son of Samuel (2), and the 
 father of the subject of this sketch, was born in 
 1769. and resided in the town of Farmington, where 
 he died in 181 1. Of his six sons, Chauncey located 
 in Windham, N. Y., and became the ancestor of a 
 numerous family in that locality : the remaining 
 five were Ira, John, George. Caleb and Benjamin. 
 
 The late Ira Peck, our subject, of Wallingford, 
 in vouth learned the blacksmith's trade, and began 
 his career engaged in mechanical lines. Along in 
 the early part of the present century, when he was 
 still a young man, he went to the State of Georgia, 
 and became extensivelv engaged in mercantile pur- 
 suits, keeping a general store, and acquired a large 
 property. In 1858 he sold his property in Georgia, 
 and retired from active business. Returning North 
 he located in Hartford, where he continued to reside 
 until his death, in 1870. He owned considerable 
 real estate in Hartford, and added largely to his 
 proDertv bv judicious stock investments before the 
 Civil war, and at his death left an estate amounting 
 to over a million dollars. To his marriage with 
 
 Penelope Keyes were born six chiAlren, three sons 
 and three daughters, but the sons are now all de- 
 ceased : Henry K., born Alav 12, 1624, ilied Aug. 
 22, 1877; Ira H., bom April 16, 1832, died Nov. 
 26, 1870; W illiam H., born April 19, 1838, died Feb. 
 22, 1898; Caroline P., wife of H. P. Redfield; Mar}-, 
 wife of J. Danesi, who was a member of Gen. Han- 
 cock's staff during the Civil war; and Cornelia C, 
 a resident of the old homestead in Hartford. In his 
 political affiliations Mr. Peck was first a Jackson 
 Democrat, then a Whig, and finalh- a Republican. 
 
 GEORGE BEST, a prominent citizen of Hart- 
 ford, now living in retirement, was born Oct. 22, 
 1826, in London, Englr.nd, son of George Best, 
 and grandson of John Best, the latter a 
 native and lifelong resident of that country. 
 His father was born in the west of England, and 
 when a young man was employed at the East India 
 docks, in London. In 1836 he came to America, and 
 located first in Windsor, Conn., where he engaged 
 in farming, but his last years were spent in Granby, 
 his death occurring at the age of seventy-three. 
 His wife, Jane (Collett), also a native of England, 
 livc<l to the age of ninety, and both were for many 
 vears devout members of the ISaptist Church. They 
 had seven children, two of whom are living: George, 
 cur subject ; and Susan, a resident of Danvers, Mas- 
 sachusetts. 
 
 Our subject's early life was spent mainly in 
 Wintlsor, and on comuleting his common-school 
 course he learned the machinist's trade, which he fol- 
 lowed in Simsburv and Tariffville for some time, 
 in 1852 going to Hartford to enter Colt's Armory as 
 : a contractor. This work he resigned in 1891, and 
 subsequently entered the carriage business, which 
 he continued until 1898, and then sold out. He 
 made a specialty of fine carriages for the local 
 market, and had an extensive business. In July, 
 185 1, Mr. Best married Miss Catherine Turnbull, a 
 native of Scotland, and daughter of Robert Turnbull, 
 a manufacturer, who died at an advanced age. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Best have had eight children, three of 
 whom died young; Agnes B. is the widow of Frank 
 G. ^^■ bite, who died in 1892 ; George L., a manufac- 
 turer in Hartford, married Evaline Allen ; Alice 
 married Leon Broadhurst, who is connected with 
 the Phoenix Bank in Hartford (they have had two 
 children, Katherine and Nelly) ; Charles and Daisy 
 are at home. 
 
 Mr. Best is one of the oldest residents of the city, 
 which has doubled in population during his residence 
 there. He is a stanch Republican, and his ability 
 and public spirit have made him a valued member 
 of the local organization, which he frequently rep- 
 resents in conventions. He has served in the com- 
 mon council, and was nine years on the board of 
 aldermen, seven j^ears as president. He was police 
 commissioner one year, member of the fire board and 
 the Hartford city committee for a time, and in 1887 
 was appointed a director of the State prison, serv- 
 ing until the expiration of the Governor's term. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 13T9 
 
 His family is much esteemed socially, and all attend 
 the Baptist Church. Mr. Best is identified with 
 ditferent clubs and societies, and is one of the oldest 
 JNIasons in Hartford, being connected with the Blue 
 Lodge, Council, Chapter, and Washington Com- 
 mandery No. i, K. T., of Hartford. 
 
 CHENEY. Through the present century, spec- 
 ially, has the name of Cheney been most closely and 
 prominently identified with the social and business 
 growth of Alanchester. The members of the family of 
 whom we particularl}- write Lre the posterity of 
 George and Electa ( Woodbridge ) Cheney, whose 
 sons through their ingenuity and perseverance estab- 
 lished (after years of experiment and loss in silk cul- 
 ture ) and developed the great silk manufacturing 
 plant bearing the name of Cheney Brothers, an enter- 
 jjrise most remarkable for its growth. Their sons in 
 turn followed in the footsteps of their fathers, and 
 the mills are most successfully conducted by them. 
 South Manchester is deservedly credited with being 
 the model manufacturing village in New England. 
 The growth and appearance of the place is due to 
 the untiring energy and philanthropy of the Cheney 
 Brothers, whose immense silk mills are the nucleus 
 around which have clustered the most ornate and 
 comfortable residences for operatives and other em- 
 ]3loves, as well as commodious churches, schools and 
 other public buildings, their erection being largely 
 due to the liberalit}- of the firm. 
 
 Before noting the genealogy of the family and 
 the lives of some of the individuals who have been 
 instrumental in building up this large industry, 
 as well as in developing the town of South Man- 
 chester, we will refer to the history of the mills. 
 George Cheney lived and died at the old Cheney 
 homestead, located about a mile south of Manches- 
 ter Center, where his father, Timothy Cheney, had 
 improved the water power and built a saw and grist 
 mill. In March, 1836, several of the sons of George 
 Chene}^ built a small mill known as the Mount Nebo 
 Silk Mill, and began the manufacture of sewing 
 silk — their first venture cb silk manufacturers. On 
 the rise of the iiionis iimlticaulus (Chinese mulber- 
 ry) speculation. Ward, Frank, Charles and Rush 
 Cheney went with ardor into the culture of mul- 
 berry trees, Charles on a farm in Ohio, and the 
 others on farms in New Jersey, having nurseries 
 and cocooneries at Burlington, where they pub- 
 lished for a time ''The Silk Growers and Farmers 
 ^Manual." In 1841 they returned to South Man- 
 chester, re-opened the Mount Nebo Mill, and made 
 sewing silk from imported raw silk. From this there 
 dates the steady development of the silk industrv- 
 The next ten years they spent in study and experi- 
 ment, aided by travel and close observation of what 
 liad been done abroad. In 1855 they made their first 
 experiments in the production of soun silk from 
 pierced cocoons, floss, silk waste, and whatever si;k 
 cannot be reeled. From a small beginning this new 
 hidustry, developed by years of patient and costlv 
 ■experiment, grew to be the specialty of the busi- 
 
 ness. In place of the old Mount Nebo Mill has 
 arisen the group of buildings known as the Old Mill, 
 comprising the business offices, with various depart- 
 ments for weaving, dyeing, finishing, and preparing 
 goods for shipment. What is known as the New 
 Mill, built in 1871, consists of four three-story brick 
 buildings, each 250 feet long and connected by a 
 common front. The Lower Mill is a third group. 
 The Cheney Brothers Silk Manufacturing Co. was 
 incorporated in 1854, with a capital of $1,000,000. 
 In that year the company built a mill in Hartford 
 which was operated until 1868 under the manage- 
 ment of Charles Cheney. The number of names on 
 the pay-roll was increased from the half dozen in the 
 old original mill to over fifteen hundred. In 1869 the 
 Cheney Brothers built between South and North 
 Mancliester a railroad connecting with what is now 
 the Highland Division of the New York, New Haven 
 & Hartford railroad. 
 
 Col. Frank Woodbridge Cheney and his brother 
 Knight Dexter Cheney, sons of the late Charles 
 Cheney, are secretary and treasurer and president, 
 respectively, of the Cheney Brothers Silk Manu- 
 facturing Co., Frank Cheney, Jr., being vice-pres 
 ident. 'ihe other directors are Jas. W. Cheney, 
 John S. Cheney, Harry G. Cheney and Richard 0. 
 Cheney. These men are descendants in the eighth 
 generation from their first American ancestor, John 
 Cheney, the line of their descent being through Peter, 
 Peter (2), Benjamin, Timothv, George, Charles 
 (in the case of the brothers), and Ralph (in the case 
 of Richard O.). 
 
 (I) John Cheney, head of the Newbury line of 
 the family to which the family under consideration 
 belong, resided for a period at Roxbury, Mass. 
 The following minute concerning him was made 
 by Rev. John Eliot, "Apostle to the Indians," in his 
 record of the Church, being quoted and given just 
 as written, retaining the spelling, capitalization, etc., 
 of the original : 
 
 "John Cheney, he came into the Land in the 
 year 1635, he brought four children, Mary, Martha, 
 John, Daniel, Sarah, his Sth child was borne in the 
 last month of the same year 1635, cald February, 
 he removed from or Church to Newvery the end of 
 the next suer 1636. Martha Cheney the wife of 
 John Cheney." 
 
 John Cheney served several times as selectman. 
 He was made a "freeman" May 17, 1637. He died 
 in 1666. The children born to him after Sarah, 
 mentioned above, were: Peter, Lydia, Hannah, Na- 
 thaniel and Elizabeth. 
 
 ( II ) Peter Cheney, son of John Cheney, bo n 
 about 1639, in Newbury," Mass., married, in 1663, 
 Hannah, daughter of Deacon Nicholas and Mary 
 (Cutting) Noyes. Peter Cheney was a miller, and 
 trained up his sons to that business. He died in 
 1604-95. His ■ children were: Peter (2), John, 
 Nicholas, Huldah, Mary, Martha, Nathaniel, Eldad, 
 Hannah, Ichabod and Lydia. 
 
 (III) Peter Cheney (2), son of Peter Cheney, 
 born in 1663, in Newbury, married, in 16 — , at 
 
1380 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 VVatertown, Mary Holmes, and their children were: 
 Nicholas, Khoda and Benjamin. Ho served in the 
 blockhouse agamst the Indians in 1704. It seems 
 that he was engaged in the sawmill business foi 
 many years. 
 
 (^1\ ) Benjamin Chene\-, son of Peter Cheney 
 (2), born iOy8-9y, in >ve\vbury, married in 1724, 
 in Hartford, Conn., Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas 
 and Sarah (Elmer) Long. Benjamin Cheney 
 bought an interest in a sawmill in East Hartford, 
 Conn., in 1721. He was a carpenter and joiner and 
 wheelwright, and his sons inherited the al)dity to 
 work witli tools which they applied in clockmaking, 
 boat-buililing antl other mgenious wa\'s. He ac- 
 quired considerable land, carried on farming opera- 
 tions on a large scale, and amassed a large proi)- 
 erty. His children were: Benjamin, Abiel, Eliza- 
 beth, Timothy, Silas and Asahel. 
 
 (\') Timothy Cheney, son of Benjamin Cheney, 
 born May 10, 1731, in East Hartford, Conn., mar- 
 ried (first), in 1758, Mary, daughter of Xathaniel 
 and Hannah (I'itkin) Ul'cott. She died in 1786, 
 and in 1787 he married (second) Martha, daugh- 
 ter of Mathew and Alartha (Perkins) Loomis, and 
 widow of Lemuel White, of East Hartford. Tim- 
 othy Cheney's home was in the '"Five Mile" Dis- 
 trict, which first became entitled "Orford," and later 
 was incorporated as Alanchester. He was clerk of 
 Orford Ecclesiastical Society at its establishment, 
 in 1792. He was captain of a militia company, 
 and, as tradition has it, was detailed, by request of 
 Gen. Washington, to make powder-sieves for- the 
 army. He died Sept. 27, 1797. His children 
 were: Timothy, Elizabeth, Mary. Asahel. George, 
 Clarissa and Polly. 
 
 (\T) George Cheney, son of Timothy Chenev, 
 was born Dec. 20, 1771, and married, Oct. 18, 1798, 
 Electa Woodbridge, who was born Jan. 2, 1781, 
 daughter of Deodatus and Esther (Wei's) Wood- 
 bridge, and descended from Rev. John Woodbridge, 
 of Stanton, England, through Rev. John (of New- 
 bury, :\Iass.), Rev. Benjamin, Rev. Samuel, Russell 
 and Deodatus. The children of George and Electa 
 Cheney were ; George Wells, John, Charles, Ralph, 
 Seth Wells, \\'ard, Rush, Frank and Electa, of whom 
 Frank is the only son living at this time (1900). 
 Electa, now Mrs, Richard Goodman, of Lenox, 
 Mass., also survives. 
 
 {YID George Wells Cheney, son of George 
 Cheney, born in 1799, married, in 1824, Mary, 
 daughter of Calvin and Lovina (Wilson) Chenev, 
 and died in 1841. He was highly esteemed for his 
 upright character, and greatly respected by his fel- 
 low citizens, holding the offices of town clerk and 
 justice of the peace from 1828 until his death, and 
 his decisions were so just and equitable that no 
 appeal was ever taken in a case he once decided. His 
 children were; George Wells, John S., Mary E.. 
 Charles E.. \Mlliam H.. Emily F., James W\', and 
 Caroline \^". Of these, John S. was State senator 
 and has served as judge of probate, also as member 
 of the State Sewage commission. James W. has 
 
 been active in the politics of State, county and 
 town ; is one of the directors of the Connecticut State 
 Prison, and is a member of the Connecticut River, 
 Bridge and District Commission. 
 ; (VH) Charles Cheney, son of George Cheney, 
 ' born Dec. 2O, 1803, married (first), in 1829, Waitstill 
 Dexter, daughter of Alason and Alary Brown (How- 
 ell) Shaw, of Belchertown. His children, all by 
 this marriage, were : Frank Dexter, Frank Wood- 
 \ bridge, Mary Howell, Sarah Shaw, Knight Dexter 
 I and Anna Wells. The mother of these died in 1841, 
 I and in 1847 tlie father married (second) Harriet 
 ! A., daughter of Henry Bowen, of I'rovidence, R. i. 
 She died in 1870. Charles Cheney died June 20, 
 1874. iie was a most systematic business man, and 
 took an important part in organizing the Silk Man- 
 ufacturing Co. which he and his brothers founded 
 at South .Manchester, Conn., in 1836. At his death 
 the Hartford Coiirant observed: "The deceased for 
 a time resided in this city, and won the highest 
 respect of every one with whom he was acquainted. 
 He will be remembered here as one always gen- 
 erous and prompt in acts of benevolence, doing good 
 for the love of it, and modestly shrinking from 
 any unnecessary prominence. His loss will be 
 deeply mourned here and in the village which his 
 business enterprise has helped to build up, and 
 which his taste and generosity, with the harmonious 
 co-operation of others of his familv, have done 
 much to beautify." 
 
 (N'H) Ralph Cheney, son of George Cheney, 
 born Jan. 13, 1806, married, in 1833, Jerusha D., 
 daughter of Stephen B. Goodwin, of W'ethersfield, 
 Conn. She died in 1869. They adopted two chil- 
 dren, Mary and Richard Otis. Ralph Cheney died 
 in March, 1897. He was fond of agricultural pur- 
 suits, and devoted most of his life to farming, being 
 also interested in the development of the silk in- 
 dustry, and a partner with his brothers in that 
 business. 
 
 (\'n) Seth Wells Cheney, son of George 
 Cheney, born Xov. 26, 1810, married (first), in 
 1847, Emily ^^'oodbridge, daughter of Horace Pit- 
 kin, of Manchester. She died in 1850, and in 1853 
 he married (second) Ednah Dow, daughter of 
 Sergeant Smith and Edna Parker (Dow) Little- 
 hale. Seth Wells Cheney died in 1856. Most of 
 his life was spent in travel and in the study of 
 engraving, crayon work and oil-painting. He 
 worked with his brother John in engraving, and, 
 beginning with home-made tools, rose to command 
 the respect of the artistic world, producing many 
 portraits and paintings which are highly prized to- 
 day. His only child, Margaret S., born in 1855, 
 died in 1882. 
 
 (VH) W^ard Cheney, son of George Cheney, 
 born Feb. 23, 181 3, married Caroline Jackson. She 
 died in 1865, and he passed away in 1876. He 
 was a man of great executive ability, of splendid 
 physique and personal magnetism, much beloved 
 by all who came in contact with him in business 
 or the .social circle. He took an active part in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1381 
 
 the introduction of the Chinese mulberry into this 
 country, and in the raising of siUv worms, and was 
 largely identified with his brothers in the busi- 
 ness of manufacturing silk in South Manchester. 
 His children were : Louis, Alice and Arthur. 
 
 "Mr. Ward Cheney was of a peculiarly genial 
 and sunny disposition, cordial and hospitable in 
 his nature, and of such bright and cheerful pres- 
 ence as to inspire all who came in contact with him 
 and to win irresistibl}' the love of those about him. 
 IsVv. Cheney was born in iNIanchester, where most 
 of his business life was passed. When a young 
 man he went to Providence to clerk in the store 
 of his brother Charles, then in mercantile business, 
 and there received an excellent business training. 
 He was a man to rely upon at all times and in 
 all places, one fitted for any public position to 
 which his fellow citizens might have called him. 
 He only once consented to take a political position, 
 serving in the House of Representatives in 1854. 
 His kindly heart and' genial character were not 
 shown alone in his beautiful home — many other 
 homes having been made brighter by his presence, 
 and in times of suffering and sorrow, or distress of 
 any kind, there was all of manlv strength and 
 womanly tenderness in Ward Chene}- which any 
 emergency might call for." 
 
 (Vn) Rush Cheney, son of George Cheney, 
 born April 25, 1815, married, in 1847, Jwlia A., 
 daughter of Horace W. and Bridget (Grant) 
 Goodwin. She died in 1867, and he in 1882. He 
 possessed inventive talent as well as capability in 
 the application of mechanical principles to manu- 
 facturing, and thus contributed a very important 
 element to the building up of the silk manufacture, 
 in which he was engaged most of his life. His 
 children were : Anne Wells, Harry Grant, Louise 
 and Robert. At the death of Mr. Cheney the Press 
 said : 
 
 "Rush Cheney was born and brought up in 
 Manchester, and, with the exception of a- brief 
 sojourn in New Jersey for the sake of an experi- 
 ment in mulberry culture in 1836, and of periods 
 of travel in Europe and California, his whole life 
 has been spent in the neighborhood of his early 
 home, among the quiet domestic surroundings which 
 he preferred. Until quite recently he has been en- 
 gaged in the business of the silk company he had 
 helped to create, and. of which he has been since 
 the death of Mr. Ward Cheney, in 1876, the pre- 
 siding officer. But though he was by habit a busi- 
 ness man, all his natural tastes and endowments 
 fitted him for the life of an artist. Lover of nature, 
 of art and music, he illustrated each in the simple 
 heauty and harmony of his life. Those who have 
 hved near him have recognized in him a fineness 
 and transparency, of nature, through which, as 
 through the medium of a clear glass, his modest and 
 retiring virtues have shone with a pure radiance. 
 He has been greatly honored and beloved by all 
 about him, and no one could approach him without 
 feeling his gracious and kindly influence." 
 
 (VH) Frank Cheney, son of George Cheney, 
 born July 5, 1817, married, in 1853, Susan J., daugh- 
 ter of Daniel C. and Susan (Jarvis) Gushing. 
 She was born May 9, 1827, at Providence, R. I. 
 A natural mechanic, he joined with his brother 
 Rush in the invention and construction of ma- 
 chinery which made the family business success- 
 ful. His children are : Katherine S., Mary, Alice 
 B., Frank and Paul H. 
 
 (VIII) George Wells Cheney, son of George 
 Wells Cheney, and the eldest of his generation, was 
 born Aug. 14, 1825, in Manchester, and there re- 
 ceived his education, being reared in his native 
 place. Up to within fifteen years of his decease he 
 was connected with the silk business, and he ably 
 sustained the family reputation for ability of a 
 high order. He took an active part in public af- 
 fairs, serving for many years as justice of the peace, 
 and as chairman of the town committee, and was 
 deeply interested in benevolent work, though un^ 
 ostentatious in his benefactions. In religious con- 
 nection he was a member of the Catholic Apostolic 
 Church of Hartford. In 1850 Mr. Cheney was 
 married, in Marlboro, this county, to Miss Harriet 
 Richmond, daughter of William Wadsworth Rich- 
 mond, and a descendant of Elder William Brewster, 
 of Plymouth Colony. Three children were born 
 to this union : Wells Wadsworth, Louis Rich- 
 mond and George Herbert, all mentioned below. 
 The father -died at South Manchester Dec. 29, 1893, 
 and the mother passed away at her home there Sept. 
 ID, 1900, after enjoying the same high respect 
 which was accorded her husband by all who knew 
 him. 
 
 (IX) Wells Wadsworth Cheney, born in South 
 Manchester May 30, 1857, was educated at the 
 schools there, also at Hartford Public High School, 
 and at Wilbraham, Mass. He is connected with 
 the silk mills. On April 19, 1887, he married 
 Lucy Compton Street, of Ormond, Fla., and they 
 have one son, George Wells, born Aug. 9, 1888. 
 
 (IX) Louis Richmond Cheney was born 
 April 27, 1859, in South Manchester, and passed 
 his early I'ife there, receiving his primary educa- 
 tion. Subsequently he attended the Hartford Pub- 
 lic High School, from which he was graduated. 
 His business career was commenced in the Cheney 
 Brothers mill at Manchester, where he remained 
 three years, later spending seven yea'-s in the fac- 
 tory at Hartford, and four years in New York 
 City, in the sales department. He has since made 
 his home in Hartford, where he has engaged some- 
 what in the real-estate business, and he has also 
 acted as trustee for several estates. The public 
 affairs of his adopted city have received a due 
 share of his time and attention, and he is at present 
 serving as alderman from the Tenth ward. Lender 
 Gov. Coffin he served as assistant quartermaster- 
 general of the State, and he is commanding officer 
 of the Governor's Foot Guard. Socially he holds 
 membership in the S. A. R., Society of Colonial 
 Wars, and in various clubs ; also being a director 
 
1382 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in the Connecticut River Banking Co., the Hart- 
 ford Hospital and the American School for the 
 Deaf. On April i6, 1890, ^Ir. Cheney married 
 Mary A., daughter of Lucius V. and Eliza (Trum- 
 bull ) Robinson, and thcv have one child. Eliza 
 Trumbull. 
 
 (IXj George lierbert Cheney, born Sept. 3, 
 1861, in South -Manchester, was educated partly 
 in the schools there, and was graduated from the 
 Hartford Public High School. He is a broker in 
 New York City. On Dec. 20, 1893, he married 
 Isabel Bartlett, of Brooklxn, New "i ork. 
 
 GEORGE ELLIS, late secretary of the Trav- 
 elers Insurance Co. of Hartford, who died June 
 25, 1898, after a brief illness, at his home in Weth- 
 ersfield avciuie, came of old and pronunent New 
 England stock. He was a man of great social 
 charm, widely esteemed throughout Connecticut, 
 and as an insurance man known throughout the 
 country. 
 
 Air. Ellis was a son of Benjamin I'", and Rulina 
 (Perry) Ellis, and was Irorn m Hartford .Sept. 
 27, 1843. He was educated at the Hartford Pub- 
 lic High School, and entered Trinity College in 
 i860 (class of '64). \'olunteerIng his services in 
 the defense of the Cnion, he was appointed by 
 Secretary Welles assistant engineer in the navy, 
 left college in 1861, and entered the service, hold- 
 ing that position until 1868. He was with Farragut 
 at Mol)ile, and in the engagements at Galveston and 
 on the Rio Grande. Leaving the navy, Mr. Ellis 
 was appointed civil engineer in the construction of 
 the Southern Minnesota railroad, residing in La 
 Crosse, Wis., until 1871, when he returned to Hart- 
 ford. There he came in contact with James G. 
 Batterson, president of the Travelers Insuranoe 
 Co., who offered Mr. Ellis tlie position of actuary 
 in that company, a position which he held until 
 the day of his death. He was unanimously elected 
 secretary and director of the company Jan. 27, 
 1897. He was a member of the Loyal Legion, 
 Army and Xavy Club. Sons of the Revohition, 
 American Society of Actuaries, and Church Club 
 of Connecticut, and a number of clubs in other 
 cities. A lineal descendant of Gov. Bradford, of 
 Plymouth Colony, he was a member of the New- 
 England Society of !\Iayflower Descendants. He 
 was also a member of the Hartford Club and the 
 Connecticut Historical Society. As a member of 
 the board of police commissioners he served the 
 city of Hartford for fourteen years under different 
 administrations. At the time of his death he was 
 a director in the Citv Bank and The Society for 
 Savings, and senior warden of Christ Church. On 
 the day of his death, in a public letter, President 
 Batterson thus wrote of him : 
 
 The business period of his life was devoted to the inter- 
 ests of the Travelers Insurance Co. ; and twenty-four years 
 of honest, faithful service endeared him to his ass.iciat'es by 
 ties which sweeten the memory of a faithful servant and a 
 loyal friend. He was a patient listener to the opinions of 
 
 others, but firm in his convictions of duty and adherence to 
 truth. With a pure heart and clean lips, he was never heard 
 to use profane t.r angry words under any circumstances. 
 For many years the Senior warden of Christ Church, his 
 filial devotion toiler services and ministrations was a marked 
 characteristic ot his Cliristian lite. He could truthfully say: 
 " Lord, 1 have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the 
 place wbere 'i'hine honor dwelleth." The company, the 
 community, and the various traternities with which he was 
 affiliated, have suffered a great loss, for his busy, helpful 
 hand is still. Through the last long night he hungered for 
 the light and air; when morning came he slept — but his new 
 life had begun. 
 
 Mr. Ellis was married. May 13, 1868, in Albany, 
 N. Y., to Janet Stevens, daughter of John and 
 Agnes Gordon (Lauder) McEwan. She was born 
 in Glasgow, Scotland, Aug. 1, 1847, ^"d died Dec. 
 4, 1896. The children born to them were: (i) 
 George \\'illiani. born Dec. 6, 1870, in Albany, N. 
 Y., was graduated from Trinity College, Hartford, 
 in 1894, ami is now comiected with the Travelers 
 Insurance Co. He married .Miss .A.imee Freeland 
 Coison, a granddaughter of the late William R. 
 Cone, and has one son, George Corson Ellis. (2) 
 .\lfred Lauder, born .^pril 21, 1877, in Hartford, 
 was gratluated from Trinity College in the class 
 of 1898, and is now in the Cornell Medical School, 
 in .\ew York. (3) John McEwan, born Nov. 3, 
 1881. in Hartford, now a student at Cornell Uni- 
 versity. 
 
 Benjamin I'ranklin Ellis, father of the late 
 George Ellis, was born Nov. 3, 1814, in Glaston- 
 bury. Conn. He was married, Nov. 19, 1840, to 
 Rulina. daughter of John and Sally (Belcher) 
 Perry, of Wales, Mass. He removed to Hartford, 
 where for many years he .was a contractor and 
 builder, retiring from business in the early 'eighties. 
 He was a vestryman of Christ Church for many 
 years. He survives at this writing (1901), at the 
 advanced age of eighty-seven. His father, Benja- 
 min Baker Ellis, was born at Norwich, Conn., and 
 was for many years a ship builder — of privateers 
 and vessels in the West Indies trade — at South 
 Glastonbury. On Alay 13, 1798, in Enfield, he mar- 
 ried Alice, daughter of Lemuel Kingsbury. 
 
 Dr. Benjamin Baker Ellis, of Norwich, Conn., 
 the father of Benjamin Baker Ellis, was a direct 
 descendant in the male line of the old Ellis family of 
 Dedham, Mass. His wife. Alice (Kingsbury) 
 Ellis, was a descendant in the seventh generation 
 from (I) Henry Kingsbury, who came to America 
 from Cjroton, County of Suffolk, England, in com- 
 pany with Gov. John Winthrop, in 1630. His name 
 stands No. 25, and his wife's No. 26, among the 
 members of the First Church in Boston. (II) 
 Henry. Kingsbury (a), born in England in 1615, 
 married Susannah . (Ill) Joseph Kings- 
 bury, son of Henry (2), born at Ipswich in March, 
 1657, married Love Ayres, of Haverhill, Mass., 
 April 2, 1679. In 1708 he removed to Norwich, 
 Conn., where he died in 1741. (IV) Nathaniel 
 Kingsbury, son of Joseph, was born at Ipswich 
 Aug. 23, 1684, married, in Haverhill, Hannah, 
 daughter of Rev. John Denison, in 1709. In 1712 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1883- 
 
 he removed from Norwich to Windham, and in 
 1725 to Coventr)', Tolland Co., Conn., where she 
 died in 1772. {V ) Joseph Kingsbury (2), son of 
 Nathaniel, born March 27, 1721, in Windham, mar- 
 ried, in 1745, May Loomis, of Bolton, Conn. On 
 April 7, 1757, he removed to Enfield, Conn., hav- 
 ing bought 500 acres of land in that town. He was 
 a member of the Assembly from that town from 
 1778 to 1785, and a delegate from Enfield for the 
 ratification of the Constitution of the United States. 
 
 (VI) Lemuel Kingsbury, son of Joseph (2), 
 born Sept. 14, 1752, married, Dec. 23, 1773, Alice, 
 daughter of Samuel I'erry, of Enfield, an account 
 of whose ancestry is set forth elsewhere. He was a 
 minute-man in 1776, and a cornet in the 5th Regi- 
 ment of Light Horse. He was a Jeft'ersonian, 
 casting the only vote for Jeflferson in the town of 
 Enfield, for which action he was requested to resigii 
 his church and public offices. His wife died March 
 25, 183 1, and he died Sept. 14, 1846, aged ninety- 
 four years. 
 
 Through Ann Collins, wife of Ephraim Terry, 
 Mr. Ellis traced his ancestry through Rev. Na- 
 thaniel Collins, the first pastor of the church of 
 Enfield ; Rev. Nathaniel Collins, pastor of the 
 church in Middletown from 1668 to 1684; to Dea- 
 con Edward Collins, of Cambridge, Mass., 1636. 
 
 Through Alice Adams, wife of Rev. Nathaniel 
 Collins, Mr. Ellis traced his ancestry through 
 William Adams, Jr., second minister of the church 
 at Dedham (who came with his parents in the 
 "Ann" from London, in 1635), to William Adams, 
 the pioneer ancestor of the family in Cambridge, 
 in 1635. 
 
 Through Alice Bradford, wife of Rev. William 
 Adams, and daughter of William Bradford, deputy 
 governor of Plymouth Colony from 1682 to 1687, 
 Mr. Ellis traced his ancestry to Gov. Bradford, of 
 the Plymouth Colony. 
 
 THEODORE M. LINCOLN (deceased), for 
 many years a prominent and successful business 
 man in Hartford, was a native of that city, born 
 March 16, 1830, a son of Levi and Malinda (Miles) 
 Lincoln, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere. 
 
 Our subject was educated in Hartford, in early 
 manhood removing to New York, where he was em- 
 ployed as a bookkeeper for a time. Returning to 
 Hartford he embarked in the manufacture of fancy 
 iron fences, in which he continued until his death, 
 Feb. 25, 1863. For many years he was a member 
 and trustee of the Pearl Street Congregational 
 Church, and his life was a practical illustration of 
 what ability, energy and force of character can ac- 
 complish ; while promoting his own interests he 
 materially assisted in the advancement, of the wel- 
 fare of the community at large. In his political 
 preferences he was a Whig and Republican. In 
 Hartford, April 2, 1857. Mr. Lincoln married Mary 
 J. Winship, who was born Nov. 25, 1833. 
 
 Mrs. Theodore M. Lincoln is a daughter of 
 Joseph and Mary (Ives) Winship, the former of 
 
 whom was a son of Joseph, a leading farmer of 
 Hartford, where he died at the age of fifty years ; 
 he- married Mehitabel Rhodes, of Wethersfield, and 
 had a family of five children, all now deceased. 
 Grandmother Winship lived to the patriarchal age 
 of ninety years, and their son Walter, Mrs. Lin- 
 coln's uncle, reached the age of ninety-one, dying 
 in Hartford in 1890. Lie was employed by Rob- 
 bins & Winship. 
 
 Joseph Winship, the father of Mrs. Lincoln, 
 learned the trade of cabinetmaker, and in partner- 
 ship with P. F. Robbins conducted a furniture man- 
 ufacturing business for many years in Hartford, 
 theirs being the oldest establishment of the kind 
 in the city, turning out the finest line of furniture, 
 much of which may still be seen in the homes 
 of the wealthier families of Hartford and other 
 places. He died in 1888, at the age of seventy- 
 nine, having been in business for over forty years, 
 and was much missed in the community, where he 
 was held in the greatest respect and esteem as a man 
 of strict integrity. An influential and devout mem- 
 ber of the South Baptist Church, he was senior 
 deacon in same, and held other offices. His late 
 home, where still reside Mrs. Lincoln and her sis- 
 ter, Mrs. Whitelaw, is one of the finest and most 
 comfortable in the city, and in the grounds sur- 
 rounding it he was wont to spend many a pleasant 
 sunny day, attending to his fruit trees, shrubs and 
 vines, for he raised a considerable quantit)' of fine 
 fruit, especially grapes, celebrated all over this sec- 
 tion, and for which he invariably took prizes at ag- 
 ricultural shows and other occasions. Mrs. Lin- 
 coln's sister, Cornelia E., living with her, was mar- 
 ried. May 19, 1875, to William H. Whitelaw, at 
 present a collector, but formerly in the grocery busi- 
 ness in Hartford. They have had one son, Theo- 
 dore W., who died Feb. 25, 1886, aged five and a 
 half years. Mr. Whitelaw enlisted, at Watertown, 
 Conn., in July, 1862, in Company D, igth Conn. V. 
 I., afterward the 2d Conn. Heavy Artillery, and did 
 garrison duty at the fortifications in Washington 
 until the last of May, 1864. He was then assigned 
 to the 6th Corps, and his first fight was at Cold 
 Harbor, June i, 1864. The regiment was trans- 
 ferred to Washington from City Point in July, in 
 time to save Washington from the attack of Gen. 
 Early, and from that time on was between Washing- 
 ton and the enemy. He was wounded at the battle 
 of Winchester, Sept. 19, 1864, and was discharged 
 May 18, 1865, at the New Haven Hospital, for 
 wounds received. Mr. Whitelaw is a member of 
 Robert O. Tyler Post, No. 50, G. A. R. 
 
 ROBERT WARDELL ROLLINS, general 
 manager of the Hartford Electric Light Co., Hart- 
 ford, and one of the most prominent young business 
 men of the city, comes of old New England stock. 
 
 John A. Rollins, the progenitor of this numerous 
 and widely scattered family, came to this country 
 from England in 1632. Edward A. Rollins, grand- 
 father of our subject, was from Wolfboro, N. H., 
 
138i 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and located in Xewbury, \'t., when about twenty 
 years old. He married Xancy Meserve, and set- 
 tled on a small farm in the Wallace district, fol- 
 lowing lumbering during the winter. He was a 
 noted ox teamster during that early period, when 
 o.K-teams ami bob-sleds were exclusively used in 
 hauling in the immense first growth of pines. Ed- 
 ward A. Rollins reared a family of eleven children, 
 ten of whom arrived at maturity, and only one, 
 Henry G., now remains in the town. 
 
 Henry G. Rollins was born in 1832 in Xew- 
 bury. Soon after attaining his majority he en- 
 gaged for five years in the lu.nhcr business at Bol- 
 ton ville. with his brother Samuel. In 1857 he mar- 
 ried Harriet Wardell, of Boltonvillc. Returning 
 to his farm, he displayed unusual energy, doing a 
 lively business in the winter in the delivery and 
 sale of logs, bark and cordwood. This farm, to 
 which the elder Rollins moved the year before 
 Henry was born, is a fertile upland tract, and has 
 been increased by subsecpient purchases until now it 
 contains more than 300 acres. Some fifteen years 
 since Mr. Rollins built his pres.Mit fine residence. 
 Formerly interested in sheep and voung stock, which 
 he fitted for an earlv market, he has recently given 
 his attention to dairying, keeping from fifteen to 
 twenty cows. When the Civil war broke out he 
 "left the plowshare in the mold" and enlisted in the 
 12th \'t. \'. I., Col. A. P. Blunt, and served faith- 
 fully until his discharge. Members of the Rollins 
 family have aided their country faith fuUv as soldiers 
 since the early days, and there is a record of twenty- 
 three of the name who served in the old French war ; 
 of fifty who served their country in the army of the 
 Revolution: of many who fought in 1812; and of 
 more than one hundred who defended the flag in 
 the great Rebellion, among others Henry G., as al- 
 ready noted : his brother Justin L., who enlisted in 
 an (Jhio regiment and passed through nineteen bat- 
 tles unharmed ; and another brother. Jonas M.. of 
 Danvers. iNIass., who was wounded at Antietam. 
 Such a record of loyalty and patriotism is not often 
 equalled, and would do honor to any name. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Henry G. Rollins have reared a 
 family of two sons and five daughters, all of whom 
 are living, and are useful members of society : 
 Mary E., Mrs. W. A. Cobb, of Concord, X. H. ; 
 Julia E., Mrs. H. G. Darling, of Providence, R. I. ; 
 Anna S.. Mrs. C. A. Sinclair, of Montpelier, \'t. ; 
 Robert \V., our subject; Edward H., superintend-, 
 ent of power. Hartford Electric Light Co. ; Hattie 
 J., Mrs. I. C. Renfrew, of Littleton, X. H. ; and 
 L. Josepliine. a stenographer and typewriter with 
 the Hartford Electric Light Co. Mr. Rollins gave 
 his children the benefit of good educational ad- 
 vantages at Xewbury Seminary and Peacham Acad- 
 emy, and five of them became teachers. He is a 
 kind-hearted, conscientious, reliable man, possessed 
 of good hard common sense. In politics a stead- 
 fast Republican, he has efficiently served as lister 
 and selectman. 
 
 Robert W. Rollins was born April 12, 1864, in 
 Xewbury, \'t., and received a common-school educa- 
 tion, finishing at the Xewbury Seminary. Fie came 
 to Hartford at the age of twenty, and secured a 
 position with the Hartford Electric Light Co., as 
 lamp trimmer. After a few months the manage- 
 ment, deeming him worthy of better employment, 
 secured him a position with the Schuyler Electric 
 Co., which at that time had its main offices in Hart- 
 ford, and where he acquired considerable experience. 
 Thence he returned to his first employ, as night 
 engineer, in which position he remained three years. 
 His next cx]xTience was with the Waterhouse Elec- 
 tric Co., with which he remained until the con- 
 cern was absorbed by the Westinghouse Electric 
 Co., when he entered their Boston office as con- 
 structing engineer, and while with them installed 
 many plants, in all parts of the country, aS well 
 as the plant of the Havana Electric Light Co., Ha- 
 vana, Cuba. After several years in this incumbency 
 ^Ir. Rollins returned to Hartford in 1892 to accept 
 the position of assistant superintendent of the Hart- 
 ford Electric Light Co. In 1894, on the death of 
 the superintendent, he was promoted to that posi- 
 tion, which he held until elected general manager 
 of the company, in February, 1900. 
 
 Mr. Rollins' wide experience, in all branches of 
 electric lighting, has made him conversant with 
 every detail of the large and increasing business of 
 the concern, and he is considered one of the most 
 expert men in his line in the East. The company 
 in April, 1896, absorbed the Hartford Light & 
 Power Co., thus obtaining a clear field in Hart- 
 ford and vicinity, and they operate four plants, own- 
 ing three, and buying the power from the other. 
 It may be readily seen that Mr. Rollins, as general 
 manager, is a verv busy man, and in addition to 
 attending to the multifarious duties of his position 
 he keeps himself thoroughly posted on improvements 
 and new appliances in his line. The fact that he has 
 proved himself capable in every position he has oc- 
 cupied, from the lowest to the highest, is sufficient 
 justification for his rapid rise in the commercial 
 world, a circumstance not now so common as it was 
 a quarter of a centur}' ago, before competition be- 
 came so keen. Success and promotion have come 
 to him as the direct result of ability, energy and 
 hard word, properly applied, and he occupies a de- 
 servedly prominent place among the business men 
 of the city in which his active life has been passed. 
 
 On Jan. 22, 1888, Mr. Rollins married Miss 
 Adelia Lillian Bolger, of Hartford county. 
 
 HERBERT J. MILLS, a well-known manufac- 
 turer of Bristol, Hartford county, is one of the lead- 
 ing citizens of that locality, and is at present serv- 
 ing as representative in the State Legislature. He 
 comes of good Connecticut ancestry, and was born 
 Sept. 15, 185 1, at Xew Hartford, Litchfield county. 
 
 (I) Simeon Mills, of Windsor, Conn., about 
 1640, not long thereto, probably married Jane or 
 Joan . There is a tradition that Mr. Mills 
 
(~^jAyUU% 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1385 
 
 came over with Capt. Newbury to Salem, and mar- 
 ried Sarah Bissell, who came over in the ship with 
 Jiim. From this ancestor Herbert J. Mills, of Bris- 
 tol, is a descendant in the eighth generation, his 
 line being through Simon, John, Deacon Joseph, 
 Deacon Joseph (2), Roger and James Remington 
 Mills. 
 
 (II) Simon Mills, son of Simeon and Sarah 
 (Bissell), born probably after the father's emi- 
 gration, married in 1659 Mary, daughter of Will- 
 iam Buell, a Welshman, supposed to have left Eng- 
 land in 1630, in the company under charge of Rev. 
 William' Warham, and who came from Dorchester, 
 Mass., to Windsor in 1635 or 1636. Simon Mills, 
 who was in Simsburv about 1670, died there in 
 1683. 
 
 (III) John ]\Iills, son of Simon, born in Wind- 
 sor, in 1668 or 1669, married Sarah Pettibone, and 
 died in Simsbury in 1698. 
 
 (IV) Deacon Joseph Mills, born in 1694, mar- 
 ried Hannah Adams. He removed to West Sims- 
 bury in 1742, being among the first settlers of that 
 part of the town. He was a farmer in comforta- 
 ble circumstances, and a man of eminent piety, dea- 
 con in the church. He died in 1785, and his wife in 
 1776. 
 
 (V) Deacon Joseph Mills (2), son of Deacon 
 Joseph, born. in 1728, in Simsbury, married (third) 
 in 1 77 1 Hannah Remington, of SufHeld. He re- 
 moved to Norfolk, Conn., about 1759. He was 
 chosen a deacon in the church in 1772. He was a 
 farmer and to some extent a mechanic, a man of 
 humble piety, interesting, and affectionate and kind 
 to his family. He died in Norfolk in 1792. 
 
 (VI) Roger Mills, son of Deacon Joseph (2), 
 born in 1773, married in 1804 Harriet, daughter of 
 Phineas Merrill, of New Haitford. Mr. Mills 
 was a farmer, and to some extent a law3'er. He was 
 greatly beloved, and held the confidence of the peo- 
 ple. His death occurred in New Hartford in 1844. 
 
 James Remington Mills, father of our subject, 
 Avas born in New Hartford Dec. 19, 1818, and re- 
 sided there until 1854, when he engaged in mechan-' 
 ical and agricultural pursuits at Beloit, Wis. There 
 he remained thirteen years, returning to Connecti- 
 cut in 1867. Soon afterward he removed to Chi- 
 copee, Mass., where he found employment as a me- 
 chanic, and later he spent some time in Springfield, 
 Mass. About 1884 he returned to his native State 
 to pass the remainder of his life. He died June 
 ^5, 1885. On July 30. 1844, he married (first) 
 Mary Elizabeth Mix, of Bristol, who died in Wis- 
 consin in 1865. His second wife was Jane E. 
 AVood, of Windsor, Conn., who survives him, and 
 resides in East Hartford. He was the father of the 
 following children : Mary Louisa, wife of Delos H. 
 Cady, of Brookfield, Mo. ; Cordelia A., wife of Da- 
 rius A. Cudworth, of St. Anthony Park, Minn. ; 
 Herbert J., our subject; Harriet (deceased), who 
 married Joseph F. Smith, of Bristol ; Anna Isabel 
 ( deceased) : and Walter E., who married Lizzie 
 Lundbourg, and resides in BVistol. 
 
 Herbert J. Mills was educated in the district 
 schools of Wisconsin, and his early life was spent 
 in the wholesome environments of farm life. When 
 the family returned to the East he went to Spring- 
 field, Mass., where he learned the business of making- 
 paper boxes, and in 1872 he removed to New 
 Haven, from there going in 1873 to Bristol. In 
 1887 Mr. Mills and his cousin, David Mix, leased 
 the paper box factory of Mr. Hitchcock, and during 
 the same year Mr. Mills purchased his partner's 
 interest. He continued thus until 189 1, when he 
 purchased the entire business, and built his present 
 commodious factory. 
 
 On May I, 1878, Mr. Mills married, in South- 
 ington. Conn., Adelia Baxter Dozier, daughter of 
 Isaac and Lydia Dozier, of Bristol, and they have 
 two children: Bertha Dozier, born Aug. 31, 1879; 
 and Roger Herbert, born April 4, 1884. Mr. Mills 
 was one of the first assessors of the borough, and he 
 also served as burgess previous to his election as rep- 
 resentative. Socially he and his wife are popular, 
 and he is a member of Franklin Lodge, No. 66, F. & 
 A. M. ; Bristol Conclave, No. 556, Independent 
 Order of Heptasophs; and Ethan Lodge, No. 9, 
 K. of P., as well as the uniformed rank of that 
 order. Politically Mr. Mills is a Democrat, and in 
 religious faith he inclines toward the Baptist 
 Church, of which his wife is a member. 
 
 TIMOTHY ELEAZER STEELE (deceased), 
 in his lifetime a bright and shining light at the 
 Bar of Hartford county, and who held and left the 
 reputation of an honest lawyer, was a native ot 
 Connecticut, born Sept. i, 1837, at Bolton, Tolland 
 county. 
 
 The genealogy of the family of which Mr. Steele 
 was a worthy member dates back to (I) George 
 Steele, born in the County of Essex, England, who 
 came thence to this country with his brother John, 
 and in 1634 was made a freeman at Cambridge, 
 Alass. From there he removed to Hartford, Conn., 
 where he owned lands, and where he passed the 
 rest of his days, dying in 1663, at an advanced age. 
 His son, 
 
 (II) Lieut. James Steele lived at Hartford in 
 1658. He married Sarah Bartholomew, who died 
 at the age of forty-four years, and was the mother 
 of one son. He was appointed by the General Court 
 to lay out lands along with Gen. Wadsworth, also 
 to determine the dividing lines between New Lon- 
 don and Lyme. In 1675, ^t the breaking ottt of 
 King Philip's war, he was appointed a commis- 
 sary. Lieut. Steele died in 1712, leaving an estate 
 of '£878. 
 
 (III) Rev. Stephen Steele, born at Hartford in 
 1696, graduated from Yale College in 1718. He 
 was the first settled minister at Tolland, his salary 
 being £75 (about $375) per annum. He married, 
 May 2, 1720, Ruth, daughter of Samuel Porter, 
 of Hadley, Mass., whose sister was the wife of 
 Rev. Solomon Williams, a descendant of whom was 
 a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Rev. 
 
1886 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 j\lr. Steele died Dec. 4, i/Sy. his wife on Ma\- 14, 
 1 791, aged ninety-one years. 
 
 Santord Steele, fatlier of our subject, was a 
 prominent farmer and judge of probate in L>olton, 
 Tolland count}', where he died at the age of over 
 eighty years. He married Caroline k. Sumner, 
 daugliter of T. E. and Elizabeth C Sumner, of 
 Gilead, Tolland Co., Conn., and to this union were 
 born several children, of whom are yet living: 
 (_I) Henry S., of Middleficld. Conn., a farmer; 
 (2) B. Frank, a wholesale fruit dealer of Spring- 
 field, Mass.; (3) Mary, wife of (jeorge Howe, of 
 Spruigfield ; and (4) Elizabeth J., a teacher of 
 Springfield. The mother dietl in Springfield when 
 over eight}- years of age, a member of the .M. E. 
 Church. 
 
 Timothy E. Steele, of whom we more partic- 
 ularl\- write, received his primary education at the 
 common schools of lis place of birth, after which 
 he entered W'ilbraham .Acadeni}', and then took a 
 course at the Wesleyan Cniversity, from which in- 
 stitution he graduated in 1863. Having decided on 
 the profession of law for his life work, he studied 
 under the late Hon. Thomas C. Perkins and ex- 
 Gov. Richard Hubbard, in 1865 was admitted to 
 the Bar, and at once commenced practice in Hart- 
 ford, continuing there until his death, June 30. 
 
 To Mr. Steele an obituarv notice pa}S the fol- 
 lowing tribute : "A safe counselor, his tastes and 
 talents made him pre-eminentlv a trial lawyer. He 
 was industrious and painstaking in the preparation 
 of cases for trial. In the conduct of trials he wa^ 
 forceful and straightforward, thoroughly master of 
 his own case, and quick to take advantage of everv 
 weakness of his opponent. \\'hile making; no pre- 
 tense to oratory in any technical sense, Mr. Steele 
 w"as clear and convincing in stating his case to 
 court or jury, and very few surpassed him in the 
 skillfulness with which he presented the evidence 
 in a case to the jury." Of him, also, Judgre David 
 S. Calhoun, in speaking of resolutions of respect 
 adopted at a meeting of the Hartford Countv IBar, 
 says : ''While on the Bench I was always inter- 
 ested in the way Mr. Steele tried his cases. He 
 was positive and industrious in the highest degree, 
 and was possessed of a rigid honesty. I do not 
 speak of honesty in any limited or restrictive sense. 
 Mr. Steele was an honest man before he became a 
 lawyer, and when he became a lawyer he did not 
 leave his honesty behind him. His methods in 
 Court were open and honest, and it was never nec- 
 essary for the opposing lawyer to inquire whether 
 he had a private wire leading to the jury box. He 
 was a fearless man, a man who not only had physical' 
 but moral courage, and nothing ever s waved him 
 from doing what he thought was right." To all of 
 which it should be added that he was celebrated 
 for his great ability in the examination of wit- 
 nesses. 
 
 At all times an ardent Democrat, Mr. Steele 
 nevertheless was not ambitious of political prefer- 
 
 ment, though he never hesitated to openly and 
 mantully avow and champion his views. In 18O6 
 he representetl Bolton in the tleneral Assembly, and 
 alter removing to Hartford he served on the coun- 
 cil boaril from iiS73 to 1875, being president thereof 
 for two years, brom i8<ji to 1894 he was city at- 
 torney, and from 1894 to 1897 was street commis- 
 sioner, while his interest in the public schools led 
 him to serve the district in which he resided for 
 n'iany years as chairman of its committee. Of 
 municipal problems he was an intelligent student, 
 and as a public servant he was conspicuously useful 
 and honorable. I'or inanv years he was an active 
 member of the Congregational L'luirch, and served 
 on the committee of same. 
 
 Oct. 24, 1866, Timothy _E. Steele was married 
 to Clara J. Eaton, of Longmeadow, Alass., daugh- 
 ter of Levi Eaton, a farmer of that locality, who 
 died there at the age of si.\ty-six years; his wife, 
 Clarissa (Coolc}'), was born in Springfield, Mass. 
 Of his family of six children three are yet living: 
 Levi, in Bridgeport; Clara J. (Mrs. Steele); and 
 Flavia (Mrs. Carter), their half-sister, of East 
 Longmeadow, Mass, Mrs. Eaton died at the age 
 of ■thirt}'-three, a memljer of the Congregational 
 Church. 
 
 Mrs. Clara J. Steele received her education at 
 ^^'ill)raham .-Academy, and at the age ef sixteen be- 
 gan teaching in East Longmeadow, Mass., after- 
 ward in Springfield, and, still later, in Indian 
 Orchard, thence back to Springfield, terminating her 
 school duties in ?ilarch, i8'i6. By her marriage tp 
 Mr. Steele she had five children: (i) James E., 
 with his uncle B. Frank in Springfield, Mass. ( he 
 is a graduate of the Hartford Fublic High School I ; 
 
 (2) Edward L.. a brief sketch of whom follows; 
 
 ( 3 ) Elizabeth, a graduate of Smith College, and 
 now a post-graduate of Wesleyan College, where 
 she is taking a literary course under Prof. Win- 
 chester; (4) ^^'illiam, a traveler for Tucker & Good- 
 win, of Hartford; and (5) Raymond, employed in 
 the Hartford National Bank ( he and his brother 
 AN'illiam both live at the old home in Hartford). 
 The entire family attend the Congregational Church. 
 The father of this interesting family found his chief 
 pleasures in the domestic circle of his home, and in 
 the companionship of his chosen friends. It has 
 been most truly said of him that, as a comrade, 
 he was entertaining and instructive ; and, as a 
 friend, he was steadfast and loyal. 
 
 Edw.'\rd'L. Steele, the second son in the fam- 
 ily, received his education in part at the Hartford 
 Public High School, graduating therefrom in i8go; 
 in part at the Wesleyan University, graduating 
 therefrom in 1894; and completed his professional 
 studies at Yale Law School, from which institution 
 he was graduated in 1896. He then practiced his 
 profession along with his father, and since the 
 latter's death has been alone. On July 12. 1898, he 
 married Julia Simonds, of Hartford, daughter of 
 Stillman A. Simonds, and one child, Richard T., 
 has blessed this union. In politics Edward L. 
 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1387 
 
 Steele is a Republican, and for two terms of two 
 years each he served in the common council of 
 Hartford. Socially he is a member of the Royal 
 Arcanum. 
 
 SETH TALCOTT (deceased), for many years 
 one of the leading and popular citizens of Hartford, 
 was born in West Hartford Nov. 4, 1830. 
 
 JNlr. Talcott was able to trace his ancestry back 
 to John and Dorothy (Mott) Talcott, the latter a 
 daughter of Thomas and. Alice (Mead) Mott. 
 John Talcott died in 1660, his wife in 1669. (II) 
 Samuel Talcott, the next in direct descent' to our 
 subject, was born in 1635, and died in 1691. He 
 married Hannah Holyoke, who died in 1677. (HI) 
 Benjamin Talcott, born in 1674, died in 1729. He 
 married Sarah Hollister, who was born in 1676, 
 and died. in 1715. (IV) Capt. Samuel Talcott, 
 born in 1708, died in 1768. He married Hannah 
 Mosely, who was born in 1710, and died in 1800. 
 (V) Samuel Talcott, born in 1738, died in 1780. 
 He married Mary Smith. (\T) Samuel Talcott, 
 grandfather of our subject, was born in 1765, and 
 died in 1854. He married Abigail Pantry Hooker, 
 who was born in 1770, a daughter of Thoma.s 
 Hart and Sarah (Whitman) Hooker. (VII) Seth 
 Talcott, the father of our subject, was born in 
 18 10, and died in 1846. Samuel Talcott (VI) 
 wore a queue and knee breeches. By occupation 
 both Samuel (VI) and Seth (VII) were cloth 
 dyers and fullers. Seth married Charlotte S. But- 
 ler, who was born in 1804, a daughter of James 
 and Irene (Ensign) Butler, and died in 1875. 
 
 (VIII) Seth Talcott, whose name introduces 
 this sketch, began his education in the schools of 
 West Hartford, and later attended Yale College. 
 His early business training was obtained while 
 clerking in the drug store of Harvey Seymour, and 
 on attaining his majority he started a retail and 
 wholesale drug store of his own, where the Hills 
 block, Hartford, now stands. He continued in the 
 wholesale business up to the time of his death, 
 originalh' in his own name, later as a member of 
 the firm of Talcott Brothers, and finally Talcott, 
 Frisbie & Co. His son, Charles Hooker Talcott. 
 is now a member of the firm. Mr. Talcott was a 
 man. of scholarly and refined tastes, was conscien- 
 tious and straightforward in all that he did, and 
 no man in the community was held in higher re- 
 gard or had more warm friends. He was a mem- 
 ber of the As3dum Hill Congregational Church, 
 and his life was in perfect harmony with his pro- 
 fessions. He passed away April 16, 1894. 
 
 At Long Meadow, Mass., July 13, 1865, Mr. 
 Talcott married Miss .Sarah Elizabeth Allen, a 
 daughter of Brinton Paine and Ann Elizabeth 
 (Turpin) Allen. She is also a representative of 
 an old New England family, being a descendant of 
 Samuel Allen (probabh^ a brother of Matthew 
 Allen or Allyn),.who was born in 1588, and died 
 in 1648. (11) John Allen, the next in direct line, 
 wedded Mary Hannum, and was killed at Deerfiela 
 
 in 1675, during the Pequot war. (Ill) Samuel 
 Allen, born in 1673, in 1700 married Hannah Bur- 
 roughs, who was born in 1675, and died in 17 — , 
 and his death occurred in 1735. (IV) Joseph 
 Allen, born in 1704, married Mary Hewlett in 
 1723; she died in 1782, and his death occurred in 
 ^777- (V) Hezekiah Allen, born in 1739, married 
 Abigail Bartlett in 1768; she died in 1825, and he 
 in 1807. (VI) Hezekiah Allen, born in 1777, died 
 in 1846. He married Nancy Paine, who was born 
 in 1780, and died in 1843. (VII) Brinton Paine 
 Allen, the father of Mrs. Talcott, was born in 
 1816, and died in 1879. He married Ann Eliza- 
 beth Turpin, who was born in 1819, and died in. 
 1898. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Talcott were born three sons : 
 Allen Butler; Charles Hooker, who married Mary 
 Dudley Vaill, and has two. children, Seth and Dud- 
 ley Vaill : and Edward Coleman, a resident of New 
 Y'ork City. 
 
 ALVIN SQUIRES (deceased) will be remem- 
 bered among the business men of Hartford as one 
 of the oldest and most successful merchants in his- 
 line, and one who, throughout life, maintained a 
 high reputation, in both commercial and private life. 
 
 Born March 10, 1821, in Berlin, this county,, 
 Mr. Squires was a son of Amos Squires. The first 
 few years of his life, were passed in his native place^ 
 but he was "bound out" at an early age. When a 
 young man he commenced boating, running to Sag 
 Harbor, and was thus engaged for thirteen years,, 
 becoming pilot, and during the early part of the 
 Civil war acting as captain. It was in 1863 that he 
 first entered the market business, being with J. N.. 
 B. Stevens a short time, in a store on Market street,, 
 hartford, where Rogers Bros." establishment is now 
 located. He was then in business alone for a time 
 on Main street, on the site now occupied by Mr> 
 McManus, and in 1870 established the "Putnam 
 Phalanx Market," which he conducted until his- 
 death. His patronage increased constantly, and in 
 1880 he took his son Elisha into partnership. They 
 dealt in meats and vegetables, and did the largest 
 business in their line, among the best class of people,, 
 in the city, and at the time of his death Mr. Squires- 
 was one of the oldest market men in Hartford. The 
 business had grown to such proportions that ten 
 men were employed. 
 
 Mr. Squires was twice married, and by his first 
 wife had children as foHows : Elisha ; Charles ; and 
 Mary E. Benham, widow of James L. Benham. In 
 1865 our subject married Miss Ella L. Stratton, 
 who survives him. Mr. Squires was connected with 
 the old volunteer fire department for a number of 
 years during his younger manhood. He was prom- 
 inently identified with the Putnam Phalanx, of which 
 he was the oldest surviving member at the time 
 of his death. He served two years as major in that 
 organization, and manv years as quartermaster, and 
 the members attended the funeral in a body. There 
 were many other evidences of the respect and es- 
 
1388 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tccni in which he was held Ijv his fellow citizens. 
 Mr. Sijuires was a DenuKrat in politics, and dur- 
 ing the "seventies served two terms as aklernian. 
 He died Feh. 8. i8yy. at the age of seventy-seven 
 years. 
 
 ^Irs. Ella L. Squires is a native of Windsor, 
 Conn. Her grandfather, Julius Stratton, was a na- 
 tive of Sinislniry. where he spent his entire life, 
 engaged in farming. Morgan Stratton, her father, 
 was also horn in Simshury, and was a farmer l)y 
 occu]iation. He moved to Windsor, and thence to 
 Hartford, where he held the responsible position 
 of superintendent of out-of-door work at Colt's for 
 thirty years. He died in 1890, at the age of sev- 
 enty-four years. Mr. Stratton married Amelia 
 Cook", a native of Bloomtield, this county, who 
 passed away at the age of seventy years, and by 
 whom he had nine chiklren. They attended the 
 Congregational Church, and .Mrs. Squires is a mem- 
 ber of the Center Congregational Church in Hart- 
 ford. She now makes her home with her sister 
 Jsatlore. who is the wife of Charles Burr, at Xo. 
 i() Linden Place, Hartford. 
 
 Elisha Squires, son of our sul)ject. is a well- 
 known citizen of Hartford. He is a Knight Tem- 
 ]ilar Mason, and a member of the Baptist Church, 
 in which he holds the office of deacon. Mrs. Ben- 
 ham is a member of the I'mirth Church. 
 
 HEXRY HERMAN CLARK has for almost 
 half a century been identified with the business 
 interests of Southington as a memlier of the firm 
 of Clark Bros. & Co., manufacturers of bolts and 
 carriage hardware at Milldale, and he is justly 
 numbered among the leading citizens of the town. 
 His is an honoral)le record of a conscientious man, 
 ■who by his upright life has won the esteem of all 
 with whom he has come in contact. 
 
 Mr. Clark was born in Southington May 14, 
 1829, a son of Theodosius and Chloe (Clark) 
 Clark. On the paternal side he traces his ancestry 
 back to James Clark, originally from England, 
 ■who located in New Haven in 1638, and was one 
 of the company consisting of Gov. Eaton and others 
 who met in a Mr, Newman's barn June 4, 1639, 
 to form a civil compact. In 1669 he removed to 
 Stratford, Conn. His son, Ebenezer Clark, the 
 first of the family to locate in ^^'allingford, was 
 born Nov. 29, 1651, and was married I\Iay 6, 1678, 
 to Sarah, daughter of James Peck. Their son, 
 Stephen Clark, born Dec. 7, 1721, married Lydia 
 (or Ruth) Hotchkiss, and died Nov. 4, 1800. He 
 Avas the father of Amasa Clark, who was born 
 Nov. 25, 1753, and was married Dec. 28, 1785, to 
 L}-dia Hull, daughter of Deacon Zephaniah Hull, 
 of Cheshire. He engaged in farming in Cheshire, 
 iind died Dec. 30 1833. Their son. Theodosius 
 Clark, father of our subject, was born in Cheshire 
 Oct. 22. 1788, and spent his early life on a farm. 
 At the age of eighteen years he commenced teach- 
 ing in a district school in his native town, and in 
 1810 he came to Southington to teach in the Plants- 
 
 ville District. In 181 1 and 1812 he taught at what 
 is now Plainville, and in Earmington in 1813 and 
 1814, while for several years following he taught 
 in the districts in the southern part of Southing- 
 ton. In 1824 he was a teacher in the South End 
 District. This was the first year that grammar 
 was taught in the town, the school commissioners 
 requiring it. Mr. Clark was entirely ignorant of 
 grammar, but he took the study in hand, and with 
 much labor was enabled to carry his class through 
 the book. In connection with teaching he also fol- 
 lowed farming. He took an active part in build- 
 ing the old Earmington canal, since abandoned by 
 building the New Haven & Northampton railroad 
 on the same line, and he was commissary at Suffield 
 in the seasons of 1826 and 1827, during the con- 
 struction of the canal around Enfield Ealls for the 
 Water Power Co. He was a soldier in the war 
 of 1812. In 1819 he united with the First Congre- 
 gational Church of Southington, in 1834 was elected 
 deacon, which office he filled until his death, and 
 was also superintendent of the Sabbath-school for 
 some years. He died July 27, 1865, honored and 
 respected by all who knew him.. On Oct. 26, 1816. 
 he married Chloe Clark, who passed away April 
 5, 1848. Their children were Harriet, wife of 
 Hezekiah Ciimmings ; Francis J. ; William J. ; Henry 
 H. ;, and Charles H. 
 
 Seth Clark, our subject's maternal grandfather, 
 was born in Middletown, Conn., July u, 1768, and 
 was married Nov. iC, 1789, to Chloe Bailey, who was 
 born in Haddam, Conn., Feb. 19, 1771, a daughter of 
 Benjamin Bailey, of tliat place. Soon after their 
 marriage Seth Clark and wife removed to South- 
 ington, where she died July 17, 1834, and he passed 
 awav Jan. 27, 185 1. His father, Joseph Clark, 
 was born Sept. 15, 1720, and died in Middletown 
 Aug. 22, 1778. On June 2, 1752, he married Jo- 
 anna Fairchild, who was born Sept. 21, 1727, and 
 died Nov. 26, 1793. Joseph Clark was a business 
 man in his day, and carried on shipping. He lost 
 three vessels in one great storm. He was chosen to 
 the office of town clerk in Middletown, which 
 office he filled for many succeeding years, until 
 his death. 
 
 Henry H. Clark, our subject, is indebted to 
 the public schools of his native town and Lewis 
 Academy for his educational privileges. In 1845 
 he embarked in mercantile biisiness at Milldale, 
 where he remained for three years, and then removed 
 to Watertown, Conn., where he carried on busi- 
 ness along the same line (succeeding his brother- 
 in-law, J\Ir. Cummings) until 1854, when he re- 
 turned to Milldale, becoming a member of the firm 
 of Wm. J. Clark & Co., which in 1871, when the 
 senior member of the firm retired, was changed 
 to Clark Bros. & Co., he becoming senior member 
 of the new firm, and under that style the business 
 is still carried on. Theirs is one of the leading 
 industries of the town, and as business men the 
 brothers have won an enviable reputation for ' 
 straightforward, honorable dealing, and have kept ^ 
 
Jl^l.^A^i^6^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1389 
 
 business steadily and constantly moving through 
 good and bad times, also addmg and mcreasnig 
 as occasion offered and required. 
 
 Mr. Clark has been twice married. His first 
 marriage was Sept. 29, 1852, to Miss Mary C. Davis, 
 a daughter of Anthony and Helen (Stone) Davis, 
 of Watertown, Conn. She died in August, 1866. 
 By that union were born four children: Charles 
 W. ; Carrie Luella, wife of Edson W. Frost ; and 
 Helen and Flora, both of whom died in infancy. 
 For his second wife Mr. Clark married Jan. 29, 
 1874, Miss Susie Curtiss, a daughter of Charles 
 and Eliza (Decker) Curtiss, of New York City, 
 and to them has been born one daughter. Flora L. 
 Politically Mr. Clark is an ardent Republican. 
 In religious faith he is a consistent and faithful 
 member of the Plantsville Congregational Church. 
 He was one of the original members that united 
 in the organization of this church in 1864, and has 
 always been one of its number of liberal contribu- 
 tors for financial support and charities. 
 
 GENERAL JULIUS S. OILMAN, of Hart- 
 ford, now practically retired from business life, 
 is one of the city's citizen soldiers whose interest 
 in the organizations growing out of the Civil war 
 has never waned, nor his zeal and energy abated in 
 the least in the direction of keeping alive the en- 
 dearing memories and associations that cluster 
 about the camp and field of 1861-65. 
 
 Gen. Gilman has descended from a sturdy New 
 England ancestry, from a family from which have 
 gone out into the country men of prominence in 
 the various walks of life. The General is a de- 
 scendant in the seventh generation from Richard 
 Gilman who was made a freeman in Hartford in 
 1672; bought land in East Hartford in 1676; m'ar- 
 ried Elizabeth Adkins, and died in 1697. 
 
 The line of Gen. Oilman's descent from this 
 Richard Gilman is through Solomon, Josiah, Levi, 
 Oliver and Julius Oilman. (II) Solomon Oilman, 
 born in 1676, married Hannah, daughter of Thomas 
 Kilburn; died Aug 8, 1732. (Ill) Josiah Oilman, 
 born in 1719, married Lucy, daughter of Benjamin 
 Colt; he died Oct. 13, 1796, she on April 27, 1795. 
 (IV) Levi Oilman married Achsol, daughter of 
 William and Elizabeth Williams. (V) Oliver Oil- 
 man married Chloe, daughter of Jonathan and 
 Lurania Bemont ; he died Nov. 7, 1833, she Dec. 
 12, 1808. 
 
 (VI) Julius Oilman, the father of Gen. Oilman 
 of this sketch, was born Aug. 13, 1799, in the 
 town of East Hartford, and in early life learned the 
 trade of book-binding in Flartford, in which city 
 for years he conducted a book-bindery on the site 
 of the present ^tna Life Insurance building on 
 Main street. Later, owing to ill health, he gave 
 up this business and returned to the occupation of 
 his boyhood, that of farming. He was a model 
 farmer, and his neat and fine buildings with his 
 carefully cultivated fields in Charter Oak Hill, where 
 he owned a large body of land, are still remembered 
 
 by many of the citizens of Hartford. He operated 
 considerably in real estate, and was remarkably 
 successful in his business transactions. Mr. Gilman 
 married, Oct. 25, 1824, Eliza, daughter of Phineas 
 and Mary (Webster) Shepard, and to them were 
 born children as follows: Judge George S., now 
 deceased, a sketch of whom appears farther on; 
 Charles, deceased; Henry M., now deceased, for- 
 merly a merchant of Detroit, Mich. ; Gen. Julius 
 S., of this sketch;, Elizabeth; Frederick G. ; Mary, 
 wife of J. H. Knight, president of the First Na- 
 tional Bank of Hartford ; and two who died in in- 
 fancy. The father of these children died March 
 20, 1886, and the mother on Feb. 2, 1884. 
 
 Gen. Julius S. Gilman, the subject proper of this 
 sketch, was born in 1833, on the farm of his father 
 on Charter Oak Hill, where his boyhood was passed, 
 receiving his education in the schools of Hartford. 
 At the age of fifteen he went to New York, and 
 until twenty-one years of age was in the employ 
 of Daniel Burgess & Co., and A. S. Barnes & Co., 
 respectively, of that city. When of age young 
 Gilman engaged in the subscription-book publish- 
 ing business at No. 32 Beekman street. On the 
 call of President Lincoln, Aug. 4, 1862, for vol- 
 unteers to serve for nine months, Mr. Oilman left 
 his business, went to Hartford, Conn., and in two 
 days enlisted a company of one hundred men, 
 which company was incorporated into the first nine- 
 months regiment, designated as the 22d. He was 
 apjxjinted quartermaster of the rendezvous at Hart- 
 ford, then designated as Camp Halleck, and when 
 the 22d went to the front he went as its quarter- 
 master. After six months' faithful service in the 
 field he was promoted to brigade quartermaster, 
 and while serving in that position he was strongly 
 urged by prominent army officers to allow his name 
 to be sent to the President for a staff position in 
 the quartermaster's department of the army. After 
 the expiration of the term of the service of the 
 command he returned to Hartford with his regi- 
 ment, and was immediately appointed assistant 
 quartermaster-general on Gov. Buckingham's staff', 
 the latter being Connecticut's war governor, and for 
 a period of two years served actively and ably. 
 After the close of the war, on the election of Gen. 
 (now Senator) Joseph R. Hawley to the guber- 
 natorial chair of the State, Gen. Gilman was ap- 
 pointed quartermaster-general on the Governor's 
 staff. On returning to civil life, Gen. Oilman be- 
 came the manager at Chicago for the D. D. Mal- 
 lory Oyster and Packing Co., of Baltimore, and 
 remained as such some four years, at the end of 
 which time, on account of the impaired health of his 
 wife, he returned to Hartford. Here he bought out 
 Mr. Worthington's interest in the subscription-book- 
 publishing business of Worthington & Dustin, the 
 firm name becoming Dustin & Gilman. After five 
 years Gen. Oilman retired from this, and embarked 
 in the oil-stove business in Hartford, being the 
 pioneer here in that line of trade. Subsequently he 
 removed to New York, and engaged in the whole- 
 
IbOO 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 sale and retail stove business, but on account of ill 
 health after a time he retired from active business. 
 
 Gen. Gilman has ever taken a deep interest in 
 military alTairs. He is one of the original mem- 
 bers of the hrst G. A. R. post organized in Hart- 
 ford, is a member of the I'wenty-second Regiment 
 \'eteran Association; and a member of the Army 
 and Navy Club, in all of which he has been a 
 conspicuous ligure. For several _\ears past he has 
 been the vice-president of the Campfield Monument 
 Association, whose labors have resulted in securing 
 the old campfield and rendezvous at Hartford, made 
 historic during the Civil war as the camping place | 
 and mustering-in point of many of Harttoru s citi- ; 
 zen soldiers, and have erected thereon a beautiful 
 monument on which are inscribed the names of the ; 
 regiments that were mustered into the United States \ 
 service, and crowned its pedestal with a portrait 
 statute in bronze of one of Connecticut's typical vol- i 
 unteers, whose military history was linked with this 1 
 field — that of Gen. Griffin A. Stedman, whose sketch 
 appears. From start to finish in this noble work j 
 of the Campfield Association Gen. (lilman was active 
 and zealous, giving freely without recompense his 
 time and energies, without which its end might 
 never have been accomplished. It was he who was : 
 instrumental in securing the donation of the land, | 
 with him originated the idea of a statue, and it ! 
 was largely through his efforts that the project was | 
 ])ushed to completion : and on the occasion of the 
 tledication of the Campfield Alonumcnt, Oct. 4, 1900, | 
 Gen. Gilman was one of the conspicuous group of ' 
 the old veterans present whose acts and deeds of 
 ripward of thirty-five years ago made the ground 
 historic and the event possible. 
 
 On June 16, 1864, Gen. Gilman was married to 
 Miss Mary W., daughter of Xorman H. Gillette, 
 and a native of Hartford. She died Jan. 22, 1901. 
 
 On his mother's side Gen. Gilman is a descend- 
 ant in the eighth generation from Edward Shepard, 
 of Cambridge, Alass., the line of his descent being 
 through Sergeant John, Thomas, Thomas (2), 
 Thomas (3), Phineas and Eliza Shepard. (II) 
 Sergeant John Shepard, son of Edward of Cam- 
 bridge, born in 1649, married Rebecca Greenhill, 
 and died in 1689. (Ill) Thomas Shepard, son of 
 Sergeant John, born in 1666, married Susannah 
 Scott. (IV) Thomas Shepard (2), son of Thomas, 
 born in 1697, married Mary Eggleston, and died in 
 ^775- (V) Thomas Shepard (3), son of Thomas 
 (2), born in 1730, married Mary Kellogg, and died 
 in 1819. (VI) Phineas Shepard, son of Thomas 
 (3), born in 1766, married Mary Webster, a direct 
 descendant of Gov. Webster. (VII) Eliza Shepard, 
 daughter of Phineas, born in 1800, married, in 
 1824. Julius Gilman. . 
 
 JUDGE GEORGE S. GILMAN, whose death 
 occurred in his home in Hartford Oct. 14, 1886, 
 was one of the city's substantial men and promi- 
 nent citizens. 
 
 Born Dec. 20, 1825, in Hartford, son of Julius 
 
 and Eliza (Shepard) Gilman, Judge Gilman was a 
 representative of a sturdy i\'ew England ancestry, 
 among whom were men and women of prominence 
 and usefulness in the various walks of life. On his 
 fathers side he was a descendant in the seventh 
 generation from Richard Gilman, who was made 
 a freeman in Hartford in 1672 ; and on his mother's 
 side he was a descendant in the eighth generation 
 from ]Ldward Shepard, one of the early emigrants 
 to Cambriilge in the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. 
 He was also a descendant in direct line from Gov. 
 Webster. The ancestral line of our subject, to- 
 gether with a sketch of the late Julius Gilman, his 
 father, is set forth in the sketch of Gen. Julius S. 
 Gilman, a brother to the Judge. 
 
 Judge Gilman was graduated from Trinity Col- 
 lege, 1-J.artford, in 1847, with very high honors, be- 
 ing the salutatorian of his class, and a close com- 
 petitor for the valedictory with the afterward Bishop 
 l.lenjamin Paddock, \oung Gilman studied law 
 with the late Hon. Lucius F. Robinson, and was 
 an office companion of his, also' subsequently for 
 many years of the late Hon. Henry C. Robinson. 
 He became one of the earliest judges of the police 
 court, an incumbency he held during i860. For 
 several years he was prosecuting attorney for the 
 city of Hartford. He also served for a time in both 
 the common council and on the board of aldermen, 
 and was at one time clerk of the board of educa- 
 tion. Judge Gilman retired from the Bar to take 
 charge of an important field in the Connecticut 
 Mutual Life Insurance soliciting business, in which 
 coinpanv he became a director and retained his in- 
 terest in and devotion to up to the time of his last 
 sickness. While in college young Gilman was a 
 member of the Beta Beta Society, and served as 
 its' president, which society was subsequently ad- 
 mitted into the Psi Upsilon fraternity. In 1850 
 the faculty of Trinity College conferred upon him 
 the degree of A. yi. At the time of his death he 
 was a member of the Webster Historical Society of 
 Boston. 
 
 Judge Gilman was a man of strong and sterling 
 qualities. A better son, husband, father, brother 
 and friend than he was it would be hard to find. 
 He was possessed of the firmest convictions at the 
 same time of the kindliest considerations. He con- 
 ceded to others the same right of opinion that he 
 asked for himself. Always an active member of the 
 old Whig party, he regularly refused to be a can- 
 didate for office, although frequently urged to do so, 
 and aside from some such service as alderman, or 
 police court judge, he was not at any time selected 
 for political office, excepting in connection with his 
 profession. Benevolent at all times, many persons 
 in poverty and distress were relieved by his timely 
 assistance. He was a devout member of the South 
 Church, and an enthusiastic admirer of its dis- 
 tinguished pastor, and of all its service. His home 
 life was most delightful ; he was very social, was 
 fond of out-door life, was a skillful driver, and an 
 excellent angler, while his home blossomed with 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1391 
 
 beautiful wild flowers gathered in the drives which, 
 accompanied by his family, he regularly took. He 
 was alweys a strong Hartford man, devoted to the 
 material, educational , benevolent, social and re- 
 ligious interests of the city. His local attachments 
 were strong, and to the last he loved to linger at 
 the old homestead on Charter Oak Hill, where his 
 good father and mother lived to a ripe old age and 
 passed away, not a great while before his own de- 
 mise. 
 
 On Oct. 12, 1865, Judge Oilman was married, 
 in Hartford, to Ellen M., daughter of the late 
 Isaac and Eliza Hills. He left surviving him : 
 George H., born Oct. 13, 1866, and Julia E., born 
 Xov. 22, 1873. 
 
 George Hills Gilman, the son, was born, reared 
 and received his primary education in Hartford, 
 graduating from the Hartford high school. He then 
 entered Yale College, from which he was graduated 
 in the class of 1890. After this event he began the 
 study of law with the firm of Hyde & Joslyn, of 
 Hartford, was admitted to the Bar in July, 1893, 
 and became associated in the practice of law with 
 his preceptors under the firm name of Hyde, Joslyn 
 & Gilman, which firm was afterward changed to 
 Hungerford, Hyde, Joslyn & Gilman, and is one of 
 .the strong law firms of Hartford. On April 20, 
 1898, George Hills Gilman was married to Miss 
 !Mabel E., daughter of E. S. Goodrich, of Hart- 
 ford. 
 
 GOODWIN. The record of the Hartford fam- 
 ily of Goodwins for more than 250 years is an hon- 
 orable one, a record of which an}- family might be 
 proud. James Junius and Rev. Francis Goodwin, 
 brothers, sons of the late Major James Goodwin, 
 of Hartford, prominent citizens of that city, are, 
 lineal descendants of Ozias Goodwin, who either 
 accompanied or came soon after the emigrants who 
 sailed from England in the "Lion," which arrived 
 at Boston, Mass., Sept. 12, 1832. The children of 
 Major James Goodwin are in the seventh genera- 
 tion from Ozias Goodwin, the emigrant, the line 
 of their descent being through Nathaniel, Ozias 
 (2), Jonathan, James, and Major James. 
 
 (I) Ozias Goodwin, the head of the Connecticut 
 family of that name, married Mary, daughter of 
 Robert Woodward, of Braintree, England. In 
 1639 he had become a resident of Hartford, Conn. 
 He died before April, 1683, leaving the following 
 children : William, Nathaniel and Hannah. 
 
 (II) Nathaniel Goodwin, son of Ozias, born 
 about 1637, was admitted a freeman by the Gen- 
 eral Court of Connecticut in October, 1662, and was 
 one of the "townsmen" of Hartford in 1669-78- 
 82. He married Sarah Coles, daughter of John 
 and Hannah Coles, of Hatfield, Mass., formerly 
 of Farmington, Conn. Sarah (Coles) Goodwin 
 died May 8, 1676, and Nathaniel Goodwin married 
 (second) Elizabeth Pratt, daughter of Daniel Pratt, 
 of Hartford. His children by the first marriage 
 were Nathaniel, Sarah and John; and those by the 
 
 second were Samuel, Hannah, Ozias and Eliza- 
 beth. 
 
 (III) Ozias Goodwin' (2), son of Nathaniel, 
 was born June 26, ibUg, in Hartford; married June 
 6, 1723, Martha Williamson, born Feb. 13, 1700, 
 daughter of Capt. Caleb and Mary (Cobbj Will- 
 iamson, of Barnstable, Mass., and Hartford, Conn., 
 and a descendant of Timothy Williamson, a resident 
 of Marshfield, Mass., in 1649. Ozias Goodwin 
 inherited from his father the. homestead on Village 
 street, which remained in his possession until 1764. 
 He was honored by his townsmen with various 
 public offices, viz. : riayward; in 17 14- 17-34-35-39; 
 fence-viewer, 1720 and 1724; grand juror, 1727- 
 31-42-50; and selectman, 1738 and 1746. He was 
 elected deacon of the First Church Jan. i, 1756, 
 holding that office until his death, on Jan. 26, 1776. 
 His widow, Martha (Williamson) Goodwin, died 
 Feb. 8, 1777. Their children were: Ozias, Timo- 
 th)-, Ozias (2), Nathaniel and Jonathan. 
 
 (IV) Jonathan Goodwin, son of Ozias (2), 
 was born m Hartford, where he was baptized March 
 17, 1733-34. He married Nov. 26, 1761, Eunice 
 Olcott, born Oct. 3, 1736, daughter of Joseph and 
 Eunice (Collier) Olcott, of Hartford, and a de- 
 scendant of Thomas Olcott, one of the original set- 
 tlers of the town. He was corporal of the Hart- 
 ford train-band, which for a time performed escort 
 duty to the governor. He owned a tract of land 
 on the north side of Albany road, about one and 
 one-quarter miles from the center of the city, which 
 is still in the possession of his descendants. He 
 was a man of large frame, of good height, and 
 commanding presence. He died Sept. 2, 181 1. His 
 wife, Eunice (Olcott) Goodwin, died March 23, 
 1807. Their children were : Eunice, Jerusha and 
 James. 
 
 (V) James Goodwin, son of Jonathan, was born 
 Dec. 22, 1777, in Hartford. He married, in Win- 
 tonbury (now Bloomfield), Conn., March 3, 1799, 
 Eunice Roberts, born in Wintonbury Aug. 22, 1774, 
 daughter of Capt. Lemuel and Ruth (Woodford) 
 Roberts, and a descendant of John Roberts, who in 
 1688 became a resident of Simsbur}', Conn. James 
 Goodwin inherited from his father the property on 
 the Albany road, and spent his whole life after 
 1783 (when his father moved to it) on the home- 
 stead. He was first lieutenant of the ist Com- 
 pany, Governor's Foot Guard, in 1807, and be- 
 came captain thereof in 1809. ■ He was the tallest 
 of the family, standing over six feet, and weigh- 
 ing over 200 pounds. He died Sept. 13, 1844. 
 His wife, Eunice (Roberts) Goodwin, died Aug. 
 13, 1825. Their children were: Jonathan, James 
 and Mary J. 
 
 (VI) Major James Goodwin, whose death 
 occurred sud'denly, while in a street car in Hartford, 
 on March 15, 1878, was born March 2, 1803, on 
 Albany avenue (the old "Albany turnpike"), at 
 the house of his father, James Goodwin, which was 
 known for manv years as "Goodwin's Tavern," 
 and which was a stopping-place for the Western 
 
1892 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 stages. His first move after leaving home was to 
 take a place in "'.xiorgan's Tavern," on State street, 
 Hartford. Joseph .Morgan, who kept the hotel, 
 was the fatner of Jinmis b. .Morgan, the famous 
 London banker. ".Morgan's Tavern" was the 
 stopping-place of the Xew York and Boston stages, 
 and a great resort of business men. .At this piace 
 young .Ur. Goodwin became familiar with the 
 stage business. He soon was made the agent, and 
 eventually became the proprietor, of the great 
 stage Inie. He was a remarkable organizer, and it 
 is mentioned as an instance of his ability in this 
 respect that the carrying of I'resident Jackson's 
 first message through to Boston from New York 
 — long talked of as a very remarkable performance 
 in rapid transit — was all arranged by him and done 
 by his e-xpresses. He often himself, when espe- 
 cially important matters were to be pushed through, 
 drove these expresses, and he told a friend within 
 a few days ot his death that he had fre(|ueiuiy 
 driven from Hartford to Harlem river in one day, 
 upon an open sulky with no back to it. L'ntil some 
 little time prior to his death his health had been 
 excellent. He had mail contracts on his lines, of 
 course, and many others. Chester \V'. Chapin, of 
 Springfield, was similarly engaged, but both saw 
 early the coming power of railroads, and aban- 
 doned stages between 1835 and 1840. l-'rom that 
 time on Mr. Goodwin devoted himself more, per- 
 haps, to insurance than to any other form of busi- 
 ness. He was a busy man. He was president of 
 the Connecticut !\Iutual Life Insurance Co., and a 
 director in the Hartford Fire Insurance Co., Farm- 
 ers and Alechanics National Bank, Connecticut 
 Trust Co., Hartford Carpet Co., Catling Gun Co. 
 (of which he was vice-president), Collins Co., 
 Connecticut River Co., Hartford & \\'ethersfield 
 Horse Railroad Co., and Holyoke Water Power 
 Co., and was a large holder of stocks in various 
 other successful corporations in whose direction 
 he did not take part. He was also vice-president 
 of the Hartford Hospital, and assisted almost all 
 the local charitable organizations. ]\Ir. Goodwin 
 perhaps gave more of his time to the Connecticut 
 Mutual than to any other company. He joined it 
 earl}', became its president, retired to give place to 
 the late Dr. Guy R. Phelps, and upon the demise 
 of the latter was induced to resume the office, 
 which he held until his death. The companies named 
 indicate the character of a large part of his invest- 
 ments. He was a large owner of real estate, but 
 was never inclined to western speculations, and 
 was the largest tax-payer in Hartford. 
 
 Mr. Goodwin was blessed by nature with an 
 even temper, a sound, well-balanced mind, a strong 
 sense of justice, and an excellent judgment. A 
 friend and business associate who had known him 
 for forty years said at the time of his death : "T never 
 saw him cross; I never heard him speak a harsh 
 word." Had he but used "thee" and "thou" in his 
 conversation he would have quite perfectlv resem- 
 bled some of the sagacious old Friends who have 
 
 been such successful business men in Philadelphia. 
 He avoided all controversy. If a business proposi- 
 tion was made to him (and countless propositions 
 were made, of course) that did not entirely suit, 
 he would not debate and controvert, he woukl avoid 
 and desert it. He was a regular attendant at Christ 
 Church, always one of its strong supporters, and 
 for a long time one of its vestrymen. Ihe familiar 
 title of ".\lajor" he bore from the time he was for 
 several years the commandant of the Governor's 
 Horse Guard. 
 
 Un Jul}- 30, 183J, .Major Goodwin was married 
 
 to Lucy -\lurgan, born at the .Morgan homestead, 
 
 in West Springlield, .Mass., Feb. 4, 1811, daughter 
 
 of Joseph and Sally (Spencer) JMorgan. She died 
 
 Sept. 19, 1890, atter a life of great usefulness. 
 
 She was a lifelong communicant of Christ Church, 
 
 and prominent in all its charitable work and agen- 
 
 ; cies. "She was in her coninumity a conspicuous 
 
 ' center of its highest intiuences. Flcr life stands 
 
 : as an ideal life of Christian gentlewomen." The 
 
 i children of this marriage were : 
 
 i (I) Sarah Morgan Goodwin, born in 1833, died 
 
 ill 1834. 
 
 (2) J.v.MEs Juxtus Goodwin was born Sept. 
 I 16, 1835, and received his elementary education in 
 private schools and at the high school of Hartford.- 
 He began his business training in 1851, in Hart- 
 ford, remaining there employed until 1857, when 
 he went abroad, and passed one and one-half years 
 in study and travel. From 1859 to 1861 he was 
 with ^\ illiam .\. Sale & Co., East India and China 
 shipping merchants of New Y'ork. In September, 
 18O1, he became a partner of his cousin, J. Pier- 
 pont Morgan, who in the spring of that year had 
 established himself in the foreign banking business 
 as New Y'ork agent of his father, Junius S. Mor- 
 gan, London firm George Peabody & Co. This 
 partnership continued in the succeeding firm, Dab- 
 nt}-, Morgan & Co., until the latter was dissolved, 
 and the business merged into that of Drexel, Mor- 
 gan & Co., July I, 1871. Since that time Mr. 
 Goodwin has remained out of active business for 
 himself. Since the death of his father, in 1878, he 
 has, with his brother, had charge of his father's 
 estate. He occupies many positions of trust and 
 responsibility, being a director of the Connecticut 
 ^Mutual Life Insurance Co. and other companies 
 that center in Hartford. He has not severed his 
 connection with interests in New York or his resi- 
 dence there. He has been a director of the New 
 Y'ork, Lake Erie & Western railroad since its re- 
 organization in 1878. He was a vestryman in Cal- 
 vary Church, New Y'ork City, in 1870-72-77-89, 
 and has been warden since 1889. 
 
 On June 19, 1873, i\Ir. Goodwin was married, 
 in Philadelphia, to Josephine Sarah Lippincott, 
 born in Philadelphia Dec. 31, 1850, the only daugh- 
 ter of Joshua Ballanger and Josephine (Craige) 
 Lippincott, and a descendant of Richard Lippin- 
 cott, a resident of Massachusetts in 1640, and in 
 1665 one of the patentees of the first English set- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lg9E 
 
 tlement of New Jersey. They have had children 
 as follows: Walter L., born Sept. 3, 1875; Harold, 
 who died in infancy; James L., born Oct. 10, 1881 ; 
 and Philip L., born March 14, 1885. 
 
 (3 J barah Morgan Goodwin (2), born Sept. 
 25, 1837, married William R. Brounell. 
 
 (4; Rev. Francis Goodwin was born Sept. 25, 
 1839. He received his elementary education in the 
 public schools and high school of Hartford, and at 
 tifteen entered the employ of Howe, Mather & Co., 
 dry-goods merchants of Hartford, with whom he re- 
 mained two years. He was next with Morton & 
 Gnnnell, of isew York, until May, 1857. ^*^ '^^i^" 
 studied for the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church, under private mstructors at first, and in Oc- 
 tober, i860, entered Berkeley Divinity School, Mid- 
 dletown, completing the course of study there in 
 May, 1863. He was ordained deacon in tne Church 
 of the Holy Trinity, Middletown, by Right Rev. 
 John W. \Villiams, U. D., bishop of the diocese. The 
 following month he was appointed chaplain to the 
 bishop, and placed in charge of the missions at 
 Durham, North Guilford, Isorth Kdlingworth and 
 Ponset, with residence at }iIiddletown. In July, 
 1863, he received from Trinit)^ College the degree 
 of M. A., and on Dec. 19 was ordamed priest by 
 Bishop Williams. He was elected rector of Trin- 
 ity Church, Hartford, Ma}' 14, 1865, and resigned 
 in November, 1871. From April, 1874, to May, 
 1875, he was in charge of Trinity Church, Weth- 
 ersfield, and from November, 1876, to January, 
 1877, he was in charge of the Church of tne Good 
 Shepherd, Hartford. At the division of the Arch- 
 deaconries, in 1878, he was elected the first arch 
 deacon of Hartford, which position he resigned m 
 February, 1888. Rev. Mr. Goodwin has given 
 much time and study to architecture. He mada 
 the designs of his father's residence on Woodland 
 street, and personally superintended its construc- 
 tion. Since the death of his father, in 1878, he 
 and his brother have had the management of his 
 father's estate. He gives jnuch of his time to 
 church work, and to institutions of a benevolent or 
 charitable public purpose. Since 1875 Mr. Good- 
 win has been a trustee of the Berkeley Divinity 
 School, Middletown; president of the trustees of tire 
 bishop's fvmd ; since 1884 a trustee of Trinity Col- 
 lege, Hartford ; since 1875 ^ trustee of the Watkin- 
 son Library of Reference; since 1877 a trustee, and 
 since 1879 president, of the Watkinson Farm 
 School and Juvenile Asylum; from 1879 to 1880 a 
 member of the board of street commissioners of 
 Hartford; since 1881 a member of the board of 
 park commissioners ; since 1887 a member of the 
 board of school visitors: since 1881 a director of 
 the Retreat for the Insane ; from 1886 until 1890 
 vice-president, then president, of Wadsworth Ath- 
 enaeum, Hartford ; and president of the Keney 
 Park trustees. 
 
 . On June 3, 1863, Rev. Mr. Goodwin was mar- 
 ried to Mary Alsop Jackson, born in Middletown, 
 Conn., Julv 14, 1842, second daughter of Commo- 
 
 88 
 
 dore Charles Jackson, of the United States navy, 
 and Martha Lawrence (Willard) Jackson, and a 
 descendant of Edward Jackson, a resident of New- 
 town, Mass., in 1643. The following named chil- 
 dren have been born of this marriage: James, Feb. 
 10,. 1865; William B., Oct. 7, 1866; Sarah, May 7, 
 1868; Alice F"., May 30, 1871 ; Lucy M., Jan. 11, 
 1873 (died May 9, 1884) ; Charles A., Nov. 18, 
 1876; Francis, Oct. 19, 1878; and Jeanette, July 
 2, 1884. 
 
 (5) Lucy Goodwin, born in 1841, died in 1844. 
 
 (6) Mary Goodwin, born April 9, 1846, died 
 Oct. 28, 1880. 
 
 (7) Walter Goodwin, born Oct. 29, 185 1, died 
 July 22, 1853. 
 
 HON. GEORGE KELLOGG (deceased). 
 
 The Kelloggs have dwelt in Connecticut from the 
 earlj- settlement of New England. For nearly one 
 hundred and fifty years that branch of the family 
 to which our subject belongs has resided in Tol- 
 land county, and along the line of his descent have 
 been men of letters, business sagacity, prominence 
 and great usefulness in their several walks of life, 
 none, however, standing on a higher, broader and 
 nobler plane than him whose name introduces this 
 article. 
 
 There lived at Norwalk, Conn., in 1665, one 
 Daniel Kellogg, the Connecticut . ancestor of the 
 Tolland county family. He was a selectman df the 
 tow'.i in 1670, was twice married, marrying (sec- 
 puJ) in 1665 Bridget, daughter of John Bouton, 
 a French Protestant. From this ancestor our sub- 
 ject was a descendant in the sixth generation, his 
 line being through Daniel Kellogg {2), Daniel (3), 
 Rev. Ebenezer and Ebenezer. 
 
 (II J Daniel Kellogg (2), son of Daniel Kel- 
 logg, of Norwalk, Conn., born in 1671, married 
 and lived in that town. He died in about 1709. 
 
 (III) Daniel Kellogg (3), son of Daniel Kel- 
 logg (2), born in 1699, married in 1724 Eunice 
 Jarvis, of Huntington, L. I., who died in 1767. 
 
 (IV) Rev. Ebenezer Kellogg, son of Daniel 
 Kellogg (3), born April 5, 1737, in Norwalk, 
 Conn., married Oct. 20, 1756, Hannaji, daughter 
 of Rev. Ebenezer and Hannah (Allyn) Wright, of 
 Stamford, Conn. Rev. Mr. Kellogg was graduated 
 from Yale College in 1757. He was ordained pas- 
 tor of the church at North Bolton (later Vernon), 
 Conn., in 1762, and died there Sept. 3, 1817, aged 
 eighty years, and in the fifty-fifth year of his min- 
 istry, his wife passing away June 7, 1807, aged 
 sixty-seven years. ' They had six children. 
 
 (V) Ebenezer Kellogg, son of Rev. Ebenezer 
 Kellogg, and the father of our subject, was born 
 Oct. 21, 1764, in Tolland county. Conn. He mar- 
 ried (first) Abigail, daughter of Nathaniel and 
 Sarah (Pitkin) Olmsted, of East Hartford. She 
 died in 1797, and he married (second) Hannah, 
 daughter of Ashbel and Hannah Olmsted, and 
 (third) Elizabeth Sheldon. He had a large family 
 of children, among whom, of the sons, were : 
 
1394 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 {1) Ebenezcr, bom Dot. 25, 1789, was gradu- 
 ated from Yale College in ibio, pursued his theo- 
 logical studies at Andover, Mass., and in 1815 re- 
 ceived appointment to the professorship of lan- 
 guages in Williams College, a position he resigned 
 on account of ill health in 1844, after a period of 
 twenty-nine years of service. In 182O he married 
 Susan Coit, of New London. His death occurred 
 Oct. 2, 1846. 
 
 (2) Martin, born Nov. 6, 1791, died at New 
 London, while in the service of his country, Oct. 
 I, 1814. 
 
 (^3} George, born ^larch 3, 1793, is mentioned 
 below. 
 
 (4j Allyn, born Aug. 17, 1794, was a farmer 
 in \'ernon. 
 
 (•)) Nathaniel, born Feb. 26, 1796, was a man- 
 ufacturer in N'ernon, where he died ^lay 13, 1854. 
 lie was a representative from his town in the Stale 
 Legislature, and also from his district in the Sen- 
 ate. 
 
 The late George Kellogg, of Rockville, son of 
 Ebenezer Kellogg, was born March 3, 1793. in the 
 town of Vernon, Tolland Co., Conn., and remained 
 on the farm with his father until after the latter's 
 death, in 1812. He received a common-school ed- 
 ucation, and was reared to agricultural pursuits,' 
 but he afterward conchuled other occupations pre- 
 ferable, owing to his health. In company with 
 others-, among them Col. l-rancis ^McLean, Mr. Kel- 
 logg built a mill for the manufacture of woolen 
 goods. This enterprise was incorporated by char- 
 ter in 1828, as the Rock Manufacturing Co., and 
 for the following decade Mr. Kellogg was the 
 agent of the company, having charge of its most 
 important affairs. In 1837 Mr. Kellogg, Allen 
 Hammond, and others, built the mill of the New 
 England Co. at Rockville, and for some years Mr. 
 Kellogg was the agent of that company. Again, 
 from 1846 until late in life, when released from the 
 arduous duties of the business by his associates, 
 ^Ir. Kellogg was the agent of the Rock Co. For a 
 half century he led a very busy and useful life at 
 Rockville, and is sometimes referred to as the 
 founder of that manufacturing center. 
 
 Politically 'Sir. Kellogg was a Republican. He 
 was sent to the Legislature from the town of Ver- 
 non in 1857, and again in 1865, and the following 
 year (1866) represented the district in the Senate. 
 He became a member of the church at Vernon in 
 1S14, and later for several years was one of the 
 .church committee. In 1827 he had been chosen 
 one of the deacons, but declined to serve. In 1837 
 lie became one of the constitutional members of the 
 First Congregational Church at Rockville, and was 
 chosen one of its earliest deacons, an office he held 
 bv annual election until, in 1849, l-^ ^^ft to aid in 
 the formation of the Second Congregational Church 
 in that village : he was a deacon in that church 
 from that time on until called to his reward. From 
 1855 to 1870 he was identified with the American 
 'Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. 
 
 On Jan. i, 1817, Mr. Kellogg was married to Eliza 
 Noble, and to them were born: Ebenezer N., Eliza, 
 Harriet, George, and Edward. 
 
 Our subject died Aug. 8, 1870. In the follow- 
 ing extract, from a sermon preached at the time 
 is given a good conception of the character of Mr. 
 Kellogg, and of his great usefulness: "As a busi- 
 ness man of liberal views, keen enterprise, sterling 
 integrity and clear insight, and all consecrated to 
 weal of man and the glory of God, we have occa- 
 sion to thank God for him, and shall have so long 
 as a tradition of his theories obtains in the manage- 
 ment of our business affairs. Of his devotion to 
 the general, social and moral interests of the place, 
 too much can hardlv be said. Could he have con- 
 trolled it, lie would have kept out of employ here 
 every bad man or bad class of men. Could he have 
 settled it, every right moral principle should have 
 been supreme among us. Of the position of our 
 friend as a citizen, 1 need but say that he loved his 
 town. State and country, was loyal to their every 
 interest : that he was an earnest advocate of the 
 rights of all men — a Republican to the core of him, 
 and aways foremost in promoting what he religi- 
 ously believed to be the best interests of his coun- 
 try and mankind in the success of that party. That 
 he had very much to do with the political complex- 
 ion of this town and cctmtry, 1 suppose no one will 
 question. C)f the kindness of our friend's great 
 heart many here know that of the poor, and sick, 
 and helpless, and widowed, he was the constant, 
 sympathizing, open-handed friend. Many a suf- 
 ferer has been totiched and comforted by his liberal 
 sympathy. He was more than the employer of 
 those who labored for him. He was as well a cor- 
 •dial friend and sympathizer, and a wise and ready 
 adviser. As a Christian in all external activities 
 he was abounding and imwearied. He felt that 
 the support of the church and its ordinances in their 
 best efficiency was a first lien upon all he had, and 
 he constantly endeavored to conscientiously dis- 
 charge it. I do not believe he ever refused to give, 
 to the last penny, what he fairly thought he ought 
 to give, to any call of the needs of that church, 
 whether for its Sunday-school, its ordinary ex- 
 penses, or its extraordinary, its arrears, or its 
 prospective efficiency. I know that he has often, 
 especially in the eastern history of the church, bor- 
 rowed to give to it, and gave very often to the far- 
 thest limit his conscience would admit, in burden- 
 ing himself for its weal and thrift. The same con- 
 scientious and careful giving was illustrated in his 
 benefactions to all the grand objects of Christian 
 beneficence. He meant to have a stake, and as 
 large a one as Christian prudence would permit 
 him, in every enterprise for the establishment of 
 the Redeemer's Kingdom at home and round the 
 world. This man of great physique, hardy and 
 much enduring; of strong, clear and comprehen- 
 sive mental faculty; of great and sound moral 
 quality ; of vast energy and tremendous will ; of 
 quick sensibilities and most kindly affection ; Qf 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1S&5 
 
 •excellent social fiber, genial, humorous, helpful; 
 this man, full of devotion to the pecuniary, social, 
 educational, moral, political and religious interests 
 of this Church, this village and the world, has 
 fallen^nay, has risen, with redeemed powers, to 
 ..spheres full of splendid opportunities for a glori- 
 ous career, which I doubt not he will be even more 
 .glorious achieving." 
 
 Ebenezer N. Kellogg, eldest son of George 
 Kellogg, was born Nov. 2, 1817, in Vernon, Tol- 
 land county, and there spent his boyhood. His ed- 
 ucation was acquired at various places, he having 
 .attended school at Stockbridge, Westfield and An- 
 dover,' Mass., and at Vernon Center, in his native 
 .State. At the outset of his practical business ca- 
 reer Mr. Kellogg clerked in Rose's store, in South 
 Coventry, Conn., and later for three years was 
 employed in a wholesale grocery in Troy, N. Y., 
 .and for two years in a wool store in that cit}^ In 
 the fall of 1841 these wool merchants sent him to 
 Hartford to sell wool to his old friends, and in 1842 
 Jie accepted the proposition of Crosby, White & 
 Dunham to engage in the wool business, entering 
 into partnership with them. Mr. Kellogg has been 
 interested in various important commercial enter- 
 prises of the city since his settlement here. For 
 many )-ears he has been a director of the Connecti- 
 cut iVIutual Insurance Co., and has held that rela- 
 tion to the Mercantile Bank of Hartford since its 
 foundation. He has been a director of the Rock 
 JNIanufacturing Co. for twenty years. 
 
 Mr. Kellogg was married, Aug. 17, 1843, at 
 Troy, N. Y., to Miss Lydia M. Billings, of Sara- 
 toga, that State, who died in 1898. Seven chil- 
 ■dren were born to this union : George Billings, 
 Prank S., Robert W. (who died in July, 1899), 
 Grace, Nathaniel O., Hattie, and Ebenezer (who 
 ■died when six months old). Like his father, Mr. 
 Kellogg is an active churchman, and has been a 
 member of the Park Church since 1843. No resi- 
 dent of Hartford occupies a higher position in the 
 ■esteem and hearts of his fellow citizens. 
 
 COL. EDWARD M. GRAA^ES, associate man- 
 ager of the Hartford Opera House, former assistant 
 adjutant-general of the State, and former editor and 
 publisher, is one of the well and favorably known 
 men and conspicuous characters of Hartford. 
 
 Col. Graves was born in Dublin, Ireland, April 
 ■2, 1848, a son of Edward Reid Shoosmith, an Eng- 
 lishman and graduate of Christ's College, who died 
 just six weeks before the birth of our subject. The 
 widowed mother came to the United States a few 
 months later to join her relatives, who resided in 
 Brooklyn, where the boyhood days of the Colonel 
 "were passed. In 1857 Mrs. Shoosmith married 
 Prancis C. Graves. At the breaking out of the war 
 of the Rebellion Col. Graves, then a boy of thirteen, 
 was very desirous of enlisting, and he did so four 
 different times, but upon the demand of his parents 
 M'as released. -In 1862, under the name of Graves 
 (taking his stepfather's name), he enlisted in the 
 
 1st New York (Lincoln) Cavalry, and succeeded in 
 reaching Hart's Island, New York Harbor, which 
 was the rendezvous of the enlisted men. Here his 
 stepfather found him, and again demanded his re- 
 lease, on the ground that he was too young. The 
 surgeon of the camp decided that the tonsils of young 
 Graves were too large to endure the Southern 
 climate, and his discharge was ordered. Pinally the 
 parents, seeing that the boj' was determined to enter 
 the volunteer army, consented to allow him to enlist, 
 provided he would first have his tonsils removed. 
 This was done, and a few weeks later )roung Graves 
 joined his regiment at Halltown, Va. As his dis- 
 charge papers were made out in the name of Graves, 
 and in honor of a most worthy and devoted step- 
 father, he has retained the name of Graves ever 
 siiice, and has had same legalized. While in the 
 army he served throughout the Civil war, and re- 
 turned to civil life with an honorable war record. 
 For five months of his service he was employed as 
 a scout, attached to the staffs of the gallant Sher- 
 idan and Custer. He took part in a number of the 
 great battles of the war, being at Martinsburg, 
 Winchester (2), Fisher's Hill, Opequan, White 
 House Landing, Waynesboro, Cedar Creek, New- 
 market, Hunter's raid to L3-nchburg, siege of Peters- 
 burg, Five Porks, Sailors' Run and Appomattox. He 
 received a sabre wound at the battle of Five Forks, 
 and a gunshot wound at Petersburg. He was with 
 Sheridan in all his memorable raids through the 
 Shenandoah Valley. 
 
 After receiving an honorable discharge from the 
 service, in 1865, young Graves returned home, but 
 shortly afterward came to Hartford and entered the 
 employ of the Plimpton Manufacturing Co., remain- 
 ing with them some eighteen months. Having been 
 deprived of the higher school privileges, owing to 
 his enlistment at so early an age and his ensuing 
 service in the war, he became ambitious for an edu- 
 cation, and during his stay with the Plimpton Co. 
 pursued his studies at night. Later he entered Mc- 
 Gill University, Montreal, where he completed a 
 special course of study. Returning to Hartford, 
 he was given a position in the "Bee Hive," a large 
 dry-goods house, in which he had charge of the 
 paper-hanging department. During his stay of two 
 years with that establishment he frequently wrote 
 for newspapers, and in this way came to the notice 
 of the newspaper profession. For ten years fol- 
 lowing his dry-goods house experience he edited the 
 Neiv Haven Union, giving up his position at the 
 expiration of that period on account of failing eye- 
 sight. Since then Col. Graves has been variously 
 occupied, and has led a rnost active and busy life. 
 
 An ardent Democrat and an actiye and influen- 
 tial politician, the Colonel has taken part in many 
 of the fierce political battles of his party in city, 
 county and State, and has served it with tireless en- 
 ergy and unabated zeal. In 1883 he received the ap- 
 pointment of assistant adutant-general of the State 
 with the rank of colonel, and served on the staff of 
 Gov. Thomas IM. Waller through his term of office. 
 
1396 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In the fall of 1886 he received at the hands of his 
 part)-, against his wishes and wdl, the nomination 
 for mayor of Hartford, in opposition to Gov. Bulke- 
 ley, the Repnblican candidate, lie made the race, 
 and was defeated by a small margin. l-"or many 
 years he lias been a member of the Democratic coun- 
 ty and State committees, and a ilelegate to the con- 
 ventions of both. Col. Graves has the reputation 
 of being well versed on the subject of monetary 
 science, to which he has given special thought and | 
 study. He is a firm Ixiiever in William Jennings 1 
 r.ryan, strongly advocating his election to the Presi- , 
 dency in 1896 and 1900. The Colonel is a man of i 
 broad and liberal views, extensive reading, and is ! 
 genial and social, an all-round interesting convcr- j 
 satiunalist and companion. For a time along in the ' 
 middle 'eighties he was the editor and manager of 
 the Hartford Daily Telegram. Later in that de- ] 
 cade he passed one year abroad in travel, and also 
 in receiving treatment for his eyes. 
 
 Returning to Hartford from his trip abroad, Col. 
 Graves became actively identified in the business con- 1 
 nected with the development of the famous mine 
 "Copper King," in which he is one of the largest 
 stock-iiolders. The "Copper King" promised to be 1 
 one of the greatest producers in the United States. 
 Our subject is at this time secretary and a director 
 of the Hartford Palace of Amusement Co.. the cap- 
 ital stock of which is ?50.ooo. In 1890, associated 
 with H. H. Jennings, of iiridgeport, he leased the 
 Hartford Opera House, and they at once inaugurated 
 a change, making it a ])opular-priced playhouse ; 
 under their careful management it has been large- 
 ly patronized, and has come into favor. Of the 
 two theaters in the citv the Hartford is the older, 
 and in it have played the talent of the country. A 
 notable occasion under their regime was the night 
 of Feb. 6, 1897. when Madame Calve presented the 
 opera "Carmen," playing to a $5,000 house. Another 
 was the appearance there of Anna Held, when hun- 
 dreds of people were turned away, not having been 
 able to secure even standing-room. These gentle- 
 men are successful as managers, and at the begin- 
 ning of the year 1901 re-leased the buikhng for a 
 period of ten years. They intend to entirely remodel 
 it, making it one of the finest theaters in Xew 
 England. 
 
 Col. Graves has been prominent in social lines. 
 He is a member of Robert O. Tyler Post, G. A. R., 
 of Hartford, and was formerly commander of Henry 
 C. Merwin Post, of Xew Haven. He is a nipmber 
 of the Knights of Pythias, the Knights of Honor, 
 and the B. P. O. E.. having held all the offices in the 
 last named, up to and including that of Exalted 
 Ruler. 
 
 On Sept. 16. 1866, Col. Graves w"as married to 
 Priscilla H. Parkhurst, a native of Rockville, and a 
 daughter of George Parkhurst. To this marriage 
 were bom children as follows : Lillian E. married 
 Frank P. Furlone'. ex-postmaster of Hiartford : Eva 
 married Marcus AL ]\Iunsill. now deceased, and they 
 had one child, ^Marcus AL ; Edward G. is the general 
 
 manager of a business in Xew York City ; Gertrude- 
 L died Julv 15, 1898. The mother of this family 
 died Feb. 27, 1879, aged thirty-three years. Col. 
 Graves was again married, Jan. 15, 1880, to Minnie 
 Rexroth, of Xew Haven, who died Dec. 15, 1880,- 
 leaving an mtant daughter, Minnie, who died at the 
 age of nine years. After nearly twenty years Col. 
 Graves was married for the third time, Nov. 19, 
 1900, 10 -Mrs. Florence M. Loomis. 
 
 ALFRED RRLXTXALL REDFIELD (de- 
 ceased). If an honorable business life over which 
 there falls no shadow of wrong is deserving of 
 emulation, and merits commendation, then Alfred 
 B. Redfield justl)- won the high ;-egard in which he 
 was held. He was recognized as one of the most 
 prominent citizens of the city of Hartford, and ever 
 faithfully and diligently discharged both public 
 and private duties that devolved upon him. 
 
 Mr. Redfield was descended in the eighth gen- 
 eration from William Redfield, the progenitor of 
 nearly all the RedfieUls in this country, his line of 
 descent being through William, James, Theophi- 
 lus, Daniel (ij, Daniel {2), Eoenezer and Will- 
 iam 1 1 . 
 
 ( 1 I William Redfield was jjrobably ofle of the 
 early ei-nigrants from England to the colony of 
 Massachusetts. He left the Old England for the 
 Xew during the decade of years which followed 
 1630. As early as 1639, and perhaps earlier, he 
 occu]Med a house and a few acres of land on south 
 side of Charles river, about six miles from Boston. 
 His dwelling house and land were confirmed to 
 him on the Records of the Proprietors of Cam- 
 bridge in 1642, and the same records show that in 
 September, 1646, he sold his place to Edward 
 Jackson. ' He probably niigrated with the younger 
 Winthrops to the river and harbor of Pequot, or. 
 as it was afterwards called, Xew London, in the 
 jurisdiction of the Connecticut Colony. The first 
 evidence of his presence here was in 1652, when 
 he built a house at Brewsters Neck, about seven 
 miles north of the present city of New London, 
 and where Jonathan Brewster on May 29, 1654. 
 conveyed to him ten acres of arable land. The fam- 
 ily name at this time was Redfin, but gradually 
 the name assumed the form of Redfield, which it 
 has ever since retained. B)' his wife Rebecca he 
 had children as follows : Rebecca, James and 
 ; Judith. 
 
 (II) James Redfin or Redfield was a tanner 
 by trade, having been apprenticed to Hugh Rob- 
 erts, of New London, April i, 1666. Mr. Roberts 
 broke up his establishment in X^ew London and 
 removed to X^ewark, N. J. James Redfield re- 
 moved from New London, and in May, 1669, he 
 was married in New Haven to Elizabeth How, 
 who was born in 164-5, a daughter of Jeremy How, 
 of New Haven, and granddaughter of Edward 
 How, who was one of the early settlers of Lynn, 
 Mass. The next that is known of him with any 
 degree of certainty is in 1676, when in July of that 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1897 
 
 j-ear he was living at Saybrook with his wife and 
 children, and also a servant man. One acre of 
 Jand was granted to him at Saybrook in Decem- 
 ber, 1683, to which another acre was granted in 
 1686. \vhile it is not known how long he resided 
 ,at Saybrook, it is certain that he removed to Fair- 
 4eld, Conn., as early as 1693, his wife, Eliza- 
 beth, having died before his removal. He mar- 
 ried (second) Deborah, daughter of John Sturges, 
 or Sturgis. The children by the first wife were : 
 Elizabeth, Sarah and Theophihis ; children by the 
 second wife were : IMargaret and James. 
 
 (III) Theophilus Redfield, oldest son of James, 
 .son of William, was a joiner by trade and probably 
 settled in Killingworth, Conn., soon after comn 
 of age. The first mention of him on the records 
 of that town is in March, 1703, or '04, when he 
 bought a small piece of groimd for a homestead in 
 what was then Killingworth, but which has since 
 been set off by the name of Clinton, and is now 
 
 ■one of the pleasantest of those villages which bor- 
 ■ der on Long Island Sound. On Dec. 24, 1706, he 
 married Priscilla Grinnell, a seventeen-)'ear-old 
 maiden, daughter of Daniel and Lydia Grinnell, 
 and great-granddaughter of John and Priscilla Al- 
 den, of Colonial fame. Daniel Grinnell, who three 
 years before had settled in that part of Saybrook 
 .then called Pochaug (now Westbrook), came from 
 Little Compton, R. I. (then called Seaconnet), 
 was a son of Daniel Grinnell, of that place, and 
 l^robably a grandson of Mathew Grinnell, who was 
 in Portsmouth, R. I., in 1638. In 1717 or 1718 he 
 bought a tract of land of about 120 acres on Chest- 
 nut Hill in North Killingworth. Thither he re- 
 moved, and there resided during the balance of his 
 life. This property seems to have been retained 
 :for the most part in the hands of his descendants. 
 Theophilus Redfield commanded the respect 
 ^nd esteem of the community in v/hich he lived. He 
 was frequently appointed to important committees 
 in the management of town affairs, and at a day 
 when military titles, however humble, had some 
 weight he was known as Sergeant Redfield. He 
 ■died Feb. 14, 1759, in the seventy-seventh year of 
 \\s age. His wife Priscilla passed away Jan. 12, 
 1770, aged eighty-one years. Theix children were 
 as follows: Daniel, born Sept. 22, 1707; Eliza- 
 beth, Richard, Ebenezer, Lydia, Theophilus, Pris- 
 cilla, Peleg, George, William, Josiah, Jane and 
 James. 
 
 (IV) Daniel Redfield, eldest son of Theophilus, 
 son of James, resided at Clinton, Conn. He rec- 
 nized the Church Covenant in 1725, and about 1728 
 he married Elizabeth . In 1746 he was com- 
 missioned as ensign in the Third Company of the 
 -regiment under command of Col. Elisha Williams, 
 of Wethersfield. raised for a contemplated expe- 
 dition against the French in Canada. During a 
 -portion of his life he was a sea captain. He died 
 Jan. II, 1758, in his fifty-first year, some thirteen 
 months before his father's decease. His widow 
 •died Nov. 2, 1775, aged seventy-four years. Their 
 
 children : Daniel, born at Killingworth, Feb. 27, 
 1728-29; Roswell, Margaret, John, Elizabeth, Sam- 
 uel and Sylvester. 
 
 (V) Daniel Redfield, eldest son of Daniel, son 
 of Theophilus, resided in Clinton. His dwelling 
 was near the present residence (i860) of Eben 
 Redfield, and was pulled down in 1858. By occu- 
 pation he was a farmer and blacksmith. He mar- 
 ried Nov. 21, 1749, Margaret Crane, of Killing- 
 worth. In 1775 he was clerk of the committee of 
 correspondence on affairs relative to the defence 
 of the public liberties, for the town in which he 
 lived. He died Jan. 20, 1788, aged fifty-nine years. 
 His children: Ruth,. Simeon, Nathaniel, Ruth (2), 
 Elizabeth, Mary, Margaret, Daniel, Ebenezer (born 
 March 17, 1767), and Mary Lucy. 
 
 (VI) Ebenezer Redfield, fourth son of Daniel, 
 was a sea captain and resided in Clinton. He mar- 
 ried Phebe Dibble, daughter of David and Phebe 
 (Lane) Dibble. She died Sept. 10, 1832, aged 
 sixt^'-four years, and he passed away April 23, 
 1837. Their children : Elizabeth, Lucy, William 
 H. (born in 1797), Eben and Phebe Amelia. 
 
 (VII) William H. Redfield, eldest son of Eben- 
 ezer, son of Daniel (2), was a carpenter residing 
 at Clinton, Conn. In 1821 he married Elizabeth 
 Elderkin, daughter of Elisha and Mary (Brintnall) 
 Elderkin (her sister, Mary, married Justin Red- 
 field, of New Haven). Children born to William 
 H. and Elizabeth Redfield were : Mary Elizabeth, 
 born Sept. 6, 1821 ; Alfred Brintnall (our subject), 
 born July I, 1827, died Nov. 8, 1898; and Ann 
 Amelia, born April 28, 1839, died March 17, 1853. 
 
 Alfred B. Redfield was a native of Clinton, 
 Conn., whence about the year 1848 he came to the 
 city of Hartford, entering the employ of George 
 M. Way & Co., in the course of time becoming a 
 member of the firm. Later he purchased the whole- 
 sale business of the late David Clark, and A. S. 
 Jerome, of Louisville, Ky., was identified with him 
 in the concern, the firm of Jerome & Redfield being 
 formed in 1859. In 1867 the style became A. B. 
 Redfield & Co., and in 1887 it was changed to 
 Redfield & Craig. In April, 1898, Mr. Redfield 
 retired from active business life, previous to which 
 event he had for some years spent a great deal of 
 his time abroad with his family. 
 
 After an illness of less than twenty-four hours, 
 Mr. Redfield died on the morning of Nov. 8, 1898, 
 at his late residence, No. 764 Asylum avenue, Hart- 
 ford, and his remains were laid to rest in Cedar 
 Hill cemetery, old business friends and associates 
 of the deceased, both in and out of town, being 
 present at the obsequies. As will be seen, Mr. 
 Redfield was in the seventy-second year of his age, 
 and the suddenness of his death caused a shock in 
 the community where he was universal!}^ beloved 
 and esteemed. It has been truly said of him that 
 he was a man of the highest integrity, and a de- 
 voted friend, an affectionate husband and father, 
 delighting in his family, and taking infinite pains 
 for the culture and happiness of those dearest to 
 
1398 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 him, while to all of his acquaintances he was cue 
 of the most companionable and truest of men. He 
 was a man of fine culture, a linguist of marked 
 acquirements, and possessed one of the finest pri- 
 vate libraries in Hartford. He spoke fluently and 
 read with ease P'rench and German, and was also 
 a Latin and Greek scholar of wide repute. At the 
 time of his death .Mr. Redfield was a communicant 
 of St. John's Episcopal Church, though at one time 
 he was identified with Trinity Church, and was 
 one of its wardens. In earlier days he was a line 
 officer (lieutenant) in the first company of the 
 Governor's Foot Guards, and was also an honorary 
 member of Hubbard Escort. 
 
 On Oct. 31, i860, Alfred Brintnall Redfield 
 was united in marriag'e with Miss Maria E. Thomp- 
 son, daughter of Henry and Candace (I'helps) 
 Thompson, of Thompsonville, Conn., and their 
 children are: William T., Annie E., B. Gordon, 
 and M. Louise, all of Hartford. 
 
 DR. LE\I COLBY TAVL( )R, one of the old r 
 dental practitioners in Hartford, is a native of New 
 Hampshire, born in Lempster Dec. 12, 1841. 
 
 Erastus Day Taylor, his father, born in the 
 same town, was a son of John Taylor, a native of 
 Ipswich, Mass.. who later in life made his home in 
 Lempster, where he died at the age of ninety-two 
 years. He was a man of strong religious convic- 
 tions, interested and prominent in church affairs, 
 and a deacon for many \ears. By occupation he was 
 a carpenter and farmer. He married Sally Jones, 
 and to them were born twelve children, namely : 
 Ivas, Lyman, John, Erastus Day, Sarah, Matilda, 
 Homer, and five who died in infancy. 
 
 Erastus D. Taylor was a house carpenter and 
 builder, as well as a farmer, and was foreman in 
 the construction of the first liridge built by the 
 New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Co. 
 He was decided in his opinions, thoroughly honest 
 in his decisions, straightforward and upright. He 
 was a member of the Congregational Church, and 
 a constant attendant long after he became unable 
 to hear the words of the preacher. In politics he 
 was a Republican, and he held various town offices. 
 He married Mary Colby, daughter of Levi Colby, 
 of Henniker, X. H., and there were four children 
 by this union, three of whom are living: Levi 
 Colby, our subject ; Ivlrs. Ella Ober, of Nashua, 
 N. H. : and Mrs. Delora Reed, of Holyoke, !Mass. 
 The mother died in 1865, at the age of fifty-two 
 years. 
 
 Dr. Levi Colby Taylor was reared in New 
 Hampshire. His early life was passed upon the 
 farm, in a struggle to earn the money with which 
 to educate himself. He received his early educa- 
 tion in the common schools, and, after he was twen- 
 ty-one, attended Henniker Academy, one of the 
 famous schools of learning of that time. Finish- 
 ing there, he commenced the studv of dentistr}' in 
 1866, and was for two years a student with Dr. 
 Bowers, of Springfield, Yt. He began the prac- 
 
 tice of his profession in the city of Holyoke, Mass.,. 
 remaining there eight years, and came to Hartford 
 May 3, 1875, since which tune he has been in act- 
 ive practice. l""or a number of years he has been 
 a regular lecturer of the New York Dental School. 
 He has been a member of the Connecticut Valley 
 Dental Society since 1868, has held every oflice in 
 the society, and was its president in 1877-78; is a. 
 member of the Hartford Dental Society, and was 
 its first president ; is connecteil with the Connecti- 
 cut Dental .Association; a member of the North 
 Eastern Dental .Association ; of the National Den- 
 tal .Association ; a corresponding member of the 
 Massachusetts Dental Society; and an associate 
 member of the Institute of Stomatology of New 
 York. Dr. Taylor has taken a keen interest in the 
 advancement of his profession, and has been active 
 in its promotion, always anxious to keep in touch. 
 with new methods and treatment. 
 
 On Dec. 8, 1874, Dr. Ta\lor married Nellie 
 Thayer, who was born in I'eterboro, N. H., a daugh- 
 ter of John .X. and Loretta H. Thayer. Mrs. Taylor 
 is a bneal descendant, on the paternal side, in the 
 eighth generation, from John Alden, one of the Pil- 
 grnn fathers who came over in the "Mayflower.'' 
 To Dr. and Mrs. Taylor have been born three chiil- 
 dren: Charles Brackett, the eldest, who died at the 
 age of seven years; .\tauue Winn.fred: and Leon 
 Everett. 
 
 BUNCE. I'or over 250 years the name of 
 Bunce in Hartford has been synonymous with in- 
 tegrity, loyalty to God and to country, suggestive 
 of the highest order of citizenship and of greatest 
 usefidness in the various callings of life, as was 
 exemplified in the lives of Deacon Russell Bunce, 
 James M. Bunce, John Lee Bunce, and Edward 
 Merrill Bunce, besides many others who long ago> 
 preceded them to the great beyond, but whose im- 
 press has been indelibly stamped upon the com- 
 munity in which they lived. 
 
 The first ancestor of these men and their de- 
 scendants, now prominent in the affairs of Hart- 
 ford, was Thomas Bunce, a sturdy Puritan, who 
 was at Hartford in 1639, a landed proprietor. He 
 served in the Pequot wzr, and was rewarded for 
 good service with no acres of land. He held a . 
 numl>er of important offices. Himself and wife 
 were original members of the South Church in 
 1670. His son John, the next ancestor in line, and 
 John's wife Mary were admitted to South Church 
 in 1686. John Bunce was "townsman" in 1701, 
 1711, 1715. He died in 1734. Thomas Bunce was- 
 a stalwart figure in the emergencies of early Col- 
 onial service, a companion of Hooker, Ludlow, 
 Ha3'nes, Wolcott, and others who laid the founda- 
 tions of the State. 
 
 James M. Bunce, son of Russell Bunce, whose 
 death occurred at Hartford July 25, 1859, the re-- 
 suit of an accident in the running awav of a horse 
 he was driving, was born in October, 1806, in Hart- 
 ford, where his life was passed. He received a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 139& 
 
 good common-school education, in 1825 became a 
 clerk in the Phoenix Bank, and later was teller. 
 On Feb. i, 1830, he became a member of the firm 
 of T. K. Brace & Co., afterward Brace & Bunce, 
 wholesale merchants and commission merchants. 
 Trade of that description in Hartford then extended 
 over a much wider region than at this da}'. On 
 • the retirement of Mr. Brace from the firm and from 
 business Air. Bunce became associated with V. A. 
 Bailey, under the firm title of J. AI. Bunce & Co. 
 i\lr. Bailey dying suddenly, he was succeeded in 
 the firm by Drayton Hillyer, and so the firm stood 
 at the time of Mr. Bunce's death. For some time 
 they dealt chiefly in wool and cotton. Islv. Bunce 
 was also a member of the firm of Hillyer, Alunyan 
 & Co., occupying a portion of the same premises, 
 and dealing in groceries. 
 
 In 1847-48-49, as one of the active agents of 
 the city of Hartford, Mr. Bunce became well known 
 in all sections of the State through his exertions 
 in opposing the Air Line railroad bridge over the 
 Connecticut river at Middletown, a question that 
 caused a bitter and prolonged contest. On Julj' 21, 
 1 85 1, he was chosen president of the Hartford, 
 Providence & Fishkill Railroad Co., and until the 
 road was completed to its limits, at his death, he 
 devoted himself to its interests with characteristic 
 mtensity. He was much interested in the erection 
 of the high school building, paid for newspaper 
 articles, circulated documents, and as a member 
 of the building committee contributed of his own 
 funds ver}' liberally for the completion of the edi- 
 fice in accordance with what he thought would be 
 its necessities ; and afterward those interested were 
 gratified with his foresight. 
 
 Politically Mr. Bunce was formerly a Whig. 
 The anti-slaverv cause in early days warmly en- 
 listed his feelings, though he did not take part in 
 the independent political movement, and continued 
 to act with the liberal Whigs. He enthusiastically 
 joined the Republican party on its organization, 
 and attended the first National convention at Pitts- 
 burg, where his pledge that Connecticut should 
 vote for the Republican nominee brought upon his 
 sanguine temperament some witticisms. '"We 
 doubt if any man in the State gave more generously 
 to the cause, here or in Kansas, or rejoiced more 
 heartily over the splendid vote of Connecticut in 
 1856." His temper was naturally most ardent and 
 impetuous, impatient of obstacles, leading him 
 straight toward his object. But he was exceedingly 
 generous, and his warm affections were easily 
 touched by distress or the demands of any good 
 cause in trouble. He left a handsome fortune, but 
 he gave away more than he left, for his benefac- 
 tions were commenced early, continued systemati- 
 cally, and increased according to his abilities. In 
 his death every good word and work lost an en- 
 thusiastic, hopeful, courageous friend. He was 
 emphatically a live man. No enterprise ever stag- 
 nated under his influence. Many vears ago he 
 joined the Center Church, which he left a few 
 
 years before his death with the colony that assist- 
 ed in building the now prosperous Pearl Street 
 Church. It was particularly noticed by his friends 
 that after the great revival of 1857-58 he was al- 
 most wholly absorbed in religious thoughts and 
 works. All that was kindly, self-sacrificing and 
 devout in his nature was brought more into relief, 
 and he sought every opportunity of doing good. 
 He could easily approach the young on such sub- 
 jects, for he was warm, sincere, and without cant 
 or affectation. 
 
 In Mai-ch, 1830, Air. Bunce was married to 
 Frances A. Brace, daughter of T. K. Brace, of 
 Hartford. She was born April 8, 1808, and died 
 Sept. 9, 1838. Air. Bunce subsecjuently married 
 Elizabeth H. Chester, who was born Oct. 31, 1807, 
 and died Alarch 6, 1861. 
 
 Jonathan B. Bunce, president of the Phcenix 
 Mutual Life Insurance Co., of Hartford, is a son 
 of James AI. Bunce, and a grandson of Deacon 
 Russell Bunce, who in their day were prominent 
 and influential citizens of Hartford. His ances- 
 tors through a long line were men of stalwart in- 
 tegrity, and of great capacity in civil and commer- 
 cial life, as well as strict observants of external 
 courtesies in their intercourse with men. Jonathan 
 B. Bunce was born April 4, 1832, in Hartford, 
 After attending school in his native city he be- 
 came a student in the Sheffield Scientific Depart- 
 ment of Yale College for a year and a half. As 
 he grew up he was more or less in the store with 
 his father. When twenty-two he engaged in a com- 
 mission business in New York City, the firm be- 
 ing Dibble & Bunce, and was so occupied for nine- 
 years, or until the death of his father, in 1859,, 
 when he returned to Hartford and took the place 
 in the business with Drayton Hillyer made vacant 
 by the death of the father, who was a partner. 
 This partnership was continued for fifteen years, 
 at the expiration of which period Mr. Bunce was 
 made vice-president of the Phoenix Mutual Life 
 Insurance Co., of Hartford. He sustained that re- 
 lation with the company until its reorganization, 
 in 1889, when he was advanced to the presidency, 
 a position he has since successfullv and creditably 
 occupied. Early in the Civil war Mr. Bunce was 
 appointed C|uartermaster-general of Connecticut, 
 and held the office until the expiration of the term 
 of his predecessor, to complete which he was ap- 
 pointed. 
 
 Mr. Bunce is connected with a number of char- 
 itable and financial institutions of Hartford, among- 
 the former being the American Deaf and Dumb 
 As3dum and Hartford Hospital. He is a director 
 in the Phcenix National Bank, the Hartford Fire 
 Insurance Co., the Society for Savings, and the 
 Connecticut Safe & Deposit Co. For thirty odd 
 years he was secretary of the Hartford Retreat 
 for the Insane. He has held many positions of 
 minor importance in the afl:'airs of Hartford, and 
 in all has sustained the reputation made by his 
 forefathers in the community with which so many 
 
1400 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of the name have figured, rolitically he is a Rc- 
 piil)Ucan, and in his rehgious faith a Congrega- 
 tionahst, a nieniher of the i'earl Street Chiii-ch, of 
 wiiieli he was one of the original incorporators. 
 On Alay y, i860, Mr. Bunce was married to 
 Laura Dibble, daughter of Calvin B. Dibble, of 
 Granby. Eight chiklren blessed this union, five 
 sons and three daughters, of whom three sons and 
 tile daughters are yet living; the eldest son and a 
 ycunger son are deceased. 
 
 W.\LTER C;UUDMA.\ COWLES, of Hart- 
 ford, on his father's side is in the seventh genera- 
 tion from John Cowlcs, the line of his descent be- 
 ing through Samuel, Caleb, Daniel, Daniel {2), 
 Lemuel, Walter 11. and Samuel W. 
 
 (I) John Cowlcs was of Farniington in 1652; 
 at Hartford 1664; made a freeman 1666; was at 
 Hadley, .Mass., and died in 1675. He was called 
 John, the farmer, to distinguish him from John 
 Cowles, the carpenter. 
 
 (H) Samuel Cowles, son of John, the farmer, 
 of Farniington. married in 1661 Abigail, daugh- 
 ter of Timothy Stanley, and resided in I'arming- 
 toii. He died in 1691. 
 
 (Hi; Caleb Cowles, born in 1682, baptized in 
 June, 1682, died in 1725. 
 
 (,1V) Daniel Cowles, son of Caleb, born in 
 171 7, died in the year 1798. 
 
 I \" ) Daniel Cowles (2), son of Daniel, lx)rn 
 in 1741, married Esther Rhodes. He died in 1809. 
 
 (\'I) Lemuel Cowles, son of Daniel (2j. born 
 in 1776, married Esther Gridley, daughter of Seth 
 Gridley. Mr. Cowles died in 181 5. 
 
 (VH) Walter H. Cowles, son of Lemuel, born 
 in 1803, niarried Azuba. daughter of Tlionias and 
 Elizabeth (Watts) Stedman. She was born in 
 1794, and died in 1872. 
 
 (\'IH) Samuel W. Cowles. son of Walter H., 
 Avas born Nov. 10, 1826, in Avon, Hartford coun- 
 ty, and in 1859 took up his home in Hartford, 
 where he passed the remainder of his active and 
 useful life. He was identitied with the business 
 interests of the city in various ways, and was highly 
 respected in commercial circles as a man of the 
 strictest honor and integrity. Retiring from manu- 
 facturing in 1864. he became identified with life 
 insurance interests, and as a member of the Board 
 of Trade was also prominently connected with the 
 material growth and prosperity of his adopted city. 
 Mr. Cowles was a well-informed man. being es- 
 pecially interested in historical research, and he 
 was a member of the Connecticut Historical Socie- 
 ty from April, 1891, up to the time of his decease. 
 He was the owner of the Peregrine White Bible. 
 He was one of the founders of the Windsor Ave- 
 nue Congregational Church of Hartford, and fra- 
 ternally was affiliated with St. John's Lodge, F. & 
 A. M. ; the Connecticut Society, Sons of the Ameri- 
 can Revolution ; and the Putnam Phalanx, of which 
 he was an honorarv member. He passed away 
 Feb. 14, 1900, at his home on ^^'indsor avenue, 
 
 Hartford, and was deeply mourned among a wide 
 circle of friends and acquaintances. On Dec. 31, 
 1851, ]\lr. Cowles married Harriet Goodman, who 
 was born June 20, 1829, in West Hartford, and 
 preceded him to the grave, dying April 24, 1896. 
 They had two children: Walter G., our subject, 
 who is mentioned more fully Ijelow ; and Arthur 
 J., born CJct. 31, 1861, who is senior partner of the^ 
 rirm of Cowles & Howard, grocers, of Flartford. 
 (IX) Walter Goodman Cowles, son of Samuel 
 W., was born April 4, 1857, in Farniington, Conn. 
 He received his early education in the public schools 
 of Hartford, and the Connecticut Literary Insti- 
 tute, of Suffielil, Conn., later attending Vale Law 
 School, from which he was graduated 111 1879, and 
 was admitted to the P)ar. In 1882 he took a posi- 
 tion witii the Travelers Insurance Co. In 1885 he 
 was sent to Kansas, where he remained, in charge 
 of investments of the Travelers Insurance Co., un- 
 til 1895, in which year he returned and took his 
 jjresent position with that company, that of attor- 
 ney and adjuster for the liability department. On 
 June 9, 1886, Mr. Cowles was united in marriage 
 with Miss Nellie Francis, the ceremony takin.g 
 place at Cambridge, 111., where Mrs. Cowles was 
 born April 10, 1862, daughter of Morrison and 
 Mary C. (Moor) Francis. Her father, who was 
 a farmer, stock raiser and miller, is now deceased, 
 Mrs. Francis living with her daughter and son- 
 in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Cowles, in Hartford. To our 
 subject and wife have been born three children: 
 Francis Walter, Oct. 28, 1888; Donald Buford, July 
 26, 1895; and another son, June 18, 1900, not 
 christened at this writing. 
 
 On her mother's side Mrs. Cowles is in the sixth 
 generation from John Moor ( 1683- 1774) and his 
 wife Janet (1687- 1786), the line of descent being 
 through Elder \Villiani Moor (1717-1784) and his 
 wife MoUie Jack; John Moor, Sr. (1746-1839), 
 and his wife Betsey Miller; Capt. John Moor (1790) 
 and his wife Deborah Sherman, daughter of Reu- 
 ben Sherman. 
 
 Mr. Cowles is a descendant maternally in the 
 seventh generation from Deacon Richard Good- 
 man, born in 1609; of Cambridge, Mass., 1632; 
 an original proprietor of Hartford, Conn., 1639, 
 having "a lot on Main street north of the meeting 
 house yard." In 1659 h^ married Mary Terry, 
 born in 1635, daughter of Stephen Terry, of Wind- 
 sor, Conn. Deacon Goodman became one of the 
 first settlers of Hadley, Mass., and was killed by 
 the Indians in 1676. His widow died in 1692, in 
 Deerfield. From this Richard Goodman Walter 
 Goodman Cowles' line of descent is through Rich- 
 ard (2), Timothy. Richard (3), Childs and Har- 
 riet (Goodman) Cowles. 
 
 (II) Richard Goodman (2), son of Deacon 
 Richard, of Cambridge, Hartford and Hadley, born 
 in 1663, married Abigail Pantry, who was born in 
 1679, daughter of John Pantry (2) (1650-1736) 
 and his wife Abigail Mix, and granddaughter of 
 John Pantry and his wife Hannah Tuttle (1632- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECO 
 
 1401 
 
 1683). Abigail Mix was a daughter of Thomas and 
 Jlebecca (lurnerj Mix. Some time after 1678 
 JRichard Goodman (2) removed to Hartford, where 
 die became a wealth}- and prominent citizen. He 
 died in 1730. 
 
 (HI) Timotli_v Goodman, of West Hartford, 
 .son of Richard (2), born in 1706, married in 1735 
 Joanna, daughter of Joseph Wadsworth. She was 
 hoxn in 1715, and died in 1768, Mr. Goodman sur- 
 viving until 1786. Joseph Wadsworth (1682- 
 1778) was a son of Capt. Joseph Wadsworth (1650- 
 1729), of Connecticut Charter memory, and his wife 
 Elizabeth Barnard, daughter of Bartholomew Bar- 
 nard. Capt. Wadsworth was a son of Wilb'am 
 Wadsworth (1632-1675) and his wife Eliza Stone. 
 Joanna Hervey, wife of Joseph Wadsv\'orth, and 
 mother of J\Irs. Timothy Goodman, was a daughter 
 of Lieut. Thomas Hervey (1648-1739) and his 
 wife Sarah Cooke (1662), and a granddaughter of 
 Daniel Hervey. Sarah Cooke was a daughter of 
 Capt. Avery Cooke (1640- 1746) and his wife Sarah 
 West wood ( 1 644- 1 730 ) . 
 
 (IV) Richard Goodman (3), of West Hart- 
 ford, son of Timothy, born in 1748, married in 
 1771 Nancy Seymour, who was born in 1751, daugh- 
 ter of Timothy and Lydia (Kellogg) Seymour. 
 Mrs. Goodman died in 1792, Mr. Goodman in 1834. 
 
 (V) Childs Goodman, son of Richard (3), born 
 in 1791, was a miller in West Hartford. In 1822 
 he married Sarah Porter, \vho was born in 1796, 
 daughter of Jesse Porter, and they had four chil- 
 dren: Amelia S., born in 1824, is the widow of 
 Xoadiah F. Ennnons, whom she married in 1843 ; 
 Harriet (deceased) was the mother of our sub- 
 ject; Jennie L., born Oct. 8, 1831, was married 
 June 28, i860, to Henr)- C. Andrus, and still sur- 
 vives; Chester, born Nov. 16, 1826, is deceased. 
 
 Jesse Porter (1758-1823) married Sibyl Steele 
 (1763-1814), daughter of Samuel and Martha 
 Steele. He was a son of John (1730-1786) and 
 ■Chlorinda (Whitman) Porter (1736- 1779), and 3 
 grandson of W'illiam and Mary (Smith) Porter; 
 his maternal grandparents were Solomon Whit- 
 man (1710-1803) and Susannah Cole (1715-1772). 
 Solomon Whitman was a son of Samuel Whitman 
 (1676-1751) and Sarah Stoddard (1680-1755), 
 she a daughter of Rev. Solomon and Esther (War- 
 ham) Stoddard. Samuel Whitman was a son of 
 Zachariah and Sarah (z\lvord) Whitman, he a 
 son of John Whitman, and she a daughter of Dr. 
 John Alvord. 
 
 CHARLES E. THOMPSON, a substantial cit- 
 izen and business man of Hartford where for years 
 he has been prominent in militarv afTairs and actively 
 identified with the educational and religious life of 
 the city, is one of the well known and popular men 
 •of the State. 
 
 Mr. Thompson was born Feb. 26, 1847, 'i"^ Rock- 
 ville. Conn., where he was educated in the high 
 school, and that city was his home until 1863. In 
 this year he removed to Hartford to accept a posi- 
 
 tion in the office of the Cheney Bros.' Silk Manu- 
 facturing Co., where he remamed until 1873. He 
 then passed two years in Providence, R. I., return- 
 ing to Hartford in 1875, where he has since resided, 
 and since 1876 has been engaged with the Connecti- 
 cut Mutual Life Insurance Co., holding a responsi- 
 ble position in the mortgage and bond department. 
 
 In his youth and young manhood Mr. Thompson 
 was actively interested in the National Guard of 
 Connecticut. In August, 1865, he enlisted as a 
 private in Battery D, Light Artillery, which was 
 attached to the First Regiment, National Guard of 
 Connecticut. On Jan. 20, 1868, he was appointed cor- 
 poral, and was discharged July 24, 1871. He was 
 the originator of Company K, of the First Regi- 
 ment, enlisting in the command February 10, 1879, 
 and on that same date was elected to the first lieu- 
 tenancy, and on Jan. 31, 1883, he was chosen captain 
 of Company F, Hartford City Guard of the First 
 Regiment. He was advanced to the lieutenant- 
 colonelcy of the regiment Jan. 22, 1885, and served 
 in that position until Jan. 22, 1890. He is now on 
 the retired list. During the period that Capt. Thomp- 
 son commanded the City Guard the company stood at 
 the head of the brigade in figures of merit. The 
 credit and distinction which he won as a line officer 
 were accorded to him without dissent throughout 
 the National Guard, as a field officer of the First. 
 In personal honor, instinct and training. Lieutenant- 
 colonel Thompson is the ideal military leader. In 
 March, 1890, he was elected major commanding the 
 Veteran City Guard. In 1889 he was captain com- 
 manding Company K, Veteran Corps. For one 
 year he was the military instructor at the West Mid- 
 dle School in Hartford. During the Presidential 
 campaign of 1888 he was in command of the Harri- 
 son and Morton battalion of Hartford. Lieut. -Col. 
 Thompson originated the present signal for calling 
 out the city companies in case of emergency by 
 means of the alarm fire bell. At the time of the Park 
 Central hotel disaster the signal was sounded for 
 the first time, being ordered by Gov. Bulkeley, and 
 within twenty minutes one hundred men were en 
 route from the armor}- in uniform and armed for 
 the scene of the calamity. The service rendered by 
 the Guard at that time tmder command of Col. 
 Cone and his associate field officers was invaluable. 
 
 Lieut. -Col. Thompson is one of the most re- 
 spected citizens of Hartford. He has been active 
 and influential in social and religious life. For half 
 a dozen years or more he was assistant superintend- 
 ent of the Center Congregational Church Sunday- 
 school, and was treasurer for one year of the Con- 
 necticut Temperance Union, of which the late Gov. 
 Buckingham was the first president. He declined a 
 second term on account of increasing business duties. 
 Col. Thompson has been treasurer since 1878, and 
 a member of the board of deacons of the Asylum Hill 
 Congregational Church for eighteen years. He is 
 now a director, and was president for four years 
 from 1894 of the Young ]\Ien's Christian Associa- 
 tion of Hartford. He is president of the City 
 
1402 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Missionarj' Society of Hartford, and an anditor 
 of the Connecticut Humane Society. i 
 
 Col. Thompson has always taken a keen inter- ! 
 est in the prosperity and advancement of the Hart- 
 ford High scliool, and served as its treasurer for the 
 year i8q5, and as chairman of the conmiittee four -i 
 years unul June, 1900. The new addition and man- 
 ual training building connected with the school 
 building were built and equipped while he was 
 chairman. 
 
 ( )n Sept.' 14, 1868, Col. Thompson was married 
 to Miss Abby Frances Allen of Hartford, daugh- 
 ter of Charles and Harriet K. ( Sharpe) .\llen. and 
 three children have lilessed the union, namely : Arthur 
 R., Harriet M. and Emma J. Arthur R. was grad- 
 uated from Yale College in 1896, and was the "Class 
 Poet ;" he is special agent in Hartford for the Con- 
 necticut Mutual Life Insurance Co., and has just 
 completed, and pulilished from the press of Little, 
 Brown & Co., Boston, a work entitled "Cjold Seek- 
 ing Along the Dalton Trail." In 1894 he went 
 to Greenland with Dr. Cook's Arctic e.\peduiijn. 
 Harriet Al., a graduate of the high school, married 
 on July 17, 1900, Prof. Alfred AL Hitchcock, in- 
 structor of English in the same school, and Emma 
 J. is a senior ni the high school. 
 
 The mother of Col. 1 hompson was a descendant 
 of Governor Roger W'olcott of Connecticut. 
 
 AL\RY HALL. A long line of sturdy, intelli- 
 gent New England ancestry could not fail to prove a 
 priceless heritage, but it also entails a heavy respon- 
 sibility, inasmuch as the present generation must, 
 in the natural order of things, ever maintain an 
 unusually high standard, that future generations may 
 find the familv escutcheon of undinimed lustre. For 
 generations the name of Hall has been familiar in 
 the history of Connecticut, and Aliss Mary Hall, 
 who was until two j-ears ago the only woman practic- 
 ing law in the State, (for thirteen years being the 
 only woman lawyer in the State) is a gifted expo- 
 nent of a highlj- esteemed and widelv known fam- 
 ily. In 1630, "Dr. John Hall left the old family 
 home in ^^'arwickshire, England, and sailed for the 
 New World, where he located in Charlestown, Alass. 
 His son, Elisha, became the father of Ebenezer, who 
 settled in Yarmouth, Mass. Seth, the son of Eben- 
 ezer, was the first of the direct line to leave the old 
 Bay State, and he settled in Tolland county, Con- 
 necticut, where also lived his son, Amos. Amos 
 Hall grew to manhood and married, and in his fam- 
 ily was a son, Ezra. Ezra Hall passed his life in 
 the vicinity of his home in Tolland county, but he 
 was highly educated and fo-- 3 number of years was 
 a teacher. He married Phila Ford, and v/as the fa- 
 ther of Gustavus Ezra. 
 
 Gustavus Ezra Flail was born in Tolland coun- 
 ty, and passed his earlv life on a farm ni what is now 
 Marlborough, Hartford county, but at that time 
 was in Tolland county. He was educated in the 
 public schools and for a time attended a private 
 school. On reaching man's estate he began the 
 
 lumbering business, and successfully followed that 
 business for many years. In politics he was an ar- 
 dent supporter of the Democratic party, but on the 
 breaking out of the Civil war he gave his support 
 to the Republican jjarty and so continued until his 
 death in 1875. He took an active interest in all 
 that pertained to the affairs of his town, and shirked 
 no duty, however inconvenient, if he felt it his duty 
 as a loyal citizen. He married Louisa Skinner, a 
 native of the same town, and a daughter of David 
 and Mary (Lord) Skinner, the former of whom was 
 a teacher and a merchant in East Haddam, later a 
 farmer in Marlborough, where he died. JMrs. Mary, 
 (Lord) Skinner was born in Marlborough, and was 
 descended from the first Colonial Governor, John 
 Ha_\Ties, and also from Elder William Goodwin ; on 
 the paternal side she was descended from Thomas- 
 and Richard Lord, first settlers of Hartford, having 
 come over with Hooker, and also can the line be 
 traced to Peter Bulkley, of Concord, Massachusetts,. 
 whose son. Rev. CJershom Uulkley, was one of the 
 early settlers of W'ethersfield. Airs. Skinner was 
 the mother of four children, and died at the advanced 
 age of eighty-seven. 
 
 To Gustavus Ezra and Louisa (Skinner) Hall 
 were born ten children, seven of whom reached man- 
 hood and womanhood, and four of whom are yet 
 living: Alary is the eldest; Joel makes his home in 
 Hartford ; Elizabeth married James T. Alather, and 
 lives in Rockville; and David S., is with our subject 
 in Hartford. Of these who have entered into rest, 
 Ezra was a lawyer in Hartford, attaining a posi- 
 tion of eminence in the profession ; he was gradu- 
 ated from W'esleyan F'niversity, and became very 
 prominent in the affairs of the State, being twice 
 elected to represent his district in the Senate, but 
 his death occurred just as he was entering on a 
 career that gave promise of making his name as 
 familiar to the Nation as it w^as to the State. Mar- 
 tin, Charlotte and Daniel died in infancy; Alartin 
 Luther in earlv manhood, and Charles, when he was 
 aged fifty-four years. 
 
 Aliss Alary Hall was born in Alarlborough, 
 Conn., and her education was acquired in Wilbra- 
 ham Academy, in Alassachusetts. After teaching 
 at Wilbraham Academy and LaSalle Seminary she 
 began her legal studies with her brother, and when 
 death claimed him, she continued under the direc- 
 tion of John Hooker. She passed the examination 
 for admission to the bar on Alarch 24, 1882, and 
 on October 3, following, was formally admitted. 
 Two years later Gov. Waller made her a notary 
 public. This was an unusual position for a woman, 
 but the ability and rare intelligence of the ladv- forced 
 down every barrier placed in her way. She makes a 
 specialty of probate law, and transacts a large 
 amount of business. With a natural love of her pro- 
 fession, she has read widely. Legal training, rare 
 intelligence and womanly intuition have gained a 
 high place for her in her profession, and would make 
 her a formidable adversary in any branch of the 
 work. She has traveled extensively, and in igoo 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 140S 
 
 passed three months in the British Isles and in conti- 
 nental Europe, and was one of the delegates from 
 this country to three congresses of people interested 
 in charit}^ and penal institutions. The International 
 Organized Charities Congress met in London. The 
 Conference of Charities and Corrections was held 
 in Paris, and the International Prison Congress in 
 Brussels, Belgium. Miss Hall was also a represen- 
 tative of the Organized Charities of this city, and 
 made the most of her time while abroad in visiting 
 institutions on the continent of Europe and in Eng- 
 land. 
 
 Miss Hall is president and treasurer of the 
 board of directors of the Good Will Club, and its 
 superintendent, and as this is her greatest life 
 work it is fitting that a brief mention of the origin 
 and object of the Good Will Club should close this 
 sketch. 
 
 The origin of the Good Will Club, as is often 
 the case with good works, was the result of a very 
 small beginning. Twenty years ago Miss Mary 
 Hall gathered a few boys together and read to them 
 stories, furnished games, talked upon natural his- 
 tory, geology and other subjects. The boys were 
 delighted, and she met with them once a week, the 
 number of boys gradually increasing. They soon 
 had to seek larger quarters, and in April, 1880, the 
 boys under her supervision organized, adopted a 
 constitution and by-laws, and selected officers from 
 their own number. The work widened and devel- 
 oped as time went on, and several ladies, learning 
 what she was doing, came to her assistance. The 
 plan had nothing in it of the day-school or Sunday- 
 school. The idea was simply to entertain the bo3rs 
 with interesting games, stories, illustrated papers, 
 etc. No religious views or sectarianism were allowed 
 to be broached. It was simply an evening's enter- 
 tainment once a week for the boys, thus drawing 
 them from the bad life of the streets. 
 
 They were taught good morals and the ordinary 
 courtesies of life. These evenings had such attrac- 
 tions for the boys that they usually came with rein- 
 forcements from their circle of playmates, and again 
 their quarters soon grew too small. Larger rooms 
 were procured ; they were opened two or three even- 
 ings a week, and finally every evening except Sun- 
 days. Every boy, before receiving his membership 
 badge, has to take a pledge of good conduct, and 
 should he violate this pledge, he forfeits both badge 
 and membership. Boys are received from eight 
 years of age to twenty-one. The membership roll 
 shows several hundred names. The volunteer corps 
 of workers has increased from half a dozen to about 
 eighty. The majority of these are ladies, but some 
 helpers are from Trinity College and the Theolog- 
 ical Seminar)^ The work has been so divided and 
 systematized that a certain number go on certain 
 nights, each attending to the particular duties she 
 has chosen to come under her supervision. The 
 directors have found that this division of forces 
 works admirably. 
 
 Lessons in gMnnastics, elocution, singing and 
 
 military drill, have been given by the volunteer 
 teachers, and the begining of an industrial depart- 
 ment is contemplated. For this purpose entertain- 
 ments and plays are frequently given to the boys in 
 their own. hall — one of the pleasantest in the city. 
 It has been asked if the club has authority to hold 
 boys by legal restraint. It has not. The boys have 
 perfect liberty to come and go as they please. They 
 are graded and entertained in different rooms. 
 
 At the dedication of the Good Will Building, 
 Feb. 22, 1889, Miss Hall closed her address with 
 the following words : "And may I add that my work 
 in and for the Good Will Club is a memorial work, 
 and in perfect harmony with the large and small 
 sums given here, because too sacred to be given else- 
 where. I should be ungrateful to the memory of a 
 noble brother, whose bovhood was of the noblest 
 type, and whose active life began and closed in vour 
 beautiful city, did I not acknowledge in' this presence 
 that the little I have done, and the more I hope to do 
 is in loving memory of Ezra Hall.'' 
 
 CHAUXCEY RHODES. After an active and 
 successful life, spent in business in the city of Hart- 
 ford and in the far West, Chauncey Rhodes, the 
 subject of this sketch, is now living retired in his 
 pleasant home at No. 51 Buckmgham street, 
 Hartford. 
 
 Air. Rhodes was born at Wethersfield, Conn., 
 Jan. 12, 1815, son of George and Mirinda (Morris) 
 Rhodes. The father also was a native of Wethers- 
 field, and by trade was a carpenter. He was a man 
 of unusual mechanical skill, even for a region sO' 
 generousl3- blessed with inventive genius as Hart- 
 ford count}-, and in addition to carpentering he 
 found profitri'.ble employment in general mechani- 
 cal work. He remained a lifelong resident of 
 Wethersfield, and attained the good old age of 
 eighty-four years, where he acquired not a little 
 celebrity for his talents and his many estimable 
 qualities. His wife lived to the age of seventy- 
 eight 3-ears, a noble Christian woman, whose good 
 deeds were almost innumerable, and whose minis- 
 trations of kindness and aid made her an angel of 
 mercy in that locality. Both parents of our sub- 
 ject were members of the Presbyterian Church. 
 Of their six children he is the only survivor. 
 
 Chauncey Rhodes spent his early years in Weth- 
 ersfield, where he acquired a good common-school 
 education. At the age of seventeen vears he came to 
 Hartford to learn the carpenter's trade, which he 
 followed for many years, during which time he 
 built many of the' business., houses and residences of 
 the city, employing from ten to twentv men, and 
 laying the foundation of his future success. Later 
 he became interested in land in the West, and be- 
 came the possessor of a large ranch located near 
 the Yellowstone river, and well stocked with 
 horses, cattle and sheep, in which he took an active 
 interest for many years. He was actively engaged 
 in the management of this ranch for some twenty 
 years, and there remained until his retirement to 
 
1404 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Hartford. His present home is an old lamlniark. 
 It was erected in 1845, on a farm, and was then 
 llie only residence in that part of Hartford, which 
 is nnw one of the hne residence parts of the city. 
 -Mr. Rhodes has seen the city grow from 5,000 to 
 yo,ooo inhabitants, and verj- few remain of those 
 who were here when he first cast his fortunes with 
 the growing and prosperous city. 
 
 In 184! Mr. Rhodes married Julia Tryon, a 
 native of Niagara county, X. V., born July 19, 
 1813, daughter of James I'ryon, and one of a fam- 
 ily of twelve children, of whom she is the sole 
 survivor. To Chauncey and Julia Rhodes have 
 been born six children, of whom pnly one is liv- 
 ing, Chauncey E. He was born April 16, 1857, 
 educated in the schools of Hartford and at Han- 
 nuni's Business College, and began his business ca- 
 reer as a salesman in a crockery and fruit store. 
 In 1882 he started in business for himself as a 
 manufacturer of general factory supplies, and he 
 now travels for a millsupply company. He mar- 
 ried Miss Laura S. Seagrave. of Amherst, Mass., 
 ■who was born in San I'rancisco, Cal., Feb. 17, 
 i860, and they reside with his father, our subject. 
 
 In ]>olitics Chauncey Rhodes, our subject, is a 
 J\cpublican, and he is one of the oldest voters of 
 Hartford. Many years ago he was a member of 
 the L O. O. F. He is highly respected by his 
 litany friends and acipiaintances, to all of whom 
 his sterling and admirable qualities of mind and 
 heart commend and endear him. 
 
 HEXRY HUUr.ARD GOODWIX. member of 
 the firm of Tucker & (ioodwin. was born Sent. 
 13- iS57> ^t Hartford, and is a descendant in the 
 eighth generation irum ( )zias GiKHlwin, as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 ( I) Ozias Goodwin, the head of the pioneer 
 Connecticut family of that name, married Marv 
 ^^'oodward, daughter of Robert \\oodward, of 
 Tiraintree. England. In 1639 he became a resi- 
 dent of Hartford, Conn. He died before April, 
 1683. Children: (I) William, born in 1629, 
 whose wife was named Susannah: (2) Xathaniel, 
 sketch of whom follows: and (3) Hannah, born 
 in 1639. who married William Pitkin. 
 
 (H) Xathaniel Goodwin, born about 1637, was 
 admitted a freeman bv the General Court of Con- 
 necticut in October, 1662. and was one of the towns- 
 men of Hartford i6(k)-y8-82. He married (first! 
 Sarah Coles, daughter of John and Hannah Coles, 
 of Hatfield, Mass., formerly of Farmington. Conn. 
 She died May 8, 1676, aged twenty-nine years. 
 and her monument, still to be seen in the Center 
 Church burying-s'ronnd. is the oldest one now ex- 
 tant in Hartford bearing the name of Goodwin. 
 X'athaniel Goodwin married (second) Elizabeth 
 Pratt, daughter of Daniel Pratt, of Hartford. He 
 died Jan. 8, 1713 ; his widow died after Ju'y, 1724. 
 Children by first wife: (i) Nathaniel, born in July. 
 1665, who married (first) Lois Porter and (sec- 
 ond) Sarah Easton : (2) Sarah, born in April, 
 
 1668; (3) John, sketch of whom follows. Chil- 
 dren by second wife: (4) Samuel, born Aug. 22, 
 1O82, married Alary Steele; (5) Hannah, born 
 Dec. 6, 1685, was buried Jan. 31, 1693; {()) Ozias, 
 born June 26, 1689, married Alartha Williamson, 
 (7) Elizabeth, bom Oct. 14, 1691, married |ohn 
 Cole. 
 
 (Ill) John Goodwin, baptized i\Iay 19, 1672, 
 was the first of the Gootlwins who settled on the 
 east side of the (.jreat River, in what is now East 
 Hartford. The old Indian fort, traces of which 
 still remain, was situated on his land. Like his 
 father and grandfather, he was by trade a weaver. 
 He was a thrifty citizen, and prominent in local 
 affairs; was collector of the Ecclesiastical Society 
 in 1706, and for over twenty years a deacon of 
 the church. His first wife, Sarah, died in May, 
 1735. He married (seconil), before June, 1740, 
 Mary (Ilosmer) Olmsted, daughter of Stephen and 
 Hannah Hosmer, and widow of Nicholas Olmsted, 
 of East Hartford. She died March 2, 1760, 
 he on Feb. 6, 1757. Children : ( i ) Hannah, 
 born April 17, 1698, married Timothy Por- 
 ter; (2) Damaris* born Feb. 11, ifK)9, died 
 in August, 1723: (3) Mar\-, born Jan. 18, 
 1701, married Joseph Cowles ; (4) Sarah married 
 Samuel Smith: (5) John, sketch of whom follows: 
 (6) William died Feb. 18, 1744; (7} Joseph died 
 Feb. 28, 1737; (8) Caleb died April 12, 1769; 
 (9) Susannah married Timothy Forbes; (10) 
 Richard died March 3, 1745; (it) Ruth married 
 John Abbe. 
 
 (I\') John Goodwin, born .\ug. 11, 1706, mar- 
 ried Dorothy, daughter of Caleb and Dorothy 
 (Hill) Pitkin, of East Hartford. Mr. Goodwin 
 was a large landholder, by trade a tanner, and was 
 of honorable repute in Hartford. He was deacon 
 in 1780. A small-pox hospital was erected on his 
 land in 1761, on Pock House Hill. He was taxed 
 for keeping a chaise, an article of luxury in those 
 days. He died Sept. 14, 1793, his wife on Aug. 
 17, 1789. Children: (i) Damaris died Oct. 18, 
 ^772' (2) Dorothy married Benjamin Roberts, 
 Jr.; (3) John, sketch of whom follows; (4) Jo- 
 seph married Hannah Olmsted ; ( 5 ) William mar- 
 ried Mary Rockwell; (6) Hannah married Moses 
 Smith; (7) Sarah, born Dec. 2, 1750, married John 
 Wyles :, (8) Richard, born June 12, 1753, married 
 Ruth Roberts; (9) Thankful, born Dec. 22, 1755, 
 died Dec. 13, 1771 ; ( 10) Levi, born May 8, 1757, 
 married Jerusha Drake : (11) Marv, born Oct. 26. 
 1760, married Timothy Hall; and (12) Anne, born 
 Dec. A, 1762, died Jan. 14, 1780. 
 
 (V) John Goodwin, born Nov. 11, 1742, mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Olmsted, daughter of William and 
 Elizabeth (Pitkin) Olmsted, of East Plartford. 
 He resided in East Hartford, and died June 10. 
 1784, at Sag Harbor, L. L. whither he had removed 
 on account of ill health. His widow married Tim- 
 othy Cowles, of East Hartford, and died July 16, 
 1822. Children of John Goodwin : (i) Elizabeth, 
 born Oct. 8, 1769, married Moses Forbes, Jr.; 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1405 
 
 (2) John, sketch of whom follows; (3) Caleb, 
 born May 8, 1774, died Oct. 13, 1774; (4) George, 
 born May 8, 1783, married Kunice Olcott. 
 
 (VI) John Goodwin, born April 7, 1772, in 
 East Hartford, removed to Hartford about 1800, 
 and was a manufacturer of boots and shoes on Main 
 street, near Pearl. He married Dec. 16, 1807, 
 Anna Belden, born Sept. 13, 1778, daughter of 
 Nathan Belden. He died March 14, 1828, she on 
 April II, 1849. Their children: (i) John H., 
 born March 2, 1809, married (first) Nancy S. 
 Stanley and (second) Lucina Hart; (2) Russell 
 Belden, .born Dec. 18, 1810, married Eliza Steele; 
 
 (3) George W., born March 15, 1813, married 
 Martha Wadsworth; (4) James Belden, born Feb. 
 26, 1817, married (first) Maria Holbrook and (sec- 
 ond) Isabella Nichols; (5) Charles S., born Jan. 
 8, 1819, married Mary E. Lincoln; (6) Alfred, 
 born April 4, 1821, died Nov. 28, 1847; (?) Henry 
 Augustus, sketch of whom follows. 
 
 (VH) Henry Augustus Goodwin, born Oct. 
 5, 1823, married (first) May 18, 1847, Louisa 
 Hubbard, born in Bloomfield, Conn., Aug. 8, 1824, 
 daughter of Alvan and Polly (Colton) Hubbard. 
 She died Aug. 26, 1866, and he married (second) 
 Ellen Pinney, born March 17, 1842, daughter of 
 Ebenezer and Mary Ann (Lee) Pinney, of South 
 Windsor. Mr. Goodwin was a druggist in Hart- 
 ford many years. Socially he was a Freemason ; 
 treasurer of St. John's Lodge, and was a member 
 of South Church, later of Pearl Street Church. 
 He died Nov. 2, 1871 ; his widow married John 
 A. Stoughton, and resided in East Hartford. 
 Children of Henry A. Goodwin : ( i ) Charles Hen- 
 ry, born March 17, 1851, died April 29, 1851 ; (2) 
 Mary Louisa, born Sept. 7, 1852, married Henry 
 W. Hurlburt, and resides at No. 576 Farm avenue, 
 Hartford; (3) Lester Henry, sketch of whom fol- 
 lows; (4) Henry Hubbard, sketch of whom fol- 
 lows. 
 
 (VIII) LE.STER FEenry Goodwin, who con- 
 tinues his father's drue business in Hartford, was 
 born in that city Oct. 18, 1854, and there received 
 his education. At the age of seventeen years, on 
 the death of his father, he took charge of the store, 
 located at the corner of Main and State streets. 
 On Dec. 12, 1876, he married Esther Campbell, 
 who was born in North Manchester March 28, 
 1854, daughter of James and Esther (Griswold) 
 Campbell, and three children graced their union : 
 Hattie Louise, born Sept. 5, 1877; James Lester, 
 Jan. 12, 1880; and Howard, Jan. 5, 1884. The mo- 
 ther passed away March 9, 1900. Mr. Goodwin 
 has been treasurer of the State Pharmaceutical 
 Association for many years ; also of St. John's 
 Lodge, F. & A. M. ; is a 32d degree Freemason, 
 and member of the Mystic Shrine. In religious 
 faith he is a member of Asylum Hill Congrega- 
 tional Church. In politics he is a Republican, and 
 is superintendent of a P. O. Sub Station. 
 
 (VIII) Henry Hubbard Goodwin, born Sept. 
 13, 1857, in Hartford, was educated in the public 
 
 schools of that cit)'. In 1872, after laying aside 
 his books, he entered the office of Smith, Northani 
 & Robinson, with whom he remained two years ; 
 then took a position with H. A. Botsford & Co. 
 later Botsford & Ingraham), dealers in hay, straw 
 and refrigerator dressed beef. With this firm he 
 continued seven years, or until 1882, in October 
 of which year he accepted a position with the firm 
 of Keneys & Roberts, as bookkeeper and cashier, 
 in 1889 became a member of the firm, and was con- 
 fidential clerk for Mr. Keney. On April i, 1896, 
 the firm of Tucker & Goodwin was organized, as 
 already related. He was one of the executors of 
 Henry Keney's will, and one of the trustees of 
 the estate. 
 
 On Oct. 19, 1892, Henrv H. Goodwin was mar- 
 ried in Hartford to Emma L. Rood, daughter of 
 David A. Rood, for many years proprietor of the 
 "United States Hotel." Children as follows have 
 come to this union : Henry Rood, born Nov. 2, 
 1894; and David Keney,, born June 27, 1898. 
 
 CHARLES E. TAFT, M. D., physician and 
 surgeon of Hartford, was born in Dedham, Nor- 
 folk Co., Mass., July II, 1863, a son of Josephus 
 Guild Taft, who was born in , Uxbridge, Mass., in 
 1831, and a grandson of Ezra Wood Taft, also a 
 native of Uxbridge, born Aug. 24, 1800. 
 
 Josephus Guild Taft received a high-school 
 education in Dedham, Mass., and early in life en- 
 gaged in the saddlery business, but later was ap- 
 pointed cashier of the Shawmut National Bank at 
 Boston. He is a Freemason, a Republican in poli- 
 tics, and in religion a Congregationalist. He was 
 married in Uxbridge to Miss Ann Eliza Shaw, who 
 was born Jan. 19, 1834, a daughter of Franklin 
 King Shaw, who was born Nov. 23, 1805, and died 
 May 22, 1845; his wife, Catherine (Pollock) Shaw, 
 was born July 14, 1804, and died when sixty-nine 
 years old. Mrs. Shaw's father, John Pollock, was 
 born April 6, 1770, and died Nov. 8, 1843 5 his wife, 
 Anna (Lynd) Pollock, who was born Oct. 25, 
 1770, died July 14, 1857. Mrs. Ann Eliza Taft 
 died in January, 1899, the mother of three chiL 
 dren: Charles E., the subject of this sketch; Ade- 
 laide, who died when two and one-half years old ; 
 and Arthur Guild, who was born July 12, 1869, 
 and died in 1889. 
 
 Charles E. Taft graduated from the high school 
 in Dedham in 1880, and from Chauncey Hall Col- 
 lege, in Boston, in 1881. In the fall of the same 
 year he matriculated at Harvard Colles:e, from the 
 Medical Department of which he graduated in 
 1 886, with the degree of M. D. In 1885 and a part 
 of 1886 he held the position of house surgeon in 
 the Boston City Hospital, and later that of house 
 surgeon at the Woman's Hospital in New York, 
 until 1888, in the spring of which year he was ap- 
 pointed medical inspector on the New York board 
 of health, this being a civil service appointment: 
 In March, 1888, Dr.' Taft came to Hartford, Conn., 
 and opened practice alone, although he later occu- 
 
140(3 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 pied the same office with Dr. Jarvis for eiglit years. 
 He has given special attention to surgery and dis- 
 eases of women, but at the same time follows a 
 general practice, and does considerable life-insur- 
 ance work, being e.xamining surgeon for several 
 of the stantlard companies. He is a member of the 
 State Medical Society, the Hartford City and the 
 Boston City Hospital Alumni Associations, and of 
 the New York Woman's Hospital Alunnii Associa- 
 tion, and has contributed many valuable papers 
 and professional themes to the State and Hartforil 
 City Associations. He has also served as secre- 
 tary of the Hartford City Medical Society, and as 
 one of its censors, and has been a fellow of the 
 State Society. In politics he is an ardent Repub- 
 lican in his predilections, but takes no particularly 
 active part in the work of the party. 
 
 Dr. Taft married Martha Louise Jarvis, only 
 daughter of Dr. G. C. Jarvis, of Hartford, and this 
 marriage has been crowned with three children: 
 George Jarvis, born Sept. y, 1893; lilizabelh, born 
 June 12, 1895; and Eleanor, born Jan. i, 1901. The 
 family stand very high in the social circles of Hart- 
 ford, while professionally the Doctor has attained 
 the front rank. 
 
 Mention may now be made of the genealogy 
 of the Taft family. Robert Taft came to America 
 from England alxiut 1678, and located in Brain- 
 tree, Mass., as is shown by the town records, which 
 connect his name with a house and lot in the vil- 
 lage at that date, but in 1680 he appears to have 
 removed to Mendon. 
 
 It is thought that Robert Taft was born in Scot- 
 land, as a tradition runs to the effect that he was 
 a Scotch Puritan and an adherent of the Common- 
 wealth, became disgusted with the conduct of the 
 Cavaliers during the reign of Charles II of Eng- 
 land, and sought refuge from civil and religious 
 persecution in the forests of Xew England. It 
 is also thought that he was born in 1C46, and had 
 been in Mendon, Zvlass.. before the Indian war. 
 His death took place Feb. 8, 1725. His wife was 
 named Sarah, and she was born about 1640, but 
 of her kindred no trace can be had. She outlived 
 her husband, but the date of her death is not on 
 record. 
 
 The second generation of Tafts in America 
 comprised Thomas, Robert (born in 1674, married 
 in 1694, and died April 29, 1748), Daniel, Joseph, 
 and Benjamin. 
 
 The third generation, or Robert's children, 
 comprised Elizabeth, Robert, Israel, Mary, Re- 
 becca, Elizabeth (2), Alice, Eunice, John, Jemima, 
 and Gideon. 
 
 The fourth generation, the children of Israel, 
 numbered nineteen, among whom was Samuel, 
 born Sept. 3, 1736, and who died Aug. 16, 1816. 
 By Mary, his first wife, who was born Jan. 3, 
 1743, he had the following named children: Fred- 
 erick (born June 19, 1759, died Feb. 10, 1846), 
 Lvman, Sibyl, Mercy, Willard, Sibyl, Marcy, Porter, 
 "Washington, Parla, Merrett, Otis, Phila, G. Wash- 
 
 ington. Samuel Taft for his second wife married 
 Experience Humes, Jan. 9, 1786; she was born 
 May 27, 1750, and died Jan. 14, 1837. The children 
 born to this union were Danbridge, Warner, Ex- 
 perience and i'olly. 
 
 Frederick Taft, son of Samuel, in 1782 married 
 Abigail Wood, who was born Aug. 29, 1761, and 
 died June 2, 1801. Their children were Samuel, 
 ^lurdock, Calista, Frederick A., Augustus, Naba, 
 Harriet, Parla, Ezra Wood (born Aug. 24, 1800, 
 died Sept. 26, 188:;. grandfather of Dr. Charles 
 E. Taftj, Mary Ann and Alargaret. 
 
 Ezra Wood Taft, son of Frederick A., and 
 grandfather of Dr. Charles E. Taft, was twice 
 married, his first wife and four children all dying 
 before he was twenty-nine years of age. On Sept. 
 8, 1830, he married Lendamine Draper, eldest 
 daughter of Calvin Guild, of Dedham, and this 
 family consisted of six children : Josephus Guild, 
 lulwin Wheaton (who died at about fifty years of 
 age), Cornelius A., Minerva L., Louise and Ezra 
 l-"lctcher. Mr. Taft, at the age of thirty-two, built 
 a large cotton mill in Dedham, which he owned for 
 over thirty j-ears. Later in life he was elected to 
 the State Legislature, and held other prominent 
 ofticial positions, being chairman of the board of se- 
 lectmen for twelve vears. He was also president of 
 the Dedham Institution for Savings, and president 
 of the Dedham National Bank, besides being a di- 
 rector in many corporations. 
 
 CH.\RLES \\'. HILLS, member of the firm 
 of Hills & Marchant, funeral directors and em- 
 balmers, Hartford, is a native of that city, born 
 June 2, 1833. 
 
 Osias Hills, his father, was born in Rocky Hill, 
 Conn., in 1799, son of Richard Hills, who when a 
 young man came from his native land, England, 
 to America, settling in Glastonbury, Conn., where 
 he passed the rest of his days, dying at the age of 
 sixty-two years. Osias, his son, was reared and 
 educated at Glastonbury, and there learned the 
 trade of cabinet maker. When a young man he 
 moved to Hartford, and here opened out a furni- 
 ture establishment, in course of time adding under- 
 taking, both of which lines he successfully con- 
 ducted for many years, beipg at the time of his 
 death, in 1888. one of the oldest business men in 
 tlie city. In 1829 he married Clarissa Cooley, who 
 was born in Hartford, a daughter of William 
 and Lucinda Cooley, and four children were born to 
 them, our subject being the only survivor. Osias 
 Hills took great interest in church matters as a 
 member of the M. E. Church, in which he was class- 
 leader for many years. 
 
 Charles W. Hills received a liberal education 
 at the public schools of Hartford, also at the 
 Brown school, after which he commenced learning 
 the upholstering and furniture business with his 
 father. In i860 he commenced the undertaking 
 business on his own account, and has conducted 
 same ever since, the establishment being now the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 HOT 
 
 .second oldest and largest in the city, averaging 300 
 funerals per annum, and has been at its present 
 stand, No. 53 Ann street, forty years. In 1893 
 Mr. Hills took into partnership his son-in-law, 
 William T. Marchant (who had been in his employ 
 some seven years), and the style of the firm has 
 since been Hills & Marchant. Both members are 
 graduates of the New York School of Embalming, 
 and are thoroughly versed in the art, besides being 
 excellent business men. 
 
 In 1857 Charles W. Hills was married to Jane 
 E. Spencer, born in Saybrook, Conn., .i daughter 
 of Capt. Chauncc)'- and Eliza Spencer, who were 
 the parents of seven children, Mrs. Hills being the 
 ■onl}^ daughter. The father died at the age -^f eighty- 
 nine years, the mother when seventy-four. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hills were born four children : The 
 eldest, a son, died in infancy. Hattie E., who be- 
 came the wife of Morgan Johnson, is deceased. 
 Carrie E. is the wife of William T. Marchant. 
 Ernest S., who is engaged in the grocery business, 
 married Carrie M. Gubitz, a native of Germany, 
 "by Avhom he has two children, Hattie G. and Arline 
 H. Mrs. Ernest S. Hills' father, August C. Gubitz, 
 is in the employ of the Colt Mfg. Co., Hartford. 
 To him and his wife were born nine children, seven 
 living — four sons and three daughters — the sons 
 being all machinists. The other two died in infancy. 
 
 The Hills familv are members of the Asylum 
 Street M. E. Church, in which Mr. Hills is a trus- 
 tee, and in politics he is a Republican. Fraternally 
 he is affiliated with the F. & A. M., Hartford Lodge, 
 No. 88; with the K. of P., of which order he is 
 past chancellor: with the I. O. O. F., Hartford 
 Lodge, No. 82: with the O. U. A. M,, and other 
 similar organizations. He is also a member of the 
 National Funeral Directors' Association, of the 
 Connecticut Funeral Directors' Association, of w'nich 
 he was one of the organizers, and its first presi- 
 dent ; and a director of the N, E. Association, of 
 which he was also president. 
 
 JAMES FRANCIS GLEESON, whose reputa- 
 tion as an undertaker is widespread, and whose 
 place of business is in Bristol, is a native of Con- 
 necticut, born Sept. 15, 1875, in Wolcottville (now 
 Torrington), Litchfield county. 
 
 Patrick Henry Gleeson, father of our subject, 
 was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, May 29, 
 1846, and received his education there. In 1867 
 he went to London, England, and there made his 
 home four years, during three of which he was 
 foreman of the then famous Wood's Brewery. 
 Trom London he proceeded to this country, land- 
 ing at Ne\y York, and after a time spent in that 
 ■city he in May, 1871, came to what is now Tor- 
 rington, Conn., where for eleven vears he was 
 watchman at the Excelsior Needle Co.'s plant, his 
 steadiness and fidelity in that position securing 
 liim the confidence of his emplover, as well as 
 makino- him many friends. In 1886. the year of 
 "the World's Exposition in London, England, he 
 
 revisited that city, and shortly after his return to 
 Torrington embarked in business as a general con- 
 tractor. His sheds and yards are on Spear street, 
 and his operations cover everything in the way of 
 grading, curbing, concreting, excavating and stone 
 work, manufactured stone and brick flagging, etc., 
 in which lines he does a vast amount of work, and 
 gives employment to a large force of men. The 
 grading of nearly all of the principal streets in 
 Torrington has been done by him, and among the 
 more important works that have been intrusted to 
 him may be mentioned that of the Protestant 
 cemetery. 
 
 About the year 1890 Mr. Gleeson engaged in 
 the undertaking business, being the only under- 
 taker in that section of the State, and the thorough- 
 ness that is characteristic of him is well exempli- 
 fied in the manner in which this and all the varied 
 branches of his business are conducted. The art 
 of embalming he learned in the best New York 
 colleges, and in accordance with the more advanced 
 ideas of the profession, and he has adopted the 
 most approved methods. His undertaking outfits, 
 while rich, are in good taste, while the parapher- 
 nalia generally in the establishment are all of mod- 
 ern design. He has branch offices in this line of 
 business in Thomaston and New Hartford. 
 
 In other than business ways Mr. Gleeson has 
 become prominent, especially in Torrington, where 
 for the past five years he has been assessor every 
 year except one, and is an honorary member of the 
 fire department. Gleeson street takes its name 
 from him, he having been the first to erect any 
 buildings thereon, and he still owns one side of 
 that thoroughfare. Socially he is a member of var- 
 ious fraternal organizations, among them the For- 
 esters ; Knights of Columbus, of which he was sec- 
 retary three years ; Benevolent Order of Elks ; 
 Ancient Order of LTnited Workmen ; and Ancient 
 Order of Hibernians, in which he has been presi- 
 dent of the Torrington branch tliree years, and for 
 the past four 3fears has been cotinty president ; in 
 1896 he was a delegate to the National Convention, 
 held at Detroit in that year. 
 
 In 1867 Patrick H. Gleeson was married to 
 Miss Annie Garvin, born in 1848 in London, and 
 children as follows have been born to them : John, 
 Joseph, Patrick Henry, James Francis, Thomas, 
 William A., Mary, Katherine, and two that died in 
 infanc}'. 
 
 James Francis Gleeson, the subject proper of 
 this sketch, received his education at the schools 
 of Torrington, graduating from the high school in 
 1892. For some eighteen months thereafter he 
 acted as bookkeeper for liis father, and then, in 
 partnership with his brothers John and Patrick, 
 opened a grocery in Torrington under the firm name 
 of Gleeson Bros., in which they continued about two 
 vears, when they dissolved partnership and closed 
 out the business. Our subject then, in February, 
 1895, removed to Bristol, and engaged in the under- 
 taking business, having learned same under his 
 
1408 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 father's tuition : he has met with well-merited suc- 
 cess. At the same time he opened a gents" fur- 
 nisiiing store in Urislol, which he closed out after 
 carrying it on about two years, and has since de- 
 voted his time and attention exclusively to his un- 
 dertaking business. 
 
 Socially our subject is a member of the Knights 
 of Columbus, being a past grand knight ; a member 
 of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, in which he 
 has passed all the chairs : of the Zealots Hook & 
 Ladder Co., of which he was treasurer three years ; 
 of the Independent Order of Foresters ; and of 
 St. Joseph's Catholic Church. In ixslitical prefer- 
 ence he is a Democrat, but does not take much in- 
 terest in the afifairs of either of the parties. Mr. 
 Gleeson is popular among a large number of friends, 
 not only in Uristol, but in many of the towns in 
 the State where he is known, and in his particular 
 line of business he is perfectly familiar with every 
 detail, his reputation for efficiency extending to 
 many of the surrouniling towns. 
 
 GEN. LEONARD A. DICKENSON, a vet- 
 eran of the Civil war, former postmaster of Hart- 
 ford, of which city he has been a substantial and 
 prominent citizen for forty years, has descended 
 from a sturdy New England ancestry, liorn Nov. 
 5, 1826, in New Haven, son of Raphael and Nancy 
 (McNeil) Dickinson. Gen. Dickinson traces his an- 
 cestry in an unbroken line from the time of Ed- 
 ward I of England, in 1272, and in America from 
 Josiah Dickinson, who landed in Boston in 1630. 
 Several of his later descendants were officers in 
 the Revolutionary war, it thus appearing that the 
 military tastes of tlie subject of this sketch arc 
 really a matter of inheritance, lloth his parents 
 dying when he was quite young, Gen. Dickinson 
 was obliged to earn his own living from the early 
 age of nine vears, being thus deprived of the means 
 of obtaining a more liberal education than a few- 
 months of each vear as the district school afforded. 
 He has always evinced a genuine fondness for mili- 
 tary afifairs, and for fifteen years following 1S46 
 was a member or ofiScer in various military organi- 
 zations in his native city, and in Hartford, after 
 takng up his residence there, in i860. 
 
 On Oct. ig. 1861, ^Ir. Dickinson enlisted, be- 
 coming a private in the 12th Conn. A'. L, for active 
 service in the war of the Rebellion. He ■ was com- 
 missioned captain of Company C, Nov. 20 of that 
 year, was mustered into service the first of the 
 following January, and participated in all the en- 
 gagements in which his regiment took part. In 
 1864 he was assigned to duty as assisting adjutant- 
 general of the Second Brigade. First Division, 
 Nineteenth Army Corps, and in that capacity took 
 part in Sheridan's Shenandoah A^allev campaign, 
 imtil mustered out of the service, Nov. 21, 1864. 
 He was then commissioned major of the Twelfth 
 Regiment, but declined the appointment. He could 
 not be mustered because the condition of the regi- 
 ment was too small to admit of three field officers. 
 
 Since his discharge from service in the army 
 Gen. Dickinson has made Hartford his home. He 
 has held the local agency of the -itna Insurance 
 Co. since i86y, in tlie discharge of the duties of 
 which position he is now principally engaged. 
 The General has been honored with many posi- 
 tions of honor and trust, and has most etticiently 
 and creditably performed the duties of each. He 
 was quartermaster-general three years, on Gov. 
 JeweU's staff; postmaster of Hartford four years, 
 under President Garfield ; has been a member of 
 the Connecticut Soldiers Hosjiital board since 1886; 
 and is a trustee of "iMtch's Home" for the soldiers. 
 He was made a Freemason in New Haven in 1850. 
 His affiliations in Hartfonl are with St. John's- 
 Lodge. No. 4, F. & A. M., in which he has held 
 the principal offices ; with Pythagoras Chapter, No. 
 17, Royal Arch Masons, of which he was for five 
 years the secretary ; with Wolcott Council, No. 1 . 
 Royal & Select Masons ; and with Washington 
 Commandery, No. i. Knights Tempiar. He has 
 received from the Grand Lodge the appointments 
 of grand junior steward and grand niarshall, and 
 the electoral offices of grand senior deacon and 
 grand junior warden. He is an active member of 
 St. Thomas Episcopal Church of 14artford, and 
 for several vears has been the senior warden of that 
 parish. He is also a member of the military order 
 of the Loyal Legion. 
 
 Gen. Dickinson is a gentleman of the highest 
 honor and probity, a firm friend, kind neighbor 
 and useful citizen, carrying with him each day the 
 good will and good cheer of hosts of friends, and 
 the esteem and respect of the community. He mar- 
 ried, in 1848, -Miss Eliza A. Hcndrick, of New 
 Haven, Conn. Mrs. Dickinson died in Novem- 
 ber, 1892. 
 
 WTLLTAAI TUCKER, of the firm of Tucker 
 & Goodwin, merchants, Flartford, is a native ot 
 Connecticut, born F^b. 5, 1848. in New Britain., 
 and is a descendant in the seventh generation from 
 Robert Tucker, as follows : 
 
 (I) Robert Tucker, Weymouth, Mass., 1635, 
 removed to Milton, Mass., 1662. He married 
 Elizabeth Allen. 
 
 (H) Ephraim Tucker, born in 1652, served as 
 town clerk and selectman for many years. Fie 
 married Hannah Gulliver. 
 
 (III) Stephen Tucker, born April 8, 1691. in 
 Milton, Mass., settled in 1715 in Preston, Conn.. 
 Aug. 30, 1 716, he married Hannah Belcher. 
 
 (IV) William Tucker, born May 28, 1737. in 
 Preston, Conn., married Esther Morgan June 4, 
 
 'HTe died Nov. 5, 1819. 
 
 (V) Stephen Tucker, born April 30, 1768, in 
 Preston, was married Jan. 17, 1793, to Eunice 
 Baldwin, of Stonington, Conn., and died Aug. 15, 
 1853. During the war of 1812 he was captain of 
 an artillery company at Stonington Point. 
 
 (VI) Erastus Tucker, born Au?. 10, 1794, in 
 Griswold, Conn., married (first) Eliza, daughter 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1409 
 
 of Dudle_v and Mary (Moore) Hovey, of Wind- 
 ham, Conn. She was born July 29, 1804, and 
 died March 9, 1837. On March 6, 1838, he married 
 (second; Emma Augusta, daughter of Capt. Sam- 
 uel and Dolly (Ingalls) Dresser, of Abington, 
 Conn. She was born May 11, 1812, and died June 
 14, 1874. Her father was captain of a company 
 at New London in 1813. Children by iirst wife: 
 (i) Mary Frances, born Aug. 18, 1^29, maiTied 
 D. W. C. Pond; (2} Edwin, born Nov. 7, 1831, 
 died Sept. 18, 1879; (3) Henr}', born March 11, 
 1834, married Amelia E. Olmstead; (4) George, 
 born March 5, 1837, married Emma H. Hunt. 
 Children by second wife: (5) John Dresser, born 
 Dec. 19, 1838, married (first) Sarah Louise Ing- 
 ham and (second) Kate Abbott Fox; (6) Eliza 
 Emma, born June 3, 1846; and (7) William, a 
 sketch of whom follows. Erastus Tucker died in 
 September, 1868. He was a manufacturer of pa- 
 per, and spent the greater part of his life in Hart- 
 ford. 
 
 (VH) William Tucker, whose name opens this 
 sketch, came to Hartford in early childhood, and 
 here received his education. His first business ex- 
 perience was as clerk in the wholesale dry-goods 
 house of Collins Bros. & Co., in that city, remain- 
 ing in that capacity some eleven years. In January, 
 1878, he became connected with what is now the 
 extensive business firm of Tucker & Goodwin. 
 This business was established in 1800 by Joseph 
 Keney, on the corner of Main and Ely streets, the 
 firm name, in 1830, becoming H. & W. Keney. In 
 1855 the new partnership of Keneys, Roberts & 
 Goodwin was formed, which on the death of Mr. 
 Goodwin became Keneys & Roberts. In 1889 Will- 
 iam Tucker and H. H. Goodwin were admitted as 
 members of the firm. Upon the death of Walter 
 Keney the firm became Keney, Roberts & Co., and, 
 after the death of Henry Keney, was Roberts, 
 Tucker & Goodwin. On March 7, 1896, Mr. Rob- 
 erts died, and soon the firm took its present name 
 ■ — Tucker & Goodwin — and Mr. Tucker's connec- 
 tion with same covers a period of twenty-two 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Tucker is a member of the Twentieth Cen- 
 tury Club, and of the Park Church, Hartford. 
 He is unmarried. 
 
 EMIL SCHMIDT, proprietor, manufacturer and 
 patentee of the celebrated "English Horse and 
 Cattle Food," is a native of Germany, born Sept. 
 20, 1850, in the city of Weimar, Thuringia, called 
 also Ilm Athen. He came to the city of Hartford 
 Aug. 2, 1867, directly from the Fatherland, and 
 entered the night school and Mr. Martin's Writing 
 School, later attending Hannum's Commercial Col- 
 lege for three seasons. Father R. Cecil Roy's French 
 School, Quebec, Mile. M. A. Girard's Department 
 of Montreal, and Dr. A. Jo. Pagett's, of Lacolle, 
 Canada. He thus fitted himself for business, and 
 mastered English, French and German in all 
 branches for business use, after many years of toil 
 
 89 
 
 and perseverance. His training has proved of much 
 advantage in his present altairs_, as he does busi- 
 ness with different countries and people. 
 
 When Mr. Schmidt first settled in Hartford he 
 entered the employ of Robert H. Schmidt, as a 
 file and tool maker, and later was in the Colt Co.'s 
 works. After his training at Hannum's College 
 he learned the wholesale tobacco business in all its 
 details, with 2\Iajor M. Westphal, the veteran to- 
 bacco merchant, also traveling for the concern. 
 From 1880 to 1886 he was a trusted employe of the 
 Hartford City Gas Light Co., as a collector, and 
 finally established himself in the manufacturing of 
 "English Horse and Cattle Food," in which he has 
 built up a substantial and growing business over 
 the States and Canada, meeting with well-merited 
 success through good business acumen, sound 
 judgment, and characteristic perseverance. 
 
 Air. Schmidt was married JMarch 8, 1877, to 
 Miss Sarah A. Faddow, born in Sheldon, Vt., a 
 daughter of Abraham Faddow, a farmer and pro- 
 fessional guide for government and private expe- 
 ditions. Airs. Schmidt's mother is a descendant 
 of Jules Bunoir, a French Huguenot of Toulon, 
 who was a soldier in the American Revolution. 
 He settled on Grand Isle, Lake Champlain, and at 
 Albany Springs, A't., about 1871. Mr. and Airs. 
 Schmidt have no children. They are members of 
 the Congregational Church, and their home. No. 
 8 Bond street, is one of the most hospitable in the 
 city. Socially our subject is a member of Putnam 
 Phalanx battalion, a veteran of Company A, Ger- 
 mania Guard, C. N. G., and one of the charter 
 members of said organization ; member of the 
 Hartford Sharp Shooting A'erein; Sjengerbund; 
 Colt Revolver Club ; League of American Wheel- 
 men ; and German Aid Society. Business takes 
 him from home a good deal, and he travels all over 
 the United States, from North to South, and from 
 East to West. 
 
 Carl F. Schmidt, father of our subject, was a 
 native of Weimar. He was a file and tool maker, 
 and master temperer, being a substantial citizen of 
 that ancient and famous place, for it was in the 
 dear old home that the poets Schiller, Goethe, Wie- 
 land. Herder, the celebrated Franz Liszt, Bulow, 
 Grand Duke Carl August, and many other men of 
 distinction worked, lived and died — the cit)' of 
 beautiful parks, castles, lovely mountains, valleys, 
 clear pebble-bedded rivers, brooks and springs, 
 with miles of green meadows, and vineyards dot- 
 ting the verdure-clad hilltops. There in peace rest 
 the parents since 1890," Auf den Friedhof." Frau 
 Johanna Renecke, the mother, was a descendant of 
 a Greek political refugee, sculptor, architect and 
 master builder in the city of Weimar, the home of 
 Mr. Schmidt. Johannis Renecke, at the begin- 
 ning of the nineteenth century, was a companion 
 and friend of the great Schiller, and later on was 
 intimately associated with Goethe. Mr. Renecke 
 died in Weimar at the age of ninety-six years, in 
 his stately home upon the Fursten Platz. Emil 
 
1410 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Schmidt possesses several mementoes of Schiller 
 and Goethe, among them some locks of hair, chains 
 and medalions ot Schiller, which he prizes very 
 highly. Mr. Schmidt has one brother and two sis- 
 ters: Richard F. Schmidt, of Xo. 938 Bushwick 
 avenue, Brooklyn, X. Y., a retired merchant; 
 Alma, wife of Charles Wagner, a furniture dealer 
 ijf Hartford ; and Lina, wife of Gustav i'fennig, 
 Siallupoenen. West I'rnssia, Germany, an officer 
 in the German ami}-, Luppey Department. 
 
 HERBERT XELSUX G.\LE. prominent as 
 an original and artistic photographer, Bristol, was 
 born in Sheboygan Falls, W'ls., April 2. 1858, a 
 son of Daniel Jackson Gale, a native of \'ermoiu. 
 
 Daniel Gale left his home in the Green Moun- 
 tain State in 1855, and located in Wisconsin. He 
 was a man of remarkable mechanical skill, and | 
 was the inventor of a number of ingenious con- I 
 trivances. His most complicated invention was a 
 calendar clock, which gave the days of the week, 
 month, year, sunrise ami sunset. In 1869 he re- 
 turned to Xew England, and located in Bristol, 
 Conn., to place his clock in the hands of the E. X. 
 "W'elch Clock Co., with whom he remained for sev- j 
 eral years. He married Lucy Ann Wheeler, a na- 
 tive of Xew York State, who bore him three chil- 
 dren : Herbert Xelson : Floyd H.; and Ella, wife 
 of Howard Ci. Arms, chief of police, Bristol. 
 
 Herbert X. Gale passed his early school days 
 in Sheboygan Falls, Wis., and completed his edu- 
 <ation in the Bristol high school. When only a boy ! 
 lie gave evidence of great artistic talent, his free- 
 hand drawing being considered remarkable. As ! 
 he grew older he took up portrait work, and, finally 
 deciding to become a pliotographer. studied his 
 -.trade, serving an apprenticeship which fitted him 
 to become a skilled workman. He has made a 
 :successful photographer, keeping abreast of the ; 
 times and up-to-date in all of his methods. In i 
 1878 he established himself in the photographic 
 business, and opened the gallery he still occupies, 
 , meeting with the success his talents so well merit. 
 He has made many inventions applied to the pho- ' 
 tographer's art, and was the originator of the Gale 
 Glass Photo ]\Iount, which became a standard 
 article of the photographic trade throughout the ; 
 -United States. ! 
 
 On X'ov. 30, 1880, Mr. Gale was united in mar- I 
 Tiage with ]\Iiss Lola ]\I. Whitman, of Terryville. 1 
 Fraternally JNIr. Gale is a member of the I. O. O. j 
 F., and socially both he and his wife are deservedly 
 popular among their acquaintances. 
 
 HEXRY' DUDLEY^ ELY\ a well-known resi- 
 dent of Hartford, was born Feb. 10, 1863, in Brook- 
 Ivn, X". Y., but comes of an old family of Hartford 
 county, his father, John R. Ely, having been born 
 Aug. 31, 1836, in Simsbury, where his grandfather, 
 Flenry Ely, resided. 
 
 Benjamin Ely, great-grandfather of our sub- 
 ject , was a son of Ezra and Anne Ely, born at 
 
 Lyme, Conn., Jul)- 18, 1767, and died Aug. 26, 
 1652. • He marnea April 14, 1796, Polly Pettibone, 
 daughter of Dudley and Mary Pettibone, born in 
 Simsbury, Conn., Sept. 19, 1776, and died June 17, 
 1850. Their children were as follows: Ezra 
 Styles, born May 17, 1797, died October, 1863; 
 Edwin Dwight, born June 30, 1798, died Aug. 25, 
 1831: ^lary Anne, born Xov. 16, 1800, died Xov. 
 7, 1875; Henry, grandfather of Henry D., is men- 
 tioned more fully farther on ; Seth, born April 20, 
 1805, died April 28, 1828; Xathan C, born Sept. 
 13, 1807, is deceased; Rosetta, born Xov. 10, 1809, 
 died Oct. 18, 1831 ; Xancy Hum])hrey, born Oct. 
 6,. 1812, died April 19, 1877; an<l Dudley P., born 
 Xov. 16, 1817, is also deceased. 
 
 Henry Ely, grandfather of our subject, born 
 Oct. 25, 1802, died Oct. 17, 1849. For some time 
 prior to his decease he carried on a store and farm in 
 Xorth Simsbury, his land lying on the bank of the 
 old canal, near what is now called Hoskins Station. 
 On Xov. 9, 1833, he married Caroline St. John, who 
 was born June 2^, 1815, and is also deceased. 
 
 John R. Ely, father of Henry D., received his 
 education in his native town and in Brooklyn, N. 
 Y. From the age of sixteen years he spent the 
 greater part of his life in Brooklyn and Xew York 
 City, working for Dudley P. and Xathan C. Ely, of 
 Xew York, whom he and his brother succeeded in 
 business. Mr. Ely died Sept. 2, 1895. In May, 
 1862, he married Miss Rebecca H. Cooper, of Xew 
 York, who was born Sept. 10, 1841, and died Jan. 
 16, 1867. They had two children, Henry D. and 
 George C, the latter now a resident of Xew York. 
 Mrs. Ely's father, John Davidson Cooper, was born 
 June 19, 1810, at Kingston, X''. Y., and died June' 17, 
 1878. For a number of years he lived on Long- 
 Island, in what is now a part of Greater Xew York. 
 Henry D. Ely spent his earlier life in Simsbury, 
 Bloomfield and Granby, attending the common 
 schools in those places, and later the High Street 
 school and the Public High School in Hartford, as 
 well as a business college. For a time he was em- 
 ployed by his uncle, William R. Adams, in Bloom- 
 field, and subsequently, in Brooklyn, X. Y., he was 
 engaged for one and one-half years by his father. 
 Going to Kansas he bought a ranch — 3,960 acres 
 by deed and 160 acres by claim — which he stocked 
 with sheep, cattle and horses, and which he con- 
 ducted for two years, selling out at the end of that 
 time and removing to Shoals, Martin Co., Ind. 
 There he bought a store and mill, and continued in 
 business for eighteen months, thence returning to 
 Kansas, where, at Ottawa, he engaged in milling for 
 a time, but he was so unsuccessful in this venture 
 that he withdrew in debt. Buying a livery stable, 
 "on tick," he set to work to retrieve himself, and 
 succeeded in paying ofif all his indebtedness, as well 
 as regaining a firm footing in the business 
 world. From there he removed to Joplin, Mo., 
 where he was engaged in the dry-goods busi- 
 ness, and thence to Huntington, Ark., where 
 he was employed in the general store of a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1411 
 
 large coal company, and his next location was in 
 is-ansas City, Mo., where he was employed on the 
 iietropolitan railroad until he had the misfortune to 
 Jiave one of his legs cut ofi'. Returning East^ Mr. 
 Ely lived with his father for a time, and also spent 
 .a short period in Bloomfield, and since his father's 
 decease he has made his home in Hartford, where he 
 has large real-estate holdings. The care of his real 
 estate consumes the greater part of his time and at- 
 tention. Mr. El}- is a pleasant, cordial gentleman, 
 as all who enjoy the pleasure of his acquaintance will 
 agree. 
 
 Mr. Ely was married Jan. 22, 1896, in Hartford, 
 to Miss Carrie Louise Hubbard, of Bloomfield, 
 Conn., daughter of James E. Hubbard, of that 
 town, but now a resident of Hartford. 
 
 WILLIA]\I ROBERTS ADAMS, a prominent 
 farmer of Bloomfield, was born July 15, 1831, on 
 Jiis present farm, which was then included m the 
 town of Simsbury. He is a grandson of William 
 Adams, Sr., who, as appears on a gravestone in St. 
 ^Vndrew's cemetery, was a son of Capt. William 
 ..Vdams ; the latter was a son of Matthew Adams. 
 
 \\ illiam Adams, Sr., was born Oct. 14, 1778, and 
 ■died July 24, 1822. On May 2, 1798, he married 
 Electa Roberts, who was born Oct. 30, 1775, and 
 died Oct. 15, 1847. Children were born to their 
 union as follows : William, Jr. ( father of our sub- 
 ject), Oct. 10, 1799; Hiram, May 22, 1801 (died 
 I\larch 8, 1866) ; Byron, Feb. 23, 1803 ; Chester, 
 l'"eb. 23, 1805 (died July 6, 1870) ; Watson, April 
 2T,, 1807 (died May 9, 1837) ; Tudor, April 30, 1809 
 (died Feb. 25, i860) ; Electa C, Dec. 4, 181 1 (died 
 Feb. 4, 1831) ; Edwin R., Feb. 11, 1814 (died March 
 22, 1814) ; James M., Aug. 26, 1817 (died Tune 20, 
 1868). 
 
 William Adams was born in what is now Bloom- 
 field town Oct. 10, 1799, and died June 4, 1871. He 
 received his education in the private school con- 
 ducted by Rev. Mr. Warner. On Nov. 25, 1827, 
 he was married, in Bloomfield, to Miss Fluvia K. 
 Barnard, who was born Sept. 30, 1799, daughter 
 of Samuel Barnard, and died Feb. 5, 1894, and to 
 this union came children as follows : Sarah Maria, 
 born Sept. 20, 1828, died Aug. 25, 1831 ; Mary J., 
 horn Jan. 7, 1830, and died Sept. 7, 183 1 ; William R. 
 was born July 14, 1831 ; Sarah J., born March 28, 
 1834, died Aug. 26, 1837; Harriet F., born June 
 5 1839, married H. W. Rowley, of Bloomfield, 
 where he was postmaster and merchant many 
 years: Andrew S., born Nov. 29, 1840, died Nov. 
 17, 1859. The father of these was a farmer by 
 occupation, and was prominent in his locality in 
 various ways, holding different town oiifices, and 
 representing his district in the Assembly. He 
 was a Democrat in political sentiment, and in re- 
 ligious connection united with St. Andrew's Epis- 
 copal Church of Bloomfield, of which he was 
 warden for many vears. 
 
 \A^illiam R. Adams received his literarv train- 
 ing in the public schools of Bloomfield and Sims- 
 
 bury, and he has spent his entire life on the old 
 home farm, which he is still successfully cultivat- 
 ing. He was married in Bloomfield to Miss Ellen 
 H. Ely, of Simsbury, and they have had three 
 children : William R., John J. and Henry Ely. Like 
 his father, Mr. Adams is a member of the Epis- 
 copal Church, in which he is serving as warden. 
 In politics he is a Democrat, and he has served his 
 fellow citizens faithfully as assessor and justice of 
 the peace. 
 
 WILFRED ETHIEL FOGG, contractor, 
 builder and designer, dealer in lumber, timber, 
 shingles, lath, etc., and manufacturer of sash, doors, 
 window frames, etc., Bristol, is a native of Con- 
 necticut, born Nov. 13, 1859, in Winchester. 
 
 Joseph Fogg, grandfather of our subject, born 
 May 31, 1800, died in Bridgewater, Conn., March 
 5, 1838. He was a shoe manufacturer, having 
 learned the trade at Lynn, Mass., and had a shoe 
 factory in Bridgewater which gave employment to 
 some forty hands. He married Susannah Hilbert, 
 who was born in 1800 at Marblehead, Mass., and 
 their children were as follows : ( i ) Joseph H mar- 
 ried Lorena Merwin, of Brookfield, Conn., who 
 died Jan. 11, 1897; he lives in Hartford, and is an 
 engineer by trade. (2) Nicholas is deceased. (3) 
 Susannah is deceased. (4) Nicholas Hilbert, sketch 
 of whom follows. (5) John Calcutt married Ellen 
 Fenn ; he is a contractor in bridge work, and makes 
 his home in Waterbury. (6)' George married Helen 
 Allen, and is now living in Colorado, where he 
 owns a fruit and berry ranch. (7) Charles married 
 Elizabeth Munson ; he is a sash, door and blind 
 manufacturer in Bridgeport. 
 
 Nicholas Hilbert Fogg, father of Wilfred E., 
 was born Dec. 4, 1828, in Troy, N. Y., whence, 
 when he was four years old, his parents removed 
 to Bridgewater, Conn. When he was nine years 
 of age he lost his father b)^ death, and he was then 
 bound out to Anson Herd, in Bridgewater, until he 
 was sixteen years old, during which time he re- 
 ceived his schoolinp'. He was then apprenticed to 
 Joel Morehouse for five years, at the carpentering 
 business, and during the last year of his apprentice- 
 ship was foreman of the work. He had the job of 
 laying out the timber for Ethiel (or Ithiel) Em- 
 mons' new house, in West Morris, and while so en- 
 gaged met his future wife, Alcey Marie Emmons, 
 eldest daughter of said Ethiel Emmons. After 
 serving his time he embarked in business on his own 
 account, and soon had a horse and wagon and set of 
 tools — all paid for. He hrst kept house on South 
 Willow street, Waterbury, Conn., afterward buying 
 property there, which he sold about the time of the 
 breaking out of the Civil war. and then bought a 
 farm in Bantam, Conn. This he sold five years later 
 (spring of 1869) to his wife's brother, Ira A., re- 
 moving to Southington, where he bought a farm of 
 George Finch on Queen street, two miles above the 
 town. In 1895 he exchanged this for property on 
 Hig-h street, in the center of the town, where he is 
 
1412 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 still living; he has always been either a Whig or a 
 Republican, but has never had time to take much 
 active interest in politics, and at present he occu- 
 pies himself in looking atter his real-estate interests, j 
 
 On .March 7, 1852, Nicholas 11. I'ogg married 
 Alcev Alarie limmons, who was born in West 
 Alorris, Conn., July 8, 1833, and whose ancestry will 
 be found farther on in tiihj sketch. Children have 
 been born to this union as follows : {i ) Nellie S., : 
 born Sept. y, 1857, in Waterbury, Conn., was twice [ 
 married, first time Oct. 1, 1879, to Josepn Willie 
 Hobart, who died in October, 1881. She marrietl 
 (second) Oct. y, 1S84, Wilbur Leslie Wright, a 
 clock maker by trade, by whom she has two chil- 
 dren, Howard I'ogg, born Uec. 31, 1885: and Earle 
 Emmons, born Dec. 10, 1887, both attending the 
 Hristol scliools. (2) Wilfred E. is the subject of 
 sketch. (3) Cora, born Dec. 24, 1861, died in August, 
 1864, in 15antam, Conn. (4) Nettie Almira, born 
 Dec. 28, 1866, is living in r.ristol. (5) Nicholas 
 Joseph, born Dec. y, 1875, in Southington. 'Conn., 
 is a carpenter in Bristol. 
 
 Ancestry of Mrs. Alcey Marie (Emmons) Fogg: 
 (I) William Emmons, born in England, canie to 
 Taunton, Mass., in 1 7 18, and bought real estate. 
 Removing to South Farms, Litchfield county, in 
 1733, he parsed the rest of his life there; by occu- 
 l)ation be was a farmer. He was one of the found- 
 ers of the Eirsl Episcopal Church, Nov. 5. 1745. 
 In England he had married, his wife's name being 
 Saraii, and their children were: William, born in 
 England ; Woodruff, lx)rn on shipboard ; and Lydia. 
 Artluir and Tabitba, born in America. 
 
 (II) Arthur Emmons, born Aug. 28, 1731, in 
 Taunton. Mass.. died in Litchfield Aug. ly, 1804. 
 He and his wife, Sarah, had children : Russell, Jesse, 
 Phinebas, Arthur, Jr.. Isaac, Sarah, Orange and 
 Oliver. 
 
 (III) .\rthur Emmons, born in Litchfield June 
 14, 1757, kept a store in Bantam, Conn., but about 
 1810 failed in business, which so discouraged him 
 that he decided to remove to some new field, choos- 
 ing Butternuts, now known as Gilbertsville, N. Y. . 
 He married Nov. 6. 1777. Elizabeth Palmer, and 
 by her had three children : Emos, Edniond and 
 Lauren. 
 
 (I\') Emos Emmons, born April 6, 1780, died 
 Feb. 24, 1861, married Sally W'eeks, who was 
 born April i, 1783. in Washington, Conn., and died 
 April I. 1844. Their children: Ithiel (or Ethiel). 
 Laura. Samuel (i), Samuel (2), Eliza, Lucius and 
 Lucia. 
 
 (V) Ithiel (or Ethiel) Emmons, born in Litch- 
 field, Conn.. July 6, 1802. died in "West ]\Iorris, 
 Conn., Feb. 8. 1873. He was married in Torring- 
 ton. Conn.. Oct. 14, 1827. to Almira Leach, born 
 in Torrington May 13, 1804, died Feb. 2, 1875. 
 Their children : Orson C. ; Alison Z^Iiles, Alcev 
 Marie (mother of our subject), Ira Abbott, Ma- 
 tilda A., and (jeorge E. 
 
 Wilfred E. Fogg, whose name introrlures this 
 sketch, was born, as already related, in Winchesterj 
 
 Conn., where his parents were making their home 
 at the time, his father having a large building con- 
 tract on hand in that town. Our subject received 
 his education in \\ aterbury up to the age of tea 
 years, at which time his parents removed to South- 
 ington, where he continued his schooling, attending 
 also Lewis Academy, in that place, for two years. 
 After leaving school he commenced learning car- 
 pentering with his father, at which trade he con- 
 tinued in Southington. During the last year he was 
 in that town he was engaged in the contracting btisi- 
 ness for himself. 
 
 In December, 1881, Mr. I'ogg came to Bristol, 
 and fairly established himself as a contractor and 
 buikler, in which line of business lie has since been 
 successfully engaged ; he also does architectural 
 work, originating and drafting the designs for 
 many of the buildings for which he takes contracts. 
 Since commencing in Bristol he has taken the con- 
 tracts for and completed the following: Masonic 
 Temple ; large foundry buildings of the Terry 
 l-'oundry Co., in Terrvville ; Liberty Bell Co.'s fac- 
 tory; Clayton Bros.' factory, and the .\rmory, on 
 .North ^lain street. Bristol; Swedish Evangelical 
 church ; additions to Barnes' spring factory, and 
 the Codling Mfg. Co.'s factory, as well as the fol- 
 lowing residences, also in Bristol: Edson Peck's, 
 on Summer street; E. (i. Hubbell's on Bellevue 
 street ; and Dr. Hull's on Main street. In 1886 he 
 bought out Joseph Sigourne^'s confectionery store, 
 corner of Alain and North .Main streets. He also 
 deals in lumber, timber, shingles, lath, etc., and is 
 engaged in the manufacture of sash, doors, and 
 window frames. 
 
 C)n Julv 2, i88j.. Air. Fogg was united in mar- 
 riage with Florence Esther Wright, who was born 
 Jan. y, 1850, a daughter of I'ilbert Leander and 
 Sabrina (Alerrill) Wright, a sketch of whom ap- 
 pears in that of William H. Wright, elsewhere. 
 .\o children have been Ijorn to this union. 
 
 In his political predilections Mr. Fogg is a stanch 
 Republican, has served on the board of burgesses 
 three years, is chairman of the Building committee, 
 and has been chairman of the Street committee of 
 the borough for the past two years. In Alay, 1900, 
 he was elected warden of Bristol. Socially he is a 
 member of the F. & A. M., and of Pequabuck Chap- 
 ter, No. 56, R. A. M. He was also a member of 
 the K. of P., Ethan Lodge, No. 9, and Hull Division, 
 No. 5, U. R., as well as of the Jr. O. U. A. M., and 
 Stephen Terry Lodge, No. 59, I. O. O. F., all of 
 Bristol ; but owing to pressure of business he was 
 obliged to give these up, still retaining his member- 
 ship, however, through an honorary card. He is 
 one of the busiest and most prominent men in Bris- 
 tol, a useful, loyal citizen, and enjoys the respect 
 and esteem of all. 
 
 AfSTIN CLfRTIS. a prominent merchant of 
 Bristol, was born Aug. 7, 1836, in Burlington. 
 Conn., a son of Henry Curtis, who was born Aug. 
 13, 1810, and attained the age of seventy-three 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1413 
 
 years, departing this life Dec. 31, 1883. Henry 
 Curtis was a farmer, and his industry and persever- 
 ance were crowned with the full measure of suc- 
 ■cess which attention to business merits. In politics 
 he was a Democrat, and served as tax collector for 
 a number of years. He was a member of the 
 Methodist Church. On Jan. 2, 1833, he was united 
 in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Dowd, of Harwinton, 
 Conn., wlio was born Nov. i, 1805, and died Jan. 
 ^, 1884. Four children were born to them as fol- 
 lows: (i) Royal, born Dec. 21, 1833, died Aug. i, 
 1880; he was a machinist, and lived in New York 
 State the greater part of the time. (2) An infant 
 died June 10, 1835. (3) Austin, the subject of this 
 sketch. (4) Evaline, born Sept. 30, 1838, was mar- 
 ried to Thompson Root, and died in Bristol April 
 .8, 1 88 1. 
 
 Henry Curtis was a son of Joshua Curtis, who 
 died Jan. 14, 1842. He, too, was a tiller of the 
 ^oil. His wife Pollv bore him eight children : 
 Philo, Simeon, Sylvester, Corydon, Henry, Sylesta, 
 Amy and Laura. 
 
 Austin Curtis received his schooling in Burling- 
 ton. At the age of sixteen }'ears he went to work 
 for John Doolittle in Bristol, with whom he re- 
 mained about one year ; he then started a meat 
 market on Main street, Bristol, which he conducted 
 for about twelve years. At the end of this time he 
 .sold out to Levi Moulthrop, and engaged in buying 
 and selling, horses and cattle, which occupation he 
 pursued most successfully for about six years. He 
 then opened a general merchandise store in the 
 Curtis Block, Corner of Laurel and North Main 
 streets, handling dry-goods, boots and shoes, milli- 
 nery, etc. In this business he is still engaged. Mr. 
 Curtis possesses sound business judgment, a vast 
 .amount of perseverance, and great energy. Many 
 of the finest residences and business blocks in Bris- 
 tol stand as monuments to his indomitable courage 
 and progressiveness. He built what is now known 
 as the Skelly Block, and later erected the house that 
 is now owned by P. H. Condon. He also built 
 "the postoffice building on North Main street, several 
 dwelling houses in various parts of the town, four 
 houses on Summer street, -and in 1897 he built his 
 present attractive home at the corner of Summer and 
 "Centre streets. 
 
 In politics Mr. Curtis is a Democrat, as his fa- 
 ther had been. He is loyal to his party, serving faith- 
 fully, though always declining to hold office. 
 
 On Sept. 18, 1861, Mr. Curtis was married to 
 Lucy Joanna Steele, of Bristol, who was born 
 March 26, 1861, daughter of Charles and Jane (Par- 
 -melee) Steele. This union has been blessed with 
 two children: (i) Charles Henry, of Bristol, born 
 'Oct. 14, 1864, was married March 2, 1887, to Mamie 
 Smith, of Forestville. who was born in 1869, a 
 daughter of Roj-al Smith (Charles H. Curtis is a 
 •conductor between Hartford and Willimantic on the 
 N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R., with which road he has been 
 for manv years, and his faithful services are fully 
 ■appreciated by the company whom he served and 
 
 by the patronizing public) ; (2) George Austin, born 
 July II, 1875, and died Aug. 31, 1876. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Austin Curtis attend the Episcopal Church, of which 
 Mrs. Curtis is a communicant. They are active in 
 the church work, and contribute amply to its sup- 
 port financially and sociauy. Mrs. Austin is pres- 
 ident of the Ladies Aid Society. Mr. Austin, like 
 many of our ablest statesmen and financiers, is a 
 self-made man. He has always been very successful 
 in all his undertakings, and is a worthy example 
 for the rising generation to emulate. 
 
 PATRICK McGOVERN has been a resident of 
 Hartford for over thirty years. His first experience 
 in the city was as clerk and bookkeeper in a large 
 mercantile house ; but for the past twenty-one years 
 he has occupied an important position in the office 
 of the .Etna Life Insurance Co. Mr. McGovern 
 has been a member of both branches of the city gov- 
 ernment, and for seven years was acting president 
 of the board of aldermen. He was the Republican 
 member of the town auditors for many j^ears, his 
 services as such terminating with the consolidation 
 of the town and city. Mr. McGovern was chairman 
 of the Republican town committee, and under his 
 management the party obtained and held control of 
 the city, the influence of which was felt throughout 
 the State. For many years he was an important 
 factor in keeping Hartford, v/hich was naturally 
 Democratic, in the Republican ranks. To him is due 
 much credit for what was accomplished in this par- 
 ticular. Mr. McGovern is public-spirited — always 
 acting for the city's interests. His loyalty to, and 
 his indomitable energy in behalf of, his friends have 
 given him prominence in political and social circles. 
 As a business man he has been successful, and he 
 bestows liberally upon others less fortunate. 
 
 TRUMAN COWLES, a well-known agricultur- 
 ist residing on South street, Hartford, was born Feb. 
 14, 1844, in Bethlehem, Conn., son of David M. and 
 Alma (Merriam) Cowles. His father was a native 
 of Bethlehem, followed farming at that place 
 throughout life, and died at the age of eighty-two 
 years. This worthy citizen was a devout Methodist, 
 and helped to build the church at Bethlehem, where 
 he served as deacon for many years. His wife, Alma^ 
 Merriam, who died aged sixty-five years, was born 
 and reared in Watcrtown, Conn., and taught school 
 for some time previous to her marriage. Of their 
 eight children six are living: Edward, a resident of 
 ^Voodbury ; Oliver ; Wealth}-, who married John 
 Porter, and resides in Bethlehem ; David, in Beth- 
 lehem ; Horace, a resident of Litchfield ;and Truman. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the common schools 
 of Bethlehem, and assisted in farm work at the 
 homestead until he reached the age of twentv-one. 
 He then spent a year in farming on Long Island, 
 and in 1866 settled in Hartford, taking a position 
 as clerk in a meat market. Six years later he en- 
 gaged in the meat business on his own account, and 
 for twenty-three years he had a market at No. 84 
 
1414 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Main street. At the time (it his retirement, in 1894, 
 he was among tlie oldest business men in the city, 
 and one of the best known. He purchased thirty 
 acres of land where he resides soon after going to 
 Hartford, and in 1872 ])uilt his present residence. 
 (n 1873 he built a block in Alden street, and he also 
 owns and conducts the old homestead of 200 acres in 
 Bethlehem. 
 
 In i8fK) Mr. Cowles married Miss Martha Magce, 
 who was born in Boston. Mass., daughter of John 
 Magee, a blacksmith, ami his wife Jane (Sygh), a 
 lady of Scottish descent, who died at the home of 
 our subject at the age of eighty-six. They had 
 a family of ten children, and three are living: Ann, 
 who married Hugh Robinson, of Omaha, Neb. ; 
 Hugh ; and Martha, Mrs. Cowles. Our subject 
 and his wife have had eleven children, of whom nine 
 are living: Emilv married a Mr. Snow, of Xorfolk, 
 \'a., and has one son. Malcolm: Margaret married 
 William (.ireen, of Hartford, and has one son, Al- 
 fred ; Mary married Daniel Harrington, and has 
 two children. Martha Jane and Lester: Aimer is at 
 home: Louisa is in Xorfolk, \"a. : Daisy is at home; 
 Miss Cornelia is attending iVatt Institute, in Brook- 
 Un, X. Y. : Truman D. is at home: William: Oliver 
 died at the age of four years : and one died in in- 
 fancy. The cliildren were all educated in the South 
 School and Public High School of Hartford, and at 
 Wesleyan Academy, \\'ilbraham, Mass. ^^Ir. Cowles 
 and his family attend the Congregational Church, 
 but Mrs. Cowles was reared in the faith of the 
 Presbvterian Church, of which her ])arents were 
 devout niemliers. 
 
 \\'1LL1AM WHETTEX HCXTIXCTOX, a 
 resident of ^^'est Hartford, is a native of Hartford 
 county, born in Hartford, Dec. 9, 1841. He is of the 
 eighth generation from the original American ances- 
 tor of the family, Simon Huntington, the line of de- 
 scent being through Christopher, John, John (2), 
 John (3), Hezekiah and Francis Junius. 
 
 Francis J. Huntington, father of our subject, 
 was born in Suffield, Conn., Dec. 3, 1802, and there 
 spent his early school days. In 1843 he removed 
 to what is now the home of our subject, on Pros- 
 pect Hill, West Hartford. For many years he was 
 a successful publisher of music books in Hartford 
 ■ and Xew York, and he died in the latter citv Feb. 
 5. 1878. On Sept. I, 1833. he married Miss Stella 
 Bradley, daughter of Michael Bull, and to them 
 came seven children : Helen, born Jan. 3, 1836, died 
 Feb. 18, 1839: Francis, born Nov. 2, 1837, died Sept. 
 3, 1838: Francis (2), born Sept. i, 1839, died 
 April 28, 1842 ; William Whetten, our subject, is 
 next in the order of birth ; Edward Bouverie, "born 
 Feb. 5, 1844, is a resident of California : ^largaret 
 Kent, born Jan. 5. 1846, died July i, 1876; and 
 Archibald Dunbar, born X"ov. 26, 185 1, is a resident 
 of Connecticut. 
 
 William W. Huntington was educated in New 
 York City, Paris, (France), and Hamburg (Ger- 
 manv). For five vears he was with the firm of 
 
 Little. Brown & Co., of Boston, Mass., and was then 
 junior member of the firm of Bunce & Huntington,, 
 pulilishers. Xew York, for one year. Subsequently 
 he was associated with his father in the publishing, 
 business for thirteen years jirior to the latter's death. 
 He lives at the old homestead on Prospect Hill, and 
 since 1878 his attention has principally been devoted 
 to agricultural pursuits. He takes considerable in- 
 terest in public affairs, especially those pertaining 
 to education, and is a member of the school boar(t 
 of West Hartfortl, now serving as its secretary. 
 
 Mr. Huntnigton was married in West Hartford,. 
 June I, 1876, to Miss Harriet Bradley Beach, who 
 was born Sept. 20, 1850, a daughter of Charles M. 
 Beach. 
 
 ARTHl'R L. F( )STER, who enjoys the enviable 
 distinction of being the most extensive dealer ia 
 clothing and gents furnislnngs, etc., in Hartford, 
 and probably second to none in the State, is a native 
 of X'ermont, born Jan. ly, 1858, in Moretown, Wash- 
 ington county. 
 
 .Mr. hosier comes .of English lineage, his great- 
 great-grandfather having emigrated from England 
 to X'ermont and first locating in what is now the 
 city of Manchester, later becoming one of the first 
 settlers of Moretown, where he passed the rest of his 
 life. <lying at the age of eighty-nine \ears. His soa 
 John (grandfather of Arthur L. ), a lifelong agri- 
 culturist of that locality, died in comparatively early 
 life, at the age of forty-five. One of the highly 
 prominent citizens of the comnumity, he served on 
 juries and as selectman, and represented his town in 
 the Legislature. By his wife Abbie (Atherton), 
 of Waterburv, Conn., wdio died in 1868, he had four 
 children, one of whom, Rucl bv name, is living in 
 Newark, Vermont. 
 
 Charles A. Foster (father of our subject) was 
 born in Moretown, \"t., was reared on the home- 
 stead, and educated in the district schools. On the- 
 death of his father he took charge of the home farm, 
 subsequently purchasing adjoining lands until he 
 owned .in all some 300 acres of the most beautiful 
 part of Vermont, so attractive in every way as to 
 be found worthy of a place in the work known as- 
 "Picturesque America," and to be immortalized on 
 canvas, our subject having in his possession paint- 
 ings of different views of the place, painted from 
 photographs taken b)- himself. Charles A. Foster 
 was not only a leading man in the locality, but also 
 one of the most popular, and held all the offices in 
 the town, including those of selectman, and repre- 
 sentative. In addition to his farming interests he 
 owned a store in Vermont. 
 
 Charles A. Foster married Hulda Hathaway,, 
 born in East Montpelier, Vt., a daughter of Paul 
 Hathaway, a farmer of that locality, who died at: 
 the age of eighty-four years ; his family was from 
 New Bedford, Mass., and became prominent in the 
 aft'airs of East Montpelier. Two of Mrs. Hulda_ 
 Foster's sisters are vet living, one of whom is Mrs.. 
 David Plimber, of \Vinchester, Mass. To C. A, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1415 
 
 Foster and his wife were born ten cliildren, six of 
 whom are living, as follows : Ella, wife of W. A. 
 Crown, of Taunton, Mass. ; John, in Bridgeport, 
 Conn. ; Julia, wife of T. H. AlcElroy, of Haverhill, 
 Mass. ; Charles, in Taunton, Mass. ; Arthur L., the 
 subject proper of these lines; and Jesse, in Pittstield, 
 Mass. The mother died at the age of sixty-eight 
 years, a consistent member of the M. E. Church. 
 
 Arthur L. Foster passed the earlier years of his 
 life on the home farm at Moretown, Vt., attending 
 the commo.-. schools of the district, and at the age of 
 eleven years went to Clinton, Mass., to live with his 
 uncle John R. There he completed his education, 
 and commenced his remarkable business career in the 
 humble capacity of "shop boy" in his uncle's cloth- 
 ing store. From there he removed to Holyoke, 
 Mass., to fill the position of clerk in the Foster cloth- 
 ing store there, which was one of the "Foster com- 
 bination" started by his uncle in 1859. The latter had 
 at one time twelve stores, for which he did all the 
 buying, and later the company (J. L. Besse becom- 
 ing a partner) owned no less than forty-three stores. 
 After a year's residence in Holyoke, our subject 
 moved to VVaterburv, Conn., whence after two years 
 he betook himself to Bridgeport, Conn., and 'there 
 for three years conducted a clothing store for his 
 brother John. From Bridgeport he went to Troy, 
 N. Y., and opened a clothing store for a Boston 
 house, remaining there six months ; then together 
 with L. W. Besse, bought out H. C. Tennant, of 
 W'estfield, the business being continued under the 
 name of Besse & booster for three years, at the end of 
 which time, in 1884, Mr. Foster bought out his part- 
 ner's interest in that concern and became interested 
 with Mr. Besse in another store, m Hartford, located 
 at Nos. 45-47-49 Asylum street. • After three years, 
 the business having greatly increased, they found it 
 necessary to add to their premises Nos. 53-55, and 
 here they continued until 1890. In that vear Mr. 
 Foster bought out the interest of Mr. Besse, and at 
 a cost of $40,000 fitted up the entire building with 
 such luxurious taste and in such elegant style, not 
 to speak of its commodiousness and conveniences, 
 that it is allowed to be by far the finest clothing 
 and ladies' and gents' furnishing store in New Eng- 
 land, and one of the finest in the United States. 
 !Mr. Foster is, probably, the largest single buyer of 
 clothing in the country, and not only keeps in stock 
 all kinds of clothing and gents' furnishings, but 
 also all .kinds and sizes of tailor-made suits for la- 
 dies, buying in the great Besse syndicate. He be- 
 gan his business with three clerks, and now em- 
 ploys forty-two, and his motto is : "Most goods for 
 the money, and everything as represented." 
 
 Mr. Foster has another store, in Portland, 
 Maine, which he had fitted up at a cost of $16,000, 
 and which gives employment to twenty-three clerks. 
 On March 31, 1900, he opened a third store, in 
 Syracuse, N. Y., 60x125 feet, in which are employed 
 eighteen' clerks. The managers of these several 
 stores all learned their business under ^Ir. Foster 
 himself. Our subject is also interested with F. M. 
 
 McElroy in a clothing store at Haverhill, Mass., 
 and in one, along with his brother Jesse, in Pitts- 
 field, Massachusetts. 
 
 in 1 88 1 Air. Foster married Harriet Benham, 
 of Bridgeport, Conn., who died in 1888 at the age 
 of thirty-two years. He wedded July 6, 1898, Jo- 
 sephme Wilkinson, born in Troy, N. Y., but whose 
 lite before marriage was passed mainly in Santi- 
 ago, Cal. The family residence is one of the finest 
 in the city, its elegance and beauty being the ad- 
 miration of all. 
 
 In religious faith Mr. and ]\Irs. Foster are Con- 
 gregationalists ; he is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
 Omioca Lodge, Westfield, and in politics he is a 
 Republican. Beginning life a comparatively poor 
 boy, Mr. Foster has steadily worked his way up- 
 ward until to-day he ranks among the most sub- 
 stantial citizens of the community, owing his suc- 
 cess to his own industry, perseverance, sound judg- 
 ment, application and honorable dealing. Pleasant 
 and genial in manner, he is very popular with all 
 classes, and together with his amiable life partner 
 commarids the respect of all. 
 
 TAIXTOR. For over two hundred and twenty- 
 five years the. name of Taintor and the families 
 rt'ith which it has been - allied, by marriage, have 
 been prominent and influential citizens of their re- 
 spective communities in Connecticut. Among those 
 bearing the name in recent years we mention the 
 late Hon. Henry G. Taintor, of Hampton, former 
 btate treasurer, and his sons, Hon. Henry Ells- 
 worth, George Edwin and William Wolcott Taintor, 
 all substantial citizens of Hartford. 
 
 These brothers are in the seventh generation 
 from Alichael Taintor, an early settler of Branford, 
 Conn., where his death occurred in 1673, he being 
 a son, it is said, of Charles Taintor, of Welsh ori- 
 gin, who came to this country to escape religious 
 persecution. Their line of descent is through jNIi- 
 chael (2), Michael (3), John, Solomon and Henry 
 G. Taintor. 
 
 (II) Michael Taintor (2), son of Michael, of 
 Branford, born in 1652, married (first) in 1679 
 Mary, daughter of Thomas Loomis. He moved to 
 Windsor, and later to Colchester, where he was one 
 of the first settlers. He served as town clerk from 
 the town's settlement to the time of his death, in 
 1730, and was a member of the General Court 
 twenty-six sessions. 
 
 (III) Michael Taintor (3), son of Michael (2), 
 born in 1680, married in 1712 Eunice Foote, of 
 W'ethersfield, Connecticut. , 
 
 (IV) John Taintor, son of jMichael (3), born 
 in 1725, married (second) in 1758 Sarah Bulkeley. 
 
 (V) Solomon Taintor, son of John, born in 
 1769, married in 1797 Judith Bulkeley, and removed 
 in the same vear to Hampton, Conn. He died in 
 1827. 
 
 (\T) Henry G. Taintor, son of Solomon, and 
 the father of Flon. Henry E., George E. and Will- 
 
1416 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 iani \\'., all of Hartford, was born Feb. ij, 1813, 
 in Hampton, Conn. He married Sept. 25, 1839, 
 Delia W . Ellsworth, born in 1818, daughter of 
 -Martin and Sophia ( W'olcott) Ellsworth, and grand- 
 daughter of Hon. Uliver Ellsworth, former chief 
 justice of the United States, and a descendant in 
 the fourth generation from Josias Ellsworth, who 
 was at Windsor, Comi.. as early as 1654, the line 
 of his descent being through Josias, Jonathan and 
 Uavid Ellsworth. 
 
 -Mr. 'J'aintor was one of the prominent and in- 
 Jluential citizens of Hampton. In 1866 he ser\-ed 
 as State treasurer. He was a man of good ability 
 and considerable force of character. He died in 
 ^larch, 1889, greatly esteemed and highly respected. 
 To his marriage with Delia \\'. Ellsworth were born 
 children as follows: Henry E., Aug. 29, 1844; 
 George E., Dec. 20, 1846; William W'., July 9, 
 1851 ; Ercderick, Xov. 12, 1855: and Mary E., Oct. 
 8, 1860. The mother died in January, 1889. 
 
 Hii.vRV Ellswuktii Tai.ntor, son of Henry G., 
 was born Aug. 29, 1844, in the town of Hampton, 
 Conn. He was prepared for college at Monson 
 (Mass.) Academy, and entered Yale College in 
 ]86i, continuing jijs studies until his enlistment, 
 Jan. 14, 1864. as a private in Companv A, 
 1st Connecticut Heav\- Artillery. He performed 
 honorable service with his regiment for nearly 
 two years, being discharged as second lieu- 
 tenant, on Sept. 2=,, 1865. Although not return- 
 ing to complete his college course, Yale conferred 
 on him the regular degree. A. B.. the same as 
 though he had coiii])leted the course of study, .\fter 
 the war had closed Mr. 'i'aintor, in 1866, established 
 his residence at Hartford, where he read law in 
 the office of Chamberlain & Hall, and was admitted 
 to the Bar in Hartford county in 1868. Since then 
 he has been engaged uninterruptedly in the prac- 
 tice of his profession. He was executive secretarv 
 to Gov. Jewell in i8y2-/;^. and also associate judge 
 of the Hartford City Court at the same time. He 
 was assistant judge of the Hartford City Court 
 from 1889 to 1893. In 1891 he was appointed 
 coroner of Hartford county, to succeed Hon. Lewis 
 Sperry, an office he still holds. Judge Taintor has 
 served several terms in the common council of Hart- 
 ford, and also was for two years one of the board 
 of aldermen. He was for manv years clerk of the 
 Hartford City Court. He is now vice-president of 
 the Security Co. of Hartford ; a trustee of the State 
 Savings Bank, as well as one of the attorneys, and 
 attornej- for the Society for Savings on Pratt street ; 
 and a director of the Connecticut General Life In- 
 surance Co. He is a member of the G. A. R., and 
 has held various offices therein, including those of 
 commander of the Department of Connecticut, and 
 judge-advocate-general on the staff of the com- 
 mander-in-chief. In politics he is a Republican. 
 His religious connections are 'vith the First Congre- 
 gational Church of Hartford. There is not a law- 
 yer in the State who has a more honorable standing 
 before the Bar or the public. 
 
 On May 13. 1869, Judge Taintor was married 
 to Miss Jane G., dau.ghtcr of Lyman and Almira 
 (Greenej Bennett, of Amsterdam, N. Y., and a 
 descendant of an old Ham])ton (Conn.) family. 
 To this marriage w'as born Harlan Henry, a grad- 
 uate of Yale College, class of '92, who died April 
 17, 1893. 
 
 Geokce Enwix T.\i.\tok, son of Henry G., was 
 born Dec. 20, 1846, in Hampton, Conn. He received 
 a liberal education, and has for years been engaged 
 in real-estate operations as a resident and business 
 man of the city of Hartford. He represents prob- 
 ably the largest real estate interests in the city — 
 those of Francis and J. J. Goodwin. He is also a 
 trustee of the Keney estate and Keney Park, another 
 large estate. He is a director of the State Bank and 
 of the Hartford Street Railway Co. Mr. Taintor 
 married Oct. 25. 1870. Emily S., daughter of the 
 late Hon. Gustavus 1-'. Davis, of Hartford (whose 
 sketch appears elsewhere), and to the union was 
 born one daughter, Lucy Strong, Oct. 15, 1871. 
 
 W'ii.i.i.\M Woi-COTT Taintor, son of Henry G., 
 was born July 9, 1851. in Hampton, Conn., where 
 his early life was passed, and where he received his 
 elementary education, later attending school in 
 Brooklyn, Woodstock, and Hartford, all in Con- 
 necticut. He also attended the Hartford Public 
 High School, when the building was at the corner 
 of Asylum and Ann streets. After his school days 
 were over he was for a time engaged in the wool 
 jobbing business in New York City. He returned 
 to Hartford in 1882. since which time he has been 
 connected with the Hartford Ice Co., being at this 
 time its efficient secretary and treasurer. On May 
 10, 1876, he was married to Eliza H., a native of 
 Xcw York City, and a daughter of William Miller, 
 and to them have been born two daughters, Arline 
 i Deolph and Delia Ellsworth. 
 
 DA\TS. Through several generations the pos- 
 i ferity of Rev. Gustavus Fellows Davis, D. D., pas- 
 1 tor of the First Baptist Church of Hartford from 
 ^ 1829 to 1836. have been men of prominence in the 
 I professional and business life of the city, where a 
 number of his descendants are to-day active in 
 I their several walks of life, among them Dr. Giis- 
 : tavus Pierrepont Davis, physician and examiner for 
 the Travelers Insurance Co.. and Frederick Wen- 
 dell Davis, sons of the late Hon. Gustavus Fellows 
 Davis, who for fifty years was prominent, among 
 the bankers of Hartford. 
 
 Rev. Gustavus F. Davis was born March 17, 
 1797, in Boston, Mass., son of Isaac and Elizabeth 
 (Fellowes) Davis. He was converted under the 
 preaching of Rev. William Bentley, of Worcester, 
 ]Mass., when in his sixteenth year, and united with 
 the church in April. 18 13. He began to preach at 
 seventeen, his first field of labor being- in Hampton. 
 Conn. After a year he removed to Preston, and was 
 ordained pastor of the church there in June, 1816. 
 He served that charge three years, w-hen he accepted 
 an urgent call from the Baptist Church in South 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1417 
 
 Reading, Mass., and was publicl}' recognized as 
 pastor April 23, 1818. He had keenly felt his in- 
 adequate preparation in the way of an education, 
 and from the start had done the utmost by severe 
 and persistent study to repair the deficiency. While 
 at South Reading, Mass., in addition to his pastoral 
 labors* he began a systematic course of study in 
 Latin and Greek, often walking to Boston, a dis- 
 tance of ten miles, to receive instruction from Rev. 
 Mr. Winchell, and from an entry in his diary it 
 appears that he finished reading the Greek testament 
 some three years later, with the Rev. Francis Way- 
 land, Jr. 
 
 In the spring of 1829 Mr. Davis came to Hart- 
 ford to assist the Rev. William Bentley, at that 
 time laboring here in a revival of religion, and this 
 circumstance led to his settlement in the city. He 
 was publicly installed in the pastoral office Jul}- 29, 
 1829. Durmg the seven years of his pastorate here 
 the church prospered in every respect. He at- 
 tended carefullv to all details of organization and 
 administration, and labored incessantly in prayer- 
 meetings and special revival services. He made 
 much of sacred music, and did everytliing to en- 
 courage and improve the choir, but his principal 
 strength was in the pulpit. It was as a preacher 
 that he was best known, both at home and abroad. 
 For the pulpit he prepared himself carefully, but 
 preached either without manuscript or from brief 
 notes. He had a tenacious memory, and, as one of 
 his hearers remarked, the "whole Bible was at his 
 finger ends." His sermons were always studded 
 with Scriptural gems. He was pre-eminently a 
 Bible preacher, and was singularly apt and some- 
 times amusing in his selection of texts. 
 
 Dr. Davis had all through his life an excep- 
 tional interest in education. He secured the estab- 
 lishment of an academy at South Reading, Mass., 
 where he then lived. He was the chief agent for 
 collecting funds for '"Ihe Connecticut Literary In- 
 siitute at Suffield, and had the satisfaction of see- 
 ing it well established before his death. He was in- 
 terested in Newton Seminary, was trustee of Brown 
 L'niversity, examiner at Wesle^-an LTniversity, and, 
 l")v appointment of Hon. Lewis Cass, Secretary of 
 War in 1836, a member of the board of examiners 
 of the L'nited States Academy at West Point; also 
 in 183 1 he was elected one of the trustees of Wash- 
 ington ( now Trinity) College. \\'aterville (Maine) 
 College (now Colby L'niversity) and Yale College 
 afterward conferred upon him the degree of M. A. 
 His degree of D. D. was bestowed by Wesleyan 
 University in 1835. In August, 1836, while on a 
 visit to friends in Boston, he was taken sick, and 
 his useful life was brought suddenly to a close. 
 He died Sept. 11, 1836, in the fortieth year of his 
 age. Dr. Davis had special traits of character. He 
 was bv natural constitution buoyant and self-re- 
 liant, full of hope and cheer; this, added to his 
 heartv, courteous manner, made him a universal 
 favorite. Everybody knew him ; everybody loved 
 him. 
 
 On Jan. 5, 1817, Dr. Davis was married to 
 Abigail Leonard. 
 
 Gustavtis F. Davis, son of Rev. Gustavus F. 
 Davis, D. D., was born Jan. 4, 1818, in North Ston- 
 ington. Conn-., and the family removed that year 
 to South Reading, Mass., where he remained until 
 he was eleven years of age, at which time his father 
 accepted a call to the First Baptist Church of 
 Hartford, and the family came to this city. Young 
 Davis was educated in the grammar schools of 
 Hartford, and at Hartford Academy. At the age 
 of eighteen, in 1836, he was left fatherless, the 
 ■eldest of five children. When fifteen years old he 
 entered the employ of the Phcenix Bank, and re- 
 mained for six years, at the expiration of which 
 time he was sent to Litchfield, Conn., and entrusted 
 with the branch of that institution located there. 
 He remained in Litchfield until 1851, when he re- 
 turned to Hartford to take the cashiership of the 
 City Bank, which had just been organized. After 
 the removal of Edmund G. Howe, its first presi- 
 dent, to New York, in 1857, Mr. Davis was chosen 
 president of the bank, and remained at the head 
 continuously from that time until his death, April 
 28, 1896. He was identified with a number of the 
 leading financial corporations of the city, was presi- 
 dent of the State Savings Bank, one of the oldest 
 surviving directors of the ^Etna Insurance Co., 
 vice-president and director of the Travelers In- 
 surance Co. from its organization until the election 
 before his death. He was also president of the 
 Hartford Dispensary, and treasurer of the South 
 School District for nearljr forty j-ears. 
 
 In his political affiliations Mr. Davis was a Re- 
 publican, of Whig antecedents, and voted in 1840 
 for William Henrv Harrison. He never sought 
 political preferment, but in 1880 he was elected by 
 the Republicans of Hartford as representative in 
 the Legislature; he declined a re-election. His 
 religious connections were with the First Baptist 
 Church of Hartford, of which church his father 
 had been pastor from 1829 to 1836. He was a con- 
 sistent Christian gentleman, of positive convictions, 
 and of so equable a temperament that he impressed 
 himself upon all who knew him as a man of fairest 
 dealing and of strictest integrity. He had the uni- 
 versal confidence and esteem of a large business 
 acquaintance, acquired through many years' con- 
 nection with prominent financial institutions of 
 Hartford, and as a citizen and friend he won last- 
 ing regard and afifection. 
 
 On May 14, 1839, Mr. Davis was married to 
 Lucv Terry Strong, who was born Aug. 24, 1817, 
 a daughter of the late William Strong, of Hart- 
 ford, who was a descendant in the sixth generation 
 from John Strong, of England, an early settler at 
 Windsor, Conn. _ The children who survived the 
 father are residents of Hartford, and are: (i) 
 Charlotte Maria, born in Litchfield, Conn., March 
 4, 1840, married June 15, 1862, Rev. Wilder Smith, 
 who was born July 11, 1835. He was graduated 
 from Yale College' in 1857, and was a tutor there 
 
1418 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1859-61. He was settled as pastor at Berlin, Conn., 
 1802-66; at Milwaukee, 1866, later at Rockford, 
 111., but resided in Hartford the latter part of his 
 life. They have two daughters. Edith; and Alice, 
 who married C. T. Welles. {2) tiustavus I'ierre- 
 ])(.nt Davis is mentioned below. (4) Frederick 
 W endell Davis was born Sept. y. 1855, in Hart- 
 ford, and there passed his earl}- school days, and 
 was graduated from the high school in 1873. from 
 Yale College with the degree of J!. .\. in ^'^77. in 
 which vear he went to Kentucky, and engaged m the 
 saddlery business v.-ith M. W. Smith until 1S81 ; 
 the last three years of his connection with Mr.- 
 Smith, however, were passed in New (Orleans 
 (1878-1881). He returned to Hartford and en- 
 gaged in the manufacturing business until 1896, 
 since which time he has been connected with J. j. 
 & F. Goodwin. He married Lucy Trumbull, of 
 Hartford, who died in Xew Orleans Feb. i, 1881, 
 leaving one child. Carl Wyllis, born Oct. 27, 1880. 
 Z\lr. Davis then marrietl Mary Taintor. siller of 
 (ieorge E. Taintor, and by this iniion is the father 
 of four children: Dorothy Wendell, born March 
 12, i886; Roger Wolcott, born Jan. 8, 1890; Fred- 
 crick Ellsworth, born March 11, 1892; and Elise 
 Pierrepont, born Nov. 27, 1897. I-"raternally Mr. 
 Davis belongs to the Delta Kappa Ejjsilon. (3) 
 Emilv Strong Davis, born June 22. 1847, in Litch- 
 field, Conn., is now }ilrs. George \\. Taintor, of 
 Hartford, Connecticut. 
 
 Gustavus Pierrepont Davis. ~Sl. D.. ])hysician 
 and medical examiner for the Travelers Insurance 
 Co.. Hartford, was born Jan. 16, 1845, '" Litch- 
 field, Conn. He was graduated from Yale College 
 in 1866. then spent a year in the study of medicine 
 in Paris. He was graduated from the New York 
 }iledical College in 1869, and for a period was a 
 physician in the Charity Hospital there. He has 
 been in Hartford since 1870, and connected with 
 the Travelers Insurance Co. since 1875. He is on 
 the Hospital staff, and is a member of tlie City, 
 County and State [Medical Societies. He married 
 Elise ^litchell, and thev have four children : Eliza- 
 beth !M., Arthur W., Louise P.. and Helen Fitch. 
 
 HON. HENRY CORNELIUS ROBINSON 
 (deceased) was born Aug. 28, 1832, in Hartford, 
 son of David Franklin Robinson. He w-as pre- 
 pared for college in the Hartford Grammar School 
 and the high school of the same city, and was grad- 
 uated from Yale College in the class of 1853. Two 
 rears later (in 185 t) he received the degree of 
 A. -M., and that of "LL. D. in 1888. He studied 
 law in the office of his brother Lucius F. Robinson, 
 and with Judge ^^'illiam L. Storrs, and was ad- 
 mitted to the Bar of Hartford county in 1855, at 
 once entering into partnership with his brother, and 
 continuing thus until the death of Lucius F., in 
 1 86 1. From that time he practiced alone until the 
 graduation of his eldest son, when a new partner- 
 ship was formed, consisting of FI. C. & L. F. Rob- 
 inson. 
 
 From 1872 to 1874 Henry C. Robinson was 
 mayor of Hartforil. He had previously, in 1866, 
 been fish commissioner. In 1889 he was commis- 
 sioner from Connecticut at the Federal Constitu- 
 tional Centennial. In 1879 he was a representative 
 from Hartford in the General Assembly. Mr. Rob- 
 inson was long attorney for the New York, New 
 Haven & Hartford railroad, and one of its direc- 
 tors. He was attorney for the Connecticut Mutual 
 I'ire Insurance Co., the Pratt & Whitney Co,, the 
 Connecticut Fire Insurance Co., and many more of 
 the large and intluential corporations of Hartford. 
 He was a trustee of the Connecticut Trust & Safe 
 Deposit Co., and of the Wadsworth Athenzeum ; 
 a member of the Hartford Tract Society ; vice- 
 president of the Connecticut and Hartford Bar Asso- 
 ciations, and served as president of the Yale 
 .\limmi Association of Hartford. Mr. Robinson 
 was thrice the Republican candidate for guberna- 
 torial honors. He was a member of the Chicago 
 Convention in 1880, and author of much of its 
 platform. Mr. Robinson was an accomplished ora- 
 tor, and his public atldresses were numerous and 
 able. In his professional life he was concerned, for 
 the last twenty-five years of his life, in most of the 
 important suits in which the city of Hartford, its 
 various departments, the State of Connecticut, and 
 the Re]niblican party, have at various times been 
 made parties in court. Mr. Robinson died Feb. 14, 
 1900. at his home in Hartford, and testimonials 
 from his fellow lawyers and associates in the dif- 
 ferent concerns with which he was connected, from 
 his ])astor, and from personal friends, imanimous 
 in their expressions of praise and regret, gave evi- 
 dence of the universal esteem in which he was held. 
 
 On Aug. 28, 1862, Mr. Robinson was married 
 to Eliza Niles Trumbull, daughter of John F. Trum- 
 bull, of Stonington, Conn. The children born to 
 the marriage were: Lucius F., Lucy T. (Mrs. S. 
 T. Miller), Henry S., John T. and Mary S. 
 
 Lucius Franklin Robinson, son of Henry C. 
 Robinson, and grandson of David Franklin Robin- 
 son, was born June 12, 1863. in Hartford. He was 
 graduated from Yale College in 1885. studied law 
 under the direction of his father in Hartford, and 
 was admitted to the Bar in that city in 1887. He 
 was a member of tlie citjr council in 1890-91, serv- 
 ing as president of the board in the latter year. 
 He has served as a member of the fire commission- 
 ers for Hartford, and as president of the board of 
 park commissioners, and is a director in several cor- 
 porations of Hartford, among them the First Na- 
 tional Bank. 
 
 ATKINS. Josiah Adkins is supposed to have 
 been the first of his family in this country; just 
 what date is not exactlv known. He was married 
 twice, as is shown by wills and records. His first 
 wife was a sister of Edward Andrews (who was in 
 Hartford as early as 1655), as shown by said An- 
 drew's will, 1673, and three of Josiah's children 
 were born of this marriage. His second union, on 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1419 
 
 Oct. 8, 1673, was to Elizabeth Wetmore, of Mid- 
 dletown. Previous to this time he ha J been in 
 East Hartford and Wethersfield, where his eldest 
 son and daughter married and remained, the sec- 
 ond son going to Milford. 
 
 Descendants of Josiah's eldest son, Thomas, are 
 the only branch presented in this genealogy. [For 
 other lines, see Hinman's "Genealogy of the Puri- 
 tans." Orcott's History of Wolcott, Craft's, Whate- 
 ly, of Massachusetts. I In this branch the spelling 
 of the name was changed to Atkins about 1770. 
 The family has not aspired to notoriety in public 
 or political lines, for the most part following agri- 
 cultural and mechamical pursuits. Positive in their 
 political and religious convictions, th&y have faich- 
 fully serine. 1 the churches of which they were mem- 
 bers as deacons, trustees, or on committees, and 
 Rev. Irenus, son of Samu;l, was a minister, being 
 pastor of the Baptist Church in Southington for 
 twelve years ; he also, during his life or nearly 
 eighty-nine years, supplied without remuneration 
 feeble churches. At the same time he was inter- 
 ested in manufacturing, for the support of his fam- 
 ily, and together with his brothers was the pioneer 
 of the saw manufacturing industry in this country; 
 the reputation of their productions is as wide as 
 the country, and has been added to by the offspring 
 of the original establishment, The E. O. Penfield 
 Saw Works, of Bristol, Conn., and The E. C. At- 
 kins establishment, of Indianapolis, Ind., E. C. 
 Atkins being a son of RoUin, one of the brothers 
 in the partnership in the infancv of the business. 
 George R. Atkins, an elder brother of E. C, has 
 also been intimately associated therewith. All of 
 the sons of Samuel followed to some extent manu- 
 facturing in connection with farming, tanning, 
 shoemaking, wood turning, and the manufactru-e 
 of horn combs and clocks, both wood ' and brass. 
 Samuel, the father, was a weaver, and interested 
 to some extent in shipping in early or middle life. 
 The records of the State show that the Atkinses as 
 a family have ever been ready to respond to the 
 call of their country, whether in the deadly Havana 
 expedition, the fierce struggle of the Revolution, or 
 the sanguinary conflict of 1861-65. Never seek- 
 ing political office, they have served their town as 
 called upon satisfactorily, Roswell Atkins as judge 
 of the probate court for a term of two years, when 
 the age limit would be soon reached. He is a' 
 machinist and tool maker by trade, but by occupa- 
 tion a civil engineer, and though now in his sev- 
 enty-fifth year is able to follow the lines all day, 
 through woods, over hills, or wherever the business 
 calls him. 
 
 (I) Josiah and (Andrews) Adkins had 
 
 children : Thomas is mentioned below ; Samuel 
 married Esther Welch, born in 1664, daughter of 
 Thomas and Hannah (Buckingham) Welch, of 
 Milford ; Elizabeth married Richard Gilman, of 
 East Hartford. Children by second marriage: 
 Sarah, born July 16, 1674 (died 1719) ; Abigail,' 
 Sept. II, 1676; Solomon, July 25, 1678 (married 
 
 May 18, 1709, Phebe Edwards, of Northampton, 
 Mass. J ; Josiah, March 9, 1680 (married Dec. 16, 
 1708, Alary Wheeler, of Stratford) ; Benjamin, 
 Nov. 19, 1682 (married June 8, 1709, Jane Ste- 
 vens, of New Haven) ; Ephraim, March, 1685 
 (married June 16, 1709, Elizabeth Wetmore, of 
 Middletown). Josiah Adkins died Sept. 14, 1690, 
 his wife, Elizabeth, about 1700. 
 
 (II) Thomas Adkins, son of Josiah, in 1672 
 married Jane Williams, daughter of William and 
 Jane (Westover) Williams, of Windsor. Children: 
 Mary, born 1672, married John Elmer, of East 
 Hartford, and died in 1722; Thomas, born 1673; 
 William, born 1675 ; Jane, born 1678, married Jo- 
 seph Elmer (born 1678) x-\pril 4, 1700 (he was a 
 brother of John, above, of East Hartford) ; Sarah, 
 born 1682, married Robert Reeves, of East Hart- 
 ford (born 1675) ; Josiah, born 1685, married Jo- 
 henna Barbour (he died soon afterward, and his 
 widow married Benjamin Colt) : Benoni, born 
 1690, is next in the line of descent. 
 
 (III) Benoni Adkins, born 1690, died April 
 28, 1756. On Aug. 20, 1 71 5, he married Esther 
 Hall, born Feb. 23, 1682, daughter of Thomas and 
 Grace (Watson) Hall. Children: Thomas, born 
 April 22, 1716, is mentioned below; Luthur, born 
 1718, is mentioned below: Esther, born June i, 
 1720, maried Zebulon Deming, Dec. 18, 1740; Sarah, 
 born April I, 1722, married Zebuion Andrus, of 
 Canaan, Nov. 12, 1747; Zealous, born Jan. 18, 1725, 
 is mentioned below; Zuba, born May 5, 1727; Mary, 
 born IMarch 4, 1732, married (supposedly) Joseph 
 Butler Oct. 27, 1768; Lois, baptized May 26, 1734. 
 
 (IV) Thomas Adkins, born April 22, 1716, 
 married Feb. 8, 1738, Mary Aspinwall, daughter 
 of Eleazer Aspinwall. Children : Mary, born Nov. 
 
 ■ 26, 1739, married July 17, 1766, Isaac Person, or 
 Parsons; Actea, born Oct. 28, 1741 ; Rhoda, born 
 Jan. 28, 1745, married Josiah Fowler, of Walling- 
 ford; Jerusha, born March 14, 1747; Samuel, born 
 Jan. 17, 1750, is mentioned below: Thomas, born 
 Oct. 10, 1752, died of camp fever 1776, while serv- 
 nig in the army. 
 
 (I\' Luther Adkins, son of Benoni, born in 1718, 
 married Nov. 14, 1745, Eunice Andrews, and died 
 Aug. 3, 1788. He was a soldier in the Revolution. 
 Children: Zilpa, baptized Nov. 11, 1744 (married 
 Oct. 27, 1763, Stephen Pratt) ; Phebe, Sept. 21, 
 1746 (married Oct. 31, 1765, Asa Barnes) ; Benoni, 
 Feb. 26, 1749 (married Sept. 20, 1769, Sarah Hitch- 
 cock, baptized Sept. 7, 1749) ; Eunice, Feb. 2, 1752; 
 Elizabeth, June 16, 1754: Luthur, July 10, 1757 
 (rem.oved to Westfield, Mass.) : Chauncey, Nov. 
 IS. 1761 (was in the armv ; he also went to \\'est- 
 f^eld). 
 
 (R) Capt. Zealous Adkins, son of Benoni, 
 born Jan. 18, 1725, married June 11, 1746, his 
 wife's name being Abigail. He died July 28, 1785? 
 she on ]\Iarch 5, 1800, aged seventy-four. Chil- 
 dren: Abigail, baptized May 10,* 1747; Jemima, 
 Nov. 27, 1748; Lucv, Sept. 22, 1754 (married Feb. 
 -3. 1775. Robert Webster) : Charles, June 4, 1758 
 
1420 
 
 COMMEMORATIl'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ion April y, 1782, he married Rachel Sloper, and 
 died in 1809;, he was in the army); Mary, Sept. 
 14, 1766; Aiartha, Sept. 14, 1766. 
 
 (\') Samuel Adkms, son of Thomas, horn Jan. 
 17, 1750, married linnice W'ightman, daughter of 
 Kev. John .W ightman. Children: Welthena, born 
 ^larch 13, 1774, married Simeon Upson, and had 
 children — Sturges, Samuel, Rodney, and others. 
 Hannah, born Feb. 27, 1776, married Isaac Allen, 
 son of Abel, and had children — Rev. Ursamus 
 Ezra, Alonzo, Welthena, Luanna and Avery. 
 Thomas, born March 6, 1778, is mentioned below. 
 Sabrina, born April 8, 1780, was married Jan. 11, 
 1803, to Dr. Alerriman, born July 8, 1776, and had 
 children — Earl Jefferson, born Nov. 2, 1803 ; Sher- 
 lett Eunice, born June 26, 1805: Silas Atkins, April 
 t>, 1807; Sabrina Hastings, May, iSoy; Roswell 
 A., who married 2\Iargaret Drake. Avery, born 
 Dec. 5, 1782, is mentioned below. Polly, born Feb. 
 28, 1785, married tJeurge Mitchell, and Jiad chil- 
 dren — [see Mitchell genealogy.] C_\ntha, born 
 Sept. 9, 1787, died Sept. 17, 1855, married (first) 
 Roswell Hawley and (second) Benjamin Meigs 
 (she had no children). Rollin, born Sept. 5, 1790, 
 is mentioned lielow. Irenus, born Xov. 15, 1792, 
 is mentioned below. Sally, born heb. 16, 1795, died 
 unmarried. Roswell. born April 8, 1798, died in 
 181 8. in Georgia. Lloyd, born Oct. 22, 1800, is 
 mentioned below. 
 
 (\T) Thomas Atkins, son of Samuel, born March 
 6. 1778, married Svlvia Neal, daug'hter of ]ohn and 
 Phebe (Judd) Neal. He died April 8. 1825, she 
 on July 29. i860. Children: Levia, born 1800, mar- 
 ried Jan. I, 1822, David H. Frost, and they had 
 three children, Jane, Sylvia and Mar\' Eliza. Merritt 
 ^^'., born April 13, 1804, is mentioned below. Nancy 
 married Sept. 23. 1836, John Hendrick, and had two 
 children, Augustus and George. 
 
 (All) ]\Ierritt W. Atkins, son of Thomas Atkins, 
 born April 13, 1804, married ^lay 4, 1825, Hilary 
 Horton, who was born Oct. 26, 1806. He died June 
 ^5- ^^7j- sbe on April 17, 1881. Children: Thomas 
 A\'., born Jan. 10, 1827. is mentioned below. Mary 
 Ann. born ]March 22, 1831, married Sept. 26, 1852, 
 Junius S. Oakley, born June 12. 1829 : she died April 
 20, 1874. Carrie A., born Sept. 29, 1839, married 
 Jan. I. 1862, Randolph \\". Cowles, died Dec. 16, 
 1863, Sarah Ann. lx>rn June 17, 1844, married Oct. 
 12, 1864, Herschel Baker, died Sept. 26. 1871. 
 Chai-les E., born July 24, 1846, died April 6, 1869. 
 
 (\'ni) Thomas W. Atkins, son of ^lerritt W., 
 born Jan. 10, 1827, married (first) Sept. 10, 1848, 
 Helen S. Oakley, who was born April 13, 1827, and 
 died Dec. 5, 1859. Children : Henrv O., born 
 ]\Iarch 24, 1850, is mentioned below; Ella Viola, 
 born Aoril 6, 1852,, married March 14, 1880, Clar- 
 ence Ringham. On Dec. 25, 1862, Isir. Atkins mar- 
 ried (second) Mary J. Nephew, of Ulysses, Penn., 
 pnd thev had children as follows: Nellie, Alerritt 
 William, Sarah Mary, and Bert. The father died 
 Jan. o. 1876.. 
 
 (IX) Henry O. Atkins, son of Thomas W., mar- 
 
 ried Oct. 20, 1872, Julia Hamick. Children : Charles 
 L.ouis, born May 7, 1875, niarried May 18, 1898, 
 Annie Moore, died Jan. 2, 1901 ; Harry 'J'homas, 
 born July 8, 1880; Clarence Ray, born July 14, 1893. 
 (\ ll -Vvery .Atkins, son of Samuel, born Dec. 
 
 5, 1782, married Jan. 9, 1806, Irene Botsford, who 
 was born in 1788. lie died July 18, 1862, she on 
 Jan. 28, 1858. Children: Samuel W., born March 
 30, 1808; Alden A., March 14, 1810; Elbridge Gerry, 
 June 21, 1812; Valentine Augustus, Dec. 2, 1828. 
 
 (V'll) Samuel A\'. Atkins, son of Avery, born 
 March 30, 1808, died Feb. 12, 1884. On May 16, 
 1835, he married Alariah M. Dowd, who was born 
 i'eb. 3, 1818, and died Nov. 2, 1892. Children: (1) 
 Ellen Irene, born Aug. 26, 1837, married Jan. 27, 
 
 1864, J. Fayette Douglas, born 1833, and they had 
 three children, Clara M;, born April 16, 1867 : Junius 
 Z., Sept. 22, 1876: and I. Fay, April 8, 1878. (2) 
 George W., born Feb. 27, 1845, married June 8, 1870, 
 Jennie A. Brown, born Nov. 22, 1849, and they had 
 one child, C. Bernice, born Aug. 25, 1879, (3) 
 Azzella M., born June 3. 1852, married Oct. 20, 
 1884, Watson Barnes, born Feb. 15, 1854. 
 
 (\T1) Alden A. Atkins, son of Avery, born 
 March 14, 1810, died Jan. 6, 1893. On Sept. 20, 
 1832, he married Adeline C. Bidwell, who died April 
 12, 1866, aged forty-six. Children: (i) Alden 
 Irenus. born Feb. 14, 1837, died May 24, 1882, mar- 
 ried April 7, 1881, Louisa N. Travers, born Oct. 25, 
 1859. They had one child, Adeline Louisa, born 
 Jan. 12. 1882. (2) Mary Jane, born March i, 1842, 
 married Dec. 12, 1867, James L. Campbell, born 
 March 7, 1832. 
 
 (ATI) Elbridge Gerry Atkins, son of Averv, 
 born June 21, 1812, died April 24, 1878, On Feb. 
 
 6, 1833, he married Emeline Curtis, born July 23, 
 1809, and died May 10, 1895. Children: (i ) Avery 
 I., born June 3. 1834, died July 14, 1892. On June 
 20, 1855, he married Sarah Ann Caldwell, born 
 April 22, 1835. They had three children, Willie G., 
 horn July 26, 1865: Hattie Urania, June 15, 1867; 
 Grace Emeline, April 13, 1875. (2) Urania was 
 born Sept. 9. 1837. (3) Emeline C, born July 4, 
 1839. niarried ^lay 7, 1861, Elbert O. Moore, born 
 Nov. 29, 1832; he died Aug. 7, 1890. Children: 
 Thomas E., born Aug. 10, 1862: John C, July 9, 
 1864 (married Nettie Smith and has five children) ; 
 Rosalee, Feb. 28, 1867 (married Charles Neale, and 
 has two children) ; Elbert O., June 17, 1870; Emely 
 Urania, JMay 31, 1873 ; Averv Atkins. July 25, 1876. 
 
 (VH) A'alentine Augustus Atkins, son of Aver)', 
 born Dec. 2, 1828, died Oct. 25, 1895. On Oct. i, 
 
 1865, he married Mrs. Lydia A. (Hall) Barnes, born 
 June 10, 1838. They had one child, Cora D., born 
 Sept. 27, 1866, who married March 27, 1886, George 
 C. Doherty, born Jan. 24, 1859: they have one child, 
 Bessie Mildred, born Aug. 12, 1888. 
 
 (VI) Rollin Atkins, third son of Samuel, born 
 Sept. 5, 1790, died April 4, 1844. On May 22, 
 181 7, he married Harriet Bishop, born Aug. i, 1796, 
 died Dec. 23. 1879. Children : Ellen, born i8t8, died 
 Dec. 29, 1853, married July 30, 1837, Volney G. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1421 
 
 Barbour, who died Jan. 15, 1859, ^g^d fifty-four. 
 .Children — Adelaide, Ellen (1540), Volney G. 
 (1842), George R. (1844), Samuel A. and Thomas 
 F. George R. is mentioned below. Harriet B., born 
 1823, married July 25, 1844, Charles G. Grant, and 
 later wedded a Mr. Smith. Marietta, born 1831, 
 married May 25, 1856, Henry S. Stevens, died July 
 10, 1858. Klias Cornelius is mentioned below. 
 
 (VII) George R. Atkins, son of Rolhn, born 
 1820, married (first) Julia R. Wells, born Feb. 6, 
 1828, died Aug. 12, 1858. For his second wife he 
 wedded Feb. 26, 1863, Emerett Bradley, born Dec. 
 19, 1842, died Oct. 15, 1897. Children by first wife : 
 J. Ellen, born 1847, married April 3, 1866, Win. H. 
 Perkins; George R., Jr., born March 21, 1851, mar- 
 ried Addie Gallup, of Mystic, and they have had four 
 children, Frank, Florence, William and Lillian. 
 Children by second wife: Jennie H., born Jan. 11, 
 1868; and Lizzie B., born July 8, 1870, who died 
 Sept. 24, 1897. 
 
 (VH) Elias C. Atkins, son of RoUin, born June 
 28, 1833, married Aug. 29, 1855, Sarah A. Wells, 
 born 1834, who died April 11, 1863. They had one 
 daughter, Hattie, born 1856. By his second wife 
 Mr._ Atkins has four children, one son, Harry, and 
 three daughters. Elias Cornelius Atkins is one of 
 the leading saw manufacturers of the country, as 
 well as a leader in all that will promote the best in- 
 terests of the community in which he lives and the 
 well-being of the world at large. 
 
 (VI) Irenus Atkins, son of Samuel, born Nov. 
 15, 1792, married Sept. 14, 1814, Eunice Beckwith, 
 daughter of Zachariah. Children : Four died in early 
 life; the fifth, Eveline J., born April 7, 1825, married 
 Jan. 5, 1866, Oliver S. Judd; Andrew Fuller, born 
 Oct. 29, 1828, died May 9, 1893, married May 6, 
 1849, Helen M. Welch, born in 1831, daughter of 
 Hon. Elisha N. and Jane (Buckley) Welch (they 
 had one daughter, Fannie W., born March 13, 1853, 
 who married A. B. Tomlinson. 
 
 (VI) Lloyd Atkins, son of Samuel, born Oct. 22, 
 1800, died Feb. 14, 1869. On Oct. 22, 1823, he mar- 
 ried Charity Crampton, born March 4, 1805, and 
 died Dec. 17, 1891. Children: Eunice and Roswell. 
 Eunice, born Oct. 7, 1824, married April 14, 1846, 
 Roswell A. Neal, born Jan. 21, 1821, and they had 
 six children : Mary, born Jan, 17, 1847, was married 
 Oct. II, 1871, to Theodore H. McKenzie. Stephen 
 D. was born Feb. i, 1861 ; four others died in youth. 
 
 (VII) Rosv\fELL Atkins, born Sept. 24, 1826, 
 married Oct. 19, 1847, Martha S. Hart, born June 
 30, 1828, died Sept. 23, 1852. For his second wife he 
 wedded Sarah Amelia Barnum, born Feb. 26, 1835. 
 Children of Roswell and Sarah A. Atkins: (i) 
 Amelia Martha, born Oct. 19, 1857, graduated M. 
 D. from the LTniversity of Michigan in February, 
 1878. On March 14, 1880, she married Nathaniel 
 C. Whitfield, M. D. (2) Lloyd Roswell, born Dec. 
 23, 1866, graduated from Hahnemann College and 
 Hospital, Chicago, in February, 1887. On Oct. i, 
 1889, he married Jennie Poppi, and they have one 
 child, Lloyd R., Jr., born Feb. 4, 1893. 
 
 WILLIAM MITCHELL and his descend- 
 ants. William Mitchell was born in Scotland, Aug. 
 30, 1748. He came to this country when about 
 twelve years of age, and first resided in Danbury, 
 Conn., thence removing to Thompson (or Killingly, 
 as it was then called), where he was. married to 
 Mary Alton. In 1773 he removed to Bristol with 
 his wife and one cUild. It is supposed that at 
 Thompson, he learned what was then called the 
 clothier's trade, which business he followed after 
 coming to Bristol, the cloth being woven at diflierent 
 houses, on the hand-looms of the period. The prod- 
 ucts of these looms he fulled and colored, and placed 
 upon the market. Just before the Revolutionary 
 war he made a visit to the old country for the 
 purpose of perfecting his knowledge of coloring, 
 and on returning was accompanied by his brother 
 Thomas. When the war of the Revolution began 
 to assume a threatening aspect, Thomas returned, 
 but William remained, and served for a time in the 
 army, being at the battle of White Plains. He con- 
 tinued to make cloth during the war, and likewise 
 engaged in the manufacture of saltpeter, for use in 
 making powder for the Continental army. In later 
 years other manufacturing interests engaged his 
 attention, and this turn of thought or inclination 
 seems to have been inherited by his children. 
 
 George Mitchell, eldest son of William, was born 
 in Bristol, Conn., April 19, 1774, and began his 
 business career as clerk in the store of Thomas 
 Barnes, engaging in mercantile enterprises the 
 greater part of his life. He embarked in other en- 
 terprises, however, among them the manufacture ot 
 clocks and saws, and he not only carried on his own 
 business, but it was his custom — ^being a public- 
 spirited man — to aid and encourage others to enter 
 into business. To this end he would buy properties 
 suitable for manufacturing establishments, and sell 
 them to others, taking in payment their products, 
 and sending out peddlers through the country to 
 dispose of them. Thus he was very influential in 
 building up the industries of the town, and the re- 
 sults of his enterprise and sagacity are still appar- 
 ent. As a man he had the entire confidence of his 
 fellow citizens. He was outspoken in his convic- 
 tions, kind and liberal in the use of the means which 
 he accumulated, whether to the church of his choice 
 or to the cause of education. He was one of the 
 founders and stanch supporters of the Connecti- 
 cut Literary Institution. He took great interest in 
 politics ; was closely identified with the movement 
 which substituted the Constitution of 1818 for the 
 British Charter ; was several times a member of 
 the General Assembly; and once, in 1836, a member 
 of the Senate. Fraternally he was a Freemason, 
 and the first Worshipful Master of Franklin Lodge, 
 No. 56, A. F. & A. M., in Bristol, in 1819. 
 
 Julius R. Mitchell succeeded to the mercantile 
 business of his father, George Mitchell, being as- 
 sociated part of the time with an elder brother, 
 George PI. Mitchell, who was postmaster of the 
 town quite a number of years, as was also the 
 
li-2i 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lailKT. Julius R. iNIitchcII continued in the nier- 
 cantiie business for over fifty years, beuig the 
 leading merchant of that place. Tlioroughly ni ear- 
 nest in whatever he believed to be the right and 
 for the best interests of his native town, which he 
 represented in both branches of the Legislature, 
 a ])illar in the chiu'ch of his choice, he will long be 
 remembered as a worthy son of a worthy sire. 
 His son, George W. JMitchell, has taken up the 
 work which his father laid down. 
 
 George H. Mitchell, above referred to, is re- 
 membered as a business man of high character, and 
 also as a musician. He married Lurene Hooker, a 
 descendant of Thomas Hooker. Their eldest son, 
 George H. .Mitchell, Jr., was a musician of high 
 rank, and excelled in the composition and execution 
 of church music, to which he devoted much lime. 
 Ho also was engaged in manufacturing. Charles 
 Elliott, another son of George H. .Mitchell, is a 
 prominent lawyer in Xew ^'ork City, i le was com- 
 missioner of patents under the administration of 
 Harrison. .A. third son, .Moseley Hooker, died in 
 early manhood, but not before he liad left his 
 mark in the place as a merchant. 
 
 Thomas .Mitchell, second son of William, fol- 
 lowed the quiet life of a farmer. He was a man 
 of fine presence, honest and upright. His son, 
 Henry A., studied law, and was considered an able 
 lawyer, was State's attorney for Hartford county, 
 judge of the Hartford county court, editor of the 
 Hartford Times for a while, and afterward judge of 
 the probate court in Uristol. He was much re- 
 spected In all who knew him. Thomas Mitchell, 
 son of Henry .A., has spent his life in Washing- 
 ton, where he has filled many positions of trust 
 and responsibility. 
 
 John Smith .Mitchell, another son of William, 
 removed to New Haven, and was engaged prin- 
 cipally in mercantile Inisiness. He was also post- 
 master a number of years. His sons, Edward A., . 
 John S. and Charles M., all became prominently 
 identified with the manufacturing interests of Con- 
 necticut. Charles L., son of Edward A., repre- 
 sented Connecticut in Congress. 
 
 Stephen ^Mitchell, eighth child of ^^'illiam, was 
 'a merchant at Plymouth, Connecticut. 
 
 Samuel Augustus ^litchell, youngest son of 
 ^^'illiam, turned his attention to literature and pub- 
 lishing, the "British Poets" being one of his pub- 
 lications. His system of school books brought 
 him prominently before the public, especially his 
 Geography and Atlas, which was the most com- 
 plete work of its day for the study of that branch 
 of common-school education. 
 
 A genealogical record of W^illiam jMitchell and 
 his descendants is herewith given: 
 
 (T) ^^'iIliam "Mitchell, born Aug. 30, 1748, in 
 Scotland, died ^larch 12. 1806. On May 23, 1771, 
 he was married, by Rev. Noadiah Russell, of Thomp- 
 son Parish, to Mary .A.lton, who was born April 
 28, 1754, in Pomfret, Conn., daughter of William 
 
 A. Alton, and died Feb. 2^' 1823. They had nine 
 children. 
 
 (llj Lucy Mitchell was born Dec. 19, 1772. 
 On May 3, 1790, she married Silas Bundy, and 
 they had children: William, born Oct. 20, 1790; 
 Charles, Oct. 25, 1792; ."Vugustus, Oct. 5, 1797; 
 Lucy, Sept. 4, 1804. 
 
 [II) George Mitchell, born .\pril 19, 1774, 
 died July 29, 1852. He first married Hannah 
 ^latthews, who died May 8, 1808, aged thirty- 
 two years, and by whom he had children as fol- 
 lows: Polly Smith was married Sept. 10, 1817, 
 to Rev. Orra ^^lartin; G. Henry, born in 1797, died 
 .\ug. 26, 1803; Carlos Denison, born in 1800, 
 died Sept. 9, 1803; Alexander, born in 1801, died 
 Oct. 14, 1803; Julius Rodney, born in 1802, died 
 Jan. 11, 1804; and Henrietta, born in 1807, died 
 .\Iarch 9, 1808, aged nine months. George Mitch- 
 ell married for his second wife Almira Gridley An- 
 drews, who died JMarch 2, 18 16. She bore him 
 two children: George Henry, born in June, 1810, 
 died Aug. 16, 1866, aged fifty-si.x (see below) ; 
 Hannah -Vlaria. born in 1814, died March 13, 1815, 
 aged fourteen months. George Alitchell's third wife, 
 Polly .-\tkins, was I)orn Feb. 28, 1785, and .died 
 Dec. 29, 1857. They had four children : Carlos 
 Denison, born Sept., 1819, died June 22, 1832, 
 aged twelve years, ten months; Julius R., born 
 Jan. 8, 1 82 1 (see below) ; John Wightman, born 
 Nov., 1824, died in 1889; Juliette, born Aug., 
 1827, died in 1900. 
 
 (H) Polly Smith Alitchell, born Oct. 19, 1776, 
 died Nov. 20, 1795. 
 
 (II) Thomas Mitchell, born Feb. 8, 1779, died 
 Feb. I. 1852. In 1801 lie married Harriet Thomp- 
 son, daughter of Capt. Isaiah Thompson, and by 
 her had children as follows : Alexander was born 
 May 20, 1802; Adeline H., born Jan. i, 1804, 
 married Edwin Talmage Nov. 12, 1823; Henry 
 A., born Nov. 25, 1805, died March 17, 1888 (see 
 below) : Jane P., born Feb. 20, 1807, married 
 George Palmer Sept. 12, 1827, and had two children 
 — Harriet Rosanna, born Nov. 3, 1832, and Jane 
 Adeline, born June 10, 1834; Sorrow, born Sept. 
 15. 1809, •i'sd Sept. 21. 1809. The mother of these 
 died Sept. 15, 1809, aged twenty-three years, and 
 in 181 1 Mr. Alitchell married Esther Humiston, 
 who died .'April 18, 1814. On Oct. 17, 1814, he 
 married (third) Amanda Lee, who died Oct. 19, 
 1847, aged sixty-nine years. They had one child. 
 Sorrow, born in 1817, who died July 20, 1889. 
 
 (II) W^illiam Alton Mitchell, born Jan. 10, 
 1780, died Sept. 13, 1804. He was burned with 
 japan, and his death resulted from the injuries 
 received. He married Betsey Thompson, who was 
 born Sept. 4, 1784, and died Oct. 8, 18 13, and they 
 had one child, William Alton, who died in Georgia 
 in 1 83 1, unmarried. The widow married Sylves- 
 ter Norton, by whom she had one child, Mary 
 Louisa, born Aug. 8, 181 1. 
 
 (II) John Smith Alitchell, born Feb. 18, 1783, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1423 
 
 died Aug. i8, 1849. On Oct. 10, 1806, he married 
 Sarah Shelton, who was born Aug. 19, 1788, and 
 died Sept. 15, 1864. They had five chddren ; Ehza 
 C, born Aug. 26, 1809, died March 24, 1840 (see 
 below) ; Henrietta, born April 21, 1813, died July 
 3, 1894 (see below) ; Edward -Augustus, born June 
 13, 1815, died Sept. 14, 1876 (see below) ; John 
 Shelton, born Dec. i, 1817, died Feb. i, 1875 (see 
 below) ; Charles Moulton, born July 7, 1822, died 
 ^larch 9, 1899 (see below). 
 
 (II) Alnura Mitchell, born May 5, 1787, died 
 April 12, i860. By her first husband, Samuel But- 
 ton, she had two children: Candice, born in-i8i2, 
 married Thaddeus Smith ; Samuel, born June 16, 
 1814, died in August, 1889. She married (second) 
 Leicester Carrington, and by that union had four 
 children: Almira, William, Juliet (wife of Pliny 
 A. Jewett, below) and Leicester. 
 
 (II) Stephen Mitchell, born Nov. 29, 1789, 
 married (first) Rosetta Talmadge, and (second) 
 Dec. 17, 1823, wedded Mary Ann Talmadge. 
 
 (IIj Samuel Augustus Mitchell, born March 
 20, 1792, died in 1868. In August, 181 5, he mar- 
 ried Rhoda Ann Fuller, and they had five children : 
 Caroline, born Sept. 4, 1817, died July 27, 1892, 
 in Bristol, Conn, (see below) ; Carlos, born May 
 15. 1820, died in infancy; Ellen Douglas, born Dec. 
 12. 1821, died Feb. 19, 1853, in Philadelphia (see 
 below) ; Samuel Augustus, Jr., bom JNIarch 25, 
 1826, died April 25, 1882 (see below) ; William, 
 born !March i, 1838, died in infancy. 
 
 (III) George Flenry Mitchell, son of George 
 and Almira, born in June, 1810, married in 1833 
 Lurene Hooker, who was born Nov. 4, 1810, and 
 died Oct. 29, 1877. Their children: (i) George 
 Henry, Jr., born Nov. 12, 1835, married Aug. 30, 
 1857, Hannah Drusilla Welch, born Jan. 8, 1838, 
 and of their children two died in infancy ; Helen 
 A\'elch was born Feb. 8, i860; and Bertha Welch 
 was born July 25, 1861. (2) Charles Elliot, born 
 ]vlay 10, 1837, was married Dec. 13, 1866, to Cor- 
 nelia A. Chamberlain, and they had three children, 
 Robert Chamberlain, born May 8, 1868 ; Charles, 
 May 18, 1873 ; and George Henry, Dec. 3, 1877. 
 (3) Moseley Hooker, born in 1839, died Jan. 19, 
 1868. Fie was married April 13, 1858, to Ellen 
 Brainard, who died Sept. 5, 1865. They had two 
 children, Florence Almira, born July 17, 1859, ^i^d 
 Frederick Brainard, born June 2, i860. 
 
 (Ill) Julius R. Mitchell, son of George and 
 Polly (Atkins), born Jan. 8, 1821, was married 
 Jan. 27, 1845, to Drusilla Welch, born April 23, 
 1S25, daughter of George and Zelenda (Niles) 
 Welch. Their children: (i) George W., born 
 Nov. 7, 1852, was married Oct. 22, 1873, to Eva 
 L. Dunbar, who was born Nov. 4, 1852. (2) 
 Annie J., born July 11, 1856, married William 
 J. Isaacson. (3) Julia N. was born Feb. 10, 1861. 
 
 (Ill) Henry Alexander Mitchell, son of Thomas, 
 born Nov. 25, 1805, died March 17, 1888. On Sept. 
 2, 1832, he married Sarah Jane Hoadley, born 
 June 22, 1817, died July 20, 1889. Their children: 
 
 (I) Mary Jane, born Nov. 18, 1835, married Henry 
 A. Loomis June 19, 1867. (2) 'i nomas, born July 
 12, 1837, died July 29, 1898, married June i, 
 1861, Louisa G. F. Brannan. (3) Catherine Tal- 
 mage, born ' Sept. 26, 1841, married Harrison 
 Munson Curtis March 17, 1866. (4) Henry 
 Augustus, born Aug. 29, 1849, died Aug. 3, 1850. 
 (5) Jennie, born Sept. 22, 1855, died July 3, 1876. 
 
 (Ill) Eliza C. Mitchell, daughter of John S. 
 and Sarah, married James Loomis, and had one 
 child, James, deceased. 
 
 (HI) Henrietta Mitchell, daughter of John S. 
 and Sarah, was married Sept. 4, 1830, to Adolph 
 Le Moyne, born Sept. 4, 1803, died June 10, 1887. 
 Their children: (i) Adolph, Jr., born June 15, 
 1832, died April 23, 1875. (2) Edward Mitchell, 
 born March 13, 1834, married Josephine Bond, 
 born Oct. 9, 1843, and died May 22, 1889. They 
 had four children: Elizabeth Goodrich, born April 
 22, 1864, who married William T. Inness, of New 
 York; Josephine, born Nov. 19, 1868; Henrietta, 
 born Dec. 27, 1872; and Mary Mitchell, born Jan. 
 30, 1874. (3) Clara Sarah, born Nov. 5, 1835, 
 married Oct. 16, 1856, Samuel Augustus Mitchell, 
 Jr., born March 25, 1826, died April 25, 1882. 
 They had children as follows : Ella Clara, born 
 April 28, 1858, married April 23, 1879, Charles 
 Robert Weeks, of New York, born Jan. 2, 1857, 
 and had Charles Le Moyne, born March 13, 1880; 
 Lucile Carnes, born July 2"/, 1881 ; and Percy 
 Shelton, born Dec. 17, 1882. Caroline Burroughs 
 was born April 19, 1862. Alfred Augustus, born 
 Jan. 12, 1864, married in November, 1889, Ella 
 Salters, and had Harold Shelton, born April 18, 
 1891 ; Alfred Le Moyne, born Sept. 2, 1892; and 
 Donald, born in March, 1894. Henry Le Moyne, 
 born Sept. 17, 1867, died April 5, 1886. (4) Hen^ 
 rietta Josephine, born June 4, 1841, married Ed- 
 ward Bouaffe Hydecker, born Dec. 14, 1835, died 
 July 26, 1876. They had children: Edward Le 
 Moyne, born June 12, 1863, married Catharine Tox- 
 er Darlington, born Aug. 6, i860, and had Wayne 
 Darlington, born March 28, 1891 ; and Edward 
 Creagh, born Aug. 16, 1893, died Aug. 20, 1893. 
 William Creagh, born Sept. 6, 1865, married Mary 
 Fitzrandolph Johnson, born Feb. 13, 1870. Elise 
 Caroline, born June 19, 1869, married EUiston 
 Joseph Morris, born Sept. 28, 1862, and had Ellis- 
 ton Joseph, Jr., born Jan. 23, 1893. 
 
 (Ill) Edward Augustus Mitchell, son of John 
 
 5. and Sarah, married Elizabeth Gorham, born 
 Aug. 12, 1813, died May 11, 1888. Their children: 
 (i) Anna Galpin, born March 26, 1837, died Feb. 
 17, 1880. (2) Edward Augustus, born in January, 
 1839, tl'scl in May, 1843. (3) Ehza Loomis, born 
 Oct. 16, 1840, married G. Pierrepont Davis, born 
 Jan. 16, 1843, and had Elizabeth M., born Aug. 
 16, 1871 (wife of Otto Adolph Schreiber) ; Ar- 
 thur W., born May 8, 1874; Louise P., born April 
 
 6, 1880; and Flelen F., born Nov. 22, 1882. (4) 
 Charles Le Moyne, born Aug. 6, 1844, died March 
 I, 1890. He married Emeline ^lorse, born March 
 
1424 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 22, 1850, ami had Edward .\iigustus, Jr., born 
 April ij, 1872; and Hliza, born -May -'i, 1877, 
 died April 15, 1882. 
 
 (Ilij John S. -Mitchell, son of John S. and 
 Sarah, was married Jan. 3, 1838, to 'Alarj- Lyman 
 Benedict, who was born Sept. 23, 1819. They had 
 one child, Charles Benedict, born Sept. 16, 1840, 
 who died Feb. 4, 1854, at New Haven. 
 
 (Ill) Charles Moulton Mitchell, son of John 
 
 5. and Sarah, married (first) ^lary Ann Foole, 
 born March 20, 1834, who died April 18, 1859. 
 His second wite, .\iary I'arsons, born Sept. 17, 
 1840, is also deceased. By the first union he had 
 children: (1) Charles Footc was born Nov. 15, 
 1856. (2) Mary Ann, born April 17, 1859, mar- 
 ried April 8, 1880. John B. Wallace, born July 7, 
 1858, antl had Henry -Mitchell, born Jan. 12, 1881, 
 and John B., Jr., born Nov. 6, 1886. 
 
 (lUj Juliet Carrington, daughter of Leicester 
 and Almira (Mitchell) Carrington, was married 
 Nov. 10, 1847, to Pliny A. Jewett, and they had 
 three children: Thomas (had one son, Thomas), 
 Alarv and William. 
 
 (Ill) Ellen Douglas Mitchell, daughter of 
 Samuel Augustus, was married July 21, 1842, to 
 Horatio Nelson Burroughs. Their children: (i) 
 JMary Elena, born April 11, 1844. married I'eb. 
 II, 1868, Effingham Berot, of Philadelphia, born 
 Aug. 10, 1837. They had no children. (2) Annie 
 Burroughs, born Dec. 13. 1846, married April 15, 
 1875, Josiah Maurice Bacon, of Philadelphia. 
 They had no children. (3) Joseph Howells, born 
 ^lay 16, 1851, married Edith Lewis May 19. 1881, 
 and they had two children — Joseph Howells, Jr., 
 born April 12. 1882, and Ellen Douglas, born July 
 26, 1888. (4) Ellen Douglas, born Jan. 23, i'853, 
 married Nov. 5, 1879, Effingham Buckley ^lorris, 
 of Philadelphia, and they had four children — 
 Rhoda Fuller, born Nov. 5. 1880; Eleanor, Oct. 
 
 6. 1881 : Caroline Burroughs, June 24. 1S86; and 
 Effingham B., Jr.. Aug. 26, 1890. 
 
 (HI) Caroline Mitchell, daughter of Samuel 
 Augustus, was married July 20, 1854, to Horatio 
 Nelson' Burroughs, she being his second wife. 
 They had one child, Henry Augustus, born ^larch 
 10, 1856. who was married Dec. 5, 1878, to Emilie 
 Bailev, and died ^larch i. 1882. leaving one child, 
 Horatio Nelson. Jr., born Dec. 17, 1879. 
 
 (HI) Samuel Augustus Mitchell, Jr., son of 
 Samuel Augustus, was married Oct. 16, 1856, to 
 Clara Sarah Le ^Moyne. [See record of family 
 above.] 
 
 WILLL\:\I T. :^L\RCHANT, member of the 
 firm of Hills & Alarchant, funeral directors and em- 
 balmers. Hartford, is a native of that city, bom 
 Feb. 6, i860. 
 
 William Alarchant. his father, was born in 
 England, a son of Robert, also an Englishman, 
 who was a florist and landscape gardener, at which 
 calling he worked while in Hartford. He came to 
 America in ]\Iarch, 18^0, and died in Hartford Oct. 
 
 6, 1861. _ By his wife, Mary, he (the grandfather) 
 had a famil,y of ten children, seven of whom came 
 to .\merica, all locating in Hartford, where Will- 
 iam, our subject's father, followed the business of 
 caring for horses. Fie died in 1882, at the age 
 of fitty-six years. On Jan. 6, 1850, in England, 
 he married Caroline, daughter of William Church, 
 by trade a shoemaker, who died in Hartford Jan. 
 18. 1892, at the advanced age of eighty-two years, 
 and to this union were born six children, two of 
 whom are yet living: (1 ) Elizabeth M. A., wife 
 of i-Vederick H. Dean, by wiiom she had two sons 
 — William 11., Imrn Nov. 1. 1883, and Frederick 
 D., born Jan. 14, 1888. (2) William T.. our sub- 
 ject. Their mother died May 26, 1900, aged 
 sixty-eight years. 
 
 \\'illiam T. Marchant, whose name opens this 
 sketch, after receiving but a limited education (for 
 he is a typical self-made man), learned the trade 
 of butcher in a meat market situated on the cor- 
 ner of Main and Canton streets, Hartford, remained 
 there nine years, then for three years was at the 
 corner of Main street and Goodman place. For 
 seven years after leaving this line of business he 
 was in the employ of C. W. Hills, undertaker. 
 at the end of that time, in 1893, becoming .a jaart- 
 ner in the concern, the firm name being Hills & 
 Marchant. and the establishment is now the second 
 oldest and the largest of the kind in Hartford, 
 averaging over 300 funerals per annum. On Oct. 
 15. 1900, the firm moved into their present prem- 
 ises. No. 53 Ann street, where they have commo- 
 dious and comfortable offices and anterooms. Both 
 partners are graduates of the New York School of 
 Embalming, and are thoroughly versed in the art, 
 being excellent men of busine.<;s. 
 
 On Dec. 18. 1884, Mr. JMarchant was married 
 to Carrie E. Hills, daughter of his partner. Our 
 subject and his wife are members of the Episco- 
 pal Church. In politics he is a Republican, though 
 in municipal and other local matters he usually 
 casts his ballot for the candidate whom he con- 
 siders best adapted for the office. 
 
 Fraternally and socially Mr. Marchant has been 
 affiliated w^ith Lodge No. 88, Hartford, Pythagoras 
 Chapter. No. 17, Wolcott Council, and Washing- 
 ton Commanderv, No. i : is also a member of 
 Oak Lodge of Perfection. Flartford Council, 
 Princes of Jerusalem, Cyrus Council, Chapter Rose 
 Croix, and Connecticut Sovereign. Consistory, 
 Sphinx Temple, of the Mystic Shrine, being a 
 32d degree Mason. He has been a member of the 
 L O. 0. F. for eighteen years, and at present is 
 identified with Connecticut Lodge, No. 93 ; is a 
 member of the Knights of Pythias, Charter Oak 
 Lodge; and of the ^Master Workmen Fraternity, 
 Order of Connecticut. Mr. Marchant is a mem- 
 ber of the State Association of Funeral Direc- 
 tors, being ex-president of same, and on retiring 
 from this office, in the year 1898, he delivered a 
 masterly oration in reviewing the past years of his 
 service. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1425 
 
 EDWARD W. KEENE, a prosperous business 
 man of Unionville, whose success in life is due en- 
 tirely to his own unaided efforts, was born in 
 Southington, this county, Aug. 9, 1862, a son of 
 Patrick and Mary A. (Brennan) Keene. The fa- 
 ther, who was a native of Ireland, was employed 
 for thirty-eight years as a molder by Peck, Stowe, 
 Wilcox & Co., of Southington. In the family were 
 twelve children, but only five are now living, namely : 
 Patrick F., whose present address is No. 19 Park 
 street, Hartford; Edward W., our subject; Mary A. 
 and Margaret L., residents of Southington ; and 
 Andrew J., of Unionville. One son, James Keene, 
 was for some time collector of Internal Revenue at 
 Louisville, Kentucky. 
 
 Reared in Southington, Edward W. Keene was 
 educated in the public schools of that place, and 
 later he worked in the bolt department of the works 
 of Peck, Stowe, Wilcox & Co. for eight years. 
 Going to Chicago, he was in the employ of W. H. 
 Deering & Co., reaper, binder and mower manu- 
 facturers, for six months, and then traveled in their 
 interest through Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska. 
 Soon after his return to his old homie in Southing- 
 ton, Conn., he came to Unionville, Aug. 6, 1886, and 
 for about five years worked for the Upson Nut Com- 
 pany. In 1891 he embarked in the liquor business 
 in Unionville, and is still interested in the same. 
 He has met with excellent success in his under- 
 takings, and is now the owner of Keene's block, one 
 of the best business blocks in the town. He is con- 
 nected with the Co-operative Building & Loan and 
 the Connecticut Building & Loan Associations, and 
 belongs to the Foresters in LTnionville, the Knights 
 of Pythias, and the Benevolent and Protective Order 
 of Elks, Lodge No. 19, of Hartford. 
 
 In Newington, Conn., Mr. Keene was united in 
 marriage with Miss Katherine Foran, a daughter 
 of John Foran, and they have four children — May, 
 Edward W., Jr., John and James Richard. 
 
 WILLIAM BREWER NOBLE, the leading re- 
 tail dealer in drugs in East Hartford, was born Feb. 
 18, 1863, on Canton street, Hartford, in one of the 
 earliest built houses in that section of the city, and 
 descends froni two of the oldest families in the 
 State, the Nobles and the Brewers. Paternally he 
 is of the eighth generation from Thomas Noble, 
 the founder of the family in America. 
 
 Thomas Noble was born in England in 1632, 
 but the date of his coming to America is not on 
 record. It is known, however, that he was a mem- 
 ber of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and that in 
 1653 he located in Springfield, and with Elizur 
 Holyoke and others received permission to erect a 
 sawmill on Ensign Cooper's farm, on the Agawam 
 river. In 1669 he removed to Westfield, where he 
 died in 1707. He married, in 1660, at Springfield, 
 Hannah Wariner, and had a family of ten children, 
 from the sixth of whom, Mark by name, the sub- 
 ject of this sketch lineally descends. 
 
 90 
 
 From Thomas Noble the generations up to the 
 present time are as follows : Mark, born in Westfield, 
 Mass., in 1670, married Mercy iVIarshall, of North- 
 ampton, and died April 16, 1741. Noah, born in 
 Westfield May 23, 1713, married Mary Barber, of 
 Springfield, who was born in 1715, his death taking 
 place in 1781, and hers July 6, 1797. Zenas, born in 
 Westfield Nov. 30, 1743, (first) married Hannah 
 Jones, who was born in the same town Dec. 12, 
 1747, and died in January, 1791, Zenas dying in 
 Washington, Mass., March 31, 1813. William, son 
 of Zenas and Hannah, born in Washington Feb. 
 2, 1778, married Mary Smith, a native of the same 
 place, who was born in 1779, and died June 9, 1847, 
 in Pittsfield, where his death also occurred. May, 
 II, 1869. James, born in Washington Nov. 23, 1809, 
 first married Asenith Smith Martin, who was born 
 in Washington May 13, 1810, and died in Hart- 
 ford Sept. 29, 1837, his second marriage being to 
 Eliza A. Smith, who was born in Groton, Conn., 
 April 4, 18 1 7. James M., father of our subject, 
 was born Nov. 30, 1834; and William Brewer Noble 
 i's our subject. 
 
 James Noble, grandfather of our subject, was 
 one of the early school teachers of Washington, 
 Mass., as was also his wife, Asenith Smith (Mar- 
 tin) Noble. He was a wholesale and retail clothing 
 merchant, and came to Hartford, Conn., about 1830, 
 after his marriage. He was a deacon in the Fourth 
 Congregational Church, and superintendent of the 
 Sabbath-school for many years. His first wife died 
 at the early age of twenty-seven years, the mother 
 of two children: James M., father of our subject; 
 and Asenith, wife of Edwin L. Humphrey, of Pitts- 
 field, Mass. To his second marriage were born sev- 
 eral children, those living being Charles S., a 
 vegetable dealer of Hartford ; and Mrs. Emma 
 Adams, a widow, of the same city. The latter 
 years of his business life James Noble passed as a 
 traveling salesman for Curtis Brothers, at that 
 time manufacturers of Curtisville, Conn., but he 
 withdrew from business many years prior to his 
 death, which occurred when he was eighty-seven 
 years of age. 
 
 James M. Noble, father of our subject, was 
 born Nov. 30, 1834. at the corner of Morgan and 
 Commerce streets, Flartford, and at the age of sev- 
 enteen years began clerking for Gurdon Fox, 
 grocer, in Central Row, Hartford, with whom he 
 remained until twenty-one years old. Later he 
 clerked in Hartford. Boston, and again in various 
 stores in Hartford. He married Miss Mary Brewer, 
 of Brewer street. East Hartford, born Aug. 13, 1841, 
 a daughter of Osm.an and Deluanna Brewer. To 
 this union have been born three children : W^illiam 
 Brewer, our subject; Thomas M., of the firm of 
 Noble Brothers , and Charles S., of the Noble Drug 
 Store, both of Hartford. The father is a Repub- 
 lican in politics, and in religion is a member of the 
 Congregational Church of East Hartford, where he 
 has also passed many years, alternating with Hart- 
 
142G 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ford. He is a well-preserved gentleman, and is 
 held in the highest esteem for his many personal 
 excellencies. 
 
 \Mlliam B. Nohle passed his childhood days on 
 his father's farm, where his Xew England as well 
 as family qualities of thrift, industry and faithful- 
 ness to duty were fully developed. His first at- 
 tendance at school was in Hockanum, and at the 
 age of thirteen years he entered the high school in 
 Hartford. To reach this school it was necessary 
 for him to walk five miles, which distance he cov- 
 ered in all kinds of weather, winter and summer, 
 regardless of snow, rain, mud and dust, and scarcely 
 missed a day in four years ; thus, at the rate of ten 
 miles per day, he traveled on foot al)Out 7,300 miles 
 in order to secure his high-school education. To 
 add to this exercise he was also a member of his 
 class foot-ball team the last two years of his at- 
 tendance. He graduated in 1880, and at once se- 
 cured a position in the diug store of McXary & 
 Co., on Main street, where the Adams Express Co. 
 is now located, but a vear later was emi)loyed bv 
 George N. Clark & Co., with whom he remained 
 two years. P'rom 1883 until 1887 he was with Tal- 
 cott, Frisbie & Co., wholesale druggists, from whom 
 he received his druggist's diploma, and he passed 
 the Board on his first examination. During the last 
 two years he was with Talcott. Frisbie & Co. he 
 had entire charge of their laboratory work. From 
 1887 until 1890 he was chief clerk for C. R. Gris- 
 wold, on North Main street, and in March, of the 
 latter year, opened his drug store in Garvan's block, 
 East Hartford. 
 
 Since entering business for himself Mr. Xoble 
 has had an assured success, and has built up an 
 extensive trade through low prices, the reliability 
 of his stock in bulk and in compounds, his affable, 
 accommodating manner of treating his patrons, and 
 his promptitude in executing their orders. These 
 facts are vouched for by the East Hartford Weekly 
 Gazette, which in its issue of Sept. 6, 1895. had this 
 to say of Mr. Noble: "Few of the young business 
 men of the town have had as successful and rapid 
 a rise as the subject of this article. A resident of 
 this town from early boyhood, and endowed with 
 sterling personal qualities as well as sound com- 
 mercial judgment, great industry and faithfulness, 
 Mr. Noble had but to enter business for himself to 
 attract the custom of his friends and win the trade 
 of strangers. A low price-list, quick service, faith- 
 ful work, a pleasant and accommodating spirit — 
 these are main factors in his business' quick and 
 substantial growth." 
 
 In January, 1898, the Noble Drug Co.. of Hart- 
 ford, began business, and William B. and C. S. 
 Noble constitute this firm, which is a grand success. 
 William B. Noble has exhibited a wonderful amount 
 of vim. energy and enterprise for so young a man, 
 and well deserves the recognition he everywhere 
 meets with, both as a business man and a a:entleman. 
 
 On Nov. 7, 1887, Mr. Noble married INIiss Nettie 
 
 Sherman, a native of Norwich, Conn., and a daugh- 
 ter of George Sl-.ernian, who settled in Hartford 
 when she was a child, and in that city she was 
 reared. This happy union has been blessed with 
 five children, of whom, however, three only are now 
 living: Russell B.. Raymond B. and Rena S., Harry 
 B. and Gladys S. being deceased. 
 
 Fraternally Mr. Noble is a Mason ; is a member 
 of Elm Lodge. K. of P. ; Court Raymond, For- 
 esters of America : the Odd Fellows ; the Royal 
 Arcanum; the Grange; and is president of the 
 Wheel & Social Club-^all of East Hartford. In 
 the social circles of the town he and his wife hold 
 exalted positions, and are extremely popular. 
 
 ORRIN H. GOODRICH, one of the most re- 
 spected citizens of F.ast Hartford, and a descend- 
 ant of one of the oldest New England families, was 
 born in Rocky Hill, Hartford county, Jan. 10, 1832. 
 His grandfather. Jason Goodrich, also a native of 
 Rocky Hill, was a river captain nearly all his life. 
 and had a family of eight children, of whom Levi 
 (iooilrich, the father of our subject, was one of the 
 youngest, was born in Rocky Hill about 1812, and 
 was a farmer all his life. 
 
 Levi Goodrich married Nancy Taylor, a native 
 of South Glastonbury, Conn., and a daughter of 
 Ezeriah Taylor, a farmer, and to this union were 
 born eleven children, in the order here recorded : 
 Josejili, who married Fannie Buck, a native of Port- 
 land, Conn., followed farming in Portland, and there 
 died ; Henry, a farmer of South Glastonbury, who 
 married Mary Saunders, is now deceased, and is 
 iijterred at South Glastonbury; Jeannette. who is 
 married to Harvey Cornwell, a farmer of Portland ; 
 Orrin H.. the subject of this sketch; Elizabeth, de- 
 ceased wife of James Stowe, a farmer of Crom- 
 well ; Elmira. also deceased, who was married to 
 Lucius Somers. and lived in Ormond, Fla. ; James, 
 who died when a young man ; Stephen, who lived 
 to be over sixty years of age, and died single ; 
 Leverett. a machinist of Rocky Hill, who married 
 Mary A\"right, and is now deceased ; Anna, who 
 died young, as also did Augusta. The father of 
 these children, Levi Goodrich, passed away in 1879, 
 and the mother in 188 1. 
 
 Orrin H. Goodrich received a good common- 
 school education, and at an early age began learn- 
 ing the machinist's trade with Chenev Bros., at 
 ^Manchester, being employed by the same firm for 
 twenty years — good evidence, indeed, of his skill 
 as a mechanic. From ■Manchester he went to Hart- 
 ford, and worked for the Plimptons for some time, 
 when he retired to a farm, but was sent for by Case, 
 Lockwood & Brainard, of Hartford, who had al- 
 ready tested his skill, and still works for them in- 
 termittently, when some special or intricate piece 
 of work is to be done : he has always commanded a 
 good salary. 
 
 Orrin H. Goodrich married Celia Amidon, a na- 
 tive of Massachusetts, who died without issue, and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 142T 
 
 lie subsequently married Airs. Martin (Holmes) 
 ILowe, who was born in Lee, Mass., Sept. 26, 1831, 
 3. daughter of Jonathan VVadsworth and Roxanna 
 ( Chambers) Holmes, and a cousin of Oliver Wendell 
 Holmes, the eminent physician and writer of medi- 
 •cal literature, poet, essayist and humorist. The fa- 
 ther of Mrs. Goodrich was born and reared in West 
 -Hartford, where he followed the vocation of a 
 potter, but later became a farmer at Lee, Mass. 
 'Sir. Goodrich now occupies the house formerly 
 ■owned by Martin Lowe, and is living in quiet re- 
 tirement. In politics he is one of the stanchest of 
 Democrats, but has never had a desire for public 
 office. He is an attendant at the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church. Our subject has never joined any 
 .secret societ}'. He and his wife have a most com- 
 fortable home, with delightful surroundings, and 
 are among the most respected residents of the town 
 .and county. 
 
 Airs. Orrin H. Goodrich descends not only from 
 •one of the oldest of New England families, but 
 irom one of the most ancient and noble families of 
 Old England — the historical Seymours. Edward 
 •Seymour, Duke of Somerset, was born about 1500, 
 and was beheaded for reasons of state on Tower 
 Hill, London, Jan. 22, 1552. He was the eldest son of 
 .Sir John Seymour, and his sister was the wife of 
 Henry VIII, King of England. He was created 
 A'iscount Beauchamp and Earl of Hartford, and, 
 "later. Duke of Somerset and Earl Marshal of Eng- 
 land, in Februarv, 1547. Upon the death of Henry 
 A'lII he was made guardian of his own nephew, 
 young King Edward AT, with the title of Lord 
 Protector of the Realm, and met his death at the 
 <late mentioned above, through political chicanery. 
 
 Tracing, now, the American ancestry back to the 
 ■Colonial days : Cynthia Seymour, the mother of 
 Jonathan W. Holmes, father of Airs. Goodrich, was 
 lx)rn in Massachusetts Dec. 24, 1771, of the sixth 
 :generation from Richard Seymour, grandson of 
 the Duke of Somerset. Richard Seymour came to 
 America soon after the arrival of Rev. Air. Hooker 
 and his colony, as the first record of his residence 
 is found' to be at Hartford in 1639. Thence he 
 removed to Norwalk in 1650, being one of the 
 •earliest settlers of that town. Of his children, John 
 married Alary Watson, who bore him ten children, 
 and of these John (2), born Jan. 12, 1666, mar- 
 Tied Elizabeth Webster, daughter cf Robert Web- 
 ;ster, and granddaughter of Gov. John Webster. To 
 John Seymour (2) were born eleven children, of 
 -whom John, the eldest, was born in 1694, and first 
 married a Miss Mason, a daughter of Capt. John 
 Alason, who bore him the following named chil- 
 •dren: Lydia, Abigail, Elisha, Isaac, Lucretia, John 
 (born Nov. 24, 1727), William and Lucretia (2). 
 The second wife of John was Hannah Ensign, who 
 also bore him a large family, so that he had nine- 
 teen children in all. 
 
 Of the above family, John, who was born Nov. 
 24, 1727, married Lydia Wadsworth, a granddaugh- 
 
 ter of Capt. Joseph Wadsworth, renowned in Co- 
 lonial history as the person who concealed the 
 precious charter of Connecticut in the hollow of an 
 oak tree, which was ever afterward known as the 
 "Charter Oak." To the marriage of John Seymour 
 and Lydia Wadsworth were born thirteen children, 
 among whom were Cynthia and Silvia (twins), and 
 of these Cynthia became the mother of Jonathan 
 W. Holmes, the father of Mrs. Goodrich. 
 
 EA'IORY ORVTLLE BANCROFT. Among the 
 most attractive homesteads of this section is the 
 farm of this well-known resident of the town of 
 East Windsor, its location on the banks of the 
 Connecticut river afl^ording a beautiful view. As 
 an agriculturis't Air. Bancroft is enterprising and 
 successful, and he is a valued citizen, his honorable 
 record as a soldier during the Civil war being well 
 sustained by his integrity, ability and progressive 
 spirit in private life. 
 
 Air. Bancroft belongs to one of the old families 
 of East Windsor, and his great-great-grandfather, 
 Isaac Bancroft, the first of the name to locate there, 
 occupied the farm now owned by Morell & Snyder, 
 situated about one mile south of Warehouse Point. 
 Isaac Bancroft (2), our subject's grandfather, was 
 born in the town of East Windsor. 
 
 Bissell Bancroft, the father of our subject, was 
 born in 1801 in the same town, and for some years 
 of his early manhood was a teacher. In 1827 he 
 settled at the present homestead, where he was en- 
 gaged in farming for many years, his death oc- 
 curring in 1865. He was much respected for his 
 excellent qualities of character, and at times held 
 local offices, including that of selectman.. His wife, 
 Joanna Alorton, who died Alarch 11, 1895, aged 
 eighty-eight years, was a daughter of Alexander 
 Alorton, a Revolutionary soldier. Eleven children 
 were born to them : Horace A'L, a farmer of East 
 Windsor ; Willard and Rosina, deceased ; Emory 
 O., our subject; Aliss Emily R., who resides at 
 the homestead ; Amanda, wife of John Thompson, 
 of Ellington town, Tolland county; Alexander M., a 
 traveling salesman, residing in Springfield, Mass. ;' 
 Aliss Ellen L., who resides at the old home ; and 
 three who died in childhood. 
 
 Emory O. Bancroft was born Alarch 4, 1831, 
 at bis present farm, and was educated in the local 
 schools and in the old Scantic Academy. He re- 
 mained at home until he reached the age of twenty, 
 when he began raising tobacco on a farm near 
 Hartford, and after one )'ear in that business he 
 en.gaged in a mercantile enterprise in Hartford. In 
 1 86 1 he went to Springfield to work in the LTnited 
 States arsenal, but as the "dark days" of the Re- 
 bellion drew on he decided to ofl^er his services to 
 the government. In December, 1862, he enlisted in 
 Company A, 3d Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, 
 "for three years or the war," being mustered into 
 service at Readville. The regiment was sent to 
 Norfolk, A^a., and then up the river to join Gen. 
 
1428 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Butler's forces, meeting the enemy lor the first time 
 at Bermuda Hundred. Mr. Bancroft was assigned 
 to the engineer cor]3s, in the 13th Independent Com- 
 pany of Heavy Artillery, was with that company at 
 the battles of Cold Harbor and Fredericksburg, and 
 took part in the long siege of Petersburg. Many 
 notable feats of engineering skill are recorded to the 
 credit of this brave band of men, the building and 
 maintaining of a pontoon bridge across the Appo- 
 niatto.x river, thus uniting two sections of our army, 
 being especially famous. They also constructed a 
 pontoon bridge across the James river during the 
 siege of Petersburg, and one at Richmond over 
 which all the L'nion forces passed on their way to 
 Washington. In the summer of 1865 Mr. Bancroft 
 was detailed for service in the engineering dei^art- 
 ment of I'ortress Monroe, and on SejH. 25, of that 
 year, he received his discharge at Gallop's Island. 
 Boston Harbor. His father dying soon after his 
 return home, he took charge of the farm, which 
 comprises sixty acres of land, and is now devoted 
 to dairying and tobacco growing, as well as the rais- 
 ing of general crops. Politically Mr. liancroft is 
 a Republican, but he has not sought official honors. 
 He and his familv are much esteemed socially, and 
 he belongs to J. .\. Converse I'ost, Xo. 67. G. A. 
 R., of Windsor Locks, and to Morning Star Lodge, 
 Ko. 28, A. F. & A. M., at Warehouse Point. 
 
 In 1S57 Mr. Bancroft married Miss Frances 
 S. Jones. In 1867 he married Miss N'iroqua Tucker, 
 by whom he had one daughter, Ivanilla A., now the 
 wife of Frank Lord, of Fast Windsor, Conn. On 
 iMay 17, i8yy, Mr. Bancroft married Mrs. Susan 
 Bangs, widow of Eli 15angs. Mrs. Bancroft is a 
 member of the Baptist Church. 
 
 D\MGHT ER\IX POLLARD, the popular 
 and efficient foreman of the Berlin Iron Bridge 
 Co.'s works, in Derlin, is a native of this State, 
 born in ^lansfield Jan. 2^, 1848. His father, Bar- 
 nabus Huntington Pollard, was born in November, 
 1823, and throughout the greater part of his life 
 has followed farming in Mansfield. He was a 
 very hard-working man in early life, but is now prac- 
 tically living retired, as he is unable to engage in 
 the arduous labor of the farm. He married Julia 
 Scott, of Mansfield, whose remains rest in ]\Ians- 
 field cemetery. To them were born four children : 
 Lucy, Henry, Dwight E. and Ardin Sawyer. Our 
 subject's paternal grandfather, John Pollard, a 
 modest and industrious farmer, was born in Scot- 
 land, Conn., and died there at the advanced age of 
 ninety-six years ; his wife sleeps by his side in Scot- 
 land cemetery. 
 
 Reared on the home farm in IMansfield, Dwight 
 E. Pollard obtained his education in the district 
 schools of that town, and on laying aside his text- 
 books, at the age of fifteen years, he worked for 
 six months on the farm of a ^Ir. Spencer. The 
 following spring he entered the employ of Storrs 
 Swift, and worked on his farm for the same length 
 
 of time. For two years he had charge of the horses 
 of O. F. Chaffee, the silk manufacturer, and then 
 managed the farm of Miss Eliza Fitch, in South 
 Coventry, for two years. He next workeil in tlie 
 sawmill of Charles Kingsbury, at that place, for 
 five and a half years. In 1872 he came to East 
 Berlin and entered the employ of the Corrugated 
 Metal Co., as a shutter maker, for si.x months, and 
 later served the company in various capacities for 
 about three years, working in their different de- 
 jjartments. He was thus employed for one year after 
 the firm w-as changed to the Berlin Iron Bridge 
 Co., and was then made foreman. During the time 
 he held that position tlie business of the company 
 increased very rapidly, and ilieir works were ac- 
 cordingly enlarged. He l)ecanie foreman of the 
 bridge shop, which responsible position he is now 
 filling, with credit to himself and to the entire sat- 
 isfaction of the company, having from 100 to 225 
 men working under him. By close application, faith- 
 ful service and excellent ability in mechanical lines, 
 he has achieved a well-merited success. He entered 
 the emjilov of the company as a common laborer, 
 but has steadily risen until he is to-day foreman 
 of the largest department of their works. 
 
 On -March 26, 1873, Mr. Pollard married ^liss 
 Georgiana Kingsbury, of Cha]3lin, Conn., who was 
 born March 26, 1848, a daughter of George Kings- 
 bury. To them have been born three children : 
 Frank Ervin, born Feb. 3, 1874, died in April, 
 1874, and was buried in Mansfield. George Himt- 
 ington, born Nov. 3, 1875, is shipping clerk for the 
 Berlin Iron Bridge Co.: he married Nora Daly, of 
 Portland, Conn., and they have one child, Alary 
 \'eronica. born Dec. 23, 1898. Mortimer, born 
 Sept. 9, 1880, is employed with his father in the 
 Berlin Iron Bridge Co.'s works. 
 
 In political sentiment Mr. Pollard is a Repub- 
 lican, and in his social relations is a member of 
 V\'ashington Lodge, No. 8r, F. & A. M., of Crom- 
 well. He attends and supports the Methodist 
 Church of East Berlin, of which his wife is a faith- 
 ful member, taking an active part in church work. 
 
 HENRY FIELDS, an influential and highlr 
 respected farmer of Newington, has won his way 
 patiently to the front by mere force of character. 
 He has been, called upon to fill many local offices 
 of trust and responsibilitv. Pie has been active in 
 church work. As a public-spirited citizen he has 
 frequently performed signal services for the com- 
 munity in which he lives. Adversity was the com- 
 panion of his youth and boyhood days, but the 
 strong fiber of his character withstood discouraging 
 circumstances and led him steadily forward. 
 
 Mr. Fields is a member of an old family of 
 Waterbury, Conn. He was born in that city March 
 23, 1846, son of Lyman W. and Sarah (Bradley) 
 Fields, and grandson of Lyman and Mai-y Fields, 
 also of Waterbury. The father of our subject was a 
 machinist, industrious, but not favored by fortune.. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1429 
 
 He was a poor man, and worked hard through 
 life. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the common schools 
 ■of Waterbury and Wolcott. At the age of twelve 
 3-ears he began work on the farm of David Micholls, 
 near Wolcott, and for five years, or until he was 
 seventeen, he worked there for his board, clothes 
 and schooling. His services were then engaged by 
 a neighboring farmer for $io per month and board, 
 and although our subject remained with him for 
 four years, or until he was twenty-one, his board 
 during the time was his sole remuneration. Re- 
 turning to his home in Waterbury, Mr. Field spent 
 the next two years of his life as an employe in a 
 clock-case factory. But farm life he regarded as 
 the more congenial, and in 1869 he began work on 
 the farm of John O. Knapp, at Wethersfield, re- 
 maining there eighteen months, after which for 
 six months he worked on the farm of Charles F. 
 Griswold. In 1871 he received an appointment as 
 night watchman at the Connecticut State prison, 
 at Wethersfield, remaining one year. 
 
 In 1872 Mr. Fields came to Newington, and for 
 three years worked for Oliver Richards, whose 
 daughter he afterward married. In 1875 he made 
 a trip to Florida, where he prospected in lands on 
 the Indian river, and purchased from the State of 
 Florida about forty acres, which he still owns. He 
 remained in Florida one winter, and returning lo- 
 cated in West Hartford. For two years he worked 
 on the farm of Sidney Wadsworth. Having been 
 given charge of the public roads by the vote of the 
 people, he then removed to New Britain, where 
 he lived one year. Returning to the farm of Oliver 
 Richards, Mr. Fields, in 1880, married his daugh- 
 ter, Abbie Richards, who was born July 10, 1848. 
 Her parents, Oliver and Mary (Kilbourne) Rich- 
 ards, are now deceased, and are buried in Newing- 
 ton. The marriage of Henry and Abbie (Rich- 
 ards) Fields has been blessed with two children: 
 Howard Henry, born July 2, 1882, died when one 
 vv-eek old ; Ethel Frances, born Dec. 17, 1883, is a 
 student in the Newington schools. 
 
 ]Mr. Fields now operates ninety acres of well- 
 improved land, located on the New Britain turn- 
 pike, four miles east of New Britain, and is en- 
 gaged in general farming. He keeps from ten to 
 twelve cows, selling the milk to the creameries. He 
 and his w'ife are active members of the Congrega- 
 tional Church of Newington, and be is a member of 
 the committee on church societies. Mr. Fields is 
 a stanch Republican in politics. He was a member 
 •of the board of relief; has served as justice of the 
 peace, assessor, grand juror, etc. ; was elected to 
 the State Legislature in 1883, and again in 1894; 
 and is at present second selectman of the town of 
 Newington, having been elected in 1898. He was a 
 ■charter member of Pequot Council, No. 24, Sr. 
 O. U. A. M., of New Britain, but has transferred 
 his card to Our Brothers Council, No. 41, of New- 
 ington. He is also a charter member of Newington 
 
 Grange, No. 44. Honest in his convictions, self- 
 reliant, highly esteemed by his friends and neigh- 
 bors, industrious and public-spirited, our subject is 
 one of the representative citizens of Hartford 
 county. 
 
 JOHN J. HINMAN, a representative citizen and 
 well-to-do farmer of Burlington, was born May 2, 
 1846, on the farm in that town where he still re- 
 sides, and is a member of a family which has long 
 been connected with Hartford county, his ancestors 
 having been among the early settlers. Mention of 
 the earlier generations will be found elsewhere. 
 
 George Jones Hinman, faither of our subject, 
 was a son of Luman Hinman. In his youth he 
 learned the blacksmith's trade, but during his early 
 manhood he followed the water, crtiising along the 
 Atlantic coast as far down as New Orleans, in the 
 molasses trade. He was part owner of the vessel 
 which he commanded. Coming to Burlington in his 
 later years, he bought a tract of 600 acres in the 
 western part of the town, and a large part of this 
 property being in timber he erected and operated a 
 sawmill, running the first circular saw in the State ; 
 he brought it from Massachusetts. He made nu- 
 merous improvements upon his land, where he also 
 carried on general farming and stock raising, ac- 
 quiring a comfortable competence in his long and 
 active business life. Gen. Washington, while 
 marching through this section, was once entertained 
 in the house in which Mr. Hinman made his home. 
 Mr. Hinman was one of the leading men of his day 
 in this locality, being a man of intelligence as well 
 as of wide general information, and he was regarded 
 as an authority in legal matters. His fellow citi- 
 zens honored him with election as selectman and as 
 representative in the State Legislature, and his serv- 
 ice in each public capacity was distinguished by the 
 able discharge of every duty, as well as by the 
 same thoroughness and system which marked his 
 management of his private affairs. His political 
 influence was given to the Democratic party. Mr. 
 Hinman was married, in Branford, Conn., to Miss 
 Harriet Parkis, a native of Branford, and a daugh- 
 ter of Capt. Parkis, and ten children were born to 
 this union : Charles, who died in young manhood ; 
 Mary, wife of Ralph Wheeler, of Avon, who has 
 two children, George and Charles ; George, who 
 was shot at Branford, while out duck shooting (he 
 married Luella Daniels, and had two children, 
 George and Hattie) ; John J., whose name opens 
 this sketch ; Hattie, deceased at the age of fourteen 
 years ; Antoinette, wife of Robert Smith, of Plain- 
 ville, who has one child ; and Anna Louise, Hen- 
 rietta, Marion and Anna Beebe, all of whom died 
 young. Mr. Hinman passed away Feb. 9, 1890, and 
 his wife did not long survive him, her death oc- 
 curring May 18, same year. Both were laid to rest 
 in the cemetery at Harwinton. They were good 
 Christian people, and Mr. Hinman was an active 
 member of the Episcopal Church, in which he served 
 
1430 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 as vestryman and warden. As a man of honor and 
 integrity he commanded the highest respect of all 
 who knew him. 
 
 John J. Hinman acquired his education in the 
 district schools of the town of Burlington, and he 
 has spent all his life on the homestead, where dur- 
 ing his earlier years he was given ample oppor- 
 tunity to master all the details of general fanning. 
 When but sixteen years of age he took charge of his 
 father's mill, and after the latter retired the man- 
 agement of all of his interests fell into our sub- 
 ject's hands. He has continued the various lines 
 with equal success, and is now extensively engaged 
 in farming, lumbering, stock raising, fruit growing 
 and dairying, having the largest dairy farm in JJur- 
 lington. He owns three good farms, located in dif- 
 ferent localities. As a result of systematic and 
 careful management, combined with progressive 
 methods, he has continued to prosixT, and he ranks 
 among the substantial and intelligent residents of 
 his town. His name is a synonym for worth and 
 good citizenship, and he is well and favorably 
 known as a deservedly esteemed member of an old 
 and honored family. Mr. Hinman has not been 
 active in public affairs, though he has served on the 
 school committee of his town. He was at one time 
 a member of the (Irange. 
 
 On July 10, 1867, .Mr. Hinman married Miss 
 Anna 1 leach, of Litchfield, Conn., daughter of 
 David Beach, and four children were liorn to tliem : 
 Charles, who died young ; Ijenjamin. who lives at 
 home, assisting his father: Catherine E. ("Katie"), 
 now a public-school teacher in Collinsville. who re- 
 ceived her education in the local district schools 
 and Collinsville high school : and John D.. living at 
 home. The mother of these passed away April 9. 
 
 1876, and was laid to rest in Harwinton cemetery. 
 She was a good Christian woman, a faithful mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Churcli. t)n Sept. 26, 
 
 1877, Mr. Hinman married Miss Emma Misncr. a 
 native of Burlington, daughter of Gottfried and 
 Wilhclmina ( Hessler ) Misner, both of whom were 
 born in West Prussia, Germany. To the second 
 marriage have also been born four children : Anna. 
 now teaching in the district school of \Miigville, 
 town of Burlington, was educated in the home dis- 
 trict school and Collinsville high school : Lillian. 
 Hattie and Ernest are at home. Mr. Hinman is 
 liberal in his political and religious views. The 
 family attend the Congregational Church, and oc- 
 cupy a place among the most respected members of 
 the community. 
 
 \\TLLL\M EDWIX GATES, one of Glaston- 
 bury's leading citizens, is a representative of an old 
 Colonial family. James Gates, his great-grandfa- 
 ther, was an early settler at Lyme, Conn., where he 
 followed farming, and his descendants are now nu- 
 merous in that locality. His wife's name is un- 
 known, but they had a son, L'rson. and a daughter 
 whose name is supposed to have been Maria, and 
 
 who married a Air. Shepherd, of Cleveland, Ohio, 
 
 Crson Gates, our subject's grandfather, was a 
 farmer in Lyme, his entire life having been spent 
 there. He married Huldah Rathbone, a native of 
 East Haddam, and had the following children : 
 Edwin, our subject's father, is mentioned below; 
 Xorris, a carpenter, married Philena Slate, and 
 settled in Lyme; Emory married Harriet Tooker, 
 and lived in Lyme, where he was engaged in mer- 
 cantile business and farming, and at one time 
 served as postmaster; Maria married Charles Corn- 
 stock, of Lyme, who was a sailor liy occupation and 
 served in the Civil war. 
 
 Edwin Gates, now a highly-respected resident 
 of East Haddam, was born and reared in Lyme, 
 receiving a common-school education. He learned 
 the cabinet maker's trade, but made his home wicli 
 his father until the latter's death, and then took 
 charge of the home farm, which he is still operat- 
 ing. He married Miss Maria Day, daughter of 
 Elijah and Rebecca ( Hungerford ) Day, and the}-; 
 have had children as follows : Charles married Lall\' 
 Davidson and resides in Louisville, Ky., being" 
 manager for the Turner Day & Woolworth Man- 
 ufacturing Cu. : William E. was second in order of 
 liirth ; Justin, deceased, marrietl Mary Allen, and 
 was engaged in electrical business as manager for 
 the Perkins Lamp Co. at Manchester, and later 
 at Hartford ; Elizabeth married Charles Sanford, 
 a machinist and farmer at East Haddam ; Nellie 
 married Hurvey Luther, and resides in Hartford. 
 
 William E. Gates was born in Lyme, March 
 •29, 1857. and after completing a course in the 
 district schools of his native town, he attended 
 the Hartford Pligh school, graduating in 1877. 
 While in Hartford he made his home with his 
 uncle Robert Day, at whose house the Hon. Will- 
 iam Hungerford. the noted lawyer of Hartford, 
 resided. On leaving school our subject returned 
 home and spent two years, farming in summer and 
 teaching school in winter. He then formed a part- 
 nership with a ?ilr. Burnham, and bought a grocery 
 store in Middlefield which they conducted for one 
 year, but in 1884 ]\Ir. Gates removed to Glaston- 
 bury and purchased the grocery store of Mr. Frank 
 Covell. He conducted a general store until fire 
 destroyed the building in 1894, when he disposed 
 of the stock and business to the present owner, 
 M^-. Olcott. In 1888. Air. Gates was appointed 
 postmaster, and this position he held until 1896, 
 when he entered the employ of the Kibbe Com- 
 pany of Hartford, as superintendent of their ship- 
 ping department, where his executive ability is of 
 recognized value. 
 
 Air. Gates was married (first) to Aliss Phoebe 
 Holmes, who died leaving one son, Robert, honi 
 in 1884. and now living at home. On Xov. 13, 
 1889, Air. Gates married (second) Isabella Robert- 
 son, a native of Glastonbury, and daughter of Will- 
 iam and Elizabeth ( Alilley) Robertson, respected 
 citizens of Glastonbur-'-. Politically Air. Gates is a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1431 
 
 Republican, and in religious faith he and his wife 
 are Congregationalists. He is a member of Daskam 
 Lodge, t. ik A. IVL, of Glastonbury; the East Hart- 
 ford Council, No. 1237, Royal Arcanum; Elm 
 Lodge, I. O. O. F., ot Glastonbury; and of Put- 
 nam Phalanx, of which he is sergeant. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY TERRY, a leading lum- 
 ber manufacturer of Collinsville, is a Canadian by 
 birth, but a thorough American in sentiment, and 
 his public spirit has been manifested effectively in 
 various lines of effort. 
 
 Mr. Terry was born Nov. 9, 1852, in the town 
 of Stratford, Ontario, and is of English descent. 
 George Terry, his grandfather, was born and reared 
 in Liverpool, England, and followed the ship- 
 builder's trade there for some years of his man- 
 hood. He married Sarah , and later emi- 
 grated to Canada, locatmg at Stratford, where he 
 purchased a large tract of land and engaged suc- 
 cessfully in lumbering. That section was then a 
 wilderness, and the large sawmill and shingle-mill 
 which he built at Pine Plains were among the 
 first erected there. He was progressive and enter- 
 prising, and his high moral character gave him 
 much influence in the community. He and his 
 wife were both devout members of the Chmxh of 
 England. They died in Stratford many years ago, 
 and their remams rest in the local cemetery. They, 
 had the following children : John, James, . Joseph, 
 Thomas, Frederick, Zachariah and Elizabeth. 
 
 Zachariah Terry, oiu" subject's father, was born 
 in Liverpool, and accompanied his parents to Amer- 
 ica. He engaged in the lumber business at Strat- 
 ford with his father and brother, and what is now 
 the market square in that town was cleared by him. 
 He also resided for some time in Guelph, Canada, 
 where he owned a farm of 200 acres, and in 1871 
 he came to Connecticut, settling in Burlington, 
 Hartford county. There he built up an extensive 
 lumber business, but after ten years he returned to 
 Stratford to spend the remainder of his life. He 
 was a member of the Episcopal Church at the time 
 of his death, but his wife belonged to the Methodist 
 Union Church. Mr. Terry was married at Guelph 
 to Miss Anna Leorsage, a native of Yorkshire, 
 England, whose qualitres of mind and heart com- 
 manded the respect of all who knew her. She died 
 at Collinsville, Conn., but her remains were taken 
 to Stratford for interment. Her father, Capt. 
 George Leorsage, was born in Yorkshire and fol- 
 lowed the sea for many years, but finally located 
 in Brooklyn, N. Y., engaging in the manufacture 
 of rope. His last years were spent in Guelph, On- 
 tario. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the public schools 
 of his native town, and from an early age made 
 himself a useful factor in his father's business. He 
 was eighteen years old when the family moved to 
 Burlington, and continued to assist his father until 
 the latter's return to Canada, when he located at 
 
 Collinsville, where he built a mill and engaged in 
 the manufacture of lumber oij an extensive scale. 
 He owns large tracts of land in Canton, y,&vf 
 Hartford and Burlington, and his enterprise and 
 sound business judgment have won for him a sub- 
 stantial success. Mr. Terry has a host of friends, 
 and has frequently been called upon to fill local 
 offices, being an active and influential worker in 
 the Republican organization. He was elected road 
 commissioner in 1892, and first selectman in 1896, 
 being re-elected in 1897, and in 1898 he was chosen 
 third selectman. Fie and his family are prominently 
 identified with the Episcopal Church, and he also 
 belongs to Village Lodge, No. 29, A. F. & A. M., 
 at Collinsville. His wife, formerly Miss Adella 
 Garrett, is a native of the Cherry Brook District, 
 town of Canton, and is a daughter of Andrew Gar- 
 rett, and granddaughter of John Garrett, a pros- 
 perous blacksmith and respected citizen of Canton. 
 Her mother, whose maiden name was Helen M. 
 Case, was a daughter of Orville Case. Four chil- 
 dren have brightened our subject's home : Hubert 
 Leorsage, Helen R., George H. and Sarah Eliza- 
 beth. 
 
 JOHN S. SHAW, a thrifty farmer of Po- 
 quonock, and a wide-awake business man in the 
 fullest sense of the term, is one whose position in 
 life is due to his own well-directed efforts. He was 
 born in Ashford, Conn., Sept. 16, 1853, ^"d comes 
 of sturdy Scottish stock. 
 
 Mr. Shaw's father, Alexander Shaw, was born 
 in Glasgow, Scotland, July 10, 1829, a son of 
 James and Agnes (McDonald) Shaw, lifelong resi- 
 dents of that country. The grandfather met his 
 death by drowning in a canal, and left his family 
 in limited circumstances. The children were Agnes, 
 who married Robert Monroe, and died in Scotland ; 
 Ellen, wife of John Bryce, of Minneapolis, Minn. ; 
 James, a resident of Marlboro, Ulster Co., N. Y. ; 
 Alexander, father of our subject; and one who 
 died in infancy. The mother of these did not long 
 survive her husband. 
 
 After the death of his parents Alexander Shaw 
 was taken into the home of a family who were 
 poor but kind, and his education was limited to a 
 few months' attendance at the public schools. On 
 May 15, 1844, he left Glasgow on the "Wilhelmina," 
 and landed in New York after a voyage of forty- 
 five days, having worked his passage as cabin boy. 
 He earned his first money in America with Solomon 
 Fuller, a tanner of Scotland, Windham Co., Conn., 
 working at $5 per month for two years, and then 
 entered the employ of Gill & Davis, of the same 
 place, who made "nigger cloth" for the Southern 
 trade. Later he went to Wappingers Falls, 
 Dutchess Co., N. Y., where he worked in a cotton 
 mill for $2 per week, but was soon promoted, and 
 his wages increased. He was made dresser tender, 
 and continued to work in the mills at that place 
 for four vears, at the end of that time accepting 
 
1432 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a similar position at TaritTville, Conn., and later 
 was t'iiij)lo\cd in the same capacity at Ware, Mass. 
 He next went to what was then known as Pomfret, 
 now Tutnam, Windham Co., Conn., where as dresser 
 tender he remained until 1858, and then removed 
 to Auburn, N. Y. While he was living there the 
 Civil war paralyzed the cotton mills, and being 
 thrown out of work he entered the employ of a 
 lumber firm at that place. From there he returned 
 to Tariffville, Conn., and was employed as yard- 
 man in a carpet factor) , where he later took up the 
 work of dressing Brussels carpet warp. In 1862 
 he came to I'oquonock, and was dresser tender in 
 the Austin Dunliam mill until 18O9, when he re- 
 tired from the business, and bought his present 
 farm from Horace 11. liarnes. He lias made many 
 improvements upon the jilace. including the erec- 
 tion of good and substaiuial buildings, and has since 
 devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits. 
 
 At Tariffville Ale.xander Shaw married Jane 
 Forsythe, a native of Ireland, and to them were 
 born the following children : Margaret, now the 
 widow of William Sackett, of Toquonock ; Eliza- 
 beth, -Mrs. McQuitty, of I'rovidence, R. 1.; John 
 S., our subject; Albert, a carpenter of Hartford: 
 Ellen, who died in infancy ; Agnes, who married 
 C. A. Davis, and died in Hartford ; and Lena, wife 
 of ^^'illiam H. Pomeroy, of Springfield, Mass. Tlie 
 wife and mother, who was a consistent member 
 of the Methodist Church, died on the present farm 
 of the family, and was buried in I'oquonock cem- 
 etery. For his second wife Mr. Shaw married 
 Euphemia McNauglU, a native of Scotland. He 
 is a Republican, and, while not a politician or office 
 seeker, he takes a keen interest in the success of 
 his parly. He is naturally cpiite an intelligent man, 
 and hail he received a good etlucation would have 
 been fitted for almost any position in life. He is 
 a self-made man in the truest sense of the term, 
 having started out in life for himself a poor orphan 
 boy, and is now in the possession of a comfortable 
 competence. He is quite well preserved for a man 
 of his years, and is one of the most highlv respected 
 citizens of his community. He is a member of the 
 Methodist Church, but attends the Congregational 
 Church, to which his wife belongs. 
 
 During his boyhood and youth John S. Shaw 
 accompanied his parents on their various removals, 
 attended the public schools of the places in which 
 they lived, and was employed in the mills with his 
 father. At the age of nineteen he learned the 
 cigar maker's trade in Hartford, with John Lentz, 
 paying $50 for three months" instruction in that 
 art, and then engaged in business as a cigar maker 
 at Poquonock for six or seven years, with good 
 success. Later he was interested in the butcher 
 business until 1897, when he sold out. There never 
 has been a time since 1869 that he has not been 
 interested in a crop of tobacco, and at the present 
 time he is quite an extensive grower. He owns 
 the old Winchel home, and is a wide-awake, ener- 
 
 getic and thrifty farmer, one who has worked his 
 way upward until he is also one of the well-to-do 
 and prosperous citizens of the community in which 
 he lives. His farm is a valuable one, and has been 
 greatly improved since coming into his possession. 
 He is an honored member of the Grange of Po- 
 quonock, has served his fellow citizens in the ca- 
 pacity of constalile, and in politics is strictly non- 
 partisan. Mr. Siiaw married Miss Fannie A. Loper, 
 a native of Flartfortl, and a daugliter of Thomas and 
 Mary Loper. 
 
 JOSEPH W.VTSUX \ IL;ERT. The struggles 
 called out by an early orphanage, pitiful at timeSj 
 often i)rove a lilessing in disguise by developing 
 those persistent and industrious traits of character 
 that lead steadily up the pathway to success. 
 
 Joseph W. \'ibert, the subject of this sketch, 
 when but five years of age was deprived by death 
 of his father's care and protection. He was born 
 on a farm in the town of Manchester, Hartford 
 county, March 14, 1823, son of Loren and Roxa 
 (Keeney) \'ibert. At the age of nine he began 
 working for his board and clothes in the village of 
 Manchester, and when twelve years of age he came 
 to East Hartford, working for a time on a farm, 
 then spending five years of his youth in the labor 
 of the gristmill at East Hartford. In 1847, more 
 than a half century a,go, and when he was yet a 
 young man, Mr. \ ibert moved to Scuth Windsor. 
 He has ever since resided in that town, in the 
 vicinity of South Windsor post office, except two 
 years he spent in East Hartford. In 1873 he re- 
 moved to his present farm, where he has lived ever 
 since. Mr. X'ibert owns about twenty-five acres 
 of land, fifteen of which is tobacco land. For many 
 years he has raised with great regularity fourteen 
 acres of tobacco each year. 
 
 Mr. Vibert was married, in November, 1850, 
 to Miss Eveline Clark, who was born in the town 
 of South Windsor, Sept. 25, 1827, daughter of 
 William and Lucy (Hayes) Clark. She, too, like 
 her husband, was orphaned when a child, her fa- 
 ther dying when she was only eight years old. At 
 the age of ten she went to live with the family of 
 Horace Newberry, and there remained until her 
 marriage to Mr. Mbert. She is a devoted wife 
 and mother, and is beloved by all who knew her for 
 her charitable and womanly graces of character. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Vibert have been born three chil- 
 dren: Charles W^., a farmer of South Windsor; 
 W'alter M.. who is still at home : and Horace H., who 
 is also a farmer of South Windsor. 
 
 In politics Mr. Vibert is a Republican. In 
 1 89 1 he was nominated by the party and elected 
 as a member of the State Legislature, serving 
 through the session of 1892. He is honored and 
 esteemed for his many estimable qualities : is in- 
 telligent and well informed, and is practically self- 
 educated, for as a poor boy his opportunities for an 
 education were few. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1483 
 
 CHARLES HARTWELL MILLER, one of the 
 enterprising and progressive young farmers of 
 Newington, was born in Hartford Feb. i6, 1875, 
 son of Lewis and Georgia (Nott) Miller, who are 
 now residing on a farm on Robbins avenue, New- 
 ington. 
 
 The father is a native of Simsbury, and the 
 mother of Hartford. The paternal grandparents of 
 our subject were natives of Avon. Lewis Miller, 
 like his ancestors before him, was a farmer by oc- 
 cupation, and shortly after his marriage located on 
 a farm on New Britain avenue, owned by the com- 
 pany which conducts the Retreat for the Insane, 
 It was' on that farm that our subject was born. 
 In 1884 Lewis Miller purchased fifty acres oi 
 land on Robbins avenue, and besides farming his 
 place conducted an extensive milk business in Hart- 
 ford. Our subject was the eldest of a family of 
 six children: Charles Hartwell; born Feb. 16, 1875; 
 Herbert Henry, Oct. 27, 1877; Carl Nott, July 13, 
 1879; Lulu, May I, 1881 ; Vivian Clayton, April 
 I, 1883; and Elsie Baldwin. 
 
 Charles Hartwell Miller received his schooling 
 in the White street and the Lawrence street schools, 
 Hartford. His father removed to Newington in 
 1884, and afterward our subject continued his ed- 
 ucation in the Newington schools. In 1897 he pur- 
 chased his father's milk business, which has in- 
 creased rapidly under his management. He also 
 looks after his father's farm, and in addition has 
 leased an adjoining farm of several acres, which he 
 also operates. He is a young • man of sterling- 
 business c|ualities, and an intelligent farmer. Hig 
 many estimable qualities are appreciated by the com- 
 munity in which he lives. 
 
 Mr. Miller married, Jan. 25, 1897, Miss Anna 
 Clark, of Newington, and their marriage has been 
 blessed with one child, Florence Levina, born March 
 14, 1898. In politics our subject is an uncompro- 
 mising Republican. His ancestors have been Re- 
 publican before him, and the principles of the party 
 are thoroughly ingrained in his character. Mr. 
 Miller is thoroughly self-reliant and energetic, and 
 in his previous successes has gained that stability 
 and confidence of character which has in it much of 
 promise for the f.uture. 
 
 ARTHUR J. CHURCHILL, a progressive and 
 successful agriculturist of Southington, was born 
 on the Churchill homestead in that town Dec. 20, 
 1862, a son of Franklin Dwight and Jane L. 
 (Blakeslee) Churchill. 
 
 The father was born in Bethany, Conn., Feb. 
 14, 1834, son of Lewis and Sarah C. (Tuttle) 
 Churchill, the former a native of Wolcott, the lat- 
 ter of Bethany. Lewis Churchill was born in 1793, 
 and was a soldier in the war of 1812. In 1859 
 he located in Southington, on the farm now owned 
 and occupied by his descendants. He had four 
 children who reached maturity : Sophronia, wife 
 of Luke Piper; Sarah Finette, wife of Jesse 
 
 Brockett; William; and Franklin D. His father, 
 David Churchill, was born in Bristol, Conn., and 
 married Sarah Alcott. David was a son of David 
 Churchill, Sr., of Bristol, who married a Miss 
 Blakeslee, of New Haven. 
 
 Franklin D. Churchill, the father of our sub- 
 ject, has been a resident of Southington since 1849, 
 and is highly respected and esteemed by all who 
 know him. He married Jane L. Blakeslee, a na- 
 tive of Prospect, Conn., and a daughter of Elihu 
 and Fanny (Baldwin) Blakeslee. Her maternal 
 grandparents were Daniel and Temperance Baldwin. 
 Her paternal grandfather, Sherman Blakeslee, was 
 a blacksmith by trade, and a thorough wagon 
 maker. He was a descendant of Samuel Blakeslee, 
 a native of England, and also a blacksmith by trade, 
 who came to Boston about 1630, and later re- 
 moved to New Haven. Our subject is the eldest 
 in a family of three children, the others being 
 Franklin B. (a jeweler of Montana) and William D. 
 
 Arthur J. Churchill owns and operates a fina 
 farm on West street, Southington, and is meeting 
 with well-merited success in his chosen occupation. 
 From his place he has gathered an excellent col- 
 lection of Indian relics. He is a member of the 
 Congregational Church, and a supporter of the Re- 
 publican party. 
 
 JEFFREY DONAHUE, a well-known resident 
 of New Britain, represents an excellent type of 
 citizenship, and the high esteem in which he is held 
 may be inferred from the fact that he has fre- 
 cjuently been chosen to local offices of responsibility, 
 and has never been defeated when he has appeared 
 as a candidate. 
 
 Like many of our successful citizens Mr. Dona- 
 hue is of Irish descent, and his family has been 
 prominent in County Tipperary, Ireland, for gen- 
 erations. Jeffrey Donahue, our subject's grandfa- 
 ther, was famous as one of the "Donahues of the 
 Glen." He was a man of fine natural talents, and 
 throughout his life was a successful agriculturisi; 
 in County Tipperary, where he was much esteemed. 
 He married a Miss Gorman, a noted beauty, and 
 had four children : John, Margaret, Mary and Kate, 
 of whom two came to America. 
 
 John Donahue, our subject's father, was born 
 at the old home in Ireland, and as a young man en- 
 gaged in farming on an extensive scale for that 
 locality. He was much esteemed in the community, 
 and was a devout member of the Roman Catholic 
 Church, to which the family has always adhered. 
 He died in Ireland in 1854, at the age of thirty- 
 eight years. His wife, Catherine Burke, who died 
 in 1893, was a native of County Tipperary, and 
 became the mother of four children of whom 
 Jeffrey was the eldest, the others being: Thomas, 
 who resides in Litchfield, Conn. ; Mary, now de- 
 ceased ; and a child that died in infancy. 
 
 Jeffrey Donahue was born Dec. 23, 1843, in 
 County Tipperary, and received a good practical 
 
143 1 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 education in the National schools near his home, 
 attending- until he reached the age of sixteen. 'He 
 then began an apprenticeship to the carpenter's 
 trade, serving four years, and gaining a thorough 
 knowledge of all its details. For about two years 
 he followed the trade as a journeyman in Ireland, 
 and in April. 1865. he came to America, locating 
 in Litchfield, Conn., now Torrington, where his 
 brother-in-law resitled. Two years later he settled 
 in Xew Britain, continuing his work as a car- 
 penter, and about 1875 he engaged in business on 
 Beaver street, opposite his present location. For 
 six \ears he was in partnership with ^Michael Mc- 
 Connell, a brother-in-law, and since that time he 
 has carrietl on business alone, being very successful. 
 ^Ir. Donahue takes an intelligent interest in public 
 affairs, being a constant reader of the newspapers, 
 and for years he has been active in miniicipal pol- 
 itics. He was a member of the City Council for 
 three years, i883-"84-'85, and alderman from the 
 Third ward for two years. In 1891-92 he was a 
 member of the board of fire commissioners, under 
 Mayors Pease, Corbin and Pickett, and became 
 chairman of that body to succeed Capt. Beacon. 
 He also served one year as assessor for the town 
 and city, and his popularity makes him a leader 
 in the local Democratic organization. Socially he 
 is identified witli the Order of Foresters, the Knights 
 of Columbus, the Catholic Legion and the Ancient 
 Order of Hil)ernians, and at one time he belonged 
 to Putnam Phalanx. 
 
 Mr. Donahue marrietl Miss Julia Dwyer, of Xew 
 Britain, and they liave had nine chddren, namelv : — 
 John F. : Lucy: \\'illie: Miss Minnie, who is at 
 home : Thomas, deceased : Joseph, who assists his 
 father in business : Katie, deceased ; and ^liss 
 jMaggie and Willie (2), who are at home. 
 
 DANIEL \\\ THOAIAS, proprietor of the 
 Tunnel Park Meat Market, at Hartford, but a resi- 
 dent of East Hartford, and occupant of a handsome 
 dwelling on Central avenue which he erected in 
 1873, is one of that excellent class of citizens which 
 any community might be proud to claim. He de- 
 scends from one of the oldest families of New 
 England, and was born in Chesterfield, N. H., July 
 6, 1840, the family in that State having been founded 
 by a son of one of three brothers, who had come 
 from England in Colonial days and settled the town 
 of Hardwick, ^lassachusetts. 
 
 Daniel \\'. Thomas is a son of Aaron and Gratia 
 (Cressey) Thomas, the latter a descendant of one 
 of the wealthiest families of England. Aaron was 
 a son of Amos and Mary (Emmons) Thomas, who 
 attained the ages of eighty-two and eighty-eight 
 }'ears, respectively, and were farming people. Amos 
 was bom Oct. 11, 1765, and died Dec. 11, 1847; 
 his wife. Eleanor, daughter of Noah Emmons, was 
 born Sept. 29. 1759, and died June 19, 1848. Na- 
 than Thomas, father of Amos, died in 1790, at the 
 age of seventy-one years, and his wife, Hepzibali 
 
 (Farr) Thomas, died in 1818, at the age of eighty- 
 eight. Nathan Thomas came from Hardwick, 
 Mass., and was the founder of the family in New 
 Hampshire. He was a farmer, and owned the 
 farm on which our subject was born, and which has 
 now been in the family for over two hundred years. 
 All the Thomases are large, stalwart people, and the 
 father of our subject weighed over 200 pounds. 
 Our subject himself is a man of fine physicj^ue and 
 robust constitution, and is a fine-looking man gen- 
 erally, by heredity. 
 
 Amos Thomas, grandfather of Daniel \\'., was 
 a farmer by calling, and to his marriage with Aliss 
 Emmons were born: Susan, Oct. 17, 1785, married 
 Lemuel Preston, and lived in \\'orcester, ]\Iass. , 
 Aaron, Jan. 10, 1787, father of Daniel W. ; Lydia, 
 Nov. 21, 1789, married Eleazer Farnsworth, and died 
 in Brattleboro, \'t. ; Amos, Nov. 28, 1791, died 
 young; Ichabod, May 22, 1795, died in northern 
 Vermont, at a great age; Daniel, March 8, 1797. 
 died young: Patience, May 23, 1799, married John 
 I'emis, and lived in Dunmierston, \'t. ; and Enos, 
 June 16, 1801, died at Dummerston. 
 
 Aaron Thomas was born on tin?" farm that be- 
 came the birthplace of his son Daniel W. He 
 served in the war of 18 12, and saw service in the 
 Black River country and at Sacket's Harbor, New 
 York State. On Dec. 20, 1810, he married Betsey 
 Chamberlain, who was Itorn March 19, 1791, daugh- 
 ter of Ebenezer Chamberlain, anil after her death. 
 on Sept. 19, 1815, he married, Dec. 14, 1819, Miss 
 Gratia Cressey, who was born in Chesterfield, N. 
 H., March 12, 1793, and was a daughter of Jona- 
 than and Lydia (Wright) Cressey. Jonathan 
 Cressey was born June 15, 1756, a son of Michael 
 and Catherine Cressey, and Michael, born in Eng- 
 land Aug. 10, 1728, was a son of Jonathan and 
 Eleanor Cressey. The first wife of Aaron Thomas 
 died leaving- two children : Enos, born Aug. 6, 
 1812, was a mason, and passed the greater part of 
 his life in \\'orcester, Mass., where he died when 
 nearly seventy years of age ; Lockhart, bom March 
 12, 181 5. who lived on the old homestead, lost his 
 eyesight through an operation when a boy of six- 
 teen, and was blind for years. The children by the 
 second marriage were eight in number : Elizabeth. 
 born Oct. 2, 1820, married John Heywood, and 
 died in Brattleboro, \'t., in 1895 ; Orison, born 
 Aug. 2, 1822, died in Sauk county. Wis., in 1898; 
 Israel, born July 5, 1824, died on the homestead 
 in Vermont, Jan. 4, 1863 ; Chester W., born April 
 25, 1826, in Brattleboro, was a soldier in the 4th 
 Vt. V. L in the war of the Rebellion; Albert J., 
 born May 28, 1828, died Jan. 11, 1862; Emerson 
 B., born June i, 1830, was a member of Company 
 K, 25th Conn. V. I., and died in the Charity Hos- 
 pital, New Orleans, La., June 20, 1863; Amos F., 
 born Jan. 23, 1833, is a farmer on the old home- 
 stead in Vermont ; and Daniel W. is the subject of 
 this sketch. The father of this family passed away 
 March 3, 1871, and the mother Aug. 5, 1844, their 
 
 i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1435 
 
 remains being interred in Brattieboro, Vt. Aaron 
 Thomas was a sheep grower, an industry largely 
 followed in his day in New Hampshire, and died 
 a highly-respected and well-to-do citizen. He was 
 granted a pension for his services in the war of 
 1812, and continued to draw it until death. In 
 politics he was first a Whig, then a Know-Nothing 
 and lastly a Republican, to which party he firmly 
 united himself; he was a strong Abolitionist. A 
 member of the Universalist Church, he was active 
 in its behalf up to within two years of his death. 
 He was always well posted on the topics of the 
 hour. 
 
 Daniel ^\^ Thomas walked two and a half miles 
 to and from school between the ages of four and 
 sixteen years, and then attended the academy at 
 West Brattieboro, Vt., one year. He assisted on 
 the home farm until 1858, and then went to North- 
 ampton, ]\Iass., where he was employed for some 
 time in a steam sawmill. He next secured a position 
 in the Vermont State Asylum, at Brattieboro, as 
 '"boss of the teams," and was there two years, while 
 there marrying, Oct. 11, 1861, Miss Persis Kellogg, 
 a native of Jamaica, Vt. She was born Jan. 9, 
 1842, daughter of Amos R. and Mary (Goodale) 
 Kellogg, who had a family of six sons and four 
 daughters, Airs. Thomas being the third born and 
 the second daughter. She was reared in Jamaica, 
 and at fifteen taught school for $2 per week, "board- 
 ing roimd." 
 
 In November, 1861, Mr. Thomas came to Hart- 
 ford, and was employed as a delivery man by Rod- 
 ney Clark, a meat dealer at No. 506 Main street, 
 receiving $13 per month as wages. The beef was 
 killed early in the morning, and at once brought 
 to town to sell. This was Mr. Thomas' first ex- 
 perience in the meat trade. Emerson Tho'.nas, 
 brother of our subject, bought out Mr. Clark, and 
 a Mr. Cook bought out Emerson, but our subject 
 still continued on as deliverer until he enlisted, in 
 August, 1862, in Company K, 25th Conn. V. I. 
 'Vyhile in camp at Centreville, L. I., Mr. Thomas 
 was detailed for duty with the signal corps, and on 
 this duty sailed from New York for New Orleans, 
 La., on the ship "Windemere," and saw service in 
 the vicinity of Baton Rouge and Port Hudson, La., 
 being present at the surrender of the latter place. 
 On Aug. 8, 1863. he left New Orleans with the regi- 
 ment and returned to New York, and on Aug. 26, 
 1863, was honorably discharged at Hartford, Conn. 
 Here he went to work in the City Hall Market, on 
 Market street, as meat cutter for John Gridley, and 
 continued thus until March, 1864, when he was ap- 
 pointed on the Hartford police force, as a super- 
 numerary; in September, 1864, he became a regular 
 officer, and served imtil Nov. i, 1875, when he re- 
 signed to go into the grocery business, at the cor- 
 ner of Morg:an and Front streets, succeeding Charles 
 Holden. He remained in that business until 1878, 
 when he re-entered the meat trade, which he has 
 followed in Hartford ever since, with the exception 
 
 of two years passed in East Hartford. He became 
 the proprietor of the Tunnel Park Market, at No. 
 1417 Main street, in October, 1891, and has out- 
 lived all the butchers of his early days. 
 
 To the marriage of Mr. Thomas with ^Nliss 
 Persis Kellogg have been born two children : Al- 
 bert L., born June 19, 1864, now chief of police at 
 South Manchester, is married to Bertha May ]\Ior- 
 ton; Adah K., born Sept. 13, 1872, was married, 
 Oct. II, 1898, to John L. Havens, electrician to the 
 Hartford Electric Light Co., and is residing in 
 East Hartford. 
 
 Mr. Thomas is a stanch Republican. He is a 
 charter member of Rodman Post, No. 65, G. A. R., 
 of East Hartford ; was first a member of Hartford 
 Lodge, No. 82, I. O. O. F., but withdrew to help 
 organize Crescent Lodge, No. 25, of East Hartford, 
 of which he was the first vice-grand, and is still a 
 member. He is an outspoken man, strives hard to 
 do right by all his fellow men, and in consequence 
 is honored by everybody. 
 
 H. G. MILLS, an enterprising farmer and pro- 
 gressive dairyman of Bloomfield, was born in New 
 Hartford, Conn., Feb. 14, 1858, and is a son of 
 Elijah Mills, who was born in Windsor, Conn., in 
 1833, but who passed many vears of his life in New 
 Hartford, with his residence at No. 14, Elmer 
 street. 
 
 H. G. Mills was educated in the public schools 
 of his native toNvn, in which he continued to re- 
 side until 1876, when he removed to Windsor, 
 Conn., where he lived four years, employed as a 
 butcher, in association with his father. In 1880 
 he went to Hartford, where for four years he en- 
 gaged in the same line of business on his own 
 account, and then for two years lived in Bark- 
 hamsted, Litchfield county. Conn. ; he next returned 
 to Hartford, and for four years was employed in 
 Colt's armory. In the spring of 1891, Mr. Mills 
 settled in Bloomfield, and has here since been en- 
 gaged in farming and in the creamery business, 
 meeting with pecuniary success in both. 
 
 Mr. Mills was happilv united in marriage, Dec. 
 5, 1878, at New Hartford, with Miss Alice JNI. 
 Messenger, daughter of Samuel and Mary 
 (Barnes) Messenger, of North Canton, and the 
 result of this union has been two children — Edith 
 May and Arthur Henry. Mr. Mills is energetic 
 and industrious, attends strictly to his business af- 
 fairs and eschews politics, never having sought 
 nor held office, and has been respected for his 
 probity wherever he has resided. 
 
 FRED H. THRALL. Few young men in Con- 
 necticut are as well known in business circles as 
 is the subject of this sketch, the manager and part 
 owner of a laro'e farm in the town of Windsor, and 
 his phenomenal success as a tobacco grower would 
 seem to indicate the presence of the element of 
 "pure luck," concerning which so many moralists 
 
1486 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 express doubt. The careful observer will find, how- 
 ever, that his success has not been gained without 
 substantial cause, in which a careful and exhaustive 
 study of nietl'.ods, and an untiring energy in carry- 
 ing out his plans, arc joined with that remarkable 
 aptitude for the work which brings with it a natural 
 insight into the proper conditions to be maintained 
 in order to produce the best results. As a mere 
 boy he gained widely recognized superiority over 
 men who had grown gray m the business, and the 
 high quality of his crops is conceded by all dealers. 
 In i8y8, a notable year for tobacco growers, he was 
 one of the first in tlic State to disjjose of the crop, 
 which brought the highest price paid. 
 
 Mr. Thrall was born Aov. 3, 1872, at the pres- 
 ent homestead, a fine estate overlooking, the l-arni- 
 ington river. His father, the late Thomas M. 
 Thrall, was born at the homestead Xov. 23, 1840, 
 and was educated at the oKl brick school in Dis- 
 trict Xo. 8, in the town of Windsor, where he at- 
 tended during the intervals of farm work. After 
 the death of his father he took charge of the place, 
 in partnership with four of his brothers, and for 
 many years he was successfully engaged in tobacco 
 raising in connection with general farming. Polit- 
 ically he was a stanch Democrat, and while he was 
 not a ])artisan in the strict sense of the word he 
 took an inlluential part in local affairs, and at one 
 time served as first selectman. While he left a 
 handsome competence, his best legacy to his chil- 
 dren was an honorable name, and the memory of a 
 life crowned by many generous deeds. On Jan. 31. 
 1865, he married ^Iiss Enuiia 1. Treadway, who 
 was born Jan. 4, 1842. in Xew London county. 
 Conn., and they had two children, of whom our 
 subject is the younger. Cora E. married Arthur 
 B. Cowan, of Hartford, and has three sons, Ray- 
 mond T., Kenneth B. and Thomas L. Thomas 
 M. Thrall died May 22, 1889, and his widow is still 
 living at the homestead, the passing years leaving 
 her in unimpaired health. She is noted as one of 
 the best housekeepers in the town of Windsor, her 
 industry and energv having been put to the test 
 by the care of a large house even before her mar- 
 riage. Her kind heart has won her the esteem of 
 the entire community, and as a wife and mother she 
 has proved herself worthy of all honor. 
 
 During boyhood our subject attended the local 
 schools, with three years at Windsor Academy, and 
 in the meantime he took keen interest in the work of 
 the farm, in which he assisted at times. Even then 
 lie was a student of scientific methods of tobacco 
 raising, and often wanted to test plans which he has 
 since put in operation with excellent results. He 
 was not yet seventeen when his father died, and 
 lie continued with his uncles in the management of 
 the place, graduallv assuming more and more re- 
 sponsibility. \Miile he is of powerful build he does 
 not take off his coat and work with his help, but 
 simply oversees and directs as he sees fit. At pres- 
 ent he is the most extensive grower in the town. 
 
 and is individually the chief owner of the home- 
 stead. Seven men are employed the year round, 
 while during the busy season eighty or ninety are 
 needed. It is Air. Thrall's policy to pay good 
 wages, and secure the best help, regarding this as 
 essential to good results, and his ideas are in every 
 way thoroughly progressive. In addition to the 
 care of his farm he is interested in various cor- 
 porate enterprises, being a director in the Windsor 
 Fair Association, and the Tobacco Growers Insur- 
 ance Co., for protection against hail. As a citizen 
 he enjoys a high reputation, and while he is too 
 busy with his private affairs to hold office he gives 
 efficient aid to the local Democratic organization, 
 and serves as a delegate to county conventions at 
 different times. Unlike many young men he is in- 
 clined to remain at home and attend to bushiess 
 rather than to seek enjoyment elsewhere; if he has 
 a "hobby" it is a fondness for a good horse, and he 
 owns several fine specimens. He is generous at 
 heart, and. as in past generations, the Thrall home- 
 stead is a place where no one is turned away from 
 the door hungry. 
 
 I'.EXJAMIX FRAXKLIX TL'RXER. Upon 
 the old Turner homestead that stands on the "Green 
 road." in the town of Glastonbury, and which has 
 been in the possession of the family for more than .1 
 century, the subject of this sketch, a prominent, suc- 
 cessful and highly-esteemed farmer, was born Aug. 
 22, 1836, son of Chauncev and Hopestill (Wrisley) 
 Turner, and grandson of William H. and Mercy 
 ( Wrisley ) Turner. 
 
 The grandfather was born 'in Boston, Mass., in 
 1764, of excellent parentage. It was common in 
 those days to bind out children for a term of years 
 to learn a trade or other vocation, and when Elizur 
 Hubbard, a merchant of East Glastonbury, visiting in 
 Boston, and, being attracted by the bright-eyed boy, 
 oft'ered to give him a practical business education in 
 his East Glastonbury store, the proposition was not 
 so uncommon as it would be to-day. The mother 
 consented that her boy should make the long journey, 
 but it must have been with serious misgivings, for 
 she stipulated that Air. Hubbard should occasio'i- 
 ally bring him to Boston to visit her. But the part- 
 ing between mother and son was final, perhaps partly 
 in consequence of the troublous years which about 
 that time swept over the country, resulting in the 
 freedom of America. In later years Capt. Goodale, 
 a cattle dealer of East Glastonbury, chanced to meet 
 the mother at a Boston boarding-house, and in re- 
 sponse to inquiries bore to her the interesting in- 
 formation that her son had prospered, had married, 
 and had a family of children, and that he was cap- 
 tain of a coasting vessel plying between Hartford 
 and X'ew York. When Capt. Goodale related to 
 Capt. Turner that be had met the latter's mother, 
 Capt. Turner resolved to visit and bring her to the 
 Glastonbury home which he had bought from Dr. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1437 
 
 Abner Mosley, and which is now owned by our sub- 
 ject. But betore he could put his plans into execu- 
 rion he was drowned, June 25, 1810, while trying 
 to board his vessel in the Connecticut river, near East 
 Glastonbury. He married Mercy Wrisiey, born in 
 East Glastonbury in 1771, who died March 26, 1830. 
 To William H. and Mercy Turner were born nine 
 children : (i) William H., who became a sailor, lived 
 in Glastonbury, served in the war of 1812, and 
 died in 1872, aged eighty-four years. He was twice 
 married, and by bis second wife, Bathsheba Brew- 
 ster Wrisiey, had five children. (2j James, who mar- 
 ried Millie Galpin, a native of Berlin, and became a 
 prominent manufacturer of woolen goods at Win- 
 chester, X. H., where he died at a ripe old age. He 
 was a prominent citizen, and represented his town 
 in the State Legislature. He left five children, Mar- 
 tha, William, Eunice, Aurelius (who became very 
 wealthy), and Arlette. (4) Alanson, who married 
 Emeline Galpin, sister of Millie Galpin (above), 
 was in business for a time with his brother James 
 at Winchester, N. H., then removed to Norwich, 
 Mass., where he died, aged eighty-four years, soon 
 after his return from a visit to his boyhood home. 
 (5) Robert married Caroline Ellis, of Orange,, 
 Mass., and became a manufacturer. He was fa- 
 tally burned in the great fire at Saginaw, Mich., 
 in April, 1896. His son. Judge Henry Ellis Turner, 
 lives at Lowville, N. Y., served in the Civil war, 
 represented his town in the State Senate at Albany, 
 and is a well-known orator and poet. (6) Sanford 
 married Hannah Buttrick, of Pepperell, Mass., and 
 became a merchant, manufacturer and traveling 
 salesman for his brothers James and Alanson. He 
 died in Oneida county, N. Y. (7) George married 
 Mercy House. He \vas a salesman for a time in 
 Henry Benton's store, at Glastonbury, was later en- 
 gaged in the mercantile business at Bangor, Maine, 
 and died in Arkansas. (8) Marcia, born 'in 1797, died 
 Nov. 24, 1813. (9) Mary, born in 1799, died May 
 7, 1818. 
 
 Chauncey Turner, the father of our subject, was 
 born at East Glastonbury, and followed farming 
 all his life. In 1814 he married Hopestill Wrisiey, 
 a native of Marlboro, and to them were born seven 
 children, as follows : Lydia, who married Alvin 
 House, and d'ied at Glastonbury in 1899, aged 
 eighty-two years ; Mary E., of Glastonbury ; Nor- 
 man, of Glastonbury ; Samuel, who married Sarah 
 Frost, of New York, and has one child, Mary, now 
 Mrs. Sumner Jackson, of Minneapolis, Minn. ; 
 Mercy, widow of Frederick Barber, who as a mem- 
 ber of Company H, i6th Conn. V. I., was killed at 
 the battle of Antietam ; Charlotte, wife of Denison 
 G. Markham, a retired merchant of Providence, K. 
 I.; and Benjamin F., subject of this sketch. 
 
 Benjamin F. Turner was born Aug. 22, 1836, 
 in Glastonbury. In his youth he attended the com- 
 mon schools and one year in a select school. He re- 
 mained at home, engaged in farm work, until he was 
 
 twenty-one years of age, and then went to Naubuc,. 
 where he was employea at finishing work for a tiaie 
 m Curtis Bros.' factory. I'hence he moved to Mer- 
 iden, where he accepted a position with the Britannia 
 Co. While so employed he enlisted for nine months,. 
 Aug. 23, 1862, in Company G, 25th Conn. V. I., 
 unaer the late Capt. Charles Talcott. The regiment 
 was in service a year, participating in the Texas 
 and Louisiana campaigns under Gen. Banks. For 
 brave and meritorious conduct Mr. Turner was,, 
 greatly to his surprise, upon the recommendation 
 of the Colonel, commissioned a second lieutenant. 
 He served with the regiment throughout the entire 
 campaign, and never missed a roll-call or day's serv- 
 ice, and he escaped without a wound. After his. 
 discharge from the army at Hartford, Lieut. Turner 
 went to Boston, and worked in an office there until, 
 the death of his father, in 1865, when he returned. 
 to the home farm. This he operated until 1866, 
 when he engaged in the drug business at Providence,. 
 R. I. His health failing, he at the request of his 
 mother returned to Glastonbury and re-occupied 
 the homestead. His mother died in 1885, and in 
 1892 he purchased and moved to his present farm,, 
 which he has since occupied, at the same time oper- 
 ating the old homestead. He carries on general 
 farming and tobacco growing. Mr. Turner mar- 
 ried, Dec. 30, 1880, Ida S. Smith, a native of Glas- 
 tonbury, daughter of Alfred Smith, who moved 
 to Glastonbury from Granby, Mass. The family 
 of our subject and wife consists of two children : 
 Benjamin Floyd, born in August, 1889, and Ruth. 
 Hopestill, born Dec. 24, I691. 
 
 In politics our subject is a stanch Republican., 
 He served his town as first selectman in 1880, and 
 has since served on the board. He is also at pres- 
 ent a member of the board of relief. He is a. 
 member of D. C. Rodman Post, G. A. R., East 
 Hartford, and of the F. & A. M. lodge at Meriden. 
 Himself and wife are members of the Congrega- 
 tional Church. Both are highly esteemed through- 
 out the community for their many most estimable 
 qualities, and are among the leading and influential 
 residents of the town. 
 
 NORTON. The "Farmington Nortons," in 
 Hartford county, trace their lineage in America 
 from John Norton, who was one of the eighty-four 
 proprietors of Farmington, which then included 
 what are now known as Southington, New Britain, 
 Berlin, Bristol, Burlington, Avon, Plainville, and 
 parts of Wolcott, Harwinton and Bloomfield. An 
 interesting account of the earlier ancestr^r in Eng- 
 land, as well as of various members of the family in 
 the line we trace, will be found in the biography of 
 Marshall Parrish Norton, which appears on page 
 544 of this volume. The latter's descent from John 
 is through John (2), Ebenezer, Ebenezer (2), Par- 
 rish and Gad. 
 
 (I) John Norton, born about 1620-24, in Lon- 
 don (probably), came to America with his wife 
 
 .:r.-=.«ni-T.I.^TTfn,T.-gnCn 
 
1438 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Dorathy, in or before 1646, locating first in Bran- 
 ford, Lonn., where he was one of the earhest 
 'planters.' In 1059 lie removed with his family 
 to I'aniimgton. hie died iX'OV. 5, 1709. Dorathy, 
 his tirst wife, died Jan. 24, 1O52, at Branford. 
 Klizabeth, h;s second, died iN'ov. 6, 1657, and he sub- 
 sequently wedded iilizabeth Clark, of baybrook, who 
 died in 1702. Children by tirst marriage: Eliza- 
 beth, who married John Plimij of Milford, in ibt)8; 
 Hannah, who married Samuel North, of Farming- 
 ton, in i666; Dorathy; and John, who died at Bran- 
 ford in 1657. By second marriage: John, men- 
 tioned below. By third marriage: Samuel, who 
 died in Farmington in 1659; and ihonias, who mar- 
 ried Hannah Rose June 7, 1700. 
 
 (H) John Norton (2), born at Branford, Oct. 
 14, 1657, married Ruth Moore, of Farmington, who 
 was born Jan. 5, 1657, daughter of Deacon Isaac 
 and Ruth (Standlyj Moore. He died April 25, 
 
 1725. Children, all born at Farmington : Ruth mar- 
 ried Thomas Seymour, of Hartford, Feb. 25, 1700; 
 Elizabeth married Samuel Catlin, of Hartford, June 
 5, 1723 ; Ellen married Samuel Catlin, of Hartford, 
 m i''03; Isaac married Elizabeth Galpin, of Strat- 
 ford, in 1707; John married Anne Thompson May 6, 
 1708; ^lary married (first) John Pantry, Jr., and 
 (_secondj Solomon Boltwood ; Sarah married Sam- 
 uel Newell, of Farmington, Aug. 10, 1710; Hannah 
 married John Pratt, of Hartford, m 1713; Dorcas 
 married Joseph Bird, of Salisbury ; Thomas married 
 Elizabeth Macon, of Stratford, in 1724, and in 1739 
 wedded ^Irs. Rachael Pomeroy ; Ebenezer is next in 
 the line of descent. 
 
 (III) Ebenezer Norton, born in 1699, at Farm- 
 ington, was one of the early settlers of Southing- 
 ton, where he died iMarch 21, 1750. On July 7, 
 
 1726, he married Sarah Savage, of Ivliddletown, 
 who died Z\Iarch 11, 1795, and they had eight chil- 
 ■dren : Christian married Daniel Tuttle ; Sarah mar- 
 ried Samuel Hooker, of Berlin ; Freelove ; Delight 
 married Timothy Upson, of Southington, March 25, 
 1755; Bethuel married Lois Hart, of Farmington; 
 Ebenezer is mentioned below ; Isaac married 
 Phoebe Lewis ; Ashbel died while serving in the 
 French war. 
 
 (IV) Ebenezer Norton (2), born in 1746, died 
 at Southington Oct. 3', 1807. In 1773 he married 
 Sybil Parrish, of Branford, who died Feb. 16, 1817. 
 Children: Seth married (first) Lydia Gillette, of 
 Southington, and later wedded Active Byington, of 
 Wolcott ; Christian married William Gilbert, of 
 Southington; Ezra married (first) Sylvia Cowles, of 
 Southington, and later wedded Mrs. Harriet Smith, 
 of Bristol ; Poll)' married Barrett Hendrick, of 
 Bristol ; Ruth was three times married, her first hus- 
 liand named Samuel Lowry, her second Lewis, her 
 third Ferguson; Ebenezer died unmarried; Parrish 
 is mentioned below; Betsey died March 18, 1873, 
 ^lnmarried ; Nancy married Jared Horton, of Wal- 
 lingford ; Lot married a Mrs. Phinney, of Farming- 
 ton ; Harmon married Maria Wightman, of South- 
 ington. 
 
 (V) Parrish Norton, born in 1786, in Southing- 
 ton, died Aug. 11, 1838. On Oct. 10, 181 1, he mar- 
 ried Betsey Rice, of Cheshire, who died Sept. 19, 
 1854. Children: Josiah died June 9, 1826, at the 
 age of fourteen; Andrew married (first) Miranda 
 Byington, of Wolcott, and later wedded Esther 
 Spencer, of Plainville ; Gad is mentioned below ; Lu- 
 cmda married Lester Rodney Lee, of Bristol; L?vi 
 married Sarah Byington, of Wolcott; Hiram mar- 
 ried Martha Barnes, of Southington. 
 
 (VI) Gad Norton, born in Southington Oct. 24, 
 1815, died May 4, 1898. On Oct, 23, 1839, he maiw 
 ried Mary A. Wiard, daughter of Solomon and 
 Olive (Comes) Wiard, of Wolcott. Children: Mar- 
 shall Parrish, Alice ]., Julius G. (who died in 
 1871), and Gilbert E. The last named inherits the 
 old homestead. 
 
 (VII) Marshall Parrish Norton was born June 
 10, 1842, in Southington. 
 
 JARED GOODRICH was for many years prom- 
 inently identified with the manufacturing and agri- 
 cultural interests of Plainville, but for a number of 
 years prior to his death laid aside all business cares 
 and lived retired. 
 
 Mr. Goodrich was born in Glastonbury, this 
 county, Oct. 20, 1810, and was a lineal descendant 
 of William Goodrich, the founder of this branch of 
 the famil)' in America. The latter, a native of Eng- 
 land, is supposed to have come to America about 
 1642, though the first entry on the Connecticut 
 records relative to him is that of his marriage to 
 Sarah Marvin, in 1648. He was not admitted as 
 a freeman of Connecticut until May 15, 1656. He 
 was deputy from Wethersfield to the General Court 
 held in Hartford ]\Iay 15, 1652, and was also one of 
 the grand jury. Just after the close of King 
 Philip's war, in 1676, he was called Ensign William 
 Goodrich. He died that year, and his widow after- 
 ward married Capt. William Curtis, of Stratford, 
 Conn., where she died in 1702. From William 
 Goodrich our subject traced his ancestry throug'h i;he 
 following: Ephraim and Sarah (Treat) Goodrich; 
 David and Sarah (Edwards) Goodrich; and David 
 and Prudence (Benton) Goodrich, who were his 
 great-grandparents. All were residents of Glas- 
 tonbury. His grandparents, Roswell and Rachel 
 (Stevens) Goodrich, had a family of five children: 
 Israel ; Anna, wife of David Talcott ; Pruda ; Joseph ; 
 and Betsey. Israel Goodrich, the father of our 
 subject, was born in Glastonbury July 27, 1784, and 
 throughout life followed the occupation of farm- 
 ing. Being an excellent violinist he was quite 
 prominent in musical circles in his day, and taught 
 a dancing school. He married Miss Harriet 
 Miller, also a native of Glastonbury, and they reared 
 a family of four children : Orson, who married 
 Phebe Cone; Mary; Jared, our subject; and John. 
 
 Jared Goodrich grew to manhood in Glaston- 
 bury, where he received a rather limited education 
 in the schools of his day. On starting out in life for 
 himself he was employed in the clock shops of Bris- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1439 
 
 tol for several years, and coming to Plainville in 
 1 841 he embarked in the manufacture of clocks on 
 liis own account with William Hills, under the firm 
 name of Hills & Goodrich. He continued in that 
 busmess for several years, and then returned to Bris- 
 tol. In 1849 he caught the "gold fever," and went 
 to California by the Panama route, remaining on the 
 Pacific slope one year. In 1853 he again took up 
 his residence in Plainville, where he founded what 
 is now known as the Plainville ^Manufacturing Co , 
 manufacturers of knit goods, and he was interested 
 in that enterprise for over twenty years. After 
 selling out he devoted his attention to raising to- 
 bacco for several years, but during his latter years 
 
 ■ lived retired, having become one of the solid and 
 substantial citizens of Plainville. His career 
 affords an example to the young, in that he com- 
 menced life for himself without capital, but having 
 a determination to succeed he industriously applied 
 himself until he accumulated a handsome com- 
 petence. 
 
 On Nov. ID, 1839, !Mr. Goodrich married Miss 
 Sophronia Pierce, a daughter of Noble A. and 
 Lydia (Gridley) Pierce, of Bristol, and to this 
 union four children were born : Henrietta L. ; John 
 I.: Edward P.; and Mary E., wife of George D. 
 Clark. In political sentiment Mr. Goodrich was a 
 Democrat. He was one of the oldest residents of 
 the town, honored and respected by, all, and by his 
 genial, pleasant manner surrounded himself with a 
 host of warm friends. He passed away March 20, 
 , 1900, his wife preceding him to the grave Aug. 12, 
 
 ■ ' 1897, and both rest in the Plainville cemeterj'. 
 
 EDDIE P. TERRY, a prominent and prosper- 
 ous agriculturist, dealer in milk and ice, Enfield, 
 is a native of that village, born April 3, 1855, a 
 son of Lyman and Caroline Augusta (Pease) Ter- 
 ry. Lyman Terry, his grandfather, a lifelong 
 farmer in Enfield, married a ]Miss Pease, daughter 
 of Walter and Rhoda (Terry) Pease, of Enfield. 
 
 Lyman Terry, father of our subject, was born 
 March 12, 1824, in Enfield, Conn., in early life 
 followed the trade of carpenter, made plows, and 
 in his later days followed farming up to his death, 
 in 1891. In 1857 he married Caroline Augusta 
 Pease, who died in 1891, the mother of one child, 
 our subject. 
 
 Eddie P. Terrv received a liberal education in 
 the public schools, and at the age of nineteen he 
 learned the trade of paper maker, which he fol- 
 lowed seven years, and then for seven years en- 
 gaged in the wholesale and retail milk business in 
 Enfield. He has also carried on farming on the 
 liomestead, and during the winter of 1898-99 he 
 added the retail ice business. 
 
 FRANCIS REUBEN WARNER, farmer and 
 mechanic, and now living retired in Forestville, 
 is a native of Massachusetts, born Dec. 7, 1842, in 
 Granville. 
 
 Reuben W^arner, father of Francis R., was born 
 
 in Suffield, Conn., April 24, 1813, and died in 
 Southwick, Mass., Nov. 19, 1854. By occupation 
 he was a farmer, in politics a Democrat. On Dec. 
 9, 1838, he married bally Goodwin, who was born 
 Dec. 25, 1819, in Elizabethtown, N. Y., and died 
 Sept. 15, 1869. The following children came of 
 this union: (i) Maria L., born Nov. 29, 1839, 
 was married Nov. 3, 1856, to Milo J. Holcomb, a 
 farmer of Granby, Conn. (2) Curtis H., born July 
 6, 1841, died July 3, 1859. (3) Francis R. is our 
 subject. (4) Joel D., born Oct. 15, 1845, died 
 June 5, 1892. (5) Isaac A., born April 24, 1850, 
 died Aug. 9, 1865. (6) Eliza A., born April 5, 
 1852, was married in 1874 to Albert \'eazy, of 
 Forestville. 
 
 Truman Warner, grandfather of Francis R., 
 was born in Suffield, Conn., and was a lifelong 
 agriculturist, as were his forefathers before him, 
 for the most part. He married Abiah ]\Iiddleton, 
 a lady of Scottish descent, and nine children were 
 born to them : Polly, Abiah, Betsey, David, Still- 
 man, Reuben, Laura, Cynthia and Charity. 
 
 Francis R. Warner, the subject proper of this 
 sketch, was five years of age when his parents re- 
 moved from the place of his birth to Southwick, 
 Mass., and there he received his education. At 
 the age of eleven, on leaving school, he commenced 
 working on the farm of Charles Barnes, in North 
 Granby, Conn., whence after two }-ears he moved 
 to West Hartland, and for one year worked for 
 Wells Moore. He then went to East Granby, and 
 was in the employ of Joseph A'iets about two years, 
 from there going to Windsor and working one 
 3'ear for William Barnes, also one year for 
 Lathrop Griswold; then returned to ^Ir. Barnes, 
 and remained with him until his enlistment, Aug. 
 18, 1862, in Company A, 22d Conn. V. I. 
 On July 7, 1863, he was mustered out of the 
 service, and returned home to the pursuits of 
 peace, re-entering the employ of W'illiam Barnes, 
 in Windsor. After one }'ear there he leased a 
 farm of Eliphalet Ladd, which he conducted three 
 years ; thence went to New Britain and took charge 
 of the town farm and roads, one year. W'e now 
 find Mr. Warner in Thompsonville, engaged in 
 the butchering business with his uncle, Samuel D. 
 Holcomb, but at the end of a year he removed to 
 Forestville, and went to work in the W^elch & 
 Spring Co.'s clock factory, continuing there some 
 three years, in various departments. He then re- 
 turned to New Britain, and for a year conducted 
 Henry Welch's farm ; thence once more proceeded 
 to Windsor, where he again leased the Ladd farm, 
 for twelve years, growing tobacco thereon. In 
 1885 we once more find him in Forestville, follow- 
 ing the businesses of teaming and raising garden 
 vegetables; but at the end of a couple of years he 
 gave that up and v^rent to work in the "burner 
 shop" of the Bristol Brass & Clock Co., there re- 
 maining some eleven years, or until December, 
 1897, since when he has lived practically^ retired. 
 
 On April 12, 1864, IMr. Warner was united in 
 
1440 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 marriage with Julia A. Crane, who was born Aiig. 
 2, 1840, in West Hartford, Conn., daughter of 
 Warren Smith and JuHa (Bull) Crane. A brief 
 record of the children born to this union is as fol- 
 lows: (i) Frederick A., born Oct. 4, 1865, is pro- 
 prietor of tonsorial jjarlors in Forestville ; on May 
 4, 1899, he married Ida Sherman, of Somerville, 
 Mass. (2) Lillian A., born Feb. 12, 1868, died 
 Dec. 27, 1872. (3) Warren C, born Dec. 22, 1870, 
 is a clerk in J. S. Deming & Co."s store in Forest- 
 ville. (4) Henry A., born Feb. 5, 1873, has been 
 employed in AMiliain Reynolds" drug store, For- 
 estville. (5) Frank L., born June 5, 1876, is a 
 barber by occupation ; he married Kate Collins, of 
 Forestville. (6) Maude A., born Sept. 12, 1882, 
 and (7) William B., born July 17, 1885, are both 
 at home, the latter going to school. 
 
 In politics jNlr. Warner is a Democrat, and is a 
 member of the board of selectmen, to which he was 
 elected in 1898. Socially he is affiliated with 
 Newton S. Manross Post, Xo. 57, G. A. R., at 
 Forestville, in which he has served as quartermas- 
 ter-sergeant. 
 
 ALBERT B. PIERCE, wdio was engaged in gen- 
 eral farming and dairying in the town of Manches- 
 ter, was born June 5, 1844, on a farm in the town 
 of South Windsor, Hartford Co., Conn., and died 
 June 25, 1899. 
 
 Air. Pierce grew to manhood on the farm wdiere 
 he was born, receiving his education in the com- 
 mon schools, and engaging in agricultural pur- 
 suits until his enlistment, on May i, 1861, when 
 a mere lad of sixteen, in response to Lincoln's first 
 call for three-months men. He served his term as 
 a member of Company B, First Conn. \'. I., seeing 
 his first active service at the battle of IManassas, 
 in which he was slightly wounded. He returned 
 to Hartford after receiving his discharge, and re- 
 mained at home for some months, but as his parents, 
 who had objected to his first enlistment, consented 
 to a second, he became a member of Company L, 
 1st Conn. H. A., Feb. 15, 1862, and joined his reg- 
 iment in front of Yorktown. He served in the 
 Fifteenth Army Corps, under Fitz-John Porter, 
 Gen. McClellan commanding, and took part in the 
 engagements at White Oak, Gaines JNIills, Malvern 
 Hill, Fair Oaks, Chickahominy Bridge, and in many 
 skirmishes and lesser affairs, serving faithfully 
 until his final discharge, Feb. 15, 1865, at Fort 
 Fisher, X. C. Returning to his old home, he re- 
 mained there for a few months, and then spent a 
 year at Providence, R. I., thence going to Hart- 
 ford, Conn., where he also remained for about a 
 year, coming from that cit)^ to South Manchester. 
 Here he was engaged for some time in the silk mills 
 of Cheney Brothers, and after leaving their employ 
 he went South, residing for nine years in Virginia 
 and Ohio. In 1896 he again came to the town of 
 Manchester, settling on a farm of thirty-six acres 
 which he owned and cultivated. In addition to 
 general farming he engaged in dairying to some 
 
 extent, and he made a success of both, prospering 
 as a result of industry and thrifty management in 
 his work. Mr. Pierce was a Republican in political 
 sentiment. 
 
 In 1873 our subject was united in marriage with 
 Aliss Hattie Crenshaw, of Virginia, who passed 
 away March 16, 1897. 
 
 PLINY BARNARD PARSONS, a prominent 
 and enterprising farmer of Enfield, was born there 
 Xov. 24, 1823, a son of Rufus and Rebecca (Nims) 
 Parsons, natives of Enfield, Conn., and Conway, 
 I^Iass., respectively. 
 
 Our subject is a descendant of Philip Parsons, 
 who is mentioned elsewhere. The great-grandpar- 
 ents of our subject were Nathaniel and Alice (Col- 
 lins) Parsons, the great-grandmother being a 
 daughter of Rev. X'athaniel Collins, the first resi- 
 dent Congregational clergyman of Enfield. The 
 paternal grandparents of our subject were Shubael 
 and Lucy (Pease) Parsons. 
 
 Rufus I'arsons, the father of our subject, was 
 a general mechanic and contractor. His children 
 were: Pliny, Rufus, Jeremiah, Rebecca (Mrs. 
 Rodway Russell), Austin, Ralzemon, Horace, Abi- 
 gail and Pliny B., all deceased except our subject. 
 
 Pliny Barnard Parsons was reared in Enfield, 
 and has always lived within a mile of his present 
 residence. He was educated in the common schools, 
 and at the age of eighteen years became proprietor 
 of a sawmill, which he operated for ten years. For 
 forty-si.x years he has been a mover of buildings, 
 and has also engaged extensively in farming and 
 tobacco raising. 
 
 Mr. Parsons has been twice married, first time 
 to Emily, daughter of Jeremiah B. and Emily 
 (Pease) Allen, of Enfield. She bore him six chil- 
 Iren : Ellen (Mrs. Hiram Terry), Hattie (Mrs. 
 Joseph Allen, deceased), Mervin (who died in 
 March, 1898), Annie, Alice (Mrs. H. Stephen 
 Bridge), and a daughter who died in infancy. For 
 his second wife he married Mrs. Jennie (Hodge) 
 Wilson, of Hadley, Mass. Mr. Parsons and his 
 wife are members of the First Congregational 
 Church of Enfield. He is a Republican in politics, 
 and has served the town one term as selectman. 
 
 GEORGE P. CLARK. Among the able and en- 
 ergetic business men whose enterprise has extended 
 the fame of this section as a manufacturing center 
 i.-^ the subject of this biography, a leading resident 
 of Windsor Locks. In all parts of the civilized 
 world the superiority of the articles stamped with 
 his name is conceded, and the large variety of 
 trucks for all purposes which are manufactured in 
 his establishment has won popular favor in a 
 marked degree. In simplicity and strength of con- 
 struction they are all that could be wished, and 
 the improved rubber wheels with w'hich they are 
 fitted make them especially desirable in offices, li- 
 braries, banks and other places where noise is to 
 be avoided. Air. Clark also makes a specialty of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1441 
 
 ventilating and exhaust fans, now rapidly becom- 
 ing a necessity, and an adaptation of the same idea 
 has produced the most perfect fan now on the mar- 
 ket tor the use of dyers and others who need dry- 
 ing facilities. His patent rubber rolls for dryers 
 and wringing machines are no less popular, and 
 he manufactures various sorts of machinerj' and 
 outfittings for dveing establishments, including 
 cedar vats, dye compositions for cloth, warp dyeing 
 and sizing machines, wringers for the hand or 
 power, and with or without cloth folding attach- 
 ment, in fact, a mere list of the articles sent out 
 from his factories would extend the limits of this 
 sketch unduly. Three attractive catalogues have 
 been issited to the trade, furnishing an impressive 
 view of the versatility of Mr. Clark, who is not 
 onl)'- a shrewd and successful business man, but 
 is the inventor of his own designs for machinery. 
 A survey of the life of the man whose mental 
 activity forms the mainspring of this enterprise will 
 be of lasting interest. He was born January 19, 
 1839, at Easthampton, Mass., where his father, 
 Simeon P. Clark, was then a prosperous builder. 
 He was left fatherless at tlie early age of four 
 years, and on leaving school he found emplo3'ment 
 with a florist and market gardener at Easthampton. 
 In the fall of 1861 he enlisted in Company A, 27th 
 j\Iass. V. I., and for three years and one month he 
 remained in active service, taking part in thirty- 
 two engagements. Df thirty-six who went from his 
 town he was the only one who served until peace 
 was declared, and when mustered out he held the 
 rank of sergeant, earned by gallant conduct. On 
 his return to the North he went to Syracuse, N. 
 Y., to learn telegraph}-, and six months later he 
 came to this section to enter the woolen factory of 
 Dwight, Skinner & Co., of Windsor Lxicks, the 
 head of the firm being fhe captain of his company 
 during the war. He remained v/ith that company 
 twenty years, succeeding John L. Chase as superin- 
 tendent, and in the meanwhile perfected several 
 patents, the first being a rubber roll for scouring 
 wool. His next patent was on a rubber caster and the 
 rubber wheels which are such a valuable feature of 
 the trucks now manufactured by him, and for some 
 years he was interested in placing this article on 
 the market as a "side issue." In 1892 he turned 
 his attention exclusively to his present business, his 
 factor}^ being- built in the following year. 
 
 In 1867 Mr. Clark was married at East Granby, 
 Conn., to Miss Alderman, who died six months 
 later. His second wife was Miss Emma Talbot, 
 of East Granby, and they have had four children : 
 George E., now a student in Harvard University; 
 Leila J\I. : Leiand, who died at the age of three 
 years, and Bertha, who died when five j^ears old. 
 The family is prominent in social life, and Mr. Clark 
 is a leading member of tbe Congregational Church 
 at Windsor Locks. He also belongs to E. K. 
 Wilcox Post, No. 16, G. A. R., at Springfield, Mass., 
 and some vears ago he united at Sufifield, Conn., 
 with the Masonic order, becoming later a charter 
 
 £1 
 
 member of Euclid Lodge, No. 109, A. F. & A. M., 
 at Windsor. His sympathies are with every pro- 
 ject for local improvement, and his interest in edu- 
 cational matters is shown by his effective work on 
 the board of education of Windsor Locks. 
 
 JOSEPH SCHEIDEL. Among some of the 
 most enterprising and successful citizens of Bur- 
 lington are those who were borii in Germany, and 
 have brought to this fertile and productive coun- 
 tr}^ the thrift and economy of the Old World. 
 Among these there is no figure that stands out more 
 prominently in the history of the town than Joseph 
 Scheidel, a well-known farmer and lumber manu- 
 facturer. 
 
 Mr. Scheidel was born in Baden, Germany,. 
 April 28, 1847, a- son of Loran and Elizabeth 
 Scheidel, natives of the same place. The father 
 was a well-educated man in his native language, 
 and was a linen weaver by trade, following that 
 occupation in Germany for many years. In 1864 
 he came to America on the sailing-vessel "Isabelle," 
 which was seven weeks in crossing the Atlantic. 
 He landed at New York with his wife, daughter 
 Fredericka, and our subject, and from there came 
 to Collinsville, Hartford Co., Conn., where he was 
 employed in the grinding department of the Collins 
 Co.'s works for eight years. He then removed to 
 the farm in Burlington now owned and occupied 
 by our subject, who cared for him in his declining 
 years. There he died and was buried in the Catholic 
 cemetery at Collinsville. He was an industrious 
 man, a good citizen, a loving husband and father, 
 and a faithful member of the Catholic Church, to 
 which his widow also belongs. She is still living 
 at the ripe age of eighty-four years, and finds a 
 pleasant home with our subject. In their family 
 were four children : Benjamin, who came to Amer- 
 ica about 1854, and is employed at the Collins Co.'s 
 works in Collinsville ; Fredericka, wife of Chris- 
 tian Zitler; Joseph, subject of this review; and 
 John, who died before the emigration of the family 
 to the United States. 
 
 Joseph Scheidel attended the schools of his na- 
 tive land, receiving a good German education, and 
 also worked at weaving with his father. He was 
 seventeen years of age when he came with the fam- 
 ily to the New World, and took up his residence 
 in Collinsville, where he found employment with 
 Mr. Wilkison, polishing screw drivers. Later he 
 was a trusted employe of the Collins Co. for the 
 long period of thirty-three years, working in differ- 
 ent departments of their works. In 1870 he bought 
 the Charles Scoville farm of 125 acres in Burling- 
 ton, and since then has also been interested in gen- 
 eral farming, stock raising, dairying and the manu- 
 facture of lumber. For the past seven years he 
 has also successfully conducted a fine distillery 
 upon his farm. He is an enterprising, progressive 
 business man who carries forward to successful 
 completion whatever he undertakes, and has be- 
 come quite well-to-do. 
 
1442 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In 1868, at the Catholic Church, in Collinsville, 
 ill". Scheidel was married by Rev. Fatlier \\'elsh 
 to Miss Catherine Hair, also a native of Germany, 
 and to . them have been born ten children : Ben- 
 jamin and George, who now operate the home farm; 
 John, who is engaged in teaming; j\iinnie, wife of 
 Julius Horn; William, Frances, Lawrence and Seva, 
 at home ; and Adam and Elizabeth, who died young. 
 The family are communicants of the Catholic 
 Church, and in politics ]\lr. Scheidel is a Democrat. 
 
 ADDISON jMONROE HALE, a prominent 
 agriculturist of the town of Glastonbury, is a mem- 
 ber of one of the pioneer families of that locality, 
 his great-grandfather, Isaac Hale, having been one 
 of the first white men to settle in the northeastern 
 part of the town, near South Alanchester. 
 
 Isaac Hale was born in 1733, and died suddenly 
 Jan. 27, 1797, while on an errand to his cellar. He 
 bought a large tract of land of the Indians, in the 
 northeastern part of the town. For one quart of 
 rum and one bag of corn he could buy as much 
 land as he could walk over in a day, marking the 
 trees by chipping them with an ax, and for a mug 
 of "fliip" he could get land as far as he could 
 throw a stone. The use of spirituous liquors was 
 not considered so disgraceful then as at the present 
 time. The Indians, the "Winnechaugs," from whom 
 a mountain near by is named, shortened now to 
 '■\\'inchug," retained a piece of land (near where 
 Addison iVI. Hale's grist-mill now stands), for their 
 reservation, also the privilege of fishing from the 
 stream and hunting in the forest. Isaac Hale set- 
 tled and reared his family on the farm now owned 
 by Addison 'M. Hale by inheritance. He lived 
 oil very friendly terms with the Indians, and often 
 provided food "and clothing for them during the 
 severe winters, when they would otherwise have 
 suffered, as they were very lazy and improvident. 
 Isaac Hale's wife, Lucy, lived to be ninety years 
 old, and died of a cancer, caused by a fall while 
 making soap out of doors. They were a strong, 
 rugged couple. He was a large man with light 
 liaTr and large blue eyes. They had ten children 
 who lived to mature years. The principles of in- 
 tegrity and industry were thoroughly implanted 
 in their hearts, and the same traits characterize 
 their descendants. As far as can be ascertained, 
 not one of them brought the name of Hale to dis- 
 honor, as no criminals, drunkards or paupers are 
 among them. They are scattered widely, yet we find 
 them honorable men and women, and very much 
 respected in the communities in which they live. 
 Out of the large tract of land which Isaac Hale pur- 
 chased of the Indians, he divided large farms for 
 his ten children, Isaac, Marvain, Timothy, Edward, 
 Frary, George, Eunice, Mrs. James Coville, Mrs. 
 Zebulon Bidwell, and Waite. He gave each of them 
 ten Spanish dollars, with the wish that they be handed 
 down to their heirs, saying he wanted them to always 
 have some pocket money. Addison M. Hale, our 
 subject, has the original dollars, as well as the Isaac 
 
 Hale farm, which the latter gave to his son, Waite 
 Hale, our subject's grandfather. It was on this 
 farm that the homestead was located. 
 
 Waite Hale, our subject's grandfather, who was 
 nuicli younger than the rest of the family, was born 
 on cur subject's present farm, where he resided all 
 his life, following agricultural pursuits. He died 
 at the age of eighty-one years, in the same house in 
 which he was born. He married Abigail HoUister, 
 and had a large family of children as follows: (i) 
 Clement married Marinda Bidwell; (2) Gideon 1. 
 married a Aliss Johnson; (3) Timothy H. married 
 Catherine Strong; (4J \Vaite, Jr.; (5 J Orange 
 married Eliza Jolmson; (6) Ornn married Sophia 
 Fox; (7) Emeline married a Mr. Holmes; (8) 
 llemieiLa married Eidrige Andrews; (y) Abigail 
 married a Mr. Lattimer. 
 
 Orrin Hale, the father of our subject, was born 
 and reared at the old homestead, and became a 
 farmer by occupation. He died Aug. 9, 1853, aged 
 forty-seven years. His wife, Sophia (Fox), a na- 
 tive of X'ernon, died Sept. 5, 1853, aged forty-three 
 years. Our subject was the youngest of five chil- 
 dren, the others being : Alfred, a sailor who spent 
 many years on the water, and died unmarried ; Ab- 
 bie, who died young; Louisa, who died in early 
 womanhood; and Elizabeth, who married Henry 
 P. Rix, of Tolland county, Connecticut. 
 
 Our subject was born Dec. 5, 1851, in the house 
 in which he now lives. He was one and a half 
 vears old when his father died, and was taken by his 
 uncle, Orange Hale, with whom he remained, and 
 as his uncle's health failed with declining years 
 our subject took charge of his farm, which he now 
 owns and operates. He is an industrious man, and 
 a good manager, and has the assistance of a wife 
 whose good common sense makes her advice most 
 valuable. In politics Mr. Hale is a Republican, but 
 he votes independently on local afliairs, and has 
 never held office. He and his family attend the Con- 
 gregational Church. 
 
 On April 17, 1878, Mr. Hale married Florence 
 Brock, born Jan. 25, 1856, at Middletown, Conn., 
 daughter of Henrv and Sarah (Roberts) Brock. 
 Her father was a well-known agriculturist of that 
 town. Four children have blessed the union : Her- 
 bert E., born Aug. 23, 1879; Everett O., born Dec. 
 7, 1883 ; Mary, born Aug. i, 1888 ; and Sarah, born 
 April 17, 1890. 
 
 GEORGE TURA^EY .MATHEWSON, a prom- 
 inent business man of Thompsonville, and one of the 
 most progressive and enterprising citizens of En- 
 field, is a son of John and Ann (Turvey) Mathew- 
 son, natives of London, England, who came to the 
 L^nited States in 1845. 
 
 John Mathewson was by occupation a powder 
 maker, and for several years was superintendent 
 of the large powder mills at Hounslow, England, 
 a position his father (also named John) had long 
 occupied. John Mathewson, father of our subject, 
 was for fourteen years employed by the Hazard 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1443 
 
 Powder Co., as superintendent of their extensive 
 works at Hazardvdie. In i860 he started a brewery 
 in Thompsonville, which he successfully operated 
 until his death, in 1879. His widow died in 1888. 
 Their family consisted of eight children : John, 
 deceased; Edwin S., of the firm of Lounsbury & 
 Mathewson, boot and shoe manufacturers in South 
 Norwalk, Conn., the senior member being ex-gov- 
 ernor of the State; Annie E., Mrs. W. O. Collins; 
 Albert H., of Enfield ; Florence A. ; George T. ; 
 Herbert A., of South Norwalk; and Charles P., 
 of Cleveland, Ohio. 
 
 George T. Mathewson, the subject of this sketch, 
 was born in Enfield, March 13, 1859, and received 
 his primary education in the schools of his native 
 town, after which he took a course of instruction 
 at Selleck's Academy, South Norwalk. In 1876 
 he began his business career, entering the brewery 
 belonging to his father, aiKl after the latter's death 
 he and his brother Albert H. succeeded to the busi- 
 ness, which they have since successfully conducted 
 under the firm name of Mathewson Bros. From 
 a small beginning the business has grown until the 
 annual output is now about eight thousand barrels 
 of ale. 
 
 Mr. Mathewson, in addition to his brewery in- 
 terests, is a member of the Westfield Plate Co., of 
 Thompsonville, an incorporated concern engaged in 
 the manufacture of casket hardware, the members 
 of the firm being W. O. Collins, president; George 
 T. Mathewson, vice-president ; and Albert H. 
 Mathewson, treasurer and manager. Our subject 
 is also president of the Enfield & Longmeadow Elec- 
 tric Railway Co. Socially he is a member of 
 Doric Lodg'e, No. 94, F. & A. M. ; of Washington 
 Chapter, No. 30, R. A. M. ; and of Suffield Council. 
 In public affairs he has always taken a keen inter- 
 est, is active in the support of the Republican party 
 and its principles, and for two terms (1891-93) rep- 
 resented Enfield in the lower house of the Legis- 
 lature. He is now (1899) president of the State 
 Board of Fisheries and Game. 
 
 Mr. Mathewson was married. May 21, 1885, to 
 Laura A., daughter of Henry R Allen, of Enfield, 
 and three children have been born to them : Allen, 
 Grace and George T., Jr. Though reared in the 
 faith of the Episcopal Church Mr. Mathew^son is 
 not a member of any religious organization, but 
 contributes liberally to the support of the different 
 churches of the town. ]Mr.s. Mathewson is a mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church. 
 
 GEORGE SHERLOCK ALLEN, one of the 
 gallant defenders of the Union during the Civil war, 
 and the efficient superintendent of the plant of the 
 Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., at Plantsville, Hartford 
 county, was born in Wallingford, Conn., Sept. 21, 
 1842, son of William Dewey and Elvira (Benham) 
 Allen, the former a native of Catskill, N. Y., the 
 latter of Cheshire, Conn. His maternal grandfather, 
 Joseph Benham, was a farmer of Cheshire. In 
 early life the father learned the blacksmith's trade. 
 
 in North Haven, Conn., where he continued to 
 follow it for some years, and then removed to VVal- 
 Imgford, wliere he died in 1857. His children were 
 George S., Lyman D., William A. and Charles J. 
 
 'Hie subject of this sketch is indebted to the pub- 
 lic schools of Walingford for his educational ad- 
 vantages, as he was tnere reared to manhood. On 
 Oct. 20, 1861, he joined Company C, 8th Conn. 
 V. I., and after his first term ot service expired he 
 re-enlisted as a veteran, in 1864. He was in all 
 the engagements in which his regiment partici- 
 pated, ana was honorably discharged Dec. 12, 1865. 
 After the war Mr. Allen worked m a spoon factory 
 in Wallingford for fourteen years, and since 1879 
 has been connected with the Peck, Stow & Wilcox 
 Co., at Plantsville, as a contractor for nineteen years, 
 and as superintendent of the Plantsville plant since 
 1898. He is a straightforward, reliable business 
 man, one who commands the confidence of all with 
 whom he comes in contact. 
 
 On P"eb. 22, 1864, Mr. Allen was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Lucy D. Jeralds, a daughter of 
 Bennett and Lucy (Mix) Jeralds, of Wallingford, 
 and two children have been born of this union, 
 Laura D. and Maude E. Socially Mr. Allen affil- 
 iates with Friendship Lodge, No. 33, F. & A. M.; 
 Triune Chapter, No. 40, R. A. M. ; Temple Coun- 
 cil, No. 32, R. & S. M.; Trumbull Post, No. 16, G. 
 A. R. ; and Eureka Lodge, No. 75, I. O. O. F. He 
 served as assistant chief of the Southington Fire 
 Department for t'en years ; has been a member of the 
 board of education ; and has filled the office of bur- 
 gess. As a citizen he has always been true and 
 taithful to every trust reposed in him, so that his 
 loyalty is above question, being manifest in days of 
 peace as well as when he followed the old flag on 
 Southern battle fields. 
 
 H. A.. OSBORNE was born at Granby, Hart- 
 ford county, as were also his father, William, and 
 his grandfather, David, both of wdiom were farm- 
 ers. William Osborne was the fourth of seven chil- 
 dren, the names of the others in the order of their 
 birth being David, Basha, Lyman, Ethop, Sylvia 
 and Melza. All the family were ardent patriots 
 during the struggle for independence. 
 
 William Osborne's first employment was on the 
 farm of Judge Hillier, while he was still a young 
 man. After reaching maturity he married, and 
 became a landowner himself. His wife was Betsey 
 Wilcox, and they raised a large family of children, 
 a brief mention of whom will be found of interest. 
 William, now deceased, was a resident of Suffield, 
 in which town his brother James vet lives ; Riley, de- 
 ceased, had his home in Westfi'eld ; Louise married 
 Frank Gillette, of Westfield, and they lived for 
 a time :>.t Burlington, but later removed to Ani- 
 mosa, Iowa, where he opened a store, and where 
 both have since died ; Melza and Lewis were among 
 the Argonauts of '49 — the latter has passed away, 
 but .Melza is still a resident of California ; Linas em- 
 igrated from Connecticut to Iowa (he was pre- 
 
1444 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 eminent as a peace maker, his amiable disposition 
 and innate sense of justice well qualifying him for 
 the delicate and difficult duties ot such a position j ; 
 Lydia became the wife of Air. Alderman, of Suf- 
 field, and they removed to Marion, Iowa, where her 
 husband engaged in business, and where their son, 
 Ediom, a captain of an Iowa militia regiment, yet 
 lives (Mr. and ^Irs. Alderman, however, turned 
 their faces toward the Pacific slope, and he is at 
 present the owner of an ora.ige grove at South 
 iiiverside, Cal.) ; David also found a home in Iowa, 
 buying land in the town of Cass, in Jones county, 
 where he has become an exceedingly prosperous 
 farmer; Leverett migrated to Calitornia in 1862, 
 and died there. Generally speaking, the family has 
 been unusuallv successful, and it has no members 
 who have not been upright men or women and use- 
 ful, valuable citizens. The father, \VilIiam Os- 
 borne, was himself a man of exceptionally good 
 business ability. He took little interest in public 
 affairs but was a man of sterling worth, although 
 not a member of any church. His declining years 
 were passed in Iowa, at the home of his daughter, 
 Mrs. Gillette, where he passed away at the age of 
 eighty-seven _\ears. His wife had preceded him in 
 
 1837.' 
 
 H. A. Osborne was born June 9, 1833. His 
 early educational advantages were not of the best, 
 being confined to such as were obtainable at the dis- 
 trict school of that early date. His school days 
 came to an end when he was thirteen years old, but 
 he has sought to supplement his early deficiencies 
 bv a course of well-directed reading. His life has 
 been one of hard work, but his toil has been crowned 
 .with the success which his industry and persever- 
 ance merited. Shortly after leaving school, he be- 
 gan life's battle by entering the ;employ of Alfred 
 Spencer, at a yearly compensation of $150. At the 
 age of fifteen he was working in the large Austin 
 Cigar Factorv for $200 per year. The following 
 year he went to Broad Crook, where for twelve 
 months he was a clerk in the general store of King- 
 ley & Hamilton. His next situation was in a cass- 
 imere factory, and after quitting that employment 
 he went to Plainville (1852), where he secured 
 work as a spinner in a knitting mill. An oppor- 
 tunity presenting itself to obtain work as a brass 
 molder, he offered his services to Peck & Smith, 
 who placed him in charge of their brass department, 
 a position which he satisfactorily filled for fourteen 
 years, still retaining his home at Plainville. In 
 1868, he went to Iowa, but returned after twelve 
 months and entered a cottonette factory. After 
 thirteen years spent there, he was compelled to 
 abandon work temporarily, on account of ill heaUh. 
 A few years later, however, in 1887, he purchased 
 a brass foundry at New Britain, which he has con- 
 ducted ever since. The venture has proved suc- 
 cessful, and he has built up a profitable business. 
 
 Himself a self-made man, and deprived of educa- 
 tional advantages in his early youth, Mr. Osborne 
 all the more keenlv appreciates their value for others. 
 
 For twelve years he has served on the school board ; 
 and he is regarded as one of the representative men 
 of Plainville, having served as one of the selectmen 
 of that town. On National issues he is a Democrat, 
 but in local elections he is able to rise above parti- 
 sanship. He was one of the charter members of 
 Franklin Council, Order of United American Me- 
 chanics, and still retains his connection with that 
 organization. 
 
 Air. Osborne married r^Iartha, daughter of Ira 
 Howe, of Plainville, and by her has two children : 
 Frank G., for twelve years engaged in the meat 
 business at Plainville, and Lillian, at home. 
 
 GEORGE BOSTICK, a prominent farmer, 
 dairyman and tobacco grower of Enfield, was born 
 Sept. 14, 1873, in that town, a son of Randall and 
 Anna (Joy) Bostick, natives of England and Ire- 
 land, respectively. 
 
 Randall Bostick, for many years a resident of 
 Enfield, began his business career as a peddler of 
 vegetables. In 1875 he settled on the farm now 
 occupied by our subject, and accumulated a com- 
 petency, dying there April 12, 1894. In 1858, at 
 the age of eighteen, he married Anna Joy, daugh- 
 ter ot John and Ellen (Howring) Joy, and they 
 had a family of seven children : John, Thomas, Nel- 
 lie (Mrs. Barton Prickett), Randall, Anna (Mrs. 
 Colts), George and Benjamin. 
 
 George Bostick, our subject, was reared on the 
 homestead farm from the age of two years. He was 
 educated in the public schools, and has always fol- 
 lowed his present business, having gained a sub- 
 stantial reputation as a thrifty farmer. On Jan. 
 I, 1896, he married Hattie, daughter of Ruthford 
 and Alaria (McLeish) Barber, of Enfield. Mr. 
 Bostick is a member of the Episcopal Church, and 
 of Enfield Grange. In political sentiment he is 
 a Republican. 
 
 CHAUNCEY BENJAMIN ELLSWORTH, a 
 veteran of the Civil war, is one of East Windsor's 
 best citizens, belonging to the class whose influence 
 can be relied upon in support of an}- measure which 
 tends to the elevation and advancement of the com- 
 munity. He is a representative of an old and hon- 
 ored family, his ancestors having settled in 
 "Old Windsor" soon after the organization of the 
 town, and his character and career show that he 
 possesses the sterling qualities of the pioneer stock. 
 
 Benjamin Ellsworth, our subject's great-great- 
 grandfather, was born in 1690, and died in 1770. 
 -Job Ellsworth, his great-grandfather, was a soldier 
 in the French and Indian war. He and his brother 
 Benjamin removed from their early home in Town 
 Street, Windsor, to what is now East Windsor, 
 where thev purchased a large tract of land, includ- 
 ing our subject's present homestead. This land was 
 divided between them, and, having built substantial 
 homes, thej' passed their remaining years there in 
 agricultural pursuits. Job Ellsworth dying in De- 
 cember, 1776, aged about fifty years. His descend- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1445 
 
 ants are now among the leading residents of the 
 town, Theodore E. Ellsworth and others being 
 mentioned more fully elsewhere. 
 
 Benjamin Ellsworth, our subject's grandfather, 
 who was born Feb. 8, 1763, served as a soldier in the 
 Revolutionary army, and died at his homestead in 
 East Windsor. He was a tall man, and by occupa- 
 tion was a farmer, the old residence in which our 
 subject was born having been built by him at the 
 present homestead. In November, 1789, he mar- 
 ried Ann Stiles, and they had the following children : 
 Anson, born Sept. 23, 1791, died in East Windsor; 
 Benjamin, born Dec. 24, 1793, died in Cattaraugus 
 county, N- Y., leaving a family ; Reuben, born Dec. 
 I, 1795, died in East Windsor; Cliauncey was the 
 father of cur subject; Ann, born March 18, 1800, 
 married John Thompson, of Ellington ; Martha and 
 Mary, twins, born Feb. i, 1803, died at the old 
 homestead unmarried, Mary on March 19, 1890, 
 and Martha on Dec. 20, 1881 ; Israel, born Jan. 21, 
 1805, died in East Windsor; and Aurelia, born 
 Oct. 7, 1807, was the wife of James D. Skinnter, of 
 South Windsor. 
 
 Hon. Chauncey Ellsworth, our subject's father, 
 was born Oct. 31, 1797, in the house built b)^ Ben- 
 jamin Ellsworth at the present homestead. He 
 was educated in the local schools, and when a young 
 man taught for several years, boarding around after 
 the custom of that day. Being naturally clever and 
 bright, he was always interested in the best liter- 
 ature, becoming especially well inTormed on his- 
 tory and kindred topics. In religious work he was 
 active as a member of the Congregational Church, 
 being known as Deacon Ellsworth, and^his observ- 
 ance of the Sabbath was according to the strictest 
 rules of Puritanism. He always resided at the 
 old homestead, which he bought from thfe other 
 heirs on the death of his parents, and was regarded 
 as one of the most enterprising and successful farm- 
 ers of his town. In his time tobacco growing was 
 introduced into this section as a special industry, 
 and he was among the three "pioneers" in that line 
 of effort in East Windsor. Politically he was first 
 a Whig and later a Republican, and he served two 
 terms as representative, besides holding various 
 town ofifices, including those of selectman and asses- 
 sor. He was a robust, healthy man, weighing 175 
 pounds at times, and lived to a good old age, pass- 
 ing away June 12, 7869. In 1834 Mr. Ellsworth 
 married. Miss Elizabeth R. Allen, a native of Tol- 
 land county. Conn., and a daughter of Ebenezer 
 and Sarah (Loomis) Allen. Her father, who died 
 in East Windsor in his seventj^-sixth year, spent 
 his life in that town with the exception of a few 
 years passed in Tolland county. Mrs. Ellsworth 
 died Jan. 31, 1882, aged seventy-three years, and 
 was buried beside her husband in Scantic cemetery. 
 Of their five children, the eldest, Jane, born Feb. 
 25. 183s, married Rev. James W. Crush, a Congre- 
 gational minister, now deceased; Edward S., born 
 April 10, 1837, is a carpenter at Ormond, Fla. ; Ed- 
 mund P., twin of Edward, was a farmer by occu- 
 
 pation, and died in East Windsor, Jan. 17, 1894, 
 unmarried; Chauncey B., our subject, is mentioned 
 below; and Sarah h.., born May 6, 1847, 's now 
 Mrs. George B. Slater, of Manchester, Connecticut. 
 
 Chauncey B. Ellsworth was born May 21, 1841, 
 in the old family residence in East Windsor, and 
 began his education in the schools of District No. 
 10. He has a good word for the old-fashioned 
 methods of discipline, which he thinks produced 
 better results than those of to-day, and among the 
 early teachers whom he recalls most gratefully 
 were Edwin Barber and a Mr. Morris. He also 
 attended the Connecticut Literary Institute, at Suf- 
 field, and the high school at East Windsor Hill, 
 while his summers were spent in the wholesome 
 activities of farm life. On leaving school he con- 
 tinued to assist in the work of the farm until Sep- 
 tember, 1862, when he enlisted in Company G, 25th 
 Conn. V. I. After a few days in camp on Long 
 Island the regiment was sent to New Orleans, 
 making the voyage from New York City on the 
 vessel "Empire City." Their first regular battle 
 was at Irish Bend, La., and throughout his term of 
 service Mr. Ellsworth was ready for duty, never 
 being absent from the regiment from sickness or 
 other causes. In August, 1863, he received an hon- 
 orable discharge and returned home, where he re- 
 sumed the work of farming w'th his father, and 
 since the death of the latter he has had sole charge 
 of the place. On Jan. i, 1865, he married Miss 
 Cordelia M. Sadd, and during that year he built his 
 present residence, on the opposite side of the road 
 from the old house in which h-e was born. He has 
 never been an office seeker, but is a steadfast Repub- 
 lican in politics, and cast his first vote for the party 
 while in the army. When the order of Good 
 Templars was doing active work in the cause of 
 temperance, he was one of its most devoted ad- 
 herents, and for years he has been prominent in the 
 Congregational Church at East Windsor, serving 
 as a member of the society committee. His family 
 is much esteemed sociall}^, and consists of three chil- 
 dren: (i) Arthur C, born Oct. 23, 1866, who resides 
 at the homestead, married Miss Anna G. Crowley, 
 of New Britain. (2) Kate L., born Oct. 30, 1868, 
 married Lemuel Stoughton, Jr., of East Windsor. 
 (3) Miss Edith C, born March 13, 1871, is at 
 home. 
 
 Mrs. Ellsworth is a lady of unusual mental 
 ability and culture, and previous to her marriage 
 taught school successfully in South Windsor and 
 East Windsor. Her education was secured in the 
 Connecticut Literar\' Institute, at Suffield, and the 
 Normal School at New Britain, her active intel- 
 lect enabling her to make good use of her oppor- 
 tunities. She belongs to a well-known family, and 
 was born in South Windsor, Dec. 17, 1843, daugh- 
 ter of William and Maronet (Allen) Sadd. This 
 worthy couple had seven children, of whom five 
 lived to adult age : Caroline E., who married John 
 A. Martin, and died Dec. 28, 1891, in East Hart- 
 ford, leaving four daughters ; Henry W., of Wap- 
 
144G 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ping, Conn. ; Franklin A., who served in the Civil 
 war in Company G, 25th Conn. V. I., and died Feb. 
 6, 1883; Catherine D., who married John B. Noble, 
 of East Windsor; and Cordelia M., Mrs. Ellsworth. 
 The parents both died at Wapping, the mother in 
 1873, and the father in 18S1. 
 
 PATRICK AIURITIY. a well known resident 
 of Windsor Locks, is a man whose sound, conserva- 
 tive judgment is held in high esteem among his 
 fellow citizens, who have frequentlv chosen him to 
 local offices of trust and responsibility. For more 
 than forty years he has been connected with the 
 Seymour Paper Co., at Windsor Locks, and, with 
 characteristic prudence and foresight, he has accu- 
 mulated a comfortable competence, enabling him 
 to retire while he is yet young enough to enjoy the 
 fruits of his labors. 
 
 Mr. Murphy was born July 15, 1832, in County 
 Kilkenny, Ireland, where his ancestors resided for 
 generations past. Michael Murphy, his grandfa- 
 ther, was a farmer in County Kilkenny, and Martin 
 ^lurphy, the father of our subject, passed his entire 
 life at the same farm. Of the four children of Mar- 
 tin Murphy and his wife, Mary rvlackey, Patrick 
 was the only one who came to America. 
 
 During his boyhood Mr. Murphy assisted in 
 the work of the homestead, his education being ob- 
 tained in a private school in the neighborhood. At 
 the age of twenty-one he started for the Xew 
 World, hoping for a better chance in life than his 
 native country promised, and after a tedious voy- 
 age of seven weeks and three days in the sailing- 
 vessel, "The Gazetteer," he landed in New York 
 City. He came immediately to Hartford and for 
 four months was employed on a farm in that vicin- 
 it)', but he then located at Windsor Locks, taking 
 a position in the Seymour Paper Mill. As he had 
 no knowledge of the business, he began "at the foot 
 of the ladder," but his ability and fidelity to his em- 
 ployers' interests were soon recognized, and he was 
 promoted from time to time, his connection with the 
 company being severed only on their suspension in 
 August,' 1898" 
 
 Mr. Murphy was married in Windsor Locks to 
 ]\'Iiss Johanna McGrath, a native of County Kil- 
 kenny, Ireland, and they have four children : Julia, 
 wife of Mr. O'Neil, of Holyoke, Mass. ; James, who 
 resides at Holyoke ; Agnes, who is at home, and 
 Mary, a successful teacher in Holyoke. Mr. Mur- 
 phy and his estimable wife are leading members of 
 St. Mary"s Catholic Church, of Windsor Locks, and 
 politically he is a stanch Democrat, having been 
 duly naturalized as a citizen since coming to Wind- 
 sor Locks. At different times he has served as as- 
 sessor, and for three terms, 1887, '88 and '89, he was 
 selectman of his town. 
 
 A. W. PLL'MB, now a prosperous business man 
 conducting a meat market at the corner of Park 
 and Broad streets, Windsor, started in life with 
 nothing but his own indomitable energy, and his 
 
 accumulation of this world's goods is attributable 
 to his industrious habits, good judgment and a de- 
 termination to succeed. 
 
 Mr. i'lumb was born in Otis, Mass., in May, 
 1850, a son of William and Sarah J. (Cotton) 
 Plumb. His paternal great-grandfather came to 
 this country from England. Both grandfathers 
 were sea captains, and sailed from Middletown, 
 Conn. The father of our subject was a child of 
 eight years when his father died, and being the 
 seventh in order of birth in a large family of chil- 
 dren, who were left in limited circumstances, he was 
 early thrown upon his own resoiuxes. In Bloom- 
 field, Conn., he learned the carriage-maker's trade, 
 which he followed throughout his active business 
 life, or until failing health compelled his retirement, 
 and was in business for himself most of the time> 
 He was a short man, rather heavy-set. In politics 
 he was a stanch Renublican, in religious faith a 
 Methodist, and a regular attendant at church, and 
 took a very active part in its work. He died ac 
 East Haiciord at the age of sixty-six years, and 
 his wife passed away five months later, at the age 
 of sixty-two, the remains of both being interred at 
 Winsted. She was born at Cold Spring, Mass., and 
 was a daughter of Lester Cotton. The great-grand- 
 father of William Plumb on the maternal side was 
 Benjamin Allyn,-a hero of the French and Indian 
 war, who later raised a company for the Revolu- 
 tionary war. His powder-horn, now in the poss- 
 ession of Edwin Plumb, brother of our subject, 
 bears the date 1736, and is appropriately carved, 
 having the plans of the forts from Albany to Lake 
 George at that time, all of which are quite compre- 
 hensive. Our subject is the youngest in a family 
 cf three children, the others being Edwin L., a res- 
 ident of Windsor; and Frederick N., a cigar maker 
 of W'insted. 
 
 During his boyhood and youth A. W. Plumb ac- 
 companied his parents on their various removals, 
 and attended school in Colebrook River, Pleasant 
 Valley and Harwintoii, Conn., completing his edu- 
 cation in Bloomfield Academy. At the age of fif- 
 teen he commenced learning the carpenter's trade at 
 Bloomfield. but the last year of his apprenticeship 
 was served at New Britain, with Everett Dudley, 
 After following same for some years he learned the 
 cigar maker's trade with his brother Edwin, and at 
 one time conducted a small shop in Windsor, where 
 he made cigars. Later he worked for Parsons & 
 Terry, in the butcher business, for eight years, and 
 when they sold out the customers of the shop ex- 
 pressed the wish that Mr. Plumb would engage in 
 the business on his own account. Always courteous 
 apd honest, he had made manv friends, and when 
 he started in business in a modest way they gave 
 him their encouragement and patronage. His means 
 were limited, but he was well known and had the 
 confidence of many of the best citizens of Windsor, 
 and it was not long before he built up a good and 
 profitable trade, which he still enjoys. He is to-day 
 one of the most popular meat dealers of the place. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1447 
 
 Mr. Plumb married ]Miss May Ella Howard, a 
 native of Rhode Island, by whom he has two daugh- 
 ters, Edith and Jessie. He is a stanch Republican, 
 but takes no active part in politics aside from voting. 
 At one time he affiliated with the Order of United 
 American Mechanics, but he has found little time 
 to devote to anything outside of his business inter- 
 ests. His wife is a member of the Episcopal Church, 
 which he attends, and to which he gives his support. 
 In business and social circles he stands deservedly 
 high, and has a host of friends in and around 
 Windsor. 
 
 GEORGE WILBERFORCE RYAN, engineer 
 of Gordon Brothers' mills, and a well-known find 
 prominent citizen of Hazardville, was born Feb. 
 25, 1862, in London, England, a son of James and 
 Emma (Packman) Ryan, the former a native of 
 Islington, London, and the latter of Boughton, Eng- 
 land. Charles Ryan was the paternal grandfather 
 of our subject. The maternal grandfather, Admond 
 Packman, was a soldier in the English army during 
 the Spanish war, was wounded, and received a 
 pension from the British government. 
 
 James Ryan, the fath'er of our subject, emi- 
 grated with his family to America in 1872, landing 
 on Oct. 23 of that year, and locating in Hazardville, 
 town of Enfield, Conn., where he secured employ- 
 m^ent as a powder-maker for the Hazard Powder 
 Co. He remained continuously in their service 
 for twenty years, removing in 1892 to Springfield, 
 Mass., where he has since resided, and where be is 
 engaged in the shoe business. His children wiere : 
 Kate, Mrs. James D. Logan ; George W. ; Annie 
 M., Mrs. Elmer Osborn ; Amy S.,"Mrs. William 
 Alcorn ; Elsie L., Mrs. Henry Hawkins ; Lillian, 
 Mrs. Lewis Dewey ; Charles J. ; and Flora E., Mrs. 
 Merritt Rogers, who died Aug. 10. 1899. 
 
 George W. Ryan was reared in Hazardville from 
 the age of ten years, and received a good public- 
 school education. At the age of sixteen he went to 
 work on a farm in the town of East Windsor, 
 owned by John Bissell, where he was employed 
 four years, going thence to New London, where he 
 secured a position as shipping clerk for the "Pe- 
 quot Preserving Co.," continuing thus during the 
 summer. While there he shipped as second steward 
 on board the yacht "Dauntless," owned by C. H. 
 Colt, of Hartford, and went on a memorable voyage 
 across the Atlantic ocean and along the shores of 
 the Mediterranean Sea. Leaving New York Dec. 
 13, 1883, they made their first stop at the Island of 
 Fayal, one of the Azores, on Christmas morning. 
 It was rather different from the New England 
 Christmas, warm sunshine instead of snow, and an 
 abundance of ripe fruit, oranges, bananas, etc. It 
 was there occurred the most exciting adventure of 
 the trip. During a severe gale, which lasted for 
 twenty-four hours, the "Dauntless'' was driven from 
 her mooring onto a reef of rocks, where she was 
 very badly stove in, and this delayed them some 
 time, while divers went down to make such repairs 
 
 as were necessary for her to proceed to St. Michael's, 
 a distance of 240 miles, to go into dry dock for 
 substantial repairs. After leavmg St. Michael's they 
 went to Gibraltar, thence to Tangiers, on the coast 
 of Africa, to Malaga, and back to Gibraltar, after 
 which they coasted along the African shore, stop- 
 ping at Oran and Algiers. They also visited the 
 Island of Sardinia, and thence cruised to France — 
 stopping at Marseilles, Toulon, Cannes, Nice, Ville 
 Franche, Monaco, Mentone — and along the Italian 
 coast — stopping at Genoa and Leghorn — returning 
 to Nice, to the regattas which took place between 
 the English and American yachts. After the re- 
 gatta they returned to Marseilles, where on account 
 of illness Mr. Ryan received his discharge, March 
 30, 1884. He came home on a tourist ticket, stop- 
 ping at Lyons, Paris, Havre, Southampton, London, 
 and Liverpool, and thence took passage for New 
 York, arriving in Hazardville May 29. While in 
 England he visited relatives, and the places and 
 friends of his early boyhood. After these months 
 of roving Hazardville proved too quiet, so in July, 
 of the same year, he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where 
 he v/orked as waiter in the "St. Nicholas Flotel" 
 until early winter, when he returned home and 
 went to work for Gordon Brothers as foreman. 
 He remained continuousl)' in that position until 
 1890, since when he has been engineer for the firm. 
 On March 6, 1886, Mr. Ryan was married to 
 Grace J., daughter of James and Mary (Marrov/) 
 Beech, of Hazardville, Conn., formerly of Eng- 
 land. This marriage has been blessed with three 
 children : Maude, Bessie and George W., Jr. Mr. 
 Ryan is now assistant engineer of the Hazardville 
 Fire Department. Politically he is a Republican. 
 
 GEORGE ALBERT ELLIS, first selectman of 
 the town of East Windsor, is an enterprising and 
 successful agriculturist, and his homestead near 
 Warehouse Point gives evidence of his skill as a 
 manager. For man}' years he was engaged in busi- 
 ness in Boston as a dealer in tobacco and cigars, 
 and he is now interested in the culture of tobacco 
 in connection with general farming. 
 
 Mr. Ellis was born Aug. 8, 1847, in the town of 
 East Windsor, 'and is descended from good New 
 England stock, his ancestors having settled in Mas- 
 sachusetts many years ago. James M. Ellis, his 
 father, was a native of Long Meadow, Mass., born 
 April 3, 1817, and came to this county about 1830. 
 For a number of years he was express agent on the 
 stage line from Hartford to Warehouse Point, but 
 his last years were spent in farming in East Wind- 
 sor, his death occurring there Sept. 5, 1853. He 
 married Miss Elizabeth Bancroft, who was born 
 April 18, 1816, daughter of John Bancroft, of East 
 Windsor, and who survived him many years, pass- 
 ing away Aug. 7, 1898. This worthy couple had 
 nine children, as follows : James M., deceased ; 
 Maria, wife of O. L. Gillett, of Boston ; Marcia A., 
 widow of T. W. Pascoe ; Frances M., deceased ; Ro- 
 celia C, wife of William Atkinson, of Boston; 
 
1448 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 George A., our subject ; Effie, widow of Charles R. 
 Pascoe ; and Isabella S. and Flora, both deceased. 
 At the time of our subject's birth his parents re- 
 sided upon a farm adjoining his present homestead, 
 and his early years were spent in that locality. 
 When twelve years old he went to Boston and served 
 an apprenticeship to the cigar maker's trade, and 
 he soon afterward engaged in a retail cigar and to- 
 bacco business in Boston. Later he became inter- 
 ested in the wholesale tobacco business, continuing 
 until 1884, when he returned to the town of East 
 Windsor and purchased the farm where he now re- 
 sides. It is located one and a half miles south of 
 Warehouse Point, on "Town Street," a road lead- 
 ing to Hartford. The place contains forty acres 
 of good land, and in addition to general farming 
 Mr. Ellis raises tobacco and runs a steam cider- 
 mill, which he built during the first year of his res- 
 idence there. He is prominent in local affairs, being 
 an active worker in the Democratic organization, 
 and for fifteen years he has served on the board of 
 selectmen, having been elected each year since 1885. 
 His family is mucli esteemed socially, and his wife 
 is a devout member of the Catholic Church. 
 
 On Dec. 19, 1869, JNIr. Elli.s married Miss Char- 
 lotte M. Swcetser, a native of Wakefield, Mass., and 
 twelve children have blessed the union: Effie A., 
 wife of Harry W. Williams, now resides on Prince 
 Edward Island ; Georg^e died in infancy : James M., 
 George H. and Charlotte E. are at home ; Albert R. 
 died in infancy; Benjamin is deceased; Grace I. and 
 Gertrude H. are at home ; Stephen is deceased ; and 
 Herman S. and Irene M. are at home. 
 
 MICHAEL GEARY, a veteran of the Civil 
 war, is a highly-esteemed resident of the town of 
 East Windsor, where he has been engaged in agri- 
 cultural pursuits for a number of years. He is 
 industrious and thrifty, and as a good citizen he has 
 always taken an active part in local affairs, serving 
 at one time as a member of the board of selectmen. 
 
 I\Ir. Gear\^ was born July 16, 1836, at Wick- 
 ford, R. I., son of Patrick and Bridget Geary. 
 When he was a small bov his parents removed 10 
 Massachusetts, and in 1847 they located in East 
 Windsor, Hartford Co., Conn., where he grew to 
 manhood. He remained with his father until he 
 reached the age of twenty-two, when he settled upon 
 his present farm, and engaged in general agriculture 
 and the raising of tobacco. His place comprises 
 about fifty-five acres of good land, and under his 
 able management it has become one of the best of 
 its size in the town. In 1862 Mr. Geary left his 
 home to enlist in the L^nion army, becoming a pri- 
 vate in Company A, 22nd Conn. V. I., which was 
 mustered into service at Hartford. The regiment 
 was sent South by way of Washington, and spent 
 the following winter at Miner's Hill, Va., while 
 later they were sent to Williamsburg and West 
 Point, Va., Mr. Geary spending nearly eleven 
 months in active service. Politically he is a strong 
 Democrat, and was elected on that ticket as select- 
 
 man of East Windsor, his colleagues being S. D. 
 Rockwell and Henry Sloane. In religious faith he 
 is a Catholic. For years he has been an active mem- 
 ber of J. H. Converse Post, No. 67, G. A. R., at 
 Windsor Locks. 
 
 In 1857 Mr. Geary married Miss Ellen Carroll, 
 whose efficient help has done much to secure his 
 prosperity. Of their ten children only three are now 
 living: William A., a resident of Brooklyn, N. Y. ; 
 John, who is at home; and Francis P., a policeman 
 m Hartford. 
 
 THOMAS CORNELIUS AUSTIN, the well- 
 known nurseryman and florist of Suffield, Hartford 
 county, and one of the oldest and most respected 
 citizens of that town, was born there May 23, 1818, 
 a descendant of one of Connecticut's oldest Colonial 
 families, his genealogy being as follows : 
 
 Anthony Austin, a native of Hampshire, Eng- 
 land, came to America with his father, Richard 
 Taylor Austin, his mother and his brother Richard, 
 and settled first in Charlestown, Mass., where the 
 father died in his fortieth year, leaving his widow 
 with two children. Of these, Anthony received an 
 excellent education, and after attaining man's estate 
 married. In 1666 he removed with his bride to 
 Raleigh (where in 1669 he was recorded as a free- 
 man), and in 1674 came to Suffield, Conn., where 
 he became a lieutenant in the Colonial militia, in 
 which he was later promoted to a captaincy. In 
 1696 he was appointed the first school master of the 
 town, and filled the office eleven years. In 1677 
 he was apjxiinted the first clerk of the town, and 
 served in that capacity twenty-seven years. To 
 the marriage of Anthony Austin were born three 
 sons in Raleigh and one son and three daughters 
 in Suffield, and there the death of his wife took 
 place in 1698; he passed away in 1708, in the 
 seventy-second year of his age. The descendants 
 of Anthony Austin are scattered throughout the 
 New England and Western States, and one, Stephen 
 P". Austin, became famous as the founder of the 
 State of Texas and of the city of Austin, its pres- 
 ent capital. His death took place in 1836, one year 
 after the Lone Star State had declared its independ- 
 ence from Mexico. Anthony, Jr., and Richard, 
 .sons of the Anthony first mentioned, helcT land 
 grants in Suffield, and were designated as "pro- 
 prietors." 
 
 Thomas Austin, grandfather of Thomas C. 
 Austin, was born on the old homestead in Suffield, 
 and was a son of Nathaniel Austin. He married 
 Hannah Hale, and by her became the father of 
 seven children : Nathaniel, a hero of the Revolu- 
 tionary war ; Moses ; Aaron ; Joel ; Thomas, father 
 of our subject; Phebe; and Lucy. Thomas Austin 
 owned a large tract of land 'in the southeastern part 
 of Suffield, also took part in the war for American 
 independence, serving directly under George Wash- 
 ington. His daughter Lucy, who was a highly edu- 
 cated lady, lived to the great age of ninety-nine 
 years. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1449 
 
 Thomas Austin, father of Thomas C. Austin, 
 our subject, was born on the Austin homestead in 
 Suffield, and when a young man started his business 
 life as a peddler of Yankee notions, traveling 
 through the States of Connecticut and New York. 
 He finalh' settled down to farming on his native 
 homestead, and the dwelling he erected thereon, 
 over a hundred years ago, is now occupied by the 
 subject of this biography. He also engaged to 
 some extent in store keeping, but agriculture was 
 his chief occupation. To his marriage with Par- 
 melia Loomis, a native of Westfield, Mass., eleven 
 children were born, in the following order : Alfred ; 
 Mary, who became the wife of Cicero Smith ; Ed- 
 ward, who died when a young man ; Aaron, also 
 deceased ; Harriet, who was married to John 
 Murphy, and with him removed in 1833 to Chi- 
 cago, 111., where he opened the first hotel in the 
 city, and where their son, Hiram, was the first 
 white child" born ; Parmelia, who was married to 
 Thaddeus Nickols, both now deceased ; Jane, widow 
 of William Holmes, and a resident of Westfield, 
 Mass. ; Anson ; Louise, who married S. M. Reed, 
 both now deceased; Thomas Cornelius, our subject; 
 and Abigail, widow of Henry Jones, a resident of 
 Springfield, Mass. Thomas Austin and wife were 
 both active members of the Baptist Church. Both 
 expired on the home farm, highly respected by the 
 entire community, and their remains were interred 
 in the Suffield cemetery. 
 
 Thomas C. Austin received a sound education in. 
 the public schools and the Connecticut Literary In- 
 stitute, Suffield, and after his father's death filially 
 cared for his mother until she was called from 
 earth. He began the nursery business on a rather 
 small scale, but now owns the largest establishment 
 in that line in Hartford county, on which he has 
 expended $5,000 in improvements, and, under the 
 firm name of T. C. Austin & Sons, the oroducts are 
 shipped to all parts of New England. In 1845 Mr. 
 Austin married Harriet Hathaway, a daughter of 
 Rufus Hathaway, and adopted daughter of Sedwick 
 Trumbull, and this union has been blessed with nine 
 children, of whom, Clarissa is the wife of Henry 
 Cowles, of Boston Neck. Isabella died young. 
 Charles was born July 10, 1852, and is now super- 
 intendent of the floral department of the nursery ; 
 in 1884 he married Louise Schleicher, and has two 
 children, Otto B. and Morris E. ; in politics he is a 
 Republican, and in religion a Congregationalist. 
 Edgar, Arthur H. and Thomas C, Jr., are associated 
 with their father in farming the home place, and 
 in the cultivation of tobacco. William is interested 
 in the cultivation of the home farm. Cora Belle, 
 widow of Fred Smith, has had three children, Ra}^- 
 mond and Hazel, and one who died in childhood. 
 Burton married a Mrs. Briggs. Mrs. Harriet 
 Austin departed this life in 1898. She was a de- 
 voted wife and mother, was a sincere member of 
 the Congregational Church, and for fifty-three years 
 her husband's faithful helpmeet, whose loss will 
 never cease to be deplored. Mr. Austin has been 
 
 a consistent member of the Baptist Church for over 
 sixty years, and in politics was first a Democrat, 
 but on the formation of the Republican party united 
 with its ranks. He is a gentleman of strong con- 
 victions, and not at all backward in expressing 
 them, and his course through life affords a bright 
 example to the rising generation of what persever- 
 ance and well-directed effort can accomplish, as he 
 is emphatically a self-made man, in the business 
 sense of the expression, and one who has honorably 
 won the high esteem in which he is held by all 
 classes of the community in which he lives. 
 
 JOSEPH WARREN JOHNSON, a well-known 
 and talented attorney of Enfield, and one of that 
 town's most prominent public officials, is of the 
 ninth generation from John Johnson, who founded 
 the familv in America. It is somewhat remark- 
 able that this extended New England ancestry has 
 ever been prominent in public affairs. 
 
 John Johnson migrated to New England from 
 Boston, or vicinity, in the County of Lincoln, Eng- 
 land, with Gov. Winthrop, bringing his wife and 
 family; he settled in Roxbury, Mass., and in 1630 
 was chosen constable of that town. He was a man 
 of distinction, and was held in high esteem in the 
 Colony of Massachusetts ; was a representative to 
 the General Court in 1634-35-36-37-38-41-42-46- 
 47-48-49 ; became a member of the Ancient and 
 Honorable Artillery Company at its first organiza- 
 tion in Boston, and for many years was surveyor 
 of arms and ammunition in the Colony ; and was al- 
 most constantly employed in public affairs. He 
 died Sept. 30, 1659. 
 
 Isaac Johnson, son of above, came to Rox- 
 bury with his parents, was made a freeman March 
 4, 1635, and was married to Elizabeth Porter, Jan. 
 20, 1637. He became captain of an artillery com- 
 pany in 1667, was representative in 1671, and was 
 killed by the Indians at the head of his company 
 in the great Narragansett fight, Dec. 19, 1675. 
 
 Nathaniel Johnson, youngest son of Isaac and 
 Elizabeth (Porter) Johnson, was born May i, 1647, 
 and married Mary Smith April 29, 1667. He came 
 with his familv to Woodstock, Conn., with the first 
 company of settlers in that town, in 1686. He was 
 active in the affairs of the new settlement, and died 
 in 1697. John, his eldest son, was born April 29, 
 1668; his wife was named Margaret. He served as 
 deacon in the church in 172 1, and for a long time 
 afterward, and was prominent in matters of church 
 and town. Isaac Johnson, his son, born Dec. 23, 1697, 
 was frequently selectman, and served on imp>ortant 
 committees in town and church affairs. John John- 
 son, his son, married Elizabeth Falshaw.of Killingly, 
 and settled there. He was a farmer and blacksmith, 
 and did a term of garrison duty at Fort Griswold 
 during the Revolution. He died Sept. 27, 1787. 
 Aholiab Johnson, youngest son of John, born March 
 18, 1762, married Hannah Bacon, of Middletown, 
 Sept. 22, 1785. She died at Stafford, Sept. 15, 
 1796, and April 19, 1798, he married Dolly Con- 
 
1450 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Terse, of Staftorcl. He died July 22, 1829. Aholiab 
 Johnson, son of Aholiab and Dolly (Converse) 
 Johnson, was born April 28, 1799, at Stafford, 
 Conn. He removed to Somers in 1830, and to En- 
 field in 1840. He served as judge of probate six- 
 teen vears, town clerk ten years, representative to 
 the legislature three years, and died March 3, 1893. 
 
 Joseph Warren Johnson, son of the last named, 
 and the subject of this review, was born in Somers, 
 Conn., Dec. 2, 1838, and was eighteen months old 
 when he was brought by his parents to Enfield, 
 Conn. There he received an academic education. 
 He taught school five terms in various districts in 
 his vicinity, began the study of law in the office of 
 Welsh & Shipman, of Hartford, and was admitted 
 to the Bar in March, 1864, since when he has been 
 in the active practice of his profession, with office 
 at Windsor Locks. He has been twice married, 
 his first wife being Julia Eugenia, daughter of 
 John and Frances (Griffing) Bowditch, of Shelter 
 Island, X. Y., who bore him two children. Louise 
 Bowditch and Warren Bowditch, the latter a grad- 
 uate of Yale College, and now a student of Yale 
 Law School. For his second wife our subject mar- 
 ried Amelia E., daughter of Charles Lewis and 
 Lucv Ann (Merriam) Perkins, of Litchfield, Con- 
 nect'cut. 
 
 ^Ir. Johnson is a menrber of the First Congre- 
 gational Church of Enfield, and his wife of St. An- 
 drew's Episcopal Church of Thompsonville. He 
 is a member of the F. & A. AL In politics he is a 
 stanch Republican, for thirty-eight years has served 
 as justice of the peace in Enfield, and was a mem- 
 ber of the Legislature in the vears 1866, 1870, and 
 1882. 
 
 ELXATHAX AT\\"OOD, a prominent and 
 highly respected citizen of Southington, was born in 
 Barrington, Countv of Shelburne, Xova Scotia, 
 Jan. 14, 1830, a son of Joshua and ]Mehitable 
 (Smith) Atwood, also natives of Xova Scotia, as 
 Avere their parents. The paternal grandparents 
 were Joshua and' Catherine Atwood. 
 
 Our subject was reared in his native Province, 
 and received a common-school education. In 1850 
 he came to Southington, Conn., where he served 
 an apprenticeship to the machinist's trade with the 
 old Peck Smith Co., and with the exception of 
 eighteen months, spent in Minnesota, he has since 
 made his home in that town. During the Civil war 
 he enlisted, in June, 1862, becoming corporal in 
 Company E. 20th Conn. V. I., and participated in 
 many engagements, being wounded in the battle of 
 Atlanta, in 1864, and at Bentonville, X. C, March 
 19, 1865. He was honorablv discharged from the 
 service ^^■hile in the New Haven Hospital, after 
 nearly three years spent in the defense of his adopted 
 country. Since the war he has been emplo^'ed in 
 the leading manufacturing establishments of South- 
 ington : also conducted a niiCat market for two years ; 
 and since 1886 has been connected with the ^tna 
 Nut Co. 
 
 On Dec. 31, i860, Mr. Atwood was united in 
 marriage with Miss Esther Haviland, daughter of 
 Barnes H. and Annie (Hones) Haviland, of Thomp- 
 son, Sullivan Co., N. \ ., and to them has been 
 born a daughter, Ida O., now the wife of Alvin M. 
 Craig, of New Haven, Conn. Mr. and Mrs. At- 
 wood are active and prominent members of the 
 Baptist Church, of which he is a deacon, and he 
 also belongs to Friendship Lodge, No. 33, F. & A. 
 M., and lYumbull Post, No. 16, G. A. R. Politi- 
 callv he is a stanch Republican. 
 
 LUTHER B. WILLIAMS was born June 7, 
 1844, in Rocky Flill, upon the farm where Samuel 
 Dimock now resides. His father, Thomas Will- 
 iams, was born Dec. 6, 1819, in Rocky Hill, and was 
 a plain and simple farmer- tliroiighout his entire 
 life, yet was held in sufficiently high esteem by his 
 fellow townsmen to be chosen assessor, an office 
 which he held for twenty years, although not con- 
 tinuously. He died on the sixty-second anni- 
 versary of his birth, Dec. 6, 1881. He married 
 Mary J. Boardman, and they had a family of four 
 children: Luther B. : Charles M., a graduate of 
 Williston Seminary, who has his home at Meriden, 
 where he holds the position of superintendent of one 
 of the city institutions ; Caroline, who resides in 
 Bristol. Conn.: and Jennie, who died in early 
 womanhood, at the age of eighteen. Mr. Williams 
 was a Republican, although not an active politician, 
 and for several years served as justice of the peace. 
 He was connected with the Congregational Church 
 of Rockv Hill, and was a deacon therein at the 
 time of his death. 
 
 Luther B. Williams was a chdd of five years 
 when his father removed to Rocky Hill. His first 
 instruction was received in the district school of 
 that place, and was supplemented by a course at a 
 private school in New Britain. On completing 
 his education he returned home, but his bent of mind 
 could not be satisfied by the prosaic, humdrum life 
 afforded bv a farm. He left his father's roof to 
 enter the employ of a silver-plating company, whose 
 factorv was located at East Haddam, and there be 
 remained as apprentice and journeyman for four- 
 teen months. Later, he resolved to acquire the trade 
 of a machinist and tool maker, and in 1862, with 
 this end in view, secured a position in a shop. About 
 1871 he. had achieved such proficiency in his newly 
 chosen business that he was able to secure a desirable 
 position in Boston with the firm of H. & G. W. 
 Ward, manufacturers of twine and netting. He 
 remained in the employ of this concern for fourteen 
 years, during the greater part of which period he 
 was superintendent of the loom building department 
 at their works in Boston, Mass., and Kennebec, 
 Maine. He had never been able, however, to fairly 
 divest himself of the love for the soil upon which 
 he was born, nor had the tender memories of his 
 old home vanished from his recollection, and in 
 1885 he returned to Rocky Hill, where he has ever 
 since had his residence. 
 
.COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1451 
 
 On June 27, 1872, Mr. Williams was married 
 to Miss Ada M. Boardman, of Haddam, and to their 
 union have come four children : Luther B., Alice 
 B., Frank B., and Edward D. 
 
 Mr. Williams has been repeatedly elected by his 
 fellow-citizens to positions of trust and responsibil- 
 ity, they well knowing the capability of his char- 
 acter. He represented his town in the Legislature 
 in 1897 and 1898, and is at present a member of the 
 town school committee. In politics he is a Repub- 
 lican, and is an honored member of various socie- 
 ties and fraternal organizations, belonging to Mid- 
 dlesex Lodge, No. 3, East Hadd'am, I. O. O. F., 
 and to Rocky Hill Grange, No. 115. His life has 
 been one of marked success, although not full of 
 incident. He has hewn his own way to fortune, 
 availing himself to the utmost of the native talents 
 with which he was endowed at birth. He is an ex- 
 tensive land owner, having a home farm of seventy- 
 two acres, besides 132 acres located elsewhere in 
 the town. His business is that of a ge'.ieal 'and 
 dairy farmer, and in it he has accumulated a hand- 
 some competency. 
 
 TIMOTHY C. COLLINS, of Farmington, has 
 the distinction of having won the proud American 
 title of a self-made man. His great determination 
 and energy have enabled him to overcome all diffi- 
 culties and obstacles in his path and work his way 
 steadily upward to prosperity. 
 
 Mr. Colhns was born in Bristol, Hartford Co., 
 Conn., Dec. 20, 1855, and is a son of Cornelius 
 Collins, a native of County Cork, Ireland, where 
 he continued to make his home, engaged in farming, 
 until at fortv years of age he emio'rated to this 
 country. He worked in a shop at Bristol, Conn., 
 until his death July 16, 1880. His first wife died 
 leaving two children : Patrick, now a resident of 
 Forestville, Conn. ; and Marv. of Hartford. For 
 his second wife he married Miss Katherine Sulli- 
 van, a native of County Kerry, Ireland, who died 
 in Bristol in 1805. By the second union four chil- 
 dren were born, namely: Timothy C, our subject; 
 James, deceased ; Daniel, a resident of Forestville ; 
 and Catherine, deceased. 
 
 Timothy C. Collins is indebted to the public 
 schools of Bristol for his education, anrl at that 
 place he began to earn his own livelihood, at 
 the age of thirteen years, bv working for Henrv 
 Muzzey. Coming to Fprmington, in 1874, he was 
 in the employ of Dr. Franklin W'heeler, for five 
 years, and for the past twenty years has been en- 
 gaged in the cattle business in Farmington, hand- 
 ling Jersey and other fancy stock. Two years ago 
 he was severely injured in a runaway accident, 
 which necessitated the amputation of the left leg, 
 near the hip, but notwithstanding he is thus handi- 
 capped he is still one of the most active and ener- 
 getic business men of the town. As a Democrat he 
 takes quite a prominent part in local politics, and has 
 held several town offices, including that of selectman 
 of Farmington. Socially he is a member of the 
 
 Ancient Order of United Workmen in New Britain, 
 and of the Foresters and Knights of Pythias in 
 Unionville. 
 
 Mr. Collins was married in Farmington to Miss- 
 Mary Gelligan, and to them have been born four 
 children : Thomas Henry, Catherine Mary, ;\Iary 
 Elizabeth and Julia Frances. 
 
 WILLIAM H. OLMSTED, civil engineer at 
 East Hartford, is a native of that town, born Jan. 
 
 11, 1844, on Prospect street, and can trace his an- 
 cestry back to Capt. Nicholas Olmsted, of Colonial 
 days, and Gov. William Pitkin, of the same remote 
 period. The Olmsted line of descent is as follows : 
 
 Capt. Nicholas Olmsted married Sarah Loomis in 
 1640. Joseph, son of the Captain, was born in 1654, 
 married Elizabeth Butler, was a deacon of the First 
 Society in Hartford, and was a committee-man on 
 Meeting-bouses and on Forts from 1699 to 1704. 
 Joseph, son of Joseph, was also a deacon, and mar- 
 ried Hannah March. Ashbel, son of Joseph (2), 
 was born Feb. i, 1725-26, and married Hannah 
 Newberry Nov. 3, 1757. Ashbel, son of Ashbel, 
 was born March 12, 1761, in East Hartford, was 
 a farmer there, married Mary Forbes Nov. 16, 1786, 
 and died at his home on Prospect street, the father 
 of five children: Eli, Persius, Ashbel, George New- 
 berry and Edwin. Ashbel, son of Ashbel (2),. 
 was born Dec. 17, 1798. William H., son of Asl?bel 
 (3), is the subject of this sketch. 
 
 Ashbel Olmsted (3) was primarily educated in 
 the district school, and later attended the East 
 Hartford Academy, under Salmon Phelps. A 
 farmer and prominent citizen, he was elected select- 
 man in 1832, and served five terms. In 1838 he 
 was elected to the State Legislature, and did very 
 effective work in the House in caring for the inter- 
 ests of his constituents. On March 9, 1825, he 
 married Delia Belden, who bore him five children,, 
 all now deceased, and her death occurred Aug. 
 
 12, 1839. For '""^s second helpmate Mr. Olmsted 
 chose Miss Emeline Stanley, whom be married Nov. 
 12, 1840, and who was a daughter of James and 
 Temperance (Pitkin) Stanley (the latter a descend- 
 ant of Gov. William Pitkin), and a sister of the 
 late lamented William Stanley. To this union were 
 born five children: Caroline, born April 3, 1842,. 
 married D. P. Chapman, and is now living in River- 
 side, Cal., where her husband is engaged in grow- 
 ing oranges ; William H. is the subject of this- 
 sketch; A. Edward, born Dec. 21, 1845, married 
 Emma Leland Strickland, who was born in Port- 
 land, Conn., Aug. 5, 1848 (he is now employed as 
 civil engineer by Ryan & McDonald, a large con- 
 tracting' firm, and is also consulting engineer for the 
 Western Connecticut Railway Co.) ; Stanley Pit- 
 kin, born Nov. 16, 1847, was a farmer on the home- 
 stead on Prospect street, and there died unmar- 
 ried, June 24, 1897 ; Anna Margaret, born July 8, 
 1851, is living on the East Hartford homestead. 
 The father of the above family passed away June 1 1, 
 
145i; 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL R2.C0RD. 
 
 1859, in the house on Prospect Hill now occupied by 
 the family of his son, Ashbel Edward Olmsted. His 
 widow survived precisely nineteen years, dying June 
 11, 1878, and the remains of both repose in the fam- 
 ily lot in East Hartford cemetery. 
 
 William H. Olmsted was born in the house now 
 occupied by John North, on Prospect Hill, and was 
 attending the Hartford Public High School at the 
 time of his father's death. As he was the eldest 
 son. he assumed the management of the farm for 
 two years, and durino- this period studied civil en- 
 gineering. He then abandoned farming and en- 
 gaged in local work, becoming town surveyor, civil 
 engineer for the Hartford, Manchester & Rockville 
 Tramway Co., and also civil engineer for the Hart- 
 ford Bridge Commission for two years. 
 
 Mr. Olmsted first married, June 15, 1871, Miss 
 Ella S. Smith, daughter of Simeon and Laura 
 (Wadsworth ) Smith, and this union was graced 
 with two children : C. Hadley, born Aug. 18, 1874, 
 and now a civil engineer, is living with his father; 
 Ella S., lx)rn Jan. 5, 1878. is living in East Hart- 
 ford, having been adopted by her uncle, Ashbel Ed- 
 ward Olmsted, as she was but one day old when her 
 mother was called from earth. The second mar- 
 riage of Mr. Olmsted, on June 24. 1886, was to 
 i\liss Jennie M. Osburn, a daughter of Franklin 
 and Henrietta (Warner) Osburn, and born in 
 Sewickley. Penn., INIarch 28, i860: her father, a 
 retired planter, now resides near Charleston, 
 W. \'a. This marriage has been blessed with six 
 children: Mary Warner, born Xov. 18, 1888; Roger 
 \\'olcott. March 31, 1890; Franklin Osburn, Oct. 
 21, 1892; Alargaret Stanley, Nov. 15, 1894: Eme- 
 line Stanlev, Nov. 10, 1896; and William Pitkin, 
 Oct. 4, 1898. 
 
 In politics Mr. Olmsted has always affiliated 
 with the Republican party, but has persistently de- 
 clined accepting office. He is not a member of any 
 secret organization. Since childhood he has been 
 a member of the Congregational Church, and is now 
 a deacon, for fourteen years he has been the superin- 
 tendent of the Sunday-school, and has also served as 
 chairman of the board of trustees in East Hartford. 
 He is universally respected as a citizen, and his 
 name is known far and \vide as one of the most re- 
 liable civil engineers of New England. 
 
 ARTHUR P. MOORE, one of the best-knowr 
 citizens of East Hartford, an ex-soldier and a prom- 
 inent civil official, was born in South Glastonbury, 
 Conn., Aug. 7, 1842, a son of Dr. John S. and Car- 
 oline A. (Cowles) Moore. 
 
 Dr. John S. Moore was born March 24, 1800, in 
 Dummerston, \^t., and was the only son of Dr. 
 Jonathan Moore, who was also an only son. Dr. 
 Jonathan Moore was of good old Green Mountain 
 stock, a most successful practitioner of medicine, 
 and a very prominent citizen. He had a family of 
 four children that reached adult years : John S., 
 Rebecca (Mrs. Heywood), Esther (Mrs. Chase), 
 and Sophia (Mrs. Seymour), all now deceased. 
 
 The three daughters passed the greater part of their 
 lives in the vicinity of Hadley, Massachusetts. 
 
 When but a little over twenty years of age 
 Dr. John S. Moore went on a whaling voyage. 
 After his return he began the study of medicine, 
 and about 1838 he entered upon practice in Glas- 
 tonbur_\-, Conn., having come here before his mar- 
 riage. Here he wedded Caroline A. Cowles, who 
 was born July 20, 1802, in Farmington, and was a 
 descendant of one of the oldest families of that 
 town, and from them have descended the present 
 well-known Moore familv of Hartford county. 
 The children of this union were all born in Glaston- 
 bury, and, omitting further mention of Arthur P 
 for the present, it may be said, of the others, that 
 Henry S. when but a lad of fourteen years went 
 South, where he became a prosperous business man. 
 At the breaking out of the Civil war he and his 
 brother, Charles J., were doing an extensive mer- 
 cantile trade at Jackson, Miss. Henry S. was then 
 appointed a commissioner to England for the Con- 
 federate Government, became a very prominent 
 man, married a granddaughter of Zachary Taylor, 
 and passed the latter years of his life in Milledge- 
 ville, Ga., where his death took place' in 1893. 
 Charles J. Aloore has also made a success at the 
 South as a merchant, was a captain in the Confed- 
 erate army, likewise married a granddaughter of 
 Zachar\- Taylor, and is now a resident of Dallas, 
 Texas. John S. Aloore is a resident of New York. 
 James W. is a real-estate dealer in Cleveland, Ohio, 
 is a deacon in Euclid Avenue Congregational 
 Church of that city, and has been very prosperous 
 in business. 
 
 Dr. John S. ]\Ioore practiced medicine for over 
 thirtv-five vears, and acquired a distinction in his 
 profession seldom achieved outside a large city. He 
 was a man of splendid physic|ue, as all the Moore 
 family are, and weighed about 220 pounds. He 
 took no further part in politics than to faithfully 
 cast his vote, yet he always kept himself posted on 
 the political issues of the day. His death took place 
 at the home of our subject, Arthur P., his son, Oct. 
 7, 1874; his widow died Feb. 20, 1882, in the faith 
 of the Congregational Church, and the remains 
 of both were interred in the cemetery at East 
 Hartford. 
 
 Arthur P. Moore acquired his education in the 
 schools of his native town, yet the knowledge pos- 
 sessed bv the man of to-day would lead any one to 
 the conclusion that his early education was far in 
 excess of that imparted in the limited course of a 
 village school. But such is not the case. He is 
 what may be termed a self-educated man, his natural 
 intelligence being his monitor, and he now stands 
 among the best-informed men of the county. An 
 extrr.ordinarily retentive memory, habits of keen 
 observation, and innate powers of ratiocination, have 
 made him what he is, and no one may be thanked 
 for it but himself and his progenitors. When but 
 a lad of twelve years he went to live with Judge 
 Merrick, of Glastonburv, with whom he remained 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 145S 
 
 until he reached his sixteenth year, doing chores 
 for his board. While with him, however, he had 
 access to the library, an opportunity of which he 
 eagerly availed himself. In i860 he became a res- 
 ident of East Hartford. During the Civil war he 
 enlisted in Company C, 25th Conn. V. I., and served 
 until the battle at Trist Bank, shortly after which 
 he was taken sick at Vermilion Ridge ; he was sent 
 to the Marine Hospital at New Orleans, where, 
 after being sufificiently restored to health, he was 
 placed in charge of a ward, which position he held 
 until the close of his term of enlistment, Aug. 7, 
 1S63, when he left New Orleans and returned to 
 Connecticut. 
 
 Mr. Moore was first united in marriage wi'h 
 Miss Ellen M. Olmstead, a native of East Hartford, 
 and a daughter of Percius Olmstead and his wife, 
 whose maiden name was Jones. Percius Olmstead, 
 a well-known citizen, had been twice married, and 
 was the father of twelve children, six by each 
 wife. Mrs. Ellen M. Moore passed away June 
 22, 1882, leaving four children: Rebecca, Eugene 
 E., Ernst A. and Arthur J., all still living with their 
 father. The second marriage of Mr. Moore was to 
 Miss Adelaide H. Wells, of Ansonia, but a native 
 of Huntington, and a daughter of Benjamin Wells, 
 and to this union has been born one child, Benja- 
 min W. Since 1869 Mr. Moore has occupied his 
 present comfortable home on Main street, Ea3t 
 Hartford. 
 
 In politics Mr. Moore has been a stanch Repub- 
 lican ever 'since he has been entitled to exercise his 
 right of franchise, and his first Presidential vote 
 was cast for Abraham Lincoln. He was for twenty- 
 five years constable in East Hartford, and was 
 elected tax-collector in 1891, and in 1892 became 
 superintendent of the Hartford W^ater Works, still 
 holding both positions. For four years he has 
 served as deputy United States marshal, and in 
 this office has made a record never before equalled 
 in this section of the country. He has shown his 
 utter fearlessness by the manner in which he has 
 dealt with some desperate criminals, and the press 
 accounts of his exploits would be a credit to any 
 official. When he "goes for" a man, he always 
 "fetches" him, however desperate the culprit may 
 be. He is an adviser of and counselor with the 
 managers of the local affairs of his party, and his 
 advice is never unheeded. 
 
 M-r. Moore as a member of secret and other fra- 
 ternal societies stands prominent. He has held 
 membership in as many as eighteen orders, at least, 
 but some of these may have proved to have been 
 but ephemeral. However, a few of the permanent 
 brotherhoods, "rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun," 
 so to speak, may be mentioned. He is a Chapter 
 Mason, and a member of Wolcott Council, at 
 Hartford ; Washington Lodge, Knights of Pythias, 
 same city ; was one of the first members of Steadman 
 Post, G. A. R., of Hartford, and is now very prom- 
 inent in Rodman Post, same order, in East Hart- 
 ford ; was a charter member of Charter Oak Lodge, 
 
 O. U. A. M., Hartford; and as a member of Put- 
 nam Phalanx, Hartford, rose from private to cap- 
 tain, and was on the staff for years; he has always 
 been conspicuous in its parades, and he seems to 
 have a natural gift as a leader of men. Like all 
 the Moore family, he is of large and powerful 
 build, and of distingue appearance — facts which 
 make his presence especially desirable on gala days. 
 "Arthur" Moore, as he is famiharly called, is 
 emphatically a self-made man, as from the age of 
 eleven years be has "fought his own fight." He 
 did his duty to his country in her hour of peril, 
 and as a civilian has served his fellow citizens 
 most acceptably in several responsible positions, 
 some of which required the exercise of unusual 
 discretion, determination and bravery. He has 
 raised himself from obscurity to prominence, from 
 poverty to affluence, and his only aids in attaining 
 these desirable ends have been his assiduity, integ- 
 rity and indomitable will power. 
 
 CHARLES E. OWEN. Among the leading 
 and highly respected citizens of the town of East 
 Granby is the subject of this biographical notice, 
 who owns a fine farm, which is well improved and 
 highly cultivated, and shows conclusively that the 
 owner has not mistaken his calling in adopting 
 agriculture as his life vocation. 
 
 Born in the town of Granby, April 22, 1864, 
 i\Ir. Owen belongs to an 'honored pioneer family of 
 that town, of English extraction. His grand- 
 father, Almon Owen, was a native of Chester, Mass., 
 where he followed farming for many years, then 
 removing with the family to Connecticut and lo- 
 cating in the town of East Granby, where he pur- 
 chased a tract of land, to the cultivation and im- 
 provement of which he devoted his energies until 
 called from this life. In his political views he was 
 a Whig. He was twice married, and had four chil- 
 dren: Caroline, John, Holley and Erastus. 
 
 Erastus Owen, our subject's father, was born 
 in Chester, Mass., and with his parents came to the 
 town of Granby, where he grew to manhood upij 
 the home farm. He obtained a good practical Eng- 
 lish education, and when he started out in life for 
 himself engaged in the manufacture of lumber, also 
 m farming in the town of Granby, to which occu- 
 pation he devoted his life. He was fairly success- 
 ful in business, and became quite widely and favor- 
 ably known. He was a stanch supporter of the 
 Republican party, but not a politician in the sense 
 of office seeking, and was liberal in his religious 
 views. In the town of Granby he married Miss 
 Catherine Dibble, a native of that town, and a daugh- 
 ter of Reuben W. Dibble, of Granby. Five chil- 
 dren were born of this union : Ella, deceased wife 
 of Gordon Wilder ; Emma, deceased wife of Eugene 
 Griffin: Charles E. and Edward D. (twins), the 
 latter residing with our subject; and Nellie, who 
 was killed by lightning in the town of Granby. The 
 mother, who was a most estimable lady and a faithful 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, died in 
 
.454 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1870, and was laid to rest in the Granby cemetery. 
 The father subsequently married Miss Amanda 
 Hines, of Granby, who now makes her home with 
 our subject. The father departed this life in 1883, 
 and his remains were also interred in Granby cem- 
 etery. 
 
 Charles E. Owen is indebted to the public 
 schools of the town of Granby for his educational 
 advantages. In early boyhood he commenced work- 
 ing in his father's sawmill, where he was employed 
 until eighteen years of age, and afterward worked 
 aj a farm hand for others for $20 per month, con- 
 tinuing in that way until 1888. Having saved some 
 n:oney, he purchased his present farm on Copper 
 Hill, town of Granby, known as the Dayton Phillips 
 farm. It comprises 125 acres, which he has placed 
 under a high state of cultivation and well improved 
 with good buildings. His time is devoted to gen- 
 eral farming, dairying and tobacco culture, and be- 
 ing industrious and energetic he is meeting with a 
 well-merited success. In politics he is an ardent 
 Republican, and for the past five years has most 
 acceptably served as constable of the town of East 
 Granby. 
 
 GUSTAF WALL. Sweden has furnished to 
 America many of her best citizens, men of enter- 
 prise, industrv and good business ability, who have 
 been important factors in her progress. In Mr. 
 Wall we find a worthy representative of this class. 
 He was born in Sweden Dec. 9, 1857, a son of 
 Ckistaf and Eva (Anderson) Hulberg, also natives 
 of that country, the former of whom came to the 
 United States in 1868, and located in Chicago. The 
 family heard from him for about a year, but since 
 then all trace of him has been lost. He was a stone 
 mason by trade, and was engaged in business on 
 his own account. The mother died in Sweden. 
 
 Our subject attended the public schools of his 
 native land for three or four years, and later gradu- 
 ated from the Infantry School in Karlskrona, where 
 he was a student for six months. Subsequently he 
 served seven years in the Swedish army, and for 
 the same length of time he followed the stone 
 mason's trade in his native land. On May 27, 1887, 
 he sailed from Goteborg for New York, and on 
 landing- in this country came at once to New Britain, 
 Conn., where he first worked at his trade as cupola 
 man for Norton & Judd, for twelve years. He came 
 to Berlin April i, 1896, and purchased fifty-one 
 acres of land from a Mr. Nash, since which time 
 he has successfully engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits, raising general produce. 
 
 On Jan. 13, 1880, Mr. Wall was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Amanda Elizabeth Kullber, who 
 was born in Sweden Nov. 10, 1857, and to them 
 have been born the following children : Axel Hugo, 
 born in Sweden Nov. 30, 1880, is at home; Albie, 
 born April 2, 1883, died June 15, 1886, and was 
 buried in Sweden ; Gustaf Adolph, born in Novem- 
 ber, 1885, died in August, 1886, and was also buried 
 in Sweden; Oscar Hjalniar, born in New Britain, 
 
 Conn., is deceased; and Esther Marie, born Aug. 
 16, 1888, and David, born Feb. 16, 1891, are both 
 at home. 
 
 Mr. Wall took out his naturalization papers at 
 New Britain in 1892. He is independent in political 
 matters, voting for whom he believes to be the best 
 man. He is a member of the Bestasta Society, a 
 Swedish organization; also belongs to the New 
 England Order of Protection; and to the Swedish 
 Britannia Church, of New Britain, of which his wife 
 is also a member. 
 
 CHARLES EDWARD CHAPMAN is one of 
 the careful and industrious farmers of Newington, 
 one of that class who constitute the basis of its pros- 
 perity. He has by his own efforts acquired his 
 productive and well-kept acres, and gives to them 
 that measure of care and attention which insures 
 adequate financial returns. 
 
 Mr. Chapman was born in Glastonbury Dec. 16, 
 1836, son of John and Mary Ann (Covell) Chap- 
 man. His father was born in Lancashire, England, 
 in 1803, and died March 31, 1869. The mother 
 of our subject was born Feb. 22, 1815, daughter of 
 James and Polly (Hills) Covell, who settled in 
 Glastonbury and there died. John Chapman lived 
 for two years at Pittsfield, Mass., and there he 
 learned the baker's trade, which he carried on for 
 many years at East Glastonbury. 
 
 Charles Edward Chapman remained in his native 
 town until he attained the age of twenty-four years, 
 working for some considerable time in the woolen 
 mills located there. In 1861 he went to New Lon- 
 don, and for five years was employed in the woolen 
 mills, learning the trade of finisher, and tvas quite 
 proficient in his line of work. He remaiiifed in New 
 London until 1866, when he came tO' Newington 
 and purchased a farm of twenty acrefs, to which 
 he has since added thirty acres, in October, 1891, 
 he commenced the erection of a very large barn on 
 his farm, which was completed the following year. 
 Since purchasing his property in Newington Mr. 
 Chapman has remodeled his home and made many 
 improvements on the premises. Besides working 
 the farm he keeps from twelve to fifteen head of 
 cows, selling the milk to the trade. 
 
 Mr. Chapman was married May 20, i860, to 
 Miss Mary Hale, daughter of William and Laura 
 (Wright) Hale, of Portland, Conn. Their mar- 
 riage has been blessed with the following children : 
 Elmer Ellsworth, born March 14, 1864, assisting 
 his father at the home farm ; Lizzie Mariette, born 
 May 14, 1865, who died Aug. 17, 1865; Henry 
 Hart, born Sept. 5, 1867, a prosperous young farmer 
 of Newington ; and Marian Mabelle, born Feb. 24, 
 1870, now living at New London. The children 
 of our subject were educated in the South District 
 school of Newington, formerly known as the "Bell" 
 school, from the circumstance that it was the only 
 school in the town that had a bell in its tower. 
 
 Mr. Chapman and his son Elmer Ellsworth are 
 both members of Our Brothers Council, No. 41, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1455 
 
 Senior Order United American Mechanics, of New- 
 mgton ; the}' are also members of the Newington 
 Grange. in politics both are Democrats. Mr. 
 Chapman has been a hard-working man, and his 
 industry has brought its reward, rie is distinctly 
 ic self-made man, having by his own labor accumu- 
 lated the means to purchase the land he now owns. 
 In appearance his farm is a model of careful hus- 
 bandry, and an index of the clear-cut, straightfor- 
 ward character of its owner. 
 
 JAAIES R. LACEY, the leading blacksmith of 
 Southington, and one of its most enterprising and 
 progressive citizens, was born in Bristol, this coun- 
 ty, July 12, 1875, ^"d is a son of John and Cather- 
 ine (Fitzgerald) Lacey, natives of County Kerry, 
 Ireland. In i860 the father emigrated to America, 
 and stopped for a time in iNIassachusetts, but for 
 thirty-five years he has been a resident of Bristol, 
 Conn., where he is numbered among the honored 
 and highly respected citizens. Of his family eight 
 reached years of maturity: Mary; Bridget, wife of 
 Martin Mitchell; Catherine, deceased; John; Ellen, 
 wife of William Tracey; James R. ; Thomas; and 
 Michael E. 
 
 The boyhood and }'0uth of our subject were 
 passed in his native place, and he acquired a good 
 practical education in the high school of Bristol and 
 Huntsinger's Business College, Hartford. For a 
 time he was employed as bookkeeper in a plumbing 
 establishment at. Bristol, and subsequently served 
 an apprenticeship of three years to the blacksmith's 
 trade with W. Giddings & Son, of that place. In 
 1893 he opened a shop of his own, in Wallingford, 
 where in partnership with his brother he engaged 
 in business for a year and a half, at the end of that 
 time coming to Southington ; he is now doing a 
 large and successful business as a general black- 
 smith, receiving a liberal share of the public pat- 
 ronage. 
 
 On Nov. 25, 1896, Mr. Lacey was united in 
 marriage With Miss Catherine Callahan, a daughter 
 of Thomas and Mary (Callahan) Callahan, of 
 Southington, and to this union have been born two 
 children, Howard and Eileen. Religiously Mr. 
 Lacey is a member of the Catholic Church, and he 
 belongs to Isabelle . Council, No. 15, Knights of 
 Columbus. His political support is given to the 
 men and measures of the Democratic party. 
 
 C. T. GEORGIA is a prominent merchant of 
 Unionville, and an important factor in the business 
 circles of that place. The possibilities that America 
 offers her citizens he has utilized, and though he 
 came to this country in limited circumstances, he 
 has steadily and perseveringly worked his way up- 
 ward, leaving the ranks of the many to stand among 
 the successful few. 
 
 Mr. Georgia was born in Saxony, Germany, Oct. 
 II, 1830, a son of C. T. Georgia, a traveling sales- 
 man of that country. In the common schools of his 
 native land he received his education, and he also 
 
 learned the wood-turner's trade, serving a three- 
 years' apprenticeship. At the age of eighteen he 
 crossed the broad Atlantic and landed in New York 
 City, where he followed his trade for two years, 
 turning canes. Later he spent a short time in 
 Bristol, Conn., and in 1850 came to Unionville, 
 where he vi'orked in the cabinet shop of 'Squire 
 Hitchcock for eight 3"ears. In 1858 he opened a 
 saloon, which he conducted for six years, and at 
 the end of that time turned his attention to general 
 mercantile business on the west side of Farmington. 
 During the year 1886 he erected 'his present brick 
 block, containing two storerooms, and living rooms 
 on the second floor, while the third is occupied by 
 his furniture department. i\Ir. Georgia is now the 
 oldest business man in Farmington, and it has been 
 through his own well-directed and energetic efforts 
 that he has succeeded in life. His store would do 
 credit to a much larger place than Unionville, and 
 he 'has built up a most excellent trade. Socially he 
 is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, 
 in LTnionville, and Putnam Phalanx, in Hartford. 
 In Hartford Mr. Georgia was married to Miss 
 Emeline Gladding, a daughter of Hubbard and 
 Maria (Belden) Gladding. Her father was a sol- 
 dier of the war of 1812. Her mother celebrated the 
 one hundredth anniversary of her birth in December, 
 1899. Mr. and Mrs. Georgia have three children : 
 Charles C, Lily M. and Clara M. The son is now 
 engaged in business with his father and is serving 
 as postmaster of Unionville, which office our subject 
 filled during President Cleveland's first administra- 
 tion. Charles C. has also been selectman of Farm- 
 ington for two years, and was a member of the 
 State Legislature in 1895. 
 
 SIMON McCAREL, a prosperous farmer of 
 West Suffield, Hartford county, and a most re- 
 spected citizen, was born in County Down, Ireland, 
 in 1849, the fifth in the family of six children born 
 to James and Lydia (Arthur) McCarel. Both par- 
 ents died in Ireland. Of the remaining five chil- 
 dren, Margaret and Eliza are still in the Emerald 
 Isle ; Sarah is the wife of John Adams, of Suffield ; 
 Hugh lives in Thompsonville, Conn. ; and James is 
 a farmer of Suffield. 
 
 Simon McCarel lived with his parents until fif- 
 teen years of age, and then hired out at farm labor 
 until 1869, when he sailed from Londonderry for 
 America, landing in New York. Thence he went 
 to Philadelphia, where he passed a short time with 
 friends, and then came to Suffield, Conn., where he 
 secured employment at farm labor with Thomas 
 Remington, at $15 per month. He continued thus 
 engaged for three years, and in 1872 bought a small 
 farfn of eighteen acres in West Suffield, on which 
 he lived for twenty-five years. In 1883 he and 
 his brother James bought the Asa Harman farm, of 
 sixty acres, of which Simon McCarel still cultivates 
 thirty acres. On this tract he has erected a dwell- 
 ing, barns, tobacco sheds, etc., at a cost of $2,500, 
 and in 1898 moved his familv into the new home. 
 
145G 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ill 1873 Air. AlcCarel married, in Suffield, JMiss 
 IMargaret Colter, a sister of James Colter, of West 
 Suffield, and this marriage has been blessed with 
 six children, of whom ]\lary Lydia is the wife of 
 Robert J. Hamilton, of Suffield ; Lizzie Helen died 
 in May, 1897; William James died in October, 1898; 
 Sarah and Walter are at home. The loss of the 
 son and daughter was a sad affliction to Mr. and 
 Mrs. McCarel. Both had reached years of maturity 
 and great promise, and their deaths occurring so 
 • closely together added to the poignancy of the grief 
 of the parents. 
 
 The family are members of the Congregational 
 Church, and in politics Mr. McCarel is a Republi- 
 can. He is a hard-working, thrifty and strictly 
 lionest man, is temperate in his habits, and has made 
 himself a useful citizen in all respects. His suc- 
 cess in life is the reward of his personal efforts, and 
 the high respect in which he and his family are held 
 is due to their individual merits. 
 
 CHARLES ANDREWS, one of the most re- 
 spected residents of East Hartford Meadow, and the 
 senior nionrber of the firm of Andrews & Creedon, 
 steam-fitters, etc., at No. 446 Asylum street, Hart- 
 ford, was born in Hartford June 8, 1858, a son 
 of Hugh and Charlotte (McLarren) Andrews, na- 
 tives of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland. It will 
 Ix; remembered by many readers of current events 
 of half a century ago that Walter McLarren, a naval 
 commander in the service of the British Govern- 
 ment, was awarded a gold medal in 1849. for his 
 intrepidity in sailing around the world. This gen- 
 tleman was a brother of Mrs. Hugh Andrews, 
 mother of our subject. 
 
 Hugh Andrews, father of our subject, was a 
 son of Charles Andrews, a well-to-do farmer m 
 Avrshire, who passed all his life there. Hugh An- 
 drews came to the L'nited States when less than 
 twentv vears of age, and located in Hartford. Conn. 
 He made a tour through the West, and on his re- 
 turn entered the employ of S. S. Chamljerlin, 
 wholesale grocer, with whom he remained for thirty 
 years. His wife reached this country while still 
 ii voung lady, and the two were united in marriage 
 ir. Hartford. She died in middle age — when about 
 fortv-five years old — and Hugh Andrews died in 
 East Hartford ]\Ieadow in 1876. five years later, 
 several years her senior ; the remains of both were 
 interred in the city where thev had so long resided, 
 leaving to mourn their deaths their only child, 
 Charles, the subject of this sketch. The parents 
 were devout members of the Presbyterian Church, 
 and were among the very few Scottish residents of 
 Hartford, where the memory of the father is still 
 cherished as "Honest Hugh Andrews." 
 
 Charles Andrews was about eighteen years of 
 age when he lost his father, since when he has 
 rnade his way through the world unaided. He re- 
 ceived his early education in the old "stone school" 
 m Hartford, and later, when his father had removed 
 to East Hartford Meadow and built a home at the 
 
 corner of Ash and Pleasant streets, he attended the 
 school of this village, taught Ijy a Mr. Chaft'ee, and 
 has good reason to remember the school house, as 
 his feet were frozen while he was attending to his 
 studies therein. 
 
 Young Andrews began his business life with 
 J. A. Rar.ney, the florist of East Hartford, with 
 v/hom he remained three years. In 1876 he 
 went to Rochester, N. Y., and for one 3'ear 
 Vv'as employed in a machine screw factory. On 
 his return to Hartford he apprenticed himself 
 to the steam-fitting trade under Embler & Bos- 
 v/orth, and is now carrying on the same business 
 a; the same location. His first important work as 
 an apprentice was on the State Capitol, when his 
 salary had been advanced to $5 per week ; later 
 he worked on tlie Orphan Asylum, then in the 
 course of construction, subsecjuently entered the em- 
 ploy of Pitkin Bros., as a journeyman, and worked 
 tor them six years ; he then became foreman for N. 
 A. Bos worth (under whom he had learned his 
 trade), and several years later started business for 
 himself. In September, 1891, Mr. Andrews formed 
 a partnership with John Creedon, in the steam- 
 titting Ijusiness, and the firm of Andrews & Creedon 
 is now recognized as the leading fimi in its line 
 m the city of Hartford. 
 
 On Oct. 29, 1883, Mr. Andrews married, at 
 New London, Miss Olive Rebecca Douglas, a na- 
 tive of that city, born Aug. 17, 1857, and a daugh- 
 ter of Jonathan D. and Sarah (Smith) Douglas, 
 the latter of whom is deceased ; of the former, who 
 still survives, mention will be made in detail at the 
 close of this biographical notice. Mrs. Andrews, 
 the youngest of the nine children born to her par- 
 ents, six of whom reached adult age, was reared 
 in New London, and is of the seventh generation 
 of the Smith family that settled in Waterford, 
 Conn. To Mr. and Mrs. Andrews have been born 
 four children: Douglas H., April 14, 1887; Mae 
 L., June 23, 1890; Charlotte S., May 17, 1892; and 
 Edwin Giles, Dec. 26, 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Andrews 
 started housekeeping, immediately after their mar- 
 riage, at the corner of Ash and Pleasant streets. 
 East Hartford Meadow, and there lived until 1893, 
 when Mr. Andrews erected his present handsome 
 dwelling on Ash street. It may be said, also, that 
 Mr. Andrews owns the home erected by his father 
 when he first came to the village. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Andrews are consistent members of the Baptist 
 Church. In politics Mr. Andrews is a Republi- 
 can. Fraternally he is a member of Orient Lodge, 
 F. & A. M., of East Hartford. He is recognized 
 evervwhere as a straightforward, honest man, and 
 as a' thorough master of his trade, and he and his 
 interesting family enjoy the unfeigned esteem of all 
 v.dio know them. 
 
 Jonathan D. Douglas, father of Mrs. Andrews, 
 vvas born in Waterford, New London Co., Conn., 
 April 2, 1818. and sixty-three years ago went to 
 work at the forge. He was not reared a black- 
 smith, but was naturally of a mechanical turn of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1457 
 
 mind. In 1836 he went to work in the Millstone 
 quarries, and was at once placed in the shop, where 
 he became an expert tool sharpener, remaining 
 there two years. Some time afterward he went to 
 Stonington and worked at the forge awhile, as 
 preparations were then being made for building- a 
 number of steamers for the Stonington line. Up 
 to 1843 sledges were made of iron, with a steel 
 face welded on, and nimiy attempts had been made 
 to cast steel sledges, with as many failures. In 
 that year Mr. Douglas undertook the task and made 
 a success of it, making a cast steel sledge that stood 
 the test, and this sledge is now used all over the 
 world. However, he derived no benefit from his 
 discovery or invention of the process, except a tem- 
 porary renown, as it is reasonable to believe that 
 ninety-nine of one hundred men who use this in- 
 valuable implement to-day do not know his name. 
 During the war Mr. Douglas made locks for 
 army carbines, since when he has passed his life 
 in New London, conducting a blacksmith shop, and 
 v.orks personally at the forge. He wears spectacles 
 when reading or doing fine work, but not at other 
 times. Now over eighty-one years of age, he has 
 no aches or pains, and it would be quite a task for 
 any middle-aged or even young man to follow him 
 through the routine of his daily work. 
 
 CHARLES H. SMITH (deceased) was for 
 manjr years a leading citizen of New Britain, being 
 prominently identified with the manufacturing in- 
 terests of the place. His death was recognized as 
 a loss to the community, and the following memoir 
 will be read with more than usual interest. 
 
 Mr. Smith was born Jan. 6, 1849, ^^ Tariff- 
 ville, this county, of English ancestry. Charles 
 Smith, his father, was a native of Worcestershire, 
 England, born about 181 1, and educated there. 
 On coming to America he located first in Sims- 
 bury, this county, and then in Philadelphia, but 
 he finally settled in New Britain, where his remain- 
 ing years were spent. Before coming to this coun- 
 try he had been a designer for carpets and rugs, 
 but after his arrival in New Britain he was con- 
 nected with O. B. North, and later as a contractor 
 with the Landers, Frary & Clark Co., in scale mak- 
 ing. His last days were spent in retirement at 
 his pleasant home, his death occurring in 1883. 
 His wife, Harriet (Hyde), also a native of Eng- 
 land, died in 1888. They had the following chil- 
 dren: 'Anna Maria, wife of Frank Coleman ; Charles 
 H., our subject; Harriet, wife of George Terry, 
 of No. 47 Winthrop street. New Britain, an em- 
 ploye of the Landers, Frary & Clark Co. ; and Helen, 
 who married Frank Andrews, a bookkeeper in 
 Meriden. 
 
 Charles H. Smith obtained his education in the 
 public schools of New Britain, and to this practical 
 foundation he added much through his constant 
 and intelligent reading of the newspapers. He 
 learned the scale maker's trade with his father, 
 and later engaged in the business on his own ac- 
 
 92 
 
 count, as a contractor in the scale department. He 
 was with one company twenty-eight years, his 
 work as a contractor covering twenty years, and 
 in that time managed his affairs so judiciously as 
 to acquire a fine competence. In early life he was 
 a Democrat, but later became a Republican, his 
 interest in public affairs being shown in many ways, 
 and his characteristic energy enabling him to do 
 much work outside of business lines. He did not 
 believe in seeking office, but "the office sought 
 him," and in 1882 and 1884 he was elected to the 
 city council from the Fourth ward, was police com- 
 missioner two years, and also served five terms as 
 first selectman, having been first elected in October, 
 1893, and continuing in that office until his death. 
 He was a regular attendant at the Episcopal Church 
 at New Britain, his ancestors having been adherents 
 of the Church of England, and he belonged to 
 the Society of Pilgrim Fathers ; the New England 
 Order of Protection ;, and the F. & A. M., Harmony 
 Lodge, No. 20. Mr. Smith married Miss Carrie 
 E. Welton, who with six children survived him: 
 Charles E. is engfaged in the insurance business 
 in Hartford. Belle E. is the wife of Ralph J. 
 Beach. Frank L. is a banker and broker of Spring- 
 field, Mass. Grace A., Carrie J., and Howard 
 Welton are at home. 
 
 Mrs. Carrie E. (Welton) Smith was much es- 
 teemed among her associates for her fine mental 
 and social gifts. Her father, the late Chauncey P. 
 Welton, was a well-known business man of New 
 Britain, and although he learned the blacksmith's 
 trade in his early youth, he spent much of his time 
 in mercantile business, and for many years was 
 manager of the Sovereign Trading Co. He was 
 born in Wolcott, Conn., and his wife, Jeanette 
 (Cleveland), was a native of Harwinton, Conn. 
 Both were accidentally killed on the railroad at 
 Pratt's Station in 1882. Of their four children, 
 the eldest, Dwight O., is employed in the shipping 
 rooms of the P. & F. Corbin factory ; Carrie E. 
 (Mrs. Smith), now deceased, was second in the 
 order of birth; Ella M., who married Horace Bunt- 
 ing, of New Britain, died in August, 1887; and 
 Albert died in infancy. 
 
 NATHANIEL ROOT, late an honored and 
 highly respected citizen of Newington, Hartford 
 county, was born in the town of Coventry, Tolland 
 Co., Conn., July 22, 1823.- 
 
 Mr. Root was a worthy representative of an 
 old and prominent family of this State, which was 
 founded here by Thomas Root, who was born in 
 England Jan. 16, 1605, and crossed the Atlantic 
 in 1637, becoming one of the first settlers of Hart- 
 ford. His son, Thomas Root (2), was born in 
 Hartford in 1644, and Thomas Root (3), son of 
 the latter, was born April 11, 1667, in Northamp- 
 ton, Mass., but in 1709 took up his residence in 
 Coventr}^, Conn., where he served as the first town 
 clerk and as deacon in the Congregational Church 
 there. His son, Ebenezer Root, was born Nov. 
 
115S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 5, 1693, and Ebenezer Root (2j, son of the latter, 
 was born in the same place March y, 1732. The 
 next in direct descent, Nathaniel Root, grandfather 
 of cur subject, was born in Coventry March 25, 
 1757, and served with distinction as an officer in 
 the Revolutionary war. When the news of the 
 battle of Lexington reached him, in 1775, he imme- 
 diately enlisted, as a private, but soon rose to the 
 rank of captain in Gen. Washington's army. 
 Among other engagements, he participated in the 
 battles of Long Island, Trenton and Princeton. 
 Nathaniel Root (2), father of our subject, was 
 also born in Coventry, h'eb. 1, 1785, and became 
 a successful and prosperous farmer of Tolland 
 county, where he owned and operated 200 acres of 
 land. He married Almaria i'agc, only sister of 
 Harlan Page. She was born Sept. 30, 1789, and 
 died Feb. 12, 1881. The husband and father de- 
 parted this life April 15, 1879, and the remains of 
 both were interred in Coventry. 
 
 Nathaniel Root, our subject, was reared upon 
 the home farm, and he received a good practical 
 education, which enabled him to commence teaching 
 school at the age of nineteen years — a profession 
 which he successfully followed through the win- 
 ter season for nine years. He remained on the old 
 homestead until coming to Newington, and in 1861 
 started a sash and blind factory at Coventry, which 
 he carried on with good success for about fifteen 
 years. He also built barns, and did other mechani- 
 cal work, being very handy with tools. On com- 
 ing to Newington, Hartford county, in 1886, he 
 purchased eight acres of land, but before his death 
 had practically retired from farming, devoting his 
 attention principally to caring for his stock. 
 
 In 1847 Mr. Root married Miss Julia Ann 
 Douglass, of Coventry, who was born April 5, 
 1824, and died March 13, 1891 ; she was laid to 
 rest in Newington. To them were born two chil- 
 dren: (i) Frank Douglass, born Aug. 4, 1850, 
 graduated from Yale in 1872, was for many 
 years interested in journalistic work, being con- 
 nected with a New Haven newspaper for seven 
 years, and later with the New York Times for sev- 
 enteen years as one of the editorial staft, and is at 
 present on the staff of the Independent. He mar- 
 ried Miss Catherine Butler, of New Haven, and is 
 now living in Brooklyn, N. Y. (2) Elizabeth 
 Almaria. born Dec. 21, 1857, resides in Newing- 
 ton, is librarian of the Public Library, and princi- 
 pal of the grammar school. 
 
 Mr. Root was a highly-educated and well-read 
 man, and also a good musician. He commenced 
 to plav on the bass viol at the age of sixteen years, 
 and for a quarter of a century plaved the organ 
 in church. Li 1848 he and his wife united with 
 the Congregational Church at Coventry, which the 
 daughter afso joined in 1873. On coming to New- 
 ington thev transferred their membership to the 
 church here. Fraternally Mr. Root was a Master 
 "Mason, having been initiated into the mysteries of 
 the fraternitv" at Rockville in 1865, and he was 
 
 also a member and treasurer of the Grange. He 
 always took an active and prominent part m pub- 
 lic attairs, and was honored with a number of otnces 
 of trust and responsibility. His first public position 
 was that of constable, which he filled at about the 
 age of twenty-five years ; he was a member of the 
 school board fifteen or twenty years ; was elected 
 to the State Legislature by a handsome majority 
 in 1857, 1864 and 1873; was made judge of pro- 
 bate in 1874; served as justice of the peace fifteen 
 or twenty years ; and was selectman several times. 
 He proved a most able and popular official, and his 
 duties were always discharged in a most commenda- 
 ble and satisfactory manner. Mr. Root died ,at 
 Newington Aiarch 27, 1900. 
 
 SAMUEL LANGHORNE CLEMENS, uni- 
 versally known by his pen-name of "Mark Twain," 
 as one of the raciest and most original of Ameri- 
 can humorists, was born Nov. 30, 1835, at Florida, 
 2vIonroe Co., Missouri. 
 
 Air. Clemens in boyhood attended the village 
 school at Hannibal, Mo. At the age of thirteen 
 he began to serve an apprenticeship at the printer's 
 trade, and later worked at the trade in various 
 cities in the East and West. Beginning with 185 1, 
 he figured for a time as a pilot of steamboats on 
 the Mississippi river. In 1861 he became private 
 secretary of his brother, who had been made secre- 
 tary of the Territory of Nevada, and later he mined 
 in that Territory. He became city editor of the 
 Virginia City Enterprise in 1862, and in reporting 
 legislative proceedings from Carson he signed 
 his letters "Mark Twain." For a period in 1865 
 he was a reporter on the Morning Call, at San 
 Francisco. Next he mined for a time, then again 
 resumed newspaper work at San Francisco. In the 
 following year (1866) he was for a time in the 
 Hawaiian Islands, and on returning delivered hu- 
 morous lectures in Nevada and California. Return- 
 ing to the East, he published in New York, in 
 1867, among other sketches, "The Jumping Frog." 
 In that year he visited the Mediterranean, Egypt 
 and Palestine, and on his return published "The 
 Innocents Abroad." 
 
 From this period dates the acquaintance of Mr. 
 Clemens with Hartford, to which city, in 1871, 
 he came to live, and here the homes of three of the 
 most noted of Hartford's literary people of re- 
 cent years — Charles Dudley Warner and Harriet 
 Beecher Stowe, the others — are within speaking 
 distance of one another. Mr. Clemens' first visit 
 to Hartford was with the view of having "The 
 Innocents Abroad" published here. On this occa- 
 sion he wrote of the city: "I have been about ten 
 days in Hartford, and shall return there before 
 very long. I think it must be the handsomest city 
 in the Union in summer. It is the moneyed center 
 of the State, and one of its capitals also, for Con- 
 necticut is so law-abiding, and so addicted to law, 
 that there is not room enough in one city to manu- 
 facture all the articles they need. Hartford is the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1459 
 
 place where the insurance companies all live. They 
 use some of the houses for dwellings. The others 
 are for insurance offices. So it is easy to see that 
 there is quite a spirit of speculative enterprise 
 ihere. Many of the inhabitants have retired from 
 business, but the others labor along in the old 
 ■customary wa}', as presidents of insurance com- 
 panies." 
 
 Mr. Clemens' later books have been "Roughing 
 It," 1872; "Mark Twain's Sketches," 1875; "Ad- 
 ventures of Tom Sawyer," 1876; "A Tramp 
 Abroad," 1880; "The Prince and the Pauper;" 
 "Life on the Mississippi;" "The Adventures of 
 Huckleberry Finn;" "Punch Brothers, Punch," 
 •etc. 
 
 At a dinner party in Hartford on one occasion 
 the subject of eternal life and future punishment 
 jcame up for a lengthy dijcussion, in which Mr. 
 Clemens took no part. A lady near him turned 
 suddenly and inquired, "Why do you not say any- 
 thing? I want your opinion." Mr. Clemens re- 
 plied gravely, "Madam, you must excuse me; I am 
 .silent of necessity. I have friends in both places." 
 
 DE WITT CLINTON SKILTON, president 
 of the Phoenix Fire Insurance Co., Hartford, is a 
 descendant in the fifth generation from Dr. Henry 
 Skilton, the first American ancestor of the family, 
 the line of his descent being through Avery, James, 
 and John Chester. 
 
 (I) Dr. Henry Skilton, born Nov. 19, 1718, 
 in the parish of St. Michael, Coventry, England, 
 son of John and Mary (Bennet) Skilton, removed 
 -with his parents to Romsey, Hampshire, Avhen 
 •eight years of age. On the death of his mother 
 his father entered the service of the British navy. 
 In 1734 Henry Skilton left home, and in April, 
 1735, sailed on a gunboat for America, landing 
 in Boston the same year. For a time he was at 
 Roxbury, Mass., and is next heard of in Preston, 
 Conn. On July 9, 1741, he was married to Tabitha, 
 eldest child of Joseph and Tabitha (Gardner) 
 Avery, of Norwidh, Conn. Henry Skilton moved 
 to Southington about 1749, became a physician, 
 the second in the town. About 1760 he went to 
 \V00dbur3f, continued in the practice of medicine, 
 and in old age moved to Watertown, Conn., where 
 lie died June 7, 1802, aged eighty-three, and his 
 wife died in the same town Oct. 25, 1797. Dr. 
 Skilton in addition to the practice of medicine was 
 engaged in several lines of business, and carried 
 on farming operations on a large scale. He was a 
 man of more than ordinary ability. He is said to 
 liave organized in what is now Prospect the Sep- 
 arate or Strict Congregational Church. While at 
 Southington he took an active part in the religious 
 controversies of the time. 
 
 (II) Avery Skilton, son of Dr. Henry, the 
 emigrant, born April 30, 1748, married March 26, 
 1771, Parthena Judd, who was born Aug. 6, 1754. 
 and died in Watertown March 30, 1839. He died 
 about Aug. 27, 1832. 
 
 (III) James Skilton, son of Avery, born April 
 10, 1777, married June 30, 1799, Chloe Steel. He 
 died April 9, 1848. 
 
 (IV) John Chester Skilton, son of James, born 
 April 30, 1809, in Watertown, married in North- 
 field Anna Heaton, and their three children were 
 born between 1835 and 1843. Mr. Skilton was 
 for twenty-five years identified with the Seth 
 Thomas Clock Works of Thomaston. 
 
 De Witt Clinton Skilton, son of John Chester, 
 was born Jan. 11, 1839, in what was then known 
 as Plymouth Hollow, now Thomaston, Conn. He 
 is descended from an historic ancestry in Connecti- 
 cut, including many names of note, through his 
 mother, Anna Heaton; through his grandmother, 
 Chloe Steel, by whom he is descended from Hon. 
 John Steel (a companion and friend of Rev. Thomas 
 Hooker, who came with him to Hartford in 1636) 
 and Gov. Thomas Welles ; and through his great- 
 grandmother, Parthena Judd, by whom he is de- 
 scended from Hon. John Wadsworth, a half-bro- 
 ther of Capt. Wadsworth, who removed the Con- 
 necticut Charter and concealed it in the old "Char- 
 ter Oak ;" from the two Judds of Waterbury, Capt. 
 William and Timothy, who were representatives 
 in the Colonial government from that town al- 
 most continuously for forty years ; and from Will- 
 iam Southmayed, Hon. Matthew Allyn, John 
 Allyn, and William Pynchon. 
 
 Young Skilton came to Hartford from his 
 birthplace in 1855, and began his business career 
 in the dry-goods trade with C. S. Weatherby. In 
 October, 1861, he entered the employ of the 
 Hartford Fire lusurance Co., as a clerk in the 
 office. In the summer of 1862 he manifested his 
 patriotism b)^ enlisting, Aug. 19, becoming a pri- 
 vate in Company B, 22d Conn. V. I., and was mus- 
 tered into the service Sept. 20, following, as sec- 
 ond lieutenant of the company. The regiment 
 formed part of the Army of the Potomac, under 
 command of Major-Gen. Heintzelman; the brigade 
 commanders being Gen. Robert Cowdin and Col. 
 Burr Porter, of the 40th Massachusetts, respect- 
 ively. On Feb. 16, 1863, Mr. Skilton was pro- 
 moted to first lieutenant, serving with distinction 
 and honor until mustered out, July 7, 1863. On 
 his return to Hartford from his military experi- 
 ence he resttmed his former position with the in- 
 surance company. In November, 1867, he was 
 chosen secretary of the Phoenix Fire Insurance Co., 
 taking the position Dec. i, and retained that in- 
 cumbencv until Aug. i, 1888, when he was elected 
 vice-president and acting president of the com- 
 pany. On Feb. 2, 1891, he succeeded Henry Kel- 
 logg to the presidency. When Mr. Skilton en- 
 tered the service of the Phoenix as secretary, Dec. 
 I, 1867, the capital was $600,000, the assets $1,- 
 234,195, and the surplus $113,683. On Jan. i, 
 1894, the capital had more than trebled, the ex- 
 act amount being $2.000,000 ; the assets had in- 
 creased four and a half times, to $5,429,793, and the 
 surplus more than six times, to $713,195. The 
 
1460 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 premium income for the year 1868 was $1,219,211, 
 and for the year 1893 it was nearly three times 
 as great, $3,306,240. 
 
 i-'resident Skilton's underwriting career has 
 been contemporary with the years of the great 
 growth in American underwriting, and he has 
 been identified with all the work looking to re- 
 form in that business and broadening its methods. 
 j\lr. Skilton has always believed in the efficacy of 
 organized effort, and hence has cheerfully given 
 much time and thought to the upbuilding of the 
 National Association. He entered it so early, and 
 has maintained the connection so closely, that 
 nearly every representative whom in those days 
 he was wont to meet has passed away, and present 
 members, though no younger than himself, re- 
 gard him as a veteran. He was selected by the 
 New York City Association of Underwriters to 
 represent the Connecticut companies on the com- 
 mittee which prepared the standard policy for fire 
 insurance. By many States this form has been 
 adopted and made obligatory. The Phcenix Fire 
 owes much of its success to his able management. 
 Without doubt President Skilton ranks among 
 the expert underwriters of the country. Mr. Skil- 
 ton is a director in the Hartford National Bank, a 
 corporator and trustee of the State Savings Bank, 
 a member of the military order of the Loyal Le- 
 gion of the L'nited States, a member of the G. A. 
 R. (Robert O. Tyler Post), and of the Hartford 
 Club. He was secretary of the National Board 
 of Underwriters for three years ; vice-president for 
 seven years, and three years its president. For 
 seven years he was committeeman of the West 
 Middle school district. Politically he is a Repub- 
 lican. His religious connections are with the 
 Asylum Avenue Congregational Church. 
 
 On Aug. 8, 1865, ]\lr. Skilton was married to 
 Ann Jeannette, daughter of Lyman Andrews, of 
 Hartford, and to them were born two children, 
 one son and one daughter, both now deceased. 
 
 PATRICK GILLIGAN, a well-known and 
 h'ighly respected fanner of the town of Windsor, 
 is a man whose successful struggle with adverse 
 circumstances shows whsX can be done b}- industry 
 and economy, especially when a sensible wife sec- 
 onds the efforts to secure a home and competence. 
 He was born in County Galway, Ireland, in 1828, 
 a son of JMichael and Bridget (Carney) Gilligan, 
 and grandson of Michael Gilligan, Sr. The father 
 was quite an extensive farmer, and he and his wife 
 spent their entire lives on the Emerald Isle. Their 
 children were Michael, a farmer, who died in Wind- 
 sor, Conn., in 1855 ; Catherine, who married Pat- 
 rick Kennan, and died in Windsor Locks, Conn. ; 
 Marv, who wedded Thomas Egan, of Windsor 
 Locks ; Nora, who married John Surey, and died 
 m Windsor Locks ; and Patrick. 
 
 As be was not compelled to attend school Pat- 
 rick Gilligan's early education was limited, and he 
 v/as reared in much the usual manner of farmer 
 
 boys of his native land. On April 11, 1850, he 
 sailed from Galway on the "Clarence," and arrived 
 m New York City after a long and tedious voyage 
 of six weeks. He had obtained his passage money 
 from a brother, who had come to the United States 
 in 1847, ^"d was then living in Bloomfield, Conn., 
 and on reaching the shores of this country our sub- 
 ject was without a dollar, and was obliged to bor- 
 row money to bring him to Windsor. For two weeks 
 he was unsuccessful in his search for work, and 
 v.as becoming badly discouraged when he at length 
 found employment as a farm hand in East Granby, 
 Hartford county, at $10 per month. He was thus 
 employed for five months, during which time he 
 drew only $7.50 of his wages, and saved the re- 
 mainder. 
 
 In the fall of 1853 Mr. Gilligan married Miss 
 Margaret Eagan, an acquaintance of his in Ireland, 
 who had come to the New World on the same ves- 
 sel as her future husband. They began housekeep- 
 ing in East Windsor, and Mr. Gilligan worked for 
 H. W. Allen for two years, after which they went 
 to Windsor Locks, where he was employed as a 
 laborer for a year. He next worked as a farm hand 
 in the town of East Granby, and then operated 
 Oliver Clark's farm in that town on shares for 
 lour years. In 1861 he had purchased his present 
 farm, which he rented for one season, and did not 
 locate thereon imtil the fall of that year, since which 
 time he has made it his home. He now has eig'hty 
 acres, under a high state of cultivation, and has 
 erected all the buildings found thereon with the ex- 
 ception of a portion of the barn. 
 
 Mrs. Gilligan was a true helpmeet, and our sub- 
 ject's success in life is due in no small degree to 
 her assistance. They started out in life in limited 
 circumstances, but by industry, honesty and good 
 management succeeded in gaining a comfortable 
 home and competence. She died in 1881, leaving 
 five children : IMichael, a farmer of Windsor town ; 
 John, a motorman of Windsor Center ; William and 
 Margaret, both at home ; and Celia, wife of John 
 Garven, of Windsor Center. Mr. Gilligan is an 
 ardent Democrat in politics, and was the first native 
 of Ireland to represent Windsor in the State Legis- 
 lature. Religiousl}' he is a Catholic. 
 
 GEORGE ARCHER, one of Sufi^eld's most re- 
 spected citizens and farmers, is a native of Hart- 
 ford county, born at Sufiield Center July 10, 1823, 
 and descends from an old Colonial family, of Eng- 
 lish origin. 
 
 Thomas Archer, great-grandfather of subject, 
 vcas a yoking man when he came from England to 
 America and settled in- Suffield, where he engaged 
 in farming, and also in dealing in indigo. He was a 
 member of the Congregational Church, and died 
 a highly-respected resident of Sufifield. His son 
 Thomas, grandfather of subject, was born in 
 Suffield, was a farmer and merchant, and for sev- 
 eral years a hotelkeeper ; he was also largely inter- 
 ested' in the trade with Africa, and was a shipper 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1461 
 
 ol slaves to the Southern colonies. During the Rev- 
 olutionary war he took an active part in that con- 
 flict. The house in which he lived and died is still 
 standing in Suffield Center, and is probably the 
 eldest in the town. He was a Whig in politics at 
 . the time of his death, and a member of the Con- 
 l^regational Church. To his marriage with Roxan- 
 na Hancock, of Suffield, were born seven children, 
 of whom the eldest was named Zeno ; Horace was 
 a sea captain, and died on the coast of Africa ; the 
 names of four others are remembered : Thomas, 
 Thaddeus, Eliza and Cynthia. 
 
 Thomas Archer, the third in the above family, 
 and th? father of our subject, was also born in 
 Suffield Center, and received the usual district- 
 school education. He owned extensive tracts of 
 land, and for several years conducted the hotel at 
 Suffield. On a part of the old homestead the new 
 cemetery has been laid out, and the bank build- 
 ing stands on another part, within the village limits. 
 To his marriage with Lucy Remington ten children 
 were born: George, who died in infancy; George 
 (2), subject of this sketch; Luther, who died in 
 middle age ; Horace, of Pittsfield, Mass. ; Cordelia, 
 unmarried ; Mary, who was married to Col. George 
 S. Burnham, of Hartford, and is now, with her hus- 
 band, deceased ; Louise, wife of Newton S. Pom- 
 eroy, of Suffield ; Sarah Elizabeth, wife of Edwin 
 I). Morgan, a son of Gov. Edwin D. Morgan, of 
 New York ; Helen, who died unmarried ; and Isa- 
 bella, who died in infancy. The mother of this 
 family was called from earth April 18, 1867, and the 
 father April 21, 1881, both dying in the faith of 
 the Congregational Church, and their remains were 
 interred in the new cemetery of Suffield, and 'it may 
 be added that a more respected couple never re- 
 sided within the limits of the town. 
 
 George Archer, the subject proper of this- sketch, 
 was educated in the district schools and the Con- 
 necticut Literary Institute, and has made the noble 
 calling of agriculture his life pursuit. He remained 
 on the old homestead at Suffield Center until 1877, 
 engaged in tobacco culture and general farming, 
 and then removed to West Hartford, where he was 
 engaged in the same class of farming for six years. 
 In 1883 he returned to Suffield and settled on his 
 present farm, known as the Col. Kendall farm, 
 Vi'here he has met with abundant success in stock 
 raising, dairying and farming generally. 
 
 Mr. Archer was united in marriage, in 1849, 
 m Suffield, with Miss Samantha Rogers, a native 
 of the town, a daughter of Richard Douglass and 
 Samantha (Clapp) Rogers, old settlers of Suffield. 
 The only child of this marriage was William Doug- 
 lass, born in August, 1856, in Suffield. He was ed- 
 ucated in the district schools of his native town 
 and at the Connecticut Literary Institute, and be- 
 came a druggist. He married Miss Jennie L. 
 Starks, of Torrington, Conn., but no children were 
 Txirn to the marriage. He succumbed to that fell 
 destroyer, consumption, Mav 2, 1898. and was deep- 
 ly mourned by a large circle of admiring friends. 
 
 as well as by the members of his immediate fam- 
 ily. He was a consistent member of the Congre- 
 gational Church, and in politics was a Republican. 
 George Archer, our subject, was in politics first 
 a Whig, but on the disintegration of that party 
 became a stanch Republican. He has never sought 
 or accepted office, being of a very quiet disposition 
 and domestic in his habits. He is a devout Baptist, 
 and universally respected for his integrity and his 
 Christian-like walk through life, and for his genial 
 personal attributes. Mrs. Archer, who died Feb. 
 ly, 1899, was a lady of refinement and culture, and 
 in her ante-nuptial days was a school teacher of 
 marked merit. The son's widow, also a lady of 
 many accomplishments, has found a congenial 
 home with the Archers. The family has always 
 stood high in the social and religious circles of the 
 town of Suffield and Hartford county. 
 
 GUY L. FAIRBROTHER, of Thompsonville, 
 is the very efficient superintendent of the Enfield 
 & Long Meadow Electric Railroad. He is a native 
 of Connecticut, having been born at Mystic Jan. 
 15, 1864, a son of Albert C. Fairbrother, a sea- 
 faring man, and his good wife, Eliza E. (Bur- 
 rows), a descendant of an old New London county 
 (Conn.) family. 
 
 Mr. Fairbrother passed his early years in the 
 town of Mystic, at Old Field, and at the early age 
 of eleven years foimd employment in the refresh- 
 ment room of the "Pastime," an excursion boat 
 running from New Haven. On this boat he made 
 his first trip to Florida. For eighteen years he 
 engaged in boating on the St. John's river, and early 
 acquired considerable skill in managing vessels, 
 winning the confidence of those in charge. At the 
 age of seventeen he was entrusted with the bring- 
 ing of the "City of Dallas" from Florida to New 
 York. When he decided to leave the life on the 
 river, he secured a position as conducto'- on the 
 West Shore road, running from Savin Rock to 
 Woodmont, Conn., and this he retained for a year. 
 The following year he became superintendent of 
 the West Shore road, and a year later assistant su- 
 perintendent of the Winchester Avenue road, of 
 New Haven. During the illness of A. C. Pond, 
 the superintendent, he acted in his place, and on 
 Nov. 19, 1896, he became chief of the Enfield & 
 Long Meadow Electric Railroad, and is discharg- 
 ing the duties of that difficult position 'in a manner 
 highly pleasing to the stockholders as well as to 
 the patrons of the road. 
 
 Mr. Fairbrother was united in marriage with 
 Miss Jennie E. Carr, daughter of Superintendent 
 Carr, of the Reading railroad shops. One son has 
 been born of their union, Albert C, Feb. 9, 1802. 
 S'Ocially our subject is a member of Doric Lodge, 
 No. 94, F. & A. M., and of the Knights of Pythias. 
 
 PATRICK HEALY, a highly-esteemed resi- 
 dent of Windsor Locks, is a man whose industry 
 and thrift have won him a substantial fortune, and 
 
1462 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the story of his life cannot fail to convey a useful 
 moral. 
 
 ^Ir. Healy was born in ]\Iarch, 1828, in County 
 Gahvay, Ireland, where his family have been well 
 known for many generations. John Healy, his 
 grandfather, was a native of that county, and he 
 and his wife, Margaret Gantley, made their home 
 upon a farm there. Hugh Healy, our subject's fa- 
 ther, was also a native of Gahvay, where he fol- 
 lowed farming for many years. He died there in 
 1852, and his wife, Margaret Ford, about i860. Of 
 their children our subject and his sister, Mrs. 
 Burke, are all who came to America, and since July 
 4, 1853, they have resided in Windsor Locks. 
 
 During his youth Air. Healy attended school 
 in his native county, where he remained until 
 the time was ripe for him to carry into execution 
 a long cherished plan for coming to the United 
 States. On reaching \\"indsor Locks he was em- 
 ployed in building the Seymour Paper Mill, and 
 when the plant was ready for operations he took 
 a position in the mill. This he held continuously 
 until 1883 and by his judicious investment of his 
 earnings he acquired a large amount of real estate 
 m the town, so that the afternoon of his long and 
 useful life is made comfortable bv the rewards of 
 past efifort. His health is excellent for a man of 
 his age, and he continues to take keen interest 
 in all public affairs, being a stanch Democrat in 
 politics. He was naturalized in Windsor Locks in 
 1858, and for many years was an active worker in 
 bis partv, serving for a time as township assessor. 
 
 In January, 1855, Air. Healy was married in 
 'W'indsor Locks to Aliss Ann MuUin. daughter of 
 John Mullin, formerly a foreman in the Seymour 
 Alill, and this union lasted nearly forty years, Mrs. 
 Healy's death occurring in Alarch, 1894. Six chil- 
 dren w€re born to them : John P., deceased, who 
 was educated in Windsor Locks, St. Charles Col- 
 lege, at Baltimore, Md., St. Alichael's College, at 
 Toronto, Canada, and the Law School at Hartford, 
 Conn., and was at the time of his death a success- 
 ful attorney in the latter city ; James A., a car- 
 penter in New York City : Thomas L., a real-estate 
 dealer i-.i Hartford; Joseph, a journalist by pro- 
 fession; Frank E., a graduate of the Yale Law 
 School, and a prominent attorney at Hartford, who 
 ds taking an active part in politics as chairman of 
 the Re]3ulilican committee of the town of Windsor 
 Locks ; and Alarv L., deceased. 
 
 DWIGHT HENRY BENNETT, manager for 
 L. ^^ Walkley, of Plantsville, was born in Cheshire, 
 New Haven Co., Conn., Dec. 28, 1859. 
 
 Asa Legrand Bennett, his father, was a native 
 of Southburv, born in 1820, and was there reared 
 • and educated. In early manhood he went to New 
 Y''ork State, where for some years he was engaged 
 in school teaching, and while there he married (for 
 his first wife) a Miss Carse, who lived but nine 
 rr'onths. After her death he returned to Southburv, 
 Conn., and learned the tinner's trade, which he fol- 
 
 lowed for a number of years in Naugatuck. In 
 1855 he located in Cheshire, where he purchased a 
 farm of 100 acres, and there resided until his death, 
 which occurred in 1892. In Naugatuck he was 
 again married, his second union being with Miss 
 Martha Ann Carroll, a native of that place, and 
 d daughter of Nathaniel and Lucy (Mix) Carroll, 
 of Thomaston, Conn. Her father was engaged in 
 business as a wagon maker and undertaker in 
 Naugatuck, and made his own coffin; he died at 
 that place in 1864. Her mother, who was a native 
 of Hartford, died in Naugatuck in 1854; she was a 
 Webster, and a direct descendant of Noah Webster, 
 of dictionary fame. Mrs. Bennett died on the same 
 day as her husband, and was laid to rest by his 
 side. In their family were four sons : Charles F., 
 Simeon, Huber and Dwight H. The paternal 
 grandparents of our subject, Silas and Phebe (Hin- 
 man) Bennett, had three children: Betsey (wife 
 of Robert Bronson), Henry, and Asa L. Silas 
 Bennett was born in Huntington, Conn., and be- 
 came a farmer, merchant and manufacturer of 
 Southbury, where he died in 1869. His wife de- 
 parted this life in 1886. 
 
 Dwight H. Bennett, our subject, began his edu- 
 cation in the public schools of Cheshire, where he 
 was reared, and subsecjuently was graduated from 
 Miles H. LTpson's private school, in the Marion 
 District of Southington. He remained on the old 
 homestead in Cheshire until 1883, and then located 
 in Plantsville, this county, where for four years he 
 had charge of the packing department of H. D. 
 Smith & Co. He next engaged in the meat business 
 with his brother, Charles F., for four years, and 
 for the same length of time was in the employ 
 of A. M. Lew'is, a meat merchant of Plantsville. 
 At the £nd of that time he purchased the ice plant 
 of Thomas Walker, which he conducted some years, 
 and has held his present responsible position with 
 L. V. Walkley since January, 1897. He is an up- 
 right, reliable business man, commanding the re- 
 spect and confidence of all with whom he has deal- 
 ings. 
 
 On Dec. 28, 1883, Mr. Bennett was united in 
 marriage with Miss Carrie M. Rice, a daughter of 
 Henry C. and Caroline (Rice) Rice, of the Marion 
 District, Southington, and to them has been bom 
 a daughter, Viola. Mr. Bennett is a member of the 
 Congregational Church, of the Mutual Benefit So- 
 ciety, and of Unity Council, No. 11, O. U. A. A'L, 
 of which he is councillor. In political sentiment 
 he is a Republican. 
 
 WILLIAM WOOD, M. D. (deceased), was one 
 of the most distinguished and 'honored citizens of 
 South Windsor. He was not only a popular and 
 successful physician but occupied a position of no 
 little prominence in scientific circles, and con- 
 tributed many able articles to scientific jotu-nals and 
 other periodicals. 
 
 A native of Connecticut, Dr. Wood was born in 
 Waterbury, July 7, 1822, and was a son of Rev. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1463 
 
 Luke and Anna (Pease) Wood. At the age of ten 
 years he entered the academy at old Killingworth 
 (now Qinton), Conn., where he pursued his studies 
 tor three years, preparatory to entering Yale Col- 
 lege, but his youth debarring him from admission, 
 ht continued his studies under the private instruc- 
 tion of Profs. Marsh and Lxsverin, in Vermont, 
 for two years. He then returned to Clinton, which 
 journey of nearly 200 miles he accomplished on 
 foot, with his clothes and books strapped over his 
 back. The following j-ear he was again a student 
 m the academy at that place, but having overtaxed 
 his eyes by too close application, he was compelled 
 to abandon his cherished plan of entering Yale as a 
 senior at the age of sixteen years. 
 
 During the two successive winters he devoted 
 himself to teaching school, and during the summer 
 months he pursued medical studies. He was 
 principal of the academy at Windsor; assistant 
 teacher at the academy in Westfield, Mass. ; princi- 
 pal of the high school in Webster ; and assistant 
 teacher in the Pavilion school at Hartford. Sub- 
 sequently he attended lectures at the Berkley Medi- 
 cal College, Pittsfield, Mass., and at the Medical 
 Department of the University of New York, from 
 which he was graduated with the degree of M. D., 
 in March, 1847. In the autumn of the same year 
 he opened an office in East Windsor Hill, and was 
 not long in building up a large and lucrative prac- 
 tice, which he continued to enjoy throughout life. 
 
 In 1848, Dr. Wood was united in marriage with 
 ]\Iiss Mary L. Ellsworth, a daughter of Erastus 
 Ellsworth. She still survives her 'husband, as did 
 two children: Elizabeth Ellsworth (now deceased), 
 who became the wife of Congressman Lewis Sperry, 
 a prominent attornev of Hartford, who resides with 
 3ilrs. Wood at East Windsor Hill; and William R., 
 ■who resides at the old home ; he is a tobacco grower 
 and stock dealer, and is now representing South 
 Windsor in the State Legislature. 
 
 Dr. Wood was always a student of nature, de- 
 voted much time to the study of ornithology, zo- 
 ology and archaeology, and had a valuable collection 
 in each of these departments. He was also a 
 skillful taxidermist, and his method of mounting 
 his specimens shows a keen observation of their 
 manner and habits. His collections of birds and 
 their eggs are among the finest in the countrj^, and 
 may be seen at the Hartford Atheneum, where they 
 are in the care of the Scientific Association, to which 
 they were presented by Mrs. Wood after the 
 Doctor's death. His published writings for the 
 most part related to natural history, and appeared 
 in the "American Naturalist" and in other popular 
 journals. Among his works may be mentioned a 
 series of twenty-one articles published in the Hart- 
 ford Times, in 1861, upon the "Rapacious Birds of 
 New England." Another of his valuable contribu- 
 tions to science was an article published in the "Lo- 
 comotive," entitled "Who first successfully applied 
 steam to the navigation of vessels," and it proved 
 most conclusivel}' that the distinction belonged to 
 
 John Fitch, of East (now South) Windsor, Conn., 
 and not to Robert Fulton, as is generally contended. 
 
 Besides his association with professional organi- 
 zations, Dr. Wood was an honorary member ot the 
 Lyceum of Natural Historj' of Williams College; 
 corresponding member of the National Ornithologi- 
 cal Club of Cambridge, Mass.; and held positions 
 of honor and trust in various medical societies. He 
 was considered by his professional brethren as a 
 very skillful practitioner, and he successfully en- 
 gaged in practice up to within a few weeks of his 
 death, which occurred Aug. 9, 1885. 
 
 The Doctor was an active and prominent mem- 
 ber of the First Congregational Church and Society 
 of East Windsor Hill. He was a lover of good 
 music, and for thirty years led the services at that 
 Church. He was a devoted leader, and was never 
 absent from his place unless illness or professional 
 duties kept him away. His favorite recreation was 
 fishing, in which he was an enthusiast. He was 
 very social in his nature, had a keen sense of the 
 humorous, and his fund of anecdote was inexhaust- 
 ible. He was ver}' sympathetic, and his kindly and 
 benevolent disposition was manifested by the readi- 
 ness with which he responded to a call from one 
 from whom he knew he could receive no possible 
 remuneration. He devoted his untiring attention 
 to his patients, and was always prompt to fulfill an 
 engagement, professional or otherwise. 
 
 REUBEN W. HADLEY was born on IMarch 
 22, 1843, at Dudley, Worcestershire, England, son 
 of George Hadlev, and grandson of Samuel Hadley, 
 both natives of the same town. 
 
 Samuel Hadley was an innkeeper, and proprietor 
 of the hostelry known as the "Shakespeare," 
 famous in its day for its fine ale, which was always 
 brewed tmder the personal supervision of "mine 
 host." The house was a large one for its time, 
 and enjoyed an enviable reputation. The proprietor 
 vv-as the father of four sons — Edward, Benjamin, 
 George and Samuel. A daughter was married to 
 a Mr. Carmichael, of Cornwall, and afterward 
 made her home in London. Edward and Benjamin 
 Hadle)' became innkeepers, and the latter succeed- 
 ed to the conduct of his father's establishment. 
 Samuel and George were iron workers. 
 
 George Hadley, who was the father of Reuben 
 W., learned the iron worker's trade in the Burn- 
 tree shop, at Dudley, and emigrated to America 
 in 1848. He found temporary employment in the 
 Mot't Foundry, in New York City, but the follow- 
 mg year went to Winsted, Conn. There he be- 
 gan work for the B. & E. Woodhall Co., manu- 
 facturers of fire irons. It was not long before he 
 became a stockholder in the \Vinsted Shovel and 
 Tongs Company, assuming the superintendency of 
 their works. He continued to fill this position for 
 six years, when, in the spring of 1S3S, he removed 
 to New Britain, and became connected with the 
 Russell & Erwin Co., which had purchased the 
 stock, plant, patents and good will of the Winsted 
 
1464 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 concern. With Russell & Erwiii he entered into a 
 contract, which continued until near the close of his 
 life, when it was assumed by his son, George. 
 George Hadley, Sr., was a man of keen, common 
 SL'use, sound judgment, and more than ordinary 
 talent, \\hile his sympathies were with the Re- 
 publican party, he took no active part in politics. 
 He was a member of the M. E. Church, and in his 
 latter years manifested an unusual interest in re- 
 ligious and humane effort, being an active worker 
 in the cause of temperance, and in the "Good 
 Samaritan" movement. He married Ann WooUey, 
 v^hose father, Benjamin ^\'oolley, of Dudley, Eng- 
 land, was a manufacturer of fire shovels in a small 
 way, in copartnership with his sons. He was a 
 man of rare native mental acumeti. rnd a stanch 
 supporter of the Established Church. He was of 
 magnificent physique (standing more than six 
 feet), and lived to the age of seventy-five years. 
 Jii addition to his daughter, .\nn, who, as has been 
 said, married Crcorge Hadley, he had children : 
 Sabina, f'htebe, Maria. Eliza, Benjamin, Joseph, 
 Henry and Alfred. Phoebe married Thomas Collett ; 
 Sabina became the wife of Abitha Parker: Eliza 
 was united to Benjamin Jucks, and Maria to Ben- 
 jamin Moss. Mrs. Hadley did not accompany her 
 husband to America, but in 1850 sailed from Eng- 
 land to rejoin him. She died during the long voy- 
 age of 105 days, on the sailing vessel "Antarctic," 
 her husband following her to the grave in 1876. 
 The}' were the parents of seven children, of whom 
 five have died — Edward, Joseph, Edmond, George 
 E.. and Albert Edward. Those yet living are 
 Reuben W. and Alfred W. 
 
 Reuben \V. Hadley received his early educa- 
 tion in his native county in England, and at the 
 schools of Winsted. At the age of fifteen years 
 he went from that town to New Britain, where he 
 went to work in the same shop with his father. 
 Earlv in the Civil war he and his brother worked 
 on contracts for furnishing cavalry buckles to the 
 government. The filling of the contract called for 
 the services of some half dozen men, and required 
 about six months for its completion. When it had 
 been filled he returned for a short time to the em- 
 ploy of Russell & Erwin, but in 1863 went to 
 Yonkers, N. Y., where he secured a contract for the 
 polishing of armv carbines. In this venture he was 
 very successful, having fifty men in his employ 
 at the close of the war. In fact, the profits accruing 
 on this contract furnished the nucleus of the capital 
 which has given him his financial success in life. 
 His contract completed, Mr. Hadley resumed his 
 relations with Russell & Erwin. and not long after- 
 ward formed a copartnership with Ambrose Beatty, 
 the object of the joint enterprise being to engage 
 in the grocery business under the firm name of 
 Beatty & Hadley. A co-operative feature was in- 
 troduced into the business, and from it sprang the 
 Sovereign Trading Company, of New Britain. 
 The firm of Beatty & Hadley ceased to exist, and 
 in 1876 'Sir. Hadley subsequently disposed of his 
 
 interest in the venture to his partner. Three months 
 afterward he entered into business alone at the 
 present location of George Swain's saloon. After 
 four or five years he removed to the premises now 
 occupied by Olcott's Cafe, where he had a very 
 extensive and lucrative trade. In October, 1895, 
 he sustained a severe loss through fire, and, a dis- 
 pute arising as to his liability under his lease, he 
 determined to retire from active business. 
 
 i\Ir. Hadley, although measurably self-made, has 
 built well upon a natural foundation. His business 
 success has been, in certain aspects, phenomenal. 
 To him the word "failure" has conveyed but an 
 imperfect meaning. He remodeled the "Park 
 Hotel," which he owns, at one time owned the D. 
 C. Judd store, and has ever been one of New Brit- 
 ain's prominent and most prosperous business 
 men. He has always been a Republican, and has 
 taken an active interest in advancing his party's 
 success. He has been selectman, but has never 
 aspired to anv higher office, being content faithfully 
 to discharge the duties of private citizenship. He 
 has served as captain of the Light Artillery, and has 
 held the same rank in Company D, First Regiment 
 of State ]\Iilitia. For twenty years he has belonged 
 to the I. O. O. F. and I. O. R.'M. Among the busi- 
 ness enterprises in which he has been interested was 
 the Hadley & Martin coal firm, and he was one of 
 the incorporators of Burrell's Savings Bank. 
 
 Mr. Hadley ascribes no small portion of his 
 success to the counsel and aid of his wife, whose 
 maiden name was Eliza Neal. She was a daughter 
 of James Neal, of Plainville, who emigrated to 
 America from Loughborough, England. Two chil- 
 dren have been born to them — Charles Edward and 
 Fannie Neal, the daughter being now the wife of 
 William H. Cadwell. 
 
 WILLIAM H. BREWER, an ex-soldier of 
 the Civil v/ar and one of the most progressive and 
 successful farmers of the town of East Hartford, 
 is the youngest of the eight children born to George 
 and Fannie (Stevens) Brewer, a full biographical 
 sketch of whom, including genealogy, will be found 
 in the article devoted to Philo S. Brewer, else- 
 where, but of whom brief mention will here again 
 be made. 
 
 George Brewer, who was born July 6, 1800, 
 married Sept. 12, 1820, Sarah Treat, who was born 
 Sept. 7, 1794, and by this marriage were born four 
 children: Elisha C, Nov. 5, 1821 ; Oniri P., Sept. 
 4, 1823; Albert F., Sept. 4, 1825; and George C, 
 Sept. 13, 1827. After the death of the mother of 
 these, George Brewer married, Feb. 22, 1829, Mrs. 
 Fannie Stevens, widow of Jason Stevens, of Glas- 
 tonbury, and the mother of two children, Cornelia 
 H., born Nov. 13, 1822, and Abbie S., born Dec. 
 22, 1824. The marriage of George and Fannie 
 (Stevens) Brewer was blessed with eight chil- 
 dren: Delia, born Feb. 13, 1830, Who married 
 Elizur Ensign April 3, 1850, and is residing in 
 East Hartford; James F., bom April 14, 1832, 
 
.COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1465 
 
 \vho married Harriet Wliitney, but is now de- 
 ceased, his widow being now a resident of Soutli- 
 ington; Sarala A., born Dec. 25, 1833, was married 
 Sept. 29, 1857, to John J. Ervmg, a native of East 
 Hartford, and is now deceased (her husband re- 
 sided in East Hartford, malcing his home with his 
 daughter, Mrs. Fannie Geisehiian, until his death, 
 in October, 1899) ; of the fourtli child, Philo S., a 
 full record is given elsewhere; Eliza A., born Aug. 
 6, 1838, was married Oct. 28, 1868, to Dwight E. 
 Sanford, of Hadley, JMass., but died June 25, 1874, 
 her husband being also deceased, and the remains 
 of both now lie at rest in the Hockanum cemetery ; 
 Jason, 'born Oct. 23, 1841, served three years in 
 Company A, Twenty-first Conn. \'. I., was shot in 
 the side in front of Petersburg, and died from the 
 injury Dec. 2, 1866; John i\I., born Oct. 7, 1843, 
 married Ellen Roberts, of East Hartford, Jan. 23, 
 1866; and William H., the youngest, is the sub- 
 ject of this sketch. 
 
 William H. Brewer was born Oct. 13, 1845, 
 on the old homestead, near where Philo S. Brewer 
 now lives, was educated in the district school and 
 the East Hartford high school, and after finish- 
 ing his studies in the latter, about 1861, was em- 
 ployed in Colt's Armory, Hartford, for nearly a 
 year, and then enlisted, March, 1864, in the same 
 city, in Company A, Twenty-first Conn. Infantry, 
 Capt. Beldon, Col. Dutton commanding. The first 
 gunpowder burned by the regiment was at Little 
 Washington, N. C, in a skirmish with superior 
 numbers, and it was forced to retreat to the river ; 
 it was then transported to Portsmouth, in the same 
 State, May 16, 1864, took part in the battle of 
 Drury's Bluff, then la}' in rifle pits near Bermuda 
 Hundred, Va., a short time, and after a few more 
 skirmishes took an active part in the tliree-da^'s' 
 fight at Cold Harbor, Va. ; the regiment then fell 
 back to the James river, then again to Bermuda 
 Hundred, and next participated in the general ad- 
 vance on Petersburg. They arrived before that 
 city at dawn after an all-night march, and were 
 within firing- distance of the enemy's line, when 
 the terrible mine explosion took place (June 30, 
 1864) ; Mr. Brewer saw human beings, cannon 
 and tons of dirt blown high into the air. 
 
 From Petersburg the Twerity-first Connecti- 
 cut was ordered to Cedar Point, where it crossed 
 the -James river, fought at Fort Harrison, and then 
 passed the winter of 1864-65 in camp on Chapin's 
 Farm. It next made a raid toward Fredericks- 
 burg, it- was thought after the Rebel guerrilla chief, 
 Mosby, who had captured twenty-six carloads of 
 tobacco at that point; but it withdrew from this 
 pursuit and spent a few days at Deep Bottom, near 
 the Wilderness, and later was one of the first regi- 
 ments to enter Richmond. In that city Mr. Brew- 
 er acted as a guard for a train that was detailed to 
 supply wood to the poor, and from Richmond went 
 to Columbia, fifty miles distant, on the James river, 
 where a base of supplies was established for the 
 benefit of the impoverished ex-Rebels, and for 
 
 some time was detailed to run up and down the 
 river in carrying provisions between the two 
 points. This duty having been fulfilled, Mr. Brew- 
 er was transferred at Richmond to Company G, 
 Tenth Conn. V. I., the Twenty-first having been 
 ordered home. After this transfer Mr. Brewer 
 served three months as hospital guard, and had in 
 charge the dairy supplies, seeing to it that milk 
 was properly delivered, etc. He was honorably 
 discharged at Richmond Sept. 5, 1865, and was 
 shortly afterward mustered out at Hartford, Con- 
 necticut. 
 
 After the war Mr. Brewer went to Southing- 
 ton and started in to learn the iron molder's trade, 
 but soon afterward returned to Hartford, and for 
 a time worked in Colt's Armory. In 1866 he drove 
 stage from Manchester Green to Winchester Sta- 
 tion, and in 1867 returned to the home farm. 
 
 Mr. Brewer was united in marriage Feb. 9, 
 1870, with Mary Isabelle Crosley, and this union 
 has been graced with five children : Frank C, who 
 was born Nov. 13, 1870, married Mary Van Wag- 
 ner, of Hartford, and now lives in East Hartford ; 
 Earnest J., born June 2, 1877, is still under the pa- 
 rental roof; Lenwood R. was born Jan. 16, 1879; 
 Minnie Alice, April 23, 1889; and Rena B., June 
 14, 1892. The family attend the Congregational 
 Church, and in politics Mr. Brewer is as liberal in 
 his views as he is with his purse. He is a member 
 of Orient Lodge, No. 62, F. & A. M., is past mas- 
 ter of the same, and for four 3'ears has been com- 
 mander of D. C. Rodman Post, No. 65, G. A. R., 
 of East Hartford. Mr. and Mrs. Brewer stand 
 very high in the esteem of the community, Mr. 
 Brewer's long descent never having suffered a 
 stain through any word uttered or act performed 
 by him or any member of the honored old family. 
 
 CHARLES CHAUNCEY BISSELL, a rep- 
 resentative and prominent business man of Suf- 
 field, was born in that town Aug. 18, 1867, and is 
 of the eighth generation of the Bissell family in 
 America, tracing his ancestry from John Bissell, 
 Sr., born in England in 1591, through the follow- 
 ing: John, Jr., Jeremiah, Samuel, Isaac, Asaph L., 
 and Charles S. 
 
 (II) John Bissell, Jr., was born in England, 
 and died in 1693, in Hartford county. 
 
 (III) Jeremiah Bissell, born Feb. 22, 1677, 
 married Mehitabel White. 
 
 (IV) Samuel Bissell married, Aug. i, 1746, 
 ]\Iary Kibbe, of Enfield, Hartford county. He 
 died Sept. 18, 1759. 
 
 (A") Isaac Bissell, born in Windsor Jan. 25, 
 1749, was the first of the famil_v to settle in Suf- 
 field, and all of the name residing in that town are 
 his descendants. On July 4, 1776, he married 
 Amelia Leavitt, who was born in 1757, and died 
 Nov. 15, 1809. He died July 28, 1822. Their 
 children were: Amelia, Amelia (2), Isaac, Amelia 
 (3). Samuel, Sophia, Harvey, George, Asaph L., 
 Betsey, Sally, Luthera, and George (2). 
 
1466 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (,\'I) Asaph L. Bissell, born Jan. i, 1791, in 
 Suffiekl, died Aug. 2, 1850, became a successful 
 phjsician. He married Lucy Norton, and they had 
 eight children, cf whom Charles S., father of our 
 subject, was the eldest. 
 
 • (\ II) Charles S. Bissell was born April 5, 
 1821, in Suffield, and is mentioned more fully in 
 the sketch of Leavitt P. Bissell, elsewhere. 
 
 (VIII) Charles Chauncey Bissell was reared 
 and educated in Suffield. While his father was a 
 man of abundant means, he was not friendly to- 
 ward giving his boys the theoretic side of life, nei- 
 ther did he think that a college education was in- 
 dispensable to a young man's success. However, 
 his sons were given practical ideas of business, 
 and such education as was sufficient to carry on 
 almost an}- enterprise. On leaving home Charles 
 went to Hartford, where he accepted a position in 
 the office of the Travelers Insurance Co., and there 
 remained until 1891, when he entered the Suffield 
 National Bank as assistant cashier, Alfred Spen- 
 cer, the former cashier, having left that institution 
 to accept a similar position with the -Titna Na- 
 tional Bank, of Hartford. Mr. Bissell remained 
 with the company in that capacity until i8y8, and 
 his service was marked by a courteous and effi- 
 cient discharge of his duties. 
 
 In 1889 Air. Bissell was united in marriage 
 with Aliss Clara J. Spencer, of Suffield, a daughter 
 of the late I. Luther and Julia (Pease) Spencer, 
 well-known and prominent citizens of that town. 
 Our subject and his wife have one child, Charles, 
 a most interesting boy. Religiously Mr. and Airs. 
 Bissell are Baptists. She is a member of the D. 
 A. R., and is now vice-regent of Sybil Dwight 
 Kent Chapter, at Suffield. Mr. Bissell is a char- 
 ter member of Gideon Granger Lodge, No. 62, 
 Knights of Pythias ; Apollo Lodge, No. 59, F. & 
 A. AI. ; \\'ashington Chapter, No. 30, R. A. M., 
 at Suffield ; and Washington Commandery, No. i, 
 K. T., and Sphinx Temple, Nobles of the Alystic 
 Shrine, both of Hartford, Conn. Politically he is 
 a Republican, and does all in his power for his par- 
 ty's success. 
 
 Air. Bissell has purchased what is known as the 
 Cline place in Suffield, its beautiful surroundings 
 and delightful location making his home one of the 
 most attractive in the locality. It is built in mod- 
 ern style of architecture, and supplied with every 
 convenience, while the outbuildings are of the best, 
 the barn, completed in June, 1899, being one of the 
 finest in the northern part of Hartford county. Air. 
 Bissell is an admirer of good horses, and he keeps 
 some fine animals in his stables. He is now a mem- 
 ber of the firm of L. P. Bissell, Bro. & Co., exten- 
 sive leaf tobacco dealers of Suffield. Air. Bissell 
 is probably one of the best-known citizens of his 
 years in the town, a wholesouled, generous-heart- 
 ed man, open in his every act, whose friends are 
 numbered bv the score, and whose acquaintances 
 are among the very best people. He is shrewd 
 and keen in business, far above the average in this 
 
 respect. As a citizen he also stands high, and i& 
 ever ready to encouraee projects of benefit, he and 
 his brother Leavitt P. both taking a prominent 
 part in promoting all enterprises for the public 
 good. In his business dealings "Charley" Bissell 
 has always been fair and honorable, and his every 
 agreement and obligation has been carried out. 
 His integrity is above question, and is just as re- 
 liable as his ability to pay. Such an individual 
 would do credit to any ancestry. 
 
 FREDERICK LEVI NORTON, son of George 
 Jones Norton, was born in the old Norton home- 
 stead at Kensington, Jan. 5, 1855. His father was 
 born Feb. 16, 1807. 
 
 George J. Norton was master of two trades. 
 He was both a cooper and a brass founder, and he 
 was fairly prosperous in business, erecting a shop 
 of his own, which has since been converted into a 
 dwelling for his widow. In early life he became 
 a Federalist, from conviction, and no mutation of 
 administration ever induced him to change his po- 
 litical faith. On Alay 9, 1841, George J. Norton 
 married Roxy Ann Alunson, who was fifteen years 
 his junior, having been born Oct. 12, 1822. Air. 
 Norton attained the age of seventy-five years, pass- 
 ing away Dec. 18, 1882. He was a stanch friend 
 of temperance, a member of the Sons of Temper- 
 ance, and a public-spirited citizen, serving on the 
 board of relief several years. His father, Stephen 
 Norton, the grandfather of Frederick L., was a 
 farmer, and took an active interest in politics, as 
 well as in church work. He died at the age of 
 fifty-one, his widow, Betsey (Hooker), living to 
 be nearly ninety years old ; she was born Alay 22, 
 1785. Both were devout and consistent members 
 of the Congregational Church. 
 
 Our subject was on_ of a family of nine chil- 
 dren, onlv four of whom are living. The eldest, 
 Charles \Villiam, born Aug. 23, 1842, served as a 
 volunteer in a Connecticut regiment during the 
 Civil war, and is at present assistant postmaster 
 at New Britain ; he married Rosella Capron, of 
 that place. Harriet Jane Norton, born Sept. 15, 
 1852, is the wife of John P. Cornell, formerly of 
 Berlin, but now residing in New Britain. Henry 
 Stephen, the youngest living son, was born Alay 
 22, 1858, and married Julia Elizabeth Arthur, of 
 Berlin, who was born Jan. 10, 1859. 
 
 Frederick L. Norton's education was obtained 
 in the common schools of Kensington and at the 
 Berlin Academy, which he attended for three 
 terms, his instructors there being Aliss Gleason 
 and Air. Richardson. At the age of sixteen he be- 
 gan his apprenticeship to the carpenter's 'trade, 
 and served four years with J. G. L. Carpenter, of 
 New Britain, receiving during the last three years 
 the sum of $300 in addition to his board. After 
 leaving Air. Carpenter he worked four or five 
 months for Edward Pinney, of New Haven, who 
 was at that time erecting the Central Block in New 
 Britain. For a year and a half following he was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1467 
 
 in the employ of Whapples Brothers, of New Brit- 
 ain, contractors. On leaving them he went to 
 Bridgeport, wheix for six months he worked on the 
 construction of the plant of the Ferris Cutlery Co., 
 and for one and a half years for George Turney. 
 Returning to New Britain, he formed a partner- 
 ship with Mr. Carpenter, which continued for a 
 year, during which time' the firm of Carpenter & 
 Norton built a house in Kensington for Theron 
 Upson, one for Matthew Meskil, in New Britain, 
 and four houses in Wethersfield for a Mr. Rogers. 
 The firm being dissolved, Mr. Norton went to work 
 for Adna Woodruff, at Southington, and after six 
 months entered into partnership with George Stan- 
 ley, of Kensington, the firm name being Norton & 
 Stanley. They remodeled a residence for J. C. 
 Bowers, of Kensington, and one for H. F. Damm, 
 of Berlin, besides building houses for Barney Fitz- 
 liarris and Michael McGee, of Kensington, and 
 for Lewis Ainsworth, of New Britain. At the end 
 of twelve months Mr. Norton bought Mr. Stan- 
 ley's interest in the business, which he has since 
 conducted alone. He built a shop in Beech Swamp 
 Row, and for a time carried on a coal and lumber 
 business in addition to that of contractor and build- 
 er. The former, however, he discontinued in De- 
 cember, 1896. Among the many buildings erected 
 by Mr. Norton may be enumerated the following: 
 The Steele & Damon, the D. C. Judd, the Bagley, 
 the E. Volkman and the Isaac Kanerich blocks. 
 New Britain ; the Old Ladies Home and a number 
 of residences in the same place, including those of 
 Fred Steele, E. H. Preston, Lyman S. Burr, Mrs. 
 Emeline E. Bassett, Joseph Towers, Charles E. 
 Woodruff, Edward Conklin, James Finnegan, Han- 
 nah Lockre and George Banning. In Berlin he 
 built Brandegee's, Walter G. Watkin's and Me- 
 chanics' Halls, the Methodist church, the residences 
 of W. H. Upson, R. A. Wooding, James Brown, 
 and Horace Payne, and six houses for Marcus E. 
 Jacobs. In Kensington he has remodeled houses 
 for Frank L. Wilcox and William S. Brandegee, 
 and built for Dr. Gillin, besides erecting the fac- 
 tory of the American Paper Goods Co., Wooding 
 Brothers' factor)^, and R. A. Wooding's water- 
 tower. He has also recently completed a building 
 for the Wheel & Cycle Bar Co., of Berlin, and has 
 built a large number of houses in Meriden. 
 
 Mr. Norton's success has been wholly the re- 
 sult of his own efforts. Hard work, sound sense, 
 keen intelligence, perseverance, pluck and honesty 
 have been his main supports through life. It is 
 these qualities that have won for him the unre- 
 served confidence of the community in which he 
 resides. It is such characters as his that have made 
 New England what it is, and that shed lustre upon 
 the State in which they are born ; quiet and unas- 
 suming, yet rugged and of sterling worth. Fie is 
 a Republican in politics, and has been a member of 
 the town committee of his party for nine years. 
 He has never desired office, yet in 1895 his fellow 
 townsmen, knowing his business sagacity and be- 
 
 ing well assured of his probity, elected him assessor. 
 Fraternally Mr. Norton is a member of Phcenix 
 Lodge, No. 52, I. O. O. F., and of Comstock E.i- 
 campment, No. 29, I. O. O. F., of New Britain ; 
 of Pequot Council, No. 24, Sr. O. U. A. M., of 
 Berlin; and of Mattabessett Tribe, I. O. R. M. 
 
 On Sept. II, 1878, Mr. Norton married Miss. 
 Ellen Mary Woods, of New Britain, who was born 
 in Cherryfield, Maine, Aug. i, 1859. Her mother,- 
 whose maiden name was Lucinda Ijurgess, died ia 
 August, 1895, and is buried at New Britain, where 
 her father, Charles Hiram Woods, still resides.. 
 Mrs. Norton is a member of the Baptist Chvuxh 
 of New Britain, but attends the Congregational 
 Church at Kensington. Their marriage has been 
 blessed with three children: (i) George Edward,, 
 born Sept. 20, 1879, was educated at the Kensing- 
 ton public schools, the New Britain high school, 
 and Huntsinger's Business College, in Hartford. 
 He is clerk at the Berlin station of the New York^ 
 New Haven & Hartford railroad. (2) Lillian Ab- 
 bey, born Sept. 6, 1880, attended the schools in 
 Kensington, and later the Model School at New 
 Britain; at present she is employed as a milliner 
 at the establishment of G. Fox & Co., in Hartford.. 
 (3) William Charles, born Aug. 26, 1888, is at- 
 tending school in Berlin. 
 
 MICHAEL HO YE. It is said that biography 
 yields to no other subject in point of interest and 
 profit, and it is especially interesting to note the 
 progress that has Ijeen made along various lines 
 by those of foreign birth who have sought homes 
 in America — the readiness with which they adapt 
 themselves to the different methods and customs- 
 of America, recognize the advantages offered, and 
 utilize the opportunities which the new world af- 
 fords. In Michael Hoye, of West Hartford, we 
 find a worthy representative of this class. 
 
 Mr. Hoye was born in County Longford, Ire- 
 land, in 1837, a son of Peter and Rose (Flynn) 
 Hoye, natives of County Leitrim and County 
 Longford, respectively. Of their ten children, 
 seven came to the United States: Anne, who lives 
 in the West; Michael, our subject; Patrick, a resi- 
 dent of Newington, Conn. ; John, who died in the 
 Civil war; Peter, who is employed in Goodwin's 
 pottery, at Hartford; Maria, who is living in the 
 West; and James, a carpenter of Hartford. The 
 father died in New Britain, Connecticut. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated in his 
 native land, and followed farming in the old coun- 
 try until nineteen years of age, when he took pas- 
 sage on the "City of Mobile," bound for America. 
 After a six-weeks voyage he landed in New York, 
 May 3, 1856. For two years he worked on a farm 
 near Peekskill, Westchester Co., N. Y., and then 
 removed to North Salem, that State, where he re- 
 sided until coming to Newington, Conn., in 1862. 
 In March, 1863, he located upon his present farm, 
 in West Hartford, Flartford county, where he has 
 since made his home. Soon after coming here he 
 
1468 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 commenced work on the West Hartford roads un- 
 der Superintendent Corbin, and later succeeded 
 that gentleman as superintendent, having- now been 
 connected with the road work of the town for over 
 thirty years. Under his supervision the roads have 
 been macadamized, and have been kept in first- 
 class order. 
 
 At Harlem, X. Y., Mr. Hoye was married, in 
 1862, to Miss Alary Simmarl, a native of Couiity 
 Tyrone, Ireland, who died in 1891. To them were 
 born two sons: (ij William Henry is married, 
 and has three children, Margaret, James S. and 
 William. (2) John M. married Alary Xolan. 
 Our subject is a member of the Catholic Church 
 of Xlw Uritain, and is highly respected and es- 
 teemed. 
 
 ED\MX GRAYSOX BARBER, a leading 
 dairyman and representative citizen of West Hart- 
 fortl, was born in that town Oct. 11, 1859, and be- 
 longs to one of the old families of the county, his 
 grandfather, Grayson Barber, having been a resi- 
 dent of Bloomfield, where he was engaged in farm- 
 ing and the nursery business. He was three times 
 married, his first wife being a Pettibonc, and his 
 second a Francis. 
 
 George Barber, father of our subject, was born 
 reared and educated in Bloomfield, and was past 
 thirty years of age when he moved across the 
 boundary line into West Hartford. Throughout 
 life he followed the occupation of farming. He 
 was a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church of Bloomfield, and served as trustee of the 
 same. In politics he was a Democrat, and on his 
 party ticket was elected selectman of West Hart- 
 ford, which position he filled in a most creditable 
 and acceptable manner. He first married Aliss 
 Jennie K. Tet¥t, who died Aug. 2, 1872, leaving 
 three children : George Franklin and Edwin 
 Grayson, both of whom are mentioned more fully 
 below : and Alary Rosell, wife of Charles Soule. 
 For his second wife Air. Barber married Esther 
 Kichols, but had no children by that union. 
 
 Upon the home farm Edwin G. Barber grew to 
 manhood, and his education was obtained in the 
 Center school, and at Fisher & Osgood's Business 
 College. He was married in West Hartford Oct. 
 17, 1881, to Aliss Alice Lavinia Shepard, a daugh- 
 ter of Sheldon L. Shepard, and engaged in farm- 
 ing there imtil 1884, when he went West, taking 
 a position with the Western Union Telegraph Co., 
 as line repairer. In 1891 he returned to West 
 Hartford, where he has since resided, his time be- 
 ing now devoted to the dairy business. He is a 
 member of Charter Oak Lodge, I. O. O. F., of 
 Hartford, and of Bloomfield Grange, and his wife 
 "belongs to the Congregational Church of Bloom- 
 iield. They have an extensive circle of friends 
 and acquaintances in the communitv where thev 
 make their home, and by all they are held in high 
 xegard. 
 
 George F. Barber, a brother of our subject, was 
 
 born in West Hartford May 25, 1857. He attend- 
 ed the district and high schools of that town, and 
 also the Bloomfield Academy, and took a course at 
 Fisher «&; Osgood's Business College, in Hartford. 
 On laying aside his text-books he took up the oc- 
 cupation to which he had been reared, and has de- 
 voted his life to farming. In Bloomfield he mar- 
 ried Miss Emma J. Peck, a daughter of De Forest 
 H. Peck, and to them have been born five children : 
 Jennie Vernon, Charles Earle, Frank Elliott, 
 George Thomas, and Pearl Frances. 
 
 JOSEPH DAVISON was born in Yorkshire, 
 England, Jan. 30, 1835. Extreme poverty com- 
 pelled him to begin work at the early age of seven 
 years, when he entered a woolen mill, his daily toil 
 commencing at six o'clock in the morning, and not 
 being completed until eight in the evening, he re- 
 ceiving for these fourteen hours of hard labor the 
 miserable stipend of sixpence per day. 
 
 Air. Davison continued to work in the York- 
 shire mills until he was nineteen years old, when 
 he determined to seek better fortune in a strange 
 land. Accordingly, in 1854, he embarked upon a 
 sailing vessel bound for America, and after a te- 
 dious voyage of thirty-eight days landed at New 
 York. From that city he proceeded to Rockville, 
 Conn., where he began work once more in woolen 
 mills, first at the Leeds, and later at the Rock and 
 the American mills. At the second plant named 
 he remained five months, and at the American es- 
 tablishment until 1859, '1'' which year he went to 
 Windsor, where he entered the mills of Billings & 
 Brown, with whom he remained for three years. 
 The next year he spent at Windsor Locks, and the 
 twelve months following in the mill of Charles 
 Fox, at Stafford Springs. After leaving Mr. Fox 
 he entered the employ of another woolen manu- 
 facturer, by the name of Julian Converse, at Staf- 
 ford Springs, remaining at these mills for about 
 six years. In 1871 he returned to his native land, 
 on a visit of three months. On his return to this 
 country he located at Thomaston, Conn., where he 
 was employed in the mills until 1873. The year 
 1874 he passed at Alonson, Mass., and the four 
 )^ears following at Seymour, Conn., where he acted 
 as engineer in the woolen mills until 1878. His 
 next move was to Alanchester, where he took a 
 position in the Hilliard Woolen Alills. Some years 
 later — in 1887 — he removed to Somerville, and af- 
 ter a few months of work there returned to A-Ian- 
 chester and again entered the employ of the Hil- 
 liards. In 1888, having accumulated sufficient 
 means to enable him to do so, he retired from 
 labor. 
 
 A'Ir. Davison has been twice married. His first 
 wife, to whom he was united on Sept. 7, 1857, was 
 Aliss Alary Pierce, of Somers, Conn. She died in 
 September, 1891, and on Feb. i, 1893, he was mar- 
 ried a second time. There was no issue by either 
 marriage. Our subject's political affiliation is with 
 the Democratic party. Air. Davison's success af- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1469 
 
 fords a striking illustration of the results attainable 
 by industry and thrift. His education has been 
 obtained altogether outside of the school room, but 
 his native grit and indomitable perseverance, to- 
 gether with his intercourse with the world, have 
 made him what he is. Compelled to labor while 
 yet a mere child, he has never yielded to discour- 
 agement, and has hewn out his own road to for- 
 tune. He is possessed of a fair competence, and 
 owns, among other properties, four fine, modern, 
 double tenement houses on School street, in South 
 Manchester. 
 
 ■ L. SAUER, a well-known business man of 
 Unionville, and the present efficient treasurer of 
 the town of Farmington, was born in Bavaria, 
 Germany, Nov. i8, 1857. His parents, Joseph and 
 Barbara (Koeniger) Sauer, and also his grand- 
 parents, Joseph and Kathrina Sauer, spent their 
 entire lives in Bavaria. There our subject ac- 
 quired a good education in his native tongue, and 
 at the age of sixteen years commenced learning 
 the butcher business in Wurzburg, serving an ap- 
 prenticeship of a year and a half, and paying $60 
 for the privilege of learning. 
 
 Before he attained the age of eighteen Mr. 
 Sauer came to the United States and located in 
 New Haven, where he worked in a meat market 
 for seven years. It was in 1882 that he came to 
 Unionville, where he was in the employ of J. A. 
 Merriman for six years, but for over eleven 
 years he has engaged in the meat business on his 
 own account with good success, having built up 
 quite a profitable trade. His prosperity is due en- 
 tirely to his industry, perseverance and well-direct- 
 ed efforts, for he began life here empty-handed, 
 a stranger in a strange land, and unfamiliar with 
 the English language. 
 
 In New Haven, Mr. Sauer was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Sophia Rexroth, a native of Can- 
 ton, Conn., and to them have been born three chil- 
 dren: Leonora, Nettie Ray and Eva Elizabeth. In 
 the fall of 1898 Mr. Sauer was elected treasurer 
 of Farmington on the Democratic ticket, and is 
 now acceptably filling that office. Socially he is a 
 member of Evening Star Lodge, No. loi, F. & A. 
 M., of Unionville; Phoenix Lodge, No. 52, I. O. 
 O. F., of New Britain; Agenda Lodge, No. 31, K. 
 P. ; and of the I. O. R. M. 
 
 EDGAR WESLEY MOTT, a well-known and 
 highly-esteemed citizen of Kensington, was born at 
 Haverstraw, N. Y., Sept. 12, 1851. His ancestors 
 on his paternal side were French, while his moth- 
 er's family was among the early Dutch settlers of 
 Manhattan Island. The Motts also were among 
 the earliest immigrants from the Old World. Both 
 families are noted for their longevity. 
 
 Mr. Mott's paternal grandfather, Hemion Mott, 
 attained the extraordinary age of one hundred and 
 four vears, and his grandmother (nee Acker) 
 lived to be ninety-nine. The graves of both' are at 
 
 Paterson, N. J. Hemion Mott was an ardent pa- 
 triot, and attested his devotion to his country by 
 serving in the struggle of 1776 and in the war of 
 1812. He was a blacksmith by trade, prosperous 
 and well-to-do, and at one time owned the greater 
 part of what is now Mechanic street, in Paterson, 
 to-day one of the principal business thoroughfares 
 of that city. 
 
 William j\Iott, the father of Edgar W., was born 
 in Rockland county, N. Y., Feb. 8, 1801. He mar- 
 ried Susan Hemion, who was born Feb. 26, 1810, 
 at Paterson, N. J. He, too, was a blacksmith, a 
 man of quiet, unpretentious tastes and life, indus- 
 trious, and possessed of some means. In 1836 he 
 took up his residence in Haverstraw, N. Y., where 
 he died April 9, 1854, continuing his work at the 
 forge until called away by death. His widow sur- 
 vived him for nearly forty years, passing away 
 Jan. 2, 1894, at Haverstraw, within a stone's throw 
 of her former home. To William Mott and his wife 
 were born six sons and three daughters, all of 
 whom are living except one, Benjamin Franklin, 
 who died at Haverstraw May 6, 1837. All are 
 married. 
 
 Edgar W. Mott's early educational advantages 
 were of the most meagre sort, being confined to 
 nme months' attendance at the public schools of 
 Haverstraw. The reasons for this short school 
 training can be soon told. When a mere child he 
 was attacked by a disease of his left hip joint, 
 which confined him at home for several years. His 
 father died when he was but three years old, and 
 the enlistment of his older brothers in the Union 
 army, in 1861, obliged him to go to work to aid in 
 the support of his mother. Filial devotion to his 
 mother has been one of Mr. Mott's characteristics 
 through life, and for many years he remained un- 
 married in order that he might the better provide 
 for her a home and a comfortable maintenance in 
 her declining years. He began working before he 
 had reached the age of twelve, driving a coal wag- 
 on for nine months, for fifty cents a day. The 
 next three years he was employed as an errand 
 boy in the Warren foundry, and then returned to 
 the coal yard, where he was able to command a 
 dollar a day. After twelve months so spent he se- 
 cured (although then only between fifteen and six- 
 teen years of age) a situation as engineer in the 
 brickyards of E. & S. Snedeker, of Haverstraw. 
 This position he held for ten months, when he re- 
 turned to the foundry with the intention of learn- 
 ing the trade of a machinist. After two years 
 spent in this pursuit he went to Paterson, where 
 for a year he was employed in the Grant Locomo- 
 tive Works. From Paterson he went to Newark, 
 N. J., where for eighteen months he worked as a 
 machinist in the Hatts-Campbell Engine ^^^orks. 
 At the end of that time he went back to Haver- 
 straw, where for three seasons he was engineer in 
 the brickyards, being first employed by John Brock- 
 way, and afterward by Denoyeiles & Virdin. His 
 next removal was to Farmingdale, L. I., where 
 
1470 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 for a }-ear he ran the engine in the brickyard of 
 A. T. Stewart & Co. From that place he went to 
 Kingston, N. Y., wliere he was given supervision 
 of all the drilling machinery in use by \\ arren & 
 Hunter, contractors for excavating and construct- 
 ing a tunnel on the line of the \Vest Shore rail- 
 road. This work completed, he once more re- 
 turned to Haverstraw, to become an engineer in 
 the brickyard of T. G. Peck & Co., for one season, 
 after which he filled a similar "position for eight 
 months with the Ouinnipiac Brick Co., of New 
 Haven, Conn., and afterward for five years with 
 P. Sharres, of the same place. On leaving this 
 situation he engaged in the business of crushing 
 stone and farming in copartnership with a Mr. 
 Lewis, under the firm name of Alott & Lewis. 
 The concern had a contract with the town of 
 Hampden, but after a year sold out to Stiles & 
 liruce, Mr. Mott remaining in the employ of the 
 new firm for a year and a half, and being given 
 ■charge of the crushing machinery. His next loca- 
 tion was at Berlin, in Hartford county, where for 
 two and a half years he was engineer for the C. P. 
 ^lerwin Brick Co. Going from Berlin to New 
 Britain, he entered the P. & F. Corbin factory, as 
 a brass turner. After nine months, however, he 
 abandoned this position to engage in the confec- 
 tionery and ice-cream business, opening a place in 
 his own home, on the depot road, in Berlin. He 
 also conducts a bicycle repair shop. 
 
 ;\Ir. Mott has been essentially the architect and 
 builder of his own success. Threatened with a 
 grave physical malformation in childhood, de- 
 prived of even ordinary educational advantages, 
 obliged while yet very young to encounter all the 
 trials and discouragements incident to hard work 
 for scanty pay, his industry has never flagged, and 
 his perseverance has never wearied. Through his 
 own unaided efforts he has passed successfully 
 through many struggles, but his indomitable cour- 
 age, firm purpose and high moral sense have ena- 
 bled him to conquer. He owns about five acres of 
 land in Kensington, which he purchased from M. 
 E. Jacobs in 1894. He is a member of the A. O. 
 U. W. lodge in New Britain, and while in Haver- 
 straw belonged to the Order of Good Templars. 
 In politics he is a Republican, as were his father 
 and grandfather. Both he and his wife attend the 
 Congregational Church of Kensington. Mrs. 
 Mott is a daughter of Charles and Caroline Forst, 
 of Hoboken, N. J., both -of whom are yet living 
 (1899). Her first husband was engaged in the ice 
 business in New York City, and the issue of her 
 union with him was two children: Addie Mary, 
 "born in 1878, and James Elmer, born in 1883. 
 Both live at home. Mr. and Mrs. Mott have no 
 children. 
 
 LOUIS G. WILEY, senior member of the 
 firm of L. G. Wiley & Son, a printing firm of high 
 reputation in Hartford, has passed the greater 
 part of his active life in that city. 
 
 Mr. Wiley comes of substantial New England 
 stock, and his grandfather, Samuel Wiley, a na- 
 tive of JNlassachusetts, was a representative of one 
 of the early families of that State, the VVileys 
 having settled in Lynn about 1636. Samuel Wiley 
 was a shoemaker, and followed his trade to some 
 extent, and being a musician of considerable ability 
 also taught vocal music. In 1830, when forty years 
 of age, he came to Hartford, and here followed 
 the profession of music teacher. His wife died 
 in 1866. 
 
 William H. Wiley, father of our subject, was 
 born Sept. 12, 1821, in Wakefield, Mass., and 
 came to Hartford when ten years of age. He re- 
 ceived his education in the common schools. For 
 a time he was employed as steward on steamers 
 plying between Hartford and New York, but even- 
 tually learned the trade of shoemaker, thus entering 
 the principal business of his life. For a time he 
 lived in South Reading, Mass., where he became 
 well known, taking an active part in the affairs of 
 the town ; he presented the public school there with 
 a flag. However, his life was for the most part 
 spent in Hartford, where for a number of years 
 he was superintendent of the shoe department of 
 the Deaf & Dumb Asylum. He also conducted a 
 shoe store on North Main street, and later be- 
 came a member of the firm of Wiley, Kellogg & 
 2\Ia\nard for three years, they engaging in the 
 manufacture of shoes on an extensive scale. Tak- 
 ing up the insurance business, he became agent 
 for several companies, and subsequently was en- 
 gaged three years with the Jewell Belting Co., 
 "on the road" as salesman, and one year with the 
 J. B. Hoyt Belting Co., of New York. In 1875 
 he commenced the overgaiter business, in which 
 he remained permanently, opening a small place on 
 Asylum street, with two men. In time he found 
 himself in command of a large trade, which ex- 
 panded from year to year until, in 1889, it was 
 necessary to remove the business to more commodi- 
 ous quarters, and it was established in the build- 
 ing still occupied by the William H. Wiley & Son 
 Co., a structure 140x25 feet in dimensions, and 
 three stories in height, originally erected by the 
 Hartford Life Insurance Co. Here he continued 
 in prosperous business until his death, and was re- 
 garded as one of the most substantial business men 
 in Hartford. Mr. Wiley was a prominent member 
 of the Board of Trade, and was deeply interested 
 in the welfare and progress of his adopted city, 
 served on the Arsenal School committee, and in 
 many ways displayed commendable public spirit. 
 He was very patriotic, and was active in getting 
 up Fourth of July celebrations, especially the floral 
 procession which proved such a success. Though 
 actively interested in politics, he never held office. 
 He was a veteran fireman, having served many 
 years in the volunteer department ; was a member 
 of the Governor's Foot Guard, in which he held 
 office a number of years ; was for many years a 
 member and officer of Charter Oak Lodge and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1471 
 
 Midian Encampment, I. O. O. F. ; was identified 
 with the Sons of the Revolution, his great-grand- 
 father having been a member of the regiment 
 commanded by CoL David Green, in tlie Revo- 
 kitionary war; and was a member of tlie Historical 
 Society. Mr. Wiley was at one time identified 
 with the North Baptist Church, Hartford, and later 
 with Dr. Stone's Church, in which he served as 
 deacon, and in the organization of which he 
 was one of the prime movers. He was assist- 
 ant superintendent of the Sunday-school for many 
 3'ears. He and Dr. Stone were warm personal 
 friends. A man of great ambition and commen- 
 surate energy, thoroughly successful in business, 
 alive to every interest for the good of his city, 
 kind-hearted, liberal and charitable, Mr. Wiley 
 made a place for himself among the best people 
 of Hartford as a self-made man worthy the pros- 
 perity which attended his efforts. His means as 
 they increased were used judiciously for increased 
 benefit to his fellowmen, as well as for additional 
 personal comforts and luxuries, and his death, on 
 A'ov. 8, 1892, when he was seventy-two 3''ears of 
 age, was widely and sincerely lamented. He was 
 an indefatigable worker up to the time of his de- 
 cease. He built three dwelling-houses in Hartford. 
 Mr. Wiley married, in 1845, Miss Miranda 
 Griswold, a native of Simsbury, this county, only 
 child of John and Eunice (Eno) Griswold. Mrs. 
 Eunice (Eno) Griswold was born in Simsbury, 
 belonging to an old family of that town, and died 
 at the age of eighty-four years. Ten children were 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Wiley, six now living: Louis 
 G., whose name introduces this sketch; Annie A., 
 wife of Edward C. Frisbie, of the firm of Talcott, 
 Frisbie & Co., wholesale druggists, Hartford; 
 Edward N., of the firm of Webster, Wiley & Co., 
 general insurance agents, Chicago, also manager 
 of the branch factory of W. H. Wiley & Son Co. 
 there; Lyman A., assistant treasurer of the Peo- 
 ple's Gas Co., in Chicago, who was formerly teller 
 ■of the Charter Oak Bank, Hartford, where he is 
 also well known ; J. Allen, now president of the 
 William H. Wiley & Son Co., Hartford; and Clar- 
 ence H., who is in the patent letter-file business, 
 Hartford. The mother still survives. She is a 
 member of the Asylum Avenue Baptist Church, 
 Dr. Stone's church. 
 
 Louis G. Wiley was born Nov. 8, 1850, in Hart- 
 ford, "where he spent his early years, and received 
 his education in the common schools and the old 
 g, Arsenal School. After commencing work he was 
 f -with his father for a time, but he learned the 
 printer's trade, with an uncle, and followed same 
 as journeyman for twelve years, later becoming 
 foreman of an office in Worcester, Mass. He was 
 also journeyman two years with Case & Lock- 
 wood, the largest concern in that line in Hartford, 
 hefore commencing business on his own account, 
 in 1893. His establishment is located at No. 41 
 Trumbull street, and occupies an entire floor, com- 
 pletely equipped for illustrating, designing, steel 
 
 plate, catalogue and mercantile printing, the firm 
 at present being L. G. Wiley & Son. The office 
 is nnely fitted up. From eight to twelve men are 
 employed, and tne work is first-class in every par- 
 ticular. Mr. Wiley has endeavored to make his 
 way in the world by merit, but there is no doubt 
 that his attractive personal qualities have also had 
 their share in his success. His cordial, outspoken 
 manner, honesty and uprightness, manifest m all 
 his dealings with his fellow men, have won him tb.e 
 sincere good-will of all with whom he comes in 
 contact. Socially he is well known, being a mem- 
 ber of the O. U. A. M.; the A. O. U. W.; the 
 Veteran Corps of Putnam Phalanx ; the Gentlemen's 
 Driving Club ; and the Veteran Association of the 
 City Guard, of which he was an active member 
 eight years, belonging to Company K. He is a 
 well-known snare drummer, and was a drummer 
 for the regiment for ten years. Mr. Wiley's po- 
 litical support is given to the Republican party, but 
 though interested in its success he has never been 
 persuaded to accept office. 
 
 Li 1872 Mr. Wiley married Miss Carrie Jack- 
 son, and they have had four children: Louis, who 
 is a dentist in Thimpsonville, Conn., married Nina 
 Ranney, and has two children, Lucile and Muriel ; 
 Robert E., a graduate of the Hartford Public 
 High School, and a promising young business man, 
 is in business with his father ; Herbert is in the in- 
 surance business, holding a position with the Scot- 
 tish Alliance Co. ; Mabel is the wife of Christo- 
 pher Cuchney, an electrician. Mrs. Wiley is a na- 
 tive of Hartford. Her father, Dr. Louis W. Jack- 
 son, was a lieutenant in the Civil war, serving with 
 the 1st Connecticut Artillery, took part in many 
 engagements, among others the actions before Pe- 
 tersburg, and made a fine record for bravery. He 
 was a policeman for many years in Hartford, and 
 was presented by the police of the city with a fine 
 sword. Of his family only two are living: Carrie, 
 Mrs. Wiley; and William, who is a resident of 
 Glastonbury, Hartford county. 
 
 MISS RUTH THOMPSON SPERRY, local 
 historian and genealogist, whose death occurred 
 Feb. 22, 1900, at the home of her mother at East 
 Windsor Hill, had become widely known to the 
 people of her locality, Hartford county and the 
 State, through her valuable historical work, which 
 brought her into prominence. 
 
 Miss Sperry was born July 4, 1854, at East 
 Windsor Hill, in the town of South Windsor, a 
 daughter of the late Daniel Gilbert and Harriet 
 Frances (Pelton) Sperry, and on her father's side 
 was a lineal descendant of Richard Sperry, who 
 came to New Haven in 1643 ; while on her mother's 
 side she was a lineal descendant of John Pelton, 
 who came to Boston in 1634, more of the details 
 of her ancestry being set forth in the sketch of her 
 brother, Hon. Lewis Sperry, former Congressman 
 from the Hartford district. 
 
 Miss Sperry was graduated from Mount Hoi- 
 
1472 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 yoke (Mass.) College in the class of 1875, with su- 
 perior scholarship. Her literary tastes were di- 
 rected into historical channels. She rendered Dr. 
 Stiles valuable assistance in preparing his "History 
 of Ancient Windsor," in the preface to which he 
 pays her the following coniplunent : "Providence 
 has supplied me with a most efficient helper in i\Iiss 
 Ruth Sperry, of East Windsor Hill, to whose un- 
 wearied enthusiasm and tact in the collection of 
 material, both historical and genealogical, the good 
 people of East and South Windsor will owe far 
 more than they can ever repay." 
 
 Aliss Sperry evinced great aptitude for this line 
 of work as well as capacity, and was most thorough 
 and painstaking. Her methods of research were 
 peculiarly her own, and once started on a subject 
 she followed it up with a persistency and patience 
 known only to the few. Her enthusiasm was great, 
 and she threw her very soul into what to her was 
 most fascinating and a labor of love. She could be 
 seen in the attics of her ancient town in search for 
 papers, records and odd documents that might 
 throw light upon its venerable history ; and in the 
 graveyards, removing the moss-covered and long 
 obscured letters from the tombstones of the long 
 silent dead. She was an enthusiastic lover of old 
 manuscripts and books, and possessed a valuable 
 collection. She prepared most carefully a complete 
 history of the towns of East and South Windsor 
 in the war of the Revolution, rescuing from ob- 
 livion much valuable history, and for this work the 
 people of those towns and the State are under a 
 lasting" debt of gratitude to her. 
 
 Miss Sperry was petite and sprightly in per- 
 son, and an entertaining and original conversation- 
 alist. Possessed of many womanly virtues, she 
 attracted to her manv friends. She was a member 
 of the First Congregational Church of South Wind- 
 sor. Miss Sperrv became an authority in the gen- 
 ealogies of the Windsors, and great were the de- 
 mands made upon her by descendants of the fam- 
 ilies of those towns, both local and distant, so 
 much so that her strength was probably overtaxed. 
 At the time of her death, the following is one of 
 the resolutions passed by Martha Pitkin Wolcott 
 Chapter, of Hartford, of the Daughters of the 
 American Revolution : 
 
 Resolved, That this Chapter place upon formal record 
 its grateful appreciation of the valuable services rendered 
 by Miss Sperry to Revolutionary History, and especially to 
 East Windsor and South Windsor and their descendants, 
 in the painstaking and exhaustive historical work she has 
 done for her native town, through which much has been 
 preserved, that, except for her labor of love, would have 
 been lost to posterity. 
 
 EDWIN DWIGHT GRA\^ES, civil engineer, 
 Hartford, with offices in the ./Etna Life Insurance 
 building, though yet a young man, has, by applica- 
 tion to his profession and innate ability, placed him- 
 self among the leaders of his profession. 
 
 Born Oct. 5, 1865, at Orono, Maine, a son of 
 Perez Boardman and Atbie M. (Colburn) Graves, 
 
 our subject is a representative of one of the early 
 settlers of Hartford and vicinity, and later of Hat- 
 iield, Mass. Thomas Gr.ves, the emigrant ances- 
 tor of the branch of the Graves famuy of which 
 the subject of this sketch is a member, born in 
 1585, in England, came to New England with his 
 wife Sarah and live children before 1645, the first 
 record of him in this country being m 1645 '''^ 
 Hartford, Conn., where he and family then re- 
 sided. They were intelligent members of society 
 and prominent in religious and public aiTairs. 
 Thomas Graves died m 1662 in Hatfield, Aiass., 
 whither he had moved in 166 1. 
 
 From this Thomas Graves our subject is a de- 
 scendant in the ninth generation, his line being 
 through Isaac, Jonathan, Jonathan (2), Joseph, 
 Perez, Joseph {2), and Perez Boardman Graves. 
 
 (II J Isaac Graves, son of Thomas, the settler, 
 born in England as early as 1620, came to New 
 England with his father's family, and settled in 
 Hartford, Conn., before 1645. He married Mary, 
 daughter of Richard and Ann Church, who came 
 to New England in 1637. He removed to Flatfield, 
 ]\Iass., in 1 661, and took an active part in the affairs 
 of that settlement, as he had at Hartford. He was 
 sergeant of the Colonial militia and clerk of writs 
 for the town. He figured in having Hatfield set 
 off from Hadley, and was prominent generally in 
 the aftairs of the community. Fie was killed in 
 the Indian attack on the Flatfield settlement Sept. 
 19, 1677. His wife died in 1695. 
 
 (III) Jonathan Graves, son of Isaac, born in 
 1666, married (first) Sarah, daughter of John and 
 Sarah (Atherton) Parsons. Mr. Graves died in 
 1 7 10, and Mrs. Graves in 1737. They resided in 
 Hatfield, Massachusetts. 
 
 (IV) Jonathan Graves (2), son of Jonathan, 
 born in 1702, married Margaret, daughter of Na- 
 thaniel and Rebecca (Stebbins) Strong, and re- 
 moved from Hatfield to Belchertown between 1731 
 and 1736. Mr. Graves died in 1787, and his wife 
 in 1769. 
 
 (V) Joseph Graves, son of Jonathan (2), born 
 in 1735, in Belchertown. Mass., married in 1761 
 Eunice, born in 1742, daughter of Nathaniel and 
 Hannah (Lyman) Dwight, of Belchertown. Mr. 
 Graves was a patriot of the Revolution, serving as 
 a lieutenant in the 5th Company, 4th Regiment of 
 Hampshire troops. His death occurred in 1796, 
 and that of his widow in 1807. 
 
 (VI) Perez Graves, son of Joseph, born in 
 1764, married in 1795 Anna, daughter of Philip 
 and Elizabeth (Winslow) Spencer, of Belchertown, 
 Mass., and resided there until 1826, then removed 
 to Orono, Maine. Mr. Graves died in 1827, and 
 his widow in 1849. He was a substantial citizen, 
 and for many years a deacon in the Congregational 
 Church. 
 
 (VII) Joseph Graves (2), son of Perez, born 
 in 1805, married in 1834 Augusta Johnson, of 
 Jackson, Maine. She died soon afterward, and he 
 survived until 1887, dying at Orono, Maine, June 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 147a 
 
 ly, of that 3-ear. He was a lumber dealer, and later 
 a farmer. 
 
 (VIII) Perez Boardman Graves, son of Joseph 
 (2), and the father of Edwin Dwight Graves, of 
 Hartford, born Nov. 15, 1835, in Orono, Maine, 
 married July 5, 1863, at Orono, Abbie Marie Col- 
 burn, born Feb. 4, 1838, daughter of Abram Col- 
 burn, a farmer of Orono, and a descendant of an 
 early family in Maine. Mr. Graves was reared on 
 a farm in Orono, and on the death of his father 
 became the possessor of the homestead, where he 
 was engaged in agricultural pursuits. His politi- 
 cal affiliations were with the Republican part}'. 
 His death occurred June 14, 1884. He held the 
 respect and esteem of the communit)' in which he 
 lived. His children are : Edwin Dwight, and Jo- 
 seph Colburn, who was born Sept. 3, 1870, in 
 Orono, was graduated with the degree of i\I. E. 
 from the University of -Maine, and is now in the 
 employ of the Otis Elevator Co., pf New York. 
 The mother of these sons is living on the homestead 
 in Orono. She is identified with the Congrega- 
 tional Church. 
 
 Edwin Dwight Graves, the subject proper of 
 this review, attended the public schools of his native 
 town, and then took a course in civil engineering 
 at the University of Maine, at Orono, from which 
 he was graduated in 1886. After this event he 
 began his professional career, occupied in the con- 
 struction of railroads in the State of Maine, in the 
 capacity of chief engineer of the Somerset railroad 
 from 1886 to 1890. In the latter year he came to 
 the State of Connecticut, and has since devoted 
 himself to the specialty of bridge building. Mr. 
 Graves designed, and was in charge of the construc- 
 tion of, the bridge crossing the Connecticut river 
 at Thompsonville, and following this he designed 
 and built the new toll-bridge over the Connecticut 
 river at Middletown, which is the longest draw- 
 span operated b}' electricity in this country. He 
 also built the bridge crossing the Connecticut at 
 White River Junction, Vt. Mr. Graves has also 
 given some time in the line of steel frame building, 
 and has had charge of the construction of a num- 
 ber of steel frame buildings erected in New York, 
 including some of the "sky-scrapers" in that me- 
 tropolis and elsewhere over the country. He drew 
 the plans for the large building in Hartford known 
 as th« Coliseum. He located in Hartford in 1896 
 - — two hundred and fifty years and more from the 
 time of the coming to this point of his first Ameri- 
 can ancestor — as chief engineer for the Connecti- 
 cut River Bridge and Highway District Commis- 
 sion, since which time he has given his ability and 
 energies to the plans of the new structure which is 
 to span the Connecticut, from Hartford to East 
 Hartford, and which will involve the expenditure 
 of a million and a half dollars, require several 
 3rears in construction, and be one of the finest 
 bridges of its class in this country. Engineer 
 Graves is one of the energetic and live men of 
 Hartford, thoroughly in love with his calling, and 
 93 
 
 most proficient, and, if we mistake not, will Le 
 heard from in no uncertain sounds in the line of 
 engineering. 
 
 On Oct. 6, 1890, Mr. Graves was married to 
 May Bell Parlin, born in North Anson, Maine, a 
 daughter of J. J. Parlin (deceased),- who was a 
 lawyer of prominence in that town, and who served 
 in the Maine State Legislature and as a member of 
 the State Central committee. By his wife, Saralx 
 (Butler), he had two children: ^lay Bell, wife o£ 
 our subject; and Leon, living in North Anson with, 
 his mother. To Mr. and Mrs. E. D. Graves have, 
 been born two children: Margaret E. and Justin. 
 D. Our subject is a member of the Ameri- 
 can Society of Civil Engineers; of the Connecticut 
 Civil Engineers and Surveyors Association, of 
 which latter he was elected vice-president in 1898^,. 
 president in 1889, and re-elected in 1900; member 
 of the Engineers Club of New York ; the Engi- 
 neers Club of Philadelphia; the Franklin Institute 
 of Philadelphia, organized in 1825; the Interna- 
 tional Association for Testing Materials; the Hart- 
 ford Club; the Republican Club; the Hartford Golf 
 Club; of the Beta Theta Pi college fraternity; and 
 also a member of Connecticut Commandery of the, 
 Militarjr Order of Foreign Wars. 
 
 JOSEPH SCHWAB. A fine example of for- 
 titude and fidelit}^ to duty is found in the life his- 
 tory of Joseph Schwab, one of the honored citizens 
 of Hartford. Both in public service and in his 
 business activity he has won the esteem of his fel- 
 low men, and now in the afternoon of life enjoys 
 a well-earned competency. He conducts a general 
 insurance agency at No. 51 Trumbull street, in the 
 building of the Hartford Fire Insurance Company. 
 
 JMr. Schwab was born in Gruenstadt, Rhenish 
 Bavaria, Germany, June 3, 1826, the youngest son 
 of Jacob and Miriam (Sauer) Schwab, and grand- 
 son of Elias Schwab. Jacob Schwab, the father, 
 was a butcher by trade, and followed that business 
 at Gruenstadt, his native town. He served in Na- 
 poleon's "Young Guard," and of his regiment of 
 2,000 meia, who took part in that fearful cam- 
 paign in Russia, all perished but twenty-eight, he- 
 being among the survivors. In recognition of his- 
 brave service during that campaign he was pre- 
 sented by Louis Napoleon with a bronze cross of 
 honor, which his son still possesses. Later he took 
 part in the historic battle of Leipsic, under a Swe- 
 dish general of the allied armies, who had admired 
 his soldierly qualities. In 1853 he came to America,, 
 bringing his wife and four children — two sons and 
 two daughters — and with his oldest son, Moritz, 
 started in the butcher business in New York, where 
 he lived until his death, in 1863, at the age of sev- 
 entv-one years. Moritz continued this business 
 after the father's death up to the time of his own 
 death, in 1879. The mother, nee Miriam Sauer, 
 was born in Bayreuth, Germany, and had four chil- 
 dren, of whom Joseph was the youngest, and is the 
 onlv survivor. She lived to be nearly one hundred 
 
1474 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years old, and was a very active woman. The par- 
 ents were both of the Jewish faith. 
 
 Joseph Schwab passed his early years at his 
 birthplace, Gruenstaat, where he was educated in 
 the common and high schools, studying Latin and 
 French, and .graduaimg at fourteen, far in advance 
 of his years. On account of straitened means 
 his father was unable to gratify his wish to enter 
 the Universit}-, so he took a position as copyist in a 
 law office, where his knowledge of Latin was of 
 considerable advantage. Mere he remained three 
 years, and then entered a mercantile house in Buehl, 
 Grand Duchy of Baden, engaged in the manufacture 
 of knitting yarns. Here faithful and efficient serv- 
 ice advanced him to the position of manager, which 
 he held for the five years prior to his coming to 
 America. During the early years of his connection 
 with this firm he took part in the Revolution which 
 broke out in Germany in 1848. Believing that there 
 would be better opportunities for his ability in a 
 foreign land, he consented to the removal of his 
 father's family to America, which was accomplished 
 in 1853. He resigned as manager of the knitting 
 yarn mills and sailed for the New World, bringing 
 with him credentials of a high character. Upon ar- 
 riving in New York, he applied for and obtained the 
 position of bookkeeix^r in the American branch_ of 
 the great international banking house of Philip 
 Speyer & Co., whose home office was in Frankfort- 
 on-the-Main. After two years' service with Speyer 
 & Co., he resigned, and, at the earnest solicitation of 
 a cousin, then engaged in the millinery and dry- 
 goods business in Hartford, he came here and ac- 
 quired a part interest in the enterprise. Two years 
 later his cousin removed to New York, and Mr. 
 Schwab, buving his interest, conducted the business 
 alone for one vear, then formed a partnership with 
 Julius Wallach, under the firm name of Wallach & 
 Schwab. This firm continued in successful ope- 
 ration of the greater part of eighteen years, but 
 owing to the depression in business, disolved part- 
 nership in 1S77. During the last few yearsof its 
 existence the firm had invested extensively in real 
 estate, and during the panic which followed they 
 lost heavily. Nothing daunted, however, Mr. 
 Schwab entered the insurance business as an agent, 
 and valiantly began to retrieve his shattered for- 
 tunes. He pursued the business of general solic- 
 itor with indomitable perseverance, and success 
 crowned his efforts, ^^■hile no longer striving, or ex- 
 pecting to be wealthy, he has placed himself on a 
 firm financial basis, and is reckoned as one of the 
 successful business men of the city. He represents 
 a number of the largest companies, and as a member 
 of the Hartford Board of Fire Underwriters can 
 write policies in any fire insurance company author- 
 ized in the State of Connecticut. He has served 
 eighteen years as manager of the Germania Life 
 Insurance Co. of New York, for the New England 
 States. 
 
 Honesty, coupled with a determination to win, 
 'has been the keynote of Mr. Schwab's life. An 
 
 indication of the high regard in which he is held 
 by his fellow citizens may be gained by a summary 
 of his public services. For more than a quarter of a 
 century he has been elected year after year to serve 
 as a member of the High School Committee. He 
 was first elected in 1870, when the building then used 
 for that purpose was small, poorly ventilated and 
 poorly equipped. To-day the High School building, 
 the pride of every citizen of Fiartford, the hand- 
 somest, largest and best equipped of its kind in the 
 New England States, if not in the Union, stands 
 largely as a monument to his indefatigable ambition 
 to give Hartford the finest High School which 
 money could procure. This building was completed 
 in 1899. Probably no man in the State has served 
 so continuously upon any committee of a public 
 school. Mr. Schwab served three years as police 
 commissioner of the city, and has been a delegate to 
 a number of conventions. He has been Treasurer 
 of the High School Committee for the past twelve 
 years. In 18C9 he was chairman of the committee 
 on the celebration of the Humboldt Centennial, and 
 practicall}- had charge of all the details. 
 
 Mr. Schwab was married, in 1850, to Johanna 
 Wertheimer, who was born in Buehl, Grand Duchy 
 of Baden, where he lived during the nine years 
 prior to his coming to America. She was a wortian 
 of rare literary tastes, and her family was highly 
 respected. To Mr. Schwab and wife were born 
 eight children, seven of whom are living, namely : 
 (i) Emil, a newspaper man, is living in Boston, 
 where he has editorial charge of the publications of 
 the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co. (2) 
 Otto, who is vice-president of the Southern Furni- 
 ture Co., of Atlanta, Ga., married Ida Newelt, and 
 has two children, Robert and Richard. (3) Gustav, 
 who is the representative of a New York importing 
 house at Boston, married Caroline Fox, and has one 
 son, Lawrence. (4) Alice, widow of the late Simon 
 C. Metzger, of the firm of Gallup & Metzger; has 
 two children, Clarence and Robert. (5) Martha has, 
 since the death of her mother, conducted the house- 
 hold of her father. (6) Emma is married to Fred- 
 erick J. Curnick, a broker of New York. (7) Jose- 
 phine Hortense, a graduate of the Hartford High 
 School, and of the Normal School at New Britain, 
 is now teaching at the Brown school. Mrs. Schwab 
 passed away Dec. 25, 1893, aged sixty-seven years. 
 Socially Mr. Schwab is a member of La Fayette 
 Lodge, F. & A. M., and is chairman of the trustees 
 of this lodge. The family attends the Reformed 
 Jewish Temple. 
 
 HON. ELISHA JOHNSON, whose death oc- 
 curred at his home in Hartford Feb. 18, 1891, after 
 a brief illness resulting from an attack of bronchial 
 pneumonia, was for many years one of the city's 
 substantial men and useful citizens, and a promi- 
 nent member of the Hartford County Bar. 
 
 Judge Johnson was born May i, 18 18, in Bark- 
 hamsted. Conn., son of Elisha and Hannah (Gates) 
 Johnson. He passed through the customary expe- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1475 
 
 riences known to the country boys of his day, in 
 ■the district school, on the farm, and as a teacher. 
 Having decided upon the law as a profession, he 
 xintered the Yale Law School, from which he was 
 graduated. He furthered his studies m the office 
 of Hon. Gideon Hall, at Winsted, Conn., was ad- 
 mitted to the Bar in 1841, and located in practice 
 in Plymouth, where he built up an excellent prac- 
 tice; he was for many years elected judge of Pro- 
 bate, and was sent tO' the State Senate from the 
 Sixteenth District in 1849, 1850, and 1852. 
 
 In 1855 Judge Johnson came to Hartford, where 
 he continued in the active practice of his profession 
 until his' death. He was for two years recorder of 
 the Hartford City Court, and judge of the Police 
 Court for three years, and was a member of the 
 original board of police commissioners, which or- 
 ganized the police force in i860. He was elected 
 to the State Senate from the First District in i860, 
 1861, 1870 and 1871, and to the House of Represen- 
 tatives in 1869, 1875 and 1876. He was for many 
 3'ears chairman of the school committee in the West 
 Middle district of Hartford, and served for eleven 
 3-ears as chairman of the High School committee. 
 He was appointed a member of the State Board of 
 Health in 1885, and continued in that office until 
 his death. He was one of the original members of 
 Trinit}' Church parish, and was an active officer 
 and liberal supporter of his church during his whole 
 life. For nearly twenty-five years, and until a short 
 time before his death, he was the superintendent 
 of its Sabbath-school. He was a member of the 
 Independent Order of Odd Fellows, passed all the 
 chairs, and was past grand of Hartford Lodge. 
 He was a director of the Hartford County Mutual 
 Fire Insurance Co., and of the Eagle Lock Co., of 
 Terryville, Conn. He was one of the organizers 
 and directors of The Loan & Guarantee Co. of 
 Connecticut. 
 
 The following tribute to the life of Judge John- 
 son is extracted from the obituary prepared by 
 Thomas McManus, Esq., of the Hartford County 
 Bar, and published in the Connecticut Law Re- 
 ports, 1891. 
 
 Mr. Johnson's life, private, public and professional, was 
 eminently of the useful type. He was an affectionate husband, 
 a model parent, a good neighbor,a public spirited citizen. He 
 was honest, capable and industrious. He was well equipped 
 mentally and physically for success as a legislator. His 
 frame was large, erect and well proportioned. His voice 
 was distinct, and his temper and feelings were always under 
 control. In debate he never lost his head or rashly ventured 
 into the discussion of subjects that he did not thoroughly un- 
 der stand, and so the leadership came by the cheerful consent 
 of his colleagues. Outside of purely partisan questions (in 
 which numbers, not reason, prevail ) the majority were 
 almost invariably with him. His associates had the fullest 
 confidence in his integrity and never feared a hidden trick 
 behind his advocacy. In his legal practice he excelled as 
 counsellor and preferred to secure an adjustment of differ- 
 ences between parties if possible outside the court room. 
 No one could justly accuse him of looking to his own pros- 
 pective profits in preference to the best inten^sts of his 
 - client. Every cause that he tried before the court, jury 01 
 committee, was tried honestly, intelligently, and thoroughly. 
 "He lost no case by neglect, neither did he seek to win by 
 
 unworthy procedure. He advised his clients wisely, served 
 them faithfully, and charged them reasonably. He was a 
 safe model for the young practitioner's imitation. Every 
 dollar that he collected was honestly accounted for to his 
 principals. Every possibility of failure was frankly ex- 
 plained to the expectant litigant. During his professional 
 life there were many young men who studied I'n his office 
 and under his direction, but no one of them ever deflected 
 trom the straight line of professional or personal integrity, 
 by reason of his advice or example, in things great and 
 small. 
 
 While a resident of Pl3'mouth, Judge Johnson 
 was married to Miss Catherine Talmadge, daugh- 
 ter of Edwin Talmadge, of Plymouth. Her death 
 in August, 1889, was a shock from which he never 
 rallied, and his rapid decline in health from that 
 time was painfully evident to his friends. Four 
 children were born to this marriage, three of whom 
 are living, Frank E., Katherine (who married El- 
 bert B. Taylor, of Westminster, Md.), and Mary E. 
 Of these children, Frank E. Johnson was born 
 Jan. 12, 1863, in Hartford, and was educated in 
 the public schools and in Trinity College, having 
 been graduated from the latter in 1884. After this 
 event he studied law for a year, then became sec- 
 retary of The Loan & Guarantee Co., a position he 
 efficiently filled until 1895, when he succeeded to 
 the presidency of the company and remained as 
 such until 1898. In 1899 he formed a partnership 
 with Capt. N. G. Valentine and purchased the 
 Bairstow Ink Co., which later became the Barber 
 Ink Co., of which Mr. Johnson is president; N. G. 
 A/'alentine, vice-president; and W. P. Barber, sec- 
 retary and treasurer. These gentlemen are manu- 
 facturers of ''Standard" inks and mucilage. Their 
 inks are of a very fine quality for office and cop)^- 
 ing purposes. They have been tested by the State 
 chemist, and rank with the highest grade made. 
 They also manufacture white paste, ammonia and 
 bluing. The present plant of the company was 
 purchased in March, 1899. They have an extensive 
 trade throughout New England. 
 
 Sirice boyhood Capt. Johnson has been identi- 
 fied with military affairs, and has for years past 
 been extensively and prominently known in such 
 circles throughout the State. He enlisted April 27, 
 1883, in Coinpany K, First Regiment, Connecticut 
 National Guard, was promoted corporal, Feb. 12, 
 1886; sergeant, March 12, 1889; sergeant-major of 
 the First Regiment, July 22, 1893, and served m 
 such position one year. On July 21, 1894, he was 
 promoted to first lieutenant and battalion adjutant, 
 and on June 20, 1899, was promoted captain and 
 adjutant. 
 
 During the Spanish-American war Lieut. John- 
 son' was out with his regiment, serving as first lieu- 
 tenant and adjutant. Third Battalion, First Regi- 
 ment of Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, being en- 
 rolled May 4, 1898, and mustered into the United 
 States service on May 18, 1898. He was mustered 
 out of the United States service, after an honora- 
 ble record, Oct. 31, 1898. While in the L'nited 
 States service during the war. Adjutant Johnson 
 
1476 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was also acting ordnance officer. His connection 
 with the Connecticut National Guard has been un- 
 broken from his enlistment therein in 1883, he be- 
 ing only on leave of absence therefrom, through 
 grant of the State, while in the L'nited States ser- 
 vice. Since 1894 Capt. Johnson has served as ad- 
 jutant, on the staff or Colonel Edward Schulze, of 
 Hartford, commanding officer of the First Regiment 
 of Connecticut National Guard. 
 
 Socially Capt. Johnson is a member of the Co- 
 lonial Club and of the Hartford Golf Club. He 
 has kept up his membership and interest in his old 
 college Greek letter fraternity — Psi Upsilon. He 
 is a genial fellow, and popular in the community 
 and tliroughout the State. His religious connec- 
 tions are with Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church. 
 He has served, as did his father, as clerk of the 
 church, and in the corner-stone of the new edifice 
 his name appears, as did that of his father in the 
 corner-stone of the old edifice. In the past, for 
 ten or more years, Capt. Johnson was a member of 
 the church choir. 
 
 In 1889 Capt. Johnson was married to -Nliss 
 Mary E. Pattee, of Lebanon, N. H., a daughter of 
 the late Lewis C. Pattee, of that place, but who, 
 with his wife, formerly Rel>ecca Perley, later was 
 living retired in Winchester, Mass., where ^Ir. 
 Pattee died on Thanksgiving Day, 1900. Mr. Pat- 
 tee's other children living are Fred L. and Alice 
 R. To Capt. Johnson and wife was born one child, 
 Harold T. The mother died in 1891. 
 
 D.WTD D.\XIEL, one of the proprietors of 
 "The Greater Daniel Stores," No. 76 Trumbull 
 street, Hartford, and Nos. 277-279 Main street, 
 Springfield, Mass., is a native of the State of Miss- 
 issippi, born April 12, 1871, in the town of Beau- 
 regard. 
 
 Morris Daniel, his father, came to this country 
 from Prussia when quite young, and was very suc- 
 cessful as a merchant in Beauregard, jNIiss., till a 
 cyclone, in 1883. destroyed the town, an event that 
 convinced him it would be "healthier" to cast what 
 remained of his fortune in the 2\orth. Conse- 
 quently, in 1S84, he removed with his famil)^ to 
 Philadelphia, Penn., where he embarked in the 
 wholesale shirt manufacturing business, which was 
 soon changed into a retail enterprise. The estab- 
 lishment of three stores was the result, and for 
 manv vears they prospered tmder the management 
 of David Daniel and his two brothers. In 1893, the 
 elder Islr. Daniel retiring, and the brother Gustav 
 having engaged in the wholesale clothing business, 
 the subject of this sketch and his brother Harry 
 took up the retail clothing business in the East, 
 David Daniel directing the destinies of the Hartford 
 establishment, the Springfield (Mass.) store being 
 under the controlling influence of his brother Harry. 
 The Hartford store has become famous to all buyers 
 in that vicinit}' as a convenient emporium for cloth- 
 ing, shoes, hats, etc. When David Daniel com- 
 menced his business career he laid down the princi- 
 
 ple, an iron-clad one, that in every establishment 
 with which his name might be connected spot cash 
 must be the propelling and governing power, and it 
 is not necessary to here dwell upon the advantages 
 such a system gives to the customer, fhe store 
 at No. yb Trumbull street is a conspicuous success, 
 and refiects much credit upon the youthful but ag- 
 gressive mind that planned its course. 
 
 In 1892 2\Ir. Daniel married Miss Katherine 
 Galloway, of Philadelphia, and a handsome little 
 daughter, Pauline, born July 23, 1899, has blessed 
 this union. Airs. Daniel's parents are still enjoy- 
 ing life's blessings, at an advanced age. Her fa- 
 ther, John Galloway, was a member of the famous 
 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry during the Civil wai% and 
 was breveted several times for conspicuous bravery, 
 besides receiving a medal of honor from the Pres- 
 ident. 
 
 \V'hile -\Ir. Daniel is not essentially a fraternal 
 society man, still he is an active member of Hart- 
 ford Lodge, No. 88, F. & A. M., of the Hartford 
 Lodge of Elks, of the Hartford Board of Trade, 
 and of the Hartford Business Men's Association. 
 
 Mr. Daniel's mother is a sister of the celebrated 
 Southern jurist, the late Hon. Morris Marks, New 
 Orleans. The Daniel family is one of great lon- 
 gevity, our subject's grandparents on both sides 
 having passed more than fourscore milestones on 
 life's journey, and his father and mother both enjoy 
 good health at the age of sixty years. 
 
 ERASTUS S. GILBERT. The name of Gil- 
 bert has been identified with Connecticut from its 
 early settlement. The first of the name, on this 
 side of the Atlantic, were four brothers, Jonathan, 
 Thomas, Obediah, and Josiah, who came from Dev- 
 onshire, England, in 1640. 
 
 Benjamin Gilbert, great-grandfather of E. S. 
 Gilbert, born Sept. 25, 1737, in West Hartford, 
 died May 21, 1807. On Aug. 21, 1762, he married 
 Anna Butler, who was born Nov. 16, 1745, and died 
 Dec. I, 1782. Their son Charles, born Jan. 3, 1763, 
 owned a large tract of land in West Hartford. He 
 married, in 1787, Ruth Cadwell, born Oct. 3, 1763, 
 who died March 29, 1823 ; he died Oct. 7, 1812. 
 
 Benjamin Gilbert, son of Charles, and father of 
 E. S. Gilbert, was born Nov. 13, 1791. He came 
 into possession of part of his father's land, and 
 built the house still standing there, just beyond Van- 
 derbilt Hill. He engaged in the market business 
 and also carried on butchering. In 181 5 Mr. Gil- 
 bert married Rhoda Kellogg Cadwell, born May 27, 
 1796, and died Aug. 19, 1862. Of their eight chil- 
 dren, all are deceased but Seth L. The father at- 
 tended the Friends meetings held in Quaker Lane. 
 He died Dec. 11, 1868, aged seventy-eight years, and 
 his remains rest in the Quaker burying-ground. 
 
 Erastus S. Gilbert was born Feb. 10, 1822, in 
 West Hartford, the fourth child in the family. At 
 the age of eighteen he came to Hartford, to engage 
 in the meat and grocery business on State street, fill- 
 ing a vacancy made by the death of his brother \ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1477 
 
 Benjamin. After continuing- there a number of 
 years, he removed to the southern part of the city, 
 where he carried on the same Hne of trade. By econ- 
 omy, honesty and strict adherence to business princi- 
 ples, coupled with sound judgment and strong will, 
 he accumulated a handsome fortune. The last five 
 3-ears of his life were spent in retirement. Mr. Gil- 
 bert, passed away April 15, 189 1. at the age of sixtj^- 
 nine years. He attended the French Church, and 
 later the South Church, in Hartford. 
 
 Erastus S. Gilbert married Nov. 16, 1843, Eliza- 
 beth Seymour, of Rocky Hill, now known as Fair- 
 field Avenue, and to this union were born two 
 daughters, both of whom survive : E. Louise Bod- 
 well, widow of J. Herbert Bodwell; and Dellie G., 
 wife of John W. Titcomb. Mrs. Gilbert lived to the 
 age of seventy-nine, passing away Jan. 17, 1899. 
 
 James Seymour, father of Mrs. Gilbert, born 
 Aug. 26, 1782, married Nov. 2, 1806, Mary Butler, 
 of Wethersfield, who was born June 19, 1785, and 
 died Sept. 28, 1826, aged forty-one years. He 
 died May 30, 1844, aged sixty-two. Of his six 
 children, Elizabeth, who married Erastus S. Gilbert, 
 was the last to pass away. 
 
 ANDREW SAMUEL DICKINSON, the owner 
 of one of the best-kept farms in the town of East 
 Windsor, descends from one of the oldest families 
 in New England, but it will suffice the purpose of 
 this sketch to state that his grandfather, John Dick- 
 inson, was born, lived and died in Haddam, Middle- 
 sex Co., Conn. He married Polly Archer, and to 
 their union were born nine children : Amos, who 
 was a sailor of Killingworth ; William, who died at 
 Deep River; Mary, Mrs. Ventress, who lived in 
 Haddam; Hettie (Mrs. Williams), whose hus- 
 band was lost at sea ; 'Ely, who lived in Chester ; 
 Nancy, who married Aaron Ayers : Hannah, who 
 with her husband died at Deep River ; Sophia, who 
 became Mrs. Asahel Tyler; and Samuel, father of 
 our subject. 
 
 Samuel Dickinson was educated in a public 
 school, learned the trade of stone-cutting, and in 
 his alter )rears became a farmer, though he worked 
 at butchering in the winter season. He married 
 Miss Elizabeth Burr, who was born in May, 1825, 
 and of whose family mention will be made farther 
 on. , To this union were born seven children, in the 
 following order : Lydia, who was first married to 
 George Burr, and after his decease was wedded 
 to Joseph Spencer ; Andrew S., the subject of this 
 biographical notice ; Eleanor, wife of Charles 
 Johnson, of Deep River ; George, in Haddam ; 
 ^lary, married to Merritt Doan, of East Windsor; 
 Hattie, wife of Albert Brainard. of Haddam ; and 
 Ellsworth, of the same town. Samuel Dickinson, 
 the father of this family, died in Haddam in 1864, 
 from sickness contracted while serving in the 
 Union army during the Civil war, and his widow 
 is still a resident of that town. 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Dickinson is a daughter of David 
 and Polly (Blatchley) Burr, and a granddaughter 
 
 of David Burr, the former of whom served in the 
 war of 1812, under Gen. Brainard, and was at 
 Saybrook during the burning of the town of Essex 
 by the British. The children of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Burr numbered seven, and were born in the fol- 
 lowing order : Henry, who died in Haddam ; La- 
 vina, wife of Darius Skinner; Stephen, who mar- 
 ried Fanu}' Lane; Benjamin, in Haddam; Eliza- 
 beth, mother of subject ; Lydia, of North Guilford ; 
 and Leander, in Middletown. 
 
 Andrew S. Dickinson, the subject of this arti- 
 cle, was born in Haddam, Nov. 26, 1848, and was 
 educated in a public school. . He lived with his 
 parents until fourteen years of age, then worked 
 three years for his uncle Henry Burr, next worked 
 a while at Deep River, then went to sea, and for 
 five years sailed in the Atlantic coast trade, con- 
 tributing in the meanwhile to the support of his 
 mother, brothers and sisters. On returning home 
 from his sea-faring life, he married at East Wind- 
 sor, Conn., Oct. 9, 1873, Miss Ida Clark, who was 
 born March 2, 1854, a daughter of John and Eliza 
 (Snow) Clark, natives of East Windsor. Mrs. 
 Eliza Clark passed away in April, 1887, and in 
 June, 1889, Mr. Clark married Libbie Clark. Mr. 
 Dickinson's family consists of seven children : 
 Edna, born July 22, 1874, now the wife of Robert 
 Wood, of East Windsor; Anna, born Oct. 30, 1877, 
 now living in Rockville ; John S., born Aug. 18, 
 1879; Mabel, July 2, 1881 ; Andrew C, Jan. 5, 
 1887; Harris C., March 20, 1891 ; and Imogene, 
 Aug. 14, 1895 — all five under the parental roof. 
 
 In 1876 Mr. Dickinson purchased his present 
 farm of fifty-seven acres (known as the Capt. Oli- 
 ver Clark farm), and on this he has made substan- 
 tial improvements. He has the place under a high 
 state of cultivation, keeps it neat and clean, and it 
 is recognized as a truly up-to-date homestead. 
 Mr. Dickinson and his family worship at the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church, and are regarded as among 
 the most respected residents of the town. In poli- 
 tics Mr. Dickinson is a Democrat, and is very 
 popular with his party, having been elected to the 
 positions of constable and justice of the peace, but 
 in each instance declining to serve. Fraternally 
 he is a member of Central Lodge, No. 12, I. O. O. 
 F., of Middletown, which order he joined in 1872. 
 In 1874 he joined Oriental Lodge, No. iii. Free 
 and Accepted Masons, at Broad Brook, and has 
 held several important offices in the lodge. He is 
 also a member of the Grange. In the business 
 sense of the phrase Mr. Dickinson is emphatically a 
 self-made man, and well deserves the high esteem 
 in which he is universally held. 
 
 CHARLES W. EATON, the talented young 
 editor of the Bristol Daily Journal, was born Feb. 
 14, 1869, at Harwinton, Litchfield Co., Conn., and 
 is a representative of an honored Puritan famih^ 
 being a descendant of Theophilus Eaton, the first 
 governor of the New Haven colony, who settled at 
 New Haven in 1638. 
 
1478 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Joseph Eaton, our subject's grandfather, was 
 born in Stafford, Conn., in December, 1800, and 
 was married in 1821, to Miss Lyman, also a descend- 
 ant of an old Connecticut family. After his mar- 
 riage he settled in Bolton, Conn., where he died in 
 1884. He was a cousin of the late Hon. W. W. 
 Eaton, of Hartford, formerly United States Sen- 
 ator. 
 
 W'illard B. Eaton, our subject's father, was born 
 at Bolton, 2^1arch 8, 1843, aii<J served three years 
 as a private in Companv H, 16th Conn. \'. I., dur- 
 ing the Civil war. in 1868 he married Miss Maria 
 T. Warren, and made his home upon a farm at 
 Harwinton, which he had purchased shortly after 
 his return from the army. In 1875 he removed to 
 Bristol where he now resides. 
 
 During boyhood Charles W. Eaton attended the 
 public school in District Xo. i, Bristol, for about 
 five years regularly, and then he was for some time 
 employed in various factories. In the winter of 
 1883 he again attended school for a few months, 
 completing the course with the first class to gradu- 
 ate from the common-school course. In 1887 his 
 eyes failed him, probably through excessive read- 
 ing, and for a vear he was unable to carry on any 
 active work, in 1889 he married Miss Lilian A. 
 \\'oodhull, of Dover, X. J., and settled in Jilorris 
 county, X. J., where he remained about eight 
 years. For two years he was employed by the For- 
 cite Powder Co., as foreman in their shipping de- 
 partment, and in 1893 he engaged in teaching, 
 which he followed very successfuly for four years. 
 In the meantime he continued his private reading 
 and study, resulting in his receiving the highest 
 first and second grade teachers' certificates ever 
 granted in Morris county. For three summers, be- 
 ginning with 1894, he was also employed as super- 
 intendent by the Hopatcong Steamboat Co., with 
 an office at Landing. X. J. For some time he was 
 connected with the Methodist Church as a local 
 preacher, but the study and research rec^uired for 
 that work interfered so seriously with his school 
 duties that he was compelled to withdraw. On Jan. 
 I, 1897, he returned to Bristol, accepting a posi- 
 tion as bookkeeper and expert accountant, and in 
 June, 1898, he assisted in foundins;' the Bristol Daily 
 Journal,, being appointed editor of the paper and sec- 
 retary of the Bristol Journal Publishing Co. The 
 campaign of 1896 aroused him to an active interest 
 in politics, and he served as secretary of the Demo- 
 cratic delegation from ^lorris county, Xi^. J., during 
 the Congressional campaign, and represented Rox- 
 bury township at both the County and Congressional 
 conventions. At present he is secretarj' and treas- 
 urer of the Bristol Democratic Club. 
 
 In the winter of 1898 IMr. Eaton built a hand- 
 some cottage at Fairview Terrace, and since the 
 following April he has resided there with his family, 
 consisting of three children : Alice May, aged eleven 
 vears ; Grace Lillian, aged eight, and Harold, aged 
 four. He is prominent socially, and is a member of 
 Pequabuck Lodge, I. O. O. F. ; E. L. Dunbar En- 
 
 campment, I. O. O. F. ; Morris Council, Jr. O. U.. 
 A. 1\I., of Dover, X. J.; the Bristol Grange; T. B. 
 Robinson Camp, Sons of Veterans; P. C. R. of the 
 Forresters of America ; P. C. T. of the Good Tem- 
 plars ;, past archon of Bristol Conclave, I. O. H., 
 which he represented at the supreme conclave at 
 Buffalo in 1898; and is a member of Brightwood 
 camp, JNIodern Woodmen, which he represents in 
 the State camp. 
 
 Mr. Eaton is at present secretary, treasurer and 
 manager of the Bristol Journal Publishing Co., and 
 editor of the Bristol Daily Journal, and of the For- 
 estville Weekly Journal. During the campaign of 
 1900 he was again actively interested in politics as 
 a Democrat, and was unanimously nominated as 
 the candidate for State Senator by the Democrats 
 of the Fourth Senatorial District of Connecticut. 
 He made an active canvass, speaking in most of the 
 towns in the district, but was defeated by Andrew J. 
 Sloper, of Xew Britain, the Republican candidate, 
 by a majority of 1,851, although his vote exceeded 
 that of the Democratic National ticket in all of the 
 fourteen precincts in the district, except two wards 
 in New Britain. 
 
 Mr. Eaton also maintains an active interest in 
 religious matters, and is a member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church of Forestville, Connecticut. 
 
 HEXRY BARXARD, LL. D., the veteran 
 educator and editor, whose death occurred July 5, 
 1900, in Hartford, in the house in which he was 
 born eighty-nine years before, was well known 
 throughout this country and Europe in connection 
 with the common schools, and in his death Con- 
 necticut lost one of her most distinguished sons — 
 a man whose whole life was one strenuous eitort 
 to better his kind. 
 
 ^Ir. Barnard was born Jan. 24, 181 1, coming 
 of a family which had lived in Hartford from its 
 first settlement. He attended the district schools 
 of his boyhood, and was graduated with high hon- 
 ors from Yale College in 1830. He began read- 
 ing law in the office of Hon. Willis Hall, after- 
 ward attorney-general of Xew York, and W. H. 
 Hungerford, of Hartford. He was admitted to the 
 Bar in 1835. He had also pursued a course of 
 general reading, and early gained a broad knowl- 
 edge of ancient and modern literature. He was a 
 member of the Connecticut Legislature from 1S37 
 to 1840, and there advocated various reforms, 
 chief among them in the common schools. For four 
 years prior to 1842, when the Board of Commis- 
 sioners for Common Schools was abolished, he was 
 its efficient and zealous secretary. It had been 
 through his efforts that this board — which intro- 
 duced school-houses of improved construction, 
 high schools, teachers' institutes, a normal acade- 
 m}^ and new methods of instruction — had been re- 
 vived. In 1843 ^6 became superintendent of edu- 
 cation in Rhode Island, filling the position until 
 1849. From 1850 to 1854 he was superintendent 
 of the Connecticut State schools. By this time he 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1479 
 
 was considered one of the ablest living educators, 
 and Thomas Rainey, editor of the Ohio Journal, 
 wrote in 1852 : "He has done more than any other 
 ten men in New England for education." From 
 1857 to 1859 Dr. Barnard was president of the 
 State University of Wisconsin; in 1865 and 1866 
 of St. John's College, at Annapolis, Md. He was 
 United States Commissioner of Education from 
 1867 to 1870. During the incumbency as secre- 
 tary of the Board of Commissioners for Common 
 Schools he established the Connecticut Common 
 School Journal, and while in Rhode Island (1845- 
 49) he edited the Journal of the Rhode Island In- 
 stitute 'of Instruction. In 1855 he began the publi- 
 cation of the American Journal of Education, a 
 quarterly, which has been the medium of bringing 
 out a series of educational tracts and treatises, 
 which constitute a library of education of fifty-two 
 volumes, of 500 pages each, containing over 800 
 titles, making it the largest issue of such a char- 
 acter in print. 
 
 Dr. Barnard published numerous reports, doc- 
 uments and other writings, historical and biographi- 
 cal, bearing on the general subject of education. 
 Ele was the first United States Commissioner of 
 Education, and the great organizer of the public 
 school system of this country, and every home in 
 the land feels the impress of his work. 
 
 BURR KELLOGG FIELD, in whose death at 
 his home in Berlin, Conn., Jan. 13, 1898, there 
 passed away in the prime of a most active, busy 
 and useful life to the community in which he lived, 
 one of the guiding spirits of the Berlin Iron Bridge 
 Co., of which he had been the vice-president for 
 nearly a decade, was a representative of one of the 
 old and prominent New England families. 
 
 The history of the Field familv is traced back 
 to the year 823 to Wottelsheim, near Colmar in 
 Alsace-Lorraine, formerly in France, until the 
 Franco-Prussian war, and now in Germany. The 
 name was originally De la B'eld, and it was at their 
 castle near Colmar that they entertained Pope 
 Leo the Ninth and his court while on their w'.y 
 to consecrate the cathedral at Strasburg. Sir Hu- 
 bertus De la Feld went to England with William 
 the Conqueror in 1066, and for his services at 
 the battle of Hastings, in which the Norman chief- 
 tain fought the decisive battle, was granted lands 
 in that country. For years the name was De la 
 Feld, but owing to the wars between France and 
 England, in the fourteenth centur-. the former 
 prefix was dropped bv one branch of the family 
 and the name became Feld, Feild, and Field. The 
 other branch changed the name from De la Feld 
 to Delafield. The history of the family is farther 
 traced through England to America, where emi- 
 grant ancestors settled in iVEassachusetts, New York, 
 Long Island, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vir- 
 ginia. It is extremely doubtful if another family 
 in America has produced as many illustrious de- 
 scendants as the Field family. 
 
 Mr. Field, the subject proper of this sketch, 
 was born May 5, 1856, at Auburn, Ind., a son of 
 Francis Kellogg and Frances A. (Burr) Field, and 
 a descendant m the ninth generation from Robert 
 Field, the emigrant ancestor of this branch of the 
 American Fields, who was in the third generation, 
 through William and William (2), from John 
 Fields of Horton, parish of Bradford, England. 
 Robert Field, baptized in 1605, came to New Eng- 
 land with Winthrop and Saltonstall in 1630, was 
 at Newport, R. I., from 1638 to 1645, patentee of 
 Flushing, L. I., in the latter year, and a proprie- 
 tor of Newtown in 1655. He, in 1630, at Bradford, 
 married (second) Elizabeth Taylor. 
 
 From this Robert Field the late Burr K. Field's 
 line of descent is through Anthony, Benjamin, 
 Anthony (2), John, John (2), Stephen and Fran- 
 cis K. Field. 
 
 ■(II) Anthony Field, son of Robert the emigrant, 
 was of Flushing as early as 1657. He was named 
 in the patents of the town in 1666 and 1685, and 
 married Sussannah . 
 
 (III) Benjamin Field, son of Anthony, mar- 
 ried (first), in 1691, Hannah, daughter of John 
 Bowne, of Flushing. 
 
 (IV) Anthony Field (2), son of Benjamin, 
 born in 1698, in Flushing, married, in 1730, Han- 
 nah, daughter of William Berling, of Flushing, 
 and removed to Westchester county, New York. 
 
 (V) John Field, son of Anthony (2), mar- 
 ried, in 1763, Lydia, daughter of William Hazard, 
 of Jamestown, and lived in Westchester county. 
 New York. 
 
 (VI) John Field (2), son of John, born in 
 1766, married, in 1786, Fannie Perry, a sister of 
 Commodore Perry, of Lake Erie fame. 
 
 (VII) Stephen' Field, son of John (2), born 
 in 1794, at Ferrisburg, Vt., married at Troy, X. Y., 
 in 1825, Frances Bonton Kellogg, born in 1801, at 
 Norwalk, Conn. Mr. Field died in 1850, at Cha- 
 gres, New Grenada, and Mrs. Field died in 1S29. 
 at Montreal, Lower Canada, now Province of 
 Quebec, Canada. Mr. Field was a very energetic 
 and successful business man. At one time he 
 owned and controlled all the tanneries in Lower 
 Canada, and was there estimated to be worth 
 £75,000. 
 
 Francis Kellogg Field, son of Stephen, and the 
 father of the late Burr K. Field, born March 13, 
 1829, in Montreal, L. C, married Oct. 14, 1854, 
 at Auburn, Ind., Frances A. Burr, who was born 
 in Rapides Parish, La., daughter of Piatt Burr, a 
 prominent physician of that place, and Frances, 
 daughter of Josiah Danforth, a prominent m.anin 
 public afifairs, who at one time served on the staflf 
 of one of the governors of Alassachusetts [?], and 
 was a member of the Society of Cincinnati. 
 
 Francis K. Field was educated in the Rensselaer 
 Polytechnical School at Troy, N. Y., from which he 
 was graduated when only fifteen years of age. His 
 voung years prevented his receiving a diploma at 
 that time, although he was thoroughly proficient 
 
1482 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 William R. Cone was born June 22, 1810, in 
 East Haddam, son of Joseph W. (a properous 
 farmer and prominent citizen of that town) and 
 Mehetabel S. (^Swanj Cone, who died March 4, 
 1848, aged seventy-three, and Sept. 11, 1849, aged 
 seventy-one, respectively. Both are buried in the 
 cemetery at West Hartford Center. William R. 
 Cone prepared for college first under Rev. Isaac 
 Parsons, of East Haddam, and later at Hopkins 
 Grammar School, Hartford, and entered Yale Col- 
 lege in 1826, graduating in 1830, in the same class 
 with Hon. Henry Barnard, of Hartford, with the 
 late Prof. Elias Loomis, Rev. Ray Palmer and 
 Anthony Dumond Stanley. Mr. Cone was for a 
 period secretary of the class, had entertained his 
 classmates in Hartford, and always maintained a 
 lively interest in the college. He studied in Yale 
 Law School under Chief Justice Daggett and Prof. 
 Hitchcock, admitted to the Bar in 1832, and came 
 to Hartford, where he went into partnership with 
 William Plungerford, also a native of East Had- 
 dam, and then regarded as the most learned lawyer 
 in the State, and with the largest practice in the 
 highest courts. 
 
 To the firm thus formed Mr. Cone brought a 
 rare vigor of mind and great industry, and soon 
 became noted for the thoroughness of his prepara- 
 tion of the cases committed to him. He took spe- 
 cial charge of the business of the firm, leaving 
 mainly to ^Ir. Hungerford the argument of the 
 causes in the court. The firm of Hungerford & 
 Cone became a famous one, and had for a quarter 
 of a century the largest and most important and 
 lucrative practice in the State. In i860 the part- 
 ners retired from practice, with handsome for- 
 tunes, though the partnership was continued in the 
 ownership of property until ]\Ir. Hungerford's 
 death, in 1873. These gentlemen really inaugurated 
 the rebuilding of Hartford. The Trust Co. build- 
 ing, of Portland stone, corner of Main street and 
 Central row, was formerly "Hungerford & Cone's 
 block." When they built it, in 1857, it was the 
 finest structure in Hartford. 
 
 After his retirement from practice ^Ir. Cone 
 devoted himself to the care of his own large financial 
 interests, and to others which were entrusted to 
 him. He always had the public confidence as a 
 man of integrity and trustworthiness, as well as of 
 sound practical judgment and sagacity, and his 
 counsel in financial matters was regarded as of 
 great value. He was from its organization a di- 
 rector of the yEtna Bank, and from 1869 to 1887 
 was its president. He was also a directoi" in the 
 /Etna Fire Insurance Co., the Hartford Carpet 
 Co. (of which he was one of the reorganizers), 
 the Security Co., and the Connecticut River Rail- 
 road Co., and a trustee of the Society for Sav- 
 ings ; also president of the board of managers of 
 the Retreat for the Insane, of the trustees of the 
 Watkinson Library, and of the Wadsworth Ath- 
 enjeum, and was deeplv interested in the Free Li- 
 brary plans, to which he early forwarded his sub- 
 
 scription for a handsome amount. He had been 
 associated with other important institutions, but in 
 his later years had been inclined to limit the calls 
 upon his time and strength. 
 
 Mr. Cone had no liking for public life, and 
 would never accept a nomination to political office ; 
 had also declined a seat upon the Superior Court. 
 From his early residence in Hartford he had been 
 a member of the Center Congregational Church in 
 that cit}'. 
 
 In 1833 J\lr. Cone married Rebecca D. Brews- 
 ter, daughter of James Brewster, then a promi- 
 nent carriage manufacturer of New Haven, and 
 a direct descendant of the Elder Brewster of New 
 England history. She died four months after his 
 death, and left three surviving children : James B. 
 Cone, of Hartford, who graduated at Yale Col- 
 lege in 1857 ; Henrietta, wife of the Rev. Louis A. 
 Lampher, an Episcopal clergyman then settled in 
 Wethersfield, in this State; and Alice, wife of the 
 Rev. A. Delgarno Robbinson, a clergyman of the 
 English Church. 
 
 ADA:\I CLARKE CORSON, M. D., whose 
 death occurred Oct. 6, 1873, though a young man 
 and only known to the profession a few years, had 
 so conducted himself as to win the esteem and re- 
 spect of, and be beloved by, all who knew him. 
 
 Dr. Corson was born Jan. 20, 1839, at Dumfries, 
 Canada. He was graduated from the College of 
 Physicians and Surgeons, New York, in 1865, then 
 served for two and one-half years as a surgeon in 
 the United States army. He practiced medicine in 
 Hartford from 1868 until his death, in 1873, and 
 had in that short time, through his tact, energy and 
 force, established a good practice. He was a mem- 
 ber of the State Medical Society, also of the Hart- 
 ford Medical Society, and on his death the latter 
 passed appropriate resolutions, in which a fitting 
 tribute of respect was paid to his memory, show- 
 ing their appreciation of his professional character 
 and friendship, as did also the Medical Library 
 Association. At his funeral, which took place at 
 the residence of the late Hon. William Russell 
 Cone, on Washington street, there was a large 
 concourse of people, the Medical society attending 
 in a body. 
 
 On Aug. 27, 1867, Dr. Corson was married to 
 Miss Henrietta, daughter of the late Hon. William 
 R. Cone, of Hartford, and to them were born chil- 
 dren as follows: Alice Brewster, June 23, 1868; 
 William Russell Cone, Feb. 18, 1870; and Aimee 
 Freeland, Oct. 20, 1871. 
 
 EDWIN HOLMES MUNGER, D. D. S., a Jj 
 well-known dentist of Hartford, is descended in sev- " 
 eral lines from old New England settlers. The first 
 paternal ancestor of whom we have record is Nich- 
 olas Munger, who when sixteen years old came over 
 with William Chittenden. It is supposed he lived 
 in Guilford, as the Chittendens settled there. On 
 June 2„ 1659, he was married to Sarah Hall. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1488 
 
 S3'lvester Munger, grandfather of our subject, 
 was born in Guilford, Conn., thence moving to 
 Essex, where lie passed the remainder of his Hfe. 
 He died at the age of seventy. He was a carpen- 
 ter by occupation. He married EHza Smith, and 
 they liad four children: Charfes S., the Doctor's 
 father; Mrs. G.W. Pratt, of Essex; Sarah, who died 
 Dec. 23, 1900, unmarried; and Gurdon S., also of 
 Essex. The parents were members of the Congre- 
 gational Church. 
 
 Charles S. Hunger was born in October, 18^5, 
 in Essex, where he was reared, receiving his edu- 
 cation in the common schools. At the age of six- 
 teen he went to sea, following the water until 1861, 
 and rising in his calling until he was captain of a 
 merchantman. After 1865 he returned to Essex, 
 where from 1874 to 1887 he was postmaster. Sub- 
 sequently, for a time, he was a merchant for Miner 
 & Co., and in January, 1898, moved to West Hart- 
 ford, where he still resides. He is at present en- 
 gaged in the office of the Pratt & Whitney Co., 
 Hartford. Mr. Hunger served as representative 
 from Essex in the State Legislature in 1888. He is 
 a Republican. He married, July 25, 1861, Miss 
 Ellen H. Denison, who was born March 22, 1839, 
 daughter of Selden S. and Hary (Allen) Denison, 
 and five children have been born to them, four of 
 whom are living: Harry H., a machinist in Heri- 
 den; Frank D., who is superintendent of the Reg- 
 istry Department in the Hartford post office ; Ed- 
 win H. :, and Mary E., wife of Edgar Lane, of Glas- 
 tonbury. Mr. and Hrs. Hunger are members of 
 the Congregational Church. 
 
 Edwin Holmes Hunger was born Aug. 13, 1869, 
 in Essex, and received his early education in the 
 public schools of that town, later studying with the 
 late Dr. F. A. Shailer, of Essex. In 1892 he gradu- 
 ated from the Philadelphia Dental College, and won 
 the only honor which the school bestows upon its 
 graduates, a special certificate upon anesthesia and 
 anesthetics. Dr. Hunger began the practice of his 
 profession in New Hartford, Conn., immediately 
 graduating, in 1893 opened a branch office in Col- 
 linsville, and in January, 1899, moved to West Hart- 
 ford, and opened his office in Hartford in the Sage- 
 Allen building. He enjoys a lucrative practice, 
 won by skillful and careful attention to his patrons. 
 Dr. -Hunger is a member of the Hartford Dental 
 Society, and of the Connecticut State Dental Asso- 
 ciation. He early became associated in different 
 branches of church work. Among other offices 
 which he held was that of president of the Winsted 
 Christian Endeavor Union. He is a member of the 
 First Church of Christ (Congregational) in West 
 Hartford, and active in its different departments of 
 work; is a member of the Connecticut Congrega- 
 tional Club ; and an officer in the Hartford Chris- 
 tian Endeavor LTnion. Socially the Doctor is a 
 member of the Sons of the American Revolution. 
 
 Through his mother Dr. Hunger is descended 
 from William Denison, who was born in England 
 about 1586, came to America in 163 1, and settled in 
 
 Roxbury, JSIass. He brought with him his wife, 
 Margaret, and three sons, Daniel, Edward and 
 George, and John Eliot, who seems to have been 
 a tutor in his. family. Mr. Eliot became pastor of 
 the church in Roxbury, and also did missionary 
 work among the Indians. Mr. Denison was a dea- 
 con in the Roxbury Church. He had been liberally 
 educated, and his sons were carefully trained also. 
 He died in Roxburj^ Jan. 25, 1653, his wife on Feb. 
 23> J645. 
 
 (II) George Denison, born in 1618, married 
 Bridget Thompson in 1640. He lived in Stoning- 
 ton, Connecticut. 
 
 (III) John Denison, born July 14, 1646, mar- 
 ried Phebe Lay Nov. 26, 1667. He was a resident 
 of Stonington. 
 
 (IV) John Denison, Jr., born Jan. i, 1669,, mar- 
 ried in 1690 Ann Mason. He lived in Saybrook. 
 
 (V) Daniel Denison, born Oct. 13, 1693, mar- 
 ried Hehitabel Foster in 1728. They lived in Say- 
 brook. 
 
 (VI) Ebenezer Denison, born in 1731, married 
 Lydia Williams, and lived in Essex. 
 
 (VII) Wells Denison, born in Alarch, 1765, 
 married Jedidiah Tyler, of Haddam, Feb. 14, 1790. 
 
 (VIII) Selden S. Denison, born in September, 
 1809, was married Hay 12, 1830, to Hary Allen, a 
 native of Windham, Conn., born April 30, 1809, 
 who died at the age of sixty-three. He was pro- 
 prietor of a hotel in Essex until his death, which oc- 
 curred when he was a young man of twenty-five. 
 They had two children, only one, Ellen H., Mrs. 
 Charles S. Hunger, now living. The parents were 
 members of the Congregational Church. 
 
 Dr. Hunger, on the maternal side also, traces 
 his ancestry to the Tracy family, the genealogy of 
 which has been traced by one member back to the 
 year 956, and by another to the third century. 
 Lieut. Thomas Tracy, the first of the line in Amer- 
 ica, was born in 1610 on the Tewkesbury estates, 
 son of Sir Paul Tracy, baronet, of Stanway Courts, 
 Gloucestershire, England. In 1836 he came to 
 America, locating in Salem, and in February, 1637, 
 removed to Wethersfield, later to Saybrook. He 
 married Isli^iTy Hason, and our subject is a descend- 
 ant of their son Thomas, who was born in 1644. 
 Jeremiah Tracy, son of Thomas, married Hary 
 Witter. Their son, Andrew Tracy, married Ruth 
 Smith. 
 
 Ebenezer Tracy, eldest son of Andrew and Ruth 
 (Smith) Tracv, was born April 20, 1744, presum- 
 abl}^ in Lisbon, Conn., as the following inscription 
 is found on the gravestone of his son Ebenezer, in 
 the old Windham cemetery: "son of Col. Ebenezer 
 Tracy, of Lisbon." However, there is no record of 
 the place of his birth or death. He was a cabinet 
 maker by trade, and many of his chairs are still in 
 existence. According to family tradition and ge- 
 nealogical records Ebenezer Tracy was a colonel, 
 but whether he served as such in the war of the 
 Revolution or in the militia, after the war, is not 
 known. The record at the State Adjutant's office 
 
1484 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of the State of Connecticut shows that Ebenezer 
 Tracy served as sergeant in Capt. Thomas Wheeler's 
 Company, Col. Samuel Chapman's Regiment, Brig.- 
 Gen. John Tyler's Brigade of Militia, State of 
 Connecticut. In "Connecticut Men of the Revolu- 
 tion," page 534, is found the following: "Sergeant 
 Ebenezer Tracy entered service Aug. 3rd, dis- 
 charged Sept. 1 2th, in Col. Sam'l. Chapman's Reg- 
 iment of JNIilitia, 1778." In August, 1778, a body 
 of militia under Brig.-Gen. John Tyler served under 
 Gen. Sullivan, and engaged in the attempt to dis- 
 lodge the British at Newport. It was present at 
 the battle of Rhode Island Aug. 29, 1778. "Com- 
 pany commanded by Sam'l. Chapman, Esq., Col. of 
 Eoot, Gen. Tyler's Brigade of 2^Iilitia, State of 
 Connecticut, under the command of the Honorable 
 Jlajor-Gen. Sullivan in Newport Expedition, State 
 of Rhode Island, in Aug. and Sept. 1778." 
 
 On May 15, 1765, Col. Ebenezer Tracy married 
 Mary Freeman, who was a descendant- of Elder 
 Brewster, of the "Mayflower." He died March 
 10, 1803, aged fifty-nine years. Their daughter, 
 Lydia, born Dec. 20, 1775, was married Aug. 18, 
 1796. to Amos D. Allen, and their daughter, Mary 
 Allen, married Selden S. Denison, our subject's 
 maternal grandfather. 
 
 HARMON GEORGE HOA\'E. M. D.. one of 
 the leading physicians and surgeons of Hartford, 
 is a native of the State of \'ermont. born Sept. 3, 
 1850, in Jericho, son of Lucian B. and Clarissa J. 
 (Galusha) Howe. 
 
 Dr. Howe's paternal ancestors were early set- 
 tlers in Vermont, and he is descended from the Bliss 
 family, who went to that State from Litchfield 
 county. Conn., in 1760. Among his mother's an- 
 cestors were Capt. Thomas Chittenden, of Chester. 
 Conn., the first governor of Vermont, and Gov. 
 Martin Chittenden. The Galushas were also people 
 of note among the pioneers of Vermont. 
 
 Harmon G. Howe, the subject of this review, ac- 
 quired his primarv education in the Essex Classical 
 Institute, at Essex. \'t. He began his professional 
 training in 1870. in the Medical Department of 
 the University of Vermont, and completed it at 
 the College of Physicians and Surgeons. New York 
 City, in 1875. Previous to this Dr. Howe had spent 
 some time in the Hartford (Conn.) Hospital, and 
 was assistant superintendent of Sanford Hall, 
 Flushing, L. I., for over a year, under Dr. J. B. 
 Barstow. He was subsequently assistant at the 
 Retreat for Insane, Hartford, under Dr. H. P. 
 Stearns, for about the same length of time. In 
 ]\Iay. 1876, he settled permanently in Hartford, 
 where he has since been engaged in continuous 
 practice, his clientele being now one of the largest 
 in the city. Dr. Howe has been a visiting surgeon 
 of the Hartford Hospital for nearly twenty vears, 
 and for the past eleven years has been a member of 
 the executive committee of that institution. For 
 nine years he was surgeon of the ist Regiment, 
 National Guard of Connecticut, having served 
 
 two 3-ears previously as assistant surgeon on the 
 staflf of Col. Lucius Barbour. He is a member of 
 the American Medical Association, the State Med- 
 ical Society, the County Medical Society, and the 
 Citv Medical Society, and finds time amidst the 
 exacting requirements of a busy professional life 
 to enjoy memberships in the Colonial Club, the Re- 
 publican Club and the Scientific Club of Hartford, 
 also the Country Club of Farmington. Although a 
 stanch Republican in his political views, Dr. Howe 
 has no taste or time for public offices, and has 
 never held any, his energies being fully devoted to 
 his profession. 
 
 Dr. Howe is a great reader, and an enthusiastic 
 student of art, and at his beautiful home on High 
 street has a valuable and unique art collection, while 
 his library, mainlv composed of medical works, is 
 one of the best in Hartford. The Doctor is a de- 
 voted angler, and an enthusiastic member of the 
 St. Bernard Fishing Club, of Canada, of which 
 there are four other members in Hartford, and a 
 part of his vacation each year is spent in trout fish- 
 ing at the Club's headquarters in Quebec. He has 
 a summer cottage at Lake Sunapee, New Hamp- 
 shire. 
 
 In April. 1876. Dr. Howe was married to Har- 
 riet M.. daughter of L. M. Stevens, of Jericho, 
 \T., and three children have blessed the union: 
 Frances Bliss : Horace Stevens, a student at Yale ; 
 and Lucia, who died in infancy. Mrs. Howe is 
 well known in connection with the work carried 
 ot: by the Fourth Congregational Churcli, in which 
 she is very much interested, and where she is an 
 influential member. The Doctor is a member of 
 the South Baptist Church of Hartford. 
 
 TUTTLE FAMILY. There now reside in 
 Hartford, New Haven, and elsewhere in Connecti- 
 cut and in other New England States, descendants 
 in the ninth generation from William Tuttle, who 
 founded the familv in America about 265 years ago. 
 
 William Tuttle migrated from England to 
 America in 1635, in the "Planter." He settled at 
 Charlestown, Mass., where he remained several 
 years, and in 1639 removed to the Ouinnipiack 
 Colony, in Connecticut. In 1641 he was the owner 
 of the house lot of Edward Hopkins, who had 
 erected a house on the lot and soon after removed 
 to Hartford, where he (Hopkins) became governor 
 of Connecticut and founder of the grammar school 
 which bears his name. The lot was on the square 
 bounded by Grove, State, Elm and Church streets. 
 William Tuttle had a familv of twelve children, 
 as follows : John, Hannah. Thomas. Jonathan, Da- 
 vid. Joseph, Sarah, Elizabeth, Simon, Benjamin, 
 Mercy and Nathaniel. The line oi descent from 
 William Tuttle to Albert George and Charles 
 Loomis Tuttle, of the ninth generation, their bro- 
 ther, Lucius Tuttle, president of the Boston & 
 Maine Railway Co., and Mary A. Tuttle, is as 
 follows : 
 
 (II) Jonathan Tuttle, baptized at Charles- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1485 
 
 town, Alass., July 8, 1637, married Rebecca, daugh- 
 ter of Lieut. Francis Bell, of Stamford. She was 
 born in August, 1643, and died May 2, 1676. Jon- 
 athan Tuttle in 1670 settled at North Haven, and 
 built the bridge which there spanned the Ouinni- 
 piack river, his six children were: Rebecca, -Mary, 
 Jonathan, Simon, W'illiam and Nathaniel. 
 
 (III) William Tuttle, son of Jonathan and 
 Rebecca (Bell) Tuttle, was born May 5, 1673. He 
 became a member oi the church in 1707. He mar- 
 ried Mary Abernatha, and their eleven children 
 w"ere : Aaron, Piloses, ^lary, Ezekiel, Abel, Su- 
 sanna, Lydia, Jemima, Hannah, \\'illiam, and 
 Daniel.. 
 
 (IV) Aaron Tuttle was born Nov. 25, 1698, and 
 died in 1765. He was one of the founders of thu 
 Episcopal Society at Wallingford, Conn., and was 
 one of the thirteen who in 1729 sent a letter to the. 
 Bishop of London. To himself and his wife, Mary, 
 were born eleven children : Jude, Deborah, Abel, 
 Aaron, Mary, Eleazer, Ithamar, Aaron (2), Elea- 
 zer, Rachel, and Isaac. 
 
 (A') Jude Tuttle married Aug. 16, 1748, Lydia 
 Atwater, born April 3, 1729, daughter of Caleb 
 and Abigail (Bradley) Atwater. In 1748 he also 
 received from his father a deed of land in "Blue 
 Hills," New Haven county. His six children were : 
 Hezekiah, born May 20, 1749; Eunice, ]u\y 19, 
 1751; Ruth, Oct. 24, 1753; Mary, July 20, 1758; 
 Aai-on, Oct. 4, 1760; and Jude, ]\iarch 7, 1763. 
 
 (VI) Hezekiah Tuttle, born May 20, 1749, be- 
 came a captain of militia. He married, March 19, 
 1770, Mar}^ Turner, who was born April 5, I754> 
 daughter of James Turner. Their seven children 
 were: Jesse, born ]\Iarch 8, 1771 ; Eli, March i, 
 1775; Elam, July 30, 1777; Caleb Atwater, Nov. 
 18, 1779; Lydia, March 4, 1783; Asahel, Aug. 27, 
 1787; and Miles, Sept. 3, 1792. 
 
 (VII) Caleb Atwater Tuttle, born Nov. 18, 
 1779, was married at North Haven to Sally Reed. 
 He was engaged in farming in the towns of Hart- 
 ford and South \Mndsor. Children: George, 
 Elam, Sarah, Wealthy A., Laura, Alfred, and 
 Frances. 
 
 (VIII) George Tuttle, son of Caleb Atwater 
 and Sally (Reed) Tuttle, was born July 14, 1807, 
 in Hartford, Conn., where he spent his early school 
 days and was a lifelong farmer in that town. He 
 filled a number of local offices, including those of 
 selectman and assessor. In early life he was a 
 Whig in politics, becoming a RepubHcan upon the 
 organizatioii of the party. He married, Jan. 8, 
 1832, at Bloomfield. Conn., Mary, daughter of 
 Benjamin and I\Iary (Gaylord) Loomis. She died 
 May 27, 1874. George Tuttle died in March, 
 1885. The five children of George and Mary 
 (Loomis) Tuttle were as follows : Mary A., born 
 Jan. 5, 1833, now housekeeper at the Retreat, Hart- 
 ford ; Albert George, a sketch of whose life appears 
 below ; William Henry, born Sept. 16, 1840, who 
 was a soldier in the Civil war, a member of Com- 
 pany B, 25th Conn. Y. I., and died in the service 
 
 Nov. II, 1862; Charles Loomis, (see below); and 
 Lucius, who was born March 11, 1846. The last 
 named is now a resident of Boston, -\lass., and is 
 president of the Boston & Maine Railroad Co. 
 For his first wife he married, at Springfield, Ivlass., 
 July II, 1867, Etta F. Martin, by wnom he had 
 three children: Edith M., born Jan. 26, 1869, died 
 Sept. 22, 1871 ; Jennie Downing, born July 17, 
 1870; and Etta, born in 1874. For his second wife 
 Lucius luttle married Miss Estella -Martin, a cou- 
 sin of his first wife, and b}' this marriage has one 
 daughter, Effie E. 
 
 ALBERT George Tuttle was born in the town 
 of Hartford May 24, 1834. His early education 
 was obtained in the school house located on Pros- 
 pect Hill, Hartford. In his earlier years he was 
 engaged in farming, but while }-et a young man 
 he was appointed agent of the Adams Express Co. 
 at Hartford, a position which he filled seven 3'ears. 
 Later he became messenger between Hartford and 
 Boston. In 1863 he was appointed agent of the 
 Hartford, Providence & Fishkill Railroad Co., and 
 in 1865 was promoted to the position of general 
 freight agent of that road, an office which he filled 
 until 1878. From 1878 to 1887 he was assistant 
 general freight agent of the New England road, 
 and since the latter date has served continuously 
 as special freight agent of the New York, New 
 Haven & Hartford Railroad Co., with office at 
 New Haven, Conn. Mr. Tuttle was married, at 
 West Hartford, Conn., in September, 1855, to 
 Elizabeth Briggs, daughter of Josiah Briggs. She 
 died in 1869, the mother of three children: Mamie, 
 who was born in 1861, and died in 1863; William 
 Henry, born in June, 1864, died in August, 1885 ; 
 and Bertha, born in 1864, died in 1868. For his 
 second wife Albert G. Tuttle married, in October, 
 1872, Julia, daughter of Benjamin Sprague, of 
 Andover, Conn. By this marriage there is one 
 daughter, Alice Gracia, born July 22, 1885. 
 
 Charles Loomis Tuttle was born in Hart- 
 ford Oct. 18, 1842. He was reared in that town, 
 there received his education, and has always been 
 one of its prominent agricultural residents, hav- 
 ing farmed all his life; since 1868 he has been en- 
 gaged in the milk btisiness. He is a member of 
 the State Board of Agriculture. Mr. Tuttle mar- 
 ried, Jan. 4. 1865, Miss Elizabeth Utley, daughter 
 of Henrj' LTtley, of Hartford, and to them have 
 been born four children, three of whom survive: 
 Ida Louisa, born Sept. 12, 1867, died Aug. 25, 
 1868; Clara Elizabeth was born May 28, 1869; 
 Robert C, April 8, 1875 ; and Harry U., Feb. 20, 
 1877. Mr. Tuttle is a Republican in political 
 faith. 
 
 RICHARD J. DILLON, a general and popular 
 caterer, owner of the railroad restaurants at Hart- 
 ford, New Haven, New London and Saybrook, is of 
 Hartford birth, having been born in that city July 
 16, 1852. 
 
 James Dillon, grandfather of our subject, was 
 
148G 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 bom in the I'arish of Ballymore, County West- 
 meath, Ireland, was a carpenter by trade, and made 
 several voyages to America. Here he spent some 
 years among his children, dying in Hartford at 
 the advanced age of eighty-four )ears. By his 
 wife Catherine (Jivans), a native of the same parish, 
 he had eight children, se^•en of whom came to 
 America. She died in Hartford, aged about 
 eighty-three years. 
 
 Richard Dillon, father of Richard J., was also 
 a nati\e of Ireland, born in about 1810, in the same 
 parish as his father, and in ^iay, 1830, came to the 
 United States in a sailing vessel, the voyage occu- 
 pying twenty-one weeks, and on his arrival at New 
 Vork he came direct to Hartford. Here for a time 
 he served in the capacity of coachman, later that of 
 watchman for W'oodrull & Beach. In 1875 he em- 
 barked in the grocery business in Hartford along 
 with his sons James D. and Richard J., under the 
 firm name of R.. Dillon & Sons, which continued 
 until the death of the father. He was a successful 
 and highly respected citizen, was classed among the 
 old residents of the city, and was a kind and very 
 devoted husband and father, his aim in life being 
 to see his children prosperous. In 1842 he married 
 Mary Keenan, born in the Parish of Ballymore, 
 County W'estmeath, Ireland, and they had a family 
 of fourteen children, three of whom are yet living: 
 James D., Richard J. and Edward. The father of 
 this numerous family died in 1886 at the age of 
 sevent}'-six years, the mother in May, 1891, aged 
 seventy-eight. They were members and liberal 
 supporters of the Catholic Church. 
 
 Richard J. Dillon received his education at the 
 Brown school in Hartford, after which he served 
 an apprenticeship at the trade of machinist with the 
 firm of Woodruff & Beach, at the end of four years 
 abandoning the life of a mechanic for that of store 
 keeper. In 1875, as already related, he entered the 
 grocery business in Hartford along with his father 
 and brother James D., in which he continued seven 
 years, at the end of that time selling his interest 
 to his father. In 1882 he purchased the restaurant 
 at the railroad station, Hartford, in two years 
 thereafter buying the restaurants at Saybrook and 
 Fenwick Grove railroad stations, after five years 
 discontinuing the latter, on the termination of the 
 lease thereof. In 1888 he opened a restaurant at 
 the New London station; in 1889 purchased the 
 restaurant at the New Haven station, and has since 
 conducted all four. In 1890 the present large hand- 
 some station at Hartford was built, and here Mr. 
 Dillon has a fine lunch counter, also a dining 
 room capable of seating fifty people. His New 
 Haven lunch counter seats one hundred people, and 
 his New London lunch counter accommodates some 
 fifty, in addition to which he has, at the latter place, 
 a dining room which seats one hundred. Mr. Dil- 
 lon gives employment to about sixty-five hands, and 
 probabl}' does a larger business than any other 
 caterer in the city of Hartford, feeding on an aver- 
 age some 5,000 people daily, on special occasions 
 
 having catered to even as many as twenty thousand 
 m a single day. For many years he has catered 
 for balls and parties, in addition to which he runs 
 excursions to Boston and other points throughout 
 the country. 
 
 In 1880, in Boston, Mass., Mr. Dillon was mar- 
 ried to Margaret Mahoney, a native of that city, 
 one of four children born to Mr. and Mrs. John 
 Mahoney, and two children have been born to this 
 union, Grace and Richard. The famly attend the 
 Catholic Church, in which he takes an active inter- 
 est. In politics he is a Democrat, and though always 
 taking an active interest in the aft'airs of the party 
 has declined nomination for office. Socially he is a 
 member and was first treasurer of Jewell Council, 
 Knights of Columbus, which office he has held a 
 number of years. For a considerable time he was 
 a member of the Hillyer Guards, is now identified 
 with the veteran corps of same, and has taken an 
 active part in several other Catholic orders. In 
 1S9S he built his present fine house on Church street, 
 owning also an attractive one adjoining. 
 
 HON. OLIVER ELLSWORTH. "History," 
 remarks a well-known author, "is best studied by 
 means of biography, indeed, history is biography, 
 showing collective humanity as influenced and gov- 
 erned by individuals." Conspicuous among the 
 illustrious men who founded this Republic and 
 shaped its destiny was this honored son of Hartford 
 county, and in reviewing his career one comes in 
 close touch with every important movement of that 
 period. No brief account can do justice to his 
 achievements, and still less can it give an idea of 
 his personal worth, but the following notice, taken 
 chiefly from Stile's "History of Ancient Windsor," 
 outlines the most noteworthy features of his remark- 
 able career. 
 
 Mr. Ellsworth was a native of the town of 
 Windsor, born April 29, 1745, and belonged to a 
 family which is still prominent in that locality. At 
 an early age he was placed under the instruction of 
 Rev. Dr. Bellamy, clergyman of a neighboring 
 parish, and in 1762 he entered Yale College, re- 
 maining there two years. At Nassau Hall, now 
 Princeton College, New Jersey, he attained high 
 rank as a scholar, and in 1766 received the degree of 
 A. B. After his graduation, his father having deter- 
 mined to educate him for the Gospel ministry, he 
 was placed under the instruction of the venerable 
 John Smalley. Influenced, however, by an early 
 inclination to the profession of law, he abandoned 
 theology after one year's trial, and soon entered 
 upon his favorite study with the first Gov. Gris- 
 wold of Connecticut. Subsequently, with Judge 
 Root, of Coventry, he completed the course of read- 
 ing prescribed, and was admitted to the Bar of Hart- 
 ford county, in 1771. While pursuing his profes- 
 sional studies Mr. Ellsworth incurred debts, and 
 these he discharged by cutting and selling wood 
 from a tract of land which he owned, after vainly 
 trying to sell the land itself. Freed from his pecu- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1487 
 
 niary embarrassment, he was ready to begin practice 
 as a counselor at law. " His father gave hmi a house 
 and lot in Bloomfield (then Wintonbury), and in 
 1772 he married. For a little more than three years 
 he divided his time between Lis farm and his pro- 
 fession, the income from the latter beino- very small. 
 His skill in preparing and ability in advocating an 
 important case entrusted to him by a neighbor se- 
 cured a verdict for his client, and obtained for him- 
 self a high professional reputation. His practice 
 increased, and in the autumn of 1775 he began his 
 career as State attorney. He sold Lis farm and re- 
 moved to Hartford, and there devoted himself to a 
 larger ^nd more remunerative practice than that of 
 any of his contemporaries cf the Connecticut Bar. 
 His resolute will and power of concentrating Lis 
 mind upon the analysis of the subject in hand, to- 
 gether with his concise statements of the points in- 
 volved, and lucid and forcible arguments, gained 
 for him a position at the very head of the profes- 
 sion. 
 
 Politically Mr. Ellsworth was a Whig, and at 
 the beginning of the Revolutionary war he was 
 chosen to represent Windsor in the General As- 
 sembly of Conecticut. While a member of the Leg- 
 islature he served actively with the militia of the 
 State, and was one of a committee of four called 
 the "Pay Table." The duties of this committee 
 were to "examine, liquidate, settle, and give all 
 needful. orders" for the payment of military expen- 
 ditures. In October, 1777, he was elected one of 
 six delegates to the Continental Congress, taking 
 his seat twelve months afterward. He served as a 
 member of the Marine committee, acting as a board 
 of Admiralty, and also on the committee of Appeals, 
 besides taking a prominent share in all general dis- 
 cussions and measures. By yearly elections from 
 1780 to 1784 he was a member of the Governor's 
 Coimcil, in which bod}' he served with unrivalled in- 
 fluence. At the end of June, 1783, he left his seat 
 in Congress, and although re-elected declined to 
 serve. In 1784 he declined the appointment of Com- 
 missioner of the Treasury tendered to him by Con- 
 gress, preferring the legislative assignment of Judge 
 of the Superior Court of Connecticut. He con- 
 ducted the duties of- this office with rare ability 
 and great reputation until he was made a member 
 of the Federal Convention assembled at Philadel- 
 phia in May, 1787. In this body he bore a dis- 
 tinguished part, and soon became conspicuous as one 
 of the ablest advocates of the rights of individual 
 States. To him we are largely indebted for the 
 Federal element of our Constitution, "by which so 
 many sovereign States are kept in distinct activity, 
 while included under a higher sovereignty." He 
 moved in the convention to expunge the word "Na- 
 tional" from the constitution, and to substitute the 
 -words "government of the United States," and this 
 was finally agreed to without a dissenting voice. 
 To his clear discernment and strenuous exertions, 
 coupled with those of his distinguished colleagues, 
 Roger Sherman and Hon. Judge Patterson, more 
 
 than to any others, we owe the best government 
 instead of the worst and most intolerable on earth. 
 He did not put his name to the instrument when 
 completed, solely because important domestic con- 
 siderations compelled him to leave the convention 
 as soon as all the provisions of the Constitution had 
 been perfected. 
 
 In the following year, during the State Conven- 
 tion for the adoption of the Constitution, Mr. Ells- 
 worth, by the force and energy of his invincible ar- 
 guments, was one of the chief factors in securing 
 Its ratification. Upon the organization of the new 
 government at New York, April 6, 1789, he was 
 seated as one of the senators from Connecticut. 
 He was appointed chairman of the committee on Or- 
 ganization of the Judiciary of the United States, and 
 the original bill, in his handwriting, passed with 
 but slight alteration, its provisions being still in 
 force. He was called "The Cerebus of the 
 Treasury," being particularly watchful over 
 the public expenditures. He took an active 
 part in building up the credit of the country, pro- 
 viding for the "support of the government, for the 
 discharge of the debts of the United States, and for 
 the encouragement and protection of manufactur- 
 ers." He was spoken of by John Adams as the 
 firmest pillar in Washington's whole administration, 
 and b}' common consent he was ^-ielded precedence 
 in the Federal ranks in the Senate, then composed 
 of the elite of the Republic. The mission of John 
 Jay to England in 1794 was due to his suggestion, 
 and when the treaty then negotiated met with alarm- 
 ing opposition in the House of Representatives he 
 successfully defended it, and it was approved by the 
 Senate. In 1790 Yale College bestowed upon him 
 the degree of LL. D., in recognition of his legal 
 ability and distinguished services to the public, and 
 this examplewas followed by Dartmouth and Prince- 
 ton Colleges in 1797. On March 4, 1796, Mr. Ells- 
 worth was appointed as the successor of Mr. Jay 
 as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United 
 States. As he had been long estranged from the 
 practice of his legal profession, he carefuly prepared 
 himself for the duties of his new station by an ex- 
 tensive course of study upon those points in which 
 he felt himself deficient. All his habits and facul- 
 ties were especially adapted to the discharge of 
 judicial functions, his dignified bearing, courteous 
 impartiality and acknowledged ability winning for 
 him everywhere the confidence and esteem of the 
 Bar. His clear perception aided greatly the dis- 
 patch of business, while his decisions, as they are 
 preserved in the records, are notably concise and 
 sound. At the beginning of Adams' administration 
 the relations between the United States and France 
 had become so unfriendly that a war seemed inevita- 
 ble, obliging the government to make military 
 preparations. The French Directory, seeing that 
 the Americans were really aroused, finally made 
 overtures for the arrangement of difficulties between 
 the two countries. In 1799 President Adams, on 
 the recommendation of a Senate committee, ap- 
 
1488 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 pointed Oliver Ellsworth, Patrick Henry and Will- 
 iam \'an ^Murray ambassadors of the United States 
 and extraordinary commission to negotiate with 
 France. Mr. Henry declined to act on account of 
 age, and Gov. William R. Davie, of North Carolina, 
 was named in his stead. Mr. Ellsworth entered 
 on this duty with reluctance, but waiving all per- 
 sonal feeling accepted tne high responsibility. After 
 receiving hnal instructions he sailed with iJavie on 
 the frigate "L'nited States,'' Nov. 3, but meeting 
 with many delays did not reach Paris until ^iarch 2, 
 
 1800. As envoys extraordinary and ministers plen- 
 ipotentiary they were accorded a cordial and 
 enthusiastic reception. They found Napoleon Bon- 
 aparte at the head of the Republic erected on the 
 ruins of the Directory, and being more wise and 
 politic than his associates in the government he 
 soon concluded an adjustment of all disputes, pre- 
 venting an impending war and an alliance between 
 America and England that would have been most 
 unfavorable to the interests of France. On the 
 part of this country the negotiations and discussions 
 were conducted almost exclusively by Judge Ells- 
 worth. While it was found impossible to obtain 
 all concessions which our envoys demanded, the 
 convention agreed upon in September, secured all 
 that under the actual circumstances were neces- 
 sary. France conceded the rights to neutral vessels, 
 agreeing to pay indemnity for depredations upon 
 our commerce, and assured us peace without at all 
 sacrificing our rights or interests. AMiough the 
 treaty met with opposition in Congress, time has 
 proved that the honor and welfare of this country 
 could not have loeen placed in more capable hands. 
 Mr. Ellsworth's health had for some time been 
 seriously impaired, and the voyage to Europe and 
 subsequent travel on the Continent only contributed 
 to aggravate his malady. The time of his departu:e 
 for home being delayed until late in the autumn, it 
 was thought his life would be endangered by cross- 
 ing the ocean at that unfavorable season. He was 
 accordingly carried to England on board the frigate 
 "Portsmouth," the vessel that v.-as to bring the am- 
 bassadors back to this country, and there he tested 
 with some benefit the efiicacy of the mineral waters 
 at Bath. His son Oliver, who had accompanied 
 him as secretary, returned home with Commissioner 
 Davie, bringing with him his father's resignation of 
 the office of Chief Justice. AMiile in England ]\Ir. 
 Ellsworth was the recipient of marked attention on 
 the part of the Court and of the leading public men, 
 as well as of the Bench and Bar. He sailed from 
 Bristol, England, on the ship "Nancy" in April, 
 
 1801, and after a painful voyage was landed in 
 Boston. Once safe at home and free from the cares 
 of public office, Mr. Ellsworth resolved to spend 
 his remaining years in quiet life, but in 1802 he was 
 again elected a member of the Governor's Council, 
 which acted as a Superior Court of Errors in Con- 
 necticut, being the final Court of Appeals from all 
 inferior State jurisdictions. Here his influence was 
 controlling, for in addition to the weight of ac- 
 
 knowledged talents, he now united the authority of 
 long and distinguished public service. In May, 
 1807, the Legislature of Connecticut remodeled the 
 State Judiciary, and Judge Ellsworth was appointed 
 Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He accepted 
 this appointment, but, finding that the decline of his 
 health would impair his usefulness for the duties 
 of his office, he resigned it before the adjournment 
 of the Legislature. The nephritic complaints to 
 which he had so long been subject attained fatal 
 violence in that year. He died Nov. 26, 1807, and 
 was buried in the cemetery at Windsor, where a 
 monument, erected by his c'hildren and suitably in- 
 scribed, marks his resting place. It was truly said 
 of him: "Ellsworth died greatly regretted, as in 
 his life he had been admired for his extraordinary 
 endowments, his accomplishments as an advocate, 
 his integrity as a judge, his patriotism as a legislator 
 and ambassador, and his exemplariness as a Chris- 
 tian." 
 
 ELIJAH ROGERS, general farmer and fruit 
 grower, town of Southington, Hartford county, 
 Connecticut. 
 
 WILLIAM HUNGERFORD, LL. D., whose 
 death occurred at his home in Hartford, June 13, 
 1873, is credited with being at that time the most 
 learned lawyer in the State. He was born at East 
 Haddam, Conn., Nov. 22, 1788. 
 
 Mr. Hungerford was graduated from Yale Col- 
 lege in 1809, became a student of Hon. Matthew 
 Griswold and Gov. Roger Griswold, at Lyme, Conn., 
 and was admitted to the Bar in 1812. For six 
 months previous to his commencing the study of 
 law, and just after his graduation, he taught in the 
 old Colchester Academy. After his admission to 
 the Bar he practiced in his native town until 1829, 
 when he removed to Hartford and was engaged in 
 the practice of his profession until a few years be- 
 fore his death, in 1873. He had little taste for 
 political life, and was not an office-seeker. He rep- 
 resented his native town many times in the General 
 Assembly of the State, and after his removal to Hart- 
 ford, was several times a delegate from this town 
 to the General Assembly. Mr. Hungerford is said 
 to have read Blackstone's "Commentaries" through 
 thirtv times, and to have delighted in that driest and 
 most intricate of all legal works, "Fearne on Con- 
 tingent Remainders." He was largely instrumental 
 through his briefs in the Supreme Court, in set- 
 tling the law on important points involved. He 
 was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 
 1818, and was the last survivor of that distinguished 
 body. "Probably the historv of the profession con- 
 tains no individual lawyer of our State who reached 
 greater attainments in learning." In 1856, Yale 
 College conferred upon Mr. Hungerford the degree 
 of LL. D. 
 
 The character of Mr. Hungerford is beautifully 
 set forth in the address of the late Gov. Richard D. 
 Hubbard, delivered at the Bar meeting just after 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1489 
 
 his death, from which address the following is ex- 
 tracted : "'Nor was his learning a mere barren col- 
 lection of the memory, as is often the case with 
 great scholars, but a mass of fertile and ready mate- 
 rial which he knew how to mould and impress to 
 the manifold and everyday uses of his profession ; 
 and above all, and then most of all, when some 
 knotty question arose, having its roots in the ab- 
 struse science of the law, or back in the ancient 
 learning; such c^uestions are likely to beset us, not 
 only in consultations, conveyancing and pleadings 
 but all along, and at every step of the trial, and 
 sometimes they come upon us from ambush, as it 
 were, and confound, perhaps overthrow us by a 
 deadly surprise; it was on such occasions that he 
 showed himself master of the field. He sprang to 
 his weapons at a bound, and his weapons were a full 
 equipment, from the strange heavy old armor of 
 Littleton and the Year Books down to the most 
 cunning and newly contrived fences and foils of 
 forensic warfare. In a word, he was, I think, the 
 most learned lawyer at the Bar of this State. In 
 saying this, I do not forget Sherman and Baldwin 
 and ingersoll, and Perkins, and such as they. I 
 doubt if, as a legal scholar, the Bar of America had 
 his superior. To those who were not of the profes- 
 sion, and to whom therefore its scientific learning is 
 a drj' jargon, he seemed at times, perhaps like a 
 burdened camel, toiling through this parched and 
 pathless desert, but to the learned judges who knew 
 the value of his stores, his coming was a token of 
 welcome, for he always came freighted with a bet- 
 ter merchandise than that of spices and gold and 
 silver. As an advocate he had few of the graces of 
 the orator. His manner, though not awkward, was 
 not graceful. His temperament was not magnetic, 
 his mind was not imaginative or brilliant, and he 
 rarely rose into eloquence. His voice was some- 
 what harsh and untrained. His style was not free 
 from certain mannerisms, and he sometimes smoth- 
 ered a little his argument, as it seemed tO' me, 
 with an excess of readings and citations. But in 
 spite of all this, he was eminently successful both 
 to the court and to the jury ; to the court of course, 
 because be was a profound lawyer, and to the jury 
 because, though not a brilliant advocate, he pos- 
 sessed a vigorous common sense which pierced to 
 the marrow of a question, and an honesty which 
 was transparent. And then, in addition to this, 
 he had a certain quaintness of style which served to 
 embroider, as it were, the staple of his argument, 
 and gift, not perhaps of wit, but of dry humor — a 
 strange and grotesque drollery which would burst 
 up in unexpected jets along the line of his logic, 
 and which served to gladden what might otherwise 
 have seemed harsh and crabbed." 
 
 BARBOUR FAMILY (spelled Barber, Bar- 
 bur, Barbar and Barbour as written through pro- 
 bate records : Barbour adopted by Henry of this 
 branch of the family). The branch of the Bar- 
 bour family of Hartford, several members of which 
 
 94 
 
 have been prominent in the legal profession here 
 and elsewhere in the State and country, notably 
 the late Judge Heman Humphrey Barbour, Judge 
 Henry Stiles Barbour, and Judge Sylvester Bar- 
 bour, still of Hartford, brothers, and Hon. Joseph 
 Lane Barbour, son of the first named and now 
 in the meridian of an active career, are of the 
 Canton (Conn.) family of Barbours, which was 
 among the earliest and most conspicuous of West 
 Simsbury. 
 
 Samuel Barber, the immediate ancestor of the 
 Canton famd}', was a descendant of the first 
 Thomas Barber, who was the first of the name in 
 New England, coming to Windsor, Conn., in 
 1635, at the age of twenty-one, with the Salton- 
 stall party under Francis Stiles. Samuel Barber 
 settled in West Simsbury. He married Mercy 
 Holcomb; he died about 1725, and his widow in 
 1787 at the age of ninety-six. She removed from 
 the old parish to West Simsbury, in 1738, with 
 her four sons, Samuel, Thomas, Jonathan and 
 John, and her daughters, Mercy and Sarah, the 
 sons settling on the best lands in the Center school 
 district. 
 
 Judge Sylvester Barbour, of Hartford, and 
 brothers are in the fourth generation from John 
 Barbour, the line of their descent being through 
 Jonathan and Henry Barbour. 
 
 (II) John Barbour, son of Samuel Barbour, 
 born in 1719, married Lydia Reed, who was born 
 in 1725. He died in 1799, and she in 1806. 
 
 (III) Jonathan Barbour, son of John Barbour, 
 born in 1763, married, in 1786, Abi Merrill, who 
 was born in 1769. He lived in the Center school 
 district. He died in 1817, and she died in 1848. 
 
 Henry Barbour, son of Jonathan Barbour, and 
 the father of Judge Sylvester Barbour and bro- 
 thers, of Hartford, was born in 1793, in Connecti- 
 cut, where he was occupied through life in farm- 
 ing. He married, April 2, 1817, Naomi, daughter 
 of Solomon Humphrey. Mr. Barbour was a 
 farmer of only moderate means, was industrious, 
 lived a life of usefulness, holding the esteem and 
 respect of the community. He reared a family 
 of nine children, who filled honorable and, a num- 
 ber of them, high stations in life. He died April 
 12, 1869, and his wife passed away Jan. 7, 1863. 
 Their children were: (i) Clarinda, born April 
 17, 1818, and died April 30, 1886, married Frank- 
 lin Perry. (2) Heman Humphrey [see sketch 
 elsewhere]. (3) Henry Stiles [see sketch else- 
 where]. (4) Lucy, born May 7, 1824, married 
 Nov. 9, 1846, Henry P. Lane. (5) Pluma, born 
 Sept. 17, 1826, married Nov. 8, 1848, Samuel D. 
 Garrett. (6) Juliaette, born Nov. 14, 1828 (un- 
 married). (7) Sylvester. (8) Naomi Eliza, 
 born Feb. 3, 1833, married, in 1862, Henry D. 
 Sexton, died Jan. 6, 1862". (9) Edward P., born 
 Sept. 23, 1834, and died Aug. 5, 1805, married, in 
 i860, Emma J. Barbour, and later became a resi- 
 dent of Ansonia, Connecticut. 
 
 Mrs. Naomi (Humphrey) Barbour, the mother 
 
1490 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of these children, was born Sept. 28, 1794, in Bur- 
 lington, Conn., the daughter of Solomon Hum- 
 phrey, who was a descendant in the fifth generation 
 from Alichael Humphrey, the emigrant, who set- 
 tled and was residing at Windsor, Conn., in 1643. 
 The line of Solomon Humphrey';- descent was 
 through Lieut. Samuel, Jonathan and Solomon 
 Humphrey. 
 
 Solomon Humphrey (^father of Naomi), born 
 '" 1753; ii^ West Simsbury, Conn., married (first) 
 in 1772, Lucy Case, who died in about 1777, and 
 (second), in 1778, Hannah, daughter of Capt. 
 John Brown (3), a lineal descendant of Peter 
 Brown, who landed from the "^laytlower," at 
 Plymouth, Mass., in 1O20, and in time settled in 
 Windsor, Conn., the line of her descent being 
 through John, and John Brown (2). 
 
 Capt. John Brown commanded a company in the 
 Continental army in the Revolution, d}ing in the 
 .service at New York in September, 177O. Solo- 
 mon Humphrey had by the two marriages thir- 
 teen children, of whom Naomi, the youngest, was 
 a woman of manj' virtues. Her father was a man 
 of sterling integrity and of deep piety. He had 
 a pleasant and sedate countenance, an easy dignity 
 and urbanity, and quietness of manners — a natural 
 gentleman. He was a patriot of the Revolution, 
 lived at several dift'erent points in Connecticut, and 
 died in Barkhamsted in 1834, at the age of eighty- 
 one. Naomi (Humphrey) Barbour was a cousin of 
 John Brown, the martyr, and the sister of Rev. Dr. 
 Heman Humphrey, who for years was president of 
 Amherst College. 
 
 Judge Hemax Humphrey Barbour (de- 
 ceased), late of Hartford, was born July 19, 1820, 
 in the town of Canton, Conn., the son of Henry 
 and Naomi (Humphrey) Barbour [see Barbour 
 family above]. He received careful religious train- 
 ing at home, attended the schools of his native town 
 and the academy at x\mherst, ]\Iass. When of a<je 
 he went to Indianapolis, Ind., and read law in the 
 office of his cousin, Hon. Lucien Barbour, since a 
 member of the United States Congress from In- 
 diana. He was admitted to the Bar in June, 1841, 
 and commenced the practice of law at Columbus, 
 Ind. In 1845 lie was elected State Senator for the 
 term of three years. In May, 1846, he enlisted in 
 the United States service in the Mexican war, and 
 went as adjutant of one of the three Indiana regi- 
 ments to New Orleans, and thence to JNIexico. ^Ir. 
 Barbour made his home at Columbus, Ind., until in 
 1S50, when he moved to Hartford, Conn., which was 
 ever afterward his home. AVhile at Columbus he 
 was active in the Presbyterian Church and its Sab- 
 iDath-school, having been chosen as deacon in 1849, 
 and was the teacher of a Bible class. In 1858 he 
 was elected probate judge of the Hartford district, 
 served four years, and in 1863 declined re-election. 
 Thereafter he devoted his life to the practice of law. 
 The Judicial and Civil History of Connecticut, of 
 which Judge Dwight Loomis, of Hartford, was chief 
 .editor, thus refers to Judge Barbour: "He had a 
 
 clear and logical mind, reasoning powers of a high 
 order, an active, energetic temperament and remark- 
 able powers of physical endurance. The intensity of 
 his convictions made defeat exceedingly hard for 
 him to bear. The duties of his profession were to 
 him solemn obligations and he was never satisfied 
 until he had done his utmost to discharge them well." 
 
 Judge Barbour, at Hartford, was a member of 
 the Baptist Church, and an earnest and consistent 
 Christian man, with a noble and philanthropic soul, 
 who accomplished great good. He organized the 
 Good Samaritan Society in the interest of temper- 
 ance refomi, and was also deeply interested in the 
 Prisoners' Friend Association. He was a director 
 of the State Prison, was brought in contact with the 
 convicts, and he spared neither labor nor sacrifice of 
 time and money in the attempt to assist them to re- 
 form and lead a life of honesty and sobriety. 
 
 On Oct. 23, 1845, Jtidge Barbour was married 
 to Frances E., daughter of Merlin and Clarissa 
 (Newton) Merrill, of Barkhamsted, Conn. She died 
 Oct. 17, 1863, and on May 10, 1865, he married 
 Elmyra Barker. To the first marriage were born 
 children as follows: Joseph L. [see sketch else- 
 where] ; Rev. Henry 'Si., born in 1848, at Columbus, 
 Ind.; Rev. Heman H., born in 1850, at Hartford, 
 Conn.; James, born in 1851, died in 1869; Rev. 
 Thomas S., born in 1853 ; Francis N., born in 1855, 
 died in 1857; Samuel B. B., born and died in 1857; 
 William H., born in 1858, died in 1898; and a 
 daughter born and died in 1861, and also a son born 
 and died in 1863. To the second marriage of Judge 
 Barbour were born: Rev. Clarence A., in 1867, and 
 Rev. John B., in 1869. Judge Barbour died June 
 29, 1875. 
 
 Hon. Joseph Lane Barbour, former Speaker of 
 the Connecticut House, and a lawyer of Hartford, 
 was born Dec. 18, 1846, in Barkhamsted, Conn., son 
 of the late Judge Heman H. Barbour, of Hartford, 
 and received his education in the Hartford Public 
 High School and at Willston Seminary, Easthamp- 
 ton, Mass. After his school days were over he passed 
 several years in teaching school, and in 1867 entered 
 the office of the Hartford Evening Post, and for 
 some half dozen or more years he had a successful 
 career as a journalist. Belonging to a family of 
 lawyers, the bent of. his mind ran in the legal direc- 
 tion, and after due preparation he was admitted to 
 the Bar in 1874, and at once became located in its 
 practice at New Britain, Conn. Following a two- 
 years' practice there he returned to Hartford, which 
 has since been his field of labor. Through his tact 
 and force he has gradually won his way to the front 
 and is having a successful career. An ardent Re- 
 publican in his political affiliations with a taste for 
 politics, and a natural leader, he early became a 
 party worker and developed into a great campaigner. 
 His tact and ability as a speaker won him signal 
 renown as an effective campaign orator, and his ser- 
 vices in campaign work have been in demand not 
 only at home and in his native State but in neigli- 
 borinsr States, and in this line he has rendered his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1491 
 
 party great work and contributed to its many suc- 
 cesses. He is credited witli being second to none 
 of tlie Republicans in the State as an effective polit- 
 ical speaker. His Memorial Day orations, too, are 
 always models of eloquent and fascinating eulogy. 
 Mr. Barbour, like his father and several of his 
 .uncles, has served his City and State in various 
 official capacities, and with the same promptness and 
 conscientiousness that were so characteristic of them. 
 He was clerk of the House of Representatives in 
 1877, and in 1878 and 1879 o^ the Senate. For 
 .some eight or more years (1877 to 1884) he was 
 prosecuting attorney for the city of Hartford. He 
 was clerk of the city council for four years (1871 to 
 1874), and in all his official relations he has shown 
 tact and ability in the performance of the duties de- 
 volving upon him. As a jury lawyer there is prob- 
 ably none abler in the county. He has an extensive 
 and growing practice. 
 
 Socially Mr. Barbour is genial and popular. As 
 an evidence of his great popularity, in 1896, when he 
 made the race for Representative to the General As- 
 sembly,he carried every ward in Hartford, something 
 that no other candidate for that office had ever done, 
 and received a larger plurality than ever was given 
 a candidate in the city — about 5,000. Mr. Barbour 
 was chosen Speaker of the House, serving in 1897- 
 98, in a most admirable manner. Socially he is a 
 ■ mem'ber of St. John's Lodge, F. & A. M., of Hart- 
 ford, of Washington Commandery, K. T., of Pytha- 
 goras Chapter, R. A. M. ; and also of Charter Oak 
 Lodge, L O. O. F. For some six years he was a 
 jnember of the National Guard of Connecticut, and 
 is now a member of the Veteran Association of 
 Hartford City Guard. 
 
 On June 21, 1871, Mr. Barbour was married to 
 Anne J., daughter of the late Oliver and Jane E. 
 (Hinckley) Woodhouse, of Hartford, her father 
 heing for many years assistant postmaster at Hart- 
 ford. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Barbour now 
 living are: Frances Barbour, Robert W. Barbour, 
 and Florence A. Barbour. 
 
 REV. HORACE BUSHNELL, D. D., de- 
 ceased. Of Hartford's many men of note and 
 'distinction, probably none was so universally be- 
 loved by the community as he whose name intro- 
 duces this sketch. 
 
 Dr. Bushnell was born April 14, 1802, in the 
 town of Litchfield, Conn., son of Ensign and Dotha 
 (Bishop) Bushnell, and grandson of Abraham 
 .and Mollie (Ensign) Bushnell, who resided in 
 New Canaan, Conn., the grandfather being in the 
 sixth generation from Francis Bushnell, the pro- 
 genitor of the family, who was one of the early 
 settlers of Guilford, Conn., where it appears Abra- 
 ham's line remained. In 1805 the father of Horace 
 removed to New Preston, Conn., where the son 
 united with the church in 182 1. He entered Yale 
 College in 1823, and was graduated in 1827. He 
 taught school in Norwich, Conn., in 1827-28; was 
 associate editor of the Journal of Commerce, in 
 
 New York, 1828-29; was a tutor in Yale, and also 
 studied law, 1829-31; entered the Theological 
 School at New Haven in 183 1. In 1833 he was 
 installed pastor of the North Church (Congrega- 
 tional), Hartford, with which he was connected 
 until 1859, when, owing to his health, he resigned. 
 Hartford was his first and only pastorate. He 
 died at Hartford Feb. 17, 1876, and was buried 
 in the North cemetery. 
 
 Dr. Bushnell was a man of pre-eminent worth 
 — one whose influence upon the religious thought 
 of the age was more marked than almost any other 
 American preacher, ■ and his personality was most 
 grand and attractive. Rev. Dr N. J. Burton, in 
 his article on The Churches of Hartford in the 
 "Memorial History of Hartford, County," said of 
 him : 
 
 Horace Bushnell was a man whose fame is in all the 
 churches, and his twenty-six years of his connection with 
 the North Church are the one great title of that church to 
 universal celebrity. * * His people were fond of him and 
 proud of him ; and when he resigned, in 1859, on account of 
 his health, they resisted his entire separation from them by 
 many forms of resistance, urging that he should at least 
 retain a formal connection with them, and pledging them- 
 selves, in a paper signed by every man of the church, to 
 support him as long as he lived, whether able to labor 
 or not. But he needed a release ; and from his dismissal 
 in 1859 to 1876 he gave his strength to the production of 
 certain great works. 
 
 As a pastor his ministry was fruitful in many ways. 
 His sermons contained an amount of intellectual and 
 religious material which could hardly be paralleled, and 
 they were put to the people in a manner to make a great 
 and abiding impression. Still his supreme service to the 
 world was by his books. He was not a scholar; he was 
 not excessively reverent toward precedents and old opin- 
 ions ; but he was candid, conscientious, truth-loving, intui- 
 tive, massive, and robust, on close terms with God. close'- 
 and closer the longer he lived ; and he expressed himself 
 in a diction which was wonderful for its combined strength, 
 opulence, and beauty. In theology he was free, courageous, 
 and even venturesome at times; so that many were anx- 
 ious about him for years and years, and some were dis- 
 posed to make him trouble. He was tried for heresy before 
 one ecclesiastical body, and a prolonged effort was made 
 to get him put on trial before another ; but the first one 
 cleared him, and the second one never could get hold of him 
 because the three members of his own church needed — 
 according to ecclesiastical law and usage — to make com- 
 plaint of him to that body could never be found. Through 
 all the channels of public discussion he was diligently de- 
 bated; but as time went on, and his constant growth in 
 the grace of God made him continually a more beautiful 
 and beloved figure in the world, and also made it evident 
 that his errors, however erroneous, were not deadly, at 
 least in his own case, the public unrest subsided, and the 
 principal thing that remained was a liberalization of the- 
 ology in the communion to which Bushnell belonged, and 
 a visible step taken towards catholicity and catholic truth. 
 Dr. Bushnell's church could never be persuaded that he 
 had made any departure from essential Christian tnith, 
 and they therefore stood by him with unwavering unanim- 
 ity. On the other hand, they retained as their own, as 
 they do to this day, the creed of the First Church in Hart- 
 ford, which they adopted when they emerged from that 
 body. 
 
 The following is extracted from an article pre- 
 pared by Henry A. Beers, under the head of "Hart- 
 
1492 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ford in Literature," and publisiied in the "^lemorial 
 History of Hartford Count}- :'" 
 
 Perliaps tlie man of highest genius in the catalogue of 
 Hartford authors was Horace Bushnell. * * His writings, 
 though mainly theological, or rather religious in subject, 
 are often lifted by their imaginative quality and beauty of 
 style into the region of pure literature. His thought has 
 sometimes a resemblance to Emerson's though conclusions 
 were widely different. His orthodoxy was supported by 
 admissions so bold and reasonings so original as to lay him 
 open to the charges of heresy. His earlier writings in, par- 
 ticular, such as "Christian Nature," 1847, "God in Christ," 
 1849, and "Christian Theology," 1851, made him the ol)ject 
 of what may without exaggeration be called persecution by 
 a party among the Congregational churches of the State. 
 In consetiuence of his peculiar way of holdinsj the doc- 
 trines of Atonement and the Divinity of Christ, he was 
 accused of a modern form of Unitarianism. In his works — 
 like "Work and Play," a scries of essays, published as a 
 volume in 1S64, but delivered much earlier, the "floral 
 Uses of Dark 1 hings," IH()9, and his masterpiece, " Nature 
 and the Supernatural," 1859— he addressed a public wider 
 than the limits of denomination. In these, and particularly 
 in the last mentiouetl, Ur. Bushuell's olher-wordliness is 
 shown in an inclination to admit a belief in modern mira- 
 cles, the development of spiritual life, and "demoniacal 
 irruptions." 
 
 Dr. Bushnell was one of Hartford's most public- 
 spirited citizens. The beautiful city park, which 
 his exertions did so much to obtain, fitting-lv bears 
 his name. 
 
 MRS. HARRIET ELIZABETH BEECHER 
 STOA\'E, famous as the author of "Uncle Tom's 
 Cabin," belonged to an intellectual family. 
 
 Airs. Stowe, nee Harriet Elizabeth Beecher, was 
 born June 14, 1812, in the town of Litchfield, Conn., 
 a daughter of Rev. Lyman and Roxanna 
 Beecher, whose children were Catherine, William, 
 Edward, Mary, George, Harriet (who died an in- 
 fant), Harriet Elizabeth, Henry Ward and Charles. 
 
 At the age of fifteen years Harriet came to 
 Hartford to assist her sister Catherine, who had 
 established a seminary there, and reraaiiaed with 
 her until her twenty-first year, in which year her 
 father accepted the presidency of the Lane Theo- 
 logical Seminary, at Cincinnati, Ohio. To this point 
 Rev. Beecher was accompanied by his daughters, 
 excepting iMar}^ who had married Thomas Perkins, 
 of Hartford, and here established another ladies' 
 seminary. During the period of Harriet's residence 
 in Hartford some of her sketches of New England 
 life, afterward published in her first book, "The 
 Mayflower," 1844, were written. 
 
 In 1836 iNIiss Beecher married Prof. Calvin E. 
 Stowe, of the Lane Theological Seminary. For 
 years prior to 1864 they had lived at Andover, 
 Mass., but in that year they came to Hartford to 
 reside, where both died. They had a summer cot- 
 tage at Mandarin, Fla., located in a beautiful grove 
 of moss-grown live oaks, and with an orange grove 
 in the rear, which overlooked the St. John's river. 
 Here they passed a number of winters. 
 
 Mrs. Stowe began writing in 1833, while at 
 Hartford, in which cit}- were written many of her 
 
 later works, including "Men of Our Times," Hart- 
 ford, 1868; "The Chimney Corner,' 1868; "Tiie 
 Minister's Wooing," 1868 ; ""Oldtown Folks," 1869 ; 
 "Pink and White Tyranny," 1871 ; "My Wife and 
 I," 1871; "Palmetto Leaves," 1873; "We and Our 
 Neighbors," 1875; "Poganuc People," 1878, Her 
 writing ended in 1881. She had published in the 
 period between 1833 and 1881 thirty-two works, 
 besides writing many short stories, letters of travel, 
 essays, etc. Her husband. Prof. Stowe, was the 
 original of "Harry," in "(lldtown Folks," a book 
 which emlxidies many of his strange experiences. 
 None of the incidents or characters in the Oldtown 
 series are ideal; they are not only true to nature, 
 but actually happened. Sam Lawson was a real 
 character. "Uncle Toin's Cabin" was written in 1852. 
 While on a visit in Kentucky Mrs, Stowe had her 
 first introduction to slavery, and the estate she was 
 upon later figured as that of- "Mr. Shelby," in her 
 famous book. 
 
 Prof. Stowe died in Hartford in 1886, and Mrs. 
 Stowe passed away in July, 1896. 
 
 WADSWORTH. The family bearing this name 
 is an old Colonial one, and conspicuously prominent 
 in the annals of Connecticut. But in this article 
 it is our intention only to refer briefly to the late 
 Daniel Wadsworth (the founder of the Atheneum 
 bearing Iiis name), his distinguished father. Col." 
 Jeremiah Wadsworth, and their ancestry. 
 
 One William Wadsworth settled at Cambridge, 
 Mass., as early as 1632, and is found at Hartford, 
 Conn., in 1636, as a member of Rev. Mr. Hooker's 
 Church, and holding the office of collector of Hart- 
 ford in 1637. At this time he was in middle life, 
 and a widower. He married (second) probably in 
 1644 Elizabeth Stone. Mr. Wadsworth was one 
 of the original proprietors of Hartford in 1639, 
 held several important offices in the town and Col- 
 ony, and sustained a high rank with the best Puri- 
 tan families. He died in 1675. 
 
 From this William Wadsworth the late Daniel 
 Wadsworth, of Hartford, was a descendant in the 
 sixth generation, his line being through John (by 
 & former wife), who settled in Farmington ; Deacon 
 John, who settled in Hartford : Rev. Daniel, a grad- 
 uate of Yale, 1734, who married Abigail, daughter 
 of Gov. Talcott, and was pastor of the First Church 
 of Flartford ; and Col. Jeremiah Wadsworth. 
 
 CoL. Jeremiah Wadsworth, son of Rev. Dan- 
 iel, was born July 12, 1743. In early youth he was 
 with his uncle, Matthew Talcott, a merchant of 
 Middletown. Later for a time he followed the sea, 
 from boy-before-the-mast to master. He settled 
 down in Hartford in 1773, and was during the Rev- 
 olutionary period and the years following the fore- 
 most man in the town. He served as deputy com- 
 missary under Joseph Trumbull, and succeeded by 
 appointment of Congress to the office of commis- 
 sary-general of purchases. After the arrival of 
 the French troops he became commissary of the 
 French army, and served until the close of the war. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 149? 
 
 He shared largely in the confidence of Gen. Wash- 
 ington, and under his roof the General was enter- 
 tained when he came East with Knox and Lafay- 
 ette for the first interview with Count Rochambeau 
 and Admiral Ternay. Col. Wadsworth was a mem- 
 ber of the State Convention for ratifying the Con- 
 stitution of the United States, and was a firm sup- 
 porter of the patriot cause. He served six years 
 as a member of Congress, and was a member of the 
 Council of Connecticut from 1795 to 1801. He had 
 been largely concerned in the West India trade, 
 was a leader in all mercantile enterprises. He was 
 probably the wealthiest man in Hartford. 
 
 Col. Wadsworth married Mehetabel Russell, and 
 at his death, in 1804, left one son, Daniel. Mrs. 
 A^''adsworth died in 181 7. 
 
 D.VNiEL Wadsworth was born in Hartford, and 
 in early life married Faith Trumbull, daughter of 
 Gov. Jonathan Trumbull, of Connecticut. From 
 childhood Daniel Wadsworth had delicate health. 
 He possessed great wealth, being probably the 
 wealthiest man of his day in Connecticut, was gen- 
 erous, and gave liberally to all good purposes, using 
 his estate as though it was a gift of Providence.- 
 He did much for the growth and prosperitv of 
 Hartford. The Wadsworth Atheneum, on Main 
 and Atheneum streets, is a lasting monument of his 
 desire to promote library and institute objects. He 
 gave the ground, valued at $20,000, on which the 
 .-Vtheneum building stands, for that purpose, it be- 
 ing the site of his birthplace and the family home 
 for three generations. He also contributed largely 
 to the building. He died in 1848, and his wife 
 passed away in 1846. 
 
 D. RIORDAN, dealer in dry goods, notions, 
 carpets, etc., Nos. 381-385 Main street. New Brit- 
 ain, Hartford county, Connecticut. 
 
 DAVID WATKINSON, philanthropist, Hart- 
 ford, where his death occurred Dec. 13, 1857, 
 contributed largely of his means to the good of his 
 adopted city. 
 
 Mr. Watkinson was born Jan. 17, 1778, in Laven- 
 ham, Suffolk, England, and came to the United 
 States with his parents in 1795. locating in Middle- 
 town, Conn. He commenced his business career as 
 a merchant's clerk, and was for a time employed 
 in New York City, and in 1800 began mercantile 
 business with his brother William in Hartford, 
 Conn. He continued in that line of business for up- 
 ward of forty years, until in 1841 'he withdrew 
 from active pursuits with a fortune. Mr. Watkin- 
 son was a Dure-minded, benevolent, Christian man, 
 was an active member of the Connecticut Historical 
 Society, and a large subscriber to the Wadsworth 
 Atheneum. None was more distinguished for in- 
 telligence in thes? and other measures for the pub- 
 lic welfare than David Watkinson, and at his death 
 he fitly crowned the efforts of his life bv making 
 a bequest of $100,000 ( to which was added a re- 
 siduary interest in his estate) for the establish- 
 
 ment of a free reference library "in connectloi; with 
 the Connecticut Historical Society," and giving an 
 additional sum of $5,000 to the same society to 
 enlarge their building for the purpose. His be- 
 quests by will were $40,000 to the Hartford Hos- 
 pital ; $20,000 to the Orphan Asylum ; $40,000 for 
 founding a "juvenile asylum for neglected and aban- 
 doned children ;" and $100,000 for a library of ref- 
 erence in connection with the Connecticut Historical 
 Society, also making the trustees of the library of 
 reference residuary legatees of his estate. 
 
 HON. GIDEON WELLES, statesman, Hart- 
 ford, where his death occurred Feb. 11, 1878, was 
 a lineal descendant of Thomas Welles, a native of 
 England, who came to this country prior to 1636 
 and located in Hartford, of which town he was 
 one of the original proprietors in 1639. Later he 
 became governor of Connecticut. 
 
 Gideon Welles was born July i, 1802, in the 
 town of Glastonbury. He attended for a time 
 Norwich University, in Vermont, but was not grad- 
 uated. He studied law, but soon turned his atten- 
 tion to journalism, becoming editor and part owner 
 of The Hartford Times, with which he was con- 
 nected until 1854, thougli retiring from the respon- 
 sible editorship in 1836. He made The Times the 
 chief organ of the Democratic party in Connecticut. 
 From 1827 to 1835 he served in the State Legis- 
 lature. He was made, by appointment of the Leg- 
 islature, State Comptroller in 1835, and was elected 
 to that office in 1842 and 1843. He served as post- 
 master of Hartford for several years between his 
 periods of service as State Comptroller. From 1846 
 to 1849 he was chief of the bureau of provisions 
 and clothing in the Navy Department at Washing- 
 ton, D. C. He was an anti-slavery man, and in 
 1855 and 1856 identified himself with the Repub- 
 lican party. He was its first candidate for gov- 
 ernor of Connecticut. Lie worked hard for the 
 election of Abraham Lincoln for President in i860, 
 and became his Secretary of the Navy. 
 
 The following is extracted from an article in the 
 "Memorial History of Hartford County," under 
 the head of The Press, prepared by Charles Hop- 
 kins Clark : 
 
 It was in the years 1854 and 1855 that the Hon. Gideon 
 Welles, who had been for most of the time since 1827 an 
 editorial writer on The Times, joined the then just organ- 
 izing "New Party," which in the last-named year took the 
 name and shape of the great Republican party. Mr. Welles 
 began his work for the Republicans in the columns of the 
 Evening Press, a Republican journal, which had been begun 
 in 1856. In building up the Connecticut Republicans no 
 one voice was so powerful through the press as that of 
 Gideon Welles. President Lincoln called Mr. Welles to his 
 Cabinet. It is but justice to truth, and to one of the most 
 remarkable men who in those days of noted leaders were 
 in any way connected with the government at Washington, 
 to say that Mr. Lincoln trusted to no member of his Cabi- 
 net for advice and counsel more fully than he did to Mr. 
 Welles; and it is also true that no one was worthier of that 
 trust. 
 
 It was well for our country that Mr. Lincoln had such 
 
149i 
 
 COMMEMOR'ATJVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a man in his Cabinet. More than the country yet knows, 
 it was the saving firmness and wisdom of Gideon Welles 
 that at critical junctures served unseen to turn the tide of 
 fortune in favor of the government. He was not given 
 like so many others, to blowing his own horn ; but his 
 counsel at all times was so good that the sorely-tried 
 President learned to value and rely upon it. * * *. 
 Mr. Welles was also in President Johnson's Cabinet, and, 
 after the close of the latter's administration, resumed his 
 old-time cordial relations with The Times and its pub- 
 lishers. He was daily in the office, as of old, reading the 
 newspapers and making characteristic comments on men 
 and events and the various political occurrences of the 
 day * * *. 
 
 In 1872 Mr. \\'clles acted with the Liberal Re- 
 pubHcans, and in 1876 he advocated the election of 
 Samuel J. Tilden. 
 
 CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER. In the 
 death of Charles Dudley Warner at Hartford, Oct. 
 20, 1900, there passed away one of the foremost 
 literary men of America. 
 
 'Mr. Warner was born Sept. 12, 1829, at Plain- 
 field, Mass. He came of Puritan stock. His fa- 
 ther, Justin Warner, who was a man of culture, 
 died when Charles was four years old. When he 
 became eight years old the family moved to Char- 
 lemont. The taste of the father for literature passed 
 to the son, and even in boyhood Air. Warner was 
 a willing- student and learned readily. He had 
 access in his early boyhood to few books except 
 such as mioht be found in the average Puritan 
 household of the time, Calvinistic treatises. Biblical 
 commentaries and biographies of austere divines, 
 but he found the time and the opportunity to study 
 and to make considerable advancement, particularly 
 in the classics. When he was twelve his uncle, 
 and the guardian of Charles and his brother George, 
 took the widow and the two boys to Cazenovia, 
 Madison Co., N. Y. He was prepared for college 
 at the Oneida Conference Seminarv. a Alethodjst 
 institution of high repute, with an excellent Faculty. 
 He was graduated from Hamilton College, Clinton, 
 N. Y., in 1 85 1, with the first prize in English. 
 \\'hile in college he contributed to the "Knicker- 
 bocker" and "Putnam's Alagazine." A short time 
 after graduation he prepared a "Book of Eloquence," 
 which was ptiblished at Cazenovia, N. Y., in 1853, 
 and showed an appreciative though critical judg- 
 ment. 
 
 Although Air. Warner thus early gave indication 
 of his taste and aptitude for a literary career, he 
 spent a year in 1853 and 1854, with a survej'ing 
 partv on the Alissouri frontier, and upon returning 
 to the East he went to the law school at the Uni- 
 versitv of Pennsylvania, and prepared himself for 
 a legal career. He was graduated in 1856, and be- 
 gan practice at Chicago, remaining there until i860, 
 when at the solicitation of Gen. Joseph R. Hawley, 
 who had known him at school and at college, he 
 came to Hartford to join Gen. Hawley in the pub- 
 lication of the Press, which was started as a Re- 
 publican paper. Air. W^arner assumed control of 
 the paper the next year, when Gen. Hawley went to 
 
 war, and he carried it through the war with emi- 
 nent ability and the warmest patriotism. In 1867 
 the Press was consolidated with The Courant, by 
 which Gen. Hawley and Mr. Warner became part 
 owners of this paper. He continued to the time of 
 his death one of the owners of The Couriv't. 
 
 Air. Warner always had a fondness for travel, 
 and he had seen considerable of this country when 
 he went abroad the first time. This was in 1868, 
 and he spent fourteen months on the other side, 
 writing a series of bright and entertaining foreign 
 letters to his paper, which gained him reputation 
 and were extensively copied. He subsequently 
 traveled much in this country, in Alexico, in Europe 
 and the East, observing much wherever he went, 
 and putting the result of his observations and re- 
 flections in print. His letters and books of travel 
 are among his most charming writings. 
 
 In 1877 Air. Warner published "Being a Boy." 
 in part a biography and a faithful and amusing- 
 picture of rural life in a Calvinistic New England 
 community. Before this he had published "Aly 
 Summer in a Garden," published first as a series 
 of papers in The Courant. It combined humor, 
 philosophy and the contemplation of affairs in a 
 tliorottg'hly charming manner. Retaining his posi- 
 tion on The Courant, and his close interest in all 
 that related to it, Mr. Warner became in 1884 co- 
 editor of "Harper's Alagazine." He for many years 
 conducted the Editor's Drawer, the humorous de- 
 partment of the magazine, and later the Editor's 
 Study, another department of the magazine. He 
 contributed frequently to the literary pages of the 
 periodical, wrote essays, occasional addresses and 
 lectures, and took an active interest in all matters 
 relating to social and municipal reform. To social 
 science he gave a lifelong and careful study, and his 
 voice and pen were constantly in its service. 
 
 A catalogue of Air. Warner's published writ- 
 ings would include, besides those already mentioned, 
 "As We Go," "As We W'ere Saying," "Backlog- 
 Studies," "Baddeck and That Sort of Thing," "In 
 the Levant," "In the Wilderness," "Mummies and 
 Aloslems," "Aly Winter on the Nile," "Studies in 
 the South," "Mexican Papers," "Studies in the- 
 Great West," "Our Italy," "People for Whom 
 Shakespeare Wrote," "Relation of Literature to 
 Life," a series of lecttires before the Yale Law 
 School in 1884, "Roundabout Journeys," "Life of 
 Captain John Smith," "Saunterings," "Their Pil- 
 grimage," "Washington Irving," in the "AI!en of 
 Letters" series, of which he was editor, and three 
 novels. "The Golden Plouse," "A Little Journey ■ 
 in the World," and "That Fortune," the last named j|| 
 published about a year ago. His lectures and oc- 
 casional addresses included an address at Bowdoin 
 College on "Higher Education," the address at the 
 unveiling of Paul Gerhardt's statue of Nathan Hale 
 in the Capitol, an address before the literary societies 
 of Washington and Lee University in 1888, an-' 
 lectures and papers before various educational and 
 scientific societies and associations. 'A paper of his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 149$ 
 
 on the education of the negro in the South was 
 read at the meeting of the American Social Science 
 Association in Washington last winter. The paper 
 was widely published and excited much comment. 
 Mr. Warner was also editor of the "Library of the 
 World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern," 
 which was in preparation for several years and was 
 published in thirty volumes. He was co-author with 
 Samuel L. Clemens of "The Gilded Age," published 
 in 1873. 
 
 Mr. Warner married, in 1856, Susan, daughter 
 of William Elliott Lee, late of New York City. 
 She survives him. There are no children. George 
 H. Warnfer, of No. 49 Forest street, Hartford, is a 
 brother. Mr. Warner received the degree of A. 
 M. from Yale in 1872, and Dartmouth conferred 
 the same honor upon him in 1884, as did his Alma 
 Mater, Hamilton, the same year. Hamilton con- 
 ferred upon him the degree of L. H. D. in 1886, 
 and Princeton conferred the same degree in 1896. 
 He received the degree of D. C. L. from the Uni- 
 versity of the South in 1889. 
 
 Mr. Warner was a member of the park board of 
 Hartford and the State commission on sculpture. 
 He was a member of the Monday Evening Club 
 of Hartford, of the University, Century and Play- 
 ers' Clubs of New York, and of the Authors' and 
 the Tavern Clubs of Boston. He was one of the 
 early members of the Colonial Club of the city, 
 and a trustee of Wadsworth Atheneum. He was 
 at the time of his death, and had been for some 
 years, a vice-president of the National Prison Con- 
 gress, and he was president of the American Social 
 Science Association. 
 
 Throughout all his many activities Mr. Warner 
 was always in close touch with the afifairs of The 
 Conrant, and he made a daily visit to the office 
 when he was in the city. Gen. Joseph R. Hawley 
 thus spoke of Mr. Warner at the time of his death : 
 
 The warm .and unbroken friendship of Mr. Charles 
 Dudley Warner and myself began about 1843 — fifty-seven 
 years ago. We lived as brothers without a single con- 
 troversy, or passage of ill feeling, until he passed from 
 among us Saturday afternoon. Oct. 20, 1900. 
 
 Mr. Warner's intellectual ability and his success as 
 an author of books are known to a great public, but a 
 smaller public has known him in his home and in the 
 sweet daily exchange of affection. He was completely s 
 gentleman. He lived a religious life, and said little about 
 it. He regularly attended his church, respecting and obey- 
 ing its observances. I never heard from his lips an in- 
 delicate or coarse story, or an unclean idea. He abhorred 
 injustice, meanness and dishonor. It is a cheerful spirit 
 and a true wit and a sweet humor that we find in all his 
 works. We may never see his equal. I cannot expect an 
 equal friendship and love. 
 
 GEN. GEORGE E. KEENEY, whose connec- 
 tion with various interests in Hartford and Somer- 
 ville has brought him into special prominence in 
 business circles in this part of the State, is well 
 known all over Connecticut in his relation to the 
 public life of the Commonwealth. H-e represents 
 an old family of this section, his first ancestor in 
 America, Alexander Keeney, having been made a 
 
 freeman in Wethersfield in 1667; he died in 1680. 
 From him the General is a descendant in the sev- 
 enth generation, his line being through Joseph, Ash- 
 bel (i), Ashbel (2), Ashbel (3), and Rockwell. 
 
 Rockwell Keeney, the General's father, was em- 
 ployed during his early manhood in the mills at 
 Somerville, and there met and married a fellow 
 worker. Miss Leonora Gowdy. Soon after their 
 marriage they moved to Manchester, Hartford coun- 
 ty, where they made their home imtil 1879, and 
 where their children were born. Returning to Som- 
 erville, Mr. Keeney, in partnership with his sons, 
 purchased the mill where he had formerly been em- 
 ployed, and the Somerville Mfg. Co., consisting of 
 Gen. Keeney, his father and brothers, was formed 
 and incorporated, with Rockwell Keeney as presi- 
 dent; he still holds that position. 
 
 George E. Keeney was born March 22, 1849, 
 in Manchester. Until thirteen years of age he at- 
 tended the common schools, and then began work 
 in a woolen factory, being thus employed about five 
 years. For a year after this he attended the Cheshire 
 Military Academy, and he then became associated 
 with his father in the woolen business, with which 
 he has since been identified. He also has important 
 business interests in the city of Hartford. In 1895,. 
 upon the formation of the Connecticut Building & 
 Loan Association, Gen. Keeney was elected its first 
 president, sustaining that relation until 1901. In 
 1899 he succeeded R. B. Parker as president of the 
 Hartford Life Insurance Co., in which incumbency 
 he still serves. The General has several times been 
 the recipient of public honors, and he was a member 
 of the State Senate in 1889-90 and 1893-94. In 
 1897 he was appointed paymaster-general on the 
 staff of Gov. Cooke. His political affiliation is with 
 the Republican party. The General became a J\Ia- 
 son in 1870. 
 
 On Aug. 13, 1873, Gen. Keeney married Miss 
 Ellen Denison, of Mystic. Conn., and they have had 
 two children, Elizabeth E. and Ravmond G. The 
 daughter is an alumna of Smith College, class of 
 1897. The son graduated from Yale in 1900. 
 
 HENRY GEORGE VARNO, M. _D., an able 
 representative of the medical profession success- 
 fuUv engaged in general practice in Thompsonville, 
 was born in St. Julie, Province of Quebec, Canada, 
 May 23, 1850, a son of John Baptiste and L^rsula 
 (Blain) Varno, also natives of Canada. 
 
 John Baptiste Varno, the paternal grandfather, 
 was a native of Alsace, France, and a pioneer of 
 Quebec, Canada. On the maternal side the Doctor 
 is a descendant of the McLeods and Mortons of 
 Glasgow, Scotland, who were also pioneers of the 
 Province of Quebec. The maternal grandfather 
 served in the English army during the American 
 Revolution. His widow, Kate (Morton), died at 
 Indian Orchard, Mass., in 1889, at the extreme 
 old age of one hundred years. John Baptiste Varno, 
 father of our subject, was a farmer by occupation, 
 but for a period of ten years was a resident of 
 
1496 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Adams, iMass., whtnx- he was employed in one of 
 the largest manufacturing- estaljlishments of that 
 place. In 1878 he returned to Canada, where he 
 died ten years later. 
 
 The first thirteen years of his life Dr. \'arno 
 passed in Canada, and then went to Burling; ton. 
 \'t., where he attended school for eighteen months. 
 From there he went to Champlain, N. Y., where he 
 ]iursued his studies in the public schools for five 
 }ears, and in 1876 located in Adams, i\lass., where 
 he was employed as clerk in a general store for 
 several years, during- which jieriod he commenced 
 the study of medicine. In 1879 he entered the 
 College of Physicians and Surgeons, Baltimore, 
 Md., where he was graduated in March, 1882. In 
 April, of the same year, he oisened an office in 
 Thompsonville. Conn., where he was not long in 
 building- up the large and lucrative practice which 
 he still enjoys. He is a close and thorough student, 
 a man of deep research, and his investigations into 
 the science of medicine, and skillful application of 
 the knowledge he has thereby obtained, have won 
 him a place in the foremost ranks of the medical 
 fraternity. 
 
 On Feb. 8, 1869, Dr. A'arno married >\Iiss Eme- 
 line JM. Lobdell, daughter of Ulite and Squse 
 (Smith) Lobdell, of Adams, iNIass., and to them 
 have been born eight children, only three of whom 
 now survive: .\rthur [., a practicing physician of 
 Rockville, Comi. : Bertha; and George William 
 Ezra. They also have an adojited daughter, Mary 
 E. Socially the Doctor affiliates with the Independ- 
 ent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knig-hts of P>-thias. 
 the Foresters. Putnam Phalanx, of Hartford, and 
 the Pilgrims, of Thomosonville. Politically he is 
 an ardent supporter of the Democratic party, and 
 he has taken quite an active part in public afifairs, 
 serving as assessor of Enfield in 1894, member of 
 the'ljoard of education one year, and justice of the 
 peace four years. 
 
 HOX. CHARLES HEXRY BRISCOE, one of 
 the leading lawyers of Hartford, and for years 
 judge of the court of common pleas of Hartford 
 coimtv, is a reoresentative of one of the oldest New 
 England families. 
 
 Jndge Briscoe is in the eighth generation from 
 Nathaniel Briscoe, the American ancestor of the 
 familv, his line lieing through Nathaniel (2"), Na- 
 thaniel ('k), James, Lietit. Nathaniel, Isaac and 
 Charles Briscoe. 
 
 Edward Briscoe and wife Ann. of Eng-land. Ed- 
 ■vvard Briscoe was baptized in Little Messenden, 
 England, July 31, 1569, and died in 1605. 
 
 (I) Nathaniel Briscoe, son of Edward Briscoe, 
 was baptized in 1595;- and was married to Alice 
 Taylor, a daughter of Henry Taylor. He came to 
 America with his family in 1639. but returned to 
 England in 1651. [Savage has him at Watertown, 
 Mass., a rich tanner and selectman in 1648 and 
 1650.1 
 
 (II) Nathaniel Briscoe (2), son of Nathaniel, 
 
 was baptized in Little Messenden, England, May 
 18, 1629. [Savage has him at Cambridge, Mass., 
 in 1639, and says that he probably moved to Mil- 
 ford, Conn., where he was an early settler, without 
 doubt before 1646.] 
 
 (III) Nathaniel Briscoe (3), of Milford, Conn., 
 son of Nathaniel (2), was baptized in 1647, married 
 Nov. 29, 1672, Mary Camp, and died in 1690. 
 [Savage names his children as James, born 'in 1673 ; 
 Mary, born in 1675; Samuel, born in 1678; Sarah, 
 born in 1681 ; Abigail, born in 1684; John, born 
 in 1687; and Dinah, born in 1690, and says Na- 
 thaniel died the next year.] 
 
 (IV) James Briscoe, son of Nathaniel (3), born 
 .\ug. 14, 1673, married, June i, 1699, Elizabeth 
 Atlams. 
 
 (V) Lieut. Nathaniel Briscoe, son of James, 
 born June 16, 1708, in Milford, Conn. .married Eunice 
 Hurd Johnson. Fle died in July, 1790, and she 
 died Dec. 27, 1838, aged ninety-six years. Lieut. 
 Briscoe removed from Milford to Newtown, Conn., 
 and there passed the rest of his life in farming. 
 He was quite active in ptiblic afifairs, as the records 
 show that he was selectman of the town for ten 
 years between 1743 and 1778. In 1768 he and 
 Capt. Amos Botsford gave the bell to the Congre- 
 gational Church at Newtown, which is still in use. 
 Lieut. Briscoe's children were : Eunice, Isaac and 
 Nathaniel. 
 
 (\T) Isaac Briscoe, son of Lieut. Nathaniel, 
 born in 1781, died June 26. 1812. In 1801 he mar- 
 ried Anna Sherman, daughter of Lewis and Sarah 
 ( Glover) Sherman, Lewis Sherman being a de- 
 scendant in the sixth generation from Samuel Sher- 
 man, who was born July, 1618, in England, a son 
 of Edmond Sherman, and who came to America 
 in 1634, settling in Stamford, Conn., in 1640. To 
 this marriage were born children as follows. Amy, 
 Ixjrn June 6, 1802, married, Aug. 10, 1819, Will- 
 iam Tomlinson ; Lewis, horn Aug. 23, 1803, mar- 
 ried, Nov. 16, 1824, Jane E. Pettis, and died Jan. 
 27, 1880; Charles is mentioned further on; Har- 
 riet, born Nov. 10, 1806, married, June 5, 1827, 
 Horace B. Dibble; PoUv, born April 9, 1808, mar- 
 ried, June I, 1828, David Glover; Sallv, born 
 April 2, 1810, married Alonzo C. Frost ; and Caro- 
 hne, born Nov. 16, 181 1, married, Dec. 27, 1829, 
 Peter Warren Fairchdd. 
 
 (VII) Charles Briscoe, son of Isaac Briscoe, 
 born Feb. 7, 180c;, married, in 1826, Mary David- 
 son, of Milford, Conn. He died Nov. 28, 1843, in 
 Newtown, Conn., and she died March 7, 1889, in 
 Enfield, Conn., at the residence of her son, Hon. 
 Charles Henry Briscoe, with whom she had made 
 her home for many years. She was a member 
 of the Congregational Church, and a woman of 
 many virtues. Charles Briscoe owned and carried 
 on a tannerv in Newtown Street. The Briscoe 
 home was in Nevrton street, adjoining that of 
 the late Marcus C. Hawley. Mr. Briscof? was a 
 man highly esteemed and respected by the com- 
 munitv in which he lived. His children were : Har- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1497 
 
 riet, born in September, 1827, married, July 28, 
 1851, Henry Mygatt, and moved to California; 
 jMary, born in 1830, died at the homestead July 31, 
 1881 ; Charles Henry is mentioned farther on; and 
 George Willis, born July 4, 1834, died in Petaluma, 
 CaL, in 1853. 
 
 (Vni) Hon. Charles Henr}' Briscoe, son of 
 Charles Briscoe, was born Dec. 20, 1831, in New- 
 town, Conn., where his boyhood was passed, and 
 where he received his elementary education. He 
 studied law with Amos S. Treat, and was admitted 
 to the Bar in Fairfield county in 1854. He began 
 the practice of law in the following fall in Enfield, 
 Conn., and has since made his residence in that 
 town. In 1 868 he moved his office to Hartford, 
 practicing alone until 1877, and then in partnership 
 with T. \l. Maltbie until October, 1881. From 
 January, 1882, to January, 1894, Mr. Briscoe was 
 in partnership in the practice of law with James 
 P. Andrews. In 1857, 1864 and 1878 J\Ir. Briscoe 
 represented Enfield in the General Assembly, and 
 in the latter year he was Speaker of the House. 
 In 1861 he represented his District in the State 
 Senate, and there served as chairman of the com- 
 mittee on jMilitarv Affairs. From 1869 to 1875 
 he was on the Bench, Deing the first judge of the 
 court of common pleas for Hartford county, and 
 making an admirable record. His services in the 
 Assembly and Senate were able and valuable to the 
 State. As a lawyer Judge Sriscoe ranks high in 
 the profession, and he enjoys a large practice, hav- 
 ing for years been in some of the most important 
 cases that have been tried in the State. He is full 
 of energy, and is one of those wiry, restless men 
 Avho act quickly and move rapidly. He is a genial 
 and affable gentleman, easily approached, and has 
 many friends and acquaintances. 
 
 On Nov. 14, 1855, Judge Briscoe was married 
 to Anna J. Traver. of Newark, N. J., who died in 
 ^larch, 1875, and in June, 1878, he married Alice 
 E.. daughter of Hon. George W. Bradley, of New- 
 town, Conn. The children born to the first mar- 
 riage were: Willis A., Annie T. and Alice M. 
 
 (IX) Willis Anson Briscoe, son of Charles 
 Henry Briscoe, was born Dec. 16, 1856. He was 
 graduated at Hartford High School in 1873, and at 
 Yale College in 1877, studied law with T. C. Coogan, 
 Esq., at Thompsonville, Conn., and was admitted 
 to the Bar at Hartford in ]\Iay, 1879. Fof nearly 
 a year he was in partnership with James P. An- 
 drews, at Bristol, Conn., and while there the firm 
 wrote, and published, the Index Digest of Con- 
 necticut Reports, issued in Hartford in 1883. Mr. 
 Briscoe moved to Norwich, Conn., in 1882, and be- 
 came associated with Jeremiah Halsey, the connec- 
 tion continuing until 3ilr. Halsey's death. Mr. 
 Briscoe is still engaged in business as a lawj^er 
 there, having a large practice, and ranking high 
 in his profession. 
 
 "Mr. Briscoe has been twice married, (first) Oct. 
 3, 1882, to Jessie E. Drew, daughter of George W. 
 and Betsey Cornelia (]\Iunson) Bradley, of New- 
 
 town, Conn., the former of whom died in June, 
 1900, the latter in March, same year. I\Irs. Bris- 
 coe died July 22, 1885, and for his second wife 
 he married, on Sept. 5, 1888, Leila Rogers, daugh- 
 ter of Henry and Ann E. Smith, of Ridgefield, Conn. 
 She died Jan. 6, 1891, leaving one son, Traver, 
 born Jan. I, 1 89 1. 
 
 :^IERTON SEYMOUR BUCKLAND, the 
 present well-known and popular postmaster at West 
 Hartford, is a native of this county, his birth hav- 
 ing occurred in Elmwood, West Hartford, Feb. 
 12, 1848. 
 
 Leonard Buckland, his father, for many years 
 a prominent business man of West Hartford Cen- 
 ter, was born in Center Row, Hartford, Dec. 6, 
 1812, and was a son of Russell Buckland, who 
 died at the earlv age of thirty-five years. In 1824, 
 when about twelve years of age, Leonard Buckland 
 was bound out to Samuel Whiting, of West Hart- 
 ford, and did not see his mother again for over 
 fifty years. He remained with Mr. Whiting until 
 he attained his majority, and then worked for Capt. 
 Flagg, a tanner in West Hartford, continuing to 
 follow that trade for a number of years, and also 
 engaging in shoemaking. On coming to West Hart- 
 ford Center, in 1856, 'he embarked in general mer- 
 cantile business, on the corner of Farmington ave- 
 nue and Main street, and for thirty-ei.ght years 
 most acceptably served as postmaster at that place, 
 holding the office continuously except during Presi- 
 dent Cleveland's first administration. In politics 
 he was first a Whig, later a Republican, and he ever 
 took quite an active and influential part in public 
 affairs, serving as representative to the State Leg- 
 islature in 1 86 1 and again in 1887, and as town 
 clerk of West Hartford. He was one of the lead- 
 ing and representative men of his town, and was 
 held in high regard by all who knew him. He at- 
 tended Unity Church of Hartford during the latter 
 part of his life. Mr. Buckland died Feb. 10, 1895, 
 and was laid to rest in the West Hartford cemetery. 
 Mr. Buckland was married five times, and died a 
 widower. He first married a Miss Brown, while 
 his second wife^ was Mary K. Seymour, daughter 
 of Horace K. Seymour, of West Hartford. She 
 died at the age of twenty-six years, leaving two 
 children, Merton S. and Marv C, twins, bom Feb. 
 12, 1848, the latter now the wife of J. T. Millard, 
 of West Hartford. For his third wife the father 
 married Caroline Dart ; the fourth was Harriet Pal- 
 mer; and the fifth Mrs. Julia Holt. 
 
 Merton S. Buckland began his education in the 
 East District school. The family afterward resided 
 a short time in Hamden, Conn., and Catskill, N. 
 Y., and on his return to West Hartford Center our 
 subject attended the old academ}' for a time. He 
 began his business career as a clerk in his father's 
 store and the postoffice, continuing thus until his 
 father's death, when he was appointed postmaster 
 by Postmaster-General Bissell, and has since filled 
 that office to the entire satisfaction of the general 
 
1498 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 public. He was messenger in the State Legislature 
 in 1888-89. 
 
 On Sept. 2, 1874, j\Ir. Buckland was united in 
 marriage with JMiss Addie E. Emmons, a daughter 
 of Noadiah F. and Amelia (Goodman) Emmons, 
 and to this union has been born one son, Frank i\I., 
 who is a graduate of Harvard College, class of 
 1900. Mr. Buckland is a prominent jMason, and 
 has, since 1870, been a member of W'yllys Lodge, 
 No. 99, F. & A. M., of which he is now past mas- 
 ter; he is a member of Pythagoras Chapter, No. 
 17, R. A. M.; Wolcott Council,"No. i, R. & S. M.; 
 Washington Commandery, No.- 1, K. T. ; and Sphinx 
 Temple, A. A. O. N. AL S. ; and is also a member 
 of the Veterans Association. As a citizen he has 
 at all times the good of the community at heart, 
 and his abilities are exerted to make his town and 
 count}- rank among the best in the State. 
 
 SAMUEL AHLLS CAPRON. In the death of 
 Samuel Mills Capron, principal of the Hartford 
 Public High School, at his home in Hartford. Jan. 
 /\, 1874, there was closed a career of remarkable 
 usefulness. 
 
 Air. Capron was born May 15, 1832, in Ux- 
 bridge, Mass., son of William Cargill and Chloe 
 (Day) Capron, both natives of that town, and de- 
 scendants of an early New England ancestry. The 
 son received his preparation for college in the Phil- 
 lips Academy at Andover, Mass., then in charge 
 of the late Dr. D. S. I'aylor. Later he entered 
 Yale College, from which he was graduated in 
 1853, in the same class with Andrew D. \\'hite, 
 afterward president of Cornell University; Hon. 
 Wayne McVeagh, of Pennsylvania ; E. C. Stedman, 
 the poet : and the late Hon. Henry C. Robinson, of 
 Hartford. After his graduation Mr. Capron came 
 to Hartford and was given the management of the 
 Hopkins Grammar School, which then embraced the 
 classical department of the High School. His 
 brother, William B. Capron, had been principal of 
 the latter for about six A^ears. In 1863 j\lr. Capron 
 went abroad for a year or more of travel and study. 
 Returning to Hartford in the spring of 1865, he 
 was made principal of the Hartford Public High 
 School, in addition to the Hopkins Grammar School, 
 a position he held most efficiently until the time of 
 his death. His whole life was given to the people 
 of Hartford, in the cause of education, and in the 
 profession he was eminently successful. In his po- 
 sition of instructor in the classical languages Mr. 
 Capron had all the scholars who were fitting for 
 college under his cliar.sre for at least one year, and 
 his excellence as a teacher has been reflected in the 
 very creditable position that numbers of them have 
 taken in the various callings of life. Pupils who 
 came under his instruction received the full benefit 
 of his ripe scholarship, and felt the inspiring in- 
 fluence of his own interest in the work. Graduates 
 and scholars alike were read}^ to profess a peculiar 
 respect and affection for him. The year after he 
 was placed in charge of the school the graduates 
 
 were three in number; in 1873 they Avere forty- 
 four. From 1853 to 1874 there were in all 408 
 graduates from the school, and probably more than 
 five times as many scholars. Under Mr. Capron's 
 careful supervision the reputation of the institution 
 increased until at the time of his death none stood 
 higher among the preparatory schools of the coun- 
 try, and at Yale College it was almost invariably 
 the case that among the best scholars of each class 
 were to be found representatives of this school. 
 
 Margaret A. Blythe thus wrote of Mr. Capron 
 as "The Man and the Teacher :" 
 
 No one can write of Mr. Capron without fearing that 
 his words will be read like an ideal sketch of the perfect 
 man. Of all the men whose lives were ever written, this 
 is he whom his biographer would least desire to overpraise. 
 Living, he loved the truth, and shunned applause ; the 
 voice would be unfriendly that would affront his ashes 
 with a eulogy misplaced. Yet words truly spoken of 
 him, let them be guarded how they may, will seem to praise 
 him out of reason. Nor can one action of his life be 
 named — far less can the sum of his work be reckoned — 
 unless one should speak of that matchless character which 
 his friends would gladly leave to be its own remembrancer; 
 for what he did was the result of what he was ; and what 
 he was was still the measure of what he could do. It is 
 not always so. Many a time the teacher, the poet, the 
 preacher, is greater than the man ; but he who surpassed 
 other men in so much was above them not least in this, 
 that he was more real in all his qualities than they. His 
 teaching was himself. He was not a teacher of genius, 
 if by genius is meant a development of one laculty at the 
 expense of others. He was great as the head of a school 
 through the same qualities that would have made him great 
 anywhere else. If he had been in business, he would have 
 understood that business so much better than any one else 
 that he would speedily have become necessary to it. If he 
 had been the colonel of a regiment, he would have been 
 deeply feared, passionately loved, and intrepidly followed 
 by his men. If he had been a prime minister, he would 
 have been the mild unconscious autocrat of his cabinet. 
 
 Those who most valued Mr. Capron wondered some- 
 times what it was in him that inspired his scholars with 
 so deep a respect for his abilities. It was not scholar- 
 ship, for the great mass of them never met him in the 
 class-room. His addresses to the school were remarka- 
 ble only for their directness and simplicity. It would not 
 be an impression filtering down through the Senior class, 
 always a small and exclusive body. Yet the least and last 
 urchin of the fourth class would speak of him with awe as 
 a "smart man." So far as this estimate is to be ascribed to 
 any one quality in him, it was, doubtless, due to his 
 extraordinary executive faculty. In all the daily exigen- 
 cies of the school, the thousand and one questions, involv- 
 ing a host of conflicting interests and remote considera- 
 tions, all endlessly complicated with each other, which 
 came up for the principal's decision, he was never at fault, 
 never flurried, never uncertain. 
 
 To all who lived and labored with him, Mr. Capron 
 was a power, a succor and an inspiration. There vi'ere 
 those to whom he was something more. No one can fully 
 understand his relations with his teachers who does not 
 know what he became to some of them, when out of long 
 companionship and unbroken faith a cloudless friendship 
 dawned, and in its sunshine the secret sweetness of his na- 
 ture unfolded leaf by leaf. 
 
 These are words, too vain and vague to express the 
 power and meaning of his life. If from his upper sphere 
 one born of a nobler race came down and clasped us, held 
 us a little Avhile in converse, and departed, could we more 
 describe him than to say of his face that it was fair, and 
 of his voice that it was lovely? Only the speech of the 
 
 / 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1499 
 
 immortals can rightly syllable immortal beauty. That 
 in our friend which was but common and earthly, we may 
 reveal ; his diviner part eludes our praise. 
 
 In November, 1854, Mr. Capron was married to 
 Miss Eunice M. Chapin, and five children blessed 
 the union, two of whom — Helen Maria and Alice 
 Louise — are now deceased ; the others are Clara Day, 
 Bertha Chapin and William Cargill. Mrs. Capron 
 survives. Mr. Capron was a deacon in the Asylum 
 Hill Congregational Church. 
 
 TERRY. The Terry family, of Enfield, several 
 members of which came to Hartford and were con- 
 spicuous characters through the first half of the 
 century just closed, among whom were Eliphalet, 
 Roderick, Seth and Gen. Nathaniel Terry, the lat- 
 ter a cousin of the three brothers previously nained, 
 was one of the many early New England fam- 
 ilies of character and force. The gentlemen named 
 were idescended 'in the fifth generation from (I) 
 Samuel Terry, of Springfield, Mass., where he ap- 
 pears first about 1654, who in about 1700 removed 
 to Enfield, Conn. He married (first), in 1660, Ann 
 Lobdell. 
 
 From this ancestor the Hartford Terrys' line of 
 descent is through Samuel (2), Ephraim, Judge 
 Eliphalet and Nathaniel (Gen. Nathaniel Terry be- 
 ing a son of Nathaniel, and the three brothers — 
 Eliphalet, Roderick and Seth — sons of Judge 
 Eliphalet). 
 
 (H) Samuel Terry (2), son of Samuel, born in 
 1661, married (second), in 1698, soine time after 
 the death of his first wife, Martha Credan. He lived 
 in Enfield, and died in 1730; his wife Martha passed 
 away in 1743. 
 
 (HI) Ephraim Terry, son of Samuel (2), born 
 in 1701, married, in 1723, Ann, born in 1702, 
 daughter of Rev. Nathaniel Collins and his wife 
 Alice, daughter of Rev. William Adams, of Ded- 
 ham, Mass. Ephraim Terry also lived in Enfield, 
 where he died in 1783. 
 
 (IV) Judge Eliphalet Terrv, son of Ephraim, 
 born in 1742, married, in 1765, Mary Hall. Judge 
 Terry was a man of prominence in his community, 
 and represented Enfield in the State Legislature for 
 thirty-three years, being a member at the time of 
 his death, in 1812. His widow survived until 1833. 
 Their children were : Esther, Simeon, Mary, Mabel, 
 . Eliphalet, Lucy, Seth, Abigail and Roderick. 
 
 (IV) Nathaniel Terry, son of Ephraim, and 
 brother of Judge Eliphalet, born in 1730, lived and 
 died in Enfield, his death occurring in 1792. 
 
 Eliphalet Terry, son of Judge Eliphalet, of 
 Enfield, was born Dec. 25, 1776, in Enfield. He 
 came to Hartford and entered the employ, in 1795, 
 of a Mr. Church, in his store, located at the meet- 
 ing of Main street and the Albany and ^Yindsor 
 roads. He remained in the service of his employer 
 until the latter's death, when he assuined control 
 of the business. He subsequently took his brother 
 Roderick as a partner into the business with him, 
 the firm becoming E. & R. Terry. The house of 
 
 this firm became the largest of all the Hartford 
 concerns in the West India trade. Eliphalet Terry 
 retired from the business in 1830, with a fortune. 
 He was one of the original subscribers to the In- 
 surance Co., in 1810, holding twenty shares. In 
 1835 he was chosen president of the company, an 
 office he held through the remainder of his life, 
 and through his wise conduct of the affairs of the 
 company it prospered. Mr. Terry was active in 
 establishing many of the benevolent and phil- 
 anthropic institutions of Hartford. He was one of 
 the moving forces and large contributors toward the 
 establishment of Dr. Bushnell's Church, and his in- 
 fluence was felt in social, political and religious 
 circles. 
 
 Eliphalet Terry was twice married, wedding 
 (first), June 18, 181 1, Sally Watson, and (second) 
 Lydia Cost. Mr. Terry died June 5, 1849. 
 
 Roderick Terry, son of Judge Eliphalet, and 
 brother and business partner of Eliphalet Terry, 
 was born March 2, 1788, in Enfield. He joined his 
 brother in business in Hartford, as set forth in the 
 foregoing, prospered, and was successful. For years 
 their store was one of the landmarks of Hartford. 
 The business of the original house of E. & R. Terry 
 eventually became that of the Keney Brothers, 
 known under the firm name of H. & W. Keney, 
 and at the time of their deaths was the oldest in 
 Hartford. In after years, and subsequent to the 
 retirement of Eliphalet Terry, Roderick changed 
 his business location to State street, where he was 
 engaged in the line of hardware. He was a promi- 
 nent and influential citizen. He was on© of the 
 first board of directors of the Exchange Bank, and 
 its first president and only one until his death (1834 
 to 1849). He was a member of the common coun- 
 cil of the citv, and an alderman for several years, 
 and at one time represented the city in the State 
 Legislature. He was one of the directors of the 
 Retreat for the Insane, and a director of the Hart- 
 ford & New Haven Railroad Co. He was an active 
 member of the old North Church, and for many 
 years chairman of the church committee. 
 
 Roderick Terry was twice married, (first) to 
 Harriet, daughter of Rev. John Taylor, and (sec- 
 ond) to Lucy, daughter of Dwight Ripley. Mr. 
 Terry died Feb. 9, 1849. 
 
 Gen. Nathaniel Terry, of Hartford, son of 
 Nathaniel, of Enfield, was born in that town Jan. 
 20, 1768. He was graduated from Yale College 
 in 1786, became a law student of Hon. Jesse Root, 
 and was admitted to the Bar in 1790. His profes- 
 sional life covered the period from 1796 to 1844. 
 He practiced first in England, then removed to Hart- 
 ford ; was a representative f roin the latter place in 
 the State Legislature for twelve sessions; was judge 
 of ths county court from 1807 to 1809; a member 
 of the XVth Congress from 1817 to 1819: and a 
 member of the Constitutional Convention in 18 18. 
 Gen. Terry was also mayor of Hartford from 1824 
 to 1 83 1. During the prolonged infancy of the Hart- 
 ford Fire Insurance Co., from 1810 to 1835, Gen. 
 
1500 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Terry was its president, being succeeded in that 
 incumbency by his cousin, EHphalet Terry. From 
 1802 to 1813 he conimandetl the Governor's Foot 
 Guard of Hartford, manifesting in military display 
 the keenest deHght. Six feet four inches tall, erect 
 and imperious, he appeared in uniform the born 
 soldier. From 1819 to 182S he was president of 
 the Hartford Bank. He had little aptitude for the 
 details of business, but he was a studious and thor- 
 ough lawyer, devoted to his profession. He died 
 at Xew Haven June 14, 1844, after a career of 
 striking vicissitudes. 
 
 On March 14, 1798, Gen. Terry was married to 
 Catherine, daughter of Col. Jeremiah Wadsworth. 
 
 SIMON WTLLARD HOUGHTON, JM. D. 
 One of the most exacting of all the higher lines of 
 occupation to which a man mav lend his energies 
 is that of the physician. A most scrupulous pre- 
 liminary training is demanded, a nicety of judg- 
 ment but little understood by the laity. Our sub- 
 ject is well fitted for the profession which he has 
 chosen as a life work, and his skill and ability have 
 won him a lucrative practice in and around Hazard- 
 ville, where he is now located. 
 
 Dr. Houghton was born in JMarlboro, Windham 
 Co., \'t., Jan. 17, 1849. a son of Simon W. and 
 Sarah Ann (Mead) Houghton, whose married life 
 extended over a period of fifty-eight years. The 
 father, vi'ho was born .'n Lancaster, Mass., in 1812, 
 is still ( 1899) living. He continued to make his 
 home in his native place until 1839, and then re- 
 moved to Marlboro, \"t.. where he conducted a 
 blacksmith and machine shop for about ten years. 
 In 1849 he removed to Putney, same State, where 
 he lived fortv-nine years, and in 1898 located in 
 Brattleboro, Vt., where he now resides, an honored 
 and highly respected old gentleman. He has in 
 his possession the original deed given bv the In- 
 dians, in the name of John Ponto, representing the 
 tribe, to John Houghton, the progenitor of the 
 Houghton family in America ; it is dated in 1665, 
 and given for land in Lancaster, j\Iass. The Doc- 
 tor's paternal grandfather, Timothy Houghton, was 
 born there in 1771, and was married Nov. 22, 1798, 
 to Olive Moor, a daughter of Isaac and Marv Moor. 
 He was a carpenter by trade, and spent his entire 
 hie in Lancaster, where his remains were interred. 
 
 Dr. Houghton was reared in Putney, Vt., and 
 was provided with excellent educational advantages. 
 He is a graduate of the Leland & Grey Seminary, 
 Townshend. Vt. ; and was prepared for college at 
 the preparatory school in Westmoreland, N. H. ; 
 spent two years at Dartmouth College : and in 1872 
 entered Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New 
 York City, where he was graduated with the degree 
 of ;M. D. in 1879. The same spring he located at 
 Somers, Conn., remaining there until March 14, 
 1890, when he came to Hazardville, where he has 
 since been in the active and successful practice of 
 his profession. 
 
 On Jan. 17, 1882, Dr. Houghton married Miss 
 
 Alinnie L., daughter of Frederick B. and Delia 
 (Blinn) Little, of Ellington, Conn., and they have 
 one son, Earl. The Doctor is a member of the 
 Congregational Church, in which his father has 
 served as deacon since twenty years of age. Fra- 
 ternally our subject is a Master Mason, and a mem- 
 ber of the Foresters and the O. U. A. M. His 
 political support is always given to the men and 
 measures of the Republican party. He is a popular 
 physician, and one of the most highly respected 
 and esteemed citizens of the community in which 
 he lives. 
 
 HON. CHARLES H. NORTFIAM, whose 
 death occurred Nov. 12, 1881, when he was at the 
 advanced age of eightj'-three years, was one of 
 Hartford's very successful business men, an es- 
 teemed citizen, and one of the city's great bene- 
 factors. 
 
 Col. Northam was born in 1797, in the town 
 of Colchester, Conn. He came to Hartford in 
 1812, as a clerk for Nathan Morgan, who was en- 
 gaged in the grocery business, remaining and mak- 
 ing his home with him for five years. At the ex- 
 piration of this period young Northam engaged 
 in the same line of business for himself for two 
 vears. Following this he became associated as a 
 partner in business with his former employer, the 
 firm doing a grocery business in connection with 
 a ^^'est Indian trade. Some five years later the 
 partnership was dissolved, and Mr. Northam went 
 into the shipping, forwarding and commission 
 business with M. W. Chapin. This partnership 
 lasted until 1832, from which time each continued 
 in business separately, Mr. Chapin taking the 
 Philadelphia packets, and Mr. Northam the New 
 York and Richmond line. In 1843 Mr. Northam 
 associated with him in business the late James 
 Bolter, the firm becoming C. H. Northam & Co., 
 and so continuing until i860, when it was dis- 
 solved. Two years later Col. Northam retired 
 from business, and was chosen president of the 
 Mercantile National Bank, a position he held with 
 good judgment and ability until his death. Years 
 a,go he had been connected with the State banks 
 of Hartford. 
 
 Col. Northam was prompt to see the advantages 
 of steam navigation, and became president and 
 treasurer of the old Connecticut River Steamboat 
 Co., owning the boats "Oliver Ellsworth," "Bunker 
 Hill," "New England," and others. By his ex- 
 cellent business qualities, energy and force, he 
 achieved great success in life, and became wealthy, 
 and, not the least of all, he used much of his wealth 
 for grand and noble purposes. He was interested 
 in various corporations, was a director of the 
 Phoenix Fire Insurance Co., the Broad Brook 
 Co., the Connecticut Safe & Trust Deposit Co., 
 and the Hartford & Wethersfield Railway Co. 
 He was a director of the Cedar Hill Cemeterj^ As- 
 sociation, and also president of the Hartford Hos- 
 pital. His religious faith was in the Episcopal 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1501 
 
 Church, and for many years he was a vestryman 
 and warden of Christ Church at Hartford. He 
 later held membership in Trinity Church, of the 
 same city, and was one of the board of education 
 of church scholarship of the society. 
 
 In his early and later manhood Air. Northam 
 was actively interested and prommently connected 
 with the State militia. About 1830 he was cap- 
 tain of the Hartford Artillery Company, known 
 as the Third Company of the Second Regiment, 
 First Brigade, of Connecticut militia; and in 
 about 1835 he served the regiment as lieutenant- 
 colonel, hence the title of Colonel he bore through 
 life. He also figured somewhat in municipal and 
 other public affairs, served as councilman in 1840, 
 and as alderman in 1843 ^"d again in 1850. In 
 1858 and i860 he represented Hartford in the 
 State Legislature. 
 
 The Northam Memorial Chapel and Northam 
 Hall, at Trinity College, stand as monuments to 
 the noble impulses and liberality of Col. Northam, 
 who also added to his gift a legacy providing for 
 the endowment of a professorship, and an addi- 
 tional $75,000 to the general funds of the college. 
 The sum total of his gifts, together with a legacy 
 from his widow, does not fall far short of a quar- 
 ter of a million of dollars. Mrs. Northam gave 
 to the Hartford City Hospital $46,000. Col. Nor- 
 tham made feasible, in 1881, the Old People's 
 Home, an institution in connection with the Hart- 
 ford Hospital, by a gift of $50,000, the Home be- 
 ing opened in 1884. This, located on Jefferson 
 street, is one of the noteworthy structures of the 
 city. Mr. Northam was president of the Hos- 
 pital from 1877 to 1881, the time of his death. 
 He also gave liberally to the Hartford Library. 
 
 In 1828 Mr. Northam was married to Miss 
 Susan Risley, of East Hartford, who survived 
 him. They had no children of their own, but 
 adopted as a daughter their niece, Louise Maria, 
 who was born Sept. i, 1828, and on Jan. 16, 1849, 
 became the wife of William Henry Lee, of New 
 York City. Mr. Lee was born May 19, 1818, in 
 New Britain, Conn., and died April 9, 1895. He 
 passed his closing years in Hartford. This union 
 was blessed with children as follows : Charles 
 N., Thomas G., William Henry, Grace, Frederick 
 H., Robert Lincoln, and Louisa Maria. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY WRIGHT (deceased), 
 who at the time of his death was general super- 
 intendent of the E. Ingraham Co.'s factories at 
 Bristol, was a native of that town, born Feb. 24, 
 1 86 1, of good old New England stock. 
 
 James Wright, the first of whom we have men- 
 tion, was in all probability of English ancestry, al- 
 though with some of the Wright family the impres- 
 sion prevails that they are of Scottish descent. 
 Nothing, however, can be found to substantiate 
 that belief. The first mention of this James Wright 
 is found in the Congregational Church records of 
 Milford. He married Hannah Sanford, of that 
 
 place, and their children, according to one author- 
 ity, were: James, baptized Sept. 29, 1700; Mar- 
 gery, baptized Feb. 25, 1705; and Alary, baptized 
 Alarch 7, 1707. According to another authority 
 the children were: Jonathan [place and date of 
 birth unknown] ; James, born in Milford in 1700 ; 
 Margery, born in Alilford in 1705; IVIary, born 
 in Alilford in 1707; Joseph, born in Durham Nov. 
 
 I, 1713; and Ebenezer, born in Durham in 1716. 
 The mother of this family died in Durham Alarch 
 
 II, 1716. By his second wife, Bethia, James 
 Wright had children as follows, all born in Dur- 
 ham: Samuel, 1718; Daniel, 1723; Samuel, 1725; 
 Hannah and Sarah (twins), 1727; and Abigail, 
 1729. In 1707 the boundary line was run between 
 the towns of Guilford and Durham. The Guil- 
 ford committee consisted of John Fowler, Daniel 
 Evarts and Andrew Ward, while the Durham 
 committee were Caleb Seward and James Wright. 
 
 Joseph Wright, Sr. (above), born Nov. i, 
 1713, was baptized the day of his birth. He mar- 
 ried Eleanor Seward, and names and dates of birth 
 of their children are: Eleanor; 1740; Margery, 
 1742; Joseph, Jr., Alay 6, 1744; David, 1747; and 
 Helen, 1754. 
 
 Joseph Wright, Jr., was born in Durham, and 
 baptized the day of his birth. He was admitted 
 to the church Sept. 21, 1766; took the oath of 
 fidelity to the State of Connecticut Sept. 16, 1777, 
 and was made a freeman the same day. He was 
 twice married, (first) in Durham, Dec. 17, 1767, 
 to Mrs. Sarah Watrous, widow of Eber Watrous, 
 of Durham, and a daughter of Timothy Bishop. 
 She was born in Guilford, Conn., April 22, 1741, 
 and died in Durham Jan. 5, 1776. For his sec- 
 ond wife Joseph Wright, Jr., wedded Dec. 27, 
 1776, Anna Camp, of Durham. Children by first 
 marriage: Sally, born Dec. 3, 1769; Ichabod, Feb. 
 27> 1773; and Luce, Dec. 21, 1775. Children by 
 second marriage: Seymour, Sept. 27, 1779; Nan- 
 cy, July 26, 1781; Eunice, Oct. 9, 1783; Harvey, 
 May 20, 1786 (see farther on) ; Israel Camp, Nov. 
 26, 1788; Elizur, Dec. 25, 1791; and Anna, Aug. 
 21, 1796. 
 
 Seymour Wright, great-grandfather of our 
 subject, served as a private in the war of 1812, 
 from Sept. 8 to Nov. 5, 1814. He married a lady 
 named Tisdale, and had one son, William Tisdale. 
 
 William Tisdale Wright, grandfather of our 
 subject, was a tinsmith by trade, his shop and 
 residence being located on Main street, Bristol, 
 where for many years he carried on a lucrative 
 ■business. ' He died June 30, 1876, an earnest church 
 worker and a model citizen. His children by his 
 first wife, Catlierine Maria (Gale), who was born 
 in Wallingford, were : Henry D., who was killed 
 at the battle of Irish Bend (his name is on the 
 soldiers monument in West cemetery, Bristol) ; 
 and Charles Gale, father of our subject. For his 
 second wife William T. Wright wedded Patience 
 Babbitt, who survived him ; by this marriage there 
 was no issue. 
 
1502 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Charles Gale Wright, born Dec. 6, 1836, was 
 a tinsmith by trade, which he followed in Bristol, 
 working for his father many years. He married 
 Sarah i^'. Stone, of Farmington, Conn., and they 
 have had children as follows : Xettie A., Mrs.Walter 
 Austin, of Stamford, Conn.; William H., our sub 
 ject; Harry C, of Bristol; Bernice J\I., ]\Irs. James 
 AIcGinnis, of Bristol; Arthur T., of Bristol; and 
 Louis W., of Hopedale, Alassachusetts. 
 
 William H. Wright, whose name appears at 
 the opening of this biography, was educated at 
 District School No. 3, and at the age of sixteen 
 years commenced learning the tinner's and steam- 
 fitter's trade in his father's shop, remaining there 
 until he was twent\-four years old. He then 
 went to work for the Welch Spring Co., manufac- 
 turers of clocks in Bristol (the factory being where 
 is now the Codling Aifg. Co.), having a contract 
 with them ; but at the end of a year he left there 
 and went to the E. Ingraham Co., commencing as 
 a driller at $1.50 per day. Remaining some three 
 or four months in that position, Ik then became 
 millwright for about one year, after which he was 
 given charge of the enameling department some 
 four years. For the succeeding five years or so 
 he was superintendent of the movement depart- 
 ment, and on April i, 1895, he was made super- 
 intendent of the entire factory, which gives employ- 
 ment to some six hundred hands. He filled that 
 position ably until his untimely death, Nov. 16, 
 1900, after an illness of only ten days, from blood 
 poisoning. 
 
 On Nov. 8, 1S87, }ilr. Wright married Nellie 
 Florence Perkins, who was born June i, 1867, 
 only daughter of Merwin Henry and Sabria Es- 
 telle (Buck) Perkins, of Bristol, and children as 
 follows blessed their union : 'Wilhelmina Marga- 
 ret, born Aug. 9, 1894; and Wilmart Buck, born 
 March 29, 1897. Mrs. Wright is a member of 
 the Prospect M. E. Church, of which Mr. Wright 
 was also a member, and a trustee for nine years. 
 Politically he was a Republican, and for eight 
 years was a member of the town Republican com- 
 mittee. Sociallv he affiliated with Franklin Lodge, 
 No. 56, F. & A. M.; Ethan Lodge, No. 9, K. of 
 P. ; and Reliance Council, Royal Arcanum, all of 
 Bristol. 
 
 Harvey Wright, son of Joseph (Jr.) and Anna 
 Wright, was married Nov. 10, 1815, to Esther 
 Crissey, daughter of Gould Crissey, granddaugh- 
 ter of John and Martha (Davenport) Crissej^ and 
 a descendant in the sixth generation of Rev. John 
 Davenport, founder of the Colony of New Haven. 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Wright died in Bristol, he on 
 June 28, 1858, she on Oct. 30, 1844. He came 
 to Bristol as a manufacturer of old-time wooden 
 clock movements. The tools he required were not 
 complicated, neither did he require a large factory. 
 A good jackknife, a file, a saw, also a turning 
 lathe and, possibly, a "fiddle-bow drill," completed 
 his outfit. Thus equipped, he commenced manu- 
 facturing in a small shop which stood near the 
 
 J\L-iin street bridge, where is now to be seen the 
 old blacksmith shop, on the Pequabuck river. In 
 course of time another man started in the same 
 line of business, and reduced the price to such an 
 extent that Mr. Wright had to abandon the enter- 
 prise, and, moving his shop farther down the river, 
 to near the next bridge, he carried on a wood- 
 turning business for several years. The pond is 
 yet there, just as it was over half a century ago, 
 and on the south bank are several large willow 
 trees which grew from twigs planted by Harvey's 
 son, Filbert Leander, when a boy. Harvey Wright 
 was a firm believer in the principle of perpetual 
 motion, and spent a great deal of time during the 
 latter part of his life on his "hobby," but it went 
 the way of all "perpetuals." It is further said of 
 him that he was one of the best rifle shots in the 
 States. He was society clerk of the Bristol Bap- 
 tist Church Dec. 4, 1806. His wife, Esther, had 
 an exceedingly interesting ancestry, being of the 
 sixth generation from Rev. John Davenport, whose 
 ancestry dates back in the nineteenth generation 
 to Ormus de Davenporte, born in the year 108(1, 
 in the County of Chester, England. Her father, 
 Gould Crissey, belonged to the Connecticut mili- 
 tia, and his name appears on the list of pensioners 
 for the sum of $23.33 P^i' annum, when he was sev- 
 enty-two years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Wright had 
 children as follows: Filbert Leander, born Nov. 
 18, i8i6; Julius, born March 23, 1821 ; a son, born 
 in 1830, who died aged six months, eight days; 
 and Benjamin Franklin, born Aug. 25, 1834. 
 
 Filbert Leander Wright was married Dec. 31, 
 1848, to Sabrina H. Merrill, daughter of Zebulon 
 Merrill, of New Hartford, and granddaughter of 
 Jerijah Merrill, of "Lexington Alarm" fame, sol- 
 dier and hero. Their children were Florence Es- 
 ther, born Jan. 9, 1850, who married Wilfred E. 
 Fogg, of Bristol, a sketch of whom appears else- 
 where; Frank INIerrill, born July 30, 1854; and 
 Wilbur Leslie, born July 18, 1856. When a boy 
 Filbert Leander Wright came to Bristol from 
 Southington with his parents, and ^vas employed 
 to ride horseback on the old canal tow-path from 
 Southington to New Haven and return. After J 
 leaving school he worked for a time at clock-mak- I 
 ing, and he invented many improvements in clock- 
 making machiner}', which greatly facilitated the 
 manufacture. Also, at one time, with others, he 
 was engaged in the manufacture of hoopskirts, or 
 crinoline, the factory for which was located just 
 over the first knoll on Main street. On retiring 
 from this industrjr he worked for a time at harden- 
 ing and tempering springs, after which he com- 
 menced the study of dentistry with Dr. Wales A. 
 Candee, they becoming partners in the profession 
 for over twenty years, under the firm name of 
 Candee & Wright. After the death of Dr. Candee 
 Dr. Wright continued the business for some years 
 alone, but finally took into partnership Lora W. 
 Robinson, a graduate of the Philadelphia Dental 
 School, the firm name being Wright & Robinson. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1503 
 
 The partnership was brought to an abrupt end by 
 the tragic deatli of Dr. Wright, on the afternoon 
 of Oct. 2, 1886. While walkuig over the tracks of 
 the New York, New Haven & Hartford railorad, 
 at the Main street crossing, a switch engine backed 
 down upon him, and he was instantly killed. He 
 was a man of profound reflection, well acquainted 
 with the Bible, and was familiar with almost any 
 topic. He was honest to a fault, benevolent and 
 extremely kind, and devoted to his family. 
 
 HON. EPHRAIM BRIDGE, one of the most 
 reliable and highly esteemed citizens of the town 
 of Enfield, now residing in the village of Hazard- 
 ville, was born in Milton, County of Kent, England, 
 Sept. 2, 1840. 
 
 John and Mary (Prickett) Bridge, his parents, 
 brought their family to America in 1842, and lo- 
 cated in Enfield, Hartford Co., Conn., where the 
 father was employed as a packer in the Hazard 
 Powder Mills for about three years, and for the 
 following four years was engaged in the fish and 
 yeast business in Thompsonville. About 1850 he 
 erected the store in Hazardville now occupied by 
 E. C. Allen, and engaged in general merchandis- 
 ing there until 1870, when he retired from busi- 
 ness to enjoy a well-earned rest. He was born 
 July 3, 1806, and died April 21, 1873, while his 
 wife was born Sept. 10, 1802, and died Jan. 15, 
 1871. Of their nine children, seven reached years 
 of maturity: George, John W., Ruth (wife of 
 Rev. Henry D. Adams), Amos D., Ephraim, Eben- 
 ezer, and Stephen. The paternal grandfather of 
 our subject, Robert Bridge, was a fish and oyster 
 man of Milton, England; his wife was Elizabeth 
 Down. His father, John Bridge, was a manufac- 
 turer of marine supplies at Milton; he married 
 Anna Gallahawk. John was a son of Stephen 
 Bridge, who started the marine supply business 
 later carried on by his son. Stephen died in 1782, 
 John in 1803, and Robert in 1849. Our subject's 
 maternal grandfather, Thomas Prickett, of Faver- 
 sham, England, married Elizabeth Smith. • He was 
 a farmer by occupation, and a son of Thomas 
 Prickett, a shoemaker by trade, who died in Do- 
 ver, England, in 1781. 
 
 Ephraim Bridge grew to manhood in Enfield, 
 and was educated in the common schools and the 
 Suffield Literary Institute. During the Civil war 
 lie enlisted, Aug. 7, 1862, in Company F, 22d 
 Conn. V. I., becoming second sergeant, was pro- 
 moted to first sergeant in February, 1863, and was 
 honorably discharged from the service July 7, 
 1863. On his return home he engaged in general 
 merchandising, as a member of the firm of J. 
 Bridge & Son, in Hazardville, of which firm he 
 bad become a member while in the service, con- 
 tinuing that business until 1878, and later was for 
 several years connected with the American Paper 
 Barrel Co., of Hartford : during this time he was 
 also at work on various inventions, as he possesses 
 •considerable ability along that line. He is the 
 
 inventor of a paper barrel cover of compressed 
 pulp, and has two patents for type, one of com- 
 pressed wood, the other of compressed pulp. 
 Since 1889 he has been in the employ of Gordon 
 Brothers, shoddy manufacturers of Scitico. 
 
 On Oct. 24, 1867, Mr. Bridge was united in 
 marriage with Miss Jeannette Gordon, a daugh- 
 ter of William and Jean (Bauchop) Gordon, of 
 Enfield, and they have become the parents of two 
 sons : George Bennett and David Amos. Mr. 
 Bridge and his wife are active and prominent 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of 
 Hazardville, of which he is one of the trustees, 
 and socially he is a member of Samuel Brown 
 Post, No. 56, G. A. R. He is an ardent supporter 
 of the Republican party and its principles, and he 
 most ably represented Enfield town in the State 
 Legislature during the session of 1S75. Over his 
 life record there falls no shadow of wrong, and 
 he has the respect and confidence of the entire 
 community in which he has so long made his 
 home. 
 
 JEREMIAH MERWIN ALLEN was born 
 May 18, 1833, in Enfield, son of Jeremiah V. Allen, 
 and is a member of an old and prominent New 
 England family. He was married at Ellington, 
 Conn., April 10, 1856, to Hattie S. Griswold, who 
 was born March 30, 1833, in Washington, Conn., 
 daughter of Hermon C. and Mary A. (Wheaton) 
 Griswold. Children were born to this marriage 
 as follows : Frederick M., born Dec. 2, 1857, in 
 Hartford, died Jan. 20, 1858 ; Lizzie T. was born 
 April 7, 1859, in Hartford; and William H. was 
 born Nov. 12, 1864, in Hartford. Jeremiah M. 
 Allen has been for thirty or more years president of 
 the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection & Insur- 
 ance Co. 
 
 DAVID JOSEPH FERGUSON, a promi- 
 nent merchant of Scitico, was born in Esopus, 
 Ulster Co., N. Y., Nov. 29, 1858, a son of Law- 
 rence and Anna (McMinnoney) Ferguson, na- 
 tives of Ireland. His father came to America in 
 the early 'forties, locating in Ulster county, N. 
 Y., where he engaged in farming, and where he 
 still resides. 
 
 Our subject was reared in Ulster county, N. 
 Y., and received a good common-school educa- 
 tion. At the age of eighteen years he began his 
 business life as an employe in the powder mills 
 at Passaic, N. J., where he remained one vear, 
 subsequently working for the same companv three 
 and one-half years in Ulster county, N. Y. For 
 six months Mr. Ferguson was then engaged as 
 salesman in a general store in Rosendale, Ulster 
 Co., N. Y., resigning that position and coming to 
 Hazardville, Hartford Co., Conn., in 1881, secur- 
 ing at once employment in the mills of the Haz- 
 ard Powder Co., and remaining with them four 
 years. In 1885 Mr. Ferguson embarked in the 
 meat business at Hazardville, continuing same 
 
1504 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 successfully up to 1898. Since September of that 
 year he has kept a grocery and meat market at 
 Scitico, where he is doing a thriving business, be- 
 ing the leading merchant of that village. 
 
 On Nov. 15, 1882, Mr. Ferguson married Anne 
 E., daughter of Eliakim and Myra (Raymond) 
 Root, of Hazardville. This union has been blessed 
 with one child, a daughter, Ethel E. Mr. Fergu- 
 son is a prominent member of the Catholic Church. 
 Fraternally he is affiliated with the K. of C. and 
 the Foresters. In politics he is a Democrat, and 
 he ranks as one of the substantial and enterpris- 
 ing citizens of Hartford county. 
 
 SAMUEL F. JONES. In the death of ]Mr. 
 Jones, at his home on Farmington avenue. Hart- 
 ford, Sept. 28, 1S91, there passed away a noted 
 man, one of Connecticut's best-known and suc- 
 cessful criminal lawyers, always a unique figure in 
 Hartford. He was the son of Samuel Jones, of 
 Marlboro, a prominent citizen of that town, and 
 was born there in 1827. He fitted for college and 
 entered W'esleyan University, ^liddletown. in the 
 class of 1847, a famous class in that college, among 
 his classmates being Hon. Cornelius Cobb, ex- 
 United States senator from California ; the late 
 Prof. Alexander Winchell ; Bishop Edward G. An- 
 drews, of New York; Orange Judd and ex-Gov. 
 Briggs of Delaware. 
 
 Mr. Jones did not graduate, but left college dur- 
 ing his junior vear. For a year or two he taught 
 school, and then in 1849 he began the study of law 
 in the office of the late Gov. Hubbard. He was 
 admitted to the Bar in 1851, and from that time on 
 practiced law in Hartford. In 1853 he was clerk 
 of the Superior court, holding the office for one 
 year. In 1866 he was judge of the city police 
 court. He was a member of the Legislature for 
 Hartford in the sessions of 1873 and 1874, and dur- 
 ing both terms was on the Judiciary committee. 
 
 JOHN F. O'HEAR, a prominent and successful 
 merchant of Thompsonville, was born in the town 
 of Enfield May 21, 1852, a son of Hugh and Agnes 
 (McGinnis) O'Hear, natives of Ireland and Scot- 
 land, respectively. 
 
 Arthur O'Hear, the paternal grandfather, was a 
 native of Ireland, and his wife was an English lady. 
 He was editor of a Fenian paper in the early part 
 of the last century, and on account of some of 
 his writings was compelled to leave Ireland, locat- 
 ing in Canada, where his death occurred. The 
 maternal grandfather of our subject, Peter McGin- 
 nis, was a native of Scotland, was a resident of En- 
 field for several years, and died there in 1856. 
 Hugh O'Hear, our subject's father, was a refiner 
 of saltpeter, and for twenty-five j^ears was in the 
 employ of the Hazard Powder Co., at Hazardville, 
 Hartford county. He retired from the business 
 in 1874. and died in Thompsonville in 1882, at the 
 age of seventy-two years. In his family were eight 
 children who reached years of maturity : Patrick, 
 
 .\gnes (Mrs. David Crombie), James, Maggie (Mrs. 
 Jonn CusickJ, Matilda, John Francis, Mary E. 
 (Mrs. John V\'allace) and William. 
 
 The subject of this review was reared in Hazard- 
 ville, and received hi. education in the common 
 schools of that place. He commenced his business 
 life as a brussels weaver, and also served an appren- 
 ticeship of three years to the machinist's trade. In 
 1885 he embarked in the grocery business at 
 Thompsonville, and is now one of the most success- 
 ful merchants of that place, carrying a large and 
 well selected stock of goods, and receiving from the 
 ptiblic a liberal patronage. 
 
 ]\Ir. O'FIear has been twice married, first to 
 Julia, daughter of John and Julia (Moquinj Low- 
 rie, of Enfield. To them were born four children: 
 Bertha, Gertrude, Agnes and Hugh. His second 
 wife was in her maidenhood Miss Lizzie Ashe, a 
 daughter of James Ashe, of Thompsonville, and 
 two children have been born of this union: Francis 
 and Mary M. 
 
 An industrious, enterprising and progressive 
 citizen, Mr. O'Hear has become one of the well- 
 to-do and substantial business men of Thompson- 
 ville, and has been prominently identified with its 
 public affairs. He is now serving his fourth term 
 as one of the selectmen of Enfield, and is also a 
 member of the board of relief. The Democratic 
 party has always found in him a stanch supporter 
 of its principles, and he does all in his power for its 
 success. Religiously he is a Catholic, and frater- 
 nally a member of the Knights of Columbus. 
 
 ALVAN PINXEY FIYDE was born March 10, 
 1825, at Stafford, Tolland Co., Conn., son of Alvan 
 and Sarah (Pinney) Hyde, and a descendant of 
 a family which was one of the first at Hartford and 
 Norwich. 
 
 Mr. Hyde was prepared for College at the Mon- 
 son (Mass.) Academy, and was graduated from 
 Yale College with honor in 1845. After his gradu- 
 ation he read law under the direction of the late 
 Judge Loren P. Waldo, then £>l Tolland, and was 
 adm'itted to the Bar in 1847. He began the practice 
 of law at Stafford , later removing to Tolland. He 
 was chosen a representative from Tolland in the 
 General Assembly in 1854, 1858, and 1863. He was 
 the candidate of the Democratic party for Congress 
 in the three hotly contested campaigns from 1858 
 to 1862, but failed to secure election. In 1863 or 
 1864 he removed to Flartford, where he and Judge 
 Waldo formed a partnership for the practice of 
 law, to which firm three years later was admitted 
 the late Richard D. Hubbard, the firm then becom- 
 ing Waldo, Hubbard & Hyde. Charles E. Gross was 
 admitted to the firm in 1877, and on the death of 
 Judge Waldo, in 1881, William Waldo Hyde and 
 Frank E. Hyde, sons of Mr. Hyde, were admitted, 
 the style of the firm becoming Hubbard, H^xle & 
 Gross. At the death of Gov. Hubbard the firm was 
 again changed, this time to Hyde, Gross & Hyde. 
 In the summer of 1893 Frank E. Hyde was appoint- 
 

 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1505 
 
 ed United States consul at Lyons, and withdrew 
 from the firm, and in his place was substituted Ar- 
 thur L. Shipman. 
 
 Alvan P. Hyde on removing to Hartford gave 
 himself with great zeal and industry to the practice 
 of law, and for many years dechned nomination 
 for office. He had been a member of the National 
 Convention which nominated Buchanan, and was 
 also a member of the Convention at Chicago that 
 nominated Cleveland. In the "Judicial History of 
 Connecticut,'' one of the editors of which is Hon. 
 Dwight Loomis, Mr. Hyde is referred to as follows : 
 
 As a general practitioner he hardly had a superior at 
 the Bar., i-ie had no speciahy, though his marvelous fac- 
 ulty in unwinding the tangled threads of business compU- 
 cations might have made him one of the greatest mercantile 
 lawyers in the country. His mind was so versatile, and his 
 equipment so complete, that he was fitted for every style 
 of forensic contest. He was always found a trusty and 
 competent leader, a sturdy, skillful and dangerous antag- 
 onist. Patient and fearless, with that grand physique 
 which defied fatigue, never too elated and never discour- 
 aged, insensible to ill omens, he never faltered till an irre- 
 sistible judgment barred his way. He was one ot the great 
 leaders of the Connecticut Bar, and no lawyer through 
 nearly half a century of struggle and strife in courts ever 
 carried himself more manfully, more generously, more 
 honorably, or left fewer rankling wounds behind. He 
 was a man of great, kind heart, with liberal judgment of 
 others, a rare good fellowship, and simple honesty of soul 
 which needed no sensitive moral sensibilities since it was 
 not open to temptation, with a strong relish of the pure airs 
 of truth and justice, and a deep-seated love for home, 
 friends and country. 
 
 Mr. Hyde became a A'fason in 1858, having been 
 initiated into Ariel Lodge, at Merrow Station, in 
 Tolland county. He became Grand Master of the 
 Connecticut Grand Lodge in 1862, and was re- 
 elected in 1863. He became a thirty-second degree 
 Mason. In the latter part of his life he and his 
 wife traveled somewhat extensively in this country 
 and abroad. 
 
 On Sept. 12, 1849, ^Ii"- Hyde was married to 
 Frances E. Waldo, born March 21, 1831, daughter 
 of the late Judge Loren P. Waldo. Mr. Hyde's 
 death occurred Feb. 6, 1894, and at a meeting of 
 the Bar called on that occasion the following resolu- 
 tions were presented by Hon. Henry C. Robinson 
 and unanimously adopted. 
 
 In the death of Hon. Alvan Finney Hyde the Bar has 
 lost an eminent lawyer. Nature equipped him for use ■ 
 fulness. His frame was strong and stalwart, his intellect 
 penetrating and logical, and his moral character honest 
 and sound. Study and culture developed his natural pow- 
 ers. A long career of honorable practice carried him to 
 the front rank of the profession, and its most important 
 activities, whence he retired for a few months of sickness, 
 and died. He was faithful to his client and his cause, and his 
 own conscience as well, from the first hour of examina- 
 tion until the last decree of the court was registered. If 
 he succeeded he was generous, if he lost he was brave. 
 In consideration of his associates he had no superior, in 
 dealing with his opponent he was always fair. His broad 
 outfit for professional achievement made him a favorite 
 counselor and advocate in large interests, but he was never 
 deaf to the inquiry nor reluctant to serve the cause of the 
 humble client. He won his victories by direct and open 
 attack; he had no use for indirection or intrigue. No 
 95 
 
 problem of logic puzzled his reflection, and no crisis con- 
 fused his perception. His knowledge of jurisprudence was 
 reinforced in furnishing a good lawyer or a good judge, a 
 fine sense of that natural justice which underlies the writ- 
 ten law of statutes and constitution. He was fair to a 
 witness, for he was full of kindness. Aggressive in his 
 assertions of a righteous cause, he delighted to fight fraud 
 and tyranny, but he had only sympathy for the unfortunate 
 and weak. He loved the law and his love was returned. 
 His name and his life are woven into the records of our 
 courts for the last forty years. 
 
 In business circles he was influential and useful. He 
 was skilled in banking, insurance and bookkeeping. He 
 was fearless and upright in public life. As a friend he was 
 true, as a husband, father and brother, he was tender and 
 self-sacrificing. His genial presence was a jog to com- 
 panionship. He brought much sunlight and no darkness 
 to social life. He was full of hope. He believed in man, 
 individually and socially, and tor synicism and pessimism 
 neither his head nor his heart had any harbor. His career 
 was successful and honorable. We remember him and 
 will remember him with great respect, admiration and love. 
 We will attend his funeral in a body, and the clerk of the 
 Bar will enter this minute upon our records and transmit 
 a copy of it to his family. 
 
 The children of Alvan P. and Frances E. 
 (Waldo)' Hyde are: (i) Hon. William Waldo 
 Hyde was born March 25, 1854, was graduated from 
 the Hartford High school in 1872, and from Yale 
 College in 1876; he was admitted to the Bar in 
 1878, and not long thereafter was admitted to the 
 law firm which became Hubbard, Gross & Hyde, 
 since which time he has been actively engaged in 
 the practice of his profession with increased suc- 
 cess. He was married Dec. i, 1877, to Helen E., 
 daughter of the late George W. Watson, of Hart- 
 ford, and to the union were born children — ■ 
 Elizabeth H., Oct. 17,, 1878 ; and Alban W., Aug. 
 21, 1880. (2) Hon. Frank E. Hyde was born Jan. 
 21, 1858, and was graduated from Yale College 
 in 1879, entered the law school in 1881, and he 
 was admitted to the Bar at Hartford at the May 
 term of court, 1881 ; he became a member of the law 
 firm of Hyde, Gross & Hyde. Mr. Hyde was mar- 
 ried, Oct. 20, 1881, to Carrie A., daughter of the 
 late Hon. Julius L. Strong, of Hartford. 
 
 TUDOR GOWDY, the popular and efficient 
 postmaster at Thompsonville, was born in Westfield, 
 Mass., July 9, 1857, a son of Charles H; and Cyn- 
 thia (Upson) Gowdy, who were both of Puritan 
 stock. The paternal grandfather, Tudor Gowdy, 
 a farmer b}' occupation, was a native of Somerville, 
 Conn., where he spent his entire life. He was a 
 son of Robert Gowdy, and a grandson of Samuel 
 Gowdy, both lifelong residents of Somerville. Our 
 subject's maternal grandparents were Willis and 
 Harriet (Allyn) Upson, of Westfield, Mass. Charles 
 H. Gowdy, the father, grew to manhood in Somer- 
 ville, Conn., but for a period of thirty-five years, 
 from 1853 until 1888, was engaged in general mer- 
 chandising in \'VestfieId, Massachusetts. 
 
 Tudor Gowdy, whose name introduces this re- 
 view, was reared in Westfield, and was educated 
 in the public schools of that place. In 1876 he 
 
1506 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 became interested in general merchandising with his 
 father, continuing thus until the retirement of the 
 latter, in 1888. In 1891 he came to Thompsonville, 
 Hartford Co., Conn., where he served as clerk in 
 the post office until 1897, when he was appointed 
 postmaster, a position he has since filled with credit 
 to himself and to the entire satisfaction of the gen- 
 eral public. 
 
 On A'ov. II, 1896, Mr. Gowdy was united in 
 marriage with Miss Agnes G. Smith, a daughter 
 of Robert and Agnes Smith, of Thompsonville, for- 
 merly of Scotland, and of this union one son has 
 been born, Edwin Tudor. 
 
 Mr. Gowdy is a wide-awake, progressive busi- 
 ness man, and is now interested in several success- 
 ful enterprises, having been secretary of the Thomp- 
 sonville Board of Trade since its organization in 
 1895 ; a director and vice-president of the Thomp- 
 sonville Trust Co. ; a director of the New England 
 Jilachine Screw Co. ; and a director of the Enfield 
 Electric Light & Power Co. He has made good 
 use of his opportunities in life, has prosi^ered from 
 year to year, and has conducted all business matters 
 carefully and successfully, displaying in all his acts 
 an aptitude for successful management. Politically 
 he is identified with the Republican party, and so- 
 cially is a Royal Arch Mason, and a member of 
 the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the 
 Knights of Pythias. 
 
 JOHN STODDARD KIRKHAM has been an 
 important factor in the public affairs of Xewington 
 for many years, and has been honored with a num- 
 ber of official positions of trust and responsibility. 
 His fidelity to every trust reposed in him is above 
 question, and he is regarded as one of the leading 
 and most highlv respected citizens of the town. 
 
 i\lr. Kirkham was born in Newington April 6, 
 1826, and is one of a family of nine children — four 
 sons and five daughters — of William and Sophia 
 (Leffingwell) Kirkham. The father .was born 
 March 19, 1788, near where our subject now lives, 
 and was married Nov. 30, 181 5. By occupation he 
 was a clothier in early life. Later he engaged in 
 school teaching for thirty years, in Newington, 
 Wethersfield, Farmington. Hartford, Windsor, and 
 Springfield, Mass. He died Oct. 6, 1868, and his 
 wife, who was born July 27, 1796, departed this 
 life Nov. 14, 1880. 
 
 John Kirkham, grandfather of our subject, was 
 born in Xewington Nov. 5, 1760, and at the age 
 of eighteen enlisted as a musician in the Revolu- 
 tionary war, in company with his brother Samuel 
 and father. All served until the war ended. The 
 brother afterward removed to Westmoreland coun- 
 ty, Penn., where he died, and where his descend- 
 ants still live. The grandfather of our subject mar- 
 ried Jeanette Stoddard. His father, Henrv Kirk- 
 bam, was born in Wethersfield Sept. i, 1728, and 
 liis grandfather, Henry Kirkham, Sr., was also 
 a native of Wethersfield. The progenitor of the 
 family in America was Thomas Kirkham, a native 
 
 of England, who settled in Wethersfield, his name 
 appearing on the town records as early as 1640. 
 
 The Kirkham family is an old and prominent 
 one of England, and the following is taken from a 
 description of Kirkham Chantry, in Paington 
 Church, England. The tomb of the Kirkham fam- 
 ily is within the Chantry, ornamented with their 
 armorial bearings, with the cross and crown, and 
 the motto, S[ies ct Corona. They had their seat in 
 Blagdon, but their more ancient place of residence 
 was Ashcombe, under Haldon Hill. They were 
 possessed of this property in the time of Henry HL 
 and probably much earlier, and they continued to 
 be its lords for four hundred years after the time 
 of that monarch. The Kirkhams intermarried with 
 many noble and distinguished families, and two of 
 them filled the office of high sherifl:' of Devonshire 
 tlie last of these being Sir John Kirkham, who was 
 high sheriff in 1523. He was a very liberal bene- 
 factor to the town of Honiton, and he appropriated 
 large revenues to the support of a chapel in the 
 town, and also to other charitable purposes. Prince 
 says that "he died and lieth interred in the aisle of 
 the south side of the parish church of Paington 
 aforesaid belonging to the family, in which I can 
 meet with no inscriptions on their tombs that pre- 
 serve any of their memories. Only on the trans- 
 verse wall which separated the aisle from the 
 Church are several statues and figures of men fine- 
 ly carved in stone, standing, which are undoubtedly 
 intended as the representations of this honorable 
 tribe, and most likely one is of the gentleman last 
 mentioned, although of whom in particular I cannot 
 say, nor have I met any one who are able to in- 
 form me." 
 
 John S. Kirkham, our subject, was reared on his 
 father's farm,' and attended the common schools 
 during such portions of the year as he might be 
 conveniently spared from farm work for that pur- 
 pose. His education was completed in the Spring- 
 field High School and the Newington Academy. In 
 1849 he went to California, being one of the pio- 
 neer band of argonauts organized in Hartford by 
 Major Horace Goodwin, C. G. Smith, Joseph Pratt, 
 and others. The executive committee having charge 
 of the trip was composed of Dr. Samuel Brown, 
 surgeon; Roman M. Butler, treasurer; Orris Sel- 
 lew, captain ; Charles C. Richmond : and John S. 
 Kirkham, our subject, chairman. Each man paid 
 $300, and a vessel was purchased. The voyage 
 was a pleasant one, but on account of heavy winds 
 the}' were obliged to go around the Horn. They 
 left on April 11, 1849, ^"d arrived in California 
 Oct. 6. Mr. Kirkham was away just two years to 
 the hour. While in the Golden State he was chosen 
 a member of the board of managers, and also clerk 
 of El Dorado county, in 1850. He had saved $500 
 before going to California, but had only $100 re- 
 maining when he returned home, though he gained 
 some valuable experience in the gold regions. 
 
 Since his return our subject has lived on the 
 old homestead uninterruptedly, and has success- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1507 
 
 fully engaged in agricultural pursuits. He first 
 married Harriet Prudence Atwood, a daughter of 
 Josiah and Prudence (Kellogg) Atwood. She died 
 in 1882, and was buried in Newington. Four chil- 
 dren were born of that union: Frances Harriet, 
 born Sept. 17, i860, is now the wife of Henry L. 
 Kellogg, of Newington. Thomas Atwood, born 
 March 7, 1862, is connected with the Berkshire 
 Mills Co., and is a dealer in fertilizers in Bridge- 
 port,Conn. John Henry, born April 13, 1865, is a 
 lawyer of New Britain, Conn. ; he married Lillian 
 West, of Brooklyn, by whom he has one child, John 
 West. Mary Atwood, born July 15, 1866, is the wife 
 of Roderick W. Hine, of Dedham, Conn., where he 
 is superintendent of the public schools ; they have 
 three children, Paul Roderick, Harold Kirkham and 
 Grace Eleanore. For his second wife Mr. Kirkham 
 married Miss Mary Kellogg Atwood, a sister of his 
 £rst wife. 
 
 As one of the most prominent and influential 
 citizens of his community, Mr. Kirkham has been 
 called upon to fill numerous offices. He has served 
 as justice of the peace since 1855, and when the 
 town of Newington was set off from Wethersfield, 
 in 1871, he was chosen town clerk, which position, 
 Vv^ith the exception of three years, he has filled for 
 twenty-five years. From 1866 till 1898 he was a 
 member of the board of school visitors, and most 
 cf the time- acting visitor. In addition to these 
 ■offices of trust he has held that of treasurer of the 
 State board of agriculture for ten years. He was a 
 leader in the farmers' organization a few years ago, 
 to contest the claims of the Granite Agricultural 
 V/orks of Lebanon, N. H., growing out of fraud- 
 tilent notes. He has always been a stanch defender 
 of the farmers' rights, and a leading spirit in the 
 local and State Grange, at present holding the 
 office of chaplain in the same. He is even more 
 active in the support of agricultural interests than 
 in the interests of the Democratic party, with which 
 he affiliated until the Bryan campaign of 1896. In 
 1878 he represented Newington in the Lower House 
 of the General Assembly, and ten years later was 
 elected State senator from the Second senatorial 
 district. Mr. Kirkham has been a consistent mem- 
 ber and clerk of the Congregational Church in New- 
 ington for many years, and occupies an influential 
 position in all local religious affairs. He is held 
 in the highest esteem by his neighbors, and is a 
 man whose opinions are sought on any subject for 
 the advancement of the town's interests. He is self- 
 reliant, strong to execute whatever he plans, and 
 the success that he has achieved in life is due en- 
 tirely to his own well-directed and energetic efforts. 
 
 WALTER SCOTT CASE, the popular post- 
 master of Canton Center, is one of the prominent 
 citizens of that town. He belongs to an old family 
 of Barkhamsted, Conn., and one whose members 
 have been substantial land owners. 
 
 Humphrey Case, our subject's great-grandfather, 
 was one among the first settlers of the town of . 
 
 Barkhamsted, Conn., and lived in a log house which 
 stood about one mile east of what in the early his- 
 tory of the settlement was called Hitchcockville, 
 and later Riverton. He married a Miss Carrington, 
 from Vermont, and to the union were born twelve 
 or thirteen children. Mr. Case was a thrifty farmer, 
 and became a large land owner, giving to each of ■ 
 his children a home and land. 
 
 Harlow Case, our subject's grandfather, was a 
 farmer and lived on the old homestead, owning a 
 large tract of land in the town. He married Lola 
 Adams, of his town, by whom he had the follow- 
 ing children : Diana, Marsha, Edwin, Marlow, Me- 
 lissa, and Granville, of whom Edwin, Marlow and 
 Granville are now deceased. 
 
 Edwin Case, the father of our subject, born 
 March 20, 1829, received a good common-school 
 education, and taught for some time in Barkham- 
 sted, his native town. But not desiring to make 
 teaching his life vocation he learned the trade of 
 carpenter and joiner, which he followed more or 
 less throughout his later years in connection with 
 farming. His political affiliations were with the 
 Democratic party. He served for several years as 
 first selectman of his town, and in 1877 ^s repre- 
 sentative in the State Legislature, and was highly 
 esteemed in his community. He died at his home' 
 in Barkhamsted in the fall of 1894, his remains being 
 interred in Barkhamsted Center cemetery. His 
 wife, Adaline, who is still living, is daughter of El- 
 liott Talmadge, of Barkhamsted, Conn., a deacon in 
 the Congregational Church. Mrs. Case is a member 
 of the Congregational Church. They had the follow- 
 ing children : Angle, who married Frank Belden, of 
 East Canaan; Walter Scott, our subject; Elliott T., 
 who resides in Waterbury; Herman, a store-keeper 
 of Fairhaven ; and George, a resident of Water- 
 bury. 
 
 Walter Scott Case was born in Barkhamsted 
 Oct. 28, 1859, and is a thoroughly self-made man. 
 Having previously received a good education in the 
 district school and the high school near his home, 
 at the age of seventeen he started out in life for 
 himself, and secured employment in a rule shop 
 at Riverton, Conn., and for about thirteen yeans 
 was occupied in that business. Later he became 
 interested in electric light plants, and went to 
 Middletown, Conn., and engaged in that business 
 In 1893 he and John Mays bought out the interest 
 of George Lamphier, a merchant of Canton Center, 
 and for three years continued in partnership. Mr. 
 Mays then sold out, and Mr. Case has since been 
 sole owner of the business. In church matters Mr. 
 Case is liberal, also in politics. . He has been the 
 i-egular postmaster of Canton Center since 1898, 
 and for five years previously had served as acting 
 postmaster. Socially he is identified with the A. 
 F. & A. M., Amos Beecher Lodge, of New Hartford, 
 the A. O. U. W., of Middletown, and the Knights of 
 the Maccabees, of Collinsville. 
 
 On May 22, 1890, Mr. Case was married to 
 Miss Susie A., daughter of Rollin Church, of Gran- 
 
1508 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 by, Conn., and they have four children, namely : 
 Raymond, born ^lay i, 1891 ; Beatrice, Nov. 17, 
 1892; Gordon, Jan. 6, 1896; and Bvron, Oct. 7, 
 1898. 
 
 WARREN OZIAS GRISWOLD. There are 
 few nien more worthy of representation in a work 
 of this kind than the subject of this biography, who 
 i.s passing the later years of his life in retirement 
 from active labor at his pleasant home in West 
 Hartforil. His has been a useful career, in which 
 he has established himself in the esteem and con- 
 fidence of those who know him, 
 
 j\lr. Griswold was born in West Hartford May 
 16, 1838, and has lived in his present residence 
 smce three months old. His father, Chester Gris- 
 wold, was born in the same town Jan. 5, 1805, and 
 was reared and educated in much the usual manner 
 of farmer boys of his day. At the age of twelve 
 A-ears he lost his father, and the responsibility of car- 
 rying on the farm devolved upon him. With his 
 mother and other children he removed to a farm at 
 the corner of Fern and Main streets, and there 
 ir:ade his home for some time. On May 11. 1828, 
 in West Hartford, he married Miss Armina Palmer, 
 • daughter of David Palmer. She died Aug. 25, 
 1864, and he departed this life June 11, 1883, hon- 
 ored and respected by all who knew them. They 
 had eight children: (i) W"atson C, born June 24, 
 1829, died Jan. 22, 1831. (2) Lucy J., born July 
 21, 1830, died Feb. 16, 1831. (3) Thomas C, born 
 Jan. 9, 1832, died April 9, 1835. (4) James H., born 
 March 6, 1834, died March 31, 1835. (5) Sarah 
 E., born Feb. 20, 1836, was married Oct. 29. 1856, 
 to Julius P. Elmer now deceased, and she died June 
 10, 1878. Her children were I\Iary, wife of Harvey 
 Cole, of Wolcott, Conn. ; Lillian, wife of Wallace 
 Dean, of Bloomfield ; Delia, wife of Samuel Shep- 
 herd, of Bloomfield : Alice, wife of Albert ^^'atkins, 
 of Bloomfield : and Arthur, a resident of New Haven. 
 (6) ^^'arren O., our subject, is next in the order of 
 birth. (7) George A., born Oct. 9, 1843, died 
 April 8, 1867. (8) Ellen E., born Feb. 9, 1850, 
 was married April 17, 1888, to Albert G. Pierpont, 
 of Litchfield, Connecticut. 
 
 Reared upon the home farm, Warren O. Gris- 
 wold received a good practical education in the 
 schools of West Hartford Center and the old acad- 
 emy. He never left the parental roof, and as soon 
 as old enough began to assist his father in the 
 labors of the farm. Subsequently, in connection with 
 general farming. He was interested in the dairy 
 business until 1895, when he rented his place, and 
 has since lived retired, enjoying the fruits of former 
 toil. No citizen in his community is more hon- 
 ored or esteemed, those who know him best being 
 numbered .among his warmest friends. He belongs 
 to AVyllys Lodge, No. 99, F. & A. M., and in re- 
 ligious connection is a member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church of West Hartford. He has given his 
 -political support to the Republican partv, but has 
 never sought or desired office for himself. 
 
 In Farmington, Hartford county, Dec. 16, 1858, 
 ]\lr. Griswold was united in marriage with Miss 
 Jane iVI. Dunham, and to them have come three 
 children: (i) Frederick W., born Aug. i, 1861, 
 married Hattie Elvira Eddy, and died Feb. 10, 
 1892, leaving one daughter, Mabel E. (2) Lena 
 D., born May 14, 1867, is the wife of Henry A. 
 Stannard, of New Haven, and they had one child, 
 Arline G., who died July 11, 1893. (3) George S., 
 born Dec. i, 1872, died June 2, 1876. 
 
 HON. JOHN HURLBURT WHITE, of the 
 Hartford Bar, who for twenty odd years was the 
 efficient judge of probate for the Hartford district, 
 and has been for many years an authority in that 
 line of the legal profession, is descended from an- 
 cestors who early came to New England. 
 
 Judge White was born Nov. 23, 1833, in Glas- 
 tonbury,. Conn., son of Eleazer Sweetland and Alma 
 Holmes (HurlburtJ White, and on his mother's 
 side is a lineal descendant of Thomas Hurlbut, 
 who, it is supposed, was one of the eleven passengers 
 who came with Lion Gardiner to New England in 
 1635. Gardiner built and had command of the 
 fort at Saybrook. Hurlbut was Avounded in an 
 encounter with the Pequot Indians in 1637. After 
 the Pequot war Mr. Hurlbut established himself 
 in business in Wethersfield, of which town he was 
 one among the early settlers, and became quite 
 prominent in public affairs. He was clerk of the 
 train-band, constable, grand juror, and deputy to 
 the General Court, and was the second largest tax- 
 payer at the time of his decease. 
 
 The subject of this sketch received an academic 
 education, and in 185 1 came to Hartford and read 
 law in the office of the late Hon. Heman H. Bar- 
 bour. He was admitted to the Bar March 12, 1858, 
 and has ever since been identified with the legal 
 profession and interests of Hartford. He began his 
 public career in i860, as city auditor, to which 
 office he was elected on the Democratic ticket. He 
 held that position three years, when, in 1863, he 
 was elected judge of probate for the district of 
 Hartford. This position he held most efficiently 
 and ably for the long period of twenty-three, years, 
 resigning the office in January, 1887, to resume the 
 practice of law. 
 
 Judge White has ever taken a deep interest in 
 all measures having for their object the develop- 
 ment and advancement of Hartford, and has been 
 an active worker along those lines. Since i860 
 he has been connected with the First Company of 
 Governor's Foot Guard, as an active and veteran 
 member, and is now president of the Veteran 
 Corps. For years he has been a member of the 
 Probate Assembly of Connecticut, of which he 
 served for some years as president. He served as 
 a commissioner of Connecticut to receive the votes 
 of the soldiers of the State in the field in the Presi- 
 dential election of 1864. For years he was a di- 
 rector in the Farmers and Mechanics National 
 Bank of Hartford. His relisfious connections are 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1509 
 
 with the Park Congregational Church of Hart- 
 ford, he having been a member thereof since 1858. 
 Judge White is a gentleman of many accomplish- 
 ments, of rare judicial ability, and possesses social 
 qualities which are appreciated and enjoyed by a 
 large circle of warm personal friends. 
 
 In i860 Judge White was married to Miss 
 Jennie M., daughter of George Cooke, of Litchfield, 
 this State, and to the union was bom one son, 
 Henry C. White, now an artist of distinction, who 
 in April, 1889, was married to Miss Grace H. 
 Holbrook. 
 
 CHARLES S. MASON, florist, "Meadow 
 View," Farmington, Hartford county, Connecticut. 
 
 ADOLPH CARL STERNBERG. Much of the 
 ■civilization of the world has come from the Teutonic 
 race. Continually moving westward, they have tak- 
 en with them the enterprise and advancement of 
 their eastern homes, and have become valued and 
 -useful citizens of various localities. In this coun- 
 try especially have they demonstrated their power 
 to adapt themselves to new circumstances, retain- 
 ing at the same time tneir progressiveness and en- 
 ergy, and have become loyal and devoted citizens, 
 true to the interests of their adopted country. 
 
 Among the most prominent of West Hartford's 
 •citizens who have come from the Fatherland is 
 Adolph C. Sternberg. He was born in Stargard 
 Prussia, Aug:. 15, 1839, a son of Carl Sternberg, 
 a native of Pomerania, Prussia, and a grandson of 
 Rev. Carl Sternberg, a minister of the Lutheran 
 Church in Germany. Carl Sternberg was a lawyer 
 of distinction in his native land, having pursued 
 Tiis professional course in Berlin and Heidelberg, 
 Germany, and also became a finished English 
 scholar. On account of his participation in the revo- 
 lution of 1848 he came to America in 1852, and 
 located in West Hartford, Conn., where his family 
 joined him the same year. He was made a citizen 
 in West Hartford, and throughout the remainder 
 cif his life was engaged in general farming. He died 
 Ivlay 7, 1873, and his wife, who bore the maiden 
 name of Bernardine Krause, died Nov. 16, 1869. 
 In their family were nine children : Francis C, a 
 veteran of the Civil war, is a resident of Brook- 
 lyn^ N. Y. ; Rudolph C. and John C, who were 
 also soldiers in the Civil war, are now deceased; 
 Adolph C. is our subject ; Herman E. is a resi- 
 dent of West Hartford; Carl M. died in the army; 
 Frederick William, who was also one of the "boys 
 in blue," is now a resident of New Britain, Conn. ; 
 Anna Louise is the wife of E. F. Claus, of Brook- 
 lyn, N. Y. ; and Richard Paul is a resident of New 
 Haven, Conn. Of this family, John C. was post- 
 master at Newington, Conn., for some time. He 
 •married Miss Mary Eagan, now a resident of Hart- 
 ford, and to them were born four children, Kate, 
 Annie, Fannie and John C. 
 
 Adolph C. Sternberg was thirteen years of age 
 on the emigration of the familv to the New World. 
 
 From the age of four until twelve he had attended 
 a private school in his native land, and on coming 
 to America was well advanced in French and Latin, 
 and had commenced the study of Greek, having 
 pursued these studies in the public schools and 
 Gymnasium. After locating in West Hartford he 
 continued his studies with his father for some time. 
 Subsequently he carried on the farm for his father 
 until 1873, and also handled fertilizers and agricult- 
 ural implements prior to his father's death. For 
 twenty years he conducted a store on State street, 
 Hartford, and engaged in tobacco packing, at the 
 same time laying the foundation for his present ex- 
 tensive fruit business 
 
 On Aug. 15^ 1868, in Hartford, Mr. Sternberg 
 was united in marriage with Miss Francesca M. 
 Soeckel, and to them have been born five children: 
 (i) Amalie A. B., born June 28, 1870, is the wife 
 of George W. Trant, of New Britain, Conn., and 
 thev have two children, Elizabeth Sternberg, born 
 April 13, 1896; and Francesca Independence, born 
 July 4, 1897. (2) Francesca M., born Jan. 12, 
 1872, is the wife of Ernst Hamilton Brandt, of 
 Riverside, Conn., and they have had three chil- 
 dren, Ernst Hamilton, born May 20, 1897; Adolph 
 Sternberg, July 25, 1898; and Edward Carl, June 
 28, 1899. (^) Adolph Carl, Jr., born Feb. 7, 1873, 
 is engaged in the culture of small fruits, being as- 
 sociated in business with his father. He married 
 Anna Grace Allen, a native of Enfield, Conn., and 
 they have two children, Adolph Carl, born Dec. 
 I, 1896; and Mary Bancroft, born Aug. 5, 1898. 
 (4) Louise H., born Feb. 27, 1875, died March 
 13, 1891. (5) M. Clara, born July 29, 1878, is 
 attending the Normal School in New Britain, Con- 
 necticut. 
 
 Mr. Sternberg discontinued business in Hart- 
 ford on account of his election to the Legislature 
 and subsequent appointment as State highway com- 
 missioner (for a four-years term). He was elected 
 to the Legislature from West Hartford in 1895, 
 and was instrumental in passing the good roads 
 law — being chairman of the committee on Roads and 
 Bridges — and very active in improving the roads 
 of his town, on which, through him $60,000 was 
 expended. Mr. Sternberg has been invited by sev- 
 eral towns in the State to speak on the subject^ of 
 good roads, and has had the satisfaction of seeing 
 many improvements made in road making as a 
 consequence. He has been acting school visitor of 
 West Hartford for thirteen years, and was instru- 
 mental in consolidating the schools of the town; 
 in 1895 was peach yellows commissioner; and 
 is justice of the peace at the present time. He is 
 also president of the Village Improvement Society, 
 and president of the Men's Union of the Congrega- 
 tional Church, being one of the most active and 
 prominent members of that church, of which he is 
 now auditor, and in 1895 was church treasurer. 
 Since attaining his majority he has affiliated with 
 the Republican party, and is a recognized leader 
 in public affairs in his community. He is a member 
 
1510 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of the Grang-e; of Wyllvs Lodge, No. 99, F. & 
 A. M. ; of Putnam Phalanx ; of the Hartford Board 
 of Trade; and of the Tobacco Growers Associa- 
 tion. His pleasant home is on ^Mountain street, 
 West Hartford. 
 
 ARTHUR F. EGGLESTON, of the law firm of 
 Buck & Eggleston, Hartford, for many years Slate's 
 Attorney, and one of the leading lawyers of the 
 Hartford Bar, was born Oct. 23, 1844, in the town 
 of Enfield, Hartford county, a son of Jerre D. and 
 Louisa (Carew) Eggleston. 
 
 i\'Ir. Eggleston was prepared for college at Mon- 
 son xA.cademy, ]\Ionson, Mass. The breaking out 
 of the Civil war gave him a spirit of uneasiness 
 and restlessness that could only be quieted by actual 
 participation in the conflict, and, though not yet 
 as old as was generally deemed necessary, he man- 
 aged to enlist in the 46th Mass. V. L, followed its 
 vicissitudes until it was mustered out, and received 
 an honorable discharge. He then resumed his 
 studies, in 1864 entering Williams College, from 
 which he was graduated in 1868. After this event 
 he passed some months in teaching, then came to 
 Hartford and entered the law office of Messrs. 
 Strong (S: Buck, as a student. He was admitted 
 to the Bar of Hartford county in 1872. In that same 
 year Air. Strong died, and Mr. Buck and our sub- 
 ject continued to keep their offices together, finally 
 entering into partnership relations as the firm of 
 Buck & Eggleston, an association which has since 
 remained unbroken, and which has developed into 
 one of the strongest law firms in the State, as well 
 as one of the most successful. Mr. Eggleston's am- 
 bition has been to become a good lawyer, and he 
 has most enthusiastically given his great energies 
 to the accomplishment of this end, making public 
 preferment a secondary matter. For the past 
 twenty years he has been engaged on one side or the 
 other of almost all the great trials of Hartford 
 countv, and in many in which he has not appeared 
 his absence has been from choice and not from 
 necessity. Among the more important of the 
 earlier cases he fought was Bailey's Appeal from 
 Probate, commonly known as "The Horton Will 
 Case." He was associated with Hon. David S. Cal- 
 houn and Hon. Henry C. Robinson in the endeavor 
 to break the will, and the case was so well pre- 
 pared and so vividly presented that the eminent 
 counsel for the appellees capitulated before the evi- 
 dence was half in. Not long afterward he was em- 
 ployed by the town of Bloomfield to defend an in- 
 volved and protracted suit brought by the Charter 
 Oak Bank. Perhaps this case, as much as any other, 
 explains the fact that he has since been the selected 
 attorney of so many towns in Hartford and ad- 
 jacent counties. No better test of the powers of a 
 lawyer can be applied than his ability to master 
 the technical questions of other professions, so as 
 to meet the best minds of those professions on equal 
 ground. Striking examples of this power in Mr. 
 Eggleston were seen in the successful defense 
 
 which Hon. Alvan P. Flyde and he made of Dr. 
 Jarvis from the charge of surgical negligence in the 
 case of Parsons vs. Jarvis, and in the long trial 
 of the Holvoke Water Power Co. vs. The Connecti- 
 cut River Co. in the United States Circuit Court, 
 in which nearly all the great hydraulic engineers 
 of the country were employed, and in which he 
 cross-examined one expert eleven days with the 
 happiest of results. Among the important State 
 trials which he has conducted was the successful de- 
 fense of Clarence Taylor, indicted for murder, and 
 his prosecution of William .G. Souder, convicted of 
 manslaughter after two vigorous trials, and of John 
 Cronin, convicted of murder in the first degree, and 
 subsequently hanged. The State vs. Dr. M. R. 
 Griswold, for arson, one of the greatest cases ever 
 tried in this State, was prosecuted by Mr. Eggles- 
 ton. 
 
 The political affiliations of Judge Eggleston 
 have been with the Republican party, and in its 
 councils he has been active and influential. He 
 has served as president of the common council, hav- 
 ing been elected a member from the First ward. 
 He served for a period of ten years as attorney 
 for the board of county commissioners, and filled 
 the office of county treasurer a like number of 
 years. In 1877 he was appointed judge of the 
 Hartford police court, and continued on the Bench 
 until 1883, when he declined re-election. In 188S 
 he succeeded Hon. William Hammersley to the office 
 of State's Attorney for Hartford county, a position 
 he has since filled with signal ability and efficiency. 
 From 1892 to 1895 he was a police commissioner 
 of the city of Hartford. Judge Eggleston's stand- 
 ing before the Bar and the public is that of an 
 able and conscientious lawyer, and his career has 
 been one of great usefulness and honorable distinc- 
 tion. He is a Freemason, and a member of the 
 Armv and Navy Club. 
 
 On March i, 1870, Judge Eggleston was mar- 
 ried to jMary Isabel Abbe, only daughter of J. 
 Preston Abbe, of Windsor Locks, Connecticut. 
 
 ROOT. The late George Wells Root, of Hart- 
 ford, was descended from one of the earliest set- 
 tlers of that city, and of New England, from a 
 family some of whose members were especially dis- 
 tinguished and prominent in the militarv and civic 
 history of the Nation and State. He was of the 
 eighth generation from Thomas Root, the Ameri- 
 can ancestor, the line of his descent being through 
 Thomas (2), Deacon Thomas, Ebenezer, Hon. 
 Jesse. Dr. James Banks and Erastus S. 
 
 (I) Thomas Root, born Jan. 16, 1605, believed 
 to be the son of John Root and Ann (Russell), 
 of Badby, England, came to this coimtrv about 
 1637, and was among the first settlers in Hartford, 
 Conn., where he lived many years, and where his 
 children were born. After a residence of about 
 fifteen years in Hartford he removed with his six 
 sons and one daughter and settled in Northampton, 
 Mass., in 1654. He vyas one of the eight pillars 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1511 
 
 of the parish church organized there in June, 1661. 
 He was a farmer and a weaver of cloth. His chil- 
 dren, all born in Hartford, were : Joseph, Thomas, 
 John, Jonathan, Hezekiah, Jacob and Sarah. 
 
 (H) Thomas Root (2), son of Thomas, born in 
 1644, married in 1666 Abigail, daughter of Alex- 
 ander and Mary (Voar) Alvord. He lived in 
 Northampton until after the death of his wife, in 
 1699, when he seems to have moved to Boston, 
 thence to Lynn, Mass., where in 1701 he married 
 Widow Mary Cox. His children by Abigail were : 
 Thomas, Abigail, Samuel, Hezekiah, and one whose 
 name is not given. 
 
 (HP) Deacon Thomas Root, son of Thomas 
 (2), born in 1667 in Northampton, Mass., married 
 in 1691 Thankful, daughter of Jeddiah and Free- 
 dom (Woodward) Strong, of Northampton. In 
 1709 Deacon Root went to Coventry, Conn., where 
 he became the first town clerk, and the first deacon 
 in the Coventr}^ Church. He died in 1758, Mrs. 
 Root in 1754. Their children were: Thomas, Eben- 
 ezer, Eliakim, Abigail, Thankful, Mindwell, Ex- 
 perience, Samuel, Miriam, Ephraim and Mehitabel. 
 
 (IV) Ebenezer Root, son of Deacon Thomas, 
 born in 1693, married in 1718 Sarah, daugliter of Jo- 
 seph Strong, of Coventry. He moved from North- 
 ampton, Mass., in 1709, with his father, held various 
 civil offices in the town, and was much respected. 
 He died in 1760, his wife in 1784. Their children 
 were : Sarah, Submit, Silence, Ephraim, Hannah, 
 Sybil, Ebenezer and Jesse. 
 
 (V) Hon. Jesse Root, son of Ebenezer Root, 
 born in 1737 in Coventry, Conn., married in 1758 
 Mary Banks, of Newark, N. J. He died in 1822, 
 his wife in 1813. In 1756, at the age of about 
 twenty, he graduated from Nassau Hall (Prince- 
 ton College), receiving the first honors of the Col- 
 lege. He studied theology with Rev. Samuel Lock- 
 wood, D. D., of Andover, and was licensed by the 
 Hartford South Association. Circumstances bring- 
 ing about a change in his life work, he was admitted 
 to the Bar at Windham in 1 763, and soon settled 
 in Hartford, Conn. In his newly chosen profession 
 he was destined to excel, and to obtain a position 
 beyond that reached by many of the brightest 
 intellects of his day. With the exception of the 
 time spent in Congress, etc., he was an advocate 
 at the Bar for twenty-six years, and was esteemed 
 very highly as a successful lawyer and an hon- 
 orable citizen. Part of the time he resided in Hart- 
 ford, and part of the time in Coventry, while prac- 
 ticing as an attorney. He early took a lively in- 
 terest in the concerns of his country in general, 
 and especially the trouble between the then Col- 
 onies and the mother country. As an tmfiinching 
 patriot he defended the Colonies with both 
 tongue and pen. He was an active and influential 
 member of the Council of Safety, which originated 
 and completed the project of capturing Ticonderoga 
 and Crown Point. Gen. Washington was at Hart- 
 ford in consultation with the Council of Safety when 
 the rumor of Arnold's treachery first reached him. 
 
 It was in this same council that the plan was ma- 
 tured for the siege of Yorktown. 
 
 Mr. Root received from Gen. Trumbull a cap- 
 tain's commission in 1776, and in three days was 
 on his march to join the army with a full com- 
 pany of volunteers, which he raised in Hartford. 
 He was soon made a lieutenant-colonel by the As- 
 sembly, and shortly afterward appointed colonel ; 
 was then advanced to the rank of adjutant-general 
 of the department to which he was attached, from 
 which post he was honorably discharged by Maj.- 
 Gen. Putnam. In May, 1779, he was chosen a 
 delegate in Congress, and continued there till the 
 close of the war, in 1783. On the visit of Wash- 
 ington to New England, after his election to the 
 Presidency, Judge Root was appointed to deliver 
 the Address of Welcome at Hartford. In 1787 Col. 
 Root was appointed assistant judge of the Superior 
 court of Connecticut, and was appointed chief jus- 
 tice in 1798, although he presided as such a year 
 or two previous, during the illness of Judge Adams, 
 his predecessor; he retired from the ofifice in 1807. 
 For a period of thirty-two years he had been al- 
 most incessantly in public service. After this he 
 was a member of the Legislature for a period, and 
 in 1808 he was chosen one of the electors of Presi- 
 dent and Vice-president. He was also a member 
 of the Connecticut State Convention that framed 
 the new constitution in 1818, and though he was 
 then eighty-one years old his mental faculties were 
 Si ill unimpaired. He was a member of the Amer- 
 ican Academv and one of the Connecticut Academy 
 of Arts and Sciences, and while chief justice re- 
 ceived the degree of LL. D. from his Alma Mater, 
 Princeton College. His portrait now hangs in the 
 Supreme court room at the Capitol. Jesse Root 
 Grant, father of Gen. Grant was named for him. 
 Judge Root's children were: Mary, Ebenezer, 
 Ephraim, Sophia, Jesse, David, Tames B., Sarah and 
 Gabriel. 
 
 (VI) Dr. James Banks Root, sow of Hon. Jesse 
 Root, born May 20, 1770, married June 8, 1797. 
 Martha Sergeant, of Stockbridge, Mass. He moved 
 to Athens, N. Y., where he died Feb. 28, 1813; 
 his wife passed away March 15, 1821, at Stock- 
 bridge, Mass. Their children were : Erastus S., 
 George Washington, George William, James O., 
 Martha M. and Elizabeth's. 
 
 (VII) Erastus S. Root, son of Dr. Jciaies 
 Banks Root, born Oct. 2q. 1798, in Burlington, Vt., 
 married in 1822 Dorcas Wells, of Winchester, 
 Conn., and moved to Mt. Morris, N. Y., where 
 he was respected as a worthy citizen. He and his 
 v. ife were members of the Episcopal Church. 
 Their children were: Theodore G., George Wells, 
 Henry T., and Charles. 
 
 (VIII) George Wells Root, son of Erastus 
 S. Root, was for over fifty years closely identified 
 with the mercantile business life of Hartford. He 
 was born April 26, 1826, in Augusta, N. Y., and 
 when eight years of age removed with his parents 
 to Mt. Morris, N. Y., where he was educated in 
 
1512 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the public schools, and served as clerk in a coun- 
 try store for three years. His ancestor, Thomas 
 Root, was one of the first settlers of Augusta. In 
 1843 George W. Root, then seventeen years of age, 
 came to Hartford and entered the employ of A. 
 &• C. Day. which firm was composed of the late 
 Deacon Albert Day and the late Calvin Day. The 
 firm was established in 1826, and did a large job- 
 bing dry-goods business. Eight years later, in 
 1S51, Mr. Root became a member of the firm, and 
 ten years later Calvin Day retired, the firm becom- 
 ing Day, Owen & Co. Sul^sequent changes of 
 partnership changed the firm name to Owen, Day 
 & Root. Owen, Root & Childs. Root & Childs, and 
 Root. Childs & Co., under which name the firm now 
 does business. The partners at the time of ]\Ir. 
 Root's death were G. Wells Root, of Hartford, and 
 Harris C. Childs, Edward G. Gilman, and Harry 
 C. Pomeroy, of New York. The office and sales- 
 room are in New York, where the finn conducts a 
 large dry-goods commission business. The office 
 ■was removed from Hartford some few years ago, 
 and from that time until his death Mr. Root re- 
 mained the financial head of the firm, retaining his 
 office in Hartford. 
 
 Mr. Root was an earnest Republican in politics, 
 and was a member of the "Wide Awakes" during 
 the stirring political times which immediately pre- 
 ceded the Civil war. He served nine years as a 
 member of the board of police commissioners, and 
 one term in the common council, liut declined fur- 
 ther political preferment. Mr. Root was closely 
 identified with several manufacturing concerns. 
 He was president of the Sigourney Tool Co., also 
 of the Taft Co., and was a director of the Hartford 
 National Bank, the Phoenix Insurance Co., and the 
 Smvth Afanufacturing Co.: he also held member- 
 ship in the Hartford Club, the Board of Trade, the 
 Connecticut Societv, Sons of the American Revolu- 
 tion (the last being gained throug'h his descent 
 f'-om Jesse Ro(Tt). and was an honorary member 
 of the Foot Guard Veteran Corps. He was one 
 of the original members of the Park Church, join- 
 ing that organization when it was formed from 
 the North Church. Rev. Dr. Horace Bushnell's. ^Ir. 
 Root was a man of positive convictions, and was 
 frank and candid in expressing them. He was 
 verv public-spirited ; generous and firm in his friend- 
 ships ; was deeply interested in everything which 
 pertained to the interests of Hartford and its de- 
 velopment : and his advice and counsel were always 
 sought and confided in by his personal friends and 
 associates. In a long period of business activity 
 m Hartford he had earned the esteem of the busi- 
 ness community, and was hiehly regarded as a man 
 of sound judgment, financial integrity and com- 
 mercial foresight. On April 26. 1894, when Mr. 
 Root attained his sixty-eiehth birthday, his part- 
 ners and several business associates and friends 
 were entertained by him at dinner at the Hartford 
 Club, and thev presented him with a solid silver 
 loving cup as a mark of their regard and esteem. 
 
 On Jan. 8, 1850. Mr. Root married Miss Paulina 
 S. Brooks, daughter of the late David S. Brooks, 
 of Hartford. She died Feb. 26, 1893, Mr. Root 
 on March 21, 1897. Their children were: Charles 
 H., who died Dec. 22, 1867; George B., who died 
 April 16, 1868; James T., who died in October, 
 1899; Edward H.,'who died in April, 1900; Robert 
 W., of New Haven (married) ; Mary E., wife of 
 W. \\'. Wilcox, of Middletown ; and Erastus S., of 
 Hartford. 
 
 Er.-vstus S. Root, ex-treasurer of the Sigour- 
 ney Tool Co., and also of the Taft Co., of Hart- 
 ford, was married, in Pittsfield, Mass., to Lillian 
 Dermont, and one son, George Wells, has blessed 
 their union. 
 
 ALFRED J. WEED, i\I. D., of Granby, is one 
 of the ablest physicians and surgeons now engaged 
 in practice in Hartford county, and has won a 
 position of prominence among his professional 
 brethren. He is one of Connecticut's honored sons, 
 born in the town of Winsted, Litchfield county, 
 and belongs to an old and prominent New England 
 family which was founded in this country by three 
 brothers, natives of England, who crossed the At- 
 lantic in 1630, and first located in Dorchester coun- 
 ty, Mass., but later removed to Connecticut. 
 
 Charles B. Weed, the Doctor's father, was born 
 in Sharon, Conn., in 1815, and through his own 
 efforts secured a good practical education. In his 
 native town he learned the carpenter's trade, and 
 going to Winsted, Litchfield county, at the age of 
 seventeen years, he successfullv followed carpenter- 
 ing there until 1850. During that year he went to 
 Washington, D. C, and bought the patent right 
 for making concrete floors and sidewalks, and as 
 a contractor he successfully engaged in that busi- 
 ness until his death, and greatly improved the 
 method of doing the work. He laid the floors of 
 the Wethersfield Prison and Reform School, and of 
 many of the public and private buildings in New 
 Britain. While in Kentuckv he visited the famous 
 Mammoth Cave, and there fell, breaking several of 
 his ribs. Before he had fully recovered from his 
 injuries he contracted pneumonia, and died from 
 the effects of same in 1868, at his home in Winsted, 
 his remains being interred there. He was a Master 
 Mason, and as one of the prominent and influential 
 citizens of his community he was called upon to 
 serve as selectman and member of the school board. 
 Politically he was a stanch Democrat, and a stip- 
 Dorter of the principles advocated by Jefferson and 
 Jackson, the two great leaders of that party. He 
 was liberal in his religious views, and always con- 
 tributed toward the support of the Congregational 
 Church, of which his wife was a lifelong member. 
 He was a man of progressive ideas and o-ood 
 business ability, and was upright and honorable in 
 all his dealings. In addition to the bu=iness al- 
 ready mentioned, he was interested with Dr. Steele 
 in patenting and manufacturing stump joints for 
 baby carriages, and also operated a sawmill. He 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1513 
 
 -was thoroughly a self-made man, his success in 
 life being due entireh^ to his own well-directed ef- 
 forts. Mr. Weed married Miss jNIary Ann Hum- 
 phrey, a daughter of Col. James Humphrey, the 
 ■owner of the old "Sanford House," on the stage 
 route between Albany and Hartford. Three chil- 
 •dren were born of this union : Charles H., who 
 ■was head salesman for Joseph Langdon & Co., now 
 -the firm of Hill & Co., Hartford, and died in 1888; 
 Mary A.nn, widow of Arthur P. Young, who was 
 a bookkeeper of Hartford ; and Alfred J., our sub- 
 ject. The mother, who was a true Christian woman 
 and an active church worker, departed this life 
 May 11; 1898, and was laid to rest in Winsted, 
 Litchfield county. 
 
 During his bo5'hod and youth Dr. Weed at- 
 tended the public and high schools of Winsted, 
 graduating from the latter in 1872. Later he was 
 a student at Mt. Pleasant Institute, Amherst, Mass., 
 then under the direction of Prof. Henry C. Nash, 
 and he completed his literary education at Am- 
 "herst College, where he spent two years. His am- 
 bition from childhood was to become a doctor, and 
 at an earlv age he began reading books on anatomy 
 and medical works. After teaching school for two 
 terms in Winchester he commenced the study of 
 medicine with Dr. Alfred North, of Waterbury, 
 Conn., who was a cousin of his mother, and one 
 of the most celebrated and skillful physicians of 
 New England. For two and a half years our sub- 
 ject remained with that gentleman, and then en- 
 tered the Medical Department of Columbia Col- 
 lege, New York, where he took a three years' 
 coiu'se, graduating with honors in 1878. He com- 
 menced the practice of his chosen profession in 
 Hartford, but in 1880 removed to Southington, this 
 county, and during the eight years spent there he 
 built up quite an extensive practice. His next 
 location was Llast Windsor, and in the fall of 1889 
 he came to Granbv as successor to Dr. Stratton, 
 and was not long in building up the large and lu- 
 crative practice which he still enjoys. Besides his 
 large patronage in Granby he receives calls from 
 Hartland, Simsbury, East Granbv, Sufifield, South- 
 wick, Mass., and other points. He is the discoverer 
 and sole manufacturer of the great national tonic 
 Bovis Sanguinaritts, and the celebrated Anaesthos, 
 a product that renders the extracting of teeth ab- 
 solutelv painless. He has that true love for his 
 work without which there can be no success, and 
 has always been a progressive physician, constantly 
 improving on his own and o.her methods, and gain- 
 ing further encouragement and inspiration from the 
 performance of each dav's duties. He is quite lit- 
 •erary in his tastes, and has not only written many 
 able articles for medical journals, but has also 
 contributed to local and New York papers both 
 prose and poetrv of hieh merit, some under his 
 own name, and others under a nom de plume. He 
 is broad-minded and liberal in his views, and at 
 one time was an active member of the Hartford 
 Citv Medical Societv. He belongs to St. Mark's 
 
 Lodge, No. 91, F. & A. M., and politically is identi- 
 fied with the Repuiblican party. He served as 
 justice of the peace in East Windsor, and has been 
 an efficient member of the board of health and 
 board of education. 
 
 In Hartford Dr. Ward was married, in 1880, 
 to j\Iiss Ella Blackley, a native of Ansonia, Conn., 
 and a daughter of Isaac and Hariette Blackley, who 
 were of Scottish descent. Three children have been 
 born of this union : Harvey H., Arthur and Al- 
 fred J., Jr. 
 
 JUSTIN E. GRIFFIN, a prominent agricult- 
 urist of West Suffield, is a self-made man whose 
 energy and industry have brought him a com- 
 fortable competence, and his fine farm of 150 acres 
 gives tangible evidence of his success. He started 
 out in the business world when a boy of eight 
 years, with no legacy from his father except the 
 admonition to "live an honest life and take God 
 as his guide," and this advice he has steadfastly 
 followed throughout his long and 'useful life. 
 
 Mr. Griffin was born in Granby town, this coun- 
 ty, and belongs to a well-known fam'ily, being of 
 the fifth generation in descent from John Griffin, 
 an early settler in Windsor, who was born in Eng- 
 land, of noble blood. As an account of the family 
 appears elsewhere it will only be necessary to here 
 trace the line of descent through Benoni Griffin, 
 son of the pioneer ; Levi Griffin ; and Lyman Griffin, 
 our subject's father, who married Harriet Davis. 
 Our subject was one of a family of eleven children: 
 Chauncey, Rensselaer, Sarah, Mary, Justin E., 
 Collins B., Henrietta, Jane, Adaline, Catherine and 
 Lewis. 
 
 As a boy Mr. Griffin attended the schools of 
 Granby town irregularly, and when eight years old 
 he left home to work among the farmers of the 
 neighborhood. At fourteen he went to Hartland, 
 where he spent two vears in the employ of M. A. 
 Phelps, and then, after three years with Daniel 
 Hayes, he went to Poquonock, to work for Gris- 
 woid Phelps. While there he had a sunstroke, 
 from which he did not recover for eighteen months, 
 and later he resided for some time at Copper Hill, 
 in the town of East Granby. In 1864 he entered the 
 employ of Bvron Loomis, with whom he remained 
 six years, at $400 per year. With his earnings he 
 bought his present homestead, formerly known as 
 the Mather farm, upon which he has made extensive 
 improvements, at a cost of $6,000. In addition to 
 general farming he is interested in dairying, stock 
 raising, and tobacco culture, obtaining good results 
 in all his undertakings, and since taking possession 
 he has built a fine residence upon the place, with 
 barns, tobacco sheds, and other buildings. He is 
 a leading member of the Congregational Church, 
 which his family also attend. Politically he has al- 
 ways been a Republican, with the exception of a 
 short time when he supported the Democratic 
 ticket. On May 16, 1868, Mr. Griffin married Miss 
 Josephine D. Phelon, and they have had three chil- 
 
1514 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 dren : (i)' Walter W., who resides at the home- 
 stead, married iliss Sotha Burns, and has one son, 
 Wilham. (2) Arthur D. died in 1893, from the 
 effects of sunstroke. (3) Martha died young. 
 
 j\Irs. Josephine D. Griffin, who is an efficient 
 and industrious helpmeet, was born Oct. 18, 1838, 
 in West Suifield. daughter of Julius Phelon, and 
 granddaughter of Thomas and Mary (Iving) 
 Phelon. Her father was born and reared in West 
 Suffield, receiving a district-school education, and 
 became a prosperous farmer. He owned more than 
 200 acres of land, and his homestead in West Suf- 
 fiekl was well improved with a comfortable dwell- 
 ing-house and other structures. In politics he was 
 first a Whig and later a Republican, and he was 
 much respected for his excellent qualities of char- 
 acter. His death occurred July 21, 1861. Mr. 
 Phelon married Miss Julia McCune, by whom he 
 had ten children: Hilary, wife of Plenry Richards, 
 of Galesburg, 111. ; ]\Iatha J., deceased : Josephine 
 D., wife of our subject : Emaline M., wife of Allen 
 B. Griffin; Julis V., a farmer at the homestead; 
 Joseph, who died July 21, 1891 : Isaac W., deceased; 
 Thomas P>., deceased : P.lanche A., who died in child- 
 hood : and ^lartha Alice at home. 
 
 The ?^rcCune family is of Irish origin, and Rob- 
 ert Robinson ^IcCune, r^Irs. Griffin's maternal great- 
 grandfather, was born in Dublin. On coming to 
 America he settled at Agawam, Mass., where he 
 followed farming for a number of years, and then 
 returned to his native land, where he died. His 
 wife, who was a native of Ireland, died in Xew York 
 State. Thev had four children : Robert Robinson ; 
 Elizabeth, I\Irs. Isaac Rising: James: and Joseph, 
 who died in Becket, ^Massachusetts. 
 
 James IMcCune, grandfather of Airs. Griffin, 
 ■was born at Feeding Hills, Alass., and learned the 
 trade of carpenter and joiner, which he followed 
 for several vears, later engaging in farming at 
 Agawam, JNIass., and at Warnertown, this State. 
 On retiring from active business he went to Gales- 
 burg, 111., where he spent his last days with a son. 
 Pie was an excellent citizen, his patriotism being 
 shown by his service as a soldier in the war of 
 1812, and throughout his life he took keen interest 
 in public questions, being an ardent Democrat. His 
 wife, whose maiden name was Julia Dewev, died in 
 Agawam, Alass., and her remains were buried there. 
 Thev had nine children : Robert Robinson, de- 
 ceased, formerly a resident of Galesburg, 111. : Julia, 
 Airs. Griffin's mother: James Dewev, who died in 
 Westfield, Alass. : Isaac Rising", a resident of Ore- 
 gon : Charles B., of Iowa ; Henrv Fielding, who 
 died in infancy: Henrv Fielding (2), who settled 
 in Ohio : Andrew Jackson, of Wisconsin ; and Sarah 
 M., who died at the age of nineteen. 
 
 MICHAEL J. COHOLAN, M. D., is one of 
 the successful practicing physicians of New Brit- 
 ain, where he has been located for a period of twen- 
 ty-four years. The commencement of his profes- 
 sional career here was somewhat out of the or- 
 
 dinary. He did not have to wait for his patients 
 for months or years, as not a few physicians have 
 done, as by a fortunate circumstance, for him, he 
 was called upon to take charge of a critical case ■ 
 within a short time after his arrival in the city, * 
 and its successful issue established his professional 
 standing instantly, for he has never since lacked 
 opportunity for the practice of his chosen calling. 
 
 James Coholan, father of our subject, was a 
 stevedore at St. John, New Brunswick. Pie was a 
 native of Bandon, County Cork, Ireland, but emi- 
 grated early in life to the new continent, and at 
 St. John became a well-known character among ves- 
 selmen. Later in life he leased the ferryage, and ^ 
 conducted it until his death, in i860. He was a 
 man of considerable business ability, and built up 
 qufte an extensive trade in his line. His religious 
 faith was that of the Catholic Church. James 
 Coholan married Mary Slattery, and to them were 
 born the following named children : Dennis, born 
 in 1838, who became a vessel owner and manager 
 of the St, John ferry for many years, and is now 
 a resident of that city; Hannah, born in 1840, wife 
 of Alex. McDermott, a native of the North of 
 Ireland, and a resident of St. John, Xew Bruns- 
 wick; Ann, born in 1842. wife of George Dunn, 
 a vesselman of Maiden, Mass. ; and Michael J. The 
 mother died in 1864. 
 
 Michael J. Coholan was born at St. John April 
 30, 1844. His early education was obtained in a 
 private school, preparatory to a college course. He 
 then attended St. Dunstan's College, in Prince Ed- 
 ward Island, for two years, and from there went 
 to St. Coleman's College, Fermoy, Ireland, where 
 he remained one year, thence entering Queen's Col- 
 lege, in Cork. A year later he was called home by 
 the death of his father. In 1863 he matriculated 
 in the Medical Department of the University of 
 New York, from which he was graduated in 1865. 
 For two years Dr. Coholan practiced in New York 
 City. He then returned to St. John, and there 
 remained for four years, during the settlement of 
 his father's estate. In 1875 he came to Connecti- 
 cut, and the year following located in New Brit- 
 ain, then a citv of about 16,000 inhabitants. En- 
 tering at once into a lucrative practice, he has since 
 been one of the city's most prominent practitioners. 
 His success he attributes quite largelv to his thor- 
 oueh preparation, and to his extensive professional 
 study since that time. In politics Dr. Coholan is a 
 Democrat, and has been prominent in local affairs. 
 In 1885 he was police commissioner o"" the city. 
 For nine years he has been a member of the school 
 committee, serving as chairman of the text-'book 
 and night-school committees. He is president of 
 the Opera House Company, and in public matters 
 can alwavs be relied upon for his devotion and en- 
 terprise. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights 
 of Columbus and the heptasophs, acting as ex- 
 amining physician in both orders. 
 
 Dr. Coholan married Miss Grace Markley, 
 daughter of Thomas Markley, of Newington, and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1515 
 
 they have six children: Frederick M., William T., 
 Philip F., Harr_v J., Gerald M. and Grace Eliza- 
 beth. Mary and George are deceased. 
 
 EBENEZER GOODRICH HAVENS (de- 
 ceased) was throughout life identified with the in- 
 terests of Wethersfield, and was one of the best 
 known and most highly esteemed citizens of the 
 town, where he was born Feb. 23, 1829, a son of 
 William A. and Mary (Waterbury) Havens, who 
 are mentioned more fully in the sketch of C. H. 
 Havens, on Lnother page of this volume. 
 
 Our subject received only a district-school ed- 
 ucation, but he made the most of his opportunities 
 through life, and was a well-informed man. He 
 possessed considerable inventive genius, and could 
 applv himself to almost anything. By trade he was 
 a carpenter and joiner, and for several years fol- 
 lowed that occupation, also engaging in farming in 
 AVethersfield, near the boundary line of Rocky Hill, 
 and making many improvements on his place, which 
 continued to be his home until death. For over 
 twentv vears he had charge of the machinery in the 
 ice plant of the Spring Brook Ice Co. While at 
 his post of duty one foggv morning in February, 
 1899, orders were given for the horses to start 
 while he was making some repairs in the machinery, 
 and in consequence both his legs were cut ofiE by 
 the planing machine. He died at his home on the 
 i8th of the month, and was laid to rest in the 
 Wethersfield cemetery. 
 
 On .Nov. 23, iSq.q, Mr. Havens married Miss 
 Melvina M. Ruic, of Granby, by whom he had 
 two children : Owen R., of Rocky Hill : and Nellie 
 J\I., a trained nurse, of Brooklyn, N. Y. The 
 mother of these dying. Mr. Havens was again 
 married, in Rochester, N. Y., in April, 1866, his 
 second union being with Miss Jennie Martin, who 
 was bom Nov. 26, 1848, a daughter of David A. 
 and Rosana (Bradbury) Martin. Her father died 
 in Arkansas. By the second marriage three chil- 
 dren were born : Leila G., now the wife of Frank 
 Sherwood : William Carr, who carries on the home 
 farm for his mother; and Everett E., who died in 
 infancy. 
 
 Socially Mr. Havens was a member of the Or- 
 der of United American Mechanics, and religiously 
 v.'as a, consistent member of the Rocky Hill Con- 
 gregational Church. He affiliated with the Re- 
 publican party, and gave his support to every meas- 
 ure which he believed- would prove of public bene- 
 fit. He was quite prominent in his community, and 
 commanded the confidence and respect of all with 
 whom he came in contact, in either business or 
 social life. His estimable wife is still living on 
 the home farm. 
 
 JOFIN DEMPSEY BONNER fdeceased), who 
 held for many years a leading place among the 
 business men of Hartford, was born March 16, 
 i860, son of Charles and Margery Bonner, who 
 removed to Hartford when the deceased was a 
 
 young man of seventeen years. His grandfather, 
 Daniel Bonner, came from the North of Ireland, 
 but the family was of Scottish descent. Daniel 
 Bonner was one of four brothers who came to this 
 countr)', one of whom was the father of the late 
 Robert Bonner, editor of the Nezv York Ledger. 
 
 Mr. Bonner was the last of his family, his par- 
 ents and three sisters having passed away before 
 him. The eldest sister died in the Province of 
 Quebec, Canada, at the age of twenty-four years, 
 and the others came to Hartford with the father, 
 who engaged in the boot and shoe business. Mary, 
 who died in 1897, became the first wife of O. D. 
 Burdick; and Madge, who died In Boston, in 1898, 
 married Charles Wightman. Our subject's wife, 
 formerly Miss Violet Marsh, of Plainfield, N. J., 
 survives him with four children: Charles, Ethel, 
 Carrie and Violet. 
 
 Mr. Bonner received only a public-school edu- 
 cation in boyhood, but his keen observation of men 
 and afifairs, and reading of the best literature, gave 
 him a wide range of mformation. As a good citi- 
 zen he was interested in the issues of the day, and 
 throughout his life affiliated with the Republican 
 party, although any political honors which came 
 to him were unsought. He took an active share in 
 municipal questions, and was appointed a member 
 of the fire board in 1897, his term not having ex- 
 pired at his death. As a member of the Bonner & 
 Preston Co., organized in 1888, he demonstrated his 
 ability as a business man, but he was best known 
 in the State through his connection with military 
 and fraternal afifairs. Almost from boyhood he 
 was interested in military maters, and when about 
 twenty years old he enlisted in the Light Guard, 
 known as Compan}^ H, 1st Regiment. He was 
 promoted to the rank of corporal Aug. 25, 1884, 
 and was discharged at the expiration of his term 
 of service, Dec. 14, 1885. About this time efiforts 
 were being made to form a section of a machine- 
 gun batterv, and young: Bonner was one of those 
 actively interested in its institution. He refused 
 to accept an office on its organization, and enlisted 
 as a private July i, 1886. Owing to business cares 
 he resigned two years later. His love for mili- 
 tary affairs was too strong, however, and in 1889 
 he joined the ist Company, Governor's Foot Guards, 
 as a private, remaining a member of the company 
 for five years, and taking part in several of the 
 trips of the command. On July 30, 1894, he was 
 elected first lieutenant, in command of the first 
 section of the machine-gun battery. He was a 
 strict disciplinarian, and the section was brought 
 uip to a high standard of excellence in military 
 tactics under his command. He resigned in 1898, 
 owing to ill health. Mr. Bonner remained with 
 the Foot Guards until after their famous trip to 
 Atlanta, and the following year he was discharged, 
 owing to his connection with the battery. He was, 
 however, elected a member of the Veteran Corps 
 of the Foot Guards soon after his discharge from 
 the active company. 
 
1516 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Our subject was well and popularly known in 
 Masonic circles, and was a member of St. John's 
 Lodge, Pythagoras Chapter, R. A. !M., and H. B. 
 ^^'ebb Council, R. & S. Al. From early life he was 
 actively interested in the Independent Order of Odd 
 Fellows, and became closely connected with the af- 
 fairs of Hartford Lodge, of which he was past 
 grand. He also held the office of past high priest 
 of Median Encampment. During the existence of 
 the uniformed degree in Hartford he was captain 
 of Canton Capitol City, Patriarchs Militant. Pie 
 was also an earnest worker in the ranks of the 
 Knights of Pythias, being a member of Washing- 
 ton Lodge. 
 
 Rev, Dr. Stone paid a tender and touching trib- 
 tite to the memory of J\Ir. Bonner. Speaking of his 
 life and services in Hartford with the sincerest ap- 
 proval, said Dr. Stone: "He came of sturdy stock 
 which had in it moral fibre and strength. A dash 
 of the sea and the clear air of the highlands was 
 in his blood. He came to Hartford at the age of 
 seventeen years. The boy with his quiet manner 
 soon made friends and was trusted. He always 
 honored the trusts reposed in him. In the long 
 battle with disease no murmur escaped his lips. 
 It was a cross to give up life at his age, but the 
 "burden was assumed with Christian faith and cour- 
 age. His religious life was of the manliest type, 
 and the influence which he diffused in the business 
 and social circles in which his life was passed 
 will long be felt. In the family relationship his 
 personality was of the strongest and most attractive 
 character. His home life was one of great happi- 
 ness and felicity." Dr. Stone concluded the eulogy 
 with lines from Sarah K. Bolton, in the poem en- 
 titled "The Tide's In." 
 
 The boats lay stranded on tlie beach 
 Tangled with seaweed, dark and green; 
 A desolate and dreary scene 
 
 Far as the eye could reach ; 
 The tide was out. 
 
 How changed the view when day was done, 
 The boats rode gaily on the deep, 
 Their white sails nodding as in sleep. 
 
 Kissed by the setting sun; 
 The tide was in. 
 
 Thus many a life in want or woe 
 Lies stranded on a barren shore;, 
 But God is God forevermore 
 
 Take courage, for we know 
 The tide comes in. 
 
 And lifted from the rocks and shoals 
 We sail upon a sunlit sea : 
 Night opens on eternity; 
 
 Sweet rest for weary souls. 
 The tide is in. 
 
 CHARLES A. RAPELYE, an enterprising and 
 successful druggist of Hartford, was born March 
 21, 1849, in New Britain, Hartford county, and 
 is descended from one of the oldest families of this 
 ■country, his ancestors having settled on Long 
 Island at a very early period. 
 
 The origin of the family has often been erron-^ 
 eously attribtited to France or Holland, but it is 
 certain that the name was derived from the town 
 of Rapallo, Italy, whence our subject's ancestors 
 emigrated to France in the fifteenth century. The 
 first member of the family of whom we have any 
 detailed account is Gaspard Colet de Rapella, a 
 nephew of the celebrated Admiral Coligni. Gas- 
 pard Colet was born in Chatillon, France, in 1505, 
 and became an officer in the French army. He 
 was a stanch Protestant, and in 1648 was forced 
 to flee to Holland, where he settled. He married 
 the daughter of Victor Antoine Jansen, of Ant- 
 werp, and had three children : Gaspard Coligni, 
 Abraham Colet and Breckje. 
 
 Andrew Rapelye, our stibject's father, was born 
 in Williamsburg, Long Island, and is now a highly 
 esteemed resident of New Britain, where he was 
 engaged in the furniture business for some years. 
 He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity 
 since 1849. He married Antoinette Hart, a native 
 of New Britain, and two of their five children re- 
 side there. Charles A. is one of the eldest of the 
 family; William H. is connected with the Adams 
 Express Co., at Sprineficld, Mass. ; George, a resi- 
 dent of New Britain, is a plumber and dealer in 
 stoves : Frederick W. is in the employ of the Adams 
 Express Co., at Meriden, Conn.; Nellie married 
 \V. A. Niven, of New Britain. 
 
 Charles A. Rapelye was educated in the schools 
 of his native town, and entered upon his business 
 career as clerk in a store at Winsted, Conn., where 
 he remained a year and a half. In July, 1866, at 
 the age of seventeen, he went to Hartford, and for 
 fifteen years clerked in the drug store of S. G. 
 Moses & Co. In May, 1881, he formed a part- 
 nership with Stephen Goodrich, junior member of 
 the firm, under the name of Goodrich & Rapelye, 
 and this continued until April i, 1886, when it was 
 dissolved at the request of JMr. Rapelye, as be de- 
 sired to engage in business independently. He es- 
 tablished himself in the old Catlin building, corner 
 of Main street and Asvlum avenue, and there re- 
 mained until April i, 1897. when the building was 
 removed, and he located at the Park Drug Store, 
 No. 376 Asylum avenue, corner of High street. 
 His business prospered at this point to such a de- 
 gree that in June, 1898. he opened another store, 
 in the Hills block. No. 8s.3 Main street, and both 
 stores are successful under his able management. 
 
 In 1885 Mr...Rapelye was married, in North- 
 ampton, Mass., to Miss Lizzie L. Taylor, daughter 
 of Isaac N. Taylor, and they reside in a pleasant 
 home at No. 107 Washington avenue, Hartford. 
 They have three sons : Harry Andrew, Lyle New- 
 ton and Charles A., Jr., Mr. Rapelye is a thirty- 
 second degree Mason, and a member of Lafayette 
 Lodge, No. 100, A. F. & A. M. ; Wolcott Council, 
 R. & S. M. ; Washington Commandery, No. i, K. 
 T. ; and Sphinx Temple, Mystic Shrine. He is 
 also a member of the Hartford Business Men's As- 
 sociation, and a leading worker in the Hartford, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1517 
 
 the Connecticut and the American Pharmaceutical 
 Associations. He has been president of both the 
 city and State associations, and is now secretary 
 of the latter, and secretary of the Commercial sec- 
 tion of the American Association. He was ap- 
 ipointed a commissioner of the State Board of 
 Pharmacy by Gov. Lounsbury in 1884, and by Gov. 
 Bulkeley in 1887, and served as president of the 
 board for two -years'. 
 
 WILLIAM ROCKWELL SCOVILLE. This 
 venerable and highly-respected citizen of the town 
 of South Windsor is now, at the age of eighty- 
 iive years, Hving in peaceful retirement. As a 
 prominent manufactu>rer and farmer, lie has fully 
 shared in the activities and achievements of the 
 world, and richly won the rest which he now en- 
 joys. For twenty years he was the proprietor and 
 manager of a large paper mill, and for many years 
 he has conducted one of the finest farming prop- 
 erties on the Connecticut river. 
 
 Mr. Scoville was born in Lewis county, N. Y., 
 Jan. 25, 1815, son of Reuben and Anna (Rock- 
 well) Scoville. He was born and reared on a farm, 
 early, in life acquiring those habits of industry and 
 application which are so essential to success, and 
 received a good common-school education, which 
 was supplemented by a course of instruction in a 
 seminary. Of his education he made practical ap- 
 plication, and for six years taught school during 
 the winter months. 
 
 In 1839 Mr. Scoville came to South Windsor, 
 Hartford county, to the farm which he now owns 
 and occupies. It was then the property of his 
 uncle, Alexander Rockwell, and with him ouir sub- 
 ject lived until the uncle died, when Mr. Scoville 
 took charge of the store, and has since managed it. 
 He now owns eightv-five acres of land, most of 
 which is valuable tobacco ground, lying on the 
 banks of the Connecticut river. Throughout life 
 he has been an active and successful farmer, giving 
 large attention to tobacco growing. For about 
 twenty years Mr. Scoville was proprietor of the 
 Pleasant Valley paper-mills, at Pleasant Valley, and 
 during that time was an active and successful man- 
 ufacturer of paper. 
 
 In politics Mr, Scoville is a Republican, for- 
 merly a Whig, and his first Presidential vote was 
 cast for John Quincv Adams. He is a man of gen- 
 erous impulses, and has ever been liberal in his 
 contributions to all worthy causes. 
 
 . JUDGE WILLIAM FRANKLIN HENNEY, 
 a leading and popular attorney at law, Hartford, 
 who is acceptably filling the office of city attorney, 
 is a native of Connecticut, born Nov. 2, 1852, in 
 Enfield, Hartford county, of Scottish ancestry. 
 
 John Henney, father of the Judge, was a na- 
 tive of Paisley, Scotland, whence he came to this 
 country, settling in Connecticut. For a time he 
 was superintendent of the stockinet factory in the 
 town of Enfield, thence removing, in 1865, to Hart- 
 
 ford, where he was superintendent of the Light 
 & Power Co. He married Mene Barclay, who was 
 born in Glasgow, Scotland, and died in 1885. Mr. 
 Henney died June 20, 1896; both were much re- 
 spected by all who knew them. 
 
 The subject proper of this review received a 
 liberal education in the schools of Enfield and Hart- 
 ford, graduating in 1870 from the high school of 
 the latter city. In 1874 he was graduated from 
 Princeton College, then studied law in the office of 
 the late Hon. Henry C. Robinson, and was adni-tted 
 to the Bar at Hartford in May, 1876. In the fol- 
 lowing year he served as councilman of the city; 
 from 1877 to 1883 was clerk of the police court of 
 Hartford, and from 1883 to 1889 was judge of that 
 court, declining to serve longer. He was then ap- 
 pointed city attorney, holding the office till 1891, 
 and was reappointed in 1895, his ability and natural 
 acumen, together with his legal knowledge and 
 experience, eminently qualifying him for the po- 
 sition. 
 
 Socially Judge Henney is a member of St. John's 
 Lodge, F. & A. M., of which he has been master; 
 is a Knight Templar ; a member of the Royal Ar- 
 canum; and of the Scottish Clans. 
 
 FRED L. BISHOP. As one of the founders 
 of a new line of manufacture, the subject of this 
 sketch is one of the rising young business men of 
 Hartford. He is treasurer of the Hartford Fay- 
 ence Co., which started in business in 1894, and 
 is meeting with merited success. 
 
 Mr. Bishop is a representative of one of the 
 pioneer families of Hartford county. His grand- 
 father, Benjamin Bishop, was born in West Hart- 
 ford, where his ancestors had lived for generations. 
 He was a large and prosperous farmer, spending 
 his entire life in agricultural pursuits, attaining 
 prominence and influence, and reaching the age 
 of eighty-nine years. Of his four children, two — 
 Mrs. Mary A. Griswold and Mrs. Ellen J. Sedg- 
 wick — are still living. 
 
 Seth W. Bishop, the father of our subject, 
 was born in West Hartford, was brought up on a 
 farm, educated in the common schools, and learned 
 the machinist's trade. He was one of the "forty- 
 niners" who went to California in the early days in 
 search of gold, "rounding the Horn," and being 
 several months on the voyage. He remained in 
 California ten years, and then returning to Hart- 
 ford engaged in the tobacco business, which he 
 followed some twelve years. Mr. Bishop then as- 
 sisted in the formation of the Pratt & Whitney 
 Manufacturing Co. It began in a very modest 
 way, but is now one of the largest machine fac- 
 tories in the State of Connecticut, equipped with 
 all the latest and most improved machinery, is cap- 
 italized at $3,000,000, and employs over 1,200 men. 
 Mr. Bishop remained with this company over fifty 
 years, up to a short time before his death, seeing 
 it grow from its small beginning to its present 
 enormous proportions, taking an active part and in- 
 
1518 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 terest in its affairs and in the management of the 
 same, and acting continuous!)- as a director. He 
 retired in 1894, and died in 1895, at the age of 
 seventy-four. He was also interested tinancially 
 in a number of other concerns, and took great in- 
 terest in the business affairs generally of the city 
 of Hartford, where he was highly respected and 
 esteemed by all who knew him. He married Anna 
 Hart, who was born in Collinsville, Conn., and to 
 them were born three children, of whom "our sub- 
 ject is the only survivor. The wife and mother 
 died at the age of forty-three. The parents of our 
 subject attended the Park Church. 
 
 Frederick L. Jiishop was born in Hartford June 
 16, 1869. He spent the early years of his life" at 
 home, and was educated in the common and high 
 schools. For five years he engaged in the drug 
 business, and then, in 1894, organized the Hart- 
 ford Fayence Co., together with Clarence Whit- 
 ney, who is the president, our subject holding the 
 offices of secretary and treasurer. This company 
 manufacture a special glazed mantel in all fancy 
 colors. They have an increasing business, employ- 
 ing twenty men, and sending their products to all 
 parts of the country, and imder the able manage- 
 ment of JMr. Bishop tlie establishment is regarded 
 as one of the forthcoming prosperous concerns of 
 the city. It is a. stock company, and its directors 
 are among the most prominent men of Hartford. 
 
 Mr. Bishop married, in 1891, Florence North, 
 who was bom in Hartford, daughter of A. W. 
 North, of the firm of Hudson & North, coal deal- 
 ers, her father being among the largest coal deal- 
 ers and oldest merchants in the city. She has one 
 brother, Charles. To Mr. and Mrs. Bishop have 
 been born two children, Gertrude N. and Benja- 
 min S. 
 
 In politics Mr. Bishop is a Republican, but he 
 has refused all offices. He was formerly a mem- 
 ber of the Knights of Honor and Royal Arcanum, 
 but is not now a member of any secret society, pre- 
 ferring the comforts of his own fireside and the 
 companionship of his Avife and family. In their 
 neatly appointed home good cheer abounds, and 
 the hospitalities of a generous home are freely dis- 
 pensed to a large circle of friends. 
 
 jMICHAEL a. BAILEY, M. D., one of the 
 successful and prominent young physicians of Hart- 
 ford, has been in practice in that cit}' during the 
 past eight years, and during that time has built up 
 an enviable practice in partnership with his brother, 
 Dr. George C. Bailey. 
 
 Dr. Bailey was born at Scitico, town of En- 
 field, Hartford county, July 16, 1859, son of Peter 
 Bailey, and one of a family of eight children. The 
 father was a native of Countj^ Cork, Ireland, and 
 in 1848 migrated with his famil}' to America, lo- 
 cating at Enfield. He was for many years employed 
 at the powder manufactory at Hazardville, and died 
 in 1886. Six of his children are now residents of 
 Hartford — ^the two sons, who are physicians, and 
 
 four daughters, three of whom are teachers in thej 
 public schools. 
 
 Michael A. Bailey spent his boyhood days at 
 Scitico, and besides attending the schools of tha| 
 town was a student at Wilbraham (Mass.) Acad-' 
 emy. He learned the machinist's trade at HoIyokeJ 
 Mass., and for ten years followed his trade at En- 
 field. His tastes, however, leaned strongly towardj 
 a professional career, and afttr studying medicine 
 for a time he entered the College of Physiciansl 
 and Surgeons at Baltimore, Md., from which hel 
 graduated. He was for a year house physician inl 
 the City Hospital of Baltimore, and since 1892 hel 
 has practiced at Hartford. He is a member of thej 
 City, County and State IMedical Societies, and fra- 
 ternally is an active member of the Elks. 
 
 George C. B.mley, M. D., with whom our sub- 
 ject is associated in practice, was born at Scitico| 
 April 16, 1864. He attended the academy at Wil-' 
 braham, Mass., and soon after his graduation fromi 
 that institution began the study of medicine in! 
 New York City, graduating from the medical col- 
 lege in April, 1886. The following month he be-j 
 gan practice at Hartford, which he has continued] 
 uninterruptedly ever since. He is actively identified! 
 with the medical societies of the city, county and! 
 State, and is a member of the Kniglats of Colum- 
 btis and the Elks. He is chairman of the board ofl 
 education of Brown school, and it was under hisj 
 direction that the annex to the school was erected. 
 The two brothers stand high both socially and pro- i 
 fessionally, and are among the influential membersj 
 of the medical fraternity of Hartford. 
 
 RALPH RISLEY (deceased) was long one of 
 the best-known and most respected citizens of thatl 
 part of the town of East Hartford known as Hock-': 
 anum, where he was born Aug. 24, 1820, the eld- ; 
 est of the eight children born to Ralph and Ann j 
 (Winslow) Risley. 
 
 Ralph Risley, the father, was born on the home- 1 
 stead where Adolph Renthe now resides, in Hock- j 
 anum, near the Glastonbury line, and a distinctive) 
 type was he of the native-born New Englander. 
 When a young man he peddled wooden clocks from ] 
 door to door, doing a profitable trade, but the lat-j 
 ter years of his life were devoted to market garden- 
 ing. He married Ann Winslow. who was bornj 
 Sept. 15, 1798, and was a daughter of Pardner 
 Winslow, who was largely instrumental in causing] 
 the erection of the Methodist chuirch in Hockanum, 
 contributing very liberally toward its construction. 
 Of the seven other children besides Ralph, our | 
 subject, born to Ralph and Ann (Winslow) Ris- j 
 ley, Charles W., born Sept. 4, 1822, was a farmer, ; 
 served in the war of the Rebellion, and died in j 
 Berlin in 1897; Luke A., born June 16, 1826, sailed i 
 four years on a whaling vessel out of New Bed-I 
 ford, Mass., and died Oct. 21, 1853; Lawrence! 
 V. H., born July 28, 1832, died July 9, 1834; Law- 
 rence V. H. (2), born Jan. 2, 1836, married Sarah] 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1519 
 
 Dunnels, for many years hauled stone between 
 Hartford and Portland, and was later a painter 
 and paperhanger until his death, in 1899; Ann, 
 born Aug. 9, 1838, died April 6, 1855 ; Amanda, 
 born Aug. 5, 1840, is the widow of Frank Wright, 
 and resides at Bristol; and Elisha, born Jan. 11, 
 1S43, is general superintendent of agencies at Hart- 
 ford for the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co. 
 
 The father of this family was in politics a Dem- 
 ocrat. He was an active member of the old State 
 Guard, and took great interest in "training days." 
 As a Methodist he was devout and ardent, and as 
 a business man he exhibited great executive abil- 
 ity. He was about six feet tall, ordinarily spare, 
 and a hard worker when on his farm. He was 
 one of the substantial men of his day, being the 
 wealthiest, except Deacon Horace Williams, be- 
 tween his home and Hartford. He was anything 
 but a meddler, but was sociable and hospitable. 
 He and Deacon Horace Williams were the pioneer 
 market gardeners of East Hartford, disposing of 
 their products at Hartford. Mr. Risley exercised 
 a great influence for good, and was a man any 
 community would fell proud to claim. He and his 
 wife rest side by side at Hockanum. 
 
 Ralph Risley, the subject of this sketch, re- 
 ceived a limited education in the Hockanum dis- 
 trict school, worked for some time on the home 
 farm, and then went to New York, where he was 
 employed for some years as clerk in a shoe store 
 owned by his cousin, Benjamin Risley. He then 
 returned to the home place, and engaged in farm- 
 ing on that part of the homestead now owned by 
 Charles Yauch, remaining there until 1854, when 
 he removed to the place now occupied by Cassius 
 E. Risley, his grandson, where he passed the re- 
 mainder of his da)'s. 
 
 Ralph Risley was married May 31, 1841, his 
 wife being a native of the city of New York, born 
 Dec. 25, 1824, and she bore him four children : 
 Edward F., born Jan. 15, 1845, is married, and is 
 now one of the most skilled workmen in the em- 
 plo}^ of Olds & Whipple, of Hartford, having been 
 with them ten years ; Elmer was born Sept. 28, 
 1851; Henry, born Aug. 15, 1853, died June 11, 
 1854; and Fannie A., born Jan. 6, 1861, died March 
 5, 1869. Ralph Risley was a Democrat in poli- 
 tics, and for many years held the office of justice 
 of the peace, which he continued to fill until old 
 age exempted him. He and his wife celebrated 
 their Golden Wedding anniversary May 31, 1891, 
 and Jan. 13, 1893, she was called to her final rest. 
 Mr. Risley expired Feb. 19, 1899, beloved and 
 honored by all, leaving to his family a comfortable 
 competence, and the richer inheritance of a spot- 
 less narrie. 
 
 Elmer Risley, who was born on Main street, 
 in Hockanum, attended his first school in that vil- 
 lage, and then entered the East Hartford high 
 school, from which he graduated in 1868. He then 
 engaged in farming on the place now ocupied by 
 -bis son, Cassius E., and has carried on agriculture 
 
 ever since, with the exception of the year 1871, 
 when he was employed in William Rogers & Co.'s 
 plating works. On Dec. 3, 1872, he was married, 
 by' Rev. William A. Turkenston, to IMiss Adelaide 
 M. Selen, who was born Sept. 3, 1852, and is a 
 daughter of John and Maria (Hills) Selen. To 
 this union have been born two children : Cassius 
 E., born Feb. 6, 1876, married Jessie Wadsworth, 
 of Glastonbury, Oct. 10, 1898, is a very industrious, 
 upright young man, and now occupies the farm for- 
 merly owned by his grandfather, the deceased sub- 
 ject of this sketch ; Nellie S., born May 25, 1880, 
 is a young lady of rare musical ability, and is giv- 
 ing instruction in her art. 
 
 Elmer Risley is Democratic in his political pro- 
 clivities, but votes for the candidate he deems best 
 fitted for office, rather than for a less worthy one 
 that may happen to be the nominee of hijj party. 
 He is a charter member of East Hartford Council, 
 No. 1237. Royal Arcanum, has held several offices 
 in the council, and is also oast master in the East 
 Hartford Grange. He aid his wife and daughter 
 are members of the Hockanum Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, and Mr. Risley is a member of the 
 board of trustees of that society. In addition to 
 his farming operations, Mr. Risley acts as agent 
 for Olds & Whipple's fertilizers. He is enterpris- 
 ing, industrious and strictly upright, and no family 
 in East Hartford town is more sincerely respected 
 than that of Elmer Risley. 
 
 WILLIAM H. KILLIN, one of Hartford's en- 
 terprising and successful young business men, was 
 born in that city June 24, 1864, and began his 
 business career before he attained his majority. 
 
 The family is well known in Hartford, his fa- 
 ther, the late James Killin, a native of County 
 Westmeath, Ireland, having located there in 1848, 
 on his arrival in America. For some time James 
 Killin conducted a retail grocery and liquor store, 
 but in 1864 he engaged exclusively in a wholesa'j 
 trade, at No. 72 Morgan street. His custom ex- 
 tended throughout the county, and he continued co 
 give personal attention to the business until his 
 death in 1894, although our subject purchased an 
 interest five years before that event, the firm be- 
 ing known as James Killin & Sons. His judgment 
 in business matters was much valued by his as- 
 sociates, and at the time of his death he was a di- 
 rector in the Francis Goodard Distillery Co., of 
 jMelrose, Conn. Coming to the United States with- 
 out capital, he made his own way to success, and 
 he was also practically self-educated, his schooling 
 having been limited in youth. Politically he was 
 a stanch Democrat, and while he was not an office 
 seeker he served two terms in the court of com- 
 mon council. In religious faith he was a Catholic, 
 and he and his family became leading members 
 of St. Patrick's Church, Hartford. Mr. Killin's 
 first wife, Katharine McGeough, died when our 
 subject was an infant. By this marriage there 
 were six children, of whom three survive : James 
 
1520 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 v., a member of the firm of James Killin & Sons; 
 Miss Mar\' A. ; and William H. By a second mar- 
 riage there were two children, both now deceased. 
 As a boy our subject attended the Brown school, 
 Hartford, and on leaving school, at the age of fif- 
 teen, he entered his father's store as clerk. For 
 ten years he successfully conducted a grocery and 
 liquor store alone, beginning when a minor, but this 
 business he gave to a brother, and at the latter's 
 death sold out. Since purchasing an interest in 
 his father's business, in 1890, he has shown marked 
 ability and judgment, and his close attention to de- 
 tails is doubtless a factor in his success. At his 
 father's death he succeeded him as a director in 
 the distillery company. He takes an active in- 
 terest in politics, being a leader in the Democratic 
 organization in his ward, and he has served two 
 years in the court of common council and one term 
 on the board of aldermen. Sociallv he is popular, 
 and he belongs to the B. P. O. E., the K. of C, the 
 order of Foresters, the Emeralds, and the Hiber- 
 nians. 
 
 CHARLES LAWSON WOODING, librarian 
 of the Free Library at Bristol, Conn., is a native 
 of that town, and was born Nov. i, 1869. 
 
 Lawson Jared Wooding, father of Charles Law- 
 son Wooding, was born in Burlington, Conn., March 
 4, 1827, was reared a farmer, but later became a 
 dealer in woodland. He married, Nov. 25, 1847, 
 Miss Emeline Stone, of Harwinton, Conn. This 
 lady was born Sept. 29, 1827, a daughter of Timo- 
 thv Stone, and died Aug. 15. 1892, the mother of 
 four children, viz. : Marv Elizabeth, who was mar- 
 ried to Henry Hutchinson, of Bristol : Jessie Althea, 
 married to George H. Hall, also of Bristol ; Charles 
 Newton, born Aug. 26, 1857, died Jan. 14, 1858; 
 Charles Lawson, the subject of this sketch, is a 
 twin to ah infant that died unnamed. In 1865 
 Lawson J. ^^'ooding became a contractor for the 
 packing department of the E. Ingraham Company, 
 with which he remained until his death which took 
 place ]March 31, 1889. In politics he was a Repub- 
 lican, but never held an office, although he was 
 very active in promoting the success of his party. 
 He was equally active in church work for many 
 years as a member of the Methodist congregation, 
 but in his latter years was a member of the Ad- 
 vent Christian Church. 
 
 Lawson Wooding, father of Lawson J., was 
 also a farmer, was married, in November, 1825, to 
 iliss Sally Pardee, and in November, 1826, was 
 called from earth. Mrs. Sally (Pardee) Wooding 
 was born February 5, 1805, and died Jan. 2, 1895, 
 the mother of one child. 
 
 Charles Lawson Wooding attended the public 
 schools of Bristol until 1884, passed to the high 
 school, from wliich he was graduated in 1887, and 
 then took a post graduate course of one year in 
 the same institution to prepare for Yale College, 
 which he entered in 1S88, and from which ne was 
 graduated in the regular course in 1892. He then 
 
 assumed the duties of his present position which 
 he has since so satisfactorily filled. 
 
 Charles L. Wooding was joined in marriage, 
 June I, 1893, with Miss Cora R. Defendorf, of 
 Waterbury, and to this union has been born two chil- 
 dren, the elder of whom, Lois, born Feb. 5, 1895, 
 died Dec. 27, of the same year; Helen, born July 
 6, 1897, still airvives to brighten the home of her 
 parents. Mr. and Mrs. Wooding are members of 
 Prospect Methodist Church and socially stand very 
 high in the esteem of a large circle of personal 
 friends. Mr. Wooding is also a member of Pequa- 
 buck Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and likewise 
 of Stephen Terry Lodge, No. 59, of Bristol, in 
 which he is senior deacon. In politics he is a stanch 
 Rei)ublican, and has been a member of the town 
 school board for si.x years, and is secretary five 
 years, and he also has been acting school visitor 
 for five years. For positions of this class his qual- 
 ifications and predilections peculiarly fit him. 
 
 WILTON E. DICKERMAN, M. D., a well- 
 known physician and surgeon of Hartford, was 
 born Aug. 10, 1864, at Whitneyville, Conn., and is 
 a member of one of the pioneer families of New 
 Haven county. 
 
 Eli Dickerman, his grandfather, was a promi- 
 nent resident of Whitneyville, and Elias Dicker- 
 man, the father of our subject, was a native of m 
 the place, and has always resided there. For some ^ 
 years he was active in business, being identified 
 with various corporate interests, and he has been 
 secretary of the New Haven Car Co., now defunct, 
 and of the James G. Hotchkiss Match Co. He 
 married Miss Eunice Gilbert, daughter of Gibbs 
 Gilbert, of New Haven, Conn., and had four chil- 
 dren : Amelia ; Asa G., -lu electrician at Newbury- 
 port, Mass. ; Wilton Elias ; and Eli G., deceased. 
 
 Dr. Dickerman began his education in the schools 
 of his native village, and was graduated from 
 Greenwich Academy in 1884, and from Amherst 
 College in 1890. In 1893 he completed a course 
 in the Medical Department of Yale University, and 
 spent the next two years in practical work in the 
 Hartford Hospital, where he is now assistant sur- 
 geon. In 1895 he established himself in general 
 practice in Hartford, meeting v/ith marked suc- 
 cess. He was city police surgeon for three years ; 
 is clerk of the Hartford County Medical Society ; 
 and examiner for the /Etna Life Insurance Co. 
 He belongs to the City, County and State Medical 
 Societies, and to the American Medical Associa- 
 tion, and socially is identified with the Colonial 
 and Golf Clubs. 
 
 GUSTAVE A. ANDRE, M. D., an able young 
 physician of Hartford, was born July 20, 1870, in 
 New Britain, Connecticut. 
 
 Theodore Andre, his father, who was born in 
 France, came to America at the age of twenty. 
 For man}' years he was a contractor in the cutlery • 
 
 works in New Britain, but he is now a resident J 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1521 
 
 of Norfolk, Conn. He married Eliza Schenherr, 
 and three children were born of the union : Eugenie 
 married Joseph Steckquel, of New Britain; Gus- 
 tave A. is mentioned more fully below; Mary mar- 
 ried Tom Crow, of New Britain. 
 
 Dr. Gustave A. Andre received his elementary 
 education in the Burritt school, New Britain, and 
 later entered the Medical Department of the Uni- 
 versity of New York, where the degree of M. D. 
 was conferred upon him in 1895. After taking 
 a post-graduate course in New York Hospital he 
 practiced in South Manchester, Conn., for six 
 months, and in 1896 located in Hartford, engaging 
 in general practice. He is popular socially, and 
 is identified with the B. P. O. E. and the Order 
 of Foresters. 
 
 RICHARD P. LYMAN, B. Sc, M. D. V., the 
 well-known skillful veterinarian, of Hartford, is a 
 native of Massachusetts, born Aug. 5, 1870, in Con- 
 cord, and comes of Revolutionary ancestry on both 
 sides of the house. He is related to Capt. Eben- 
 ezer Steadman, member of the First Provincial 
 Congress, and can also boast of twelve lines of 
 Revolutionary ancestors, as well as those who served 
 in the colonial wars, being, on the paternal side, a 
 direct descendant of Richard Lyman, who came to 
 Hartford with Hooker, and after whom our subject 
 was named, the line of descent being as follows : 
 Richard, John, Benjamin, Aaron, Caleb, Joseph D., 
 Jabez Whiting and Charles P., father of our subject. 
 
 The last named was born in Boston, Mass., a 
 son of Jabez W. Lyman, a native of Northfield, 
 Mass., who became an importer, and made his 
 home in Boston and New York. His son Charles 
 was educated in Boston and in Edinburgh, Scot- 
 land, and having decided on taking up the profes- 
 sion of veterinary surgery studied at the Royal Col- 
 lege of Veterinary Surgeons, in the latter city, grad- 
 uating from same; he received the degree of Fel- 
 low of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. 
 Returning to Massachusetts, he practiced his chosen 
 profession several years in Springfield, Mass. In 
 1 88 1 he organized the veterinary department of 
 Harvard University, of which department he was 
 appointed dean, a position he still holds ; he has been 
 employed by the government as an expert in the 
 treatment of pleuro-pneumonia, much having been 
 done by him toward checking this disease. In fact, 
 he is recognized as a standard authority on the dis- 
 eases of animals, also in the prevention and cure 
 of same. 
 
 Dr. Charles P. Lyman married Lucy E. Pope, 
 born in Cambridge, Mass., daughter of Rev. Au- 
 gustus Russell Pope, of that city, where he was a 
 popular preacher for many years, and to the union 
 were born three children : Bertha, Richard and Mary 
 Ainsworth. 
 
 Richard P. Lyman, the only son of Dr. Charles 
 P. and Luc}^ E. (Pope) Lyman, received his liter- 
 ary education in the schools of Boston, Mass., then 
 attended the Massachusetts Agricultural College, 
 
 96 
 
 at Amherst, taking the scientific course, where he 
 graduated, receiving the degree of Bachelor of 
 Science. He afterward took a course at Harvard, 
 where he also graduated as a Doctor of Veterinary 
 JMedicine. In Boston he practiced his profession, 
 being employed by the Massachusetts Cattle Com- 
 mission as a special agent for a time, after which 
 he located in Hartford, and has since here resided, 
 engaged in active practice as a first-class veterinary 
 surgeon. During the year of 1896 he was em- 
 ployed as veterinarian by the Connecticut Cattle 
 Commission. 
 
 On Feb. 16, 1897, Dr. R. P. Lyman married 
 Annie Downing Evans, daughter of George A. and 
 Jennie (Downing) Evans, mentioned elsewhere. 
 Socially he is a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 4,. 
 F. & A. M., and of Pythagoras Chapter, No. 17,. 
 Royal Arch Masons, both of Hartford; of the 
 Grange of West Hartford; of the American Vet- 
 erinary Medical Association, being State secretary 
 of same; and is also a member of the Connecticut 
 Veterinary Medical Association, of which he is vice- 
 president. In January, 1901, Dr. Lyman opened a 
 spacious hospital for the treatment of veterinary 
 patients, which, although by no means a new feature 
 in connection with the practice of veterinary med- 
 icine, is the first of the kind regularly organized ia 
 Hartford. 
 
 WILLIAM SAMUEL LINES, a prominent 
 real-estate, dealer of Hartford, finds an appropriate' 
 place among those men of business and enterprise 
 in this State whose force of character, whose ster- 
 fing integrity, whose fortitude amid discourage- 
 ments, whose good sense in the management of com- 
 plicated affairs, and marked success in establishing 
 important business enterprises, have contributed in 
 an eminent degree to the development of the re- 
 sources of the localities with which he has been con- 
 nected. In the broadest sense he is a self-made 
 man, being both the architect and the builder of 
 his own fortune. 
 
 Mr. Lines was born in Utica, N. Y., Feb. i6> 
 1837, and is a descendant of Stephen Lines, who 
 is believed to have been a native of Oyster Bay, I^. 
 I., while his father undoubtedly came from New 
 Haven county. Conn. Stephen Lines married Pen- 
 elope Cox, who was born Jan. 27, 1741. Their son, 
 Stephen Lines, Jr., was born in Bethpage, L. I., 
 Sept. 3, 1757, and was married Jan. 28, 1778, to Miss 
 Martha Underbill, who was born Jan. 8, 1759- 
 Having learned the gristmill business and survey- 
 ing with his uncle, Joshua Cox, he removed to the 
 town of Clinton, Dutchess Co., N. Y., after his mar- 
 riage, and engaged in milling there. Later, with 
 his whole 'family, he 'removed to West Somers, 
 Westchester Co., N. Y., where he also engaged in 
 milling, farming and surveying, and was at the head 
 of the Friends Meeting there for many years. His 
 son, Samuel Lines, the grandfather of our subject, 
 was born in the town of Clinton, Dutchess Co., N. 
 Y., Feb. 18, 1787, and was there married in 1808 to 
 
1522 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 J£liza \'an X'arnevelt (changed to Williams), who 
 was born at Clinton 2\lay 20, 1793. 
 
 i'eter W. Lines, father of our subject, was born 
 in \\'est Soniers, Westchester Lo., ^i. Y., June 2^, 
 1813, and during his last years conducted a store for 
 J. S. and M. Peckham, manufacturers of stoves and 
 plows, at JJridgewater, X. Y., where he died Jan. 
 O, 1846. He was married Dec. 27, 1S35, to jMiss 
 Sarah J. Griffith, who was born -March 17, 181 1, 
 and died Alarch 15, 1856. They had three children, 
 of whom our subject is the eldest. Stephen H., 
 .the second son, was born Sept. 9, 1840. Amanda 
 -L. was born Feb. 26, 1843, and married A. D. Bon- 
 .steel, of Buffalo, New York. 
 
 \\'illiam S. Lines was reared and educated in 
 Utica, Bridge water, Syracuse and East Utto, X. 
 v., and from the age of thirteen to eighteen years 
 worked on a farm tor his uncle, in East Otto. At 
 the age of eighteen he left that place, and accepted 
 the position of time keeper in the locomotive works 
 of the Erie railroad, at Dunkirk, X. Y., which he 
 held for about five years. He then engaged in 
 general merchandising at East Otto for seven years, 
 after which he entered the dry-goods importing 
 and jobbing house of Bartlett, Beery & Co., in New 
 York City, later Bartlett, Beery, Reed & Co., of 
 which he became junior partner. After a success- 
 ful business career with this firm, he was obliged 
 lo retire on account of ill health and seek renewed 
 strength by retiring to his country place, in Fre- 
 -donia, X. Y. Upon regaining his health he became 
 interested with Bates, Reed & Cooley, importers of 
 -dry goods. New York City, and later with Sweetser, 
 Pembroke & Co. Subsecjuently, furnishing the 
 •capital, he became special paitner in the firm of F. 
 £. Stevens & Co., importers and jobbers of foreign 
 and domestic silks. New York City, but in 1891 he 
 retired from that business and removed to West 
 Hartford, where he is now extensively engaged in 
 the real-estate business and in building, having large 
 interests in both Hartford and West Hartford. He 
 has always been a very enterprising and progressive 
 Lusiness man, believing in keeping fully abreast with 
 the times, and in most of his undertakings he has 
 met with eminent success. He is a member of the 
 'board of education of ^Yest Hartford ; socialh' is a 
 -Mason, belonging to the blue lodge at Elliottville, 
 N. Y., and the chapter at Dunkirk, N. Y. ; to the 
 Colonial and Twilight Clubs of New York City ; and 
 :to Prospect Casino and Hartford Golf Clubs ; re- 
 Jigiously he is a member of the Park Congregational 
 Church of Hartford. 
 
 Air. Lines has been twice married, his first wife 
 being ;Miss Jennie Crosby, of East Otto, XT. Y., by 
 whom he had two children : Earnest Howard, born 
 Oct. 22, 1859; and Mabel, born JMay 26,'i86i. The 
 son was educated at Kellogg's private school, Jersey 
 City Heights, later attended the Fredonia XTormal 
 School, and was fitted for Dartmouth College at 
 the Academy of St. Johnsbury, Vt. He was grad- 
 iiated from Dartmouth College, the College of Phy- 
 sicians and Surgeons, New York City, and the 
 
 Chambers Street Hospital; then became house sur- 
 geon at the New York Hospital and Dispensary, 
 and was examining surgeon for the Xew York Life 
 Insurance Co. tor a time he had charge of the 
 office on Twent3--third street, Xew York, was ten 
 years on the medical board in the main office, and is 
 now associate medical director in charge of the 
 European business of the New York Life Insur- 
 ance Co., located at Paris, France. On Sept. 18, 
 1889, Dr. Lines was married to Miss Elizabeth 
 Lindsay James, and they have two children, Howard 
 and Mary C. 
 
 For his second wife William S. Lines married, 
 in Hartford, Nov. 18, 1886, Mrs. Carrie Hovey 
 Smith, by whom he has one son, William Samuel, 
 Jr., born Aug. 9, 1889. Mrs. Carrie Hovey Smith- 
 Lines is a daughter of Capt. Henry Russell Hovey, 
 of Essex, Conn., a granddaughter of Rev. Aaron 
 Hovey, of Essex, and a lineal descendant of Daniel 
 Hovey, who came from England and settled in Ips- 
 wich, Alass., about the year 1660. Rev. Aaron 
 Hovey was for over forty years pastor of the First 
 Congregational Church at Esse.x ; he married Hul- 
 dah Ely, a daughter of Rev. Richard Ely, who was 
 pastor of the First Congregational Church of Essex 
 for forty years, prior to the incumbency of Rev. 
 Aaron Hovey, ill the same parish. 
 
 F. P. WOOLLEY, proprietor of a v^rell-known 
 hack, livery and boarding stable at No. 366 Main 
 street, Flartford, was born in that city Nov. 21, 
 1859, son of William P. Woolley. 
 
 The family became identified with Richmond, 
 Va., at an early day, but our subject's grandfather 
 Woolley, a machinist by trade, removed to Glaston- 
 bury, Conn., where he constructed the first machine. 
 William P. Woolley was born in Richmond, and 
 reared at Glastonbury, and for some years con- 
 ducted a farm in Bloomfield. He also engaged in 
 business as a saddler and undertaker, in partner- 
 ship with his brother G. W., and in 1869 became 
 interested in the livery business in Hartford, being 
 at present the oldest liveryman except one in the 
 city. His first stables were rented, but he soon 
 built the present buildings to accommodate his 
 growing business, and in 1898 his son, our subject, 
 took charge. In politics he is a Democrat, and he 
 and his estimable wife are both members of the 
 Church of the Good Shepherd. At one time he 
 served in the Governor's Foot Guards. William 
 P. Woolley married Sarah A. Burt, who is a mem- 
 ber of the well-known Massachusetts family of that 
 name, and one of a large family of children. They 
 have had nine children, five of whom are living: 
 Mrs. William Young, of Springfield ; Mrs. H. Clints- 
 man ; Leonard D., of Hartford ; F. P. ; and Adelbert, 
 also a resident of Hartford. 
 
 Our subject spent much of his youth in Hartford, 
 but traveled extensively throughout the United 
 States before engaging in business. In 1883-84 he 
 was in Minnesota, returning to Hartford in May, 
 1885; while in Minneapolis he vras agent for the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1523 
 
 Red Line fast freight. In 1888 he graduated from 
 a veterinary college, having taken the course in 
 preparation for work as manager of his father's 
 stables. Since 1898 the business has been contin- 
 ued in his name, and he enjoys a large custom, keep- 
 ing fifty horses and several boarders, and in his 
 specialty of coach work he leads among the livery- 
 men of the city. 
 
 In 1893 Mr. Woolley married Miss Isabel Os- 
 mond, a native of Hartford, and daughter of Will- 
 iam Osmond, a native of Hartford, a blacksmith for 
 the New Haven railroad, who had four children by 
 his second wife, Isabella (Hunter), Mrs. Woolley's 
 mother.. Our subject's home is brightened by three 
 children : Frederick P., Mildred and William O. 
 Politically Mr. Woolley is an independent, and he 
 and his family are active members of St. John's 
 Church. 
 
 JOHN A. LEWIS, photographer. New Britain, 
 Hartford county, Connecticut. 
 
 FRANKLIN SMITH, a well-known contractor 
 and builder of Hartford, was born Nov. 4, 1833, 
 in Lyme, New London Co., Conn., \Vhere h'is fam- 
 ily has been prominent for generations. Accord- 
 ing to the earliest records obtamable, his line of 
 descent is traced from one John Smith, who with 
 his wife Mary moved from Sudbury, Mass., to Lan- 
 caster, Mass., about 1654. He died there Apr'il 5, 
 1669, and his will mentions four children, John, 
 Richard, Ann and Alice. 
 
 (II) Richard Smith was the first of the family 
 to settle in Connecticut. He appears among the 
 founders of Groton, Conn., in 1656, and some time 
 before 1669 settled at Lyme, Conn., where the 
 family continue to reside down to the present gen- 
 eration. He was married twice, the children by 
 his first marriage being Hannah, Richard, Jr., and 
 John. His second wife was Joanna Ouarles, and 
 their marriage occurred in Boston, Mass., Aug. 2, 
 1654, and was celebrated by Gov. Bellingham. The 
 children born of this union were Mary, Henry, Fran- 
 cis, Joanna, Elizabeth and James. The Lyme land 
 records show that Richard Smith (Sr.) was a sol- 
 dier in King Philip's war, and for his services was 
 given a grant of land in Voluntown, Connecticut. 
 
 (HI) John Smith, son of Richard Smith, hands 
 down a record of six children, as follows : Mar- 
 tha, Ouarles, Samuel, Josiah, Ruth and Jemima. 
 
 (IV) Josiah Smith, son of John, leaves a rec- 
 ord of eight children, as follows : Joseph, Josiah, 
 Rhoda, Ljrdia, Lucretia, Pheby, Tubs and William. 
 
 (V) William Smith, son of Josiah, was born in 
 Lyme, in 1748, and there followed farming through- 
 out his life. He died at the age of sixty-five years, 
 and his wife, Mary (Moore), also a native of Lyme, 
 lived to a good old age. They had four children: 
 Dan, LTnion, Azariah, and William Moore. 
 
 (VI) Capt. William Moore Smith was born in 
 Lyme in 1782, and became a successful farmer 
 and leading citizen of the town. For a number of 
 
 years he served, as deputy sheriff and captain of the 
 local militia. During the war of 1812 his com- 
 pany was called out, and in recognition of his ser- 
 vices the L'nited States government bestowed a 
 grant of land upon his widow. He was a Democrat 
 in politics, and his ability and strong character gave 
 him much influence in local affairs. He died aged 
 fifty-eight years. Mr. Smith was married twice, 
 his first wife being Britania Brown, of Hartford, 
 by whom he had one son, William Brown, born 
 Feb. 10, 1823 ; he became a sailor, rising to the com- 
 mand of a packet ship sailing between New York 
 and London ; his boat, "The Ocean Queen," was lost 
 at sea, with all on board, sometime during the month 
 of February, 1856. In April, 1825, Capt. WiUiam 
 M. Smith married Jane Crosby, who was born in 
 East Haddam, Conn., in 1800, and lived to the age 
 of eighty-one years. Both were members of the 
 Congi-egational Church, and active in the cause of 
 religion. Their union was blessed with six chil- 
 dren: Henry, deceased; John, who conducts the 
 old homestead ; Britania, who was drowned in a well 
 in childhood; Franklin, our subjv,ct; Albert, an or- 
 derly sergeant in the 26th Conn. V. I., who was 
 killed at Port Hudson, La., in the Civil war; and 
 Joseph, a resident of Colchester, Connecticut. 
 
 Franklin Smith was but seven years of age 
 when his father died, and at the age of fifteen, after 
 receiving a practical education in the common 
 schools of Lyme, he began to learn the carpenter's 
 trade, in preparation for his business career. He 
 served his apprenticeship at this trade in Ellington, 
 and in 1857 located in Hartford, where he soon 
 won a high reputation for workmanship as foreman 
 for a contractor. He superintended the building 
 of a number of churches and large houses there 
 and in New Britain, and in 1865 he was foreman 
 and master mechanic on the Asylum Avenue Con- 
 gregational church, Hartford. In 1866 he was 
 master builder of the South church, in New Britain, 
 costing $140,000, and considered one of the finest 
 churches in the State at that time. Many of the 
 drawings for the inside and the framing of the 
 roof were made by him. He also built a house 'in 
 New Britain for one of the deacons, and among 
 the many residences built by him in Hartford are 
 some costing $25,000. Much of his draughting 
 and architectural work haj been done by himself, 
 and for some 5'ears past he has had a large amount 
 of jobbing to do, his work always giving satis- 
 faction. During his active career of forty years 
 he probably has had more of the best class of work 
 than any other contractor in Hartford. In real- 
 estate business Mr. Smith has also been successful, 
 as he bought and developed a large tract of land 
 where he now resides. He laid out Ashley street, 
 and built the first house there, afterward building 
 some thirteen other houses in the same vicinity, and 
 his influence has been a leading factor in the growth 
 of that portion of the city. 
 
 On July 20, 1857, Mr. Smith married Miss Lydia 
 Champlin, and they have had four children, of 
 
1524 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 whom three are hving: (i) Carrie Louise, who 
 died March 4, 1899, at the age of forty, married 
 Joseph Alvord, of Bohon, who was engaged in the 
 mercantile business at Manchester for some time. 
 He was prominent in pubhc alTairs, serving as rep- 
 resentative from Bohon, but his death at the early 
 age of thirty-five, resulting from a parahtic stroke. 
 prevented the full expression of his powers. He left 
 one son, Raymond Smith. (2) Hattie Lincoln 
 married De Witt C. Hill, master mechanic with the 
 Willimantic Linen Co., and has one daughter, Dor- 
 othy A. (3) Howard Franklin, the third in the 
 family, is a graduate of the Hartford Public High 
 School, the academic department of Vale College, 
 and Yale Medical School. On completing his 
 course at the last named, he spent two years as 
 interne in the Hartford Hospital, and is now a 
 successful practitioner in that city. (4) Daisy 
 Maud was graduated from the high scliool, later 
 attended the New Britain Normal School, and at 
 present is conducting a i)rivate school in Hartford. 
 She is a talented musician, and has a fine contralto 
 voice, and her work as a member of a church choir 
 is much praised. 
 
 Airs. Smith is a member of a family which has 
 been represented in this country for six generations, 
 three brothers of the name of Champlin having 
 crossed the ocean together to make their home in the 
 New World. She was born at Warehouse Point, 
 daughter of Aaron Champlin, a native of Lebanon, 
 Conn., whose active years were mainly spent in 
 Warehouse Point, as a teamster. He died there in 
 1839, aged forty years. His wife, Betsy (Rock- 
 well), who lived to the age of eighty-six years, 
 was born in Warehouse Point, daughter of John and 
 Irene (Porter) Rockwell. Mrs. Smith was the 
 youngest of a family of, six children, the others 
 being Louisa B., who married the late Lemuel P. 
 Thrall ; Marietta, deceased ; William, a pilot, who 
 lost his life near Sandy Hook; John Milton, de- 
 ceased ; and Clarissa, who married Frederick Lin- 
 coln, of Coventry, Conn. The father was an Epis- 
 copalian in religion, and the mother was a devout 
 Methodist. 
 
 Mr. Smith is a Republican in politics, and his 
 refusal to accept official positions has deprived his 
 party of an excellent candidate. JMrs. Smith has 
 been a leading worker in the Fourth Congregational 
 Church at Hartford for many years, and all of the 
 children have followed her example. She is a 
 deaconess and almoner, taking upon herself the 
 practical work of looking after the poor, and for 
 thirty }-ears she has taught in the Sunday-school. 
 
 LUCIUS I. BARBER, AI. D., deceased. The 
 Barber family is one of the oldest in New England, 
 and the subject of this memoir, formerly a prominent 
 resident of Simsbury. was of the seventh generation 
 in direct descent from Thomas Barber, a prominent 
 settler in the town of Windsor. At all times the 
 members of the family have been found among the 
 foremost citizens of their day and locality, and few 
 
 histories in this volume will be of such general in- 
 terest as the following. 
 
 (I) Thomas Barber, the pioneer, came to Amer- 
 ica with a company organized by Francis Stiles, 
 starting from London, England, on March 10, 1635, 
 in the ship "Christian," commanded by Capt. White. 
 The ship's register shows that he was twenty-one 
 years old at that time. The party comprised about 
 twenty young men, mostly mechanics and appren- 
 tices, and Thomas Barber belonged to the latter- 
 class. This company became the first actual settlers. 
 in Windsor, and in 1645 Thomas Barber was made 
 a freeman of the town. During the Pequot war of 
 1637 he was one of the thirty soldiers sent from 
 \\'indsor under the leadership of the brave Mason. 
 Un Oct. 7, 1640, he married, his wife's name being 
 Jane, and thej' had six children : John, baptized 
 July 24, 1642; Thomas, who is mentioned below; 
 Sarah, baptized July 19, 1646; Samuel, baptized Oct. 
 I, 1648; Mary, baptized Oct. 12, 1651; and Josiah, 
 born Feb. 15, 1653. 
 
 (II) Thomas Barber, born Jtdy 14, 1644, was. 
 known as Lieut. Thomas, having been connected 
 with the militia for many years. In 1690 he was. 
 appointed ensign of the local "train band," his com- 
 mission being now in the possession of the widow of 
 our subject, and in 1698 he was elected lieutenant, 
 then an office of great dignity and importance. In 
 Alarch, 1647, the General Court passed an order 
 that Massawco (the Indian name of Simsbury) be 
 purchased by the county, and that a committee be 
 appointed to dispose of the land to such inhabitants- 
 of Windsor as by them shall be deemed best to 
 make improvements. The first grants of this com- 
 mittee were made in 1667, to twenty-two persons, 
 of whom Thomas Barber was one. At an early day 
 he removed with his family to Simsbury, and he 
 speedily became a man of influence and comparative 
 affluence. In the first list of persons against whom 
 taxes were laid, in 1694, the largest were against 
 John Higley, the next largest against Ensign Bar- 
 ber. He was active in building up the town, being 
 the first to erect a gristmill and sawmill, and he 
 also contracted for and built the first meeting-house- 
 Lieut. Barber was for many years an active worker 
 in the Congregational Church in Simsbury, his name 
 standing first in the list of members. He died May 
 10, 1713, aged sixty-nine years. His wife, Marjr 
 Phelps, to whom he was married Dec. 13, 166 — , 
 was born in Windsor March 3, 1644, the only daugh- 
 ter of William Phelps, who was for many years a 
 leading citizen of the Colony. Six children were 
 born of this union: Thomas, the next in the line of 
 descent ; John, who married Mary Holcomb, daugh- 
 ter of Joshua and Ruth (Sherwood) Holcomb; 
 Ann, who was married Dec. 4, 1701, to Jonathan , 
 Higley; Samuel, who was married Dec. 17, 1712, to I 
 Sarah Holcomb, daughter of Nathaniel Holcomb, 
 Sr., and Alary Bliss; Sarah, who married Andrew- 
 Robe Nov. 26, 1701 ; and Joanna, who married Jo- 
 siah Adkins, of Hartford, Jan. 3, 1710. ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1525 
 
 (III) Thomas Barber, born May 17, 1673, died 
 July 17, 1714. He is frequently mentioned in the 
 ^imsbury records, and appears to have been an act- 
 ive and influential citizen. On May 25, 1699, he 
 Jtnarried Abigail Buell, daughter of Peter Buell, of 
 Simsbury, and they, had two children: Thomas, 
 'known as Sergt. Thomas; and Abigail, who mar- 
 ried Jacob Case, of Simsbury. 
 
 (IV) Sergt. Thomas Barber was born Jan. 19, 
 1700, and was also prominent in his day and gen- 
 •eration. He was much attached to the Bible, and 
 very punctual in holding" family prayers night and 
 .morning, while no common occurrence prevented 
 Jiim from attending public worship twice on the 
 -Sabbath. He held closely to the doctrines of John 
 Calvin, and died June 16, 1775, in that faith. Four 
 'of his grandsons carried him to the grave : Zaccheus 
 Case, Jr., Thomas Barber, Jr., Seth Marshall, Jr., 
 .and Daniel Barber, Jr. On Jan. 16, 1725, he married 
 Mercy Case, daughter of Samuel Case, of Simsbury, 
 -and they had six children, as follows : Sarah, born 
 Jan. 8, 1726, married Seth Marshall, of Farming- 
 ton; Thomas, born Sept. 5, 1728, died in 1792; 
 Abigail, born Feb. 10, 1730, married Zaccheus Case, 
 of Simsbury; Daniel, our subject's grandfather, is 
 mentioned more fully below; Mercy, born June 25, 
 
 1735, married Elisha Moses, of Simsbury ; and 
 Elisha, born Aug. 21, 1742, married Elizabeth 
 Adams, of Simsbury. 
 
 (V) Daniel Barber, the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born Feb. 14, 1732, and died April 18, 
 J 779, He was noted for his fondness for literature, 
 and his. intimate friends were all people of piety 
 •and elevating conversation. On July 6, I755, he 
 -married Martha Phelps, daughter of Jonathan 
 Phelps, of Westfield, and she survived him many 
 years, her death occurring" at Windsor, Vt., Dec. 15, 
 
 1821. Of their ten children, all lived to maturity 
 and several to old age, and their descendants are 
 ■now to be found in all parts of the United States. 
 
 (i) Daniel Barber, born Oct. 2, 1756, was for 
 more .than thirty years a clergyman of the Epis- 
 copal Church, having been ordained by Bishop 
 "Seabury in 1787. For twenty- four years he was 
 rector of the church at Claremont, N. H., but in 1818 
 Tie was converted to the Catholic faith. He ob- 
 tained regular dismission from his parish, and from 
 that time (having given his estate to the Catholic 
 Church) he led, as he said, "a kind of a pilgrimage 
 ■^tate of life, wandering from place to place, depend- 
 ing entirely upon the hospitality and charity of the 
 pious, the generous and the humane." He died at 
 "Washington, D. C, in 1834. His wife, Chloe Owen, 
 -was a daughter of Hon. John Owen, of Simsbury, 
 and they had four children : Truew.orth, Virgil H., 
 Laura, and one who died in infancy. Virgil H. 
 barber was educated in the Episcopal faith, and for 
 -several years officiated as priest in that church in 
 Cheshire and Waterbury, Conn. He was a man of 
 profound learning and rich culture, being able to 
 converse in seven languages. He also became a 
 
 convert to the Roman Catholic Church, and after 
 spending a year or more at Rome he returned to this 
 country and located at Claremont, N. H., having re- 
 ceived holy orders from the Pope himself. He 
 founded a Catholic Church and seminary there, and 
 through his instrumentality his father, as before 
 stated, and his father's sister, (Mrs. Noah Tyler), 
 a member of the Congregational Church, were in- 
 duced with their families to abjure the faith of their 
 ancestors and their own, and adopt that which he had 
 adopted. The wife and daughters of Virgil H. were, 
 on his conversion, placed, in the nunnery at Emmits- 
 burg, Md., and his son Samuel became a professor 
 in a Catholic College at Georgetown, D. C. 
 
 (2) Rosetta Barber, born May 15, 1758, mar- 
 ried Capt. Jacob Pettibone, and died April 18, 1810, 
 at our subject's home, after piany years of widow- 
 hood. 
 
 (3) Martha Barber, born June 8, 1760, married 
 Ashael Holcomb, of Granby, Conn. She died about 
 1834, in Simsbury, where she lived many years a 
 widow- 
 
 (4) Jared Barber, born Feb. 29, 1764, removed in 
 middle life with his family, to Sheldon, N. Y., where 
 he died. 
 
 (5) Israel Barber, born May 12, 1765, went to 
 sea at the age of eighteen. He married the daugh- 
 ter of a planter along St. Mary's river, in Georgia, 
 and became a man of wealth, owning a large number 
 of slaves. He visited his boyhood scenes after 
 thirty years' absence, but his death occurred in 
 Georgia. 
 
 (6) Russell Barber, born in July, 1767, settled 
 in Middletown, Vt., "where he spent a long life of 
 usefulness. He left six children: Jarvis, Russell, 
 Priscilla, Lucilda, Sophronia and Chloe. 
 
 (7) Roswell Barber, born in August, 1770, re- 
 moved at an early day with his brother Jared to 
 Sheldon, N. Y., where he died. He was prominent 
 in the Baptist Church of that place. 
 
 (8) Calvin Barber, our subject's father, is men- 
 .tioned below. 
 
 (9) Sarah Barber, born March 31, 1775, mar- 
 ried George Fisher, and settled in Derby, Vt., 
 where she died, leaving five children: Lucius G., 
 Emeline, Amanda, Rosetta and Jane. About 1837 
 Mr. Fisher with his family removed to Beloit, Wis., 
 where his death occurred. His son Lucius G. was 
 for several years sherifif of Rock county, Wisconsin. 
 
 (10) AJoigail Barber, born Sept. 30, 1778, mar- 
 ried Noah Tyler, and located first in Claremont, N. 
 H. About 1835 Mrs. Tyler and her sons George, 
 Israel and Calvin, removed to Elgin, 111., where she 
 died in 1849. The three sons named afterward re- 
 moved to Taylorsville, Texas. Another son, Will- 
 iam Tyler, born June 5, 1806, was educated for the 
 Catholic priesthood, and after his ordination, in 
 1828, was stationed at the Cathedral Church in 
 Boston, being later appointed by the bishop as his 
 vicar-general. In 1843 he was nominated by the 
 council in Baltimore as first bishop of the new 
 
1526 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 "Episcopal see of Hartford," his diocese comprising 
 Connecticut and Rhode Island. He received the bull 
 of his appointment by the Holy See Feb. 14, 1844, 
 and proceeded to Providence, R. I. (the chief city 
 in his diocese), where he established his Episcopal 
 residence. His health failed him after years of as- 
 siduous work, and he died June 18, 1849. 
 
 {\i.) Col. Calvin Barber, our subject's father, 
 was born Sept. 15, 1772, and died JMarch 14, 1846. 
 As he v^'as left fatherless at the early age of seven 
 years his youth was filled with hardships, which 
 were bravely surmounted. His widowed mother 
 was reduced to poverty from a state of comparative 
 artluence, the depreciation of Continental money 
 being one of the causes, and soon after his father's 
 death he was "bound out" to his brother-in-law, 
 Capt. Jacob Rettibone, to learn the trade of mason 
 and "stone-cutter. His anguisii wiien he was forced 
 to leave his early home can only be imagined, and 
 he implored his mother to allow him to remain with 
 her, offering to "cut all her wood," which was as 
 great a promise as a child could make. But stern 
 necessity required that the child should go, as his 
 mother could not yield to his entreaties and promises, 
 although her tears mingled with his. He found time 
 to so far educate himself, in the midst of his duties 
 and labors, that he became a successful teacher in 
 the common schools. At the age of twenty he was 
 married to Miss Rowena Humphrey, of Simsbury, 
 daughter of INlajor Elihu Humphrey, who lost his 
 life in the Revolutionary war. So poor was the 
 bridegroom that he borrowed money for his wedding 
 clothes, and the dowry of his wife was not much 
 greater, but both had health, together with habits 
 of industry and eConomy, and that indomitable spirit 
 of perseverance, which in combination are sure to 
 command success. In 1802, while vet a young man. 
 Col. Barber contracted with the State of Connecticut 
 to build the walls and other structures of the olu 
 State prison, called "New Gate," at the Simsbury 
 copper mines. In this he was successful. The 
 walls were of solid masonry ten or twelve feet high, 
 enclosing workshops, guardhouses, offices and other 
 buildings, covering a large space of ground. Upon 
 completion a grand jollification was held, in which 
 all who took part in the construction, including a 
 number of prisoners, were allowed to participate, 
 and the toasts offered and songs sung have often 
 been repeated in history. By his industry and 
 prompt attention to business Col. Barber soon gained 
 the confidence of the community in which he lived, 
 and by his urbanity and afTability the friendship and 
 esteem of a large circle of acquaintances. He took 
 an active interest in all public affairs, and filled many 
 important offices, civil and military, with credit to 
 himself and satisfaction to the public. In the mil- 
 itary department he rose rapidlj', and speedily at- 
 tained the rank of colonel, by which title he was 
 known through life. For many years he was an 
 active magistrate, in which capacity he was a terror 
 
 to evil-doers, but whenever possible he acted the 
 part of a peacemaker. 
 
 As a Christian, Col. Barber's virtues shone out 
 conspicuously. He was a lover of good order, and 
 strove to promote and maintain it. His hope of 
 happiness hereafter rested not on his own merits,, 
 but solely on the merits of Jesus Christ. For over 
 thirty years he was a consistent and exemplary 
 member of the Congregational Church at Simsbury.. 
 Our subject's mother, who died May 18, 1842, was- 
 a member of one of the best families of Simsbury, 
 and her father. Major Elihu Humphrey, was highly 
 honored for his ability and courage. He fought in 
 the French and Indian war, was at Havana as the- 
 adjutant of Col. Lyman, and served in the Revolu- 
 tionary army until he was wounded and captured 
 at the battle of Long Island ; he was confined in the 
 old Sugar House, where he was so barbarously 
 treated that he died soon after his return to his old 
 home. Of the twelve children born to Col. Calvin 
 Barber and his wife all lived to adult age : ( i ) Row- 
 ena, born Jan. 15, 1794, died Nov. 17, 1875, un- 
 married. (2) Lura, born March 27, 1796, died July 
 25, 1870. She married James Lewis, a merchant, 
 of Granby, and had one child, Lura M., who died 
 when eight years old. (3) Abigail Lenora, born. 
 Dec. II, 1798, was married Oct. 19, 1829, to Alan- 
 son Spencer, of New Hartford, and had one son^ 
 Calvin S., who died at the age of eight years. She- 
 died Jan. 6, 1867. (4) Calvin Nelson, born Oct. 
 10, 1800, was married Oct. 9, 1833, to Lucy Pitkin,, 
 and died Jan. 5, 1844. Their only child, Julia, died 
 when eighteen years old. (5) Aclisah Delight, born- 
 Feb. 16, 1803, died May 25, 1870. From the age 
 of fourteen years she never heard a sound, her 
 deafness being caused by spotted fever. (6) Virgil 
 Bushrod, born Jan. 3, 1805, was married March 11, 
 1830, to Cornelia Case, and had one child, Harriet, 
 who died at the age of eight years. He made hi& 
 home in Lockport, 111., where he died Sept. 22> 
 1835. (7) Lucius Israel, our subject, is mentioned 
 more fully below. (8) Emeline, born April 19, 1809,. 
 was married April 9, 1835, to Allen M. McLean, a. 
 son of Rev. Allen McLean, of Simsbury. They had 
 three sons, Allen, Calvin B. and Thomas N. Allen 
 McLean graduated at Yale College in i860, and 
 after preaching in East Orange, N. J., for a time,,, 
 became pastor of the Congregational Church at 
 Litchfield, Conn. He was an earnest worker, and 
 as his health failed he went to Florida to recuperate, 
 and died there. Calvin B. McLean is a Congrega- 
 tional minister at New Fairfield, Conn. Thomas- 
 N. McLean graduated from the Medical School of 
 Yale in 1871, and is now a leading practitioner of 
 Elizabeth, N. J. (9) Julia, born Oct. 8, i?ii, was- 
 married May 19, 1842, to Jarvis Humphrey, of Sims- 
 bury, and after several years' residence in that town 
 they removed in 1847 to Findlay, Ohio, where they 
 died. Their family consisted of six children l 
 Chancey D., Marion, Ellen, Justine, Jarvis S. and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1527 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 Mary. (lo) Mary Ann, born Oct. y, 1813, died Nov. 
 10, 1852, unmarried. (11) Decius Scott, born Feb. 
 15, 1816, died Oct. 15, 1833. (12) Lucia Jeanette, 
 born July 9, 1818, died March 29, 1858, unmarried. 
 
 (VII) Dr. Lucius Israel Barber was born Oct. 
 7, 1806, in the same house in which he resided dur- 
 ing the greater portion of his life, and where his 
 death occurred Feb. 16, 1889. It was built in 1762 
 by Rev. Benajah Roots, and in 1773 our subject'i. 
 maternal grandfather, Major Llihu Humphrey, 
 bought it; afterward Oliver Bronson, the composer, 
 resided there for some years, before it came into 
 the possession of Col. Calvin Barber. Our subject 
 attended the local schools, and also studied under 
 Rev. Allen McLean, of Simsbury, proving himself 
 an apt student, and later he attended Amherst Acad- 
 emy and Amherst College, where he graduated in 
 1826. He then read medicine in New York, and 
 took a course in the Medical Department of Penn- 
 sylvania University, graduating in 1833. Going 
 to M'^isconsin, then a territory, he located in Mil- 
 waukee when the place contained but a few thousand 
 people, but after practicing a few years in that city 
 he settled at Jefferson, Wis.. He took a prominent 
 part in politics, and in 1839 he was elected from 
 Milwaukee to the Wisconsin Legislature, where he 
 was chosen Speaker, thus gaining the honor of 
 being, the first Speaker of the First Legislature of 
 Wisconsin. In 1841 he was elected to the Legis- 
 lature to represent the counties of Dane, Green, 
 Dodge, Jefferson and Sauk, and in 1842 and 1843 
 he was a member of the legislative council from the 
 same counties. From 1840 to 1845 he was clerk 
 of the United States district court of Jefferson coun- 
 ty. Wis. On March i, 1843, Dr. Barber married 
 Marion P. Brown, of Jefferson county, who died 
 Feb. 18, 1845, leaving an infant daughter, Lucia 
 Jeanette, who died Feb. 27, 1845. These afflictions 
 turned his thoughts toward his old home, and in 
 1846, after the death of his father, he returned to 
 Simsbury, where he resided during his remaining 
 years. In 1850 he was elected to the Legislature 
 of Connecticut, and in 1858 he was elected judge of 
 probate, which office he held for ten consecutive 
 years. 
 
 Although Dr. Barber practiced for a few years 
 in Wisconsin he preferred politics, and gave up his 
 profession, as he claimed that a physician should 
 not have any other business to occupy his time. In 
 returning to Connecticut he no doubt abandoned 
 a bright future, as he was one of the prominent men 
 of Wisconsin, and a political leader. While he left 
 a most comfortable competence Dr. Barber was not 
 a man who lived to accumulate wealth, and he gave 
 liberally to deserving causes. He had large real-es- 
 tate holdings in Wisconsin, which he retained until 
 the later years of his life, selling off as his business 
 judgment dictated. He made frequent trips to 
 Wisconsin, and maintained a personal acquaintance 
 with many of the most prominent men there. His 
 last years were given to enjoying life, by his jovial 
 
 manner and genial disposition always keeping him- 
 self and others happy. His store of anecdotes 
 seemed inexhaustible, and his ability as a conversa- 
 tionalist was appreciated by a host of friends. He 
 was one of Simsbury's best known men, and his in- 
 terest in local history was second to none, his won- 
 derful memory fitting him for the task of collecting 
 data and writing history, and his efforts along this 
 line were superior to those of any other man in his 
 town. He had spent years of patient research for 
 data intending to publish a history of Simsbury, 
 but the task was not completed at his death, and 
 his valuable manuscript, representing years of labor 
 and much expense, was left among his effects. He 
 took great interest in anything historical, and ad- 
 vocated a building for the preservation of relics and 
 curios, his own collection being a notable one. Ta 
 Dr. Barber, more than 10 any other man, does 
 Simsbury owe the preservation of the town's early- 
 history, and his labor will find a reward in the ap- 
 preciation of posterity. He was a frequent con- 
 tributor to the local papers on matters connected with' 
 Simsbur}', and was the author of the Simsbury his- 
 tory in the "History of Hartford County." In the 
 later j^ears of his life he wrote extensively for the 
 Mikvaukce Sentinel, and his articles on pioneer days 
 in Wisconsin, when he was one of its leading men, 
 were very interesting. His faculty for giving even 
 the most minute detail of events happening forty 
 years previously was remarkable. He was a kind- 
 hearted man, and was known and respected by 
 everybody in the town, children as well as adults. 
 In person he was tall, slender and stately, with long 
 gray hair, and his presence always attracted atten- 
 tion. For nearly twenty-two years he was a mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church at Simsbur}^ but 
 although he served on the society's committee he 
 declined the office of deacon. 
 
 On June 10, 1874, Dr. Barber was married in 
 Simsbury to Mrs. Abbie (Sexton) Case, who sur- 
 vives him, and is one of the social leaders of the lo- 
 cality. She is active in church work, being a mem- 
 ber of the Home and Foreign Missionary Societies, 
 and also belongs to Abigail Phelps Chapter, D. A. 
 R. Mrs. Barber was born Jan. 19, 1846, in the 
 Bushy Hill District of Simsbury, the only child o£ 
 Marvin Sexton, and her family has been prominent 
 in New England from an- early day. In the pater- 
 nal line she traces her descent from Joseph Sexton, 
 who was born in W.estfield, Mass., Oct. 13. 1694, 
 and died March 23, 1790. Deacon Joseph Sexton, 
 son of Joseph (I), was born July 18, 1724, and died 
 Jan. 10, 1819. His son Joseph, Mrs. Barber's great- 
 grandfather, was born Aug. 25, 1753. Timothy 
 Sexton, grandfather of Mrs. Barber, was born 
 Sept. 22, 1773, in Somers, Conn., and was the first 
 of the family to settle in the Bushy Hi!l District of 
 Simsbury, where he died in 1859. He was a devout 
 Methodist, and generally walked to Simsbury to 
 church on the Sabbath, never permitting any or- 
 dinary reason to prevent his attendance. He mar- 
 
1528 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ried Elizabeth Griswold, a member of a pioneer fam- 
 ily of Windsor, and they had the following children : 
 Edson, born Sept. 3, 1800, in Windsor, died at Great 
 Barrington, Mass., March 27, 1894; Eunice, born' 
 March 17, 1802, married Richard ^lorgan, and died 
 in Simsbury, May 27, 1836; Marvin, father of Mrs. 
 Barber, was third in the order of birth ; Henry, born 
 July 19, 1807, iHed in Stratford, Conn., Dec. 7, 1880; 
 Charlotte, born Julv 3, 1809, married Rev. Davis 
 Stocking, and died in Sing Sing, N. Y., April 6, 
 1863 ; Sydney, born Jime 2, 1812, in Granville, Mass., 
 resided in Simsbury for some years, and then re- 
 moved to Odell, 111., where he died; Alonzo, born 
 Dec. 18, i8it>, at Stockbridge, Mass., never mar- 
 ried, went south for his health, and died at Natchez, 
 in 1840. 
 
 Marvin Se.vton, Mrs. Barber's father, was born 
 in Windsor, April 23, 1804, and, although, mainly 
 self-educated, became a man of culture and wide 
 reading. At one time he was a schoolmate of Cyrus 
 W. Field. As a young man he taught school for 
 a time, and later he followed civil engineering in 
 New York State, while his last years were spent 
 in farming in Simsbury, w^here he died May 18, 
 1881. Politically he was a stanch Republican, but 
 he did not aspire to official honors. Before coming 
 to Simsbury he resided for a number of years in 
 Stockbridge, Mass., and his first wife, a Miss Sedg- 
 wick, was a native of that place. His second wife, 
 Mrs. Barber's mother, was Miss Abigail Holcomb. 
 was born at Simsbury, Conn., Oct. 20, 1808, daugh- 
 ter of Samuel and Lucinda Holcomb. She died in 
 1846. her remains being interred at Simsbury. In 
 1849 he married Miss Harriet Bradley, of Stock- 
 bridge, who died in 1868. 
 
 EDA\'ARD S. TRYOX. IMen of unusual force 
 of character tind in the material development of the 
 respective localities in which they live an ample 
 scope for energy. Among the prominent men who 
 are so engaged at Hartford must be mentioned the 
 subject of this sketch, who for many years has been 
 actively identified, as contractor and builder, with 
 the growth of the city. His ability has been in- 
 herited. His father, John E. Tryon, is one of the 
 most progressive farmers of Hartford county, and 
 is a leading citizen of Glastonbury. 
 
 Our subject was born in South Glastonbury 
 Sept. 17, 1863, and is a descendant of one of the 
 earlv and prominent families of Hartford county. 
 "William Tryon, founder of the family in Amer- 
 ica, was born ;n England in 1645, and came to this 
 country, where he was assigned a grant of public 
 land in Wethersfield, in 1673. He married Saint 
 Lattimer, of that tou'n, and of their nine children 
 Edward Sparks Tryon is a descendant of the second 
 son. David Tryon. Edward Sparks Tryon attended 
 the public schools during his boyhood years to the 
 age of thirteen. Receiving private instructions for a 
 year, he attended private school at Hadlyme, Conn., 
 and later was for two vears a student of East Green- 
 
 wich Academy, graduating in 1882. He then be- 
 gan a three-years apprenticeship to the carpenter's 
 trade, with John C. Mead, of Hartford, receiving 
 also from him instruction in architecture. Upon 
 the completion of his apprenticeship he worked one 
 year as a journeyman, and tiien became a member of 
 the firm of West, Simms & Tryon, continuing thus ■ 
 five years. Withdrawing from, the firm, Mr. Tryon 
 in 1893 started in business individually, and has 
 ever since conducted same most successfully. He 
 has been engaged largely in the construction of res- 
 idences, and among larger structures which he has 
 erected is the five-story Bartlett building, on Asylum 
 street. He has also erected a number of buildings 
 for himself, and has prospered above the average, 
 owing his success to his own efforts. ^ 
 
 Mr. Tryon is thoroughly interested in public ^ 
 affairs. Recognizing that the foundation of govern- 
 ment lies in the primaries, he has given to them not 
 a little attention. In 1899, and again in 1900, he 
 was elected to the council from the Fifth ward. 
 He has served as a member of the standing commit- 
 tee on Water Works, City Buildings, and also ex- 
 tensively in special committee work. Mr. Tryon 
 is an active Freemason, a member of Hartford 
 Lodge, F. & A. M., and its past master, having 
 lield all its offices ; he is also a member of Pytha- 
 goras Chapter, Wolcott Council, Washington Com- 
 mandery, and Sphinx Temple. 
 
 JONAS H. SILSBY, wholesale lumber dealer 
 of Hartford, than whom no one in Connecticut and 
 neighboring States is better or more favorably 
 known, is a native of Vermont, born Nov. 23, 1834, 
 in Lunenburg. 
 
 Harvey Silsby, his father, was also born in Ver- 
 mont, a son of John Wendell Silsby, a farmer of 
 prominence in his day, who died at the patriarchal 
 age of ninety-one years ; by his wife, Susan ( Blood) , 
 who died in 1883, he had five children. Harvey 
 Silsby was reared on a farm, and received a com- 
 mon-school education, after which he drove a team 
 from Vermont to Portland and Boston, and was also 
 a blacksmith by trade. In 1850 he moved to St. 
 Johnsbury, Vt., and after two years went to Newark, 
 \'l., thence to West Burke, same State, where he 
 passed the rest of his days, dying at the age of sev- 
 enty-eight. He served tliroughout the war of the 
 Rebellion, in the nth Vt. V. I., and saw much hard 
 service. In politics he was a Republican, in relig- 
 ious faith a devout member of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church. In December, 1833, he married Celia 
 Bloss, who was born in Lunenburg, Vt., a daughter 
 of Aaron and Acaha (Smith) Bloss, the former of 
 whom was a farmer; the latter, born at Charlestown, 
 N. H., died at the age of eighty. To this union 
 were born seven children, four of whom are yet 
 living : Jonas H., our subject ; William H. ; Mary E., '■ 
 
 wife of O. C. Spencer; and Annette. The mother 
 died at the age of eighty-three years. All the sons 
 except Jonas H. served in the Civil war. ^ 
 
 Jonas H. Silsby received a liberal education at \' 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1529 
 
 the common schools of his place of birth, and when 
 twenty-one years old commenced in the lumber 
 business in a small way. Having a mill in which 
 he put in a circular saw, etc., his business increased 
 until, in course of time, he had four mills and a store 
 — two in Newark, one in Westmore, the other mill 
 and the store at West Burke. In April, 1874, after 
 losing his property through business reverses, he 
 came to Hartford, and again started in a small way, 
 his business, as a result of his ability and applica- 
 tion, increasing until, in 1879, h^ added dealing in 
 hay and straw, etc., potatoes and other produce, on 
 •commission. In 1886 he built the block (where his 
 office now is) on Allyn street, 73 feet deep, four 
 stories high, and it goes without saying that his al- 
 ready large business has since grown to mammoth 
 proportions. He owns about a thousand acres of 
 timber land, and buys a great deal of lumber in the 
 Southern and Western States, also in Canada, in 
 addition to which he purchases shingles in N»w 
 Brunswick, shipping both lumber and shingles by 
 the carload ; he has shipped as many as 500 carloads 
 of lumber in a single year, besides shingles, potatoes, 
 etc. In June, 1890, he sent out seventy-nine carloads 
 of lumber, each containing 15,000 feet, and 175,000 
 shingles. 
 
 On Nov. 22, 1866, Air. Silsby married Addie A. 
 Packer, born at Newark, Vt., a daughter of Austin 
 Packer, and granddaughter of Eliazur Packer, of 
 Groton, Conn., later of Guilford, Vt., whence he 
 removed to Newark, and there died at the advanced 
 age of ninety-four years ; he was a lifelong farmer. 
 Mr. Packer came of English ancestry who were 
 early settlers of Newark. His wife, Abigail (Pot- 
 ter) , died at the age of eighty years. Austin Packer 
 was a farmer, and did a great deal of town busi- 
 ness, serving as selectman, justice of the peace, etc. 
 He died at West Burke, Vt., at the age of seventy- 
 nine years. His wife, Laura Bundy, was born in 
 Chesterfield, N. H., and died at the age of sixty- 
 five. She was a daughter of Isaac Bundy, a prom- 
 inent farmer, and a pioneer of that locality. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Austin Packer had a family of six children, 
 three of whom are living: Henry C, Emily J., and 
 Addie A. (Mrs. Silsby). Two of Mrs. Silby's 
 tincles, David and Ouincy Packer, were Methodist 
 Episcopal ministers. 
 
 To our subject and his wife have been born 
 two children : Mabel A., now the wife of Frederick 
 M. Harlow, of Hartford ; and Anna L., who died 
 when eight months old. Mr. Silby's partner in busi- 
 ness is his son-in-law, Mr. Harlow. Mr. and Mis. 
 Silsby attend the Universalist Church ; in politics he 
 is a Republican, and has served on both jury and 
 g'rand jury various times. 
 
 CHARLES AUGUSTUS TERRY. For a 
 period of over 250 years the ancestors of the sub- 
 ject of this sketch have resided in New England, 
 and a little less than ten years of that time the fam- 
 ih' has been identified with what is now Hartford 
 county, Connecticut. 
 
 The family name of Terry seems to have orig- 
 inated among the early Franks, when, under the 
 form of Thierry, it was not an uncommon personal 
 name, and through the Franks coming to be re- 
 garded as French. That form it took m England, 
 the "h" being silent. The earliest information about 
 the founder of the Hartford county family is de- 
 rived from an old "book of records" now in pos- 
 session of Hon. Henry Morris, of Springfield, 
 Mass. In the spring of 1650 Hon. William Pyn- 
 chon was in England, and doubtless it was then 
 that he took into apprenticeship the boy Samuel 
 Terry, who was an orphan living in Barnet, eleven 
 miles north of London. He was born in 1633 or 
 '34. The next thing known about Samuel Terry 
 is that Jan. 7, 1654-55, the town of Springfield 
 granted him ten acres of land on the "Chickkuppee 
 Plain" on condition that he remain in the town five 
 years. On Jan. 3, 1660, he married Ann Lobdell. 
 In 1663 he was granted land in Westfall, and in 
 1664 in Enfield, Conn. In 1678 he was appointed 
 surveyor of highways. He was well-to-do, a 
 farmer and linen weaver by occupation, and much 
 esteemed by his neighbors. His first wife died in 
 May, 1684, and Nov. 19, 1690, he married (second) 
 Sarah, widow of John Scott, from whom he parted 
 in 1694, and passed the later years of his life with 
 his son Samuel, in Enfield, Conn. He died in 
 1730. 
 
 From this Samuel Terry the subject of this 
 sketch is in the eighth generation, the line of his de- 
 scent being through Samuel (2), Epliraim, Samuel 
 (3), Samuel (4), Joseph and Joseph A. 
 
 (II) Samuel Terry (2), son of Samuel, the 
 emigrant, born in Springfield July 18, 1661, died 
 in Enfield, Conn.. Jan. 2, 1730. He married (first) 
 in Springfield, May 17, 1682, Hannah, daughter of 
 Miles Morgan, who was born April 11, 1656, and 
 died Jan. 17, 1696; married (second) in Wethers- 
 field, Conn., Jan. 4, 1697, Martha, widow of Ben- 
 jamin Crane, Jr., who was born in 1666, and died 
 May 29, 1743. He settled in Enfield in 1683, and 
 was a farmer. He was constable, selectman, and 
 captain of militia in 1716. He was a man of piety, 
 and prominent in church affairs. 
 
 (III) Ephraim Terry, son of Samuel (2), born 
 in Enfield Oct. 24, 1701, died there Oct. 14, 1783. 
 He married in Enfield Sept. 13, 1723, Ann, daugh- 
 ter of Rev. Nathaniel and Alice (Adams) Collins, 
 who was born Dec. 20, 1702, and died Sept. 10, 
 1778. She was a great-great-granddaughter of Gov. 
 William Bradford, of Plymouth Colony. Ephraim 
 Terry lived in Enfield, and was a tanner. He was 
 major of militia. 
 
 (IV) Samuel Terry (3), son of Ephraim, born 
 in Enfield Oct. 18, 1725, died there May 8, 1798. 
 He married in Westfield, Mass., April 21, 1748, 
 Mary, daughter of Samuel and Rachel (Ashley) 
 Kellogg, who was born Oct. 24, 1730, and died 
 Feb. II, 1801. He was an innkeeper in Enfield, 
 Connecticut. 
 
 (V) Samuel Terry (4), son of Samuel (3), 
 
1530 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 born in Enfield July 29, 1750, died in South Wind- 
 sor Nov. II, 1838. He married (first) Dec. 16, 
 1771, Huldah, daughter of Silas and Hannah (Mor- 
 ton) Burnham, who was born April 30, 1752, and 
 died Mav 18, 1809; married (second) Dorcas Buck- 
 land, who was born in 1759, and died Aug. 4, 1834. 
 He was a farmer and tanner in South \\'indsor, 
 Connecticut. 
 
 (VI) Joseph Terry, son of Samuel (4), born 
 in South Windsor Oct. 3, 1797, died in Hartford 
 Oct. 25, 1875. He married in South Windsor, Oct. 
 8, 1821, Marv Mather Fitch, who was born in South 
 Windsor Sept. 3, 1802, daughter of John Field and 
 Mary (Mather) Fitch, her father a nephew of 
 John Fitch, first inventor of the steamboat. Mr. 
 Terry was at one time in the leather business, was 
 quite an architect, and in his later life was a farmer. 
 He lived in Hartford, where Francis Parsons now 
 lives, corner of Asylum and Prospect avenues. 
 ]*■ ranees Aurelia (Terry) Hotchkiss, a daughter of 
 Joseph, is residing at No. 765 Asylum street, Hart- 
 ford. She was born Sept. 6, 1822, and married 
 Leonard M. Hotchkiss. 
 
 (VH) Joseph Augustus Terry, son of Joseph, 
 and the father of our subject, was born Feb. 5, 
 1826, in Hartford. He married, Oct. 11, 1848, 
 Adeline ^^^ebste^, who died in August, 1899. He 
 died in 1893. Mr. Terry was educated in Hart- 
 ford, and in that city was for years engaged in the 
 leather business in connection with his father, and 
 latterly lived a retired life there. His children were: 
 Mary F., born in 1849, who married Frederick 
 Jackson, and resides at Stony Creek, Conn. ; and 
 Charles Augustus. 
 
 Charles Augustus Terry, our subject proper, 
 was born Nov. 2, 1850, on Trumbull street, in the 
 city of Hartford, and was educated in the public 
 schools of the city. He has passed his life there, 
 and has been occupied in agricultural pursuits. He 
 is one of the substantial men of the city and coun- 
 ty, where he is widely and favorablv known. In 
 1881 he was married, in Windsor, Conn., to Miss 
 Katherine Gertrude Hayden, daughter of George 
 P. and Frances (Loomis) Hayden, of Hayden Sta- 
 tion, Conn., and to them has come one daughter, 
 Editha Belle, who is now a young lady. 
 
 ^^^ H. H. ]\IAS0N, the leading druggist of 
 Windsor, and one of the substantial business men 
 of that place, is probably as good an example of 
 a strictly self-made man as is to be found in active 
 business pursuits in the town. While yet a young 
 man, he has already attained a success which many 
 an older man, now passing out of the business 
 period of life, has failed to achieve. He gives 
 strict attention to his business, which, combined with 
 a thorough knowledge of the same, has been an im- 
 portant factor in his success. 
 
 ]\Ir. ]\Iason was born in Hartford March 29, 
 i860. His father, Benajah K. Mason, was a native 
 of North Carolina, born near Wilmington in 1821, 
 and belonged to iM excellent Southern family. By 
 
 trade he was a carriagemaker, and when a young 
 man he spent his summers in the North, return- 
 ing South during the winter season, and working 
 at his trade all the time. While thus employed 
 in Hartford he married Miss Maria Wells, a native 
 of Wethersfield, Conn., and a daughter of Henry 
 and Ruth ( \Vright) \^'ells. Her father was a 
 farmer, and belonged to a highly-respected family 
 of Wethersfield. At one time Mr. Masoti was en- 
 gaged in building locomotive cabs for what is now 
 the Consolidated Railroad Co. of Hartford, and did 
 other work for the same company, filling respon- 
 sible positions that required great mechanical skill 
 and excellent judgment. He remained in their em- 
 ploy between forty-five and fift)^ years, and was 
 superintendent of bridges for several years. Dur- 
 ing the Civil war he served as fifth sergeant in 
 Company E, 22d Conn. V. I., and he was later a 
 member of Robert O. Tyler Post, G. A. R.. of 
 Hartford. He was a member of the Asylum Hill 
 Congregational Church, and fraternally of the Im- 
 proved Order of Red Men, and politically was 
 identified with the Republican party, in thg suc- 
 cess of which he took a deep interest. He was a 
 man of great energy and activity, and was quite 
 robust until the illness that caused his death. He 
 passed awav in 1895, at the age of seventy-four 
 years, honored and respected by all who knew him. 
 The mother of our subject died in 1881, at the 
 age of fifty-nine, and both were laid to rest m 
 Hartford cemetery. In their family were only two 
 sons, the other being Francis A. E., an employe of 
 the Consolidated Railway Co. at Hartford. 
 
 The subject of this review was reared in Hart- 
 ford, and graduated from the high school of that 
 city in 1878. On laving aside his text-books he 
 entered the business house of Sovereigns of In- 
 dustry, on Allyn street, where he served as book- 
 keeper until he commenced learning the druggist's 
 trade. He entered the store of D. G. Stoughton 
 in Hartford, and remained there ten years, which 
 length of service in itself is evidence of his efficiency 
 and worth. On leaving there, in 1889, he came to 
 Windsor and bought the business of the late A. 
 M. Holt, at once began to enlarge and improve the 
 store, and in 1896 built his present excellent store 
 room — the best in Windsor — which is fitted up in 
 the most approved style. He now enjoys an ex- 
 cellent trade, and does a profitable business. Mr. 
 Mason is one of the shrewd and careful business 
 men of the place, is systematic, and very attentive 
 to the wants of his customers. He is certainh- one 
 of the representative business men of Windsor, and 
 one of its best citizens. 
 
 Mr. jMason was united in marriage with Miss 
 Gertrude Coole}', of Hartford, a daughter of ex- 
 Representative Charles H. Coolev, and they have 
 two children : Howard C. and Arthur C. In his 
 political affiliations Mr. JMason is a Republican, and 
 in his social relations is a member of B. H. Webb 
 Lodge, No. 702, R. A., of Hartford. Religiously 
 he is a member of the Congregational Church, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1531 
 
 while his wife holds membership in the Universalist 
 Church. They have a delightful home adjoining 
 his place of business, and within its hospitable 
 doors their many friends are always sure of a 
 hearty welcome. 
 
 THEODORE B. ACKERLY, M. D., a rising 
 young physician of Hartford, with office at the 
 corner of Main and Pearl streets, was born Feb. 
 9, 1874, in Springfield, Massachusetts. 
 
 Th-e Doctor's ancestors were early settlers of 
 New York and his grandfather and father, Will- 
 iam Ackerly, were both born there. The latter was 
 engaged, in wagon manufacturing in New York and 
 Massachusetts for many years. He married a lady 
 named Brooks, who now resides in Hartford, and 
 they had two children : Jennie C. and Theodore 
 Burton. 
 
 Dr. Ackerly spent much of his boyhood on 
 Long Island, and after completing a common- 
 school course entered the Eastman Business Col- 
 lege, at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in 1892. He also 
 attended St. Stephen's Theological School, at An- 
 nandale, N. Y., Dartmouth College, and the Long 
 Island Medical College, from which latter he was 
 graduated in 1897. Locating in Hartford in the 
 same year, he speedily won recognition, and in 1898 
 was chosen city physician. 
 
 JAMES F. O'LEARY, A. B., M. D., one of 
 Hartford's progressive and successful physicians, 
 was born in that city Oct. 18, 1873, son of Patrick 
 and Mary (Foley) O'Leary. His ancestory is 
 traced through several generations, the family home 
 having been in County Kerry, Ireland, where his 
 great-grandfather O'Leary lived and died. Cor- 
 nelius O'Leary, our subject's grandfather, was born 
 in County Kerry, and after engaging in farming 
 there for some time came to America, and passed 
 his remaining years in retirement at Northampton, 
 Mass. He had five children : Patrick, Cornelius, 
 Jeremiah, Julia (who married Michael Courtey), 
 and Bridget (deceased). 
 
 Patrick O'Leary, our subject's father, was born 
 in 1846 in County Kerry, Ireland, and was edu- 
 cated in the schools of that locality. He accom- 
 panied his father to America, locatinq: first in North- 
 ampton, Mass., and after some years removing to 
 Hartford, where he entered the Washburn factory 
 as a melter : he is now employed as foreman of a 
 department by Connelly & Cody. He is an intel- 
 ligent man, a close observer, and fond of reading, 
 and is an active member of St. Patrick's Church, 
 the Knights of Columbus, and the Ancient Order 
 of Hibernians. Politically he is independent, though 
 for a number of years he affiliated with the Dem- 
 ocratic party. His wife is a daughter of James F. 
 Foley, a foundr5'man, who came from Ireland and 
 located first in Northampton, Mass. The training 
 and education of their eight children has been their 
 chief care, and they have a clever and promising 
 family: Jeremiah P., a mason; James Francis; 
 
 Mary, who married John Henry Hogan; Patrick, 
 deceased; Margaret, at home; John, a student; 
 Bridget ; and Annie, at home, now attending school. 
 
 Dr. O'Leary was graduated from St. Patrick's 
 school, in Hartford, in 1888, and then took a course 
 in the high school, graduating April 22, 1892. In 
 the fall of the same year he entered Villa Nova 
 College, at Villa Nova, Delaware Co., Penn., where 
 he took a three-years course in two years, and was 
 given the degree of B. A. in 1894. The class num- 
 bered thirty-four, and the Doctor was valedictorian, 
 and also received a medal for proficiency in the 
 classics. As he tied with a classmate in philosophy 
 two medals were given. While at college he was 
 a member of the base-ball and foot-ball teams. In 
 the fall of 1894 our subject began the study of 
 medicine in Baltimore Medical College, where he 
 studied for two years, and in 1896 he entered the 
 University of Buffalo, Senior year, taking his de- 
 gree in the spring of 1897. In May, 1897, he 
 opened an office alone in Hartford, and he has been 
 very successful in his practice, his keen mind and 
 thorough training enabling him to meet the prob- 
 lems of professional life effectively. 
 
 Socially the Doctor is popular, and he is a mem- 
 ber of the Order of Foresters ; the Knights of the 
 Maccabees: the Ancient Order of Hibernians: the 
 Monday Night Bowling Club; and the ^Modern 
 Woodmen of America. He is medical examiner in 
 the Foresters, and in one tent of the Maccabees 
 and Modern Woodmen. 
 
 JOHN KORNGIEBEL, the first German to lo- 
 cate in Glastonbury, and the oldest now living 
 there, is a good representative of that thrifty, in- 
 dustrious, sensible race which has furnished to 
 America so many excellent citizens. He was born 
 near Eisenach, Saxe-Weimar, Germany, where 
 his family has long been well known. His grand- 
 father, John Korngiebel, a farmer, there married 
 and had two sons — David, our subject's father; 
 and Conrad, a blacksmith, who met his death by 
 drowning in the river near his home. 
 
 David Korngiebel engaged in farming at the 
 old home, and was married there to Margaret 
 Heidride, by whom he had three sons : David, who 
 died in childhood; John; and Frederick. In 184S 
 the family came to America, the voyage from 
 Bremen to New York lasting forty-nine days, and 
 they landed in New York March 12, 1848, without 
 funds or friends. Employment was found at vari- 
 ous odd jobs by which all managed to subsist until 
 our subject found steadv work in Glastonbury,, 
 where they settled, the father dying there in 1857, 
 and the mother in 1877. Frederick located finally 
 at Belchertown, Mass. ; he married (first) Julia 
 Miles and (second) May Eaton. 
 
 While looking for work in New York in 1849, 
 John Korngiebel chanced to meet Mr. Sparks, of 
 East Glastonburj', who was seeking workmen for 
 his mill, and an arrangement was speedily made. 
 His wages were, only $16 per month, but helped 
 
1532 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 much toward securing a home for the family, and as 
 soon as he could begin to save, he invested in a tract 
 of forty acres of land, belonging to Henry Wright. 
 After six years in the mill he decided to devote his 
 time to farming, and he has since added nineteen 
 acres to his first purchase, making fifty-nine acres 
 in all. He and his family attend the Methodist 
 Church, and are nuich esteemed socially. Mr. 
 Korngiebel married J\Iartha Isleib, who was born 
 in 1822, daughter of Henry Isleib, a native of Sax- 
 ony, and they had children as follows: (i) Lena 
 died in New York shortly after their arrival. (2) 
 Frederick, born April 20. 1846, married Hannah 
 Frey, and reside in Waterbury. He served in the 
 Civil war in Companv A, 21st Conn. V. I. (3) Will- 
 iam, born April 25. 1850. married Emilv Hodge, of 
 East Glastonbur}'. and now resides there. (4) John, 
 born April 22, 1853, married Rose Covell. and set- 
 tled in Manchester, where he is employed in Cheney 
 r.rotbers" Silk Mill. (5) Martin, torn Aug. 26. 
 1855, married Mary Gilson, and died Jan. 24, 1885. 
 He was emploved in a mill in East Glastonbury. 
 
 (6) Martha, born April 3, 1858, died Feb. 12, 1885. 
 
 (7) Margaret, born July 25, i860, married Henry 
 Friar, of Manchester. (8) An infant died un- 
 named. (9) David, born Aug. 4, 1865, on the 
 present homestead, attended the Xeipsic school in 
 liovhiHid. On leaving school he turned his atten- 
 tion to farming, relieving his father of business 
 ■details, and he is now tenderly caring for his aged 
 parents. He is much respected in the community. 
 While he has never cared for politics, he is a Demo- 
 crat, as is our subject, and socially he is identified 
 with Elm Lodge, 1. O. O. F., of Glastonbury, and 
 the Grange. 
 
 JOEL C. TAFT. a well-known resident of Hart- 
 ford, was born Jan. 13. 1848. in East Glastonbury, 
 Conn., son of Frederick J. Taft. 
 
 Otis Taft, his grandfather, was born and reared 
 in New York City, and was engaged in business 
 there for many years. d-\ing at the age of eighty- 
 five. His wife. Rebecca, who was a native of the 
 city, attained the same age. 
 
 Frederick J. Taft was born in New York City, 
 where he received a common-school education. As 
 a boy he assisted his father, and later he took pos- 
 session of the business, which Avas then located at 
 the corner of Washington and York streets. In 
 addition to his manitfacturing he sawed a vast 
 amount of lumber, but he finally sold out and re- 
 tired to East Glastonbury, where he died when 
 sixty-two years of age. His wife. Caroline M. 
 Cutter, died ag-ed eighty-two. She was born in 
 East Glastonbury, daughter of Allen Ctttter, a farm- 
 er, and a very extensive land owner of that town, 
 who died at an advanced age. Our subject was 
 •one of a family of seven children, and is the voung- 
 ■est of the three survivors. Frederick J. resides in 
 Tiast Hartford. Caroline married Albert Butler, 
 of New Haven. Both father and grandfather were 
 Democrats politically, but refused all offices, al- 
 
 though taking an active interest in party success. 
 The family has been identified with the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church for many years. 
 
 Joel C. Taft was educated mainly in his native 
 town, but during his boyhood went to Manchester, 
 where he remained two years. He then went to 
 Hartford, where he began driving teams, and later 
 went to Bundysburg, Ohio, to work in a stone 
 quarry, remaining three years. Finding a good 
 opening at Nelson, Portage Co., Ohio, he engaged 
 in quarrying there on his own account, but soon 
 sold out to good advantage. For a short time he 
 followed farming near Kalamazoo, Mich., then went 
 to Cleveland, Ohio, and finally returned to Hartford, 
 and learned the molder's trade. After following 
 his trade for a time he was employed to drive a 
 coal wagon, and in 1888 embarked in the coal busi- 
 ness in a small way. He finally sold out and took 
 a position with H. C. Burgess, with whom he re- 
 mained some years as superintendent, and in 1895 
 he started his present yard and office, where he has 
 built up a good business. The yard is located at 
 the foot of Church street, and at present he has 
 two offices, at No. 1350 Main street, and at No. 
 29 Albany avenue, respectively. He has also o 
 feed, boarding and hack stable at No. 1177 Main 
 street, and keeps twenty-four horses, his line of 
 hacks being the finest in the city. Mr. Taft has 
 the reputation of having an interest in the pros- 
 perity of the town of East Hartford, and of hav- 
 ing done more to build up East Hartford than any 
 other man now living there. At one time he pur- 
 chased a large tract of land and developed it, build- 
 ing a number of houses, and though he sold a num- 
 ber he still owns six, including his own beautiful 
 residence. In 1874 he married Miss Emily Stead- 
 man, of Windsorville, Conn., a member of a pio- 
 neer family of that town. They have five chil- 
 dren: Albert, now bookkeeper for our subject; 
 William, yardmaster at the yard ; Charles, head 
 night clerk at the "United States Hotel," Hart- 
 ford ; Harry, who was educated in the common 
 schools, and is now a clerk with his father; and 
 Albert, a student in business college. 
 
 Mr. Taft is a Bryan Democrat, a firm believer 
 in the Chicago Platform, and in the national cam- 
 paign of the fall of 1896 made seventeen speeches. 
 He has held the office of constable and second se- 
 lectman in East Hartford, and now holds the office 
 of justice of the peace. He is a man of fine in- 
 telligence, combined with a ready flow of language, 
 and has pleaded a number of cases successfully 
 in the justice court. He held the office of railroad 
 policeman for a number of years. Mr. Taft has 
 also served on the school committee of East Hart- 
 ford, and has taken a very active interest in the 
 schools, exercising great care in the selection of the 
 best teachers. He liberally supports both churches 
 and schools, and is ever ready to forward any en- 
 terprise for the benefit of East Hartford. For 
 many years he has been a member of the First Com- 
 pany Governor's Horse Guard, in which he ranks 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1538 
 
 as lieutenant, and he is a member of the Veteran 
 Firemen's Association, having previously served 
 with No. I Company as a volunteer. He was the 
 organizer of the fire department of East Hart- 
 ford, and was chosen foreman of the company, and 
 was later elected second assistant and then chief 
 engineer of the department. Socially he is a mem- 
 ber of Crescent Lodge, K. of P. 
 
 ANDREW FRINK GATES is a prominent and 
 successful lawyer of Hartford, where he has 'been 
 actively engaged in the practice of his profession 
 since 1889, and he has won wide recognition in 
 public service, as well as in the private pursuit of 
 his chosen calling. 
 
 Mr. Gates was born Oct. 22, 1862, at Lebanon, 
 New London Co., Conn., son of William F. and 
 Ellen (Ford) Gates. After a thorough preliminary 
 education be entered Yale College, whence he was 
 graduated in 1887, and in 1889 he completed the 
 course in Yale Law School, being admitted to the 
 Bar in New Haven county in the same year. For 
 four years — 1889 to 1893 — Mr. Gates served as 
 prosecuting attorney of Hartford county ; n 1889 
 and 1891 he was assistant clerk of the House of 
 Representatives of the State ; was clerk of the 
 House in 1893 ; and clerk of the Senate in 1895. 
 In all these positions he acquitted himself with a 
 fidelity and true sense of the responsibilities of his 
 trusts which could not fail to win him the hearty 
 commendation of all concerned, and his many 
 sterling characteristics, combined with legal skill 
 and acumen, have gained him an enviable standing 
 in the ranks of the legal profession in his city and 
 county. In 1893 he was elected a member of the 
 board of school visitors for a term of six years, 
 during the latter half of which he was acting 
 visitor. 
 
 On Nov. 9, 1893, Mr. Gates was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Alice Louise Welch, daughter of 
 Dr. John and Elizabeth (Bell) Welch, of Hartford. 
 
 HENRY S. AVERY, a well-known resident of 
 Bristol since 1854, was born in Groton, New Haven 
 county, Conn., April 6, 1826, and is a son of Al- 
 ford and Martha (Smith) Avery, the former of 
 whom was born Sept. 12, 1792, a son of Dennison 
 and Hannah (Babcock) Avery, and the latter born 
 in 1799. 
 
 Henry S. Avery, three days after birth, lost 
 his mother, and for one year was cared for by a 
 lady friend of the family. He was then taken to 
 South Coventry, Conn., by his grandfather, and 
 at the proper age was sent to the public school and 
 cared for until he was nine years old, when he 
 was taken to Mystic, Conn., and 'bound out, until 
 twenty-one, to Nathaniel Lewis. The relationship 
 was not pleasant, and three years later young Henry 
 S. went to live on the farm of an uncle in North 
 Stonington, where he remained one year. He next 
 worked on the farm of Eleazer Bill, at Columbia, 
 for four and a half years, then carried on the farm 
 
 of Dr. Andinijah White at Andover, for two 
 years, for the six months following he worked for 
 Silas Loomis, on Hop river, near Andover, thence 
 going to Rockville, where he worked in the Spring- 
 ville and other cloth mills for twelve j-ears. In 
 1854 Mr. Avery came to Bristol and worked in 
 the Dimbar spring factory a year, and about eight 
 months in a satinet factory, when ill health caused 
 him to withdraw. His next employment was as a 
 silver burnisher for the Bristol Brass & Clock com- 
 pany, but a year and a half later, burnishing was 
 abandoned, and Mr. Avery worked as a spinner in 
 N. L. Birge's stockinet factory. 
 
 On Sept. 17, 1862, Mr. Avery enlisted in Co. 
 K, i6th C. V. I., and took part in the battle of An- 
 tietam, but in fording the river contracted a severe 
 cold, and lost his luggage. After the battle was 
 over he was sent to a hospital in Maryland, but later 
 transferred to another in Alexandria, Va., where 
 he was confined until honorably discharged, Jan. 29, 
 1863. Mr. Avery worked for nine years at drillings 
 for clocks for Wilfred Nettleton, and then started 
 the fish and oyster trade, which he conducted from 
 1873 until 1890, when he retired. His old stand on 
 Main street is now conducted by C. U. Bornes. 
 Although retired, Mr. Avery cannot live in idle- 
 ness, and passes a great deal of his time in can- 
 vassing for the "Happy Hour," a family story pa- 
 per, published at Portland, Maine. 
 
 Mr. Avery was married. May 24, 1849, to Miss 
 Cynthia A. West, who was born July 20, 1824, at 
 Marlborough, a daughter of Roswell and Betsey 
 (Sumner) West. No children have been born to 
 this union. Mr. and Mrs. Avery, however, have 
 an adopted daughter, Nellie Eva, born July 4, 1873, 
 who is now the wife of George Linstead, of Bris- 
 tol, and the mother of one child — Freeman Avery, 
 born Sept. 6, 1896. Mr. and Mrs. Avery are mem- 
 bers of the Congregational Church. They cele- 
 brated the golden anniversary of their wedding 
 day last May. Mr. Avery is a member of Pequa- 
 buck Chapter, R. A. M., of Bristol. In politics 
 he was first a Whig, but on the disintegration of 
 that party became a stanch Republican. 
 
 FRANK SEWALL CORNISH is a most fitting 
 representative of the young progressive business 
 men of Glastonbury. He has attained success and is 
 still engaged in furthering the commercial inter- 
 ests of that town. With energy, integrity and am- 
 bition as his capital, he began his business career, 
 and has found these qualities an excellent invest- 
 ment, yielding a steady and satisfactory income. 
 Mr. Cornish is of the ninth generation from James 
 Cornish, the founder of the family in Connecticut, 
 who was the representative of an old Massachu- 
 setts family, was the first schoolmaster at North- 
 ampton, Mass. ; was appointed clerk of the courts 
 in Hampshire county, Mass., in 1667, later removed 
 to Connecticut and died at Simsbury October 29, 
 1698. The line of descent to our subject is as fol- 
 lows : (2) Deacon James, born in 1663, settled in 
 
1534 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Simsbury about 1695, died April 2, 1740; (3) Capt. 
 James, eldest son of Deacon James and Elizabeth 
 (Thai!) Cornish, born Oct. 30, 1693, died JNIarch 
 22, 1784. (4) Sergeant Elisha, son of Capt. James 
 and Amy (Butler) Cornish, was born June 5, 1720, 
 and died April 27, 1794; (5) Capt. James, son of 
 Sergeant Elisha and Hepsibah ( Humphrey) Corn- 
 ish, was born Dec. 16, 1744, and died July 9, 1813; 
 (6) Colonel James, son of Capt. James and Rhu- 
 hama (Bidwell) Cornish, was born in 1776, and 
 died Jan. 30, 1836; (7) Charles E., son of Col. 
 James and Cynthia (Russell) Cornish was born 
 April 13, 1805, and died Feb. 14, 1882. (8) 
 Charles H., son of Charles E., and Mary N. (Mn- 
 ing) Cornish, was the father of our subject. 
 
 " Charles H. Cornish was born in Simsbury, May 
 17, 1837. He was educated in the schools of Sims- 
 bury, Tariff ville and Hartford, and about i860 re- 
 moved with his parents to Glastonbury. As a 
 young man he entered the factory of Ames & Co., 
 at Xaubuc as burnisher, and later engaged in farm- 
 ing in Glastonbury. His death, the result of an 
 accident, occurred Feb. 14, 1873. \\'hile driving 
 a fractious colt he was thrown to the ground, his 
 head striking on a stone and resulting in fatal in- 
 juries. Charles H. Cornish was twice married. 
 His first wife was Sarah Cook, who died Nov. 2, 
 1857. leaving no issue. For his second wife Charles 
 H.' Cornish, on July 15, 1861, married Harriet E. 
 Risley, who was born Oct. 20. 1838, daughter of 
 Elihu and Harriet Waterman, of Naubac. By this 
 second marriage there were three children, Charles 
 A., who was born Sept. 6. 1862, and married Jessie 
 Peck and lives at Glastonbury : Frank Sewall : and 
 Robert, born Aug. 26, 1871, a resident of Ware, 
 JNIassachusetts. 
 
 Frank Sewall Cornish, was born July 19. 1865, 
 in Xaubuc. He was only eight years old when 
 orphaned by the death of his father, and thus de- 
 prived of a father's guiding help, was at an early 
 age obliged by circumstances to win his own way 
 in life. He attended the district school in winter, 
 and worked hard in summer to earn his way 
 through school, and to contribute to the support 
 of his widowed mother. Later he attended Han- 
 nunvs Business College, and on returning to Glas- 
 tonbury he entered the factory of Williams Bros., 
 where he remained for a time, resigning his posi- 
 tion in 1891 to start the stage line between Glas- 
 tonburv and Hartford. Mr. Cornish continued in 
 this business for four years, and then purchased 
 from William W. Brown his present place, where 
 he opened the livery and meat business, which he 
 has since conducted most successfully. He has the 
 largest meat route in Glastonbury, and his livery 
 business is equally prominent. Mr. Cornish also 
 owns a blacksmith shop. Realizing the need of a 
 hotel at Glastonbury, in 1899 he began the construc- 
 tion of a fine modern structure which is a monu- 
 ment to his energy and enterprise. 
 
 On Jan. i, 1891, Frank S. Cornish was mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary Isleit, who was born March 7, 
 
 1872, daughter of Andrew and Kate (Hopsang) 
 Isleit, natives of Germany. Two children have 
 blessed this union : Dayton, born Jan. 5, 1893, and 
 Ruth, born June i, 1895. In politics our subject is 
 a Democrat, and he is now serving as constable. 
 He is a member of Midian Encampment, No. 53, 
 I. O. O. F., and of Monitor Council, No. 61, N. 
 A. M. He is self-made in the best sense of the 
 term, and his property and business are the cre- 
 ation of his own unaided effort. 
 
 MATTHEW G. ANDERSON, farmer, town of 
 Enfield, Hartford county, Connecticut. 
 
 CHARLES LEONARD MILLARD is of Eng- 
 lish descent. His grandfather, Leonard M. Millard, 
 was born July 22, 1801, and was a successful ma- 
 chinist of Bangor, Maine, but toward the close 
 of his life abandoned work at his trade and pur- 
 chased a farm at Indian Orchard, Mass., where 
 he died April 7, 1861. On June 22, 1822, he mar- 
 ried Amy Stearns, who survived him for seven 
 years, dying on July 12, 1868. They were the par- 
 ents of seven children, of whom we give a neces- 
 sarily brief mention : The eldest, Adeline E., was 
 born Aug. 29, 1825, married in November, 1842, 
 to Henry Denslow, and died Nov. 23, 1857 ; Leonard 
 Clark was the father of Charles L., and his life 
 story will be more fully told in a succeeding para- 
 graph ; Charles H. was born Oct. i, 1832, became 
 a dealer in boots and shoes in a Massachusetts 
 town, and died Jan. 5, 1893 ; Stephen M. was born 
 March 11, 1835, was a stone mason by trade, and 
 died June 3, 1896; George S. was born Sept. 27, 
 1837. and died on Dec. 12, following; Georgiana 
 was born Aug. 16, 1839, became the wife of Hora- 
 tio Marsh in October, 1856, and is still living in 
 Massachusetts ; William F., the youngest of the 
 family, was born Aug. 21, 1842, and is at present 
 a successful business man of Massachusetts, where 
 lie is engaged in the iron trade. 
 
 Leonard Clark jMillard, father of Charles L., 
 was born at Bangor, Maine, Sept. 17, 1827. He 
 learned his trade from his father, and his natural 
 mechanical aptitude enabled him to become an ex- 
 pert machinist, he being considered, in his day, 
 one of the best in New England. His services 
 readily commanded $5 per day. He was an assistant 
 of Elias Howe, and rendered valuable aid to the 
 "Father of the Sewing Machine" in his experi- 
 mental work. He was in request at many places be- 
 cause of his recognized skill. For many years hewas 
 in the employ of the Ames Company, at Chicopee, 
 ]Mass., going from there to Meriden, and later to 
 New Britain, where he resided until 1868 or '69. 
 He then accepted a proposal to become foreman 
 and general manager of the Malleable & Gray Iron 
 Co., of St. Louis, which position he continued to 
 fill until 1 88 1. In that year -he returned to New 
 Britain, and began work in the old Stanley Works. 
 While his political faith was that of the Republican 
 party, he was in no sense a politician. 
 
 4 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1535 
 
 On Nov. 19, 1848, Mr. Millard married Eliza- 
 beth Burrows, who bore him three children, as fol- 
 lows ; Emma E., who was born May 5, 1850, and 
 died Jan. 29, 1852; Emma S., born Feb. 20, 1852, 
 married to John E. Heme, and now living at 
 Larchmont, N. Y. ; and Charles Leonard, who was 
 born at Thompsonville, Hartford county, on April 
 15, 1854. Leonard C. Millard died Feb. 12, 1893, 
 his wife having preceded him to the better land on 
 July 14, 1863. 
 
 Charles L. Millard was educated in the common 
 sthools of New Britain, and was also a student 
 ■tmder Professor Peck. He received on excellent 
 training in the rudimentary branches of an English 
 education, and left school when he was about fifteen 
 years old. He learned the trade of a machinist 
 luider the instruction of his father, at St. Louis, 
 virtually serving an actual apprenticeship thereat. 
 In 1876, he went to New York, where he obtained 
 work at his trade in the Higgins Carpet Factory, 
 lOn 42nd street. Being naturally fond of change, 
 lie, in 1879, went to California, working at his 
 trade in the cities of San Francisco, Sacramento 
 and Los Angeles. He found some difficulty in 
 overcoming the latent and sometimes expressed hos- 
 tility to mechanics from the East, and in 1882 he 
 left California for the Black Hills, where he en- 
 gaged in prospecting. In Sept., 1884, he returned 
 to New. Britain, and was for thirteen years in the 
 employ of S. H. Beard, his work consisting of 
 the installment of steam and hot water heating 
 apparatus. His technical knowledge and recognized 
 skill secured for him, in 1897, the appointment as 
 janitor of a high school, which position he has 
 ever since held. 
 
 Mr. Millard is a Republican, but he takes no 
 active part in politics. He is a member of the Or- 
 der of United American Mechanics and of the Red 
 ]\Ien. He married Minnie Louise Potter, a daugh- 
 ter of Prof. Joseph M. Potter, foi-merly an in- 
 structor in music in the old high school. Five 
 children have been born to them : Milton Potter, 
 Leon Pierpont, Amelia Burrows, Ann and Marie 
 
 Heme'. 
 
 I 
 
 HENRY E. BILLINGS. This well-known citi- 
 zen of Hartford, who has gained a prominent place 
 in business circles as the head of the Billings Side- 
 walk & Masons' Supply Co., was born May 3, 1824, 
 in Chatham, Conn. He comes of an excellent fam- 
 ily, and his grandfather. Zadock Billings, was one 
 of the leading farmers of Chatham, where he died. 
 His wife, whose maiden name was Chase, was a 
 native of Rhode Island, and rounded out a full 
 century of life. This worthy couple had eight chil- 
 dren, all now deceased. 
 
 Samuel Billings, our subject's father, was born 
 in Chatham, and received a common-school educa- 
 tion, meanwhile assisting in the work of the home- 
 stead. After engaging in farming for a time he 
 went West, and he died in California at the age 
 of sixty years. He married Anna Hale, a native 
 
 of Portland, Conn., one of the family of four 
 daughters and three sons of Ephraim Hale, a well- 
 known agriculturist of that section. She lived to 
 the age of eighty-four, and for many years she and 
 her husband were active workers in the Episcopal 
 Church of Chatham. They had eight children, of 
 whom two are living besides our subject: Betsy 
 A., Mrs. Wheeler, a widow, resides in Hartford, 
 Conn. ; and William E. is a farmer near Glaston- 
 bury, Connecticut. 
 
 Our subject remained in Chatham until fourteen 
 years old, gaining his education in the common 
 schools of that town. He then went to Glaston- 
 bury, where he continued to attend common school 
 while working on a farm, and later was engaged 
 ill a tannery. At twenty he engaged in the milling 
 business, which he carried on for five years at 
 Glastonbury and two years at East Hartford. Wish- 
 ing to test the advantages of agricultural life, he 
 purchased a farm at West Hartford, but after three 
 years' trial he sold the place and resumed the mill- 
 ing business, at Glastonbury. In 1862 he removed 
 to Hartford, and took a position with a brother-in- 
 law in his present yard. No. 154 Charter Oak street, 
 remaining two years. For six years he operated 
 the Leonard Daniels mill, at Hartford, and spent 
 the next seven years conducting a meal store at 
 the corner of Sheldon and Main streets. On sell- 
 ing out he again took a position with his brother- 
 in-law, and after the death of the latter, in 1884, 
 he took charge of the business, which he has great- 
 ly enlarged. The company is regularly incorpwrat- 
 ed as a joint-stock concern, and their business is the 
 largest in that line in the city. They are sole agents 
 for the Alpha Portland Cement, and make a spe- 
 cialty of laying sidewalks and factory floors. Their 
 stock includes a full line of North River and Penn- 
 sylvania blue-stone flagging, granite curb, gutter, 
 crosswalks, paving stone, lime, cement, plaster, 
 hair, sea sand, mortar color, drain and land tile, 
 chimney flue linings, extension chimney tops, and 
 King's Windsor cement and dry mortar. They have 
 laid many ferrolithic concrete walks, and samples 
 of their work in this line may be seen at the Na- 
 tional Fire Insurance Co., Unity building. Bailer- 
 stein's, "Hotel Hartford," Billings & Spencer Co., 
 Hartford Gas Light Co., Hartford Life Insurance 
 Co., Wise Smith & Co., D. E. Strong's building on 
 Church street, and elsewhere in the city. Among 
 some of the work in asphalt done by them we mav 
 mention the driveways in the rear of the Hartford 
 Gas Light and Connecticut Fire Insurance Cos', 
 buildings, on Grove street, numerous walks and 
 washstands about the city, and the basement of the 
 Pope Manufacturing Co.'s new office building. The 
 business keeps twenty-five or thirty men employed 
 in summer, and ten horses are needed the year 
 round, from two to four being added in summer. 
 An extensive business is done in teaming also dur- 
 ing the summer season. 
 
 In 1848 Mr. Billings married Miss Celestia P. 
 Brewer, daughter of Allen Brewer, a prominent ag- 
 
1536 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 riculturist near East Hartford, who died in 1864. 
 Her mother's maiden name was \'alina Bidwell. 
 In 1898 Mr. and Mrs. BiUings celebrated their 
 Golden Wedding. She passed away Sept. 27, 1900, 
 Of their three children, (i) Helen is tne widow of 
 James A. Kennedy, former!)' in the dry-goods busi- 
 ness, and has three daughters, Addie, Aland and 
 Grace. (2) Grace B. married J. D. Candee, treas- 
 urer of the company. (3) Henry F., secretary of 
 the same company, was born in Glastonbury April 
 13, 1 861, and was educated in the common schools. 
 He entered the office of the Charter Oak Insurance 
 Co. as an errand boy, and rose to be bookkeeper, 
 remaining there eleven years. While tliere he 
 learned stenography, and subsequently was engaged 
 three years as stenographer for Mr. Shepherd, su- 
 perintendent of the New Haven & Hartford Rail- 
 road Co. He then went into business with his fa- 
 ther, and since 1893 he has held a position as clerk 
 in the railroad commissioners' office, at the State 
 Capitol at Hartford. He is a member of Hartford 
 Lx)dge, F. & A. AI. On April 15, 1891, he married 
 iVIiss iMinnie Evans, a native of Hartford, and they 
 have two children, Beth and Forrest. The family 
 is prominent in social life, and our subject has been 
 a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 54, F. & A. M., 
 since i860, and was formerly connected with the 
 Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his 
 family attend the Congregational Church, but he 
 has declined to accept office in the society. His 
 unwillingness to undertake official duties extends to 
 municipal affairs, and when urged by his fellow 
 workers in the Republican party to accept a place 
 on the ticket he has refused, much to the regret of 
 his friends in both political organizations. 
 
 BENAJAH HITCHCOCK, one of the most re- 
 spected retired business men in the town of Bristol 
 was born in Cheshire, Conn., Dec. 24, 1824, a son 
 of Chauncey and Sarah (Bristol) Hitchcock. 
 
 Chauncey Hitchcock was a native of Walling- 
 ford. Conn., was a shoemaker by trade, and after 
 his removal from Wallingford to Cheshire contin- 
 ued to work at his trade and also engaged in farm- 
 ing. He was a man of straightforward character, 
 unpretentious in manner. In Cheshire he married 
 Miss Sarah Bristol, a daughter of Augustus Bris- 
 tol, known to many as Augustus Brister, a hero of 
 the Revolutionarv war. To this marriage were 
 born six children, as follows: Rebecca, who was 
 married to George Wilmoth, died in the State of 
 New York; Matilda, who was married to a Mr.- 
 Cooper, died in Southington, Conn. ; Sarah, who 
 married Robert Sloper, also died in Southington ; 
 George, who married a Miss Hart, died in New 
 York State, where he had been engaged in farm- 
 ing; Marj' Ann married Jacob Curtiss, and died in 
 the West ; and Benajah, the youngest, is the sub- 
 ject of this sketch. 
 
 Benajah Hitchcock has had a varied career. In 
 his younger days he was taken from place to place 
 by his father, and was educated in Southington and 
 
 Kensington. Leaving school at the age of sixteen 
 years, he was employed in making bolts, buttons 
 and small hardware in the vicinity of Kensington 
 and Southington for several years; later worked 
 seven or eight )-ears making ears for kettles in the 
 factory of Isaac Botsford, at iiierlin, and about 
 the year 1849 came to Bristol. For two years after 
 coming here he worked in the match factory of E. 
 Clark, in New Haven. His next employment was 
 the making of picture frames for four or five years 
 for Byington & Graham, in Bristol. He then bought 
 and fitted up with the most improved apparatus a 
 match factory in Stafford, Conn., whither he re- 
 moved, and most successfully managed the plant 
 five or six years, when he sold it, returning to 
 Bristol and establishing a paper-box factory on 
 Divinity street ; this he also profitably conducted 
 ten years, and then disposed of it to Herbert J. 
 Mills, retiring from active business pursuits. 
 
 Mr. Hitchcock was married, Sept. 4, 1849, to 
 Miss Nancy Anna Mix, who was born July i, 1831, 
 a daughter of Asahel and Anna (Judd) Mix, of 
 Bristol. This marriage has been blessed with two 
 children: (i) Delia Eleanor, born March 2y, 1851, 
 is the wife of David Allyn, of Montgomery, Mass., 
 and has five children, Louis B., Winifred (married 
 to Clinton Clark), Walter D., Edith and Rachel. 
 (2) Ellen Louise, born July 13, 1861, married to 
 Rev. Samuel G. Neil, a traveling evangelist and mis- 
 sionary, sent out by the Baptist Society for chapel- 
 car work in the central West ; Mr. and Mrs. Neil 
 have one child, Anna, born Aug. 5, 1888. Mr. 
 Hitchcock has been very active as a member of 
 the Second Advent Christian Church, is a pro- 
 found Bible student, and has preached in every town 
 and city in Connecticut ; for several years he was 
 pastor of the Advent Church in Wallingford. He 
 is a Republican in his political views, but has never 
 taken an active interest in party affairs. 
 
 \ 
 THEODORE H. KEIRNS, who for nearly 
 twenty years prior to his death, Jan. 4, 1900, had 
 been a prominent citizen of Bristol, was a man 
 who, through his own efforts and Torce of character, 
 had risen to a creditable position in society and the 
 business world. Mr. Keirns was born May 29, 
 1850, at Ashland, N. Y., son of Thomas E. and 
 Helen Keirns, who were the parents of nine chil- 
 dren, only three of whom are now living: Thomas 
 E., who is a substantial citizen and farmer residing 
 in Union Societv, N. Y. ; Mrs. Mark E. Butts, of 
 East Windham, N. Y. ; and Mrs. Charles A. Munn, 
 of Union Societv, N. Y. The father of these was 
 a blacksmith by trade and occupation. The mother 
 still survives. 
 
 Theodore H. Keirns learned the blacksmith's 
 trade, beginning with his father when very young, 
 and so small that he had to stand on a box in order 
 to reach the forge. The father died when the son 
 was only eleven years of age, and at twelve the 
 latter went out into the world to do for himself, 
 making his home from twelve until twent}--one with 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1537 
 
 John P. Lewis, a farmer of Unionville, Conn. ; while 
 with him he learned the trade of wood-working. 
 Upon attaining his majority young Keirns left Mr. 
 Lewis, and went to Plainville, where he learned 
 the business of laying concrete walks, under a Mr. 
 Woodruff. He came to Bristol in 1873, and en- 
 gaged in that line of work, as the years passed 
 developing an extensive business in this line, which 
 embraced street curbing, the laying of flagging 
 pavements, etc. While living with Mr. Lewis he 
 had experience in the woods in working with tim- 
 ber, and so during the winters, when his main busi- 
 ness was at a standstill, he employed a number of 
 men in getting out timber for railroad ties and 
 other purposes, using a portable sawmill. He was 
 energetic and active, and never being content un- 
 less busy, he generally had a number of irons 
 in the fire at once. For a period he carried on street 
 sprinkling in connection with his other business, 
 and was in the ice business, too. He laid many of 
 the walks and did much of the work in his line that 
 was done during the time of his stay there. He 
 •did large jobs for the Berlin Iron Bridge Co. in all 
 parts of the State. At the time of the building 
 of the reservoirs of the Water Co. of Bristol Mr. 
 Keirns was placed in charge of the work, and later, 
 in 1886, became superintendent of the company, a 
 position which he held at the time of his death. 
 He was also vice-president of th; Bristol Journal 
 Publishing Co. He was enterprising and public- 
 spirited, and the life of any enterprise with which 
 he was connected, or any gathering favored with 
 l;is presence. In politics he was a Democrat, and 
 but for the fact that his party was greatly in the 
 minority in his community, he would doubtless have 
 been frequently in public life. He served as as- 
 sessor of Bristol, as well as in other town offices. 
 Socially, he was prominent, rising to the thirty- 
 second degree in Masonry. In Lodge work he was 
 an active member of Franklin Lodge, F. & A. M., 
 Pequabuck Chapter, R. A. M., and the Council, of 
 New Britain, and of Bristol Grange No. 116, taking 
 an especially active interest in the work of the 
 Grange, and being frequently heard in their debates. 
 His wife, too, was a member of the Grange, and 
 both were members of the Order of the Eastern 
 Star. In earlier life he was identified with the 
 K. of. P. 
 
 On September 26, 1888, Mr. Keirns was married 
 ■ to Miss Ella M. Cannon, born May 27, 1862, the only 
 daughter of the late A'Villiam T. Cannon, of New 
 Haven, of which citv her mother is still a resident. 
 Mr. Keirns was a man of strict integrity and hon- 
 esty, and as a man had the courage of his convic- 
 tions. He was a power in the community. He 
 v/as charitable and gave liberally of his means to 
 worthy objects. Mrs. Keirns is a member of the 
 Congregational Church. There were no children 
 born to this couple. She was an invalid for several 
 years, during which period she received the most 
 devoted attention that a husband could give a 
 wife. 
 
 87 
 
 CHARLES E. LORD, a leading grocerymaii 
 of Elmwood, Hartford county, is comparatively a 
 recent acquisition to the goodly array of progres- 
 sive business men of the town, but his ability, en- 
 terprise and upright methods have already estab- 
 lished for him an enviable reputation. He is a 
 native of this county, born in Southington Oct. 
 16, 1866, and is a son of Sylvester O. Lord, a na- 
 tive of Broad Brook, Conn., and a member of a 
 Connecticut regiment during the Civil war. Dur- 
 ing the period of that conflict the grandfather, 
 Charles E. Lord, was a resident of Broad Brook, 
 but later was a night watchman in Southington, 
 
 Our subject attended the public schools of 
 Southington during his boyhood, served an appren- 
 ticeship in the silverware business, and followed 
 that trade in Southington for twelve years, after 
 which he was in the employ of the Barbour Silver 
 Co., of Hartford, for eight years. He was also 
 manager of the Hartford Brick Co. for a year, 
 and in 1895 purchased the grocery store of J. H, 
 Raymond, in Elmwood, which he has since con- 
 ducted with marked success, having built up a most 
 excellent trade. 
 
 Mr. Lord was married in West Hartford to 
 Miss Ellen L. Shaw, a daughter of John M. Shaw, 
 and they have two children, Edith May and Charles 
 Edward. Fraternally he is a member of Wyllys 
 , Lodge, No. 99, F. & A. M., and Washington Lodge, 
 K. P., of which he is past chancellor. He is now 
 filling the office of constable of his town in a most 
 creditable and acceptable manner. 
 
 HON. JULIUS NOTT (deceased), of whose 
 parents, John (a hero of the war of 1812) and Eliza- 
 beth (Blinn) Nott, more may be read in the biog- 
 raphy of William Nott, on another page, was born 
 June II, 1819, at Rocky Hill, Hartford count)^ 
 and was educated in the common schools of that 
 town. He commenced his business career with 
 Griswold & Keeney, learning the trade of a stone 
 mason and brick layer. Prior to 1840 he came to 
 Bristol, and in 1843 ^^e began business on his own 
 accoi'int, and executed work in various parts of the 
 State until 1857, when, in the erection of the stock- 
 inette factory in Plainville, he met with an accident 
 which prevented him from following his trade. 
 Under these circumstances he turned his attention 
 to the grocery business, and opened a store in Bris- 
 tol in August, 1858, which he carried on very suc- 
 cessfully until December 31, 1872, when he sold 
 out his business at the corner of Main and Prospect 
 streets to H. & L. G. Merick. 
 
 In 1870 Mr. Nott built the. block on the ground 
 where the old store had been burned. This block 
 also was burned down on April 13, 1873, j"st three 
 years and three m.onths from the time of the previous 
 fire in 1870. He rebuilt, and in the same year, 1873, 
 he also built the Bristol Savings Bank, W. A. 
 Terry's, art gallery, corner of Laurel street and the 
 shop in Forestville owned bv Mr. Hubbell as a clock 
 movement manufactory. From this date he spent 
 
1538 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 most of his time in looking after liis propert}-. From 
 iS/i to 1874 he was selectman and road commis- 
 sioner; he also represented Bristol in the Legisla- 
 ture in 1874, and was a director of the National and 
 also the Savings JJank, from the time of their or- 
 ganizatiini until his death. On Oct. 29, 1844, JNlr. 
 JS'ott married Aliss Rachel CooUe, a native of Har- 
 winton. Conn., born l'"eb. 7, 1817, and a tlaughter 
 of Daniel Cooke, who passed the latter part of his 
 life in Bristol. To Juluis Nott and wife were born 
 three children, viz: Charles Edward, Aug. 17, 1845; 
 Catherine E., who was born in 1851, and died Aiav 
 5, 1854, and Caroline Elizabeth, who died Sept. 6, 
 1855, at the age of six weeks. Julius Xott died 
 Jan. 2, 1877, from the effects of an accident by the 
 steam cars in Bristol. 
 
 Ch.\rli£S Edw.xku Xott was born in Bristol, 
 where he attended the common schools until twelve 
 years of age, and then clerked for his father until 
 the latter disposed of his store, since which date he 
 has done no active business, other than that of 
 taking care of his real estate. Charles E. Nott was 
 joined in wedlock June 25, 1884. with Miss Harriet 
 J. Stoneburner, who was born in I'ittsford, N. Y., 
 July 5. 1850, but at the time of marriage was a 
 resident of Brighton, in the same State, with her 
 parents, John and Almira ( McMinders) Stone- 
 burner. To Mr. and Mrs. Xott there have been 
 born no children. As was his honored father, Mr. 
 Xott is a member of the Congregational Church. 
 In politics he is a Republican in sentiment, but is 
 indifferent as to party measures locally. j\lr. and 
 Mrs. Nott have their pleasant home at No. 30 High 
 street, and with them resides the venerable ]Mrs. 
 Julius Xott. 
 
 SETH BARNES, an active awl influential 
 citizen of Bristol, Hartford county, Connecticut. 
 
 i 
 
 GEORGE \V. W'OOLLEY, a prominent mer- i 
 chant of Hartford, was born Feb. 22, 1822. in Rich- i 
 mond, y&., of good Xew England parentage. j 
 
 Mr. Woolley's father, William Porter Woolley, \ 
 carried on the business of caliinet making at Boston, ' 
 ]\lass., and at Glastonbury. Conn., before his removal ; 
 to Richmond, \'a., where he was employed for some 
 time in the building of a fine theater. He returned 
 Xorth in 1822, and resided in Glastonbury until 
 1829; he died in New Haven, in 1831. His wife, 
 INIartha (Hollister),who died aged forty-four years. 
 was one of the family of eight children (all now 
 deceased) of Amos Hollister, a farmer and ship- 
 builder in Glastonbury. Her ancestors were among ' 
 the pioneers of that locality, and her grandfather 
 died there at the age of eighty years. ]\Ir. and Mrs. • 
 Woolley had five children, of whom four are living : ] 
 Sarah, Mrs. Parsons, a -widow ; William, resident j 
 of Hartford :, George W\ ; and Martha, widow of 
 Edwin Wadsworth. Both parents were members 
 of the Episcopal Church, and were much esteemed 
 hy their associates. 
 
 George W. Woolley's history is of unusual inter- 
 
 est, and his courage and ability, as shown by the 
 fact that he has made his own way in life from the 
 age of seven years, command respect. He was edu- 
 cated chiefly in the Glastonbury schools, but spent 
 some years of his boyhood in Hartford and Albany. 
 At the age of seventeen he began to learn the un- 
 dertakers trade in Hartford, and when twenty-one 
 he started for himself in a small wa)-, working very 
 hard, and gradually building up a lucrative business, 
 having' now the largest in the State in his line. In 
 1846 he made the first casket constructed in the 
 L'nited States, and for many years he used his own 
 patent in his work. Mr. Woolley employes twenty- 
 five men in his factory at No. 586 Main street, and 
 manufactures everything connected with his line of 
 business, his large wholesale trade extending over 
 all parts of the United States. In his time he has 
 made caskets for many distinguished men, and his 
 reputation for careful workmanship is of the best. 
 He has rebuilt his residence at No. 88 Buckingham 
 street, and built a ntmiber of houses and business 
 blocks, and he also owns a large tract of land. For 
 some years he was a stockholder in a bank and the 
 Hartford Casket Co., and at times was interested 
 largely in driving and other stock. 
 
 In 1844 Mr. Woolley married Miss Rhoda L. 
 I-'uller, who was born in East Haddam, daughter of 
 Chauncey Fuller, and nine children have blessed 
 the union. The eldest, Elizabeth, died aged twenty- 
 seven years, and two died in infancy. Of the others 
 (I ) George H., who is in business with our subject, 
 married Miss Ella Taylor Frisbie, and has four 
 children. (2) Joseph C, who is in the hardware busi- 
 ness in Hartford, married (first) Mary P. Sloan, 
 and (second) Agnes Rodgers, and has two children, 
 Alice and Harry. (3) Lucy. (4) Ellen A. is the 
 widow of George A. Faxton, and has two children, 
 Richard D. and Raymond ^V. ( 5 ) Charles Parsons 
 married Charlotte Philipps, and has two children, 
 Florence P. and Dorothy. (6) Marv Gertrude. 
 
 Mr. Woolley was one of the early members of 
 St. John's Episcopal Church, and saw the corner- 
 stone laid in 1842. He has held various offices 
 therein during the past thirty years, for ten years 
 has held his present office of senior warden, and pre- 
 viously served ten years as junior warden. In pol- 
 itics Mr. Woolley is a Republican. His children 
 have taken an active part in church and Sunday- 
 school work, as well as social life. 
 
 George A. Faxton (deceased) was born in 
 Hartford June 12, 1850, son of Hiram and Margaret 
 (Collier) Faxton. His father, who was born in 
 West Hartford, and engaged in business for many 
 years as a book-binder, died at the age of sixty- 
 seven. His mother, a native of Boston, died in 
 early womanhood, and of their six children only 
 four are living. George A. Faxton was educated 
 in Hartford, and on completing his high-school 
 course entered upon the business of book-binding 
 in Hartford, and later was in the government serv- 
 ice in Washington, D. C. On Oct. 10, 1877, he 
 married Miss Ellen A. Woolley, and he died in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1539 
 
 A\"ashington in 1895, at the age of forty-five, after 
 ■eighteen years of happy wedded life. His prom- 
 inence in his profession ma,de him a vakied mem- 
 ber of various printers' societies, and for a number 
 •of years he was an active worker in the Independ- 
 ■ent Order of Odd Fellows. 
 
 EDWARD THOMAS LYONS, proprietor of 
 the Lyons cigar factory. No. 44 Windsor street, 
 Hartford, is a native of that city, born May 24, 
 1864, a son of Edmund Lyons. 
 
 Edmund Lyons was born in Fermoy, Ireland, 
 dn 1824, and died in Hartford in September, 1894. 
 His father, Michael Lyons, was also born in Fer- 
 moy, and his father, Edmund Lyons, was born in 
 France, where Edward T. traces his ancestry back 
 as far as 1652. Edmund Lyons, father of the gen- 
 tleman whose name introduces this sketch, emi- 
 grated to the United States, arriving at Hartford 
 in the spring of 1848, after a sea voyage of six 
 months in a sailing vessel. He found employment 
 at the "United States Hotel," as steward. Before 
 coming to this country he had traveled extensively 
 on the continent of Europe with Hon. John Hyde, 
 of Castle Hyde, Fermoy. After spending several 
 years in Hartford he went to Glastonbury, where 
 most of his children were born. Returning to Hart- 
 iord about 1858, he was employed at Colt's rifle fac- 
 tory until it was burned down. He was next en- 
 gaged in J. W. Danforth's wholesale grocery bouse, 
 remaining there until he retired on account of okl 
 age. Edmund Lyons married Bridget Foley, daugh- 
 ter of Dennis and Elizabeth (O'Connell) Foley, of 
 Kanturk, Ireland, and they had nine children : Ellen, 
 Michael, Elizabeth (deceased), Mary, James, Dennis 
 A. (deceased), Julia, Edmund (deceased), and Ed- 
 ward T. ; all of those living reside in Hartford. 
 
 Edward T. Lyons pased his earl_y years at home, 
 and was educated in the Christian Brothers school. 
 AVhen twelve years of age he began work as a clerk 
 in T. Duffy's dry-goods store, and continued thus 
 initil he was twenty years of age, when he formed a 
 partnership with his brother Dennis A., in the gentle- 
 men's furnishing business. They remained together 
 imtil Dennis died, when Edward T. carried the con- 
 cern on alone for some twelve years, at the end of 
 that time selling out to E. B. Dix. He then began the 
 manufacture of the popular brand of cigars known 
 as "Our Brothers," which he has conducted success- 
 fully up to the present time, finding a market for 
 them throughout the State, and employing from 
 twelve to fifteen men. 
 
 On June 22, 1892, Edward T. Lyons married 
 Ellen A. O'Brien, born in Hartford, a daughter of 
 Jeremiah O'Brien, who was born in County Cork, 
 Ireland, May 20, 1818, and was the eldest of five 
 hrothers, Jeremiah, Dennis, Cornelius, Michael and 
 Patrick, all born in Ireland. Mr. O'Brien came to 
 America in the late 'forties, landing in Boston, sub- 
 sequently located at Willimantic, this State, was em- 
 ployed as section boss on the old Hartford, Provi- 
 dence & Fishkill railroad, at Coventry, and was a 
 
 contractor on the New York & New Haven rail- 
 road at Willimantic. Later removing to Hartford, 
 he followed the grocery and provision business up 
 to 1,888, some thirty-five years in all, being among 
 the oldest merchants in the city. He died in Sep- 
 tember, 1891, at the age of seventy-three years. On 
 Jan. 15, 1854, at Willimantic, he married Catherine 
 Crowley, who was born in Ireland, May i, 1834, 
 daughter of Cornelius and Mary Crowley, who came 
 to this country, bringing the family. To Jeremiah 
 O'Brien and his wife were born nine children, Mrs. 
 Lyons being the only one now living, of whom are 
 named : Mary, Dennis J., Catherine, John, Michael, 
 Margaret, Michael (2) and Ellen A. The mother 
 died Oct. 25, 1886. The parents were members of 
 the Catholic Church, as were also our subject's par- 
 ents. Mrs. Lyon's brother, Dennis J. O'Brien, was 
 a charter member of Green Cross Council, Knights 
 of Columbus, and took an active part in the organi- 
 zation of that society in Willimantic and Norwich. 
 He passed away March i, 1885, one of the first 
 members of the Knights of Columbus to die in the 
 United States; he was a bright, promising young 
 man, and his friends and acquaintances throughout 
 the State were numerous. 
 
 Mr. Lyons is a Democrat, but always votes for 
 the best man, regardless of politics. Socially he is 
 a member of the Knights of Columbus, of which 
 he was a charter niembei ; the A. O. H., of which 
 he is city and county treasurer ; the Knights of 
 the Maccabees ; St. Patrick's Benevolent Society, of 
 which he was treasurer some fourteen years ; and 
 the Knights of St. Patrick, and has taken a great 
 interest in all these organizations. 
 
 Mr. Lyons has put up several fine buildings in 
 Hartford, including his own handsome and pleasant 
 residence, which is tastefully furnished, and 
 equipped with all modern improvements, and where 
 hospitality reigns. He and his wife, both of whom 
 are highly esteemed in the community, represent 
 two of the oldest Irish families in Hartford. 
 
 Dennis A. Lyons, brother of Edward T., who 
 was in the furnishing business with our subject, 
 was a charter member of Green Cross Council, 
 Knights of Columbus ; member of the Knights of 
 St. Patrick; the Emerald Society; the A. O. H. ; 
 and St. Patrick's Benevolent Society, and was 
 popular in the city among his numerous friends. 
 
 JOHN FLOOD, a prosperous agriculturist of 
 Farmington, and a representative citizen, respected 
 alike for his industry and integrity, may be prop- 
 erly placed in the list of self-made men, who through 
 their own unaided efforts have achieved a well- 
 merited success in life. He was born in County 
 Cavan, Ireland, June 25, 1821, is a son of Patrick 
 Flood, who was also born in that county, where 
 he lived and died. Besides our subject, he had 
 three daughters and one son who came to this 
 countr}-. 
 
 John Flood was reared and educated in his 
 native land, and when his school days were over 
 
IbiO 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he engaged in farming there until 1852, in which 
 year he emigrated to America, landing in New 
 York. He worked for a time in Branford, East 
 Haven and New Britain, Conn., and in 1S61 came 
 to Farmington, where lie has since successfully en- 
 gaged in farming. In 1S65 he made his lirst pur- 
 cha.se of land, to which he has added from tmie to 
 time, as his financial resources have increased, until 
 now he has a fine farm of eighty acres, which he 
 has placed under a high state of cultivation and 
 improved with good buildings. In connection with 
 general farming he is also engaged in the dairy 
 business, selling milk in New Britain. He was 
 made a voter at that place, and has since been a 
 standi supporter of the Democratic party and its 
 principles. 
 
 In New Britain Mr. Flood was united in mar- 
 riage with Aliss Ann MacCele, and to them have 
 been born ten children, seven of whom are still 
 living, namely : Patrick H. ; James ; John, Jr. ; 
 Christopher ; Peter ; ^largarct ; and Mary. 
 
 PETER DORSEY. Few men in New Britain 
 are as well known as this enterprising citizen, who 
 has made his own way to success in business life, 
 and at the same time has gained the esteem and con- 
 fidence of a large circle of friends. F'or many 
 years he has served in various public positions of 
 trust and responsibility, bringing to his duties the 
 energy and ability which have cliaracterized his 
 business career, and he is regarded as one of the 
 leading advisers of the local Democratic organiza- 
 tion. 
 
 Mr. Dorsey comes of good old Irish stock, his 
 ancestors having resided for generations in County 
 Wicklow, Ireland. His great-grandfather, John 
 Dorsey, was a na:tive and lifelong resident of that 
 County, and owned a farm in the parish of Ha- 
 gerstown, being well-to-do for that time and lo- 
 cality. He was a man of influence in local affairs, 
 and during the rebellion of 1798 took an active 
 part against the tyranny of England. 
 
 William Dorsey, our subject's grandfather, was 
 born and reared in Countv Wicklow, and as a 3'oung 
 man engaged in farming about six miles from his 
 father's homestead. He became a thrifty, sub- 
 stantial citizen, his farm comprising about fifty 
 acres of land. His wife, Jane Slack,\vas a daugh- 
 ter of William Slack, of the sam.e county. They 
 had the following children : Patrick, Catherine, 
 William, ^klichael. John and James, all of whom re- 
 mained in Ireland except Patrick. 
 
 Patrick Dorsey, the father of our subject, was 
 born in 1828, in County Wicklow, about eight miles 
 from the birthplace of his father.. He was edu- 
 cated in Ireland, and when twenty-one years old 
 came to America, locating first at 3iIarlboro. Conn., 
 where he was employed by a farmer oflf and on for 
 about six years. For nearly twenty-two years he 
 resided at Colchester, Conn., being employed in the 
 quarries and rubber works, and since 1S73 he has 
 been a resident of New Britain, where he was con- 
 
 nected for fifteen years with the screw factory 
 now owned by Russell & Erwin. His industry 
 and thrift have won him a competence, and he is 
 highly respected among his associates. In politics- 
 he has always been a Democrat, and in religion 
 he is a Roman Catholic, being a leading member 
 of St. Mary's Parish, New Britain. His estima- 
 ble wife, Catherine Eagan, who died in 1867, was 
 a daughter of Peter Eagan, of County Clare, Ire- 
 land. Our subject was the first of six children,, 
 the others being: John, who died in 1898; Cather- 
 ine, wife of Henry O'Brien; Mary, deceased; Pat- 
 rick, who has his home in the South, and who has ■ 
 been connected with the United States Navy for 
 many years, having traveled around the globe 
 several times ; and VVilliam, deceased. 
 
 Peter Dorsey was born Feb. 5, 1857, in Colches- 
 ter, Conn., and was educated there in Bacon Acad- 
 emy. At the age of fourteen he left school, and 
 after working for some time as a farm hand he 
 removed to New Britain with his father. For three 
 months he was employed in driving a cart, and on 
 July 30, 1873, he entered the finishing department 
 of the Russell & Erwin Manufacturing Co., where 
 he spent about twenty-two years, being foreman 
 for fifteen years. Since that time he has been en- 
 gaged in the liquor business, and has also given 
 nuich attention to politics. He has been a member 
 of the Democratic town committee, and has served 
 .in various local offices, having been elected coun- 
 cilman from the Sixth ward in 1888, for two years, 
 alderman in 1890, and re-elected in '92, :'94, '96, 
 '98, and registrar of votes of the city and town in 
 October, 1898, for the term of one year. While on 
 the board of aldermen he served as chairman of 
 the police committee ; and member of the committees 
 on streets, sewers, and sale of public lands. He 
 is a prominent member of St. Mary's Catholic 
 Church, and is president of the First Division, 
 , Ancient Order of Hibernians, and a member of the 
 Order of Knights of Columbus. 
 
 Mr. Dorsey married Miss Catherine Leonard, 
 daughter of Michael Leonard, of Ireland, and they 
 have had seven children, viz. : Edward, Margaret, 
 William, Frederick, Catherine, Peter and Mary. 
 
 KASPER HAMBACH, farmer, town of East 
 Windsor, Flartford County, Connecticut. 
 
 ]\IATHER. The name of Mather has been 
 closeh' identified with the history of Flartford 
 county for 250 years. The several children of the 
 late Timothy Mather, of Hartford, of whom Wal- 
 ter Si Mather was one, are in the ninth generation 
 in descent from Rev. Richard Mather, the Ameri- 
 can ancestor, the line o. their descent being through 
 Timothy, Rev. Samuel, Dr. Samuel, Nathaniel, 
 Elijah, Return Strong and Timothy. Rev. Rich- 
 ard Mather was of the same family as the famous 
 John Mather and Cotton Mather, of early Massa-. 
 chusetts history. The genealogy? of the family _ 
 under consideration is as follows : m 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1541 
 
 John Mather, of Lowton, Winwick Parish, 
 Lancashire, Eng-land. 
 
 Thomas Mather, of Lowton, Winwick Parish, 
 Lancashire, England. 
 
 (I) Rev. Richard Mather, of Lowton, Winwick 
 Parish, Toxteth Park, England, also Dorchester, 
 Mass., born in 1596 in Lowton, died in Dorches- 
 ter, Mass., in 1669. He married (first) Catherine, 
 daughter of Edmund Holt, of Bury, in 1624; she 
 died in 1655, and in 1656 he married (second) 
 Sarah Story, widow of Rev. John Cotton, and 
 •daughter of Richard Hankridge, of Boston, Eng- 
 land. She died May 27, 1676. Rev. Richard 
 Mathers children were: Rev. Samuel, Timothy, 
 R,ev. Nathaniel, Joseph, Rev. Eleazer, and Rev. 
 L)r. Increase. Rev. Richard Mather arrived in 
 Boston Aug. 17, 1635. 
 
 (H) Timothy Mather, son of Rev. Richard, of 
 Dorchester, Mass., was born in 1628; in Liverpool, 
 England, and died in Dorchester, Mass., in 1684. 
 He married (first) Catherine, daughter of Maj.- 
 •Gen. Humphre}' Atlaerton, and in 1778-79 wedded 
 (second) Elizabeth, daughter of Amiel Weeks. 
 His children were : Rev. Samuel, Richard, Cather- 
 ine, Nathaniel, Joseph and Atherton. Timothy 
 Mather was a farmer, and settled in the town with 
 liis father. His death, at the age of fifty-six, was 
 the result of a fall in his barn. 
 
 (HI) Rev. Samuel Mather, of Windsor, Conn., 
 son of Timothy, was born in 1650, in Dorchester, 
 Mass., .and died in 1727-28. He married Hannah, 
 daughter of Gov. Robert Treat. She died in 1707" 
 08. His children were Dr. Samuel, Hannah, Rev. 
 Azariah, Ebenezer, Joseph, Elizabeth, Rev. Na- 
 thaniel, Benjamin and John. Rev. Samuel Mather 
 was graduated at Harvard College in 1671, and 
 then prepared himself for the ministry. , He 
 preached in Deerfield, Mass., thence going to Hat- 
 field, whence he came to Milford and Branford, 
 Conn., and from the latter place he was called to 
 settle at Windsor, where he remained until his 
 death. 
 
 (IV) Dr. Samuel Mather, son of Rev. Samuel, 
 of Windsor, Conn., was born in 1677, and died in 
 1746'. In 1704 he married (first) Abigail Grant, 
 daughter of Samuel. She died in 1722, and he 
 married (second) in 1723 Hannah, daughter of 
 Nicholas B. Buckland. She died in 1758. His 
 children were: Eliakim, Samuel, M. D., Timothy, 
 Abigail, Nathaniel, Joseph, Charles, Abigail (2), 
 Hannah, Lucy, Elizabeth, and Eliakim (2). Dr. 
 Samuel Mather was graduated from Harvard Col- 
 lege in 1698, and was licensed to practice medi- 
 cine by the General Assembly in 1702. After a 
 life of professional usefulness, during which he 
 lield various civil and military offices of trust and 
 lionor, he died in 1745, in the sixty-eighth year of 
 liis age. 
 
 _ (V) Nathaniel IMather, son of Dr. Samuel, of 
 AVindsor, Conn., born in 1716, died in 1770. He 
 married Elizabeth Allen, and their children were: 
 Nathaniel, Charles, ^1. D., Elijah, Elizabeth, Rev. 
 
 Allyn, Col. Oliver, John, Increase, Elizabeth (2), 
 Timothy, M. D., Elihu, Abigail, Hanna and Roxana. 
 (Vi) Elijah Mather, son of Nathaniel, of Wind- 
 sor, Conn., born there in 1743, died in 1796. He 
 married (first) Mary Strong and (second) Ru- 
 hama Roberts. He served for a time in the war 
 of the Revolution. His children were : Mary, 
 Elijah, Return Strong, Allyn M., and William. 
 
 (VII) Return Strong Mather, of Hartford, son 
 of Elijah, born Jan. i, 1771, in Windsor, died May 
 19, 1846. On May 8, 1798, he married Patty S'hep- 
 herd Clark, daughter of Joel Clark, of Granby. 
 She died June 11, 1867. Their children were: 
 William, Elijah, Lydia C, Samuel, Mary, Huldah, 
 Charles, Sarah J., Timothy and John. Return 
 Strong Mather sold out his land in Windsor and 
 came to Hartford, buying land for $40 an acre. 
 He built a house on Windsor avenue which is still 
 standing. He was a prominent Methodist, and it 
 was from him that a loan of $5,000 was obtained 
 which enabled that denomination to build its first 
 church, at the corner of Trumbull and Chapel 
 streets. 
 
 (VIII) Timothy Mather, son of Return Strong, 
 of Hartford, born there Nov. 2, 1819, married Jan. 
 2, 1850, Nancy Chapin, who died Jan. 20, 1873, 
 aged fifty years. Their children were : Walter 
 Strong, Lydia C, Anna C, Oliver T., William A. 
 (living in San Francisco), Arthur, Frank H., 
 Julia Y. (married to Frederick H. Robertson, of 
 Wichita, Kans.), and Nancy E. (wife of John 
 Jenks, a teacher). Timothy Mather, the father of 
 these children, was at his death the owner of 1,000 
 acres of land in Hartford, Windsor and Bloom- 
 field, and was well known throughout the country 
 as a breeder of cattle. His wife was a niece of 
 Chester W. Chapin, of Springfield, the promoter 
 of the Boston & Albany railroad. 
 
 Walter S. Mather, son of Timothy, was born 
 April 3, 1851, on Upper Windsor avenue, Hartford, 
 where he lived all his life, dying Feb. 22, 1899. 
 He was an active factor in the life of the north 
 end of the city, an energetic, hard-working man, 
 carrying on large enterprises under his personal 
 direction. He was formerly an extensive grower 
 of tobacco, and was interested on a large scale in 
 all branches of farming. In recent years he had 
 been interested in the development of real estate, 
 in the northern part of Hartford, buying a large 
 tract of land west of the Old North cemetery, 
 where he laid out a street which he named after his 
 son Pliny.- There he built ten houses of modern 
 style and convenience. He had other holdings in 
 the northern section of the city, including his own 
 residence, which was erected a few years ago, a 
 few rods north of the former residence of his par- 
 ents. He gave up the active management of his 
 farm a few years ago, that duty since devolving 
 upon his son Dexter. 
 
 Mr. Mather was a Democrat, and interested in 
 the welfare of the party, was on the town com- 
 mittee of the party, and had often been a candi- 
 
1542 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 date for public office. He served on both boards 
 of the city government from the old Seventh ward, 
 and while on the board of aldermen was chairman 
 of the City Hall committee. He had also served 
 on the board of assessors and board of relief, and 
 was considered a good judge of the value of realty. 
 He served several terms on the Northeast District 
 school committee, and was active in all matters 
 pertaining to that school. In the autumn before 
 his death he was the Democratic candidate for 
 sheriff of Hartford coimtv, entering into the con- 
 test with characteristic energy and bustle, and 
 never for a moment doubting his success until with- 
 in a day of the election, when he saw the inevitable 
 re-election of Sheriff Smith. Mr. Mather's health 
 for two or three years prior to his death had been 
 precarious, and several times he had been confined 
 to his house with chances of recovery against him, 
 on account of organic disease of the heart. In the 
 summer of 1898 he totik a trip to Europe for rest 
 and recreation, and on his return appeared to have 
 improved in health materially. i\Ir. Mather was 
 a member of Hartford Lotlge, F. & A. M., Hart- 
 ford Lodge of Elks, the .\ncient Order of United 
 Workmen, and the Putnam Phalanx, in which he 
 was a second lieutenant. Religiouslv he was con- 
 nected with the Windsor Avenue Congregational 
 Church. He was widelv known in all this sec- 
 tion, and counted his friends by the hundreds, be- 
 ing of a genial, companionable temperament, and 
 a man of large heart. He will be missed, not only 
 by those who were thrown in contact with him in 
 business matters, but by a wide social circle of 
 friends. Mr. Mather was a man of strong natural 
 ability, and of verv jx)sitive convictions. 
 
 On Xov. 16, 1869, Mr. ]\Iather was married 
 to Adelaide E. Phelps, daughter of Edward and 
 Elvira (Denslow) Phelps, of Hartford, and they 
 had children as follows: Pliny C, born July 12, 
 1871, died Jan. 30, 1894: Edith A., born Feb. 14, 
 1874, married Joseph P. Tuttle, an attorney of 
 Hartford ; and Dexter P. was born Oct. 24, 1880. 
 
 HENRY BREWSTER COOK, of Bristol, 
 was born in that town Nov. i, 1843, ^rid is a son 
 of H. T. and Sophia (Crampton) Cook. 
 
 H. T. Cook was born in Albany. N. Y., in 1809, 
 but when young moved to Harwinton, Conn. He 
 was a shoemaker by trade, but for many years kept 
 a shoe store and did a great deal of custom work. 
 In politics he was originallv a Whig, afterward 
 a Republican, and an equaliv strong advocate of 
 temperance. To his marriage with Sophia Cramp- 
 ton, daughter of Stephen Crampton, of Farming- 
 ton, were born four children, viz.: Ann Maria (i), 
 who died in infancy; Ann Maria (2); Henry 
 Brewster: and Ellen S., who lives with Henry B. 
 The father of this family died in 1869, a member 
 of the Congregational Church. 
 
 Daniel Cook, father of H. T. Cook, was a shoe- 
 maker and had a shop in Harwinton for a time, 
 but later came to Bristol and worked for his son 
 
 H. T. for some years before his death. He was- 
 twice married, and had several children, among; 
 whom are Mrs. Julia Nott ; Adaline, now Mrs> 
 Henry Wilson ; Flora, the wife of Albro Griswold ;. 
 H. T. ; and Charles S., whose life was sacrificed 
 in the war of the Rebellion. 
 
 Henry B. Cook left school in Bristol when six- 
 teen years old, and went to work in E. L. Brews- 
 ter's clock factory for a year or two ; he then worked 
 for R. G. Ives on crinolines until his enlistment, 
 Aug. 24, 1862, in Company K, i6th C. V. I. He 
 took part in all the engagements, skirmishes, 
 marches and other military duties in which his 
 regiment participated, passed through all without 
 a wound, and was mustered out as corporal at 
 New Berne, N. C, June 24, 1865. 
 
 After returning from the army Mr. Cook 
 worked a year in Noah Pomeroy's clock factory,, 
 and then clerked for three years in Julius Nott's. 
 grocery store ; he then clerked in his father's shoe 
 store on Main street near the New York, New 
 Haven & Hartford railroad depot, until his fa- 
 ther's death, and afterward continued the business, 
 at the same stand until 1886, when he removed 
 to the Eber Block on North Main street. 
 
 Henry B. Cook was first joined in marriage in 
 1870 with Miss Caroline IBirge, of Waterbury. 
 who died in 1873, together with her infant, five 
 weeks after the birth of the latter. The second 
 marriage of Mr. Cook took place in 1873 to Miss- 
 Alice Robinson, a native of Bristol and a daugh- 
 ter of Asahel T. Robinson. This union has re- 
 sulted in the birth of two children, Harry Rob- 
 inson and Alice C born respectively July 25, 1879. 
 and Jan. 22, 1889. Harry Robinson Cook is a 
 graduate of Huntsinger's Business College of Hart- 
 ford, and is at present employed in the office of 
 the Bristol Brass & Clock Company. 
 
 Henr)' B. Cook is a member of Gilbert W. 
 Thompson Post, No. 13, G. A. R., of Franklin 
 Lodge, No. 56, F. & A. M., of Bristol, and of Ethan 
 Lodge, No. 9, K. of P. He was likewise a mem- 
 ber of the Royal Arcanum, of which he was treas- 
 urer from its organization, fourteen years ago,, 
 until 1899, when he resigned. In politics he is a 
 stanch Republican, but would never accept office. 
 He and wife are consistent members of the Con- 
 gregational Church, and are among the highly re- 
 spected residents of Bristol. 
 
 MAJOR C. B. BOARDMAN, proprietor of 
 the largest livery, feed and sales stable in Hart- 
 ford, located at No. 356 Main street, was boriT 
 Nov. 28, 1839, on Washington street, Hartford, 
 and is a representative of one of the oldest and 
 most prominent families of the city. 
 
 Our subject's paternal great-grandfather was- 
 among the pioneers of Hartford, and his grand- 
 father. Rev. Mr. Boardman, was an honored min- 
 ister in the Congregational Church, and preached 
 for many years in a church which he assisted ma- 
 terially in building; it stood diagonally opposite 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 154S 
 
 I 
 
 from our subject's place of business. His name 
 is one of the historic ones of this section, and 
 wherever known he was held in the highest esteem. 
 
 Allen C. Boardman, our subject's father, was 
 born in Wethersfield avenue, Hartford, and be- 
 came a farmer, his land being where Washington 
 street now lies. He died aged forty-five years, 
 and his wife aged fiftj'-four. He married Elizabeth 
 Barnard, sister of Hon. Dr. Barnard, the greatest 
 educator and writer of educational books of the 
 century. She was born in the house where Dr. 
 Barnard now lives, daughter of Clancy Barnard, 
 a sea captain, who died in Hartford. Our subject 
 was the youngest of four children, and is now the 
 only one living. Both parents were members of 
 the church in which the grandfather ministered 
 so long. 
 
 Major Boardman was but eight years old when 
 his father died, and for some years he made his 
 home with his uncle John. He was educated in the 
 schools of the city, and when eighteen began learn- 
 ing the carpenter's trade, which he followed eight- 
 een months. On Jan. i, 1859, he started in the 
 feed and stable business on State street, buying a 
 half-interest of George Gait, and later he bought 
 the other half. In 1873 ^^ sold out and located 
 at his present stand, where he has since remained. 
 He has been in the livery business longer than 
 any other man now in the city, and has the largest 
 stable, keeping over seventy horses. His specialty is 
 supplying coaches for private use and public occa- 
 sions, and he has a large patronage in this line, as 
 he owns the finest coaches in all that section, fur- 
 nishing vehicles for all of the society affairs, such 
 as weddings, afternoon teas, evening and theater 
 parties, and also doing a large amount of private 
 work. In addition he keeps the finest line of single 
 and double rigs to be found in the city. The Major 
 has been engaged somewhat extensively in real 
 estate, having come into possession of the old farm, 
 a part of which he still owns, and upon which he 
 has three houses ; he has also cut a street through 
 the property. He resides in the house built by his 
 father when he was a mere boy. As an employer 
 he is a notable exception ; of the twenty-four men 
 which he employs, eighteen have been with him 
 from ten to twenty years ; and one man has been 
 with him thirty-four years. At no time in his busi- 
 ness career has he been compelled to ask any of 
 them to wait for their money, which they have re- 
 ceived promptly every Saturday night. As a busi- 
 ness man he ranks very high, and in the cit}^ of 
 Hartford is widely known. 
 
 In 1861 our subject married Sarah G. Lamb, 
 who was born in Trumbull street, Hartford, daugh- 
 ter of James Lamb, and they had three children : 
 (i) Grace married David J. Post, owner of the 
 Veeder Cyclometer, and has three children, Eliza- 
 beth, Grace B. and David J. (2) Isabella mar- 
 ried Henry J. Thompson, steward of the Retreat, 
 Hartford, and has two children, Chauncy and Hattie 
 B. (3) Harriet B. died in 1895, when twenty-two 
 
 years of age, her loss being the greatest sorrow 
 which has come to the Boardman family. She was 
 a young lady of superior intelligence, and endowed 
 with all the higher qualities of noble womanhood, 
 had a host of friends, and was greatly admired by 
 all who knew her ; she was the only child at home, 
 and the only one remaining unmarried. After her 
 death one of the married sisters returned home, 
 where she has since remained, and the other daugh- 
 ter lives in the house next door. The daughters 
 all graduated from the Hartford Public High 
 School, and have held an enviable position in so- 
 cial life. 
 
 Our subject is a Republican in politics, and was- 
 a member of the common council two terms, and 
 alderman one term. He is a member of St. John's 
 Lodge, No. 4, F. & A. M., and was connected for 
 .many years with the Governor's Horse Guard, the 
 most popular military organization in the city. 
 Mr. Boardman rose from private to major, which 
 position he held for fourteen years ; when he re- 
 signed, in 1891, he was the oldest officer on the 
 staff, and one of the oldest members of the Guard, 
 having served continuously for twenty-four years. 
 His grandfather was at one time major in the 
 Guard, and later his father (Allen C), and an 
 uncle, Major Henry, held this rank. Including our 
 subject, the family has served in the Governor's 
 Horse Guard continually for over half a century. 
 
 GEORGE BURNETT, one of Burlington's 
 most industrious and successful farmers, was born 
 in 1829, in the parish of'Furney, County Longford, 
 Ireland, a son of John and Susan (Roger) Bur- 
 nett, also natives of that county and members of 
 the Church of England. By occupation the father 
 was a farmer. Our subject was educated in the 
 private schools of his native parish, and remained 
 at home with his father until nineteen years of age, 
 when he came to America. He proceeded from 
 Dublin to Liverpool, and there took passage on the 
 sailing vessel "Greenland," which after a voyage of 
 thirty-seven days landed him at New York. 
 
 Mr. Burnett came at once to Burlington, Hart- 
 ford Co., Conn., by way of Chicopee Falls, Mass., 
 and found employment on the farm of William 
 Gaylord, with whom he remained for a year and 
 a half. Later he worked in the Alderman family 
 for almost three years, and then went to Collins- 
 ville, where he was emploj'ed in the Collins Co.'s 
 ax factory for a time, but as the work did not prove 
 agreeable to him, he did not remain there long. 
 Returning to Burlington, he secured a position on 
 the farm of C. Barnes, and during the three years 
 he continued in his employ saved enough money 
 to purchase a small farm of his own in Burlington 
 Centre. For two years he operated his own land, 
 but at the end of that time he sold his place and 
 returned to the employ of Mr. Barnes. His next 
 purchase was the Hodge farm., a tract of seventv- 
 five acres now owned bv Mr. Alderman, and while 
 living there he bought his present fine farm of 112 
 
1544 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 acres, known as the ^^'illiam Gaylord farm, where 
 he first worked on coming to America. For the 
 past thirty-five years he has been extensively en- 
 gaged in general farming, stock raising and dairy- 
 ing, and for a number of years he was also engaged 
 in the manufacture of charcoal, industrious, per- 
 severing, energetic and enterprising, he has through 
 his own well-directed efforts and the able assist- 
 ance of his wife met with success in the New 
 World, and is now the owner of a valuable and 
 well-improved farm. 
 
 In New Britain, Aug. 27, 1853, ^^^- Burnett 
 married Miss Bridget Lyneugh, a most estimable 
 lady, and a devout member of the Catholic Church, 
 • who is noted for her piety and charity, and also 
 for her devotion to her husband and family. She 
 is a native of the parish of Kill, County West- 
 mcath. Ireland, and a daughter of Edward F. and 
 Alary Lyneugh. The children born to our subject 
 and his wife are as follows: Jane, born Aug. i, 
 1854. is now the wife of Thomas ^laiionev, of 
 Unionville; Susan, born June 18, 1856, was a school 
 teacher in early life, and is now the wife of Rich- 
 ard Conlan, of Burlington ; Ann, born July 10, 
 1858, is at home; John, born Nov. 29, i860, mar- 
 ried Ann Cochran, and resides in Union\'ilIe ; Ed- 
 ward, born April 6, 1863, died April 8, 1863 : George, 
 born Nov. I, 1865, died April i, 1868; Katherine 
 Elizalieth (Kate), born Oct. 3, 1867, is the wife 
 of JNIichael T^Ieyers, of New Hartford ; Martin, 
 born Ajiril 7, 1871, married Elizabeth Luclar, and' 
 resides in Bristol: Sophia, born Oct. 11, 1873, died 
 Oct. II. 1891 ; and Caroliiie, born Oct. 30, 1876, 
 was educated at Notre Dame Convent, W'aterbury, 
 and is now Sister Maria Frances in the Sisters of 
 Mercy Convent, Hartford. 
 
 Mr. Burnett usually votes with the Democratic 
 party, but is not strictly partisan, supporting the 
 men whom he believes best qualified to fill the offices 
 regardless of partv ties. He has served his fellow 
 citizens as selectman, a member of the board of 
 relief, and a member of the school committee. He 
 is a faithful member of the Catholic Church, and 
 has always been found true to every trust reposed 
 in him. The familv is one of the highest respecta- 
 bility, and occupies an enviable position in the best 
 social circles of the communit}'. 
 
 SETH HOWARD CLARK. Twelve years 
 have passed since this eminent citizen of Hartford, 
 great in all the elements of true greatness, was 
 summoned from earth to his heavenly reward, yet 
 his memor}- is still green in the hearts of those 
 who admired him for his talent and learning, hon- 
 ored him for his nobility of soul, and loved him for 
 his rare qualities as a man and friend. 
 
 Born in Hartford April 27, 1814, Mr. Clark 
 passed his long and useful life of seventy-four 
 years in that city, entering into rest April 3, 1888. 
 He was a son of Capt. Samuel and Mary (Buck- 
 land) Clark, and grandson of Samuel and Eliza- 
 beth (Bunce) Clark, who were born Aug. 13, 1743, 
 
 and June 25, 1753, respectively. Samuel Clark 
 lived in an old house standing opposite the present 
 site of the Retreat, on Washington street. Capt. 
 Samuel Clark was engaged in the "West India trade. 
 His children were nine in number, three sons and 
 six daughters : Lavinia died unmarried ; Cynthia 
 became the wife of David Selden, of West Hart- 
 ford ; Caroline married David Moody ; Elizabeth 
 was united to John Pratt ; Lucy Ann married Hon. 
 Mr. Kane, of Milwaukee, Wis. ; and Mary B. died 
 at the age of sixteen. The sons were George, 
 Charles and Seth Howard. 
 
 Seth H. Clark, the subject of the present mem- 
 oir, was one of the most skillful and successful 
 wood engravers of his time. To rare deftness in 
 the use of the tools of his craft he joined the eye 
 and touch of an artist. His reputation extended 
 over New England and New York, and the leading 
 publishers of the E-astern States were glad to avail 
 themselves of his services, as were also authors 
 who appreciated his work. Among the famous 
 works which he illustrated were Peter Parley's 
 geography, JMrs. Emma Willard's books, Com- 
 stock's Philosophy, and Smith's Geographical Se- 
 ries, as well as many of the subscription books of 
 liigher grade published in New England during the 
 first half of the nineteenth century. During the 
 latter years of his active life, however, his ener- 
 gies were chiefly devoted to the execution of fine, 
 work for manufacturers' catalogues, among his pa- 
 trons being P. & F. Corbin, of New Britain, Conn., 
 and Byron Weston, of Dalton, Mass. Many of his 
 pictures are well known, although he is not recog- 
 nized as the artist. Perhaps one of the most fa- 
 miliar is his spirited sketch — the first sketch made — 
 of the historic Charter Oak, so frequently seen and 
 so universally admired. 
 
 Mr. Clark was a many-sided man, yet all the 
 traits of his character blended into one harmonious 
 whole. His love for nature, in all her works and, 
 aspects, was profound and undying, and his knowl-: 
 edge relative thereto deep and scientific. The flora 
 of New England formed for him an open book, 
 while he was scarcely less versed in natural history, 
 and was justlv famed for his knowledge of ornithol- 
 ogy. Indeed, so well established was his reputation 
 as a naturalist, that his friendship was sought and: 
 cultivated bv manv men whose names are familiar 
 in the world of science. Yet, like other men whose 
 learning is truly profound, he was unassuming in 
 tone and sisnple in diction. Friends who had- no 
 scitntific knowledge — even children — loved to stroll 
 with hnr: through field and wood, along the banks of 
 streams, and in the orchard and garden. Nothing 
 escaped his observing eye, ever watchful for new 
 discoveries in either the animate or the inanimate 
 world. 
 
 Scarcely less intense than his love for nature was 
 ^Ir. Clark's fondness for literature. He was a deep 
 and earnest, although a discriminating, reader ; while 
 his singularly retentive memory made his mind a 
 veritable treasure-house of historical facts, as well 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1545 
 
 as of the gems of standard poetry and fiction. It is 
 therefore no wonder that he possessed rare powers 
 as a conversationalist, which, with his other endow- 
 anents of mind and heart, made his society eagerly 
 sought. One of his distinguishing characteristics 
 was his love for young men, and notably college 
 .students. While his own early educational advan- 
 tages, other than those which he made for himself, 
 had been confined to a course in the common schools 
 of his native city, his shop and office formed a 
 gathering place and rendezvous for many under- 
 graduates of 'Yale and other universities where lit- 
 erature was discussed, courses of reading arranged, 
 and plans of life debated and formed. In such con- 
 ferences the keen intellect, ripened judgment and 
 genial nature of Mr. Clark made him easily the cen- 
 tral figure; and his wise counsels, joined to a truly 
 paternal interest, made of many of these young men 
 his lifelong friends. He was also the guiding spirit 
 of the Derby Club, and for many 3-ears its president. 
 This was in its day the chief literary society of 
 Hartford, and Mr. Clark was justly one of its most 
 ■esteemed and influential members. One of his con- 
 temporaries in the association thus writes of him: 
 ""He is one whom anyone who values true friend- 
 ship is proud to reckon as a friend. His tastes and 
 S3'mpathies are universal. Is one in distress? None 
 is more quick to offer sympathy and aid. Nor when 
 the merry joke and light laugh pass through the 
 coterie, is any one more ready to lead the merriment 
 or quicker at repartee. None has a keener poetic in- 
 stinct, or a more fervant love or keener appreciation 
 of art than he. His influence in our midst is always 
 potent in favor of that high standard of morality 
 which is at once the outcome and the earthly glory 
 of Christianity. He not infrequently plays the part 
 of a wise and gentle mentor, and an ill-timed or ir- 
 reverent jest is sure to draw. forth his reprobation. 
 His is the animating spirit of the club, and he it is 
 -who wields its incongruous parts into a compact, 
 smoothly working entirety. Without entering into 
 disputations, he averts incipient quarrels ; and his 
 personal influence — gentle yet firm — is ever at work 
 on both our collective existence and our individual 
 lives." 
 
 ;\Ir. Clark was an earnest and sincere Christian, 
 ■in both profession and life. For half a century he 
 was a member of the South Congregational Church 
 of Hartford. To him its worship was precious, and 
 the advancement of its work a matter of deep con- 
 •cern. The earnestness and depth of his convic- 
 tions, no less than the blamelessness of his life, al- 
 -\vays endeared him to its large membership, compo- 
 site as it was in character. To quote the quaint, yet 
 peculiarly expressive words of his pastor (between 
 whom and himself there subsisted deep-seated confi- 
 K dence and esteem), "he made little noise, but shed 
 W considerable light." He was one of the "old-fash- 
 ioned" believers, to whom the actual inspiration of 
 the Bible was an actual and indisputable verity. 
 Prayerful he was, alike for his own sanctification 
 of heart and for the advancement of the Master's 
 
 kingdom throughout the world, his highest concep- 
 tion of happiness being absolute fidelity to truth. 
 
 In the relations of domestic life Mr. Clark was 
 always kind, afi:ectionate and scrupulously faithful. 
 His temperament was sunny and his disposition sin- 
 gularl}' unselfish. Always generouly anticipating 
 the wants of others, he never failed to regard their 
 mistakes, follies, or even faults with that tender char- 
 ity which was inculcated by Him who forgave even 
 the erring woman and pardoned the thief upon the 
 cross. A model husband and a loving father, he left 
 behind him a devoted wife and dutiful son, who3e 
 grief at his loss was assuaged by the recollection of 
 the words of St. John the Divine: "Write, blessed 
 are the dead who die in the Lord yea saith the Spirit, 
 for they rest from their labors, and their works 
 do follow them." 
 
 PATRICK RYAN, a molder by trade, and an 
 honored veteran of the Civil war, now residing in 
 Southington, was born in County Limerick, Ire- 
 land, about 1830, son of Patrick and Johanna 
 (Maher) Ryan. He was reared upon a farm in his 
 native land, and received a common-school educa- 
 tion. 
 
 In 1849 Mr. Ryan emigrated to America, and for 
 six months was employed on a farm in Grafton, 
 Worcester Co., Mass. In 1850 he moved to Litch- 
 field, Conn., where he followed farming four years, 
 and later made his home in Naugatuck for a short 
 time, in 1854 taking up his residence in Southing- 
 ton, where he has since lived, and has followed the 
 occupation of a molder. 
 
 Mr. Ryan has been twice married. By his first 
 wife, Catherine McMara, of Southington, he had 
 four children, all now deceased. For his second 
 wife he married Bridget Wrinn, of Southington, 
 and of the seven children born to them only two 
 survive, Mary and James. 
 
 During the dark days of the Civil war Mr. Ryan 
 manifested his love for his adopted country by en- 
 listing in Company C, 7th N. Y. V. I., and he par- 
 ticipated in the battles of Hatcher's Run and Pe- 
 tersburg. After one year's service he was honora- 
 bly discharged, and returned home. He is now a 
 member of Trumbull Post, G. A. R., of Southing- 
 ton. Mr. Ryan belongs to the Catholic Church. 
 Politically he is identified with the Republican 
 party. 
 
 JOSEPH L. BESSE, than whom, as a public 
 caterer of the first class, ice-cream and confectionery 
 manufacturer, none has a higher reputation in the 
 State of Connecticut, is a native of Switzerland, born 
 May 18, 1854, in Lucerne, close by the beautiful 
 lake of that name. 
 
 James Besse, his father, a farmer by occupation, 
 was born in Germany, moved to Switzerland, for a 
 time locating at Lucerne, and finally came to this 
 country, where in Boston, Mass., he passed the rest 
 of his days, dying at the age of seveny-six years. 
 By his wife, Louise (Molver), an Italian lady, he 
 
1546 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 had fourteen children : Peter, in business in Boston ; 
 Sarah, living in Switzerland ; Joseph L., the subject 
 of this sketch ; and Mary, wife of Air. Mano, in 
 Boston. The mother of these passed away in 1868, 
 a member of the French Catholic Church, as was 
 also the father. 
 
 Joseph L. Besse received his education mainly 
 in Germany, whither, at the age of seven years, he 
 had gone to live with an uncle, and there he made 
 his home until 1872, in which year he came to the 
 United States, Landing at New York, he resided 
 there eleven years, part of the time (eight years) 
 serving in hotels, etc., in the capacity of cook, and 
 also learning the ice-cream business under Maresi, 
 the leading manufacturer in that line in the L'nitcd 
 States. For two years he was foreman in Marga- 
 dant"s establishment in that city, and at the end of 
 that time, in 1883, came to Hartford and opened, in 
 a small way, the confectionery, etc. store which he 
 has since conducted, and where he rapidly built up an 
 excellent trade, in less than two months having a 
 couple of wagons constantly in service, h'or five 
 years he was associatetl in Hartford with his brother 
 Peter, who then went to lioston and openeil up a 
 similar establishment on Tremont street, the part- 
 nership continuing there until 1895, when it was dis- 
 solved, the firm name. "P, & J. Besse," however, 
 remaining the same. In 1892 our subject had an ad- 
 dition i)ut to his Hartford store, Xo. 701 Main street, 
 which has now a frontage of 25 feet, and in addi- 
 tion to his large ice-cream and confectionerv trade 
 he does an extensive first-class catering business, 
 keeping six horses and vehicles and a steady force 
 of seventeen hands. He has the capacity to cater 
 to the largest parties, and has acommodated as 
 many as 2.700 people in a single day. On January 
 4, 1894, he had the catering for the Governor's ball, 
 and for the invited guests and troops who took part 
 in the exercises. For three years, from 1894 to 1897, 
 he also conducted a restaurant in Hartford. 
 
 In 1882 Mr. Besse was married to Jennie Dallas, 
 who was born in France, and five children have been 
 born to this union: James P., Mary E., Eleanor G., 
 O. A., and Louis A. In politics ]Mr. Besse is a Re- 
 publican, and is popular in his party, but has de- 
 clined nomination for office. Sociallv he is a mem- 
 ber of the Gentlemen's Driving Club, the Yacht Club, 
 and Colt's Revolver Club, and is one of the most 
 popular, genial citizens in Hartford. 
 
 THOMAS FRANCIS KANE, a popular motor- 
 man on the Meriden, Southington & Comoounce 
 Electric railway, was born in Queen street, South- 
 ington, in December, 1853. His parents, ^^'alter and 
 Esther (Coughlan) Kane, natives of Queen's and 
 King's counties, Ireland, respectively, came to Amer- 
 ica prior to 1850, and soon afterward located in 
 Southington, where the father had charge of a sec- 
 tion of the Northampton & New Haven canal. He 
 also acted as watchman for the Peck. Smith Co. for 
 a time. He had two children : Patrick (who died in 
 1890) and Thomas F. 
 
 Thomas F. Kane grew to manhood in Southing- 
 ton, and was educated in the public schools of the 
 town. He began his business career as an employe 
 of the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., being connected 
 with the varnishing department for twelve years. 
 For the following five }ears he was engaged in the 
 liquor business in Southington, and since 1898 has 
 held his present position with the Meriden, South- 
 ington & Compounce railway. 
 
 On June 28, i888, Air. Kane married Miss Mag- 
 gie, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Callahan),. 
 Callahan, of Tipperary, Ireland, and to this union 
 four children were born : Esther Mary ; Waltec 
 Thomas, deceased ;, Helen Augusta ; and Margarets 
 The parents are devout members of St. Thomas 
 Catholic Church of Southington, and Mr. Kane is 
 also a member of the Ancient Order of Foresters 
 of America ; he is a stanch Democrat in politics. Our 
 subject is a genial, courteous gentleman, highly re- 
 spected by all who know him. 
 
 EDWARD I. BRADSHAW, in the employ of 
 the E. Ingraham Co., clock manufacturers, Bristol, 
 Hartford county. Connecticut. 
 
 AIERRICK LAMPHEAR, superintendent of 
 the Enfield Almshouse, was born in Monson, Mass.,- 
 Nov. 13, 1845. a son of Gaylord W. and Catherine 
 (Harvey) Lamphear, both natives of Monson. He 
 was reared to manhood in Monson, educated in the 
 public schools, and began life on a farm, following: 
 that vocation imtil the breaking out of the Civil war- 
 On Sept. 19, 1862, though not yet seventeen 
 years of age, Mr. Lamphear enlisted in Company G,. 
 46th Mass. Y. I., and served nine months, when he 
 was honorably discharged. He at once re-enlisted,. 
 June 2, 1863, in Company A, 2d Massachusetts Ar- 
 tillery, and served to the close of the war, being hon- 
 orably discharged Sept. 3, 1865. After the war Mr. 
 Lamphear was engaged in various occupations until 
 1887, when he was appointed superintendent of the 
 Enfield Almshouse, a position he has held, with 
 credit to himself and to the town, up to the present 
 time. 
 
 Mr. Lamphear has been twice married. His first 
 wife, Nellie, daughter of Chauncey and Abigail 
 Davis, of Enfield, bore him two children, Mabel and 
 Harry. For his second wife he married Maggie, 
 daughter of S&muel and Sarah (McAdams) Henry, 
 of Enfield. Mr. Lamphear is an enterprising and 
 public-spirited citizen ; politically he is a Republican.. 
 
 OLIVER T. MATHER, son of Timothy Mather, 
 and a younger brother of Walter S. Mather, is- 
 one of Hartford county's most progressive and suc- 
 cessful farmers. 
 
 Mr. Mather was born April 3, 1856, and received' 
 his earlj' education in what is known as the North 
 East school, which he attended during the winter 
 months, rather irregularly, imtil he reached the age 
 of fifteen. His disposition, however, was too active 
 for him not to chafe at what he considered the irk- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1547 
 
 some restraint of the school room, and, while he has 
 always been fond of reading, the higher branches of 
 learning have failed to interest him. His father had 
 promised to each son who should remain upon the 
 farm until he attained his majority the sum of 
 $1,000, and young Oliver worked upon the paternal 
 acres until he reached the age of twenty-one, receiv- 
 ing as wages during the last year the sum of $25 
 per month. In the autumn of 1878 he went to 
 Litchfield county, where, in company with Robert 
 Farrand, he engaged in buying cattle during the 
 winter months, continuing that business through two 
 or three' seasons. In the spring of 1879 he rented a 
 farm from his father and started in the milk busi- 
 ness, three years later disposing of his trade in this 
 line. During the succeeding nine months he trav- 
 eled extensively in the West, visiting Colorado and 
 California, and for a time successfully engaging in 
 business in Denver. In the spring of 1883 he began 
 farming on the property originally leased from his 
 father, and which is now his through inheritance. 
 From that day to the present time he has led the 
 independent life of an agriculturist. To his original 
 holdings he added a farm in Deerfield, which, how- 
 ever, he subsequently sold. His specialties have 
 been dairy farming and tobacco culture, and in both 
 he has been eminently successful, owing to his excel- 
 lent judgment and practical knowledge. His meth- 
 ods are both systematic and thorough, and his indus- 
 try untiring. His live stock includes forty cows and 
 six horses. 
 
 Mr. Mather is a man of warm heart and unselfish 
 impulses, highly esteemed by his neighbors and ac- 
 quaintances, and warmly beloved by his friends. His 
 religious belief is that of the Christian Scientists, 
 and he is a member of the First Church of that creed 
 in the city of Hartford. While he is a Democrat 
 j>olitically, the yoke of partisanship rests but lightly 
 upon his shoulders, and he not infrequently places 
 character before party allegiance. 
 
 In 1884 Mr. Mather married Lizzie, daughter of 
 Edward Denslow, of Hartford, also a farmer. Their 
 union has been blessed with one son, Osmond 
 Monroe, born Oct. 28, 1896. 
 
 M. J. BLACK, D. V. S., a leading veterinary 
 surgeon of Hartford, and the proprietor of a large 
 livery stable in that city, was born July 28. 1839, in 
 Derby, Vt., of a well-known New England family. 
 
 Timothy Black, his father, was born in Putney, 
 Vt., and followed agriculture in Coventry, that 
 State, for many years, dying there in 1857, at the age 
 of fifty-six. He married Almira Baldwin, who at- 
 tained the age of seventy-four }-ears. Both parents 
 were devout Baptists, and were much esteemed. 
 
 M. J. Black remained at the home farm until he 
 reached the age of eighteen, when he engaged in a 
 dry-goods business in Newport, Vt. After five 
 years he sold out and went to Baltimore, ensasine 
 in the real-estate busmess. Later he spent three 
 ^^ears in Harrisburg, where he started an omnibus 
 line, and on returning to Newport he purchased a 
 
 livery stable and commenced to study for the degree 
 of veterinary surgeon. His course was completed 
 in Montreal, and in 1881 he located on State street, 
 Hartford, remaining there eight years. His prac- 
 tice is now extensive, and he maintains a hospital, 
 keeping an assistant. Our subject was in business 
 at No. 171 Main street for five years before locating 
 at his present stand. No. 560 Main street, in 1893. 
 He has a general livery business, keeping about forty 
 horses, besides numerous boarders; His love of fine 
 horseflesh has led to his keeping a number of race 
 horses, some of them noted, and several trotters have 
 been raised by him. 
 
 In i860 Dr. Black married Miss Lucy H. Bisl>ee, 
 a native of Derby, and daughter of David Bisbee, a 
 farmer, who died at the age of fifty-six ; his wife at 
 the age of seventy-five 3'ears. Mrs. Black is one of 
 a family of eight children, six of whom are living. 
 Our subject has one son, Elmer E., born in Coven- 
 try, Vt., and now a farmer in Avon. Elmer E. 
 Black married Miss Lizzie Putney, also a native of 
 Coventry, and they have had five children, of whom 
 three are living: Clarence, Louis and Harold. 
 
 Dr. Black is one of the well-known citizens of 
 Hartford, and but two or three men are now in busi- 
 ness who were there when he began. Politically he 
 is a Republican, but he does not seek public office. 
 He is active in social and other interests, however,, 
 and has been an officer in the Driving Club since its 
 organization, having been president two years, and 
 now holding the vice-presidency. He belongs to 
 Blue Lodge, F. & A. M., of Newport ; to Memphra- 
 gog Lodge, No. 65, of which he has been a member 
 since 1865 ; and to the Royal Arcanum, of Hartford. 
 The family is identified with the Congregational 
 Church, Dr. and Mrs. Black having united with the 
 church before leaving Newport. 
 
 GEORGE THOMAS ARTHUR, proprietor of 
 Oak Grove farm, in Berlin, is one of the most skill- 
 ful and reliable 3'oung agriculturists of the town, .and 
 in his labors is meeting with most gratifying success. 
 He was born in Christian Lane, Berlin, Jan. 8, 1872, 
 and throughout his active business life has been iden- 
 tified with the farming interests of the town. 
 
 Mr. Arthur's father, George Arthur, was born irt 
 Herefordshire, England, Nov. 29, 1829, and came- 
 to the United States July i, 1852. He first located 
 in New Haven, but shortly afterward came to Ber- 
 lin, and has since followed the occupation of farm- 
 ing. He married Miss Barbara Alter, who was born 
 in Berlin, Conn., of German parentage, and died in 
 1861, and to this union came two children : ( i) Mary 
 Ann, born Nov. 28, 1857, is now the widow of Will- 
 iam A. Woods, a wood turner, of New Britain. (2) 
 Julia Elizabeth, born Jan. 10, 1859, is the wife of 
 Henry Stephen Norton, a joiner of Kensington, 
 Conn., and they have had four children — Annie Bar- 
 bara, born June 19, 1884 (died July 26, 1890) ; 
 Frances Irene, Nov. 22, 1891 ; Olive May, Aug. 22, 
 1893 ; and Ruth Mabel, Jan. 26, 1896. By his second 
 wife, Susan, George Arthur had four children :: 
 
154S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Fannie Rebecca, born Aug. 7, 1864, and Sarah Jane, 
 born May 4, 1870, are both at home; George T., our 
 subject, is next in the order of birth: and Ahce Car- 
 oline, born Jan. 25, 1873, is the wife of WiUiam Case, 
 a plumber of New Britain. 
 
 George T. Arthur was reared upon the home 
 farm, and early became familiar with all the duties 
 which fall to the lot of the agriculturist, while his 
 literary education was obtaiiied by attending the 
 Ijerlin schools through the winter season, when his 
 services were not needed at home. After leaving 
 school he devoted his entire time and attention to 
 farming. In March, 1879, the father removed to 
 Rocky Hill, tliis county, where he still conducts a 
 farm. In October, 1894, our subject purchased the 
 Samuel F. Talmadge ])roperty, in Beckley, through 
 William Bulkeley and James Roach, as atlminis- 
 trators, and now has a fine farm of sixty-five acres, 
 "besides 125 acres in Rocky Hill. He is a thorough 
 and systematic farmer, and his fields are made to 
 yield a good tribute in return for the care and labor 
 he bestows upon them. He has erected upon his 
 place a fine large barn, and made many other im- 
 provements which add to its value and attractive 
 ajipcarance, and now has one of the best farms in 
 the Beckley Quarter, raising potatoes, corn, rye, etc. ; 
 ■to some extent he is also interested in dairying, sell- 
 ing butter at wholesale and retail. 
 
 Politically IVIr. Arthur is a Republican, but at 
 local elections generally votes independent of party 
 lines, endeavoring to support the men best quali- 
 fied for the office. He has always refused political 
 lienors, preferring to devote his time and attention 
 to his business interests. He attends the Congrega- 
 tional Church, of which his parents and sister, Fan- 
 nie R., are members. The family is one of promi- 
 nence in the communitv where they reside. 
 
 LEON S. RISLEY, a well-known pharmacist of 
 Hartford, was born July 31, 1866, in ^Manchester, 
 Hartford Co., Conn., where his family has long been 
 prominent. 
 
 William W. Risley, his father, was born in Tol- 
 land county, Conn., and prepared for mercantile life 
 as a clerk in Hartford, the store in which he was 
 engaged being on the site of the present Cheney 
 "building. For thirty years he was successfully en- 
 gaged in business at Alanchester as a clothing mer- 
 ■chant, but eighteen years ago he retired from active 
 -vvork. As a citizen he is much respected, and his 
 influence has been especiallv turned toward the ad- 
 vancement of educational interests. He is a mem- 
 "ber of the Masonic fraternity in Manchester. Mr. 
 Hisley married Frances A. Case, also a native of Tol- 
 land county, and they had two children : Arthur W. 
 (deceased) and Leon S. 
 
 Our subject's education was begun in the schools 
 of ^Manchester, and he entered upon his business 
 career as a clerk for W. H. Cheney & Co., in Man- 
 •chester, with whom he remained two years. He 
 then spent two and a half years with Mr. Lowry, a 
 druggist in East Hartford, and for two years at- 
 
 I tended the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. On 
 i leaving college he clerked four years for A. Mar- 
 [ wick, Jr., a druggist in Hartford, and in June, 1893, 
 I he established his present store at No. 385 Capitol 
 avenue. He is a member of the City and State Phar- 
 maceutical Associations, and enjoys a high stand- 
 ing among his professional brethren. Mr. Risley 
 was married in Hartford to Miss Jennie G. Hunt, a 
 native of Massachusetts. 
 
 I JOHN EDWARD WHALEN, the present effi- 
 i cient manager of the Spring Brook Ice Go's, farm 
 I and other property at W^ethersfield.was born in that 
 ' town, near the Rockv Plill line, Nov. i, 1863, and 
 is a son of Martin and Elizabeth (Delaney) Whalen, 
 both natives of Ireland. The father is now a well- 
 to-do farmer of Rocky Hill, is a stanch Democrat 
 in politics, and both he and his wife are members of 
 the Catholic Church. 
 
 During his boyhood and youth John E. Whalen 
 attended the public schools of Wethersfield and the 
 South Hartford schools. He grew to manhood on 
 the home farm, and remained with his parents until 
 twenty-five years of age, after which he spent several 
 seasons in traveling, in the interest of the Johnson & 
 Robbins Seed Co., through Delaware, Pennsylvania, 
 New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York and Massa- 
 chusetts. He also worked at farming during the 
 summer months, upon a rented farm in Rocky Plill, 
 and later bought a farm in that town, which he oper- 
 ated for a few years, and which he still owns. In 
 1890 he accepted the position of manager of the 
 large tract of land belonging to the Spring Brook 
 Ice Co., and he has since been with the firm in that 
 capacity, an honored and trusted employe, one who 
 thoroughly understands his business, is industrious, 
 painstaking and faithful, and discharges his duties 
 in a most satisfactorj^ manner. 
 
 In Rocky Hill Mr. Whalen was married, in 1889, 
 to ]\Iiss Susan McNamara, a native of that place, 
 and a daughter of Dennis McNamara, one of its 
 well-to-do farmers. They have two children : John 
 J. and Alartin Edward. The Democratic party finds 
 in Mr. Whalen a stanch supporter of its principles, 
 and he has been appointed justice of the peace in 
 ^^^ethersfield. Fraternallv he belongs to Wethers- 
 field Grange, and to the Knights of Columbus, at 
 Cromwell, and religiously he is a member of the 
 Catholic Church. In business and social circles he 
 stands high, and is much respected by all who know 
 him. 
 
 HEZEKIAH BUTLER, an energetic and suc- 
 cessful farmer and representative citizen of Wethers- 
 i field, is a native of that town, born in Jordan Lane, 
 , April 4, 1833, and belongs to one of its oldest and 
 best families. 
 
 Ensign Samuel Butler, the first of the name to 
 locate in Wethersfield, was deacon of the church at 
 that place. He was somewhat of a prophet, and 
 foretold his own death, saying that it would take 
 place the last day of the week, the last day of the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1549 
 
 month, and the last clay of the year. This proved 
 true, and he died Saturday, Dec. 31, 1692. His 
 wife, Elizabeth, departed this life Oct. 12, 1681, and 
 both were laid to rest in the AVetherfield cemeter)'. 
 
 (II) James Butler, son of Ensign Samuel, was 
 born in Wethersfield, where he spent his entire life, 
 dying there Nov. 7, 1765. He was married May 6, 
 1703, to Hannah Edwards, daughter of Joseph Ed- 
 wards, and she died Jan. 10, 1742. The remains of 
 both were interred in the Wethersfield cemetery. 
 Their children were Hannah, born Sept. 26, 1705; 
 Hezekiah, mentioned below ; James, born Feb. 4, 
 1712; and William, born Feb. 8, 1715. 
 
 (III) Hezekiah Butler was born April 29, 1708, 
 in the town of Wethersfield, where he spent his 
 entire life as a farmer, and where he died Dec. I7, 
 1786. On Jan. 19, 1732, he married Rebecca Stand- 
 ish, daughter of Thomas and Rebecca (Hume) 
 Standish. She died March 22, 1776, and both were 
 buried in Wethersfield cemetery. In their family 
 were seven children, whose names and dates of birth 
 were as follows: Lois, Nov. 9, 1732; Rebecca, May 
 21, 1735; James, Dec. 9, 1736; Hezekiah, April 6, 
 1740; Lois (2), Nov. 3, 1742; Josiah, July 8, 1745; 
 and John, April 24, 1753. 
 
 (IV) John Butler, the last named was a lifelong 
 resident of Wethersfield, and devoted his entire life 
 and attention to agricultural pursuits. On Feb. 9, 
 1777, he married Love Smith, of Wethersfield, and 
 they became the parents of seven children : Sarah, 
 born April 22, 1778; Betsey, Oct. 8, 1780; Hope, 
 Feb. 22, 1783; Polly, June 19, 1785; Clarissa, Jan. 
 8, 1788; Hezekiah, Jan. 19, 1790; and Emily, 
 March 30, 1793. 
 
 (V) Hezekiah Butler, son of John, and father of 
 our subject, never left the old homestead in Wethers- 
 field, and throughout his life made many improve- 
 ments upon the farm, including the erection of a 
 fine residence in 1837. He engaged in general farm- 
 ing with marked success, and was also interested 
 in seed growing. His political support was given 
 first to the Whig and later to the Republican party, 
 and in his religious views he was liberal. He died 
 upon his farm in August, 1863, honored and re- 
 spected by all who knew him. His wife, who bore 
 the maiden name of Harriet Welles, and was a 
 native of Wethersfield, also died on the old home- 
 stead,, at the age of seventy-seven years, and was 
 laid to rest by his side in the Wethersfield cemetery. 
 She was a consistent Christian woman, a member 
 of the Congregational Church. They had eight chil- 
 dren : Harriet, deceased wife of George Mix; Sarah, 
 deceased wife of Isaac Mix : John, who died on the 
 old homestead in 1898 (he served in the Civil war) ; 
 Hezekiah, our subject; Love Smith, wife of Horace 
 Booth, of New Britain ; LUcy, widow of Levi Cole- 
 man ; Levi, who was killed by the cars at a crossing 
 between Rocky Hill and Wethersfield, and Martha, 
 Mrs. Adams, who lives in South Wethersfield. 
 
 (VI) Hezekiah Butler, whose name introduces 
 this sketch, was reared on the home farm, and at- 
 tended the district schools of Wethersfield, and also 
 
 a private school taught by ]\Iiss Standish and 2\Iiss 
 Buck. When only fifteen years of age he took 
 charge of the farm, as his father was in ill health, 
 and after the latter's death had complete control of 
 the place. Here he has ever since engaged exten- 
 sively in seed growing, tobacco culture, dairy and 
 general farming, and is accounted one of the most 
 thorough and skillful agriculturists of the town. He 
 has been eminently successful in his chosen occupa- 
 tion, and is a large land owner. 
 
 In 1886 Mr. Butler was united in marriage with 
 Mrs. Elizabeth (Allyn) Butler, widow of his brother 
 Levi. They have an adopted daughter, Cora. Air. 
 and Mrs. Butler are members of the Grange, and it 
 is safe to say that no couple in the community is 
 held in higher esteem, or has more friends. She is a 
 member of the Congregational Church, and Mr. 
 Butler is rather liberal in his religious views. He 
 served twelve years in the Governor's Horse Guards, 
 rising from private to the rank of lieutenant, and 
 he is a member of the G. A. R. In his political affili- 
 ations Mr. Butler is a Republican, and he has most 
 creditably and acceptably served as selectman of 
 Wethersfield, member of the board of relief, grand 
 juror and justice of the peace. He is progressive 
 and public-spirited and gives his support to every 
 enterprise which he believes will prove of public 
 benefit. 
 
 ANSON O. PERKINS, one of the most popular 
 and prosperous of the butchers and meat dealers 
 of Bristol, was born in Litchfield, Conn., Oct. 27, 
 185 1, and is the third of the seven. children born to 
 Charles Lewis and Lucy A. (Merriman) Perkins, 
 natives of the same city. 
 
 Charles Lewis Perkins was one of the four chil- 
 dren born to Peter and Sallie Perkins, who lived in 
 Morris, Litchfield county. Conn. He was reared 
 a blacksmith, and lived in Litchfield, where he was 
 prominent as a Democratic politician, as a public 
 official, and as a captain in the State militia. He 
 was also well advanced in Freemasonry. The 
 seven children alluded to above were born in the 
 following order: Amelia E., who is married to J. 
 Warren Johnson, a lawyer of Enfield ; Edson, a car- 
 penter of Litchfield; Anson O. ; Franklin Pierce, of 
 Port Chester, N. Y. ; Lester and Willie, both in New 
 York City, and Marion, under the parental roof at 
 Litchfield. 
 
 Anson O. Perkins, after leaving the common 
 schools of Litchfield at the age of fourteen years, 
 worked a year in the butcher shop of Cook & Far- 
 nam, and then for five or six years worked for John 
 A. JNIerriman, at Unionville, whence he came, about 
 1880 to Bristol, and for four years worked for Elton, 
 and then for seven years for M. L. Gaylord, these 
 long tenured positions giving good evidence of his 
 capacity. About this time Mr. Perkins was elected 
 first selectman on the Democratic ticket for three 
 years, although he was then a member of the board 
 of burgesses, to which he had been elected for two 
 years. After the expiration of his term as selectman. 
 
1550 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he engaged in the butcher business on his own ac- 
 count on North Main street, in which he has met 
 with a most flattering success. As a Democrat, he 
 has always been verj- active in party work, and as 
 a member of the town committee, an office he has 
 held for several years, lie has been energetic, influ- 
 ential and faithful, and has done much toward main- 
 taining the supremacy of his party. 
 
 Mr. Perkins is an ex-worshipful Master of 
 Franklin lodge, No. 56, F. & A. AL, and has filled 
 all the intervening chairs, and he is also a member 
 of Bristol Grange, No. 116, P. of H. He married 
 jMiss Mary C. A. Jenkins, a daughter of William 
 Jenkins, of Uniontown, and by her has been blessed 
 with two children: Lucy Abigail, who was born July 
 4, 1885, and is now in the Bristol high school; and 
 Charles Lewis, born Jan. i, 1887, attending the dis- 
 trict school. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins are sincere 
 worshipers at the Episcopal Church, in which he has 
 for several years been a veriryman, and socially are 
 greatly respected by a large circle of friends, as well 
 as by the general public. 
 
 FRANCIS H. ROBBIXS, a well-known market 
 gardener, and assessor of the town of Wethersfield, 
 was born there Oct. 31, 1843, anti is a worthy repre- 
 sentative of one of the most prominent pioneer fam- 
 ilies. His grandfather, Elisha Robbins, was torn in 
 Wethersfiekl, and was a son of Joshua Robbins. 
 On reaching manhood he marrijed Sarah Goodrich, 
 a daughter of Nathaniel Goodrich, and to them were 
 born the following children : Sarah, wife of H. Pit- 
 tice; Royal, a minister of the Congregational 
 Church, who (first) married jNIartha W'right, and 
 (second) Elizabeth Russell; Elisha; Chauncey ; 
 Henry, father of our subject : Alartha, wife of Allen 
 Talcott ; Julia, wife of Noble Montague; and four 
 who died in infancy. 
 
 Henry Robbins, our subject's father, was born 
 and reared on the old homestead in Wethersfield, and 
 made farming his life occupation. He was a man 
 noted for his temperate and industrious habits, his 
 honesty and fair dealing. He was a consistent mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church, a Republican in 
 politics, and was elected to a number of local offices 
 of honor and trust. He died at his home on High 
 street, Wetherfield, April 24, 1864, and his wife, who 
 was a faithful member of the same church, died Dec. 
 20. 1886, the remains of both being interred in the 
 \\'ethersfield cemetery. She bore the maiden name 
 of Celia Talcott, was a native of ^^^ethersfield, and a 
 daughter of W^illiam and Amelia (Hanmer) Talcott. 
 Their children were Celia and Augustus, who both 
 died young ; Sarah Isabella ; and Francis H. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the district schools 
 and the \^^ethersfield Academy, and after leaving 
 school remained with his parents, engaged in farm- 
 ing upon the old homestead. Here he owns fifty 
 acres of land, upon which he has made many im- 
 provements, and is successfully engaged in general 
 farming, dairying, and the raising of tobacco and 
 seeds. He is also engaged in the flour and feed 
 
 business in Wethersfield, and displays excellent ex- 
 ecutive ability and sound judgment in the manage- 
 ment of his aft'airs. 
 
 In 1872 Mr. Robbins was married, in Wethers- 
 field, to Miss Delphine M, Smith, and they have 
 one daughter. Bertha T., who first attended the 
 schools of Wethersfield, and subsequently gradu- 
 ated from the Hartford Public High School and 
 the New Britain Normal School. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Robbins are both members of the Congregational 
 Church, and also belong to the Grange. He is a 
 recognized leader in the ranks of the Republican 
 party in his community ; has been a member of the 
 board of relief, and in 1895 was elected to the State 
 Legislature, in which august body he served as a 
 member of the Press committee. Since 1884 he 
 has been assessor of Wethersfield, and in the faith- 
 ful discharge of his official duties has won the com- 
 mendation of all concerned. As a citizen he is en- 
 ter])rising and progressive, and gives his support 
 to every measure which he believes will prove of 
 public benefit. 
 
 Mrs. Robbins also belongs to an old and honored 
 family of W'ethersfield, of which place her great- 
 grandfather, Jonathan Smith, and her grandfather, 
 tieorge Smith, were natives. Here the latter owned 
 land, and spent his entire life in agricultural pur- 
 suits. He was a Jefifersonian Democrat, and was 
 called upon to serve as selectman of Wethersfield. 
 He married Sarah Blinn, daughter of Samuel 
 Blinn, and they had two children, George, Jr., and 
 Maria, wife of Milo A. Salts. 
 
 George Smith, Jr., was born in Wethersfield 
 Dec. 27, 181 1, and was educated in its district 
 schools and academy. For fifteen years he suc- 
 cessfully engaged in teaching school in Wethers- 
 field and Rocky Hill, and later followed farming 
 and engaged in the seed business. He was also a 
 stockholder and director of the Comstock Ferre 
 Co. He is still well preserved for one of his age, 
 and retains his mental faculties unimpaired. So- 
 cially he affiliates with the Independent Order of 
 Odd' Fellows, and politically is identified with the 
 Democratic party. On Nov. 25, 1835, he married 
 Miss Lucy R. Griswold, also a native of Wethers- 
 field, and a daughter of James Griswold. To them 
 were born five children : Edgar R. ; Albert G. ; 
 ]\Iaria Delphine, wife of our subject; Harriet, de- 
 ceased wife of Alfred Francis, of Wethersfield; and 
 George Francis, a resident of Hartford. The 
 mother of these children, who was a faithful mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church, died April 16, 
 1882, and was buried in the Wethersfield ceme- 
 tery. The father was again married, in New York, 
 
 March 29, 1888, his second union being with Miss 
 Cecelia A. Talcott, daughter of William Talcott, of 
 Wethersfield. 
 
 JOHN CALVIN NORTON, a well-known and 
 highly esteemed citizen of Plamville, who is at 
 present engaged in farming, was born in Boston, 
 Mass., March 19, 1825, a son of William and Har- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1551 
 
 a-iet (Amidoii) Norton. The father was a native 
 ■of Newburyporf, Mass., and was a son of Joshua 
 Norton, wh.o was of EngHsh descent, and a sail- 
 .maker of Boston, the busniess he estabhshed there 
 being still carried on by members of the Norton 
 -family. The maternal grandfather of our subject 
 was Joseph Amidon, of Pomfret, Conn., who 
 served in the Revolution, taking part in the battle 
 of Plattsburg. 
 
 William Norton was a silversmith by trade, and 
 -in that capacit}' mounted the swords of Commo- 
 dores Hull and Brainbridge, during the war of 
 1812. He also participated in that war, serving 
 .as a private. About 1831 he removed to South 
 Glastonbury, Hartford Co., Conn., where he was 
 -employed as a machinist until his death, in 1848. 
 Of his twelve children, nine reached years of matu- 
 j-ity: William, Noah, Stephen, John C, Richard, 
 Gilbert, Angeline (wife of William Ouinion), Har- 
 riet (wife of Eli Howe), and Ada B. (wife of 
 Charles Cook). 
 
 The subject of this review was six years of age 
 when brought by his parents to this county, and 
 lie is indebted to its common schools for his educa- 
 tional privileges. He served a three-years' appren- 
 ticeship at the cabinet-maker's trade in South Glas- 
 tonbury, and then worked at the same in Plainville, 
 "where he located in 1847. In 1857 he removed to 
 Rockville, Conn., where he opened a cabinet shop 
 and engaged in business for himself for six months, 
 tut the same year he returned to Plainville, and for 
 sixteen years was emplo)^ed as a painter of clock 
 dials. He then worked in clock factories in 
 Thomaston, Bristol and other places until 1894, 
 since which time he has followed farming in 
 Plainville. 
 
 Mr. Norton has been twice married, his first 
 wife having been Miss Harriet Hotchkiss, a daugh- 
 ter of Carlos and Phila (Clark) Hotchkiss, of Bur- 
 lington, Hartford county. By that union he had 
 two sons : Charles H., superintendent of one of the 
 departments of the Brown & Sharp machine shop, 
 at Providence, R. I. ; and Wendell P., a machinist 
 and superintendent of the Hendey Machine Co., 
 Torrington, Conn., and also the inventor of the 
 celebrated Norton lathe manufactured by them. 
 Mrs. Norton's grandfather, S.&muel Hotchkiss, was 
 a soldier in the Revolutionary war." For his second 
 wife Mr. Norton married Miss Harriet Ryder, a 
 daughter of Chester and Esther (Merrill) Ryder, 
 of New Hartford, Conn., and a granddaughter of 
 Sylvester Ryder and Eli Merrill, both prorninent 
 farmers of New Hartford. Religiously Mr. Nor- 
 ton is a faithful member of the Congregational 
 Church, and politicall}^ he is an earnest advocate 
 and stanch supporter of prohibition. 
 
 JOHN D. DALY, an enterprising and success- 
 ful agriculturist of East Windsor, is one of the self- 
 made men whose careers afford encouragement to 
 every poor but ambitious boy, and his historv is de- 
 serving of a prominent place in this volume. 
 
 Mr. Daly was born Nov. 18, 1832, in County 
 Cork, Ireland. His father was a farmer in Ireland, 
 and in 1854 he came to the United States with his 
 family, the voyage lasting five weeks and three 
 days. Soon after landing in New York City, he 
 came to South Windsor, where he made his perma- 
 nent home. Of the four children, Patrick died 
 Feb. 25, 1882; John D., our subject, was second in 
 the order of birth, and is now the only survivor; 
 William died June 11, 1881, and Lawrence on Nov. 
 27, 1874. 
 
 As our subject was of age when he settled in 
 South Windsor he at once sought and found em- 
 ployment, and for seven years he worked by the 
 month as a farm hand. He then rented his pres- 
 ent homestead and began raising tobacco, meeting 
 with such good results that he purchased the place 
 after a few years. It comprises thirty-four acres of 
 land, and is located two and a half miles north of 
 Warehouse Point; and the substantial improvements 
 made by Mr. Daly show his progressive ideas as 
 well as his industry and thrift. In addition to gen- 
 eral crops he plants from five to nine acres in to- 
 bacco every year, and is also interested in the dairy 
 business. In politics he is a stanch Democrat, and 
 in religious faith a Catholic. On Dec. 6, 1862, he 
 married Miss Ellen Callahan, who died in March, 
 1898, deeply mourned by a large circle of friends. 
 Five children blessed their union: Patrick, a ranch- 
 man in Wyoming; John, a resident of New York; 
 and William, Lawrence and Mary E., who are at 
 home. 
 
 JAMES M. CURTIN, dealer in groceries, 
 meats, liquors, Nos. 331-335 Park street. New Brit- 
 am, Hartford countv, Connecticut. 
 
 FRANK A. PFENNIG, for several years 
 foreman of finishing in the movement department 
 at the E. Ingraham Clock factory in Bristol, was 
 born in Buffalo, N. Y., May 8, 1865, and is a son 
 of August F. and Christina (Beiber) Pfennig, of 
 German descent. 
 
 August F. Pfennig was a cigar maker by trade, 
 and worked for his own father, a wholesale cigar 
 and tobacco dealer in Buffalo, N. Y. To his mar- 
 riage with Christina Beiber were born three chil- 
 dren : Frank A. ; George, who died when quite 
 small; and John, born May 28, 1873, now a cigar 
 maker. August F. died in Buffalo, and his widow, 
 who has since remarried, is now a resident of 
 White Rock, Michigan. 
 
 Frank A. Pfennig, father of August F.. was a 
 wholesale and retail dealer in cigars and tobacco 
 in Buffalo, and died there in 1899, and there his 
 widow yet resides, Thejr had four children : Au- 
 gust F., Matilda. Minnie and Frank L. 
 
 Frank A. Pfennig, our subject, was partly edu- 
 cated in Buffalo, N. Y., and partly in White Rock, 
 Mich. He was able to quit school at the age of 
 fourteen years, having been very apt in his studies, 
 and was at once given a situation in the jewelry 
 
1552 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 store of Otto Honack, in Buffalo, X. Y., where he 
 remained four years. He then came to Connecti- 
 cut, and was emplo3ed for two years by Rayan & 
 Barrows, jewelers at Aliddletown, and then for 
 three years, in the same line, by Lee Roberts. The 
 following year he was employed in the movement 
 department of the Ingraham clock factory, and was 
 so efficient that in 1891 he was made foreman of 
 the finishing department of this branch of the in- 
 dustry, with from twenty to twenty-five men, and 
 ten to fifteen girls, under his charge. 
 
 Mr. Pfennig married, Sept. 11, 1888, Miss Anna 
 M. Merchant, who was born in Bristol May u, 
 1869, and the only child of Harvey J. and Ellen C. 
 (Hunt) ^Merchant, formerly of Glastonbury. To 
 this marriage were born : Hazel Anna, August 2, 
 1889, died July 15, 1890; and Clair Alcrchant, Oct. 
 25, 1891. Harvey J. Merchant, father of Mrs. 
 Pfennig, was a native of Bristql, but removed to 
 New York City. He was first lieutenant of Co. 
 C, 90th N. Y. V. I., during the Civil war. with the 
 rank of acting-adjutant. On his return he was 
 offered the postmastcrship of New York City, but 
 declined the off'er, preferring to return to Bristol, 
 Conn., and there for over twenty-five years was 
 foreman of the movement finishing department of 
 the E. Ingraham Company, a position later held by 
 the subject of this sketch. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
 Merchant are members of the Congregational 
 Church. 
 
 Frank A. Pfennig is a Republican in political 
 sentiment, but takes very little active interest in 
 public affairs. He is a member of Stephen Terry 
 Lodge, No. 59, L O. O. F., of which he is a char- 
 ter members and was secretary three terms ; is a 
 member of Ethan Lodge, No. 9, K. of P., and 
 Hull Division Uniform rank, No. 5, K. of P., and 
 of the E. L. Dunbar encampment, also of Hira 
 Temple, No. 90, Dramatic Order of the Knights of 
 Khorassan. Mrs. Pfennig is a member of the 
 Daughters of Rebekah, of Bristol. Socially the 
 family move in the best circles of the town. 
 
 GEORGE LUCE CLARK, a miller and lum- 
 ber manufacturer of Suffield, Hartford county, was 
 born in Tolland, Tolland Co., Conn., May 30, 1855. 
 
 Lucius Clark, his grandfather, was a native of 
 New York, was a carpenter by trade, and after his 
 marriage. to Catherine Powell came to Connecticut 
 and located in Coventr^r, Tolland count}', where he 
 engaged in contracting and building, and also in 
 the lumber business. There he passed the bettef 
 part of his days, but in the evening of life retired 
 to New Britain, where he died in the faith of the 
 Congregational Church, a highly respected citizen. 
 He was a Whig in politics. To his marriage were 
 born fourteen children. His worthy wife also 
 passed her declining days in New Britain, and the 
 remains of both now lie at rest, side by side, in the 
 cemetery of that town. 
 
 Albert Clark, father of our subject, was also 
 born in New York City, and moved to Coventr)', 
 
 Conn., with his parents. There .he learned the 
 trade of carpenter, and for some years carried on 
 contracting and building, later engaging in the 
 same line of business in Tolland, and still later 
 in Amherst, iMass. In 1883 he settled in Sufffeld, 
 Conn., and conducted a grist and saw mill for his 
 father-in-law until his death, which occurred in 
 June, 1896, when his remains were interred beside 
 those of his wife, in the New Britain cemetery. 
 He was a member of the Congregational Church, 
 and in politics a Republican. Albert Clark was mar- 
 ried in Tolland, to Miss Mary Luce, a native of 
 that town, and a daughter of Leverett and Mary 
 Ann (Hunn) Luce, and to them were born four 
 children : iMary, now the wife of Rev. W. E. Knox, 
 of W'altham, Mass.; George Luce, our subject; 
 Frank, who died when four years old ; and Herbert, 
 who died at the age of sixteen years. The mother 
 of this family passed away at Sufifield Dec. 23, 1893, 
 sincerely mourned by her many acquaintances and 
 the surviving members of her family. 
 
 George Luce Clark received his earlier educa- 
 tion in the public schools of Tolland, and gradu- 
 ated from New Britain Seminary in 1872. He be- 
 gan his business life b}' working in paper-mills, later 
 worked in the firearms factory at Norwich, Conn., 
 and then, being a gifted musician, began traveling 
 with some of the best minstrel troupes of the day, ■ 
 including the famous Barlow & Wilson and the 
 Primrose & West organizations, and visiting every 
 part of the United States. In 1883 he came to 
 Suftield with his parents, and has been engaged here 
 ever since in lumbering and milling, in his maternal 
 grandfather's mill, which he aided his father in 
 conducting until the latter's death, since when he 
 has himself conducted it. For fifteen years he has 
 been organist for the Congregational Qiurch in 
 Sufffeld; he is also a member of the Second Reg- 
 iment Brass Band, of Springfield, Mass., and of 
 ■the Springfield Orchestra. Mv. Clark is, more- 
 over, a practical journalist and an able writer, has 
 been local reporter for the Hartford Times for 
 twelve years, and for the Springfield Union six 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Clark was united in marriage, in Norwich, 
 Conn., to Miss Amelia Pierce, a native of Amherst, 
 IMass., and to .this marriage has been born one 
 child, Leverett M., who is master electrician of the 
 linen mills at Willimantic, Conn., a position he had 
 attained at the age of sixteen years. 
 
 Mr. Clark is a Republican in politics, but has ' 
 never been an office seeker. Fie is a consistent 
 member of the Congregational Church, and is 
 greatly respected both within and without its pale. 
 He is remarkably well read, and besides being a 
 prolific writer stands second to none in the State of 
 Connecticut as a musician. He has led a temperate 
 and industrious life, and his extensive travels have 
 broadened his views of mankind and enlarged his 
 natural intelligence, and given him a more compre- 
 hensive knowledge of human motives and actions 
 than he would have possessed had his life been con- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1553 
 
 fined to the limits of his native State. His business 
 name stands without a blemish, and his veracity has 
 never yet been placed in doubt. 
 
 Leverett Luce, maternal grandfather of George 
 Luce Clark, was born in Tolland, Conn., and was a 
 lifelong miller. In 1850 he came to Suffield and 
 bought the Wright mill, and for thirty-three years 
 operated it for grist and lumber purposes. In 
 1883 he withdrew, and for fifteen years lived in re- 
 tirement, dying at his home Dec. 21, 1898, and his 
 remains were mterred in the Suffield cemetery ; he 
 was attentively cared for by Mr. Clark in his de- 
 clining years. To the marriage of Mr. Luce, in 
 Tolland, with Miss Mary Ann Hunn, were born 
 three children : Leverett H. ; Mary, who was mar- 
 ried to Albert Clark, and became the mother of our 
 subject; and Edwin, now of Suffield. 
 
 MICHAEL HAGGERTY, a progressive citizen 
 and highly respected young farmer of Bloomfield, 
 was born in the city of Hartford, Conn., Nov. 10, 
 1857, and is a son of William and Catharine (Daily) 
 Haggerty, being the eldest in a family of iive chil- 
 dren. 
 
 William Haggerty was lx)rn in County Co-k, 
 Ireland, but came to the United States when a 
 young man. He married, in Hartford, Conn., and 
 his union to Miss Catharine Daily was blessed with 
 five children, viz.: Michael, the subject of this 
 sketch'; Ella, the wife of William A. Hern, of Hartr 
 ford; William, a volunteer in the recent war 
 with Spain ; Katie, still in Hartford ; and John, in 
 Bloomfield. In his early laboring days Mr. Hag- 
 gerty was a well-digger by calling, but after his 
 marriage he came to Bloomfield in 1859, and 
 worked as a stonemason, as well as at well-dig- 
 ging. In politics Mr. Haggerty was a Democrat, 
 but never an office-seeker. He and wife both 
 ended their days in Bloomfield, and both died in 
 the faith of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. 
 
 Michael Haggerty was but two years of age 
 when his parents settled in Bloomfield. He here 
 attended the public schools in boyhood, faithfully 
 assisted his father in his calling during his younger 
 years, and for eight years worked for D. C. New- 
 berry. For the past seven years he has been en- 
 gaged in farming on his own account, and is recog- 
 nized as one of the most progressive and enterpris- 
 ing agriculturists of the township. He is a faith- 
 ful member of the Catholic Church, and stands very 
 high in the esteem of his neighbors. 
 
 FRANK C. CASE, a well-known farmer and 
 dairyman of West Simsbury, was born at Troy, N. 
 Y., March 10, 1859. Norris Case, his father, was 
 born in West Simsbury, on what is known as the 
 Case farm, Sept. 23, 1816, and was a son of Mamre 
 Case. 
 
 Norris Case attended the district schools, and 
 also Wilbraham Academy, at Wilbraham, Mass. 
 When a young man he learned the trade of mill- 
 wright, and for twelve years operated a mill in 
 
 Simsbury, which he owned. He then removed to 
 New York State, settling at Troy, where he en- 
 gaged in the shoe business for several years, and 
 later at Saratoga, N. Y., where he conducted a 
 hotel and livery business until 1864. He was a 
 great lover of blooded stock, and owned the well- 
 known mare "Flora Temple," a trotter. In 1864, 
 after meeting with reverses, Norris Case returned 
 to West Simsbury, and there became engaged in 
 general and dairy farming and tobacco growing, 
 spending the balance of his life on a tract of i6a 
 acres. He died Aug. 20, 1886, and is buried in the 
 old Case burying-ground, Simsbury. In politics he 
 was a Whig and a Republican. He sang for many 
 years in the choir of the Congregational Church^ 
 He first married Almeda Burned, of Massachusetts,, 
 who bore him three children : Arthur, who died at 
 the age of three years ; Frances, who died at the age 
 of eighteen years; and John W., a shoe dealer of 
 Boston. The mother died in Simsbury, and Nor- 
 ris Case married for his second wife, at Troy, N. 
 Y., Mary Converse, a native of that city. The chil- 
 dren born to Norris and Mary Case were: Henry,, 
 deceased; Susan, who died young; WilHam N., of. 
 West Simsbury; and Frank C, our subject. The- 
 mother died June 9, 1893, at the home of our sub- 
 ject, and is buried in Simsbury. She was a mem- 
 ber of the Baptist Church. 
 
 Frank C. Case attended the common schools. 
 He came to West Simsbury with his parents, and 
 there engaged in farming with his father. After 
 the latter 's death he took charge of the farm, and 
 has since managed the property. He is engaged 
 in dairy, stock and general farming. 
 
 Mr. Case married at Simsbury, in 1882, Louisa;. 
 Hieni, who was born in Hartford, daughter of 
 Frank and Mary (Degenhardt) Hiem. Her father 
 was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, and was a cab- 
 inet maker of Hartford. The mother was born in 
 the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, Germany, and now 
 makes her home with our subject. Six children 
 were born to Frank C. and Louisa Case, as follows : 
 Frances, who is a student at McLean's Seminary, 
 Simsbury; Lena L., also at school; Sarah O. ; Har- 
 vey H. ; Charles V. ; and Watson E. Mr. Case,, 
 our subject, lost his wife by death only a few days 
 after his mother's death, June 20, 1893. She is 
 buried in Simsbury cemetery. She was a_ good 
 woman, and a member of the Baptist Church. Mr. 
 Case is a Republican. Fraternally he is a member 
 of Capitol City Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Albany, N. 
 Y. Mr. Case js genial in disposition, and popular 
 among a wide circle of friends. 
 
 JOHN J. HICKEY, an industrious, temperate 
 and highly respected farmer and tobacco grower of 
 the town of East Hartford, was born in County 
 Waterford, Ireland, June 24, 1850, a son of Michael 
 and Margaret (McCarty) Hickey, of whom men- 
 tion is made in detail in the biography of P. P. 
 Hickey, a younger brother of the subject of this; 
 sketch. 
 
1554 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Jolm J. Hickcy had heard frum his sister Han- 
 jiah, who had already- been in the United States, ac- 
 cuunts so gflowinir of the opportunities ottered here 
 for the advancement in hfe of young men who were 
 willing to work ami to economize their earnings, 
 which were much greater for less work than 
 ■dreamed of in their native land, that he determined 
 to make his future home in America. He had re- 
 ceived a meager education, and at the age of nine- 
 teen years, having gathered together a little money, 
 he saded, with his sister ^Nlary, in a Cunard steamer 
 from Oueenstown, landing in lioston, Mass.,. on 
 -Easter Sunday, 18O9. From Boston he came direct 
 to Hartford, where his cousin, 2\lary Duggan (now 
 •deceased), then lived. Having but one dollar cash 
 in his pocket, he innuediatel}' hunted around for 
 work, and found employment with Henr\- King, at 
 South Windsor, at $^0 per month. A short time 
 afterward he returned to Hartford, whence he 
 walked to Talcott Mountain, and there found work, 
 and also considerable difficulty in collecting his 
 wages, after having worked for his employer some 
 time. He was next employed in Jewell's shop, re- 
 ceiving %) per week for nearly a year. He was 
 very economical of his earnings and faithftil in his 
 work, and was ten years in .\merica without tast- 
 ing either beer or whisky. 
 
 Mr. Hickey's first purchase of land was in South 
 ^Vindsor, and was a tract of three and one-half 
 acres. On this he lived twenty-two years, and 
 then bought a part of his present farm from Joel 
 Hatch Guy. president of the National Hank at Mer- 
 iden. To this he has adiled from time to time until 
 .he now owns forty acres, seventeen of which are 
 planted in tobacco. 
 
 Mr. Hickey first married Eliza Reardon. of 
 Broad Brook, and she bore him one child, Marj^ 
 Ellen, who died at the age of seventeen years; she 
 was an exceptionally bright young lady, and her 
 death was a sad blow to her father, who sorrowfully 
 laid her remains to rest in the I'due Hills cemetery. 
 After the death of his first wife Air. Hickey mar- 
 ried Nellie Breen, and to this union have been born 
 five children: John J., (deceased in infancy), 
 Charles, one who died in infancy unnamed, Levi 
 P., and John J. 
 
 In politics Mr. Hickey is a liberal Republican, 
 and fraternally is a member of the Ancient Order 
 of United Workmen. The family are all members 
 of St. Mary's Catholic Church, to the support of 
 which they are among- the most liberal contributors. 
 Mr. Hickev is a jovial and pleasant gentleman, has 
 made his way unassisted through life, and is well 
 entitled to the respect in which he is held by all his 
 neighbors, without exception. 
 
 JOSEPH HECK, the well-known cigar manu- 
 facturer of Hartford, with residence in East Hart- 
 ford Meadow, and one of the best musicians in 
 Tlartford county, was born in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., 
 Feb. 14, 1855, and is of German extraction. When 
 nine years of age he began work in a tobacco fac- 
 
 tor}-, at stripping, and when twelve )-ears old en- 
 tered the United States service, at West Point, as 
 a fifer and drummer, and served three years, becom- 
 ing an expert in field music. His discharge papers, 
 dated in 1870, read "very good," and were the last 
 issued, at that time, in this branch of the service. 
 
 Joseph Heck, father of our subject, was born in 
 Bavaria, and his naturalization papers are dated at 
 Poughkeepsie, X. Y., June, 1847. ■I-''' ^'^w York 
 State he married Maria (Shuler) I'ropson, a native 
 of Germany, and the widow of a Mr. Propson, by 
 whom she had two children ; Mrs. Susan Hoffman, 
 now of Suffield, Conn. ; and John, who was a drum- 
 mer in the volunteer infantry during the war of the 
 Rebellion, was a cigar-maker by trade, and died in 
 l'oughkeei)sie in May, 1898. To the marriage of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Heck were bom two children: 
 Joseph, the subject of this sketch; and Mary, Mrs. 
 Christian Collins, of Sufifield, Conn. The death of 
 the father, Joseph Heck, was caused by sickness 
 contracted in the army while serving in the Civil 
 war ; the mother lived to be seventy-eight years of 
 age, and died in Plartford. 
 
 After quitting West Point Joseph Heck, the sub- 
 ject of this memoir, went to Williamsburg, N. Y., 
 and there worked in a tobacco factory. Later he 
 was employed in other places until Christmas Day, 
 1874, when he arrived in Hartford, Conn., on a visit, 
 and there became, naturally, acquainted with the 
 musical fraternity, and decided to make the city his 
 home. Under John Ehret, on State street, he took 
 further instructions in his trade of cigar-making, 
 and then completed it with Elser & Leschke. Mr. 
 Elser was at that time leader of the Hartford City 
 Band, and through him Mr. Heck was induced to 
 become a member of that musical organization, but 
 did not relinquish his trade. He worked for Krug, 
 Parrish & Co., later for Charles Soby, and then be- 
 came foreman for E. D. Williams, with whom he re- 
 mained seven years, giving the utmost satisfaction. 
 In September, 1887, he began business on his own 
 account, which he has continued ever since in Hart- 
 ford, with the exception of one year spent in East 
 Hartford Meadow, where he owns a handsome 
 dwelling and he makes his home. 
 
 Air. Heck married, in Hartford, Miss Alice 
 Ehren, a native of Massachusetts, and a daughter 
 of Patrick Ehren, and to this union have been born 
 three children, of whom Albert J. is a cigar-maker 
 (he is a member of ^tna Hose Company, of East 
 Hartford) ; Charles A., also a cigar-maker, is a 
 member of Center Hose Company, No. i, of the 
 same village, and a member of the East Hartford 
 Consolidated Band, and both brothers are also mem- 
 bers of the Musical Union of Hartford, of the Cigar 
 Alakers' Union, of that city, and of Heck's Or- 
 chestra ; Alice C, the third child, is at home. 
 
 Mr. Heck's band and orchestral experience has 
 been quite extensive. He was first a member, as 
 has been intimated, of the Hartford City Band, 
 and when that went into dissolution joined Colt's 
 Band as a drummer; he next joined Weed's Band, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1555 
 
 and in its infancy played flute and piccolo under the 
 leadership of Prof. Ferdinand Patz. This band 
 later became Pope's Military Band, and our sub- 
 jects fine piccolo solos in its open-air concerts did 
 much toward building up its reputation. But 
 Mr. Heck became tired of brass and reed bands, 
 and withdrew, notwithstanding great remonstrance 
 on the part of leaders and members, and it cost him 
 a five-years' struggle to free himself. He then 
 took up orchestral work, becoming a member of 
 the Germania Orchestra, under Prof. Glasius, and 
 also of Elser's Orchestra, which, in its day, was the 
 best in the city. For eight years he was a member 
 of Edwin Severus' well-known orchestra, in which 
 he played second violin, but the greater part of the 
 time played the bass viol — and the most singular 
 part of the story of his becoming a bass viol player 
 is the fact that he had had but a few hours' rehear- 
 sal on this instrument before he played in an orches- 
 tra at a ball. Mr. Heck was the instructor and 
 leader of Steele's First Regiment Drum Corps, the 
 crack drum corps of New England, which won 
 many prizes for ability and discipline. At Spring- 
 field Mr. Heck was presented with a silver fife, as 
 an emblem of the championship of New England, 
 and at a drummers' and fifers' tournament at Rock- 
 ville was presented with a gold-mounted fife. For 
 several years he was fife-major and instructor in 
 the band of the Putnam Phalanx. He was a man- 
 ager of Stertzing & Heck'o Orchestra, and is now 
 the leader of his own — the Heck Orchestra. 
 
 In politics Mr. Heck is independent, and votes 
 for the man he deems best fitted for the ofifice to be 
 filled. Fraternally he is a member of Nathan Hale 
 Lodge, A. O. U. W. ; Capitol Lodge, No. 6, Degree 
 of Honor, A. O. U. W. ; and Samuel Colt Lode'e, 
 of Foresters, all of Hartford ; also of Capitol City 
 Colony, No. 158, United Order of Pilgrim Fatliers. 
 He belongs to the Musical L^nion of Hartford, and 
 the Cigar Makers' International Union of Amer- 
 ica, and in the work of all these he takes an active 
 part. He is a charter member of the ^tna Hose 
 Company, at East Hartford Meadow, and was on 
 the general committee that managed its first fair, 
 M'hich netted $1,200. Mrs. Heck is a devoted mem- 
 ber of St. Mary's Catholic Church, to the support 
 of which she and her husband contribute freely. 
 She is a lady of refinement, and extends a welcome 
 to her numerous friends at their hospitable dwell- 
 ing at the corner of Lester and Darlin streets. East 
 Hartford Meadow, which was erected by 3ilr. Hef^k 
 in 1896. Mr. Heck resided in Hartford from his 
 first coming to Connecticut tmtil his removal to Fast 
 Hartford Meadow, in order to have a quiet and 
 comfortable place of rest after performing his mul- 
 tifarious duties in the city of Hartford. 
 
 JAMES J. MORIARITY, the popular engineer 
 on the Highland Division of the New York, New 
 Haven & Hartford railroad, with residence in East 
 Hartford, was born in Ireland in 1861, a son of 
 Timothy and Catherine (Glaster) Moriarity, and 
 
 came with his parents to America when three vears 
 old. 
 
 Timothy Moriarity was a machinist by trade, 
 was an expert, and had charge of a machine shop 
 in his native Ireland. He was a man of colossal 
 proportions, being six feet two inches in height, and 
 weighing 235 pounds avoirdupois, and possessed of 
 herculean strength, which physical attributes have 
 been inherited by his sons, of whom he had seven, 
 as well as nine daughters, sixteen children in all, 
 of whom James J. is the youngest. On coming to 
 the United States, about 1864, he located in Spring- 
 field, Mass., and was for years employed there at 
 his trade in the shops of the Boston & Albany Rail- 
 road Co. He died in Springfield at the age of about 
 seventy-one years ; his wife died at the age of 
 sixty-five, and both were devoted members of the 
 Catholic Church. In politics Mr. Moriarity was 
 a stanch Democrat, and never failed to cast his vote 
 at each election, but never for a moment had a de- 
 sire for public office, being satisfied with the honor 
 bestowed upon him as a private citizen by a host of 
 sincere friends. 
 
 James J. Moriarity attended school in Spring- 
 field, Mass., and manifested all the aptness and ca- 
 pability for learning possessed by any of his class- 
 mates until he left school, when he was nearly six- 
 teen years of age. At this age, being an extraor- 
 dinarily powerful lad, he began work as fireman 
 on a yard engine in the Boston & Albany railroad 
 yards, at Springfield, although all his brothers who 
 had_ reached adult years had followed the example 
 of their father and become machinists in railroad 
 shops, James J. being the onlj' engineer of the fam- 
 ily. Mr. Moriarit^r remained in the employ of the 
 company mentioned, and in the same capacity, until 
 November, 1888, when he was given charge of an 
 engine on what is now called the Highland Division 
 of the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad, 
 and up to the present has had a night run between 
 East Hartford and Waterbury, Conn. After his 
 appointment to this position he moved from Spring- 
 field, Mass., to Hartford, Conn., and thence to East 
 Hartford. 
 
 Mr. Moriarit}' married Miss Margaret Moran, 
 a daughter of Timoth}' and Bridget ( McMahon ) 
 Moran, of Springfield, Mass., and this union has 
 been blessed with four children, all born, in the fol- 
 lowing order, in East Hartford : Mary M., Theresa, 
 Margaret and Lauretta. In 1891 Mr. Moriarity 
 erected his present handsome double house on Main 
 street, East Hartford, and here he and his respected 
 family have ever since resided, surrounded by warm- 
 hearted friends and genial neighbors. 
 
 In politics Mr. Moriarity has always been a 
 stanch Democrat, and makes manifest his loyalty to 
 the party by his unfailing vote for its candidates. 
 He is a sincere Catholic in religion, and he and his 
 family do their duty in full at St. Mary's Church, 
 to the support of which they contribute freely of 
 their means ; Mr. Moriarity is also a member of the 
 B. L. F. He is a most excellent citizen, is very; 
 
1556 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 popular among his fellow employees, has the full 
 confidence of his employers, and is as finely built, 
 steady-going and reliable a man as may be found 
 "in a summer day"s walk." 
 
 WILLIAM FEELY, one of the best known 
 farmers of Bloomfield, Hartford county, was born 
 in County Leitrim, Ireland, April 22, 1833, and is 
 a son of Alatthew Feely, a merchant of County 
 Leitrim and a son of William Feely Matthew 
 Feely married a Miss Hilley, and this union was 
 blessed with six cliildren, viz. : IJridget, deceased ; 
 William, our subject; Owen, in Ireland; I'atrick, 
 who died in i8yy in Hartford county. Conn.; 
 Michael, in Scotland ; and Sarah, still in Ireland. 
 
 William Feely left his native land in the spring 
 of 1853, on the sailing-ship "Fingal," and after a 
 somewhat tempestuous voyage ot si.K weeks and 
 three days, landed in the jwrt of New York, whence, 
 after a sojourn of one week, he came to Connecti- 
 cut and worked nearly a year in Stamford; he 
 next worked for a short time in Bedford, West- 
 chester county, N. Y., and in the fall "of 1854 came 
 to West Hartford, Conn., and for fifteen years 
 farmed in that town. In 1869 he settled in Bloom- 
 field, bought the Riley farm, his present home- 
 stead, and later the Meacham farm, on which his 
 son, John, now resides. Air. Feely was naturalized 
 in the town of West Hartford and was married 
 in Hartford, in 1857, to r^Iiss Catherine Hunley, 
 who was called away, February 8, 1884, the 
 mother of ten children, viz. : JMaggie, of New 
 Haven; John, of Bloomfield, married Louisa Case, 
 daughter of Hezekiah Case, and is the father of one 
 child — Catherine Marie ; Matthew, a grocer on 
 Front street, Hartford, married Mary Keough, and 
 has had three children — Alinnie, Catherine and Ed- 
 ward — the last named deceased : William, de- 
 ceased ; Thomas, of Bloomfield ; Mary, of New 
 Haven; Sarah, of Hartford; Joseph, also of Hart- 
 ford ; and Kate and Annie, of Bloomfield. 
 
 Since coming to Hartford county, Mr. Feely 
 has employed himself in general farming and to- 
 bacco-growing, and is emphatically a self-made 
 man, in the busines sense of the phrase. In pol- 
 itics he is a Democrat, and for many years has 
 been a member of the board of relief, of which he 
 has been the chairman since 1884. He is a de- 
 vout member of the Catholic Church of Bloomfield 
 and has ever been ready to assist it pecuniarily and 
 otherwise, and has reared his children in the same 
 faith. All the Feely family are upright and useful 
 memibers of the various communities in which they 
 live, and well deserve the high respect in which they 
 are held. 
 
 ANSON H. PORTER. Among the more 
 prominent and influential agricuhurists of Farm- 
 ington, Hartford county, none stand higher in the 
 esteem of their fellow citizens than the gentleman 
 whose name introduces this sketch. He is a native 
 ci the county, born in East Hartford July 24, 1821, 
 
 a son of Anson Porter, also a native of East Hart- 
 ford, born in 1788, and a grandson of Stephen. 
 Porter. There the father was reared and educated, 
 and throughout life followed the occupation of 
 farming. He married Miss Sophronia House, 
 who was born in Glastonbury, Conn., and whose 
 mother was Esther Hooker, a descendant of John 
 Hooker. Two sons were born of this union : 
 Albert D., deceased; and Anson H., our subject. 
 
 In the schools of East Hartford Anson H. 
 Porter acquired his education, and later he was- 
 engaged in carriage-making in Bloomfield, Conn., 
 from 1841 to 1872, during which time he served 
 as constable and assessor of that town. He re- 
 moved to his present home in Farmington in 1872^ 
 and has since devoted his energies to agricultural 
 pursuits with good results. He is one of the rep- 
 resentative citizens of the town, honored and re- 
 spected by all who know him. 
 
 In Bloomfield Mr. Porter married Miss Delia 
 Clark, who died there leaving one son, Scott, now 
 also deceased. For his second wife he married 
 Mrs. Sarah J. (Bliss) Mills, of Bloomfield, who 
 was born in 1837 in Hartford county, and first 
 married Thomas S, Harman. They had one 
 daughter, who is now the wife of Henry Conlon, 
 of New York. By her second husband, George 
 Mills, she had one son, George, also of New York. 
 Mrs. Porter's grandfather, John Hull, was also 
 a native of Hartford county. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Porter have been born four 
 children, viz. : Jennie, now a teacher of Farming- 
 ton ; William Lewis, a singer in the Pearl Street 
 Congregational Church, Hartford ; Etheline, a 
 teacher at Winsted ; and John B., of Farmington. 
 Mrs. Porter commenced singing in the Church 
 choir when fifteen years of age, and she and her 
 children are all connected with the choir in the 
 Church at Farmington. 
 
 H. E. FITTS, cashier of the Travelers Insur- 
 ance Company, Hartford, Connecticut. 
 
 TIMOTHY GILBERT. The old Gilbert 
 homestead in the town of Enfield was the place 
 of Mr. Gilbert's birth, which occurred on May 12, 
 1833. He is a son of Timothy Gilbert and grand- 
 son of Benjamin Gilbert, both of whom were na- 
 tives of the same place. His grandfather was a 
 soldier during the Revolutionary war; his father 
 was a farmer. His mother's maiden name was Ada 
 Crowell, and other children in the family were as 
 follows: Benjamin, Mary H., Ada C, Samuel, 
 Eben, Curtis, Timothy and Martha. 
 
 Timothy Gilbert was brought up on his father's 
 farm, his early education being received at the dis- 
 trict school, distant one mile from his father's 
 house, and at the public schools of Middletown. 
 He lived at the old homestead until 1889, taking 
 charge of the property in 1864. In 1889 he re- 
 moved to Rocky Hill, and purchased the handsome 
 residence he now occupies from George Belden. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1557 
 
 JHis home is one of the finest in the town, but 
 •be still continues to superintend the management 
 •of the farm upon which he was born, and which he 
 still owns. He drives thither in the moining from 
 Eocky Hill, returning at night. The property 
 consists of seventy-five acres, highly improved and 
 •well cared for. 
 
 Mr. Gilbert was married, in 1862, to Elizabeth, 
 -daughter of Chester B. Goodrich. In politics he 
 is a Republican ; although not a member of any 
 Church he attends those of various denominations, 
 and is a liberal contributor of their support. 
 
 M. J. MAGUIRE, a prosperous and respected 
 
 farmer of Manchester, was born Sept. 24, 1841, in 
 
 County Cork, Ireland, son of William and Johanna 
 
 (Cream) Maguire, the former of whom was a 
 
 ■small farmer. 
 
 Mr. Maguire found it necessary to begin work 
 ■early in life and at the age of twelve years secured 
 •employment by the month as a house servant. His 
 •educational advantages were extremely limited, yet 
 lae was able to attend school during a portion of each 
 year. He remained in Ireland until his twenty- 
 eighth year, when he determined to seek better for- 
 tune in the land where so many of his countrymen 
 had found homes and prosperity, and accordingly 
 on May 6, 1869, he set sail for the American shore. 
 His first location was Hartford, Conn., where for 
 ■some two weeks he was in the employ of Dr. Ells- 
 worth, and later worked for Mrs. Colts. In 1869 
 he came to Manchester, where he began farming 
 •on land of his own, which he had bought two 
 months after his arrival. His first purchase was 
 iifty-one acres and he has added to this from time 
 to time until he now owns a home farm of one 
 hundred acres, besides another valuable tract of 
 twenty-seven acres. This property he has greatly 
 -improved, and here he has resided ever since he 
 ••purchased his first tract, with the exception of the 
 ^rears 1870-72, which he spent in New Orleans. 
 His place is generally known as the "old Eli Pit- 
 'kin farm." He carries on an extensive dairy busi- 
 ness, having usually from twent3'-five to thirty 
 milch cows, and also raises and deals in Holstein 
 'and Jersey cattle. 
 
 C5n Feb. 7, 1879, Mr. Maguire married Miss 
 Mary Moriarty, and they have four children : 
 Mary,' born Dec. 11, 1880; John F., Aug. 8, 1885; 
 and Lewis William and Joseph (twins). May 4, 
 1888. In politics Mr. Maguire is a Democrat. 
 His religious faith is that of the Roman Catholic 
 Church, and he attends St. James' Church in Man- 
 ■chester. 
 
 CHARLES DOHRENWEND. Competence 
 ■comes to the industrious and thrifty, and there is 
 no element in the American nation in which these 
 traits are more conspicuous than the German. An 
 active journeyman through life, Charles Dohren- 
 •wend, the subject of this sketch has in recent years 
 ■settled down to farm life in Berlin town, where 
 
 the same go^d judgment and energy which he 
 previously displayed have developed one of the pro- 
 lific and highly-cultivated farms of Hartford county. 
 
 Mr. Dohrenwend was born in Germany, Dec. 
 22, 1832, son of Christ H. and Armena (Dohren- 
 wend) Dohrenwend, and grandson, on his father's 
 side, of Fred and Sophia (Daly) Dohrenwend. 
 The grandfather was a shoemaker of considerable 
 wealth for his time, and left $2,800 to each of his 
 sixteen children. He died in Germany at an ad- 
 vanced age, and his widow survived to the age of 
 ninety-four years. The father of our subject was 
 born Jan. 21, 1812. He was employed by the Ger- 
 man Government in managing the transportation 
 of silver from the mines, and was well-to-do. He 
 died in 1880, surviving about thirty-three years his 
 wife, who died when our subject was about four- 
 teen years of age. 
 
 Charles Dohrenwend received the excellent ed- 
 uation which the public schools of Germany afford- 
 ed, attending school until he was sixteen years of 
 age. He had the opportunity to continue his edu- 
 cation, which he did not, greatly to his subsequent 
 regret, his temperament at the time influencing 
 him to active pursuits rather than books. For a 
 year he devoted himself to the joiner's trade, but 
 did not like it. Returning home he later worked 
 for a time at the mason's trade, but that too proved 
 distasteful. He assisted his father until he was 
 about twenty years old, and on Sept. 7, 1852, he 
 sailed from Bremen, Germany, for New York, to 
 visit his uncles, George and Louis Dohrenwend, 
 brothers of his mother. Mr. Dohrenwend landed 
 at New York Dec. 17, 1852, and after a visit of 
 eight months resolved to remain in America. For 
 a year he clerked for a grocer named Gagger, then 
 began work at the joiner's trade, which he con- 
 tinued many years. For a year he was employed 
 in New York and at New Bridge, N. J. He then 
 married in New York, in 1854, Catherina Stuffs, 
 who was born in New York, in 1828. He contin- 
 ued his trade in Brooklyn until the Civil war be- 
 gan, and throughout the conflict was employed in 
 the Brooklyn navy yard. Resuming his trade in 
 Brooklyn, he later worked one year at Jamaica, 
 Long island, follo-^yed by a year at his trade at 
 Brooklyn again, whence he removed to Sufheld, 
 Conn., where he v^'orked for the same length of 
 time on the construction of the New York Paper 
 Mill. He then lived for a year at Warehouse 
 Point, working on the paper company's new houses 
 at Windsor Locks. ' Removing to New Britain, he 
 worked on the Rockville school building, thence 
 he removed to Southington and for four years 
 worked for Samuel L. Woodruff, after which for 
 five vears he lived in Middletown. From that time 
 until 1881 he remained in New Britain, with the 
 exception of three vears at Columbia, Tolland 
 countv. In 1881 he' settled in Newington, where 
 he purchased a farm, and remained until he erect- 
 ed a fine home in Beckley, on property which he 
 had previously purchased. His farm is a most 
 
1558 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 productive one, and he ranks as one of the most 
 successful farmers in BerUn town. 
 
 Mrs. Dohrcnwend, first wife of our subject, 
 died in Southington in 1868, surviving their only 
 child, Charles, who was born in 1858, died in 1864, 
 and was buried in Flushing cemetery, Long Island. 
 For his second wife our subject married Elizabeth 
 Edwards, who was born in Southington in 1841. 
 By this union he has three children — Frank Henry, 
 of whom mention is made below ; Mary Armena, 
 born in Middletown Nov. 12, 1871, and now a 
 bright and popular stenographer in the New 
 Haven office of the Xew "^'ork Life Insurance Co.; 
 and Charles Frederick, born Sept. 24, 1874, a joiner 
 by trade. 
 
 In politics Charles Dohrcnwend is a stanch Re- 
 ])ublican. He has served on the school committee, 
 but has never sought office. Himself and wife are 
 active members of the Methodist Church, and he is 
 a member of Meriden Lodsre. No. i. I. O. O. F. 
 Mr. Uobrenwend is a skilled mechanic, and his 
 services have. always been in demand. He ranks 
 as one of the best joiners in lierbn, and his stand- 
 ing as a citizen is equally high. 
 
 Fr.xnk Hknrv Dohrkxwend, son of Charles 
 and Elizabeth (Edwards) Dohrenwend, was bom 
 in Middletown Sept. 8, 1870. He was educated in 
 the Stocking Corners District school, and in the 
 schools of Xewington and Xew Britain. .\t the 
 age of sixteen he began to learn the trade of his 
 father, that of joiner, and has worked at it since 
 when not engaged on the farm. He was employed 
 in the finishing of the Seldon school in Beckley. 
 He was married. June 26, 1895, to Miss Lena A. 
 Splettstoeszer. who was born in Berlin Jan. 23, 
 1874. ilauebter of Charles and Susan (Weckesser) 
 Splettstoeszer. The only child born to them. Almon, 
 died March 8. 1898, aged three days. Frank Henn,' 
 Dohrenwend is an attendant of the Congregational 
 Church, of which his wife is a member. He is an 
 imswerving Republican in politics, and is a member 
 of Berlin Grange, X^o. 24. He owns a farm of about 
 forty acres, and in 1896 erected his present taste- 
 ful residence in Beckley. He has placed his prop- 
 erty under a high state of cultivation, and is one 
 of the voung citizens of Berlin town whose energy, 
 ambition and good business c[ualities are rapidly 
 guiding him to the front. 
 
 JOSEPH R. TOHXSON, ex-chief of police of 
 the citv of New Berlin, won universal commenda- 
 tion in that community by bis excellent \vork in 
 managing the details of that department of the 
 municipal administration. The force, which con- 
 "sisted of ten men at the time of his appointment, 
 was increased to fourteen to meet the needs of the 
 growing citv, and while chief. Mr. Johnson, who is 
 noted for his keen perception and clear ideas, main- 
 tained a high degree of efficiency. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was born Dec. 16, 185?;, in Hunter 
 (formerlv Bushnellville) , Greene county, N. Y., 
 and is of Holland Dutch descent in the paternal 
 
 line. Alexander Johnson, his grandfather, was a 
 native of Columbia county, N. Y., and became a 
 ship carpenter by occupation. He was killed iix 
 X'^ewburg, i\i. Y.. in 1830 or 1831, and his wife, 
 whose maiden name was Kesselbrick, died in the 
 same vear. They had four children, viz. : Willett, 
 Riley, Eliza, who married Matthew Fort, of Troy,. 
 N. Y., and Adna, our subject's father. 
 
 Adna Johnson, a highly respected resident of 
 Jewett, N. Y., was born in October, 1829, in EUen- 
 ville, N. Y., but his boyhood was spent chiefly in. 
 Pine Hill, that State, with one Peter Coon. He 
 attended the schools of that locality, and later 
 learned the shoemaker's trade which for many 
 years he followed as a journeyman. He served four 
 years as a soldier in the Civil war, in Company K,, 
 14th N. Y. Cavalry, holding the rank of sergeant 
 and coi-poral, and for a few days endured the hor- 
 rors of Libby Prison, but was released on parole. 
 On his return he found it impossible to continue 
 his trade because of the strain upon his back, and 
 he engaged in carpentering which he has ever since 
 followed. He is a man of good abilities, being 
 especially talented in mechanical lines. At times he- 
 has been active in local politics, and has held the 
 office of tax collector. For many years be has been 
 identified with Stanley Post, G. A. R., at Jewett. 
 and in religious faith he is a devout Methodist. 
 His estimable wife, Harriett Craig, is now deceased. 
 They had the following children : Willard and Wil- 
 lis (twins), who died in infancy; Joseph R., our 
 subject; Lucy E., wife of George W. Coyne, for- 
 merly of Pine Hill and now of New Britain ; Rob- 
 ert W., deceased ; Henry Augustus, deceased ; and 
 Millie ,\., who married F. P. Hart, and died Xo- 
 vember i, 1898. 
 
 During his boyhood Joseph R. Johnson enjoyed 
 fair educational advantages, as he attended the 
 schools of Jewett, X'^. Y., both winter and summer 
 until he was sixteen, and in the winter until he was 
 nineteen. In the meantime he learned the shoe- 
 maker's trade, and in 1873 h'^ came to New Britain 
 to work through the summer season as a farni 
 hand for W. H. Stanley. He then returned home, 
 but in the following spring he came again to this 
 country. The summer of 1876 he spent in West' 
 Hartford, in the employ of C. M. Lewis, the whole- 
 sale jeweler, and for the next four years he was en- 
 gaged as a shoemaker in Hunter, XT. Y., carry- 
 ing on a shoD on his own account. In the spring 
 of 1880 he again came to X^ew Britain, and for twa 
 years was a night watchman for the American 
 Hosiery Co. He clerked in D. C. Judd's grocery 
 for two years, and had charge of the teaming for 
 the P. & F. Corbin factory for some time, and then 
 went to Hensonville, X". Y., and bought out a team- 
 ing business which he carried on for twenty months. 
 On returning to New Britain he became a nieht 
 watchman at the Stanley factory, but, as his ability 
 to do more difficult work was recognized, he was 
 soon transferred to a position where he had charge 
 of forty or fifty men. There he quickly demon- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1559- 
 
 strated his skill in managing others, and the mayor 
 of the city, L. Hoyt Pease, being interested in the 
 factory, selected him for the office of chief of po- 
 lice, his appointment being made July 29, 1891, 
 and he continued in office until January, 1900. Po- 
 litically Mr. Johnson is a Republican, but he refrains 
 from any appearance of "pernicious activity" in 
 partisan affairs. 
 
 On Dec. 12, 1876, Mr. Johnson married Miss 
 Emma C. Haney, daughter of Daniel Haney, of 
 Windom, N. Y., and four children have blessed the 
 union, namely : Edward A., a dealer in wall paper ; 
 Henry A., a civil engineer; and Daisy and Viola, 
 who are at home. The family holds a prominent 
 place' in social life, and A'Ir. Johnson is a member 
 of the A. O. U. W. ; the I. O. R. M. ; the F. & A. 
 M., Mountain Lodge, at Windom, N. Y. ; and the 
 O. U. A. M.. in which he has passed all the chairs. 
 
 GEORGE HEINRICH, the leading and most 
 popular barber in Southington, was born in Hessen- 
 Darmstadt, Germany, July 26, 185S. a son of John 
 and Gertrude (Grassah) Heinrich. 
 
 Mr. Heinrich was reared in his native town, 
 where he received a common-school education, and 
 at the age of fifteen began an apprenticeship to the 
 barber's trade, serving three years. He followed his 
 trade. in his native land for eleven years, and then 
 resolved to try his fortune in the New World, where 
 he believed that better opportunities were afforded 
 to ambitious and industrious young men. On Sept- i, 
 1884, he landed in New York City, and during the 
 first three months spent in this country worked at his 
 trade for his brother, in Southington, Conn. He was 
 subsequently employed as a journeyman in New 
 Haven, New York, Newburgh, N. Y., and New 
 Britain, Conn., and in 1886 purchased his brother's 
 shop in Southington, which he has since so success- 
 fully conducted, having built up a good business 
 and accumulated a nice property. He is the only 
 barber in Southington owning real estate. 
 
 On June 12, 1889, Mr. Heinrich married Miss 
 Anna Abel, a daughter of Albert and Theresa 
 (Magel) Abel, of Germany, and to them have been 
 born two children, Carl Jacob and George. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Heinrich are members of the Lutheran Church, 
 and he also belongs to Friendship Lodge, No. 33, 
 F. &' A. M., of Southington; Triune Chapter. No. 
 40, R. A. M. ; Temple Council, No. 32, R. & S. M. ; 
 and Eureka Lodge, No. 75, L O. O. F. Politically 
 he is a stanch Republican, and he takes a commend- 
 able interest in public affairs. 
 
 PHILO SLOCUM NEWTON, whose death 
 occurred at his home in. Hartford, May 2, 1891, 
 when he had reached the advanced age of eighty 
 years, was for man)- years one of Hartford's sub- 
 stantial men and esteemed citizens. 
 
 Mr. Newton was born March 29, 181 1, in the 
 town of Heath, Mass., son of Daniel and Lucy 
 (Maynard) Newton, and was descended from Co- 
 lonial families of New England. Richard Newton, 
 
 the emigrant ancestor of this branch of^i^he Newton 
 family, came from England and was at Sudbury,. 
 Mass., in 1640. He was one of the petitioners for 
 the town of Marlborough. In 1727, when the town 
 of Southborough was formed, his land fell in that 
 town where his descendants have generally lived- 
 He probably had two wives, Anne and Hannah. He 
 .died in 1701,- aged about one hundred years. 
 
 From this emigrant ancestor Philo S. Newton, 
 was a descendant in the seventh generation, his line 
 being through Moses, Moses (2), Elisha, Solomon 
 and Daniel Newton. 
 
 (II) Moses Newton, son of Richard the emi- 
 grant, born in 1646, married, in 1668, Johanna Lar- 
 kin, then called of Marlborough. She died in 1713,. 
 and he married (second), in 1714, Sarah Joslin, 
 who died in 1723. Mr. Newton was wounded in art 
 attack of the Indians in Marlborough in 1676. 
 
 (III) Moses Newton (2), son of Moses, horn 
 in 1669, married, in 1695, Sarah Howe. 
 
 (IV) Elisha Newton, son of Moses {-)• born 
 in 1701, married, in 1728, Sarah Tomlin, of West- 
 borough, but at that time called of Shrewsbury. 
 Each lived to be about ninety years of age. 
 
 (V) Solomon Newton, son of Elisha. born in 
 1741, married, in 1762, Hannah, datighter of Daniel 
 Plastings. She died in 1781, and he married (sec- 
 ond), in 1782, Lydia Hemingway, and died in 1822, 
 aged eighty-two years. Flis widow died in 1826, 
 aged seventy-nine years. 
 
 (VI) Daniel Newton, son of Solomon, and the 
 father of the late Philo S. Newton, of Hartford, 
 born April 13, 1776, married, in 1803. Lucy, daugh- 
 ter of Daniel A'laynard, who was a descendant of 
 Maj. Thomas Brown, of Sudbury, Mass., and a par- 
 ticipant in King- William's war. Daniel Newton 
 removed from Shrewsbury to Heath, Mass. Mrs. 
 Newton died in 18 18, and he returned with the chil- 
 dren, and married Dolly, widow of Moses Havens. 
 Mr. Newton died March 6, 1827. 
 
 Philo S. Newton, son of Daniel, and the subject 
 proper of this sketch, in 1818 was taken by his fa- 
 ther to Shrewsbury on his return to that town, and 
 there the son remained until twenty-three vears of 
 age, and in the meantime learned the trade of gun- 
 smithing. Subsequently he filled positions in his 
 line of work in the United States Armory at Spring- 
 field, Mass., and in 1840 superintended the manufac- 
 ture of firearms in the Wethersfield (Conn.) State 
 Prison, and there became greatly beloved by thosft 
 under his charge. Later he accepted a position in 
 the United States mint at New Orleans, which he 
 held for a time, then returned to Hartford, Conn,, 
 and on State street in that city, he began business as 
 a gunsmith. Shortly thereafter he changed his lo- 
 cation to Kinsley street, and there remained in busi- 
 ness for many years — until feeble health compelled 
 him to retire. 
 
 Mr. Newton was an excellent citizen, a man of 
 a quiet, gentle, kind disposition, of unassuming char- 
 acter and was highly respected. He was one of the 
 early members of the Putnam Phalanx, and later 
 
1560 
 
 COMMEMOKATWE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of the Governor's Foot Guard. In 1848, 1849 and 
 
 1850 he served as a member of the common council. 
 
 On Dec. i, 1841, Mr. Newton was married to 
 
 Elizabeth Anne Pelton, of \\'clliersficld, born Aug. 
 
 13, 1^22. .lano-litp r nf \ ,-ifli,nii \\ ". Peltiin. \v howaS 
 
 a" descendant in the seventh generation frunTiohn 
 Telton, a native of England, a descendant of the 
 Essex Peltons, and who came to Boston prior to 
 1634. which year his name is of record in Boston. 
 He was at Dorchester in 1635 and died in 1683. 
 Nathan W.'s line of descent from this John Pelton 
 was through Samuel, John (2), John (3), John 
 (_4) and William Pelton. 
 
 To the marriage of Philo S. Newton and Eliza- 
 beth A. Pelton were born Anna Coleman (Mrs. 
 Hawlev), of Hartford, and Philo Woodhouse, a 
 druggist and prominent business man of Hartford, 
 a sketch of whom appears on page 174. Of the 
 above named children. Anna Coleman married, 
 July S, 1868, George Fuller liawley, M. D. (a lin- 
 eal descendant of Joseph Hawley, of Stratford, 
 Conn.), and their only child was George Burton 
 Hawley. lx)rn May 14, 1869. 
 
 JABEZ HASKELL HAYDEN, retired manu- 
 facturer, Windsor Locks, Hartford county, Con- 
 
 :iccticut. 
 
 ISAAC BEECHER D.\\'TS. who died at his 
 home in Hartford April 9, 1895, was for many years 
 a leading citizen of that city, and in his career were 
 revealed the characteristics of his ])ioneer ancestry. 
 
 Bom in Oxford, Conn., .-\]iril 15. 1817. he was a 
 son of John Davis, of Chestnut-Tree Hill, Ox- 
 ford, and a grandson of Col. John Davis, of the 
 same town. His mother, whose maiden name was 
 Laura Riggs. was a daughter of John Riggs. of 
 Seymour. Connecticut. 
 
 Mr. Davis passed his boyhood at the old farm, 
 and at the age of seventeen went to New Haven 
 to learn the trade of a mason, engaging in teaching 
 during the winter months. In 1841 he located in 
 Seymour, Conn,, and entered into business as a 
 contractor and builder. In the fall of 1854 he went 
 to Syracuse, Ohio, as the agent of the Syracuse 
 Coal & Salt Co., and there spent over two years, 
 opening the mine and establishing the plant. Go- 
 ing thence to Cincinnati, Ohio, he remained there 
 till 1866. as the representative of the same com- 
 pany. The rapid advance in river freight rates, 
 at the beginning' of the Civil war, convinced him 
 that investments in steamboats on inland waters 
 were likely to prove highly profitable ; accordingly, 
 -with his friend, William A. Healy. he bought the 
 "Crescent City," which very soon afterward was 
 chartered by the government, and, encouraged by 
 the success of this undertaking, the two friends 
 built and handled manv boats. When Cincinnati 
 • was threatened bv Kirby Smith. Mr. Davis was 
 chosen to assist in the construction, of a pontoon 
 bridge across the Ohio river for the passage of our 
 troops. Owing to ill- health he returned to Con- 
 
 necticut, in 1866, and later took up his residence 
 in Hartford. 
 
 About 1872 Mr. Davis began the manufacture 
 of the Berryman Feed-Water Heater and Purifier, 
 a machine for utilizing the exhaust steam for heat- 
 ing the feed water before it enters the boilers, nearly 
 or quite to the boiling point, which otherwise would 
 enter cold. This device made it possible to use the 
 heat that before escaped into the air; it adds both 
 to the efficiency and life of the boiler, while it also 
 separates the impurities from the current in its 
 passage. Mr. Davis applied his inventive and me- 
 chanical gifts to the improvement of this machine, 
 designing certain special tools to facilitate its manu- 
 facture, and its commercial success affords the best 
 proof of the estimation in which it is held by users. 
 His fondness for building led him, partly as pas- 
 time, to erect many dwellings in Hartford, some 
 of them among the finest in the city. A few years 
 before his death he closed out his interest in the 
 manufacturing plant located on Cushman street 
 to his son John O. Davis, and retired from active 
 business. 
 
 Mr. Davis was married (first) at Trinity Church 
 in Seymour, Conn., to Miss Maria Ann Tucker, 
 daughter of S'heldon and Nancy Keeney Tucker, of 
 Seymour. His second marriage was in Hartford, 
 Conn., to Mrs. Josephine H. Kenyon, a lady of 
 Scottish ancestry. His children — Mary N., Lillie 
 Annie, John and John O. — were all by his first mar- 
 riage. 
 
 In politics Mr. Davis was a Republican. Strict 
 integrity, tireless energy and perseverance, and sa- 
 gacious judgment are some of the characteristics 
 that contributed to his success. 
 
 NATHAN HENRY ALLEN, organist, coiti- 
 poser and teacher of music, Hartford, is a native 
 of the New England States, born April 14, 1848, 
 in Marion, Mass., a son of Henry A'lanley and Ma- 
 tilda (Clark) Allen. The family is an old one 
 from Connecticut, and the name was formerly 
 spelled Allyn. 
 
 Henry M. Allen, father of the subject of this 
 sketch, was born m Rochester, Mass. (now Marion) 
 in May, 1809, a son of Joseph Allen, who was in 
 the coasting trade, and died at the age of seventv- 
 eight years. Henry M. always followed the sea, 
 his home being in Marion. Mass., and he com- 
 manded large packet ships for many years between 
 New York, London and Liverpool. He married 
 Matilda Clark, born in Pittsfield, Mass., in 1805, 
 a daughter of Nathan Clark, who was born in 1773- 
 To this union came five children, three of whom are 
 vet living: Mary E., John M. and Nathan H. 
 On his mother's side our subject was descended 
 from Henry Butler Bridgman, an Irish landed pro- 
 prietor, whose estate was located near Limerick, 
 Ireland; and was also descended from Thomas 
 Clark, who came to Plymouth in the ship "Anne" in 
 1623, and died in Plymouth, aged ninety-eig'ht. 
 Both parents died at the age of seventy-six years. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1561 
 
 and were members of the Congregational Church. 
 The father took much interest in the welfare of 
 his town and in the beautifying of its streets, many 
 of the handsome trees yet to be seen having been 
 planted through his influence. 
 
 N. H. Allen received a liberal education, in 
 part at the common schools of the place of his birth, 
 in part at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., which 
 instruction was supplemented with a two-years' 
 •course at Providence, R. I., chiefl-^' in music. In 
 1867 he went to Berlin, Germany, and there de- 
 "voted three years to the study of his chosen pro- 
 iession, returning in 1870 to America and settling 
 at New Bedford, Mass. Here he soon received 
 the appointment of organist of the Unitarian 
 ■Church in that city, and also commenced teaching 
 music. In 1878 he accepted the position of organ- 
 ist of the Park Church, Hartford, a position he 
 acceptably filled for two years, subsequently having 
 •charge, for three years, of the music at the Unde- 
 nominational services held in Cheney Hall, South 
 Jvlanchester, Conn., meanwhile teaching in Hartford. 
 In 1883 he was chosen organist of the Center 
 ■Church, Hartford, which incumbency he is yet filling 
 •with his well-known ability and skill. He is also 
 instructor in musical theory and lecturer at Mount 
 Holyoke College. Of the hundreds of pupils who 
 have passed under his tuition, many are now holding 
 positions in the profession, all over the country. 
 
 It is worthy of record that the success of Mr. 
 Allen's concerts and organ recitals has been marked, 
 and favorably commented on. For two years he 
 "\vas vice-president for Connecticut of the National 
 Music Teachers Association, and in 1890 he founded 
 the Connecticut State -Music Teachers Association. 
 In 1891, he organized the Musurgia Club, and he is 
 ■one of the original members of the New York Manu- 
 script Society, also of the American Guild of Organ- 
 ists, in addition to which he is a member of the New 
 York Clef Club. Without exception, Mr. Allen has 
 the largest music library in the city. As a composer 
 of music, including songs, anthems, cantatas, and 
 pieces for the piano and organ, numbering in all 
 ■several hundred, he is most prolific. Several of 
 his compositions are still in manuscript form, but 
 have already been successfully performed, and at 
 present he is engaged on a work covering the history 
 of music in Hartford county from the time of 
 Hooker down to the present. He has now been 
 teaching music since 1871, twenty-two years of 
 -svhich he has passed in Hartford. 
 
 In 1876 Prof. N. H. Allen Avas married to 
 "Elizabeth Mitchell JMacy, and two children have 
 heen born to them : Henrietta, deceased ; and 
 Henry Manley, who is engaged in business in 
 Boston. 
 
 GEORGE C. DUNHAM, who was city sur- 
 veyor of New Britain for several years, has had 
 an extended experience on the best railways of the 
 country as a civil engineer and in kindred positions, 
 and may be said to have brought to the service of 
 
 the city an ability and experience which are in- 
 valuable. He is a representative of one of the 
 oldest and best known families of Hartford county. 
 
 Mr. Dunham's ancestors for many generations 
 were successful and well-known farmers of the town 
 of Southington. In religious faith they were Con- 
 gregationalists. Of Scotch extraction originally, 
 the Dunham family exemplified the sterling traits 
 of thrift and good management in their business af- 
 fairs, which made them substantial and influential 
 citizens. Harvey Dunham, the great-grandfather 
 of our subject, was a native of the town of South- 
 ington, and at his death left four children — three 
 daughters and one son — namely: Rebecca, who mar- 
 ried Rodney Hart, of Southington ; Clarissa ; Eliza- 
 beth, who married a Mr. Bishop ; and Harvey, 
 grandfather of our subject. The last named mar- 
 ried Emma Cornwall, who bore him four children : 
 Angeline, who became the wife of Henry Dick- 
 inson, of Springfield, Mass. : Robert C. ; Truman : 
 and Elizabeth, who married George Loomis, of 
 Parkersburg, West Virginia. 
 
 Robert C. Dunham, the father of our subject, 
 was born in Southington, in 1828. He was a life- 
 long farmer, and being methodical, careful and in- 
 dustrious, he was successful in his unostentatious 
 career. In manner he was quiet, but his convic- 
 tions were strong, and his opinions were held in 
 high esteem in the community. He was a regular 
 attendant at the Congregational Church, and he 
 devoted much of his time to general reading. 
 From 1858 to 1875, in connection with his farming, 
 he conducted the "Shuttle Meadow Lake House." 
 At one time he owned nearly the entire flowage of 
 the New Britain water supply. He married Jo- 
 sephine Park, who was born in 1830, daughter of 
 Chauncev Park, of Gill, Mass., and to them were 
 born five children : George Cornwall, subject of 
 these lines, born Feb. 22, 1856: WiUiam M., born 
 in 1858, a farmer living on the old homestead; 
 Frederick P., born in i860, a traveling salesman ; 
 Minnie J., born in 1862, wife of E. G. Lewis, a boot 
 and shoe merchant and the town clerk of South- 
 ington ; and Julia E.. born in 1864, wife of L. O. 
 Sheppard, of Plantsville, Conn., a contractor for 
 the Peck, Stow & Wilcox Company. 
 
 George C. Dunham was educatecl in the public 
 schools of New Britain, from which he was gradu- 
 ated in 1872, under John H. Peck, one of the oldest 
 educators of the locality. In the fall of 1873 he 
 entered Yale College, and taking the scientific 
 course he was graduated in 1876. During his 
 Freshman year he received the prize for drafting 
 in a large class. After graduation, in 1877, he 
 entered the service of the Lake Shore & Michigan 
 Southern Railway Co., as assistant roadmaster at 
 Stoneboro, Penn., continuing in that capacity until 
 1882, when be returned to New Britain, and there 
 for four years engaged in his profession as a civil 
 engineer. He then accepted the position of road- 
 master on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern 
 road at Stoneboro, whence in' the spring of 1887 
 
1562 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he was transferred to Cleveland, Ohio, as assistant 
 engineer of the Lake Snore division. He served 
 as engineer of the division from July i, 1887, to 
 Nov. I, 1888, and then continued as assistant en- 
 gineer until November, 1889, when he was trans- 
 ferred to Norwalk, Ohio, with the position of road- 
 master. That position he resigned in December, 
 1892, to become chief engineer of the Calumet & 
 Blue Island road, with office at South Chicago, 111. 
 Remaining with this company until July i. 1894, 
 Mr. Dunham resigned and returned to New Britain 
 to re-engage in his profession as civil engineer, and 
 in 1897 he was elected city surveyor of New 
 liritain, being the second official surveyor of the 
 city. In politics Mr. Dunham is a Republican, but 
 in his office is non-partisan. His success as an en- 
 gineer has been marked, and is due, at least par- 
 tially, to his keen insight into and thorough mas- 
 tery of all the details of the profession. Fraternal- 
 ly he is a member of Harmony Lodge. F. & A. !M., 
 New Bedford, and of Marshall Chapter, Elvria, 
 Ohio. 
 
 Mr. Dunham was married, Sept. 8, 1880, to 
 Lottie K. Davis, of Stoneboro, Penn., daughter of 
 Adam and Sarah Davis. Mr. and Mrs. Dunham 
 have Ijeen blessed with five ciiildren : Bertha E., 
 born July 3, 1881 ; Robert A., Iiorn Oct. 21, 1882; 
 Edna B., lx)rn Oct. 27, 1885; Charles X., born Oct. 
 24, 1887, died Feb. 11, 1889: and Ruth M.. born 
 May 27, 1897. 
 
 COL. WILLIAM N. WOODRUFF, who died 
 at his home in Hartford March 3. 1899, was one 
 of the most highly-esteemed residents of that city, 
 gaining in a long and honorable career as a busi- 
 ness man the respect of his many acc|uaintanes, and 
 the warm regard of a host of friends. 
 
 Col. W'oodruff was born June 23, 1847. in 
 Orange, N. J., son of Moses and Sarah W'oodruflf, 
 and came of an excellent family. He was related to 
 Gov. Ogden, of New Jersey. Our subject was ed- 
 ucated in the public schools of Newark, and at the 
 Flushing Institute, Flushing, L. I. In t86i he be- 
 gan the study of law in the office of ex-Gov. Pen- 
 nington of New Jersey, at Newark, hut after an 
 experience of one year abandoned his studies, ai 
 he believed the law was not suited to his tastes. 
 Soon afterward he apprenticed himself to -the ma- 
 chinist's trade. On completing his apprenticeship, 
 in 1875, he came to Hartford to find employment. 
 At the depot he met Mr. Whitney, of the Pratt & 
 Whitney Co., asked him where there was a machine 
 shop, and Mr. Whitney pointed in the direction of 
 his own. When I\Ir. Woodruff reached the shop 
 he found ]\Ir. Whitney there. The latter took a lik- 
 ing to the young man, and he became a contractor 
 after working a vear and a half. He was the young- 
 est contractor then, and at his death was the oldest, 
 having been with the establishment thirty-three 
 years. At the time of his death he had ninety men, 
 two foremen and a bookkeeper in his employ. He 
 was the inventor of the Woodruff kev, used in 
 
 machinery, and he made a trip to Europe in the 
 interest of his invention, for which he was awarded 
 a number of medals at institutes in Boston and 
 New York, and the John Scott medal of Philadel- 
 phia, Pennsylvania. 
 
 Col. Woodruff was a Mason, belonging to Wash- 
 ington Commandery, Knights Templar, to the Hart- 
 ford Lodge of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, and 
 (as an honorary member) the Putnam Phalanx. 
 In earl}- life he was a Republican, but when Gen> 
 Grant became a candidate for a third term he affili- 
 ated with the Democratic party. For some time he 
 served as an aide-de-camp on the staff of Gov. 
 Waller, and he was an honorary member of the 
 Connecticut National Guard. 
 
 In 1884 Col. Woodruff' married Miss Carrie E.- 
 Sharp, born in Newtown, Fairfield Co., Conn.,, 
 daughter of Minot F. and Jane Hawkins Sharp. 
 Her father, who is now living in Fairfield county,. 
 was a son of Thomas J. Sharp, and her ancestors^ 
 were among the prominent pioneers of that county. 
 The family is of English origin, and they trace their 
 descent from two brothers that came over in the 
 "Mayflower." Archbishop Thomas Sharp, of Lon- 
 don, England, one of their ancestors, is buried in 
 Westminster Abbey. 
 
 DOMINICK FLYNN, town of East Hartford,. 
 Hartford county, Connecticut. 
 
 NORMAN ALBERT HOOKER, .of New 
 Haven and Berlin, secretary of the carriage manu- 
 facturing concern of Henry Hooker & Co., New 
 Haven, is a direct descendant of Rev. Thomas 
 Hooker, the first minister of Hartford and the 
 founder of the Colony of Connecticut- 
 Henry Hooker, the father of Norman Albert. 
 was born Sept. 20, 1809, in the parish of Kensing- 
 ton, town of Berlin, Conn., son of Saxie Hooker, a 
 well-to-do farmer of that town who commanded the 
 respect and esteem of the community in which he 
 lived. Henry- when a boy assisted in the farm work 
 in season and attended the neighborhood schools in 
 the winters. At an early age he was apprenticed 
 to Norman \Yarner, of Kensington, to learn carriage 
 painting and finishing. After completing his trade 
 and spending a short time in jts pursuit at Savan- 
 nah, Ga., he returned East and, associated with a 
 Mr. Hubbell, began the manufacture of carriages in 
 New Haven, under the firm name of Hooker & 
 Hubbell. This business was carried on under sev- 
 eral changes in the firm until 1855 when Mr. Hooker 
 opened a carriage repository in New Orleans under 
 the name of J. H. Lum & Co., entering later into 
 partnership with Blackman and Randall, which part- 
 nership extended until about 1861. In January, 
 1863, Mr. Hooker, with Edwin Marble, James 
 Brewster and Leverett Candee, purchased the busi- 
 ness of the fimi of G. D. Cook & Co., of New Haven, 
 and the business was carried on under the name of 
 Hooker. Candee & Co., until the death of Mr. Can- 
 dee in 1865, when the firm name was changed to 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1563 
 
 Henry Hooker & Co. In 1868 the concern became 
 a joint-stock company with a capital of $200,000, of 
 which company Henry Hooker was made president, 
 and he lield that oiifice to the satisfaction of his as- 
 sociates, and witli great success, until his death in 
 October, 1873, the company becoming in the mean- 
 time one of the largest carriage manufactories in 
 this country. Few men in this country did more to 
 promote any one branch of industry than did Mr. 
 Hooker in the carriage business. He was of an 
 inventive turn of mind, understood thoroughly the 
 practical part of the business, and beginning when 
 it was in its infancy he persevered, was c|uick to see 
 the merits of new ideas and to adopt them. He 
 was broad minded and ever ready to adopt any and 
 all improvements whether of his own device or not 
 so long as they proved good and to the advance- 
 ment of the carriage business. His name in con- 
 nection with carriage manufacturing and building 
 is known all over the civilized world. 
 
 For years Henry Hooker was one of the direct- 
 ors of the Tradesmens National Bank of New Haven 
 and a director of the Winchester Arms Company. 
 His religious connections were with the Trinity Epis- 
 copal Church in New Haven. He had no taste for 
 politics, rather shrank from notoriety of any kind, 
 but on the reverse was domestic in his tastes, loved 
 home, where his heart was centered. He was of a 
 kind and generous disposition, ever ready to assist 
 the unfortunate. 
 
 In 1840, Mr. Hooker was married to Miss Char- 
 lotte Lum, and to them were born two sons, Frank 
 H. and Norman Albert, both of whom for years 
 were in- one way or another associated with the 
 father in his business. Frank H. Hooker died in 
 1900. 
 
 Norman Albert Hooker, the subject proper of 
 this sketch, was born in New Haven, Aug. 17, 1848, 
 and practically speaking grew up in the business of 
 his father. After the death of the latter he with his 
 older brother retained the father's interest in the 
 business, and has remained identified with it 
 through all of the intervening years, the brother 
 only recently dying (as stated in the foregoing) in 
 1900. 
 
 Our subject retains a residence in Berlin, a prop- 
 erty that has been in the family for several genera- 
 tions, it formerly belonging to his great-grandfather, 
 though the house has since imdergone various im- 
 provements and is now a beautiful and commodious 
 summer home. Mr. Hooker has served as presi- 
 dent of the Berlin Agricultural Society. He was 
 one of the charter members of the Farmington 
 Country Club, and has served as its president. At 
 this writing he is president of the Berlin Board of 
 Trade ; and he is a member of the Ouinnipiac Club 
 of New Haven. Politically he has always been a 
 Democrat, though in 1896 he voted for sound money. 
 Himself and wife ' are members of the Episcopal 
 Church at New Britain. 
 
 On Nov. II. 1869, Mr. Hooker was married to 
 Anna Louise Newton, of Lockport, N. Y., and to 
 
 this union have come children as follows : Henry,, 
 who was graduated from Yale College in 1896, is 
 associated in business with his father ; and Caroline 
 N. is still in school, now attending a ladies semi- 
 nary in New Haven. 
 
 HENRY FISHER, a well known resident of 
 East Glastonbury, has held a responsible position 
 in Crosby & Co.'s mills for many years, and is now 
 their oldest employe in point of service. His long 
 term of service gives proof of the esteem in which 
 he is held by the" firm, and by his reliability and in- 
 dustry he has won the esteem of his associates. 
 
 Frederick Fisher, the father of our subject, 
 was born in Saxe Weimar, Germany, in 1812, and 
 was reared to farm work, attending school only 
 until the age of fourteen, as was required by law. 
 In 1857 he came to the United States with his 
 family, the voyage between Bremen and New York 
 lasting eight weeks. On his arrival he came to 
 Hartford by boat, and then made his way to East 
 Glastonbury, where he purchased a farm of George 
 Fogil. Soon afterward he sold tnat property, and 
 in 1863 he bought a farm from Sira Bennett, and 
 there he spent his remaining years, bis death oc- 
 curring May 6, 1889. His wife, Elizabeth Fear, 
 who was also a native of Saxe Weimar, is also 
 deceased, and the remains of both are interred at 
 East Glastonbury. Of their six children, five were 
 born in Germany. Frederick, a farmer in Glaston- 
 bury, married a Miss Smith; Elizabeth died in 
 Germany; Henry was the third in order of birth; 
 George died young ; John died in infancy ; Elizabeth, 
 the only one born in America, died in childhood. 
 
 Our subject was born Dec. 18, 1847, and was 
 ten years old when he came to America. He at- 
 tended the common schools in Germany and Amer- 
 ica and leaving school at the age of thirteen entered 
 the mill of Crosby & Co., in East Glastonbury. He 
 began in the card-room as a weaver, later became 
 watchman, and in 1874 was given a position in the 
 machine shop. He has charge of all the machine work 
 and does all repair work, being a thorough me- 
 chanic. He has been industrious and frugal, and 
 owns a farm which is operated by his son George 
 C, of whom mention is made farther on. In addi- 
 tion to his labors in the mill he does work on the 
 farm, while his wife, to whom he gives much of the 
 credit of his success, is an industrious and helpful 
 housewife. They keep several cows, and supply 
 many of the factory employes with milk. At the 
 time of his father's death, the farm was encumbered, 
 but Mr. Fisher now has paid every obligation and 
 saved monev besides. Politically he is a strong 
 Republican, but has never held office; in religious 
 faith he is identified with the Methodist Church 
 at East Glastonbury; socially he belongs to Elk 
 Lodge, No. 53, I. O. O. F., at Glastonbury. 
 
 On Feb. 12, 1870, Mr. Fisher was married to 
 Miss Anna Pitcher, who was born March 18, 1847, 
 in Saxe AVeimar, Germany, and came to the 
 United States in 1869. They have three children: 
 
1564 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ( I ) Elizabeth married George W. Wilson, a weaver 
 in Crosby's mills, and they have three children, 
 Mildred E., Eva A., and Doris F. (2) Frederick 
 H.. a resident of Hartford, married Mary Wilson, 
 and has one child, Ethel Marie. (3) George C., 
 torn September 6, 1876, attended the Neipsic dis- 
 trict school until the age of fifteen, and has since 
 been engaged at farming on the homestead, which 
 he now manages; in the spring of 1899 he bought 
 a steam sawmill, capable of sawing ten cords of 
 wood daily, and he has a good business in sawing 
 stove wood. In politics he is a Republican, and 
 he is a prominent member of the Grange. 
 
 PROF. HENRY R. :\IONTEITH, prominent 
 as an educator in the State of Connecticut, is a na- 
 tive of Vermont, born at Mclndoes Falls, where 
 his father, and grandfather before him. had ac- 
 quired a high place in the lumbering world, being 
 for many years identified with the firm of Brewer, 
 Gilclirist & Co. 
 
 Our subject was given every advantage in the 
 way of an education. The academy of his native 
 town aftorded him a good preliminary training and 
 fitted him for college. In 1869 he was graduated 
 from Dartmouth College, and then entered upon 
 his life's work, that of teaching. Until 1878 he 
 ■was engaged in his chosen calling in New York, 
 and while in that citv he studied law under the 
 able direction of E. Delafield .Smith. In 1876 he 
 was admitted to the Bar. and the vear he resigned 
 Jiis position as instructor in New York (1878) he 
 returned to Caledonia county, \'emiont, and was 
 there admitted to the Bar. but the following year 
 he accepted the principalship of the Unionville high 
 schools, in Farmington, Hartford county, which he 
 resigned only to accept the chair of English. His- 
 tory, Civics and Algebra in a college, The fresh- 
 man and Sophomore classes will be more directly 
 tmder his charge, and. judging from the past, it is 
 only safe to say that his success is assured. 
 
 In 1873, ^J^i". Monteith was united in marriage 
 •with Miss Ella Ryder. 
 
 CURTIS C. COOK, secretary of the Hart- 
 ford Electric Light Co., though so prominently 
 identified with one of the most important indus- 
 tries of Hartford, is one of the youngest busuiess 
 men in that city, and his is a record of wonderful 
 success attained solely by indefatigable industry and 
 force of merit. 
 
 Mr. Cook was born ^^larch 4, 1874, in Hart- 
 ford, son of John Cook, a native of jMiddletown, 
 this State, who was reared in the localitv of his 
 "birth, and received his education in the common 
 schools. On coming to Hartford he opened a mar- 
 ket in Church street, which he conducted a number 
 of years, eventuallv selling out to J. P. Newton. 
 From that time until his death he lived retired, 
 passing away at the age of sixty-one years. He 
 married Lucy A. Alexander, born in Portland, Conn., 
 who survives him, living in Hartford, and thev had 
 
 five children, four of whom are yet living; Charles 
 C, who is mentioned below ; Carlysle, who is 
 a collector for the Hartford Electric Light Co. (he 
 is a thirty-second degree Mason); John W. ; and 
 Curtis C. Mrs. Cook was the adopted daughter 
 of a Mr. Pratt, who had a large family, two now 
 surviving ; John ; and Sarah, Mrs. Woadrufl:, 
 whose husband was formerly ticket agent in Hart- 
 ford. 
 
 Cii.\ur,E.s C. Cook, son of John Cook, and 
 brother of Curtis C. Cook, of this article, received 
 his education in the schools of Hartford. Later he 
 became associated in business with the late Jo'hn 
 C. Mead, a prominent builder of Hartford, and on 
 the death of Mr. Mead became associated with a 
 I\Ir. Hapgood. Since then Mr. Cook has for some 
 years continued in business alone, and so active and 
 energetic has he been as a contractor and builder 
 that he has become widely and favorably known. 
 Up to 1893 he resided in Hartford, but since has 
 been a resident of West Hartford, where he 'has 
 become prominent in public affairs, and has been 
 especially interested in the finances of the town. 
 Since i8y8 he has very acceptably filled the deli- 
 cate position of first assessor, and used every ef- 
 fort to make possible a ten-mill tax that was voted 
 in September, 1900. He is on a refunding commit- 
 tee having as its object the refunding of the town's 
 debt of over $160,000 at a low rate of interest. Mr. 
 Cook is vice-president of the Southern New 
 England Paving Co., a director of the ^tna In- 
 demnity Co., and the Kellogg & Bulkeley Co., 
 and has large interests in several other corporations. 
 He is a stanch and active Republican, and on Oct. 
 24, 1900, was made, without a dissenting vote, at 
 the West Hartford Republican convention the 
 nominee of that party for representative from that 
 town to the General Assembly, of which body he 
 is now a member. 
 
 Curtis C. Cook received his education in the com- 
 mon schools and the Hartford Public High School. 
 and commenced his business career as accountant 
 for the E. S. Kibbee Co., wholesale grocers, with 
 whom he remained three years. His connection with 
 the Electric Light Co. dates from Nov. 9, 1892, 
 when he became first assistant accountant of the 
 concern, holding that position until he was made 
 secretary, on Sept. 30, 1899. Mr. Cook is also 
 treasurer of the Hartford Power Co. His respons- 
 ible connection with so important a concern speaks 
 more highly than words of his efficiency and busi- 
 ness ability, the Hartford Electric Light Co. priding 
 itself on having the finest plant in the country, 
 completely equipped and in splendid running or- 
 der. All the details of the management are most 
 admirably arranged, and the smooth and success- 
 ful operation of the plant is due to the able men at 
 the Iiead of the company, among whom Mr. Cook 
 occupies no inconspicuous place. He has attained 
 a position in the business world which many an 
 older man might well envy. 
 
 On Dec. 23, 1897, Mr. Cook was united in mar- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1565 
 
 riage with Miss Georgia L. Gates, a native of Hart- 
 ford, daugiiter of Julian Gates, who for many years 
 was connected with the Hartford post office. Mr. 
 Gates was the father of two children, twins. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Cook have had one child, Madeline. They 
 are well known socially, and Mr. Cook is a member 
 of the Hartford Yacht Club. 
 
 JUDGE HARRISON BELKNAP FREEMAN, 
 lawyer, judge of probate for the Hartford district, 
 owing to his long service in the position he now oc- 
 cupies is well and favorably known to the people of 
 Hartford and Hartford county. 
 
 Judge Freeman was born in Hartford Sept. 5, 
 1838, son of Horace and Eliza (Belknap) Freeman. 
 He was graduated from Yale College in the class of 
 1862, studied law at the Hartford Law School and 
 in the office of Edward Goodman, and was admitted 
 to the Bar in Hartford county in 1864. From 1871 
 to 1874 he served by appointment as judge of the 
 city police court. He was elected to his present 
 office in 1887. 
 
 On June i, 1864, Judge Freeman was married 
 to Frances Hall Bill, born July 31, 1839, daughter 
 of Erastus and Phoebe (Rood) Bill, of Hartford. 
 Mrs. Freeman is a descendant in the eighth gen- 
 eration from John Bill, who is of record as at 
 Boston, Mass., in 1638, the year of his death, her 
 line being through Philip (of England, Ipswich, 
 Mass., and New London, Conn., in i668), John 
 (2) (who went with his father to New London, and 
 was later of Lebanon), Lieut. James (who was born, 
 lived and died in Lebanon), Deacon James (of Leb- 
 anon and Chatham), Erastus, and Erastus Bill (2). 
 
 To the marriage of Judge Freeman and his wife 
 have been born : Bertha, Fannie and Harrison B. 
 The last named was born Aug. 22, 1869, in Hart- 
 ford. He was graduated from the Hartford Pub- 
 lic High School, and entered Yale College, from 
 which he was graduated in 1892. He studied law 
 in the office of Charles J. Cole, and with the class of 
 1894 at Yale Law School. He was admitted to 
 the Bar in Hartford county in 1894. 
 
 HON. RICHARD DUDLEY HUBBARD. In 
 the death of Mr. Hubbard, at his residence in Hart- 
 ford, Feb. 28, 1884, there passed away a distin- 
 guished son of Connecticut, one who at that time 
 was the acknowledged head of the Bar of the State. 
 
 Mr. Hubbard was born Sept. 7, 1818, in the 
 town of Berlin, Hartford Co., Conn., of humble 
 origin, and was early left an orphan, with means 
 barely sufficient for his education. He passed his 
 boyhood in East Hartford. He was graduated from 
 Yale College in 1839, less noted for scholarship in 
 his class than he afterward became in the legal 
 profession, but, as he himself said, he paid partic- 
 ular attention. to belles-lettres and oratory. Imme- 
 diately after his graduation he commenced the study 
 of law with the late William Hungerford, and was 
 admitted to the Bar in 1842. He was State's attor- 
 ney during the terms 1847-1854 and 1857-1869. A 
 
 Democrat in politics, he was not a partisan, and his 
 patriotism was conspicuous during the period of the 
 Civil war. In 1867 he was elected to Congress by 
 the Democratic party, but found political life at 
 Washington very little to his taste, and at the end 
 of his term declined a re-nomination. In 1876 he 
 was elected by the same party governor of the State, 
 being the first to serve under the two-years term. 
 To the discharge of the duties of this office he 
 brought great intelligence, an earnest desire to pro- 
 mote the public welfare, and an absence of partisan 
 feeling. In his first message he called the attention 
 of the Legislature, in very strong language, to the 
 injustice done to women by the antiquated law 
 governing their property rights in marriage, and 
 under his supervision the act of 1877, making a 
 radical change in the property relations of husband 
 and wife, and based upon the principle of equality, 
 was drafted and passed. 
 
 It was, however, in the field of the law that Gov. 
 Hubbard won his great success. Here he became 
 a foremost figure in the public eye. He was not 
 only the first, lawyer in the State, but its greatest 
 orator. His superiority as a lawyer was owing less 
 to a laborious study of books, though he was always 
 a diligent student and very thorough in the prepara- 
 tion of his cases, than to his perfect comprehension 
 of legal principles. He had obtained a complete 
 mastery of the science of the law. He would detect 
 the slightest swerving from its harmony as a fine 
 ear would detect the least discord in music. He had 
 strong common sense, by which he tested every- 
 thing. But with the soundest of judgments he 
 united the greatest quickness of apprehension and 
 brilliancy of imagination; with apparently unlim- 
 ited grasp of mind, a rare fineness of discrimina- 
 tion. He was, however, never led astray by a fond- 
 ness for legal casuistry, and he had no relish, and 
 but little respect, while yet fully understanding 
 them, for the mere technicalities of the law. His 
 mind was eminently a philosophical one, and found 
 recreation in the study of philosophical systems and 
 abstract speculation, nothing interesting him more 
 than the great mysteries and baffling questions of 
 life. 
 
 As an orator Mr. Hubbard was best known to 
 the general public. His success here was of course 
 attributable in large measures to great natural pow- 
 ers; but he had improved these by a good classical 
 education, and by the superadded scholarly culture 
 of a lifelong familiarity with the ancient and mod- 
 ern classics. Indeed, it was this culture that gave 
 to his oratory its special charm. With no attempt at 
 rhetorical display, with never an impassioned de- 
 livery but a special quietness of manner, he yet had 
 an exquisiteness of thought, a fertility of imag- 
 ination, and a power and grace of expression that 
 made his addresses on every occasion captivat- 
 ing to his hearers; while his more studied efforts 
 were worthy of any orator of any age. Some of his 
 addresses at meetings of the Bar, called to pay 
 tributes to deceased members, have been remarka- 
 
1566 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ble for their beauty. That upon WilHam Hunger- 
 ford, who had been be3ond any other man in the 
 State the representative of the ancient school of 
 Enghsh lawyers, and who died in extreme old age 
 in 1873, is one of the finest pieces of comixjsition 
 that the English language has ever known. 
 
 Mr. Hubbard lacked ambition ; he had no fond- 
 ness for appearing before the puljlic ; no desire for 
 office or honor. Even for the law, in which he 
 won so great triumphs, lie felt no great enthusiasm. 
 He loved the quiet of his library, and the company 
 at table and fireside of cultivated and congenial 
 friends. In all this he was somewhat too ready to 
 seek his ease, but he rose up manfully to meet the 
 demands of any clear public duty. His integrity 
 was more than uiniuestioncd ; it had the emphatic 
 endorsement of the whole public. In social life 
 he was the most charming of companions, with a 
 sparkling wit and rare conversational powers, and 
 a faculty of bringing to his service and to the en- 
 tertainment of his friends (|uaint passages of humor 
 and of wisdom from the old English writers. In 
 every position in life he was facile [<rinccps. 
 
 JOHX DEAN BRUWXE, president of the 
 Connecticut Fire Insurance Co., Hartford, is a na- 
 tive of New England, born in 1836 in the town of 
 I'iainfiekl, \\"in(lham Co., Connecticut. 
 
 John Browne, his grandfather, was a patriot 
 of the Revolution, as were also two of the latter's 
 brothers, all Windham county men, where their 
 ancestors had lived for .generations, and of that 
 sturdy type of men and women who were equal to 
 the conditions and emergencies of the times in 
 which they lived. Gurdon P. and Esther (Dean) 
 Browne, our subject's parents, were plain, unassum- 
 ing farming people, industrious and frugal, resi- 
 dents of the old Browne homestead, where still live 
 their posterity, the fifth generation of the family 
 to occupy it. They reared their children in habits 
 of industry Lad frugality, and by precept and ex- 
 ample inculcated in them those principles of robust 
 morality and patriotism in which they themselves 
 had been trained, and which were striking charac- 
 teristics of their ancestry. Gurdon P. Browe, too, 
 was a school teacher of the old type, beginnmg his 
 profession at seventeen, following it through thirty- 
 six winters. He was an ardent Democrat of the 
 Old School, always performing his duties* as a pa- 
 triotic citizen, and voting at every election in his 
 town until the very close of his long and useful 
 life, at the advanced age of eighty-three vears. His 
 \\-ife was a woman of rare qualities and Christian 
 virtues, deeply solicitous for the spiritual and in- 
 tellectual culture of her children. She passed awav 
 at the age of eighty-seven years. 
 
 President Browne, reared amid agricultural pur- 
 suits among the rugged hills of New England, and 
 in the atmosphere that pervaded the home of such 
 parents, imbibed a spirit of independence and self- 
 reliance that developed the man he came to be — 
 foremost among the men of insurance in the pro- 
 
 fession. Such environments of his boyhood were 
 favorable to the formation of correct habits and a 
 manly character, and promotive of tlve best develop- 
 ment of the natural gifts which he had inherited 
 from a long line of sturdy and honorable ancestors. 
 His youthful life was passed on the farm, alternat- 
 ing between attendance at the district school and 
 work on the farm. At nineteen he taught one of 
 the schools of his native town. The great North- 
 west offered greater inducements to young men 
 than the home State then gave, and in 1857 young 
 Browne located in the then far away Territory of 
 Minnesota, forming a connection with the Minne- 
 aix>lis Mill Co., his location there being the result 
 of a visit made to that locality in 1855. He re- 
 mained two years with this company, and then 
 went to Little Falls, a town at that period of a few 
 hundred inhabitants, located on the Mississippi 
 river, passing a year as director and agent of the 
 Little Falls Manufacturing Co. Here he aided 
 in the development of the great water "power of 
 that section, which has since become so usefi:I and 
 valuable, as he did also at Minneapolis. 
 
 From 1857 to 1865, during the years of his ca- 
 reer in the North Star State, young Browne was 
 actively prominent in the affairs of the Territory 
 and State. He aided in organizing the Republican 
 party in 1855, and held intimate relations with the 
 dominant part}' at the National Capital throughout 
 the administration of President Lincoln, for whose 
 election he had been an enthusiastic and effective 
 worker. He was often a delegate to county and 
 State conventions, and was chosen an alternate dele- 
 gate to the National Republican Convention which 
 nominated j\Ir. Lincoln. His Republicanism was 
 known to be of the most pronounced type, and his 
 political activitv and enthusiasm constituted him an 
 important factor in all the councils of his party 
 during the greater portion of the eight years cov- 
 ered bv his residence in Minnesota. At the close 
 of the Presidential campaign, in the autumn of 
 i860, Mr. Browne was elected messenger to take 
 the first electoral vote of Minnesota to Washington, 
 in which city he remained during the succeeding 
 winter, having been appointed to a desk in the In- 
 terior Department at the Capital under Joe Wil- 
 son, then commissioner of the General Land Office. 
 He returned to Minnesota in the spring of 1861, 
 and for four years, during Lincoln's administration, 
 was chief clerk in the office of the surveyor-general 
 of public lands at St. Paul, to which city the office 
 had been recently removed from Detroit. 
 
 Returning East in 1865, Mr. Browne one year 
 later entered the work of insurance, becomins' per- 
 manently connected with the Hartford Fire Insur- 
 ance Co. as its general agent and adjuster. In 
 1870 he was chosen secretary of that company, in 
 the duties of which office he was engaged for ten 
 years, or until called to the presidency of the Con- 
 necticut Fire, in 1880, in which incumbency he 
 still continues. It is but just to Mr. Browne to say 
 that since his elevation to its chief executive office 
 
 
v^ K^ J.fj. j.rj. jUflrx v^jivz^^ J. y 
 
 x>i v-f \J -iv.f ii A ± ± \^ ^ x^ 
 
 ivj^v^ \^ lv±^ , 
 
 the Connecticut has abundantly maintained its high 
 j^tanding among the sohd and prosperous institu- 
 tions of its class in this insurance centre, while its 
 progressive tendenc}' is illustrated in the figiu-es fol- 
 lowing. In 1880 the premium income of the Con- 
 necticut Fire was $507,871, the assets $1,636,382; 
 in the year ending Jan. i, 1898, the premium in- 
 ■come was $1,668,232, assets $3-559,357; premium 
 income Jan. i, 1900, $1,872,144.34. During this 
 period the semi-annual dividend, regularly paid, 
 amounted to $1,500,000; in 1900 it was $1,750,000. 
 The handsome building, at the corner of Prospect 
 and Grove streets, was largely the result of Presi- 
 dent, Browne's planning and taste. 
 
 President Browne sustains official relations with 
 a number of business and social organizations in 
 Hartford. He is a director in the Phoenix Mutual 
 Life Insurance Co., the National Exchange Bank, 
 the Board of United Charities, the Hartford Board 
 of Trade, and Retreat for the Insane, is a member 
 of the Historical Society, and of the Sons of the 
 American Revolution. He is president of the Hart- 
 ford Charitable Society, and of the Connecticut 
 Humane Society. Socially he is a quiet courteous 
 gentleman. Politically Mr. Browne has for some 
 years been rather independent. He advocated the 
 election of President Cleveland, and believed in his 
 administration. 
 
 On Oct. 23, 1861, Mr. Browne was married to 
 Frances, daughter of Luther Cleveland, of Plain- 
 field, Conn. She died in 1893, leaving two daugh- 
 ters, Alice C. and Virginia F., the former being 
 the wife of Francis R. Cooley, son of Hon. Francis 
 B. Cooley, of Hartford. 
 
 CHARLES R. BURT, secretary of the Con- 
 necticut Fire Insurance Co. of Hartford, was born 
 March 4, 1845, in Hartford, son of Richard S. and 
 Maija A. (Boardman) Burt. While yet in his 
 'teens young Burt began an active conection 
 "with the local agency of the Connecticut Fire In- 
 surance Co. In 1865 he entered the office of the 
 company as clerk. In December, 1867, he was made 
 assistant secretar_y, and in January, 1873, secretary 
 of the company, a position he has since held. He 
 is an active member of what was the Pearl Street 
 ■Congregational Church, having been some )'ears a 
 deacon, and superintendent of the Sunday-school. 
 
 On Oct. 5, 1871, Mr. Burt was married to So- 
 phia Matilda Sill, of Middletown, Conn., who was 
 more than twenty years the lady superintendent of 
 the Sunday-school, and is a valued assistant in 
 many branches of charitable work in Hartford. 
 The)^ bave no children. 
 
 JUDGE AVILLIAM HAMERSLEY was born 
 in Hartford Sept. 9, 1838, a son of the late Hon. 
 William James Hamersley, who was for many years 
 a distinguished resident of the city. 
 
 Judge Hamersley was a pupil at the old Gram- 
 
 tiar School, afterward at the High School, and 
 
 ■entered Trinity College with the class of 1854, but 
 
 left during his Senior year to begin his legal studies 1 
 in the office of Welch & Shipman. He was ad- ' 
 mitted to the Bar in 1859, and in 1863 was elected a 
 member of the court of common council, later was 
 vice-president of the board, and president during 
 1867 and 1868. He also held the position of city 
 attorney, resigning in 1868 to accept the position 
 of State's attorney for Hartford county. He held 
 this office for twenty years. In 1886 he repre- 
 sented the town of Hartford in the legislature, serv- 
 ing on the Judiciary and Federal Relations' com- 
 mittees. He was again a member of the House 
 in 1893, but resigned during the session to take the 
 position of judge of the superior court, holding, 
 same until Jan. 14, 1894, when he was advanced to 
 to the Bench of the supreme court. 
 
 Judge Hamersley was one of the founders of 
 the Connecticut State Bar Association, and, with ' 
 Richard W. Hubbard and Simeon E. Baldwin, con- 
 stituted the committee of that Association through 
 whose initiatory efforts the American Bar Associa- 
 tion was founded. He was one of the original 
 promoters of civil procedure reform in this State, 1 
 and a member of the Commission that drafted the 
 Practice Act, and the rules and forms of procedure 
 adopted by the court for giving due effect to its 
 provisions ; he was also an early and active promoter 
 of the reform in the jury system in Connecticut, ' 
 
 L. WALTER CLARK, who has served most 
 efficiently as assistant secretary of the Connecticut : 
 Fire Insurance Co. of Hartford since 1881, is an 
 insurance man of thirty-five years' experience, and. 
 it is needless to say, is well-known in insurance 
 circles. 
 
 Mr. Clark was born in the town of Cornwall, 
 Conn., and entered the insurance field in 1865 as 
 special agent for the Home Insurance Co. of^^ 
 New Haven, Conn. Shortly before the Chicago " 
 fire of 1 87 1 he took the vice-presidency of the En- 
 terprise Insurance Co. of Philadelphia, which went 
 down throng*!! losses incurred by the calamity. Af- 
 ter a brief term as special agent with the Spring- 
 field (Mass.) Fire and Marine, he accepted the pres- 
 idency of the Meriden, but resigned in 1881 to en- 
 ter the Connecticut Fire, of which he Avas made 
 assistant secretary Feb. i, of that year. 
 
 GEORGE W. MITCHELL, secretary and 
 treasui'er of the E. N. Welch Manufacturing Co.. 
 and otherwise prominently identified with the com- 
 mercial life of Bristol, comes of a family whose 
 members have long been active and influential 
 in the town, in matters of Church and State, a's ' 
 well as material progress. 
 
 Hon. George Mitchell, his grandfather, born in 
 1774, was numbered with those who a century ago 
 were the bone and sinew of the business life and ' 
 general prosperity of Bristol, where all his active ,' 
 days were passed. He was one of the earliest clock ) 
 manufacturers in the town, making at r first the ol ' 
 wooden clocks, now rarely seen, ancf later bra.s 
 
K.^mmaMUK/iiit't!. UlUUKAFHICAL RECORD. 
 
 cl>' • s, as they came into general use. For many 
 \i iS he also conducted a profitable mercantile 
 b ;,;iness, and hy his energy, ability and strict integ- 
 ntv «;anie to be regarded as one of the foremost men 
 in ;^|e town in cummercial circles. However, his 
 ,:tion was not confined to business, for he took 
 : tive interest in the affairs of his time and place, 
 i his fellow citizens delighted to give substantial 
 ' , nlonce of their confidence in him by selecting 
 i;iin for various positions of public trust. He was 
 inently connected with diflfcrcnt important 
 conventions that made a marked impress in 
 : I'istory of the commonwealth, and in 1837 was 
 I'. -I 'id State senator from the fhird District, in 
 • incnmbenc\ realizing the expectations of his 
 ,, townsmen, and adding greater honor to a 
 iiame already hekl in the highest esteem. l'\>r } ears 
 he vas postmaster at liristol. In political sentiment 
 ' c was a Democrat, and a stanch advocate of the 
 iples of his party, but his position was taken 
 such sincerity, and his convictions so mani- 
 . jtiy strong and honest that he made no political 
 le.nies among those who differed with him, gain- 
 '.g rather their athniration and respect. The 
 I'.r-scol Baptist Church, with which he united in 
 1815, had in him for nearly forty years one of its 
 sianchest and most liberal supiwrters, as well as ac- 
 tive Jworkers, and his unselfish devotion to its in- 
 ur^jts was of lasting benefit both to its material 
 .id spiritual welfare. In fact, his conduct in all 
 n relations of life bespoke the devout Christian. 
 ' i - was especially interested in young men about 
 -tart in business, and his practical sympathy 
 .,d ready generosity- often paved the way to unex- 
 pected successes. Mr. Mitchell was one of the 
 lirtr in Bristol to join the Free-masons, and his name 
 is .sdll held in high honor in the local lodge of the 
 " .'..ernity. He died July 29, 1852. 
 
 lulius R. Mitchell, son of Hon. George, and the 
 
 father of our subject, was born in Bristol, Jan. 8, 
 
 18- I, and spent his entire life in that town, dying 
 
 Fc' j 19, 1899, after a well-rounded busines? career 
 
 of .(.bout sixty years. He followed in his father's 
 
 foo'csteps in his activity' in religious and public 
 
 aff; irs, and. living in the period of Bristol's most 
 
 ini; ortant development, especially along commercial 
 
 lit) s, took no unimportant part in that growth, his 
 
 em jrprise and progressiveness exerting marked in- 
 
 nce in molding the character of the town, which 
 
 r' ranks among the large manufacturing towns of 
 
 : , State. For over fifty years he was at the head 
 
 ^ a prosperous mercantile business in Bristol, first 
 
 ^.^ a general merchant, later as dealer in dry 
 
 ■.; -ids, men's furnishing goods and clothing, and 
 
 ./. firm of J. R. ]\Iitchell & Son became one of 
 
 the leading and best-known establishments in the 
 
 tov.m. Mr. ^Mitchell was the oldest merchant there 
 
 at the time of his death. His recognized business 
 
 : n-lity was called into frequent requisition in other 
 
 :erprises. He was one of the incorporators and 
 
 :r ai er ? director of the Bn; .'igs Bank: 
 
 •? 3 d red or in the Brist.: ! Bras. k Co., and 
 
 president of the Bristol }klanufacturing Co. In 
 sentiment a lifelong Democrat, he always took an 
 ardent interest in politics, and was repeatedly the 
 recipient of high honors at the hands of his fellow- 
 citizens, serving as representative from Bristol in the: 
 State Legislature at Xew Haven in 1852, and again 
 in 1872, and at Hartford in 1871. In 1873 he 
 served Hartford county as State senator. In all his 
 public service he carried himself with honor and 
 uprightness, and did credit to his name and his 
 constituency. Though public-spirited in everything 
 pertaining to the good of his community, he avoided 
 nomination for local ofiices, the duties of which 
 his townspeople would gladly have entrusted to 
 him. 
 
 On March 6, 1836, Air. Mitchell united with the 
 Bristol Baptist Church, and retained that connection 
 to the close of his life, taking the deepest interest 
 in all that concerned the welfare of that society. A. 
 Baptist by birth and training, his love for his 
 church was one of the strongest and noblest im- 
 pulses of a broad Christian life ; he cheerfully gave 
 his best to promote the advancement of his church 
 and Christianity in general, and this same love of 
 the church has descended to his children. He 
 counted his service to his Master as his highest 
 privilege. Few of the younger generation realize 
 how much the Bristol IJaptist Church is indebted 
 to him, for throughout his long membership he 
 was a faithful as well as generous supporter of 
 her interests, not one of which ever appealed to 
 him in vain. All philanthropies won his practical 
 sympathy. 
 
 On Jan. 21, 1845, Mr. Mitchell married Dru- 
 silla Welch, who was born April 23, 182=;. daughter 
 of George Welch, a prominent citizen of Bristol, 
 and sister of Elisha Welch, one of the most suc- 
 cessful manufacturers of the town. Mrs. Mitchell 
 has spent her entire life in Bristol. She, too, comes 
 from a family prominent in Baptist circles, and is 
 a devoted member of the Bristol Church, which 
 she joined in 1841. Throughout his long and suc- 
 cessful career Mr. Mitchell never failed of the in- 
 spiring encouragement of her sympathy and co-op- 
 eration. Four children blessed this marriage, three 
 still living: George W., our subject; Helen Juliet, 
 born March 8, 1852, who died Aug. 24, 1854; Annie 
 Juliet, born July 11, 1856, who married William J. 
 Isaacson, and lives in Cincinnati, Ohio (they have 
 no children) ; and Julia Niles, who is living at home 
 with her mother, in the beautiful and commodious 
 home of the family. 
 
 George W. Mitchell was born Nov. 7, 1852. and 
 was educated in the schools of Bristol and in Willis- 
 ton Seminary. Early in life he was admitted to 
 partnership with his father in one of the most pros- 
 perous and well known mercantile businesses of 
 this part of Hartford county — the firm of J. R. 
 Mitchell & Son. While he retains his interest in 
 thi.s concern and has a thorough knowledge of its 
 workings, he has for several years devoced him- 
 self to manufacturing, "ile was the assistant treas- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1569 
 
 ojrer of the E. N. ^^'elch ilaniifacturing Co. from 
 August, 1885, to Februar}-, 1897, when he was 
 elected to his present position of secretary and 
 treasurer of that concern, which is one of the largest 
 clock manufactories in this wide and great country. 
 The present promising status and outlook of this 
 large concern are due in no small measure to his 
 energ)-, business sagacit\-, and the very high confi- 
 dence which is placed in him b}' this entire business 
 community and by all who have ever had business 
 relations with him. He is a member of the Board 
 of Fire Commissioners, and a director of the Bris- 
 tol National Bank, and Bristol Brass & Clock Co. 
 For many years Mr. ]Mitchell has been a most de- 
 vout, generous, efficient and beloved member of 
 the Bristol Baptist Church, having again and again 
 been appointed to its highest office. His interest 
 in his church is absolutely tireless, and it holds the 
 very first place in his love. His genuine Christi- 
 anit}^ is the most marked characteristic of the man, 
 and it is of that broad nature which enters into help- 
 ftil sympathy with every phase of true Christian 
 enterprise and philanthropic endeavor. 
 
 On Oct. 22, 1873, J\Ir. ]Mitchell married Eva L., 
 daughter of the late Edward L. Dunbar. The Dun- 
 bar family is one of the oldest and most prominent 
 families of Bristol. Mrs. Mitchell has earnestly 
 and helpfully shared in all of Mr. jNIitchell's am- 
 bitions, but especially has she shared his love of 
 the Bristol Baptist Church, and her devotion to 
 it has been equal to his. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell 
 enjoy a wide circle of intimate friends. 
 
 MILTOX L. MARSH, M. D., No. 252 ]\Iain 
 street. New Britain, Hartford county, Connecticut. 
 
 A\TLLIA:\I L. LOO:\nS, town clerk, Suffield, 
 Hartford county, Connecticut. 
 
 GEORGE L. CLARK, miller, and lumber man- 
 ufacturer, Suffield, Flartford county, Connecticut. 
 
 OLIVER GA^IERDINGER, practical manu- 
 facturer, Poquonock, town of Windsor, Hartford 
 County, Connecticut. 
 
 Addexd.v to sketch of .the late Lester Good- 
 enough, of Bristol, which appears on page 132. 
 
 Ephraim Goodenough married Alartha. daugh- 
 ter of Thing and Elizabeth (Jimson) Ladd. Mar- 
 tha Ladd (mother of Lester) was descended from 
 Daniel Ladd, who took the "oath of supremacy and 
 allegiance to pass to New England in the JVIary 
 and John of London, Robert Sayres, master, March 
 24, 1633 ;'' and who "settled first at Ipswich, next 
 at Salisbury, and then went to Haverhill with Rev. 
 John Ward and eleven others, and was one of the 
 original settlers of that town." 
 
 She was also a descendant of the Hon. John 
 
 Gilman of Exeter, N. H., "who was appointed by 
 
 the Crown one of the Council for the government 
 
 of the Province of New Hampshire under Pres. John 
 99 
 
 Cutts and Gov. Cranfield, and was later a delegate 
 to the Assembly and Speaker of the House, and 
 was the founder of a family which for 200 years 
 has been among the most distinguished in the annals 
 of the Province and the State." 
 
 Line of De.scent. — Daniel Ladd came from 
 England in 1633. Nathaniel Ladd, of Haverhill, 
 Mass- (he married a daughter of Hon. John Gil- 
 manj ; Nathaniel Ladd, of Exeter, X. H.; Edward 
 Ladd, of Belmont, N. H. ; Edward Ladd, of An- 
 dover, N. H. ; Thing Ladd, of Salisbury, N. H. ^ 
 ^lartha Ladd, of Salisbury, N. H. ; Lester Goode- 
 nough, of Bristol, Connecticut- 
 
 \\TLLIA]\I FARRAXD FELCH, although not 
 a native of Hartford county, has spent the best years 
 of his life in Hartford, and has made it his perma- 
 nent home. He is well known in the city and state, 
 principall}' as an author. He was born in Colum- 
 bus, Ohio, coming to this city in 1885, to assume a 
 position in the agency department of The Travel- 
 ers Insurance Co., which he has since held accept- 
 ably. 
 
 "Sketches of the boyhood of authors," says a 
 recent writer, "both dead and living, are apt to 
 possess the defect of not containing much that is 
 worth telling about till the boy vanishes into the 
 author, and his career as a boy ends. Later, the 
 author rehabilitates the boy, so to speak, and invests 
 him with a felicitous interest; but it is for older 
 people, and not all of such have that investigating 
 tendency which cares to go back of the vine to 
 the grape-blossom, or look behind the cider cask 
 for its protoplasm, the apple-seed." 
 
 Our author's boyhood was thoroughly Bohem- 
 ian, and he began to write when he could scarcely 
 hold a pen, which is the reason he has been able, 
 to accomplish so much. The following account 
 of his early life possesses more than common inter- 
 est, being written by one who was his warmest 
 boyhood friend and schoolmate while living at Co- 
 lumbus, Ohio, Hon. Albert Blakeslee White, now 
 of Parkersburg, W. Ys.., for twenty years editor 
 of the West Virginia Daily State lonrnal, and who 
 was elected governor of West Virginia in the elec- 
 tion of 1900, on the Republican ticket. It was 
 written several years ago. 
 
 "The subject of this sketch is still a young man, 
 but he has already tried, with varying success, 
 nearly all the leading lines of literature, and has 
 shown considerable versatility. As a farmer boy 
 he grew to maturit}', with the exception of one 
 year in the city, where the writer formed his_ ac- 
 quaintance. A' similarity of tastes and aspirations 
 developed a warm mutual friendship. In school 
 hours he gave considerable time to composition, 
 often to the neglect of his studies, writing on scraps 
 of paper or old envelopes hidden in his books. At 
 this time, while in the Salem, Ohio, high school, 
 he wrote his first printed story, 'Brother Brand- 
 reth,' a somewhat heterodox termination of a re- 
 
1570 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 vival, and its distressing after-effects. On present- 
 ing it to the editor of the leading local paper, that 
 g-cntlenian read it carefnlly and pronounced a very 
 J-latteiing opinion : 'Young man, I have read )'our 
 storv, and i like it. 1 think it will do some good. 
 Ju fact, "them's my sentiments." It will appear 
 next issue." It was the jTroudest moment of the 
 young writer's life. It was, however, subsequently 
 read by the writer before a Methodist literary so- 
 ciety, and the 'freezing awe' with which it was re- 
 ceived by his auditors was a sufficient index of their 
 sentiments; showing how tastes may dift'er. It 
 was s. ion followed by other stories, written stealth- 
 ilv ill school hours, appearing in the local press, 
 \\iiieh hence did not reach a wide circle of readers 
 nor win him any special reputation, being written 
 over a nom dc plume. 
 
 "His penchant was, and is, evidently fiction, and 
 previous to his twentieth birthday he had prepared 
 stories and sketches sufficient for a large volume, 
 which, however, was never publislied. These stor- 
 ies were written with elaborate care, after classic 
 models, 'icily regular, splendidly null,' and not at 
 all in his later off-hand style. In later years he 
 made more ambitious attempts. Once he had two 
 serials running at the same time, in an eastern and 
 i\ western puljlication, keeping close on the heels 
 q^f the press, writing each installment in duplicate, 
 and frequently obliged to write a chapter a day at 
 'white heat.' Since the appearance of these serials 
 he has written little fiction, biding his time until 
 riper years and added experience shall indicate the 
 path he is to follow. 
 
 "Soon after this he embarked, with a theatrical 
 friend or two, in a higher field of fiction, the drama. 
 His first comedy had a short but eventful career 
 "oi one month on the road, chiefly in Ohio; it was 
 entitled 'Judge Slasher,' and was soon followed by 
 *A Titled American,' 'iNIignon, the Child-wife,' 
 and others, each an improvement on its predecessor. 
 Several minor dramas, "Oueenie,' 'Cissy,' 'The 
 Pet of Parson's Ranch,' followed in rapid succes- 
 sion, on the order of 'M'liss,' written for various 
 soubrette stars. On the principle that 'two heads 
 are better than one,' he has preferred to write plays 
 in collaboration with another person of experience; 
 hence the majority of his plays are partnership 
 affairs. Of these, 'A Child o'f the Wreck,' and 
 ■2\Iig-gles,' the prologue of the latter being founded 
 on Bret Harte's story of the same name, the rest of 
 the play original — and two others, 'Gettysburg, or 
 Through Two Wars,' and 'Nobody's Child' are 
 most prominent and promising. The Gettysburg 
 play he intends to 'novelize' at some future time. 
 
 "Although dramatic work is the most difficult 
 iicid of fiction, he pursued it more for practice and 
 development than from a real love for the stage 
 or its belongings, and as a help in novel-writing. 
 In incident, plot, situation, and dialogue, the drama 
 is superior to the novel, but the reputation derived 
 therefrom is more ephemeral. The printed page 
 
 is read years after it first appears, but the best 
 dramas rarely hold the public favor more than a 
 decade at the utmost. He has, however, learned 
 much from his dramatic studies and efforts that may 
 be put to better use in after years. 
 
 "He is more successful as a poet, and has pub- 
 lished more than has appeared in his little book, 
 'Legends and Lyrics" (1882 and 1886 j, chief among 
 which is 'The Legend of Little Saint Francis,' a 
 long narrative idyl in blank verse (originally writ- 
 ten in story form, but later, realizing its romantic 
 and dramatic possibilities, re-written in metrical 
 prose), a story of the days of the old missions in 
 southern California, at the close of the last century. 
 This is as lengthy as the combined 'Legends and 
 Lyrics,' as printed in his book. Pie takes little 
 pride in his poetry, however, despite the encourage- 
 ment of friends, and writes only for pastime in 
 poetical form. 
 
 "Perhaps the most graceful and touching tribute 
 that has been paid to his lately published volume 
 was that received' from a young poet friend, Walter 
 Euell, who writes clever and pleasing poems in the 
 intervals of journalistic work, and criticising other 
 poets : 
 
 A thousand reams of wasted paper, 
 
 A half-decade of dreary days 
 Spent in accepting or rejecting 
 
 An over-plus of commonplace, 
 Have made me prize a glimpse of sunlight, 
 
 Through clouds of mediocrity; 
 And so, though all too slow in coming, 
 
 Your little gift has been to me. 
 
 'Twas not your fault it came no sooner; 
 
 'Twas my misfortune, pray be sure; 
 And like good wine it is for waiting. 
 
 Perchance more mellow — not more pure. 
 Pray let the vintage not be niggard; 
 
 Spare not the foot-weight in the press, 
 But, from Life's purple grapes abundant, 
 
 Tread out fame, wealth, and happiness. 
 
 "Mr. E. R. Champlin, an eastern reviewer, gives, 
 perhaps, the fittest estimate of his ability, in the fol- 
 lowing criticism : 
 
 " 'A level, critical head is indicated throughout 
 the book. The poet seems to know himself thor- 
 oughly, which will be recognized as something un- 
 common in a person at the age at which he must 
 have been when these pieces were written. He 
 shows strength and versatility throughout; and, 
 what is particularly pleasing in a young poet of to- 
 day, he seems to be pervaded with a sense of rever- 
 ence and of moral obligation. The moral and spiritual 
 tone of his verses, not excepting the love songs, is 
 most healthy. The natural description, the moral re- 
 flection, the regard for the great minds in literature 
 seem to have come from a well-matured mind. He 
 shows, also, what, in painter's language, is termed 
 a sense of perspective in making up his book. The 
 poems are proper, and none of them of a humor- 
 ous sort, strictly; he has, therefore, placed at the 
 front of the volume a glib and facetious Proem, 
 which properly relieves the impression of serious, 
 
LUMMhMUPiAiit' a uikj\jhv^j. i±ix^^^^ ^.^v 
 
 didactic purpose which most of the collection gives ; 
 and which, when iirst read, prepares the reader 
 pleasantly to meet what follows. His "Triad of 
 Love Lyrics" shows him to be one of the best love 
 verse writers of the day, far superior, in my judg- 
 ment, to those who spoil the soul of what they at- 
 tempt-to put into verse by over-finish.' 
 
 l\Ir. White concludes his biography of our author 
 with this kindly personal tribute : "I have purposely 
 refrained from any description of the personal ap- 
 pearance and social qualities of the subject of this 
 sketch, but a warm friendship of over twenty years 
 has bound the writer to him with 'hooks of steel.' " 
 
 It may be said, in explanation, that Mr. Felch 
 began writing prose in his earliest childhood, and 
 diaries without end, to date ; but most of his poetry 
 was written in 1880 and the year or two following. 
 The book, "Legends and Lyrics," was set in type by 
 himself, and printed in 1882; a subsequent edition, 
 printed in 1886, dedicated to a G. A. R. fair, in Hart- 
 ford, sold with avidity. His longest poem, "The 
 Legend of Little Saint Francis," is soon to appear 
 in book form. He has also had two plays published 
 in Giicago, "The Pet of Parson's Ranch," and 
 "Shadow Castle," which have been played all over 
 the country, and hardly a week passes during winter 
 seasons that he does not receive letters in regard 
 to them from aspirants for histrionic honors. Mr. 
 Felch next embarked in journalism, has been em- 
 ployed on various newspapers, and knows the "ins 
 and outs" of the craft. He was city editor of the 
 Sunday, Herald, assistant editor of the Saturday 
 Critic, and of the Bohemian, and a constant contri- 
 butor to the Dial, Gazette, Sunday News, Daily 
 Ohio State Journal, Daily Dispatch, and other Col- 
 umbus papers ; also to the Indianapolis Saturday 
 Herald, Quincy (III.) "Modern Argo," JVasliing- 
 ton (D. C.) World, Chicago Graphic, Philadelphia 
 "Easy Hour," and other papers too numerous to 
 mention. For five years he was the accredited Co- 
 lumbus correspondent of the New York Dramatic 
 Mirror, New York Sunday Courier, Music and 
 Drama, and The Mercury, attending one hundred 
 plays on an average each winter. For two winters 
 he conducted a bureau of legislative news, serving 
 twenty or more Ohio papers with weekly letters 
 during the winter, from the State Capital. 
 
 Mr. Felch wrote a "Centennial History of Ohio," 
 which was not published in book form owing to the 
 failure of the publisher, but was syndicated through 
 twenty or thirty Ohio newspapers, for a period of 
 six months. One winter, while attending college, 
 he wrote a long book manuscript, entitled "The 
 World's Youth ; or the Lifancy of Humanity" ; it 
 was not printed in book form, but parts of it have 
 been printed in magazines, such as "Potter's Month- 
 ly," the "Chicago Current," and " Popular Science 
 Monthly." During his school days he set vtp in type 
 and had printed "The Memorial History of the 
 Felch Family," in five pamphlet numbers, bringing 
 the family record down to Revolutionary times and 
 
 the compiler's grandfather. It is now a very scarce 
 work, and the writer has only two copies left of a 
 large edition. The above are the only works he has 
 had published, but he has written much for maga- 
 zines and other periodicals since, so that his entu-e 
 output would probably number ten volumes. 
 
 It is as an originator and organizer of magazine 
 publications that Mr. Felch is best known in Ohio 
 and Connecticut, latterly. "The History of Co- 
 lumbus, Ohio" (page 450), in an article on "The 
 Press" by Osman C. Hooper, a leading Columbus 
 editor, has this to say on this point ; 
 
 "In 1884 W. Farrand Felch, well known by 
 reason of his numerous contributions to Columbus- 
 newspapers and periodicals, printed a few ' num- 
 bers of 'The Western Critic' Early in 1885 J^r. 
 Felch, Mr. James M. Kerr, and Mr. Thomas C. 
 Harbaugh united their forces and decided to enlarge 
 the 'Critic' They called the remodeled periodical 
 "The Inland Monthly,' and issued four numbers,, 
 which were excellent in typography and materials. 
 Lack of patronage, however, forced the discontinr 
 uance of this periodical, and soon afterward M^. 
 Felch went to Hartford, Conn., Mr. Kerr to Min- 
 neapolis, and thence to Rochester, N. Y., and Mr. 
 Harbaugh back to his home in the Miami ^"alley." 
 
 " "The Saturday Critic' was established by Col. 
 W. A. Taylor in April, 1882. Col. Taylor was its 
 proprietor. W. Farrand Felch was assistant editor,'" 
 Col. Taylor subsequently became Secretary of Statfe 
 for Ohio. Mr. Felch was also a staft" editor of the 
 Cleveland Saturday Ledger, under Gen. Milton 
 Barnes, ex-Secretary of State for Ohio. 
 
 After coming to Hartford Mr. Felch originated 
 "The Connecticut Quarterly," an historical maga- 
 zine, now "The Connecticut Magazine," its scope, 
 trend, and general conception being his entirely ; 
 and he continued as its editor for the first year of^ 
 its existence, under adverse circumstances ; at the 
 end of the first year he gave up the conduct of the : 
 magazine to his partner, as "there was not enough 
 in it for two." It has changed much since, but has 
 fairly covered the State in gathering together cer- 
 tain historical material which would not have ap- 
 peared elsewhere. Since then he has appeared very 
 infrequently in print, preferring to do no more 
 fragmentary or perfunctory work, but only such 
 as has permanent and cumulative value, having too i 
 little leisure. He has, however, taken an active 
 interest in the civic, social, and political affairs of ■ 
 Hartford, and under various nouis de plume has 
 generally been in the thickest of the fray, with a 
 trenchant pen, notably in the I>fl(7_v Times. He 
 has recently purchased' a beautiful Colonial cottage 
 in the outskirts of Hartford, in a picturesque lo- 
 cation, half city, half country — an ideal spot for a 
 literary man's home. 
 
 The one particular hobby of Mr. Fekh's life has 
 been genealogy, which has brought him more pleas- 
 ure, as well as wasted more of his time that should 
 have been given to literature perhaps, than any- 
 
L-UiUMJiMUKAUyh BIUGKAFHIL'AL RECORD. 
 
 thing else. He has a phenomenally long lineage, ex- 
 tending back forty generations, and is justl\' proud 
 of this descent. His father. Allen Shepard Felch, 
 was born in North Salem, Westcliester Co., N. Y., 
 Feb. 1, 1815, and died at Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 15, 
 1806, a strong-minded, brain}- man, an e.xtensive 
 traveler, somewhat of a writer on sociological and 
 political subjects, an uncompromising Abolitionist 
 in his early political career, and as devoted to Pro- 
 hibition in his last years. From his father our sub- 
 ject derives his ambition and ability as a writer: 
 from his mother, humor, pathos, elastic sympathies, 
 cmotiemal tendencies, and poetical aspirations. She 
 was a devoted mother, a loving wife, a cheerful, so- 
 ciable neighbor, invaluable in sickness and in death, 
 s'l that she was iifien called away from home, miles 
 distant, to distressed households where sorrow and 
 grief had entered. She often said, "When' I die, 
 it can be said that I never had an enemy in my life." 
 Her maiden name was Phebe Bruen \Vard, and she 
 was the daughter of Farrand and Charlotte ( Bruen) 
 V\'ard, of Meadow Ridge Farm, near East IMadison, 
 Morris Co., N. J. Through the Bruens of Xewark, 
 K. J., she was descended from the Bruens of Bruen 
 Stapleford, Cheshire, England, from nearly the time 
 of the Xorman Conquest, and by their intermarriages 
 the forty generations mentioned above can be traced 
 as follows : 
 , ,' (I) Pepin, of Landen. Belgium, died 639. 
 
 (II) Begga. daughter of Pepin, married An- 
 segisus, son of St. Arnolf, Bishop of Metz. 
 
 (III) Pepin le Gros, or "The Fat," died 714. 
 
 (R") Charles IMartel (or "The Hammer,") con- 
 queror of the Saracens at Tours in 752, died soon 
 after. 
 
 (\') Pepin the Short, first king of the Franks, 
 ^<ai th.e Carlovingian dynasty, 752-768. 
 
 (\'l) Charlemagne (Charles the Great), 768- 
 814. 
 
 (VII) Louis I. 814-840. 
 
 (Mil) Charles I, the Bald. 840-877. 
 
 (IX) Rothilda. daughter, married Hugh the 
 Great, Count of Paris. 
 
 (X) Hugh Capet, first king of France of the 
 Capetian dynasty, 987-996. 
 
 (XI) Robert II, king of France. 
 
 (XII) Henry I. 1031, married Anne, daughter 
 ol laroslav. grandduke of Russia, who was son of 
 St. AHadimir (Rurik\ founder of Russia, 862-879, 
 Igor'-. Sviatoslav", Vladimir^, who married Anne 
 Porphyrogena of Constantinople (fifth in descent 
 from i?>asil the Great, viz.: BasiP. Leo VII'*, Con- 
 stantine VP, Romanus IP. Anne Porphyrogena^, or 
 "born in the purple," who married Vladimir of 
 Russia). 
 
 I XIII) Hugh the Great, Count of Vermandois. 
 brother of King Philip I of France, and son of 
 Henry I and Amie of Russia. 
 
 (XR') Elizabeth, daughter, married William de 
 Warrenne, Earl of Warren and Surrey. 
 
 (XV) Adela de Warren, married Henry, Earl 
 
 of Huntington and Prince of Scotland, who died 
 
 (X\T) Margaret of Huntington, married 1175, 
 for her second husband, Humphrey de Bohun, fourth 
 of that name. Earl of Hereford and High Constable 
 of England. 
 
 (XVII) Henry de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, 
 born 1 176, died 1220. 
 
 (X\'III) Humphrey de Bohun, or "Humphrey 
 the Good," died 1275. 
 
 (XIX) Alice de Bohun married Ralph de Tony, 
 descended from Roger de Toenio, standard-bearer 
 to William the Concjueror. 
 
 (XX) Alice de Tony, married Guy de Beau- 
 champ, the gi^eat Earl of Warwick, descended from 
 Walter de Beauchamp, steward to King Henry I. 
 
 (XXI) Maud de Beauchamp, daughter, mar- 
 ried Geoffrey de Say, Knight, born 1305, died 1356. 
 
 (XXII) Idonea de Say married Sir John Clin- 
 ton, of Maxstoke, Warwickshire, Knight, died 1397. 
 
 (XXIII) ]\Iargaret Clinton riiarried Sir Bald- 
 win de Montfort. 
 
 (XXI\") Sir William de Montfort, of Colshill, 
 \\'arwickshire, died 1453. 
 
 (XXV) Robert de Montfort, younger son, of 
 Monkspath, W'arwick, and Bescote, Staffordshire. 
 
 (XXVT) Katherine de Montfort married Sir 
 George Booth, of Dunham, Cheshire, who died in 
 
 1483. 
 
 (XXVII) Sir William Booth of Dunham, 1519. , 
 (XXVHI) Jane Booth married (second) 
 Thomas Holford, of Holford, Cheshire, who died 
 in 1569, tenth in descent from Roger de Toft. 
 
 (XXIX) Dorothy Holford married John Bruyn, 
 Esq., of Bruen Stapleford, Cheshire, who died 1587, 
 eleventh in descent from Roger le Brun, who ap- 
 pears in 1230 in Cheshire. 
 
 (XXX) John Bruen, Esq., of Bruen Stapleford, 
 1 560-1625, was a noted Calvinistic Puritan, whose 
 life has been written and published. 
 
 (XXXI) Obadiah Bruen, the emigrant to Amer- 
 ica, born 1606, was first town clerk of Gloucester, 
 ]\Iass., X'ew London, Conn., and Newark, N. J., 
 where he died. 
 
 (XXXII) John Bruen died before 1696. 
 
 (XXXIII) Joseph Bruen, 1677-1752. 
 (XXXIA*") Lieut. David Bruen, 1715-1795. 
 
 (XXXV) Joseph Bruen, 1746-1822. 
 
 (XXXVI) Caleb Carter Bruen, 1783-1830. 
 
 (XXXVII) Charlotte Bruen, 1803-1852, mar- 
 ried Farrand Ward. 
 
 (XXXA/TII) Phebe Bruen Ward, 1825-1885. 
 
 (XXXXIX) W. Farrand Felch. 
 
 (XL) Don Harold Felch. 
 
 Anne of Russia, who married Henry I of France 
 (XII above), had a sister Agatha [See "The Ances- 
 try of Agatha," in "London X^otes and Queries," 
 1894, by Mr. Felch, which effectually clears up a 
 long-mooted point], who married Edward the Exile, 
 King of England, who died 1057, seventh in de- 
 scent from Alfred the Great. Through Agatha, Air. 
 
^ 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 1573 
 
 Felch is of the fortieth generation. Agatha was 
 the mother of Margaret (afterward St. Margaret), 
 who married JNIalcolm Canmore, King of Scots, who 
 died 1093, father of David, King of Scots, who was 
 father of two kings of Scotland, and also of Henry, 
 Earl of Huntington, who married Adela de Warren 
 (XV above). The father of William de Warren 
 (Adela's father) was William de Warrene in Nor- 
 mandy, and married Gundrada, who was for a long 
 time supposed to be step-daughter of William the 
 Conqueror. [See "English Historical Review," Oc- 
 tober, 1888.] Mr. Eelch is descended from Mal- 
 colm Canmore in two other lines, the Wards and 
 Lymans ; from Rollo, the founder of Normandy, 
 through the Buttons and Tuttles ; from the Planta- 
 ganets, through the Earls of Warren and of Arun- 
 del. The ^^'ards, his mother's line, can be traced 
 back to Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and York- 
 shire, to the time of the Conquest, and he has over 
 fifty pedigrees of Wards in England, etc., with coats 
 of arms for each,' collected by the late Horatio Ward, 
 of London. The Wards of Northamptonshire inter- 
 married with the Washingtons, ancestors of our first 
 President. 
 
 On the Felch side his ancestry dates from 1640, 
 when Henry Felch, Sr., came (presumably) from 
 Wales. The second Henry Felch, of Reading, 
 I'Jass., married Hannah Sargent, and through the 
 Sargents Mr. Felch traces back to the Giffords, the 
 family founded by Walter de Gifford, Earl of Buck- 
 ingham and Pembroke, time of the Conqueror; the 
 Sargents also connect with the Washington, Par- 
 giter, Samwell, and Winslow families, whence came 
 Gov. Winslow of Plymouth, who induced several 
 wealthy Welsh gentleman to come over" to Marsh- 
 field, Mass., among them Henry Felch, Sr. [See an 
 article of Mr. Felch on "The Blyman Party" in the 
 "New England Historic-Genealogical Register," 
 last year.] 
 
 In American lines Mr. Felch has many Revolu- 
 tionary ancestors, but belongs to no society on that 
 account ; his great-grandfather. Rev. Nathan Felch, 
 Sr., enlisted from Reading, Mass., in 1776. His 
 grandfather, Rev. Nathan Felch, Jr., was ordained 
 a Methodist minister by Bishop Asbury, the first 
 bishop of that church in this country. 
 
 Mr. Felch has been happily married for over ten 
 years. On May 15, 1890, he married Miss Mary 
 Helen Willison, a lovely and amiable young lady 
 from his old Ohio home, whom he went back to wed. 
 She is the daughter of Miles Newton and Nancy D. 
 (Wright) Willison, of Johnstown, Ohio. On her 
 father's side she is descended from the Willisons 
 of Glasgow, Scotland, related to the Earls of Stir- 
 ling; they came early to the James river region in 
 Virginia, ana thence to Fort Cumberland, Md., 
 where the first Willison arrived about the time of 
 Braddock's defeat, bringing his bride, whose maiden 
 name was Sarah Death, on the horse behind him. 
 On the maternal side Mrs. Felch is descended from 
 
 the Wrights of Kelvedon, Essex (ten generations) ; 
 from the Footes of Connecticut ; and the Fenners of 
 Rhode Island. Her great-great-grandfather, Simeon 
 Wright, Sr., was with Stark at Bennington, and 
 Ethan x-Vllen at Ticonderoga ; her great-grandfather, 
 Simeon Wright, Jr., was a captain in the war of 
 1812; he married Susannah Abbott, and Mrs. Felch 
 is related to the late Emma Abbott, the singer. 
 Through the Foote family she is descended from 
 the Deming, Smith, Bliss and Welles families, and 
 related to Hon. Gideon Welles. The early Willi- 
 sons intermarried- with the Dandridges, Martha 
 Washington's family. Mrs. Felch's grandfather, 
 Jeremiah Willison, was a vokmteer in 1812. 
 
 One son Las come to Mr. and Mrs. Felch, now 
 a bright "bookish" boy of nine, Don Harold Felch, 
 born May 17, 1891, who bids fair to follow in the 
 paternal footsteps in several directions. An almond 
 orchard, near Los Angeles, Cal., was purchased this 
 year (1900) by the father, in the name of the son, 
 the proceeds to go toward the education of the son 
 in some college, and to give him a start in life. 
 
 Mr. Felch was educated at a country academy, 
 the public schools of Columbus, the Salem (Ohio) 
 high school, and the Ohio State University, at Co- 
 lumbus. His father had no college education, but 
 taught school for seventeen years, when a young 
 man. His grandfather. Rev. Nathan Felch, was 
 oflfered a college education by Hon. John Jay, bur it^ 1 
 was after he was married and settled in life, and hei 
 could not accept. _ '} 
 
 In politics our subject is a consistent Republican. 
 He cares nothing for society, nor for so^e.ties, not 
 being a "jiner," but for two years was President of 
 "The Shakespeare Society," of Hartford, being a 
 great admirer of the immortal bard. He possesses 
 a library of over 1,000 volumes, which is more at- 
 tractive and alluring to him than aught else. 
 
 For two years previous to coming to Hartfordl^ 
 Mr. Felch was employed in the Columbus, Hocking 
 Valley & Toledo Railway general offices, first in 
 the general superintendent's office, later as private 
 secretarv to the secretary, second vice-president, 
 and president, resigning to come East. Since liv- 
 ing in Hartford he has compiled the "Williston Fam- 
 ily and Allied Lineages," for Hon. A. Lyman Wil- 
 liston, of Northampton, Mass. ; the "English lines 
 of Hale and Hales," for Edward W. Hale.^^of the 
 Sub-treasury, New York, his cousin,;' the "Hayes 
 Familv in England;" the "Ward, Warde, de la 
 Warde, Varde and de la Varde Family;" "The Le 
 Brun and Bruen familv;" and made extended re- 
 searches in the Willison, Wright, Felch, Cheever, 
 Batterson and Preston families. He has also been, 
 asked to take charge of a genealogical department 
 for which he is amply qualified. 
 
 [The compilers of this volume have been under 
 obligations to Mr. Felch for material assistance m 
 a genealogical direction, in several of the sketches 
 of this, volume.] 
 
 'A 
 
INDE^X:. 
 
 D. 
 
 Abbe Family 
 
 Abbe, Norton 
 
 Abrams, Alva E., M. 
 
 Abrams, Elijah D 
 
 Abrams Family 
 
 Ackerly, T. B.. M. D 
 
 Adams, Abel C 
 
 Adams, Henry M 
 
 Adams, Hiram. .» 
 
 Adams, Hiram W 
 
 Adams, Mrs. Hiram W 
 
 Adams, Mrs. Martha M 
 
 Adams, Oliver C 
 
 Adams, William 
 
 Adams, William R 
 
 pAdkins Family 
 
 I Ahl, Geortje N 
 
 Ahl, Michael 
 
 Albiston, Joseph 
 
 Albiston, Rev. Rosfer 
 
 Alcorn, Thomas G., M. D 
 
 Alcott Family 
 
 Alcott, Junius S 
 
 Alcott, Ralph W. E., M. D 
 
 Alden, Edmund B 
 
 Alden, Henry D 
 
 Alderman, Harvey 
 
 Alderman, Manna 
 
 Alderman, Truman 
 
 Alford, Daniel M 
 
 Alford, Hon. Emerson 
 
 Alford Families 365 
 
 Alford, Frank J 
 
 Alford, Franklin M 
 
 Allen, Edward C 
 
 Allen Family 
 
 Allen, Frederick J : 
 
 Allen, George E 
 
 Allen, George S 
 
 Allen, H. O,, M. D 
 
 Allen, Henry Wells 
 
 Allen, Henry W 
 
 Allen, Jeremiah M." 
 
 Allen, John 
 
 Allen, Joshua 
 
 Allen, Lucius S 
 
 Allen, Nathan H 
 
 Ailing, Charles B.' 
 
 Ailing, Charles N 
 
 Ailing Family 
 
 Ailing, Isaac E 
 
 Ailing, WiUard I 
 
 Amidon, John 
 
 Amstead, Joseph A 
 
 Anderson, Albert H 
 
 Anderson, George F 
 
 *• dersQP., Ivlatthew G 
 
 Ail4:t?i-'son, Norman L 
 
 Anderson, Mrs. Norman L 
 
 Andre, G. A., M.D. . 
 
 PAGE 
 
 . 875 
 
 . 875 
 
 . 346 
 
 . 743 
 
 346 
 
 . 1531 
 
 . 1220 
 
 . 1209 
 
 . 815 
 
 . 814 
 
 . 815 
 
 . 1221 
 
 . 463 
 
 . 1411 
 
 . 1411 
 
 . 1419 
 
 . 1327 
 
 . 1327 
 
 . 1074 
 
 . 1074 
 
 . 1287 
 
 . 552 
 
 . 552 
 
 . 552 
 
 . 1015 
 
 . 1014 
 
 . 803 
 
 .■ 583 
 
 . 584 
 
 . 1141 
 
 . 362 
 
 1199 
 
 1199 
 
 1141 
 
 372 
 
 1175 
 
 1175 
 
 372 
 
 1443 
 
 864 
 
 566 
 
 1176 
 
 1508 
 
 365 
 
 366 
 
 594 
 
 1560 
 
 692 
 
 691 
 
 144 
 
 691 
 
 144 
 
 696 
 
 434 
 
 672 
 
 672 
 
 1534 
 
 927 
 
 927 
 
 1520 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Andrews, Alfred 9'26 
 
 Andrews, Anion 781 
 
 Andrews, Charles 1456 
 
 Andrews, Cornelius 925 
 
 Andrews, Ephraim 1038 
 
 Andrews, Ephraim H . 1038 
 
 Andrews, Ezekiel /. . .1^^926 
 
 Andrews Families— 112, 345, 180, 
 
 S09, 925, 1283 
 
 Andrews, George S 1284 
 
 Andrews, Hezekiah 926 
 
 Andrews, Horace M 112 
 
 Andrews, Hugh 1456 
 
 Andrews, Hon. James H 780 
 
 Andrews, James K 1283 
 
 Andrews, John U 956 
 
 Andrews, John H , 345 
 
 Andrews, Joseph R 345 
 
 Andrews, Fhilo 909 
 
 Andrews, Philo, Sr 910 
 
 Andrews, Rodolphus 956 
 
 Archer, Miss Cordelia E 1214 
 
 Archer Family 1460 
 
 Archer, George 1460 
 
 Archer, Thomas 1214 
 
 Arnold, Mrs. Mary L 830 
 
 Arnurius Family 1330 
 
 Arnurius, Gustavus 1330 
 
 Arthur, George T 1547 
 
 Ashwell, Saniuel 1140 
 
 Atkins, Andrew F 250 
 
 Atkins, Charles A., Jr 1033 
 
 Atkins, Charles A., Sr 1033 
 
 Atkins Family 1418 
 
 Atkins, Rev. Irenus 250 
 
 Atkins, Roswell 1421 
 
 Atkins, William H 631 
 
 Atwood. Charles K 951 
 
 Atwood, Elnathan 1450 
 
 Atwood Family 92 
 
 Atwood, Francis 92 
 
 Atwood, Henry S 92 
 
 Atwood, Josiah 952 
 
 Austin, Charles L 1008 
 
 Austin, Elmer E 700 
 
 Austin Family. 1448 '" 
 
 Austin, Gustavus 1008 
 
 Austin, Harrison H 1207 
 
 Austin, Samuel 1208 
 
 Austin, Thomas 144y 
 
 Austin, Thomas C 1448 
 
 Austin, Thomas J 1008 
 
 Avery, Mrs. Elizabeth P 1373 
 
 Avery, George W., M. D 1373 
 
 Avery, Henry S 1533 
 
 Axtelle Family 1868 
 
 Axtelle, John F., M. D 1368 
 
 Ayer, Ezra C 860 
 
 Ayer Family 860 
 
 Ayer, William T 8(51 I 
 
 Backus Family )_91 
 
 Bailey, Caleb B R28 
 
 Bailey Familie.s 728, UP8 
 
 Bailey, George C, M. D IS^jlS 
 
 Bailey, Horac; '^ t^ 
 
 Bailey, Joseph 1 V c 
 
 Bailey, M. A., M. D 15l\ 
 
 Bailey, Norris 47.'^ 
 
 Bailey, Will'am 114)5 
 
 Baisden, GeDrge E ■'^'l? 
 
 Baisdeh, James H lliP'2 
 
 Baker, Dr. Joseph itl^ 
 
 Baker, Nicho'as J 182'S 
 
 Baldwin, Ira M 107^^ 
 
 Baldwin, Newton W >.. . . 107a 
 
 Ball, Charles : . , 48l 
 
 Ball Families 216, 487, 126£i 
 
 Ball, Franklin 4$';|j 
 
 Ball, Frederick W 2r''' 
 
 Ball, Stephen 21' 
 
 Bancroft, Bissell / 142'. ' 
 
 Bancroft, Emory O. . . J- ,* 1427 
 
 Bancroft, Francis . . . ./•.,';' 484 
 
 Bancroft, George W.. . '.'. . . ..._.., -43^^ 
 
 Bantle, Jacob !. 118i 
 
 Bantle, Jacob VV 106f 
 
 Bantle, Julius J T lOli 
 
 Bantly, Anton 23' 
 
 Bantly, Mrs. Anton 23 " 
 
 Barber, Mrs. A. S 15'' 
 
 Barber, Aurelius B 4 
 
 Barber, Buckley P ' 
 
 Barber, Col. Calvin L 
 
 Barber, Daniel 15 
 
 Barber, Edwin G 14 
 
 Barber Famdies 983, 1107, I' 
 
 Barber, George 1 
 
 Barber, George F !■ 
 
 Barber, Horace ^ 
 
 Barber, Horace I Hi 
 
 Barber, Capt. Jerijah 110. 
 
 Barber, John H 1107 
 
 Barber, Lucius I., M. I) 152' 
 
 Barber, Strong H HO 
 
 Barber, William T 983 
 
 Barber, William VV 1177 
 
 Barbour, Augustus L 1137 
 
 Barbour Fariiilies 58, 1489 
 
 Barbour, Judge Heman H 1490 
 
 Barbour, Henry W 1137 
 
 Barbour, Hon. Joseph L 1490 
 
 Barbour, Lucius St- 
 
 Barbour, Gen. Lucius A 5; 
 
 Barker Family S' 
 
 Ti.,,-1,„.- T^v„ r °'- 
 
7»V J-'JJ^^X. 
 
 
 As 
 
 101 
 
 no- 
 
 Ui'SL, V. ..Ik 
 Mi; vans Fii 
 
 PACE 
 
 , Dwisht H 121 
 
 nncis P 120 
 
 I rd R 120 
 
 s, Charles K 284 
 
 ,s, Ethan F 234 
 
 ;s Family 284 
 
 ;s, Henry E Ij85 
 
 am, Georgi.- A 88.') 
 
 am, Geortje O., Sr 886 
 
 Family.. ^ 82 
 
 ,J..hn S8 
 
 , 1 Ion. |ohn 1^5 
 
 , Nathan L 82 
 
 Herman Ii65 
 
 inghani, James 1851 
 
 111-- ip, Carlos E 417 
 
 Bi-!..)p, Edwin C 879 
 
 V . ,[. Families 417, 1212, 12H0 
 
 i: .p. Hon. Fitch L 1212 
 
 '; .[i, Fred L 1517 
 
 ■ I', l-iicius S 1204 
 
 i.i- HI, Oliver T ■ 12{!0 
 
 Bi>hop, Samuel 1204 
 
 Hishop, Thomas F 1204 
 
 Bisli.jp, Thomas X r2(il 
 
 liiss^^ll, Charles C 1465 
 
 ■'-N -11, Charles S 897 
 
 ■11, Chester 108 
 
 .-c 11 Families. 812,499, 896,941, 1465 
 
 Hissell, Frederick E 46 
 
 Hiss<tll, George 499 
 
 .•11, Hezekiah 46 
 
 '11, Hiram 108 
 
 -■11, Leavitt P 896 
 
 rll, Lewis 941 
 
 .11, Lewis G 942 
 
 -.•ll,C)zias 942 
 
 . -.■Il, Thomas 812 
 
 liissell, Th.)masH 812 
 
 I lack, M. J.. D. V. S 1547 
 
 ' eslee, Sherman 1264 
 
 •. i:.chard, Irving D., M. U 160 
 
 J .liim, Isaac De Forrest 162 
 
 Blinn, Isaac N 1-62 
 
 Blinn, Levi 1109 
 
 Blish, Daniel 8136 
 
 I •Hsl Family 836 
 
 .^l\ Roger 886 
 
 -^, Benjamin 200 
 
 -..Edward L 201 
 
 , ., Elijah 201 
 
 Bliss Family 200 
 
 Bliss Frederick S 201 
 
 Bliss, Ira 1089 
 
 iilodgett Family 377 
 
 I'indgett, Roswell 377 
 
 Hi.r.rdman, Major C. B 1642 
 
 )■ aidman Family 16 
 
 1 :■ "irdman, Howard F 23 
 
 '••■aidman, Joseph S 19 
 
 idman, Thomas J 22 
 
 dman, William 19 
 
 dnian, William F. J 21 
 
 dman, William G 23 
 
 ,-ell, ;\lrs. E. Louise 1477 
 
 :s, Charles H 29 
 
 :s, Edward 30 
 
 s Family 29 
 
 ;r, lames 2 
 
 :r, William 2 
 
 m, lasper H., Jr 246 
 
 in. Jasper H., Sr 246 
 
 R 1098 
 
 1097 
 
 D 1515 
 
 ohn D 1515 
 
 ph 18 
 
 Bordman, Levi 
 
 Boreman, Samuel 
 
 Boreman, Samuel, Jr 
 
 Bostick, Cic'orge 
 
 Bostick, Randall. 
 
 Bostick, Thomas, 
 
 Bostwick Family 
 
 Botsford Family 
 
 Botsford, Col. Isaac luia 
 
 Botsford, Isaac P 1042 
 
 Boucher, John B., M. D 256 
 
 Boucher, John M 256 
 
 Boughton Family 1257 
 
 Boughton, Levi B 1257 
 
 Bower, Horace 1297 
 
 Bower, John 1297 
 
 Bower, W. H 1298 
 
 Bowers, Edson W 564 
 
 Boyer Family 1068 
 
 Boyer, George D 1068 
 
 Brace, Miss Emily M 154 
 
 Brace, Joseph E • 568 
 
 Brace, Hon. Thomas K 153 
 
 Brace, William S 563 
 
 Bradford F'amily 187 
 
 Bradford, William 187 
 
 Bradley, Anion 840 
 
 Bradley, Daniel.... r 840 
 
 Bradley, Hon. Daniel E 149 
 
 Bradley Family7-r^ 149 
 
 Bradley, Franklin B 986 
 
 Bradley, Ichabod 841 
 
 Bradley, Peter J 745 
 
 Bradley, Hon. Samuel G 862 
 
 Bradley, Selah 862 
 
 Bradshaw, Edward 1 1546 
 
 Bragg, John 1188 
 
 Brainard, David 858 
 
 Brainard Families 185, 1050 
 
 Brainard, Henry S 1050 
 
 Brainard, Howard N 135 
 
 Brainard, Jared 859 
 
 Brainard, fared F 135 
 
 Brainard, Mrs. Ursula M 1051 
 
 Brainerd, Addison H 348 • 
 
 Brainerd Family 348 
 
 Brainerd, Harvey P 848 
 
 Brandegee, Elishama 130 
 
 Brandegee, Elishama, M. D. . . . 130 
 
 Brandegee, Capt. Elishama 130 
 
 Brandegee, Miss Emily S 131 
 
 Brandegee Families 1038, 1173 
 
 Brandegee, John 1038 
 
 Brandegee, William S 1037 
 
 Brewer, Dea. Ashbel 621 
 
 Brewer, Daniel 1028 
 
 Brewer, Edgar 1028 
 
 Brewer, Edward 1025 
 
 Brewer, Elisha C 1062 
 
 Brewer, EUery L 1152 
 
 Brewer Families. .462, 529, 1152, 
 
 1340, 1464 
 
 Brewer, Dea. Franklin 1340 
 
 Brewer, Mrs. Franklin 1.340 
 
 Brewer, George 631 
 
 Brewer, Henry P 658 
 
 Brewer, Hoadley C 462 
 
 Brewer, Janeway 1025 
 
 Brewer, Joel H 653 
 
 Brewer, Julius 1340 
 
 Brewer, Lowell H 621 
 
 Brewer, Philo S 529 
 
 Brewer, Reuben 462 \ 
 
 Brewer, William H 1464 j 
 
 Brewster Family .v- . . . . U^'i 
 
 Brewster, James H '; . . . V4 
 
 Brewster, Park ■.^j.'296 
 
/ 
 
 / 
 
 7A\DBX. 
 
 1579 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Cornishi Jfsmi.'? " 57i 
 
 Coniwali, David lH:yJ, 
 
 Cornwall, Linus 1^32 
 
 Corrigan, William J Yib 
 
 Corson, Adam C, M. D 1482 
 
 Corson, William R. C .1482 
 
 Cotter, Thomas 127 
 
 Cotter, William 127 
 
 Cotter, Mrs. William 128 
 
 Cotton, David 1069' 
 
 Cotton, Harry 1069 
 
 Cotton, Julius H....- '. .', 1069 
 
 Cowinsj Family..... 1101 
 
 Cowing, Job 1100 
 
 Covvles, .\shbel. 791 
 
 'owles, Charles A.. 162 
 
 Cowtes, Charles B; 791 
 
 Co\Vles, Clinton H' 1288 
 
 Cowles, David M 1413 
 
 Cowles, Edgar C, M. D 278 
 
 Cowles, Edgai p 278 
 
 Cowles Families.. 142, 152, 278, 
 
 686, 953, 1274, 1288, 1400 
 
 Cowles, Fraricis W 1288 
 
 Cowles, Irving W 143 
 
 Cowles, Lf;roy M 586 
 
 Covvles, A'orris A ■ 586 
 
 Cowles, Hon. Randolph W 142 
 
 Cowles, I'^amuel W 1400 
 
 Cowles, Truman 1413 
 
 Cow!ps, Walter G 1400 
 
 Cowl,js, Walter W 953 
 
 Cowies, Hon. William H 152 
 
 Cox, John 1112 
 
 William J 1112 
 
 Co. 
 
 Co^le, James 1291 
 
 Coyle, William J., M. D 1291 
 
 Crane- Families 189, 1279 
 
 Crary, David, Jr., M. D 268 
 
 Crary, David, Sr., M . D 268 
 
 Craw, Abial 752 
 
 Craw, Ebenezer B 752 
 
 Crilly Family 169 
 
 Crilly, John A 169 
 
 Croft, Rev. Charles P 592 
 
 Croft Family ' 592 
 
 Crosby, Hon. Alerabert 176 
 
 Crosby, Edwin 172 
 
 Crosbv, Erastus H 208 
 
 / losby, Mrs..Erastus H 208 
 
 Jrosby Family 176 
 
 Jr J'rosby, Lincoln E 800 
 
 f Crosby, Mrs. Sarah E 801 
 
 " Crosby, William A 172 
 
 h rothers Family 277 
 
 I brothers, Thomas D., M. D. . . . . 277 
 
 j .'urnmings, Cyrus 421 
 
 / Jummin^s, Francis B 420 
 
 Curtin, James M 1561 
 
 Curtis, Austin 1412 
 
 Curtis Family 676' 
 
 Curtis, Frederick R 963 
 
 Curtis, George R 963 
 
 Curtis, Henrv 1412 
 
 /CuTtis, Orson F 676 
 
 ' Curtiss, Charles £ 576 
 
 Ctirtiss, Hon. Ebenezer G 576 
 
 Curtiss Families 616, 1.339 
 
 Curtiss, Harry B 1339 
 
 Curtiss, William L 1340 
 
 Cushman Families 735, 937 
 
 Cushman, Monroe F 735 
 
 Cutting, Ahnond J., D. D. S 788 
 
 Baly, Mrs. Johanna 765 
 
 Daly, John D 1551 
 
 ijaly, Lawrence 765 
 
 Daniery, Thomas E ....... . 
 
 Damery, William 
 
 Danforth, [ohn \V 
 
 Danforth,"Mrs. Mary,G 
 
 Daniel, David... ; 
 
 Daniels, Aaron M 
 
 Daniels, Alfred 
 
 Daniels, Darius 
 
 Daniels, Henry . . . 
 
 Daniels, Henry C. . . . . , 
 
 Daniels, Leonard 
 
 Daniels, Leonard C 
 
 Danks, F. W 
 
 Danks, Moses 
 
 Darlin Family ,. . 
 
 Darlin, George W , 
 
 Darling, James H., M. D. . . . . 
 
 D'Arsey, Martin .... 
 
 Dart, Edmund 
 
 Dart Family 
 
 Dart, Joseph 
 
 Dart, Levi 
 
 Dart, Orlando L 
 
 Davis l-amily. 
 
 Davis, Frederick W 
 
 Davis, Rev. Gustavus F 
 
 Davis, Gustavus P., M. D. . . . 
 
 Davis, Isaac B 
 
 Davis, Jabez P 
 
 Davis, Mrs. Josephine H . . . . 
 
 Davis, Mary N 
 
 Davison, Joseph ... 
 
 Day Family 
 
 Day, George F 
 
 DeBlois, Mrs. Martha ■. 
 
 DeBlois, William B 
 
 deCollard, A?-thur 
 
 Deeble, John ' 
 
 Demmg, Judge Edward H. . . 
 Deming, .Mrs. Ellen A. .... . 
 
 Dfiming, Francis 
 
 Deming, Dea. Jedediah 
 
 Deming, John 
 
 Deming, Levi 
 
 Denison Family 
 
 Denison, William G . . . . I .. . 
 
 Dennis, George 
 
 Dennis, Thomas, Jr 
 
 Dennis, Thomas, Sr j. . . 
 
 Des Jardilis, Benjamin M . . . . 
 
 Des Jardins Family .i. . . 
 
 Desmarais, Joseph H., M. D.. 
 
 Devine Family 
 
 Devine, Patrick 
 
 Dewey, David. Jr 
 
 Dewey, Henry ] 
 
 Dewey, John 
 
 Dewey, Hon. William 
 
 De.\ter Familv 
 
 Dibble, Capt. William H 
 
 Dickerman, W. E., M. D..j. . 
 
 Dickinson, Andrew S 1 . . 
 
 Dickinson, Charles 
 
 Dickinson, Charles R ' . . 
 
 Dickinson, Edward D... 
 
 Dickinson Family , 
 
 Dickinson, Julius G 
 
 Dickinson, Gen. Leonard 
 Dickinson, Nathan R. . . . 
 
 Dickinson, Rollin 
 
 Dickinson, Samuel 
 
 Dickinson, Seth 
 
 Dillingh?in, Edmund B.. 
 
 Dillon, Richard 
 
 Dillon, Richard J 
 
 Dimock Families 
 
 Diraock, Harvcv 
 
 PAGE 
 
 . 552 
 . 652 
 . 245 
 . 245 
 . 1476 
 . 85 
 . 519 
 . 85 
 . 519 
 . 85 
 . 31 
 . 31 
 . 1017 
 . 1017 
 . 412 
 . 412 
 . 769 
 . 823 
 . 157 
 . . 166 
 , . 157 
 ,. 1219 
 . . 1219 
 . 1416 
 .. 1418 
 . . 1416 
 .. 1418 
 . . 1560 
 . . 757 
 . 1560 
 .. 1560 
 . . 1468 
 .. .69 
 . . 1360 
 . . 1014 
 , . 1013 
 . . 464 
 . . 1167 
 . . 821 
 . . 912 
 . . 520 
 . . 912 
 . . 821 
 . . 520 
 .. 1015 
 . . 1015 
 . . 750 
 .. 1333 
 . . 1333 
 .. 356 
 . . 357 
 .. 305 
 .. 467 
 .. 467 
 .. 11U3 
 
 1103 
 . . 1104 
 .. 1195 
 .. 1269 
 .. 474 
 .. 1520 
 .. 1477 
 .. 1003 
 .. 1030 
 .. 1029 
 .. 1003 
 .. 1079 
 .. 1408 
 .. 1080 
 .. 1003 
 .. 1477 
 .. 1080 
 .. 370 
 . . 1486 
 ... 1485 
 
 1176 
 241 
 
 .213, 
 
 PAGK 
 
 Dimock, Henry E 241 
 
 Dimock, Jared G 1 177 
 
 Dimock, Samuel 1176 
 
 Dixon, Mrs. Elizabeth L 2 
 
 Dixon, Hon. James, LL. D 1 
 
 Dixon, Hon. William 1 
 
 Dodge Family 677 
 
 Dodge, Marcus A 582 
 
 Dohrenwend, Charles 1557 
 
 Dohrenwend, Frank H 155S 
 
 Donahue, Jeffrey 1433 
 
 Donahue, John K . .78 
 
 Donahue, Peter 78 
 
 Donnelly Family. . . . \. 620 
 
 Donnelly, Michael H . .', 620 • 
 
 Donnelly, Mrs. M ichael\H 621 
 
 Dooltttle, Charles D ... .\ 695 ' 
 
 Dooliltle, Frederick W . .\. 1070 
 
 DooliUle, Nathan A .\ 10.4.5 
 
 Dorman, Walter B \ 531 
 
 Dorsey, Peter .\. . . . 1540 
 
 Dougherty, Philip • . . . 296 
 
 Dougherty, Philip J v. 296. 
 
 Dougherty, Mrs. Philip J .\ 296 
 
 Douglas, Jonathan D V^^'' 
 
 Dow Family '^:.'^^^ 
 
 Dow, James J\I 'vOS , 
 
 Dowd",E leader, Pu9 
 
 Dowd Family -p^lS 
 
 Dowd, Henrv •-''■^ 
 
 Dowd, Henry :\I 51-T-« 
 
 Dowd, Henrv W 514 
 
 Dowd. Lewis D . . . .■ 593 
 
 Dowd, Miss Louisa W 909 
 
 Dowd, Hon. Thomas 9C8 
 
 Dowd, Wylivs W 51o ■ 
 
 Dowling, Jo.ui F., M. L 255 
 
 DowUng, Pel. r '■ 555 
 
 Downes, Ephraim 1271 
 
 Downes Family 1270 
 
 Downes, Franklin ' 1271 
 
 Downing, Emery \. 1'24 
 
 Downing, Mrs. Emery. .' 124 
 
 Downing Family L24 
 
 Doyle, James L. . . '"i-'l 
 
 Drake, David, Jr 1^1" 
 
 Drake, Hon. Samuel D 1 o09 
 
 Drieu, Alfred 1191 
 
 Du Bon Family ^'^'J 
 
 Du Bon, Hon. John A • .^^0 
 
 Dudley, Carroll L ■ •• ISy^ 
 
 Dudlev, Julius 130 
 
 Duffy," John *;f/ 
 
 Duffy, William L>40 
 
 Dunbar, Butler. \l-' 
 
 Dunbar, Charle--! E li^'i' 
 
 Dunba"-, Hon. Edward B l_^i; 
 
 Dunbar, Edward L HS 
 
 Dunbar, Edward Louie 'SI 
 
 Dunbar Family 1^1 
 
 Dunbar, Hon. William A It^" 
 
 Dunbar. Winthrop W ISO 
 
 Duncan, T.E }|0'' 
 
 Duncan, Thomas.... '''I' 
 
 Dunham, Barnabu? _ _' ;^ 
 
 Dunham, George C 1 '-"-'^ 
 
 Dunham, GilesX 1<J?9 
 
 Dunham, Mrs. Giles L 1"^ l 
 
 Dunham, Harvey ;^;'- 
 
 Dunham, Norris P f^f^ 
 
 Dunham. Robert C i>;-^ 
 
 Dunham, William T \-'' 
 
 Dwight, Mrs. Grace G ■^jl'} 
 
 Dyer, Daniel ^y^ 
 
 Dyer, Daniel T '':'. 
 
 Dyer Family ;'.:? 
 
 Dyer, Zenas '-''■^' 
 
1580 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Eat'an, Edwin P 1^21 
 
 Eauni, Alamander 326 
 
 Eaton, Charles \V 1477 
 
 Ealon Family 1478 
 
 Eaton, Henry J 320 
 
 Eddy, Hon. Horace ;>48 
 
 tdi' 'rion, Aianson 962 
 
 Kdi;, rton, Jacob 962 
 
 Ji-.if^crton, Washburn 962 
 
 Edwards, Frederick B 364 
 
 Edwards, Walter . /. 364 
 
 I'u,.in, I'hcMias F. , 429 
 
 F.Uan. Wilhani E. 429 
 
 E);t;leston, Arthur F 1510 
 
 I'.hiers, Ern>sl kA 664 
 
 Ela, KIwooiS 308 
 
 Eldredi^'e Family • 212 
 
 EUlrulKe, Charles W 125 
 
 Eldri.JL,'.-. Jimes W. . 124 
 
 EldrHlKcXVilliam . . 125 
 
 Elljs, lier/jamin F. . . . 1882 
 
 Ellis Fa'/ily .. 1382 
 
 Ellis, Gooree .1382 
 
 Elhs. '.Teor'^'eA . 1447 
 
 Ellis^ George \V .. 1382 
 
 Eili ; James M 1447 
 
 Ell.Kh, Robert C 1350 
 
 El'sworth, Abm.T M., Jr 1126 
 
 Eliswnrih, Hon. Chaiincev 1445 
 
 ' " orlh. Chauncey B..'. 1444 
 
 I ..nh Faniilies..581, 682, 1124, 1444 
 
 i, . .v.o ih, Frederick 681 
 
 Klls.voith. Capt. Giles. 
 
 Ellsworth, H. H 
 
 Ellsworth, jebu P. . 
 Ellsworth, Lemuel .'^ 
 Ellsworth. Horn Oliver. 
 
 682 
 
 682 
 
 694 
 
 1124 
 
 I486 
 
 Ellsworth, Theodore E 1161 
 
 KM . r:h, Wi'JianiH 6aS 
 
 K ..twailO., M.D 265 
 
 L:..-.,:. !iii-.in.r\V 255 
 
 Elmer, |ol ' 433 
 
 Eliu.T. ;\i. - 48;^ 
 
 Elv Family... 1410 
 
 Elv, HenrvD 1410 
 
 Ely, John R 1410 
 
 Emiiinns, ICdward P 1111 
 
 Emm .ns Families 1112, 1412 
 
 Emniniis. L. S 641 
 
 EmUrs, John O ."1 
 
 Eniirrs, Thomas B., M. D. U 
 
 Enders, Thomas O 10 
 
 Enders, Mrs. Ihomas O 31 
 
 En>;lish Family ' a39 
 
 English, Joel i: 339 
 
 Eno, .\mos R . 762 
 
 Eno, Chauncey __ 102 
 
 Eno. Hon. Chauncev E IDV^ 
 
 Eno, David '. 101 
 
 Eno Families. ...670, 762 
 
 Eno, George C 681 
 
 Eno, Capt. lonatii.m 102 
 
 En(\ H on. Lewis G 253 
 
 Eno. Richard B 102 
 
 Eno, .Salmon 671 
 
 Eno, Salmon C 670 
 
 Ensign, Alfred 1 594 
 
 Ensign, Bildad .' 1053 
 
 Ensign, Hon. Charles A. (Sims- 
 bury) ....: 124? 
 
 Ensign. Hon. Charles A. 778 
 
 Ensiirn. Dr. Charles W 1243 
 
 Ensign, EluurR 662 
 
 Ensign Families. .661, 778, 868, 
 
 .~ 1053, 1243 
 
 ^^gn. F. Howard 661 
 
 ^v»^HenryW 1052 
 
 VKCV, 
 
 Ensign, Joseph R 1201 
 
 Ensign, Mrs. Maria W 779 
 
 Ensign, Moses 868 
 
 Ensign, Owen L 1043 
 
 Ensign, Ralph H 868 
 
 Ertel, Max , 1143 
 
 Erving, John J 666 
 
 Fagan, Thomas 
 
 Fairbanks, L, D 
 
 Fairbrother, Guy L 
 
 Fairfield Family 
 
 Fairfield, Jonathan T 
 
 Fairfield, Joseph B 
 
 Fairman, Mrs. Emma F 
 
 F'airnian Family 
 
 Fairman, John 
 
 Farnhani, Augustus 
 
 Farnham, Edwin D 
 
 Earnham Family 
 
 Faulkner, Charles H 
 
 Faulkner, John 
 
 Fawcetl, I- rancis W 
 
 Faxon Family 
 
 Faxon. Hiram 
 
 Faxon, Walter C 
 
 Faxton, George A 
 
 Fay, Joseph R 
 
 Feely, William 
 
 Felcii, William Farrand 
 
 Ferguson, David J 
 
 Field, Burr K 
 
 Field, M rs. Burr K 
 
 Field Family 
 
 Field, Francis K ..:...... 
 
 Field, William G., Esq'. 
 
 Fields, Henry 
 
 Fields, Lyman W 
 
 Fllley Family 
 
 Filley, Horace H 
 
 Filley. Hon. William H 
 
 Finch, AuLjustus E 
 
 Finch, Charles E 
 
 Finch Familie."! 131, 
 
 Finch, George T., M. D 
 
 Finch, Solomon^ 
 
 Fish, Danif i',W 
 
 Fish Famil fs 1339, 
 
 Fish, John 11 
 
 Fish, Miller 
 
 Fish, Samuel 
 
 Fisher, Geoige C. . 
 
 Fisher, Henry 
 
 Fisk, Leonard D 
 
 Finsrll.E 
 
 Fitts, Hon. jliibn F 
 
 Fitts, Mrs. .Vuuy I 
 
 Flagg, Charges H 
 
 Flagg, Geo! ;e, Jr 
 
 Fletcher, H-nry F 
 
 Fletcher, W illiam F 
 
 Flood, Johr. 
 
 Flower, Spencer L 
 
 Flynn, Doir.inick 
 
 Fogg, Josep h 
 
 Fogg, Nicholas H 
 
 Fogg, Wilfi-ed E 
 
 Foley, James 
 
 Foley, William T 
 
 Forbes, Anson 
 
 Forbes, Charles R. . , 
 
 Forbes, Charles R„ Er 
 
 Forbes, Charles T^ 
 
 Forbes, Clarence S 
 
 Forbes Families.. . ..534, 689, 749, 
 
 Forbes, Giles 
 
 Forbes, Hon. James S 
 
 963 
 1148 
 1461 
 1178 
 
 mg 
 
 1178 
 
 96 
 
 95 
 
 95 
 
 992 
 
 992 
 
 ;)92 
 
 1200 
 
 1200 
 
 1367 
 
 128 
 
 129 
 
 128 
 
 1638 
 
 570 
 
 1556 
 
 1569 
 
 1503 
 
 1479 
 
 1480 
 
 977 
 
 1479 
 
 976 
 
 1428 
 
 1428 
 
 1344 
 
 1344 
 
 1344 
 
 1123 
 
 1123 
 
 1097 
 
 131 
 
 1097 
 
 1338 
 
 1366 
 
 1366 
 
 l;;66 
 
 1 339 
 
 1.^64 
 
 l.:>63 
 
 82 
 
 1.55G 
 
 542 
 
 543 
 
 661 
 
 561 
 
 1166 
 
 1166 
 
 1539 
 
 218 
 
 i.m;2 
 
 1411 
 1411 
 1411 
 
 558 
 558 
 
 i;-!4n 
 
 749 
 749 
 
 687 
 ,457 
 844 
 846 
 844 
 
 PAGE 
 
 f'orbes, Lawrence S 689 
 
 Forbes, Mahlon 090 
 
 Forbes, Orrin 587 
 
 Forces, Samuel 634 
 
 Forbes, Mrs. Samuel 535 
 
 Forbes, Stephen 45T 
 
 Forbes,- Sydney 534 
 
 Forbes, Timothv 846 
 
 Ford. F. L 1203 
 
 Ford, Hon. Horace K ' 767 
 
 Ford, John P. 924 
 
 Ford, Willis "57 
 
 Foster. .Arthur L. 1414 
 
 Foster, Charles A. 1414 
 
 Fowler, Anson 1346 
 
 Fowler, Edward G 1 1 ''4 
 
 Fowler, George W. "' 
 
 Fowler, Mrs. George W 8 
 
 Fowler, William M 1346 
 
 Fox, Edward G., M. D. J63 
 
 Fox Family '•63 
 
 Fox, Dr. Roswell /64 
 
 Francis, Mrs. Anpa B. 377 
 
 Francis, Mrs. Blinn '^37 
 
 Francis, Daniel D • ••■ ^3J 
 
 Francis, Capt. Daniel G. . . . • • • &3~ 
 Franklin, Mrs. Christine L. . • • • 1134 
 Franklin, Gen. William B....... 4 
 
 Franklin, Walter S ^,4 
 
 Frazier Family • ''38 
 
 Frazier, Marvin ^39 
 
 Frazier, Samuel "39 
 
 Freeman, Calvin 1084 
 
 Freeman, Eli iO^'^ 
 
 Freeman, Judge Harrison B \W^ 
 
 French, Eleazer '"^^ 
 
 French Family 
 
 French, Nathaniel W.. 
 
 Fricke, Charles 
 
 Fricke, Henry 
 
 Frisbie, Mrs. Caroline E 
 
 Frisbie, Lemuel T 
 
 Frisbi. , '''artin 
 
 Frisbie, Hon. Martin W 
 
 Frost, Aaron 
 
 Frost, Daniel N 
 
 Frost Family '. . 
 
 Frost, Solomon 
 
 Frye, Artemas 
 
 Frye, H. S. 
 
 Fuller Family 
 
 Fuller, Mrs. Harriet A 
 
 Fuller, William H 
 
 Funck, Augustus H 
 
 Funck, Christian F 
 
 Gaines, Albert , . 
 
 Gaines, Howard C 
 
 Gale, Daniel 
 
 Gale, Herbert N 
 
 Galpin, Albert 
 
 Galpin, Albert H 
 
 Galpin, Mrs. Eliza S 
 
 Galpin Family :_■ 
 
 Galpin, Hon. Henry N 
 
 Galpin, Norris 
 
 Galpin, Samuel 
 
 Gambell, George N 
 
 Gambell, Mrs. Margaret 
 
 Gamerdinger, Oliver 
 
 Gammack, Alex. P. F., M. B., 
 
 CM 
 
 Gammack, Rev. James 
 
 Gantley, John 
 
 Gantley, Patrick 
 
 Gardner, Austin 
 
 Gardner Family 
 
PAGE 
 
 Gardner, Samuel A 469 
 
 Garvan Bros f>4B 
 
 Garvan, James L 647 
 
 Garvan, John H 647 
 
 Garvan, Thomas 647 
 
 Gates, AndrL'W F 1588 
 
 Gates, Eihvin 1430 
 
 Gates, William E 1430 
 
 Gay lord, Edward F 271 
 
 Gaylord Families 245, 782 
 
 Gaylord, iVIarvin L 732 
 
 Gavlord, William L 738 
 
 Geary. Michael 144S 
 
 Geary, Patrick 1448 
 
 Geiselman, John, Jr. 665 
 
 Geiselman, John, Sr 1047 
 
 Gemrr.ill, James 428 
 
 Gemmill, John 423 
 
 ' Georgia, C. T 1455 
 
 Gibbons, Jedediah H 1101 
 
 Gibbons, "Peter 1101 
 
 Gibbons, Watson 1101 
 
 Gibbs Family 794 
 
 Gibbs, Capt. Lester 1166 
 
 Giddings, Benjamin 258 
 
 Giddings Family 256 
 
 Giddmg.s, Frederick W 2.5S 
 
 Giddmgs, Watson 256 
 
 Gilbert, Benjamin 1476 
 
 Gilbert, Charles E 819 
 
 Gilbert, Erastus S 1476 
 
 Gilbert Families 319, 1;^68 
 
 Gilbert, Timothy 1556 
 
 ■ Gilbert, Waldo E. 1858 
 
 Gilletr, Albert B 1.377 
 
 Gillett Family J377 
 
 Gillett, Rey. Nathan 1877 
 
 Gillett, Ralph 1377 
 
 Gillette, Augustus B 1190 
 
 Gilligan, Pamck 1460 
 
 Gillin, Charles A., M. D 568 
 
 ' Gillin, James 569 
 
 Gilman Family 1889 
 
 Gilman, George H 1391 
 
 Gilman, Judge George S 1390 
 
 Gilman, Julius 1389 
 
 Gilman, Gen. Julius S 1389 
 
 Gladwin, Mrs. Ellen H., M. D.. . 261 
 
 Gladwin, Sidney M 261 
 
 Gleason, Harvey 729 
 
 Gleason, Henry B 729 
 
 <}leeson, James F 1407 
 
 Gleeson. Patrick H 1407 
 
 Glover Family 1270 
 
 Godard Family \ 205 
 
 Godard, George S 1 .\ 206 
 
 Godard, Harvy 204 
 
 Godard, Mrs. Harvy 205 
 
 Godard, Oren !. 206 
 
 Godbee, James ' 958 
 
 Goddard. Bvron P 1185 
 
 Goddard, Frederick G 1228 
 
 Goddard, George D 1228 
 
 Goddard, Wharton H 1185 
 
 Goddard, William V 1185 
 
 Goldsmith, Daniel B 720 
 
 Goldsmith, Frederick 720 
 
 ijroodenough, Charles R 183 
 
 Gooderough, Ephraim 132 
 
 Goodenough Family 182 
 
 Goodenough, Lester 182, 1569 
 
 Goodman, Aaron C 89 
 
 Goodman Family 1400 
 
 . Goodman, Richard J 89 
 
 Goodrich, Miss Alice M 225 
 
 Goodrich, Charles C 894 
 
 Goodrich, Eli 364 
 
 / 
 
 IXDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Goodrich, Senator Elizur S . . ; . . 392 
 
 Goodrich, Mrs. Emeline E 365 
 
 Goodrich Families. .224,299, 392, 
 
 , 618. 681, 1438 
 
 Goodrich, Francis N 6SJ7' 
 
 Goodrich, Goushay 864 
 
 Goodrich, Jared 1488 
 
 Goodrich, Joseph. 224 
 
 Goodrich, Joseph E 224 
 
 Goodrich, Joshan ^ 394 
 
 Goodrich, Levi 1426 
 
 Goodrich, Capt. Lucius G 681 
 
 Goodrich, Nathan 300 
 
 Goodrich, Orrin H 1426 
 
 Goodrich, P. H 228 
 
 Goodrich, Stephen 299 
 
 Goodsell Family 921 
 
 Goodwin Bros ^20 
 
 Goodwin, Edwin O.. .^ . . ., 118 
 
 Goodwin Families. 22U, 613, 1391, 1404 
 
 Goodwin, Mrs. Fannie B 190' 
 
 Goodwin, Rev. Francis 1893 
 
 Goodwin, George 792 
 
 Goodwin, George H 792 
 
 Goodwin, Mrs. George H 793 
 
 Goodwin, H. Burdette 221 
 
 Goodwin, Harvey 221 
 
 Goodwin, Henry A 1405 
 
 Goodwin, Henry H. 1404. 
 
 Goodwin, Hezekiah 614 
 
 Goodwin, Major James 1891 
 
 Goodwin, James J ]892 
 
 Goodwin, James N 189 
 
 Goodwin, John 1405 
 
 Goodwin, Jonathan 189 
 
 Goodwin, Lester H 1405 
 
 Goodwin, Ozias 254 
 
 Goodwin, Wilbur E 221 
 
 Gordon, Hon. Andrew 866 
 
 Gordon, Uavid 884 
 
 Gordon, Howard D 450 
 
 Gordon, William 866 
 
 Goslee, James 895 
 
 Goslee, Mrs. Mary S 896 
 
 Goslee, William S 895 
 
 Gourley, James 990 
 
 Gourley, Hon. James C 990 
 
 Gowdy, Tudor 1505 
 
 Graham, Charles, H 874 
 
 Graham Family 1139 
 
 Graham, William L 874 
 
 Granger, Hon. Elisha M 376 
 
 Granger, Francis H 376 
 
 Grant, Albert H 1172 
 
 Grant Families 883, 1006 
 
 Grant, Frederick W 884 
 
 Grant, Harry A 891 
 
 Grant, Hamilton 127 
 
 Grant, Horace 1032 
 
 Grant, James M 127 
 
 Grant, Judge Ralph M 785 
 
 Grant, Roswell 888 
 
 Grant, Sheldon J 1006 
 
 Grant, Thompson S. 890 
 
 Grant, Wilbur F 1027 
 
 Grayes, A.N 1820 
 
 Graves, Dwight E 1321 
 
 Graves, Col. Edward M 1395 
 
 Graves, Edwin D 1472 
 
 Graves Families '. . . 1S95, 1472 
 
 Graves, Perez B 1473 
 
 Gray, Bernard 440 
 
 Grav, George H.. 1041 
 
 Gray, Iohn"H 1041 
 
 Gray, John S 340 
 
 Gray, John W. (Bristol) 440 
 
 Gray, John W 340 
 
 15SI 
 
 Gray. Mrs, John W 340 
 
 Green, Danu-1 W 459 
 
 Green Families 469, 1269 
 
 Greene Family 1364 
 
 Greene, Col. Jacob L 1364 
 
 Gridley Family 1242 
 
 Gridley. Jod A 1242 
 
 Gridley, Root 1059 
 
 Griftin, Collins B 982 
 
 Griffin Family 982' 
 
 Griffin, Homer. 626 
 
 Griffin, Jefferson H 626 
 
 Griffin, lustin E 1513 
 
 Griffin, L.B 1130 
 
 Griffin, Lyman 983 
 
 Grimes, Mrs. Charlotte 187 
 
 Grimes Family 184 
 
 Grimes, Capt. Richard 182 
 
 Griswo'd, Albeit D 132 
 
 Griswold, Allen P 965 
 
 Grisvi-old, Allen S , 1369 
 
 Griswold, Charles A 1369 | 
 
 Griswold, Charles F ^. 707 | 
 
 Griswold, Charles R 627 
 
 Griswold, Cicero 715 
 
 Griswold, Daniel C .\ 223 
 
 Griswold, Mrs. Daniel C ^3^ 
 
 Griswold, Edward 599 
 
 Griswold, Edward, Sr 596 
 
 Griswold, Edwin F. 666 
 
 Griswold, Elihu 815 
 
 Griswold Families. .273, 471, 639, 
 
 768, 1066, 1255 
 
 Griswold, George G 540 
 
 Griswold, Henry A 596 
 
 Griswold, James A 471 
 
 Griswold, James M 471 
 
 Griswold, Hon. John E 1068 
 
 Griswold, John P 964 
 
 Griswold, Julius J., 768 
 
 Griswold, Justus 514 
 
 Griswold, Justus W ...i 514 
 
 Griswold, Mrs. Justus W . . .Skw^--516 
 
 Griswold, ;\Iiss Mary E 182 
 
 Griswold, Noah....' 627 
 
 Griswold, Robert S 1235 
 
 Griswold, Rufus W., M. D 768 
 
 Griswold, Miss Sarah E 1069 
 
 Griswold, Sirvilius A 1213 
 
 Griswold, Stanley 666 
 
 Griswold, Thomas 1067 
 
 Griswold, Thomas N 1066 
 
 Griswold, Timothy E 715 
 
 Griswold, Ward H f vJi§*- 
 
 Griswold, Wareham 964 
 
 Griswold, Warren O. . 1508 
 
 Griswold, Wilfred E. '. 666 
 
 Griswold, William F 1236 
 
 G"i?'risey Family 1129, 
 
 Guernsej, Sherman F 1129, 
 
 Gussman, Frederick 120S,; 
 
 Gussman, Henry C. 120i.v 
 
 Gwatkin, Henry 57',() 
 
 Gwatkin, Henry E 6619 
 
 Gwatkin, Walter 57^ 
 
 
 Haah, Henry 
 
 Hadley, George 1463 
 
 Hadlev, George E ETo 
 
 Hadley, i\lrs. Helen T 916 
 
 Hadley, Reuben W 1463 
 
 Haggertv, Michael 1553 . 
 
 Hale, Addison M 1442 
 
 Hale, Chester 1312 
 
 Hale Families 634,*" 708 - 
 
 Hale, George H *>•« 
 
 Hale, Henry B 2^9 
 
Hale, Hezekiah 
 
 Hale, John A 
 
 Hale, Mrs. Marcia M 
 
 Hale, Orrin 
 
 Hale, Truman 
 
 Hale, Waile ' 
 
 Hall, Aaron \V 
 
 Hall, Alfred 
 
 Hall, Austin 
 
 Hall, Charles D 
 
 Hall Kamilies 154, 1341, 
 
 Hall, George H 
 
 Hall, Gusia\us E 
 
 Hall, Hon. John H 
 
 Hall, J. Kno.\ 
 
 Hall, Joseph 
 
 Hall, loseph B., .M. D.... 
 
 Hall, "Miss Mary 
 
 Hall, Kaper 
 
 Hall, 'I'lumias S 
 
 Hallailay, Hon. Edmund 
 
 Halladay, Edmund T 
 
 Halladay, Moses 
 
 Halse.-, Henry 
 
 Halsey, Henry A 
 
 Hambach, Kasper 
 
 Hamilton, Andrew 
 
 Hamilton, Hon. Benjamin 
 
 Hamilton, Daniel 
 
 Hamilton l-"amily 
 
 Hamilton, Henry W 
 
 Hamilton, John 
 
 Hamilton, Jonathan S 
 
 Hamilton, Scoville ) 
 
 Hammersley, Judse William . . . 
 Hannnond. Kev. Edward l'.,.M.A. 
 
 Hammond, .Mrs. Eliza O 
 
 Hammond Family 
 
 Hanchett I'amily 
 
 Hancock, John 
 
 Hancock, Samuel G 
 
 Hancock, Thoir.as 
 
 Hancoik, Thomas C 
 
 "Handel, Christian 
 
 Handel, Philip A :... . 
 
 Hanmer, Alfred \V 
 
 Hanmer. Mrs. E. Caroline 
 
 Hanmer Family 
 
 Hanmer, Francis 
 
 Hanmer, Henry C 
 
 Hanmer, Hon. William 
 
 Hanna, John 
 
 Hanna, William B 
 
 !JaF,n.!, William W 
 
 Hansen, Hans O 
 
 Harbison, G .n. .Alexander 
 
 Harbison, John P 
 
 Harbison, Robert 
 
 Harmon, Ashbel C 
 
 Harmon Families Z^'S, 
 
 Harmon. Julius 
 
 Harriman, Rev. Frederick D... 
 Marriman, Rev. Fredk.W,, AI. A. 
 
 Harrington, Elisha 
 
 larrington, Mrs..F'mma L 
 
 irrington, Dea. Jarvis P 
 
 ri ,'ns, Asel 
 
 Harris, Dwight A 
 
 Harris, William W 
 
 Hart, Hon. Abner S 
 
 Hart, Adna 
 
 Hart, .Artemus E 
 
 Hart, Artemus E., Sr 
 
 Hart, Burton A 
 
 Hart, Hon. Charles E 
 
 Hart, Charles R . ' 
 
 Hart, Cyprian H 
 
 PAGE 
 
 . 1072 
 
 . tia.5 
 
 . 1072 
 
 . 1442 
 
 . 1312 
 
 . 1442 
 
 . 660 
 
 . 154 
 
 . 549 
 
 . 1370 
 
 , 1369 
 
 , 1369 
 
 1402 
 
 154 
 
 549 
 
 299 
 
 299 
 
 1402 
 
 565 
 
 1341 
 
 842 
 
 842 
 
 842 
 
 13;i4 
 
 1334 
 
 1510 
 
 521 
 
 :.2i 
 
 1141 
 
 1U91 
 
 1141 
 
 1141 
 
 lOiJl 
 
 1091 
 
 1667 
 
 320 
 
 324 
 
 261 
 
 870 
 
 580 
 
 580 
 
 1315 
 
 1037 
 
 596 
 
 597 
 
 900 
 
 478 
 
 900 
 
 477 
 
 900 
 
 477 
 
 444 
 
 444 
 
 444 
 
 1044 
 
 177 
 
 177 
 
 177 
 
 .Q9.3 
 
 993 
 
 994 
 
 783 
 
 783 
 
 240 
 
 240 
 
 240 
 
 1376 
 
 1376 
 
 1376 
 
 916 
 
 236 
 
 259 
 
 809 
 
 292 
 
 1250 
 
 Hart, Ebenezer 
 
 Hart, Mrs. Elizabeth 
 
 Hart, Mrs. Ella M 
 
 Hart Families. .236,259,399, 648 
 
 808,916, 1246, 
 
 Hart, George 
 
 Hart, George P 
 
 Hart, Hawkins 
 
 Hart, Henrv F 
 
 Hart, Henry T 
 
 Hart, Jesse 
 
 Hart, Newton 
 
 Hart, Samuel 
 
 Hart, Samuel A 
 
 Hart, William H 
 
 Hartman, Charles A 
 
 Hartman, William T 
 
 Haskins, James H 
 
 Haskins, James O 
 
 Haskins, Orrin 
 
 Hastings, James 
 
 Hastings. James G 
 
 Hastini;s, Joseph 
 
 Hatch,' Charles P 
 
 Hatch, Samuel O 
 
 Hathaway, Allen B 
 
 Hathaway, Col. Samuel 
 
 Hathaway, .Mrs. Rebecca P 
 
 Hatheway, George 
 
 Hatheway, Thomas B 
 
 Havens, !\Irs. Carrie E 
 
 Havens, Charles H 
 
 Havens, Ebenezer G 
 
 Havens, .Mrs. Ebenezer G 
 
 Havens Families 696, 
 
 Havens, Frank W 
 
 Havens, Hiram 
 
 Havens, Owen R 
 
 Havens, Simeon 
 
 Haviland, Barnes H 
 
 Haviland, Mrs. Betsey A 
 
 Haviland, Clinton S 
 
 Haviland, F. A 
 
 Hawley, Anion 
 
 Hawley, Mrs. Anna C 
 
 Hawley, Charles R 
 
 Hawley Family 
 
 Hawley, George L 
 
 Hawley, Henry D 
 
 Hawle\, Mai.-Gen. Joseph R., 
 
 LL.D : 
 
 Hawley, Robert 
 
 Hayden Family 
 
 Hayden, Jabez H 
 
 Hayden, Col. Nathaniel 
 
 Hayden, Oliver 
 
 Hayden, Ransom B 
 
 Hayden, William O. 
 
 Hayes, Eli '. 
 
 Hayes, Mrs. Eliza J 
 
 Hayes, James R 
 
 Haves, Obediah 
 
 Hayes, P. R 
 
 Hayes, Patrick 
 
 Hayes, Roland.... 
 
 Hayward, William 
 
 Heald Family 
 
 Heald, Rev. Jesse E 
 
 Healy, Patrick 
 
 «eath, Mrs. Adeline B. 
 
 Heath, Capt. William H 
 
 Heck, Joseph 
 
 Heinnch, George 
 
 Hemingway, John 
 
 Henney, Judge William F 
 
 Henry, Samuel K 
 
 Henry, Wil'iprd S 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1251 
 
 292 
 810 
 
 1273 
 
 1247 
 
 1248 
 
 916 
 
 399 
 
 717 
 
 808 
 
 237 
 
 548 
 
 548 
 
 1247 
 
 1060 
 
 1060 
 
 952 
 
 1020 
 
 952 
 
 439 
 
 440 
 
 439 
 
 1361 
 
 1361 
 
 1260 
 
 1260 
 
 1260 
 
 644 
 
 644 
 
 696 
 
 696 
 
 1515 
 
 1515 
 
 1007 
 
 123 
 
 123 
 
 1007 
 
 696 
 
 759 
 
 759 
 
 759 
 
 315 
 
 961 
 
 1660 
 
 939 
 
 961 
 
 1143 
 
 961 
 
 34 
 939 
 
 999 
 15ID 
 10119 
 
 999 
 1009 
 
 999 
 1080 
 1081 
 1225 
 1225 
 
 445 
 
 445 
 1226 
 1290 
 
 890 
 
 889 
 1461 
 
 808 - 
 
 807 
 1564 
 1559 
 
 945 
 1517 
 
 748 
 428 
 
 Hewes, D wight N. 
 
 Hewes, Natlianiel. 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 Hi 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 bbard, Edwin B 
 
 bbard, i\Irs. Elizabeth E 
 
 bbard, Walter 
 
 ckey, John J 
 
 ckey, Patrick P 
 
 ggins, John E 
 
 ginbotham Family 
 
 ginbotham, Henry 
 
 ginbotham, John E 
 
 ginbotham, William W 
 
 gley Family 
 
 gley. Hon. Silas 
 
 Idit'ch, William, Sr 
 
 11, Mrs. Ida H 
 
 11, James T 
 
 II, Mrs. Nancv (Hooker) 
 
 II, William..; 
 
 lis, Ashbel 
 
 lis Brothers 
 
 lis, Charles W 
 
 lis, Chester M 
 
 lis, Dwight B 
 
 lis, Edwin 
 
 lis, Ellerv 
 
 Us Families 727, 1001 
 
 213. 
 
 Fred .M 
 
 George 
 
 Henry W 
 
 Hezekiah 
 
 Hiram 
 
 James 
 
 Jonas C 
 
 Osias 
 
 ills, Samuel A 
 
 Is, .Stephen 
 
 incklev, Capt. Arthur T. 
 
 inckley, .•\sahel 
 
 inckley f-'amilies 
 
 incKley, Capt. Ichabod . 
 
 H nckley. Nelson G 
 
 Hinman Family 
 
 Hinman, George | 
 
 Hinman, John J 
 
 Hinman, Julius 
 
 Hinman, Zerah J. 
 
 Hitclicock, Benajah 
 
 Hitchcock, Elmer 
 
 Hitchcock Family 
 
 Hitchcock, Mrs. Julia E 
 
 Hitchcock, Marcena , 
 
 Hitchcock, William A 
 
 Hoadley Families 10, 
 
 Hoadley, Fred'k William 
 
 Hoadley, James Henry 
 
 Hoadley, Hon. Jeremy 
 
 Hoadley, Jesse J 
 
 Hoadlev, Selden S 
 
 Hoadley, William H 
 
 Hoadly, Charles J 
 
 Hoadly Family 
 
 Hoadly, William 
 
 Hodge, Alsup 
 
 Hodge, Buel D 
 
 Hodge, Charles H^, 
 
 Hodge, Elisha . , . . ^.^ 
 
 Hodge Family . : . if, A'. 
 
 Hodge, Hon. George W 
 
 Hodge, Henry i .' 
 
 Hodge, Hiram E 
 
 Holbrook, Caleb M 
 
 Holbrook, Charles W 
 
 Holbrook, Dwight 
 
 Holbrook Family 
 
 Holbrook, Joel 
 
 Holbrook, josiah 
 
 PAGE 
 
 . 448 
 . 448 
 . 151 
 . 152 
 . 151 
 . 1553 
 . 724 
 . 94 
 . 1158 
 . 115» 
 . 1168 
 . 1159 
 . 50& 
 . 100 
 . 731 
 . 1088 
 . 1088 
 14 
 . 562 
 . 703 
 1000' 
 , HOC. 
 . 703 
 . (iU2 
 1139 
 192 
 1139 
 72f> 
 602. 
 1001 
 1001 
 113» 
 727 
 192 
 140& 
 711 
 1001 
 290 
 290 
 289 
 215 
 289 
 125& 
 1429 
 1429 
 1256 
 1256 
 1.536 
 TU6 
 319 
 320 
 319 
 706 
 484 
 11 
 11 
 10 
 484 
 485 
 11 
 11 
 10 
 10 
 957 
 1121 
 63C 
 63C 
 63( 
 28t 
 
 iiai 
 96.: 
 
 26;: 
 70i 
 
 7(i; 
 
 26; 
 26; 
 
 70i 
 
INDEX. 
 
 1588 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Holcomb, Albert E 988 
 
 Holcomb, Chauncey D 912 
 
 Hohomb, Edmond 901 
 
 Hulcorab, Elihu y ^"^^ 
 
 Holcomb Families 6«, 901, 912 
 
 Holcomb, Gavelte B 902 
 
 Holcomb, Jacob ■ • 9iy 
 
 Holcomb, Jefferson R 644 
 
 Holcomb, Joel 615 
 
 Holcomb, Joseph W 1019 
 
 Holcomb, Orator '. 91o 
 
 Holcomb, Raynor 645 
 
 Holcorabe Family Ift 
 
 Holcombe, James H I IIT 
 
 Holcombe, John M Q'lT 
 
 Holcombe, Mrs. John M 118 
 
 Holden, Benedict M 329 
 
 Holden, Felix 329 
 
 Holden, James F 329 
 
 Hollev, Daniel 1326 
 
 Hollev, James 1325 
 
 Holley, "Julian R 1365 
 
 Holley, Ferry 1365 
 
 Hollister, Charles H. 1055 
 
 Hollister Family 8 
 
 Hollister, Gideon , 8 
 
 Hollister, Henry 1055 
 
 Hollister, Nelson 8 
 
 Holmes Family 550 
 
 Holmes, John W 550 
 
 Holt, Alva 564 
 
 Holt Family 564 
 
 Holt, Fred P 565 
 
 Holt, Lucius H 564 
 
 Honiss Family 73C 
 
 Honiss, James.. 736 
 
 Hooker, Bryan 14 
 
 Hooker, Bryan E 14 
 
 Hooker, Mrs. Bryan E 15 
 
 Hoyker Family. 13 
 
 Hooker, John 13 
 
 Hooker, Norman, Albert 1562 
 
 Hooker, Thomas 13 
 
 Horton, Elmore, M. D 886 
 
 Horton, Everett -368 
 
 Horton Family 368 
 
 Horton, Leonard 886 
 
 Hoskins, Horton Z 654 
 
 Hotchkiss Family 918 
 
 Hotcbkiss, Samuel 919 
 
 Hotchkiss, Willard 919 
 
 Hough, Eli S 416 
 
 Hough, Emerson A 1322 
 
 Hough Family 416 
 
 Hough, losiah 1323 
 
 Hough, Rev. Lent S 416 
 
 Houghton, S. W., M. D 1500, 
 
 Howard, A. W., M. D 142 
 
 Howard, Amasa 142 
 
 Howard, Hon. Chauncey 746 
 
 Howard, Prof. Daniel, M. A 780 
 
 Howard Families 746, 780, 1342. 
 
 Howard, James A 1342 
 
 Howe Family 1147 
 
 Howe, George C 1147 
 
 Howe, Harmon G., M. D 1484 
 
 Howe, John . . . : (559 
 
 Howe, Willard E- 659 
 
 Hoye, Michael 1467 
 
 Hubbard, Mrs. Charlotte H 832 
 
 H ubbard, Edward A 832 
 
 Hubbard Families :....812, 832 
 
 Hubbard, Franklin B 911 
 
 Hubbard, George W 812 
 
 Hubbard, 1. Burdette 949 
 
 Hubbard, Joab H 812 
 
 Hubbard, Jonathan 949 
 
 I'AGE 
 
 Hubbard, Mrs. Louisa L 911 
 
 Hubbard, Hon. Richard D 1365 
 
 Hubbard, Steplien A 72 
 
 Hubbell Family 1280 
 
 Hudson Family 173 
 
 Hudson, Miss Juha E 173 
 
 Hudson, William t 173 
 
 Hudson, William M., M. U •. 173 
 
 Hull, George S., M. D 35 
 
 Humphrey, Alfred F 580 
 
 Humphrey, Benajah 613 
 
 Humphrey, Dositheus 612 
 
 Humphrey Families 495, 610, 
 
 902,935, 1095, 1228 
 
 Humphrey, Frederick G 719 
 
 Humphrey, George 1229 
 
 Humphrey, Col. George 1228 
 
 Humphrey, Hon. George F 680 
 
 Humphrev, Mrs. Henrietta R. . . 936 
 
 Humphrey, Dea. Henry 1228 
 
 Humphrey, Hosea U 914 
 
 H'umphrey, Hosea D., Sr 914 
 
 Humphrey, Hon John C. E 610 
 
 Humphrey^ Hon. Lion 935 
 
 Humphrey, Miss Mary H 615 
 
 Humphrey, Uea. Theophilus. 
 
 935 
 
 Humphrey, Trumbull 9U3 
 
 Humphrey, Hon. Warren C... 935 
 
 Humphrey, William G 1237 
 
 Hungerford, Charles E 175 
 
 Hungerford, Evits ., 175 
 
 Hungerford Family... 175 
 
 Hungerford, Henry W 641 
 
 Hungerford, Leander G 175 
 
 Hungerford, William, LL. D. . . . 1488 
 
 Huntington Families 210, 269 
 
 Huntington, Kranc;s J 1414 
 
 Huntington, Rev. John T 210 
 
 Huntington, Robert W 270 
 
 Huntington, Robert W., Jr 270 
 
 Huntington, Hon. Samuel H. . . . 270 
 
 Huntington, William W 1414 
 
 Huntting Family 1049 
 
 Huntting, William L ; 1049 
 
 Hurlburl Family 126 
 
 Hurlburt, Edward E 126 . 
 
 Hurlburt, James ■; , 1249 
 
 Hurlburt, Joseph O 1 20 
 
 Hurlburt, Newton R ^ .. 1249 
 
 Hutchinson Family ... 419 
 
 Hutchinson, Henry 419 
 
 Hutchinson, Lewis 419 
 
 Hutt, Charles F 453 
 
 Hutton, Peter 1116 
 
 'Hutton, William 1115 
 
 Hyde, Alvan P 1504 
 
 Hyde, Hon. Frank E 1505 
 
 Hyde, Hon. Yv illiam W 1-505 
 
 Ingalls, Phineas H 
 
 Ingraham, Elias 
 
 Ingrahani, The E., Co 
 Ingraham, Walter A. 
 Ingraham, William S. 
 
 Ives, Carlton B 
 
 Ives, Enos B 
 
 Ives Family 
 
 Ives, Ralph T. , 
 
 A. M., M. r:). 
 
 Jackson, James C, M. D. . 
 
 Jacobs Family 
 
 Jacobs, Marcus E 
 
 Jacobs, Washington 
 
 Jacques, Mrs. Anna G. . . . 
 Jacques, Calvin W., M. D. 
 
 Jacques Family 
 
 Jarman. Gen. James H.. . . 
 
 288 
 281 
 281 
 282 
 282 
 716 
 716 
 716 
 1187 
 
 254 
 
 1196 
 
 1196 
 
 1196 
 
 273 
 
 272 
 
 273 
 
 77 
 
 Jarnian. Willinm S 
 
 Jarvis, Charles M 
 
 Jarvis FaAiily .-v. 
 
 Jarvis, George C.,'Mt P.. 
 Jarvis, Dr. George O. . . . 
 
 Jencks, Charles L 
 
 Jencks Family 
 
 Jencks, John L ^. . 
 
 Jenney, I-5enjamin F. T. . 
 
 Jenney, Caleb 
 
 Jennings, Wdliam N. . . . 
 
 Jewell, Charles A 
 
 Jewell Family 
 
 Jewell, Lyman B 
 
 Jewell, Hon. Marshall. . 
 
 Jewell, Pliny 
 
 Jewell, Pliny, Jr 
 
 .Jewett, Frederick S 
 
 lohnson, Aaron 
 
 Johnson, Charles W. . . 
 Johnson, Mrs. Charles W.^ 
 Johnson, Hon. Elisha. 
 
 Johnson Families. . .66, 284, ; 
 
 Johnson, Frank E . 
 
 Johnson, Frank M. 
 
 Johnson, John 
 
 Johnson, John O. .,,; 
 
 Johnson, Joseph R 
 
 lohnson, Joseph W 
 
 Johnson, Marcus M., B. Ph., 
 M. D 
 
 Johnson, Gen. Nathan 
 
 Johnston, John M 
 
 Johnston, William C 
 
 Jones, David ■ 
 
 Jones Family 
 
 Jones, Franklin D • 
 
 Jones, Frederic 
 
 Jones, Mrs. Hansey S 
 
 Jones, James 
 
 lones, John P 
 
 Jones, John P., Sr 
 
 Jones, Nathaniel 
 
 Jones, Samuel F 
 
 Jones, Wdliam 
 
 judd Families...., 1084, 
 
 Jud<l, Henry C 
 
 judd, John F 
 
 Judd, Jonathan 
 
 Judd, Philip S 
 
 Judd, Solomon 
 
 Judd, Thomas 
 
 Judd, William S — 
 
 Kane, Patrick . ^ ^ 
 
 Rape, Thomas F 
 
 Kane, Thomas F.. A. B., M. D. . 
 
 Keene, .Andrew J • • 
 
 Keene, Edward W • 
 
 Keene, Patrick 
 
 Keeney, Capt. Arthur B 
 
 Keeney, Gen. George E 
 
 Keeney, Henry 
 
 Keeney, Maranthon H 
 
 Keeney, Porter 
 
 Keeney, Rockwell •.•• 
 
 Keep family. 
 
 Keep, William E 
 
 Keidaisch. John G 
 
 Keirns, Theodore H 
 
 Keirns; Mrs. T. H 
 
 Kelley, Charles, M. D 
 
 Kellogar, Bela C 
 
 Kellogg, Eben.ezer N 
 
 Kellogk, CoI.E. S 
 
 KellogS, Edward W., M. D 
 
 Kellogg, Edwin W 
 
i5i;4 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 I'AGE 
 
 KellogK Families 404, 1221, 1393 
 
 Kellopg, Hon. George... ....... 1393 
 
 Kellour . Oliver \V 1221 
 
 Kellccu, Oliver VV., Sr 1222 
 
 Kellont;, Samuel N 88 
 
 Kcllv, J..lin J 1291 
 
 Kriiv. [ohn I... A. B., M. D 1291 
 
 K i,.;,,!l Families b'l3, 87(i 
 
 Kriui.ill, Hon. George F 876 
 
 Kendall, Simon 844 
 
 Kendall, Col. Simon B 877 
 
 Keney, H'. . 75 
 
 Keney, W.. 75 
 
 KiMinedy, Cni. lirnry, ;jfi 
 
 Kennedy, Samuel 36 
 
 Kenney Family S67 
 
 Kenney. John P 567 
 
 Kent, Albert 401 
 
 Kent Families. . . 400,1149 
 
 Kent, Oliver D .516 
 
 Kent, Seth 721 
 
 Kent, Si(':ne% .\ 400 
 
 Kent, Mrs. Stella A 401 
 
 Ketcliin, A. j 733 
 
 K'etcbm, John 7:-H 
 
 •:>^s, Nelson 1172 
 
 hourn Family , 209 
 
 Killiourn, Hnrace 209 
 
 Kilbourn, Jo^eph A., M. I") 209 
 
 Kilbourne, Alfred 885 
 
 Kilhoiirne, Alfreil K . MI2 
 
 .Ashbel i^^ 
 
 Family S85 
 
 Miss Harriet T 886 
 
 Kilbv, Elam S 9.S7 
 
 Kilby, Franklin 937 
 
 Killam, ICdward 1077 
 
 Killam, Henrv 1077 
 
 Killin, Williai'n H 1519 
 
 Kimball Family filS 
 
 Kimberly Family 1276 
 
 King, Abe! 1128 
 
 King, .Antonio C 450 
 
 King, Jr'.enoni O ..i 816 
 
 Kmg, Charles '. . , 347 
 
 King Families 
 
 347, 816, 1089, 1127, 1335 . 
 
 King. Hon. Frederick A 815 
 
 King, George \V 6 
 
 King, .Miss Helen M 
 
 *-:— u..„_,A 
 
 W 
 
 A 
 
 [,.hn N 
 
 1 H 
 
 Kilbourne, 
 Kilbourne 
 Kilbourne, 
 
 .,_Jvid 
 
 1127 
 
 12,V2 
 
 1335 
 
 1252 
 
 1335 
 
 6 
 
 1090 
 
 1089 
 
 1353 
 
 Kinghorn, Henry 1353 
 
 Kingsbury, Daniel, M. D 922 
 
 Kingsbury, Kenry M 1045 
 
 Kingsbury, Horace P 1044 
 
 Kingsbury, .Sandford i^>22 
 
 Kingsbury, William 1044 
 
 Kinne, Aaron . . fi39 
 
 Kinne Family 589 
 
 Kinne, Henry A 639 
 
 Kinney, Mrs. Eliza .4 827 
 
 Kinney, Sheldon 827 
 
 Kirkbride, Benjamin 435 
 
 Kirkhara. John S ].506 
 
 Knoek, Joseph L 405 
 
 Knoek, Leviat S 405 
 
 Knous Family 335 
 
 Knous, Jacob 335 
 
 Knous, Mrs. Jacob 335 
 
 Knowlton Familv 1181 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Knox, Mrs. Emily J S93 
 
 Knox Family > 115 
 
 Knox, Henry 162 
 
 Knox, Hiram H 162 
 
 Knox, John 161 
 
 Knox, Samuel ., 893' 
 
 Knox, Samuel, Jr 115 
 
 Knox, Hon. Waldo S 893 
 
 Knox, Wallace C 894 
 
 Korngiebel, David 1531 
 
 Korngiebel, John 1531 
 
 Lacey, Tames R 1455 
 
 Ladd, George W 654 
 
 Ladd, Mrs. Lavinia F 844 
 
 Ladd, Lewis W 984 
 
 Ladd, Samuel W 844 
 
 Lamphear, Merrick 1546 
 
 Lamphler, George 1236 
 
 Lainphier, George W., Sr 1236 
 
 Landon, Daniel 1305 
 
 Landon Family 1305 
 
 Landon, Will P 1305 
 
 Lane. Hon. Davis E., D. D. S. . . 135 
 
 Lane. Davis \' 135 
 
 Langdon Families 669, 1288 
 
 Langdon, George P 1288 
 
 Langdon, Giles 1091 
 
 Langdon, Joseph 138 
 
 Langdon, Mrs. Joseph 138 
 
 Langdon, Mrs. Julia P 1288 
 
 Langdon, Reuben 138 
 
 Langdon, William A 1288 
 
 Langhorne Family 1269 
 
 Larkum Family 690 
 
 Lasbury, (ieorge 1016 
 
 Lasbury, William M 1016 
 
 Latham, Amos B 554 
 
 Latham, William E 554 
 
 Lalhrop, Charles W 1088 
 
 Lathrop Fainily 1088 
 
 Lathrop, Harvey 1088 
 
 Latimer, A lonzoL, 1054 
 
 Latimer, Amon 771 
 
 Latimer Family 1054 
 
 •'Latimer, .Mrs. Lucia A 771 
 
 Latimer, Lyman 1054 
 
 Laverty, Daniel 1322 
 
 Laverty family 1.(22 
 
 Lawrence, Charles H 8 
 
 Lawrence Family 616 
 
 Lawrence, George S 1296 
 
 Lawrence, George W., M. D . . . . 1296 
 Lawrence. William H., D. D. S. . 787 
 
 Le Clair, Leon 670 
 
 Lee Families 9^3, 1274, 1360 
 
 Lee, Col. Isaac 933 
 
 Lee, James 9.33 
 
 Lee, Lorenzo P 933 
 
 Lee, Lorenzo P., Sr 934 
 
 Lee, Patrick J 1350 
 
 Lee, Thomas F I.s51 
 
 Leete Family 503 
 
 Leete, George 503 
 
 Lester, Albert J 227 
 
 Lester. Chauncey 227 
 
 Leupold, Friedrich 657 
 
 Leupold, Paul G 657 
 
 Levitt, Thomas 1371 
 
 Levitt, William 1371 
 
 Lewis, -Mrs. Almira C 869 
 
 Lewis, Ansel 880 
 
 Lewis, Augustine M . 536 
 
 Lewis, Charles F 880 
 
 Lewis, Dwight H 631 
 
 Lewis, Edwin G 949 
 
 Lewis Families 536, 949, 1325 
 
 1' A.J.' 
 
 Lewis, George F 1 325 
 
 Lewis, Henry 950 
 
 Lewis, James L 1235 
 
 ■ Lewis, John 869 
 
 Lewis, lohn .\ : 1523 
 
 Lewis, John B., M. 1) 165 
 
 Lewis, Hon. John P 83.5 
 
 Lewis, Joseph B 8;i5 
 
 Lewis, Lloyd 537 
 
 Lewis, Marvin, 869 
 
 Lewis, Capt. Nathaniel 631 
 
 Lewis, Newton R Sf59 
 
 Libby F'amily 775 
 
 Libby, Nathan 776 
 
 Liebler Fainily 1587 
 
 Liebler, M ichael 667 
 
 Liegey, Charles S 591 
 
 LiUie, Jason 1319 
 
 Lillie, Luman 1318 
 
 Lincoln, Charles L 74 
 
 Lincoln Family 74 
 
 Lincoln, Levi 74 
 
 Lincoln, Mrs. .Mary J 1383 
 
 Lincoln, Theodore M 1.383 
 
 Lines, Peter W 1522 
 
 Line-s, William S 1521 
 
 Linn, Edgar C 76 
 
 Lipps, Philip S 1082 
 
 Lipns, Mrs. Philip S 1082 
 
 Lockwood Family 282 
 
 Lockwood, James 282 
 
 Lockwood, Cant. William II ... . 264 
 
 Longley, Elijali F 447 
 
 Longley, Thomas K 447 
 
 Loomis', Aaron J 1082 
 
 Loomis, Amasa 838 
 
 Loomis, Burton S 1102 
 
 Loomis, Collins 1083 
 
 Loomis, Hon. Dwight, LL. D.. . . 311 
 
 Loomis, Eamund W 511 
 
 Loomis, Edwin C 1233 
 
 Looinis, Capt. Elam 311 
 
 Looniis Families. .311, 510, 652, 
 
 _^-^: •. . . . .787, 1081, 1082, 1102 
 
 Loomis, G. A 610 
 
 Loomis, Guy 838 
 
 Loomis, Henry H 1317 
 
 Loomis, John 619 
 
 Loomis, Jonathan 911 
 
 Loomis, Lucien B 787 
 
 Loomis, .Moses 911 
 
 Loomis, Newton S 1103 
 
 Loomis, Norman 545 
 
 Loomis, Roman W 787 
 
 Loomis, -Spencer 652 
 
 Loomis, T. S 652 
 
 Loomis, W. W 1081 
 
 Loomis, Willard 1081 
 
 Loomis, William L 1.569 
 
 Lord, Charles E 1537 
 
 Lord, Constant S J360 
 
 Lord, Horace 777 
 
 Lord, Hon. L. R :... 1360 
 
 Lord, Thomas 776 ' 
 
 Loveland, Chester. 340 
 
 Loveland, Clinton S 340 
 
 Loveland Family 340 
 
 Lovell, W. A 1218 
 
 Lovell, W. M 1218 
 
 Lowrey, Alfred 1020 
 
 Lovdon. Frederick R 90 
 
 Loydon, Marshall M 90 
 
 Luby, fames 879 
 
 Luby, Hon. John D 879 
 
 Luce, Charles L 695 
 
 Luce, Joshua 695 
 
 Lydall Family 1162 
 
INDEX. 
 
 1585 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I.ydall, Henry 1162 
 
 Lyman, Dr. Charles P 1521 
 
 Lyman. Christopher C 342 
 
 Lyman Families ^■4], 888 
 
 Lyman, George 8SS ' 
 
 Lyman, lacob 888 
 
 Lyman, Richard P., M.D.V 1621 
 
 Lyman, Theodore 842 
 
 Lyons, Edward T 1589 
 
 McCabe, Keiran 1158 
 
 McCarel, Simon 1455 
 
 McCray, Col. William B 94 
 
 McCrum Family 559 
 
 McCrum, Samuel 559 
 
 McGehan, Anthony 574 
 
 McGovern, Patrick 1413 
 
 Mcintosh, Mrs. Bertha (Siandish) 218 
 
 McKav, Mrs. Helen W. \ 250 
 
 McKee, Miss Esther M 810 
 
 McKee, Moses 810 
 
 IMcKnight, Everett J., M. U.... 42 
 
 McKnight P'amily 42 
 
 McKnight, fames D - . . 43 
 
 McLaughlin, Frank B 664 
 
 McLaughlin, James 663 
 
 McLaughlin, .Matthew F 663 
 
 . McLean, Capt. Alex 80 
 
 McLean, Rev. Allen 80 
 
 McLean, Dudley Bestor 80 
 
 McLean Family 80 
 
 McLean, Hon. George P 80 
 
 Mack, Col. Andrew 798 
 
 Mack, Hon. D. W 798 
 
 Mack, William 799 
 
 Mack, Hon. William 799 
 
 Mack. William R 476 
 
 Maguire, M. J 1557 
 
 Mahl Family 116 
 
 Mahl. Frederick P 116 
 
 Mahl, Mrs. Frederick P 116 
 
 Manning, Arthur 1375 
 
 Manning, Charles F 1375 
 
 Manross, Sergt. Eli _. . . . 354 
 
 Manross, Elijah 354 
 
 Manross, Capt. B^lisha .353 
 
 Manross Family 352 
 
 Manross, Frederick N 355 
 
 Manross, Mrs. Gertrude C. A. D. 354 
 
 Manross, Capt. Newton S 353 
 
 Manross, Rev. William D 355 
 
 Mansfield, Elisha D 651 
 
 Mansfield Families ... .650, 1270 
 
 Mansfield, William H 650 
 
 Marchant, William 1424 
 
 Marchant, William T 1424 
 
 --Markham, Daniel A 171 
 
 Markley, Hon. Philip J., A. M.... 778 
 
 Marklev, Thomas 778 
 
 Marsh, '.Milton L., M. D 1569 
 
 Marshall. David E 932 
 
 Marshall, Elihu 932 
 
 Marshall Family 932 
 
 Martin, John E., A. B., M. D.. .. 145 
 
 Martin, Michael. 145 
 
 Martin, William. 679 
 
 Martin, William H 679 
 
 Mason, Charles S 1509 . 
 
 Mason, George 1189 
 
 Mason, John 11S9 
 
 Mason, "W. H. H 1530 
 
 Mather Family 1540 
 
 Mather, Oliver T 15-16 
 
 Mather, Walter S 1541 
 
 Mather, Mrs. W. S 1542 
 
 Mathewson, George T 1442 
 
 Mathewson, John 1442 
 
 Matthews Family 
 
 Matthews, Luther R 
 
 Mayberry Family 
 
 Mayberry, Frankiiu H., .\L 1). .. 
 
 Mecklem Family 
 
 Meigs Family 
 
 Melchert, Carl F \ 
 
 Merriman, Alfred 
 
 Merriman, Ansun 
 
 Merriman, Arthur H 
 
 Merriman, Charles 
 
 Merriman, Edward W 
 
 Merriman, Hon. Elwin F 
 
 Merriman Families 
 
 ^ 118,971,1200, 1359, 
 
 'llerriman, George 
 
 Merriman, Hon. George 
 
 Merriman, George E 
 
 Merriman, John A 
 
 . Merriman, Joseph ; 
 
 Merriman, Joseph (Hartford). . . 
 
 Merriman, josiah H 
 
 Merriman, Theodore D 
 
 Merriman, Titus E 
 
 Merwin, Charles P 
 
 Merwin, Janaes J 
 
 Merwin, Jared 
 
 .Merwin, R. Clifford 
 
 Messenger, Amos 
 
 Messenger, Birt B . 
 
 Messenger, Seymour 
 
 Michael, Charles F 
 
 Michael, Christian 
 
 JNIicbael Family 
 
 Mildrum, Ernest W 
 
 Mildrum. William A 
 
 Mildrum, Willis W 
 
 Millard. Charles L 
 
 Miller, Charles H 
 
 Miller, Ebenezer 
 
 Miller, Ebenezer H . . .■ 
 
 Miller, Emory F 
 
 Miller, Hon. George W 
 
 ■Miller, Lewis 
 
 Miller, Neeland L 
 
 Miller, Reuben 
 
 Miller, Truman H 
 
 Miller, Wallace K 
 
 Mills, .Arami 
 
 Mills, Dea. Elijah 
 
 Mi'Us, Elizur 
 
 Mills Families 413, 1229, 
 
 Mills, George 
 
 Mills, H. G 
 
 Mills, Herbert J 
 
 Mills, Herbert L 
 
 Mills, Hiram R 
 
 Mills, James R 
 
 Mills, "Hon. Lvman A 
 
 Mills, Oliver P 
 
 Mills, Oliver W 
 
 Mills, S. John 
 
 Mills, Samuel J 
 
 Mills, Samuel W 
 
 Mills, Simeon 
 
 Miner, George H 
 
 Miner Family 
 
 jVIiner, Harry W 
 
 Minor, Hon. James H 
 
 Minor, Mrs. James H 
 
 Mitchell Families 219, 
 
 Mitchell, George 
 
 Mitchell, George H 
 
 Mitchell, Mrs. George H 
 
 Mitchell, George W 
 
 Mitchell, Julius R 
 
 Mitchell, Reuben 
 
 PAGE 
 
 . 1117 
 
 . 1117 
 
 . 134 
 
 . 184 
 
 . 501 
 
 . 1281 
 
 . 698 
 
 . 1031 
 
 . 1081 
 
 . 1859 
 
 . 970 
 
 . 1863 
 
 . 830 
 
 ' 1363 
 
 136^>. 
 
 118 
 
 1363 
 
 831 
 
 831 
 
 971 
 
 1200 
 
 119 
 
 119 
 
 1002 
 
 1125 
 
 1125 
 
 1008 
 
 738 
 
 738 
 
 738 
 
 1352 
 
 1352 
 
 1352 
 
 1046 
 
 959 
 
 959 
 
 1634 
 
 1433 
 
 997 
 
 1183 
 
 997 
 
 1040 
 
 1433 
 
 1183 
 
 997 
 
 997 
 
 313 
 
 1357 
 
 944 
 
 1230 
 
 1384 
 
 414 
 
 1435 
 
 1384 
 
 1201 
 
 413 
 
 1385 
 
 1201 
 
 944 
 
 944 
 
 1206 
 
 1357 
 
 1206 
 
 1280 
 
 968 
 
 968 
 
 970 
 
 647 
 
 548 
 
 1422 
 
 1421 
 
 219 
 
 219 
 
 1567 
 
 1421 
 
 1S20 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Mitchell, Thniiia- V." 1819 
 
 Mitchell, Wiliiain 1421 
 
 Mitchelson, Ariel .522 
 
 Mitchelson, Ariel, Sr ,522 
 
 Mitchelson, Mrs. Elizabeth H.. 523 
 
 Mitchelson Family 522 
 
 Mix Families '. 649, 1269 
 
 Mix, Miss Frances H 649 
 
 Mix, Henry (549 
 
 Mommers, Richard J liLlO 
 
 Monroe, Darius D 578 
 
 Monroe. John ' 579 
 
 Monteith, Prof. H . R 1.564- 
 
 Montgomery Family 279 
 
 Montgomery. Silas K 278 
 
 Mooney, Joh'n E 432 
 
 Moonev, T/mothy 482 
 
 Moore, Arlihur P 1452 
 
 Moore, D. t- V., M. D 1297 
 
 Moore, Mrs. Ellen 834 
 
 Moore Families 410, .504 
 
 INIoore, Dr. John S V.'vl 
 
 Moore, Nelson \ 410 
 
 iVIoore, Hon. Orson B ... yu4 
 
 M oore, Patrick ^:U 
 
 M.oore, Perricles -'iO.T j 
 
 Moore, Roswell 411 
 
 Moore, Samuel A 504 
 
 Moore, William 904 
 
 Moran, Alfred 1851 
 
 Moran, Lewis A K-i51 
 
 .Alorell Family 824 
 
 Morgan Families 9, 305''" 
 
 Morgan, Nathan D 9 
 
 Morgan, Nathaniel H 306 
 
 Morgan, William L^ 9 
 
 Morgan, William G 9 
 
 Moriarity, James J 1555 
 
 ^Moriarty, Maurice A 443 
 
 Morris, Hon. Charles E 269 
 
 Morris Families 109, 1338 
 
 Morns, Capt. Henry 110 
 
 Mo ris, John E Ill 
 
 Morris, Jonathan F 109 
 
 Morris, Moses 1132 
 
 Morris, Roswell )38i, 
 
 Morris, Samuel vV 1].?. 
 
 Morris, William S. . „,. 1182 
 
 Morrison, Charles F 1016 
 
 iVIorrison, John 1214 
 
 Morrison, Mrs. Julia M 9C6 
 
 Morrison, Robert B 906 
 
 Morrison, Thomas 1214 
 
 Morse, Mrs. Kitty L 236 
 
 Morse, John M Tjii 
 
 Morse, Rufus W 10 
 
 Morton, Hon. Elisha G 
 
 Morton, Elisha G., Sr 
 
 Morton, John E \\ 
 
 Morton, Mrs. Lucy M 
 
 Morton, Samuel 
 
 Moses, Hon. Adrian 
 
 Moses Families 866, 
 
 Moses, Richard ^'X-'- 
 
 Mott, Edgar W 146ff^ . 
 
 Mott Family 1469 : 
 
 Moynihan, Dennis 1846 > 
 
 Moynihan Family 1346 
 
 Mulcahy, Edward J 424 ; 
 
 MuUaley, Hon. L., [r 470 : 
 
 Muller, John Wi(. 
 
 Muller, Hon. Louis J l'^"' ■ 
 
 Munger, Charles S 1483 : 
 
 Munger, Edwin H., D. D. S. . . . 1482 
 
 Murphy, Patrick 144^ 
 
 Murphy, Walter G., M. D 889 
 
 Murray F-amily 5''" 
 
1586 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Murray, Richard 556 
 
 Muizv, Adrian ( 1'268 
 
 MuzzV, Mrs. Adrian J V269 
 
 Muzzy Family 1268 
 
 V 
 
 Naylor. James H., M. D 
 
 Xeal Family 
 
 Nt-ai. Roswell A 
 
 Neal, Stephen D 
 
 Neale, Charles E 
 
 Neale, Edward G 
 
 Neale, Jeremiah 
 
 Neale, KoUin W 
 
 Needham, George A .. 
 
 Needham, Michael C 
 
 Nelson, Clinton H 
 
 Nelsiin, Horatio K 
 
 Nelson, Mrs. Martha J 
 
 Nelson, Oliver. 
 
 Nettleton, Garry .... 
 
 N ettleton, Wilfred H 
 
 N /ubaiter Family 
 
 Neubaucr, Georee W. 
 
 Neuscheler, Adqm 
 
 Nevers, George 
 
 Nevers, Roderick 
 
 Newell Families 21)7, 
 
 Newell, Henry H 
 
 Newell, Henry I 
 
 Newell, Judge Roger S. 
 
 Newell. Samuel P 
 
 Newton, Dwiirht F 
 
 Newton Family 
 
 Newton, Francis G 
 
 Newton, J. Burwell, M. D 
 
 Newton, Li 
 
 Newton, Phiio .S. 
 
 Newton, Philo W 
 
 Nichols Family' ...^ 
 
 N ichols, Harry M \ 
 
 N ichols, Henry H 1. 
 
 N ichols, Isaac J. 
 
 Nichols. Hon. James 
 
 Nielson, Jiihn C 
 
 Niles Family 
 
 " iles, Hon. John M 
 
 T«-ilcs, iVliss Juliet 
 
 Niles, Hon. Richard 
 
 Noble, Chestv T 
 
 Noble Faniil)' 
 
 Noble, George H 
 
 Noble. James 
 
 Noble, James M 
 
 Ni bit, Roswell 
 
 Noble, William 13 
 
 Nolan Family 
 
 Nolan, Patrick 
 
 North, Dea. Alfred. . 
 
 North, Miss Catherine .M 
 
 North Family 
 
 North, Joseph 
 
 North, Joseph B 
 
 North, Lucian F 
 
 North, K euben 
 
 North, Simeon , 
 
 Noriham, Charles H 
 
 Northam, Hon. Charles H 
 
 Northam F'amily 
 
 Northam, Hanford McK 
 
 Norton, Albert E 
 
 Norton Families 146,261, 544, 
 
 Nonon, Frederick L 
 
 Norton, George J 
 
 Norton, Henry 
 
 Norton, John C . . . . 
 
 Norton, Joseph P 
 
 Norton, Leonard A 
 
 264 
 712 
 712 
 
 7ia 
 
 1225 
 
 1224 
 
 919 
 
 919 
 
 267 
 
 266 
 
 1194 
 
 1194 
 
 1195 
 
 1194 
 
 164 
 
 164 
 
 191 
 
 191 
 
 665 
 
 365 
 
 865 
 
 1126 
 
 1126 
 
 1126 
 
 59 
 
 60 
 
 119:3 
 
 427 
 
 1193 
 
 1064 
 
 427 
 
 l."i59 
 
 174 
 
 ..106- 
 
 917 
 
 917 
 
 196 
 
 196 
 
 1328 
 
 1133 
 
 1131 
 
 1133 
 
 11S3 
 
 1040 
 
 1425 
 
 1039 
 
 1425 
 
 1425 
 
 1039 
 
 1426 
 
 1323 
 
 1323 
 
 624 
 
 626 
 
 624 
 
 722 
 
 722 
 
 722 
 
 626 
 
 625 
 
 104 
 
 1.500 
 
 104 
 
 104 
 
 . 751 
 
 1437 
 
 1466 
 
 1466 
 
 7-51 
 
 15.50 
 
 1329 
 
 429 
 
 p.-\(:e 
 
 Norton, Manlius H 4J9 
 
 Norton, Marshall P 544 
 
 Norton, Milo L 261 
 
 Norton, Peter 1*29 
 
 Norton, Philip 146 
 
 Norton, William W 491 
 
 Norton, Mrs. William W 491 
 
 Nott, Charles E 1538 
 
 Nott Family 407 
 
 Nott, Franklin A 710 
 
 Nott, Frederick 710 
 
 Nott, h ins 1) 711 
 
 Nott, John 1138 
 
 Nott, Hon. Julius 1.537 
 
 Nott, Marshall 1138 
 
 Nott, William H 407 
 
 O'Connell Family.. ; 139 
 
 OConnell, Thomas S., M. D . . . . 139 
 
 O'Connor, James 461 
 
 O'Hear Family 1.504 
 
 O'Hear, John F 1.504 
 
 O'Learv, James F., M. D 1531 
 
 O'Melia Family 13:^4 
 
 O'Melia, John J 1334 
 
 O'Neill, Hon. Kyran K37 
 
 Olcott, Elihu S 1304 
 
 Olcott, Emerson E 1304 
 
 Olcott Family 1.304 
 
 Olcott, Harry E 565 
 
 Olcott, Isaiah 1301 
 
 Olin, G. W 1165 
 
 Olin, Hon. George W 1167 
 
 Olmsted, Ashbel 1451 
 
 Olmsted, Obediah 453 
 
 Olmsted, Olin S 453 
 
 Olmsted, William H 145] 
 
 Olney, Jeremiah 338 
 
 Orr, William 6.58 
 
 Osborn, Uavid L 1347 
 
 Osborne Families .1087, 1443 
 
 Osborne, H. A 1443 
 
 Osborne, Harry 145 
 
 Osborne, Henry H 145 
 
 Osborne, lames H., M. D 103 
 
 Osborne, William 1087 
 
 Osterhoudt, Archibald W 1211 
 
 On, Charles 1034 
 
 Olt, Jacob 1034 
 
 Overton, Edward 324 
 
 Oviatt, Joshua N 217 
 
 Owen, Charles E 1453 
 
 Owen, Erastus 1453 
 
 Painter Family 1272 
 
 Palmer, Mrs. Frances C 56 
 
 Palmer, James 1116 
 
 Park, Mrs. Almena A 2.59 
 
 Parker, Charles E 869 
 
 Parker, Prof. Edgar H 786 
 
 Parker, Hon. Francis H 247 
 
 Parker, James E 369 
 
 Parker, [oseph 998 
 
 Parker, Julian N., M. D 1299 
 
 Parker, Levi 2.53 
 
 Parker, Ozias H 247 
 
 Parker, Ransford A 998 
 
 Parsons, Calvin G 78 
 
 Parsons, Hon. Charles D 920 
 
 Parsons, Edward F., ,M. D 1303 
 
 Parsons, Erastus 115 
 
 Parsons, Mrs. Ellen 921 
 
 Parsons Family 1303 
 
 Parsons, Francis 244 
 
 Parsons, Judge Francis 242 
 
 Parsons, Harlan P 647 
 
 Parsons, Herbert C 78 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Parsons, Maj. John C 243 
 
 Parsons, John G 114 
 
 Parsons, Mrs. John G 115 
 
 Parsons, Pliny B 1440 
 
 Pattrn, Mrs. Hannah H 282 
 
 Patten, Henry E 282 
 
 Pattison, Hon. A. T 479 
 
 Pattison, Joseph 47& 
 
 Payne, George H 1186 
 
 Payne, Hon. Horace D 584 
 
 Pearce, Edward 955 
 
 Pearce, William 9,55 
 
 Pease, Allen 461 
 
 Pease, Edward 1023 
 
 Pease Family 840 
 
 Pease, Henry S 840 
 
 Pease, Loren H., M. D 758 
 
 Pease, Mrs. Marcia M 769 
 
 Pease, Theodore 840 
 
 Pease, Wells 451 
 
 Pease, William H 102» 
 
 Peck, Austin L 122 
 
 Peck, Mrs. Cornelia C 1378 
 
 Peck, Cornelius A\' 221 
 
 Peck, Edward 222 
 
 Peck, Edward B 1173 
 
 Peck Families 
 
 122,221,496,502,1301, 
 
 Peck, Frederick W., M. D 
 
 Peck, Harry H 
 
 Peck. Hayden G 
 
 Peck, Ira 
 
 Peck, James G 
 
 Peck, Jonathan M 
 
 Peck, Langdon J 
 
 Peck, Nchemiah 
 
 Peck, Norris 
 
 Peck. Richard 
 
 P.^ck, Zaimon S 
 
 Peckham, Abel 
 
 Peckham, Abel, Jr 
 
 Peckham, William H 
 
 Peltier Family 
 
 Peltier, Pierre D., M. D 
 
 Pelton, Enoch W 
 
 Pender, Charles H 
 
 Penfield Family 
 
 Penlield, Harvey 
 
 Penfield, Loren U 
 
 Penfield, Titus 
 
 Penfield, Walter E • 
 
 Perkins, Anson Q 
 
 Perkins, Charles E 
 
 Perkins, Enoch. 
 
 Perkins Family 
 
 Perkins, Thomas C 
 
 Persee, Mrs. Grace W 
 
 Persee, T. B., Sr 
 
 Persee, Theophilus B., Jr 
 
 Persiani, Charles C 
 
 Pettibone Family 
 
 Pettibone, Capt. Jonathan 
 
 Pfeiffer, Anthony 
 
 Pfeiffer, Balthas 
 
 Pfennig, Frank A 
 
 Pheland, C. Irving 
 
 Pheland Family 
 
 Pheland, Thomas 
 
 Phelon, Isaac B 
 
 Phelon, Isaac .S 
 
 Phelps, Miss A. R 
 
 Phelps, .Abram 
 
 Phelps, Hon. Alfred E 
 
 Phelps, Hon. Almon B 
 
 Phelps, Capt. Apollos 
 
 Phelps, Burton D 
 
 Phelps, Canfield 
 
 1-378 r 
 
 1301 
 
 123 
 1173 
 1377 
 1302 
 
 502 
 
 496 
 1301 
 
 497 
 
 502 
 
 122 
 
 793'' 
 
 793 
 
 794 
 
 148' 
 
 148 
 
 4.57 
 
 601 
 
 538 
 
 638 
 
 538 
 
 527 
 
 527 
 1.549 
 40 
 39 
 38 
 39 
 
 208 
 
 208 
 
 208 
 1184 
 
 606 
 
 607 
 1150 
 11.50 
 1551 
 11.55 
 11.55 
 11.56 
 1317 
 1317 
 33 
 1286 
 1286 
 
 408 
 1170 
 1227 
 
 408 
 
INDEX. 
 
 15^7 
 
 Phelps, Daniel Bj 
 
 Phelps. David... 
 
 Phelps, Hon. IX Ellsworth 
 
 Phelps, Col. E.N 
 
 Phelps. Eli 
 
 '*Phelps Families 32, 473, 53'2, 
 
 607,6-8,818, 11(59. 
 
 Phelps, Dr. Guy R 
 
 Phelps, Hector F 
 
 Phelps, Henry 
 
 Phelps, Hon.' Henr- V. 
 
 Phelps, Horace 
 
 Phelps, Israel L 
 
 Phelps, Jabez M 
 
 Phelps, Jeffery 
 
 Phelps, Hon. Jeffery O 
 
 , Phelps, Job 
 
 Phelps, Hon. John O 
 
 Phelps, John VV 
 
 Phelps, I'udah 
 
 Phelps, Judah, Sr 
 
 Phelps, Levi C. 
 
 Phelps, -Mrs. Maria 
 
 Phelps, Major-Gen. Noah 
 
 Phelps, Col. Noah A 
 
 Phelps, Philo F 
 
 Phelps. Hon. Kichard H 
 
 Phelps, Dea. Roger 
 
 Phelps, Hon. Roswell H 
 
 Phelps, Samuel 
 
 Phelps, Samuel D 
 
 Phelps. William 
 
 Phelps, William L 
 
 Phillips, Daniel 
 
 Phillips Family 
 
 Pickett Family 
 
 Pickett, James A 
 
 Pierce. Abraham - 
 
 Pierce, Albert is 
 
 .Pierce, Edward N 
 
 Pierce Family 
 
 Pierce, Julius E •. 
 
 Pierce, Nobie A 
 
 Pierce, Hon. Noble |il 
 
 Pike, Hiram , 
 
 Pike, John R 
 
 Pinches Family '. 
 
 Pinches, John 
 
 Pitkin, Albert H 
 
 Pitkin, Albert P 
 
 Pitkin, Charles A 
 
 Pitkin Family 
 
 Pitkin, Howard S.. . . , 
 
 Pitkin, N. T \ 
 
 Pitkin, Roger 
 
 Pitkin, ^\'illiam ., 
 
 Pitkin, William T...) 
 
 Pitkin, Mrs.W T....! 
 
 Plimpton Family 
 
 Plimpton, Hon. Linus B. 
 
 Plumb, A. W 
 
 Plumb Family. . . . 
 Plumb, Mrs. Maria A| 
 Plumb, Wheaton S . 
 
 Plumb, William 
 
 Pollard, rsarnabus H 
 Pollard, Dwight E.. . 
 
 Poraeroy Family j 8, 
 
 Pomeroy, Hiram.... 
 
 Pomeroy, Noah 
 
 Pomeroy, Mrs. Noah 
 
 Pope, Albert L } 
 
 Por'er, Anson H \ 
 
 Porter, Col. ChaunceyJ 
 
 Porter, Edward A .... i 
 
 Porter Families \ .84!). 363, 
 
 Porter, Frank \\' 
 
 PAGE 
 
 . 689 
 . 1217 
 . 688 
 . 803 
 . 756 
 
 1298 
 
 8'2 
 
 583 
 
 925 
 
 924 
 
 1218 
 
 1281 
 
 408 
 
 1294 
 
 1293 
 
 408 
 
 1092 
 
 532 
 
 1169 
 
 1169 
 
 1093 
 
 lo93 
 
 1293 
 
 533 
 
 1286 
 
 818 
 
 688 
 
 818 
 
 -803 
 
 1217 
 
 757 
 
 1231 
 
 304 
 
 304 
 
 294 
 
 294 
 
 704 
 
 1440 
 
 -704 
 
 314 
 
 315 
 
 704 
 
 314 
 
 463 
 
 463 
 
 1824 
 
 1324 
 
 41 
 
 40 
 
 41 
 
 884 
 
 41 
 
 41 
 
 41 
 
 41 
 
 41 
 
 37 
 
 202 
 
 202 
 
 1446 
 
 858. 
 
 858 
 
 S57 
 
 1446 
 
 1428 
 
 1428 
 
 252 
 
 252 
 
 252 
 
 253 
 
 342 
 
 15.56 
 
 415 
 
 415 
 
 380 
 
 350 
 
 I 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Porter, Ira W 349 
 
 Porter, Isaac 1057 
 
 Porter, Jonathan 349 
 
 Porter, Lotan- 630 
 
 Porter, M artin V . B .* 1 1 54 
 
 Porter, Richard S 1057 
 
 Porter, Hon. Samuel Q.... 380 
 
 Porter, William 363 
 
 Porter, William, Jr., M. D 363 
 
 Post, Augustus 264 
 
 Post Family 264 
 
 Post, William H 264 
 
 Post, Williams .* 266 
 
 Potter Family 1168 
 
 Potter, Henry A • 1168 ' 
 
 Potter, Hon. Robert A 87 
 
 Potter, Terti us D 87 
 
 Potter, Thomas C 1168 
 
 Poyer Family 384 
 
 Poyer, John B 384 
 
 Poyer, ]ohn B., :\I. D 384 
 
 Pratt, Charlf s A 63 
 
 Pratt, Charles W ... 62 
 
 Pratt,.Edward W 1313 
 
 Prait, Hon. Edward W.,D. D. S. 1813 
 
 Pratt, Eli .".... 985 
 
 Pratt Families . . . .852,. 986, 1298, 1313 
 
 Pratt, Francis A. ./.. . . :♦■ 396 
 
 Pratt, Hon. George W 1298 
 
 J'ralt, M rs. George W 1299 
 
 Pratt, James C 63 
 
 Pratt, Hon. James F 859 
 
 Pratt, James H 986 
 
 Pratt, James T 61 
 
 Pratt, Gen. James T 60 
 
 Preston, .Maj. Edward V 2l0 
 
 Preston Family 210 
 
 Preston, Joshua 211 
 
 Preston, Miles B 310 
 
 Prickett, Hon. Edward 872 
 
 Prickett, William 872 
 
 Prior, Charles E 1372 
 
 Pruden Family 1278 
 
 Purnell, Samuel 1096 
 
 Furnell, -Mrs. Samuel 1097 
 
 PurtiU Family .'■ 1004 
 
 Purtill, John W 1004 
 
 Quin Family -"'66 
 
 Ouin, J.Scrughaii! '''i'l 
 
 §uinn, Isaac M li-il 3 
 
 Quinn, Rev. John J CI 4 
 
 Ramsey Family 449 
 
 Rankin, Charles G., M. D 931 
 
 Rankin Family 928 
 
 Rankin, Rev. John ■. . . 929 
 
 Rankin, John b 930 
 
 Rankin, Samuel G. 930 
 
 Rapelye, Andrew 1516 
 
 Rapelye, Charles A 1516 
 
 Raymond, Sherwood F 1240 
 
 Reilfield, Alfred B 1396 
 
 Redfield Family 18tiB 
 
 Redfield, William H IM'T 
 
 Redfield, William T K.ys 
 
 Reed, James B 107(- 
 
 Reeve, Hon. John A t^87 
 
 Reeve, WilliamP 887 
 
 Reinsch, Theodore 1319 
 
 Reinsch, William J l';19 
 
 Remington, Dexter F ....'. i "'e 
 
 Remington Family ^7ii 
 
 Remington, George 1 -'-'•' 
 
 Remington, Henry L <'''i-' 
 
 Remingtun, Myron.... ''I 
 
 Remington, Stephen '--'■ 
 
 Reminijton, Thomas 
 
 Rennacker, Charles A 
 
 Rhodes, Chauncey 
 
 Rhodes, George 
 
 Rice, Henrv C 
 
 Rice, Henry C. (Southington) . 
 
 Richaids, Alfred T 
 
 Richaids Family 
 
 Richards, Francis H 
 Richaids, George ... 
 
 Richaids, Flenry 
 
 Richards, Solomon.. 
 
 Richardson, William. 
 
 Riortliin, 1) '. 
 
 RipliN , Chauncey 
 
 Riplc y, Hon. Edwin M.,M. D. . ■ 
 
 Riph-v Family 
 
 Ripl' V, Miss Laura M 
 
 Risitiu^, .Alfred.. . 
 
 RisiK;;; Families. 160. 
 
 Rising, Frank \\ 
 
 Rising, Hon. James, 
 
 Rising, James L 
 
 Rising, Justus. . . 
 
 Rising, Miss LU' 
 
 Risin J, Ransorr. - • 
 
 Risin-.;, Rufus. . . 
 
 Risi>/,j, Samiiel 
 
 Risl'V. Ashbe! 
 
 Rislr\ , Charles H 
 
 -JR,isk-y, Edward 
 
 Risreyj-moier 
 
 Risl -y. Leon StrPhULi...^ 
 
 Risl.-y, Lyman T.^-j^m.: 
 
 Risl>y, Ralph. . 
 
 Risl^y, Seth .. 
 
 Rislfy, William i. . . . 
 
 Rival, Peler 
 
 Robbins, Allen 
 
 Robbins, .'\llen A... 
 
 Robbins, Francis H. 
 
 Robbins, Henry M . . 
 
 Robbins, Mrs. Sarah ' 
 c^ioberts, .\bnei' 
 
 Roberts, .Arthur C . . 
 
 Roberts, Hon. Ch;i-; 
 
 Roberts, Cicer> 
 
 Roberts, Eben ■ 
 
 Roberts, Edmund D.. 
 
 Roberts Familie.<; 97, 241, 5' 
 
 Roberts. Frank 
 
 Roberts, Gtort; 
 
 Roberts, Henry 
 
 Roberts, Ira T 
 
 Roberts, Martin 
 
 Roberts, Hon. Capt. Ozias 
 
 Roberts, Ozias 
 
 Roberts, Thomas.. . . 
 
 Roberts, William. . 
 
 Roberts, William W.. 
 
 Robins, Charl,.es H 
 
 Robins Family 
 
 Robins, Gurdon 
 
 Robinson, Capt. Abr 
 
 Robinson, Azel T 
 
 Rnbin.son, Mrs. Char; 
 
 Robinson Family. . 
 
 Robinson, Hon. Her.. > 
 
 Robin.-on, Henry V. 
 
 Robinson, Lucius i 
 
 Robinson, Septimus . 
 
 Robinson, Capt. Timothy 
 
 Robinson, William H. 
 
 Rockwell Famil 
 
 Rockwell, Joel 
 
 Rockwell, Nathaiiit 
 
 Rockwell, Samuel \'' 
 
 •AGE 
 
 135!) 
 
 879 
 
 1403 
 
 1403 
 
 964 
 
 242 
 
 3«R 
 
 1287 
 1493 
 746:' 
 
 9;« 
 
 252 
 
 2.'j2 
 
 764 
 
 1248 
 
 578 
 
 151» 
 
 1648 
 
 764 
 
 1032 
 
 (184 
 
 . 780 
 3.684 ' 
 
1 .-<;« 
 
 PAGE 1 
 
 
 
 
 1 Aui; 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 ' i;o,k.'.,l1. Ttor,. ?v!v.-jier 
 
 P. .. *ln ' .s,,Ut,„„, M,.,,,,;,n M 
 
 ID'JT 
 
 Sl-.eldon, . ...,„_;.. 
 
 1002 
 
 
 
 698 
 
 Sheldon. Hon. Gad 
 
 1 |H2 
 
 
 
 697 
 
 Sheldon, Henry .'X 
 
 ...lOl 
 
 
 .Saiii;..jii, /atliic . . 
 
 .. 598 
 
 Sheldon. Hezekiah 
 
 672 
 
 
 Saiiilioan, f'liiirles. 
 
 .. 1349 
 
 Sheldon, Ji hn A. 
 
 !'08 
 
 
 -ics k 
 
 1.W9 
 
 Sheldon, C.ipt. Joi..'i'.na . .- 
 
 
 
 lie W...... 
 
 1349 
 
 .. 593 
 
 Shel.lon, Julius C 
 
 Sheldon, Fhinehas, K.s<.| 
 
 ."'I-. 
 
 
 
 . 1267 
 
 Sheldon. William S 
 
 .-73 
 
 
 
 ... 1216 
 
 Shepard, Albert K; . 
 
 iU09 
 
 
 
 12B7 
 
 Shepard, Amos.. . . 
 
 ■ hi 
 
 
 orjTP W. . 
 
 ...: . lOL'l 
 
 1 1 
 
 Shepard,. Uaniel I. 
 She'pani, Elibu. .. 
 Shepard, lilihu N. 
 Shepard Family.. 
 
 1109 
 .:ilO 
 
 ;iio 
 
 
 
 M 
 
 Shepard, Frederic 
 
 01)7 
 
 
 
 . !JI6 
 
 Shejiard, James 
 
 ,-■1! 
 
 
 
 .. IttJl 
 
 Shepard, l)ea. Jol 
 
 
 
 
 . .m 
 
 Sh. pard, Samuel. 
 
 
 
 --luirman. 
 
 "j.'i 
 
 Sherman, Roger H 
 
 lU 
 
 
 
 , i(;9 
 
 Shields Family... . 
 
 r.yi 
 
 i 
 
 
 . 723 
 
 Shields, John 
 
 !:J31 
 
 • ■ i- 
 
 
 . 1109 
 
 Shipmaii, .Andrew 
 
 '.thi 
 
 
 
 . 11U8 
 . 3.51 
 
 Shipman, Charles. 
 Sliipman, Charles 
 
 :'M8 
 
 ;u48 
 
 . B.s'..M.b .;. ig 
 
 * 
 
 14 ., 
 
 . 351 
 
 Shipman, John. . 
 
 i'o7 
 
 Root, ' 
 
 
 .. 1108 
 
 Shipman, Samuel 
 
 ■.».')8 
 
 R'wf 
 
 
 . 1441 
 
 Shipman, Stephen 
 
 11)48 
 
 
 
 . 1441 
 
 ■ Shubert Family 
 
 403 
 
 
 
 . 517 
 
 Shuhert, Theodon- 
 .Shulias, James B. 
 Sibley Familv. . . . 
 
 403 
 
 1 
 
 
 . 1409 
 
 H35 
 
 V 
 
 
 . 1409 
 
 .!U4 
 
 1 
 
 
 .. 418 
 
 Siddell', Robert... 
 
 l'i.')5 
 
 K 
 
 
 . 418 
 
 Sienng, George 
 
 5:^99 
 
 ]' 
 
 
 . . 64 
 
 Siering, William 
 
 S99 
 
 1 
 
 
 .. 64 
 .. 1473 
 
 Sijcnor, Jerome. 
 
 •">79 
 
 Signor, Oswald J 
 
 ;.79 
 
 T 
 
 R. 
 
 i.t, \", iiliaui Jv 
 
 - Newman F' 
 
 loJ7 
 
 1114 
 
 Si 1 Family 
 
 81 
 
 Sill, Lieut. -Gov. Geortri O 
 
 ' 81 
 
 P 
 
 
 .. 1II4 
 
 Sill. Henry 
 
 81 
 
 K 
 
 
 . 1114 
 
 SiLsby. Harvey 
 
 ,.-■28 
 
 r. 
 
 
 . ... 1114 
 
 Silsby, Jonas H 
 
 Simpson. George, Jr 
 
 Simpson, George, Sr 
 
 1 '.28 
 
 
 iy 
 
 697 
 
 t'i50 
 
 
 ..jtliy 
 
 .. ... 697 
 
 (ISO 
 
 
 ■■ ick, V\ jjiiani 
 
 . . 697 
 
 Sisson, Addi B 
 
 .")06 
 
 
 ith, JohnJ 
 
 . 560 
 
 Sisson, Mrs. Elizabeth f 
 
 813 
 
 J.' 
 
 n. Mrs. Olive "^ 
 
 .. 1042 
 
 Sisson, Giles A 
 
 ;)06 
 
 K 
 
 ns, Calvin. . . 
 
 . . 230 
 
 Sisson, Joseph C. . . 
 
 c'H 
 
 V 
 
 ■ns Family 
 
 229 
 
 Skilton, DeWitt C 
 
 1-159 
 
 K 
 
 ins.John Henry . . 
 
 233 
 
 Skilton Family. . . 
 
 1459 
 
 K 
 
 ' <^ 1 ■'■" 'Humphrey. 
 
 229 
 
 ^Skinner, Mrs, Flo, <.,v.i, .■ 
 
 76 
 
 
 ohn H 
 
 231 
 
 Skinner, L. Z., M. D 
 
 1318 
 
 
 ■1 E 
 
 233 
 
 Skinner, Willian C 
 
 75 
 
 . John S 
 
 
 .. 782 
 
 Slater, Francis '.' 
 
 G99 
 
 
 . . 609 ■ 
 
 Slater, Ira 
 
 699 
 
 
 rMisniuur !■ aniiiics 
 
 . 120, 1427 ' 
 
 Sloper, Ambrose. 
 
 (;58 
 
 
 St^ymour, Frederick .-\ 
 
 ... . 609- 
 
 Sloper, Robert . . 
 
 '■•59 
 
 ^.,., . V 
 
 ■>'■ S.-i, nour, Freemari . . 
 
 .. 120. 
 
 Smead, Edwin ij 
 
 H3 
 
 Ruic. : 
 
 ' !'■'• >■ \ la.itir, Capt. Joli.i 
 
 609 
 
 Sinead Family 
 
 413 
 
 Ruic, i 
 Ruic. 
 
 -'i.'" '-v ninur, Leslit' C 
 
 ... 298' 
 
 Smiley, Edward H., A. M 
 Smith, Alfred.. 
 
 41 
 
 ]!' ; -e- .iciir, Mrs. .Mary U 
 
 120 
 
 442 
 
 , Ruoff ; 
 
 , RuoH. Itjj.u ■^.. . . 
 
 ^ , ^i:v ,:iour, Nhtlianiel 
 
 609 1 
 
 Smith, yUs. Ann 
 
 Smith, .Augustus S. . 
 
 760 
 
 >ty.niour.Richard.. . 
 
 . 244 
 
 1)51 
 
 \ Russell, Abel... 
 
 Seymour, Richard, S: 
 
 ... 244 
 
 Smith, Charles 
 
 759 
 
 R " \' on C . . . 
 
 .Seymour. William C 
 
 ■ . shanly, Rev. Tb(3Snas H .. . 
 Shaw. Alexander Z' . 
 
 298 , 
 
 Smith, Charles B 
 
 .125 
 
 R rlesL., Jr 
 
 781 ' 
 
 Smith, Mrs. Charles B . . 
 
 ,i26 
 
 '■ .. ..'.in .\. . . . 
 
 ... 1431 
 
 Smith, Charles H 
 
 14.57 
 
 George 
 
 -'" Shaw, John S. 
 
 . 1431 
 
 Smith, Charles H. iHartford). ... 
 
 405 
 
 Rich.»ri1. Ti 
 
 1' ' ' Shavler F"amily 
 
 .. 157 
 
 Smith, Charles M 
 
 951 
 
 Ku,sciJ. Willis !• 
 
 '- ■ -ban, John 
 
 . 1375 
 
 Smith, Edmund L 
 
 442 
 
 Rvan George \V 
 
 li:^ .1.! Man, Thomas 
 
 . 1.37S 
 
 Smith, Edward N 
 
 990 
 
 : R' 
 
 1 Sheldon, Hon. Arastus 
 
 1002 
 
 Smith, Elihu. 
 
 951 
 
 R 
 
 : ' Sheldon, Benjamin 
 
 907 
 
 Smith Families. < . . . , ., 
 
 
 ■■ K\ ..li, J juii. I . i> 
 
 ''•'< Sheldon, Charles C. 
 
 . 1182 
 
 405,747,887,1272 
 
 , 1279 
 
 Ryan, Patrick 
 
 :' Sheldon, David ... 
 
 Sheldon, Hon. Edwin j 
 
 .. 907 
 873 
 
 Smith Frank L 
 
 1457 
 
 Smith, Franklin 
 
 1523 
 
 
 .... I'Ah Sheldon Families 673, 
 
 1002. 1182 
 
 Smith, Frederick b. 
 
 107.7 
 
|niith, Garreit \> 
 
 *iiiith, George A . ' '■' 
 
 hmith, George F.. 
 
 hinith, Henry F. . i-M 
 
 ,Smitli, Dr. Howan! !.j24 
 
 .'Smith, Capt. Ira 1. 422 
 
 ISmith, Cafit. John. 170 
 
 Smith, Joijn C !>90 
 
 :Smith, josiah J 747 
 
 : Smith. Levi... . 888 
 
 Smith, L-ioius B, . 422 
 
 Smilh, NormaDfi;-. 326 
 
 Smith, i^obert H. . 344 
 
 Smith, Shubae) 438 
 
 Smilh, Walter. il04 
 
 Sniith, William A 868 
 
 Smith, William Bro 89 
 
 Smith, V/illiam C 438 
 
 .Smith, Capt. William M . . . 1.V23 
 
 Smyth. Mrs. Ellen .' 1124 
 
 Smyth, John 1124 
 
 Spauiclmg. Alvah Ift6 
 
 Spauldint:, Alvi W 155 
 
 Spauldinw p'amily 156 
 
 Spear, Bradford [. H81 
 
 Spencer, Alfred UU 
 
 Spencer, Christoplur ^' ^88 
 
 Spencer, Dvvight 923 
 
 Spencer Families 
 
 ^ ...-r.. 128, 388, 923, 1110, 1249, 1372 
 
 Spencer, Frapcis H. . . . 129 
 
 Spencer, George D. . . . 129 
 
 Spencer, George F.. . 129 
 
 Spencer, HdUister. '373 
 
 Spe.ncer, Horace. . . 378 
 
 Spencer. Miss Jane 1250 
 
 Spencer, Joseph. 1249 
 
 Spencer, Lancen . ^ ii78 
 
 Sp^nci.'r, Ogden. . . ... 8S8 
 
 Spencer, Roswell 1 1373 
 
 Spencer, Simeon . ■ 923 
 
 Siserry, Aner..... . . . .102 
 
 Sperry, Daniel G. . i i(. 
 
 Sperry, David G L.iy 
 
 Sperry Families f'.lB, 1271 
 
 Sperry, Hon. Lewis ; 136 
 
 Sperry, Miss Ruth T 1471 
 
 Splcttstoes?:ei', Charles 1' 1039 
 
 Splettstoeszer, Frederick 591 
 
 Spring Family 626 
 
 Spring, George 027 
 
 Spring, Henry C, M . 1314 
 
 Squires, Alvin.. 1387 
 
 Squires, Amos ... 1.387 
 
 ■ Squires, Mrs. Ella , ... 1:)88 
 
 Stacy,,£lah. , o60 
 
 Stacy FamiK . .)60 
 
 Stacy, John I- 560 
 
 Standish Family . 1244 
 
 .Standish, Ira M 217 
 
 Standish, James 1245 
 
 ^Standish, tared B., .450 
 
 Standish, Thomas. . , ',244 
 
 Stanley, Anion. . . . .589 
 
 . Stanley, Edward 301 
 
 Stanley, Everett T 300 
 
 Stanley, Frederick E 300 
 
 Stanley. Hork Frederic!* T 498 
 
 Stanley Families.. ..300, 498, ,588, 1341' 
 
 Stanley. Col. Gad 1342 
 
 Stanley. Henry... .589 
 
 Stanley, Theodorii A., •■-"'■' 
 Stanley, Walter tl.. 
 
 Stannard, Nathan 1. ; - ' 
 Stannard, Walter E 
 , Staples, Nelson. ... 
 .Staples, Shub,; '. 
 
 lAGK 
 
 Sti^arns, Elmer, v ^^q 
 
 '-.John ... . , ■.;■. 
 ^I'.'a.ns. Samuel 11. . . 
 
 Siedman. Griffin A 
 
 Stedman, Gen. Griffin <.i 
 
 Steele, Charles E., A. '. . 297 
 
 Steele, Mrs. Clara J.. . 13PC. 
 
 Steele, Edmund 
 
 Steele, Edward L j. - 
 
 Steele Families 297, 1273, 1385 
 
 Steele, Howard M 1244 
 
 Steele. Sanford . ; .; 1386 
 
 Steele, Timothy E . . . , . 1385 . 
 
 Stern, Charles S., A. I , 47' 
 
 . Stern, Jacob 
 
 Stern, Moses 
 
 Sternberg;, Adolpli C. . . . •! '.; 
 
 Stevens family i.-'T'. 
 
 Stevens, Phineas C ' . 
 
 Stevens, Ruel. l ii'i 
 
 Stewart, Charles i^Wi 
 
 Stewart, Lemuel L 1371 
 
 Stillman, Allyn S 542 
 
 Stillman Family 541 
 
 Stillman, William W 541 
 
 St. John, Edward F i ' 
 
 St. John, Elijah _ 
 
 St. John, Mrs. Mary 7.1 . . :>['', 
 
 St. John, Newell 623 
 
 St. John. Samuel B ^' . : . . 306 
 
 St. John, Zophe'^. 623 
 Stocker, Eben H . . .96 
 
 Slociker, Eben M . . . : . 96 
 
 Stocking Family 1976 
 
 Stockwell, Addison 1; • ' 
 
 Stoddard, Eli 
 
 Stoddard, Eli W It.. 
 
 Stoddard Families 143,44), 490 
 
 Stoddard, Hiram £ 490 
 
 Stoddard, John G .490 
 
 Stoddard, Marcus L. , 441 
 
 Sioddard, Mis.s y. ■ . ' t 
 
 >Lone, Alban M. . . i 
 
 .Stone, Charles G . . ill 
 
 Stone Family... 381 
 
 Stone, Mrs. George i 160 
 
 Sione, Rev. George M., D. D . . . 381 
 
 Stone, James B Ill 
 
 Stone, J. S., M. 1 . 643 
 
 Stone, Marvin 1. 381 
 
 Stoughton, Dwight G 569 
 
 Stoughton Family ,. 820 
 
 Stoughton, George... \ 569 
 Stoughton. Hon. Lean \ 819 
 
 Stouehton, Lemur-l \S20 
 
 Stow. Enos E it^lO 
 
 Stow Family.... . 1VJ76 
 
 .Stow, Solomon , 1210 
 
 Stowe. Mrs. Harriet Beocher. . 1492 
 
 Strickland, Miss Ann.- .' 
 
 Strickland, James V. i' 
 
 Strickland, Norman V i 
 
 Strickland, Rial,.M. 1.) ] 
 
 Strickland, Steph','n . 
 
 Strickland, Stephen 1 
 
 Strickland, \"in?on I' 
 
 Strong, David i 
 
 Strong, Henry ]'. 
 
 Strong, Mrs. S.-irah A . 
 
 Strunz, Charles F, . . . 
 
 ■^Irunz Family. . . 
 
 runz. Otto F.. . 
 '::;-unz, William. 
 
 'ugden. ii.ibei't 
 
 j-cdi -,, Robrr' 
 
 
 i'ACE 
 
 Sullivan, Rev. Michael A. . . . 
 
 .... 886 
 
 .Sumner 1 ami: 
 
 • ■'. 
 
 Sunmer, Fran). 
 
 :■,! 
 
 Sumner. George '-I. . 
 
 . 343 
 
 SutiilTe Family 
 
 .. 1174 
 
 SutlilTe, Frederick. 
 
 1 1 - i 
 
 Sut'.iffe. Frederick .\ 
 
 
 Sweet. Dr. Charles . 
 
 
 Sweei, Dr. J. Henrv 
 
 
 Sweet, Dr. John 
 
 
 Sweet. Truman 
 
 
 Taft. Charles E., M. 1 
 
 . . IHO.i 
 
 Tati, Ezra W..V. .. 
 
 . . 1406 
 
 Taft Family 
 
 1 406 
 
 Taft. Fred G 
 
 .;-; 
 
 Taft, Joel C 
 
 ■",'2 
 
 Taft, John S 
 
 ".!>> 
 
 Taft, Josephus G 
 
 iit.'i 
 
 Taintor Families 
 
 
 Taintor, George E.. . 
 
 
 Taintor, Henry E, . 
 
 
 Taintor, Henry G. . 
 
 
 Taintor, James U., . 
 
 
 Taintor, Ralph S. . 
 Taintor, William W. 
 
 
 , 
 
 Talcot; Families.. . 
 
 ''•■',, 13o7 
 
 Talcott, Mrs. Sarah , 
 
 ,. 1387 
 
 Talcott, Seth 
 
 Mv: 
 
 Talcott. Col. Williav 
 
 •:i 
 
 Talcott, William C 
 
 : !.lc 
 
 Talcott, Maj. William H. 
 
 i '»"» 
 
 Tallard. Charles F 
 
 .■-1 
 
 Tallmadge. Edwar. 
 
 
 Tallmadge, Marcus 
 
 
 Tanner, James; 
 
 .■ 
 
 Taylor, Benjamin. 
 
 07 
 
 Taylor, Chark- 
 
 
 Taylor, Edwin 
 
 
 Taylor, Erastu:; !.. 
 
 
 Taylor Families... 
 
 .'.)S 
 
 Taylor, Francis. . . 
 
 -!-.8 
 
 Taylor, Georgi- 
 
 J'-i2 
 
 Taylor, |ason '.' 
 
 -■'.::, 
 
 Tavlor, Dr. L' • 
 
 ■ ;s'H 
 
 Tavlor, Lewis. 
 
 :25 
 
 Tavlor, Hon. N 
 
 ■;i;> 
 
 Taylor, Samu. 
 
 '7 
 
 TaylQi(, Warre . 
 Terr^ Albert i 
 Terry, Charles , 
 
 '" 
 
 
 
 Terry, Christopher I ' 
 
 iij 
 
 Terry, Eddie P. . . . 
 
 ',39 
 
 Terry, Eliphalet ... . 
 
 
 Terry Families 
 
 
 Terry, Hiram A 
 
 
 Terry, Hiram H 
 
 
 Terry, Gen. Nathan,' 
 
 
 Terry, RoderL ' 
 
 
 Terry, Samue: 
 
 
 Terry. Samuel :i, 
 
 
 Terry. William A. 
 
 
 Terry. William H. 
 
 
 Terry, Zacliariah. . 
 
 
 I'hayer, George B. 
 
 
 Thaver, Hon. John 
 
 
 Thomas, Aaron . . 
 
 
 Thomas, Dan 
 
 
 Thompson. A. 
 
 
 .1, .-^i^stin L' 
 
 
 . Ill, 'Ion. C 
 
 
 Uioiiipson. Jharles ..' 
 
 
 Thompson Edmuni' 
 
 
1?90 
 
 Thompson, )'<!ward '1 
 
 Thompson. Frank A. 
 
 ail"'* A 
 
 !72 
 
 i . : ,- ; 1:8 
 
 lullcr.ulivcr C 41i 
 
 TurniT, Mrs. Mathshcba R I"T2 
 
 4o2 Turner, Hi-iijiiniin ! 
 
 itK!) Turnt-r, t li.uii.' iv 
 
 601 i Turner, Wellts 
 
 728 ! 'Turner, Willi., i' 
 
 486 .' Tultlo, Albert 
 
 «00 I Tiitli". M'";-: ^ 
 
 ..'jS,448, 1484 
 
 Mortimer 
 
 "■.,i^. Ward.... 
 
 lion, Chelsea t 
 
 \ inttm Family.. . 
 
 \'inu>n, Smb. . . . 
 
 \';t,,,„ William.. 
 
 ' '.i«ust . . . 
 
 \\ jdi, Joiiu F. . . 
 
 WuUsworih, Dani 
 
 Wadsworth, Hon. 1 ^ in 
 
 Wadswortli tamiiihs ... 
 
 VVadswnrih, 1,1, 
 
 WadsworiH, ' . 
 
 Wadsv.- irih, i , . 
 
 Vth, Srih... . 
 ■ rlli, ."^iilon'on . 
 
 w .111.- worth. .'- '■ 
 
 Wadsworth, 1 
 
 Walker Fair,.,) . 
 
 Wall, Gqsiaf. . . . 
 
 Wallace, Fintorv 
 
 ■ Ish, R<*v. Hen^y i 
 .lid, Mrs. Otbrir'nc 
 .r,I, Mrs. )■• 
 "1 Kami!-. 
 
 C02, 824, 
 
 i06. 
 45b 
 
 4,^6. 
 
 8-24 
 14»3 
 
 i.ill 
 Kty.-t 
 
 1-1 .-it 
 iir,i 
 
 r,lM) 
 
 •J81 
 ;241 
 
 L'8ll 
 !240 
 
 ,ai«, ii! 
 
 Capt. A\ 
 T'l.Tn . . 
 
 Henrv ^^ 
 
 ■ t.'jaiiif. 
 .1. James h 
 
 '4, saa. 
 
 \'. ai'.i, '.\ i,i;.i,ji. . . 
 Ward, William S 
 
 " ■■ 1 ::niily. 
 
 Mrs. Caruli 
 . .. .Mrs. Caib< 
 WarnKr, Charles 1 
 Warimr, Curtis.. . 
 Warner, Elihu S. 
 Warner Families 
 !■, Francis .""■ 
 Francis I- 
 ., .,, ,1. ,, George L. 
 Warner, Horac«, . . 
 •■• :k;i-. T- ;.,.■ I. 
 
 Iii4i 
 
 4117 
 452 
 
 'US 
 
 
 ■ ' . . : :,(.:, . 1 ...'^ ■ 
 
 i:^* 
 
 
 
 1327 
 
 liHo 
 
 , w 
 
 '.130 
 
 1495 
 
 t \v 
 
 iH6 
 
 /.- ' 
 
 1 .''^'1, jV 
 
 947 
 
 
 . Renbi ti 
 
 . 14S9 
 
 
 ;,. . . Sani" ' 
 
 ■1.1 a 
 
 
 ner, Thcr 
 
 
 
 irner, Wii; 
 
 
 
 rner, Willir.n, 
 
 1 .,,'j.' 
 
 
 ■rner, Willis'ii 
 
 . ii^fiO 
 
 
 A arren, Mrs. 
 
 
 
 Warren, Gei • 
 
 '. m 
 
 
 Warren, Nai,,, n,, ■ 
 
 . >^91 
 
 
 Watkins, Ciiar.es J' 
 
 ;im 
 
 
 ■•.'."; :fl..-i, son, Uavid 
 
 14"0 
 
 nyi 
 
 —jn, Edward B 
 
 233 
 
 83;? 
 
 son, Mi's. L''-,ii? ' 
 
 239 
 
 
 uuus Family. . 
 
 . ^56 
 
 
 rous, George . 
 
 ■■m 
 
 
 rous, Rufus 
 
 ^;!0 
 
 
 itrous, Hon. Williajri 
 
 ;530 
 
 
 v. ay, Georjre L. . . 
 
 171 
 
 
 Way, George M. 
 
 1 . ■ .■ 
 
 
 W;;bster, Daniel . 
 
 o': 
 
 
 ■bster Famdy.. 
 
 .r,o 
 
 
 hster. lohn .... 
 
 . -jT i 
 
INDEX. 
 
 1591 
 
 PAGE 
 
 '.Vebster, Jonathan 484 
 
 \Vebstcr, Luther S 484 
 
 \Vtbster, Morris C. 43() 
 
 ^Vebster, William H 670 
 
 Weed, Alfred;., M. D 1512 
 
 Weed, Charles B 1512 
 
 Weir, Flavel 562 
 
 Weir, VVellman B 562 
 
 Welch, Dr. Archibald 103 
 
 Welch, Archibald A 103 
 
 Welch, Hon. Elisha N 248 
 
 Welch, Henry K. W 103 
 
 Welden, Mrs. Nancy 797 
 
 Welden, Samuel 797 
 
 iVelden, Hon. Samuel T 797 
 
 Weldon, Samuel A 371 
 
 W«ldon, Samuel H 371 
 
 Welles; Ashel 1041 
 
 Welles, Edwin 894 
 
 W''eiles Families- 784,894, 1041 
 
 Welles, Hon. Frederick 784 
 
 \Velles, Hon. Gideon 1493 
 
 Welles, John 516 
 
 Welles, Leonard 784 
 
 Welles, Roger 171 
 
 Welles, Roger, Sr 895 
 
 Welles, Gen. Roger £94 
 
 Wells, Albert R 995 
 
 Wells Family 1284 
 
 Wells, George 813 
 
 Wells, Herbert C 874 
 
 Wells, Horace 1160 
 
 Wells, Isaac N. '. 995 
 
 Wells, I^eviS 1160 
 
 Wells, Romania 1285 
 
 Wells, Solomon 874 
 
 Wells, Stephen M., Sr 1284 
 
 We_Us, S. Terry 873 
 
 West, Andrew 15 1361 
 
 West, Bicknell 1361 
 
 AVest, Ephraim 1361 
 
 AWist Family 427 
 
 Wi'i'St, Frederick A 427 
 
 West, Fhilo 428 
 
 Westcott, Louis A 905 
 
 A\'estcott, Maurice E 905 
 
 Westcott, Selah 905 
 
 Wetherell Family 1056 
 
 Wetherell, Lyman 1354 
 
 Wetherell, Olin L 1354 
 
 Wetherell, Simeon, Jr.. .' 1056 
 
 Wetherell, Simeon F 1056 
 
 Whalen,JohnE 1548 
 
 Whaples, John F ' 79 
 
 Wheeler P'amily 1274 
 
 Wheeler, Franklin, A. B., A. M., 
 
 M. D 804 
 
 Wheeler, Seth 804 
 
 White, Alfred B 1374 
 
 White, Comfort 461 
 
 White, Hon. Edwin N 460 
 
 White Families 460, 1010 
 
 White, Francis A 99 
 
 White, Glover M 1374 
 
 White, Mrs. Henry C 263 
 
 W^hite, Herbert H 99 
 
 White, Hon. John H 1508 
 
 White, Josiah 1010 
 
 White, NilesG 1374 
 
 Whitehead, Samuel 879 
 
 Whitehead, Hon. William H . . . . 879 
 
 Whiting Family 432 
 
 Whiting, Solomon E 432 
 
 AVhitney, Aaron W j.... 583 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Whitney, Amos 396 
 
 AVhitney Family 396 
 
 A.Vhitney, t'ardon A 583 
 
 \A'hiton, Francis H., M. D 550 
 
 Wickham, Almeron W 599 
 
 AVickham Family 947 
 
 AVickham, John 947 
 
 Wickham, William P 947 
 
 AA'ickwire Family 1252 
 
 Wickwire, Manley H 1253 
 
 AVickwire, Townsend B 1252 
 
 vVilcox, David 936 
 
 Wilcox Families 480, 6^ 
 
 AVilc'ox, Hon. Frank L., A. B . . . . 668 
 
 Wilcox, George 936 
 
 Wilcox, John 1115 
 
 AVilcox, Judson 480 
 
 AA'ilcox, Samuel C ,. . 668 
 
 AViley, Louis G 1470 
 
 AA'iley, William H 1470 
 
 AVillard Family 1264 
 
 AVillard, Mrs. H. Amelia 1041 
 
 AVillard, Stephen 1041 
 
 AVillard, Stephen F 1253 
 
 AVillard, Thomas 1255 
 
 Willcox, William 1288 
 
 Williams, Alfred , 402 
 
 AVilliams, Alfred C. J 401 
 
 AVilliams, Austin F 792 
 
 Williams, Eugene B 395 
 
 AVilliams, Capt. Ezra H 395 
 
 AVilliams Families 15,401, 740 
 
 AA'iUiams, Frederick H., M. D. . 86 
 
 AVilliams, Harry R 159 
 
 Williams, James B 740 
 
 Williams, Luther B 1450 
 
 AVilliams, Solomon 741 
 
 AVilliams, Thomas 1450 
 
 AVilling Family 325 
 
 AVilloughby, Gordon C 1343 
 
 AVilloDghby, John G 1343 
 
 Willoughby, William 1343 
 
 AVilson, Allyn M 632 
 
 AA'ilson Family 632 
 
 Wilson, Frederick N 982 
 
 AVilson, Henry, Jr 981 
 
 AVilson, J. Seward, D. D. S 558 
 
 AVilson, John D 558 
 
 Wilson, Samuel H 981 
 
 AVinchell, Eli 1074 
 
 AVinchell Family : 1073- 
 
 AVinchell, Sherman. ■• '. 1073 
 
 Windsor, Hon. John B 207' 
 
 AA'inship, Joseph 1383 
 
 AVinslow Family 604 
 
 Winslow, Rev. Horace, A. B., 
 
 A. M 604 
 
 AVinslow, John H 604 
 
 AVinslow, John 317 
 
 AA'inslow, John, Sr 317 
 
 AVirth, Conrad 199 
 
 Wirth Family 199 
 
 AVirth, Theodore 199 
 
 AVolcott, Charles 772 
 
 AVolcott, Elisha 774 
 
 Wolcott Family 772 
 
 AVolcott, Robert R 776 
 
 WoUenberg Bros 966 
 
 Wollenberg, Gustav A 966 
 
 AVoUenberg, Paul F 966 
 
 AVood, Mrs. Antoinette 763 
 
 Wood, Edson F 710 
 
 Wood, Francis 710 
 
 Wood, Mrs. Frances P 251 
 
 PAGE 
 
 AVood, James 875 
 
 AVood, Mrs. Mary L 1463 
 
 Wood, William, M. D 1462 
 
 Wood, Maj. William J 250 
 
 Woodford, Charles 1161 
 
 Woodford, Charlton M 350 
 
 Woodford, Chester 701 
 
 AVoodford, Hon. Chester R 700 
 
 Woodford, Corydon 839 
 
 Woodford, Capt. Dudley 701 
 
 Woodford Families. . ?\.700, 825, 1155 
 
 Woodford, George F. 1115 
 
 AVoodford, Hon. Harrison 825 
 
 Woodford, Harry 1161 
 
 Woodford, Harvey 826 
 
 Woodford, Lester 1115 
 
 Woodford, Hon. Matthew C 839 
 
 Woodford, Mi'.ton M 3.50 
 
 Woodford, Robert F 1154 
 
 Woodford, Seth F 766 
 
 Woodford, Mrs. Seth f 767 
 
 Woodford, William AV 826 
 
 Woodhouse Families 202,698 
 
 Woodhouse, Samuel 693 
 
 Woodhouse, Samuel N 698 
 
 Woodhouse, Mrs. Sarah H 251 
 
 Woodhouse, Sylvester 251 
 
 Wooding, .Augustine F 481 
 
 AVooding Bros .'-. . 431 
 
 Wooding, Charles L 1520 
 
 Wooding, Lawson 1620 
 
 Wooding. Ralph A 431 
 
 Woodruff, Mrs. Carrie E 1562 
 
 AVoodruff, Charles C 1183'i- 
 
 AVoodruff, Daniel S 659-*- 
 
 AVoodruff Family 481* 
 
 Woodruff, Merit N 480 - 
 
 Woodruff, Sheldon 481 ' 
 
 Woodruff, Col. William N 1562 
 
 Woodward, Dr. Asa C 307 
 
 Woodward, Edward P.,M. D... 307 
 
 Woodward Families 307,1180 
 
 AVoodward, Henry C 1180 
 
 Woodward, Hial 1180 
 
 Woolley, F. P 1522 
 
 Woolley, Mrs. George H 328 
 
 AVooUey, George W 1538 
 
 AVoollev, AViUiam P 1538 
 
 Wooster, Charles M., M. D 1336 
 
 Wooster Family 1336 
 
 AVoo.=ter, John 1337 
 
 AVooster, Peter 1337 
 
 Wright, Charles G 1502 
 
 Wright Family. ., 1501 
 
 Wright, Filbert L 1502 
 
 AVright, Hon. Halsie S 721 
 
 AVright, Hannibal K 721 
 
 AVright, Harvey 1502 
 
 Wright, Henry B 1164 
 
 Wri'ght, Joseph 1164 
 
 AVright, William H 1501 
 
 Wright, AVilliamT 1501 
 
 Wrisley Family 1357 
 
 AVrisley, George S 1355 
 
 AVrisley, Ransom 1355 
 
 Wrisley, Samuel lOi'2 
 
 Wrisley, AVallace G 1357 
 
 Yauch, Charles 442 
 
 Yauch Family 442 
 
 Zweygartt, Henrv J 260 
 
 Zweygartt, Mrs. Henry J 261 
 
Y^t 
 
 H 77 78*'" 
 
'0 
 
 o 
 
4^ -^^1' ^^ 
 
 c°^ /r^% 
 
 
 
 
 )^ .r- ""< 
 
 V o^Ci&.^Oo y.-^iX /.C^-> /.•^.' 
 
 
 ^^-n*.. 
 
 
 
 
 
 "" A^\J 
 
 ^:'= "^..S^^ 
 
 :^. 
 
 <,^. iv/Am^: aV-^ -.^i^; .c.^'^.i 
 
 <> *'7Vi 
 
 
 
 'bV" 
 
 .•t°x> 
 
 
 •*U.r^^ 
 
 r . « • »^ 
 
 
 •» o 
 
 
 
 
 ?>°-nK. 
 
 
 
 
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 %^^-'\.^'' v^^*/ v^-\/ 
 
 [■^^W- N. MANCHESTER, 
 ! S^ INDIANA 
 
\w 
 
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 LIBRARY OF CONGResS